exiledbear

01:17 pm: World currency
You know, 100-200 years ago we all had a world currency. It was gold. Granted every gubmint on the planet wanted to put their little unique mark on it to certify weight and purity, but gold was gold, and it was everywhere you wanted to be.

I don't think what some people are concerned about isn't a world currency. It's the whole structure of it. In the old days, The Man couldn't really jerk you around, or at least, it was pretty hard for him to jerk you around. It was portable, it was anonymous, it might not have been the most secure system, and those dastardly criminals were allowed to use the system too, but it seems that people got on well enough back then.

With everything stored as bits on a central server, you can dance to their tune, or you can watch them click their mouse at you. Of course, they'll sell it to you that they need to stop those terrorists, and no good upstanding citizen has nothing to hide.

I'm sure no purty lady at the airport has nothing to hide from those strip search scanners either, if you know wut I mean.

Cui bono folks, cui bono. You know, I said the typical American cares only about his or her self, but I think I need to add, in a most irrational way. Some of these systems that are coming are not in the majority's rational self interest.

01:49 pm: And that's why we're in trouble
http://www.vvdailypress.com/news/percent-12829-seniors-school.html

"It doesn't surprise me too much because dealing with percentages is difficult for a lot of kids," said Serrano High School Principal Sharon Schlegel.

I'd like to throw out an idea for you to entertain. The idea is that this ignorance is INTENTIONAL. They don't want these kids to know about percentages, because that might make them smart enough to avoid some of the traps that the system lays out.

If I ever had a kid, I'd do him the greatest favor one could do. I'd teach him or her myself. And he'd damn well know not only percentages but compounding and other stuff as well.

01:59 pm: The world is definitely getting wierd


I wonder where it's all headed to, but I don't know any more than anyone else does...

P.S. Well, at least I know who it is behind the videos - http://www.thegregorybrothers.com/ - and I must say after looking at that album photo, Feel The '70s!

02:58 pm: The Schroedinger's Cat economy
http://rawstory.com/08/news/2009/06/11/us-house-to-debate-ron-pauls-audit-the-fed-bill/

Schroedinger proposed a thought experiment where if you didn't examine the cat's condition, you could say the cat was both alive and dead, or that you just didn't know.

I suppose if you've bet on the cat still being alive, you might be tempted not to look inside, especially if you're stretched a bit financially from, say, a wild night in Vegas that involved, oh, I don't know - some coke and hookers. The hope that that cat is still alive would be most comforting.

Here comes a guy who says "Hey, let's open the box and look inside". Let's find out if the cat is dead or not. Something tells me that there are people who are going to oppose this...

06:00 pm: There are no answers, only choices
I wonder, if the guy stepping out of the ambulance was white, how would this have turned out? It's the question that drives us. Certainly drove that cop, for sure.

http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-6121-Oklahoma-Crime-Examiner~y2009m6d13-Oklahoma-Highway-Patrol-finally-releases-video-of-trooper-attack-on-paramedic