The New 50 Dinar Note

A few days ago there was a story from Baghdad that could very well seal the fate of the IQD. The CBI confirmed that they're going to issue a new 50,000 dinar note marked as a 50. There is no question that this is a re-denomination, and if Iraq pursues this policy the IQD investment is officially a bust.

CBI will issue new denomination bills

BAGHDAD, Nov. 24 (AKnews) – The Iraqi Central Bank (ICB) has confirmed it will issue a new bill with a value of 50,000 IQD ($43 USD) but marked as 50 dinars.

Deputy chairman of the ICB Dr Muzher Saleh said the bank is working to issue this new money in addition to coins in both Arabic and Kurdish in an effort to address the liquidity problem in Iraq.

Economic adviser Abdul Hussein al-Ankabi said last September that this ploy to knock off some zeros will increase the phenomenon of money laundering.

The largest currency in the country is now 25,000 dinars and its purchasing power does not exceed $23 USD.

The new currency will include symbols that reflect the diversity of Iraqi sects and cultures including the Kurdish culture. “Iraq needs to support its economy and its currency through the issuance of a currency similar to foreign ones like the $100 bill,” Saleh added.

The main tasks of the ICB are to maintain price stability, implement monetary policy, manage reserves of foreign currency, issue and manage the currency and regulate the banking sector.

The inflation rate in Iraq stood at 7.3% in September.

http://www.aknews.com/en/aknews/2/274294/ 

The gurus might disagree but to me there is no doubt that Iraq is saying here that they intend to re-denominate rather than do a 1000+ to 1 RV.  You see, these gurus  have told us for a year and a half now that what they're really going to do is remove the bills with three zeros from circulation, revalue their currency, and issue new lower denominations that will coexist with the current denominations with one or two zeros which are the 50, the 250, and the 500.  Okay, there's a problem with that theory now if this story is true.  Iraq stated that they're going to issue a new bill marked as a 50, but they already have one that is marked as a 50.  We were led to believe that they would issue denominations that weren't currently in circulation like 1, 5, 10, 20, and 100 dinar notes.  But now they've said that they're going to introduce a new 50 that has the value of two of their 25K notes which comes to about $43.  The current 50 dinar note is worth less than a nickel.  So they're going to have one 50 worth $43 and another one worth $.043.  Obviously they can't be the same currency with the same mark of "50" on the bill so we're talking about a new currency with a new value and a new symbol and a new everything.  Two completely different currencies, folks.  In other words, an RD.  A lop!  Presumably this would be the first of several denominations of the new currency to be put in circulation while the others like the current 50 note are slowly removed from circulation.  They would likely start with the 50 because it's the least popular of all the bills currently in use.  It would take a thousand of them to purchase what the new 50 will.  This way they will be phasing out the unpopular 50s and pulling in the larger notes at the same time, and slowly building confidence in the new currency among Iraqis in the process.  My guess is that the next new bill would be a 20 to replace two of the current 10K dinar notes.  Since the current 25K is worth more than a new 20 would be it would be a bit more complicated to bring in 25K notes with it, so they start with the simplest first.  Makes sense

However, as this story made the rounds of the dinar forums a contradictory story was also posted stating that this was an old plan which has been discarded.

CBI source denies issuance of a 50,000 IQD

Denied a source in the Iraqi Central Bank Matnaqlth Alketronah some sites about the government’s intention to issue a class of Iraqi currency (50) thousand dinars

The source, who preferred anonymity in an interview (the citizen) that “the Iraqi currency is currently in the process of switching after lifting the three zeroes, and it is not possible to issue a new currency at the present time,” adding, “There was intent in the past to issue the currency of a large class to facilitate the deal, but the idea of ​​lifting the zeros replaced this idea or intention of the Iraqi Central Bank to issue currency of a new category,
“stressing that” the plans on the new version after the lifting of zeros take into account the issue of balance and the actual need for the trading currency (Cache), where there will be no less than 12 categories of including a number of mineral groups in addition to the paper, and certainly the last category will contain a large currency to facilitate the transactions as is the case in all countries of the world. “

Regarding the appointment process will raise the yolk between the “central bank ended a prepared full plans for change was submitted to the concerned authorities note that the issue of changing the currency was assigned to the Central Bank by the government which he is not a proposal or project adopted by the Bank and of course the decision of when to hold the process will be the prerogative of the party that adopts the project of any government. “

This has indicated some of the news sites about the intention of the Iraqi Central Bank to issue a new Iraqi currency of the class (50) thousand dinars

The deputy chairman of the Central Bank of the appearance of Dr. Saleh told the Kurdish news agency (Rn) that “the Iraqi Central Bank is working to issue a new currency, a large class (50) thousand dinars due to the lack of coins in a big country.”

Saleh pointed out that “the largest currency in the country is now (25) thousand dinars and the purchasing power it does not exceed $ 23.”

Saleh added that “the central bank is also working on a version of small coins to the lack of these
categories that facilitate the process of buying and dealing between citizens and the Iraqi market that you need to return to the small metal coins had some dealings with the Central Bank.”

Salih stressed that “the new currency will be in the Kurdish language in addition to Arabic and symbols reflect the civilization of Iraq and the diversity of sects and civilization, including the Kurdish culture.”

And Saleh stressed that “Iraq needs to support its economy and its currency through the issuance of currency, similar to major foreign currencies, including the $ 100 bills.”

Saleh added that “in the cash transactions in the Iraqi market, you need to finance the cash (cash) large and therefore difficult to transfer the money in the form of bags in case of large transactions.”

He cautioned that the “Iraqi banks do not accept deposits, sometimes because of the problems and the account number of the large amounts of money.”

The increased benefit of earlier Iraq was seeking to reduce the monetary mass (Cache) from 25 trillion dinars to 15 billion dinars. “Noting that” the central bank fixes the payments system in Iraq and the policy of the monetary authority. “

Saleh pointed out that “it will soon be through the issuance of new currency and the elimination of three zeros from the new currency.”

Salih stressed that “this action is an important part of the reform of currency management and will facilitate the payments system and the elimination of the vestiges of inflation, the former by treating the mass of a strong monetary and easy,” adding that “instead of have to deal with large amounts of money to buy a small quantity of goods, we will deal in a little money to buy a large quantity of goods. “

http://thecurrencynewshound.com/2011/11/21/cbi-source-denies-issuance-of-a-50000-iqd-as-it-was-an-old-plan-says-bank-in-process-of-switching/


So in the first story we have the deputy chairman of the CBI saying this new 50 will be introduced soon and in the second story an anonymous source says no, it's an old plan that was rejected.  As most IQD investors can attest this is common when it comes to the news from Iraq.  So who knows?  But I maintain that the bulk of the evidence supports a re-denomination which is described in the first story.  I suppose that there's still a chance that they're lying to us and actually intend to RV, but if they aren't lying to us the RV is toast, and all of these gurus are gonna have a lotta 'splainin to do.

This Week's Douchie Goes Tooooooo ....

KAPERONI!  Congrats kap.  You set the dinar world abuzz this week with your post on the ten reasons there won't be a lop, which seemed to do more harm than good to your viewpoint as people everywhere were discussing JayP's response and became more convinced than ever that a lop is indeed a possibility.  I think it's fair to say that none of us know whether Iraq will or won't lop, just like nobody knows the rate or date for any supposed upcoming RV.  So why make a post that says that they won't?  It sounds like pumping to me.  And then to include among your reasons that a lop is a devaluation?  Maybe you don't know the difference between "devaluation" and "demonetization".  Re-denominations are done after a currency has been devalued by hyperinflation which is the case with the IQD.  Demonetization is what happens to the old currency after it has been replaced by the new currency in a re-denomination.  If Iraq lops it will be a value neutral event.  No devaluation occurs.  The devaluation has already occurred over the past 30 years, which is why a re-denomination is needed.  This unfortunate bit of misinformation, along with your juvenile rebuttal to JayP earns you a spot in the Douchebags hall of shame.

I've read some of your analysis and listened to some of your commentary in the past kap, and I know that you're better than this.  Maybe winning a Douchie will inspire you to live up to your true potential in the future.  We can only hope.    

JayP Responds to Kaperoni's "10 Reasons"

In the past I have enjoyed some of Kaperoni's commentary on this investment, and have never really considered him a pumper.  Well the other day I read this post from Kap and IMO it moves him dangerously close to pumper status.

10 reasons why the IQD will not LOP

1. Monetary policy was a success talking inflation from 35% or higher to around 7% currently.
2. Any type of currency devaluation (LOP) is considered a failure of monetary policy. Dr. Shabibi has not failed.
3. Lesser value notes in circulation such as 50, 250, 500. Devaluing the larger 3 zero notes would make them worth less than these lesser notes.
4. Iraq wants the dinar to be an international reserve currency. Cannot devalue the notes in reserve (25,000), circulate them as payment, or traded amongst countries.
5. Iraq holds arguable the second largest oil reserves and is mineral rich. They are too wealthy to not honor the value stated on the notes.
6. Iraq has stated..They want the “strongest currency in the Middle East” Any such type of LOP would be a devaluation and therefore not considered strong.
7. US holds dinar as a result if funding the CBI initial reserves. This dinar will eventually payoff the war debt.
8. One of the authors of the currency exchange plan - Assistant Professor Dr. Fadel states in his documentation, “We must emphasize the extremely important issue is that if you remove three zeroes from the currency should not affect the actual value thereof to be trading in the old currency…
9. In 2003 when the NID was introduced at it’s initial rate, the previous currency was in essence devalued taking all wealth from the country to prevent funding of terrorism. Raising the currencies value will in essence, return that wealth now that the GOI is stable and economic conditions have improved.
10. The CBI has stated “both currencies will co-exist” and the process will not change the “monetary value” of the dinar. 

You don't have to be an expert on the IQD to see through these arguments.  I don't know JayP.  I don't even know if it's a man or a woman.  But the response is just about perfect.

Response to Kaperoni's 10 reason post

There was a post that was made by Kaperoni that I would like to address. I am not sure why he would post the things that he did here, as all of the reasons he posted just have no merit, and can easily be proved as false. I understand that it is important to keep site traffic in order to sell products to make money, but not at the expense of misinforming people about this investment, which can put a new investor that may not know better at financial risk.

I have posted a response for each of the reasons he provided. Please see my responses in Blue. I sincerely hope that I can clarify some of the misunderstandings that his post may have caused.

10 reasons why the IQD will not LOP

1. Monetary policy was a success talking inflation from 35% or higher to around 7% currently.

This is true, that the policies have in fact reduced inflation, so I will give Kap a nod on that one, but what is not true, is that this is a reason it will not redenominate. Let’s first make a distinction here, that there is no such thing as a “lop”, and it is just a made up word. The correct terminology is a redenomination, and a lop is NOT a devaluation, nor is a redenomination a devaluation.

That being said, historically, when a country redenominates, it is usually done as a sign that the inflationary period has ended, and why they usually will redenominate after hyper-inflation, not generally during that hyper inflationary period. In fact, it is more of a psychological thing than anything, as well as to ease the cash transactions with the smaller numbers. Now the important thing to keep in mind, is that this does not mean that high inflation cannot occur after a redenomination also, because it could, as it has happened in prior redenominations as well. A redenomination is not meant to resolve inflation, therefore this reason simply does not prove what he is trying to say.

2. Any type of currency devaluation (LOP) is considered a failure of monetary policy. Dr. Shabibi has not failed.

As stated in response to #1, a redenomination does not mean a devaluation. This is a statement that is simply NOT true. In fact, once a redenomination has occurred, the consolidated value of the Dinar could very well be just under, equal to, or over the dollar. For example, if a Dinar is currently .00086:1, then a 25K note is worth about 21.5 USD, and then in a case of a redenomination, if they were to move the decimal over 3 places, it would apply to all things the same, prices, rates, accounts, etc, therefore the new rate can potentially be .86, therefore after the decimal is moved over 3 places, 25 new dinars, would still be worth 21.5 USD. This shows NO devaluation has occurred, and the strength of the new currency has not changed once the zeros are deleted, just as they have stated in those articles we read.

In a redenomination, it would not mean Shabibi has failed, only succeeded in his plans that he has been saying he wanted to do all along. It is the govt right now that does not want him to follow through on his plans to redenominate at this point for reasons they gave of fears of corruption or counterfeiting in the process.

3. Lesser value notes in circulation such as 50, 250, 500. Devaluing the larger 3 zero notes would make them worth less than these lesser notes.

This is an interesting one, one that had me thinking when Kap started with this theory almost a year ago. Unfortunately, this holds no water, as in a redenomination, they do not just redenominate some notes, and not others. When they talk about the 3 zeros, what this actually means is the movement of the decimal point over 3 places. This would apply to all notes, accounts, prices alike. Please look up the terminology for a Homogenous function. You will see the definition of this there. You will also find that this is a term that is used in these 3 zero articles explaining the process as well. Please see the link below and you will see where it uses this term in the explanation of the process:

http://iraqdinar.us/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=28096

Now, here is a definition of Homogenous:
1: of the same or a similar kind or nature

2: of uniform structure or composition throughout homogeneous neighborhood>

3: having the property that if each variable is replaced by a constant times that variable the constant can be factored out : having each term of the same degree if all variables are considered homogeneous equation>

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/homogeneous

Here is another good explanation:

http://www.economics.utoronto.ca/osborne/MathTutorial/HOMF.HTM


4. Iraq wants the dinar to be an international reserve currency. Cannot devalue the notes in reserve (25,000), circulate them as payment, or traded amongst countries.

First, in this response, please see my response to #2. If the CBI were to redenominate, that does NOT mean a devaluation. That is 2 different things, but something those that want to distort the facts do not want you to realize.

2^nd, the rate does not determine tradeability. Last I checked, the Vietnam Dong at 21,000:1 is as good as any other currency, just takes a whole lot more Dong to do business with it. So I have to say, this reason, holds as much value as the Dinar or the Dong does right now!

5. Iraq holds arguable the second largest oil reserves and is mineral rich. They are too wealthy to not honor the value stated on the notes.

Are they wealthy with the Oil reserves, and mineral rich, sure, I will give him a nod on this one as well, but that does not mean that they would not redenominate. The determination to redenominate is not based on Oil reserves, and even if so, having the oil, and getting the oil out of the ground is 2 different things. In either case though, I disagree that there is so much Oil that they can just revalue 1000x the amount or more than they are at right now, not without reducing the money supply first, and this was even stated by the CBI themselves.

6. Iraq has stated..They want the “strongest currency in the Middle East” Any such type of LOP would be a devaluation and therefore not considered strong.

This again goes back to #2. A redenomination is NOT a devaluation. Prove that they are the same thing, and then this is something to consider, until then, I think that we should be a little more realistic.

7. US holds dinar as a result if funding the CBI initial reserves. This dinar will eventually payoff the war debt.

All I can say about this, is show the proof. I will be willing to entertain this idea, if someone, anyone can show any shred of evidence of this to be true.

Let me provide the link below:
http://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/tic/Documents/mfh.txt
This is from the US Treasury website showing the US Foreign Reserves. You will see that it does not indicate anywhere in here that is shows IQD holdings. There is a group called Oil Exporters. If you notice the 3/ next to the name that refers to the #3 at the bottom and it reads:
“3/ Oil exporters include Ecuador, Venezuela, Indonesia, Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar,
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Algeria, Gabon, Libya, and Nigeria.”

This means that the amount shown in the row for Oil Exporter nations consist of the combined holdings of all of those nations currency. So unless proof can be given that we hold as much Dinar as some would like to say, this is speculation at the very best, and nothing more. Using this as a basis as to why they would not redenominate would simply be wrong, and I hardly think that a guess at something should ever be used as proof of something, especially when the proof itself is not verifiable. I challenge everyone to ask Kap this question, and I would be willing to bet you would get banned for even asking the question. I know, because I did.. lol!!

The other point I would like to make on this is that, even if we did hold Dinar, if they were to redenominate, as I stated in prior responses, this would not be a devaluation, therefore it would not mean any loss for the US reserves, but it would also mean that it would not be paying for any wars, and for those that may have heard of the wars will pay for themselves rumors, this is not true, and Bush never said those words. I would challenge anyone to provide proof of the quote if they do believe this. In fact, I can provide you with precisely where I believe that rumor came from. It was actually a statement made by Wolfowitz in 2003 talking about Iraq using Oil to pay for their own reconstruction, and I believe some guru out there twisted this quote to what the rumor has become today, like a tall tale over the years. Here is the quote:
Wolfowitz: "We're dealing with a country that could really finance its own reconstruction." As Think Progress noted, then-Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz testified before Congress on March 27, 2003, that "the oil revenues of that country [Iraq] could bring between 50 and 100 billion dollars over the course of the next two or three years. Now, there are a lot of claims on that money, but that's --- we're not dealing with Afghanistan that's a permanent ward of the international community. We are dealing with a country that can really finance its own reconstruction and relatively soon."


8. One of the authors of the currency exchange plan - Assistant Professor Dr. Fadel states in his documentation, “We must emphasize the extremely important issue is that if you remove three zeroes from the currency should not affect the actual value thereof to be trading in the old currency…

Yes this was said, but please note what I stated in response to #2, in a redenomination, there is no affect on the purchase power, so I believe this to be accurate. In other words a 25K note worth .00086, and a 25 dinar note worth .86, they BOTH equal 21.5 USD, so a redenomination does NOT affect the actual value of their wealth, so this is no proof at all that they will not redenominate.

I would also like to mention a point about this author and what was said in this plan that Kap posted and spoke about:
2 - experiences of other countries: Moved from other countries suffered hyperinflation a similar course, particularly in Russia in the nineties of the last century. Turkey has also withdrawn (6) zeros from its currency without prejudice to the true value. Providing Treasury Secretary Turkish then Ali Babacan, Minister of Foreign Affairs the current bill to get rid of zeros six in the Turkish lira and by 2005, and resulted in inflation witnessed in Turkey that the price of one euro to one million and 7,820,333 Turkish liras,and Turkey has witnessed discussions on the adoption of such a wage-earners in the removal of six zeroes from the currency. And seem to rein in high inflation in Turkey is not only through the removal of zeros six of the Turkish currency for the first time succeeded the Turkish government in reducing the rate of inflation to the target set for the current year and of 19.3% and although this rate is high compared to other countries and the bill was introduced to the Prime Minister's Office to the application and began the application where it began trading currencies for a specified period after which the old currency was withdrawn and replaced the new currency.

http://dinaralert.webs.com/apps/forums/topics/show/6612064-assistant-professor-dr-fadel-punitive-a-special-article-economic-forum-uae-

So as you can see, even in this plan that Kap talked about, he failed to mention this part where they even talk about a redenomination, and mention Turkey and what they did.

I will also add from this post:
3 - the possible effects of this procedure The phenomenon of rising prices in the world is caused mainly by the decline in currency values ​​and thus lower the purchasing value. And your conception that the best remedy for these reflections on the psychology of the Iraqi individual and the market is in the drafting of a new Iraqi currency prices are back with the logical relationship between the cost of the real item and the selling price based on the market. The write-off three zeros from the Iraqi currency is tantamount to re-price their nature and reduce the size of the introduction of inflation growing, and perhaps the best example of the Turkish experience.The written off after six zeros to become with him a million pounds and the only one and the same purchasing power for the previous million, it became possible to purchase Blairh one was in the past one million pounds.
The abolition of the zeros from the currency, which inevitably suffer from inflation will limit the negative effects of the current world of hyperbole in the prices of goods and services and will return for the currency balance and weight.
That such a decision, if adopted by the Iraqi government, he would not return to the Iraqi currency value based upon, but will reflect as well as the flexibility of the economy and his movement in the right direction for that from our analysts economists to look seriously for this phenomenon by holding seminars and conferences to form through which the views of access to rein in inflation and a rise in prices and the return of the Iraqi currency to the value of real and normal.

Please read this for yourselves, and you will see what this plan is really sayng.
The omission of three zeroes of the Iraqi currency to achieve the following objectives: 1 - to fight inflation, 2 - support the banking system
3 - help to know the size of the wealth distribution and how 4 - banking system's ability to control liquidity, 5 - create financial surpluses are used in financing 6 - to increase awareness of the banking system.

Unfortunately, this contradicts Kaps own theory.


”9. In 2003 when the NID was introduced at it’s initial rate, the previous currency was in essence devalued taking all wealth from the country to prevent funding of terrorism. Raising the currencies value will in essence, return that wealth now that the GOI is stable and economic conditions have improved.

I am sorry, but this one really is laughable. The fact of the matter, is that this one, is absolutely untrue and inaccurate. In fact, let me provide some proof that I have that proves this one to be untrue. Please see the below link:

http://treasury.un.org/operationalrates/Details.aspx?code=IQD&currency=Iraqi+Dinar&country=Iraq

This goes back to Dec 2001. Please see the rate as of Dec 2001: 2023:1 .. yep, that is Dec 2001, well before the NID was introduced, or before we even ever invaded Iraq. The fact and reality is that the currency was being devalued years prior to the NID. In fact, the rate right now is almost twice as high as it was back then PRIOR to the new notes being changed. This was due to inflation, and why the amount of dinars that were being printed were printed. So it would be very wrong to use this as any proof that they would not redenominate, and in fact, only further provide proof that they need to reduce the money supply by redenominating.

10. The CBI has stated “both currencies will co-exist” and the process will not change the “monetary value” of the dinar.

This is entirely possible depending on the exchange process. Romania for example did the same thing, and Iraq even used Romania as one of the examples or models to their plans. There was a time, for about 18 months, where during the exchange period people would be able to use either the old or the new currency for a period of time, and prices were adjusted based on if they paid with the old or new currency, moving the decimal over on the price. Please see the link below that shows an example of a price tag in Romania based on the ROL (old currency) or the RON (new currency).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Romania_revalue_tag.jpg

The CBI themselves used Romania as an example of what they intend to do.

If the intent here is to prove that a redenomination cannot happen, then unfortunately, I think that there will need to be a better attempt at it than this, and a bit more solid proof than this that is for sure.

I do believe that maybe they can just revalue without needing to redenominate, and that is what I hope for in this as everyone else, I am in this to gain just like everyone. While I do hope for the very best though, I also need to be honest with myself, and everyone else. I think giving hope is a wonderful thing, but distorting the facts, or the truths to give hope is not the way to go about it though.

Kap's intentions may be sincere, and I truly hope that is the case, but I think that in order to be fair, and to be honest with his members, he should either show some real proof that a redenomination cannot happen, proof much stronger than this, or openly admit that it really is a very strong possibility that we all should keep under consideration, and think about.

The only thing that I would add is in regard to point #6.  Yes, Iraq has stated that they want their currency to be the strongest in the region.  But that doesn't mean that they can't get there via a lop.  If they RD (lop) and then RV around a dollar and then allow the value to increase over the years as their country stabilizes and their economy grows it's quite possible that in 10 years their currency could indeed be the most valuable in the region.  If everything goes right.  So far many things haven't.  Whether that happens or not is irrelevant as to the question of the lop.   They can have the region's most valuable currency without making IQD speculators millionaires with a 1000 to 1 RV.

Thanksgiving Turkeys

Just a quick note to remind everybody not to believe the BS being thrown out by these pumpers.  These douchebags turkeys are always on the clock, so if they're not taking the day off I shouldn't either I suppose.


Bluwolf  -  "there is no problem with the rv's...but we wait on Washington...it’s your government who are the ghosts with their hands in the cookie jar it is not your president...deadline was today so let’s see if the executive law falls into place and the wheels start rolling with this rv... China is coming in high and so will the rest... Happy Thanksgiving all be blessed."

The U.S. Govt has nothing to do with triggering or holding up the RV.  RVs happen all the time and they are the result of policy decisions by the respective nation's government and central bank.



Freeway Bill  - "Lot of things shaking all over the world this morning. We have confirmation that there are high rollers cashing in in Dubai and Switzerland at a "hedge" rate which means that the banks are offering a rate around $ 4 because they know the rate will be higher...Pray and have a Happy Thanksgiving!!!"

Nobody is cashing in in Dubai or Switzerland or anywhere else.  This is an old "rumor" ("lie" is more like it) with a hedge twist.  The new value isn't going to be $4 let alone higher, and if you believe this rubbish then you deserve to be jerked around by these douchebags turkeys.  Notice how he throws in the religious reference at the end to suggest to people of faith that he's one of them. 



Jonnywg  -  "no windows or doors left - this is the end of the road - O releases or BIS takes over...we do not know when the BIS will take over...china, iraq and the IMF forced O to the limit...He did get extensions that have now expired and we expect the rv at any moment...it could be soon and it will be immediate...it could show up in the banks and yes i will have banks screens available to me all day today and i will report all changes...i do believe that we will see either the cbi rate or the ust rate in the banking system today"

Obama has nothing to do with holding up the RV.  I do agree that we will see the CBI rate today.  My guess is it will be around 1170 dinar to $1 USD.



Jonnywg  -  "we feel that the RV is the next step after the UST were removed from the lockdown...if we do NOT see it by this Friday, your guess is as good as mine...we are looking at 3.41 to 7.09...we have no knowledge of where the rate will go in three months...Hope y'all have a great...Thanksgiving"

Lockdown my arse.  This guy's just trying to cover his backside to explain all of the previous bad intel.  As for the rate, I'd say the rate will probably be around 1170 dinar to $1 USD.  Just a wild ass guess.


Okie_Oil_Man  -  "I WANT TO WISH EACH OF YOU A WONDERFUL THANKSGIVING TODAY.  THIS IQD JOURNEY APPEARS NEAR AN END AND QUITE SOON."  

Thanks for taking a break from the rate and date crapola Smokie.  Happy Thanksgiving everybody!

Reducing the Money Supply

In May of 2010 Iraq announced the removal of 70% of excess liquidity.  This news was welcomed enthusiastically by dinar gurus.  Some reported to their followers that the RV was just around the corner because the money supply in Iraq had been reduced by 70% which would only leave what?  6-9 trillion dinar in circulation?  Do the math, folks.  Six trillion times $.000855 = $5,130,000,000 USD in circulation, down from a presumed money supply of around $25 billion USD.  This article came out a year and a half ago.  So if the gurus were right we have to conclude that for the past eighteen months the Iraqi people have been getting by on roughly a fifth of the money supply they had a couple of years ago with no increase in value.  Does that make sense?  Other gurus claimed that the 70% reduction meant that Iraq had pulled in 70% of the larger denominations.  That makes no sense either, because it would mean that for eighteen months now Iraqis have been trying to conduct their daily transactions with mostly lower denominations which are worth less than half a dollar.  Can you imagine buying a $200 TV set with 400 or more bills?  Isn't it far more likely that the term "excess liquidity" doesn't mean what these armchair economists think it means?

QFINANCE.com defines "excess liquidity" as: Cash in bank exceeding required amount  
cash held by a bank above what is required by the regulatory authorities

A reduction in excess liquidity is simply a matter of moving money from the banking institutions into the private sector to encourage investment in the economic development of the country and combat inflation.  It has NOTHING to do with reducing money supply, folks.   

Time and time again I have talked with people who are actually in Iraq and asked them if they have seen any change in the availability of the higher denominations ... the 1K, 5K, 10K, and 25K, notes?  I always get the same response.  No changes.

I'm no economist.  And I can't speak Arabic.  But I can read English, and "excess liquidity" does not mean what many people in the dinar world are being led to believe.  Once again, inexperienced currency investors are being misled by either ignorant or opportunistic dinar dealers, pumpers, and gurus a.k.a. .... douchebags!

A few weeks ago an article came out saying that Iraq has 4 trillion in circulation and the overnight millionaire crowd cited that as proof that Iraq is reducing their money supply and that their view of this investment is right.  Then last week an article came out saying that Iraq intends to reduce their money supply from 25 trillion dinar to 15 billion dinar and the same people cite this as proof that their view is right.  So which is it?  Have they already reduced it or do they simply intend to reduce it?  You can't have it both ways, guys.

One thing I think we can all agree on is that Iraq can't RV at even $1 let alone $2 or $3 with 25 trillion dinar in circulation.  Speculators alone hold trillions of dinar.  Add that to the trillions being held by the Iraqi people and the CBI and you can see the problem here.  Iraq needs their money supply to get to less than 1 trillion to even think about a $1 RV. 

The fact is Iraq hasn't significantly reduced their money supply at all, but they need to in order to simplify cash transactions and in order to get their people to quit using the USD.  Thus the news articles to that effect.  Now they are saying that they will reduce the money supply down to 15 billion dinar.  How do you suppose they will accomplish that?  The only way that I can see is for them to redenominate as numerous other countries have done after they recovered from periods of hyperinflation as Iraq has.  In other words, issue all new currency and render the former currency invalid.  Speculators would then have to turn in their IQD for a new currency during the allotted time frame.  

If you take 25 trillion and multiply it by the current value of $.00086 you get the current money supply which is roughly $21.5 billion USD.  Then you take the proposed money supply figure of 15 billion and divide that into the $21.5 billion and you get roughly $1.43, provided no further RVs in the equation.  So it appears to me that the only way to accomplish their stated intention of removing three zeros from their currency, de-dollarizing, easing cash transactions, and arriving at a new money supply of 15 billion dinar is for them to issue all new currency at a new rate of $1.43 which would mean that dinar speculators would make a profit of 50-200% prior to subtracting the exchange fees.  Better than a kick in the backside but hardly the overnight millionaire status that many have been promoting.

Is this what they're going to do?  Who knows with the Iraqis?  But if they reduce the money supply to 15 billion dinar as is their stated intention I can assure you nobody will become a millionaire overnight by holding IQD.

This Week's Douchie Winner - Checkmate

There were many good candidates for this week's douchebag award affectionately referred to as "The Douchie".  Some guy at DV named GoFast350z said his uncle who dines frequently with the Bush family in Dallas called him and said the RV is done.  Then there was Purplehelmet300 again with the $8 rubbish.  Breitling read an article that clearly described an RD/RV and said it proves no lop.  Then there were the regular clowns like jonnywg and bulldog recycling old "mosque announcement" rumors and such.  Nothing really grabbed me until I read this from Dan Atkinson at PTR a.k.a. Checkmate:

11-15-2011  Checkmate "We're hearing this is over. Believe we are extremely close.  By no means am I saying there will be delays, but we know its possible to be put off longer. I really, really believe this has to be done because of the economy.  For the first time I can honestly say I believe we're in the week."

 LOL!!!  The first time?  You've been saying that for a year, mate!  Or maybe you meant that it was the first time you believed it and you were lying all of the other times?  So which is it, Dan?  Were you lying then or are you lying now?  Either way you're a lying DOUCHEBAG! 

Stardogger Site

A few days ago I wrote a post entitled "Hot Tubs and Dinar" about the former owner of Stardogger.  Well I just received an email from the current owner that I would like to share, along with my thanks for his support of our efforts.

-Sam

------------------------------------------------


My name is M___ ______, owner of stardogger.net/com. I purchased our site from the crook Steve Lanny that you have made reference to in your blog. I want you to know that we run a clean..non-pumping Dinar site, we only provide legitimate info for our members to review and suggest that they decide for themselves what is accurate, or trustworthy. Steve has no affiliation or connection to our site what-so-ever. I have personally banned all 13 of his usernames and he is not welcome in any way on our site. I have owned this site for better than a year and a half now, but I find myself constantly plagued by his bad name and wrong doings, please reflect that in your blog and effort to "call out" the pumping bullshitters. I applaud your efforts to stop the false bs that is portrayed as fact by these pumpers. Thank you for your time and I hope that you will set the record straight for me. Take care.

Sincerely, M___, aka dbcooper

A Couple of Clarifications

It was brought to my attention that I have been accused of fabricating my story about meeting with pumpers in my post "The Douchebag Summit".  Yes, I admit that I made it all up.  It's called satire.  That's a literary approach where you .... aw hell, look it up.  Anyway, I assumed that people would understand what I was doing but apparently some didn't.  I guess I should have added a disclaimer.  Sorry for the oversight.

Also, it was mentioned that I go too far with namecalling.  Well I suppose that's a valid point, but I chose to name the blog "Dinar Douchebags" because it seemed appropriate given the nature of what pumpers are doing in exploiting people who are gullible or even worse, desperate.  It also seemed to have a certain edge to it that would help from a marketing standpoint.  What's the point in doing a blog if nobody reads what you have to say?  I want to make it clear though, that I don't call everybody who disagrees with me a "douchebag".  There are many good people out there invested in the dinar with viewpoints that I don't share who fall far short of douchebaggery.  To my recollection the only chap that I've called a douchebag with no evidence of monetary compensation was Phoenix, and actually I still haven't labeled him a pumper or a douchebag.  But his commentary is so far out there in ganjaland that I felt that he deserved a Douchie Award.  But even when I gave it to him I called him a wackjob rather than a douche.

Anyway I'll try to do a better job on both accounts, although I do feel that my readers bear a certain amount of responsibility in using their own discernment.  I mean, do you really think I'd take a couple of bouncers with me to Toledo, Ohio to meet with a bunch of dinar douchebags?
     

Hot Tubs and Dinar

This is an older story from long before I started this blog, but I feel that it's important to share these stories for the benefit of those who haven't been around so long and aren't aware of just how many crooks there are in the dinar world.

"Forty-eight year old Steve Todd Lanni of Houston appeared before U. S. District Judge Keith Ellison this past Thursday. He pleaded guilty to defrauding forty-six customers of $191,000.00 in a scam perpetrated on eBay. Under the guise of his company, Factory Direct Spas, Lanni sold hot tubs on eBay throughout the U. S. and Europe. Lanni’s business was located near I-10 and Beltway 8 in west Houston.

Lanni began selling units on eBay in 2004. At that time, he purchased the tubs from an out of state manufacturer. In early 2005, Lanni stopped purchasing tubs and began making them in a warehouse in Houston. He advertised them on eBay at fifty to seventy percent below retail value. He would require customers to wire payment prior to delivery to his bank accounts or to send a cashier’s check, money order or personal check by overnight delivery before production would begin on the hot tub. He would then promise delivery on the unit within six to eight weeks. After that time period would pass, he not only failed to deliver the tubs, but he would provide excuses as to why they were not delivered. He even used Hurricanes Katrina and Rita as excuses for causing interruptions in production. Lanni is accused of using the money he received to pay for his lavish lifestyle that included trips around the world, for visits to strip clubs, for expensive cigars, clothing, and massages, and for dining at expensive Houston area restaurants, spending as much as $300.00 dollars per day on meals.

An investigation was opened following complaints filed with the Houston Police Department and the Internet Crimes Complaint Center and was conducted jointly with the FBI’s Houston Area Cybercrimes Task Force and the U. S. Postal Inspection Service.

Lanni faces up to twenty years in federal prison and a $250,000.00 fine along with up to three years supervised probation upon release. He was also ordered to pay restitution to his customers. He was released on bond pending sentencing on February 23, 2010."  
www.examiner.com

Who is Steve Todd Lanni? Well according to this post at Dinar Outcast he's the owner of the dinar site Stardogger.  (Note: He was the owner at the time it was written.  Stardogger has had a new owner since mid-2010 as is noted below in ADDENDUM.)

"Some things have come to my attention that I feel I must share with you.
As most of you know me, I will not put out false information. I have struggled with sending this out but after I heard stardogger aka Steven Todd Lanni, last night on his trust conference call, tell all of the fine people on that call to send him (stardogger) all of their personal information and that he would forward it on to the attorney I felt that I have to let everyone of you know who stardogger really is.
First all of the information that I am sharing with you is public information and is factual and the documentation is there to confirm it.
Stardogger is Steven Todd Lanni from Houston Tx. This has been confirmed by people that personally know him. I will let the documentation speak for the rest of the story.
I am posting some links below and I have also attached a zip file with some additional information for you, however you can do your own google search and find out much more.
There is also a public file from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice that shows where Steve's brother Kenneth has recently been sentenced to 5 years for the same types of crimes.
The reason I am doing this is that I do not want to see anyone of you harmed in any way." 

So once again it seems that a lowlife douchebag crook was able to emerge as a leader in the dinar community.  A fitting reminder to always be vigilant, cautious, and skeptical to the claims of people you don't know who are nothing more than faceless posters on dinar forums.

11/18/2011 ADDENDUM: I just received this email from the current owner of Stardogger

My name is M____, owner of stardogger.net/com. I purchased our site from the crook Steve Lanny that you have made reference to in your blog. I want you to know that we run a clean..non-pumping Dinar site, we only provide legitimate info for our members to review and suggest that they decide for themselves what is accurate, or trustworthy. Steve has no affiliation or connection to our site what-so-ever. I have personally banned all 13 of his usernames and he is not welcome in any way on our site. I have owned this site for better than a year and a half now, but I find myself constantly plagued by his bad name and wrong doings, please reflect that in your blog and effort to "call out" the pumping bullshitters. I applaud your efforts to stop the false bs that is portrayed as fact by these pumpers. Thank you for your time and I hope that you will set the record straight for me. Take care.

Sincerely, M___, aka dbcooper

This Week's Douchie Winner - Phoenix

In reviewing this week's dinar nonsense I noticed jonnywg was once again going to great lengths to show everybody just how on top of every minute detail of the RV he is.  But he has already won a couple of Douchies so I skipped over him.  Then there was purplehelmet300 from Okie's site, making a valiant effort at earning his first Douchie.  I even got an email from a well known guru/analyst asking if he could win the Douchie.  No fair campaigning.  You have to earn it based on douchebaggery.

So after much consideration the one who stood out above all others was Phoenix, the host of the Blogtalk radio broadcast Gimme Shelter.  I jokingly stated a while back that I'm waiting to see him start interviewing psychics ala Coast to Coast with Art Bell (or whoever is hosting it these days).  Well on Tuesday Phoenix did indeed conduct an interview with an oddball preacher/astronomer named Mr. Comet Watch.  I kid you not.

The next night he kicked it off with this quote from Dr. Seuss:

Today you are you, that is truer than true
There is no one alive who is youer than you.

Now of course I have no problem with Dr. Seuss.  In fact I took my pen name "Sam I Am" from the guy.  But there's a time and place for everything, and injecting a quote from Dr. Seuss during a broadcast about world currencies and the Iraqi dinar in particular struck me as more than a bit odd.  

Then he went on to recite a litany of good news during his "Sunshine" broadcast, including the statement that Shabibi is on record as saying that the #1 tool that they have for combating inflation is adjusting the exchange rate.  And with the recent announcement of a rising inflation rate in Iraq surely we can expect them to take action soon.  However, any casual observer to the history of the IQD over the past 8 years can see that their previous adjustments to the exchange rate in fighting inflation were not 1000 to 1 upward RVs but a ratio of less than 2 to 1.  While we would all welcome any increase in the dinar's value, nobody is going to get rich off of an adjustment like that.   

Now I can overlook the Dr. Seuss thing and the pumper-like reference to inflation triggering the RV, but then on Saturday night he completely took leave of his senses.  Starting off with a quote from Ann and the Angels:

My dear friends, we love you so very much.  Each one of you is special, precious, and unique in our eyes. In the heavens we never identify you with you circumstances, your thoughts, and your moods. Instead we see you as the beautiful and courageous souls that you truly are. For indeed it takes courage to be upon your earth at this time. Mother earth herself is stirring, rumbling, trying to awaken her children to the fact that you are all one human race. She wishes for nothing more than her children to get along peacefully with one another, or at least, to find peace within their own hearts. And so, dear friends, the greatest gift you can give the world, and the greatest honor you can shower upon your Creator, is the gift of being yourself. And being yourself includes, not only finding ways to express your gifts and talents, and authentically expression your truths, but most of all being "yourself" means being the loving being that you truly are.


Now for those of you who don't know, "Ann" is Ann Albers, an angel communicator, modern mystic, and traditional Reiki master.  So Phoenix is taking up valuable air time quoting from this ditz who thinks she's delivering messages from angels.  WTH?  He then proceeded to launch into a lengthy discussion of EMP, or Electro Magnetic Pulse.  WTF???   

I have refused to label Phoenix a douchebag in the past because I never saw any evidence that he was making any money off of his commentary, but now I think I have finally figured Phoenix' shtick out.  My theory is that he was riding the IQD wave long enough to build his own following so that he could become the Art Bell of the internet.  He knew that a lot of conspiracy nuts and wackos were attracted to this investment and he talked about the impending RV of the Iraqi dinar long enough to (according to him) become the #1 broadcaster on Blogtalk Radio.  Shrewd Phoenix.  Very shrewd.

If I had a Loony Award I would gladly bestow one upon him, but all I have is a Douchie so that's what he gets.  With most gurus we say don't drink the koolaid.  In Phoenix' case I think we should say put the bong away.  What a wackjob!

The Montana Trail (part 2)

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

The Montana Trail (part 1)

In researching Adam Montana from Dinar Vets I have come to some conclusions.  First, according to Adam's friend sonny1 Adam used to be a moderator on Med's original site Dinar Veterans.  When sonny1 and Med had a falling out a couple of years ago sonny1 wrote:

"how can anyone follow him, HE HAS NEVER BEEN RIGHT. all he does is ban people for being right, I want this to happen as bad as anyone i do, but this info today about a gag order in the banking system is a complete joke and 100% untrue after i pissed myself laughing today after hearing this from Adam Montana who is a mod on med x's site I called a legit banker and after she got done laughing she told me that it was totaly made-up or the person saying this was an idiot"

That was posted a couple of years ago at Dinar Vets.  So we know that Adam had some time to work alongside one of the most popular (at that time) dinar site operators on the web and learn from him.  Now, I think it's very interesting that Adam's forum is named Dinar Vets and was created after he left Med's original site Dinar Veterans.  Equally interesting is that Adam's blog Dinar Speculation is remarkably similar to the name of Med's new site Dinar Speculator.

A visit to the Iraqi Dinar Money review of Adam's site Dinar Speculation will show you that Adam is extremely proficient at building a network of websites for the purposes of online marketing.  We have to assume from this that Adam has a background in this field.  That IMO is what sets him apart from the others who more or less just throw a forum together and hope people will show up.   

In this video you'll hear the interviewer say that Adam basically just takes his intel from Med.  While this is done in jest, it's based on the belief among many that this is how Adam got his start in the online dinar community, and that he is far from being an expert on the dinar.  They feel that he basically just copied from Med and others and then took his knowledge of internet marketing and built the largest dinar network on the web over the last two years.

During this time the Adam Montana character has evolved.  Now he's a Harvard grad.  He's married to a CPA.  He's a licensed Series 65 investment adviser.  He is a savvy investor who profited bigtime on the Kuwaiti dinar and Google.  He's a well connected entrepreneur who has a contact at the CBI.  And yet somehow despite his impressive resume he feels the need to remain anonymous, which means that he can't provide any evidence to back up his claims.     

Well as many of you know we here at Douchebags insist that the dinar world is full of con artists.  When we see somebody like this making such bold claims without revealing their true identity it sends up red flags and our BS meter maxes out.  So we set out to find the straight dope on Mr. Montana and have discovered many interesting things.  Those results will be posted soon so stay tuned.

This Week's Douchie Winners - TonyTNT & Jonnywg

In case you haven't heard, David from Trinidad (dtmc) at Revalue.US announced this week that he's hanging it up as a guru and will now be a dinar dealer.  I always considered David a straight shooter but now I have to wonder if he was just pretending, or has he decided that this RV thing isn't going to happen and the only way to recoup his money is to get on the receiving end as a dealer?  I thought about giving this week's Douchie to him but in the end I decided that I can't really blame him.  After all I'm making a little money (keyword here is LITTLE) with my blog.  This is a capitalist country so I don't begrudge anybody making a buck off the dinar as long as they're honest about it.  I'll be keeping an eye on ol' Dave.

So after eliminating David I read through the other crap that was posted this week and two names jumped out at me.  The first was from our old friend TonyTNT at People's Talk Radio (PTR).

11/1/2011 - Trigger has been pulled for over a week now. Things done at banking level...we are about to see it... Everything is good. If  I ever said 99.999999999% before, this time you can believe it...We have never been here where we are. We have never been at this place, that's what makes today different!  We're that close. Just waiting. Could be before or shortly after sunrise. Definitely will see it before sunset tomorrow. JMO, thats the info, and I'm sticking to it! I truly feel we are at the end, pot of gold at end of rainbow.

Explain to me how the trigger has been pulled but the rate is the same?  Was there a misfire?  But wait!  Tony had more to say today ....

11/5/2011 - " I said if the baby was not born by Thursday, there would be a C section performed. I have received information that indicates that is still the case. There is a time and date for this to take place and it is not as far as you may think or as far as some would think or as far as some would have you believe."  

"As of 3am this morning UST personnel were called and were locked down and BIS people were called in and between 3am and 6am every agency that as something to do with this RV has been called in and they are all locked down…look at the end of the G-20 as it was part of what held this up and it is what is making this GO now… its all settled now.  I am very happy and excited and still looking for some very good things to happen in the near future and you know me this is NOT A WEEK away – but VERY near future…the info we are getting is good and people are excited and are in fact saying that this time is the time for real." 

I wish to God that somebody would lock this DB down and throw away the key. Tony has been shoveling this BS out ever since he and Dan "Checkmate" Atkinson decided to do unauthorized conference calls at Dinar Vets a year ago as a way of creating their own following. 

The other one was from jonnywg, also at PTR.   

11/2/2011 - THE SCREENS ARE IN AN UPDATE PROCESS...WE FEEL THAT MUCH INFO WILL COME OUT TONIGHT...I CAN QUOTE YOU many rates but 3.68 still sticks...however our top soures still say it will end at 8.47...I WILL RETURN    FOR A LATER UPDATE.


You weren't content to throw the absurd $3.68 out there, huh jon?  Had to add the wayyyyy too absurd $8.47 at the end?  The latest figure we've heard on the money supply in Iraq is 4 trillion dinar.  This would put their total money supply in Iraq at over $30 trillion USD!  Then you have to add the dinar outside of the country.  And all of that from a country with a GDP of a little over $100 billion.  Do numbers mean anything at all to you, douchebag?

Congrats to TonyTNT and jonnywg.  I'd like to give an honorable mention to a new guru named  Purplehelmet300 at Okie's site.

11/4/2011 - Dont have an exact date - just within days!.. 8+...high rate GBP and within days. Hope that sums it up! 

You're a total douchebag!  Hope that sums it up for you.  Keep it up and I'm sure you'll have a Douchie of your own some day. 

Donations and Dinars

Something that has really caused me concern in the dinar world is the number of posts to collect money for various causes and events.  Many are set up to support a relative of a member of the site, and people feel compelled to help because they consider those members "family".  Something that people need to remember is that most of the people we're dealing with are just names on computer screens.  In my opinion you should never donate one dollar to anybody you haven't met in real life.  Don't let anybody guilt you into making a donation.  If the cause is legit the friends and family members ought to be able to collect the necessary funds from people in their communities rather than from strangers online.

A while back there was a collection of $25 per person for everybody who wanted to attend a post-RV event in San Francisco.  Some of those people are still trying to get their money back.  Then there was a fund for surviving family members of the brother of a regular member at a dinar forum.  Don't know what ever became of that money.  On another site there's a plea for donations for a member's injured child that hasn't been updated for eight months.  And yet another site has a fund for injured veterans.  There are many injured veteran funds out there of course, but it's easy for people who are members of this site to just send their donations to the people they're already following for intel and analysis on the dinar.  We are creatures of habit, after all.

I'm not saying that these are all fraudulent, but I have never donated to any nor would I.  As we have proven here the dinar world has an abundance of scammers and con men looking for prey.  It's just too difficult to ensure that the cause is legit and that the money goes for the intended purpose.

Tonight I heard about a new one .... kind of a hybrid cancer victim fund/MLM scheme with a $7 investment.  Supposedly this person was a mod at a popular dinar site who contracted thyroid cancer and was given a 50/50 chance of survival.  She had no health insurance so a fund was started to pay for her treatment.  The author of the plea said that if we wait too long she could die.  How's that for manipulation?  Boy, and you thought you were pressured into buying dinar in a hurry.  Again, this might sound heartless but ask yourself why these people need to turn to faceless strangers for donations?         
 
It's a well known practice in the business world to return to former customers in your marketing.  The same is true in the non-profit world and donations.  And I feel that the same is true with dinars.  People who were gullible enough (sorry if that offends - I bought some too by the way) to buy into the idea that they could turn $1000 into $1,000,000 are believed to be gullible enough to donate to a fraudulent charity or event.  If you believe that the dinar is a good investment then IMO you should limit yourself to it, and not all of the other products and causes that are offered from people who sell or promote the dinar.

Apologies to Neno and Joe P

This is my first blog effort, and I've made a few mistakes since launching Dinar Douchebags in September.  In two cases I had reservations that I didn't act on.  The first one was when I posted a photo of Neno from Neno's Place on the page "The Pumpers".  Apparently in the past Neno's Place was known as a hangout for dinar pumpers, but apparently those people have moved on to other locations over the last few years.  I didn't know much about him and was going by something I read online about him being a pumper for Ali.  There were also accusations of him being in cahoots with Okie.  After I posted it I started reading some things that he said on www.realscam.com and saw that in the past he had worked for a company that turned out to be a scam and wanted to distance himself from scammers, and that he had worked hard to maintain some integrity on his forum.  He then contacted me and told me the same things that he told the scam watchers, so I removed him from "The Pumpers" and would now like to offer a sincere apology to Neno.

The other case was in my recent post "Gurus and Goodbyes".  The only photo I had of Joe P was the one from the People's Dinar site of him and his wife.  I thought about having his wife cropped out of the photo since she's not really an issue here, but I didn't think that would look right.  I also considered trying to find another photo without her that I could use.  I was kind of pressed for time and I wanted to go ahead and post what I had written though, so I used the photo with his wife.  Bad judgment on my part.  Joe quickly contacted me and demanded that I remove it.  Even though he was the one who put that photo out on the internet originally, I felt that he had a point so I had the photo digitally altered to remove her image.  I stand by my comments about Joe P (good and bad), but I do apologize for including his wife in the original photo.

I feel that reporting on gurus and pumpers requires a certain amount of toughness, so I'm prepared to be called names and threatened.  You're bound to piss a lot of people off doing this.  However I also want to be fair, and avoid needlessly offending people.  In the future I will try to be more attentive to the voice in my head telling me to reconsider.