AMERICAN MONETARY INSTITUTE
PO BOX 601, VALATIE, NY 12184
Stephen Zarlenga, Director

Dedicated to the independent study of monetary history, theory, and reform

To: Friends of the American Monetary Institute

Subject – Report on monetary speaking tours:

June 8 –10: TOES (The Other Economic Summit – contra the G8 Summit), Brunswick, Georgia

May 25-28:  7 th Annual International Philosophers for Peace, Radford University, Virginia

May 3-13: London to Monetary Reformers at the House of Lords and other venues
                Geneva, to Young Presidents Organization
                Zurich, Switzerland Visit to the Moneymuseum

February 2-14: U.S. West Coast Trip

Dear Friends,
This report brings you up to date on my four trips from February through mid June, speaking to outstanding groups on monetary history and most importantly – monetary reform.
        But first, thanks to those whose contributions and book purchases made the trips possible. We’ll always make an extra effort to sell copies of The Lost Science of Money wherever I speak. If anyone knows a better way to spread the message, let me know. It also makes travel to conferences possible. So please continue to send donations and to purchase books for yourself and friends, and forward copies of our messages to your email lists; and we’ll do our part.

THE TALKS:

TOES (The Other Economic Summit) contra the G8 Summit in Georgia, June 8-10:
        The TOES are an important forum starting from the 1970’s, to counter the economic myths and propaganda from the G8 meetings of finance Ministers of the 8 largest Western economies plus Japan. The present term for this economic neo-imperialism is "Globalization."

The TOES is a loosely organized group of people fighting for economic justice, including academics and NGO activists from around the World who present alternative economic viewpoints and goals contra the present abusive wealth concentrating system.

Unprecedented efforts were made to suppress this years’ TOES meeting, and the plutocrats are getting very adept at this censorship and intimidation.

As I was packing for the flight to Georgia, a friend sent me the news report that 2,000 body bags were sent to the 20,000 troops the Bush Administration had massed around Sea Island Georgia "to handle the corpses." There were probably less than 2,000 protesters around, as the private location and lack of roadways made it extremely difficult to get near the G8 meeting. Yet Dr. Susan Hunt and Trent Shroye and others including Ward Morehouse and Bob Randall did an outstanding logistical job to bring about a successful TOES.

The TOES meeting was held at Brunswick, as close to the G8 as possible. Check a road atlas and you’ll see that we were 5 miles North of the Jeckyll Island resort, and about 5 miles south of Sea Island. Georgia authorities had tried to block the TOES meeting including denying a meeting hall for the talks until the first week of June, when court lawsuits finally opened up a community college campus for the talks.

Various groups were invited to speak including the Jubilee movement to write off third World debt; 50 Years is Enough to write off the IMF; and several groups concerned with the WTO, Globalization, Corporate power abuses and economic justice. And in the TOES tradition there were several talks by local activists.

The American Monetary Institute was invited to talk on Removing Structural Injustice From The Monetary System. The talk is posted at the AMI website at http://www.monetary.org/toestalk.

I stressed how our nation has the power to solve our most pressing economic problems if the monetary system itself is brought to bear on them; that if these problems are solved in the US it has an immediate beneficial effect around the world. I discussed how a well-financed "mythology of money" has kept us from doing this; a mythology which now misdefines money as credit, and misdefines appropriate government money creation as inflation; and I laid out the reforms necessary to fix the monetary system. This whole TOES experience was very valuable and will help in the coming years, and many new friends were made.
 

7th Annual International Philosophers for Peace, Radford University, May 26-28:
        On May 27th I addressed this meeting near Roanake, Virginia, and my talk was titled World Peace Through Monetary Justice. In the first half of the talk I had the audience laughing in the aisles as I gave the reasons why philosophers should de-certify economics as a science! I argued that they are mankind’s arbiters of what is knowledge, that they had the standing and duty to "cast out" economics as presently practiced. I listed a number of methodological errors economists are constantly engaged in. Some of the philosophers wondered if I was joking, and I had to assure them that yes economists really do those things! The talk will soon be posted at the AMI website  http://www.monetary.org/philosophersforpeaceconference .

The keynote speaker was a rare, good economist and friend, J.W. Smith, whose work focuses on economic justice. See his website at http://www.ied.info/

London England; Edinburg; Geneva and Zurich Switzerland May 3-13:
        The speaking schedule in England was a fast-paced one – a high-level experience, with 5 talks, starting Tuesday May 4th at the House of Lords – a talk graciously sponsored by MP Austin Mitchell and organized by reformers Sabine Mcneil and Canon Peter Challen. I spoke for two hours (including question period) to a group very conversant with monetary reform including several Lords and MP’s; leaders from England’s religious establishment; and several well-known supporters of monetary reform.

I described both the Science of Money, which empowers society to use its monetary power to solve pressing social and economic needs, as well as the mythology of money designed to block the proper use of the monetary mechanism. Excerpts of the talk will soon be posted at  http://www.monetary.org/houseoflordstalk

When I mentioned to this meeting that there was a major high level effort underway to remove the concept of money from the English language and replace it with a notion of credit instead, I noticed an immediate "electric" reaction from about half a dozen people around the room, who clearly understood this process of language manipulation, and its importance.

That single moment of recognition and communication was worth the effort of the entire trip. It may become harder for the money power usurpers to play this game from here on!

The second talk was Wednesday at the Open Table Lunch at the Friends House (Quakers) in London where I met several interesting young reformers and Ken Palmerton himself came into town from the North country. Open table means anyone can come and say anything they want. It went really well.

That evening I addressed Lord Sudeley’s discussion group, "Monday Club" at London’s exclusive Carlton House (Churchill memorabilia everywhere). Some at the lunch had "warned" me that these were the most conservative of England’s conservatives, and to watch out for this or that! My one hour talk was titled The Usury Problem Remains, and as I gave it to about 60 stern faced ladies and gentlemen, I really could not tell how it was being received until the first questioner prefaced his question with a long thank you for bringing such a wealth of interesting information on the subject to them. The full talk is now posted at our web site http://www.monetary.org/usurytalk

I figured out then, that these folk really were, what the American conservatives only pretend to be – the guardians of what they considered valuable to their culture.

On Thursday it was back to the House of Lords to speak to the Forum On Stable Currencies, sponsored by Lord Ahmed. This Forum is a grouping of monetary reformers and thinkers who have managed to remain loosely affiliated over the years thanks largely to the efforts of Canon Peter Challen and Sabine Mcneil. Their task there could be compared to "herding cats," in that every viewpoint is strongly represented (but interestingly I found no gold bugs – the Brits are beyond that mistake).

On Friday we had a good meeting with Canon Peter Challen and James Robertson, and then went to give a talk to the Henry George Foundation in London. A full house thanks to Georgists Peter Gibb and Toby Lloyd. My good friend Arno Mong Daastol came in from Norway. Then they flew me up to Edinburgh for half a day to speak at the foundations Reformers’ Book Shop. As we left England news of the Iraqi prison horrors was becoming widely known, with the Brits utterly dismayed to have any connection with it, and it struck me that the U.S. will not again (or not for a long time) be the "leader" of the free world.

In Geneva Switzerland, old friend Roger Ratner arranged a talk to the Young President’s and Chief Executives Organization in that city, and the final days in Zurich I finally connected with Dr. Jurg Conzett, founder of the Moneymuseum, and publisher of my book in the German language. The Moneymuseum is a remarkable establishment with a bright future. Be sure to visit, when in Zurich. Peter Koenig was there (Jurg is also publishing his book, 30 Lies About Money, in German; and good friend Dieter Braun came in from Munich. Dieter and I are working on a project regarding the concentration of wealth problem.

West Coast Trip (February 3-14):
        This began with an address to the Economics Department (students and teachers) of Washington State University at Pullman, Washington. The talk was also televised to their Puyallup, Washington Campus with live question and answer hookup. Thanks to Curtis Priest it was also Webcast live over the Internet, with reportedly a record number of people tuning in to that service.

David Cassel next hosted us across the border in Oldtown Idaho, at the Buffalo Steak House, to groups of locals interested in monetary reform, mostly in the much overrated gold standard ("There will be guns in the audience," warned Dave). Maybe just a few minds were changed, and no shots were fired. Dave’s a unique fellow: has been an engineer for years and went back to school to get a PHD in economics. He lives with Sheba, in an environmentally super house he built near Oldtown.

Next we addressed a meeting hosted by Jeff Smith of the Geonomy Society at Portland Oregon, where more books were sold (per capita) than at any other stop. George and Irene Romero provided the Power point computer and projector and much logistical support (Like room and board and the use of George’s health club swimming pool!).

Sacramento, California was the next stop. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and wife Maria didn’t attend, but he did send a letter. World class researcher Clifford Cobb (he contributed to writing Herman Daly’s grand book For The Common Good) had the Henry George organization attend in force, and good friend agricultural finance specialist, B.G. and his lady-friend drove in from Idaho. A solid meeting with good question periods.

On Friday B.G. drove me to the next venue – San Francisco – where David Geisen scheduled a talk for the Henry George School at a local bookstore. Attempts to reach the Green Party there to invite them to attend fell on deaf ears. What gives there? Can any of you suggest how, or help to connect with the Greens?

Finally on to Los Angeles where Harry Pollard brought together the Henry George School members at his home in Tujunga for a solid full day seminar, with one of Harry’s famous no holds barred question period, and wonderful food and wine too. Harry is the only one on the whole trip who told me his disagreed with me – but I’m not so sure. And I hope I’m as sharp as he is when I get to be 80!

Well that’s what I’ve been up to folks. Now its time for some R&R at Chicago’s Oak Street Beach. If the sun is out and the winds are Westerly, you’ll find me there swimming the North Ledge, and reading and writing materials for the exciting monetary reform projects already in the works. More on them later.
Warm regards to all and please continue your support,
Stephen Zarlenga
Director,
American Monetary Institute