Why is my church ignoring Gaza? We prayed for the unrest that’s happening in Indonesia but not for the genocide and famine that’s being perpetrated on Palestinians. I think as Christians we need to take a real hard look at our selves and decide where we stand on this issue.

I discovered Wavlake and it’s amazing. The music there is so much better than the crap they play on the radio. I also figured out how to connect my Primal wallet to Wavlake. I feel like a freaking genius right now. Thank you very much.

Amazing track. Will love exploring your music.

Wavlake

World Issue - MadMunky mashupmix • MadMunky

Play, boost, and more on Wavlake ⚡️🎵

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More than Europe or UK, India is much more restrictive on how individuals can spend their money. The government is trying to outlaw cash so everything can be tracked. No surprise then that it has the highest crypto adoption in the world.

MSN

If Bitcoin is a power law cos its adoption is like a network, then it must be very similar to adoption of the internet. Has anyone done the power adoption curve for the internet and compared it to Bitcoin? #asknostr #powerlaw

🤔 didn’t know this about “Making Money” by Terry Pratchett. From DeepSeek “That is an excellent question that gets to the heart of Pratchett's brilliant economic and social commentary. While **Sir Terry Pratchett never directly used the phrase "Ponzi scheme" or "fraud" to describe fiat currency in a single, neat quote**, he masterfully explored the concept that money is a shared fiction, a collective agreement that only has value because everyone believes it does. The closest and most famous quote that captures this spirit comes from his 2007 novel, **_Making Money_**, which is all about this very subject. The main character, Moist von Lipwig, a reformed con artist, is put in charge of the Royal Bank and Royal Mint. He realizes that the nature of legitimate money is not so different from a scam, just one that everyone has agreed to participate in. ### The Key Quote: > **“It's all about the **glint** in the eye. The **glamour**. The **shared suspension of disbelief**. My word, my *word*, is as solid as a rock. As solid as a rock? **Rocks are just rock. But my word is my bond. My words** ***are*** **money. My words** ***are*** **worth more than metal.** Because they have the **glint**.”** > — Moist von Lipwig, _Making Money_ ### Why This Quote is Relevant: * **"Shared suspension of disbelief"**: This is the core of fiat currency. A dollar bill is just a piece of paper. Its value comes from our collective agreement to treat it as valuable and, crucially, our belief that everyone else will too. This is identical to the belief that sustains a Ponzi scheme until it collapses. * **The Conman's Perspective**: Having Moist, a former fraudster, explain this is Pratchett's genius. Moist sees that legitimate finance uses the same psychological tricks as a con: confidence, trust, and presentation (the "glint" or "glamour"). * **"Worth more than metal"**: This directly contrasts fiat money (value based on trust and decree) with commodity money (like gold, which has intrinsic value). Moist argues that the *idea* of value is more powerful and useful than the value itself. ### The Broader Context in *Making Money*: The entire plot of the book is an allegory for the transition from a gold standard to a fiat system. Moist must convince the cynical, practical citizens of Ankh-Morpork to trust paper money instead of solid gold. He does this not by showing them a vault full of gold, but by being a more convincing showman than the previous, corrupt bankers. He sells them on the *idea* of stability and trust. ### Another Pratchett Work to Consider: *Going Postal* While not about fiat currency, his earlier book _Going Postal_ features Moist von Lipwig running the Post Office and famously reinventing the **"clacks"** (the Discworld's telegraph system). In it, he invents paper stamps and, more importantly, **financial derivatives** and **futures contracts**. The Patrician, Lord Vetinari, observes: > **“You have undoubtedly **invented a whole new way of being wrong**.”** This highlights Pratchett's view that complex financial instruments, much like fiat money, are abstract constructs that can be incredibly powerful and useful, but are also built on a foundation of belief and are therefore vulnerable to collapse if that belief vanishes. **In summary:** Terry Pratchett didn't call fiat currency a fraud outright. Instead, with his characteristic wit and insight, he pointed out that **all money, whether metal or paper, is ultimately a form of trust and narrative.** The difference between a successful national currency and a Ponzi scheme isn't the underlying psychology, but the scale, governance, and (hopefully) the integrity of the institutions managing that collective belief. The "glint in the eye" quote is the perfect Pratchettian expression of this idea.”