Le Speakeasy

Front Page Articles :: RE: Is MOA dead?

Author: DaveS
Posted: 05/17/12, 3:54 am (GMT -8)
Topic Replies: 4

At least we have this lil' place where we can still come for a quiet drink with friends.

Peace
DaveS
_________________
www.thefreedailyobserver.com

Front Page Articles :: RE: Is MOA dead?

Author: noiseannoys
Subject: moa
Posted: 05/16/12, 8:57 pm (GMT -8)
Topic Replies: 4

I value b's analysis and astute insights and read regularily...but often these days there seem to be a surplus of self interested fat in the drains...this recent comments post sums it up well

"noise, lots of noise."

Posted by: lizard | May 16, 2012 10:38:13 PM | 87

Front Page Articles :: RE: Is MOA dead?

Author: OkieByAccident
Posted: 05/03/12, 5:59 am (GMT -8)
Topic Replies: 4

Still here! Though, ironically, I had just about decided that, after a year of inactivity, it was time to kill it.

General Chat :: RE: Open Source Money Transfer Techniques?

Author: Blackie
Posted: 04/05/12, 1:42 pm (GMT -8)
Topic Replies: 2

I don't have a good answer hannah, really.

I have had the same problem. But I live in Switzerland, where all that is easier.

Western Union is *incredibly* expensive yet works tip-top in case of Emergency. It works within two-three hours, provided the parties are up for it.

PayPal I can say nothing about, as the first time I used it, many years ago, it failed, I lost the money and I refuse to have anything to do with them.

A certified bank check can be cheaper than a transfer. (They make out a check and you send it by post.)

For small sums, cash in an envelope is good, and registered post is of course far less than bank charges. This old fashioned method actually works fine, of course that is too risky for 500 dollars or whatever consequent sum.

Another thing one an do is to open an account in an International Bank, and have one's counter party in the US be a co-holder of the account. Perhaps OK for small sums, but the corespondent has to be aware of anti terrorism laws, etc. It looks suspicious, etc. Any transfer over 10 000 dollars immediately triggers anti terror laws, to or from the US. (I have had to deal with this twice, a complete pain.)

It is also worthwhile going around the banks and asking specifically if they will furnish such a service. And creating a small account and taking out an not-used credit card, etc.

I don't know hannah in which country you are, it varies.

Some banks offer international transfer over the internet, they charge as well, but less, as they aim for the younger crowd, and are trying to drum up business.

So, these are just avenues to explore, if there was a simple way it would be known.

Front Page Articles :: RE: Is MOA dead?

Author: DaveS
Subject: Good to see you sneak over here
Posted: 04/03/12, 10:50 pm (GMT -8)
Topic Replies: 4

Heheheh,

After my last and only battle with the Hubris of MoA, I'm probably done over there myself. Glad we have this lil' sneak around... or I hope we do.

I'm so busy these days I don't have much time to post, and when I do, I'd like the MEAT of what I was talking about to be commented on. I don't mind being educated, but to be told how I think and feel is a little much, don't you think?

B still rocks, but the comments from the peanut gallery don't do much for me, but maybe I'm weird? Oh well.

Peace to you U$!
_________________
www.thefreedailyobserver.com

Front Page Articles :: Is MOA dead?

Author: Uncle $cam
Subject: Is MOA dead?
Posted: 03/26/12, 4:13 pm (GMT -8)
Topic Replies: 4

I think it's pretty obvious that the comment section at MOA is dead, but b still lays down some good reads. So my question, who are these new commentators? And where is the old crew hanging these days?

General Chat :: RE: Open Source Money Transfer Techniques?

Author: Dan of Steele
Subject: been wondering the same thing
Posted: 01/02/12, 12:50 pm (GMT -8)
Topic Replies: 2

I heard some time ago, somebody somewhere mentioned that you could buy gold in the country you are in and then sell it when you are in another country.

a quick google turned up this site. http://www.bullionvault.com/

I can not verify it and am actually looking for the something similar.

good luck to you and lemme know if you find a solution.
_________________
It is better to be killed than frightened to death.
-- Robert S. Surtees

General Chat :: Open Source Money Transfer Techniques?

Author: Hannah K. O'Luthon
Subject: Open Source Money Transfer Techniques?
Posted: 12/31/11, 12:45 am (GMT -8)
Topic Replies: 2

I tried posting the following comments at MOA, but there is probably a filter there that excludes posts using certain spam-like strings, so my attempts never met with success. As any reader will note, the exclusion was certainly no great loss to MOA
A few times each year I need to transfer relatively small sums of money from Europe to the U.S. for "family reasons".
It's easy to do so, but I hate paying the various fees entailed since they seem disproportionate with respect to the actual time and effort needed to execute the transfers. The banks have virtually extortionate handling fees and one of their major competitors seems to systematically exploit the quoted exchange rate to rake off a similar percentage for a simple "wire transfer". This seems like a problem that the internet open source community must have solved by now, but I am not aware of any secure internet method for carrying out such transfers. I have used Paypal, but its mechanism seems to be based on use of the means provided by the credit card oligopoly. Correct me if I err in this belief. In contrast to the dearth of positive information in this regard, the problems involved in such efforts are well documented. The issue is different from that of internet purchases, but there too it would be a true pleasure to find an "open source" method to cut out the credit card oligopoly, and thus to strike a small blow for the 99%. Do any of the MOA have any suggestions or input in this regard? For example, is there any open source community effort to develop such a system? Clearly there are non-trivial, perhaps even interesting problems in guaranteeing security for both sender and recipient without having to rely on the megabanks and financial instituions currently in control of such flows (or really "trickles") of funds, and more than mere cryptological security is called for. I would certainly like to be pointed to any group working in this direction along open source lines, and apologize to any who might judge this post to be totally out of place here. [/quote]
_________________
Hannah K. O'Luthon

Front Page Articles :: ongoing stench of hypocracy

Author: noiseannoys
Subject: ongoing stench of hypocracy
Posted: 03/07/11, 3:29 pm (GMT -8)
Topic Replies: 0

From the link below

"Government whistleblowers are part of a healthy democracy and must be protected from reprisal," said Barack Obama in 2008. But the stench of his hypocrisy is no longer bearable. It is time, now more than ever, that Bradley Manning received the justice he so clearly deserves."

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27624.htm

This from the guardian regarding the comedy of errors recently provided by British 'intelligence' in Lybia

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/mar/06/sas-diplomatic-mission-in-libya

...and to keep things in context, the future for Mr. Assange is looking bleak.

http://rixstep.com/1/20110204,04.shtml

Finally here Chris Hedges goes someway to addressing the whole rotting pile that the above is perhaps merely the sideshow to...
"Human beings seem cursed to repeat these cycles of exploitation and collapse. And the greater the extent of the deterioration the less they are able to comprehend what is happening around them. The Earth is littered with the physical remains of human folly and human hubris. We seem condemned as a species to drive ourselves and our societies toward extinction, although this moment appears be the denouement to the whole sad show of settled, civilized life that began some 5,000 years ago. There is nothing left on the planet to seize. We are now spending down the last remnants of our natural capital, including our forests, fossil fuel, air and water."

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/this_time_were_taking_the_whole_planet_with_us_20110307/

So,I ask we care because we do, or because it is the only thing that brings us hope?

Music :: RE: What are you listening to?

Author: Anonymous
Posted: 02/24/11, 7:59 pm (GMT -8)
Topic Replies: 45

I am listing my favourite song that is "My heart will go on" from the titanic movie. It was title song of that movie and contain so nice loveable emotion in it and the singer Celion deion voice is so pretty.

Front Page Articles :: RE: Well that's a bit Hmmm!

Author: Debs is dead
Posted: 02/23/11, 10:38 am (GMT -8)
Topic Replies: 5

Thanks Philippe it has been a strange couple of days. I moved down to the South Island a few years ago when the kids started secondary schools. Mostly it's been a good move if somewhat white bread and parochial. The quake has turned into a real horror story, of the sort NZers have always feared would eventually happen. Last September was the initial shock bigger on the richter scale but deeper and with no fatalities. This one was slightly less powerful than the first quake but much closer to the earth's surface and population centers.
It looks like around 300 people have been killed and the entire Christchurch CBD has been flattened. Even those buildings still standing will most likely have to be torn down.
The aftershocks continue in and around Christchurch which is the worst problem, because it does people's heads in, when there is a major tremor every couple of hours. The hospitals are having a 'second wave' of casulties from cardiac arrests caused by stress, while they are still flat out treating patients injured in the quake. The sewer system is smashed and there is no reticulated fresh water any longer to about 80% of the city (population around 500,000) so there may be a third wave of gastric disease at any time.

Our town is close enough that people in Christchurch can get to easily and we haven't had any damage so we are trying to provide accomodation to those who decide to leave their home town.
_________________
Political action in its source is pure,
Human, direct, but in its civil function
Becomes the jail it laboured to destroy.
(Pig Island Letters, p. 10)

Front Page Articles :: RE: Well that's a bit Hmmm!

Author: philippe
Subject: Debs
Posted: 02/23/11, 4:18 am (GMT -8)
Topic Replies: 5

Good to hear you're doing fine (didn't know you live in that part of NZ - for some reason I thought you lived more up north).
Viewing the footage on the local TV network (NHK), I was surprised by the scale of the damage, including to more modern buildings. Another resident of Christchurch I know let us know that most network infrastructure was mostly down in the city center - and his iPhone got crushed� (and he's putting out bowls and buckets to collect rainwater).

Hold strong.

Front Page Articles :: RE: Well that's a bit Hmmm!

Author: Debs is dead
Posted: 02/22/11, 3:15 pm (GMT -8)
Topic Replies: 5

Nothing to do with the horror of the airport bombing or anything else much for that matter, but I thought I had better post today in case anyone was wondering about the horror down the road which happened yesterday.
Unlike the original earthquake that yesterday's disturbance is an aftershock of, this latest nasty has killed a lot of people and destroyed many many buildings in the center of town as well as people's homes.
It was sufficiently far down the road that we only felt a tremor and my family is all ok, although my daughter who is at uni in Australia is particular concerned about a couple of her closest friends who are at Canterbury university in Christchurch. One of them stayed with us when my daughter was here in early feb and I'm hoping that either the cell phone coverage is still down where she is or that she lost her phone in the chaos because no one has heard from here and her phone is going straight to voicemail.
Thankfully as I told my daughter the chances are much greater that her friend is stuck in a communications 'black hole' than the chance that she has been injured.
_________________
Political action in its source is pure,
Human, direct, but in its civil function
Becomes the jail it laboured to destroy.
(Pig Island Letters, p. 10)

Front Page Articles :: RE: Egyptian February

Author: finn
Subject: "underdog
Posted: 02/06/11, 8:10 pm (GMT -8)
Topic Replies: 1

comes from behind"* It does happen.
"I see, I see, said the blind man to his deaf daughter," applies to the Free Iraq link -- which I am unable to open: dial-up life. Wonder why yours at MOA doesn't show. I haven't tried to post there, am grateful for the info and perspectives, content to lurk.
The Egyptians: If we cannot imagine that the Egyptians we have watched and listened to hungrily for the past two weeks do not know how to do what it is they are ready to do, then what do we think is possible, now or ever?

*Obscure cultural reference to the Superbowl outcome, and curiosity about the puzzling subtexts in bigbillion dollar accompanying ads. (Where do we talk about this?)

Front Page Articles :: Egyptian February

Author: Hannah K. O'Luthon
Subject: Egyptian February
Posted: 02/04/11, 5:12 am (GMT -8)
Topic Replies: 1

The video in the following link to the Free Iraq website is probably already well-know here, and the comments that follow may well deserve a caveat lector. Madsen's "revelations" about U.S. collusion with Egypt in "extraordinary rendition" and torture are, in part, well known and well documented.
The weight which fear of embarassing further revelations about such matters might play in conditioning U.S. actions during the current crisis is less clear, but the topic certainly merits airing.

I have posted here since I seem to be unable to post at MOA for the present.
_________________
Hannah K. O'Luthon