27 - Back in Holywood

Roger Price

Sep 3, 2022 • 7 min read

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September already and we are still refugees, unable to return to Hong Kong for over 6 months now. We have been back on the move again this past week. We first went back to Antwerp from the Belgian coast and after a few days of meeting up with friends we headed back to Holywood for a few days with family before our next trip. If you are near and want to meet up - just let me know!

Travel was OK. Trains from Oostende to Antwerp and from Antwerp to Zaventem were on time and the Aer Lingus checkin was quite smooth then not too much hassle at security and the flight was on time. We had to wait an hour for the Aircoach to Belfast so we got to "enjoy" lunch in the airport.

One thing you notice in recent months in Europe is the apparent air of "normality" everywhere - Madeira, Mallorca, Belfast and even in Belgium. Whilst you might be tempted to celebrate this a contrarian voice would say: look at what is in the pipeline and how things will shake out in the winter. Marty covers it fairly clearly here. At what point do things boil over? I suspect it will not take too long.

Zoltan Pozsar wrote an interesting piece that sheds insight on what is happening and coming - basically several "messy divorces" are in progress between key global players. Do read his article or read or listen to Pomp summarise it.

My suspicion is that the Hong Kong "restrictions" will persist at least until the China Party Conference in mid October. Might there then be a Great Success with victory being declared through Covid-Zero? Perhaps. You have got to wonder with HK Fintech Week and HK Rugby Sevens being planned for November. Let's see....

Book of the week

Your eyes will be opened when you read New Confessions of an Economic Hit Man by John Perkins. Once seen, it cannot be unseen.

John writes this as his personal journey from being selected via NSA screening and initial training followed by his first "projects" through his entire life as an Economic Hit Man (EHM). The book is an eye-opener for those who are unaware of the underpinnings of the US government’s ability to bully other countries into large debt to benefit American multinational corporations and secure their place as the sole superpower - he calls this "the Economics of Death". With dozens of well-documented and and clear explanations you will learn how about how local politicians were played off against eachother and oversold on the benefits of the loans. Once in place corruption, blackmail and the threat of violence maintains the new status quo. The ultimate threat is that of invasion and this too has been done - of course the mainstream media downplay, ignore and forget such things.

The basic technique is to go in and make over-ambitious economic forecasts that justify vast loans (money creation) that will be given to developing countries. These loans come with plenty of conditions that enable American contractors to benefit directly and also through extraction of natural resources (oil and minerals etc). All of this comes with corruption and destruction of local cultures along with introduction of structural dependencies and playing countries off against each other. The loans eventually overwhelm the countries forcing them into restructuring that takes away yet more assets.

You will get to understand the role of the supranational bodies like World Bank (IBRD) and International Monetary Fund (IMF). Important parallels should be apparent with similar bodies like World Health Organisation (WHO) and World Economic Forum (WEF) - all unaccountable and outside all normal and international laws and controls. For a deeper dive on this listen to Preston Pysh and Sam Callaghan explain - and re-read Creature from Jekyll Island.

John does have a rather inflated view of himself but if ignore that and just focus on the things that he and all the other EHMs did you will understand why the world is the way it is today.

You get first-hand insights into the tactics used by EHMs in and against: Ecuador, Indonesia, Iran, Columbia, Panama and Venezuela among others. You will also understand the unholy deal done with Saudi Arabia and what went wrong in Iraq. You will understand how 911 enabled the EHM techniques to be applied even to the American population, leading to the subprime crisis and how this cancer of uncontrolled greed and money creation is still spreading. Any time you hear the words "public-private partnership" be very concerned!

Eventually the reality of what he was doing caused him to quit. Several times he wanted to write and tell the story but again and again he was dissuaded by the EHM machine. 911 and the realisation that the machine was out of control caused him to write the book and to refocus his time and effort in trying to help combat the EHMs.

He concludes that with this wisdom and hindsight it is our turn to act. He makes many practical suggestions and he has changed the direction of his own life to try to "lead by example". In order to stop the EHM phenomenon, society needs to change the mechanics of economics and come together to create communities that take small strides in the right direction for positive social change. Regrettably, you can see that EHM has metasticised even into these suggestion areas; doublespeak and newspeak abound to mislead and confuse and to divide people up among themselves, distracting them from what is the real problem.

For a clear and authoritative summary see this review of the book from Walden University

An interesting suggestion to reflect upon: Free Private Cities - you might know these also as Citadels... familiar to bitcoiners and Sovereign Individuals.. More details here.

🛠 Update on my Projects

🗞 Website

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💰 Bitcoin & Lightning

You should watch this fascinating interview of Jeff Booth by Stephan Livera. For those who prefer to read - Jeff's original article is here. I also recommend Jeff's book: The Price of Tomorrow: Why Deflation is the Key to an Abundant Future. Indeed, it is impossible that the incumbent can disrupt their own monopoly - the Kodak and Digital Photos analogy makes this pretty clear. Do not expect traditional finance to disrupt itself. He gives plenty of additional examples too!

Interesting too that Sibos (the annual jamboree of the bankers) happens in Amsterdam the same week as Bitcoin Amsterdam - coincidence or a sign?

James does his usual weekly On-Chain Technical Insight session. An abundance of measures and metrics.

This week I did another one-on-one session with a friend who wanted to know how to acquire bitcoin and how to get started with lighting. Check Issue 14 if you are wondering. That makes two converts in two weeks - hardly world shattering but it's progress!

🎓 Reading, listening and learning

Below are some more interesting sources that I came across, or was reminded of, in the past week - for your enjoyment and edification. Remember that Brave Browser (with uBlock Origin) is the best way to watch youtube videos and I recommend watching at 1.5x or 1.75x speed!

🤔 Macro Economics and Investing

Joe proposes a very interesting thought experiment: a 5 Step Plan to FIX America. It does seem pretty obvious that it could give a better result!

Lyn's August 2022 Newsletter: Investment Cycles focuses on long-term investment cycles, and specifically the shortages in energy and infrastructure that have become prevalent this year in part due to years of prior underinvestment, which have been further exacerbated by both war and drought. Interesting decade by decade reviews and sector by sector comparisons.

You might wonder about Michael Burry's latest bet - Mark explains - deleveraging 101... He is likely right but is he early?

⚠️ Ethereum Merge - curiouser and curiouser!

Guy does a deep dive into the Merge and associated risks - potentially happening about 15th September. Coincidentally (really?), FUD started spreading that MTGOX distribution would also start on 15th September; in fact this is just another confusing communication on the too-long journey to "rehabilitation" - nothing to see here. If I were to be wearing a "conspiracy hat", I might even expect something big to happen in or around the SEC vs Ripple case around this time as well.... Not to mention CyberPolygon: Bizarre that the 2022 exercise should have happened in early July (did you hear anything?). For a taste, see the 2021 results. In simular vein, think of think about Event201 and what happened next...

See also Arthur's long read - ETH-Flexive - you will know a lot at the end!

🤔 You likely want to give these proper consideration

Guy explains rather clearly (using their documentation) what the WEF is doing and planning. Did you vote for this?

Neil is pretty convinced that: The EU & UK Are Screwed... There are decades when nothing happens and weeks when decades happen!

💸 Also watch Neil's warning about Bank Bail-ins. Do not say: "nobody told me".

🥩 Last, but certainly not least, you probably want to listen to Dr. Frédéric Leroy from VUB in Belgium discussing some rather serious issues on food.

🤪 Finishing up on a lighter note - Some Fun Finds

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No one can be told what The Matrix is.
You have to see it for yourself.

Anything else? Feel free to comment below!
You can also email me at: LetterFrom@rogerprice.me

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