The Argument Against Money, Even BitCoin

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Before money, people had to keep their promises or trade on good faith. That is to say, that you gave something of yours to another person, because you trusted that other person to give you of his own, equally.

"At the potlatch, gifts repay guests for witnessing the week's events
with nonstop feasting, singing, dancing, and gift-giving."
- Shirley Collingridge, Wordsmith

Whenever trust is lost, the only way to have trade is by force and violence. Money is an intermediary to the threat of violence. When you cannot trade by trust, but you are forced to trade regardless, by other parties, then one way to mask the actual violence inherent to the trade, is by using an actual item that represents the promise of trading back to you goods of equal value.

Whether it is a sack of wheat, the ancient Babylonian Shekel, or a coin or a note, as we know money today, it is always a promise that disagreement to do trade will lead to violence. But, it is also an empty promise, because the value of the money is always decreed by those who rule by violence. They change the value of the currency according to their own needs. Even a sack of wheat, can in one hand represent life itself, and in another hand, represent nothing, at all.

In other words, say you give me an apple, and I give you a note that says that I must give you something of unknown value back, for that note. Why would you accept such a blatant scam? Because the other party forces you to do so, using violence and the threat of violence. The only value remaining to you is the trade that you can do with others, who are under the same threat and have the same-styled notes of promise that you do.

Digital currencies are no different. They are but a meaningless promise given by strangers and those who have little to no interest in the other party; you. If I know and trust another person online, then I will feel comfortable giving them of my own; knowing that they are likely to do the same for me. However, when I deal without having trust (personally, or by proxy of another trustee), then I know not that I will ever get the value of my goods back to me, in any shape or form.

This argument, claiming that money is nothing but a weapon, may not seem obvious, at first. Ask yourself the following questions:

• Where does money come from? Generally, to everyone, and personally, to you.
• What do people do, when they have no money?
• What is the history of the value of currencies?
• Are there people who live without money, and if so, how do they do trade?
• Do most people actually agree on the value of goods?

Even the answers to these questions, should be enough to see that money is not the supposed "tool and method" of trade that many claim it to be.

Do The Pullup! + Pics

The pull-up bar is the most important piece of exercise equipment, for both men and women. Modern society lacks upper body strength and health. The pull-up bar helps us maintain a maneuverable body weight, healthy arms & hands, a better more straight posture and a better sense of balance.

1. The bar is located at the end of my reach,
so I do not over-stretch myself.

2. I strengthen my grip and pull myself upwards,
as if I were climbing a tree.

4. Hang down and lift my knees up,
to give my lower abs some exercise.

3. Going up as high as I can manage
and hold for two seconds.

How To Upload Your Podcast?

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This is more of question rather than an answer; although, I do deliver an answer, as well.

I was very disappointed to see that Google, while providing blogging, website and online profile services (for free), they do not provide podcasting services - or rather MP3 (audio) file hosting services.

Music full of vitamins and minerals!

I searched around and found a website that, while it does not seem entirely reliable in the long run, does work and work well. Kiwi6 lets us upload and share audio with others, with direct links. It seems to be mostly used by independent artists that record music and songs. They have some nice playlists to play while surfing or gaming.

If you know of other reliable hosts for audio files, or even specifically for podcasts, which let us direct link to the files, then please comment!

Jerny At Ways, Part One

The Crossroads at the Eagle Nest

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Maghir's father died, shortly after the boy had reached his seventh birthday. The grief tore at his mother, who decided she would travel alone and see the world, so that healing would come faster. She left Maghir and his younger sister Pae to their aunt and uncle; her elder sister's family.

Turning and twisting in his sleep, Maghir dreamed of the morning his father died. He and his younger sister were playing with the lambs; those who had already grown enough wool to be fluffy to the touch. Two rams were wrestling under a big oak tree. His father did not appreciate having his rams injured or dead from fighting, so he moved in to kick one of the giant heavily-horned rams.

This was not an unusual day. Life at Maghir's family farm was a quiet and simple one. Mostly pleasant, and sometimes harsh. Just as life should be, or so Maghir imagined. Suddenly, he heard his father yell followed by a loud crunch. Pae turned to look and so did he. They both stared to see their father lying broken on the ground. One of the giant rams sniffed at the man curiously.

"Dad? Is he dead?" Pae asked without looking away. Maghir had the words dad and dead confused in his mind.

"Yes," he said sharply. "Of course he's dead, Pae. Just look at him." Their father was not twitching or moaning. The two children had seen many people and animals this way, before. A broken body, so badly twisted that it was a surprise to not see blood oozing from the corpse. "Stay here and make sure nothing comes to... eat him," he turned to look at Pae, his eyes worried and his lips pursed.

As he turned and walked back towards their wooden hut, beneath the trees further inside the forest, he was not surprised to see his sister only staring in disbelief, or was it shock, at the twisted corpse of their now ever-restful father...

End of Part One. Listen to part Two.

What Does The Fox Say?

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I do not know.

But, I do know that there are plenty of foxes (actually, jackals) where I live. They are generally friendly and harmless animals, similar to dogs, but smaller and faster.

I recall spending a night outside, on a local hill, just sitting and relaxing. After lying down, I heard some rustling noises from the bushes. I glanced towards the sound, but saw nothing. A minute later, I heard their sharp pitched barks all around me. I admit; I was scared! Even knowing that they are harmless, I felt scared; so, I grunted loudly to scare them, and walked back, down the hill.

It is odd how at night even small things are scary.

A Middle-Eastern Jackal.

On Moral Agnosticism

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Ayn Rand, the 20th century philosopher and novelist, who coined the term Objectivism, spoke of the avoidance of moral judgement by one person on others:

Virtue of Selfishness, pp. 82–83.

We lose our personal integrity, when we deny the existence of morality. This is our own belief in ourselves: opinions and emotions. Our ultimate natural intuition. This denial is equal to naming ourselves liars. It is often correlated with dismissing our own opinion in favor of someone else.

Self-trust is not about being right or correct. It is about having a clear set of priorities in mind. All decision come from and rely on the self. If the self is dismissed, then no critical thought is allowed. Without the benefit of critical thought, we cannot come to conclusions. We then must either wager or rely on others.

It is the responsibility of each person to choose. Without choice there is no free will. Without choice there is no learning and correction. Choices are always based on our inner morality; what we decide is good or bad.

Would you care for an uneducated life?

Why Do We Hate The Rich?

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My 2nd blogcast! I do need the practice in narration.

Have you ever caught yourself hating someone who is extremely rich?

"With great power comes great responsibility."

"Judge a man by his questions rather than by his answers."

"Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities."

“Appreciation is a wonderful thing. It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.”

“The comfort of the rich depends upon an abundant supply of the poor.”

Voltaire, 1694 - 1778

I have begun suspecting that hatred towards those with power actually makes sense. It is not envy that drives us to dislike the haves that we have not. Envy and hate are very different emotions. Hatred is a form of disagreement, while envy is only a personal wish of having what we do not have.

It is our feeling that people with power do not take responsibility for their influence. When you see a person, so poor as to hunger for old bread, and look aside only to see another person, so rich as to throw away fresh bread; that is when we feel anger and hatred toward the rich, and we realize that justice is a truth from within; regardless of philosophical debate.

I do not intend to imply that those who are more able should obey those who are less so! That would be as ridiculous as if it were the opposite.

The importance of this entire realization is that wealthy people do, indeed, have a responsibility towards those who are, at the very least, poverty stricken. It is their responsibility to find ways to calm the anger of those less fortunate, or they will risk justifying that hatred.

I do not believe in socialism. No person should command another to assist others. Help must be a voluntary thing, to be what it truly represents; for it is not the lacking of another and their envy that must be solved; but, it is the anger and hurt that demands reparation.

Interval Back Stretches

I still need to practice my self-portraits! Anyways, I thought I would share this.

Being a regular on the computer chair, it is common to suffer lower and upper back strains. Muscles becoming tense and painful, creating inflammations and echoing the pain towards the limbs.

Once every hour or two, or pretty much randomly, I stand up and purposefully stretch slowly and relax my body. The most important of those stretches is the bending relaxation. Just drop down with straight legs (knees do not have to lock) and pause for a short comfortable while. Feel the disentanglement of your joints!

Spread your legs apart and relax towards the floor,
for up to a minute.

Watching Sons Of Anarchy

Listen to my first ever blogcast:

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Recorded using my shiny new condenser microphone!

I was wandering the web for something to watch, say educating, say entertaining, and found a not-so-new TV series with the word Anarchy in its' title.

"Is the Sons of Anarchy TV Show a Biker Soap Opera?"
- Biker Law Blog discusses his experience watching the series.

If you could find yourself interested in an Action-Drama sort of show, then check out this trailer and consider. I found myself somehow reviewing my own life, thinking about all the nonsense that the guys on the show pretend to go through. I guess even extreme fantasy can reflect reality.

Autumn Growth & Camera

I just got my new Tatop W858 - see: some lesser known Chinese smartphone, which has a wonderful camera! So, finally, I can show my works here. :-)

I used regular plastic pots, so far, but I am starting to change into plastic bowls, without dripping holes - like the blue one in front. I find it better, in my extremely dry climate, to let the water sit at the bottom and have the plants slowly drink it. Of course, this means that I must be careful about drowning the plants, so I do not let the water level get too high.

Some of my plants are unidentified. Seriously, I just do not know what is going on there. Beyond those, I have Potatoes, Sunroots (Jerusalem Artichoke), Beans (black), Aubergine (Eggplant), Tomatoes, Sweet Beetroot and a bit of garlic. All for the sake of experiment and experience.

I have already enjoyed two tiny harvests of black beans! But, so far, I am not seeing any tomatoes or aubergines. It seems that some plants really do require very certain conditions. I always felt plants were more variable than that, but alas, my spot does have very little sun and only limited watering.

A Life Of Values

ZenPencils shared a very inspiring and encouraging comic strip by Bill Watterson, the creator of the infamous comics Calvin and Hobbes. While I have not read his other works, this is a very well made strip. Click on the following preview to visit the page!

The first page of the strip.

Winter Queued

Touching my skin & whisper aloud,
An emotionless motion that never is bound.

Surrounding my vision & warming my bones,
My nearest lover that I cannot yet hold.

Shackled below & birth is its' ploy,
They give me life and freedom and joy.

Freedom Tactics: Patience Without Sacrifice

Today, we start a new series of articles about the strategies and tactics for freedom.

Freedom, in its most basic meaning, is the ability to take care of ourselves, without the intervention of others. This definition can be applied both to individuals and to groups. Self-care ranges from basic needs, such as food, water and shelter, to mental needs, such as company, expression and safety.

Strategy is the result of designing or planning a flexible set of operations, for one or more specific goals. Each operation is composed of different tactics that reflect the options available to us. This entire process is very flexible in its creation and very fluid in its operation, but it is always defined, as a reference, so as to avoid as many unwanted actions and unexpected results.

Moving onto the topic of this article...

Without patience, there is no way to plan our responses to existing and possible problems. It is when we feel hopeless and see no future plan that we choose to make sacrifices.

With patience, we are able to calmly review and resolve. We need not make unwanted sacrifices. We can choose how we respond and spend the resources we find most suitable. Once it is a choice out of many, it is not anymore a sacrifice; it is only a price.

It is impossible to make any choice, without taking the time to consider. Freedom is a choice. Without patience, there is no freedom, at all.

Comment below and say, what you agree with and what you disagree with in this discussion of freedom and choice!

Replace Plastics & Metals With Plants

It is my personal dream that someday, soon, all our useful and brilliant electronic devices will be made from organic materials, from fresh plant sources that do not harm the environment. A biological computer that resembles its' current predecessor, without any relation to the horror movie notion of a man-eating computer-brain monster, if you will.

Step One: Replace oil-based plastic with (fresh) plant-based plastic.

Is it possible to make plastics from fresh plants? Yes! Apparently, using plant starch will let us create bio-plastic, which can have different properties - just like regular plastic does - when mixed with different materials. There are loads of information resources online for this, so you can find different plants (potatoes, corn, others) and different methods (stove, oven, microwave!) for your needs.

Step Two: Replace mineral-based materials with bio-plastic materials.

Is it possible to make electromagnetic devices from plastic? Yes! Sadly, the topic is shushed by the big corporations, due to its' extremely lucrative nature. The first reported discovery of a plastic polymer (mix) with magnetic properties came from America in 2001. Soon afterwards, another report came from England in 2004. Remember that magnetism and electricity go together, so when this competition is over with, we should see a market boom of electric devices made entirely from organic polymers (bio-plastic), with all the benefits of the material.

For some textual specifics, you can check out the Wikipedia page about this.

The Sacred Science [Free Movie]

This ain't some hippie documentary, but a rather investigative review.

We all endure sickness and hardship. It is evident that there are many plants that help us cope with life, and even heal from specific problems, by introducing them into our minds and diets. As an added benefit, spending time in natural, lush and comfortable environments, helps us see things differently, and feel better about our lives.

I quite envy the experience that these adventurous people had, and aim to, someday, enjoy it myself, as well.

Try The Amish

I would like to take this opportunity, and try to learn from the Amish, about social organization and human nature.

The Amish Endurance!

I find it interesting that small communities can have very specific rules, but still be enjoyable to their members. Even now, people choose to enter (and leave) the Amish communities, and other such similar close-knit and strict groups, around the world. Is it possible that the best way for people to organize is in an array of different strict small communities?

The idea that we should all have almost no social rules in our free lives, and that we should all live together in great cities, might not be the best direction for us. Since the dawn of time, people have lived in small and very organized communities. Occasionally, some would change communities and move about. Often, it was due to a marriage or a great need, but sometimes even due to disagreements and conflict.

I wonder if in a truly free world, would people just return to this most basic and simple method? Small groups with very strict local rules that immigrate and exchange with other such-like groups, in other places.

What do you think?

Responsibility VS Ownership !

All human conflict derives from the ideological conflict between responsibility and ownership.

Responsibility is the measure of how much a person is willing to give, time or resources or even risk, in order to support his ideals. A natural example is that of investing in a child. The child is given his needs from the parents, because the parent idealizes, to a degree, the importance of their child.

Ownership is the attempt to control the ideas of other people. In order for a person to own anything, they must convince others that they (the others) have no power, over the choices of the owner, in regard to the owned object. For example, the only way in which I can own an apple, is if other people accept that my choices about the apple are superior to their own ideas about the apple.

It is possible for both ideologies to overlap:
1. Own & take responsibility, over something.
2. Not own, but take responsibility, over something.
3. Own, but not take responsibility, over something.
4. Not own & not take responsibility, over something.

The greatest conflict of interests is when one person or group decides to take responsibility without ownership, while another person or group decides to take ownership without responsibility. I first tackled this issue over at the FDR forums, here:
http://board.freedomainradio.com/topic/36950-responsibility-versus-ownership/

I propose that this is best solved by acknowledging that responsibility is a higher ideal than ownership. I do not propose, however, that ownership does not have a right to exist. Only, that in the case of dispute, that side which proves the need for taking responsibility, must be allowed priority, over the side that claims ownership.

First, we recognize the fact that being the owner of something, for example a tree, does not mean that you would always have all the rights to it. If the owner does not take care of the tree, so that it is rotting and might fall on others, then it is fair for others to take responsibility, and cut the tree down, for their own safety. This is in the case of the owner not doing so, beforehand.

Second, we realize that it is not enough to simply disagree with the owner's opinions, but that actual proof is required, for intervention. If it is not evident why intervention must be required, then no intervention should exist! When an owner and an interventor (someone who wants to take responsibility) go to court, in order to resolve a dispute, then it is up to social rule to dictate the result.

This is why we talk and argue our ideas. So, that we can imply what is right and what is wrong, in society, as a whole, and so be able to trust our fellow peoples' decisions.

Eventually, I wanted Stefan Molyneux's opinion in the matter; him being a person I share a lot of views in common with and who is able to debate well, and so sent him an email and received this response:

"I think that everything that is enforced rather than inflicted is superior, [so] I think we agree."

I conclude that he, and many on the forums, sum this idea into, 'we either have a contract or we don't.'

This is my final conclusion, which I consider the most practical:

In order to enforce conflict resolutions, we must decide which person has the higher moral ground. The ideals of the Non-Aggression Principle and Self-Ownership are insufficient for the resolution of conflicts, without proper investigation into the facts and nature of each conflict.

Only when there is no doubt that one side has a clearly higher moral position, over the other, then that side must enjoy the support of the community, as a whole, and of us as individuals, in private.

"We" Does Not Exist

There is one substantial difference between the self and the group. The self always exists as itself, while the group is ever changing; to the degree that at different times, the same group can consist of entirely different individuals.

Every time someone says or writes "we", or any derivative of it, a red light illuminates in my mind. It goes something like this:

- "Who are the individuals referred to, exactly?"
- "What are the definite and consistent properties of the group?"
- "Am I part of that group or of any similar group?"
- "What interest does that person, or the people who compose the group, have in being generalized?"

The principle of my suspicion is the threat of being generalized to the extent that I am no longer represented, or that I gain an unjustified bias against another. In any of those cases, the result is prejudice and conflict.

So, while there are fair situations, in which many individuals can be represented in a group, such as the case of a family unit , there is the most common and abundant danger of misrepresentation!

Not seeing the trees for the forest.

Debt Is Bad

I mean, seriously. How can anybody think "debt" and see it in a positive light.

I have been seeing more and more people, coming out and saying that 'if we just handle debt this way, then we can...' blah blah blah. Economists. This is just plainly wrong. It is like excusing a mistake, by saying, 'Hey, what if we try to make it seem more positive?' That does not work.

Click here for some debt advice from Finance Dais' blog.

Just think about it. "Do I want debt?" No. The answer is no. Nobody wants debt. People used to go into debt, because they would starve, otherwise. So, there is no excuse for anyone to go into debt. Our social structure cannot be in debt and work for us. This is evident in modern day life.

So, stop treating debt, as if it were just an empty word, or some complicated economic term that none of us understands. We understand it. Treat it like it should be treated. Like a scourge!

How To Design A Vegan Village

[Click here to scroll to the Vegan Village example, if you already read the original thread.]

I recently enjoyed a thread about Non-Hierarchical Permaculture Designed Community over at permies.com. The thread discussed the idea of designing a new village, in a way that attracts and keeps the most wanted population at any given time, so that it reflects the will of the designer(s). The conclusion, for me, was the following illustration:

It's sorta like from ground to horizon. How neat is that?! :-D

Basically, the point here is that some parts of a village are very fluid, so they should be regarded as "experiments". Other parts are quite static, so we can design them to pretty much be, what we want them to be. And finally, some things are just so random and wild, that we should only design to cope with them, and not for specific results.

The purpose of such a design, is to define, in advanced, what we want built-into the village. It is very hard to decide on how we want our village to be, when we are not even sure what is relevant for the design process.

In this case, I suggest that we design for three goals:
1. Limitations on private experimentation, so that we get people who are either more or less adventurous.
2. Limitations on public experimentations, so that we get people who are either more or less social.
3. Limitations on shared resources, so that we get people who enjoy a life style similar to our own taste.

The focus is the village's intended population and the village's intended functionality. Naturally, this is all in regard to Permaculture ideals, so it will not answer the wishes of many, who do not take interest in bold new ways!

For example, could we design a vegan village?

A vegan diet (or life style) denies two things: animal produce and the preparation of animal produce. Animals, as in husbandry, generally require access to the Stable section of the village, for grazing and happiness. The preparation of animal produce, generally requires in-house equipment and storage, which is under the Private Experimental section.

It is unlikely to be able to design any denying mechanism in the Private Experimental section, because a person's home is "their fortress." That is fair enough. On the other hand, for serious meat eating, beasts need proper grazing. If we design the Stable section, which includes all the shared land around and between the houses, so that it is inhospitable to beasts, then we can design the village to be utterly offensive to meat farmers. That would be enough to disgust a prospective buyer that has any ideas about growing beasts for their products.

A vegan vacation! It's vegelicious!

In this very penetrating case, we come to the conclusion that while no one can be forced to be a vegan, in their privacy, by design; it is still possible to design a village, so it discourages meat farmers and meat eaters, away.

Not to mention, we can design a lot of vegan propaganda into the public Experimental section, so that it feels like a horrifying cult to non-vegans, who first see the design. :-P