Encephalon

Redirected from "America's financial troubles resolved! Faith in financial institutions restored!!" We can breath a collective sigh of relief. John Corzine has issued an apology. Now that a prominent Wall Street figure has made restitution, we can all stop whining about the systematic gutting of the public treasury and go back to what we do best; championing the supremacy of the capitalist system! Go team! ************************************************************************************** A contrite Jon Corzine, in his first public defense of his leadership of now-bankrupt futures brokerage MF Global, told U.S. lawmakers he "never intended" to break rules and had no clue what happened to hundreds of millions of dollars in missing customer money. The former U.S. senator and Goldman Sachs chief executive freely answered lawmakers' questions during a fairly friendly House Agriculture Committee on Thursday. But he tried to duck responsibility by repeatedly claiming a lack of intent and lack of recollection about key events that led to the firm's downfall and its scrambled books. Legal experts said it was a clear tactic to try to avoid criminal charges. "I never intended to break any rules, whether it dealt with the segregation rules or any of the other rules that are applicable," said Corzine, wearing a somber dark suit and armed with an accordion file folder of documents and a highlighter pen. Thursday's hearing was a stunning reversal for a political and financial power broker who endured three hours of pointed questions behind a placard that bore the title "Honorable" in front of his name. Corzine had once been the lawmaker who made witnesses squirm. The testimony came six weeks after MF Global collapsed into bankruptcy once the market lost confidence in the firm following a revelation it had made a $6.3 billion bet on European sovereign debt. The search for hundreds of millions of dollars in missing customer funds has sent reverberations through the farm belt and trading floors, and has attracted the attention of the FBI and federal prosecutors. When pressed by lawmakers about whether he authorized a transfer of customer funds to firm accounts - a major violation of industry rules - Corzine said: "If I did, it was a misunderstanding." Michael Weinstein, a white-collar lawyer with Cole Schotz law firm in New Jersey, said Corzine's persistent claim of lack of intent "was essentially code for 'Prosecutor, you bring these charges, you are going to have a hard time proving intent, and that's what you need to convict me'." Neither MF Global nor any of its executives has been charged with wrongdoing. Lawmakers thanked Corzine for not invoking his right to avoid self-incrimination under the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. But he was criticized for not giving a straight answer on whether he directed the transfer of customer funds to firm accounts. "Throughout this hearing I can count the times you used the words 'never intend,' 'not to my knowledge,' 'not to my recollection,' 'never intended to.' And I understand the position that you're in, but Mr. Corzine, we've got to find that money," said Democratic Representative David Scott. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Insider link to Corzine video story: reut.rs/rYzrVN ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ THE 'PLIGHT' OF FARMERS Corzine apologized for the collapse of the firm, and said his "sadness" pales in comparison to MF Global's customers, employees and investors. Thousands of customers, including many farmers who use futures to hedge risks, have had their money frozen. "Their plight weighs on my mind every day - every hour," Corzine told the panel after being sworn in by committee Chairman Frank Lucas. Corzine said, "My father was one of those folks who'd go to a grain elevator to hedge out future crops." The hearing stretched over eight and a half hours, and was the first to bring together a full cast of characters, including Corzine, regulators and the legal counsel for the trustee liquidating MF Global. In its strongest accusation yet against the firm, CME Group Inc, MF Global's on-the-ground regulator, said the firm misused hundreds of millions of dollars of customer funds by moving the money to its own accounts. "Transfers of customer funds for the benefit of the firm constitute serious violations of our rules and of the Commodity Exchange Act," CME Executive Chairman Terrence Duffy said. The court-appointed trustee has estimated the shortfall of customer money at $1.2 billion, but CME has disputed that figure as being too high. In his prepared testimony, Duffy indicated the shortfall was roughly half that amount. Corzine was flanked by his bow-tied lawyer, Andrew Levander, and said he was aware that he had the right to counsel. He pleaded ignorance on how customer money might have made its way into the firm's own coffers. "I simply do not know where the money is, or why the accounts have not been reconciled to date," he said. Lawmakers asked Corzine to lay out how he may have "unintentionally" contributed to the mixing of customer and firm money. He pointed to the chaos of the hours leading up to MF Global's bankruptcy filing on October 31. "Someone could misinterpret 'You gotta fix it,' which I said the evening of October 30th,'" Corzine said. 'DIFFERENT JUDGMENTS' Corzine defended his time at the top of the firm, which he joined in March 2010, saying MF Global reduced leverage during his tenure. He said he accepts responsibility for the repo-to-maturity trades that related to the firm's $6.3 billion bet on European sovereign debt. "At the time that MF Global entered into the transactions, I believed that its investments in short-term European debt securities were prudent," he said. Corzine said there was some dissent within MF Global about the European debt strategy but that "generally we arrived at a consensus." He tried to drive home that the European debt bets have held up and said the market confidence crisis had more to do with MF Global executives' "inability" to explain that the firm's losses were not tied to the sovereign debt exposure. "Your answers sound so nice, but you riskily invested people's money without their knowledge in a market I wouldn't invest in," said Republican Representative Jean Schmidt. Corzine conceded the business strategy he championed may have been flawed. "Sitting here today, with the knowledge that the market has drawn the conclusion it has drawn, and the facts are what they are, it would have been better to have taken different judgments," he said.

It depends on what "is" is.

I think I'll take your advice and get a copy from Amazon for $5. The Table of Contents looks a lot like Michael Hague's formula, with "The Way" as an emphasis. I just inherited 100 screenplays from my ex-girlfriend, who decided to move back to Maharishi University without them, so I'm trying to discipline my reading campaign and include 2 screenplays a week. I have found my nei kung/meditation practice has deepened my imagination and visualization abilities so i think this will pay off in the writing department. My greatest burden - STILL! - is actually sitting down and writing and being sure to separate writing from editing. Always on the lookout for websites where we can download script pdfs. Let me know if you find them? They come and go fast. Thanks/

I guess you've already discovered that there's an entire industry devoted to publishing books on how to write screenplays. got any favorites? I love my copy of "The 101 Habits of Highly Successful Screenwriters" by Karl Iglesias. It's NOT a how-to book, but a look into the actual day-to-day lifestyle of a Hollywood writers. If your answer to "A day in the life of a Taobum" post differs substantially from what these writers do with their day, then there are serious course corrections to be made. How do you organize your 4 hours of daily writing time? Cheers.

http://www.amazon.com/Dragon-Karma-Ultimate-Collection-Oriental/dp/B00548I03C/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1323402814&sr=1-1 I was digging through Amazon and Itunes Store, looking for some Japanese Shakuhachi and Kyoto music that I could introduce to my 2-month old daughter, and I found this. Pretty cool stuff! Great X-mas gift! Any other recommendations for shakuhachi jams?

That is how I am trying to make a living and it already gives me a headache.

Holy Jeez... What an incredible resource. Thank you for posting this!

This song was playing in my Itunes file when I checked this thread and it struck me as the perfect fit for such an auspicious event as an awakening. I've been listening to this ballad for about 37 years, when my introduction to jazz and trumpet playing represented a small awakening for me. Its haunting and agonized beauty befits the sobering task of confronting reality with eyes wide open. Thank you for this very special reminder, Nanashi.

Freedom is slavery.

Someone in here years ago said that Taoism reveals itself intellectually and through personal practice. I think that was a sound observation, at least in this modern era. For the absolute beginner, for self-study - The Complete Book of Chinese Health and Healing by Daniel Reid - Scholar/Warrior by Deng Ming-Dao - The Complete Idiot's Guide to Taoism by Brandon Toropov (Seriously, these books are extremely well written!) For getting started on personal practice, if you don't live near a Taoist arts school - Opening the Energy Gates of Your Body by Bruce Frantzis The Root of Chinese Chi Kung by Dr. Yang Jwing Ming and, when the time comes... The Book of Nei Kung, by C.K. Chu Taoism is unique in that it is a completely comprehensive philosophy and cosmology but it regards the physical body as the vehicle of spiritual transformation. It connects with virtually every body of knowledge known to humankind but unlike Buddhism, maintains the primacy of physical practice. I also think that Taoism honors the human need for rationalism and transcendence in a way that's a lot more accessible than forms of yoga or other body-centered paths. Just my experience.

I am moved that younger people like yourself are growing up in a period where these teachings are available at such an early age. I must have been in my mid-30s before I even heard the term "chi kung," and another 12 years would pass before I finally started the practice. Hypothetical musings are useless, so I won't speculate on how my life would've been different with an early intro to chi kung, but if self-loathing is as much a part of consumer culture now as it was when I was raging teenage drunk, and I believe it is, perhaps even more so, then there's hope that people can be healed with these ancient tools. I believe Bruce Frantzis is right; the ancient Chinese refined these cultivation practices above and beyond what any other culture has contributed to the world.

I understand where you're coming from, but I don't believe that all people who like the film do so because it strengthens their belief that perfection is possible, and I don't think that was the message of the film. I think the author of the novel and the screenwriter both wanted a morality play, with the DeNiro character as the antagonist. I'm also not convinced that all action in behalf of the ego is necessarily bad or necessarily divorced from spiritual aspiration. There are plenty of life-affirming goals I acheived for myself as a result of tapping into my ego strength, quitting smoking and drinking being just two of them. I came out of the theatre feeling gratitude for learning Taoist culitivation techniques, and went straight home to review my goal-setting and affirmation material.

"The Professional environment" is an awfully big place, so generalizations are bound to have limits, but I did have the same concern and while I was employed full time as a personal trainer here in LA I made a point to ask my clients exactly the question you pose; is the professional workplace also populated with morons? Unfortunately, the answer is YES in many instances, and it seems that the bigger the organization, and the less personal, the greater the gaminess. I had one client working for the LA Unified school district and we would compare notes on which of us witnessed the biggest expression of stupidity. She often won, and I remember asking myself how things ever manage to get done in this world. But then, look at what the US did to Iraq, not to mention our public treasury. I've been lucky to spend most of my life not working for corporate environments, and as much as I'd like to commence my teaching career, I know that academia is riddled with silliness and backbiting, and I couldn't get a teaching gig if I moved out of CA anyway. To tell you the truth, my last few years of employment included working in a pizza joint and personal training and I dearly loved it the absence of corporate-sponsored stupidity. But the bottom line for me is, there's simply no way I could continue to maintain my optimism and sense of humor had I not commenced a Taoist practice three years ago. As I see it, if we can defuse the stress of daily life, including chronic pandemics of stupidity, shut off the "fight or flight" switch and turn on the "rest and digest" mode, then we might surprise ourselves with how much equanimity we can manifest.

Yes, my take also, although I see opportunities up ahead to dissolve the distinctions. I think there are some pretty significant implications, the main one being the problem of declaring love for the transcendent while marginalizing the horizontal. As a species, we still haven't fully internalized our ecological connection. And or course there are those on the religious right who care not one iota for the ecosphere; drill baby, drill!

People have been screaming about the need for campaign finance reform for decades. Politicians are beholden to their campaign contributors, not their constituents. Congress deflected the challenge by putting term limits on the books, but that really didn't solve the problem. And now the Supreme Court has ruled that unlimited campaign cash is protected under the Free speech amendment. We can kiss the dream of political accountability goodbye for another generation at least.

Where There Is No Doctor U.S. Army Field Manual 21-76 SURVIVAL The Passion of the Western Mind by Richard Tarnas The Collected Works of William Shakespeare Integral Ecology: Uniting Multiple Perspectives on the Natural World The Dhammapada Tao te Ching The City in History by Lewis Mumford Deep Future: The Next 100,000 Years of Life on Earth by Curt Stager The Bible According to Mark Twain

http://www.wwoofusa.org/About_WWOOFUSA I'd hafta say that Stigweard submitted the best advice. This movement is growing; living/working on organic farms will have a significant demographic impact when food production becomes the nation's biggest industry. Get in while the gettin's good. Seriously, a half day's work in exchange for food, lodging and skills building? That leaves the average TTBum with 6+ hours left for cultivation/meditation. I would snag that opp in a hot minute if I were still single and not pursuing other options. Good luck, Aaron.

good question - survival mode or an extended vacation in Fiji? I'll skip the survival scenario and leave us with uninterrupted reading of an indeterminate duration. That way I can replace my survival manuals with This is Your Brain On Music by Daniel Levitin and Sex, Ecology, Spirituality: The Spirit of Evolution by Ken Wilber. Oh, and the latest copy of the Lise Charmel Lingerie Catalog 2011 Forgive me. I'm hopeless.

I've been on Hawthorn now for 2 months for cardio health; risk factor in my family. Might check out Olive Leaf extract; Songsofdistantearth turned me on to this for blood pressure, but the ORAC is in the mid 6 figures. I'm taking 1,500 mg a day now. Swanson vitamins ORAC

I'd like to thank Anamatva for loaning me the damo Mitchell book. I would recommend it to anyone who was looking for basic information on the subject of nei kung, but for those who have acquired the ability to manipulate energy with the mind (yi) and are looking for further instruction on how to steer the currents, it would seem that personal instruction is in order. I commend the author for his brief introduction to the subject of cultivating shen. He graciously stated that this dimension was something he is still unschooled in.

Wow, this recipe nails it on so many levels. We eat a lot of sweet potatoes for as lot of reasons; vitamin A, low glycemic index, and perhaps most importantly, our very finicky teenager scarfs them up. We usually mash them along with any vegetables that may be getting close to retirement; apples, carrots, celery, beets, onions, et. Your recipe is perfect for another reason - with the spices, the anti-oxidant level, or ORAC scale - Oxygen radical absorbance capacity - is through the roof. Thanks fer posting.

British consulting firm Mercer has released the results of its annual "Quality of Life" survey, which ranks 420 cities in terms of standard of living. According to the survey, five cities in the top of the list are all located in Australia; Adelaide, Perth, Canberra, Melbourne, and Sydney. So I just have to ask... what the hell are you communists doing down there?

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