PRESS ON ABOLITIONIST PARTY
Ottawa Sun, Sept. 29, 1993
ABOLITIONISTS HAVE ZERO INTEREST
Heather Bird
The newly-formed Abolitionist
Party of Canada will preach
its "zero interest" policy through eight candidates
in the Ottawa
area.
The party, which will field 80
candidates nationally
believes in eliminating all interest in the economy and
turning
the Bank of Canada's computer into a billboard for a gigantic
barter system.
The party is one of several
lesser-known parties that made
their presence felt.
The system would allow plumbers
to post notice of their
services in exchange for electrical work on their house. The
party believes it could run an interest-free currency economy
where interest previously earned will be refunded to voters
in
the form of dividends payable by the Bank of Canada."
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Ottawa Citizen, Oct. 7, 1993
ABOLITIONISTS VIEW BARTER AS ECONOMIC SALVATION
Francine Dube
"Abolitionists are easy to
spot. They're the candidates who
wave computer disks in the air when they try to make their
point.
Their point is: Return to a barter economy and Canada's
economic
woes will be solved.
"I'm sure you can't think of
a problem that isn't caused by
a lack of money," says party leader John Turmel when
asked if
there's anything else on the platform.
Turmel and the 79 other
candidates running in Ontario and
Quebec are logging onto a computer program called Local
Employment Trading System.
LETS is similar to an electronic
bulletin board. Users swap
goods and services with others in the community. Eventually,
Abolitionists hope the system will operate nation-wide.
Here's
how it works. Through LETS, an Ottawa plumber learns that a
teacher needs her sink fixed. She tutors the plumber's son
for a
math test. In exchange, the plumber fixes her sink. Or, the
teacher can pay him in LETS dollars, which he can spend
elsewhere.
The system is legal --
participants pay tax. Abolitionists
say the system will create employment, and because no
interest is
charged or paid on LETS dollars, it will eliminate interest
rates
that eat up money better spent on other things."
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Granby Voice of the East, October 15, 1993
ABOLITIONISTS LAUNCHING THEIR FULL EMPLOYMENT SOFTWARE TONIGHT
Karim Benessaieh
As of 19:05 tonight, the Canadian
population will be able to
down-load the Full Employment software put out by John
Turmel,
the colorful leader of the Abolitionist Party.
In one week-end, says Turmel,
we'll be able to create a
national network which could take us out of the "hell of
the 20th
century into the heaven of the 21st century." Nothing
less.
The principle of the program is
simple enough: it's a
communications computer software which permits users to
recreate
commercial laws. When we want to buy some bread, we put a
credit
into the baker's account; when we want a case of beer, we
send so
many credits to the store. A few more complicated operations
permit the trade of employment.
Money becomes an abstract unit
and we avoid the intermediary
of the bankers, the anti-Christs of the Abolitionists.
"the day
where all of Canada is connected, we'll be able to send the
final
bill to the Bank of Canada," predicts Mr. Turmel with
delight.
SOFTWARE ON THE ATTACK
The invasion of the electronic
bulletin boards (BBS) present
no technical problems. Informations networks like FIDONET and
ROSENET already permit their users to transfer software. It's
as
simple as joining a network and down-loading the program.
This is how John Turmel predicts
the software will enter
100,000 Canadian homes. "I'll announce it on MuchMusic
tonight
and I'm sure the world will jump on the software. "It's
too bad
French Canadians won't get to hear about it."
When several thousand young
computer hackers have the
software, what will happen? If you believe the leader of the
party, it will be the beginning of the realization of the
abolitionist program and the debut of its greatest benefit,
the
abolition of interest rates.
"In the final analysis, even
Jesus Christ was an
abolitionist, audaciously affirms Mr. Turmel. He was the
first to
say usury was a sin, an abomination, and that's exactly what
we're saying. Only when it is abolished will be no longer be
slaves to the financial system."
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Scarborough Mirror Election Notebook Vote 1993:
"ABOLITIONISTS FAVOR MONETARY POLICE SIMILAR TO THAT
OF THE
U.S.S. ENTERPRISE," SAYS RELEASE
On Oct. 19, the following media
release was issued by the
Abolitionist Party of Canada:
"Abolitionist Party leader
John Turmel announced today that
if elected, he would install a linear monetary system like
that
used aboard the starship U.S.S. Enterprise.
"Spock would be proud of
this optimal approach to monetary
reform. In engineering terms, 1/s (One over s) is the only
way to
go. It's the only equation for monetary balance and
stability,"
said Mr. Turmel, wearing his iron ring and white engineer's
hat.
"Remember what Einstein
said, "politics is for the present,
an equation is for eternity."
Is it just posible that the Abolitionists watch too much television?