Several months ago while hiking in Sabino Canyon near Tucson I noticed out of the corner of my eye something astonishing. Fortunately, I happened to have my phone with me so I recorded it. I’ve recently taught myself some video editing skills so now I am able to share the experience. The video below clearly shows what can be achieved when there is coordinated action working toward a common objective. Are humans as smart as ants?
The Secrets of Silicon Valley: What Big Tech Doesn’t Want You to Know
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Important case studies in exchange alternatives have long been resident on our other website, ReinventingMoney.com. These pages have been revised and the link has been added to the menu at BeyondMoney.net to give them greater exposure.
_______________________________________ Recent posts New podcast episode with John Attridge In this episode, we speak with John Attridge, CEO of BBX-UK and Ireland, a reciprocal trade community which is part of the BBX network of trade exchanges that spans 14 countries and together service more than 90,000 customers.
The empire vs. journalism and free speech John Pilger delivers a warning on behalf of Julian Assange who continues to be persecuted for exposing crimes committed by high government officials: “Speak up now,” Pilger said, or face “the silence of a new kind of tyranny.”
Make America sane again As in the presidential primary of 2016, The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is again trying to tilt the contest to favor its anointed ones. Likewise, other institutions of the “establishment,” like Google, are imposing obstacles in the way of candidates who are challenging the military-industrial-banking-corporate complex (Tulsi Gabbard, Democratic Presidential Candidate, Sues Google for $50 Million). Now is the time for the American people to stand up and use their power to challenge the political establishment…
As Julan Assange continues to languish in the maximum security Belmarsh Prison in London, a movement of journalists and supporters of free speech continues to build. The mainstream media did not report it, but a few days ago “Legendary musician Roger Waters sang “Wish You Were Here” in honor of Julian Assange, at a public concert outside the British Home Office. He was joined by journalist John Pilger and UK MP Chris Williamson in calling for the imprisoned Wikileaks publisher to be freed, and not extradited to the US.” You can read about it in The Grayzone.
In the video below, journalist John Pilger delivers a warning from Julian, “Speak up now,” Pilger said, or face “the silence of a new kind of tyranny.”
You can sign the petition to free Julain Assange at Change.org.
Now is the time for the American people to stand up and use
their power to challenge the political establishment, to oust the war mongers, and
to join together in demanding a government that is committed to promoting the
common good and peaceful relations with the governments of other countries around
the world.
Tulsi Gabbard is the only Presidential candidate I’ve seen since John and Robert Kennedy who is willing to put her life on the line to lead the people in this battle against the forces of darkness and domination. Tulsi was “being groomed to be the next great Queen of the Democratic Party establishment” but threw it all away when she “refused to sacrifice her soul” and resigned as co-chair of the Democratic National Committee. Watch this video and start informing yourself.
One of my favorite radio programs is Freakonomics, and my very favorite grocery store is Trader Joe’s. What do these two things have to do with one another? Well, the other day, while preparing dinner, I was scanning the Freakonomics website to find an interesting episode I might have missed hearing on NPR.
Lo and behold, there at the top of the page was one titled, Should America
Be Run by … Trader Joe’s? (Ep. 359 Rebroadcast). Considering my
loyalty to Trader Joe’s and my keen interest in politics, I could not resist
listening to the podcast. Given my longstanding patronage, I already knew quite
a bit about the company from the standpoint of a customer, but was oblivious to
the many other features that make Trader Joe’s so unique.
If you’ve ever shopped at one of its stores you will know that TJ’s, as it is affectionately called, is not like other grocery chains. It does things differently. But beyond that, TJ’s business practices are also different, and in many cases contrary to conventional business “wisdom.” I could enumerate these to save you time, but that would spoil your enjoyment of listening to the program and pondering the possibilities as the program reveals them. But I’ll give you a hint: What do large corporation set as their top priority? Compare and contrast…
In our latest Beyond Money Podcast we
explore with Ron Whitney the evolution of the commercial trade exchange industry, which
over the past 50 years has proven the workability of credit clearing as a way
of doing business without the need for money payment.
Ron operated his own trade exchange for 15 years, and since
2007 has taken on the role of President and CEO of IRTA, the International
Reciprocal Trade Association, the premier trade association of, and advocate
for, the commercial trade exchange industry.
Ron shares his vast knowledge and insights about the current
challenges, prospects, and opportunities, including a description of the
benefits of trade exchange membership and the increasing use of Universal
Currency (UC) to enable purchases and sales over an extended trade exchange
network.
In my latest article, just published on Open Democracy, I describe how fiat money can be transmuted into a truly effective and scalable community currency, while at the same time providing a way to finance community improvement projects like affordable housing. Key features that distinguish my design from other “fiat backed” currencies that have been tried before are (1) the limitations placed on cash redemption, and (2) the requirement that the community currency be issued as loans to businesses based on the amount of needed and desired goods and services they have available for immediate sale. You can read the full article here.
Facebook’s
Libra crypto-currency project has caused a major uproar. In this talk,
delivered on June 19th 2019 in Edinburgh, Scotland, respected technologist,
entrepreneur, and crypto-currency guru Andreas Antonopoulos provides an
interesting interpretation of the nature of Libra and its implications for the
future of payments, privacy, and freedom, all of which is both exciting and
terrifying. Antonopoulos couches his comments in the framework of what he sees
as the emerging “currency wars,” distinguishing among government currencies,
corporate currencies, and people’s currencies on the basis of the principles
that underlie them. You can view the video here.
_____________________ Europe and the UK
I spent most
of May and half of June on the other side of the Atlantic conferring with
colleagues in the UK and Italy, and living in community at the Kalikalos Holistic Center in Kissos,
Greece, where I’ve stayed many times before. My work in the UK has been ongoing
for almost a year during which time I’ve been advising a group that has now
formed the Open Credit Network.
“The Open Credit Network is a cooperative of
businesses who have come together, under a simple shared agreement, in order to
trade with each other without the need for hard cash.”
This project
is still in the formative stages but is making good progress. UK cooperatives
and small businesses are invited to get involved.
During my trip I managed to mix in a bit of R&R, enjoyed spending time with friends old and new, and toward the end of the trip had some fun with friends Yannis and Catherine rafting on the Voidomatis river in the Vikos gorge in northern Greece. This experience is one of many being offered through Yannis’ new travel platform, https://www.gofreedly.com/.
I discovered
this video by accident while randomly browsing YouTube. Whether your goal is to
play the system and become rich, or to change the system to make it fairer, you
need to pay attention to this presentation. Tom
Wheelwright, is a high powered CPA and tax advisor who describes here how
entrepreneurs and investors legally avoid paying taxes. In this video, he
points out that on average, those who are classified as employees pay a tax
rate of about 40%, and professionals like doctors and lawyers get hit even
harder with an average rate of 60%, while entrepreneurs pay only around 20% and
big investors pay virtually zero. It’s all a matter of knowing the tax laws and
how they favor capital over labor.
I was greatly disturbed by the content and tone of Larry’s last message to me on Friday July 5, so I dropped by his place to see him on Saturday morning, but when his wife greeted me at the door she asked, “are you psychic?” and told me that Larry had just died a few hours earlier. I’m sorry I did not have the opportunity to bid him farewell. His health had been in decline for several months, and he had reported suffering severe pain from a massive tumor at the back of his tongue that his doctors said was inoperable.
With PhDs in
both physics and psychology Larry had a long career in academia. He was a
brilliant and innovative thinker whose unique
perspectives on life, civilization, “uplift,” and human “emergence”
fascinated many. Larry was a good and respected friend of thirty years. He will
be greatly missed.
_____________________ Movie reviews
I’d like to recommend two movies I’ve seen recently.
Pavarotti is the story of opera tenor Luciano Pavarotti (1935–2007) who had perhaps the greatest operatic voice of the past 100 years. Director Ron Howard does a masterful job of telling the story of a man whose life impacted the world of music well beyond the narrow confines of opera, and whose generosity touched the lives of many. The story and the music will move you deeply, .…if you let it.
The Biggest Little Farm. Exquisite in every aspect, this film tells the inspiring story of a professional couple who take a leap of faith into small-scale, diversified farming in southern California. Tracing their trials and tribulations over several years, it shows what can be achieved when working with nature to find balance. _____________________ Wishing you a pleasant summer,
Thomas
P.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard wants the U.S. to stop its endless wars and do what it takes to REALLY make America great again. Let’s keep her in the Presidential debates by making a small contribution to her campaign.
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Several months ago while hiking in Sabino Canyon near Tucson I noticed out of the corner of my eye something astonishing. Fortunately, I happened to have my phone with me so I recorded it. I’ve recently taught myself some video … Continue reading →
Contents Website improvements Recent posts Who owns the world The Secrets of Silicon Valley: What Big Tech Doesn’t Want You to Know _________________________________ Website improvements We’ve recently made some major improvements to our websites. Our WordPress service on BeyondMoney.net has … Continue reading →
As Julan Assange continues to languish in the maximum security Belmarsh Prison in London, a movement of journalists and supporters of free speech continues to build. The mainstream media did not report it, but a few days ago “Legendary musician … Continue reading →