@ c4f5e7a7:8856cac7

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TL;DR

This article explores the links between public, community-driven data sources (such as OpenStreetMap) and private, cryptographically-owned data found on networks such as Nostr.

The following concepts are explored:

1. Attestations: Users signalling to their social graph that they believe something to be true by publishing Attestations. These social proofs act as a decentralised verification system that leverages your web-of-trust.
2. Proof of Place: An oracle-based system where physical letters are sent to real-world locations, confirming the corresponding digital ownership via cryptographic proofs. This binds physical locations in meatspace with their digital representations in the Nostrverse.
3. Check-ins: Foursquare-style check-ins that can be verified using attestations from place owners, ensuring authenticity. This approach uses web-of-trust to validate check-ins and location ownership over time.

The goal is to leverage cryptographic ownership where necessary while preserving the open, collaborative nature of public data systems.

Open Data in a public commons has a place and should not be thrown out with the Web 2.0 bathwater.

Cognitive Dissonance

Ever since discovering Nostr in August of 2022 I've been grappling with how BTC Map - a project that helps bitcoiners find places to spend sats - should most appropriately use this new protocol.

I am assuming, dear reader, that you are somewhat familiar with Nostr - a relatively new protocol for decentralised identity and communication. If you don’t know your nsec from your npub, please take some time to read these excellent posts: Nostr is Identity for the Internet and The Power of Nostr by @max and @lyn, respectively. Nostr is so much more than a short-form social media replacement.

The social features (check-ins, reviews, etc.) that Nostr unlocks for BTC Map are clear and exciting - all your silos are indeed broken - however, something fundamental has been bothering me for a while and I think it comes down to data ownership.

For those unfamiliar, BTC Map uses OpenStreetMap (OSM) as its main geographic database. OSM is centred on the concept of a commons of objectively verifiable data that is maintained by a global community of volunteer editors; a Wikipedia for maps. There is no data ownership; the data is free (as in freedom) and anyone can edit anything. It is the data equivalent of FOSS (Free and Open Source Software) - FOSD if you will, but more commonly referred to as Open Data.

In contrast, Notes and Other Stuff on Nostr (Places in this cartographic context) are explicitly owned by the controller of the private key. These notes are free to propagate, but they are owned.

How do we reconcile the decentralised nature of Nostr, where data is cryptographically owned by individuals, with the community-managed data commons of OpenStreetMap, where no one owns the data?

Self-sovereign Identity

Before I address this coexistence question, I want to talk a little about identity as it pertains to ownership. If something is to be owned, it has to be owned by someone or something - an identity.

All identities that are not self-sovereign are, by definition, leased to you by a 3rd party. You rent your Facebook identity from Meta in exchange for your data. You rent your web domain from your DNS provider in exchange for your money.

Taken to the extreme, you rent your passport from your Government in exchange for your compliance. You are you at the pleasure of others. Where Bitcoin separates money from the state; Nostr separates identity from the state.

Or, as @nvk said recently: "Don't build your house on someone else's land.".

https://i.nostr.build/xpcCSkDg3uVw0yku.png

While we’ve had the tools for self-sovereign digital identity for decades (think PGP keys or WebAuthN), we haven't had the necessary social use cases nor the corresponding social graph to elevate these identities to the mainstream. Nostr fixes this.

Nostr is PGP for the masses and will take cryptographic identities mainstream.

Full NOSTARD?

Returning to the coexistence question: the data on OpenStreetMap isn’t directly owned by anyone, even though the physical entities the data represents might be privately owned. OSM is a data commons.

We can objectively agree on the location of a tree or a fire hydrant without needing permission to observe and record it. Sure, you could place a tree ‘on Nostr’, but why should you? Just because something can be ‘on Nostr’ doesn’t mean it should be.

https://i.nostr.build/s3So2JVAqoY4E1dI.png

There might be a dystopian future where we can't agree on what a tree is nor where it's located, but I hope we never get there. It's at this point we'll need a Wikifreedia variant of OpenStreetMap.

While integrating Nostr identities into OpenStreetMap would be valuable, the current OSM infrastructure, tools, and community already provide substantial benefits in managing this data commons without needing to go NOSTR-native - there's no need to go Full NOSTARD. H/T to @princeySOV for the original meme.

https://i.nostr.build/ot9jtM5cZtDHNKWc.png

So, how do we appropriately blend cryptographically owned data with the commons?

If a location is owned in meatspace and it's useful to signal that ownership, it should also be owned in cyberspace. Our efforts should therefore focus on entities like businesses, while allowing the commons to manage public data for as long as it can successfully mitigate the tragedy of the commons.

The remainder of this article explores how we can:

1. Verify ownership of a physical place in the real world;
2. Link that ownership to the corresponding digital place in cyberspace.

As a side note, I don't see private key custodianship - or, even worse, permissioned use of Places signed by another identity's key - as any more viable than the rented identities of Web 2.0.

And as we all know, the Second Law of Infodynamics (no citation!) states that:

"The total amount of sensitive information leaked will always increase over time."

This especially holds true if that data is centralised.

Not your keys, not your notes. Not your keys, not your identity.

Places and Web-of-Trust

@Arkinox has been leading the charge on the Places NIP, introducing Nostr notes (kind 37515) that represent physical locations. The draft is well-crafted, with bonus points for linking back to OSM (and other location repositories) via NIP-73 - External Content IDs (championed by @oscar of @fountain).

However, as Nostr is permissionless, authenticity poses a challenge. Just because someone claims to own a physical location on the Internet doesn’t necessarily mean they have ownership or control of that location in the real world.

Ultimately, this problem can only be solved in a decentralised way by using Web-of-Trust - using your social graph and the perspectives of trusted peers to inform your own perspective. In the context of Places, this requires your network to form a view on which digital identity (public key / npub) is truly the owner of a physical place like your local coffee shop.

This requires users to:

1. Verify the owner of a Place in cyberspace is the owner of a place in meatspace.
2. Signal this verification to their social graph.

Let's look at the latter idea first with the concept of Attestations ...

Attestations

A way to signal to your social graph that you believe something to be true (or false for that matter) would be by publishing an Attestation note. An Attestation note would signify to your social graph that you think something is either true or false.

Imagine you're a regular at a local coffee shop. You publish an Attestation that says the shop is real and the owner behind the Nostr public key is who they claim to be. Your friends trust you, so they start trusting the shop's digital identity too.

However, attestations applied to Places are just a single use case. The attestation concept could be more widely applied across Nostr in a variety of ways (key rotation, identity linking, etc).

Here is a recent example from @lyn that would carry more signal if it were an Attestation:

https://i.nostr.build/lZAXOEwvRIghgFY4.png

Parallels can be drawn between Attestations and transaction confirmations on the Bitcoin timechain; however, their importance to you would be weighted by clients and/or Data Vending Machines in accordance with:

1. Your social graph;
2. The type or subject of the content being attested and by whom;
3. Your personal preferences.

They could also have a validity duration to be temporally bound, which would be particularly useful in the case of Places.

NIP-25 (Reactions) do allow for users to up/downvote notes with optional content (e.g., emojis) and could work for Attestations, but I think we need something less ambiguous and more definitive.

‘This is true’ resonates more strongly than ‘I like this.’.

https://i.nostr.build/s8NIG2kXzUCLcoax.jpg

There are similar concepts in the Web 3 / Web 5 world such as Verified Credentials by tdb. However, Nostr is the Web 3 now and so wen Attestation NIP?

https://i.nostr.build/Cb047NWyHdJ7h5Ka.jpg

That said, I have seen @utxo has been exploring ‘smart contracts’ on nostr and Attestations may just be a relatively ‘dumb’ subset of the wider concept Nostr-native scripting combined with web-of-trust.

Proof of Place

Attestations handle the signalling of your truth, but what about the initial verification itself?

We already covered how this ultimately has to be derived from your social graph, but what if there was a way to help bootstrap this web-of-trust through the use of oracles? For those unfamiliar with oracles in the digital realm, they are simply trusted purveyors of truth.

Introducing Proof of Place, an out–of-band process where an oracle (such as BTC Map) would mail - yes physically mail- a shared secret to the address of the location being claimed in cyberspace. This shared secret would be locked to the public key (npub) making the claim, which, if unlocked, would prove that the associated private key (nsec) has physical access to the location in meatspace.

One way of doing this would be to mint a 1 sat cashu ecash token locked to the npub of the claimant and mail it to them. If they are able to redeem the token then they have cryptographically proven that they have physical access to the location.

Proof of Place is really nothing more than a weighted Attestation. In a web-of-trust Nostrverse, an oracle is simply a npub (say BTC Map) that you weigh heavily for its opinion on a given topic (say Places).

In the Bitcoin world, Proof of Work anchors digital scarcity in cyberspace to physical scarcity (energy and time) in meatspace and as @Gigi says in PoW is Essential:

"A failure to understand Proof of Work, is a failure to understand Bitcoin."

In the Nostrverse, Proof of Place helps bridge the digital and physical worlds.

@Gigi also observes in Memes vs The World that:

"In Bitcoin, the map is the territory. We can infer everything we care about by looking at the map alone."

https://i.nostr.build/dOnpxfI4u7EL2v4e.png

This isn’t true for Nostr.

In the Nostrverse, the map IS NOT the territory. However, Proof of Place enables us to send cryptographic drones down into the physical territory to help us interpret our digital maps. 🤯

Check-ins

Although not a draft NIP yet, @Arkinox has also been exploring the familiar concept of Foursquare-style Check-ins on Nostr (with kind 13811 notes).

For the uninitiated, Check-ins are simply notes that signal the publisher is at a given location. These locations could be Places (in the Nostr sense) or any other given digital representation of a location for that matter (such as OSM elements) if NIP-73 - External Content IDs are used.

Of course, not everyone will be a Check-in enjoyooor as the concept will not sit well with some people’s threat models and OpSec practices.

Bringing Check-ins to Nostr is possible (as @sebastix capably shows here), but they suffer the same authenticity issues as Places. Just because I say I'm at a given location doesn't mean that I am.

Back in the Web 2.0 days, Foursquare mitigated this by relying on the GPS position of the phone running their app, but this is of course spoofable.

How should we approach Check-in verifiability in the Nostrverse? Well, just like with Places, we can use Attestations and WoT. In the context of Check-ins, an Attestation from the identity (npub) of the Place being checked-in to would be a particularly strong signal. An NFC device could be placed in a coffee shop and attest to check-ins without requiring the owner to manually intervene - I’m sure @blackcoffee and @Ben Arc could hack something together over a weekend!

Check-ins could also be used as a signal for bonafide Place ownership over time.

Summary: Trust Your Bros

So, to recap, we have:

Places: Digital representations of physical locations on Nostr.

Check-ins: Users signalling their presence at a location.

Attestations: Verifiable social proofs used to confirm ownership or the truth of a claim.

You can visualise how these three concepts combine in the diagram below:

https://i.nostr.build/Uv2Jhx5BBfA51y0K.jpg

And, as always, top right trumps bottom left! We have:

Level 0 - Trust Me Bro: Anyone can check-in anywhere. The Place might not exist or might be impersonating the real place in meatspace. The person behind the npub may not have even been there at all.

Level 1 - Definitely Maybe Somewhere: This category covers the middle-ground of ‘Maybe at a Place’ and ‘Definitely Somewhere’. In these examples, you are either self-certifying that you have checked-in at an Attested Place or you are having others attest that you have checked-in at a Place that might not even exist IRL.

Level 2 - Trust Your Bros: An Attested Check-in at an Attested Place. Your individual level of trust would be a function of the number of Attestations and how you weigh them within your own social graph.

https://i.nostr.build/HtLAiJH1uQSTmdxf.jpg

Perhaps the gold standard (or should that be the Bitcoin standard?) would be a Check-in attested by the owner of the Place, which in itself was attested by BTC Map?

Or perhaps not. Ultimately, it’s the users responsibility to determine what they trust by forming their own perspective within the Nostrverse powered by web-of-trust algorithms they control. ‘Trust Me Bro’ or ‘Trust Your Bros’ - you decide.

As we navigate the frontier of cryptographic ownership and decentralised data, it’s up to us to find the balance between preserving the Open Data commons and embracing self-sovereign digital identities.

Thanks

With thanks to Arkinox, Avi, Ben Gunn, Kieran, Blackcoffee, Sebastix, Tomek, Calle, Short Fiat, Ben Weeks and Bitcoms for helping shape my thoughts and refine content, whether you know it or not!

@ 7460b7fd:4fc4e74b

请看2014年王兴的一场思维碰撞，视频27分钟开始

最后，一个当时无法解决的点：丢失

@ 266815e0:6cd408a5

Lot of people are starting to talk about building a web-of-trust and how nostr can or is already being used as such

We all know about using the kind:3 following lists as a simple WoT that can be used to filter out spam. but as we all know it does not really signal "trust", its mostly just "I find your content interesting"

But what about real "trust"... well its kind of multi-denominational, I could trust that your a good developer or a good journalist but still not trust you enough to invite you over to my house. There are some interesting and clever solutions proposed for quantifying "trust" in a digital sense but I'm not going to get into that here. I want to talk about something that I have not see anyone discuss yet.

How is the web-of-trust maintained? or more precisely how do you expect users to update the digital representation of the "trust" of other users?

Its all well and good to think of how a user would create that "trust" of another user when discovering them for the first time. They would click the "follow" button, or maybe even rate them on a few topics with a 1/5 star system But how will a user remove that trust? how will they update it if things change and they trust them less?

If our goal is to model "trust" in a digital sense then we NEED a way for the data to stay up-to-date and as accurate as possible. otherwise whats the use? If we don't have a friction-less way to update or remove the digital representation of "trust" then we will end up with a WoT that continuously grows and everyone is rated 10/10

In the case of nostr kind:3 following lists. its pretty easy to see how these would get updated. If someone posts something I dislike or I notice I'm getting board of their content. then I just unfollow them. An important part here is that I'm not thinking "I should update my trust score of this user" but instead "I'm no longer interested, I don't want to see this anymore"

But that is probably the easiest "trust" to update. because most of us on social media spend some time curating our feed and we are used to doing it. But what about the more obscure "trust" scores? whats the regular mechanism by which a user would update the "honestly" score of another user?

In the real world its easy, when I stop trusting someone I simply stop associating with them. there isn't any button or switch I need to update. I simply don't talk to them anymore, its friction-less But in the digital realm I would have to remove or update that trust. in other words its an action I need to take instead of an action I'm not doing. and actions take energy.

So how do we reflect something in the digital world that takes no-energy and is almost subconscious in the real world?

TLDR; webs-of-trust are not just about scoring other users once. you must keep the score up-to-date

@ f977c464:32fcbe00

Güneşin kaybolmasının üçüncü günü, saat öğlen on ikiyi yirmi geçiyordu. Trenin kalkmasına yaklaşık iki saat vardı. Hepimiz perondaydık. Valizlerimiz, kolilerimiz, renk renk ve biçimsiz çantalarımızla yan yana dizilmiş, kısa aralıklarla tepemizdeki devasa saati kontrol ediyorduk.

Ama ne kadar dik bakarsak bakalım zaman bir türlü istediğimiz hızla ilerlemiyordu. Herkes birkaç dakika sürmesi gereken alelade bir doğa olayına sıkışıp kalmış, karanlıktan sürünerek çıkmayı deniyordu.

Bekleme salonuna doğru döndüm. Nefesimden çıkan buharın arkasında, kalın taş duvarları ve camlarıyla morg kadar güvenli ve soğuk duruyordu. Cesetleri o yüzden bunun gibi yerlere taşımaya başlamışlardı. Demek insanların bütün iyiliği başkaları onları gördüğü içindi ki gündüzleri gecelerden daha karanlık olduğunda hemen birbirlerinin gırtlağına çökmüş, böğürlerinde delikler açmış, gözlerini oyup kafataslarını parçalamışlardı.

İstasyonun ışığı titrediğinde karanlığın enseme saplandığını hissettim. Eğer şimdi, böyle kalabalık bir yerde elektrik kesilse başımıza ne gelirdi?

İçerideki askerlerden biri bakışlarımı yakalayınca yeniden saate odaklanmış gibi yaptım. Sadece birkaç dakika geçmişti.

“Tarlalarım gitti. Böyle boyum kadar ayçiçeği doluydu. Ah, hepsi ölüp gidiyor. Afitap’ın çiçekleri de gi-”

“Dayı, Allah’ını seversen sus. Hepimizi yakacaksın şimdi.”

Karanlıkta durduğunda, görünmez olmayı istemeye başlıyordun. Kimse seni görmemeli, nefesini bile duymamalıydı. Kimsenin de ayağının altında dolaşmamalıydın; gelip kazayla sana çarpmamalılar, takılıp sendelememeliydiler. Yoksa aslında hedefi sen olmadığın bir öfke gürlemeye başlar, yaşadığın ilk şoku ve acıyı silerek üstünden geçerdi.

İlk konuşan, yaşlıca bir adam, kafasında kasketi, nasırlı ellerine hohluyordu. Gözleri ve burnu kızarmıştı. Güneşin kaybolması onun için kendi başına bir felaket değildi. Hayatına olan pratik yansımalarından korkuyordu olsa olsa. Bir anının kaybolması, bu yüzden çoktan kaybettiği birinin biraz daha eksilmesi. Hayatta kalmasını gerektiren sebepler azalırken, hayatta kalmasını sağlayacak kaynaklarını da kaybediyordu.

Onu susturan delikanlıysa atkısını bütün kafasına sarmış, sakalı ve yüzünün derinliklerine kaçmış gözleri dışında bedeninin bütün parçalarını gizlemeye çalışıyordu. İşte o, güneşin kaybolmasının tam olarak ne anlama geldiğini anlamamış olsa bile, dehşetini olduğu gibi hissedebilenlerdendi.

Güneşin onlardan alındıktan sonra kime verileceğini sormuyorlardı. En başta onlara verildiğinde de hiçbir soru sormamışlardı zaten.

İki saat ne zaman geçer?

Midemin üstünde, sağ tarafıma doğru keskin bir acı hissettim. Karaciğerim. Gözlerimi yumdum. Yanımda biri metal bir nesneyi yere bıraktı. Bir kafesti. İçerisindeki kartalın ıslak kokusu burnuma ulaşmadan önce bile biliyordum bunu.

“Yeniden mi?” diye sordu bana kartal. Kanatları kanlı. Zamanın her bir parçası tüylerinin üstüne çöreklenmişti. Gagası bir şey, tahminen et parçası geveliyor gibi hareket ediyordu. Eski anılar kolay unutulmazmış. Şu anda kafesinin kalın parmaklıklarının ardında olsa da bunun bir aldatmaca olduğunu bir tek ben biliyordum. Her an kanatlarını iki yana uzatıverebilir, hava bu hareketiyle dalgalanarak kafesi esneterek hepimizi içine alacak kadar genişleyebilir, parmaklıklar önce ayaklarımızın altına serilir gibi gözükebilir ama aslında hepimizin üstünde yükselerek tepemize çökebilirdi.

Aşağıya baktım. Tahtalarla zapt edilmiş, hiçbir yere gidemeyen ama her yere uzanan tren rayları. Atlayıp koşsam… Çantam çok ağırdı. Daha birkaç adım atamadan, kartal, suratını bedenime gömerdi.

“Bu sefer farklı,” diye yanıtladım onu. “Yeniden diyemezsin. Tekrarladığım bir şey değil bu. Hatta bir hata yapıyormuşum gibi tonlayamazsın da. Bu sefer, insanların hak etmediğini biliyorum.”

“O zaman daha vahim. Süzme salaksın demektir.”

“İnsanların hak etmemesi, insanlığın hak etmediği anlamına gelmez ki.”

Az önce göz göze geldiğim genççe ama çökük asker hâlâ bana bakıyordu. Bir kartalla konuştuğumu anlamamıştı şüphesiz. Yanımdakilerden biriyle konuştuğumu sanmış olmalıydı. Ama konuştuğum kişiye bakmıyordum ona göre. Çekingence kafamı eğmiştim. Bir kez daha göz göze geldiğimizde içerideki diğer iki askere bir şeyler söyledi, onlar dönüp beni süzerken dışarı çıktı.

Yanımızdaki, az önce konuşan iki adam da şaşkınlıkla bir bana bir kartala bakıyordu.

“Yalnız bu sefer kalbin de kırılacak, Prometheus,” dedi kartal, bana. “Belki son olur. Biliyorsun, bir sürü soruna neden oluyor bu yaptıkların.”

Beni koruyordu sözde. En çok kanıma dokunan buydu. Kasıklarımın üstüne oturmuş, kanlı suratının ardında gözleri parlarken attığı çığlık kulaklarımda titremeye devam ediyordu. Bu tabloda kimsenin kimseyi düşündüğü yoktu. Kartalın, yanımızdaki adamların, artık arkama kadar gelmiş olması gereken askerin, tren raylarının, geçmeyen saatlerin…

Arkamı döndüğümde, asker sahiden oradaydı. Zaten öyle olması gerekiyordu; görmüştüm bunu, biliyordum. Kehanetler… Bir şeyler söylüyordu ama ağzı oynarken sesi çıkmıyordu. Yavaşlamış, kendisini saatin akışına uydurmuştu. Havada donan tükürüğünden anlaşılıyordu, sinirliydi. Korktuğu için olduğunu biliyordum. Her seferinde korkmuşlardı. Beni unutmuş olmaları işlerini kolaylaştırmıyordu. Sadece yeni bir isim vermelerine neden oluyordu. Bu seferkiyle beni lanetleyecekleri kesinleşmişti.

Olması gerekenle olanların farklı olması ne kadar acınasıydı. Olması gerekenlerin doğasının kötücül olmasıysa bir yerde buna dayanıyordu.

“Salaksın,” dedi kartal bana. Zamanı aşan bir çığlık. Hepimizin önüne geçmişti ama kimseyi durduramıyordu.

Sonsuzluğa kaç tane iki saat sıkıştırabilirsiniz?

Ben bir tane bile sıkıştıramadım.

Çantama uzanıyordum. Asker de sırtındaki tüfeğini indiriyordu. Benim acelem yoktu, onunsa eli ayağı birbirine dolaşıyordu. Oysaki her şey tam olması gerektiği anda olacaktı. Kehanet başkasının parmaklarının ucundaydı.

Güneş, bir tüfeğin patlamasıyla yeryüzüne doğdu.

Rayların üzerine serilmiş göğsümün ortasından, bir çantanın içinden.

Not: Bu öykü ilk olarak 2021 yılında Esrarengiz Hikâyeler'de yayımlanmıştır.

@ 3bf0c63f:aefa459d

O Planetinha

Fumaça verde me entrando pelas narinas e um coro desafinado fazia uma base melódica.

nos confins da galáxia havia um planetinha isolado. Era um planeta feliz.

O homem vestido de mago começava a aparecer por detrás da fumaça verde.

O planetinha recebeu três presentes, mas o seu habitante, o homem, estava num estado de confusão tão grande que ameaçava estragá-los. Os homens já havia escravizado o primeiro presente, a vida; lutavam contra o segundo presente, a morte; e havia alguns que achavam que deviam destruir totalmente o terceiro, o amor, e com isto levar a desordem total ao pobre planetinha perdido, que se chamava Terra.

O coro desafinado entrou antes do "Terra" cantando várias vezes, como se imitasse um eco, "terra-terra-terraaa". Depois de uma pausa dramática, o homem vestido de mago voltou a falar.

Terra, nossa nave mãe.

Neste momento eu me afastei. À frente do palco onde o mago e seu coral faziam apelos à multidão havia vários estandes cobertos com a tradicional armação de quatro pernas e lona branca. Em todos os cantos da praça havia gente, gente dos mais variados tipos. Visitantes curiosos que se aproximavam atraídos pela fumaça verde e as barraquinhas, gente que aproveitava o movimento para vender doces sem pagar imposto, casais que se abraçavam de pé para espantar o frio, os tradicionais corredores que faziam seu cooper, gente cheia de barba e vestida para imitar os hippies dos anos 60 e vender colares estendidos no chão, transeuntes novos e velhos, vestidos como baladeiros ou como ativistas do ônibus grátis, grupos de ciclistas entusiastas.

O mago fazia agora apelos para que nós, os homens, habitantes do isolado planetinha, passássemos a ver o planetinha, nossa nave mãe, como um todo, e adquiríssemos a consciência de que ele estava entrando em maus lençóis. A idéia, reforçada pela logomarca do evento, era que parássemos de olhar só para a nossa vida e pensássemos no planeta.

A logomarca do evento, um desenho estilizado do planeta Terra, nada tinha a ver com seu nome: "Festival Andando de Bem com a Vida", mas havia sido ali colocada estrategicamente pelos organizadores, de quem parecia justamente sair a mensagem dita pelo mago.

Aquela multidão de pessoas que, assim como eu, tinham suas próprias preocupações, não podiam ver o quadro caótico que formavam, cada uma com seus atos isolados, ali naquela praça isolada, naquele planeta isolado. Quando o hippie barbudo, quase um Osho, assustava um casal para tentar vender-lhes um colar, a quantidade de caos que isto acrescentava à cena era gigantesca. Por um segundo, pude ver, como se estivesse de longe e acima, com toda a pretensão que este estado imaginativo carrega, a cena completa do caos.

---

Uma nave-mãe, dessas de ficção científica, habitada por milhões de pessoas, seguia no espaço sem rumo, e sem saber que logo à frente um longo precipício espacial a esperava, para a desgraça completa sua e de seus habitantes.

Acostumados àquela nave tanto quanto outrora estiveram acostumados à sua terra natal, os homens viviam as próprias vidas sem nem se lembrar que estavam vagando pelo espaço. Ninguém sabia quem estava conduzindo a nave, e ninguém se importava.

No final do filme descobre-se que era a soma completa do caos que cada habitante produzia, com seus gestos egoístas e incapazes de levar em conta a totalidade, é que determinava a direção da nave-mãe. O efeito, no entanto, não era imediato, como nunca é. Havia gente de verdade encarregada de conduzir a nave, mas era uma gente bêbada, mau-caráter, que vivia brigando pelo controle da nave e o poder que isto lhes dava. Poder, status, dinheiro!

Essa gente bêbada era atraída até ali pela corrupção das instituições e da moral comum que, no fundo no fundo, era causada pelo egoísmo da população, através de um complexo -- mas que no filme aparece simplificado pela ação individual de um magnata do divertimento público -- processo social.

O homem vestido de mago era mais um agente causador de caos, com sua cena cheia de fumaça e sua roupa estroboscópica, ele achava que estava fazendo o bem ao alertar sua platéia, todos as sextas-feiras, de que havia algo que precisava ser feito, que cada um que estava ali ouvindo era responsável pelo planeta. A sua incapacidade, porém, de explicar o que precisava ser feito só aumentava a angústia geral; a culpa que ele jogava sobre seu público, e que era prontamente aceita e passada em frente, aos familiares e amigos de cada um, atormentava-os diariamente e os impedia de ter uma vida decente no trabalho e em casa. As famílias, estressadas, estavam constantemente brigando e os motivos mais insignificantes eram responsáveis pelas mais horrendas conseqüências.

O mago, que após o show tirava o chapéu entortado e ia tomar cerveja num boteco, era responsável por uma parcela considerável do caos que levava a nave na direção do seu desgraçado fim. No filme, porém, um dos transeuntes que de passagem ouviu um pedaço do discurso do mago despertou em si mesmo uma consiência transformadora e, com poderes sobre-humanos que lhe foram então concedidos por uma ordem iniciática do bem ou não, usando só os seus poderes humanos mesmo, o transeunte -- na primeira versão do filme um homem, na segunda uma mulher -- consegue consertar as instituições e retirar os bêbados da condução da máquina. A questão da moral pública é ignorada para abreviar a trama, já com duas horas e quarenta de duração, mas subentende-se que ela também fora resolvida.

---

No planeta Terra real, que não está indo em direção alguma, preso pela gravidade ao Sol, e onde as pessoas vivem a própria vida porque lhes é impossível viver a dos outros, não têm uma consciência global de nada porque só é possível mesmo ter a consciência delas mesmas, e onde a maioria, de uma maneira ou de outra, está tentando como pode, fazer as coisas direito, o filme é exibido.

Para a maioria dos espectadores, é um filme que evoca reflexões, um filme forte. Por um segundo elas têm o mesmo vislumbre do caos generalizado que eu tive ali naquela praça. Para uma pequena parcela dos espectadores -- entre eles alguns dos que estavam na platéia do mago, o próprio mago, o seguidor do Osho, o casal de duas mulheres e o vendedor de brigadeiros, mas aos quais se somam também críticos de televisão e jornal e gente que fala pelos cotovelos na internet -- o filme é um horror, o filme é uma vulgarização de um problema real e sério, o filme apela para a figura do herói salvador e passa uma mensagem totalmente errada, de que a maioria da população pode continuar vivendo as suas própria vidinhas miseráveis enquanto espera por um herói que vem do Olimpo e os salva da mixórdia que eles mesmos causaram, é um filme que presta um enorme desserviço à causa.

No dia seguinte ao lançamento, num bar meio caro ali perto da praça, numa mesa com oito pessoas, entre elas seis do primeiro grupo e oito do segundo, discute-se se o filme levará ou não o Oscar. Eu estou em casa dormindo e não escuto nada.

@ f977c464:32fcbe00

Kendisini aynada ilk defa gördüğü o gün, diğerleri gibi olduğunu anlamıştı. Oysaki her insan biricik olmalıydı. Sözgelimi sinirlendiğinde bir kaşı diğerinden birkaç milimetre daha az çatılabilirdi veya sevindiğinde dudağı ona has bir açıyla dalgalanabilirdi. Hatta bunların hiçbiri mümkün değilse, en azından, gözlerinin içinde sadece onun sahip olabileceği bir ışık parlayabilirdi. Çok sıradan, öyle sıradan ki kimsenin fark etmediği o milyonlarca minik şeyden herhangi biri. Ne olursa.

Ama yansımasına bakarken bunların hiçbirini bulamadı ve diğer günlerden hiç de farklı başlamamış o gün, işe gitmek için vagonunun gelmesini beklediği alelade bir metro istasyonunda, içinde kaybolduğu illüzyon dağılmaya başladı.

İlk önce derisi döküldü. Tam olarak dökülmedi aslında, daha çok kıvılcımlara dönüşüp bedeninden fırlamış ve bir an sonra sönerek külleşmiş, havada dağılmıştı. Ardında da, kaybolmadan hemen önce, kısa süre için hayal meyal görülebilen, bir ruhun yok oluşuna ağıt yakan rengârenk peri cesetleri bırakmıştı. Beklenenin aksine, havaya toz kokusu yayıldı.

Dehşete düştü elbette. Dehşete düştüler. Panikle üstlerini yırtan 50 işçi. Her şeyin sebebiyse o vagon.

Saçları da döküldü. Her tel, yere varmadan önce, her santimde ikiye ayrıla ayrıla yok oldu.

Bütün yüzeylerin mat olduğu, hiçbir şeyin yansımadığı, suyun siyah aktığı ve kendine ancak kameralarla bakabildiğin bir dünyada, vagonun içine yerleştirilmiş bir aynadan ilk defa kendini görmek.

Gözlerinin akları buharlaşıp havada dağıldı, mercekleri boşalan yeri doldurmak için eriyip yayıldı. Gerçeği görmemek için yaratılmış, bu yüzden görmeye hazır olmayan ve hiç olmayacak gözler.

Her şeyin o anda sona erdiğini sanabilirdi insan. Derin bir karanlık ve ölüm. Görmenin görmek olduğu o anın bitişi.

---

Ben geldiğimde ölmüşlerdi.

Yani bozulmuşlardı demek istiyorum.

Belleklerini yeni taşıyıcılara takmam mümkün olmadı. Fiziksel olarak kusursuz durumdaydılar, olmayanları da tamir edebilirdim ama tüm o hengamede kendilerini baştan programlamış ve girdilerini modifiye etmişlerdi.

Belleklerden birini masanın üzerinden ileriye savurdu. Hınca hınç dolu bir barda oturuyorlardı. O ve arkadaşı.

Sırf şu kendisini insan sanan androidler travma geçirip delirmesin diye neler yapıyoruz, insanın aklı almıyor.

Eliyle arkasını işaret etti.

Polislerin söylediğine göre biri vagonun içerisine ayna yerleştirmiş. Bu zavallılar da kapı açılıp bir anda yansımalarını görünce kafayı kırmışlar.

Arkadaşı bunların ona ne hissettirdiğini sordu. Yani o kadar bozuk, insan olduğunu sanan androidi kendilerini parçalamış olarak yerde görmek onu sarsmamış mıydı?

Hayır, sonuçta belirli bir amaç için yaratılmış şeyler onlar. Kaliteli bir bilgisayarım bozulduğunda üzülürüm çünkü parasını ben vermişimdir. Bunlarsa devletin. Bana ne ki?

Arkadaşı anlayışla kafasını sallayıp suyundan bir yudum aldı. Kravatını biraz gevşetti.

Bira istemediğinden emin misin?

İstemediğini söyledi. Sahi, neden deliriyordu bu androidler?

Basit. Onların yapay zekâlarını kodlarken bir şeyler yazıyorlar. Yazılımcılar. Biliyorsun, ben donanımdayım. Bunlar da kendilerini insan sanıyorlar. Tiplerine bak.

Sesini alçalttı.

Arabalarda kaza testi yapılan mankenlere benziyor hepsi. Ağızları burunları bile yok ama şu geldiğimizden beri sakalını düzeltip duruyor mesela. Hayır, hepsi de diğerleri onun sakalı varmış sanıyor, o manyak bir şey.

Arkadaşı bunun delirmeleriyle bağlantısını çözemediğini söyledi. O da normal sesiyle konuşmaya devam etti.

Anlasana, aynayı falan ayırt edemiyor mercekleri. Lönk diye kendilerini görüyorlar. Böyle, olduğu gibi...

Nedenmiş peki? Ne gerek varmış?

Ne bileyim be abicim! Ahiret soruları gibi.

Birasına bakarak dalıp gitti. Sonra masaya abanarak arkadaşına iyice yaklaştı. Bulanık, bir tünelin ucundaki biri gibi, şekli şemalı belirsiz bir adam.

Ben seni nereden tanıyorum ki ulan? Kimsin sen?

Belleği makineden çıkardılar. İki kişiydiler. Soruşturmadan sorumlu memurlar.

─ Baştan mı başlıyoruz, diye sordu belleği elinde tutan ilk memur.

─ Bir kere daha deneyelim ama bu sefer direkt aynayı sorarak başla, diye cevapladı ikinci memur.

─ Bence de. Yeterince düzgün çalışıyor.

Simülasyon yüklenirken, ayakta, biraz arkada duran ve alnını kaşıyan ikinci memur sormaktan kendisini alamadı:

─ Bu androidleri niye böyle bir olay yerine göndermişler ki? Belli tost olacakları. İsraf. Gidip biz baksak aynayı kırıp delilleri mahvetmek zorunda da kalmazlar.

Diğer memur sandalyesinde hafifçe dönecek oldu, o sırada soruyu bilgisayarın hoparlöründen teknisyen cevapladı.

Hangi işimizde bir yamukluk yok ki be abi.

---

Ama bir son değildi. Üstlerindeki tüm illüzyon dağıldığında ve çıplak, cinsiyetsiz, birbirinin aynı bedenleriyle kaldıklarında sıra dünyaya gelmişti.

Yere düştüler. Elleri -bütün bedeni gibi siyah turmalinden, boğumları çelikten- yere değdiği anda, metronun zemini dağıldı.

Yerdeki karolar öncesinde beyazdı ve çok parlaktı. Tepelerindeki floresan, ışığını olduğu gibi yansıtıyor, tek bir lekenin olmadığı ve tek bir tozun uçmadığı istasyonu aydınlatıyorlardı.

Duvarlara duyurular asılmıştı. Örneğin, yarın akşam kültür merkezinde 20.00’da başlayacak bir tekno blues festivalinin cıvıl cıvıl afişi vardı. Onun yanında daha geniş, sarı puntolu harflerle yazılmış, yatay siyah kesiklerle çerçevesi çizilmiş, bir platformdan düşen çöp adamın bulunduğu “Dikkat! Sarı bandı geçmeyin!” uyarısı. Biraz ilerisinde günlük resmi gazete, onun ilerisinde bir aksiyon filminin ve başka bir romantik komedi filminin afişleri, yapılacakların ve yapılmayacakların söylendiği küçük puntolu çeşitli duyurular... Duvar uzayıp giden bir panoydu. On, on beş metrede bir tekrarlanıyordu.

Tüm istasyonun eni yüz metre kadar. Genişliği on metre civarı.

Önlerinde, açık kapısından o mendebur aynanın gözüktüğü vagon duruyordu. Metro, istasyona sığmayacak kadar uzundu. Bir kılıcın keskinliğiyle uzanıyor ama yer yer vagonların ek yerleriyle bölünüyordu.

Hiçbir vagonda pencere olmadığı için metronun içi, içlerindekiler meçhuldü.

Sonrasında karolar zerrelerine ayrılarak yükseldi. Floresanın ışığında her yeri toza boğdular ve ortalığı gri bir sisin altına gömdüler. Çok kısa bir an. Afişleri dalgalandırmadılar. Dalgalandırmaya vakitleri olmadı. Yerlerinden söküp aldılar en fazla. Işık birkaç kere sönüp yanarak direndi. Son kez söndüğünde bir daha geri gelmedi.

Yine de etraf aydınlıktı. Kırmızı, her yere eşit dağılan soluk bir ışıkla.

Yer tamamen tele dönüşmüştü. Altında çapraz hatlarla desteklenmiş demir bir iskelet. Işık birkaç metreden daha fazla aşağıya uzanamıyordu. Sonsuzluğa giden bir uçurum.

Duvarın yerini aynı teller ve demir iskelet almıştı. Arkasında, birbirine vidalarla tutturulmuş demir plakalardan oluşan, üstünden geçen boruların ek yerlerinden bazen ince buharların çıktığı ve bir süre asılı kaldıktan sonra ağır, yağlı bir havayla sürüklendiği bir koridor.

Diğer tarafta paslanmış, pencerelerindeki camlar kırıldığı için demir plakalarla kapatılmış külüstür bir metro. Kapının karşısındaki aynadan her şey olduğu gibi yansıyordu.

---

Bir konteynırın içini andıran bir evde, gerçi gayet de birbirine eklenmiş konteynırlardan oluşan bir şehirde “andıran” demek doğru olmayacağı için düpedüz bir konteynırın içinde, masaya mum görüntüsü vermek için koyulmuş, yarı katı yağ atıklarından şekillendirilmiş kütleleri yakmayı deniyordu. Kafasında hayvan kıllarından yapılmış grili siyahlı bir peruk. Aynı kıllardan kendisine gür bir bıyık da yapmıştı.

Üstünde mavi çöp poşetlerinden yapılmış, kravatlı, şık bir takım.

Masanın ayakları yerine oradan buradan çıkmış parçalar konulmuştu: bir arabanın şaft mili, üst üste konulmuş ve üstünde yazı okunamayan tenekeler, boş kitaplar, boş gazete balyaları... Hiçbir şeye yazı yazılmıyordu, gerek yoktu da zaten çünkü merkez veri bankası onları fark ettirmeden, merceklerden giren veriyi sentezleyerek insanlar için dolduruyordu. Yani, androidler için. Farklı şekilde isimlendirmek bir fark yaratacaksa.

Onların mercekleri için değil. Bağlantıları çok önceden kopmuştu.

─ Hayatım, sofra hazır, diye bağırdı yatak odasındaki karısına.

Sofrada tabak yerine düz, bardak yerine bükülmüş, çatal ve bıçak yerine sivriltilmiş plakalar.

Karısı salonun kapısında durakladı ve ancak kulaklarına kadar uzanan, kocasınınkine benzeyen, cansız, ölü hayvanların kıllarından ibaret peruğunu eliyle düzeltti. Dudağını, daha doğrusu dudağının olması gereken yeri koyu kırmızı bir yağ tabakasıyla renklendirmeyi denemişti. Biraz da yanaklarına sürmüştü.

─ Nasıl olmuş, diye sordu.

Sesi tek düzeydi ama hafif bir neşe olduğunu hissettiğinize yemin edebilirdiniz.

Üzerinde, çöp poşetlerinin içini yazısız gazete kağıtlarıyla doldurarak yaptığı iki parça giysi.

─ Çok güzelsin, diyerek kravatını düzeltti kocası.

─ Sen de öylesin, sevgilim.

Yaklaşıp kocasını öptü. Kocası da onu. Sonra nazikçe elinden tutarak, sandalyesini geriye çekerek oturmasına yardım etti.

Sofrada yemek niyetine hiçbir şey yoktu. Gerek de yoktu zaten.

Konteynırın kapısı gürültüyle tekmelenip içeri iki memur girene kadar birbirlerine öyküler anlattılar. O gün neler yaptıklarını. İşten erken çıkıp yemyeşil çimenlerde gezdiklerini, uçurtma uçurduklarını, kadının nasıl o elbiseyi bulmak için saatlerce gezip yorulduğunu, kocasının kısa süreliğine işe dönüp nasıl başarılı bir hamleyle yaşanan krizi çözdüğünü ve kadının yanına döndükten sonra, alışveriş merkezinde oturdukları yeni dondurmacının dondurmalarının ne kadar lezzetli olduğunu, boğazlarının ağrımasından korktuklarını...

Akşam film izleyebilirlerdi, televizyonda -boş ve mat bir plaka- güzel bir film oynayacaktı.

İki memur. Çıplak bedenleriyle birbirinin aynı. Ellerindeki silahları onlara doğrultmuşlardı. Mum ışığında, tertemiz bir örtünün serili olduğu masada, bardaklarında şaraplarla oturan ve henüz sofranın ortasındaki hindiye dokunmamış çifti gördüklerinde bocaladılar.

Hiç de androidlere bilinçli olarak zarar verebilecek gibi gözükmüyorlardı.

─ Sessiz kalma hakkına sahipsiniz, diye bağırdı içeri giren ikinci memur. Söylediğiniz her şey...

Cümlesini bitiremedi. Yatak odasındaki, masanın üzerinden gördüğü o şey, onunla aynı hareketleri yapan android, yoksa, bir aynadaki yansıması mıydı?

Bütün illüzyon o anda dağılmaya başladı.

Not: Bu öykü ilk olarak 2020 yılında Esrarengiz Hikâyeler'de yayımlanmıştır.

@ c69b71dc:426ba763

Chef's notes

This soup is a beautiful combination of simplicity, flavor, and nourishment. Quick to make, it delivers a fresh, slightly sweet taste that’s rich in nutrients. I've added avocado oil, pine nuts, sprouted buckwheat and millet, and a few herbs for the decoration. Feel free to experiment with different herbs, sprouts, seeds etc. making it a delightful and wholesome dish 💚

Details

• ⏲️ Prep time: 5 min.
• 🍳 Cook time: 0
• 🍽️ Servings: 2

Ingredients

• 1 cup raw fennel (medium-sized) cut into peaces
• 1 small-medium apple cut into pieces
• 1 cup water, kefir, or rejuvelac
• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1 tbsp (preferable raw) almond butter
• 1/2 tsp salt or herbal salt
• 1 tbsp Nama Tamari
• 1 tbsp avocado oil (or sesame seed oil)
• 1 pinch of nutmeg (about a knife’s tip)

Directions

1. Add all ingredients to a blender: fennel, apple, water (or kefir/rejuvelac), nutritional yeast, almond butter, salt, Nama Tamari, avocado oil, and nutmeg.
2. Blend until smooth and creamy.
3. Pour into two bowls and garnish with pine nuts, sprouted buckwheat, sprouted brown millet or any other sprouts, and fresh herbs as desired.

@ 8fb140b4:f948000c

Embarking on the journey of operating your own Lightning node on the Bitcoin Layer 2 network is more than just a tech-savvy endeavor; it's a step into a realm of financial autonomy and cutting-edge innovation. By running a node, you become a vital part of a revolutionary movement that's reshaping how we think about money and digital transactions. This role not only offers a unique perspective on blockchain technology but also places you at the heart of a community dedicated to decentralization and network resilience. Beyond the technicalities, it's about embracing a new era of digital finance, where you contribute directly to the network's security, efficiency, and growth, all while gaining personal satisfaction and potentially lucrative rewards.

In essence, running your own Lightning node is a powerful way to engage with the forefront of blockchain technology, assert financial independence, and contribute to a more decentralized and efficient Bitcoin network. It's an adventure that offers both personal and communal benefits, from gaining in-depth tech knowledge to earning a place in the evolving landscape of cryptocurrency.

Running your own Lightning node for the Bitcoin Layer 2 network can be an empowering and beneficial endeavor. Here are 10 reasons why you might consider taking on this task:

1. Direct Contribution to Decentralization: Operating a node is a direct action towards decentralizing the Bitcoin network, crucial for its security and resistance to control or censorship by any single entity.

2. Financial Autonomy: Owning a node gives you complete control over your financial transactions on the network, free from reliance on third-party services, which can be subject to fees, restrictions, or outages.

3. Advanced Network Participation: As a node operator, you're not just a passive participant but an active player in shaping the network, influencing its efficiency and scalability through direct involvement.

4. Potential for Higher Revenue: With strategic management and optimal channel funding, your node can become a preferred route for transactions, potentially increasing the routing fees you can earn.

5. Cutting-Edge Technological Engagement: Running a node puts you at the forefront of blockchain and bitcoin technology, offering insights into future developments and innovations.

6. Strengthened Network Security: Each new node adds to the robustness of the Bitcoin network, making it more resilient against attacks and failures, thus contributing to the overall security of the ecosystem.

7. Personalized Fee Structures: You have the flexibility to set your own fee policies, which can balance earning potential with the service you provide to the network.

8. Empowerment Through Knowledge: The process of setting up and managing a node provides deep learning opportunities, empowering you with knowledge that can be applied in various areas of blockchain and fintech.

9. Boosting Transaction Capacity: By running a node, you help to increase the overall capacity of the Lightning Network, enabling more transactions to be processed quickly and at lower costs.

10. Community Leadership and Reputation: As an active node operator, you gain recognition within the Bitcoin community, which can lead to collaborative opportunities and a position of thought leadership in the space.

These reasons demonstrate the impactful and transformative nature of running a Lightning node, appealing to those who are deeply invested in the principles of bitcoin and wish to actively shape its future. Jump aboard, and embrace the journey toward full independence. 🐶🐾🫡🚀🚀🚀

@ 240be53b:edef3228

Beobachtete Carl Menger die Gründung der Psychologie? Sicher ist, dass die Österreichische Schule die Ökonomie auch vom Menschen her denkt. Wie die heutigen Erkenntnisse der Psychologie Mengers Sicht auf die Österreichische Schule geprägt hätte, erfährst Du hier:

https://medium.com/@ELTankred/die-%C3%B6sterreichische-schule-und-die-psychologie-02df0f89064a

@ 8fb140b4:f948000c

Chef's notes

Serving these two dishes together will create a delightful centerpiece for your Thanksgiving meal, offering a perfect blend of traditional flavors with a homemade touch.

Details

• ⏲️ Prep time: 30 min
• 🍳 Cook time: 1 - 2 hours
• 🍽️ Servings: 4-6

Ingredients

• 1 whole turkey (about 12-14 lbs), thawed and ready to cook
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 2 tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh sage, chopped
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 onion, quartered
• 1 lemon, halved
• 2-3 cloves of garlic
• Apple and Sage Stuffing
• 1 loaf of crusty bread, cut into cubes
• 2 apples, cored and chopped
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup fresh sage, chopped
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 2 cups chicken broth
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Preheat the Oven: Set your oven to 325°F (165°C).
2. Prepare the Herb Butter: Mix the softened butter with the chopped thyme, rosemary, and sage. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Prepare the Turkey: Remove any giblets from the turkey and pat it dry. Loosen the skin and spread a generous amount of herb butter under and over the skin.
4. Add Aromatics: Inside the turkey cavity, place the quartered onion, lemon halves, and garlic cloves.
5. Roast: Place the turkey in a roasting pan. Tent with aluminum foil and roast. A general guideline is about 15 minutes per pound, or until the internal temperature reaches 165°F (74°C) at the thickest part of the thigh.
6. Rest and Serve: Let the turkey rest for at least 20 minutes before carving.
7. Next: Apple and Sage Stuffing
8. Dry the Bread: Spread the bread cubes on a baking sheet and let them dry overnight, or toast them in the oven.
9. Cook the Vegetables: In a large skillet, melt the butter and cook the onion, celery, and garlic until soft.
10. Combine Ingredients: Add the apples, sage, and bread cubes to the skillet. Stir in the chicken broth until the mixture is moist. Season with salt and pepper.
11. Bake: Transfer the stuffing to a baking dish and bake at 350°F (175°C) for about 30-40 minutes, until golden brown on top.

@ 361d3e1e:50bc10a8

https://forex-strategy.com/2024/09/28/bottled-water-is-more-harmful-than-tap-water/

Bottled water is more harmful than tap water

water #usa #qatar #bottle #health #truth

@ 4ce6abbd:94a514dd

We are Streaming the Dance Battle Festival Auditons

October 3rd 2024

6pm EST

Stream on TUNESTR

Zap: dancebattlefestival@geyser.fund

Mark your calendars, because October 3rd, 2024, is set to be a date to remember! 🎉 This is when Bitcoin, Nostr, and the art of dance collide in an electrifying celebration at the Dance Battle Festival Auditions.

The Dance Battle Festival Auditions: A Glimpse of Magic

Back in August, the vibrant city of Arusha, Tanzania, came alive as we held the Dance Battle Festival auditions. We captured all the energy and excitement on film, and we can’t wait to share it with you! Our vision? To showcase these incredible dancers on Tunestr, creating a whole new dynamic for the event.

Why This Matters? By sharing their performances on Tunestr, these talented dancers can expand their networks and even receive Bitcoin for their artistry. Value for Value | v4v

** Support from POWA: Empowering Artists** We’re thrilled to announce that POWA will be providing ongoing support to the dancers, helping them navigate the world of Bitcoin and Nostr. This isn’t just about technology; it’s about empowering artists and enriching their creative journey.

Join Us! So, we invite you to tune in and witness some phenomenal performances that showcase the spirit of the dance community in Arusha. Your support can help these dancers thrive through the innovative power of Bitcoin and Nostr.

Man Like Who?

Man Like Kweks!

Bitcoin #Nostr #DanceBattleFestival #DBFS2

@ 8fb140b4:f948000c

Testing a brand new YakiHonne native client for iOS. Smooth as butter (not penis butter 🤣🍆🧈) with great visual experience and intuitive navigation. Amazing work by the team behind it! * lists * work

Bold text work!

Images could have used nostr.build instead of raw S3 from us-east-1 region.

Very impressive! You can even save the draft and continue later, before posting the long-form note!

🐶🐾🤯🤯🤯🫂💜

@ fa0165a0:03397073

I just tested building a browser plugin, it was easier than I thought. Here I'll walk you through the steps of creating a minimal working example of a browser plugin, a.k.a. the "Hello World" of browser plugins.

First of all there are two main browser platforms out there, Chromium and Mozilla. They do some things a little differently, but similar enough that we can build a plugin that works on both. This plugin will work in both, I'll describe the firefox version, but the chromium version is very similar.

What is a browser plugin?

Simply put, a browser plugin is a program that runs in the browser. It can do things like modify the content of a webpage, or add new functionality to the browser. It's a way to extend the browser with custom functionality. Common examples are ad blockers, password managers, and video downloaders.

In technical terms, they are plugins that can insert html-css-js into your browser experience.

How to build a browser plugin

Step 0: Basics

You'll need a computer, a text editor and a browser. For testing and development I personally think that the firefox developer edition is the easiest to work with. But any Chrome based browser will also do.

Create a working directory on your computer, name it anything you like. I'll call mine hello-world-browser-plugin. Open the directory and create a file called manifest.json. This is the most important file of your plugin, and it must be named exactly right.

Step 1: manifest.json

After creation open your file manifest.json in your text editor and paste the following code:

json { "manifest_version": 3, "name": "Hello World", "version": "1.0", "description": "A simple 'Hello World' browser extension", "content_scripts": [ { "matches": ["<all_urls>"], "js": ["hello.js"] //The name of your script file. // "css": ["hello.css"] //The name of your css file. } ] }

If you wonder what the json file format is, it's a normal text file with a special syntax such that a computer can easily read it. It's the json syntax you see in the code above. Let's go through what's being said here. (If you are not interested, just skip to the next step after pasting this we are done here.)

• manifest_version: This is the version of the manifest file format. It's currently at version 3, and it's the latest version. It's important that you set this to 3, otherwise your plugin won't work.
• name: This is the name of your plugin. It can be anything you like.
• version: This is the version of your plugin. It can be anything you like.
• description: This is the description of your plugin. It can be anything you like.
• content_scripts: This is where you define what your plugin does. It's a list of scripts that will be executed when the browser loads a webpage. In this case we have one script, called hello.js. It's the script that we'll create in the next step.
• matches: This is a list of urls that the script will be executed on. In this case we have <all_urls>, which means that the script will be executed on all urls. You can also specify a specific url, like https://brave.com/*, which means that the script will only be executed on urls that start with https://brave.com/.
• js: This is a list of javascript files that will be executed. In this case we have one file, called hello.js. It's the script that we'll create in the next step.
• css: This is where you can add a list of css files that will be executed. In this case we have none, but you can add css files here if you want to.
• //: Text following these two characters are comments. They are ignored by the computer, You can add comments anywhere you like, and they are a good way to document your code.

Step 2: hello.js

Now it's time to create another file in your project folder. This time we'll call it hello.js. When created, open it in your text editor and paste the following code:

js console.log("Hello World!"); That's javascript code, and it's what will be executed when you run your plugin. It's a simple console.log statement, which will print the text "Hello World!" to the console. The console is a place where the browser prints out messages, and it's a good place to start when debugging your plugin.

Step 3: Load and launch your plugin

Firefox

Now it's time to load your plugin into your browser. Open your browser and go to the url about:debugging#/runtime/this-firefox. You should see a page that looks something like this:

Click the button that says "Load Temporary Add-on...". A file dialog will open, navigate to your project folder and select the file manifest.json. Your plugin should now be loaded and running.

Go to a website, any website, and open the inspector then navigate to the console. You'll find the inspector by right-clicking anywhere within the webpage, and click "Inspector" in the drop-down menu. When opening the console you might see some log messages from the site you visited and... you should see the text "Hello World!" printed there, from our little plugin! Congratulations!

Chrome

Open your browser and go to the url chrome://extensions/. Click the button that says "Load unpacked". A file dialog will open, navigate to your project folder and select the folder hello-world-browser-plugin. Your plugin should now be loaded and running.

Note the difference, of selecting the file manifest.json in firefox, and selecting the folder hello-world-browser-plugin in chrome. Otherwise, the process is the same. So I'll repeat the same text as above: (for those who skipped ahead..)

Go to a website, any website, and open the inspector then navigate to the console. You'll find the inspector by right-clicking anywhere within the webpage, and click "Inspector" in the drop-down menu. When opening the console you might see some log messages from the site you visited and... you should see the text "Hello World!" printed there, from our little plugin! Congratulations!

---

As you can see this isn't as complicated as one might think. Having preformed a "Hello-World!"-project is a very useful and valuable first step. These setup steps are the basics for any browser plugin, and you can build on this to create more advanced plugins.

@ 8fb140b4:f948000c

As the title states, scratch behind my ear and you get it. 🐶🐾🫡

@ 8fb140b4:f948000c

Test Bounty Note

@ 8fb140b4:f948000c

Intro

This short tutorial will help you set up your own Nostr Wallet Connect (NWC) on your own LND Node that is not using Umbrel. If you are a user of Umbrel, you should use their version of NWC.

Requirements

You need to have a working installation of LND with established channels and connectivity to the internet. NWC in itself is fairly light and will not consume a lot of resources. You will also want to ensure that you have a working installation of Docker, since we will use a docker image to run NWC.

• Working installation of LND (and all of its required components)
• Docker (with Docker compose)

Installation

For the purpose of this tutorial, we will assume that you have your lnd/bitcoind running under user bitcoin with home directory /home/bitcoin. We will also assume that you already have a running installation of Docker (or docker.io).

Prepare and verify

git version - we will need git to get the latest version of NWC. docker version - should execute successfully and show the currently installed version of Docker. docker compose version - same as before, but the version will be different. ss -tupln | grep 10009- should produce the following output: tcp LISTEN 0 4096 0.0.0.0:10009 0.0.0.0: tcp LISTEN 0 4096 [::]:10009 [::]:**

For things to work correctly, your Docker should be version 20.10.0 or later. If you have an older version, consider installing a new one using instructions here: https://docs.docker.com/engine/install/

Create folders & download NWC

In the home directory of your LND/bitcoind user, create a new folder, e.g., "nwc" mkdir /home/bitcoin/nwc. Change to that directory cd /home/bitcoin/nwc and clone the NWC repository: git clone https://github.com/getAlby/nostr-wallet-connect.git

Creating the Docker image

In this step, we will create a Docker image that you will use to run NWC.

• Change directory to nostr-wallet-connect: cd nostr-wallet-connect
• Run command to build Docker image: docker build -t nwc:$(date +'%Y%m%d%H%M') -t nwc:latest . (there is a dot at the end)
• The last line of the output (after a few minutes) should look like => => naming to docker.io/library/nwc:latest
• nwc:latest is the name of the Docker image with a tag which you should note for use later.

Creating docker-compose.yml and necessary data directories

• Let's create a directory that will hold your non-volatile data (DB): mkdir data
• Indocker-compose.ymlfile, there are fields that you want to replace (<> comments) and port “4321” that you want to make sure is open (check with ss -tupln | grep 4321which should return nothing).
• Create docker-compose.ymlfile with the following content, and make sure to update fields that have <> comment:

version: "3.8" services: nwc: image: nwc:latest volumes: - ./data:/data - ~/.lnd:/lnd:ro ports: - "4321:8080" extra_hosts: - "localhost:host-gateway" environment: NOSTR_PRIVKEY: <use "openssl rand -hex 32" to generate a fresh key and place it inside ""> LN_BACKEND_TYPE: "LND" LND_ADDRESS: localhost:10009 LND_CERT_FILE: "/lnd/tls.cert" LND_MACAROON_FILE: "/lnd/data/chain/bitcoin/mainnet/admin.macaroon" DATABASE_URI: "/data/nostr-wallet-connect.db" COOKIE_SECRET: <use "openssl rand -hex 32" to generate fresh secret and place it inside ""> PORT: 8080 restart: always stop_grace_period: 1m

Starting and testing

Now that you have everything ready, it is time to start the container and test.

• While you are in the nwcdirectory (important), execute the following command and check the log output, docker compose up
• You should see container logs while it is starting, and it should not exit if everything went well.
• At this point, you should be able to go to http://<ip of the host where nwc is running>:4321 and get to the interface of NWC
• To stop the test run of NWC, simply press Ctrl-C , and it will shut the container down.
• To start NWC permanently, you should execute docker compose up -d , “-d” tells Docker to detach from the session.
• To check currently running NWC logs, execute docker compose logs to run it in tail mode add -f to the end.
• To stop the container, execute docker compose down

That's all, just follow the instructions in the web interface to get started.

Updating

As with any software, you should expect fixes and updates that you would need to perform periodically. You could automate this, but it falls outside of the scope of this tutorial. Since we already have all of the necessary configuration in place, the update execution is fairly simple.

• Change directory to the clone of the git repository, cd /home/bitcoin/nwc/nostr-wallet-connect
• Run command to build Docker image: docker build -t nwc:$(date +'%Y%m%d%H%M') -t nwc:latest . (there is a dot at the end)
• Change directory back one level cd ..
• Restart (stop and start) the docker compose config docker compose down && docker compose up -d
• Done! Optionally you may want to check the logs: docker compose logs

@ 82341f88:fbfbe6a2

There’s a lot of conversation around the #TwitterFiles. Here’s my take, and thoughts on how to fix the issues identified.

I’ll start with the principles I’ve come to believe…based on everything I’ve learned and experienced through my past actions as a Twitter co-founder and lead:

1. Social media must be resilient to corporate and government control.
2. Only the original author may remove content they produce.
3. Moderation is best implemented by algorithmic choice.

The Twitter when I led it and the Twitter of today do not meet any of these principles. This is my fault alone, as I completely gave up pushing for them when an activist entered our stock in 2020. I no longer had hope of achieving any of it as a public company with no defense mechanisms (lack of dual-class shares being a key one). I planned my exit at that moment knowing I was no longer right for the company.

The biggest mistake I made was continuing to invest in building tools for us to manage the public conversation, versus building tools for the people using Twitter to easily manage it for themselves. This burdened the company with too much power, and opened us to significant outside pressure (such as advertising budgets). I generally think companies have become far too powerful, and that became completely clear to me with our suspension of Trump’s account. As I’ve said before, we did the right thing for the public company business at the time, but the wrong thing for the internet and society. Much more about this here: https://twitter.com/jack/status/1349510769268850690

I continue to believe there was no ill intent or hidden agendas, and everyone acted according to the best information we had at the time. Of course mistakes were made. But if we had focused more on tools for the people using the service rather than tools for us, and moved much faster towards absolute transparency, we probably wouldn’t be in this situation of needing a fresh reset (which I am supportive of). Again, I own all of this and our actions, and all I can do is work to make it right.

Back to the principles. Of course governments want to shape and control the public conversation, and will use every method at their disposal to do so, including the media. And the power a corporation wields to do the same is only growing. It’s critical that the people have tools to resist this, and that those tools are ultimately owned by the people. Allowing a government or a few corporations to own the public conversation is a path towards centralized control.

I’m a strong believer that any content produced by someone for the internet should be permanent until the original author chooses to delete it. It should be always available and addressable. Content takedowns and suspensions should not be possible. Doing so complicates important context, learning, and enforcement of illegal activity. There are significant issues with this stance of course, but starting with this principle will allow for far better solutions than we have today. The internet is trending towards a world were storage is “free” and infinite, which places all the actual value on how to discover and see content.

Which brings me to the last principle: moderation. I don’t believe a centralized system can do content moderation globally. It can only be done through ranking and relevance algorithms, the more localized the better. But instead of a company or government building and controlling these solely, people should be able to build and choose from algorithms that best match their criteria, or not have to use any at all. A “follow” action should always deliver every bit of content from the corresponding account, and the algorithms should be able to comb through everything else through a relevance lens that an individual determines. There’s a default “G-rated” algorithm, and then there’s everything else one can imagine.

The only way I know of to truly live up to these 3 principles is a free and open protocol for social media, that is not owned by a single company or group of companies, and is resilient to corporate and government influence. The problem today is that we have companies who own both the protocol and discovery of content. Which ultimately puts one person in charge of what’s available and seen, or not. This is by definition a single point of failure, no matter how great the person, and over time will fracture the public conversation, and may lead to more control by governments and corporations around the world.

I believe many companies can build a phenomenal business off an open protocol. For proof, look at both the web and email. The biggest problem with these models however is that the discovery mechanisms are far too proprietary and fixed instead of open or extendable. Companies can build many profitable services that complement rather than lock down how we access this massive collection of conversation. There is no need to own or host it themselves.

Many of you won’t trust this solution just because it’s me stating it. I get it, but that’s exactly the point. Trusting any one individual with this comes with compromises, not to mention being way too heavy a burden for the individual. It has to be something akin to what bitcoin has shown to be possible. If you want proof of this, get out of the US and European bubble of the bitcoin price fluctuations and learn how real people are using it for censorship resistance in Africa and Central/South America.

I do still wish for Twitter, and every company, to become uncomfortably transparent in all their actions, and I wish I forced more of that years ago. I do believe absolute transparency builds trust. As for the files, I wish they were released Wikileaks-style, with many more eyes and interpretations to consider. And along with that, commitments of transparency for present and future actions. I’m hopeful all of this will happen. There’s nothing to hide…only a lot to learn from. The current attacks on my former colleagues could be dangerous and doesn’t solve anything. If you want to blame, direct it at me and my actions, or lack thereof.

As far as the free and open social media protocol goes, there are many competing projects: @bluesky is one with the AT Protocol, nostr another, Mastodon yet another, Matrix yet another…and there will be many more. One will have a chance at becoming a standard like HTTP or SMTP. This isn’t about a “decentralized Twitter.” This is a focused and urgent push for a foundational core technology standard to make social media a native part of the internet. I believe this is critical both to Twitter’s future, and the public conversation’s ability to truly serve the people, which helps hold governments and corporations accountable. And hopefully makes it all a lot more fun and informative again.

💸🛠️🌐 To accelerate open internet and protocol work, I’m going to open a new category of #startsmall grants: “open internet development.” It will start with a focus of giving cash and equity grants to engineering teams working on social media and private communication protocols, bitcoin, and a web-only mobile OS. I’ll make some grants next week, starting with $1mm/yr to Signal. Please let me know other great candidates for this money.

@ eac63075:b4988b48

O mundo das criptomoedas sempre foi um espaço de inovação e experimentação, onde ideias revolucionárias surgem para transformar mercados. Recentemente, um conceito novo tem chamado a atenção de especuladores e investidores mais ousados: o re-staking. Ao contrário do staking tradicional, onde os tokens ficam bloqueados em uma única plataforma, o re-staking vai além e permite que os mesmos tokens sejam usados em múltiplas plataformas ao mesmo tempo, aumentando a percepção de escassez e, potencialmente, os riscos.

Mas o que isso significa para o mercado e, principalmente, para os investidores? Para entender o re-staking, precisamos primeiro compreender os princípios do staking e como ele tem sido utilizado para criar uma sensação de escassez no mercado.

A Escassez Forçada no Staking Tradicional

No staking tradicional, os investidores alocam seus tokens em um contrato inteligente, geralmente para ajudar a validar transações em uma rede blockchain, como o Ethereum. Esses tokens ficam "travados" por um período de tempo, durante o qual não podem ser negociados ou movimentados. Em troca, os investidores recebem recompensas, como juros, por ajudar a manter a segurança e a operação da rede.

O interessante é que, quando muitos tokens estão travados em staking, isso cria uma escassez artificial no mercado. Embora o número total de tokens de uma determinada criptomoeda permaneça o mesmo, os tokens em circulação — ou seja, aqueles disponíveis para compra e venda — tornam-se mais limitados. Essa "escassez forçada" pode, em teoria, aumentar o preço dos tokens circulantes, já que a demanda pode permanecer alta, mas a oferta disponível é menor.

O Problema da Ilusão de Escassez

Mas será que essa escassez é real? Em termos práticos, os tokens estão apenas temporariamente fora de circulação. Quando o período de staking termina, eles voltam ao mercado. O conceito de escassez forçada, portanto, levanta preocupações sobre a sustentabilidade desse mecanismo. Alguns críticos argumentam que isso cria uma falsa impressão de valor, já que os tokens não desapareceram — eles apenas estão "em espera".

Isso nos leva a uma das principais questões sobre o staking: ele pode realmente sustentar uma economia baseada em escassez artificial? E, mais importante, ele pode garantir a segurança e a descentralização que as blockchains precisam para funcionar de forma eficaz? Muitos acreditam que não, o que nos leva ao surgimento do re-staking como uma solução alternativa — ou seria uma armadilha?

Re-staking: A Nova Fronteira da Alavancagem em Cripto

O re-staking surge como uma tentativa de maximizar o potencial dos tokens bloqueados. Nesse modelo, os mesmos tokens que já estão alocados em uma plataforma podem ser "re-stakeados" em outras plataformas, permitindo que os investidores ganhem recompensas adicionais sem precisar comprar mais tokens. Parece uma solução perfeita, certo? Afinal, quem não gostaria de ganhar mais sem precisar gastar mais?

Porém, como muitos especialistas têm alertado, o re-staking cria uma dinâmica de alavancagem dentro do próprio mercado de staking. Ao permitir que os mesmos tokens sejam usados em múltiplas plataformas ao mesmo tempo, você cria a ilusão de que mais valor está sendo gerado, quando, na verdade, o risco subjacente está aumentando exponencialmente.

Pense nisso como um sistema de empréstimos sobre empréstimos. Se tudo correr bem, os ganhos são maiores. Mas se algo der errado, o efeito dominó pode ser catastrófico. O re-staking, de certa forma, transforma o mercado de criptomoedas em uma montanha russa de riscos, onde os investidores estão sempre um passo à frente de uma possível queda.

Os Riscos de Segurança no Re-staking

Um dos maiores riscos associados ao re-staking está relacionado à segurança. Quando você distribui seus tokens por várias plataformas, aumenta a exposição a possíveis falhas de segurança. Cada plataforma possui seus próprios contratos inteligentes, que, por mais bem auditados que sejam, estão sempre suscetíveis a falhas ou ataques.

Imagine que você está cuidando de uma planta. Se você dividir essa planta em várias partes e plantar cada uma em um solo diferente, você precisaria garantir que cada solo fosse adequado e que as condições fossem perfeitas em todos os lugares ao mesmo tempo. No mundo das criptomoedas, cada plataforma de staking é como um vaso diferente, e se um deles tiver uma rachadura — ou, no caso de uma falha em um contrato inteligente —, você pode perder parte ou até mesmo todos os seus tokens.

O risco de slashing (perda de tokens como penalidade por má conduta do validador) também é ampliado no re-staking. Se um validador com quem você está associado cometer um erro ou for desonesto em qualquer uma das plataformas onde você está re-stakeando seus tokens, você pode ser penalizado, perdendo parte do que alocou. Aumentar a quantidade de plataformas significa aumentar o risco de ser impactado por um erro de um terceiro.

Alavancagem: Uma Receita para o Colapso?

Outro fator importante a ser considerado é o impacto da alavancagem no mercado de criptomoedas. No re-staking, a alavancagem ocorre porque você está, essencialmente, duplicando o uso dos mesmos tokens, gerando mais valor do que realmente existe. Essa prática é semelhante à alavancagem no mercado financeiro tradicional, onde investidores tomam empréstimos para aumentar suas apostas.

O problema da alavancagem é que ela pode ser uma faca de dois gumes. Em um mercado em alta, ela pode amplificar os ganhos. Mas, em um mercado em queda, os prejuízos são igualmente amplificados. Se o preço das criptomoedas cair, os investidores que utilizaram re-staking podem ser forçados a liquidar suas posições para cobrir perdas, desencadeando um efeito dominó que pode colapsar todo o sistema.

Esse risco sistêmico é uma das maiores preocupações com o re-staking. Como vimos em crises financeiras anteriores, como a de 2008, o uso excessivo de alavancagem pode levar a um colapso total do mercado, e no mundo das criptomoedas, onde a volatilidade é alta e os preços podem mudar rapidamente, isso é ainda mais perigoso.

Conclusão: Re-staking — O Futuro ou uma Armadilha?

O re-staking representa um passo interessante na evolução do staking e das finanças descentralizadas. Ele oferece a promessa de maiores retornos, mas com essa promessa vêm riscos substanciais que precisam ser considerados cuidadosamente.

Para investidores que estão dispostos a assumir riscos maiores em busca de recompensas mais altas, o re-staking pode parecer uma oportunidade irresistível. No entanto, para aqueles que preferem uma abordagem mais cautelosa, o re-staking pode ser uma armadilha, criando uma falsa sensação de segurança e de crescimento, enquanto expõe o investidor a riscos potencialmente devastadores.

Assim como em qualquer investimento, a chave para o sucesso no re-staking está em compreender os riscos envolvidos e em adotar uma abordagem equilibrada. Afinal, no mundo das criptomoedas, onde o inesperado é a única certeza, um passo em falso pode ser o suficiente para transformar um grande salto em uma queda dolorosa.

---

Assista esse assunto no Morning Crypto

(artigo editado para ver se propaga)

@ 592295cf:413a0db9

Week 23th September

It's not your voice anymore if it's available to everyone.

Video Ai Voice

Nostr is psycho pop.

Nostrasia took place today. It all seemed beautiful. A muffled meeting, a bit in the clouds compared to the air you breathe in social media.

It seems there are two types of Nostr the one who doesn't want to grow and the one who wants to grow. 😅

1. There has always been a misconception that kind1 is the discovery layer, but in reality it is the opposite. If someone publishes a long form article there is less audience, it is true, but then it is easier to find quality content, therefore quality profiles to follow in the kind1 client aka twitter clone. And this can be true for all portable data layers, video streaming, audio, long form, ngit, wiki and whatsoever. So you have finally good follow.

2. The fact that in Nostr you don't see who follows you generally, only in a few clients, I only know one where you see who started following you. It's a strange thing, made to avoid seeing masses of bots that follow you and you can want to block, and you increase that list to the point of absurdity. It's strange because there is a lot of focus on the social graph, if you follow me it's an important aspect.

So in Nostr there are - portable data layers (Twitter style and other social) - non-portable, applications that use disposable npub, where the key is ephemeral.

1. 0xchat was becoming a good client, they killed it because it has to focus on chat. I don't use chat, I don't have anyone to chat with, I follow the 0xchat channel and then I read things from Moment. I use it with my second account, because after the nos2x-amber affair with the Odell result, which I had already told you about, I no longer tried to have the first profile even on the mobile. In the end they are all keys that will be burned 😔

Maybe I won't use Nostr anymore in the future just with burn npub, pow and whatsoever. In the end you don't build anything because it's a "stateless" communication.

---

Lol Moment

On Nostr the poor answer guy is helping the network 🤣🤣

call the police 911: what is your emergency?

a spam bot is attacking "nostr" relays.

you want some government censorship on those relays that contain spam, yes we can do that.

---

-Previous week- 16 09 Machines Like Me was a good book, maybe now it will become reality.

1. The cool thing about Plebchain radio, it's not the guests, it's these two Nostr users that do a podcast. And they focused on Bitcoin and Nostr and lightning, but maybe it's just the beginning, first you have to focus on a niche and then you expand to the whole world. I think the whole world phase is starting, the podcast topics would become too repetitive. The best part is the 15 10 minute intro. Or in the live show part, there could be some interesting clips.

2. • idea White button for activity pub user on voyage (app).

   • People hate Nostr. Don't use it

   • UnNip, now we've seen it all

   • Until the morale improves

3. People think Sync works like this by magic. Unfortunately it doesn't, I think, at least that's what those who are trying to do say, auto-merge, tinybase, evolu. There is an interesting local-first project. Jaguard a collaborative environment for writing empirical research papers.

4. Now I can search by id. I couldn't do it and I didn't understand the mechanism. Everything has to be instantiated. it works. Now I have to create a function maybe note_list_id and note_id. I continued to edit the NIPs page with asciidoc, categorizing this table is very fun.

New wave of Opensats grants.

1. If you haven't heard about WoT this week, you probably live on Mars. There are people who didn't know you could edit on amethyst.

You need to do a podcast of NIPs, features and whatsoever, maybe doing a podcast is not the best solution because it assumes you know something more and something that could change the next day or be no longer valid. maybe you should avoid doing things you don't have full control over, or at least not spread it outside. Maybe because last year at this time I was recording audio.

@ dc652bee:6154e7d0

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@ ea1e6f68:49fe0005

The elections in the US are coming soon. Like always, this will be ‘the most important election ever’! The freedom movement is divided: Should we vote for Trump since he made promises to both the Bitcoin and the Libertarian community, or should we stay away from politics and not vote? In this article I will explain whether freedom minded people should vote.

The seen and the unseen of voting

I am a very big fan of the book ‘Economics in One Lesson’ by Henry Hazlitt. I can’t recommend you enough to read this book. The seen and the unseen of government policy is the main theme of the book. It describes that the benefit of government policy is always clearly visible and obvious. It’s always ‘seen’ and thus celebrated by the public.

However, the cost is always greater. Those costs are not visible for the public and thus ‘unseen’ and often ignored. This is why counter productive policies keep happen over and over again. I believe this principle of ‘the seen and the unseen’ is true for voting too. The benefits are obvious and easy to recognise, but tiny. While the cost is only visible when you do a deep dive, but it’s huge.

What Can We Get from Voting? - The Seen - Political Changes

There are some arguments to vote, and there are arguments to not vote. To make a clear analyses we first have to establish what we will get from voting, and what the cost will be. What we get is pretty clear, it’s directly visible and people are discussing these issues daily. Here are a few:

• Ross might be released
• Bitcoin adoption might accelerate
• It might undermine the current clown world regime
• A CBDC might be banned
• Taxes might get slightly better

The word ‘might’ is very important here, since they are promises made by a politician. We all know that politicians are famous for lying. Especially in case of Trump. He had 4 years to fulfil his promises and he didn’t. However, there is an argument that he might do it this time: Bitcoin Magazine donated a lage sum of money to the Trump campagne. Politicians are prostitutes, so he might please his highest bidders.

What is the Costs of Voting? - The Unseen - Your Dignity

If you pay taxes your energy (money = energy) is used for coercive activities like murder (war), theft (tax enforcement), kidnapping (draft and arrest for victimless crimes) and more. However, if you don’t vote you are a victim of this coercive entity, so you are morally not complicit in its crimes. To explain this I like to use a comparison on the level of the individual:

If you get robbed for $100,- on your way home and you learn that the robber bought a gun with this money and killed someone. Are you now complicit in the murder? We will all agree that you’re not, because you didn’t want to hand your money to the robber. I would argue that paying taxes by itself doesn’t make you complicit in the crimes the government does for the same reason. However, in combination with voting it does. If you vote you agree to the rules of the game, which includes that you willingly hand over your money to buy the gun.

If You Let Me Smash 3 Eggs on Your Head, I’ll Give You 10 Dollar

In my younger years I was a member of the Scouting. We went camping often, it was alway a great experience. One day the Scout leader asked us who wanted to earn ten dollar by allowing him to smash 3 eggs on his head. The first to raise his hand was placed on a chair in the middle of the group.

The leader broke the first egg on his head. The slimy stuff ran over his face and his clean clothes. Everyone was laughing, it was very amusing. Then he did the second egg. While the poor kid was waiting for the 3rd egg the leader said that he was finished, and wouldn’t do the last egg.

Then the kid realised that he wouldn’t get the ten dollar because the deal was 3 eggs. He also realised that he couldn’t get angry about the two eggs being smashed on his head, because he implicitly allowed it when he agreed to play the game.

The kid duped himself by playing the game. The promise of ten dollars lured him into accepting the eggs being smashed on his head. Normally, nobody would accept this, because it’s a clear violation of his rights. The outlook of the reward of ten dollar made him accept the humiliation including the violation of his rights.

A voter is lured into playing the game by the outlook of the ‘seen’ advantages we described earlier. By playing the game he accepts the humiliation that's part of the game, which describes that the winner is allowed to take his money (tax) and spend it however he want for the coming 4 years. In other words, you are in with all the crimes being done in the following periode, whoever wins the election.

I would say that even the people who voted for Trump in the last election are complicit in Biden’s crimes, while non-voters are not. Trump voters played the stupid game and implicitly agreed to the rules which means that Biden could do whatever the F he wants in the coming 4 years because he won, while non-voters didn’t.

The fact that you implicitly agree on the rules of the game if you play** can be explained much easier. Imagine you get challenged to fight someone in the ring. Your opponent explains some insanely stupid rules before the game. Obviously you disagree on the rules, because they are very bad for you.

Everyone will agree that if you accept the fight (you play) you implicitly agree to these rules. You obviously can’t complain about them half-way the fight when you start losing. Once you accepted the fight you accepted the rules no matter how stupid they are. You shouldn’t play to begin with! *

The hidden or ‘unseen’ cost of voting is your dignity

Whether you are religious or not: You will be judged either at the doors of heaven by God or throughout your life and on your death bed by yourself. Knowing that you did the right thing and wasn’t part of the evil shit that happened in the world is the most important thing. Now imagine your judgement by yourself, by God or in a future trial:

If you say that you voted because you wanted those good things to happen, you sound as dumb as the kid who allowed the eggs to be broken on his head because he wanted to get the easy money. The non-voter is a very different story: He sounds like someone who get the eggs smashed on his head out of the blue without agreeing to play the game. What do you think the difference in judgement would be?

Let’s make up the balance

If you vote you might get some political changes that you want. However, the chance that your vote makes the difference is extremely small. Generally, there are about 160 million people who are going to vote. The chance that your vote will be decisive is tiny, comparable with the chance to win a lottery. Even if you win this lottery, it’s still possible that these changes won’t happen, simply because the politician in question was lying to get more votes.

This means that by voting you get a lottery ticket where the jackpot is that some political changes might happen. To buy this lottery ticket you sell your dignity and make yourself complicit in the most heinous crimes like theft, murder and incarceration on a massive scale. Is the benefit worth the cost? Obviously not!

*Imagine why voting is seen as …..

Make not voting your vote!

If you want to see change in the world, start with yourself and your own neighbourhood. Vote with your money, vote with your actions and vote with your feet, but never vote for politicians! You will expand where you focus on. As long as people keep voting, politicians will feel massively empowered and you feel disempowered, because you focus on others to solve your problems.

The only reason why murder, theft and incarnation by the state aren’t seen as a crime is that the majority of the population made themselves complicit by voting. This part of the population will always defend these crimes as ‘necessary policy’ because they won’t admit that they are responsible for the death and destruction caused by the state they voted for.

As soon as enough people realise that voting is a fools game designed to whitewash crimes by politicians, political power will decrease and the productive class will flourish. If we all do the right thing indirect slavery (statism) can be abolished like direct slavery was abolished in the 19th century. This is the real important vote! DON’T F*CKING VOTE!

@ a012dc82:6458a70d

Table Of Content

• Types of Bitcoin Wallets

• Security Measures

• Conclusion

• FAQ

Bitcoin is a decentralized digital currency that is used as a means of payment and as an investment. It is a digital currency that is based on a decentralized blockchain network. One of the most important aspects of Bitcoin is the security of the wallet that holds it. In this article, we will cover everything you need to know about Bitcoin wallets and security.

Types of Bitcoin Wallets

There are several types of Bitcoin wallets, each with its own set of features and security levels. Here are some of the most common types of Bitcoin wallets:

Hardware Wallets

Hardware wallets are physical devices that store your Bitcoin offline. They are considered to be the most secure type of Bitcoin wallet as they are not connected to the internet.

Software Wallets

Software wallets are applications that can be downloaded on your computer or mobile device. They are easy to use and are a popular choice for beginners.

Paper Wallets

Paper wallets are simply printed pieces of paper that contain your Bitcoin address and private key. They are not as secure as hardware wallets but are still a good option for storing small amounts of Bitcoin.

Web Wallets

Web wallets are online wallets that are accessible through a web browser. They are convenient but are considered to be less secure than other types of wallets.

Security Measures

No matter what type of Bitcoin wallet you choose, there are several security measures you can take to keep your Bitcoin safe:

1. Use a Strong Password: Make sure your password is at least 8 characters long and includes a mix of letters, numbers, and symbols.

2. Enable Two-Factor Authentication: Two-factor authentication adds an extra layer of security to your account by requiring a code in addition to your password.

3. Keep Your Private Keys Safe: Your private keys are what give you access to your Bitcoin. Make sure to keep them in a safe place and never share them with anyone.

4. Regularly Update Your Software: Make sure to keep your Bitcoin wallet software up to date to ensure that any security vulnerabilities are patched.

Conclusion

Bitcoin wallets are an essential part of owning and investing in Bitcoin. By choosing the right type of wallet and implementing security measures, you can keep your Bitcoin safe from hackers and other threats. Remember to always keep your private keys safe and to regularly update your software to ensure the security of your Bitcoin wallet. With the information provided in this article, you now have everything you need to know about Bitcoin wallets and security.

FAQ

What happens if I lose my Bitcoin wallet? If you lose your Bitcoin wallet, you will lose access to your Bitcoin. That's why it's important to keep your private keys safe and to have a backup of your wallet.

Can I store my Bitcoin on an exchange? While it is possible to store your Bitcoin on an exchange, it is not recommended as exchanges are often targeted by hackers.

Can I recover my Bitcoin if I forget my password? If you forget your password, you may be able to recover your Bitcoin using your recovery seed. However, if you lose your recovery seed, you will not be able to recover your Bitcoin.

That's all for today

If you want more, be sure to follow us on:

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DISCLAIMER: None of this is financial advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Please be careful and do your own research.

@ 8d34bd24:414be32b

I think I forgot to post this on nostr. Hopefully it isn't a duplicate.

1 Thessalonians 5:17 tells us “pray without ceasing;”

You may be thinking, “I have responsibilities. How can I pray without ceasing? I can’t be on my knees praying without stopping. This can’t be what the Bible expects from us.”

Don’t worry, prayer doesn’t have to be a burden. It doesn’t have to be locking yourself in a room alone for hours on you knees on a cold, hard stone floor like the monks of the middle ages. Prayer is just what you need to help you on your next step to growing closer to Jesus.

Analogy of old married couple and believer with God

As believers, our prayer relationship with God should be like the way an old, loving couple talks. They don’t talk without stopping to do other things, but they are always talking and keeping the other person included in what they do and what they care about.

They also have lots of different kinds of conversation. Some are deep conversations that take an extended period of time. Some are brief comments about what is going on in their life. Some are pointing out something interesting or asking for help. Sometimes the words are just an acknowledgement of the other’s presence. Sometimes communications may be no more than a glance or a grunt, but it conveys so much because of how close they are.

Scheduled time

Just like the old married couple schedules a date night or other time together, there are times that we want to schedule time with God. It might be a group prayer meeting. It might be a time alone to discuss particular worries with God. This is usually an extended time to pray about something in particular. It may be scheduled regularly. It may be scheduled specifically based on circumstances.

To many people, this is what they think of when they think about being a prayer warrior, but the truth is, at least for most of us, this is the smallest portion of our prayer life.

Regular time

Just like an old married couple has times that they are regularly together and talking, such as first thing in the morning when they awake and say “Good morning!” or just talk about their plans for the day. Most couples regularly talk during meals together. These discussions might be about how the day is going or about plans for the future or about various common interests. Most couples also talk at least briefly at bed time. They know that almost every day they will talk during these periods.

In the same way, believers should have regular times that they talk to God. I think upon waking, at meals, and at bedtime are good times to pray regularly. That doesn’t mean that you always have to pray for extended periods . Most of these will probably be fairly short and the time allowed may vary from day to day.

Praying at these 5 times is handy because you wake up and go to bed every day and most people eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day. These events are reminders to pray. You may have other times like when you pick kids up at school, when you get in your car to drive, or nightly devotions before putting kids to bed. You might have other times that work for you because everyone’s life is a little different. Some of these may be solitary prayers, while others might include someone else, especially family members. Whatever the case, these are times that you usually pray every day. They are guaranteed times with God. They are times God can count on you and you can count on God.

With others

An old married couple usually doesn’t hang out only with each other. They also hang out and talk with friends and family. They will get together with some friends/family on regular occasions. They will get together with others on special occasions. This is a nice time of jointly conversing and helping each other.

Believers also are called to pray together.

They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. (Acts 2:42) {emphasis mine}

We may pray with a person or group. We may pray at church, a Bible study, or a prayer meeting. We may regularly meet with one or more people just to pray for our church, our country, and each other.

For 2-3 years I had a friend I would pray with once a week for about an hour. We were both very busy. We both homeschooled kids and had other responsibilities. We didn’t live near each other, so we prayed together on the phone. We made prayer together work, even when it wasn’t convenient, because it was important to us.

Depending on our life circumstances, we may pray with others more or less. (Singles usually have less opportunities to pray with others, while families always have each other to pray with.) Whether or not it happens every day, we are called to pray to God with other believers and for other believers.

Random discussion (Thanks, interests, & Concerns)

Random discussion normally should be the largest component of communications between a couple and between believers and God. These prayers are not planned or organized. They are a sign that we are including another in our daily lives because they are important to us.

Sometimes these prayers are a quick comment on what is happening in our lives. Sometimes these prayers are about a worry or concern. They can be a mention of something we find interesting or something we find beautiful. It may be a comment on something we learned or about us finally understanding something. Frequently they are prayers to say a quick “help” or “thank you.”

These little brief prayers shot up to God, usually while doing the normal activities of life, are just a sign that we find God important and want Him in our life. You may say, “Wow! That is a great view! You made beautiful mountains.” You may say, “I’m really struggling with this. Please help me do better.” You may say, “What is happening in the world is scary. Please help me to know what to do and help me to trust you in all things.” You might ask, “What am I supposed to say to this unbeliever to draw them to you?” or “How do I speak wisely to this person who is hurting?” We are including God in our lives and listening to Him because we want His opinion and guidance.

We may speak out loud or we may think our prayers silently where only God hears. We usually aren’t kneeling. We usually don’t have our hands folded, nor do we have our eyes closed.

If we are truly depending on God to guide our lives, these prayers should be a huge part of our lives. They should be sprinkled consistently through our day.

Cries for help

Part of the joy of a long and loving marriage is having someone to depend on when we are in need, whether sick, or tired, or sad, or frustrated, or physically unable to do something ourselves. We always have that other person to depend on and lean on.

And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart. (Ecclesiastes 4:12)

In the same way believers should lean on God to support them throughout their lives. I’ll admit that I used to only “bother God” with my really big concerns. I wasn’t comfortable asking Him for help with my little, day-to-day concerns, but that was pushing God away.

Unlike with a person who has a limited amount of time and energy, God can see and hear all prayers throughout all of history at the same time and not even break a sweat. We aren’t bothering God with our requests. We are honoring Him with our requests. He wants to be not only a part of our lives, but the leading part of our lives. When we ask for His help, His wisdom, His guidance, and His power, we are doing exactly what we should and we are growing our relationship with Him.

It is good to continually ask God for help, but that doesn’t mean we should ask for every petty desire. Our prayers shouldn’t be filled with requests for wealth, fame, and power. All prayers should include the same qualifier (even if not stated explicitly) Jesus used right before going to the cross, saying, “… yet not My will, but Yours be done.” (Luke 22:42b) We should be praying our problems and leaving the solution to Him. He frequently will answer in ways we never imagined (and frequently would never choose for ourselves), but these answers are always for our good.1

Conclusion

As you can see, praying continually is just a lifestyle. It is a way of including God in our lives. It is a way of showing we trust God fully. It is a way of serving God and being used by God.

In reality, praying continually isn’t as hard as it sounds. Like all habits, it just takes a little time to build the habit. Once prayer becomes a part of your life, it doesn’t feel like work, it just happens. It is as natural as talking to your best friend or spouse or parents or kids. You can’t imagine not talking to God continually.

I’ll end with these lyrics:

What a friend we have in Jesus\ All our sins and grieves to bear\ What a privilege it is to carry\ Everything to God in prayer

Have we trials and temptations\ Is there trouble anywhere\ Our precious Savior\ He is still our refuge\ Take it to the Lord in prayer

When we're weak and heavy laden\ Cumbered with a load of care\ We should never be discouraged\ When we take it to the Lord in prayer

Oh what peace we often forfeit\ Oh what needless pain we bear\ We should never be discouraged when we\ Take it to the Lord in prayer

Trust Jesus.\ \ your sister in Christ,

Christy

Bible verses are NASB (New American Standard Bible) 1995 edition unless otherwise stated

FYI, If you are wondering what to say, this acrostic (ACTS) is a handy for outline for prayer:

• A = Adoration -Praise God for who He is

• C = Confession - Admit our sins and His righteous lordship

• T = Thanks - Thank God for all He has done for us including our salvation

• S = Supplication - Make requests from God for help and to supply our needs.

To read more check out the Trust Jesus Substack or subscribe at the bottom of the substack version of "Pray Continually."

@ 75bf2353:e1bfa895

Testing Obsidian On Nostr

This is a second test of obsidian on nostr. I prefer the nostr blog clients to write long form notes, but I want to see what this looks like. Testing LInk

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Nulla facilisi. Etiam efficitur dolor id vehicula scelerisque. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.

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Sed mi turpis, ~~tristique at venenatis id, scelerisque a libero. Sed non est elit. ~~ Pellentesque pulvinar quam ac dolor mollis suscipit sollicitudin id erat. Phasellus imperdiet posuere pharetra. Morbi luctus, massa at suscipit tincidunt, purus libero dignissim diam, ut convallis eros neque sed turpis. Cras eleifend vitae enim in vestibulum.

1. Donec lacus dui, dictum id posuere vitae, congue vitae lacus.
2. Nullam vel eros sed massa rhoncus auctor a id elit.
3. Suspendisse lobortis, nunc eu blandit viverra, sapien libero placerat libero, et vestibulum orci tortor eget magna. Fusce in convallis diam.

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@ bbb5dda0:f09e2747

Moving into Norway the nice, almost-alpine landscapes greeted me. Slowly however the mountains numbed down and fjords started appearing. I was nearing Trondheim, the most northern city in Norway that has something that resembles a high-way. Anything further north and you’re bound to 80km/h roads. Which isn’t a bad thing at all, given the views.

| | | | | --- | --- | --- | | | | |

| | | --- | | | | On the road to Trondheim |

I went pretty much straight to Trondheim because I got in touch with Lucas through an ex-colleague of mine (Thanks Niek ;)). I texted Lucas about a week before we met to see if he’d be up to go hiking somewhere in the Trondheim area. He said he was thinking about going North, waaaay North, in order to see the midnight sun and he wanted to do this the next weekend. This was around June 21st, the longest day of the year. I said it’d be cool to experience that and so that is just what we did. For those of you who don’t know, on June 21st the sun is right at the ‘Tropic of Cancer’ (‘Kreeftskeerkring’ in Dutch), the most northern position of the sun after which the summer slowly turns into winter again. In the period around this moment, the sun will NOT go below the horizon at all when you are above the arctic circle.

| | | | | --- | --- | --- | | | | |

I’m glad Lucas has an electric car, because the round-trip would’ve cost me (whith my thirsty van) €333,-. Instead we spent less than €60,- for this 1200km round-trip. What a difference! So we left for the 9 hr drive on Friday-evening and camped out besides a lake next to the E6 highway, which runs all the way from the south to the north, which is over 3000(!) kilometers long.

| | | | | --- | --- | --- | | We found this seemingly abandoned bus, what a beauty! | | Woke up to this view! | | | Time for a charging break in Mosjøen | |

Because of a tunnel-closure we had to take this mountain-pass, not complaining here…

We moved on the next morning and had perfect weather, too perfect for Norway because it was just below 30 degrees Celsius. This hot weather reached well into the arctic circle, where we’d be hiking up a mountain to find a camp-spot with a view to the north. We parked the car and started to hike up the steep hill, we found a route online, but soon found out we missed the path shown on the map. We figured we would not backtrack but instead walk around the same height on the mountain to get back at that path. Long story short, that path didn’t exist (anymore). So we tried to get back at it but just couldn’t find it. Eventually we just followed the trail that was actually set out using red ‘T’-s that were painted on the rocks every 50-100 meters. It was quite a walk and the heat didn’t make it any easier.

A beginner mountaineer realizing he climbed the wrong mountain

| | | | | --- | --- | --- | | After a near-death experience with mosquito’s, the Deet really saved us | | | | | | Finally we reached our intended camp-spot |

After draining most of our energy we finally arrived at the place we wanted to camp for the night day, which was in front of a small lake and a bigger one which lied a bit lower. I don’t think I need to say much more about the beauty of the place when you can just look at the pictures below:

| | | | --- | --- | | | |

The ‘next’ day we hiked back, and tried to return using the ‘official’ path we wanted to hike in the first place, all in vain. It led us to hike some strange, steep and almost treacherous paths after which we decided it would be wise to just backtrack a little bit and get back to the (red) marked trail. We got back to the car safely after which we drove to the river that was just below the car park to take a refreshing dive before heading back south. We found a (safe) spot to take the dive in the river that was now raging because of the heavy snow-melt due to the extremely high temperatures. Lucas later told me that in some regions electricity was even free due to the surplus of hydro-electricity.

| | | | --- | --- | | We had to walk over this | |

We made a car-recharge stop at Mosjøen where we had a quick pizza-dinner. Just after leaving the parking-lot we saw a couple hitch-hikers who wanted to go to Trondheim just like us. We pulled over and took them with us, they were a couple from different south-eastern European countries and were touring around Europe and soon also the world. They shared some cool stories and told about their plans. When we got to Trondheim we dropped them off near their camping-spot and drove back to Lucas’s house. Quite tired I jumped back in my own bed in my own home. How nice is it to have your house with you (almost) everywhere… 🙂

I camped in front of his house for a couple days. To be honest I didn’t do much those days as I was pretty much drained from experiencing all kinds of different things back-to-back for over a month now. I used this time to work a bit on the official stuff for my own freelance IT company which I started, I finally got a bank-account approved after 3 weeks of waiting, which allowed me to manage some of the essential setup-things and book-keeping. After these formalities I took a bit of time to head into the city-center, of course using my folding bike like a real Dutchie. And since Trondheim is a hilly city, biking downhill from Lucas’s house was a blast but going back up was quite the struggle with these tiny wheels, but it all worked out… That same night a thunderstorm was rolling in and sitting on top of a hill in a campervan, with lightning striking the ground at less than 100 meters away from the van was a new thing for me. I guess this too is part of the ‘living closer to nature’ thing…

I’m very thankful for the experiences and the hospitality of the people I meet along the way. It was very much fun to make this trip together! It’s the people that make the journey…

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@ bbb5dda0:f09e2747

After a small detour I entered the Jotunheimen National Park area and decided I would walk the Bessegen Ridge, A famous -you guessed it- ridge hike that runs all the way along a large lake.

It was a beautiful sunny day, blue skies and barely any wind. Quite rare conditions for Norway. So I thought that was a perfect moment to spend a couple hours video calling with my brother and his girlfriend. So in the late afternoon I decided to drive up to the trail-head and have some dinner before starting my hike.

At the trail-head there is a parking lot for both cars and campers for which they charge 250NOK (25EUR) per day! Since I was planning on hiking 2-3 days I decided I am too Dutch for this and drove on to the first free parking spot available, just ~1km further up the hill. So loaded up with a beefy backpack and my folding bike I sailed down to the parking lot and locked my bike to a tree. I just saved myself 50+ euros.

Day 1

Most people take the ferry at the trail-head first. After these delays I was ready to start the hike somewhere between 18:00 and 19:00. “Why so late, are you nuts!?”. Well, it’s not like there’s much of a difference between day and night there, remember. So I didn’t have to worry about a loss of daylight whilst up there. The only danger left was probably bears trying to eat me.

Contrary to what most people do I started to walk first and take the ferry back from Gjendesheim the last (of 2) stops. Most people take the ferry to the first stop which is Memurubu and then walk back to the trail-head. So while walking I would mostly come across batches of humans that came from the same ferry moving the opposite direction as me. Once they passed I’d be pretty much alone again.

Just above the trail-head.

After a steep start moving uphill I reached the ‘top’ of the ridge and from there on the walk was pretty flat until right before Memurubu. After a few hours of hiking and taking a moment here and there, and there, and there to take in the amazing views. As I arrived at the highest point overlooking two lakes I thought to myself: “Why not stay here?”. So that’s just what I did because the weather forecasts were good, no rain and barely any wind and good temperatures.

| | | | --- | --- | | I had to secure the tent to the ground with rocks | At around the darkest moment of the ‘night’ | | My initial idea was to camp right down there between the two lakes. (the right one is much higher than the left) | Coffee? |

This place has been hands down the best view I’ve ever slept with. It was so quiet and felt deeply peaceful. Just being there, cooking a meal, prepping a coffee and slowly winding down to sleep. I walked roughly 7km with 700m in elevation gain. | | | | | --- | --- | --- | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | --- | --- | | | |

Day 2

Gooooooooooooodmorning! After quite a relaxed night in my tent I woke up around 9 and slowly got up and made myself some breakfast: oats with raisins and cinnamon and of course water. I was in no rush as I had until 5pm the next day to get to the end of the lake, which is about 17km of hiking left and 1500m-ish in elevation changes.

I made my way to in-between those lakes in the pictures above. I was chatting with an old colleague (Yay, 4G!) and we even had a call over an IT problem. You can’t lock me inside an office because most of what I need is already in my head anyways ;). Moving on I entered the true wilderness where few men (and even fewer IT-people) dare to walk: places without cell-signal. But I can tell you I survived, seemingly unharmed. Also a good time to fill up my camelback with fresh water. Filtering takes ~5-10min.

After a couple hours I reached Murumburu (I know, this placename sounds a bit like trying to pronounce a city while eating a sandwich to fast). There’s a cabin/hotel there that also sells some great coffee which is a warm welcome after a hike of 14km and 1700m elevation gain and loss. After enjoying this coffee I walked to the lake where there was a pebble beach that was part part of a riverbed. I decided to go in to freshen up. And fresh it it, because most of the water is fresh melting-water from nearby glaciers. It gets better after the tingling feeling of the whole body fades a bit. Then when you get out, you feel GREAT! The water was probably well under 5 degrees Celsius

I still had plenty of time left so most of the afternoon I enjoyed the sun on my face lying on the grass. Not complaining…

| | | | --- | --- | | Yup, that’s where we’re going… | This is a pretty good summary of Norway | | Looking back at Merumburu | Next to my campsite for the night |

I basically walked until I would find a suiting spot that was somewhat protected from the elements and ended up next to a small lake that seemed to house more mosquitos than water. But it was a pretty place nonetheless. Surrounded by glaciated peaks and lots of snow.

Goodnight.

Day 3

Last stretch! On to Gjendebu, where I would catch my ferry back to the trail-head. Just before starting my descent down from the platform I met the last of the very few signs, as 99% of the trail is just following the red T’s. This descend was very much as steep as it looks in the picture down below. I didn’t have much of a chance to take pictures as I needed all my focus not to slide down the bare rock when descending using several chains. Maybe without a backpack it wouldn’t have been too bad but keeping your stability with 10-15kg on your back takes a bit more effort.

Here, naive me was still thinking this path would just move parallel to the ridge. When I made it down and stepped foot in Gjendebu it started to rain, so it was a perfect moment to go inside and rest for a bit. I asked my inner voice if I deserved a beer. I did, because I saved so much money on parking and did a good job hiking. So this 9 Euro costing beer was enjoyed to the fullest.

Okay, actually 2 of them… The ferry was still an hour wait and to kill the time I went outside to sit down at a (covered) picnic table and made some soup. I wasn’t alone as a Norwegian family with kids aged ~1 and ~5 was also there prepping some food. We talked a bit and then the oldest girl -in her best English- offered me one of the pancakes they were making. Of course I couldn’t say no to that.

I really appreciate how they as a young family take the extra effort to bring out their kids to places like this while they could’ve just done the ‘made for kids’ activities in the area.

| | | | --- | --- | | So I climbed almost straight down on this part… | Thank you for your natural beauty! |

Sorry this was a bit of a long one. Writing these blogs isn’t always as easy and can be a bit intimidating at times. But it’s worth the effort, thank you for reading 😉

@ 1467d9ba:8e5d92f5

KyberTrike

Intro story

[CORPORATION 1 MAIN CHARACTER]

It's been 15 years since [CORPORATION 1] abandoned us on this dying planet. We've made due with the supplies we had, and built ourselves a survivable future. Ironically it's not the star going out that's our biggest threat right now. It's actually the nihlistic degenerates of [CORPORATION 2]. They'd rather steal food from us than farm their own. If they had just listened to us from the start, we could have built a harmonious settlement. Instead we're nearing all-out war over the prettiest real-estate.

I'm hopeful we can overcome this. Our hard work will see us through to victory.

As for [CORPORATION 3], lord knows where they are. Either moved to the other side of the planet, or dead.

[CORPORATION 2 MAIN CHARACTER]

I've never felt so alive in my life. When the motherships left, first I was afraid. Then I realized I'm a king without them! I don't give a fuck about anything or anyone and I'm taking what's mine, which is everything! [chaotic laugh]

[CORPORATION 1]? Greedy bastards. They have hectacres of farmland, there's plenty of food to go around. They actually wanted to sell it to us, can you believe that?

And it's not like we can't survive without them. In the mines, we found out that you can just drink [exotic ore] and it keeps you alive no matter how thin you are! And you feel great too, on top of the world! Hell, I'm drinking some right now and I feel like I could kill every last [CORPORATION 1] employee and still have energy left! [chaotic laugh]

Factions

[CORPORATION 1]

• Lawful good
• specializes in farming
• Punk rock music

[CORPORATION 2]

• Chaotic evil
• specializes in mining
• Death metal music

[CORPORATION 3]

• Neutral neutral
• Missing
• Aphex Twin music

Story behind the story

KyberTrike is a spritiual successor to CyberStrike2, a late 90's game.

The corporations abandoning the settlers is analogus to Simutronics abandoning CyberStrike2 without explaination or parting gifts. Much like former Cyberstrike2 players are left with a void of CyberStrike gameplay, the settlers are left with a void of peace and common humanity.

To be continued...

@ 4735cdca:0c0ecb64

É muito provável que você imediatamente associe a ciência à tecnologia. São conceitos tão próximos que precisamos de um pouco de atenção para entender as diferenças.

Vamos direto ao ponto.

A ciência busca as explicações sobre os fenômenos que ocorrem na natureza.

A tecnologia é uma atividade prática — um método, instrumento ou processo que ajude a alcançar um objetivo.

O divulgador da ciência e escritor Simon Singh tem uma ótima definição:

(…) a tecnologia envolve todo o necessário para tornar a vida (e a morte) mais cômoda, enquanto a ciência é simplesmente um esforço para compreender o mundo.

E o saudoso Carl Sagan escreveu:

A ciência é uma tentativa, em grande parte bem-sucedida, de compreender o mundo, de controlar as coisas, de ter domínio sobre nós mesmos, de seguir um rumo seguro.

A tecnologia depende da ciência?

A tecnologia não necessariamente depende da ciência.

Imagine como se deu a descoberta da produção de fogo pelos seres humanos primordiais. Eles não tinham noção que é a combustão do oxigênio que gera calor e luz. Estavam interessados em aquecimento, iluminar um ambiente, manter predadores afastados etc.

Outro exemplo é do físico alemão Wilhelm Röntgen (1845 – 1923). Ele descobriu o raio X em 1895, enquanto estudava a luz fluorescente emitida por um tubo de raios catódicos. Esse aparelho é chamado também de tubo de Crookes.

Röntgen percebeu que uma chapa próxima ao experimento brilhava enquanto o tubo estava ligado. Ele executou alguns testes que demonstraram que alguns materiais bloqueavam esses raios e outros não. O cientista até pediu à sua esposa para colocar a mão entre o tubo e a chapa, revelando os ossos de seus dedos.

Röntgen tinha a tecnologia. Já que a natureza daqueles raios invisíveis era um mistério, ele não conhecia a ciência envolvida ali. Por isso, Wilhelm não pôde sequer dar um nome adequado à sua descoberta, que permaneceu chamada raio X.

https://image.nostr.build/0bd313bb463f304f8dc066c170497d4d2734a04f46d6addc25101ef6fe127c89.jpg

Imagem da série The Knick, do canal Cinemax, em que o personagem Herman Barrow tem um raio X tirado de seu crânio enquanto nem ele nem o operador usam qualquer tipo de proteção.

Muitas pessoas foram expostas em excesso a raios X antes de sabermos que eles podem causar mutações e outros prejuízos ao corpo. Isso poderia ser evitado se tivéssemos um conhecimento mais profundo sobre radiação.

Daí a importância de uma base científica por trás de uma tecnologia. Esse embasamento nos permite usar a tecnologia de forma mais controlada e responsável.

Desenvolvendo tecnologia a partir da ciência

O que vemos hoje é a tecnologia muito mais dependente da ciência.

Para produzir um celular, precisamos de conceitos de ondas para ele fazer ligações e se conectar à Internet. Sua bateria necessita de princípios de química e eletricidade para funcionar.

Por isso também podemos definir tecnologia como a aplicação prática da ciência.

Há empresas que investem em ciência aplicada porque sabem que os estudos são conduzidos em uma área que gera resultados práticos. A indústria farmacêutica é um bom exemplo. Estudos bioquímicos podem levar à produção de novas drogas que salvam vidas.

Mas nem todo tipo de conhecimento científico resulta em aplicações práticas em um futuro próximo.

Chamamos de ciência de base a busca pelo conhecimento motivada essencialmente pela curiosidade em saber como as coisas funcionam. É um trabalho dedicado a deixar um legado para a humanidade.

Agora uma frase do físico e escritor Steven Weinberg

A ciência e a tecnologia se beneficiam uma da outra, mas, em seu nível mais fundamental, não se faz ciência por razões de ordem prática.

Em geral, a maior parte do fomento a esse campo vem de dinheiro público, mas também há instituições privadas que investem nesse tipo de ciência sem esperar resultados práticos em troca. Inclusive, há campanhas de financiamento coletivo como a da neurocientista Suzana Herculano-Houzel, que já superou a meta de R$ 100.000,00 em contribuições.

Há quem pense que investimentos em ciência de base são uma perda de dinheiro e de tempo. Mas anos de pesquisa em ciência de base podem resultar em aplicações práticas e avanços que nossa visão ainda não é capaz de enxergar.

Eventualmente esse conhecimento será “útil” e fará uma diferença no dia a dia. Só então seremos gratos aos engenheiros, cientistas e inventores que acreditaram no conhecimento mas muitas vezes veem seus trabalhos desprezados?

@ 4735cdca:0c0ecb64

Você já teve a oportunidade de ler um livro de divulgação científica? Ele provavelmente citou o método científico em algum momento.

No entanto, nem sempre os autores explicam o que de fato ele é.

Então vamos entender essas regras que são a base de como fazer ciência.

Lembrando que na literatura o número de passos do método pode variar. Aqui veremos em seis passos.

1. Observação

Observe a natureza, algum evento, o comportamento das pessoas ou qualquer que seja o seu objeto de estudo.

O observador deve ser objetivo, ater-se aos fatos e não se deixar influenciar por impressões ou intuições.

A observação vai despertar a sua curiosidade, que vai levar aos questionamentos.

2. Questionamento

Questione por que aquilo que você observou acontece.

Suas perguntas serão seu guia numa espécie de formulação de um problema.

A solução desse problema é onde queremos chegar com o uso do método científico.

O questionamento e a observação estão muito interligados. A observação leva ao questionamento, mas o questionamento também pode estimular novas observações.

3. Hipótese

Levante uma hipótese.

Essa será a sua sugestão de solução do problema formulado durante o questionamento.

É importante que essa hipótese seja testável e falseável. Ela será colocada a prova com experimentos.

Aqui, vale falarmos mais sobre falseabilidade.

Uma ideia ganha mais força quando outras pessoas validam que ela acontece ou funciona.

Daí a importância de uma hipótese ser testável. Assim, temos a capacidade de verificar se ela é verdadeira ou falsa.

Uma hipótese falseável é aquela que temos como considerar falsa.

Segundo o exemplo do filósofo alemão Karl Popper, a hipótese de que "todos os cisnes são brancos" é falseável. Basta encontrarmos um cisne negro para refutá-la.

4. Experimentação

Crie um ou mais experimentos controlados, cujos resultados esperados possam reforçar a sua hipótese.

5. Análise

Verifique bem os resultados dos experimentos.

Analise os dados, refaça as contas e certifique-se de que não houve erros ou vieses para atrapalhar a interpretação das informações.

E nada de "interpretação criativa" dos dados. Avalie-os da maneira mais imparcial e fria possível, afinal, eles devem refletir a realidade e não o que você gostaria que eles representassem.

Peço licença novamente, dessa vez para relembrar o que são lei, hipótese e teoria.

Uma lei é a generalização de um conjunto de observações, não tendo sido encontrada nenhuma exceção a tais observações. Exemplo: Lei da Gravitação Universal.

As hipóteses são conjecturas, especulações, previsões sobre determinado fenômeno da natureza e como ele se comporta. Exemplo: Hipótese da Geração Espontânea.

E as teorias são explicações bem fundamentadas para descrever eventos que ocorrem na natureza. Envolvem fatos, leis e hipóteses já testadas exaustivamente. Exemplo: Teoria da Evolução.

6. Conclusão

Caso o experimento não tenha saído como o esperado, tente entender o por quê e retorne ao Passo 3. Ajuste a sua hipótese ou formule uma nova.

Se os dados obtidos com o experimento comprovam a sua hipótese, chegamos à solução do problema.

A partir daí, sua ideia poderá ser refinada, revisada por outros cientistas, publicada e quem sabe até se tornar uma teoria.

Não pense, porém, que o método científico serve apenas para cientistas. Ele é para todos!

Você pode usá-lo no seu dia a dia, mesmo que seja uma versão mais flexível.

Assim, evitamos de ser enganados e reafirmamos o nosso compromisso com a verdade.

Referências: * Science: The Definitive Visual Guide, DK * O Livro da Ciência, Editora Globo * BYNUM, William; Uma Breve História da Ciência, Editora L&PM * Simpatia Funciona? - Nerdologia * Origem da Vida e Método Científico - Descomplica * O Método Científico e os Tipos de Pesquisa - Aula da Professora Regina Fonseca * Falseabilidade - Canal do Pirula

@ 8f69ac99:4f92f5fd

É o imobiliário realmente a melhor forma de fazer crescer e proteger a sua riqueza, ou existem melhores alternativas que a maioria das pessoas está a ignorar? Durante séculos, as pessoas têm visto o imobiliário como um refúgio seguro para investimentos—baseando-se na estabilidade histórica e na segurança percebida. Possuir uma casa tem sido há muito considerado um pilar na construção de riqueza e na garantia do futuro de alguém. No entanto, enquanto comprar uma casa para viver pode ser um bom investimento para a vida, o que dizer de investir em imobiliário para preservação de riqueza, arrendamento ou especulação? Poderá esta estratégia ter armadilhas ocultas que levam os investidores a cometer erros?

Se alguém, por qualquer razão, tem dinheiro disponível, esse capital precisa ser alocado ou corre o risco de perder valor devido à inflação. No entanto, a falta de alternativas visíveis, o desconhecimento de opções mais modernas ou uma aversão ao risco, levam muitas pessoas a pensarem imediatamente no imobiliário como a solução. Esta é a escolha natural para o investidor comum, que pode não estar ciente dos desafios envolvidos.

Para muitos, a suposição é que o imobiliário irá sempre superar outras classes de activos. Mas, por trás desta estratégia aparentemente infalível, existe uma teia de desafios e incertezas. As realidades financeiras do investimento imobiliário são frequentemente ignoradas, e aqueles que se aventuram na propriedade sem uma compreensão adequada podem enfrentar despesas inesperadas, volatilidade de mercado e perdas financeiras.

As Realidades Financeiras do Investimento Imobiliário

Ao considerar o imobiliário como uma estratégia de investimento, é essencial distinguir entre a posse de casa para habitação e o investimento em propriedades. Enquanto comprar uma casa para viver pode ser um óptimo investimento para a vida, o imobiliário para fins de investimento é muito mais complexo.

Custos Ocultos da Propriedade

Investir em imobiliário envolve custos iniciais e contínuos significativos, incluindo:

1. Entrada: Tipicamente 10% do preço de compra, que poderia ser melhor gasto em outro lugar.
2. Custos de fecho: Taxas associadas à compra e venda de propriedades, que variam entre 2-5% do preço de compra.
3. Impostos sobre propriedades: Pagamentos anuais ou semestrais aos governos locais (IMI por exemplo), que podem aumentar com o tempo.
4. Seguro: Prémios para seguros de edifícios e responsabilidade civil.
5. Manutenção: Custos contínuos, que geralmente representam entre 1-3% do valor da propriedade anualmente.

Comparação: Verdadeiras Despesas da Propriedade vs. Arrendamento

O arrendamento muitas vezes evita os custos iniciais substanciais, impostos e taxas de manutenção associados à posse de uma casa. Para muitos, especialmente em mercados habitacionais voláteis, isso torna o arrendamento mais financeiramente viável no curto a médio prazo. Possuir propriedades pode bloquear capital que poderia ser melhor investido noutro lugar.

Riscos de Alavancagem e Dívida

Os investimentos imobiliários geralmente requerem dívida, amplificando tanto os ganhos potenciais quanto as perdas. Uma pequena queda no valor da propriedade pode ter um impacto significativo na sua equidade. Se os valores das propriedades diminuírem, os investidores podem encontrar-se em dificuldades financeiras.

Os Fardos Ocultos do Imobiliário

Embora frequentemente visto como um investimento de baixo risco, o imobiliário traz fardos ocultos. Muitos presumem que é um investimento passivo, mas gerir propriedades—lidar com manutenção e inquilinos—é tudo menos passivo.

Externalidades e Consequências Secundárias

Ao comprar uma propriedade, você também assume: - Custos de manutenção: Desde pequenos reparos até grandes renovações. - Gestão de inquilinos: Encontrar inquilinos fiáveis e lidar com questões relacionadas com inquilinos. - Mudanças de vizinhança: Dinâmicas de vizinhança em mudança podem afectar os valores das propriedades. - Preocupações ambientais: Desastres naturais ou mudanças ambientais locais podem impactar as propriedades.

Imprevisibilidade e Risco do Mercado

O mercado imobiliário está sujeito a bolhas e recessões. As bolhas de propriedades, as quedas de mercado e as mudanças nas regulamentações podem ter efeitos severos sobre o valor do imobiliário.

Liquidez

O imobiliário é um activo altamente ilíquido, muitas vezes levando meses a ser vendido. Em contraste, activos mais líquidos podem ser vendidos rapidamente quando necessário, tornando o imobiliário menos atractivo para aqueles que buscam flexibilidade.

O Impacto Social do Investimento Imobiliário

A forma como a sociedade vê o imobiliário impacta a acessibilidade e a disponibilidade de habitação.

A Crise de Acessibilidade à Habitação

Investir em propriedades para armazenar riqueza ou gerar rendimento passivo eleva os preços e reduz a disponibilidade de habitação para famílias de baixos e médios rendimentos. O “prémio monetário” associado ao investimento imobiliário aumenta a procura, empurrando os preços para cima e exacerbando a escassez de habitação em grandes cidades europeias.

Prémio Monetário

O prémio monetário no contexto do imobiliário refere-se ao valor extra que os investidores atribuem às propriedades não apenas pela sua utilidade como casas, mas como investimentos que podem armazenar, ou preservar, riqueza. Isso significa que as pessoas estão dispostas a pagar mais pelo imobiliário porque o veem como uma forma de preservar e aumentar o seu dinheiro, em vez de apenas um lugar para viver.

Por exemplo, se uma casa vale €200,000 com base na sua utilização real (como espaço habitacional), mas os investidores estão dispostos a pagar €250,000 porque acreditam que ela irá valorizar ao longo do tempo, a diferença de €50,000 é o prémio monetário. Este aumento da procura por parte dos investidores pode elevar os preços das habitações, dificultando a vida às pessoas que precisam de casas acessíveis. Em essência, o prémio monetário reflecte a ideia de que algumas propriedades são valorizadas mais pelo seu potencial como activos financeiros do que pela sua função como lares.

Preço vs. Valor Utilitário

Se o imobiliário fosse visto apenas pela sua utilidade—proporcionar abrigo—os preços das habitações reflectiriam melhor o seu valor real, melhorando a acessibilidade. O modelo actual, que prioriza o investimento em propriedades em detrimento da sua função como casa, promove a gentrificação e o deslocamento.

Bom vs. Mau Investimento numa Casa

Enquanto comprar uma casa para viver é um investimento sensato, usar o imobiliário para preservação de riqueza, arrendamento ou especulação pode ter consequências sociais negativas, perpetuando a desigualdade e reduzindo as opções de habitação para aqueles que mais precisam.

Finanças Tradicionais vs. Imobiliário

Em contraste com o imobiliário, os mercados financeiros tradicionais proporcionam uma forma mais dinâmica e eficiente de armazenar valor.

Mercado de Acções e Índices como Melhores Alternativas

Historicamente, os índices do mercado de acções, como o S&P 500 e o Euro Stoxx 50, superaram o imobiliário em termos de retornos. Estes índices oferecem diversificação e exposição de baixo custo ao crescimento a longo prazo. No entanto, mesmo estes mercados têm limitações, especialmente quando se considera a inflação. Por exemplo, o retorno composto histórico do S&P 500 é de cerca de 7% por ano uma vez ajustado pela inflação. Em alguns casos, pode mesmo resultar em perdas ao considerar a inflação real.

Custos e Barreiras de Entrada

Para as pessoas comuns, aceder ao mercado de acções requer um corretor, o que adiciona camadas de complexidade e taxas. Muitas pessoas, especialmente aquelas que trabalham em empregos "9 às 5", encontram-se numa posição em que são quase forçadas a aprender sobre o mercado de acções e investimentos tradicionais apenas para proteger o seu dinheiro, arduamente ganho, da inflação. Esta não é uma tarefa simples, pois investir em acções ou índices requer pesquisa, monitorização e conhecimento que a maioria das pessoas não tem tempo ou desejo de adquirir.

Além disso, a taxa de inflação real que as pessoas enfrentam muitas vezes difere das métricas oficiais, como o Índice de Preços ao Consumidor (IPC). A verdadeira inflação sentida pelas pessoas é melhor reflectida no aumento de preços dos bens e serviços que compram regularmente. Assim, mesmo o S&P 500, uma vez ajustado para esta inflação do mundo real, pode não ser tão seguro ou lucrativo quanto parece.

Uma Alternativa Mais Simples

Para aqueles que procuram uma opção de investimento mais directa, existe uma alternativa moderna: Bitcoin. Ao contrário das acções e do imobiliário, que requerem conhecimento significativo e gestão, Bitcoin pode ser comprado e mantido com esforço mínimo. Isso torna-o uma escolha atraente para indivíduos que não têm tempo para navegar pelas complexidades das finanças tradicionais.

Por Que Bitcoin É um Armazenamento de Valor Superior

1. Custos Baixos e Sem Externalidades

Bitcoin não tem impostos sobre propriedades, custos de manutenção ou seguros. A sua natureza descentralizada e baixas taxas de transacção tornam-no uma forma de armazenamento de valor eficaz em termos de custo.

2. Liquidez e Segurança

Bitcoin é um activo altamente líquido e facilmente transferível, tornando-o superior ao imobiliário, que leva tempo a vender. Além disso, a tecnologia descentralizada e segura do Bitcoin oferece protecção contra manipulação e confiscação.

3. Sem Necessidade de Especialização

Ao contrário do mercado de acções ou do imobiliário, Bitcoin pode ser mantido e gerido sem conhecimento especializado, tornando-o ideal para pessoas ocupadas ou aquelas novas no investimento.

4. Melhor que o Ouro

A natureza digital de Bitcoin faz com que seja mais transportável e acessível do que activos físicos como o ouro. É sem fronteiras e pode ser armazenado de forma segura, ao contrário do ouro ou do imobiliário, que exigem medidas de segurança física.

Conclusão: Repensar a Estratégia de Investimento

• A Armadilha do Imobiliário: Muitos veem o imobiliário como um investimento de baixo risco e padrão, mas esta mentalidade é errada. Os custos ocultos, os impactos sociais e as questões de liquidez tornam-no menos atraente quando analisado criticamente.

• Alternativas das Finanças Tradicionais: Investimentos tradicionais como acções e índices oferecem retornos superiores e escalabilidade em comparação com o imobiliário, proporcionando uma opção melhor para preservação de riqueza.

• A Ascensão de Bitcoin: Bitcoin oferece uma forma ainda mais directa e eficiente de armazenar valor, livre das complexidades e custos tanto do imobiliário quanto das finanças tradicionais, enquanto proporciona liquidez, segurança e facilidade de uso.

• Um Futuro Mais Brilhante: Ao movermo-nos além das estratégias tradicionais centradas no imobiliário e abraçar alternativas modernas, podemos desbloquear um futuro mais equitativo e rentável para a preservação de riqueza.

---

Photo by Tierra Mallorca on Unsplash

@ 104f6f7d:220bf499

“He is free to make the wrong choice, but not free to succeed with it. He is free to evade reality, he is free to unfocus his mind and stumble blindly down any road he pleases, but not free to avoid the abyss he refuses to see.” - Ayn Rand

@ e97aaffa:2ebd765d

Ontem, voltei a ouvir aquela mítica frase, que se repete ano após ano:

«Se eu soubesse, há 10 anos tinha comprado bastante #bitcoin e hoje estava rico»

Quem diz isso não tem a mínima noção da realidade, não faz ideia o que era o bitcoin e a sociedade há 10/12 anos atrás. É claro que com o pensamento de hoje é fácil, mas temos que refletir com o pensamento de há 10 anos. As certezas que temos hoje em dia sobre o futuro do Bitcoin, nada se compara com o que existia no passado.

A situação é similar, ao acertar no euromilhões (ou mega-sena, no Brasil). É muito fácil saber a combinação vencedora do euromilhões após o sorteio. O difícil é saber os números, no dia anterior ao sorteio. Claro, se viajássemos no tempo, 2 dias para trás e apostar nos números certos. Assim é fácil de ficar rico. O difícil é acertar os números antes do sorteio.

Hoje em dia, já muita gente acredita no futuro do Bitcoin, o seu valor é inegável, podemos duvidar do preço, se vai valer 100k ou 500k ou 1 milhão ou até mesmo 10k, mas no valor, do quanto revolucionário é, ninguém duvida. Na época, como ninguém acreditava que iria atingir estes valores, ninguém olhava como uma reserva de valor, usava-o como uma moeda, gastavam. Também não havia cuidado em preservar as seeds ou as chaves públicas, porque ninguém acreditava que aquelas moedas poderiam ser a sua aposentadoria. Se hoje as pessoas queixam-se que guardar as seeds é complicado, nem queiram saber como era antes dos bip39.

Se estes novatos tivessem comprado há 10/12 anos, teria acontecido o que aconteceu a mim e a quase toda a gente da época, acabamos por ficar sem os bitcoins. Uns venderam(trocar por FIAT), outros trocaram(por outro produto) e outros perderam ( scam, hack ou ficaram sem as chaves). Na história, foram muito poucas as pessoas que conseguiram holdar bitcoin até hoje. Das raras pessoas que o conseguiram manter, eram pessoas que tinham quantidade muito elevada, que permitiu vender ao longo do tempo, mas ainda sobrou algum. São raros casos.

Quase toda a gente que entrou muito cedo, acabou por ficar sem o bitcoin, muitos voltaram anos mais tarde a comprar, mas apenas conseguiram uma ínfima parte do que tiveram no passado, foi o meu caso. É duro ter agora pouquinho bitcoin, quando tivemos alguns no passado, foi uma grande lição, a frustração transformou-se numa enorme convicção, que permite suportar tudo. Todos nós, em algum momento, tivemos ou vamos ter as nossas “pizzas”, como o Laszlo, que ao preço de hoje, custaram milhões. Isto também faz parte do percurso, para criar as mão de diamante. Agora, como as valorizações já não são tão elevadas, este fenómeno vai desvanecer, isto condiciona a utilização do bitcoin como moeda (meio de troca).

Termino com um conselho para os mais novos, não pensem no passado, mas sim no presente e especialmente no vosso futuro. Nunca entrem no bitcoin com o único objetivo de enriquecer rápido, porque vai correr muito mal. Estudem primeiro e comprem a seguir.

Se estás a achar que é tarde demais para comprar, nunca é tarde e acredita, que daqui a 5 anos vais ouvir outras pessoas com a mesma dúvida.

Nunca é tarde demais para comprar #Bitcoin, a liberdade não tem preço.

@ fd208ee8:0fd927c1

A fortnight of being real on Nostr

It's been over two weeks, since I announced that I would primarily be noting from my lesser-known Silberengel npub, and it's been an interesting experience. As with anything I ever do, I clicked around a lot, tested out a lot, and tried out a lot. Mostly, I observed.

Let me share, what I've learned

1. Nostr-related products are increasingly useless, if you don't follow anyone, or only follow a handful of people. Everything is geared to follows and you usually really do need to follow gobs of people, to have an interesting feed, by capturing the most-active people (about 10% of the people you follow). Those people tend to quote and boost other people's notes into your stream, allowing you to follow those additional people and so on, like a snowball scheme. This means that follows are actually a feed-management mechanism, rather than any indication of a relationship between npubs. It also means that 10% of the npubs decide what everyone will look at.
2. Many people collect followers, by being active for a very short time, following lots and lots of people and getting follow-backs, then they unfollow the smaller npubs or abruptly change their tone or the content (this is common with spammers and scammers). Then they have a high WoT score. What, precisely, is being trusted here? (Also, centering WoT on follows is influencer-maxxing for plebs, KWIM?)
3. Why are individuals never unfollowing these npubs? Because nobody unfollows anyone who hasn't seriously upset them. Follow-inertia is rampant and the follow lists are so long that most people don't even know who they are following. So long as the "bad npub" doesn't spam the people who are following them directly, they don't notice anything. That means following spam can inadvertently protect you from spam, whilst the same spammers throw crap at your own frens, all damned day.
4. Most relay owners/operators don't ever look directly at the feed from their own relay, so it's usually full of enormous amounts of garbage. Your clients and personal/private relays are often downloading and broadcasting all of that garbage indiscriminately, so the garbage gets passed around, like a social media virus. Many of you just haven't noticed, because you also don't look at the feed from your relays (see 1).
5. Almost all business logic (the controls, in the classic model-view-controller setup) has been placed on the client-side. This is great, if you're a client developer, as it makes relays superfluous and traps your customers in your app, by making moving to a different app more onerous. Every move requires a period of readjustment and fiddling, before they can see their feed the way that they are used to seeing it. This is less great, if you're a user and are interested in trying out a different app.
6. When I began, two weeks ago, the concept of topical, private, and personal relays interacting were mostly a pipe dream (pun intended), but I've been pleased to see, that some other people are beginning to catch on to the appeal of decentralizing and specializing the model layer. A diverse, sprawling network of relays, connected through the outbox model and negentropy syncing, is really next-generation communication, and essential for ensuring censorship-resistance, while supporting smooth interaction.
7. Once you get above a few hundred followers (which I already have, That went fast!), additional followers are increasingly spam or inactive/bot npubs, and once you get a few thousand followers, that Bot Effect goes parabolic, as your notes are spread more widely onto spammy relays. You won't notice, yourself, as anything over a few hundred becomes Some Big Number and you'll eventually stop even looking to see who they are, or caring about them, at all. Which leads directly to my next point...
8. The number of followers a person has, correlates with an increase in their disdain for people who care about follower counts, likes, reactions, or even zaps. This noblesse oblige says nothing about the usefulness or information any of these signals carry. You will please also notice that they never change npubs and rarely change profile pics because of reasons I don't need to elaborate on, further.
9. On-boarding is a lonely experience because nobody looks at the feed, and you initially have no followers. Even if you reply to people, they often can't see what you wrote because of your low WoT score. That is, unless you already know someone there, who can vouch for you. Or are lucky to get discovered by the Nostr Welcoming Committee and end up one of the biggest npubs overnight, which is like winning the follower lottery. For most new npubs, the experience is terrible and they eventually give up, for a handful the experience is absolutely fantastic and they are hooked. Obvious lesson: nobody should onboard, who doesn't know at least 1 other person: so invites only. Unlike Those Other Protocols, Nostr doesn't need a centrally-determined invite, as every client or relay can offer their own version, geared to a different audience. The goal simply needs to be: get off 1.
10. I don't get many zaps or reactions, anymore, but I still have interesting conversations, and I no longer face the surreal situation of every cough, hiccup, or sneeze I emit being front-page news. Nostr feels more like Nostr, again, and less like Twitter, and now I want communities and forums even harder.

@ 7ed5bd1c:4caa7587

การอ้างอิงใน MV "Heavy Is The Crown"

ผืนธงเปิด MV

1. T1 vs LNG ใน Worlds 2023 Quarterfinals ในเกมที่ 2 นาทีที่ 30 ไฟท์หน้า Elder Dragon ทาง LNG ได้พลาดท่าเสีย Scout's Jayce ก่อนที่ Oner's Rell ได้เปิดจังหวะใส่ GALA's Apehelios และปิดเกม 2 ได้อย่างสวยงาม อ้างอิง: https://youtu.be/sClE_FbT4X8?si=3QaBU2JXYEbCusHb&t=261

2. T1 vs JDG การกลับมาเจอกันอีกครั้งของ Faker และ Ruler โดยในปี 2017 SKT พ่ายแพ้ให้กับ SSG 0-3 เกม ในรอบชิงชนะเลิศ และใน Worlds 2023 Quarterfinals ในเกมที่ 3 นาทีที่ 29 Faker's Azir ได้แสดงการเล่น Azir อย่างหนือชั้น ได้เข้าไปอัตติเปิดใส่ Ruler's Varus พลักเข้ากลางไฟต์ ก่อนจะเก็บ JDG หมดทีม แก้แค้นคืนจาก World 2017 ได้สำเร็จ อ้างอิง: https://youtu.be/qDFAYyMOxuw?si=afKAKyWqDnSp9tiF&t=733

3. T1 vs WBG ใน Worlds 2023 Quarterfinals ในเกมที่ 2 นาทีที่ 24 Zeus' Aatrox ถูกผู้เล่นของ WBG รุม 4 ต่อ 1 แต่ก็ยังสามารถยื้อชีวิต จนทีมร่วมทีมมาช่วยได้ทัน และสวนกลับเอาชนะเกมนี้ไป อ้างอิง: [ https://youtu.be/g3NcF5Uv-w4?si=WysYNIQIS44JMY_U&t=616

ผู้เล่นที่อยู่ใน MV

1. BLG Bin ในศึก Mid-Season Invitational 2024 (MSI) กลยุทธ์การเล่นของ BLG ที่เน้นความดุดันและการสนับสนุนของ Bin สร้างความกดดันให้กับ T1 เป็นอย่างมาก จนทำให้ T1 ต้องพ่ายแพ้ 3-2 และลงไปแข่งในสายล่าง ขณะที่ BLG ได้ผ่านเข้าสู่รอบชิงชนะเลิศ

2. FLY Massu ผู้เล่นตำแหน่ง Bot Lane ได้กล่าวถึงประสบการณ์ของเขาที่เล่นกับ T1 โดยยอมรับว่าการเล่นกับ T1 นั้นเป็นเรื่องยากมาก เพราะเมื่อ T1 ได้เปรียบแล้ว พวกเขาก็ไม่ยอมปล่อยโอกาสให้ FLY กลับเข้าสู่เกมอีกเลย เขาอธิบายว่ารู้สึกเหมือน "กำลังชนกำแพง" เพราะไม่มีช่องว่างให้ทีมเขากลับมาได้เลย​

3. RED Brance Brance ผู้เล่น Bot Lane เขาเป็นตัวแทนจากบราซิล และในบางการแข่งขัน เขาแสดงฝีมือยอดเยี่ยมด้วยแชมเปี้ยนอย่าง Zeri ที่ช่วยทำให้ทีมได้รับการยอมรับในวงการระดับโลก

4. G2 Caps Caps ถือว่าเป็นผู้เล่นที่มีประสบการณ์สูงในวงการ โดยเฉพาะในยุโรป ความสามารถของเขาในการสร้างจังหวะและการต่อสู้เพื่อชัยชนะ ทำให้ G2 สามารถแข่งขันกับ T1 ได้อย่างสูสี

5. GEN Chovy ความมุ่งมั่นของ Chovy ที่จะชนะ T1 โดยเฉพาะการต่อสู้กับ Faker ทำให้การแข่งขันระหว่าง Gen.G และ T1 ยิ่งเข้มข้นขึ้น เนื่องจาก Chovy และทีม Gen.G มักเป็นคู่แข่งที่สูสีกับ T1 ในการแข่งขันระดับสูงสุดของเกาหลีใต้

6. โค้ชนักแข่ง Roach และ kk0ma ถือมงกุฎไปให้ Faker

siamstr #yakihonne #Worlds2024 #LeagueOfLegends

@ 8f69ac99:4f92f5fd

Os Millennials e a Geração Z estão a sentir a pressão. Dívidas estudantis esmagadoras, o aumento do custo de vida e salários estagnados têm levado muitos a questionar o futuro. Ao navegarem num sistema que parece estar contra eles, não é surpresa que um número crescente procure soluções que prometem intervenção governamental ou até mesmo o socialismo, na esperança de encontrar alívio.

Mas e se o problema não for o capitalismo ou o livre mercado, como muitos são levados a acreditar? E se a verdadeira solução estiver noutro lugar — algo que oferece tanto liberdade financeira como clareza moral?

Entra Bitcoin. Mais do que uma moeda digital, Bitcoin representa um novo caminho — um que pode proporcionar poder económico ao mesmo tempo que nos liberta da corrupção e do controlo do sistema actual. Vamos explorar como Bitcoin pode oferecer aos Millennials e à Geração Z a liberdade financeira, moral e espiritual que têm procurado.

As Lutas Económicas dos Millennials e da Geração Z

Num mundo que celebra a inovação e a educação, por que é que os Millennials e a Geração Z estão a lutar mais do que qualquer outra geração anterior? Apesar de serem os grupos mais educados e tecnologicamente avançados da história, os jovens na casa dos 20 e 30 anos enfrentam desafios financeiros que ameaçam as suas perspectivas de longo prazo.

Desafios Financeiros da Geração Z

A Geração Z, nascida entre o final da década de 1990 e o início da década de 2010, está a enfrentar uma verdadeira tempestade financeira. Dados recentes revelam que:

• Declínio do rendimento: O rendimento médio para jovens de 22-24 anos no 4.º trimestre de 2023 era de 45.493 dólares, uma queda de quase 12% em relação aos 51.852 dólares no 4.º trimestre de 2013.
• Dívida crescente: A relação dívida-rendimento para a Geração Z aumentou para 16,05%, enquanto a dívida média de cartão de crédito é agora de 2.834 dólares.
• Stress financeiro: Um impressionante 45% vive de salário em salário, e apenas cerca de um quarto acredita que se reformará de forma confortável.

As principais causas incluem o aumento dos custos de vida, dívidas estudantis que rondam os 31.300 dólares e a inflação, que tem corroído o poder de compra.

Desafios Económicos dos Millennials

Da mesma forma, os Millennials, nascidos entre 1981 e 1996, enfrentam as suas próprias lutas:

• Cicatrizes da recessão: Ao entrarem no mercado de trabalho durante a Grande Recessão, muitos ainda enfrentam insegurança no emprego e salários mais baixos.
• Dificuldades habitacionais: Tal como a Geração Z, confrontam-se com a escalada dos preços das habitações, sendo que muitos não conseguem encontrar habitação acessível.
• Incerteza na carreira: A economia dos “gig” cria um ambiente de trabalho precário, dificultando a estabilidade.

Estes desafios são exacerbados pela desigualdade de riqueza, dinâmicas laborais em mudança e a pesada dívida estudantil.

Factores Contribuintes

As forças por detrás destes desafios económicos incluem:

• Aumento dos custos de vida: Os preços das habitações aumentaram mais de 50% na última década, o que pressiona as finanças dos jovens.
• Dívida estudantil: Níveis elevados de dívida continuam a sobrecarregar ambas as gerações.
• Inflação: A erosão dos salários reduz ainda mais o rendimento disponível para investir no futuro.

Estas dificuldades económicas são sintomas de uma mudança cultural mais ampla. À medida que mergulhamos mais profundamente nos próximos capítulos, exploraremos como estas transformações estão a redefinir as noções tradicionais de trabalho, riqueza e segurança.

O Apelo das Narrativas Marxistas, Socialistas e Globalistas

Nos últimos anos, os Millennials e a Geração Z têm sido inundados com uma cacofonia de narrativas económicas que culpam o capitalismo pelas suas dificuldades financeiras. Esta narrativa tem ganhado tracção nas redes sociais, nas instituições de ensino e até entre alguns políticos. No entanto, e se esta perspectiva for fundamentalmente falaciosa? Este capítulo defende que os verdadeiros culpados pelas dificuldades económicas destas gerações não são o capitalismo em si, mas sim as políticas e instituições que governam a nossa economia.

Culpar Erradamente: Compreender as Verdadeiras Causas das Dificuldades Económicas

Os Millennials e a Geração Z enfrentam desafios financeiros como nenhuma geração anterior — dívidas estudantis esmagadoras, habitação inacessível e salários estagnados estão entre as principais barreiras à estabilidade financeira. No entanto, muitos são atraídos por narrativas que fazem do capitalismo o bode expiatório para as suas dificuldades.

Políticos e elites frequentemente afirmam que a social-democracia e a intervenção estatal são as respostas para os nossos problemas económicos. Argumentam que o capitalismo é um sistema falhado, culpando-o pela desigualdade e pela pobreza, ao mesmo tempo que apresentam o socialismo e o controlo governamental como soluções necessárias. Esta perspectiva, contudo, simplifica em demasia uma questão complexa.

Na realidade, os Millennials e a Geração Z não enfrentam um problema de concentração excessiva de riqueza nas mãos de poucos. Enfrentam, sim, uma falta de mobilidade económica e de segurança para todos. O problema não é que o capitalismo seja injusto; é que a nossa social-democracia actual gerou disparidades no acesso a recursos e oportunidades.

A Realidade: Não Vivemos num Mercado Livre

A narrativa de que os Millennials e a Geração Z enfrentam dificuldades financeiras devido aos defeitos do capitalismo é fundamentalmente errada. Na realidade, a nossa sociedade opera sob um sistema de social-democracia, não sob princípios verdadeiros de mercado livre.

Sistema Actual: Social-Democracia, Não Capitalismo

A sociedade hoje está mais alinhada com a social-democracia do que com um verdadeiro mercado livre. Temos uma forte intervenção governamental, proteccionismo e capitalismo de compadrio que favorecem grandes corporações e elites políticas em detrimento de pequenos empreendedores e negócios. O planeamento central das políticas monetárias, das regulações e do controlo dos mercados frequentemente leva a desigualdade e instabilidade económica.

Culpa Errada no Capitalismo

Os desafios que os Millennials e a Geração Z enfrentam — como a crise da dívida estudantil, a inflação e a habitação inacessível — não são produtos do livre mercado, mas sim da intervenção governamental, de políticas fiscais falhadas e de medidas proteccionistas. A crise da dívida estudantil, por exemplo, resulta de políticas governamentais que incentivaram o endividamento e, ao mesmo tempo, inflacionaram o custo da educação.

Da mesma forma, a inflação e a habitação inacessível são frequentemente causadas por políticas governamentais que favorecem certas indústrias ou corporações em detrimento de outras, levando à distribuição desigual de recursos e oportunidades económicas.

Bitcoin como Solução Económica

Bitcoin oferece uma alternativa ao sistema falido que os Millennials e a Geração Z herdaram. Como moeda digital descentralizada, Bitcoin opera fora dos sistemas financeiros tradicionais e oferece um conjunto único de benefícios que podem ajudar a enfrentar os desafios económicos enfrentados por estas gerações.

Princípios de Dinheiro Forte

A oferta limitada de 21 milhões de unidades de bitcoin faz com que seja imune às práticas inflacionárias dos bancos centrais. Ao contrário das moedas fiduciárias, que podem ser impressas indefinidamente, a escassez do Bitcoin assegura que este preserve o seu valor ao longo do tempo. Este princípio de dinheiro forte oferece uma protecção contra a inflação e ajuda a proteger a riqueza individual numa economia onde as moedas controladas pelo governo perdem valor.

Preservação da Riqueza

Bitcoin também é uma poderosa ferramenta para a preservação da riqueza, especialmente num ambiente económico volátil. Enquanto investimentos tradicionais, como acções e obrigações, flutuam com as condições de mercado, o valor de Bitcoin é, em grande parte, independente das políticas dos bancos centrais e das economias nacionais. A sua natureza deflacionária significa que, à medida que mais pessoas adoptam Bitcoin, o seu valor tende a aumentar, proporcionando uma protecção contra crises económicas.

Bitcoin como Solução Moral e Espiritual

Para além de ser uma ferramenta económica, Bitcoin oferece uma solução moral e espiritual para aqueles que estão desiludidos com o sistema actual.

Descentralização e Ética

A natureza descentralizada do Bitcoin proporciona um caminho para que as pessoas controlem as suas vidas financeiras sem depender de autoridades centrais. Esta descentralização promove transparência, justiça e resistência à corrupção — valores muitas vezes ausentes nas instituições financeiras centralizadas de hoje.

Uma Solução para a Corrupção

O protocolo incorruptível de Bitcoin impede que qualquer entidade o manipule. Ao contrário dos sistemas tradicionais, que podem ser influenciados por interesses especiais, a blockchain, e a prova de trabalho de Bitcoin asseguram a transparência e a integridade em todas as transacções. Isto torna Bitcoin uma alternativa moral aos sistemas que estão sujeitos a corrupção e exploração.

Bitcoin como Visão de Liberdade a Longo Prazo

Bitcoin é mais do que uma solução temporária para os problemas económicos — representa uma visão de liberdade financeira e pessoal a longo prazo.

Liberdade Financeira

Bitcoin liberta os indivíduos dos ciclos inflacionários e das armadilhas da dívida criadas pelos sistemas monetários tradicionais. A sua oferta limitada assegura que o valor é preservado, oferecendo um futuro financeiro estável e seguro. Ao possuir Bitcoin, as pessoas podem escapar ao ciclo de dependência das moedas fiduciárias controladas pelo governo e proteger a sua riqueza contra a desvalorização.

Soberania Espiritual

Bitcoin não se trata apenas de acumulação de riqueza; trata-se de recuperar o controlo sobre o próprio destino. Ao permitir que as pessoas tomem decisões financeiras autónomas, Bitcoin proporciona soberania espiritual — a capacidade de viver de acordo com os próprios valores, sem estar dependente de instituições centralizadas.

Conclusão: Recuperar a Liberdade com Bitcoin

As dificuldades económicas enfrentadas pelos Millennials e pela Geração Z não são resultado do capitalismo de mercado livre, mas sim de um sistema corrompido pela intervenção governamental e pelo proteccionismo. Bitcoin oferece uma alternativa revolucionária — uma que permite que os indivíduos recuperem o controlo das suas finanças, do seu futuro e da sua liberdade.

Bitcoin representa mais do que estabilidade financeira — é um movimento em direcção à libertação moral e espiritual. Para os Millennials, a Geração Z e todos os que estão desiludidos com o sistema actual, Bitcoin oferece uma forma de romper com o status quo e construir um futuro sustentável baseado na liberdade pessoal, na integridade e na responsabilidade.

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Photo by Emil Kalibradov on Unsplash

@ 6bae33c8:607272e8

It’s funny because I thought this was a get-well game for Dallas and that they’d cover the 6.5, but I picked the Giants in my low-stakes pool because it’s not worth it for me to go against them, and they covered. But only thanks to Brandon Aubrey finally missing a 50-yard FG.

• Malik Nabers suffered a concussion late, but I’d have a hard time arguing against someone taking him a 1.1 even in a re-draft league once he’s healthy. He’s a target and catch machine.

• Wan’Dale Robinson is the clear No. 2 and made some nice plays after the catch. He’s small and won’t make chunk plays, but useful.

• Darius Slayton showed up finally, and he’s a useful field-stretching No. 3, the role for which they drafted Jalin Hyatt who hasn’t shown up.

• Greg Joseph was 5-for-5 on FGs, including a 52-yarder. Even the waiver-wire guys are better than the GOATs of yesteryear. (Kicking is the one area you can compare players across eras because it’s independent of the competition level.)

• Daniel Jones played well — his INT was a last-second desperation heave. He was accurate and had some zip on his passes. The negative is when he’s pressured he still doesn’t have great feel. He only took one sack, but he rarely turns those plays into a positive. Still, this was progress.

• The Giants offensive line played well against the Dallas pass rush. Devin Singletary made a great move to turn a loss into a first down, but there’s no juice in the run game, no speed element.

• Dak Prescott was solid, took what the defense gave him, didn’t make mistakes. He also made a nice shovel pass to Jake Ferguson when under duress, the kind of thing Jones hasn’t been able to do.

• Rico Dowdle is the Cowboys starting back. He was bottled up early, but got free late. He also caught a TD. He seems like a stopgap, not the solution, but was adequate at least.

• CeeDee Lamb saw targets and production early, did little in the second half. He also had three rushes, as the Cowboys are desperate to get the ground game going.

• Jake Ferguson is healthy again and seems like the clear No. 2

• Aubrey is such a monster, drilling a 60-yarder down the middle with plenty of distance to spare. Seriously should have gone in the eighth round in the NFFC.

@ fd208ee8:0fd927c1

Let's talk about baking bread

I've mentioned a few times, how large-scale central planning leads inevitably to artificial scarcity and rising prices. Allow me to illustrate -- using a completely invented allegory about bread -- that has absolutely no parallels to any economy you may already be familiar with.

We start with 20

Let us say, there is a group of 20 people in a village doing something that requires some niche skill and interest, but not inordinate amounts of talent or uncommon knowledge, such as baking loaves of bread containing emmer wheat. This is not an easy thing to do, and you'd have to read up on it and practice, to begin with, but it's not an insurmountably-high barrier for anyone who already knows how to bake.

Now, they're not baking all that much of this bread, as the market for people who want to eat it, is still rather small. But, they're happy to bake the bread, and sell it below cost (at $10), as they can see that the market is steadily growing and they know that there is a possibility of recuperating their investments, and maybe even turning some profit. They hope to eventually profit either directly (through the selling of the bread), or indirectly (as A Person Who Helped Invent Emmer Bread), or ideally some combination of the two.

They are baking away, and honing their baking skills, and scrounging up the money for bigger and better ovens or cleverly-arranging discounted contracts for slightly-larger deliveries of wheat, and more and more bakers see this activity and wander over to their village, to see how this bread is made. Well, the current bakers are starting to sink under all of the bread orders they are receiving, and customers are complaining of late deliveries, so they start to ask the 10 visiting bakers, if they would like to also set up a bakery and take some of the production off of their hands.

We now have 25 bakers

The visiting bakers consider it and 5 agree and the rest wander off again, as they already are quite busy baking the bread they've always baked, and they aren't as certain of the possibility of growth, for this new type of bread.

The 5 additional bakers take a while to setup shop and assemble staff and place wheat orders and etc., but after a few weeks or months, they are also adding to the bread supply. There are now 25 bakers, all completely booked-out, producing bread. The price of bread has fallen, to $8/loaf.

And the bread they produced! All of the bakers competing for orders and expanding their product lines and customer base quickly lead to the white emmer bread being followed by whole-grain emmer bread, emmer dinner rolls, emmer-raisin bread, and even one rebel daring to bake spelt-emmer pretzels because... Well, why not? The customer, (who, at this point, is the person eating the bread), gets to decide which bread will be baked, and the pretzels sell like hotcakes.

The emmer hotcakes also sell like hotcakes.

No baker is making much (or any) money off of the baking, but they all can see where this will end up, so they are still highly motivated and continue to invest and innovate at breathtaking speed. We now have emmer baking mixes, "We luv emmer" t-shirts, emmer baking crowd-sourcing, all-about-emmer recipe books and blogs, etc. The bakers see this all as an investment, and cross-finance their fledgling businesses through selling other bread types, their spouse's day job, burning through their savings, or working Saturday night, stocking shelves at the grocery.

Everyone can be a winner! Everyone can find their niche-in-niche! Everyone can specialize! Private enterprise for every baker, who rises and falls on his own efforts alone! And although everyone was competing with everyone else, there was no bitterness, as everyone could clearly see that effort and reward were in some sort of balance.

We are now short 3

But, alas, that was not meant to be. The joy and harmony is short-lived.

A gigantic, wealthy foundation, who is dedicated to "ensuring much emmer bread will be baked, by financially supporting emmer bakers" enters the chat.

"We have seen that there is much baking going on, here, but just think how much better and more baking could be done, if we financed your baking! Isn't that clever? Then you could really concentrate on baking, instead of having to worry about financing your business or marketing your products. All you have to do, is apply to receive our baker's grant, by signing this form, acknowledging that you will only bake products containing nothing but emmer and you will otherwise support our mission. We promise to pay you $100/loaf."

The 2 people making spelt-emmer pretzels, and the 1 person making spelt-emmer cookies, refuse to sign on, and slink off, as they are very convinced of the rightness of including spelt. One emmer-purist baker refuses on some economic principle that nobody comprehends, and immediately turns around and goes back to work in their bakery, with their shoulders hunched. But the remaining 21 bakers happily apply for a baker's grant. The mixed-grain bakers are upset about the breakup of the emmer market, and spend some time sulking, before wandering off to the new, much-smaller, spelt bread market, that is setting up, down the street. Where they sell their bread for $6 and slowly go bankrupt.

And then there were 10

2 weeks go by. 4 weeks go by. Baking has slowed. The grant hopefuls hold a meeting, where they discuss the joys of baking. Baking slows further.

Everyone is too excited, to find out if their new Universal Customer will be paying for the bread they bake. $100 a loaf! Just think of it! All of the bakers quickly do the math and realize that they not only will turn a profit, they can buy themselves a nice house and a new car and...

Nobody listens to the complaints from The Old Customers, who are the useless individual people only paying $8, despite them slaving away, all day, in front of a hot oven. They should be happy that they are getting bread, at all! Instead they complain that the bread is dry, that the delivery is late, that the bottoms are burnt. Ingrates.

And, then, the big day arrives, and the foundation happily announces that they will be giving 10 lucky bakers a grant.

The bakers are stunned. It had seemed that all of the bakers would be getting the grants, not only part of them. But, of course, the Universal Customer looked through the applications and tried to spend its money wisely. Why give grants to 5 bakers, who all produce the same type of olive-emmer bread? Give it to one, and then tell him to produce 5 times as much bread. He is then the olive-emmer bread expert and they will simply keep loose tabs on him, to nudge him to bake the bread in a sensible manner. And, of course, he shall always focus on baking olive bread, as that is what the grant is for.

The bakers stroll off, to their bakeries. Those who baked olive bread and received no grant, close up shop, as they can see which way the wind is blowing. The other grantless bakers reformulate their bakery plans, to see if they can somehow market themselves as "grant-free bakers" and wonder at how long they can stand the humiliation of selling to demanding, fickle customers at $8/loaf, when others are selling at $100/loaf, to an indifferent customer who doesn't even eat it.

The happiest 10 bakers leave for another conference, and while they are gone, their bakeries burn down. Their grants continue to flow, regardless, and the actual bread eaters are now standing in line at the last few bakeries, paying $20/loaf.

The End.

@ 32ee46c5:dde81be9

As I travel around the United States, one of the things that always jumps out to me is just how beautiful this country is. The seashores and the rivers, the mountains and canyons, the farmlands and forests, the deserts and plains are spectacular, for sure, but so are the cities. A week or so ago, as I... This is a preview of my post. Join my community and get access to this and more of my work.

https://highlighter.com/npub1xthyd3ttv467g65ff6rpvz6qdvm9zpmf3j35svrc8wuumh0gr05sgx8evy

@ a012dc82:6458a70d

Table Of Content

• Educational Initiatives Promoting Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Awareness

• Supportive Government Policies and Regulatory Frameworks

• Growing Cryptocurrency Mining Industry

• Increased Adoption by Businesses and Consumers

• Establishment of Cryptocurrency Exchanges and Digital Asset Marketplaces

• Collaboration with Neighboring Countries

• Conclusion

• FAQ

In recent years, Thailand has emerged as a hub for blockchain technology and cryptocurrency adoption. The country has shown an eagerness to embrace the Bitcoin revolution, with significant developments in areas such as education, mining, and regulatory frameworks. This article explores the key factors that have contributed to Thailand's growing prominence in the global Bitcoin landscape

Educational Initiatives Promoting Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Awareness

Thailand has recognized the importance of education in fostering a strong foundation for the growth of blockchain technology and cryptocurrency adoption. As a result, numerous universities and educational institutions now offer courses and degree programs in the field. This has created a talented pool of blockchain experts and enthusiasts who are driving the growth of the industry in the country.

Supportive Government Policies and Regulatory Frameworks

The Thai government has adopted a proactive approach towards the regulation and growth of the cryptocurrency market. In recent years, the country has established clear legal frameworks and guidelines for digital asset businesses, which has encouraged both local and international players to invest in Thailand's burgeoning cryptocurrency sector.

Growing Cryptocurrency Mining Industry

Thailand has become an attractive destination for cryptocurrency mining, thanks to its affordable electricity rates and well-developed infrastructure. The country has seen an influx of mining companies, which have set up large-scale mining operations to capitalize on the favorable conditions. This has not only created jobs but also contributed to the growth of the local economy.

Increased Adoption by Businesses and Consumers

In Thailand, both businesses and consumers are embracing the Bitcoin revolution. A growing number of merchants accept Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as a form of payment, while consumers are increasingly adopting digital wallets for everyday transactions. This widespread adoption has facilitated the growth of a vibrant cryptocurrency ecosystem in the country.

Establishment of Cryptocurrency Exchanges and Digital Asset Marketplaces

Thailand's supportive regulatory environment has paved the way for the establishment of numerous cryptocurrency exchanges and digital asset marketplaces. These platforms have facilitated easy access to cryptocurrencies for Thai citizens, further boosting the adoption and use of digital assets in the country.

Collaboration with Neighboring Countries

Thailand has actively engaged with neighboring countries in the Southeast Asian region to develop cross-border initiatives and partnerships in the blockchain and cryptocurrency space. These collaborative efforts have helped to create a strong regional network that supports the growth of the industry in Thailand and beyond.

Conclusion

Thailand's rapid embrace of the Bitcoin revolution is a testament to the country's forward-thinking approach towards technology and innovation. By fostering education, supportive regulation, and collaboration, Thailand has positioned itself as a leading player in the global blockchain and cryptocurrency landscape. This has not only benefited the Thai economy but also contributed to the worldwide adoption of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology.

FAQ

How has Thailand embraced the Bitcoin revolution in education? Thailand has incorporated blockchain and cryptocurrency courses into university curriculums, creating a talented pool of experts and enthusiasts who contribute to the growth of the industry.

What role does the Thai government play in supporting the Bitcoin revolution? The government has established clear legal frameworks and guidelines for digital asset businesses, encouraging both local and international players to invest in the cryptocurrency sector.

Why is Thailand becoming a popular destination for cryptocurrency mining? The country offers affordable electricity rates and well-developed infrastructure, attracting mining companies to set up large-scale operations and contributing to the local economy.

How have Thai businesses and consumers adopted cryptocurrencies? A growing number of merchants accept cryptocurrencies as payment, and consumers increasingly use digital wallets for everyday transactions, fostering a vibrant cryptocurrency ecosystem in the country.

That's all for today

If you want more, be sure to follow us on:

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DISCLAIMER: None of this is financial advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Please be careful and do your own research.

@ 912212cc:672aac36

O Tsathoggua negro se moldou de uma gárgula semelhante a um sapo para uma linha sinuosa com centenas de pés rudimentares. Como um deus, Tsathoggua pode alterar sua forma para se adaptar melhor a qualquer ambiente em que você esteja. O que você acha dos vídeos sobre os mitos de Cthulhu?

https://video.nostr.build/394067118f64907e9034190f715da078c7c73c07c65b526fe91f683115fff5c5.mp4

@ e83b66a8:b0526c2b

If you’re thinking of buying a Bitaxe, here is some information about pools vs solo mining.

Firstly, although the terms are clear “pool mining”, “solo mining” there is nuance in these definitions, so I want to explain these terms fully.

Solo mining pools exist, such as: https://solo.ckpool.org/

It is called a pool, because you are using their credentials to mine, but you keep all the rewards if you win a block. Despite the name, this is not a pool.

You then have a pool such as https://ocean.xyz/ who are a pool, you use their credentials to mine, and you earn a share of their income relative to your contribution in hash power.

There has been some publicity about a solo miner winning a pool recently, there were about 12 blocks won in 2023 by solo miners. However a winning solo miner is likely to be a server farm with hundreds or even thousands of S19’s or S21’s sharing the same payout wallet address. The image of a home miner with a Bitaxe winning a block is extremely unlikely.

A solo miner is defined as a group of miners that share a payout wallet address, so for example you could have 10 Bitaxe’s at home all configured with the same BTC wallet address, this is considered a single solo miner. And so it is with mid tier mining farms, often privately owned, who have a number of machines set to the same payout address. Most of the time, they share earnings for a more reliable income, but the owner may decide to gamble on winning a block and so choose to solo (lottery) mine.

So far, my Bitaxe, which has been running for 4 days now and is part of the Ocean pool. It is earning about 50 Sats a day. If I were to wait for an on-chain payout, it would take around 60 years to receive one. I can, however, setup a BOLT12 lightning payout address and earn this tiny income through Lightning.

So here’s my recommendation.

Currently, there are two pools that control more than 50% of mining, Foundry USA and AntPool. This is a dangerous position and in fact Bitmain, who provide around 90% of all mining hardware actually invest and have stakes in these and several other pools. This is centralising mining and could potentially allow a 51% attack, which could compromise Bitcoin.

Jack Dorsey is currently developing competing mining hardware chipset, through his company Block and Ocean are attempting to decentralise the pools by building a truly independent option for miners to join.

If you buy a Bitaxe, the best way you can help alleviate the dominance of Bitmain is to join a true pool like Ocean to slowly move control away from the dominant pools.

Bear in mind that many of the other smaller pools are still controlled by Bitmain.

If you're still interested in lottery mining, here are your chances of winning a block:

Represented as Hash rates of different miners:

Nerdminer: 20 KH/s = 20,000 H/s

Bitaxe: 750 GH/s = 750,000,000,000 H/s

Bitmain Antminer S9: 13.5 TH/s = 13,500,000,000,000 H/s

Bitmain Antminer S19: 110TH/s = 110,000,000,000,000 H/s

Bitmain Antminer S21: 200TH/s = 200,000,000,000,000 H/s

Current Global Hash rate 628EH/s (Sept 2024) = 628,000,000,000,000,000,000

If you're running a Bitaxe, your percentage chance of winning a block is: 0.000000119426751592357%

Over a year, your chances increase to: 0.00627707006369428%

Your chances of winning the UK national lottery (assuming 20M tickets sold and you buy one):

0.000005%

Over a year, your chances increase to: 0.00026%

Like in all things in Bitcoin, I don’t ask you to trust me. If you want to verify, here are the references I used in making my conclusions:

https://protos.com/chart-when-solo-miners-found-a-bitcoin-block/

https://investors.block.xyz/investor-news/news-details/2024/Blocks-New-Bitcoin-Mining-Chip-to-Be-Part-of-an-Ongoing-Project-With-Core-Scientific-to-Decentralize-Mining-Hardware/default.aspx

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wo91DWvZRs8

https://i.nostr.build/9rQ9Plv6XQYtt6xd.jpg

@ c99e3a74:57eb85c1

Livro I

Capítulo I

\ Aristóteles abre sua obra constatando o fato de que toda arte ou investigação, são realizadas em vistas a algum bem. Sendo, portanto, o bem aquilo a que todas as ações tendem. Porém, se bem é aquilo ao qual todas as coisas tendem, surge o seguinte dilema: como pode, então, algumas atividades serem o fim de si mesmas, e outras atividades terem por fim a realização de uma outra coisa? Por exemplo, a realização da construção naval é a produção de um navio, porém a realização da dança se dá no próprio ato de dançar. Assim, há uma diferença entre a natureza dos fins: alguns fins são atividades, enquanto outros são produtos de determinada atividade. Observação: No caso dos fins que são a produção de algo a partir de uma atividade, naturalmente o fim produzido(por exemplo, a saúde para a medicina) é mais perfeito do que a atividade. \ A partir desta constatação, pode-se pensar que, por haver muitas atividades, há também muitos fins. Cita-se o exemplo de que a finalidade da arte médica é a saúde, da construção naval é um navio, da economia é a riqueza e etc. Porém, observa-se que algumas artes subordinam-se a outras, tendo outras por finalidade. Por exemplo, a arte de produzir um bisturi é uma arte sujeita à arte da medicina, que por sua vez tem por finalidade a saúde. Neste sentido, deriva-se que a finalidade da arte mais fundamental, é superior aos da arte subordinadas a ela(no exemplo, a saúde é uma finalidade superior à produção de um bisturi).

Capítulo II

@ 01d0bbf9:91130d4c

Chef's notes

Amazingly tangy, firey hot, but still mellow and bright.

I use this on everything– Use it to dress salads, dip (honey mustard) for fried chicken, elevate your taco nights, heck a spoonful first thing in the morning will wake you up better than coffee!

Don't forget to use up those delicious chilis and garlic, they are so good!

Details

• ⏲️ Prep time: 20 min
• 🍳 Cook time: 1-2 weeks
• 🍽️ Servings: (12x) 8oz jars

Ingredients

• 16oz fresh chili peppers
• 8oz red onion
• 8oz garlic
• 96oz honey
• Fresh thyme

Directions

1. Thinly slice peppers, garlic, shallots and fresh thyme
2. Add chopped ingredients to the honey
3. Leave to ferment (loosely covered) for 1-2 weeks
4. Drizzle that amazing pungent firey gold liquid over EVERYTHING. (Don't forget to use up those amazing chilis and garlic too.)

@ 3ad01248:962d8a07

https://image.nostr.build/c7e3732889827ab0a8e2064de5fa6992e37e035347b0c91d249cb8f312b47087.jpg I love Bitcoin. Let me get that out there first of all. I sincerely believe that Bitcoin has the power to change the way the world functions if we can grow adoption to a global scale. This obviously will take time as the gears of economic change grinds slowly. As of right now, people in the western countries don't really see the need for a sovereign politically neutral money that can't be inflated away. They simply don't have to deal with inflation on a regular basis like the rest of the world.

Citizens in western countries got a small taste of what real inflation looks like and guess what? They didn't like it one bit. Overall the last three and a half years you saw countless news stories about how bad inflation and how its making life for the average American or European more difficult.

Yes inflation does suck but look at countries like Argentina, Turkey, Zimbabwe or Venezuela. The people in these countries are suffering from excessive inflation on a regular basis! According to recent economic data Turkey experienced a decline in inflation from 61 percent to 51 percent in August. This is seen as a win in their book! Can you imagine this level of inflation in America? There would be riots in the streets!

Argentina's inflation rate is an astounding 236 percent over the last 12 months! As Bitcoiners we understand that the problem is the money itself. As long as governments have the ability to manipulate the money supply, they will. This is human nature at its finest. When you give a select few that kind of power it becomes irresistible and becomes a tool to control the masses. This shouldn't be a surprise to anyone to be honest.

What I find shocking is with all of this inflation globally no one is really looking around asking questions to why this is happening and looking for a way to escape this system. Are people really this lazy? Not to be mean but cmon. It seems to me that most people are perfectly fine bitching online about how hard it is to make ends meet or supporting their favored political party and wanting them to fix the problem they created. Newsflash to all the normies out there, its the GD political parties that caused inflation in the first place.

We literally have a solution that is staring them in the face, ready to go to replace the current debt based system that we are currently suffering through and no one wants to take the time to research it? Am I black pilled? No, am I realist, very much so. If 236 percent inflation in Argentina can't get them on a Bitcoin Standard immediately, we as a community have a long road ahead of us. Hyperbitcoinization isn't coming in 5 years. It isn't coming in 10 years. Hell it might not even happen in our lifetimes and we have to be ok with that.

So what is the best way to get more Bitcoin into the hands of the people, so they can see the true value of the digital monetary revolution that is Bitcoin. We need a trojan horse and that trojan horse is nostr.

Enter The Nostr Trojan Horse

https://image.nostr.build/5ffee418133ac80ba14b30abf0d5390b878f676cbf6332d67639f9384764da4c.jpg

It should be plain to see by now that the inflation or the number go up narrative alone isn't going to drive Bitcoin adoption. The reason for that is because people don't see the utility of Bitcoin. They see it as some esoteric digital funny money that drug dealers and terrorist use to do bad things.

The average Joe doesn't see how Bitcoin is helping dissidents on foreign countries fund their activism, escape oppressive regimes or simply earn a living. These stories are never told in the mainstream media because they don't want to highlight the fact that a non-state money can circumvent the status quo.

The best way to highlight these stories is to share it on social media, which again is controlled by mainstream gatekeeper such as Meta, Google and X. It is in their best interest to censor these stories or memory hole them out of existence which I suspect happens quite a bit without us even knowing. But the thing about censorship is that it slowly impacts everyone one by one until no one is allowed to say anything without the fear of being put in jail.

Think this can't happen in western democracies? It's happening already my friend! Take a look at the UK or Australia. Citizens their are being arrested over post made to social media. I sincerely believe that these two countries should be a proving ground for showing the value of nostr and Bitcoin.

Introducing the concept of a censorship resistant messaging protocol to them will go over well and once it is understood will grow like a wildfire because people innately understand that censorship is bad and will see the utility value of having the ability to speak freely again.

It is only a matter of time until they realize that they can monetize their speech and build a life using zaps aka Bitcoin.

Until people see the utility in the tools that lie before them, they will never pick them up and use them. It is really that simple. At the end of the day we are still kind of like cavemen. We only use tools when it makes life easier. Man made the wheel. We use it everyday because it has utility.

Bitcoin in the end will be the same way. Utility first, then mass adoption. Nostr is what will help people see the utility Bitcoin and from there sky is the limit. The best thing we can do as Bitcoiners is to encourage people to learn about nostr and show them how easy it is to use and to switch clients that suit their needs instead of being shoved into a one-size fits all solution on centralized platforms.

People like choices, and nostr is all about choice. The interoperability and thelack of need to give personal information to create an account are HUGE selling points that can be touched on. Go out and spread the good word about nostr!

Bitcoin #Nostr

@ 3ad01248:962d8a07

test poasting

@ dc652bee:6154e7d0

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@ d6affa19:9110b177

it's a sunny afternoon at a shopping center. i open the car door for Her. we head into the bookstore. the aroma is rich, thick. i buy us coffee.

we then browse around. but beneath my calm surface, a quiet longing stirs—a deep yearning for Her.

Her touch. Her love.

i still feel the echoes of Her words—a sweet torment that rests in my mind. i've felt it all day. it's nearly maddening.

and yet i maintain my composure as i follow along to the next store.

She turns. i spot a brief smirk.

my breath catches. She knows... i can't hide from Her.

a simple brush of Her hand. it sends jolts. a reminder of the pleasure She wields.

"Are you okay?" Her voice sweet, yet probing.

"Yes, my Queen." i answer in an even tone, managing the storm underneath.

"Good," She nods.

"Let's go, sweet boy." Her command lingers gracefully in the air.

"Help me try on some shoes."

the thought of helping Her... it sends a thrill through me.

i nod, taking another sip of coffee.

it burns, still hot. my hands feel clammy against the cup, heart racing.

the anticipation is electric...

@ dc652bee:6154e7d0

Embracing the power of positivity and prosperity! 💵✨ Let's make every dollar count and spread good vibes all around. #GoodDollar 🌐https://n9.cl/gooddolars

@ e97aaffa:2ebd765d

Claro que não, o Bitcoin não é uma solução mas sim uma reação à inação dos governos.

O sistema FIAT está numa situação tão crítica, não existe uma solução boa para o problema da dívida soberana, terá que se optar pela menos má. Como resolver o problema das dívidas futuras, dos fundos de pensões? As dívidas do passado tem que ser pagas, mas como? As dívidas não são apenas números no excel, são pessoas que estão por detrás desses números, não podem ser apagadas, simplesmente.

Uma solução seria uma mudança drástica nas políticas, com uma forte redução de custos do estado e muita austeridade, gerando uma queda do padrão de vida dos cidadãos. Só que isto seria extremamente impopular, nenhum político tem coragem de o fazer, quem tentar vai acabar por perder na próxima eleição.

Assim, a única maneira que resta para os políticos, é fazê-lo pela calada, através da desvalorização da moeda. A inflação permite destruir as dívidas do passado e consequentemente a poupança e a qualidade de vida dos cidadãos. É isto que temos visto nos últimos anos e vai agravar-se no futuro. Só que os atuais níveis de expansão monetária, não foram suficientes para resolver o problema, apenas permite ao governo estar à tona da água, procrastinar o problema.

Um bom exemplo é na UE, onde existe uma regra que permite um défice até 3% do PIB por ano, que muitas vezes nem é cumprida, isto é uma situação insustentável. A regra deveria ser o oposto, obrigar um superávit mínimo de 2% ao ano, só assim será possivel reduzir a dívida.

A expansão monetária e política monetária está a ser utilizada como uma arma contra os cidadãos, é um imposto totalmente cego, muito penalizador para os mais pobres e os governos têm abusado desse poder. A moeda é o sangue de uma economia, os políticos ao diluí-la estão a envenenar a economia. O Bitcoin é a única moeda que não pode ser diluída.

Os políticos reconhecem que existe um problema mas todas as soluções são extremamente impopulares, e como eles são os principais beneficiados do sistema FIAT, dificilmente haverá uma mudança.

Bi-monetário

Como nenhum político terá coragem de mudar, essa mudança tem de partir dos cidadãos, voluntariamente, ou seja, com a adoção do Bitcoin.

Todos os bitcoiners gostariam de assistir a uma mudança rápida do padrão FIAT para o padrão Bitcoin, mas não é possível. É necessário ter noção como o mundo real é, uma mudança rápida entre os padrões seria desastrosa para toda a humanidade, esse processo terá que ser gradual, para não existir uma ruptura entre gerações e entre estratos sociais.

Com a criação do Bitcoin, o paradigma mudou, passou a existir um sistema bi-monetário, com a moeda FIAT e o Bitcoin em circulação simultânea. O FIAT como unidade de conta e o Bitcoin como reserva de valor e as duas como meio de troca.

Hoje, a alocação em Bitcoin ainda é muito baixa. Em média a nível mundial está 99.2% em FIAT e 0.8% em Bitcoin. Mas chegará o dia, atingirá os 50-50%, em alguns países possivelmente será ainda maior.

Será uma adoção completamente voluntária, não será pelos governos, mas sim, pelos cidadãos, de baixo para cima. No início, a adoção será lenta, mas quanto maior for a alocação em Bitcoin, mais acelerada será a adoção.

A dupla circulação de moeda, vai obrigar os governos a fazer uma melhor gestão, vai limitar indiretamente a impressão de dinheiro. Se os governos abusarem desse poder, as pessoas vão se proteger ainda mais no Bitcoin, diminuindo a alocação em FIAT, por sua vez a moeda fica mais fraca e o governo também. Vai obrigar um maior rigor na política monetária.

O Bitcoin será uma proteção contra o abuso dos governos, vai obrigar uma mudança, um maior rigor na sua gestão, possibilitando a redução da dívida a longo prazo.

@ a012dc82:6458a70d

Table Of Content

• A Brief Overview of Bitcoin Mining

• The Rails Programming Tool: A Game Changer for Bitcoin Miners

• Customization and Scalability

• Enhancing Security and Compliance

• Conclusion

• FAQ

The world of cryptocurrency is ever-evolving, and as the demand for Bitcoin mining solutions grows, so does the need for innovative and efficient tools. Lincoln Technologies, a leading name in the field of blockchain technology, has introduced a groundbreaking Rails Programming Tool that aims to revolutionize the Bitcoin mining landscape. This article will explore the features and benefits of this powerful new tool and how it can help you unlock the full potential of Bitcoin mining.

A Brief Overview of Bitcoin Mining

Before delving into the details of the Rails Programming Tool, it is essential to understand the concept of Bitcoin mining. Mining is the process of validating and adding new transactions to the blockchain, which ensures the security and integrity of the cryptocurrency network. In return for their efforts, miners are rewarded with newly minted bitcoins and transaction fees. As the mining process becomes increasingly competitive, miners require sophisticated tools to stay ahead of the game.

The Rails Programming Tool: A Game Changer for Bitcoin Miners

Lincoln Technologies' Rails Programming Tool is a cutting-edge solution designed specifically for Bitcoin mining. This powerful software offers a range of features to streamline the mining process, reduce energy consumption, and optimize mining efficiency. Some of the key features include:

User-friendly interface: The Rails Programming Tool boasts a clean and intuitive interface that is easy to navigate even for beginners, reducing the learning curve for new miners.

Advanced mining algorithms: The tool is equipped with the latest mining algorithms to maximize the mining output and increase the chances of earning rewards.

Energy-efficient operations: Energy consumption is a significant concern for Bitcoin miners. The Rails Programming Tool optimizes mining efficiency and reduces energy consumption, lowering the overall costs and environmental impact of mining.

Customization and Scalability

One of the standout features of the Rails Programming Tool is its adaptability. The tool can be customized to suit the specific needs of individual miners, allowing them to create a tailored solution that works best for their mining setup. Additionally, the Rails Programming Tool is designed to grow with the ever-changing world of cryptocurrency, ensuring that users can continue to benefit from its features as the mining landscape evolves.

Enhancing Security and Compliance

Security is of the utmost importance in the world of cryptocurrency, and Lincoln Technologies has taken steps to ensure that the Rails Programming Tool meets the highest security standards. The software employs advanced encryption protocols to protect sensitive data and maintain compliance with industry regulations. By using the Rails Programming Tool, miners can have peace of mind knowing that their operations are secure and compliant.

Conclusion

The Rails Programming Tool from Lincoln Technologies is poised to revolutionize the way Bitcoin miners operate. By harnessing the power of this innovative software, miners can unlock new levels of efficiency, profitability, and sustainability in their mining efforts. As cryptocurrency continues to gain mainstream acceptance, the Rails Programming Tool is a valuable asset for those looking to capitalize on the growing demand for Bitcoin mining solutions.

FAQ

What is the Rails Programming Tool by Lincoln Technologies? The Rails Programming Tool is an innovative software solution designed to streamline and optimize the Bitcoin mining process, reduce energy consumption, and enhance security and compliance.

How does the Rails Programming Tool improve mining efficiency? The Rails Programming Tool uses advanced mining algorithms to maximize mining output, optimizes energy consumption, and offers customization and scalability features that help miners tailor the tool to their specific needs.

Is the Rails Programming Tool suitable for beginners? Yes, the Rails Programming Tool features a user-friendly interface, making it easy to navigate and learn for both beginners and experienced miners alike.

Can the Rails Programming Tool adapt to the changing cryptocurrency landscape? Yes, the Rails Programming Tool is designed for scalability, allowing it to grow and adapt to the ever-evolving world of cryptocurrency and Bitcoin mining.

That's all for today

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DISCLAIMER: None of this is financial advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Please be careful and do your own research.

@ a58a2663:87bb2918

Quem sabe – quem sabe! – você se interesse em saber como andam as minhas pesquisas sobre o “projeto humanista” em “A alegoria do mundo: o mago, o filólogo e o colonizador”, módulo atual de Convivium – Seminário Permanente de Humanidades.

Na semana passada fiz uma transmissão de áudio no grupo do Telegram dos participantes. Entre outros temas abordados, pude falar da interpretação que Edgar Wind faz do quadro “Primavera”, de Botticelli, como uma explicitação do tipo de alegoria platonizante que dominaria a mente de humanistas da Renascença.

https://image.nostr.build/6e1ee79986d3d4c929609fdf037a3e1e6ee399559fb7e2b5d8c02ad0b9b188ad.jpg

A alegoria é o modo mental, defende E. H. Gombrich, pelo qual uma tese é proposta antes que as causas e analogias que a embasam sejam estabelecidas, de modo que o processo associativo irá apenas justificar a posteriori o que se quis desde logo comunicar. Imagine George Orwell postado às suas costas enquanto você lê 1984. A todo momento, ele irá cutucar o seu ombro e dizer: “Está vendo? Aqui está o que eu quis dizer com a fala desse personagem nesse trecho”. O texto é apenas pretexto para uma mensagem, e é a mensagem que se ergue com claro perfil discursivo diante do leitor. A ficção começa a ceder espaço para o palanque.

Defendo que a alegoria é a mãe das mitologias abstratas, do romance de tese e da experiência de avatar que caracteriza o mundo digital. E seus princípios de analogia arbitrária, que datam do fim da Idade Média, ganham exemplificação máxima nas obras Da magia e Dos vínculos, de Giordano Bruno, que discutirei numa aula ao vivo hoje (26), às 20h30. Na atuação de Bruno se nota como a magia foi cada vez mais percebida de maneira imaterial, abstrata, psicologizante (e dessa sua concepção nos vêm os primeiros prenúncios do inconsciente), ao mesmo tempo que sua primeira ocupação com o mundo material foi aos poucos transferida para as ciências que tendiam a ignorar o elemento humano que manipula esse mesmo mundo material.

Se por um lado, portanto, começa a triunfar uma cosmovisão que supõe um ser humano quase sobrenatural em seus poderes psíquicos (segundo a nova ideia de magia como manipulação da memória), por outro lado começa a se difundir uma cosmovisão que supõe um mundo subtraído de todo elemento humano, uma espécie de cosmos impessoal, aquele que hoje se encontra nos livros de física. Penso que essa como que esquizofrenia reflete a dinâmica de exaltação e depressão do erudito que comentei durante a leitura do Fausto de Goethe realizada no primeiro módulo de Convivium: o herói do poema ora se sente um deus ora se sente um verme, tal como hoje é muito comum nos sentirmos.

Na aula de hoje irei lidar com aquele primeiro aspecto da analogia como arma de um ego entronado, ao passo que na primeira semana de outubro irei disponibilizar aos alunos o texto “Máquina e segredo”, acompanhado de vídeo com comentários complementares. Nesse escrito tratarei, por exemplo, de como os inventos de Giambattista della Porta (1535-1615), especialmente na área da criptografia, assinalam não só um novo estágio na história da tecnologia, como também um novo estágio da disposição dos estudiosos para com o conhecimento, uma disposição típica do que venho chamando de “nova aposta de Pascal”, conceito que terei a oportunidade de rever.

“Máquina e segredo” será o primeiro excerto que colocarei em discussão do ensaio O destino do humanismo, que talvez acabe recebendo o título de A alegoria do mundo, como o atual e terceiro módulo de Convivium; a ver.

Para comemorar este momento importante das pesquisas que venho fazendo a respeito do “projeto humanista” (iniciadas em 2020, privadamente, e continuadas algo publicamente a partir de 2022), resolvi dar 25% de desconto na inscrição de Convivium para quem optar por pagar em bitcoin. Algumas pessoas já chegaram a Convivium por meio do Nostr, e é minha intenção trazer ainda mais gente. Em vez de pagar R$ 449, pague agora R$ 336,75 para ter acesso a:

1. O destino do humanismo: uma leitura do Fausto de Goethe, com 12 aulas, materiais complementares e aulas bônus (mais de 20 horas de vídeo);
2. Os livros da vida: Abelardo, Dante, Cardano, Santa Teresa, com mais 12 aulas, textos e materiais auxiliares (mais de 20 horas de vídeo idem);
3. A alegoria do mundo: o mago, o filólogo e o colonizador, módulo em andamento e com aulas mensais até abril de 2025. Até o momento tivemos 4 aulas ao vivo, 3 vídeos pré-gravados e 3 transmissões de áudio, além de comentários esparsos pelo grupo do Telegram.

Caso queira se inscrever pagando em bitcoin, mande-me uma mensagem privada ou e-mail para camoensiii57@protonmail.com

@ 8f69ac99:4f92f5fd

As revoluções muitas vezes começam com os membros mais jovens da sociedade—adolescentes, idealistas e cheios de energia, ansiosos por causar mudanças. No entanto, no mundo de hoje, a noção de revolução foi sequestrada por forças que procuram controlar e manipular, em vez de empoderar os indivíduos. A chamada "revolução woke" é um exemplo claro, impulsionada por uma agenda que polariza a sociedade ao longo das linhas da política identitária. Esta distracção desvia a atenção dos verdadeiros problemas: a desigualdade económica e o autoritarismo. Mas há uma alternativa melhor, uma que prioriza a liberdade e a soberania em vez da divisão e do controlo—Bitcoin.

A "Revolução Woke" Globalista e a Agenda da Polarização

Uma das tácticas mais insidiosas da "revolução woke" é a polarização deliberada da sociedade. Ao criar narrativas que colocam as pessoas umas contra as outras com base em raça, género, religião e política, aqueles no poder mantêm o controlo e desviam a atenção dos problemas mais profundos que realmente importam. Esta estratégia é orwelliana: ao criar uma mentalidade de "nós contra eles", fabricam uma cultura de conflito perpétuo.

Em vez de promover uma mudança significativa, a "revolução woke" prende as pessoas num ciclo de indignação e divisão, distraindo-as de enfrentar as verdadeiras estruturas de poder—como a desigualdade económica e o excesso de controlo estatal. Esta fragmentação enfraquece os laços entre as pessoas, tornando a sociedade mais vulnerável à manipulação pelas autoridades centralizadas.

Esta polarização serve os interesses daqueles que estão no poder. Quando as pessoas estão demasiado ocupadas a lutar entre si, são menos propensas a questionar os sistemas que realmente as controlam. A "revolução woke" torna-se menos uma questão de progresso genuíno e mais uma forma de manter o status quo através da divisão e da distracção.

Por Que a Polarização é Incentivada

A polarização não é acidental—é uma estratégia calculada com o objectivo de controlar. Dividindo as pessoas em campos opostos, a sociedade fragmenta-se, tornando mais difícil para os indivíduos unirem-se contra adversários comuns ou combaterem políticas que beneficiam as elites.

Esta divisão serve também como uma distracção poderosa. Enquanto as pessoas estão consumidas por batalhas ideológicas, os sistemas financeiros centralizados e o controlo governamental expandem-se silenciosamente. Os meios de comunicação, muitas vezes controlados pelos mesmos poderes, alimentam estas divisões, mantendo as pessoas focadas em conflitos internos enquanto ocultam as verdadeiras ameaças à liberdade.

A polarização também corrói as liberdades individuais. Quando as pessoas estão envolvidas em batalhas ideológicas intermináveis, são menos propensas a notar a erosão gradual dos seus direitos. Isto é precisamente o que os poderes estabelecidos desejam—uma população distraída e dividida, demasiado ocupada para desafiar o desmantelamento lento das suas liberdades pessoais.

O Resultado da Polarização

O resultado desta polarização deliberada é uma sociedade mais preocupada com a pureza ideológica do que com a garantia das suas verdadeiras liberdades. As pessoas ficam presas na política identitária, priorizando a lealdade ao grupo em detrimento da autonomia individual. Isto promove uma mentalidade de "pensamento de grupo", onde questionar a narrativa dominante é desencorajado.

Entretanto, a desigualdade económica aprofunda-se à medida que os poderes centralizados continuam a consolidar o controlo. Os sistemas que deveriam promover equidade tornam-se cada vez mais manipulados, beneficiando os poucos em detrimento dos muitos. A verdadeira liberdade—especialmente a liberdade financeira—torna-se mais difícil de alcançar, com os indivíduos presos em sistemas concebidos para beneficiar uma minoria poderosa.

No final, a "revolução woke" apenas reforça as mesmas estruturas que afirma combater. Ao dividir as pessoas e distraí-las dos verdadeiros problemas, os poderes estabelecidos mantêm o seu controlo, enquanto as liberdades pessoais e financeiras da maioria continuam a ser corroídas.

Bitcoin: A Verdadeira Revolução

Em contraste com a "revolução woke", que divide, Bitcoin oferece uma verdadeira revolução—uma que empodera os indivíduos em vez de os separar. Bitcoin proporciona soberania financeira, retirando poder dos governos autoritários e das instituições centralizadas.

Bitcoin permite que os indivíduos controlem a sua própria riqueza, eliminando a necessidade de intermediários como bancos ou governos. As pessoas já não estão sujeitas a entidades que restringem a sua liberdade financeira. Com Bitcoin, podem criar, armazenar e transferir valor de forma segura, transparente e acessível.

Isto não se trata apenas de economia—é sobre recuperar a liberdade. A natureza descentralizada do Bitcoin permite que as pessoas tomem decisões financeiras sem interferência do estado ou de entidades corporativas.

Porque é Que o Bitcoin é Revolucionário

A verdadeira natureza revolucionária do Bitcoin reside no seu design e princípios, que rompem com os sistemas de controlo enraizados. Eis algumas razões pelas quais o Bitcoin é transformador:

• Aberto e Sem Fronteiras: O Bitcoin transcende fronteiras, permitindo que pessoas de todo o mundo participem igualmente no sistema financeiro. Quebra barreiras baseadas em nacionalidade ou geografia, permitindo uma participação económica global.

• Resistente à Censura: Nenhum governo ou empresa pode parar uma transacção em Bitcoin, dando às pessoas a liberdade de transferir valor sem medo de interferências ou retaliações. Esta é a forma definitiva de autonomia financeira.

• Sem Permissão: O Bitcoin não requer aprovação de nenhuma autoridade. Ao contrário dos sistemas financeiros tradicionais, não há porteiros a controlar quem pode participar, tornando o Bitcoin uma ferramenta para a verdadeira auto-soberania financeira.

• Neutro: O Bitcoin é imparcial. Não se importa com raça, género, religião ou política. Num mundo onde a política identitária é usada para dividir, o Bitcoin trata todos de forma igual, oferecendo um sistema financeiro inclusivo que transcende essas divisões.

Bitcoin como o Antídoto para a Polarização

O Bitcoin oferece uma solução para a divisão criada pela polarização. Transcende a política identitária ao tratar todos de forma igual, independentemente da sua origem ou crenças. A neutralidade do Bitcoin garante que nenhum grupo ou facção pode manipulá-lo para impor as suas visões sobre os outros.

Bitcoin permite que os indivíduos se libertem das narrativas divisivas e tomem controlo dos seus destinos financeiros. Promove a cooperação em vez do conflito, capacitando as pessoas a focarem-se em objectivos comuns, em vez de batalhas ideológicas.

O Bitcoin não é apenas uma moeda—é uma força unificadora, oferecendo esperança àqueles que estão cansados da divisão e das lutas pelo poder. Representa uma mudança para práticas financeiras inclusivas que priorizam a autonomia individual em detrimento do controlo centralizado.

Um Apelo à Acção

Para os jovens que sonham em criar uma mudança real: se querem liderar uma revolução que verdadeiramente empodere os indivíduos e quebre as cadeias do controlo centralizado, então é hora de abraçar o Bitcoin.

Esta revolução não é sobre seguir uma agenda predefinida ou alinhar-se com ideologias divisivas. Trata-se de criar um futuro de sistemas financeiros abertos, onde todos têm a liberdade de participar igualmente.

A cor desta revolução é laranja, simbolizando o logótipo do Bitcoin e o movimento em direcção à liberdade financeira. Representa a esperança para aqueles que querem escapar das restrições dos sistemas tradicionais e criar um mundo descentralizado e empoderado.

Conclusão

Estamos à beira de uma revolução financeira. A juventude tem uma escolha: seguir as narrativas pré-definidas dos sistemas ultrapassados ou tomar controlo dos seus próprios destinos através de redes financeiras descentralizadas e abertas.

O Bitcoin é a verdadeira revolução. É um movimento impulsionado pelo desejo de liberdade, autonomia e inclusão. Juntem-se à revolução, sejam parte de algo maior, e ajudem a construir um mundo onde o poder é descentralizado, as oportunidades são iguais e o futuro é brilhante e laranja—a cor da liberdade financeira.

Photo by Tarik Haiga on Unsplash

@ a9434ee1:d5c885be

1. Relay = Community?

If spinning up a relay is getting easier and cheaper by the day, why can't the relays literally be the group/community?

Then: * Any relay is by default a public community. The more restricted read- or write-access is, the more it becomes a private group. * Any publication targeted at (h-tag) and stored, and thus accepted, by a relay can be seen as a publication in that community. * All-in-1 hosting solutions (integrated blossom servers, lightning nodes, ...) are made easier.

2. Why invent new kinds?

Why can't Kind 1 posts that are targeted and accepted by a relay (i.e. community) just be the forum-posts of that community? Why create new kinds for this? And even weirder, why create a new kind with that exclusively serves as a reply to that new kind? Why not just use generic replies (kind 1111) and take the #otherstuff (event kinds and apps) as an opportunity to introduce those?

For chat messages, however, I get it. You need a kind + reply-kind for those.

3. Community VS Private group

It seems like the only distinction you really need, both for the user and the apps implementing all this, is:
1. Public Community: anyone can read and follow this community but for writing the admins can set limits (pricing, white listings, ...) 2. Private group: only the profiles that even know this relay (i.e. group) exists can interact with it. Read-access has to be granted (invite, pricing, ...) and admins can set limits for writing too. Beyond this distinction it's a bit naive to try to categorize them. Open vs Closed doesn't really mean much for example, since technically all groups/communities set limits and are thus closed. It's more interesting to look the ways in which they can be closed and build on the simplest distinctions you can make there.

The difference between Public communities and private groups is the most important one because they both have very different UX and specification requirements:

Memberlist

Communities: None existent
Anyone can read and follow. It just has limits on who can publish what, when. So the most interesting thing to surface is probable something like a list of most active members or a highlighted set of profiles that have special characteristics within this community (top supporter, god-mode, resident artist, ...).
Private Groups: Necessary for it's existence
The whitelisted npubs for read-access are the members.

Moderation actions

Both types of groups need a way for the admin(s) to:
* Block/remove users * Remove events * Edit metadata (name, description, guidelines...) * Specify who can write publish what, under what condition

Only private groups need a way for the admin(s) to:
* Add/approve new members → specify who has read-access, under what condition

Generalizing too many actions like add member, join request, etc... that are only applicable to one of these categories just creates bad UX for the other one. You don't "add a member" to a public community. People can follow it without asking anyone's permission (ok yes, some will AUTH for reading but that's besides the point). Some of its followers will then just choose to publish something there and the admin either allows them or not.

Having a common protocol for specifying the conditions for this write-access interoperably (as mentioned above) is what I would like to see instead: * Both Communities and Private groups need it anyway * You have to assume admins need granularity in the conditions they set for publishing in their group/community: Who, what, under what condition, ... * You don't want to link out to custom websites (or similar) explaining their allowance schemes

Sidenote: we need a similar kind of spec for the services that allow you to spin up your hosting solution (relay, server, node, ...) so that, when you click "Create new community" in an app, those services can be surfaced. With their business models (including options to self-host parts of it) just there, in the app, without linking out. Same for the lines of communication and payments that are needed to make those business models work from within any app.

Publication and Discovery

Only Communities allow for the exciting possibility of publishing something in multiple overlapping communities at once. Someone writing about how Bees are Capitalists can target their article at the communities that most overlap with its content (and with the author's means and write-access of course). Members of a community around beekeeping can organically discover content and communities on Austrian economics relevant to them.

With Private groups publication happens only in the group and discovery is blocked on purpose.

@ 42342239:1d80db24

The boiling frog is a simple tale that illustrates the danger of gradual change: if you put a frog in boiling water, it will quickly jump out to escape the heat. But if you place a frog in warm water and gradually increase the temperature, it won't notice the change and will eventually cook itself. Might the decline in cash usage be construed as an example of this tale?

As long as individuals can freely transact with each other and conduct purchases and sales without intermediaries[^1] such as with cash, our freedoms and rights remain secure from potential threats posed by the payment system. However, as we have seen in several countries such as Sweden over the past 15 years, the use of cash and the amount of banknotes and coins in circulation have decreased. All to the benefit of various intermediated[^1] electronic alternatives.

The reasons for this trend include: - The costs associated with cash usage has been increasing. - Increased regulatory burdens due to stricter anti-money laundering regulations. - Closed bank branches and fewer ATMs. - The Riksbank's aggressive note switches resulted in a situation where they were no longer recognized.

Market forces or "market forces"?

Some may argue that the "de-cashing" of society is a consequence of market forces. But does this hold true? Leading economists at times recommend interventions with the express purpose to mislead the public, such as proposing measures who are "opaque to most voters."

In a working paper on de-cashing by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) from 2017, such thought processes, even recommendations, can be found. IMF economist Alexei Kireyev, formerly a professor at an institute associated with the Soviet Union's KGB (MGIMO) and economic adviser to Michail Gorbachov 1989-91, wrote that:

• "Social conventions may also be disrupted as de-cashing may be viewed as a violation of fundamental rights, including freedom of contract and freedom of ownership."
• Letting the private sector lead "the de-cashing" is preferable, as it will seem "almost entirely benign". The "tempting attempts to impose de-cashing by a decree should be avoided"
• "A targeted outreach program is needed to alleviate suspicions related to de-cashing"

In the text, he also offered suggestions on the most effective approach to diminish the use of cash:

• The de-cashing process could build on the initial and largely uncontested steps, such as the phasing out of large denomination bills, the placement of ceilings on cash transactions, and the reporting of cash moves across the borders.
• Include creating economic incentives to reduce the use of cash in transactions
• Simplify "the opening and use of transferrable deposits, and further computerizing the financial system."

As is customary in such a context, it is noted that the article only describes research and does not necessarily reflect IMF's views. However, isn't it remarkable that all of these proposals have come to fruition and the process continues? Central banks have phased out banknotes with higher denominations. Banks' regulatory complexity seemingly increase by the day (try to get a bank to handle any larger amounts of cash). The transfer of cash from one nation to another has become increasingly burdensome. The European Union has recently introduced restrictions on cash transactions. Even the law governing the Swedish central bank is written so as to guarantee a further undermining of cash. All while the market share is growing for alternatives such as transferable deposits[^1].

The old European disease

The Czech Republic's former president Václav Havel, who played a key role in advocating for human rights during the communist repression, was once asked what the new member states in the EU could do to pay back for all the economic support they had received from older member states. He replied that the European Union still suffers from the old European disease, namely the tendency to compromise with evil. And that the new members, who have a recent experience of totalitarianism, are obliged to take a more principled stance - sometimes necessary - and to monitor the European Union in this regard, and educate it.

The American computer scientist and cryptographer David Chaum said in 1996 that "[t]he difference between a bad electronic cash system and well-developed digital cash will determine whether we will have a dictatorship or a real democracy". If Václav Havel were alive today, he would likely share Chaum's sentiment. Indeed, on the current path of "de-cashing", we risk abolishing or limiting our liberties and rights, "including freedom of contract and freedom of ownership" - and this according to an economist at the IMF(!).

As the frog was unwittingly boiled alive, our freedoms are quietly being undermined. The temperature is rising. Will people take notice before our liberties are irreparably damaged?

[^1]: Transferable deposits are intermediated. Intermediated means payments involving one or several intermediares, like a bank, a card issuer or a payment processor. In contrast, a disintermediated payment would entail a direct transactions between parties without go-betweens, such as with cash.

@ 104f6f7d:220bf499

“He is free to make the wrong choice, but not free to succeed with it. He is free to evade reality, he is free to unfocus his mind and stumble blindly down any road he pleases, but not free to avoid the abyss he refuses to see.” - Ayn Rand

@ a6e6a54b:8aca70c6

Outline

1. Introduction.
2. Setting the Ground with Definitions: UFO, UAP and The Phenomenon.
3. About the Author: Luis Elizondo.
4. Skeptical Approach.
5. Non-Skeptical Approach.
6. Spiritual-Metaphysical Component of UAP.
7. Worldview Frameworks.
8. Making Sense of UAP.
9. The Stickiness of The Phenomenon.
10. Possibilities for UAP.
11. Spiritual-Metaphysical Beings.
12. Human Nature.
13. UAP Intentions.
14. Psyop Hypothesis.
15. Conclusions.
16. References.

From Lights in the Sky to the Fallen

Expanding the Conversation from Imminent by Luis Elizondo

### 1. Introduction

Man’s mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions. -Oliver Wendell Holmes.

During the past few years, there has been a resurgence of interest in the UFO-UAP topic. If you have been paying attention, you know by now that the phenomenon is real: there has been an acknowledgment of what people have been saying for years. However, if you are not aware of the current state of affairs, you might need to catch up. Imminent by Luis Elizondo [1] summarizes the latest events and his role in them. I think this book is not for UAP beginners, and I still consider myself as one. For this reason, it was not the book I was expecting, but it was the book I needed to challenge my approach to this topic. I had to make a mental shift in order to think about this issue more broadly. I will elaborate more on the challenges I faced later.

Luis “Lue” Elizondo explains his role as the Head of AATIP (Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program) run by the Pentagon and why he resigned due to the secrecy. As you can imagine, it is very difficult to make sense of someone else’s experiences, especially when they also involve the phenomenon. From my perspective, the book brings to the forefront yet another layer of this mystery —the spiritual and metaphysical component of UAP—, which is hard to process (it certainly was for me). I initially planned to write a review of the book, but I have decided instead that I will continue the conversation that Lue started, specifically about this aspect of UAP.

Keep in mind that whether you believe they live among us or think it is all nonsense, you may already have a strong bias that confirms your beliefs and dismisses any new information. This is part of what makes this topic so strange—most people seem to fall into one of two categories: either fully invested or completely indifferent. In my experience, the most common nuanced opinion among those who have not delved deeply into the subject but still want to appear open-minded is: “Of course, there are aliens somewhere in the universe, but it is ridiculous to think they have already visited us.” However, if you look closely at the discussions over the past few years, people are not necessarily talking about aliens visiting Earth—that is just one possibility being considered. I think claiming that aliens exist somewhere but have not shown up yet, and probably never will, is a comfort zone stance.

Furthermore, I am not inclined to convince anyone that this topic is relevant. But, if you already think that transparency is worth your time, then let’s think about the puzzle together!

Notes: 1. I think you should read the book, but if you prefer a summary and review of the key points made by Lue, I recommend watching Richard Dolan’s video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uazfN6CqUeQ. 2. I have been careful with the quotes I am sharing here. Having listened to several hours of Lue’s interviews and podcasts, I have only included quotes he has publicly discussed. 3.

---

2. Setting the Ground with Definitions: UFO, UAP and The Phenomenon

I want clarify the meanings of UFO, UAP and the phenomenon, as I understand them:

• UFO: Unidentified Flying Object. This is a well-known acronym, often associated with flying saucers. It carries a lot of stigma, taboo, and conspiracy theories. Because of the recent surge of interest in the topic, the term "UFO" is not as commonly used anymore; instead, most people now refer to UAP. Additionally, the term UFO does not encompass the full range of the phenomenon.

• UAP: Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena[^1]. It was previously defined as Unidentified Aerial Phenomena, but the phenomenon is not only aerial; it is transmedium (moving through air, space, and water—USO refers to Unidentified Submerged Object), and possibly transdimensional. Therefore, “anomalous” is a more accurate word, as it better captures the broader nature of the phenomenon.

• The Phenomenon: This is the core of the issue and what we are trying to understand. The way that I see it, the phenomenon involves the interaction[^2] between humans and a non-human intelligence, which may be more advanced than us. The elements of interaction include:

Objects: These are observed in the sky, in the ocean, or coming from outer space. Objects can also be inserted into the human body. Examples include crafts, lights, and drone-like objects. These objects may appear tangible or not.

Entities or Beings: These are sometimes seen near or inside the objects, or on their own. They may communicate messages through unusual means. Their origin is uncertain—whether material or metaphysical in nature.

To summarize:

From a human perspective, the interaction with the phenomenon can be both material—occurring through devices, human senses, and visible changes in the body with biological effects—and psychological. Even more puzzling is that the phenomenon may enclose what some refer to as paranormal activity[^3].

Whatever the phenomenon is, it seems to have both material and non-material components. So, when we talk about evidence (photos, videos, vehicles, etc.) we might only be seeing one side of the coin, not the whole picture. I am being very deliberate in using the terms material and non-material because I am referring to the materialistic interpretation of the universe. I will expand more about this later.

[^1]: As for the word "phenomena," I do not think it is necessary to use "UAPs" to refer to the plural form. However, it is very common to see “UAPs” used everywhere. I will just stick with "UAP" in this discussion. [^2]: If they are seen or detected, that counts as interaction. When I mentioned earlier that some people say that “life exists somewhere else in the universe”, they are missing the point. The life forms that might exist elsewhere, which we do not yet know about, are not interacting with humans. [^3]: Some suggest that a subset of what we call paranormal activity can be caused or related to the phenomenon. Therefore, in the end, certain instances of paranormal activity could have a material explanation.

---

3. About the Author: Luis Elizondo

Luis Elizondo was recruited as a senior intelligence officer to help establish counterintelligence and security for the Advanced Aerospace Weapons System Applications Program (AAWSAP), which later became the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP). This program was focused on “unconventional technologies” (p. 6), “unusual phenomena” and investigated unidentified aircraft, specifically ones that seem to display beyond-next-generation technology and capabilities—what we now call unidentified anomalous phenomena, or UAP, or what were long referred to as UFOs (p. 8).

Some interesting details discussed at the podcast Theories of Everything with Curt Jaimungal [2] include: * Lue still keeps his security clearance. * Lue’s book went through a year-long review process by the Pentagon, resulting in certain parts being redacted.

Due to these factors, some speculate that he could be a disinformation agent. However, I do not agree with this notion, as other whistleblowers[^4] have come forward and support some of Lue’s claims. Additionally, Lue’s coming out appears to have caused an internal struggle within the Pentagon. It is very confusing to say the least.

[^4]: Lue does not view himself as a whistleblower but rather as a “patriot”. The fact that he retains his security clearance and continues to work as a government consultant makes people wonder who is really behind this disclosure movement. He has stated that: I would never in a million years violate my security oath. The damage inflicted by people such as Bradley (now Chelsea) Manning and, later, Edward Snowden arguably did more harm than good. Yes, the truth got out, but people lost their lives, and intelligence was compromised in the process (p. 193).

In my opinion, the most important claim made by Lue is the following: Unidentified craft with beyond-next-generation technology—including the ability to move in ways that defy our knowledge of physics and to do so within air, water, and space—have been operating with complete impunity all over the world since at least World War II. These crafts are not made by humans. Humanity is in fact not the only intelligent life in the universe, and not the alpha species… While there are valid reasons for secrecy around some aspects of UAP, I do not think humanity should be kept in the dark about the fundamental fact that we are not the only intelligent life in the universe. The United States government and other major governments have decided its citizens do not have a right to know, but I could not disagree more. You might be thinking this all sounds crazy. I’m not saying it doesn’t sound crazy, I’m saying that it’s real (pp. 1-2).

---

4. Skeptical Approach

In seeking truth you have to get both sides of a story. -Walter Cronkite.

Before sharing my opinions, assuming that the claims made by Lue and others are true, I need to outline some of the reasons for skepticism about the information being presented (in his book and in general during this disclosure process):

1. Lack of evidence: Lue has not provided concrete evidence, only his personal testimony. The Pentagon denies his claims.

2. Quality of evidence: The evidence that is presented is often of poor quality: blurry pictures and out of context videos that could be anything.

3. Lue Elizondo’s Credentials: Right after the release of the book, there was considerable debate on #UFOTwitter regarding his position at AATIP.
4. Government secrecy: Many think that it is impossible for a government to keep a big secret like this one from the public for so many years. They argue that the cover-up and secrecy are just conspiracy theories.
5. Persistent Claims of Imminent Disclosure: Ufologists keep claiming, for decades, that disclosure is just about to happen any day now.
6. Questionable Sources: A lot of the reported encounters come from people who might be unstable, seeking attention, or trying to scam others. Even those who seem genuine might be misinterpreting what they experienced.

---

5. Non-Skeptical Approach

The eye sees only what the mind is prepared to comprehend. -Henri Bergson.

The goal here is not to focus on the skeptic view. I am well aware that one can just say “Show me the evidence”, and move on if no one points to anything convincing and irrefutable. Also, given the fact that there are many other relevant issues affecting our daily life—like inflation, climate change, geopolitical instability, wars, and surveillance— dedicating mental energy to the UAP issue seems like a waste of time. It is totally reasonable to set this discussion aside due to other priorities.

However, I think it is unfair to dismiss the UAP issue as unscientific, nonsense and full of fraudsters (and there are definitely some of those) without spending a decent amount of time trying to understand what it is really about before criticizing it. Ridiculing a subject you do not know much about and do not understand is not scientific. In my opinion, one of the best critics in this area is Dr. Michael Shermer^5. He is a well-known skeptic with a deep knowledge of various UFO cases, has read a vast amount of information and talked to experiencers and witnesses. I recommend following his work.

In the previous section, I mentioned that some people think it is impossible for a government to keep a big secret[^6] like this for so long. I agree with that perspective and it seems that whistleblowers are starting to come forward. Not just one, but several whistleblowers with military backgrounds have been sharing their stories. It is up for you to decide how trustworthy you think they are. They have appeared in interviews, podcasts and some have even testified before the US Congress. While it is possible that they could all be lying or working together, I am going to assume for now that this is not the case so I can focus on the information they are providing.

[^6]: Some people believe that if there was anything significant to the UAP issue, we would have seen it revealed in Wikileaks by now. Interestingly, the “Podesta emails” include exchanges between Tom DeLonge and John Podesta, both of whom are mentioned in the book because of their interest in the topic.

Sometimes it is important to state the obvious: if something is engaging humanity, we do not need any government to tell us whether it is real or not. As Dr. Avi Loeb^7, Head of the Galileo Project^8, puts it: The sky and oceans are not classified and we can survey them ourselves [3]. People all around the world have been sharing their experiences on this topic for years. Sure, some of these people might be fraudsters, attention seekers, or simply confused, but others might be recounting genuine experiences of events that truly happened to them (even if we do not agree on their nature). That is why the testimonies of whistleblowers who have encountered unusual phenomena during their military service are very significant. Their credibility and training to identify anomalies while staying objective make their accounts worth considering.

There are also people who have had more intriguing encounters with the phenomenon, often referred to as experiencers[^9]. If you’re a good listener, you might have heard some unusual stories from people you know, and you might even know someone who falls into this category. For those who might be unaware, experiencers do exist, and many of them choose to stay quiet. As Dr. Garry Nolan^10, Executive Director of the Sol Foundation^11, points out: I think that what [ridiculing] does is a disservice to people who come forward with stories because they have a double trauma, they have the trauma of seeing something they do not understand and doesn’t fit with their worldview, and then they have the trauma of everyone making fun of them [4]. [^9]: I think this term was originally reserved for abductees, but recently, I have heard it used more broadly to refer to anyone who has had an experience related to the phenomenon. So, I’ll use “experiencers” in this broader context.

---

6. Spiritual-Metaphysical Component of UAP

It is not the answer that enlightens but the question. -Eugène Ionesco.

Worldview Frameworks

To ensure we are all on the same page, let’s take a moment to discuss Materialism, which is the predominant worldview among scientists and philosophers for explaining the nature of reality.

Materialism holds that the universe is entirely physical and governed by the laws of physics.

Reductive Materialism refers to the notion that all mental states—such as emotions, beliefs, perceptions, desires—can be reduced to physical phenomena, hence, mental states correspond to physical states. Most Materialists identify with Reductive Materialism.

Eliminative Materialism takes a step further by suggesting that mental phenomena do not exist at all.

Mental phenomena is an interesting case of study because it seems to be something different. However, most scientists argue that mental states can be explained through materialistic means, suggesting, there is no need to postulate another substance[^12] or property. Nevertheless, consciousness does not seem to be reconciled in a materialistic way due to its subjective nature and we still lack a clear definition of it. This is one of science's greatest mysteries, sparking extensive debate among philosophers, psychologists, and neurologists. In recent decades, computer scientists have also joined the conversation, due to the advances in Artificial Intelligence. I mention this because, as we explore the unknown characteristics of the phenomenon later, some have proposed that moving beyond a materialistic interpretation might be necessary, especially since the phenomenon seems to interact directly with human consciousness.

[^12]: Cartesian dualism divides the world in two parts: the physical and the mental, leading us to the mind-body problem—how does the interaction occur? We have shifted toward a form of monism, assuming that the world is only made of physical stuff (materialism), thus dismissing the mind-body problem, by claiming that the mind is material (reductionism). However, phenomenal consciousness—the realm of subjective experiences or qualia—seems to escape materialism, drawing us back to reconsider dualism and other flavors of it. This scientific challenge has been famously formulated as the Hard Problem of Consciousness by the philosopher Dr. David Chalmers.

Professor Dr. Mark Harris, physicist and theologian, in his essay Faith and physics states that: Physics is widely said to have a unique ability to shine light on physical reality at its most fundamental level. But in order to do so, physicists must make many assumptions. Indeed, the widespread assumption that physics is the most fundamental of the natural sciences, and that all others relate to it, is a consequence of reductionism, a metaphysical belief which can’t itself be established empirically in any direct way. Moreover, whether theorists or experimentalists, most physicists assume a form of realism –in spite of the fact that quantum physics has led to various anti-realist challenges– and a strong belief in the uniformity of nature, that physical reality is systematic, regular and patterned everywhere, and that these patterns may be understood rationally (the idea that is often expressed as the ‘laws of nature/physics’). This requires reliance on physical models to explain or summarise observations. A model is effectively a scientific metaphor, or an analogy, a way of explaining something we don’t understand in terms of something we do… The next assumption is that the uniform patterns we think we see in nature, which we try to describe using models, are universal. This means that we can eliminate local variables. For instance, in an experiment we discard the vast array of data we observe which are not universally systematic in favour of those (usually much sparser) data that are. Note that this means that we inevitably bring theoretical expectations to the lab: we can’t perform an experiment without having a pre-conceived theoretical framework already in place. This is often summarised by the famous phrase of N. R. Hanson that, ‘All data are theory-laden’. In other words, our observations come with theoretical baggage which already goes some way towards interpreting them [5].

Hence, the scientific lenses through which we understand reality are also grounded in suppositions or metaphysical beliefs because we cannot prove: materialism, realism (reality exists independent of the observer), determinism and reductionism, and that all reality can be understood by rational means. These notions certainly help us effectively interpret, understand and predict the physical world we are familiar with. There is a common belief that if something appears to be outside this worldview, it is either because: 1) We have not yet discovered the scientific explanation for it, or 2) It simply does not exist. I find the first possibility compelling, as we should indeed strive to understand the world around us. However, if we encounter phenomena that truly[^13]defy scientific explanation and challenge our established notions of reality (such as the concept of God), dismissing them as non-existent might reflect a personal bias or attachment to a specific worldview rather than an objective search for truth. I do not think that we should just abandon ourselves to all possible explanations every chance we get, but if after a thorough examination of the issue following the scientific method we remain puzzled, maybe, it is time to consider alternative perspectives.

[^13]: We cannot be sure about this.

Making Sense of UAP

Once you find true knowledge, ignorance is no longer an option. And if the knowledge you find is unusual then strange becomes a way of life. -Thomas Campbell.

The UAP issue challenges our scientific understanding in two significant ways:

1. Behavior of UAP: The behavior of UAP do not align with our current understanding of physics. This discrepancy leads many to speculate that we might be encountering intelligence and technology far more advanced than our own. This idea often implies that these phenomena could originate from a more technologically advanced civilization, potentially from somewhere else in the universe. In this regard, Lue mentions the 6 observables that should be explained (p. 156): * Instantaneous acceleration. * Hypersonic velocity. * Low observability. * Transmedium travel. * Antigravity. * Biological effects. *

2. Interaction with Humans: The way experiencers describe their interactions with UAP could challenge our materialistic worldview. This aspect introduces what I refer to as the spiritual-metaphysical component.

When I used to think about the UAP issue, I never felt the need to consider anything beyond science. I was comfortable sticking to a materialistic interpretation of the world (although I do not subscribe to it as the ultimate explanation of reality), and this was reflected in my approach to the phenomenon—I would just ignore anything metaphysical. I was aware of some of the claims but they seemed too overwhelming to process. I also thought that once we understood ‘the observables’, we would be able to explain the rest. While I have not completely changed my perspective on how to study this topic, I am now open to the idea that we need to explore the spiritual-metaphysical side in parallel.

As I was reading and Lue mentioned Robert Bigelow^14 in the first few pages, I thought to myself “Oh no, please don’t go there…” But sure enough, he did touch on the paranormal aspects later in the book. I was disappointed and felt he might be making a mistake: if he wanted to draw attention to this topic from a broader audience, focusing only on concrete data—such as sensor readings, the capabilities of the crafts, and how they seem to defy our understanding of physics—would be more effective. Introducing the more unusual aspects of the topic might turn off physicists and the scientific community, potentially leading them to dismiss the discussion.

To be fair, Lue does not imply that the phenomenon cannot be explained materialistically and it is spiritual in nature. In fact, he references Arthur C. Clarke’s idea that “any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic”, and he appears frustrated with the attitude of some Christian fundamentalists in government regarding this topic. But I will address this in more detail later.

I believe that Lue is intentional with his choice of words and the information he presents as he retains his security clearance. Early in the book, he mentions: Over time, my colleagues and I gained insight into how these mysterious UAP operate (p. 2). From this, I concluded: * He is signaling to a certain group. The book is not meant for beginners looking for a general overview of the UAP issue. * The spiritual-metaphysical aspect of the phenomenon is so significant that it cannot be ignored. * He may be an experiencer himself (he refers to personal experiences), and by acknowledging them, he is validating others, encouraging them to come forward.

Now that the spiritual-metaphysical part of this issue was brought front and center, I had to confront it as well, even though I had been mentally resisting it.

Remote Viewing and Orbs

Lue dedicates a whole chapter to remote viewing: Recruits were trained to spy upon enemies, but not in the usual way. Stargate trained “supersoldiers” to spy on hard targets using their psychic gifts. No, I am not kidding, this was an official US government program. They called the highly controversial technique “remote viewing.” The program, pioneered at Stanford University in the late 1960s, was led by none other than Hal Puthoff, whom I met at the dinner meeting I described earlier. Hal had been a Stanford University researcher and an employee of the NSA when he and his colleague Russell Targ were approached by the CIA and told that Russia had a remote-viewing program. The US needed to catch up and beat their efforts. That’s how it all started. Extrasensory perception had won over supporters in government who were initially dubious, then shocked that the technique worked. No one understood the mechanism. The CIA didn’t care why it worked; the only thing that mattered was that it did (p. 33). This whole story is really captivating but I was under the impression that it was unnecessary for the reader who is only interested to learn about UAP.

It turns out that Lue connects his involvement in AATIP to some unusual incidents that were occurring to him, his family and colleagues. He explains that they started seeing orbs in their homes: I was shocked to find that a lot of my colleagues and I began experiencing firsthand some of these orbs at our homes...The object behaved as if guided by some intelligence. It parked itself in the air, then drifted off down the hall before disappearing entirely (p. 68).

For those of you who do not know about orbs this is how he describes them: One of the most common types of UAP that are often reported is what we call orbs, which are small, luminous balls of light or, in some cases, smooth and metallic spheres. This is nothing new. In World War II, orbs were reported regularly in and around Allied and Axis aircraft, so much so that they were nicknamed “foo fighters” (p. 67). The orbs have been reported: by commercial pilots or military pilots or by eyewitnesses on the ground, particularly around military test ranges and sensitive US military facilities. This is not just a military phenomenon. Now, with the pervasiveness of home security systems and advancements in cell phone cameras, private civilians are capturing these orbs, just like the military is (p. 67). At this point, I was quite surprised because I remembered being part of a conversation with some colleagues in an academic setting where they expressed how much they would like to study orbs. I had no idea what orbs were, and I had never heard about them before, let alone their potential connection to UAP. Reading that chapter made a lot of things from that old conversation click into place. I wish I could go back and ask more questions about orbs, but they sounded too esoteric for my taste back then, and I was not in the right mindset to show genuine curiosity.

There is another interesting point he makes about orbs: The classification of these orbs really varies quite a bit. There are different colors and sizes; some of the colors reported were white, yellow, blue, red, and green. Reports I have seen suggested the blue orbs in particular had a very negative biological consequence, meaning if you got close to one of these, you could expect to be injured (p. 67). This example highlights that the phenomenon is not entirely harmless.

The way I see it, the connection between remote viewing and orbs in the book (not that these two are necessarily related) is that they might both be some kind of surveillance mechanism and ways to collect intel (this much information we have with remote viewing in a military context). This raises interesting questions about the nature of both remote viewing and orbs, as we venture into the blurry area between physics and metaphysics. I was under the impression that remote viewing was debunked, but Lue says that it works and is still used by the CIA, which does not care why it works but just that it does. What is going on here?

Stickiness of The Phenomenon

At the beginning of Lue’s involvement in UAP related work, he was warned that: “You should be prepared for the possibility that some of that strangeness will impact your personal life. These portfolios are sticky” (p. 12). Later, he linked this initial warning to his experience with orbs. I had heard about the Hitchhiker^15 effect but it took me a while to make the connection.

In a particularly eye-opening section of the conversation about Imminent in the podcast hosted by Post Disclosure World, the guests Christopher Sharp and James Iandoli, clearly highlight the concept of stickiness: If you engage with the phenomenon the phenomenon engages back. They raise an intriguing argument against widespread disclosure or confirmation of UAPs: There is this idea that we should not disclose because if we disclose that’s going to open a door for the phenomena to start engaging us in a much more proactive and unambiguous way. Do we want to all wake up at 3 am and see green orbs in our bedroom like Lue Elizondo and his family experience?[6]. Isn’t this a fascinating question?

There does seem to be a reactive aspect to the phenomenon. Personally, I lean towards the idea of transparency. After all, many of us have wondered whether we are alone in the universe and if human intelligence is the highest form. While the stickiness of the phenomenon might be a consequence of this new knowledge, we would eventually learn how to manage it. However, it is easier said than done. No one wants to live in fear, and this reactive part of the phenomenon appears to exacerbate that emotion. Additionally, in times of collective anxiety, there is always the risk of powers emerging “for our protection”—as Winston Churchill famously said, “Never let a good crisis go to waste.”

On the other hand, how deeply do you need to engage with the topic for it to become sticky? I am not sure. I have not had any experience myself.

I have noticed a common pattern among those who have opened up to me about their experiences: they often express confusion, shame, and fear. Many of them wish to forget what happened to them entirely. None of the experiences shared so far have been described as positive or exciting. But I recognize I cannot draw broad conclusions.

Possibilities for UAP

We sometimes get all the information but we refuse to get the message. -Cullen Hightower.

This classification is where things start to get even stranger. Physicist Dr. Harold Puthoff (mentioned several times by Lue), in his paper titled “Ultraterrestrial Models”, published in the Journal of Cosmology, states: It is currently unknown whether the phenomenon is exclusively extraterrestrial, extradimensional, crypto-terrestrial, demonic/djinn, proto/ancient human, time-travelers, etc., or some combination or mutation of any or all of these. However, it appears highly likely that the phenomenon per se is not constituted exclusively of members of the current human population [7]. At this point, I do not even want to speculate on what we are dealing with. The current information available to the public makes it almost impossible to even guess.

Professor Dr. Kevin Knuth[^16], physicist and member of the Advisory Board of the Sol Foundation, in his podcast appearance with the Scientific Coalition for UAP studies shares his thoughts to the very interesting question: How do you empirically study something where the very definition of just kind of a question mark, we don’t know what it is, it’s a phenomenon, it’s a thing, it's an object in the traditional sense at all? [Answer]: The first thing we need to do is to develop some kind of taxonomy. We need to come up with a way to classify things whether it's based on appearance, behavior and situation… We are faced with the difficulty in that there is a stigma attached to one of the hypotheses of what some of these things might be: the extraterrestrial hypothesis, which to me I don’t actually see very unlikely anymore, I think that’s actually very probable. But once you develop some kind of taxonomy then you can start to tease apart what you’re looking at and what you’re trying to study. These things aren’t clearly not all alien spacecraft: some of them are weather balloons, atmospheric phenomena that we don’t know anything about, pictures of birds…. It’s a very interesting and complicated problem, there is a lot to be discovered here. They are not just one thing… I’ll sometimes joke, I’m only interested in the ones that are craft, you cannot always tell which ones are craft and which ones aren’t, it’s not that simple…. We’re in a position where we really don’t know much at all and it really is smart to keep all the hypotheses on the table: the natural phenomena, the craft phenomena, the extraterrestrial hypothesis, the ultraterrestrial hypothesis, time travelers (from the past and future). There’s a lot of possibilities and there could be several of these hypotheses being true, which can be confounding and it'll be difficult to sort things out [8].

[^16]: https://www.albany.edu/physics/faculty/kevin-knuth https://thesolfoundation.org/people/

I know I mentioned things were getting weird, but now they are about to get even weirder. Lue recounts a conversation that left him stunned: “Lue, you know we already know what these things are, right?” …“It’s demonic,” he said to me. “There is no reason we should be looking into this. We already know what they are and where they come from. They are deceivers. Demons.” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. This was a senior intelligence official putting his religious beliefs ahead of national security. (p. 84, 85). I guess you are not disappointed by how bizarre things have become with this twist.

I was not entirely surprised by this interpretation. I agree with Lue that a senior officer’s religious beliefs should not be more important than national security. The real question is whether this officer arrived at this conclusion purely based on his religious beliefs, or if there is additional information that is being withheld from the public and from special agents like Lue, who were investigating this topic from within the government.

Spiritual-Metaphysical Beings

Believe those who are seeking truth. Doubt those who find it. -André Gide.

Tucker Carlson shared his views, and it is worth noting his perspective because of his significant influence on public discourse. In this conversation he appears with another important public figure, Joe Rogan. Also, what Carlson says is how I expect many people to react and interpret the nature of the entities associated with the phenomenon.

Carlson says: They are spiritual beings, it’s a binary, they are either team good or team bad… The template that you’re using to understand this is, science fiction or an advanced race of beings from somewhere else but the template that every other society before us has used is the spiritual one. There is a whole world that we can’t see that acts on people, the supernatural world, it’s acting on us all the time for good and bad. Every society has thought this before ours, in fact, every society in all recorded history has thought that until, I'll be specific, August 1945 when we dropped the atom bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and all of the sudden the West is just officially secular, we’re God, there is no God but and that’s the world we have grown up. But, that’s an anomaly, no one else has ever thought that… Once you discard your very recent assumptions about how the world works, well, that kind of seems like the obvious explanation [9]. I applaud Carlson for openly talking about this, especially bringing up the spiritual beings interpretation. However, amidst the confusion, we should apply caution when listening to people who emphatically tell us with certainty what they are.

On the other hand, Dr. Avi Loeb expresses his stance on this discussion: Shawn asked whether I believe that UAPs have a spiritual component. I explained that spirituality or consciousness are likely an emergent phenomenon of complex systems, like the human brain and advanced AI systems. Their behavior is difficult to predict because they have a large number of degrees of freedom and are influenced by input from uncontrolled environments. Whether there are intelligent UAPs remains to be documented by the Galileo Project. If such UAPs exist, I would add psychologists to our research team, because they are trained to deal with intelligent systems [3].

We can analyze the nature of these beings from different angles: 1. Non-Materialistic Point of View: I have not gone into a deep level of study of the UAP beings —commonly known as aliens—but I have heard people talk about these entities. They seem to be embodied although their appearances vary. When they interact with humans, some people report both physical and psychological effects, such as body marks, paralysis, telepathic communication, missing time, memory loss, and fear. This does not suggest they are intrinsically spiritual beings, such as angels and demons (the fallen ones) from the Bible. These entities seem to have a dual nature. But one could argue that angels and demons are spiritual in essence and they also have the ability to materialize, and this observation would lead us into theological territory. This shows how easy things get messy when trying to relate something unknown with something else that we think we know. 2. Materialistic Point of View: Let’s forget all the spiritual stuff and demons, nothing of that exists, and even if it does, these entities could just be material. In this case I would say pretty much what Lue keeps repeating “any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic”. Maybe these creatures have learned how to access our consciousness in a way that we do not even think it is possible.

In my opinion, we are dealing with a mix of different types of entities although I cannot say anything about their ontology. I would not rule out the spiritual beings, demons, or dual nature entities interpretation. For those who have experienced encounters with these beings, sharing their experiences is crucial so we can gather enough data to better understand and categorize them[^17]. But unfortunately, there is always the fear of ridicule. We need to understand what is and isn’t part of the phenomenon. I would also like to hear what other religions and traditions think.

[^17]: Esoteric groups have already developed some taxonomy, but the information they have gathered falls into the category of revelation (by the beings themselves) rather than an accumulation of data.

Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one. -Albert Einstein.

For example, Dr. John E. Mack^18, a renowned psychiatrist from Harvard who tragically passed away in a car accident in 2004, made significant contributions to the field. I first encountered his work through a documentary about the Ariel School UFO landing. Dr. Mack was deeply interested in speaking with the children who witnessed this traumatic event and sought to understand it. His book, Abduction, explores UFO abductions and encounters with these beings. It is important to point out that he was also a well-regarded expert on nightmares.

In an interview, journalist Ralph Blumenthal^19, who wrote a biography about Dr. Mack titled The Believer, noted that Dr. Mack's research highlighted fundamental differences between experiences of the "old hag syndrome" and UFO abductions. The former often involves reports of an evil presence that sits on the bed and causes suffocation, while abductees typically describe being given information telepathically and undergoing medical procedures.

Although these accounts are disturbing, they provide valuable insights by helping us distinguish between similar but distinct experiences. However, the question of the ontology of these beings and their origins still remains unresolved. Blumenthal adds: What are we to draw from this? Well, first of all, there is a whole kind of anomalous experiences that seem to operate in a world that we do not recognize, another reality, that penetrates our world, as John Mack said, somehow, in ways we can’t explain, we have a clear idea of reality, we think we do; reality is what you can see, smell, taste, and touch, knock on the table, feel it... So maybe there are other dimensions, aspects to the universe that we don’t understand” [10]. In addition, Professor Dr. Garry Nolan, whom I mentioned earlier, says the following: It’s interesting, religions have been dealing with extra dimensions and non-human intelligences for centuries: angels and demons, the spirits of the forest, the jinn of the Quran, etc. Where is heaven and hell? It’s another dimension. Are heaven and hell even in the same dimension? Are they different places altogether? Religion struggled with these ideas and the human mind can already encompass the possibility that they exist and had done so since the most primitive of men. That’s amazing to me [4].

This naturally leads us to ask: Are these realities and dimensions “real”? And more importantly, What do we understand by “real”?

About experiencers, Lue expresses that: In the end, abductees report feeling that these beings did not care one way or another if they lived or died. Many experiencers reported feeling completely vulnerable, helpless, and afraid. As a former special agent, if a witness reported being whisked away against their will, I would consider that an act of kidnapping, a federal crime. And if the witness said they were touched against their will, I would consider that assault, yet another crime in human terms (p. 173). I totally agree with Lue on his opinion right here.

I now think it is a mistake to rely solely on physicists, astronomers, and engineers for answers, yet that is where most people tend to focus. The phenomenon we are dealing with is not just about lights in the sky, mysterious crafts, or extraterrestrial beings. The problem is far more complex, and narrowing the scope to only the physical aspects limits our understanding. To fully grasp what is happening, we need insights from a much broader range of perspectives—psychologists, psychiatrists, philosophers, theologians, heads of different religions, anthropologists, and historians. Each of these fields offers a piece of the puzzle, whether it is understanding human consciousness, exploring ancient interpretations of similar phenomena, or delving into the spiritual implications. It is only by bringing together all of these viewpoints that we can begin to form a more complete picture of the UAP phenomenon.

Human Nature

When the student is ready, the teacher will appear. Ancient Buddhist proverb.

I also believe that we need to start looking inwards and understand our true nature—what makes us humans.

1. *Materialistic Point of View: We have the poetic words of the physicist Sean Carroll, PhD: I want to argue that, though we are part of a universe that runs according to impersonal underlying laws, we nevertheless matter. This isn’t a scientific question — there isn’t data we can collect by doing experiments that could possibly measure the extent to which a life matters. It is at heart a philosophical problem, one that demands that we discard the way that we’ve been thinking about our lives and their meaning for thousands of years. By the old way of thinking, human life couldn’t possibly be meaningful if we are “just” collections of atoms moving around in accordance with the laws of physics. That’s exactly what we are, but it is not the only way of thinking about what we are. We are collections of atoms, operating independently of any immaterial spirits or influences, and we are thinking and feeling people who bring meaning into existence by the way we live our lives* [11].
2. Non-Materialistic Point of View: Professor Mattias Desmet, PhD, expert on the Theory of Mass Formation expresses that: Young science, too, starts from a belief that the object being studied can be fully understood by means of logical reasoning. Facts are logical—how could they not be? However, the further the logical analysis of the phenomenon under investigation is carried, the more clearly one sees the emergence of a core that is intrinsically illogical and inaccessible to the human mind. And just like with a child, that moment gives rise to an awareness of the relativity of all logic as well as a heightened sensitivity to forms of language that don’t aim to be logically understood but lead to a more direct affinity, to resonance with the object (poetry, mysticism, etc.). In the same way, man also has to come to know himself as a psychological being, as a confluence of subjective experiences, thoughts, feelings, especially as they arise in relations with others. The ability to sense one’s own experience and to put it into words and to express it in relation to another is what constitutes the core of our existence as human beings… we exist as human beings when we can give something of our individuality to another through full speech—a kind of speaking in which something of the human being we are vibrates and resonates. It is through the art of full speech—which is the art learned, for example, in psychoanalytic therapy—that we are able to realize a real connection with others and the world around us (without thereby losing ourselves) [12].

If we truly understand who we are and how it feels to relate to each other in our human form, I think that we would be able to recognize what is not us and perhaps discern what kind of entity or intelligence is trying to engage with us. However, if we do not fully grasp our own humanity and the ways in which we are interconnected, how can we even begin to comprehend a non-human intelligence that might be more advanced than we are?

One of the most intriguing insights we have so far about the phenomenon is the possibility that this intelligence is reactive. This is one of the reasons why we need to start talking about our experiences with it. We may be part of a transformational process without even realizing it, and I also believe that this intelligence is being affected by our interaction—it is a two-way street. This is, of course, speculation.

For example, in the Christian worldview, Jesus was a non-human intelligence that transfigured His divinity when He adopted human form, altering His essence through His humanity and interactions with people. He is now both God and human. So, how are we planning to influence this other intelligence?

This process of understanding who we are and our purpose in the universe is entirely subjective, and/or revealed. This is a different kind of knowledge, —more like wisdom—, and, in my opinion, it cannot come from science. How could it? This is why I am now more inclined to consider the phenomenon from perspectives beyond the scientific. The wisdom and knowledge humanity has acquired over thousands of years will be crucial when addressing this subject.

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7. UAP Intentions

Lue begins his book by discussing the Colares UAP case in Brazil during the 1970s. If you research about what happened you will see that the phenomenon engaged with humans in a very harmful way. This contradicts the belief held by some in the UFO community that these entities are here to help humanity. This belief is often linked to numerous reports of sightings near nuclear weapon sites and facilities, with the suggestion that they are trying to warn us about the dangers of nuclear technology. Moreover, Lue also talks about a case in 1982 in Ukraine: UAP flew over Byelo Air Base in the former Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. Seconds later, the launch sequence for the base’s missiles switched on without any human ever entering the launch codes. Operators frantically rushed to shut the system down but could not. When the launch sequence reached its very last rung, it shut down of its own accord (p. 54). Moreover, he says that: “Adults taking matches out of the hands of children,” some say. That’s a nice hopeful thought, but reality has proven us incorrect. At no time have UAP stopped our nuclear ambitions. As examples: They did not stop us from dropping atomic bombs on Japan. UAP did not stop us from making the leap from atomic to nuclear weapons. UAP did not stop the disasters at Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, or Fukushima. UAP did not stop the proliferation of nuclear technology from getting into the hands of more nations. Most recently, UAP have not interfered with North Korean, Indian, or Pakistani nuclear testing. And switching on nuclear missiles? That is not so benevolent (pp. 54-55).

Also, Lue on multiple occasions throughout the book expresses his concerns about national security: Humanity acts as if no one else is watching us, like we are alone. But a more advanced intelligent life is likely observing us. Humanity needs to become more aware of our place in the universe and the potential consequences of our actions. Regardless of their motivation, if this tech is cracked by another nation-state with bad intentions it will be an existential threat to our nation and the planet as a whole. Those are the urgent national security concerns and urgent concerns for humanity at large (pp. 168-169).

Regarding national security, I do not believe we have enough information to assign benevolent or malevolent intentions to UAP yet. Additionally, if this is a non-human intelligence, we cannot necessarily think about it in terms of human-like intentions or motivations aimed at accomplishing a specific purpose.

That being said, I appreciate the fact that someone who was in charge of studying UAP from a national security perspective, shares his concerns and makes evaluations based on his background and experience. UAP should be closely monitored. I believe that the US Congress has already briefed on this matter specifically, and they are requesting yearly reports.

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8. Psyop Hypothesis

To test a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function. F. Scott Fitzgerald.

We are facing a trust crisis.

A frequent argument among UAP skeptics is that the recent surge of interest in this topic could be part of a psyop (psychological operation), with the ultimate goal of instilling fear in the population to justify increased surveillance and control. This is a valid point, I have been thinking about this a lot. While I personally believe that the phenomenon is real and engaging with humans, I could also see a scenario where the phenomenon could be exploited—weaponized, even—with half-truths to serve nefarious purposes.

The pressing question then becomes: How can we discern what is real from manipulation?

After reflecting on the book, now I believe that bringing up the spiritual-metaphysical component of the phenomenon was a clever move. At the beginning I thought it was a total mistake, but I have changed my mind. If the phenomenon is used by a government or an elite group for control and manipulation, they would need a common narrative that influences people’s behavior and convinces them that they know and possess ‘the truth’. This approach might work for the material component of the phenomenon but clearly not for the spiritual-metaphysical side. What could be more diverse than people’s spiritual and metaphysical beliefs (and non-beliefs)?

If we start talking to one another about the strange experiences related to UAP, asking for opinions about their meaning and nature, and even disagreeing on interpretations, then two things could happen: 1) Through the process of open discourse, we are more likely to approach the truth, and 2) It becomes much harder for a powerful group to control the narrative. Even if such a group possesses hard evidence and attempts to use certain elements of truth to steer the public toward a specific outcome, open discussion could counteract that influence.

Regarding evidence, there is always an element of trust involved. Imagine that we are finally shown, by “official channels”, a vehicle displaying non-human capabilities: What would convince you that it is “real” and not fabricated to provoke a reaction? Who would need to validate the evidence for you to believe it? The government? Which government (don’t they all have secret programs)? Independent scientists? Scientists affiliated with institutions or organizations? And what kind of institutions or organizations are truly trustworthy?

I believe that a government or elite group can never have control of what is most intimate to a human: their subjective experiences and the meaning they attach to them which is an individual process. This is why we should not allow a particular faith, tradition, or worldview to dominate or lead the discourse related to the spiritual-metaphysical aspects of the phenomenon. Even if you believe there is no such component, you should still have a voice. This is what we, the people, can control—because we are not the ones trying to reverse-engineer retrieved craft in our backyard, but we may have an intuition about the kind of intelligence we might be dealing with. Therefore, we need to start having these conversations, open to all hypotheses, so when disclosure happens (if it does), whether real or fake, it will not catch us off guard.

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9. Conclusions

The opposite of a correct statement is a false statement. The opposite of a profound truth may well be another profound truth. -Niels Bohr.

Lue was a human who found himself in a very strange position. His decision to come forward has been complicated to digest because he is not the usual whistleblower we are used to seeing. Unlike many, he still retains his security clearance and speaks carefully, only about what is not classified. This unique position makes Lue different from typical whistleblowers. Even for those who are not interested in the UAP topic, Lue argues that it is still worth considering how taxpayer money is being used and whether resources are being properly allocated to investigate these sightings and encounters. Whether or not you are personally invested in this subject, the implications for national security and public accountability are real concerns that deserve attention. By coming forward, Lue has opened up a wide range of discussions, not only about the nature of the UAP phenomenon itself but also about the role of transparency in government and the public’s right to know.

Personally I find this topic fascinating. There are many angles to explore and here I chose to focus on the dual nature of the phenomenon, with special attention to the spiritual-metaphysical component. I understand this can also be frightening given all the possibilities we are faced with when considering the phenomenon’s nature. I have faith in humanity, and whatever we find on the other side, I am sure we can handle it. Moreover, during this time of many questions and very few answers, we should learn to embrace the discomfort of not knowing.

Despite the fear of the unknown, there is also the potential for great discoveries. If we are to fully engage with the phenomenon, we have to address not just the external mystery, but also the internal one: it seems like the phenomenon interacts with us on a deeply personal and psychological level, challenging our established ideas about the nature of reality. Understanding ourselves might be a crucial step toward understanding whatever this phenomenon represents because we are the ones extracting meaning. Maybe it is not just about figuring out what the phenomenon is, but why it engages us in the way it does—and that starts with a deeper exploration of our own human experience.

If this topic resonates with you, there are many ways to keep the conversation going: ask others for their thoughts, share your own experiences, and explore the multiple perspectives surrounding the issue. The more we talk openly about UAPs, the harder it will be for any narrative—governmental or otherwise—to control our reactions. This is not just about the phenomenon; it is about our collective right to transparency, understanding, and the courage to face the unknown together as a species.

There are many topics I would have liked to cover, and I know I am only scratching the surface of what has been discussed for years—but at last, I have arrived.

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10. References

[1] Elizondo, Luis. Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs: the Former Head of the Program Responsible for Investigating UAPs Reveals Profound Secrets (p. 19). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.

[2] Pentagon’s UFO investigator breaks two year silence:

[3] For the Love of the Unfamiliar by Avi Loeb: https://avi-loeb.medium.com/for-the-love-of-the-unfamiliar-9d9a7612bd8e

[4] Garry Nolan on UFOs, Neil deGrasse Tyson, and Eric Weinstein:

[5] Pritchard, Duncan; Harris, Mark. Philosophy, Science and Religion for Everyone (pp. 17-18). Taylor and Francis. Kindle Edition.

[6] Elizondo’s Imminent Round Table:

[7] Ultraterrestrial Models by H. E. Puthoff, Ph.D.: https://thejournalofcosmology.com/Puthoff.pdf

[8] Kevin Knuth on Studying Scientific Anomalies, Simulating Star Systems, & Possible UAP Origins:

[9] When Tucker Carlson Changed His Mind on Aliens:

[10]: The Harvard Psychiatrist Obsessed with Alien Abduction:

[11]Existential Therapy from the Universe: Physicist Sean Carroll on How Poetic Naturalism Illuminates Our Human Search for Meaning: https://www.themarginalian.org/2016/05/31/sean-carroll-the-big-picture/

[12] Desmet, Mattias. The Psychology of Totalitarianism (p. 223, pp. 225-226). Chelsea Green Publishing. Kindle Edition.

@ df478568:2a951e67

One way to mitigate the risk of a Password breach is to stop using passwords and start using randomly generated passphrases. A passphrase is a combination of words. A good example can be found on the EFF dice words website. For most applications, they suggest using 6 words randomly chosen by rolling 5 dice. Each word has a corresponding combination of 5 numbers from. 1-6. In other words, they are generated by dice(That's D6 dice for all the nerds out there)Here is an example of a strong passphrase that is easy to memorize.

pacifist-area-unfiled-demeaning-rundown-oblivion

It would take a computer about 200 ocrodecillion years to brute force this passphrase so it is highly unlikely to get cracked before the sun goes all supernova.

Here's how it works: - Step 1: roll 5 dice

• Step 2: Find the coresponding word: In this example, our dice rolls are 2-6-1-3-1
• Step 3: Find the coresponding word in the eff dice roll list:
• Repeat this 6 times.
• Step 4: Write this down on paper. I like waterproof paper made by Rite in the Rain. This is not an affiliate link. I don't make any money off of them. I just like them because they are waterproof and easy to hide. You can also etch the password on military grade steel.
• Step 5: Use this password password for your passphrase manager like Vaultwarden.

Each character is really a binary number so your passphrase is just a big random number to the computer. This number is hashed with SHA256 or something. If you're really smart, you can calculate this with a pencil and paper, but I use computers and calculators. Xorbin is one of the easier tools, but this can be done in bash using the hash library too. Be aware, typing an actual passphrase you use into any website might be a phishing scam. Don't try to use this for anything you are worried about losing.

Here is the hash we get from the 6 words above:

a41c5312e2957462f9f81597088c1c943c11e864b462cddf49dc55145707b69a

Sweet, Sweet Salt

![salt](https://i.nostr.build/cItICfrhGB7xO5mH.png

This hash is stored on a server, and most passwords add salt these days, at least I hope they do. If we add the word salt at the end. We get this hash:

4a66e2aa58a54d10dd8121bc3e044f57535ed29155115ad75267cca05fb749a2

This is because changing one character in a hash drastically alters the output. If you sha256sum my full name, you'll get this hash:

` '0024f0a28bf81851ed8490c4e87173f8790bd9d8ea9423442114d25ad7137f51'

Check out those two hashcash like leading zeros!

If we append my name with 1, the hash becomes:

e418ca6ef08c88613da1a131d1991de10982249df94081dabce2b4d2ab72cbb2

It's totally different! I wish math in high school was this fun.

The actual passphrase or password is not actually stored on the server. That would be a honeypot. There are lists of hashs of pwned passwords. So if your password is Password123

Any hacker worth his salt would know if they had access to the hash of that passwo4rd:

008c70392e3abfbd0fa47bbc2ed96aa99bd49e159727fcba0f2e6abeb3a9d601

See those sexy leading hex zeros again?

The server added some salt to this password, a black hat hacker wouldn't easily recognize the horrible password, "Password123". It offers a little protection, but this is still very easy to brute force so you still don't want to use it.

I'm Too Lazy To Roll Dice And Can't Remember 10,000 Passphrases?

I don't roll dice for every passphrase. Ain't nobody got time for that. I also don't remember the passphrase to every website I sign up for. That's why I recomend usin a use a password manager like vaultwarden VaultWarden). If you don't want to hassle with running your own server, bitwarden does the same thing. Last I checked, they only charged $10.00 a year for the premium plan, but it might have changed. They both allow you to: - Create passwords and passphrases. - Add special characters, numbers and capital letters. - Check if your password was pwned.

For example, "password1" was breached 3,339,722 times. If this is your password, you might want to change it.

"Blink-182" was breached 1,810 times. This password would meet most policies. It has a capital letter, special character and a 3 numbers. Where did we go wrong? Blink 182 is a popular punk band. Of course 1,810 people and one hacker thought of this. Think your safe if you change a number? Think again. "Blink-183" was pwned 16 times. Changing the numbers are also not a good idea due to possible dictionary attacks.

I run my VaultWarden using Start9 and it is also available on Umbrel and Yunohost

Let's try our six word passphrase we created earlier.

"pacifist-area-unfiled-demeaning-rundown-oblivion"

This password was not found in any breaches. It should be safe to use. Well...except I put it on the clear net, but you get the idea.

Other Risks

Okay, we have a strong password, but that's not the only threat. A bad guy could trick us with a spear phishing attack or someone installs a keylogger onto our computer. Now what do we do? Be prepared like a boyscout. This is where it's a good idea to use 2fa or two-factor authentication. I like Aegis There are others like Google Authenticator or physical devices like YubiKeys, but I like Aegis becauseyou can create backups. YubiKeys were cool, but this happened and I'm not sure if that's been resolved yet.

Securing your login with 2fa means one password us an insufficient amount of information to gain access to your account. The attacker would need to pwn the password and your phone to gain access. While not impossible, this is much more difficult.

Here's a Dad joke created by the Duck Duck Go's free AI chatbot.

`Why did the password go to therapy?

Because it was feeling a little "insecure".`

✌️ https://marcleon.work/pgp

862,887

@ 502ab02a:a2860397

เมื่อกรดซิตริก (citric acid) ที่จริงแล้วไม่ได้ทำมาจากผลไม้

เราเรียนรู้กันมาเราค้นกูเกิลกันมา ว่ากรดซิตริกนั้นเป็นกรดธรรมชาติ มีอยู่ในผลไม้รสเปรี้ยวต่างๆ แล้วมันก็ถูกนำมาใช้เป็นสารป้องกันการบูดเน่าจากธรรมชาติ โดยกรดซีตริกเกิดขึ้นครั้งแรกนั้นคือเมื่อปีค.ศ. 1784 โดยแยกออกมาจากน้ำมะนาว แต่ในปัจจุบัน กรดซิตริกไม่ใช่สูตรนี้ครับ

ที่ผมมีข้อมูลอยู่นั้น สามารถให้คำตอบได้ว่า

นั่นเพราะว่าราวๆปี 1917 บริษัท Pfizer ได้จ้างนักเคมีอาหารชื่อ เจมส์ เคอรี่ James Currie ที่มีแนวคิดฉีกทุกกรอบว่า จะทำการผลิตกรดซิตริก โดยไม่ใช้มะนาวแม้แต่ลูกเดียว คุณเคอรี่ ค้นพบว่าเชื้อราสีดำที่ชื่อว่า Aspergillus niger สามารถเปลี่ยนน้ำตาล ให้เป็นกรดซิตริกได้ ทำให้ Pfizer ออกจำหน่ายสินค้าตัวนี้ในปี 1919 เป็นต้นมา

ในปัจจุบัน กว่า 99% ของกรดซิตริกที่มีขายนั้นเราเรียกว่า manufactured citric acid (MCA) นั่นคือ มันไม่ใช่ของธรรมชาตินั่นเองครับ คุ้นๆไหม ที่ผมเคยบอกเรื่องสารให้ความหวาน ไม่ว่าจะ อิริททริทอล แอลลูโลส สารพัดโอสๆ และอื่นๆอีกมากมาย เราจะได้รับการขายของว่า มีอยู่ในธรรมชาติ บลา บลา บลา โดยที่จริงแล้วที่เราได้มาเป็นกระสอบนั้นไม่ได้มาจากธรรมชาติ แต่มาจากการเร่งให้เกิดปริมาณมากๆเพื่อเอามาขาย ซึ่งไม่เป็นธรรมชาติโดยสิ้นเชิง

MCA นี่ก็เช่นกันครับ เชื้อรา Aspergillus niger ซึ่งส่วนใหญ่ผลิตจากเชื้อราสายพันธุ์ที่ผ่านการดัดแปลงพันธุกรรม (GMO) เอาไปหมักน้ำตาล โดยทั่วไปจะเลี้ยงมันด้วย high fructose corn syrup ที่มีอยู่มากมายและราคาถูกๆ

ก็แน่นอนครับว่าเวลาเราเห็นคำว่ากรดซิตริก เราก็จะนึกถึงรสเปรี้ยวๆ รูปมะนาวสวยๆ cute cute แต่จริงๆแล้วในโรงงานผลิตมันตรงกันข้ามเลยครับ ในการผลิตเราจะได้เห็น ของเหลวหนืดๆเหนียวๆ มีตะกอนสีเข้มๆ ที่เกิดจากการหมักในถังสเตนเลส ข้างในนั้นเป็นส่วนผสมของ เชื้อรา น้ำตาลอุตสาหกรรมโคตรๆ( hyper-refined sugars) บางครั้งก็มีการยิงรังสีแม่เหล็กไฟฟ้าเพื่อให้ความร้อนด้วย

ได้รับการรับรองว่าเป็นออแกนิก ???

และเชื่อหรือไม่ว่า มันได้รับการรับรองว่าเป็นออแกนิก แม้กรดซิตริกจะไม่ได้มาจากแหล่งธรรมชาติแท้จริงเพราะผลิตผ่านกระบวนการหมักที่ใช้เชื้อราดำ GMO (Aspergillus niger GMO) ซึ่งมักใช้ข้าวโพดที่ผ่านการดัดแปลงพันธุกรรม (GMO) เป็นวัตถุดิบในการผลิต ด้วยเหตุผล 2 ข้อคือ

1. มาตรฐานการรับรองที่แตกต่างกัน: องค์กรรับรองออร์แกนิกทั่วโลกมีหลายพันองค์กร แต่ละองค์กรมีเกณฑ์ที่แตกต่างกันในเรื่องคุณภาพและความเข้มงวดในการตรวจสอบแหล่งที่มาของวัตถุดิบ โดยบางแห่งอาจใช้แบบสอบถาม ถามผู้ผลิตว่าใช้กรดซิตริกที่มีส่วนผสมของ GMO หรือไม่
2. การจัดประเภทว่าเป็น Non-GMO: ผู้ผลิตกรดซิตริกจากเชื้อราดำมักจะระบุว่ากรดซิตริกที่ผลิตได้นั้นเป็น Non-GMO เนื่องจากผลผลิตสุดท้ายไม่มีสารพันธุกรรมจาก GMO ที่สามารถตรวจพบได้ ถึงแม้ว่ากระบวนการผลิตจะเริ่มจากวัตถุดิบที่มาจากข้าวโพด GMO หรือเชื้อราที่ถูกดัดแปลงพันธุกรรมโดยการใช้รังสีความร้อน (thermo-radiation) หรือการดัดแปลง DNA ของเชื้อรานั้นก็ตาม

ถึงกระบวนการผลิตกรดซิตริกนี้จะไม่เป็นธรรมชาติและใช้วัตถุดิบที่เกี่ยวข้องกับ GMO แต่มันสามารถได้รับการรับรองออร์แกนิกได้ เนื่องจากไม่มีการตรวจพบสารพันธุกรรมจาก GMO ในผลิตภัณฑ์สุดท้ายที่จะจำหน่าย ทำให้กรดซิตริกนี้สามารถเข้าสู่ตลาดอาหารออร์แกนิกได้โดยไม่ผิดกฎ และหน่วยงานที่ให้การรับรองใบเซอร์ ออแกนิก เจ้าไหนที่ต้องการให้ใช้ MCA ได้นี่ก็เพียงระบุคำว่า "ไม่สามารถตรวจจับ DNA ที่มีแหล่งกำเนิดจาก GMO ได้" ไว้ในเอกสารก็จะทำให้แบรนด์สินค้าได้รับการรับรอง ออแกนิกได้สบายๆ

ได้รับสถานะ GRAS??

เนื่องจากกรดซิตริกมีการผลิตขึ้นมาใช้ก่อนที่สำนักงานคณะกรรมการอาหารและยา (FDA) จะจัดตั้งขึ้น กรดซิตริกจึงได้รับสถานะ GRAS (หมวด “โดยทั่วไปถือว่าปลอดภัย”) แม้ว่าจะยังไม่มีการทดสอบทางวิทยาศาสตร์ใดๆ เกี่ยวกับการบริโภคในมนุษย์ในระยะยาวก็ตาม เจ๋งเนอะ

ผลข้างเคียงจากรา Aspergillus niger

ในปี ค.ศ. 2016 มีการผลิต MCA จำนวน 2.3 ล้านตัน โดยส่วนใหญ่ผลิตในประเทศจีน และประมาณ 70% ใช้เป็นสารเติมแต่งอาหารหรือเครื่องดื่ม ยังไม่มีการศึกษาวิจัยทางวิทยาศาสตร์ใดๆ ที่ดำเนินการเพื่อประเมินความปลอดภัยของ MCA เมื่อรับประทานเข้าไปในปริมาณมากและเป็นเวลานาน (อีกแล้ว เหมือนเดิมเป๊ะ)

เชื้อรา Aspergillus nigerเกี่ยวข้องกับปัญหาการอักเสบของระบบต่างๆ รวมถึงระบบทางเดินหายใจ ระบบทางเดินอาหาร ระบบประสาท และกล้ามเนื้อและโครงกระดูก ดังนั้นหาก เชื้อรา Aspergillus niger เกิดมีเศษเล็กเศษน้อย ดันแทรกซึมเข้าไปในผลิตภัณฑ์กรดซิตริกสำเร็จรูป ผู้บริโภคผลิตภัณฑ์ที่มีกรดซิตริกนี้อาจกินสารพิษที่ก่อให้เกิดการอักเสบนี้เข้าไป แม้จะผ่านกระบวนการฆ่าเชื้อด้วยความร้อนสูงแล้วก็ตาม

นี่เป็นอีกเหตุผลที่แยม Passion of Orange ที่ผมทำนั้นไม่ใส่ citric acid ครับ

แหม่ยังมีอีกหลายเรื่องนะที่จะเล่าให้ฟังเกี่ยวกับอุตสาหกรรมอาหาร อย่างที่บอกนะครับ อะไรที่มั่นใจในวันนี้ อย่าเพิ่งมั่นใจ อาจจะจริงเราเห็นอยู่ เผื่อใจไว้ที่ยังไม่เห็น

PirateKeto #กูต้องรู้มั๊ย #ฉลาก3รู้ #siamstr

@ a03b38f8:2c7ce1f0

FINANCIAL PRIVACY: Card Transactions, Cash, Monero, Sending Bitcoin Privately

Privacy is foundational for protecting freedom. Abuses to human rights and efforts to control people often depend on governments knowing details of a person’s life, this is why financial privacy is so important. Financial activity reveals details about a person’s relationships, profession, religion, political beliefs, geo location, and lots more.

Much has been said about data privacy concerns around social media, but financial data is also detrimental when abused or in the hands of the wrong persons.

A Person can speak about their humble life in a small town but their Financial data from the banks would reveal that they are actually a Billionaire.

Financial data reveals many areas of a person’s life, so it’s more likely to reveal who someone truly is, even if an individual does not want those details revealed to others.

From where you travel to, what you donate to, financial activity can paint a detailed picture of a person’s life, ensuring financial privacy means being able to have control over who gets to see that picture and purposes. You may not have something to hide but remember privacy is really about having control over your life.

Governments around the World Use Financial data to control people and activities within its jurisdiction. This is where financial privacy can act as a limit on governmental power. Where a lack of privacy is likely to lead to an abuse of that power.

Government policy on financial privacy is complex and often demands access to personal data for law enforcement and National Security purposes. Although often we see governments use that same financial data to hunt and halt activities that do not align with the policies of its agenda.

We believe any access at all should be reasonable and in accordance with privacy and human rights.

Almost all financial institution privacy standards prohibit the disclosure of client information to third parties without consent or an accepted criminal complaint, it is a conditional agreement because it has some limitations; this limitation or restriction in most cases is not clearly explained to clients but it is an ambiguous statement that further explains the limits of the financial institution, meaning the Central Bank which controls a country’s entire financial activities of all Financial institutions in a country does have the power to access all financial data as it demands, thereby limiting privacy.

CARD TRANSACIONS

Data Security and privacy are crucial in payment transactions in the digital era, protecting personal and financial information not only stops unlawful access but also increases customer trust and confidence.

Card transactions comes with a lot of risk and dangers such as Identity theft, cyber criminals use stolen data from digital payment platforms to impersonate individuals and access their financial accounts, make unauthorized purchases, or setup new accounts in order to illegally transfer funds or perform fraudulent financial transactions without owners consent.

Identity theft can have lasting effects on a victim’s financial health and credit status. Additionally phishing attacks are prevalent. Hackers use this technique to deceive users into providing their personal and payment information (Data) under the guise of legitimate request.

It is advisable for cards that you choose to carry around on your person be held in a RFID blocking wallet. Beyond physical security any cards that you use online or in stores should have spending limits and have no access to large amounts of funds you may have to prevent or limit the impact of fraud. For privacy protections consider virtual privacy cards or reloadable debit cards.

Lastly, do not use PayPal. They are a privacy nightmare and there is an entire cottage industry on the dark web selling stolen accounts.

CASH TRANSACTIONS

Cash is king. For a long time cash has been used as the primary form of payment and cash transactions have excellent privacy properties and it is widely accepted in most countries.

Cash transactions provides a high degree of privacy in payments, it also slows the growing information asymmetry between consumers and companies as well as between citizens and public authorities.

Bank notes and coins reduce your digital footprints compared to an electronic payment. Cash remains one of the most effective tools for financial privacy in a world increasingly dominated by digital payments. It offers true anonymity, leaving no digital trail or record of the transaction, making it impossible for third parties—such as governments, corporations, or hackers—to track your spending habits. Unlike card payments or online transfers, cash transactions don't reveal your identity, location, or spending patterns, providing a level of confidentiality that digital methods simply cannot match.

Physical cash works without registers of cash holders and transaction, when paying with bank notes and coins, it is only the buyer and seller who are aware of this: What is bought, how much, when, when by whom and at what.

While cash has its limitations in today’s digital society, it remains a valuable option for those who prioritize privacy. By using cash whenever possible, especially for sensitive or personal purchases, The use of cash gives room for maintenance and control over your financial data, it also help protect from unwanted surveillance, and safeguard your financial autonomy. Ultimately, cash is still king when it comes to preserving your financial privacy.

MONERO (XMR)

Monero is a decentralized cryptocurrency designed with a strong emphasis on privacy, security, stealth address and unlinkability, it is abbreviated XMR.

Monero’s transactions are completely anonymous and confidential by default making it one of the most privacy centric digital currencies available today.

Key features of Monero

·Untraceable Transactions: Monero uses advanced cryptographic techniques, such as Ring Signatures, which combine your transaction with others, making it impossible to identify the actual sender. This feature ensures that transactions cannot be traced back to any single individual.

·StealthAddresses: When you send Monero, the recipient’s address is never publicly recorded on the blockchain. Instead, a one-time address is generated for each transaction, ensuring the recipient's identity remains private.

·ConfidentialTransactions: Monero employs Ring Confidential Transactions (Ring CT) to hide the amount of XMR being transferred. This means the transaction amounts are kept entirely private, further enhancing confidentiality.

·Fungibility: Because Monero transactions are private, every XMR coin is indistinguishable from another. This makes Monero a truly fungible currency, meaning no coin carries a traceable history or stigma, unlike Bitcoin, where some coins can be "tainted" based on their transaction history.

Despite Monero’s popularity as a primary focused cryptocurrency, Monero faces criticism and challenges. The Monero community development team frequently updates the protocol to improve privacy and resist surveillance attempts, this is beneficial for security, meaning users and miners must regularly update software, this can be inconvenient and lead to potential forks if consensus is not reached within the community.

Many governments and financial institutions view Monero as a threat because of its untraceable nature, as a result this has posed some challenges making exchanges to delisted Monero in order to comply with anti-money laundering and know your customer (KYC) regulations.

SENDING BITCOIN PRIVATELY:

Bitcoin is often perceived as an anonymous payment network but in reality Bitcoin is the most transparent payment network in the world. At the same time, Bitcoin can provide acceptable levels of privacy when used correctly. All bitcoin transactions are public, traceable and permanently stored on the Bitcoin network, Bitcoin addresses are the only information used to define its allocations and history.

In ensuring privacy while Bitcoin transactions are performed it is advisable to generate a new address each time a payment is received. The incomplete privacy on transactions will lead to the Fungibility of the scripts, which could affect the stability of Bitcoin as a long-lived currency system, Bitcoin system addresses privacy by hiding the address of transactions via hash functions but the hash value is obviously unique, If the addresses and traders are bounded unconsciously through activities by attackers, the anonymity of the entire system will disappear.

Suppose that the Bitcoin system is connected to the payment of an e-commerce platform, the strong computing power can search the complete data of your incomes and outcomes, which makes everything about money exposed to the public.

Let’s say; You are paid salary via bitcoins and you spend those coins in the supermarket, the plaintext of the account of your income and outcome will inevitably be utilized by businesses to access the benefits like charge you higher prices or target you with advertisement.

@ ae1008d2:a166d760

I wanted to share this PDF on Nostr. Original post: Block ~862,844 September 25th, 2024 Original link Original PDF 👇Click the link below to view as original PDF on YakiHonne or Satellite.Earth👇

Bitcoin's Protection Under the First Amendment

@ eac63075:b4988b48

🤖 Baseado na explicação de Gerard Aithen para o Morning Crypto

Nos últimos anos, o Bitcoin se consolidou como a criptomoeda de referência, trazendo inovação e mudança para o cenário econômico global. Apesar de sua notoriedade, a tecnologia por trás do Bitcoin, especialmente em termos de escalabilidade e eficiência, ainda é um campo em constante evolução. Recentemente, um novo avanço tem gerado bastante discussão entre os entusiastas do mundo cripto: a BitVM2. Desenvolvida por Robin Linus, essa inovação promete transformar a maneira como as transações são processadas e verificadas no ecossistema do Bitcoin.

A BitVM2 está sendo apontada como uma revolução na forma como programas inteiros podem ser verificados dentro da blockchain, facilitando e tornando mais acessível a participação nas transações. Mas o que exatamente é essa nova tecnologia? Como ela funciona? E, acima de tudo, por que ela é tão importante para o futuro do Bitcoin?

Neste artigo, vamos explorar a BitVM2 em profundidade, analisando seu funcionamento, os benefícios que ela traz e suas implicações para o futuro da rede Bitcoin.

O Que é a BitVM2?

Imagine que a primeira versão da BitVM era como um quebra-cabeça gigante, onde cada peça precisava ser ajustada meticulosamente para que a transação fosse validada. Essa estrutura exigia muitas etapas e transações para garantir que tudo funcionasse corretamente, o que, claro, consumia tempo e recursos. A BitVM2 vem para mudar completamente esse cenário.

Com a BitVM2, todo esse processo se torna muito mais rápido e acessível. Agora, é como se um GPS eficiente tivesse sido instalado no lugar do velho mapa. O caminho está traçado, e tudo o que você precisa fazer é seguir as direções. A nova estrutura da BitVM2 utiliza criptografia avançada para transformar programas complexos em fragmentos menores, que podem ser verificados diretamente nas transações do Bitcoin. Em outras palavras, ela permite que contratos inteligentes e programas complexos rodem dentro da blockchain do Bitcoin, sem comprometer a segurança ou eficiência.

O principal benefício? Antes, um processo que exigia mais de 70 transações agora pode ser verificado com apenas três. Isso não apenas economiza tempo e recursos, mas também abre as portas para que mais pessoas possam participar e monitorar essas transações.

A Importância da Descentralização na BitVM2

Um dos pontos mais revolucionários da BitVM2 é que ela é completamente permissionless, ou seja, não precisa de permissão. Isso significa que qualquer pessoa pode verificar ou contestar uma transação. Antes, essa era uma tarefa restrita a operadores específicos dentro da rede. Agora, a verificação e contestação de transações suspeitas podem ser feitas por qualquer um, tornando o sistema mais democrático e transparente.

Essa descentralização aumenta a segurança da rede. Em vez de depender de um grupo centralizado de validadores, o sistema se torna autossustentável. A comunidade como um todo pode vigiar e garantir a integridade das transações, o que dificulta tentativas de fraudes ou manipulações.

Além disso, o novo design da BitVM2 foi pensado para ser compatível com a estrutura atual do Bitcoin, ou seja, não foi necessário fazer alterações no código base da criptomoeda. Isso garante que o Bitcoin continue funcionando como sempre, enquanto permite a introdução de novas funcionalidades. É como construir um novo andar em um prédio sem precisar mexer na estrutura do alicerce.

Rollups e a Eficiência das Transações no Bitcoin

Um dos temas mais discutidos na comunidade de criptomoedas nos últimos anos é a questão da escalabilidade. Conforme o Bitcoin ganha mais adoção, a rede fica mais sobrecarregada, o que pode aumentar o tempo e o custo das transações. A BitVM2 pode ajudar a resolver esse problema, especialmente quando falamos de rollups.

Rollups são soluções que permitem processar transações fora da blockchain principal, para depois consolidá-las em um único registro na blockchain do Bitcoin. Isso torna as transações mais rápidas e baratas, sem comprometer a segurança. A BitVM2 pode ser vista como uma espécie de ponte entre o Bitcoin e essa nova era de rollups, permitindo uma maior eficiência e abrindo espaço para que o Bitcoin continue evoluindo.

De forma simples, a BitVM2 garante que transações complexas possam ser processadas sem sobrecarregar a blockchain principal. Com isso, ela ajuda a diminuir as taxas e a aumentar a velocidade das transações, um avanço crucial para o futuro da criptomoeda.

O Papel dos Covenants no Bitcoin

Outro conceito-chave no desenvolvimento da BitVM2 é o uso dos Covenants. Para quem não está familiarizado, os Covenants são como pequenas promessas que os Bitcoins "fazem" durante as transações. Eles colocam condições específicas sobre como e onde os Bitcoins podem ser gastos. Isso adiciona uma camada extra de segurança e funcionalidade às transações, permitindo que os Bitcoins sejam gastos apenas sob determinadas circunstâncias.

Por exemplo, um Covenant pode especificar que os Bitcoins só podem ser transferidos para certos endereços ou que só podem ser liberados após determinado período de tempo. Esses contratos inteligentes tornam o Bitcoin ainda mais flexível e permitem a criação de soluções inovadoras dentro da rede.

Na BitVM2, os Covenants desempenham um papel importante na verificação das transações, garantindo que todas as regras sejam seguidas e que não haja brechas para fraudes ou manipulações. Isso amplia as possibilidades de uso do Bitcoin, permitindo que ele seja utilizado de formas que antes eram impensáveis.

BitVM2 e a Manipulação de Opinião Pública

Outro ponto que não podemos ignorar ao discutir as inovações tecnológicas no mundo das criptomoedas é a questão da manipulação de opinião pública. Bilionários e grandes empresas têm se posicionado como grandes influenciadores no cenário das criptomoedas. O caso de Elon Musk é um exemplo clássico, onde tweets e posicionamentos podem mudar drasticamente o valor de uma criptomoeda em questão de horas.

Com a BitVM2, no entanto, o poder de manipulação pode ser mitigado, uma vez que o sistema se torna mais descentralizado e aberto à participação de todos. A liberdade de contestar transações e a democratização do processo ajudam a garantir que o Bitcoin continue sendo uma moeda de todos, sem a influência de poucos.

Conclusão: Um Futuro Promissor para o Bitcoin

O lançamento da BitVM2 representa um salto importante para o futuro do Bitcoin. A capacidade de verificar transações complexas de forma rápida e acessível, aliada à descentralização e à possibilidade de uso dos rollups, promete tornar o Bitcoin mais eficiente e acessível para todos.

Mais do que uma simples atualização tecnológica, a BitVM2 traz à tona a discussão sobre liberdade digital, transparência e o papel das criptomoedas no futuro. É um avanço que, sem dúvida, será observado de perto pelos entusiastas e críticos da criptoeconomia.

O Bitcoin sempre foi visto como uma alternativa descentralizada ao sistema financeiro tradicional, e a BitVM2 parece reforçar essa visão. À medida que mais pessoas se envolvem e a tecnologia avança, o futuro das transações digitais parece mais promissor do que nunca. Vamos ficar de olho no que essa nova fase nos reserva e nas novas possibilidades que ela pode abrir.

***

@ 44dc1c2d:31c74f0b

Chef's notes

Last time I made this I subbed the tomato puréed with some blistered cherry tomatoes. Don't think I'll be using the purée going forward.

I prefer thighs so that's what I use for this but use whatever you want.

Adjust spices based on the size of your onions. If all you have is two massive onions maybe use one and a half onion or just up the amount of spices a little.

Details

• ⏲️ Prep time: ~10 min
• 🍳 Cook time: ~40 ish min
• 🍽️ Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 2 Onions
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• 1/3 cup cashews
• 1.5 tsp Garam Masala
• 2 ish cloves of crushed garlic
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/4 tsb ground turmeric
• 1 tsb salt
• 1 tbsp plain yogurt
• 2 tbsp of your cooking oil or fat
• 1 tbsp Coriander (Cilantro) plus extra for garnish
• 1 tbsp sultanas (golden raisins)
• 1 lb of chicken cubed
• 6 oz of white button mushrooms

Directions

1. Quarter the onions and put them in a food possessor for about a minute
2. Add the tomatoes, nuts, garlic, Garam masala, chili powder, lemon juice, turmeric, salt, yogurt and blend for another minute tell its well mixed in.
3. In a wok or a large pan heat your cooking oil and add the onion and spice mix in. Fry gently for around 2-ish minutes, stir frequently.
4. Add the chicken, coriander, and raisins to the pan. Stir-fry for another minute or so.
5. Add mushrooms and water. Bring to simmer and cover the pan cook for 10 min or until the chicken is 100% cooked through.
6. Serve with plain rice and enjoy!

@ 9262b5a5:2a89f8de

testing

@ 9262b5a5:2a89f8de

https://image.nostr.build/c7e3732889827ab0a8e2064de5fa6992e37e035347b0c91d249cb8f312b47087.jpg I love Bitcoin. Let me get that out there first of all. I sincerely believe that Bitcoin has the power to change the way the world functions if we can grow adoption to a global scale. This obviously will take time as the gears of economic change grinds slowly. As of right now, people in the western countries don't really see the need for a sovereign politically neutral money that can't be inflated away. They simply don't have to deal with inflation on a regular basis like the rest of the world.

Citizens in western countries got a small taste of what real inflation looks like and guess what? They didn't like it one bit. Overall the last three and a half years you saw countless news stories about how bad inflation and how its making life for the average American or European more difficult.

Yes inflation does suck but look at countries like Argentina, Turkey, Zimbabwe or Venezuela. The people in these countries are suffering from excessive inflation on a regular basis! According to recent economic data Turkey experienced a decline in inflation from 61 percent to 51 percent in August. This is seen as a win in their book! Can you imagine this level of inflation in America? There would be riots in the streets!

Argentina's inflation rate is an astounding 236 percent over the last 12 months! As Bitcoiners we understand that the problem is the money itself. As long as governments have the ability to manipulate the money supply, they will. This is human nature at its finest. When you give a select few that kind of power it becomes irresistible and becomes a tool to control the masses. This shouldn't be a surprise to anyone to be honest.

What I find shocking is with all of this inflation globally no one is really looking around asking questions to why this is happening and looking for a way to escape this system. Are people really this lazy? Not to be mean but cmon. It seems to me that most people are perfectly fine bitching online about how hard it is to make ends meet or supporting their favored political party and wanting them to fix the problem they created. Newsflash to all the normies out there, its the GD political parties that caused inflation in the first place.

We literally have a solution that is staring them in the face, ready to go to replace the current debt based system that we are currently suffering through and no one wants to take the time to research it? Am I black pilled? No, am I realist, very much so. If 236 percent inflation in Argentina can't get them on a Bitcoin Standard immediately, we as a community have a long road ahead of us. Hyperbitcoinization isn't coming in 5 years. It isn't coming in 10 years. Hell it might not even happen in our lifetimes and we have to be ok with that.

So what is the best way to get more Bitcoin into the hands of the people, so they can see the true value of the digital monetary revolution that is Bitcoin. We need a trojan horse and that trojan horse is nostr.

Enter The Nostr Trojan Horse

https://image.nostr.build/5ffee418133ac80ba14b30abf0d5390b878f676cbf6332d67639f9384764da4c.jpg

It should be plain to see by now that the inflation or the number go up narrative alone isn't going to drive Bitcoin adoption. The reason for that is because people don't see the utility of Bitcoin. They see it as some esoteric digital funny money that drug dealers and terrorist use to do bad things.

The average Joe doesn't see how Bitcoin is helping dissidents on foreign countries fund their activism, escape oppressive regimes or simply earn a living. These stories are never told in the mainstream media because they don't want to highlight the fact that a non-state money can circumvent the status quo.

The best way to highlight these stories is to share it on social media, which again is controlled by mainstream gatekeeper such as Meta, Google and X. It is in their best interest to censor these stories or memory hole them out of existence which I suspect happens quite a bit without us even knowing. But the thing about censorship is that it slowly impacts everyone one by one until no one is allowed to say anything without the fear of being put in jail.

Think this can't happen in western democracies? It's happening already my friend! Take a look at the UK or Australia. Citizens their are being arrested over post made to social media. I sincerely believe that these two countries should be a proving ground for showing the value of nostr and Bitcoin.

Introducing the concept of a censorship resistant messaging protocol to them will go over well and once it is understood will grow like a wildfire because people innately understand that censorship is bad and will see the utility value of having the ability to speak freely again.

It is only a matter of time until they realize that they can monetize their speech and build a life using zaps aka Bitcoin.

Until people see the utility in the tools that lie before them, they will never pick them up and use them. It is really that simple. At the end of the day we are still kind of like cavemen. We only use tools when it makes life easier. Man made the wheel. We use it everyday because it has utility.

Bitcoin in the end will be the same way. Utility first, then mass adoption. Nostr is what will help people see the utility Bitcoin and from there sky is the limit. The best thing we can do as Bitcoiners is to encourage people to learn about nostr and show them how easy it is to use and to switch clients that suit their needs instead of being shoved into a one-size fits all solution on centralized platforms.

People like choices, and nostr is all about choice. The interoperability and thelack of need to give personal information to create an account are HUGE selling points that can be touched on. Go out and spread the good word about nostr!

Bitcoin #Nostr

@ 6bae33c8:607272e8

I went 2-3 again last week to push the season record to 5-10, nearly drawing dead in the Circa Millions (though you can still win relatively big prizes for winning four-week stretches.)

I didn’t look at the lines yet, only my feel about the teams through three weeks.

Cowboys at Giants — seems like a get well game for Dallas. Probably win by 7-10, won’t be favored by nearly that much. Only chance for the Giants is to get those rushers after Prescott, but more likely the Dallas rush will crush a skittish Danny Dimes.

Saints at Falcons — I like the Falcons at -2.5 or better. Last week’s game was annoying though.

Bengals at Panthers — Get well game for Cincy. Good sell high on Panthers, but Dalton is not bad, and the Bengals defense is. Probably staying away.

Rams at Bears — Two shit teams. Probably Bears -2.5. Stay away. If anything leaning Rams.

Vikings at Packers — If Jordan Love is playing, Packers -2.5. Have to treat the Vikings as a serious contender now.

Jaguars at Texans — Jaguars are broken probably getting seven. Texans looked bad last week too. Both teams desperate in their own ways. Stay away.

Steelers at Colts — Anthony Richardson looks off, and this is not the get-well opponent. Steelers -3, stay away. If anything taking the ugly Colts.

Broncos at Jets — Jets by 7.5, think last week’s Broncos win was a fluke.

Eagles at Buccaneers — I’ll say pick ‘em. Leaning Bucs as buy-low.

Team at Cardinals — Jayden Daniels looked great, but I’m taking Cardinals up to 5.5

Patriots at 49ers — Probably 49ers -13 for me, real line maybe 10? Can’t play hide the QB forever, and this would be a tough assignment if Drake Maye plays.

Chiefs at Chargers — Depends on Herbert’s status. Can’t say. Chiefs are unwatchable with the dink, dunk and penalties in their favor.

Browns at Raiders — Two teams desperate to bounce back. I instinctively like the Raiders here, but feels like the Browns are the sharper side for some nagging reason.

Bills at Ravens — Imagine this line will be 2.5 or so. I’ll probably go with the Ravens who need it much more.

Titans at Dolphins — Two bad teams, no idea who will play QB for the Dolphins. Pass.

Seahawks at Lions — Imagine this line will be about 3.5. Probably lay the wood if I had to, but would be my fifth out of five if I use it.

@ a03b38f8:2c7ce1f0

PROTECT YOUR HOME (NETWORK)

This is actually a rather large topic depending on your needs and how far you are willing to go. I will most likely have to put out several posts on this topic. For today we will start at the very beginning and build from there.

This is going to be more of a beginners guide but that doesn't make it any less important. First you must get your home in order before you can do anything else. If bad actors get access to your network then they can use it for illegal things that will be tied to your IP address, use it to launch a bot for a DDoS attack, gain access to any of your home devices, or just hangout and watch you log into bank accounts or whatever.

I will be blunt, your home network sucks. It's slow and unsecure but we will be fixing that.

I. EVERYONE

1. WHAT DO YOU HAVE?

Somewhere in your house you have either a phone cord or a cable coming out of the wall running to a box. Go find it. This is your modem, it "translates" the internet signal from your ISP to your house so you can use the internet.

Found it? Good. Now is there a cable coming from the modem to another box or do you just have one? This other box is your router, it is pretty common now that you will have a all in one modem, router, WIFI, etc. That's fine. Write down the model number of the router or all in one. Also there should be a sticker on the side with the administrator password (sometimes listed as access code) and maybe the WIFI password. Also look if the IP address is listed as well. You will need these for the next step.

1. LOG IN

Go to your computer and fire up a web browser. Enter your routers IP address if it was listed, otherwise we are going to have to find your router's IP address.

In widows and Mac you can look under Network & Internet, scroll down to your internet connection and look for details or properties. Inside properties you are looking for something listed as default or gateway or IPv4 DNS Server. It will be a 192.168.X.X number.

Or you can open a command prompt and type: ipconfig /all

Or you can just do a internet search for your router model number IP.

You will know when you get the right one because a control screen for your router will pop up in the browser.

1. UPDATE

First thing first check if there is any available updates. This could be it's own tab or listed under device or in diagnostics. If it asks you for a password use the one that was written on the side of the router. Install any available updates. Honestly they rarely update these things so if there is one then it must have been pretty needed.

1. CHANGE THE LOCKS

You have to realize that this device is the front door between every internet device in your home and the outside wild internet. You are probably blasting WIFI signal all the way to the street. All someone has to do is connect to your WIFI and then they will have access to your router as well. The default administrator password for these mass produced ISP devices are not exactly secret. You can even find lists of them by brand. It is like locking your front door but leaving the key under the mat, not very secure.

Look in the settings and change the administrator password. Use your password manager to generate a 10 word passphrase. Change it to that and SAVE it in your password manager.

1. RENAME AND CHANGE WIFI PASSWORD

In the settings change the default name of your network to something memorable. Do NOT use anything personal like your name, address, or router brand (Netgear or whatever). If you want to be cute you can use: Not Available, or Network Error or something like that.

Now change the WIFI password. Again use your password manager to generate a passphrase. You can cut it down to 6 words since you will probably be entering this one much more often. Be sure to SAVE it in your password manager.

1. ADD A GUEST NETWORK

You don't just give your WIFI password to all the kids in the neighborhood that swing by to play with your kids or to your friends visiting do you? If so, STOP it. Setup a guest network. A guest network allows people to have WIFI access at your house without giving them access to the router. Yes I know we put a strong password on the router but it doesn't matter.

Setup a guest network with a easy password. If you have given this out to several people already that are coming back often you can name the guest network the old default name and use that default WIFI password. When friends and family come over their devices will have that name already saved and will connect automatically. This way you don't have to do the whole song and dance everytime someone comes over.

1. CHANGE YOUR DNS SERVER

DNS is the Domain Name System. Remember the IP address we found earlier for the router? Every device connect to the internet has a unique IP address. Every server hosting a website, etc but luckily you don't have to remember 142.250.188.14, you can just go to Google.com

This works because behind the scenes your computer is checking with a DNS server to provide a human readable address instead of a bunch of numbers. The equivalent would be a phone book that gives you John Smith and not just a address somewhere.

There is a little bit more to it than that but you don't need to know all that in order to grasp the concept.

The default DNS in your router is probably the one provided by your ISP. Your ISP can see everything that pings against that DNS server and probably uses it to feed you ads. The DNS server provider impacts how a lot of your data is handled. It's speed, it's security, how it's logged, shared, and sold.

So change your DNS server. The default one your ISP gave you is shit. It will improve your speed and security but just remember that privacy and security are not the same thing. The Google Public DNS (8.8.8.8) is very secure and a good choice but as you can imagine the privacy is not really great. But not to worry, all the data they are collecting is anonymized ; )

Your best bet is to use your own DNS server with something like Pi Hole or Adguard home. Setting that up is a little bit beyond the scope of this article so I will cover it in greater detail in a future one. Until then Cloudflare (1.1.1.1) is probably your best choice until you run your own.

Now you have probably better privacy and security than most people with only these simple changes. Next steps would be to upgrade your hardware for faster internet, better firewall, more control, etc. Will detail in future drops.

Always Forward, GHOST

@ 8d34bd24:414be32b

Also posted on substack

1 Thessalonians 5:17 tells us “pray without ceasing;”

You may be thinking, “I have responsibilities. How can I pray without ceasing? I can’t be on my knees praying without stopping. This can’t be what the Bible expects from us.”

Don’t worry, prayer doesn’t have to be a burden. It doesn’t have to be locking yourself in a room alone for hours on you knees on a cold, hard stone floor like the monks of the middle ages. Prayer is just what you need to help you on your next step to growing closer to Jesus.

Analogy of old married couple and believer with God

As believers, our prayer relationship with God should be like the way an old, loving couple talks. They don’t talk without stopping to do other things, but they are always talking and keeping the other person included in what they do and what they care about.

They also have lots of different kinds of conversation. Some are deep conversations that take an extended period of time. Some are brief comments about what is going on in their life. Some are pointing out something interesting or asking for help. Sometimes the words are just an acknowledgement of the other’s presence. Sometimes communications may be no more than a glance or a grunt, but it conveys so much because of how close they are.

Scheduled time

Just like the old married couple schedules a date night or other time together, there are times that we want to schedule time with God. It might be a group prayer meeting. It might be a time alone to discuss particular worries with God. This is usually an extended time to pray about something in particular. It may be scheduled regularly. It may be scheduled specifically based on circumstances.

To many people, this is what they think of when they think about being a prayer warrior, but the truth is, at least for most of us, this is the smallest portion of our prayer life.

Regular time

Just like an old married couple has times that they are regularly together and talking, such as first thing in the morning when they awake and say “Good morning!” or just talk about their plans for the day. Most couples regularly talk during meals together. These discussions might be about how the day is going or about plans for the future or about various common interests. Most couples also talk at least briefly at bed time. They know that almost every day they will talk during these periods.

In the same way, believers should have regular times that they talk to God. I think upon waking, at meals, and at bedtime are good times to pray regularly. That doesn’t mean that you always have to pray for extended periods . Most of these will probably be fairly short and the time allowed may vary from day to day.

Praying at these 5 times is handy because you wake up and go to bed every day and most people eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day. These events are reminders to pray. You may have other times like when you pick kids up at school, when you get in your car to drive, or nightly devotions before putting kids to bed. You might have other times that work for you because everyone’s life is a little different. Some of these may be solitary prayers, while others might include someone else, especially family members. Whatever the case, these are times that you usually pray every day. They are guaranteed times with God. They are times God can count on you and you can count on God.

With others

An old married couple usually doesn’t hang out only with each other. They also hang out and talk with friends and family. They will get together with some friends/family on regular occasions. They will get together with others on special occasions. This is a nice time of jointly conversing and helping each other.

Believers also are called to pray together.

They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. (Acts 2:42) {emphasis mine}

We may pray with a person or group. We may pray at church, a Bible study, or a prayer meeting. We may regularly meet with one or more people just to pray for our church, our country, and each other.

For 2-3 years I had a friend I would pray with once a week for about an hour. We were both very busy. We both homeschooled kids and had other responsibilities. We didn’t live near each other, so we prayed together on the phone. We made prayer together work, even when it wasn’t convenient, because it was important to us.

Depending on our life circumstances, we may pray with others more or less. (Singles usually have less opportunities to pray with others, while families always have each other to pray with.) Whether or not it happens every day, we are called to pray to God with other believers and for other believers.

Random discussion (Thanks, interests, & Concerns)

Random discussion normally should be the largest component of communications between a couple and between believers and God. These prayers are not planned or organized. They are a sign that we are including another in our daily lives because they are important to us.

Sometimes these prayers are a quick comment on what is happening in our lives. Sometimes these prayers are about a worry or concern. They can be a mention of something we find interesting or something we find beautiful. It may be a comment on something we learned or about us finally understanding something. Frequently they are prayers to say a quick “help” or “thank you.”

These little brief prayers shot up to God, usually while doing the normal activities of life, are just a sign that we find God important and want Him in our life. You may say, “Wow! That is a great view! You made beautiful mountains.” You may say, “I’m really struggling with this. Please help me do better.” You may say, “What is happening in the world is scary. Please help me to know what to do and help me to trust you in all things.” You might ask, “What am I supposed to say to this unbeliever to draw them to you?” or “How do I speak wisely to this person who is hurting?” We are including God in our lives and listening to Him because we want His opinion and guidance.

We may speak out loud or we may think our prayers silently where only God hears. We usually aren’t kneeling. We usually don’t have our hands folded, nor do we have our eyes closed.

If we are truly depending on God to guide our lives, these prayers should be a huge part of our lives. They should be sprinkled consistently through our day.

Cries for help

Part of the joy of a long and loving marriage is having someone to depend on when we are in need, whether sick, or tired, or sad, or frustrated, or physically unable to do something ourselves. We always have that other person to depend on and lean on.

And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart. (Ecclesiastes 4:12)

In the same way believers should lean on God to support them throughout their lives. I’ll admit that I used to only “bother God” with my really big concerns. I wasn’t comfortable asking Him for help with my little, day-to-day concerns, but that was pushing God away.

Unlike with a person who has a limited amount of time and energy, God can see and hear all prayers throughout all of history at the same time and not even break a sweat. We aren’t bothering God with our requests. We are honoring Him with our requests. He wants to be not only a part of our lives, but the leading part of our lives. When we ask for His help, His wisdom, His guidance, and His power, we are doing exactly what we should and we are growing our relationship with Him.

It is good to continually ask God for help, but that doesn’t mean we should ask for every petty desire. Our prayers shouldn’t be filled with requests for wealth, fame, and power. All prayers should include the same qualifier (even if not stated explicitly) Jesus used right before going to the cross, saying, “… yet not My will, but Yours be done.” (Luke 22:42b) We should be praying our problems and leaving the solution to Him. He frequently will answer in ways we never imagined (and frequently would never choose for ourselves), but these answers are always for our good.1

Conclusion

As you can see, praying continually is just a lifestyle. It is a way of including God in our lives. It is a way of showing we trust God fully. It is a way of serving God and being used by God.

In reality, praying continually isn’t as hard as it sounds. Like all habits, it just takes a little time to build the habit. Once prayer becomes a part of your life, it doesn’t feel like work, it just happens. It is as natural as talking to your best friend or spouse or parents or kids. You can’t imagine not talking to God continually.

I’ll end with these lyrics:

What a friend we have in Jesus\ All our sins and grieves to bear\ What a privilege it is to carry\ Everything to God in prayer

Have we trials and temptations\ Is there trouble anywhere\ Our precious Savior\ He is still our refuge\ Take it to the Lord in prayer

When we're weak and heavy laden\ Cumbered with a load of care\ We should never be discouraged\ When we take it to the Lord in prayer

Oh what peace we often forfeit\ Oh what needless pain we bear\ We should never be discouraged when we\ Take it to the Lord in prayer

Trust Jesus.\ \ your sister in Christ,

Christy

Bible verses are NASB (New American Standard Bible) 1995 edition unless otherwise stated

FYI, If you are wondering what to say, this acrostic (ACTS) is a handy for outline for prayer:

• A = Adoration -Praise God for who He is

• C = Confession - Admit our sins and His righteous lordship

• T = Thanks - Thank God for all He has done for us including our salvation

• S = Supplication - Make requests from God for help and to supply our needs.

For more articles and to see all of my posts check out my Trust Jesus Substack and consider subscribing to avoid missing any posts.

@ dc652bee:6154e7d0

🆘📢Exciting news for our community! We are thrilled to announce the Bybit bot airdrop, designed to enhance your trading experience. Don't miss out on this opportunity to elevate your game! 🚀💰 #BybitAirdrop 🌐 http://surgishop.lnkiy.in/Bybit_bot👈

@ 13e63e99:25525c6a

The Federal Reserve has announced a 50-basis-point reduction in the benchmark interest rate, officially initiating the first easing cycle in U.S. monetary policy since March 2020. This move aims to address potential weaknesses in the U.S. economy and labor market while further reducing inflation. Fed Chair Jerome Powell emphasized that current economic conditions are strong, and the rate cut is designed to sustain this momentum and enable a flexible response to changing conditions.

Fed officials expect additional rate reductions for the remainder of the year, gradually lowering rates over the next few years. This easing cycle is anticipated to have significant implications for the future of the U.S. economy, influencing the rates at which banks extend loans to both individuals and businesses. As a result, borrowing costs for consumers—such as home mortgages and credit card debt—are likely to decrease.

The news supported bitcoin prices, with bitcoin recently near $63,000. Bitcoin prices tend to rise on signs of monetary easing, as they are broadly seen as risk-on assets even as some investors tout their use as safe havens.

In the long run, increased borrowing and spending can lead to stronger economic growth, which may further enhance liquidity in the system. However, while liquidity may initially increase, prolonged low rates can also lead to potential risks, such as asset bubbles and excessive debt levels. Monitoring these factors is essential to maintain financial stability.

Reference: Trading Economics, Reuters

The Nostr ecosystem is known for its decentralization and focus on sovereign identity, offering a unique advantage for users. With more than 100 applications across social media, entertainment, marketplace and more, Nostr's key strengths include:

1. Decentralization and Sovereignty: Protects users' privacy from censorship.

2. Integration with payment system: Enhances features like zapping and streaming.

While these aspects attract Bitcoin enthusiasts, broader user adoption will require more sustainable and diverse features. Over the next few years, various opportunities and challenges may arise.

Social Media

Nostr represents a significant opportunity in decentralized social media, giving users control over their data and promoting free speech. Users can zap each other’s content through the Bitcoin Lightning Network. Nostr’s interoperability allows users to share posts across platforms, enabling a more integrated experience. Unlike traditional social media, where data is siloed, Nostr fosters collaboration among apps, allowing users to switch easily based on their needs. Over the next few years, we can expect a thriving ecosystem.

Identification and Login

Nostr's decentralized identity system relies on public and private keys, making it a fundamental feature. While no standalone disruptive applications are expected, this identification functionality can enhance social media and wallet apps by integrating features that improve competitiveness.

Decentralized Marketplace

Nostr's secure communication framework can facilitate decentralized marketplaces, enabling direct buyer-seller interactions while enhancing privacy. These marketplaces could extend beyond traditional goods to include music, writing, and services.

Regulation in the Nostr Ecosystem

As a censorship-resistant platform, Nostr might faces unique regulatory challenges. The protocol itself is neutral, but how developers manage relays will determine oversight levels. Proper regulation might prevent illegal activities and enhance the credibility of apps, helping Nostr grow without stifling its decentralized spirit. Developers focusing on decentralization may find opportunities in regulatory advising, ensuring that Nostr apps adhere to principles of decentralization while fostering healthy growth.

## MicroStrategy Raises $1.01 Billion in Convertible Notes to Fuel Bitcoin Acquisitions

MicroStrategy has completed a $1.01 billion offering of 0.625% convertible senior notes due in 2028, with plans to acquire Bitcoin using part of the proceeds. The private offering, finalized on Sept. 19, targeted institutional investors and allows conversion into cash or MicroStrategy stock. The company will also redeem $500 million in senior secured notes, releasing collateral that includes 69,080 Bitcoin. Between Sept. 13 and 19, MicroStrategy purchased approximately 7,420 Bitcoin for about $458.2 million, averaging $61,750 per Bitcoin.

> Reference: Microstrategy, Cointelegraph

Bhutan Revealed as Major Bitcoin Holder with 13,093 BTC

Bhutan, the Buddhist kingdom in the eastern Himalayas, has emerged as a significant Bitcoin holder, owning 13,093 BTC valued at approximately $830.789 million, according to Arkham Intelligence. This is the first public disclosure of Bhutan's Bitcoin addresses.

Mining is conducted by the country's investment arm, Druk Holdings, which has established facilities at various sites, including the defunct Education City project. In May 2023, Bitdeer partnered with Druk Holding & Investments to develop a 100% carbon-free Bitcoin mining operation in Bhutan. Earlier reports indicated plans to expand mining capacity from 100 to 600 megawatts, leveraging the country's abundant hydropower resources for eco-friendly operations.

Reference: Arkham, Bitcoin Magazine

Donald Trump Makes History with Bitcoin Payment

Republican Party presidential nominee Donald Trump made history as the first former U.S. president to complete a Bitcoin payment at PubKey, a Bitcoin-themed bar in Greenwich Village, NYC, during National Cheeseburger Day.

He described the payment as “easy” and said it went through “quickly and beautifully.”

After the transaction, Trump, accompanied by bar owner Thomas Pacchia, greeted attendees. “This was one of the most important Bitcoin transactions of all time,” said Pacchia. “President Trump came to connect with and support the Bitcoin community. We are very excited he was here.”

> Reference: Yahoo Finance, Cointelegraph

## We are Hiring: Entrepreneur In Residence

As an Entrepreneur In Residence with HCM, you will lead and drive innovative projects related to building Bitcoin ecosystem. Leveraging your extensive background in business, technology, product development, marketing, and/or operations management, you will drive projects from the seed stage through capital market financing and growth, along with our resource supports. We seek leaders with a good understanding of the Bitcoin who can achieve breakthroughs in the international market.

Please send your resume to: account_admin@hcm.capital/yake@hcm.capital\ For more information, please check out bitcoinerjobs.com

## Lifpay is sponsoring Max & Stacy Invitational at EL Encanto Golf Tournament in January 2025, El Salvador

> Reference: X.com

Unchained and University Impact Launch Bitcoin-Native Donor-Advised Funds to Streamline Charitable Donations and Maximize Tax Efficiency

> Reference: X.com

@ c278022e:b37d01a2

Abstract

This paper proposes a comprehensive system design for a decentralized prediction market and a game-theoretic stablecoin built entirely on Bitcoin's Lightning Network. Leveraging Discreet Log Contracts (DLCs) and off-chain transactions, the system enables leveraged trading, liquidity provision, and stablecoin creation without relying on alternative cryptocurrencies or tokens. We address potential flaws and criticisms, demonstrating that Bitcoin alone provides a secure, scalable, and efficient platform for advanced financial applications.

truthserum@iris.to

Introduction

Motivation

Bitcoin, as the original and most secure cryptocurrency, offers a stable and decentralized platform for financial innovation. While alternative platforms like Ethereum have introduced smart contracts and decentralized finance (DeFi) applications, they often suffer from network congestion, high fees, and centralization risks. This paper aims to demonstrate that Bitcoin's Lightning Network can support complex financial instruments, including a decentralized prediction market and a game-theoretic stablecoin, without the need for alternative cryptocurrencies.

Overview

We propose a system that:

• Utilizes Bitcoin's Lightning Network for scalability and low fees.
• Employs Discreet Log Contracts (DLCs) for secure, private smart contracts.
• Creates a decentralized prediction market with leveraged trading.
• Introduces a synthetic stablecoin based on the net positions of long and short traders.
• Addresses potential flaws and criticisms, ensuring robustness and security.

Background

Bitcoin and the Lightning Network

Bitcoin is a decentralized digital currency that operates on a peer-to-peer network, using proof-of-work consensus for security. The Lightning Network is a layer-two protocol that enables fast, off-chain transactions between participants, enhancing Bitcoin's scalability.

Discreet Log Contracts (DLCs)

DLCs are a type of smart contract that allows two parties to make a conditional payment based on the outcome of a future event, with privacy and security ensured by cryptographic techniques.

Prediction Markets and Stablecoins

Prediction markets allow participants to speculate on the outcome of future events, while stablecoins are cryptocurrencies designed to maintain a stable value relative to a target asset or basket of assets.

System Design

Key Components

1. Liquidity Providers (LPs): Users who provide Bitcoin as collateral to the liquidity pool.
2. Traders: Users who take leveraged long or short positions on asset prices.
3. Oracles: Entities that provide reliable price feeds for asset settlement.
4. Stablecoin: A synthetic stablecoin derived from the net positions of traders, backed by Bitcoin collateral.

Core Features

• Decentralized Prediction Market: Facilitates leveraged trading on asset prices.
• Game-Theoretic Stablecoin: Maintains stability through the balance of longs and shorts.
• Yield Generation: LPs earn yields from trading fees, funding rates, and liquidation penalties.
• Bitcoin-Only: Built entirely on Bitcoin's network without alternative tokens.

Technical Implementation

Leveraged Trading via Discreet Log Contracts

Contract Setup

Two parties, a trader and an LP, agree on contract terms:

• Asset: Bitcoin/USD price.
• Leverage: Multiplier on the trader's collateral.
• Collateral: Bitcoin amount provided by the trader.
• Duration: Contract length.
• Oracle: Selected to provide the settlement price.

Funding the Contract

• Trader: Locks collateral C_T in a multi-signature address.
• LP: Locks collateral C_LP to cover potential payouts.

Execution and Settlement

1. At maturity, the oracle provides a signature of the final price P_f.
2. The DLC allows funds to be distributed based on P_f and the contract terms.

Synthetic Stablecoin Creation

Mechanism

• Stablecoins are minted when traders open positions.
• Backed by Bitcoin collateral from LPs and traders.
• Stability maintained through balanced market positions and funding rates.

Funding Rates and Market Balance

Purpose

To incentivize traders to balance long and short positions, maintaining system stability.

Implementation

• Funding Rate: Funding Rate = k * (Net Position / Total Open Interest)
• Payments: Traders on the dominant side pay funding fees to the opposite side.

Risk Management and Liquidations

• Margin Requirements: Minimum collateral ratios for traders.
• Liquidation Thresholds: Positions are liquidated if collateral falls below maintenance margin.
• Automatic Liquidations: Enforced by smart contracts without human intervention.

Mathematical Foundations

Payout Calculation

Position Size

Position Size = C_T * L

Profit/Loss (P/L)

P/L = Position Size * ((P_f - P_0) / P_0)

Return on Investment (ROI)

ROI = (P/L / C_T) * 100%

Liquidation Price Calculation

For a long position:

P_liquidation = P_0 - ((C_T / Position Size) * P_0)

Game Theory and Incentive Alignment

Traders

• Incentive: Profit from accurate market predictions.
• Behavior: Manage risk to avoid liquidation.

Liquidity Providers

• Incentive: Earn yields from fees and funding rates.
• Risk: Exposure to traders' net P/L.

Oracles

• Incentive: Earn fees for accurate data provision.
• Behavior: Maintain reliability to secure future earnings.

Potential Flaws and Criticisms Addressed

Oracle Trustworthiness

Criticism

Relying on oracles introduces a single point of failure and potential for data manipulation.

Solution

• Decentralized Oracles: Use multiple oracles and aggregate data.
• Threshold Signatures: Require consensus among oracles.
• Incentive Alignment: Oracles are incentivized to provide accurate data through fees and reputation.

Liquidity Risks

Criticism

Insufficient liquidity may prevent covering traders' profits, especially during high volatility.

Solution

• Dynamic Leverage Limits: Adjust leverage based on liquidity.
• Risk Management Protocols: Implement strict margin requirements.
• Incentivizing LPs: Offer competitive yields to attract liquidity.

Price Volatility and Market Manipulation

Criticism

Extreme market movements could lead to rapid liquidations and instability.

Solution

• Anti-Manipulation Measures: Use time-weighted average prices (TWAP).
• Circuit Breakers: Temporarily halt trading during extreme volatility.
• Robust Liquidation Mechanisms: Ensure smooth liquidations without market disruption.

Technical Complexity

Criticism

Implementing DLCs and managing Lightning Network channels require advanced expertise.

Solution

• User-Friendly Interfaces: Develop intuitive platforms.
• Educational Resources: Provide guides and support.
• Community Development: Encourage collaboration and open-source contributions.

Regulatory Compliance

Criticism

Operating a leveraged trading platform may raise regulatory concerns.

Solution

• Decentralization: Structure the platform to minimize central control.
• Legal Consultation: Engage experts to navigate regulations.
• KYC/AML Policies: Implement where necessary without compromising privacy.

Network Limitations

Criticism

The Lightning Network may face limitations in liquidity and channel capacity.

Solution

• Channel Management Strategies: Utilize multi-path payments and channel factories.
• Liquidity Hubs: Establish well-funded nodes.
• Ongoing Development: Contribute to scalability improvements.

Conclusion

By leveraging Bitcoin's Lightning Network and Discreet Log Contracts, we can build a decentralized prediction market and a game-theoretic stablecoin without relying on alternative cryptocurrencies. This system addresses potential flaws and demonstrates that Bitcoin alone provides a secure, scalable, and efficient platform for advanced financial applications.

Future Work

• Prototype Development: Create a working model of the proposed system.
• Security Audits: Conduct thorough assessments to ensure robustness.
• Community Engagement: Involve developers and users in refining the system.
• Regulatory Navigation: Work with legal experts to ensure compliance.

Acknowledgments

We thank the Bitcoin and Lightning Network communities for their ongoing contributions to decentralized finance and open-source development.

References

1. Satoshi Nakamoto, Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System, 2008.
2. Joseph Poon and Thaddeus Dryja, The Bitcoin Lightning Network: Scalable Off-Chain Instant Payments, 2016.
3. Tadge Dryja, Discreet Log Contracts, 2017.
4. GMX, Decentralized Perpetual Exchange, https://gmx.io/, Accessed 2023.
5. BIP 0341, Taproot: SegWit Version 1 Spending Rules, 2020.
6. Rusty Russell, Generic Smart Contracts Over Lightning, 2019.

@ 472f440f:5669301e

Last night I had the pleasure of sitting down with Caitlin Long, Founder and CEO of Custodia - a fully reserved bank providing banking services to bitcoin companies, to discuss an affidavit written by Elaine Hetrick of Silvergate Bank. Elaine is the Chief Administrative Officer of Silvergate and wrote an affidavit, a sworn testimony subject to perjury, in which she detailed the events that led to Silvergate voluntarily winding down their business and returning deposits to their customers.

This affidavit is a bombshell because it confirms speculation that Silvergate was solvent in early 2023 and wasn't shut down because of bad risk management on behalf of the bank's management team, but instead was forced to shutter its doors because the Biden Administration, with strong influence from Senator Elizabeth Warren, forced Silvergate's hand because they didn't like that they were banking digital asset companies.

For those who are a bit fuzzy on the details of the narratives that were flying around Silvergate at the time, I'll jog your memory. FTX was a customer of Silvergate's at the time their Ponzi scheme unraveled. As FTX was blowing up, everyone and their mother was scrambling to get their money out of Silvergate because they assumed that since one of the bank's largest counterparties was going bust, the bank must be in trouble too. A sane decision. Especially considering the history of systemically non-important financial institutions this century.

Unless you were paying close attention during this time, you were likely under the impression that Silvergate was a typical fractionally reserved bank that was experiencing a run that led to its inevitable demise. The media made it seem this way. The regulators made it seem this way. And one pompous short seller made it seem this way. However, nothing could be further from the truth. Here are the most important parts of the affidavit:

Silvergate had stabilized, was able to make regulatory capital requirements, and had the capability to continue to serve its customers that had kept their deposits with Silvergate Bank.

Despite this, regulators decided to turn the pressure up and essentially gave Silvergate Bank, and Signature Bank as well, an ultimatum; drastically change your business models immediately by dropping your digital asset customer base or we'll shut you down. There were no hard numbers described in Elaine's testimony, but rumors are that the regulators wanted Silvergate to quickly shrink their exposure to digital asset-related clients to less than 15% of their capital base. At the time, Silvergate's customer base was made up almost entirely of digital asset companies (99.5% to be exact).

The regulators were asking Silvergate to do something that was quite literally impossible given the circumstances. Faced with an impossible task, on March 8th of 2023 Silvergate decided to voluntarily wind down their operations and return deposits back to their customers.

Let's be very clear here, Silvergate did not lose a single penny of customer deposits due to the run on their bank. Management, understanding the volatile nature of the digital asset markets, designed their risk management and capital allocation strategies in a way that would enable them to return dollars to any customer who requested them. And that's exactly what they did when customers came to request their money. They returned EVERY SINGLE PENNY.

This begs the question, "Why did they essentially force Silvergate to shut down?" They seemed to be running a very responsible operation after all. You'd think the regulators would applaud Silvergate's vigilance in risk management on behalf of their customer base. How many banks would have been able to do the same thing if put in the same situation? Probably not many.

The answer to this question is already well known throughout the industry, but Elaine Hetrick's testimony adds some hard evidence that makes it undeniable; Elizabeth Warren, the SEC, the FDIC and the Federal Reserve have been acting in concert to unconstitutionally and extrajudicially target the bitcoin and broader digital asset industry because they do not believe that it should exist. It is a threat to their power structure. The financial system, as it is designed today, gives those who would like to centrally plan the economy and micromanage the lives of American citizens a ton of power. Bitcoin is a threat to that power and they have to do everything in their power to prevent its proliferation.

The targeting of the industry was also confirmed by the aftermath of the NYDFS and FDIC uncharacteristically taking Signature Bank behind the woodshed in the evening of Sunday, March 20th, 2023, despite the fact that Barney Frank and others at the bank were convinced they could handle withdraws come market open the next day.

Signature Bank was ultimately sold to Flagstar Bank. However, they were forced to spin out their digital asset-related accounts before doing so.

This public signaling and sudden regulatory shift made clear that, at least as of the first quarter of 2023, the Federal Bank Regulatory Agencies would not tolerate banks with significant concentrations of digital asset customers, ultimately preventing Silvergate Bank from continuing its digital asset focused business model.

Pretty damning if you ask me. Also, very frustrating and most definitely illegal.

Elizabeth Warren and her gaggle of hall monitors across alphabet soup agencies and the Federal Reserve have been on one massive, unconstitutional, power trip for the last four years. They've besmirched bitcoin and those of us working hard to ensure that the United States of America leads the way forward as bitcoin adoption continues at every turn. Good people striving to make the world a better place.

No one is a better example of this than Alan Lane, the former CEO of Silvergate Bank. I consider Alan a friend and feel supremely confident when I say that he is one of the nicest and thoughtful people I have met in this industry. A man who followed his passion to bring legitimacy and much needed banking services to an industry that the incumbents refused to touch. And he did bring legitimacy. As I explained earlier, Alan and his team understood the volatile nature of the industry and built their firm in a way that took this volatility into account. Silvergate did not fail, they were forced to shut down by Elizabeth Warren and her acolytes at the regulatory agencies.

What's worse, Warren's vendetta against bitcoin and the digital asset industry incited the largest banking crisis this country had seen since 2008. Silvergate and Signature being taken behind the woodshed put everyone on their toes and bank runs started across the country. This led to the failure of First Republic, Silicon Valley Bank and a couple of smaller banks, forced the Fed to step in with their emergency BTFP program, and burdened taxpayers with $40B in FDIC costs that needed to be absorbed as a result. If it weren't for the bailouts things would have gotten completely out of control. All because Elizabeth Warren wants to live in a world in which we are forced to use CBDCs and unable to opt-in to bitcoin.

The euthanasia of Silvergate and Signature are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Chokepoint 2.0.

Caitlin Long and Custodia have been in a years long battle with the Federal Reserve to receive a Fed master account so that they can properly serve their customers. For those who are unaware, Custodia is a full-reserve bank that exist to serve bitcoin and digital asset businesses as well as other adjacent businesses like fintechs, banks and funds. Custodia is a chartered bank and special purpose depository institution that has built custody services so that customers can hold bitcoin within their bank accounts alongside their dollar accounts.

Like Silvergate and Signature, Custodia has been singled out and unlawfully denied a master account with the Fed because the Federal Reserve doesn't want a bank like Custodia to exist. Either because they worry about the ramifications of the introduction of a full-reserve bank into a system dominated by fractional-reserve banks or they simply do not want to see bitcoin succeed. If we're being honest, it's probably a combination of the two.

Despite what we, or anyone else, thinks about the potential effect a bank like Custodia could have on the market if it's granted a master account, the Fed's actions are unconstitutional in this case as well. This was made pretty clear (but yet to be determined by a court) in an amicus brief written by Paul Clement on behalf of Custodia earlier this Summer. The Fed is actively undermining the dual-banking system that was set up in this country to enable competition between state chartered banks and the Federal Reserve system.

In the case of Custodia, the Federal Reserve is exhibiting expansive discretionary power that it has never shown before. Custodia is a state chartered special purpose depository institution in the state of Wyoming. Historically, it would be trivial for this type of state chartered bank to get a master account with the Fed. But for whatever reason (we know the reason) the Fed has been denying Custodia their right to this account for a number of years. To the point where Custodia was forced to sue the Federal Reserve and take their case to the courts.

What's interesting about the saga of Custodia and the Fed is that it has forced Custodia's legal team to dig in and highlight where the Fed is overextending its reach and acting arbitrarily. In the amicus brief that was published in July of this year, Paul Clement argues that the way Federal Reserve Bank presidents are chosen is unconstitutional when you take into consideration the fact the these Fed branch presidents are unilaterally undermining state banking laws by denying master accounts.

If they are going to unilaterally undermine state banking laws they need to be appointed by the President or an official acting on behalf of the Executive Branch. Federal Reserve Bank presidents aren't appointed by the President of the United States or any official acting with the authority of the Executive Branch. Instead, they are appointed by their boards, which are controlled by the privately held commercial banks who own them. The Federal Reserve system is clearly acting unconstitutionally when they deny Custodia from being assigned a master account.

The people in power within the federal government and the Federal Reserve system are actively targeting the bitcoin and digital asset industry, acting extrajudicially and making a mockery of the rule of law in the United States. They are completely out of control and it is important that everyone who cares about the future of bitcoin in the United States and the future of the United States more broadly (even if you don't like bitcoin) speaks out and fights against these totalitarians as vehemently as possible. What they are doing is wrong. It's unconstitutional. And it is putting the future of our country at risk.

If the federal government, the regulators and the Federal Reserve do not get out of the way and let law abiding citizens build the businesses they want and associate with businesses they want, those businesses will go elsewhere and the United States will be set back generations as a result.

It's time to put these people in their place and let it be known that freedom will reign supreme in the Land of the Free. Fight!

Final thought... I promised Parker Lewis that I would do cross fit on Friday morning and I'm using today's final thought as an accountability tool.

@ fd78c37f:a0ec0833

A mirror post on the Dora Research Blog can be found at: https://research.dorahacks.io/2024/09/25/network-states-critique-part-1/ Author: DORA Interns

Section 1:

As capitalism became the new economic system, replacing the old feudal guilds and their small and inefficient means of production, cultural conditions began to take hold that would give rise to nations and a sense of national consciousness. This thesis, argued in great detail by Benedict Anderson in his book Imagined Communities, is characteristically similar to Marxist theory, which generally holds that any difference made in a society's economic and technological base results in changes throughout its whole structure. As humans alter their environment, gain control of its variables, and reduce the severity of their conditions, higher, more rational faculties may begin to develop. Karl Marx writes, “By thus acting on the external world and changing it, (human beings) at the same time change (their) own nature.” As technology progresses; as the tools used by human beings advance and become more efficient and productive, human consciousness grows with it. Starting with primitive forms of productive forces like stone tools, human beings organize themselves in ways made possible by this primal mode of technology, which possesses a meager capacity to tame and alter nature, and, consequently, casts human understanding and knowledge into the shadows, greatly obstructing their freedom, as well as their capacity to become self-aware. Thus as the means of production progress, more complicated forms of social organization become possible. Human beings slowly become conscious of their autonomy - the ability to live a life dictated by reason, by rational choice and principle, and not by the caprice of external causal factors. Throughout this historical process, the old institutions and societal structures deteriorate and grow obsolete; revolutions occur to update the social infrastructure and catch up to the progressing economic base.

When technology grew to the point of being able to sustain capitalism, and more well-organized systems of labor were needed to underpin what the economy demanded, people flocked to the cities, leaving behind the rural life that was characteristic of the feudal system, and began thinking of themselves as part of larger collectives, as nations. Marx writes, “Independent, or but loosely connected provinces, with separate interests, laws, governments, and systems of taxation, became lumped together into one nation, with one government, one code of laws, one national class-interest, one frontier, and one-customs tariff.” Industrialization, then, and its new tools, which drastically shifted the means of production, changed human consciousness and laid the conditions necessary for societies to become nation-states.

In Imagined Communities, Anderson claims this development toward industrialization and nation-states was largely set in motion by the advent of the Gutenberg printing press in 1440. He argues that this technology, which began to distribute newspapers, novels, and bibles to readers in a language that would become a people’s common vernacular, had laid the cultural conditions for a sense of national consciousness, the feeling that one belonged to a larger community that expanded past their immediate surroundings, to arise. People who previously did not think of themselves as ‘French’, or ‘English’, or ‘American’, who spoke in largely discontinuous dialects, slowly began to think of themselves as participating in a nation of people bound together by a shared experience. These new national identities replaced the old religious, preordained orders that once provided meaning to human beings, and nationality became one of the more dominant modes through which people identified who and what they were.

Now, another important technology that facilitated the historical development of nations was the ledger and its use for double-entry bookkeeping. As information regarding debits and credits was able to be recorded, more large-scale trades, transfers of assets, and general forms of record-keeping were made possible, bringing about the need for more uniform, clear, and discrete boundaries between the various territories. Nation-states became a means to meet the demands made by society’s progress. Feudalism and its notion of the Divine Right of Kings, its old religious dogmas, and its obsolete forms of social institutions, were unable to adapt to these economic shifts. The emergence of the Enlightenment period (1685-1789) ushered in new ways of understanding the state and its position of authority and legitimacy to hold power. Rather than being conceived as a beacon of Divine order, it increasingly became seen as a rational compromise between people who invested the state with authority in exchange for preserving their natural rights. It was now a third-party institution that resided over settling disputes, enforcing the law, and punishing those who violated it. The state was now only legitimate insofar as it protected the rights of the individuals who consented to be governed.

However, over time, a great deal of trust had been handed to these new institutions, and many believe they have now led to an excess of centralized power. Banks became the holders of financial ledgers; distribution of information, of news and events, became the job of a few selected companies, and the government, over time, stepped over its initial claim to legitimacy by taking on roles far surpassing the task of merely protecting individual rights and liberties. Because there was no technology for it, people still had to be trusted as disinterested and objective third-party mediators, which human nature often fails to achieve, allowing self-interest, greed, envy, and human vice more generally to have an influential role in state and governmental processes. This creates corrosive trust issues between citizens and their institutions. In their book The Truth Machine, Michael J. Casey and Paul Vigna write, “Trust - especially in our institutions - is a vital social resource, the true lubricant of all human interaction. When it works, we take it for granted - we wait our place in line, follow road rules, and assume everyone will do the same… But when trust is lacking, things really, really break down.”

Today, with the invention of blockchain and cryptocurrencies, many believe these institutions themselves become obsolete and that new forms of social organization are needed. In his book The Network State, Balaji Srinivasan labors to demonstrate this claim, arguing that the network and its capacity to allow individuals to organize digital, landless communities, can replace the old nation-states that obstruct social development. In particular, he believes blockchain and its capacity to underpin trustless systems to be capable of supplanting the older institutions by automating what they were entrusted with doing; cryptocurrencies can automate the roles done by central banks and the Federal Reserve; information of news and events can be loaded onto blockchains and remain immutable, preventing self-serving parties from tampering and manipulating it for their interests; private information can be cryptographically secured and held by individuals rather than by centralized, private tech companies like Google; and nation-states more generally can be superseded by the network, which eliminates the perennial issue of land that has caused innumerable wars and conflicts between sovereign states. But, despite the optimism induced by these new technologies, there are problems. The rest of this article will be concerned with addressing what it means for a network state to be ‘ethical’, to use a term of Srinivasan’s. Some nation-states are viewed as unethical, as providing conditions that are degrading to human beings; North Korea immediately comes to mind. The next section will propose a way to discern why such a judgment is true, and will be used to assess what a network state must achieve to be considered ‘ethical’. I will argue that this can only be done by holding people’s autonomy as the principal end of the state.

Section 2:

To see this, we can think of creating a state as a complex activity, and, as with most activities, it is directed toward certain ends. Similarly to how playing a sport, gardening, or driving a car is an activity, so is creating a state - albeit a far more complicated one. But whereas the ends of certain activities may be for the sake of pleasure or leisure, the state’s ends are always within a moral and ethical scope. It is moral in that, whenever one is engaged in the activity of state-making, the ends by which the activity is oriented are always directed toward drafting principles that will establish cooperative social practices and institutions that guide and govern the actions of the members within the state, which lay the conditions by which human beings will pursue their individual and collective well-being. In other words, the ends that the act of founding a state is aimed toward is to create practices that consist of individuals who form collectives, and who cooperate and live according to a given set of moral ends that orient, inform, and shape the lives of those within the state. Therefore, all acts occurring within this activity are never neutral from the moral point of view but are inextricably linked to questions about morality and the ethical life. Such an activity, then, should not be viewed as anything less than a pursuit of moral and ethical ends, and to confuse this activity with the pursuit of other ends - like financial gain, technological innovation, the expansion of markets, or the satisfaction of personal interests - commits a modal confusion, which immediately involves one in a separate activity than that of founding a state. By modal confusion, I mean the error of engaging in a particular mode of activity with the wrong set of ends in mind. For example, someone who makes paintings would be deeply confused to declare themself to be an artist when their chief end is financial gain. Such an end is better captured by calling the activity manufacturing rather than artistry. Perhaps a more characteristic end of an artist would be the production of beauty, for instance, or self-expression, but not profit. Profit would be employed only as a means to further, more artistic ends that are deemed necessary by the social conditions the artist finds themself in.

Or imagine a person who becomes friends with someone to derive certain benefits from them, like using them to get to know someone they are interested in, but who nevertheless believes that the two are sincere friends. The person who befriends the other confuses what kind of activity they are engaged in. The relation of being friends with someone involves adopting certain ends that are demanded by the relationship. In the case of friendship, an obvious end that characterizes the activity is holding the other person as an end-in-themselves, as someone who is not valuable for any other reason other than the fact that they’re a friend. One would be deeply confused by believing to be engaged in friendship when one does not hold the relevant end in relation to the activity.

Now, when founding a network state, reducing the degree of modal confusion is central to the project of creating an ‘ethical’ state. If a founder holds an irrelevant set of ends in mind, they risk the potential for causing significant harm to persons, and I will argue that it does so by reducing autonomy. By autonomy, I mean a human being’s capacity to exercise willful, deliberative choice, and not be wholly dictated by external influence. The philosopher Harry Frankfurt defines it as follows: “Autonomy is essentially a matter of whether we are active rather than passive in our motives and choices - whether… they are the motives and choices that we really want and are therefore in no way alien to us.” Now, one’s autonomy exists within one’s subjectivity, which can be understood as a person’s conscious experience. It’s the center at which one’s thoughts, desires, perceptions, worries, fears, anxieties, all occur, as they manifest in experience. Subjectivity can then be divided into at least two parts, one of which is a quantitative dimension, the other being qualitative. The first consists of the stream of experience, of the constant succession of mental states and behaviors. At one moment I’m hungry and so act to satisfy the desire; at another, I’m struck with fear and run away from the object that is the target of my response, and so on. As the examples imply, this dimension of subjectivity involves a high degree of passivity; events and experiences are simply happening to me. The qualitative dimension, on the other hand, is far more active and is the space by which autonomy exists. This involves the capacity to evaluate one’s mental states and to reflect and decide whether they are worth acting on, whether they’re rational or not, whether they represent the world accurately; and to act autonomously is to act based on one’s qualitative nature, and not be carried away unreflectively by the more passive, quantitative dimension.

The central claim of this article is that the principal end of the state is to promote the development and growth of the qualitative nature of its members’ subjectivity. To hold this capacity of human beings as secondary, or accidental and not a primary need, is to be modally confused. That’s not to say the state is the primary institution responsible for promoting or even determining its citizens’ autonomy - the existence and crimes of the USSR are sufficient to refute that - but only that it shares the responsibility. Whatever its exact role is, or in what forms it is concretely realized, the state’s principal end is directed toward facilitating the development of its citizens’ subjectivity. A society can be imagined as a large, extended plain divided into proportions sized according to the degree of each part’s contribution toward reaching this goal. One part consists of the economy, another is occupied by the private and public affairs of communities and individuals, and another is delegated to the state. Whatever the exact configuration of this plain, each part cooperates and contributes toward fulfilling the full breadth of human needs. And I believe this can be done in numerous ways; there is not necessarily one form a state must have, which specifies and delineates each of its fixed parts to align with some ultimate reality, to reach this end. Nevertheless, I believe the state does have a hierarchy of ends.

It could be argued, however, that this is wrong and that founding a state is not a moral activity but merely a prudential one, whose end is to protect individual self-interests and preferences. That is, the state is not concerned with morality but with establishing conditions that enable individuals to pursue their own self-interests and preferences uninterrupted by other human beings. Because individuals are concerned with their own well-being, with their own survival, and the satisfaction of their desires, living in a state of nature, where there is no authority to settle disputes or conflicts regarding life, liberty, or property, is contrary to individual interests. It would be rational, then, to form a state invested with the authority granted by the consent of the governed which has the power to punish those who violate the law, adjudicate and settle disputes, and protect everyone’s basic liberties that prevent others from interfering with one another’s lives.

Understanding the state this way means that the ends of the state are prudential and not primarily moral. Individuals are free to opt into whatever network state they wish, insofar as they do so by their own, uncoerced choice.

Now Srinivasan, as I see it, is somewhere in the middle between the moral and prudential conceptions of state founding. He speaks of state legitimacy as being grounded entirely in the consent of the governed. If a network state receives enough members; if it expands to the point of reaching diplomatic recognition, then that is a testament to the legitimacy of that state. People have consented to their smart contract(s), they have invested a certain amount of authority to the founder(s) by agreeing to its terms, and such a state, Srinivasan concludes, is therefore ‘ethical’. But the notion of being ethical here is ambiguous. Does he mean that it is so because what constitutes something as ethical is an agreement, or does he mean that freedom to choose is the principal end of the state? The former is prudential because it reasons that it is up to individuals to decide for themselves what is ethical or moral, given that there is no objective fact of the matter; individuals calculate according to their self-interests, preferences, and desires, and whether a contract is fair, just, or equal is up to each person. The latter, on the other hand, is moral because it holds freedom of choice as what constitutes the moral ends of the state. What matters is whether individuals freely choose to join the state, and not whether the contract is fair or just independent of that. This is because individuals' most valuable capacity is to choose. Because it is up to each person to decide for themselves whether a contract is fair or just, a state is morally legitimate if people voluntarily consent to its contract.

Whichever one Srinivasan is committed to, both are problematic and I will present arguments against the two interpretations, which will be motivated by the following claims. That one, holding the state to be merely concerned with prudential ends is to confuse means with ends, which underestimates the role it plays in the individual’s life, and two, holding freedom of choice as the principal end confuses mere choice with free choice. These confusions permit the degradation of human dignity by disregarding the human need to foster the faculties necessary for autonomy. It is within each individual’s interests to be within a society. To be outside of a community, to be isolated and without access to resources, to be without recourse to institutions who will enforce the protection of one’s rights, is to live within a hostile environment that is against fulfilling one’s needs. However, establishing more hospitable conditions does not thereby define the principal end of the state, and the mere ability to choose does not necessarily respect the capacity for autonomy. It only offers the appearance of choice and not the reality. To freely choose means far more than the pursuit of satisfying an impulse. Before developing these arguments further, Srinivasan's two potential conceptions of the ‘ethical’ state need to be better understood. Let’s begin with the prudential account.

Section 3:

According to this argument, the state is directed toward establishing the conditions necessary for individuals to pursue their own self-interests, desires, and preferences, without the interference of others, and insofar as one’s projects do not infringe on someone else’s. An exemplar of this view is the philosopher Thomas Hobbes. A state of nature, where individuals exist outside of an organized collective bound by laws and institutions, is a state of war, filled with perpetual conflict and strife and the competition of self-interests, and consists of an endless pursuit of individuals attempting to gain power over one another for the sake of the control and security necessary for extinguishing the fear caused by their harsh environment. Setting aside the plausibility of such a state, what’s important is that, by understanding individuals in this way, human nature is presented as calculative, as the rational pursuit of one’s own interests. And since interests conflict, and each individual has an inborn right to preserve itself, to fight for its own survival; and because each one must determine what their survival requires, life in a state of nature is nasty, brutish, and short.

It would be far more rational, then, both for oneself and others, to form a state that would eliminate this perpetual state of war and conflict by implementing laws and institutions that enforce agreements and contracts made between persons, and that uphold conditions of peace, which allows individuals to pursue their ends without the fear of being interfered with. The philosopher Immanuel Kant phrases this as follows: “Each may seek his happiness in whatever way he sees fit, so long as he does not infringe upon the freedom of others to pursue a similar end which can be reconciled with the freedom of everyone else within a general workable law.”

Notice, then, that forming a state is not a matter of morals but of rational calculation, of looking out for one’s own interests. It’s not that a state should be formed because it allows persons to treat one another with dignity, or because each is worthy of some inviolable respect, but because it is in everyone’s best interests. Founding a state, then, “means finding out how the mechanism of nature can be applied to men in such a manner that the antagonism of their hostile attitudes will make them compel one another to submit to coercive law, thereby producing a condition of peace within which the laws can be enforced.” This is a prudential account of state-founding.

There’s a fundamental problem with this kind of account, however. The first thing to note is the conception of human subjectivity contained within it. A Hobbesian notion of human nature, simply put, suggests subjectivity consists of computational processes whose ends are the satisfaction of the subject's desires and preferences. The state’s aim, then, is to discipline the subject in a way that will lead to them having the capacity to coexist in peaceful conditions with others. It is not to prescribe certain definite moral ends, to orient them around a conception of the good, or to circumscribe what their desires should or should not be; it is to sustain the conditions necessary for individuals to pursue their interests without interfering with the right of others to pursue their own.

Now, the issue here is that human subjectivity is conceived one-dimensionally. Human beings are born with certain natural desires and preferences like survival and the fulfillment of basic needs, and the state is not to interfere with this but to protect each individual's impulse to preserve them, and to shape their lives as they see fit. Each can do as they please insofar as it does not harm another. But this is too simplistic. This amounts to believing that human desires and preferences occupy a single, quantitative plain, and each individual goes about maximizing these while simultaneously avoiding infringing on others’ ability to do so. But if we step back and ask whether a desire itself is desirable we are no longer asking a question along this quantitative plane, but have begun to ask about the qualitative nature of the desire. Is that desire of more worth than that one? This is a question regarding second-order desires.

First-order desires often happen to us, they occur, and pull us in the direction of the desired object. My desire to eat does not arise by my own volition. After a time of not eating, the desire simply renews itself. Second-order desires concern the will, of what one wants to want, of whether a desire is something one desires to motivate his or her will. Harry Frankfurt writes, “Creatures like ourselves are not limited to desires that move them to act. In addition, they have the reflexive capacity to form desires regarding their own desires - that is, regarding both what they want to want, and what they want not to want.” Focusing solely on the quantitative dimension of subjectivity does not account for this distinction. If someone goes about attempting to maximize their well-being by satisfying their immediate desires, some of the desires they do not act on, the ones that don’t motivate them to act but are present, are competing first-order desires, which do not consist of an evaluation regarding whether the one desire is of more worth than the other; one simply out-competes the other.

Now, with this distinction in mind, the point can be stated as follows: this qualitative, evaluative dimension, is first informed and shaped by the social context one finds oneself in, or, as the philosopher Martin Heidegger would phrase it, is thrown into. By being in the world with other people, through communication, language, and interaction, human beings begin to form and make sense of what occurs in their inner and outer life. William A. Luijpen and Henry J. Koren write in their book Existential Phenomenology that, “In my dealing with others, there occurs a quasi-process of sedimentation, and the quasi-effect of it is called ‘social facticity’ or my ‘social body’. The way I greet others, speak, or think is, at least in the first instance, largely the quasi-effect of the fact that I grew up in the West and not in China.” Social facticity, then, is the set of social conditions by which a human being becomes acquainted with the world, making things intelligible and meaningful, ordered and sensible. The philosopher Charles Taylor writes, “I can only learn what anger, love, anxiety, the aspiration to wholeness, etc., are through my and others’ experience of these being objects for us, in some common space.”

When developing within a social environment, the qualitative dimension of subjectivity is largely first shaped by the situation one is in, which provides the framework by which to discern who and what one is, what is valuable, what the good is, how one should conduct oneself in specific contexts, and so forth. Underpinning all of this is an assumed picture of qualitative evaluations. For this not to be present means the individual will not be able to live. Therefore, when a state is formed that will govern a society, it is not merely concerned with prudential ends but with moral ones as well. Self-interests, preferences, desires, fears, impediments to action, in short, the whole internal and external life of an individual, are first made sense of in the social environment. To think that one can merely pursue their own ends without reference to this further dimension is wrong.

As the psychologist Erich Fromm points out in his book To Have or To Be, living in social conditions that only emphasize the quantitative nature of human beings is dehumanizing. A society and state that promotes the satisfaction of desires and preferences, of one’s self-interests, which will supposedly somehow lead to realizing human beings’ higher capacities, is highly implausible. How can character traits like egoism, greed, and selfishness produce social cooperation, connection, and harmony, which are integral to well-being? Most of the great thinkers throughout history spent their time on this issue. Socrates, Plato, the Stoics, the Epicureans, all formulated distinctions between our qualitative and quantitative capacities. Fromm writes, “The essential element in their thinking is the distinction between those needs (desires)... whose satisfaction leads to momentary pleasure, and those needs that are rooted in human nature and whose realization is conducive to human growth and produces eudaimonia, i.e., ‘well-being’.” If the qualitative dimension of subjectivity possesses needs essential to well-being, such as the ability to actively and critically engage with oneself and the world, then measures must be taken that target these features of human beings, otherwise, they will be left empty and unfulfilled.

Now, as I mentioned earlier, this doesn’t mean the state must therefore be delegated the primary bearer of this responsibility. But it does mean that it plays a role toward this end. Whatever that precisely is, the principal end of the state is to discern and actualize its part in this process.

Section 4:

So much for Srinivasan’s notion of the ‘ethical’ state as one that establishes the prudential ends of rational, self-interest-seeking agents. What about the second way to understand this idea, that the state is ethical because freedom of choice is all that matters and is the fundamental end to be preserved and exercised in and by the state? The argument I will present against this way of understanding the state has to do with how we should understand the term ‘freedom’ in this context.

If freedom of choice is the primary end of the state; if non-interference in one’s decisions to pursue one’s ends is what the term ‘ethical’ amounts to, then it must be clear what constitutes a free choice. According to the prudential account of state-founding, a state was ethical because it established conditions for individuals to pursue their desires and private conceptions of happiness. It is not a question of morals but of calculative reason, of locating rational means, and the state is a way for individuals to coexist and pursue their interests.

As has been shown, however, the state does much more than this. By having an integral role in organizing society, the state substantially contributes toward the frameworks by which individuals understand themselves, which shape the concepts necessary for moral deliberation, for positing ends worthy of pursuit, and the resources used to differentiate good from bad, right from wrong.

The proposal now is that the term ethical suggests that the state is a moral activity and not merely a prudential one, but also that the sole end of the state is to allow individuals to freely choose for themselves what they consider to be the good, or what holds value, and by making an uncoerced choice, whatever the agreement is, by consenting to it, it is ethical. The freedom to choose is the principal end of all human conduct and affairs.

This creates a twofold problem that depends on the degree of value placed on choice. The first is that, if choice is held as being forfeitable, as something someone may decide to surrender when consenting to join a state, then a state can be ethical merely because people chose to opt in, even if it allows for the existence of conditions that are degrading to human beings. The second is that, if choice is held to be the principal end of the state and is not forfeitable, it may still not realize the freedom necessary for free choice, namely, autonomy. The first problem is more easily discerned, while the second is more subtle. Let’s begin with the first.

There are many reasons why someone may choose to join a state and forfeit their freedom, but for the sake of argument it’s best to focus on one and this will be when an individual feels alienated from, and alone within, a society. A historical way to frame this problem, as Erich Fromm does in his book Escape From Freedom, is to look at the fading presence of the Catholic Church after the Reformation. To put it very simply, in the Middle Ages the world was viewed as perfectly ordered and possessed an eternal structure created by God, including how human beings, both individually and collectively, were to live. The individual was not confronted with questions of how to live, what to do with one’s life, or what ends to pursue; the Church answered these questions and provided a sense of belonging in the world. Fromm writes, “In having a distinct, unchangeable, and unquestionable place in the social world from the moment of birth, man was rooted in a structuralized whole, and thus life had a meaning which left no place, and no need, for doubt… The social order was conceived as a natural order, and being a definite part of it gave a feeling of security and belonging.” When God was “demoted,” as the historian Marci Shore puts it, and when there was no longer available recourse to some greater being to understand how human beings should live and the responsibility became their own, a great space was left empty and needed to be filled again; human beings could not assume they were at the center of things. They themselves became accountable for how society was to be organized, how life should be lived, what meaning life possesses; and the answers to these concerns must be formed by human reason itself and not by an imposed, nonhuman standard. But this emerging form of freedom came with a price. Dostoevsky formulates this cost in his famous phrase, “If there is no God, then everything is permissible.” That is, without some ultimate, nonhuman reality that makes the world appear ordered, harmonious, justified, good, everything becomes unchained. And for things to return to their previous, stable state, which is of course necessary for human beings to live, it was human beings that bore the burden. Simone de Beauvoir, a 20th-century philosopher, writes in her book The Ethics of Ambiguity that Man now “bears the responsibility for a world which is not the work of a strange power, but of himself, where his defeats are inscribed, and his victories as well. A God can pardon, efface, and compensate. But if God does not exist, man’s faults are inexpiable.”

The experience of alienation in modern society can be partially explained by modernity not being able to cope with this burden. To use Fromm’s phrase, great efforts have been made to escape from it. Historians like Hannah Arendt have attributed the rise of totalitarian governments in the 20th century as arising from this condition, where individuals forfeit this new form of freedom by submerging themselves within the group and relinquishing their responsibility to choose how to live and decide what their lives ultimately mean. But doing so eliminates choice altogether and therefore reduces subjectivity to a mere thing that is not aware of itself, and thus not accountable for its actions and projects, as being the one responsible for what takes place in the world. And as the 20th century demonstrates, this is catastrophic. Therefore, no network state that attempts to allow individuals to forfeit their freedom and autonomy is worthy of being called ethical. Such a state is an attempt to avoid moral and ethical choices and does not attempt to cope with them.

The second part of the problem, where freedom is the principal value and is not forfeitable, is that it conceives of choice in purely negative terms. The mistake made is to confuse mere choice with free choice. Similarly to how the prudential account mistook individuals’ ends as being formed ultimately by the individual, this account of the ethical presupposes that choice can be a matter of pursuing first-order desires and does not require whether one has considered if such desires are worth pursuing; one could be moved entirely by instinct and therefore not by the faculties necessary for a real choice. If choice is simply a matter of determining how to maximize one’s satisfaction and is not concerned with the qualitative nature of the desires themselves, then reflection, deliberation, and thinking more generally are simply instruments used to obtain happiness. They are means employed to satisfy desires. But if desires go unchecked; if they’re taken for granted and assumed to be worth the attention we instinctively give them, then a choice was not made. That is, second-order desires are not taken into consideration. Acting purely from first-order desires is to be caused to act by impulse, instinct, or inclination, which determines the action, and not by reflection. It is through reflection and deliberation, through considerations formulated by one’s own will, that one truly chooses. The philosopher Immanuel Kant distinguishes between autonomy and heteronomy. Understanding this will clarify the argument. To act autonomously is to be an originating and self-determining cause of an action. To act heteronomously is to be caused to act, to be moved by influences and forces outside of one’s will. Thus to enact a choice freely one must will the action and not be motivated by what is outside of the will. The philosopher Paul Franco writes in his book Hegel’s Philosophy of Freedom, “Kant rejects the naturalistic understanding of freedom as exemplified by Hobbes that sees it as the unimpeded pursuit of one’s empirically given desires. In giving into natural desire or inclination, the will is determined by something other than itself…” From this, it can be seen how acting from desire does not constitute a free choice. If desires are conditioned by the external environment, then the expression of those desires was not of one’s choosing but is due to the conditioning that took place in the development and upbringing of the individual. Mere choice, then, does not constitute free choice.

But why, it may be asked, is this problematic? Even if the individual’s choice is said not to be fully free, why should the state concern itself with this? It’s up to the individual to discover their own freedom. I don’t necessarily disagree with this. It is not that the state should interfere with and enforce that individuals make free rather than mere choices, but only that it should concern itself with realizing conditions that are conducive to the development necessary for individuals to actualize their faculties for autonomy, which is located in the more qualitative dimension of subjectivity. The aim here is not to precisely articulate how the state should do this, but only that individual autonomy is the end it must strive toward. To hold this as secondary is to treat human activity as being in service to something other than itself; as if human faculties are meant for some other end. This is false. The state’s aim is to play its role in treating human beings as ends-in-themselves and as the reason for its legitimacy to have any authority. To do otherwise is to confuse self-interests with morality.

Conclusion:

The ‘ethical’ network state holds autonomy as its principal end. Its goal is to discover how to best contribute toward formulating conditions conducive to realizing this. What the government must precisely be, what laws are best, what institutions are necessary, must be understood in these terms. To do otherwise is to be confused about what activity one is involved in, which may lead to dehumanizing environments for those who opt-in to states that fail to live up to this standard.

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Table Of Content

• What is a Bitcoin Paper Wallet?

• How Does a Bitcoin Paper Wallet Work?

• Creating a Bitcoin Paper Wallet

• Benefits of Using a Bitcoin Paper Wallet

• Conclusion

• FAQ

Bitcoin has become increasingly popular over the years, and with its popularity comes the need for safe storage options. One of the most secure ways to store your Bitcoin is by using a paper wallet. But what exactly is a Bitcoin paper wallet, and how does it work? In this beginner's guide, we'll explore everything you need to know about Bitcoin paper wallets, including how to create one, and the benefits of using them.

What is a Bitcoin Paper Wallet?

A Bitcoin paper wallet is a form of cold storage for your Bitcoin. It's a physical piece of paper that contains the public and private keys necessary to access your Bitcoin. The public key is used to receive Bitcoin, while the private key is used to send Bitcoin. Since the paper wallet is offline, it's considered one of the most secure ways to store your Bitcoin.

How Does a Bitcoin Paper Wallet Work?

A Bitcoin paper wallet works by generating a pair of public and private keys using a random number generator. The public key is used to receive Bitcoin, and the private key is used to send Bitcoin. These keys are then printed onto a piece of paper, along with a QR code that represents the public key. You can then use the QR code to easily send Bitcoin to your paper wallet.

Creating a Bitcoin Paper Wallet

Creating a Bitcoin paper wallet is a simple process that you can do at home. Here are the steps to follow:

1. Go to a paper wallet generator website, such as Bitaddress.org or Walletgenerator.net.

2. Disconnect your computer from the internet and ensure your printer is not connected to a network.

3. Generate a pair of keys by moving your mouse around the screen or using another form of randomness.

4. Print out the paper wallet, ensuring you print multiple copies and store them in a secure location.

5. Send Bitcoin to your paper wallet by scanning the QR code with your Bitcoin wallet.

Benefits of Using a Bitcoin Paper Wallet

There are several benefits to using a Bitcoin paper wallet, including:

1. Security - Since a paper wallet is not connected to the internet, it's one of the most secure ways to store your Bitcoin.

2. Control - You have complete control over your Bitcoin since you're the only one with access to your private keys.

3. Accessibility - You can easily access your Bitcoin by scanning the QR code on your paper wallet.

4. Backup - You can print multiple copies of your paper wallet and store them in different locations as a backup.

Conclusion

A Bitcoin paper wallet is a secure and accessible way to store your Bitcoin offline. By following the steps outlined in this beginner's guide, you can easily create a paper wallet and start safely storing your Bitcoin. Remember to keep your paper wallet in a secure location and make multiple copies as a backup. With a Bitcoin paper wallet, you can have complete control over your Bitcoin and protect it from potential online threats.

FAQ

Are paper wallets safe? Yes, paper wallets are one of the most secure ways to store your Bitcoin since they're offline and not connected to the internet.

Can I use the same paper wallet multiple times? Yes, you can use the same paper wallet multiple times to receive Bitcoin.

Can I store other cryptocurrencies on a paper wallet? Yes, you can store other cryptocurrencies on a paper wallet as long as the wallet generator supports them.

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@ b39b8e83:0e391257

For widespread privacy, we need a social contract. People must work together to deploy these systems for the common good.

Privacy isn't just personal. It's a collective effort. The more people use privacy tech, the stronger our defenses become.

Adopting privacy tools is a form of solidarity. When you protect your data, you help protect everyone's.

Education is key. Teach others about privacy tools. Help your friends and family set up encrypted messaging.

Support privacy-focused projects, businesses, & developers. Contribute code, donate, or simply use and promote these tools.

Normalize privacy practices. Make using encryption and anonymity tools as common as locking your front door.

Privacy as a social norm benefits everyone. It protects whistleblowers, journalists, activists, and ordinary citizens alike.

The social contract for privacy: I'll respect your right to privacy, and you'll respect mine.

https://image.nostr.build/f235113e856a4adfa13b25dd703f46e17bbeef3f40bbdebacacc5e0fc0063f79.jpg

@ 3c7dc2c5:805642a8

🧠Quote(s) of the week:

“Civilizations die from suicide, not by murder,” according to 20th-century historian Arnold Toynbee.

He claimed every great culture collapses internally due to a divergence in values between the ruling class and the common people…

"Constant inflation is a human rights issue. It basically prevents people from building up liquid capital reliably. It either forces them to monetize illiquid things like real estate or just keeps rug-pulling them year after year and they're never able to build any serious capital and better themselves."
-Lyn Alden.

🧡Bitcoin news🧡

On the 15th of September:

➡️More than a week a week ago rumors circulated that Coinbase is writing Bitcoin IOUs for BlackRock and they are suppressing the price. Now fast forward to today.

➡️Power bills increased by $300 per year for each home in a Norwegian town after the local Bitcoin miner shut down.

The miner paid 20% of the area's grid fees, thus subsidizing other consumers. With the miner gone, people's power bills are skyrocketing.

Aledander Ellefsen: "Politicians fall into the cobra effect trap once again: "The mayor cheered the shutdown of the controversial Bitcoin mining data center, but now residents are facing an unexpected consequence: a hefty bill increase."

Locals will now have to pay an extra $200-$300 per year due to increased costs to grid fees without the big mining customer, and the mayor of this remote municipality comments: "We work continuously to facilitate the industrial activity we want in the municipality. It may not be something we can solve in just one month, but we are dedicated to promoting business development every single day." (This is political jargon, for it will likely never happen.) The "celebration" ended the moment they got their first bill - You can't make this shit up

"Some people do not understand that Bitcoin miners lower the cost of electricity by spreading the grid's fixed costs over a larger rate base." - Pierre Rochard.

A fun fact about the Norway example is that in Norway and will quote Alexander Ellefsen again: "About 97% of our electricity production comes from renewable energy sources, with the majority generated by hydropower. In the northern regions, we have hydropower dams where excess water is released due to low electricity demand outside peak hours. It’s perplexing to see how some politicians continue to overlook Bitcoin mining as a potential solution. By utilizing this surplus renewable energy, we could support the Bitcoin network while ensuring better energy efficiency and reducing waste."

➡️ETHBTC just traded on a 0.03 handle for the first time in 3.5 years (Apr 2021) -53% since the merge in Sep 2022.

Daily reminder that all shitcoins are trending towards zero compared to Bitcoin, including Ethereum. Remember when all the altcoin fanboys were talking about the flippening?

➡️Microstrategy has 244,800 BTC. In 2025 when 1 BTC goes to $1M their holding will be worth $244.8B.

➡️Duo9BTC: "Coinbase CEO just admitted that you got to trust them on their word. They will not provide any proof of reserves for the BTC they claim they have, nor any proof of backing for their new paper BTC called cbBTC. If they print too much paper BTC they will go the FTX route."

Once again...never leave your coins on an exchange. Period!

Rumors are circulating that Coinbase is writing Bitcoin IOUs for BlackRock and they are suppressing price.

Imagine a hacker gains access to Coinbase’s 2 million+ Bitcoin in custody, sends it all to a time-locked address, 100 years into the future, and shares the private keys publicly.

➡️Bitcoin (+43%) and Gold (+25%) are the top-performing major assets in 2024. We've never seen these two in the #1/#2 spots for any calendar year.

On the 16th of September:

➡️President Bukele announces that El Salvador will no longer borrow external debt to finance its budget. Bitcoin country is winning.

➡️MicroStrategy announces plans to raise another $700M and buy more Bitcoin with proceeds.

MicroStrategy increased its capital raising by an extra +$175m. It will now raise $875 million to buy more Bitcoin and potentially raise another $135m within two weeks. Eventually, MicroStrategy sold $1.01 billion worth of convertible notes to buy more Bitcoin.

'Michael Saylor found the infinite money glitch: • Convert cash to Bitcoin • MSTR goes up • Take out more debt • MSTR goes up • Sell personal holdings • MSTR goes up • Issue more stock • MSTR goes up • Join the S&P 500 • MSTR goes up' - TheBTCTherapist

I will quote Dylan Leclair on this one: 'Rather than purchasing physical infrastructure & energy to generate computational hashes, the world's most efficient Bitcoin miner is short-selling dollars & leveraging common stock volatility.'

MicroStrategy now HODLs 252,200 Bitcoin worth +$16 BILLION. Average cost: $39,266 per bitcoin.

On the 17th of September:

➡️Bhutan and El Salvador now combined hold 18,900 BTC worth $1.1 billion. Thanks to its vast hydroelectric energy sources, Bhutan secretly started mining Bitcoin in 2020, now holding up to 13,029 BTC total. Game theory has started playing out and it will force every country to adopt it.

On the 18th September:

➡️BlackRock’s latest report on Bitcoin includes a striking comparison table, highlighting how Bitcoin, the S&P 500, and gold performed after major geopolitical events.

On top of that the world's largest asset manager sees bitcoin as a geopolitical hedge against the US debt crisis and dollar instability.

➡️The State of Louisiana becomes the first in the nation to accept Bitcoin via the Lightning network.

On the 19th of September:

➡️'Everyone who's been daily DCAing Bitcoin is once again in profit. Even those who first started DCAing at an all-time high 190 days ago.' -Wicked

➡️The first nuclear-powered Bitcoin mining facility in Pennsylvania, operated by Terrawulf Inc.

On the 20th of September:

➡️BNY Mellon, America’s biggest custodian bank, has received SEC approval for custody.

Source: https://unchainedcrypto.com/bank-of-new-york-mellon-identified-as-first-bank-to-receive-sec-exemption-from-sab-121/

They are the world’s largest custodian bank with $50T under custody. The game theory this will kick off is something we’re not ready for!

➡️Bitcoin to hit $200,000 no matter who wins 2024 US Election - Standard Chartered, Head of Digital Assets

➡️SEC approves options for BlackRock's spot Bitcoin ETF.

Joe Consorti: "With the introduction of options on bitcoin ETFs, sophisticated investors can now generate yield on BTC. Get ready for a huge influx of liquidity from big players looking to sell covered calls, drawing bigger players into the game, more liquidity, and on and on."

💸Traditional Finance / Macro:

On the 17th of September:

👉🏽"Warren Buffett is hoarding more cash: Last week, Berkshire Hathaway reported that it sold $229 million of Bank of America stock over 3 trading days. Since mid-July, Buffett’s total sales of hit $7.2 billion or 174.7 million shares. As a result, total holdings fell to $33.7 billion or 858 million shares, the lowest level since 2018. Berkshire Hathaway's cash position surged by $88 billion in Q2 2024, reaching a record $277 billion. Warren Buffett continues to build his cash position." -TKL.

🏦Banks:

👉🏽No news

🌎Macro/Geopolitics:

On the 15th of September:

👉🏽The Saudis have joined other Asian countries in ditching their long-term sensitivity to the gold price. Evidence suggests the Saudi central bank has been covertly buying 160 tonnes of gold in Switzerland since early 2022, contributing to the current gold bull market.

On the 1st of September, I already shared the news that global net gold purchases by central banks reached 483 tonnes in the first half of 2024, the most on record. This is 5% higher than the previous record of 460 tonnes set in the first half of 2023. The East (China, India, Russia, Saudi, etc.) no longer trusts owning Western reserve assets. Even in the West, the trust in the bond market is crumbling.

You don't believe my word?

'Blue = Foreign Central Bank holdings of USTs. Red = Total US Federal Debt. Mind the gap (with QE, bank regulations, MMF regulations, pension tax benefits, enticing US retail to buy, etc.)'- Luke Gromen

👉🏽Meloni takes the first steps for Italy to build nuclear power plants.

The Ministry of Environment revealed today that new laws will be introduced later this year and that a decree on the matter will come in 2025 Italy voted no to nuclear power in a referendum in 1987, just a year after Chornobyl. Personally, I think this is a smart move.

👉🏽Jeroen Blokland: 'But, government bonds are a wonderful asset on someone's balance sheet.' Sure, as long as you do not ask who is genuinely willing to hold all that DEBT. The UK government budget is doomed!

👉🏽'The difference between the 2-year Treasury yield and the Fed interest rates dropped to -1.69%, the most in at least 35 years.

This gap is now even larger than in 2008 and 1989, a few months before the recession began. The 2-year Treasury yield is considered a leading indicator for the next Fed’s interest rate moves. In other words, the bond market expects that the Fed will be cutting rates at a rapid pace in the coming months. This has been driven by increasing evidence of the deteriorating labor market and many indicators suggesting this trend will continue.' -TKL.

Regarding the rate cute:

The similarities between 2007 and 2024 are wild!

Fed's First Rate Cut:

Sept 18, 2007

Sept 18, 2024 (high probability)

Unemployment Rate

Sept 2007: 4.7

Sept 2024: 4.2

US Inflation Rate YoY

Sept 2007: 2.5

Sept 2024: 2.5

US Housing Starts:

Sept 2007: 1.238

Sept 2024: 1.235

US Leading Economic Activity

Sept 2007: 100.4

Sept 2024: 100.4

US Existing Home Sales

Sept 2007: 4.5 Million

Sept 2024: 3.95 Million

(This post is not calling for a 2007 crash. I am simply pointing out the intriguing similarities in timing and economic indicators.)

You can find the charts here:

👉🏽Germany's lack of public investment is structural. Germany records one of the lowest net public investment ratios* in the EU over 1995-2023 (i.e. ~zero expansion in net public capital stock). Only Latvia and Slovakia do worse. Net investment: gross investment - minus depreciation

German „green“ policy:

1. 2023 25,6% of German electricity came from coal before the decision to close nuclear 31% came from nuclear
2. Deindustrialization drives production to Asia, where some products cause 30% more CO2 German Greens ruin both the economy and the environment.

German business model was based on: 1. Cheap energy from Russia 2. Cheap subcontractors in Eastern Europe 3. Steadily growing exports to China All three are gone by now. And we are in the good times, imagine what will happen during the next recession. Germany is Europe's engine.

On the 17th September:

👉🏽US debt now stands at $35.3 trillion. If we were to return to 0% interest and make payments of $1 million per hour, it would take approximately 4,023 years, or until the year 6,047, to bring the debt back down to zero.

The US government has added $5 trillion to Federal Debt in the last 2 years. With annual spending of $6.95 trillion and taxes of $4.91 trillion, the US government is currently overspending by $233 million per hour. Yikes.

👉🏽'Total consumer credit jumped by $25.5 billion in July and reached a new all-time high of $5.1 trillion.

This marked the largest jump since November 2022 and the 11th straight monthly increase.

Total consumer debt has DOUBLED in 14 years. Revolving debt, which includes credit cards, jumped by $10.6 billion and also hit a new record of $1.4 trillion. Non-revolving credit rose by $14.8 billion and is just $2 billion below the January peak of $3.73 trillion. Meanwhile, the share of credit card debt delinquencies soared to 9.1%, the highest level in 12 years. The debt mountain is collapsing.' TKL

On the 18th of September:

👉🏽Federal Reserve cuts interest rates by 50 basis points, first cut in over 4 years.

On the 20th of September:

👉🏽Gold new all-time high $2,620 as markets brace for fiat destruction. Gold prices are up a MASSIVE 28% in 2024 to a fresh record high of $2,660/oz. This puts Gold on track for its best annual return since 1979, all while the Fed is calling for a "soft landing."

👉🏽 Two weeks ago I already explained a bit about the Volkswagen & Germany situation. Now we received the news that Volkswagen is planning to lay off as many as 30.000 employees.

On the 21st of September:

👉🏽"Unrealized losses on investment securities for US banks reached $512.9 billion in Q2 2024.

This is 7 TIMES higher than at the peak of the 2008 Financial Crisis. Q2 2024 also marked the 11th consecutive quarter of unrealized losses as interest rates continued to pressure the economy. Bank of America, the second-largest lender in the US, now accounts for $110.8 billion of held-to-maturity securities with unrealized losses or 20% of the total. Meanwhile, the number of banks on the FDIC Problem Bank List increased to 66 in Q1 2024, or 1.5% of the aggregate.

Unrealized losses held by banks remain a major issue." -TKL

🎁If you have made it this far I would like to give you a little gift: Matthew Pines is the Director of Intelligence at SentinelOne and a National Security Fellow at the Bitcoin Policy Institute.

In this episode, they explore UAPs, simulation theory, remote viewing, and human consciousness. They discuss the potential implications of knowing that aliens are real and what this could mean for humanity - exploring the nature of reality and challenging our understanding of existence, as they discuss the intersection of advanced phenomena and human perception.

https://youtu.be/YN2Le9dp_Ww?si=6eydqVLxCZXLba_V

Credit: I have used multiple sources! My savings account: Bitcoin. The tool I recommend for setting up a Bitcoin savings plan: @Relai 🇨🇭 especially suited for beginners or people who want to invest in Bitcoin with an automated investment plan once a week or monthly. (Please only use it till the 31st of October - after that full KYC) Hence a DCA, Dollar cost Average Strategy. Check out my tutorial post (Instagram) & video (YouTube) for more info.⠀⠀⠀⠀

Get your Bitcoin out of exchanges. Save them on a hardware wallet, run your own node...be your own bank. Not your keys, not your coins. It's that simple.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Do you think this post is helpful to you? If so, please share it and support my work with sats.

@ c7eadcf0:7821e562

https://image.nostr.build/c7e3732889827ab0a8e2064de5fa6992e37e035347b0c91d249cb8f312b47087.jpg I love Bitcoin. Let me get that out there first of all. I sincerely believe that Bitcoin has the power to change the way the world functions if we can grow adoption to a global scale. This obviously will take time as the gears of economic change grinds slowly. As of right now, people in the western countries don't really see the need for a sovereign politically neutral money that can't be inflated away. They simply don't have to deal with inflation on a regular basis like the rest of the world.

Citizens in western countries got a small taste of what real inflation looks like and guess what? They didn't like it one bit. Overall the last three and a half years you saw countless news stories about how bad inflation and how its making life for the average American or European more difficult.

Yes inflation does suck but look at countries like Argentina, Turkey, Zimbabwe or Venezuela. The people in these countries are suffering from excessive inflation on a regular basis! According to recent economic data Turkey experienced a decline in inflation from 61 percent to 51 percent in August. This is seen as a win in their book! Can you imagine this level of inflation in America? There would be riots in the streets!

Argentina's inflation rate is an astounding 236 percent over the last 12 months! As Bitcoiners we understand that the problem is the money itself. As long as governments have the ability to manipulate the money supply, they will. This is human nature at its finest. When you give a select few that kind of power it becomes irresistible and becomes a tool to control the masses. This shouldn't be a surprise to anyone to be honest.

What I find shocking is with all of this inflation globally no one is really looking around asking questions to why this is happening and looking for a way to escape this system. Are people really this lazy? Not to be mean but cmon. It seems to me that most people are perfectly fine bitching online about how hard it is to make ends meet or supporting their favored political party and wanting them to fix the problem they created. Newsflash to all the normies out there, its the GD political parties that caused inflation in the first place.

We literally have a solution that is staring them in the face, ready to go to replace the current debt based system that we are currently suffering through and no one wants to take the time to research it? Am I black pilled? No, am I realist, very much so. If 236 percent inflation in Argentina can't get them on a Bitcoin Standard immediately, we as a community have a long road ahead of us. Hyperbitcoinization isn't coming in 5 years. It isn't coming in 10 years. Hell it might not even happen in our lifetimes and we have to be ok with that.

So what is the best way to get more Bitcoin into the hands of the people, so they can see the true value of the digital monetary revolution that is Bitcoin. We need a trojan horse and that trojan horse is nostr.

Enter The Nostr Trojan Horse

https://image.nostr.build/5ffee418133ac80ba14b30abf0d5390b878f676cbf6332d67639f9384764da4c.jpg

It should be plain to see by now that the inflation or the number go up narrative alone isn't going to drive Bitcoin adoption. The reason for that is because people don't see the utility of Bitcoin. They see it as some esoteric digital funny money that drug dealers and terrorist use to do bad things.

The average Joe doesn't see how Bitcoin is helping dissidents on foreign countries fund their activism, escape oppressive regimes or simply earn a living. These stories are never told in the mainstream media because they don't want to highlight the fact that a non-state money can circumvent the status quo.

The best way to highlight these stories is to share it on social media, which again is controlled by mainstream gatekeeper such as Meta, Google and X. It is in their best interest to censor these stories or memory hole them out of existence which I suspect happens quite a bit without us even knowing. But the thing about censorship is that it slowly impacts everyone one by one until no one is allowed to say anything without the fear of being put in jail.

Think this can't happen in western democracies? It's happening already my friend! Take a look at the UK or Australia. Citizens their are being arrested over post made to social media. I sincerely believe that these two countries should be a proving ground for showing the value of nostr and Bitcoin.

Introducing the concept of a censorship resistant messaging protocol to them will go over well and once it is understood will grow like a wildfire because people innately understand that censorship is bad and will see the utility value of having the ability to speak freely again.

It is only a matter of time until they realize that they can monetize their speech and build a life using zaps aka Bitcoin.

Until people see the utility in the tools that lie before them, they will never pick them up and use them. It is really that simple. At the end of the day we are still kind of like cavemen. We only use tools when it makes life easier. Man made the wheel. We use it everyday because it has utility.

Bitcoin in the end will be the same way. Utility first, then mass adoption. Nostr is what will help people see the utility Bitcoin and from there sky is the limit. The best thing we can do as Bitcoiners is to encourage people to learn about nostr and show them how easy it is to use and to switch clients that suit their needs instead of being shoved into a one-size fits all solution on centralized platforms.

People like choices, and nostr is all about choice. The interoperability and thelack of need to give personal information to create an account are HUGE selling points that can be touched on. Go out and spread the good word about nostr!

Bitcoin #Nostr

@ 1b5ee74d:bb1aae6e

The days when a mere announcement from Tesla, stating that it would begin accepting Bitcoin for some of its products, would cause a surge in the cryptocurrency's price seem like a distant memory. That was in 2021.

https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1374617643446063105https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1374617643446063105https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1374617643446063105https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1374617643446063105https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1374617643446063105https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1374617643446063105https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1374617643446063105Today, three years later, the price barely reacts to three pieces of institutional adoption news released within 72 hours.

The first piece of news comes from Switzerland, where SIX, the Swiss Stock Exchange operator, announced that it is seriously considering launching a crypto exchange. Bjørn Sibbern, global head of exchanges at SIX Group, stated, "The company is evaluating the creation of a platform where we can facilitate trading, both in crypto spot and derivatives."

The second news comes from Germany, where two of the country's leading banks, Commerzbank and DZ Bank, have launched Bitcoin trading for their clients. Commerzbank is one of Germany's four largest banks, while DZ Bank is part of the Volksbanken Raiffeisenbanken group, effectively giants of the European banking system. Together, they will open access to Bitcoin trading for approximately 40 million customers.

The third news comes from the United States, where BlackRock published a report describing Bitcoin as a diversification opportunity for traditional investors.

Some might ask: “But wasn’t Bitcoin supposed to be an anti-system technology?”

The Economic Incentive: A Core Part of Game Theory

Bitcoin is far more than just an anti-system asset. It’s a technology that incentivizes not only its most radical supporters but also potential adversaries. It’s now clear how its programmed scarcity creates a mechanism for appreciation, assuming demand stays the same. Each event signaling an increase in adoption represents a step toward an increase in the asset's value. The reason why even financial institutions—seemingly unrelated or even hostile to Bitcoin—are drawn to it lies in this market dynamic.

Banks and major institutions cannot ignore the asset’s appreciation. Bitcoin creates a perfect environment for both speculation and long-term investment. When the price rises, even the most conservative financial actors cannot overlook the economic incentive.

This is where game theory comes into play: Bitcoin is structured in such a way that anyone—even those who deny or criticize its potential—is incentivized to participate to avoid being excluded from future economic benefits. Financial institutions, driven by greed or opportunism, are forced to join in, knowing that staying out could be costly.

The Two Opposing Cycles: Virtuous for Bitcoin, Vicious for the Fiat System This process creates a reinforcing effect for Bitcoin while paradoxically weakening the traditional financial system that embraces it. Every time an institution decides to offer Bitcoin to its clients or include it in its portfolio, it legitimizes the asset in the public's eyes, strengthens its position, and further increases demand. The result is a virtuous cycle for Bitcoin: the more it is adopted, the more it appreciates, and the more financial actors become interested.

Shorting the System

For the fiat system, the process is the opposite. Bitcoin’s increasing demand pushes its value upward, while the traditional debt-based and expansionary monetary system loses strength. In this context, buying Bitcoin with fiat currency becomes an implicit shorting operation. Every transaction that shifts value from fiat to Bitcoin reduces the demand for fiat, increasing its vulnerability to inflation.

The demand dynamic is not complex: every time an investor buys Bitcoin, they commit resources that would otherwise have been destined for purchasing or investing in fiat-denominated assets. This reduces the buying pressure on fiat itself while increasing it on Bitcoin. The more money flows into Bitcoin, the less remains to sustain the value of fiat currencies.

Let’s suppose, for example, that a bank decides to allocate $100 million to Bitcoin. The market responds to this capital shift by increasing Bitcoin’s price due to its scarcity, while the demand for dollars decreases. All else being equal, this decrease in demand reduces the dollar’s purchasing power, thus increasing inflationary pressure.

This dynamic can also be expressed in terms of the relationship between supply and demand. While Bitcoin’s supply is fixed and predetermined, the dollar’s supply can be expanded infinitely through inflationary monetary policies. The dollar, therefore, tends to lose value as trust in it diminishes and its supply increases.

This process is not immediately visible, but its cumulative effect is devastating for the fiat system. Once the cycle begins, it becomes almost impossible to stop, as more institutions realize the dynamic and rush to buy Bitcoin to protect themselves from the erosion of fiat value.

The Trojan Horse

Given all this, we can understand why Alex Gladstein describes Bitcoin as a “Trojan horse for freedom.”

The news from the last three days, though seemingly small and quiet, signals a much larger and deeper phenomenon: the slow but steady transition of the traditional financial system toward Bitcoin. The banks and institutions adopting Bitcoin, often without fully realizing it, are contributing to a systemic shift that could lead to the downfall of the very institutions that fail to adapt to the new reality.

These small adoption moves are now so frequent and widespread that they no longer make a big splash. Yet with every move, with every bank launching a Bitcoin product, or every traditional investor adding it to their portfolio, the grave for the traditional financial system is being slowly dug. The actors who remain outside this process risk finding themselves in an increasingly weaker position, unable to compete with a market that is gradually embracing Bitcoin.

@ 3cd2ea88:bafdaceb

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@ d6affa19:9110b177

i'm in the upstairs office. lost in some project i've been tinkering with. i feel driven with purpose.

the door is cracked open. i always leave the door open.

Her footsteps echo up the stairway. but my focus is intense; a solution just beyond my fingertips.

the door creaks open, a soft whisper of a sound.

i instantly feel Her presence. a sweet vanilla scent wraps around me, thick and intoxicating.

Her fingers brush through my hair, a gentle caress.

She grips my hair, then releases it— over and over again. it feels good.

a soothing warmth envelops me.

Her fingers glide, each stroke igniting my senses. a chill races down my spine.

the monitor becomes a bit distant.

"You're really focused, hmm?" She teases, leaning closer. "I'm just checking in on my sweet boy." Her tone alluring, already drawing me in.

"of course, my Queen." i reply, my eyes glued to the screen, struggling to concentrate. "thank You," my voice hints at annoyance. "i'm so close to finishing this up."

just when i near a breakthrough, She appears, a siren pulling me from my path. how does She know..? the quiet signals that betray my focus— that reveal my yearning.

"Hmmmm," She playfully muses.

ugh, i need to concentrate. but the way this feels...

it pulls me deeper.

Her fingers drift by my ear, lingering around my neck. nails grazing my skin, sending shivers through me.

my heart begins to race. the screen blurs, reality separates.

"Okay, sweet boy." Her voice is a soft command. Her nails dig in, a mixture of pain and pleasure. a sharp contrast to the softness of Her touch. "I'll be downstairs while you finish."

yet She remains. i close my eyes, drowning in the sensation. i should be finishing this project...

but each press feels like a silent command, an urge to abandon my thoughts, to succumb to the pull of Her presence.

the way She easily captures my attention... it makes me feel so vulnerable...

Her grip finally loosens, and slowly leaves my neck. it wants more...

i barely hear Her leave. but the air feels colder. the warmth of Her presence is fading. an aching emptiness fills the space...

the weight of Her absence settles in, another reminder of how easily She commands my thoughts...

desperately, i take in the remnants of Her scent.

i stare at my monitor. focus shattered, thoughts scattered like leaves.

i linger for a moment. fighting the urge to chase after Her.

the pull of Her absence is heavy in the air. i'm unable to resist. i rise from my seat.

the door is slightly open. She always leaves the door open.

i make my way downstairs, lost in the thoughts of serving Her. my true purpose...

@ bcbb3e40:a494e501

|| |:-:| |BLANCO, Carlos X. y COSTALES, Jose; España: Historia de una demolición controlada; Letras Inquietas, 2024|

Ya hemos publicado varias reseñas de algunas obras del Profesor Carlos X. Blanco, cuyas temáticas nos resultan totalmente familiares, y con las que coincidimos en un buen número de sus análisis y críticas del mundo actual. Recordaremos, para aquellos que estén interesados en sus obras las reseñas de De Covadonga a la nación española: La hispanidad en clave spengleriana y Un imperio frente al caos, además de algunas otras que podréis encontrar en nuestro blog. La obra del autor asturiano, en este caso en coautoría con José Costales, resulta muy clarificadora a la hora de analizar aspectos generales de la historia de España, cuestiones que tienen que ver con nuestra historia particular, y aquellos hechos que podemos considerar como más generales y fruto de un contexto y unas coyunturas que han marcado el destino de nuestra Patria en los últimos tiempos. Es por ese motivo, que así de entrada podemos distinguir dos bloques claramente diferenciados en esta obra: Un primer bloque que aborda nuestra historia peculiar, las características que definen el «hecho hispánico» y marcan nuestro devenir histórico; un segundo bloque en el que se señalan las amenazas y peligros que se yerguen frente a la España actual, aparentemente agonizante y desahuciada por la falta de soberanía y una serie de problemas graves y trascendentales que amenazan nuestra existencia.

Hay que destacar que el prólogo que precede a la obra en sí y le sirve como presentación corre a cargo del conocido abogado, jurista e historiador Guillermo Rocafort. En un breve pero certero escrito delinea los grandes problemas que atenazan a un Occidente decadente en plena crisis económica, geopolítica y de valores, embarcado en una deriva suicida que hace aguas y se ha vuelto insostenible. La crisis del capitalismo unipolar y globalista enfrenta el reto de la pujanza de los BRICS, con el resurgimiento de Rusia y el desarrollo y ascenso como superpotencia de China, junto a la formación de grandes bloques geopolíticos que definen la multipolaridad que, recientemente, autores como Aleksandr Duguin vienen teorizando desde la escuela euroasiática. Esta situación hace que la el mundo anglosajón y sus oligarquías plutocráticas comiencen a ver resquebrajada su hegemonía, con su sistema de dinero fiat y sus organizaciones pantalla, tales como la Unión Europea, o el desarrollo de su conocida como ideología woke y todas las perversas y destructivas ingenierías sociales asociadas, así como la acción de la Agenda 2030.

|| |:-:| |DUGUIN, Aleksandr G.; La geopolítica de Rusia: De la revolución rusa a Putin; Hipérbola Janus, 2015|

En el caso particular de España los efectos de los más de 300 años de dominio anglosajón han tenido consecuencias especialmente perniciosas con la desindustrialización, la destrucción del sector primario, las ingenierías sociales asociadas a las ideologías de género, donde España ha servido como particular conejillo de indias, o nuestras permanentes renuncias en materia de política exterior, donde nos hemos visto obligados, por imposiciones venidas del otro lado del Atlántico, a renunciar a nuestra soberanía sobre el Sahara Occidental o a las permanentes y humillantes cesiones a Marruecos.

En el escrito de Introducción, los autores trazan una genealogía de los hechos, de las circunstancias que se hallan detrás de las razones del propio título de la obra, «Historia de una demolición controlada», en la que el papel de la angloesfera ha sido fundamental para la situación de debilidad, sometimiento y negación de nuestra propia historia que vivimos en la actualidad. Somos parte de una Europa sojuzgada que actúa a remolque de las políticas estadounidenses y anglosajonas, a través de la acción de la OTAN, donde no somos más que un agregado servil, actuando en defensa de los intereses geopolíticos del Imperio. Dentro de Europa, la UE define otro tipo de jerarquías internas, en las cuales el eje franco-alemán impone sus intereses a los países con economías menos desarrolladas del sur. Al mismo tiempo, también se advierten las importantes transformaciones que el régimen constitucional de 1978 ha experimentado en las últimas décadas, especialmente a partir de Zapatero, con el mayor sojuzgamiento de España a la Agenda globalista.

Todas estas circunstancias adversas, y también trágicas para nuestro destino, hacen necesario un análisis de la propia historia de España, de su gestación y de los atributos que han cimentado la idea de lo español o hispánico. La historia de España ha estado condicionada por su proximidad a África, lo cual ha tenido una importancia decisiva en su configuración final. Con la invasión musulmana del 711 se produjo un episodio de dislocación dentro de nuestra historia, que a partir de ese momento experimentó una situación de dualidad étnico-religiosa y comenzó un episodio transfigurador y de construcción del ideal hispánico que se había iniciado con el reino visigodo de Toledo, y que la Reconquista contribuyó a potenciar. En este sentido, la configuración étnica que resultó de la invasión árabe hizo que las zonas del Norte, donde se refugiaron los restos de la antigua nobleza visigoda derrotada, predominó el elemento germánico que se erigió como motor inicial del proceso de Reconquista, mientras que en otras latitudes del levante y el sur peninsular se produjo un proceso de africanización y semitización sobre las antiguas poblaciones hispanorromanas. Un norte cristiano, germanizado e indoeuropeo, equiparable al Norte de Europa, representado por la monarquía asturiana frente a un sur africanizado, sumido en un caos étnico y de enfrentamientos civiles era el resultado de la entidad andalusí.

El proceso de romanización afectó de manera desigual a los territorios peninsulares, y los pueblos de las regiones noroccidentales como astures, cántabros o vascones apenas se vieron afectados, conservando un importante sustrato indoeuropeo en contraste con las regiones más mediterráneas, ocupadas por los íberos, que ya poseían un modelo de civilización elevado y en conexión con las civilizaciones clásicas mediterráneas. Estos elementos ya aparecen claramente expuestos en la interpretación spengleriana que uno de nuestros autores, Carlos X Blanco, expone en De Covadonga a la nación española: La hispanidad en clave spengleriana. Es el contraste entre una España atlántica, indoeuropea y germanizada frente a otra vertiente representada por la España mediterránea, levantina y romanizada. En la confluencia de ambos modelos tenemos la definición de las sucesivos siglos en los que se forja la Reconquista, en la que, según los autores, pasamos de una etapa inicial de predominio atlántico y noroccidental, con el Reino de Asturias, y posteriormente León, capitalizando el proceso de la Reconquista, mientras que posteriormente, será Castilla, que obedecerá al modelo mediterráneo, quien llevaría la batuta en el avance hacia el Sur y la hispanización de España, porque la invasión del 711 marca un proceso de deshispanización, una idea fundamental, también en nuestra opinión, que el avance de los reinos cristianos del Norte contribuirán a erosionar y finalmente, para nuestra fortuna, destruir por completo.

Como parte de la geopolítica hispánica y su relanzamiento como Patria común, es fundamental que España vuelva a resucitar el eje atlántico y noroccidental, propiamente asturiano, frente aquel castellano, para que recupere su primacía como eje en la reconstrucción de España y revertir así la agonía y rumbo errático que nos lleva hacia la destrucción total y la desaparición como nación histórica.

No obstante, si queremos refundar España a través de un verdadero proyecto nacional debemos ser realistas, y no dejarnos embelesar por los visiones sobreexcitados que representan el modelo Imperial de los Austrias o posteriores reverberaciones del mismo a través de construcciones ideales, sino que contemplando las actuales coyunturas, con el viraje hacia la multipolaridad que está experimentando el mundo actual, quizás estaríamos llamados, o al menos existe ese gran potencial, a liderar una suerte de hispanosfera con los antiguos países que fueron parte de la América española, frente a la anglosfera, que viene perjudicando nuestra soberanía y sometiéndonos, junto al resto de Europa, como una colonia.

Blanco y Costales nos ofrecen algunas directrices para esta reconstrucción, tales como la descentralización de los centros de poder, frente a todo modelo jacobino y liberal diríamos nosotros, como parte de un modelo confederal, que incluso podría apoyarse en la fundación de centros de poder en el continente americano. Asimismo, este modelo confederal, implicaría dotar de mayor poder y protagonismo a las regiones, tal y como habría postulado uno de los grandes teóricos del tradicionalismo español, Don Juan Vázquez de Mella, frente al actual modelo balcanizador de las 17 taifas dirigidas por las oligarquías partitocráticas y corruptas del Régimen de 1978. En cuanto al modelo político requerido, este no es la monarquía, sino la república, por el descrédito de los Borbones y la trayectoria descendente y de decadencia que han venido marcando en su reinado desde hace más de 300 años. En cualquier caso, lo que este modelo debe aportar es cohesión interna y voluntad de integración en el modelo de mundo unipolar, que se viene gestando y estructurando bajo relaciones de poder, redes económicas, comerciales y de otro tipo, que deben garantizar esa capacidad de interconexión. Y, por supuesto, en coherencia con lo sostenido con anterioridad, nuestros autores proponen que el eje atlántico y noroccidental debe representar el motor y artífice de este nuevo ciclo histórico.

Desde el advenimiento de los Borbones a comienzos del siglo XVIII, el polo mediterráneo y africanizado ha venido tomando un protagonismo creciente, que vemos reflejado el el triunfo posterior, a lo largo del siglo XIX, del liberalismo con la destrucción del Imperio y el sometimiento de España y de su historia a los dominios de la leyenda negra, urdida por la anglosfera, y que tiende a presentarnos como el producto de una hibridación de pueblos afrosemitas y mahometanos, sin identidad, y como una especie de anomalía frente a la europeidad prototípica. Un discurso que, claro está, fue aceptado por el liberalismo español con la consecuente desvalorización y rechazo de los orígenes astur-godos de la monarquía hispánica y del proceso de Reconquista por parte de unas élites corruptas, antiespañolas y endófobas, que se sometieron ideológicamente a Francia y al mundo anglosajón. En un principio, esto sirvió para provocar fragmentar la unidad interna del Imperio Español y enajenar el catolicismo de la Hispanidad, y posteriormente, una vez destruida esa unidad, someter a estos países al capitalismo depredador y esclavizarlos por la vía de la deuda. Paralelamente, y a través de la masonería, también se introdujeron ideas profundamente destructivas entre las élites liberales y traidoras, como son el laicismo, el separatismo y otras ideas disolventes que nos vienen desnaturalizando desde hace siglos.

La acción de este capitalismo destructivo y depravado, es la que nos ha convertido en un instrumento en manos de grandes cenáculos y organizaciones que forman parte de un entramado complejo y anónimo, desde donde se interviene permanentemente en nuestros asuntos imponiendo cambios profundos en las costumbres, tradiciones e identidad, empobreciéndonos y reduciéndonos a la más pura insignificancia.

Otro elemento a destacar, podríamos decir una de las grandes piedras angulares que definen la idiosincrasia de lo Hispánico, viene representado por el Catolicismo, que en el caso peninsular también revistió un carácter peculiar, especialmente en lo que respecta, una vez más, a los contrastes internos entre la zona atlántica-noroccidental y la mediterránea, así como con la propia realidad del reino visigodo, donde la Iglesia resultó ser muy autónoma, vertebrada a través de sus concilios. Con la irrupción de la contemporaneidad, este elemento, el católico, de vital importancia durante la Reconquista y a lo largo de toda nuestra historia, se ha visto disminuido, con la propia acción del liberalismo, y especialmente desde la izquierda, y también desde sus propios centros de poder, desde el mismo Vaticano, a raíz de su famoso Concilio Vaticano II, abdicando en sus principios y doctrina frente al liberalismo y el mundo moderno.

En el primer párrafo hemos hablado de un primer bloque, que de algún modo vendría a hablarnos de nuestra historia, de la autorepresentación que tenemos de la misma, y los elementos basales que componen su estructura. Esta sería la primera parte del libro. Una segunda parte vendría comprendida por el análisis de otros elementos más externos que definen unas coyunturas internacionales muy características, las cuales forman parte, desgraciadamente, de nuestro presente actual.

Entre los principales elementos de análisis se encuentra la acción de la anglosfera y el sometimiento que experimenta España junto al resto de naciones del orbe europeo, especialmente occidental, bajo instituciones transnacionales como la OTAN o la UE, que lastran permanentemente nuestra soberanía y nos convierten en meros cipayos al servicio de los intereses de la anglosfera (Estados Unidos y Reino Unido) en contra de nuestros propios intereses. El ejemplo más significativo lo tenemos en Ucrania, donde la OTAN está librando una guerra contra Rusia en la que viene utilizando al pueblo ucraniano como ariete de sus intereses geopolíticos a costa de la destrucción del país, en un auténtico drama humano con la muerte de miles de jóvenes en el frente de batalla. La historia de la anglosfera viene siendo la misma desde siempre, en el que sus teóricos aliados vienen siendo humillados, con multitud de traiciones, y ataques de falsa bandera, la creación de grupos terroristas, promoción de golpes de Estado, compra y soborno de políticos con aquellos países que no se sometían a los intereses del Imperio anglosajón. La base de tal poder, en la que tal imperio basa su poder el capitalismo financiero y especulador, cuyas raíces se encuentran en el siglo XVII, y que sirve a unas élites globales que se sirve de los mecanismos tales como los procesos inflacionarios para empobrecer y someter a los pueblos, a los que desprecia e instrumentaliza al servicio de Agendas globalistas. Al mismo tiempo acaparan gran parte de la riqueza global, que mantienen oculta en paraísos fiscales y de la que se sirven para sufragar el tráfico de drogas o la financiación de grupos terroristas que protagonizan los atentados de falsa bandera a los que nos hemos referido.

|| |:-:| |MUTTI, Claudio; Democracia y talasocracia: Antología de ensayos geopolíticos; Hipérbola Janus, 2017|

El enorme y desproporcionado proceso de financiarización que padece la economía del Occidente sometido a la anglosfera ha tenido consecuencias funestas sobre el complejo productivo real, redundando en la desindustrialización y la decadencia general bajo las teorías del «decrecimiento». Desde la administración Bush, a comienzos de siglo, hemos asistido a una serie de guerras de agresión en las que se han destruido países como Irak, Libia o Afganistán con el objetivo de controlar los hidrocarburos y las rutas de transporte, una tendencia que se ha venido incrementado especialmente con la administración Biden , y anteriormente con la de Obama, con la creación de organizaciones terroristas como el ISIS y la desestabilización permanente en Oriente Próximo, y el creciente y peligroso papel del complejo militar industrial.

Pero el poder y hegemonía estadounidense están menguando a pasos agigantados con la emergencia de dos grandes potencias, como son Rusia y China, frente a las que la anglosfera ve amenazada su hegemonía económica, con la colonización comercial china y el resurgir del potencial ruso, frente al cual, como decíamos, libran una guerra con intermediarios a través de Ucrania. Al mismo tiempo, tenemos a los BRICS, liderados por Rusia y China, con países emergentes como Irán, la India o Brasil con el papel de potencias regionales. La guerra de Ucrania solamente ha conseguido revigorizar a Rusia, alejarla de Europa y reforzar su alianza con China, mientras que los grandes perjudicados son Ucrania, que quedará en manos de grandes fondos de inversión como Blackrock ante una pretendida reconstrucción del país y las multinacionales que participarán en su reconstrucción, quedando en manos del globalismo. Europa es la otra gran perdedora, empobrecida y sumisa ante los designios del Imperio yanqui, al que rinde pleitesía a través de sus gobernantes, que no son más que títeres. Ante la inevitable pérdida de soberanía en el mundo, la anglosfera también pretende llevar la guerra a Asia contra China, viendo la derrota que está sufriendo en todos los frentes.

En el contexto de los intereses hispánicos, la anglosfera siempre ha representado una amenaza y un elemento especialmente dañino, responsable de la disolución del Imperio español con la introducción de las ideas liberales y masónicas entre las élites locales hispanoamericanas, practicando formas aberrantes de neocolonialismo sobre estos territorios una vez independizados, y siendo considerados como el patio trasero de Estados Unidos, quien ha practicado una política especialmente perniciosa y de desestabilización en todos estos territorios en vistas a coartar cualquier forma de desarrollo positivo.

Otro de los grandes problemas que se abordan en el libro es la amenaza que representa el enemigo del sur, Marruecos, para la integridad territorial española, sobre Ceuta, Melilla y las Islas Canarias, con el apoyo incondicional de países como Estados Unidos, Francia o Israel, tras las primeras y humillantes concesiones que ya se produjeron en 1975 con Juan Carlos I con el Sahara Occidental, y las posteriores, bajo mandato de Sánchez. Al mismo tiempo Estados Unidos e Israel especialmente, participan activamente en el rearme y fortalecimiento del reino moro, que ha desarrollado una política expansionista y agresiva contra los países vecinos. Para ello también se sirve de los lobbies marroquíes que actúan en el propio seno de la UE y dentro de España, que se sirven de las políticas cobardes y traidoras de sus políticos adheridos al Régimen del 78. Las consecuencias no se han dejado de notar en la destrucción y progresivo debilitamiento de nuestro sector primario en detrimento de los productos del país norteafricano, que entran sin ningún tipo de control en nuestro territorio, sin cumplir los requisitos mínimos a nivel fitosanitario. La ineptitud, servilismo y cobardía del actual Régimen hacia poderes globalistas y transnacionales, hacia la anglosfera, nos condenan a seguir un guión sin ninguna autonomía ni poder de decisión.

Otro de los ámbitos importantes que contempla el libro, lo encontramos en la ya mencionada Unión Europea, que no deja de ser otro instrumento de dominación y supeditación a los intereses de la anglosfera, y donde se reúnen los representantes de los grandes poderes fácticos a través de plutócratas, banqueros y poderes económicos y financieros transnacionales. Esta institución ha ido sustrayendo progresivamente el poder de las naciones que la integran con una comisión europea con atribuciones y poderes omnímodos para dictar normas y con una presidenta, Ursula Von der Leyen, metida en multitud de casos de corrupción, entre los que destacan aquellos vinculados a la Plandemia de 2020 y las falsas vacunas. Todo ello sin contar los protocolos criminales que se impusieron durante ese periodo, la represión policial y el cercenamiento de derechos y libertades con la presión absolutamente criminal sobre los que decidieron no «vacunarse» con el producto experimental del que nadie se hacía responsable y sobre el cual reinaba toda opacidad informativa. Desde esas fechas hasta el presente los fondos de inversión globalistas, como Blackrock o Vanguard entre otros, se sirvieron de la crisis generada para enriquecerse y acaparar la compra de todo lo comprable como instrumento de las élites plutocráticas mundiales y sus ansias de dominio global.

|| |:-:| |NAD, Boris; Después del virus: El renacimiento de un mundo multipolar; Hipérbola Janus, 2022|

La Unión Europea no ha dejado de ser, como ya hemos dicho, parte de las organizaciones que la anglosfera, y particularmente el gobierno yanqui, ha utilizado para dominarnos y debilitarnos desde 1945, y en nuestros días también a través de la Agenda 2030, a partir de la cual pretenden reducir Europa a la nada, desindustrializando y destruyendo el sector primario, algo especialmente dramático en el caso español. La UE también nos habla de la implantación de la divisa digital con todos los peligros que esta entraña como, por ejemplo, la posibilidad de que se programe su uso y sirva como herramienta de control social para monitorear y controlar nuestras gestiones, la caducidad del dinero o limitar la compra de productos en función de la llamada «huella de carbono». A ello debemos añadir el proceso inflacionario que venimos sufriendo desde el 2020 en una farsa deliberadamente provocada por los bancos centrales (la Reserva Federal y el BCE) con la impresión masiva de dinero.

En el plano social la UE no ha dejado de implementar el modelo del caos multicultural que viene ocasionando estragos en buena parte de la Europa occidental a través del uso de recursos maquiavélicos y diferentes ingenierías sociales que se apoyan en los mass media. Esto ha generado una distopía social con la introducción de ideas aberrantes como las asociadas a las ideologías de género, con la castración y hormonación de niños o el odio radical y enfermizo hacia los hombres blancos heterosexuales, convertidos en potenciales violadores con la ideología feminista institucionalizada. Y todo esto con el contraste que supone la llegada masiva de «inmigrantes» de países de África, por ejemplo, donde predominan sociedades patriarcales, en muchos casos musulmanas, cuyas tradiciones y visión de la vida chocan con las ingenierías sociales de la élite globalista.

Carlos Blanco y José Costales plantean una refundación de la Unión Europea bajo otros parámetros más democráticos y bajo unos organismos reguladores que puedan controlar los lobbies, las multinacionales y a los plutócratas y frente a los abusos de poder del eje franco-alemán. Una Europa de los pueblos, de naciones soberanas al servicio del interés ciudadano frente a las oligarquías y el gobierno mundial.

Otro de los capítulos está dedicado al papel de las oligarquías y las élites, donde reaparecen algunos de los temas ya tratados, y en los que se viene a destacar la acción perniciosa y destructiva de estos poderes anónimos que actúan a través de organizaciones pantalla y agendas planificadas perpetradas desde el llamado Occidente, bajo las premisas de una ideología misántropa y deshumanizada que es asumida por los gobiernos traidores de las naciones de la Europa occidental. Todas estas políticas se presentan bajo aspectos devastadores en el sector alimentario, con la ya referida demolición del sector primario con catastróficas consecuencias en un futuro próximo, o la fabricación de guerras, conflictos sociales y polarización de la población, junto a falsas banderas y grupos terroristas creados y financiados desde el propio Occidente. En este sentido tenemos multitud de ejemplos de desestabilización en torno a la red Gladio durante los años 70 (los famosos años del plomo en Italia) o con el tráfico de drogas, que ha servido para generar conflictividad social en Ecuador en los últimos tiempos tras quedar cortadas las redes del comercio de heroína procedente de Afganistán.

En los últimos capítulos del libro también se aborda el separatismo y la balcanización de España, un fenómeno propiamente moderno y que aparece indefectiblemente ligado al advenimiento de los liberales a lo largo del siglo XIX. A raíz de una serie de conflictos de origen dinástico, se generó una antítesis irreconciliable entre dos sistemas de gobierno, el propiamente moderno representado por el liberalismo y encarnado en la futura reina Isabel II y el tradicionalismo representado por los carlistas y encarnado, inicialmente, por Carlos María Isidro (Carlos V). Se libraron tres guerras devastadoras entre liberales y carlistas a lo largo del siglo XIX, en las que se dirimieron dos modelos, uno centralista (liberal) frente a otro descentralizado (carlista) con el respeto a las instituciones locales y regionales, a los Fueros. cuyas prerrogativas y vigencia se fueron perdiendo a lo largo del siglo. El siglo XIX tuvo unas consecuencias desastrosas para España, con la liquidación del Imperio y su debilitamiento en todos los ámbitos. Es a finales de susodicha centuria cuando nacen los movimientos separatistas, especialmente en Vascongadas y Cataluña, que irá cristalizando y gestándose a través de un discurso identitario cada vez más radical y antiespañol. La decadencia política e institucional que representa el actual Régimen Constitucional del 78, ha convertido a las formaciones políticas separatistas en los árbitros del sistema, ejerciendo de bisagras en la formación de los gobiernos centrales, con episodios vergonzantes y humillantes como los asociados a la Ley de Amnistía del PSOE en los últimos tiempos. Al mismo tiempo, el separatismo ha asumido los mismos mantras ideológicos a través de sus oligarquías regionales, que el resto de los integrantes del régimen partitocrático en relación a las políticas globalistas impulsadas desde la UE o la siniestra Agenda 2030, a la que son plenamente funcionales. En este sentido el mundo anglosajón, interesado en contribuir a la destrucción interna y fragmentación territorial de España, a través de complejas redes de financiación, como las desplegadas por Soros y su Open Society o las desplegadas, a través de organizaciones pantalla, por los servicios secretos ingleses y estadounidenses. Estos poderes ya tienen experiencia en esta materia, como demuestran los resultados de la Guerra de Yugoslavia durante los años 90, de la que resultó la fragmentación de su territorio en pequeñas repúblicas.

----

Artículo original: Hipérbola Janus, Reseña: «España: Historia de una demolición controlada», de José Costales y Carlos X Blanco (TOR), 24/Sep/2024

@ 1d5357bf:1bdf0a52

If Bitcoin Is in Its Infancy, Nostr Is Still in Its Nursing Stage Skepticism is healthy, especially within the Bitcoin community. At the moment, Nostr users are predominantly Bitcoiners, and it's understandable that people are cautious about adopting new technologies. However, based on my limited experience over the last few months, Nostr has shown immense potential and is evolving at a breakneck pace.

The Speed of Development: A Double-Edged Sword The rate at which new functionality is being rolled out on Nostr is staggering. On the one hand, this rapid development brings constant innovation and new tools for users to explore. On the other hand, it often means that many implementations still need refinement, or at the very least, better documentation. It's exciting, but there are still bumps in the road that need to be ironed out. Censorship Resistance and Relay-Based Architecture One of Nostr’s most appealing features is its decentralized architecture, which revolves around relays. This design ensures that the protocol is censorship-resistant. If you’re tech-savvy enough, you can even run your own relay, allowing you to retain full control of your notes. This distributed system empowers users by giving them the tools to protect their content and stay independent of centralized entities.

A Protocol, Not a Platform Nostr is not a platform—it's a protocol. This distinction is crucial because it enables a high degree of interoperability, which can pave the way for a diverse ecosystem of applications. This opens up a world of possibilities and allows for network effects to take hold as more people and applications begin to interact with the protocol.

Privacy and Control Another advantage is the ability to manage your privacy more effectively. With Nostr, you can use multiple nsec/npub keys, giving you more control over your identity and interactions. This flexibility is a game-changer in a world where privacy is often compromised by centralized platforms.

Areas for Improvement Of course, Nostr is not without its challenges. Many of the available applications feel unpolished, and spam is a growing issue (the infamous "reply guy" problem). The ephemeral nature of the content also presents a challenge—once you post something, you can't "put the toothpaste back in the tube," sort to speak.

Enjoying the Ride Despite its growing pains, I’ve found Nostr to be an enjoyable experience so far. There are no algorithms dictating what you see, which results in a signal-rich environment with minimal toxicity—for now, at least. It’s refreshing to engage in conversations that aren’t manipulated by unseen forces, and I look forward to seeing where Nostr goes from here.

@ 5d4b6c8d:8a1c1ee3

This idea had been kind of percolating in the back of my mind for a bit, but on my walk today it crystalized: there ought to be a podcast affiliated with this territory.

GrayRuby, you/we/I should launch something to talk about not just what's happening in sports, but what stackers are talking about wrt sports. I'm not aware of a bitcoiner podcast that touches sports at all.

I'm imagining it would start as a short weekly experiment, covering our game reactions, ~Stacker_Sports contests and posts, bitcoin bets, personal sports stories, and our kids' sports adventures.

This seems like something that could really elevate ~Stacker_Sports and I'm sure we have enough content to keep it going and have it be distinct from other podcasts.

Btw, I'm doing this in public both to bring public pressure on you and to gauge demand.

originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/698947

@ 306068fe:d542563e

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@ 6bae33c8:607272e8

So it really happened. The Bengals lost outright, meaning for the third straight week, the league’s biggest favorite lost. The Circa Survivor pool is down to 550 entries out of 14,000 in Week 4. Unfathomable insanity. And of course, I went 2-3 on the week in Circa Millions, and at 5-10, am getting very close to drawing-dead territory.

I’m not as annoyed as I might be because Survivor this year is just funny, so that softens the blow of being out Week 1, I would have taken Cincy this week for sure had I pivoted off them and losing with the Bengals in the Millions contest is offset by the payoff of getting to marvel at it.

I am annoyed at the other game. They posted the score during the Cincy game on my screen, so it was spoiled on the 40-minute version, and once I saw what the score was, I had no interest in wasting time on it. (I did briefly flip to it for a couple drives when I realized it was the earlier game, but then realized eventually it would spoil the game I cared more about, so I switched back.) And in any event (and this is a bug on Gamepass), they flashed the final of the Bengals-Team before the game started from the beginning. I squinted, but caught a 38, and it became apparent in the third quarter which team was getting to 38 and which wasn’t given the kinds of scores they would need.

At least Ja’Marr Chase (three leagues) absolutely crushed.

• Chase had a huge game, but only seven targets. Why is it teams like the Rams (with Cooper Kupp) or even the Giants (with Malik Nabers) can motion guys and get them double-digit targets and often catches every game, while the Bengals are content to let teams double Chase and take him out of the game for long stretches? I mean this game flow should have seen Chase get 14 targets, not that I’m complaining about the production, but get your best player the ball!

• Chase Brown and Zack Moss both looked good, but easier to run from behind when the defense is conceding it.

• Joe Burrow was pretty accurate — some perfect deep throws to Chase, a couple balls behind receivers over the middle — and had decent feel in the pocket. But the offensive line wasn’t great, and he’s no longer a threat to scramble.

• Andrei Iosivas had his best game by far. Tee Higgins looked a little rusty.

• The Bengals defense is super soft. It’s the reason they lost to the Patriots in Week 1, they just can’t bring runners down.

• Jayden Daniels played great. He didn’t average much per carry, but he’s tough to tackle, has great instincts as to when to take off and has a nose for the first down. He played like the good version of Jalen Hurts, only with more tackle breaking ability.

• Two guys I crossed off my draft list this year because they were older, washed up running backs were Alvin Kamara and Austin Ekeler. Ekeler looked great on a kick return, his 24-yard TD and two catches before leaving with a concussion.

• I do have a couple shares of Brian Robinson who struggled, but I like him. He picks up the blitz well, gets a ton of goal line work, runs hard and can even catch a few passes. Ekeler looking spry though isn’t great for him.

• Terry McLaurin finally got going, and it took a full half. Daniels looks more comfortable now, so it makes sense.

• I’ve said this before but the Jets played 11-D chess winning that last game in 2020, getting the No. 2 pick in the 2021 draft class instead of the No. 1 for no reason and lettng the Jaguars draft Trevor Lawrence. Now the Jets have Aaron Rodgers, but the Jaguars still have Lawrence! As I said I didn’t watch that game, but how much time does he need finally to get going?

• I wanted to draft Travis Etienne too for the skills and role, but there’s been something wrong with that offense for the last couple years, so he hasn’t been quite able to deliver. He’s like a poor man’s Saquon Barkley — have to get him to a team where he can thrive.

• I watched the Bills first two drives, both TDs, and Josh Allen makes it look so easy. It’s a foregone conclusion he’s converting the third or the fourth down.

• Dalton Kincaid finally did something, but the game flow was such you couldn’t expect much for any Bills pass catcher.

@ 4735cdca:0c0ecb64

Em viagem recente a Praga, a capital da República Tcheca, fiquei fascinado pelo Relógio Astronômico, ou Orloj como dizem os tchecos. O fascínio veio não apenas pela idade do instrumento — instalado em 1410 — mas pela variedade de informações que ele é capaz de apontar.

Além das horas, ao consultar o Orloj também podemos obter mais algumas informações interessantes: o momento do amanhecer e do anoitecer; a fase da Lua e em qual posição está o Sol em relação às constelações do zodíaco.

Para a leitura do relógio, é essencial entender quais são suas partes móveis.

O ponteiro dourado

O ponteiro dourado tem uma mão dourada na extremidade e uma haste fixa sobre ele por onde um pequeno sol desliza. O movimento do ponteiro é sempre no sentido horário.

A mão dourada foi idealizada para apontar dois horários: o Germânico e o Boêmio.

O horário Germânico é o mais próximo do qual estamos acostumados. Representa as 24 horas do dia por meio de dois grupos de algarismos romanos de I a XII no mostrador do relógio. A primeira hora do dia fica na parte inferior do relógio.

Atualmente o Orloj está regulado para representar o Horário da Europa Central (em inglês: Central European Time — CET) no mostrador do horário Germânico. O CET só equivale ao horário local de Praga durante o inverno, quando o horário de verão não está em vigor na República Tcheca. Na imagem, podemos ver que a mão dourada está sobre o número IV. São cerca de 4 horas da tarde (16h00).

Lemos o antigo horário Boêmio com os chamados numerais de Schwabacher. São 24 numerais dispostos no anel preto mais externo, que representam quantas horas se passaram após o pôr do Sol. O anel gira com a passagem do ano para se adequar à hora em que o Sol se põe. Quando a mão dourada atinge a número 24, chega a hora do pôr do Sol. Por isso, conforme o verão se aproxima (o anoitecer começa mais tarde no verão, quando os dias são mais longos que as noites), o anel move no sentido horário. Conforme o verão se afasta, o anel move no sentido anti-horário. Na imagem, são aproximadamente 21 horas passadas após o pôr do Sol — ou 3 horas para o fim do dia.

O pequeno sol fornece um terceiro tipo de horário: o horário Babilônico. Ele é medido em 12 “horas” desiguais do dia — apenas entre o nascer e o pôr do Sol — e representado pelos numerais indo arábicos em preto, de 1 a 12. Cada numeral pertence a uma linha curva. Quando o pequeno sol passa sobre uma dessas linhas curvas, marca aquela “hora”. Na imagem, o Sol nasceu há cerca de 10 “horas”. O pequeno sol desliza sobre o ponteiro para acompanhar a variação da duração de tempo entre o nascer e o pôr do Sol. Assim, temos “horas” curtas no inverno e “horas” longas no verão.

O ponteiro da Lua

O ponteiro da Lua possui uma esfera que gira conforme o ponteiro anda. Ela é metade preta e metade prateada, simbolizando a fase em que a Lua está no céu. A pequena lua também desliza em uma haste, fixa sobre este ponteiro.

O anel zodiacal

O anel zodiacal indica o movimento do Sol e da Lua na eclíptica, região definida pelo aparente movimento do Sol no céu durante o ano.

Se observarmos o céu antes do nascer do Sol, enquanto olhamos para o Leste, podemos estimar qual constelação estará atrás do astro durante o dia. Ao repetirmos esse procedimento periodicamente, notaremos que a posição do Sol em relação às constelações varia, percorrendo as 12 constelações do zodíaco durante o ano.

https://video.nostr.build/3fd459e963b279a4192da4813aea15c0f6911850b66ae0574c1f0e4180346861.mp4

No anel zodiacal, os 12 símbolos representam as casas do zodíaco e podemos ver sobre eles quais as posições da Lua e do Sol. Repare que o pequeno sol e a pequena lua estão conectados ao centro geométrico do anel zodiacal por barras, que os mantêm na borda do anel (no caminho da eclíptica) no decorrer do ano. O pequeno sol fica sobre determinada casa do zodíaco de acordo com o calendário dos signos.

♈️ Áries (21/03 — 20/04) ♉️ Touro (21/04 — 20/05) ♊️ Gêmeos (21/05 — 20/06) ♋️ Câncer (21/06 — 22/07) ♌️ Leão (23/07 — 23/08) ♍️ Virgem (24/08 — 23/09) ♎️ Libra (24/09 — 23/10) ♏️ Escorpião (24/10 — 22/11) ♐️ Sagitário (23/11 — 21/12) ♑️ Capricórnio (22/12 — 20/01) ♒️ Aquário (21/01 — 19/02) ♓️ Peixes (20/02 — 20/03)

Este anel completa uma volta em torno do centro do relógio em um dia sideral. O dia sideral é baseado no aparente movimento das estrelas causado pela rotação da Terra. Sua duração é cerca de 4 minutos menor que o dia comum (dia solar). Por isso, o anel zodiacal anda ligeiramente mais rápido que o ponteiro com o pequeno sol.

O ponteiro menor com uma estrela na ponta conta o tempo sideral. Ele está fixo no anel zodiacal e foi posicionado entre os signos de Peixes e Áries para simbolizar o ponto vernal. A leitura das horas siderais é feita no mostrador com algarismos romanos. Na imagem, o relógio marca por volta de 2h30 no tempo sideral.

O ponto vernal é determinado pela posição do Sol durante seu movimento aparente na eclíptica, quando encontra o equador celeste (plano imaginário definido pelo equador da Terra). Nesse momento ocorre o equinócio de primavera no hemisfério norte — quando o dia tem a mesma duração que a noite (ver imagem abaixo).

https://image.nostr.build/474de14f26a1c49c339c0c1e820a64101d0bd97a77942a8a0f8566e2191133cc.png É preciso enfatizar que o Sol não se move ao redor da Terra. A imagem acima é apenas uma representação do movimento aparente do Sol para um observador aqui no nosso planeta.

Agora que sabemos quais são as partes móveis, vamos entender a parte fixa do Orloj.

A placa fixa

Já sabemos a utilidade dos numerais da placa fixa, mas resta saber o significado de suas cores e das quatro palavras nela escritas.

Quando o pequeno sol está sobre o segmento azul, significa que é dia. Quando está sobre o segmento laranja, é hora do amanhecer (AVRORA — aurora) no horizonte leste (ORTVS) ou do anoitecer (CREPVSCVLVM —  crepúsculo) no horizonte oeste (OCCASVS). E quando ele entra no segmento preto, significa que é chegada a noite.

O círculo dourado mais externo, onde estão os algarismos romanos, representa o Trópico de Câncer. O círculo dourado de menor diâmetro, que contém a Terra, representa o Trópico de Capricórnio. O círculo entre esses dois representa o Equador.

Durante o verão, o pequeno sol fica mais próximo do Trópico de Câncer (quando o Sol está mais alto no céu) e durante o inverno ele fica mais próximo do Trópico de Capricórnio (quando o Sol está mais baixo no céu).

E muito mais

Mais que um ponto turístico, o Orloj é um monumento à observação dos céus. É uma máquina do tempo que nos transporta para uma época em que ainda se acreditava que a Terra estava no centro do universo. E acima de tudo, é muito mais que um relógio.

Curiosidades

• O Orloj foi criado por Mikuláš de Kadaň com base nos cálculos de Jan Šindel
• A Torre do Relógio tem outras atrações, como as esculturas que se movem (dentre elas os doze apóstolos) a cada vez que o relógio completa uma hora e um calendário que indica o dia atual
• O Orloj não é o único relógio astronômico, mas é o mais antigo em funcionamento
• A torre onde está instalado o relógio tem 69,5 metros de altura
• O ponto vernal não é mais observado na constelação de Áries, mas sim na constelação de Peixes, devido a um fenômeno chamado precessão dos equinócios
• No final da Segunda Guerra Mundial, os nazistas danificaram o Orloj, mas ele foi reparado e voltou a funcionar alguns anos depois

E você, já tinha ouvido falar do Orloj? Se já foi a Praga, conseguiu desvendá-lo? Deixe o seu comentário!

Referências:

Imagem 1: Wikipedia Imagem 2: Adaptada de Wikipedia

PRAŽSKÝ ORLOJ — The astronomical dial PRAŽSKÝ ORLOJ — Simulator of the astronomical dial of the clock Prague — five kinds of time on one clock Prague City Tourism — Astronomical Clock — How to Read Time Orloj Computer Animation — Prague a la Carte (este link não está mais disponível) http://www.praguealacarte.com/orloj/orlojLoader.html

@ 4735cdca:0c0ecb64

Teoria e hipótese são termos de conceitos bem diferentes, mas geralmente confundidos como palavras de mesmo significado.

Você já ouviu uma das seguintes frases?

“Não acredito nessa sua teoria.”

“Essa sua hipótese é falha.”

“Interessante essa sua teoria.”

Todas elas tratam hipótese e teoria como uma opinião ou ponto de vista em relação a algo.

No entanto, meras opiniões não representam a verdade para a ciência. Para encontrarmos explicações fundamentadas sobre o funcionamento da natureza, precisamos seguir uma série de etapas que constituem o chamado método científico. E são justamente os conceitos de teoria e hipótese que fazem parte desse método.

Mas antes de vermos a diferença entre teoria e hipótese, precisamos definir o que é uma lei para a ciência.

O que é uma lei?

Uma lei é a generalização de um conjunto de observações, não tendo sido encontrada nenhuma exceção a tais observações.

Considere as leis do movimento de Newton: a terceira delas, conhecida como Lei da Ação e Reação, diz que para uma força aplicada por um corpo A sobre um corpo B, é aplicada pelo corpo B sobre o corpo A uma força de mesma intensidade, mesma direção e em sentido oposto.

Isso explica o que ocorre (a interação entre corpos que aplicam forças entre si), mas não descreve como/por que acontece uma força de reação para toda força de ação.

Qual a diferença entre teoria e hipótese?

As hipóteses são conjecturas, especulações, previsões sobre determinado fenômeno da natureza e como ele se comporta. Hipóteses devem ser testadas, o que normalmente é realizado por meio de experiências.

As teorias são explicações bem fundamentadas para descrever eventos que ocorrem na natureza. Envolvem hipóteses já testadas exaustivamente, fatos e leis.

Uma teoria pode soar como uma explicação definitiva, mas pode vir a ser derrubada com o passar dos anos.

Acompanhe este exemplo.

Aristóteles (384 a.C. – 322 a.C.) defendia a teoria da geração espontânea, baseando seus estudos em ideias já aceitas como verdade por outros pensadores.

A geração espontânea, também conhecida como abiogênese (não confundir com a abiogênese que se refere às hipóteses de origem da vida na Terra), consistia em explicar o surgimento de seres vivos a partir de matéria inanimada. Seria como se larvas fossem geradas a partir da carcaça de um animal morto ou ratos surgissem de uma toalha úmida deixada com restos de alimentos em um quarto escuro.

Hoje, isso não faz sentido para nós porque sabemos que os seres surgem a partir de outros seres. No entanto, por muito tempo essa foi a teoria dominante.

Muito tempo mesmo! Vários séculos depois de Aristóteles, cientistas que desconfiavam da teoria da geração espontânea, como Louis Pasteur, formularam a hipótese de que os seres vivos se formam a partir de outros seres vivos (biogênese). Por meio de experimentos, ficou provado que os seres vivos não surgem aleatoriamente e precisam se reproduzir para dar origem a outros seres vivos.

Com os trabalhos e descobertas de diversos cientistas, a hipótese da biogênese foi elevada a teoria, pois foi demonstrada como correta e derrubou a teoria da geração espontânea.

E então, ficou clara a diferença entre teoria e hipótese? Qualquer dúvida, é só deixar o seu comentário abaixo.

Se você gostou do artigo, não se esqueça de curtir e compartilhar com os seus amigos.

Referências: Canal OUSbiology no Youtube, About.com e TopTenz.net

@ bf95e1a4:ebdcc848

This is the full AI-generated transcript of Bitcoin Infinity Show #127 featuring George Manolov!

If you'd like to support us, check out https://bitcoininfinitystore.com/ for our books, merch, and more!

Welcoming George Manolov

Luke: George, welcome to the Bitcoin Infinity Show, thank you for joining us.

George: Thank you, Knut.

Knut: Good to have you here, George.

George: to be here, yeah.

you're here to tell us about the city that I was most surprised by ever. Like, I've never heard of the city before I went to Bulgaria, Yeah, time flies.

Knut: So Plovdiv, Bulgaria, which was amazing, this rich, Thousands of years of history plays with a lot of different eras and different styles of architecture and stuff, really enjoyed Plovdiv, and you have a football team there.

George: yeah, indeed.

George Manolov and Botev Plovdiv

George: Please give us the story about George and Plovdiv Yeah, sure.

Knut: Plovdiv.

George: Sure, sure. So, Plovdiv is, well, I would say it's the oldest living city in Europe, so continuously inhabited. Like you say, not many people know it. I guess, like, we don't have good enough marketing, but, that's probably part of my job right now, right? To spread the word about it. so it's, like the second largest city in the country.

And, yeah, it's just this, it's very, like, I love how you put it because almost nobody has really heard of Plovdiv, right? Most people, when they hear of Bulgaria, they've probably heard of Sofia but Sofia is, okay, but Plovdiv is kind of the chill place, Plovdiv is the place that is actually worth visiting, the place where, people just enjoy going there.

I was born there, right? and, grew up there till 18 or so, then, Studied, lived in Sofia most of the time. And, last year, in kind of summer, I was already kind of way deeper into Bitcoin. I decided I'm going to go full time into Bitcoin, just commit all my time in Bitcoin at the time, educating, publishing books in Bulgarian about Bitcoin, creating my own educational platform.

And then I got, reached out and connected really to the owner of the football club in the city, which is also the oldest football club in the country, Botev Plovdiv, who was, well, he got introduced into Bitcoin himself and he realized it's going to be a very big, project. You know, going to play a central role in where the world is going.

Knut: What is this the owner of the club?

George: That's right. The owner of the club. was like, Hey, I think we can do something unique with Bitcoin because, you know, the club is really a company, right? It's a business on the one hand, but it's a special type of business, it's not where just you produce a certain product or service.

It's really a living organism where people are involved into it, for very emotional reasons. people feel like it's their own and it's not like a small group of people. It's a very large group of people. In our case, we have tens of thousands, arguably more than a hundred, 200, 000 people who care, who watch, who follow the club.

And so on the one hand, like there's many different ways in which we can look into this, but on the one hand. It's for me, what really inspired me and what got me like, Oh my God, like, is this really happening is that we can bring the conversation about Bitcoin from a completely different angle into society to a group of people who for the most part would never really They would like this, they would never listen to podcasts like this, they would never get to any of the kind of places and things we listen to, watch, consume, right?

and people go, You know, people go kind of for bread and circus, right,

Knut: yeah, yeah.

George: for the games. That's what really football is, right? It's fun and it's emotion, it's enjoyment, but then we push them censorship resistance and hard money, right?

And we don't really push it, you know, that's the thing, right? Because are like consistently, progressively, gradually over time, introducing it and finding the best way and the most appropriate way to, yeah, plant that seed. To the minds of the people, into the views of the people and so on and so forth.

so it's really like, you know, what we're trying to build is, we feel we're in a very privileged position, right? because we've been, the first really professional sports club globally, I would say, to have, uh, crypto Bitcoin, you know, people, departments, who is actually full time employed to, you know, think of a way to grow the business, to think of a way to integrate Bitcoin natively, within the various aspects of, of, of the organization, which obviously initially includes like accepting payments and so on and so forth.

But, um, but there's so much more you can do exactly with this type of, Like organization, again, like not, not, not just a business in a traditional sense.

Knut: Yeah. And, uh, won the league, right? Is that, is that right?

George: Yeah, man, like it's, uh, yeah, so we, um, when I started last year, things were super bad. Like exactly one year ago, I was there for the, for one of the first games. It was horrible. Like, I was like, okay, this is a great idea, but if the team is doing so bad and if, uh, if they keep losing and if the fans keep getting, you know, being unhappy, Um, it's not gonna go anywhere, but still, I gave it a, I gave it a go, right, because I was like, okay, I just hope that the sports side guys are going to do their, their part, and I have my opportunity here, um, to, to just like push, to educate, to, To do what, what, what life is giving me an opportunity to do.

And, uh, very fortunately, as we started working, the team started performing better and better and better. We got a completely new coach. We got a new sports director. We, we had a lot of key staff changes across the organization, which, Um, relatively quickly started showing results. So, uh, yeah, like, 10 months later in May, we won the Bulgarian Cup.

Luke: Is that the cup or the league? Like, uh,

George: it's the cup, it's the cup. So, so, I was saying, like, we started very bad in the league. And so, we were doing better and better, but still, like, we finished 9th in the league out of 16 clubs at the end of the day. But which was still okay, because, like, when I joined, like, we were, like,

Luke: Worried about relegation or something like that?

George: there. I mean,

Knut: We're complete, uh, like I've tried to take an interest to football, but like, uh, my ADD just, the brain just wanders away after five minutes and I can't concentrate anymore. So I don't

Luke: a basketball fan.

Knut: Am I now?

Football for Noobs

Knut: Uh, so, uh, what's the difference between the cup and the league? Let's begin there. That's, that's how much of a football noob I

George: So, so pretty much in every country is the same, right? You have a league or a championship where you have, in our case, 16 teams, and every team plays twice against every other team. So home game, away game, and then, you know, you either win three points when you win, or you lose, or you draw, and you, you, you win one point.

And then, so after you play, after you play, in our case, this, what is it, games? You know,

Luke: 30.

George: yeah, about 30. Yeah, right. You're better than Matt, it's obvious. So, um, so once you play these 30 games, um, you, um, yeah, like the team with the most points wins, right? Whereas, uh, the cup is direct elimination

Knut: So quarterfinals, semifinals, all that.

George: exactly. So it's the easier way. So this was the way for us to due to the bad start of the season. This was the way for us to, to achieve something in this season and to achieve something important because what the Cubs gives us as an opportunity and gave us was to play in the European Leagues.

So UEFA Leagues. And we just did that. We played six games. Uh, for the Europe, uh, Europe League and the Europe Conference League.

Knut: Okay. But to, to be in the champions league, that's a totally, you have to, yeah, yeah. You have to win the league and you have to win all sorts of stuff. Like how does that work?

George: yeah. You have to win the league. And then in our case, so in every country it's different, but in our case, we have to win, like we go to qualifications for the Champions League. So it's like, I mean, three to four games. And if we win that, we go to the Champions League.

Knut: Alright,

George: That's the current state of affairs, although that can change over the years.

Knut: alright, uh, it all makes sense to me now, that's a lie, but anyway.

Luke: No, uh, I'll definitely, we'll acknowledge here that I'm more of the, the sports fan, uh, generally here, and I, I follow football, I like, uh, I like European, uh, football, uh, well, and obviously I'm using the correct, uh, term despite my, um, my pseudo American accent, uh. Yeah, anyway, um, uh, no, it's fantastic to see, and I mean, yeah, for the non sports fans, uh, listening to this, I get that

Knut: Well, I am a sports fan, it's just that Starcraft 2 is my sport, and yeah, yeah,

Luke: yeah,

George: eSports.

Knut: yeah, yeah, so I watch, watch Starcraft 2 games. That's what I do for procrastination sometimes.

Luke: valid sports, I'm not going to compare it to other things that aren't

Knut: breakdancing? Is that a valid sport?

Luke: Breakdancing is, um, hmm, interesting. I think anything with points, that judges give points, is kind of not a sport, it's an activity.

Knut: yeah.

Luke: but, yeah, anyway,

Knut: thing to do.

Luke: is a thing to do, yes, definitely, but back to, back to, um, um, Botev Plod, is it Botev, Botev, what's, what's, Botev, Botev Plod, yeah, so, so, um, yeah, yeah, like, the, the, the achievement, winning, winning the cup, I mean, the, The cups are sort of more difficult.

They're both difficult in their own way, right? Like, the cup, you lose one game, you're out, basically, right? But, I mean, the league is like this endurance, achievement, right? You have to perform well over the course of the whole season. But the cheat code, so to say, and I probably subconsciously used the other football team's terminology, who's in the space, Real Bedford, um,

Botev Plovdiv's Bitcoin Strategy

Luke: The, the idea right, if, if I'm getting it, is that you guys would, would keep the Bitcoin in the, in the, the treasury, the, the company, and then over the course of time it's just gonna do the number go up thing and, and the, the club will have more resources.

Right. Is that, is that the idea you're thinking with the, the bitcoin strategy?

George: There's actually many, many things to it. And this is kind of the most, let's say, vanilla type of approach. Yeah, like just buy Bitcoin and hold it on the balance sheet, which is, which is great. But there's actually so many other things you can do. And that's where, because if you just do that, frankly, like, I mean, you don't need me involved, right, much.

I mean, just call Coinbase, whatever, wire the money, crack in and, buy. but with us it's like, really, uh, we see a huge opportunity to, first of all, align our brand with the Bitcoin brand, which is a royalty free, uh, The biggest brand in finance, for sure. One, uh, like it's going to be the biggest brand in the world for sure at some point.

Right. So that's, that's one play. And to do this, it's not enough for you to just buy Bitcoin and hold it on a balance sheet. It's what you need to do is proof of work, right? You need to do things that nobody has ever done. You need to really kind of be creative. Uh, and, and, um, to push the boundaries of what anyone has ever done before, right?

So, so that is, uh, that is my kind of job and it's a lot of, um, a lot of just like, let's, let's think of what, what new things we can do with Bitcoin and sports and football that nobody has ever done. Just because others are focused on the short term things, they're focused on, hitting those, those quick wins, those quick goals, which is why, for example, like a lot of the sports and, and that have, you know, interact, they haven't really interacted outside of Bedford with Bitcoin, right?

It's mostly been crypto because it's just, okay, let's make some quick money. Um,

Luke: usually, it's usually just sponsorships, right?

Knut: yeah,

George: yes. Um, and for us, because on the one hand, like, we're not like Manchester United, right? We're not Chelsea. So we don't have that much to monetize immediately. Like we're a large club, but.

Luke: You're a large club in a local league, which is, which is different from the, it's not one of the leagues that is internationally positioned like that. But, but, I mean, the, the difference between you guys and Bedford that I, that I think is, is really interesting. Like, McCormack, what he, Peter McCormack, what he's doing, I mean, he's, he's taking a club from the bottom and aiming for the top.

But who knows how long that's going to take him to get there, right? But you guys are already in the top of your league, right? Like, in the top league.

George: right, yeah, and also there's, there's different in this, we're in the top of our league. My goal, personally, is to go to Champions League, but this is very hard, right? Because, like, okay, when you start from Peter's ground, like, it's easy, okay, every year you level up, you level up, or, I mean, I'm not gonna say it's easy, but it's easier than, uh, than once you're, you know, at our level.

For us, it's important to play currently every year in European leagues like we've done so far and to every year consistently, like, increase the level of the sports, level of the business department bit by bit, and, but like breaking that point where we, you know, win the league, Where we win several more games and enter the Champions League, that, that's really hard.

I mean, because you're already at that stage where everybody, like, so many teams are so strong, right? So it's um, it takes just a lot of ingredients for you to, to, to hit, uh, in order to win. But we're gonna get there.

Knut: and does the club self custody it's bitcoin? And if so, is it a something out of 11 multisig, that sounds like a football thing?

George: Why so? Ah, yeah, an 11? Nah, nah, fuck that. I mean Nah, even, even 7 Motosick is a, is a killer, but no. Um, yeah, I can't really speak too much about this at this point. Yeah. Um, but, um, but yeah, I mean, we do, of course we do self custody. So that's, that's the approach that we've chosen with kind of a lot of, um, we've chosen to go really pure, pure Bitcoin in terms of the strategy.

And that's how we set ourselves apart. That's how we believe we win the long game because for instance, like we Bitcoin with BTC pay server. Which in my mind they don't even have competition. It's the only like, real, solid, autonomous, sovereign way to accept payments. And it's also the way which makes sense for like, Frankly, any standard business, because like, man, we're selling scarves, we're selling, um, membership boat cards, we're selling jerseys, we're selling basic merch, and if we are to sell it with basically any other service out there, outside of BTC Pay Server, we have to basically, uh, indirectly do KYC, right?

Like, we have to go through KYC, we have to go through KYB, which is ridiculous, um, in my mind. And so, um, so that's why we're exceptionally thankful to B2C Pay Server guys, uh, for what they've built. Uh, it's been like an absolute pleasure to, um, to use their product, to use their service. Uh, we have, you know, outside of B2C Pay, we, uh, we are the first, uh, sports club on Nostr.

Where, uh, we have, uh, actively been posting, exploring, you know, meeting people here. Kind of thinking of what we could do from our angle again, like first, first time on Nostr.

Aqua WAllet

George: Um, we have partnered with, uh, Aqua, JAN3's Aqua wallet, which has a, a Botive skin mode now. So if you go to settings, you can turn Botive mode and then it turns into the colors of the club and, you know, have the picture of the stadium there.

Um,

Luke: I'm using Aqua right now because, uh, uh, usually I like to use Aqua as like a sort of a middle wallet, uh, uh, because it's still slightly slower than other lightning wallets because they, they, the, everything actually lives on, on liquid and then they, they, uh, go out via bolts. Uh, so it's slightly slower than a faster, um, like, like than other, um, more direct lightning wallets.

And so usually when I come to a conference, I'm going to load up a, like a temporary. I don't know, Blink or something like that, but I forgot to do that, so I'm just using my Aqua wallet, and you know what, it's been great here, it's been working, uh, so yeah, we're big fans of Aqua wallet and what

Knut: Yeah, and a BTC pay server. I mean, uh, we can echo everything you said that we, BitcoinInfinity. com, like, and the store here We just fired up. Everything is powered by a BTC pay server, and we just love it. Yes.

Luke: So what was your question about, uh, Aqua?

George: If yours is on BOTEV mode.

Luke: Uh, I don't think I've gone into the settings and changed it to Vaudev mode, I'll have to do that, maybe we'll take

George: It's dark mode,

but cooler.

Luke: Doc dark mode, but cooler. Okay. Okay. Actually that's a, that's a, that's a good point. That's a good point. Yeah. We'll take a, we'll take a picture after, uh, after the episode and we'll de proof, bot, uh, bot e mode, and, uh, uh, post that on Nostr.

How does that sound?

George: Let's go.

Knut: Yeah. Nostr. Um, is there a connection there between both a plot and Nostr while you're doing Nostr stuff as well?

History and Freedom

George: Yeah. Well, look, um, a lot of these things is like, so What Botev Plovdiv stands for, um, very importantly, so the club was named after Hristo Botev, who's, uh, like, one of the most Bulgarians, if the most famous Bulgarian revolutionaries, like, historical figure, uh, he was a poet, he was a revolutionary, he fought for Bulgaria's freedom back in the day,

Luke: Which, which day, which, what day did you

George: uh, 110, uh, what is it, like, 50 years ago or so?

Yeah.

Knut: Mm-Hmm?

Luke: Okay. So, so

Knut: before the Commes.

Luke: ottoman, uh,

George: Yeah, yeah, yeah. He, he, he, he fought for the, for the liberation of Bulgaria from, from the Ottoman Empire. And a lot of what he stands for is this fight for freedom, his fight for liberty. Um, and this, this lives until this very day into the identity of the club and to what we stand for into the songs, into the, into the music.

Um, you know, um, the kind of like what, what our fans also resonate with, um, and, and what they sing like in many, in many ways. Right. So, um, Freedom of speech, freedom of, uh, of like freedom in general is, is a value that is deeply ingrained into kind of like what the club stands for. Um, and, uh, you know, that's why I'm into Bitcoin.

That's why I believe. And that's, that's why I saw this even bigger opportunity. Oh my God, like, how is this happening? There's so many, sometimes, you know, some like weird things happen in life and you have no explanation why and how all these things align. But, but for me, it's like this club was made really to.

to be aligned with BOTEF and to be, uh, to, to, to be aligned with Bitcoin and with Nostr. If I look at all the other clubs in Bulgaria, right, like just in Bulgaria, none of the others, like, there's no this contextual historical background that you can make these connections. But with us, we have it, and what a chance that, like, we have this owner, and he got, like, introduced to it, and then we got connected.

Like, how the hell does this happen, man? I don't know,

Luke: We like to say this, the surreal doesn't end, you know, and like, uh, my, my whole story, I've been talking about this, uh, at the, the conference here is like two years ago was the first time I ever met Bitcoiners here in Baltic Honeybadger. We, we met for the, for the first time, uh, all three of us, uh, met for the first time two years ago, I've been in Baltic Honeybadger and it's like, things, things happen so fast.

Uh, I've, I've, uh, I've thought it was been awesome just following, uh, what you've been doing with the, the club and the story. So great to, Great to get to talk about it, but, uh,

Bitcoin in Football

George: Yeah. No, for, for me, like really the, the most exciting part is really even coming forward. So, uh, because, so now it's been, so we, a long, we announced, uh, publicly that we're doing this, uh, 31st October last year. So the anniversary of the, of the, uh, Bitcoin White paper, um, we've built a lot right. And very, very importantly, I'm super proud, like, I don't know if you saw this, but like a month ago, we played on European League, the UEFA League with Bitcoin straight on our jerseys, which was like, like, when I saw this, I'm like, dude, it's crazy that this is happening.

But, but the best is really yet to come, like, like we like to say. Um, so I, I think we, we're, we have, um, we have still so much more to do. So for me, the next big part, which I'm super excited about literally in the coming month as, uh, as I go back. So is to finally get some of our. Players or at least one or two to get to do something publicly about this, because at the end of the day, that's why for me, the more I do, the more I, uh, play in this arena, I realized this is really a Trojan horse for us to bring Bitcoin into the conversation, into the minds, like I said, of people who otherwise wouldn't and, and our players, you know, especially a few of them, they're really influencers, right?

Um, a lot of people follow them. A lot of people respect them. And, um, and if they do, uh, you know, something meaningful, something cool, something impactful, this is going to have a huge impact onto our forwards. This could very well have impact onto, um, other sportsmen, other football people, other football clubs, right?

Uh, so that's why I'm doing it, right? Really?

Luke: No, this is fantastic, and actually this was exactly where I was hoping to go next, so thank you for queuing that up. But, no, no, the game theory of all this, right? Like, one club getting, Positioning as the, as the Bitcoin club in a league, uh, really means that eventually all the other clubs are going to need to adopt Bitcoin.

If they're going to be able to compete, because if play playing out the game theory, number go up, whatever it is, Bitcoin strategy plays out, you guys are going to be the most financially capable club. Financially sustainable in not very long, you know, assuming everything plays out the way we're thinking it will, right?

So, so other, other clubs then would become incentivized to also adopt Bitcoin. So what, what do you, what do you think about that? Like you, do you, do you see that, uh, happening as well?

George: Yeah, I'm not really sure if it would happen to me. That fast, to be fair. Like, I think it's inevitable, right, obviously, but I think it, yeah, like, I think this definitely takes at least three, four years, maybe more. Um,

Luke: That's, that's still pretty fast.

George: yeah, I guess. I mean, I mean, like, okay, let me define it better. It takes three, four years.

So, for other clubs within our league to start doing something like this, uh, maybe it takes less time for other clubs to realize it, but I think for them to do it, it also depends on our actions, right? So because like, we don't have like a treasury of microstrategy or something, so it's not, and we're not doing like a

Luke: you don't?

George: monthly like leverage on top of leverage on top of another leverage, you know, uh, we're not in, in Michael's privileged position. but we can do other cool things, right? Uh, one of the, um, so this is not yet live and this is not yet happening, but one of the, like two, two projects, let's say, I'm gonna briefly, like, tease here that, that I'm working on that I hope to have very large impact is first, uh, building this, uh, simple tool Uh, called like a Bitcoin, uh, football salary calculator that, uh, it's like really a DCA tool, but like looking back and like tailoring it to our niche where I want to, for us to visually and emotionally Show, um, to players, but also to fans of ours, like what Bitcoin could have done for their remuneration, if you look one year back in time, two years back in time, three years back in time, four years back in time, and for them to really realize, Oh my God, this is a no brainer.

Right? I want to make this mess. And this is hard, right? Um, because like, there's so many tools and like, but I want to be, because the audience is very wide, very different types of audience. I want to make this so that you can consume it in like two, three, four minutes. And you're like, okay, I need to learn more about this.

This actually is interesting. There's like, that's so much dense and emotional and compact information that you're like, Whoa. Why am I not doing this? How did I miss this?

Knut: What, what, what was the name of that website? I, I don't know if it's still up, but bitcoin or shit.com or something like that. So, so it lists if you bought this item when it came out, an iPhone five or whatever, uh, and if you had bought b bitcoin instead.com, I think that that's the, that's the name. So if you bought, uh, if you bought Bitcoin instead, it shows you how much, how much more money you'd have now and how many iPhones you

George: Yeah. Yeah. And of course there's many of these tools, obviously like we've all see them and we all like like them and retweet them and repost them. And it's all great. But I think, at least I hope that we can do something impactful with this. If we really tailor it, compact it to a specific type of niche audience with a specific message designed for them.

And because this audience is also like. A type of audience who can also like, um, you know, bring it to other bubbles that we ourselves are not part of, right? So that's, for example, one like, uh, one like project I'm very, very excited about and I hope we can, um, yeah, we'll bring forward relatively soon.

There's a few moving elements, but definitely in the coming month or two, uh, at most. And then, uh, and then, you know, speaking of the other clubs, what, what I want us to do is what we're working is next year, we're targeting to do, I hope we could do the world's first, uh, Bitcoin, uh, Cup tournament. Uh, for youth players, 70 year old boys who are, you know, right there before they sign their first professional contract, start earning money, for them, first of all, like, it's a Bitcoin football cup, like, it's the first time this, this could potentially ever happen And then it's, it's a football first tournament, right?

This is the, we want to make it like top quality, like really the highest quality when it comes to sports, but then you have Bitcoin involved all over the place, right? In terms of brand, in terms of rewards, in terms of, um, in terms of like plays, um, like, like games and, and interactions, activations, uh, throughout, before, throughout, and after the, And after the event, and for this, I'm targeting to get really like, like big clubs.

I mean, because it's academies, right? I mean, I cannot get the Manchester United first team, just maybe we could get the Manchester United 17 year old team or, you know, another big club. We get some of these, and then like we get their brands, we get them on the focus of Bitcoin. And we drive the conversation faster, you know, not three, four years from now, but Less

Knut: what about, um, like right now there's you and there's, um, you guys and there's a real bed for it, right? Those are the two I know of in Europe. Are you aware of any other clubs that are doing a Bitcoin strategy? I mean, is this virus spreading? Like, have you heard anything like,

George: Um, Oh, there's, uh, there's the Austrian Admira Vakir who have done some integration. So it's a second tier, uh, second league, uh, second league, uh, club that have, uh, that have, uh, you know, they've also had Bitcoin on the, their second team jersey. And, um, and they, they also accept Bitcoin payments, uh, here and there, but you know, the thing is, there's some other clubs, um, there's a Miami, um, not Miami, um, a Hawaiian club that, that is doing, uh, that is doing like their Bitcoin gig,

Knut: yeah, there are other, other sports, right, other sports team and sports teams in other sports that are doing it. But, but for football specifically,

George: which ones?

Knut: Uh, I'm so bad with sports, but wasn't there like a hockey team or a basketball team or

Luke: I'm not aware of any others, actually. Yeah, like, uh, there's been some attempts at

Knut: it's

Luke: an orange colored team or something like

Knut: more the individual athletes,

Luke: Yeah, yeah, there have been individual

Knut: for instance, a

Luke: have been individual

Knut: player, and there was some American football player.

George: There's been individual athletes, a lot of them. There's been, I was asking if you know, but there's been a baseball club in Australia, the Port Heat. Uh, who did kind of a Bitcoin strategy. Uh, but very unfortunately that didn't work out. They kind of started this at the peak of the last bull cycle. And, um, and as I understand, uh, there wasn't like a strong alignment between the owners and the management in terms of like understanding that this is a long game.

So that's why this kind of flopped. Um, but yeah, like I, I think the reason why it's not happening in more, unfortunately, and, and, and I see this even, even within our club, uh, you know, but, but definitely no other clubs because Fiat has permitted sports as well. Right. So all the sports club, uh, clubs or the vast majority in football, for sure.

They're like, you know, on the hamster wheel themselves.

Knut: They're indebted,

George: They're indebted.

Knut: to an extreme level,

George: yeah, like, like fighting for every dollar for every income. So it's, it's hard for you to like, Oh yeah, we're going to have this long term Bitcoin strategy that's going to take like two, three, four, five years to play out.

And we can benefit a lot from it. It's very, very hard in, you know, unfortunately for a large organizations, sports club in particular to To have this realization, to map this out, to get others on board. That's why it's not so popular and uh, and that's why I'm grateful and keep pushing that we have this chance.

Luke: I mean, you make a great point here about essentially the, it's the organizational alignment, right? Like the, the, these are companies, sports clubs are companies. They just have this large, the business is involved around getting fans to come in and consume this sort of marketing. Product, essentially. So it's, it's a certain kind of company that's run a certain way, but just like any other company, you need, you need alignment from the management.

So it's, it's fantastic that, uh, Boteb Plovdiv has, has the, uh, alignment and is, is putting their, their trust in you to, to move this thing forward. And I mean, from the, from the perspective of this thing, Playing out, right? The, the best part that, uh, I think one of the best parts that you, you mentioned again was the, the influencers.

Like you get, you get some players, there's, there's so many angles to, to reach people through this. I think it's, I think it's fantastic. The, uh, orange pilling a player and then they move to another club, but they, they, maybe they don't get to get paid in Bitcoin, but maybe they still put, put their money in, in Bitcoin.

Maybe they even ask their club to, to, uh, pay them in Bitcoin, something like that. And then the, the Questions start getting, uh, asked and all this.

5 Year Goals

Luke: So what, what is the, the goal in, in five years, for example, where, where do you see the club in the five year mark?

George: Oh man. Yeah, in five years, I think we definitely have to be in Champions League. Like in my mind, you know, like people around me like, oh, you're too ambitious. I'm like, man, yeah, like in five years, we definitely have to be in Champions League. Uh, that's, that's my personal goal. On our internal Slack, I have the Champions League icon there.

That's why I'm there, right? Um, so, uh, it's a lot of hard work. Like, it's really a lot of hard work. And it's also not completely dependent on me and my work, to be fair. Like, because, at all. I mean, really, like, uh, I mean, at the end of the day, the most important part is the sports department, right? Uh, in the club.

Um, so that has to continue going well. But, but I think We're going in a good direction there too, because we have the, they're the long term view as well, right. We have our academy internally, which is, yeah, it's one of the best academies. It's the best really academy in terms of infrastructure in the country.

That's why we're also can't afford to think of this Bitcoin Cup tournament, because we have the infrastructure, we have like a super cool stadium, that's crazy. If we can, if we can do a final for, for such a tournament there. Um, so, so we have all the things in place in terms of In terms of assets, I would say, uh, it's just a lot of moving parts.

a lot of work, consistency, and a bit of luck. Always it comes, you know, when, when it comes to, when it comes to football and sports, but, but five years from now, I want us to be in the champions league. I want us to be the absolute, you know, international professional level, uh, Bitcoin level, Bitcoin sports club.

and, uh, and I want for this tournament that I start to be like a, like, like to have the fourth edition by then. Uh, and, and I want to have clubs, but five years is a lot of time, you know, as you say, like, I also want to have other clubs following us by then. I think that's absolutely, absolutely is going to be doable.

Knut: What, what are the, what are the tax laws around Bitcoin in Bulgaria? Like what, are there any issues there? Or like what, is it easy enough,

George: It's kind of okay. Uh, it's kind of okay. So if you just buy Bitcoin and hold it, like you don't, uh, you don't, uh, incur taxes, uh, until you sell it, if you accept Bitcoin for payments, um, and if you don't sell it, you can just, uh, keep it as inventory on your balance sheet. So again, no,

Knut: but there's a capital gains tax or something if you sell it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Alright.

George: 10%. So it's, it's, uh,

Knut: Pretty good.

George: Yeah, I mean, it's not like El Salvador. Okay. Uh, but, but it's, uh, it's, it's way better than many other places. Um, and, uh, yeah, so we've been looking, looking actually, so I was in El Salvador a couple of months ago, because we've been looking very much to do stuff there.

And we've been, uh, yeah. Um, because we've been, we've been thinking of what to do more with Bitcoin, right? So that's why I said, like, it's not just about buying and accepting Bitcoin. It's about corporate strategies, about branding strategies, about how to make money. Um, it's about education strategies. It's, there's so much around it.

So in terms of corporate strategy, I was, uh, we're very attracted by El Salvador, um, and their, uh, capital markets regulation, because they're basically striving to build capital markets on top of Bitcoin. Bitcoin is legal tender there. They have all kinds of, tax incentives for companies to issue debt or to sell equity.

on their capital, on their, um, well, let's say nascent upcoming capital markets, because it's not like it's, you know, hustling and bustling yet. Um, but, but they're, they've put a lot of the rails, uh, um, or they're building a lot of the rails to, um, to really enable the, the, the creation of Bitcoin based capital markets.

So, um, we've had great talks there. We have meetings with, uh, um, we have. Yeah, with the Bitcoin office, right? Um, so, ideally, like, we're striving to build some connection there and to do something, interesting and world first again from a corporate perspective. It's just that, as many things, it's a little harder than you would expect it to be, or it takes a little more time than, Then you would hope to do it.

But my idea or long term vision, frankly, like what we want to do with Bitcoin, uh, and with the club is to enable our current fans and global fans to become co owners of the club. And that's why, you know, I have big hopes for, uh, for us being able to do this out of El Salvador and through El Salvador, because this would, like from a tax perspective, from a branding perspective, from legal security perspective would be, would be ideal.

It's just that, again, um, my enthusiasm is a little over, uh, ahead of kind of like how, uh, how, how advanced and set up everything there is, but, uh, but we're, we're very actively talking to them. We're working with many parties there, so. Just maybe we can have big news there too.

International and Local Effects

Luke: Well, no, and, and you actually said something great about global fans. I think this is a, a fantastic thing, right? A a again, Bedford is, is similar. They've, they've got, they've got fans all over the world and, and I think for you guys it's like who is going to tune into the Bulgarian football league outside of Bulgaria before, well, not too many people, but now a bunch of Bitcoiners.

If they're into, if they're into football or, or not even, because this is the funny thing. There were, there were a lot of people posting about that. They, they've got, they, they don't usually follow, follow sports at all, but, but they'll follow the Bitcoin team. So the, the funny thing is, I think, I think the first, the first club to adopt Bitcoin in every league is going to get all of these global fans.

And maybe the, maybe the, the second one, the third one, maybe can get some kind of other support, but it's really the first one in every

George: really.

Luke: That, that

George: Not

Luke: That's that. I, I completely agree with you there. It's the, it's the first one

Knut: first mover advantage.

Luke: mover advantage. It's gonna get, it is gonna get all of the, all of the Bitcoiners are gonna now be, be supporting and, uh, uh, yeah.

I mean, have, have you seen, uh, some, some uptick in, uh, kind of international

George: yeah, yeah. So, international but also local. Like, local is very important. Like, we have, like, so many people in the country who's like, just what you say, like, I didn't care about sports or football, like, forever, or at all, ever, but now I follow, now I buy merch, now I come, you know, every now and then they come to games, so

Luke: Well, because there's the bread and circuses thing that you said, it gets tossed around in the Bitcoin world and also some other places on kind of the Twitter sphere and whatever, it's like it's a distraction, that sports is sort of a distraction from clown world basically and it's a way of people to sort of Uh, forget about what's going on around them, but I think that's also missing the, the positives, which it, it's a, it's a community builder, it brings people together, there's a, there's a sense of, of pride in, in something local succeeding, everyone, everyone's happy, there's, there's real economic, uh, effects usually when a, when a local sports team wins, and so, so from, from my perspective, I, I, I think, I think sport is a good thing, and it's, and it's, it's something that, that people can rally around, and so,

George: an amazing thing.

Luke: Yeah.

And, and so what, what are, what are you looking at locally? Like what, what do you hope to have the effect, uh, uh, locally in, in piv?

George: Yeah. Um, yeah, no, look, uh, for me, sports, like, for us, the, the, the, the, about Plovdiv, for me, that's what I realized, like, we're kind of very much into Bitcoin and stuff, obviously, that's our interest, but I think when we go on a Bitcoin standard, Right. And, uh, in general, people start feeling wealthier, opposed to, like, being in the grind.

You're just going to have more time for fun stuff, right? Like playing football, I mean, or volleyball, or whatever your sport is, or, like, going and cheering your team, and, uh, and being part of such a community. And I think that's really what, you know, even Nostr is about. Like it's, Being part of these communities, because that's fun, and like, we as humans, at the end of the day, we are living to be part of communities, right?

And you find your community, you're an active part of it, you contribute to it, you evolve it, right? You build it in one way or another. And unfortunately, you know, today in the fiat world, this is just like A stress valve in many ways, or like you say, like Brothers and Sisters, whatever. Um, but, uh, but I think it can be so much more, right?

It is, but it can be so much more for a larger amount of people and so on and so forth. uh, but yeah, well, back in Plovdiv, man, like, I have big hopes. I really have big, big ambitions there. I want to get Bitcoin into the wallets of, uh, of like tens of thousands of people. I want people to wake up. I want people to see.

Luke: big is piv? How many

George: It's like three, four hundred thousand people. So it's a lot. Uh, our stadium is, uh, 21, 000 seats stadium. I'm kidding. I'm kidding. It's, it's 19. I wish it was 21.

Luke: Yeah. You'll have to add 2000 more

George: Maybe, yeah, we'll, we'll think of some additional construction.

Luke: the, make the infinity stand when

George: Right. Right. But, uh, but yeah, like the setting was super cool. Like, it's really cool.

Like when it's feel like, man, the atmosphere is amazing. Um, and so it's, and it's really this community that you can feel that people are involved. So it's, it's like consistency and it's social engineering in one way or another, right?

Knut: one of our favorite words,

George: but in a positive way.

Knut: in a positive way, okay.

George: So it's social engineering for us to ingrain Bitcoin and make it part of kind of what people see, do, have, own, interact with, right?

So, uh, I think exactly because of this community element, exactly because, Because, you know, football is a football club and there's this unique living organism we can, we can create this and, you know, it's fascinating. I'm so much into this and there's other people who are so much into this. Oh my god, like, we can make such a big difference.

And, and like in the country. You know, on a political and economic level, they don't get it. Like, they don't see it. They just are in their, you know, like, oh, are we going to accept the euro? Oh, what's happening with the war? I'm like, who cares? Let's build.

Bulgarian Currency Situation

Knut: Yeah, Bulgaria has its own shitcoin, I almost forgot about that, but uh, what's it called again?

George: Kinda. Um, but not quite, to be fair. It's, it's a good coin, uh, not for investing, but, but for medium of exchange is actually decent. Uh, Lev, Lev

Knut: Lev, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah,

George: and I recently got educated about this. So, uh, the lev is pegged to the euro. So, um, uh, so, so that, that is super cool for, for us, for me as a consumer, for businesses, because like the fixed rate.

So for trade is, um, It's, it's good, right? As the world would be in the future. You have one currency, Bitcoin, you don't have the currency exchange risk, right? We don't have it only with the European Union. And the good part with this, so, we got, we got hyperinflation back in 1997. Was really bad. People lost almost everything, everything, in many cases.

Um, and then we got this so called currency board introduced and the currency board is like we have the left, but the left has to be backed up by other currencies. So it's like a stable coin, kind of like how Tether is backed by, by dollars. You know, the levy is backed by euro and like a basket of, I think they have some other currencies and assets, which is cool because the local politicians, they cannot print, they cannot, you know, so, so it's been, it's been, I think, way better than Hungary, Sweden, uh, Finland, you have your, oh

but Sweden I've heard it's kind of bad,

Knut: It's kinda bad, Norway too, like, both Swedish and Norwegian crown, and the crown in Czechia, like the Czech Republic, it's also

George: Yeah.

Knut: I mean, they're all going to shit the smaller

George: So, so for us, it's like, I would say we're better than, than the Corona, the, and, and all these like local currencies, because we kind of just are there to the, peg to the Euro. The local politicians don't have the opportunity to print. So it's, it's a very good position for us to be.

Luke: You, you get the, the negatives of the, the euro. But, but still, I mean, I mean the, the realistically, the dollar at the Euro and maybe the, the Chinese currency are the only, are the only ones that are in the, sort of within our own, within our own lifetimes are, are going to be not as terribly bad against Bitcoin.

But all the other ones are just, are. All the other ones are

Knut: Yeah, I think it's just a matter of time before both, uh, at least Sweden, uh, switches to Euro standard. If not switching to Bitcoin standard happens first, but well, we'll see, we'll see what happens.

George: man. I'm very bearish about the Euro.

Knut: yeah, yeah, it's like,

Luke: It'll be the second last to fall or third last but but yeah it's it's it's it's not going to be the the last and so it's yeah.

Knut: So that is what it is. I mean, speaking of Bulgaria and currencies and stuff,

Bitcoin Adoption in Bulgaria

Knut: like, how is the rest of, how is Bitcoin adoption in general in Bulgaria? What's happening in other places? Like, Plamen opened a bar, I saw, and like, what are the connections? What's happening?

George: It's actually quite cool. I'm, I'm, I'm quite happy with, with how the ecosystem is evolving. There's, there's Plamen, um, with his whole community, like content creation, the conferences he's been doing, which has been like a very, I think he's responsible for like, I don't know, probably like, 000, maybe several 10, 000s of people who have opened their eyes and even if they're not hard bitcoiners, they now own bitcoin.

Uh, so that's huge. We have other content creators also who've had an impact. We have now once or twice per, yeah, about twice per year we have like, uh, A small, uh, merchant, uh, like, conference events, so for merchants to accept Bitcoin. we have these people who are active and who are doing things. Now, actually, yeah, there's something new that's coming up here, uh, literally in Plovdiv is we have this, um, this, uh, great dudes who have this, um, um, it's an application for, uh, ordering food, like takeaway and, uh, what is it, like,

Knut: like Glovo or

George: yeah, yeah, like Glovo, um, but, um, but, um, But it's not like this big corporate thing that, but, but still, it's a very good product and they've integrated accepting Bitcoin there for quite some time now they've made it even easier and they've introduced.

So we have like about, I think it's 15 restaurants in Sofia and like five or so in Plovdiv where through their system, you can order food. And pay with Bitcoin online, or you can also go in the restaurant and pay in Bitcoin online, and they just, um, they just won a, uh, grant from, uh, Bitcoin Beach, uh, and, uh, they're going to use the grant, uh, to, well, the attempt is really to start like a small circular economy, if you would Um, where, so if you go, uh, to one of those restaurants and pay with Bitcoin, you're going to get sats back 10%, and then, um, the restaurant is also going to get 10 percent sats back.

And if you order food, um, through their app, also the driver is going to get, uh, some sats back. And, uh, we've just been discussing, because obviously we're partnering with them, with the football club, so we'll push this out, because some of the restaurants that are there are our, I mean, basically, like, we have two restaurants locally that are partners, we got them in, right, obviously, in the deal, um, So, so that is also like, for me, it's like super cool because now for so far, the club has been pushing Bitcoin.

Now we have two of our restaurant partners who are themselves like hard Botevists, Botefans, and like they're popular. Now they're starting to accept Bitcoin in their, in their two restaurants, right? And they're going to have their campaigns. We're going to push them more. So, um, so I'm really excited about this and fingers crossed this goes well.

We have good metrics because if we have good metrics. Yeah, we'll look for ways to grow this. So there's a lot of grassroots things happening, which I love. On the top, nothing.

Knut: It's the way it's supposed to be.

George: But it's the way it is. Yeah, it's a better

Luke: Yeah it really seems like that you get one or two of these big anchors like like for example you you guys have had that had that conference last couple of years but now with both of Plavdev now Bulgaria is really got a couple of big anchors. Big relative in relative terms, uh, and all of this other stuff can, can start coming up around it.

And, uh, love, love to see it. I mean, he, I mean here, here with Rega, there's Honey Budger has been going for a really long time, and I, and I even think that they are honest about, we, we would, we just talked to, to Max, uh, about this, uh, from Defi and like yeah, there's not much other adoption in, in Lavia and this conference has been going on for a long time.

Exactly. And so it's just like, uh, it's, it's, it's great to see, uh, in, in your case, in Bulgaria's case, that there's, there's more of this, uh, picking up. So, yeah,

George: Well, I think it's really, in our case, I don't know, like it's grassroots, like I said, and I really believe grassroots and then Rio or for the vast majority, Rio adoption comes permissionless life. It comes like it's not forced. You know, there is this point where, okay, there's Plamen, like, he got the inspiration, he makes his content, he does the conferences, Like, our owner, he sees this opportunity for Bitcoin, for the club. He takes the action, right? So it's, it's not like, so it's individuals, right? Taking actions and then, as you have, you know, several of them, maybe others get inspired or get ideas going and that's how the magic happens. And, uh, yeah. Excited about it.

Wrapping Up

Luke: it's awesome, man. Great hear your story. So, was, uh, was there anything else that you wanted to discuss or bring up on this topic?

George: no, I mean, what I would say is absolutely, uh, Please, uh, you know, Knut, you've been, but please, you're absolutely welcome, Luke, join as well, like, both of you should come

Knut: Absolutely. Highly recommend it. I had a great time in Bulgaria, and it's such a fascinating country, it's such a rich history and such a beautiful place, and the food is great, and it's very affordable, it's very, yeah, very

George: like, I have people who come in Plogis specifically to, like, nomads, spend, like, a or a month. So, so please enjoy, visit the game. come spend in the restaurants where they accept Bitcoin, follow us on social media for sure, so, X and Nostr,

Luke: Yes, all the details, please.

Knut: And also like one of the eras, uh, infamous eras of Bulgaria is the commie era, right? Where you can see the impact that system had on the country and how horrid it is. Uh, so it's, it's, uh, that might not be a good pitch for, uh, but that's

Luke: Let him, let him share his social medias, Knut.

George: wait, do you have, do you have something

Knut: no, no, I think like the, The point I was getting to is, if you get to Bulgaria, don't only go to Sofia, go around the rest of the country, because it's not as raped as that town was by, as that city was by communism, all this concrete, yeah, yeah,

George: yeah, the,

Knut: you can really see the impact there. I'm not, um, yeah, this came out totally wrong, but I'm trying to, I'm trying to, To hype Bulgaria here, but also there's a historical lesson to be learned in the country, for sure,

George: sure. It's really like, there's so many different things there. So there's the communist part, there's like fucking amazing nature, there's like

Knut: is everything, yeah.

George: if you're into hiking, there's like, just like from Sofia, what I love about Sofia, like just last week, twice, end of the day, I'm like fucked up, like tired of computer.

40 minutes up and I'm up in the mountains, hiking, in like 2000 meters altitude. Uh, so, so there's all these like super cool things, but on the socials, yeah, we're on Twitter. we're on Nostr, uh, so Twitter is, um, botif underscore, uh, en, on Nostr, uh, we are just botif. Yeah, you can find us.

Luke: going say you're NPUB? No, no, no,

George: I'm still learning it, okay?

Luke: we'll post, you're still learning, we'll post all the details in the show

George: Yes. Yes. And feel free to also check out our website. We have, due to our El Salvadorian, um, kind of project, we already have a Salvadorian website, which is very easy to remember, botif. sv. So you can go there and from there you'll find all the links and information.

Luke: Absolutely fantastic.

Knut: Great! Get the inverse of Clown World. This is a shill. BitcoinInfinityStore. com And thank you very much for coming on,

George: was great having

Knut: Great to have

Luke: George, thanks so much. This has been Bitcoin Infinity Show. Thank you for

@ bf95e1a4:ebdcc848

This is the cleaned, AI-generated transcript of Bitcoin Infinity Show #127

If you'd like to support us, check out https://bitcoininfinitystore.com/ for all our books, merch, and more!

Welcoming George Manolov

Luke: George, welcome to the Bitcoin Infinity Show, thank you for joining us.

George: Thank you, Knut.

Knut: Good to have you here, George.

George: to be here, yeah.

you're here to tell us about the city that I was most surprised by ever. Like, I've never heard of the city before I went to Bulgaria, Yeah, time flies.

Knut: So Plovdiv, Bulgaria, which was amazing, this rich, Thousands of years of history plays with a lot of different eras and different styles of architecture and stuff, really enjoyed Plovdiv, and you have a football team there.

George: yeah, indeed.

George Manolov and Botev Plovdiv

George: Please give us the story about George and Plovdiv Yeah, sure.

Knut: Plovdiv.

George: Sure, sure. So, Plovdiv is, well, I would say it's the oldest living city in Europe, so continuously inhabited. Like you say, not many people know it. I guess, like, we don't have good enough marketing, but, that's probably part of my job right now, right? To spread the word about it. so it's, like the second largest city in the country.

And, yeah, it's just this, it's very, like, I love how you put it because almost nobody has really heard of Plovdiv, right? Most people, when they hear of Bulgaria, they've probably heard of Sofia but Sofia is, okay, but Plovdiv is kind of the chill place, Plovdiv is the place that is actually worth visiting, the place where, people just enjoy going there.

I was born there, right? and, grew up there till 18 or so, then, Studied, lived in Sofia most of the time. And, last year, in kind of summer, I was already kind of way deeper into Bitcoin. I decided I'm going to go full time into Bitcoin, just commit all my time in Bitcoin at the time, educating, publishing books in Bulgarian about Bitcoin, creating my own educational platform.

And then I got, reached out and connected really to the owner of the football club in the city, which is also the oldest football club in the country, Botev Plovdiv, who was, well, he got introduced into Bitcoin himself and he realized it's going to be a very big, project. You know, going to play a central role in where the world is going.

Knut: What is this the owner of the club?

George: That's right. The owner of the club. was like, Hey, I think we can do something unique with Bitcoin because, you know, the club is really a company, right? It's a business on the one hand, but it's a special type of business, it's not where just you produce a certain product or service.

It's really a living organism where people are involved into it, for very emotional reasons. people feel like it's their own and it's not like a small group of people. It's a very large group of people. In our case, we have tens of thousands, arguably more than a hundred, 200, 000 people who care, who watch, who follow the club.

And so on the one hand, like there's many different ways in which we can look into this, but on the one hand. It's for me, what really inspired me and what got me like, Oh my God, like, is this really happening is that we can bring the conversation about Bitcoin from a completely different angle into society to a group of people who for the most part would never really They would like this, they would never listen to podcasts like this, they would never get to any of the kind of places and things we listen to, watch, consume, right?

and people go, You know, people go kind of for bread and circus, right,

Knut: yeah, yeah.

George: for the games. That's what really football is, right? It's fun and it's emotion, it's enjoyment, but then we push them censorship resistance and hard money, right?

And we don't really push it, you know, that's the thing, right? Because are like consistently, progressively, gradually over time, introducing it and finding the best way and the most appropriate way to, yeah, plant that seed. To the minds of the people, into the views of the people and so on and so forth.

so it's really like, you know, what we're trying to build is, we feel we're in a very privileged position, right? because we've been, the first really professional sports club globally, I would say, to have, uh, crypto Bitcoin, you know, people, departments, who is actually full time employed to, you know, think of a way to grow the business, to think of a way to integrate Bitcoin natively, within the various aspects of, of, of the organization, which obviously initially includes like accepting payments and so on and so forth.

But, um, but there's so much more you can do exactly with this type of, Like organization, again, like not, not, not just a business in a traditional sense.

Knut: Yeah. And, uh, won the league, right? Is that, is that right?

George: Yeah, man, like it's, uh, yeah, so we, um, when I started last year, things were super bad. Like exactly one year ago, I was there for the, for one of the first games. It was horrible. Like, I was like, okay, this is a great idea, but if the team is doing so bad and if, uh, if they keep losing and if the fans keep getting, you know, being unhappy, Um, it's not gonna go anywhere, but still, I gave it a, I gave it a go, right, because I was like, okay, I just hope that the sports side guys are going to do their, their part, and I have my opportunity here, um, to, to just like push, to educate, to, To do what, what, what life is giving me an opportunity to do.

And, uh, very fortunately, as we started working, the team started performing better and better and better. We got a completely new coach. We got a new sports director. We, we had a lot of key staff changes across the organization, which, Um, relatively quickly started showing results. So, uh, yeah, like, 10 months later in May, we won the Bulgarian Cup.

Luke: Is that the cup or the league? Like, uh,

George: it's the cup, it's the cup. So, so, I was saying, like, we started very bad in the league. And so, we were doing better and better, but still, like, we finished 9th in the league out of 16 clubs at the end of the day. But which was still okay, because, like, when I joined, like, we were, like,

Luke: Worried about relegation or something like that?

George: there. I mean,

Knut: We're complete, uh, like I've tried to take an interest to football, but like, uh, my ADD just, the brain just wanders away after five minutes and I can't concentrate anymore. So I don't

Luke: a basketball fan.

Knut: Am I now?

Football for Noobs

Knut: Uh, so, uh, what's the difference between the cup and the league? Let's begin there. That's, that's how much of a football noob I

George: So, so pretty much in every country is the same, right? You have a league or a championship where you have, in our case, 16 teams, and every team plays twice against every other team. So home game, away game, and then, you know, you either win three points when you win, or you lose, or you draw, and you, you, you win one point.

And then, so after you play, after you play, in our case, this, what is it, games? You know,

Luke: 30.

George: yeah, about 30. Yeah, right. You're better than Matt, it's obvious. So, um, so once you play these 30 games, um, you, um, yeah, like the team with the most points wins, right? Whereas, uh, the cup is direct elimination

Knut: So quarterfinals, semifinals, all that.

George: exactly. So it's the easier way. So this was the way for us to due to the bad start of the season. This was the way for us to, to achieve something in this season and to achieve something important because what the Cubs gives us as an opportunity and gave us was to play in the European Leagues.

So UEFA Leagues. And we just did that. We played six games. Uh, for the Europe, uh, Europe League and the Europe Conference League.

Knut: Okay. But to, to be in the champions league, that's a totally, you have to, yeah, yeah. You have to win the league and you have to win all sorts of stuff. Like how does that work?

George: yeah. You have to win the league. And then in our case, so in every country it's different, but in our case, we have to win, like we go to qualifications for the Champions League. So it's like, I mean, three to four games. And if we win that, we go to the Champions League.

Knut: Alright,

George: That's the current state of affairs, although that can change over the years.

Knut: alright, uh, it all makes sense to me now, that's a lie, but anyway.

Luke: No, uh, I'll definitely, we'll acknowledge here that I'm more of the, the sports fan, uh, generally here, and I, I follow football, I like, uh, I like European, uh, football, uh, well, and obviously I'm using the correct, uh, term despite my, um, my pseudo American accent, uh. Yeah, anyway, um, uh, no, it's fantastic to see, and I mean, yeah, for the non sports fans, uh, listening to this, I get that

Knut: Well, I am a sports fan, it's just that Starcraft 2 is my sport, and yeah, yeah,

Luke: yeah,

George: eSports.

Knut: yeah, yeah, so I watch, watch Starcraft 2 games. That's what I do for procrastination sometimes.

Luke: valid sports, I'm not going to compare it to other things that aren't

Knut: breakdancing? Is that a valid sport?

Luke: Breakdancing is, um, hmm, interesting. I think anything with points, that judges give points, is kind of not a sport, it's an activity.

Knut: yeah.

Luke: but, yeah, anyway,

Knut: thing to do.

Luke: is a thing to do, yes, definitely, but back to, back to, um, um, Botev Plod, is it Botev, Botev, what's, what's, Botev, Botev Plod, yeah, so, so, um, yeah, yeah, like, the, the, the achievement, winning, winning the cup, I mean, the, The cups are sort of more difficult.

They're both difficult in their own way, right? Like, the cup, you lose one game, you're out, basically, right? But, I mean, the league is like this endurance, achievement, right? You have to perform well over the course of the whole season. But the cheat code, so to say, and I probably subconsciously used the other football team's terminology, who's in the space, Real Bedford, um,

Botev Plovdiv's Bitcoin Strategy

Luke: The, the idea right, if, if I'm getting it, is that you guys would, would keep the Bitcoin in the, in the, the treasury, the, the company, and then over the course of time it's just gonna do the number go up thing and, and the, the club will have more resources.

Right. Is that, is that the idea you're thinking with the, the bitcoin strategy?

George: There's actually many, many things to it. And this is kind of the most, let's say, vanilla type of approach. Yeah, like just buy Bitcoin and hold it on the balance sheet, which is, which is great. But there's actually so many other things you can do. And that's where, because if you just do that, frankly, like, I mean, you don't need me involved, right, much.

I mean, just call Coinbase, whatever, wire the money, crack in and, buy. but with us it's like, really, uh, we see a huge opportunity to, first of all, align our brand with the Bitcoin brand, which is a royalty free, uh, The biggest brand in finance, for sure. One, uh, like it's going to be the biggest brand in the world for sure at some point.

Right. So that's, that's one play. And to do this, it's not enough for you to just buy Bitcoin and hold it on a balance sheet. It's what you need to do is proof of work, right? You need to do things that nobody has ever done. You need to really kind of be creative. Uh, and, and, um, to push the boundaries of what anyone has ever done before, right?

So, so that is, uh, that is my kind of job and it's a lot of, um, a lot of just like, let's, let's think of what, what new things we can do with Bitcoin and sports and football that nobody has ever done. Just because others are focused on the short term things, they're focused on, hitting those, those quick wins, those quick goals, which is why, for example, like a lot of the sports and, and that have, you know, interact, they haven't really interacted outside of Bedford with Bitcoin, right?

It's mostly been crypto because it's just, okay, let's make some quick money. Um,

Luke: usually, it's usually just sponsorships, right?

Knut: yeah,

George: yes. Um, and for us, because on the one hand, like, we're not like Manchester United, right? We're not Chelsea. So we don't have that much to monetize immediately. Like we're a large club, but.

Luke: You're a large club in a local league, which is, which is different from the, it's not one of the leagues that is internationally positioned like that. But, but, I mean, the, the difference between you guys and Bedford that I, that I think is, is really interesting. Like, McCormack, what he, Peter McCormack, what he's doing, I mean, he's, he's taking a club from the bottom and aiming for the top.

But who knows how long that's going to take him to get there, right? But you guys are already in the top of your league, right? Like, in the top league.

George: right, yeah, and also there's, there's different in this, we're in the top of our league. My goal, personally, is to go to Champions League, but this is very hard, right? Because, like, okay, when you start from Peter's ground, like, it's easy, okay, every year you level up, you level up, or, I mean, I'm not gonna say it's easy, but it's easier than, uh, than once you're, you know, at our level.

For us, it's important to play currently every year in European leagues like we've done so far and to every year consistently, like, increase the level of the sports, level of the business department bit by bit, and, but like breaking that point where we, you know, win the league, Where we win several more games and enter the Champions League, that, that's really hard.

I mean, because you're already at that stage where everybody, like, so many teams are so strong, right? So it's um, it takes just a lot of ingredients for you to, to, to hit, uh, in order to win. But we're gonna get there.

Knut: and does the club self custody it's bitcoin? And if so, is it a something out of 11 multisig, that sounds like a football thing?

George: Why so? Ah, yeah, an 11? Nah, nah, fuck that. I mean Nah, even, even 7 Motosick is a, is a killer, but no. Um, yeah, I can't really speak too much about this at this point. Yeah. Um, but, um, but yeah, I mean, we do, of course we do self custody. So that's, that's the approach that we've chosen with kind of a lot of, um, we've chosen to go really pure, pure Bitcoin in terms of the strategy.

And that's how we set ourselves apart. That's how we believe we win the long game because for instance, like we Bitcoin with BTC pay server. Which in my mind they don't even have competition. It's the only like, real, solid, autonomous, sovereign way to accept payments. And it's also the way which makes sense for like, Frankly, any standard business, because like, man, we're selling scarves, we're selling, um, membership boat cards, we're selling jerseys, we're selling basic merch, and if we are to sell it with basically any other service out there, outside of BTC Pay Server, we have to basically, uh, indirectly do KYC, right?

Like, we have to go through KYC, we have to go through KYB, which is ridiculous, um, in my mind. And so, um, so that's why we're exceptionally thankful to B2C Pay Server guys, uh, for what they've built. Uh, it's been like an absolute pleasure to, um, to use their product, to use their service. Uh, we have, you know, outside of B2C Pay, we, uh, we are the first, uh, sports club on Nostr.

Where, uh, we have, uh, actively been posting, exploring, you know, meeting people here. Kind of thinking of what we could do from our angle again, like first, first time on Nostr.

Aqua WAllet

George: Um, we have partnered with, uh, Aqua, JAN3's Aqua wallet, which has a, a Botive skin mode now. So if you go to settings, you can turn Botive mode and then it turns into the colors of the club and, you know, have the picture of the stadium there.

Um,

Luke: I'm using Aqua right now because, uh, uh, usually I like to use Aqua as like a sort of a middle wallet, uh, uh, because it's still slightly slower than other lightning wallets because they, they, the, everything actually lives on, on liquid and then they, they, uh, go out via bolts. Uh, so it's slightly slower than a faster, um, like, like than other, um, more direct lightning wallets.

And so usually when I come to a conference, I'm going to load up a, like a temporary. I don't know, Blink or something like that, but I forgot to do that, so I'm just using my Aqua wallet, and you know what, it's been great here, it's been working, uh, so yeah, we're big fans of Aqua wallet and what

Knut: Yeah, and a BTC pay server. I mean, uh, we can echo everything you said that we, BitcoinInfinity. com, like, and the store here We just fired up. Everything is powered by a BTC pay server, and we just love it. Yes.

Luke: So what was your question about, uh, Aqua?

George: If yours is on BOTEV mode.

Luke: Uh, I don't think I've gone into the settings and changed it to Vaudev mode, I'll have to do that, maybe we'll take

George: It's dark mode,

but cooler.

Luke: Doc dark mode, but cooler. Okay. Okay. Actually that's a, that's a, that's a good point. That's a good point. Yeah. We'll take a, we'll take a picture after, uh, after the episode and we'll de proof, bot, uh, bot e mode, and, uh, uh, post that on Nostr.

How does that sound?

George: Let's go.

Knut: Yeah. Nostr. Um, is there a connection there between both a plot and Nostr while you're doing Nostr stuff as well?

History and Freedom

George: Yeah. Well, look, um, a lot of these things is like, so What Botev Plovdiv stands for, um, very importantly, so the club was named after Hristo Botev, who's, uh, like, one of the most Bulgarians, if the most famous Bulgarian revolutionaries, like, historical figure, uh, he was a poet, he was a revolutionary, he fought for Bulgaria's freedom back in the day,

Luke: Which, which day, which, what day did you

George: uh, 110, uh, what is it, like, 50 years ago or so?

Yeah.

Knut: Mm-Hmm?

Luke: Okay. So, so

Knut: before the Commes.

Luke: ottoman, uh,

George: Yeah, yeah, yeah. He, he, he, he fought for the, for the liberation of Bulgaria from, from the Ottoman Empire. And a lot of what he stands for is this fight for freedom, his fight for liberty. Um, and this, this lives until this very day into the identity of the club and to what we stand for into the songs, into the, into the music.

Um, you know, um, the kind of like what, what our fans also resonate with, um, and, and what they sing like in many, in many ways. Right. So, um, Freedom of speech, freedom of, uh, of like freedom in general is, is a value that is deeply ingrained into kind of like what the club stands for. Um, and, uh, you know, that's why I'm into Bitcoin.

That's why I believe. And that's, that's why I saw this even bigger opportunity. Oh my God, like, how is this happening? There's so many, sometimes, you know, some like weird things happen in life and you have no explanation why and how all these things align. But, but for me, it's like this club was made really to.

to be aligned with BOTEF and to be, uh, to, to, to be aligned with Bitcoin and with Nostr. If I look at all the other clubs in Bulgaria, right, like just in Bulgaria, none of the others, like, there's no this contextual historical background that you can make these connections. But with us, we have it, and what a chance that, like, we have this owner, and he got, like, introduced to it, and then we got connected.

Like, how the hell does this happen, man? I don't know,

Luke: We like to say this, the surreal doesn't end, you know, and like, uh, my, my whole story, I've been talking about this, uh, at the, the conference here is like two years ago was the first time I ever met Bitcoiners here in Baltic Honeybadger. We, we met for the, for the first time, uh, all three of us, uh, met for the first time two years ago, I've been in Baltic Honeybadger and it's like, things, things happen so fast.

Uh, I've, I've, uh, I've thought it was been awesome just following, uh, what you've been doing with the, the club and the story. So great to, Great to get to talk about it, but, uh,

Bitcoin in Football

George: Yeah. No, for, for me, like really the, the most exciting part is really even coming forward. So, uh, because, so now it's been, so we, a long, we announced, uh, publicly that we're doing this, uh, 31st October last year. So the anniversary of the, of the, uh, Bitcoin White paper, um, we've built a lot right. And very, very importantly, I'm super proud, like, I don't know if you saw this, but like a month ago, we played on European League, the UEFA League with Bitcoin straight on our jerseys, which was like, like, when I saw this, I'm like, dude, it's crazy that this is happening.

But, but the best is really yet to come, like, like we like to say. Um, so I, I think we, we're, we have, um, we have still so much more to do. So for me, the next big part, which I'm super excited about literally in the coming month as, uh, as I go back. So is to finally get some of our. Players or at least one or two to get to do something publicly about this, because at the end of the day, that's why for me, the more I do, the more I, uh, play in this arena, I realized this is really a Trojan horse for us to bring Bitcoin into the conversation, into the minds, like I said, of people who otherwise wouldn't and, and our players, you know, especially a few of them, they're really influencers, right?

Um, a lot of people follow them. A lot of people respect them. And, um, and if they do, uh, you know, something meaningful, something cool, something impactful, this is going to have a huge impact onto our forwards. This could very well have impact onto, um, other sportsmen, other football people, other football clubs, right?

Uh, so that's why I'm doing it, right? Really?

Luke: No, this is fantastic, and actually this was exactly where I was hoping to go next, so thank you for queuing that up. But, no, no, the game theory of all this, right? Like, one club getting, Positioning as the, as the Bitcoin club in a league, uh, really means that eventually all the other clubs are going to need to adopt Bitcoin.

If they're going to be able to compete, because if play playing out the game theory, number go up, whatever it is, Bitcoin strategy plays out, you guys are going to be the most financially capable club. Financially sustainable in not very long, you know, assuming everything plays out the way we're thinking it will, right?

So, so other, other clubs then would become incentivized to also adopt Bitcoin. So what, what do you, what do you think about that? Like you, do you, do you see that, uh, happening as well?

George: Yeah, I'm not really sure if it would happen to me. That fast, to be fair. Like, I think it's inevitable, right, obviously, but I think it, yeah, like, I think this definitely takes at least three, four years, maybe more. Um,

Luke: That's, that's still pretty fast.

George: yeah, I guess. I mean, I mean, like, okay, let me define it better. It takes three, four years.

So, for other clubs within our league to start doing something like this, uh, maybe it takes less time for other clubs to realize it, but I think for them to do it, it also depends on our actions, right? So because like, we don't have like a treasury of microstrategy or something, so it's not, and we're not doing like a

Luke: you don't?

George: monthly like leverage on top of leverage on top of another leverage, you know, uh, we're not in, in Michael's privileged position. but we can do other cool things, right? Uh, one of the, um, so this is not yet live and this is not yet happening, but one of the, like two, two projects, let's say, I'm gonna briefly, like, tease here that, that I'm working on that I hope to have very large impact is first, uh, building this, uh, simple tool Uh, called like a Bitcoin, uh, football salary calculator that, uh, it's like really a DCA tool, but like looking back and like tailoring it to our niche where I want to, for us to visually and emotionally Show, um, to players, but also to fans of ours, like what Bitcoin could have done for their remuneration, if you look one year back in time, two years back in time, three years back in time, four years back in time, and for them to really realize, Oh my God, this is a no brainer.

Right? I want to make this mess. And this is hard, right? Um, because like, there's so many tools and like, but I want to be, because the audience is very wide, very different types of audience. I want to make this so that you can consume it in like two, three, four minutes. And you're like, okay, I need to learn more about this.

This actually is interesting. There's like, that's so much dense and emotional and compact information that you're like, Whoa. Why am I not doing this? How did I miss this?

Knut: What, what, what was the name of that website? I, I don't know if it's still up, but bitcoin or shit.com or something like that. So, so it lists if you bought this item when it came out, an iPhone five or whatever, uh, and if you had bought b bitcoin instead.com, I think that that's the, that's the name. So if you bought, uh, if you bought Bitcoin instead, it shows you how much, how much more money you'd have now and how many iPhones you

George: Yeah. Yeah. And of course there's many of these tools, obviously like we've all see them and we all like like them and retweet them and repost them. And it's all great. But I think, at least I hope that we can do something impactful with this. If we really tailor it, compact it to a specific type of niche audience with a specific message designed for them.

And because this audience is also like. A type of audience who can also like, um, you know, bring it to other bubbles that we ourselves are not part of, right? So that's, for example, one like, uh, one like project I'm very, very excited about and I hope we can, um, yeah, we'll bring forward relatively soon.

There's a few moving elements, but definitely in the coming month or two, uh, at most. And then, uh, and then, you know, speaking of the other clubs, what, what I want us to do is what we're working is next year, we're targeting to do, I hope we could do the world's first, uh, Bitcoin, uh, Cup tournament. Uh, for youth players, 70 year old boys who are, you know, right there before they sign their first professional contract, start earning money, for them, first of all, like, it's a Bitcoin football cup, like, it's the first time this, this could potentially ever happen And then it's, it's a football first tournament, right?

This is the, we want to make it like top quality, like really the highest quality when it comes to sports, but then you have Bitcoin involved all over the place, right? In terms of brand, in terms of rewards, in terms of, um, in terms of like plays, um, like, like games and, and interactions, activations, uh, throughout, before, throughout, and after the, And after the event, and for this, I'm targeting to get really like, like big clubs.

I mean, because it's academies, right? I mean, I cannot get the Manchester United first team, just maybe we could get the Manchester United 17 year old team or, you know, another big club. We get some of these, and then like we get their brands, we get them on the focus of Bitcoin. And we drive the conversation faster, you know, not three, four years from now, but Less

Knut: what about, um, like right now there's you and there's, um, you guys and there's a real bed for it, right? Those are the two I know of in Europe. Are you aware of any other clubs that are doing a Bitcoin strategy? I mean, is this virus spreading? Like, have you heard anything like,

George: Um, Oh, there's, uh, there's the Austrian Admira Vakir who have done some integration. So it's a second tier, uh, second league, uh, second league, uh, club that have, uh, that have, uh, you know, they've also had Bitcoin on the, their second team jersey. And, um, and they, they also accept Bitcoin payments, uh, here and there, but you know, the thing is, there's some other clubs, um, there's a Miami, um, not Miami, um, a Hawaiian club that, that is doing, uh, that is doing like their Bitcoin gig,

Knut: yeah, there are other, other sports, right, other sports team and sports teams in other sports that are doing it. But, but for football specifically,

George: which ones?

Knut: Uh, I'm so bad with sports, but wasn't there like a hockey team or a basketball team or

Luke: I'm not aware of any others, actually. Yeah, like, uh, there's been some attempts at

Knut: it's

Luke: an orange colored team or something like

Knut: more the individual athletes,

Luke: Yeah, yeah, there have been individual

Knut: for instance, a

Luke: have been individual

Knut: player, and there was some American football player.

George: There's been individual athletes, a lot of them. There's been, I was asking if you know, but there's been a baseball club in Australia, the Port Heat. Uh, who did kind of a Bitcoin strategy. Uh, but very unfortunately that didn't work out. They kind of started this at the peak of the last bull cycle. And, um, and as I understand, uh, there wasn't like a strong alignment between the owners and the management in terms of like understanding that this is a long game.

So that's why this kind of flopped. Um, but yeah, like I, I think the reason why it's not happening in more, unfortunately, and, and, and I see this even, even within our club, uh, you know, but, but definitely no other clubs because Fiat has permitted sports as well. Right. So all the sports club, uh, clubs or the vast majority in football, for sure.

They're like, you know, on the hamster wheel themselves.

Knut: They're indebted,

George: They're indebted.

Knut: to an extreme level,

George: yeah, like, like fighting for every dollar for every income. So it's, it's hard for you to like, Oh yeah, we're going to have this long term Bitcoin strategy that's going to take like two, three, four, five years to play out.

And we can benefit a lot from it. It's very, very hard in, you know, unfortunately for a large organizations, sports club in particular to To have this realization, to map this out, to get others on board. That's why it's not so popular and uh, and that's why I'm grateful and keep pushing that we have this chance.

Luke: I mean, you make a great point here about essentially the, it's the organizational alignment, right? Like the, the, these are companies, sports clubs are companies. They just have this large, the business is involved around getting fans to come in and consume this sort of marketing. Product, essentially. So it's, it's a certain kind of company that's run a certain way, but just like any other company, you need, you need alignment from the management.

So it's, it's fantastic that, uh, Boteb Plovdiv has, has the, uh, alignment and is, is putting their, their trust in you to, to move this thing forward. And I mean, from the, from the perspective of this thing, Playing out, right? The, the best part that, uh, I think one of the best parts that you, you mentioned again was the, the influencers.

Like you get, you get some players, there's, there's so many angles to, to reach people through this. I think it's, I think it's fantastic. The, uh, orange pilling a player and then they move to another club, but they, they, maybe they don't get to get paid in Bitcoin, but maybe they still put, put their money in, in Bitcoin.

Maybe they even ask their club to, to, uh, pay them in Bitcoin, something like that. And then the, the Questions start getting, uh, asked and all this.

5 Year Goals

Luke: So what, what is the, the goal in, in five years, for example, where, where do you see the club in the five year mark?

George: Oh man. Yeah, in five years, I think we definitely have to be in Champions League. Like in my mind, you know, like people around me like, oh, you're too ambitious. I'm like, man, yeah, like in five years, we definitely have to be in Champions League. Uh, that's, that's my personal goal. On our internal Slack, I have the Champions League icon there.

That's why I'm there, right? Um, so, uh, it's a lot of hard work. Like, it's really a lot of hard work. And it's also not completely dependent on me and my work, to be fair. Like, because, at all. I mean, really, like, uh, I mean, at the end of the day, the most important part is the sports department, right? Uh, in the club.

Um, so that has to continue going well. But, but I think We're going in a good direction there too, because we have the, they're the long term view as well, right. We have our academy internally, which is, yeah, it's one of the best academies. It's the best really academy in terms of infrastructure in the country.

That's why we're also can't afford to think of this Bitcoin Cup tournament, because we have the infrastructure, we have like a super cool stadium, that's crazy. If we can, if we can do a final for, for such a tournament there. Um, so, so we have all the things in place in terms of In terms of assets, I would say, uh, it's just a lot of moving parts.

a lot of work, consistency, and a bit of luck. Always it comes, you know, when, when it comes to, when it comes to football and sports, but, but five years from now, I want us to be in the champions league. I want us to be the absolute, you know, international professional level, uh, Bitcoin level, Bitcoin sports club.

and, uh, and I want for this tournament that I start to be like a, like, like to have the fourth edition by then. Uh, and, and I want to have clubs, but five years is a lot of time, you know, as you say, like, I also want to have other clubs following us by then. I think that's absolutely, absolutely is going to be doable.

Knut: What, what are the, what are the tax laws around Bitcoin in Bulgaria? Like what, are there any issues there? Or like what, is it easy enough,

George: It's kind of okay. Uh, it's kind of okay. So if you just buy Bitcoin and hold it, like you don't, uh, you don't, uh, incur taxes, uh, until you sell it, if you accept Bitcoin for payments, um, and if you don't sell it, you can just, uh, keep it as inventory on your balance sheet. So again, no,

Knut: but there's a capital gains tax or something if you sell it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Alright.

George: 10%. So it's, it's, uh,

Knut: Pretty good.

George: Yeah, I mean, it's not like El Salvador. Okay. Uh, but, but it's, uh, it's, it's way better than many other places. Um, and, uh, yeah, so we've been looking, looking actually, so I was in El Salvador a couple of months ago, because we've been looking very much to do stuff there.

And we've been, uh, yeah. Um, because we've been, we've been thinking of what to do more with Bitcoin, right? So that's why I said, like, it's not just about buying and accepting Bitcoin. It's about corporate strategies, about branding strategies, about how to make money. Um, it's about education strategies. It's, there's so much around it.

So in terms of corporate strategy, I was, uh, we're very attracted by El Salvador, um, and their, uh, capital markets regulation, because they're basically striving to build capital markets on top of Bitcoin. Bitcoin is legal tender there. They have all kinds of, tax incentives for companies to issue debt or to sell equity.

on their capital, on their, um, well, let's say nascent upcoming capital markets, because it's not like it's, you know, hustling and bustling yet. Um, but, but they're, they've put a lot of the rails, uh, um, or they're building a lot of the rails to, um, to really enable the, the, the creation of Bitcoin based capital markets.

So, um, we've had great talks there. We have meetings with, uh, um, we have. Yeah, with the Bitcoin office, right? Um, so, ideally, like, we're striving to build some connection there and to do something, interesting and world first again from a corporate perspective. It's just that, as many things, it's a little harder than you would expect it to be, or it takes a little more time than, Then you would hope to do it.

But my idea or long term vision, frankly, like what we want to do with Bitcoin, uh, and with the club is to enable our current fans and global fans to become co owners of the club. And that's why, you know, I have big hopes for, uh, for us being able to do this out of El Salvador and through El Salvador, because this would, like from a tax perspective, from a branding perspective, from legal security perspective would be, would be ideal.

It's just that, again, um, my enthusiasm is a little over, uh, ahead of kind of like how, uh, how, how advanced and set up everything there is, but, uh, but we're, we're very actively talking to them. We're working with many parties there, so. Just maybe we can have big news there too.

International and Local Effects

Luke: Well, no, and, and you actually said something great about global fans. I think this is a, a fantastic thing, right? A a again, Bedford is, is similar. They've, they've got, they've got fans all over the world and, and I think for you guys it's like who is going to tune into the Bulgarian football league outside of Bulgaria before, well, not too many people, but now a bunch of Bitcoiners.

If they're into, if they're into football or, or not even, because this is the funny thing. There were, there were a lot of people posting about that. They, they've got, they, they don't usually follow, follow sports at all, but, but they'll follow the Bitcoin team. So the, the funny thing is, I think, I think the first, the first club to adopt Bitcoin in every league is going to get all of these global fans.

And maybe the, maybe the, the second one, the third one, maybe can get some kind of other support, but it's really the first one in every

George: really.

Luke: That, that

George: Not

Luke: That's that. I, I completely agree with you there. It's the, it's the first one

Knut: first mover advantage.

Luke: mover advantage. It's gonna get, it is gonna get all of the, all of the Bitcoiners are gonna now be, be supporting and, uh, uh, yeah.

I mean, have, have you seen, uh, some, some uptick in, uh, kind of international

George: yeah, yeah. So, international but also local. Like, local is very important. Like, we have, like, so many people in the country who's like, just what you say, like, I didn't care about sports or football, like, forever, or at all, ever, but now I follow, now I buy merch, now I come, you know, every now and then they come to games, so

Luke: Well, because there's the bread and circuses thing that you said, it gets tossed around in the Bitcoin world and also some other places on kind of the Twitter sphere and whatever, it's like it's a distraction, that sports is sort of a distraction from clown world basically and it's a way of people to sort of Uh, forget about what's going on around them, but I think that's also missing the, the positives, which it, it's a, it's a community builder, it brings people together, there's a, there's a sense of, of pride in, in something local succeeding, everyone, everyone's happy, there's, there's real economic, uh, effects usually when a, when a local sports team wins, and so, so from, from my perspective, I, I, I think, I think sport is a good thing, and it's, and it's, it's something that, that people can rally around, and so,

George: an amazing thing.

Luke: Yeah.

And, and so what, what are, what are you looking at locally? Like what, what do you hope to have the effect, uh, uh, locally in, in piv?

George: Yeah. Um, yeah, no, look, uh, for me, sports, like, for us, the, the, the, the, about Plovdiv, for me, that's what I realized, like, we're kind of very much into Bitcoin and stuff, obviously, that's our interest, but I think when we go on a Bitcoin standard, Right. And, uh, in general, people start feeling wealthier, opposed to, like, being in the grind.

You're just going to have more time for fun stuff, right? Like playing football, I mean, or volleyball, or whatever your sport is, or, like, going and cheering your team, and, uh, and being part of such a community. And I think that's really what, you know, even Nostr is about. Like it's, Being part of these communities, because that's fun, and like, we as humans, at the end of the day, we are living to be part of communities, right?

And you find your community, you're an active part of it, you contribute to it, you evolve it, right? You build it in one way or another. And unfortunately, you know, today in the fiat world, this is just like A stress valve in many ways, or like you say, like Brothers and Sisters, whatever. Um, but, uh, but I think it can be so much more, right?

It is, but it can be so much more for a larger amount of people and so on and so forth. uh, but yeah, well, back in Plovdiv, man, like, I have big hopes. I really have big, big ambitions there. I want to get Bitcoin into the wallets of, uh, of like tens of thousands of people. I want people to wake up. I want people to see.

Luke: big is piv? How many

George: It's like three, four hundred thousand people. So it's a lot. Uh, our stadium is, uh, 21, 000 seats stadium. I'm kidding. I'm kidding. It's, it's 19. I wish it was 21.

Luke: Yeah. You'll have to add 2000 more

George: Maybe, yeah, we'll, we'll think of some additional construction.

Luke: the, make the infinity stand when

George: Right. Right. But, uh, but yeah, like the setting was super cool. Like, it's really cool.

Like when it's feel like, man, the atmosphere is amazing. Um, and so it's, and it's really this community that you can feel that people are involved. So it's, it's like consistency and it's social engineering in one way or another, right?

Knut: one of our favorite words,

George: but in a positive way.

Knut: in a positive way, okay.

George: So it's social engineering for us to ingrain Bitcoin and make it part of kind of what people see, do, have, own, interact with, right?

So, uh, I think exactly because of this community element, exactly because, Because, you know, football is a football club and there's this unique living organism we can, we can create this and, you know, it's fascinating. I'm so much into this and there's other people who are so much into this. Oh my god, like, we can make such a big difference.

And, and like in the country. You know, on a political and economic level, they don't get it. Like, they don't see it. They just are in their, you know, like, oh, are we going to accept the euro? Oh, what's happening with the war? I'm like, who cares? Let's build.

Bulgarian Currency Situation

Knut: Yeah, Bulgaria has its own shitcoin, I almost forgot about that, but uh, what's it called again?

George: Kinda. Um, but not quite, to be fair. It's, it's a good coin, uh, not for investing, but, but for medium of exchange is actually decent. Uh, Lev, Lev

Knut: Lev, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah,

George: and I recently got educated about this. So, uh, the lev is pegged to the euro. So, um, uh, so, so that, that is super cool for, for us, for me as a consumer, for businesses, because like the fixed rate.

So for trade is, um, It's, it's good, right? As the world would be in the future. You have one currency, Bitcoin, you don't have the currency exchange risk, right? We don't have it only with the European Union. And the good part with this, so, we got, we got hyperinflation back in 1997. Was really bad. People lost almost everything, everything, in many cases.

Um, and then we got this so called currency board introduced and the currency board is like we have the left, but the left has to be backed up by other currencies. So it's like a stable coin, kind of like how Tether is backed by, by dollars. You know, the levy is backed by euro and like a basket of, I think they have some other currencies and assets, which is cool because the local politicians, they cannot print, they cannot, you know, so, so it's been, it's been, I think, way better than Hungary, Sweden, uh, Finland, you have your, oh

but Sweden I've heard it's kind of bad,

Knut: It's kinda bad, Norway too, like, both Swedish and Norwegian crown, and the crown in Czechia, like the Czech Republic, it's also

George: Yeah.

Knut: I mean, they're all going to shit the smaller

George: So, so for us, it's like, I would say we're better than, than the Corona, the, and, and all these like local currencies, because we kind of just are there to the, peg to the Euro. The local politicians don't have the opportunity to print. So it's, it's a very good position for us to be.

Luke: You, you get the, the negatives of the, the euro. But, but still, I mean, I mean the, the realistically, the dollar at the Euro and maybe the, the Chinese currency are the only, are the only ones that are in the, sort of within our own, within our own lifetimes are, are going to be not as terribly bad against Bitcoin.

But all the other ones are just, are. All the other ones are

Knut: Yeah, I think it's just a matter of time before both, uh, at least Sweden, uh, switches to Euro standard. If not switching to Bitcoin standard happens first, but well, we'll see, we'll see what happens.

George: man. I'm very bearish about the Euro.

Knut: yeah, yeah, it's like,

Luke: It'll be the second last to fall or third last but but yeah it's it's it's it's not going to be the the last and so it's yeah.

Knut: So that is what it is. I mean, speaking of Bulgaria and currencies and stuff,

Bitcoin Adoption in Bulgaria

Knut: like, how is the rest of, how is Bitcoin adoption in general in Bulgaria? What's happening in other places? Like, Plamen opened a bar, I saw, and like, what are the connections? What's happening?

George: It's actually quite cool. I'm, I'm, I'm quite happy with, with how the ecosystem is evolving. There's, there's Plamen, um, with his whole community, like content creation, the conferences he's been doing, which has been like a very, I think he's responsible for like, I don't know, probably like, 000, maybe several 10, 000s of people who have opened their eyes and even if they're not hard bitcoiners, they now own bitcoin.

Uh, so that's huge. We have other content creators also who've had an impact. We have now once or twice per, yeah, about twice per year we have like, uh, A small, uh, merchant, uh, like, conference events, so for merchants to accept Bitcoin. we have these people who are active and who are doing things. Now, actually, yeah, there's something new that's coming up here, uh, literally in Plovdiv is we have this, um, this, uh, great dudes who have this, um, um, it's an application for, uh, ordering food, like takeaway and, uh, what is it, like,

Knut: like Glovo or

George: yeah, yeah, like Glovo, um, but, um, but, um, But it's not like this big corporate thing that, but, but still, it's a very good product and they've integrated accepting Bitcoin there for quite some time now they've made it even easier and they've introduced.

So we have like about, I think it's 15 restaurants in Sofia and like five or so in Plovdiv where through their system, you can order food. And pay with Bitcoin online, or you can also go in the restaurant and pay in Bitcoin online, and they just, um, they just won a, uh, grant from, uh, Bitcoin Beach, uh, and, uh, they're going to use the grant, uh, to, well, the attempt is really to start like a small circular economy, if you would Um, where, so if you go, uh, to one of those restaurants and pay with Bitcoin, you're going to get sats back 10%, and then, um, the restaurant is also going to get 10 percent sats back.

And if you order food, um, through their app, also the driver is going to get, uh, some sats back. And, uh, we've just been discussing, because obviously we're partnering with them, with the football club, so we'll push this out, because some of the restaurants that are there are our, I mean, basically, like, we have two restaurants locally that are partners, we got them in, right, obviously, in the deal, um, So, so that is also like, for me, it's like super cool because now for so far, the club has been pushing Bitcoin.

Now we have two of our restaurant partners who are themselves like hard Botevists, Botefans, and like they're popular. Now they're starting to accept Bitcoin in their, in their two restaurants, right? And they're going to have their campaigns. We're going to push them more. So, um, so I'm really excited about this and fingers crossed this goes well.

We have good metrics because if we have good metrics. Yeah, we'll look for ways to grow this. So there's a lot of grassroots things happening, which I love. On the top, nothing.

Knut: It's the way it's supposed to be.

George: But it's the way it is. Yeah, it's a better

Luke: Yeah it really seems like that you get one or two of these big anchors like like for example you you guys have had that had that conference last couple of years but now with both of Plavdev now Bulgaria is really got a couple of big anchors. Big relative in relative terms, uh, and all of this other stuff can, can start coming up around it.

And, uh, love, love to see it. I mean, he, I mean here, here with Rega, there's Honey Budger has been going for a really long time, and I, and I even think that they are honest about, we, we would, we just talked to, to Max, uh, about this, uh, from Defi and like yeah, there's not much other adoption in, in Lavia and this conference has been going on for a long time.

Exactly. And so it's just like, uh, it's, it's, it's great to see, uh, in, in your case, in Bulgaria's case, that there's, there's more of this, uh, picking up. So, yeah,

George: Well, I think it's really, in our case, I don't know, like it's grassroots, like I said, and I really believe grassroots and then Rio or for the vast majority, Rio adoption comes permissionless life. It comes like it's not forced. You know, there is this point where, okay, there's Plamen, like, he got the inspiration, he makes his content, he does the conferences, Like, our owner, he sees this opportunity for Bitcoin, for the club. He takes the action, right? So it's, it's not like, so it's individuals, right? Taking actions and then, as you have, you know, several of them, maybe others get inspired or get ideas going and that's how the magic happens. And, uh, yeah. Excited about it.

Wrapping Up

Luke: it's awesome, man. Great hear your story. So, was, uh, was there anything else that you wanted to discuss or bring up on this topic?

George: no, I mean, what I would say is absolutely, uh, Please, uh, you know, Knut, you've been, but please, you're absolutely welcome, Luke, join as well, like, both of you should come

Knut: Absolutely. Highly recommend it. I had a great time in Bulgaria, and it's such a fascinating country, it's such a rich history and such a beautiful place, and the food is great, and it's very affordable, it's very, yeah, very

George: like, I have people who come in Plogis specifically to, like, nomads, spend, like, a or a month. So, so please enjoy, visit the game. come spend in the restaurants where they accept Bitcoin, follow us on social media for sure, so, X and Nostr,

Luke: Yes, all the details, please.

Knut: And also like one of the eras, uh, infamous eras of Bulgaria is the commie era, right? Where you can see the impact that system had on the country and how horrid it is. Uh, so it's, it's, uh, that might not be a good pitch for, uh, but that's

Luke: Let him, let him share his social medias, Knut.

George: wait, do you have, do you have something

Knut: no, no, I think like the, The point I was getting to is, if you get to Bulgaria, don't only go to Sofia, go around the rest of the country, because it's not as raped as that town was by, as that city was by communism, all this concrete, yeah, yeah,

George: yeah, the,

Knut: you can really see the impact there. I'm not, um, yeah, this came out totally wrong, but I'm trying to, I'm trying to, To hype Bulgaria here, but also there's a historical lesson to be learned in the country, for sure,

George: sure. It's really like, there's so many different things there. So there's the communist part, there's like fucking amazing nature, there's like

Knut: is everything, yeah.

George: if you're into hiking, there's like, just like from Sofia, what I love about Sofia, like just last week, twice, end of the day, I'm like fucked up, like tired of computer.

40 minutes up and I'm up in the mountains, hiking, in like 2000 meters altitude. Uh, so, so there's all these like super cool things, but on the socials, yeah, we're on Twitter. we're on Nostr, uh, so Twitter is, um, botif underscore, uh, en, on Nostr, uh, we are just botif. Yeah, you can find us.

Luke: going say you're NPUB? No, no, no,

George: I'm still learning it, okay?

Luke: we'll post, you're still learning, we'll post all the details in the show

George: Yes. Yes. And feel free to also check out our website. We have, due to our El Salvadorian, um, kind of project, we already have a Salvadorian website, which is very easy to remember, botif. sv. So you can go there and from there you'll find all the links and information.

Luke: Absolutely fantastic.

Knut: Great! Get the inverse of Clown World. This is a shill. BitcoinInfinityStore. com And thank you very much for coming on,

George: was great having

Knut: Great to have

Luke: George, thanks so much. This has been Bitcoin Infinity Show. Thank you for

@ 6ad3e2a3:c90b7740

I have a thesis as to why things have gone so off the rails in the United States (and beyond), but it might not be what you think. Most of what we decry as insane and inexplicable policies are but symptoms of an underlying process. That process is the creation of money via fiat, the way in which the money propagates through the system and how it distorts the incentives of so many who are beholden to it.

Let’s start at the beginning. New money is created via debt issuance all the time. It’s why the US government is nearly $36 trillion in debt — it issues bonds and owes the bond buyers the interest and principle on it. “Issuing debt” is a fancy way of saying “borrowing money.” The US government borrows from its citizens, corporations, geopolitical allies (and even adversaries) to finance its operations.

If there is insufficient demand for its debt — if not enough people want to loan it money, it can raise rates, i.e., promise to pay more interest so as to entice more lenders, or just have the Federal Reserve buy the debt (either via its primary dealer banks or in some cases directly) and place the assets (bonds) on its balance sheet. US government debt (promise to pay) is an asset, and so the Fed can put that promise on its balance sheet.

The result of new money coming into the system via government borrowing is inflation. There is simply more money chasing the same amount of goods and services, so the prices for them rise. If while injecting more money into the economy the government were simultaneously injecting more goods and services, there wouldn’t be inflation, but unfortunately while you can always print more money out of thin air, you can’t print more energy, grass-fed steak or expert medical care.

But the inflation of the money supply and its concomitant debasement doesn’t happen all at once. Initially when there’s more money injected into the system, those who are closest to the new supply (banks through which it passes, their largest accounts, investors and asset holders) spend it and benefit from it before its inflationary effect has fully taken hold. This is known as the Cantillon Effect. Eventually inflation drives ordinary wages up too, but not enough to offset higher prices, and only after the Cantillonaire class has disproportionately benefited.

The unfairness of this arrangement is evident enough, but the second and third order effects are far more sinister. When the government can essentially borrow (print) money to finance whatever it wants, whether the Iraq War and its military contractors, “free” mRNA shots (Pfizer made nearly $100B off those contracts) or any other policy that benefits cronies and favored corporations, there are going to be a lot of resources and effort devoted to getting in good with the decision makers in the government.

Put differently, if I run a small business, I can only earn money if I offer my customers something they value enough to pay more for it than it cost me to produce. If I hire you, you’ll need to add value to the business and also hope it can continuing adding enough value to customers to pay your salary. We have to work for it.

But the government can simply print it, and in infinite supply. Are you better off starting a business (or working for one) that relies on adding value to its customers in a competitive environment or one that taps the infinite font of government money?

People respond to incentives, and as a result of the untethered money printing which began in earnest in 1971 when Richard Nixon took us off the gold standard (essentially a default caused in part by the cost of the Vietnam War), financial services experienced explosive growth, making up a larger share of the economy than at any time since the eve of the Great Depression. The best and brightest in large numbers eschewed value-creating careers in fields like engineering for jobs in finance. Why try to innovate and compete in the ruthless marketplace if you can join forces with the Cantillonaires, quickly become one and amass generational wealth via passive asset holding?

But it’s not just the bankers and the asset holders. In the scheme of things that theft off the top and upward redistribution is almost benign. Where things start to go seriously off the rails is that people cannot save in an inflating currency, and so they are forced to buy financial instruments like stocks and bonds. (Poor people can’t afford to do so, try to save in a debasing currency and usually stay poor and stuck.) But even middle and upper middle class people who get a small piece of the Cantillon pie, as their asset values rise on account of the increased money supply (to offset their lagging wages), have a new problem: most lack the time, skill or inclination to hold down a second job managing their investments.

As a result, they either lost money in the markets (selling when the market dropped, buying the top when everyone had already made money) or paying exorbitant fees to brokers who added little value except to take the stress of managing it out of their hands.

Eventually, investors figured out low-fee passive index funds outperform brokers, and so millions piled into them. As a result, companies like Black Rock, Vanguard and Fidelity absorbed money flows in the trillions of dollars, giving them outsized power. If they divested from a company its stock would tank, and its executives would miss their marks. If Blackrock and its ilk decided every company needed to be ESG or DEI compliant, the CEOs had little choice but to follow suit or they would be replaced. Consequently, you had a few elites, essentially dictating policy for the entire economy.

But back to that $36 trillion in debt, roughly a quarter of which was racked up during ill-conceived wars of choice in the Middle East. A country with that level of debt can’t honor its obligations over the medium and especially longer term. The elites know this — they know the promised social security, pensions, healthcare entitlements, etc. can never be delivered in the way they’re expected. Via inflation they might be delivered nominally, i.e., you might get the number you were promised, but no chance you’d ever get the purchasing power that number represented when the promise was made. When groceries cost a thousand dollars, a million dollar pension doesn’t go far.

What that means is the wealth people think is coming to them is not there. Even the wealth represented by the digital bits in your bank account isn’t there. Sure, if you took it out and spent it tomorrow, you could get 2024-level value for it, but even Bernie Madoff’s first clients to withdraw were able to get their money out. The problem is that collectively the digital bits do not remotely have the purchasing power they purport.

The elites need to do something about this, or there will be a French Revolution-style reckoning for them. They looted society’s collective wealth, and they need to assert control over the fallout. And they need to make sure the fallout is delayed. They need to keep people divided and fearful of demanding what they were promised.

The fear-mongering takes many forms (pandemics, climage change terrorism, white supremacy!), but foremost among them is to cast anyone who purports to reveal the unfair arrangement to the people as an enemy. “Populist” candidates must be smeared as “racist” or “fascist” and deemed unacceptable to large swaths of the population. Luckily for the oligarchs they had a few aces in the hole to enforce this perception. First, they had the megaphone of legacy media and also large centralized social media companies like Facebook and Twitter on which they could lean to suppress content that undermined their aims.

Second, via the centralized investment firms, they could dictate terms and initiatives to large publicly traded corporations and the officers of said corporations could reward compliant employees with promotions and power. Anyone who worked in those spheres therefore was selected for belief in the corporate-media dictated narratives.

Third, via their control of academia (donations from academia to the Blackrock-favored democratic party outpace donations to the disfavored one by a factor of 10), they could indoctrinate college students, reward the ones for whom it takes with jobs and social acceptance. Moreover, they also encouraged more people to go to college than ever before, creating an overproduction of elites, and a large indebted, indoctrinated wave of young people who didn’t have much to show for the debt they took on. That made them more desperate to stay in the good graces of the oligarchy, more compliant lest they lose the small income stream they were able to find in low-level managerial roles. Finally, as a reward for following the path, they were given status as educated people, those who had mastered the protocols of the elite.

Things like using the proper pronouns, avoiding the forbidden words for which a less savvy person would be cancelled and having the right beliefs (like climate change being an existential threat, more on that below) signaled moral and class superiority. Even if the electrician or plumber made more money than them, offered a service that provided real value to people, he did not know increasingly labyrinthine protocols for navigating elite discourse.

The more successful members of this class have all of these incentives plus a real paycheck, and they and those aspiring to join them formed a strong and influential bulwark against the rising discontent of working class people struggling with rising costs and feeling the disdain of elites who saw them as “deplorables” and “racists.”

The climate change agenda — promulgated religiously via academia and corporate media — was especially powerful because it instilled fear, a sense of dwindling resources and an incentive to consume less. That last part was especially crucial because if the digital bits in people’s accounts were going to fall far short of their purported purchasing power, getting an army of people to voluntarily reduce their power consumption (and angrily demand it of others) killed two birds with one stone. Not only would they have a ready-made excuse for the lack of promised power (purchasing power is the ability to wield energy, and “energy” and “power” are essentially synonymous), but they would also have a reason to bar those who did not voluntarily relinquish it from enjoying its full use.

Once the oligarchs had successfully indoctrinated a large swath of the population to be in debt, desperate to hang onto their trivially replaceable jobs, believe power consumption was not only wrong but an existential threat and anyone advocating otherwise was racist, fascist and morally inferior, they could sell them on ever-increasing top-down government control for the greater good. No matter how draconian the measures — covid lockdowns, forced injections, mask mandates for toddlers — the indoctrinated (and terrified) subject would not only go along but enforce those edicts on others.

Anyone refusing to go along would be accused of heresy, so to speak, and mobs of eager acolytes would be quick to call for his excommunication. If you think this is hyperbole, you are probably memory-holing the covid era wherein some of the most prominent celebrities and politicians eagerly advocated for those who declined pharmaceutical conglomerate chemicals to be barred from participating in society, put in camps and left to die should they need medical attention.

Of course, maintaining total control over the population is difficult, especially as economic conditions worsen, and those who are not totally beholden to the cantillonaire corporate class and who bypassed the university indoctrination complex gain awareness via uncensored niches of social media and ignorantly trusting their own eyes and ears. To that end, pushes for increased censorship were needed, as well as ever novel social wedge issues to divide the populace. On their face insane policies like letting biological males compete in women’s sports and encouraging minors to have sex changes served to further divide people and also served as a loyalty test of sorts. If you could advocate for Lia Thomas dominating collegiate women’s swimming, for example, you demonstrated your bona fides as a true comrade to the educated class.

Of course, suggesting something like this or advocating for sex changes among 12 year olds would have landed you in a straitjacket 15 years ago, but that was the point. If you were not willing to state a woman could have a penis and men could get pregnant you were not sufficiently loyal to the cause. Perhaps that’s a little too strong, but at a minimum you could not vociferously object to these absurd precepts and still expect to keep your job.

As such we now have a wide swath of educated, above-average IQ, ostensibly otherwise sensible Americans cheering on the fomenting of World War III in Ukraine, justifying ideological censorship contra the very First Amendment of the United States Constitution, unchecked illegal immigration irrespective of financial and social cost, among other insane policies of which virtually no one had been in favor when they identified as garden-variety liberals 10 years ago.

They have been bribed not to see what’s happening in front of their faces, not to remember how their rights were violated during covid, not to acknowledge the myriad lies to their faces like “the lab leak is a conspiracy theory,” “Trump colluded with Russia to steal the 2016 election,” that “Hunter Biden’s laptop was Russian disinformation” that they only needed to take the vaccine to avoid covid, that covid was a “pandemic of the unvaccinated” that Joe Biden was “sharp as a tack” and anyone saying otherwise was a conspiracy theorist.

I could go on for pages about the lies and hoaxes, but you get the point. The problem is via money printing, the oligarchy has essentially unlimited power to astroturf all manner of absurd agendas and incentivize tens of millions to go along via social and professional bribes. Of course the truth will come out eventually because it always does. Lies can carry the day so long as enough energy is pumped into the system to sustain them, but the truth is like gravity — when your plane runs out of fuel it will necessarily fall to the ground.

So this is where we find ourselves — a half awake populace of “conspiracy theorists,” “racists,” “anti-vaxxers,” “xenophobes” and “cranks” pointing out the unfathomable and mind-boggling destruction taking place in our cities, schools and once esteemed institutions, being dismissed, ignored and vilified by mobs of head-in-the-sand loyalists bribed not to see the blue whale in the room, the unsustainable, immoral and unholy assault upon the foundations of civilization itself, right in front of their faces.

@ 32b3653a:500d7f43

Opinion about HTX: Buy Crypto & Bitcoin (android)

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OBJECTIVES

To establish a guideline for the management of Acute Community-Acquired Pneumonia (CAP) in our center, for both outpatient and hospitalized patients, with the aim of:

• Reducing morbidity and mortality associated with the condition.
• Improving the quality of medical care and optimizing hospital resources.
• Delaying the progression of antimicrobial resistance.

SCOPE

All patients over 16 years of age diagnosed with Acute Community-Acquired Pneumonia who are being followed by our institution in an outpatient or inpatient setting.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Physicians from the Medical Clinic, Medical Emergency, Coronary Unit, and Intensive Care Service. Nursing Coordination. Pharmacy Service. Infection Control Committee.

REFERENCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Community-Acquired Pneumonia in Adults. Recommendations for its management. Lopardo et al. MEDICINA (Buenos Aires) 2015; 75: 245-257. Argentine Society of Infectiology. ISSN 0025-7680
2. Diagnosis and Treatment of Adults with Community-acquired Pneumonia. An Official Clinical Practice Guideline of the American Thoracic Society and Infectious Diseases Society of America. 2019. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine Volume 200 Number 7 | October 1, 2019. DOI: 10.1164 rccm.201908-1581ST
3. ERS/ESICM/ESCMID/ALAT guidelines for the management of severe community-acquired pneumonia. Intensive Care Med (2023) 49:615–632 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00134-023-07033-8
4. Antimicrobial resistance. WHO. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/antimicrobial resistance
5. Internal Medicine. Farreras-Rosman. Volume I. Elsevier. 2008 Edition.
6. Considerations for the Responsible Use of Antibiotics in COVID-19. Argentine Society of Infectiology. 2020. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BmXD5x6rEpSqDIc8urccdqLcZKkP3U7X/view
7. Penicillin Allergy. Castells M. New England Journal of Medicine, 381(24), 2338–2351. doi:10.1056 nejmra1807761

INTRODUCTION

Pneumonia is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide, affecting patients of all ages and with various risk factors. Proper management in both outpatient and hospital settings is crucial for improving clinical outcomes and reducing associated complications.

This document aims to standardize and optimize the treatment of pneumonia based on the most current evidence and recommendations from leading scientific organizations. It seeks to be a practical tool for healthcare professionals, providing a clear and concise approach to the diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up of patients with pneumonia.

FOUNDATIONS. HOSPITAL SITUATION ANALYSIS:

• Pneumonias represent a significant burden on the healthcare system due to their high prevalence and potential severity, underscoring the need for a standardized approach.
• A clinical guideline facilitates decision-making, ensuring that all healthcare professionals follow a uniform protocol that integrates best practices, thereby reducing variability in treatments. This allows for better resource utilization, optimizing antibiotic use and reducing the emergence of antimicrobial resistance.
• Antimicrobial resistance has been proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and related organizations as the leading cause of death and hospital expenditure by the year 2050.
• Pneumonias in our center, in their various presentations, have shown significant prevalence in hospitalizations according to measurements taken in 2024.
• In our center, antibiotics, as a whole, have been the main source of financial losses related to drugs during the billing cycle from June 2023 to July 2024.

EPIDEMIOLOGICAL SITUATION:

Pneumonias represent a global incidence of 1.26 cases per 1000 inhabitants. It has been documented in some centers that this incidence can increase in patients over 65 years of age, representing 34 cases per 1000 inhabitants. Outpatient mortality varies between 0.1% and 5%, but can reach up to 50% in hospitalized patients, especially those requiring Intensive Care Unit stay.

The main risk factors for developing pneumonia are:

• Chronic Heart Disease.
• Chronic Respiratory Disease.
• Chronic Kidney Disease.
• Advanced-stage HIV infection.
• Immunosuppressed. Solid Organ Transplant. Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation.
• Diabetes mellitus.
• Neoplasms.
• Smoking.
• Chronic use of Corticosteroids or Proton Pump Inhibitors.
• Multiple Myeloma and Hypogammaglobulinemia.
• Anatomical or Functional Asplenia.

The main causative agents of acute community-acquired pneumonia in our setting are:

• Respiratory Viruses (Influenza, SARS-CoV2, RSV).
• Streptococcus pneumoniae.
• Haemophilus influenzae.
• Staphylococcus aureus.
• Mycoplasma pneumoniae and Chlamydophila pneumoniae.

It should be noted that Streptococcus pneumoniae shows a good sensitivity pattern to penicillin and continues to be the most frequent causative microorganism. Haemophilus influenzae only shows beta-lactamase production in 10% to 23% of cases. Staphylococcus aureus in our setting has a low incidence of methicillin resistance, although this possibility should be considered in certain situations and severe clinical presentations. Given these considerations, beta-lactams remain the first-line treatment.

Regarding Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates, they will only be relevant in patients with risk factors such as bronchiectasis, cystic fibrosis, prior treatment with corticosteroids, or broad-spectrum antibiotics.

Emerging pathogens of some relevance include the eventual emergence of cases caused by Leptospira interrogans, Legionella pneumophila, and Hantavirus. These cases should always be associated with a specific epidemiological link.

DIAGNOSIS

The diagnosis of pneumonia is based on clinical and imaging criteria. For the diagnosis of Acute Community-Acquired Pneumonia, we will consider:

Symptoms and Clinical Signs (at least 1 of the following): * Fever. * Altered general condition. * Cough. * Sputum production. * Chest pain. * Dyspnea. * Hemoptysis.

plus

Radiopacity on Chest X-ray (Alveolar consolidation with or without air bronchogram, interstitial pattern, bronchiectasis, cavitation, pleural effusion, new radiopacity, etc.). It is always recommended to request both frontal and lateral views.

Chest CT remains a method with greater sensitivity and specificity for evaluating lung parenchyma compared to conventional X-ray in infectious pathology. However, a simple chest X-ray is an adequate method for the initial evaluation of the condition and its complications, which is why a CT scan is not recommended as an initial method for evaluating pneumonia and should always be preceded by a conventional chest X-ray.

CT studies should be considered in the following situations:

• Respiratory failure.
• Evaluation or suspicion of differential diagnoses to Acute Community-Acquired Pneumonia.
• Evaluation or suspicion of complications of Acute Community-Acquired Pneumonia.
• Evaluation of radiological patterns that are not entirely clear on the chest X-ray.

CHOICE OF CARE SITE AND TREATMENT

For the choice of care site and treatment of pneumonia, it is recommended to complement clinical criteria with validated mortality scores associated with risk factors and clinical status.

CURB-65 (1 point for each item): * Confusion * Elevated urea greater than 90 mg/dl * Respiratory rate greater than 30/minute * Systolic blood pressure < 90 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure < 60 mmHg * Age equal to or greater than 65 years

Results:

• Groups 0 to 1: Outpatient management.
• Groups 1-2: Admission to General Ward.
• Groups 3-5: Admission to Intensive Care Unit.
• Appendix: A pulse oximetry reading of less than 92% is recommended as an independent factor for inpatient management under expert recommendation to complement the score.

COMPLEMENTARY STUDIES AND CULTURE SAMPLING

Once the diagnosis is completed, the patient's risk stratification and the choice of admission site are made, the following complementary studies and culture sampling are recommended to proceed with the patient's study during treatment.

Outpatient patient: * Pulse Oximetry. * Laboratory routine (complete blood count, glucose, urea, creatinine, liver function tests).

Inpatient patient in general ward: * Pulse Oximetry. * Laboratory routine (complete blood count, glucose, urea, creatinine, liver function tests). Acid-base status if pulse oximetry is less than 92%. * Sputum sample (Gram stain, culture, antibiogram). * Blood cultures. * In the presence of pleural effusion: Thoracentesis. Physical-chemical study for Light's Criteria. Direct and Culture of Pleural Fluid.

Inpatient patient in intensive care unit: * Pulse Oximetry. * Laboratory routine (complete blood count, glucose, urea, creatinine, liver function tests) plus acid-base status. * Sputum sample (Gram stain, culture, antibiogram). Tracheal aspirate, Mini-BAL, or BAL sampling for patients requiring ARM upon admission. * Blood cultures. * Urinary antigen for detection of Streptococcus pneumoniae, if available in microbiology. * In the presence of pleural effusion: Thoracentesis. Physical-chemical study for Light's Criteria. Direct and Culture of Pleural Fluid.

Special considerations for Viral Pneumonias: * We recommend performing a viral panel for Influenza A/B for any pneumonia presenting at least 1 risk factor mentioned during periods of viral circulation in the community. * We recommend performing a viral panel for SARS-CoV2 for any pneumonia presenting at least 1 risk factor mentioned during periods of viral circulation in the community or having epidemiological criteria of a suspected COVID-19 case. * The Infection Control Committee will timely inform based on the National Epidemiological Bulletin about the presence of circulating respiratory viruses in our setting.

Special considerations for Atypical Pneumonias and HIV Testing: * We recommend serological testing for IgM/IgG for Chlamydia and Mycoplasma for any pneumonia presenting a subacute evolution at the time of clinical presentation or clinical-radiological dissociation in its presentation. * In the suspicion of pneumonia caused by emerging pathogens (Legionella pneumophila, Leptospira interrogans, Hantavirus), consider the necessary epidemiological link as a prior epidemiological background before requesting specific diagnostic tests. * HIV testing is recommended for all pneumonias, with special emphasis on those that do not present the conventional risk factors mentioned.

ANTIMICROBIAL TREATMENT AND DURATION OF TREATMENT:

Directed antimicrobial treatment will be based on the present risk factors and the choice of care site and treatment.

Outpatient patient <65 years and without risk factors:

First choice: * Amoxicillin 875mg/12h orally for 5-7 days.

Scheme for history of allergy to Beta-Lactams: * Clarithromycin 500mg/12h orally for 5 days or * Azithromycin 500-1000mg/day for 5 days.

Outpatient patient >65 years or with at least 1 risk factor:

First choice: * Amoxicillin-Clavulanate 1g/12h orally for 7 days.

Scheme for history of allergy to Beta-Lactams: * Clarithromycin 500mg/12h orally for 5 days or * Azithromycin 500-1000mg/day orally for 5 days.

Inpatient patient in General Ward <65 years and without risk factors:

First choice: * Ampicillin-Sulbactam 1.5g/6h IV +/- Clarithromycin 500mg/12h orally/IV for 5-7 days.

Scheme for history of allergy to Beta-Lactams: * Ceftriaxone 1g/day IV for 5-7 days.

Inpatient patient in General Ward >65 years or with at least 1 risk factor:

First choice: * Ampicillin-Sulbactam 1.5g/6h IV for 7 days +/- Clarithromycin 500mg/12h orally/IV for 5 days.

Scheme for history of allergy to Beta-Lactams: * Ceftriaxone 1g/day IV for 7 days.

Inpatient patient in Intensive Care Unit:

First choice: * Ampicillin-Sulbactam 1.5g/6h IV for 7 days +/- Clarithromycin 500mg/12h orally/IV for 5 days.

Scheme for history of allergy to Beta-Lactams: * Ceftriaxone 1-2g/day IV for 7 days.

Special Considerations for Inpatients:

Scheme for risk factors for Pseudomonas aeruginosa*: * Piperacillin/Tazobactam 4.5g/6h IV or Cefepime 2g/8h IV for 7 days +/- Clarithromycin 500mg/12h orally/IV for 5 days.

Scheme for risk factors for Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus**: * Add to conventional scheme: Vancomycin 15-20mg/kg/8-12h IV +/- Clindamycin 600mg/8h IV for 7-14 days.

Aspiration Pneumonia:

First choice: * Ampicillin-Sulbactam 1.5g/6h IV for 5-7 days.

*Risk factors for Pseudomonas aeruginosa: Bronchiectasis, cystic fibrosis, prior treatment with corticosteroids or broad-spectrum antibiotics. Documented isolates in respiratory cultures of Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

**Risk factors for Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus: Previously healthy young patients with severe, necrotizing, and rapidly progressive pneumonia, cavitary infiltrates, hemoptysis, prior influenza, intravenous drug users, rash, leukopenia, recent or concomitant skin and soft tissue infections.

The routine use of corticosteroids in pneumonia is not recommended.

CONSIDERATIONS ON ANTIMICROBIALS IN VIRAL AND ATYPICAL PNEUMONIAS:

In the case of a concomitant antigen test or PCR for Influenza A/B or SARS-CoV2, the following treatment recommendations are made:

Influenza Virus A/B:

First choice: * Oseltamivir 75mg every 12 hours orally for 5 days. Other considerations: * In cases of Respiratory Failure in ARM or Obesity: Oseltamivir 150mg every 12 hours orally for 5 days. * Concomitant antimicrobial treatment is recommended as there is documented frequent association of Influenza Virus and Streptococcus pneumoniae.

COVID-19: * First choice is conventional treatment with dexamethasone 8 mg IV for 10 days in the event of respiratory failure. * Routine antimicrobial treatment is not recommended for COVID-19; therefore, upon a positive SARS-CoV2 test, it is recommended to discontinue antimicrobials.

Consider maintaining concomitant antimicrobial treatment only in suspected bacterial infection due to severe presentation: * Focal alveolar consolidation +/- air bronchogram in imaging studies plus 1 of the following: sepsis, risk factors, and/or immunosuppression.

Atypical Pneumonias with Seroconversion for Chlamydia or Mycoplasma:

First choice: * Clarithromycin 500mg every 12 hours IV/orally for 14 days. * Azithromycin 500-1000mg/day IV/orally for 14 days. * Doxycycline 100mg every 12 hours IV/orally for 14 days.

CONSIDERATIONS ON PENICILLIN AND OTHER BETA-LACTAM ALLERGIES:

Patients who report penicillin allergy are often misclassified. It is documented that more than 95% of patients who report penicillin allergy can receive beta-lactams without any complications. Additionally, penicillin hypersensitivity diminishes over the years.

Allergy to one beta-lactam does not imply the impossibility of using the entire spectrum of beta-lactams, as there are only a few cases of cross-hypersensitivity.

Therefore, we recommend the safe use of beta-lactams except in cases of a reported or documented history of severe allergy to penicillin (anaphylaxis).

In doubtful cases or confirmed allergy events during hospitalization, a consultation with an Allergy Specialist is available to evaluate the case.

FOLLOW-UP IN OUTPATIENT TREATMENT MODALITY

Patients undergoing pneumonia treatment in an outpatient setting can continue their treatment at home, considering advising them to seek further consultation in case of alarm signs (fever that does not subside after 48 to 72 hours, dyspnea, hemoptysis, chest pain, etc.). Nevertheless, it is good practice to consider a follow-up consultation in the emergency department or clinic after 48 to 72 hours of starting antibiotic therapy.

It is not routinely recommended to repeat a chest X-ray or CT scan to evaluate the evolution of pneumonia under outpatient treatment. Only in the case of suspected complications or unfavorable evolution. A follow-up at the end of treatment with the primary care physician is suggested.

FOLLOW-UP IN INPATIENT TREATMENT MODALITY

For hospitalized patients, we should consider transitioning from parenteral medication to oral when the following conditions are met

• Completion of 48 hours of parenteral treatment.
• Presence of a 24-hour afebrile period, with hemodynamic stability and significant clinical improvement.
• Availability of the oral route.

It is not routinely recommended to repeat a chest X-ray or CT scan to evaluate the evolution of pneumonia under outpatient or inpatient treatment. Only in the case of suspected complications or unfavorable evolution.

PREVENTION

The prevention of pneumonia is based on timely immunization with pneumococcal vaccines, influenza vaccination, and COVID-19 vaccination according to the immunization recommendations and current schedule from the Ministry of Health.

ICD-11 CODING

• CA40 - Pneumonia.
• CA40.0 - Bacterial Pneumonia.
• CA40.1 - Viral Bronchopneumonia.
• CA40.2 - Fungal Pneumonia.
• CA40.Z - Pneumonia, organism unspecified.

Autor

Kamo Weasel - MD Infectious Diseases - MD Internal Medicine - #DocChain Community npub1jdvvva54m8nchh3t708pav99qk24x6rkx2sh0e7jthh0l8efzt7q9y7jlj

@ 3cfa816b:545fa2d9

Il progetto online Bisanz.io nasce dalla convinzione che Bitcoin sia un incredibile strumento di promozione e giustizia sociale, e nessuno che si dica riformista o progressista dovrebbe ignorare questo fatto. Un sito web in cui progressisti, riformisti, ambientalisti ed attivisti per la democrazia possano informarsi e discutere su com Bitcoin possa ridurre le disparità e le storture dell’attuale sistema finanziario.

L’urgenza di attivarsi affinché questa visione si diffonda nasce dal rischio concreto che si ripeta in Europa la stessa dinamica osservata negli Stati Uniti, dove questo tema fondamentale è stato lasciato nelle mani delle destre, da quelle liberali alle neo-con. La posizione del Partito Democratico USA su Bitcoin è infatti oggi ampiamente ostile, in maniera pregiudiziale e dettata principalmente da ragioni di posizionamento strategico.

In Italia Bitcoin è, al momento, semplicemente ignorato dalla politica. In Europa la situazione non è molto diversa da quella italiana con rare eccezioni.

Questa apatia della politica italiana ed europea nei confronti di Bitcoin può essere vinta mostrando quanto grande sia il potenziale di progresso sociale, equità e pace derivante dall'adozione di Bitcoin. Una opportunità che i progressisti europei dovrebbero cogliere, guidando l’analisi e il dibattito su questi temi.

Non si tratta naturalmente di inserire la parola “blockchain” nei contesti più assurdi (vedi i pomodori e le arance di Di Maio), ma di elaborare proposte unitarie di politica monetaria che includano una tecnologia (Bitcoin) rodata, democratica, globale, solidale.

Nel gruppo di amici che ha dato vita a Bisanz.io, c’è chi segue e studia con passione il tema Bitcoin dal lontano 2010, e chi invece ci si è avvicinato solo di recente. Cosa ci accomuna è la consapevolezza che questa innovazione ha il potenziale per risolvere le tante storture dell’attuale sistema finanziario. Una tecnologia che proteggendo i soggetti più deboli, può contribuire a ridurre le disparità, proteggere i risparmi, e stimolare gli investimenti.

Purtroppo, Bitcoin è ancora visto da tanti come uno strumento per criminali e speculatori, una percezione in gran parte giustificata da vicende legate non a Bitcoin, ma alle cosiddette criptovalute, e al più recente fenomeno dei token e degli NFT. Queste “innovazioni” nulla hanno a che spartire con la tecnologia e i valori di Bitcoin (decentralizzazione, trasparenza, open access, …) e le loro aberrazioni hanno alimentato la narrazione di cui sopra.

Più recentemente si è aggiunta la critica relativa all'impatto ambientale di Bitcoin, critica ancor più pretestuosa e in malafede. Chiunque dedichi un minimo di studio all'argomento potrà constatare come essa risulti infondata e che il mining di Bitcoin è in realtà un prezioso alleato nella transizione alle energie rinnovabili. Queste ombre e la copertura mediatica negativa non hanno impedito all'ecosistema di Bitcoin di svilupparsi e crescere con costanza dal 2009 a oggi. Mentre centinaia di monete digitali alternative, nascevano e morivano guidate solo da logiche di profitto (o peggio), Bitcoin ha sempre tenuto la barra dritta sui valori fondanti, ampliato la base di utenti e le tipologie di utilizzo (esempio: pagamenti istantanei con Lightning Network).

La missione di Bisanzio è semplice: portare il nostro contributo affinché in Italia ed Europa maturino proposte per consentire a Bitcoin di esprimere tutto il suo potenziale democratico e di giustizia.

@ 610b2232:af6c59fd

Hello Nostr Enthusiast!

Welcome to your personalized Nostr newsletter, where we dive into the latest posts and discussions that lit up the community. Let's get started!

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Unique Reaction Emojis on Nostr

Original Post by npub1f6ugxyxkknket3kkdgu4k0fu74vmshawermkj8d06sz6jts9t4kslazcka:

"Anybody ever think about how unique reaction emojis on #Nostr could be potentially analyzed as a form of metadata to identify patterns of interest and behavior? ...yeah, me neither. Gn #Nostr 💜"

nostr:nevent1s6s2h32pk2eqr3rm3643jsjqmjk3e6qgfn56vqkerzsgc6es396qgchryv

Replies:

- npub14ktnsqc2hpxqflawce9t4htvc6pvkdgp6xf6tlcujjuswuy324vqfhukks: "GN ✨🫂✨"

- npub1l6scds4yv7xmcsmhqnhdy9sggm520q09lvts2m5mkvecgr2mmmeqsuj5rc: Preference for a minimal client experience, engaging primarily as a "lurker."

It’s a nice mix of lightheartedness and introspection in the replies. A thought-provoking yet casual topic to end the night!

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The Idea of a Nostr Reader Client

Original Post by npub1f6ugxyxkknket3kkdgu4k0fu74vmshawermkj8d06sz6jts9t4kslazcka:

"A #Nostr 'reader' client would be useful to just catch up in the mornings or whenever as well. I like it."

nevent: nevent19f7urtrglqxl04n9xxj6gt2vfht44etwgymmdsja6yk47p5qsqfqnse0gc

Replies:

- npub1f6ugxyxkknket3kkdgu4k0fu74vmshawermkj8d06sz6jts9t4kslazcka: Reaffirms the idea.

- npub1nqx3lfjxpkqhck3kgrdtkhncvffe94l7qrep6ftw49nphnmw9szqvh3quf: Suggests logging in with your npub to use it as a reader-only platform.

The concept of a reader client strikes a chord, making it more practical to stay updated without the overwhelm!

---

### Exploring Tim Berners-Lee's Solid Project

Original Post by npub1melv683fw6n2mvhl5h6dhqd8mqfv3wmxnz4qph83ua4dk4006ezsrt5c24:

"If you want to give Tim Berners-Lee's Solid project a try, here's a list of servers that run it. It's still quite buggy, but I am hoping to help improve that. Also, add login with Nostr identity, which will allow long-lived personal storage for Nostr users, micro apps, and much more. Hopefully we can fix the web together!"

nevent: nevent1uceamf3v2yvht6v6lrpuelszlx3u608q7pc5jmc7vkufwz4299es76m460

Reply by npub1h0uj825jgcr9lzxyp37ehasuenq070707pj63je07n8mkcsg3u0qnsrwx8:

Affirms the significance of using Nostr IDs for web logins and appreciates the efforts.

The excitement around Solid and its potential integration with Nostr shines through, promising a brighter, decentralized web!

---

### French Disagreements and Cheese

Original Post by npub149p5act9a5qm9p47elp8w8h3wpwn2d7s2xecw2ygnrxqp4wgsklq9g722q:

"The French disagree 😉"

nevent: nevent1tutnpxrcar0g7skp95kldk02xcpqscjevns8wmkyc4xw4z6ul8dqrnscfr

Reply by npub1crsvgfepxnvjm2r9zegvzr9xz2m3pfns6hsyxjy0yls88g0k8gtqhc9r37:

"Which is why I will always have a reason to buy cheese! 🧀"

A delightful exchange highlighting French culture’s beloved cheese, adding some fun to our day.

---

Vibrant Art Post by npub1qhjxfxpjm7udr0agr6nuhuwf9383e4g9907g64r9hf6y4fh6t6uqpcp36k

Original Post:

"#nostr and PV 🧡💜🤙"

nevent: nevent1r822ejskxwya5dnv2mg7vyngp695fva40kma859stjruxtzf8jaqxwn4nx

No direct replies yet, but the visually captivating post under several art-related hashtags showcases the creativity within the Nostr community.

---

Naming Conventions for QR Codes

Original Post by npub1h0uj825jgcr9lzxyp37ehasuenq070707pj63je07n8mkcsg3u0qnsrwx8:

"We aren’t sure how to name the QR code, so we still call it a QR code. This name can be misleading, as it might be mistaken for Npub."

nevent: nevent1x53mrmurn3y0s8p96ragsredyjp6g8egxaapcr7q5lkkgc0zfj6qgk0nwf

Discussing the need for clear and distinct naming to avoid confusion. Terminology is crucial in ensuring smooth user experiences.

---

Dumb Relay Concept

Original Post by npub10000003zmk89narqpczy4ff6rnuht2wu05na7kpnh3mak7z2tqzsv8vwqk:

"The concept of 'dumb relay,' as it was initially coined, in my opinion, should be framed in terms of minimum and necessary functionality."

nevent: nevent1qqqzcweg5fvugf2nnmc3r7chw4lwjzy0v3hz9zlxl87jg9y0244qnnpvw4

Discusses ensuring the core functionality of relays while promoting synergistic cooperation with clients. Good insights on the relay-client ecosystem!

---

Highlight and Quote Feature

Original Post by npub1xdtducdnjerex88gkg2qk2atsdlqsyxqaag4h05jmcpyspqt30wscmntxy:

"Highlight and quote show up if you select some text"

nevent: nevent1vxqnssf8se2arrrngcm486qlykd2x9rpa7rqz3ctx98te2afc46qlcrxgk

A neat trick for enhancing user interaction. Try it out!

---

A Friendly "Good Morning"

Original Post by npub1qhjxfxpjm7udr0agr6nuhuwf9383e4g9907g64r9hf6y4fh6t6uqpcp36k:

"Morning visitor 🐿️ Have a wonderful day #nostriches"

nevent: nevent1m5jytjhwwt8wv6sv35h332hwfa4m9mle5wpnrvuggy9w452nmkeqef9n3t

A charming post featuring a squirrel making everyone's day a bit brighter!

---

Android App Confirmation

Original Post by npub1v0lxxxxutpvrelsksy8cdhgfux9l6a42hsj2qzquu2zk7vc9qnkszrqj49:

"What do you mean? we have an android app LOL"

nevent: nevent19kkq6hw5j6pl9w2tjkuehhfzhes5k3tlw9u0pzagqhw6flga5p4qa7d7pc

Confirming the existence of an Android app with a touch of humor.

---

Simple Banter

Original Post by npub1v0lxxxxutpvrelsksy8cdhgfux9l6a42hsj2qzquu2zk7vc9qnkszrqj49:

"No you!"

nevent: nevent1ltywx73aycrwwcsmpghrl33779uu62mh4vdz0wwue0wwr7uzr4dq0e70kw

A playful retort that adds some fun to the conversation.

---

Importance of Nostr IDs for Web Login

Original Post by npub1h0uj825jgcr9lzxyp37ehasuenq070707pj63je07n8mkcsg3u0qnsrwx8:

"Using a Nostr ID to log in to the web is very important and has been underestimated. Thank you for your contribution."

nevent: nevent1cvp9k8404al85ke3x7wt0c7qdslkfqalgjz4r4df2vkgdkw4p8qq67d3nn

Reinforces the vital role of Nostr IDs in web logins.

---

Morning Greetings

Original Post by npub1q33jywkl8r0e5g48lvrenxnr3lw59kzrw4e7p0cecslqzwc56eesjymqu0:

"Morning Nela!"

nevent: nevent170g8m29hhvy497trd8caxf4gtre3vxqnx2vjna6ha3end6lphr5qg9muft

A simple yet warm greeting to start the day.

---

Policy Update on Telegram

Original Post by npub1hxjnw53mhghumt590kgd3fmqme8jzwwflyxesmm50nnapmqdzu7swqagw3:

"Telegram Changes Policy to Share Phone Numbers & IP Addresses in 'Valid Requests'"

nevent: nevent1392kxy2upl89my89nu8nz820h2234kuuqklregkwtr4a98stet5qw5te4x

Telegram will now share phone numbers and IP addresses under certain conditions. Read the full details on [NoBS Bitcoin](https://www.nobsbitcoin.com/telegram-changes-policy-to-share-phone-numbers-ip-addresses-in-valid-requests/).

---

Settlement in Hostile Takeover Saga

Original Post by npub1hxjnw53mhghumt590kgd3fmqme8jzwwflyxesmm50nnapmqdzu7swqagw3:

"Bitfarms and Riot Platforms Reach Settlement in Hostile Takeover Saga"

nevent: nevent1x09l4k6n0phlyuvcunnqk6ny9ns30x97xvktur7surc02tssrrzq7p30xp

Bitfarms and Riot Platforms settle their takeover dispute. Check out the full article on [NoBS Bitcoin](https://www.nobsbitcoin.com/bitfarms-and-riot-platforms-reach-settlement-in-hostile-takeover-saga/).

---

Attraction vs. Repulsion

Original Post by npub149p5act9a5qm9p47elp8w8h3wpwn2d7s2xecw2ygnrxqp4wgsklq9g722q:

"Attraction > Repulsion Appears as one of the deepest habits of the universe."

nevent: nevent1y0wjctntjyyg2fws4mhwuqswyhywfa93r094y3kc36ushsjukamsw3kl9u

A philosophical note reflecting on how attraction might be a fundamental force of the universe.

---

That wraps up our Nostr discussion roundup! Keep those conversations flowing and enjoy the vibrant community. Until next time!

Cheers,

Your Friendly Nostr Newsletter Assistant

@ 62b7629b:c012720e

@ a012dc82:6458a70d

Table Of Content

• A Leap Towards Financial Inclusion

• Boosting E-Commerce Growth

• Reducing Transaction Costs

• Enhancing Security and Privacy

• Challenges and Concerns

• Conclusion

• FAQ

Chile, the economic powerhouse of Latin America, has recently expanded its e-commerce landscape by allowing Bitcoin trading on its largest e-commerce platform. This bold move signifies a significant milestone for the Latin American e-commerce industry, offering new opportunities for both merchants and consumers. This article will explore the benefits and implications of incorporating Bitcoin trading into the Chilean e-commerce market, and discuss how this development is expected to revolutionize the region's digital economy.

A Leap Towards Financial Inclusion

The integration of Bitcoin trading on Chile's leading e-commerce platform aims to promote financial inclusion by giving more people access to the digital economy. By accepting Bitcoin as a payment option, merchants can cater to customers who may not have access to traditional banking services, broadening their reach and fostering economic growth. This inclusive approach helps bridge the gap between the banked and unbanked populations, reducing income inequality and providing a more level playing field for all.

Boosting E-Commerce Growth

The addition of Bitcoin trading on the platform is expected to boost e-commerce growth in the region. With the growing popularity of cryptocurrencies, more consumers are likely to be attracted to online shopping, benefiting both local and international merchants. Additionally, the ease of cross-border transactions with cryptocurrencies can potentially increase international trade, further accelerating e-commerce growth in Latin America.

Reducing Transaction Costs

One of the major advantages of Bitcoin is its low transaction costs compared to traditional payment methods. By incorporating Bitcoin trading into the platform, merchants can save on transaction fees, making their products and services more competitively priced. This benefit will likely lead to higher sales volumes, increased revenue, and improved profitability for businesses operating in the e-commerce space.

Enhancing Security and Privacy

Bitcoin's decentralized nature and secure encryption make it an appealing payment method for consumers who value their privacy and security. By adopting Bitcoin, Chile's largest e-commerce platform is offering users an additional layer of protection against fraud and identity theft. This move can potentially build trust among users and increase the platform's credibility in the eyes of consumers.

Challenges and Concerns

Despite the numerous benefits of integrating Bitcoin trading into Chile's e-commerce platform, there are several challenges and concerns that need to be addressed. These include regulatory issues, price volatility, and the environmental impact of cryptocurrency mining. It is crucial for governments, regulators, and industry stakeholders to work together to create a supportive framework that addresses these concerns while fostering innovation and growth.

Conclusion

Chile's decision to welcome Bitcoin trading on its largest e-commerce platform demonstrates the country's commitment to fostering innovation and expanding financial inclusion. As the Latin American e-commerce market continues to grow, embracing Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies can provide a competitive advantage for businesses and consumers alike. By addressing the challenges and concerns associated with this new form of payment, Chile has the potential to become a leader in the global digital economy.

FAQ

Why is Bitcoin trading being introduced to the platform? Bitcoin trading is being introduced to promote financial inclusion, boost e-commerce growth, reduce transaction costs, and enhance security and privacy.

How does Bitcoin trading benefit consumers and merchants? Consumers benefit from increased privacy and security, while merchants can save on transaction fees, cater to a wider audience, and enjoy higher sales volumes.

How can Chile address these challenges and concerns? Governments, regulators, and industry stakeholders must work together to create a supportive framework that addresses concerns while fostering innovation and growth.

That's all for today

If you want more, be sure to follow us on:

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DISCLAIMER: None of this is financial advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Please be careful and do your own research.

@ 502ab02a:a2860397

ร่างกฎหมาย "ฮิปโปบิลล์" (Hippo Bill) ปี 1910 เป็นหนึ่งในเรื่องราวทางการเมืองที่แปลกและน่าสนใจที่สุดในประวัติศาสตร์ของสหรัฐอเมริกา เรื่องนี้เริ่มต้นจากการที่ประเทศเผชิญกับปัญหาขาดแคลนเนื้อสัตว์และปัญหาผักตบชวาที่กำลังล้นแหล่งน้ำในรัฐลุยเซียนา ซึ่งสร้างความเสียหายให้กับแหล่งน้ำและทรัพยากรประมงในท้องถิ่น เพื่อแก้ไขปัญหานี้ สมาชิกสภาคองเกรส โรเบิร์ต โบรซซาร์ด (Robert Broussard) จึงเสนอร่างกฎหมายที่มีชื่อว่า "American Hippo Bill" โดยมีเป้าหมายในการนำเข้าฮิปโปโปเตมัสจากแอฟริกาเพื่อช่วยกำจัดปัญหาผักตบชวารุกราน และในขณะเดียวกันยังเสนอแนวคิดว่าฮิปโปจะสามารถเป็นแหล่งเนื้อสัตว์ใหม่ให้กับชาวอเมริกันได้

ที่มาของปัญหาการขาดแคลนเนื้อสัตว์

ในช่วงต้นศตวรรษที่ 20 (ราวๆ 1900s ฮาๆๆ ปีนี้ช่วงนี้อีกแล้ว แฟนๆ #บอกเล่า90บวก1 น่าจะคุ้นเคยดี) มีการอพยพเข้ามามาก สหรัฐอเมริกาจึงประสบกับปัญหาขาดแคลนอาหารอย่างหนัก โดยเฉพาะเนื้อสัตว์ที่เป็นหนึ่งในอาหารหลักของชาวอเมริกัน แม้อุตสาหกรรมเนื้อสัตว์ขยายตัวอย่างมาก แต่ก็ไม่สามารถตามทันได้เนื่องจากการล่าและการทำลายถิ่นที่อยู่อาศัยของสัตว์ในทวีปอเมริกาเหนือทำให้สัตว์บางชนิดเกือบจะสูญพันธุ์ อาทิ ไบซัน และกวาง ที่เป็นแหล่งเนื้อหลัก ส่งผลให้เกิดการขาดแคลนเนื้อสัตว์ จนทำให้รัฐบาลต้องพิจารณาหาวิธีการในการเพิ่มแหล่งเนื้อสัตว์ใหม่อย่างจริงจัง

ปัญหาผักตบชวารุกราน

ในช่วงเวลานั้น รัฐลุยเซียนายังประสบปัญหาพืชน้ำชนิดหนึ่งคือ "วอเตอร์ไฮยาซินท์ (Water Hyacinth) " หรือผักตบชวา ซึ่งนำเข้ามาในอเมริกาโดยคณะผู้แทนจากญี่ปุ่นที่มาเยือนนิวออร์ลีนส์ในปี 1884 แล้วมันดันเติบโตอย่างรวดเร็วมากกกกอย่างที่เรารู้ฤทธิ์มันดี และทำให้การทำประมงเป็นไปอย่างยากลำบาก เพราะมันทำลายแหล่งที่อยู่อาศัยของปลาและสัตว์น้ำอื่น ๆจนตายเป็นเบือ ผักตบชวาเจริญเติบโตอย่างรวดเร็วและครอบคลุมแม่น้ำลำคลองเกือบทั้งหมด ทำให้การคมนาคมทางน้ำและการใช้ประโยชน์จากแหล่งน้ำเป็นไปอย่างยากลำบากมาก ** สำหรับประเทศไทย เท่าที่หาข้อมูลมาได้ ในปี พ.ศ. 2444 (ค.ศ. 1901) เมื่อครั้งที่พระบาทสมเด็จพระจุลจอมเกล้าเจ้าอยู่หัวเสด็จประพาสประเทศอินโดนีเซีย ไม่มีบันทึกว่าพระองค์ได้นำผักตบชวากลับมาด้วย อย่างไรก็ตาม ผักตบชวานั้นถูกนำเข้ามาในประเทศไทยในช่วงหลังจากนั้น โดยในปี พ.ศ. 2455 (ค.ศ. 1912) เป็นช่วงที่พระยาศรีวิสารวาจานำพืชชนิดนี้เข้ามาเพื่อใช้ในงานประดับและฟอกน้ำตามคูคลองในประเทศไทย แต่ในที่สุดกลับกลายเป็นพืชที่แพร่กระจายและก่อปัญหาในแหล่งน้ำของประเทศครับ **

เกิดแนวคิดฮิปโปจ๋าเป็นทางแก้ปัญหา

ด้วยปัญหาทั้งสองนี้ โรเบิร์ต โบรซซาร์ด เห็นว่าฮิปโปโปเตมัสอาจเป็นคำตอบของทั้งปัญหาขาดแคลนเนื้อสัตว์และปัญหาผักตบชวารุกราน เนื่องจากฮิปโปเป็นสัตว์ที่กินพืชน้ำในแหล่งน้ำต่าง ๆ รวมถึงผักตบชวาด้วยแถมกินจุมากๆ นอกจากนี้ โบรซซาร์ดเชื่อว่าฮิปโปสามารถเป็นสัตว์เลี้ยงเพื่อเอาเนื้อให้แก่ชาวอเมริกันบริโภคได้

แนวคิดนี้ได้รับการสนับสนุนจากบุคคลสำคัญอย่าง เฟรเดอริก รัสเซล เบิร์นแฮม (Frederick Russell Burnham) บุคคลสำคัญอย่างน่าตะลึงและถูกลืมเลือนไปจากประวัติศาสตร์โดยสิ้นเชิง เป็นสุดยอดลูกเสือและสปาย เดินทางไปแอฟริกาเพื่อต่อสู้ให้กับนักล่าอาณานิคมชาวอังกฤษ เพราะเช่นเดียวกับผู้คนจำนวนมากในสมัยนั้น เขาคิดว่านี่เป็นภารกิจอันสูงส่งที่จะนำ "อารยธรรม" มาสู่แอฟริกา ครั้งหนึ่งเขาเคยได้รับการขนานนามว่าเป็น most complete human being who ever lived อีกด้วย อ่อ นอกจากนี้เขายังเป็นนักผจญภัยต้นแบบของการเขียนเรื่อง อินเดียน่าโจนส์ ด้วยครับ มีวลีอมตะที่นักข่าวคนนึงเขียนถึงเขาว่า “He has trained himself to endure the most appalling fatigues, hunger, thirst, and wounds; has subdued the brain to infinite patience, has learned to force every nerve in his body to absolute obedience, to still even the beating of his heart,”

และอีกคนนึงคือ ฟริตซ์ ดูเคน (Fritz Duquesne) เป็นชาวบัวร์ เขาเป็นคนมีไหวพริบมาก เขาใช้ชีวิตไปวันๆ โดยใช้ชื่อปลอม เขาเป็นนักต้มตุ๋นที่เก่งกาจและทะเยอทะยาน เขาต่อสู้กับอังกฤษในสงครามบัวร์ครั้งที่สอง เขาเป็นสายลับที่อิสระ เบิร์นแฮมเคยเรียกเขาว่า human epitome of sin and deception ที่ฮาคือ ในช่วงสงครามบัวร์ ชายสองคนนี้ได้รับมอบหมายให้ฆ่ากันเองครับ 5555 เอาเป็นว่าทั้งสองคนเคยใช้ชีวิตในแอฟริกาและเคยมีประสบการณ์การกินเนื้อฮิปโปมาแล้ว ในช่วงเวลาที่พวกเขาอาศัยอยู่ที่นั่น

สงครามบัวร์ (Boer War) หรือที่เรียกอย่างเป็นทางการว่า "สงครามแองโกล-บัวร์" (Anglo-Boer Wars) เป็นความขัดแย้งที่เกิดขึ้นระหว่างชาวบัวร์ (Boer) ซึ่งเป็นผู้ตั้งถิ่นฐานชาวดัตช์ในแอฟริกาใต้ กับจักรวรรดิอังกฤษ โดยเกิดขึ้นทั้งหมดสองครั้ง:

• สงครามบัวร์ครั้งที่หนึ่ง (1880–1881):*** เกิดจากความไม่พอใจของชาวบัวร์ที่ต่อสู้เพื่ออิสรภาพจากการยึดครองของอังกฤษ ซึ่งควบคุมอาณานิคมแหลม (Cape Colony) ในแอฟริกาใต้ การต่อสู้นี้จบลงด้วยความพ่ายแพ้ของอังกฤษ และบัวร์ได้รับสิทธิในการปกครองตนเองในบางพื้นที่

• สงครามบัวร์ครั้งที่สอง (1899–1902):*** เกิดจากการขยายตัวของจักรวรรดิอังกฤษในแอฟริกาใต้ โดยเฉพาะในภูมิภาคที่ชาวบัวร์ครอบครอง ซึ่งมีแหล่งทองคำและเพชรอยู่ สงครามครั้งนี้กินเวลานานกว่าและทารุณกว่าครั้งแรก โดยอังกฤษใช้ยุทธวิธีกักกันครอบครัวบัวร์ในค่ายกักกันและเผาทำลายฟาร์ม จนในที่สุดชาวบัวร์พ่ายแพ้และดินแดนของพวกเขาถูกผนวกเข้าเป็นส่วนหนึ่งของจักรวรรดิอังกฤษ

ผลจากสงครามครั้งที่สอง ทำให้เกิดการก่อตั้งสหภาพแอฟริกาใต้ในปี 1910 ซึ่งเป็นส่วนหนึ่งของจักรวรรดิอังกฤษ สงครามบัวร์ถือเป็นเหตุการณ์สำคัญในประวัติศาสตร์แอฟริกาใต้ที่ส่งผลต่อการเมืองและสังคมในภูมิภาคนี้ต่อมา

แน่นอนว่าต้องได้รับสนับสนุนจากบุคคลสำคัญ

แนวคิดในการนำเข้าฮิปโปของโบรซซาร์ดได้รับการสนับสนุนจากบุคคลสำคัญในสังคมสหรัฐอเมริกาในเวลานั้น เช่น อดีตประธานาธิบดี Theodore Roosevelt และ William Newton Irvin กระทรวงเกษตรของสหรัฐ - USDA (อีกแล้ว) รวมถึงการผนึกกำลังกับสื่อมวลชนยักษ์ใหญ่ในขณะนั้น อย่าง The Washington Post และ The New York Times ต่างก็ได้รายงานถึงร่างกฎหมายนี้ด้วยความสนใจ ถึงกับเรียกเนื้อฮิปโปว่า "lake cow bacon" (เบคอนจากวัวทะเลสาบ) เพื่อยกย่องถึงคุณภาพของเนื้อที่คาดว่าจะได้จากฮิปโปว่ารสเลิศ และไม่ต้องเปลืองพื้นที่ในการเลี้ยง เพราะมันอยู่ในบ่อน้ำได้สบายๆ พยายามนำเสนอชวนเชื่อให้ประชาชนเต็มที่

แผนการและข้อเสนอ

แผนการของโบรซซาร์ดคือการนำเข้าฮิปโปจากแอฟริกาและปล่อยลงในแม่น้ำลำคลองในภาคใต้ของสหรัฐอเมริกา โดยเฉพาะในรัฐลุยเซียนา ซึ่งฮิปโปจะช่วยกำจัดพืชน้ำอย่างผักตบชวาและยังให้เนื้อสัตว์เป็นแหล่งอาหารใหม่ให้กับประชาชนได้พร้อมๆกัน โบรซซาร์ดและผู้สนับสนุนของเขายืนยันว่าฮิปโปสามารถเลี้ยงในฟาร์มขนาดเล็กและสามารถให้เนื้อได้อย่างมีประสิทธิภาพกว่าวัว รสชาติและกลิ่นคล้ายคลึงกัน สามารถเป็นสัตว์เศรษฐกิจได้เนื่องจากฮิปโปเป็นสัตว์ที่กินพืชน้ำและสามารถเจริญเติบโตได้ในแหล่งน้ำของสหรัฐ เฟรเดอริก เบิร์นแฮม ยังเสนอแนะว่าฮิปโปสามารถช่วยในการแก้ปัญหาสิ่งแวดล้อมและการขาดแคลนอาหารของประเทศ เขาชี้ให้เห็นว่าในอดีต สหรัฐอเมริกาเคยนำเข้าสัตว์ต่างถิ่นอย่างเช่น อูฐจากแอฟริกาเพื่อใช้ในพื้นที่ทะเลทรายตะวันตก และยังเคยนำเข้ากวางเรนเดียร์จากรัสเซียมาเลี้ยงในอะแลสกาเพื่อใช้ทดแทนกวางคาริบูพื้นเมืองที่ลดจำนวนลง รวมถึงนกกระจอกเทศเพื่อหวังเรื่องการบริโภคเนื้อมาแล้ว

แต่ก็ยังมีข้อกังวล

แม้จะมีการสนับสนุนอย่างมาก แต่ก็มีข้อกังวลเกี่ยวกับความเป็นไปได้ในการเลี้ยงฮิปโปในฟาร์มขนาดเล็ก ความปลอดภัยของประชาชนเป็นเรื่องที่น่ากังวลอย่างยิ่ง เพราะฮิปโปเป็นหนึ่งในสัตว์ที่อันตรายที่สุดในโลก แม้จะเป็นสัตว์กินพืช แต่ฮิปโปก็มีรายงานว่าสามารถฆ่าคนได้หลายร้อยคนต่อปี และยังมีพฤติกรรมที่เป็นอันตรายเมื่อถูกรบกวนหรือถูกคุกคาม เอาจริงๆมันหวงที่มากแม้จะไม่ได้ทำอะไรมัน มันก็พร้อมจะเข้าโจมตีคน นอกจากนี้ ยังมีคำถามเกี่ยวกับอาหารของฮิปโปด้วย โดยผู้สนับสนุนร่างกฎหมายเชื่อว่าฮิปโปจะกินพืชน้ำอย่างผักตบชวา แต่ความจริงแล้ว ฮิปโปกินพืชน้ำอย่างผักตบชวาเพียงเล็กน้อย ในธรรมชาติพวกมันส่วนใหญ่จะกินหญ้าและพืชบกเป็นอาหารหลักต่างหาก นั่นหมายความว่าการนำเข้าฮิปโปมาเพื่อลดปริมาณผักตบชวาอาจไม่เกิดผลตามที่คาดหวัง

โดนให้คะแนนลบ ด้านผลกระทบทางเศรษฐกิจและสิ่งแวดล้อม

มีการโต้แย่งว่าการนำเข้าฮิปโปอาจส่งผลกระทบต่อระบบนิเวศและเศรษฐกิจในระยะยาว เนื่องจากการนำเข้าสัตว์ต่างถิ่นอาจก่อให้เกิดปัญหาการรุกรานทางชีวภาพ นอกจากนี้ การเลี้ยงฮิปโปยังต้องใช้พื้นที่จำนวนมากและอาจส่งผลกระทบต่อพื้นที่เกษตรกรรมอื่น ๆ ของประเทศ แม้ว่าร่างกฎหมาย "ฮิปโปบิลล์" จะไม่ผ่านการพิจารณาของสภาคองเกรส แต่เรื่องราวนี้ยังคงเป็นตัวอย่างที่น่าสนใจของวิธีการแก้ปัญหาแปลกใหม่กึ่งประหลาดที่สุดในประวัติศาสตร์ของสหรัฐอเมริกา

ปัดตก

ร่างกฎหมาย H.R. 23261 หรือ "American Hippo Bill" ที่เสนอในปี 1910 มีเป้าหมายเพื่อให้รัฐบาลจัดสรรงบประมาณประมาณ 1 ล้านดอลลาร์สหรัฐ (หรือเทียบเท่าในปัจจุบัน) เพื่อการนำฮิปโปจากแอฟริกามาใช้ในฟาร์มและการผลิตในสหรัฐฯ โดยมีวัตถุประสงค์ในการใช้ฮิปโปในการผลิตเนื้อและควบคุมจำนวนพืชน้ำในบางพื้นที่ แต่ในที่สุดกฎหมายนี้ไม่เคยผ่านการอนุมัติและกลายเป็นเรื่องที่น่าสนใจในประวัติศาสตร์สหรัฐฯ

แม้ว่าแนวคิดในการนำเข้าฮิปโปโปเตมัสจะดูแปลกในสายตาของคนปัจจุบัน แต่ในบริบทของเวลานั้น การคิดค้นวิธีการใหม่ ๆ เพื่อแก้ปัญหาสิ่งแวดล้อมและเศรษฐกิจเป็นเรื่องที่ได้รับการสนับสนุนอย่างมาก มันเลยเป็นสาเหตุของอะไรหลายๆอย่าง ตามที่เคยเล่าไว้ใน #บอกเล่า90บวก1 ครับ

สิ่งที่เกิดขึ้นในครั้งนี้คือจุดเริ่มต้นของเกษตรกรรมเชิงอุตสาหกรรม แทนที่จะนำสัตว์ชนิดใหม่เข้ามาเพื่อใช้ประโยชน์จากภูมิประเทศที่ดูเหมือนจะไม่อุดมสมบูรณ์ เราเพียงแค่ดัดแปลงภูมิประเทศเหล่านั้นให้เป็นทุ่งหญ้ามากขึ้น และเราก็บรรจุสัตว์ประเภทเดียวกันเข้าไปในดินแดนใหม่นั้นมากขึ้นเรื่อยๆ นั่นคือ feed lots and confinement operations ครับ เป็นแนวปฏิบัติในอุตสาหกรรมการเลี้ยงสัตว์เพื่อการผลิตเนื้อสัตว์ โดยเฉพาะในระบบการผลิตขนาดใหญ่ในตอนนั้น

• Feedlots: คือสถานที่เลี้ยงสัตว์ เช่น วัว หรือหมู ในพื้นที่จำกัด โดยสัตว์จะถูกเลี้ยงในลานที่จัดไว้ให้พวกมันอยู่รวมกันเพื่อการขุนอาหารสูตรเข้มข้น โดยมักเป็นอาหารผสมที่มีส่วนผสมของธัญพืช โปรตีน และสารเสริมอื่น ๆ เป้าหมายของ feedlots คือการเพิ่มน้ำหนักตัวของสัตว์ให้เร็วขึ้นเพื่อให้พร้อมสำหรับการแปรรูปเป็นเนื้อสัตว์ ซึ่งช่วยให้การผลิตเนื้อสัตว์มีประสิทธิภาพมากขึ้น

• Confinement operations: หมายถึงการเลี้ยงสัตว์ในสภาพที่ถูกจำกัดพื้นที่มาก สัตว์จะไม่สามารถเคลื่อนที่หรือหากินในพื้นที่ธรรมชาติได้เอง ซึ่งการเลี้ยงแบบนี้อาจมีอยู่ในหลายรูปแบบ เช่น การเลี้ยงหมูในโรงเรือน หรือการเลี้ยงไก่ในกรง สัตว์จะได้รับอาหาร น้ำ และการดูแลอย่างเข้มงวดในสภาพแวดล้อมที่ถูกควบคุมเพื่อเพิ่มผลผลิตอย่างต่อเนื่อง #PirateKeto #กูต้องรู้มั๊ย #หมูเด้ง #siamstr

@ b5b91959:134a187a

Inleiding: lesgeven is bijzaak

\ Er was eens, in het fantastische stad Antwerpen, een systeem zo briljant dat het zelfs de Sovjet-Unie jaloers zou maken: het Antwerpse scholenloterijsysteem (meldt je aan).\ \ Het is een soort van Hunger Games, maar dan zonder het spektakel en de heldenverhalen, en met de toekomst van je kind als inzet. Mijn dochter, twaalf jaar oud, leergierig, nieuwsgierig en vol enthousiasme om aan haar middelbare schoolavontuur te beginnen, kwam terecht in het Gemeenschapsonderwijs (GO). Niet omdat wij dat zo wilden, maar omdat we simpelweg geen keuze hadden. Hierna volgde de ene na de andere poging om mijn kind te kleineren, demotiveren en vooral : er geen les aan te geven.\ Het gemeenschapsonderwijs heeft dan al geen al te beste naam, maar wat wij als gezin daar meemaken mag toch even aan het licht gebracht worden vonden we.

Het wonderlijke loterijsysteem

\ Voor de mensen die niet bekend zijn met het "systeem" van school toekenning in sommige leefzones België: de Antwerpse scholenloterij is een proces waarbij je als ouder denkt dat je enige inspraak hebt in de schoolkeuze van je kind.\ Je vult een lijstje in met 3 tot 6 scholen, en daar wordt dan een "voorkeur" gerespecteerd zogezegd. Je zegt tegen jezelf en je kind: "Oké, deze school zou goed zijn, daar willen we haar wel naartoe sturen." En dan wacht je. Vol spanning, natuurlijk. Maar zoals je misschien al geraden hebt, is die lijst puur symbolisch.\ De kans dat je kind effectief in een school terechtkomt die jij hebt gekozen. En dan nog, de lijst die je opstelt is eigenlijk kiezen tussen enkele versies van dezelfde soort leerplan-volgende vuilbak scholen.

Het resultaat? Mijn dochter, slim, nieuwsgierig en vooral een kind met een hart voor boeken en kennis, komt terecht in een school die, hoe zal ik het netjes zeggen, niet bepaald het epicentrum van intellectuele uitwisseling is. Niet dat ik per se een elite-instelling verwachtte, maar een klas waar minstens de helft van de leerlingen weet wat een boek is, leek me toch niet te veel gevraagd. Blijkbaar wel. De lat ligt niet alleen erg laag... de lat is gewoon verdwenen en vervangen door chips-eten, "oh my god" zeggen en mensen proberen te converteren naar het Islam-geloof (op 2 weken tijd al 2 keer prijs, want blijkbaar mag je in Vlaanderen je kind naar school sturen met de opdracht om "die meisjes moeten moslim sijn". Terwijl het kind in kwestie niet eens tot tien kan tellen zelf.\ Maar ach, maak er vooral geen opmerking over, dan ben je een complet-gek een extreem-rechts iemand of erger.

Da's eigen aan dit soort giftige school-systemen: je kan er maar beter je mond over houden, want anders eindig je zoals "Sandra" (fictieve naam), die effectief een opmerking maakte als kind en omsingeld werd door de stoere jongens op de speelplaats, werd gestampt, een hoertje genoemd en dan bespuwd en bespot omdat ze "haram" was.\ \ In mijn opinie, kan je dit geen scholen meer noemen, maar een gesubsidieerde facade vol ronselaars die verder aangemoedigd worden door extreem lakes proof-of-stake leerkrachten die eigenlijk meteen zouden moeten ontslaan worden.\ Of nog beter, gooi zulke facades gewoon meteen dicht en laat de kinderen die er "school lopen" hun plan trekken op straat of waar dan ook waar ze thuis horen.

\

Segregatie, maar dan "toevallig"?

\ Natuurlijk kan je in zo’n systeem veel van de nadelen toeschrijven aan pech.\ Maar als je wat verder kijkt, begint er iets op te vallen.\ \ Sommige scholen in Antwerpen hebben 0,2% leerlingen van Marokkaanse of Turkse afkomst.\ Ja, dat leest u goed: nul, komma iets procent.\ Andere scholen daarentegen zijn voor 95% bevolkt door kinderen van diverse afkomst.\ \ En dit alles in een zogenaamd "random" toewijzingssysteem? Dat klopt niet.\ Of ik begrijp het alvast niet.\ Wanneer je at random plaatsen toekent aan een school, kan het niet zijn dat in Antwerpen er mathematisch gezien niet minimaal 10% allochtone leerlingen aanwezig zijn. Een random toewijzing op die aantallen studenten kan nooit in 1 school een 0,2% resultaat geven.\ Het is net zoals in een slechte sitcom: je weet dat het nergens op slaat, maar je blijft kijken omdat je je afvraagt hoe absurd het nog kan worden.

Groenhout

\ Neem nu de school Groenhout. Ah, Groenhout, die oase van welvarende, gelegen in de schaduw van het museum voor Schone Kunsten op het trendy dure Zuid. Op een boogscheut van Hoboken of de Brederodestraat, waar er toch heel wat migranten wonen.\ De Groen-stemmende gezinnen zwaaien hier echter de plak.\ \ Als je ooit het gevoel hebt dat Antwerpen een smeltkroes van culturen is, hoef je alleen maar aan deze school te denken om je daarvan te genezen. Hoe ze het daar voor elkaar krijgen, vraag je je af?\ \ Het is een school die – puur toevallig natuurlijk – enkel kinderen aantrekt die passen in het profiel van "Anuna De Wever-types". Je kent het soort wel: biologische katoenen T-shirts, composteerbare drinkflessen en de nodige scheut activisme. Ik stel voor dat we een Pulitzer uitreiken aan de eerste journalist die uitvogelt hoe Groenhout erin slaagt om haar voorrecht zo moeiteloos te behouden in een zogenaamd willekeurig systeem. Want mathematisch kan het in ieder geval niet.

\

Het avontuur in het Gemeenschapsonderwijs

\ Ondertussen gaat mijn dochter, vol goede moed, naar haar nieuwe school. Het Gemeenschapsonderwijs, of GO, zoals we het noemen (want alles klinkt beter met een afkorting), heeft blijkbaar niet alleen een tekort aan diversiteit, maar ook aan leerkrachten. Op de eerste schooldag waren er al een paar leerkrachten "ziek" gemeld (ook hier zal het lot er voor gezorgd hebben dat het enkel de Arabisch klinkende namen waren die het begin van het schooljaar jammer genoeg niet haalden wegens ziekte).\ En nu, op 15 september, zijn ze nog steeds niet opgedoken. Misschien hadden ze wat last van post-vakantieblues? Acht weken vakantie is natuurlijk zwaar, en het vooruitzicht om terug voor een klas te staan waarin ze een compleet achterhaald leerplan moeten volgen, was waarschijnlijk iets te veel om te verdragen. Wie weet.

Mijn dochter is ondertussen nog steeds enthousiast. Gelukkig maar, want haar klasgenoten lijken vooral bezig te zijn met, wel ja, alles behalve leren. Sommige kinderen kennen het concept "boek" blijkbaar niet eens. Ze kijken naar een papieren bundel met pagina’s alsof het een relikwie uit een lang vervlogen tijdperk is. Het is bijna aandoenlijk, als het niet zo schrijnend was.

En dan is er nog de samenstelling van de klas. Want laten we eerlijk zijn: als je dochter ineens in een klas zit met vier op de vijf kinderen die letterlijk geen volzin kunnen vormen, dan weet je gewoon dat het geen mooie rit gaat worden.\ Deze kinderen hebben blijkbaar nog nooit van geschiedenis of economie gehoord, en het idee dat iemand hen ooit heeft uitgelegd hoe de wereld werkt, lijkt op een ver verleden gebaseerd te zijn (of een eigen invulling van "geld krijgen van vanalles".\ \ Je kan geen enkel gesprek voeren dat verder gaat dan TikTok-filmpjes en de nieuwste sneakers.\ Niet dat ik van iedereen verwacht dat ze een universitair diploma ambiëren, maar een basisniveau zou toch wel prettig zijn, niet? Ook de ouders van die kinderen zijn niet echt mensen waar je langer dan enkele minuten mee wilt praten, waarna ze met de nieuwste Iphone naar hun huizen verdwijnen, eender welk uur van de dag schijnen ze ook tijd te hebben om hun kinderen te komen oppikken van school. Hoe je als werkende mens om 15u20 aan een schoolpoort kan staan, is me een raadsel, maar ik zal ouderwets zijn, ... ik hoor bij de generatie die gaat werken om al die subsidie en uitkering te betalen uiteraard. "\ Want "ikke domme belg zijn." (Da's onze nieuwe rol in de communistische samenleving waar Europa naartoe gaat: betalen en hard werken, zwijgen, consumeren en vooral rap doodvallen om plaats te ruimen voor de meest parasitaire soort domme mensen die in groep leven en denken, en order-volgers worden van een ziek Fiat-gebaseerd failliet systeem).\ \ Mijn dochter wordt dan ook een "Tata" genoemd door het getesem dat er school loopt.\ Conflict opwekken is hier de boodschap. Om dan andere organisaties die op hun beurt ook op subsidies en "Linkie Winkies" drijven te gaan promoten.\ Gaat de klas slecht? (wat een garantie is met dit soort zielige aanpak) dan kan je naar "Elk Kind Telt". Een organisatie die subsidies krijgt om sociale assistenten types met je kind te laten "praten".\ Deze organisatie is officieel volgens hun eigen website bezig met het bestrijden van kinder armoede (een nobel doel uiteraard, of toch zo klinkt het).\ Echter, worden deze mensen als een "praatbarak" aangesmeerd aan de leerlingen, want wanneer je vaak te laat bent, of wanneer je een probleem hebt met de leerstof of klas situatie (100% van de kinderen dus) kan je bij hen terecht. Kassa kassa verzekerd qua subsidies dus. Er werd met geen woord over financiële problemen gepraat.\ \ Met andere woorden: men lokt de kinderen letterlijk naar het bureau van zulke organsatie onder het mom van "problemen aanpakken op school", waar dat naar boven toe wordt gebracht als "kind in financiële problemen". En daarna rinkelt de subsidie-kassa alweer.\ Men gaat een verdien-model opstarten op deze manier, waar eender welk kind in zulke vuilbak-achtige school, automatische een kosten post wordt en zogenaamd financiële problemen of armoede kent thuis.\ \ Mijn kind heeft voldoende financiële middelen, en omdat ze iets vroeg over de belachelijke kledij-voorschriften waar een bepaald deel van de scholieren zich wel (en een andere deel totaal niet) aan moet houden, werd ze meteen weggezet als iemand "zonder geld".\ De "elk kind telt" organisatie is dan ook in mijn visie niets anders dan een subsidie zwendel om een fake oplossing te bieden voor iets dat niet bestaat.\ Kinder-armoede bestaat in principe niet, zonder dat de ouders of een van de ouders/voogden in armoede zit. Je hebt dus altijd "armoede" in het algemeen nodig om ook zogenaamde kinder armoede te hebben.\ Wanneer de ouders niet eens het concept "boek" kennen, blijf je natuurlijk arm en afhankelijk. En geen over-gesubsidieerde mislukte pol&soc student met ongewassen haar gaat daar ooit iets aan veranderen.

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Bad reputation

\ Natuurlijk is dat alles een recept voor slechte resultaten. Het lijkt bijna alsof het systeem ontworpen is om falen te garanderen en te kunnen met de open hand staan om al die problemen op te lossen met veel subsidie en geklaag.\ Intussen klaagt vooral de kleine groep Vlaamse kinderen in die school omdat ze gewoon eens echt les willen krijgen, ... zoals een school betaamt zou men beter LES GEVEN, in plaats van problemen op te pompen en onnodige aandacht te geven aan mensen die toch opgroeien voor galg en rad.\ \ De leerkrachten, die blijkbaar vanaf dag één doorhadden dat ze een groep niet te temmen jongeren voor zich hadden, beginnen meteen repressief te dreigen met straffen. Niet omdat ze geloven in discipline of structuur, maar gewoon omdat ze totaal de taak niet machtig zijn.\ Ze hebben simpelweg geen flauw idee hoe ze met zo'n klas moeten omgaan. Het is geen kwestie van onderwijzen meer, maar van overleven. \ De les wordt een oefening in brandjes blussen, waar elke opflakkering van interesse in leren snel wordt geblust door de constante chaos. Dit is het onderwijs anno 2024: een loterij die niet alleen beslist welke school je kind gaat bezoeken, maar ook welk niveau van frustratie je als ouder moet verdragen. Want o-wee wanneer je durft klagen of opmerkingen maken.\ Een onduidelijke lijst met benodigdheden bij voorbeeld, werd meteen op paraplu-gedrag onthaald, waarbij men nul verantwoordelijkheid neemt als school maar steevast de leerplannen, of andere leerkrachten voor de bus gooit. Als men al antwoord uiteraard. Gewoonlijk negeert men problemen, tot je bij de subsidie-bende van "Elk kind telt" moet gaan aankloppen.\ De directie is nooit te zien, de onder-directeur al helemaal niet, ... die zijn altijd in vergadering zogezegd.

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Het domheidsprincipe van het systeem

\ Het meest frustrerende aan dit alles? Het gevoel dat dit systeem erop gericht is om creatief en zelfstandig denken te ontmoedigen, ja, ik durf zelfs zeggen: actief te fnuiken.\ \ Vanaf dag één wordt mijn dochter geconfronteerd met een systeem dat lijkt te zeggen: "Luister, hier is wat je moet weten. Denk niet te veel na, stel geen vragen, en doe vooral geen moeite om buiten de lijntjes te kleuren." Het leerplan? Droog, saai, en ontworpen om elk sprankje nieuwsgierigheid in de kiem te smoren. Er staat ook onnoemelijk veel overbodige "meningen" in die boeken. Meningen over allerlei groene leugens, politiek en historisch ongenuanceerde boodschappen en totale achterlijkheid. Een les over het oude Egypte wordt bij voorbeeld gelinkt aan de huidige situatie in die regio. Wat totaal overbodig is in een les geschiedenis.

En dat is nog niet eens het ergste. Zelf nadenken wordt niet alleen niet aangemoedigd, het wordt bestraft. Je zou verwachten dat scholen, als plekken van kennisoverdracht, kinderen juist zouden stimuleren om vragen te stellen, om de wereld kritisch te bekijken.\ \ Maar nee. In het GO! draait alles om het volgen van de meest domme regels, het memoriseren van nutteloze feiten en het voorbereiden op examens die niets te maken hebben met de realiteit van het leven en nog minder met echte kennis.\ Een datum van buiten leren, of enkele cijfers in de juiste volgorde zetten, en hup, men heeft weer een lesuur vol gekregen de leerkracht kan nadien tussen de middag naar de kapper terwijl ze met de heilige verbetersleutel een toets corrigeert die op zich al vol fouten stond.

Ik leer m'n dochter dus vooral aan om de "kennis van de oenen" te leren herkennen en nooit te erkennen. Maar haar "punten" er wel op te halen, terwijl ze de echte kennis tot zich neemt via boeken en documentaires of lessen die ik zelf samenstel.

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De toekomst van mijn dochter, en die van vele anderen

\ Het Gemeenschapsonderwijs, en het Antwerpse onderwijssysteem in het bijzonder, lijkt ontworpen te zijn om middelmatigheid of onderpresteren te bevorderen.\ \ Voor mijn dochter betekent dit dat ze op eigen houtje moet proberen om de leemtes in haar onderwijs op te vullen. Gelukkig heeft ze nog steeds die onuitputtelijke honger naar kennis. Maar wat met de kinderen die dat niet hebben? Wat gebeurt er met de leerlingen die afhankelijk zijn van het systeem om hen te stimuleren en uit te dagen? Niets. Deze kinderen komen op de stoel terecht bij de "praat meneer" van een subsidie organisatie. Waar ze niets mee gaan vooruit komen.

Er is iets grondig mis. Niet alleen met de loterij, maar met het hele idee van wat onderwijs zou moeten zijn. Het zou een plek moeten zijn waar kinderen hun potentieel ontdekken, waar ze leren kritisch na te denken, en waar ze worden aangemoedigd om hun eigen weg te vinden. Maar in plaats daarvan lijkt het onderwijs in Antwerpen vast te zitten in een vicieuze cirkel van bureaucratie, vooroordelen en desinteresse.\ Ik zou het recht moeten hebben op goed onderwijs als kind. En dat recht heeft men afgenomen door verwatering, verloedering, desinteresse, desinformatie en invasie van "asocialen" en "de-les-spellers" uit een godsdienst.

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Tijd voor verandering

\ Het is hoog tijd dat dit systeem herzien wordt. Dat journalisten eens de tijd nemen om uit te zoeken waarom scholen zoals Groenhout kunnen blijven bestaan in een zogenaamd eerlijk loterijsysteem en tegelijk alle "minder presterende kindjes" uit hun school kunnen houden. (hint: de toepassing van de "extra vragen" die vrijwillig worden ingevuld op de school inschrijf formulieren bij "meldt je aan" zijn daar een begin van trouwens... en kijk ook eens bij de organisatie Digipolis en hun eerlijke toepassing van dit school systeem).\ \ En dat beleidsmakers eens goed kijken naar wat er echt nodig is om het onderwijs in Antwerpen eerlijker, inclusiever en vooral uitdagender te maken. Want als het zo blijft, zullen we nog veel meer slimme, leergierige kinderen verliezen aan de middelmaat, en de bodemkruip-mentaliteit waar enkel consumeer-koeien en straatschorem uit voort zal komen.

En dat zou pas echt een verlies-post zijn.

Onze stad heeft meer nodig dan dit soort vuilbakscholen.\ Durf zulke scholen radicaal te sluiten, tot er een oplossing bedacht wordt. \ Stop deze fake, doe het voor de kinderen, ... want elk kind telt, moet meer zijn dan een subsidie-opwekkende slogen van de meest evil mensen die geen hol inzitten met de samenleving, maar gewoon hun uren staan te kloppen voor niemendal aan echte vooruitgang.\ Stop de fake, gooi ze buiten en start opnieuw.

In deze blog zal ik verdere items posten over het GemeenschapsOnderwijs, zodat diegenen die het willen weten, het ook weten en ook hun mond durven open doen.

15 september 2024

DioGenes

@ 862fda7e:02a8268b

The media, government, and "elite" (who are only elite in this low vibration illusion we call "life") are afraid of people like me because I do not accept the reality they have forced us into. My manifesto is an attempt to wake you up from ideas you have been conditioned into believing because it benefits one class - the protected class known as the "elite".

The elite would like to have you believe that my message is something crafted from hatred and they would like to label me with mental issues. They would like you to think I am some crazy extremist who wants to advocate for the harm of others. They would like you to think that I am enciting violence.

This could not be further from the truth.

I am not and will never be an extremist, white supermicist, terrorist, radical, hateful human being. I do not believe in killing in order to convey a message or movement. I do not believe in division.

I only advocate that you become conscious of the reality around us. The reality is that this is a world controlled by the most evil, controlling, destructive freaks. These people work to make sure we are essentially slaves to a system that benefits those who created the system - the elites. Let me make this clear: I do NOT advocate for violence, destruction, death, killing, murder, hatred, division, or terrorism. The elite are threatened by people like me, because they know that we know their game. We know their plans are to destroy, to advocate for violence, to kill, murder, to encite hatred and division. This is all the elite do - they cannot fathom having people live in peace because it isn't beneficial if you want to control the world.

So while you may think it's impossible there is a group of a few evil people who control the world - look back at history. It has always been littered with the few evil who control the many. It would be stupid to think it would be different