E Pluribus Platinum

Townhall.com ^ | January 5, 2013 | Charles Payne

[Kaslin]

Part of the Caroline chain of islands Yap was first a colony of Spain before Germany took control. The island had many unique qualities, including its people, dress, caste system, and money. In fact, to this day Yap (now part of federation of Micronesian countries) is probably best known for their currency and scuba diving.

The good folks of Yap use stones ranging in size, up to 12 feet in diameter as money. These circular slates were brought in from surrounding islands, often on makeshift rafts and small boats.

Legend has it, 500 years ago after getting lost at sea a group of fisherman from Yap washed up on the island of Palau where they found themselves on the beach staring at giant slabs of shimmering limestone.  They chipped off pieces in the shape of whales and returned home.   Sparked by high demand the fishermen made more trips, got better at mining the stones and even figured out putting a hole in the center would make them easier to transport.

There was a period when an enterprising Irishman mined Palau and flooded the market but his coins (around 6,800 of them are currently in existence) are worth much less than older coins mined the old-fashioned way. The stone coins called Rai often aren't even moved as some are so large it takes up to 24 men to get them off the ground. In fact the honor system is such that once a giant coin sank to the bottom of the ocean in-transit but is still considered in the possession of its owner.

Other forms of day today currency include:

Turmeric
Mortars & Pestles
Small twine of Pearl Shells
Longer twine of Pearl Shells (botha-ayar)
Large Single Pearl Shell (Yar-nu-berchrek)
Banana Fiber Mat (Umbul) note the art of creating these lost years ago so rarely exchanged
Large Red Shell (Thauei)
Typically economic activity between natives and traders was done with ripe coconuts. In the book The Island of Stone Money it was said the price of a large pilot biscuit was three coconuts, while a stick of tobacco with a box of Japanese safety matches set a native back six coconuts.

Island of Nuts

I bring up the island of Yap because somewhere near there must be an island of nuts (not the kind that grow on trees) where a new leader has emerged. Rep Jerrold Nadler has suggested the Federal Reserve be compelled to create a platinum coin valued at $1,000,000,000,000 and hand it over to Treasury.

Citing the fact the Fed can coin money as long as it's not gold or silver, the coin would give the federal government enough money to spend to its heart's content. Since it would be given to Treasury there would be no debt involved, making the debt ceiling debate moot.

He's also suggested the White House use the Fourteenth Amendment which says the public debt "shall not be questioned."

As ludicrous as the coin idea is, the fact is we aren't that far from such an arrangement already. Right now the Fed prints money from a magic machine and mystical rights and hands it over to the Treasury in return for bonds (IOUs). These bonds pay interest to the Fed which takes them in as profits and hands them back to Treasury. This merry-go-round keeps going on forever- or could it? Currently the Fed's balance sheet is so stretched several laws of economics have been challenged. There is no way this can continue.

In many ways we should thank Rep Nadler; he only expressed a kind of nutty idea about endless printing and the removal of laws (which includes ditching the Constitution) both man-made and based in nature. One thing is for sure, there are going to be more money grabs, more spending and more lunacy all in the name of a giant government and the old notion of socialistic utopia. We keep hearing how we're all in this together, but we are more like one big sinking ship with just one small emergency boat left to save everyone; this takes on a different meaning.

[left that other site]

My Dad, a WW2 Navy Veteran, used to tell me stories about The Island of Yap.

I was one of the few pre-teens in the 60’s who could find it on a map!

Gosh, I MISS my Dad!

[VRW Conspirator]

Rep Jerrold Nadler has suggested the Federal Reserve be compelled to create a platinum coin valued at $1,000,000,000,000 and hand it over to Treasury.

These people are insane. This idea might be funny if it were fiction.

[SpaceBar]

This whole “platinum coin” thing floated by Jabba the Nadler and kept alive by matt drudge and others only serves to illustrate how the stupidest ideas coming from the mentally incompetant somehow seem to get all the press column inches.

[reg45]

Nadler’s nickname is “Jabba the Nut”.

[Jim Noble]

Citing the fact the Fed can coin money as long as it's not gold or silver

This "fact" does not appear in my copy of the Constitution.

What DOES appear there is the following: "Congress shall have the power...To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures..."

CONGRESS has the power to regulate the value of US coins (the nominal, legal tender value). CONGRESS could indeed repudiate our debts by coining trillion dollar platinum coins (or plastic coins, no matter) and calling all Treasury debt instruments in for exchange.

The Constitution also says, "No STATE shall... make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts..."

There is absolutely no restriction whatsoever on Congress' coinage power to gold, silver. wampum, or bananas.

[lentulusgracchus]

"Ripley's Believe It or Not", a comic strip popular in the 50's, ran a strip about Yap back in the day. Taught me almost everything I know about Yap! I saw later newspaper or magazine article or two, once in a great while, but it was mostly rehashed info ... after all, not much ever changes on Yap.

Except they just had that big hurricane. There was a thrad about it here on FR -- the same hurricane that landed on Mindanao and Palau.

[lentulusgracchus]

"Ripley's Believe It or Not", a comic strip popular in the 50's, ran a strip about Yap back in the day. Taught me almost everything I know about Yap! I saw later newspaper or magazine article or two, once in a great while, but it was mostly rehashed info ... after all, not much ever changes on Yap.

Except they just had that big hurricane. There was a thrad about it here on FR -- the same hurricane that landed on Mindanao and Palau.

[Don Corleone]

One thing is for sure, there are going to be more money grabs

Look for them to try to Nationalize your IRA's and 401K's. That monstrosity has already been suggested.

[left that other site]

I love “Ripley’s”! I remember the comic strip well, and have been to two of the museums. The one in St. Augustine is the best, as it was Ripley’s original home. It is amazing, and I spent many hours there, Believe It Or Not! :-)

There is another island dad used to tell me about, and he sang a song:

“Oh the monkeys have no tails in Zamboanga
They were bitten off by whales in Zamboanga!”

There is probably more to that, but most likely unsuitable for children! hahaha!

[elcid1970]

From existing photos/vids, Yapese women have the right to choose - whether or not to go topless. A matter of individual choice.

Anyway, Jabba the Waddler is a typical liberal nutcake. Wonder what he thinks about guns /s.

[left that other site]

OMG! Look what I found! hahaha

Lyrics

The Monkeys Have No Tails in Zamboanga[disambiguation needed]

Oh, the monkeys have no tails in Zamboanga,
Oh, the monkeys have no tails in Zamboanga,
Oh, the monkeys have no tails,
They were bitten off by whales,
Oh, the monkeys have no tails in Zamboanga.

Chorus:
Oh, we won’t go back to Subic anymore,
Oh, we won’t go back to Subic anymore,
Oh, we won’t go back to Subic
Where they mix our wine with tubig*,
Oh, we won’t go back to Subic anymore.

* Filipino for water

Chorus

Oh, the carabao have no hair in Mindanao,
Oh, the carabao have no hair in Mindanao,
Oh, the carabao have no hair,
Holy smoke! But they are bare,
Oh, the carabao have no hair in Mindanao.

Chorus

Oh, the fishes wear no skirts in Iloilo,
Oh, the fishes wear no skirts in Iloilo,
Oh, the fishes wear no skirts,
But they all have undershirts,
Oh, the fishes wear no skirts in Iloilo.

Chorus

They grow potatoes small in Iloilo,
They grow potatoes small in Iloilo,
They grow potatoes small,
And they eat them skins and all,
They grow potatoes small in Iloilo.

Chorus

Oh, the birdies have no feet in Mariveles,
Oh, the birdies have no feet in Mariveles,
Oh, the birdies have no feet,
They were burned off by the heat,
Oh, the birdies have no feet in Mariveles.

Chorus

Oh, we’ll all go up to China in the spring time,
Oh, we’ll all go up to China in the spring time,
Oh, we’ll hop aboard a liner,
I can think of nothing finer,
Oh, we’ll all go up to China in the spring time.

Chorus

Oh, we’ll all go down to Shanghai in the fall,
Oh, we’ll all go down to Shanghai in the fall,
Oh, we’ll all get down to Shanghai,
Those champagne corks will bang high,
Oh, we’ll all go down to Shanghai in the fall.

Chorus

Oh, we lived ten thousand years in old Chefoo.
Oh, we lived ten thousand years in old Chefoo.
And it didn’t smell like roses,
So we had to hold our noses,
Oh, we lived ten thousand years in old Chefoo.[1]

Some verses were updated and sung by U.S. Army and Navy personnel and families in Manila, Philippines, and back in the States after WWII. The song mentions islands in the Philippine chain, attributing amusing or unflattering characteristics to their flora and fauna, and humans. As there are many islands, there are no doubt many more verses.

Oh, the ladies wear no teddies in Manila,
Oh, the ladies wear no teddies in Manila,
Oh, the ladies wear no teddies,
They’re a bunch of ever-readies,
Oh, the ladies wear no teddies in Manila.

Oh, the men they wear no pants on Luzon,
Oh, the men they wear no pants on Luzon,
Oh, the men they wear no pants,
They’re afraid to miss a chance,
Oh, the men they wear no pants on Luzon.[2]

[left that other site]

LOL! Check out my comment #12!

I remember Dad telling me that the US Navy issues beautiful white T-Shirts to these ladies, to get them to “cover up” in a nice way, as their traditional attire(or lack thereof) was exciting the sailors too much.

The girls LOVED them, soft, white, and comfortable, and they promptly cut two strategically placed HOLES in the shirts for even greater comfort and freedom.

LOL

[lentulusgracchus]

Now that you remember it, I've been past that Ripley's museum .... I've been through St. Aug twice, 20 years apart, and on one of those two trips I remember seeing it, or seeing a billboard advertising it.

Don't remember anything about Zamboanga, tho'! ;)

I've seen Key West, West Palm, driven through Miami (in 1970) and flown through Miami-Dade a couple of times, and past Homestead when it was still an operational SAC base, visited Ft. Meyers a couple of times, again 20 years apart, Orlando once or twice, Jax a couple of times (arrived and left by P-3 one time), and Pensacola and the Panhandle Riviera two or three times. Micanopy once, too, and Kennedy once.

[4Liberty]

I've got laundry lint I can donate to the Fed for new FR notes. Imagine the possibilities, folks.

[John S Mosby]

So we go full circle to a platinum 12 diameter yapland money-
the purpose of which was limited portability without group consent of the “chief”. This is not helpful at all.

The other alternative is zimbabwe’a trillion dollar paper notes which were used in protest as wallpaper on public buildings (done in secret at night)— which has resulted in NO change except continued theft of the only thing that has real value in that country— arable, farmable soil (and even that the idiots ruined because they know NOTHING about productive land use and conservation). A study in marxism.

[sima_yi]

There was a period when an enterprising Irishman mined Palau...

There is a movie loosely based on this, called "His Majesty O'Keefe", starring Burt Lancaster (1954). Pretty good too, as I remember.

[elcid1970]

There was a Discovery channel show about the island of Yap.

The hosts were an American man & woman. Their guide was a young Yapese woman who shook their hands, spoke excellent English, and welcomed them to the island while standing there completely bare bosomed. She even helpfully reminded the American gal that going topless was fine for all races, as long as one’s sarong covered from waist to below the knees. The response was “Uh, okay.....”

;^)

[left that other site]

When I was a little kid, i used to LOVE having to wait to see the doctor.

Even though he had “HIGHLIGHTS FOR CHILDREN” Magazine, I always gravitated to the “NATIONAL GEOGRAPHICS”

[left that other site]

I have gone to all those places on my Harley. Believe it or not! :-)