Contents: Petro-Euros - NESARA - New Economy - literally (Treaty of Noordwijk aan Zee - LETS - UNILETS - UNO income - MEMO - Apfelgeld - WIR - Sozial-Tausch- und LeihRing STLR Sterntaler - Silvio Gesell
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I Want the Earth plus 5% - The flaws of the present money system. And how to solve them.
Original story from 1971 told and translated now in 25 languages. Download as soundtrack, as text or as a PDF file.

http://www.larryhannigan.com/EarthPlus.htm

U.S. May Hit National Debt Ceiling in 2004 (450+billion $)

The Associated Press

Monday 16 June 2003
WASHINGTON -- The government could hit the new $7.4 trillion limit on the national debt next year_ any time from April through October, Treasury Department spokesman Rob Nichols said Monday.

President Bush last month signed a bill allowing a record $984 billion increase in the amount the federal government can borrow. It marked the second increase in the debt ceiling in roughly a year. In June 2002, the debt ceiling was increased by $450 billion to $6.4 trillion.
The issue is politically touchy. Democrats have blamed the government's need to borrow more on Bush's tax cuts, his handling of the economy and ballooning federal government budget deficits. Republicans have blamed the weak economy and the costs of fighting terrorism for the need to extend the debt limit.
The actual US debt: http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/

 

Another (real) hidden reason for the Iraq war?
25 Feb 03 - Iraq has secretly changed the oil currency from the hated Petro-Dollar to the Petro-Euro in November 2000. A lenghty essay with a disquieting body of evidence is in the essay The Real Reasons for the Upcoming War in Iraq: A Macroeconomic and Geostrategic Analysis of the Unspoken Truth, by W. Clark, 1/26/03. America is totally addicted to all the free extra currency income from the oil markets due to its gargantuan states-debt of more than 6 trillion dollars according to the news a few days ago.

(AP) The government is expected to hit the $6.4 trillion ceiling on the national debt around Feb. 20, the Treasury Department said Wednesday, renewing its call for Congress to boost the government's borrowing authority. Source: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/02/20/politics/main541338.shtml

The cracks are showing clearly. Interestingly, the most reviled nations are on the forefront of a new planetary ethics. Hugo Chavez, the Venezuelan President who was attempted to be disposed most probably by the CIA (rumours are that also Venezuela prepares/-d to change from Petro-dollar to Petro-Euro) finances Cuban generic medicines for instance for AIDS to be affordably distributed in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Argentina is in shambles regarding the current economy. Here, by taking a closer look, there is a surviving component: the truque, a Barter (LETS-like and hour-based?) additional currency. One of the inventors of alternative currencies was the German/Argentinian businessman Silvio Gesell, see this section below. And it is a great pleasure to see exactly his homeland proofing that millions can support each other with this age-old model. Needless to point out that Venezuela, Brazil and other neighbouring countries become inspired by this example.

Another startling note: Malaysia has turned to an Islamic Gold Dinar, which was first introduced in the United Arab Emirates in 2001. Is that why they are on the list of being presented as belonging to the Axis-of-Evil?

New links to Islamic Gold Dinars: http://www.islamicmint.com / http://www.e-dinar.com

Maybe, just maybe, the supremacy powers like USA and Great Britain better just go out of the way to give the space to those who are spearheading and willing to support and encourage these newest developments. Mass media can take up the challenge and put themselves in service of 'we the people' instead of the wartraders, pharmaceuticals, moneylenders, shadow governments, resource-grabbers. The decline of the obstinate exponents of a casino economy is inevitable, the erosion of the value of the dollar is a clear sign. Some sources foretell that in the case of an attack on Iraq, many of the Muslim nations will change their dollar reserves to Euros (or to the Islamic Gold-Dinar?) and thus fight the American nation on another totally unexpected front.

A brief and astonishingly insightful article of the origins and the whereabouts of the present finance reserve system is at the immensly valuable newciv.org website: A Monetary System for the New Millennium by Roger Langrick
http://www.newciv.org/whole/monetarysystem.html

A call for war? - It is about money (or other resources) !


NESARA - to be announced (28 October '02, slightly updated 21 July 2006)
NESARA &endash; the National Economic Security And Reformation Act is known around D.C. as the "Reformation Act". It was passed on March 9, 2000 and signed by Bill Clinton on October 10, 2000. The announcement and implementation of this law has been BLOCKED by big bankers and other groups. However, with enough public pressure, WE CAN get this law implemented. On announcement, the NESARA law FORGIVES credit card and mortgage debts and abolishes the IRS and provides a fairer way to fund the government. The present Dollar casino money will be replaced by a gold-backed Rainbow Dollar.
The former website nesara.us had details and weekly reports .

Many of the machinations that I shared via for instance Why Postpone Paradise? can be understood from another perspective by reading the commentaries of Dove.

New economy, nine aspects (2 July 2001, updated 8 Jan 2003))

New economy, a buzzword for the new Millennium? Not at all - this is certainly not a fancy. Instead, new economy in its literal meaning, namely new money systems will hold to the test the emerging new consciousness. It could be a select challenge to work on for the 'Cultural Creatives'.

After having thought intensively about a simple way to establish [UNILETS] on a worldscale, i came to the following conclusions.

To my present understanding, there are only a few basic requirements that a new currency (i like the name Terra proposed by Bernard Lietaer) has to have.

1: it is usury-free.

2: It has a fixed denominator, time as the one commodity shared by all nations, or alternatively Kilowatt honouring R. Buckminster Fuller. Bernard Lietaer proposes a fixed guaranteed value based on a basketful of Earth's resources.

3: (as a bonus) negative interest. This made the experiments of Woergl (website now in German, English and Esperanto) and similar soar. Instead of earning some small interest, the value of the circulation money becomes less (a small percentage only), if the money is kept too long in the pocket. The simple outcome is that everyone wants to get rid of that money, and for that reason is willing to spend it right away instead of saving it. It results in a boost for the local economy, if the money is designed as local money.

And here is the crux: the 'National' Bank(s) stopped Woergl, and numerous other experiments all over the world. To name another example: the Green Buck, issued during the early days of the USA was forcefully terminated, too. History will have to be completely re-written, too many statesmen and leading figures have been 'altered' to secure the power of the 'National' Banks. Wars were waged, country borders re-arranged, people in power cheated, wrongly informed, used as marionettes, murdered or brought to a point where they committed suicide. To what end though - was it in hindsight nevertheless a part of the Divine plan?

4: an additional fixed basic income of some US$ 250 on a yearly basis for every and all persons young and old, guaranteed by the Earth's resources (referring to Global Resource Bank, Arthur Shaw's Copionomics, Lietaer's above mentioned basket of resources, or the Human Unity Tree Bank concept of Mark Rose to be published eventually also via Planetwork.org?). With a sociocratic decision structure as outlined by the late Pieter Kooistra in his 'UNO-income for all mankind' plan, large families or tribe-like groups decide once a year which sustainable goods or services they use this extra income for.

5: the main point that i can not yet figure out. While time is a fixed measure that can be used as the common exchange rate all over the world, individual circumstances have to be taken in account in the form of a variable, at the moment of the exchange. Local and personal situations will allow to calculate against the fixed (time) rate. What form does allow such a flexibility in a supportive life-enhancing and honouring way, because certain work and services will otherwise be not at all or too much in demand?

6: the new currency is guaranteed to pay taxes for local authorities who use it for the local infrastructure and costs. That was the second requirement for the Woergl etc. success. - Again the question rises here how to converge local situations to a world scale, or to limit it to the local community in this case.

7: Worldwide trade with a completely decentralized double book-keeping system by the buyer and seller at their (Internet or similar) account - initiated through personal, mobile / phone or e-mail contact.

8: (an extra) - a kind of a worldwide creditcard connected to 7.

9: (additionally) - a gift economy like Friendly Favors

By browsing through the outstanding website of Bernard Lietaer, I found an article which comes closest to my musings here. According to him, the so-called ROCS is no-where introduced yet. The work has to be done therefore still. Do you take up the challenge? See http://www.transaction.net/money/rocs/index.html

A recent commentary by Jim Starry (see http://www.recyclus.com) was that the new formula for money can be: money x time x distance. Indeed, this may allow to calculate the individual value pointed out under 5.

New Economy - literally

The subject that i see as one of the most important in the new Millennium is New Economy - literally: in other words, new money systems. It can have very practical adaption in daily matters. Here is an example.

When today (6 December 2001), in Germany a new future is devised for Afghanistan, the United Nations Donor Conference proposes respectable sums for the restoration of the devastated nation. However, they could adapt this in a way, that will change the present situation radically to the better. The proposal is to reserve a considerable amount for microcredits (tiny sums that are lent to manageable conditions), offered to all the women of Afghanistan. In this way, self-determination and dignity can be achieved in a fast way. The altruistic motivation is backed by overwhelming experiences that microcredits work. Not accidentally, women are the preferrable choice, they need to manage a household with sometimes many children and relatives, often with almost no means.

- As an additional possibility, these microcredits can be backed or expanded with new money systems like LETS (Local Exchange Trading Systems, a network that consists worldwide some 3000 local trading groups), UNILETS (the overarching LETS via the UN), Time-money currencies, UN-Income, or similar.

(An estimate of such a microcredit: the equivalent of US$ 250 to start with.)

For more on Afghanistan, see special feature here.

What brought my attention to money systems? (updated 8 January 2003)
During a good part of my life, i was oddly enough confronted in many instances with people whose lifework was centered around currency and new money-systems.

It enfolded with the encounter of a strange time-traveller in Spring 1975. Read the story 'Why Postpone Paradise?' which answered for me many riddles concerning 'humanity on Planet Earth'. In short: Humanity's experiences were historically for a huge part determined by a group who thought they rule over the world, and money was their curse. Not only for their victims, but also for themselves. This was the secret that needed first to be discovered.
All aspects played out in 6 [now 7] billion individual faces are expressions of one multifacetted being. By integrating the most different aspects, for instance by sharing life key events with each other in respectful silence, and allow to transcend the-ir experiences into y-our own life's insights and events, an evolution of uniting into the one source origin will happen. - There is a shortcut for those who dare: Listen with compassion to y-our worst enemy. As we are all one, s-he just shows a side of ourselves that we do want to hide. Modern psychology and metaphysics may explain it in this way: The mere fact that we avoid something, creates a void (marvellous wordplay!) - it has to be filled because a main natural law is balance. Another way to grasp this is the comparison to magnets, at least to a certain extent.


My first experience with a concrete alternative economy form was in 1977, when i became a founding member of a group that initiated a new bank in Switzerland (sic!). It should take in account the environment, the arts, social components, etc. It derived from a more holistic expression of the WIR Wirtschaftsring (now WIR Bank, see http://www.wir.ch). The anthroposophy of Rudolf Steiner (in the Swiss place Dornach is their headquarter, called the Goetheanum, see www.goetheanum.ch) was another inspiration source of our bank called 'Sozial Tausch- und Leih-Ring (Social Circle for Exchanging and Borrowing) STLR named Sterntaler (star ducate). The title Sterntaler refers to a fairytale by H.C. Andersen where a little girl gives everything away and is rewarded by a golden star-shower afterwards.
As a founding member, i was also asked to help for the graphical design. Despite sound preparations, shortly after the start in July 1977 there were growing quarrels and hostilities which endured until 1981, when Sterntaler ended. Was it infiltration of a frightened bank establishment that caused the folding?

Nevertheless, i remember this time with gratitude. First, because i met Mr Otto Studer, a then almost eighty years young wise man. He voiced that he was the third founding father (and eventually key-inspirator?) of above mentioned WIR Wirtschaftsring (the world's biggest and oldest still fuctioning barter circle, 82.500 members in 2000, in its best times a yearly turnover of some 4 billion Swiss Franks!), together with Hans Werner Enz and Werner Zimmermann. In several private conversations, mr Studer shared many insights and memories. A most remarkable person, a real 'homo universalis' versed in subjects spanning as wide as classical music mastery, and currency systems. If i remember well, he said to have hold the patent of 'Stueckelung des Geldes' (Partitioning of Money) until (the 1960's?), when he did not renew it. He was not interested in money, he assured. Yes indeed, you will be surprised to know that this patent described the principles of what later became known as Travelers Cheques! - Freiland and Freigeld (free land and free money) based on the insights of Silvio Gesell (mainly in German) were among the points he focused on in the Social-Liberal party.

The next extraordinary 'money-person' i met personally was Friedrich von As. He transposed Gesell's insights into very practical concepts, e.g. Apfelgeld (Apple-money) for money should diminish in value over time like all other goods. This will ensure prosperity and a thriving people-based economy for everyone. Unfortunately, i lost contact after our first meeting, and i never heard more about these insightful plans.

It was in 1980 when i met the third person who made money increasingly his main life focus. During a four-month stay in the spiritual community Findhorn, i happened to bump into F. Lohmann. He delved deeply into the subjects of secret societies, and obscure conspiracies. Similar information is meanwhile abundantly accessible throughout the Internet. A new interesting point i heard of from mr Lohmann was a people's economy game by one mr Walker. Alas, i could not trace it either.

When moving to Amsterdam to my (later) wife i met that Summer in Findhorn, i soon got in contact with MEMO Mens- en Milieuvriendelijke Ondernemingen (Human- and Environmental-friendly businesses). This organization was inspired by the same principles like 'our' Sterntaler experiment, but lasted a decade longer. It was one reason why i learned Dutch very quickly, because their material was not available in English. An international publication MEMORANDUM would have been my task, but was abandoned in an early stage.

A new approach was unveiled during the UN Millennium Forum (May 2000), see report below.

More recently, a dear friend directed me to a new initiative as an attempt to re-write Bretton Woods, the conference in 1944 where the almighty World Bank and the International Monetary Fund IMF were created. See the website at www.treatyofnoordwijkaanzee.com (no longer active!) with introduction, background (and possibility to sign the treaty) of that conference on 1st/2nd December 2000 in the Dutch place Noordwijk aan Zee.

Peter Rosen of www.creativity.net made me aware of a worldwide network of the new economy and creativity businesses in particular. It comprises a magazine which was highly awarded in 2000, and an Internet community with local cells all over the globe. Have a look at http://www.fastcompany.com . My attempt will be to propose if a (literally) new economy - namely new money systems - could be developed by and within this community.

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Further reading:

The Belgian city St. Vith was the birthplace of Silvio Gesell.
Silvio Gesell's most important book, completely downloadable in English: http://www.silvio-gesell.de
- 'Die Natuerliche Wirtschaftsordnung' in German with many other resources: http://www.geldreform.de/
http://www.freigeld.de - (excellent, but presently only in German)
http://www.talent.ch (again only in German, but good international links)
www.neweconomics.org
http://attac.org

Striking background information on the wealthiest thugs-of-war and their henchmen regarding the private National Banks: http://www.apfn.org/apfn/reserve.htm

To be continued.


- at the United Nations HQ in New York

To shape the United Nations for the 21st Century, the possible next step, boldly advocated by the present Secretary-General mr Kofi Annan, was to involve civil society, peoples representatives and NGO's (Non-Governmental Organizations) ever more,

The most extraordinary person i met was John 'the bank-engineer' Turmel. Via his website http://www.cyberclass.net/turmel John has listed some 700 persons from 45 countries, which can trade worldwide.
You may take part, too, in 21 steps as i did. To state this boldly: Start your own bank (time-trade account) with your e-mail address !
Y-our local connection (yes, 'Thinking Globally - acting Locally') is via the LETS (Local Exchange Trading System) network. For example, in Amsterdam, it is called 'Noppes' http://www.noppes.nl . Thousands of these local systems are in existence worldwide, most probably also in your neighbourhood.
To crown this, John proposed to introduce UNILETS. He has some authority in this: The initial LETSystem in Canada in 1982/84 was using software developed and financed by him, if i understood it well.
- In the end-document additional paper of the Millennium Forum declaration, UNILETS as time-based currency, was included under C Globalization, Government, point 6).
6. To make serious commitments to restructure the global financial architecture based on principles of equity, transparency, accountability and democracy, and to balance, with the participation of civil society organizations, the monetary means to favour human endeavour and ecology, such as an alternative time-based currency. To give particular attention to eradication of unequal taxation, tax havens, and money-laundering operations, and to impose new forms of taxation, such as the Tobin tax, and regional and national capital controls. To direct the international financial institutions to eliminate the negative conditionalities of structural adjustment programmes.

John was then lobbying to find a supportive UN-member state to propose this concept during the Millennium Summit in September. (To be included in the Agenda sessions, issues have to be brought in via a member state.) This did not happen yet, despite John and Pauline standing in the passway of all those 159 heads of State with their placards reading: 'U.N. Millennium Declaration C6: Interest-free UNILETS bank.' / 'Jesus, Mohammed, Nehemiah said: 'Don't lend money at interest.' and 'Don't cancel debt. L.E.T.S. cancel debt growth.' / 'Bankers starve third-world babies.' John and Pauline were ones of the few persons who were able to be in the vicinity of the heavily guarded UN buildings. At last, they were rewarded with a picture in the EarthTimes http://www.earthtimes.org of Thursday 7th Sep 2000.

To put the amazing opportunity once more in other words: Jubilee 2000, the debt cancellation movement for third world countries has overlooked a simple fact: It is not the debt, which causes the impossibility to pay back, this is due to the interest on debts. All the debts can be paid back easily (and most probably have been already several times over) if interest / usury is cancelled!

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The biggest debtor of all is the United States. An inconceivable 18 trillion dollars (2015 figures) is owned by now on debt, and counting each day by multimillions. Also a clock in New York pictures this dreadful reality undeniable. When Bush offered tax cuts, it is simply paid by a raised future debt. A very risky gambler's game...)

And in the same context: Because of this unimaginable debt, new gigantic projects are initiated by the money mastodonts just to postpone the collapse of their tragic money debt scheme. It probably is only for that, that humanity is again confronted with another megalomanic insanity, presented as a Nuclear protection shield. A massive promotion for Star Wars is dumped in unexpected places and instances. Nearly the whole world is against this perilous pipedream, Pentagon spokespersons themselves classify it as unrealistic. Despite the widespread rejection, Bush and the marionets of the money mogols plan to force us into decades of fear, threat, slavic numbness by creating an irreversible situation of dependence. Be aware therefore, the presented opposition figures could as well be infiltrated by the gargatuans (maybe without them being aware of this). - As we are all one, parts of ourselves act this all out. Allowing to voice all possible aspects can as well lead to a sharp rejection of any undermining of freedom. With a multitude of small decentralized projects, we will create a sensible reality for an evolving Planet Earth crew.

We as humanity are at the threshold of a new Millennium. The tribe of 7 billion has to find ways to devise a sustainable future for all, if this is what we want. As we are all One (attempts to explain this concept are made throughout this site) the best possibility is to include as many of y-our parts as possible. Sharing and caring are the keywords. Plans like John Turmel's UNILETS appear to be a cornerstone for a better future for all. According to recent e-mail messages, some important politicians have joined the UNILETS list. After a Rothschilds and Rockefellers message, United States Senator Rockefeller JOINED the list! They're listening indeed.
John's newest proposal is now to present UNILETS in the form of an Amendment to allow it to appear on the UN-Agenda.

MORE: Extensive background articles on new money systems are in

http://www.futurenet.org

Several other persons that i became acquainted with during the Millennium Forum had also a 'new money-systems' focuspoint. One of them was Steven G. Brant of the Buckminster Fuller Institute http://www.bfi.org .

- Buckminster Fuller, well-known for his Dome-constructions and his mind-expanding Dimaxion worldmaps, has devised a new trade unit as well: kilowatt. A very sensible insight: money equals energy.
The Global Resources Bank http://www.grb.net endeavours to qualify all possible sources of energy and raw-materials on Earth as our capital. This is an elaborous concept, impressive for sure, but honestly, i and many others cannot grasp it. It has some resemblance to Mark Rose's much more modest project (coming soon on this website).

Later that week i came across 'World Citizen' founder Garry Davis (1921-2013) who had initiated his own currency system as well ! -

To be continued.