November 29, 2004

Poor ol Dubya...

President Bush was visiting a primary school and he visited one of the classes. They were in the middle of a discussion related to words and their meanings.

The teacher asked the President if he would like to lead the discussion on the word "tragedy". So the illustrious leader asked the class for an example of a "tragedy". One little boy stood up and offered:

"If my best friend, who lives on a farm, is playing in the field and a tractor runs over him and kills him, that would be a tragedy."

"No," said Bush, "that would be an accident."

A little girl raised her hand: "If a school bus carrying 50 children drove over a cliff, killing everyone inside, that would be a tragedy."

"I'm afraid not," explained the president. "That's what we would call great loss."

The room went silent. No other children volunteered. Bush searched the room.

"Isn't there someone here who can give me an example of a tragedy?"

Finally at the back of the room a small boy raised his hand. In a quiet voice he said:

"If Air Force One carrying you and Mrs Bush was struck by a "friendly fire" missile and blown to smithereens, that would be a tragedy."

"Fantastic!" exclaimed Bush. "That's right. And can you tell me why that would be tragedy?"

"Well," says the boy, "it has to be a tragedy, because it certainly wouldn't be a great loss and it probably wouldn't be a f*cking accident either".

Mark...

Posted by Mark at 2:18 PM | Comments (0) | Funny

November 26, 2004

Never read an epic until your sure its finished!

Im currently reading SE's Malazan empire series and am just about to finish book four! Yet again book five is not written :( So this will bring my tally of unfinished epics to four..

Robert Jordan wheel of time series

Im still waiting for book 11!! Yep book ELEVEN! He is not wrong calling it the wheel of time as I think he is caught in an infinate loop with this story and cant escape. I will have to read the whole series again as I cant remember anything about it now!

JV Jones Fortress of Grey ice

Is he ever going to give me book three to this series! I have been waiting over a year now and yet again have forgotten the first two in the series!

Ian Irvine Well of Echoes

Please Mr Ian give me book four to your well of echoes QUAURTET!

Never ever trust an author :) In fact wait until he is finished before buying the first book! This is what I am going to do in future as im sick of waiting over a year to be able to finish my storys.

Mark...

Posted by Mark at 8:03 AM | Comments (0) | Books

November 19, 2004

How NOT to use a crane

This is How NOT to use a crane!

I laughed so much at this little sequence doing the email rounds at the moment!

Click the photo to see the slideshow. Make sure to click "next in set" otherwise the pics will be out of sequence!

Easy Job,
originally uploaded by 15dn.

Mark...

Posted by Mark at 1:06 PM | Comments (0) | Funny

America

Damion wins again!!

I want to check his head as he must have a 666 in there somewhere!

You have to give the Yankee's credit for a surprisingly large voter turn out. Whether or not you liked the outcome, it's four more years of Bush et al. In our humble opinion that means the continued and perhaps even more rapid erosion of everyone's civil liberties throughout the world.....

The bottom line, regardless of the reason or excuses like 9/11, is
that civil liberties under the Bush and Blair (UK) administrations
have eroded dramatically and intentionally. Any rational thinking
person has to admit that FACT, REGARDLESS of the reasons for the
erosion. Historically, once civil liberties and freedoms are taken
away, one NEVER gets them back, unless the people rise up and
overthrows the government, the government is overthrown by outside
forces as what happened with Nazi Germany, Japan and more recently
Iraq, or self destructs like what happened to The Roman Empire and the
former Soviet Union.

History repeats itself. This will most assuredly happen to Amerika
one day. Amerika will cease to be the world sole super power.
Perhaps not in our lifetime, but sooner rather than later. China is
set to become (at today's current growth rate,) the number one
economic power in less than 50 years. If you look BACK 50 years,
America NEVER won the Korean war because of China's intervention, and
that was more than 50 years ago! Communist China has become an
economic power whether or not anyone likes that fact.

We have already seen Amerika cow towing to communist China with
America's appeasing attitude towards North Korea. How can the US go
to war in Iraq where there were no known WMD, when North Korea
admitted they had not only ordinary weapons of mass destruction, but
NUCLEAR bombs?

The united States (correct spelling,) under Bush has boxed itself into
a corner. It declared war on the Axis of evil, invaded Iraq and is
now wallowing in its own misery, bogged down in nasty quagmire
(terrorist) war in Iraq because of inept pre and post war planning.

In addition Iran has admitted to having nuclear weapons. What is the
US to do, invade both North Korea and Iran? Then where next to invade
and liberate the people? Sudan and ???

What this all means is that by America exerting its policies
worldwide, whether they are right or wrong, our civil liberties will
continue to be affected in a negative manner.

We wish our American friends well during the next four years. We
trust that Bush et al rethink their past mistakes and work towards a
genuine world peace. Only time will tell, but based on its past
record, things aren't looking so good for the Yankees overseas.

Thanks to PT

Mark...

lets hope labour dont win again in the UK! Still if UKIP dont sort themselves out what are we left with! The bloody torys again and another 30 years of ripping the railways up only to rebuild it all!!! ha ha

Posted by Mark at 9:30 AM | Comments (0) | Privacy Issues

November 18, 2004

Marks Quote of the Week

With the Americans in mind I have turned to my old friend Tactitus (A famous Roman historian).

"The more corrupt the state the more it legislates"

Yep that'll be the US then I guess :) With the UK not so far behind!

Mark...

Posted by Mark at 10:10 AM | Comments (0) | Quotes

November 15, 2004

Lock up your Domains!

A subject that is being talked about a lot at the moment is Domain name locking.

Go-daddy has sent to all their customers and email telling them to login and lock-up their Domain names with their registrar.

Why?

Well put it simply a person may not be able to steal your domain, but they sure can cause YOU problems.

Let's see how.

I have some 22 domains, I go on a little trip (I do that often) and while I'm gone someone transfers four of my domains to a different registrar. I don't get my email... it goes through without my saying so. ...(before it couldn't now it can)

Now my domain, still in my name is at another registrar, is it still pointing to my server? I hope so!

I just sold a domain to someone, I go to get it and guess what it is not where I thought it was but with another registrar and I don't have a login. My hands are tied up?

Can the person who transferred my domain get in and change my info. Well, I don't know... and I sure don't want to find out either :)

SO Lock em up now while you can so you dont end up in this little scenario!

Mark...

The related link to all this is Here

Posted by Mark at 9:17 AM | Comments (0) | Internet Marketing

November 14, 2004

Two Buses!

The Story of Two Buses

Picture this. You're driving down the highway with your nine-year-old son. You're in the middle lane. On your right, one behind the other, are two buses. The bus in front is painted white. The bus behind is painted yellow. The bus in front has its windows painted over. The
bus behind does not.

Your son asks you a question. "What are those two buses, Daddy?" You tell him that they are two very different kinds of buses. "How are they different?" he asks. You explain that on the first bus are prisoners who are being taken to jail. On the second bus are students who are being taken to school. "But how is that different?" your son asks.
That's what I'm asking, too.

You tell your son that the men on the first bus are required to get on that bus. Then your son asks you if the students on the yellow bus have a choice in the matter. You think about it. Neither group has any choice in the matter. Somebody tells the members of both groups
that they must get on that bus and stay on that bus until the bus comes to its destination.

Your son says he doesn't understand. So, you try to make it clear to him. You tell him that the people on the white bus have committed crimes. They are bad people. They are being taken to jail. The people on the yellow bus are good people. They are being taken to school. Your son asks: "Why do they make the good people go on the bus?"
That's what I'm asking, too.

Remember, you're talking to a nine-year-old. Nine-year-olds are not very sophisticated. They need clear answers. So, you had better be prepared to provide clear answers.

You tell your son that the good people on the yellow bus are being taken to school for their own good. Your son asks if the people on the white bus are being taken to jail, but not for their own good. No, you tell him. They are being taken to jail for their own good, too. Your son asks,
"Then what's the difference?"

The difference is, you explain to your son, that the people on the white bus are very bad and society intends to make them better. Your son asks: "Is society taking the people on the yellow bus to school in order to make them worse?" No, you tell him. Society is taking them
to school in order to make them better people, too.
"Then what's the difference?"

The difference is, you explain to your son, the people on the white bus are dangerous people. In order to make society safer, society puts them in jail. The people on the yellow bus are not dangerous. "Then why are they forced to go to a place where they don't want to go?" your son asks. "Because it's good for them," you answer. "But isn't that why the people on the white bus are being taken to jail?" he asks.

You are getting frustrated. You tell your son that they're required to get on the bus because when they are young they don't know that it is a good thing for them to go to school. They don't want to go to school. But they're supposed to go to school. Your son replies that this sounds just like the people in the white bus. But they're supposed to go to jail, you tell him. It's for their own good. They're going to be better people if they go to jail.

Isn't that right? Isn't the whole idea of sending people to jail to rehabilitate them? Aren't they supposed to become better people in jail? I mean, if they aren't going to become better people, why not just sell them into slavery and use the money to pay restitution to their victims? Why build jails? Why paint buses white?

You tell your son that the bad people have to go to jail in order to keep them off the streets. The problem is, this is one of the reasons why society requires students to go to school. People want to keep the kids off the streets. They want to make certain that somebody in authority is in a position to tell the children what to do. They don't trust the children to make their own decisions. They also don't trust the criminals to make their own decisions.

This is more complicated than you thought. But you keep trying. You explain to your son that bad people must be kept from doing more bad things. Your son asks: "What are the bad things that kids do?" The light comes on. You tell your son that the children are dangerous to
themselves, but the prisoners are dangerous to everybody else. The children may hurt themselves, but the prisoners may hurt other people. But your son wants to know why it is that the children must be taken to a school in order to keep them from hurting themselves, when they can stay home and not hurt themselves.

You tell your son that it's because people are not able to stay home with their children. Your son wants to know why not. You explain that both parents have to work to make enough money to live a good life. This means that somebody has to take care of their children.
Your son wants to know why parents don't hire somebody to come into their home and take care of the children. Why don't they hire a teacher to take care of them? You explain that it is cheaper to hire one teacher to look after lots of students. Your son wants to know
why it's cheaper to send children to school when it costs money to build schools, buy buses, hire drivers, and pay for gasoline.

This is a smart kid.

You explain that the people who have children force people who do not have children to pay for the schools. Your son asks if this is the same thing is stealing. "Isn't that what the people on the white bus did?" No, you explain, it's not stealing. Your son asks, "How is it
different?" Now you have a problem. You have to explain the difference between taking money from someone to benefit yourself as a private citizen, which is what a criminal does, and taking money from someone to benefit yourself as a voter. This is not so easy to
explain.

You explain to your son that when you vote to take money away from someone so that you can educate your child, this is different from sticking a gun into somebody's stomach and telling him that he has to turn over his money to you. Your son then asks if it would be all right to stick a gun in somebody's stomach if you intended to use the money to educate your child. No, you explain, it's not the same. When you tell someone that he has to educate your child in a school run by the government it's legal. When you tell somebody that he has to educate your child in a private school, where parents pay directly to hire teachers, it's illegal.

Your son then asks you if it's all right to take money from other people just so long as you hand over to the government the money to do the things that you want the government to do. You explain that this is correct. "But what if other people don't think that the government
ought to be doing these things?" You explain that people don't have the right to tell the government not to do these things unless they can get more than half of the voters to tell the government to stop doing them. Your son sees the logic of this. He asks you: "Are the
people in the white bus being taken to jail because there were not enough of them to win the election?" You know this can't be right, but it's hard to say why it's wrong.

Here is where you are so far. Society makes the prisoners go to jail. It sees these prisoners as dangerous. It wants to teach them to obey. Society makes children go to school. It sees these children as dangerous to themselves. It wants to teach them to obey. If it can
teach both groups how to obey, society expects the world to improve. Society therefore uses tax money to pay for the operation of jails and schools. This includes paying for buses. But there is a difference. Prison buses are white. School buses are yellow.

There must be more to it than this.

So, you keep trying. Schools are run by the government to teach children how to make a living. Jails are run by the government to teach people how to stop stealing. Here is a major difference. "Do they teach prisoners how to make a good living?" your son asks. No, you tell him. The prison teaches them to obey. He asks: "Then why will they stop stealing when they get out of prison, if they don't know how to make a good living." Because, you explain, they will be afraid to do bad things any more. Your son asks if people in prison learn how to do bad things in prison. You admit that they do. "So," he asks, "we send people to prison and school so that they will learn how to make a good living? Only the difference is, the government pays for a place where bad people teach other bad people how to steal without getting caught, but in school, the government pays good people to teach children how to be good citizens and vote. So, the bad people learn how to steal from the good people without voting, and the good people learn how to steal from each other by voting. Is that how it works?"

That's how it works. Both systems use buses to take the students to school. But the colors are different.

In prison, prisoners sell illegal drugs. Students do the same in school. In prison, the food is terrible. It's not very good in school - possibly prepared by the same food service company. In prison, there are constant inspections. Guards keep taking roll to make sure everyone is present and accounted for. Teachers do the same in school. In prison, you aren't allowed to leave without permission. The same is true in school. In prison, bullies run the show. In school, they do, too. But there is a difference. Prison buses are white. School buses are yellow.

This is too extreme. The systems are different. Criminals are convicted in a court of law before they are sent to jail. Students, in contrast, are innocent. Some prisoners can get parole. The average term in prison for murder is under ten years. Students are put into the school system for twelve years. There is no parole.

Be thankful you are not in one of those buses. Either color.

Mark...

Posted by Mark at 2:50 PM | Comments (0) | Life | TrackBack

November 10, 2004

JOG Racing

The lads have asked me to enter us for another JOG race next year. It has been a while since we all went sailing so this should be fun.

I think we will do the Cowes to Cherbourg race and back over a weekend. Let me relate a little story from the last one we did :)

We were on the return leg and it had been a long hard slog due to NO wind on the Sunday at race start. This saw the whole fleet just off the French coast making NO headway for over 5 hours (very tiring) Anyway we finally did get moving albeit with a very tired crew.

We were running our normal watch system leaving one novice with one of my experienced crew memebers whilst on watch. I had gone to bed for 4 hours along with the rest of the crew and had left Tristan and Nik on watch. Tristan was below doing some chart work leaving Nik on watch.

Tristan decided to check on Nik to see how he was and went above. He looked forward to see the whole side of a SUPERTANKER not more than 100 meters away and closing fast (we were making 9 knots) He quickly disengaged the autopilot and tunrned us off so we would miss the impending collision!

later when we asked Nik what he was doing he said and I quote

"I thought it was LAND! Although I couldnt figure out why I could see a TV"

he thought it was land and i guess that was ok! which is why he was still sitting there with his legs crossed not waking us up. We were heading straight for land at 9 knots and I guess that's just fine.

We worked it out that he was half asleep and tripping out on Red Bull (oh yes it gives you wings alright when you've had 8 cans) and had actually seen a tv through one of the tankers side portholes (yes we were that close)

can you beleive that!!!!!

Suffice it to say we tightened up the watch system after that :)

Mark...

Posted by Mark at 9:16 PM | Comments (0) | Sailing

November 6, 2004

Dumb Spam Law!

Spammer Convicted to Nine Years in Prison

The first two spammers ever were convicted of a felony for sending
fraudulent unsolicited commercial e-mail - spam.

Jeremy Jaynes and Jessica DeGroot, a brother and sister team, were convicted in a Virginia court Wednesday of sending AOL users millions of unsolicited commercial e-mail messages while evading AOL's filters. DMNews report that jurors recommended that Jaynes receive nine years in prison and fined DeGroot $7,500.

DeGroot was convicted because prosecutors proved the domain names used for sending the spam had been purchased on her credit card. A third defendant, Richard Rutkowski, was acquitted of similar charges. Formal sentencing has been set for February next year.

Attorney General Jerry W. Kilgore called the convictions a victory in the fight against spam.

"This is a major victory for Virginians and all Americans," Kilgore said. "Spam is a nuisance to millions of Americans, but it is also a major problem for businesses large and small because the thousands of unwanted e-mails create havoc as they attempt to conduct commerce."

Jaynes and DeGroot were spamming AOL members with get rich opportunities and work from home offers such as being a

'FedEx refund processor,'

which they claimed would allow people to earn $75 an hour working from home. According to evidence, Jaynes received 10,000 credit card orders, each for $39.95, during a one month period. Instead of this spammer sitting at home stuffing FedEx envelopes, he'll probably be behind bars next year, where he belongs. Hopefully, with no access to a computer.

15dn note:

We detest spam as much as the next person. But once again over zealous prosecutors passed a ridiculous sentence for first time offenders, i.e. nine years! Get that, NINE YEARS!

Murderers and rapists get less time than that! So much for fairness
in Amerika eh!

Mark...

Posted by Mark at 10:30 AM | Comments (0) | Internet Marketing

November 3, 2004

Money and Power

The Story of a Goldsmith named Fabian

One day a thoughtful man went to see Fabian. "This interest charge is wrong", he said. "For every $100 you issue, you are asking $105 in return. The extra $5 can never be paid since it doesn't exist.

Preface

Farmers produce food, industry manufacturers goods, and so on, but banks only produce money.

Suppose there are only two businessmen in the whole country and we
employ everyone else. We borrow $100 each, we pay $90 out in wages
and expenses and allow $10 profit (our wage). That means the total
purchasing power is $90 + $10 twice, i.e. $200. Yet to pay you we
must sell all our produce for $210.

If one of us succeeds and sells all his produce for $105, the other
man can only hope to get $95. Also, part of his goods cannot be sold,
as there is no money left to buy them. He will still owe you $10 and
can only repay this by borrowing more. The system is impossible."

"ALL I WANT IS THE EARTH PLUS FIVE"

Fabian was excited as he once more rehearsed his speech for the crowd
certain to turn up tomorrow. He had always wanted prestige and power
and now his dreams were going to come true. He was a craftsman
working with silver and gold, making jewelry and ornaments, but he
became dissatisfied with working for a living. He needed excitement,
a challenge, and now his plan was ready to begin.

For generations the people used the barter system. A man supported
his own family by providing all their needs or else he specialised in
a particular trade. Whatever surpluses he might have from his own
production, he exchanged or swapped for the surplus of others.

Market day was always noise and dusty, yet people looked forward to
the shouting and waving, and especially the companionship. It used to
be a happy place, but now there were too many people, too much
arguing. There was no time for chatting - a better system was needed.

Generally, the people had been happy, and enjoyed the fruits of their
work.

In each community a simple Government had been formed to make sure
that each person's freedoms and rights were protected and that no man
was forced to do anything against his will by any other man, or any
group of men.

This was the Government's one and only purpose and each Governor was
voluntarily supported by the local community who elected him.

However, market day was the one problem they could not solve. Was a
knife worth one or two baskets of corn? Was a cow worth more than a
wagon and so on. No one could think of a better system.

Fabian had advertised, "I have the solution to our bartering problems,
and I invite everyone to a public meeting tomorrow."

The next day there was a great assembly in the town square and Fabian
explained all about the new system which he called "money". It
sounded good. "How are we to start?" the people asked.

"The gold which I fashion into ornaments and jewelry is an excellent
metal. It does not tarnish or rust, and will last a long time. I
will make some gold into coins and we shall call each coin a dollar."

He explained how values would work, and that "money" would be really a
medium for exchange - a much better system than bartering.

One of the Governors questioned, "Some people can dig gold and make
coins for themselves", he said.

"This would be most unfair", Fabian was ready with the answer. "Only
those coins approved by the Government can be used, and these will
have special marking stamped on them." This seemed reasonable and it
was proposed that each man be given an equal number. "But I deserve
the most," said the candle-maker. "Everyone uses my candles." "No",
said the farmer, "without food there is no life, surely we should get
the most." And so the bickering continued.

Fabian let them argue for a while and finally he said, "Since none of
you can agree, I suggest you obtain the number you require from me.
There will be no limit, except for your ability to repay. The more
you obtain, the more you must repay in one year's time. "And what
will you receive?" the people asked.

"Since I am providing a service, that is, the money supply, I am
entitled to payment for my work. Let us say that for every 100 pieces
you obtain, you repay me 105 for every year that you owe the debt.
The 5 will be my charge, and I shall call this charge interest."

There seemed to be no other way, and besides, 5 percent seemed little
enough charge. "Come back next Friday and we will begin."

Fabian wasted no time. He made coins day and night, and at the end of
the week he was ready. The people were queued up at his shop, and
after the coins were inspected and approved by the Governors the
system commenced. Some borrowed only a few and they went off to try
the new system.

They found money to be marvelous, and they soon valued everything in
gold coins or dollars. The value they placed on everything was called
a "price", and the price mainly depended on the amount of work
required to produce it. If it took a lot of work the price was high,
but if it was produced with little effort it was quite inexpensive.

In one town lived Alan, who was the only watchmaker. His prices were
high because the customers were willing to pay just to own one of his
watches.

Then another man began making watches and offered them at a lower
price in order to get sales. Alan was forced to lower his prices, and
in no time at all prices came down, so that both men were striving to
give the best quality at the lowest price. This was genuine free
competition.

It was the same with builders, transport operators, accountants,
farmers, in fact, in every endeavour. The customers always chose what
they felt was the best deal - they had freedom of choice. There was
no artificial protection such as licences or tariffs to prevent other
people from going into business. The standard of living rose, and
before long the people wondered how they had ever done without money.

At the end of the year, Fabian left his shop and visited all the
people who owed him money. Some had more than they borrowed, but this
meant that others had less, since there were only a certain number of
coins issued in the first place. Those who had more than they
borrowed paid back each 100 plus the extra 5, but still had to borrow
again to carry on.

The others discovered for the first time that they had a debt. Before
he would lend them more money, Fabian took a mortgage over some of
their assets, and everyone went away once more to try and get those
extra 5 coins which always seemed so hard to find.

No one realised that as a whole, the country could never get out of
debt until all the coins were repaid, but even then, there were those
extra 5 on each 100 which had never been lent out at all. No one but
Fabian could see that it was impossible to pay the interest - the
extra money had never been issued, therefore someone had to miss out.

It was true that Fabian spent some coins, but he couldn't possibly
spend anything like 5 percent of the total economy on himself. There
were thousands of people and Fabian was only one. Besides, he was still
a goldsmith making a comfortable living.

At the back of his shop Fabian had a strong-room and people found it
convenient to leave some of their coins with him for safekeeping. He
charged a small fee depending on the amount of money, and the time it
was left with him. He would give the owner receipts for the deposit.

When a person went shopping, he did not normally carry a lot of gold
coins. He would give the shopkeeper one of the receipts to the value
of the goods he wanted to buy.

Shopkeepers recognised the receipt as being genuine and accepted it
with the idea of taking it to Fabian and collecting the appropriate
amount in coins. The receipts passed from hand to hand instead of the
gold itself being transferred. The people had great faith in the
receipts - they accepted them as being as good as coins.

Before long, Fabian noticed that it was quite unusual for anyone to
actually call for their gold coins.

He thought to himself, "Here I am in possession of all this gold and I
am still a hard working craftsman. It doesn't make sense. Why there
are dozens of people who would be glad to pay me interest for the use
of this gold which is lying here and rarely called for.

It is true, the gold is not mine - but it is in my possession, which
is all that matters. I hardly need to make any coins at all, I can
use some of the coins stored in the vault."

At first he was very cautious, only loaning a few at a time, and then
only on tremendous security. But gradually he became bolder, and
larger amounts were loaned.

One day, a large loan was requested. Fabian suggested, "Instead of
carrying all these coins we can make a deposit in your name, and then
I shall give you several receipts to the value of the coins." The
borrower agreed, and off he went with a bunch of receipts. He had
obtained a loan, yet the gold remained in the strong-room. After the
client left, Fabian smiled. He could have his cake and eat it too.
He could "lend" gold and still keep it in his possession.

Friends, strangers and even enemies needed funds to carry out their
businesses - and so long as they could produce security, they could
borrow as much as they needed. By simply writing out receipts Fabian
was able to "lend" money to several times the value of gold in his
strong-room, and he was not even the owner of it. Everything was safe
so long as the real owners didn't call for their gold and the
confidence of the people was maintained.

He kept a book showing the debits and credits for each person. The
lending business was proving to be very lucrative indeed.

His social standing in the community was increasing almost as fast as
his wealth. He was becoming a man of importance, he commanded
respect. In matters of finance, his very word was like a sacred
pronouncement.

Goldsmiths from other towns became curious about his activities and
one day they called to see him. He told them what he was doing, but
was very careful to emphasize the need for secrecy.

If their plan was exposed, the scheme would fail, so they agreed to
form their own secret alliance.

Each returned to his own town and began to operate as Fabian had
taught.

People now accepted the receipts as being as good as gold itself, and
many receipts were deposited for safe keeping in the same way as
coins. When a merchant wished to pay another for goods, he simply
wrote a short note instructing Fabian to transfer money from his
account to that of the second merchant. It took Fabian only a few
minutes to adjust the figures.

This new system became very popular, and the instruction notes were
called "checks".

Late one night, the goldsmiths had another secret meeting and Fabian
revealed a new plan. The next day they called a meeting with all the
Governors, and Fabian began. "The receipts we issue have become very
popular. No doubt, most of you Governors are using them and you find
them very convenient." They nodded in agreement and wondered what the
problem was. "Well", he continued, "some receipts are being copied by
counterfeiters. This practice must be stopped."

The Governors became alarmed. "What can we do?" they asked. Fabian
replied, "My suggestion is this - first of all, let it be the
Government's job to print new notes on a special paper with very
intricate designs, and then each note to be signed by the chief
Governor. We goldsmiths will be happy to pay the printing costs, as
it will save us a lot of time writing out receipts". The Governors
reasoned, "Well, it is our job to protect the people against
counterfeiters and the advice certainly seems like a good idea." So
they agreed to print the notes.

"Secondly," Fabian said, "some people have gone prospecting and are
making their own gold coins. I suggest that you pass a law so that
any person who finds gold nuggets must hand them in. Of course, they
will be reimbursed with notes and coins."

The idea sounded good and without too much thought about it, they
printed a large number of crisp new notes. Each note had a value
printed on it - $1, $2, $5, $10 etc. The small printing costs were
paid by the goldsmiths.

The notes were much easier to carry and they soon became accepted by
the people. Despite their popularity however, these new notes and
coins were used for only 10 percent of transactions. The records showed
that the check system accounted for 90% of all business.

The next part of his plan commenced. Until now, people were paying
Fabian to guard their money. In order to attract more money into the
vault Fabian offered to pay depositors 3 percent interest on their
money.

Most people believed that he was re-lending their money out to
borrowers at 5%, and his profit was the 2 percent difference. Besides,
the people didn't question him as getting 3 percent was far better than
paying to have the money guarded.

The volume of savings grew and with the additional money in the
vaults, Fabian was able to lend $200, $300, $400 sometimes up to $900
for every $100 in notes and coins that he held in deposit. He had to
be careful not to exceed this nine to one ratio, because one person in
ten did require the notes and coins for use.

If there was not enough money available when required, people would
become suspicious, especially as their deposit books showed how much
they had deposited. Nevertheless, on the $900 in book figures that
Fabian loaned out by writing checks himself, he was able to demand up
to $45 in interest, i.e. 5 percent on $900. When the loan plus interest
was repaid, i.e. $945, the $900 was cancelled out in the debit column and
Fabian kept the $45 interest. He was therefore quite happy to pay $3
interest on the original $100 deposited which had never left the
vaults at all. This meant that for every $100 he held in deposits, it
was possible to make 42 percent profit, most people believing he was only
making 2 percent. The other goldsmiths were doing the same thing. They
created money out of nothing at the stroke of a pen, and then charged
interest on top of it.

True, they didn't coin money, the Government actually printed the
notes and coins and gave it to the goldsmiths to distribute. Fabian's
only expense was the small printing fee. Still, they were creating
credit money out of nothing and charging interest on top of it. Most
people believed that the money supply was a Government operation.
They also believed that Fabian was lending them the money that someone
else had deposited, but it was very strange that no one's deposits
ever decreased when a loan was advanced. If everyone had tried to
withdraw their deposits at once, the fraud would have been exposed.

When a loan was requested in notes or coins, it presented no problem.
Fabian merely explained to the Government that the increase in
population and production required more notes, and these he obtained
for the small printing fee.

One day a thoughtful man went to see Fabian. "This interest charge is
wrong", he said. "For every $100 you issue, you are asking $105 in
return. The extra $5 can never be paid since it doesn't exist.

Farmers produce food, industry manufacturers goods, and so on, but
only you produce money. Suppose there are only two businessmen in the
whole country and we employ everyone else. We borrow $100 each, we
pay $90 out in wages and expenses and allow $10 profit (our wage).
That means the total purchasing power is $90 + $10 twice, i.e. $200.
Yet to pay you we must sell all our produce for $210. If one of us
succeeds and sells all his produce for $105, the other man can only
hope to get $95. Also, part of his goods cannot be sold, as there is
no money left to buy them.

He will still owe you $10 and can only repay this by borrowing more.
The system is impossible."

The man continued, "Surely you should issue 105, i.e. 100 to me and 5
to you to spend. This way there would be 105 in circulation, and the
debt can be repaid."

Fabian listened quietly and finally said, "Financial economics is a
deep subject, my boy, it takes years of study. Let me worry about
these matters, and you look after yours. You must become more
efficient, increase your production, cut down on your expenses and
become a better businessman. I am always willing to help in these
matters."

The man went away still unconvinced. There was something wrong with
Fabian's operations and he felt that his questions had been avoided.

Yet, most people respected Fabian's word - "He is the expert, the
others must be wrong. Look how the country has developed, how our
production has increased - we must be better off."

To cover the interest on the money they had borrowed, merchants were
forced to raise their prices. Wage earners complained that wages were
too low. Employers refused to pay higher wages, claiming that they
would be ruined. Farmers could not get a fair price for their
produce. Housewives complained that food was getting too dear.

And finally some people went on strike, a thing previously unheard of.
Others had become poverty stricken and their friends and relatives
could not afford to help them. Most had forgotten the real wealth all
around - the fertile soils, the great forests, the minerals and
cattle. They could think only of the money which always seemed so
scarce. But they never questioned the system. They believed the
Government was running it.

A few had pooled their excess money and formed "lending" or "finance"
companies. They could get 6 percent or more this way, which was better than
the 3 percent Fabian paid, but they could only lend out money they
owned - they did not have this strange power of being able to create
money out of nothing by merely writing figures in books.

These finance companies worried Fabian and his friends somewhat, so
they quickly set up a few companies of their own. Mostly, they bought
the others out before they got going. In no time, all the finance
companies were owned by them, or under their control.

The economic situation got worse. The wage earners were convinced
that the bosses were making too much profit. The bosses said that
their workers were too lazy and weren't doing an honest day's work,
and everyone was blaming everyone else. The Governors could not come
up with an answer and besides, the immediate problem seemed to be to
help the poverty stricken.

They started up welfare schemes and made laws forcing people to
contribute to them. This made many people angry - they believed in
the old-fashioned idea of helping one's neighbour by voluntary effort.

"These laws are nothing more than legalised robbery. To take
something off a person against his will, regardless of the purpose for
which it is to be used, is no different from stealing."

But each man felt helpless and was afraid of the jail sentence which
was threatened for failing to pay. These welfare schemes gave some
relief, but before long the problem was back and more money was needed
to cope. The cost of these schemes rose higher and higher and the
size of the Government grew.

Most of the Governors were sincere men trying to do their best. They
didn't like asking for more money from their people and finally, they
had no choice but to borrow money from Fabian and his friends. They
had no idea how they were going to repay. Parents could no longer
afford to pay teachers for their children. They couldn't pay doctors.
And transport operators were going out of business.

One by one the government was forced to take these operations over.
Teachers, doctors and many others became public servants.

Few obtained satisfaction in their work. They were given a reasonable
wage, but they lost their identity. They became small cogs in a giant
machine.

There was no room for personal initiative, little recognition for
effort, their income was fixed and advancement came only when a
superior retired or died.

In desperation, the governors decided to seek Fabian's advice. They
considered him very wise and he seemed to know how to solve money
matters. He listened to them explain all their problems, and finally
he answered, "Many people cannot solve their own problems - they need
someone to do it for them. Surely you agree that most people have the
right to be happy and to be provided with the essentials of life. One
of our great sayings is "all men are equal" - is it not?"

Well, the only way to balance things up is to take the excess wealth
from the rich and give it to the poor. Introduce a system of
taxation. The more a man has, the more he must pay. Collect taxes
from each person according to his ability, and give to each according
to his need. Schools and hospitals should be free for those who
cannot afford them "

He gave them a long talk on high sounding ideals and finished up with,
"Oh, by the way, don't forget you owe me money. You've been borrowing
now for quite some time. The least I can do to help, is for you to
just to pay me the interest. We'll leave the capital debt owing, just
pay me the interest."

They went away, and without giving Fabian's philosophies any real
thought, they introduced the graduated income tax - the more you earn,
the higher your tax rate. No one liked this, but they either paid the
taxes or went to jail.

Merchants were forced once again to raise their prices. Wage earners
demanded higher wages forcing many employers out of business, or to
replace men with machinery. This caused additional unemployment and
forced the Government to introduce further welfare and handout
schemes.

Tariffs and other protection devices were introduced to keep some
industries going just to provide employment. A few people wondered if
the purpose of the production was to produce goods or merely to
provide employment.

As things got worse, they tried wage control, price control, and all
sorts of controls. The Government tried to get more money through
sales tax, payroll tax and all sorts of taxes. Someone noted that
from the wheat farmer right through to the housewife, there were over
50 taxes on a loaf of bread.

"Experts" arose and some were elected to Government, but after each
yearly meeting they came back with almost nothing achieved, except for
the news that taxes were to be "restructured", but overall the total
tax always increased.

Fabian began to demand his interest payments, and a larger and larger
portion of the tax money was being needed to pay him.

Then came party politics - the people started arguing about which
group of Governors could best solve the problems. They argued about
personalities, idealism, party labels, everything except the real
problem. The councils were getting into trouble.

In one town the interest on the debt exceeded the amount of rates
which were collected in a year. Throughout the land the unpaid
interest kept increasing - interest was charged on unpaid interest.

Gradually much of the real wealth of the country came to be owned or
controlled by Fabian and his friends and with it came greater control
over people. However, the control was not yet complete. They knew
that the situation would not be secure until every person was
controlled.

Most people opposing the systems could be silenced by financial
pressure, or suffer public ridicule. To do this Fabian and his
friends purchased most of the newspapers, T.V. and radio stations and
he carefully selected people to operate them. Many of these people
had a sincere desire to improve the world, but they never realised how
they were being used. Their solutions always dealt with the effects
of the problem, never the cause.

There were several different newspapers - one for the right wing, one
for the left wing, one for the workers, one for the bosses, and so on.
It didn't matter much which one you believed in, so long as you didn't
think about the real problem.

Fabian's plan was almost at its completion - the whole country was in
debt to him. Through education and the media, he had control of
people's minds. They were able to think and believe only what he
wanted them to.

After a man has far more money than he can possibly spend for
pleasure, what is left to excite him? For those with a ruling class
mentality, the answer is power - raw power over other human beings.
The idealists were used in the media and in Government, but the real
controllers that Fabian sought were those of the ruling class
mentality.

Most of the goldsmiths had become this way. They knew the feeling of
great wealth, but it no longer satisfied them. They needed challenge
and excitement, and power over the masses was the ultimate game.

They believed they were superior to all others. "It is our right and
duty to rule. The masses don't know what is good for them. They need
to be rallied and organised. To rule is our birthright."

Throughout the land Fabian and his friends owned many lending offices.
True, they were privately and separately owned. In theory they were
in competition with each other, but in reality they were working very
closely together. After persuading some of the Governors, they set up
an institution which they called the Money Reserve Centre. They
didn't even use their own money to do this - they created credit
against part of the money out of the people's deposits.

This Institution gave the outward appearance of regulating the money
supply and being a Government operation, but strangely enough, no
Governor or public servant was ever allowed to be on the Board of
Directors.

The Government no longer borrowed directly from Fabian, but began to
use a system of I.O.U.'s to the Money Reserve Centre. The security
offered was the estimated revenue from next year's taxes. This was in
line with Fabian's plan - removing suspicion from himself to an
apparent Government operation. Yet, behind the scenes, he was still
in control.

Indirectly, Fabian had such control over the Government that they were
forced to do his bidding. He boasted, "Let me control the nation's
money and I care not who makes its laws." It didn't matter much which
group of Governors were elected. Fabian was in control of the money,
the life blood of the nation.

The Government obtained the money, but interest was always charged on
every loan. More and more was going out in welfare and handout
schemes, and it was not long before the Government found it difficult
to even repay the interest, let alone the capital.

And yet there were people who still asked the question, "Money is a
man-made system. Surely it can be adjusted to serve, not to rule?"
But these people became fewer and their voices were lost in the mad
scrabble for the non-existent interest.

The adminstrations changed, the party labels changed, but the major
policies continued. Regardless of which Government was in "power",
Fabian's ultimate goal was brought closer each year. The people's
policies meant nothing. They were being taxed to the limit, they
could pay no more. Now the time was ripe for Fabian's final move.

10% of the money supply was still in the form of notes and coins.
This had to be abolished in such a way as not to arouse suspicion.
While the people used cash, they were free to buy and sell as they
chose - they still had some control over their own lives.

But it was not always safe to carry notes and coins. Checks were not
accepted outside one's local community, and therefore a more
convenient system was looked forward to. Once again Fabian had the
answer. His organisation issued everyone with a little plastic card
showing the person's name, photograph and an identification number.

When this card was presented anywhere, the storekeeper phoned the
central computer to check the credit rating. If it was clear, the
person could buy what he wanted up to a certain amount.

At first people were allowed to spend a small amount on credit, and if
this was repaid within a month, no interest was charged. This was
fine for the wage earner, but what businessman could even begin? He
had to set up machinery, manufacture the goods, pay wages etc. and
sell all his goods and repay the money. If he exceeded one month, he
was charged a 1.5% for every month the debt was owed. This amounted
to over 18% per year.

Businessmen had no option but to add the 18% onto the selling price.
Yet this extra money or credit (the 18%) had not been loaned out to
anyone. Throughout the country, businessmen were given the impossible
task of repaying $118 for every $100 they borrowed - but the extra $18
had never been created at all.

Yet Fabian and his friends increased their standing in society. They
were regarded as pillars of respectability. Their pronouncements on
finance and economics were accepted with almost religious conviction.

Under the burden of ever increasing taxes, many small businesses
collapsed. Special licenses were needed for various operations, so
that the remaining ones found it very difficult to operate. Fabian
owned and controlled all of the big companies which had hundreds of
subsidiaries. These appeared to be in competition with each other,
yet he controlled them all. Eventually all competitors were forced
out of business. Plumbers, electricians and most other small
industries suffered the same fate - they were swallowed up by Fabian's
giant companies which all had Government protection.

Fabian wanted the plastic cards to eliminate notes and coins. His
plan was that when all notes were withdrawn, only businesses using the
computer card system would be able to operate.

He planned that eventually some people would misplace their cards and
be unable to buy or sell anything until a proof of identify was made.
He wanted a law to be passed which would give him ultimate control - a
law forcing everyone to have their identification number tattooed onto
their hand. The number would be visible only under a special light,
linked to a computer. Every computer would be linked to a giant
central computer so that Fabian could know everything about everyone.

By the way, the correct terminology used in the financial world for
this system is "fractional reserve banking".

The story you have read is of course, fiction.

But if you found it to be disturbingly close to the truth and would
like to know who Fabian is in real life, a good starting point is a
study on the activities of the English goldsmiths in the 16th and 17th
centuries.

For example, The Bank of England began in 1694. King William of
Orange was in financial difficulties as a result of a war with France.
The Goldsmiths "lent him" 1.2 million pounds (a staggering amount in
those days) with certain conditions:

The interest rate was to be 8%. It must be remembered that Magna
Carta stated that the charging or collecting of interest carried the
death penalty. The King was to grant the goldsmiths a charter for the
bank which gave them the right to issue credit.

Prior to this, their operations of issuing receipts for more money
than they held in deposits was totally illegal. The charter made it
legal.

In 1694 William Patterson obtained the Charter for the Bank of
England.

Quotations: Encyclopaedia Britannica, 14th Edition - "Banks create
credit. It is a mistake to suppose that bank credit is created to any
extent by the payment of money into the banks. A loan made by a bank
is a clear addition to the amount of money in the community."

Lord Acton, Lord Chief Justice of England, 1875 - "The issue which has
swept down the centuries and which will have to be fought sooner or
later is the People v. The Banks."

Mr Reginald McKenna, when Chairman of the Midland Bank in London - "I
am afraid that ordinary citizens will not like to be told that the
banks can, and do, create and destroy money. And they who control the
credit of the nation direct the policy of governments, and hold in the
hollow of their hands the destiny of the people.

Mr Phillip A. Benson, President of the American Bankers' Association,
June 8 1939 - "There is no more direct way to capture control of a
nation than through its credit (money) system."

USA Banker's Magazine, August 25 1924 - "Capital must protect itself
in every possible manner by combination and legislation. Debts must
be collected, bonds and mortgages must be foreclosed as rapidly as
possible. When, through a process of law, the common people lose
their homes they will become more docile and more easily governed
through the influence of the strong arm of government, applied by a
central power of wealth under control of leading financiers.

This truth is well known among our principal men now engaged in
forming an imperialism of Capital to govern the world.

By dividing the voters through the political party system, we can get
them to expend their energies in fighting over questions of no
importance. Thus by discreet action we can secure for ourselves what
has been so well planned and so successfully accomplished."

Sir Denison Miller - During an interview in 1921, when he was asked if
he, through the Commonwealth Bank, had financed Australia during the
First World War for $700 million, he replied; "Such was the case, and
I could have financed the country for a further like sum had the war
continued." Asked if that amount was available for productive
purposes in this time of peace, he answered "Yes".

* From "Hand Over Our Loot, No. 2, by Len Clampett:

"There are four things that must be available for paid work to take
place:

The work to be done. The materials to do the work. The labor to do
the work. The money to pay for the work to be done.

If any of those four things are missing, no paid work can take place.
It is a naturally self-regulating system. If there is work to be
done, and the material is available and the labour willing, all we
have to do is create the money. Quite simple."

"Ask yourself why it was that depressions happened. All that went
missing from the community was the money to buy goods and services.
The labour was still available. The work to be done was still there.
The materials had not disappeared, and the goods were readily
available in the shops, or could be produced but for the want of
money.

Extract from a letter written by Rothschild Bros of London to a New
York firm of bankers on 25 June 1863:

"The few who can understand the System (Cheque Money and Credits) will
either be so interested in its profits, or so dependent on its
favours, that there will be no opposition from that class. While on
the other hand, the great body of people mentally incapable of
comprehending the tremendous advantage that capital derives from the
system, will bear its burdens without complaint and perhaps without
even suspecting that the system is inimical (hostile, hurtful) to
their interests.

The following quotation was reprinted in the Idaho Leader, USA, 26
August 1924, and has been read into Hansard twice: by John Evans MP,
in 1926, and by M.D. Cowan M.P., in the Session of 1930-1931.

In 1891 a confidential circular was sent to American bankers and their
agents, containing the following statements:

"We authorise our loan agents in the western States to loan our funds
on real estate, to fall due on September 1st 1894, and at no time
thereafter.

On September 1, 1894, we will not renew our loans under any
consideration.

On September 1st we will demand our money - we will foreclose and
become mortgagees in possession.

We can take two-thirds of the farms west of the Mississippi and
thousands of them east of the great Mississippi as well, at our own
price.

We may as well own three-fourths of the farms of the west and the
money of the country.

Then the farmers will become tenants, as in England."

* From "Hand Over Our Loot, No. 2"

In the United States, the issuing of money is controlled by the
Federal Reserve Board. This is not a government department but a
board of private bankers. Most of us would believe that the Federal
Reserve is a federal arm of the national government. ... This is not
true! ... In 1913 President Woodrow Wilson signed the document that
created the Federal Reserve, and committed the American people to debt
slavery until such time as they awake from their slumber and overthrow
this vicious tyranny."...

"The understanding of this issue of money into the community can be
best illustrated by equating money in the economy with tickets in a
railway system. The tickets are printed by a printer who is paid for
his work. The printer never claims the ownership of the tickets. And
we can never imagine a railway company refusing to give passengers
seats on a train because it is out of tickets. By this same token, a
government should never refuse people the access to normal commerce
and trade by claiming it is out of money."

Suppose the government borrows $10 million. It only costs the bankers
a few hundred dollars to actually produce the funds, and a little more
to do the book-keeping. Do you think it is fair that our citizens
should struggle to keep their homes and families together, while the
bankers grow fat on these profits?

Credit created by a Government-owned bank is better than credit
created by private banks, because there is no need to recover the
money from people by way of taxes, and there is no interest attached
to inflate the cost. The public work completed with the credit by the
Government bank is the asset that replaces the money created when the
work is finished.

None of our problems will disappear until we correct the creation,
supply and circulation of money. Once the money problem is solved,
everything else will fall into place.

Mark...

Thanks PT

Posted by Mark at 10:22 AM | Comments (0) | Economy

November 2, 2004

Why I Blog

I am always getting asked why I blog?

Well I enjoy telling stories and passing along information but to be honest I always found the net to be a rather dead and lifeless place, a bit like reading on your own, you never meet anyone and it's so quiet.

You visit a website, read some sales patter, buy the latest Ebook and that's it over and over again. The eye candy may look different but there is no interaction with the sites owner. It's all left to your imagination. Blogs on the otherhand enliven a website for me. They give me access to real people and not just reams of sales copy text. More importantly they also give me a reason to go back!

I wanted this website to be alive, so I collated all my old Blogs and back filled them here in this one (no small task) and then determined I would post often.

I also wanted to be a little different than your normal run of the mill "GURU" ahem oh how I hate that term :) Internet Marketer. Try and get to speak to Corey Rudl and see how far you get :) Perhaps there is a fear amongst business people that if they show they are REAL people with hobbies and interests outside of business, then clients will somehow be turned off from them! I would disagree.

I firmly believe that on the Internet one must show a Human face to potential clients as much as possible. People prefer to buy from Poeple and not from eye candy websites with the latest GURU sales copy!

Mark...

Posted by Mark at 9:24 PM | Comments (0) | Blogging | TrackBack