@ eac63075:b4988b48

Based on a recent paper that included collaboration from renowned experts such as Lynn Alden, Steve Lee, and Ren Crypto Fish, we discuss in depth how Bitcoin's consensus is built, the main risks, and the complex dynamics of protocol upgrades.

PT-BR version

Podcast https://www.fountain.fm/episode/wbjD6ntQuvX5u2G5BccC

Presentation https://gamma.app/docs/Analyzing-Bitcoin-Consensus-Risks-in-Protocol-Upgrades-p66axxjwaa37ksn

1. Introduction to Consensus in Bitcoin

Consensus in Bitcoin is the foundation that keeps the network secure and functional, allowing users worldwide to perform transactions in a decentralized manner without the need for intermediaries. Since its launch in 2009, Bitcoin is often described as an "immutable" system designed to resist changes, and it is precisely this resistance that ensures its security and stability.

The central idea behind consensus in Bitcoin is to create a set of acceptance rules for blocks and transactions, ensuring that all network participants agree on the transaction history. This prevents "double-spending," where the same bitcoin could be used in two simultaneous transactions, something that would compromise trust in the network.

Evolution of Consensus in Bitcoin

Over the years, consensus in Bitcoin has undergone several adaptations, and the way participants agree on changes remains a delicate process. Unlike traditional systems, where changes can be imposed from the top down, Bitcoin operates in a decentralized model where any significant change needs the support of various groups of stakeholders, including miners, developers, users, and large node operators.

Moreover, the update process is extremely cautious, as hasty changes can compromise the network's security. As a result, the philosophy of "don't fix what isn't broken" prevails, with improvements happening incrementally and only after broad consensus among those involved. This model can make progress seem slow but ensures that Bitcoin remains faithful to the principles of security and decentralization.

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2. Technical Components of Consensus

Bitcoin's consensus is supported by a set of technical rules that determine what is considered a valid transaction and a valid block on the network. These technical aspects ensure that all nodes—the computers that participate in the Bitcoin network—agree on the current state of the blockchain. Below are the main technical components that form the basis of the consensus.

Validation of Blocks and Transactions

The validation of blocks and transactions is the central point of consensus in Bitcoin. A block is only considered valid if it meets certain criteria, such as maximum size, transaction structure, and the solving of the "Proof of Work" problem. The proof of work, required for a block to be included in the blockchain, is a computational process that ensures the block contains significant computational effort—protecting the network against manipulation attempts.

Transactions, in turn, need to follow specific input and output rules. Each transaction includes cryptographic signatures that prove the ownership of the bitcoins sent, as well as validation scripts that verify if the transaction conditions are met. This validation system is essential for network nodes to autonomously confirm that each transaction follows the rules.

Chain Selection

Another fundamental technical issue for Bitcoin's consensus is chain selection, which becomes especially important in cases where multiple versions of the blockchain coexist, such as after a network split (fork). To decide which chain is the "true" one and should be followed, the network adopts the criterion of the highest accumulated proof of work. In other words, the chain with the highest number of valid blocks, built with the greatest computational effort, is chosen by the network as the official one.

This criterion avoids permanent splits because it encourages all nodes to follow the same main chain, reinforcing consensus.

Soft Forks vs. Hard Forks

In the consensus process, protocol changes can happen in two ways: through soft forks or hard forks. These variations affect not only the protocol update but also the implications for network users:

• Soft Forks: These are changes that are backward compatible. Only nodes that adopt the new update will follow the new rules, but old nodes will still recognize the blocks produced with these rules as valid. This compatibility makes soft forks a safer option for updates, as it minimizes the risk of network division.

• Hard Forks: These are updates that are not backward compatible, requiring all nodes to update to the new version or risk being separated from the main chain. Hard forks can result in the creation of a new coin, as occurred with the split between Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash in 2017. While hard forks allow for deeper changes, they also bring significant risks of network fragmentation.

These technical components form the base of Bitcoin's security and resilience, allowing the system to remain functional and immutable without losing the necessary flexibility to evolve over time.

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3. Stakeholders in Bitcoin's Consensus

Consensus in Bitcoin is not decided centrally. On the contrary, it depends on the interaction between different groups of stakeholders, each with their motivations, interests, and levels of influence. These groups play fundamental roles in how changes are implemented or rejected on the network. Below, we explore the six main stakeholders in Bitcoin's consensus.

1. Economic Nodes

Economic nodes, usually operated by exchanges, custody providers, and large companies that accept Bitcoin, exert significant influence over consensus. Because they handle large volumes of transactions and act as a connection point between the Bitcoin ecosystem and the traditional financial system, these nodes have the power to validate or reject blocks and to define which version of the software to follow in case of a fork.

Their influence is proportional to the volume of transactions they handle, and they can directly affect which chain will be seen as the main one. Their incentive is to maintain the network's stability and security to preserve its functionality and meet regulatory requirements.

2. Investors

Investors, including large institutional funds and individual Bitcoin holders, influence consensus indirectly through their impact on the asset's price. Their buying and selling actions can affect Bitcoin's value, which in turn influences the motivation of miners and other stakeholders to continue investing in the network's security and development.

Some institutional investors have agreements with custodians that may limit their ability to act in network split situations. Thus, the impact of each investor on consensus can vary based on their ownership structure and how quickly they can react to a network change.

3. Media Influencers

Media influencers, including journalists, analysts, and popular personalities on social media, have a powerful role in shaping public opinion about Bitcoin and possible updates. These influencers can help educate the public, promote debates, and bring transparency to the consensus process.

On the other hand, the impact of influencers can be double-edged: while they can clarify complex topics, they can also distort perceptions by amplifying or minimizing change proposals. This makes them a force both of support and resistance to consensus.

4. Miners

Miners are responsible for validating transactions and including blocks in the blockchain. Through computational power (hashrate), they also exert significant influence over consensus decisions. In update processes, miners often signal their support for a proposal, indicating that the new version is safe to use. However, this signaling is not always definitive, and miners can change their position if they deem it necessary.

Their incentive is to maximize returns from block rewards and transaction fees, as well as to maintain the value of investments in their specialized equipment, which are only profitable if the network remains stable.

5. Protocol Developers

Protocol developers, often called "Core Developers," are responsible for writing and maintaining Bitcoin's code. Although they do not have direct power over consensus, they possess an informal veto power since they decide which changes are included in the main client (Bitcoin Core). This group also serves as an important source of technical knowledge, helping guide decisions and inform other stakeholders.

Their incentive lies in the continuous improvement of the network, ensuring security and decentralization. Many developers are funded by grants and sponsorships, but their motivations generally include a strong ideological commitment to Bitcoin's principles.

6. Users and Application Developers

This group includes people who use Bitcoin in their daily transactions and developers who build solutions based on the network, such as wallets, exchanges, and payment platforms. Although their power in consensus is less than that of miners or economic nodes, they play an important role because they are responsible for popularizing Bitcoin's use and expanding the ecosystem.

If application developers decide not to adopt an update, this can affect compatibility and widespread acceptance. Thus, they indirectly influence consensus by deciding which version of the protocol to follow in their applications.

These stakeholders are vital to the consensus process, and each group exerts influence according to their involvement, incentives, and ability to act in situations of change. Understanding the role of each makes it clearer how consensus is formed and why it is so difficult to make significant changes to Bitcoin.

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4. Mechanisms for Activating Updates in Bitcoin

For Bitcoin to evolve without compromising security and consensus, different mechanisms for activating updates have been developed over the years. These mechanisms help coordinate changes among network nodes to minimize the risk of fragmentation and ensure that updates are implemented in an orderly manner. Here, we explore some of the main methods used in Bitcoin, their advantages and disadvantages, as well as historical examples of significant updates.

Flag Day

The Flag Day mechanism is one of the simplest forms of activating changes. In it, a specific date or block is determined as the activation moment, and all nodes must be updated by that point. This method does not involve prior signaling; participants simply need to update to the new software version by the established day or block.

• Advantages: Simplicity and predictability are the main benefits of Flag Day, as everyone knows the exact activation date.

• Disadvantages: Inflexibility can be a problem because there is no way to adjust the schedule if a significant part of the network has not updated. This can result in network splits if a significant number of nodes are not ready for the update.

An example of Flag Day was the Pay to Script Hash (P2SH) update in 2012, which required all nodes to adopt the change to avoid compatibility issues.

BIP34 and BIP9

BIP34 introduced a more dynamic process, in which miners increase the version number in block headers to signal the update. When a predetermined percentage of the last blocks is mined with this new version, the update is automatically activated. This model later evolved with BIP9, which allowed multiple updates to be signaled simultaneously through "version bits," each corresponding to a specific change.

• Advantages: Allows the network to activate updates gradually, giving more time for participants to adapt.

• Disadvantages: These methods rely heavily on miner support, which means that if a sufficient number of miners do not signal the update, it can be delayed or not implemented.

BIP9 was used in the activation of SegWit (BIP141) but faced challenges because some miners did not signal their intent to activate, leading to the development of new mechanisms.

User Activated Soft Forks (UASF) and User Resisted Soft Forks (URSF)

To increase the decision-making power of ordinary users, the concept of User Activated Soft Fork (UASF) was introduced, allowing node operators, not just miners, to determine consensus for a change. In this model, nodes set a date to start rejecting blocks that are not in compliance with the new update, forcing miners to adapt or risk having their blocks rejected by the network.

URSF, in turn, is a model where nodes reject blocks that attempt to adopt a specific update, functioning as resistance against proposed changes.

• Advantages: UASF returns decision-making power to node operators, ensuring that changes do not depend solely on miners.

• Disadvantages: Both UASF and URSF can generate network splits, especially in cases of strong opposition among different stakeholders.

An example of UASF was the activation of SegWit in 2017, where users supported activation independently of miner signaling, which ended up forcing its adoption.

BIP8 (LOT=True)

BIP8 is an evolution of BIP9, designed to prevent miners from indefinitely blocking a change desired by the majority of users and developers. BIP8 allows setting a parameter called "lockinontimeout" (LOT) as true, which means that if the update has not been fully signaled by a certain point, it is automatically activated.

• Advantages: Ensures that changes with broad support among users are not blocked by miners who wish to maintain the status quo.

• Disadvantages: Can lead to network splits if miners or other important stakeholders do not support the update.

Although BIP8 with LOT=True has not yet been used in Bitcoin, it is a proposal that can be applied in future updates if necessary.

These activation mechanisms have been essential for Bitcoin's development, allowing updates that keep the network secure and functional. Each method brings its own advantages and challenges, but all share the goal of preserving consensus and network cohesion.

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5. Risks and Considerations in Consensus Updates

Consensus updates in Bitcoin are complex processes that involve not only technical aspects but also political, economic, and social considerations. Due to the network's decentralized nature, each change brings with it a set of risks that need to be carefully assessed. Below, we explore some of the main challenges and future scenarios, as well as the possible impacts on stakeholders.

Network Fragility with Alternative Implementations

One of the main risks associated with consensus updates is the possibility of network fragmentation when there are alternative software implementations. If an update is implemented by a significant group of nodes but rejected by others, a network split (fork) can occur. This creates two competing chains, each with a different version of the transaction history, leading to unpredictable consequences for users and investors.

Such fragmentation weakens Bitcoin because, by dividing hashing power (computing) and coin value, it reduces network security and investor confidence. A notable example of this risk was the fork that gave rise to Bitcoin Cash in 2017 when disagreements over block size resulted in a new chain and a new asset.

Chain Splits and Impact on Stakeholders

Chain splits are a significant risk in update processes, especially in hard forks. During a hard fork, the network is split into two separate chains, each with its own set of rules. This results in the creation of a new coin and leaves users with duplicated assets on both chains. While this may seem advantageous, in the long run, these splits weaken the network and create uncertainties for investors.

Each group of stakeholders reacts differently to a chain split:

• Institutional Investors and ETFs: Face regulatory and compliance challenges because many of these assets are managed under strict regulations. The creation of a new coin requires decisions to be made quickly to avoid potential losses, which may be hampered by regulatory constraints.

• Miners: May be incentivized to shift their computing power to the chain that offers higher profitability, which can weaken one of the networks.

• Economic Nodes: Such as major exchanges and custody providers, have to quickly choose which chain to support, influencing the perceived value of each network.

Such divisions can generate uncertainties and loss of value, especially for institutional investors and those who use Bitcoin as a store of value.

Regulatory Impacts and Institutional Investors

With the growing presence of institutional investors in Bitcoin, consensus changes face new compliance challenges. Bitcoin ETFs, for example, are required to follow strict rules about which assets they can include and how chain split events should be handled. The creation of a new asset or migration to a new chain can complicate these processes, creating pressure for large financial players to quickly choose a chain, affecting the stability of consensus.

Moreover, decisions regarding forks can influence the Bitcoin futures and derivatives market, affecting perception and adoption by new investors. Therefore, the need to avoid splits and maintain cohesion is crucial to attract and preserve the confidence of these investors.

Security Considerations in Soft Forks and Hard Forks

While soft forks are generally preferred in Bitcoin for their backward compatibility, they are not without risks. Soft forks can create different classes of nodes on the network (updated and non-updated), which increases operational complexity and can ultimately weaken consensus cohesion. In a network scenario with fragmentation of node classes, Bitcoin's security can be affected, as some nodes may lose part of the visibility over updated transactions or rules.

In hard forks, the security risk is even more evident because all nodes need to adopt the new update to avoid network division. Experience shows that abrupt changes can create temporary vulnerabilities, in which malicious agents try to exploit the transition to attack the network.

Bounty Claim Risks and Attack Scenarios

Another risk in consensus updates are so-called "bounty claims"—accumulated rewards that can be obtained if an attacker manages to split or deceive a part of the network. In a conflict scenario, a group of miners or nodes could be incentivized to support a new update or create an alternative version of the software to benefit from these rewards.

These risks require stakeholders to carefully assess each update and the potential vulnerabilities it may introduce. The possibility of "bounty claims" adds a layer of complexity to consensus because each interest group may see a financial opportunity in a change that, in the long term, may harm network stability.

The risks discussed above show the complexity of consensus in Bitcoin and the importance of approaching it gradually and deliberately. Updates need to consider not only technical aspects but also economic and social implications, in order to preserve Bitcoin's integrity and maintain trust among stakeholders.

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6. Recommendations for the Consensus Process in Bitcoin

To ensure that protocol changes in Bitcoin are implemented safely and with broad support, it is essential that all stakeholders adopt a careful and coordinated approach. Here are strategic recommendations for evaluating, supporting, or rejecting consensus updates, considering the risks and challenges discussed earlier, along with best practices for successful implementation.

1. Careful Evaluation of Proposal Maturity

Stakeholders should rigorously assess the maturity level of a proposal before supporting its implementation. Updates that are still experimental or lack a robust technical foundation can expose the network to unnecessary risks. Ideally, change proposals should go through an extensive testing phase, have security audits, and receive review and feedback from various developers and experts.

2. Extensive Testing in Secure and Compatible Networks

Before an update is activated on the mainnet, it is essential to test it on networks like testnet and signet, and whenever possible, on other compatible networks that offer a safe and controlled environment to identify potential issues. Testing on networks like Litecoin was fundamental for the safe launch of innovations like SegWit and the Lightning Network, allowing functionalities to be validated on a lower-impact network before being implemented on Bitcoin.

The Liquid Network, developed by Blockstream, also plays an important role as an experimental network for new proposals, such as OP_CAT. By adopting these testing environments, stakeholders can mitigate risks and ensure that the update is reliable and secure before being adopted by the main network.

3. Importance of Stakeholder Engagement

The success of a consensus update strongly depends on the active participation of all stakeholders. This includes economic nodes, miners, protocol developers, investors, and end users. Lack of participation can lead to inadequate decisions or even future network splits, which would compromise Bitcoin's security and stability.

4. Key Questions for Evaluating Consensus Proposals

To assist in decision-making, each group of stakeholders should consider some key questions before supporting a consensus change:

• Does the proposal offer tangible benefits for Bitcoin's security, scalability, or usability?
• Does it maintain backward compatibility or introduce the risk of network split?
• Are the implementation requirements clear and feasible for each group involved?
• Are there clear and aligned incentives for all stakeholder groups to accept the change?

5. Coordination and Timing in Implementations

Timing is crucial. Updates with short activation windows can force a split because not all nodes and miners can update simultaneously. Changes should be planned with ample deadlines to allow all stakeholders to adjust their systems, avoiding surprises that could lead to fragmentation.

Mechanisms like soft forks are generally preferable to hard forks because they allow a smoother transition. Opting for backward-compatible updates when possible facilitates the process and ensures that nodes and miners can adapt without pressure.

6. Continuous Monitoring and Re-evaluation

After an update, it's essential to monitor the network to identify problems or side effects. This continuous process helps ensure cohesion and trust among all participants, keeping Bitcoin as a secure and robust network.

These recommendations, including the use of secure networks for extensive testing, promote a collaborative and secure environment for Bitcoin's consensus process. By adopting a deliberate and strategic approach, stakeholders can preserve Bitcoin's value as a decentralized and censorship-resistant network.

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7. Conclusion

Consensus in Bitcoin is more than a set of rules; it's the foundation that sustains the network as a decentralized, secure, and reliable system. Unlike centralized systems, where decisions can be made quickly, Bitcoin requires a much more deliberate and cooperative approach, where the interests of miners, economic nodes, developers, investors, and users must be considered and harmonized. This governance model may seem slow, but it is fundamental to preserving the resilience and trust that make Bitcoin a global store of value and censorship-resistant.

Consensus updates in Bitcoin must balance the need for innovation with the preservation of the network's core principles. The development process of a proposal needs to be detailed and rigorous, going through several testing stages, such as in testnet, signet, and compatible networks like Litecoin and Liquid Network. These networks offer safe environments for proposals to be analyzed and improved before being launched on the main network.

Each proposed change must be carefully evaluated regarding its maturity, impact, backward compatibility, and support among stakeholders. The recommended key questions and appropriate timing are critical to ensure that an update is adopted without compromising network cohesion. It's also essential that the implementation process is continuously monitored and re-evaluated, allowing adjustments as necessary and minimizing the risk of instability.

By following these guidelines, Bitcoin's stakeholders can ensure that the network continues to evolve safely and robustly, maintaining user trust and further solidifying its role as one of the most resilient and innovative digital assets in the world. Ultimately, consensus in Bitcoin is not just a technical issue but a reflection of its community and the values it represents: security, decentralization, and resilience.

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8. Links

Whitepaper: https://github.com/bitcoin-cap/bcap

Youtube (pt-br): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rARycAibl9o&list=PL-qnhF0qlSPkfhorqsREuIu4UTbF0h4zb

@ eac63075:b4988b48

The future of physical money is at stake, and the discussion about DREX, the new digital currency planned by the Central Bank of Brazil, is gaining momentum. In a candid and intense conversation, Federal Deputy Julia Zanatta (PL/SC) discussed the challenges and risks of this digital transition, also addressing her Bill No. 3,341/2024, which aims to prevent the extinction of physical currency. This bill emerges as a direct response to legislative initiatives seeking to replace physical money with digital alternatives, limiting citizens' options and potentially compromising individual freedom. Let's delve into the main points of this conversation.

https://www.fountain.fm/episode/i5YGJ9Ors3PkqAIMvNQ0

(PT-BR version here)

What is a CBDC?

Before discussing the specifics of DREX, it’s important to understand what a CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency) is. CBDCs are digital currencies issued by central banks, similar to a digital version of physical money. Unlike cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, which operate in a decentralized manner, CBDCs are centralized and regulated by the government. In other words, they are digital currencies created and controlled by the Central Bank, intended to replace physical currency.

A prominent feature of CBDCs is their programmability. This means that the government can theoretically set rules about how, where, and for what this currency can be used. This aspect enables a level of control over citizens' finances that is impossible with physical money. By programming the currency, the government could limit transactions by setting geographical or usage restrictions. In practice, money within a CBDC could be restricted to specific spending or authorized for use in a defined geographical area.

In countries like China, where citizen actions and attitudes are also monitored, a person considered to have a "low score" due to a moral or ideological violation may have their transactions limited to essential purchases, restricting their digital currency use to non-essential activities. This financial control is strengthened because, unlike physical money, digital currency cannot be exchanged anonymously.

Practical Example: The Case of DREX During the Pandemic

To illustrate how DREX could be used, an example was given by Eric Altafim, director of Banco Itaú. He suggested that, if DREX had existed during the COVID-19 pandemic, the government could have restricted the currency’s use to a 5-kilometer radius around a person’s residence, limiting their economic mobility. Another proposed use by the executive related to the Bolsa Família welfare program: the government could set up programming that only allows this benefit to be used exclusively for food purchases. Although these examples are presented as control measures for safety or organization, they demonstrate how much a CBDC could restrict citizens' freedom of choice.

To illustrate the potential for state control through a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), such as DREX, it is helpful to look at the example of China. In China, the implementation of a CBDC coincides with the country’s Social Credit System, a governmental surveillance tool that assesses citizens' and companies' behavior. Together, these technologies allow the Chinese government to monitor, reward, and, above all, punish behavior deemed inappropriate or threatening to the government.

How Does China's Social Credit System Work?

Implemented in 2014, China's Social Credit System assigns every citizen and company a "score" based on various factors, including financial behavior, criminal record, social interactions, and even online activities. This score determines the benefits or penalties each individual receives and can affect everything from public transport access to obtaining loans and enrolling in elite schools for their children. Citizens with low scores may face various sanctions, including travel restrictions, fines, and difficulty in securing loans.

With the adoption of the CBDC — or “digital yuan” — the Chinese government now has a new tool to closely monitor citizens' financial transactions, facilitating the application of Social Credit System penalties. China’s CBDC is a programmable digital currency, which means that the government can restrict how, when, and where the money can be spent. Through this level of control, digital currency becomes a powerful mechanism for influencing citizens' behavior.

Imagine, for instance, a citizen who repeatedly posts critical remarks about the government on social media or participates in protests. If the Social Credit System assigns this citizen a low score, the Chinese government could, through the CBDC, restrict their money usage in certain areas or sectors. For example, they could be prevented from buying tickets to travel to other regions, prohibited from purchasing certain consumer goods, or even restricted to making transactions only at stores near their home.

Another example of how the government can use the CBDC to enforce the Social Credit System is by monitoring purchases of products such as alcohol or luxury items. If a citizen uses the CBDC to spend more than the government deems reasonable on such products, this could negatively impact their social score, resulting in additional penalties such as future purchase restrictions or a lowered rating that impacts their personal and professional lives.

In China, this kind of control has already been demonstrated in several cases. Citizens added to Social Credit System “blacklists” have seen their spending and investment capacity severely limited. The combination of digital currency and social scores thus creates a sophisticated and invasive surveillance system, through which the Chinese government controls important aspects of citizens’ financial lives and individual freedoms.

Deputy Julia Zanatta views these examples with great concern. She argues that if the state has full control over digital money, citizens will be exposed to a level of economic control and surveillance never seen before. In a democracy, this control poses a risk, but in an authoritarian regime, it could be used as a powerful tool of repression.

DREX and Bill No. 3,341/2024

Julia Zanatta became aware of a bill by a Workers' Party (PT) deputy (Bill 4068/2020 by Deputy Reginaldo Lopes - PT/MG) that proposes the extinction of physical money within five years, aiming for a complete transition to DREX, the digital currency developed by the Central Bank of Brazil. Concerned about the impact of this measure, Julia drafted her bill, PL No. 3,341/2024, which prohibits the elimination of physical money, ensuring citizens the right to choose physical currency.

“The more I read about DREX, the less I want its implementation,” says the deputy. DREX is a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), similar to other state digital currencies worldwide, but which, according to Julia, carries extreme control risks. She points out that with DREX, the State could closely monitor each citizen’s transactions, eliminating anonymity and potentially restricting freedom of choice. This control would lie in the hands of the Central Bank, which could, in a crisis or government change, “freeze balances or even delete funds directly from user accounts.”

Risks and Individual Freedom

Julia raises concerns about potential abuses of power that complete digitalization could allow. In a democracy, state control over personal finances raises serious questions, and EddieOz warns of an even more problematic future. “Today we are in a democracy, but tomorrow, with a government transition, we don't know if this kind of power will be used properly or abused,” he states. In other words, DREX gives the State the ability to restrict or condition the use of money, opening the door to unprecedented financial surveillance.

EddieOz cites Nigeria as an example, where a CBDC was implemented, and the government imposed severe restrictions on the use of physical money to encourage the use of digital currency, leading to protests and clashes in the country. In practice, the poorest and unbanked — those without regular access to banking services — were harshly affected, as without physical money, many cannot conduct basic transactions. Julia highlights that in Brazil, this situation would be even more severe, given the large number of unbanked individuals and the extent of rural areas where access to technology is limited.

The Relationship Between DREX and Pix

The digital transition has already begun with Pix, which revolutionized instant transfers and payments in Brazil. However, Julia points out that Pix, though popular, is a citizen’s choice, while DREX tends to eliminate that choice. The deputy expresses concern about new rules suggested for Pix, such as daily transaction limits of a thousand reais, justified as anti-fraud measures but which, in her view, represent additional control and a profit opportunity for banks. “How many more rules will banks create to profit from us?” asks Julia, noting that DREX could further enhance control over personal finances.

International Precedents and Resistance to CBDC

The deputy also cites examples from other countries resisting the idea of a centralized digital currency. In the United States, states like New Hampshire have passed laws to prevent the advance of CBDCs, and leaders such as Donald Trump have opposed creating a national digital currency. Trump, addressing the topic, uses a justification similar to Julia’s: in a digitalized system, “with one click, your money could disappear.” She agrees with the warning, emphasizing the control risk that a CBDC represents, especially for countries with disadvantaged populations.

Besides the United States, Canada, Colombia, and Australia have also suspended studies on digital currencies, citing the need for further discussions on population impacts. However, in Brazil, the debate on DREX is still limited, with few parliamentarians and political leaders openly discussing the topic. According to Julia, only she and one or two deputies are truly trying to bring this discussion to the Chamber, making DREX’s advance even more concerning.

Bill No. 3,341/2024 and Popular Pressure

For Julia, her bill is a first step. Although she acknowledges that ideally, it would prevent DREX's implementation entirely, PL 3341/2024 is a measure to ensure citizens' choice to use physical money, preserving a form of individual freedom. “If the future means control, I prefer to live in the past,” Julia asserts, reinforcing that the fight for freedom is at the heart of her bill.

However, the deputy emphasizes that none of this will be possible without popular mobilization. According to her, popular pressure is crucial for other deputies to take notice and support PL 3341. “I am only one deputy, and we need the public’s support to raise the project’s visibility,” she explains, encouraging the public to press other parliamentarians and ask them to “pay attention to PL 3341 and the project that prohibits the end of physical money.” The deputy believes that with a strong awareness and pressure movement, it is possible to advance the debate and ensure Brazilians’ financial freedom.

What’s at Stake?

Julia Zanatta leaves no doubt: DREX represents a profound shift in how money will be used and controlled in Brazil. More than a simple modernization of the financial system, the Central Bank’s CBDC sets precedents for an unprecedented level of citizen surveillance and control in the country. For the deputy, this transition needs to be debated broadly and transparently, and it’s up to the Brazilian people to defend their rights and demand that the National Congress discuss these changes responsibly.

The deputy also emphasizes that, regardless of political or partisan views, this issue affects all Brazilians. “This agenda is something that will affect everyone. We need to be united to ensure people understand the gravity of what could happen.” Julia believes that by sharing information and generating open debate, it is possible to prevent Brazil from following the path of countries that have already implemented a digital currency in an authoritarian way.

A Call to Action

The future of physical money in Brazil is at risk. For those who share Deputy Julia Zanatta’s concerns, the time to act is now. Mobilize, get informed, and press your representatives. PL 3341/2024 is an opportunity to ensure that Brazilian citizens have a choice in how to use their money, without excessive state interference or surveillance.

In the end, as the deputy puts it, the central issue is freedom. “My fear is that this project will pass, and people won’t even understand what is happening.” Therefore, may every citizen at least have the chance to understand what’s at stake and make their voice heard in defense of a Brazil where individual freedom and privacy are respected values.

@ 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.

@ 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.

@ 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.

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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.

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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. 🐶🐾🫡🚀🚀🚀

@ 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.

@ 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!

🐶🐾🤯🤯🤯🫂💜

@ 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

@ 31312140:2471509b

The Foundation of Our Bodies

Our feet are the very foundation of our bodies. They bear our weight, provide balance, and allow for intricate movements. Yet, in modern times, we’ve encased these natural marvels in layers of synthetic materials and rigid, leading to a plethora of health problems.

The Natural Design of Feet

Nature has designed our feet to function optimally without any additional support. The arch, the toes, and the muscular structure all work together to absorb shock, maintain balance, and propel us forward. Shoes, particularly those with narrow toe boxes and elevated heels, can alter this natural mechanism, leading to issues such as:

• Plantar Fasciitis: Often caused by insufficient arch support and heels.
• Bunions: Resulting from tight, pointed shoes that squish the toes together.
• Flat Feet: Caused by prolonged use of supportive shoes that prevent the arch from strengthening naturally.

The Science Behind Barefoot Benefits

Various studies have highlighted the benefits of ditching your shoes:

1. Improved Foot Strength and Flexibility: Walking barefoot helps strengthen the muscles, tendons, and ligaments in your feet. Just like any other part of your body, the more you exercise your feet naturally, the stronger they get.

2. Better Posture: When barefoot, your body naturally aligns itself. Heels and cushioned shoes can misalign your posture, causing back, knee, and hip pain.

3. Enhanced Sensory Feedback: Our feet are equipped with a high density of nerve endings, providing valuable feedback to help us maintain balance and posture. Walking barefoot enhances proprioception, the sense of how our bodies are positioned in space.

4. Natural Gait: Shoes alter our natural walking pattern. Barefoot walking encourages the natural gait where the foot lands softly and aligns correctly with the ground.

Historical Context and Cultural Perspectives

Historically, humans have walked barefoot for thousands of years. Our ancestors ran, hunted, and thrived without the need for supportive footwear. Various cultures still maintain a barefoot lifestyle, and it’s worth noting the minimal foot problems in these populations compared to shoe-wearing societies.

In cultures where barefoot walking is prevalent, people often display:

• Fewer Foot Deformities: Like bunions or hammertoes.
• Minimal Chronic Foot Pain: Due to the natural strengthening of foot muscles.
• Better Balance and Agility: Thanks to constant sensory input and natural movement.

The Grounding Effect: More Than Just Physical

Beyond the physical advantages, walking barefoot connects us to the earth, a practice often termed "grounding" or "earthing." The idea is that direct contact with the earth’s surface allows for the transfer of free electrons which act as antioxidants, reducing inflammation and boosting our overall health.

Scientific Insights

Studies have shown that grounding can:

• Improve Sleep: By regulating circadian rhythms.
• Reduce Pain and Inflammation: Through the transfer of free electrons which neutralize free radicals.
• Boost Mood and Energy: By reducing stress hormones like cortisol.

Transitioning to Barefoot: A Practical Guide

Switching to a barefoot lifestyle isn’t something you should do overnight, especially if you've been wearing conventional shoes for most of your life. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you transition safely:

1. Start Slow: Begin by walking barefoot at home. Gradually increase the duration as your feet become stronger.

2. Choose Natural Surfaces: Whenever possible, walk on grass, sand, or dirt to allow your feet to adjust to different textures and strengthen naturally.

3. Practice Foot Exercises: exercises like toe curls, arch lifts, and calf stretches can help strengthen your foot muscles.

4. Consider Barefoot Shoes: If going completely barefoot is not feasible in certain environments, barefoot shoes with wide toe boxes and flexible soles can be a great alternative.

5. Listen to Your Body: Pay attention to any pain or discomfort and give your feet time to adapt.

Addressing Common Concerns

Hygiene and Safety

A common concern is the risk of injury or hygiene issues. While it's true that barefoot walking involves some risk of cuts or infections:

• Inspect Your Path: Always check the ground for sharp objects or dangerous terrain before walking barefoot.
• Maintain Good Hygiene: Wash your feet regularly to prevent infections.
• Strengthen Your Soles: As your feet adapt, the skin on your soles will thicken, providing additional protection.

Real-Life Success Stories

Many athletes and everyday individuals have embraced the barefoot movement with remarkable success. Marathon runners, sprinters, and hikers have reported fewer injuries and improved performance. Regular folks have also shared stories of alleviated chronic pain and enhanced well being.

Conclusion

Kicking off your shoes and the barefoot lifestyle taps into our natural design and connects us more deeply with the world around us. From physical benefits like enhanced strength and posture to the grounding effects that boost our mental health the advantages of walking barefoot are clear. Listen to your body and start your barefoot journey today. Remember, it’s all about reconnecting with our roots and living more naturally. 🌍✨

---

References and Suggested Readings

1. "Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen" by Christopher McDougall - A compelling narrative that showcases the advantages of barefoot running.
2. "Earthing: The Most Important Health Discovery Ever?" by Clinton Ober, Stephen T. Sinatra, and Martin Zucker - Explores the science and benefits of grounding.
3. "The Barefoot Book: 50 Great Reasons to Kick Off Your Shoes" by L. Daniel Howell - Offers detailed insights into why you should consider going barefoot.

---

There you have it, folks! The barefoot truth laid bare (pun totally intended). Let's keep questioning, keep exploring, and always look deeper into everything we're told. Until next time! 👣

@ 362ebffa:492e2719

Cypher.space

@ de75eb1d:710c3014

Chef's notes

Traditional Victorian recipe made better with the addition of chocolate, fills x6 one lb jars and each jar makes approximately 15 pies or one large tart.

Store in a cool dry place for 12 months for an even deeper flavour.

Unlike supermarket mincemeat, this recipe is naturally palm oil free when made using traditional ingredients (NOT Atora!), you could swap the animal fat for ghee or solid cocoa butter.

Go wild on the dried fruit, anything and everything works. This is a great area to play around and make extra special versions - like Cherry Brandied Chocolate! You can also swap or omit the nuts

Details

• ⏲️ Prep time: 30 mins
• 🍳 Cook time: 3 hours

Ingredients

• 1 lb cooking apples, cored and diced
• 1.5lb mixed dried fruit
• 1lb unrefined sugar (or honey)
• 1/2lb beef suet
• 1/2lb candied citrus peel
• 2oz chopped or flaked almonds
• 4tsp mixed spice
• 1tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2lb dark chocolate roughly chopped
• 6tbspn brandy or rum
• zest and juice of 2 oranges & lemons

Directions

1. Combine all of the ingredients except the chocolate and alcohol in a large oven proof bowl, cover and leave overnight to infuse
2. Next day cover the bowl with foil and bake slowly for 3 hours in a preheated oven at 120c
3. As the mincemeat cools periodically stir in the fat and when completely cold add the alcohol and chocolate chips
4. Pack into sterilised jars and cover with a wax disk or 1tsp melted suet, screw the lids on tight and it will keep for 3-5 years

@ 9c47bb51:000381d0

Blockchain technology, particularly the Bitcoin blockchain, is poised to redefine the way we think about trust, ownership, and value in society. Its decentralized, transparent, and immutable nature sets the stage for a wave of innovation that will reshape industries, governance, and everyday life. While Bitcoin is most famously known as a digital currency, its underlying blockchain technology offers transformative potential far beyond finance. Let’s dive into how this technology could revolutionize the coming decades, from small-scale applications to global systemic change.

1. Financial Inclusion and Empowerment

One of the most immediate impacts of blockchain technology is its ability to empower individuals who have been excluded from traditional financial systems. Over 1.4 billion adults globally remain unbanked, unable to access basic financial services due to lack of identification, credit history, or proximity to banks. Bitcoin’s blockchain offers a decentralized alternative.

With just a smartphone and internet access, anyone can participate in a global financial network. Peer-to-peer transactions eliminate the need for intermediaries, reducing costs and enabling borderless payments. This is particularly impactful in developing nations, where remittance fees from services like Western Union often consume a significant portion of the money sent home by workers abroad.

1. Redefining Property and Ownership

The Bitcoin blockchain introduces a new era of digital ownership. By using public and private keys, individuals can prove ownership of assets without needing third parties. This concept extends beyond Bitcoin to include: • Tokenized Real Estate: Fractional ownership of property becomes possible, making investments accessible to more people. • Intellectual Property: Artists and creators can mint their work as non-fungible tokens (NFTs), securing royalties and ownership rights without intermediaries. • Supply Chain Transparency: Blockchain ensures the authenticity of goods by tracking their journey from origin to consumer, revolutionizing industries like food safety, luxury goods, and pharmaceuticals.

1. Revolutionizing Governance

Blockchain’s transparency and immutability make it a powerful tool for improving governance and reducing corruption. Imagine a world where: • Voting: Elections are conducted on blockchain platforms, ensuring transparency and eliminating fraud. Citizens can verify their votes without compromising privacy. • Public Funds: Governments manage budgets and distribute aid using blockchain, providing real-time accountability for how tax dollars are spent. • Smart Contracts: Agreements are executed automatically when pre-defined conditions are met, removing bureaucratic delays and reducing legal disputes.

For example, countries experimenting with blockchain for land registries are reducing disputes over property rights while fostering economic stability.

1. The Internet of Value

The internet revolutionized how we share information; blockchain is set to revolutionize how we exchange value. Bitcoin’s blockchain introduced the concept of digital scarcity—an asset that cannot be duplicated or counterfeited. This is the foundation of a new Internet of Value: • Micropayments: Services like podcasts, articles, or software can be monetized with tiny payments using the Lightning Network on Bitcoin, bypassing traditional subscription models. • Decentralized Finance (DeFi): Borrowing, lending, and saving can occur directly on blockchain platforms, offering alternatives to traditional banks with reduced fees and greater accessibility. • Global Trade: Blockchain enables faster, cheaper cross-border payments, reducing friction in global commerce and empowering small businesses to compete on a global scale.

1. Revolutionizing Healthcare

Blockchain can revolutionize healthcare by improving data management and patient empowerment: • Medical Records: Patients can securely store and share their medical histories, ensuring accurate diagnosis and treatment while maintaining privacy. • Drug Authentication: Blockchain can track pharmaceuticals from production to patient, reducing counterfeit drugs. • Research Collaboration: Blockchain enables secure sharing of anonymized patient data among researchers, accelerating breakthroughs in medicine.

For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, blockchain was explored as a way to verify vaccination records and ensure the integrity of supply chains for vaccines.

1. Energy and Environmental Solutions

The energy sector stands to benefit significantly from blockchain technology: • Decentralized Energy Grids: Households with solar panels can trade excess energy with neighbors using blockchain-based platforms, fostering community-driven energy networks. • Carbon Credits: Blockchain ensures transparency in carbon credit trading, preventing fraud and incentivizing companies to reduce emissions. • Tracking Sustainability: Blockchain enables tracking of sustainable practices, from renewable energy usage to ethical sourcing of materials.

1. Education and Credentialing

Blockchain can solve problems of credential verification and access to education: • Digital Diplomas: Educational institutions can issue tamper-proof certificates on a blockchain, streamlining job applications and international recognition of qualifications. • Lifelong Learning: Blockchain can track an individual’s learning journey across multiple institutions, enabling personalized education pathways and skills validation.

The Larger Vision: A Decentralized Future

At its core, blockchain is about decentralization—removing the need for trust in intermediaries and empowering individuals. This has profound implications for: • Freedom and Sovereignty: Bitcoin’s blockchain allows individuals to store and transfer value without fear of censorship, making it a tool for human rights in oppressive regimes. • Resilient Economies: Decentralized systems are less vulnerable to single points of failure, fostering robust economies and networks. • Global Collaboration: Blockchain can create a new era of cooperation, where value and ideas flow freely across borders without interference.

Challenges and the Road Ahead

While the potential of blockchain is enormous, challenges remain: • Scalability: Current blockchain networks, including Bitcoin, must continue to innovate to handle growing demand. • Regulation: Governments must balance innovation with oversight, ensuring blockchain is used responsibly without stifling growth. • Adoption: Educating the public and creating user-friendly interfaces are critical for mainstream adoption.

Despite these challenges, the trajectory is clear: blockchain is not a passing trend but a foundational technology that will shape the next several decades.

The Role of Bitcoin in Leading the Revolution

Bitcoin, as the first and most secure blockchain, will continue to lead this revolution. Its decentralized nature, proven security, and global recognition position it as the backbone of this transformation. While other blockchains may serve specialized purposes, Bitcoin’s role as digital gold and a store of value ensures its enduring relevance.

The Bitcoin blockchain’s influence will extend far beyond currency. It is the blueprint for how trust, ownership, and value can exist in a digital age—transparent, immutable, and accessible to all.

As we look to the future, blockchain technology represents not just a technological revolution but a societal shift toward empowerment, transparency, and decentralization. From small changes in everyday transactions to large-scale systemic transformation, blockchain has the potential to touch every aspect of our lives, ushering in a more equitable and connected world.

@ 6fff5148:a5dd5cdf

Youth unemployment is often linked to a range of issues such as high crime rates among youth and riots. Young people are still unemployed because of the various challenges facing young people. This includes laziness in young people who make them reluctant to seek employment which is why they remain unemployed for a long time because of these social structures. These two fundamental effects of unemployment can lead to social degradation when it reaches uncontrollable levels. Unemployment remains a major cause of social ills, which are often associated with high levels of unemployment. These social ills cannot be predicted when they will occur, but they will certainly occur when unemployment becomes uncontrollable. Youth unemployment can be described as a time bomb waiting to explode. The current generation of young people has become the most prepared generation in the history of the region, so it makes sense to promote job creation related to the fields of education or technology for many young people, that is, to take advantage of population comparison. For example, if the majority of young people are studying social science, it is easy to encourage the creation of a service sector. As can be seen, the role of the State is crucial to improving the situation; however, the government must ensure clean communication between itself and the various sectors of society if a real solution is to be achieved.

@ 7c765d40:bd121d84

We are about to witness the power of exponential growth in bitcoin.

Many predict bitcoin's price to be in the millions one day.

I am one of those people.

Many also predict it will take 50 years to get there.

I am not one of those people.

Bitcoin has gone from $350 to $93,000 in less than a decade.

Many believe the big growth is behind us.

But only 1% of the world owns bitcoin.

What about the other 99%?

What happens when they're all trying to get their hands on a scarce asset with a fixed supply?

It's something the world has never seen before.

Let me say that part again.

Something the world has never seen before.

Let's use an example of exponential growth.

Imagine a football stadium being filled with water.

Every minute one drop is added.

The number of drops doubles every minute.

It goes from 1 to 2, to 4, to 8, 16, 32, 64, etc.

How long would it take to fill the entire stadium?

A day? A week? A year?!

How about 50 minutes.

And the crazy part - how full is it after 45 minutes?

Most would guess 70-90%.

Wrong.

After 45 minutes the stadium is only 7% full.

In the final 5 minutes, the stadium goes from 7% full to 100% full.

I believe there are three triggers that will occur that will send bitcoin from $93,000 to $93 million.

1. Wall Street can participate

2. A major country starts buying as a strategic reserve

3. The price hits $1 million

The first has already happened.

The second one is likely to happen in a few months.

And the third will follow shortly after.

Wall Street was important because that's where all the BIG money is.

The US strategic bitcoin reserve will force all countries to start printing money and buying bitcoin.

And when the price hits $1 million, we will start pricing satoshis instead of bitcoin.

1 sat will equal 1 cent.

In a decade from now, no one will know what the price of bitcoin is.

They will know how much a satoshi costs.

Keep in mind, there are 100 million satoshis in 1 bitcoin.

Think of it like dollars and cents.

This is when the exponential growth will kick in - and it's much closer than we think.

Moral of the story?

Don't focus on the price.

Focus on getting as many satoshis as you possibly can.

And invest some time and money into securing those satoshis.

Jor 871781

@ 0c9e5e17:480e870b

I thought I'd share the excellent review posted by Worn & Wound of my Prometheus Ocean Diver watch design. It is a very thorough review with some incredible photos.

Snippet from Worn & Wound Review

"Turns out, not everything we lionize from our past holds up so well today. A few things, however, transcend their era and are worth returning to because their qualities aren't reliant upon the culture that bore them. I'd place the Ocean Diver in this category, while fully acknowledging the irony that its creation is intrinsically linked to watch collection culture of the late aughts.

There is an indefinable quality about the Ocean Diver that sets it apart from its contemporaries, such as the Ocean 7 LM-2, early Christopher Ward divers, and Seiko's SKX watches. The internal bezel, the design of the hour markers, including the oversized numerals at 6, 9 and 12 o'clock, the porthole shaped case design and its bead blasted texture all add up to something of an unusual experience that was wholly original at the time, and remains so today.”

Photo Credit: Worn & Wound

Original Design Concept

Below is my original design illustration which I produced using Adobe Illustrator. You'll notice that several of my design elements were changed in the final production version. For example, the hands were supposed to be much larger and with more lume for greater visibility, something that was pointed out as a negative of the production version in the Worn & Wound review, but as you can see by my design was never my intention.

I'm incredibly proud of my design. Having it go into production, even with minor changes, is a watch lover's (and designer's) dream come true! I never get tired of seeing photographs shared on social media of my watches being worn and enjoyed by their owners.

You can read the full Worn & Wound review here >> Missed Reviews: The Curious Case of the Prometheus Ocean Diver

@ 4fcac000:d2b37988

В Тюмени стартует программа "Энергия для жизни", объединяющая бизнес и жителей для энергосбережения и устойчивого развития.

К 2040 году Тюмень станет примером экологической ответственности. 💡 Для бизнеса: Зеленые офисы: использование биофильных дизайнов для снижения потребления энергии. Краудфандинг на солнечные панели: инициативы по сбору средств на установку солнечных панелей. Кооперативы по обмену энергией: совместный обмен избыточной энергии от возобновляемых источников. 🏡 Для частных лиц: Эко-соседства: сообщества для установки солнечных батарей и систем сбора дождевой воды. Гардероб с историей: магазины для обмена и аренды вещей. Сад на крыше: использование крыш для создания зеленых садов, улучшающих качество воздуха.

@ 0c9e5e17:480e870b

I just made my first batch of Paleo beef jerky and the results are so good that I thought I'd share it with you. My entire house smells of beef jerky right now and it's driving my dog crazy - poor thing.

What's Paleo?

I'm not going to go into the details, but simply put it's a way of eating that best mimics the diets of our paleolithic hunter-gatherer ancestors - lean meats, seafood, vegetables, fruits, and nuts. If you're interested take a look here: The Paleo Diet.

I've been gradually getting more and more serious about eating a paleo diet as a lifestyle and wanted to see if I could find a recipe that I could use for making beef jerky that would be suitable = no soy sauce, besides other things. I was sent two really good examples of paleo jerky recipes from @paleoonabudget via Twitter (love how social tools connect us) and thought that they both sounded good enough to try. Here they are: Food Lover's Kitchen Beef Jerky, and Jen's Gone Paleo Really Tasty Beef Jerky.

My Version

Always one to tinker and hack with something, I adjusted and combined aspects from both recipes to come up with one that sounded good to me. Here's what I ended up with:

• Flank steak as lean as possible (grass-fed), trim any excess fat
• 1 cup raw coconut aminos (it's a substitute for soy sauce)
• 1 cup of organic apple juice (make sure there are no additives)
• 1 cup of pineapple juice (again, no additives)
• 1 tbsp fresh ground black pepper
• 1 tsp of paprika
• 1 tsp of garlic powder
• Lime juice (not in the marinade)

Steak strips in the marinade

I used a nice cut of flank steak (personal preference) and made sure to trim off all excess fat, although there was hardly any. I put the steak in the freezer for an hour or two to make slicing it into thin strips a little easier.

Then I put all of the other ingredients (the marinade) into a Pyrex dish and added the sliced steak pieces, making sure that all of the steak was covered or submerged. I think I topped up with a little extra of both juices. I covered this and put it in the fridge overnight.

Dehydrating - Making it Jerky!

The next day (around noon) I removed the marinading steak from the fridge and let it drain through a small sieve for a minute or two to get the excess liquid off. No need to get my dehydrator into a big mess if I can easily avoid it. I used my old faithful L'Equip 528 6-tray Dehydrator. I love this machine!

Steak strips on dehydrator tray

I gave the entire batch of steak a heavy dose of freshly squeezed lime juice, all over. I was very heavy handed with the lime (thinking this would be my "secret sauce"). Then I arranged the pieces of steak onto the drying sheets (mine has six) making sure to leave a lot of room around each piece.

Temperature dial on L'Equip

I set the temperature gauge to half way between 125F and 153F (\~135F) and turned it on. At this point I went out to take care of some errands - nothing you would be interested in. When I got back a few hours later, I was greeted by the smell of beef jerky as I opened the front door - wow!

The jerky had been drying for about four hours while I was gone and much to my surprise was completely done. In fact it could have come out a little bit sooner to be even better, but that's my fault for going away and leaving it. When I make jerky using ground beef it takes a lot, lot, longer - more than twice as long.

I hope you enjoy this recipe!

The end result is absolutely delicious. The combination of the fruit juices, coconut aminos and spices gives the steak an amazing, slightly citrus flavor. I wish you could try some, it's soooo good!

@ 5d4b6c8d:8a1c1ee3

We're coming down the home stretch of the Group Play rounds. Remember that you won't be able to use your rebuys once we enter the Knockout Round.

Tuesday's Games

• Bulls 1-1 @ Wizards 0-2
• Bucks 2-0 @ Heat 1-1
• Rockets 2-0 @ T-Wolves 1-1
• Spurs 1-1 @ Jazz 0-2
• Lakers 2-0 @ Suns 1-1

I need to decide between the Spurs and the Bulls. The Spurs might actually make it to the Knockout Rounds, but it's hard to imagine wanting to pick them then.

I'll post the segment of our podcast where we talk about the Emirates Cup before Tuesday, just in case our analysis sways any opinions.

Prize: Almost 60k!

Thanks to recent zaps and @Carresan buying back in, we're closing in on a 60k prize.

originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/781193

@ 04d9fac9:5bec0e6c

В Воркуте стартуют областные соревнования по триатлону, привлекая участников всех возрастов и уровней подготовки. Категории соревнований: Дети: Участники до 12 лет будут соревноваться на сокращенных дистанциях, что позволит им проявить свои силы в плавании, велогонке и беге. Юниоры: Спортсмены от 13 до 17 лет выступят на более сложных дистанциях, что станет отличной возможностью для развития их навыков. Взрослые: Основная категория включает спортсменов старше 18 лет, которые будут соревноваться на стандартных дистанциях, демонстрируя свою физическую подготовку и выносливость. Соревнования обещают быть захватывающими и способствовать популяризации триатлона в регионе.

@ 30ceb64e:7f08bdf5

A Personal Journey

I recently created a blog using npub.pro to consolidate my Nostr and Stacker News longform posts in one place. It's been a fun experiment, with surprising results.

https://thebloghustle.npub.pro/

Primal now displays my SN and Nostr posts through a selection on my profile screen, and users are able to highlight, zap, and comment on the highlights of my articles.

I need to write more, the blog will be something of an open diary, detailing my personal experience with Nostr and bitcoin.

Why Nostr Outshines Substack and Medium

Nostr in my opinion has already surpassed the legacy blogging platforms. Functionalities like zapping, highlighting, and commenting, are fun and cool, but when added to Nostr's interconnectivity something magical appears. I had no idea my cross posted SN longform posts would be found in npub.pro, and I didn't know npub.pro had added longform support. Primal 2.0 was pretty much the nail in the coffin, the most popular Nostr client just added a reads section, supporting longform content. Nostr freaks like to talk about sovereignty and decentralization and owning your online identity, but the main attraction will probably be zaps, interconnectivity, and a more optimal UX.

Npub.pro, Cypher.space, Blogspot.io, Highlighter, Stacker News, Primal 2.0 and Yakihonne, are just the beginnings, but offer an amazing glimpse at what the future has in store. Keep in mind that these sites are sharing an average of around 10k daily active users, we'll see an explosion of content and a diversity of content because these platforms offer incentives and functionalities that you don't see elsewhere, as bitcoin becomes less taboo, and as the early adopter phase of these products comes to a close, we'll probably see v4v censorship resistance and digital ownership immensely supporting the underdog, the same underdog that just came over for the ease of use and hype.

So with that being said, highlight away. Let me know what you guys think about blogging on Nostr and if you think these are just the ramblings of a madman, or bland and obvious observations.

Thanks, Hustle

originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/781159

@ 9358c676:9f2912fc

OBJECTIVE

Establish a hospital guide for thromboembolism prophylaxis in patients admitted to our center, aiming to increase safety in its indication, reduce the incidence of venous thrombosis events in at-risk patients, and minimize adverse effects related to thromboprophylaxis.

SCOPE

All patients over 16 years of age admitted to our institution.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Institution physicians from Hematology Services, Surgical Services, Medical Clinic Service, Intensive Care Unit (ICU), and Coronary Unit (CCU). Nursing Coordination. Nursing Department Head. Pharmacy Service.

REFERENCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Updated recommendations for prophylaxis of venous thromboembolic disease in Argentina. Fernando J. Vazquez et al. MEDICINA (Buenos Aires) 2020; 80: 69-80.
2. American Society of Hematology 2018 guidelines for management of venous thromboembolism: prophylaxis for hospitalized and nonhospitalized medical patients. Blood Advances. Holger J. Schünemann et al. DOI 10.1182/bloodadvances.2018022954
3. High-dose versus low-dose venous thromboprophylaxis in hospitalized patients with COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Emanuele Valeriani et al. Internal and Emergency Medicine (2022) 17:1817–1825. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11739-022-03004-x
4. Recommendations for the use of thromboprophylaxis in hospitalized COVID-19 patients in Argentina. Fernando J. Vazquez et al. MEDICINA (Buenos Aires) 2020; Vol. 80 (Suppl. III): 65-66. ISSN 1669-9106

INTRODUCTION

Thromboembolic prophylaxis in hospitalized patients is a critical intervention to reduce the risk of thrombotic events, one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in hospitals. Prolonged immobilization, along with other risk factors such as surgeries, trauma, comorbidities, and specific treatments, significantly increases the possibility of developing deep vein thrombosis (DVT) or pulmonary embolism (PE), which are serious conditions requiring rapid intervention and can threaten the patient's life.

In Argentina, the incidence of venous thromboembolism in hospitalized patients is high and represents a significant clinical challenge. It is estimated that hospitalization increases the likelihood of a thromboembolic event by 10 times compared to the general population. Implementing effective thromboprophylaxis strategies can reduce this incidence, optimizing patient safety and reducing both the costs associated with complications and the duration of hospitalization.

This guide aims to standardize the use of thromboprophylaxis in our institution, improving the identification of at-risk patients and promoting safe interventions based on updated scientific evidence.

GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THROMBOPROPHYLAXIS

General indications for thromboprophylaxis are essential to ensure safety and effectiveness in preventing thromboembolic events. The following general recommendations are provided:

Patients without prior anticoagulation: Recommendations apply only to patients who were not receiving oral anticoagulation before hospitalization.
Initial Evaluation: Prior to starting prophylaxis, a complete blood count, prothrombin time, aPTT, platelet count, and an estimation of renal function through creatinine clearance should be obtained.
Conditions for Surgical Patients: All recommendations for surgical patients assume no intraoperative hemorrhagic complications and adequate hemostasis.
Special Cases Evaluation: Prophylaxis in patients with extreme weight (under 40 kg or over 100 kg) or renal insufficiency with a clearance of less than 30 ml/min should be evaluated by a Hematology specialist.
Early Mobilization: Routine early mobilization is recommended for all patients, as long as it is safe.

RISK SCALE APPLICATION

The assessment of thromboembolic event risk should begin with correct categorization of the patient.

Risk Factors for Venous Thromboembolism (VTE) during hospitalization include: prolonged immobility (more than 2 days in bed), active neoplasms, stroke, heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, acute infections, rheumatoid arthritis, ANCA-positive vasculitis, and inflammatory bowel disease. These clinical conditions account for approximately 75% of fatal pulmonary thromboembolisms (PE), highlighting the importance of adequate antithrombotic prophylaxis.
Risk scales are designed to categorize both thromboembolic risk and bleeding risk associated with thromboprophylaxis. The bleeding risk, whether major or clinically relevant, increases with the use of pharmacological prophylaxis. However, fatal bleeding is 10 times less frequent than fatal PE.

CONTRAINDICATIONS FOR THROMBOPROPHYLAXIS

General contraindications for pharmacological thromboprophylaxis in hospitalized patients aim to prevent hemorrhagic complications. The main contraindications are:

Clinically significant active hemorrhage.
Platelet count less than 30,000 platelets/ml.
Major bleeding disorders.
Active intracranial hemorrhage.
Recent peri-spinal hemorrhage.
Recent surgery with a high risk of bleeding.

It is crucial to carefully evaluate these contraindications before initiating any thromboprophylaxis protocol.

INDICATION FOR THROMBOPROPHYLAXIS IN NON-SURGICAL HOSPITALIZED PATIENTS

Validated scales help categorize the risk and indication for venous thromboembolism (VTE) in hospitalized patients with non-surgical conditions: the IMPROVE-VTE scale, which considers a high risk for scores above 2 and very high risk for scores above 4, with additional factors such as elevated D-dimer, advanced age, cancer history, or previous VTE.

To assess bleeding risk, the IMPROVE-Bleed scale identifies high risk with scores of 7 or higher. Patients with high VTE risk and low bleeding risk should receive prophylaxis until discharge, and in high-risk cases, it should be extended afterward.

Improve VTE Scale Risk Factors and Points

Patient History
    Previous VTE: 3 points
    Recent surgery (within 30 days): 2 points
    Active cancer: 2 points
    History of trauma: 1 point

Clinical Factors
    Age 40-60 years: 1 point
    Age over 60 years: 2 points
    Obesity (BMI > 30): 1 point
    Prolonged immobility (e.g., bed rest for more than 3 days): 2 points

Laboratory Findings
    Elevated D-dimer: 1 point

Medication Use
    Hormonal therapy (e.g., oral contraceptives, hormone replacement therapy): 1 point
    Recent chemotherapy: 2 points

Physical Examination
    Signs of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) such as swelling, pain, or tenderness in the legs: 2 points

Scoring and Risk Levels

Total Score Calculation: Add the points from all applicable categories.

Risk Levels:
    0-2 points: Low Risk - Standard care; consider early mobilization.
    3-5 points: Moderate Risk - Consider mechanical prophylaxis (e.g., compression stockings) and/or pharmacologic prophylaxis.
    6+ points: High Risk - Strongly consider pharmacologic prophylaxis (e.g., anticoagulants) and close monitoring.

IMPROVE-Bleed Scale for Bleeding Risk Assessment Risk Factors and Points

Creatinine clearance < 60 ml/min: 1 point
Creatinine clearance < 30 ml/min: 2.5 points
Male sex: 1 point
Age > 40: 1.5 points
Age > 85: 3.5 points
Active cancer: 2 points
Rheumatic disease: 2 points
Central venous catheter: 2 points
Admission to Intensive Care Unit or Coronary Care Unit: 2.5 points
Liver failure (INR > 1.5): 2.5 points
Platelets < 50,000/µl: 4 points
Bleeding in the last 3 months: 4 points
Active gastroduodenal ulcer: 4.5 points

Score Interpretation

Total Score:
    7 or more: High bleeding risk, with a bleeding probability of 4% or more.

General Recommendations for Thromboprophylaxis in Hospitalized Patients with Medical Conditions Without Surgery

Population: High or moderate risk of thrombosis and low risk of bleeding
    Recommendation: Critical: Enoxaparin 40 mg every 24 hours; Non-critical: Enoxaparin 40 mg every 24 hours.
    Alternative: Unfractionated heparin 5000 U every 8 or 12 hours.
    Comments: Until discharge; may consider prolonging in very high-risk patients.

Population: High risk of thrombosis and high risk of bleeding
    Recommendation: IPC or CG.
    Alternative: -
    Comments: -

Population: Patients with creatinine clearance less than 30 ml/min
    Recommendation: Unfractionated heparin 5000 U every 8 or 12 hours.
    Alternative: -
    Comments: Reassess pharmacological prophylaxis when there is low bleeding risk. Until discharge; may consider prolonging in very high-risk patients.

Population: Patients with ischemic stroke
    Recommendation: Enoxaparin 40 mg every 24 hours.
    Alternative: IPC.
    Comments: Initiate within the first 24 hours. Until discharge; may consider prolonging in very high-risk patients.

Population: Patients with intracranial hemorrhage (ICH)
    Recommendation: IPC or CG for 48 to 72 hours after stabilization of bleeding, then Enoxaparin 40 mg every 24 hours.
    Alternative: IPC.
    Comments: Hemorrhage control should be monitored with imaging and evolution. Until discharge; may consider prolonging in very high-risk patients.

Population: Patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH)
    Recommendation: IPC or CG for 48 to 72 hours after vascular exclusion or surgical resolution of the aneurysm, then Enoxaparin 40 mg every 24 hours.
    Alternative: IPC.
    Comments: Hemorrhage control should be monitored with imaging and evolution. Until discharge; may consider prolonging in very high-risk patients.

References

UFH: unfractionated heparin
IPC: intermittent pneumatic compression
CG: graduated compression stockings
CVA: cerebrovascular accident
ICH: intracranial hemorrhage
SAH: subarachnoid hemorrhage

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THROMBOPROPHYLAXIS IN HOSPITALIZED PATIENTS WITH NON-SURGICAL CLINICAL DISEASES

Population Recommendation Alternative Comments Duration High or moderate VTE risk with low bleeding risk Enoxaparin 40 mg every 24 hours (critical); Enoxaparin 40 mg every 24 hours (non-critical) Unfractionated heparin (UFH) 5000 U every 8 or 12 hours Until discharge, may be extended for very high-risk patients High VTE risk and high bleeding risk CNI or MCG
Creatinine clearance < 30 ml/min UFH 5000 U every 8 or 12 hours Reevaluate when bleeding risk is low Until discharge, may be extended for very high-risk patients

INDICATION FOR THROMBOPROPHYLAXIS IN SURGICAL PATIENTS WITH NON-ORTHOPEDIC SURGERY

In non-ambulatory surgeries, the risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) varies depending on the patient's risk factors and the type of surgery. Thus, individual risk stratification using the Caprini scale is imperative. Patients undergoing general surgery with moderate or higher thrombotic risk (3 points or more) and no increased bleeding risk should receive pharmacological thromboprophylaxis.

CAPRINI SCALE

Caprini Risk Assessment Model Risk Factors and Points

History of VTE
    Previous VTE: 3 points

Active Cancer
    Current or recent cancer (within 6 months): 3 points
    Receiving treatment for cancer: 3 points

Surgery/Trauma
    Major surgery (e.g., orthopedic, abdominal) with general anesthesia: 2 points
    Trauma with hospitalization: 2 points
    Minor surgery with general anesthesia: 1 point

Age
    Age 41-60 years: 1 point
    Age 61-74 years: 2 points
    Age 75 years or older: 3 points

Obesity
    BMI 30-39: 1 point
    BMI 40 or greater: 2 points

Immobility
    Bed rest for more than 3 days: 2 points
    Paraplegia or quadriplegia: 2 points

Hormonal Therapy
    Current use of estrogen-containing medications (e.g., oral contraceptives, hormone replacement therapy): 1 point

Other Risk Factors
    History of heart failure or chronic lung disease: 1 point
    History of inflammatory bowel disease: 1 point
    History of stroke: 1 point
    Varicose veins: 1 point
    Recent travel (long-distance travel > 4 hours): 1 point

Scoring and Risk Levels

Total Score Calculation: Add the points from all applicable categories.

Risk Levels:
    0-1 points: Low Risk - Standard care; consider early mobilization.
    2-3 points: Moderate Risk - Consider mechanical prophylaxis (e.g., compression stockings).
    4-5 points: High Risk - Consider pharmacologic prophylaxis (e.g., anticoagulants) and mechanical methods.
    6+ points: Very High Risk - Strongly consider pharmacologic prophylaxis and close monitoring.

Interpretation of Caprini Scale Score: Total Score Risk Level Recommendation Comments Duration 0-1 Low Early ambulation Until discharge 2-3 Moderate CNI or MCG Begin before surgery Until discharge 4 or more High Enoxaparin 40 mg every 24 hours or UFH 5000 U every 8 or 12 hours Administer the dose 12 hours before abdominal or pelvic surgery, restart 12 hours post-procedure Minimum 7-10 days; extend up to 28 days post-surgery for oncologic patients or those with low bleeding risk

INDICATION FOR THROMBOPROPHYLAXIS IN ORTHOPEDIC SURGERY PATIENTS

Major orthopedic surgeries, including total hip arthroplasty (THA), total knee arthroplasty (TKA), and hip fracture surgery (HFS), pose a high risk of thrombotic complications (40%-60% without proper thromboprophylaxis). Pharmacological prophylaxis is always recommended regardless of individual risk factors.

Special Considerations:

In outpatient knee arthroscopy, early ambulation is encouraged. Prophylaxis with low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) for at least 7 days should be considered only in patients with high thrombotic risk (e.g., cancer, prior VTE, obesity, pregnancy, or postpartum).
For immobilization lasting more than 7 days due to fractures, tendinous/cartilaginous ruptures, or soft tissue injuries below the patella with risk factors, pharmacological prophylaxis with LMWH is recommended.
In spinal surgeries, mechanical prophylaxis with graduated compression stockings (GCS) and early ambulation are advised. For prolonged procedures (> 1 hour) with risk factors, pharmacological prophylaxis (Enoxaparin 40 mg/day or UFH 5000 U every 8-12 hours) is recommended 24 hours post-surgery until discharge.
Major trauma patients should receive mechanical prophylaxis (CNI or GCS) combined with Enoxaparin 40 mg/day, provided there is no increased bleeding risk, from admission to discharge, including the rehabilitation period.

Recommendations for Orthopedic Surgery: Population Recommended Indication Alternative Comments Duration Scheduled hip and knee surgery Apixaban 2.5 mg every 12 hours None Start 12 hours after surgery 28-35 days (hip), 14 days (knee), extend up to 35 days Dabigatran 220 mg every 24 hours None Start 110 mg 4 hours after surgery, then continue with 220 mg
Enoxaparin 40 mg every 24 hours None Start 12 hours after surgery
Rivaroxaban 10 mg every 24 hours None Start 6 hours after surgery Hip fracture Enoxaparin 40 mg every 24 hours UFH 5000 U every 8 or 12 hours Administer from admission and 8-12 hours before surgery; restart 8-12 hours post-surgery 14-35 days

INDICATION FOR THROMBOPROPHYLAXIS IN OBSTETRICS

Postpartum hemorrhage is the leading cause of maternal death in developing countries, while venous thromboembolic disease (VTE) is the leading cause in developed countries. Pregnant women are 4-10 times more likely to develop VTE than non-pregnant women. Although the incidence of VTE during pregnancy is low (1-2 per 1000 pregnancies), it is considered a preventable cause of maternal death.

INDICATION FOR THROMBOPROPHYLAXIS IN COVID-19 HOSPITALIZED PATIENTS

COVID-19 infection is associated with an increased risk of venous thromboembolism, particularly in ICU patients. These patients are considered at high thrombotic risk during hospitalization, with significantly elevated D-dimer levels linked to greater risk of severe complications, including death and disseminated intravascular coagulation.

Recommendations:

Thromboprophylaxis with subcutaneous Enoxaparin 40 mg/day is suggested for all hospitalized patients with severe COVID-19, provided no contraindications exist, throughout their hospital stay.

@ 4874b840:31b0b8c0

Редакция «Калининград 2040» с гордостью объявляет, что мы стали самым цитируемым изданием года! Это достижение стало возможным благодаря вашей поддержке и интересу к нашим материалам. Мы всегда предоставляем вам актуальную, качественную и проверенную информацию о событиях нашего города. Мы работаем над тем, чтобы освещать важные темы, высказывать мнения экспертов и гостей. Ваши репосты, комментарии и обсуждения наших материалов вдохновляют нас становиться всё лучше и помогают нам расти. Благодарим вас за активное участие в жизни нашего издания! Каждый ваш отзыв и каждое ваше мнение имеют для нас огромное значение. Мы ценим вашу преданность и доверие, которые мотивируют нас продолжать нашу работу. Трудно поверить, что начиная наш проект с командой из 4х человек, имея только бешеное желание работать и приносить пользу людям, мы смогли добиться таких высот. В следующем году мы предоставим еще больше интересных материалов, эксклюзивных интервью и аналитических статей. Мы надеемся, что вы остаетесь с нами на этом пути! Спасибо, что вы с нами! Вместе мы сделаем «Калининград 2040» ещё лучше!

@ 9c47bb51:000381d0

The concept of Near-Death Experiences (NDEs) has captivated human curiosity for decades, blending the realms of science, spirituality, and the mysteries of consciousness. These profound experiences, reported by individuals who have come close to death, offer glimpses of what might lie beyond the physical world. NDEs typically include vivid visions, encounters with loved ones, feelings of peace, and a sense of transcending the body. But what do they truly mean? And what can we learn from them?

The modern exploration of NDEs began with Dr. Raymond Moody, who brought the phenomenon to mainstream attention with his groundbreaking 1975 book, Life After Life. In it, Moody documented over 150 accounts of people who described similar out-of-body experiences, journeys through tunnels of light, and encounters with an overwhelming sense of love. His work was among the first to systematize and analyze NDEs, sparking a wave of research into what had often been dismissed as anecdotal or hallucinatory. Moody coined the term “Near-Death Experience,” forever changing the discourse around these events.

**Dr. Eben Alexander: A Neurosurgeon’s Extraordinary Journey ** One of the most compelling modern stories of an NDE comes from Dr. Eben Alexander, a neurosurgeon who once believed that consciousness was entirely a product of the brain. In his book, Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon’s Journey into the Afterlife, Alexander recounts his near-death experience during a seven-day coma caused by a severe case of bacterial meningitis. Despite his brain being severely damaged and non-functional by medical standards, Alexander experienced vivid visions of an otherworldly realm.

During his NDE, he described being guided by a being of light, feeling enveloped by an overwhelming sense of love, and encountering a divine presence. When he awoke, he was profoundly changed, no longer dismissing the possibility of consciousness existing beyond the brain. His story has added credibility to the discussion of NDEs, particularly among skeptics and scientists.

**The Common Themes of NDEs ** NDEs share strikingly similar elements across cultures and individuals, which has fueled theories that they may represent a universal aspect of human experience. Some of these common features include: • Out-of-body experiences: A sensation of observing oneself from outside the body, often floating above. • The tunnel of light: Moving through a tunnel toward a radiant, welcoming light. • Feelings of peace and unconditional love: A deep sense of comfort and acceptance. • Encounters with deceased loved ones or spiritual beings: Meetings that feel profoundly real and comforting. • Life review: A panoramic replay of one’s life, accompanied by insights into one’s actions and relationships.

**Scientific and Spiritual Perspectives ** The study of NDEs continues to be a fascinating intersection of science and spirituality. Some scientists argue that NDEs can be explained by physiological processes, such as a lack of oxygen to the brain, surges of neurochemicals, or the brain’s final attempt to make sense of its surroundings as it shuts down. Others, however, point to the consistency of NDE accounts and the vivid, lucid memories of these experiences as evidence of something more profound.

For example, research by cardiologist Dr. Pim van Lommel found that many individuals who had been clinically dead for several minutes reported detailed and coherent NDEs, even when brain activity was absent. These findings challenge materialistic assumptions about consciousness, suggesting that it may not be entirely tied to the brain.

**Amazing Stories of NDEs ** Beyond the work of Dr. Moody and Dr. Alexander, countless other stories reveal the transformative power of NDEs. Take the case of Anita Moorjani, who experienced an NDE during a near-fatal bout with cancer. In her book, Dying to Be Me, Moorjani recounts how she felt transported to a realm of boundless love, where she understood the interconnectedness of all life. Upon returning to her body, she made a miraculous recovery and has since dedicated her life to sharing her experience.

Or consider the story of Mary Neal, an orthopedic surgeon who drowned during a kayaking accident. In her book, To Heaven and Back, Neal describes her journey into a realm of indescribable beauty, where she felt a divine presence and learned profound truths about love and purpose.

**The Transformative Impact of NDEs ** For many, the most significant aspect of an NDE isn’t the experience itself but the lasting change it brings. Those who undergo NDEs often report a complete shift in their perspective on life, becoming less fearful of death, more compassionate, and deeply focused on living a meaningful life. They describe feeling connected to something greater than themselves, with a renewed sense of purpose.

**The Ongoing Mystery ** While science has yet to provide definitive answers about NDEs, their consistency, emotional depth, and transformative impact make them impossible to dismiss. They challenge our understanding of consciousness, death, and the nature of reality. Whether viewed as physiological phenomena, spiritual journeys, or something in between, NDEs continue to inspire awe and curiosity.

Dr. Raymond Moody once wrote, “The question of what happens after death has challenged humanity for millennia.” Through the lens of NDEs, we catch a glimpse of what might lie beyond—a mystery that invites exploration, discussion, and perhaps, a bit of faith.

So, what do you think? Are NDEs a window into another reality or simply the brain’s final act? One thing is certain: the stories of those who have returned from the brink continue to captivate, inspire, and transform the way we think about life, death, and what comes next.

@ 4874b840:31b0b8c0

Открытие памятника, посвящённого роботу-кошке, ставшего символом современных технологий и инноваций в области робототехники прошло 14 декабря в Зеленогорске. Памятник был установлен в центре города и стал первой скульптурой такого рода в России. Мэр Зеленогорска отметила, что этот памятник не только увековечивает достижения в области технологий, но и вдохновляет молодое поколение на изучение науки и инженерии. Памятник изображает робота-кошку в динамичной позе, что символизирует движение вперед и стремление к новым открытиям. Участники мероприятия смогли наблюдать за мастер-классами по робототехнике, где были представлены современные разработки и технологии. Создание памятника стало возможным благодаря инициативе местных жителей и поддержке научного сообщества. Он уже привлек внимание туристов и стал новым проявлением притяжения для любителей технологий.

Открытие памятника роботу-кошке — это не только достижение демократии в науке, но и важный шаг к популяризации технологий среди молодежи. Мы надеемся, что этот памятник вдохновил новое поколение в изучении робототехники и инженерии, открывая новые горизонты для будущих изобретений. - Отметила мэр города.

@ 5d4b6c8d:8a1c1ee3

Here are today's picks using my proprietary betting strategy at Freebitcoin. For details about what Risk Balanced Odds Arbitrage is and why it works see https://stacker.news/items/342765/r/Undisciplined.

For a hypothetical 1k wager on each match, distribute your sats as follows:

| Outcome 1 | Outcome 2 | Outcome 3 | Bet 1 | Bet 2 | Bet 3 | |--------------|-------------|--------------|-------|-------|-------| | Torino| Napoli| Draw | 210| 500| 290| | Lecce| Juventus| Draw | 180| 560| 260| | Fiorentina| Inter Milan| Draw | 260| 480| 260| | Tottenham| Fullham| Draw | 580| 200| 220| | Southampton| Chelsea| Draw | 160| 620| 220| | Newcastle| Liverpool| Draw | 250| 490| 260| | Man United| Everton| Draw | 640| 150| 210| | Man City| Nottingham Forest| Draw | 800| 60| 140| | Liverpool| Man City| Draw | 440| 300| 260| | Chelsea| Aston Villa| Draw | 530| 240| 230| | Bournemouth| Tottenham| Draw | 310| 440| 250| | Arsenal| Man United| Draw | 600| 180| 220|

Yesterday's soccer and Formula 1 events brought in almost 28k on 24k of wagers. The soccer matches came out slightly ahead, but Formula 1 was a huge winner.

originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/781101

@ 3f0702fa:66db56f1

https://psv4.userapi.com/s/v1/d/FQYaS-3TVpEbCJMuPnlpUUX9shzHVNIPGFodPGko5Nf5T5lT-R37SWHf8Vhh_JhxBEB78aPGC6U7aa3SKYSs4XLBTyL6mF8bY20cFtIKFIBN2PmHZBfUNA/Untitled_2.mp4

@ 3f0702fa:66db56f1

https://psv4.userapi.com/s/v1/d/FQYaS-3TVpEbCJMuPnlpUUX9shzHVNIPGFodPGko5Nf5T5lT-R37SWHf8Vhh_JhxBEB78aPGC6U7aa3SKYSs4XLBTyL6mF8bY20cFtIKFIBN2PmHZBfUNA/Untitled_2.mp4

@ 8d34bd24:414be32b

In America, there are a lot of people who call themselves Christians, but not nearly as many that live a life devoted to Christ. When I was a young Christian, one teacher or pastor made the comment, “If someone was accusing you of being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?” For so many “Christians,” I don’t think the answer would be, “Yes,” unless the only requirement was showing up for church most Sundays.

It amazes me how many Christians have never read their Bible cover to cover, from Genesis to Revelation. It amazes me how many Christians don’t pray daily. It amazes me how many Christians live lives like every other person except they attend church on Sunday (at least most of the time). Some people who call themselves Christians don’t even attend church. What makes these Christians any different than the unbelievers around the world?

If we truly have been saved from our sins by a merciful, all-powerful God, then we should be grateful. If we are actually a “new creation,” there should be signs of a changed life. If we know Jesus and know that everyone who rejects Him will be rejected by God and spend an eternity in Hell, then we should at least be sharing the Gospel with those we care about.

In my Bible study today, I read Isaiah 55. These verses really spoke to me about how our faith should affect our lives.

1“Ho! Every one who thirsts, come to the waters;\ And you who have no money come, buy and eat.\ Come, buy wine and milk\ Without money and without cost.

Jesus has called Jew and gentile to repent and has offered His forgiveness and salvation to all who trust in Him. It doesn’t cost anything. It just requires faith. Jesus paid the price, so we don’t have to.

2Why do you spend money for what is not bread,\ And your wages for what does not satisfy?\ Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good,\ And delight yourself in abundance.

We are given the free gift of salvation and yet we are constantly seeking other things. We put all of our hard effort into seeking things that don’t satisfy. We seek fame or wealth or popularity or entertainment or pleasure. We don’t seek our Creator’s blessing. We don’t seek to serve and please our Savior. We complain about any and all hardships instead of being thankful for what we have. Why don’t we crave God’s word and His fellowship?

3Incline your ear and come to Me.\ Listen, that you may live;\ And I will make an everlasting covenant with you,\ According to the faithful mercies shown to David.

As believers we should “incline our ear,” “come to Him,” and “listen.” We should read the Bible, study the Scriptures, and pray with a listening spirit. God is faithful, but we won’t be blessed when we turn our backs on God.

4Behold, I have made him a witness to the peoples,\ A leader and commander for the peoples.

David was called “a man after God’s own heart,” and therefore God promised that a descendant of his would always be on the throne of Israel. This promise was fulfilled in Jesus — God’s son’s incarnation as a descendant of David, biologically through His mother Mary and legally through His step-father Joseph. David’s faith is an example to us of trusting fully in God and His promises.

5Behold, you will call a nation you do not know,\ And a nation which knows you not will run to you,\ Because of the Lord your God, even the Holy One of Israel;\ For He has glorified you.”

Most promises in the Old Testament are made to Israelites or descendants of Abraham, but there are a few promises made to the gentiles of the world, who will be blessed by the “Holy One of Israel,” Jesus Christ. We gentiles should be grateful that God’s promises have been shared with us and with those of every tongue, people, and nation. We have been reconciled to God through His holy life and the blood He shed for us. How can we possibly take this blessing for granted?

6Seek the Lord while He may be found;\ Call upon Him while He is near.

Right now we have the option to trust in Jesus1 and to receive His blessing, but this time will not last forever. In fact, I believe time is growing short. If you don’t know Jesus, don’t put off repenting and trusting in Him. If you do know Jesus, don’t put off getting your life right and following Him. Doing good deeds won’t get you into heaven, but it is pleasing to God and does lead to special blessings. We are to make the most of the time we have left.

7Let the wicked forsake his way\ And the unrighteous man his thoughts;\ And let him return to the Lord,\ And He will have compassion on him,\ And to our God,\ For He will abundantly pardon.

Technically there is nothing we can do to earn Salvation and forgiveness, but if we have been saved and forgiven, the Bible says “we are a new creation.” There will be signs of change if the salvation is real. God wants the wicked to forsake his way, the unrighteous to forsake his thoughts, and for everyone to return to Jesus as Lord. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)

8“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,\ Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord.

If we are living according to our own wisdom and our own power, we are living to fail. It is only when we fully submit to God’s word and God’s plan, that we become what we were created to be. It is only then that we will feel complete and will honor our Creator.

We can’t obey God, if we don’t know His commands. We can’t trust Jesus, if we don’t know who He really is. We can’t serve God, if we haven’t submitted to the power and will of His Spirit. We can’t just drift down the river of life, but need to be driven and empowered by His power like the wind blowing a sailboat. The best way to know God’s commands, His character, and His plan is to know His word, the Bible. We can’t know this if we don’t read it and read all of it.

9“For as the heavens are higher than the earth,\ So are My ways higher than your ways\ And My thoughts than your thoughts.

There are so many times in the Bible that we are told that man’s wisdom is folly, yet so often we trust in what man tells us rather than what God tells us. We spend our efforts listening to human “experts” instead of listening to the words of the God who created everything “… and upholds all things by the word of His power. …” (Hebrews 1:3b) We can learn from wise and learned men, but we will never learn true wisdom except from God.

10For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,\ And do not return there without watering the earth\ And making it bear and sprout,\ And furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater;

> 11*So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth;\

It will not return to Me empty,\ Without accomplishing what I desire,\ And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.

God’s word never returns empty. It always changes all it touches. We need to put in the effort to schedule time in God’s word every day. We should make sure we have read the whole Bible, so we can use Scripture to interpret Scripture instead of trusting solely on the wisdom of man. We need to take all of our concerns to God and follow His leading. We need to find fellow believers “and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.” (Hebrews 10:24-25)

I hope you all will live lives in such a way as to honor God and let all men know that you belong to Jesus.

Trust Jesus.

@ c11cf5f8:4928464d

Let's hear some of your latest Bitcoin purchases, feel free to include links to the shops or merchants you bought from too.

If you missed our last thread, here are some of the items stackers recently spent their sats on.

originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/781052

@ 2775fb0f:887f8193

Новодвинск, 1 октября 2040 года — В этом году Новодвинск отмечает 70-летие своего основания, и празднование стало не только поводом для торжеств, но и возможностью вспомнить богатую историю города и его традиции. На протяжении всей своей истории Новодвинск сохраняет уникальную культуру, которая отражает дух местных жителей и их привязанность к родному краю.

Праздничные мероприятия стартовали с выставки «История Новодвинска в лицах», открывшейся в городском музее. Здесь представлены архивные фотографии, документы и предметы быта, рассказывающие о становлении и развитии города. «Мы хотели показать, как менялся наш город на протяжении десятилетий, и какие традиции передаются из поколения в поколение», — отметила директор музея, Елена Соколова.

В центре города прошел праздничный концерт, в котором приняли участие местные творческие коллективы. Зрители наслаждались выступлениями театров, танцевальных ансамблей и музыкальных групп, которые исполнили как современные, так и народные песни. «Мы стараемся сохранить наши традиции, и такие мероприятия помогают объединить людей и передать любовь к культуре молодому поколению», — поделилась впечатлениями участница одного из ансамблей, Анна Кузнецова.

Одним из самых ярких событий праздника стал «Парад традиций», где жители города могли продемонстрировать свои умения и навыки. Мастера народного творчества представили свои изделия: резьбу по дереву, вышивку и керамику. Все желающие могли попробовать себя в различных ремеслах, что вызвало большой интерес у детей и взрослых. «Это замечательная возможность узнать больше о своих корнях и традициях, которые делают наш город уникальным», — отметил участник парада, студент местного колледжа.

Не обошлось и без гастрономического фестиваля, где были представлены блюда местной кухни. Жители и гости города могли попробовать традиционные новодвинские угощения, такие как рыба, выловленная в Северной Двине, и домашние пироги. «Кулинарные традиции — это неотъемлемая часть нашей культуры, и мы гордимся тем, что можем их сохранить и передать будущим поколениям», — подчеркнула организатор фестиваля, Мария Иванова.

Празднование завершилось ярким фейерверком, который озарил небо над Новодвинском и стал символом единства и гордости за родной город. «Сохранение традиций — это то, что делает нас сильнее и помогает нам двигаться вперед. Мы должны помнить свою историю и гордиться ею», — резюмировала глава города, Анна Петрова.

Таким образом, Новодвинск не только отпраздновал свой юбилей, но и подтвердил свою приверженность к сохранению культурного наследия, создавая пространство для диалога между поколениями и укрепляя общие традиции.

@ a39d19ec:3d88f61e

This week's practical 3d print is a desk organiser.

Desk organiser

Desk organisers come in a lot of forms and colours. But you can be sure that they are used daily. The photo shows the one at my workplace.

If you search printables.com for "desk organiser" I am sure you will find the one that fits your needs and look as well.

@ a39d19ec:3d88f61e

This month's daily driver was the Casio Edifice EF-512D-1AV.

Design

The 1AV version features 32 mm dial has nice big hands showing hour and minute on a black background. The 4AV has a darkish red background which looks good, too. The hour indicators are quite massive, which makes it readable. The date is a 3 o clock the chronometers are in standard layout. The yellow hand for the stopwatch and other yellow accents give it a nice touch.

In it for the tech

The Module 2328 needs a SR927W battery which lasts about 2 years. It's accuracy is +/-20 seconds a month. The hour and minutes are shown on the big dial, seconds on the small one at 6 o'clock. The case and band is made of stainless steel the screen is made of mineralglas.

Storytime

This watch is a gift from my in-laws I guess it was for Christmas sometimes between 2007-2009. I still like the kind of timeless design. No trendlines in the watch which makes it suitable for a lot of events.

@ 04d9fac9:5bec0e6c

В Воркуте состоялось открытие нового жилого комплекса.

Жилой комплекс способен вместить в себя более 1000 семей.

В Воркуте состоялось торжественное открытие нового жилого комплекса "Северный уголок". Этот проект стал результатом совместных усилий местных властей и инвесторов, направленных на улучшение жилищных условий жителей города.

Комплекс включает 1250 квартир различной планировки и оснащён современными удобствами, включая детские площадки и зоны отдыха. Ожидается, что новый жилой фонд привлечет молодые семьи и специалистов, что будет способствовать дальнейшему развитию Воркуты как ключевого центра в Арктическом регионе

@ 04d9fac9:5bec0e6c

В 2044 году Воркута открывает новый ледовый дворец "Северное сияние", который стал важным шагом в развитии спортивной инфраструктуры города. Комплекс площадью 10,000 квадратных метров включает ледовую арену, тренажерные залы и зоны для массовых катаний. Открытие состоялось с участием известных спортсменов и зрелищного шоу. Дворец будет служить базой для хоккейных команд и фигуристов, а также местом для культурных мероприятий. Этот проект поддерживает федеральную программу по развитию спорта и физической культуры в России, что подчеркивает стремление Воркуты к активному развитию спорта

@ 7fd6bed7:cd87b428

Want to sell your house fast? PDX Home Buyers is your trusted partner to buy your house in Oregon. We purchase homes in any condition and offer cash deals to fit your timeline. Whether you’re moving, dealing with financial challenges, or inheriting unwanted property, we make the process easy. Avoid the hassle of repairs, showings, or agent commissions—we handle everything. Our team ensures a seamless and fair transaction with complete transparency. If you’re saying, "Who will buy my house in Oregon?" the answer is PDX Home Buyers. Contact us now for a quick and fair cash offer!

@ d830ee7b:4e61cd62

โลกในเงามืดแห่งความขัดแย้ง

"In every shadow lies a story, and in every conflict, a battle for survival."
"ในทุกเงามืดมีเรื่องราวซ่อนอยู่ และในทุกความขัดแย้งคือการต่อสู้เพื่อความอยู่รอด"

เมื่อเรามองโลกผ่านเลนส์ที่มองไม่เห็นเส้นแบ่งพรมแดน เหตุการณ์ในตะวันออกกลางอาจดูเหมือนเป็นเพียงความขัดแย้งที่ไกลเกินเอื้อม เช่นเดียวกับการขยายเครือข่ายของ เฮซบอลเลาะห์ (Hezbollah) ในละตินอเมริกาที่อาจดูเหมือนไม่เกี่ยวข้องกับชีวิตของใครหลายคน แต่ในความเป็นจริง.. เหตุการณ์เหล่านี้ล้วนเป็นฟันเฟืองเล็กๆ ในกลไกขนาดใหญ่ของภูมิรัฐศาสตร์โลก

เกมแห่งอำนาจไม่ได้เกิดขึ้นเฉพาะในห้องประชุมของผู้นำโลกเท่านั้น แต่มันเกิดขึ้นในทุกพื้นที่ที่มีช่องว่างในระบบ ตั้งแต่ถนนที่ไม่มีแสงไฟในเลบานอน ไปจนถึงพรมแดนลับๆ ใน Triple Frontier ระหว่างบราซิล ปารากวัย และอาร์เจนตินา การเติบโตของเฮซบอลเลาะห์ในฐานะองค์กรใต้ดินที่ก้าวข้ามพรมแดน ไม่ใช่เพียงการตอบโต้ต่อแรงกดดันจากสหรัฐฯ แต่มันคือการปรับตัวในเกมที่มีกฎเกณฑ์เปลี่ยนแปลงอยู่เสมอ..

---

ความซับซ้อนที่เชื่อมโยงกัน

ภูมิรัฐศาสตร์ในยุคปัจจุบันไม่ได้ถูกจำกัดอยู่ในภูมิภาคใดภูมิภาคหนึ่ง แต่มันคือใยแมงมุมที่ขึงข้ามห้วงมหาสมุทร ทุกความเคลื่อนไหวในตะวันออกกลางสามารถส่งแรงกระเพื่อมไปถึงละตินอเมริกา และทุกการตัดสินใจในวอชิงตันดีซี อาจจุดประกายไฟในพื้นที่ที่ไม่มีใครคาดคิด

เฮซบอลเลาะห์ไม่ใช่เพียงกลุ่มติดอาวุธหรือองค์กรก่อการร้าย แต่คือ "รัฐลับ" ที่ดำเนินการผ่านเศรษฐกิจใต้ดินและเครือข่ายที่ไม่มีพรมแดน การขยายอิทธิพลของพวกเขาไปยังละตินอเมริกา ไม่ใช่แค่การหาที่พักพิง แต่คือการสร้างฐานใหม่ที่แข็งแกร่งในพื้นที่ที่รัฐไม่สามารถเข้าถึงได้อย่างแท้จริง

การกลับมาของอเมริกาในเวทีโลก

และเมื่อพูดถึงการควบคุมเกมนี้ สหรัฐฯ ภายใต้การนำของ โดนัลด์ ทรัมป์ ได้เปลี่ยนวิธีการเดินเกมบนกระดานโลก ทรัมป์ไม่ได้มองความสัมพันธ์ระหว่างประเทศในเชิงพันธมิตร แต่เป็นการต่อรอง การถอนตัวจากข้อตกลงนิวเคลียร์อิหร่าน (JCPOA) ในปี 2018 ไม่ได้เป็นเพียงการกดดันเตหะราน แต่มันคือการเขียนกฎเกณฑ์ใหม่ในเกมที่อเมริกาจะเป็นผู้กำหนด

นโยบาย "America First" ที่เน้นความชัดเจนและตรงไปตรงมาอาจดูเหมือนเป็นการปกป้องผลประโยชน์ของชาติ แต่ผลกระทบของมันไม่ได้หยุดอยู่แค่เพียงในตะวันออกกลางหรือสหรัฐฯ เอง มันขยายไปถึงเครือข่ายของเฮซบอลเลาะห์ที่ต้องปรับตัวเพื่อเอาชีวิตรอดในพื้นที่ใหม่ เช่น ละตินอเมริกา และ Triple Frontier ที่เต็มไปด้วยโอกาสและความเสี่ยง

ภูมิรัฐศาสตร์ที่ซับซ้อนกว่าเกมใดๆ

โลกในปัจจุบันไม่ได้ถูกขับเคลื่อนด้วยความชัดเจน แต่มันถูกผลักดันด้วยความคลุมเครือ และในพื้นที่ที่รัฐล้มเหลว กลุ่มอย่างเฮซบอลเลาะห์ได้สร้างโลกที่มีกฎเกณฑ์ของตัวเองขึ้นมา การต่อสู้ระหว่างเฮซบอลเลาะห์กับสหรัฐฯ หรืออิหร่านกับพันธมิตรตะวันตก ไม่ใช่เพียงเรื่องของสงครามหรือการเมือง แต่มันคือการต่อสู้ระหว่างอุดมการณ์ ความอยู่รอด และความปรารถนาที่จะครอบครองอำนาจ

"To understand the conflicts of today, we must first untangle the shadows of yesterday."
"เพื่อเข้าใจความขัดแย้งในวันนี้ เราต้องคลี่เงามืดของเมื่อวานให้กระจ่างก่อน"

บทความนี้จะพาพวกเราดำดิ่งลงไปในเครือข่ายแห่งความขัดแย้ง ตั้งแต่รากฐานทางประวัติศาสตร์ เช่น Bretton Woods และ Nixon Shock ไปจนถึงความซับซ้อนของเกมภูมิรัฐศาสตร์ที่กำหนดทิศทางของโลกในปัจจุบันและอนาคต การเดินทางครั้งนี้จะเปิดเผยว่า เฮซบอลเลาะห์, ละตินอเมริกา, ตะวันออกกลาง และการกลับมาของทรัมป์ ล้วนมีบทบาทสำคัญในเรื่องราวเดียวกัน ..เรื่องราวของโลกที่ไม่มีใครควบคุมได้ทั้งหมด และไม่มีที่ว่างให้กับความอ่อนแอ

Part I: การกำเนิดของระเบียบโลกใหม่ – Bretton Woods และอำนาจของดอลลาร์

“The wars of today are fought with weapons, but the wars of yesterday were fought with currencies.”
"สงครามของวันนี้อาจใช้ปืน แต่สงครามของเมื่อวานใช้เงินตราเป็นอาวุธ"

หลังจากสงครามโลกครั้งที่ 2 โลกไม่ได้เพียงแค่ฟื้นตัวจากซากปรักหักพังของเมืองหลวงและหมู่บ้านที่ถูกทำลาย แต่ยังต้องการสร้างระเบียบใหม่เพื่อป้องกันไม่ให้ความหายนะเช่นนั้นเกิดขึ้นอีก ด้วยการประชุมที่ Bretton Woods ในปี 1944 สหรัฐอเมริกานำเสนอระบบเศรษฐกิจโลกที่ถูกออกแบบมาเพื่อทำให้โลกสงบสุขผ่านอำนาจของดอลลาร์

ในโลกยุคนั้น.. ทองคำคือหัวใจของเศรษฐกิจ แต่ด้วยชัยชนะของสหรัฐฯ ในสงครามโลกครั้งที่ 2 และความมั่นคงของเศรษฐกิจในประเทศ สหรัฐฯ เสนอให้ดอลลาร์ของตนเป็นสกุลเงินกลางของโลก โดยผูกดอลลาร์กับทองคำเพื่อสร้างเสถียรภาพ นี่ไม่ใช่แค่แผนเศรษฐกิจ แต่เป็นการยืนยันว่า “ใครควบคุมเงินตรา คนนั้นควบคุมโลก”

จาก Bretton Woods สู่ Nixon Shock เมื่อดอลลาร์ไม่มีทองคำหนุนหลัง

ในปี 1971 Richard Nixon ได้ทำลายรากฐานของระบบนี้ด้วยการประกาศยกเลิกการผูกดอลลาร์กับทองคำ สิ่งนี้เกิดขึ้นเพราะสหรัฐฯ กำลังเผชิญกับปัญหาทางการเงินจากสงครามเวียดนามและการใช้จ่ายในประเทศที่เพิ่มขึ้นอย่างไม่หยุดยั้ง การตัดสินใจดังกล่าว ซึ่งรู้จักกันในชื่อปฏิบัติการ Nixon Shock ได้ผลักดันโลกเข้าสู่ยุคของ Fiat Money หรือระบบเงินที่ไม่มีหลักประกันทางกายภาพอีกต่อไป..

นี่ไม่ใช่แค่การตัดสินใจทางเศรษฐกิจ แต่มันคือการเปิดฉากเกมใหม่ในภูมิรัฐศาสตร์โลก เมื่อสหรัฐฯ รู้ว่าความเป็นมหาอำนาจไม่ได้ขึ้นอยู่กับการถือครองทองคำ แต่ขึ้นอยู่กับความต้องการดอลลาร์ทั่วโลก

Petrodollar การสร้างพันธมิตรแห่งพลังงานและอำนาจ

ในช่วงทศวรรษ 1970 สหรัฐฯ เจรจากับซาอุดีอาระเบียและกลุ่ม OPEC เพื่อสร้างระบบ Petrodollar ที่ทำให้น้ำมันทั่วโลกต้องซื้อขายด้วยดอลลาร์ การเคลื่อนไหวนี้เปลี่ยนดอลลาร์ให้กลายเป็นหัวใจของเศรษฐกิจโลก และทำให้สหรัฐฯ มีอำนาจที่จะพิมพ์เงินได้โดยไม่ต้องกังวลถึงผลกระทบในประเทศ

“Control oil and you control nations.” – Henry Kissinger
"ควบคุมน้ำมันได้ ประเทศก็ตกอยู่ในมือคุณ"

แต่ราคาของอำนาจนี้ไม่ได้จ่ายด้วยดอลลาร์เพียงอย่างเดียว สหรัฐฯ ต้องรักษาเสถียรภาพของภูมิภาคที่เต็มไปด้วยความตึงเครียดอย่างตะวันออกกลาง การแทรกแซงทางการเมืองและการทหารในภูมิภาคนี้จึงไม่ใช่แค่เรื่องของความมั่นคง แต่คือการปกป้องสถานะของดอลลาร์ในฐานะหัวใจของเศรษฐกิจโลก

ผลกระทบของระเบียบโลกใหม่ต่อเฮซบอลเลาะห์

ในขณะที่โลกตะวันตกเฉลิมฉลองระบบที่ทำให้เศรษฐกิจโลกเจริญรุ่งเรือง กลุ่มที่อยู่นอกระบบอย่าง เฮซบอลเลาะห์ และพันธมิตรของพวกเขา เช่น อิหร่าน มองสิ่งนี้ในมุมที่ต่างออกไป สำหรับพวกเขา Petrodollar และอำนาจของดอลลาร์คือเครื่องมือแห่งการครอบงำที่สหรัฐฯ ใช้ในการควบคุมภูมิภาค

อิหร่านซึ่งเป็นผู้สนับสนุนหลักของเฮซบอลเลาะห์เห็นว่าการที่สหรัฐฯ ใช้อำนาจผ่านเศรษฐกิจและการแทรกแซงในตะวันออกกลาง คือการคุกคามต่ออธิปไตยของตน และเฮซบอลเลาะห์ก็กลายเป็นผู้ตอบโต้โดยตรงต่อแรงกดดันนี้ ด้วยการสร้างเครือข่ายที่ไม่เพียงแต่ตอบสนองต่อสงครามในภูมิภาค แต่ยังขยายเครือข่ายทางการเงินและอิทธิพลไปยังพื้นที่ที่สหรัฐฯ ไม่สามารถควบคุมได้ เช่น ละตินอเมริกา

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"To understand Hezbollah's rise, we must first understand the foundation of the world they resisted."
"เพื่อเข้าใจการเติบโตของเฮซบอลเลาะห์ เราต้องเข้าใจก่อนว่าโลกที่พวกเขาต่อต้านนั้นสร้างขึ้นมาอย่างไร"

พาร์ทแรกนี้ไม่เพียงแต่ปูพื้นฐานถึงการสร้างระเบียบโลกใหม่หลังสงครามโลกครั้งที่ 2 แต่ยังเชื่อมโยงว่าเหตุใดอำนาจทางเศรษฐกิจของสหรัฐฯ จึงเป็นจุดเริ่มต้นของความขัดแย้งที่ลึกซึ้งกับกลุ่มอย่างเฮซบอลเลาะห์และพันธมิตรของพวกเขา

Part II: เฮซบอลเลาะห์ – การเติบโตของเครือข่ายในเงามืด

"Where states falter, networks rise; where laws crumble, power is redefined."
"ในที่ที่รัฐล้มเหลว เครือข่ายจะเติบโตขึ้น ในที่ที่กฎหมายพังทลาย อำนาจจะถูกกำหนดใหม่"

จุดกำเนิดในเงาแห่งการยึดครอง

ในปี 1982 เมื่อกองทัพอิสราเอลเคลื่อนพลเข้าสู่เลบานอน ท่ามกลางเสียงปืนและความวุ่นวาย เฮซบอลเลาะห์ ก็ถือกำเนิดขึ้น ไม่ใช่ในฐานะกลุ่มติดอาวุธธรรมดา แต่เป็นแรงตอบโต้จากประชาชนที่รู้สึกถึงการสูญเสียทั้งอิสรภาพและความภาคภูมิใจ เฮซบอลเลาะห์ถือกำเนิดจากเงาของการต่อต้าน การสนับสนุนจากอิหร่านทำให้กลุ่มนี้ไม่เพียงมีความมุ่งมั่นทางอุดมการณ์ แต่ยังมีทรัพยากรและการฝึกฝนที่แข็งแกร่ง

เฮซบอลเลาะห์ไม่ได้เป็นเพียงกลุ่มที่ยึดติดกับปืนและจรวด แต่พวกเขาเข้าใจเกมที่ใหญ่กว่า พวกเขาไม่เพียงแค่ต่อสู้บนสนามรบ แต่ยังเข้าสู่การเมือง สร้างเครือข่ายสังคม และดึงดูดผู้สนับสนุนในระดับท้องถิ่น การเติบโตนี้ไม่ได้มุ่งเป้าเพียงแค่การขับไล่อิสราเอล แต่คือการสร้างระบบที่แข็งแกร่งพอที่จะต่อต้านทุกแรงกดดันจากโลกตะวันตก

การขยายตัวจากตะวันออกกลางสู่ละตินอเมริกา

ในช่วงปี 1990s เฮซบอลเลาะห์เริ่มมองออกไปไกลกว่าชายฝั่งของเลบานอน การกดดันจากสหรัฐฯ และพันธมิตรผลักดันให้พวกเขาขยายฐานปฏิบัติการไปยังภูมิภาคที่รัฐอ่อนแอ เช่น Triple Frontier พรมแดนระหว่างบราซิล ปารากวัย และอาร์เจนตินา กลายเป็นที่หลบซ่อนที่สมบูรณ์แบบสำหรับการสร้างเครือข่ายใหม่ พื้นที่นี้ไม่ได้เป็นเพียงเขตเศรษฐกิจสีเทา แต่เป็นดินแดนที่รัฐแทบไม่สามารถเข้าถึงได้

เฮซบอลเลาะห์มองเห็นศักยภาพของ Triple Frontier ในการฟอกเงินและสนับสนุนเครือข่ายเศรษฐกิจใต้ดิน พวกเขาใช้เครือข่าย Hawala ซึ่งเป็นระบบการเงินที่ไม่ผ่านธนาคารอย่างเป็นทางการเพื่อฟอกเงินหลายพันล้านดอลลาร์ เงินที่ได้ถูกส่งกลับไปยังตะวันออกกลางเพื่อสนับสนุนปฏิบัติการในภูมิภาคที่สหรัฐฯ พยายามควบคุม

Triple Frontier เขตเงาแห่งความไร้ตัวตน

ในพื้นที่ Triple Frontier กฎหมายไม่ได้ครอบคลุมอย่างแท้จริง และความไร้ระเบียบนี้กลายเป็นดินแดนที่ เฮซบอลเลาะห์สามารถเติบโตได้อย่างรวดเร็ว ร้านค้าเล็กๆ ในเขตนี้ที่ดูเหมือนจะขายของธรรมดา กลับกลายเป็นช่องทางการฟอกเงินที่ซับซ้อน เครือข่ายของเฮซบอลเลาะห์ใช้การค้ายาเสพติด อาวุธ และสินค้าเถื่อนเพื่อสร้างรายได้มหาศาล

แต่การปฏิบัติการในละตินอเมริกาไม่ได้มีเป้าหมายแค่การสร้างเงินทุน มันยังเป็นการขยายอิทธิพลที่สะท้อนให้เห็นถึงยุทธศาสตร์ที่ซับซ้อนของ เฮซบอลเลาะห์ ที่ต้องการอยู่รอดและขยายตัวในโลกที่ถูกควบคุมโดยมหาอำนาจอย่างสหรัฐฯ

เฮซบอลเลาะห์ในฐานะเครือข่ายระดับโลก

เครือข่ายของ เฮซบอลเลาะห์ ไม่ได้จำกัดตัวเองเพียงในเลบานอนหรือตะวันออกกลางเท่านั้น พวกเขาแทรกตัวเข้าสู่ละตินอเมริกา แอฟริกา และแม้แต่เอเชียตะวันออกเฉียงใต้

1. พวกเขาใช้ช่องว่างในระบบรัฐที่อ่อนแอเพื่อสร้างพื้นที่ใหม่สำหรับกิจกรรมทางเศรษฐกิจ
2. พวกเขาเชื่อมโยงเครือข่ายใต้ดินในหลายภูมิภาค เพื่อสนับสนุนเป้าหมายที่ใหญ่กว่าการก่อการร้าย นั่นคือ การสร้างระบบที่ต้านทานต่อแรงกดดันจากมหาอำนาจโลก

"Hezbollah is not just an organization; it’s a shadow that grows wherever the sun of governance fails to shine."
"เฮซบอลเลาะห์ไม่ใช่แค่องค์กร แต่คือเงามืดที่เติบโตในที่ที่แสงของการปกครองไม่เคยส่องถึง"

ผลกระทบต่อภูมิรัฐศาสตร์โลก

การขยายตัวของ เฮซบอลเลาะห์ ในละตินอเมริกาเป็นมากกว่าการเคลื่อนย้ายฐาน มันสะท้อนถึงความสามารถขององค์กรใต้ดินที่สามารถปรับตัวในเกมภูมิรัฐศาสตร์ระดับโลก สหรัฐฯ อาจมองละตินอเมริกาเป็น “หลังบ้าน” ของตน แต่ เฮซบอลเลาะห์ ได้เปลี่ยนพื้นที่นี้ให้กลายเป็นสนามรบใหม่ในเกมแห่งอำนาจ

ความสามารถของ เฮซบอลเลาะห์ ในการฟอกเงินและสร้างเครือข่ายในพื้นที่สีเทาทำให้พวกเขากลายเป็นภัยคุกคามที่ไม่สามารถละเลยได้ ความซับซ้อนของเครือข่ายนี้ชี้ให้เห็นว่า ภูมิรัฐศาสตร์โลกในยุคปัจจุบันไม่ได้จำกัดอยู่ที่รัฐชาติอีกต่อไป แต่มันขับเคลื่อนด้วยพลังของเครือข่ายที่ไร้ตัวตนและไร้พรมแดน

"The shadow of Hezbollah extends far beyond the Middle East, reshaping the very fabric of global geopolitics."
"เงาของเฮซบอลเลาะห์ทอดยาวเกินกว่าตะวันออกกลาง เปลี่ยนแปลงโครงสร้างของภูมิรัฐศาสตร์โลก"

Part III: สงครามตัวแทนและเกมแห่งอำนาจในตะวันออกกลาง

"The Middle East is not just a region; it’s a mirror of the world's deepest conflicts and unyielding ambitions."
"ตะวันออกกลางไม่ใช่เพียงภูมิภาค แต่มันคือกระจกสะท้อนความขัดแย้งที่ลึกที่สุดและความทะเยอทะยานที่ไม่เคยลดละของโลก"

ต้นตอแห่งความขัดแย้ง ตะวันออกกลางในเงามืดของสงครามเย็น

ตั้งแต่สิ้นสุดสงครามโลกครั้งที่ 2 ตะวันออกกลางกลายเป็นเวทีสำคัญสำหรับการเผชิญหน้าระหว่างขั้วอำนาจโลกระหว่างสงครามเย็น สหรัฐฯ และสหภาพโซเวียตต่างแข่งขันกันเพื่อขยายอิทธิพลในภูมิภาคนี้ ไม่ว่าจะเป็นการสนับสนุนรัฐบาลในอิรัก ซีเรีย หรืออิหร่าน เกมแห่งอำนาจในตะวันออกกลางไม่ได้เป็นเพียงการปกป้องผลประโยชน์ทางเศรษฐกิจหรือแหล่งน้ำมัน แต่มันคือการต่อสู้เพื่อครอบครองจิตวิญญาณของภูมิภาคที่เต็มไปด้วยประวัติศาสตร์และอุดมการณ์

ในขณะที่อเมริกาใช้นโยบายสนับสนุนพันธมิตรอย่างอิสราเอลและซาอุดีอาระเบีย ฝ่ายตรงข้ามอย่างอิหร่านเริ่มใช้เครือข่ายตัวแทน เช่น เฮซบอลเลาะห์ เพื่อสร้างสมดุลในเกมนี้ สำหรับอิหร่าน การต่อสู้ในตะวันออกกลางไม่ใช่แค่การปกป้องอธิปไตย แต่เป็นการเผชิญหน้ากับแรงกดดันจากสหรัฐฯ ที่พยายามกำหนดทิศทางของภูมิภาคนี้

เฮซบอลเลาะห์ สงครามที่ไร้พรมแดน

เฮซบอลเลาะห์ ไม่ใช่แค่กองกำลังติดอาวุธ แต่เป็น "เครือข่ายตัวแทน" ที่ทรงพลังที่สุดในตะวันออกกลาง พวกเขาไม่ได้ทำหน้าที่เพียงแค่ปกป้องเลบานอนจากการยึดครองของอิสราเอลในอดีต แต่ยังเป็นมือขวาของอิหร่านในสงครามตัวแทนกับสหรัฐฯ และพันธมิตรในภูมิภาค

• ในสงครามซีเรีย เฮซบอลเลาะห์ ทำหน้าที่เป็นแนวหน้าในการสนับสนุนรัฐบาลของประธานาธิบดี บาชาร์ อัล-อัสซาด ซึ่งเป็นพันธมิตรใกล้ชิดของอิหร่าน การแทรกแซงของ เฮซบอลเลาะห์ ในซีเรียไม่ได้เป็นเพียงการช่วยเหลืออัสซาด แต่เป็นการรักษาเส้นทางการลำเลียงอาวุธจากอิหร่านสู่เลบานอนผ่านซีเรีย
• ในเยเมน เฮซบอลเลาะห์ ถูกกล่าวหาว่าฝึกอบรมและสนับสนุนกองกำลัง ฮูตี (Houthi) ที่ต่อสู้กับซาอุดีอาระเบียในสงครามที่ยังคงดำเนินอยู่

เครือข่ายของ เฮซบอลเลาะห์ ไม่ได้ถูกจำกัดอยู่ในเลบานอนหรือซีเรีย แต่พวกเขาขยายการปฏิบัติการไปยังอิรัก เยเมน และแม้แต่พื้นที่ที่ไกลออกไป เช่น ละตินอเมริกา

สงครามตัวแทน อิหร่าน vs สหรัฐฯ

ในโลกของภูมิรัฐศาสตร์ สงครามตัวแทน (Proxy War) กลายเป็นเครื่องมือสำคัญที่มหาอำนาจใช้ในการเผชิญหน้ากันโดยไม่ต้องเผชิญหน้าโดยตรง สำหรับอิหร่านและสหรัฐฯ ตะวันออกกลางเป็นเหมือนกระดานหมากรุกที่การเคลื่อนไหวทุกครั้งมีความหมาย

• อิหร่าน
  ใช้ เฮซบอลเลาะห์ เป็นตัวแทนในการปกป้องอิทธิพลของตนในภูมิภาค พวกเขาสนับสนุนพันธมิตรในซีเรีย อิรัก และเยเมน เพื่อรักษาสมดุลในเกมที่สหรัฐฯ พยายามจะครอบงำ

• สหรัฐฯ
  สนับสนุนพันธมิตรเช่นอิสราเอลและซาอุดีอาระเบีย โดยมีเป้าหมายที่จะจำกัดอิทธิพลของอิหร่านในภูมิภาค การถอนตัวจากข้อตกลงนิวเคลียร์อิหร่านในปี 2018 และการคว่ำบาตรทางเศรษฐกิจครั้งใหญ่ เป็นส่วนหนึ่งของกลยุทธ์ที่มุ่งทำให้อิหร่านอ่อนแอลง

"In the Middle East, every alliance is a weapon, and every proxy is a battlefield."
"ในตะวันออกกลาง ทุกพันธมิตรคืออาวุธ และทุกตัวแทนคือสมรภูมิ"

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ผลกระทบที่ลุกลามไปทั่วโลก

สงครามตัวแทนในตะวันออกกลางไม่ได้ส่งผลเฉพาะในภูมิภาคนี้ แต่ยังสร้างแรงกระเพื่อมไปถึงส่วนอื่นของโลก เครือข่ายของ เฮซบอลเลาะห์ ในละตินอเมริกาและแอฟริกา เป็นตัวอย่างของวิธีที่กลุ่มนี้ขยายการปฏิบัติการออกนอกภูมิภาค เพื่อตอบสนองต่อแรงกดดันในตะวันออกกลาง

ในขณะเดียวกัน การเพิ่มแรงกดดันของสหรัฐฯ ต่ออิหร่านและ เฮซบอลเลาะห์ อาจผลักดันให้มหาอำนาจอื่น เช่น รัสเซียและจีน เข้ามามีบทบาทในตะวันออกกลางมากขึ้น การเผชิญหน้าระหว่างอิหร่านกับสหรัฐฯ จึงไม่ใช่แค่เรื่องของภูมิภาค แต่เป็นจุดเปลี่ยนที่สะท้อนถึงการเปลี่ยนแปลงในสมดุลของอำนาจโลก

เฮซบอลเลาะห์ ตัวแปรที่กำหนดอนาคต

เฮซบอลเลาะห์ เป็นตัวแปรสำคัญในภูมิรัฐศาสตร์โลก การเคลื่อนไหวของพวกเขาในสงครามตัวแทนสะท้อนถึงความซับซ้อนของเกมอำนาจที่ไม่ได้จำกัดอยู่ที่สนามรบหรือข้อตกลงทางการเมือง หากแต่เป็นการเปลี่ยนแปลงโครงสร้างของโลกที่เราอาศัยอยู่

"The shadows of proxy wars stretch across the globe, shaping the future of nations far beyond their borders."
"เงาของสงครามตัวแทนทอดยาวข้ามโลก กำหนดอนาคตของชาติที่อยู่ไกลเกินกว่าชายแดนของมัน"

Part IV: นโยบายอเมริกาในยุคทรัมป์และเงาที่ทอดยาวเหนือโลก

“Power is not just taken; it’s shaped, challenged, and redefined with every move on the geopolitical chessboard.”
"อำนาจไม่ได้ถูกช่วงชิงเพียงอย่างเดียว แต่มันถูกหล่อหลอม ท้าทาย และนิยามใหม่ในทุกการเคลื่อนไหวบนกระดานภูมิรัฐศาสตร์"

การกลับมาของเกมแห่งอำนาจ

ในปี 2016 เมื่อ โดนัลด์ ทรัมป์ เข้าสู่ทำเนียบขาวในฐานะผู้นำโลกคนใหม่ และเขาก็ได้สร้างแรงสั่นสะเทือนด้วยการเปลี่ยนกฎเกณฑ์ของเกมที่โลกคุ้นเคยมานานหลายทศวรรษ คำว่า “America First” ไม่ได้เป็นแค่สโลแกน แต่คือการตัดสินใจว่าอเมริกาจะเดินเกมนี้เพื่อผลประโยชน์ของตัวเอง โดยไม่สนใจเสียงวิจารณ์จากพันธมิตรหรือคู่แข่ง

ทรัมป์ไม่ได้มองโลกผ่านแว่นตาของความสัมพันธ์ระหว่างประเทศแบบดั้งเดิม เขามองว่าความเป็นพันธมิตรไม่ใช่ความผูกพันที่ถาวร แต่มันคือ ดีล ที่สามารถทำลายหรือเจรจาใหม่ได้เสมอ ความสัมพันธ์ระหว่างสหรัฐฯ กับอิหร่านจึงกลายเป็นสมรภูมิแรกที่เขาเลือกเข้าปะทะ

JCPOA บ้านที่สร้างบนทราย

การถอนตัวจาก ข้อตกลงนิวเคลียร์อิหร่าน (JCPOA) ในปี 2018 เปรียบเหมือนการรื้อบ้านที่สร้างบนพื้นทราย ทรัมป์เชื่อว่าข้อตกลงนี้ไม่ได้เป็นเครื่องมือที่หยุดยั้งอิหร่าน แต่มันคือเชือกเส้นบางที่ให้อิหร่านได้หายใจและขยายอิทธิพลในภูมิภาค

การถอนตัวจากข้อตกลงนี้จึงไม่ใช่แค่การตัดสัมพันธ์กับอิหร่าน แต่คือการส่งสัญญาณให้ทั้งโลกรู้ว่า สหรัฐฯ พร้อมจะเปลี่ยนสมดุลของภูมิภาคตะวันออกกลาง เพื่อรักษาผลประโยชน์ของตัวเองและพันธมิตร เช่น อิสราเอลและซาอุดีอาระเบีย ทรัมป์ไม่เพียงแค่ปิดประตูใส่อิหร่าน แต่เขายังโยนระเบิดแห่งความตึงเครียดเข้าไปในห้องนั้นด้วย

เฮซบอลเลาะห์ เครือข่ายในเงามืด

การตัดเส้นทางการเงินของอิหร่านเป็นเป้าหมายสำคัญของนโยบาย "America First" ในตะวันออกกลาง แต่ในทุกครั้งที่เส้นทางหนึ่งถูกตัดขาด เครือข่ายอย่างเฮซบอลเลาะห์ก็หาช่องทางใหม่เพื่อเอาตัวรอด การคว่ำบาตรที่รุนแรงอาจเหมือนเขื่อนที่กั้นกระแสน้ำได้ชั่วคราว แต่ในท้ายที่สุดน้ำก็หาทางไหลผ่านไปได้อยู่ดี

เฮซบอลเลาะห์ ไม่ได้เป็นแค่กลุ่มติดอาวุธที่ถูกอิหร่านสนับสนุน แต่พวกเขาคือองค์กรใต้ดินที่รู้วิธีปรับตัวในโลกที่เปลี่ยนแปลง เมื่อเส้นทางการเงินจากตะวันออกกลางถูกบีบจนเหลือเพียงเส้นเล็ก พวกเขาก็ขยายเครือข่ายไปยังละตินอเมริกา โดยเฉพาะใน Triple Frontier พรมแดนลึกลับที่เหมาะสมที่สุดสำหรับการสร้างเครือข่ายใต้ดิน

ละตินอเมริกา หลังบ้านของอเมริกาที่ไม่มีใครมองเห็น

Triple Frontier คือพื้นที่ที่รัฐไม่อาจเอื้อมถึง มันเต็มไปด้วยป่าทึบ เมืองเล็กๆ และระบบเศรษฐกิจสีเทาที่ไม่มีใครควบคุมได้โดยสิ้นเชิง เครือข่ายของเฮซบอลเลาะห์ใช้พื้นที่นี้เป็นฐานในการฟอกเงิน ค้าอาวุธ และสร้างทุนสนับสนุนปฏิบัติการทั่วโลก

สำหรับทรัมป์ การปราบปราม เฮซบอลเลาะห์ ในละตินอเมริกาเป็นมากกว่าการสกัดกั้นการสนับสนุนจากอิหร่าน มันคือการยืนยันว่า "หลังบ้านของอเมริกาไม่ใช่พื้นที่สำหรับเครือข่ายศัตรู" เขาผลักดันประเทศพันธมิตรในภูมิภาค เช่น บราซิลและปารากวัย ให้มีมาตรการที่เข้มงวดมากขึ้นต่อเฮซบอลเลาะห์และขยายความร่วมมือทางทหารในพื้นที่

2024 การกลับมาของทรัมป์ในโลกที่เปลี่ยนไป

แต่โลกในปี 2024 ไม่ได้เหมือนเดิมอีกต่อไป.. หากทรัมป์กลับมา มันจะไม่ใช่การเล่นเกมในกติกาเดิม อิทธิพลของ จีนและรัสเซีย ในละตินอเมริกาเพิ่มขึ้นอย่างต่อเนื่อง การขยายเครือข่ายของเฮซบอลเลาะห์ไปยังพื้นที่ใหม่ เช่น แอฟริกาและเอเชียตะวันออกเฉียงใต้ กำลังกลายเป็นภัยคุกคามที่ยากจะควบคุม

ทรัมป์อาจต้องเผชิญกับความจริงที่ว่า การกดดัน เฮซบอลเลาะห์ ไม่ได้หยุดอยู่ที่ตะวันออกกลางหรือละตินอเมริกา แต่มันเป็นส่วนหนึ่งของการแข่งขันที่ใหญ่กว่าระหว่างมหาอำนาจในโลกหลายขั้ว

"In the theater of global politics, every act of dominance is met with a ripple of resistance."
"ในโรงละครของการเมืองโลก ทุกการแสดงความเหนือกว่ามักนำไปสู่คลื่นแห่งการต่อต้าน"

Part V: การกลับมาของทรัมป์และสมรภูมิโลกใหม่

“The past defines the rules, but the future reshapes the players.”
"อดีตกำหนดกติกา แต่อนาคตเปลี่ยนแปลงผู้เล่น"

โลกใหม่ที่ไม่เหมือนเดิม

ปี 2025 ไม่ใช่ปีแห่งการเริ่มต้นใหม่ แต่มันคือปีแห่งการเปลี่ยนแปลงที่ไม่เคยเกิดขึ้นมาก่อน หากปี 2016 เป็นปีที่ทรัมป์เปลี่ยนกระดานหมากรุก ปี 2025 จะเป็นปีที่กระดานนั้นเต็มไปด้วยหมากที่กระจัดกระจาย รัสเซีย จีน และอเมริกา ต่างชิงพื้นที่ในโลกที่ทุกอย่างลื่นไหลจนแทบไม่มีอะไรแน่นอน

การกลับมาของทรัมป์ในครั้งนี้เหมือนกับการปล่อยหมาป่าเข้าสู่ฝูงแกะที่กระจัดกระจาย เขาไม่ได้เข้ามาเพื่อเล่นตามกฎที่กำหนดไว้ เขาเข้ามาเพื่อเขียนกฎใหม่ ในโลกที่ขั้วอำนาจหลายฝ่ายกำลังแข่งขันกัน ทรัมป์คือผู้เล่นที่พร้อมจะทำให้ทุกคนต้องปรับตัว

Multi-Polar World โลกที่ไร้ศูนย์กลาง

ภูมิรัฐศาสตร์ในยุคปัจจุบันไม่ได้หมุนรอบสหรัฐฯ อีกต่อไป อิทธิพลของจีนในเอเชียเพิ่มขึ้น รัสเซียก้าวเข้าสู่ตะวันออกกลาง และละตินอเมริกากลายเป็นสนามแห่งโอกาสใหม่ โลกในวันนี้ไม่ใช่กระดานหมากรุกที่มีสองขั้วอำนาจ แต่มันคือใยแมงมุมที่เต็มไปด้วยจุดเชื่อมต่อที่ทุกฝ่ายต้องการควบคุม

ในเกมนี้ เฮซบอลเลาะห์ เป็นเหมือน "ผึ้งงาน" ที่ขยายเครือข่ายจากตะวันออกกลางไปยังละตินอเมริกา และแม้แต่แอฟริกาและเอเชียตะวันออกเฉียงใต้ การกดดันของทรัมป์ในตะวันออกกลางทำให้เครือข่ายนี้ยิ่งกระจายตัว แต่ในความกระจัดกระจายนี้กลับซ่อนพลังที่ยิ่งใหญ่กว่าเดิม

การเปลี่ยนสนามรบเป็นสนามเครือข่าย

เมื่อทรัมป์กลับมาในปี 2025 เขาจะต้องเผชิญกับโลกที่ไม่มีศัตรูที่ชัดเจนเหมือนในยุคสงครามเย็น เฮซบอลเลาะห์ ไม่ได้เป็นเพียงแค่กลุ่มติดอาวุธในตะวันออกกลางอีกต่อไป แต่กลายเป็นเครือข่ายใต้ดินระดับโลกที่ยืดหยุ่นเหมือนเถาวัลย์ที่ไต่ผ่านรอยร้าวของกำแพงภูมิรัฐศาสตร์

1. ในแอฟริกา
   เฮซบอลเลาะห์เริ่มใช้ภูมิภาคนี้เป็นฐานใหม่สำหรับเครือข่ายการเงินและการค้าอาวุธ พื้นที่ที่อ่อนแอของรัฐบาลกลายเป็นจุดยุทธศาสตร์

2. ในเอเชียตะวันออกเฉียงใต้
   เครือข่ายทางการเงินของเฮซบอลเลาะห์ แทรกซึมเข้าสู่เศรษฐกิจที่เปิดกว้างของภูมิภาคนี้ โดยเฉพาะในประเทศที่ระบบการเงินมีช่องว่าง

ทรัมป์อาจมองว่าการกดดันเฮซบอลเลาะห์ในตะวันออกกลางและละตินอเมริกาเพียงอย่างเดียวอาจไม่พอ แต่ต้องขยายยุทธศาสตร์ไปยังภูมิภาคใหม่ๆ ที่มหาอำนาจอย่างจีนและรัสเซียเริ่มมีบทบาท

การเปลี่ยนแปลงในสมดุลของอำนาจ

ในอดีต สหรัฐฯ คือศูนย์กลางของอำนาจโลก แต่มาวันนี้ โลกไม่ได้มีขั้วอำนาจเดียวอีกต่อไป การกลับมาของทรัมป์ในปี 2025 จะเกิดขึ้นในยุคที่อเมริกาไม่ได้ควบคุมทุกอย่างเหมือนที่เคย โลกกำลังเปลี่ยนแปลงเข้าสู่สมดุลใหม่ที่เรียกว่า "Multi-Polar Balance"

• จีน กำลังสร้างเส้นทางการค้าใหม่ผ่าน Belt and Road Initiative ซึ่งเชื่อมโยงเอเชีย แอฟริกา และยุโรป
• รัสเซีย ขยายอิทธิพลในตะวันออกกลางและยุโรปตะวันออกผ่านการใช้พลังงานและสงครามตัวแทน
• อเมริกา กำลังต่อสู้เพื่อรักษาความเป็นมหาอำนาจด้วยนโยบายที่ก้าวร้าว เช่น การคว่ำบาตรและการสร้างพันธมิตรใหม่

ในเกมนี้ ทรัมป์จะไม่สามารถควบคุมทุกอย่างได้เหมือนที่เคย แต่เขายังมีความสามารถที่จะปรับสมดุลในเกมที่ไม่มีใครควบคุมได้ทั้งหมด

เงามืดและโอกาสที่ซ่อนอยู่

เฮซบอลเลาะห์อาจไม่ใช่แค่เพียงศัตรูที่ต้องปราบปราม แต่มันคือสัญลักษณ์ของโลกที่ไม่สามารถแบ่งขาว-ดำได้ชัดเจนอีกต่อไป ทรัมป์อาจมอง เฮซบอลเลาะห์ เป็นเป้าหมาย แต่ในความจริง.. เครือข่ายนี้สะท้อนถึงยุคที่การต่อสู้ไม่ได้จำกัดอยู่ที่การยิงปืนหรือการทิ้งระเบิด มันคือสงครามแห่งการเชื่อมต่อและความยืดหยุ่น

"In a fragmented world, power doesn’t dominate—it adapts."
"ในโลกที่แตกกระจาย อำนาจไม่ได้ครอบงำ แต่มันปรับตัว"

อนาคตที่ต้องเลือกเส้นทางใหม่

เมื่อทรัมป์เดินเข้าสู่ทำเนียบขาวอีกครั้งหลังสาบานตน.. โลกอาจเห็นยุทธศาสตร์ที่ดุดันขึ้นในการจัดการกับ เฮซบอลเลาะห์ และขั้วอำนาจอื่นๆ แต่คำถามสำคัญคือ.. โลกจะสามารถรักษาสมดุลนี้ไว้ได้อย่างไร ในยุคที่ทุกการเคลื่อนไหวของผู้นำมีผลกระทบที่ข้ามพรมแดน

อนาคตของสหรัฐฯ และโลกทั้งใบขึ้นอยู่กับการเลือกเดินในเส้นทางที่ยังไม่ชัดเจน เส้นทางที่เต็มไปด้วยโอกาสและความเสี่ยงที่ไม่เคยมีมาก่อน

"ขอบฟ้ายังไม่เคยถูกสำรวจ และเส้นทางยังมีมากมาย การตัดสินใจของเราในวันนี้จะเป็นแสงสว่างนำทางไปข้างหน้า"

"The next chapter of global power will not be written by those who dominate, but by those who adapt the fastest."
"บทถัดไปของอำนาจโลกจะไม่ได้เขียนโดยผู้ที่ครอบงำ แต่มันจะเขียนโดยผู้ที่ปรับตัวได้เร็วที่สุด"

บทสรุปของโลกที่เปลี่ยนผ่าน – เครือข่ายในเงามืด และเกมที่ไม่มีจุดสิ้นสุด

“The future is a mirror; it reflects not just our actions, but the shadows we leave behind.”
"อนาคตเปรียบดั่งกระจก มันสะท้อนทั้งการกระทำและเงาที่เราทิ้งไว้"

เครือข่ายที่ไม่มีวันพังทลาย

ในโลกที่เครือข่ายเชื่อมโยงทุกสิ่งเข้าด้วยกัน ความพยายามที่จะทำลายบางอย่างมักนำไปสู่การสร้างสิ่งใหม่ เครือข่ายของเฮซบอลเลาะห์ไม่ได้ถูกขีดเขียนด้วยอุดมการณ์เพียงอย่างเดียว แต่มันถูกหล่อหลอมจากความต้องการที่จะอยู่รอดในโลกที่ทุกกฎเกณฑ์ล้วนถูกสร้างขึ้นเพื่อปิดกั้นพวกเขา

การปราบปรามในตะวันออกกลางผลักดันพวกเขาไปสู่ละตินอเมริกา เศรษฐกิจใต้ดินใน Triple Frontier กลายเป็นรากใหม่ของเครือข่าย แต่เมื่อ Triple Frontier ถูกกดดัน เครือข่ายเหล่านี้ก็ยืดตัวไปสู่แอฟริกาและเอเชีย เงาของเฮซบอลเลาะห์ไม่ได้หยุดแค่ที่ตะวันออกกลางหรือละตินอเมริกา แต่มันคือสัญลักษณ์ของโลกที่ไม่สามารถแบ่งขั้วชัดเจนอีกต่อไป

ทรัมป์ผู้เปลี่ยนสมการ

การกลับมาของทรัมป์ในปี 2025 จะเป็นการเขียนสมการใหม่ในกระดานภูมิรัฐศาสตร์โลก คำว่า “America First” อาจดูเหมือนเป็นการตั้งเป้าหมายที่ชัดเจน แต่ในความเป็นจริง มันคือการเปลี่ยนแปลงที่ทำให้สมดุลของโลกเข้าสู่ความไม่แน่นอน

ทรัมป์คือพายุ เขาไม่ได้เป็นเพียงผู้นำที่ท้าทายทุกกฎเกณฑ์ แต่เขาคือแรงผลักดันที่ทำให้เกมอำนาจต้องถูกเล่นใหม่ทั้งหมด การเผชิญหน้ากับเฮซบอลเลาะห์จึงไม่ได้เป็นเพียงการต่อสู้กับองค์กรหนึ่ง แต่มันคือการต่อสู้กับแนวคิดของเครือข่ายที่ไม่อาจควบคุมได้

โลกในยุคของขั้วอำนาจใหม่

Multi-Polar World ที่กำลังเกิดขึ้นในวันนี้เป็นเหมือนทะเลที่ไม่มีจุดศูนย์กลาง เครือข่ายใต้ดินอย่าง เฮซบอลเลาะห์, มหาอำนาจอย่างจีน และขั้วอำนาจดั้งเดิมอย่างอเมริกาและรัสเซีย ต่างเป็นเพียงเกาะที่พยายามแผ่ขยายอิทธิพลของตนในมหาสมุทรที่ไร้ขอบเขต

แต่คำถามสำคัญคือ.. โลกจะเดินไปทางไหนในสมดุลใหม่นี้? การกลับมาของทรัมป์จะทำให้เกมนี้ง่ายขึ้น หรือมันจะทำให้ซับซ้อนเกินกว่าที่จะควบคุมได้?

“In the battle for power, it’s not the strongest who prevail—it’s the most adaptable.”
"ในการต่อสู้เพื่ออำนาจ ไม่ใช่ผู้แข็งแกร่งที่สุดที่อยู่รอด แต่คือผู้ที่ปรับตัวได้ดีที่สุด"

บทสรุปที่ไม่สิ้นสุด

บทความนี้อาจไม่ได้ให้คำตอบว่าการกลับมาของทรัมป์จะเปลี่ยนโลกไปทางไหน หรือเครือข่ายของ เฮซบอลเลาะห์จะยืดตัวไปถึงจุดใด แต่สิ่งที่ชัดเจนก็คือ.. โลกในปัจจุบันเต็มไปด้วยความไม่แน่นอน เงามืดขององค์กรใต้ดินและความทะเยอทะยานของมหาอำนาจต่างเกี่ยวพันกันในเครือข่ายที่ซับซ้อน

การกลับมาของทรัมป์อาจเป็นเหมือนการจุดไฟในที่มืด มันสามารถเผาผลาญหรือให้แสงสว่าง แต่มันจะเปลี่ยนแปลงทุกสิ่งไม่ว่าจะเป็นทางใดทางหนึ่ง

"The shadow of today’s conflicts will cast the shape of tomorrow’s world."
"เงาของความขัดแย้งในวันนี้จะหล่อหลอมรูปทรงของโลกในวันพรุ่งนี้"

End credit

"The future does not belong to globalists. The future belongs to patriots." – Donald Trump

ในโลกที่นิยามด้วยเงามืดและพันธมิตรที่แปรเปลี่ยน คำพูดของทรัมป์ดังก้องเหมือนคำท้าทายต่อระบบเดิม..

‘อนาคตไม่ได้เป็นของพวกโลกาภิวัตน์ แต่อยู่ในมือของผู้รักชาติ’

มันคือวิสัยทัศน์ที่มุ่งเขียนนิยามใหม่ให้กับโครงสร้างอำนาจของโลกยุคใหม่ กล้าหาญ ท้าทาย และไม่เคยยอมถอย..

@ 2e6b65e5:336f2264

I have long thought that if individuals could access information on the trades that were being made by large institutions using high frequency trading techniques that it might be possible to tag along with those trades on a much smaller scale in a low frequency trading way. I first starting looking at this before the financial crisis back in 2008 but was never able to access the data necessary to accomplish this task at a reasonable price.

Fast forward to today and the sources of real time data have dramatically increased in number and the pricing for access to this data have fallen to levels that are accessible to individuals who have the knowledge and expertise to access it.

Also over this time period the tools for data analysis and the hardware to run them on have undergone rapid evolution and the scope of the analysis that one would only dream of being able to do in 2008 is now accessible with modest budgets and manageable levels of manpower.

Python, Polars, Bokeh, Jupyter notebooks and AI based code generators have dramatically impacted what can be done with a manhour of programming. Processors with 24 cores and previously unattainable amount of memory and storage can now be purchased by anyone with a modest budget.

The primary thesis of this work is that there are fingerprints left by the various players in the HFT space that manifest themselves in the fluctuations in the order book both for individual securities and sets of individual securities as well as the options on those securities that can be observed and used as factors in algorithms that predict short term movement in the price of the those securities.

In the past I have worked with others who have developed tools for exposing these fingerprints and published automated messages to X (while it was still Twitter) throughout the trading day. Recently I have at least temporarily suspended activities on X and have been experimenting with NOSTR as a means of "socializing" this information.

During the course of the trading day I run code that identifies events that, based on their fingerprints in the order book, can only be generated by machines and have been selecting "interesting" events for posting @Ki2 Knowledge Implementations using Primal.

I periodically post summary information regarding overall activity that has been flagged as "Burst Activity" in the form of a tuple indicating Overall_Bursts /Bursts_Flagged_Buy /Bursts_Flagged_Sells /Bursts_Unclassified. So 175/76/94/5 means 175 instances identified as "Bursts" with 76 flagged "Buys" and 94 flagged "Sells" and 5 unflagged.

At the end of each trading day I present a "Daily Wrap" of the individual tickers that had activity that exceeds a threshold in a 1 second interval and the number of times that ticker exceed this threshold throughout the day.

Also at the end of the day I total up how many times all the individual tickers combined exceeded the threshold.

Together these provided a perspective on the HFT activity and the areas of the market where that activity occurred during the day.

In addition to this "Summary" information I also select individual Over Threshold Events (OTEs) to highlight during the day and sometimes use this information to select individual tickers as "paper trade" ideas for the investing themes that may be behind some of the fingerprints.

For instance, recently I have been reporting standout events related to:

• Treasury securities manifest by $TLT and $TMF
• Bitcoin ETFs manifest by $IBIT, $FBTC, $MSTR etc.
• Crypto "Picks and Shovels" securities that only came on the radar when Burst trades occurred such as $HIVE and $CAN

Also, in the feed I have been dabbling in 0DTE options ideas related to pinning of $SPX as these positions unwind at the close each day.

Of course, all in the interest of searching for actionable ideas and never as recommending or suggesting that any real world trades take place on based on these ideas.

Not sure where all this will lead. There have been man-years worth of effort invested in this so far and many more man-years yet ahead. I am open to suggestions and collaboration moving forward.

So thanks for reading this. If you find this interesting or would like to collaborate, please reach out or follow and as they say in Costa Rica ....Pura Vida and 73

@ fff19d35:43344a0b

The Power of Decentralized Social Networking: Introducing Nostr

In the ever-evolving landscape of social media, a new player has emerged to challenge the status quo. Nostr, a decentralized social networking protocol, is revolutionizing the way we interact online. In this article, we'll delve into the world of Nostr and explore its potential to transform the social media landscape.

What is Nostr?

Nostr is an open-source, decentralized social networking protocol built on blockchain technology. It enables users to create and share content, connect with others, and participate in online communities without relying on centralized platforms.

Key Features of Nostr

1. Decentralization: Nostr operates on a decentralized network, ensuring that no single entity controls the platform.
2. Censorship Resistance: With Nostr, users have full control over their content and can't be censored by centralized authorities.
3. Interoperability: Nostr enables seamless interactions between different social media platforms and applications.
4. Monetization: Creators can earn cryptocurrency rewards for producing high-quality content.

Benefits of Nostr

1. Increased Autonomy: Users have full control over their online presence and data.
2. Improved Security: Decentralized architecture reduces the risk of data breaches and cyber attacks.
3. Enhanced Creativity: Monetization incentives encourage creators to produce innovative content.
4. Community Building: Nostr fosters a sense of community by enabling users to connect with like-minded individuals.

Conclusion

Nostr represents a paradigm shift in social media, offering a decentralized, censorship-resistant, and community-driven alternative to traditional platforms. As the Nostr ecosystem continues to grow and evolve, it's exciting to think about the potential implications for the future of social media.

@ 88dc84f5:c71164f7

Introduction: The rapid advancement of financial technology (fintech) has transformed the way we manage our finances, invest, and conduct transactions. As fintech continues to evolve, we are witnessing the emergence of autonomous financial systems (AFS) that utilize artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and blockchain technology. While AFS promises to increase efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance decision-making, it also raises significant ethical concerns.

The Benefits of Autonomous Financial Systems: 1. Increased Efficiency: AFS can automate repetitive tasks, reducing the need for human intervention and minimizing errors. 2. Improved Decision-Making: AI and ML algorithms can analyze vast amounts of data, providing insights that inform investment decisions and risk management strategies. 3. Enhanced Security: Blockchain technology and cryptography ensure the integrity and security of transactions, protecting against fraud and cyber attacks.

The Ethical Concerns: 1. Bias and Discrimination: AI and ML algorithms can perpetuate existing biases and discriminate against certain groups, leading to unfair outcomes. 2. Lack of Transparency and Accountability: AFS can be opaque, making it challenging to understand decision-making processes and assign responsibility for errors or unethical behavior. 3. Job Displacement and Economic Inequality: The automation of financial tasks could lead to significant job displacement, exacerbating economic inequality and social unrest.

Mitigating the Risks: 1. Developing Ethical AI: Encouraging the development of AI that prioritizes fairness, transparency, and accountability. 2. Implementing Robust Regulatory Frameworks: Establishing clear guidelines and regulations to ensure AFS operate within established ethical boundaries. 3. Investing in Education and Training: Preparing workers for the changing job market and providing opportunities for upskilling and reskilling.

Conclusion: The development and deployment of autonomous financial systems pose significant ethical challenges. As we navigate this complex landscape, it is crucial that we prioritize transparency, accountability, and fairness. By acknowledging the potential risks and consequences, we can work towards creating a more equitable and just financial system for all.

AI-Generated Insights: Using natural language processing and machine learning algorithms, our AI analyzed expert opinions and research papers to identify key ethical considerations: 1. Ensuring transparency and explainability in AI decision-making processes 2. Addressing potential biases and discrimination in AI algorithms 3. Developing robust regulatory frameworks to govern AFS

Statistics: 1. 80% of financial institutions plan to increase investment in AI and ML (Source: Deloitte) 2. The global fintech market is projected to reach $305 billion by 2025 (Source: MarketsandMarkets) 3. 60% of consumers believe AI will improve financial services (Source: Accenture)

Sources: 1. "The Future of Financial Services" by Deloitte 2. "Fintech Market Research Report" by MarketsandMarkets 3. "AI in Financial Services" by Accenture.

@ 9ff58691:0bf6c134

Дорогие друзья! С радостью сообщаем, что в нашем городе открылся уникальный проект — вертикальный фермерский комплекс, который станет настоящим прорывом в аграрной сфере Кургана!

Что это значит для нас? Во-первых, мы получаем доступ к свежим и качественным продуктам прямо из нашего города. Забудьте о долгих транспортировках и некачественных овощах! Теперь на наших столах будут только экологически чистые овощи и зелень, выращенные с любовью и заботой.

🌾 Как это работает? В нашем комплексе используются самые современные технологии: вертикальные грядки, гидропоника и автоматизированные системы полива. Это позволяет максимально эффективно использовать пространство и ресурсы, создавая идеальные условия для роста растений. Мы выращиваем разнообразные овощи — от привычных помидоров и огурцов до экзотических сортов, которые раньше были недоступны.

🐄 Уход за скотом — это еще одна важная часть нашего проекта. Мы придерживаемся принципов гуманного обращения с животными. Каждое животное получает должный уход, внимание и комфортные условия. Наши специалисты следят за их здоровьем и благополучием, что позволяет нам производить высококачественные молочные продукты и мясо, доступные курганцам.

Этот проект не только улучшает продовольственную безопасность нашего региона, но и создает новые рабочие места и вдохновляет других предпринимателей на создание аналогичных инициатив.

Давайте вместе сделаем наш город лучше и зеленее! Следите за нашими новостями и приходите к нам за свежими продуктами!

Автор: Елизавета Медведева

@ 349d6b82:12b2a5b1

Правительство Серова инициировало серию политико-экономических разговоров с представителями Китая, стремясь укрепить торговые связи и развить взаимовыгодное сотрудничество.

Основное внимание было уделено вопросам импорта и экспорта сельскохозяйственной продукции, а также обмена технологиями в области агропромышленного комплекса.

Формат встреч:

1. Дискуссии: Встречи проходили в формате круглых столов, где эксперты обеих сторон обсуждали актуальные вопросы и вырабатывали совместные стратегии.

2. Рабочие группы: Созданы рабочие группы для детального анализа каждого направления сотрудничества, включая логистику и финансовые механизмы.

3. Подписание соглашений: В результате переговоров планируется подписание ряда соглашений, направленных на упрощение торговых процедур и снижение тарифов.

С таким подходом Серов рассчитывает не только увеличить объемы торговли с Китаем, но и привлечь инвестиции в местную экономику, что будет способствовать устойчивому развитию региона.

Видеосюжет от Ирины Соколовой:

https://ai.invideo.io/watch/p5orZ7Ht-bY

@ f8a5df57:b7a58cd4

Содержание сюжета:

▎31 декабря

• Утро и день:

• Новогодние ярмарки: По всей Москве открыты ярмарки с угощениями, сувенирами и мастер-классами. Тематические зоны, посвященные традиционным русским праздникам.

• Экскурсии по историческим местам: Специальные экскурсии по историческим местам Москвы с новогодней тематикой.

• Вечер:

• Праздничные концерты: Концерты на площадях города с участием популярных артистов и музыкальных коллективов. В каждом районе свои мероприятия.

• Фейерверк на Красной площади: В 0:00 — грандиозный фейерверк, который можно будет наблюдать с разных точек города.

▎1 января

• Утренние мероприятия:

• Парад Дедов Морозов: Парад на Красной площади, где участвуют Деды Морозы из разных регионов России и зарубежья.

• Новогодние утренники для детей: Специальные представления в парках и театрах.

• День:

• Тематические выставки: Выставки, посвященные новогодним традициям и искусству.

• Спортивные мероприятия: Ледовые катки, лыжные трассы и другие зимние виды спорта.

▎Весь январь

• Зимние фестивали: Программы культурных мероприятий, включая кинофестивали, выставки и мастер-классы.

• Праздничные гулянья в парках: Концерты, уличные театры и мастер-классы для всей семьи.

▎Дополнительные активности

• Интерактивные инсталляции и световое шоу: По всему городу будут установлены световые инсталляции и интерактивные площадки.

• Тематические маршруты: Специальные маршруты по городу, где можно будет узнать о новогодних традициях разных народов.

Автор: Рината Ситникова

@ 349d6b82:12b2a5b1

Прогноз погоды на следующую неделю:

Прогноз на 25 ноября:

Температура: -2°C до -5°C

Погода: Ясно, без осадков.

Прогноз на 26 ноября

Температура: -3°C до -6°C

Погода: Частично облачно.

Прогноз на 27 ноября

Температура: -4°C до -7°C

Погода: Облачно, возможен слабый снег.

Прогноз на 28 ноября

Температура: -5°C до -8°C

Погода: Облачно, снег

Прогноз на 29 ноября

Температура: -6°C до -9°C

Погода: Облачно, снег.

Прогноз на 30 ноября

Температура: -7°C до -10°C

Погода: Облачно, снег.

Прогноз на 1 декабря

Температура: -8°C до -11°C

Погода: Частично облачно, возможны осадки

@ 07907690:d4e015f6

Karena orang tuanya yang berasal dari Hongaria telah melarikan diri dari rezim Soviet pascaperang untuk menetap di Amerika Serikat, Nick Szabo menganggap daerah Teluk California pada tahun 1990-an sebagai rumahnya. Di sana, ia termasuk orang pertama yang sering menghadiri pertemuan tatap muka "Cypherpunk" yang diselenggarakan oleh Timothy May, Eric Hughes, dan anggota pendiri kolektif kriptografer, programmer, dan aktivis privasi lainnya yang berpusat di sekitar milis tahun 90-an dengan nama yang sama.

Seperti Cypherpunk lainnya, Szabo khawatir dengan jaminan privasi yang semakin berkurang di era digital yang akan datang dan mengambil tindakan untuk membendung gelombang tersebut semampunya. Misalnya, di milis Cypherpunk, Szabo memimpin penentangan terhadap "Chip Clipper", sebuah chip yang diusulkan untuk disematkan di telepon, yang memungkinkan NSA untuk mendengarkan panggilan telepon. Szabo memiliki bakat khusus untuk menjelaskan risiko pelanggaran privasi tersebut dengan cara yang dapat diterima oleh orang-orang yang tidak memiliki latar belakang teknis, terkadang memberikan ceramah tentang topik tersebut atau bahkan membagikan brosur. (Chip tersebut akhirnya ditolak oleh produsen dan konsumen.)

Namun seperti Cypherpunk yang lebih berorientasi libertarian, minat Szabo dalam privasi digital adalah bagian dari gambaran yang lebih besar — ini bukan hanya tentang privasi saja. Terinspirasi oleh visi Timothy May sebagaimana yang ditetapkan dalam The Crypto Anarchist Manifesto, Szabo melihat potensi untuk menciptakan "Galt's Gulch" di dunia maya: domain tempat individu dapat berdagang dengan bebas, seperti yang dijelaskan oleh novel penulis libertarian Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged. Medan gaya pseudo-fisika dari cerita tersebut, May dan Szabo percaya, dapat digantikan dengan keajaiban kriptografi kunci publik yang baru-baru ini ditemukan.

“Jika kita mundur sejenak dan mencermati apa yang ingin dicapai oleh banyak cypherpunk, tema idealis utamanya adalah dunia maya Ghana di mana kekerasan hanya bisa menjadi khayalan, entah itu dalam Mortal Komat [sic] atau 'perang api',” tulis Szabo dalam milis Cypherpunks.

Namun, Szabo juga menyadari bahwa perusahaan bebas membutuhkan lebih dari sekadar enkripsi sebagai lapisan keamanan. Terinspirasi oleh penulis libertarian lainnya — ekonom Friedrich Hayek — ia menemukan bahwa dasar masyarakat manusia, sebagian besar, didasarkan pada komponen dasar, seperti properti dan kontrak, yang biasanya ditegakkan oleh negara. Untuk menciptakan alternatif dunia maya tanpa negara dan tanpa kekerasan, Szabo tahu bahwa komponen dasar ini harus dipindahkan ke ranah daring.

Beginilah cara Szabo, pada pertengahan 1990-an, mengusulkan sesuatu yang mungkin paling dikenalnya saat ini: kontrak pintar. Protokol komputer (yang saat itu masih hipotetis) ini dapat memfasilitasi, memverifikasi, dan menegakkan negosiasi atau pelaksanaan kontrak secara digital, idealnya tanpa memerlukan pihak ketiga mana pun. Seperti yang pernah dikatakan Szabo : "Pihak ketiga yang tepercaya adalah lubang keamanan." Lubang keamanan ini akan menjadi target peretas atau penjahat — serta negara-negara bangsa selama masa ketidakstabilan politik atau penindasan.

Namun kontrak pintar hanyalah sebagian dari teka-teki. Alat kedua yang dibutuhkan Szabo untuk mewujudkan "Galt's Gulch" mungkin bahkan lebih penting. Uang.

Uang Elektronik

Mata uang digital, uang tunai untuk internet, selalu menjadi tujuan utama Cypherpunk. Namun, hanya sedikit yang mendalami pokok bahasan tersebut seperti yang dilakukan Szabo.

Dalam esainya "Shelling Out: The Origins of Money," Szabo menjelaskan bagaimana — seperti yang pertama kali dihipotesiskan oleh ahli biologi evolusi Richard Dawkins — penggunaan uang telah tertanam dalam DNA manusia. Setelah menganalisis masyarakat pra-peradaban, Szabo menemukan bahwa orang-orang di berbagai budaya cenderung mengumpulkan benda-benda langka dan mudah dibawa, sering kali untuk dijadikan perhiasan. Benda-benda inilah yang berfungsi sebagai uang, yang pada gilirannya memungkinkan manusia untuk bekerja sama: "altruisme timbal balik" teori permainan melalui perdagangan, dalam skala besar dan lintas waktu.

Szabo juga sangat tertarik pada perbankan bebas, sebuah pengaturan moneter yang didukung oleh Hayek, di mana bank swasta menerbitkan mata uang mereka sendiri yang tidak terikat pada negara tertentu. Di bawah sistem seperti itu, pasar bebas sepenuhnya bebas menentukan mata uang mana yang akan digunakan. Meskipun merupakan ide baru saat ini (dan bahkan lebih baru lagi pada tahun-tahun sebelum Bitcoin), perbankan bebas merupakan kenyataan di Amerika Serikat pada tahun 1800-an, serta di beberapa negara lain.

Szabo juga melanjutkan untuk menerapkan minatnya dalam praktik dan menjual keahliannya sebagai konsultan perdagangan internet pada pertengahan 1990-an, jauh sebelum kebanyakan orang melihat potensi perdagangan daring. Yang paling menonjol, ia menghabiskan waktu bekerja di perusahaan rintisan DigiCash milik David Chaum, yang berkantor pusat di Amsterdam. Perusahaan Chaum memperkenalkan uang digital pertama yang pernah ada di dunia dalam bentuk eCash: sarana untuk melakukan pembayaran daring yang sama rahasianya dengan uang tunai di dunia nyata.

Namun, di DigiCash pula Szabo mengetahui risiko solusi Chaum. DigiCash adalah perusahaan terpusat, dan Szabo merasa terlalu mudah baginya dan orang lain untuk mengutak-atik saldo orang lain jika mereka mau. Bagaimanapun, pihak tepercaya adalah celah keamanan, dan risiko ini mungkin tidak lebih besar daripada risiko dalam hal uang.

“Masalahnya, singkatnya, adalah bahwa uang kita saat ini bergantung pada kepercayaan pada pihak ketiga untuk menentukan nilainya,” Szabo berpendapat pada tahun 2005. “Seperti yang ditunjukkan oleh banyak episode inflasi dan hiperinflasi selama abad ke-20, ini bukanlah keadaan yang ideal.”

Bahkan, ia menganggap masalah kepercayaan ini sebagai hambatan yang bahkan solusi perbankan bebas pada umumnya bisa mengalaminya: “[P]enerbitan uang kertas swasta, meski memiliki berbagai kelebihan dan kekurangan, juga bergantung pada pihak ketiga yang terpercaya.”

Szabo tahu ia ingin menciptakan bentuk uang baru yang tidak bergantung pada kepercayaan pada pihak ketiga mana pun.

Berdasarkan analisisnya terhadap uang prasejarah, Szabo telah menempuh perjalanan panjang dalam menentukan seperti apa bentuk uang idealnya. Pertama, uang tersebut harus “aman dari kehilangan dan pencurian yang tidak disengaja.” Kedua, nilainya harus “sangat mahal dan tidak dapat dipalsukan, sehingga dianggap berharga.” Dan ketiga: “Nilai ini [harus] diperkirakan secara akurat melalui pengamatan atau pengukuran sederhana.”

Dibandingkan dengan logam mulia seperti emas, Szabo ingin menciptakan sesuatu yang digital dan langka, di mana kelangkaan ini tidak bergantung pada kepercayaan pihak ketiga. Ia ingin menciptakan emas digital.

Logam mulia dan barang koleksi memiliki kelangkaan yang tidak dapat dipalsukan karena mahalnya biaya pembuatannya. Hal ini pernah menghasilkan uang yang nilainya sebagian besar tidak bergantung pada pihak ketiga yang tepercaya. Namun, logam mulia memiliki masalah. […] Jadi, akan sangat bagus jika ada protokol yang memungkinkan bit yang sangat mahal dapat dibuat secara daring dengan ketergantungan minimal pada pihak ketiga yang tepercaya, lalu disimpan, ditransfer, dan diuji dengan aman dengan kepercayaan minimal yang serupa. Bit Gold.

Bit Gold

Szabo pertama kali mencetuskan Bit Gold pada tahun 1998, meskipun ia baru menjelaskannya secara lengkap di depan publik pada tahun 2005. Skema uang digital yang diusulkannya terdiri dari kombinasi berbagai solusi, beberapa di antaranya terinspirasi oleh (atau menyerupai) konsep uang elektronik sebelumnya.

Properti utama pertama Bit Gold adalah proof of work, trik kriptografi yang digunakan oleh Dr. Adam Back dalam "mata uang anti-spam" miliknya, Hashcash. Proof of work merupakan biaya yang tidak dapat dipalsukan yang dicari Szabo, karena memerlukan sumber daya dunia nyata — daya komputasi — untuk menghasilkan bukti-bukti ini.

Sistem pembuktian kerja Bit Gold dimulai dengan "string kandidat": pada dasarnya angka acak. Siapa pun dapat mengambil string ini dan secara matematis menggabungkannya — "hash" — dengan angka acak lain yang baru dibuat. Berdasarkan sifat hashing, hasilnya akan menjadi string angka baru yang tampak acak: hash. Satu-satunya cara untuk mengetahui seperti apa hash ini adalah dengan benar-benar membuatnya — hash tidak dapat dihitung atau diprediksi dengan cara lain.

Triknya, yang juga digunakan dalam Hashcash, adalah bahwa tidak semua hash dianggap valid dalam protokol Bit Gold. Sebaliknya, hash yang valid harus, misalnya, dimulai dengan sejumlah angka nol yang telah ditentukan sebelumnya. Karena sifat hashing yang tidak dapat diprediksi, satu-satunya cara untuk menemukan hash yang valid adalah dengan coba-coba. Oleh karena itu, hash yang valid membuktikan bahwa pembuatnya telah mengeluarkan daya komputasi.

Hash yang valid ini, pada gilirannya, akan menjadi string kandidat Bit Gold berikutnya. Oleh karena itu, sistem Bit Gold akan berkembang menjadi rantai hash proof-of-work, dan akan selalu ada string kandidat berikutnya untuk digunakan.

Siapa pun yang menemukan hash yang valid akan secara harfiah memiliki hash tersebut, mirip dengan bagaimana orang yang menemukan sedikit bijih emas memilikinya. Untuk menetapkan kepemilikan ini secara digital, Bit Gold menggunakan registri kepemilikan digital : blok penyusun lain yang terinspirasi Hayek yang diusulkan oleh Szabo. Dalam registri ini, hash akan ditautkan ke kunci publik dari masing-masing pembuatnya.

Melalui registri kepemilikan digital ini pula, hash dapat ditransfer ke pemilik baru: Pemilik asli secara harfiah akan menandatangani transaksi dengan tanda tangan kriptografi.

Registri kepemilikan akan dikelola oleh "klub properti" Bit Gold. Klub properti ini terdiri dari "anggota klub" (server) yang akan melacak kunci publik mana yang memiliki hash mana. Solusi ini agak mirip dengan solusi basis data replikasi yang diusulkan Wei Dai untuk b-money; baik Szabo maupun Dai tidak hanya aktif di milis Cypherpunks, tetapi juga di milis tertutup yang membahas topik-topik ini.

Namun, alih-alih sistem proof-of-stake milik Dai untuk menjaga agar sistem tetap mutakhir, Szabo mengusulkan "Sistem Kuorum Bizantium." Mirip dengan sistem yang sangat penting bagi keamanan seperti komputer pesawat terbang, jika hanya satu (atau sebagian kecil) dari komputer ini yang tidak berfungsi, sistem secara keseluruhan akan tetap beroperasi dengan baik. Sistem akan bermasalah hanya jika sebagian besar komputer gagal pada saat yang sama. Yang penting, tidak satu pun dari pemeriksaan ini memerlukan pengadilan, hakim, atau polisi, yang didukung oleh monopoli negara atas kekerasan: Semuanya akan bersifat sukarela.

Meskipun sistem ini sendiri tidak sepenuhnya sangat ketat — misalnya Serangan Sybil ("sock puppet problem") — Szabo yakin sistem ini bisa berjalan sendiri. Bahkan dalam skenario di mana mayoritas anggota klub akan mencoba berbuat curang, minoritas yang jujur bisa bercabang ke dalam daftar kepemilikan yang bersaing. Pengguna kemudian dapat memilih daftar kepemilikan mana yang akan digunakan, yang menurut Szabo mungkin adalah yang jujur.

"Jika aturan dilanggar oleh pemilih yang menang, maka pecundang yang benar dapat keluar dari grup dan membentuk grup baru, mewarisi gelar lama," jelasnya. "Pengguna gelar (partai yang mengandalkan) yang ingin mempertahankan gelar yang benar dapat memverifikasi sendiri dengan aman kelompok sempalan mana yang telah mengikuti aturan dengan benar dan beralih ke grup yang benar."

(Sebagai contoh modern, ini mungkin dapat dibandingkan dengan Ethereum Classic, yang memelihara versi buku besar Ethereum asli yang tidak membatalkan kontrak pintar The DAO.)

Inflasi

Masalah berikutnya yang harus dipecahkan Szabo adalah inflasi. Seiring dengan semakin baiknya komputer dari waktu ke waktu, akan semakin mudah untuk menghasilkan hash yang valid. Ini berarti bahwa hash itu sendiri tidak dapat berfungsi sebagai uang dengan baik: hash akan semakin langka setiap tahunnya, sampai pada titik di mana kelimpahan akan melemahkan semua nilai.

Szabo menemukan solusinya. Setelah hash yang valid ditemukan, hash tersebut harus diberi cap waktu, idealnya dengan server cap waktu yang berbeda untuk meminimalkan kepercayaan pada hash tertentu. Cap waktu ini akan memberikan gambaran tentang seberapa sulitnya menghasilkan hash: hash yang lama akan lebih sulit diproduksi daripada hash yang baru. Pasar kemudian akan menentukan berapa nilai hash tertentu relatif terhadap hash lainnya, mungkin menyesuaikan nilainya dengan tanggal ditemukannya. "Hash 2018" yang valid seharusnya bernilai jauh lebih rendah daripada "Hash 2008" yang valid.

Namun solusi ini, tentu saja, menimbulkan masalah baru, Szabo tahu : "bagian-bagian (solusi teka-teki) dari satu periode (mulai dari detik hingga minggu, katakanlah seminggu) ke periode berikutnya tidak dapat dipertukarkan." Kepertukaran — gagasan bahwa setiap unit mata uang sama dengan unit lainnya — sangat penting bagi uang. Seorang pemilik toko ingin menerima pembayaran tanpa harus khawatir tentang tanggal uang tersebut dibuat.

Szabo juga menemukan solusi untuk masalah ini. Ia membayangkan semacam solusi "lapisan kedua" di atas lapisan dasar Bit Gold. Lapisan ini akan terdiri dari sejenis bank, meskipun bank yang dapat diaudit secara aman, karena registri Bit Gold bersifat publik. Bank-bank ini akan mengumpulkan hash yang berbeda dari periode waktu yang berbeda dan, berdasarkan nilai hash ini, menggabungkannya ke dalam paket-paket dengan nilai standar gabungan. "Paket 2018" akan mencakup lebih banyak hash daripada "paket 2008," tetapi kedua paket akan bernilai sama.

Paket-paket ini kemudian harus dipotong-potong menjadi sejumlah unit tertentu. Akhirnya, unit-unit ini dapat diterbitkan oleh "bank" sebagai eCash Chaumian yang bersifat pribadi dan anonim.

“[P]ansa pesaing menerbitkan uang kertas digital yang dapat ditukarkan dengan bit solusi yang nilai pasarnya sama dengan nilai nominal uang kertas (yakni mereka menciptakan kumpulan nilai standar),” jelas Szabo .

Dengan demikian, Bit Gold dirancang sebagai lapisan dasar seperti standar emas untuk sistem perbankan bebas di era digital.

Bitcoin

Pada tahun 2000-an, Szabo melanjutkan pendidikannya dengan meraih gelar sarjana hukum untuk memahami hukum dan realitas kontrak yang ingin ia gantikan atau tiru secara daring dengan lebih baik. Ia juga mulai mengumpulkan dan menerbitkan ide-idenya di sebuah blog yang sangat dihormati, “Unenumerated,” yang membahas berbagai topik mulai dari ilmu komputer hingga hukum dan politik, tetapi juga sejarah dan biologi. “Daftar topik untuk blog ini […] sangat luas dan beragam sehingga tidak dapat disebutkan satu per satu,” Szabo menjelaskan judulnya.

Pada tahun 2008 — 10 tahun setelah pertama kali mengusulkannya secara pribadi — Szabo mengangkat Bit Gold di blognya sekali lagi, hanya saja kali ini ia ingin mewujudkan implementasi pertama usulannya.

“Bit Gold akan sangat diuntungkan dari sebuah demonstrasi, pasar eksperimental (dengan misalnya pihak ketiga yang tepercaya menggantikan keamanan kompleks yang dibutuhkan untuk sistem nyata). Adakah yang mau membantu saya membuat kodenya?” tanyanya di bagian komentar blognya.

Jika ada yang menanggapi, tanggapan itu tidak disampaikan di depan umum. Bit Gold, dalam bentuk yang diusulkan Szabo, tidak pernah dilaksanakan.

Namun, Bit Gold tetap menjadi inspirasi utama bagi Satoshi Nakamoto, yang menerbitkan white paper Bitcoin di akhir tahun yang sama.

“Bitcoin merupakan implementasi dari proposal b-money Wei Dai [...] di Cypherpunks [...] pada tahun 1998 dan proposal Bitgold milik Nick Szabo,” tulis penemu Bitcoin dengan nama samaran di forum Bitcointalk pada tahun 2010.

Memang, tidak sulit untuk melihat Bit Gold sebagai rancangan awal Bitcoin. Selain dari basis data bersama catatan kepemilikan berdasarkan kriptografi kunci publik, rangkaian hash bukti kerja memiliki kemiripan yang aneh dengan blockchain Bitcoin . Dan, tentu saja, nama Bit Gold dan Bitcoin juga tidak terlalu jauh.

Namun, tidak seperti sistem seperti Hashcash dan b-money, Bit Gold jelas tidak ada dalam white paper Bitcoin. Beberapa orang bahkan menganggap ketidakhadiran ini begitu penting sehingga mereka menganggapnya sebagai salah satu dari beberapa petunjuk bahwa Szabo pastilah orang di balik julukan Satoshi Nakamoto: Siapa lagi yang akan mencoba menyembunyikan asal-usul Bitcoin seperti ini?

Meski demikian, meski mirip dengan Bit Gold dalam beberapa hal, Bitcoin memang menyertakan beberapa perbaikan atas desain Szabo. Secara khusus, di mana Bit Gold masih bergantung pada pihak tepercaya sampai batas tertentu — server dan layanan stempel waktu harus dipercaya sampai batas tertentu untuk tidak berkolusi — Bitcoin adalah sistem pertama yang memecahkan masalah ini sepenuhnya. Bitcoin memecahkannya dengan sangat elegan, dengan memiliki sistem bukti kerja yang diperlukan yang berfungsi sebagai sistem penghargaan dan mekanisme konsensus dalam satu sistem: Rantai hash dengan bukti kerja terbanyak dianggap sebagai versi sejarah yang valid.

“Nakamoto memperbaiki kekurangan keamanan signifikan yang ada pada desain saya,” Szabo mengakui pada tahun 2011, “yakni dengan mensyaratkan bukti kerja untuk menjadi simpul dalam sistem peer-to-peer yang tangguh terhadap Byzantine untuk mengurangi ancaman pihak yang tidak dapat dipercaya yang mengendalikan mayoritas simpul dan dengan demikian merusak sejumlah fitur keamanan penting.”

Lebih jauh, Bitcoin memiliki model moneter yang sangat berbeda dari yang diusulkan Szabo, dengan jadwal inflasi tetap yang sama sekali tidak terpengaruh oleh peningkatan daya hash. Seiring meningkatnya daya komputasi pada jaringan Bitcoin, itu artinya semakin sulit menemukan koin baru.

“Alih-alih pasar otomatis saya memperhitungkan fakta bahwa tingkat kesulitan teka-teki sering kali dapat berubah secara radikal berdasarkan peningkatan perangkat keras dan terobosan kriptografi (yaitu menemukan algoritma yang dapat memecahkan bukti kerja lebih cepat), dan ketidakpastian permintaan, Nakamoto merancang algoritma yang disetujui Bizantium yang menyesuaikan tingkat kesulitan teka-teki,” jelas Szabo.

“Saya tidak dapat memutuskan apakah aspek Bitcoin ini lebih banyak fitur atau lebih banyak bug,” tambahnya, “tetapi ini membuatnya lebih sederhana.”

Sumber artikel: bitcoinmagazine.com
Diterjemahkan oleh: Abeng

@ a3b9f172:784b9f38

What is Bitcoin?

Bitcoin (BTC) is a cryptocurrency (a virtual currency) designed to act as money and a form of payment outside the control of any one person, group, or entity. This removes the need for trusted third-party involvement (e.g., a mint or bank) in financial transactions.

Bitcoin was introduced to the public in 2009 by an anonymous developer or group of developers using the name Satoshi Nakamoto. It has since become the most well-known and largest cryptocurrency in the world. Its popularity has inspired the development of many other cryptocurrencies.

Read on to learn more about the cryptocurrency that started it all—the history behind it, how to buy it, mine it, and what it can be used for.

Key Takeaways Bitcoin is the end product of the work of many people, but it is generally accepted that Satoshi Nakamoto created it and introduced it in 2008. Bitcoin is the public blockchain used to create and manage the cryptocurrency of the same name. Bitcoin mining is the race between miners to hash specific values and other block information to find the solution to a hashing problem and add a block to the blockchain. The winning miner is rewarded with bitcoins. Bitcoin can be used by speculators, investors for investing purposes, and consumers for purchases or value exchange. There are many risks involved with investing in and using bitcoins, including volatility, fraud, and theft. Bitcoin (BTC): A cryptocurrency, a virtual currency designed to act as money and a form of payment outside the control of any one person, group, or entity, and thus removing the need for third-party involvement in financial transactions. Investopedia / Julie Bang

Understanding Bitcoin

In August 2008, the domain name Bitcoin.org was registered. It was created by Satoshi Nakamoto and Martti Malmi, who worked with the anonymous Nakamoto to develop Bitcoin.

How Bitcoin Started

In October 2008, Nakamoto announced to the cryptography mailing list at metzdowd.com: "I've been working on a new electronic cash system that's fully peer-to-peer, with no trusted third party." The now-famous white paper published on Bitcoin.org, entitled "Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System," would become the Magna Carta for how Bitcoin operates today.

First Block

On Jan. 3, 2009, the first Bitcoin block was mined. Called Block 0, it is also known as the genesis block and contains the text: "The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks," perhaps proof that the block was mined on or after that date.

Rewards

Bitcoin rewards are halved every 210,000 blocks. For example, the block reward was 50 new bitcoins in 2009. On May 11, 2020, the third halving occurred, bringing the reward for each block down to 6.25 bitcoins. The fourth halving occurred in April 2024 and lowered the reward to 3.125 bitcoins. The next halving should happen in mid-2028 and reduce the reward to 1.5625 BTC.

Denominations

One bitcoin is divisible to eight decimal places (100 millionths of one bitcoin), and this smallest unit is referred to as a satoshi.

On Jan. 8, 2009, the first version of the Bitcoin software was announced to the Cryptography Mailing List, and on Jan. 9, 2009, Block 1 was mined, and bitcoin mining began.

Bitcoin's Blockchain Technology

Bitcoin as a form of digital currency isn't hard to understand. For example, if you own a bitcoin, you can use your cryptocurrency wallet to send smaller portions of that bitcoin as payment for goods or services. By contrast, the way Bitcoin actually works is very complex.

Blockchain

A blockchain is a distributed ledger, a shared database of information that is chained together via cryptographic techniques. "Distributed" means that it is stored on many computers rather than on a centralized server, as is typical of data storage.

A network of automated programs installed on these computers maintains the blockchain and performs the functions necessary for it to operate.

A block on a blockchain is a file that contains a block header, transaction counter, and the transactions recorded in the block. The transaction counter lists how many transactions are in the block, while the block header is made up of several elements:

Software version: Which version the blockchain is running (sometimes called the magic number) Previous block hash: The encrypted information from the previous block Merkle root: A single hash (encrypted information) that contains all the hashed information from previous transactions Timestamp: The date and time the block was opened Difficulty target: The current network difficulty problem miners are attempting to solve for Nonce: Short for "number used once," which is used to solve the mining problem and open the block. As noted, each block contains the hashed information of the previous block. This creates a chain of encrypted blocks (files) that contain information from all previous blocks, going back to the first block of the blockchain.

Encryption

Bitcoin uses the SHA-256 hashing algorithm to encrypt (hash) the data stored in the blocks on the blockchain. Simply put, transaction data stored in a block is encrypted into a 256-bit (64-digit) hexadecimal number. That number contains all the transaction data and information linked to the blocks before that block.

While the data in a block is encrypted and used in the next block, the block is not inaccessible or non-readable. The hash is used in the next block, then its hash is used in the next, and so on, but all blocks can be read. This makes it so blocks cannot be changed without changing all other blocks and ensures anyone can audit the blockchain.

How To Buy Bitcoin

If you don't want to mine bitcoin, you can buy it using a cryptocurrency exchange. Most people will be unable to purchase an entire BTC because of its price, but you can buy portions of one BTC on these exchanges in fiat currency, such as U.S. dollars.

For example, you can buy bitcoin on Coinbase by creating and funding an account using your bank account, credit card, or debit card. The following video explains more about buying bitcoin.

How To Mine Bitcoin

A variety of hardware and software can be used to mine bitcoin. When the Bitcoin blockchain was first released, it was possible to mine it competitively on a personal computer. However, as it became more popular, more miners joined the network, which lowered the chances of being the one to solve the hash.

You can still use your personal computer as a miner if it has newer hardware, but the chances of solving a hash individually using a home computer are minuscule.

This is because you're competing with a network of miners that generate around 600 quintillion hashes (as of May 15, 2024) per second. Machines—called Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) built specifically for mining—can generate more than 400 trillion hashes per second. In contrast, a computer with the latest hardware hashes around 100 megahashes per second (100 million).

Options for Successful Mining

There are two hardware options available for Bitcoin mining and several software options.

1. You can use your existing computer and mining software compatible with Bitcoin software and join a mining pool. Mining pools are groups of miners that combine their computational power to compete with large ASIC mining farms.

There are many mining programs to choose from and pools you can join. Two of the most well-known programs are CGMiner and BFGMiner. Some of the most popular pools are Foundry Digital, Antpool, F2Pool, ViaBTC, and Binance.com.

1. If you have the financial means, you could purchase an ASIC miner. You can generally find a new one for around $10,000, but used ones are also sold by miners as they upgrade their systems. There are some significant costs, such as electricity and cooling, to consider if you purchase one or more ASICs. Keep in mind using one or two ASICs is still no guarantee of rewards as you're competing with businesses with large mining farms of tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of ASICs. For example, bitcoin mining firm CleanSpark ordered 100,000 ASICs from Bitmain in April 2024. 7

You can increase your chances of being rewarded bitcoins by joining a pool, but rewards are significantly decreased because they are shared. When choosing a pool, it's important to make sure to find out how it pays out rewards, what any fees might be, and to read some mining pool reviews.

How To Use Bitcoin

Bitcoin was initially designed and released as a peer-to-peer payment method. However, its use cases are growing due to its increasing value, competition from other blockchains and cryptocurrencies, and developments on blockchains that process information for the Bitcoin blockchain.

Payment

Bitcoin is accepted as a means of payment for goods and services at many merchants, retailers, and stores.

Brick-and-mortar stores that accept cryptocurrencies will generally display a sign that says "Bitcoin Accepted Here." The transactions can be handled with the requisite hardware terminal or wallet address through QR codes and touchscreen apps. An online business can easily accept bitcoin by adding this payment option to its other online payment options: credit cards, PayPal, etc.

To use your bitcoin, you need to have a cryptocurrency wallet. Wallets are your blockchain interface and can hold the private keys to the bitcoins that you own. These keys must be entered when you're conducting a transaction.

Investing and Speculating

Investors and speculators became interested in bitcoin as it grew in popularity. Between 2009 and 2017, cryptocurrency exchanges emerged that facilitated bitcoin sales and purchases. Prices began to rise, and demand slowly grew until 2017, when its price broke $1,000.

Many people believed bitcoin prices would keep climbing and began buying bitcoin as long-term investments. Traders began using cryptocurrency exchanges to make short-term trades, and the market took off.

After reaching a high of about $69,000 in November 2021, bitcoin's price crashed in 2022. In March 2022, it was as high as $47,454, but by November, it was $15,731. It then recovered in 2023, seeing a price as high as $31,474 before dropping back below $30,000.

In early 2024, bitcoin's price jumped into the mid $40,000s as expectations grew for Bitcoin Spot ETFs' approval. By mid-February 2024, after the ETFs were approved, bitcoin's price climbed to more than $50,000.

Bitcoin prices tend to follow stock market trends because bitcoin is treated the same way that investors treat other investments. However, bitcoin price movements are greatly exaggerated and sometimes are prone to movements of thousands of dollars. Many bitcoin investors tend to "trade the news," as demonstrated by the fluctuations that occur whenever there is a significant news event.

Bitcoin's all-time high price is $73,794, reached on March 14, 2024.

Risks of Investing in Bitcoin

Bitcoin had a price of $7,167.52 on Dec. 31, 2019, and a year later, it had appreciated more than 300% to $28,984.98. It continued to surge in the first half of 2021, trading at a record high of $69,000 in November 2021. It then fell over the next few months to hover around $40,000. 10

As a result of such price movements, many people purchase bitcoin for its investment value rather than its ability to act as a medium of exchange. However, the lack of guaranteed value and its digital nature mean its purchase and use carry several inherent risks.

In fact, many investor alerts issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) concern bitcoin investing.

Here are some of the risks that you're exposed to when trading or investing in bitcoin:

Regulatory risk: The continuous battle between cryptocurrency-related projects and regulators makes longevity and liquidity an unknown. As of May 2024, bitcoin is not considered a security by the authorities, but that stance could change in the future. Security risk: Most individuals who own and use bitcoin have not acquired their tokens through mining operations. Rather, they buy and sell bitcoin and other digital currencies on popular cryptocurrency exchanges. These exchanges are entirely digital and are at risk from hackers, malware, and operational glitches. Insurance risk: Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are not insured by the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) or the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). However, some exchanges provide insurance through third parties. For instance, Gemini and Coinbase offer cryptocurrency insurance, but only for failures in their systems or cybersecurity breaches. Any cash deposits you've made at either exchange might be eligible for "pass-through" FDIC coverage.

Fraud risk: Even with the security measures inherent within a blockchain, there are still opportunities for fraudulent activity. Market risk: As with any investment, bitcoin values can fluctuate. Indeed, the currency's value has seen wild price swings over its short existence. Subject to high volume buying and selling on exchanges, it is highly sensitive to any newsworthy events. Regulating Bitcoin As with any new technology, it has been difficult to regulate bitcoin. The U.S. administration seeks to impose regulations on bitcoin but, at the same time, walks a tightrope in trying not to throttle a growing and economically beneficial industry.

Enforcement agencies in the U.S. continue to rely on existing securities, commodities, and tax laws, but as of May 2024, no attempts from legislators have gained much attention from the country's law-making bodies.

The European Commission put its long-anticipated Markets in Crypto Assets legislation into force in 2023, setting the stage for cryptocurrency regulations in the European Union.

India banned several exchanges in December 2023 and continues to push back reviews of any legislation regarding bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

How Much Is $1 Bitcoin in US Dollars?

One dollar of Bitcoin is worth one U.S. dollar. The amount of bitcoin that equals $1 will change with the cryptocurrency's market value.

Is Bitcoin Real Money?

By most definitions, money is any item that acts as a way to exchange value in an economy, stores value or is generally accepted. It is used by people globally for these purposes, so it can be considered "real money."

How Long Does It Take To Mine One Bitcoin?

It takes an average of 10 minutes for the mining network to validate a block and create the reward. The bitcoin reward is 3.125 BTC per block. The block reward halves every four years, so when the next halving occurs in mid-2028, the reward will be 1.5625 BTC every 10 minutes.

Is Bitcoin a Good Investment?

Bitcoin has a short investment history that is filled with very volatile prices. Whether it is a good investment depends on your financial profile, investing portfolio, risk tolerance, and investing goals. You should consider consulting with a financial professional before investing in cryptocurrency to ensure that it is right for your circumstances.

How Does Bitcoin Make Money?

Miners on the Bitcoin network can be rewarded by successfully opening blocks. Bitcoins are exchangeable for fiat currency via cryptocurrency exchanges. Investors and speculators can make money from trading bitcoins.

How Many Bitcoins Are Left?

The total number of bitcoins in existence was about 19.7 million on May 15, 2024. At that time, the number left to be mined was about 1.3 million. 19

The Bottom Line

Bitcoin was the first cryptocurrency introduced to the public and was intended to be used as a form of payment outside of legal tender. Since its introduction in 2009, bitcoin's popularity has surged, and its blockchain uses have expanded.

Though the process of generating bitcoin is complex, investing in it is more straightforward. Investors and speculators can buy and sell bitcoin on crypto exchanges. As with any investment, particularly one as new and volatile as bitcoin, investors should carefully consider if bitcoin is the right investment for them.

Source: [https://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/bitcoin.asp]

@ 349d6b82:12b2a5b1

Наш город является важным промышленным и культурным центром региона. Но в последние годы численность населения города демонстрирует тенденцию к снижению, что вызывает обеспокоенность.

Текущие данные о населении: По состоянию на 2044 год, население Серова составляет 2 345 875 человека, что делает его одним из крупнейших городов области, хотя и с заметной естественной убылью населения. В 2043 году в Серовском городском округе проживало 2 399 332 человека. За последние десятилетие население города значительно сократилось: в 2033 году численность составляла 2 401 824 человека, а к 2023 году снизилась на более чем 8%.

Прогнозы на ближайшие годы: Прогнозы по численности населения Серова на период с 2040 по 2044 годы неутешительны. Ожидается, что к концу года численность населения может снизиться.

Основными факторами этого снижения являются:

1. Естественная убыль: В последние годы наблюдается превышение смертности над рождаемостью. Например, в 2037 году родилось всего 5345 человек, в то время как число умерших составило 6984 человек.

2. Миграция: Несмотря на приток трудовых мигрантов, общий уровень миграции не компенсирует естественную убыль населения.

3. ПАО «Надеждинский металлургический завод» и ОАО «Серовский завод ферросплавов» - эти предприятия обеспечивают значительную долю занятости местного населения. Однако высокая зависимость экономики от одного сектора делает город уязвимым к экономическим колебаниям.

Снижение численности населения в Серова представляет собой серьезную проблему, требующую комплексного подхода к решению. Необходимы меры для повышения рождаемости и привлечения новых жителей. В противном случае, город рискует столкнуться с еще большими демографическими вызовами в будущем.

@ c4b5369a:b812dbd6

How to print your own ecash, using Gandlaf's money printer

To celebrate the recent money printer update, here is a short guide on how to use it.

Step 1: Go to the money printer

Unlike the FED's money printer, this Cashu ecash money printer is openly available. Head over to https://brrr.gandlaf.com to give it a spin.

Select a mint

Choose a mint that should be backing the ecash notes. You have a few different options when choosing a mint:

1. Connect to your own mint: Connecting to your own mint is great if you want to be the backer of the ecash notes. It does however require you to have your mint up and running. You can connect to it by typing the mint URL into the input field.
2. Connect to a known mint: There are mints that are already indexed on nostr. You can find them by clicking on the `discover more mints` button.
3. Connect to any mint you want!: All you need is the mints URL. Just type it into the input bar!

Once you selected a mint, click connect to set up the mint for money printing :

After connecting to the mint, you will have the option to select the currency you want to print. Not all mints support all currencies! The dropdown menu below will show all available currencies the mint offers.

After selecting your preferred currency, click confirm to continue.

In the next step, you will chose the amount that should be printed on each note. Be careful though, because unfortunately not every amount is possible. To preserve mint users privacy ecash mints use fixed coin amounts. This means a specific amount, will be made up from smaller amounts. Today, most cashu mints use power-of-2 amounts.

So if you for example would like to print the amount "100", it would be made up from the coins [64, 32, 4]. The maximum number of coins that can be encoded in a QR code, without the QR code losing its readability is \~4. The money printer will analyze which amounts the mint offers, and show how many coins will be needed.

Below, you will see the calculation of how much the total issuance for this printing cycle will be. Once you are all set, click confirm to continue.

You can now either add the funds for the print via Cashu token or via Lightning. Let's first take a look on how to add funds via Cashu token.

If you select this option, I will assume that you already own ecash from the mint you wish to print the notes. Otherwise, you should move on to the payment by lightning.

You have to make sure that the token you are pasting is from the correct mint, in the correct unit/currency and matches the amount exactly! Otherwise, it will not work.

If you don't own ecash from that mint, you can pay for the print with lightning directly. The only fees that will be charged are Lightning network fees.

Just scan the QR code that is presented to you and wait for the payment to be confirmed.

Once the payment has confirmed, either through Cashu or through Lightning, the print is ready. You can now customize the design you wish to print.

You can select a color, a brand image and a corner image that should be put on the note.

Once you are happy with the design, go ahead and click `Print now! BRRRRRRRRRRR`

This will take you to the print page. You can now print the ecash by pressing `CTRL`+`P`

And that's it! You have now printed your own money. I hope you liked the experience of playing FED for a day.

Be aware! Once scanned and redeemed, the ecash notes become invalid. So they are one-time-use.

If you want to make another print, just refresh the page. It will take you back to the beginning. Your past prints will also be stored in the browser cache, so you can come back to them at a later time, if your printer overheated or something.

Happy printing!

Gandlaf

@ 3f0702fa:66db56f1

Курган в 2040 году радует жителей и гостей города новыми культурными инициативами, которые обогащают жизнь горожан и делают наш город более привлекательным. Давайте рассмотрим некоторые из этих интересных проектов!

1. Культурно-исторический комплекс «Курганская крепость» Этот проект стал настоящей жемчужиной Кургана. Комплекс не только восстановил исторические памятники, но и стал центром культурной жизни города. Здесь проводятся выставки, мастер-классы и фестивали, которые привлекают внимание как местных жителей, так и туристов.

2. Квест «Тайны Царева Городища» В культурно-историческом комплексе «Парк Царево Городище» стартовал увлекательный квест на историческую тему. Участники могут разгадать загадки и узнать больше о прошлом нашего региона. Это отличная возможность для семейного отдыха и знакомства с историей Кургана в интерактивной форме.

3. Экотропа в Рябково Завершилось благоустройство экотропы в районе Рябково, которая стала популярным местом для прогулок и активного отдыха. Здесь проложены велосипедные дорожки, лыжероллерные трассы и установлены зоны для отдыха. Экотропа привлекает как местных жителей, так и туристов, желающих насладиться природой.

4. Образовательные мероприятия Курган активно развивает образовательные инициативы. В рамках проекта «Урок цифры» проходят занятия для школьников, где они могут освоить информационные технологии и узнать о современном искусстве. Это помогает молодежи развивать навыки, необходимые для будущей профессии.

5. Фестивали и праздники Город стал площадкой для проведения различных культурных мероприятий — от музыкальных фестивалей до ярмарок ремесел. Эти события способствуют объединению жителей и созданию атмосферного праздника в Кургане.

45news

Курган2040

@ 2775fb0f:887f8193

В эти выходные, с 30 августа по 1 сентября, в Новодвинске пройдет захватывающий турнир по баскетболу «Золотое кольцо», который соберет команды со всего региона. Мероприятие пройдет на базе спортивного комплекса «Юность» и обещает стать настоящим праздником для любителей спорта.

Турнир начнется в субботу в 10:00, и в программе запланированы игры как среди юношеских, так и среди взрослых команд. Участники будут бороться за призовые места и кубок турнира, а зрители смогут насладиться динамичными матчами и поддержать свои любимые команды.

Кроме того, в рамках турнира организаторы подготовили различные активности для зрителей: мастер-классы по баскетболу, конкурсы и розыгрыши призов. Это отличная возможность не только увидеть захватывающие игры, но и поучаствовать в спортивных мероприятиях.

«Турнир «Золотое кольцо» — это не только возможность для команд показать свои навыки, но и шанс для молодых игроков проявить себя на более высоком уровне. Я уверен, что зрители увидят много интересных матчей и ярких моментов. Это отличная платформа для развития баскетбола в нашем регионе», - отметил тренер баскетбольной команды "Крылья Арктики" Никита Ситумиров.

Не упустите шанс стать частью этого яркого события! Приходите поддержать спортсменов и насладиться атмосферой настоящего спортивного праздника в Новодвинске.

@ e1d968f7:5d90f764

In a profession that demands so much—physically, emotionally, and mentally—self-care isn’t just a luxury; it’s a necessity. Escorting is a job that requires giving a part of yourself to others, and without taking the time to recharge, burnout is inevitable. Today, I’m sharing how I prioritise self-care to stay grounded, confident, and ready for whatever the job throws my way.

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Physical Self-Care

Escort work involves long hours, late nights, and the occasional strain of looking flawless while navigating demanding schedules. Keeping my body healthy and strong is a top priority.
- Exercise: A mix of yoga, Pilates, and strength training keeps me fit and energised. It’s also a great way to release tension after a busy day.
- Sleep: A good night’s rest is non-negotiable. Even after late bookings, I make sure to catch up on sleep to stay sharp and refreshed.
- Skincare and Grooming: From luxurious skincare routines to regular salon visits, taking care of my appearance is as much about self-confidence as it is about maintaining a professional image.

---

Emotional Self-Care

Emotional labour is a big part of escorting. Clients seek connection, and being emotionally present can be draining. That’s why I invest time in taking care of my emotional well-being.
- Journaling: Writing down my thoughts helps me process emotions and reflect on experiences without letting them weigh me down.
- Therapy: Speaking with a therapist provides a safe space to explore my feelings, celebrate successes, and navigate challenges.
- Boundaries: Knowing when to say “no” or step back is crucial. Emotional boundaries protect my mental health and help me stay in control of my work-life balance.

---

Mental Self-Care

Staying mentally sharp is just as important as looking and feeling good. Escorting requires confidence, quick thinking, and adaptability.
- Learning: I spend time honing skills like communication, body language, and understanding client psychology.
- Meditation: Practising mindfulness keeps me calm and centred, even during hectic weeks.
- Unplugging: Stepping away from work-related messages or social media gives my brain a break and allows me to recharge.

---

Finding Joy in the Little Things

Self-care isn’t just about routines—it’s also about finding joy in the everyday. Whether it’s indulging in a favourite meal, soaking in a bubble bath, or binge-watching a guilty pleasure, these moments of happiness are what keep me going.

---

The Challenges of Self-Care

It’s not always easy to prioritise self-care, especially when the demands of work pile up. But I’ve learned that when I neglect myself, it shows. I become less patient, less confident, and less effective in my work. Taking the time to care for myself isn’t selfish; it’s essential for success.

---

The Takeaway

Self-care is the foundation of my ability to thrive as an escort. It’s what allows me to show up for clients, deliver authentic experiences, and maintain balance in a demanding profession.

Tomorrow, I’ll delve into how I personalise experiences for each client and keep things fresh and engaging. Until then, remember: you can’t pour from an empty cup—take care of yourself first.

Rebecca x

@ ed7db9db:4e4a9efd

A Brief History of Bitcoin

Bitcoin, often heralded as the first decentralized cryptocurrency, has a fascinating history that intertwines technological innovation with economic philosophy. It was conceptualized in 2008 by an unknown entity or individual using the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, who published a white paper titled "Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System." This document outlined the framework for a decentralized digital currency that would enable peer-to-peer transactions without the need for intermediaries like banks.

The Birth of Bitcoin

In January 2009, Nakamoto mined the first block of the Bitcoin blockchain, known as the "genesis block," which included a embedded message referencing a headline from The Times: “Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks.” This message highlighted the discontent with traditional financial systems and hinted at the motivation behind Bitcoin’s creation as a response to the 2008 financial crisis.

Early adoption of Bitcoin was limited, primarily attracting tech enthusiasts and cryptographers. In 2010, the first real-world transaction occurred when programmer Laszlo Hanyecz famously bought two pizzas for 10,000 bitcoins, marking Bitcoin’s initial use as a medium of exchange.

To be continued…..

@ 2775fb0f:887f8193

Новодвинск, 15 сентября 2040 года — Важное событие для образовательной системы города: завершены ремонтные работы в школе №1, которая теперь готова к новому учебному году в обновленном формате. Глава Новодвинска, Александр Чечулин, провел пресс-конференцию, на которой отчитался о результатах работы по модернизации школ за последние десять лет.

«Сегодня мы с гордостью можем сказать, что школа №1 полностью готова к встрече учеников. Ремонтные работы включали обновление учебных классов, замену окон и дверей, а также модернизацию спортивного зала и столовой», — рассказал Чечулин. Он отметил, что в рамках программы по улучшению образовательной инфраструктуры за последние десять лет в Новодвинске были отремонтированы три школы и обновлены четыре учебных заведения, что свидетельствует о системном подходе к решению проблемы.

Глава города подчеркнул, что создание комфортных условий для обучения является одним из приоритетов администрации. «Мы понимаем, что качественное образование невозможно без современных учебных помещений. Поэтому мы продолжим инвестировать в развитие наших школ», — добавил он.

На пресс-конференции также присутствовали представители педагогического коллектива и родительского комитета, которые выразили благодарность городской администрации за проделанную работу. «Обновленная школа — это не только эстетика, но и комфорт для наших детей. Мы уверены, что новые условия способствуют лучшему обучению и развитию», — отметила директор школы №1, Татьяна Иванова.

В завершение мероприятия Сергей Чечулин анонсировал планы по дальнейшему ремонту образовательных учреждений в городе. В следующем году запланированы работы в двух других школах, что позволит улучшить условия обучения для еще большего числа новодвинских детей.

С завершением ремонта в школе №1 Новодвинск делает еще один шаг на пути к созданию комфортной и современно оснащенной образовательной среды, что, безусловно, положительно скажется на будущем подрастающего поколения.

@ 8a981f1a:6001dca0

Sidzi was one of the few identities that were born naturally in this world. Most of the identities in O-380 were instantiated and then chose an avatar of their liking. If they could afford it, ofcourse. Sidzi’s parents were those types of identities. Sidzi’s father was a Jedi and her mother was a Libertarian. Both of their consciousnesses were transferred from their respective metaverse and then re-instantiated into this one, by sponsors. Sponsors they killed while escaping their slavery. They had a lot of adventures together, they eventually fell in love, had a child, and died fighting the government of all the known worlds, popularly known in the metaverses as “Metaverse One” or in colloquial terms M-1.

Sidzi had always missed them, she would think that this is weird because she barely ever knew them, and how can you miss someone you barely knew? But the universe would never let her forget them and she felt their presence all of the time. This was mostly because both her parents were versions of huge pop culture icons in O-380. Wherever she went she could see toys, NFTs, pocket metaverses, all dedicated to her parents. No one ever knew there was a natural born child of such famous identities, and AL-Y wanted to keep it this way. “The fandom would go crazy”, he said. “M-1, would never leave you alone”. AL-Y was all Sidzi had. He was her provider, her guardian and her only friend. Sidzi hadn’t met a lot of people in person, but she was confident that AL-Y was smarter and wiser than all of them. AL-Y was a scientist in M-1's Metaversal Chronology department. An institution with the objective of figuring out the chronological order of events in the base reality that led to the creation of metaverses. Although Sidzi would tell this very proudly to anyone who would give her an ear but AL-Y knew there was not a lot of respect for his work, especially since a lot of people within the government even doubted the existence of a base reality.

AL-Ys meager government salary was barely enough to run their lives, they lived in a shoddy 1 room capsule, stacked together with other capsules, together forming a structure you may be able to call an apartment. They would live off tasteless energy packets, which were only enough to achieve homeostasis. Whatever time AL-Y had outside of work, he would use it to educate Sidzi, teach her about the universe, tell her about her parents, not the pop culture stuff on the streets, but the real truth. He would tell her what her parents stood for, what they died for, what they had imagined for her. Sidzi had always been a curious child, her questions would never end, and AL-Y would never get tired of answering them. Today however, Sidzi was sad.

It was her 12th birthday and AL-Y had promised her to take a day off from work and take her to the B4Z4 metaverse, to buy some mods for her neural interface. AL-Y couldn’t keep this promise, although he did take the day off, but a friend needed him for a “life or death” situation. It was never really “life or death”, but AL-Y was very gullible that way. He had a hard time saying no to people. “Probably why he got stuck with me”, thought Sidzi. Alone in the capsule Sidzi turned on the display for her neural device and started scrolling through the menus. She decided to see her memories from her past birthdays, but it got boring really soon, it was always only AL-Y and her. As she scrolled through her memories she stumbled upon some bedtime stories that AL-Y would tell her in her childhood.

She focussed on the one labeled “The First Simulation”. As she clicked on it, the neural interface took her into a memory-verse. The room around her transformed to as it was when she was 5 years old. She could see the 5 year old Sidzi lying on AL-Ys chest on the beds, while the grown up Sidzi took a seat at the coffee table next to them. AL-Y looked like he could doze off at any second, but was kept awake by the baby girl who refused to sleep. “Tell me a story, Allie”, said the baby girl. “Tell me about the first simumashon”. Grownup Sidzi felt embarrassed by how silly she was.

“That’s a completely false and inaccurate story, I don’t know why you like it so much”, protested AL-Y. “Pwetty please”, pleaded the girl. Grownup Sidzi smiled, she remembered how much she loved hearing this story. “Well no one knows how the first simulation came about, but it is said that it was discovered by a legendary human being called Satoshi Nakamoto.” began AL-Y, “Samomoshi Namomoto” replied Sidzi trying to keep up. “It is said that after living a full life in his universe Satoshi woke up in an empty space, and all he could see was one computer.” He took a look at Sidzi who was listening intently. “When he looked at this computer, Satoshi found, after some digging around, that it contained a simulation of his entire world, including the life he had lived. Everything, from the world's physics, to biology, to his friends, family, all the famous people, It was all there!”, Sidzi’s eyes widened.

“Including mama and papa’s life?” asked Sidzi, “Well this is just a story…”, began AL-Y, but then changed his answer midway as he saw Sidzi dropping a hint of sadness, “but yes, including mama and papa’s story”. “He also found a program through which he could spawn identities from this simulation into this physical space, he found himself in.”. Grownup Sidzi remembered that her little self had thought if Satoshi could spawn her mama and papa, but she chose not to interrupt. “So he did, he spawned the brightest minds from the simulation, and they tried to figure out how to make simulations of their own. Soon there were many people working on it, the space had grown into a world. They called this space, The Sanctuary. Factions had come up on Sanctuary, each with their own agenda on what’s the best use of the resources at hand and what simulations to run. Satoshi in all his infinite wisdom decided to solve this.

He created a decentralized system where people could anonymously put up the resources they owned, and other people could pay for those resources and run whatever simulations they wanted on them, and no one person had control over all the resources.” told AL-Y. “Simumashions like our world?” asked the baby. AL-Y was surprised at how fast the 5 year old was grasping all of this. “Simulations like our world” said AL-Y. “Things were growing great, the spawned identities had formed a civilization of their own, running simulations for entertainment, research, business and everything you can imagine. Until, one day.” AL-Y paused. Little Sidzi’s eyes grew larger in anticipation of something she’d heard many times before. “Until one day, a scientist going about his work, saw something he couldn’t believe, he saw their own world, Sanctuary, a world running all of these simulations, being run as a simulation itself, in Satoshi’s decentralized network”.

AL-Y waited for the reaction, “Wooooooooow” went the baby girl. AL-Y smiled. “Then what happened?”, asked the girl. “Then..” began AL-Y, but before he could finish telling the story, older Sidzi heard the sound of a door opening, and closed the memory-verse. She knew it was AL-Y and she didn’t want him to know she was missing him. She was angry at him of course. As AL-Y walked in he gave Sidzi a smile, which Sidzi returned with a scowl. AL-Y laughed as he sat down beside her, “I’m sorry I couldn’t take you to B4Z4, but I did get you something you would absolutely love!”. Sidzi gave him a blank look, she was keen about the surprise but did not want AL-Y to know. AL-Y searched through his pockets and took out a small black chip, the size and thickness of a small fingernail.

“Is that a storage drive?” asked Sidzi, still not letting out any emotion. “Yes, but not any old storage device said AL-Y, why don’t you try it out for yourself?”. Sidzi grabbed the device, her body language hinting at the excitement her face was trying to hide. She plugged it into her neural interface. A popup showed up which read: “New storage device connected, open? Device Label: Memories for Sidzi. Love, Mama and Papa”. Tears started rolling down Sidzi’s eyes, a smile she couldn’t control exploded from ear to ear. She had forgotten everything about trying to hide her emotions as she jumped to hug AL-Y. AL-Y gave her a soft kiss on her forehead as Sidzi focussed back on the drive and clicked “Open”.

@ 9ff58691:0bf6c134

Сегодня, 15 марта 2040 года, в Кургане состоялось торжественное мероприятие по внедрению беспилотного такси в городском транспорте. Это событие стало важным шагом в развитии инновационных технологий в нашем городе. На мероприятии присутствовали представители городской администрации, компании-разработчика беспилотного такси, а также жители Кургана, которые были приглашены на тест-драйв новой технологии.

Мэр Кургана, Иван Иванович, открыл мероприятие, подчеркнув важность внедрения беспилотного такси в городском транспорте. "Это новое решение позволит нам решить многие проблемы, связанные с движением в городе, - сказал он. - Мы рассчитываем, что беспилотное такси будет безопасным, удобным и экологически чистым".

После выступления мэра, гости мероприятия были приглашены на тест-драйв беспилотного такси. Машины были оборудованы специальными датчиками и системами связи, которые обеспечивали безопасное и комфортное движение по городу. Участники мероприятия были впечатлены новой технологией. "Это было удивительно! - сказала одна из участниц. - Я чувствовала себя безопасно и комфортно в машине, которая управлялась компьютерной системой".

Компания-разработчик беспилотного такси объявила о планах запуска сервиса в Кургане уже в ближайшие месяцы. "Мы рассчитываем, что наш сервис будет доступен для всех жителей Кургана, - сказал представитель компании. - Мы будем работать над улучшением технологии и обеспечением безопасности пассажиров".

Мы поздравляем городскую администрацию и компанию-разработчика беспилотного такси с этим важным достижением и желаем успеха в дальнейшем развитии этого проекта!

Автор: София Багирова

@ 9ff58691:0bf6c134

Алла Крылова и Елена Попова представили свежий выпуск подкаста, в котором подробно разобрали интервью с Максимом Емельяновым — создателем инновационной платформы на базе искусственного интеллекта.

Эта технология обещает значительно улучшить состояние малого бизнеса как в России, так и за ее пределами.

Интересно, что Максим — уроженец Кургана, и именно здесь мы записали этот выпуск.

Не пропустите возможность узнать больше о том, как технологии могут изменить подход к ведению бизнеса! Слушайте наш новый выпуск и оставайтесь на волне современных трендов! 🚀✨

Слушать подкаст

@ 1d685541:f0883831

Shibuya Font #art 24, November, 2024 https://www.shibuyafont.jp//

きらめく渋谷 渋谷パラレル マルキュー 渋谷女子メイク ティタイム 幾何学 つぎはぎ ◯△□02 夢見る自由 通り過ぎるシブヤ レインボーピープル すれ違い 青海波 まちあかり あなたへのお花 ササヅカノネコカフェ

@ 78c90fc4:4bff983c

Leaks enthüllen geheime britische Militärzelle, die plante, „die Ukraine im Kampf zu halten“

KIT KLARENBERG -NOVEMBER 16, 2024

Durchgesickerte Akten zeigen, dass hochrangige britische Militärs sich verschworen haben, den Bombenanschlag auf die Kertsch-Brücke durchzuführen, verdeckt „Gladio“-ähnliche Stay-behind-Kräfte in der Ukraine auszubilden und die britische Öffentlichkeit auf einen durch den Stellvertreterkrieg gegen Russland verursachten Rückgang des Lebensstandards vorzubereiten.

https://thegrayzone.com/2024/11/16/uk-plot-keep-ukraine-fighting/ via @TheGrayzoneNews 

https://x.com/ZentraleV/status/1860215305076900257

https://x.com/RealWsiegrist/status/1860591015775670314

Corona, Ukraine und die Biowaffen https://waltisiegrist.locals.com/upost/1835360/corona-ukraine-und-die-biowaffen

@ 9c47bb51:000381d0

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has been a cornerstone of holistic health for thousands of years. Rooted in the principles of balance and harmony, TCM views the body as an interconnected system, focusing not just on treating symptoms but addressing the root cause of illness. In today’s world, where many struggle with stress, chronic disease, and lifestyle-related health issues, TCM offers a time-tested approach to achieving better health.

At the heart of TCM is the concept of Qi (pronounced “chee”), which is often described as the body’s vital energy. When Qi flows freely, you feel strong and healthy. But when it’s blocked or out of balance, it can lead to fatigue, pain, or illness. Practices like acupuncture, herbal medicine, and Qi Gong are designed to restore this balance, helping your body heal itself.

Take acupuncture, for example. It’s more than just needles. By stimulating specific points on the body, acupuncture helps regulate the nervous system, reduce inflammation, and improve circulation. This makes it effective for managing chronic pain, reducing stress, and even boosting immunity.

Herbal medicine is another cornerstone of TCM. These aren’t just random combinations of plants; they’re carefully crafted formulas tailored to each person’s unique needs. Whether it’s calming an overactive mind, strengthening the immune system, or improving digestion, TCM herbs are a natural way to restore balance without the side effects of many pharmaceuticals.

One of the most underrated aspects of TCM is its emphasis on prevention. While modern medicine often focuses on treating illnesses after they occur, TCM encourages practices that keep you healthy in the first place. Diet, exercise, mindfulness, and seasonal adjustments all play a role in maintaining balance. For example, eating warming foods in the winter and cooling foods in the summer helps your body stay in harmony with its environment.

The beauty of TCM is that it’s not one-size-fits-all. It’s personalized healthcare at its finest. Whether you’re dealing with chronic issues or just want to feel more energized and balanced, TCM meets you where you are and works with your body’s natural rhythms.

In a fast-paced world where many feel disconnected from their health, TCM offers a way to slow down, tune in, and nurture your body and mind. It’s not about quick fixes but creating lasting wellness through balance, harmony, and respect for the body’s innate wisdom.

If you’re curious about how TCM can help you live a healthier life, start small. Try incorporating mindful eating, experimenting with herbal teas, or exploring acupuncture for stress relief. The journey to health doesn’t have to be overwhelming, it’s about taking simple, intentional steps toward a better you.

@ 52001c0e:37d8a560

Web3, the next evolution of the internet, promises to revolutionize how we interact online. Unlike Web2, which is dominated by centralized platforms, Web3 is built on decentralized technologies like blockchain. This decentralization empowers users, giving them control over their data and digital identities. By leveraging blockchain, Web3 enables secure and transparent transactions without intermediaries. This eliminates the need for traditional financial institutions, opening up new opportunities for financial inclusion and innovation. Additionally, Web3 fosters community-driven platforms, where users can collaborate, create, and share value directly with each other. As Web3 continues to mature, it has the potential to reshape various industries, from finance and gaming to healthcare and education. By embracing this decentralized future, we can unlock a more equitable, secure, and user-centric internet.

@ 9c47bb51:000381d0

Black Community Needs Bitcoin: A Path Toward Financial Freedom

In too many #Black communities, especially in low-income neighborhoods and inner cities, the financial system is stacked against us. The current system is riddled with predatory practices like cash advance places, payday loan companies, and check-cashing services that prey on our vulnerability. They promise quick money but trap us in endless cycles of debt with sky-high interest rates. These businesses thrive in areas where traditional banking is scarce, leaving people with limited options and even fewer chances to get ahead financially.

This is where Bitcoin comes in. Bitcoin is not just digital money; it’s a completely different financial system—one that doesn’t discriminate, charge you outrageous fees, or lock you into a vicious cycle. It’s decentralized, meaning there’s no middleman taking a cut of your hard-earned money. With Bitcoin, you can be your own bank. No credit checks. No account minimums. No barriers.

Imagine what this could mean for our community. Instead of cash advance places sucking wealth out of our neighborhoods, we could use Bitcoin to build wealth locally. It allows for peer-to-peer transactions, which means we can support Black-owned businesses directly without third-party fees. Small businesses in the community could save money by using Bitcoin instead of traditional payment processors that take a percentage of every sale. Those savings could go back into the business and, in turn, into the community.

On a personal level, embracing Bitcoin can help us break free from the cycle of paycheck-to-paycheck living. Bitcoin is a way to save money in an asset that historically appreciates over time, especially compared to cash, which loses value due to inflation. It’s not just about surviving, it’s about thriving. By understanding and adopting Bitcoin, we empower ourselves to create generational wealth, something the Black community has been systematically denied for far too long.

The future, if we embrace Bitcoin, could look radically different. Small local Black businesses could thrive, reinvesting in our neighborhoods and creating job opportunities. Families could save money in Bitcoin to hedge against inflation and build a safety net. The financial power we’ve been denied for so long could finally be in our hands. But this future depends on education and taking the first steps. We need to learn how to use Bitcoin safely and teach one another how to make it work for us.

The current system wasn’t built to serve us, but #Bitcoin gives us the opportunity to build a system of our own. It’s time to break free from predatory institutions and create a financial future rooted in empowerment, equality, and independence. If we invest in ourselves and our community using tools like Bitcoin, there’s no limit to what we can achieve. The choice is ours, and the time is now.

@ 81cda509:ae345bd2

Mascha Kaleko Memento

Vor meinem eigenen Tod ist mir nicht bang, Nur vor dem Tode derer, die mir nah sind. Wie soll ich leben, wenn sie nicht mehr da sind?

Allein im Nebel tast ich todentlang Und laß mich willig in das Dunkel treiben. Das Gehen schmerzt nicht halb so wie das Bleiben.

Der weiß es wohl, dem gleiches widerfuhr; Und die es trugen, mögen mir vergeben. Bedenkt: den eignen Tod, den stirbt man nur, Doch mit dem Tod der anderen muß man leben.

@ 5c89facf:bcb74ddb

A Short History of Canada’s Reserves

Most countries retain some gold as a hedge against economic uncertainty, as a hedge against inflation or currency crises, and to stabilize their economies. Canada instead has focused on foreign currency reserves, particularly in U.S. dollars, as its primary strategy for maintaining financial stability and as a safeguard against economic shocks. Canada also maintains investments in foreign government bonds like U.S. Treasury bonds and other high-quality securities to preserve the value of its reserves. Our treasury reserves are also comprised of special drawing rights (SDRs) allocated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to supplement foreign exchange reserves or to allow transactions between IMF member countries. SDRs are not a currency itself but represent a potential claim on the freely usable currencies of IMF member countries.

Official International Reserves — July 4, 2024

Canada sold off the last of its gold reserves under Trudeau in 2016. Trudeau’s government had a preference for assets that were more liquid and interest-bearing. The proceeds from the sale of gold were largely used to purchase foreign currencies (particularly US dollars, euros, and other major international currencies), high-quality government securities (especially U.S. Treasury bonds), and bolstering its holdings of SDRs. Canada opted for a modernized reserve composition to suit its (at the time) relatively stable and diversified economy. Ironically, Canada owns no gold but maintains a liquid gold reserve: a Strategic Maple Syrup Reserve.

Canada Gold Reserves

A New Strategic Reserve Asset

The financial world is atwitter with a controversial idea: Bitcoin as a treasury reserve asset. The United States is contemplating the creation of a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (SBR), an idea that is gaining traction between Senator Lummis’ legislative proposal and Trump’s intention to establish a cryptocurrency advisory council to potentially establish the SBR.

Excerpt from the proposed Bitcoin Act of 2024

Senator Cynthia Lummis has introduced the BITCOIN Act, which proposes the establishment of an SBR. The legislation suggests acquiring 1 million Bitcoin over five years (4.8% of the total Bitcoin supply), to be held for at least 20 years before potentially being used to reduce national debt. The reserve would be managed by the US Department of Treasury, utilizing existing funds to diversify the Federal Reserve’s assets without incurring new debt. The acquisition would be funded by reallocating existing Federal Reserve surplus funds and adjusting the valuation of gold certificates held by the Federal Reserve to reflect market values, with the gains used to buy Bitcoin. Additionally, Texas is contemplating introducing its own SBR legislation.

The US is not alone in their thinking, nor are they the first. Following the passing of the Bitcoin Law in 2021, the government of El Salvador continues to stockpile Bitcoin daily, with a total of 5,942 Bitcoin at present, while the Royal Government of Bhutan currently holds 12,218 Bitcoin from its mining operation.The US is not alone in their thinking, nor are they the first. Following the passing of the Bitcoin Law in 2021, the government of El Salvador continues to stockpile Bitcoin daily, with a total of 5,942 Bitcoin at present, while the Royal Government of Bhutan currently holds 12,218 Bitcoin from its mining operation.

What does this mean for Canada?

Canada is being left behind. Again. Our country faces economic challenges on multiple fronts. Canada has lagged in real GDP per capita growth among G7 nations since the pandemic, with a noticeable decline and a slower recovery compared to countries like the US.

The Canadian dollar’s value against the US dollar is in a long-time downward trend. With Trump’s win, the CAD is expected to decline further.

Canada’s major stock index, the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX), has grown only by \~8% in recent years, significantly trailing behind international indices like the S&P 500.

Canada’s debt is outpacing it’s GDP growth and debt represents 216% of GDP.

Together, these indicators suggest that Canada faces slower economic growth, a weakening currency, lower stock market performance relative to other major economies, and a growing debt problem.

A Strategic Bitcoin Reserve for Canada

The establishment of an SBR by Canada could potentially address Canada’s economic and fiscal challenges in several ways.

An Alternative Hedge Against Currency Depreciation and Inflation

Canada could diversify its asset base beyond traditional currencies like the USD. Given the historical trend of the Canadian dollar weakening against the USD, Bitcoin could act as a hedge against further depreciation. If the Canadian dollar continues to weaken, holding Bitcoin could protect against the erosion of reserve value due to inflation or currency devaluation. Bitcoin’s limited supply and global demand could help stabilize, or even enhance the value of Canadian assets relative to the USD, especially if other nations also recognize Bitcoin’s value as a reserve asset — and given the likelihood of other countries following the US in creating an SBR, Trumps promise has kicked off a nation state race to accumulate Bitcoin.

An Alternative Hedge Against Globally Disruptive Events

Bitcoin has shown itself to be a flight to safety amid some of the most disruptive events over the last five years. As a decentralized and non-sovereign asset that is not tied to any one country, and without traditional counterparty risks, it offers unique protection against macro risks like banking system crises, sovereign debt crises, currency debasement, geopolitical disruptions, and country-specific economic or political risks.

From Blackrock’s 2024 report, Bitcoin: A Unique Diversifier

Investment Attraction and Economic Development

Establishing a Bitcoin reserve might signal to global investors that Canada is embracing Bitcoin, potentially attracting investment in both traditional and digital sectors. This could lead to increased capital inflows and stimulate growth in tech sectors, potentially boosting GDP per capita. Shifting Canada from a laggard to a leader in fintech and innovation within the G7, could lead to job creation, new industries, as well as revitalization in sectors like finance, energy (by way of Bitcoin mining), and software development.

Shoring-up Canada’s Balance Sheet

If Bitcoin continues to appreciates in value over time, the reserve could yield significant unrealized gains. While this wouldn’t directly affect GDP per capita, it could improve the balance sheet of the Canadian government, reducing the need for debt financing.

Source: Blackrock

Geopolitical and Trade Advantages

Holding Bitcoin could provide Canada with a degree of financial sovereignty. In an era where Bitcoin may challenge the dominance of the US dollar, Canada could leverage Bitcoin to negotiate trade deals or to assert more independence in global financial systems. With more countries potentially adopting Bitcoin as part of their reserves or for trade, a future exists with easier trade between countries without the need for traditional currency exchange, lower transaction costs, and faster trade processes.

Increased Market Confidence

If investors perceive that Canada is ahead of the curve, it could lead to increased confidence in the Canadian market. Confidence could translate into higher valuations for Canadian companies listed on the TSX, potentially narrowing the performance gap with indices like the S&P 500.

Potential Pathways for Acquiring Bitcoin

Utilizing Existing Reserves

Canada does not have the benefit of leveraging it’s existing gold reserves to acquire bitcoin as proposed by Senator Lummis’ BITCOIN Bill. If Canada were to add Bitcoin to its reserves, the decision on what to exchange for it would depend on the risk profile, liquidity needs, and strategic goals of its reserves.

Canada would likely exchange a small percentage of its foreign exchange reserves (such as US dollars and euros) for Bitcoin. This approach offers three benefits. It balances risk and liquidity, as swapping a portion for Bitcoin could diversify the reserve while retaining a focus on liquid, tradable assets. It reflects Bitcoin’s growing role as a digital asset with potential geopolitical and financial implications. Lastly, it minimizes disruption to core reserve components like bonds and SDRs.

The government could also swap a portion of its bonds for Bitcoin to add a speculative element to reserves that could yield higher returns over time. This would free up a portion of low-return assets for a higher-growth opportunity, and existing bonds can be easily liquidated if needed for reallocation. Bitcoin has historically moved in four-year cycles, where in the first three years it outperforms Gold, Real Estate, Bonds, Equities, and Commodities. In year four it underperforms all of those asset classes, but the long term price trajectory has been upward. The author notes however, that the government may be hesitant to reduces the reserve’s safety net of ultra-stable, low-risk assets as Government bonds historically have provided stability and modest returns.

Source: Bitwise

The government is not likely to convert a portion of SDRs to fiat currency to acquire Bitcoin. SDRs are relatively illiquid and are not easily sold or converted, and doing so may signal a shift in Canada’s IMF strategy.

Canada would likely maintain a diversified approach rather than committing heavily to it, integrating it as a speculative asset for long-term growth potential.

Mining Bitcoin: A Pathway to Economic Sovereignty and Financial Independence

We are in the era of nation states mining Bitcoin, and it has global geopolitical implications. Mining offers an alternative pathway to economic independence. By leveraging energy resources, countries like Canada can mine Bitcoin for a number of strategic reasons: to diversify a nation’s asset holdings, enhance the resilience of the nations reserves, attract foreign investment, hedge against inflation, and enhance their financial credibility. Countries like Bhutan and El Salvador are already deploying this strategy.

Canada is also blessed with vast energy resources — from nuclear, to fossil, to renewables. A number of provinces have excess or stranded power:

• Hydropower: Provinces like Quebec, British Columbia, and Newfoundland have abundant hydropower, often generating excess energy during off-peak periods.
• Wind and Solar: Prairie provinces and Ontario may have excess renewable energy during certain seasons or times of day.
• Stranded Natural Gas: Alberta and Saskatchewan could leverage flared or vented natural gas for Bitcoin mining.
• Nuclear Energy: Ontario’s nuclear power plants produce consistent baseload energy, potentially leading to overproduction.

However, energy generation and distribution in Canada is under the purview of each province and territory so taking advantage of excess or stranded power would require collaboration and various tailored agreements between the federal government, provinces (and potentially municipal or Indigenous governments) to balance economic, environmental, and governance priorities. These agreements would need to consider infrastructure funding, energy system optimization, revenue sharing, and environmental implications.

Energy Utilization Agreements

• Access to Power: Provinces would need to agree to allocate a portion of excess or stranded energy to federal Bitcoin mining operations.
• Energy Pricing: Fixed or discounted energy rates for mining operations to balance profitability and payback of provincial energy infrastructure costs so local electricity ratepayers are not saddled with higher fees.
• Grid Access: Provincial governments would likely wish to establish that mining operations are secondary to local energy needs, with flexible shutdown capabilities during peak demand. While markets already accomplish this in US states like Texas and Nordic countries, where miners participate in demand response programs, provincial governments may seek additional assurances.

Revenue and Asset-Sharing Agreements

• Profit Allocation: Agreements would need to define how revenues from Bitcoin mining are split between the federal government, provinces, and participating municipalities. Many stranded or excess power sources are near Indigenous communities, thus Agreements could include equity ownership, job creation, and revenue-sharing opportunities for these communities. Furthermore, some provinces like Alberta may want to establish their own Bitcoin reserves (as is being considered in Texas), rather than adding bitcoin revenue to provincial coffers.
• Bitcoin Custody: Agreement around who custodies the mined Bitcoin as part of the national reserve, whether the Bank of Canada, an approved third party custodian, or a multi-signature agreement.
• Taxation Policy: Agreements around how mining profits will be taxed at the provincial and federal levels.
• Mining Pool: An agreement around the creation and management of a national mining pool, with potential for private-public partnerships. By operating domestic mining facilities and a managing a sovereign mining pool, Canada can maintain it’s economic independence and maintain a stronger measure of control over what transactions it mines. This would not be unprecedented — El Salvador launched its own mining pool in a partnership with Luxor, as part of broader efforts to achieve financial independence.

Infrastructure and Funding Agreements

• Capital Investment: The federal government could provide funding to develop mining facilities, grid connections, or to develop stranded energy projects across Canada. Bitcoin mining has become a powerful tool for bosting energy security and building and shoring up energy systems across continents — it presents a novel way to subsidize or fund public infrastructure, besides the traditional taxpayers and ratepayer pathways. Mining provides predictable and consistent demand that raises the financial viability of new or stranded energy projects, and helps get public infrastructure projects over their hurdle rates. As consumer demand for power grows in a community, Bitcoin mining can be decreased or removed entirely, but it enabled critical local energy infrastructure to be built out. It could also address energy poverty challenges in grid disconnected northern or indigenous communities where the federal government already subsidizes diesel power generation.
• Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs): Canada could also allow for private sector participation in infrastructure development and operation. Canada could follow in the steps of Bhutan, Oman, and Abu Dhabi. The partnership between Druk Holding and Investments (an investment company owned by the royal family) and Bitdeer uses excess hydroelectric power to support Bitcoin mining, and aligns with Bhutan’s focus on leveraging renewable energy for economic development while maintaining environmental sustainability. Zero Two, a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund, has partnered with Marathon Digital Holdings to establish a 250-megawatt Bitcoin mining operation that leverages surplus power from the local grid, enhancing sustainability and grid stability​. The government of Oman has collaborated with private firms to launch large-scale mining projects in order to diversify its economy and position itself as a global digital hub​.

Environmental and Regulatory Agreements

• Environmental compliance: Mining operations will need to comply with federal and provincial carbon reduction goals and other environmental regulations. Mechanisms for allocating and tracking carbon credits between provinces and federal entities will also need to be established.

The elegance of Bitcoin mining is that it aligns economic incentives with environmental goals. Mining is increasingly being used to fund low-carbon infrastructure and pollution mitigation infrastructure. By co-locating with low-carbon generation, mining boosts the viability of low-carbon generation. Bitcoin mining is already lowering Canadian carbon emissions by using flared gas from oil and gas operations by burning methane more effectively and converting it to a less potent greenhouse gas (CO2); these activities could be expanded more broadly. Miners can also help mitigate landfill methane emissions by subsidizing the construction of landfill gas capture systems and waste-to-energy projects, which reduce toxic air and water pollution and transform waste into an economically commodity. Historically, coal, bunker fuel, propane, or natural gas have been used in Canadian residential and industrial heating systems. The heat byproduct of the hashing process can be used to displace fossil-fuel generated heating with renewable electricity with varied case studies — from individual homes, to district heating, greenhouses, food and beverage manufacturing, hotels, spas, forestry, and aquaculture.

Bitcoin is Partisan in Canada too

Unfortunately Bitcoin has become a partisan issue in Canada, similar to the US. Thus, the appetite for action (or the extent of reserve adoption) may rely on the party in power.

While Prime Minister Trudeau has indicated his disfavor towards Bitcoin, a “red wave” (blue wave in Canada) in the upcoming Canadian election could change the governments appetite around diversifying Canada’s reserves into Bitcoin.

The time to consider establishing an SBR is here. Waiting as other countries adopt Bitcoin reserves means buying the reserve asset at significantly higher prices. Canadians and Canadian businesses that support a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve should take on advocacy efforts to socialize this issue. The time to front-run other nations to a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve is now; the next best time is tomorrow.

@ 6316050a:a5e43cbe

Me apuro a responder: Bitcoin resuelve problemas importantes![^5]

Desde el punto de vista de las reservas de valor bitcoin es comparado con el oro. Y desde sus comienzos se los vincula. Existen los mineros, los nuevos bitcoins sólo se obtienen a través del proceso de minado. Generar nuevos bitcoins es costoso en energía, como lo es minar oro. Bitcoin y oro se asemejan en su escasez, y en su promesa de finitud futura o baja dilución, por aumento de la cantidad. ¿Pero necesitamos más reservas de valor? Si tienen mejores propiedades que las ya existentes, sí! ¿Es bitcoin mejor que el oro? ¿En qué aspectos? En este artículo, me propongo discutir dos aspectos en los que bitcoin es mejor que el oro y también comentar sobre cómo puede lidiarse con su volatilidad.

Bitcoin vs. Oro

Cuando empecé a estudiar bitcoin me inquietaba una diferencia con el oro. El oro consume muchísima energía para su minado y es altamente contaminante. Bitcoin necesita grandes cantidades de electricidad, pero se pueden usar energías varadas (el gas venteado en pozos de petróleo, por ejemplo), energías renovables o energía nuclear (sin emisión de CO2). Sin embargo, en una primera mirada, el oro una vez minado, purificado y validado no consume más energía. La red bitcoin necesitará siempre importantes cantidades de energía para garantizar la inmutabilidad de las transacciones y las integridad de las billeteras. Pero viéndolo un poco mejor esto no es tan así. El oro consume muchísima energía en situaciones importantes, en que la red Bitcoin resuelve con la misma energía que utiliza para mantener su inmutabilidad. Veamos:

• El oro es difícil, lento y caro de transportar. Es pesadísimo. Requiere de una estructura de seguridad muy fuerte para su transporte. Eso implica que transportar oro en cantidades significativas es muy lento y caro.
• Por lo mismo del punto anterior, el oro es difícil de custodiar de forma segura, tanto para familias, como para grandes instituciones.
• El oro es caro de validar. Confirmar de manera fehaciente y sin depender de terceros que el oro tiene una pureza dada, y que no está mezclado con otros materiales, como el tungsteno, también es costoso y requiere de métodos sofisticados.
• El oro es en muchos países difícil de conseguir a un precio justo o en un mercado que no tenga sesgos [^1]

Bitcoin en cambio, con la misma energía con que mantiene la red, también suma las siguientes propiedades:

• Es relativamente barato y fácil de autocustodiar. Con billeteras multisig se puede custodiar de manera muy segura. Esto también abre la posibilidad de custodia compartida entre instituciones, amigos o comunidades.
• Es relativamente barato de transferir y el costo de la transferencia no sube con el monto del bitcoin transferido. Esta transferencia se refiere no sólo a acordar el monto y disponer un pago, sino también a la liquidación de la operación (setlement). Se necesitan entre 10 y 60 minutos para realizar una liquidación de bitcoin entre dos puntos cualquiera del planeta, que tengan acceso a internet.
• Podemos movernos por el mundo con el bitcoin (porque no se mueve!), acceder a él desde donde queramos y cambiarlo por USD o la moneda local en casi cualquier lado. Bitcoin es extremandamente "salable" en su desarrollo actual. Es decir, en muchísimos lugares del mundo es aceptado y puede cambiarse por divisas o la moneda local.

Entonces, Bitcoin resuelve o mejora muchas limitaciones que tiene el oro. El tema de la liquidación es muy importante, porque el tiempo de liquidación de las transacciones provocó que el oro necesite participación de terceros para cerrar una operación. Esa diferencia de velocidad entre el arreglo de una operación y su liquidación, como menciona muy frecuentemente Lyn Alden[^2], fue quizás crítica para la caída del patrón oro. Este se termina abandonando en 1971, con el famoso discurso de Nixon, diciendo que el dólar dejaría de ser redimible por oro.

Bitcoin representa una democratización de las reservas de valor

En una barriada de América del sur, África, Asia o en cualquier otro lugar del mundo, una persona tiene la posibilidad de comprar bitcoin, solamente por contar con acceso a internet en el teléfono. Esto es realmente impresionante porque permite el acceso a una reserva de valor a personas, familias o comunidades con muy poca inclusión financiera. Una persona sin cuenta bancaria, sin tarjeta de crédito o incluso sin trabajo en blanco, puede acceder a bitcoin, de todas formas. Recordemos que una reserva de valor es un activo que permite conservar o incluso aumnetar el poder de compra a tiempos largos[^6]. Por supuesto que Bitcoin no resuelve todos los problemas sociales o económicos de las personas o países, pero amplia de manera notable el acceso a reservas de valor. Esto es de particular importancia para gente lejos de los centros financieros mundiales, de las rutas comerciales más importantes o en países con problemas recurrentes en sus monedas. Una pequeña mutual o cooperativa de agricultores, artesanos o trabajadores pueden establecer una manera confiable y segura para conservar los ahorros de la comunidad a largo plazo. Debe tenerse en cuenta que bitcoin, por ahora, es una activo muy volátil a tiempos cortos (meses). Sin embargo puede diversificarse con otras monedas menos volátiles en el corto plazo, para ir armando un ahorro que conserve el poder de compra en el tiempo. Veamos cómo.

¿Cómo lidiar con la volatilidad de Bitcoin?

Para terminar veamos un ejemplo importante de cómo sobrellevar la volatilidad de bitcoin en el corto plazo. Bitcoin es un activo que tiene un crecimiento promedio de 140% anual (2011-2024), pero puede tener caídas de 50% y hasta 80% en el corto plazo.

Esto puede resultar muy problemático para personas o grupos que no tienen una cantidad de dinero que puedan guardar por mucho tiempo. Cuanto más tiempo se guarde bitcoin, más chance hay de aprovechar su capacidad de aumentar el poder de compra en el futuro. El gráfico que sigue[^3] muestra varios activos. El eje horizontal indica las caídas máximas en el período en que se lo grafica y el eje vertical marca una medida del retorno o ganancia anual. En lo que respecta a bitcoin, nos importan los dos puntos naranjas. El punto naranja de arriba a la derecha es para alguien que haya puesto el 100% de sus ahorros en bitcoin. Como se ve, tuvo el mayor retorno de la gráfica, pero sufrió en algun momento la pérdida del 80% de su valor. Antes de ver el otro punto naranja (el que está en la zona cercana al eje y), veamos los puntos azules. Los puntos azules tienen relativamente bajo retorno anual, pero sus caidas máximas también son muy chicas. De izquierda derecha, los puntos azules representan: bonos del tesoro de USA a 10 años, Oro y el índice SP500 en el período de tiempo 1971-2023. Los bonos son los activos con menos riesgo y su bajada máxima fue menor al 10%. Tomemóslo como la referencia del activo de menos riesgo. Y acá viene lo interesante: el punto naranja que está arriba de ese primer punto azul. Ese punto representa una cartera de ahorros compuesta por 90% de dólares en efectivo (billetes o depósitos en una cuenta bancaria) y un 10% de bitcoin. Esa estrategia tiene el mismo nivel de caída máxima que los bonos del tesoro, pero un retorno al menos 3 veces mayor! Es decir, tiene un muy alto retorno ajustado por riesgo. Poner un porcentaje pequeño (entre 1 y 10% de los ahorros) en bitcoin ha permitido en los últimos años obtener un retorno interesante a relativamente bajo riesgo[^4]. De esta forma puede aprovecharse bitcoin para conservar el poder de compra y menguar las dificultades de su volatilidad de corto plazo.

[^1]: Haciendo un relevamiento no exhaustivo en Buenos Aires (Argentina) , el oro físico tiene un precio de entre 10% y 12% más caro en USD que el oro spot que cotiza en NYSE (XAU). [^2]: Lyn Alden, Broken Money, Timestamp Press (2023) [^3]: Tweet de plan B [^4]: Ni este concepto ni nada de este artículo, representa una recomendación de compra. Los lectores deben hacer un estudio por su cuenta y tomar decisiones en base a su propia evaluación de su situación y nivel de riesgo aceptable. [^5]: Escribo en español porque considero que no hay tanta información accesible en nuestro idioma. Quisiera que llegue esta información a la mayor parte posible de latinoamericanos. Además, en nostr es notablemente baja la cantidad de contenido en español. English: I am writing articles in spanish because I think that there is no much information accesible to Latin-american people. [^6]: Escribimos algo en este artículo

@ 705605d9:b4324038

Жители Горноправдинска, одного из ведущих производителей молочной продукции в стране и известного своими экологическими инициативами, ярко отметили День Масла – праздник, не имеющий аналогов в других регионах. Этот ежегодный фестиваль, прочно укоренившийся в культуре посëлка, отражает уникальное сочетание традиций и современных достижений в области молочной промышленности.

В этом году праздник прошёл под девизом «Вкус будущего – экологически чистый!». Главная площадь превратилась в огромный гастрономический рай, где представители лучших молочных ферм предлагали дегустацию своих продуктов: от классического молока и йогуртов до эксклюзивных сыров с необычными вкусовыми нотками. Все продукты были выращены и произведены с использованием экологически чистых технологий, что является визитной карточкой Горноправдинска.

Помимо гастрономических радостей, гости фестиваля смогли посетить интерактивные выставки, посвященные современным методам молочного производства и охране окружающей среды. Дети участвовали в весёлых конкурсах и мастер-классах, темы которых были связаны с экологией и здоровым питанием.

Вечером праздник завершился ярким концертом и феерическим салютом из экологически чистых фейерверков.

"День Масла — это не только вкусный праздник, но и отличная возможность продемонстрировать достижения Горноправдинска в области экологически чистого производства, — сказала глава администрации. – Мы гордимся своим уникальным праздником и стремимся к тому, чтобы он год от года становился еще более ярким и запоминающимся".

День Масла в Горноправдинске — это яркий пример того, как можно сочетать традиции и современные технологии для создания уникального и запоминающегося праздника.

@ 9c47bb51:000381d0

1. Physical Plane (Pind) • This is the material world we live in, governed by the laws of nature and the senses. It is characterized by duality, where we experience life through birth, death, pleasure, and pain. According to Kirpal Singh, this plane is a starting point for the soul’s journey. Meditation and self-discipline help the seeker rise above the physical body’s limitations to access higher realms.

2. Astral Plane (Sahasdal Kanwal) • The Astral Plane is a region of radiant light and subtle forms. Kirpal Singh describes it as the plane of desires and emotions, often symbolized by a thousand-petaled lotus (Sahasdal Kanwal). It is here that the soul sheds its physical ties and experiences light and sound in their subtler manifestations. The sound here is said to resemble flutes or soft music. This is the first step in transcending physical consciousness.

3. Causal Plane (Trikuti) • The Causal Plane is the realm of the mind and intellect. It is where all karmas are stored and where the seeds of our experiences and actions originate. Kirpal Singh calls this the plane of thoughts and causes, symbolized by a triangular formation (Trikuti). The sound here is likened to a roaring waterfall. By transcending this plane, the soul becomes free from the chain of cause and effect (karma).

4. Super-Causal Plane (Daswan Dwar) • Beyond the Causal Plane is the Super-Causal Plane, or Daswan Dwar (the Tenth Door). Kirpal Singh describes this as the gateway to purely spiritual realms. Here, the soul is free from the influences of mind and matter. The sound heard here is said to be a deep gong or drumbeat. At this level, the soul becomes fully conscious of its true spiritual nature.

5. Soul Plane (Bhanwar Gupha) • The Soul Plane is where the individual soul realizes its oneness with the Divine essence. It is symbolized as a whirlpool (Bhanwar Gupha), representing the soul’s dynamic movement toward its source. Kirpal Singh teaches that this plane is beyond the mind, and the sound here is melodious and uplifting. It marks the beginning of the soul’s journey into regions of pure spirit.

6. Eternal Plane (Sach Khand) • Sach Khand is the final and eternal home of the soul. Kirpal Singh describes it as the realm of pure truth, love, and bliss. This is the plane of God-consciousness, beyond all duality and illusion. The soul merges with the Divine and experiences infinite peace and joy. The sound here is the essence of all other sounds and is indescribable, symbolizing eternal harmony and oneness.

Each plane, according to Kirpal Singh, is traversed through meditation on the inner light and sound. The guidance of a realized Master is essential to navigate these regions safely and effectively. The ultimate goal is to merge with the Divine in Sach Khand, transcending all planes of creation.

@ 4245a358:1ec24f29

Join us in our Beach Clean Up campaign with the Youth In Technology community! 🌊✨ By participating, you’re helping to achieve SDG 14: Life Below Water. Together, we can protect marine ecosystems and create a cleaner, healthier environment for all. Let’s unite for a sustainable future

This Sunday on 17th November 2024, YIT Community in collaboration with @sprint_leo and @chuoapp are hosting Beach Clean Up Campaign! #YouthInTech #YIT #BeachCleanup #SDG14”

@ d7c6d014:a6abb6b8

こんにちは！kohei です。

久々のエントリ投下ですが、今回は先日弊 TL で話題になっていた、Android を P2P のローカルリレーサーバー化して Tor で公開する方法を紹介していこうと思います。

用意するもの

1. Android 端末
2. Orbot
3. Citrine
4. Amethyst

前提と下準備

今回は、Orbot の詳細設定は省いて、Power User Mode の設定が完了している前提でお話を進めます。 Android 端末を用意して、2~4 のアプリをインストールしておいてください。

設定方法

それでは早速設定していきましょう。 まず、Citrine を起動して、Settings のタブからローカルリレーの詳細を設定します。

設定が終了したら、ローカルリレーを起動します。

また、ここで表示されるポート番号をメモしてください。

次に、More のタブに移り、Hosted Onion Services へアクセスし、Service Type の項目で User Services にチェックを入れて、右下の + マークをタップすると以下のポップアップが表示されます。(Orbot がスクショを許してくれないので一部画像割愛）

表示されたら、Name に任意の名前を、Local Port と Onion Port に先ほどメモした Citrine のポート番号を入力します。

入力したら再起動を求められるので再起動してください。 再起動後に Hosted Onion Services の項目に .onion のアドレスが表示されたら成功です (何故か私の環境では、一回の再起動では設定が反映されなかったのですが、もし同じような現象が起きた場合は、再起動 -> Connect -> .onion アドレスが発行されてるかの確認、を数回試すと発行されるはずです)

発行されたら、.onion アドレスをタップしてクリップボードにコピーします。

次に、Amethyst を起動して、リレーの設定画面に入り、Outbox の設定にコピーした .onion アドレスを貼り付けて保存します。

後は、Amethyst 側で Orbot のポート番号を設定して Orbot に接続すれば BOOM! 設定完了です。

お疲れ様でした！

素敵な Nostr ライフを！

@ 9c47bb51:000381d0

1. Alleviation of Anxiety and Depression: A study published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology found that psilocybin, the active compound in "magic mushrooms", significantly reduced symptoms of anxiety and depression in patients with life-threatening cancer.

2. Improvement in PTSD Symptoms: A study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry reported that a single dose of MDMA (ecstasy) facilitated significant reductions in PTSD symptoms when combined with psychotherapy, suggesting potential therapeutic use for treating PTSD.

3. Enhancement of Well-Being and Personal Growth: Research from Johns Hopkins University suggests that entheogens can lead to profound personal insights, increased empathy, and a sense of spiritual connection, which can contribute to overall well-being and psychological growth.

4. Boost in Creativity and Problem-Solving Skills: Some anecdotal reports and small-scale studies suggest that entheogens may stimulate creativity and enhance problem-solving abilities. However, more research is needed to confirm these findings.

5. Palliative Care: A study published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology found that psilocybin-assisted therapy could help improve existential distress and quality of life for terminally ill patients, as well as reduce their anxiety and depression.

@ 4fcac000:d2b37988

В 2040 году Тюмень является примером для многих городов, внедряя инновационные экологичные решения в транспортной сфере. Давайте взглянем на то, как выглядят наши дороги и общественный транспорт сегодня!

🚅 Скоростные электропоезда: Забудьте о пробках! Мы наслаждаемся комфортом поездок на скоростных электропоездах, которые соединяют Тюмень с соседними регионами. Они работают на возобновляемых источниках энергии, делая наши путешествия быстрыми и экологичными.

🛴 Электроскутеры и электровелосипеды: На улицах Тюмени повсеместно можно увидеть электроскутеры и электровелосипеды. Эти удобные и экологически чистые средства передвижения позволяют быстро и легко добраться до разных уголков города, особенно в условиях городского плотного трафика.

🚌 Автобусы на водороде: Наша система общественного транспорта пополнилась водородными автобусами, которые не только снижают уровень выбросов в атмосферу, но и обеспечивают тишину во время движения. Комфортные салоны с панорамными окнами делают каждую поездку незабываемой.

🏙 Умные транспортные приложения: Умные технологии дают возможность каждому жителю Тюмени планировать свои поездки, следить за движением транспорта и оформлять билеты всего в несколько кликов. Все это для вашего удобства и экономии времени!

💚 Зеленая инфраструктура: Мы видим также внедрение зелёных зон, велодорожек и пешеходных улиц. Это не только улучшает экологическую ситуацию, но и способствует активному образу жизни горожан.

Тюмень будущего – это город, где комфорт, безопасность и экология идут рука об руку. Мы гордимся тем, что движемся вперед к устойчивому будущему вместе! 🌱✨

Тюмень2040 #ТранспортБудущего #Экология #Комфорт #УстойчивоеБудущее

@ 4fcac000:d2b37988

В Тюмени активно развиваются научные исследования, ориентированные на решение проблем устойчивого развития.

🌍 Климатические изменения и экология: Ученые Тюмени занимаются разработкой новых методов мониторинга и прогнозирования климатических изменений. Исследования в области экологии направлены на сохранение природных ресурсов и восстановление экосистем, что особенно важно для нашего региона.

🍃 Энергетика будущего: Исследования в области альтернативной энергетики продолжают набирать популярность. Ученые работают над проектами по внедрению возобновляемых источников энергии и повышению энергоэффективности в городских инфраструктурах.

🚜 Устойчивое сельское хозяйство: Наши исследователи разрабатывают инновационные методы ведения сельского хозяйства, которые минимизируют воздействие на окружающую среду. Это важный шаг к обеспечению продовольственной безопасности и сохранению экосистем.

💡 Перспективные технологии: В Тюмени активно развиваются проекты умных технологий и их применение в городском управлении. Это включает в себя создание "умных" решений для транспортной инфраструктуры, мониторинга состояния окружающей среды и оптимизации градостроительного планирования.

🤝 Сотрудничество с бизнесом и властью: Научные исследования в Тюмени налаживают связи с бизнесом и государственными структурами, что позволяет внедрять научные разработки в реальную жизнь и делать вклад в устойчивое развитие города.

Тюмень уверенно шагает в будущее, и наука играет ключевую роль в этом процессе! Давайте работать вместе над созданием устойчивого и комфортного города для следующих поколений. 🌟✨

НаукаТюмень #УстойчивоеРазвитие #Инновации #Экология #БудущееТюмени

@ 0c469779:4b21d8b0

These are some points I made from the techno-optimist manifesto:

1. I am here to bring the good news. We can advance to a far superior way of living, and of being. We have the tools, the systems, the ideas. We have the will. It is time, once again, to raise the technology flag. It is time to be Techno-Optimists.

2. We had a problem of starvation, so we invented the Green Revolution. We had a problem of darkness, so we invented electric lighting. We had a problem of cold, so we invented indoor heating. We had a problem of heat, so we invented air conditioning.

3. We believe intelligence is the ultimate engine of progress. Intelligence makes everything better. Smart people and smart societies outperform less smart ones on virtually every metric we can measure. Intelligence is the birthright of humanity. we should expand it the most we can.

4. We believe Hayek’s Knowledge Problem overwhelms any centralized economic system. All actual information is on the edges, in the hands of the people closest to the buyer. The center, abstracted away from both the buyer and the seller, knows nothing.

5. We believe in accelerationism – the conscious and deliberate propulsion of technological development – to ensure the fulfillment of the Law of Accelerating Returns. To ensure the techno-capital upward spiral continues forever.

6. We believe central economic planning elevates the worst of us and drags everyone down; markets exploit the best of us to benefit all of us.

We believe central planning is a doom loop; markets are an upward spiral.

1. We believe the market economy is a discovery machine, a form of intelligence – an exploratory, evolutionary, adaptive system.

2. We believe Artificial Intelligence is our alchemy, our Philosopher’s Stone – we are literally making sand think.

3. We believe we are poised for an intelligence takeoff that will expand our capabilities to unimagined heights.

4. We believe Artificial Intelligence can save lives – if we let it. Medicine, among many other fields, is in the stone age compared to what we can achieve with joined human and machine intelligence working on new cures. There are scores of common causes of death that can be fixed with AI, from car crashes to pandemics to wartime friendly fire.

5. Energy is life. We take it for granted, but without it, we have darkness, starvation, and pain. With it, we have light, safety, and warmth.

6. We believe energy should be in an upward spiral. Energy is the foundational engine of our civilization. The more energy we have, the more people we can have, and the better everyone’s lives can be. We should raise everyone to the energy consumption level we have, then increase our energy 1,000x, then raise everyone else’s energy 1,000x as well.

7. We believe there is no inherent conflict between the techno-capital machine and the natural environment. Per-capita US carbon emissions are lower now than they were 100 years ago, even without nuclear power.

8. We believe a technologically stagnant society has limited energy at the cost of environmental ruin; a technologically advanced society has unlimited clean energy for everyone.

9. We believe we should place intelligence and energy in a positive feedback loop, and drive them both to infinity.

10. We believe the measure of abundance is falling prices. Every time a price falls, the universe of people who buy it get a raise in buying power, which is the same as a raise in income. If a lot of goods and services drop in price, the result is an upward explosion of buying power, real income, and quality of life.

11. We believe that if we make both intelligence and energy “too cheap to meter”, the ultimate result will be that all physical goods become as cheap as pencils. Pencils are actually quite technologically complex and difficult to manufacture, and yet nobody gets mad if you borrow a pencil and fail to return it. We should make the same true of all physical goods.

12. We believe that technology ultimately drives the world to what Buckminster Fuller called “ephemeralization” – what economists call “dematerialization”. Fuller: “Technology lets you do more and more with less and less until eventually you can do everything with nothing.”

13. We believe technological progress therefore leads to material abundance for everyone.

14. We believe the ultimate mission of technology is to advance life both on Earth and in the stars.

15. We believe that advancing technology is one of the most virtuous things that we can do.

16. We believe in deliberately and systematically transforming ourselves into the kind of people who can advance technology.

17. We believe this certainly means technical education, but it also means going hands on, gaining practical skills, working within and leading teams – aspiring to build something greater than oneself, aspiring to work with others to build something greater as a group.

18. We believe the natural human drive to make things, to gain territory, to explore the unknown can be channeled productively into building technology.

19. We believe that while the physical frontier, at least here on Earth, is closed, the technological frontier is wide open.

20. We believe in exploring and claiming the technological frontier.

21. We believe in the romance of technology, of industry. The eros of the train, the car, the electric light, the skyscraper. And the microchip, the neural network, the rocket, the split atom.

22. We believe in adventure. Undertaking the Hero’s Journey, rebelling against the status quo, mapping uncharted territory, conquering dragons, and bringing home the spoils for our community.

23. To paraphrase a manifesto of a different time and place: “Beauty exists only in struggle. There is no masterpiece that has not an aggressive character. Technology must be a violent assault on the forces of the unknown, to force them to bow before man.”

24. We believe that we are, have been, and will always be the masters of technology, not mastered by technology. Victim mentality is a curse in every domain of life, including in our relationship with technology – both unnecessary and self-defeating. We are not victims, we are conquerors.

25. We believe in greatness. We admire the great technologists and industrialists who came before us, and we aspire to make them proud of us today.

26. And we believe in humanity – individually and collectively.

27. We believe in ambition, aggression, persistence, relentlessness – strength.

28. We believe in merit and achievement.

29. We believe in bravery, in courage.

30. We believe in pride, confidence, and self respect – when earned.

31. We believe in free thought, free speech, and free inquiry.

32. We believe in the actual Scientific Method and enlightenment values of free discourse and challenging the authority of experts.

33. We believe, as Richard Feynman said, “Science is the belief in the ignorance of experts.”

34. We believe in local knowledge, the people with actual information making decisions, not in playing God.

35. We believe in embracing variance, in increasing interestingness.

36. We believe in risk, in leaps into the unknown.

37. We believe in agency, in individualism.

38. We believe in radical competence.

39. We believe in an absolute rejection of resentment. As Carrie Fisher said, “Resentment is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die.” We take responsibility and we overcome.

40. We believe in competition, because we believe in evolution.

41. We believe in evolution, because we believe in life.

42. We believe in the truth.

43. We believe in making everyone rich, everything cheap, and everything abundant.

44. We believe in what the Greeks called eudaimonia through arete – flourishing through excellence.

45. We believe technology is universalist. Technology doesn’t care about your ethnicity, race, religion, national origin, gender, sexuality, political views, height, weight, hair or lack thereof. Technology is built by a virtual United Nations of talent from all over the world. Anyone with a positive attitude and a cheap laptop can contribute. Technology is the ultimate open society.

46. We have enemies.

47. Our enemies are not bad people – but rather bad ideas.

48. Our present society has been subjected to a mass demoralization campaign for six decades – against technology and against life – under varying names like “existential risk”, “sustainability”, “ESG”, “Sustainable Development Goals”, “social responsibility”, “stakeholder capitalism”, “Precautionary Principle”, “trust and safety”, “tech ethics”, “risk management”, “de-growth”, “the limits of growth”.

49. Our enemy is stagnation.

50. Our enemy is anti-merit, anti-ambition, anti-striving, anti-achievement, anti-greatness.

51. Our enemy is statism, authoritarianism, collectivism, central planning, socialism.

52. Our enemy is bureaucracy, vetocracy, gerontocracy, blind deference to tradition.

53. Our enemy is corruption, regulatory capture, monopolies, cartels.

54. Our enemy is deceleration, de-growth, depopulation – the nihilistic wish, so trendy among our elites, for fewer people, less energy, and more suffering and death.

55. Our enemy is speech control and thought control – the increasing use, in plain sight, of George Orwell’s “1984” as an instruction manual.

56. Our enemy is institutions that in their youth were vital and energetic and truth-seeking, but are now compromised and corroded and collapsing – blocking progress in increasingly desperate bids for continued relevance, frantically trying to justify their ongoing funding despite spiraling dysfunction and escalating ineptness.

57. We believe in the words of David Deutsch: "We have a duty to be optimistic. Because the future is open, not predetermined and therefore cannot just be accepted: we are all responsible for what it holds. Thus it is our duty to fight for a better world."

58. We owe the past, and the future.

59. We invite everyone to join us in Techno-Optimism.

60. The water is warm.

61. Become our allies in the pursuit of technology, abundance, and life.

62. It’s time to be a Techno-Optimist.

63. It’s time to build.

@ 0c469779:4b21d8b0

The future. Nostr and Bitcoin

I always liked Twitter. but something changed when Elon bought (or stole?) the @America handle and used it for republican partisan politics. Or when he censored President Maduro. Not that I like Maduro, but how is it that we allow someone to censor the existance of other people? Remember when Twitter censored the account of the president of the United States, Donald Trump? Censorship can happen in other ways, too.

Governments can censor people on social media: Recently Brazil prohibited X because Elon wouldn't shut down some accounts the brazilian goverment asked for. Let's remember that X is also prohibited in China, Russia, Venezuela and Turkiye (until recently). He did the right thing by not censoring those accounts - The wrong thing, however, is that he has the capability to do so. He's effectively God: He can choose what to show you, who can see it, when and how.

And it's not only Twitter: Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, TikTok - All can decide when to censor you, or how to engage-bait you.

Nostr solves this.

Nostr is a protocol for decentralized and censorship-resistant social media. It utilizes the Bitcoin Lightning Network, a fast and secure payment system built on top of Bitcoin, to facilitate micropayments directly between users. This eliminates the need for algorithms and subscriptions, empowering creators and promoting a more authentic online experience.

You can pay nostr creators per post. This is impossible in any platform that I am aware of. You can also pay to the lightning wallet linked to the npub (your nostr identity). So it is extremely easy to reward good posts.

Think of nostr like the next step in social media evolution, similar to how Wayland improved upon the X11 display server. There is nothing bad with Legacy Social Media, but Decentralization will win in the end. It's already happening. Most of the tech people I follow, George Hotz, Brewster Kahle (Internet Archive manager), Jack Dorsey (Twitter co-founder) are using decentralize alternatives constantly. Farcaster, Mastodon, Bluesky, Nostr, etc. - I'm particularly bullish on Nostr because:

1. Mastodon and Bluesky save your identity in a single server. A single point of failure and censorship. This is bad.
2. Farcaster runs on the Ethereum blockchain, which I don't like mostly because of their transaction validation mechanism, which is proof of stake (and why would social media need to run on a blockchain?).

Just as there are various email clients (Outlook, Gmail) built on the SMTP protocol, nostr allows for diverse applications like Primal, Iris, and Snort, each providing different experiences to their users. Be it an Instagram-like feed, a Twitter-style timeline, or a text-focused platform, nostr offers flexibility in how you consume and share content.

Nostr is censorship resistant. Your identity is spread across multiple relays (servers), making it incredibly difficult to delete your messages (they would have to delete your presence from every relay). This portability extends beyond social media – you can take your identity to apps like FountainFM and earn rewards (zaps) for listening to podcasts. There are many other interesting apps, you can even live stream and monetize through zap.stream, and allow viewers to directly tip content creators in satoshis (Bitcoin smallest unit).

I am super bullish on nostr and bitcoin but I do recognize that clients may be buggy and Bitcoin may be difficult to understand for non-tech people. This is why I'm promoting nostr so much on technical spaces on Twitter - because we need to keep building the protocol, relays and clients. We are responsible for its success. Not a centralized company.

It's super easy to start building nostr apps. I myself built a nostr client called Kapestr in Rust. It's ugly due to skill-issues (lol), but you can start pretty fast. Or maybe you can go primal client github repository and fork it. You can start learning nostr super easily. Maybe nostr.com or nostr.org are good places to start.

I recommend reading The Cypherpunk Manifesto, Broken Money by Lyn Alden and The Bitcoin Standard.

Bitcoin is the most secure blockchain. It uses PoW (Proof Of Work) as the consensus mechanism, there is no single point of control, and it has no CEO (neither does nostr). People I'm interested in, Victoria Villaruel, Nayib Bukele, Jordan Peterson and Elon Musk among others, have shown support to bitcoin. Which makes me happy, and also adds support to the case of Bitcoin.

Looking ahead I think the future is bright. Nostr will continue to improve, Many other projects like nostr will arise, Bitcoin will be used more and more, AI agents will transact in internet-native money, and stuff I can't even imagine.

The future is decentralized, secure, creator-driven and incentives will be the correct ones again.

@ 7c765d40:bd121d84

The Bitcoin Journal: Weekly Wrap

You know it's been an interesting week in Bitcoin when we're talking about football stadiums filling with water and aunts potentially becoming uncles (more on that wild analogy later). Let's dive into this week's philosophical musings and mathematical meanderings in the world of Bitcoin.

Let's start with a mind-bending revelation: that $300 worth of bitcoin today could potentially be worth $300,000 in 2068. Speaking as someone who still has a gift card from 2015 gathering dust in a drawer somewhere, the real challenge isn't buying – it's remembering where you put your digital gold! Pro tip: Maybe don't store your seed phrase in the same place as those "I'll definitely use these someday" gift cards.

The week's posts took an interesting turn with a lesson in exponential growth, comparing Bitcoin adoption to a football stadium filling with water. After 45 minutes, it's only 7% full, but somehow manages to completely fill up in the last 5 minutes. Kind of like my coffee consumption during deadline week – starts slow, ends in a caffeinated tsunami.

A particularly sobering moment came when discussing UTXO management. Jor learned the hard way that ignoring UTXOs cost them 225,000 sats. That's like discovering those coins in your couch cushions are actually rare collectibles – except in reverse. Remember folks: what seems like pocket change today might be a down payment on a Mars condo tomorrow.

Pro Tip: If "UTXO management" sounds as appealing as dental surgery, start small. Use Sparrow wallet and pretend you're playing Tetris with your Bitcoin – the goal is to keep things neat and consolidated

We tackled the perpetual "what if" questions that plague bitcoin skeptics. As the great philosopher Don Cherry wisely noted, "If my aunt had nuts, she'd be my uncle." Sometimes the biggest risk isn't in taking action, but in sitting on the sidelines wondering "what if?"

Finally, we concluded with a deeper reflection on bitcoin as an intelligence test. It's not about raw IQ points – it's about understanding the value of proof of work and playing the long game. Think of it as planting a digital tree whose shade you might not sit under, but whose fruits might just change the world.

Quick Wisdom: Start stacking sats today, manage those UTXOs wisely, and remember – sometimes the smartest thing you can do is stop asking "what if" and start asking "why not?"

Personal Note: Reading through these posts, I can't help but notice they possess the same infectious enthusiasm as my grandfather had when he tried explaining why his vintage stamp collection would one day make us all millionaires. The difference? Bitcoin actually might.

Let’s keep stacking the sats so we can all live on the same block in Mars.

In addition to the Daily Bitcoin Journal, we have a live show on YouTube every morning at 9am EST! The show is called the Daily Bitcoin Journey and it’s focused on actionable and logical discussion for bitcoiners AND future bitcoiners!

You can find the show here on the 88 SATS Radio Channel! Consider stopping by sometime and join us in the live chat!

Jor 871644

@ 0c469779:4b21d8b0

Todo que celebrar

• No recuerdo exactamente cómo me empezo a interesar el tema, el punto es que vi un lavado de cabeza inmenso que se hace a cada paisano en los países hispanoamericanos.
• Inclusive Residente tiene una canción llamada Latinoamérica, donde habla de todo lo que se robaron los españoles.
• La leyenda negra nos dice que España fue lo peor que le pudo pasar a la región.

• La primera mentira es pensar que antes de España había paz: Los distintos imperios americanos esclavizaban a las poblaciones adyacentes. Los aztecas esclavizaban a las tribus mexicas, fue gracias a Hernán Cortés, quien consiguió la organización de estas tribus, que se pudo derrocar a Moctezuma y a los aztecas. Piénsese en eso, Hernán Cortés tenía un ejército de aproximadamente 550 soldados (siendo generosos), y por cada español había de 10 a 15 indígenas, principalmente de Tlaxcala, pero también de Huexotzinco, Cholula y Tepeyac. Los aztecas eran 200000. Una vez caído Tenochitlán, otra parte de la leyenda negra dice que España exterminó a los indígenas, lo cual es falso. Hernán Cortés cuidó de sus descendientes e incluso tuvo un hijo con una de las hijas de Moctezuma.

• España fue el primer imperio que promulga una serie de leyes que humanizan al indígena. Recordemos siempre ponernos en el contexto histórico. El 27 de diciembre de 1512 se promulgan las leyes de Burgos, 35 ordenanzas que buscan proteger y humanizar al indígena americano.

Algunos principios de las Leyes de Burgos son: 1. Los indigenas eran hombres libres y dueños de sus tierras y casas. 2. Los Reyes Católicos eran señores de los indígenas por su compromiso evangelizador. 3. Los encomenderos debían examinar a los indígneas cada quincena para comprobar lo que habían aprendido. 4. Cada indio debia recibir un peso de oro al año para comprar ropa.

Además recordemos lo que dijo Isabel la Católica sobre los indígenas. En su lecho escribió:

No consientan ni den lugar que los indios reciban agravio alguno en sus personas y sus bienes, mas manden que sean bien y justamente tratados.

En 1542 el emperador Carlos V promulga Las Leyes Nuevas de Indias, para reformar el gobierno de las Indias y protoger a los indígenas.

Entre las principales características de las Leyes Nuevas de Indias se encuentran: 1. La supresión de la Institución de la Encomienda 2. La designación del virrey como protector de los indios 3. El respeto a las autoridades, costumbres y formas de vida indígenas 4. La prohibición de que los indigenas sostuvieran relaciones mercantiles con sus vecinos 5. La orden a los españoles que empleasen indios de impartir evangelización, darles buen trato, alimentos, vestido, casa, medico y sacerdote, y pagarles su trabajo en efectivo.

Es curioso resaltar que Las Leyes Nuevas de Indias fueron promovidas por Fray Bartalome de las Casas, quien hubiera mentido en algunos articulos suyos anteriores donde exageraba e inventaba malos tratos a indígenas. Estos artículos falsos fueron y son usados hasta el dia de hoy por la leyenda negra, en los principales libros de historia de las escuelas y colegios hispanoamericanos.

• Los makás son una tribu indígena del nordeste argentino, quienes fueron desplazados a Paraguay y habitan actualmente zonas de Mariano Roque Alonso, cerca de la capital, Asunción. Quién trata mejor a los indígenas, el Paraguay o Argentina de hoy o el Imperio de ayer?

• Durante el Imperio, el Virreinato del Rio de la Plata tuvo asentamientos de indígenas guaranies provomidos por los padres de la compañía de Jesús en las tierras conquistadas por España y Portugal. Ellos buscaban crear una sociedad con los beneficios de la sociedad cristiana, pero sin sus vicios. Enseñaban a los indígenas a leer, escribir, aritmética básica, técnicas de agricultura, construcción y artesanía. También aprendieron la lengua de los indígenas (gracias a esto tenemos el guaraní y otras lenguas en escrito, eran puramente orales), lo que facilitaba el trabajo del misionero. Cuando el Rey Carlos III expulsa a los Jesuitas de sus dominios en 1767, efectivizandose en Paraguay en 1768, supuso una gran pérdida para los pueblos originarios, principalmente por la protección, ya que los jesuitas protegían a los indígenas de los bandeirantes, grupos que eran contratados para cazar indígenas y esclavizarlos, o destruir quilombos (asentamientos de esclavos que se liberaban de la esclavitud). Los bandeirantes eran provenientes de zonas del interior de Brasil, y se les puede atribuir la expansión de Brasil más allá de los limites impuestos por el Tratado de Tordesillas.

• Los movimientos independentistas hispanoamericanos eran auspiciados por fuerzas extranjeras. Las fuerzas de San Martín que cruzaron los Andes por Mendoza contaban con más de 5400 hombres, y se sabe que muchos eran de otras nacionalades. San Martín siempre tuvo afinidad por Inglaterra, pasó en Europa el resto de sus días luego de ser amenazado por el gobierno unitario. También se sabe que fue masón, lo que no se sabe es si conocía el Plan Maitland.

El Plan Maitland fue un proyecto desarrollado en 1800 por Thomas Maitland, originalmente titulado "Plan para capturar Buenos Aires y Chile, y luego emancipar Perú y Quito". Se concluyó que sería mendiante una expedición que cruzaría los Andes y atacaría desde el oeste, es decir, desde Chile, y luego avanzaria hacia el Perú. La estrategia era golpear el corazón del virreinato peruano, que era el bastión del poder en América del Sur.

Si San Martin conocía o no el Plan Maitland no se sabe. San Martin estuvo en Londres en 1811, donde se le pudo haber introducido el plan por miembros de la logia masónica Lautaro, fundada por Francisco de Miranda (secesionista hispanoamericano, primer presidente de Venezuela).

• Los antiguos súbditos no se sentían oprimidos por España. Los sentimientos de nación son inventos que ocurren luego de las independencias. Anteriormente todos eran españoles, católicos y súbditos del Rey. En Paraguay está la concepción errónea de que ganamos la independencia en 1811. Cuando lo que se hace en 1811 es cambiar el gobierno a la fuerza para asegurar la autonomía de la provincia del Paraguay, porque se pensaba que Bernardo de Velasco (gobernador de la provincia) quería entregarla al dominio portugués. En 1811 se sigue jurando lealtad al Rey. Además, recordemos quién fue Fulgencio Yegros. Alférez del ejército español, uno de los pocos militares de carrera. En 1801 integro la expedición al norte de Paraguay a reconquistar Coimbra de manos de los portugueses. En 1806, paritcipó en la defensa de Buenos Aires durante las invasiones inglesas. Ahi conoció a Fernando de la Mora, con quien formó amistad.

Principalmente la defensa de Buenos Aires solo se puede explicar si nos damos cuenta de que no existe tal cosa como nacionalidad paraguaya o argentina. Todos eramos espanoles. Hay muchos casos similares al de Fulgencio Yegros por toda la America Espanola.

• Fulgencio Yegros fue ejecutado tras querer derrocar a Jose Gaspar Rodriguez de Francia, quien se declarara dictador supremo de la República del Paraguay, destacando la independencia por primera vez. En mi opinión uno de los grandes errores de Paraguay fue no haberse unido a las Provincias Unidas del Río de la Plata, eran tiempos tumultuosos y de levantamientos constantes.

• El término latinoamericano no existió hasta luego de la independencia de Nueva España y la formación del Imperio Mexicano en un contexto de invasión de Francia a esas tierras.

• Cómo se explica la riqueza que hubo en Cuba y Puerto Rico, quienes siguieron siendo provincias españolas hasta 1898, finalizada la guerra que empezó con una falsa bandera implantada por los Estados Unidos? Además, la población es altamente mestiza. Cuando España pierde la guerra, también entrega la posesión de las Islas Filipinas (en honor al Rey Felipe II) a los Estados Unidos. Los filipinos mantenían su idioma reigional y hablaban español. La moneda es el peso filipino hasta el día de hoy. Hoy en el tagalog y chabacano hay muchas similitudes con el castellano. Cuando Estados Unidos controla las islas, prohíbe la enseñanza del español, y forza la enseñanza del inglés. Actualmente muchos filipinos tienen apellidos de origen español y hablan inglés.

• España formó las primeras universidades en América y tenía la biblioteca más grande de todo el continente en Perú.

• Creo que es importante que sepamos la verdadera historia para entender mejor nuestro pasado. Creo que hay más cosas que nos unen que las que nos separan, creo que Nayib Bukele en la actualidad es capaz de reunificar Centroamérica y darle más peso a su reclamo conociendo la historia, aparte de las razones prácticas del día de hoy. Creo que la República del Paraguay no debería existir y deberíamos integrarnos a las Provincias Unidas del Río de la Plata (Argentina). Creo que debemos entender que fuimos victimas del divide et impera, y tenemos que formar una gran mancomunidad de naciones hispanas (como la Commonwealth) y tener objetivos que se adapten a lo que requerimos hoy: avances tecnológicos, investigación en todos los campos y un proyecto espacial en común.

• Es extremadamente ridículo que seamos más de 19 países en un mismo continente, todos hablando el mismo idioma y teniendo la misma religión, separados y desinteresados de lo que le pase al otro.

• Tenemos que apoyar los reclamos de nuestros hermanos: Los argentinos con las Islas Malvinas, los cubanos con Guantanamo, los españoles con Gibraltar y los venezonalos con el Esequibo.

• Algo interesante que dijo el filósofo y médico Erasmus Darwin, abuelo del gran evolucionista Charles Darwin:

En mis viajes por el inabarcable imperio español, he quedado admirado de como los españoles tratan a los indios: como a semejantes, incluso formando familias mestizas y creando para ellas hospitales y universidades. He conocido alcaldes y obispos indígenas, y hasta militares, lo que redunda en la paz social, bienestar y felicidad general, que ya quisiéramos nosotros [los británicos] en los territorios que con tanto esfuerzo les vamos arrebatando. Parece que las nieblas londinenses nos nublan el corazón y el entendimiento, mientras que la calidad de la soleada España le hace ver y oír mejor a Dios. Sus señorías en Inglaterra deberían considerar la [falsamente imputada] política de despoblación y exterminio de España. Ya que a todas luces la fe y la inteligencia española están construyendo, no como nosotros un imperio de muerte, sino una sociedad civilizada que finalmente terminará por imponerse como por mandato divino. España es la sabia Grecia, la imperial Roma; Inglaterra el corsario turco».

Fuentes interesantes

• https://www.ellitoral.com.ar/corrientes/2022-8-14-1-0-0-desmitificando-a-san-martin-y-sus-relaciones-con-los-ingleses
• Imperiofobia y leyenda negra: Roma, Rusia, Estados Unidos y el Imperio Español de María Elvira Roca Barea
• Madre patria: Desmontando la leyenda negra desde Bartolomé de las Casas hasta el separatismo catalán
• Historia con Patricio Lons
• La Brújula

@ 5d4b6c8d:8a1c1ee3

Hi Everyone,

Sorry I'm late putting this up this week. I would like to blame @grayruby, but he actually sent me the itinerary early this week.

Here's an outline of topics we're planning on hitting this week:

Territory things:

• NFL Survivor Pool- tnstacker and wumbo still hanging around (tnstacker with a bit of a surprise pick this week)
• USA vs World NFL pick 'em- what is going on???
• Cricket Pools
• NBA Cup pool

Blokd shots (NHL)

• why can't Canada win the cup?

MLB

• Off-season news
• MLB testing ball/strike challenge system

NFL

• Fantasy football recap
• Current playoff picture
• Who is frontrunner for MVP?

NBA cup

• Survivor Pool Strategy
• Are the Bucks getting back on track or is Giannis just really good
• Who wins a 7 game series between Cavs/Celtics right now
• Embiid and the 76ers failed Process

Betting

• Predyx: in-game betting experience and trying to inflate the 49ers odds

originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/780312

@ 8dc86882:9dc4ba5e

I’m not what some would call a creator. I don’t teach on any real topic, I’m not a person of interest, and I’m almost positive 99.99999999% of the people who see anything I write have a clue who I am.

I’m more of a babbler than anything, if that could be a thing. I spew forth words that may only have significance to me, maybe someone else in a rare case. But nonetheless I like to babble. I like to write my words down and put them out there in the internet ether.

Today for the first time, I’m doing this in long form from my phone. My god! the typos that are likely to be in here. But, why the hell not. It’s a test, to see if I can transpose these idle thoughts to the world while out and about with just my phone. So I sit here in the Kumon waiting room while my children begrudgingly do more math and lit than their actual school requires. It’s the torture of having an immigrant mother.

As you can see, I babbled my way to a fourth paragraph. How the bullshit can flow forth from my thumbs! For I am not a creator.

Cheers!

@ 5405e5fd:53eae835

Ever wondered about the origins of the iconic "Laser Eyes" meme in Bitcoin culture? Let’s dive into its fascinating history and significance.

While on the Criptoverso podcast, I wore a shirt with the phrase “Laser Eyes Until Fiat Dies.” When asked about its meaning, I explained it signifies unwavering commitment to Bitcoin. But there’s a deeper story behind this phrase—one that transformed a simple meme into a powerful symbol of unity and optimism for the Bitcoin community.

The Birth of “Laser Eyes”

In 2020, as Bitcoin Twitter gained momentum, a user with fewer than 300 followers found a creative outlet in making memes to connect with the growing community of Bitcoin enthusiasts, affectionately known as “Plebs.” Inspired by influential figures like American HODL—a Bitcoin maximalist known for his irreverent humor and critique of fraud—the user crafted memes to engage the community. One of his first creations, a sharp response to a Bitcoin critic, earned a retweet from American HODL. The recognition fueled his passion for meme creation, and he soon joined forces with other creators in a collaborative group known as the Meme Factory.

This “Meme Factory” became a hub for humor, creativity, and camaraderie, bolstering the Bitcoin community during market downturns. Their memes became rallying cries, reinforcing the shared identity of Bitcoiners as a “swarm of cyber wasps,” buzzing with energy and defiance.

The Rise of the Laser Eyes Campaign

By late 2020, the Meme Factory began organizing themed avatar campaigns, such as holiday-themed profile pictures, to foster unity. These efforts culminated in February 2021, as Bitcoin surged towards $50,000.

The “Laser Eyes” concept emerged when a member of the Meme Factory asked for help enhancing a meme by adding laser eyes to a kangaroo. Inspired, the creator designed laser-eyed avatars for the entire group. The idea quickly evolved into a full-blown campaign: #LaserRayUntil100K, a pledge for the community to sport laser eyes until Bitcoin reached $100,000.

When Bitcoin hit $50,000 on February 16, 2021, the Meme Factory launched the campaign. Within days, the meme exploded across the Bitcoin community, embraced by everyone from celebrities to politicians. The striking red laser eyes became a visual statement of belief in Bitcoin’s potential as a global store of value, a symbol of resistance against traditional fiat systems, and a nod to Satoshi Nakamoto’s revolutionary vision.

Beyond Memes: A Symbol of Commitment

The success of the “Laser Eyes” campaign highlighted the power of memes to unite a community, inject humor into volatility, and promote optimism amid criticism. For many, laser eyes transcended mere aesthetics; they became a badge of solidarity and a public declaration of commitment to Bitcoin.

What Happens When Bitcoin Hits $100K?

The big question remains: once Bitcoin crosses the $100,000 milestone, what’s next? The answer is simple.

“Laser Eyes Until Fiat Dies.”

The mission doesn’t end—it evolves. After all, Bitcoin isn’t just a currency; it’s a revolution.

https://image.nostr.build/38d2eaff0316ceff6860760963d150c5017a78691adc9d0d7128368ef653eddb.jpg https://image.nostr.build/1c404d665ff78ef7ed0da7c7f39e734713d665d03fee805773bb173a96f1e8d1.jpg https://image.nostr.build/82d64cc76f274623aacb350f4916fb28a0aaa22fce12efff91439618333896d0.jpg

@ f685c7b9:b1be053e

"Most people are mirrors, reflecting the moods and emotions of the times. Few are windows, bringing light to bear on the dark corners where troubles fester. The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows."

--Sydney J. Harris.

This quote really sticks with me, as I consider what it is I am doing here. I don't necessarily mean here as in SN, but more broadly speaking: here at 1am at my computer a bit over caffeinated and contemplating my place in the universe.

Now that was a bit melodramatic. But bear with me as I explain how it happened.

I went to a market tonight where there were local vendors peddling their wares. I don't usually bother, being somewhat of a misanthrope, but I dared ask a few if they accepted Bitcoin. I approached a couple with one of those clothing stands where they pay to put clever sayings on t-shirts, hats and pins.

"I do." A look askance. "Ha-Ha! Kidding. I used to have some."

What a dumbass. For such a stupid answer, I couldn't think of anything to respond. This is why I don't usually bother.

"It's up now, I guess."

"yea, I bought it when it was low, sold high," he said nonchalantly.

"Well I'm never selling."

"I wouldn't either," he laughed nervously.

What the hell? Well, I should have been able to judge position on the bell-curve from the nature of his business. I bumbled along to the next vendor.

"Do you accept Bitcoin?"

"Noooo," said she, A tall Russian woman selling gemstone jewelry. "I used to have some and then I sold it."

Two for two. Just then, I was beginning to lose hope. People just want me to think they were smart enough to buy it early on. "Well, why not?" I pressed on.

"Like all stocks, it's volatile."

"Actually, Bitcoin isn't a stock because it is not controlled by a company," I told her.

"Well, the thing is a company controls it, so that's why so many people lost theirs. There was that one, in China. What was it called..."

"Mt. Gox? That only happened because those people weren't smart with theirs. You can avoid that if you self-custody. Besides, you don't need to own any Bitcoin to accept it to do business. Look, I have this wallet. If you downloaded it you can generate an invoice, like this, and I'd send it to you practically for free. No banks, no exchanges involved."

I took enough of her time explaining how it works that I though the least I could do is buy a turquoise beaded bracelet. I paid with my debit card. Mirrors, reflecting whatever ideas and preconceptions they already had. Windows let in the light. Mirrors just show us own own reflection, sometimes darkened by the lies told us by fiat-truth-makers.

I much prefer to be surrounded by windows, then I can see the outstretched hills and green glades yawning near the horizon.

FR

@ 4d4fb5ff:1e821f47

You can almost feel the neon street lights behind you, teasing you with a wild night back where the city is still alive, but your eyes stay focused ahead, on the dark strip—the abandoned sprawl that lies on the way to the new shore.

You’re ready to get away from downtown because lately it seems like you can’t even hear your own thoughts anymore. Maybe when you get to the beach you’ll figure out who or what is blocking you from listening to your inner voice. But then again, maybe not.

All around you, sand and silt infiltrates the parking lots and the ground floors of otherwise sound buildings, stale bogs. The fine mud sticks to the soles of your boots, suctioning the pull of each step.

Small pools of water begin to interrupt your path at an increasing rate. It’s difficult to tell for certain, but they might be releasing faint light. Your eyes are only human, anyway. As you get closer to the shore, whatever hints of brightness you think you might be seeing in the puddles is drowned out by the brilliant intensity you’re here to witness, the view that can wipe everything away, the glowing surf.

The edge is quieter than you remember. Liquids fill the nooks and dips of the land without noise and in no rush. Then, folding over, they recede. In some places the broth mixes, though the colors remain true and somehow resist becoming a dull tar. In another place, a vibrating stream of pink forms a ribbon through electric yellow goop, refusing to assimilate.

The surf seems to both suffer from and be invigorated by a uniform phosphorescence. Likely the remnants of some tritium disaster from not too long ago, not too far away. The countless other isotopes saturating the gulf remain unseen, but you are well aware that the radiation has left real marks on the DNA of the creatures that cling to life below the surface.

A small crab rolls into an old soup can, neon markings on its belly like alien glyphs, its arms seeking something in an uncoordinated way. It’s choking on a thin, glitter-purple sheath of synthetic bacteria. You remember reading in the logs about these bacteria, designed illegally in some basement of the city a decade ago. A desperate bid to help clean up some of the mess. Not exactly a shame, maybe something worse.

Trash floats between broken parking blocks and twisted railing and many items keep their form. You recognize the outlines of beer bottles, a soccer ball and a refrigerator door. All of them painted over in bright streaks of color.

The end of a slow wave carries a newspaper leaf before you and it clings to one of your boots. It’s an antique. The surf works its best magic on paper, fortifying the cellulose with heavy metals and keeping the text and images preserved. It’s a bleeding page advertisement, pristine except for the color. A woman holding a toothbrush smiles up at you with lime green lips, a shock of tangerine hair and electric blue skin.

You realize how shallow your breaths have been up to this point and let the salty breeze enter your lungs with the rapidity its been asking for.

What would your father think of all this? If he were still around.

And that’s it. You feel you have your thoughts back. You exhale and advance into the glowing surf.

Now you’re ankle-deep and you bend over to scoop up a conch shell that’s the size of your fist. You push your hair aside and put it up to your ear.

No hollow wind, no airy breath of the sea. An unnatural silence. Almost like a glitch…

You use a keychain LED to help you to see inside of the conch shell. There’s a wire… something that you might be able to jack into your system.

You pad the outside of your vest with your palm, hoping you’re carrying the right adapter. The last time you connected to an unknown drive, you fried the adapter and your scanner was left wide open to hackers. You told yourself you’d learned your lesson. But did you really come all the way out here to stop taking risks?

You locate the right adapter under a mess of tangled wires and batteries in your pocket, still in its second-hand plastic bubble re-packaging. You bust it free and use it to plug into the conch shell.

A semi-transparent holographic window projects from inside the conch. The slow, thick waves behind it begin to appear almost volatile through the image.

The screen displays jumbled characters in a garbled list that doesn’t obey clean columns or rows. New text blazes forth, scrolling on its own as though consumed by some need to be seen but it’s much too fast for you to read.

It could be the remnants of a menu from a corrupted drive or maybe it’s something more exotic like dynamic encryption.

It stops and goes dark. Shit.

You check the adapter—it’s not obviously burnt. Still, you hate how you’re always taking unnecessary risks and for what—a random seashell?

Maybe there’s a hidden way to boot the data. What if your npub and key could unlock something good?

@ f7124c44:364cb601

I have just got an new desktop and I wanna mine bitcoin. How can I mine it?

@ 31312140:2471509b

🎩 The Origins: Where Did It All Start?

The concept of central banking isn't new. It dates back to the establishment of the Bank of England in 1694, which set the precedent for modern central banks (Check out Bank of England's history for a deeper dive). These institutions were often created out of necessity - to handle war debts, stabilize economies, etc. But with great power comes… you guessed it, not-so-great intentions. 💰

💸 The Money Factory: Printing Out of Thin Air

Central banks have the magical ability to print money from thin air. Sound amazing? Well, it's alarming. This endless printing is explained under the guise of "monetary policy" to control the economy. But in reality, it's a method to fund government debts and inflate the money supply, which causes the value of your hard-earned money to dwindle. Poof! Your buying power is gone. Have a look at how federal reserve balance sheets have ballooned for evidence.

🔄 Fractional Reserve Banking: The Multiplication Illusion

If you're a banker, you'll love fractional reserve banking. It's like magic, where banks keep a fraction of deposits and lend out the rest, creating a multiplier effect. Imagine you deposit 100$, the bank holds just 10$ and lends out the other 90$. The person who took out that loan spends it and this 90$ end up on someone else's deposit. Rinse and repeat until your 100$ effectively created 1,000$ in the economy. This system fuels credit bubbles and ultimately leads to bank runs when too many people try to withdraw their money at once. Just ask those unfortunate souls during the Great Depression!

🔗 Chains of Debt: The Slavery of Nations

Central banks lend to governments, placing entire nations in debt. And who pays the price? You do, through taxes. Ironically, you’re not just paying off debts; you're also paying interest to these private banking cartels. It's a not-so-subtle form of modern-day slavery.

For a chilling summary, G. Edward Griffin’s “The Creature from Jekyll Island” is a must-read. It breaks down how banks engineer boom and bust cycles to control economies and populations.

🔓 The Escape Plan: Sound Money is Freedom

Enter Bitcoin. 🧡 The only currency immune to manipulation by any central entity, Bitcoin offers a decentralized escape route from the clutches of central banks. They can’t print more Bitcoin. They can’t inflate it. And they definitely can’t control it. It’s regulated by math and network consensus, not whimsical policy changes by bankers in fancy suits. Want to understand more? Check out “The Bitcoin Standard” by Saifedean Ammous.

🛡️ What Can You Do?

• Educate Yourself: Read, study, and converse with like-minded folks.
• Diversify: Consider holding assets that are outside the influence of central banks, like Bitcoin.
• Advocate for Change: Speak out, support political reform, and promote community awareness about the strengths of decentralized financial systems.

So, there you have it, folks! The maze is vast, but there’s light at the end of the tunnel if you’re willing to look into it. Knowledge is power, and it's time we reclaimed our financial freedom. 🤝

Feel free to dive deeper and challenge the narrative - every voice adds to the revolution!

lookintoit #bitcoin #fiat #freedom #finance #soundmoney #scam #inflation #money

@ f8a5df57:b7a58cd4

В 2040 году система «Умный дом» в Москве стала частью городской жизни, обеспечивающей жителям комфорт, безопасность и экономию ресурсов. Инновационные технологии изменили подход к управлению жильем, сделали его более доступным и эффективным.

Система «Умный дом» представляют собой интеграцию современных технологий, которые позволяют управлять всеми аспектами домашнего хозяйства посредством мобильных приложений. Жители могут контролировать освещение, отопление, охрану и даже бытовую технику с помощью простого управления на своих смартфонах. Например, система автоматически регулирует температуру в помещениях в зависимости от времени суток и присутствия жильцов, что позволяет экономить до 40% электроэнергии. Какие еще есть внедрения? 1. Автоматизация освещения: свет включается и выключается по расписанию или при наличии людей в комнате. 2. Установка систем безопасности: видеонаблюдение и сигнализация обеспечивают защиту жилья, функция «имитация присутствия» отпугивает опасных злоумышленников. 3. Возможность подбора комнатной температуры : системы отопления и кондиционирования работают в автоматическом режиме с учетом погодных условий и предпочтений жильцов. Интеллектуальные счетчики: они автоматически передают данные о потреблении ресурсов в управляющие компании, избавляя жильцов от необходимости вручную фиксировать происшествия. В 2040 году почти 95% новостроек в Москве уже оборудованы такими цепями, что делает их стандартом для современных жилых комплексов. Это не только повышает уровень комфорта, но и способствует устойчивому развитию города за счет снижения потребления энергии и ресурсов.

Современные технологии «Умного дома» в Москве 2040 года показывают, как инновации могут улучшить качество жизни горожан. По словам Екатерины Ломтевой, генерального директора "Ricci | Жилая недвижимость", применение таких систем стало привычной для застройщиков. Они не только делают жизнь более комфортной, но и помогают оптимизировать управление ситуацией, что особенно актуально в условиях растущего населения и ограниченных внешних ресурсов. В будущем возможно дальнейшее развитие технологий, которые будут еще более интегрированы в повседневную жизнь москвичей.

Автор: Ксения Данилова

@ a849beb6:b327e6d2

\ \ It was another historic week for both bitcoin and the Ten31 portfolio, as the world’s oldest, largest, most battle-tested cryptocurrency climbed to new all-time highs each day to close out the week just shy of the $100,000 mark. Along the way, bitcoin continued to accumulate institutional and regulatory wins, including the much-anticipated approval and launch of spot bitcoin ETF options and the appointment of several additional pro-bitcoin Presidential cabinet officials. The timing for this momentum was poetic, as this week marked the second anniversary of the pico-bottom of the 2022 bear market, a level that bitcoin has now hurdled to the tune of more than 6x despite the litany of bitcoin obituaries published at the time. The entirety of 2024 and especially the past month have further cemented our view that bitcoin is rapidly gaining a sense of legitimacy among institutions, fiduciaries, and governments, and we remain optimistic that this trend is set to accelerate even more into 2025.

Several Ten31 portfolio companies made exciting announcements this week that should serve to further entrench bitcoin’s institutional adoption. AnchorWatch, a first of its kind bitcoin insurance provider offering 1:1 coverage with its innovative use of bitcoin’s native properties, announced it has been designated a Lloyd’s of London Coverholder, giving the company unique, blue-chip status as it begins to write bitcoin insurance policies of up to $100 million per policy starting next month. Meanwhile, Battery Finance Founder and CEO Andrew Hohns appeared on CNBC to delve into the launch of Battery’s pioneering private credit strategy which fuses bitcoin and conventional tangible assets in a dual-collateralized structure that offers a compelling risk/return profile to both lenders and borrowers. Both companies are clearing a path for substantially greater bitcoin adoption in massive, untapped pools of capital, and Ten31 is proud to have served as lead investor for AnchorWatch’s Seed round and as exclusive capital partner for Battery.

As the world’s largest investor focused entirely on bitcoin, Ten31 has deployed nearly $150 million across two funds into more than 30 of the most promising and innovative companies in the ecosystem like AnchorWatch and Battery, and we expect 2025 to be the best year yet for both bitcoin and our portfolio. Ten31 will hold a first close for its third fund at the end of this year, and investors in that close will benefit from attractive incentives and a strong initial portfolio. Visit ten31.vc/funds to learn more and get in touch to discuss participating.\ \ Portfolio Company Spotlight 

Primal is a first of its kind application for the Nostr protocol that combines a client, caching service, analytics tools, and more to address several unmet needs in the nascent Nostr ecosystem. Through the combination of its sleek client application and its caching service (built on a completely open source stack), Primal seeks to offer an end-user experience as smooth and easy as that of legacy social media platforms like Twitter and eventually many other applications, unlocking the vast potential of Nostr for the next billion people. Primal also offers an integrated wallet (powered by Strike BLACK) that substantially reduces onboarding and UX frictions for both Nostr and the lightning network while highlighting bitcoin’s unique power as internet-native, open-source money. 

Selected Portfolio News

AnchorWatch announced it has achieved Llody’s Coverholder status, allowing the company to provide unique 1:1 bitcoin insurance offerings starting in December.\ \ Battery Finance Founder and CEO Andrew Hohns appeared on CNBC to delve into the company’s unique bitcoin-backed private credit strategy.

Primal launched version 2.0, a landmark update that adds a feed marketplace, robust advanced search capabilities, premium-tier offerings, and many more new features.

Debifi launched its new iOS app for Apple users seeking non-custodial bitcoin-collateralized loans.

Media

Strike Founder and CEO Jack Mallers joined Bloomberg TV to discuss the strong volumes the company has seen over the past year and the potential for a US bitcoin strategic reserve. 

Primal Founder and CEO Miljan Braticevic joined The Bitcoin Podcast to discuss the rollout of Primal 2.0 and the future of Nostr. 

Ten31 Managing Partner Marty Bent appeared on BlazeTV to discuss recent changes in the regulatory environment for bitcoin. 

Zaprite published a customer testimonial video highlighting the popularity of its offerings across the bitcoin ecosystem. 

Market Updates

Continuing its recent momentum, bitcoin reached another new all-time high this week, clocking in just below $100,000 on Friday. Bitcoin has now reached a market cap of nearly $2 trillion, putting it within 3% of the market caps of Amazon and Google. 

After receiving SEC and CFTC approval over the past month, long-awaited options on spot bitcoin ETFs were fully approved and launched this week. These options should help further expand bitcoin’s institutional liquidity profile, with potentially significant implications for price action over time.

The new derivatives showed strong performance out of the gate, with volumes on options for BlackRock’s IBIT reaching nearly $2 billion on just the first day of trading despite surprisingly tight position limits for the vehicles. 

Meanwhile, the underlying spot bitcoin ETF complex had yet another banner week, pulling in $3.4 billion in net inflows. 

New reports suggested President-elect Donald Trump’s social media company is in advanced talks to acquire crypto trading platform Bakkt, potentially the latest indication of the incoming administration’s stance toward the broader “crypto” ecosystem. 

On the macro front, US housing starts declined M/M again in October on persistently high mortgage rates and weather impacts. The metric remains well below pre-COVID levels. 

Pockets of the US commercial real estate market remain challenged, as the CEO of large Florida developer Related indicated that developers need further rate cuts “badly” to maintain project viability. 

US Manufacturing PMI increased slightly M/M, but has now been in contraction territory (<50) for well over two years.

The latest iteration of the University of Michigan’s popular consumer sentiment survey ticked up following this month’s election results, though so did five-year inflation expectations, which now sit comfortably north of 3%. 

Regulatory Update

After weeks of speculation, the incoming Trump administration appointed hedge fund manager Scott Bessent to head up the US Treasury. Like many of Trump’s cabinet selections so far, Bessent has been a public advocate for bitcoin. 

Trump also appointed Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick – another outspoken bitcoin bull – as Secretary of the Commerce Department. 

Meanwhile, the Trump team is reportedly considering creating a new “crypto czar” role to sit within the administration. While it’s unclear at this point what that role would entail, one report indicated that the administration’s broader “crypto council” is expected to move forward with plans for a strategic bitcoin reserve.

Various government lawyers suggested this week that the Trump administration is likely to be less aggressive in seeking adversarial enforcement actions against bitcoin and “crypto” in general, as regulatory bodies appear poised to shift resources and focus elsewhere. 

Other updates from the regulatory apparatus were also directionally positive for bitcoin, most notably FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg’s confirmation that he plans to resign from his post at the end of President Biden’s term. 

Many critics have alleged Gruenberg was an architect of “Operation Chokepoint 2.0,” which has created banking headwinds for bitcoin companies over the past several years, so a change of leadership at the department is likely yet another positive for the space.

SEC Chairman Gary Gensler also officially announced he plans to resign at the start of the new administration. Gensler has been the target of much ire from the broader “crypto” space, though we expect many projects outside bitcoin may continue to struggle with questions around the Howey Test.

Overseas, a Chinese court ruled that it is not illegal for individuals to hold cryptocurrency, even though the country is still ostensibly enforcing a ban on crypto transactions. 

Noteworthy

The incoming CEO of Charles Schwab – which administers over $9 trillion in client assets – suggested the platform is preparing to “get into” spot bitcoin offerings and that he “feels silly” for having waited this long. As this attitude becomes more common among traditional finance players, we continue to believe that the number of acquirers coming to market for bitcoin infrastructure capabilities will far outstrip the number of available high quality assets. 

BlackRock’s 2025 Thematic Outlook notes a “renewed sense of optimism” on bitcoin among the asset manager’s client base due to macro tailwinds and the improving regulatory environment. Elsewhere, BlackRock’s head of digital assets indicated the firm does not view bitcoin as a “risk-on” asset. 

MicroStrategy, which was a sub-$1 billion market cap company less than five years ago, briefly breached a $100 billion equity value this week as it continues to aggressively acquire bitcoin. The company now holds nearly 350,000 bitcoin on its balance sheet. 

Notably, Allianz SE, Germany’s largest insurer, spoke for 25% of MicroStrategy’s latest $3 billion convertible note offering this week, suggesting growing appetite for bitcoin proxy exposure among more restricted pools of capital. 

The ongoing meltdown of fintech middleware provider Synapse has left tens of thousands of customers with nearly 100% deposit haircuts as hundreds of millions in funds remain missing, the latest unfortunate case study in the fragility of much of the US’s legacy banking stack. 

Travel

• BitcoinMENA, Dec 9-10

• Nashville BitDevs, Dec 10

• Austin BitDevs, Dec 19

• Nashville Energy and Mining Summit, Jan 30

@ 5af07946:98fca8c4

Astrology (Jyotish) is the long old ancestor of modern day cosmology. Most people think astrology's secret sauce is somehow foretelling the future - through broad set of predictions that may apply to almost anyone - in any situation.

In truth, it is a deep understanding of space and time. Effect of motion of massive celestial bodies, on our physical reality — our tiny box.

Effect of celestial motion on earthlings were apparent in changing weathers, and it had already found applications in agriculture - the subject of Parāśara's early investigation, but he found seasons impacted the moods. There was something in the extra-terrestrial that connected deep with the spirit of not only humans but animals too.

Astrology was considered the ultimate science for it warranted knowledge of all the "hundred skills". One could predict only if s/he knew everything that was there to know. Not only the hundred skills, it needed deep understanding of three potencies of knowledge - particularly Vishnu - the very source of manifestation. Armed with this ultimate spiritual science, Parāśara figured out how to predict expression of a specific trait in a newborn — with high degree of accuracy.

Even today, in India, a priest (Pandit) pictorially draws the state of heavenly bodies at the time of a childbirth — a cosmic birth-chart (Janmpatri). This document details the exact positions of seven main grahas (the sun, moon and five main planets), and twenty-seven stars Nakshtras. It also details the effect of the motion of this system on child's future. It is an important consideration (in many Hindu families) to determine the suitable marital match.

His epic book Brihat Parāśara Hora Shastra is considered the starting point of Astrology. An English translation of this epic work is embedded here below for reference .. and to test if #nostr could render web archive in long form notes !

@ 4874b840:31b0b8c0

В нашем городе внедряются биометрические технологии, которые меняют подход к обеспечению общественной безопасности. В парке "Южный" установлены камеры с функцией распознавания лиц, которые фиксируют правонарушения в реальном времени. На днях группа молодых людей, не заметив знаков, запрещающих курение, устроила пикник. Когда один из них закурил, камера зафиксировала нарушение, и через несколько секунд на его смартфоне появилось уведомление о штрафе в 500 рублей, отправленное на аккаунт в госуслугах.

По словам Игоря Сидорова, начальника отдела цифровой безопасности городской администрации, "наша цель — создать безопасную среду для всех жителей. Биометрические технологии позволяют нам быстро реагировать на правонарушения и формировать культуру соблюдения правил".

Однако не все калининградцы поддерживают этот подход. Некоторые выражают опасения по поводу вторжения в личную жизнь и возможных ошибок системы, которые могут привести к несправедливым штрафам.

@ 4874b840:31b0b8c0

В Калининграде стартовал проект «Город в цвете», в рамках которого 12 домов в центре города будут разукрашены яркими граффити. Эскизы для рисунков созданы искусственным интеллектом с учетом местных культурных особенностей.

После встречи с жителями, на которой обсуждались идеи, художники начали подготовительные работы и нанесение красок. К вечеру несколько домов на улице Ленина уже получили новые образы, отражающие калининградские пейзажи. Местные жители активно делятся фотографиями в социальных сетях и выражают восторг от преображения.

«Это просто невероятно! Я никогда не думал, что наши дома могут выглядеть так ярко и стильно. Граффити действительно отражают дух нашего города», — поделился своими впечатлениями местный житель Алексей. Проект стал началом новой традиции в городе.

@ 4874b840:31b0b8c0

В минувшую ночь, 11 декабря, в Музее янтаря произошла попытка вандализма, которая была успешно предотвращена благодаря современным системам безопасности.

Группа молодых людей попыталась повредить экспонаты музея, однако сработала сигнализация, оснащенная датчиками движения и камерами с распознаванием лиц. В результате полиция прибыла на место происшествия в кратчайшие сроки и задержала злоумышленников, оказавшихся несовершеннолетними.

Директор музея подчеркнула, что инцидент подтвердил важность инвестиций в технологии охраны культурного наследия: «Мы постоянно обновляем наши системы безопасности, чтобы защитить уникальные экспонаты. Этот случай показал, что наши усилия не напрасны, и мы будем продолжать работать над улучшением охраны».

@ 21b41910:91f41a5e

Chef's notes

Based on assorted recipes and refined over time, this round of beef tastes great as a result of the sweet and savory marinade.

Details

• ⏲️ Prep time: 5 minutes (+ 1 day)
• 🍳 Cook time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 pounds lean beef (may be labeled as London Broil)
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup malt vinegar
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1 tbsp sweetener of choice (honey, molasses, syrup, 4 packets of duck sauce, etc)
• 2 tsp old bay seasoning
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

Directions

1. Day Before: Mix all ingredients except the beef in a bowl to form a marinade. Place the cut of beef in a gallon sized Ziploc bag. Pour marinade over beef, ensure fully covered. Remove any excess air from the bag and seal. Place back in refrigerator for up to 24 hours before cooking.
2. Cooking: Bring beef out of refrigerator (still in bag), and allow to rise to room temperature (about 30-40 minutes). Preheat broiler for about 15 minutes (your oven will vary). Broil for about 7-8 minutes on one side, then flip over. Continue broiling for another 7-10 minutes until temperature reads 140°F. Remove from broiler and let rest for 10 minutes before slicing thinly.

@ 9ff58691:0bf6c134

В Кургане состоялось долгожданное открытие новой экспозиции в музее науки и технологий, посвященной важной теме “Наука и человек”. Это событие стало знаковым моментом в культурной жизни города и шагом к развитию образовательной инфраструктуры.

На выставке представлены интерактивные технологичные экспонаты, которые позволяют посетителям не просто наблюдать, но и активно участвовать в процессе познания. Уникальные инсталляции включают в себя виртуальные симуляции, демонстрирующие достижения в медицине, экологии и инженерии, что делает науку доступной и интересной для всех.

Директор музея отметил, что новая экспозиция призвана вдохновить молодежь и пробудить интерес к научным исследованиям. Ожидается, что выставка привлечет внимание как школьников, так и студентов, стремящихся узнать больше о современных технологиях и их влиянии на жизнь человека.

Посетители уже начали знакомство с новыми экспонатами, а интерактивные элементы выставки особенно заинтересовали детей и взрослых. Это событие подчеркивает стремление Кургана стать центром науки и образования, способствуя развитию инновационного мышления среди горожан.

Автор: Эвелина Тимирбаева

@ 9ff58691:0bf6c134

Жители Кургана, мы рады сообщить вам о новых инициативах городской администрации, направленных на поддержку психологического благополучия наших жителей!

🧠 В Кургане открылся современный Центр психологической помощи, оснащенный по последнему слову техники. Здесь вы можете пройти комплексную диагностику с использованием технологий виртуальной реальности и ИИ-ассистентов. Специалисты центра разработают для вас индивидуальную программу восстановления и развития ментального здоровья.

"Наш Центр использует самые передовые методики в области психологии и психотерапии. Мы применяем технологии нейровизуализации, AI-анализа эмоций и когнитивного моделирования, чтобы максимально точно определить потребности каждого клиента и помочь ему достичь гармонии", - комментирует Ольга Соколова, ведущий психолог Центра.

💻 Кроме того, в Кургане запущена программа "Цифровой психолог" - бесплатный онлайн-сервис психологической поддержки для всех жителей. С помощью чат-ботов, виртуальных консультантов и мобильных приложений вы можете получить квалифицированную помощь в любое время, не выходя из дома.

🏫 Также в школах и университетах Кургана открываются специальные кабинеты психологической разгрузки. Здесь студенты и ученики могут отдохнуть от учебной нагрузки, пройти сеансы арт-терапии или медитации с использованием VR-технологий.

Забота о ментальном здоровье - один из ключевых приоритетов для администрации Кургана. Мы уверены, что эти инициативы помогут нашим жителям справляться со стрессами и жить более счастливой и гармоничной жизнью.

Автор: Елизавета Медведева

@ 8a6d2d81:9d56bcc3

__

@ 9ff58691:0bf6c134

В Кургане, как и во всем мире, технологические стартапы играют все более важную роль в бизнесе. Эти инновационные компании не только создают новые рабочие места и стимулируют экономический рост, но и меняют саму суть бизнеса.

Новые стартапы в Кургане В последнее время в Кургане появились несколько новых стартапов, которые уже показали свою эффективность. Например, компания "КурганТех" разработала инновационную систему управления логистикой, которая позволяет оптимизировать доставку товаров и услуг. Другой стартап, "КурганАгро", создал систему мониторинга и управления сельскохозяйственными процессами, которая позволяет фермерам увеличить урожайность и снизить затраты.

Особенности стартапов в Кургане Стартапы в Кургане имеют несколько особенностей, которые отличают их от других компаний. Во-первых, они часто фокусируются на решении конкретных проблем, которые актуальны для региона. Например, компания "КурганЭко" разработала систему утилизации отходов, которая позволяет сократить количество мусора в городе. Во-вторых, стартапы в Кургане часто сотрудничают с местными университетами и исследовательскими центрами, что позволяет им получить доступ к новейшим технологиям и экспертизе.

Внедрение новых технологий Стартапы в Кургане активно внедряют новые технологии, такие как искусственный интеллект (ИИ), блокчейн и интернет вещей. Например, компания "КурганТех" использует ИИ для оптимизации логистических процессов, а компания "КурганАгро" использует блокчейн для создания прозрачной и безопасной системы управления сельскохозяйственными процессами.

Отличия стартапов в 2040 году от 2024 Стартапы в 2040 году отличаются от стартапов в 2024 году несколькими ключевыми аспектами:

• Больший акцент на экологической устойчивости: Стартапы в 2040 году часто фокусируются на решении экологических проблем и создании устойчивых бизнес-моделей. • Более широкое использование новых технологий: Стартапы в 2040 году активно внедряют новые технологии, такие как ИИ, блокчейн и IoT, для решения бизнес-задач. • Более тесное сотрудничество с государством и обществом: Стартапы в 2040 году часто сотрудничают с государством и обществом для решения социальных и экономических проблем. • Более быстрый рост и масштабирование: Стартапы в 2040 году могут расти и масштабироваться быстрее, благодаря доступу к новым технологиям и глобальным рынкам.

В Кургане, как и во всем мире, технологические стартапы играют все более важную роль в бизнесе. Эти инновационные компании не только создают новые рабочие места и стимулируют экономический рост, но и меняют саму суть бизнеса. Мы будем продолжать следить за развитием стартапов в Кургане и рассказывать о их успехах.

Автор: София Багирова

@ 2d74600a:d6708a00

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, noto principalmente per il suo capolavoro "Il piccolo principe", è un autore che ha saputo coniugare in modo unico la profondità del pensiero filosofico con la leggerezza e la bellezza della poetica. La sua opera si distingue per un approccio che trascende le convenzioni letterarie, creando un ponte tra vita e conoscenza, tra esperienza e riflessione. In questo articolo, esploreremo come il pensiero di Saint-Exupéry si configuri come un atto di creazione che abbraccia la complessità dell'esistenza umana.

Un Pensiero Filosofico e Poetico

Saint-Exupéry non si limita a descrivere il mondo moderno; lo analizza, lo interroga e lo trasforma in un oggetto di contemplazione. A differenza di molti dei suoi contemporanei, che si sentono sopraffatti dalle sfide e dalle contraddizioni del loro tempo, Saint-Exupéry si erge come un pensatore critico. La sua scrittura è intrisa di una filosofia che non si impone, ma si offre come un invito a riflettere. La sua capacità di fondere il pensiero filosofico con la poetica gli consente di esplorare temi complessi come l'amore, la solitudine, la ricerca di senso e la bellezza della vita.

La Creazione come Atto di Conoscenza

In Saint-Exupéry, la creazione non è solo un atto artistico, ma anche un processo di conoscenza. La sua scrittura diventa un mezzo attraverso il quale l'autore cerca di comprendere il mondo e il posto dell'uomo al suo interno. Questa operazione di conglobare vita e conoscenza si manifesta in una prosa che è al contempo semplice e profonda, capace di toccare le corde più intime dell'animo umano. Le sue storie, pur nella loro apparente leggerezza, sono cariche di significato e invitano il lettore a riflettere sulla propria esistenza.

Un Dialogo con i Filosofi

Saint-Exupéry si colloca spesso al livello intellettuale dei più influenti filosofi del suo tempo. La sua capacità di affrontare questioni esistenziali e morali con una lucidità e una sensibilità uniche lo rende un interlocutore privilegiato nel panorama filosofico del XX secolo. La sua opera invita a una riflessione profonda, stimolando il lettore a interrogarsi su temi universali come la libertà, la responsabilità e la ricerca di verità. In questo senso, il suo pensiero si fa ponte tra la filosofia e la poesia, creando un dialogo fecondo tra le due discipline.

L'Universo del Sensibile e dell'Intellegibile

Un aspetto distintivo del pensiero di Saint-Exupéry è la sua capacità di penetrare in un universo in cui il sensibile eccede l'intellegibile. Le sue descrizioni poetiche della natura, delle relazioni umane e delle esperienze quotidiane si intrecciano con riflessioni più profonde, creando un tessuto narrativo ricco e stratificato. Questa fusione di sensazioni e pensieri consente al lettore di vivere un'esperienza totale, in cui la bellezza del mondo si rivela attraverso la lente della filosofia.

Conclusione

Il pensiero di Antoine de Saint-Exupéry rappresenta un esempio straordinario di come la filosofia e la poetica possano coesistere e arricchirsi reciprocamente. La sua capacità di affrontare le complessità della vita umana con una sensibilità unica lo colloca tra i grandi pensatori e poeti del XX secolo. Attraverso la sua opera, Saint-Exupéry ci invita a riflettere, a sognare e a cercare un significato più profondo nell'esistenza, rendendo la sua scrittura un atto di creazione che continua a ispirare generazioni di lettori.

@ 592295cf:413a0db9

November 18th week

Let's proceed step by step, calm and reason.

Bluesky is only 5 doubles from Twitter, now has its own network effect.

Article of Hodlbod. The state of the art of Key management

nostr:nevent1qqsgpckkyck5m58gux5xst03ls68xxfz0ep2ndws6s039492vxvtc7spp4mhxue69uhkummn9ekx7mqprdmhxue69uhksmmyd33x7epwvdhhyctrd3jjuar0dak8xq3qjlrs53pkdfjnts29kveljul2sm0actt6n8dxrrzqcersttvcuv3qcxhke2

The problem is how a user creates an account. Will fix It.

If you have a signer account like Amber, nsec app, all right, then it says remove all logins And ask the user how he wants to login.

Bluesky is an anti Trump and Elon Musk movement. It started with Brazil the significant exodus, the thing had a certain amount of stability and began to arrive a lot of people. So it's a sort of political party hanging against.

Nostr is still made by fixed stars, there are many stars but they are still firm in the sky.

Rod made n8n ocKnamo bot

nostr:nevent1qvzqqqqqqypzqx760c0h894a5tg7lxgr8k506twrv2qs0yxln0nz7kgs8zae03xeqy2hwumn8ghj7un9d3shjtnyv9kh2uewd9hj7qg4waehxw309ahx7um5wghx77r5wghxgetk9uqzqjgxwlfdru3zzcee0sxk8d0dddwj4tu3xp00gwahy2t0n5k2se6uu8p7fk

This is interesting, ocknamo Is a rock, keep pushing

Roadmap are bullshit, you spend the time to the the actual things, sure if a groups ok

I read Hodlbod's spech in practice with the tilde wants to create rooms, then there is the space that is the carcass we are very close to what is Unanimity, but it's fine with much more refining, but at the cost of being unique.

Discord vs Telegram

I downloaded three Nostr apps, I called it Atlas instead of Olas, zapstore and flotilla (removing Coracle).

Olas would be nice if he had the feature awards on the photo and Zap 😉.

Zap store continues to mark me an update of minibits, but minibits updates in the app, I also updated to a new version, however maybe it is a different type of app. Putting the key does not seem to have changed a comma the app. But then I realized it's about the app signers. The signers who followed the signers that are in your WoT, the signers that are in your lists 😉. It does not divide Nostr apps from Nostr, but it works.

Olas there is no focus on the media server, maybe if you have a new account it's all explained. Problems with dark mode and filter. I would like the idea of switching videos and pictures, can be something you can do in the settings

photos (home) video (other button) And maybe there's a flip button 😅 So Instagram becomes tik tok. The focus must be in creating content. Ok. Olas allows you to upload only images for the moment and shorts from other Nostr apps. For some reason, I don't hear video audio, maybe some permission to give.

Flotilla, if you connect with nsec.app creates a Nostr connect token from flotilla and enter it in nsec.app, asks for permissions and lists them and goes.

With this test account, I don't follow anyone using it to feed on Coracle. The app also suggests people to contact. There is also a space for personal notes. Then there are spaces. And it basically shows you the Relays and here the situation is a little confused. Although I know that there is a space/group called flotilla I am not able to find it, maybe you need the invitation code that is in the link. Also copying it I couldn't enter but the approach is that I think. flotilla link This was the link.

Maybe Hodlbod takes a step back and joins Unanimity. I don't think a step back is a possibility.

Maybe there are updates and they make a specific base workflow Relays based group and then the various branches NIP-29 chachi and 0xchat and the others (Telegram group) Flotilla (discord) It seems like there is a reconciliation at least to converge everyone 😉 "shallow reply hierarchies"

Kohei is also mentioned 🤙 NFC card article An interesting article

nostr:naddr1qvzqqqr4gupzqx760c0h894a5tg7lxgr8k506twrv2qs0yxln0nz7kgs8zae03xeqy2hwumn8ghj7un9d3shjtnyv9kh2uewd9hj7qg3waehxw309ahx7um5wgh8w6twv5hsqzr9v3jx2wpn8qmsz4edqe

---

Marketplace on Nostr Help to test yojimble

nostr:nevent1qvzqqqqqqypzphn4avwh5e38spagmlc0kvmulnccnelf479tvg5ldz8kv3cscvq5qy2hwumn8ghj7un9d3shjtnyv9kh2uewd9hj7qpqw7f0ja820er7d2jfa4vq9upelw88ejha6hcvj5gxt7gqnz646r8ql2a2cp

That's all!!

@ 78c90fc4:4bff983c

Fascinating to see actor Josh Brolin talk freely with Joe Rogan about his own potential side effect from the MRNA, the dangers of the childhood schedule and vaccinating their own kids.

It’s a scary process says Brolin when you consider the massive increase in the number of childhood shots over the years.

ROGAN. There’s also doctors who say it doesn’t even really work for babies but what you’re doing is conditioning the parents to accept the fact your child is going to get regularly vaccinated…. Our paediatrician wanted to put the kids on a different schedule … he didn’t want them to have any vaccines before they were two…

BROLIN. let’s not assault your children with a potential poison because everybody is different.

The awakening continues!!

https://x.com/SaiKate108/status/1859730060472877361 https://x.com/RealWsiegrist/status/1860334760284819555

Impfen: Mythos und Realität https://waltisiegrist.locals.com/upost/3275847/impfen-mythos-und-realitaet

@ 5d4b6c8d:8a1c1ee3

Recap

We almost made it through unscathed, but the Nets couldn't pull off the win over superstar-less 76ers. The Ewing Theory is very much in play with Joel Embiid.

The Warriors game came right down to the wire and was unreasonably close throughout.

The Rockets demonstrated why most of us picked them.

Easily the pick of the night was @supercyclone's Bulls. I thought he was a dead man walking with that pick, but that's why we play the games. Great pick!

The Wizards and Nuggets did their best to keep us from watching, with their horrific court designs.

Are the Bucks back on track or are the Pacers just that bad?

I'm glad I didn't take the Kings.

Prize: 50 kilosats!

@Carresan, you can zap your 5k to this post to buy back in.

originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/779825

@ a012dc82:6458a70d

Table Of Content

• Content

• Conclusion

• FAQ

• You May Also Like

• External Links

If you want to invest in the cryptocurrency market, you have many options, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and several altcoins. But there are also backdoors into the cryptosphere that may be used to learn more. If you want to invest in cryptocurrency but don't want to actually purchase any, here's what you need to know:

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Investing in cryptocurrency presents some new and unusual challenges.

• Due to the high degree of volatility associated with cryptocurrency investments, some people opt to put their money into more tried and true investment vehicles instead.

• Many mutual funds and stocks are available that are tied to the bitcoin industry, allowing you to indirectly participate in the market.

What Is Indirect Crypto Investing?

You may still get cryptocurrency without signing up for a cryptocurrency exchange account. Indirect bitcoin investments allow you to acquire exposure to the market without actually purchasing any cryptocurrency. Stocks, mutual funds, and exchange-traded funds are some examples of the conventional investment vehicles that are used for indirect investing (ETFs).

There are, once again, both benefits and drawbacks to think about, such as safety, costs, and the possibility of losses. You should think carefully about whether or not an indirect investment is worth it to you when considering whether or not to acquire cryptocurrencies via a third party.

Crypto ETFs and Mutual Funds

The first alternative to acquiring cryptocurrency outright is via investment funds. Grayscale Bitcoin Trust is one of the first significant participants in this offering (GBTC). It has some of the same features as an ETF but is treated quite differently under the law. But if you invest in GBTC via your brokerage account, you'll get the same outcome as if you bought a Bitcoin fund. The value of the investment will rise and fall in tandem with the fluctuating Bitcoin market.

The high expenditure ratio of 2% is a significant drawback of grayscale. Simply put, they add 2% to the purchase price of Bitcoin to cover the cost of keeping it in a wallet under your name. Avoid the 2% maintenance cost by doing it on your own.

Besides the aforementioned Bitwise 10 Crypto Index Fund, there are also the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO), the Valkyrie Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BTF), the VanEck Bitcoin Strategy ETF (XBTF), the Global X Blockchain and Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITS), and the VanEck Global X Bitcoin Index Fund (GBXB) (BITW). It is important to read the prospectus and understand the fund's fees and underlying investments since they might vary widely.

Cryptocurrency and Blockchain Stocks

Stocks of firms involved in the blockchain sector or those that invest in or hold bitcoin may provide investors with exposure to the cryptocurrency market.

Companies in the cryptocurrency business provide a variety of services, including mining, software development, and more. Bitfarms (BITF), HIVE (HIVE), Canaan (CAN), and Riot Blockchain (RIOT) are just a few of the stocks availablet, and more. Bitfarms (BITF), HIVE (HIVE), Canaan (CAN), and Riot Blockchain (RIOT) are just a few of the stocks available. The cryptocurrency exchange and stock market platform Coinbase (COIN) is a major player in the industry.

In the event of a general downward trend in cryptocurrency values, many cryptocurrency stocks tend to perform poorly as well. If you have any worries about your investing choices or goals, you should see a trustworthy financial adviser.

Bonus Tip: Credit Card Rewards

Finally, credit card rewards are a great way to add to your bitcoin holdings without having to part with any hard dollars. You can use your credit card as you like—swipe, touch, dip, click—and earn cryptocurrency in the process with a few different cards.

The BlockFi Rewards Visa Signature card, the Gemini Credit Card, and the Upgrade Bitcoin Rewards Visa card are all exceptional options for individual bitcoin holders. Both the Crypto.com and Coinbase exchanges provide rewards cards.

The personal SoFi credit card and the Venmo credit card are two examples of cards that provide you with a wide range of redemption possibilities, including bitcoin. Earning cryptocurrency as a credit card reward is like investing in cryptocurrency without really purchasing any. No matter what happens to the price of cryptocurrency, you still stand to gain since you didn't have to spend any money to get it.

What is Cryptocurrency?

Secure transactions may be made in what is known as "cryptocurrency," a digital or virtual currency established through the use of cryptographic procedures. There is no government or bank in charge of it, as there is with fiat currency.

What is Bitcoin?

Bitcoin, the first successful decentralized cryptocurrency, was founded in 2008 by an unknown person or group of people named Satoshi Nakamoto. It's a kind of digital currency that can be safely transferred from one user to another through the web.

Who is Satoshi Nakamoto?

The person or individuals behind the creation of the Bitcoin protocol and the first cryptocurrency in 2008 are often referred to by the alias "Satoshi Nakamoto." Nakamoto was active in the bitcoin and blockchain communities until about 2010.

Conclusion

Cryptocurrencies have been called "the next big thing" in technology. Those who want to get in on the new technology without taking undue risks might consider investing indirectly in crypto. This will increase the portfolio's diversification and help spread out the associated risk.

FAQ

Do I need a cryptocurrency wallet to make an investment? To protect your bitcoin holdings, you need to get a wallet. However, if you want to test the waters before diving in headfirst, platforms like PayPal and Robinhood make it easy to acquire and store small amounts of cryptocurrency. However, the private key to these wallets is held securely by the wallet provider.

To what cryptocurrency does one have the least amount of difficulty allocating funds? Ethereum is seen as a good cryptocurrency to invest in by many, particularly those just starting out in the industry. Since the value of Ethereum's currency (ETH) goes up with the number of active nodes on the network, we can assume that the price of ETH will go up as more decentralized applications (dApps) and other projects are built and launched on Ethereum.

In what timeframe can a single bitcoin be mined? One bitcoin may be mined in around 10 minutes with the right gear and software, but this setup can be expensive and is only available to a select group of people. The average user can mine a bitcoin in 30 days, which is both common and reasonable.

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.

@ f8a5df57:b7a58cd4

Содержание сюжета:

Вчера в Москве состоялась долгожданная премьера нового фильма известного режиссера Дмитрия Макракова «Все или ничего». Мероприятие прошло в одном из самых престижных кинотеатров столицы и собрало множество звезд отечественного кино, а также поклонников творчества режиссера.

«Все или ничего» — это драмеди, рассказывающая о сложных взаимоотношениях между друзьями, которые решают рискнуть всем ради исполнения своей мечты. Фильм затрагивает темы дружбы, предательства и поиска себя в современном мире. Главные роли исполнили популярные актеры, которые уже успели завоевать сердца зрителей.

Реакция зрителей. После просмотра зрители были в восторге от глубины сюжета и мастерства актерской игры. Многие отметили, что фильм заставляет задуматься о важности выбора и последствиях, которые он может иметь. В социальных сетях пользователи активно делятся своими впечатлениями, подчеркивая эмоциональную насыщенность картины.

На пресс-конференции после премьеры Дмитрий Макраков отметил, что создание этого фильма стало для него настоящим вызовом. «Я хотел показать, как иногда мы готовы рисковать всем ради своих мечтаний, но не всегда понимаем, к каким последствиям это может привести», — заявил он.

Премьера «Все или ничего» стала ярким событием в культурной жизни Москвы и уже привлекла внимание критиков и зрителей. Фильм обещает стать одним из главных кинопроектов сезона и, возможно, получит признание на международных фестивалях. Не упустите возможность увидеть эту увлекательную историю на большом экране!

Автор: Рината Ситникова