Exploring carbon tax and green washing initiatives throughout ASEAN, the investors, the players, and how governments intend to move from 'voluntary' adherence to 'mandatory compliance'.
There's a Dean Koontz novel in which a rich character is involved in "save Gaia" scams. I really wish I could remember which book it was or even what the plot had to do with, but here's the excerpt I kept from it:
“He held binding commitments from three tribes in remote parts of Africa, which required them to plant huge numbers of trees and to continue living without running water, electricity, and oil-powered vehicles. The environmental damage they didn’t do could then be sold to movie stars, rock musicians, and others who were committed to reducing pollution but who were required, by the nature of their professions, to have humongous carbon footprints. He also sold carbon offsets to himself through an elaborate structure of LLPs, LLCs, and trusts that afforded him tremendous tax advantages. Best of all, he didn’t have to share any of the carbon-offset income with the African tribes because they didn’t exist.”
The paragraph preceding the excerpt you referenced: “Billy believed in fun. Fun was the central doctrine of his philosophy. For him, having a giant carbon footprint was essential to having fun.”
Perhaps I’ll look into Dean Koontz’s connections. Predictive programming in books is common as it is in films and TV shows. Or was he a prophetic writer who saw the writing on the wall and tried to warn us about the carbon credit scam? I’ll add this to my reading list after I have finished ‘The Tyranny of Words’ by Stuart Chase [link to this book available to digitally borrow via Internet Archive library: https://archive.org/details/B-001-003-912]. Thanks again!
Thanks as well for the tip on Stuart Chase. I'll try it.
Have you read Richard K. Mitchell's Less Than Words Can Say? He's got three others that are just as brilliant: The Gift of Fire, The Graves of Academe, and The Leaning Tower of Babel. As someone who recently waded through the WHO's brain dead propaganda, you'd probably enjoy his defense of precision in language:
"It is impossible to examine language at any level without examining the work of a mind."
"[T]o learn the conventions of writing without learning the habit of thought is impossible...People who cannot put strings of sentences together in good order cannot think. An educational system that does not teach the technology of writing is preventing thought."
"[H]ere is the real value of teaching everybody, *everybody,* to write clear, coherent, and more or less conventional prose: The words we write demand far more attention than those we speak. The habit of writing exposes us to that demand, and skill in writing makes us able to pay logical and thoughtful attention...If we have neither the habit nor the skill of writing, however, we have to guess which is the bunk and which the wisdom, and we will almost invariably guess according to something we feel, not according to something to which we have given thoughtful attention."
I had not heard of Richard K. Mitchell and his authored works, I will add those to my books to borrow from the Internet Archive’s free digital library, thank you. And yes his comment on language and examining the mind is indeed very pertinent to our current era where the meaning of words is twisted, inverted, and changed, constantly,
Koontz probably saw the writing on the wall a long time ago. I'd describe him as libertarian or anarchist with a benevolent universe premise. I.e., the good guys always win in the end, although the bad guys aren't necessarily ground into satisfying dust. But sometimes they are. His endings aren't ambiguous, though: The heroes, through the virtues the plot calls on them to demonstrate, prevail and live happily ever after, even if their innocence suffers and their take on reality undergoes a paradigm shift. Kind of like what happened for people who became "awake" in 2020. I like his stuff because it's safe in that sense: I can't stand suspense and always check the ending of a new book to see what happens, but with his I don't have to. I can enjoy the ride confident that the good will not be punished. Regardless of the plot specifics, though, the books are considered thrillers.
The first book of his that I read in the late 1980's, I think, was Watchers. It's the only novel I've ever read that legitimately scared the hell out of me. I slept with the lights on that night. Really. Lightning was the second book of his that I tried, and I liked it almost as well, but it wasn't scary as much as suspenseful. He's a better writer now, as one would expect, and of his more recent stories I really enjoyed the Nameless series. Very occasionally I've read books so compelling that I devour them while simultaneously regretting that I'm coming to the end of them, and the Nameless stories are in that category.
With respect to that quote, Billy's a bad guy and massive hypocrite, much like the politicians, bureaucrats, moguls, and pop stars who buy carbon credits while motoring around the world in private jets and 80' yachts. It's a little disturbing how Koontz can project the interiority of sociopaths and serial killers, and that's what he's doing with Billy in that excerpt. Without context it sounds like an endorsement of Billy's philosophy, such as it is, but it's a condemnation.
(Truth in advertising: I'm not endorsing The Darkest Evening of the Year. Having re-read the synopsis it doesn't even sound familiar, and since didn't make the cut for staying in my Kindle library I probably didn't care for it. I also didn't like the Frankenstein ones or The Other Emily. But the guy's written like 80 novels, so I don't expect all of them to make my top ten list.)
I love that Blair quote. To that I will add this one:
"They do not want to own your fortune, they want you to lose it; they do not want to succeed, they want you to fail; they do not want to live, they want you to die; they desire nothing, they hate existence, and they keep running, each trying not to learn that the object of his hatred is himself... [They] seek, by devouring the world, to fill the selfless zero of their soul. It is not your wealth that they’re after. Theirs is a conspiracy against the mind, which means: against life and man."
I hadn't heard of "cacotopia" before, but I was familiar with "kakistocracy": Rule by the worst a society has to offer. Turns out that both terms have their root in the Greek "kakós," meaning "bad."
Thank you for sorting through that toxic sludge of climate scams. I don't know how you do it. Just reading it makes me want to stab people with a fork.
I'll save that quote to wheel out in the future, thanks.
Cacotopia is such an obscure word that I came across - it is sort of a synonym for dystopia but as you said, meaning the worst a society has to offer. I changed the word for 'dystopia' as I think that is more relatable.
I get motivated to wade through the toxic sludge of the narratives when they affect a place and people I care about - so Thailand is always close to my heart. The carbon tax just seems like another tool in the box for the controlled demolition of the economy. It's just so bleakly disappointing how eager and enthusiastic companies and individuals are here about the net zero stuff. Cheering on their subjugation. Frogs boiling in a Ponzi soup.
It is thoroughly depressing, especially if you spend too much time contrasting it with what *could* be, if humanity ever collectively got its head out of its ass.
Technocracy refers to a political system where decision-making power is concentrated in the hands of experts and technocrats , (partnered with state bureaucrats).
What is so obvious its a scam that enriches the oligarchs at the expense of middle class and poor
There's a Dean Koontz novel in which a rich character is involved in "save Gaia" scams. I really wish I could remember which book it was or even what the plot had to do with, but here's the excerpt I kept from it:
“He held binding commitments from three tribes in remote parts of Africa, which required them to plant huge numbers of trees and to continue living without running water, electricity, and oil-powered vehicles. The environmental damage they didn’t do could then be sold to movie stars, rock musicians, and others who were committed to reducing pollution but who were required, by the nature of their professions, to have humongous carbon footprints. He also sold carbon offsets to himself through an elaborate structure of LLPs, LLCs, and trusts that afforded him tremendous tax advantages. Best of all, he didn’t have to share any of the carbon-offset income with the African tribes because they didn’t exist.”
What an interesting find, thanks! I located the book - ‘The Darkest Evening of The Year’ by Dean Koontz. PDF download link: https://oceanofpdf.com/authors/dean-koontz/pdf-epub-the-darkest-evening-of-the-year-download-81942180530/
Internet archive library book borrow link to page of the excerpt you referenced (chapter 47): https://archive.org/details/bwb_KM-361-871/page/258/mode/2up
The paragraph preceding the excerpt you referenced: “Billy believed in fun. Fun was the central doctrine of his philosophy. For him, having a giant carbon footprint was essential to having fun.”
Perhaps I’ll look into Dean Koontz’s connections. Predictive programming in books is common as it is in films and TV shows. Or was he a prophetic writer who saw the writing on the wall and tried to warn us about the carbon credit scam? I’ll add this to my reading list after I have finished ‘The Tyranny of Words’ by Stuart Chase [link to this book available to digitally borrow via Internet Archive library: https://archive.org/details/B-001-003-912]. Thanks again!
Thanks as well for the tip on Stuart Chase. I'll try it.
Have you read Richard K. Mitchell's Less Than Words Can Say? He's got three others that are just as brilliant: The Gift of Fire, The Graves of Academe, and The Leaning Tower of Babel. As someone who recently waded through the WHO's brain dead propaganda, you'd probably enjoy his defense of precision in language:
"It is impossible to examine language at any level without examining the work of a mind."
"[T]o learn the conventions of writing without learning the habit of thought is impossible...People who cannot put strings of sentences together in good order cannot think. An educational system that does not teach the technology of writing is preventing thought."
"[H]ere is the real value of teaching everybody, *everybody,* to write clear, coherent, and more or less conventional prose: The words we write demand far more attention than those we speak. The habit of writing exposes us to that demand, and skill in writing makes us able to pay logical and thoughtful attention...If we have neither the habit nor the skill of writing, however, we have to guess which is the bunk and which the wisdom, and we will almost invariably guess according to something we feel, not according to something to which we have given thoughtful attention."
I had not heard of Richard K. Mitchell and his authored works, I will add those to my books to borrow from the Internet Archive’s free digital library, thank you. And yes his comment on language and examining the mind is indeed very pertinent to our current era where the meaning of words is twisted, inverted, and changed, constantly,
You're welcome.
Koontz probably saw the writing on the wall a long time ago. I'd describe him as libertarian or anarchist with a benevolent universe premise. I.e., the good guys always win in the end, although the bad guys aren't necessarily ground into satisfying dust. But sometimes they are. His endings aren't ambiguous, though: The heroes, through the virtues the plot calls on them to demonstrate, prevail and live happily ever after, even if their innocence suffers and their take on reality undergoes a paradigm shift. Kind of like what happened for people who became "awake" in 2020. I like his stuff because it's safe in that sense: I can't stand suspense and always check the ending of a new book to see what happens, but with his I don't have to. I can enjoy the ride confident that the good will not be punished. Regardless of the plot specifics, though, the books are considered thrillers.
The first book of his that I read in the late 1980's, I think, was Watchers. It's the only novel I've ever read that legitimately scared the hell out of me. I slept with the lights on that night. Really. Lightning was the second book of his that I tried, and I liked it almost as well, but it wasn't scary as much as suspenseful. He's a better writer now, as one would expect, and of his more recent stories I really enjoyed the Nameless series. Very occasionally I've read books so compelling that I devour them while simultaneously regretting that I'm coming to the end of them, and the Nameless stories are in that category.
With respect to that quote, Billy's a bad guy and massive hypocrite, much like the politicians, bureaucrats, moguls, and pop stars who buy carbon credits while motoring around the world in private jets and 80' yachts. It's a little disturbing how Koontz can project the interiority of sociopaths and serial killers, and that's what he's doing with Billy in that excerpt. Without context it sounds like an endorsement of Billy's philosophy, such as it is, but it's a condemnation.
(Truth in advertising: I'm not endorsing The Darkest Evening of the Year. Having re-read the synopsis it doesn't even sound familiar, and since didn't make the cut for staying in my Kindle library I probably didn't care for it. I also didn't like the Frankenstein ones or The Other Emily. But the guy's written like 80 novels, so I don't expect all of them to make my top ten list.)
I love that Blair quote. To that I will add this one:
"They do not want to own your fortune, they want you to lose it; they do not want to succeed, they want you to fail; they do not want to live, they want you to die; they desire nothing, they hate existence, and they keep running, each trying not to learn that the object of his hatred is himself... [They] seek, by devouring the world, to fill the selfless zero of their soul. It is not your wealth that they’re after. Theirs is a conspiracy against the mind, which means: against life and man."
I hadn't heard of "cacotopia" before, but I was familiar with "kakistocracy": Rule by the worst a society has to offer. Turns out that both terms have their root in the Greek "kakós," meaning "bad."
Thank you for sorting through that toxic sludge of climate scams. I don't know how you do it. Just reading it makes me want to stab people with a fork.
I'll save that quote to wheel out in the future, thanks.
Cacotopia is such an obscure word that I came across - it is sort of a synonym for dystopia but as you said, meaning the worst a society has to offer. I changed the word for 'dystopia' as I think that is more relatable.
I get motivated to wade through the toxic sludge of the narratives when they affect a place and people I care about - so Thailand is always close to my heart. The carbon tax just seems like another tool in the box for the controlled demolition of the economy. It's just so bleakly disappointing how eager and enthusiastic companies and individuals are here about the net zero stuff. Cheering on their subjugation. Frogs boiling in a Ponzi soup.
It is thoroughly depressing, especially if you spend too much time contrasting it with what *could* be, if humanity ever collectively got its head out of its ass.
I have a different version of Technocracy
Technocracy refers to a political system where decision-making power is concentrated in the hands of experts and technocrats , (partnered with state bureaucrats).
What is so obvious its a scam that enriches the oligarchs at the expense of middle class and poor
IT'S ALL ONE BIG CLUB ................ ( we ain't in it )
Bill Gates invests in Vietnam's solar project
Bill Gates invests in Indonesia's renewable energy secto
George Soros invests in Thailand's human rights initiatives
George Soros invests in Southeast Asia's democratic governance
Warren Buffett invests in Thailand's solar project
Warren Buffett invests in Indonesia's renewable energy sector
Richard Branson invests in Vietnam's renewable energy sector
Richard Branson invests in the Philippines' renewable energy sector
Jack Ma invests in Thailand's education initiatives
[Jack Ma invests in Indonesia's entrepreneurship initiatives](https://www.alibabagroup.com/en/news/2019/06/25/alibaba-foundation-announces-
Thanks for pointing out those broken links, should have double checked those.