People's Power?! By Joost van Steenis

Bangkok April 20 2006

Dear reader, this is the 70th Letter of an Autonomous Thinker

The Power of the People should have chased away the former Philippine president, the corrupt and dictatorial Marcos.

The media (owned by the rich) applauded the actions but you may wonder why rich elitist tycoons should be shrilled by People's Power, why the elite should like it that one of their kind is overthrown by masspeople.

The answer is simple: Marcos was not removed by masspeople!
Marcos was replaced by the somewhat less richer Aquino who was also a prominent member of the Philippine elite. After her came Estrada who was also overthrown by People's Power and succeeded by the equally rich and corrupt Arroyo.

All these leaders did not give a hoot about the poor. The masses were only used as a weapon in the battle between two groups of rich and corrupt elitists.
Massactions that are controlled by parts of the elite - that want to improve its own situation - have occurred in many Third World countries.

In Thailand for example prime minister Thaksin, who among other things used his power to direct a billion dollars to his clan, was forced to go away. Again after masspeople were mobilised by other rich people who wanted a bigger piece of the cake.

Masspeople did never promote their own interests.

The Third World is more hierarchical than the First World and therefore leaders can organise actions that look like People's Power. Family, clan and tribe have less influence in the First World. Politicians cannot claim they "own" a constituency, that they "own" certain functions (and give these functions away to family members or cronies as in a dynasty).

It does not happen often in the rich countries that a top leader is the son of a former president (Bush) but in the Third World political functions are kept in the family (India, Sri Lanka, Bangla Desh etc.).

Though the Waltons still directly lead Walmart, the influence of old and very rich families on most multinationals has become indirect. The influence of groups, families, clans, birthplaces etc to which one belongs by birth, has diminished in rich countries. And the possibility of autonomous actions of masspeople has increased because social bonds, the individual did not choose and cannot break or even influence, have become weaker. It will still take many years till developing countries advance to this point. But the First World has also a long way to go because for example in massactions organised by hierarchical Trade Unions masspeople are still used by leaders.

But People's Power does not exist in Third World countries. The eclipse of people like Thaksin (Thailand), Fujimoro (Peru), Marcos (Philippines) or Mugabe (Zimbabwe) can hardly be seen as a positive political development.

I only write about developing countries because 'our' leaders are deeply involved in controlling the poorer parts of the world (especially in regard to natural resources).
Solutions I advance on my site have in the first place the intention to change the political structure (and people) in rich countries. Third World countries should be left alone to develop their own way to the future. They are still far away from a situation in which individual masspeople become active against individual elitepeople who place their own interests above the interest of all humans.

Yours truly, Joost van Steenis
http://members.chello.nl/jsteenis
Ways to increase masspower

Canadian Class Action Charging Illegal creation of Money: First Anniversary By Sepp Hasslberger

Canadian Class Action Charging Illegal creation of Money: First Anniversary By Sepp Hasslberger

see:
http://blog.hasslberger.com/2006/04/canadian_class_action_charging.html

I’ve been thinking about inoculations By Fred Cederholm

Column for on/after Apr 16th

I’ve been thinking about inoculations. Actually I’ve been thinking about mobility, vaccines, the 1950’s, kindergarten and 7th grade, socializing, and Iowa. Diseases and their spread have been taking up an increasing share of the news and global media coverage. This past weekend, we saw the second installment of a made-for-TV movie event on a bio-infectious “occurrence” and the action-packed efforts to contain/neutralize it. What gives?

You see, we are now (more-than-ever) part of a unitary planet community. Outbreaks of any disease/malady can be transmitted worldwide in a matter of days – certainly in a matter of weeks. The goods we buy come from every corner of the planet. People can travel virtually non-stop from nations/regions anywhere to destinations everywhere on Earth. Such linkages, while convenient and a part of progress, also bring increased vulnerabilities. Do we realize “all” the implications, and are we prepared to handle the inevitable negative repercussions?

2006 marks the two-hundred-and tenth anniversary of Edward Jenner’s first vaccination. Smallpox was the scourge of the Eighteenth Century. When the English country doctor learned how milkmaids (who had developed lesions on their hands from milking cows infected with the less-severe bovine version of the disease) were immune from smallpox, the science of immunology was born. By deliberate exposure to less virulent strains of certain diseases thru “vaccination,” people developed antibodies to the ailment and their immune systems became far more likely to fight full-blown bouts of the disease. Inoculations may make you sick for a time, but the discomforts experienced are far less than the disease itself.

As a child of the 1950’s, there were far fewer inoculations available to my generation. We dealt with the myriad of childhood diseases the old-fashioned way; we got sick - and “hopefully” recovered for the most part unscathed. That was one of the primary functions of kindergarten – to get the kids exposed and get those rights-of-passage illnesses behind them.
I was kind of the exception to that rule because I deferred getting measles, mumps and chicken pox until seventh grade. While we had smallpox, the trifecta of typhoid/tetanus/diphtheria, and the three separate Sauk Polio shots (which were later supplemented by the Sabin Oral Vaccine on the sugar cube), there were not many other preventative options open to our parents for us.

Humans are very social beings. We all spend a great deal of time each day in contact with family, friends, neighbors, and total strangers. Each of those contacts expose us to God only knows what, and that is a fact of life. Last Saturday, my little home town of Creston staged an Easter Parade down Main Street and held an egg hunt for the kids at Booster Park. There were well over two-hundred people - counting the adults and little folks - and everybody had a great time. These, and the other Easter observances, were wonderful opportunities for fellowship, but… they also presented the chance for other more negative possibilities. Not to worry, everybody I know is fine and I am not trying to incite paranoia about human interaction.

In the past week and a part, the State of Iowa has been in the news because of an “epidemic” outbreak of mumps. In a normal year, there “might” upwards to five isolated cases statewide. There have been hundreds of cases of mumps in this go around; the contagious legacy of Iowa’s patient zero has already spread to eight other neighboring states. In less than a week, documented cases have spread across the Mississippi via the Quad Cities to Illinois -reaching Galena, Freeport and now Rockford. The mumps vaccine in use for over twenty years had been considered 95% plus effective in preventing the disease.

This outbreak of mumps has raised a number of anomalies. An unforeseen number of current sufferers had been vaccinated anywhere from five to seven or ten plus years earlier. Those of us who had endured an actual case of the disease appear exempt from the current outbreak. Does this mean we need to re-TH*NK the lifetime effectiveness of one inoculation? Are follow-up immunizations for mumps required to re-charge the effectiveness? If so, what about all the others? I’m Fred Cederholm and I’ve been thinking. You should be thinking, too.

Copyright 2006 Questions, Inc. All rights reserved.

To “audit” column and learn more about the subjects discussed, please check out:
Edward Jenner and the Discovery of Vaccination
http://www.sc.edu/library/spcoll/nathist/jenner.html

Edward Jenner and Smallpox
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/edward_jenner.htm

Trifecta
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trifecta
Development of Polio Vaccines
http://www.accessexcellence.org/AE/AEC/CC/polio.html
Injected polio vaccine winning support
http://www2.jsonline.com/alive/news/0329polio.asp

Mumps
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/mumps.html

Measles Virus Pathogenesis Clinical Feature
http://www.cdc.gov/nip/publications/pink/mumps.pdf

“Old” Diseases Still Threaten
http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_3717793

Mumps Outbreak Baffles Officials
http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/news/local/14359955.htm

(And this from TURKEY!!!) US Facings Largest Mumps Outbreak in 20 Years
http://www.habersaglik.com/default.asp?Act=Dt&CatId=4&NwId=68009

I’ve been thinking about revelations By Fred Cederholm

Column for on/after Apr 09th

I’ve been thinking about revelations. Actually I’ve been thinking about Holy Week observances, the Bible, Judas Iscariot, “The DaVinci Code,” public knowledge, and the White House. As we prepare for the coming of Easter Sunday and its meaning/significance, there is much to TH*NK about. The past week was filled with a number of revelations, or was it?

You see, revelations are about our learning (or at least our becoming aware of) facts and information which challenge our core beliefs. In the alternative, revelations of new data/info can also cement our understanding of that which we hold most dear and believe. The rocks in our lives become more solid, or they begin to crack. The six days between Palm Sunday and the promise of the Resurrection of Easter Sunday mark the observances of Nisan 14, Passover Seders, Maundy Thursday, and Good Friday. They serve to prepare us for the high point of the Christian year. They put us in the mood, they give us an historical perspective, and we reflect.

The teachings of the 39 books of the Old Testament, together with the 27 books of the New Testament, are more than an historical account of prophesies and their fulfillment for believers. They are the Word of God. They hang together in a oneness of truth which has withstood the tests of time and has survived centuries of challenges and so-called revelations.

The figure of Judas Iscariot personifies the betrayal of Jesus the Christ to the most violent death of crucifixion. Last week, the public learned of the existence of an additional “Gospel of Judas” written circa 180 AD. This revisionist text attempts to place Judas in a different context by “rehabilitating” him and “blessing” his act - cementing/enhancing his relationship with Christ and elevating him as the one “chosen” for the act of betrayal. Talk about the ultimate in political spin! This “Gospel of Judas” does not square with the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. It is not a narrative history of the life of Jesus and his actions. It is more of an apocryphal tale in the tradition of the Book of Revelations. For me it contains no revelations, and has no right to be elevated to equal status with the Bible’s other 66 books.

Last week, English courts absolved author Dan Brown from allegations of plagiarism and intellectual property theft in his fictional bestseller “The DaVinci Code” (2003). “Code” has been controversial since its release and the highly hyped movie version of it starring Tom Hanks will soon be released. This work – like Brown’s earlier “Digital Fortress” (1998), “Angels and Demons” (2000), and “Deception Point” (2001) – is both excellent and thought provoking. They are all worthy of your attention, time, and consideration.

In each, there is the underlying theme that knowledge/information has been only selectively released/shared/fed to the general public by the powers in control. The public just could not be trusted with the full awareness of the “facts,” because they then might not accept the decisions/agendas made on their behalf by the power elites - be they religious, financial, or political. I find it particularly of interest how this court ruling came just before Holy Week in the light and context of the timing of publicizing the “Gospel of Judas.” Then too, there were the other revelations that were shared with us last week.

In the unfolding drama of finessing the justification for the invasion, war, and occupation of Iraq, we learned from court filings by Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald that the leaks (outing covert operative Valerie Plame and discrediting her husband’s findings of fact) came from the very top of the White House. At least they were done with the knowledge and/or blessing of the President and the Vice-President. Public protests from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue damning the leaking of classified information were but cover for the facts behind the leaks and the identification of the leakers themselves.

The more we know; more we know that we don’t know. In the absence of finding weapons of mass destruction, Saddam’s links to Al-Qaeda, and nuclear weaponry capabilities (compounded by the Downing Street Memorandum), should we be surprised by these so-called revelations? Hardly! I’m Fred Cederholm and I’ve been thinking. You should be thinking, too.

Copyright 2006 Questions, Inc. All rights reserved.

email: asklet(at)rochelle.net

To “audit” column and learn more about the subjects discussed, please check out: The Coptic Ps.Gospel of Judas (Iscariot)

http://www.tertullian.org/rpearse/manuscripts/gospel_of_judas/index.htm

The “lost” Gospel of Judas

http://www9.nationalgeographic.com/channel/gospelofjudas/

The Official Website of Dan Brown http://www.danbrown.com/

Dan Brown, The Wikipedia Bio http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Brown

'No surprise' in Da Vinci judgement’ MailScanner has detected a possible fraud attempt from "news.bbc.co.uk" claiming to be

http://news..bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4888954.stm

Court Filing Says Bush Authorized CIA Leak

http://www.wtol.com/Global/story.asp?S=4736213&nav=menu34_2

Reports Substantiate WH Plan to Discredit Iraq War Critic Via Plame CIA Leak
MailScanner has detected a possible fraud attempt from "www.bespacific.com" claiming to be http://www..bespacific.com/mt/archives/cat_courts.html

Libby: Bush Authorized Plamegate Leak
Indicted ex-Cheney aide told grand jury of White House approval
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0406061libby1.html

The Fish Wrapper By The BigFisherman

Thursday - April 6, 2006

Precious metals and their shares continue to surprise to the upside. Most forecasting models and mavens are bullish but negatively biased, forecasting too many bearish outcomes. This process is accelerating, as the trend out runs increasing numbers of bulls. The quant in me hints that the higher order moments of some underlying forcing function must all be positive. That is, the acceleration is accelerating, or surging. And while physical interpretations of the 4th, 5th, and 6th derivatives are a bit obscure, their proposed names, snap, crackle, and pop offer intriguing possibilities. Long term consistently growing physical demand is the only environment for this type of pattern. And while these elements have little practical value, it spooks me that I can not rule out such a powerful forcing function. This is rare. Thus I have recently hypothesized a gnawing primal fear is likely behind this physical demand. Greenspan supports this view. Having kyped the imperial jawbone, he attributes the recent strength in gold to geopolitical instability. But it goes much further. The acceleration patterns in the most durable stores of value and the geopolitical instability are the effects of primal fears. Primal fear demands primal action. As time progresses I expect the demand for gold and silver to become astonishingly parabolic. Pop.

But our esteemed past fed chairman believes that our central bankers can manage the situation, that they have duplicated the discipline of the gold standard, and that they have even improved risk spreading with innovative financial instruments. But should Bernanke wrest the jawbone from the maestro he will likely voice loudly his conviction that such discipline is as archaic as the metal itself. That these instruments can even be used to manage prices. He will be better to remain silent and not be thought a fool, I think. The magnitude of the fear in these markets very well may exceed any financial efforts on the part of any central authority. Central authority will, however, make all efforts to continue defying the laws of physics perhaps inducing some negative cackle, er crackle, until they can’t.

The source of this fear is resource depletion due to overpopulation. The situations vary, but throughout the world, nearly everyone is faced with scarcity and a reduced or more expensive standard of living. But for most the shortage will soon be food, thus the undercurrent of urgency in things geopolitical. I expect that these nagging fears will expand wars of conquest as cold and hunger will drive the masses to realize that civil authorities are unable to deal with physical shortages of food and energy. Concurrently, state and private financial systems will move from distorted to draconian to dysfunctional as discontinuities and irregularities occur with increasing frequency. A low intensity global civil war will evolve aligned with the ideological differences between communism and fascism. These and other populist agendas will rein supreme; however, the battles fought and structure imposed will fail to address the shortages. So institutions will continue to fracture as society reorganizes to answer the threat. Public health will suffer under the chaos and global disorder. Disease will follow hunger, and bring population levels in line with significantly reduced levels of resources and a temporary inability of society to efficiently utilize what remains. But society will recover, and magnificently so. It will do so at an unimaginably rapid pace, quite simply, because individuals and communities that have prepared will prosper and rebuild. But you will not recognize what it has become, both in its splendid accomplishments and in its reduced size.

Of course there are endless scenarios, all most fearsome unless well understood. What I have described is the general form of the fear that I get with my Delphi approach using scientific and financial mavens. I am looking forward to the day when the application of this method is less of an exercise in staring into the abyss, and more of a message of hope. But fear dissolves as likely courses of action emerge. A matrix of probable outcomes can guide our asset allocations through the next few years. And the future is very bright. I can envision a biotechnology driven agrarian revolution where there is sufficient food, and we no longer need to eat oil. Nanotech can offer solutions to many material shortages. And I believe that there will be technologies and industries yet undreamt of that will mitigate many of man’s challenges. And there is time, but unfortunately not for all. Only a minority will benefit from these technologies. So you must own biotech, but not just yet. Nanotech could make you rich, someday. And basic materials are already on a tear: anticipating shortages in the face of a global boom? Well, perhaps one might dabble in strategic minerals, especially oil. But only if this fear is unfounded will this China boom persist until a Kondratieff spring. Precious metals should perform quite well under either scenario. So that leaves them as the best core strategy for the preservation of wealth: All others being speculative for now, and all others purchased in distress with precious metals held dear, when the time is right.

Since our last publication three of my share recommendations have been acquired, two by companies that we recommend as well, and the other by a company on our watch list. Our strategic weightings are keeping our performance well ahead of the precious metals indices, but they are shifting in relative performance and some adjustments are warranted.

http://www.obsceneprophets.com/Articles/OPW20060409.aspx

I’ve been thinking about promises By Fred Cederholm

Column for on/after Apr 02nd

I’ve been thinking about promises. Actually I’ve been thinking about job security, France, the American experience, planes, cars, and boats. Changes are coming; the drama is unfolding before us scene by scene. We can foresee the outcome, we know what must happen, but we think there are alternatives available to avoid what we fear - because we are in denial.

You see when competition lowers the market price of goods and services to consumers, those decreases in price must be more than matched by reductions in costs. If that does not occur, the companies/businesses cannot continue to function; and they will ultimately cease to exist. Some substitutions can be made in raw materials – up to a point, but there are far more options available when it comes to the costs of labor. This is particularly true when the entire world has become the workplace. It is so easy to re-deploy production/jobs to those locales with the cheaper/cheapest workforces. Or… is it? To preserve a status quo for the existing “employed” and keep jobs where they are, concessions are sought. Nobody likes to give up what they have – particularly if what they “have” is seen as a hard fought entitlement by them.

Scenes from this global drama keep unfolding in different nations (or in different industry segments), but they are all related. France became the background for the most recent scene. French youth took to the streets to oppose the finalization of the February 9th proposal to eliminate them from the protections/promises enjoyed by the wider/older French work force.

Guarantees of a 35 hour work week, 5 weeks (plus) in paid vacations and holidays, a job for life with huge mandatory severance packages, and limited windows for terminations have rendered the French uncompetitive in the new global workplace. Adjustments are required by the entire work force, but PM de Villepin’s government’s proposal dumped all the changes on those under age 26. The young workers of France responded with a very loud – “NON!!!”

Throughout history it has been the young, the poor, and the “next” generation who seem to bear the brunt of the “solutions” to contemporary problems. It is “they” who fight the wars and/or are asked to pick up the economic slack. It is “they” who are delegated to face the costs which historically follow the aftermath of bad decisions. This is neither the high road nor low road, but it has proven to be the continued path of least resistance - for how much longer?

Elected politicos pay only mute lip service to Uncle $ugar’s snowballing debt/deficits and our job losses to the wage slavery of a so-called rising third world. All the while… they champion the longer range benefits of “free” trade, neo-con nation building, and personal debt financed consumption. Hello??? The American experience (and it successes) making US/us the goal/standard for the planet rests upon a level playing field, a Constitution with a functioning Bill of Rights, and a strong/growing Middle Class. This triumvirate of our strengths is not only under siege from without; but more tragically, it is under attack from within.

Some 30 years ago, our airline industry stalled under the turbulence of fare competition and escalating fuel costs; the “solution” was getting wage/benefit concessions from employees in return for the promise of future retirement benefits and pensions. Once again, they are in trouble for similar factors; but this time, they are weighed down because the promised future benefit obligations are also coming due. We are seeing this same scene being re-played in the auto industry. Similarly, our nuts-and-bolts/textile/electronics manufacturers have all but already surrendered to the regions of the Pacific Rim and other no-benefit, low wage locations.

Moving on from planes and cars to boats… we are told that that the rising tide of the new globalism raises all ships; that “free trade” and “free competition” will solve everything and will benefit US/us in the long run. That might be true were OUR “ships” not hard-anchored to the bottom and tethered by the finite chains of promised wages, benefits, and future retirement obligations. These constraints will cause our boats to swamp in the rising tide. Will a round of further concessions, or defaults on contractual obligations via corporate bankruptcies really be the fix this time? I’m Fred Cederholm and I’ve been thinking. You should be thinking, too.

Copyright 2006 Questions, Inc. All rights reserved

asklet@rochelle.net