..............................................................
Executive Order
14067 The End of the Dollar
Executive Order 14067, signed by President Biden in March
2022, focuses on the Responsible Development of Digital
Assets. The order directs the use of resources to develop
a digital assets policy and to optimize federal
regulations in specific areas. The objectives of the order
are to protect consumers and investors, stabilize the
economic environment, reduce financial and national
security risks, provide for U.S. economic competitiveness,
and boost responsible innovation.
The direct impact of the order is on the development of a
United States central bank digital currency to reinforce
the U.S. leadership in the global financial system.
The policy changes serve as regulations and enforcement
for institutions and businesses involved in digital
assets. Introducing a centralized digital currency would
enhance transparency in the digital asset field.
It would not have an immediate impact on digital asset
regulations, but it would shape the emergence of a
regulatory framework integrating all the aspects
attributed to digital assets. The U.S. government
acknowledges the vitality of digital assets and related
technologies ( such as blockchain) and their potential to
revolutionize the financial system. The U.S. is intended
to dominate the global financial system through leading
payment innovation and the evolution of digital assets.
● Executive Order 14067 outlines the US’s strategic
initiative
● A digital dollar will reinforce US leadership over the
global financial systems
● Rising inflation and debt can lead to the dollar’s
collapse
● The Fed is focusing on a digital currency system
Executive Order 14067 outlines the first
whole-of-government strategic initiative for consumer
protection, national security, financial and economic
stability, and addressing climate risks.
The aggressive growth of digital assets, especially
cryptocurrencies, surpassed a $3 trillion market cap in
November 2021, up from $14 billion over five years. A
digital form of the U.S. dollar will provide an
opportunity at the technological frontier for the U.S. to
reinforce American leadership over the financial systems
globally, with substantial implications for the risk of
potential loss of dominance in the world order.
Source: Principles For Dealing With The Changing World
Order By Ray Dalio
Attainment of international engagement and the opportunity
to govern digital assets worldwide will boost the U.S.
global competitiveness.
There are potential scenarios that can lead to a crisis or
collapse of the dollar, such as:
● If the U.S. entered an aggressive depression or
recession without a significant global impact, the dollar
would no longer be the international transaction and
reserve base.
● The dual threat of rising inflation and increasing debt
is gaining popularity nowadays as high inflation forces
the Fed to use quantitative tightening to raise interest
rates aggressively. Consequently, a significant fraction
of the national debt is related to short-term treasuries.
An aggressive increase in rates pushes mortgage rates even
higher, which will last for a comparatively more extended
period. If the U.S. government faces challenges with
interest payments, global foreign investors and creditors
could dump the enormous accumulations of dollars, which
would end the dollar’s significance by triggering a
collapse.
● Possible dominance of the global financial system by
other major powers, such as China, post-war Russia, or the
European Union, by resuming commodity-based standards and
becoming the world’s reserve currency.
The U.S. dollar has lost its value in purchasing power by
over 99% in just 100 years.
Source: howmuch.net
To support the executive order by formulating a high-speed
transaction processor, MIT’s Digital Currency Initiative
with the Boston Fed focuses on infrastructural aspects for
a centralized digital currency. The initiative intended to
integrate latency, throughput, and resilience into a
nationwide payment system. Project Hamilton is evaluating
a hypothetical central bank digital currency model at the
scale of the U.S. economy. MIT is testing the level of
technical stress that a theoretical future digital dollar
on a massive scale would endure. Technological innovations
in the formulation of central bank digital currency are
oriented towards cheaper payment systems and a more
accessible economy.
The U.S. central bank, the Federal Reserve, has the
opportunity to apply the learnings from the observation of
a decade of cryptocurrency dynamics to design an optimum
digital currency to be the world’s digital currency
reserve. The introduction of US-backed digital currency
has significant implications for global economic policy.
The potential digital currency with highly secure and
resilient payment and transaction systems would integrate
into the digital asset market immediately as it would be a
liability of the central bank to support the validity of
the transactions. Users/holders of US-backed digital
currency could replace the U.S. dollar based on several
significant advantages, such as no counterparty risk and
the support of statutory institutions to store and
transfer the value similar to cash. Also, it would lead to
increased competition, innovation, and cost reduction.
Addressing the general issues of digital assets
(especially cryptocurrencies and NFTs) would provide the
U.S. government the ability to deliver digital reserve
currency and the supporting infrastructure to receive the
trust of global financial markets and trade operations in
terms of network capabilities, empowering users, privacy,
security, and scalability. It would allow the U.S.
government to impact the dynamic global economic
environment and relevant stakeholders (such as other
central banks, enterprises, regulators, researchers,
investors, merchants, and consumers).
Source: news.mit.edu
A new digital dollar could substantially expand the Fed
and the U.S. government’s capabilities to dominate the
financial aspects of numerous strategic areas globally,
such as:
● Innovation and technology
● Military and power projections (especially bans and
sanctions)
● Assets and securities (valuations and exchanges)
● Global output
● Currency reserve position
● Trade and globalization
● Education and research
With the progress of current trends, the U.S. dollar will
not likely hold geopolitical and economic significance for
long. The potential development and implementation of a
new digital currency and global transaction system would
secure the USA’s dominance in the financial space. The
executive order pushes the highest urgency on R&D
efforts, focusing on the design and deployment options of
a novel digital currency backed by the Fed.
The instructions are provided to numerous federal
departments to report on the future of money and the
evolution of payment systems (including a time limit of
180 days for the Treasury Department to submit the
report). It shows the prioritization level of digital
assets for the U.S. government. The White House instructed
the Federal Reserve to formulate a strategic plan for the
United States government and the Fed to evaluate the
process and requirements for implementing and launching a
U.S. central bank digital currency within 210 days of the
executive order.
These exertions are remarkable and historical. Compared to
hard cash and blockchain-based decentralized digital
currencies, a US-backed digital currency could make it
easier for banks and government agencies to track
transactions carried out with digital dollars (centralized
and programmable for specific purposes). A US-backed
central bank digital currency will transform the entire
global monetary system. The central bank’s digital
currency would be highly simplified to create and
distribute at the government’s instructions. It will be a
superior tool to control the economy over the use of
interest rates to improve employment rates and stabilize
inflation at target levels.
_
Written by Anuj Sharma for ToroAlerts, LLC
ToroAlerts is implementing artificial intelligence in
investing and trading, using machine learning algorithms
with predictive technical analytics to optimize portfolio
returns.
CV-1984: China Rolls
Out Test Of Digital Currency In Four Cities, Western
Businesses Testing
ActivistPost
TOPICS:Aaron Kesel, Banking, Blockchain, China,
Cryptocurrency, Gold, Surveillance
APRIL 25, 2020
By Aaron Kesel
After the coronavirus caused China to shut down most of
its businesses, and cities, the country is now striking
back hard by releasing a digital currency and national
blockchain.
China’s central bank The People’s Bank Of China, began
testing its new digital Yuan’s interface on April 14th
with one of its largest banks, the Agricultural Bank of
China, rolling out a test UI. Two weeks later, there are
reports that a pilot has been launched. Nineteen
restaurants and retail establishments including popular
Western restaurant chains like Starbucks, McDonald’s and
Subway are participating in the test, Bitcoin.com
reported. The test run is taking place in at least four
cities in China—Shenzhen, Suzhou, Chengdu and Xiong’an,
according to China’s central bank which confirmed the test
of its new digital Yuan officially called “Digital
Currency Electronic Payment (DCEP)” to the Wall Street
Journal.
That’s not all, China also launched its Blockchain
Service Network (BSN) for domestic and global commercial
use. China also announced a 71-person committee for its
Blockchain which includes executives from China’s central
bank, as well as tech giants Baidu and Tencent, according
to an announcement from the country’s Ministry of Industry
and Information Technology (MIIT.)
Last year, Max Keiser of the Keiser Report told Kitco
News that China was backing the new digital Yuan with
gold.
“[China] is rolling out a cryptocurrency, a lot of the
details have not been divulged. I can tell you that the
cryptocurrency that China’s rolling out will be backed by
gold. It’s a two-pronged announcement. Number one, China’s
got 20,000 tonnes of gold, number two, we’re rolling out a
crypto coin backed by gold, and the dollar is toast,”
Keiser told Kitco News.
This author also had his own source from the Bank for
International Settlements (BIS) saying much of the same
for years, in which I wrote up two articles explaining the
shift from the West as the world reserve currency. Those
articles were entitled: “A Shift Of Power: Russia and
China Finalize Moves To Replace U.S. Dollar As World
Reserve Currency” and “China Finalizes Moves On Oil
Markets To Overthrow U.S. Petro-Dollar Dominance As World
Reserve Currency.”
Both articles detail numerous financial moves that China
has taken in the past 10 years. One of which was buying up
gold from the U.S. as a WikiLeaks cable titled “China
increases its gold reserves in order to kill two birds
with one stone” details.
China again began stockpiling gold in 2013, when they
bought JPMorgan’s building that previously housed its
gold. The IMF and United Nations have even expressed
agreement that it’s time to replace the U.S. dollar as the
world reserve currency with what’s known as SDRs or
special drawing rights . Then the Asian Infrastructure
Investment Bank (AIIB) was planned between 2010-2012, and
was fully operational by 2016.
“China has been pushing for the SDR to become more widely
used for some time, as a way to challenge the dominance of
the dollar without pushing the renminbi as a direct
competitor,” Julian Evans-Pritchard, a China economist at
Capital Economics in Singapore, told Reuters.
Although currently it is not known if China’s digital
Yuan is backed by gold, it wouldn’t be at all surprising.
China opened up its own gold market in 2016, an entirely
separate system than the COMEX gold futures market in New
York and the Over-the-Counter (OTC) trades cleared through
the London Bullion Market. China and Russia have both been
working to undermine the West and the U.S. dollar since
China called for a new world reserve currency as early as
2009.
Now, the disruptive fiat digital Yuan is here and it
could help China achieve their goal of replacing the U.S.
dollar as the world’s reserve currency amid a growing
economic collapse happening in the U.S. due to the
coronavirus lockdown and other outlying factors like
propping the economy up on fraud by deregulating banks and
entities. It is China’s time to shine as the petro dollar
is in its last death throes with oil plunging almost -$40,
a historic move, and releasing a digital currency will
force the rest of the world to follow or be left behind.
In the words of Fortune magazine, “digitization of
currency will be perhaps the most important factor in an
economy’s success,” and “China is winning the digital
currency battle by a long shot—and if the U.S. doesn’t
catch up soon, it’s going to lose the war.”
While many see the release of the Chinese fiat
cryptocurrency as bullish for Chinese-based blockchain
projects, the outlying effect is that such a move by China
is Orwellian. The Chinese now have a digital currency
which, when it is fully rolled out, will be able to track
all point-of-sale purchases. China’s new digital currency
couldn’t be further from the original foundation and
purpose of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency which is freedom
from centralized structures through decentralized
ownership. In other words, you control your own funds and
no one can restrict them. However, with China’s new recent
move we can surely expect that the Chinese government will
be able to seize digital funds or turn off a person’s
wallet if they disobey the Chinese Communist Party (CCP.)
This is assumable due to the Orwellian rules already in
place in China with the social credit system and
restrictions on traveling throughout the country by using
that mechanism to silence critics of the CCP.
China isn’t the first country to test a Central Bank
Digital Currency (CBDC), a consortium of banks tested
digital cash in 2016 in a Wall St test run, which didn’t
get much fanfare. China is also not the only country
developing a digital currency, the UK is developing one as
well, CoinTelegraph reported. Besides the UK, the U.S.,
Russia, and India to name a few countries, are also
considering launching their own CBDC, or fiat
cryptocurrency. BIS states that future is now inevitable
in a PDF from January of this year compiled of research of
more than 50 Central Banks polled entitled: “Impending
arrival – a sequel to the survey on central bank digital
currency.”
The poll indicates that as many as “80% are engaging in
some sort of work with developing digital fiat currencies,
while 40% have progressed from conceptual research to
experiments, or proofs-of-concept; and another 10% have
developed pilot projects.”
The main questions we must ask ourselves is this: do we
want world governments having that much power and
Orwellian control over our finances, with the ability to
not only see purchases but seize wallets if you dissent
and decide what you can and can’t purchase? I think the
obvious blaring answer for most of us is, no. In other
words, buy Bitcoin.
**By
[@An0nkn0wledge](https://steemit.com/@an0nkn0wledge)**
Aaron Kesel writes for Activist Post.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
OmiseGo vs Request Network: A
detailed analysis
Etienne Tatur
With all the buzz words, it’s becoming really hard to
differentiate projects in the blockchain space. And this
is especially true for protocols.
For example, to find the differences between the
decentralized exchanges of 0x, Kyber and OmegaOne you
would need to dive in the whitepapers and even then there
is still gray area.
And yet, it is important for everyone to understand in
what we are contributing as trading is not gambling.
Sometimes, the best way to define a project is by defining
its weaknesses.
Ethereum project lead, Vitalik Buterin, defining the
current weaknesses of Ethereum
And sometimes, the best way to define it is by analyzing
point by point what are the differences with the other
ones.
Request Network has been compared with OmiseGo, however,
we have many differences and we are more complementary
than competitors.
Here are the differences as seen by our analysis at
Request. We try to be objective but it has to be taken
with hindsight as this is a study concentrated on our own
use cases. Any feedback is also welcome.
The main take away from this analysis is:
OmiseGo could use Request for decentralized requests for
payment, accounting, audit and invoicing format
interoperability
Request could use OmiseGo as an oracle for eWallet fiat
settlements
Detailed analysis
Request Network
A decentralized network built on top of Ethereum, which
allows anyone, anywhere to request a payment.
request.network
OmiseGO
OmiseGO is a white-label E-Wallet platform designed by
Omise to be launched in Q4 2017 by several partners (TBA).
omg.omise.co
Punchline
Request: The future of commerce
OmiseGo: Unbank the Banked with Ethereum
What they really are
Request: A decentralized network for payment requests. A
universal invoice platform. (analogy: If PayPal was open
sourced, decentralized and standardized)
OmiseGo: A settlement system between eWallets (analogy:
SWIFT between Venmo and Alipay, allowing you to send
between both; technical terms: Clearinghouse and liquidity
provider between eWallets)
Focus
Request: Payments, Requests for payments, Accounting
automation, Smart audit, IoT framework
OmiseGo: Payments, Remittances, Payroll deposit, B2B
commerce,
Supply-chain finance, Loyalty programs
Who are their clients
Request: eWallet, banks and payment providers, accounting
firms, audit firms, B2B, eCommerce websites, Apps
OmiseGo: eWallet, banks and payment providers, B2B,
eCommerce websites, Apps
Works with
Request: ETH, ERC20, Any Crypto system, Fiat (using
Oracles)
OmiseGo: ETH, ERC20, Any Crypto system, Fiat (when the
eWallet provider is a partner)
Online & In-App Payments
Request: Yes, simple & advanced cases. It also works
natively with Escrow and Taxes systems through an
extensions mechanism
OmiseGo: Yes
B2B Payments
Request: Yes, simple & advanced cases. Onchain
validation and advanced payments conditions possible such
as down payments, micropayments, taxes, escrow…
OmiseGo: Yes
Trustless sharing of the request on the blockchain
Request: Yes (needed for a seamless payment experience/ a
company requests a payment, the other detects the request
from its phone and accepts or declines)
OmiseGo: No
Loyalty and rewards
Request: No
OmiseGo: Yes, every token can be handled by the eWallets
Reputation
Request: Yes, to avoid phishing and score bad payers.
OmiseGo: No, not their focus
Transition from Fiat to Crypto
Request: A little, it’s easier to pay your invoice in
crypto
OmiseGo: Yes, facilitates the way out of fiat to
crypto-currencies using the eWallets (best currency wins)
Accounting
Request: Universal accounting platform; automation of
accounting in real time; Every payment has a legal value;
Blockchain becomes the unique source for accounting
softwares
OmiseGo: No, not their focus
Audit
Request: Smart audit algorithm can run on the blockchain
and detects fraud or validates accounts. Replacing a part
of the Big Four
OmiseGo: No, not their focus
IoT
Request: Yes, simple & advanced cases. An autonomous
car can order a set of new wheels, pay 10% immediately and
90% through an escrow at delivery through an oracle.
OmiseGo: Yes
Remittances
Request: Yes, in ETH or if money transmitters plug to
Request.
OmiseGo: Yes, in ETH or if there is crypto-fiat liquidity
in the beneficiary’s country.
Banking the unbanked
Request: Unbanked can use cryptocurrency accounts and
still require to open an account with an eWallet company
for Fiat
OmiseGo: Unbanked can use cryptocurrency accounts and
still require to open an account with an eWallet company
for Fiat
Cross-currency payments
Request: Yes, using 0x relays for ERC20, another partner
yet to come for cross blockchains and fiat or REQ invoices
compensation
OmiseGo: Yes, through an internal system
Development Status
Request: Alpha Prototype
OmiseGo: Live eWallet prototype, decentralized exchange
under development
Bonuses:
Request provides a transparency framework for institutions
to publish their accounting in real time in front of
everyone
OmiseGo provides an eWallet open sdk to onboard new
start-ups
Dive in and follow these projects there:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The Pandemic Road to
Serfdom
The
American Mind
Joel Kotkin
Essay05.01.2020
Our Covid-era oligarchs are fitting us for feudalism.
Even before the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic,
America, like most higher-income countries, was already
heading toward a neo-feudal future: massive inequality,
ever-greater concentrations of power, and increasingly
widespread embrace of a uniform (albeit secular) religion.
The pandemic, all too reminiscent of the great plagues of
the Middle Ages, seems destined to accelerate this
process. This can be seen by looking at something that
many Americans, particularly conservatives, often long to
ignore: class. In contrast to the post-World War II order,
which engendered growing opportunity for the middle and
working classes, the last few decades have seen the rapid
concentration of wealth in virtually every major country
in Europe and Asia. The oligarchic class now owns as much
as 50% of world’s assets. Just five companies—Alphabet,
Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Microsoft—account for over
20% of the market capitalization of the entire S&P 500
index. Today’s new oligarchs constitute a modern-day
equivalent of the Medieval aristocracy. Like the
barbarians who seized control of land during the demise of
Rome, they seem well-positioned to benefit from the
emerging social distance-driven recession. The dislocation
caused by the pandemic has greatly expanded the financial
assets of the country’s increasingly hegemonic giant
banks. But the biggest long-term winners are the big tech
firms that dominate digital pathways at a time when the
analog world, already failing, now faces inexorable
obliteration. Today’s other ascendant class is what I call
the clerisy, who today fulfill the role played by the
clergy in the Middle Ages. Known as the First Estate in
pre-revolutionary France, the clerisy today is largely
secular but consists of the key influencers in the media,
academia, the upper bureaucracy and the ever-expanding
“non-profit” sector. This new middle class enjoys
something of a symbiosis with the oligarchic elites who
mainly finance non-governmental organizations and the
universities, and tends to a share a similarly progressive
world view. The people losing out most in the pandemic are
the remnants of what was once dubbed the Third Estate: the
commoners, long the bastion of democracy and liberal
ideas. Millions of owners of small businesses have been
devastated by the lockdowns, their lifetime investments
allowed to turn to dust because the clerisy has declared
them “non-essential” and hopes to keep them in lockdown
well into the summer. Worse still, as the promise of
becoming business owners and homeowners has
faded—particularly for the young—many increasingly fall
into the insecure “precariat” of gig and part-time
workers. These modern-day serfs are suffering the most
from the pandemic. Millions of low-wage workers in
hospitality, retail, and restaurants have lost their jobs
and possess only meager prospects of getting them back in
the near- or even medium-term future. Many others, largely
low-wage service workers in “essential” jobs, are still
working, but at high risk to themselves, often without
adequate health and other protections. How the Pandemic
Drives Oligarchic Power The new regime of social
distancing, likely to remain influential for years to
come, works most directly for the interests of the
technologized oligarchy. The long-term decline of travel,
convention, and traditional entertainment may mean
disaster for millions of workers and many businesses, but
it represents an enormous opportunity for those who can
deliver food, goods, diversions, and experiences over the
relative safety of digital networks. But as jobs are
destroyed on Main Street, others, like those at
well-positioned Amazon, are created by the hundreds of
thousands. It is also a rosy new dawn for online
collaboration applications like Zoom, Google Hangouts,
Facebook Rooms, Microsoft Teams, and Slack, the
fastest-growing business app on record. Also greatly
enhanced will be those who provide the infrastructure for
the conquering digital economy, including chipmakers like
Intel and cloud-computing behemoths like (yet again)
Amazon and Microsoft. The pandemic seems likely to further
consolidate the tech industry shift from its garage-based
startup past, with firms like Google, Facebook, Microsoft,
and Amazon increasingly resembling Japan’s long-dominant
keiretsu. The pandemic may have squashed many new
companies that are now short on capital. In contrast, the
oligarchic firms, which control upwards of 80% of such key
markets as search, social media, cloud computing, and
computer operating systems, now enjoy an even greater edge
in garnering ever more of the nation’s technical talent.
Ultimately the pandemic will provide the new elite with
opportunities to gain control of a whole set of coveted
industries, from entertainment and media to finance and
space travel. Perhaps most concerning will be their
ability to control all aspects of information as the last
vestiges of local and small-town journalism face
Covid-driven “extinction level” events. What is now left
of the “legacy” media—the Atlantic, Time, the Washington
Post, and the Los Angeles Times—has fallen increasingly
under their control. Nine of the 13 richest people under
age 40 are in the tech industry: the odds are favorable
that the new elite will maintain their control over
information for generations. The Secular Priesthood The
barbarians who seized Roman lands took advantage of chaos
to fuel their ascendancy in what became the Middle Ages.
Pestilence-driven depopulation and weakened political
institutions enabled them to establish their hegemony over
shrinking economies. Yet to assure their power, the
Medieval aristocracies needed more than just swords and
armor: they needed a belief system that would allow them
to control the lower classes effectively. Today this role
is played by a far-reaching “expert class” teeming with
highly-credentialed functionaries. The power of the
“expert” professions—education, consulting, law,
policymaking, and health and medicine, to name a few—has
waxed in recent decades. To a large extent, the gradual
demise of the analog economy is hastened by medical
experts—at least those largely favored by the media—who
call for lockdowns and restrictions that could easily
extend to summer and even, according to Ezekiel Emanuel,
lead medical advisor to Joe Biden, as long as eighteen
months. Like their Medieval counterparts in the old First
Estate, members of today’s clerisy see their intrusions
motivated not by self-interest but rather the good of
society. They constitute “the privileged stratum,” as the
French leftist Christophe Guilluy argues in his recent
book Twilight of the Elites, operating from an assumption
of “moral superiority” that justifies their right to
instruct others. From the pandemic to the climate, many of
the expert class’s marquee predictions have been
exaggerated or even plain wrong. (In the 1970s, hysteria
among educated elites was mostly directed toward dire
predictions that our natural resources, including energy
and food, were about to run out, leading to imminent mass
starvation.) Like the Medieval clergy, the clerisy,
especially in the dominant media and academia, rarely
takes itself to task. Instead, it makes deference to “the
science” into a form of quasi-religious zealotry. For
some, the pandemic is being hailed as “test run” for the
true green agenda of less material progress and,
ultimately, “de-growth.” The parallels with the Middle
Ages are profound. The lockdowns and economic depression
associated with the pandemic will help, as Psychology
Today suggests, cure “the human beast,” a phraseology not
too distinct from early Christian assessments of
humanity’s capacity for sin. This “eco-medievalist” view
sees the pandemic as the latest punishment meted out by an
increasingly angry and wounded Mother Nature.
Conservatives, some of whom predict the pandemic will
undermine support for climate extremism, fail to
understand the mass appeal of a media-powered movement
largely couched in quasi-religious terms. The Coming
Crisis of the Third Estate In contrast, the pandemic has
proven an utter disaster for much of the Third Estate. The
most evident damage can be seen at the malls, or on Main
Street, where millions of small firms have been forced to
close and, at least in some locations, may be forced to
stay locked down for many more months—even as some states
and, in some parts of Europe, whole countries, are opening
up. In the aftermath of the lockdowns, small independent
firms will be harder-pressed to compete against larger
competitors with better access to capital and better
positioning to wait out the pandemic. In the coming
months, we might see many of our favorite local gyms and
bars, or taco stands and family-owned Chinese restaurants,
replaced by either online options or larger chains.
Well-financed large restaurant chains moved to the front
of the line to secure their place atop the food chain, but
the National Restaurant Association estimates that more
than 8 million restaurant employees have been laid off or
furloughed since the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak
in March. This represents more than two-thirds of the 12
million employees that were working at the nation’s eating
and drinking establishments in February. Sadly these
workers, and local business, can’t expect much help from
Washington’s current stimulus plans. Even the Wall Street
Journal admits the stimulus plan is “putting Wall Street
ahead” of competing Main Street businesses. Republicans
may talk a good game about smaller firms, arguably Trump’s
strongest base, but at the end of the day they tend to
take direction from large, globalized corporations and
well-connected financial interests. Democrats, for their
part, have little interest in smaller business as these
tend to be owned by conservatives and are not amenable to
unionization. The generation of workers clipped by the
Great Recession is now suffering the largest share of the
job losses. Even those still working are stuck in the
precariat, with little ability to control working
conditions, terms of employment, or guarantees for health
coverage. Such workers may try to use their leverage as
“essential” to boost wages and improve conditions. We
already see labor strife at Amazon, Instacart, Perdue, and
McDonald’s. If nothing else, as Michael Lind suggests, the
pandemic could “alter the balance of power among workers
and employers.” With the yeomanry thundering mostly from
the Right, the protests of “essential” blue-collar workers
could help boost the socialist cause. Roughly half of
American households have no emergency savings and face an
uncertain future as jobs disappear. A new class of
ex-workers now finds the dole a more amenable or viable
option than hard and dangerous work for relatively low
pay. Bernie Sanders may have lost the nomination, but the
message he ran on is amplified at a time when soup
kitchens, as during the Depression, are now serving New
York artists, writers, and musicians. The pandemic will
likely increase the strong socialist tendency among both
millennials and the successor Z generation. More dangerous
still may be the potential return to anarchy, particularly
in the barrios and ghettos of the nation. In New York, the
working-class transit-dependent communities of the outer
boroughs can’t flee to second homes, work at home, walk to
work, or take cabs like the Manhattan rich. As occurred in
the wake of the great aerospace depression in Southern
California in the early ’90s, diminished prospects can
help light the flames of violent anarchy from the home on
up. Family violence is already increasing in many
countries. Add to this toxic stew the fact that some
jurisdictions, citing infection fears, have released
dangerous criminals onto the streets. Crime has
predictably spiked from New York to San Francisco. Even
before the pandemic set in, the big American cities—unable
to curb large homeless populations spreading filth and
Medieval disease—took on the hazardous cast of ancient
Rome, Victorian London, New York’s Five Points, or the
favelas and ghettos of Third-World cities like Sao Paulo,
Mexico City, or Manila. The rising number of people unable
to pay rent—now one in three—could provide fodder for a
new round of urban disorder. Ultimately such disorder
threatens the power of both the oligarchs and the clerisy.
Their likely response may be embracing what I call
“oligarchal socialism,” where the very notion of work
disappears in favor of a regime of cash allotments. This
notion of providing what Marx called “proletarian alms,”
widely supported in Silicon Valley, could prove a lasting
legacy of the pandemic. This is how Rome, as slaves
replaced the middle orders, kept its citizenry in line,
and how the Medieval order in times of economic stress
relied on the charitable efforts of the Church. The virus
that now dominates our daily lives may soon begin to
slowly fade, but it will have a deep, protracted impact on
our society and class structure. Covid-19 will likely
leave us with conditions that more resemble feudalism than
anyone could have imagined just a few years ago.
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Oregon Officials May Use
Mind Control Technology On Patriots
NewsPunch
Oregon Officials May Use Mind Control Technology On
Patriots
January 12, 2016 Sean Adl-Tabatabai News, US 1 Comment
Oregon officials consider using mind control technology on
Patriots
An anonymous whistleblower has come forward saying that
local authorities in Oregon intend to use mind control
technology in order to deal with the standoff between
armed militia patriots and feds.
According to Dave Hodges of ‘The Common Sense Show‘, he
received a tip off from an anonymous source, who told him
that, “we have ‘accidentally’ discovered an anomalous band
of electronic frequency which is out of the ordinary and
the location is near the Burns, Oregon, stand-off event“.
Thecommonsenseshow.com reports:
Mr. Hodges,
I work with a consortium of engineers and we have
“accidentally” discovered an anomalous band of electronic
frequency which is out of the ordinary and the location is
near the Burns, Oregon, stand-off event in which a group
of ranchers are protesting the taking over of their land
by the BLM.
I am not at liberty to discuss the delivery mechanism
because it could lead to some of my colleagues. My
colleagues have complained that they are no longer in
charge of their own experiments and the nature and tone of
the experiments is such that we all believe that a
widespread application of what you have labeled “mind
control” is about to be unleashed on the world, not just
the United States.
You have published enough that we feel that you were the
appropriate conduit to release the information on this.
The public has a right to know what is about to be done to
them. The RF involved is at RF at 2.4 GHz. This RF is NOT
Wi-Fi, bluetooth, microwave, etc.
If you are willing to publish and distribute, we will
send you more information………….
Anonymous
Because I want to keep the NSA and the spooks out of my
business, I wanted it noted that the above communication
is not an email.
In the past 15 months, I have been approached by two
groups of scientists who are gravely concerned about the
development and pending application of mind control
technology using electromagnetic means to deliver the
technology. Both groups of scientists are fearful of their
lives and one group has an amazing and bizarre means of
communicating with me.
In response, I occasionally run an article on mind
control technology hoping to shake loose others who are
willing to be more forthcoming and are willing to go
public. In doing so, I have discovered two things: (1)
scientists across the planet, not just the United States,
are fearful of the work they are doing in relation to mind
control technology; and, (2) This technology is ready to
be unleashed. In fact, there have already been beta tests,
such as the “Kentucky Mall Brawl” incident.
The technology exists and here is some of the evidence to
support these claims.
MULTIPLE DELIVERY MECHANISMS
What are the “phony” cell phone towers all about? Are
they only for the purpose of “stealing” data from the
electronic devices of unsuspecting people? The answer to
this question may surprise you.
A Paul Watson report, chronicled in the video listed
below, accurately portrays 50% of the operational
functioning of what is presently being referred to as
“phony cell towers”. Watson is correct in that these
“phony towers” are indeed stealing data from your
electronic devices.
However, Watson’s depiction of the phony cell phone
towers only represents half of the picture. On the other
side of the coin, these towers are part of a mind control
apparatus. Here is an excerpt of the relevant patent.
Abstract
A method and apparatus for simulation of hearing in
mammals by introduction of a plurality of microwaves into
the region of the auditory cortex is shown and described.
A microphone is used to transform sound signals into
electrical signals which are in turn analyzed and
processed to provide controls for generating a plurality
of microwave signals at different frequencies. The
multifrequency microwaves are then applied to the brain in
the region of the auditory cortex. By this method sounds
are perceived by the mammal which are representative of
the original sound received by the microphone.
Inventors:
Stocklin; Philip L. (Satellite Beach, FL)
Family ID:
24247585
Appl. No.:
06/562,742
Filed:
December 19, 1983
The patent’s use of the phrase “… introduction of a
plurality of microwaves into the region of the auditory
cortex is shown…The multifrequency microwaves are then
applied to the brain in the region of the auditory cortex.
By this method sounds are perceived by the mammal which
are representative of the original sound received by the
microphone”. In other words, this is a smoking gun patent
for what is often referred to as “voice to skull”
technology. This means that the thoughts (i.e. words) in
your head may not be your own. This patent clearly
demonstrates that the technology has existed to control
your thoughts and the technology is over 35 years old.
Today, your smart meter, smart appliances and your wi-fi
networks in your home all have this capability. In fact,
one of my military sources, once associated with the
project known as “Owning the Weather 2025”, tells me that
any device which can receive or send an electrical signal
is vulnerable to the manifestation of mind control through
the psychotronic manipulation of the mind. The recently
exposed phony cell phone towers are only part of an
overall smart grid system designed, in part, to effect
mind control. My military sources tell me that this system
is part of what is popularly known as “the Smart Grid”.
The various Smart Grids are all being connected into a
what is called a “Land Area Network”. My sources also tell
me that mind control is only one function of this network
and that presently there is an effort underway to
integrate the various Land Area Networks across various
continents (e.g. North American and Europe). The system,
once fully integrated will include health care and overall
energy usage. Mind control is a byproduct of this
technology.
The technology works on two levels. First, external words
which can manifest as integrated thoughts, can
artificially and electronically be placed within your
head. Second, your overall emotional functioning and
immediate emotional perception can dramatically be altered
through the application of “targeted” frequencies designed
to manipulate a desired and overall emotional state of
functioning.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Are You Prepared For
Imminent US Digital Dollar?
TOPICS:BankingBitcoinCBDCCentral
BanksCryptocurrencyCurrencyGreat ResetNeenah Payne
OCTOBER 12, 2020
By Neenah Payne
All Americans know everything costs a LOT more than it
used to. However, many people don’t realize that inflation
is driven by how much the value of the dollar has declined
in the last 100 years. The chart below shows that the
dollar has lost almost all its value.
End of the US Dollar?
The U.S. dollar became the dominant currency in the global
economy soon after World War I. The Bretton Woods accord
in 1944 solidified its position at the top. Since the
dollar has been the world’s reserve currency throughout
their lives, many Americans assume it will continue to be
so forever – or at least for the foreseeable future.
However, as the chart below shows, there have been
several global reserve currencies in the last 700 years –
with an average span of 94 years – and two for only 80
years. The U.S. dollar’s dominance will end when a
combination of factors causes investors, governments, and
markets to abandon it. The U.S. can accelerate the
dollar’s loss of status as the global reserve currency –
and has been doing so by escalating debt, increasing
inflation (which is now official Fed policy), declining
domestic savings rates, and rising deficit.
There have been discussions for several years about
replacing the dollar with a variety of currencies
including the “Amero” for the North American Union to
correspond to the “euro” in the European Union and the
International Monetary Fund’s “Special Drawing Rights”
(SDRs) – a basket of leading world currencies.
Given the fact that the dollar has lost so much of its
value, it’s not unreasonable to recognize that it’s near
the end of its run now and to consider what may replace it
– and when. It’s also smart to prepare for that transition
now as signs continue to suggest a replacement may be as
early as January 1, 2021.
In US Congress, New Bill Demands ‘Digital Dollars’ by
January for Monthly COVID-19 Aid.
Gold or Bitcoin?
When President Richard Nixon severed the dollar’s final
link to gold in 1971, it had major consequences that few
people realize. 1971: The Year That Changed Everything
links to the WTF Happened In 1971? website. Ron Paul and
others have proposed a return to the gold standard to
restore a sound US dollar. Paul’s monetary-policy epiphany
came on Aug. 15, 1971 – the day the Fed shut its “gold
window,” meaning foreign governments could no longer trade
gold for dollars at the fixed rate of $35 an ounce. That
shocked Dr. Paul, a successful Texas obstetrician. He
said, “That’s why I ran for Congress”. Dr. Paul
represented the 22nd congressional district from 1976-1977
and again from 1979-1985. He represented the Texas 14th
congressional district from 1997-2013.
However, the video interview below explains why gold is
no longer the best choice for a sound currency. The
interview is with Ben and Collin Prentice who created the
WTF Happened In 1971? site. These savvy Millennials are
advocates of Bitcoin which they believe solves many of
society’s problems. Ben says that, contrary to what
boomers believe, gold has failed as a currency because a
politician like Nixon could decouple it from our money
supply at the stroke of a pen — and one politician
destroyed the world’s economic system. So, they believe
that bitcoin may be the ONLY chance for sound money
because it cannot be controlled by anyone and turned into
a fiat concurrency.
Many wise investors have diversified their portfolio with
gold. However, since the introduction of bitcoin in 2009,
even more savvy people have hedged their bets by getting
into cryptocurrencies. The chart below shows that was a
profitable choice. As gold rose about 30% from March to
August this year, bitcoin soared about 130%.
The Inevitable, Imminent US Digital Dollar
The Coming US Digital Dollar (Part 1): What it is, and Why
it Matters is a June 24 article by Dr. Garrick Hileman
that explains why the US Digital Dollar is now inevitable
and imminent. His bio says he is:
Head of Research at Blockchain.com and Visiting Fellow at
the London School of Economics Garrick is best known for
his research on monetary and distributed systems
innovation, particularly cryptocurrencies and blockchain
technology. Garrick was ranked as one of the 100 most
influential economists in the UK & Ireland. He is a
regularly invited speaker to various private and public
sector institutions, including the CIA, US Army and Naval
War Colleges, Federal Reserve, Bank of England, Bank of
International Settlements, and the Financial Stability
Board. Garrick is also frequently asked to share his
research and perspective with the media, including the
BBC, CNBC, FT, WSJ, and NPR.
The article warns:
Just over twelve months ago, few thought the creation of
a new US digital dollar…would soon be on the policy and
legislative “front burner” in Congress, the Federal
Reserve, and other regulatory bodies….. But over the past
twelve months there were several major developments that
together have radically shifted forward the probability of
introducing a broadly held and transacted US digital
dollar:
Facebook’s ambitious global Libra currency was announced
in mid-June 2019, and it would be underpinned by
blockchain technology…to service Facebook’s billions of
users.
China began testing in April 2020 its digital yuan, the
DCEP (Digital Currency Electronic Payment)
US-China strategic competition and geopolitical tensions
escalated
The coronavirus pandemic struck, painfully demonstrating
the antiquated nature of US monetary and financial
infrastructure
The ongoing growth in stablecoin and cryptoasset use,
which present ever-growing competition to traditional fiat
currencies.
Because Facebook is a global company, the world’s banks
are afraid people around the world might switch to
Facebook’s Libra digital currency. Amazon also has a
digital currency. Coins by Facebook and Amazon are called
“stablecoins”. JP Morgan Chase came out with its own
digital coin in 2016. This key and growing shift in
currency is happening outside the awareness of many
Americans.
The article adds:
In late-March US digital dollar legislation was first
introduced in Congress, and a subsequent growing stream of
Congressional testimony, policy research papers, and
various lobbying initiatives and proposals indicate
growing momentum behind the creation of a US digital
dollar….
The interest in a US digital dollar, and central bank
digital currency more generally, was inspired early-on by
the success of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin (BTC) and its
underlying technology…..Bitcoin has reliably operated for
over 11 years now, and surveys show awareness of bitcoin
registering at over 80% in many countries. Tens of
millions of people around the world own bitcoin, and it
has a market value at present of approximately ~$175
billion USD.
While it is no longer credible to completely dismiss
bitcoin’s extraordinary success, the vast majority of
people still (quite understandably) do not yet use
bitcoin, and this is due at least in part because they
find cryptocurrency to be confusing. Indeed, the way
bitcoin is primarily used today — less as a currency for
payments and more as a scarce, “hard” asset that is
frequently compared to gold — has led some including
former-Bank of England Governor Mark Carney to state that
bitcoin is misleadingly labeled when referred to as a
currency. Instead of being called “cryptocurrency”, Carney
and others believe a more accurate classification label
for bitcoin is “cryptoasset”….
Increasingly, a US digital dollar is viewed not only as
inevitable, but necessarily imminent…. it already is clear
that the lack of a US digital dollar had a severe negative
impact on the ability of the government and Federal
Reserve to address the current pandemic. A US-government
supported digital dollar (and wallet software) would have
been extremely helpful in meeting the goal of rapidly
deploying financial assistance to hundreds of millions of
American citizens during this crisis.
Beyond speed, a US digital dollar would also offer a host
of other benefits compared to mailing checks and other
payment methods, including:
Efficiency: Reducing the cost of payment delivery, which
may run into the tens of millions with postal costs, etc.
for checks.
Financial inclusion: Facilitate payment to individuals
lacking access to bank accounts or low-cost check-cashing
services.
Support the most vulnerable: Help ensure payment to some
of those most in need who lack a physical mailing address,
or those who have relocated recently (eg students).
Efficacy: The receipt and use of digital payments can be
more easily tracked to ensure individuals have received
financial support and solve the significant “lost check”
problem.
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Such benefits, which are arguably just the tip of the
total US digital dollar benefits iceberg….combined with
the need to respond to competitive challengers like the
digital yuan, Libra and decentralized cryptocurrencies
like bitcoin, make the case in favor of a digital dollar
extremely compelling.
The Coming US Digital Dollar: Why It Matters
The LA Blockchain Summit was livestreamed on October 6 and
7 and was watched by 40,000 people. The 40 hours of
recorded sessions are now available. Blockchain technology
is the platform for digital currencies much like the
internet is the platform for email. These sessions are
like attending university-level courses taught by top
people in the field. It is amazing that all this
information is available for people to watch for free at
their convenience from home!
Part 1 is posted below, and the full playlist can be seen
here.
The Coming US Digital Dollar — What it is, and Why it
Matters is a session with Dr. Hileman and can be seen on
Stage 2 of the October 7 livestream from about 6:54 to
7:14.
Dr. Hileman’s website is: https://www.blockchain.com/. He
is currently a researcher at the London School of
Economics, where he also received his PhD.
US Digital Dollar: News and Warnings
The following 2020 articles show how close we may be to a
digital dollar now.
Forbes 3/24/20: Shock U.S. Digital Dollar Proposals Set
Bitcoin And Crypto Prices Alight
Forbes 7/1/20: US Moves Closer to Digital Dollar reports:
“On June 30th, the Senate Banking Committee held a hearing
on the future of the digital dollar. The pressures to
create a digital USD are mounting as China recently began
testing its own digital currency – the DCEP, which will be
included in popular applications like WeChat and AliPay.
Of particular concern is widespread adoption of a digital
yuan in emerging markets and in international trade.”
Wall Street Journal: The Coming Currency War: Digital
Money vs. the Dollar – “Central banks are getting closer
to issuing their own digital currency. If they do, the
dollar might finally face real competition as the world’s
dominant currency.”
Coindesk 8/13/20: The Federal Reserve Is Experimenting
With a Digital Dollar
Bitcoin.com 8/14/20: US Federal Reserve Reveals Building a
Digital Dollar Codebase With MIT “In addition to the Fed
investigating a CBDC, Congress has proposed a number of
bills discussing the invocation of a digital dollar this
year. A Digital Dollar Foundation was also created in the
U.S. this year.”
The Circle Is Complete: Bank of Japan Joins Fed and ECB in
Preparing Rollout of Digital Currency. This 10/9/20
article says “the world’s central banks are quietly
preparing to unleash digital currencies on an unsuspecting
population.”
Videos
The New Digital Dollar Is Coming — Discusses the dangers
of a US digital dollar, including negative interest rates,
and why having bitcoin (rather than gold) is an important
protection.
Government Digital Currency: Why You Should Be TERRIFIED!
— The video warns that it may be inevitable and imminent
for the government to ban cash. If the government imposes
negative interest rates (even as high as 5%) on the US
digital currency, people will not be able to withdraw
their money and may not be able to save the currency. The
video explains how the digital dollar could be tied to
each person’s “Social Score” – as in China – and used for
control of each person’s everyday activities. It warns
that bitcoin may be banned and gold confiscated!
The Next Steps Now?
Brave - The Browser Built for Privacy
The video fails to explain that while the government may
ban the USE of cryptocurrencies, it cannot ban or
confiscate true cryptocurrencies because they are
protected by the blockchain – the underlying technology
for peer-to-peer, decentralized, anonymous and
uncensorable exchange. A ban on cryptocurrencies would
force more people into a black or gray market. The COVID
restrictions on businesses had the same effect on some
major retailers this year. For example, one retail outlet
whose store was marked “closed” was in full (but
well-hidden) operation not far away.
So, there are only two credible existential threats to
cryptocurrencies: quantum computing and an EMP
(electro-magnetic pulse) that takes down the entire grid.
In the latter scenario, we’d have a lot more to worry
about than how to spend our money.
The number of Americans invested in cryptocurrencies
almost doubled from 7.95% in 2018 to 14.4% in 2019, an
increase of 81% in one year. However, it can be daunting
figuring out how to get started just relying on books or
online videos. The best approach might be to find people
who have invested and ask them for help getting started.
It’s remarkable how easy it is then. Finder’s Guide to
Cryptocurrencies may be able to help with key terms,
providers and players in the crypto world.
It is not necessary to buy a whole bitcoin – which costs
over $11,000 now. See the current price at CoinMarketCap.
The satoshi is currently the smallest unit of the bitcoin
currency recorded on the blockchain. It is a one hundred
millionth of a single bitcoin (0.00000001 BTC). So, one
bitcoin is 100,000,000 satoshis. The unit was named for
Satoshi Nakamoto who is credited with creating bitcoin in
2009.
Once you get a “wallet”, you can buy a variety of
cryptocurrencies and use them to make purchases. You can
take your first position at Activist Post’s recommended
source: Coinbase. The KEY if you use a private wallet like
Jaxx.io is to make sure you secure your 12-word Back Up
Phrase! Since you are the only one who has that password,
if you lose it, you will lose all your cryptocurrencies in
that wallet! There will be no way to recover your password
or your money! So, keep a printed copy in your safe or
another secure place you will remember.
There are many potential advantages to learning about the
blockchain and investing in cryptocurrencies. For example,
the purse.io site offers a 5-10% discount for purchases on
Amazon made with bitcoin (BTC) or bitcoin cash (BCH). How
To Invest in a Bitcoin IRA: The 5 Best Crypto IRAs
explains that up to $7,000 can be invested in a bitcoin
IRA each year and is tax deductible.
Join the Counter Markets newsletter to keep up-to-date on
the crypto world. You also save 40% if you pay with a
cryptocurrency.
People who fail to take action now may forever regret
that decision starting as early as January 1, 2021.
Also See from Spiro Skouras: The Banking Digital Arms
Race
Disclaimer: This information should not be interpreted as
an endorsement of cryptocurrency or any specific provider,
service or offering. It is not a recommendation to trade.
Cryptocurrencies are speculative, complex, and involve
significant risks – they are highly volatile and sensitive
to secondary activity. Performance is unpredictable and
past performance is no guarantee of future performance.
Consider your own circumstances, and obtain your own
advice, before relying on this information. You should
also verify the nature of any product or service
(including its legal status and relevant regulatory
requirements) and consult the relevant Regulators’
websites before making any decision. The author may have
holdings in the cryptocurrencies discussed.
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