Dazed and Confused

I've learned much over the years by studying the martial arts. Among the notable qualities of Oriental philospohies is the inner peace gained through discipline and strategem. While Tsung Tzu
wrote these words to impart wisdom about war, such strategem also applies to strading the markets.
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SUN-TZU: THE PRINCIPLES OF WARFARE
"THE ART OF WAR"
Chapter One: Calculations
Sun-tzu said:

Warfare is a great matter to a nation;
it is the ground of death and of life;
it is the way of survival and of destruction, and must be examined. ?
Therefore, go through it by means of five factors;
compare them by means of calculation, and determine their statuses:
One, Way, two, Heaven, three, Ground, four, General, five, Law. ?
The Way is what causes the people to have the same thinking as their superiors;
they may be given death, or they may be given life, but there is no fear of danger and betrayal. ?
Heaven is dark and light, cold and hot, and the seasonal constraints.
Ground is high and low, far and near, obstructed and easy, wide and narrow, and dangerous and safe. ?
General is wisdom, credibility, benevolence, courage, and discipline. ?
Law is organization, the chain of command, logistics, and the control of expenses. ?

All these five no general has not heard;
one who knows them is victorious, one who does not know them is not victorious. ?
Therefore, compare them by means of calculation, and determine their statuses. ?
Ask:
Which ruler has the Way,
which general has the ability,
which has gained Heaven and Ground,
which carried out Law and commands,
which army is strong,
which officers and soldiers are trained,
which reward and punish clearly,
by means of these, I know victory and defeat! ?
A general who listens to my calculations, and uses them, will surely be victorious, keep him;

a general who does not listen to my calculations, and does not use them, will surely be defeated, remove him. ?
Calculate advantages by means of what was heard, then create force in order to assist outside missions. ?
Force is the control of the balance of power, in accordance with advantages. ?
Warfare is the Way of deception. ?
Therefore, if able, appear unable,
if active, appear not active,
if near, appear far,
if far, appear near. ?
If they have advantage, entice them;
if they are confused, take them,
if they are substantial, prepare for them,

if they are strong, avoid them,
if they are angry, disturb them,
if they are humble, make them haughty,
if they are relaxed, toil them,
if they are united, separate them. ?
Attack where they are not prepared, go out to where they do not expect. ?
This specialized warfare leads to victory, and may not be transmitted beforehand. ?
Before doing battle, in the temple one calculates and will win, because many calculations were made;
before doing battle, in the temple one calculates and will not win, because few calculations were made; ?
many calculations, victory, few calculations, no victory, then how much less so when no calculations?
By means of these, I can observe them, beholding victory or defeat! ?

"Whatever the press or public says is the market consensus, do the opposite...."

Jesse Livermore

Jesse Livermore, though he died over forty years ago, is still known today as one of the most colorful, flamboyant and respected market speculators of all time. Known by such epithets such as Boy Plunger, the Great Bear, The Wall Street Wonder and the Cotton King, Livermore both made, and subsequently lost, four multi-million dollar fortunes during his career as a speculator, which spanned three decades.

The man who was blamed for the 1929 crash and for precipitating in every market break from 1917 to 1940.

For the reader who is fascinated, as I always have been, with the life of Jesse Livermore, the King of the Speculators, I whole heartedly recommend that you read through the most sought after and best selling book ever written on the stock market,

"Reminiscences of a Stock Operator."

Read about Live�s rise from no-where to gain his reputation as the best speculator in ever. Read how he made and agonizingly loses his multi-million dollar fortunes, time and time again.

Ever thought where such stock market wisdoms such as:

"Fear your losses and let your profits run"

"It was never my thinking that made me money but my sitting tight"

"Markets are never wrong, opinions are"

Came from? The man himself. Read and engrave these quotes into your mind if you want to survive as a trader!

As great a speculator as Livermore was I think the greatest education one can take from this book is realize it doesn�t matter how much money you make in the markets it�s the keeping hold of it that is important. Livermore never quite grasped this part.

In my mind, Darvas was every bit as good as Livermore in making money but much more importantly Darvas realized the importance of holding onto those gains in difficult market conditions.

Another work which is available is Livermore�s 1940 classic, "How to Trade Stocks". This is his legacy to the speculator for all time, in which he states his philosophy of trading and lays down some ground rules. Rules he himself struggled to follow.

War. pestilence and inflation are typically very positve things for those of us in the trading industry. All of the above mean one thing for traders...market volatility. Such conditions mean that not a few of us will retire early.

With that in mind, the CRB, propelled by oil proces hit a 20 year high last week. Higher copper prices means more construction and industrial activity.

Grain prices are even on the rise.....conucopia??????

In 1999 former University of Chicago professor Robert Mundell (now at Columbia) won the Nobel prize in Economics for his work in currency pricing, notably that he pioneered the concept of IS/LM curves. Most students of Economics will remember the Mundell-Fleming model.

Also, Mundell has been called "The Father of the Euro". Through elimination of barriers to trade in the form of multiple taxation agencies and through the elimination of currency translation, per capital gross domestic product in the Euro Zone would be substantatially increased he posited. This definitely has been the case.

It is also possible that North America could ultimately benefit from such a relationship with our repsective neighbors. Currency translation costs US consumers billions.

Certainly we have substantial immigration issues to deal with and we must secure BOTH borders.
But there is no reason that a Topeka, Kansas citizen needs to pay for the leads and lags involved in Peso/USD$ conversion.

Moreover, that Portugal and Germany have combined their currencies (and successfully) shows this to be the case. The two countries had WILDLY different monetary and fiscal policies. As costs of trade have been substantially reduced, German consumers can buy portgueses goods more cheaply and producers in Portugal can now pay their workers more (GIVING THE PORTGUESE LESS INCENTIVE TO WANT TO RELOCATE TO GERMANY!).

Yesterday I touched upon whether or not the Canadian Health Care system ultimately provides
a more equitable distribution though quotas to the Canadian population. It has been shown that
the system is now breaking down. This is incredible because the population of Canada is actually less than a few states combined, i.e., it is small on population.

But what about a society that taxes its citizens upwards of 48%...as compared to the more capitalistic United States to the south? Listening to some Canadians, one would think Marx was the greatest thing since white sliced bread.
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I think the following article makes some inetesting points:
http://www.namyth.com/SocialismWORKS!/index.php?sw=Canada
Canada:

"One Really Just Society - No, Really!"
Canada’s policy of trying to create a Just Society has been great for the working class Canadian. Canada has created for herself one of the strongest social safety nets in the world that ensures that no one suffers. Canada’s world renowned health-care system is also source of pride for all Canadians because of the satisfaction of knowing that everyone receives equal treatment, no matter how much money they make. It is efficient and provides excellent service to everyone and does not even punish people with user fees.

The Canadian economy is a vibrant one which encourages the best and brightest to come to Canada to work, and the redistribution of wealth is a fair system between the provinces that has helped every area of the nation develop to its fullest potential. Workers in Canada also benefit from a government which actively supports labour unions.

Canadians should also be proud that their justice system values the concept of rehabilitation and human rights. On the issue of human rights, Canada boasts an exemplary Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Overall, Canada is one of the world’s strongest democracies with an accountable government that is a voice for all Canadians, rich or poor.

Canada - Just another example of how Socialism WORKS!

But does it really work?

Just Society:
Pierre Trudeau started the Canadian cause for a society where no one "should be entitled to superflous or luxury goods until the essentials of life are made available to everyone", which set the tone for modern day Canada, in spite of the policy's devastatingly Socialistic after-effects.

one of the strongest social safety nets in the world:
Welfare is widely defrauded by citizens as well as new immigrants, with hard-working Canadian citizens paying for every cent. While certain provinces, such as Ontario, have taken steps to eradicate fraud (and to get capable workers back into the workforce), these policies have been widely criticized as “violations of human rights.” As it stands right now, a person fully capable of working can remain on welfare for their entire life, if they so choose.

efficient and provides excellent service to everyone:
The inefficiency of government control has resulted in outrageous waiting lists for services such as cancer treatment. Waiting lists for cancer treatment are considerably longer than the American average and “the times are also longer than what radiation oncologists consider to be the medically acceptable maximum” (Fraser Institute). Furthermore, in 1999, over 120 people were removed from the coronary by-pass surgery waiting list in Ontario because they had been on it so long, they were so unhealthy that they would not survive the surgery anyway. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has also ranked Canada low for the availability of MRI and CT scanners although Canada ranked fifth for health care costs. Similar problems plague almost every area of the system.

user fees:
The majority of Canadians choose to believe that more government funding is the answer to health care problems. Most Canadians refuse to even entertain the idea of user fees, which even Sweden has implemented as part of the answer to dealing with patients who go to the doctor for every sniffle or cough.

Canadian economy:
The Canadian rate of productivity, which is directly connected to the standard of living in a nation, continues to slow, particularly in comparison to the United States. The high Canadian tax rate discourages business growth and investment and our high level of debt (which owes great thanks to Trudeau’s massive expansion of social services in 1970’s) has contributed to the low value of the Canadian dollar.

best and brightest to come to Canada to work:
The chief executive of one of Canada’s top high-tech companies said it best when he said, “we sure have not created an economic climate to keep our top talent ... and wealth creators here for the coming century” (John Roth, CEO of Nortel). The low value of the Canadian dollar, the ability of American companies to adequately pay for highly-skilled workers, and the high rate of taxation has led to a “brain drain.” As Roth said, “the top marginal tax rate in the United States just moved from $283,000 to $285,000. Canada's top rate starts at $65,000 Canadian, or $42,000 U.S. So in Canada, you are wealthy at $42,000 U.S. In America, you're wealthy at $285,000 U.S."

redistribution of wealth:
Hardly a fair system. The provinces of Ontario and Alberta are the only net contributors to the economy of the country and are punished for this by having their wealth taken. Despite being morally wrong, this system of “taking from the rich to give to the poor” is rife with flaws. A family in Alberta with a household income of $30,000 - $40,000 will pay out over $3000 for equalization payments, while a family in the province of Newfoundland which has a household income of over $100,000 will receive over a $1000 in benefits. Furthermore, these equalization payments have not led to economic development in the areas receiving them, ensuring that the system will never end.

supports labour unions:
Canadian law has given labour unions the right to force people to join as a condition of employment, in violation of the right to freedom of association.

the concept of rehabilitation and human rights:
There is no system of consecutive sentencing in Canada, resulting in such recent cases as the five year sentence given to a man who had a large role in the 1985 Air India bombing which killed 329 people. Many Canadian police officers have become frustrated as people convicted of such crimes as break and enter are routinely let off with light probation.

Charter of Rights and Freedoms:
While the Charter seems to defend such basic rights as “freedom of expression,” its preamble enshrines religious values (“Whereas Canada is founded upon principles that recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of law”) rather than a separation of church and state which any free nation should have. This allows for the continued public funding of Catholic schools, which even the UN has declared is a violation of civil rights.

More important, Section 33 of the Charter has the infamous “notwithstanding clause” which allows for any provincial government to violate fundamental freedoms if they pass an act of Parliament. This has most famously occurred in Quebec to violate the rights of non-Francophones.

world’s strongest democracies with an accountable government:
There is no limit to how long any Canadian politician, including the prime minister, can stay in power. The British-style Parliamentary system allows for a party to form a majority with only 40% of the popular vote. Furthermore, the West in particular does not get an adequate vote, a problem which had contributed to the Western Separation movement. In addition, Jean Chretien’s ‘reign’ as Prime Minister has been marked by patronage appointments, scandal and corruption, in which billions of dollars have been misappropriated. He has centralized the power of Parliament within the Prime Minister’s Office and maintains strict controls over his fellow Liberal Party members to prevent dissent. Amongst the critics of his government, he has been called “The Friendly Dictator.” Even the leader of the Canadian citizen’s group Democracy Watch, who has co-written a book with ultra-socialist Ralph Nader, does not consider Canada a democracy any longer due to the centralization of power.

So, my cousins and friends from Canada always seem to gloat over the health care up there.
I take special interest in Canada's affairs, since my mom comes from Alberta. In any case...
not only did Uncle Harry's stateside heart operation speak volumes otherwise (queued),
but now there is documentation on average to back up the conjecture that collective medicine
in Canada is certainly not superior....to that found stateside.

From Neil Steinberg's column, Chicago Sun Times, 3/21/05

Canada always a good laugh

But enough disturbing news. Why focus on it? Particularly when there is good news, truly joyful news. The Associated Press moved a story this weekend that I am savoring, hugging like a beloved teddy bear, rolling around in my mouth like a delicious sweet.

The headline is "Canadians Face Long Waits for Health Care." Perhaps that doesn't thrill you -- then you must not work with Canadians. I do, and I'll tell you, while they are fine people in many regards -- far finer than myself, they'd be quick to point out -- they do have a certain myopia when it comes to their wonderland to the north. Just let somebody be shot in Chicago, let a particular American grossness catch public attention -- McDonald's announcing, for instance, that its soft drinks will come in four sizes, Large, Very Large, Super Large and The Pail -- and their lips will curl in what I've come to term the Canadian Sneer.

"You have to understand, I'm Canadian. . ." they might begin, before immediately giving up with a shiver and a shake of the head, as if their boggled contempt at the crassness, violence and inadequacy of American life is just too much for words.

But on to the story. The vaunted free socialized medicine in Canada, whose cheap drugs we clamor for, has a catch. You can't get it. Years can go by. Teenagers with torn knees face a three-year wait for surgery. A letter from a hospital to a heart patient, informing them of a three-month delay for an electrocardiogram, adds: "If the person named on this computer-generated letter is deceased, please accept our sincere apologies."

The average wait for an operation has doubled over the past 10 years -- to 41/2 months. Doctors are being laid off, the system is going broke, and the average Canadian pays 48 percent of his annual income in taxes.

Or perhaps I'm viewing this with typical American aggressiveness. I should see this as a bond, a point of commonality. A heritage both nations share: inadequate health coverage. Because whether you don't get the health care that you need because you aren't insured, or because the system is overwhelmed, the result is the same. Brothers after all!

Executed May 10, 1994 by Lethal Injection in Illinois


In 1978 I found out that two kids I had attended my high school with were found in the basement
of John Wayne Gacy's house on the NW side of Chicago. He was given a lethal injection. he was given plenty of sedatives and drugs to make him comfortable before the lethal injection was given. The process took less than 15 minutes.

Terry Schiavo, who may feel pain (we don't know), had her feeding tube removed, at the behest of her husband, a man who collected 1.2 million dollars from a malpractice insurance settlement. He has two children by another woman. He refuses to get a detailed analysis on Schiavo's current state.

Fair ? No, it is bullshit and immoral. You decide who "deserves" the painful death: Schiavo or Gacy. Schiavo's only crime was to have heart failure. It may take up to two weeks to slowly make her die of dehydration.



Doctor describes process of dehydration

"What will probably kill Terri is dehydration because it's much quicker than starvation," Stevens said. "To starve to death takes eight to 12 weeks. You can die of dehydration in anywhere from three to five days to two weeks."



Initial effects of the lack of hydration will include:

Extreme thirst;
Nausea and cramping;
Dry skin, becoming wrinkled as fluids are drawn from the skin to hydrate the organs.

"She's likely to become dizzy and begin to have cramping in her arms and legs. That's because her electrolytes, her sodium, potassium and other electrolytes in her blood start getting out of whack because of lack of fluids."

Terri's body will experience other effects due to the forced dehydration that many might not have been considered.

"She'll see decreased secretions. If she tries to cry, she won't be able to make tears very well, if at all," Stevens said. "Her mouth will become dry and saliva thick. You can have cracking of the [mucous membranes] of the mouth and lips as they dry out."

Those external symptoms of dehydration are accompanied by internal effects, as well.

"People often get headaches, then [become] lethargic and finally go into coma," Stevens continued. "It actually can cause seizures.

"As it progressively gets worse, what happens [are] the physical signs. Her blood pressure will drop, her heart rate will pick up. She'll actually, ultimately go into shock," Stevens explained. "You just don't have enough fluid to keep your blood pressure up, and it drops so low, and that sometimes can be a terminal event, or an arrhythmia of her heart.

"Her blood will get thicker," Stevens continued. "Sometimes, people who are severely dehydrated will actually have strokes just because the blood gets so thick that it clots. It's not a pretty picture."

Which of these symptoms Terri experiences and to what degree will depend on whether the hospice staff makes any attempt to hydrate her by mouth and whether she is offered any pain medication.

"If they sedate her, she could be semi-conscious or unconscious while this is going on," Stevens said. "It's not a very pleasant experience, unlike what the Hemlock Society and other groups try to make you believe."

Stevens explained that he had "had a little bit of experience" in this particular field "since I worked in Africa for 11 years with severely dehydrated people, especially kids."

Starvation, Stevens said, is not really an issue for Terri.

"It's a long process that, depending on what condition people are in when it begins, determines how long it's going to take," Stevens said. "But if you're not getting fluids, it's academic interest. Before you starve to death, you'll die of dehydration."



From:
http://www.clarkprosecutor.org/html/death/US/gacy237.htm
Death Count

On Friday, December 22, 1978, Gacy finally confessed to police that he killed at least thirty people and buried most of the remains of the victims beneath the crawl space of his house. According to the book Killer Clown: The John Wayne Gacy Murders by Sullivan and Maiken, Gacy said that, "his first killing took place in January, 1972, and the second in January, 1974, about a year and a half after his marriage." He further confessed that he would lure his victims into being handcuffed and then he would sexually assault them. To muffle the screams of his victims, he would stuff a sock or underwear into their mouths and kill them by pulling a rope or board against their throats, as he raped them. Gacy admitted to sometimes keeping the dead bodies under his bed or in the attic for several hours before eventually burying them in the crawl space.

On the first day that the police began their digging, they found two bodies. One of the bodies was that of John Butkovich who was buried under the garage. The other body was the one found in the crawl space. As the days passed, the body count grew higher. Some of the victims were found with their underwear still lodged deep in their throats. Other victims were buried so close together that police believed they were probably killed or buried at the same time. Gacy did confirm to police that he had on several occasions killed more than one person in a day. However, the reason he gave for them being buried so close together was that he was running out of room and needed to conserve space.

On the 28th of December, police had removed a total of twenty-seven bodies from Gacy’s house. There was also another body found weeks earlier, yet it was not in the crawl space. The naked corpse of Frank Wayne "Dale" Landingin was found in the Des Plaines River. At the time of the discovery police were not yet aware of Gacy’s horrible crimes and the case was still under investigation. But, investigators found Landingin’s driver’s license in Gacy’s home and connected him to the young mans murder. Landingin was not the only one of Gacy’s victims to be found in the river.

Also, on December 28th, police removed from the Des Plaines River the body of James "Mojo" Mazzara, who still had his underwear lodged in his throat. The coroner said that the underwear stuffed down the victim's throat had caused Mazzara to suffocate. Gacy told police that the reason he disposed of the bodies in the river was because he ran out of room in his crawl space and because he had been experiencing back problems from digging the graves. Mazzara was the twenty-ninth victim of Gacy’s to be found, yet it would not be the last.

By the end of February, police were still digging up Gacy’s property. They had already gutted the house and were unable to find anymore bodies in the crawl space. It had taken investigators longer than expected to resume the search due to bad winter storms that froze the ground and the long process of obtaining proper search warrants. However, they believed there were still more bodies to be found and they were right. While workmen were breaking up the concrete of Gacy’s patio, they came across another horrific discovery. They found the body of a man still in good condition preserved in the concrete. The man wore a pair of blue jeans shorts and a wedding ring. Gacy’s victims no longer included just young boys or suspected homosexuals, but now also married men. The following week another body was discovered.

The thirty-first body to be found linked to Gacy was in the Illinois River. Investigators were able to discover the identity of the young man by a "Tim Lee" tattoo on one of his arms. A friend of the victim's father had recognized the "Tim Lee" tattoo while reading a newspaper story about the discovery of a body in the river. The victim's name was Timothy O’Rourke, who was said to be such a fan of Bruce Lee’s that he took the Kung Fu master's last name and added it to his own name in his tattoo. It is possible that Gacy had become aquatinted with the young man in one of the gay bars in New Town.

Yet, another body was found on Gacy’s property around the time O’Rourke was discovered and pulled from the river. The body was located beneath the recreation room of Gacy’s house. It would be the last body to be found on Gacy’s property. Soon after the discovery, the house was destroyed and reduced to rubble. Unfortunately, among the thirty-two bodies that were discovered that of Robert Piest was still unaccounted for. Piest was still missing.

Finally in April 1979, the remains of Robert Piest were discovered in the Illinois River. His body had supposedly been lodged somewhere along the river making it difficult to find his body. However, strong winds must have dislodged the corpse and carried it to the locks at Dresden Dam where it was eventually discovered. Autopsy reports on Piest determined that he had suffocated from paper towels being lodged down his throat. The family soon after filed a $85-million suit against Gacy for murder and the Iowa Board of Parole, the Department of Corrections and the Chicago Police Department for negligence. Police investigators continued to match dental records and other clues to help identify the remaining victims who were found on Gacy’s property. All but nine of the victims were finally identified. Although the search for the dead had finally come to an end, Gacy’s trial was just beginning.

During a review of the items confiscated from Gacy’s house, investigators soon realized that they had unknowingly seized a piece of critical evidence. One of the rings found at Gacy’s house belonged to another teenager who had disappeared a year earlier. With this new information, investigators began to realize the possible enormity of the case that was unfolding before them. Following the discovery of their new information, it was not long before investigators were able to obtain a second search warrant for Gacy’s home.

On Dec. 22, 1978, Gacy, realizing that his dark secrets were about to be exposed, confessed to police, telling them that he had murdered approximately 33 young men over the past seven years. He also drew them a detailed map to the locations of 28 shallow graves under his house and garage. Further he admitted to dumping five others into the Des Plaines River. Gacy told detectives, "There are four Johns." He later explained that there was John the contractor, John the clown, and John the politician. The fourth person went by the name of Jack Hanley. Jack was the killer and did all the evil things.

Gacy’s murder trial began Feb. 6, 1980, in the Cook County Criminal Courts Building in Chicago. During the five-week trial the prosecution and the defense called more than 100 witnesses to testify. The defense strategy was to establish that Gacy was insane and out of control at the time of the killings. To bolster this claim the defense put on the stand psychiatrists who had interviewed Gacy prior to trial. After the closing arguments, the jury deliberated for only two hours before finding Gacy guilty of murdering 33 people.

On March 13, 1980, Gacy was sentenced to die. Gacy was transported to Menard Correctional Center in Illinois. He would remain there for just over 14 years until he was transported to the Statesville Penitentiary near Joliet for execution.

On May 9, 1994, Gacy sat down for his last meal: fried chicken, French fries, Coke and strawberry shortcake. Prison officials later described his demeanor as "chatty . . . talking up a storm." In a phone interview shortly before his execution, he told a Knight-Tribune reporter, "There's been 11 hardback books on me, 31 paperbacks, two screenplays, one movie, one off-Broadway play, five songs, and over 5,000 articles. What can I say about it?" But of course, he quickly protested, "I have no ego for any of this garbage."

Just after midnight on May 10, 1994, Gacy was executed by lethal injection. For his last words, Gacy snarled, ''Kiss my ass.''