Mentoring and Success

I just found out that someone I mentored was accepted into advanced classes at Harvard. Obviously, I love to teach and mentor others, I am so proud of this person that I cannot possibly express myself fully. Teaching is about getting people to think bigger, to consider new approaches, the one's they choose are theirs, their expression of them and their intent. I can never take credit for what this person learned, I can only take credit for what I taught and there is a difference. This person will learn from people other than me and I will teach people other than them.

On a side note, I remember what brought me joy, it was the theater. Those reading my words may assume that I was always just an analyst; but, I was not, I was a stage manager, stage lighter and sound man. I even designed and built stages, I loved the arts. I have written stories (no surprise there), music, sang, drew pictures and have no fear of public speaking, my favorite thing. I have acted and absolutely hate it. A ham; but, not a ham on the bone. LOL. In less than two years, I can retire and have wondered what I should do. Many think I should go into consulting, some think I should go into teaching; but, I am thinking I need joy in my life and that always came from stage and theater. Maybe it is time to put me first, maybe I have given what I had and can now freely enjoy my passion, the theater.

I am old and it has been many years; but, I can still build a set, I can still light a stage, I can still listen to a stage manager. Hey, I don't need to make any money, just do what I love. It will not happen that way, there is still work for me to do and I think I would rather be of use than just be taking. Lets start the new games. I love games. ROFL.

David Petraeus, Maybe I Was Right

Some of you may remember a post I wrote about how Petraeus must have been taken out by the CIA. Well, the Mail Online has just published a story about a book that is coming out which says the exact same thing. The book was written by a couple of ex-black ops fellows.

EXCLUSIVE: David Petraeus was brought down after betrayal by vengeful CIA agents and his own bodyguards who made sure his affair was exposed, claims new book

Elliott Broidy, Pension Fraud and Los Angeles

If you select the post tag which says "Pension Fraud", you will find many posts which reference Mr. Broidy. To make the story short, Mr. Broidy sat on public pension boards and later would act as a "placement agent" and he was also the Chairman of Markstone Capital (and one of the co-founders). Mr. Broidy pled guilty to bribing government officials to get investments in his company and others. Mr. Broidy escaped a lengthy sentence because he cooperated with prosecution. Fair enough, he got whatever sentence he got; but, I just saw a website, here is a link. Broidy Capital Management. Apparently, he is back in Los Angeles and back in business.

We now have this, it is from Bloomberg BusinessWeek - Elliott Broidy CPA. They gave glowing information regarding Mr. Broidy; but, failed to mention his pleading guilty. How can this man still be a CPA? How can this man be allowed to invest other people's money? Write a bogus check and get caught, guess what, you cannot get bonded to handle money again.

I hope you read his "profile" from Bloomberg. If you read it, you will understand why he is not in jail and allowed to still do investments? Now, here is this from Daily Politics - Investor Elliott Broidy Given Wrist Slap For Role In Pension Fund Scandal. I love these two quotes from the article, "The high-powered Israeli investor who pleaded guilty to giving $1 million in bribes to four top state pension fund officials — including disgraced ex-controller Alan Hevesi — got off with a slap on the wrist." and "In exchange for cooperation that helped land Hevesi behind bars, Broidy this week was able to withdraw his felony plea and instead admit to a misdemeanor." He personally had to pay $18 million back.

Now here is what is really disturbing, I have been looking to see what this man's sentence was a could not find any in the mainstream media. If you think public pensions are too generous, consider the fact of how much of the money is flat out stolen from the funds. In New York, $170 million dollars was paid in fines by over a dozen companies. Theft of public pensions is why they are in trouble, that and the failure of government to make timely contributions.

I have an even better example. In the City of Bell, in California, a number of councilpersons and the City Administrator have all been charged with stealing. The City Administrator was going to receive, and may yet, one of the biggest pension payouts in state history. Currently, they are attempting to limit his pension payout. The guy is probably going to jail. He did not steal $170 million dollars. I have no respect for the man; but, should you get off easier because you stole more?

Donald Trump once said something that was very true, he said if you owed someone a thousand dollars it was your problem; but, if you owed them $100 million it was there problem, at least it was something very close to that. Here is my biggest problem with all of this, Mr. Broidy made a lot of money; but, his investments were in Israeli companies. Bribing government officials in the United States in order to make investments in foreign countries sounds like treason to me. It certainly does not sound like a misdemeanor deserving of no prison time.

I want to know why the story of Mr. Broidy has had so little coverage in the local media. I want to know why the media doesn't care to talk about how much is being stolen from public pensions. How about this, why didn't CalPers and the Los Angeles pension funds do a full and complete investigation into Mr. Broidy's activities with them? We are told to follow the money, why didn't the Los Angeles Times provide a listing of where all the public pension investments went under Mr. Broidy? I would think that tax payers might want to know that. Here is another question, why haven't these same organizations told us what the total return was on investments made to CIM Group? I have lots more questions. Why didn't anyone in the mainstream media ask these questions?

Have a great night and wonderful weekengs.

A Tough One - Headache Relief

This is a really tough post for me to make. Growing up I suffered from cluster headaches, I followed the pattern, started at 5 and stopped at about 30. They call cluster headaches, "suicide headaches" for a reason. I learned a lot about pain and self control from them. I also how to concentrate really hard. Whatever you think you understand about headaches, you don't unless you have lived with these. Migraines are bad; but, they don't call them suicide headaches.

How bad are they? Well, it took five years without experiencing before I stopped fearing they would come back and I don't scare easy. I have never given birth and don't know what it feels like. I have had a herniated intestine, I woke doubled over with my face covered in tears, it hurt a lot. I had tooth go bad on a trip and couldn't get a root canal for over a day, that hurt really bad. I have had frostbite and it is no fun. These headaches are different for three very important reasons, first their severity is extreme, second, they last a very long time. The worst reason is the third, you know you are going to have them again in a month or so. Imagine every month someone torturing you for a week and then saying, "See you next month". I lived in a house with five women, the pain is quite different.

Here is the dilemma. I no longer have cluster headaches, I get allergy headaches, stress headaches and just headaches; but, it is night and day. They have created a device that could have healed those headaches. Couldn't do anything for them when I was growing up, aspirin was a joke. The only thing that ever helped was self hypnosis and that only worked for so long. The device that can supposedly end them is a implant, a transhumanistic device and I don't believe in transhumanism or the melding of people with machines. I didn't have to make that choice because they didn't have anything for the headaches when I was growing up, so I can only talk about what I learned and why I would advise against getting the implant.

I thank my mother for helping me, by pushing me, to get over the unsocial tendencies of being autistic. Thanks mom. I thank my brother and sister for not making fun of my tics or stuttering, that helped me to conquer them, I never felt embarrassed by them. I thank my father for supporting me and teaching me the game. He was a brilliant and decent man. I have a great family. I thank my kids for teaching me forgiveness, I could never hate my kids. The headaches helped me to grow also. I absolutely would not be who I am if I had not lived through those years of crippling pain. If we can rise to a challenge, we can learn a lot. If we fail at a challenge, we can also learn about what our limits truly are and grow again.

I generally don't try and forget my past, I actually try and get the story straight in my head. I chose to forget the headaches. It is one of two pains that I wish to never remember. The other is a secret, shhhhhh. We are quickly coming to a place where we can stop all pain. It is a dangerous place, it a place where we stop growing, where we stop learning to overcome and where we rely on others for how we cope with the world. What does the song say? "The pain you left behind, has become, has become part of me". If someone asked me, I would advise against taking the implant and teach them self-hypnosis. Here is the article.

Yahoo News - A remote-controlled device to stop severe headache pain. By the way, if they were seriously considering suicide, I would tell them to take the implant, there is never a good enough reason to kill yourself and I lived with these headaches too.

Something to Make You Smile

I thought I might post some fun stuff.

YouTube - Isaac's Live Lip-Dub Proposal. I think this is just as charming as can be and the lady in red is very attractive. Still, the best part is the ladies reaction to what is going on in front of her.

YouTube - frank sinatra the way you look tonight

YouTube - Whose Line: Scenes From A Hat (Special Edition)

YouTube - Impersonations by Kevin Spacey (Full Video)

YouTube - Britain's Got Talent - Madonna Decena - Audition.

YouTube - Homeless Boy Steals The Talent Show

NOT DATING - Give me a rest and two articles

Dearest readers, today I spoke to my ex-brother in law. He is a very nice man and I have known him since he was a kid. I am very proud of his accomplishments in life and have enjoyed knowing him. He has been out of country for many years. We were making dinner arrangements, just to see each other again. And for those of you who might question my actions, I made sure my ex-wife was okay with it first.

Obviously, he does love his sister, my ex-wife. That is why I made sure she was okay with it. I believe it is disrespectful to do otherwise. My ex-wife did me wrong, that is true; but, her family is her family and I respect that relationship. I love my ex-mother in law and I am very pleased to say that I know that she still loves me. My ex-mother in law was there for me when my mother died, I am one of the few people she would loan money to, we have a lot of history. My mother in law invited me into her house, where my ex-wife lives, on more than one Christmas as I dropped off on of my daughters, I declined because I did not wish to invade my ex-wife's living space. My mother in law came out and talked to me outside. I cannot say that my ex-wife's family hates me, perhaps one of them; but, even that I doubt.

I take forever to get the point, don't I? Just writing points does not make a very good post. LOL. So, my brother in law and I talked a little. He told me I should dating more. LOL. I am sorry, your sister left me for another man and he thinks I should be dating. For some reason I found this amusing, he wants me to be in a good relationship. What a very strange life I lead. I DON'T WANT TO DATE. I hope that is clear. I told this to a housemate and he said I should call up a very particular woman who holds a Top Secret clearance and I had dated. A lovely and very sweet younger lady. I DON'T WANT TO DATE. I like my free time, I like writing and reading and being a hermit, it is all good with me. I don't want to report what my plans are, I don't want to have to places at certain times, I cannot do it anymore. Still, it was nice to know he cared, I will feed him well.

Now, to the news. Three articles and I leave it to my readers to figure them out, I think I explained enough in my last post for you to understand what they wrote today.

Yahoo - Bloomberg Business Week - Soon You Can Flee Your Underwater Home. But It Will Cost You

Yahoo - Reuters - Fed keeps stimulus in place as U.S. economy "paused"

Yahoo - CNBC - Is the Refi 'Apocalypse' Really Upon Us?

Pimpernel the Hermit, news and thoughts.

It has been pretty non-stop for the past month. Yesterday alone was a bit much, lots of talking and finding out that another friend has passed away. I decided I needed a time out, a day of silence. The world is becoming noisier and more frantic, people seek out constant amusement and information; but, take less and less time to think about the world around them.

For most of us, our daily life is pretty routine. We wake up, eat breakfast, possibly catch some news and go off to work. In the United States most of us work in offices or in the service industries because we have destroyed our manufacturing base. 8 hours behind a desk or providing whatever service we do. The day ends and we head off to see our spouse who was being doing the same or we return to our living spaces. For many today that is renting a room in someone else's house. We get home and watch television reality shows or play video games. Then we go to bed and do the same the following day unless it is a weekend.

The weekends that we all look forward to are spent by many watching sports on television. For many there is the week vacation that they take wherever. The truth is that most are okay with the way things are and never expect it to change. In many other countries it is even worse, 14 hour days in a Chinese factory where you are limited to 3 minute bathroom breaks and they live in little compounds, well, not that little, just lots of people in them.

A few people escape this and become rich or famous or just chuck it all. All of this leads to a life pace that burns you out eventually. People spend their free time attempting to escape their life, a temporary reprieve from the drudgery. I believe this is why most people don't really understand what is going on in the world or even how the world really works.

The question is why do we accept this situation? Not all do, the Occupy movement showed that and that is why it was so severely reacted to. The same is true for the Hippie movement of the 60's. I believe we accept it because people seek conformity and peace more than anything else, they seek to not be disturbed. This is the same reason most reject the truth of where we are headed as a world and certainly as a nation.

As I was writing this, I stepped out into my living room to get some orange juice from the kitchen. The television was on and there was Lady Gaga singing "Born this way". Charming video with her made up to look like a corpse as she made out with another person also made to look like a corpse. The imagery that we expose our children to on a daily basis is unhealthy and also dumbs them down.

The articles and things I post here and the views I express are matters of concern, they are of things that will effect our lives and determine what our future society will look like and the outlook is grim in many ways and will be openly embraced by most. I was talking to a couple of people yesterday, first time meeting them, it was about business. My assistant needed to get some information on something so the rest of us left to get some coffee. We ended up chatting about some things, things I have written about here in the past. The big lie because the big truth is unsettling and forces us to reconsider all we have been taught and told about the world.

There is an incredibly big change coming, a change to the world's financial system, all of them. China is now talking about issuing gold backed currencies. If this were to occur the dollar would crumble and even Americans would be seeking to buy the Gold backed Yuan. I don't see that happening, the world will not go to a gold standard. It makes no sense, has no intrinsic value and doesn't work well in an electronic currency environment.

In Europe they have what is called a Value Added Tax. In simplest terms as a product is being made it begins as raw material (iron ore), is increased in value as it is turned into metal which can then be used to make a car. At each point in the process it is taxed based on the value added to the material. The same can be done for wages or revenue, you could set up a system that pays people based on how much value they have added. Most of us contribute little to our product, primarily because most products today require so many steps in their creation. Just think about all the steps and all the efforts that go into creating a simple cell phone.

Now is the part that you have to understand if you are understand why the world's economies are failing. In the financial sector, people are rewarded on how much take out of the system and not how much they contribute to it. This has led to the destruction of our business model. The people that run the businesses now are financial people and not business people. They are rewarded for manipulating the value of the stock and not for what they produce. Nowhere was this truer than with the big auto companies. GM ceased caring about cars because they made more money on financing loans than in producing cars. GM was not bailed out because it couldn't sell cars, it was bailed out because it lost money in bad loans and risky investments.

Now, here is a video of Dr. Paul Craig Roberts, he had been an Assistant Secretary of the Treasury under Ronald Reagan. In this video he is discussing how the dollar is going to collapse. YouTube - Dr. Paul Craig Roberts: America is Going to Crash Big Time. Scary stuff if you believe him and hardly really discussed in the mainstream media. While I completely disagree with him on gold, long term, I understand where he is coming from.

The currencies are going to collapse and anyone who really pays attention to these things, as does Dr. Roberts, knows it. Many think that Wall Street is doing well and that the value of the stocks is increasing, it is not, that value of your dollar is going down, we call this inflation. It takes more dollars to buy the exact same thing. The inflation is hidden to most and does not appear in our Gross Domestic Product because the houses are worth less. One product lost it's value because the worth was never actually there. When viewed on a national scale, the loss in value is more than the TARP bill cost (around $800 billion) and the stimulus cost (around a trillion). It is an economic shell game. A false picture of our Gross Domestic Product. It is the reason that the Federal Reserve is buying the bad mortgages, to hide the truth. Let me explain what has happened and how the game works.

All the mortgages were packaged along with other debts into what we call derivatives. Imagine me selling you my mortgage, car loan and personal loan at the bank. The thing is you have to buy them as a group, you cannot just buy one. The pundits and news readers tell you that these are very complicated financial instruments, they are not, pretty simple actually. Now, your mortgage was valued when placed in these transactions; but, they were valued at a time that your house was worth twice what it is not and based upon the assumption that you would pay them for 30 years. The valuation has not changed and doesn't as far as the derivative is concerned. As we all know, loans have different pay off periods, it could be for two, twenty or thirty years or whatever. When the derivatives were put together this would have been calculated and an actuarial table would be made showing what they could be expected to generate each year. Because you would expect the smaller loans to pay off earlier, the derivative would be weighted to pay more in the first few years, with the total value still based on the original valuation of the houses keeping the overall value up. If those houses get foreclosed on then the valuation of the house is reset based on it's payoff amount or what the bank ends up reselling the house for. In other words the loss the holder of the derivative faces only comes when if the house is sold; but, here is the coming game. The houses won't be sold, the Fed and the government will rent them out thereby never showing the loss.

This has two effects, firstly, the length of the derivatives life is lengthened. Rather than expecting to be paid over 30 years, the holder can now be paid indefinitely. Because the government owns 80% of all mortgages it shows as part of our Gross Domestic Product and as a revenue source for the government, same is true for the Federal Reserve. Now, I have just broken down in a few paragraphs a lot of what is going on and in simple terms; but, how many will bother reading them all? What is the attention span of the average person now and how much do they really care about what is truly changing and will effect your children's lives and the future of this country and this world?

Sorry, I was interrupted with a phone call. I lost my train of thought; but, this may have been enough for one night.