Smackers Posted March 2, 2010 Report Share Posted March 2, 2010 With the current uncertainty of the outcome of the Iraqi Dinar as an investment, I have begun to notice a high degree of irritability among our fellow dinarians. So much so that there are many who have very little tolerance for any opinion or perspective that differs from their own. My perspective on this whole investment is that we would all do well to take things with a grain of salt. Even if the Intel is "spot on" in terms of the integrity and reliability of our sources, we all still have to filter everything through what I am now calling the "Iraqi Factor". Good Intel is only as good as the source in which it originates. Iraq is understandably going through a major transition right now, and what maybe good "intel" today honestly may mean nothing tomorrow. It's not necessarily driven by anyone's desire to mislead or misdirect. It is driven by extreme volatility in a political and economic climate of radical transformation.This Nation is only just now beginning to understand what it is like to engage in free market enterprise and to experience the cultural freedoms that we have enjoyed for the last 200+ years. My concern is that far to many of us (and I have been guilty of this myself), as investors in Iraqi dinar have looked at this investment from a very narrow view of what is this going to to for me. It's been an attitude of. "I don't care about what happens to Iraq tomorrow just give me what's coming to me today."Further many of us who come from a western judeo-christian world view have looked at this as though it is just what is coming to us from a biblical perspective. We've claimed it to be ours. After all this is the riches of the wicked being stored up and transfered into the hands of the righteous. And though at first glance we may feel justified in using this logic to hide our own greed. The truth is,at the end of the day it is still just greed. It becomes greed when we want a huge payoff to come to us with little regard for what that may mean to the continued economic viability of a nation.Iraqi leaders have a responsibility to act in a manner that preserves the greatest amount of profit and return on the resources that they are to steward. I believe our position and theirs will be best served if we can learn to celebrate their freedom and encourage them in a ridiculously prosperous economy. Let us not Pillage them. Let's encourage them to be amazing free market entrepreneurs. Their prosperity becomes ours when we celebrate with them. It is the difference between operating in a spirit of prosperity or a spirit of poverty.Poverty says regardless of how much it posesses, that there will never be enough. Prosperity says, there is always more than enough. Let's choose to be a people who learn to bless and who learn to celebrate others success and who learn how to live prosperous lives free from the trap of greed.The RV is coming, and I personally believe that it is going to be a very favorable rate. But this RV will be of NO value to those of us who don't work out the bigger issues of our lives. More money will not fix us, for crying out loud, we've proven through our last national multi-billion dollar bailout that it won't fix a nation. But it will change us and our children's lives for generations to come if we will learn how to put to rest the issues of greed and self-gratification that so often wants to works it's agenda through our everyday lives. No, if anything this whole RV process has only served to expose the inherent weaknesses that are in me.The delays in a coming RV have exposed my motives, my agenda, and honestly much of what I have seen, I do not like. No! lets choose to exist for a much higher calling and a much higher purpose. Let's choose to be those who bless and do not curse. Lets choose to be those who leave a legacy to our children's children. Lets choose to be those who change cities and nations through radical generosity. We were born for such a time as ThisMany Blessings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puzhalsta Posted March 2, 2010 Report Share Posted March 2, 2010 Good call, Smacks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackdavis1364 Posted March 2, 2010 Report Share Posted March 2, 2010 Thanks for the post. This is not intended as a slam on you. You had something to say and you said it. Very well I might add. I have found that I have grown an intolerence for long articles. I have read so much that if an article or a post does not catch my attention right away, I just can't take the time to read it. My shortcoming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newday2009 Posted March 2, 2010 Report Share Posted March 2, 2010 Very well said. I have experienced some of the same eye-opening revelations about my own motivations... I have plans for extensive giving, but my own selfishness continually tries to rear its ugly head... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TklMonster Posted March 2, 2010 Report Share Posted March 2, 2010 By far, the best post I've seen on this site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatcat Posted March 2, 2010 Report Share Posted March 2, 2010 Hit the nail on the head there. People are already getting pretty nasty. I understand things are real bad in a world. Everyone needs to pull together, maybe offer a shoulder or something Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camishe Posted March 2, 2010 Report Share Posted March 2, 2010 Good post, God bless us all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebeckie Posted March 2, 2010 Report Share Posted March 2, 2010 I like your spirit - tell it like it is. God is using this to work a work in all of His Body. Many of us are saying ouch - rightly so - but we will grow into the image of who counts the most! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
venka009 Posted March 2, 2010 Report Share Posted March 2, 2010 Frankly speaking you have said what I have been thing all these days. For any matter time is the best medicine to heal. I really feel that something good should happen to the people of IRAQ. At least they should get good food, accommodation, clothing, medical service, school, water and electricity and Etc. Let us all stand with them to come out of the war zone area and make then nation rich and prosperous. Along with them we all are also the victim of war. So along with them we also grow financially. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjj Posted March 2, 2010 Report Share Posted March 2, 2010 May GOD bless all of us and put the greed aside and do more charity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
streamer Posted March 2, 2010 Report Share Posted March 2, 2010 I like this post. The delay could be good for everyone involved though we don't see why now, we may see it later. I hope the Iraqis will come up better after the RV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronscarpa Posted March 2, 2010 Report Share Posted March 2, 2010 Thanks Smakers,Very well expressed...! I would simply like to add that we might considering prayingfor ourselves, and for the Iraqis to understand these principles for themselves as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stargazer55 Posted March 2, 2010 Report Share Posted March 2, 2010 Well said Smackers. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smackers Posted March 2, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 2, 2010 You are right on Ron. There must be a revelation that comes to Iraq as well as us of the Goodness of God. after all, it is kindness that draws us towards Him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dinar dreamer Posted March 2, 2010 Report Share Posted March 2, 2010 Thanks for the post Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
braywilkins Posted March 2, 2010 Report Share Posted March 2, 2010 Amen and God Bless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UMPgolfClub Posted March 2, 2010 Report Share Posted March 2, 2010 Iraq looks to local and foreign investment to build its economyTrading floors are known for being volatile. Those who think they're tough should try navigating the Iraq Stock Exchange.On Jan. 12, the Tuesday trading session was cancelled. Intelligence reports pointed to a planned suicide attack somewhere in the capital. As a precaution, authorities ordered a strict curfew on Baghdad."The stock exchange has called off its session on Tuesday because of the inability of its employees to reach their workplace," a source told the Aswat al-Iraq news agency in a bit of an understatement.And New York City investors thought midtown traffic was inconvenient.This isn't the first time Shwan Taha, CEO of Rabee Securities, one of Baghdad's oldest and largest brokerage firms, has seen trading suspended. Of course, it's nothing compared to 2006 when it lasted for months during what the United Nations called a "civil warlike situation."Today, Taha sees that relatively more security in the streets means the same for his investments."On the exchange, the largest sector is by far the banks," he explains while e-mailing stock reports over a problematic Internet connection. On this day, the Bank of Baghdad closed at 1.98 Iraqi Dinars -less than a penny US."Then there is the tourism sector," he says. "But, that's really more real estate when you get into it."Taha knows the intricacies of this market. After all, he has traded shares in Baghdad since its first exchange opened in 1992. Back then it was the Baghdad Stock Exchange. Under the rule of Saddam Hussein, it provided a prosperous living."It operated well until the invasion at which point it was closed. Then squatters moved in for a year," says Taha. "The U.S. tried to reopen it. But, reopening was a fanciful thing. They couldn't manage it. They were incompetent."Without a formal system of trading, brokerages set about creating their own private exchange. In June 2004, the Iraq Stock Exchange opened with 15 listings. Today it has about 90 companies and recently moved to electronic trading."It's the same system that the NASDAQ uses," says Taha. Although, he acknowledges it can't rely on the country's battered power grid that leaves Baghdad in the dark unexpectedly and for long periods of time. "You have to factor in that the computer system and servers can't go off. So, the exchange runs on generators. Trading only happens for two hours a day."As a backup, the old system remains in place -white-boards and dry-erase markers. Throughout the exchange building, a former restaurant in the heart of Baghdad, hanging boards represent each company listed. Traders, mobile phones pressed to their ears, crowd these boards, writing and erasing notes to buy and sell.It's a definite skill that requires a fast hand and a shrewd eye. Now though, investors can verify their trades on the spot rather than waiting two weeks for certificates. That's something Taha hopes will bring in new investors."We definitely cater towards foreign investment. We've seen an uptick, especially frontier funds," he says. "But, the global custodians of the economy have not been to Iraq yet."Iraq is still tiny compared to established markets in London and New York. By the end of 2008, the ISX had traded only $270 million compared to the NYSE's $16.7 trillion. But, in spite of the non-market volatility, many hope local and foreign investment will boost the nation's economy.On the last day of January, despite the delay earlier in the month, the index was up 1.16 per cent. As Taha predicted, the banks dominated the trading. But, Tourist Village of Mosul (HTVM) represented one of the biggest gains, up 10 per cent on the day.For people like Taha, this only proves there's money to be made at the ISX. Of course, the investment may be a little more high-risk than usual.Craig and Marc Kielburger co-founded Free the Children. The goal of the organization is to free children from poverty and exploitation through education. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dinarnaut Posted March 2, 2010 Report Share Posted March 2, 2010 Hats off to smackers, for the spirit of the almighty is truly filled you with wisdom to pass on a good word to all that needs it , and I for one believes that everyone needs it.Thank You. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kent Posted March 2, 2010 Report Share Posted March 2, 2010 Smackers, spot on! Good post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MariaSoledad Posted March 3, 2010 Report Share Posted March 3, 2010 With the current uncertainty of the outcome of the Iraqi Dinar as an investment, I have begun to notice a high degree of irritability among our fellow dinarians. So much so that there are many who have very little tolerance for any opinion or perspective that differs from their own. My perspective on this whole investment is that we would all do well to take things with a grain of salt. Even if the Intel is "spot on" in terms of the integrity and reliability of our sources, we all still have to filter everything through what I am now calling the "Iraqi Factor". Good Intel is only as good as the source in which it originates. Iraq is understandably going through a major transition right now, and what maybe good "intel" today honestly may mean nothing tomorrow. It's not necessarily driven by anyone's desire to mislead or misdirect. It is driven by extreme volatility in a political and economic climate of radical transformation.This Nation is only just now beginning to understand what it is like to engage in free market enterprise and to experience the cultural freedoms that we have enjoyed for the last 200+ years. My concern is that far to many of us (and I have been guilty of this myself), as investors in Iraqi dinar have looked at this investment from a very narrow view of what is this going to to for me. It's been an attitude of. "I don't care about what happens to Iraq tomorrow just give me what's coming to me today."Further many of us who come from a western judeo-christian world view have looked at this as though it is just what is coming to us from a biblical perspective. We've claimed it to be ours. After all this is the riches of the wicked being stored up and transfered into the hands of the righteous. And though at first glance we may feel justified in using this logic to hide our own greed. The truth is,at the end of the day it is still just greed. It becomes greed when we want a huge payoff to come to us with little regard for what that may mean to the continued economic viability of a nation.Iraqi leaders have a responsibility to act in a manner that preserves the greatest amount of profit and return on the resources that they are to steward. I believe our position and theirs will be best served if we can learn to celebrate their freedom and encourage them in a ridiculously prosperous economy. Let us not Pillage them. Let's encourage them to be amazing free market entrepreneurs. Their prosperity becomes ours when we celebrate with them. It is the difference between operating in a spirit of prosperity or a spirit of poverty.Poverty says regardless of how much it posesses, that there will never be enough. Prosperity says, there is always more than enough. Let's choose to be a people who learn to bless and who learn to celebrate others success and who learn how to live prosperous lives free from the trap of greed.The RV is coming, and I personally believe that it is going to be a very favorable rate. But this RV will be of NO value to those of us who don't work out the bigger issues of our lives. More money will not fix us, for crying out loud, we've proven through our last national multi-billion dollar bailout that it won't fix a nation. But it will change us and our children's lives for generations to come if we will learn how to put to rest the issues of greed and self-gratification that so often wants to works it's agenda through our everyday lives. No, if anything this whole RV process has only served to expose the inherent weaknesses that are in me.The delays in a coming RV have exposed my motives, my agenda, and honestly much of what I have seen, I do not like. No! lets choose to exist for a much higher calling and a much higher purpose. Let's choose to be those who bless and do not curse. Lets choose to be those who leave a legacy to our children's children. Lets choose to be those who change cities and nations through radical generosity. We were born for such a time as ThisMany Blessings.It is refreshing to have this kind of thought, thank you for stating what is important, good lesson for all to learn! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karma Posted March 3, 2010 Report Share Posted March 3, 2010 Good call. you are so right on the way we have looked at things alot of us looking back would be ashamed because greed has snuck in and clouded our vision Good time to do some reflecting on hearts and desires for the truth in ourselves Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSOD67 Posted March 3, 2010 Report Share Posted March 3, 2010 Great insight Smackers... We all need to step back and relize its not in our time..But the time in the best interest of all.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jody2010 Posted March 3, 2010 Report Share Posted March 3, 2010 WOW... you just punched me in the stomach... and thank - I think! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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