Terry Pratchet on Money. The Matrix. Silly Money.

I never stop amazing at the amount of everyday issues covered in the books of Terry Pratchet. As I was re-reading Going Postal, I enjoyed the examples he gives on money, greed and consequences. Probably you will enjoy it more to find them on your own. I will just hint you here the one that I like the most: "money ... is kind of a shared dream". The magic works until somebody wakes up. Just like in the Matrix. While you sleep - you are fine. When you wake up - you are scared. In the end it is up to you which life or pill you choose.

To keep the smile on your face, here is a link to the wonderful Bird and Fortune explanation of the current Financial Crisis.

good at Lobbying is not equal to good at Inventing

I watched a documentary on a Viasat channel about the Wright brothers. The story describes how they have managed to achieve what others backed by $ 50,000 of government funding could not.

This brought me to the obvious conclusion that:
"Good at Lobbying is not equal to good at inventing, nevertheless it seems that good at lobbying is equal to good at spending."

Check how the government money are used by the big companies during the crisis. It will not become obvious right away. We need to wait till someone involved starts to talk. But it will be just like the Wright brothers story - somebody small, based on enthusiasm will find and implement the solution, while big spenders will charm us with their heroically futile eloquence.

Check the 18 billion in Wall Street bonuses of the top bank managers, who needed urgently government backup... I suppose that they could have lived this year without these money.

"Hours Passed In Exile"

Dark Tranquillity

Lost to our many obligations, we often forget the real important things in life. Thanks to the Christmas festivities I had a chance to spend some quality time with my family.

After all, money are not important for themselves. It is the independence that they give us in this money-oriented world.

Strangely enough, the monk in a Frederick Lenz's book says something similar to: You have to be successful in this world, to help people believe you about the spiritual one.

For the New Year holidays I plan to stick to the spiritual and the snowflakes. After that... who knows.

Wealth Multiplicator v.s. Grief Multiplicator

If I have 10 euros and lend them to somebody with a 10% interest, then the economy will have 10+10+1 = 21 euros, while the real money are only 10. In result, when the debtor goes bankrupt, the economy will say that 21 euros are lost, while they will be only 10, all out of my pocket. Hence, the lying nature of this system and crisis.

Some may argue about the interpretation of the money multiplicator economic term that we have been recently discussing with my wife. However the story of Bernard Madoff is a confirmation that I have never expected in such a clear way.

I would also like to state that the pure form of banking, as a form of redistribution of assets from people who have them to people who need them should be preserved as the single most influential driver of development (besides human creativity). Only so can we continue to operate with a wealth multiplicator.

It is only the manipulators who should be kept out of the money business. Otherwise the money multiplicator will continue to be a grief multiplicator.

A Lie Multiplied by A Hundred

At the university we were taught that a lie repeated anywhere from three to a hundred times becomes a reality.

Is it not a paradox, that the stock exchange system, which is based on lies, is actually so fragile?

Like a mist in a fog.

When dealing with false money and unprotected expectations, panic rules the hearts of people

The last news I heard on the TV was about a big bank, that is supposed to be going down due to "lost faith of the investors". What I do not understand in this case is - how can a bank with more than 50 billion dollars more than the required reserves be at risk?

In parallel, another similar meaningless statement, sounding like: We predict that in 2008 our increase in profit will be less than the one in 2008. Therefore we are in crisis, so we will fire most of our american employees.

Are all the people lobotomized?