We have to realize that money is NEVER LOST. It goes SOMEWHERE. Where did it go, and how?

I am not talking about GM, Chrysler and Ford.

I am talking about the thing that "started it all", the sour mortgage crisis. Somebody made a boatload of money off of those deals. Who was it?

Will we ever know?

Don't count on politicians to save us from this economic crisis. They haven't even TOUCHED this issue. It is up to each of us to stand up and REJECT the system of corruption and greed. We can boycott the major CFR players (Citi, Amex and Bank of America) and it will be a GREAT start.

(Citi is asking for a handout, but they have just hidden their money in other countries. IT happens all the time, and a company will cry bankruptcy in order to be allowed a pass on regulations, so why not this?)

Let's spread the word: We want ethics now. ETHICS! This is not a moral code of behavior, it is the foundation of basic human rights! Seek out Ethical Companies and do business with them, they need it! Buy organic, non GMO foods from smaller more ethical companies. Do research! The BBB is a good place to start, or just Google it. Buy local produce.

It takes effort for REAL CHANGE. It's easy to rely on the status quo and big momma government/corporations to take care of us. We can't do that anymore, not without these guys taking advantage of our trust! REJECT IT! Seek ethics in all business dealings. Do what you can to make it happen, if you have to buy something like clothing from the GAP don't sweat it, just make little improvements and keep seeking alternatives, even if it's to buy that one shirt handmade here in the US (or your own company) with non-GMO cotton. YOU ARE DOING SOMETHING for the NEW ECONOMY OF ETHICS.

From LCurve
Does this put things into perspective?

Some mind blowing "What the Bleep" stuff here... enjoy!

...just because I haven't baked your noodles enough...

Please join! We are trying to get to 10,000 members! Enjoy!

http://goldring.wetpaint.com

In a good mood? Your neighbor, her friends and even her friends' friends should thank you - you're likely infecting them with your cheer. Happiness spreads through social networks about as easily as the flu, according to a new study.

The researchers analyzed data compiled from nearly 5,000 interconnected people over a 20-year period. After establishing a baseline mood for each participant, the team found that when one person became happier, it rippled through the network, increasing the likelihood that others would become happier too.

Sadness, thankfully, is not nearly as infectious. An attack of the blues creates a much smaller ripple than a case of giddiness, said head researcher James Fowler of the University of California, San Diego.

Cascades of happiness

A happy infection lasts an average of 12 months, Fowler said; that is, if your neighbor wins the lotto it could give you a mood boost for about a year. And a joy virus can spread to people three degrees removed from the original mood shifter. So someone experiencing bliss makes his friends happier, his friends' neighbors happier and even his friends' neighbors' friends happier.

The ripple of joy continues diffusing over all of society, Fowler theorized, but is undetectable past the third degree of separation "because it is part of a whole sea of different cascades of happiness and unhappiness."

The infectiousness of certain behaviors, such as overeating, smoking and innovating, began making headlines over a year ago. (Fowler and his colleague Nicholas Christakis of Harvard Medical Center are responsible for several of these findings.)

The study in the current online issue of the British Medical Journal is the first to show the contagiousness of an emotion.

Proximity counts

Emotional "contagions" are more dependent on proximity than behavioral ones, the research shows. A faraway friend or sibling may influence our perception of social norms, such as what is an acceptable weight gain, but they have surprisingly little effect on our mood. Conversely, our neighbors do not influence our weight, but they do impact our happiness, said Fowler.

But only if they live next door. The mood of the neighbor on the next corner has little to no effect - a result, said Fowler, that likely rules out explanations of mood synchronizing based on class (people in the same neighborhood tend to have similar houses) and suggests we are more likely to catch joy from people we often see.

Exactly how the happy bug is transmitted remains a mystery, but not for lack of theories. Cheerful people may simply be friendlier or more helpful, spreading joy germs in the process. Or it could be psycho-immunological; being around happy people may be good for our health - both physical and mental.

Fowler credits natural selection and the social function of emotions. "When we are happy, we smile. What is the purpose of that unless it is to spread it?" he said, explaining that happiness helps us cooperate and achieve larger goals.

"Even little things that we do for ourselves can pay off in a really big way," Fowler said, not only influencing the moods of those we know and love, but even those we don't.

• 5 Keys to Happiness
• Boomers Miserable, Seniors Happiest
• Happiness Is Partly Inherited

• Original Story: Happiness: Contagious as the Flu

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