November 20, 2008

"Now, with the collapse of big banks, we see that money disappears, is nothing and all these things that appear real are in fact of secondary importance. Those who build the house of their lives on sand, are those who build on things that are visible and tangible, such as success, career and money."

- Pope Benedict XVI, October 2008

30 comments:

Anonymous said...

ask that guy why he built the vatican, or his cathedrals, etc... he's such a poser.

Anonymous said...

I like that he used houses in his analogy.

Anonymous said...

Amen to that.

Anonymous said...

if you have ever opened a link
open this one graph of the biggest crash since the great one
squidly77

Anonymous said...

Well folks, even if we do head into an economic Depression, I can say this will full confidence: I had one hell of a good time. My wife and I went on luxury vacations, we have a nice luxurious townhouse, we have this beautiful French themed bathroom. My bathroom is probably the size of your entire apartment Sashers! We lived life to the fullest.

And now banks and the government is actually talking about REDUCING THE PRINCIPAL from mortgages, credit card debt, student loan debt, etc...

Sashers, knowing what you know now, don't you feel like a fool? Don't you feel so damn foolish to think that we are a nation of laws(how could a nation founded on the backs of slaves and genocide)?

Anonymous said...

Look out belooooooooow....!!!!

Anonymous said...

Raped any young boys lately, Pope?

Anonymous said...

I have no idea what that means.

Anonymous said...

It is very known that building your house (or church) in gold is way more convenient, right Mr. Pope?

Check out how the catholic church moved its money on gold in 2007:

http://www.thetablet.co.uk/issues/1000121

How can they be so disgustingly hypocritical?

and you guys think realtors are bad!

satan said...

What does that have to do with pedophelia?

This is where church and state join in unholy matrimony to pontificate the vertues of prudent money changing.

What power.

What an outfit.

What humility?

Your friend in DC

Satan...

Anonymous said...

I don't know what this thread means.

Anonymous said...

I live like a peasant compared to the Pope and I have to listen to him denounce me for greed and materialism... I could compare our houses, clothes, servants, cuisine, transportation, entertainment in detail - it would make a strong point - but that would be a LONG rant...

I will listen to the Pope when he starts living like jesus did...

Anonymous said...

Children,

OK, *NOW* we have reached fear/panic stage.

You all prematurely, you-know-what'ed, all over the market, like inexperienced amateurs, calling capitulation and bottom.

The Fed, Treasury, Congress, H O' Reps, President (conspicuously silent), the entire Govt. is paralyzed with fear.

They may yet botch this whole thing, and we will all be facing some harrowing consequences.

Class dismissed early today, so you can go home and stock up on canned goods.

Anonymous said...

When people start starving is the Pope going to take them in ?


The point is that some people built their lives on some leveraged game gambling Casino , and now the house of cards is crashing and it's also bringing down prudent people .

I'm not really trying to put down the Pope because the Pope has made warnings for years about the wrong paths that society has been going down . A little more spiritual balance could of prevented people from being willing to become liar loan borrowers to get into the get rich quick schemes .

This mass brainwashing of people to believe absurd business myths
like real estate always goes up ,was strange to say the least .

A bunch of people walking around with the same talking point, quoting the same lines . None of the Authority figures or experts challenging these faulty premises that high risk lending wasn't high risk lending . Bizarre ,and it was World wide .What happened ?

Anonymous said...

we have been at the lost decade for a while now. I think we are staring at the oncoming of the lost 2 decades as things continue to unwind to 1988.

Anonymous said...

What a hypocrite! On deep level I agree if you have a heart of Jesus you will give away yourself. For everybody else not wanting to die in a ditch there is a honest career. A job that creates value for society. I.E. not managing and/or redistributing wealth of others. There are 3 types of labor. Non educated - cheap and dead end. Educated - using technology and skills to create higher value and progress. And parasitic - Realtors, hedge managers, CEOs, lobbists etc.
Not every one of course, but you see the point - talk, talk, and talk..., control, manipulate, lobby, steal. Not invent, produce, provide etc. We are back to the beginning there are givers and takers. And honest guy in the middle is f_ed.

Anonymous said...

Riiiight.. and I'm sure the Pope is going to sell all of the art and gold and jewels they keep stashed in the Vatican and use the money to help feed starving children. Right??

I hate hypocrites.

blogger said...

I agree with many of you about the hypocrisy of the Catholic church (and most churches). Surrounding themselves in gold, art, grand buildings and the trappings of wealth, and decorating their leaders in the finest vestments, and then talking about living like christ

This is beyond hypocrisy though. It gets to the root problem of organized religion.

That said, I do like this quote from the pope. He is correct.

Now if he would just practice what he preached.

Could you imagine a pope who declared that the church was to sell off all its gold, all its art, all its possessions, and dedicate the money to the poor?

Now THAT would be something.

Don't hold your breath.

Anonymous said...

Hey POPE put your money where you mouth is ..Sell some of the church holdings and land and feed the poor.

Anonymous said...

Here in Huntington Beach Ca. the sh$t is really starting to hit the fan. There are streets here with several cars lined up with for-sale signs plastered over all the windows - no one is buying anything new now, they can't afford the debt-anchors around their necks as it is.

Meanwhile, I'm still seeing our public service employees chatting away with neighbors while still on the clock.

Folks, the money (what's left of it) is disappearing right under our noses, by the very same people who took oaths to "Serve and Protect".

I seriously doubt that one fender-bender requires a parametic truck, two fire trucks and two cop cars - this wasteful spending goes on daily down here.

No wonder the state has such a budget crisis - they put their foxes right in the hen-house.

If I were them, I'd go pick up some bigger spoons from the local thrift store, because this public trough is going dry, and fast.

Eat up.

Anonymous said...

RE Keith: "I do like this quote from the pope"

I guess that I didn't like the quote because Karl Marx, in my opinion, and many others, called Religion what it is: an opiate.

The paradox is that nothing matters but everything matters.

The Pope knows full well that we're all fighting over scarce resources and trying to stretch those resources enough to have families and some pleasure and his quote makes him look as stupid and aloof as Greenspan.

Anonymous said...

"Nick said...
Well folks, even if we do head into an economic Depression, I can say this will full confidence: I had one hell of a good time. "

Fuck You and your Family.

You're full of shit asshole.

DIE

Lost Cause said...

Is he talking about Citbank?

Anonymous said...

Jesus talked a lot about the evils of organized religion of his
time ,yet Jesus would talk about people organizing together for a common cause to do good and what have you . So, its mankind that destroys the true meaning of fellowship and people coming together for good .

Its like anything ,you can take a good concept and than evil starts to try to warp it . Maybe there is some kind of battle going on between good and evil. It seems like any organization eventually
alters and than become non-productive in terms of the good it is doing .There has been many periods in history where Religion was used by rulers to control the masses ,while the real purpose was to deprive them .

Jesus said that you Judge a situation by the fruit it bears (or something like that ).

So, based on what is happening right now World wide financially ,there seems to be lessons about greed and all kinds of excesses and evils that are coming to the surface . Why is it that all great civilizations eventually falter and die ? Marx's use to talk about thesis and anti-thesis as a natural cycle in Governments or financial systems .

How we solve the current problems will determine how successful we will be in sitting the stage for a better more stable World . It's a very critical time in history ,no question about that .

Anonymous said...

Hey Nick, ever heard of karma?

Anonymous said...

I am a devout Catholic, a devout reader of this site as well as the now defunct, Housing Panic.

This is not the first time Keith has used a quote from the Pope. Each time I cringe knowing I will experience so much anti-Catholic bigotry, ignorance and attack.

The Pope does not own the Vatican. As far as you and I know he has never had sex with boys. There are a billion Catholics in the world and errant Priests are no more represenative of the faith than a perverted Congressman is represenative of America. Cathloicism is a culture as well as a religion. If you don't like the faith don't join the Church, it's OK, it's arguably close to 2000 years old, it will survive.

Before you mock the Pope learn about him, you might be surprised by how much you have been propagandised by an anti-Catholic forces. Maybe read some stuff he has written. You may not like him, for he is firm in his beliefs but no one can honestly call him a hypocrite. He has lived the faith. Do research other than anti- Cathlolic websites.


The Vatican is magesterial for a number of reasons, it's the heart of the Church in governance, it is symbolically beautiful as the center of the Church, kind of like The U.S. Capitol, Buckingham Palace etc.
The things the Vatican owns aren't the personal property of anyone. John Paul II, for example, left almost no personal property of any kind in his will - he had little to leave! He had few personal possessions, received no salary for doing his job. He owned barely a thing. Certainly no cars, tvs, stereos, houses, nothing like that. Mother Theresa was a Nun by the way. What have you done for humanity lately bigots.

The things the Church has are, mostly, priceless works of art and architecture - part of the world's cultural heritage, not just the private playthings of the churchmen. The Sistine Chapel, for example, belongs to all - rich and poor, Catholic and non-Catholic - who come to see it. More good is being done, and more money being raised for the poor, by keeping the chapel as is and charging a modest fee to people to see it, than would ever result from trying to sell the place.

As for helping the poor - NO organisation on the planet spends more on the poor than the Catholic Church - not remotely close!

Bigotry is an obvious form of ignorance.

Would you take the Pope seriously if he lived in a trailer park in Belle Glade, Florida. How about the President, maybe he can live in an apartment in Georgetown. The Vatican is a symbol. Sell it all now and you feed the poor for about ten minutes. It is a symbol of my often flawed Church, but it is still my Church.

Sorry for my rant, but I have never been one to admire bigotry and prejudice.

Anonymous said...

I recently joined a local charity that provides food, clothing, and education to the truly needy in my community. The local Catholic church and other churches play a huge role through volunteer work. People give their time and money to help the elderly, disabled, and children. They drive their own cars with their own gas to pick up food for the food bank or to deliver meals on wheels. It's easy to make fun of an old man in a funny hat, but many good things are done by the members of these churches and their intentions are pure.

Anonymous said...

One thing to remember about any criticism of Catholic faith. Nearly all the material we have in America that is against the Catholic Church has England as the resource. Protestants don't like Catholics. Their Bible, their books, their heroes against the Church all come from England.
Amercia is loaded on TV and bookstores with anti-Catholic ministers and authors. So naturally the Church is always made to look bad here.
America is still the land of the Protestant Gospel. They have lots of money to hit the airwaves and spread propaganda (of course denying History itself).
So before you attack, consider the sources. Read material from other countries about the subject and you will find that the viciousness is not present.

Anonymous said...

I would say that this is one of civilized man's deadly sins. (Konrad Lorenz)
The means become the end.

Anonymous said...

"Mother Theresa was a Nun by the way. What have you done for humanity lately bigots."

Mother Theresa is not Christ-conscious. In reality, she's another disenfranchised European, who believes, like both the British and Persian/Aryan rulers of India, that dark skinned people can't have a true faith, only pagan anism. So in effect, she offers services in return for Christian conversion to the downtrodden convincing them that religions like Hinduism and Buddhism are frauds. That's another type of sin, it's that of pride (and perhaps colonialism)!

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