Once there was a Country

          All through my childhood I learned about a country.  The most amazing nation ever conceived, founded on principals of individual liberty.  Where justice was blind, and color was known properly as fiction having no foundation in reality.  A land where accidents of birth did not define a life, with people being judged on their own merits.  Where self claims of exceptionalism are met with the proper disdain, and understanding of immaturity such exclamations warrant.  A country that protected the rights of those living within it's shores, not because the country had granted any rights, but precisely due to knowing they were always present.  Where people were free, leaders were servants, and we did things not because they were easy, only that they were right.  A nation that understood unrestrained democracy was tantamount to might makes right, with a people firm in their understanding that selecting leaders is as important as electing them.
         A painful glimpse of the America that lives in my heart, and mind.  There is no self deception, if my vision of the land of my birth ever existed, it's name is long lost to the mists of time.  The United States corporate entity, and subsidiaries who control the world I find myself experiencing are another matter entirely.  No longer a nation of people occupying a land mass, but a slick pr machine to backed the might an empire the likes scarcely dreamed of.  Hundreds of bases, millions of assets, every corner of the globe in short reach.  Rome reborn, Alexander's dream come true?  It's plain to see America was slaughtered, or subjected, when The United States were born. The stamp of D.C, clearly lays out the pattern.  Ask yourself a question, If your a free person, and this is a land of freedom, than why are you policed? why are streets patrol'd?  These are words of prison and war, they have no place among the free.  Don't fret, I am not an advocate of anarchy, it is a revolution of mind, a blossoming of understanding gnawing in these guts.  Strip away the legal fictions, that have enslaved the mind and spirit, and is quickly claiming the body.  Peace is not enforced, it is disturbed, and than restored.  Officers upholding the peace respond to complaints and disturbances, not enforce statutes, codes, and regulations.  A government derives it's authority from the consent of the governed, it can hold no powers not granted by the people.  Now our politicians ask not what is right, but what is legal,   Where hatred is protected, yet openness is shunned.  Artificial shared experience engendered through the superficial connection of technology.   Trauma based mass mind manipulation, sorcery of the highest order, turned to mathematical certainty.
         Many will dismiss these words as paranoid delusional, or misguided. Perhaps they even deserve such a label, though there no sense of being personally persecuted.  Only a profound sense of a sadness as perception replaces projection.


Jack
aka
PanseyBard
         

Creating Space, Creating Maya

          As said many times, quite famously in the Matrix, "there is something wrong with the world, what it is you can not say".  So many of us feel it, looking out at the world at large it seems obvious that something is just not quite right. Well buckle up put on your tin foil hats do not suspend your disbelief, take what follows with a grain of salt. When that natural desire to reject the very possibility that any of this may be true, follow it, you'll sleep better I promise.  There has been, and is now a systematic organizing structure. The prize no less than the mass consciousness of humanity, dominance of virtually every aspect of the macro interactions.  This might a good time to listen to that little voice that says I'm crazy.  This is not new information, many others have exposed portions of the mechanisms as they understand them.  There are as many ways to see this web of half truth as there are people experiencing it.  I am not even certain all the obvious deception are not for humanities ultimate benefit.  This is just a commentary on information, and possible ramifications.
         Creation is a symphony, or said another way in the beginning there was the word.  All is frequency, cycles of change, pulsations of energy, the creation and equalization of pressure. So there is a complex harmony of creation we are a part of. I care not what you call it, intelligent design, cosmic accident, that the ebbs and flows are in patterns is in little doubt from even the most hardened skeptic.  So what does this have to do with a hijacking of consciousness?  The same energetic frequency harmonics that are at play in humanity have their resonances present in the greater harmonic structure of creation.  In our natural state we can feel our connection to the greater creation, we are in harmony with our environment.  We have been shifted slightly in subtle and not so subtle ways. This evident from our calendars, music, food, social structures, the manipulation is as varied as as can be imagined.
       The Calendar, some have called this the original mechanical mind control. How accurate this statement is obviously debatable. It is tough to argue how fundamental our experience of the flow of time from one day to the next is to being in or out of rhythm with creation.  This is not a new idea. Now I'm not advocating we ditch the idea of a calendar, just how about we use one that is an accurate reflection of our relation to the greater cycles.  Many will say so what it's just a way to plan future events like a watch. If this is your feelings I'm surprised you've gotten this far. Being out of step, or tune on such a foundational level disconnects us from physicality. We lose sensation our connection to each other, nature, and creation at large becomes fuzzy.
      The Music , few would argue the amazing power of music. It's wondrous ability to engender emotion, trigger memory, shape matter. It's little surprise given the primacy of sound in pretty much every spiritual tradition.  So is there a magic frequency we are tuned to? Of course there is, it's widely known, has been used for as long as we can find music, A=432. So far so good, only the modern western tuning is A=440, just close enough to have desired effects, and just far enough away to force us out of tune with creation.  So where did 440 tuning come from? Would you be surprised to learn it may have been nazi germany?  There is a massive amount of information on the relation of music to the structure of creation, a little research is amazing.
        With only these two examples we created the space, or separation needed to allow for the hijacking of the consciousness of humanity.  If as so many of our ancient teachings tell us, what we experience here is illusion, or maya a shadowy reflection of reality, the space created by just these two shifts are all the cracks needed to add a new layer of maya.  For those of you with a more elastic view of reality, this would amount to pushing our world into a sub pocket dimension. We would literally no longer be able to interact with aspects of creation.  Signals once clear guides become fuzzy and distant as we move out of vibrational relation to them. I could go on and on about differing aspects of how this control structure is created and maintained, but I will wrap this posting up with a how it's kept in place. The five monkeys experiment , never forget we are talking about macro level controls. Using our own tendency to group and follow the dictates of the group without thinking. The mob mentality at it's finest.

As always, do not trust this, find out for yourself and come to your own conclusions.

Jack
aka
PanseyBard  

Money is a Tool

            I'm going to talk about currency again today.  I know, I know it seems to be one of my favorite things to write about. While it might seem like that, I assure I'd rather spend my time pondering the so called deep questions of existence.  The thing that keeps me coming back to the topic of currency, and money is simple, it's at the heart of most if not all of the short comings of humanity. I'm not going to cover the history of the hijacking of the world, and I feel full confidence in saying the world. As of the the writing of this there are 3 countries without a privately owned/controlled central bank.  When you begin to look a bit behind the scenes you find a very small number of people who flat out own the worlds currency.  I intentionally did not use the word money, as we do not use money, what we use as a means of exchange does not fit the definition of money, so in using the term money you help reinforce the open lie.  Let me again state I am not anti currency, I'm not even anti fiat currency.  I actually am in favor of a currencies value being tied to the nations gdp, and the amount of currency in circulation.  Where a nation treated the currency as a utility, an accounting tool to both allow for as well as track the exchange of goods and services.  What we have is a magic trick designed to transfer all real wealth into the hands of a few.  Any nation that allows for a privately owned/controlled central bank to issue it's currency at interest will fail, this is just a mathematical certainty.
          So why do I feel this is such an important issue for the world?
It's simple really, I won't even have pets, as I do not like the thought of being a pet. With privately owned/controlled currency creation we are little better then economic chattel.  By even using the currency you help perpetuate the system. Many will balk and chafe at these  words insisting we need the system, I agree we need a system to allow for exchange to easily take place. I do not agree we need to allow a small global cartel to profit of the labor of every man, woman, and child.  Do not be fooled, if you use the currency of your nation, or union you are profiting people you've never even heard of.  Do your research learn how this system works, come to grips with the responsibility inherent in the idea of freedom.  Come to grips with the hard truths, once enough of the people point out the emperor has no clothes, we can do something about it.
           Fix the money, and many other things will fix themselves.


Jack
aka
PanseyBard   

The Neutral Money Myth, or Context the Hidden Polarity

           There is a prevailing view among many that money is only energy, and it's use is the determining factor as to the charge it carries.  This obviously carries some truth, what is left out is that every dollar, pound, euro, yuan, rupee, or ruble has a story, they carry their own context. So while the idea of money, or currency is just a means of exchange. A way to remove many of the limitations on barter, I mean who wants to carry around a truck load of chickens, just to get some rice, or pay rent.  If we had base neutral money/currency this post would be over right here.  The trouble with holding this as your prevailing view is this.  It ignores the larger context, the currencies we all use on a regular basis do not exist in a vacuum. This means the currency you receive does not reach you in an energy neutral state. It carries with it the context of all it has been used for before, as well as the context of it's creation.  While the polarity of it's previous use can be easily cleared, this is not the case when it comes to it's creation.
           Before I continue, let me express that I understand that for most people refraining from the use of their local currency would foster hardship.  That being said understanding what accepting it's use means to me is an important step in moving toward a fair, free exchange system.  So what type of system for currency creation to we have in place now?  The majority of the worlds currency is created by private banking institutions at interest, with little to no backing.  This means by using the currency you're inadvertently giving tacit endorsement of what in criminal terms would be a racketeering. Yes it's a sad but true fact, our financial system is little different than a government back organized crime syndicate.  By participating we are giving our go ahead to the theft of not just our own future labors, but also those of our children, and their children.  This government backed monopoly is nothing short of a built in mechanism to ensure profit of the system off any endeavor anyone may undertake.  Taking this idea a step farther and it turns into a method of power retention. This is a bit easier to understand when you realize, your money is not yours, never was yours, and never will be yours. It is always the property of the system that created it, you are a user of it, and pay usury for the privilege of doing so.
          So when you next hear that money is neither good nor bad it is only energy, point out this while true in the abstract, lacks the context of the world we inhabit, and the currency we have is no more than a tool of enslavement, designed with purpose, and intent.

As always, think for yourself.

Jack
aka PanseyBard

Who or What do You Think You Are?

            I guess this is one of the questions almost everyone has or will ask themselves at some point.  What I find most entertaining is while who might at first glance be tough question, our understanding of the nature of reality may have made what the more confusing.  That being said many will never get past who, so I'll start with my take on who we are in general sense, before I attempt a prod at the what.

         Who am I, might seem pretty easy, I mean I have an identity I use on a daily basis for others to refer to.  So I have a name I was given at physical birth, and to one degree or another I identify with this name. In my case I refused to even answer to my given name till middle school.  With a name like Jack can you blame me?   Some of you might be wondering whats wrong with the name Jack?  It isn't that there is something wrong with it, but when you start to look a bit deeper in the meanings and effects of names on the psyche, and even down the physical your perception of it might alter.  At this point I'd like to direct you to the work of Dr Masaru Emoto. Is it really such a leap to apply that to your name and the water of your body.  Everyday people call you by a name, this name carries with it an form.  The form, or energy carried by your name patterns you without your even knowing it.  Every name has entangled in it the history of that named being used over and over.  Things like the numerology of a name takes on new meaning the numbers telling a story of the energy contained, and the overall effect a particular name carries.  In the case of my given first name it would be something like this,  10 1 3 11, in the most widely used western numerology this would be added as individual numbers to come with an overall energy of the name. Looking something like this 1+0+1+3+1+1=7, so the over arching energy would 7.  This of course is just one aspect, another is ideas presented by Synchromysticism.  Applied to names, and assuming the interaction of the energies present and Jack becomes an identity that perhaps some would find tough to assume. All of this also relies on a thread to be woven through history, a running narrative extending back into antiquity, and forward off into infinity. Some would argue that there is no linkage that can be identified that warrants these ideas be anymore then speculation.  I say we are link, we write the stories, we become the tapestry linking them all.  How does this all add up to who I think I am?  Well to put it simply, I am a work of fiction.  As one of my favorite t-shirts states "fictional character".  I'm not sure a more true representation of our condition can be found, I have a running narrative, containing the character I am currently playing.  My conception of self is less important to you, then your concept of me.  So I don't even have a set identity, who am I changes as the way those around me perceive me changes.  Even my sense of self identity relies on the culture I find myself in, just try to describe who you are without using other people, things, or events.  As strange as our sense of identity might be, it pales when compared with what we are.
          What we are becomes so much a matter of perception, and the deeper you look the stranger we seem. Most medical doctors will say we are mostly water, while most physicists will say your mostly empty space.  Both are correct when looked at from their respective perspectives.  When you keep going down the rabbit hole into the realm of quantum the fun really begins. Suddenly the fact we are as paradoxical as the idea of particle or wave becomes so self evident as to defy what most consider rational explanation. As it turns out we are an illusion, a trick of the senses, think seeing is believing.  we appear solid, though we know there is nothing solid we can find. Even our perceptions are as easy to change as clicking the remote to switch channels.  Our senses so easily fooled, yet trusted implicitly. When was the last time you stopped to consider how your senses function, how what you perceive isn't exactly a lie, though it's only accurate from a human perspective. When was the last time you thought about how your "senses" function, or even questioned the limits we are given on the senses. How many senses do you even have? this might seems silly but this video from the Animaniacs points out the limit of 5 senses isn't even accurate.  The view we are a classical system made up of quantum components may be one of the most accurate I've seen to date, it may even hold the clue to the interface between mind, body, spirit through entanglement.  So what am I? Does it even matter?  I and no one else can answer these questions for you, all anyone can do is give the answers that work for them.

Jack
aka
PanseyBard

Flag Yourself for Privacy

     Just wanted to throw out this idea.  There is a list of keywords that flag your communications as needing closer inspection.  Some of these are obvious, and most people would hardly ever use, some are pretty common, and you have likely used them recently, and often.  Here are a couple of places for this list, I'm certain it's only partial as things are added.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/reuvencohen/2012/05/26/department-of-homeland-security-forced-to-release-list-of-keywords-used-to-monitor-social-networking-sites/2/

http://realityviews.blogspot.com/2012/05/full-list-of-374-keywords-and-phrases.html

Here is my idea, it's based on the concept of a DDOS attack hackers use to bring down websites.  Instead of people actively staying away from these.  What if as many people as possible used them as often as possible.  Putting em places where they don't even make any sense. Fill posts with them, put them in sig's for forum pages, in headers or footers for e-mail.  Just blast em all over the net on a continuous basis by as many ordinary net denizens as possible.  

If they are watching, give them something to watch.

Jack

aka

PanseyBard

Are You Already Obsolete?

       Yet another crazy question?

       Are you sure it's so crazy?
I'd guesstimate 60% or more of the current jobs could be replaced by automation or machine intelligence with current technology.  In the US wages have remained stagnant since the 80's. If you based it on productivity the numbers say minimum wage would be around $20 an hour.  On the surface this seems to be a travesty, is it possible this wage freeze has partially been a bulwark slowing the adoption of automated production methods.  We have a saying "the bottom line" and for most of the worlds corporations profit motive drives all decisions. When or if a machine can do your job for less cost then your currently doing it for, you will be replaced by that machine.  What I see in the world right now is that most service and retail positions could be done by machine. I'll use as an example a fast food joint.  If you walk into your local fast food burger place regardless of the name you see the same thing. Anywhere from 2 to 12 people in various states of activity.  Now these jobs are not what are considered high skill positions, new employees are generally expected to undergo only a few days of training. I don't see it as much of a leap that a smart system could be deployed that would not just take your orders, and make your food.  This smart system would track inventory, submit orders, monitor not just the premises for maintenance but also traffic patterns, as well as other data to increase productivity, and decrease waste. Combined with the emergence of augmented reality technology, you would even be able to see and talk to a very human seeming staff.  Think this is still sci-fi, perhaps this video will start your imagination firing.

     We already see check out stands with no cashiers, again I say as people demand higher wages they are hastening their replacement by machine.  The costs processing power continues to decrease and costs of human workers rise a conjunction is reached then a machine system will be put into place. The first companies to do so will see an advantage, but as adoption becomes the norm we are likely to see the use of a human work force used as a marketing tool.
    Many will take this a threat to civilization, oddly enough it is precisely the opposite effect. As a world civilization we are at a nexus point of development.  By our own scale we are a class 0, we have everything we need other then will to become a class 1.  Class 1 civilizations have reached an equilibrium with their environment, achieving control and understanding of planetary systems as to allow continuation of species till the natural death of the planet. Thing is there is a window of opportunity think of it like reaching the top of an octave. There is that momentary pause of completion before a choice to continue into a new higher octave, or descend back down the octave just traversed.

The choice is ours. the time is now

Jack
aka
PanseyBard   

The Not so Uncertain Future of BitCoin

       I like many others are very excited by BitCoin as well as other crypto-currencies.  This is still true as I write this, I still see decentralization as the future of almost all things. 3d printing has the ability to decentralize production. While new developments in energy production as several fronts will potentially make anyone who desires it energy independent.  Even with this optimism BitCoin as I see it lacks future potential as a currency is limited.  It's math nature makes it unsuited to being used as such with our current model of capitalism.  There are some concepts of the nature of currency. Currency is a tool for accounting, its a method to make easy the tracking, and transfer of goods and services. Currency not to be confused with items of inherent value are only useful in the realm of issuance.  So what makes BitCoin unsuited to this task? Mathematically planned maximum number of coins would be all that is needed to see it's future is pretty easy to guess. From the much ballyhooed worlds most powerful decentralized network, to the trading of coins.
      Miners will cease operation all together when the coins are all mined.  With their exit most of the processing power of the network will go with it.  The miners those that have kept up with increase in difficulty will turn their machines to other problems, most of these are what are called asic, or application specific integrated circuit making them unsuitable to any other task.  So there will be a fork or division of the algorithm used as proof of work for mining BitCoins.  Most of the power backing the network gone it's only those trading the coins, and only when they have their machines on with their wallets open to be supporting the network. When trading coins between individuals it's the same as cash no fees, this isn't true when your using it to pay for actual items. The payment processing will take a percentage away every transaction, till the coins are pooled in the wallets of very few. The value of the ideas presented in BitCoin will be realized in the coming of the DAC a digital autonomous corporation.  This is a legal entity that once birthed into the digital world it takes on a life of it's own out of the hands of it's creators just as the coins currently do.  The difference will be these entities will provide a service and live and die on their own merits paying dividends to those active. Some I've seen ideas for are a streaming service combining torrent ideas with bitcoin ideas allowing the videos to be hosted across the network and rewarding those serving data.  We will shortly see the release of many new DAC's reshaping the digital world.
       Bottom line is the planned end of new coins will mean the end of use as currency. It still may hold value, as any "rare" item holds value. A currency though needs wide acceptance, and the amount in circulation has to meet the needs of trade. A fiat currency which by default BitCoin is, needs strict controls on issuance, and maintenance to keep the system the currency supports in motion. That is not to say I'm in favor continuing the current system prevalent in the world with private corporations issuing currencies for nations.  This leads to a whole other set of problems myself, and others have covered many times.

Jack
aka
PanseyBard   

Who Owns your Phone?

         I've posted a few times my thoughts on how silly the notion of privacy is. There are ways to make things hidden, but nothing is private.  In a creation based on fundamental unity what can be private, and just who is there to keep it private from?  How many people actually do anything that anyone else really cares to look at.  Though even as I have little concern for privacy for myself, I do understand others are keenly intent on maintaining at least the illusion of individual security.
         Obviously with the news that the NSA has backdoors into so many devices, this becomes a valid question.  So Just who owns that phone in your pocket?  For me the answer is sadly Motorola, and Verizon. Why do I say that?  Like so many people I got a discount, and got my phone for free by signing a contract with Verizon for service.  So my phone which I pay for is not actually mine till the contract is complete.  If I violate the terms of the contract I can lose service, and suffer fees for early termination which make that unattractive. Now it's an android but does that really matter?  Not really as I am stuck using the provided OS, and a bunch of bloatware that locks up much of my phones resources.  There are even questions about if gaining root access will void my warranty, let alone using custom roms.  I've already lost most end users of these devices, that is biggest problem in taking control of your device.  We don't as a norm understand what we are using.  The idea that your phone should be treated more like your desktop PC is a novel concept for most people.  Honestly that is my point, most of us walk around with a device we don't actually understand, even if we are able to use many features.  They are generally top level functions, with most of the control of the device being transparent to the user, and for most people this is fine.  How many people need to know how the video they just took ends up posted to their favorite site.
         We walk around with a computer in our pocket, or purse or whatever. It has an always on connection, that we will complain about if we lose signal strength. This computer has audio, and video, and most of us have no clue about the device beyond a few apps they use on a regular basis. Then we scream bloody murder when we find out the cloak and dagger world has been using our ignorance against us.  Seriously as a famous genie once said "wake up and smell the humus".  If you are unwilling or unable to control your energies what ever form they might take someone else will control them for you, and usually to their benefit not yours.  This is a truth of the model we have set up, is it the only model we are capable of following? of course not.  We live in a world where we spend more money to be able to "defend our interests" then anything else.  As I've repeatedly said, when you do not own a thing like your phone, or the internet, or the frequency your data travels through the air on, you have no right to privacy.  All you can do is make it tougher for those trying to watch you to do their job.  Learn about encryption, understand how your device works, and if it's actually yours or not.

Jack
aka
PanseyBard 

The Tower of Babel Undone

         The Tower of Babel, the idea that all people at one time had a common language, but through the arrogance of trying to reach GOD our punishment was confuse our tongues.  For those that would like a bit more in depth look at this story please check here, http://www.omniglot.com/babel/. Honestly I'm not as interested in the exact details, as I am in now.  This is a story that has roots in so many cultures there is more then likely some truth to it, even if it is not in the way we think.  As our use of computers has grown, and the capabilities of those computers has grown, we have intentional or effectively undone this event.

We now have at our finger tips instant translation. My phone can listen for me and speak translations at almost real time.  My browser translates full page texts with improvements ongoing to ensure the most correct translations possible.  There is even bubble translation which can be used both directions. Giving the ability to not only translate portions of text, but also write in your native text and have translated into any number of languages.  We have effectively undone this classical story.  What are the ramifications of this punishment by GOD being undone by man?   Why have the end of the world folks seemingly left this topic alone?  This story is from a GOD that doesn't seem to take kindly to interference, or rules breaking. This is a GOD that endorsed the plagues of Egypt, the destruction of Sodom, and Gomorrah.  How a GOD with this track record reacts to having it's ruling circumvented can only be imagined.
       I am not a religious person, I do not profess, or follow any given religion.  I love studying religions, it's a passion. I guess I'm looking for something greater interacting, and taking an interest in humanity.  So this story in particular is of interest due to it being currently unfolding, a link back to biblical times. I thread of story active in my current reality that has it's roots in a time of wonder when gods walked the earth, and man with all it's flaws wasn't considered the power.  As always these are just random thoughts rattling around my mind, take them as such.

Jack
aka
PanseyBard 

Inner Demons, or Something Else?

      I'd like to thank Eminem and Rihanna for the inspiration for this post.  First off I've never been much of an Eminem, and my favorite Rihanna work is Shy Ronnie.  It's not a matter of not recognizing the talent, just hasn't been something that attracted my attention.  The video for the song Monster grabbed me. If you haven't seen it check it out.  On the surface it's good flow, and beat, and hook, and everyone in the video is
right on it.  Then I started to hear the words, and a few possible meanings based on my own twisted mind started to fill in where the actual lyrics of the song leave off. Lets face it everyone has their own definition for every word, multiple definitions for many, nuanced by usage, emotional flavor, timing in delivery.  Now I know these definitions are a product of my own devising, and I have no clue what is really intended by the artists, and it doesn't matter. The experience I have in watching, or listening is mine.  So what did I see? well if you didn't ask that question, I guess you might as well stop reading now.  If you still with I'll play in my silly mind for a bit, and maybe entertain you some.

I'm digging the whole imagery of being analyzed, though the lyrics don't really quite match up.  The video gives the impression of someone getting "help". The lyrics though are of someone who has come to terms with the monster lurking in their own psyche.  This zips me right along a thought train to the mystery traditions to know thyself.  I like this kind of connection so it draws my attention in a bit farther, allowing some less apparent or less likely depending on your perspective to form in this chaos of I.  I'm a fan of conspiracy theories, they are fun for me.  If the world we see on the surface is all there is, this is a pretty sorry place, so I kinda need that idea that just maybe things are not what they seem at all.  Making a link from this video to popular conspiracy was a piece of cake.  A simple Search of Illuminati and  the music industry is all it takes, now as I said those are fun for me, so that connection was made in my head pretty quickly.  It started when the idea that it's external to what Eminem views as self, the lyrics talk of the monster being not within, but under the bed, something external, and voices while in the head are heard. A labeling that leads to the idea of being distinct from.  Even the the line of being a messenger, and the shift in vocal quality are used to denote an external entity, something that is very different from what we see.  A possession of sorts, of something that is not to be controlled only befriended, and understood.
       As I said, I claim no inside knowledge, I'm not even saying I hold the view I just expressed, it was just a little show of whats rattling around in this thing I call a mind. So please don't go off thinking I'm saying this is satanic ritual, or expression, cuz frankly I don't know, and even if I did I'm not sure I'd be overly concerned. So once again thanks to Eminem, and Rihanna for some entertaining inspiration.

Jack
aka
PanseyBard  

Last Call Has Sounded

I've been staying away from economics, so many people think it's so dull, and frankly I have never cared all that much for money as an abstraction.  My heart does have large tracts of space for all sorts of creatures who still believe in the dollar, or piles of gold. What ever make you feel secure I suppose.  The U.S. has been belly up to the bar of cheap cash for so long now, that people don't even know what sound fiscal policy is.  This is likely to change, and in the short term as opposed to the long haul.  Take a look at this article, and then lets take another look at the financial house of cards has been built.  http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-11-20/pboc-says-no-longer-in-china-s-favor-to-boost-record-reserves.html  not enough, then maybe this one will get ya over the hump
http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/china-announces-that-it-is-going-to-stop-stockpiling-u-s-dollars

I was so not paying attention to it anymore, and it was so under the boards that I almost missed it.  Think of this now, we are printing 85 billion a month, someone needs to buy that debt, or we are going to swallow it.

Bottom line, we stop printing and our interest rates must rise, we've been trading long term debt for short term debt. Meaning we have to cycle through it ever faster. If that new debt has no place to go, and the interest rates are forced to rise then we as a nation will not be able to fund our obligations due to the interest payments rising out of control.

Again, for me, this is not a bad thing, it's just a thing. If your counting on dollars for your security, then buckle up it's gonna get bumpy.

Jack

ET IS NOT GOING TO SAVE YOU!!!

        Many religious beliefs have in them an idea of a savior. A being that will come down to save the day. Clean up the streets, and smite the wicked. Even the so called new age has their own version with various ET's coming to rescue humanity. It's a wonderful thought and takes us back to the sheltered days of childhood. Where mom or dad would always be there to swoop in and save the day.  Grow up people, no one is coming to save us!  If someone does show up with the promise of salvation we would be in a Buddha on the side of the road situation.
        Lets look a little closer at the idea that ET will save us from ourselves.  This sounds nice.  I mean what could be so wrong with some friendly ET coming with tech so far in advance of ours, it takes care of our problems like they are silly, and trivial.  On the surface it sounds great, a more depth will reveal the falsehood.  If lets start with, any ET group that would be willing to work with individual nation states is likely not a group with humanities best interests in mind.  Any ET group that would be advanced enough to make the interstellar, or inter-dimensional trip here would have solved the same problems we are currently facing, or managed to avoid them all together. Either way we already have everything we need to solve our problems, all we are lacking is the will to do so.  If you want to know why intervention is always a bad idea look no farther earth history.  Even when one nation intervenes in another nation it invariably goes awry.  An easy way to look at it is from the perspective of a child living in their parents home.  If ET showed up and fixed the planet, and implemented system to solve our social issues, it would no longer be our society it would be theirs.  If there is a galactic federation of some kind we would create a cancer inside it if they interacted with us now.  Our dealings even among friends are filled with deceit, and mistrust.  Why would you as an outsider want to become embroiled in our petty global politics?  If you do are you someone we really want involved?

Jack
aka
PanseyBard

America, Portrait of a Failed Nation

         As an American I feel it's not just my right, but my responsibility to point out just how massive, and all encompassing our failure is.   Many still cry out that we are the best nation in the world, all while the statistics, and experience is otherwise.  Some my rail against what they see as me being anti-america. They would be correct, I am against the America I see out my window, on my TV screen, and in cyber space. I have trouble understanding how your not as disappointed as I am.  If there is a way for a nation to fail that America has not already failed in I'd be shocked.
        If we had problems in just one area you might be able to say it was the exception, but on the whole America is solid.  Our economy is touted as being the #1 in the world based on gdp. All well and good if we lived in fantasy land, but where I live when your top export to one of your biggest trade partners is trash. Your in trouble. You did read that right, America's biggest export to China is returning the packaging for all the goodies they make us.  We act like it's Christmas everyday, and as long as we send the wrapping and boxes back Santa will refill them.
      The ACA or Obamacare as it's widely know is a 10k+ page monstrosity.  Seemingly designed to force people that don't use a system to pay for those that do.  This debacle at health care reform is just another example of political theater designed to confuse, and bewilder.  Mean while back in reality the rest of the world divests itself of the dollar.
       So no economy, no health care, how about education?  Well no again we are failing. According to the latest data America isn't even in the top 10.  We don't even make the playoffs.  No wonder the hi-tech jobs are leaving, we increasingly are unable to fill them.  You can find a more detailed account of just how badly we are failing in this regard here.
       There was for years the expectation in America that children would be better off then their parents.  This is no longer the case, and unless fundamental changes are made we won't even recognize the country we wake up in. I have come to the painful realization that the country I was taught about was only a story.

Jack
aka
PanseyBard

Pirates and the New World Order

      Americans seem to have a love affair with idea of a pirate.  We romanticize them like we do the cowboys, creating a picture of a world that never existed.  They have come to represent a sense of freedom we seem to have lost in our constricted civilized world.   This got me thinking what place does the pirate have in our modern world.  When I started to look around I noticed many of our most famed or infamous have much in common with the beloved pirate.

Pirate defined

      What we get is a picture of a person that holds no loyalty to any nation. A pirate is beyond such considerations, not out of a sense of duty to something bigger then a nation. The pirate is out for the pirate. Many of our top level corporate officers, bankers, and the like are modern pirates.  They profit from off shore, paying no heed to national loyalties.

         So when I was watching the popular modern pirate epics Pirates of the Caribbean. I started noticing  there seemed to be an odd theme to the first movie.
I then watched the 3rd, looking to see if this one also had an odd overall teaching.
Not surprisingly it was easily found.  By the time I watched the middle film I was sure it would be easy to spot. Surprisingly it completely escaped me, this may have been due to being distracted.  Taken in whole these are basic guidelines for how to live a pirates life.

Curse of the Black Pearl: "what a man can do, and what a man can't do"  that is a very profound lesson for a would be pirate.  Laws do not apply to a pirate, so there is only what you are able and willing to do, and what you are unable, or unwilling to do.

 Dead Man's Chest: there is no quote from this movie that I found that aptly spells out the lesson. Instead the lesson is shown by every character in their actions. That message being every man for himself, or self interest governs all.
This is clearly shown as every character lies, cheats, and steals for their own perceived well being.

 At Worlds End: "take what you can, give nothing back" This is pretty self explanatory, and quite evident.

So there it is, if you want to know how to become pirate, live by those guidelines.

Oh and for a bit of fun, look at how our international corporations have been acting.

Jack
aka
PanseyBard

The Jobs Aren't Coming Back

            For years the back bone of the middle class has been whats called "low skill" "low wage" manufacturing jobs.  With the onslaught of freetrade agreements these jobs fled the wealthier nations, and took up residence in the undeveloped or poorer nations.  This has led toward more global equilibrium of wealth, and power. Simultaneously leading to greater income inequalities within each respective nation.  Many have noticed the jobs created are lower paying then the jobs lost. Even the jobs that currently available may not be for much longer, automation, and technology advancement may make them obsolete.
            I'm not trying to be an alarmist, or chicken little.  This could be an end of the world as they know it for some people.  Though they would of had to have been playing ostrich for quite sometime now.  Most have seen this coming for decades, if not since Mr. Ford invented the factory.  For those forward thinking people this amazing transitional period can offer opportunities unheard of even ten years ago.
          The very concepts of work, and money are changing before your eyes.

          How you react is up to you


Jack
aka
PanseyBard

Obamacare The Greatest Magic Trick Ever

While Rome burned Nero fiddled.
When historians write of the fall of the dollar will the caption go something like this?

                               Obamacare The Greatest Magic Trick Ever

For years it's been one distraction after another. I always wonder when I'm learning about the newest scandal, if the media is completely controlled, what is so big they need to hide it with this?  With the "shutdown" if you can call it that pushed back past the holiday season.  Obamacare will and has been continually used as a means to hold peoples attention while the rest of the world divests itself of as many of it's Dollar reserves as they can manage.   This isn't even a new trend. While all time stock highs can be tied to the largest supply of dollars at the cheapest price ever.  So if you haven't started learning Chinese you might want to consider it.  The smart ones have all started spending the dollars we intended to be held to ensure some return on investment.

Don't be fooled while Americans watch a drama crafted just for them, the rest of the world is finalizing their plans for the end of the sole reserve status of the dollar.

for a bit more info look into
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-10-13/chinas-official-press-agency-calls-new-reserve-currency

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/us-politics/10376017/World-should-de-Americanise-says-China-following-default-fears.html

http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/25/business/universal-credit-rating-group/index.html

Fall of America!!! Would You Save it?

There is an almost universal awareness of the slide from power of America. Look no farther then our net import/export.  The Deficit spending, free trade agreements world wide changing to cut out the dollar.  Some of the problems we find ourselves in now have their roots 100 years ago.  These things are fairly easy to see for most people. The real question is would you make the changes needed to fix it?  I mean really would you have the will it takes to make the changes needed to save America as a nation.
It's really not that tough here are a few well known fixes. Please note these are fixes for the current system, and do not fix the basic problem of interest on currency creation.  Just take a look at this How to fix America. Everyone seems to know exactly what the problems are, and how to fix them.

I think the question I don't see being asked might be more important. Should it be saved?
As America was on the rise it created global cooperation never before seen. You can argue how beneficial America's involvement has been for any given region or country, but the overall global inter connectivity is undeniable.  So have we as human beings matured past the point of nations to the point where we need something new?

Jack
aka
PanseyBard  

The Fall of America, Are You to Blame?

It's all over the news, and obvious to anyone willing to take an unbiased look would say America is in decline.  I hear the calls from concerned citizens, buy american, bring our jobs home.  Try to buy a tv made in america, how many electronic devices are even made here anymore.  How about cars, how many of the parts in your car were manufactured here?  Look, I'm not trying to point fingers at any one individual or group. I'm saying we all are culpable.

      Want to know if your country is on the rise or in decline.  Look for the international trade balances. If your country is negative, wealth is leaving.

This isn't rocket science, things for sure can get confusing, but the major trends are generally pretty easy to spot. When you have a country that is the worlds trade currency your going to add value. This will increase the value of the currency, though it does nothing to add value to the real economy of the country.  The effect of this means the goods produced will reflect this artificially inflated money.

Combine this with a rise of international conglomerate to whom borders are to be exploited in the quest for profits and it's a nice recipe.  

        The writing has been on the wall for years, it's been a slow motion decent from dizzying heights.  Look around the net you'll see so many warning of the collapse of  America.  The warning is to late, it would of needed to be heeded decades ago to halt the natural transition of power.

Could we reverse the damage?

of course we can

Should we?

Jack

aka

PanseyBard  

Is America the Evil Empire?

With all the hype about American exceptional-ism being tossed around I couldn't help myself but entertain a few thoughts on the matter.

              Is  American the defender of freedom, and virtue?

 Highly unlikely, the wars for profit, oil, and currency interests would pretty much rule that out.  America has been driven by self interest from the founding fathers on.

But if America isn't the worlds defender of all that is good, then are they the evil empire?

This again isn't very likely. Think of the Star Wars movies episodes 1-3.
While so many people see it as a war between light, and dark. Taking place between the republic, and the separatists.  As well as being reflected in the journey of Anakin from "light" to "dark".  Once you look a bit closer you notice that Palpatine was controlling both sides, as well as pushing Anakin down a path to becoming Vader.  What we are left with is a very powerful psychopath working to solidify his own grip on power.  Seeing things simply as "good" versus "evil" actually plays into the hands of Palpatine.

So how does this relate to the concept of American exceptional-ism?

The Jedi thought of themselves as exceptional, guardians of the republic.  This served them well right up till they became an institution of the republic.
Ensuring they would no long act exceptionally, and would then on enforce a set of rules.

America was exceptional, at the end of WWII our infrastructure was intact. Manufacturing was booming, and we held the lions share of the worlds gold.
The Dollar then became exceptional when it was made the worlds reserve currency. This made the Dollar, and America the exception globally. This incredible boon, and responsibility for sure made America the exception globally.
How long can you really oppose a nation that can effectively lock your nation out of global trade. You have to also ask, how has America used it's position of power, and privilege?  It's used it in every way possible. I feel plunder, rape, and pillage could easily be applied. Of course right next door to those are bastions of wonder and beauty.  I read an article where it was referred to as the pax-Americana by the Chinese state media. While obviously biased, it's not an unfair characterization.  My real question isn't is exceptional-ism dangerous, of course it is. Any time someone or thing sets itself outside the rules everyone else follows the likely hood of abuse is very high.  My question is this. Are we following this script a little closer then we care to admit?  There is a scene where Padme poses a question that boils down to asking if they are fighting for the right side.  This is a very interesting question, and not one with an easy answer. At the time it is posed there is no side that has the interests of the people. The Emperor controls both sides of the conflict.  Like that conflict the sides we are presented with here are not what they seem to be.

Obvious solution?

Choose a new game.

Jack
aka
PanseyBard