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THE LIFE-LONG CHALLENGE OF DIFFERENTIATING BETWEEN TRUTH, PARADIGMS, TRUISMS, AND PLAIN LIES
Your paradigm is so intrinsic to your mental process that you are hardly aware of its existence, until you try to communicate with someone with a different paradigm.
By Donella Meadows
Dear Mountaineers,
Things are not always what they seem; the first appearance can be deceiving; and, matters accepted as factual realities all our life may in fact not stand the test of simple logic when questioned properly by someone with another point of view. This is a reality we all have to live with and do our best to deal with honestly and openly. It´s one of the great challenges in life. It requires a flexible mind and mindset. And at times, it requires your admitting to be wrong.
We are all molded by the information kit we are fed as we grow up and as we grow old. And, unless we actively take the effort and find the energy to question all the commonly shared "truisms", the spoon-fed "facts" of others, the things that "everyone knows" and that all take for granted, we are easy prey for those in possession of the means for mass propaganda.
As George Bernard Shaw once stated, "The moment we want to believe something, we suddenly see all the arguments for it, and become blind to the arguments against it." We are all guilty of this sort of skewed perception and complacency. It is hard work to keep asking and SECOND-GUESSING. But, it is important to keep at it all the same!
I like the term ‘second-guessing´, because, ultimately, an educated guess is all we will generally be able to achieve. This certainly applies to financial markets and investing, as it applies to life in general.
This past year, we have certainly been fed with A LOT OF PROPAGANDA worth second-guessing:
• Everyone seems to take for granted that money equals wealth...
• Most believe that central banks and governments are working feverishly to protect us all...
• A considerable part of humanity has pretty much accepted the necessity of mass vaccinations against the Swine Flu and other diseases. They appear to think that the pharmaceutical companies and their side-kicks act fully in the interest of our health...
• The media is currently full of demands for more government "protection": "We need more and stricter regulation. And regulators need to be given more power to ensure that another financial crisis is avoided." They really think that is what we need. And, they are convinced it will work...
• Another frequently heard piece of ‘wisdom´: Capitalism has failed...
• Oh yes, it is clear to most that natural, unprocessed milk is unhealthy, if not even life-threatening...
• etc. etc. etc.
As we move toward the surely very interesting year of 2010, I would like to invite all Mountaineers to second-guess the common "wisdom" above. If you are fully committed to any of these viewpoints, I challenge you to step back and reconsider. Chances are that you are falling prey to the steady beat of that global propaganda machine.
Of course, it could be me that is on the wrong side of the story. Possibly, your Mountain Guides and Sherpas have it all wrong. Maybe, but at least we can credit ourselves with continuously probing and questioning. Over the years, we have worked at second-guessing and at keeping you in tune with our somewhat different, not-so-mainstream perspectives. I hope you have enjoyed it and I look forward to continuing the process with you in the New Year.
Over the next few weeks, however, your Mountain Vision team will be taking a break. It´s time to focus on the most important matters in life and spend time with our families, friends and loved ones.
I sincerely hope you get to do the same and, in the name of the entire Mountain Vision and BFI crew, I wish you a blessed, reflective and loving Christmas Season!
Sincerely,
Your "Swiss Mountain Guide"
Frank R. Suess |
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MAGNIFICENT OBSESSION: HELPING ASIAN ORPHANS AND STREET CHILDREN
"There are some good, positive, uplifting, and inspiring developments happening in the world today. This writer (and his wife Molly) is involved in one such endeavour - the support of 360 Asian orphans and street children in five orphanages in the Philippines, Indonesia, and India. Our kids are orphaned (with no parents); or are from impoverished families in small rural villages; or have lived on the streets of large Asian cities - scrounging from garbage cans, stealing to buy a bit of bread or rise, beaten by police, and in more than a few instances selling their bodies sexually in order to survive."
In the true spirit of Christmas, this was written by our good friend Don McAlvany in one of his recent newsletters. He shares his passion of helping orphans and street children in Asia. We experienced his, and his family´s passion and dedication to these children and the orphanages they grow up in first-hand. It´s real. And it´s good.
In our meetings with clients and Mountain Vision subscribers, we regularly discuss the topic of philanthropy. We are regularly asked for suggestions. Here is one that we can fully recommend and do support ourselves. Don´s Asian Pacific Children´s Fund is a beautiful example of love and Christian service.
I invite our Mountain Vision subscribers to consider giving to Don´s cause. Those of you who have read Greg Mortensen´s "Three Cups of Tea" should be inspired to seek and support those rare cases of sincere and effective philanthropic action.
Philanthropic service, in our opinion, is a very personal matter and one that is best accomplished by personal engagement at the very specific and micro level. Often, it should start in your daily lives, your neighbourhood, and your family. However, selective financial support for people and organizations that are truly dedicated to helping - not on creating big administrations and posh offices - is a wonderful thing.
To learn more the Asian Pacific Children´s Fund, we recommend you go to their website and watch some of the online videos at the following link: Asian Pacific Children´s Fund Videos. |
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NEWS BRIEFS
Oil vs. Gold: An Evaluation of Peak Oil Theory and Investment Perspectives on Oil and Gold
Ron Holland wrote an excellent and concise white paper for the Daily Bell. He reviews the pros and cons of the oil peak theory and the related investment story for oil. His conclusion appears objective and solid:
„It is popular these days to conclude that increasingly scarce oil and oil by-products constitute a store of value that will appreciate far beyond gold and silver. The conclusion of this White Paper would be that such an assumption is untested historically and not necessarily valid.
„In fact, as we have seen above, gold and silver have been stores of value for thousands of years and have maintained their value even in the face of worldwide government attacks."
Go to Story
Why Switzerland Has the Lowest Crime Rate in the World
We were surprised by the very positive response that we received from our Mountaineers in reaction to Frank´s recent article on minarets in Switzerland. We were also surprised by how little many of our international subscribers and clients actually know about Switzerland. It seems that, just like Germans, Italians, French or American, we too falsely believed that we were the center of the universe. We expected our Mountaineers to know all about direct democracy in Switzerland, our government system, neutrality, and all the rest.
Well, we now painfully realize that Switzerland is a small country smack in the middle of Europe that most will dump into the same bucket with the rest of Europe. They might only recognize us for being special with regard to our watches, chocolate and banks. That is unacceptable and needs to be changed!
Therefore, over the coming year, we will be sharing some unique aspects about Switzerland with you. And, we´re starting today: The YouTube video linked below will introduce you to the fact that, yes, we are a very peaceful nation with comparatively little crime, AND we have guns, lots of guns.
Go to Story
The American IRS on the Hunt for Tax Dollars
As reported on Reuters last Friday, "A new Internal Revenue Service unit set up to catch rich tax cheats hiding their wealth in complex business entities is rapidly taking shape with the hiring of hundreds of employees. The high-wealth unit is focusing on trusts, real estate investments, privately held companies and other business entities controlled by rich individuals.
This goes along with a number of anti-offshore provisions that the US House of Representatives passed a Bill as part of the "Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act". We´ll be reviewing this in more detail and surely provide our views over the coming weeks and months.
Go to Story
Inconvenient truth for Al Gore as his North Pole sums don´t add up
There are many kinds of truth. Al Gore was poleaxed by an inconvenient one yesterday.
The former US Vice-President, who became an unlikely figurehead for the green movement after narrating the Oscar-winning documentary An Inconvenient Truth, became entangled in a new climate change "spin" row. Really bad "Karma" for Al and his marketing strategy!
Go to Story
Swiss National Bank on monetary policy
The Swiss National Bank is maintaining its expansionary monetary policy. The economic recovery, while certainly underway, nevertheless remains fragile. There is still considerable uncertainty over how the situation will develop.
Go to Story
US Senate sends $1.1T pork-laden bill to Obama
The US Senate on Sunday sent President Obama another hot potato, passing a $1.1 trillion catchall spending bill that includes money needed to run dozens of government agencies but also is loaded with pork-barrel spending.
The bill, which funds most domestic federal agencies for the rest of this fiscal year, marks a 12 percent spending increase. Democrats said the spending was needed to counter neglect during the past eight years and that the money would act as another stimulus to create government jobs.
A trillion here, a trillion there, inflation anywhere?...
Go to Story
The Swine Flu - One Big Fat Piggy Bank for the Pharma Industry...!!
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| © Copyright 2009, by BFI Capital Group AG, Bahnhofstrasse 29, 6300 Zug, Switzerland, website: www.bficapital.com. The MOUNTAIN VISION UPDATE is published by BFI Capital Group (‘BFI’). Quotation is allowed if credit is given. Although every care has been taken in the preparation of Mountain Vision, BFI does not guarantee and cannot be held responsible for the accuracy of any statistic, statement or representation made. We recommend that you consult qualified professional advisors to determine the applicability of this information and opinion. The publisher is not a registered investment advisor. Readers should not view MOUNTAIN VISION as offering personalized legal or investment advice. |
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