Yet the prices of gold, silver, and gas started to comeback with a vengeance. In the past few recent weeks, the DOW has busted right through the 12,600 mark and is currently holding around 12.7K and change.  This is odd as gold, silver, and gas continue to rise.

The main reason I have been given to explain this is the weakness of the EURO, and its flailing currency. Now we do not actively export any real amount of goods to Europe, and import from the EURO only comprises 4.3% and that is coming only from Germany. This means that as always, this is an issue between currencies that has no bearing on actual goods and services.

The Euro is indeed in trouble – but that is of no surprise; the US dollar too is in trouble which again, comes as no surprise. This being the case, we must ask what makes the dollar worth so much to the guys pricing the markets – especially commodities. Also, why is the dollar expected to enable itself to back up rapidly rising commodities?

The truth is that it is not – nor is there any way that it can be. A currencies power derives directly from whatever it is that backs that currency. In the case of both the Euro and the dollar, this is the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) –  i.e. – the valued worth of what the currencies sponsoring country production.  Because the CPI does not accurately measure inflation, I will ignore the nominal vs. real GDP straw man nonsense because it has always been inaccurate at best in real terms.

The US dollar is by such terms stronger than the EURO in the current environment – as pathetic as that is. However it also means that this growing Euro-zone crisis is just another straw man meant to explain away some very poor market pricing. If this was indeed the case, than gold, silver, and gas (which export and import levels have not made any significant change) would not still be rising with the Euro still growing weaker. All it does is explains why the dollar has not completely crashed yet.

So in the end, we have to look at who sets the market prices for these commodities, and why they are acting contrary to typical performance relative to the rest of the market. This cannot be done because like a common stock, no one person or entity sets the price of a commodity, but rather on the futures contracts. This means that for some reason or another, many buyers of gold futures expected for something to happen in the last quarter of 2011 that would allow for the dollar to make a bit of a recovery. Unfortunately, I have been unable to find out who the holders of the expired future contracts were, but I find the move to be extremely misplaced.

So in answer to the original question, there was absolutely no real reason for the price of any of the above said commodities to drop as far as they did as fast as they did, other than some really bad future calls.

It does however point to a much larger problem. Everyone seems to think that the market is making a really slow recovery, but recovering nonetheless. They also seem to ignore the fact that policies that caused the economy to get stomped to begin with have not been removed but rather amplified. The voices of those that speak out in opposition to this nonsense are as always drowned out by the media and its abundant flocks.

In short, prices were shortened just before the Holidays across the board. This lent credence to the idea that a recovery is indeed in progress to those that wanted to believe that their centralized leadership was doing the right thing. As a result people took advantage of the extended holiday shopping hours to spend money when they otherwise would not have due to the prices of food and gas alone.

This false sense of recovery and thus security is about to come back in a extreme twist of karmic fate. Though I was surprised when the DOW broke 12.6k, I know that there is absolutely no way it can sustain it past the first quarter of this year. As the government continues its mass destruction of the dollar in the second quarter, the US treasury ratings will once again take a hit. Silver and gold will continue their upward trend while the dollar continues to weaken. Last year it was brought up on several occasions that the dollar should lose its world reserve currency status. Once the Euro breaks and it becomes apparent that the US monetary policies are shown to be just as fraudulent, the dollar will follow suit. At that point, economic Armageddon will hit, and by the end of the year, it will all come down like a ton of bricks.

Of course until that happens, no one will give it much thought. They will be wooed by the media to believe that things are still soluble and that with just a little more time and regulations, things will be fine. Every time the market makes a decent gain, or gold takes a bit of a drop, they will say that people like me are being paranoid and that we must be wrong because if things were that bad, then such gains would be impossible. Some will say this cannot happen because we have a great military. Problem is when you cut the economic spigot, our military loses its potency, and China and the FED are our biggest debtors. This simply means that until it’s over, we will continue to be oppressed by debt and the government that continually pushes it onto us without our consent.

Oh well, at least I have the satisfaction of know knowing the truth of it all.

Why the Economic Pick up in November 2011 is a post from Peace Freedom & Prosperity Movement - movement for a new evolution

1 – Smaller ISP’s are to be more impacted by this than the larger ones – small wonder as to why the big dogs in the major Companies support this nonsense (for a list of supporting companies, go to http://judiciary.house.gov/issues/Rogue%20Websites/List%20of%20SOPA%20Supporters.pdf ). Smaller companies cannot afford the manpower or equipment needed to easily comply with this law whereas larger ones can do so without so much as batting an eyebrow – so once again, a crony capitalism move of massive proportions.

2 – This bill escalates the drug wars into the cyberworld. By running down users, sellers, and distributors of both prescription and illegal drugs, it imposes stiff fines as well as the immediate shut down of their service. Drug wars do not work in real life – what on earth makes them think it will magically work in cyberspace? Thanks to the DHS monitoring social websites etc, this will grant both the DHS, and the Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator (a position created by this bill) more power than they could ever have had before.

3 – The Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator reports to congress the effectiveness of this program. When in history has any government agency/ program director ever admitted to being ineffective, immoral, or cost efficient when their jobs depend on their findings supporting the legislative purpose that created them? Never.

4 – Like the DHS under Janet Napolitano, this new initiative under the Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator can enact a whole new series of enforcement laws and techniques, and never once have to answer for them to congress save for the annual report.

5 – Only about 40% of this bill has anything to do with directly internet related operations. The rest of it has to do with defining infringment on intellectual property, and the consequences involved. In short, this is a bill that not only adds a host of new regulations, but makes many older ones that much more stringent.

6 – Under Title 2 of this bill some interesting wording is used. It goes on to define things like economic espionage, trafficking of inherently dangerous goods and services, and the dispersing of trade secrets as dire infringements on intellectual property that carry stiff punishment. Each of these are only loosely defined and are subject to a broad interpretive scope.

7 – Also under title two in section 202 paragraph 3, it covers military goods and services. All this section is meant to do it to ensure that soldiers only have access to government approved field gear when purchased online. As someone who was in the army for 10 years, I find this insulting to say the least. A good portion of the gear me and my buddies would buy was the stuff that was not official but worked much better for cheaper.

8 – Of the 40% of the bill that does have to do with the internet, it makes its biggest case for motion picture related things. Given that nearly every big shot in Hollywood is supporting this, this is self explanatory. However for those of you who don’t get it, it is merely just another case of the rich using the law to keep themselves rich.

9 – Anyone who even has a link on their page to a government deemed infringement on someone else’s intellectual material, has 5 days to remove it or be removed themselves. So the truth is that you will not wake up one day to see youtube or wikipedia shut down. You will just go on living knowing that you are only seeing the side of the story that those who produced it want you to see. In short, it is censorship to an extreme degree, and because of the 5 day grace period, it will seem almost non-existent to most. Lastly, it means that you will never be able to see anything in a different light than what the producers of it and the government wants you to see.

10 – Big internet companies are pushing this bill because it will free up a lot of bandwidth. A lot of people use the internet to repost certain sections of a program or music video on youtube and through file sharing, and this eats bandwidth. By not allowing such reposts and sectioned off material, the companies will be able to reclaim the lost bandwidth. A major problem with this is that we live in a soundbite era where noone wants to watch a several hour long peice to learn something or be entertained, and in the end, this measure will backfire on the ISP’s – and deservedly so. They offer their service as an internet provider, and should not be trying to dictate how their users use the service to make a profit.

11 – The government itself will not be the one initiating the action to prevent these ‘infringments’ unless they are on copywrited material, patents, or registered trademarks. This means that aside from music, movies, photographs etc, artists themselves now have a new ability to prosecute someone appreciating their work who could not afford to purchase it. This is of course counterproductive and foolish, but I have come to realize that many in the entertainment industry on that high level do not have the intellectual capacity to grasp that concept. Yet the best part is that they are seeking to enforce this in other countries which leads me to number

12 – It is bad enough many other countries already face censorship and isolation from freedom. Now they have another US politician working in the embassy seeing to it that the host nation is not using the internet to ‘steal America’s intellectual output’…gag.

A quick reminder that America is so broke on every level that it cannot maintain the way of life it has today. Now congress yet again seeks to add even more to this burden. They are going to censor your input on someone else’s ‘intellectual property’ should that person deem your view to be wrong, and use your money to do so.

In closing, I will simply say that if what you produce is not something that people feel like paying for, then maybe you’re not as good as you think you are. You should own up to that before you ask the government to ensure that people pay you what you THINK you are worth. However in the end I will get the last laugh should this bill pass as they fall into poverty as they find that their output was not worth the tens of millions they make each year.

To read this bill for yourself, and find out who is supporting it, you can go to the following links:

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-112hr3261ih/pdf/BILLS-112hr3261ih.pdf

http://judiciary.house.gov/issues/Rogue%20Websites/List%20of%20SOPA%20Supporters.pdf

PS – Wall ST journal guys need to work on their investigative skills a little more – half of this was never mentioned in their article – http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203735304577167261853938938.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

12 Reasons Why SOPA is Worse Than You Think is a post from Peace Freedom & Prosperity Movement - movement for a new evolution

It took long enough but it is finally out – Madness: The Construct of the American Empire. It is in essence an explanation on why the American Empire failed, and why most people are so far oblivious to its collapse.

When the colonists first won the war against England, a good many of them were too trusting in their leaders to ensure that their freedoms were maintained.  Not everyone supported the new government, and some were even jailed for speaking against it. The new government was not even in agreement on much of anything, and struggled for years to increase its power. All for the ‘protection of liberties’ and the ‘safety and welfare of the people’ of course.

In that crucial moment in time, things happened to the colonists in the only way they could. Their achievements and hard work were usurped ‘for the betterment of all’. Taxes began to seep in at an alarming rate. It became a crime to question the authorities. The police force was started as was the new army.

Over 200 years later we look at those times and think about how much progress we made. Many thank the government because without them we wouldn’t have roads apparently. Many think of the quality of life so many enjoy – food, heating and air-conditioning, running water, cars, computers, phones – would not exist without government. Yet all of these came not from government but from the private sector – even the internet.

Enforcing this idea is the one blatant lie that I hear at least once a day = The United States of America.

What is this unity? It cannot be of ideals for everyone has different ones. It cannot be of religion for we all have our own. It cannot be of the American dream for we all dream differently. And nor can it be for freedom, for a good portion of America has come to detest that most sacred of all ideals.

The unity is nothing more than an illusion. Therefore the empire that is America can be nothing more – an illusion. Ever wonder why the FED chairman (whoever they might be) talks about the importance of belief in the dollar? Ever wonder why every political party has some kind of system they believe in, and why they never work? The dollar is failing rapidly, and the governments only answer to its mountains of failures is ‘we just need more’. It is just proof that a belief in something does not make it a reality.

Madness: describes the underlining philosophies that drive policy making in the United States, and turns them on their head. Exposing how the governing bodies have so poorly kept their constituents informed as to these philosophies, it removes the rhetoric and replaces it with a healthy dose of reality. Taking the way politics has twisted reality using fancy wordplay and empty promises, it destroys the perception that the State is not the answer to what ails America, but rather the cause of it. With the use of history it tells of how the continuance of common knowledge has failed, and opens the readers eyes to what has really been going on, and why the government has failed.

Seriously – this is something everyone should read if they truly believe that America is an Empire that will last through 2012.

http://www.amazon.com/Madness-Construct-American-David-Shirk/dp/146265780X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1326511677&sr=1-1

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/madness-david-p-shirk/1108052637

Madness: The Construct of the American Empire is a post from Peace Freedom & Prosperity Movement - movement for a new evolution

   Please note, this is not of my creation, I am simply spreading it in it’s original and complete form, with author permission.  My hope is that this document will inspire and help facilitate a peaceful transition.

Global Guerrillas

Open Source Warfare Standing Orders

(as listed by John Robb)

 

Standing Orders Index:

1: Break Networks

2: Grow Black Economies

3: Virtualize Your Organization

4: Repetition is More Important Than Scale

5: Coopetition not Competition

6: Don’t Fork the Insurgency

7: Minimalist Rule Sets Work Best

8: Self-replicate

9: Share or Copy Everything That Works

10: Release Early and Often

11: Co-opt, Don’t Own, Basic Services

STANDING ORDER 1: Break Networks

The first, and most general, standing order of any modern insurgency is simple:

…break networks…

The only caveat being: avoid breaking communications networks.  These networks are small group enablers/catalysts, and enable the spread of social contagion virally.  Public communications networks, as they are currently use, are asymmetric — in that they aren’t accessible (increasingly less as governments restrict access) by modern nation-states.

Within John Boyd’s framework of grand strategic victory, this achieves the following:

• It disconnects the enemy from itself and its allies (attrition and physical collapse)
• It forms non-cooperative centers of gravity within the enemy camp (moral collapse)
• It creates FUD (fear uncertainty and doubt — psychological collapse)

STANDING ORDER 2: Grow Black Economies

The second standing order of modern insurgencies is to generate economic connectivity in order to manufacture allies and increase the ability of the insurgency to fund itself.  It’s simple:

…grow black economies…

This requires cooperation with existing criminal organizations within “illegal” economies.  This requires a variant on how the nation-state grew via becoming a protection racket – protection at a rate worth that is worth the value provided and the willingness to expand the business potential of those being protected.  Induced shortages, through network disruption, expand business opportunity.  Further, broken “legal” economies, generate a plethora of free lancers that populate a self-reinforcing bazaar of violence.

STANDING ORDER 3: Virtualize Your Organization

Modern insurgent groups don’t require cohesive groups of “soldiers.” They can and often virtualize through the use of contractors/freelancers.  The standing order for this is simply:

…virtualize your organization…

Optimally, the bulk of a insurgent group’s attacks are virtual.  This means that the organization that is assembled for an attack is hired specifically for that job.  They do the job and go away.  This works best with non-kinetic operations (which should be the vast bulk of any group’s attacks).  This is self-reinforcing with network disruption — the more system disruptions that occurs, the greater the number of freelancers available.  In a short period of time, specialization of skill sets emerge within the bazaar of violence, as participant freelancer work to enhance their marketability/rates (this in turn enables high levels of productivity).

STANDING ORDER 4: Repetition is More Important Than Scale

The ability to repeat disruptions targeted on specific groups generates changes in behavior (economic, social, and psychological) akin to an excessive tax.  This is in contrast to large, one-off, attacks that cause massive disruption and then quickly dissipate as the targeted system returns to equilibrium.  The standing order for this is:

…repetition is more important than scale….

Simple, low cost, easy, and repeatable (in that nobody is caught) attacks are both sustainable and generate the greatest potential returns.  This doesn’t mean that these attacks don’t have a significant impact.  Network effects from disruption almost always guarantee and outsized return — the great is the enemy of the good enough.

STANDING ORDER 5: Coopetition not Competition

All insurgent groups, regardless of their motivation, are allies by default.  Every group that joins the insurgency, makes it stronger, even if it is ideologically antagonistic.  The approach should be:

…coopetition not competition…

Coopetition is a term that encompasses how rivals can compete for market share but cooperate to grow the market and speed up combined growth.  In commercial coopetition, this is done by rivals sharing common platforms (a very important concept) that enable them to reduce costs (as in firms that share suppliers), widen variety, increase flexibility, etc.  For example, coopetition is the basis for Internet standards and the Web. Vertical integration is an anathema to successful coopetition.

STANDING ORDER 6: Don’t Fork the Insurgency

There is a tendency, among subgroups in an open source insurgency, to increase local cohesion at the expense of whole.  Usually this is done by disrupting social networks to create antagonism between member groups.  The order is:

…don’t fork the insurgency…

Social network disruption is nearly as easy as disrupting physical networks, but it can be very dangerous.  Social network disruption should only be used if it cleaves the nation-state into non-cooperative centers of gravity without sacrificing open source cohesiveness.  In contrast, social network amplification is almost always good.

NOTE:  This is grand strategic mistake of al Qaeda in Iraq (unlikely to be repeated).  As I mentioned in my 2005 NYTimes OP-ED entitled The Open-Source War:  ”there are few visible fault lines in the insurgency that can be exploited.”  That was true until attacks on Shiite civilians and ultimately the Golden Mosque attack forked the insurgency.

STANDING ORDER 7: Minimalist Rule Sets Work Best

In many cases, modern insurgencies find themselves managing local autonomous zones (as in autonomy from nation-state governance due to inattention, weakness, mendacity, etc.).  This management often requires the establishment of rule sets.  The simple order is:

…minimalist rule sets work best…

Global guerrilla insurgencies, by design, aren’t a replacement for the nation-state.  Maximal, heavy-handed, and corrupted rule sets of the nation-state should be replaced by minimalist rule sets that are fairly applied to encourage the rapid growth of black economies, reduce resistance (among local populations), and ensure order.

STANDING ORDER 8: Self-replicate

This is a hard point to grasp, but it provides a substantial amount of leverage for small groups.  It’s important to manufacture copies of yourself that can advance your goals whenever possible.  In short:

…self-replicate…

This can take a direct physical form in the case of technological copies — this includes everything from software bots (which can reach millions of “hacked” computers) and genetically engineered contagion.  These technological copies will only get smarter and more responsive as technology improves.

Another method is to create socially engineered copies of your organization through the use of social media.  Basically, this means providing the motivation, knowledge, and focus necessary for an unknown person (external and totally unconnected to your group) to conduct operations that advance your group’s specific goals (or the general goals of the open source insurgency).  All forms of self-replication will rapidly improve with advances in technology and connectivity.

STANDING ORDER 9: Share or Copy Everything That Works

In open source warfare, there is no pride in exclusive ownership.  Everything that can be shared, should be shared.  Everything that can be used, should be used.  In sum:

…share or copy everything that works…

Small insurgent groups don’t have the capability to advance and innovate, over the long term, solely through internal efforts.  They must rely on other groups to advance the ball for them.  To continue to improve, the group must be quick to copy improvements that appear to work, regardless of the source.  Further, since the success of a single group increases with the success of the whole open source insurgency, every innovation must be shared the moment it is put into use.

STANDING ORDER 10: Release Early and Often

Innovations, from tactics to weapons, should be released as soon and as often as practicable.  Perfectionism, sclerotic planning processes, excessive secrecy, risk aversion, and other plagues found in hierarchical organizations are the enemy of success.  The rule is:

…release early and often...

Make the attack to demonstrate the innovation and generate the coverage (media).  Let the other members of the open source insurgency advance the ball.  Remember, with many minds looking at the problem, no bug/deficiency/defect is too difficult to overcome.

STANDING ORDER 11: Co-opt, Don’t Own, Basic Services

On a roll with a Roger’s Rules or Sun Tzu approach to post-industrial insurgency.  Probably will roll these up when I’m done, expand the discussions for each, and put them into a PDF.  Refinements and critiques are always welcome.

_________________

Open source insurgencies typically don’t supply basic services (within the nation-state context, political goods) or assume any responsibility for their delivery, to controlled autonomous zones and their resident populations.   Instead, they parasitically ride on a degraded form of the global/national economy’s corporate and public services — from electricity to water to food.  Within controlled zones, the objective is to:

…co-opt, don’t own, basic services…

Co-option of basic services enables a steady stream of income from taxation/theft.  The ongoing flow of these services enables a relatively normal functioning of the underlying social construct.  It also enables global guerrillas the flexibility to focus exclusively on member/group enrichment and its ongoing war to hollow out the nation-state.  In the event that broader disruption has forced the creation of black market services (as in an alternative power grid, as we saw in Baghdad), this alternative service is operated within the confines of a protection racket and is not owned directly.

Alternative services, that are owned and operated by the insurgent group, are typically not advisable unless no other alternative exists — as in, a completely hollow or deeply failed nation-states.

Global Guerillas is a post from Peace Freedom & Prosperity Movement - movement for a new evolution

It is apparent that most Americans do NOT know what is going on overseas with the military, which they fund with 51% of their Federal Tax dollars. If they did know what was happening I am sure that they would constantly contact their congressman via phone, email and letter, protest in the street, and/or simply withdraw their consent by not paying the taxes that fund this genocide that the ruling class call war!
It is time that the people of the “Land of the free and home of the brave” wake up to what they are paying for with the money that is stolen from them in the name of “taxation”.
The media is not showing the world the truth 0f what is really going on overseas, but the following video will show the atrocities committed by your children and grand children that you are so proud of.

Military men are dumb, stupid animals, to be used as pawns for foreign policy. ~ Henry Kissinger

It is time to stop funding this madness, withdraw your support and speak out now!

51% of Your Federal Tax $’s Funds: Rape, Torture, Murder and Genocide! is a post from Peace Freedom & Prosperity Movement - movement for a new evolution

   This article is a response to one that someone forwarded me on US planes bombing Iran, and how Iran will raise gas prices. If you’re really for truth don’t fall for the government’s nonsense, people make things up as they go to fit their own agenda.

   Yes, the article was dead on about Gingrich’s foreign policy, however, Gingrich is puppet, I don’t think anyone here can say otherwise with a straight face. However, Iran does not make high octane gas in any real amount. In fact, Iran lacks the production capabilities to make any large quantity of petrol product. The fact is that Iran imports most of its Petrol from other countries and that is what the US puppets like Bachman and Santoram wish to embargo. This of course only makes the Iranians more sympathetic to real terrorist groups. You see, this is why I rarely listen to infowars ; half of nearly every article is an obvious ringer, and the rest is straight up bull.

   What Iran can do is raise their oil prices in terms of crude, this will not make much of a noticeable impact here in the US as we do not import oil from Iran. Iran does export oil to other countries, just not those that bomb the hell out of them. The stance our government has taken on ‘freeing Iran’ from dictatorships (dictatorships that the US government put there by the way) on the sole premise that they are using their resources poorly is foolish and ignorant. They know this, so they start claiming that Iran is developing nuclear capabilities… it worked as an excuse for Iraq didn’t it?  …Moving on…

   The idea that we can impose sanctions on Iran is asinine. Their biggest customers are Asia, China, Europe, and Japan. The Eurozone might try to follow some sanction against Iran via US mandate, but I somewhat doubt it as Iran is a major exporter to them. Japan might do so as well, but I doubt the same for the same reasons. In short, the idea of embargoing something is nonsensical. This means that we can only embargo by refusing US trade with Iran. Anyone wonder what a ridiculously low amount of goods we sell to Iran? Less than 4% of their total imported goods. Basically this is a really, really dumb thing. Still people seem to believe it….

   So we bomb them. At least that’s what we have been doing. In modern US history we either pay for a dictator to stay in power (as long as they give us what we want), or we attack them on the grounds of terrorism.

Lets add some realism here.

   Iran does indeed have a lot of oil, but little else. They have little metals and rely a lot on countries like China to export to them. They have few sources of water. Being as such, it is not hard to see why they keep a good chunk of oil for themselves as it’s all they really have. Due to this lack of other materials, it is hard to build any real kind of refineries. Thus, they depend on natural gas and oil to provide them with the energy they need, they lack the resources to move to alternative forms of energy. It is only logical that they use nuclear energy. When a plant is up, running and operating safely, it is one of the cleanest energy sources you can get, you just have to figure out ways to properly dispose of spent fuel rods – especially with the resources they have on hand.

   Enter fear mongers like Newt, Bachman and the other twisted degenerates looking to play God. They hear the word nuclear and it’s time for Iraq II. The fact of the matter is that they either can’t read, or can’t stand the idea of any other country on earth wanting to be it’s own master outside of the US. In terms of its national monetary policy, Iran has less impoverished people than the US does. They have a balanced budget, something the US has not had since about the 1930′s.

    Are they a free people? No, we saw to that in the mid 1950′s and have threatened war upon them if they overthrow what we set up. In short, the country of Iran is doing the best they can with what they have. The US only wants to control them because it has not the nerve to face the backlash of a successful revolution in Iran. After 50+ years of intervention, it is uncertain what new leadership the people of Iran will allow. One thing I can say for certain is that the more we mess with them, the more of a chance there is of someone getting into power next that will want vengeance.

   And remember, no one needed a nuclear bomb to bring the US toward a dictatorship on 9-11. The moral of the story is clear – don’t buy into the fear mongering and religious nuts who say that we must commit action against Iran. When people tell you that you have more to fear from our own government than you do Iran – they are correct.

Why Iran Is NOT a Threat is a post from Peace Freedom & Prosperity Movement - movement for a new evolution

   Some people say inflation has always slowly but steadily risen in terms of money supply itself. They say without that the economy would fail, and a healthy amount is okay. Unfortunately, they never want to see the real numbers on how high it really is.

   If the CPI included gas, food, etc, then it would show far more of this than it actually does. In addition, an increase of money has been spent by the government in the form of debt, thus driving up the overall money supply to a far higher number than most people realize. Inflation does exist at a much higher rate than most people think, and even though you can see the proof of that on the FEDS websites (links below), you can just open your eyes and look around you.

   Consider this. In 1964, $4.60 in dollars, half-dollars, and dimes was worth 4.60. In 2011, $4.60 from 1964 is worth $106.00. This is due to the fact that more money was being flooded into the banks, and taken on in the form of government debt than we had silver and gold to back. In the 60′s a wall was hit in which our system become unsustainable, and it could no longer afford to make silver coinage. In March 1968, they could no longer offer currency redeemable for silver.  In 1982, they could no longer afford to make pennies made of copper. Both the left and the right accumulated the debt by making a strong warfare-welfare state.

   This is in part because we became a consumer driven economy which would not have been so bad without the state growing in equal proportion. As long as the production of the consumer products stayed in the US, this would not have presented a problem either. But as regulations, taxes, foreign wars, and crony capitalism continued to increase, we went from being a producer of real goods, to one where most of the economy is based on services provided.

   Service providing is all good and well, but it relies upon the import of goods from other places. These places will accept such payment as is given them as long as they get something for it. Yet, once it becomes apparent that the services the receiving country is provided to them no longer adequately pays them what they consider the value of their work, they will drop it. Thus, the governing bodies do the only thing they know how – encourage more debt and more money. This, of course, is ineffective, as the underlying policies that slowed progression to a near halt remain in place.

   Silver and gold are hardly the only measure of loss of wealth to the degradation of a money supply. Copper is probably one of the most highly used metals. We use it for wiring, plumbing, other electronics; the list goes on and on. Those who work with copper, know that it’s price has dramatically increased over the last decade. The government could not even afford to make pennies out of it anymore.

   Pennies minted before 1982 were 95% copper and worth 1 cent in monetary value. Today, pennies from 1983 on up are 97.5% zinc, and worth a penny. However pennies minted in 1982 and below are now worth 2 cents in actual copper value. Pennies minted from 1983 and up are worth less than half of a cent. Starting to get the point? And don’t worry – the other coinage is catching up rapidly. This is why it is illegal to melt down pennies. Think of how easily you could collect a mass amount of them (1982 and below of course), melt them down, and sell the copper for a nice profit. Being that it is so widely used in production (and more available than silver), copper has never been illegal to own. But lord forbid, you melt old pennies that no one really uses anymore to make it.

   You can melt silver coins all you want though (quarters on up). However, this is a bad idea, as silver coinage has never been confiscated, only bullion has. This basically means that if you do melt your silver, it can be confiscated once again.  So if you have silver coins – don’t melt them.

   So yes inflation obviously does exist – and you don’t need to go to a gas pump or grocery store to see that – you just have to look into your own wallet.

Ah, if only that were the end of the story…

   The dollar no longer says ‘silver certificate’. It now reads Federal Reserve note. A quick recap here, the FED is NOT a government entity, least of al,l not federal. It is a private board that sets the nation’s monetary policy, charged with maintaining a stable currency, and ergo economy. I think this gives the word failure a new definition.

   Some people say that there is not enough gold and silver to back a stable currency. This is of course an admittance that a monetary system that relies on inflation to work can only be backed with paper. Such paper is valued not on any hard items, but rather, on the valued output of that nations total production – mostly measured in GDP. As long as production exists of real goods, then the money may maintain it’s value. Minus the production of real goods, there is nothing of solid value backing it, so it is very fragile. Once we stopped production, the dollar started losing what little value it may still have had.

   The term gold standard itself is highly misleading. Gold and silver are not the only precious metals in the world, not by a long shot. In short, you could always have some kind of money that is backed by some kind of specie, and have it hold its value. In addition such a standard that is expanded into other precious metals could in theory compete with each other, and at the same time, serve as a method of stabilizing itself. The idea that everyone would be forced to actually carry the specie around in their pockets is both ludicrous and ignorant at best.

   This leads us to the next major issue on the US dollar – only 1 organization can print it, and that is the US treasury. Even worse is that the amount of dollars in circulation can only be controlled by guess who, the Federal Reserve!

   When I said earlier in a separate article that the FED and the Treasury are reliant upon each other to maintain each other’s debt, I wasn’t kidding.  This means that when government makes a bad decision that costs more than it can afford, even in the issuance of debt, that the FED bails them out. Some people refute this, as the FED has said that they don’t just print new money to buy government debt. This is, in fact, technically true, but it does not contradict what I said – and that was merely that the FED assumes control of US Treasury bonds onto its own books, thereby expanding the government’s ability to issue more of them. It is called monetizing the debt, and it is not pretty.

   The ultimate problem with this is that the money doesn’t even exist save for on the balance sheets. At this point it is not backed by anything, not even GDP. It is also at this point that the holders of the US debt begin to drop their holdings of US treasuries and stop buying more. When this starts happening full swing, all we have left with is an en economy that cannot produce, is internationally worth far less than it thought, and stuck with only paper to ‘keep it going’.

   In 1970 such a thing happened in England. More money was printed officially to meet the price of imported goods, yet because the production levels never grew in contrast, the exporters to them would just keep raising their prices. Soon everything was rationed - water, electricity, gas, you name it.

   Think it can’t happen here? It will, and it is too late to stop the initial process.

   The only thing we can do at this point is to hope that someone gets into office who will not declare martial law, de-regulate like it was going out of style, take a massive hunk out of government spending, and start dismantling the state piece by piece. This way, there might still be some kind of peace left at the end of the day rather than a violent form of control which will only lead to the ultimate survival of a state unfit to exist to begin with. In an insane world, it is the sanest choice.

Links:

http://www.federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/rptcongress/annual07/sec2/c3.htm#nl7

http://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/h6/current/default.htm

http://www.federalreserve.gov/Releases/H6/hist/h6hista.pdf (note that M3 has not been published since 2006)

http://www.usmint.gov/about_the_mint/fun_facts/index.cfm?action=fun_facts13  – the US does not have enough gold left to pay even a fraction of its debt – if any at all as gold supply has not been audited in a while

http://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/z1/Current/z1.pdf – high government debt, lower household incomes etc.

http://www.federalreserve.gov/faqs/money_12853.htm

http://www.treasury.gov/services/Pages/bonds-securites.aspx

The Popping of the US Dollar is a post from Peace Freedom & Prosperity Movement - movement for a new evolution

  People have recently expressed concerns regarding the Peace, Freedom & Prosperity Movement because there are occasionally slightly contradictory views expressed among our staff. We do not make any attempt to edit individual thought, the writers here express themselves honestly without fear of an editor sneaking in to change their statements. In a community that fosters free and honest thought there will inevitably be conflicting views, PFP is no different. I encourage the contributors here to question each other, question me and question everything in general. We do not operate on groupthink, we operate on individuality and unique perspectives.

There are no evil thoughts except one: the refusal to think.

-Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged

 

 

A Note From the Editor is a post from Peace Freedom & Prosperity Movement - movement for a new evolution

   Just like republicans and democrats, anarchists too have many different kinds of ideologies/expectations. I am not yet read enough in anarchism to say what exactly I am, but I know I do not fit in any other category. If I must wear a label, I choose it to be that of a rational anarchist.

   I don’t believe that anyone has a right to anything they didn’t earn, or what was not voluntarily given to them. I know that the world is a mad, irrational place and does not share my belief. I know that no two people are the same, that the only thing that ever unites two or more people is an idea or a belief in something.

   I know the world is mad because I have seen it. You can say what you will about anecdotal evidence, heck, on most days I would agree. But the one fact I can never seem to get away from, is that when a group of people becomes large enough, the group begins to break up because it is made of individuals. The bigger the group, the less common ground there will be. Sure, a group can accomplish more than an individual, but it can only accomplish so much before the immediate need is met. Once met, the underlying need is then built upon, branching into one existential after another. Soon those needs develop branches of their own and so on. This is how the tree of society is built.

   Soon, the initial need is taken for granted. The same energy that was poured into meeting that initial need is redirected to meet the needs of the now. Over time, the fix for the initial need breaks, and this is where the tree begins to die.

   Ignoring the internal decay of the tree, the people put more and more effort into maintaining the now. Because of how widespread their society is and its many distractions, dreams, and real needs, they can no longer afford to find a new tree. Because they spent their entire lives in the tree, they have grown afraid of the ground. Doing the only thing they know how, they begin to realize that the tree is starting to sway more in the breeze. Some times seem worse than others, but there is no denying that the sway increases. In short, the collapse of the tree is inevitable. In spite of this, there are many who believe that there is no end to how far the tree will bend, and that it will never break.

   So you soon have a dead tree with the leaves still turning green. People are forgetful so they stick to what they know – the now – and that just so happens to be the extensive branches they live on.

   Yet, a united society it is. Well, united to some I suppose. If you leave the tree, you are not allowed back in without stiff fines and starting over with nothing. As such, people have stayed in the tree for many generations.

   In the tree they felt fairly safe. The creatures in the surrounding lands could not touch them, for if they tried, then they would throw sharpened sticks at it and drive it away. Yet the land provides what a tree could not, and so they would often venture forth. The more the existential wants grew, the more they would send out 2 parties.  One to trade, harvest, and explore; and the other to defend the first group. Somewhere along the way, the tree people felt themselves so powerful that they could tell all of the other ground dwellers to live as they live because, clearly, anything else is wrong. Only they could be civilized, righteous, and free, and it was up to them to make the whole world just like them. As you would imagine, the ground dwellers grew quite upset but lacked the means to do anything about it.

   The tree people are now in a bind. The ground dwellers are angry with them and their tree is up for now but will fall fairly soon. They can no longer strengthen the root and trunk of the tree with thick branches because the rot and decay have set in. The worst part is the confusion among the tree dwellers. A good 30% say that the tree is fine, and that they can just use more branches to hold it up. They demand that all dwellers give up their branch to support the rotten trunk – the more branches you worked hard to acquire and make use of, the more they want from you.

   Another 30% say that the tree is in trouble, but it is salvageable, and that the ground dwellers will attack in their hour of weakness. They demand that everyone gives up fewer branches than the previously mentioned 30%, but then ask for compliance in order to better defend against the ground dwellers.

   Still another 30% think that tree still has some life left – but in the end a whole new tree will be needed. They look for a new tree that resembles the old one in its early years. In their heads, it was not the tree that was at fault but rather how it was abused. They ask you to only give up very little, and promise the same things they original tree people were founded upon.

   Then you have the final 10%. These are the creative’s, the curious, the hands on, and the never say dies with common sense. They never were content with life in a tree. It was stifling to its limited activities and unlivable because of blanket laws and policies that had long sense extinguished common sense. Even worse is that they know damned well that throughout the ages, that the tree was abusing its power, and that it would one day become the proverbial Titanic. They know that had the original tree been kept, and that people were responsible for their own branches (instead of the tree being responsible for the needs of everyone at the expense of everyone), that it never would have expanded past its natural limits.

   To the final 10% it is maddening. Most of the 10% have lived very active lives that have granted them more experience than most of the rest of the tree who were caught up in their distractions. However, this counts for nothing in terms of education for they are only 10%, and the rest of the tree couldn’t care less about them. Wanting more out of life, they have studied in many fields and in more detail than the rest.  Not being satisfied with common knowledge, they want to know more, and have spent more time in this pursuit than the others ever will.  In short, they are the ones people like when everything goes to hell, but hate on any other day.

   The funny thing is that the tree claims to be united in the idea of freedom. This is somewhat ironic considering it rules over the people that give it life. The people nearest the core of the tree are blissfully unaware of the outside world except for what the tree tells them. Just surrounding the core is another group who pretty much does the menial work for those in the core. They live under less comfortable conditions, but still listen to what the core says. Then you have those who live in the branches between the outskirts of the core and the edge of the tree. They live fairly well, and typically have very little want to know what goes on in the core, or on the edge. The live fairly contently in ignorance of both worlds though they will rarely admit so. Finally, you have those who live on the edges. They know the outside for they see it every day.

   The tree dwellers on the edge feel the sway more than any other group when the core starts to weaken. They start to pay more attention to the core, and notice it’s weakening. At first they try to tell their neighbors in the middle, but those in the middle will call hogwash until the sway gets so bad they can feel it regularly. Only then do they bother to check out what they are told. When this point is reached, the tree begins to die if something is not done.

   But 40% cannot change 60. The core has long since tired of keeping the tree alive to let it grow where it will on its own, and has been slowly taking control of the tree bit by bit in a very slow manner. This slow manner is why the middle dwellers never paid it much mind until it became too big to ignore. As for the group right outside of the core – they never lived that well, so they continue to act as they always have and typically remain subservient to or dependant on the core. At such a point, the middle rallying with the edges could have made all the difference in the world and brought all resources to use to warn those outside the core as to what the core itself was doing and why it was hurting them. Instead, the middle bickered amongst itself, as it was all they knew how to do, effectively splitting them in half. So the crucial point is then passed during the arguing and destruction is imminent.

   And when the tree falls, and it people stand in scattered disarray, a rare point is reached. What now? By this time, all of the ground dwellers are now not only thoroughly angry, but now they have a shot they never had before. They can shake off the burden of the tree they never wanted, for good.

   Throughout this whole time, there was about 5% of the core who were true to the ideals the tree was originally founded for. For most of the tree’s existence, they did everything they possibly could to stop the rest of the core from committing long term suicide on the whole tree and its dwellers. However being only 5% of the core with only 30% or less of society backing their ideals, they have been scoffed, laughed at, ignored, and had their own words twisted so far out of context that they were made to look mad, or even evil. Up until it’s fall, they continuously warned the tree over and over again as to what was coming. Only as the tree began it’s collapse did enough people finally listen to them to grant them the position they needed to reset the whole damn thing.

   Yet people are not servants to long term thought but rather to the here and now. Ten percent see the collapse as a good thing, and honestly believe that once the tree falls, that the ground dwellers will differentiate between them and the other 90% that allowed the mess. Of the 90%, 60% still think that giving the core 5% power will save it. In addition, they all have ignored the words of the core’s 5% that don’t want a tree to live on but want to provide a short term relief while people figure it out on their own. Their end goal is to provide proof that the people can still progress and live a civil life without a core making a tree and forcing them under its branches.

The tree will nonetheless collapse. It has 3 choices now.

1.  It can try to maintain the failed, corrupt, and power hungry 95% of its core by doing what it has been for as long as they can remember. They will decry it’s actions but ignore it’s underlying policies, thus enabling the fallen core to maintain its power over them. This will be done in the name of protection, fairness, and safety.
2.  It can try to branch out on it’s own after the tree falls. Those who follow this direction will be meant with conflict, by both the ground dwellers taking advantage of their plight and the remainder of the core who is bound and determined that it will keep it’s power at any cost.
3. It can give the 5% a shot. The efforts of the 5% (and the sheer fact that the rest of the tree saw fit to put them there) will somewhat slow the anger of the ground dwellers against those in the tree. As such, they will be far less likely to try anything. The 5% will seek to stop interfering in the business of the rest of the ground dwellers, and try to withdrawal all of it’s might back to the original domain of the tree. In addition it will attempt to do what it has always proven itself to do, and attempt to reverse the actions taken by the rest of the core. The ultimate goal will be as stated above: To prove to people that the tree was never needed to begin with. This can only be done with time, and a great amount of effort.

If you haven’t figured it out by now, I am doing something that no self respecting anarchist ever would. I am encouraging others to at least this one time, take some kind of action in getting the liberty lovers into office. Before you go ranting at me consider this:

1. The faster the change in a society, the more unstable it becomes. Slow change allows for it to be understood, and provides a much more solid foundation.
2. The faster the expansion, the more unstable it becomes. This goes not just for land and commodities, but for ideals as well.
3. Without any kind of defenses and left to itself, conditions 1 and 2 will apply, so you’re not getting the freedom you think you are.
4. Remember that the internet can be your worst enemy – many love to claim it as the savior of freedom, but government has far more control of it than you think. Trust me.

Anyway – that’s just my opinion – and this time it is only that – pure opinion based only on what I know – you can take it or leave it. Yes I can be wrong – would not be the first time, but I highly doubt it.

When This Tree Falls… is a post from Peace Freedom & Prosperity Movement - movement for a new evolution

When a work of art pulls feelings and thoughts out of us that we couldn’t successfully express before, it is truly a self-revolutionary moment. It lends a hand in finding our own voices.  Sometimes we encounter another person’s artistic expression and it seems to say exactly what we’ve been trying to find words for and suddenly, we know exactly how to express ourselves. Art in every form can be a driving force behind societal norms and shifts, it can be propaganda intended to deceive the masses into false beliefs, it can be a truth so brazen and inspiring that it spurs a revolution, it can be everywhere in between.

   Rebel Inc. is often called a political band, I don’t really believe “political” is exactly the correct term, they’re anti-political. Rebel Inc. is based in Maryland, USA and initially started around 2000 but all four current members were not present until 2010. Rebel Inc is comprised of Adam on vocals, Kevin on guitar, Benny on bass and Brian on drums. Their sound spans the entire rock spectrum.  From punk to alternative to metal and everywhere between, Rebel Inc can deliver flawlessly.  Rebel Inc’s most notable features are probably powerful guitar, raw lyrics, pure energy and undeniable truth in performance.

They self-released their first EP in March 2009; every song on the album has been played on terrestrial radio in multiple states in the USA, as well as Canada and Australia and has received great reviews throughout North America and Europe. “Killin’ the Future” is featured on A Soundtrack for Refusal, a compilation album featuring Tom Morello, Rise Against, Anti-Flag, Ryan Harvey, and many more great artists to benefit the Civilian-Soldier Alliance. The second album is due for release in spring 2012.

Rebel Inc seems to constantly be on the road touring, getting audiences to fall in love with them. They have played over 100 different venues in 15 states, US military bases with the sponsorship of Iraq Veterans Against the War, played Seattle Hempfest in 2011 and have played with Seether, Fuel,  Anti-Flag, Cold, Kottonmouth Kings, Otep, Hed PE, Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, Psychostick, Green Jelly, Nashville Pussy and dozens of local acts in many areas.

I have seen several reviewers call Rebel Inc “high energy” that really doesn’t describe their performance adequately. Rebel Inc’s album is fantastic, I own it myself and my teenagers blare it on a regular basis, but Rebel Inc live is explosive, many have stated that Rebel Inc must be seen live and that is absolutely accurate. I’ve yet to see or hear any recorded media that truly does their performance justice. Their stage presence is awesome, all the passion, anger, hate and love that goes into their music transfers out to the crowd. They are ALL over the place on stage; Adam is often spotted off the stage in with the crowd. I saw Rebel Inc. in Columbus, OH in October, 2011. The crowd was very small, the venue was brand new to the band, and it didn’t make a difference, they put on the same show they would (and have) for a crowd of 100,000. Their music was clean and together, there is no garage band quality about them, they’re very much professional grade musicians. They clearly love playing and performing and most definitely served to impress in Columbus, the crowd demanded another song at the end of the set. And of course, Rebel Inc delivered.

Through discussion with band members, I have come to know beyond a doubt that these guys are in it for the message. Above all else it seems to me that Rebel Inc hopes their fans will leave with a hunger for change, the desire to think freely and the balls to take control of their own lives and minds, hence my calling this “artistic terrorism”. Rebel Inc is definitely a threat to the system in the worst possible way — they seek to open minds and spread truth and love.

For more information on Rebel Inc attend the show nearest you and check out the following links:

Rebel Inc website

Reverbnation

Facebook

Twitter

Youtube

**********Edited to add:**********

Rebel Inc’s equipment trailer was stolen by dirty, thieving scoundrels. Please donate a few dollars to help them get another one and make touring easier!  

Acts of Artistic Terrorism – Rebel Inc. is a post from Peace Freedom & Prosperity Movement - movement for a new evolution