I solicited 12 articles on very diverse aspects of the future of money for the current issue of the Cayman Financial Review (I am a member of the Editorial Board). http://www.compasscayman.com/cfr/
I wrote two of the articles myself and I hope that you enjoy them:
http://www.compasscayman.com/cfr/2012/01/11/The-future-of-money—What-is-it-/
http://www.compasscayman.com/cfr/2012/01/11/The-Technology-of-Money/
It is not difficult to imagine a bunch of scared 20-year-old urinating on the corpses of enemies they killed first. In today’s Washington Post Sebastian Junger thoughtfully explains the environment in which the disturbing video of American Marines urinating on dead Taliban solders was made : http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/were-all-guilty-of-dehumanizing-the-enemy/2012/01/13/gIQAtRduwP_story.html
Whether we can understand such behavior or not, it has harmed our goals in Afghanistan and increased the danger to other solders. Marine Capt. Timothy Kudo, explains this perspective well in today’s Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/as-a-marine-and-afghan-war-vet-im-insulted-by-the-desecration-video/2012/01/12/gIQAswIrwP_story.html.
The event is sad but America has demonstrated to the world how a mature democracy openly discusses and deals with its mistakes. We may be proud of that.
The first quarter 2012 issue of the Cayman Financial Review, of which I am an editorial board member, devotes a number of articles to The Future of Money. Here is my lead off article on that subject: http://www.compasscayman.com/cfr/2012/01/11/The-future-of-money—What-is-it-/
Warren's space 