The next forty
"I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth."
Genesis 7: 4 (KJV)
The number 40 is found frequently in scripture to signify either a time of penitential preparation, or a time of punishment and affliction sent from God. The Old Testament is replete with examples of the use of 40: God punished mankind by sending a flood over the earth that lasted 40 days and 40 nights (Genesis 7:12); the people of Ninevah repented with 40 days of fasting when Jonah preached the destruction of Ninevah (Jonah 3:4); Moses and the Hebrew people wandered in the desert for 40 years (Num 14:34); the Prophet Ezekiel had to lie on his right side for 40 days as a figure of the siege that was to bring Jerusalem to destruction (Ez 4:6); the Prophet Elijah fasted and prayed on Mount Horeb for 40 days (1 Kings 19:8); Moses fasted 40 days and 40 nights while on Mt. Sinai when he received the six commandments ruling man's social relationships (Ex 34:28); and finally, in the New Testament, we find Jesus fasting and praying for 40 days and 40 nights in the desert in preparation for his death (Luke 5:35) and it just so happens that he was seen 40 days after his resurrection.
To the Mohammedans, whoever gets drunk will have his prayers rejected for 40 days. Sufis have shrines, inside which they pray and meditate for 40 days, which are called 40-day rooms. Hindus, Muslims and Jains have fasting periods that last 40 days.
We, as individuals, are all one. All of us have the same life experiences. We are born and then we die. But once we band in herds then we differentiate ourselves from others.
In many cultures 40 days is a traditional number for the testing of the spirit of man, for his destruction or for his preservation. Forty days was the period for embalming and the period for quarantine.
The government 40 The Daily Reckoning (www.dailyreckoning-.com) points out that for the past 40 days and 40 nights hurricanes have raged in the Gulf of Mexico, crimping America's oil and gasoline supply lines. As the Gulf provides about 25 percent of the USA's crude oil production and about half of all energy product imports, the promise by OPEC to increase production and fill the gap is mere wishful thinking.
Every OPEC member, with the exception of Saudi Arabia, is already producing at capacity, and the bonanza from Iraq will never materialize. The "terrorists" will see to that. Massive civilian deaths can only spawn new generations of embittered peoples, new hate-filled leaders and enraged individuals determined to answer violence with violence. The extremists have now become entrenched and the innocent civilians, on both sides, are the ones to suffer.
The next 40 days and 40 nights will become a pivotal time in history.
Western Capitalist and Democratic systems have peaked and from now on the emergence of more dictatorial structures is a certainty. The foundations for Big Brother are already here. The "war on terrorism" will be as successful as the "war on drugs" and the "war on poverty". The people in charge will make a lot of noise; for society at large it will absorb a lot of money. And it will be totally ineffective. The quest for "strong governments" to solve the ills of the World is just beginning.
Wars against nebulous concepts, DNA fingerprinting and money laundering reporting requirements have set the foundation for the repressive regimes to follow and the first casualty has been the rule of law. Both the USA and Russia have declared that they will become proactive in pursuing terrorists wherever they reside. In addition, a fundamental right of the individual not to be deprived of life, liberty or property without the due process of law is now under attack and has been suspended for certain individuals on suspicion alone. As the Social Mood turns from optimism to pessimism it will enhance all the negative traits within the unthinking herd as the quest for survival and the maintenance of the status quo become dominating forces.
The corporate 40 Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan has been giving an upbeat review of the economy in his testimony before the Senate, saying that the current recovery is broad-based and sustainable even though it is going through a "soft patch". My bet is that what we have just experienced is a counter-cyclical upturn in a long-term decline.
Over the next 40 days and 40 nights I expect that corporate profits will decline. It's already happening. The Big Three Autos reported lower sales for August. It seems that their incentives are not having enough impact on consumers any more. Both General Motors and Ford said they are preparing to cut production and the Conference Board announced that its consumer confidence index declined seven percent last month because people are concerned about the job market. At the same time increasing government expenditures and decreasing government receipts imply higher tax rates. Lower corporate profits will increase unemployment and an increase in unemployment will put the brakes on consumer spending. Less consumer spending implies less corporate revenues, which means less profits and more lay-offs.
According to the Commerce Department, corporate profit growth in America came to an abrupt halt in the second quarter, apparently due to higher energy costs and slowing consumer demand. So it's not just the auto industry that's suffering. Colgate-Palmolive, Unilever and Proctor and Gamble have also disappointed. But this is an election year; so don't expect consumers, economists and politicians to pay much attention to anything other than the Jabberwockies on TV. It seems as though optimism prevails despite the soaring price of oil and the increasingly fraught geo-political situation. And the amount of debt in the world is still increasing. In the first three years of the 21st century every $1 increase in the GDP of the USA has cost it $3.19 of debt. And the debt will inevitably have to be repaid, revalued or reneged upon. Every action has its reaction. Cycles repeat.
Genesis 7: 4 (KJV)
The number 40 is found frequently in scripture to signify either a time of penitential preparation, or a time of punishment and affliction sent from God. The Old Testament is replete with examples of the use of 40: God punished mankind by sending a flood over the earth that lasted 40 days and 40 nights (Genesis 7:12); the people of Ninevah repented with 40 days of fasting when Jonah preached the destruction of Ninevah (Jonah 3:4); Moses and the Hebrew people wandered in the desert for 40 years (Num 14:34); the Prophet Ezekiel had to lie on his right side for 40 days as a figure of the siege that was to bring Jerusalem to destruction (Ez 4:6); the Prophet Elijah fasted and prayed on Mount Horeb for 40 days (1 Kings 19:8); Moses fasted 40 days and 40 nights while on Mt. Sinai when he received the six commandments ruling man's social relationships (Ex 34:28); and finally, in the New Testament, we find Jesus fasting and praying for 40 days and 40 nights in the desert in preparation for his death (Luke 5:35) and it just so happens that he was seen 40 days after his resurrection.
To the Mohammedans, whoever gets drunk will have his prayers rejected for 40 days. Sufis have shrines, inside which they pray and meditate for 40 days, which are called 40-day rooms. Hindus, Muslims and Jains have fasting periods that last 40 days.
We, as individuals, are all one. All of us have the same life experiences. We are born and then we die. But once we band in herds then we differentiate ourselves from others.
In many cultures 40 days is a traditional number for the testing of the spirit of man, for his destruction or for his preservation. Forty days was the period for embalming and the period for quarantine.
The government 40 The Daily Reckoning (www.dailyreckoning-.com) points out that for the past 40 days and 40 nights hurricanes have raged in the Gulf of Mexico, crimping America's oil and gasoline supply lines. As the Gulf provides about 25 percent of the USA's crude oil production and about half of all energy product imports, the promise by OPEC to increase production and fill the gap is mere wishful thinking.
Every OPEC member, with the exception of Saudi Arabia, is already producing at capacity, and the bonanza from Iraq will never materialize. The "terrorists" will see to that. Massive civilian deaths can only spawn new generations of embittered peoples, new hate-filled leaders and enraged individuals determined to answer violence with violence. The extremists have now become entrenched and the innocent civilians, on both sides, are the ones to suffer.
The next 40 days and 40 nights will become a pivotal time in history.
Western Capitalist and Democratic systems have peaked and from now on the emergence of more dictatorial structures is a certainty. The foundations for Big Brother are already here. The "war on terrorism" will be as successful as the "war on drugs" and the "war on poverty". The people in charge will make a lot of noise; for society at large it will absorb a lot of money. And it will be totally ineffective. The quest for "strong governments" to solve the ills of the World is just beginning.
Wars against nebulous concepts, DNA fingerprinting and money laundering reporting requirements have set the foundation for the repressive regimes to follow and the first casualty has been the rule of law. Both the USA and Russia have declared that they will become proactive in pursuing terrorists wherever they reside. In addition, a fundamental right of the individual not to be deprived of life, liberty or property without the due process of law is now under attack and has been suspended for certain individuals on suspicion alone. As the Social Mood turns from optimism to pessimism it will enhance all the negative traits within the unthinking herd as the quest for survival and the maintenance of the status quo become dominating forces.
The corporate 40 Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan has been giving an upbeat review of the economy in his testimony before the Senate, saying that the current recovery is broad-based and sustainable even though it is going through a "soft patch". My bet is that what we have just experienced is a counter-cyclical upturn in a long-term decline.
Over the next 40 days and 40 nights I expect that corporate profits will decline. It's already happening. The Big Three Autos reported lower sales for August. It seems that their incentives are not having enough impact on consumers any more. Both General Motors and Ford said they are preparing to cut production and the Conference Board announced that its consumer confidence index declined seven percent last month because people are concerned about the job market. At the same time increasing government expenditures and decreasing government receipts imply higher tax rates. Lower corporate profits will increase unemployment and an increase in unemployment will put the brakes on consumer spending. Less consumer spending implies less corporate revenues, which means less profits and more lay-offs.
According to the Commerce Department, corporate profit growth in America came to an abrupt halt in the second quarter, apparently due to higher energy costs and slowing consumer demand. So it's not just the auto industry that's suffering. Colgate-Palmolive, Unilever and Proctor and Gamble have also disappointed. But this is an election year; so don't expect consumers, economists and politicians to pay much attention to anything other than the Jabberwockies on TV. It seems as though optimism prevails despite the soaring price of oil and the increasingly fraught geo-political situation. And the amount of debt in the world is still increasing. In the first three years of the 21st century every $1 increase in the GDP of the USA has cost it $3.19 of debt. And the debt will inevitably have to be repaid, revalued or reneged upon. Every action has its reaction. Cycles repeat.
