The Little Thread Which Grew - the Apollo '73 to Everything But

[lkwdblds]

Re: The value of Gold - The consequences of moving it

They could sell the actual gold itself if they thought you would never come snooping around asking for it. How would you ever know?

Check some of the posts and video blogs by Joseph Farrell at gizadeathstar.com (don't get put off by the melodramatic name - it's just a joke).

This doesn't make any sense at all. One nation makes an agreement with another nation to have its gold stored in their country and then they sell it under secrecy. How would you ever know? I guess you could send an inspector over to check it out, once or twice a year and certainly, some sort of accounting must be taking place on a regular basis between the two countries.

Sooner or later the company who owns the gold may want to move it somewhere else or bring it back home. At that point they would find out. If one country stole hundreds of billion of dollars from another, they are not going to get a "free pass". Besides ruining that countries promo reputation as a safe place to store gold the offending country would undoubtedly be subjected to numerous sanctions and boycotts from a block of other countries.
Lakey

 

[lkwdblds]

Could this be the Solution to Our Debt Crisis?

FoTi and others: This mental teaser puzzle was in the "Ask Marilyn" column in the Sunday Paper today.

It is very simple but really makes you think! It does not seem possible but it is!

THE PUZZLE - "A tourist stops at a small hotel, puts $100 bill on the counter, and goes to inspect a room.

The hotel owner takes the bill and runs off to pay the butcher, to whom he owes $100.

The butcher races to his wholesaler and pays of his own $100 debt.

The wholesaler races to the farmer and gives him $100 for the pigs he bought.

The farmer hands over the $100 to the party planner who set up his bachelor bash.

The party planner heads to the hotel to pay the $100 she owes for the party room and lays the $100 bill on the counter.

Just at that point, the tourist return to the front desk, tells the hotel owner that the room is unsatisfactory, picks up his $100 bill from the counter and departs.

The tourist has his money back, and everyone else is $100 ahead by reducing his or her debt by that amount. COULD THIS PROCEDURE BE APPLIED TO REDUCE OUR NATIONAL DEBT?
Is there a flaw in the logic? If not, how does a $100 bill which was given back to its owner when the owner decided not to make a purchase enrich 4 other people be eliminating $100 worth of debt for each of them? This is pretty amazing, right?

Lakey

 

[Hatshepsut]

Re: The old days - Aboard the Apollo - 1973

I've seen that teaser or a one like it before, many many moons ago in school.

 

[Hatshepsut]

Re: The value of Gold - The consequences of moving it

Originally posted by lkwdblds

Sooner or later the company who owns the gold may want to move it somewhere else or bring it back home. At that point they would find out. If one country stole hundreds of billion of dollars from another, they are not going to get a "free pass". Besides ruining that countries promo reputation as a safe place to store gold the offending country would undoubtedly be subjected to numerous sanctions and boycotts from a block of other countries.
Lakey

They're cloning it. ( when they're not eating it or shipping it 'off world' ...per the Giza vid) But that's just a wild speculation.

Actually, I shouldn't poke fun. I actually like the Giza Deathstar site and shop there in earnest for the latest conspiracy theories. The host is smart.

 

[Hatshepsut]

Re: The old days - Aboard the Apollo - 1973

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/switzerland-wants-its-gold-back-new-york-fed
Some witty posts at bottom in submit messages section.

[video]http://youtu.be/85exHa6bXG4[/video]

http://gizadeathstar.com/2012/05/go...ations-and-really-wild-speculations-part-two/

 

[Hatshepsut]

Re: The old days - Aboard the Apollo - 1973

[video=youtube;w806rVCEh50]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w806rVCEh50&sns=em[/video]

Anybody got the latest vid on this morning's

 

[RogerB]

Re: The old days - Aboard the Apollo - 1973

Lakey,

There are a number of reputable and on-the-ball organizations and websites that have been discussing and exposing the hoax that has been going on regarding the gold deposited with "custodians" . . . I've even posted some vids on the subject here on ESMB on the Occupy Wall Street thread.

The Boyz have played the same game with gold on deposit that banks play with your cash deposits . . . it's called "fractional banking" or "fractional deposit or reserve banking" etc.

You know the drill: they lend out 10 times the amount they have in deposits from guys like you and me.

In the case of gold, it was "leased out/loaned" . . . go to Kitco.com and you'll see the current gold lease rates . . . . that bad news is that the bums to whom the gold was leased/loaned played the game of selling it for cash in order to use the cash to invest in safe/secure sovereign debt you know, that safe, secure stuff like US treasuries that now have negative interest rates or the sovereign shit from Greece and Europe . . . .

Any how, the rationale had been to later buy back the gold when the lease was up . . . . the bad news is gold kept going up in price, and now the "boyz" are in deep shit . . . real trouble returning the gold.

This old game worked fine pre-2003 gold moved sideways in price.

My informed sources tell me the "bullion banks" are stripped of what they should have, and there are reliable reports that customers of Swiss banks bring legal suit due to NOT being able to recover gold they had on deposit on demand as per contract.

There is much more I could write on this . . . if you are really interested, the answer to all you questions are on the internet . . . .

On the issue of is there a currency "backed by gold" . . . I'll go one better.

In Malaysia and Indonesia (both Muslim countries) the gold Dinar (coin) is government issued legal tender . . . and this gold Dinar thingie is spreading to other Muslim nations.

R

 

[lkwdblds]

Re: The old days - Aboard the Apollo - 1973

Lakey,

There are a number of reputable and on-the-ball organizations and websites that have been discussing and exposing the hoax that has been going on regarding the gold deposited with "custodians" . . . I've even posted some vids on the subject here on ESMB on the Occupy Wall Street thread.

The Boyz have played the same game with gold on deposit that banks play with your cash deposits . . . it's called "fractional banking" or "fractional deposit or reserve banking" etc.

You know the drill: they lend out 10 times the amount they have in deposits from guys like you and me.

In the case of gold, it was "leased out/loaned" . . . go to Kitco.com and you'll see the current gold lease rates . . . . that bad news is that the bums to whom the gold was leased/loaned played the game of selling it for cash in order to use the cash to invest in safe/secure sovereign debt you know, that safe, secure stuff like US treasuries that now have negative interest rates or the sovereign shit from Greece and Europe . . . .

Any how, the rationale had been to later buy back the gold when the lease was up . . . . the bad news is gold kept going up in price, and now the "boyz" are in deep shit . . . real trouble returning the gold.

This old game worked fine pre-2003 gold moved sideways in price.

My informed sources tell me the "bullion banks" are stripped of what they should have, and there are reliable reports that customers of Swiss banks bring legal suit due to NOT being able to recover gold they had on deposit on demand as per contract.

There is much more I could write on this . . . if you are really interested, the answer to all you questions are on the internet . . . .

On the issue of is there a currency "backed by gold" . . . I'll go one better.

In Malaysia and Indonesia (both Muslim countries) the gold Dinar (coin) is government issued legal tender . . . and this gold Dinar thingie is spreading to other Muslim nations.

R

Thanks Roger, your paragraphs 2 and 3 totally got rid of my confusion. I am very familiar with the concept of "fractional banking" when it comes to currency. The rest of your post fleshed out how this type of banking is done with gold and what happens when strong price rises occur. Excellent post!! Thanks for clearing this up.

Being a neophyte in this subject, it think it was the word "stored" which caused my confusion. Venezuela and other gold owners do not just store the gold somewhere, they store it there and give the custodian holding the gold, the power to exercise "fractional banking" on the gold under their custody.

So, you reveal who the losers are in this game, namely the bums who loaned the gold for cash. Usually strongly rising prices in a commodity are good but in this case, where the gold price went out the roof and the paper currency is losing value, those bums are really taking a hit.

Who are the winners? On paper (bookkeeping), Venezuela would seem to be a winner in that it made leasing fees by allowing the gold to be "stored" elsewhere PLUS, and it is a huge plus, they kept ownership of the gold during the big run up in gold prices. However, since the bums can't afford to return the gold to them, can Venezuela's paper profit windfall actually be realized?

This seems to be the bad side of Capitalism, taken to the extreme!

BTW, I did not know there was an Occupy Wall St. thread on ESMB. I'll have to go and check it out. Also thanks for answering the question about the gold backed currencies!
Lakey

 

[A.K. Myers]

Re: Could this be the Solution to Our Debt Crisis?

FoTi and others: This mental teaser puzzle was in the "Ask Marilyn" column in the Sunday Paper today.

It is very simple but really makes you think! It does not seem possible but it is!

THE PUZZLE - "A tourist stops at a small hotel, puts $100 bill on the counter, and goes to inspect a room.

The hotel owner takes the bill and runs off to pay the butcher, to whom he owes $100.

The butcher races to his wholesaler and pays of his own $100 debt.

The wholesaler races to the farmer and gives him $100 for the pigs he bought.

The farmer hands over the $100 to the party planner who set up his bachelor bash.

The party planner heads to the hotel to pay the $100 she owes for the party room and lays the $100 bill on the counter.

Just at that point, the tourist return to the front desk, tells the hotel owner that the room is unsatisfactory, picks up his $100 bill from the counter and departs.

The tourist has his money back, and everyone else is $100 ahead by reducing his or her debt by that amount. COULD THIS PROCEDURE BE APPLIED TO REDUCE OUR NATIONAL DEBT?
Is there a flaw in the logic? If not, how does a $100 bill which was given back to its owner when the owner decided not to make a purchase enrich 4 other people be eliminating $100 worth of debt for each of them? This is pretty amazing, right?

Lakey

Except that the hotel owner is out the $100 for providing the
room to the party planner. He, in effect, gave the room away
for free, since he didn't get to keep the $100. Somebody
always ends up paying in the end.

 

[Smilla]

Re: The old days - Aboard the Apollo - 1973

Thanks for asking Smila, when I got back home, I still believed 100% that Hubbard and his tech were still beyond reproach. As to the Apollo experience, I felt an enormous sense of betrayal. It took a very long time before I started to change my mind about Hubbard but eventually it happened.

I'm sure that an experience so unusual and complex would take a long time to reflect upon and digest. In my own thinking I classify life experiences into two broad categories:

1. Experiences inherent in the 'Human Condition' both good and bad. A few examples are relationship matters, child rearing, business success or failure, bereavment, financial reverses, or successes, etc.

2. Experiences both good and bad, so extraordinary that they are extremely rarely seen in the general 'Human Condition.' These would be things such as a gigantic lottery win, being held hostage, a plane crash, being incarcerated for a crime not commited, sudden worldwide fame, and so on.

It's easy to think of examples for 1 and 2 above. It seems to me that some of your Scientology experiences would fall into the second category, and that is why they are so interesting and thought-provoking.

Interestingly, experiences from the second category are so rare, that most people can not easily understand them or empathise with the experiencer. They appear to be like fables, or dreams, or fiction. People struggle to 'relate' to them.

I told my family, especially my brother Reuben that the experience was the worst thing that I have ever experienced on the "whole track". I also ran this horrible experience in many auditing sessions and always had enormous "charge" on the way I was treated. I quit an excellent job at age 31 to join up and help the Sea Org. I paid in all of my savings of $16,000 which is about $85,000 in today's money for training and processing, slaved away for $10 a week in Treasury, doing an utterly fantastic job there but every single thing the S.O. had ever promised me turned out to be a lie.

Understood.

I hated three individuals, Sandy Wilhere, Maria Starkey and Sue Anderson. I despised them more than words can say.

You must have very good reason.

The auditing and training which I received before going to the Apollo helped me a lot giving me stable gains which have served me well in life. They are not the sci-fi type gains promised by the registrars but have to do with understanding and communicating better with people.

That's no small thing.

I find it almost comical that well intended beings here on ESMB will evaluate for a person and tell them that they really did not make any gains or that the gains one made are minor or that they could have been obtained elsewhere for a fraction of the price.

I'm sure that those gains can be achieved elsewhere, but that doesn't devalue yours or any choices you made.

When a person of that ilk seems intelligent and well intended, I make a real effort to duplicate what they are saying and take a look at how things could be that way and how they could not be that way. Having done this numerous times, I came to the conclusion that my gains are real and they did enrich my life.

I'm sure that's the case.

When the well intended critic refuses to accept that and starts to argue, attack and yes degrade, then I reclassify them. They then become no better than the monsters on the Apollo. The reason is that just like those monsters, this new breed believes that only they have the correct answers. Just like the Apollo S.O. robots, they demand 100% lock step agreement and when they do that, I view them as no better than Sandy Wilhere, Maria Starkey and Sue Anderson!

That's understandable.

To answer your initial question, I view the Apollo experience mostly with pain and revulsion. As to taking to the sea, I went with Reuben in '80 and '81 on Caribbean Cruises. took my family to Catalina around 1986, went whale watching with my son around 1989. That's been it - being on the Apollo had nothing to do with those trips.
Lakey

There's a saying from Carl Jung which I like very much:

"Where your wound lies, there also lies your genius."

That is interesting when one considers that many tribal, or spiritual initiations, involve the giving of a holy wound - the marking of the face, a piercing, a tattoo, time alone fasting in the jungle or desert, etc.

Thanks for your answer - I appreciate it very much.

 

[RogerB]

Re: The old days - Aboard the Apollo - 1973

Thanks Roger, your paragraphs 2 and 3 totally got rid of my confusion. I am very familiar with the concept of "fractional banking" when it comes to currency. The rest of your post fleshed out how this type of banking is done with gold and what happens when strong price rises occur. Excellent post!! Thanks for clearing this up.

Being a neophyte in this subject, it think it was the word "stored" which caused my confusion. Venezuela and other gold owners do not just store the gold somewhere, they store it there and give the custodian holding the gold, the power to exercise "fractional banking" on the gold under their custody.

So, you reveal who the losers are in this game, namely the bums who loaned the gold for cash. Usually strongly rising prices in a commodity are good but in this case, where the gold price went out the roof and the paper currency is losing value, those bums are really taking a hit.

Who are the winners? On paper (bookkeeping), Venezuela would seem to be a winner in that it made leasing fees by allowing the gold to be "stored" elsewhere PLUS, and it is a huge plus, they kept ownership of the gold during the big run up in gold prices. However, since the bums can't afford to return the gold to them, can Venezuela's paper profit windfall actually be realized?

This seems to be the bad side of Capitalism, taken to the extreme!

BTW, I did not know there was an Occupy Wall St. thread on ESMB. I'll have to go and check it out. Also thanks for answering the question about the gold backed currencies!
Lakey

Yes, ummm, I misspoke.

It's actually called: Wall Street Protests - Brooklyn Bridge Closed - hundreds arrested, Unions joining in

Here: http://www.forum.exscn.net/showthre...ge-Closed-hundreds-arrested-Unions-joining-in

It's feisty!

R

 

[lkwdblds]

Re: Could this be the Solution to Our Debt Crisis?

Except that the hotel owner is out the $100 for providing the
room to the party planner. He, in effect, gave the room away
for free, since he didn't get to keep the $100. Somebody
always ends up paying in the end.

Thanks for replying. Your answer is what I thought at first as well but the way the puzzle is worded, it is not the right answer.

The answer depends upon whether or not the hotel owner is present when the party planner brings in her $100 payment. There are two things in the statement of the puzzle that show that this is the case. #1. The party planner would not leave the $100 on the counter unless the hotel owner was there and #2. At the moment the party planner is leaving, the tourist walks in and says the room is not satisfactory, picks up the $100 bill and leaves. The tourist had to be saying this to the hotel owner who therefore had to be there.

Thus the hotel owner knows that the party planner paid him the $100 which she owed him. He figures that since he spent the tourist's hundred to pay his bill and the tourist got back his money, then everything is squared up. He had $100 in debt to the butcher, which is now paid but he was owed $100 from the party planner which is now also paid; he had a $100 debt and a $100 receivable, a net total of $0. Now he no longer has the receivable but also no longer has the debt, still $0 so his financial position has not changed.

Marilyn gives this answer, "Actually, everyone stayed exactly the same. For example, the farmer was owed $100 by someone, but he also owed $100 to someone else. The payments canceled one another out."

A.K. - Your answer will work if the hotel owner is out of the office when the party planner comes in and leaves her $100 payment to him on the counter. At that point, the tourist would come in and take the $100 and drive away.

The hotel owner would then arrive back in the office and assume that the tourist had decided to rent the room since the tourist did not return to demand his money back. In this case, the hotel owner would believe that the party planner still owed him $100.

The hotel owner would have two false assumptions. #1- He would believe that he had earned $100 by the tourist accepting and occupying his room. #2 he would feel the the party planner still owed him $100. When he finds out the tourist did not occupy the room, then that $100 is lost to him. This loss is manifested by the party planner having paid him off without him knowing it, the party planner's $100 payment going directly to the tourist without passing through his hands.
Lakey

 

[Leon]

Re: The old days - Aboard the Apollo - 1973

Apropos the above - have any of you come across the suggestion that the way out of the world's current economic woes is one that says we need to "push the reset button"? By which is meant that the big guys decide that at one moment suddenly and internationally ALL debts will click to zero and we all start again with better rules and practises in place.

Theoretically it would work. Many people will take a hit - mostly those who are somehow in credit at present - but as these are few and far between and are mostly German and Chinese - well, stuff them anyway - and the guys who win are those who have debts of some kind or other, mortgages, foreign debt by countries, etc, so the majority will win. The US with its unpayable trillions of debt would be the biggest winner of all.

Any thoughts on this? I have been told that this idea is being discussed seriously in Europe at present.

 

[lkwdblds]

Re: The old days - Aboard the Apollo - 1973

There's a saying from Carl Jung which I like very much:

"Where your wound lies, there also lies your genius."

That is interesting when one considers that many tribal, or spiritual initiations, involve the giving of a holy wound - the marking of the face, a piercing, a tattoo, time alone fasting in the jungle or desert, etc.

Thanks for your answer - I appreciate it very much.

Smila, thank you for your interest and very incisive comments. Are you a professional psychoanalyst? If you are, you are very good at it!!

Besides Scientology, I've had several other Category 2 incidents happen to me. Try this one on for size...

Summer of 1969, my brother Reuben is in Tokyo Japan teaching English for Fuji Corp. He invites me to come and visit him and I agree to go, taking 3 weeks vacation from work. There is no internet, we never considered phone conversations between L.A. and Japan, too expensive. All out arrangements were agreed on by snail mail. I got a round trip flight with Continental Airlines. I wrote Reuben my flight number, arrival date and estimated time of arrival.

A little anecdote on the plane, I was 29, 55 lbs lighter than now and was nice looking in those days. I hit on our Stewardess and she invited me to a crew party that night in Anchorage. Our flight was scheduled to stop there for an hour and change crews. She invited me to party with her then sleep over at her place and then she would re -book me to finish my flight to Tokyo the next day. I told her that my brother was expecting me to be at the airport and that I would love to accept her invite but I couldn't stand up my brother. She said that when we landed, I could send him a telegram with a new arrival time. I chickened out and reluctantly turned her down. Big Mistake!!!

I arrive in Tokyo on schedule, get off the plane and pick up my luggage, anxiously looking forward to seeing Reuben for the first time in 18 months. There is no sign of Reuben at all. I wait 20 minutes and then have him paged to meet me at such and such terminal area. Nothing happens. I wait for about 5 hours and Reuben never arrives. I panic and go talk to the someone at the Continental window. There seems to be nothing to do except get a return trip ticket and leave.

I then see some post cards while going to buy gum. Reuben works in the Fuji Tower, a 34 story skyscraper, one of the tallest in Tokyo at that time. I see a picture of this tower on a postcard. It says that the Tower is located in the Akasaka district of Tokyo. I make some inquiries, telling people that my brother works in that tower and asking how far it is from the airport.

The suggestion is made that I take a taxi to the Akasaka Prince, a hotel, just 2 blocks from the Fuji Tower and then in the morning, walk over to the Tower and see if I can find my brother. I decide to do that. I get to the hotel and sleep well. In the morning, I walk over to the Fuji Tower and go up to Reuben's office. I am told that he won't be at work for 3 weeks because his brother is coming in for holiday. I explain my situation and the personnel at Fuji recommend that I take a taxi 17 miles to Reuben's apartment in Shinjuku-ku (ku is the Japanese word for "district" or somesuch).

I check out of my hotel in Akasaka-ku with 3 pieces of luggage and hail a cab to take me 17 miles to Shinjuku-ku. The cab driver takes me down a dirt alley behind Reuben's apartment building and drops me and my luggage off in the rear yard of that apartment complex.

MY CATEGORY 2 SITUATION - TOTALLY ISOLATED IN JAPAN, DON'T SPEAK ONE WORD OF JAPANESE, ONLY KNOW ONE PERSON IN THE WHOLE COUNTRY, STUCK IN THE BACKYARD OF A SMALL APARTMENT COMPLEX 17 MILES OUTSIDE OF TOKYO. NO ACCESS TO A PHONE, NO VEHICLE JUST TOTALLY STRANDED IN JAPAN!

I was resourceful. First, I went up and knocked on Reuben's door but he was not home. I stacked my 3 pieces of luggage and sat on them and waited about 2 hours but Rueben did not show up. I noticed a pay phone in the alley about two blocks before we arrived at the apartments. I left my luggage in the back yard and walked back to the phone booth and called Fuji. I asked them to send a cab to take me to the airport. They recommended that I wait till the evening, around 6:00 PM. If Reuben had not shown up by then, they would send the cab. I agreed to that.

I waited a little longer then started to feel like I had to use the bathroom. I had a Berlitz book on Japanese and looked up a few phrases. I went to the second floor, one door to the left of Reuben's place and knocked on the door. A youngish woman answered. I knew that our last name, Hart was pronounced Haht'-to in Japanese and that a title of honor was put behind the name so my brother was called Haht'-to-san. I conveyed to the lady that I was his brother and he was not home and I needed to get in. She went and got her husband and he came out with a small hammer and crowbar and jimmied Reuben's front window and got it to open in about 3 minutes. He climbed in and went to the front door and unlocked it and let me in. The Category 2 Incident abated quite bit.

I took a bath and fell asleep on a futon on his matted floor. About 3 hours later, at about 6:30, I am awoken by the sound of keys in the door lock and Reuben walks in. I didn't know what to say to him. I had been outraged at his not showing up and putting me through this ordeal but I was worried - what could explain his no-show except that he must have been in an accident. I was relieved that it was not an accident but then as angry as hell with him for his irresponsibility. I demanded an explanation .

He said that he showed up at the airport right on time and that I was not there. I asked him if he had me paged or made any inquiries about me and he answered no. I then said that I had him paged so why did he not respond to my page. He asked how long after my flight arrived did I have him paged and I answered about 20 minutes. He said that he only waited 15 minutes and then left.

I asked him to describe where he went to pick me up. He said it was the same place where he had inquired about flight times and tickets. I asked if it was the Continental Airlines ticket window and he said that it was. I called him a stupid idiot and said that the flight arrivals were handled in a different building than the building which handled tickets. He said, "How was I supposed to know that?" I said that if you don't know something, then it is your responsibility to ask. You didn't see or hear announcements about any arrivals, so did it ever occur to you that you might be in the wrong building and he just said "no."

Anyway, that was the incident. I stayed for 2 weeks which were fun. At the end of two weeks he wanted me to leave and I wanted to go so I did not stay the full 3 weeks. That was definitely a Category 2 experience for me!Lakey

 

[Smilla]

Re: The old days - Aboard the Apollo - 1973

Smila, thank you for your interest and very incisive comments. Are you a professional psychoanalyst? If you are, you are very good at it!!

Besides Scientology, I've had several other Category 2 incidents happen to me. Try this one on for size...

Summer of 1969, my brother Reuben is in Tokyo Japan teaching English for Fuji Corp. He invites me to come and visit him and I agree to go, taking 3 weeks vacation from work. There is no internet, we never considered phone conversations between L.A. and Japan, too expensive. All out arrangements were agreed on by snail mail. I got a round trip flight with Continental Airlines. I wrote Reuben my flight number, arrival date and estimated time of arrival.

A little anecdote on the plane, I was 29, 55 lbs lighter than now and was nice looking in those days. I hit on our Stewardess and she invited me to a crew party that night in Anchorage. Our flight was scheduled to stop there for an hour and change crews. She invited me to party with her then sleep over at her place and then she would re -book me to finish my flight to Tokyo the next day. I told her that my brother was expecting me to be at the airport and that I would love to accept her invite but I couldn't stand up my brother. She said that when we landed, I could send him a telegram with a new arrival time. I chickened out and reluctantly turned her down. Big Mistake!!!

I arrive in Tokyo on schedule, get off the plane and pick up my luggage, anxiously looking forward to seeing Reuben for the first time in 18 months. There is no sign of Reuben at all. I wait 20 minutes and then have him paged to meet me at such and such terminal area. Nothing happens. I wait for about 5 hours and Reuben never arrives. I panic and go talk to the someone at the Continental window. There seems to be nothing to do except get a return trip ticket and leave.

I then see some post cards while going to buy gum. Reuben works in the Fuji Tower, a 34 story skyscraper, one of the tallest in Tokyo at that time. I see a picture of this tower on a postcard. It says that the Tower is located in the Akasaka district of Tokyo. I make some inquiries, telling people that my brother works in that tower and asking how far it is from the airport.

The suggestion is made that I take a taxi to the Akasaka Prince, a hotel, just 2 blocks from the Fuji Tower and then in the morning, walk over to the Tower and see if I can find my brother. I decide to do that. I get to the hotel and sleep well. In the morning, I walk over to the Fuji Tower and go up to Reuben's office. I am told that he won't be at work for 3 weeks because his brother is coming in for holiday. I explain my situation and the personnel at Fuji recommend that I take a taxi 17 miles to Reuben's apartment in Shinjuku-ku (ku is the Japanese word for "district" or somesuch).

I check out of my hotel in Akasaka-ku with 3 pieces of luggage and hail a cab to take me 17 miles to Shinjuku-ku. The cab driver takes me down a dirt alley behind Reuben's apartment building and drops me and my luggage off in the rear yard of that apartment complex.

MY CATEGORY 2 SITUATION - TOTALLY ISOLATED IN JAPAN, DON'T SPEAK ONE WORD OF JAPANESE, ONLY KNOW ONE PERSON IN THE WHOLE COUNTRY, STUCK IN THE BACKYARD OF A SMALL APARTMENT COMPLEX 17 MILES OUTSIDE OF TOKYO. NO ACCESS TO A PHONE, NO VEHICLE JUST TOTALLY STRANDED IN JAPAN!

I was resourceful. First, I went up and knocked on Reuben's door but he was not home. I stacked my 3 pieces of luggage and sat on them and waited about 2 hours but Rueben did not show up. I noticed a pay phone in the alley about two blocks before we arrived at the apartments. I left my luggage in the back yard and walked back to the phone booth and called Fuji. I asked them to send a cab to take me to the airport. They recommended that I wait till the evening, around 6:00 PM. If Reuben had not shown up by then, they would send the cab. I agreed to that.

I waited a little longer then started to feel like I had to use the bathroom. I had a Berlitz book on Japanese and looked up a few phrases. I went to the second floor, one door to the left of Reuben's place and knocked on the door. A youngish woman answered. I knew that our last name, Hart was pronounced Haht'-to in Japanese and that a title of honor was put behind the name so my brother was called Haht'-to-san. I conveyed to the lady that I was his brother and he was not home and I needed to get in. She went and got her husband and he came out with a small hammer and crowbar and jimmied Reuben's front window and got it to open in about 3 minutes. He climbed in and went to the front door and unlocked it and let me in. The Category 2 Incident abated quite bit.

I took a bath and fell asleep on a futon on his matted floor. About 3 hours later, at about 6:30, I am awoken by the sound of keys in the door lock and Reuben walks in. I didn't know what to say to him. I had been outraged at his not showing up and putting me through this ordeal but I was worried - what could explain his no-show except that he must have been in an accident. I was relieved that it was not an accident but then as angry as hell with him for his irresponsibility. I demanded an explanation .

He said that he showed up at the airport right on time and that I was not there. I asked him if he had me paged or made any inquiries about me and he answered no. I then said that I had him paged so why did he not respond to my page. He asked how long after my flight arrived did I have him paged and I answered about 20 minutes. He said that he only waited 15 minutes and then left.

I asked him to describe where he went to pick me up. He said it was the same place where he had inquired about flight times and tickets. I asked if it was the Continental Airlines ticket window and he said that it was. I called him a stupid idiot and said that the flight arrivals were handled in a different building than the building which handled tickets. He said, "How was I supposed to know that?" I said that if you don't know something, then it is your responsibility to ask. You didn't see or hear announcements about any arrivals, so did it ever occur to you that you might be in the wrong building and he just said "no."

Anyway, that was the incident. I stayed for 2 weeks which were fun. At the end of two weeks he wanted me to leave and I wanted to go so I did not stay the full 3 weeks. That was definitely a Category 2 experience for me!Lakey

Great story! You've had some amazing experiences. I can just picture that situation!

I'm not a psychoanalyst - just a musician with a lot of curiosity about life. Lol.

 

[RogerB]

Re: The old days - Aboard the Apollo - 1973

Leon and Lakey . . . now there's a partnership!

On your maunderings on money, this below from one of my "informed sources" . . . . .

The grandest transfer of wealth in history is reaching a climax stage. The German gold trader source added a chilling commentary. Notice the reference to a $100 billion loss, his eventual estimate in the coming several months. He wrote, "The $100 billion JPM loss might still be much too low, as there is an event driven component in all of this. One link in the chain breaks and the wheels come off. If Kirby takes the time to calculate through this incident, he might very well come up with a high multiple of the $100 billion or even $trillions in eventual losses for the big US bank. There are no end buyers for these derivatives, all artificial creations. It is a mega scam that even dwarfs Ponzi, since it is the entire bond market structure that underpins the monetary system. The question is how much of these losses will be disclosed, like an iceberg coming to the surface. It is safe to assume that big changes are in the offing. There is always the point reached where enough is enough. The American-led economic war against Persia was probably the final trigger for some real decision makers to put their foot down and tighten the noose to the point of suffocation. It will get very ugly very fast in an event acceleration. The increase in off-market substantial gold transactions, being solicited at the very top, is absolutely stunning to see. The Boyz need liquidity and they need it fast. The only asset they can turn into cash is their gold bullion stashed away in various locations. The current events are from a new dimension not seen in past years."

The Paradigm Shift East is in full force. The movement to end the official false paper front of monetary management could come. It will not end, but be revealed and prosecuted. Expect Nuremberg Banker Trials in the future. Great volumes of gold bullion are moving. When my gold trader source was asked how much gold has moved from West vaults to East vaults since the Leap Day Massacre on February 29th, he responded without hesitation, replying 5000 metric tonnes. That is five thousand metric tonnes of gold bars worth between $250 and $260 billion, half as much as Fort Knox housed when it actually held the national treasure. It has since been looted. In a highly illustrative and shocking (positive) message the same veteran gold trader explained "I have seen some major quantities of metal being moved in my many years. However, what I am seeing right now is unprecedented in quantities and capital being moved. The East is converting its unlimited liquidity into hard assets of which Au and Ag are only one core component. The Western depositories are currently being raided at discounts and not premiums, since the time window that has been created allows to do that. However, that window is closing swiftly and once closed, the price for metal will go through the roof."

In actuality, you can also google search on the solution Iceland pulled some years back . . . it was cited in the WSJ and New York Time over the weekend (maybe Friday) as what turned out to be a huge success . . . . I well remember someone on ESMB ridiculing my reporting on this after my visit to Iceland last year

They declared bankrupt the offending banks then nationalized them to run them honestly. Thereby they preserved the operating infrastructure of their banking system.

This is being talked up as a possible solution for Europe . . . realize that most of the sovereign debt is in the hands of the banking fraternity and the national central banks protecting them . . . though there is also a goodly proportion of the stuff is in money market type mutual fund accounts . . . any idiot leaving money in such is asking for trouble.

I had earlier posted charts and graphs of the exponential increase of debt and "money supply" both for the US and world elsewhere on ESMB??? the fact is, since the 2008-9 blow up, it has been the Central Banks that have been buying the newly issued sovereign debt . . . they call it "quantitative easing" and other charms . . with the latest version called "operation twist" . . . . we are talking 10's of trillions of $$$.

So don't cry for your banks It really is all phony "money anyway" . . . it's all a promise to pay backed by a promise to pay backed again by another deeper promise to pay.

Oh, umm, and while most of the media attention is on Europe: that's a misdirector. The US is in as rough a shape with no Germany to help it out . . . many more sovereign states (individual states like California, Pennsylvania [it's capital, Harrisburg I believe filed or is in the process of filing for bankruptcy)]) are in as much strife as Greece.

Rog

 

[lkwdblds]

Re: The old days - Aboard the Apollo - 1973

Apropos the above - have any of you come across the suggestion that the way out of the world's current economic woes is one that says we need to "push the reset button"? By which is meant that the big guys decide that at one moment suddenly and internationally ALL debts will click to zero and we all start again with better rules and practises in place.

Theoretically it would work. Many people will take a hit - mostly those who are somehow in credit at present - but as these are few and far between and are mostly German and Chinese - well, stuff them anyway - and the guys who win are those who have debts of some kind or other, mortgages, foreign debt by countries, etc, so the majority will win. The US with its unpayable trillions of debt would be the biggest winner of all.

Any thoughts on this? I have been told that this idea is being discussed seriously in Europe at present.

I've thought about this from time to time as well. It seems to be a natural reaction to overwhelming debt. What about bankruptcy? Bankruptcies with plans for restructuring and continuing to operate have been fashioned and are common for people and corporations. A very large corporate entity, General Motors just recently went through it. If GM can do it, why not Greece? Why not the USA?

A complete reset is a lot different than a bankruptcy, right? All debt is instantly forgiven. Its hard to imagine what would happen. All individuals, businesses and governments become debt free but not only are most of their payable cancelled but also many of their major receivables. As you see, the biggest of the debtors, the USA with over 16 trillion in funded debt plus their unfunded debt, guaranteeing pension plans and retirements for the next couple of generation is instantly debt free, great for USA but not so hot for their creditors.

All the federal employees lose their pension plans instantly. What happens then? All of out trading partners would abandon us. Everything would have to start being paid in current cash from present day revenues.

Some of the "think tanks" would have to make various models to forecast what might happen if the reset was unleashed.

To me, a bankruptcy would be more realistic and more effective. Each bill owed would be analyzed. Revenues would be analyzed. A figure could be established for how many cents on a dollar could be paid to cover the bills. Some bills would not be able to be eliminated, other bills would be totally eliminated, the remainder of bills would be paid off on the basis of a certain number of cents on the dollar.

Drastic spending cuts would have to be forced on the government as part of the procedure. Various government operations. would have to be reworked so as to be more efficient.

There would have to be a drastic overhaul of the way things are done. Just an opinion, but for the United States, a bankruptcy declaration seems much more feasible than just hitting the reset button.

I don't want to enter into partisan politics but if my post has any merit, you can see that President Obama is recommending doing just the opposite of what would have to be done in a bankruptcy proceeding. His approach is to increase taxes to give the federal government more money to spend so as to create more federal jobs and stimulate the economy. This stimulation is then supposed to increase the government's income and thus enable them to "out create" the spiraling growth of the debt.

You can see from this simple example that the Obama approach, I believe it is called Keynesian economics, has no chance at all of being successful.
Lakey

 

[Terril park]

Re: The old days - Aboard the Apollo - 1973

Leon and Lakey . . . now there's a partnership!

On your maunderings on money, this below from one of my "informed sources" . . . . .



In actuality, you can also google search on the solution Iceland pulled some years back . . . it was cited in the WSJ and New York Time over the weekend (maybe Friday) as what turned out to be a huge success . . . . I well remember someone on ESMB ridiculing my reporting on this after my visit to Iceland last year

They declared bankrupt the offending banks then nationalized them to run them honestly. Thereby they preserved the operating infrastructure of their banking system.

This is being talked up as a possible solution for Europe . . . realize that most of the sovereign debt is in the hands of the banking fraternity and the national central banks protecting them . . . though there is also a goodly proportion of the stuff is in money market type mutual fund accounts . . . any idiot leaving money in such is asking for trouble.

I had earlier posted charts and graphs of the exponential increase of debt and "money supply" both for the US and world elsewhere on ESMB??? the fact is, since the 2008-9 blow up, it has been the Central Banks that have been buying the newly issued sovereign debt . . . they call it "quantitative easing" and other charms . . with the latest version called "operation twist" . . . . we are talking 10's of trillions of $$$.

So don't cry for your banks It really is all phony "money anyway" . . . it's all a promise to pay backed by a promise to pay backed again by another deeper promise to pay.

Oh, umm, and while most of the media attention is on Europe: that's a misdirector. The US is in as rough a shape with no Germany to help it out . . . many more sovereign states (individual states like California, Pennsylvania [it's capital, Harrisburg I believe filed or is in the process of filing for bankruptcy)]) are in as much strife as Greece.

Rog

I was actually seriously considering relocating to Las Vegas. Could buy a house with pool Jacussi etc for one sixth of my equity. However health care was not included !!!

So no deal. [ I'm a pensioner]

Vegas is one of the Cities most favoured. Here the prospects of inhabitants is limited.

My US family members are SERIOUSLY worried some of them have no job related health insurance.

The normal working stiff in the US works hard and long. If he even has a job. Is not part of streets laden with gold. IIRC fathers funural expenses and 5 jobs were done with one of those I met. Lovely girl. Oklahoma. One of the poorest states.

Really the US citizen at lower jobs does not have an easy life.

But they are beautiful.

 

[Smilla]

Re: The old days - Aboard the Apollo - 1973

Leon and Lakey . . . now there's a partnership!

On your maunderings on money, this below from one of my "informed sources" . . . . .



In actuality, you can also google search on the solution Iceland pulled some years back . . . it was cited in the WSJ and New York Time over the weekend (maybe Friday) as what turned out to be a huge success . . . . I well remember someone on ESMB ridiculing my reporting on this after my visit to Iceland last year

They declared bankrupt the offending banks then nationalized them to run them honestly. Thereby they preserved the operating infrastructure of their banking system.

This is being talked up as a possible solution for Europe . . . realize that most of the sovereign debt is in the hands of the banking fraternity and the national central banks protecting them . . . though there is also a goodly proportion of the stuff is in money market type mutual fund accounts . . . any idiot leaving money in such is asking for trouble.

I had earlier posted charts and graphs of the exponential increase of debt and "money supply" both for the US and world elsewhere on ESMB??? the fact is, since the 2008-9 blow up, it has been the Central Banks that have been buying the newly issued sovereign debt . . . they call it "quantitative easing" and other charms . . with the latest version called "operation twist" . . . . we are talking 10's of trillions of $$$.

So don't cry for your banks It really is all phony "money anyway" . . . it's all a promise to pay backed by a promise to pay backed again by another deeper promise to pay.

Oh, umm, and while most of the media attention is on Europe: that's a misdirector. The US is in as rough a shape with no Germany to help it out . . . many more sovereign states (individual states like California, Pennsylvania [it's capital, Harrisburg I believe filed or is in the process of filing for bankruptcy)]) are in as much strife as Greece.

Rog

A friend of mine who is a very high level banker said to me a few months ago that the measures being taken in Europe will not work in the long term. So I asked him what will happen. He said that 90% of European banks will be nationalised and reformed, and things will stabilise. I asked him why they don't don't do it now, and he said because the politicians are driven by ideology rather than pragmatism. When I asked him how bad the situation is he said the whole system could completely crash at any time. This is from a very level-headed, conservative thinker.

 

[FoTi]

Re: Could this be the Solution to Our Debt Crisis?

FoTi and others: This mental teaser puzzle was in the "Ask Marilyn" column in the Sunday Paper today.

It is very simple but really makes you think! It does not seem possible but it is!

THE PUZZLE - "A tourist stops at a small hotel, puts $100 bill on the counter, and goes to inspect a room.

The hotel owner takes the bill and runs off to pay the butcher, to whom he owes $100.

The butcher races to his wholesaler and pays of his own $100 debt.

The wholesaler races to the farmer and gives him $100 for the pigs he bought.

The farmer hands over the $100 to the party planner who set up his bachelor bash.

The party planner heads to the hotel to pay the $100 she owes for the party room and lays the $100 bill on the counter.

Just at that point, the tourist return to the front desk, tells the hotel owner that the room is unsatisfactory, picks up his $100 bill from the counter and departs.

The tourist has his money back, and everyone else is $100 ahead by reducing his or her debt by that amount. COULD THIS PROCEDURE BE APPLIED TO REDUCE OUR NATIONAL DEBT?
Is there a flaw in the logic? If not, how does a $100 bill which was given back to its owner when the owner decided not to make a purchase enrich 4 other people be eliminating $100 worth of debt for each of them? This is pretty amazing, right?

Lakey

No, it's not amazing or possible, Lakey.....the hotel owner just lost $100 when the tourist took the $100 from the hotel owner, instead of spending the night. It doesn't work!