Financial Cryptography

#1 Censored Story - Dropping the Dollar

Someone pointed me to Project Censored, which has a list for the "25 top censored stories," and up there, right on top was "Global Plans to Replace the Dollar."

In July 2009, President Medvedev illustrated his call for a supranational currency to replace the dollar by pulling from his pocket a sample coin of a “united future world currency.” The coin, which bears the words “Unity in Diversity,” was minted in Belgium and presented to the heads of G8 delegations.

In September 2009, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development proposed creating a new artificial currency that would replace the dollar as reserve currency. The UN wants to redesign the Bretton Woods system of international exchange. Formation of this currency would be the largest monetary overhaul since World War II. China is involved in deals with Brazil and Malaysia to denominate their trade in China’s yuan, while Russia promises to begin trading in the ruble and local currencies.

Additionally, nine Latin American countries have agreed on the creation of a regional currency, the sucre, aimed at scaling back the use of the US dollar.

Avid readers of FC will know this has been going on for a long time (long list here), and it's nice to see the news from the last 2 years concisely rendered.

Question of some pondering for me was, then, why is this *the number 1 censored story* ? Well, if one thinks about it some, the connection is clear.

In order to maintain the powerbase of Washington DC, the USD must remain supreme, because it is by the power of the dollar that economic force is wielded around the world, and it is the power of the dollar that buys the military machine at the pointy end of Ferguson's comment.

Except, this party's over. Outside the media eye, for a decade now, the world has been easing gently over to a multicurrency future. Here's just more latest news:

Mexico has quietly purchased nearly 100 tons of gold bullion, as central banks embark on their biggest bullion buying spree in 40 years. The purchase, reported in monthly data published by Mexico’s central bank, is the latest in a series of large gold buys by emerging market economies intent on diversifying reserves away from the faltering US dollar. China, Russia and India have acquired large amounts of gold in recent years, while Thailand, Sri Lanka and Bolivia have made smaller purchases.

*Central banks became net buyers of gold last year after two decades of heavy selling* – a reversal that has helped propel the price of bullion to a series of record highs. On Wednesday gold was trading at about $1,510 a troy ounce, down 4 percent from a nominal record high of $1,575.79 reached on Monday.

As a result of Mexico’s purchase, central banks, sovereign wealth funds and other so-called “official sector” buyers are on track to record their largest collective purchase of gold since the collapse of the Bretton Woods system, which pegged the value of the dollar to gold, in 1971. GFMS, a precious metals consultancy, had predicted that the official sector would make net gold purchases of 240 tons this year, compared with a post-Bretton Woods peak of 276 tons in 1981.

So why slap the heavy stamp of censorship on such a boring finance story? No bodies, no blood, no bombs.

Because every day this story is unknown is another day without currency flight, and another day the current regime avoids the tough questions. It buys more time for *everything else* that is going on. E.g., one supposes, Obama's efforts to balance his budget, contain inflation, withdraw forces from land wars in Asia, and other tasks in the struggle for peace.

So, it's the number one story to censor because it is the number one story to those who are in a position to censor. For the rest of us, it isn't, it's just more humdrum and drone and 1 percent this and 2 percent that.

"And," as my local TV station closes every day without fail, "that's finance."

Posted by iang at June 1, 2011 06:36 AM | TrackBack