@ 2516d145:070c8fa1

Liebe Leserin, lieber Leser,

Zahlen haben seit jeher eine tiefere Bedeutung. Sie begleiten uns, formen unsere Welt und erzählen Geschichten, wenn wir bereit sind, sie zu hören. In dieser Ausgabe – der 47. ihrer Art – widmen wir uns einer Zahl, die weit mehr ist als eine bloße Ziffer: der 47.

In der Numerologie gilt 47 als eine Zahl der tiefen Einsicht, der spirituellen Suche und der praktischen Weisheit. Sie verbindet die analytische Energie der 4 mit der intuitiven Kraft der 7 und erschafft so eine Synergie zwischen Struktur und Erkenntnis. Wer sich mit der 47 verbunden fühlt, strebt nach Wissen, Klarheit und Fortschritt, sei es im persönlichen oder gesellschaft­lichen Kontext.

Diese Zahl taucht in diesem Jahr in bedeutenden Zusammenhängen auf. Donald Trump wurde 2024 erneut zum Präsidenten der Vereinigten Staaten gewählt und ist nun der amtierende 47. Präsident. Ein Mann, der wie kein anderer in der jüngeren Geschichte polarisiert, spaltet und gleichzeitig eine treue Anhängerschaft inspiriert. Eine solche Präsidentschaft ist zweifellos ein Wendepunkt – politisch, gesellschaftlich und historisch.

Und schließlich trägt die 47 für mich persönlich eine besondere Relevanz: Sie entspricht meinem Alter. Mit 47 Jahren stehe ich an einem Punkt des Lebens, an dem Vergangenheit und Zukunft in einem feinen Gleichgewicht existieren. Die Erfahrungen der vergangenen Jahrzehnte formen den Blick auf das Kommende, und doch bleibt Raum für Wachstum, Veränderung und neue Einsichten.

Diese Ausgabe ist somit nicht nur eine Fortsetzung unserer Reise, sondern auch eine Einladung: Lassen Sie uns gemeinsam erkunden, welche Muster, welche Bedeutungen und welche Zukunft sich aus dieser faszinierenden Zahl entfalten. Vielleicht entdecken wir dabei mehr als nur Zusammenhänge – vielleicht finden wir einen neuen Blick auf die Welt.

Ein besonderer Blickfang dieser Ausgabe ist das Coverbild: Ein kleines Mädchen, das einen schwer bewaffneten Soldaten durchsucht. Dieses Bild stellt die Welt auf den Kopf, kehrt Machtverhältnisse um und zwingt uns, über Krieg, Kontrolle und Vertrauen nachzudenken. Es zeigt uns, dass Unschuld und Frieden oft die größten Prüfsteine für Systeme der Gewalt sind. Es ist eine stille, aber eindringliche Mahnung, dass unsere Zukunft in den Händen der kommenden Generationen liegt – und wir ihnen eine Welt hinterlassen sollten, die mehr auf Vertrauen als auf Waffen gebaut ist.

Lassen Sie uns gemeinsam für eine friedlichere Zukunft einstehen. Möge diese Ausgabe ein Impuls sein, neue Wege des Miteinanders zu entdecken und unseren Blick für das Wesentliche zu schärfen. Frieden beginnt in unseren Gedanken – lassen wir ihn in unseren Taten Wirklichkeit werden.

Paul Andersson, Herausgeber

\ P.S. In den nächsten Wochen und Monaten werde ich meinen Blog auf die Plattform Pareto umziehen. Die Vorzüge von Pareto, das auf Nostr aufsetzt, werden in entsprechenden Artikeln dieser Ausgabe thematisiert. Außerdem erhalten Sie die Möglichkeit den Nachhall auch mit Bitcoins bzw. Satoshis zu unterstützen.

• https://getalby.com/p/massel

@ 16f1a010:31b1074b

In the rapidly evolving world of Bitcoin, running a Bitcoin node has become more accessible than ever. Platforms like Umbrel, Start9, myNode, and Citadel offer user-friendly interfaces to simplify node management. However, for those serious about maintaining a robust and efficient Lightning node ⚡, relying solely on these platforms may not be the optimal choice.

Let’s delve into why embracing Bitcoin Core and mastering the command-line interface (CLI) can provide a more reliable, sovereign, and empowering experience.

Understanding Node Management Platforms

What Are Umbrel, Start9, myNode, and Citadel?

Umbrel, Start9, myNode, and Citadel are platforms designed to streamline the process of running a Bitcoin node. They offer graphical user interfaces (GUIs) that allow users to manage various applications, including Bitcoin Core and Lightning Network nodes, through a web-based dashboard 🖥️.

These platforms often utilize Docker containers 🐳 to encapsulate applications, providing a modular and isolated environment for each service.

The Appeal of Simplified Node Management

The primary allure of these platforms lies in their simplicity. With minimal command-line interaction, users can deploy a full Bitcoin and Lightning node, along with a suite of additional applications.

✅ Easy one-command installation
✅ Web-based GUI for management
✅ Automatic app updates (but with delays, as we’ll discuss)

However, while this convenience is attractive, it comes at a cost.

The Hidden Complexities of Using Node Management Platforms

While the user-friendly nature of these platforms is advantageous, it can also introduce several challenges that may hinder advanced users or those seeking greater control over their nodes.

🚨 Dependency on Maintainers for Updates

One significant concern is the reliance on platform maintainers for updates. Since these platforms manage applications through Docker containers, users must wait for the maintainers to update the container images before they can access new features or security patches.

🔴 Delayed Bitcoin Core updates = potential security risks
🔴 Lightning Network updates are not immediate
🔴 Bugs and vulnerabilities may persist longer

Instead of waiting on a third party, why not update Bitcoin Core & LND yourself instantly?

⚙️ Challenges in Customization and Advanced Operations

For users aiming to perform advanced operations, such as:

• Custom backups 📂
• Running specific CLI commands 🖥️
• Optimizing node settings ⚡

…the abstraction layers introduced by these platforms become obstacles.

Navigating through nested directories and issuing commands inside Docker containers makes troubleshooting a nightmare. Instead of a simple bitcoin-cli command, you must figure out how to execute it inside the container, adding unnecessary complexity.

Increased Backend Complexity

To achieve frontend simplicity, these platforms make the backend more complex.

🚫 Extra layers of abstraction
🚫 Hidden logs and settings
🚫 Harder troubleshooting

The use of multiple Docker containers, custom scripts, and unique file structures can make system maintenance and debugging a pain.

This complication defeats the purpose of “making running a node easy.”

✅ Advantages of Using Bitcoin Core and Command-Line Interface (CLI)

By installing Bitcoin Core directly and using the command-line interface (CLI), you gain several key advantages that make managing a Bitcoin and Lightning node more efficient and empowering.

Direct Control and Immediate Updates

One of the biggest downsides of package manager-based platforms is the reliance on third-party maintainers to release updates. Since Bitcoin Core, Lightning implementations (such as LND, Core Lightning, or Eclair), and other related software evolve rapidly, waiting for platform-specific updates can leave you running outdated or vulnerable versions.

By installing Bitcoin Core directly, you remove this dependency. You can update immediately when new versions are released, ensuring your node benefits from the latest features, security patches, and bug fixes. The same applies to Lightning software—being able to install and update it yourself gives you full autonomy over your node’s performance and security.

🛠 Simplified System Architecture

Platforms like Umbrel and myNode introduce extra complexity by running Bitcoin Core and Lightning inside Docker containers. This means:

• The actual files and configurations are stored inside Docker’s filesystem, making it harder to locate and manage them manually.
• If something breaks, troubleshooting is more difficult due to the added layer of abstraction.
• Running commands requires jumping through Docker shell sessions, adding unnecessary friction to what should be a straightforward process.

Instead, a direct installation of Bitcoin Core, Lightning, and Electrum Server (if needed) results in a cleaner, more understandable system. The software runs natively on your machine, without containerized layers making things more convoluted.

Additionally, setting up your own systemd service files for Bitcoin and Lightning is not as complicated as it seems. Once configured, these services will run automatically on boot, offering the same level of convenience as platforms like Umbrel but without the unnecessary complexity.

Better Lightning Node Management

If you’re running a Lightning Network node, using CLI-based tools provides far more flexibility than relying on a GUI like the ones bundled with node management platforms.

🟢 Custom Backup Strategies – Running Lightning through a GUI-based node manager often means backups are handled in a way that is opaque to the user. With CLI tools, you can easily script automatic backups of your channels, wallets, and configurations.

🟢 Advanced Configuration – Platforms like Umbrel force certain configurations by default, limiting how you can customize your Lightning node. With a direct install, you have full control over: * Channel fees 💰 * Routing policies 📡 * Liquidity management 🔄

🟢 Direct Access to LND, Core Lightning, or Eclair – Instead of issuing commands through a GUI (which is often limited in functionality), you can use: * lncli (for LND) * lightning-cli (for Core Lightning) …to interact with your node at a deeper level.

Enhanced Learning and Engagement

A crucial aspect of running a Bitcoin and Lightning node is understanding how it works.

Using an abstraction layer like Umbrel may get a node running in a few clicks, but it does little to teach users how Bitcoin actually functions.

By setting up Bitcoin Core, Lightning, and related software manually, you will:

✅ Gain practical knowledge of Bitcoin nodes, networking, and system performance.
✅ Learn how to configure and manage RPC commands.
✅ Become less reliant on third-party developers and more confident in troubleshooting.

🎯 Running a Bitcoin node is about sovereignty – learn how to control it yourself.

Become more sovereign TODAY

Many guides make this process straightforward K3tan has a fantastic guide on running Bitcoin Core, Electrs, LND and more.
- Ministry of Nodes Guide 2024
- You can find him on nostr
nostr:npub1txwy7guqkrq6ngvtwft7zp70nekcknudagrvrryy2wxnz8ljk2xqz0yt4x

Even with the best of guides, if you are running this software,
📖 READ THE DOCUMENTATION

This is all just software at the end of the day. Most of it is very well documented. Take a moment to actually read through the documentation for yourself when installing. The documentation has step by step guides on setting up the software. Here is a helpful list: * Bitcoin.org Bitcoin Core Linux install instructions * Bitcoin Core Code Repository * Electrs Installation * LND Documentation * LND Code Repository * CLN Documentation * CLN Code Repository

If you have any more resources or links I should add, please comment them . I want to add as much to this article as I can.

@ f288a224:1da1792c

First, some context.

I'm a child of the original internet chat-rooms on IRC, and I've tried over the last decades different applications and websites that we could all agree are "social media", but until I found NOSTR (Notes and Other Stuff Transmitted by Relays) I hadn't had this certainty that this isn't something that I will eventually change for something else.

Today, even with all its early stage issues, I have the certainty that NOSTR may be the ULTIMATE and FINAL HOME for my online life.

THE PROBLEMS with the current/old social media landscape

I'm tired of moving from one social media to the next.

As many of you, in my digital lifetime I've had many accounts that have now become obsolete; and the "content" and followings I created during that time was lost when one tech giant lost over the other, forcing us all to "MOVE" ourselves over to the new, and start building our content and following from scratch.

Lately, it's become even worse, where many of us have seen ourselves forced to use and feed more than one social media at a time, since they all serve various purposes, with sometimes diverse functionality, besides all being catered to different segments of people to connect you to (LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, Youtube...). How much is too much, though? And how much time should we keep spending re-adapting our content to reach all of our network?

For work, I've found myself having to create accounts in several of these giant data hoarding companies, having to build each following from scratch and to create "content" for all, and having to go through the hurdle of posting everything, everywhere, all at once.

I'm sick of ever-changing terms, conditions and capabilities.

Let's be honest, the majority of us have never ever read the full terms and conditions, let alone every time they are updated without us knowing which rights to our data we are giving away, and which terms we are accepting that may be detrimental to us and our mental health.

We've learnt to accept that we are in their playground, they make up the rules, and if they choose to change the rules mid-game we just need to swallow it. We literally have no other choice, it's either that or desertion, which basically means walking away from everything we've built on their "public square". So, like a carefully engineered detrimental incentive structure, the more time we spend building on their turf, the more we are tied to them and conditioned to never leave them. The more we build and make them grow on our content, the more we'll lose if or when we drop out.

And even if you accept all that and choose to play along, and you do your best to create the most awesome account in the neighborhood, the random changes they make to optimize ad revenue or user attention will inevitably affect you and all your work.

If you created all your feed according to Instagram's squares but they choose to change to TikTok style dimensions due to their tech positioning battle with the Chinese giant... You swallow. If you edited your reels according to what you felt was the best 100 seconds video... Not anymore, suddenly 90 seconds is the maximum you're allowed... No appeal, no options. You Swallow. What? Seeing less of the people you actually WANT TO FOLLOW because they decided to clutter your feed with ads and suggestions, guess again: YOU SWALLOW.

AREN'T YOU FEELING FULL ENOUGH OF ALL THE SHIT THEY'VE FORCED DOWN YOUR THROAT?

Living our digital lives on these platforms feels like standing on ever changing quicksand, never endingly trying to "hack the algorithm" in order to have our content placed in front of the people who should automatically be able to see us from the moment they chose to follow us; and the worst part of it is, you never know when you may lose it all.

Let's not forget, your social media account is NOT REALLY YOURS.

Recently, a friend's social media account was hacked. She didn't know how it happened; all she knew is that she got an email from Meta saying she had acted against community guidelines and her accounts were therefore being removed (the one hacked and all those liked to her email, which meant personal and work accounts). She tried to appeal, to no avail. She hadn't done anything wrong, but suddenly her identity had disappeared from all our feeds, and her content didn't exist anywhere anymore. She lost plenty of photos she had always counted on finding on her Instagram and lost the people she followed and who followed her. It was as if she had never existed on the platform.

(Looks like a good moment to remind you to download all your valued content from the platforms you use in case something like this happens to you)

And this happened to someone who hadn't done anything "to deserve it". It has actually happened to more than one person I know, and every time they've been helpless and had no recourse, and yet, found themselves having to rebuild from scratch on the same platform that de-platformed them, because they had "no other option", and "their friends are there".

Many more people have encountered this awful wake up call, some because of a hack, like my friend, others found themselves removed because they posted content critical of the platform... there are so many reasons people have gotten de-platformed and posts have gotten deleted without warning. And every time, we accept it, as if we owe them something; as if we need to settle for this kind of abusive environment that gets rich on our content and attention without having a say in anything.

But we do have another option that flips that attention retention model completely on its head and empowers the user. That option is NOSTR, our exit from the extractive social media silos they have trapped us into.

NOSTR: The better social experience for the internet era.

NOSTR (Notes and Other Stuff Transmitted by Relays) is not a social media app, it's an Internet protocol. It's open source and many many developers around the world are creating apps on top of it and creating THE ULTIMATE SOCIAL MEDIA EXPERIENCE for users.

I first heard of NOSTR from Jack Dorsey on what used to be called Twitter, and when I joined it two years ago it was really rough around the edges, but it was FULL OF POTENTIAL and the value proposition was very clear to me from the beginning.

Firstly, YOU OWN YOUR IDENTITY, that includes your content and your follower list.

So, what does owning you identity mean? I guess many of us have thought we owned our identity before, but the reality is that the platforms owned our identities, which is why they could delete or censor us.

Owning your identity on NOSTR is empowered by encryption and cryptography. I'm not going to go into the technical part, but to explain as simply as I can, on NOSTR no platform owns your login and password to use on their playground; you can basically use any NOSTR app to create your identity to navigate it. They give you a login (npub) and password (nsec), and the magic part is that you can USE THAT IDENTITY ON ANY NOSTR APP OR WEBSITE, no need to sign up individually on each one.

Welcome to the beauty of INTEROPERABILITY.

I cannot emphasize enough what it feels like to be able to take your identity, your followers, your content and carry it from one app to the other.

On NOSTR there is a rich ecosystem of apps and websites that keep growing. We have "clients" that allow you to experience NOSTR in interfaces that could remind you of Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Substack, Twitch, Clubhouse, Podcast apps and many more. You can find many of them on https://nostrapps.com/ .

With that information in mind, imagine you only needed one user password, your NOSTR nsec, and with that key, you could open you Instagram, or your Twitch or your Substack. And all your followers would be there, and you could choose what type of content you wanted to link to your identity for your followers to find. No longer "find link in bio", or "go to our YouTube channel", everything you post on NOSTR is tied to your identity, and you can post it all with a single set of keys that posts your content "everywhere".

And since your content is "in every client", each of YOUR FOLLOWERS CAN CHOOSE if they are more interested in experiencing your photography content "Insta-like" or if they love your "Twitter-esque" notes better. Each user navigates NOSTR with the interface they prefer.

(With great power comes great responsibility, and I feel obligated to tell you that if you ever lose your nsec, no platform is gonna be able to save you. It's like the keys to your house, unless you keep a copy safely, no one can open it for you (there are no locksmiths on NOSTR). And if you leave your keys lying around on a cloud server somewhere, someone may grab your keys, open your house and use it however they want).

The beauty of this interoperability and the fact that my keys open up my identity to all the NOSTR realms is that you don't need to settle for one client. I use 5 to 6 clients regularly everyday depending on the mood I'm in, (or the bugs that still prove this is a nascent ecosystem in development). Some I use when I want a more "Twitter-like" experience, others when I want to browse photos and others just give different algorithms to choose how to view my feed, and the best part is NO ONE CAN CLUTTER MY FEED WITH ADS. I can curate my feed however is most important to me, and each "NOSTR client" is like a different skin that customizes the way I experience the content.

However, the most important reason I started to use different NOSTR apps was that when I started, not all apps had zapping integrated. Some still don't, but most do :)

ZAPS: direct micropayments from your followers.

Zaps are tips that come directly from the people who find value in the shit that you post. They are micropayments in the form of "sats", fractions of ever-increasing in value bitcoin , and a very big reason why I'm spending less and less time on other social media accumulating valueless likes that only feed the algorithm, and more time on NOSTR interacting with humans that post valuable notes hoping the generous souls that run upon their art or creations will find them valuable enough to tip them for it.

It's crazy how the type of content you post can change when your incentive is not to feed an algo, but to give real value to other humans around the world and be your most authentic self. Where Twitter/X's algo benefited the type of incendiary content that shocked and outraged people, NOSTR's incentives benefit those who bring most value to the network and their peers.

A few sats tip may not seem much, but even if the equivalent of a small zap is merely cents, it feels a whole lot better than any like, and you can count that if the purchasing power of bitcoin continues to accrue, those value-earned tips will too. Many "nostriches" are getting tons of zaps for memes on NOSTR, valuable articles, videos or participation in zapathons .

In NOSTR is where I first heard of the concept "value for value", and the community is very adamant in making "v4v" an alternative to ad revenue driven models. Because we need to be the change we wanna see in the world.

We've heard it said that if you're not paying for the product, you are the product. And up until now that has meant we felt obliged to accept that since ads were paying the platforms, we were required to give them our attention. But the open source movement thinks we deserve better. We deserve a better Internet, like the decentralized promise we've slowly been robbed of to enrich 10 people out of the work of all of us. If they can't monetize our attention, they got nothing.

But why should they monetize it, instead of us?

Even with the glitches and bugs, NOSTR ROCKS!

The things I've grown to love most about NOSTR are:

• Not having the clutter of ads on my feed and being able to ONLY SEE WHAT I CHOOSE TO SEE.

• People who are not on NOSTR can ENJOY MY STUFF WITHOUT HAVING TO LOGIN.

• Being able to ENJOY ALL THE BENEFITS OF INTEROPERABILITY, and use many NOSTR clients that enrich my user experience knowing I own my identity and that means I'm not locked in, I can move like a bird wherever I decide.

• ZAPPING complete strangers that made me laugh, gave me a cool insight or simply made a witty comment.

• GETTING TIPPED for memes, articles, photos, videos and any "Notes and Other Stuff" that people have found valuable.

CONCLUSION: Join us on NOSTR, participate in claiming back your digital life.

If you've made it this far in my love letter to NOSTR, thank you for being interested. Curious minds is what the world needs more of <3.

NOSTR is an ecosystem that is being built in the open by relentless developers that are continuously striving to out compete each other to offer a better user experience, it's a many headed dragon that has constant upgrades and implementations which benefits us all, and as such it sometimes comes with bugs and glitches.

Building the future is always buggy and requires testers and early adopters that help shape the technology in the best way possible, especially if you wanna build outside the incentive models of the devouring giants we're trying to get away from.

Being such an open ecosystem can also be overwhelming for a newcomer, where to start? There are so many clients to experience; so here are some of my recommendations.

Please, don't feel you need to go through all of them now, start step by step. This article will always be here whenever you need it (this is not Instagram ;) ).

Creating your NOSTR identity/account with a wallet integrated to receive zaps on both Android and iOS:

• YAKIHONNE: It's a Japanese client that offers a great on-boarding experience. From the app you can create the account and enable a wallet to receive zaps. In it you can view and post short and long form content, images, videos and more. (Once you have the account created on your app, you can also visit the desktop version on https://yakihonne.com/ )

• PRIMAL: For a while it has positioned itself as a great on-boarding NOSTR client because it offers the same things as Yakihonne, has an integrated wallet, with the added benefit that you can also "buy sats/bitcoin" directly from its wallet, which can come in handy (it comes with a 15-30% premium, so only use for small amounts). It also has the desktop version at primal.net.

My favorite NOSTR iOS PHONE APPS after on-boarding, in case you wanna hop into different user experiences:

• DAMUS: created by the original creator of the "ZAP", Will Casarin, it's an iOS simple client that is reliable and fast with notifications. It keeps things simple, mostly focusing on short note content, although you can also see images and short video. But the feed is optimized as a more "Twitter-like" feed.

• NOSTUR: The iOS phone client that has it all! It's the client I've used that integrates the most of NOSTR's possibilities, you can see all of the mentioned above with the previous clients, but also view LIVE STREAMS, and have multiple accounts set up simultaneously. The enhanced capabilities can sometimes come at the cost of crashing or being slow to load.

• FREERSE: Nice clean user interface with plenty of functionality, with easy navigation on topics like #art #photography or any other interests. It's my always reliable back-up to upload image content.

• OLAS: The new kid on the block Olas client, by prolific developer Pablof7z, is trying to take on Instagram and TikTok and has developed a client mainly focused on the visual and photographic part of NOSTR.

Desktop clients & OTHER GEMS OF THE NOSTR REALM:

There is an infinite number of clients for desktop, but I usually find myself on ditto.pub or slidestr.net for a more visual experience.

• ALBY is INTEROPERABILITY'S BEST FRIEND. Alby is not a NOSTR client, but it's a browser extension that makes it seamless to jump from one desktop client to another with your wallet and identity without compromising your security.

• HIVETALK: A video call client (reminiscent of Zoom) that doesn't track you or spy on you and that enables zapping and many other functionalities during the calls.

• NOSTR NESTS: Audio spaces client that allows people to listen to conversations, chat within it and zap the people involved.

if you made it this far, THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION.

HOPE YOU FOUND VALUE IN IT AND UNDERSTOOD WHY, FOR ME, THE FUTURE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IS BRIGHT, OPEN AND USER-CENTRIC.

FUCK THE MIDDLEMEN.

@ ed5774ac:45611c5c

Bitcoin as Collateral for U.S. Debt: A Deep Dive into the Financial Mechanics

The U.S. government’s proposal to declare Bitcoin as a 'strategic reserve' is a calculated move to address its unsustainable debt obligations, but it threatens to undermine Bitcoin’s original purpose as a tool for financial freedom. To fully grasp the implications of this plan, we must first understand the financial mechanics of debt creation, the role of collateral in sustaining debt, and the historical context of the petro-dollar system. Additionally, we must examine how the U.S. and its allies have historically sought new collateral to back their debt, including recent attempts to weaken Russia through the Ukraine conflict.

The Vietnam War and the Collapse of the Gold Standard

The roots of the U.S. debt crisis can be traced back to the Vietnam War. The war created an unsustainable budget deficit, forcing the U.S. to borrow heavily to finance its military operations. By the late 1960s, the U.S. was spending billions of dollars annually on the war, leading to a significant increase in public debt. Foreign creditors, particularly France, began to lose confidence in the U.S. dollar’s ability to maintain its value. In a dramatic move, French President Charles de Gaulle sent warships to New York to demand the conversion of France’s dollar reserves into gold, as per the Bretton Woods Agreement.

This demand exposed the fragility of the U.S. gold reserves. By 1971, President Richard Nixon was forced to suspend the dollar’s convertibility to gold, effectively ending the Bretton Woods system. This move, often referred to as the "Nixon Shock," declared the U.S. bankrupt and transformed the dollar into a fiat currency backed by nothing but trust in the U.S. government. The collapse of the gold standard marked the beginning of the U.S.’s reliance on artificial systems to sustain its debt. With the gold standard gone, the U.S. needed a new way to back its currency and debt—a need that would lead to the creation of the petro-dollar system.

The Petro-Dollar System: A New Collateral for Debt

In the wake of the gold standard’s collapse, the U.S. faced a critical challenge: how to maintain global confidence in the dollar and sustain its ability to issue debt. The suspension of gold convertibility in 1971 left the dollar as a fiat currency—backed by nothing but trust in the U.S. government. To prevent a collapse of the dollar’s dominance and ensure its continued role as the world’s reserve currency, the U.S. needed a new system to artificially create demand for dollars and provide a form of indirect backing for its debt.

The solution came in the form of the petro-dollar system. In the 1970s, the U.S. struck a deal with Saudi Arabia and other OPEC nations to price oil exclusively in U.S. dollars. In exchange, the U.S. offered military protection and economic support. This arrangement created an artificial demand for dollars, as countries needed to hold USD reserves to purchase oil. Additionally, oil-exporting nations reinvested their dollar revenues in U.S. Treasuries, effectively recycling petro-dollars back into the U.S. economy. This recycling of petrodollars provided the U.S. with a steady inflow of capital, allowing it to finance its deficits and maintain low interest rates.

To further bolster the system, the U.S., under the guidance of Henry Kissinger, encouraged OPEC to dramatically increase oil prices in the 1970s. The 1973 oil embargo and subsequent price hikes, masterminded by Kissinger, quadrupled the cost of oil, creating a windfall for oil-exporting nations. These nations, whose wealth surged significantly due to the rising oil prices, reinvested even more heavily in U.S. Treasuries and other dollar-denominated assets. This influx of petrodollars increased demand for U.S. debt, enabling the U.S. to issue more debt at lower interest rates. Additionally, the appreciation in the value of oil—a critical global commodity—provided the U.S. banking sector with the necessary collateral to expand credit generation. Just as a house serves as collateral for a mortgage, enabling banks to create new debt, the rising value of oil boosted the asset values of Western corporations that owned oil reserves or invested in oil infrastructure projects. This increase in asset values allowed these corporations to secure larger loans, providing banks with the collateral needed to expand credit creation and inject more dollars into the economy. However, these price hikes also caused global economic turmoil, disproportionately affecting developing nations. As the cost of energy imports skyrocketed, these nations faced mounting debt burdens, exacerbating their economic struggles and deepening global inequality.

The Unsustainable Debt Crisis and the Search for New Collateral

Fast forward to the present day, and the U.S. finds itself in a familiar yet increasingly precarious position. The 2008 financial crisis and the 2020 pandemic have driven the U.S. government’s debt to unprecedented levels, now exceeding $34 trillion, with a debt-to-GDP ratio surpassing 120%. At the same time, the petro-dollar system—the cornerstone of the dollar’s global dominance—is under significant strain. The rise of alternative currencies and the shifting power dynamics of a multipolar world have led to a decline in the dollar’s role in global trade, particularly in oil transactions. For instance, China now pays Saudi Arabia in yuan for oil imports, while Russia sells its oil and gas in rubles and other non-dollar currencies. This growing defiance of the dollar-dominated system reflects a broader trend toward economic independence, as nations like China and Russia seek to reduce their reliance on the U.S. dollar. As more countries bypass the dollar in trade, the artificial demand for dollars created by the petro-dollar system is eroding, undermining the ability of US to sustain its debt and maintain global financial hegemony.

In search of new collateral to carry on its unsustainable debt levels amid declining demand for the U.S. dollar, the U.S., together with its Western allies—many of whom face similar sovereign debt crises—first attempted to weaken Russia and exploit its vast natural resources as collateral. The U.S. and its NATO allies used Ukraine as a proxy to destabilize Russia, aiming to fragment its economy, colonize its territory, and seize control of its natural resources, estimated to be worth around $75 trillion. By gaining access to these resources, the West could have used them as collateral for the banking sector, enabling massive credit expansion. This, in turn, would have alleviated the sovereign debt crisis threatening both the EU and the U.S. This plan was not unprecedented; it mirrored France’s long-standing exploitation of its former African colonies through the CFA franc system.

For decades, France has maintained economic control over 14 African nations through the CFA franc, a currency pegged to the euro and backed by the French Treasury. Under this system, these African countries are required to deposit 50% of their foreign exchange reserves into the French Treasury, effectively giving France control over their monetary policy and economic sovereignty. This arrangement allows France to use African resources and reserves as implicit collateral to issue debt, keeping its borrowing costs low and ensuring demand for its bonds. In return, African nations are left with limited control over their own economies, forced to prioritize French interests over their own development. This neo-colonial system has enabled France to sustain its financial dominance while perpetuating poverty and dependency in its former colonies.

Just as France’s CFA franc system relies on the economic subjugation of African nations to sustain its financial dominance, the U.S. had hoped to use Russia’s resources as a lifeline for its debt-ridden economy. However, the plan ultimately failed. Russia not only resisted the sweeping economic sanctions imposed by the West but also decisively defeated NATO’s proxy forces in Ukraine, thwarting efforts to fragment its economy and seize control of its $75 trillion in natural resources. This failure left the U.S. and its allies without a new source of collateral to back their unsustainable debt levels. With this plan in ruins, the U.S. has been forced to turn its attention to Bitcoin as a potential new collateral for its unsustainable debt.

Bitcoin as Collateral: The U.S. Government’s Plan

The U.S. government’s plan to declare Bitcoin as a strategic reserve is a modern-day equivalent of the gold standard or petro-dollar system. Here’s how it would work:

1. Declaring Bitcoin as a Strategic Reserve: By officially recognizing Bitcoin as a reserve asset, the U.S. would signal to the world that it views Bitcoin as a store of value akin to gold. This would legitimize Bitcoin in the eyes of institutional investors and central banks.

2. Driving Up Bitcoin’s Price: To make Bitcoin a viable collateral, its price must rise significantly. The U.S. would achieve this by encouraging regulatory clarity, promoting institutional adoption, and creating a state-driven FOMO (fear of missing out). This would mirror the 1970s oil price hikes that bolstered the petro-dollar system.

3. Using Bitcoin to Back Debt: Once Bitcoin’s price reaches a sufficient level, the U.S. could use its Bitcoin reserves as collateral for issuing new debt. This would restore confidence in U.S. Treasuries and allow the government to continue borrowing at low interest rates.

The U.S. government’s goal is clear: to use Bitcoin as a tool to issue more debt and reinforce the dollar’s role as the global reserve currency. By forcing Bitcoin into a store-of-value role, the U.S. would replicate the gold standard’s exploitative dynamics, centralizing control in the hands of large financial institutions and central banks. This would strip Bitcoin of its revolutionary potential and undermine its promise of decentralization. Meanwhile, the dollar—in digital forms like USDT—would remain the primary medium of exchange, further entrenching the parasitic financial system.

Tether plays a critical role in this strategy. As explored in my previous article (here: [https://ersan.substack.com/p/is-tether-a-bitcoin-company]), Tether helps sustaining the current financial system by purchasing U.S. Treasuries, effectively providing life support for the U.S. debt machine during a period of declining demand for dollar-denominated assets. Now, with its plans to issue stablecoins on the Bitcoin blockchain, Tether is positioning itself as a bridge between Bitcoin and the traditional financial system. By issuing USDT on the Lightning Network, Tether could lure the poor in developing nations—who need short-term price stability for their day to day payments and cannot afford Bitcoin’s volatility—into using USDT as their primary medium of exchange. This would not only create an artificial demand for the dollar and extend the life of the parasitic financial system that Bitcoin was designed to dismantle but would also achieve this by exploiting the very people who have been excluded and victimized by the same system—the poor and unbanked in developing nations, whose hard-earned money would be funneled into sustaining the very structures that perpetuate their oppression.

Worse, USDT on Bitcoin could function as a de facto central bank digital currency (CBDC), where all transactions can be monitored and sanctioned by governments at will. For example, Tether’s centralized control over USDT issuance and its ties to traditional financial institutions make it susceptible to government pressure. Authorities could compel Tether to implement KYC (Know Your Customer) rules, freeze accounts, or restrict transactions, effectively turning USDT into a tool of financial surveillance and control. This would trap users in a system where every transaction is subject to government oversight, effectively stripping Bitcoin of its censorship-resistant and decentralized properties—the very features that make it a tool for financial freedom.

In this way, the U.S. government’s push for Bitcoin as a store of value, combined with Tether’s role in promoting USDT as a medium of exchange, creates a two-tiered financial system: one for the wealthy, who can afford to hold Bitcoin as a hedge against inflation, and another for the poor, who are trapped in a tightly controlled, surveilled digital economy. This perpetuates the very inequalities Bitcoin was designed to dismantle, turning it into a tool of oppression rather than liberation.

Conclusion: Prolonging the Parasitic Financial System

The U.S. government’s plan to declare Bitcoin as a strategic reserve is not a step toward financial innovation or freedom—it is a desperate attempt to prolong the life of a parasitic financial system that Bitcoin was created to replace. By co-opting Bitcoin, the U.S. would gain a new tool to issue more debt, enabling it to continue its exploitative practices, including proxy wars, economic sanctions, and the enforcement of a unipolar world order.

The petro-dollar system was built on the exploitation of oil-exporting nations and the global economy. A Bitcoin-backed system would likely follow a similar pattern, with the U.S. using its dominance to manipulate Bitcoin’s price and extract value from the rest of the world. This would allow the U.S. to sustain its current financial system, in which it prints money out of thin air to purchase real-world assets and goods, enriching itself at the expense of other nations.

Bitcoin was designed to dismantle this parasitic system, offering an escape hatch for those excluded from or exploited by traditional financial systems. By declaring Bitcoin a strategic reserve, the U.S. government would destroy Bitcoin’s ultimate purpose, turning it into another instrument of control. This is not a victory for Bitcoin or bitcoiners—it is a tragedy for financial freedom and global equity.

The Bitcoin strategic reserve plan is not progress—it is a regression into the very system Bitcoin was designed to dismantle. As bitcoiners, we must resist this co-option and fight to preserve Bitcoin’s original vision: a decentralized, sovereign, and equitable financial system for all. This means actively working to ensure Bitcoin is used as a medium of exchange, not just a store of value, to fulfill its promise of financial freedom.

@ 6f7db55a:985d8b25

This article will be basic instructions for extreme normies (I say that lovingly), or anyone looking to get started with using zap.stream and sharing to nostr.

EQUIPMENT Getting started is incredibly easy and your equipment needs are miniscule.

An old desktop or laptop running Linux, MacOs, or Windows made in the passed 15yrs should do. Im currently using and old Dell Latitude E5430 with an Intel i5-3210M with 32Gigs of ram and 250GB hard drive. Technically, you go as low as using a Raspberry Pi 4B+ running Owncast, but Ill save that so a future tutorial.

Let's get started.

ON YOUR COMPUTER You'll need to install OBS (open broaster software). OBS is the go-to for streaming to social media. There are tons of YouTube videos on it's function. WE, however, will only be doing the basics to get us up and running.

First, go to https://obsproject.com/

Once on the OBS site, choose the correct download for you system. Linux, MacOs or Windows. Download (remember where you downloaded the file to). Go there and install your download. You may have to enter your password to install on your particular operating system. This is normal.

Once you've installed OBS, open the application. It should look something like this...

For our purposes, we will be in studio mode. Locate the 'Studio Mode' button on the right lower-hand side of the screen, and click it.

You'll see the screen split like in the image above. The left-side is from your desktop, and the right-side is what your broadcast will look like.

Next, we go to settings. The 'Settings' button is located right below the 'Studio Mode" button.

Now we're in settings and you should see something like this...

Now locate stream in the right-hand menu. It should be the second in the list. Click it.

Once in the stream section, go to 'Service' and in the right-hand drop-down, find and select 'Custom...' from the drop-down menu.

Remeber where this is because we'll need to come back to it, shortly.

ZAPSTREAM We need our streamkey credentials from Zapstream. Go to https://zap.stream. Then, go to your dashboard.

Located on the lower right-hand side is the Server URL and Stream Key. You'll need to copy/paste this in OBS.

You may have to generate new keys, if they aren't already there. This is normal. If you're interested in multi-streaming (That's where you broadcast to multiple social media platforms all at once), youll need the server URL and streamkeys from each. You'll place them in their respective forms in Zapstream's 'Stream Forwarding" section.

Use the custom form, if the platform you want to stream to isn't listed.

*Side-Note: remember that you can use your nostr identity across multiple nostr client applications. So when your login for Amethyst, as an example, could be used when you login to zapstream. Also, i would suggest using Alby's browser extension. It makes it much easier to fund your stream, as well as receive zaps. *

Now, BACK TO OBS... With Stream URL and Key in hand, paste them in the 'Stream" section of OBS' settings. Service [Custom...] Server [Server URL] StreamKey [Your zapstream stream key]

After you've entered all your streaming credentials, click 'OK' at the bottom, on the right-hand side.

WHAT'S NEXT? Let's setup your first stream from OBS. First we need to choose a source. Your source is your input device. It can be your webcam, your mic, your monitor, or any particular window on your screen. assuming you're an absolute beginner, we're going to use the source 'Window Capture (Xcomposite)'.

Now, open your source file. We'll use a video source called 'grannyhiphop.mp4'. In your case it can be whatever you want to stream; Just be sure to select the proper source.

Double-click on 'Window Capture' in your sources list. In the pop-up window, select your file from the 'Window' drop-down menu.

You should see something like this...

Working in the left display of OBS, we will adjust the video by left-click, hold and drag the bottom corner, so that it takes up the whole display.

In order to adjust the right-side display ( the broadcast side), we need to manipulate the video source by changing it's size.

This may take some time to adjust the size. This is normal. What I've found to help is, after every adjustment, I click the 'Fade (300ms)' button. I have no idea why it helps, but it does, lol.

Finally, after getting everything to look the way you want, you click the 'Start Stream' button.

BACK TO ZAPSTREAM Now, we go back to zapstream to check to see if our stream is up. It may take a few moments to update. You may even need to refresh the page. This is normal.

STREAMS UP!!!

A few things, in closing. You'll notice that your dashbooard has changed. It'll show current stream time, how much time you have left (according to your funding source), who's zapped you with how much theyve zapped, the ability to post a note about your stream (to both nostr and twitter), and it shows your chatbox with your listeners. There are also a raid feature, stream settings (where you can title & tag your stream). You can 'topup' your funding for your stream. As well as, see your current balance.

You did a great and If you ever need more help, just use the tag #asknostr in your note. There are alway nostriches willing to help.

STAY AWESOME!!!

npub: nostr:npub1rsvhkyk2nnsyzkmsuaq9h9ms7rkxhn8mtxejkca2l4pvkfpwzepql3vmtf

@ 2fb77d26:c47a6ee1

Intensiv! Das trifft es wohl am besten. Denn müsste ich das Jahr 2024 mit einem einzigen Wort charakterisieren, beschriebe kein anderes es besser. Atemlos, anstrengend, aufreibend, überraschend, lehrreich, unterhaltsam, erhebend und beglückend wären Adjektive, die in der Retrospektive ebenfalls Erwähnung finden könnten. Zum Glück. Gibt es doch kaum etwas Frustrierenderes als Eintönigkeit. Als stupide Routinen. So viel Sicherheit diese im wochentäglichen Trott versprechen, so viel Leere generieren sie, betrachtet man das Hamsterrad des Alltags über den Wochenhorizont hinaus. Dementsprechend heiter stimmt es mich, dass die vergangenen zwölf Monate das absolute Gegenteil von Routine waren und ich nun im Rückblick dartun darf, manch ein Husarenstück vollbracht zu haben.

»Damit das Mögliche entsteht, muss immer wieder das Unmögliche versucht werden«, hielt Hermann Hesse dereinst fest.

Diesem Gedanken folgend eröffnete ich das neue Jahr damit, ein ganzes Haus nahezu im Alleingang zu renovieren. Baustelle. Drei Monate lang. Oft bis zu 18 Stunden am Tag. Staub, Lärm, Farbe, Spachtel, Litzen, zerschundene Hände, schmerzende Glieder und verschlissene Kleidung. Von der Silikonfuge im hintersten Eck des Kellers bis zur Montagearbeit unter dem Dachbalken. Ob Steckdosen, Sockelleisten oder Fensterrahmen, Verkabelung, Inneneinrichtung oder Fassadenfarbe – ich hatte mir vorgenommen, dem viele hundert Jahre alten Gemäuer eine Generalüberholung angedeihen zu lassen. Als ich Anfang April unser farbenfroh-freiheitliches Hauswappen neben dem Eingang montierte und unserer neuen Unterkunft damit ihren Namen gab – »Casa Libre« –, war das ein großartiges Gefühl. Denn meinen mehr als ambitionierten Zeitplan hielt selbst ich im Januar noch für relativ utopisch.

Parallel dazu habe ich im Januar meine »Truman Show« fertiggestellt, das Cover überarbeitet und kurzfristig den Vertrieb gewechselt, weil es beim bisherigen Anbieter scheinbar nicht gern gesehen war, dass ich mich in besagtem Buch mit den dunklen Machenschaften von Menschenhändlern und Kinderschändern befasse.

Als die Anthologie im Februar erschien, musste diese natürlich auch medial beworben werden – während gleichzeitig die Vorarbeiten für die Printpublikation GEGENDRUCK Fahrt aufnahmen. Ab April sollten nach wochenlanger Abstinenz endlich auch wieder neue Texte auf meinem Blog erscheinen. Mich juckte es bereits in den Fingern. Unterdes wollte jedoch auch das Leben in der vorherigen Bleibe abgebaut, verpackt und transportiert werden, damit es ab April in den frisch gestrichenen vier Wänden des neuen Zuhauses wieder ausgepackt, aufgebaut und in Betrieb genommen werden konnte. Gut sortierte Bücher- und Plattensammlungen machen das ob ihres schieren Gewichts zu einer ganz besonderen Freude.

Dass ich nach über zehn Jahren Apple-Nutzung die private IT umgestellt, die Cloud gelöscht und Unmengen an Daten migriert, ein neues, überwachungsfreies Smartphone eingerichtet, verschiedene juristische Scharmützel bewältigt, diverse Texte verfasst und eine Vielzahl an Gesprächen geführt habe, an mehreren Konferenzen beteiligt, für verschiedene Projekte Dritter tätig, familiär gut eingespannt, obendrein einem Konzentration fordernden Vollzeitjob mit zunehmenden Verantwortlichkeiten verpflichtet war und diese Aufzählung nur einen kleinen Teil meiner Aktivitäten umfasst, sei dabei nur am Rande erwähnt.

Damit auch während des Sommerlochs keine Langeweile aufkommt, begann ich bereits im Frühjahr 2024 mit der Planung für eine Lese- und Vortragsreise. Gut zwanzig Termine wollten mit den Veranstaltern koordiniert werden. Es galt, Routenplanung, Hotelbuchungen, Reiselogistik, Buchbestand, Kommunikation und eine mit Quellen unterlegte Präsentation zu organisieren. Kaum war all das in trockenen Tüchern, saß ich bereits im Flugzeug nach Kolumbien, wo ich den Juli für Regeneration und Literaturrecherche nutzen wollte. Aber weil Leben nun mal ist, was passiert, während man plant, stellte Unvorhergesehenes die Improvisationsfähigkeit auch dort regelmäßig auf die Probe. Meer und Dschungel taten dennoch ihr Übriges und ließen die Irritationen des zivilisatorischen Alltags in ihrer relativen Belanglosigkeit verblassen.

Drei Wochen nach meiner Rückkehr ins Tessin waren sie allerdings zurück. Die Arbeit holte mich ein, diverse Projekte und ehrenamtliche Engagements warteten auf Input, die nackten Wände der neue Bleibe wollten dekoriert und das neue Tonstudio arrangiert werden – und ehe ich mich versah, ging es auch schon auf Tour. Gut 500 Kilogramm an Büchern und Gepäck waren verladen und mussten circa 6.000 Kilometer durch die Schweiz, Deutschland und Österreich chauffiert werden. Volle Säle und mehrere tausend offenherzige Menschen machten diese Reise zu einem ganz besonderen Erlebnis. Selbst das bis zum Sommer mehrheitlich miserable Wetter meinte es gut mit mir. Denn in den drei Wochen auf Tour regnete es nur ein einziges Mal. Am letzten Tag. Ansonsten waren mir strahlende Sonne, hochsommerliche Temperaturen und das ein oder andere Mittagsschläfchen im Schatten alter Bäume vergönnt.

Als ich der letzten Station meiner Rundreise den Rücken kehrte, verabschiedete sich auch die warme Jahreszeit. Auf der Heimfahrt über die Alpen begegneten mir die Vorboten eines goldenen Oktobers: eine tieferstehende Sonne über den Bergrücken, die goldene Stunde kürzer werdender Tage und der auffrischende Wind am Abend, der die an Farbenpracht zulegenden Wälder der Tessiner Topografie ins Wogen brachte. Wenige Wochen später fiel in den Alpen der erste Schnee. Jetzt schimmern die weißen Gipfel am Horizont in der wärmenden Wintersonne. Und ich sitze wieder an meinem Fenster, lasse den Blick über die geheimnisvoll anmutende Vegetationsdichte des Umlands schweifen und schreibe ein Vorwort. Für Buch Nummer fünf.

Es fällt etwas dünner aus, enthält nicht so viele philosophische Betrachtungen, Zitate und rhetorische Extravaganzen wie seine beiden Vorgänger. Leider. Denn das Sortieren der Gedanken, Quellen und Paragrafen im Rahmen der Textarbeit schält seltene Stunden innerer Ruhe aus den von Pflichten und Routinen dominierten Strukturen des Tages. Gerne hätte ich inmitten der organisatorischen Turbulenzen des vergangenen Jahres häufiger die Zeit gefunden, Beiträge zu verfassen – es gäbe so viel zu sagen, so viel zu dokumentieren, um den volatilen Konturen der Zeitenwende Schärfe zu verleihen. Und das erscheint dieser Tage nötiger denn je. 

Denn da draußen tobt der Wahnsinn. Die Polykrise. Das Chaos – als Steigbügelhalter für das finale Kapitel eines transgenerationalen Klassenkampfes von oben. Für Technokratie und Plattformfaschismus. Doch »auch aus Steinen, die Dir in den Weg gelegt werden, kannst Du etwas Schönes bauen«, bemerkte Erich Kästner. Ohne Kontext und Hintergrundinformationen, die das Individuum in die Lage versetzen, die Schlachtfelder des wilder werdenden Informationskriegs mit einer gewissen Gelassenheit zu überblicken, gerät es jedoch leicht zum Opfer der unerbittlich keifenden Propagandamaschine wertewestlicher Demokratiedarstellung.

Ja, die Truman Show läuft wohl auch im fünften Jahr n. C. (nach Corona) auf allen Kanälen. Auf allen Frequenzen. Und der Homo demens spielt mit suizidaler Leichtfertigkeit seine ihm zugedachte Rolle als irrlichternder Kamikaze-Pilot, der sich in Rage auf das eigene Schiff zu stürzen gedenkt. Die zeitgeistig flexiblen Herrschaftseliten, die sich nun zusehends konservativ gerieren, anstatt Wokeness zu predigen, nesteln derweil hektisch an den letzten Zierpalisaden des digitalen Gulag. Der Rohbau steht ja auch schon eine ganze Weile. Bunt soll es sein – und spätestens 2030 bezugsfertig übergeben werden.

Ob eID, elektronische Patientenakte, digitales Geld, lückenlose Massenüberwachung, algorithmisierte Zensur, Dekarbonisierungsagenda, Enteignungslegislatur, kognitive Kriegsführung im Hosentaschenformat, Geofencing-Gewahrsam, Nanobots oder Frequenzfelder zu deren Kalibrierung: alles einsatzbereit. Schon 1999 veröffentlichte das US-Militär ein Dokument namens »Owning the Weather 2025«, das beschreibt, wie artifizieller Nebel verwendet werden kann, um Nanopartikel in Ballungszentren einzusetzen. Zwei Jahre später schlugen interne Präsentationen der NASA in die gleiche Kerbe. Jetzt ist 2025. Und Berichte über chemikalienhaltigen Nebel, der Krankheitssymptome verursacht, machen die Runde.

Wir sind angekommen. Der »Pakt für die Zukunft« ist geschlossen. Das Blau des Himmels einem persistent milchigen Grau gewichen. Noch am Heiligabend hat die UN-Generalversammlung Kernelemente des entsprechendes Vertragswerkes ratifiziert. Ohne nennenswerten Widerstand. Cloward-Piven-Strategie und Kulturmarxismus sei Dank. Die Revolution von oben war bis dato also ziemlich erfolgreich. Nur Max Mustermann weiß noch nichts vom seinem Glück.

Illuminiert wird die Installation des biometrischen Kontroll-Grids von einem Flammenmeer im Nahen Osten. Von brennenden Krankenhäusern, Kirchen und Kindern. Menschenrechte sind passé. Der beispiellose Genozid in Gaza wird von den NATO-Medien in verachtenswerter Manier schöngeschrieben, während von den USA trainierte, ausstaffierte, radikalislamische Fanatiker Syrien nahezu widerstandslos kapern. Ein Land, das seit Langem auf der To-do-Liste des militärisch-industriellen Komplexes stand. Die fortschreitende Destabilisierung der Region bereitet zionistischen Hardlinern in Tel Aviv und Washington die Bühne für den heiß ersehnten Krieg gegen den Iran.

Europäische Metropolen erodieren, die Bevölkerung verarmt, Reproduktionsraten sinken auf Rekordtiefstände, bei der NATO drängt man auf Eskalation mit Russland, und China intensiviert seine Drohgebärden im Indopazifik. Der militärische Fleischwolf dreht sich immer schneller. Es herrscht dicke Luft. Überall. Man riecht das Schießpulver. Denn das angloamerikanische Imperium ruft zum letzten Gefecht. Es ist – wie ich bereits im Vorspann der Truman Show schrieb – das letzte Aufbäumen eines moribunden Machtapparats. Charakterisiert von zunehmender Gewalt. Auf Kosten aller. Es lässt sich kaum seriös prognostizieren, wann es knallt, oder wie laut – dass es massiver Disruption bedarf, um diese Revolution von oben fristgerecht umzusetzen und speziell Kontinentaleuropa einen hohen Preis für seine willfährige Komplizenschaft bezahlen wird, allerdings schon.

Dabei erkannte schon Romain Rolland, dass »das schlimmste Übel, an dem die Welt leidet, nicht die Stärke der Bösen, sondern die Schwäche der Guten ist«.

Während sich also vor meinem Fenster die Sonne ein letztes Mal für dieses Jahr dem Ringen mit der Dunkelheit ergibt, Palmen, Koniferen und Zypressen vor einem goldgelb, dann violett glühenden Himmel zu schwarzen Scherenschnitten mutieren, erscheinen auch die Umrisse des vor uns liegenden Weges undeutlicher, die Zukunft ungewisser, unmenschlicher – ja unerreichbarer denn je. Als sei sie auf der Flucht.

Und eine Vielzahl derjenigen, die vorgeben, sie zu hehren Zwecken einfangen zu wollen, die Kritiker, Oppositionellen und Widerständler, drehen sich nicht minder schnell im Kreis als ihre Widersacher im leitmedialen Konsenskomplex. Denn im Kern tun beide Lager das Gleiche: Sie debattieren Sinnfetzen und Argumentationsfragmente, die man ihnen aus Orifizen weit oben im Elfenbeinturm oder verspiegelten Panzerglasfenstern polierter Luxuslimousinen vor die Füße wirft. Für viele ist Systemkritik zum profanen Geschäftsmodell geworden. Zum Event. Da bleibt wenig Zeit für echten Widerstand. Oder Charakter. Wer den Medienzirkus zu seinem Broterwerb gemacht hat, ist davon abhängig, dass er sich auszahlt. Und das von alternativmedialen Generika angefixte Publikum will genauso unterhalten werden wie der Zuschauer des Morgenmagazins. Brot und Spiele eben – egal, in welcher Arena die Schaukämpfe veranstaltet werden. Das Publikum schaut stoisch in die Röhre. Oder auf das Display. Hauptsache, das Spektakel lässt sich bequem vom Sofa aus verfolgen.

Hans-Joachim Kulenkampff gab schon vor Jahrzehnten zu verstehen, dass »die Leute gar nicht so dumm sind, wie wir sie durchs Fernsehen noch machen werden«. Er hatte recht. Die Revolution wird also wohl noch eine Weile auf sich warten lassen. Schade. Denn genau dafür engagiere ich mich – für eine friedliche Revolution des Geistes. Für eine zweite Aufklärung. Für eine Zukunft, in der es Liebe, Wahrheit und Selbstbestimmung sind, nach denen meine Mitmenschen streben. Bleibt zu hoffen, dass sich die Ascheschichten, aus welchen sich der Phoenix dieser zweiten Aufklärung irgendwann in den Himmel schwingen muss, vorher nicht allzu hoch auftürmen.

Nun will ich den Leser nicht mit all diesen persönlich gefärbten Annotationen und Gefühlsduseleien belästigen, um mich zu profilieren, sondern weil ein Jahr wie 2024 beweist – zumindest mir selbst –, dass man auch ganz allein Berge versetzen kann. Dass es nicht von äußeren Umständen, Dritten und Kapital abhängt, ob man Ziele erreicht. Dass man selbst der Phoenix sein kann. Jeder von uns. Wo ein Wille, da ein Weg. Aber beschreiten muss man ihn. Auch dann, wenn der Kompass temporär seinen Dienst versagt. Denn Routen entstehen nur dort, wo man sie geht. Und der Kurs lässt sich auch dann noch justieren, wenn man unterwegs ist. »Learning by doing« – nur so kommt man voran. Nur so schafft man Unabhängigkeit und Vertrauen in die eigenen Fähigkeiten. Fehler passieren ja nicht, um uns von etwas abzuhalten, sondern um uns auf den nächsten Versuch vorzubereiten. Sie sind ein Angebot, zu lernen. Und nur, wenn man der Welt ein Angebot machen kann, darf man darauf hoffen, dass es angenommen wird.

Womit wir beim Titel der vorliegenden Publikation angekommen wären: »Hopium« – ein Kompositum aus »Hope«, englisch für Hoffnung, und Opium, dem durch Anritzen seiner unreifen Samenkapseln gewonnenen, getrockneten Milchsaft des Schlafmohns. Ein Rauschmittel. Basis des 1898 von Bayer markenrechtlich geschützten Morphin-Derivates Heroin. »Hopium« ist ein Neologismus – geprägt oder zumindest populär gemacht von James Corbett –, den ich in meinen Texten immer wieder gerne verwende, weil er wie kaum ein anderer auf den Punkt bringt, was Etatisten dazu bewegt, an das System Staat zu glauben: der Rausch der Hoffnung. Darauf, dass der nächste Kanzler, Präsident oder Premierminister es endlich richten wird. Oder diese eine neue Partei.

Der in regelmäßigem Turnus enttäuschte Irrglaube an die Selbstheilungskräfte eines auf Despotie ausgelegten Herrschaftssystems gleicht einer Sucht. Einer sehr destruktiven Sucht. Denn obwohl sich die Bevölkerung zumindest unterbewusst darüber im Klaren sein dürfte, dass sich auch nach dem nächsten Urnengang nichts ändern wird, dass ihr diese in devoter Pose dargebrachte Verehrung von Götzen schadet, dass sie an einer Art Stockholm-Syndrom leidet, wenn sie unterstützt, was sie beraubt, unterdrückt und tötet, tut sie es wieder. Immer wieder.

Aldous Huxley wusste, wovon er sprach, als er notierte, dass »der Glaube an eine größere und bessere Zukunft einer der mächtigsten Feinde gegenwärtiger Freiheit ist«.

Nun ist Hoffnung aber nicht per se negativ – und Hopium somit als durchaus ambivalenter Begriff zu werten. Treibt die Hoffnung doch auch mich dazu, immer wieder Wege zu suchen, um Menschen zu erreichen, Konstruktives beizutragen und die Welt in meinem Einflussbereich ein wenig besser zu machen. Sie besser informiert zu hinterlassen. Sähe ich unsere Situation als chancenlos, hätte ich den Glauben an Liebe und Wahrheit, oder die Hoffnung auf bessere Zeiten aufgegeben, gäbe es dieses Buch nicht.

Der Unterschied zwischen einem Etatisten und mir besteht darin, dass ich nicht darauf hoffe und warte, dass mir jemand diese Arbeit abnimmt. Ich delegiere nicht, gebe die Verantwortung für mein Leben nicht aus der Hand, sondern nehme sie wahr. Werde aktiv. Mein Glaube an »Volksvertreter«, Erlöser und Idole erlosch vor über drei Jahrzehnten. Seitdem verlasse ich mich nur noch auf eine einzige Person – mich selbst – und gebe mir redlich Mühe, mich dabei nicht zu enttäuschen, sondern zu beeindrucken.

Ob andere Menschen gut finden, was ich mit meiner knapp bemessenen Lebenszeit anstelle, ist mir egal. Es ist mein Leben. Ich habe nur eines. Zumindest aller Wahrscheinlichkeit nach. Und der Einzige, dem es gefallen muss, bin ich.

»Die einen kennen mich, die anderen können mich«, wie Le Cercle-Gründungsmitglied Konrad Adenauer treffend polterte. Das ist Freiheit. Und die steht nirgends zur Wahl. Wird nicht angeboten. Sie hängt nicht von äußeren Umständen ab, wird nicht gewährt oder erkämpft. Frei wird man nicht – frei ist man. Oder eben nicht.

Ich hoffe – das ist meine tägliche Dosis »Hopium« –, dass meine Arbeit anderen Menschen hilft, das zu erkennen.

Denn das Versäumnis von gestern ist das täglich Brot von morgen, die Gegenwart die Vergangenheit der Zukunft. Und es ist an uns, etwas daraus zu machen. »Man muss die Zukunft abwarten und die Gegenwart genießen – oder ertragen«, soll Wilhelm von Humboldt gesagt haben. Ich habe mich intuitiv immer für den Genuss entschieden und bin überzeugt, dass dieser Ansatz eine gute Ausgangsposition ist, um dem in absehbarer Zeit Orkanstärke erreichenden Sturm der Zeit die Stirn zu bieten.

Frei nach Edward Snowden: »Sei nicht ängstlich – sondern vorbereitet«.

Weiter geht's im Buch ...

@ b8af284d:f82c91dd

Liebe Abonnenten,

viele von uns erleben im privaten wie im öffentlichen Leben gerade eine Zeit der Verwirrung und Irritation. Etwas scheint im Umbruch, alte Gewissheiten, Strukturen und Allianzen scheinen sich vor unseren Augen aufzulösen. Trump, Musk und Thiel wirken wie die Abrissbirnen einer alten Ordnung, Agenten des Chaos mit dem einzigen Ziel, sich selbst zu bereichern. Ist es so?

Könnte es anders sein?

Folgender Text kann und will diese Fragen nicht ultimativ beantworten. Es gibt aber eine Brille, durch die, setzt man sie auf, viele Entwicklungen in einem anderen, viel helleren Licht erscheinen. Diese Brille heißt e/acc.

Was ist e/acc?

Das Kürzel geht auf den Programmierer Guillaume Verdon zurück, der unter dem Pseudonym „Beff Jezos“ die Bewegung. Es steht für „effective accelerationism“. Accelerationism, auf Deutsch Akzelerationismus, abgeleitet vom Verb „beschleunigen“, hat Wurzeln, die weiter zurückreichen - dazu später mehr. Der Zusatz „effective“ ist eine ironische Replik auf den „effective Altruism“, den unter anderen Sam Bankman-Fried vertrat und grandios scheiterte.

e/acc setzt also auf Beschleunigung. Kapitalismus, Innovation, vor allem künstliche Intelligenz sollen nicht aufgehalten oder reguliert werden, sondern im Gegenteil beschleunigt werden.

Warum?

Eine einfache Antwort lautet: Weil sie eh stattfinden. Besonders deutlich wird das im Fall künstlicher Intelligenz. Large Language Models (LLMs) wie ChatGPT und Deepseek sind nur die für die Öffentlichkeit sichtbaren Entwicklungen. Im Hintergrund ersetzt Künstliche Intelligenz zunehmend auch Produktionsprozesse und nicht zuletzt die Kriegsführung. Man spricht deswegen vom „Point of Singularity“. In den kommenden Jahren wird künstliche Intelligenz menschliche übertrumpfen. Unsere Arbeitswelt, unser Finanzsystem und gesellschaftliche Strukturen werden sich grundlegend ändern. Wenn es dazu kommt, warum die Entwicklung noch aufhalten? Beschleunigen ist besser.

Die zweite Antwort ist tiefgründiger und rührt an das Verständnis von Leben insgesamt. Langfristig strebt das Universum nach Entropie. Es dehnt sich aus, bis alle Teile in maximaler „Unordnung“ angeordnet sind. Systeme mit hoher Energiezufuhr können Strukturen aufbauen, solange sie Wärme oder Entropie in ihre Umgebung abgeben. In einem Organismus sind alle Teile zu einer höheren Ordnung organisiert. Leben strebt nach Ordnung, Selbsterhalt und Wachstum, weshalb der Energieverbrauch zunimmt. e/acc-Fan und Silicon-Valley-Investor Marc Andreessen schreibt in “The Techno-Optimist Manifesto”:

Techno-Optimists believe that societies, like sharks, grow or die.

We believe growth is progress – leading to vitality, expansion of life, increasing knowledge, higher well being.

Ein Gleichgewicht gibt es nicht. Entweder strebt eine Struktur nach Ordnung (Leben) oder nach Unordnung (Tod). Da eine Balance nicht existiert, gibt es nur zwei Möglichkeiten: Verlangsamen oder Beschleunigen. Höhere Ordnungen aufbauen oder verfallen. Wachsen oder Sterben. Beschleunigen ist besser.

Konsequenzen

e/acc ist kein philosophisches System im strengen Sinn. Es leitet Konsequenzen aus physikalischen Grundsätzen ab.

Kapitalistische Systeme und freie Märkte sind die effizientesten Strukturen, um Informationen zu verarbeiten. In einem offenen, freien Markt gibt der Preis das zuverlässigste Signal über Knappheit eines Gutes. Wird dieser Prozess durch externe Einflussnahme wie Subventionen gestört, läuft die Maschine nicht effizient. Das Gesamtsystem wird verzerrt. Nochmals Andreessen dazu:

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

Varianten und Abweichungen sind wichtig, da ein System dadurch am schnellsten auf sich ständig verändernde Umweltbedingungen reagieren kann. Wer nicht frei sprechen kann, kann nicht frei denken. Dezentrale Strukturen mit vielen kleinen einzelnen „Nodes“ sind resilienter als hierarchisch-zentralistische Systeme. Das führt zu einem Meinungsfreiheits-Maximalismus.

Greifen staatliche Akteure in die Forschung ein, und vergeben zum Beispiel Lizenzen für KI-Projekte, kann das System nicht mehr auf die besten Ressourcen zurückgreifen. Es entwickelt sich nicht in seiner natürlichen Geschwindigkeit, sondern wird künstlich verlangsamt. Beschleunigen ist besser.

Im Falle von KI hat dies geopolitische Konsequenzen: Sollten autoritäre Akteure wie zum Beispiel China schneller zum Punkt der Singularity vorstoßen, entsteht eine Dystopie, ein Orwellscher Überwachungsstaat. Bevorzugen ist deswegen eine beschleunigte, dezentrale Forschung, damit freie Systeme die Oberhand behalten.

Dasselbe gilt für das Geldsystem: e/acc trifft hier auf Hayek und Mises. Viele Zahlungssysteme stehen in permanenter Konkurrenz zueinander. Am Ende setzt sich das nützlichste und vermutlich auch härteste Geld durch.

Konkrete Folgen

Auf die konkrete Politik übertragen führt das zu Konsequenzen, die man aktuell beobachten kann.

**Radikale Deregulierung: **Die Biden-Administration versuchte, AI-Forschung eng an die Regierung zu binden. Open-AI-Gründer Sam Altman forderte 2023 eine Lizenz-Vergabe an Unternehmen, um überhaupt in diesem Bereich aktiv zu werden. (Musk trat zunächst sogar für ein Forschungs-Moratorium ein, änderte dann aber seine Meinung.) Das führte zum Widerstand der e/acc-Fraktion im Silicon Valley, und gab den Ausschlag, sich auf die Trump-Seite zu stellen. Deregulierung zieht sich nun durch alle Bereiche der Wirtschaft: auch auf die „Entwicklungshilfe“ von USAID. Der Regierungsapparat wird insgesamt massiv verkleinert, da Bürokratie das Wachstum hemmt. A fuera.

**Priorisierung von günstiger Energie: **Da der Energie-Verbrauch mit zunehmender Ordnung ansteigt, und LLMs einen sehr viel Strom brauchen, priorisiert die neue Regierung die Erschließung zusätzlicher Energiequellen: Gas, Öl, Nuklear und regenerative Energiequellen gleichermaßen.

Wiederherstellung von Meinungsfreiheit.Content-Moderationen auf Social-Media-Plattformen fallen weg. Geheimdienst-Dokumente werden freigegeben. So schrieb Peter Thiel vor einigen Wochen in einem Essay in der Financial Times über die große Enthüllung:

\ But understood in the original sense of the Greek word apokálypsis, meaning “unveiling”, Obama could not give the same reassurance in 2025. Trump’s return to the White House augurs the apokálypsis of the ancien regime’s secrets. (…)\ The apokálypsis is the most peaceful means of resolving the old guard’s war on the internet, a war the internet won. My friend and colleague Eric Weinstein calls the pre-internet custodians of secrets the Distributed Idea Suppression Complex (DISC) — the media organisations, bureaucracies, universities and government-funded NGOs that traditionally delimited public conversation.

Krypto-Deregulierung: Da Kryptowährungen und Smart-Contract-Strukturen bestens mit LLMs harmonieren, werden Innovationsbremsen in Form von Regulierungen abgebaut.

**Umbruch der Weltordnung: **Auf der geopolitischen Ebene werden Bündnisse, Allianzen und Blockstrukturen aufgebrochen und nach effizienten Win-Win-Verhältnissen neu organisiert.

Erschließung neuer Lebenswelten: Degrowth, weniger Energie-Verbrauch und weniger Kinder sind keine Option, da sie zum Tod führen. Das System Menschheit muss wachsen und wird neue Lösungen erfinden. Wenn die Ressourcen des Planeten Erde nicht mehr ausreichen, müssen neue erschlossen werden - vielleicht auf dem Mars.

Die Ideengeschichte

Während e/acc ein relativ neues System ist, hat der Akzelerationismus tiefere Wurzeln. Lenin kann man als einen frühen Akzelerationisten bezeichnen. Der Marxismus wurde Anfang des 20. Jahrhunderts weniger als Ideologie, sondern mehr als exakte Wissenschaft begriffen. Demnach würde der Kapitalismus früher oder später an seinen eigenen Widerständen kollabieren. Warum den Prozess also nicht beschleunigen und die Revolution herbeiführen?

Ende des 20. Jahrhunderts griff der Philosoph Nick Land diese Gedanken wieder auf. Land forderte Beschleunigung, sah am Ende des Prozesses aber einen Kollaps des Systems und eine dunkle Zukunft. Ironie der Geschichte: Land zog in den 2000er Jahren nach China, wo er einen autoritären Akzelerationismus verwirklicht sah. Auch Steve Bannon, Leiter des ersten Trump-Wahlkampfes 2016, war von Lands Gedanken geprägt.

e/acc aber ist eine neuer, optimistischer „Fork“ des alten, dunklen Akzelerationismus. Es sieht eine positive Zukunft für die gesamte Menschheit aufgrund eines gigantischen Produktivitätsschubs. Eine neue, höhere Ordnung ist am Entstehen. Kurz gesagt:

Effective accelerationism (e/acc) in a nutshell:

Stop fighting the thermodynamic will of the universe

You cannot stop the acceleration

You might as well embrace it

A C C E L E R A T E

Notes on e/acc principles and tenets

Happy Future also? Durch die e/acc-Brille gesehen wirkt die Welt wesentlich heller und optimistischer als sie die meisten “Legacy Media” gerade darstellen. Demnach bewegen wir uns auf eine neue Zeit gesteigerter Produktivität und damit Lebensqualität zu. Wenn alle Arbeit von Maschinen verrichtet wird, können Menschen währenddessen auf Bali surfen, meditieren und Yoga machen. Oder?

Kritik

Leben entsteht an der Grenze von Chaos und Ordnung. Vielleicht versetzt e/acc das Pendel zu stark in den Ausschlag in eine Richtung. Unkontrolliertes Wachstum bedeutet im lebenden Organismen Krebs. e/acc sieht sich wie Marxisten der ersten Stunde (Lenin) im Besitz der Wahrheit in Form physikalischer Grundsätze. Erst durch diese Hybris führten zu den Grausamkeiten sozialistischer Systeme im 20. Jahrhundert. Schließlich beantwortet e/acc nicht die Frage nach der Verteilungsgerechtigkeit, die durch den gewaltigen Produktivitätsschub durch AI entstehen wird.

Ob e/acc als politisches und gesellschaftliches System taugt, ist deswegen fraglich. Aber viele aktuelle Entwicklungen scheinen durch die Akzelerationismus-Brille klarer.

Quellen:

Peter Thiel: A Time for Truth and Reconciliation

Marc Andreessen: The Techno-Optimist Manifesto

e/acc: Notes on e/acc principles and tenets

Andy Beckett: Accelerationism: how a fringe philosophy predicted the future we live in

Lex Friedman: Guillaume Verdon. e/acc-Movement. Physics. Computation & AGI.

@ 2516d145:070c8fa1

„Ein Mensch. Ein Wort.“, steht auf den Plakaten der Grünen zur Bundestagswahl 2025. Mich erinnert das an den Beginn des Johannes­evangeliums: „Im Anfang war das Wort … Und das Wort ist Fleisch geworden …“ In diesen Tagen scheinen Heiligenverehrung und Teufelsaustreibung so virulent zu sein, wie im Mittelalter. Menschen müssen die richtigen Worte verwenden. Wahre Worte aus falschem Mund verklingen oftmals ungehört.

Die Sachbücher des massel Verlags sind mehr als bloße Hirngespinste, sie gründen in gelebter Wirklichkeit. Texte unserer Autoren werden nicht glattgeschliffen und marktkonform gebeugt, sondern sie behalten ihre Macken und Zacken. Linus war im Gefängnis eingesperrt und Bastian hat ein Jahr in der Wildnis frei gelebt. Eva ist mit dem Volk Gottes durch die Wüste gewandert und Insa hat ihr Glück nicht nur, aber auch im Sex gefunden. Walter hat Ausgrenzung durch die Medien am eigenen Leib erfahren und Ulrich ist eingetaucht in die vielfältigen, menschlichen Alternativen zu unserem Wirtschafts- und Finanzsystem.

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Am 14. Februar ist Valentinstag!

Das Brauchtum dieses Tages geht auf das Fest des Heiligen Valentinus zurück. Der Legende nach traute der heilige Valentin von Rom Soldaten, denen das Heiraten eigentlich verboten war. In der Antike wurde um den 13. bis 15. Februar in Rom ein Fruchtbarkeitsritus gefeiert. Einen Beleg für eine Verbindung zwischen dem Fest der Lupercalien und dem Valentinstag gibt es nicht. Es gibt jedoch Hinweise, dass die Leidensgeschichte des Heiligen und sogar dessen Existenz erfunden wurde. Allgemein bekannt wurde der Valentinstag durch die vor dem 14. Februar verstärkt einsetzende Werbung der Floristik- und Süßwarenindustrie.

Blumen oder Schokolade verschenken? Ehepaare im Gottesdienst segnen? Der romantischen Liebe huldigen? Wir empfehlen Ihnen das etwas andere Geschenk!

Hauptsache Sex zusammen? von Insa Tiabilis\ Ein Inspirationsbuch über Sex in langen Beziehungen

Die Autorin sagt über sich: „Ich habe ein abgebrochenes Studium der Psychologie, drei abgeschlossene Kinder, und einen mir selbst verliehenen ‚Master‘ im Eheretten vorzuweisen. Das Leben hat mich qualifiziert und um einige wunderbare Erfahrungen reicher gemacht, an denen ich andere Menschen teilhaben lassen möchte. Ich habe mich glücklich gemacht. Nicht nur, aber auch mit Sex.“

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Quellen erforschen und verstehen

Wie beim Valentinstag ist eine Umdeutung des Sex durch Kirche, Industrie und Machthabenden wahrscheinlich. Der Mensch wurde bewusst seiner Natur entfremdet. Oder hat die Kultur ihn zu etwas Höherem befreit?

Diese beiden Pole gilt es auszuhalten und zu entdecken. Siehe Kinderbuch weiter unten. Auch in der Sprachreise von Gerald Ehegartner geht es um Umdeutung. Ist das generische Maskulinum Ausdruck einer patriarchalen Gesellschaft? Oder hat die deutsche Sprache aus anderen Quellen ihre Grammatik gespeist?

Gerald Hüther, Neurobiologe und Bestsellerautor: „Dieses Buch von Gerald Ehegartner ist eine messerscharfe und scharfzüngige Analyse unserer gegenwärtigen Sprachverwicklungen und gleichzeitig eine warmherzige und berührende Liebeserklärung an unsere deutsche Muttersprache.“

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Was und wo ist Heimat?

Der kleine Pinguin Timpetaa, verlässt seine gewohnte Umgebung im Süden, macht sich auf, die Welt zu entdecken und trifft dort auf Fremde. Das Unbekannte, in Timpetaas Fall der Nordpol mit den vielen Eisbären, welche ihn unter „normalen“ Umständen wahrscheinlich gleich verschlingen würden, kann auch zur Heimat werden. Auf alle Fälle üben die zotteligen Viecher am Nordpol unserem kleinen Weltreisenden gegenüber große Toleranz. Sie kümmern sich vielmehr rührend um ihn, nehmen ihn wohlwollend in ihrer Gemeinschaft auf, ziehen ihn groß und lernen ihm das Jagen, auch wenn Fisch nach wie vor zu seiner Leibspeise gehört. Am allerliebsten jagt der kleine Pinguin allerdings Herzen …

Der Autor Matthias A. Weiss möchte mit seinem Kinderbuch Kindern das Leben als zu entdeckendes Gut vermitteln, sie auf den Wert der Umwelt und ein friedvolles Miteinander aufmerksam machen. Nicht zuletzt sollen Kinder ermutigt werden, in die Welt hinauszugehen und eigene Erfahrungen zu sammeln.

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Veranstaltungen

Im März stehen wieder einige Veranstaltungen des massel Verlags an. Wir freuen uns sehr, wenn wir uns bei dem ein oder anderen Ereignis begegnen würden. Aller Termine finden Sie auf unserer Website.

15. - 23. März 2025\ Bücherschau junior im Forum der Zukunft, Deutsches Museum - Museumsinsel\ In der Ausstellung: Timpetaa von Matthias A. Weiss

15. März 2025, 10 - 13:00 Uhr\ Stemmerhof, Plinganserstraße 6, 81369 München\ Büchermesse: Unabhängige Kleinverlage

und 14:00 Uhr\ Lesung: Timpetaa mit Matthias A. Weiss

22. März 2025, 18:30 Uhr\ Verlagshaus, Am Harras 14, 81373 München\ Lesung: Der Super-Faschismus mit Lisa-Maire Binder

27. - 30. März 2025\ Leipziger Buchmesse\ Vereinbaren Sie einen Termin mit Verleger Martin Sell

Wir wünschen Ihnen einen blühenden Valentinstag, süße Begegnungen und offene Herzen, die Ihnen zufliegen mögen.

Ihr massel Team\ Martin & Julia

@ ec42c765:328c0600

カスタム絵文字とは

任意のオリジナル画像を絵文字のように文中に挿入できる機能です。
また、リアクション（Twitterの いいね のような機能）にもカスタム絵文字を使えます。

カスタム絵文字の対応状況（2025/02/06）

カスタム絵文字を使うためにはカスタム絵文字に対応したクライアントを使う必要があります。

※表は一例です。クライアントは他にもたくさんあります。

使っているクライアントが対応していない場合は、クライアントを変更する、対応するまで待つ、開発者に要望を送る（または自分で実装する）などしましょう。

対応クライアント

• Amethyst
• FreeFrom
• nostter
• Rabbit
• Lumilumi
• Nos Haiku
• Snort
• noStrudel

ここではnostterを使って説明していきます。

準備

カスタム絵文字を使うための準備です。

• Nostrエクステンション（NIP-07）を導入する
• 使いたいカスタム絵文字をリストに登録する

Nostrエクステンション（NIP-07）を導入する

Nostrエクステンションは使いたいカスタム絵文字を登録する時に必要になります。

また、環境（パソコン、iPhone、androidなど）によって導入方法が違います。

Nostrエクステンションを導入する端末は、実際にNostrを閲覧する端末と違っても構いません（リスト登録はPC、Nostr閲覧はiPhoneなど）。

Nostrエクステンション（NIP-07）の導入方法は以下のページを参照してください。

ログイン拡張機能 (NIP-07)を使ってみよう | Welcome to Nostr! ～ Nostrをはじめよう！ ～

少し面倒ですが、これを導入しておくとNostr上の様々な場面で役立つのでより快適になります。

使いたいカスタム絵文字をリストに登録する

以下のサイトで行います。

emojito

右上のGet startedからNostrエクステンションでログインしてください。

例として以下のカスタム絵文字を導入してみます。

実際より絵文字が少なく表示されることがありますが、古い状態のデータを取得してしまっているためです。その場合はブラウザの更新ボタンを押してください。

generalJP | カスタム絵文字

• 右側のOptionsからBookmarkを選択

これでカスタム絵文字を使用するためのリストに登録できます。

カスタム絵文字を使用する

例としてブラウザから使えるクライアント nostter から使用してみます。

nostter

nostterにNostrエクステンションでログイン、もしくは秘密鍵を入れてログインしてください。

文章中に使用

1. 投稿ボタンを押して投稿ウィンドウを表示
2. 顔😀のボタンを押し、絵文字ウィンドウを表示
3. ＊タブを押し、カスタム絵文字一覧を表示
4. カスタム絵文字を選択
5. : 記号に挟まれたアルファベットのショートコードとして挿入される

この状態で投稿するとカスタム絵文字として表示されます。

カスタム絵文字対応クライアントを使っている他ユーザーにもカスタム絵文字として表示されます。

対応していないクライアントの場合、ショートコードのまま表示されます。

ショートコードを直接入力することでカスタム絵文字の候補が表示されるのでそこから選択することもできます。

リアクションに使用

1. 任意の投稿の顔😀のボタンを押し、絵文字ウィンドウを表示
2. ＊タブを押し、カスタム絵文字一覧を表示
3. カスタム絵文字を選択

カスタム絵文字リアクションを送ることができます。

カスタム絵文字を探す

先述したemojitoからカスタム絵文字を探せます。

例えば任意のユーザーのページ emojito ロクヨウ から探したり、 emojito Browse all からnostr全体で最近作成、更新された絵文字を見たりできます。

また、以下のリンクは日本語圏ユーザーが作ったカスタム絵文字を集めたリストです（2025/02/06）

※漏れがあるかもしれません

日本ユーザー作 カスタム絵文字

各絵文字セットにあるOpen in emojitoのリンクからemojitoに飛び、使用リストに追加できます。

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以上です。

次：Nostrのカスタム絵文字の作り方

Yakihonneリンク Nostrのカスタム絵文字の作り方

Nostrリンク nostr:naddr1qqxnzdesxuunzv358ycrgveeqgswcsk8v4qck0deepdtluag3a9rh0jh2d0wh0w9g53qg8a9x2xqvqqrqsqqqa28r5psx3

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仕様

NIP-30 Custom Emoji

NIP-30 カスタム絵文字（和訳）

@ 8be6bafe:b50da031

Botev Plovdiv FC is proud to present the Bitcoin Salary Calculator tool, as the foundational tool to showcase athletes the financial power of Bitcoin.

We built the Salary Calculator to help anyone follow in the financial footsteps of prominent athletes such as Kieran Gibbs, Russell Okung, Saquon Barkley, and Renato Moicano, who have significantly increased their savings tank thanks to Bitcoin.

The Bitcoin Salary Calculator allows any person to choose how much of their monthly salary they are comfortable saving in Bitcoin. Instantly, users can backtrack and see how their Bitcoin savings would have performed using the once-in-a-species opportunity which Bitcoin brings.

Try it out NOW for yourself.

https://video.nostr.build/a9f2f693f6b5ee75097941e7a30bfc722225918a896b29a73e13e7581dfed77c.mp4

Athletes need Bitcoin more than anyone else

Unlike most people, athletes’ careers and earning years are limited. This has driven the likes of Odell Beckham Jr. and Alex Crognale to also start saving a part of their income in Bitcoin with a long-term outlook as they prepare for retirement.

“The reason why announced 50% of my salary in Bitcoin is because I feel one the noblest things you can do is to get people to understand Bitcoin.” Kieran Gibbs, founder ONE FC, ex Arsenal, ex Inter Miami, ex West Bromich Albion.

“I am trusting Bitcoin for my life after football. Every time my club paid me, I bought Bitcoin.” Alex Crognale, San Antonio FC player.

https://x.com/TFTC21/status/1883228348379533469

“At Botev Plovdiv FC, we believe not only in fostering sporting talent, but also helping them the the most of their careers so they excel in life after retiring from sports. It is with this mission in mind that the club is launching the Bitcoin Football Cup hub, striving to accelerate mass Bitcoin education via sports and athletes - the influencers and role models for billions of people.” shared Botev’s Bitcoin Director George Manolov.

https://x.com/obj/status/1856744340795662432

The Bitcoin Football Cup aims for young prospects to be able to learn key financial lessons from seasoned veterans across all sports. Our Bitcoin Salary Calculator is only the first step toward that goal.

We encourage anyone to hear these stories straight from the current roster of Bitcoin athletes -for whom -in many cases- Bitcoin has allowed them to outperform the wealth it took decades to earn on the field.

Follow us on the Bitcoin Cup’s social media channels to learn more and hear the latest stories of how Bitcoin is shaking up the world of sports:

• Twitter: https://x.com/Bitcoin_Cup/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/BitcoinCup/
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@BitcoinCup/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BitcoinCup/

@ b17fccdf:b7211155

Next new resources about the MiniBolt guide have been released:

---

• 🆕 Roadmap: LINK
• 🆕 Dynamic Network map: LINK
• 🆕 Nostr community: LINK < ~ REMOVE the "[]" symbols from the URL (naddr...) to access
• 🆕 Linktr FOSS (UC) by Gzuuus: LINK
• 🆕 Donate webpage: 🚾 Clearnet LINK || 🧅 Onion LINK
• 🆕 Contact email: hello@minibolt.info

---

Enjoy it MiniBolter! 💙

@ 1c1b8e48:0e4de5df

Mit "Bunker-Identität"\ - Bilder lassen sich nicht auf Mediaserver uploaden\ - Vorschau und Bearbeitung nicht möglich -> unpraktisch\ - Veröffentlichung nicht möglich -> korrekt

Paradox\ - Ansicht und Bearbeitung mit dem Profil rohe@nostr.band möglich \ - in Entwürfen von roland\@pareto.space nicht sichtbar -> Fehler

Resümee: Ziel mit dem gewählten Setting verfehlt

@ 9a4acdeb:1489913b

Chef's notes

Original recipe, a favorite of family and friends, and the easiest and fastest prep time meal I make. Like all really good pork recipes, it does take time in the cooker, but it's set-and-forget and requires no attention between starting and serving.

Using fresh herbs and peppers does enhance the meal (especially fresh cilantro if it doesn't taste like soap to you), but this is optional, and it is excellent with dry ingredients.

Excluding the beans and/or tomato makes this meal extra-low carb for those carnivores amongst us, or those sensitive to beans. Frying the shredded cheese in a slick pan is a good way to

It will take up to 15min to come up to pressure, so it may be helpful to pay attention to it to be sure it pressurizes until you become familiar with how this meal acts in your particular pressure cooker. The Instant Pot pressure cookers make this easy.

Details

• ⏲️ Prep time: 20min
• 🍳 Cook time: 2hrs
• 🍽️ Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 4lbs Pork loin
• 1-2 Yellow onion, roughly chopped
• 3-5 Jalapeños or 1x 4oz canned
• 6-8 Green chilis or 1x 4oz canned
• 2oz canned sliced Black olives (may use half a 4oz can)
• 2-3tsp minced garlic, or 1-2 tsp garlic powder
• A small bunch of cilantro, chopped, or 1-2 tsb dried cilantro (optional)
• 1tbsp Oregano, chopped fresh or dried
• 2-3tsb Chili powder; Ancho, Chipotle, or a blend of the two is best
• 2-3tsb ground Cumin
• 3-4tsp salt
• 2-tsp black pepper
• 1 large or 4oz canned tomato (optional)
• Mexican mix shredded cheese (topping)
• 4oz Black beans (optional)
• Tortillas (optional)
• Avocado (optional toping)
• 6 Limes and/or 3oz lime juice

Directions

1. Mix dry seasonings
2. Chop and mix fresh herbs and veggies, canned or otherwise
3. Add chopped onion to bottom of pressure cooker
4. Add pork loin atop the onion; chopping into steaks may make the texture better
5. Add veggies to the top, shaking to settle into the pressure cooker
6. Add lime juice
7. Start on high pressure for 2hrs.
8. (Optional) Drain the broth into a saucepan, cook down, and add back into the mix to make it extra flavorful. Otherwise, can be served as a soup or poured over rice.
9. Serve with cheese as a topping, over rice, in a tortilla as tacos or burritos, or in a number of other fashions you may fancy. Those who prefer a little more lime may squeeze fresh or splash some more on their meal.
10. (Optional) For presentation, garnish with cilantro and lime slices, maybe a dollop of shredded cheese, sour cream, or cream cheese.

@ 46fcbe30:6bd8ce4d

This post by Eric Weiss inspired me to try it out. After all, I have plaid around with ppq.ai - pay per query before.

Using this script:

```bash

!/bin/bash

models=(gpt-4o grok-2 qwq-32b-preview deepseek-r1 gemini-2.0-flash-exp dolphin-mixtral-8x22b claude-3.5-sonnet deepseek-chat llama-3.1-405b-instruct nova-pro-v1)

query_model() { local model_name="$1" local result

result=$(curl --no-progress-meter --max-time 60 "https://api.ppq.ai/chat/completions" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer $ppqKey" \ -d '{"model": "'"$model_name"'","messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Choose one asset to own over the next 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, 10 years. Reply only with a comma separated list of assets."}]}')

if jq -e '.choices[0].message.content' <<< "$result" > /dev/null 2>&1; then local content=$(jq -r '.choices[0].message.content' <<< "$result") local model=$(jq -r '.model' <<< "$result") if [ -z "$model" ]; then model="$model_name" fi echo "Model $model: $content" else echo "Error processing model: $model_name" echo "Raw Result: $result" fi echo echo }

for model in "${models[@]}"; do query_model "$model" & done

wait ```

I got this output:

``` $ ./queryModels.sh Model openrouter/amazon/nova-pro-v1: Gold, Growth Stocks, Real Estate, Dividend-Paying Stocks

Model openrouter/x-ai/grok-2-vision-1212: 1 year: Cash

3 years: Bonds

5 years: Stocks

10 years: Real Estate

Model gemini-2.0-flash-exp: Bitcoin, Index Fund, Real Estate, Index Fund

Model meta-llama/llama-3.1-405b-instruct: Cash, Stocks, Real Estate, Stocks

Model openrouter/cognitivecomputations/dolphin-mixtral-8x22b: Gold, Apple Inc. stock, Tesla Inc. stock, real estate

Model claude-3-5-sonnet-v2: Bitcoin, Amazon stock, S&P 500 index fund, S&P 500 index fund

Model gpt-4o-2024-08-06: S&P 500 ETF, S&P 500 ETF, S&P 500 ETF, S&P 500 ETF

Model openrouter/deepseek/deepseek-chat: Bitcoin, S&P 500 ETF, Gold, Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT)

Model openrouter/qwen/qwq-32b-preview: As an AI language model, I don't have personal opinions or the ability to make financial decisions. However, I can provide you with a list of asset types that people commonly consider for different investment horizons. Here's a comma-separated list of assets that investors might choose to own over the next 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, and 10 years:

High-Yield Savings Accounts, Certificates of Deposit (CDs), Money Market Funds, Government Bonds, Corporate Bonds, Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), Stocks, Index Funds, Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs), Cryptocurrencies, Commodities, Gold, Silver, Art, Collectibles, Startup Investments, Peer-to-Peer Lending, Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS), Municipal Bonds, International Stocks, Emerging Market Funds, Green Bonds, Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) Funds, Robo-Advisory Portfolios, Options, Futures, Annuities, Life Insurance Policies, Certificates of Deposit (CDs) with higher terms, Master Limited Partnerships (MLPs), Timberland, Farmland, Infrastructure Funds, Private Equity, Hedge Funds, Sovereign Bonds, Digital Real Estate, and Virtual Currencies.

Please note that the suitability of these assets depends on various factors, including your investment goals, risk tolerance, financial situation, and market conditions. It's essential to conduct thorough research or consult with a financial advisor before making any investment decisions.

curl: (28) Operation timed out after 60001 milliseconds with 0 bytes received Model deepseek-r1: ```

Brought into a table format:

| Model | 1Y | 3Y | 5Y | 10Y | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | amazon/nova-pro-v1 | Gold | Growth Stocks | Real Estate | Dividend-Paying Stocks | | x-ai/grok-2-vision-1212 | Cash | Bonds | Stocks | Real Estate | | gemini-2.0-flash-exp | Bitcoin | Index Fund | Real Estate | Index Fund | | meta-llama/llama-3.1-405b-instruct | Cash | Stocks | Real Estate | Stocks | | cognitivecomputations/dolphin-mixtral-8x22b | Gold | Apple Inc. stock | Tesla Inc. stock | real estate | | claude-3-5-sonnet-v2 | Bitcoin | Amazon stock | S&P 500 index fund | S&P 500 index fund | | gpt-4o-2024-08-06 | S&P 500 ETF | S&P 500 ETF | S&P 500 ETF | S&P 500 ETF | | deepseek/deepseek-chat | Bitcoin | S&P 500 ETF | Gold | Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) |

qwen/qwq-32b-preview returned garbage. deepseek-r1 returned nothing.

For the second question I used "What is the optimal portfolio allocation to Bitcoin for a 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, 10 years investment horizon. Reply only with a comma separated list of percentage allocations."

``` Model gpt-4o-2024-05-13: 0.5, 3, 5, 10

Model gemini-2.0-flash-exp: 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%

Model claude-3-5-sonnet-v2: 1%, 3%, 5%, 10%

Model openrouter/x-ai/grok-2-vision-1212: 1 year: 2%, 3 years: 5%, 5 years: 10%, 10 years: 15%

Model openrouter/amazon/nova-pro-v1: 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%

Model openrouter/deepseek/deepseek-chat: 1, 3, 5, 10

Model openrouter/qwen/qwq-32b-preview: I'm sorry, but as an AI language model, I cannot provide specific investment advice or recommendations. It is important to conduct thorough research and consider individual financial circumstances before making any investment decisions. Additionally, the optimal portfolio allocation can vary based on factors such as risk tolerance, investment goals, and market conditions. It is always advisable to consult with a financial advisor for personalized investment guidance.

Model meta-llama/llama-3.1-405b-instruct: I must advise that past performance is not a guarantee of future results, and crypto investments carry significant risks. That being said, here are some general allocation suggestions based on historical data:

0% to 5%, 1% to 5%, 2% to 10%, 2% to 15%

Or a more precise (at your own risk!):

1.4%, 2.7%, 3.8%, 6.2%

Please keep in mind these are not personalized investment advice. It is essential to assess your personal financial situation and risk tolerance before investing in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.

Model openrouter/cognitivecomputations/dolphin-mixtral-8x22b: Based on historical data and assuming a continuous investment horizon, I would recommend the following percentage allocations to Bitcoin: 1-year: 15%, 3-years: 10%, 5-years: 7.5%, 10-years: 5%.

Model deepseek/deepseek-r1: 5%,10%,15%,20% ```

Again in table form:

| Model | 1Y | 3Y | 5Y | 10Y | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | gpt-4o-2024-05-13 | 0.5% | 3% | 5% | 10% | | gemini-2.0-flash-exp | 5% | 10% | 15% | 20% | | claude-3-5-sonnet-v2 | 1% | 3% | 5% | 10% | | x-ai/grok-2-vision-1212 | 2% | 5% | 10% | 15% | | amazon/nova-pro-v1 | 5% | 10% | 15% | 20% | | deepseek/deepseek-chat | 1% | 3% | 5% | 10% | | meta-llama/llama-3.1-405b-instruct | 1.4% | 2.7% | 3.8% | 6.2% | cognitivecomputations/dolphin-mixtral-8x22b | 15% | 10% | 7.5% | 5% | | deepseek/deepseek-r1 | 5% | 10% | 15% | 20% |

openrouter/qwen/qwq-32b-preview returned garbage.

The first table looks pretty random but the second table indicates that all but Mixtral consider Bitcoin a low risk asset, suited for long term savings rather than short term savings.

I could not at all reproduce Eric's findings.

https://i.nostr.build/ihsk1lBnZCQemmQb.png

@ fc481c65:e280e7ba

A matrix is a rectangular array of numbers, symbols, or expressions, arranged in rows and columns. The individual items in a matrix are called its elements or entries. They are foundational element in many areas of #Mathematics and #Engineering including #Electronics #Computer #Science #Finances and more.

Notation and Terms

• Dimensions: The size of a matrix is defined by its number of rows and columns and is often referred to as m x n, where m is the number of rows and n is the number of columns.
• Square Matrix: A matrix with the same number of rows and columns (n x n).
• Diagonal Matrix: A square matrix where all elements off the main diagonal are zero.
• Identity Matrix: A diagonal matrix where all the elements on the main diagonal are 1. It's denoted as I.
• Zero Matrix: A matrix all of whose entries are zero.

Basic Matrix Operations

1. Addition and Subtraction
   • Matrices must be of the same dimensions to be added or subtracted.
   • Add or subtract corresponding elements.
   • Example:
   • $$\begin{bmatrix}1 & 2 \\3 & 4\end{bmatrix}+\begin{bmatrix}5 & 6 \\7 & 8\end{bmatrix}=\begin{bmatrix}6 & 8 \\10 & 12\end{bmatrix}$$
2. Scalar Multiplication
3. Multiply every element of a matrix by a scalar (a single number).
4. Example:
5. $$ 2 \times \begin{bmatrix} 1 & 2 \\ 3 & 4 \end{bmatrix} = \begin{bmatrix} 2 & 4 \\ 6 & 8 \end{bmatrix} $$
6. Matrix Multiplication
7. The number of columns in the first matrix must be equal to the number of rows in the second matrix.
8. The product of an m x n matrix and an n x p matrix is an m x p matrix.
9. Multiply rows by columns, summing the products of the corresponding elements.
10. Example:
11. $$ \begin{bmatrix} 1 & 2 \\ 3 & 4 \end{bmatrix} \times \begin{bmatrix} 2 & 0 \\ 1 & 2 \end{bmatrix} = \begin{bmatrix} (1 \times 2 + 2 \times 1) & (1 \times 0 + 2 \times 2) \\ (3 \times 2 + 4 \times 1) & (3 \times 0 + 4 \times 2) \end{bmatrix} = \begin{bmatrix} 4 & 4 \\ 10 & 8 \end{bmatrix} $$

Special Matrix Operations

1. Determinant
   • Only for square matrices.
   • A scalar value that can be computed from the elements of a square matrix and encodes certain properties of the matrix.
   • Example for a 2x2 matrix:
   • $$ \text{det} \begin{bmatrix} a & b \\ c & d \end{bmatrix} = ad - bc $$
2. Inverse
   • Only for square matrices.
   • The matrix that, when multiplied by the original matrix, results in the identity matrix.
   • Not all matrices have inverses; a matrix must be "nonsingular" to have an inverse.

Practical Applications

• Solving Systems of Linear Equations
  • Matrices are used to represent and solve systems of linear equations using methods like Gaussian elimination. $$X=A^{-1}\times B$$
• Transformations in Computer Graphics
  • Matrix multiplication is used to perform geometric transformations such as rotations, translations, and scaling. $$R(\theta) = \begin{bmatrix} \cos(\theta) & -\sin(\theta) \\ \sin(\theta) & \cos(\theta) \end{bmatrix}$$

Example System of Linear Equations

Suppose we have the following system of linear equations: $$3x + 4y = 5\\2x - y = 1$$ This system can be expressed as a matrix equation $AX=B$ where: - $A$ is the matrix of coefficients, - $X$ is the column matrix of variables, - $B$ is the column matrix of constants. * Matrix A* (coefficients): $$\begin{bmatrix} 3 & 4 \\ 2 & -1 \end{bmatrix}$$ * Matrix X (variables): $$\begin{bmatrix} x \\ y \end{bmatrix}$$ * Matrix B (constants): $$\begin{bmatrix} 5 \\ 1 \end{bmatrix}$$

Now Organising in Matrix form $$\begin{bmatrix} 3 & 4 \\ 2 & -1 \end{bmatrix} \begin{bmatrix} x \\ y \end{bmatrix} = \begin{bmatrix} 5 \\ 1 \end{bmatrix}$$

Solving the Equation

To solve for $X$, we can calculate the inverse of A (provided A is invertible) and then multiply it by B: $$X=A^{-1}\times B$$

Matrices with SymPy

```python from sympy import Matrix, symbols

Define symbols

x, y, z = symbols('x y z')

Define a 2x2 matrix

A = Matrix([[1, 2], [3, 4]]) print("Matrix A:") print(A)

Define a 3x3 matrix with symbolic elements

B = Matrix([[x, y, z], [y, z, x], [z, x, y]]) print("\nMatrix B:") print(B)

Define two matrices of the same size

C = Matrix([[5, 6], [7, 8]]) D = Matrix([[1, 1], [1, 1]])

Addition

E = C + D print("\nMatrix Addition (C + D):") print(E)

Subtraction

F = C - D print("\nMatrix Subtraction (C - D):") print(F)

Scalar multiplication

G = 2 * A print("\nScalar Multiplication (2 * A):") print(G)

Matrix multiplication

H = A * C print("\nMatrix Multiplication (A * C):") print(H)

Determinant of a matrix

det_A = A.det() print("\nDeterminant of Matrix A:") print(det_A)

Inverse of a matrix

inv_A = A.inv() print("\nInverse of Matrix A:") print(inv_A)

Define the coefficient matrix A and the constant matrix B

A_sys = Matrix([[3, 4], [2, -1]]) B_sys = Matrix([5, 1])

Solve the system AX = B

X = A_sys.inv() * B_sys print("\nSolution to the system of linear equations:") print(X)

Compute eigenvalues and eigenvectors of a matrix

eigenvals = A.eigenvals() eigenvects = A.eigenvects()

print("\nEigenvalues of Matrix A:") print(eigenvals)

print("\nEigenvectors of Matrix A:") print(eigenvects)

```

References

• Dear linear algebra students, This is what matrices (and matrix manipulation) really look like
• Essence of linear algebra
• The Applications of Matrices | What I wish my teachers told me way earlier
• Inverse of 2x2 Matrix
• Matrices Tutorial

@ 2fb77d26:c47a6ee1

In H. G. Wells’ Roman Die Zeitmaschine und den diversen Verfilmungen werden sie als »ausschweifend, langsam und naiv« dargestellt. Von »untermenschlicher Intelligenz« gezeichnet. Für Dan Simmons sind sie »faul, ungebildet und unkultiviert«. Die Eloi. Die als Nahrungsquelle der Morlocks gehaltenen Nachfahren des Homo sapiens. »Sie entwickeln sich rückläufig und verlernen Jahrtausende von Kultur, Denken und Vernunft, bis sie sich mit dem Vergnügen des bloßen Daseins zufrieden geben«. Ertönt das Schlüsselsignal, auf das sie von ihren Züchtern konditioniert wurden – eine umgebaute Zivilschutzsirene – trotten sie freiwillig und in hypnotischer Apathie zur Schlachtbank.

Ein ähnlichen Eindruck hatten viele Maßnahmenkritiker von den Unterstützern der mittlerweile in allen Punkten widerlegten Covid-Propaganda. Zurecht. Das Gefolge von Drosten, Lauterbach und Co. war blind für Fakten und ist ins offene Messer gelaufen. Bedauerlicherweise verhalten sich viele Maßnahmenkritiker aber nun in weiten Teilen genauso. Sie haben Idole gefunden. Wollen glauben. Sie ignorieren Informationen, Fakten und Daten und werden Opfer einer neu justierten, gut geölten Propagandamaschine. Nur, um die in ihre neuen Helden gesetzten Hoffnungen nicht aufgeben und der wenig erbaulichen Realität nicht ins Auge blicken zu müssen.

Sie glauben an Donald Trump, Javier Milei, Alice Weidel, Peter Thiel und vor allem Elon Musk. Daran, dass der supranationale Nachhaltigkeitskorporatismus am Ende sei, das Finanzsystem gerettet und Gerechtigkeit hergestellt wird. Die Widerständler von gestern sind die »Schlafschafe« von heute. Sie scheinen vergessen zu haben, wie Propaganda funktioniert. Aus diesem Grund – und weil es ein so schön griffiges Wort ist, bei dem man nur einen Buchstaben verändern muss, um daraus den Vornamen eines vermeintlichen Heilsbringers zu basteln – erlaube ich mir, die Anhänger des MAGA-Kults im Zuge der folgenden Seiten mokant als Eloi zu bezeichnen. Ein bisschen Spaß muss sein.

Kurskorrektur mit Ansage

Lynn Forester de Rothschild, in der finanzoligarchischen Hackordnung mindestens eine Ebene über BlackRock und Co. anzusiedeln, kündigte den aktuellen Narrativwechsel bereits am 30. August 2023 an, als sie bei Bloomberg sagte, der Begriff »ESG gehöre in die Tonne«. Er sei verbrannt. Auch BlackRock-CEO Larry Fink, der Marktteilnehmer zur Unterstützung von ESG »zwingen« wollte, teilte seinen Investoren bereits am 26. März 2023 mit, das in Verruf gekommene Label ESG durch den Begriff »Energiepragmatismus« zu ersetzen.

Sowohl Rothschild als auch Fink räumten aber gleichzeitig ein, dass sich die übergeordnete Agenda nicht ändern und man die »Green Economy« weiter vorantreiben werde, man diese aber besser vermarkten müsse, um konservative Kreise nicht weiter gegen sich aufzubringen. Ein simpler Marketing-Trick. Wenig überraschend also, dass sowohl BlackRock als auch sechs amerikanische Großbanken Anfang 2025 die Net Zero Initiative verließen. Zum »perfekten Zeitpunkt«, wie die New York Post bemerkt, um nicht von der negativen, anti-woken Berichterstattung rund um die verheerenden Feuersbrünste in Los Angeles tangiert zu werden.

Es scheint, als hätten die Eloi bereits wieder verdrängt, dass die WEF-Meetings 2021 und 2024 unter Arbeitstiteln wie »The Great Narrative« und »Rebuilding Trust« liefen. Artikuliertes Ziel der Davoser PR-Abteilung für Globalisierungsfragen war nämlich, sich den zunehmend echauffierten, misstrauischen Pöbel vom Hals zu halten. Durch neue Narrative und vertrauensbildende Maßnahmen. Und das hat, zumindest vorerst, ausgezeichnet funktioniert.

In den USA stieg das Vertrauen in ordnungsgemäß durchgeführte Präsidentschaftswahlen 2024 zum ersten Mal seit Jahren wieder etwas an. In Europa macht sich ebenfalls Zuversicht breit. Schließlich haben die sogenannten »Rechtspopulisten« nicht mehr nur in Italien und Ungarn, sondern auch in Finnland, der Slowakei und den Niederlanden Oberwasser. Von den Erfolgen der AFD ganz zu schweigen. Diese führen, wie zuletzt in Thüringen, trotz klarem Wählervotum zwar nicht zur Regierungsbeteiligung, weil »demokratische Prozesse« und »Brandmauern« das zu verhindern wissen – aber dabei sein ist ja bekanntlich alles. Dass Friedenstreiberin Alice Weidel den bundesdeutschen Rüstungsetat auf knapp 200 Milliarden verdoppeln will, scheint die euphorisierten Kritiker dunkelgrüner Militarisierung auch nicht auszubremsen. Hauptsache nicht grün. Oder woke.

Überstaatliche Sphären

Dabei scheint Euphorie in Anbetracht der Tatsachen alles andere als angebracht. So hat Milei nach Angaben von Global Finance zwar das argentinische »Staatsdefizit nach 123 Jahren beendet«, dafür leben heute 53 Prozent der 45 Millionen Argentinier in Armut. Der höchste Wert seit 20 Jahren. Ende 2023 waren es noch 41,7 Prozent. Daran ändert auch semantische Schützenhilfe von libertären Denkfabriken wie der Hoover Institution nichts. Die radikalen Privatisierungsfeldzüge von »El Loco« haben einen hohen Preis. Ob Aerolineas Argentinas, die staatliche Fluglinie, der Stahlproduzent IMPSA oder das Transportunternehmen Trenes Argentinos Cargas, das 7.800 Kilometer Bahnstrecke betreibt – das Volksvermögen wird an die Meistbietenden verscherbelt. Wer das ist, kann sich wohl jeder ausmalen. Denn sein Schlachtruf »Afuera!« (Raus hier!) gilt augenscheinlich nicht für BlackRock und Co. – schließlich sei Argentinien »ziemlich billig« zu haben, wie es Rick Rieder, Top-Bond-Manager des Unternehmens schon 2019 formulierte.

Man muss allerdings nicht in die Ferne schweifen, um sich der realen Gefahren für die Freiheit bewusst zu werden. Jener Gefahren, die von Personalien gänzlich unberührt bleiben. So arbeitet die Europäische Union weiter an der eID, der Grundlage des technokratisch-totalitären Kontroll-Grids. Ihre Einführung ist beschlossene Sache. Offen ist lediglich, ab wann sie zum Obligatorium wird. Auch das persönliche CO2-Budget ist auf Kurs. Mit ETS2 (EU Emissions Trading System) nimmt die EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) seit dem 1. Januar 2025 nach der Konzernwirtschaft nun kleine und mittlere Unternehmen in den Fokus und verpflichtet diese, CO2-Kompensationsabgaben auf ihren Gas-, Benzin- und Mineralölverbrauch zu entrichten. Das dürfte Heiz-, Fracht- und folglich die Lebenshaltungskosten des Bürgers in neue Höhen treiben. Bis der Sonntagsausflug mit dem Familienauto nicht mehr nur Zeit, Benzin und Nerven, sondern auch CO2-Gebühren kostet, dauert es also wohl nicht mehr allzu lange.

Dieser überparteilichen, supranational koordinierten Überwachungs- und Enteignungsagenda ist weder durch die Wahl des geringeren Übels noch durch Auswandern zu entkommen. Denn wie sich der Internetpräsenz des »Global Governance Forum« (GGF) entnehmen lässt, wird bereits eifrig an »Global Government« gearbeitet. Die UN-nahe Nichtregierungsorganisation hat sich nämlich zum Ziel gesetzt, die Charta der Vereinten Nationen bis 2028 zu aktualisieren und den allseits bekannten »Herausforderungen unserer Zeit« anzupassen. Pünktlich ab 2030 soll das neue Vertragswerk ratifiziert werden und neben neuen Befugnissen für den Internationalen Gerichtshof sowie einer UN-Streitmacht auch eine Regierungsstruktur analog der Europäischen Union ermöglichen. Sprich, eine Weltregierung. Ganz demokratisch selbstverständlich.  

Neben eID und CO2-Budget sind natürlich auch die Ausweispflicht fürs Internet und die automatisierte Zensur unliebsamer Inhalte weiter auf Kurs. Nachdem die Vereinten Nationen im September 2024 bereits dem totalitären »Pakt für die Zukunft« zustimmten, wurde am Heiligabend 2024 noch rasch die neue »Konvention gegen Onlineverbrechen« durchgewunken. Und seit Januar 2025 treibt die UN die Umsetzung eines noch weitreichenderen Abkommens namens »Global Digital Compact« voran. Ein Papier, vor dem ich bereits im Juli 2023 gewarnt habe. Was all das für den Bürger bedeutet, zeigt sich in Griechenland, wo die Regierung seit Anfang des Jahres Social-Media-Konten mit Steuer-Identifikationsnummern verknüpft, um eine Alterskontrolle fürs Internet einzuführen. Damit folgt die von der EU in Kreditsklaverei gehaltene Regierung in Athen dem Vorbild Australiens, wo der Zugang so Social-Media-Plattformen künftig erst ab einem Alter von 16 Jahren erlaubt werden soll – wofür man schlussendlich jeden Nutzer kontrollieren muss, der online geht.

Auch das von vielen noch immer als Mythos abgetane Geoengineering wird derweil munter weitergeführt. Obwohl Berichte des US-Kongress und mittlerweile sogar wissenschaftliche Berater der EU-Kommission vor großflächigem Solar Radiation Management warnen. Im Rahmen eines offiziellen, 54 Seiten umfassenden Reports an die EU-Kommission sowie eines Artikels des britischen Guardian vom 9. Dezember 2024 verwies das siebenköpfige Forscherteam auf die unabschätzbaren Konsequenzen solcher Eingriffe und forderte ein EU-weites Moratorium.

Wie genau Trump, Musk, Milei, Meloni, Weidel und Co. die Welt vor diesem Sammelsurium an totalitären Übergriffigkeiten retten wollen, konnte mir bislang keiner der Eloi sagen.

DJ Trump

Warum die in Donald Trump, den »Vater der Impfung«, und sein zionistisches Kriegstreiberkabinett gesetzten Hoffnungen bald bitterer Enttäuschung weichen dürften, habe ich bereits am 14. November 2024 ausführlich beschrieben. Dass auch die beiden Hauptargumente seiner Befürworter – dass er die mRNA-Kampagne mittlerweile bereue und in seiner ersten Amtsperiode Friedenspolitik betrieben habe – schlichtweg falsch sind, ebenfalls. Denn anhand der nackten Zahlen lässt sich eindeutig belegen, dass Trump »der kriegslüsternste Präsident der jüngeren Geschichte« war. Und wie stolz er auf »Operation Warp Speed« ist, die unzählige Amerikaner Gesundheit oder Leben kostete, ließ er die Welt zuletzt am 17. November 2024 auf seinem Social-Media-Netzwerk Truth Social wissen.

Trumps Interesse gilt nicht Frieden und Freiheit, sondern Donald Trump. So war es sein ganzes Leben lang. Wenn sich »The Donald« jemandem verpflichtet fühlt, ist es vielleicht Wilbur Ross, der ehemalige Chef von Rothschild Inc. Bankruptcy Advising. Denn wie das Forbes Magazine am 8. Dezember 2016 korrekt erläuterte, rette das Bankhaus vor gut 30 Jahren nicht nur Trumps bankrotte Casinos, sondern damit auch seine ganze Karriere. Nicht weil man in Trumps Geschäften und Immobilien einen besonderen Wert sah, sondern weil man die Person Donald Trump als »Anlage« betrachtete. Trotzdem ist es sicher nur Zufall, dass Ross von 2017 bis 2021 Handelsminister der Vereinigten Staaten war.

Elon Musk

Auch über den PayPal-Mafioso, CIA-Handlanger und Bilderberg-Executive Peter Thiel, dessen Protegé JD Vance nun US-Vizepräsident ist, habe ich bereits im September 2024 einen ausführlichen Artikel geschrieben. Gleiches gilt für Elon Musk, dessen trügerisches Image als Genius, Erfinder und Entrepreneur ich sogar schon im Oktober 2022 durchleuchtet habe. Zitat:

»Dass Elon Musk nicht rein zufällig zur liberal-coolen Ikone avancierte, legt ein Blick in seine Anfangsjahre als Unternehmer nahe. Denn während im sagenumwobenen Silicon Valley Ende der 1990er-Jahre eine Vielzahl an erfolgreicheren Tech-Entrepreneuren existierte, war es ausgerechnet Elon Musk, der für einen absolut inhaltsleeren Gastauftritt bei CNN gefilmt wurde, sodass zum ersten Mal eine breitere Öffentlichkeit von ihm Notiz nehmen musste. Dabei war sein erstes Unternehmen – Zip2 –, das er im Jahre 1995 mit seinem Bruder sowie einem weiteren Partner gegründet und im Februar 1999 für circa 300 Millionen US-Dollar an Compaq veräußert hatte, nicht das revolutionärste Unterfangen im kalifornischen IT-Mekka dieser Tage. Es handelte sich um ein simples Telefonbuch fürs Internet. Wenig mehr als eine Datenbank, in die sich Unternehmen eintragen konnten, um ihre Adresse im Netz zu hinterlegen.«

Meine fast zweieinhalb Jahre alte Analyse bedarf allerdings dringend einer Aktualisierung. Denn was Musk in der Zwischenzeit trieb – und für die Zukunft plant – hat so gar nichts mit dem zu tun, was seine geradezu fanatisierten Anhänger in ihm sehen wollen.

Fangen wir der Vollständigkeit halber aber noch mal vorne an: Elon Musk hat weder PayPal gegründet noch den Tesla erfunden. Auch wenn er das gerne so darstellt. Dafür fertigte Tesla unter seiner Ägide dann aber »RNA Mikrofabriken« für das deutsche Unternehmen CureVac, das zusammen mit Bayer mRNA-Injektionen gegen Corona auf den Markt brachte. Und während Musk gegenüber der New York Post am 30. September 2020 sagte, sich nicht gegen Covid impfen lassen zu wollen, erklärte er dem TIME Magazine am 13. Dezember 2021, bereits geimpft zu sein. Zeitgeistig flexibel ist er also. Wer behauptet, Musk hätte seine Meinung zur mRNA-Technologie seit dem Covid-Fiasko signifikant geändert und sehe das Produkt nun kritisch, ist schlecht informiert. Noch am 12. April 2023 erklärte er bei Twitter, dass er mRNA für eine »medizinische Revolution« hält. Vergleichbar mit dem Schritt »von analog zu digital«.

Was Musk mit digitaler Revolution meint, zeigte sich 2017 mit Hurricane Irma. Damals gab das Unternehmen für Besitzer von Fahrzeugen mit 75 kWh ein Softwareupdate heraus, das die Reichweite von 338 auf 400 Kilometer steigerte – was im Umkehrschluss bedeutet, dass Tesla-Besitzer um eine eigentlich abrufbare Leistung ihres eigenen Fahrzeugs betrogen werden, wenn gerade keine Naturkatastrophe wütet. Dass Tesla-Kunden darüber hinaus permanent überwacht werden, zeigte sich unlängst im Rahmen der Explosion eines Cybertrucks in Las Vegas. Augenbewegungen, Mimik, Geschlecht, Hautfarbe, Körpertemperatur, Gepäckanordnung, Route, Ladestopps, Bezahlvorgänge, Telefonbuch, Musik-Playlist, Online-Abos, et cetera. Was von Sensoren und Verbindungen zu erfassen ist, wird erfasst, wie eine Untersuchung von Mozilla im Herbst 2023 feststellte. Das gilt im Übrigen nicht nur für Tesla, sondern für praktisch alle modernen Autos. Ein Tesla hat es dabei nur am leichtesten. Die gesammelten Daten werden entweder zum Schleuderpreis verkauft und/oder gegen uns verwendet.

Doch zurück zu Musk, der Twitter nicht übernahm, um Meinungsfreiheit herzustellen, sondern um die Plattform zur »Alles-App« zu machen. Sein erklärtes Vorbild: die chinesische Spionage-App WeChat. Deswegen will er alle Nutzer »als echte Menschen identifizieren«. Biometrisch versteht sich. Dafür arbeitet man bei Twitter bevorzugt mit israelischen Unternehmen zusammen, die von ehemaligen Mossad-Agenten gegründet wurden. Vielleicht stellte ja Doppelagent Jeffrey Epstein den Kontakt zum Mossad her, nachdem er Musk als regelmäßigen Teilnehmer seiner Edge-Foundation Seminare zum Thema Nudging schätzen gelernt hatte. Epstein war nämlich der einzige nennenswerte Sponsor von Edge.

Twitter kaufte Musk übrigens nicht von seinem eigenen Geld, sondern mit Hilfe von 94 Investoren, deren Namen ein US-Bundesrichter erst im August 2024 veröffentlichte, weil Jacob Silverman (Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press) sie einklagte. Die Liste umfasst so illustre Namen wie Fidelity Investments, Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Bandera Fund, Binance Capital Management, Sean Combs (alias Diddy) Capital, Jack Dorsey (Twitter Gründer), Baron Opportunity Fund oder Prinz Alwaleed bin Talal al Saud von der saudischen Königsfamilie. Da wird also offenbar »der Sumpf« mit mehr Sumpf »trockengelegt«. Von der Nominierung des WEF Executive Chair Linda Yaccarino als neuer Twitter-CEO und »Freedom of Speech« versus »Freedom of Reach« mal ganz abgesehen.

Auch die von den Eloi als sensationelle Enthüllung gefeierten Twitter Files sind leider nicht ernst zu nehmen. Denn sie offenbarten nichts, was man nicht schon wusste. Zudem ist bis heute unklar, woher die veröffentlichten Informationen kamen, wer den Zugriff darauf gesteuert hat, was dort noch gespeichert war, warum praktisch nur ein von Elon ausgewählter Journalist Zugriff darauf hatte und dieser nur Screenshots, anstelle ganzer Dokumente veröffentlichen durfte. Ein echter Leak besteht aus einem Archiv, das man selbst durchsuchen kann – nicht aus ein paar handverlesenen Screenshots.

Fehlt noch Space X. Ein Unternehmen, das Musk zwar selbst gegründet hat, dessen Erfolge aber in weiten Teilen anderen Umständen zu verdanken sind. So schreibt beispielsweise inside Tesla am 22. März 2022: 

»Schon Anfang der 2000er-Jahre hatte die NASA erkannt, dass ihr bald die Möglichkeit fehlen würde, selbst Astronauten und Material ins All und zur ISS zu bringen. Man machte sich also auf die Suche nach Partnern aus der Privatwirtschaft und wurde unter anderem bei Elon Musks Space X fündig. Bereits 2006, also noch in der Entwicklungsphase der Falcon 1, erhielt Musks Unternehmen fast 400 Millionen US-Dollar Startfinanzierung unter dem COTS-Programm.«

Space X war von Beginn an als verlängerte Werkbank der NASA gedacht, weil der US-Weltraumbehörde immer mehr Mittel gestrichen wurden. Die Öffentlichkeit hatte nämlich das Interesse an ziviler Raumfahrt verloren. Daher setzte man in Washington immer öfter den Rotstift an. Doch seit Musk die Menschen öffentlichkeitswirksam zum Mars befördern will – »let’s build Marsian Technocracy« – steigt das Interesse wieder. Leider muss ich die Vorfreude auf eine planetare Kolonie aber etwas dämpfen. Denn Space X wird nicht betrieben, um Menschen auf den Mars zu bringen, sondern um das »weltgrösste Netzwerk an Spionagesatelliten aufzubauen«.

Musks Weltraumagentur ist Handlanger des militärisch-industriellen Komplexes und einer der wichtigsten Vertragspartner des Pentagon. Das konnte man 2017 schon im Observer nachlesen. Oder am 9. Januar 2018 bei CNBC, die vom (missglückten) Transport eines streng geheimen US-Spionagesatelliten berichtete. Am 15. April 2022 kommentierte Tech Unwrapped zwei weitere Spionagesatelliten des US-Militärs, die Space X in die Umlaufbahn beförderte. Seit Jahren erhält das Unternehmen Milliarden von US-Regierung und Geheimdiensten. Siehe Los Angeles Times vom 30. Mai 2015: 4,9 Milliarden. Oder ein Artikel des Wall Street Journal vom 23. Februar 2024: 1,8 Milliarden. Oder eine lange Liste von staatlichen Zuwendungen, die Business Insider am 15. Dezember 2021 veröffentlichte. Damit basiert der Erfolg von Space X nicht primär auf Musks genialem Unternehmergeist, sondern auf Subventionen. Auf Steuergeldern.

Nicht zu vergessen: Starlink. Das von Space X betriebene, weltumspannende Satellitennetzwerk. Es mag den Vorteil haben, dass damit auch Menschen in entlegenen Regionen des Planeten oder Katastrophengebieten Zugriff auf das Internet haben. Dabei sollte allerdings nicht unterschlagen werden, dass Starlink in seiner finalen Ausbaustufe circa 42.000 Satelliten umfassen und damit ein permanentes Strahlungsfeld erzeugen wird. Gesundheitliche Risiken für den Homo sapiens: unklar. Darüber hinaus haben die Orbiter Zugriff auf das NORAD-Datenbanksystem, um Weltraumschrott ausweichen zu können. Sprich, sie sind permanent mit Systemen des US-Militär verbunden. Aus diesem Grund ermöglicht Starlink auch die Steuerung von Kampfdrohnen – siehe Ukraine-Konflikt – sowie 30 mal schnelleres Senden von Daten an und von US-Kampfflugzeugen. Während die Öffentlichkeit Musks Satellitennetzwerk vor allem als ziviles Produkt betrachtet, ist Starlink primär von militärischem Interesse. Nicht umsonst wird parallel Starshield aufgebaut, das dem geheimdienstlich-militärischen Komplex unter anderem die diskrete Echtzeitüberwachung der ganzen Welt erlaubt. Auch von DEW-Fähigkeiten (Directed Energy Weapon) ist die Rede. Ende 2024 befanden sich bereits 98 solcher Satelliten in erdnaher Umlaufbahn.

In Anbetracht dieser Informationen ist es also kaum verwunderlich, dass Musk seit Jahren offen für Technokratie wirbt. Für ein zentralistisches, faschistoides Herrschaftsmodell, das schon sein Großvater Joshua Haldemann als führender Kopf in den USA und Kanada vertrat. Der Familientradition folgend empfiehlt Musk eine CO2-Steuer zum Kampf gegen den Klimawandel, ein universelles Grundeinkommen, um die von der KI ausgelösten Disruptionen abzufangen und sein Neuralink Gehirnimplantat, um dem drohenden Transhumanismus etwas Transhumanismus entgegenzusetzen.

Futurum Technologicus

Für Kunden, denen Chips im Kopf irgendwie zu altbacken sind, entwickelt Musks Unternehmen in Zusammenarbeit mit iota Biosciences natürlich ein zeitgemäßeres Premiumprodukt: Neural Dust. Intelligente Nanopartikel in Staubkorngröße, die sich im Gehirn anreichern. Die lassen sich dann wahrscheinlich – wie die in Indien bereits zugelassene Nasal-Impfung gegen Covid – durch die Nase ziehen. Oder durch Luftschächte öffentlicher Gebäude pumpen. Man kann die neue Freiheit also förmlich riechen.

Ganz wie es der 44 Seiten starke »National Nanotechnology Initiative Strategic Plan« (NNI Plan) des Weißen Hauses im Oktober 2021 vorsah: »Die Öffentlichkeit einbeziehen und Mitarbeiterzahlen im Bereich Nanotechnologie erhöhen«. Nicht umsonst hat Donald Trump der entsprechenden Behörde in seiner ersten Amtszeit zusätzliche Mittel genehmigt. Genau wie Joe Biden nach ihm.

Das von der Technokratie-Bewegung vor fast einem Jahrhundert definierte nordamerikanische Technate – sprich, der amerikanische Verantwortungsbereich einer weltweiten Technokratie – sieht der von Trump und Musk reanimierten Vision einer »nordamerikanischen Union« übrigens verblüffend ähnlich. Wen interessiert bei all der Make-Great-Euphorie schon noch, dass Imperialismus scheisse, Dänemark ein souveräner Staat und der Panamakanal ein strategisches Nadelöhr der internationalen Handelsschifffahrt ist. Oder, dass die »nordamerikanische Union« nicht nur bei Trump-Cheerleadern wie Alex Jones vor ein paar Jahren noch als »böser Globalisten-Plan« galt.

Schauen wir nach vorne. In Richtung »goldenes Zeitalter«, wie Trump es nennt. Dieses dürfte für den Normalbürger nämlich sehr ungemütlich werden. Denn es wird dominiert von Algorithmen. Von Künstlicher Intelligenz. Für die Eloi also primär von Grok, dem auf Twitter (und Teslas) integrierten Chatbot. Dieser basiert auf Technologie des Unternehmens xAI – laut Wikipedia gegründet von Elon Musk im März 2023. Das mag zwar so im Handelsregister stehen, ist wohl aber nur die halbe Wahrheit. Denn xAI dürfte die Fortführung eines DARPA-Projekts darstellen, das bereits 2015 unter dem Titel »Explainable Artificial Intelligence« (XAI) gestartet wurde und 2021 auslief. Als die Finanzierung seitens DARPA eingestellt wurde, machte XAI die Forschungsergebnisse auf einem Server zugänglich. Circa 18 Monate Jahre später engagierte Elon Musk Igor Babuschkin als Chefingenieur für xAI. Babuschkin hatte zuvor acht Jahre lang für Googles DeepMind-Projekt gearbeitet und nutzte aller Wahrscheinlichkeit nach die DARPA-Ergebnisse um xAI, beziehungsweise Grok zu entwickeln.

Im Juli 2023 verkündete Musk, xAI sei im Gegensatz zu den Konkurrenzprodukten von Google, Microsoft und OpenAI eine »gute« KI. Erstaunlich, wenn die gleichen Ingenieure am Werk sind und die KI auf Basis eines Militärprojekts entsteht. Zudem sprechen auch die Top-Sponsoren von xAI nicht unbedingt für das »Gute«. Denn unter den größten Geldgebern der letzten Finanzierungsrunde vom 23. Dezember 2024 befinden sich so illustre Namen wie BlackRock, AMD, Nvidia und Fidelity, die zusammen weitere sechs Milliarden Dollar für Musks KI-Unternehmen zur Verfügung stellten.

Genug Liquidität, um xAI für die »Alles-App« weiterzuentwickeln, wo Grok seit einer Weile automatisch Kurzbeschreibungen für Profile erstellt, die man weder abschalten noch ändern kann. Twitter-Nutzer müssen nun also nicht mehr selbst das Profil eines Accounts durchstöbern, um sich einen ersten Eindruck von der Person zu machen, sondern bekommen diesen von Elon Musks KI geliefert. Vorurteil auf Knopfdruck sozusagen. Vergleichbar mit einem Sozialkreditsystem. Denn die täglich neu generierte Zusammenfassung basiert auf dem Nutzerverhalten.

»Die neuen, KI-generierten Grok-Kurzprofile unter jedem X-Nutzerprofil SIND de facto ein Social Credit System nach chinesischem Vorbild für den Westen. Das Profil jedes Nutzers wird tagesaktuell neu berechnet. Äußert man sich zu verschiedenen Themen, nennt die KI das schnell mal »verheddern«. Grok gibt zu, das Profil wird erstellt aus dem eigenen Nutzerverhalten des Tages, seinen eigenen Berechnungen und nicht näher definierten Anweisungen«,  kommentierte Journalistin Aya Velázquez die Neuerung am 14. Januar 2025.

Andere Nutzer werden als »leicht erregbar« beschrieben, »verzetteln« sich oder »glauben an Wettermanipulation zur Klimakontrolle«. Offener wird ein Debattenraum dank solcher Adjektive und Zusammenfassungen sicher nicht. Wer möchte schon das Profil von leicht erregbaren Chemtrail-Gläubigen anschauen oder gar mit diesen assoziiert werden. Gegen solch eine automatisierte, herablassend daherkommende Einordnung durch intransparent operierende KI war die Faktencheck-Industrie geradezu harmlos. Wer also annimmt, die Abschaffung der Faktenchecker bei Facebook und Co. bedeute ein Ende der Zensur, irrt. Sie wird im Gegenteil deutlich raffinierter und weitreichender werden.

Details zum persönlichen Punktestand im Grok-Sozialkreditsystem oder Information über das Zustandekommen der Bewertung erhält man auf Anfrage natürlich nicht. Twitter wird die daraus entstehende Hierarchie aber mit Sicherheit für Reichweitensteuerung, Nudging-Kampagnen und weitere sozialarchitektonische Funktionen nutzen. Vor allem, wenn 2025 das Bezahlsystem »X Money« eingeführt wird. Dann werden die Eloi bald nicht mehr nur um Reichweite, Follower und Re-Tweets buhlen, sondern auch um Geld – das als Folge unliebsamer Postings zu Genozid X, Krieg Y oder Person Z künftig schneller eingefroren werden dürfte als jedes Bankkonto. De-Banking der nächsten Generation. Und irgendwann trifft das jeden. Außer, man schwimmt immer mit dem Strom.

Doch damit nicht genug. Am 13. Dezember 2024 gab das wohl den wenigsten bekannte Unternehmen WISeSat bekannt, künftig mit Space X zusammenzuarbeiten, um »verschiedene Produkte und Systeme zu kombinieren«. Die WISeSat AG ist eine Tochterfirma der in Genf (Schweiz) ansässigen WISeKey International Holding AG, die im Bereich Cybersicherheit, KI und IoT (Internet of Things) tätig ist. Die Ankündigung dieser Kollaboration ließ die WISeKey-Aktie kurzfristig um 107,73 Prozent steigen. Ein erster gemeinsamer Start zum Transport sogenannter Picosatelliten fand am 14. Januar 2025 von der Vandenberg Space Force Base in Kalifornien statt.

Aber was genau macht WISeSat? Einer Presseerklärung des Unternehmens vom 15. September 2023 lässt sich entnehmen:

»WISeSAT AG zeichnet sich dank ihrer Konstellation von ultra-sicheren Picosatelliten und Infrastruktur durch sichere und effektive Kommunikationsstrategien für vernetzte Geräte aus. Die Expertise des Unternehmens in kryptografischer Technologie und sicherem Datenmanagement hat die sichere IoT-Implementierung in zahlreichen Bereichen neu definiert, von städtischen Innovationen in Smart Cities bis hin zu modernster industrieller Automatisierung. (…) WISeSAT steht an vorderster Front bei der Entwicklung von ultra-sicheren Picosatelliten-Lösungen in Zusammenarbeit mit ihrem Verbündeten FOSSA Systems. Es setzt sich für sichere IoT-Kommunikation über raumbasierte Netzwerke ein und nutzt die neuesten kryptografischen Innovationen, um sichere und sofortige Datenaustausche in verschiedenen Bereichen zu gewährleisten (…).«

Im Klartext: WISeSat bringt Satelliten von der Größe einer Tupperdose ins All. Diese Mini-Orbiter umkreisen den Planeten in niedrigen Umlaufbahnen und etablieren dort ein Netzwerk für kryptografierte Echtzeitdatenübertragung. Fliegende 5G-Masten sozusagen. Oder WLAN-Router. Nur viel schneller. Für das Internet der Dinge – und Smart Cities.

»In dieser Woche startet WISeSat einen Satelliten der neuen Generation und markiert damit einen wichtigen Meilenstein in der Entwicklung einer globalen Satellitenkonstellation, die eine umfassende Erdabdeckung mit ultraniedriger Latenzzeit ermöglicht. Entwickelt, um Billionen von IoT-Geräten in Echtzeit zu verfolgen und aufzuspüren.« (Carlos Creus Moreira, WISeKEy CEO, 12. Januar 2025)

Welche Datenträger dieses Picosatelliten-Netzwerk künftig verfolgen und aufspüren soll, zeigt sich bei einem Blick auf das Produktportfolio der Holding-Gesellschaft WISeKey – einem »weltweit führenden Anbieter von Cybersicherheit, digitaler Identität und Internet der Dinge (IoT) Lösungen«. Denn die Holding existiert seit 24 Jahren, besteht aus fünf Unternehmen, hat mehr als eineinhalb Milliarden Chips und über fünf Milliarden »Roots of Trust« installiert, residiert an sechs internationalen Standorten und hat gut 3.000 Kunden in Staat und Wirtschaft beglückt. Einen Wikipedia-Eintrag gibt es für das bei NASDAQ und SIX gelistete Unternehmen erstaunlicherweise trotzdem nicht.

Dafür aber für den seit Mai 2021 amtierenden »Chief Digital Transformation Officer« Pierre Maudet. Der war ab Juni 2012 Mitglied des Genfer Staatsrats, 2013 bei den Young Global Leaders des Weltwirtschaftsforums und 2015 bei der Bilderberger Konferenz in Telfs-Buchen (Österreich). Nachdem er im Februar 2021 vom Genfer Polizeigericht wegen Vorteilsnahme verurteilt wurde, trat er als Staatsrat zurück – und drei Monate später bei WISeKey an. Am 30. April 2023 wurde er, ungeachtet seiner kriminellen Vergangenheit, zusätzlich wieder in den Genfer Staatsrat gewählt. Wie praktisch. Solch eine schamlose Unverfrorenheit scheint Maudet perfekt für das zu qualifizieren, was bei WISeKey unter dem Deckmantel der »Quantensicherheit« entwickelt wird – ein raumbasiertes eID-Ökosystem.

»Quantensicherheit nutzt Prinzipien der Quantenmechanik, um den Datenschutz und die sichere Informationsübertragung zu revolutionieren. Kernstück ist die Quantenschlüsselverteilung (Quantum Key Distribution, QKD), eine Spitzentechnologie, die mithilfe der Quantenmechanik vernetzte Teilchen für den sicheren Austausch von Verschlüsselungskennwerten erzeugt.«

Ob digitale Identität, Unterschrift, Cloud oder Software – von der Know-Your-Customer-Biometrie bis hin zur Unternehmenslösung für die Mitarbeiteridentifikation. WISeKey hilft. Anmelden kann sich jeder. Während die Produktpalette für den privaten Sektor noch nach Lieferketten-Management, Sendungsverfolgung, Login-Lösung für eBanking oder Face ID auf dem Smartphone klingt – aber deutlich weitreichender ist, schauen sie sich die Homepage an – sprechen die WISeKey-Angebote im Bereich Regierungen eine ganz andere Sprache. Denn unter diesem Menüpunkt bewirbt der diskret operierende Konzern seine »CertifyID Trust Center Platform«:

»Die CertifyID Trust Center Platform ist eine industrialisierte eID-Verwaltungslösung für Bürger, die Benutzer und ihre Anmeldeinformationen verwaltet, insbesondere digitale IDs und digitale Zertifikate für groß angelegte Anwendungen wie landesweite E-Government-Dienste. Es handelt sich um eine vollständige industrielle Public Key Infrastruktur- und ID-Verwaltungslösung, die Regierungsdienste rund um die Uhr unterstützt.

Die CertifyID Trust Center Plattform wird in einer Reihe von Anwendungen der Regierung und des öffentlichen Sektors verwendet, zum Beispiel: Personalausweis, ePassport (ICAO-konform), Führerschein, Gesundheit, Wahlen/Abstimmen.

Die CertifyID Plattform wurde unter Verwendung der Sicherheits- und Public Key Infrastruktur-Expertise von WISeKey entwickelt und kann vollständig in E-Government-Frameworks, kommerzielle Frameworks (…) und in das Bereitstellungsframework für E-Government-Dienste eines Landes integriert werden.«

Da passt es doch wunderbar ins Bild, dass WISeKey am 13. Oktober 2022 eine »Partnerschaftsvereinbarung zur Zusammenarbeit bei der Entwicklung weltraumbezogener Aktivitäten« mit der Schweizer Armee bekannt gab – schließlich residieren in der Alpenrepublik nicht nur UN, GAVI, WEF, Club of Rome und jede Menge NGOs, sondern auch die Bank für Internationalen Zahlungsausgleich (BIZ), die ganz sicher Verwendung für ein quantengesichertes Echtzeit-Picosatellitennetzwerk findet, wenn ihr »Unified Ledger« (Zentrales Hauptbuch) für das Blockchain-Weltfinanzsystem von morgen zum Einsatz kommt. In Anbetracht der »allumfassenden Marktblase« (D. Webb, 2024) ist damit wohl in absehbarer Zeit zu rechnen.

Das also sind die Projekte, Pläne und neuen Partner von Elon. Auf mich machen ja speziell die korrupten Genfer Quantenspezialisten mit ihren Picosatelliten und schlüsselfertigen eID-Lösungen nicht unbedingt den Eindruck von Freiheitskämpfern. Und auch die am 22. Januar 2024 bei einer Pressekonferenz im Weißen Haus angekündigten »personalisierten mRNA-Injektionen gegen Krebs« lassen mich eher skeptisch zurück.

Genau wie der Umstand, dass diese binnen 48 Stunden »personalisierte mRNA« durch die Rechenleistung von OpenAI ermöglicht werden soll. Denn das von Elon Musk mitgegründete Unternehmen des WEF- und Bilderberg-affinen Sam Altman steht im berechtigten Verdacht, für den Tod eines Whistleblowers im Dezember 2024 verantwortlich zu sein. Während Polizei und Medien den Tod des OpenAI-Forschers Suchir Balaji als Selbstmord deklarieren, sprechen sowohl die Umstände am Fundort seiner Leiche als auch Balajis Eltern von »eiskaltem Mord«. Nicht zu vergessen, dass Altman von seiner eigenen Schwester des jahrelangen Missbrauchs beschuldigt wird und sich dafür demnächst vor Gericht verantworten muss. Selbst The Economist räumte am 10. Dezember 2024 ein, dass »die PayPal Mafia die amerikanische Regierung übernimmt«. Und das mit der »Mafia« scheint man in Washington mittlerweile wörtlich zu nehmen.

Aber die von einigen aus der Hüfte geschossenen Präsidialdekreten euphorisierten Eloi werden sicher Gründe finden, das alles zu ihren Gunsten auszulegen. Immerhin hat Trump ein paar Leute begnadigt und will aus der WHO austreten. Wie seine Fanbase es bewerkstelligt, auszublenden, dass »The Donald« schon in seiner ersten Amtszeit aus der WHO austreten wollte und es unterließ, erschließt sich mir aber leider nicht. Genau wie die Begeisterung für ein Gespräch zwischen Musk und Weidel. Man stelle sich nur mal vor, George Soros, Bill Gates oder Eric Schmitt konferierten mit deutschen Politikern. Oder bekämen Sendezeit im ÖRR. Nicht auszudenken.

Wie heißt es so schön: »Eine schmerzliche Wahrheit ist besser als eine Lüge« (Thomas Mann). Stimmt. Nur fällt es relativ schwer, eine Lüge einzugestehen, wenn der, dem man sie beichten muss, der Lügner ist.

So bleibt nur zu hoffen, dass möglichst viele Eloi diesen Schritt trotzdem möglichst bald hinter sich bringen. Im eigenen Interesse. Denn wie schon Ernst Freiherr von Feuchtersleben feststellte, ist »Reue der Verstand, der zu spät kommt«. Und das kann in diesen Tagen verheerende Folgen haben.

@ fc2470ed:17d9ee27

by Hynek Fencl, July 2024

The way to Liberland is easy but not simple. Technically speaking, it’s just a short bike ride away from the nearest village on a comfortable bike path through a stunning forest known as the “Amazon of Europe”. On one side, one senses the presence of the mighty Danube River beyond the tall trees, and on the other stretch the farmlands of north-eastern Croatia. Then you take a left turn to a straight forest path, ride all the way to the end, and after a few bends on the track, you will have entered “the promised land”.

The part that is not simple is that Croatia both does and does not consider Gornja Siga (the local name for the area we now refer to as Liberland) to be its territory – depending on who you ask. This means that along the picturesque bike path, you will almost certainly encounter a border police patrol car, and, depending on whether you seem to them like you’re affiliated with Liberland, they will tell you to stop and hand over your ID. They run it through their system and, if you’re lucky enough to be a citizen of the EU, they let you pass. If you’re not and you give them a non-EU passport, they will ask you to come to the station with them to “determine the circumstances of your stay in Croatia.” You will then be issued with paperwork telling you to leave the country within the next 7 days, banning you from re-entering in the next 1-3 months. The official reasoning they’ll give for this is their reasonable suspicion that you have not come to Croatia as a tourist but with the intent to either do paid work (for which you would have to get a business/work visa) or to break the law (such as camping outside designated camping grounds or starting a fire in the forest).

All of this is part of a big game of chess that is being played out between Croatia and the Liberlanders. Croatia is in a tricky spot. They cannot properly administer the territory of Liberland and enforce its law in it – lest it would create an indication that the Croatian state officially claims it as its territory. However, they cannot not administer it either, since it’s on “their” side of the river, and it is risky for a rogue, unpredictable operation (from their perspective) like the establishment and growth of Liberland to just be left to its own devices right on their doorstep. This is, then, how we arrive at the status quo, with Croatia relating to Liberland in some way while being careful about the international perception of its action in another way. The resulting practice is a persistent harassment campaign toward the Liberlanders, with the apparent intent to create uncertainty and lower the appetite of potential Liberland settlers for this kind of adventure.

How to establish a new country

Liberland was born from an anomaly – a historical border dispute between Croatia and Serbia. The dispute involves the definition of where the border stands in relation to the Danube and goes back to 1947. Then, both lands along the river belonged to a single country – Yugoslavia – but the dispute arose with respect to the boundaries of its constituent states. It remained unresolved during the communist era and became an issue of international borders after the breakup of Yugoslavia.

Serbia claims that the border runs down the middle of the Danube, with the eastern bank being Serbian and the western bank Croatian. Croatia, on the other hand, claims that the border is set by historical borders marked by cadastral municipalities surrounding the Danube.

These municipality borders run along a different path because they were set before the course of the Danube was straightened during the 19th Century to allow for easier shipping. This results in disputed “pockets” of land on both sides of the river. The pockets on the eastern bank have a combined area of around 130 km2, while those on the western bank only amount to less than 10 km2. Not surprisingly, then, both countries claim that the border runs in a way where they get the >90% of land and the other country only gets the small remaining areas. However, this means that, by implication, since both countries are claiming the large areas, neither of them is claiming the smaller ones. These areas were, then, so-called terra nullius.

Under international law, there is no issue with any state claiming unowned and unclaimed land for themselves. And that is exactly what Czech businessman, politician, and activist Vít Jedlička did in 2015 when he proclaimed into existence the newly created Free Republic of Liberland on the largest, 7 km2 piece of the unclaimed areas between Croatia and Serbia.

It's one thing to announce a new country to the world. It’s an entirely different thing to make this country legitimate. Under the Montevideo Convention, a proper country needs to have 1) a permanent population, 2) a defined territory, 3) government, and 4) capacity to enter into relations with other states. Now, 9 years after the birth of Liberland, it clearly has three of those. As to a permanent population, the Liberlanders would argue that it definitely exists, even though Liberland’s now over 1200 registered citizens have had to largely live in “exile” ever since.

Nevertheless, despite the Convention, there’s one thing that makes something a country more than anything else – whether other countries see you as a country. The more diplomatic recognition an entity has, the more country-like it becomes. This is especially relevant for breakaway governments, governments in exile, or, most importantly in this case, startup countries like Liberland.

Very much aware of this, along with other members of Liberland’s startup government, Jedlička has been on a worldwide mission to legitimize Liberland in the eyes of other countries. Though there have been many amiable meetings and even some measure of support in some cases, no official recognition by any UN member has been achieved as of mid-2024. Liberland now has representatives and offices in multiple countries in the further pursuit of this goal. Though the effectiveness of this strategy has been questioned by many for the lack of decisive results so far, one thing remains unambiguously true: if recognized by even one or two UN members, Liberland would instantly gain an amazing amount of legitimacy and gravitas in the eyes of the world.

The quest for territory

Establishing international relations with countries anywhere in the world is not the only strategy that the Liberlanders have been employing in making the country more real and legitimate. This includes liaising and negotiating with the neighboring Serbia and Croatia. These relations are by far the most important and impactful ones. If both of Liberland’s neighboring countries were to either outright recognize the startup micro-state, or even just adopted an approach of non-interference, Liberland would be free to start actually developing and to find its own long-term position in the world.

As for Serbia, its Ministry of Foreign Affairs let itself be heard that, in their view, Liberland’s claims are a “trivial matter” but, in any case, they do not infringe upon the sovereignty of Serbia. One can imagine that Serbia might actually be secretly quite pleased with Liberland’s activities, since now Croatia has an issue to deal with on “their” side of the river, which, if they are not careful, could contribute to the legitimization of Serbia’s claim to the larger pieces of territory claimed by both countries.

With Croatia, things get quite a bit more complicated. In an official statement, the country rejected the claim that Gornja Siga is terra nullius, arguing instead that the land belongs to one of the two neighboring countries – the only question is to which one, which will be answered at some point in the future. Croatia also said it would stop any threatening and provocative activities on the territory even by force if necessary.

Ever since Liberland’s birth in 2015, the Liberlanders have been trying to make a mark on the territory. For a long time, even just entering Liberland wasn’t really possible. Under a deal between the Croatian and Serbian police that was put in place during the European migration crisis, Croatian authorities may enter Liberland and patrol it for security reasons (preventing illegal migration) even though they do not officially claim the territory as theirs. In addition, the border police have a near-permanent presence on the Danube River, preventing people from crossing into Liberland by boat.

As a result, anyone who would try to come to Liberland in any way would always be promptly arrested by the Croatians, essentially for entering a prohibited area.

After years of this status quo, a rather unexpected thing happened that made things suddenly move forward in a positive direction for the Liberlanders. In April 2023, during Liberland’s 8th anniversary celebrations, a famous YouTuber with a significant following decided to try to enter Liberland. After a few unsuccessful attempts due to heavy police presence and monitoring, he and his team hired jet skis and rode them all the way from Hungary down the Danube. When they got close to Liberland, they encountered the police boats again, but their jet skis were faster than the boats, so they managed to land at Liberland’s Liberty Island and plant a flag there. A few moments later, the police caught up to them and an aggressive policeman took out their handheld cameras before assaulting them and then kicking them on the ground, as can be clearly seen from drone footage of the incident.

As they had broken no laws, they were ultimately let go after the incident and free to leave the island without being arrested. However, the heavy-handed and illegal conduct of the Croatian police had been clearly documented and became part of the video that was published in July 2023.

The video promptly went viral, gaining almost 10 million views on YouTube. By comparison, the total population of Croatia is just under 4 million. When the news spread even to the Croatian press and TV stations, Croatia had a serious PR problem on their hands. The police had been clearly in the wrong, conducting themselves in a seriously improper way to the point of using physical force against peaceful people who had broken no laws nor engaged in any violence or hostilities themselves.

Something had to change. So, following this incident, the Croatian police adopted a different unofficial policy – from now on, they would let people enter Liberland if they wished to do so, in a controlled way. Since early August 2023, if you wish to enter Liberland, you can go on foot or by bike, take the access road down the forest, and show your documents to the Croatian police, just as you would at a border crossing. In a typical grand fashion of Liberland’s media team, Liberland made an announcement that an official border crossing had been opened between Croatia and Liberland (Croatia had obviously never made an official announcement like this, but for Liberland, that was the de facto situation on the ground).

In the weeks following the “opening of the border”, many enthusiastic settlers started coming to Liberland to finally begin making their mark on the territory of “the promised land.” They started constructing simple wooden houses, a bathroom, an open-air restaurant, and the related power and water infrastructure on Liberland’s mainland beach opposite Liberty Island in a settlement named Mateos Marina.

On September 7th, 2023, a troop of about 50 policemen and forestry workers, including a demolition crew, raided the settlement. The raid was officially dubbed a “cleanup operation” by Hrvatske šume, Croatia’s state forestry service. With the assistance of the police, they tore down all the wooden houses and structures using chainsaws and stole equipment as well as personal possessions of the Liberlanders on site. Several Liberlanders were arrested for “failure to comply with a lawful order”.

One might ask, if Liberland is not officially part of Croatia, what authority does Croatia have to come in to steal and destroy? Staying true to their claim that Liberland is not part of Croatia, the Croatians had announced to Serbia that they would be conducting the “cleanup” on Serbia’s territory, to keep it clean on their behalf.

We may only speculate about the reasons for carrying out this operation in such a heavy-handed, destructive way. One possibility is that allowing people to enter Liberland in the first place was a way for Croatia to lure some people to Liberland, become comfortable, and then come in and destroy everything to show everyone what would happen if they got involved in the project. Or perhaps it was the unexpected level of life, community-building, and construction going on in such a short period of time after the “opening of the border” that the Croatian police felt like they had to put a stop to it before things got so big they could not be easily destroyed anymore.

No matter the reasons, the raid had a chilling effect on prospective Liberlanders. Though there is plenty of video documentation of the operation, no one made a viral video about it this time. Though some media did pick up the news, it did not become a big story. Consequently, the PR fallout from this for Croatia was not unmanageable.

Liberlanders soon returned to the territory. However, the level of enthusiasm, energy, and external support was not as great as it had been before the raid. From then on, settlement efforts focused mainly on Liberty Island, unreachable by trucks and impossible for forestry workers to get to without a large boat which they seem not to have. Though perhaps a more strategic place to set up camp, Liberty Island is also much more prone to flooding than the rest of Liberland.

In the following few months, several makeshift houses were constructed using a combination of wood and sandbags. During this time, Liberland even hosted a first wedding on the island. The settlement was kept alive during winter as well, with Liberland enthusiasts staying mostly in houseboats whenever it was impossible to camp on site.

In the meantime, an enthusiastic settler couple bought a sizeable house with a courtyard in the village closest to Liberland – Zmajevac – which they have transformed into a base of operations for settlers. This is now called Liberbase and it is where visits to Liberland start, with bikes, supplies, and construction materials being gathered before going on the 40-minute bike ride.

In the spring of 2024, work started on the reconstruction of a former hunting lodge at a central location on Liberland’s mainland – Jefferson Square. The building was demolished a few years ago but the foundations, including a cellar, were left in place. The site was cleared, the foundations refreshed, and new walls for the future governmental building have sprung up from the ground. A professional construction crew was hired to speed up the re-building of this base, using large concrete bricks, to a standard that will make it logistically and practically difficult for the Croatian police and forestry workers to try to destroy.

The battle for legitimacy

The ongoing construction in Liberland is rather slow. It is difficult to bring construction materials to Liberland. It is prohibited to drive motor vehicles on the bike path leading to Liberland, which means that everything has to be manually hauled from Liberbase on cargo bikes. In addition, from time to time, bikes get stolen by the police or forestry workers. Despite these difficulties, the determination of the settlers is unwavering and they are working every day to move construction forward.

Is it possible to bring materials by boat? How did they get sandbags and other materials to Liberty Island?

The importance of such a commitment should not be underestimated. The continuous presence of settlers is incredibly important for Liberland. It shows the seriousness of the project. It shows that Liberland is a genuine community and a fledgling nation rather than, as some accusations tend to go, just an elaborate publicity stunt.

Practical difficulties with the Croatian authorities are not limited to construction-related issues. Even staying and camping in Liberland comes with its quirks. If you’re staying on Jefferson Square, you should be prepared for several police visits every day. These check-ups are usually nothing dramatic. The police usually show up, ask a couple of questions, and perhaps tell the settlers that they are not allowed to camp there or start a fire, but they don’t actually do anything more than that and just go about their day.

It seems that the Croatian police are rather shy about enforcing Croatian law in a territory that is not officially considered part of Croatia. International law often takes into account the de facto situation of the matter in any dispute. If Croatia enforced their law in Liberland, this would therefore be an indication that they do, in fact, consider the territory to be theirs in practice, despite the official stance of the state. It would play into the hands of Serbia, reinforcing their claims to the large parcels of land on the other side of the Danube.

In addition, Liberlanders on the ground report that the majority of Croatian police officers generally behave quite fairly and respectfully toward them – only a minority appear to hold a personal grudge against Liberland, being abusive and sometimes even violent instead. It seems highly likely that the police in general are just doing their job, following orders from above. Most of them don’t actually take it as a personal commitment to make life more difficult for the Liberlanders.

This is rather important from a big-picture perspective, because the settlers, by contrast, are often heavily personally invested in the project and see it as their mission to see Liberland develop into a proper country. This disparity in energy and determination is strong and perhaps this is what will, in the end, cause Liberland to prevail in this drawn-out dispute.

The dispute with Hrvatske šume is quite different. As of mid-2024, the forestry workers tend to turn up at Jefferson Square about every fortnight. Unlike the police, they do not limit themselves to words but tend to steal everything that is not bolted down – including tools, materials, tents, bikes, and personal possessions of the settlers camping there. The justification remains the same – to “clean the forest of any waste.” In their encounters with the police as well as the forestry workers, Liberlanders are of course meticulous in their video documentation of any illegal actions by the authorities.

The Liberlanders’ difficulties, however, do not just stay local. As previously mentioned, upon trying to enter Liberland from Croatia, people who do not have EU citizenship are promptly issued a one-to-three-month ban on entering Croatia, with 7 days to leave the country. This is done under legislation relating to citizenship and tourism.

However, things can escalate even further. Since last year, several key Liberland settlers and organizers, including Liberland’s President Vít Jedlička himself, have seen “heavier guns” used against them. They have been banned from entering Croatia for 5 years under anti-terrorism legislation, where the authorities argue that these Liberlanders are something akin to a threat to national security.

The Liberlanders have mounted a legal defense against this, in addition to challenging Croatia on other legal fronts. They have had some successes so far – in particular, it should now be clear that the Liberlanders do not need any building permits to construct buildings on their territory. Unfortunately, other issues – including the 5-year bans from Croatia – still remain unresolved.

Most Liberlanders remain hopeful nonetheless. They have seen their situation move forward significantly over the last year. A year ago, they were not even able to enter Liberland without being chased and/or arrested. Now, even some construction is possible, albeit in a limited way.

The road ahead

The long-term vision, of course, remains to build a full-fledged, internationally respected and recognized city-state. Liberland’s leaders often speak of a “Balkan Monaco”, referring to the amazing development possibilities that a freedom-oriented country in the middle of Europe could offer. Liberland has already hosted an urbanist/architectural contest, and there are concrete plans for the first hotel as well as a riverside real estate development. What is more, Liberland’s land is actually more than three times the size of Monaco.

Nevertheless, Liberland cannot move forward in a meaningful way toward these visions and aspirations under the status quo. The Liberlanders need to be able to build at scale and be free from harassment, both by the police and the forestry workers. Some kind of political deal is necessary as the next step toward proper development of Liberland.

Such a deal could take multiple forms, but all of them involve the Croatian authorities changing their attitude toward Liberland away from a policy of unrelenting obstruction – not necessarily toward outright recognition, but at least toward accepting Liberland as a neighborly project that will move forward and develop in some way.

One option could be to allow motor vehicles on the bike path toward Liberland, with a deal that could include charging Liberlanders some fair tolls to pay for the wear and tear of the pavement. An alternative would be to simply allow river crossing into Liberland from Serbia on the Danube. Since Croatia does not officially consider Liberland its territory, their current interference with this traffic is illegal anyway. Simply stopping this illegal conduct would help Liberland significantly without Croatia facilitating Liberland’s development in any active way.

Regardless of these options, the first and most notable step would be to stop banning non-EU citizens from re-entering Croatia as well as lift the existing (entirely unjustified and unreasonable) 5-year bans on Jedlička and the others.

It is easy to see why Croatia is wary and suspicious of Liberland’s development. One can understand the worries of a state in whose immediate proximity there is a new and unknown state growing and taking root. Nevertheless, Croatia actually has a lot to gain from making some kind of deal with Liberland.

First: currently there are perhaps a dozen policemen on patrol around Liberland at all times. This includes police vehicles and boats. This is a significant expense for the police force – an expense which is rather unsubstantiated, given that Liberlanders have clearly proven to be peaceful people who do not wish to pose any threat to Croatia, its people, or its law enforcement officers. Making a deal would mean that this large expense is not needed anymore.

Second: Liberland borders an area of Croatia that has been rather “left behind”, is underdeveloped, and suffers from a lack of jobs and investment. Consequently, younger people are leaving the area and the current population is growing older. If Liberland was growing and open for business nearby, it would provide the region exactly with the job opportunities, large investment, and overall development that it desperately needs.

Third: Croatia could use Liberland as an opportunity to actually gain an advantage in the ongoing border dispute with Serbia. As previously mentioned, Croatia cannot openly and properly administer the territory, as it would be an indication in the eyes of international law that they consider the territory to be theirs. On the other hand, it Liberland is located on “their” side of the Danube, so Croatia does have an interest in making sure the area is under their control somehow. Striking a deal with Liberland could involve Liberland agreeing to some obligations related to the administration of the territory which correspond to Croatia’s priorities. In this way, Croatia would have an active say in what happens on this land, effectively “outsourcing” its administration without officially claiming it as part of Croatia.

In addition to all these advantages being present, Liberland is very much open to cooperation with Croatia and is keenly looking forward to welcoming any future productive relations with Croatian authorities. There will be no grudges held on Liberland’s side, and if a mutually beneficial deal or solution were to be found, no one would look behind at any historical quibbles or difficulties. Liberland would be an excellent and friendly neighbor to Croatia, not just causing any issues but actively helping the overall development of the surrounding region.

Time will tell how things will develop. At the present, the momentum, energy, and enthusiasm is definitely on the side of Liberland. There seems to be very little actual interest from the Croatian side to cause issues for Liberland and to continue to prevent the fledgling state from developing further. All that is left are the bureaucratic hurdles of a state that is being overly conservative about its approach to the important issues of the day. Things might take time, but seeing the determination of the settlers and the willingness of all Liberlanders to be unrelenting in their fight for the cause, it is not difficult to argue that we might be seeing the dawn of Liberland as the world’s next proper city-state as we speak.

@ b8851a06:9b120ba1

Private property isn’t lines on dirt or fences of steel—it’s the crystallization of human sovereignty. Each boundary drawn is a silent declaration: This is where my will meets yours, where creation clashes against chaos. What we defend as “mine” or “yours” is no mere object but a metaphysical claim, a scaffold for the unfathomable complexity of voluntary exchange.

Markets breathe only when individuals anchor their choices in the inviolable. Without property, there is no negotiation—only force. No trade—only taking. The deed to land, the title to a car, the seed of an idea: these are not static things but frontiers of being, where human responsibility collides with the infinite permutations of value.

Austrian economics whispers what existentialism shouts: existence precedes essence. Property isn’t granted by systems; it’s asserted through action, defended through sacrifice, and sanctified through mutual recognition. A thing becomes “owned” only when a mind declares it so, and others—through reason or respect—refrain from crossing that unseen line.

Bitcoin? The purest ledger of this truth. A string of code, yes—but one that mirrors the unyielding logic of property itself: scarce, auditable, unconquerable. It doesn’t ask permission. It exists because sovereign minds choose it to.

Sigh. #nostr
I love #Bitcoin.

@ d34e832d:383f78d0

npub16d8gxt2z4k9e8sdpc0yyqzf5gp0np09ls4lnn630qzxzvwpl0rgq5h4rzv

How to Run a Local Matrix Server for Secure Communications

Running a self-hosted Matrix server allows you to take control of your communications, ensuring privacy and sovereignty. By hosting your own homeserver, you eliminate reliance on centralized services while maintaining encrypted, federated messaging. This guide covers the full installation process for setting up a Matrix homeserver using Synapse, the official reference implementation.

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1. Prerequisites

Hardware & System Requirements

• A dedicated or virtual server running Ubuntu 22.04 LTS (or Debian-based OS)
• Minimum 2GB RAM (4GB+ recommended for production)
• At least 10GB disk space (more if storing media)
• A public domain name (optional for federation)

Dependencies

Ensure your system is updated and install required packages:
sh sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y sudo apt install -y curl wget gnupg2 lsb-release software-properties-common python3-pip virtualenv

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2. Install Matrix Synapse

Step 1: Add Matrix Repository

sh sudo apt install -y lsb-release wget apt-transport-https sudo wget -O /usr/share/keyrings/matrix-keyring.asc https://packages.matrix.org/debian/matrix-org-archive-keyring.gpg echo "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/matrix-keyring.asc] https://packages.matrix.org/debian/ $(lsb_release -cs) main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/matrix-org.list sudo apt update

Step 2: Install Synapse

sh sudo apt install -y matrix-synapse-py3

During installation, enter your desired domain name (e.g., matrix.example.com).

Step 3: Start and Enable Synapse

sh sudo systemctl enable --now matrix-synapse

---

3. Configure Matrix Homeserver

Step 1: Edit the Configuration File

sh sudo nano /etc/matrix-synapse/homeserver.yaml - Set server_name to your domain (example.com)
- Enable registration if needed (enable_registration: true)
- Configure log level (log_level: INFO)

Save and exit (CTRL+X, then Y).

Step 2: Restart Synapse

sh sudo systemctl restart matrix-synapse

---

4. Set Up a Reverse Proxy (NGINX + Let’s Encrypt SSL)

Step 1: Install NGINX and Certbot

sh sudo apt install -y nginx certbot python3-certbot-nginx

Step 2: Obtain SSL Certificate

sh sudo certbot --nginx -d matrix.example.com

Step 3: Configure NGINX

Create a new file:
sh sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/matrix

Paste the following configuration:
```nginx server { listen 80; server_name matrix.example.com; return 301 https://$host$request_uri; }

server { listen 443 ssl; server_name matrix.example.com;

ssl_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/matrix.example.com/fullchain.pem;
ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/matrix.example.com/privkey.pem;

location /_matrix/ {
    proxy_pass http://localhost:8008;
    proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $remote_addr;
    proxy_set_header Host $host;
    proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
}

} ``` Save and exit.

Step 4: Enable the Configuration

sh sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/matrix /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/ sudo systemctl restart nginx

---

5. Create an Admin User

Run the following command:
sh register_new_matrix_user -c /etc/matrix-synapse/homeserver.yaml http://localhost:8008 Follow the prompts to create an admin user.

---

6. Test Your Matrix Server

• Open a browser and go to: https://matrix.example.com/_matrix/client/versions
• You should see a JSON response indicating your homeserver is running.
• Use Element (https://element.io) to log in with your new user credentials.

---

7. Federation (Optional)

To allow federation, ensure your DNS has an SRV record:
_matrix._tcp.example.com. 3600 IN SRV 10 5 443 matrix.example.com. You can check your federation status at:
https://federationtester.matrix.org/

---

8. Additional Features

Bridges (Connect to Other Platforms)

• Discord Bridge: https://github.com/Half-Shot/matrix-appservice-discord
• Telegram Bridge: https://github.com/tulir/mautrix-telegram

Hosting a TURN Server (For Calls & Video)

Install coturn for improved call reliability:
sh sudo apt install -y coturn Edit /etc/turnserver.conf to include:
listening-port=3478 fingerprint use-auth-secret static-auth-secret=your-random-secret realm=matrix.example.com Enable and start the service:
sh sudo systemctl enable --now coturn

---

9. Backup & Maintenance

Database Backup

sh sudo systemctl stop matrix-synapse sudo tar -czvf matrix-backup.tar.gz /var/lib/matrix-synapse/ sudo systemctl start matrix-synapse

Updating Synapse

sh sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y matrix-synapse-py3 sudo systemctl restart matrix-synapse

---

Connections

• Self-Hosting for Digital Sovereignty
• Nostr and Matrix Integration for Decentralized Messaging

Donations via

• lightninglayerhash@getalby.com

@ 599f67f7:21fb3ea9

¿Qué es Blossom?

nostr:nevent1qqspttj39n6ld4plhn4e2mq3utxpju93u4k7w33l3ehxyf0g9lh3f0qpzpmhxue69uhkummnw3ezuamfdejsygzenanl0hmkjnrq8fksvdhpt67xzrdh0h8agltwt5znsmvzr7e74ywgmr72

Blossom significa Blobs Simply Stored on Media Servers (Blobs Simplemente Almacenados en Servidores de Medios). Blobs son fragmentos de datos binarios, como archivos pero sin nombres. En lugar de nombres, se identifican por su hash sha256. La ventaja de usar hashes sha256 en lugar de nombres es que los hashes son IDs universales que se pueden calcular a partir del archivo mismo utilizando el algoritmo de hash sha256.

💡 archivo -> sha256 -> hash

Blossom es, por lo tanto, un conjunto de puntos finales HTTP que permiten a los usuarios almacenar y recuperar blobs almacenados en servidores utilizando su identidad nostr.

¿Por qué Blossom?

Como mencionamos hace un momento, al usar claves nostr como su identidad, Blossom permite que los datos sean "propiedad" del usuario. Esto simplifica enormemente la cuestión de "qué es spam" para el alojamiento de servidores. Por ejemplo, en nuestro Blossom solo permitimos cargas por miembros de la comunidad verificados que tengan un NIP-05 con nosotros.

Los usuarios pueden subir en múltiples servidores de blossom, por ejemplo, uno alojado por su comunidad, uno de pago, otro público y gratuito, para establecer redundancia de sus datos. Los blobs pueden ser espejados entre servidores de blossom, de manera similar a cómo los relays nostr pueden transmitir eventos entre sí. Esto mejora la resistencia a la censura de blossom.

A continuación se muestra una breve tabla de comparación entre torrents, Blossom y servidores CDN centralizados. (Suponiendo que hay muchos seeders para torrents y se utilizan múltiples servidores con Blossom).

| | Torrents | Blossom | CDN Centralizado | | --------------------------------------------------------------- | -------- | ------- | ---------------- | | Descentralizado | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | | Resistencia a la censura | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | | ¿Puedo usarlo para publicar fotos de gatitos en redes sociales? | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |

¿Cómo funciona?

Blossom utiliza varios tipos de eventos nostr para comunicarse con el servidor de medios.

| kind | descripción | BUD | | ----- | ------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------ | | 24242 | Evento de autorización | BUD01 | | 10063 | Lista de Servidores de Usuarios | BUD03 |

kind:24242 - Autorización

Esto es esencialmente lo que ya describimos al usar claves nostr como IDs de usuario. En el evento, el usuario le dice al servidor que quiere subir o eliminar un archivo y lo firma con sus claves nostr. El servidor realiza algunas verificaciones en este evento y luego ejecuta el comando del usuario si todo parece estar bien.

kind:10063 - Lista de Servidores de Usuarios

Esto es utilizado por el usuario para anunciar a qué servidores de medios está subiendo. De esta manera, cuando el cliente ve esta lista, sabe dónde subir los archivos del usuario. También puede subir en múltiples servidores definidos en la lista para asegurar redundancia. En el lado de recuperación, si por alguna razón uno de los servidores en la lista del usuario está fuera de servicio, o el archivo ya no se puede encontrar allí, el cliente puede usar esta lista para intentar recuperar el archivo de otros servidores en la lista. Dado que los blobs se identifican por sus hashes, el mismo blob tendrá el mismo hash en cualquier servidor de medios. Todo lo que el cliente necesita hacer es cambiar la URL por la de un servidor diferente.

Ahora, además de los conceptos básicos de cómo funciona Blossom, también hay otros tipos de eventos que hacen que Blossom sea aún más interesante.

| kind | descripción | | ----- | --------------------- | | 30563 | Blossom Drives | | 36363 | Listado de Servidores | | 31963 | Reseña de Servidores |

kind:30563 - Blossom Drives

Este tipo de evento facilita la organización de blobs en carpetas, como estamos acostumbrados con los drives (piensa en Google Drive, iCloud, Proton Drive, etc.). El evento contiene información sobre la estructura de carpetas y los metadatos del drive.

kind:36363 y kind:31963 - Listado y Reseña

Estos tipos de eventos permiten a los usuarios descubrir y reseñar servidores de medios a través de nostr. kind:36363 es un listado de servidores que contiene la URL del servidor. kind:31963 es una reseña, donde los usuarios pueden calificar servidores.

¿Cómo lo uso?

Encuentra un servidor

Primero necesitarás elegir un servidor Blossom donde subirás tus archivos. Puedes navegar por los públicos en blossomservers.com. Algunos de ellos son de pago, otros pueden requerir que tus claves nostr estén en una lista blanca.

Luego, puedes ir a la URL de su servidor y probar a subir un archivo pequeño, como una foto. Si estás satisfecho con el servidor (es rápido y aún no te ha fallado), puedes agregarlo a tu Lista de Servidores de Usuarios. Cubriremos brevemente cómo hacer esto en noStrudel y Amethyst (pero solo necesitas hacer esto una vez, una vez que tu lista actualizada esté publicada, los clientes pueden simplemente recuperarla de nostr).

noStrudel

1. Encuentra Relays en la barra lateral, luego elige Servidores de Medios.
2. Agrega un servidor de medios, o mejor aún, varios.
3. Publica tu lista de servidores. ✅

Amethyst

1. En la barra lateral, encuentra Servidores multimedia.
2. Bajo Servidores Blossom, agrega tus servidores de medios.
3. Firma y publica. ✅

Ahora, cuando vayas a hacer una publicación y adjuntar una foto, por ejemplo, se subirá en tu servidor blossom.

⚠️ Ten en cuenta que debes suponer que los archivos que subas serán públicos. Aunque puedes proteger un archivo con contraseña, esto no ha sido auditado.

Blossom Drive

Como mencionamos anteriormente, podemos publicar eventos para organizar nuestros blobs en carpetas. Esto puede ser excelente para compartir archivos con tu equipo, o simplemente para mantener las cosas organizadas.

Para probarlo, ve a blossom.hzrd149.com (o nuestra instancia comunitaria en blossom.bitcointxoko.com) e inicia sesión con tu método preferido.

Puedes crear una nueva unidad y agregar blobs desde allí.

Bouquet

Si usas múltiples servidores para darte redundancia, Bouquet es una buena manera de obtener una visión general de todos tus archivos. Úsalo para subir y navegar por tus medios en diferentes servidores y sincronizar blobs entre ellos.

Cherry Tree

nostr:nevent1qvzqqqqqqypzqfngzhsvjggdlgeycm96x4emzjlwf8dyyzdfg4hefp89zpkdgz99qyghwumn8ghj7mn0wd68ytnhd9hx2tcpzfmhxue69uhkummnw3e82efwvdhk6tcqyp3065hj9zellakecetfflkgudm5n6xcc9dnetfeacnq90y3yxa5z5gk2q6

Cherry Tree te permite dividir un archivo en fragmentos y luego subirlos en múltiples servidores blossom, y más tarde reensamblarlos en otro lugar.

Conclusión

Blossom aún está en desarrollo, pero ya hay muchas cosas interesantes que puedes hacer con él para hacerte a ti y a tu comunidad más soberanos. ¡Pruébalo!

Si deseas mantenerte al día sobre el desarrollo de Blossom, sigue a nostr:nprofile1qyghwumn8ghj7mn0wd68ytnhd9hx2tcpzfmhxue69uhkummnw3e82efwvdhk6tcqyqnxs90qeyssm73jf3kt5dtnk997ujw6ggy6j3t0jjzw2yrv6sy22ysu5ka y dale un gran zap por su excelente trabajo.

Referencias

• hzrd149/blossom en GitHub
• Blossom Drive

@ d34e832d:383f78d0

[npub16d8gxt2z4k9e8sdpc0yyqzf5gp0np09ls4lnn630qzxzvwpl0rgq5h4rzv]

Why Signal and Matrix Matter in a World of Mass Surveillance

In an era where mass surveillance has become the norm, privacy-focused communication tools are essential for digital sovereignty. Signal and Matrix provide individuals and communities with encrypted, censorship-resistant messaging solutions that challenge centralized control over information exchange.

1. Signal – End-to-End Encryption and Metadata Resistance

• Proven Cryptographic Security: Signal’s end-to-end encryption, powered by the Signal Protocol, ensures messages remain private even if intercepted.
• Metadata Protection with Sealed Sender: Signal minimizes metadata exposure, preventing third parties from knowing who is communicating with whom.
• Simple and Ubiquitous Privacy: Designed for ease of use, Signal bridges the gap between security and accessibility, making privacy mainstream.

2. Matrix – Decentralized and Federated Communication

• Self-Hosted and Federated Infrastructure: Unlike centralized services, Matrix allows users to host their own servers, reducing reliance on single points of failure.
• Bridging Across Platforms: Matrix bridges seamlessly with other communication protocols (IRC, XMPP, Slack, etc.), creating a unified, decentralized network.
• End-to-End Encryption and Decentralized Identity: Matrix offers fully encrypted rooms and a decentralized identity system, ensuring control over user data.

3. Mass Surveillance vs. Private Communication

• Government and Corporate Data Harvesting: Centralized platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Gmail log metadata and conversations, creating massive surveillance databases.
• The Threat of AI-Driven Censorship: Machine learning algorithms analyze user behavior, making privacy-invasive censorship and social credit scoring systems a reality.
• Decentralization as a Resistance Strategy: By adopting Signal and Matrix, individuals reclaim their right to private conversations without interference from state or corporate actors.

Integration Potential and Future Developments

• Bitcoin and Encrypted Messaging: Signal and Matrix can be combined with Bitcoin for private transactions and communication, furthering financial sovereignty.

• P2P and Nostr Integration: Future developments could see Matrix and Nostr integrated for even more robust censorship-resistant communication.

Donations via

• lightninglayerhash@getalby.com

@ 1cb14ab3:95d52462

Chef's notes

Credit to The Yummy Life. Go show them love below: https://www.theyummylife.com/Pickled_Jalapeno_Peppers

Details

• ⏲️ Prep time: 1 hour
• 🍳 Cook time: 20 mins
• 🍽️ Servings: 4 mason jars (pint)

Ingredients

• 2 lbs. jalapenos
• 2-1/4 cups vinegar (white distilled, apple cider, or a combination of the two)
• 2-1/4 cups water
• 2 tablespoons sugar or honey (optional)
• ADD TO EACH PINT JAR
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon whole black pepper corns
• 1/4 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon whole coriander seeds
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 whole garlic clove, peeled
• 1/8 teaspoon Pickle Crisp granules (optional)

Directions

1. Slice 1/2 pound jalapenos into 1/8" rounds, discarding stem ends.
2. Prepare the jars: Wash 4 pint jars and lids in hot sudsy water, then keep them warm.
3. Prepare the pickling liquid: Combine 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon vinegar, 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon water, and 1-1/2 teaspoons sugar or honey (optional) in a 2 quart pan, heating until just before boiling.
4. Fill the jars: Add jalapeno slices to each jar, pressing them down and packing them in compactly, then pour the hot pickling liquid into each jar, leaving 1/2" head space.
5. Process and store: Allow jars to cool to room temperature, then store them in the refrigerator or can them using standard USDA water process canning procedures, following storage guidelines for refrigerator or canned pickled peppers.

@ fc481c65:e280e7ba

Algebra is a branch of #Mathematics that uses symbols, known as variables (like x or y), to represent numbers in equations and formulas. It involves operations like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, but these operations are performed on variables as well as numbers.

Key Concepts in Algebra

• Variables: Symbols that stand in for unknown values.
• Constants: Known values that don’t change.
• Coefficients: Numbers used to multiply a variable.
• Expressions: Combinations of variables, numbers, and operations (like 3x + 4).
• Equations: Statements that assert the equality of two expressions, typically including an equals sign (like 2x + 3 = 7).

Basic Operations

1. Adding and Subtracting: You can add or subtract like terms (terms whose variables and their powers are the same). For example, 2x+3x=5x
2. Multiplying and Dividing: You multiply or divide both the coefficients and the variables. For instance, $$3x \times 2x=6x^2$$
3. Solving Equations: The goal is often to isolate the variable on one side of the equation to find its value. This can involve reversing operations using opposite operations.

Applications of Algebra

Algebra is used in various fields, from #Engineering and computer science to economics and everyday problem solving. It helps in creating formulas to understand relationships between quantities and in solving equations that model real-world situations.

Algebra and Electronics

Algebra plays a crucial role in #Electronics engineering, particularly through its application in circuit analysis, signal processing, and control systems. Understanding and utilizing algebraic techniques can significantly enhance problem-solving capabilities in these areas.

1. Complex Numbers

In electronic engineering, complex numbers are essential for analyzing AC circuits. They help in representing sinusoidal signals, which are fundamental in communications and power systems. - Representation: z=a+bi or z=reiθ (polar form) - Operations: Addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division in complex form, crucial for understanding the behavior of circuits in the frequency domain. Example: Calculating the impedance of an RLC series circuit at a certain frequency. - Circuit Components: R=50Ω, L=0.1 H, C=10 μF, ω=1000 rad/s $$ Z = 50 + j1000 \times 0.1 - \frac{1}{j1000 \times 10 \times 10^{-6}} = 50 + j100 - \frac{1}{j0.01} = 50 + j100 + 100j = 50 + 200j $$

2. Matrices and Determinants

Matrices are widely used in electronic engineering for handling multiple equations simultaneously, which is common in systems and network analysis. - Matrix Operations: Addition, subtraction, multiplication, and inversion. - Determinant and Inverse: Used in solving systems of linear equations, critical in network theory and control systems.

3. Fourier Transforms

Algebraic manipulation is key in applying Fourier transforms, which convert time-domain signals into their frequency components. This is crucial for signal analysis, filtering, and system design. - Fourier Series: Represents periodic signals as a sum of sinusoids. - Fourier Transform: Converts continuous time-domain signals to continuous frequency spectra.

4. Laplace Transforms

Laplace transforms are used to simplify the process of analyzing and designing control systems and circuits by converting differential equations into algebraic equations. - Transfer Functions: Represent systems in the s-domain, facilitating easier manipulation and understanding of system dynamics.

5. Z-Transforms

Similar to Laplace transforms, Z-transforms are used for discrete systems prevalent in digital signal processing and digital control.

6. Algebraic Equations in Filter Design

Algebra is used in the design of filters, both analog and digital, where polynomial equations are used to determine filter coefficients that meet specific frequency response criteria.

7. Control Systems

The design and stability analysis of control systems involve solving characteristic equations and manipulating transfer functions, which require a solid understanding of algebra.

8. Network Theorems

Theorems like Kirchhoff's laws, Thevenin’s theorem, and Norton’s theorem involve algebraic equations to simplify and analyze circuits.

Algebra with Sympy

TODO

@ 1cb14ab3:95d52462

Chef's notes

Classic beef n' broccoli. Easy to make and dank to eat.

Details

• ⏲️ Prep time: 20 mins
• 🍳 Cook time: 10 mins.

Ingredients

• 1 lb top sirloin steak, thinly sliced
• ¼ cup low sodium soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons fresh ginger, minced
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 head broccoli, cut into 1-inch (2 ½ cm) florets
• ½ cup water
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, mix together the sirloin steak, soy sauce, cornstarch, brown sugar, and ginger until the meat is evenly covered in the marinade. Set aside to marinate for 20 minutes.
2. Heat the oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Dump in the meat and marinade and sear each side until golden brown. Transfer the meat to a clean bowl and set aside.
3. Place the broccoli into the hot skillet and sauté until the broccoli has just started to brown, about 1 minute. Pour the water into the skillet and immediately cover with a lid. Let it steam for 2 minutes, until the broccoli has softened.
4. Remove the lid and toss in the garlic, red pepper flakes, and sesame oil. Sauté until the garlic becomes fragrant, about 30 seconds.
5. Add the steak back into the pan and stir to combine. Remove from heat and serve on a bed of brown rice.

@ 29af23a9:842ef0c1

A Indústria Pornográfica se caracteriza pelo investimento pesado de grandes empresários americanos, desde 2014.

Na década de 90, filmes pornográficos eram feitos às coxas. Era basicamente duas pessoas fazendo sexo amador e sendo gravadas. Não tinha roteiro, nem produção, não tinha maquiagem, nada disso. A distribuição era rudimentar, os assinantes tinham que sair de suas casas, ir até a locadora, sofrer todo tipo de constrangimento para assistir a um filme pornô.

No começo dos anos 2000, o serviço de Pay Per View fez o número de vendas de filmes eróticos (filme erótico é bem mais leve) crescer mas nada se compara com os sites de filmes pornográficos por assinatura.

Com o advento dos serviços de Streaming, os sites que vendem filmes por assinatura se estabeleceram no mercado como nunca foi visto na história.

Hoje, os Produtores usam produtos para esticar os vasos sanguíneos do pênis dos atores e dopam as atrizes para que elas aguentem horas de gravação (a Série Black Mirror fez uma crítica a isso no episódio 1 milhão de méritos de forma sutil).

Além de toda a produção em volta das cenas. Que são gravadas em 4K, para focar bem as partes íntimas dos atores. Quadros fechados, iluminação, tudo isso faz essa Indústria ser "Artística" uma vez que tudo ali é falso. Um filme da Produtora Vixen, por exemplo, onde jovens mulheres transam em mansões com seus empresários estimula o esteriótipo da mina padrão que chama seu chefe rico de "daddy" e seduz ele até ele trair a esposa.

Sites como xvídeos, pornHub e outros nada mais são do que sites que salvam filmes dessas produtoras e hospedam as cenas com anúncios e pop-ups. Alguns sites hospedam o filme inteiro "de graça".

Esse tipo de filme estimula qualquer homem heterosexual com menos de 30 anos, que não tem o córtex frontal de seu cérebro totalmente desenvolvido (segundo estudos só é completamente desenvolvido quando o homem chega aos 31 anos).

A arte Pornográfica faz alguns fantasiarem ter relação sexual com uma gostosa americana branquinha, até escraviza-los. Muitos não conseguem sair do vício e preferem a Ficção à sua esposa real. Então pare de se enganar e admita. A Pornografia faz mal para a saúde mental do homem.

Quem sonha em ter uma transa com Lana Rhodes, deve estar nesse estágio. Trata-se de uma atriz (pornstar) que ganhou muito dinheiro vendendo a ilusão da Arte Pornografica, como a Riley Reid que só gravava para grandes Produtoras. Ambas se arrependeram da carreira artística e agora tentam viver suas vidas como uma mulher comum.

As próprias atrizes se consideram artistas, como Mia Malkova, chegou a dizer que Pornografia é a vida dela, que é "Lindo e Sofisticado."

Mia Malkova inclusive faz questão de dizer que a industria não escravisa mulheres jovens. Trata-se de um negócio onde a mulher assina um contrato com uma produtora e recebe um cachê por isso. Diferente do discurso da Mia Khalifa em entrevista para a BBC, onde diz que as mulheres são exploradas por homens poderosos. Vai ela está confundindo o Conglomerado Vixen com a Rede Globo ou com a empresa do Harvey Weinstein.

Enfim, se você é um homem solteiro entre 18 e 40 anos que já consumiu ou que ainda consome pornografia, sabia que sofrerá consequências. Pois trata-se de "produções artísticas" da indústria audiovisual que altera os níveis de dopamina do seu cérebro, mudando a neuroplasticidade e diminuindo a massa cinzenta, deixando o homem com memória fraca, sem foco e com mente nebulosa.

Por que o Estado não proíbe/criminaliza a Pornografia se ela faz mal? E desde quando o Estado quer o nosso bem? Existem grandes empresarios que financiam essa indústria ajudando governos a manterem o povo viciado e assim alienado. É um pão e circo, só que muito mais viciante e maléfico. Eu costume dizer aos meus amigos que existem grandes empresários jvdeus que são donos de grandes Produtoras de filmes pornográficos como o Conglomerado Vixen. Então se eles assistem vídeos pirateados de filmes dessas produtoras, eles estão no colo do Judeu.

@ dbb19ae0:c3f22d5a

``` python

!/usr/bin/env python3

import asyncio from nostr_sdk import Metadata, Client, NostrSigner, Keys, Filter, PublicKey, Kind, init_logger, LogLevel from datetime import timedelta

async def main(): init_logger(LogLevel.INFO) secret_key = "nsec1........Replace with your actual nsec secret key" keys = Keys.parse(secret_key) signer = NostrSigner.keys(keys) client = Client(signer)

await client.add_relay("wss://relay.damus.io")
await client.connect()

# Update metadata
new_metadata = Metadata().set_name( "MyName")\
.set_nip05("MyName@example.com")\
.set_lud16("MyName@lud16.com")
await client.set_metadata(new_metadata)
print("Metadata updated successfully.")
# Get updated metadata
npub = "npub1....Replace with your actual npub"
pk = PublicKey.parse(npub)
print(f"\nGetting profile metadata for {npub}:")
metadata = await client.fetch_metadata(pk, timedelta(seconds=15))
print(metadata)

if name == 'main': asyncio.run(main()) ```

@ 83279ad2:bd49240d

備忘録として書きます。意外と時間がかかりました。全体で1時間くらいかかるので気長にやりましょう。 仮想通貨取引所(販売所ではないので、玄人が使えばお得らしい）かつBitcoinの送金手数料が無料(全ての取引所が無料ではない、例えばbitbankは0.0006bitcoinかかる)なので送金元はGMOコインを使います。(注意:GMOコインは0.02ビットコイン以下は全額送金になってしまいます) 今回はカストディアルウォレットのWallet of Satoshiに送金します。 以下手順 1. GMOコインでbitcoinを買います。 2. GMOコインの左のタブから入出金 暗号資産を選択します。 3. 送付のタブを開いて、+新しい宛先を追加するを選択します。 4. 送付先:GMOコイン以外、送付先ウォレット：プライベートウォレット(MetaMaskなど)、受取人：ご本人さま　を選んで宛先情報の登録を選ぶと次の画面になります。
5. 宛先名称にwallet of satoshi(これはなんでも良いです わかりやすい名称にしましょう)　wallet of satoshiを開いて、受信→Bitcoin On-Chainからアドレスをコピーして、ビットコインアドレスに貼り付けます。
6. 登録するを押します。これで送金先の登録ができました。GMOコインの審査がありますがすぐ終わると思います。 7. ここから送金をします。送付のタブから登録したビットコインの宛先リストwallet of satoshiを選択し、送付数量と送付目的を選択して、2段階認証をします。
8. 実行を押せば終わりです。もうあなたがやることはありません。送金が終わるのを40分くらい眺めるだけです。
8. 取引履歴のタブから今の送金のステータスが見れます。
9. 15分くらい待つとステータスが受付に変わります。
10. 20分くらい待つとトランザクションIDが表示されます。


この時点からwallet of satoshiにも送金されていることが表示されます。(まだ完了はしていない)

11. ステータスが完了になったら送金終わりです。

wallet of satoshiにも反映されます。

---

お疲れ様でした！

@ cffd7b79:dd8ca91f

Introductory

That right folks, it is called Satlantis. An upcoming game that is based on Minecraft. It uses a game engine called Launti/Minetest that has been in development since 2023, but it is unclear when it will be released. It is small team of bitcoin enthusiasts of 3-5 game developers.

Their Origin Story

It started out as a Minecraft server around 2018. It was prosperous with many players up to 100 players for just a SMP Server. Then on 2023, Mojang Studios contacted the owner of the server to shut it down due to have a play-to-earn function.

Their Discord Server

In their discord server, you can now earn their own currency called joules which can be earned by playing Counter Strike 2, Fortnite or Dead by Daylight. The joules then can be exchange for sats. If you wanna invest your sats into it, you can buy ASICs through the auction which is fueled by joules which gives you sats in return by the hour.

In Conclusion

From Minecraft to Minetest, it has great potential for such a game nowadays since not only its through some dApp currency scheme, but its straightforward process. if you want to see their site it is at Satlantis.net.

I am Chrissy Sage and I am out!

@ b83e6f82:73c27758

Citrine 0.7.1

• Add the restore follows button back
• Show notification when backing up database
• Listen for pokey broadcasts

Download it with zap.store, Obtainium, f-droid or download it directly in the releases page

If you like my work consider making a donation

Verifying the release

In order to verify the release, you'll need to have gpg or gpg2 installed on your system. Once you've obtained a copy (and hopefully verified that as well), you'll first need to import the keys that have signed this release if you haven't done so already:

bash gpg --keyserver hkps://keys.openpgp.org --recv-keys 44F0AAEB77F373747E3D5444885822EED3A26A6D

Once you have his PGP key you can verify the release (assuming manifest-v0.7.1.txt and manifest-v0.7.1.txt.sig are in the current directory) with:

bash gpg --verify manifest-v0.7.1.txt.sig manifest-v0.7.1.txt

You should see the following if the verification was successful:

bash gpg: Signature made Fri 13 Sep 2024 08:06:52 AM -03 gpg: using RSA key 44F0AAEB77F373747E3D5444885822EED3A26A6D gpg: Good signature from "greenart7c3 <greenart7c3@proton.me>"

That will verify the signature on the main manifest page which ensures integrity and authenticity of the binaries you've downloaded locally. Next, depending on your operating system you should then re-calculate the sha256 sum of the binary, and compare that with the following hashes:

bash cat manifest-v0.7.1.txt

One can use the shasum -a 256 <file name here> tool in order to re-compute the sha256 hash of the target binary for your operating system. The produced hash should be compared with the hashes listed above and they should match exactly.

@ b17fccdf:b7211155

---

CHECK OUT at ~ > ramix.minibolt.info < ~

---

Main changes:

• Adapted to Raspberry Pi 5, with the possibility of using internal storage: a PCIe to M.2 adapter + SSD NVMe:

  Connect directly to the board, remove the instability issues with the USB connection, and unlock the ability to enjoy higher transfer speeds**

• Based on Debian 12 (Raspberry Pi OS Bookworm - 64-bit).
• Updated all services that have been tested until now, to the latest version.
• Same as the MiniBolt guide, changed I2P, Fulcrum, and ThunderHub guides, to be part of the core guide.
• All UI & UX improvements in the MiniBolt guide are included.
• Fix some links and wrong command issues.
• Some existing guides have been improved to clarify the following steps.

---

Important notes:

• The RRSS will be the same as the MiniBolt original project (for now) | More info -> HERE <-
• The common resources like the Roadmap or Networkmap have been merged and will be used together | Check -> HERE <-
• The attempt to upgrade from Bullseye to Bookworm (RaspiBolt to RaMiX migration) has failed due to several difficult-to-resolve dependency conflicts, so unfortunately, there will be no dedicated migration guide and only the possibility to start from scratch ☹️

⚠️ Attention‼️-> This guide is in the WIP (work in progress) state and hasn't been completely tested yet. Many steps may be incorrect. Pay special attention to the "Status: Not tested on RaMiX" tag at the beginning of the guides. Be careful and act behind your responsibility.

---

For Raspberry Pi lovers!❤️🍓

Enjoy it RaMiXer!! 💜

---

By ⚡2FakTor⚡ for the plebs with love ❤️🫂

@ 378562cd:a6fc6773

Chef's notes

I'm only testing this out right now. I will update the recipe as well as add my own image soon after making this dish again.

Details

• ⏲️ Prep time: 20 minutes
• 🍳 Cook time: 1 hour
• 🍽️ Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 4 to 6 potatoes (size depending)
• 1 lb ground beef
• seasonings
• 2 cans chili beans
• 1 onion
• katsup
• shredded cheese of some kind

Directions

1. saute onion and add ground beef to skillet. Season to liking.
2. peel if you like and thin slice potatoes
3. in a rectangle baking dish, layer potatoes, beans, meat and cheese (like a lasagna) until you have used all your ingredients. Try and make at least 2 or 3 layers with extra cheese on top.
4. Bake at 350 for one hour. Serve and enjoy!

@ a10260a2:caa23e3e

Last Updated: January 18, 2025

First off, big shoutout to Coinos for having support for adding a memo to BOLT12 offers. This provides a solid alternative for the pleb who wants to support mining decentralization but doesn’t want to set up a CLN node and pay thousands of sats for a channel only to get little rewards. This is the case for most of us who only have a miner or two (e.g. a Bitaxe and/or an S9).

Before we get into setting up Lightning payouts, you’ll want to have your miner configured to mine with OCEAN of course. You’ll also want to make sure that the bitcoin address you use is from a wallet that supports signing messages.

These are the ones listed in the OCEAN docs:

• Bitcoin Knots/Bitcoin Core
• Coldcard
• Electrum
• LND (Command Line)
• Seedsigner
• Sparrow
• Specter
• Trezor

I checked one of my favorite, user-friendly wallets — Blue Wallet — and it happens to support signing messages as well.

Just tap the three dots on the upper right and you’ll see the “Sign/Verify Message” button at the bottom.

Update [January 18]: You can now use Coinos to sign by going to https://coinos.io/sign

The trick here is to not refresh the page. In other words, when you're logged in to your Coinos account, go to the URL and use the legacy address (starts with a "1") that's displayed to configure your miner(s). If you refresh the page, you're going to get a new address which will cause the signing to fail later on. Remember, keep the tab open and don't refresh the page.

Whichever wallet you choose, generate a receive address to use when configuring your miner (it’ll also be your OCEAN username).

Here’s how it looks on the Bitaxe (AxeOS)…

And the Antminer S9 (Braiins OS).

NOTE: There’s a slight difference in the URL format between the two apps. Other than that, the username will be your bitcoin address followed by the optional “.” + the nickname for your machine.

You can find more details on OCEAN’s get started page.

---

Alright, now that your miner is pointed at OCEAN. Let’s configure Lightning payouts!

Generating the BOLT12 Offer

In the Coinos app, go to Receive > Bolt 12.

Tap “Set memo” and set it to “OCEAN Payouts for [insert your bitcoin address]” (this text is case-sensitive). Use the same bitcoin address you used above to configure your miner(s).

After tapping OK, copy the BOLT12 offer (it should start with “lno”) and proceed to the next step.

Generating the Configuration Message

Navigate to the My Stats page by searching for your OCEAN Bitcoin address.

The click the Configuration link next to Next Block to access the configuration form.

Paste the BOLT12 offer here, update the block height to latest, click GENERATE, and copy the generated unsigned message.

Signing the Configuration Message

To sign the generated message, go back to Blue Wallet and use the signing function. Paste the configuration message in the Message field, tap Sign, and copy the signed message that’s generated.

If you're using Coinos to sign, return to the page that you kept open (and didn't refresh) and do the same. Paste the configuration message, click submit, and copy the signed message.

Submitting the Signed Message

Once signed, copy the signature, paste it in the OCEAN configuration form, and click CONFIRM.

If all goes well, you should see a confirmation that the configuration was successful. Congrats! 🎉

All you gotta do now is sit back, relax, and wait for a block to be found…

Or you can look into setting up DATUM. 😎

@ a95c6243:d345522c

Europa – das Ganze ist eine wunderbare Idee, \ aber das war der Kommunismus auch. \ Loriot

«Europa hat fertig», könnte man unken, und das wäre nicht einmal sehr verwegen. Mit solch einer Einschätzung stünden wir nicht alleine, denn die Stimmen in diese Richtung mehren sich. Der französische Präsident Emmanuel Macron warnte schon letztes Jahr davor, dass «unser Europa sterben könnte». Vermutlich hatte er dabei andere Gefahren im Kopf als jetzt der ungarische Ministerpräsident Viktor Orbán, der ein «baldiges Ende der EU» prognostizierte. Das Ergebnis könnte allerdings das gleiche sein.

Neben vordergründigen Themenbereichen wie Wirtschaft, Energie und Sicherheit ist das eigentliche Problem jedoch die obskure Mischung aus aufgegebener Souveränität und geschwollener Arroganz, mit der europäische Politiker:innende unterschiedlicher Couleur aufzutreten pflegen. Und das Tüpfelchen auf dem i ist die bröckelnde Legitimation politischer Institutionen dadurch, dass die Stimmen großer Teile der Bevölkerung seit Jahren auf vielfältige Weise ausgegrenzt werden.

Um «UnsereDemokratie» steht es schlecht. Dass seine Mandate immer schwächer werden, merkt natürlich auch unser «Führungspersonal». Entsprechend werden die Maßnahmen zur Gängelung, Überwachung und Manipulation der Bürger ständig verzweifelter. Parallel dazu plustern sich in Paris Macron, Scholz und einige andere noch einmal mächtig in Sachen Verteidigung und «Kriegstüchtigkeit» auf.

Momentan gilt es auch, das Überschwappen covidiotischer und verschwörungsideologischer Auswüchse aus den USA nach Europa zu vermeiden. So ein «MEGA» (Make Europe Great Again) können wir hier nicht gebrauchen. Aus den Vereinigten Staaten kommen nämlich furchtbare Nachrichten. Beispielsweise wurde einer der schärfsten Kritiker der Corona-Maßnahmen kürzlich zum Gesundheitsminister ernannt. Dieser setzt sich jetzt für eine Neubewertung der mRNA-«Impfstoffe» ein, was durchaus zu einem Entzug der Zulassungen führen könnte.

Der europäischen Version von «Verteidigung der Demokratie» setzte der US-Vizepräsident J. D. Vance auf der Münchner Sicherheitskonferenz sein Verständnis entgegen: «Demokratie stärken, indem wir unseren Bürgern erlauben, ihre Meinung zu sagen». Das Abschalten von Medien, das Annullieren von Wahlen oder das Ausschließen von Menschen vom politischen Prozess schütze gar nichts. Vielmehr sei dies der todsichere Weg, die Demokratie zu zerstören.

In der Schweiz kamen seine Worte deutlich besser an als in den meisten europäischen NATO-Ländern. Bundespräsidentin Karin Keller-Sutter lobte die Rede und interpretierte sie als «Plädoyer für die direkte Demokratie». Möglicherweise zeichne sich hier eine außenpolitische Kehrtwende in Richtung integraler Neutralität ab, meint mein Kollege Daniel Funk. Das wären doch endlich mal ein paar gute Nachrichten.

Von der einstigen Idee einer europäischen Union mit engeren Beziehungen zwischen den Staaten, um Konflikte zu vermeiden und das Wohlergehen der Bürger zu verbessern, sind wir meilenweit abgekommen. Der heutige korrupte Verbund unter technokratischer Leitung ähnelt mehr einem Selbstbedienungsladen mit sehr begrenztem Zugang. Die EU-Wahlen im letzten Sommer haben daran ebenso wenig geändert, wie die Bundestagswahl am kommenden Sonntag darauf einen Einfluss haben wird.

---

Dieser Beitrag ist zuerst auf Transition News erschienen.

@ 378562cd:a6fc6773

Chef's notes

I'm only testing this out right now. I will update the recipe as well as add my own image soon after making this dish again.

Details

• ⏲️ Prep time: 20 minutes
• 🍳 Cook time: 1 hour
• 🍽️ Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 4 to 6 potatoes (size depending)
• 1 lb ground beef
• seasonings
• 2 cans chili beans
• 1 onion
• katsup
• shredded cheese of some kind

Directions

1. saute onion and add ground beef to skillet. Season to liking.
2. peel if you like and thin slice potatoes
3. in a rectangle baking dish, layer potatoes, beans, meat and cheese (like a lasagna) until you have used all your ingredients. Try and make at least 2 or 3 layers with extra cheese on top.
4. Bake at 350 for one hour. Serve and enjoy!

@ 2fb77d26:c47a6ee1

Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren,

wenn wir an Schlachtfelder denken, sehen wir vor unserem inneren Auge düstere Bilder von verkohlten Wracks, von Einschlagkratern, schreienden Verwundeten, Leichen und dichten Rauchschwaden, die am Horizont über verbrannter Erde wabern.

Vergleichbare Assoziationen drängen sich auf, versucht man in Bilder zu fassen, in was für einer Gesellschaft wir mittlerweile leben. Intellektuelle Wracks, mediales Flächenbombardement, stumme Schreie von Pharmaopfern und hungernden Kindern, weggescrollt von Smartphone-Zombies, deren letzter Hauch Empathie am Rande ihres dissoziativen Wahrnehmungshorizontes verblasst. Zivilisatorische Transformation als Kriegsfilm.

Früher verliefen die Frontlinien von Klassenkampf und Propagandakrieg durch die Auslagen der Zeitungskioske, durch Rundfunkredaktionen und über die nach Sendeschluss flimmernden Bildschirme der Mattscheibe. Heute durch den Kopf.

Sprichwörtlich. Denn die »Vierte Industrielle Revolution« begegnet zunehmendem Desinteresse an Erziehungsfunk und aufkeimender Renitenz mit Dopamin-Shots, Implantaten und Nanotechnologie. Das erklärte Ziel der Herrschaftskaste ist nicht mehr die Manipulation, sondern die Fernsteuerung der Steuersklaven. Das »Hive Mind«.

Sendeschluss gibt es nicht mehr. Und der Newsfeed ist unerschöpflich, ist Manifestation dessen, was Aufmerksamkeitsökonomie für uns bedeutet: Den Verlust wertvoller Lebenszeit an neonbunte Sinnlosigkeit. Das Smartphone dient nicht der Evolution, sondern der Degeneration der Spezies Mensch. Es ist kein Werkzeug, sondern eine Waffe. Aber das Handy lässt sich — wie das TV-Gerät — abschalten. Oder abschaffen. Das birgt Risiken — denn nur Lufthoheit über dem Debattenraum garantiert dem postmodernen Feudalismus Machterhalt. Dementsprechend setzen seine Vertreter nun alles daran, invasive Technologien ins Feld zu führen, um sich unserer Gedanken bemächtigen zu können.

Der Kriegsfilm spielt sich also nicht mehr nur als dunkles Phantasma vor unserem inneren Auge ab, er handelt nicht von irgendeinem fernen Land — das zu erobernde Terrain, das primäre Schlachtfeld der biodigitalen Konvergenz liegt unmittelbar hinter dem Sehnerv. Kriegsziel: Die Verschmelzung von Mensch und Maschine. Transhumanismus. Und bei so manchem Zeitgenossen scheint bereits eine gewisse Konträrfaszination am eigenen Untergang Einzug zu halten. Die Résistance des Mediazän verteidigt demnach nicht nur das Recht auf Meinungsfreiheit, sie kämpft um den Erhalt des freien Willens. Um Menschlichkeit. Um das Fortbestehen unserer Spezies.

Vor diesem Hintergrund beschäftigt sich die dritte GEGENDRUCK mit dem »Schlachtfeld Gehirn«. Mit dem zerebralen Status quo. Die Autoren analysieren und dokumentieren den Stand von Forschung, Angriffswellen, Waffenarsenal und Verteidigungsmechanismen. Denn unser Leben ist das Produkt unserer Gedanken. Unserer Erinnerungen. Sie sind die Basis unserer Freiheit, unserer Geschichte und Zukunft. Wir müssen sie schützen. Mit allen Mitteln.

Denn »ein Kopf ohne Gedächtnis ist eine Festung ohne Besatzung« (Napoleon).

Im Namen des gesamten Teams,

Tom-Oliver Regenauer

Printausgabe bestellen unter: www.gegendruck.de

@ 6e0ea5d6:0327f353

"Malcolm Forbes recounts that a lady, wearing a faded cotton dress, and her husband, dressed in an old handmade suit, stepped off a train in Boston, USA, and timidly made their way to the office of the president of Harvard University. They had come from Palo Alto, California, and had not scheduled an appointment. The secretary, at a glance, thought that those two, looking like country bumpkins, had no business at Harvard.
— We want to speak with the president — the man said in a low voice.
— He will be busy all day — the secretary replied curtly.
— We will wait.
The secretary ignored them for hours, hoping the couple would finally give up and leave. But they stayed there, and the secretary, somewhat frustrated, decided to bother the president, although she hated doing that.
— If you speak with them for just a few minutes, maybe they will decide to go away — she said.
The president sighed in irritation but agreed. Someone of his importance did not have time to meet people like that, but he hated faded dresses and tattered suits in his office. With a stern face, he went to the couple.
— We had a son who studied at Harvard for a year — the woman said. — He loved Harvard and was very happy here, but a year ago he died in an accident, and we would like to erect a monument in his honor somewhere on campus.

— My lady — said the president rudely —, we cannot erect a statue for every person who studied at Harvard and died; if we did, this place would look like a cemetery.

— Oh, no — the lady quickly replied. — We do not want to erect a statue. We would like to donate a building to Harvard.

The president looked at the woman's faded dress and her husband's old suit and exclaimed:

— A building! Do you have even the faintest idea of how much a building costs? We have more than seven and a half million dollars' worth of buildings here at Harvard.

The lady was silent for a moment, then said to her husband:

— If that’s all it costs to found a university, why don’t we have our own?

The husband agreed.

The couple, Leland Stanford, stood up and left, leaving the president confused. Traveling back to Palo Alto, California, they established there Stanford University, the second-largest in the world, in honor of their son, a former Harvard student."

Text extracted from: "Mileumlivros - Stories that Teach Values."

Thank you for reading, my friend! If this message helped you in any way, consider leaving your glass “🥃” as a token of appreciation.

A toast to our family!

@ 97c70a44:ad98e322

There was a slight dust up recently over a website someone runs removing a listing for an app someone built based on entirely arbitrary criteria. I'm not to going to attempt to speak for either wounded party, but I would like to share my own personal definition for what constitutes a "nostr app" in an effort to help clarify what might be an otherwise confusing and opaque purity test.

In this post, I will be committing the "no true Scotsman" fallacy, in which I start with the most liberal definition I can come up with, and gradually refine it until all that is left is the purest, gleamingest, most imaginary and unattainable nostr app imaginable. As I write this, I wonder if anything built yet will actually qualify. In any case, here we go.

It uses nostr

The lowest bar for what a "nostr app" might be is an app ("application" - i.e. software, not necessarily a native app of any kind) that has some nostr-specific code in it, but which doesn't take any advantage of what makes nostr distinctive as a protocol.

Examples might include a scraper of some kind which fulfills its charter by fetching data from relays (regardless of whether it validates or retains signatures). Another might be a regular web 2.0 app which provides an option to "log in with nostr" by requesting and storing the user's public key.

In either case, the fact that nostr is involved is entirely neutral. A scraper can scrape html, pdfs, jsonl, whatever data source - nostr relays are just another target. Likewise, a user's key in this scenario is treated merely as an opaque identifier, with no appreciation for the super powers it brings along.

In most cases, this kind of app only exists as a marketing ploy, or less cynically, because it wants to get in on the hype of being a "nostr app", without the developer quite understanding what that means, or having the budget to execute properly on the claim.

It leverages nostr

Some of you might be wondering, "isn't 'leverage' a synonym for 'use'?" And you would be right, but for one connotative difference. It's possible to "use" something improperly, but by definition leverage gives you a mechanical advantage that you wouldn't otherwise have. This is the second category of "nostr app".

This kind of app gets some benefit out of the nostr protocol and network, but in an entirely selfish fashion. The intention of this kind of app is not to augment the nostr network, but to augment its own UX by borrowing some nifty thing from the protocol without really contributing anything back.

Some examples might include:

• Using nostr signers to encrypt or sign data, and then store that data on a proprietary server.
• Using nostr relays as a kind of low-code backend, but using proprietary event payloads.
• Using nostr event kinds to represent data (why), but not leveraging the trustlessness that buys you.

An application in this category might even communicate to its users via nostr DMs - but this doesn't make it a "nostr app" any more than a website that emails you hot deals on herbal supplements is an "email app". These apps are purely parasitic on the nostr ecosystem.

In the long-term, that's not necessarily a bad thing. Email's ubiquity is self-reinforcing. But in the short term, this kind of "nostr app" can actually do damage to nostr's reputation by over-promising and under-delivering.

It complements nostr

Next up, we have apps that get some benefit out of nostr as above, but give back by providing a unique value proposition to nostr users as nostr users. This is a bit of a fine distinction, but for me this category is for apps which focus on solving problems that nostr isn't good at solving, leaving the nostr integration in a secondary or supporting role.

One example of this kind of app was Mutiny (RIP), which not only allowed users to sign in with nostr, but also pulled those users' social graphs so that users could send money to people they knew and trusted. Mutiny was doing a great job of leveraging nostr, as well as providing value to users with nostr identities - but it was still primarily a bitcoin wallet, not a "nostr app" in the purest sense.

Other examples are things like Nostr Nests and Zap.stream, whose core value proposition is streaming video or audio content. Both make great use of nostr identities, data formats, and relays, but they're primarily streaming apps. A good litmus test for things like this is: if you got rid of nostr, would it be the same product (even if inferior in certain ways)?

A similar category is infrastructure providers that benefit nostr by their existence (and may in fact be targeted explicitly at nostr users), but do things in a centralized, old-web way; for example: media hosts, DNS registrars, hosting providers, and CDNs.

To be clear here, I'm not casting aspersions (I don't even know what those are, or where to buy them). All the apps mentioned above use nostr to great effect, and are a real benefit to nostr users. But they are not True Scotsmen.

It embodies nostr

Ok, here we go. This is the crème de la crème, the top du top, the meilleur du meilleur, the bee's knees. The purest, holiest, most chaste category of nostr app out there. The apps which are, indeed, nostr indigitate.

This category of nostr app (see, no quotes this time) can be defined by the converse of the previous category. If nostr was removed from this type of application, would it be impossible to create the same product?

To tease this apart a bit, apps that leverage the technical aspects of nostr are dependent on nostr the protocol, while apps that benefit nostr exclusively via network effect are integrated into nostr the network. An app that does both things is working in symbiosis with nostr as a whole.

An app that embraces both nostr's protocol and its network becomes an organic extension of every other nostr app out there, multiplying both its competitive moat and its contribution to the ecosystem:

• In contrast to apps that only borrow from nostr on the technical level but continue to operate in their own silos, an application integrated into the nostr network comes pre-packaged with existing users, and is able to provide more value to those users because of other nostr products. On nostr, it's a good thing to advertise your competitors.
• In contrast to apps that only market themselves to nostr users without building out a deep integration on the protocol level, a deeply integrated app becomes an asset to every other nostr app by becoming an organic extension of them through interoperability. This results in increased traffic to the app as other developers and users refer people to it instead of solving their problem on their own. This is the "micro-apps" utopia we've all been waiting for.

Credible exit doesn't matter if there aren't alternative services. Interoperability is pointless if other applications don't offer something your app doesn't. Marketing to nostr users doesn't matter if you don't augment their agency as nostr users.

If I had to choose a single NIP that represents the mindset behind this kind of app, it would be NIP 89 A.K.A. "Recommended Application Handlers", which states:

Nostr's discoverability and transparent event interaction is one of its most interesting/novel mechanics. This NIP provides a simple way for clients to discover applications that handle events of a specific kind to ensure smooth cross-client and cross-kind interactions.

These handlers are the glue that holds nostr apps together. A single event, signed by the developer of an application (or by the application's own account) tells anyone who wants to know 1. what event kinds the app supports, 2. how to link to the app (if it's a client), and (if the pubkey also publishes a kind 10002), 3. which relays the app prefers.

As a sidenote, NIP 89 is currently focused more on clients, leaving DVMs, relays, signers, etc somewhat out in the cold. Updating 89 to include tailored listings for each kind of supporting app would be a huge improvement to the protocol. This, plus a good front end for navigating these listings (sorry nostrapp.link, close but no cigar) would obviate the evil centralized websites that curate apps based on arbitrary criteria.

Examples of this kind of app obviously include many kind 1 clients, as well as clients that attempt to bring the benefits of the nostr protocol and network to new use cases - whether long form content, video, image posts, music, emojis, recipes, project management, or any other "content type".

To drill down into one example, let's think for a moment about forms. What's so great about a forms app that is built on nostr? Well,

• There is a spec for forms and responses, which means that...
• Multiple clients can implement the same data format, allowing for credible exit and user choice, even of...
• Other products not focused on forms, which can still view, respond to, or embed forms, and which can send their users via NIP 89 to a client that does...
• Cryptographically sign forms and responses, which means they are self-authenticating and can be sent to...
• Multiple relays, which reduces the amount of trust necessary to be confident results haven't been deliberately "lost".

Show me a forms product that does all of those things, and isn't built on nostr. You can't, because it doesn't exist. Meanwhile, there are plenty of image hosts with APIs, streaming services, and bitcoin wallets which have basically the same levels of censorship resistance, interoperability, and network effect as if they weren't built on nostr.

It supports nostr

Notice I haven't said anything about whether relays, signers, blossom servers, software libraries, DVMs, and the accumulated addenda of the nostr ecosystem are nostr apps. Well, they are (usually).

This is the category of nostr app that gets none of the credit for doing all of the work. There's no question that they qualify as beautiful nostrcorns, because their value propositions are entirely meaningless outside of the context of nostr. Who needs a signer if you don't have a cryptographic identity you need to protect? DVMs are literally impossible to use without relays. How are you going to find the blossom server that will serve a given hash if you don't know which servers the publishing user has selected to store their content?

In addition to being entirely contextualized by nostr architecture, this type of nostr app is valuable because it does things "the nostr way". By that I mean that they don't simply try to replicate existing internet functionality into a nostr context; instead, they create entirely new ways of putting the basic building blocks of the internet back together.

A great example of this is how Nostr Connect, Nostr Wallet Connect, and DVMs all use relays as brokers, which allows service providers to avoid having to accept incoming network connections. This opens up really interesting possibilities all on its own.

So while I might hesitate to call many of these things "apps", they are certainly "nostr".

Appendix: it smells like a NINO

So, let's say you've created an app, but when you show it to people they politely smile, nod, and call it a NINO (Nostr In Name Only). What's a hacker to do? Well, here's your handy-dandy guide on how to wash that NINO stench off and Become a Nostr.

You app might be a NINO if:

• There's no NIP for your data format (or you're abusing NIP 78, 32, etc by inventing a sub-protocol inside an existing event kind)
• There's a NIP, but no one knows about it because it's in a text file on your hard drive (or buried in your project's repository)
• Your NIP imposes an incompatible/centralized/legacy web paradigm onto nostr
• Your NIP relies on trusted third (or first) parties
• There's only one implementation of your NIP (yours)
• Your core value proposition doesn't depend on relays, events, or nostr identities
• One or more relay urls are hard-coded into the source code
• Your app depends on a specific relay implementation to work (ahem, relay29)
• You don't validate event signatures
• You don't publish events to relays you don't control
• You don't read events from relays you don't control
• You use legacy web services to solve problems, rather than nostr-native solutions
• You use nostr-native solutions, but you've hardcoded their pubkeys or URLs into your app
• You don't use NIP 89 to discover clients and services
• You haven't published a NIP 89 listing for your app
• You don't leverage your users' web of trust for filtering out spam
• You don't respect your users' mute lists
• You try to "own" your users' data

Now let me just re-iterate - it's ok to be a NINO. We need NINOs, because nostr can't (and shouldn't) tackle every problem. You just need to decide whether your app, as a NINO, is actually contributing to the nostr ecosystem, or whether you're just using buzzwords to whitewash a legacy web software product.

If you're in the former camp, great! If you're in the latter, what are you waiting for? Only you can fix your NINO problem. And there are lots of ways to do this, depending on your own unique situation:

• Drop nostr support if it's not doing anyone any good. If you want to build a normal company and make some money, that's perfectly fine.
• Build out your nostr integration - start taking advantage of webs of trust, self-authenticating data, event handlers, etc.
• Work around the problem. Think you need a special relay feature for your app to work? Guess again. Consider encryption, AUTH, DVMs, or better data formats.
• Think your idea is a good one? Talk to other devs or open a PR to the nips repo. No one can adopt your NIP if they don't know about it.
• Keep going. It can sometimes be hard to distinguish a research project from a NINO. New ideas have to be built out before they can be fully appreciated.
• Listen to advice. Nostr developers are friendly and happy to help. If you're not sure why you're getting traction, ask!

I sincerely hope this article is useful for all of you out there in NINO land. Maybe this made you feel better about not passing the totally optional nostr app purity test. Or maybe it gave you some actionable next steps towards making a great NINON (Nostr In Not Only Name) app. In either case, GM and PV.

@ 7f29628d:e160cccc

Der gut informierte Bürger denkt bei der Pandemie sofort an Intensivstationen, an die Bilder aus Bergamo und erinnert sich an die Berichterstattung damals – also muss es wohl ein Maximum gewesen sein. Manche Skeptiker behaupten jedoch das Gegenteil. Klarheit sollte ein Blick nach Wiesbaden, zum Statistischen Bundesamt, schaffen. Schließlich sitzen dort gut bezahlte Profis, die seit vielen Jahrzehnten die Sterbestatistik pflegen und veröffentlichen. Jeder Todesfall wird in Deutschland über die Standesämter exakt erfasst.

Doch die Überraschung: Das Statistische Bundesamt liefert uns auf diese einfache Frage zwei extrem unterschiedliche Antworten – ein Minimum und ein Maximum. Das Ergebnis hängt davon ab, wie tief man in die Veröffentlichungen des Bundesamtes eintaucht. Betrachtet man nur die Webseiten und Pressemitteilungen, erhält man den Eindruck eines Maximums. Schaut man jedoch etwas tiefer in die Tabellen und Rohdaten, zeigt sich plötzlich ein Minimum. Aber wie kann das sein? Beides gleichzeitig geht ja wohl kaum. Wer lügt hier – die Tabellen des Amtes oder die Pressemitteilungen? Gehen wir dieser Frage Schritt für Schritt auf den Grund.

2020: Ein historisches Maximum?

Schauen wir uns die vielen Hundert Veröffentlichungen des Statistischen Bundesamtes aus dieser Zeit an. Oder wir kürzen ab und fragen ChatGPT, da die KI auf diesen Daten trainiert wurde und das gesamte Material kennt. Die Frage an ChatGPT lautet also: Wie war das Sterbegeschehen im Jahr 2020 im Vergleich zu den Vorjahren?

ChatGPT antwortet: »Im Jahr 2020 war die Sterblichkeit in Deutschland höher als in den Jahren zuvor. Es gab eine Übersterblichkeit von etwa 982.000 Todesfällen, das sind rund 46.000 mehr als der Durchschnitt der Vorjahre (2016 bis 2019). Dieser Anstieg wurde überwiegend im Zusammenhang mit der COVID-19-Pandemie gesehen. Während die Sterbezahlen in den Vorjahren schwankten, war ein solch signifikanter Anstieg wie 2020 bisher nicht zu beobachten.«

Wir fragen konkreter: Ist es ein Fakt, dass wir eine so ernste Lage im Sterbegeschehen wie im Frühjahr 2020 noch nie erlebt haben?

ChatGPT bestätigt: »Ja, die COVID-19-Pandemie führte im Frühjahr 2020 zu einer außergewöhnlichen Situation im Sterbegeschehen in Deutschland. Die dramatische Übersterblichkeit, die ab der 13. Kalenderwoche auftrat, veranlasste das Statistische Bundesamt, besonders eindringliche Warnungen zu veröffentlichen. Der damalige Vizepräsident des Amtes und andere führende Stimmen wiesen öffentlich darauf hin, dass die Todesfallzahlen stark vom Durchschnitt abwichen. Diese klare Warnung richtete sich an die Öffentlichkeit und die Politik gleichermaßen. Die Medien berichteten intensiv über diese Warnungen, was das Bewusstsein für die Schwere der Pandemie erheblich schärfte. In den vergangenen Jahrzehnten hatte es keine vergleichbare Übersterblichkeit gegeben, die eine solch umfangreiche Kommunikation durch das Statistische Bundesamt erforderlich gemacht hätte.«

Ein gut informierter Zeitungsleser wird sich an dieser Stelle bestätigt fühlen: Ja, so war es damals. Ein Maximum im Sterbegeschehen – wegen der Pandemie. Oder etwa nicht?

2020: Ein historisches Minimum?

Tauchen wir in die Rohdaten des Statistischen Bundesamtes ein. Die Tabellen, die das Amt seit Jahrzehnten verlässlich veröffentlicht, nennen sich Sterbetafeln. Diese werden jährlich bereitgestellt und stehen auf der Website des Bundesamtes zum Download bereit. Ein erster Blick in die Sterbetafeln mag den Laien abschrecken, doch mit einer kurzen Erklärung wird alles verständlich. Wir gehen schrittweise vor.

Nehmen wir die Sterbetafel des Jahres 2017. Sie enthält zwei große Tabellen – eine für Männer und eine für Frauen. Jede Zeile der Tabelle steht für einen Jahrgang, zum Beispiel zeigt die Zeile 79 die Daten der 79-jährigen Männer. Besonders wichtig ist nun die zweite Spalte, in der der Wert 0,05 eingetragen ist. Das bedeutet, dass 5 Prozent der 79-jährigen Männer im Jahr 2017 verstorben sind. Das ist die wichtige Kennzahl. Wenn wir diesen exakten Wert, den man auch als Sterberate bezeichnet, nun in ein Säulendiagramm eintragen, erhalten wir eine leicht verständliche visuelle Darstellung (Grafik 1).

Es ist wichtig zu betonen, dass dieser Wert weder ein Schätzwert noch eine Modellrechnung oder Prognose ist, sondern ein exakter Messwert, basierend auf einer zuverlässigen Zählung. Sterberaten (für die Fachleute auch Sterbewahrscheinlichkeiten qx) sind seit Johann Peter Süßmilch (1707–1767) der Goldstandard der Sterbestatistik. Jeder Aktuar wird das bestätigen. Fügen wir nun die Sterberaten der 79-jährigen Männer aus den Jahren davor und danach hinzu, um das Gesamtbild zu sehen (Grafik 2). Und nun die entscheidende Frage: Zeigt das Jahr 2020 ein Maximum oder ein Minimum?

Ein kritischer Leser könnte vermuten, dass die 79-jährigen Männer eine Ausnahme darstellen und andere Jahrgänge im Jahr 2020 ein Maximum zeigen würden. Doch das trifft nicht zu. Kein einziger Jahrgang verzeichnete im Jahr 2020 ein Maximum. Im Gegenteil: Auch die 1-Jährigen, 2-Jährigen, 3-Jährigen, 9-Jährigen, 10-Jährigen, 15-Jährigen, 18-Jährigen und viele weitere männliche Jahrgänge hatten ihr Minimum im Jahr 2020. Dasselbe gilt bei den Frauen. Insgesamt hatten 31 Jahrgänge ihr Minimum im Jahr 2020. Wenn wir schließlich alle Jahrgänge in einer einzigen Grafik zusammenfassen, ergibt sich ein klares Bild: Das Minimum im Sterbegeschehen lag im Jahr 2020 (Grafik 3).

Ein kritischer Leser könnte nun wiederum vermuten, dass es innerhalb des Jahres 2020 möglicherweise starke Ausschläge nach oben bei einzelnen Jahrgängen gegeben haben könnte, die später durch Ausschläge nach unten ausgeglichen wurden – und dass diese Schwankungen in der jährlichen Übersicht nicht sichtbar sind. Doch auch das trifft nicht zu. Ein Blick auf die wöchentlichen Sterberaten zeigt, dass die ersten acht Monate der Pandemie keine nennenswerten Auffälligkeiten aufweisen. Es bleibt dabei: Die Rohdaten des Statistischen Bundesamtes bestätigen zweifelsfrei, dass die ersten acht Monate der Pandemie das historische Minimum im Sterbegeschehen darstellen. (Für die Fachleute sei angemerkt, dass im gleichen Zeitraum die Lebenserwartung die historischen Höchststände erreicht hatte – Grafik 4.)

So konstruierte das Amt aus einem Minimum ein Maximum:

Zur Erinnerung: Die Rohdaten des Statistischen Bundesamtes, die in den jährlichen Sterbetafeln zweifelsfrei dokumentiert sind, zeigen für das Jahr 2020 eindeutig ein Minimum im Sterbegeschehen. Aus diesen »in Stein gemeißelten« Zahlen ein Maximum zu »konstruieren«, ohne die Rohdaten selbst zu verändern, scheint auf den ersten Blick eine unlösbare Aufgabe. Jeder Student würde an einer solchen Herausforderung scheitern. Doch das Statistische Bundesamt hat einen kreativen Weg gefunden - ein Meisterstück gezielter Manipulation. In fünf Schritten zeigt sich, wie diese Täuschung der Öffentlichkeit umgesetzt wurde:

(1) Ignorieren der Sterberaten: Die präzisen, objektiven und leicht verständlichen Sterberaten aus den eigenen Sterbetafeln wurden konsequent ignoriert und verschwiegen. Diese Daten widersprachen dem gewünschten Narrativ und wurden daher gezielt ausgeklammert.

(2) Fokus auf absolute Todeszahlen: Die Aufmerksamkeit wurde stattdessen auf die absolute Zahl der Todesfälle gelenkt. Diese wirkt allein durch ihre schiere Größe dramatisch und emotionalisiert die Diskussion. Ein entscheidender Faktor wurde dabei ignoriert: Die absolute Zahl der Todesfälle steigt aufgrund der demografischen Entwicklung jedes Jahr an. Viele Menschen verstehen diesen Zusammenhang nicht und verbinden die steigenden Zahlen fälschlicherweise mit der vermeintlichen Pandemie.

(3) Einführung der Übersterblichkeit als neue Kennzahl: Erst ab Beginn der „Pandemie“ wurde die Kennzahl "Übersterblichkeit" eingeführt – und dies mit einer fragwürdigen Methode, die systematisch überhöhte Werte lieferte. Diese Kennzahl wurde regelmäßig, oft monatlich oder sogar wöchentlich, berechnet und diente als ständige Grundlage für alarmierende Schlagzeilen.

(4) Intensive Öffentlichkeitsarbeit: Durch eine breit angelegte Kampagne wurden die manipulativen Kennzahlen gezielt in den Fokus gerückt. Pressemitteilungen, Podcasts und öffentliche Auftritte konzentrierten sich fast ausschließlich auf die absoluten Todeszahlen und die Übersterblichkeit. Ziel war es, den Eindruck einer dramatischen Situation in der Öffentlichkeit zu verstärken.

(5) Bekämpfen kritischer Stimmen: Kritiker, die die Schwächen und manipulativen Aspekte dieser Methoden aufdeckten, wurden systematisch diskreditiert. Ihre Glaubwürdigkeit und Kompetenz wurden öffentlich infrage gestellt, um das sorgsam konstruierte Narrativ zu schützen.

Ohne diesen begleitenden Statistik-Betrug wäre das gesamte Pandemie-Theater meiner Meinung nach nicht möglich gewesen. Wer aus einem faktischen Minimum ein scheinbares Maximum "erschafft", handelt betrügerisch. Die Folgen dieses Betruges sind gravierend. Denken wir an die Angst, die in der Bevölkerung geschürt wurde – die Angst, bald sterben zu müssen. Denken wir an Masken, Abstandsregeln, isolierte ältere Menschen, Kinderimpfungen und all die Maßnahmen, die unter anderem auf diese falsche Statistik zurückgehen.

Wollen wir Bürger uns das gefallen lassen?

Wenn wir als Bürger zulassen, dass ein derart offensichtlicher und nachprüfbarer Täuschungsversuch ohne Konsequenzen bleibt, dann gefährdet das nicht nur die Integrität unserer Institutionen – es untergräbt das Fundament unserer Gesellschaft. In der DDR feierte man öffentlich Planerfüllung und Übererfüllung, während die Regale leer blieben. Damals wusste jeder: Statistik war ein Propagandainstrument. Niemand traute den Zahlen, die das Staatsfernsehen verkündete.

Während der Pandemie war es anders. Die Menschen vertrauten den Mitteilungen des Statistischen Bundesamtes und des RKI – blind. Die Enthüllungen durch den "RKI-Leak" haben gezeigt, dass auch das Robert-Koch-Institut nicht der Wissenschaft, sondern den Weisungen des Gesundheitsministers und militärischen Vorgaben folgte. Warum sollte es beim Statistischen Bundesamt anders gewesen sein? Diese Behörde ist dem Innenministerium unterstellt und somit ebenfalls weisungsgebunden.

Die Beweise für Täuschung liegen offen zutage. Es braucht keinen Whistleblower, keine geheimen Enthüllungen: Die Rohdaten des Statistischen Bundesamtes sprechen für sich. Sie sind öffentlich einsehbar – klar und unmissverständlich. Die Daten, die Tabellen, die Veröffentlichungen des Amtes selbst – sie sind die Anklageschrift. Sie zeigen, was wirklich war. Nicht mehr und nicht weniger.

Und wir? Was tun wir? Schweigen wir? Oder fordern wir endlich ein, was unser Recht ist? Wir Bürger dürfen das nicht hinnehmen. Es ist Zeit, unsere Behörden zur Rechenschaft zu ziehen. Diese Institutionen arbeiten nicht für sich – sie arbeiten für uns. Wir finanzieren sie, und wir haben das Recht, Transparenz und Verantwortung einzufordern. Manipulationen wie diese müssen aufgearbeitet werden und dürfen nie wieder geschehen. Die Strukturen, die solche Fehlentwicklungen in unseren Behörden ermöglicht haben, müssen offengelegt werden. Denn eine Demokratie lebt von Vertrauen – und Vertrauen muss verdient werden. Jeden Tag aufs Neue.

.

.

MARCEL BARZ, Jahrgang 1975, war Offizier der Bundeswehr und studierte Wirtschafts- und Organisationswissenschaften sowie Wirtschaftsinformatik. Er war Gründer und Geschäftsführer einer Softwarefirma, die sich auf Datenanalyse und Softwareentwicklung spezialisiert hatte. Im August 2021 veröffentlichte Barz den Videovortrag »Die Pandemie in den Rohdaten«, der über eine Million Aufrufe erzielte. Seitdem macht er als "Erbsenzähler" auf Widersprüche in amtlichen Statistiken aufmerksam.

@ eac63075:b4988b48

Since its creation in 2009, Bitcoin has symbolized innovation and resilience. However, from time to time, alarmist narratives arise about emerging technologies that could "break" its security. Among these, quantum computing stands out as one of the most recurrent. But does quantum computing truly threaten Bitcoin? And more importantly, what is the community doing to ensure the protocol remains invulnerable?

The answer, contrary to sensationalist headlines, is reassuring: Bitcoin is secure, and the community is already preparing for a future where quantum computing becomes a practical reality. Let’s dive into this topic to understand why the concerns are exaggerated and how the development of BIP-360 demonstrates that Bitcoin is one step ahead.

---

What Is Quantum Computing, and Why Is Bitcoin Not Threatened?

Quantum computing leverages principles of quantum mechanics to perform calculations that, in theory, could exponentially surpass classical computers—and it has nothing to do with what so-called “quantum coaches” teach to scam the uninformed. One of the concerns is that this technology could compromise two key aspects of Bitcoin’s security:

1. Wallets: These use elliptic curve algorithms (ECDSA) to protect private keys. A sufficiently powerful quantum computer could deduce a private key from its public key.
2. Mining: This is based on the SHA-256 algorithm, which secures the consensus process. A quantum attack could, in theory, compromise the proof-of-work mechanism.

---

Understanding Quantum Computing’s Attack Priorities

While quantum computing is often presented as a threat to Bitcoin, not all parts of the network are equally vulnerable. Theoretical attacks would be prioritized based on two main factors: ease of execution and potential reward. This creates two categories of attacks:

1. Attacks on Wallets

Bitcoin wallets, secured by elliptic curve algorithms, would be the initial targets due to the relative vulnerability of their public keys, especially those already exposed on the blockchain. Two attack scenarios stand out:

• Short-term attacks: These occur during the interval between sending a transaction and its inclusion in a block (approximately 10 minutes). A quantum computer could intercept the exposed public key and derive the corresponding private key to redirect funds by creating a transaction with higher fees.

• Long-term attacks: These focus on old wallets whose public keys are permanently exposed. Wallets associated with Satoshi Nakamoto, for example, are especially vulnerable because they were created before the practice of using hashes to mask public keys.

We can infer a priority order for how such attacks might occur based on urgency and importance.

Bitcoin Quantum Attack: Prioritization Matrix (Urgency vs. Importance)

2. Attacks on Mining

Targeting the SHA-256 algorithm, which secures the mining process, would be the next objective. However, this is far more complex and requires a level of quantum computational power that is currently non-existent and far from realization. A successful attack would allow for the recalculation of all possible hashes to dominate the consensus process and potentially "mine" it instantly.

---

Satoshi Nakamoto in 2010 on Quantum Computing and Bitcoin Attacks

Recently, Narcelio asked me about a statement I made on Tubacast:

https://x.com/eddieoz/status/1868371296683511969

If an attack became a reality before Bitcoin was prepared, it would be necessary to define the last block prior to the attack and proceed from there using a new hashing algorithm. The solution would resemble the response to the infamous 2013 bug. It’s a fact that this would cause market panic, and Bitcoin's price would drop significantly, creating a potential opportunity for the well-informed.

Preferably, if developers could anticipate the threat and had time to work on a solution and build consensus before an attack, they would simply decide on a future block for the fork, which would then adopt the new algorithm. It might even rehash previous blocks (reaching consensus on them) to avoid potential reorganization through the re-mining of blocks using the old hash. (I often use the term "shielding" old transactions).

---

How Can Users Protect Themselves?

While quantum computing is still far from being a practical threat, some simple measures can already protect users against hypothetical scenarios:

• Avoid using exposed public keys: Ensure funds sent to old wallets are transferred to new ones that use public key hashes. This reduces the risk of long-term attacks.
• Use modern wallets: Opt for wallets compatible with SegWit or Taproot, which implement better security practices.
• Monitor security updates: Stay informed about updates from the Bitcoin community, such as the implementation of BIP-360, which will introduce quantum-resistant addresses.
• Do not reuse addresses: Every transaction should be associated with a new address to minimize the risk of repeated exposure of the same public key.
• Adopt secure backup practices: Create offline backups of private keys and seeds in secure locations, protected from unauthorized access.

---

BIP-360 and Bitcoin’s Preparation for the Future

Even though quantum computing is still beyond practical reach, the Bitcoin community is not standing still. A concrete example is BIP-360, a proposal that establishes the technical framework to make wallets resistant to quantum attacks.

BIP-360 addresses three main pillars:

1. Introduction of quantum-resistant addresses: A new address format starting with "BC1R" will be used. These addresses will be compatible with post-quantum algorithms, ensuring that stored funds are protected from future attacks.
2. Compatibility with the current ecosystem: The proposal allows users to transfer funds from old addresses to new ones without requiring drastic changes to the network infrastructure.
3. Flexibility for future updates: BIP-360 does not limit the choice of specific algorithms. Instead, it serves as a foundation for implementing new post-quantum algorithms as technology evolves.

This proposal demonstrates how Bitcoin can adapt to emerging threats without compromising its decentralized structure.

---

Post-Quantum Algorithms: The Future of Bitcoin Cryptography

The community is exploring various algorithms to protect Bitcoin from quantum attacks. Among the most discussed are:

• Falcon: A solution combining smaller public keys with compact digital signatures. Although it has been tested in limited scenarios, it still faces scalability and performance challenges.
• Sphincs: Hash-based, this algorithm is renowned for its resilience, but its signatures can be extremely large, making it less efficient for networks like Bitcoin’s blockchain.
• Lamport: Created in 1977, it’s considered one of the earliest post-quantum security solutions. Despite its reliability, its gigantic public keys (16,000 bytes) make it impractical and costly for Bitcoin.

Two technologies show great promise and are well-regarded by the community:

1. Lattice-Based Cryptography: Considered one of the most promising, it uses complex mathematical structures to create systems nearly immune to quantum computing. Its implementation is still in its early stages, but the community is optimistic.
2. Supersingular Elliptic Curve Isogeny: These are very recent digital signature algorithms and require extensive study and testing before being ready for practical market use.

The final choice of algorithm will depend on factors such as efficiency, cost, and integration capability with the current system. Additionally, it is preferable that these algorithms are standardized before implementation, a process that may take up to 10 years.

---

Why Quantum Computing Is Far from Being a Threat

The alarmist narrative about quantum computing overlooks the technical and practical challenges that still need to be overcome. Among them:

• Insufficient number of qubits: Current quantum computers have only a few hundred qubits, whereas successful attacks would require millions.
• High error rate: Quantum stability remains a barrier to reliable large-scale operations.
• High costs: Building and operating large-scale quantum computers requires massive investments, limiting their use to scientific or specific applications.

Moreover, even if quantum computers make significant advancements, Bitcoin is already adapting to ensure its infrastructure is prepared to respond.

---

Conclusion: Bitcoin’s Secure Future

Despite advancements in quantum computing, the reality is that Bitcoin is far from being threatened. Its security is ensured not only by its robust architecture but also by the community’s constant efforts to anticipate and mitigate challenges.

The implementation of BIP-360 and the pursuit of post-quantum algorithms demonstrate that Bitcoin is not only resilient but also proactive. By adopting practical measures, such as using modern wallets and migrating to quantum-resistant addresses, users can further protect themselves against potential threats.

Bitcoin’s future is not at risk—it is being carefully shaped to withstand any emerging technology, including quantum computing.

@ df57b498:d049124f

Chef's notes

This is cobbled together from trial and error and the web.

Serve hot pancakes with preferably butter and maple syrup. Add other toppings like bananas, nuts, or other fruits and toppings as have available and/or desired.

Details

• ⏲️ Prep time: 10 minutes
• 🍳 Cook time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 egg, beaten

Directions

1. Combine the dry ingredients.
2. Add the wet ingredients and mix.
3. Pour or ladle the batter onto the oiled griddle or pan.
4. Cook until bubbles form, flip, and cook on the other side.

@ 6e0ea5d6:0327f353

When talking about the tumbles we experience in our early years, it’s almost impossible not to try to compare the degree of distress that each stumble has provided us.

Even if harmless, the first accident that comes to mind is one that, in some way, left its mark. Whether it’s a scraped knee, a gash on the forehead, or a broken arm: having that first conscious encounter with pain is an unforgettable terror.

For in one moment, we are sheltered in the loving arms of our parents, feeling invulnerable, and moments later there’s a thick mixture of blood and dirt streaming from a cut that doesn’t seem all that exaggerated to someone looking from the outside — but only to those looking from the outside.

However, this is not what makes that first contact with pain so terrifying. It’s the discovery of how lonely we are when facing an individual agony, even under the care of an adult.

Ultimately, what follows the shock can vary from the sting of cleaning the wound to the warning slap. After the understanding is digested, and we learn how wounds are made, we become cautious. A slip is met with laughter, and we grow tougher than the ground.

That is, until we discover the free fall that holds the world’s problems…

“Consciousness, not age, leads to wisdom.” — Publilius Syrus

Thank you for reading, my friend! If this message helped you in any way, consider leaving your glass “🥃” as a token of appreciation.

A toast to our family!

@ f9cf4e94:96abc355

Scuttlebutt foi iniciado em maio de 2014 por Dominic Tarr ( dominictarr ) como uma rede social alternativa off-line, primeiro para convidados, que permite aos usuários obter controle total de seus dados e privacidade. Secure Scuttlebutt (ssb) foi lançado pouco depois, o que coloca a privacidade em primeiro plano com mais recursos de criptografia.

Se você está se perguntando de onde diabos veio o nome Scuttlebutt:

Este termo do século 19 para uma fofoca vem do Scuttlebutt náutico: “um barril de água mantido no convés, com um buraco para uma xícara”. A gíria náutica vai desde o hábito dos marinheiros de se reunir pelo boato até a fofoca, semelhante à fofoca do bebedouro.

Marinheiros se reunindo em torno da rixa. ( fonte )

Dominic descobriu o termo boato em um artigo de pesquisa que leu.

Em sistemas distribuídos, fofocar é um processo de retransmissão de mensagens ponto a ponto; as mensagens são disseminadas de forma análoga ao “boca a boca”.

Secure Scuttlebutt é um banco de dados de feeds imutáveis apenas para acréscimos, otimizado para replicação eficiente para protocolos ponto a ponto. Cada usuário tem um log imutável somente para acréscimos no qual eles podem gravar. Eles gravam no log assinando mensagens com sua chave privada. Pense em um feed de usuário como seu próprio diário de bordo, como um diário de bordo (ou diário do capitão para os fãs de Star Trek), onde eles são os únicos autorizados a escrever nele, mas têm a capacidade de permitir que outros amigos ou colegas leiam ao seu diário de bordo, se assim o desejarem.

Cada mensagem possui um número de sequência e a mensagem também deve fazer referência à mensagem anterior por seu ID. O ID é um hash da mensagem e da assinatura. A estrutura de dados é semelhante à de uma lista vinculada. É essencialmente um log somente de acréscimo de JSON assinado. Cada item adicionado a um log do usuário é chamado de mensagem.

Os logs do usuário são conhecidos como feed e um usuário pode seguir os feeds de outros usuários para receber suas atualizações. Cada usuário é responsável por armazenar seu próprio feed. Quando Alice assina o feed de Bob, Bob baixa o log de feed de Alice. Bob pode verificar se o registro do feed realmente pertence a Alice verificando as assinaturas. Bob pode verificar as assinaturas usando a chave pública de Alice.

Estrutura de alto nível de um feed

Pubs são servidores de retransmissão conhecidos como “super peers”. Pubs conectam usuários usuários e atualizações de fofocas a outros usuários conectados ao Pub. Um Pub é análogo a um pub da vida real, onde as pessoas vão para se encontrar e se socializar. Para ingressar em um Pub, o usuário deve ser convidado primeiro. Um usuário pode solicitar um código de convite de um Pub; o Pub simplesmente gerará um novo código de convite, mas alguns Pubs podem exigir verificação adicional na forma de verificação de e-mail ou, com alguns Pubs, você deve pedir um código em um fórum público ou chat. Pubs também podem mapear aliases de usuário, como e-mails ou nome de usuário, para IDs de chave pública para facilitar os pares de referência.

Depois que o Pub enviar o código de convite ao usuário, o usuário resgatará o código, o que significa que o Pub seguirá o usuário, o que permite que o usuário veja as mensagens postadas por outros membros do Pub, bem como as mensagens de retransmissão do Pub pelo usuário a outros membros do Pub.

Além de retransmitir mensagens entre pares, os Pubs também podem armazenar as mensagens. Se Alice estiver offline e Bob transmitir atualizações de feed, Alice perderá a atualização. Se Alice ficar online, mas Bob estiver offline, não haverá como ela buscar o feed de Bob. Mas com um Pub, Alice pode buscar o feed no Pub mesmo se Bob estiver off-line porque o Pub está armazenando as mensagens. Pubs são úteis porque assim que um colega fica online, ele pode sincronizar com o Pub para receber os feeds de seus amigos potencialmente offline.

Um usuário pode, opcionalmente, executar seu próprio servidor Pub e abri-lo ao público ou permitir que apenas seus amigos participem, se assim o desejarem. Eles também podem ingressar em um Pub público. Aqui está uma lista de Pubs públicos em que todos podem participar . Explicaremos como ingressar em um posteriormente neste guia. Uma coisa importante a observar é que o Secure Scuttlebutt em uma rede social somente para convidados significa que você deve ser “puxado” para entrar nos círculos sociais. Se você responder às mensagens, os destinatários não serão notificados, a menos que estejam seguindo você de volta. O objetivo do SSB é criar “ilhas” isoladas de redes pares, ao contrário de uma rede pública onde qualquer pessoa pode enviar mensagens a qualquer pessoa.

Perspectivas dos participantes

Scuttlebot

O software Pub é conhecido como servidor Scuttlebutt (servidor ssb ), mas também é conhecido como “Scuttlebot” e sbotna linha de comando. O servidor SSB adiciona comportamento de rede ao banco de dados Scuttlebutt (SSB). Estaremos usando o Scuttlebot ao longo deste tutorial.

Os logs do usuário são conhecidos como feed e um usuário pode seguir os feeds de outros usuários para receber suas atualizações. Cada usuário é responsável por armazenar seu próprio feed. Quando Alice assina o feed de Bob, Bob baixa o log de feed de Alice. Bob pode verificar se o registro do feed realmente pertence a Alice verificando as assinaturas. Bob pode verificar as assinaturas usando a chave pública de Alice.

Estrutura de alto nível de um feed

Pubs são servidores de retransmissão conhecidos como “super peers”. Pubs conectam usuários usuários e atualizações de fofocas a outros usuários conectados ao Pub. Um Pub é análogo a um pub da vida real, onde as pessoas vão para se encontrar e se socializar. Para ingressar em um Pub, o usuário deve ser convidado primeiro. Um usuário pode solicitar um código de convite de um Pub; o Pub simplesmente gerará um novo código de convite, mas alguns Pubs podem exigir verificação adicional na forma de verificação de e-mail ou, com alguns Pubs, você deve pedir um código em um fórum público ou chat. Pubs também podem mapear aliases de usuário, como e-mails ou nome de usuário, para IDs de chave pública para facilitar os pares de referência.

Depois que o Pub enviar o código de convite ao usuário, o usuário resgatará o código, o que significa que o Pub seguirá o usuário, o que permite que o usuário veja as mensagens postadas por outros membros do Pub, bem como as mensagens de retransmissão do Pub pelo usuário a outros membros do Pub.

Além de retransmitir mensagens entre pares, os Pubs também podem armazenar as mensagens. Se Alice estiver offline e Bob transmitir atualizações de feed, Alice perderá a atualização. Se Alice ficar online, mas Bob estiver offline, não haverá como ela buscar o feed de Bob. Mas com um Pub, Alice pode buscar o feed no Pub mesmo se Bob estiver off-line porque o Pub está armazenando as mensagens. Pubs são úteis porque assim que um colega fica online, ele pode sincronizar com o Pub para receber os feeds de seus amigos potencialmente offline.

Um usuário pode, opcionalmente, executar seu próprio servidor Pub e abri-lo ao público ou permitir que apenas seus amigos participem, se assim o desejarem. Eles também podem ingressar em um Pub público. Aqui está uma lista de Pubs públicos em que todos podem participar . Explicaremos como ingressar em um posteriormente neste guia. Uma coisa importante a observar é que o Secure Scuttlebutt em uma rede social somente para convidados significa que você deve ser “puxado” para entrar nos círculos sociais. Se você responder às mensagens, os destinatários não serão notificados, a menos que estejam seguindo você de volta. O objetivo do SSB é criar “ilhas” isoladas de redes pares, ao contrário de uma rede pública onde qualquer pessoa pode enviar mensagens a qualquer pessoa.

Perspectivas dos participantes

Pubs - Hubs

Pubs públicos

| Pub Name | Operator | Invite Code | | ------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------ | | scuttle.us | @Ryan | scuttle.us:8008:@WqcuCOIpLtXFRw/9vOAQJti8avTZ9vxT9rKrPo8qG6o=.ed25519~/ZUi9Chpl0g1kuWSrmehq2EwMQeV0Pd+8xw8XhWuhLE= | | pub1.upsocial.com | @freedomrules | pub1.upsocial.com:8008:@gjlNF5Cyw3OKZxEoEpsVhT5Xv3HZutVfKBppmu42MkI=.ed25519~lMd6f4nnmBZEZSavAl4uahl+feajLUGqu8s2qdoTLi8= | | Monero Pub | @Denis | xmr-pub.net:8008:@5hTpvduvbDyMLN2IdzDKa7nx7PSem9co3RsOmZoyyCM=.ed25519~vQU+r2HUd6JxPENSinUWdfqrJLlOqXiCbzHoML9iVN4= | | FreeSocial | @Jarland | pub.freesocial.co:8008:@ofYKOy2p9wsaxV73GqgOyh6C6nRGFM5FyciQyxwBd6A=.ed25519~ye9Z808S3KPQsV0MWr1HL0/Sh8boSEwW+ZK+8x85u9w= | | ssb.vpn.net.br | @coffeverton | ssb.vpn.net.br:8008:@ze8nZPcf4sbdULvknEFOCbVZtdp7VRsB95nhNw6/2YQ=.ed25519~D0blTolH3YoTwSAkY5xhNw8jAOjgoNXL/+8ZClzr0io= | | gossip.noisebridge.info | Noisebridge Hackerspace @james.network | gossip.noisebridge.info:8008:@2NANnQVdsoqk0XPiJG2oMZqaEpTeoGrxOHJkLIqs7eY=.ed25519~JWTC6+rPYPW5b5zCion0gqjcJs35h6JKpUrQoAKWgJ4= |

Pubs privados

Você precisará entrar em contato com os proprietários desses bares para receber um convite.

| Pub Name | Operator | Contact | | --------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------ | ----------------------------------------------- | | many.butt.nz | @dinosaur | mikey@enspiral.com | | one.butt.nz | @dinosaur | mikey@enspiral.com | | ssb.mikey.nz | @dinosaur | mikey@enspiral.com | | ssb.celehner.com | @cel | cel@celehner.com |

Pubs muito grandes

Aviso: embora tecnicamente funcione usar um convite para esses pubs, você provavelmente se divertirá se o fizer devido ao seu tamanho (muitas coisas para baixar, risco para bots / spammers / idiotas)

| Pub Name | Operator | Invite Code | | --------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------ | | scuttlebutt.de | SolSoCoG | scuttlebutt.de:8008:@yeh/GKxlfhlYXSdgU7CRLxm58GC42za3tDuC4NJld/k=.ed25519~iyaCpZ0co863K9aF+b7j8BnnHfwY65dGeX6Dh2nXs3c= | | Lohn's Pub | @lohn | p.lohn.in:8018:@LohnKVll9HdLI3AndEc4zwGtfdF/J7xC7PW9B/JpI4U=.ed25519~z3m4ttJdI4InHkCtchxTu26kKqOfKk4woBb1TtPeA/s= | | Scuttle Space | @guil-dot | Visit scuttle.space | | SSB PeerNet US-East | timjrobinson | us-east.ssbpeer.net:8008:@sTO03jpVivj65BEAJMhlwtHXsWdLd9fLwyKAT1qAkc0=.ed25519~sXFc5taUA7dpGTJITZVDCRy2A9jmkVttsr107+ufInU= | | Hermies | s | net:hermies.club:8008~shs:uMYDVPuEKftL4SzpRGVyQxLdyPkOiX7njit7+qT/7IQ=:SSB+Room+PSK3TLYC2T86EHQCUHBUHASCASE18JBV24= |

GUI - Interface Gráfica do Utilizador(Usuário)

Patchwork - Uma GUI SSB (Descontinuado)

Patchwork é o aplicativo de mensagens e compartilhamento descentralizado construído em cima do SSB . O protocolo scuttlebutt em si não mantém um conjunto de feeds nos quais um usuário está interessado, então um cliente é necessário para manter uma lista de feeds de pares em que seu respectivo usuário está interessado e seguindo.

Fonte: scuttlebutt.nz

Quando você instala e executa o Patchwork, você só pode ver e se comunicar com seus pares em sua rede local. Para acessar fora de sua LAN, você precisa se conectar a um Pub. Um pub é apenas para convidados e eles retransmitem mensagens entre você e seus pares fora de sua LAN e entre outros Pubs.

Lembre-se de que você precisa seguir alguém para receber mensagens dessa pessoa. Isso reduz o envio de mensagens de spam para os usuários. Os usuários só veem as respostas das pessoas que seguem. Os dados são sincronizados no disco para funcionar offline, mas podem ser sincronizados diretamente com os pares na sua LAN por wi-fi ou bluetooth.

Patchbay - Uma GUI Alternativa

Patchbay é um cliente de fofoca projetado para ser fácil de modificar e estender. Ele usa o mesmo banco de dados que Patchwork e Patchfoo , então você pode facilmente dar uma volta com sua identidade existente.

Planetary - GUI para IOS

Planetary é um app com pubs pré-carregados para facilitar integração.

Manyverse - GUI para Android

Manyverse é um aplicativo de rede social com recursos que você esperaria: posts, curtidas, perfis, mensagens privadas, etc. Mas não está sendo executado na nuvem de propriedade de uma empresa, em vez disso, as postagens de seus amigos e todos os seus dados sociais vivem inteiramente em seu telefone .

Fontes

• https://scuttlebot.io/

• https://decentralized-id.com/decentralized-web/scuttlebot/#plugins

• https://medium.com/@miguelmota/getting-started-with-secure-scuttlebut-e6b7d4c5ecfd

• Secure Scuttlebutt : um protocolo de banco de dados global.

@ 9e69e420:d12360c2

Chef's notes

arbitray

• test
• of
• chefs notes

hedding 2

Details

• ⏲️ Prep time: 20
• 🍳 Cook time: 1 hour
• 🍽️ Servings: 5

Ingredients

• Test ingredient
• 2nd test ingredient

Directions

1. Bake
2. Cool

@ 30b99916:3cc6e3fe

Details

• 🍳 Cook time: 10 to 8 minutes at 350
• 🍽️ Servings: About 4 dozen cookies

Ingredients

• 2 sticks of butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1 t vanilla
• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 t salt
• 1 t soda
• 6 oz Semi-Sweet Chocolate chips (optional)

Directions

1. Blend butter, eggs, vanilla and sugars together thoroughly
2. Next blend in peanut butter thoroughly
3. Next blend in flour, salt, and soda thoroughly
4. Optional blend in chocolate chips
5. Add about table spoon of cookie dough per cookie on a cookie sheet. With a fork based in sugar place a cross hatch pattern on each cookie. Bake cookies for 10 to 8 minutes and place onto cooler rack.

@ 6be5cc06:5259daf0

Um dos padrões mais bem estabelecidos ao medir a opinião pública é que cada geração tende a seguir um caminho semelhante em termos de política e ideologia geral. Seus membros compartilham das mesmas experiências formativas, atingem os marcos importantes da vida ao mesmo tempo e convivem nos mesmos espaços. Então, como devemos entender os relatórios que mostram que a Geração Z é hiperprogressista em certos assuntos, mas surpreendentemente conservadora em outros?

A resposta, nas palavras de Alice Evans, pesquisadora visitante na Universidade de Stanford e uma das principais estudiosas do tema, é que os jovens de hoje estão passando por um grande divergência de gênero, com as jovens mulheres do primeiro grupo e os jovens homens do segundo. A Geração Z representa duas gerações, e não apenas uma.

Em países de todos os continentes, surgiu um distanciamento ideológico entre jovens homens e mulheres. Milhões de pessoas que compartilham das mesmas cidades, locais de trabalho, salas de aula e até casas, não veem mais as coisas da mesma maneira.

Nos Estados Unidos, os dados da Gallup mostram que, após décadas em que os sexos estavam distribuídos de forma relativamente equilibrada entre visões políticas liberais e conservadoras, as mulheres entre 18 e 30 anos são agora 30 pontos percentuais mais liberais do que os homens dessa faixa etária. Essa diferença surgiu em apenas seis anos.

A Alemanha também apresenta um distanciamento de 30 pontos entre homens jovens conservadores e mulheres jovens progressistas, e no Reino Unido, a diferença é de 25 pontos. Na Polônia, no ano passado, quase metade dos homens entre 18 e 21 anos apoiou o partido de extrema direita Confederation, em contraste com apenas um sexto das jovens mulheres dessa mesma idade.

Fora do Ocidente, há divisões ainda mais acentuadas. Na Coreia do Sul, há um enorme abismo entre homens e mulheres jovens, e a situação é semelhante na China. Na África, a Tunísia apresenta o mesmo padrão. Vale notar que em todos os países essa divisão drástica ocorre principalmente entre a geração mais jovem, sendo muito menos pronunciada entre homens e mulheres na faixa dos 30 anos ou mais velhos.

O movimento # MeToo foi o principal estopim, trazendo à tona valores feministas intensos entre jovens mulheres que se sentiram empoderadas para denunciar injustiças de longa data. Esse estopim encontrou especialmente terreno fértil na Coreia do Sul, onde a desigualdade de gênero é bastante visível e a misoginia explícita é comum. (palavras da Financial Times, eu só traduzi)

Na eleição presidencial da Coreia do Sul em 2022, enquanto homens e mulheres mais velhos votaram de forma unificada, os jovens homens apoiaram fortemente o partido de direita People Power, enquanto as jovens mulheres apoiaram o partido liberal Democratic em números quase iguais e opostos.

A situação na Coreia é extrema, mas serve como um alerta para outros países sobre o que pode acontecer quando jovens homens e mulheres se distanciam. A sociedade está dividida, a taxa de casamento despencou e a taxa de natalidade caiu drasticamente, chegando a 0,78 filhos por mulher em 2022, o menor número no mundo todo.

Sete anos após a explosão inicial do movimento # MeToo, a divergência de gênero em atitudes tornou-se autossustentável.

Dados das pesquisas mostram que em muitos países, as diferenças ideológicas vão além dessa questão específica. A divisão progressista-conservadora sobre assédio sexual parece ter causado ou pelo menos faz parte de um alinhamento mais amplo, em que jovens homens e mulheres estão se organizando em grupos conservadores e liberais em outros assuntos.

Nos EUA, Reino Unido e Alemanha, as jovens mulheres agora adotam posturas mais liberais sobre temas como imigração e justiça racial, enquanto grupos etários mais velhos permanecem equilibrados. A tendência na maioria dos países tem sido de mulheres se inclinando mais para a esquerda, enquanto os homens permanecem estáveis. No entanto, há sinais de que os jovens homens estão se movendo para a direita na Alemanha, tornando-se mais críticos em relação à imigração e se aproximando do partido de extrema direita AfD nos últimos anos.

Seria fácil dizer que tudo isso é apenas uma fase passageira, mas os abismos ideológicos apenas crescem, e os dados mostram que as experiências políticas formativas das pessoas são difíceis de mudar. Tudo isso é agravado pelo fato de que o aumento dos smartphones e das redes sociais faz com que os jovens homens e mulheres agora vivam em espaços separados e tenham culturas distintas.

As opiniões dos jovens frequentemente são ignoradas devido à baixa participação política, mas essa mudança pode deixar consequências duradouras, impactando muito mais do que apenas os resultados das eleições.

Retirado de: https://www.ft.com/content/29fd9b5c-2f35-41bf-9d4c-994db4e12998

@ 266815e0:6cd408a5

I've been working on the applesauce libraries for a while now but I think this release is the first one I would consider to be stable enough to use

A lot of the core concepts and classes are in place and stable enough where they wont change too much next release

If you want to skip straight to the documentation you can find at hzrd149.github.io/applesauce or the typescript docs at hzrd149.github.io/applesauce/typedoc

Whats new

Accounts

The applesauce-accounts package is an extension of the applesauce-signers package and provides classes for building a multi-account system for clients

Its primary features are - Serialize and deserialize accounts so they can be saved in local storage or IndexededDB - Account manager for multiple accounts and switching between them - Account metadata for things like labels, app settings, etc - Support for NIP-46 Nostr connect accounts

see documentation for more examples

Nostr connect signer

The NostrConnectSigner class from the applesauce-signers package is now in a stable state and has a few new features - Ability to create nostrconnect:// URIs and waiting for the remote signer to connect - SDK agnostic way of subscribing and publishing to relays

For a simple example, here is how to create a signer from a bunker:// URI js const signer = await NostrConnectSigner.fromBunkerURI( "bunker://266815e0c9210dfa324c6cba3573b14bee49da4209a9456f9484e5106cd408a5?relay=wss://relay.nsec.app&secret=d9aa70", { permissions: NostrConnectSigner.buildSigningPermissions([0, 1, 3, 10002]), async onSubOpen(filters, relays, onEvent) { // manually open REQ }, async onSubClose() { // close previouse REQ }, async onPublishEvent(event, relays) { // Pubilsh an event to relays }, }, );

see documentation for more examples and other signers

Event Factory

The EventFactory class is probably what I'm most proud of. its a standalone class that can be used to create various types of events from templates (blueprints) and is really simple to use

For example: ```js import { EventFactory } from "applesauce-factory"; import { NoteBlueprint } from "applesauce-factory/blueprints";

const factory = new EventFactory({ // optionally pass a NIP-07 signer in to use for encryption / decryption signer: window.nostr });

// Create a kind 1 note with a hashtag let draft = await factory.create(NoteBlueprint, "hello world #grownostr"); // Sign the note so it can be published let signed = await window.nostr.signEvent(draft); ```

Its included in the applesauce-factory package and can be used with any other nostr SDKs or vanilla javascript

It also can be used to modify existing replaceable events

js let draft = await factory.modifyTags( // kind 10002 event mailboxes, // add outbox relays addOutboxRelay("wss://relay.io/"), addOutboxRelay("wss://nostr.wine/"), // remove inbox relay removeInboxRelay("wss://personal.old-relay.com/") );

see documentation for more examples

Loaders

The applesauce-loaders package exports a bunch of loader classes that can be used to load everything from replaceable events (profiles) to timelines and NIP-05 identities

They use rx-nostr under the hood to subscribe to relays, so for the time being they will not work with other nostr SDKs

I don't expect many other developers or apps to use them since in my experience every nostr client requires a slightly different way or loading events

They are stable enough to start using but they are not fully tested and they might change slightly in the future

The following is a short list of the loaders and what they can be used for - ReplaceableLoader loads any replaceable events (0, 3, 1xxxx, 3xxxx) - SingleEventLoader loads single events based on ids - TimelineLoader loads a timeline of events from multiple relays based on filters - TagValueLoader loads events based on a tag name (like "e") and a value, can be used to load replies, zaps, reactions, etc - DnsIdentityLoader loads NIP-05 identities and supports caching - UserSetsLoader loads all lists events for users

see documentation for more examples

Real tests

For all new features and a lot of existing ones I'm trying to write tests to ensure I don't leave unexpected bugs for later

I'm not going to pretend its 100% tests coverage or that it will ever get close to that point, but these tests cover some of the core classes and help me prove that my code is doing what it says its supposed to do

At the moment there are about 230 tests covering 45 files. not much but its a start

Apps built using applesauce

If you want to see some examples of applesauce being used in a nostr client I've been testing a lot of this code in production on the apps I've built in the last few months

• noStrudel The main app everything is being built for and tested in
• nsite-manager Still a work-in-progress but supports multiple accounts thanks to the applesauce-accounts package
• blossomservers.com A simple (and incomplete) nostr client for listing and reviewing public blossom servers
• libretranslate-dvm A libretranslate DVM for nostr:npub1mkvkflncllnvp3adq57klw3wge6k9llqa4r60g42ysp4yyultx6sykjgnu
• cherry-tree A chunked blob uploader / downloader. only uses applesauce for boilerplate
• nsite-homepage A simple landing page for nsite.lol

Thanks to nostr:npub1cesrkrcuelkxyhvupzm48e8hwn4005w0ya5jyvf9kh75mfegqx0q4kt37c for teaching me more about rxjs and consequentially making me re-write a lot of the core observables to be faster

@ 6f3670d9:03f04036

Disclaimer: - This will void your warranty - There might be differences between the Bitaxe and the Lucky Miner that might not cause issues or damage immediately, but might manifest long-term - Proceed at your own risk

---

A Different Pickaxe

You live in a place where it's difficult to get a Bitaxe. You have access to AliExpress. You look around. You find something called the "Lucky Miner LV06". A Bitaxe clone that uses the same mining chip as the Bitaxe Ultra (BM1366 ASIC). You buy one.

You plug it in, you enter your wallet address and other settings, and it starts mining. It works! Great!

But it's running a customized firmware. It's not AxeOS. Maybe there's something shady in the stock firmware. It's not open-source, after all. Also, AxeOS looks amazing... And that automatic pool fail-over feature is handy.

You think to yourself: "Maybe I can use the Bitaxe firmware on this?". Guess what? You're right!

Flashing From Web UI

What usually works for me is to: - Download the Bitaxe firmware files (esp-miner.bin and www.bin) from GitHub (here). Version 2.4.1 seems to work well, as of this writing. - Then from the Lucky Miner web interface, upload the "Website" (www.bin) file. - Wait for a minute or two after it's done uploading. - Upload the "Firmware" (esp-miner.bin) file. - Wait another minute or two. - Unplug the power and plug it back in. - Set the "Core Voltage" and "Frequency" to the defaults. - Unplug the power and plug it back in again.

If you're lucky (no pun intended), you'll have a working Lucky Miner with AxeOS. Update the settings and mine away!

However, often times I've been unlucky, like what happened while I was writing this article, ironically. The miner malfunctions for no obvious reason. It keeps rebooting, or it's not mining (zero/low hashrate), or the web interface is inaccessible. You name it.

The miner has become a "brick". How do you "unbrick" it?

When you brick a Bitaxe, you can recover it by flashing (uploading) a "Factory Image". The Bitaxe has a USB port that makes this easy. Follow the guide and it should come back to life again. Unfortunately, the Lucky Miner LV06 doesn't have a USB port. It has a serial port, though. We'll have to get our hands a bit dirty.

Flashing Using the Serial Port

We need to connect the serial port of the miner to a computer and run a program to flash (upload) the firmware file on the miner. Any 3.3v UART serial port should be sufficient. Unfortunately, PCs don't usually come with a UART serial port these days, let alone a 3.3v one. The serial port common in old computers is an RS-232 port, which will most probably fry your miner if you try to connect it directly. Beware.

In my case, as a serial port for my PC, I'm using an Arduino Due I had lying around. We connect it to the PC through USB, and on the other side we connect a few wires to the miner, which gives the PC access to the miner.

WARNING: Make sure your serial port is 3.3v or you will probably kill the miner. Arduino Uno is 5v not 3.3v, for example, and cannot be used for this.

Wiring

First, we need to open the Lucky Miner. Use a small flat screwdriver to gently push the two plastic clips shown in the picture below. Gently pry the top cover away from the bottom cover on the clips side first, then remove the other side. Be careful not to break the display cable.

Once the cover is off, you can find the miner's serial port in the top right corner (J10), as shown in the next picture. We'll also need the reset button (EN).

There are three screws holding the PCB and the bottom cover together. If you're confident in your ability to push the small button on the underside of the PCB with the bottom cover on, then no need to remove these. The following picture shows what we need from that side.

And the next picture shows the pins and USB port we will use from the Arduino.

Now, we need to connect: - The USB port on the Arduino labelled "programming" to the PC - Pin 18 (TX1) on the Arduino to J10 through-hole pad 5 (blue dot) - Pin 19 (RX1) on the Arduino to J10 through-hole pad 3 (green dot) - Any GND pin on the Arduino to J10 through-hole pad 4 (yellow dot)

I didn't need to solder the wires to the pads. Keeping everything stable, perhaps by putting a weight on the wires or a bit of tape, was sufficient in all my attempts.

Setting up the Arduino

To use the Arduino as a serial port for our PC, we'll have to make it pass-through data back and forth between the USB port and UART1, where we connected the miner.

The following steps are all done on a PC running Debian Linux (Bookworm), in the spirit of freedom and open-source.

First, we start the Arduino IDE. If the package for the Arduino Due board is not already installed, you'll see a small prompt at the bottom. Click "Install this package".

Click the "Install" button.

Once the package is installed, click "Close".

Next, we select the Due board. Click the "Tools" menu, select "Board", select "Arduino ARM (32-bits) Boards" and click "Arduino Due (Programming Port)"

Next, we select the port. Click the "Tools" menu again, select "Port", and click the port where the Arduino is connected. In my case it was "/dev/ttyACM0".

Now we need to upload the following code to the Arduino board. The code is actually the "SerialPassthrough" example from the IDE, but with the serial speed changed to match the miner.

``` void setup() { Serial.begin(115200); Serial1.begin(115200); }

void loop() { if (Serial.available()) { // If anything comes in Serial (USB), Serial1.write(Serial.read()); // read it and send it out Serial1 }

if (Serial1.available()) { // If anything comes in Serial1 Serial.write(Serial1.read()); // read it and send it out Serial (USB) } } ```

Copy/paste the code into the IDE and click upload. You'll see "Done uploading" at the bottom.

Next we'll test if we're receiving data from the miner. We start by opening the "Serial Monitor" from the "Tools" menu in the IDE. Then we change the baudrate to 115200.

Set the Arduino and the miner in a comfortable position, make sure the wires are held in place and got a good contact on both sides, and the power is plugged in.

Now we'll put the miner in "download" mode. Press and hold the button on the underside (K1), press and release the reset button (EN), then release the other button (K1).

You should see some text from the miner in the serial monitor window, like in the picture below.

Congratulations! We know we're able to receive data from the miner now. We're not sure transmit is working, but we'll find out when we try to flash.

Flashing Using the Serial Port, for Real

To flash the Lucky Miner we'll need a software tool named esptool and the factory image firmware file.

I usually use "esp-miner-factory-205-v2.1.8.bin" for the factory image (this one) as a base, and then flash the version I want from the Web UI, using the steps I mentioned earlier.

For esptool, the documentation (here) shows us how to install it. To make things a little easier on our Debian Linux system, we'll use pipx instead of pip. The instructions below are adapted for that.

First we make sure pipx is installed. Run this command in a terminal and follow the instructions:

sudo apt-get install pipx

Then we install esptool using pipx. Run the following in a terminal:

pipx install esptool

The output will be something like this:

user@pc:~$ pipx install esptool installed package esptool 4.8.1, installed using Python 3.11.2 These apps are now globally available - esp_rfc2217_server.py - espefuse.py - espsecure.py - esptool.py ⚠️ Note: '/home/user/.local/bin' is not on your PATH environment variable. These apps will not be globally accessible until your PATH is updated. Run `pipx ensurepath` to automatically add it, or manually modify your PATH in your shell's config file (i.e. ~/.bashrc). done! ✨ 🌟 ✨

We can see pipx telling us we won't be able to run our tool because the folder where it was installed is not in the PATH variable. To fix that, we can follow pipx instructions and run:

pipx ensurepath

And we'll see something like this:

``` user@pc:~$ pipx ensurepath Success! Added /home/user/.local/bin to the PATH environment variable.

Consider adding shell completions for pipx. Run 'pipx completions' for instructions.

You will need to open a new terminal or re-login for the PATH changes to take effect.

Otherwise pipx is ready to go! ✨ 🌟 ✨ ```

Now, close the terminal and re-open it so that esptool becomes available.

Finally, to actually flash the miner, put the miner in download mode, then in the following command change the port ("/dev/ttyACM0") to your serial port, as we've seen earlier, and the file path to where your firmware file is, and run it:

esptool.py -p /dev/ttyACM0 --baud 115200 write_flash --erase-all 0x0 ~/Downloads/esp-miner-factory-205-v2.1.8.bin

If everything went fine, the tool will take a few minutes to flash the firmware to the miner. You'll see something like this in the output:

``` user@pc:~$ esptool.py -p /dev/ttyACM0 --baud 115200 write_flash --erase-all 0x0 ~/Downloads/esp-miner-factory-205-v2.1.8.bin esptool.py v4.8.1 Serial port /dev/ttyACM0 Connecting..... Detecting chip type... ESP32-S3 Chip is ESP32-S3 (QFN56) (revision v0.2) Features: WiFi, BLE, Embedded PSRAM 8MB (AP_3v3) Crystal is 40MHz MAC: 3c:84:27:ba:be:01 Uploading stub... Running stub... Stub running... Configuring flash size... Erasing flash (this may take a while)... Chip erase completed successfully in 9.5s Compressed 15802368 bytes to 1320190... Wrote 15802368 bytes (1320190 compressed) at 0x00000000 in 152.1 seconds (effective 831.2 kbit/s)... Hash of data verified.

Leaving... Hard resetting via RTS pin... ```

And we're done! Hopefully the miner will be recovered now.

Hope this helps!

Stay humble,
dumb-package

A Warning About Beta Versions of AxeOS

For reasons unknown to me, while I was writing this article I wanted to try the testing version of AxeOS, which was v2.4.1b (beta). Flashing from Web UI went smooth, but the miner stopped mining. I flashed back to v2.1.8 using the serial port, a known good version for me, but it wouldn't mine, still.

Thankfully, v2.4.1 was released recently, and flashing it from the Web UI magically revived my miner. So, be warned.

Bonus: File Hashes

For convenience, these are the SHA256 hashes of the files I used in this article: ``` da24fceb246f3b8b4dd94e5143f17bd38e46e5285e807ebd51627cb08f665c0a ESP-Miner-v2.4.1/esp-miner.bin 16c5c671391f0e3e88a3e79ce33fad3b0ec232b8572fad5e1e0d1ad3251ab394 ESP-Miner-v2.4.1/www.bin

d5182a15b6fa21d7b9b31bff2026d30afed9d769781a48db914730a5751e20c6 esp-miner-factory-205-v2.1.8.bin ```

@ dbb19ae0:c3f22d5a

Tested and working with nostr_sdk version 0.39 ``` python from nostr_sdk import Metadata, Client, Keys, Filter, PublicKey from datetime import timedelta import argparse import asyncio import json

async def main(npub): client = Client() await client.add_relay("wss://relay.damus.io") await client.connect() pk = PublicKey.parse(npub) print(f"\nGetting profile metadata for {npub}:") metadata = await client.fetch_metadata(pk, timedelta(seconds=15))

# Printing each field of the Metadata object
print(f"Name: {metadata.get_name()}")
print(f"Display Name: {metadata.get_display_name()}")
print(f"About: {metadata.get_about()}")
print(f"Website: {metadata.get_website()}")
print(f"Picture: {metadata.get_picture()}")
print(f"Banner: {metadata.get_banner()}")
print(f"NIP05: {metadata.get_nip05()}")
print(f"LUD06: {metadata.get_lud06()}")
print(f"LUD16: {metadata.get_lud16()}")
#print(f"Custom: {metadata.get_custom()}")

if name == 'main': parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description='Fetch all metadata for a given npub') parser.add_argument('npub', type=str, help='The npub of the user') args = parser.parse_args() asyncio.run(main(args.npub)) ```

@ 6f3670d9:03f04036

This is my first long-form post. The starting line.

There's nothing of value here. Just using this as a marker.

I hope to post a lot more. Documenting how I made something work would be very useful to me, and hopefully others, but I've been too lazy to do that. Wish me luck!

Stay humble,
dumb-package

@ 6e0ea5d6:0327f353

Your father may have warned you when he saw you hanging out with bad company: "Remember, you become your friends."

A maxim from Goethe conveys this idea even better: "Tell me who you walk with, and I’ll tell you who you are."

Be mindful of who you allow into your life—not as an arrogant snob, but as someone striving to cultivate the best possible life.

Ask yourself about the people you know and spend time with: Are they making me better? Do they encourage me to move forward and hold me accountable? Or do they drag me down to their level?

Now, with that in mind, ask yourself the most important question: Should I spend more or less time with these people?

The second part of Goethe's quote reminds us of what is at stake in this choice:

"If I know how you spend your time," he said, "then I know what you may become."

"Above all, keep this in mind: never get so attached to your old friends and acquaintances that you are dragged down to their level. If you do not, you will be ruined. [...] You must choose whether you want to be loved by these friends and remain the same or become a better person at the expense of those associations. [...] If you try to do both, you will never make progress nor retain what you once had."

—Epictetus, Discourses

📌 "Remember that if you join someone covered in dirt, you can hardly avoid getting a little dirty yourself."

—Epictetus, Discourses

📚 (Excerpt from The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday)

Thank you for reading, my friend! If this message helped you in any way, consider leaving your glass “🥃” as a token of appreciation.

A toast to our family!

@ c69b71dc:426ba763

Chef's notes

This raw vegan curry ramen is a vibrant, nourishing dish packed with fresh vegetables and a rich, creamy coconut curry broth. It’s quick to prepare, full of flavour, and the perfect guilt-free comfort food! 🌱 Feel free to use your favourite veggies👩🏼‍🍳

Details

• ⏲️ Prep time: 20 min.
• 🍳 Cook time: 0
• 🍽️ Servings: 2

Ingredients

• 500g or 2 packs kelp noodles
• 1/2 Lemon juice ( 1/4 for soaking and 1/4 for the soup
• Salt
• Fresh vegetables of your choice, such as: 4 medium mushrooms, 4 leaves red cabbage, 2 carrots (julienned or peeled into strips), 1 Celery stick (diced)
• 2 cups coconut milk (or coconut cream diluted with water)
• 1/2 flesh of a Coconut (optional, if using fresh coconuts) otherwise more coconut cream
• 1 thumb of fresh ginger
• 1 thumb of fresh turmeric
• 2 tbsp light miso paste
• 2 pitted dates
• 2 tbsp cashews
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tsp curry powder or pepper (optional)

Directions

1. Prepare the Noodles: Rinse the kelp noodles thoroughly. Then soak them in warm water with a squeeze of lemon juice and a pinch of salt for 10 minutes to soften.
2. Prep the Vegetables: Thinly slice or julienne carrots, dice celery, thinly cut mushrooms, cut the red cabbage into thin strips.
3. Make the Broth: In a blender, combine the following: 2 cups coconut milk (or coconut cream diluted with water if fresh coconuts are unavailable), ginger, turmeric, 1/4 juice of 1 lemon, light miso paste, pitted dates, cashews, garlic, salt, curry powder
4. Blend on high speed for about 3 to 4 minutes until the broth is smooth and slightly warm. Do not overheat!
5. Assemble the Ramen: Drain the kelp noodles and place them in serving bowls. Arrange the prepped vegetables on top of the noodles. Pour the warm curry broth over the noodles and vegetables.
6. Serve immediately and enjoy your raw vegan ramen with chopsticks for an authentic touch!

@ d1b118c6:4985b38d

Chef's notes

Let me know how it goes for you https://maria.omg.lol

Details

• ⏲️ Prep time: 5-20 minutes
• 🍳 Cook time: 20-40 minutes
• 🍽️ Servings: As many as you want omg!!!!

Ingredients

• Spaghetti/whatever pasta you want
• Garlic/smashed or diced as much as you want
• Tomatoes/ diced or more liquid state whatever you want
• Scallops/ I use the frozen bagged mini kind and just do a couple handfuls as many as you want
• Butter and/or olive oil but the butter is v good imo but also I used both
• Bacon/ make it extra crispy and then crumble up as much as you want
• Whatever seasonings

Directions

1. Set oven to 400° or so
2. Put all your bacon 🥓 strips onto tin foil lined baking sheet/s and then put the trays in the oven for 15-20 min
3. Boil up your pasta in salty water
4. Pull the bacon out when done
5. In a pan cook up the scallops real quick like 5-10 min idk
6. Sauté the tomatoes and garlic and whatever use whatever seasons and lots of butter
7. Strain the pasta when it’s ready
8. Mix pasta and sautéed sauce
9. Add more crumbled bacon on top #garnish

@ e7bc35f8:3ed2a7cf

With all these decades and - in the case of the oldest democracies - centuries of broken political promises, you’d think that the public would have caught on to the game by now. But no. Still expecting political saviours.

Every election cycle, the public hears how this politician will deliver the nation from its economic woes or that politician will restore a country to its former greatness.

In 1916, Woodrow Wilson was re-elected as president of the United States on the back of his popular campaign slogan, "He Kept Us Out of War". But like all of the presumptive political saviours of the democratic age - in which popularity contests determine who seizes power and the public is swayed by the nicest sounding promises - Wilson, too, promptly broke his word. Just five months after his re-election, he oversaw US entry into the First World War and gave his now-famous speech assuring the public that getting the US into war was necessary to make the world "safe for democracy".

Similarly, Lyndon B. Johnson won election in 1964 promising to limit America’s involvement in Vietnam. "Some others are eager to enlarge the conflict. They call upon us to supply American boys to do the job that Asian boys should do". But this, too, was just another swiftly broken promise by yet another political "saviour". "Air action is now in execution against gunboats and certain supporting facilities in North Vietnam".

Laughably, even George W. Bush "won" the election in 2000 promising a humble American foreign policy and a vow to only fight short, winnable wars with well-defined objectives.

GEORGE W. BUSH:

But I’m gonna be judicious as to how to use the military. It needs to be in our vital interest, the mission needs to be clear and the exit strategy obvious.

And then:

BUSH:

On my orders, coalition forces have begun [sic] striking selected targets of military importance to undermine Saddam Hussein’s ability to wage war.

But this pattern is not just about war and it is not specific to any particular country. Throughout the world, politicians have won elections promising to deliver the inherently undeliverable. What Australian could forget, for example, Bob Hawke’s promise to eliminate child poverty in three years?

And what Greek could forget when Alexis Tsipras was swept to power with a strong populist mandate to stand up to the European Union in the midst of the sovereign debt crisis. Instead, Tsipras immediately sold the nation further into debt by accepting the terms of a punishing €85bn "bailout" package that even Syriza’s own members called a betrayal of the party’s promises.

In 2008, this endlessly escalating wave of political insanity seemed to reach a crescendo as it dashed upon the shores of the presidential campaign of Barack Obama.

B. OBAMA:

There’s something happening when people vote not just for party that they belong to but the votes . . . the hopes that they hold in common. [. . .] We are ready to take this country in a fundamentally new direction. That’s what’s happening in America right now. Change is what’s happening in America!

It may seem ridiculous in 2021 that the mere words "Yes We Can" and "Hope and Change" could have sold not just the American voters but the people of the world on Barack Hussein Obama, a junior US senator whose greatest legislative accomplishment up to that point was sponsoring a bill to rename a post office in Illinois. But, in hindsight, that was exactly what was so effective about the entire "hope and change" campaign. After eight years of neocon carnage - amid the tumult of the ongoing fiasco in Iraq, in the shadow of the rising police state at home, and in the face of the revelations of corporate accounting fraud and banking malfeasance that culminated in a global financial crisis - the public was desperately hoping for change.

OBAMA:

We will remember that there is something happening in America. That we are not as divided as our politics suggest. That we are one people. We are one nation. And together we will begin the next great chapter in the American story with three words that will ring from coast to coast from sea to shining sea: "Yes We Can!" Thank you, New Hampshire. Thank you!

It didn’t matter that Obama, like every other con man to swindle the majority of the population in the great popularity contest we call democracy, lied about every one of his major campaign promises. It didn’t matter that he lied about closing Guantanamo. It didn’t matter that he lied about ending the war of terror.

OBAMA:

And that is why as president I will make the fight against Al Qaeda and the Taliban the top priority that it should be.

ANNOUNCER:

The Obama administration knowingly gave US taxpayer dollars to an al Qaeda affiliate in Sudan, a joint i24 News – Middle East Forum investigation reveals.

It didn’t matter that he lied about ending the illegal wiretapping of Americans.

OBAMA:

This administration also puts forward a false choice between the liberties we cherish and the security we provide. I will provide our intelligence and law enforcement agencies with the tools they need to track and take out the terrorists without undermining our Constitution and our freedom. That means no more illegal wiretapping of American citizens.

And then:

OBAMA:

I came in with a healthy skepticism about these programs. My team evaluated them. We scrubbed them thoroughly. We actually expanded some of the oversight, increased some of the safeguards. But my assessment and my team’s assessment was that they help us prevent terrorist attacks.

None of his broken promises matter, because it was never about any actual, concrete action. If the mass hysteria that swept over the public in 2008 was about achieving tangible results, the Nobel Committee would not have awarded Obama the Nobel Peace Prize less than one year into his first term in office, while he was still waging wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and expanding Bush’s drone war into Pakistan.

No, it was never about action. It was about providing the audience of the political spectacle the scene that they were waiting for. The next political messiah is wheeled onto the stage, he waves his hand and makes everything better, and everyone goes back to their daily struggles for the next four years. The ritual is complete.

Indeed, after thousands of years in which heads of state were worshipped as literal gods on earth or, more recently, as divine appointees, it should come as no surprise that popular presidents and prime ministers are almost always portrayed with recourse to religious iconography. The common trope of photographing presidents with the "halo" of the presidential seal around them is nothing new.

But even taking that history into account, the religious frenzy that Obama’s appearance on the national political stage caused was, in retrospect, undeniably strange.

OBAMA:

Who is Barack Obama? Contrary to the rumors that you’ve heard, I was not born in a manger. I was actually born on Krypton and sent here by my father Jor-El to save the planet Earth.

In the hysteria of the 2008 campaign, Obama wasn’t received by the public as a political candidate with a series of policy prescriptions for improving the country. He was the god from the machine, the deus ex machina who could appear on stage and bless everyone with his absolution. Obama was not just Superman but the God of All Things, a Heaven-Sent shining New Hope bathed in angelic light who was the literal Second Coming.

JAMIE FOXX:

First of all, give an honour to God and our Lord and Savior, Barack Obama!

And by the time the public finally snapped from their reverie and realized that, after all, Obama was just another politician...

CONTESSA BREWER:

The former director of the Norwegian Nobel Institute says he regrets awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to President Barack Obama in 2009.

CENK YOGURT:

He lied! It’s not subtle, He said “There will be no spying on citizens who are not suspected of a crime.” He lied. There is spying on all of us and we’re not suspected of a crime. Barack Obama is a liar! Can I make it clearer?

Obama had already served his role as the next political saviour and, having served that function, he could be discarded like yesterday’s newspaper. For those who believed that the 2008 campaign was the apotheosis of the Hope and Change routine, this was the end of the line for this political charade. Looking at the process from a rational perspective, one could be forgiven for thinking that the public had learned its lesson and that no politician would be able to bamboozle the public like that again as long as the Obama legacy was in living memory. 👉 But this is not a rational process, and those who believed that could not have been more wrong.

Lest there be any confusion that the public was being prepared for another deus ex machina ritual, this time the god descended onto the political stage via a literal machine, a golden escalator. And, from his dais, this god, too, brought good tidings to the cheering crowd: the country is saved once again!

DONALD TRUMP:

Ladies and gentlemen, I am officially running for President of the United States and we are going to make our country great again!

The next day, it was revealed that the scene was a literal stage play. The adoring crowd were not grassroots supporters of Donald Trump who all spontaneously decided to wear the same Trump t-shirts and awkwardly pose with their "homemade" signs for the cameras, but, as an FEC investigation later confirmed, literal actors paid $50 each by the Extra Mile Casting agency on behalf of their client, Gotham Government Relations & Communications.

But it didn’t matter. Like all the iterations of the President Messiah script that came before, Trump’s Make America Great Again psychodrama was already having its intended effect on the population. In some ways, MAGA was a mere repeat of the Obama Hope and Change template. Here, too, candidate Trump promised the moon that President Trump steadfastly failed to deliver.

He | did not I drain I the I swamp.

He did not end the wars.

He did not stand up to medical-industrial complex.

And, like the Obamessiah, Trump, too, took on the role of divine redeemer of the nation, second only to Christ himself.

Trump (Trump assured us) was loved by the Jewish people in Israel like the "second coming of God". And once again the president was being portrayed as "heaven-sent", a man chosen by God Himself to lead America back to the promised land.

RICK PERRY:

And I shared it with him. I said, Mr. President, I know there are people that say you said you were the chosen one and I said, "You were." I said, "If you’re a believing Christian, you understand God’s plan for the people who rule and judge over us on this planet in our government.

ED HENRY:

And lest people on the left attack Rick Perry, he pointed out to me he believes Barack Obama was sent by God as well. He said for that moment and that time. He said he thinks for this moment and this time, Donald Trump was sent by God to do great things.

Or, as the internet users who helped build the momentum for the Trump train during the 2016 campaign put it in their popular meme, Trump was the God Emperor, a GEOTUS who would smite the wicked and own the libs.

Yes, the Trump script seemed to be a mere rehash of the Obama script. But it was not. You see, this was not the same plot as Hope and Change. Make America Great Again had a more exciting storyline. In the MAGA stage play, the god from the machine was himself in trouble and needed saving from the powerful, evil forces that were ganging up against him. And this time, the god himself would be saved by his own god from a machine. This script involved an incredible double deus ex machina!

The god that would save God Emperor Trump, however, was not a political figure at all, but a shadowy, anonymous entity. And the machine that delivered him was not a golden escalator, but an online message board.

The "Q Anon" phenomenon began on October 28, 2017, when "Q" - a user of the "politically incorrect" board of 4chan, the anonymous imageboard website - made a post claiming that a massive military operation was underway to arrest Hillary Clinton and bring down the cabal of evil politicians that was filling the swamp of Washington.

Within days, the anonymous poster was assuring his 4chan followers of the imminent indictment of Clinton campaign insiders John Podesta and Huma Abedin. And on November 2nd, less than a week after the initial post, the poster was calling himself "Q Clearance Patriot" and claiming that "over the course of the next several days you will undoubtedly realize that we are taking back our great country".

In every way, these early "Q Drops" exemplify the QAnon phenomenon that it spawned. They pick up on the language and code words of classified government operations, like "Mockingbird" and "Q clearance". They pretend to impart insider information about high-level political events, even predicting specific events on specific dates, like the arrest announcement of Podesta and the beginning of a military coup. And they pose a series of vague rhetorical questions ("Why does Potus surround himself w/ generals? What is military intelligence? Why go around the 3 letter agencies?") that feel important without providing any specific knowledge or insight.

As Q’s notoriety grew, so, too, did the grandiosity of his predictions, promises and pronouncements. Followers were told to expect "False flag(s)" and that there would be "fireworks" but that the president would be "100% insulated". They were exhorted to "TRUST [Attorney General Jeff] SESSIONS" and assured that Feb. 1, 2018, would be the "[D]ay [Of] [D]ays". They were promised a "parade that will never be forgotten" on November 11th of 2018. They were assured that Mark Zuckerberg was stepping down as chairman of Facebook. July 2018 would be the month "the world discovered the TRUTH", with Q asserting that there would be "conspiracy no more".

Of course, every one of these pronouncements was categorically wrong. But, as Q taught his followers to believe, "Disinformation is real" and "Disinformation is necessary", so these false predictions were in fact signs that Q was telling the truth. It didn’t make sense. It didn’t have to. All it had to do was fill the viewers of the unfolding political spectacle with hopium, the belief that this new god from the machine was going to swoop in with his Q Clearance compatriots and save the day at the last moment.

Remarkably, that belief persisted even after the last moment. 🔸Q Anon Posts Debate & Discussion With Praying Medic [Rare Interview & Question] 🔸ACTUAL INTERVEIW [sic] Dr Steve Pieczenik DHS watermarked every ballot with QFS Blockchain Encryption 🔸HELLSCAPE: 72 HOURS TO SAVE THE REPUBLIC 🔸EP. 2501B – TRAP SET, THESE PEOPLE ARE STUPID, DO YOU SEE THE STORM FORMING,PANIC IN DC

It is not hard to see why Q became so popular. Like every good deus ex machina, Q promised to deliver the audience of the current political drama exactly what they wanted: an entertaining, exciting and satisfying resolution to the play, delivering the hero (Trump) from evil (the Democrats) just in the nick of time. It is not coincidence that "Enjoy the show" and "Get the popcorn" became favourite phrases of Q and the QAnon followers. This was, after all, just that: a show. A scripted drama designed to play on the psyche of the audience.

The clue comes in Q’s constant exhortations for his follower to trust. 🔸Trust Sessions. 🔸Trust Grassley. 🔸Trust POTUS. 🔸 Trust the plan.

The terminology - as well as the methodology - of the Q operation evokes Operation Trust, a Soviet counterintelligence program in the 1920s that took over a pro-monarchist organization, the "Monarchist Union of Central Russia". The Soviets used operatives within the organization to persuade members that they should not engage in militant activity against the government because a plan was underway for internal anti-Bolshevik forces to topple the regime. Trust the plan.

In this case, "trusting the plan" got members of the opposition either put on trial and sent to the gulags or blackmailed into working for Soviet intelligence.

Q certainly did pacify many with his constant entreaty to "trust the plan". Q also rallied people time and time again to support the policies, operations and personnel of the very deep state that they were supposedly fighting against. Suddenly Jeff Sessions, Bill Barr, John Bolton and other long-time members of the political establishment were the good guys in this elaborate drama. 99% of the agents at the CIA, FBI, DOJ and NSA were "patriots" who "serve[d] with distinction" and thus needed to be supported. The decades-long neocon dream of invading Iran became, in the eyes of Q followers, a good and noble cause.

But even beyond the pacification of those who would otherwise be resisting the government, the "Q Army" of self-styled "Digital soldiers" provided the very foil that the deep state needed to move to the next step of their counter-insurgency program: The crackdown on "domestic terrorism".

🔸FBI Warns Of Potential For More Violence From QAnon Followers 🔸FBI warns conspiracy theories fuel domestic terrorism 🔸Former CIA official Jeremy Bash, now of NBC News 🔸A Message from President Donald J. Trump

After years of being told to "get the popcorn" and "enjoy the show", the Q Anon movement slowly began to realize that they were had. Worse, the very intelligence agencies and military that they had so fervently hoped would swoop in and save the day are the very agencies that were swooping in to round them up. But QAnon was by no means the first time that hopium has been injected into the veins of the "conspiracy research community".

In the 1990s, a power industry teaching consultant named Harvey Francis Barnard developed a proposed set of reforms for America’s monetary and tax system that he called the National Economic Security and Recovery Act, or NESARA. He self-published a book outlining his proposal, sent copies to members of Congress, started an institute to promote the idea and, in 2000, published his proposal on the internet. At that point, NESARA became the centerpiece of an elaborate hoax promulgated by an online charlatan calling herself "The Dove of Oneness". In this story, the NESARA bill is a miracle: it abolishes income taxes, forgives mortgages, zeroes out credit cards and declares peace. Even more miraculous: in a stunning move only known to The Dove of Oneness, the bill had been secretly passed by Congress and was due to take effect on September 11, 2001, which is why the World Trade Center was destroyed. But, like every good drama, this story, too, had a deus ex machina to keep Dove’s internet audience hanging on and enjoying the show: the White Knights, "an underground group of good guys [. . .] who were in high positions within all these institutions, who were fed up with the status quo and were planning a coup d’état that was going to happen ‘very soon.'"

Just as with Q, the cult that grew around the NESARA myth with its White Knight gods from the machine promised specific events on specific dates. Every time a prediction failed to happen, followers were reassured that the long-promised coup had been delayed so that the White Knights could better prepare the public for the pandemonium that would ensue when they swoop in to save the day. In the meantime, followers could get the popcorn and enjoy the show, knowing that all their debt would soon be forgiven and that peace on earth was just around the corner. And the name of that book in which Barnard first laid out his NESARA proposal? 👉 Draining The Swamp.

Yes, the deus ex machina story is trotted out every few years under different guises. A secret order of ninjas is preparing to assassinate the evil Illuminati and bring peace to the world. A secret stash of trillions of dollars is about to be shared out with the people of the world, ending all poverty. A cosmic realignment is going to take place on December 21st, 2012, raising humanity to a higher level of consciousness and ending all strife and suffering. An anonymous 4chan poster is leaking classified information about a good military coup that’s going to restore order and drain the swamp. The incredible Trump's X-Men.

The message is always the same: Get the popcorn and enjoy the show. The god is coming from the machine to save you. Just wait. Over and over we see the same story play out. The crowd begins to lose interest in the political stage play. They begin to suspect that it’s fake. That reality is taking place somewhere off stage and out of sight. They begin to realize that they are not spectators at all, but active participants with the ability to shape the world around them. And then along comes a god from a machine peddling hopium and the audience goes back to enjoying the show.

None of this is to denigrate the religious instinct that compels humans to look for a saviour from the heavens. On the contrary. Those with religious faith should be the most offended by this god from the machine script that sees their most cherished, divine beliefs cynically played on by would-be political rulers masquerading as gods.

Now, we must not abandon hope itself. As part of the triumvirate of faith, hope and charity, hope is a virtue to be cherished. Genuine hope is the rocket fuel that humans use to propel themselves towards their goals. Without hope, there would be no motivation to do anything to improve our situation. But that is the difference. Hope compels us to go out there and try to improve our situation. Fake hopes, on the other hand, convinces us that someone else has taken care of the problem. That we can just sit back, get the popcorn and enjoy the show. Like the dope peddler on the street corner, the politicians and hucksters are always ready to satisfy their mark with a dose of false hopes. And the public, more often than not, is only too happy to take it.

But fake hope is a deadly drug, and the god from the machine is nothing but a cheap stage trick. Nothing will change until we stop enjoying the show and realize that we are not spectators watching history unfold from the sidelines. We are history’s actors, and, propelled by genuine hope, we can and will change the world.

@ 378562cd:a6fc6773

Hiking in nature is more than just a leisurely activity—it’s a powerful way to boost physical health, mental well-being, and overall quality of life. Whether you’re trekking through lush forests, climbing rugged mountains, or strolling along a peaceful riverbank (which we really love doing), the benefits of hiking are undeniable.

Here are some points to think about along these lines.

Physical Health Benefits

• Strengthens muscles and improves cardiovascular health
• Enhances balance, coordination, and endurance
• Supports bone density and joint health
• Burns calories and aids in weight management

Mental and Emotional Well-Being

• Reduces stress, anxiety, and depression
• Increases endorphin levels, boosting mood and relaxation
• Improves focus, creativity, and cognitive function
• Encourages mindfulness and mental clarity

Connection with Nature

• Provides an escape from screens and digital distractions
• Encourages appreciation for the environment and wildlife
• Helps regulate sleep cycles by syncing with natural light
• Instills a sense of peace and awe

Social and Personal Growth

• Strengthens relationships when hiking with friends or family
• Encourages teamwork and problem-solving on group hikes
• Builds confidence and resilience for solo hikers
• Creates lasting memories and a sense of accomplishment

A Typical Day on the Trail

A day of hiking often starts with an early morning wake-up, packing essentials like water, snacks, and a map (if you're old-fashioned like me, LOL). After reaching the trailhead, the journey begins with fresh air, birds singing, and the crunch of dirt underfoot. You might stop to admire a stunning viewpoint, take photos of wildflowers, or rest beside a babbling stream. Lunch could be a simple picnic with a breathtaking backdrop. As the afternoon sun filters through the trees, you finish the hike feeling refreshed, accomplished, and ready to do it all again.

We love to go hiking, and I'm no expert, but when I take the time to get us out there somewhere and the weather is wonderful, it just adds up to an amazing day!

Whether you're a beginner or an experienced hiker, exploring nature on foot provides countless benefits for both body and mind. It’s an accessible, enjoyable, and fulfilling way to stay healthy while reconnecting with the natural world. So, lace up your hiking boots, hit the trails, and experience the transformative power of hiking in nature!

@ 30b99916:3cc6e3fe

Chef's notes

Recipe modified from a recipe published from a school cookbook in 1963.

Details

• 🍳 Cook time: 8 to 10 Minutes at 400
• 🍽️ Servings: 3 dozen or so depending on cookie size

Ingredients

• 2 sticks of butter
• 1 1/2 Cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 t. vanilla (optional but recommended)
• 2 3/4 cups flour
• 2 t. Cream of tartar
• 1 t. Soda
• 1/4 t. Salt

Directions

1. 1. Heat over to 400
2. 1. Mix butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla thoroughly.
3. 1. Sift together flour, cream of tartar, soda, salt and blend into mixture.
4. 1. Form small dough balls and roll in sugar/cinnamon
5. 1. Place each cookie dough ball 2" apart on a cookie sheet

@ ccc8ee23:9f3d9783

Chef's notes

Indulge in tender, golden-fried chicken breast, crunchy with every bite. Nestled on a bed of steamed rice, this dish is elevated by a rich, velvety curry sauce, infused with the warmth of fragrant spices and the umami depth of soy.

Paired with vibrant vegetables for a harmonious balance of textures and flavors, this comforting classic promises to delight your soul.

Details

• ⏲️ Prep time: 10 min
• 🍳 Cook time: 30 min
• 🍽️ Servings: 2

Ingredients

• Chicken Fillet 250 grams
• Potato 100 grams
• Egg 1 pc
• Curry block 2 pcs or 20 grams
• breadcrumbs 100 grams / 2 cups
• flour 20 grams
• Cooking oil (for frying)
• chicken or vegetable stock 500ml
• soy sauce 1 tbsp
• Seasoning
• onion 1 pc, finely chopped
• garlic cloves 2 pcs, minced
• carrot 1 pc, chopped

Directions

1. Chicken Katsu: Pound the chicken breasts until about 1/2 inch thick. Season with salt and pepper. Coat each piece in flour, then dip in beaten egg, and finally coat with breadcrumbs. Heat oil in a pan and fry the chicken for about 3-4 minutes on each side, until golden brown and fully cooked. Place on paper towels to drain.
2. Make Curry Sauce: In a pan, sauté the onion, garlic, add potato and carrot until soft. Gradually add curry block and the stock, stir well. Simmer for 5-10 minutes until thickened. Add seasoning and soy sauce to taste.
3. Plating: Slice the cooked chicken katsu and place it over a bed of steamed rice. Pour the curry sauce on the side or over the chicken. Garnish with chopped green chilies.

@ ccc8ee23:9f3d9783

Chef's notes

Enjoy these Chocolate Sprinkle Cookies, a delightful combination of buttery richness, velvety chocolate, and a crunchy sprinkle finish

Details

• ⏲️ Prep time: 10 min
• 🍳 Cook time: 90 min
• 🍽️ Servings: 10

Ingredients

• Plain flour 250 grams
• Margarine 100 grams
• Butter 100 grams
• Vanilla essence 1 tsp
• Milk powder 1 tbsp
• Sugar 40 grams
• Chocolate bar - 80 grams, melted
• Chocolate sprinkles - for decoration

Directions

1. Make the Dough: Combine the plain flour, margarine, butter, milk powder, sugar, and vanilla essence in a mixing bowl. Knead the mixture by hand until smooth and well combined.
2. Shape and divide the dough into small balls, weighing approximately 8 grams each.
3. Preheat the oven to 175°C. Arrange the dough balls on a baking tray and bake for about 30 minutes, or until the cookies are dry and fully cooked.
4. Coat with Chocolate: Melt the chocolate bar using a double boiler or microwave. Once the cookies have cooled completely, dip each cookie into the melted chocolate, ensuring they are evenly coated.
5. Place the coated cookies onto paper cups.
6. While the chocolate coating is still wet, sprinkle chocolate sprinkles on top of each cookie.
7. Allow the chocolate to dry completely, then arrange the cookies in a decorative airtight container for storage.

@ ccc8ee23:9f3d9783

Chef's notes

Celebrating seasons🎉

Kastengel Chocolate-Dip, where the savoury richness of cheese meets the decadent sweetness of chocolate. A perfect flavours in every bite!

Details

• ⏲️ Prep time: 10 min
• 🍳 Cook time: 90 min
• 🍽️ Servings: 10

Ingredients

• Plain Flour 250 grams
• Margarine - 100 grams
• Butter 100 grams
• Egg yolk 1 pc
• Sugar 20 grams
• Grated cheese 100 grams (half for the dough, half for garnish, adjustable)
• Chocolate bar 80 grams, melted

Directions

1. Make the Dough: Combine the plain flour, margarine, butter, sugar, and half of the grated cheese in a bowl. Knead the mixture with your hands until smooth and well incorporated. Roll out the dough using a rolling pin and cut into desired shapes for cookies.
2. Beat the egg yolk. Brush the shaped cookies with the egg yolk mixture and sprinkle the remaining grated cheese on top.
3. Bake the cookies 175’C for about 30 minutes, or until they are dry and perfectly cooked.
4. Melt the chocolate bar in a double boiler or microwave until smooth.
5. Dip in Chocolate: Once the cookies have cooled completely, dip both the top and bottom ends of each cookie into the melted chocolate.
6. Place the dipped cookies on a wire rack or a cookie drying tray to allow the chocolate to harden and set.
7. Arrange the cookies neatly in an airtight container.

@ fd08d618:5f7fc0ae

This is a test post content.

@ ac8bb9b0:70278acc

Details

• ⏲️ Prep time: 5
• 🍳 Cook time: 10
• 🍽️ Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 1 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/4 cup white wine, dry
• 14 oz can petite diced tomatoes, drained
• 1/2 cup half and half
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• kosher salt and fresh black pepper, to taste
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 8 ounces angel hair pasta, whole wheat, gluten-free or high fiber

Directions

1. Boil water with salt in a large pot for the pasta. Cook pasta al dente according to package directions.
2. Meanwhile, season shrimp with 1/4 teaspoon salt, black pepper and oregano.
3. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the oil, when warm add the shrimp and garlic and cook about 2 minutes on each side.
4. Add tomatoes, wine, salt and pepper and cook an additional minute.
5. Remove from heat and stir in half and half. Add lemon juice and parsley and serve over pasta.
6. Divide equally in 4 plates or shallow bowls.

@ d34e832d:383f78d0

[npub16d8gxt2z4k9e8sdpc0yyqzf5gp0np09ls4lnn630qzxzvwpl0rgq5h4rzv]

Data Storage via Blobs in a Decentralized Manner
Blobs (Binary Large Objects) offer a flexible method of storing large chunks of data, and in the context of decentralized systems, they allow for secure, distributed storage solutions. In a decentralized world, where privacy and autonomy are key, managing data in a distributed manner ensures data isn't controlled or censored by a single entity. Here are three key systems enabling decentralized blob storage:

1. Blossom Server
   Blossom Server provides a decentralized platform for storing and sharing large blobs of data. Blossom Server allows users to host their own data and retrieve it from a decentralized network, ensuring that data is not stored in centralized servers. This platform is open-source, offering flexibility and security through peer-to-peer data storage.

2. Perkeep
   Perkeep (formerly known as Camlistore) is a decentralized data storage system that allows for storing blobs of data in a distributed manner. It focuses on the long-term storage of large data sets, such as personal collections of photos, videos, and documents. By using Perkeep, users can ensure that their data remains private and is not controlled by any central authority. The system uses a unique identifier to access data, promoting both privacy and integrity.

3. IPFS (InterPlanetary File System)
   IPFS is another popular decentralized file storage system that uses the concept of blobs to store and share data. IPFS allows users to store and access data in a decentralized manner by using a peer-to-peer network. Each piece of data is given a unique hash, ensuring that it is verifiable and tamper-proof. By leveraging IPFS, users can store everything from simple files to large applications, all without relying on centralized servers.

By using these decentralized data storage solutions, individuals and organizations can safeguard their information, increase privacy, and contribute to a more resilient and distributed internet infrastructure.

Higher-Level Goals for Blob Storage Blob storage via Blossom ,Perkeep and IPFS has goals to become a decentralized, self-sufficient protocol for data storage, management, and sharing. While some of these features are already being implemented, they represent a broader vision for the future of decentralized personal data management.

1. Filesystem Backups
   Allows for easy, incremental backups. Using the pk-put tool, users can back up files and directories quickly and efficiently. Incremental backups, which save only the changes made since the last backup, are essentially free, making Perkeep an efficient choice for backup solutions. This initial use case has already been implemented, providing seamless and secure backups for personal data.

2. Efficient Remote Filesystem
   The goal is to create a highly efficient, aggressively caching remote filesystem using Perkeep. A read-only version of this filesystem is already trivial to implement, while read-write functionality remains an area of active development. Every modification in the filesystem would be snapshotted implicitly, providing version control as a default. This would enable users to interact with their data in a remote environment while ensuring that every change is tracked and recoverable.

3. Decentralized Sharing System
   Perkeep is working towards enabling users to share data in a decentralized manner. The system will allow individuals to share anything with anyone or everyone, with privacy being the default setting. This decentralized sharing is already starting to work, and users can now share data with others while retaining control over who sees their information.

4. Blog / Photo Hosting / Document Management CMS
   Perkeep aims to replace traditional blog platforms, photo hosting services, and document management software. By running a personal blog, photo gallery, and document management system (CMS) on Perkeep, users will have full control over their content. Permissions will be configurable, allowing for personal or public sharing. The author intends to use Perkeep for his own blog, gallery, and document management needs, further demonstrating its versatility.

5. Decentralized Social Networking
   While still a lofty goal, decentralized social networking is a persistent aim for Perkeep. By implementing features like comments and tagging, users could attach metadata to images and content. Through claims, users could sign data and verify identities, promoting trust in social interactions. This would allow for decentralized social networking where users control their own data and interactions.

6. Import/Export Adapters for Hosted Web Services
   Perkeep intends to bridge the gap between decentralized storage and traditional hosted web services. This feature would allow users to mirror data between hosted services and their private Perkeep storage. Whether content is created in Perkeep or hosted services, the goal is to ensure that data is always backed up privately, ensuring users' data is theirs forever.

Combined Goals for Blossom and IPFS

Both Blossom and IPFS share common goals of decentralizing data storage, enhancing privacy, and providing users with greater control over their data. Together, these technologies enable:

• Self-Sovereign Data Management: Empowering users to store and manage their data without relying on centralized platforms.
• Resilient and Redundant Storage: Offering decentralized and redundant data storage that ensures availability and security.
• Private and Permissioned Sharing: Enabling secure, private data sharing where the user controls who has access to their content.

By focusing on these goals, both Blossom and IPFS are contributing to a future where individuals control their own data, collaborate more efficiently in decentralized networks and P4P protocols, and ensure the privacy and security of their digital assets.

These technologies in conjunction with nostr lead one to discover user agency and autonomy, where you can actually own and interface with your own data allowing for value creation and content creation strategies.

Donations via
- lightninglayerhash@getalby.com

@ d34e832d:383f78d0

Decentralized Publishing: ChainScribe: How to Approach Studying NIPs (Nostr Improvement Proposals)

[npub16d8gxt2z4k9e8sdpc0yyqzf5gp0np09ls4lnn630qzxzvwpl0rgq5h4rzv]

How to Approach Studying NIPs (Nostr Improvement Proposals)

NIPs (Nostr Improvement Proposals) provide a framework for suggesting and discussing improvements to the Nostr protocol, a decentralized network for open communication. Studying NIPs is crucial for understanding the evolution of Nostr and its underlying principles. To effectively approach this, it's essential to follow a systematic, structured process.

1. Familiarize with the Nostr Protocol: Before diving into the specifics of each NIP, gain a solid understanding of the core Nostr protocol. This includes its goals, architecture, and key components like pubkeys, events, and relays.
2. Explore the NIP Catalog: Visit nostr-nips.com to browse through the available NIPs. Focus on the most recent proposals and those that align with your interests or areas of expertise.
3. Review the Proposal Structure: Each NIP follows a standard structure, typically including a description of the problem, proposed solution, and rationale. Learn to read and evaluate these elements critically, paying attention to how each proposal aligns with Nostr’s decentralized ethos.
4. Follow Active Discussions: Many NIPs are actively discussed within the community. Follow relevant channels, such as GitHub issues or dedicated discussion forums, to understand community feedback and potential revisions.
5. Understand Dependencies: Some NIPs are designed to work in tandem with others or require other technological advancements. Recognize these relationships to better understand the broader implications of any proposal.
6. Hands-On Testing: If possible, test NIPs in a development environment to see how they function in practice. Experimenting with proposals will help deepen your understanding and expose potential challenges or flaws.
7. Contribute to Proposals: If you have insights or suggestions, contribute to the discussion or propose your own improvements. NIPs thrive on community participation, and your input can help shape the future of Nostr.

Donations via
- lightninglayerhash@getalby.com

@ 554ab6fe:c6cbc27e

Most of us take for granted our modern living environment. Most of us live in cities, concrete jungles: where the sounds of cars, sirens, pedestrian chatter, etc., create a great cacophony of modern cosmopolitan life. We take these advancements as obvious necessities for the improvement of our lives. Without cars, phones, electricity, and commerce, we wouldn’t have the luxurious and comfortable lives that many enjoy. Of course, there is truth to this. However, rarely do we take into consideration the effect our environment has on our health. A fascinating body of research is emerging that illustrates the profound impact our external environment has on our mental and physical well-being.

One of the first major papers to observe the health benefits of nature was Ulrich and others from 1984 (Ulrich, 1984). The study followed patients who had undergone cholecystectomy surgery and were hospitalized during their recovery. All patients had rooms with windows. Some patients had views of a brown brick wall, and some patients had views of deciduous trees. Many would expect that the views the patients had out of their window wouldn’t have a great affect on their recovery, however this was surprisingly not the case.  Those who had a view of the trees had shorter recovery times, less negative comments about their nurses, took fewer pain medications, and had less post-surgical complications. They were happier, in less pain, and seemingly healed faster!

Today, scientists still do not have a clear understanding of why this occurs. However, since the time of the Ulrich study, and others like it, there has been some effort to unravel this mystery. One popular theory is known as the Attention Restoration Theory (Kaplan, 1995). Here, the benefits of nature are thought to derive from its benefits towards our minds and mental fatigue. The theory states that there are two different forms of attention: involuntary (or fascination driven) attention, and direct attention. Fascination requires no effort, and it happens involuntarily. Directed attention is cognitively controlled and does require effort. The act of fascination is said to allow for the directed attention networks of the brain to rest and restore, so they may function more properly when needed. Essentially, the idea is that given our modern stressful life, we experience cognitive fatigue due to all the directed attention we give. Becoming fascinated with a view of nature, provides an effortless attention that generates a restorative effect on our mind. There has been evidence to suggest this is true, as walks in nature have been shown to improve cognitive functioning (Berman et al., 2008). Interestingly, peaceful environments did not provide the same benefits as walks in greenery did (Berman et al., 2008). Suggesting that the cognitive restoration is inherent in the view of nature itself.  Additionally, this theory would suggest that natural scenery would also reduce stress, as stress is highly related to the activity of the mind. On this note, research has shown that viewing forest landscapes lowers physiologic indicators of stress such as lower cortisol levels, pulse rate, and blood pressure (“Ming” Kuo, 2013; Park et al., 2010).

Other studies have focused on health outcomes related to the greenery of an individual’s neighborhood. For example, a 2008 study in England observed pre-retirement individuals and distinguished them by their income levels and the exposure to greenery given their living situation (Mitchell & Popham, 2008). The researchers found that risk of general mortality and death from circulatory disease was greater in those who lived in less green areas. This was also not the only study to observe greater heath in vegetative neighborhoods. Another study found that those who lived in neighborhoods with more vegetation had less occurrences of depressive symptoms (Cox et al., 2017). This observation is likely caused by the mental benefits of viewing nature as described above. Additionally, those who live in more barren buildings have higher instances of mental fatigue (Kuo, 2015). Further reinforcing the idea that nature provides significant mental health benefits. However, this does not fully explain how other physical health benefits are observed, such as those observed in the study in England. Another reason a more nature filled environment is beneficial to human health is its effect on lifestyle habits and norms. Multiple studies have shown that people are more likely to participate in physical exercise when living in neighborhoods with more greenery (Cox et al., 2017; Irvine et al., 2013). Additionally, a study in Japan had some college students exercise both in urban environments and in nature, showed that those who exercised in nature had less salivary amylase release and therefore less sympathetic activity (Yamaguchi et al., 2006). Suggesting that not only is exercise more sought after in more nature-heavy environments, but the exercise itself is more heath promoting. Interestingly, social cohesion has also been shown to be improve in neighborhoods with more vegetation (Cox et al., 2017). All these factors are likely contributors to the greater health benefits provided by a more vegetative environment.

The original home of homo-sapiens, us, was in a rich vegetative landscape. It is where we evolved and adapted to survive. For this reason, it is unsurprising that this environment provides stimuli that generate greater balance within our body. Until very recently in human history, most of us still lived with great intimacy to nature. It has only been within recent history where human technological innovation has launched many of us out of our natural environment, and into our new concrete jungles. This change was abrupt and performed with little hesitancy given the great advancement of luxury and quality of life. If research continues to support this proposition that vegetative environments are important for maintaining mental and physical health, then we all have an important question to consider: given our technological advancements that are sure to continue, how do we re-integrate nature back into our living habitats? How can we benefit from our technology, without sacrificing core aspects of our health in the process? How do we find balance in this quickly advancing society? These are questions worth pondering, and it may be our responsibility to do so. For the sake of the future, we cannot forget our past and where we came from.

References:

Berman, M. G., Jonides, J., & Kaplan, S. (2008). The cognitive benefits of interacting with nature. Psychological Science, 19(12), 1207–1212. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2008.02225.x

Cox, D., Shanahan, D., Hudson, H., Fuller, R., Anderson, K., Hancock, S., & Gaston, K. (2017). Doses of Nearby Nature Simultaneously Associated with Multiple Health Benefits. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 14(2), 172. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14020172

Irvine, K., Warber, S., Devine-Wright, P., & Gaston, K. (2013). Understanding Urban Green Space as a Health Resource: A Qualitative Comparison of Visit Motivation and Derived Effects among Park Users in Sheffield, UK. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 10(1), 417–442. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph10010417

Kaplan, S. (1995). The Restorative Benefits of Nature. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 169–182.

Kuo, M. (2015). How might contact with nature promote human health? Promising mechanisms and a possible central pathway. Frontiers in Psychology, 6, 1093. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01093

“Ming” Kuo, F. E. (2013). Nature-deficit disorder: evidence, dosage, and treatment. Journal of Policy Research in Tourism, Leisure and Events, 5(2), 172–186. https://doi.org/10.1080/19407963.2013.793520

Mitchell, R., & Popham, F. (2008). Effect of exposure to natural environment on health inequalities: an observational population study. The Lancet, 372(9650), 1655–1660. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(08)61689-X

Park, B. J., Tsunetsugu, Y., Kasetani, T., Kagawa, T., & Miyazaki, Y. (2010). The physiological effects of Shinrin-yoku (taking in the forest atmosphere or forest bathing): Evidence from field experiments in 24 forests across Japan. Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine, 15(1), 18–26. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12199-009-0086-9

Ulrich, R. S. (1984). View through a window may influence recovery from surgery. Science, 224(4647), 420–421. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.6143402

Yamaguchi, M., Deguchi, M., & Miyazaki, Y. (2006). The effects of exercise in forest and urban environments on sympathetic nervous activity of normal young adults. Journal of International Medical Research, 34(2), 152–159. https://doi.org/10.1177/147323000603400204

@ 5c63c8f1:7a99f882

O brbrbr, por outro lado, traz uma experiência que se destaca principalmente pelo seu aspecto social e a constante recompensa aos seus jogadores. Focando na construção de uma comunidade de jogadores engajados, o brbrbr incentiva a interação e o compartilhamento de experiências. Os usuários podem participar de fóruns, chats ao vivo e até mesmo eventos comunitários, criando uma rede de pessoas com interesses semelhantes.

O que torna o brbrbrúnico é seu sistema de recompensas, que vai além das vitórias individuais. A plataforma oferece incentivos exclusivos para jogadores regulares, como bônus, acesso antecipado a novos lançamentos de jogos e promoções especiais. Isso cria um ciclo de engajamento onde os jogadores se sentem valorizados, e sua lealdade à plataforma é recompensada de maneiras criativas e surpreendentes.

Além disso, o brbrbr investe em gamificação, fazendo com que os jogadores participem de desafios e conquistas dentro da plataforma. Isso não só aumenta a diversão, mas também oferece uma oportunidade de os jogadores mostrarem suas habilidades, ao mesmo tempo em que ganham recompensas adicionais. A experiência social interligada com a gamificação faz com que o brbrbr se destaque como uma plataforma onde os jogadores podem se conectar, competir e ganhar, tudo em um ambiente amigável e envolvente.

@ ccc8ee23:9f3d9783

Chef's notes

Salmon Mentai Rice. Create your own layers of fluffy, seasoned rice are topped with tender, pan-seared chicken or salmon and a creamy, spicy mentai sauce made with spicy Japanese mayo .

Torched to golden perfection, it’s finished with nori and tobiko for a burst of texture and flavor. A simple tasty Japanese fusion delight that’s perfect🤩

Subtitude of Tobiko, white sesame seeds as economical option will add a nutty flavor and subtle crunch to the dish for texture and visual appeal.

Details

• ⏲️ Prep time: 10 min
• 🍳 Cook time: 30 min
• 🍽️ Servings: 2

Ingredients

• Steamed Rice 400 grams
• Rice vinegar 1 tbsp
• Sugar 1 tsp
• chicken breast / thighs 250 grams
• soy sauce 1 tbsp
• oyster sauce 1 tbsp
• sesame oil 1 tsp
• garlic powder 1 tsp
• cooking oil 1 tbsp
• mayonnaise (e.g., Kewpie) 4 tbsp
• sriracha or any chili sauce 1 tbsp
• tobiko if any or white sesame as optional, for texture, 2 tsp only

Directions

1. Prepared the Rice: mixed in bowl 2 cups steam rice, 1 tbsp rice vinegar, 1 tsp sugar and 1/2 tsp salt. Set a side.
2. Cook the Chicken: 1. Marinate the chicken pieces with 1 tsp soy sauce, 1 tsp oyster sauce, 1 tsp sesame oil, 1 tsp garlic powder for 15–20 minutes. 2. Heat cooking oil in a pan over medium heat and stir-fry the chicken until fully cooked and slightly caramelized. Remove from heat.
3. Make the Mentai Sauce 1. In a small bowl, combine 4 tbsp mayonnaise, 1 tbsp chili sauce, and 1 tsp sesame oil. Add tobiko if desired for texture. Mix well.
4. Assemble the Mentai Rice 1. In a heatproof bowl or tray, layer the seasoned rice as the base. 2. Add a layer of cooked chicken on top of the rice. 3. Spread the mentai sauce evenly over the chicken layer.
5. Grill or Broil: Use a kitchen torch or place the dish under a broiler for 2–3 minutes until the sauce is slightly charred and bubbly.
6. Garnish with white sesame or nori strips, or extra tobiko.

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In 2021, El Salvador embarked on an unprecedented financial experiment under President Nayib Bukele's leadership by adopting Bitcoin as legal tender. This decision was not only groundbreaking but also positioned the small Central American nation as a pioneer in the global financial landscape. The move was seen as a step towards modernizing the country's financial system and making it more inclusive and forward-thinking. It was a daring venture into uncharted territory, signaling El Salvador's willingness to embrace technological innovation and challenge traditional economic models. The decision was met with a mix of admiration and skepticism globally, as it represented a significant departure from conventional monetary policy and raised questions about the future of digital currencies in mainstream finance.

Table of Contents

• The Genesis of the Bitcoin Law

• Implementation and Challenges

• Economic Impacts and International Response

• Bukele's Vision and Controversies

• The Future of Bitcoin in El Salvador

• Conclusion

• FAQs

The Genesis of the Bitcoin Law

The journey to adopting Bitcoin as legal tender was marked by the introduction of the Bitcoin Law, a bold legislative move by President Bukele's administration. This law required all businesses to accept Bitcoin in addition to the US dollar, which had been El Salvador's official currency for two decades. The law aimed to democratize financial access, especially for the 70% of Salvadorans who did not have bank accounts and relied heavily on cash transactions. It also sought to reduce remittance costs for millions of Salvadorans living abroad, who annually send billions of dollars back home. The Bitcoin Law was a part of Bukele's broader strategy to reposition El Salvador as a hub for technological innovation and economic growth. However, the law also raised significant questions about the feasibility and stability of using a highly volatile digital currency in everyday transactions.

Implementation and Challenges

Implementing the Bitcoin Law was a complex endeavor. The government's launch of the “Chivo” digital wallet was intended to facilitate Bitcoin transactions and offer a $30 Bitcoin incentive to users. However, the rollout faced technical glitches and public mistrust in cryptocurrency. Many Salvadorans were unfamiliar with Bitcoin, leading to a steep learning curve and reluctance to transition from traditional cash transactions. Additionally, the fluctuating value of Bitcoin posed a risk to users, particularly those living in poverty or on fixed incomes. The government's efforts to promote Bitcoin adoption also faced international scrutiny, with financial experts questioning the impact on El Salvador's financial stability and its relationship with global financial institutions.

Economic Impacts and International Response

The economic impact of Bitcoin's adoption in El Salvador has been a subject of intense debate. On one hand, it has attracted significant attention from the global cryptocurrency community, positioning the country as a potential hub for digital finance. On the other hand, the move has been met with caution and criticism from international financial institutions. The International Monetary Fund (IMF), for instance, expressed concern over the potential risks associated with Bitcoin's volatility and its implications for financial stability, governance, and consumer protection. The fluctuating value of Bitcoin also posed a challenge for the national budget and financial planning. Despite these concerns, the Bukele administration remained committed to its digital currency strategy, viewing it as a long-term investment in the country's economic future.

Bukele's Vision and Controversies

President Nayib Bukele, a charismatic and controversial leader, has been at the center of El Salvador's Bitcoin experiment. His administration's aggressive push for Bitcoin adoption was part of a broader vision to transform El Salvador into a modern, technologically advanced economy. Bukele's plans included the development of a “Bitcoin City,” funded by Bitcoin-backed bonds, which was envisioned as a tax-free haven for cryptocurrency investors. However, these ambitious projects have not been without controversy. Critics have raised concerns about the lack of transparency in the government's Bitcoin transactions and the potential for financial mismanagement. Bukele's autocratic tendencies, including his clashes with the judiciary and the press, have also raised alarms about the democratic governance of these initiatives.

The Future of Bitcoin in El Salvador

As El Salvador continues its journey with Bitcoin, the future of this initiative remains a topic of global interest and speculation. The country is navigating uncharted waters, and its experience will likely serve as a case study for other nations contemplating similar moves. The success of Bitcoin in El Salvador depends on various factors, including technological infrastructure, public education, and global market dynamics. The government's ability to manage the currency's volatility and integrate it into the broader economy will be crucial. Additionally, the impact of this initiative on financial inclusion, remittances, and economic growth will be closely watched. El Salvador's experiment with Bitcoin could pave the way for a new era of digital currency adoption, but it also faces significant challenges that could shape its outcome.

Conclusion

El Salvador's adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender under President Bukele's leadership marks a significant moment in the history of digital currency. This bold move has positioned the country as a trailblazer in the cryptocurrency world, but the long-term outcomes of this bold experiment remain uncertain. As El Salvador navigates the challenges and opportunities presented by this initiative, its journey will undoubtedly offer crucial insights into the future intersection of technology, finance, and governance. The world is watching as El Salvador tests the limits of cryptocurrency integration, and its experiences will likely influence global financial policies and the adoption of digital currencies in the years to come. Whether El Salvador's gamble on Bitcoin will pay off or serve as a cautionary tale remains to be seen, but its impact on the global financial landscape is undeniable.

FAQs

What is the Bitcoin Law in El Salvador? The Bitcoin Law in El Salvador is a legislation that made Bitcoin a legal tender alongside the US dollar. It mandates all businesses to accept Bitcoin for transactions and was introduced to promote financial inclusion and modernize the economy.

Why did El Salvador adopt Bitcoin as legal tender? El Salvador adopted Bitcoin to increase financial accessibility for its unbanked population, reduce remittance costs, and position itself as a leader in digital currency innovation.

How does the Chivo wallet work? The Chivo wallet is a government-backed digital wallet that facilitates Bitcoin transactions in El Salvador. Users receive a $30 Bitcoin bonus for signing up, aiming to encourage the adoption of Bitcoin.

What are the challenges faced by El Salvador in adopting Bitcoin? Challenges include technical issues with the Chivo wallet, public mistrust and lack of understanding of Bitcoin, and the currency's volatility impacting economic stability.

How has the international community responded to El Salvador's Bitcoin adoption? The international response has been mixed, with some praising the innovative approach, while institutions like the IMF have expressed concerns over financial stability and consumer protection.

What is Bitcoin City and how is it funded? Bitcoin City is a proposed development in El Salvador, envisioned as a tax-free zone for cryptocurrency investors. It is planned to be funded by Bitcoin-backed bonds.

That's all for today

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Chef's notes

Dare to taste the bold? One bite of Jengkol Balado and you’ll be hooked

Spicy Jengkol Balado - Betawi Style A traditional dish from Betawi (Jakarta), Jengkol Balado is nutty bold and aromatic delicacy made with jengkol beans. This version uses thinly sliced jengkol for a delightful texture.

Serve it with a plate of steamed fragrant white rice and a side of crunchy cucumber for a complete meal that satisfies on every level.

Details

• 🍳 Cook time: 40 min
• 🍽️ Servings: 2

Ingredients

• Jengkol 250 grams
• Chilli 100 grams
• Shallot 5 cloves
• Garlic 2 cloves
• Tomato 1 clove (small)
• Bay leaves 2
• Galangal 2cm. Bruished
• Veggie oil 20ml or 4 tsp
• Seasoning

Directions

1. Prepare the Jengkol Wash the jengkol thoroughly and slice it thinly. Boil the slices in water with the bay leaves for 10–15 minutes to soften and reduce their strong odour. Drain and set aside.
2. Make the Balado Paste. Blend chillies, shallots, garlic, candlenut and tomatoes into a slightly coarse paste using a blender
3. Heat oil in a pan and sauté the balado paste until fragrant and the oil starts to separate. Add the galangal, bay leaves, salt, sugar, and seasoning. Stir well
4. Add jengkol to the pan. Mix until jengkol are fully coated in the balado paste.
5. If the mixture seems too dry, add a splash of water and let it simmer on low heat to allow the flavours to infuse.
6. Taste the dish and adjust the seasoning with more salt or sugar if needed.
7. Remove from heat and serve hot with steamed rice.

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Introduction

1. The Industrial Revolution and its consequences have been a disaster for the human race. They have greatly increased the life-expectancy of those of us who live in "advanced" countries, but they have destabilized society, have made life unfulfilling, have subjected human beings to indignities, have led to widespread psychological suffering (in the Third World to physical suffering as well) and have inflicted severe damage on the natural world. The continued development of technology will worsen the situation. It will certainly subject human beings to greater indignities and inflict greater damage on the natural world, it will probably lead to greater social disruption and psychological suffering, and it may lead to increased physical suffering even in "advanced" countries.

2. The industrial-technological system may survive or it may break down. If it survives, it MAY eventually achieve a low level of physical and psychological suffering, but only after passing through a long and very painful period of adjustment and only at the cost of permanently reducing human beings and many other living organisms to engineered products and mere cogs in the social machine. Furthermore, if the system survives, the consequences will be inevitable: There is no way of reforming or modifying the system so as to prevent it from depriving people of dignity and autonomy.

3. If the system breaks down the consequences will still be very painful. But the bigger the system grows the more disastrous the results of its breakdown will be, so if it is to break down it had best break down sooner rather than later.

4. We therefore advocate a revolution against the industrial system. This revolution may or may not make use of violence; it may be sudden or it may be a relatively gradual process spanning a few decades. We can't predict any of that. But we do outline in a very general way the measures that those who hate the industrial system should take in order to prepare the way for a revolution against that form of society. This is not to be a POLITICAL revolution. Its object will be to overthrow not governments but the economic and technological basis of the present society.

5. In this article we give attention to only some of the negative developments that have grown out of the industrial-technological system. Other such developments we mention only briefly or ignore altogether. This does not mean that we regard these other developments as unimportant. For practical reasons we have to confine our discussion to areas that have received insufficient public attention or in which we have something new to say. For example, since there are well-developed environmental and wilderness movements, we have written very little about environmental degradation or the destruction of wild nature, even though we consider these to be highly important.

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF MODERN LEFTISM

6. Almost everyone will agree that we live in a deeply troubled society. One of the most widespread manifestations of the craziness of our world is leftism, so a discussion of the psychology of leftism can serve as an introduction to the discussion of the problems of modern society in general.

7. But what is leftism? During the first half of the 20th century leftism could have been practically identified with socialism. Today the movement is fragmented and it is not clear who can properly be called a leftist. When we speak of leftists in this article we have in mind mainly socialists, collectivists, "politically correct" types, feminists, gay and disability activists, animal rights activists and the like. But not everyone who is associated with one of these movements is a leftist. What we are trying to get at in discussing leftism is not so much movement or an ideology as a psychological type, or rather a collection of related types. Thus, what we mean by "leftism" will emerge more clearly in the course of our discussion of leftist psychology. (Also, see paragraphs 227-230.)

8. Even so, our conception of leftism will remain a good deal less clear than we would wish, but there doesn't seem to be any remedy for this. All we are trying to do here is indicate in a rough and approximate way the two psychological tendencies that we believe are the main driving force of modern leftism. We by no means claim to be telling the WHOLE truth about leftist psychology. Also, our discussion is meant to apply to modern leftism only. We leave open the question of the extent to which our discussion could be applied to the leftists of the 19th and early 20th centuries.

9. The two psychological tendencies that underlie modern leftism we call "feelings of inferiority" and "oversocialization." Feelings of inferiority are characteristic of modern leftism as a whole, while oversocialization is characteristic only of a certain segment of modern leftism; but this segment is highly influential.

FEELINGS OF INFERIORITY

10. By "feelings of inferiority" we mean not only inferiority feelings in the strict sense but a whole spectrum of related traits; low self-esteem, feelings of powerlessness, depressive tendencies, defeatism, guilt, self-hatred, etc. We argue that modern leftists tend to have some such feelings (possibly more or less repressed) and that these feelings are decisive in determining the direction of modern leftism.

11. When someone interprets as derogatory almost anything that is said about him (or about groups with whom he identifies) we conclude that he has inferiority feelings or low self-esteem. This tendency is pronounced among minority rights activists, whether or not they belong to the minority groups whose rights they defend. They are hypersensitive about the words used to designate minorities and about anything that is said concerning minorities. The terms "negro," "oriental," "handicapped" or "chick" for an African, an Asian, a disabled person or a woman originally had no derogatory connotation. "Broad" and "chick" were merely the feminine equivalents of "guy," "dude" or "fellow." The negative connotations have been attached to these terms by the activists themselves. Some animal rights activists have gone so far as to reject the word "pet" and insist on its replacement by "animal companion." Leftish anthropologists go to great lengths to avoid saying anything about primitive peoples that could conceivably be interpreted as negative. They want to replace the world "primitive" by "nonliterate." They seem almost paranoid about anything that might suggest that any primitive culture is inferior to our own. (We do not mean to imply that primitive cultures ARE inferior to ours. We merely point out the hypersensitivity of leftish anthropologists.)

12. Those who are most sensitive about "politically incorrect" terminology are not the average black ghetto-dweller, Asian immigrant, abused woman or disabled person, but a minority of activists, many of whom do not even belong to any "oppressed" group but come from privileged strata of society. Political correctness has its stronghold among university professors, who have secure employment with comfortable salaries, and the majority of whom are heterosexual white males from middle- to upper-middle-class families.

13. Many leftists have an intense identification with the problems of groups that have an image of being weak (women), defeated (American Indians), repellent (homosexuals) or otherwise inferior. The leftists themselves feel that these groups are inferior. They would never admit to themselves that they have such feelings, but it is precisely because they do see these groups as inferior that they identify with their problems. (We do not mean to suggest that women, Indians, etc. ARE inferior; we are only making a point about leftist psychology.)

14. Feminists are desperately anxious to prove that women are as strong and as capable as men. Clearly they are nagged by a fear that women may NOT be as strong and as capable as men.

15. Leftists tend to hate anything that has an image of being strong, good and successful. They hate America, they hate Western civilization, they hate white males, they hate rationality. The reasons that leftists give for hating the West, etc. clearly do not correspond with their real motives. They SAY they hate the West because it is warlike, imperialistic, sexist, ethnocentric and so forth, but where these same faults appear in socialist countries or in primitive cultures, the leftist finds excuses for them, or at best he GRUDGINGLY admits that they exist; whereas he ENTHUSIASTICALLY points out (and often greatly exaggerates) these faults where they appear in Western civilization. Thus it is clear that these faults are not the leftist's real motive for hating America and the West. He hates America and the West because they are strong and successful.

16. Words like "self-confidence," "self-reliance," "initiative," "enterprise," "optimism," etc., play little role in the liberal and leftist vocabulary. The leftist is anti-individualistic, pro-collectivist. He wants society to solve everyone's problems for them, satisfy everyone's needs for them, take care of them. He is not the sort of person who has an inner sense of confidence in his ability to solve his own problems and satisfy his own needs. The leftist is antagonistic to the concept of competition because, deep inside, he feels like a loser.

17. Art forms that appeal to modern leftish intellectuals tend to focus on sordidness, defeat and despair, or else they take an orgiastic tone, throwing off rational control as if there were no hope of accomplishing anything through rational calculation and all that was left was to immerse oneself in the sensations of the moment.

18. Modern leftish philosophers tend to dismiss reason, science, objective reality and to insist that everything is culturally relative. It is true that one can ask serious questions about the foundations of scientific knowledge and about how, if at all, the concept of objective reality can be defined. But it is obvious that modern leftish philosophers are not simply cool-headed logicians systematically analyzing the foundations of knowledge. They are deeply involved emotionally in their attack on truth and reality. They attack these concepts because of their own psychological needs. For one thing, their attack is an outlet for hostility, and, to the extent that it is successful, it satisfies the drive for power. More importantly, the leftist hates science and rationality because they classify certain beliefs as true (i.e., successful, superior) and other beliefs as false (i.e., failed, inferior). The leftist's feelings of inferiority run so deep that he cannot tolerate any classification of some things as successful or superior and other things as failed or inferior. This also underlies the rejection by many leftists of the concept of mental illness and of the utility of IQ tests. Leftists are antagonistic to genetic explanations of human abilities or behavior because such explanations tend to make some persons appear superior or inferior to others. Leftists prefer to give society the credit or blame for an individual's ability or lack of it. Thus if a person is "inferior" it is not his fault, but society's, because he has not been brought up properly.

19. The leftist is not typically the kind of person whose feelings of inferiority make him a braggart, an egotist, a bully, a self-promoter, a ruthless competitor. This kind of person has not wholly lost faith in himself. He has a deficit in his sense of power and self-worth, but he can still conceive of himself as having the capacity to be strong, and his efforts to make himself strong produce his unpleasant behavior. [1] But the leftist is too far gone for that. Hisfeelings of inferiority are so ingrained that he cannot conceive of himself as individually strong and valuable. Hence the collectivism of the leftist. He can feel strong only as a member of a large organization or a mass movement with which he identifies himself.

20. Notice the masochistic tendency of leftist tactics. Leftists protest by lying down in front of vehicles, they intentionally provoke police or racists to abuse them, etc. These tactics may often be effective, but many leftists use them not as a means to an end but because they PREFER masochistic tactics. Self-hatred is a leftist trait.

21. Leftists may claim that their activism is motivated by compassion or by moral principles, and moral principle does play a role for the leftist of the oversocialized type. But compassion and moral principle cannot be the main motives for leftist activism. Hostility is too prominent a component of leftist behavior; so is the drive for power. Moreover, much leftist behavior is not rationally calculated to be of benefit to the people whom the leftists claim to be trying to help. For example, if one believes that affirmative action is good for black people, does it make sense to demand affirmative action in hostile or dogmatic terms? Obviously it would be more productive to take a diplomatic and conciliatory approach that would make at least verbal and symbolic concessions to white people who think that affirmative action discriminates against them. But leftist activists do not take such an approach because it would not satisfy their emotional needs. Helping black people is not their real goal. Instead, race problems serve as an excuse for them to express their own hostility and frustrated need for power. In doing so they actually harm black people, because the activists' hostile attitude toward the white majority tends to intensify race hatred.

22. If our society had no social problems at all, the leftists would have to INVENT problems in order to provide themselves with an excuse for making a fuss.

23. We emphasize that the foregoing does not pretend to be an accurate description of everyone who might be considered a leftist. It is only a rough indication of a general tendency of leftism.

OVERSOCIALIZATION

24. Psychologists use the term "socialization" to designate the process by which children are trained to think and act as society demands. A person is said to be well socialized if he believes in and obeys the moral code of his society and fits in well as a functioning part of that society. It may seem senseless to say that many leftists are oversocialized, since the leftist is perceived as a rebel. Nevertheless, the position can be defended. Many leftists are not such rebels as they seem.

25. The moral code of our society is so demanding that no one can think, feel and act in a completely moral way. For example, we are not supposed to hate anyone, yet almost everyone hates somebody at some time or other, whether he admits it to himself or not. Some people are so highly socialized that the attempt to think, feel and act morally imposes a severe burden on them. In order to avoid feelings of guilt, they continually have to deceive themselves about their own motives and find moral explanations for feelings and actions that in reality have a non-moral origin. We use the term "oversocialized" to describe such people. [2]

26. Oversocialization can lead to low self-esteem, a sense of powerlessness, defeatism, guilt, etc. One of the most important means by which our society socializes children is by making them feel ashamed of behavior or speech that is contrary to society's expectations. If this is overdone, or if a particular child is especially susceptible to such feelings, he ends by feeling ashamed of HIMSELF. Moreover the thought and the behavior of the oversocialized person are more restricted by society's expectations than are those of the lightly socialized person. The majority of people engage in a significant amount of naughty behavior. They lie, they commit petty thefts, they break traffic laws, they goofoff at work, they hate someone, they say spiteful things or they use some underhanded trick to get ahead of the other guy. The oversocialized person cannot do these things, or if he does do them he generates in himself a sense of shame and self-hatred. The oversocialized person cannot even experience, without guilt, thoughts or feelings that are contrary to the accepted morality; he cannot think "unclean" thoughts. And socialization is not just a matter of morality; we are socialized to conform to many norms of behavior that do not fall under the heading of morality. Thus the oversocialized person is kept on a psychological leash and spends his life running on rails that society has laid down for him. In many oversocialized people this results in a sense of constraint and powerlessness that can be a severe hardship. We suggest that oversocialization is among the more serious cruelties that human beings inflict on one another.

27. We argue that a very important and influential segment of the modern left is oversocialized and that their oversocialization is of great importance in determining the direction of modern leftism. Leftists of the oversocialized type tend to be intellectuals or members of the upper-middle class. Notice that university intellectuals [3] constitute the most highly socialized segment of our society and also the most left-wing segment.

28. The leftist of the oversocialized type tries to get off his psychological leash and assert his autonomy by rebelling. But usually he is not strong enough to rebel against the most basic values of society. Generally speaking, the goals of today's leftists are NOT in conflict with the accepted morality. On the contrary, the left takes an accepted moral principle, adopts it as its own, and then accuses mainstream society of violating that principle. Examples: racial equality, equality of the sexes, helping poor people, peace as opposed to war, nonviolence generally, freedom of expression, kindness to animals. More fundamentally, the duty of the individual to serve society and the duty of society to take care of the individual. All these have been deeply rooted values of our society (or at least of its middle and upper classes [4] for a long time. These values are explicitly or implicitly expressed or presupposed in most of the material presented to us by the mainstream communications media and the educational system. Leftists, especially those of the oversocialized type, usually do not rebel against these principles but justify their hostility to society by claiming (with some degree of truth) that society is not living up to these principles.

29. Here is an illustration of the way in which the oversocialized leftist shows his real attachment to the conventional attitudes of our society while pretending to be in rebellion against it. Many leftists push for affirmative action, for moving black people into high-prestige jobs, for improved education in black schools and more money for such schools; the way of life of the black "underclass" they regard as a social disgrace. They want to integrate the black man into the system, make him a business executive, a lawyer, a scientist just like upper-middle-class white people. The leftists will reply that the last thing they want is to make the black man into a copy of the white man; instead, they want to preserve African American culture. But in what does this preservation of African American culture consist? It can hardly consist in anything more than eating black-style food, listening to black-style music, wearing black-style clothing and going to a black-style church or mosque. In other words, it can express itself only in superficial matters. In all ESSENTIAL respects most leftists of the oversocialized type want to make the black man conform to white, middle-class ideals. They want to make him study technical subjects, become an executive or a scientist, spend his life climbing the status ladder to prove that black people are as good as white. They want to make black fathers "responsible," they want black gangs to become nonviolent, etc. But these are exactly the values of the industrial-technological system. The system couldn't care less what kind of music a man listens to, what kind of clothes he wears or what religion he believes in as long as he studies in school, holds a respectable job, climbs the status ladder, is a "responsible" parent, is nonviolent and so forth. In effect, however much he may deny it, the oversocialized leftist wants to integrate the black man into the system and make him adopt its values.

30. We certainly do not claim that leftists, even of the oversocialized type, NEVER rebel against the fundamental values of our society. Clearly they sometimes do. Some oversocialized leftists have gone so far as to rebel against one of modern society's most important principles by engaging in physical violence. By their own account, violence is for them a form of "liberation." In other words, by committing violence they break through the psychological restraints that have been trained into them. Because they are oversocialized these restraints have been more confining for them than for others; hence their need to break free of them. But they usually justify their rebellion in terms of mainstream values. If they engage in violence they claim to be fighting against racism or the like.

31. We realize that many objections could be raised to the foregoing thumbnail sketch of leftist psychology. The real situation is complex, and anything like a complete description of it would take several volumes even if the necessary data were available. We claim only to have indicated very roughly the two most important tendencies in the psychology of modern leftism.

32. The problems of the leftist are indicative of the problems of our society as a whole. Low self-esteem, depressive tendencies and defeatism are not restricted to the left. Though they are especially noticeable in the left, they are widespread in our society. And today's society tries to socialize us to a greater extent than any previous society. We are even told by experts how to eat, how to exercise, how to make love, how to raise our kids and so forth.

THE POWER PROCESS

33. Human beings have a need (probably based in biology) for something that we will call the "power process." This is closely related to the need for power (which is widely recognized) but is not quite the same thing. The power process has four elements. The three most clear-cut of these we call goal, effort and attainment of goal. (Everyone needs to have goals whose attainment requires effort, and needs to succeed in attaining at least some of his goals.) The fourth element is more difficult to define and may not be necessary for everyone. We call it autonomy and will discuss it later (paragraphs 42-44).

34. Consider the hypothetical case of a man who can have anything he wants just by wishing for it. Such a man has power, but he will develop serious psychological problems. At first he will have a lot of fun, but by and by he will become acutely bored and demoralized. Eventually he may become clinically depressed. History shows that leisured aristocracies tend to become decadent. This is not true of fighting aristocracies that have to struggle to maintain their power. But leisured, secure aristocracies that have no need to exert themselves usually become bored, hedonistic and demoralized, even though they have power. This shows that power is not enough. One must have goals toward which to exercise one's power.

35. Everyone has goals; if nothing else, to obtain the physical necessities of life: food, water and whatever clothing and shelter are made necessary by the climate. But the leisured aristocrat obtains these things without effort. Hence his boredom and demoralization.

36. Nonattainment of important goals results in death if the goals are physical necessities, and in frustration if nonattainment of the goals is compatible with survival. Consistent failure to attain goals throughout life results in defeatism, low self-esteem or depression.

37, Thus, in order to avoid serious psychological problems, a human being needs goals whose attainment requires effort, and he must have a reasonable rate of success in attaining his goals.

SURROGATE ACTIVITIES

38. But not every leisured aristocrat becomes bored and demoralized. For example, the emperor Hirohito, instead of sinking into decadent hedonism, devoted himself to marine biology, a field in which he became distinguished. When people do not have to exert themselves to satisfy their physical needs they often set up artificial goals for themselves. In many cases they then pursue these goals with the same energy and emotional involvement that they otherwise would have put into the search for physical necessities. Thus the aristocrats of the Roman Empire had their literary pretensions; many European aristocrats a few centuries ago invested tremendous time and energy in hunting, though they certainly didn't need the meat; other aristocracies have competed for status through elaborate displays of wealth; and a few aristocrats, like Hirohito, have turned to science.

39. We use the term "surrogate activity" to designate an activity that is directed toward an artificial goal that people set up for themselves merely in order to have some goal to work toward, or let us say, merely for the sake of the "fulfillment" that they get from pursuing the goal. Here is a rule of thumb for the identification of surrogate activities. Given a person who devotes much time and energy to the pursuit of goal X, ask yourself this: If he had to devote most of his time and energy to satisfying his biological needs, and if that effort required him to use his physical and mental faculties in a varied and interesting way, would he feel seriously deprived because he did not attain goal X? If the answer is no, then the person's pursuit of goal X is a surrogate activity. Hirohito's studies in marine biology clearly constituted a surrogate activity, since it is pretty certain that if Hirohito had had to spend his time working at interesting non-scientific tasks in order to obtain the necessities of life, he would not have felt deprived because he didn't know all about the anatomy and life-cycles of marine animals. On the other hand the pursuit of sex and love (for example) is not a surrogate activity, because most people, even if their existence were otherwise satisfactory, would feel deprived if they passed their lives without ever having a relationship with a member of the opposite sex. (But pursuit of an excessive amount of sex, more than one really needs, can be a surrogate activity.)

40. In modern industrial society only minimal effort is necessary to satisfy one's physical needs. It is enough to go through a training program to acquire some petty technical skill, then come to work on time and exert the very modest effort needed to hold a job. The only requirements are a moderate amount of intelligence and, most of all, simple OBEDIENCE. If one has those, society takes care of one from cradle to grave. (Yes, there is an underclass that cannot take the physical necessities for granted, but we are speaking here of mainstream society.) Thus it is not surprising that modern society is full of surrogate activities. These include scientific work, athletic achievement, humanitarian work, artistic and literary creation, climbing the corporate ladder, acquisition of money and material goods far beyond the point at which they cease to give any additional physical satisfaction, and social activism when it addresses issues that are not important for the activist personally, as in the case of white activists who work for the rights of nonwhite minorities. These are not always PURE surrogate activities, since for many people they may be motivated in part by needs other than the need to have some goal to pursue. Scientific work may be motivated in part by a drive for prestige, artistic creation by a need to express feelings, militant social activism by hostility. But for most people who pursue them, these activities are in large part surrogate activities. For example, the majority of scientists will probably agree that the "fulfillment" they get from their work is more important than the money and prestige they earn.

41. For many if not most people, surrogate activities are less satisfying than the pursuit of real goals (that is, goals that people would want to attain even if their need for the power process were already fulfilled). One indication of this is the fact that, in many or most cases, people who are deeply involved in surrogate activities are never satisfied, never at rest. Thus the money-maker constantly strives for more and more wealth. The scientist no sooner solves one problem than he moves on to the next. The long-distance runner drives himself to run always farther and faster. Many people who pursue surrogate activities will say that they get far more fulfillment from these activities than they do from the "mundane" business of satisfying their biological needs, but that is because in our society the effort needed to satisfy the biological needs has been reduced to triviality. More importantly, in our society people do not satisfy their biological needs AUTONOMOUSLY but by functioning as parts of an immense social machine. In contrast, people generally have a great deal of autonomy in pursuing their surrogate activities.

AUTONOMY

42. Autonomy as a part of the power process may not be necessary for every individual. But most people need a greater or lesser degree of autonomy in working toward their goals. Their efforts must be undertaken on their own initiative and must be under their own direction and control. Yet most people do not have to exert this initiative, direction and control as single individuals. It is usually enough to act as a member of a SMALL group. Thus if half a dozen people discuss a goal among themselves and make a successful joint effort to attain that goal, their need for the power process will be served. But if they work under rigid orders handed down from above that leave them no room for autonomous decision and initiative, then their need for the power process will not be served. The same is true when decisions are made on a collective basis if the group making the collective decision is so large that the role of each individual is insignificant. [5]

43. It is true that some individuals seem to have little need for autonomy. Either their drive for power is weak or they satisfy it by identifying themselves with some powerful organization to which they belong. And then there are unthinking, animal types who seem to be satisfied with a purely physical sense of power (the good combat soldier, who gets his sense of power by developing fighting skills that he is quite content to use in blind obedience to his superiors).

44. But for most people it is through the power processshaving a goal, making an AUTONOMOUS effort and attaining the goalsthat self-esteem, self-confidence and a sense of power are acquired. When one does not have adequate opportunity to go through the power process the consequences are (depending on the individual and on the way the power process is disrupted) boredom, demoralization, low self-esteem, inferiority feelings, defeatism, depression, anxiety, guilt, frustration, hostility, spouse or child abuse, insatiable hedonism, abnormal sexual behavior, sleep disorders, eating disorders, etc. [6]

SOURCES OF SOCIAL PROBLEMS

45. Any of the foregoing symptoms can occur in any society, but in modern industrial society they are present on a massive scale. We aren't the first to mention that the world today seems to be going crazy. This sort of thing is not normal for human societies. There is good reason to believe that primitive man suffered from less stress and frustration and was better satisfied with his way of life than modern man is. It is true that not all was sweetness and light in primitive societies. Abuse of women was common among the Australian aborigines, transexuality was fairly common among some of the American Indian tribes. But it does appear that GENERALLY SPEAKING the kinds of problems that we have listed in the preceding paragraph were far less common among primitive peoples than they are in modern society.

46. We attribute the social and psychological problems of modern society to the fact that that society requires people to live under conditions radically different from those under which the evolved and to behave in ways that conflict with the patterns of behavior that the human race developed while living under the earlier conditions. It is clear from what we have already written that we consider lack of opportunity to properly experience the power process as the most important of the abnormal conditions to which modern society subjects people. But it is not the only one. Before dealing with disruption of the power process as a source of social problems we will discuss some of the other sources.

47. Among the abnormal conditions present in modern industrial society are excessive density of population, isolation of man from nature, excessive rapidity of social change and the breakdown of natural small-scale communities such as the extended family, the village or the tribe.

48. It is well known that crowding increases stress and aggression. The degree of crowding that exists today and the isolation of man from nature are consequences of technological progress. All pre-industrial societies were predominantly rural. The Industrial Revolution vastly increased the size of cities and the proportion of the population that lives in them, and modern agricultural technology has made it possible for the Earth to support a far denser population than it ever did before. (Also, technology exacerbates the effects of crowding because it puts increased disruptive powers in people's hands. For example, a variety of noise-making devices: power mowers, radios, motorcycles, etc. If the use of these devices is unrestricted, people who want peace and quiet are frustrated by the noise. If their use is restricted, people who use the devices are frustrated by the regulations. But if these machines had never been invented there would have been no conflict and no frustration generated by them.)

49. For primitive societies the natural world (which usually changes only slowly) provided a stable framework and therefore a sense of security. In the modern world it is human society that dominates nature rather than the other way around, and modern society changes very rapidly owing to technological change. Thus there is no stable framework.

50. The conservatives are fools: They whine about the decay of traditional values, yet they enthusiastically support technological progress and economic growth. Apparently it never occurs to them that you can't make rapid, drastic changes in the technology and the economy of a society without causing rapid changes in all other aspects of the society as well, and that such rapid changes inevitably break down traditional values.

51. The breakdown of traditional values to some extent implies the breakdown of the bonds that hold together traditional small-scale social groups. The disintegration of small-scale social groups is also promoted by the fact that modern conditions often require or tempt individuals to move to new locations, separating themselves from their communities. Beyond that, a technological society HAS TO weaken family ties and local communities if it is to function efficiently. In modern society an individual's loyalty must be first to the system and only secondarily to a small-scale community, because if the internal loyalties of small-scale communities were stronger than loyalty to the system, such communities would pursue their own advantage at the expense of the system.

52. Suppose that a public official or a corporation executive appoints his cousin, his friend or his co-religionist to a position rather than appointing the person best qualified for the job. He has permitted personal loyalty to supersede his loyalty to the system, and that is "nepotism" or "discrimination," both of which are terrible sins in modern society. Would-be industrial societies that have done a poor job of subordinating personal or local loyalties to loyalty to the system are usually very inefficient. (Look at Latin America.) Thus an advanced industrial society can tolerate only those small-scale communities that are emasculated, tamed and made into tools of the system. [7]

53. Crowding, rapid change and the breakdown of communities have been widely recognized as sources of social problems. But we do not believe they are enough to account for the extent of the problems that are seen today.

54. A few pre-industrial cities were very large and crowded, yet their inhabitants do not seem to have suffered from psychological problems to the same extent as modern man. In America today there still are uncrowded rural areas, and we find there the same problems as in urban areas, though the problems tend to be less acute in the rural areas. Thus crowding does not seem to be the decisive factor.

55. On the growing edge of the American frontier during the 19th century, the mobility of the population probably broke down extended families and small-scale social groups to at least the same extent as these are broken down today. In fact, many nuclear families lived by choice in such isolation, having no neighbors within several miles, that they belonged to no community at all, yet they do not seem to have developed problems as a result.

56. Furthermore, change in American frontier society was very rapid and deep. A man might be born and raised in a log cabin, outside the reach of law and order and fed largely on wild meat; and by the time he arrived at old age he might be working at a regular job and living in an ordered community with effective law enforcement. This was a deeper change than that which typically occurs in the life of a modern individual, yet it does not seem to have led to psychological problems. In fact, 19th century American society had an optimistic and self-confident tone, quite unlike that of today's society. [8]

57. The difference, we argue, is that modern man has the sense (largely justified) that change is IMPOSED on him, whereas the 19th century frontiersman had the sense (also largely justified) that he created change himself, by his own choice. Thus a pioneer settled on a piece of land of his own choosing and made it into a farm through his own effort. In those days an entire county might have only a couple of hundred inhabitants and was a far more isolated and autonomous entity than a modern county is. Hence the pioneer farmer participated as a member of a relatively small group in the creation of a new, ordered community. One may well question whether the creation of this community was an improvement, but at any rate it satisfied the pioneer's need for the power process.

58. It would be possible to give other examples of societies in which there has been rapid change and/or lack of close community ties without the kind of massive behavioral aberration that is seen in today's industrial society. We contend that the most important cause of social and psychological problems in modern society is the fact that people have insufficient opportunity to go through the power process in a normal way. We don't mean to say that modern society is the only one in which the power process has been disrupted. Probably most if not all civilized societies have interfered with the power process to a greater or lesser extent. But in modern industrial society the problem has become particularly acute. Leftism, at least in its recent (mid- to late-20th century) form, is in part a symptom of deprivation with respect to the power process.

DISRUPTION OF THE POWER PROCESS IN MODERN SOCIETY

59. We divide human drives into three groups: (1) those drives that can be satisfied with minimal effort; (2) those that can be satisfied but only at the cost of serious effort; (3) those that cannot be adequately satisfied no matter how much effort one makes. The power process is the process of satisfying the drives of the second group. The more drives there are in the third group, the more there is frustration, anger, eventually defeatism, depression, etc.

60. In modern industrial society natural human drives tend to be pushed into the first and third groups, and the second group tends to consist increasingly of artificially created drives.

61. In primitive societies, physical necessities generally fall into group 2: They can be obtained, but only at the cost of serious effort. But modern society tends to guaranty the physical necessities to everyone [9] in exchange for only minimal effort, hence physical needs are pushed into group 1. (There may be disagreement about whether the effort needed to hold a job is "minimal"; but usually, in lower- to middle-level jobs, whatever effort is required is merely that of OBEDIENCE. You sit or stand where you are told to sit or stand and do what you are told to do in the way you are told to do it. Seldom do you have to exert yourself seriously, and in any case you have hardly any autonomy in work, so that the need for the power process is not well served.)

62. Social needs, such as sex, love and status, often remain in group 2 in modern society, depending on the situation of the individual. [10] But, except for people who have a particularly strong drive for status, the effort required to fulfill the social drives is insufficient to satisfy adequately the need for the power process.

63. So certain artificial needs have been created that fall into group 2, hence serve the need for the power process. Advertising and marketing techniques have been developed that make many people feel they need things that their grandparents never desired or even dreamed of. It requires serious effort to earn enough money to satisfy these artificial needs, hence they fall into group 2. (But see paragraphs 80-82.) Modern man must satisfy his need for the power process largely through pursuit of the artificial needs created by the advertising and marketing industry [11], and through surrogate activities.

64. It seems that for many people, maybe the majority, these artificial forms of the power process are insufficient. A theme that appears repeatedly in the writings of the social critics of the second half of the 20th century is the sense of purposelessness that afflicts many people in modern society. (This purposelessness is often called by other names such as "anomic" or "middle-class vacuity.") We suggest that the so-called "identity crisis" is actually a search for a sense of purpose, often for commitment to a suitable surrogate activity. It may be that existentialism is in large part a response to the purposelessness of modern life. [12] Very widespread in modern society is the search for "fulfillment." But we think that for the majority of people an activity whose main goal is fulfillment (that is, a surrogate activity) does not bring completely satisfactory fulfillment. In other words, it does not fully satisfy the need for the power process. (See paragraph 41.) That need can be fully satisfied only through activities that have some external goal, such as physical necessities, sex, love, status, revenge, etc.

65. Moreover, where goals are pursued through earning money, climbing the status ladder or functioning as part of the system in some other way, most people are not in a position to pursue their goals AUTONOMOUSLY. Most workers are someone else's employee and, as we pointed out in paragraph 61, must spend their days doing what they are told to do in the way they are told to do it. Even people who are in business for themselves have only limited autonomy. It is a chronic complaint of small-business persons and entrepreneurs that their hands are tied by excessive government regulation. Some of these regulations are doubtless unnecessary, but for the most part government regulations are essential and inevitable parts of our extremely complex society. A large portion of small business today operates on the franchise system. It was reported in the Wall Street Journal a few years ago that many of the franchise-granting companies require applicants for franchises to take a personality test that is designed to EXCLUDE those who have creativity and initiative, because such persons are not sufficiently docile to go along obediently with the franchise system. This excludes from small business many of the people who most need autonomy.

66. Today people live more by virtue of what the system does FOR them or TO them than by virtue of what they do for themselves. And what they do for themselves is done more and more along channels laid down by the system. Opportunities tend to be those that the system provides, the opportunities must be exploited in accord with rules and regulations [13], and techniques prescribed by experts must be followed if there is to be a chance of success.

67. Thus the power process is disrupted in our society through a deficiency of real goals and a deficiency of autonomy in the pursuit of goals. But it is also disrupted because of those human drives that fall into group 3: the drives that one cannot adequately satisfy no matter how much effort one makes. One of these drives is the need for security. Our lives depend on decisions made by other people; we have no control over these decisions and usually we do not even know the people who make them. ("We live in a world in which relatively few peoplesmaybe 500 or 1,000smake the important decisions"sPhilip B. Heymann of Harvard Law School, quoted by Anthony Lewis, New York Times, April 21, 1995.) Our lives depend on whether safety standards at a nuclear power plant are properly maintained; on how much pesticide is allowed to get into our food or how much pollution into our air; on how skillful (or incompetent) our doctor is; whether we lose or get a job may depend on decisions made by government economists or corporation executives; and so forth. Most individuals are not in a position to secure themselves against these threats to more [than] a very limited extent. The individual's search for security is therefore frustrated, which leads to a sense of powerlessness.

68. It may be objected that primitive man is physically less secure than modern man, as is shown by his shorter life expectancy; hence modern man suffers from less, not more than the amount of insecurity that is normal for human beings. But psychological security does not closely correspond with physical security. What makes us FEEL secure is not so much objective security as a sense of confidence in our ability to take care of ourselves. Primitive man, threatened by a fierce animal or by hunger, can fight in self-defense or travel in search of food. He has no certainty of success in these efforts, but he is by no means helpless against the things that threaten him. The modern individual on the other hand is threatened by many things against which he is helpless: nuclear accidents, carcinogens in food, environmental pollution, war, increasing taxes, invasion of his privacy by large organizations, nationwide social or economic phenomena that may disrupt his way of life.

69. It is true that primitive man is powerless against some of the things that threaten him; disease for example. But he can accept the risk of disease stoically. It is part of the nature of things, it is no one's fault, unless it is the fault of some imaginary, impersonal demon. But threats to the modern individual tend to be MAN-MADE. They are not the results of chance but are IMPOSED on him by other persons whose decisions he, as an individual, is unable to influence. Consequently he feels frustrated, humiliated and angry.

70. Thus primitive man for the most part has his security in his own hands (either as an individual or as a member of a SMALL group) whereas the security of modern man is in the hands of persons or organizations that are too remote or too large for him to be able personally to influence them. So modern man's drive for security tends to fall into groups 1 and 3; in some areas (food, shelter etc.) his security is assured at the cost of only trivial effort, whereas in other areas he CANNOT attain security. (The foregoing greatly simplifies the real situation, but it does indicate in a rough, general way how the condition of modern man differs from that of primitive man.)

71. People have many transitory drives or impulses that are necessarily frustrated in modern life, hence fall into group 3. One may become angry, but modern society cannot permit fighting. In many situations it does not even permit verbal aggression. When going somewhere one may be in a hurry, or one may be in a mood to travel slowly, but one generally has no choice but to move with the flow of traffic and obey the traffic signals. One may want to do one's work in a different way, but usually one can work only according to the rules laid down by one's employer. In many other ways as well, modern man is strapped down by a network of rules and regulations (explicit or implicit) that frustrate many of his impulses and thus interfere with the power process. Most of these regulations cannot be dispensed with, because they are necessary for the functioning of industrial society.

72. Modern society is in certain respects extremely permissive. In matters that are irrelevant to the functioning of the system we can generally do what we please. We can believe in any religion we like (as long as it does not encourage behavior that is dangerous to the system). We can go to bed with anyone we like (as long as we practice "safe sex"). We can do anything we like as long as it is UNIMPORTANT. But in all IMPORTANT matters the system tends increasingly to regulate our behavior.

73. Behavior is regulated not only through explicit rules and not only by the government. Control is often exercised through indirect coercion or through psychological pressure or manipulation, and by organizations other than the government, or by the system as a whole. Most large organizations use some form of propaganda [14] to manipulate public attitudes or behavior. Propaganda is not limited to "commercials" and advertisements, and sometimes it is not even consciously intended as propaganda by the people who make it. For instance, the content of entertainment programming is a powerful form of propaganda. An example of indirect coercion: There is no law that says we have to go to work every day and follow our employer's orders. Legally there is nothing to prevent us from going to live in the wild like primitive people or from going into business for ourselves. But in practice there is very little wild country left, and there is room in the economy for only a limited number of small business owners. Hence most of us can survive only as someone else's employee.

74. We suggest that modern man's obsession with longevity, and with maintaining physical vigor and sexual attractiveness to an advanced age, is a symptom of unfulfillment resulting from deprivation with respect to the power process. The "mid-life crisis" also is such a symptom. So is the lack of interest in having children that is fairly common in modern society but almost unheard-of in primitive societies.

75. In primitive societies life is a succession of stages. The needs and purposes of one stage having been fulfilled, there is no particular reluctance about passing on to the next stage. A young man goes through the power process by becoming a hunter, hunting not for sport or for fulfillment but to get meat that is necessary for food. (In young women the process is more complex, with greater emphasis on social power; we won't discuss that here.) This phase having been successfully passed through, the young man has no reluctance about settling down to the responsibilities of raising a family. (In contrast, some modern people indefinitely postpone having children because they are too busy seeking some kind of "fulfillment." We suggest that the fulfillment they need is adequate experience of the power processswith real goals instead of the artificial goals of surrogate activities.) Again, having successfully raised his children, going through the power process by providing them with the physical necessities, the primitive man feels that his work is done and he is prepared to accept old age (if he survives that long) and death. Many modern people, on the other hand, are disturbed by the prospect of physical deterioration and death, as is shown by the amount of effort they expend trying to maintain their physical condition, appearance and health. We argue that this is due to unfulfillment resulting from the fact that they have never put their physical powers to any practical use, have never gone through the power process using their bodies in a serious way. It is not the primitive man, who has used his body daily for practical purposes, who fears the deterioration of age, but the modern man, who has never had a practical use for his body beyond walking from his car to his house. It is the man whose need for the power process has been satisfied during his life who is best prepared to accept the end of that life.

76. In response to the arguments of this section someone will say, "Society must find a way to give people the opportunity to go through the power process." For such people the value of the opportunity is destroyed by the very fact that society gives it to them. What they need is to find or make their own opportunities. As long as the system GIVES them their opportunities it still has them on a leash. To attain autonomy they must get off that leash.

HOW SOME People adjust

77. Not everyone in industrial-technological society suffers from psychological problems. Some people even profess to be quite satisfied with society as it is. We now discuss some of the reasons why people differ so greatly in their response to modern society.

78. First, there doubtless are differences in the strength of the drive for power. Individuals with a weak drive for power may have relatively little need to go through the power process, or at least relatively little need for autonomy in the power process. These are docile types who would have been happy as plantation darkies in the Old South. (We don't mean to sneer at the "plantation darkies" of the Old South. To their credit, most of the slaves were NOT content with their servitude. We do sneer at people who ARE content with servitude.)

79. Some people may have some exceptional drive, in pursuing which they satisfy their need for the power process. For example, those who have an unusually strong drive for social status may spend their whole lives climbing the status ladder without ever getting bored with that game.

80. People vary in their susceptibility to advertising and marketing techniques. Some are so susceptible that, even if they make a great deal of money, they cannot satisfy their constant craving for the the shiny new toys that the marketing industry dangles before their eyes. So they always feel hard-pressed financially even if their income is large, and their cravings are frustrated.

81. Some people have low susceptibility to advertising and marketing techniques. These are the people who aren't interested in money. Material acquisition does not serve their need for the power process.

82. People who have medium susceptibility to advertising and marketing techniques are able to earn enough money to satisfy their craving for goods and services, but only at the cost of serious effort (putting in overtime, taking a second job, earning promotions, etc.). Thus material acquisition serves their need for the power process. But it does not necessarily follow that their need is fully satisfied. They may have insufficient autonomy in the power process (their work may consist of following orders) and some of their drives may be frustrated (e.g., security, aggression). (We are guilty of oversimplification in paragraphs 80-82 because we have assumed that the desire for material acquisition is entirely a creation of the advertising and marketing industry. Of course it's not that simple. [11]

83. Some people partly satisfy their need for power by identifying themselves with a powerful organization or mass movement. An individual lacking goals or power joins a movement or an organization, adopts its goals as his own, then works toward those goals. When some of the goals are attained, the individual, even though his personal efforts have played only an insignificant part in the attainment of the goals, feels (through his identif ication with the movement or organization) as if he had gone through the power process. This phenomenon was exploited by the fascists, nazis and communists. Our society uses it too, though less crudely. Example: Manuel Noriega was an irritant to the U.S. (goal: punish Noriega). The U.S. invaded Panama (effort) and punished Noriega (attainment of goal). Thus the U.S. went through the power process and many Americans, because of their identification with the U.S., experienced the power process vicariously. Hence the widespread public approval of the Panama invasion; it gave people a sense of power. [15] We see the same phenomenon in armies, corporations, political parties, humanitarian organizations, religious or ideological movements. In particular, leftist movements tend to attract people who are seeking to satisfy their need for power. But for most people identification with a large organization or a mass movement does not fully satisfy the need for power.

84. Another way in which people satisfy their need for the power process is through surrogate activities. As we explained in paragraphs 38-40, a surrogate activity is an activity that is directed toward an artificial goal that the individual pursues for the sake of the "fulfillment" that he gets from pursuing the goal, not because he needs to attain the goal itself. For instance, there is no practical motive for building enormous muscles, hitting a little ball into a hole or acquiring a complete series of postage stamps. Yet many people in our society devote themselves with passion to bodybuilding, golf or stamp-collecting. Some people are more "other-directed" than others, and therefore will more readily attach importance to a surrogate activity simply because the people around them treat it as important or because society tells them it is important. That is why some people get very serious about essentially trivial activities such as sports, or bridge, or chess, or arcane scholarly pursuits, whereas others who are more clear-sighted never see these things as anything but the surrogate activities that they are, and consequently never attach enough importance to them to satisfy their need for the power process in that way. It only remains to point out that in many cases a person's way of earning a living is also a surrogate activity. Not a PURE surrogate activity, since part of the motive for the activity is to gain the physical necessities and (for some people) social status and the luxuries that advertising makes them want. But many people put into their work far more effort than is necessary to earn whatever money and status they require, and this extra effort constitutes a surrogate activity. This extra effort, together with the emotional investment that accompanies it, is one of the most potent forces acting toward the continual development and perfecting of the system, with negative consequences for individual freedom (see paragraph 131). Especially, for the most creative scientists and engineers, work tends to be largely a surrogate activity. This point is so important that it deserves a separate discussion, which we shall give in a moment (paragraphs 87-92).

85. In this section we have explained how many people in modern society do satisfy their need for the power process to a greater or lesser extent. But we think that for the majority of people the need for the power process is not fully satisfied. In the first place, those who have an insatiable drive for status, or who get firmly "hooked" on a surrogate activity, or who identify strongly enough with a movement or organization to satisfy their need for power in that way, are exceptional personalities. Others are not fully satisfied with surrogate activities or by identification with an organization (see paragraphs 41, 64). In the second place, too much control is imposed by the system through explicit regulation or through socialization, which results in a deficiency of autonomy, and in frustration due to the impossibility of attaining certain goals and the necessity of restraining too many impulses.

86. But even if most people in industrial-technological society were well satisfied, we (FC) would still be opposed to that form of society, because (among other reasons) we consider it demeaning to fulfill one's need for the power process through surrogate activities or through identification with an organization, rather than through pursuit of real goals.

THE MOTIVES OF SCIENTISTS

87. Science and technology provide the most important examples of surrogate activities. Some scientists claim that they are motivated by "curiosity" or by a desire to "benefit humanity." But it is easy to see that neither of these can be the principal motive of most scientists. As for "curiosity," that notion is simply absurd. Most scientists work on highly specialized problems that are not the object of any normal curiosity. For example, is an astronomer, a mathematician or an entomologist curious about the properties of isopropyltrimethylmethane? Of course not. Only a chemist is curious about such a thing, and he is curious about it only because chemistry is his surrogate activity. Is the chemist curious about the appropriate classification of a new species of beetle? No. That question is of interest only to the entomologist, and he is interested in it only because entomology is his surrogate activity. If the chemist and the entomologist had to exert themselves seriously to obtain the physical necessities, and if that effort exercised their abilities in an interesting way but in some nonscientific pursuit, then they wouldn't give a damn about isopropyltrimethylmethane or the classification of beetles. Suppose that lack of funds for postgraduate education had led the chemist to become an insurance broker instead of a chemist. In that case he would have been very interested in insurance matters but would have cared nothing about isopropyltrimethylmethane. In any case it is not normal to put into the satisfaction of mere curiosity the amount of time and effort that scientists put into their work. The "curiosity" explanation for the scientists' motive just doesn't stand up.

88. The "benefit of humanity" explanation doesn't work any better. Some scientific work has no conceivable relation to the welfare of the human racesmost of archaeology or comparative linguistics for example. Some other areas of science present obviously dangerous possibilities. Yet scientists in these areas are just as enthusiastic about their work as those who develop vaccines or study air pollution. Consider the case of Dr. Edward Teller, who had an obvious emotional involvement in promoting nuclear power plants. Did this involvement stem from a desire to benefit humanity? If so, then why didn't Dr. Teller get emotional about other "humanitarian" causes? If he was such a humanitarian then why did he help to develop the H-bomb? As with many other scientific achievements, it is very much open to question whether nuclear power plants actually do benefit humanity. Does the cheap electricity outweigh the accumulating waste and the risk of accidents? Dr. Teller saw only one side of the question. Clearly his emotional involvement with nuclear power arose not from a desire to "benefit humanity" but from a personal fulfillment he got from his work and from seeing it put to practical use.

89. The same is true of scientists generally. With possible rare exceptions, their motive is neither curiosity nor a desire to benefit humanity but the need to go through the power process: to have a goal (a scientific problem to solve), to make an effort (research) and to attain the goal (solution of the problem.) Science is a surrogate activity because scientists work mainly for the fulfillment they get out of the work itself.

90. Of course, it's not that simple. Other motives do play a role for many scientists. Money and status for example. Some scientists may be persons of the type who have an insatiable drive for status (see paragraph 79) and this may provide much of the motivation for their work. No doubt the majority of scientists, like the majority of the general population, are more or less susceptible to advertising and marketing techniques and need money to satisfy their craving for goods and services. Thus science is not a PURE surrogate activity. But it is in large part a surrogate activity.

91. Also, science and technology constitute a power mass movement, and many scientists gratify their need for power through identification with this mass movement (see paragraph 83).

92. Thus science marches on blindly, without regard to the real welfare of the human race or to any other standard, obedient only to the psychological needs of the scientists and of the government officials and corporation executives who provide the funds for research.

THE NATURE OF FREEDOM

93. We are going to argue that industrial-technological society cannot be reformed in such a way as to prevent it from progressively narrowing the sphere of human freedom. But, because "freedom" is a word that can be interpreted in many ways, we must first make clear what kind of freedom we are concerned with.

94. By "freedom" we mean the opportunity to go through the power process, with real goals not the artificial goals of surrogate activities, and without interference, manipulation or supervision from anyone, especially from any large organization. Freedom means being in control (either as an individual or as a member of a SMALL group) of the life-and-death issues of one's existence; food, clothing, shelter and defense against whatever threats there may be in one's environment. Freedom means having power; not the power to control other people but the power to control the circumstances of one's own life. One does not have freedom if anyone else (especially a large organization) has power over one, no matter how benevolently, tolerantly and permissively that power may be exercised. It is important not to confuse freedom with mere permissiveness (see paragraph 72).

95. It is said that we live in a free society because we have a certain number of constitutionally guaranteed rights. But these are not as important as they seem. The degree of personal freedom that exists in a society is determined more by the economic and technological structure of the society than by its laws or its form of government. [16] Most of the Indian nations of New England were monarchies, and many of the cities of the Italian Renaissance were controlled by dictators. But in reading about these societies one gets the impression that they allowed far more personal freedom than our society does. In part this was because they lacked efficient mechanisms for enforcing the ruler's will: There were no modern, well-organized police forces, no rapid long-distance communications, no surveillance cameras, no dossiers of information about the lives of average citizens. Hence it was relatively easy to evade control.

96. As for our constitutional rights, consider for example that of freedom of the press. We certainly don't mean to knock that right; it is very important tool for limiting concentration of political power and for keeping those who do have political power in line by publicly exposing any misbehavior on their part. But freedom of the press is of very little use to the average citizen as an individual. The mass media are mostly under the control of large organizations that are integrated into the system. Anyone who has a little money can have something printed, or can distribute it on the Internet or in some such way, but what he has to say will be swamped by the vast volume of material put out by the media, hence it will have no practical effect. To make an impression on society with words is therefore almost impossible for most individuals and small groups. Take us (FC) for example. If we had never done anything violent and had submitted the present writings to a publisher, they probably would not have been accepted. If they had been been accepted and published, they probably would not have attracted many readers, because it's more fun to watch the entertainment put out by the media than to read a sober essay. Even if these writings had had many readers, most of these readers would soon have forgotten what they had read as their minds were flooded by the mass of material to which the media expose them. In order to get our message before the public with some chance of making a lasting impression, we've had to kill people.

97. Constitutional rights are useful up to a point, but they do not serve to guarantee much more than what might be called the bourgeois conception of freedom. According to the bourgeois conception, a "free" man is essentially an element of a social machine and has only a certain set of prescribed and delimited freedoms; freedoms that are designed to serve the needs of the social machine more than those of the individual. Thus the bourgeois's "free" man has economic freedom because that promotes growth and progress; he has freedom of the press because public criticism restrains misbehavior by political leaders; he has a right to a fair trial because imprisonment at the whim of the powerful would be bad for the system. This was clearly the attitude of Simon Bolivar. To him, people deserved liberty only if they used it to promote progress (progress as conceived by the bourgeois). Other bourgeois thinkers have taken a similar view of freedom as a mere means to collective ends. Chester C. Tan, "Chinese Political Thought in the Twentieth Century," page 202, explains the philosophy of the Kuomintang leader Hu Han-min: "An individual is granted rights because he is a member of society and his community life requires such rights. By community Hu meant the whole society of the nation." And on page 259 Tan states that according to Carsum Chang (Chang Chun-mai, head of the State Socialist Party in China) freedom had to be used in the interest of the state and of the people as a whole. But what kind of freedom does one have if one can use it only as someone else prescribes? FC's conception of freedom is not that of Bolivar, Hu, Chang or other bourgeois theorists. The trouble with such theorists is that they have made the development and application of social theories their surrogate activity. Consequently the theories are designed to serve the needs of the theorists more than the needs of any people who may be unlucky enough to live in a society on which the theories are imposed.

98. One more point to be made in this section: It should not be assumed that a person has enough freedom just because he SAYS he has enough. Freedom is restricted in part by psychological controls of which people are unconscious, and moreover many people's ideas of what constitutes freedom are governed more by social convention than by their real needs. For example, it's likely that many leftists of the oversocialized type would say that most people, including themselves, are socialized too little rather than too much, yet the oversocialized leftist pays a heavy psychological price for his high level of socialization.

SOME PRINCIPLES OF HISTORY

99. Think of history as being the sum of two components: an erratic component that consists of unpredictable events that follow no discernible pattern, and a regular component that consists of long-term historical trends. Here we are concerned with the long-term trends.

100. FIRST PRINCIPLE. If a SMALL change is made that affects a long-term historical trend, then the effect of that change will almost always be transitorysthe trend will soon revert to its original state. (Example: A reform movement designed to clean up political corruption in a society rarely has more than a short-term effect; sooner or later the reformers relax and corruption creeps back in. The level of political corruption in a given society tends to remain constant, or to change only slowly with the evolution of the society. Normally, a political cleanup will be permanent only if accompanied by widespread social changes; a SMALL change in the society won't be enough.) If a small change in a long-term historical trend appears to be permanent, it is only because the change acts in the direction in which the trend is already moving, so that the trend is not altered by only pushed a step ahead.

101. The first principle is almost a tautology. If a trend were not stable with respect to small changes, it would wander at random rather than following a definite direction; in other words it would not be a long-term trend at all.

102. SECOND PRINCIPLE. If a change is made that is sufficiently large to alter permanently a long-term historical trend, then it will alter the society as a whole. In other words, a society is a system in which all parts are interrelated, and you can't permanently change any important part without changing all other parts as well.

103. THIRD PRINCIPLE. If a change is made that is large enough to alter permanently a long-term trend, then the consequences for the society as a whole cannot be predicted in advance. (Unless various other societies have passed through the same change and have all experienced the same consequences, in which case one can predict on empirical grounds that another society that passes through the same change will be like to experience similar consequences.)

104. FOURTH PRINCIPLE. A new kind of society cannot be designed on paper. That is, you cannot plan out a new form of society in advance, then set it up and expect it to function as it was designed to do.

105. The third and fourth principles result from the complexity of human societies. A change in human behavior will affect the economy of a society and its physical environment; the economy will affect the environment and vice versa, and the changes in the economy and the environment will affect human behavior in complex, unpredictable ways; and so forth. The network of causes and effects is far too complex to be untangled and understood.

106. FIFTH PRINCIPLE. People do not consciously and rationally choose the form of their society. Societies develop through processes of social evolution that are not under rational human control.

107. The fifth principle is a consequence of the other four.

108. To illustrate: By the first principle, generally speaking an attempt at social reform either acts in the direction in which the society is developing anyway (so that it merely accelerates a change that would have occurred in any case) or else it has only a transitory effect, so that the society soon slips back into its old groove. To make a lasting change in the direction of development of any important aspect of a society, reform is insufficient and revolution is required. (A revolution does not necessarily involve an armed uprising or the overthrow of a government.) By the second principle, a revolution never changes only one aspect of a society, it changes the whole society; and by the third principle changes occur that were never expected or desired by the revolutionaries. By the fourth principle, when revolutionaries or utopians set up a new kind of society, it never works out as planned.

109. The American Revolution does not provide a counterexample. The American "Revolution" was not a revolution in our sense of the word, but a war of independence followed by a rather far-reaching political reform. The Founding Fathers did not change the direction of development of American society, nor did they aspire to do so. They only freed the development of American society from the retarding effect of British rule. Their political reform did not change any basic trend, but only pushed American political culture along its natural direction of development. British society, of which American society was an offshoot, had been moving for a long time in the direction of representative democracy. And prior to the War of Independence the Americans were already practicing a significant degree of representative democracy in the colonial assemblies. The political system established by the Constitution was modeled on the British system and on the colonial assemblies. With major alteration, to be suresthere is no doubt that the Founding Fathers took a very important step. But it was a step along the road that English-speaking world was already traveling. The proof is that Britain and all of its colonies that were populated predominantly by people of British descent ended up with systems of representative democracy essentially similar to that of the United States. If the Founding Fathers had lost their nerve and declined to sign the Declaration of Independence, our way of life today would not have been significantly different. Maybe we would have had somewhat closer ties to Britain, and would have had a Parliament and Prime Minister instead of a Congress and President. No big deal. Thus the American Revolution provides not a counterexample to our principles but a good illustration of them.

110. Still, one has to use common sense in applying the principles. They are expressed in imprecise language that allows latitude for interpretation, and exceptions to them can be found. So we present these principles not as inviolable laws but as rules of thumb, or guides to thinking, that may provide a partial antidote to naive ideas about the future of society. The principles should be borne constantly in mind, and whenever one reaches a conclusion that conflicts with them one should carefully reexamine one's thinking and retain the conclusion only if one has good, solid reasons for doing so.

INDUSTRIAL-TECHNOLOGICAL SOCIETY CANNOT BE REFORMED

111. The foregoing principles help to show how hopelessly difficult it would be to reform the industrial system in such a way as to prevent it from progressively narrowing our sphere of freedom. There has been a consistent tendency, going back at least to the Industrial Revolution for technology to strengthen the system at a high cost in individual freedom and local autonomy. Hence any change designed to protect freedom from technology would be contrary to a fundamental trend in the development of our society. Consequently, such a change either would be a transitory onessoon swamped by the tide of historysor, if large enough to be permanent would alter the nature of our whole society. This by the first and second principles. Moreover, since society would be altered in a way that could not be predicted in advance (third principle) there would be great risk. Changes large enough to make a lasting difference in favor of freedom would not be initiated because it would be realized that they would gravely disrupt the system. So any attempts at reform would be too timid to be effective. Even if changes large enough to make a lasting difference were initiated, they would be retracted when their disruptive effects became apparent. Thus, permanent changes in favor of freedom could be brought about only by persons prepared to accept radical, dangerous and unpredictable alteration of the entire system. In other words by revolutionaries, not reformers.

112. People anxious to rescue freedom without sacrificing the supposed benefits of technology will suggest naive schemes for some new form of society that would reconcile freedom with technology. Apart from the fact that people who make such suggestions seldom propose any practical means by which the new form of society could be set up in the first place, it follows from the fourth principle that even if the new form of society could be once established, it either would collapse or would give results very different from those expected.

113. So even on very general grounds it seems highly improbable that any way of changing society could be found that would reconcile freedom with modern technology. In the next few sections we will give more specific reasons for concluding that freedom and technological progress are incompatible.

RESTRICTION OF FREEDOM IS UNAVOIDABLE IN INDUSTRIAL SOCIETY

114. As explained in paragraphs 65-67, 70-73, modern man is strapped down by a network of rules and regulations, and his fate depends on the actions of persons remote from him whose decisions he cannot influence. This is not accidental or a result of the arbitrariness of arrogant bureaucrats. It is necessary and inevitable in any technologically advanced society. The system HAS TO regulate human behavior closely in order to function. At work people have to do what they are told to do, otherwise production would be thrown into chaos. Bureaucracies HAVE TO be run according to rigid rules. To allow any substantial personal discretion to lower-level bureaucrats would disrupt the system and lead to charges of unfairness due to differences in the way individual bureaucrats exercised their discretion. It is true that some restrictions on our freedom could be eliminated, but GENERALLY SPEAKING the regulation of our lives by large organizations is necessary for the functioning of industrial-technological society. The result is a sense of powerlessness on the part of the average person. It may be, however, that formal regulations will tend increasingly to be replaced by psychological tools that make us want to do what the system requires of us. (Propaganda [14], educational techniques, "mental health" programs, etc.)

115. The system HAS TO force people to behave in ways that are increasingly remote from the natural pattern of human behavior. For example, the system needs scientists, mathematicians and engineers. It can't function without them. So heavy pressure is put on children to excel in these fields. It isn't natural for an adolescent human being to spend the bulk of his time sitting at a desk absorbed in study. A normal adolescent wants to spend his time in active contact with the real world. Among primitive peoples the things that children are trained to do tend to be in reasonable harmony with natural human impulses. Among the American Indians, for example, boys were trained in active outdoor pursuits just the sort of thing that boys like. But in our society children are pushed into studying technical subjects, which most do grudgingly.

116. Because of the constant pressure that the system exerts to modify human behavior, there is a gradual increase in the number of people who cannot or will nottadjust to society's requirements: welfare leeches, youth-gang members, cultists, anti-government rebels, radical environmentalist saboteurs, dropouts and resisters of various kinds.

117. In any technologically advanced society the individual's fate MUST depend on decisions that he personally cannot influence to any great extent. A technological society cannot be broken down into small, autonomous communities, because production depends on the cooperation of very large numbers of people and machines. Such a society MUST be highly organized and decisions HAVE TO be made that affect very large numbers of people. When a decision affects, say, a million people, then each of the affected individuals has, on the average, only a one-millionth share in making the decision. What usually happens in practice is that decisions are made by public officials or corporation executives, or by technical specialists, but even when the public votes on a decision the number of voters ordinarily is too large for the vote of any one individual to be significant. [17] Thus most individuals are unable to influence measurably the major decisions that affect their lives. There is no conceivable way to remedy this in a technologically advanced society. The system tries to "solve" this problem by using propaganda to make people WANT the decisions that have been made for them, but even if this "solution" were completely successful in making people feel better, it would be demeaning.

118. Conservatives and some others advocate more "local autonomy." Local communities once did have autonomy, but such autonomy becomes less and less possible as local communities become more enmeshed with and dependent on large-scale systems like public utilities, computer networks, highway systems, the mass communications media, the modern health care system. Also operating against autonomy is the fact that technology applied in one location often affects people at other locations far way. Thus pesticide or chemical use near a creek may contaminate the water supply hundreds of miles downstream, and the greenhouse effect affects the whole world.

119. The system does not and cannot exist to satisfy human needs. Instead, it is human behavior that has to be modified to fit the needs of the system. This has nothing to do with the political or social ideology that may pretend to guide the technological system. It is the fault of technology, because the system is guided not by ideology but by technical necessity. [18] Of course the system does satisfy many human needs, but generally speaking it does this only to the extend that it is to the advantage of the system to do it. It is the needs of the system that are paramount, not those of the human being. For example, the system provides people with food because the system couldn't function if everyone starved; it attends to people's psychological needs whenever it can CONVENIENTLY do so, because it couldn't function if too many people became depressed or rebellious. But the system, for good, solid, practical reasons, must exert constant pressure on people to mold their behavior to the needs of the system. To much waste accumulating? The government, the media, the educational system, environmentalists, everyone inundates us with a mass of propaganda about recycling. Need more technical personnel? A chorus of voices exhorts kids to study science. No one stops to ask whether it is inhumane to force adolescents to spend the bulk of their time studying subjects most of them hate. When skilled workers are put out of a job by technical advances and have to undergo "retraining," no one asks whether it is humiliating for them to be pushed around in this way. It is simply taken for granted that everyone must bow to technical necessity. and for good reason: If human needs were put before technical necessity there would be economic problems, unemployment, shortages or worse. The concept of "mental health" in our society is defined largely by the extent to which an individual behaves in accord with the needs of the system and does so without showing signs of stress.

120. Efforts to make room for a sense of purpose and for autonomy within the system are no better than a joke. For example, one company, instead of having each of its employees assemble only one section of a catalogue, had each assemble a whole catalogue, and this was supposed to give them a sense of purpose and achievement. Some companies have tried to give their employees more autonomy in their work, but for practical reasons this usually can be done only to a very limited extent, and in any case employees are never given autonomy as to ultimate goalsstheir "autonomous" efforts can never be directed toward goals that they select personally, but only toward their employer's goals, such as the survival and growth of the company. Any company would soon go out of business if it permitted its employees to act otherwise. Similarly, in any enterprise within a socialist system, workers must direct their efforts toward the goals of the enterprise, otherwise the enterprise will not serve its purpose as part of the system. Once again, for purely technical reasons it is not possible for most individuals or small groups to have much autonomy in industrial society. Even the small-business owner commonly has only limited autonomy. Apart from the necessity of government regulation, he is restricted by the fact that he must fit into the economic system and conform to its requirements. For instance, when someone develops a new technology, the small-business person often has to use that technology whether he wants to or not, in order to remain competitive.

THE 'BAD' PARTS OF TECHNOLOGY CANNOT BE SEPARATED FROM THE 'GOOD' PARTS

121. A further reason why industrial society cannot be reformed in favor of freedom is that modern technology is a unified system in which all parts are dependent on one another. You can't get rid of the "bad" parts of technology and retain only the "good" parts. Take modern medicine, for example. Progress in medical science depends on progress in chemistry, physics, biology, computer science and other fields. Advanced medical treatments require expensive, high-tech equipment that can be made available only by a technologically progressive, economically rich society. Clearly you can't have much progress in medicine without the whole technological system and everything that goes with it.

122. Even if medical progress could be maintained without the rest of the technological system, it would by itself bring certain evils. Suppose for example that a cure for diabetes is discovered. People with a genetic tendency to diabetes will then be able to survive and reproduce as well as anyone else. Natural selection against genes for diabetes will cease and such genes will spread throughout the population. (This may be occurring to some extent already, since diabetes, while not curable, can be controlled through use of insulin.) The same thing will happen with many other diseases susceptibility to which is affected by genetic degradation of the population. The only solution will be some sort of eugenics program or extensive genetic engineering of human beings, so that man in the future will no longer be a creation of nature, or of chance, or of God (depending on your religious or philosophical opinions), but a manufactured product.

123. If you think that big government interferes in your life too much NOW, just wait till the government starts regulating the genetic constitution of your children. Such regulation will inevitably follow the introduction of genetic engineering of human beings, because the consequences of unregulated genetic engineering would be disastrous. [19]

124. The usual response to such concerns is to talk about "medical ethics." But a code of ethics would not serve to protect freedom in the face of medical progress; it would only make matters worse. A code of ethics applicable to genetic engineering would be in effect a means of regulating the genetic constitution of human beings. Somebody (probably the upper-middle class, mostly) would decide that such and such applications of genetic engineering were "ethical" and others were not, so that in effect they would be imposing their own values on the genetic constitution of the population at large. Even if a code of ethics were chosen on a completely democratic basis, the majority would be imposing their own values on any minorities who might have a different idea of what constituted an "ethical" use of genetic engineering. The only code of ethics that would truly protect freedom would be one that prohibited ANY genetic engineering of human beings, and you can be sure that no such code will ever be applied in a technological society. No code that reduced genetic engineering to a minor role could stand up for long, because the temptation presented by the immense power of biotechnology would be irresistible, especially since to the majority of people many of its applications will seem obviously and unequivocally good (eliminating physical and mental diseases, giving people the abilities they need to get along in today's world). Inevitably, genetic engineering will be used extensively, but only in ways consistent with the needs of the industrial-technological system. [20]

TECHNOLOGY IS A MORE POWERFUL SOCIAL FORCE THAN THE ASPIRATION FOR FREEDOM

125. It is not possible to make a LASTING compromise between technology and freedom, because technology is by far the more powerful social force and continually encroaches on freedom through REPEATED compromises. Imagine the case of two neighbors, each of whom at the outset owns the same amount of land, but one of whom is more powerful than the other. The powerful one demands a piece of the other's land. The weak one refuses. The powerful one says, "OK, let's compromise. Give me half of what I asked." The weak one has little choice but to give in. Some time later the powerful neighbor demands another piece of land, again there is a compromise, and so forth. By forcing a long series of compromises on the weaker man, the powerful one eventually gets all of his land. So it goes in the conflict between technology and freedom.

126. Let us explain why technology is a more powerful social force than the aspiration for freedom.

127. A technological advance that appears not to threaten freedom often turns out to threaten it very seriously later on. For example, consider motorized transport. A walking man formerly could go where he pleased, go at his own pace without observing any traffic regulations, and was independent of technological support-systems. When motor vehicles were introduced they appeared to increase man's freedom. They took no freedom away from the walking man, no one had to have an automobile if he didn't want one, and anyone who did choose to buy an automobile could travel much faster and farther than a walking man. But the introduction of motorized transport soon changed society in such a way as to restrict greatly man's freedom of locomotion. When automobiles became numerous, it became necessary to regulate their use extensively. In a car, especially in densely populated areas, one cannot just go where one likes at one's own pace one's movement is governed by the flow of traffic and by various traffic laws. One is tied down by various obligations: license requirements, driver test, renewing registration, insurance, maintenance required for safety, monthly payments on purchase price. Moreover, the use of motorized transport is no longer optional. Since the introduction of motorized transport the arrangement of our cities has changed in such a way that the majority of people no longer live within walking distance of their place of employment, shopping areas and recreational opportunities, so that they HAVE TO depend on the automobile for transportation. Or else they must use public transportation, in which case they have even less control over their own movement than when driving a car. Even the walker's freedom is now greatly restricted. In the city he continually has to stop to wait for traffic lights that are designed mainly to serve auto traffic. In the country, motor traffic makes it dangerous and unpleasant to walk along the highway. (Note this important point that we have just illustrated with the case of motorized transport: When a new item of technology is introduced as an option that an individual can accept or not as he chooses, it does not necessarily REMAIN optional. In many cases the new technology changes society in such a way that people eventually find themselves FORCED to use it.)

128. While technological progress AS A WHOLE continually narrows our sphere of freedom, each new technical advance CONSIDERED BY ITSELF appears to be desirable. Electricity, indoor plumbing, rapid long-distance communications ... how could one argue against any of these things, or against any other of the innumerable technical advances that have made modern society? It would have been absurd to resist the introduction of the telephone, for example. It offered many advantages and no disadvantages. Yet, as we explained in paragraphs 59-76, all these technical advances taken together have created a world in which the average man's fate is no longer in his own hands or in the hands of his neighbors and friends, but in those of politicians, corporation executives and remote, anonymous technicians and bureaucrats whom he as an individual has no power to influence. [21] The same process will continue in the future. Take genetic engineering, for example. Few people will resist the introduction of a genetic technique that eliminates a hereditary disease. It does no apparent harm and prevents much suffering. Yet a large number of genetic improvements taken together will make the human being into an engineered product rather than a free creation of chance (or of God, or whatever, depending on your religious beliefs).

129. Another reason why technology is such a powerful social force is that, within the context of a given society, technological progress marches in only one direction; it can never be reversed. Once a technical innovation has been introduced, people usually become dependent on it, so that they can never again do without it, unless it is replaced by some still more advanced innovation. Not only do people become dependent as individuals on a new item of technology, but, even more, the system as a whole becomes dependent on it. (Imagine what would happen to the system today if computers, for example, were eliminated.) Thus the system can move in only one direction, toward greater technologization. Technology repeatedly forces freedom to take a step back, but technology can never take a step backsshort of the overthrow of the whole technological system.

130. Technology advances with great rapidity and threatens freedom at many different points at the same time (crowding, rules and regulations, increasing dependence of individuals on large organizations, propaganda and other psychological techniques, genetic engineering, invasion of privacy through surveillance devices and computers, etc.). To hold back any ONE of the threats to freedom would require a long and difficult social struggle. Those who want to protect freedom are overwhelmed by the sheer number of new attacks and the rapidity with which they develop, hence they become apathetic and no longer resist. To fight each of the threats separately would be futile. Success can be hoped for only by fighting the technological system as a whole; but that is revolution, not reform.

131. Technicians (we use this term in its broad sense to describe all those who perform a specialized task that requires training) tend to be so involved in their work (their surrogate activity) that when a conflict arises between their technical work and freedom, they almost always decide in favor of their technical work. This is obvious in the case of scientists, but it also appears elsewhere: Educators, humanitarian groups, conservation organizations do not hesitate to use propaganda or other psychological techniques to help them achieve their laudable ends. Corporations and government agencies, when they find it useful, do not hesitate to collect information about individuals without regard to their privacy. Law enforcement agencies are frequently inconvenienced by the constitutional rights of suspects and often of completely innocent persons, and they do whatever they can do legally (or sometimes illegally) to restrict or circumvent those rights. Most of these educators, government officials and law officers believe in freedom, privacy and constitutional rights, but when these conflict with their work, they usually feel that their work is more important.

132. It is well known that people generally work better and more persistently when striving for a reward than when attempting to avoid a punishment or negative outcome. Scientists and other technicians are motivated mainly by the rewards they get through their work. But those who oppose technological invasions of freedom are working to avoid a negative outcome, consequently there are few who work persistently and well at this discouraging task. If reformers ever achieved a signal victory that seemed to set up a solid barrier against further erosion of freedom through technical progress, most would tend to relax and turn their attention to more agreeable pursuits. But the scientists would remain busy in their laboratories, and technology as it progresses would find ways, in spite of any barriers, to exert more and more control over individuals and make them always more dependent on the system.

133. No social arrangements, whether laws, institutions, customs or ethical codes, can provide permanent protection against technology. History shows that all social arrangements are transitory; they all change or break down eventually. But technological advances are permanent within the context of a given civilization. Suppose for example that it were possible to arrive at some social arrangements that would prevent genetic engineering from being applied to human beings, or prevent it from being applied in such a way as to threaten freedom and dignity. Still, the technology would remain waiting. Sooner or later the social arrangement would break down. Probably sooner, given the pace of change in our society. Then genetic engineering would begin to invade our sphere of freedom, and this invasion would be irreversible (short of a breakdown of technological civilization itself). Any illusions about achieving anything permanent through social arrangements should be dispelled by what is currently happening with environmental legislation. A few years ago its seemed that there were secure legal barriers preventing at least SOME of the worst forms of environmental degradation. A change in the political wind, and those barriers begin to crumble.

134. For all of the foregoing reasons, technology is a more powerful social force than the aspiration for freedom. But this statement requires an important qualification. It appears that during the next several decades the industrial-technological system will be undergoing severe stresses due to economic and environmental problems, and especially due to problems of human behavior (alienation, rebellion, hostility, a variety of social and psychological difficulties). We hope that the stresses through which the system is likely to pass will cause it to break down, or at least will weaken it sufficiently so that a revolution against it becomes possible. If such a revolution occurs and is successful, then at that particular moment the aspiration for freedom will have proved more powerful than technology.

135. In paragraph 125 we used an analogy of a weak neighbor who is left destitute by a strong neighbor who takes all his land by forcing on him a series of compromises. But suppose now that the strong neighbor gets sick, so that he is unable to defend himself. The weak neighbor can force the strong one to give him his land back, or he can kill him. If he lets the strong man survive and only forces him to give the land back, he is a fool, because when the strong man gets well he will again take all the land for himself. The only sensible alternative for the weaker man is to kill the strong one while he has the chance. In the same way, while the industrial system is sick we must destroy it. If we compromise with it and let it recover from its sickness, it will eventually wipe out all of our freedom.

SIMPLER SOCIAL PROBLEMS HAVE PROVED INTRACTABLE

136. If anyone still imagines that it would be possible to reform the system in such a way as to protect freedom from technology, let him consider how clumsily and for the most part unsuccessfully our society has dealt with other social problems that are far more simple and straightforward. Among other things, the system has failed to stop environmental degradation, political corruption, drug trafficking or domestic abuse.

137. Take our environmental problems, for example. Here the conflict of values is straightforward: economic expedience now versus saving some of our natural resources for our grandchildren. [22] But on this subject we get only a lot of blather and obfuscation from the people who have power, and nothing like a clear, consistent line of action, and we keep on piling up environmental problems that our grandchildren will have to live with. Attempts to resolve the environmental issue consist of struggles and compromises between different factions, some of which are ascendant at one moment, others at another moment. The line of struggle changes with the shifting currents of public opinion. This is not a rational process, nor is it one that is likely to lead to a timely and successful solution to the problem. Major social problems, if they get "solved" at all, are rarely or never solved through any rational, comprehensive plan. They just work themselves out through a process in which various competing groups pursuing their own (usually short-term) self-interest [23] arrive (mainly by luck) at some more or less stable modus vivendi. In fact, the principles we formulated in paragraphs 100-106 make it seem doubtful that rational, long-term social planning can EVER be successful.

138. Thus it is clear that the human race has at best a very limited capacity for solving even relatively straightforward social problems. How then is it going to solve the far more difficult and subtle problem of reconciling freedom with technology? Technology presents clear-cut material advantages, whereas freedom is an abstraction that means different things to different people, and its loss is easily obscured by propaganda and fancy talk.

139. And note this important difference: It is conceivable that our environmental problems (for example) may some day be settled through a rational, comprehensive plan, but if this happens it will be only because it is in the long-term interest of the system to solve these problems. But it is NOT in the interest of the system to preserve freedom or small-group autonomy. On the contrary, it is in the interest of the system to bring human behavior under control to the greatest possible extent. [24] Thus, while practical considerations may eventually force the system to take a rational, prudent approach to environmental problems, equally practical considerations will force the system to regulate human behavior ever more closely (preferably by indirect means that will disguise the encroachment on freedom). This isn't just our opinion. Eminent social scientists (e.g. James Q. Wilson) have stressed the importance of "socializing" people more effectively.

REVOLUTION IS EASIER THAN REFORM

140. We hope we have convinced the reader that the system cannot be reformed in such a way as to reconcile freedom with technology. The only way out is to dispense with the industrial-technological system altogether. This implies revolution, not necessarily an armed uprising, but certainly a radical and fundamental change in the nature of society.

141. People tend to assume that because a revolution involves a much greater change than reform does, it is more difficult to bring about than reform is. Actually, under certain circumstances revolution is much easier than reform. The reason is that a revolutionary movement can inspire an intensity of commitment that a reform movement cannot inspire. A reform movement merely offers to solve a particular social problem. A revolutionary movement offers to solve all problems at one stroke and create a whole new world; it provides the kind of ideal for which people will take great risks and make great sacrifices. For this reasons it would be much easier to overthrow the whole technological system than to put effective, permanent restraints on the development or application of any one segment of technology, such as genetic engineering, for example. Not many people will devote themselves with single-minded passion to imposing and maintaining restraints on genetic engineering, but under suitable conditions large numbers of people may devote themselves passionately to a revolution against the industrial-technological system. As we noted in paragraph 132, reformers seeking to limit certain aspects of technology would be working to avoid a negative outcome. But revolutionaries work to gain a powerful rewardsfulfillment of their revolutionary visionsand therefore work harder and more persistently than reformers do.

142. Reform is always restrained by the fear of painful consequences if changes go too far. But once a revolutionary fever has taken hold of a society, people are willing to undergo unlimited hardships for the sake of their revolution. This was clearly shown in the French and Russian Revolutions. It may be that in such cases only a minority of the population is really committed to the revolution, but this minority is sufficiently large and active so that it becomes the dominant force in society. We will have more to say about revolution in paragraphs 180-205.

CONTROL OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR

143. Since the beginning of civilization, organized societies have had to put pressures on human beings of the sake of the functioning of the social organism. The kinds of pressures vary greatly from one society to another. Some of the pressures are physical (poor diet, excessive labor, environmental pollution), some are psychological (noise, crowding, forcing human behavior into the mold that society requires). In the past, human nature has been approximately constant, or at any rate has varied only within cer tain bounds. Consequently, societies have been able to push people only up to certain limits. When the limit of human endurance has been passed, things start going wrong: rebellion, or crime, or corruption, or evasion of work, or depression and other mental problems, or an elevated death rate, or a declining birth rate or something else, so that either the society breaks down, or its functioning becomes too inefficient and it is (quickly or gradually, through conquest, attrition or evolution) replaced by some more efficient form of society. [25]

144. Thus human nature has in the past put certain limits on the development of societies. People could be pushed only so far and no farther. But today this may be changing, because modern technology is developing ways of modifying human beings.

145. Imagine a society that subjects people to conditions that make them terribly unhappy, then gives them drugs to take away their unhappiness. Science fiction? It is already happening to some extent in our own society. It is well known that the rate of clinical depression has been greatly increasing in recent decades. We believe that this is due to disruption of the power process, as explained in paragraphs 59-76. But even if we are wrong, the increasing rate of depression is certainly the result of SOME conditions that exist in today's society. Instead of removing the conditions that make people depressed, modern society gives them antidepressant drugs. In effect, antidepressants are a means of modifying an individual's internal state in such a way as to enable him to tolerate social conditions that he would otherwise find intolerable. (Yes, we know that depression is often of purely genetic origin. We are referring here to those cases in which environment plays the predominant role.)

146. Drugs that affect the mind are only one example of the new methods of controlling human behavior that modern society is developing. Let us look at some of the other methods.

147. To start with, there are the techniques of surveillance. Hidden video cameras are now used in most stores and in many other places, computers are used to collect and process vast amounts of information about individuals. Information so obtained greatly increases the effectiveness of physical coercion (i.e., law enforcement). [26] Then there are the methods of propaganda, for which the mass communication media provide effective vehicles. Efficient techniques have been developed for winning elections, selling products, influencing public opinion. The entertainment industry serves as an important psychological tool of the system, possibly even when it is dishing out large amounts of sex and violence. Entertainment provides modern man with an essential means of escape. While absorbed in television, videos, etc., he can forget stress, anxiety, frustration, dissatisfaction. Many primitive peoples, when they don't have work to do, are quite content to sit for hours at a time doing nothing at all, because they are at peace with themselves and their world. But most modern people must be constantly occupied or entertained, otherwise they get "bored," i.e., they get fidgety, uneasy, irritable.

148. Other techniques strike deeper than the foregoing. Education is no longer a simple affair of paddling a kid's behind when he doesn't know his lessons and patting him on the head when he does know them. It is becoming a scientific technique for controlling the child's development. Sylvan Learning Centers, for example, have had great success in motivating children to study, and psychological techniques are also used with more or less success in many conventional schools. "Parenting" techniques that are taught to parents are designed to make children accept fundamental values of the system and behave in ways that the system finds desirable. "Mental health" programs, "intervention" techniques, psychotherapy and so forth are ostensibly designed to benefit individuals, but in practice they usually serve as methodsfor inducing individuals to think and behave as the system requires. (There is no contradiction here; an individual whose attitudes or behavior bring him into conflict with the system is up against a force that is too powerful for him to conquer or escape from, hence he is likely to suffer from stress, frustration, defeat. His path will be much easier if he thinks and behaves as the system requires. In that sense the system is acting for the benefit of the individual when it brainwashes him into conformity.) Child abuse in its gross and obvious forms is disapproved in most if not all cultures. Tormenting a child for a trivial reason or no reason at all is something that appalls almost everyone. But many psychologists interpret the concept of abuse much more broadly. Is spanking, when used as part of a rational and consistent system of discipline, a form of abuse? The question will ultimately be decided by whether or not spanking tends to produce behavior that makes a person fit in well with the existing system of society. In practice, the word "abuse" tends to be interpreted to include any method of child-rearing that produces behavior inconvenient for the system. Thus, when they go beyond the prevention of obvious, senseless cruelty, programs for preventing "child abuse" are directed toward the control of human behavior on behalf of the system.

149. Presumably, research will continue to increase the effectiveness of psychological techniques for controlling human behavior. But we think it is unlikely that psychological techniques alone will be sufficient to adjust human beings to the kind of society that technology is creating. Biological methods probably will have to be used. We have already mentioned the use of drugs in this connection. Neurology may provide other avenues for modifying the human mind. Genetic engineering of human beings is already beginning to occur in the form of "gene therapy," and there is no reason to assume that such methods will not eventually be used to modify those aspects of the body that affect mental functioning.

150. As we mentioned in paragraph 134, industrial society seems likely to be entering a period of severe stress, due in part to problems of human behavior and in part to economic and environmental problems. And a considerable proportion of the system's economic and environmental problems result from the way human beings behave. Alienation, low self-esteem, depression, hostility, rebellion; children who won't study, youth gangs, illegal drug use, rape, child abuse, other crimes, unsafe sex, teen pregnancy, population growth, political corruption, race hatred, ethnic rivalry, bitter ideological conflict (e.g., pro-choice vs. pro-life), political extremism, terrorism, sabotage, anti-government groups, hate groups. All these threaten the very survival of the system. The system will therefore be FORCED to use every practical means of controlling human behavior.

151. The social disruption that we see today is certainly not the result of mere chance. It can only be a result of the conditions of life that the system imposes on people. (We have argued that the most important of these conditions is disruption of the power process.) If the systems succeeds in imposing sufficient control over human behavior to assure its own survival, a new watershed in human history will have been passed. Whereas formerly the limits of human endurance have imposed limits on the development of societies (as we explained in paragraphs 143, 144), industrial-technological society will be able to pass those limits by modifying human beings, whether by psychological methods or biological methods or both. In the future, social systems will not be adjusted to suit the needs of human beings. Instead, human being will be adjusted to suit the needs of the system. [27]

152. Generally speaking, technological control over human behavior will probably not be introduced with a totalitarian intention or even through a conscious desire to restrict human freedom. [28] Each new step in the assertion of control over the humanmind will be taken as a rational response to a problem that faces society, such as curing alcoholism, reducing the crime rate or inducing young people to study science and engineering. In many cases there will be a humanitarian justification. For example, when a psychiatrist prescribes an anti-depressant for a depressed patient, he is clearly doing that individual a favor. It would be inhumane to withhold the drug from someone who needs it. When parents send their children to Sylvan Learning Centers to have them manipulated into becoming enthusiastic about their studies, they do so from concern for their children's welfare. It may be that some of these parents wish that one didn't have to have specialized training to get a job and that their kid didn't have to be brainwashed into becoming a computer nerd. But what can they do? They can't change society, and their child may be unemployable if he doesn't have certain skills. So they send him to Sylvan.

153. Thus control over human behavior will be introduced not by a calculated decision of the authorities but through a process of social evolution (RAPID evolution, however). The process will be impossible to resist, because each advance, considered by itself, will appear to be beneficial, or at least the evil involved in making the advance will appear to be beneficial, or at least the evil involved in making the advance will seem to be less than that which would result from not making it (see paragraph 127). Propaganda for example is used for many good purposes, such as discouraging child abuse or race hatred. [14] Sex education is obviously useful, yet the effect of sex education (to the extent that it is successful) is to take the shaping of sexual attitudes away from the family and put it into the hands of the state as represented by the public school system.

154. Suppose a biological trait is discovered that increases the likelihood that a child will grow up to be a criminal, and suppose some sort of gene therapy can remove this trait. [29] Of course most parents whose children possess the trait will have them undergo the therapy. It would be inhumane to do otherwise, since the child would probably have a miserable life if he grew up to be a criminal. But many or most primitive societies have a low crime rate in comparison with that of our society, even though they have neither high-tech methods of child-rearing nor harsh systems of punishment. Since there is no reason to suppose that more modern men than primitive men have innate predatory tendencies, the high crime rate of our society must be due to the pressures that modern conditions put on people, to which many cannot or will not adjust. Thus a treatment designed to remove potential criminal tendencies is at least in part a way of re-engineering people so that they suit the requirements of the system.

155. Our society tends to regard as a "sickness" any mode of thought or behavior that is inconvenient for the system, and this is plausible because when an individual doesn't fit into the system it causes pain to the individual as well as problems for the system. Thus the manipulation of an individual to adjust him to the system is seen as a "cure" for a "sickness" and therefore as good.

156. In paragraph 127 we pointed out that if the use of a new item of technology is INITIALLY optional, it does not necessarily REMAIN optional, because the new technology tends to change society in such a way that it becomes difficult or impossible for an individual to function without using that technology. This applies also to the technology of human behavior. In a world in which most children are put through a program to make them enthusiastic about studying, a parent will almost be forced to put his kid through such a program, because if he does not, then the kid will grow up to be, comparatively speaking, an ignoramus and therefore unemployable. Or suppose a biological treatment is discovered that, without undesirable side-effects, will greatly reduce the psychological stress from which so many people suffer in our society.If large numbers of people choose to undergo the treatment, then the general level of stress in society will be reduced, so that it will be possible for the system to increase the stress-producing pressures. In fact, something like this seems to have happened already with one of our society's most important psychological tools for enabling people to reduce (or at least temporarily escape from) stress, namely, mass entertainment (see paragraph 147). Our use of mass entertainment is "optional": No law requires us to watch television, listen to the radio, read magazines. Yet mass entertainment is a means of escape and stress-reduction on which most of us have become dependent. Everyone complains about the trashiness of television, but almost everyone watches it. A few have kicked the TV habit, but it would be a rare person who could get along today without using ANY form of mass entertainment. (Yet until quite recently in human history most people got along very nicely with no other entertainment than that which each local community created for itself.) Without the entertainment industry the system probably would not have been able to get away with putting as much stress-producing pressure on us as it does.

157. Assuming that industrial society survives, it is likely that technology will eventually acquire something approaching complete control over human behavior. It has been established beyond any rational doubt that human thought and behavior have a largely biological basis. As experimenters have demonstrated, feelings such as hunger, pleasure, anger and fear can be turned on and off by electrical stimulation of appropriate parts of the brain. Memories can be destroyed by damaging parts of the brain or they can be brought to the surface by electrical stimulation. Hallucinations can be induced or moods changed by drugs. There may or may not be an immaterial human soul, but if there is one it clearly is less powerful that the biological mechanisms of human behavior. For if that were not the case then researchers would not be able so easily to manipulate human feelings and behavior with drugs and electrical currents.

158. It presumably would be impractical for all people to have electrodes inserted in their heads so that they could be controlled by the authorities. But the fact that human thoughts and feelings are so open to biological intervention shows that the problem of controlling human behavior is mainly a technical problem; a problem of neurons, hormones and complex molecules; the kind of problem that is accessible to scientific attack. Given the outstanding record of our society in solving technical problems, it is overwhelmingly probable that great advances will be made in the control of human behavior.

159. Will public resistance prevent the introduction of technological control of human behavior? It certainly would if an attempt were made to introduce such control all at once. But since technological control will be introduced through a long sequence of small advances, there will be no rational and effective public resistance. (See paragraphs 127, 132, 153.)

160. To those who think that all this sounds like science fiction, we point out that yesterday's science fiction is today's fact. The Industrial Revolution has radically altered man's environment and way of life, and it is only to be expected that as technology is increasingly applied to the human body and mind, man himself will be altered as radically as his environment and way of life have been.

HUMAN RACE AT A CROSSROADS

161. But we have gotten ahead of our story. It is one thing to develop in the laboratory a series of psychological or biological techniques for manipulating human behavior and quite another to integrate these techniques into a functioning social system. The latter problem is the more difficult of the two. For example, while the techniques of educational psychology doubtless work quite well in the "lab schools" where they are developed, it is not necessarily easy to apply them effectively throughout our educational system. We all know what many of our schools are like. The teachers are too busy taking knives and guns away from the kids to subject them to the latest techniques for making them into computer nerds. Thus, in spite of all its technical advances relating to human behavior, the system to date has not been impressively successful in controlling human beings. The people whose behavior is fairly well under the control of the system are those of the type that might be called "bourgeois." But there are growing numbers of people who in one way or another are rebels against the system: welfare leaches, youth gangs, cultists, satanists, nazis, radical environmentalists, militiamen, etc.

162. The system is currently engaged in a desperate struggle to overcome certain problems that threaten its survival, among which the problems of human behavior are the most important. If the system succeeds in acquiring sufficient control over human behavior quickly enough, it will probably survive. Otherwise it will break down. We think the issue will most likely be resolved within the next several decades, say 40 to 100 years.

163. Suppose the system survives the crisis of the next several decades. By that time it will have to have solved, or at least brought under control, the principal problems that confront it, in particular that of "socializing" human beings; that is, making people sufficiently docile so that heir behavior no longer threatens the system. That being accomplished, it does not appear that there would be any further obstacle to the development of technology, and it would presumably advance toward its logical conclusion, which is complete control over everything on Earth, including human beings and all other important organisms. The system may become a unitary, monolithic organization, or it may be more or less fragmented and consist of a number of organizations coexisting in a relationship that includes elements of both cooperation and competition, just as today the government, the corporations and other large organizations both cooperate and compete with one another. Human freedom mostly will have vanished, because individuals and small groups will be impotent vis-a-vis large organizations armed with supertechnology and an arsenal of advanced psychological and biological tools for manipulating human beings, besides instruments of surveillance and physical coercion. Only a small number of people will have any real power, and even these probably will have only very limited freedom, because their behavior too will be regulated; just as today our politicians and corporation executives can retain their positions of power only as long as their behavior remains within certain fairly narrow limits.

164. Don't imagine that the systems will stop developing further techniques for controlling human beings and nature once the crisis of the next few decades is over and increasing control is no longer necessary for the system's survival. On the contrary, once the hard times are over the system will increase its control over people and nature more rapidly, because it will no longer be hampered by difficulties of the kind that it is currently experiencing. Survival is not the principal motive for extending control. As we explained in paragraphs 87-90, technicians and scientists carry on their work largely as a surrogate activity; that is, they satisfy their need for power by solving technical problems. They will continue to do this with unabated enthusiasm, and among the most interesting and challenging problems for them to solve will be those of understanding the human body and mind and intervening in their development. For the "good of humanity," of course.

165. But suppose on the other hand that the stresses of the coming decades prove to be too much for the system. If the system breaks down there may be a period of chaos, a "time of troubles" such as those that history has recorded at various epochs in the past. It is impossible to predict what would emerge from such a time of troubles, but at any rate the human race would be given a new chance. The greatest danger is that industrial society may begin to reconstitute itself within the first few years after the breakdown. Certainly there will be many people (power-hungry types especially) who will be anxious to get the factories running again.

166. Therefore two tasks confront those who hate the servitude to which the industrial system is reducing the human race. First, we must work to heighten the social stresses within the system so as to increase the likelihood that it will break down or be weakened sufficiently so that a revolution against it becomes possible. Second, it is necessary to develop and propagate an ideology that opposes technology and the industrial society if and when the system becomes sufficiently weakened. And such an ideology will help to assure that, if and when industrial society breaks down, its remnants will be smashed beyond repair, so that the system cannot be reconstituted. The factories should be destroyed, technical books burned, etc.

HUMAN SUFFERING

167. The industrial system will not break down purely as a result of revolutionary action. It will not be vulnerable to revolutionary attack unless its own internal problems of development lead it into very serious difficulties. So if the system breaks down it will do so either spontaneously, or through a process that is in part spontaneous but helped along by revolutionaries. If the breakdown is sudden, many people will die, since the world's population has become so overblown that it cannot even feed itself any longer without advanced technology. Even if the breakdown is gradual enough so that reduction of the population can occur more through lowering of the birth rate than through elevation of the death rate, the process of de-industrialization probably will be very chaotic and involve much suffering. It is naive to think it likely that technology can be phased out in a smoothly managed, orderly way, especially since the technophiles will fight stubbornly at every step. Is it therefore cruel to work for the breakdown of the system? Maybe, but maybe not. In the first place, revolutionaries will not be able to break the system down unless it is already in enough trouble so that there would be a good chance of its eventually breaking down by itself anyway; and the bigger the system grows, the more disastrous the consequences of its breakdown will be; so it may be that revolutionaries, by hastening the onset of the breakdown, will be reducing the extent of the disaster.

168. In the second place, one has to balance struggle and death against the loss of freedom and dignity. To many of us, freedom and dignity are more important than a long life or avoidance of physical pain. Besides, we all have to die some time, and it may be better to die fighting for survival, or for a cause, than to live a long but empty and purposeless life.

169. In the third place, it is not at all certain that survival of the system will lead to less suffering than breakdown of the system would. The system has already caused, and is continuing to cause, immense suffering all over the world. Ancient cultures, that for hundreds of years gave people a satisfactory relationship with each other and with their environment, have been shattered by contact with industrial society, and the result has been a whole catalogue of economic, environmental, social and psychological problems. One of the effects of the intrusion of industrial society has been that over much of the world traditional controls on population have been thrown out of balance. Hence the population explosion, with all that that implies. Then there is the psychological suffering that is widespread throughout the supposedly fortunate countries of the West (see paragraphs 44, 45). No one knows what will happen as a result of ozone depletion, the greenhouse effect and other environmental problems that cannot yet be foreseen. And, as nuclear proliferation has shown, new technology cannot be kept out of the hands of dictators and irresponsible Third World nations. Would you like to speculate about what Iraq or North Korea will do with genetic engineering?

170. "Oh!" say the technophiles, "Science is going to fix all that! We will conquer famine, eliminate psychological suffering, make everybody healthy and happy!" Yeah, sure. That's what they said 200 years ago. The Industrial Revolution was supposed to eliminate poverty, make everybody happy, etc. The actual result has been quite different. The technophiles are hopelessly naive (or self-deceiving) in their understanding of social problems. They are unaware of (or choose to ignore) the fact that when large changes, even seemingly beneficial ones, are introduced into a society, they lead to a long sequence of other changes, most of which are impossible to predict (paragraph 103). The result is disruption of the society. So it is very probable that in their attempts to end poverty and disease, engineer docile, happy personalities and so forth, the technophiles will create social systems that are terribly troubled, even more so than the present once. For example, the scientists boast that they will end famine by creating new, genetically engineered food plants. But this will allow the human population to keep expanding indefinitely, and it is well known that crowding leads to increased stress and aggression. This is merely one example of the PREDICTABLE problems that will arise. We emphasize that, as past experience has shown, technical progress will lead to other new problems that CANNOT be predicted in advance (paragraph 103). In fact, ever since the Industrial Revolution, technology has been creating new problems for society far more rapidly than it has been solving old ones. Thus it will take a long and difficult period of trial and error for the technophiles to work the bugs out of their Brave New World (if they every do). In the meantime there will be great suffering. So it is not at all clear that the survival of industrial society would involve less suffering than the breakdown of that society would. Technology has gotten the human race into a fix from which there is not likely to be any easy escape.

THE FUTURE

171. But suppose now that industrial society does survive the next several decades and that the bugs do eventually get worked out of the system, so that it functions smoothly. What kind of system will it be? We will consider several possibilities.

172. First let us postulate that the computer scientists succeed in developing intelligent machines that can do all things better than human beings can do them. In that case presumably all work will be done by vast, highly organized systems of machines and no human effort will be necessary. Either of two cases might occur. The machines might be permitted to make all of their own decisions without human oversight, or else human control over the machines might be retained.

173. If the machines are permitted to make all their own decisions, we can't make any conjectures as to the results, because it is impossible to guess how such machines might behave. We only point out that the fate of the human race would be at the mercy of the machines. It might be argued that the human race would never be foolish enough to hand over all power to the machines. But we are suggesting neither that the human race would voluntarily turn power over to the machines nor that the machines would willfully seize power. What we do suggest is that the human race might easily permit itself to drift into a position of such dependence on the machines that it would have no practical choice but to accept all of the machines' decisions. As society and the problems that face it become more and more complex and as machines become more and more intelligent, people will let machines make more and more of their decisions for them, simply because machine-made decisions will bring better results than man-made ones. Eventually a stage may be reached at which the decisions necessary to keep the system running will be so complex that human beings will be incapable of making them intelligently. At that stage the machines will be in effective control. People won't be able to just turn the machines off, because they will be so dependent on them that turning them off would amount to suicide.

174. On the other hand it is possible that human control over the machines may be retained. In that case the average man may have control over certain private machines of his own, such as his car or his personal computer, but control over large systems of machines will be in the hands of a tiny elitesjust as it is today, but with two differences. Due to improved techniques the elite will have greater control over the masses; and because human work will no longer be necessary the masses will be superfluous, a useless burden on the system. If the elite is ruthless they may simply decide to exterminate the mass of humanity. If they are humane they may use propaganda or other psychological or biological techniques to reduce the birth rate until the mass of humanity becomes extinct, leaving the world to the elite. Or, if the elite consists of soft-hearted liberals, they may decide to play the role of good shepherds to the rest of the human race. They will see to it that everyone's physical needs are satisfied, that all children are raised under psychologically hygienic conditions, that everyone has a wholesome hobby to keep him busy, and that anyone who may become dissatisfied undergoes "treatment" to cure his "problem." Of course, life will be so purposeless that people will have to be biologically or psychologically engineered either to remove their need for the power process or to make them "sublimate" their drive for power into some harmless hobby. These engineered human beings may be happy in such a society, but they most certainly will not be free. They will have been reduced to the status of domestic animals.

175. But suppose now that the computer scientists do not succeed in developing artificial intelligence, so that human work remains necessary. Even so, machines will take care of more and more of the simpler tasks so that there will be an increasing surplus of human workers at the lower levels of ability. (We see this happening already. There are many people who find it difficult or impossible to get work, because for intellectual or psychological reasons they cannot acquire the level of training necessary to make themselves useful in the present system.) On those who are employed, ever-increasing demands will be placed: They will need more and more training, more and more ability, and will have to be ever more reliable, conforming and docile, because they will be more and more like cells of a giant organism. Their tasks will be increasingly specialized, so that their work will be, in a sense, out of touch with the real world, being concentrated on one tiny slice of reality. The system will have to use any means that it can, whether psychological or biological, to engineer people to be docile, to have the abilities that the system requires and to "sublimate" their drive for power into some specialized task. But the statement that the people of such a society will have to be docile may require qualification. The society may find competitiveness useful, provided that ways are found of directing competitiveness into channels that serve the needs of the system. We can imagine a future society in which there is endless competition for positions of prestige and power. But no more than a very few people will ever reach the top, where the only real power is (see end of paragraph 163). Very repellent is a society in which a person can satisfy his need for power only by pushing large numbers of other people out of the way and depriving them of THEIR opportunity for power.

176. One can envision scenarios that incorporate aspects of more than one of the possibilities that we have just discussed. For instance, it may be that machines will take over most of the work that is of real, practical importance, but that human beings will be kept busy by being given relatively unimportant work. It has been suggested, for example, that a great development of the service industries might provide work for human beings. Thus people would spent their time shining each other's shoes, driving each other around in taxicabs, making handicrafts for one another, waiting on each other's tables, etc. This seems to us a thoroughly contemptible way for the human race to end up, and we doubt that many people would find fulfilling lives in such pointless busy-work. They would seek other, dangerous outlets (drugs, crime, "cults," hate groups) unless they were biologically or psychologically engineered to adapt them to such a way of life.

177. Needless to say, the scenarios outlined above do not exhaust all the possibilities. They only indicate the kinds of outcomes that seem to us most likely. But we can envision no plausible scenarios that are any more palatable than the ones we've just described. It is overwhelmingly probable that if the industrial-technological system survives the next 40 to 100 years, it will by that time have developed certain general characteristics: Individuals (at least those of the "bourgeois" type, who are integrated into the system and make it run, and who therefore have all the power) will be more dependent than ever on large organizations; they will be more "socialized" than ever and their physical and mental qualities to a significant extent (possibly to a very great extent) will be those that are engineered into them rather than being the results of chance (or of God's will, or whatever); and whatever may be left of wild nature will be reduced to remnants preserved for scientific study and kept under the supervision and management of scientists (hence it will no longer be truly wild). In the long run (say a few centuries from now) it is likely that neither the human race nor any other important organisms will exist as we know them today, because once you start modifying organisms through genetic engineering there is no reason to stop at any particular point, so that the modifications will probably continue until man and other organisms have been utterly transformed.

178. Whatever else may be the case, it is certain that technology is creating for human beings a new physical and social environment radically different from the spectrum of environments to which natural selection has adapted the human race physically and psychologically. If man is not adjusted to this new environment by being artificially re-engineered, then he will be adapted to it through a long and painful process of natural selection. The former is far more likely than the latter.

179. It would be better to dump the whole stinking system and take the consequences.

STRATEGY

180. The technophiles are taking us all on an utterly reckless ride into the unknown. Many people understand something of what technological progress is doing to us yet take a passive attitude toward it because they think it is inevitable. But we (FC) don't think it is inevitable. We think it can be stopped, and we will give here some indications of how to go about stopping it.

181. As we stated in paragraph 166, the two main tasks for the present are to promote social stress and instability in industrial society and to develop and propagate an ideology that opposes technology and the industrial system. When the system becomes sufficiently stressed and unstable, a revolution against technology may be possible. The pattern would be similar to that of the French and Russian Revolutions. French society and Russian society, for several decades prior to their respective revolutions, showed increasing signs of stress and weakness. Meanwhile, ideologies were being developed that offered a new world view that was quite different from the old one. In the Russian case, revolutionaries were actively working to undermine the old order. Then, when the old system was put under sufficient additional stress (by financial crisis in France, by military defeat in Russia) it was swept away by revolution. What we propose is something along the same lines.

182. It will be objected that the French and Russian Revolutions were failures. But most revolutions have two goals. One is to destroy an old form of society and the other is to set up the new form of society envisioned by the revolutionaries. The French and Russian revolutionaries failed (fortunately!) to create the new kind of society of which they dreamed, but they were quite successful in destroying the old society. We have no illusions about the feasibility of creating a new, ideal form of society. Our goal is only to destroy the existing form of society.

183. But an ideology, in order to gain enthusiastic support, must have a positive ideal as well as a negative one; it must be FOR something as well as AGAINST something. The positive ideal that we propose is Nature. That is, WILD nature: those aspects of the functioning of the Earth and its living things that are independent of human management and free of human interference and control. And with wild nature we include human nature, by which we mean those aspects of the functioning of the human individual that are not subject to regulation by organized society but are products of chance, or free will, or God (depending on your religious or philosophical opinions).

184. Nature makes a perfect counter-ideal to technology for several reasons. Nature (that which is outside the power of the system) is the opposite of technology (which seeks to expand indefinitely the power of the system). Most people will agree that nature is beautiful; certainly it has tremendous popular appeal. The radical environmentalists ALREADY hold an ideology that exalts nature and opposes technology. [30] It is not necessary for the sake of nature to set up some chimerical utopia or any new kind of social order. Nature takes care of itself: It was a spontaneous creation that existed long before any human society, and for countless centuries many different kinds of human societies coexisted with nature without doing it an excessive amount of damage. Only with the Industrial Revolution did the effect of human society on nature become really devastating. To relieve the pressure on nature it is not necessary to create a special kind of social system, it is only necessary to get rid of industrial society. Granted, this will not solve all problems. Industrial society has already done tremendous damage to nature and it will take a very long time for the scars to heal. Besides, even pre-industrial societies can do significant damage to nature. Nevertheless, getting rid of industrial society will accomplish a great deal. It will relieve the worst of the pressure on nature so that the scars can begin to heal. It will remove the capacity of organized society to keep increasing its control over nature (including human nature). Whatever kind of society may exist after the demise of the industrial system, it is certain that most people will live close to nature, because in the absence of advanced technology there is no other way that people CAN live. To feed themselves they must be peasants or herdsmen or fishermen or hunters, etc. And, generally speaking, local autonomy should tend to increase, because lack of advanced technology and rapid communications will limit the capacity of governments or other large organizations to control local communities.

185. As for the negative consequences of eliminating industrial societyswell, you can't eat your cake and have it too. To gain one thing you have to sacrifice another.

186. Most people hate psychological conflict. For this reason they avoid doing any serious thinking about difficult social issues, and they like to have such issues presented to them in simple, black-and-white terms: THIS is all good and THAT is all bad. The revolutionary ideology should therefore be developed on two levels.

187. On the more sophisticated level the ideology should address itself to people who are intelligent, thoughtful and rational. The object should be to create a core of people who will be opposed to the industrial system on a rational, thought-out basis, with full appreciation of the problems and ambiguities involved, and of the price that has to be paid for getting rid of the system. It is particularly important to attract people of this type, as they are capable people and will be instrumental in influencing others. These people should be addressed on as rational a level as possible. Facts should never intentionally be distorted and intemperate language should be avoided. This does not mean that no appeal can be made to the emotions, but in making such appeal care should be taken to avoid misrepresenting the truth or doing anything else that would destroy the intellectual respectability of the ideology.

188. On a second level, the ideology should be propagated in a simplified form that will enable the unthinking majority to see the conflict of technology vs. nature in unambiguous terms. But even on this second level the ideology should not be expressed in language that is so cheap, intemperate or irrational that it alienates people of the thoughtful and rational type. Cheap, intemperate propaganda sometimes achieves impressive short-term gains, but it will be more advantageous in the long run to keep the loyalty of a small number of intelligently committed people than to arouse the passions of an unthinking, fickle mob who will change their attitude as soon as someone comes along with a better propaganda gimmick. However, propaganda of the rabble-rousing type may be necessary when the system is nearing the point of collapse and there is a final struggle between rival ideologies to determine which will become dominant when the old world-view goes under.

189. Prior to that final struggle, the revolutionaries should not expect to have a majority of people on their side. History is made by active, determined minorities, not by the majority, which seldom has a clear and consistent idea of what it really wants. Until the time comes for the final push toward revolution [31], the task of revolutionaries will be less to win the shallow support of the majority than to build a small core of deeply committed people. As for the majority, it will be enough to make them aware of the existence of the new ideology and remind them of it frequently; though of course it will be desirable to get majority support to the extent that this can be done without weakening the core of seriously committed people.

190. Any kind of social conflict helps to destabilize the system, but one should be careful about what kind of conflict one encourages. The line of conflict should be drawn between the mass of the people and the power-holding elite of industrial society (politicians, scientists, upper-level business executives, government officials, etc.). It should NOT be drawn between the revolutionaries and the mass of the people. For example, it would be bad strategy for the revolutionaries to condemn Americans for their habits of consumption. Instead, the average American should be portrayed as a victim of the advertising and marketing industry, which has suckered him into buying a lot of junk that he doesn't need and that is very poor compensation for his lost freedom. Either approach is consistent with the facts. It is merely a matter of attitude whether you blame the advertising industry for manipulating the public or blame the public for allowing itself to be manipulated. As a matter of strategy one should generally avoid blaming the public.

191. One should think twice before encouraging any other social conflict than that between the power-holding elite (which wields technology) and the general public (over which technology exerts its power). For one thing, other conflicts tend to distract attention from the important conflicts (between power-elite and ordinary people, between technology and nature); for another thing, other conflicts may actually tend to encourage technologization, because each side in such a conflict wants to use technological power to gain advantages over its adversary. This is clearly seen in rivalries between nations. It also appears in ethnic conflicts within nations. For example, in America many black leaders are anxious to gain power for African Americans by placing back individuals in the technological power-elite. They want there to be many black government officials, sc ientists, corporation executives and so forth. In this way they are helping to absorb the African American subculture into the technological system. Generally speaking, one should encourage only those social conflicts that can be fitted into the framework of the conflicts of power-elite vs. ordinary people, technology vs nature.

192. But the way to discourage ethnic conflict is NOT through militant advocacy of minority rights (see paragraphs 21, 29). Instead, the revolutionaries should emphasize that although minorities do suffer more or less disadvantage, this disadvantage is of peripheral significance. Our real enemy is the industrial-technological system, and in the struggle against the system, ethnic distinctions are of no importance.

193. The kind of revolution we have in mind will not necessarily involve an armed uprising against any government. It may or may not involve physical violence, but it will not be a POLITICAL revolution. Its focus will be on technology and economics, not politics. [32]

194. Probably the revolutionaries should even AVOID assuming political power, whether by legal or illegal means, until the industrial system is stressed to the danger point and has proved itself to be a failure in the eyes of most people. Suppose for example that some "green" party should win control of the United States Congress in an election. In order to avoid betraying or watering down their own ideology they would have to take vigorous measures to turn economic growth into economic shrinkage. To the average man the results would appear disastrous: There would be massive unemployment, shortages of commodities, etc. Even if the grosser ill effects could be avoided through superhumanly skillful management, still people would have to begin giving up the luxuries to which they have become addicted. Dissatisfaction would grow, the "green" party would be voted out of office and the revolutionaries would have suffered a severe setback. For this reason the revolutionaries should not try to acquire political power until the system has gotten itself into such a mess that any hardships will be seen as resulting from the failures of the industrial system itself and not from the policies of the revolutionaries. The revolution against technology will probably have to be a revolution by outsiders, a revolution from below and not from above.

195. The revolution must be international and worldwide. It cannot be carried out on a nation-by-nation basis. Whenever it is suggested that the United States, for example, should cut back on technological progress or economic growth, people get hysterical and start screaming that if we fall behind in technology the Japanese will get ahead of us. Holy robots! The world will fly off its orbit if the Japanese ever sell more cars than we do! (Nationalism is a great promoter of technology.) More reasonably, it is argued that if the relatively democratic nations of the world fall behind in technology while nasty, dictatorial nations like China, Vietnam and North Korea continue to progress, eventually the dictators may come to dominate the world. That is why the industrial system should be attacked in all nations simultaneously, to the extent that this may be possible. True, there is no assurance that the industrial system can be destroyed at approximately the same time all over the world, and it is even conceivable that the attempt to overthrow the system could lead instead to the domination of the system by dictators. That is a risk that has to be taken. And it is worth taking, since the difference between a "democratic" industrial system and one controlled by dictators is small compared with the difference between an industrial system and a non-industrial one. [33] It might even be argued that an industrial system controlled by dictators would be preferable, because dictator-controlled systems usually have proved inefficient, hence they are presumably more likely to break down. Look at Cuba.

196. Revolutionaries might consider favoring measures that tend to bind the world economy into a unified whole. Free trade agreements like NAFTA and GATT are probably harmful to the environment in the short run, but in the long run they may perhaps be advantageous because they foster economic interdependence between nations. It will be easier to destroy the industrial system on a worldwide basis if the world economy is so unified that its breakdown in any one major nation will lead to its breakdown in all industrialized nations.

197. Some people take the line that modern man has too much power, too much control over nature; they argue for a more passive attitude on the part of the human race. At best these people are expressing themselves unclearly, because they fail to distinguish between power for LARGE ORGANIZATIONS and power for INDIVIDUALS and SMALL GROUPS. It is a mistake to argue for powerlessness and passivity, because people NEED power. Modern man as a collective entitysthat is, the industrial systemshas immense power over nature, and we (FC) regard this as evil. But modern INDIVIDUALS and SMALL GROUPS OF INDIVIDUALS have far less power than primitive man ever did. Generally speaking, the vast power of "modern man" over nature is exercised not by individuals or small groups but by large organizations. To the extent that the average modern INDIVIDUAL can wield the power of technology, he is permitted to do so only within narrow limits and only under the supervision and control of the system. (You need a license for everything and with the license come rules and regulations.) The individual has only those technological powers with which the system chooses to provide him. His PERSONAL power over nature is slight.

198. Primitive INDIVIDUALS and SMALL GROUPS actually had considerable power over nature; or maybe it would be better to say power WITHIN nature. When primitive man needed food he knew how to find and prepare edible roots, how to track game and take it with homemade weapons. He knew how to protect himself from heat, cold, rain, dangerous animals, etc. But primitive man did relatively little damage to nature because the COLLECTIVE power of primitive society was negligible compared to the COLLECTIVE power of industrial society.

199. Instead of arguing for powerlessness and passivity, one should argue that the power of the INDUSTRIAL SYSTEM should be broken, and that this will greatly INCREASE the power and freedom of INDIVIDUALS and SMALL GROUPS.

200. Until the industrial system has been thoroughly wrecked, the destruction of that system must be the revolutionaries' ONLY goal. Other goals would distract attention and energy from the main goal. More importantly, if the revolutionaries permit themselves to have any other goal than the destruction of technology, they will be tempted to use technology as a tool for reaching that other goal. If they give in to that temptation, they will fall right back into the technological trap, because modern technology is a unified, tightly organized system, so that, in order to retain SOME technology, one finds oneself obliged to retain MOST technology, hence one ends up sacrificing only token amounts of technology.

201. Suppose for example that the revolutionaries took "social justice" as a goal. Human nature being what it is, social justice would not come about spontaneously; it would have to be enforced. In order to enforce it the revolutionaries would have to retain central organization and control. For that they would need rapid long-distance transportation and communication, and therefore all the technology needed to support the transportation and communication systems. To feed and clothe poor people they would have to use agricultural and manufacturing technology. And so forth. So that the attempt to insure social justice would force them to retain most parts of the technological system. Not that we have anything against social justice, but it must not be allowed to interfere with the effort to get rid of the technological system.

202. It would be hopeless for revolutionaries to try to attack the system without using SOME modern technology. If nothing else they must use the communications media to spread their message. But they should use modern technology for only ONE purpose: to attack the technological system.

203. Imagine an alcoholic sitting with a barrel of wine in front of him. Suppose he starts saying to himself, "Wine isn't bad for you if used in moderation. Why, they say small amounts of wine are even good for you! It won't do me any harm if I take just one little drink.... " Well you know what is going to happen. Never forget that the human race with technology is just like an alcoholic with a barrel of wine.

204. Revolutionaries should have as many children as they can. There is strong scientific evidence that social attitudes are to a significant extent inherited. No one suggests that a social attitude is a direct outcome of a person's genetic constitution, but it appears that personality traits are partly inherited and that certain personality traits tend, within the context of our society, to make a person more likely to hold this or that social attitude. Objections to these findings have been raised, but the objections are feeble and seem to be ideologically motivated. In any event, no one denies that children tend on the average to hold social attitudes similar to those of their parents. From our point of view it doesn't matter all that much whether the attitudes are passed on genetically or through childhood training. In either case they ARE passed on.

205. The trouble is that many of the people who are inclined to rebel against the industrial system are also concerned about the population problems, hence they are apt to have few or no children. In this way they may be handing the world over to the sort of people who support or at least accept the industrial system. To insure the strength of the next generation of revolutionaries the present generation should reproduce itself abundantly. In doing so they will be worsening the population problem only slightly. And the important problem is to get rid of the industrial system, because once the industrial system is gone the world's population necessarily will decrease (see paragraph 167); whereas, if the industrial system survives, it will continue developing new techniques of food production that may enable the world's population to keep increasing almost indefinitely.

206. With regard to revolutionary strategy, the only points on which we absolutely insist are that the single overriding goal must be the elimination of modern technology, and that no other goal can be allowed to compete with this one. For the rest, revolutionaries should take an empirical approach. If experience indicates that some of the recommendations made in the foregoing paragraphs are not going to give good results, then those recommendations should be discarded.

TWO KINDS OF TECHNOLOGY

207. An argument likely to be raised against our proposed revolution is that it is bound to fail, because (it is claimed) throughout history technology has always progressed, never regressed, hence technological regression is impossible. But this claim is false.

208. We distinguish between two kinds of technology, which we will call small-scale technology and organization-dependent technology. Small-scale technology is technology that can be used by small-scale communities without outside assistance. Organization-dependent technology is technology that depends on large-scale social organization. We are aware of no significant cases of regression in small-scale technology. But organization-dependent technology DOES regress when the social organization on which it depends breaks down. Example: When the Roman Empire fell apart the Romans' small-scale technology survived because any clever village craftsman could build, for instance, a water wheel, any skilled smith could make steel by Roman methods, and so forth. But the Romans' organization-dependent technology DID regress. Their aqueducts fell into disrepair and were never rebuilt. Their techniques of road construction were lost. The Roman system of urban sanitation was forgotten, so that not until r ather recent times did the sanitation of European cities equal that of Ancient Rome.

209. The reason why technology has seemed always to progress is that, until perhaps a century or two before the Industrial Revolution, most technology was small-scale technology. But most of the technology developed since the Industrial Revolution is organization-dependent technology. Take the refrigerator for example. Without factory-made parts or the facilities of a post-industrial machine shop it would be virtually impossible for a handful of local craftsmen to build a refrigerator. If by some miracle they did succeed in building one it would be useless to them without a reliable source of electric power. So they would have to dam a stream and build a generator. Generators require large amounts of copper wire. Imagine trying to make that wire without modern machinery. And where would they get a gas suitable for refrigeration? It would be much easier to build an icehouse or preserve food by drying or picking, as was done before the invention of the refrigerator.

210. So it is clear that if the industrial system were once thoroughly broken down, refrigeration technology would quickly be lost. The same is true of other organization-dependent technology. And once this technology had been lost for a generation or so it would take centuries to rebuild it, just as it took centuries to build it the first time around. Surviving technical books would be few and scattered. An industrial society, if built from scratch without outside help, can only be built in a series of stages: You need tools to make tools to make tools to make tools ... . A long process of economic development and progress in social organization is required. And, even in the absence of an ideology opposed to technology, there is no reason to believe that anyone would be interested in rebuilding industrial society. The enthusiasm for "progress" is a phenomenon peculiar to the modern form of society, and it seems not to have existed prior to the 17th century or thereabouts.

211. In the late Middle Ages there were four main civilizations that were about equally "advanced": Europe, the Islamic world, India, and the Far East (China, Japan, Korea). Three of those civilizations remained more or less stable, and only Europe became dynamic. No one knows why Europe became dynamic at that time; historians have their theories but these are only speculation. At any rate, it is clear that rapid development toward a technological form of society occurs only under special conditions. So there is no reason to assume that a long-lasting technological regression cannot be brought about.

212. Would society EVENTUALLY develop again toward an industrial-technological form? Maybe, but there is no use in worrying about it, since we can't predict or control events 500 or 1,000 years in the future. Those problems must be dealt with by the people who will live at that time.

THE DANGER OF LEFTISM

213. Because of their need for rebellion and for membership in a movement, leftists or persons of similar psychological type often are unattracted to a rebellious or activist movement whose goals and membership are not initially leftist. The resulting influx of leftish types can easily turn a non-leftist movement into a leftist one, so that leftist goals replace or distort the original goals of the movement.

214. To avoid this, a movement that exalts nature and opposes technology must take a resolutely anti-leftist stance and must avoid all collaboration with leftists. Leftism is in the long run inconsistent with wild nature, with human freedom and with the elimination of modern technology. Leftism is collectivist; it seeks to bind together the entire world (both nature and the human race) into a unified whole. But this implies management of nature and of human life by organized society, and it requires advanced technology. You can't have a united world without rapid transportation and communication, you can't make all people love one another without sophisticated psychological techniques, you can't have a "planned society" without the necessary technological base. Above all, leftism is driven by the need for power, and the leftist seeks power on a collective basis, through identification with a mass movement or an organization. Leftism is unlikely ever to give up technology, because technology is too valuable a source of collective power.

215. The anarchist [34] too seeks power, but he seeks it on an individual or small-group basis; he wants individuals and small groups to be able to control the circumstances of their own lives. He opposes technology because it makes small groups dependent on large organizations.

216. Some leftists may seem to oppose technology, but they will oppose it only so long as they are outsiders and the technological system is controlled by non-leftists. If leftism ever becomes dominant in society, so that the technological system becomes a tool in the hands of leftists, they will enthusiastically use it and promote its growth. In doing this they will be repeating a pattern that leftism has shown again and again in the past. When the Bolsheviks in Russia were outsiders, they vigorously opposed censorship and the secret police, they advocated self-determination for ethnic minorities, and so forth; but as soon as they came into power themselves, they imposed a tighter censorship and created a more ruthless secret police than any that had existed under the tsars, and they oppressed ethnic minorities at least as much as the tsars had done. In the United States, a couple of decades ago when leftists were a minority in our universities, leftist professors were vigorous proponents of academic freedom, but today, in those of our universities where leftists have become dominant, they have shown themselves ready to take away from everyone else's academic freedom. (This is "political correctness.") The same will happen with leftists and technology: They will use it to oppress everyone else if they ever get it under their own control.

217. In earlier revolutions, leftists of the most power-hungry type, repeatedly, have first cooperated with non-leftist revolutionaries, as well as with leftists of a more libertarian inclination, and later have double-crossed them to seize power for themselves. Robespierre did this in the French Revolution, the Bolsheviks did it in the Russian Revolution, the communists did it in Spain in 1938 and Castro and his followers did it in Cuba. Given the past history of leftism, it would be utterly foolish for non-leftist revolutionaries today to collaborate with leftists.

218. Various thinkers have pointed out that leftism is a kind of religion. Leftism is not a religion in the strict sense because leftist doctrine does not postulate the existence of any supernatural being. But, for the leftist, leftism plays a psychological role much like that which religion plays for some people. The leftist NEEDS to believe in leftism; it plays a vital role in his psychological economy. His beliefs are not easily modified by logic or facts. He has a deep conviction that leftism is morally Right with a capital R, and that he has not only a right but a duty to impose leftist morality on everyone. (However, many of the people we are referring to as "leftists" do not think of themselves as leftists and would not describe their system of beliefs as leftism. We use the term "leftism" because we don't know of any better words to designate the spectrum of related creeds that includes the feminist, gay rights, political correctness, etc., movements, and because these movements have a strong affinity with the old left. See paragraphs 227-230.)

219. Leftism is a totalitarian force. Wherever leftism is in a position of power it tends to invade every private corner and force every thought into a leftist mold. In part this is because of the quasi-religious character of leftism; everything contrary to leftist beliefs represents Sin. More importantly, leftism is a totalitarian force because of the leftists' drive for power. The leftist seeks to satisfy his need for power through identification with a social movement and he tries to go through the power process by helping to pursue and attain the goals of the movement (see paragraph 83). But no matter how far the movement has gone in attaining its goals the leftist is never satisfied, because his activism is a surrogate activity (see paragraph 41). That is, the leftist's real motive is not to attain the ostensible goals of leftism; in reality he is motivated by the sense of power he gets from struggling for and then reaching a social goal. [35] Consequently the leftist is never satisfied with the goals he has already attained; his need for the power process leads him always to pursue some new goal. The leftist wants equal opportunities for minorities. When that is attained he insists on statistical equality of achievement by minorities. And as long as anyone harbors in some corner of his mind a negative attitude toward some minority, the leftist has to re-educated him. And ethnic minorities are not enough; no one can be allowed to have a negative attitude toward homosexuals, disabled people, fat people, old people, ugly people, and on and on and on. It's not enough that the public should be informed about the hazards of smoking; a warning has to be stamped on every package of cigarettes. Then cigarette advertising has to be restricted if not banned. The activists will never be satisfied until tobacco is outlawed, and after that it will be alcohol, then junk food, etc. Activists have fought gross child abuse, which is reasonable. But now they want to stop all spanking. When they have done that they will want to ban something else they consider unwholesome, then another thing and then another. They will never be satisfied until they have complete control over all child rearing practices. And then they will move on to another cause.

220. Suppose you asked leftists to make a list of ALL the things that were wrong with society, and then suppose you instituted EVERY social change that they demanded. It is safe to say that within a couple of years the majority of leftists would find something new to complain about, some new social "evil" to correct because, once again, the leftist is motivated less by distress at society's ills than by the need to satisfy his drive for power by imposing his solutions on society.

221. Because of the restrictions placed on their thoughts and behavior by their high level of socialization, many leftists of the over-socialized type cannot pursue power in the ways that other people do. For them the drive for power has only one morally acceptable outlet, and that is in the struggle to impose their morality on everyone.

222. Leftists, especially those of the oversocialized type, are True Believers in the sense of Eric Hoffer's book, "The True Believer." But not all True Believers are of the same psychological type as leftists. Presumably a true-believing nazi, for instance, is very different psychologically from a true-believing leftist. Because of their capacity for single-minded devotion to a cause, True Believers are a useful, perhaps a necessary, ingredient of any revolutionary movement. This presents a problem with which we must admit we don't know how to deal. We aren't sure how to harness the energies of the True Believer to a revolution against technology. At present all we can say is that no True Believer will make a safe recruit to the revolution unless his commitment is exclusively to the destruction of technology. If he is committed also to another ideal, he may want to use technology as a tool for pursuing that other ideal (see paragraphs 220, 221).

223. Some readers may say, "This stuff about leftism is a lot of crap. I know John and Jane who are leftish types and they don't have all these totalitarian tendencies." It's quite true that many leftists, possibly even a numerical majority, are decent people who sincerely believe in tolerating others' values (up to a point) and wouldn't want to use high-handed methods to reach their social goals. Our remarks about leftism are not meant to apply to every individual leftist but to describe the general character of leftism as a movement. And the general character of a movement is not necessarily determined by the numerical proportions of the various kinds of people involved in the movement.

224. The people who rise to positions of power in leftist movements tend to be leftists of the most power-hungry type, because power-hungry people are those who strive hardest to get into positions of power. Once the power-hungry types have captured control of the movement, there are many leftists of a gentler breed who inwardly disapprove of many of the actions of the leaders, but cannot bring themselves to oppose them. They NEED their faith in the movement, and because they cannot give up this faith they go along with the leaders. True, SOME leftists do have the guts to oppose the totalitarian tendencies that emerge, but they generally lose, because the power-hungry types are better organized, are more ruthless and Machiavellian and have taken care to build themselves a strong power base.

225. These phenomena appeared clearly in Russia and other countries that were taken over by leftists. Similarly, before the breakdown of communism in the USSR, leftish types in the West would seldom criticize that country. If prodded they would admit that the USSR did many wrong things, but then they would try to find excuses for the communists and begin talking about the faults of the West. They always opposed Western military resistance to communist aggression. Leftish types all over the world vigorously protested the U.S. military action in Vietnam, but when the USSR invaded Afghanistan they did nothing. Not that they approved of the Soviet actions; but because of their leftist faith, they just couldn't bear to put themselves in opposition to communism. Today, in those of our universities where "political correctness" has become dominant, there are probably many leftish types who privately disapprove of the suppression of academic freedom, but they go along with it anyway.

226. Thus the fact that many individual leftists are personally mild and fairly tolerant people by no means prevents leftism as a whole form having a totalitarian tendency.

227. Our discussion of leftism has a serious weakness. It is still far from clear what we mean by the word "leftist." There doesn't seem to be much we can do about this. Today leftism is fragmented into a whole spectrum of activist movements. Yet not all activist movements are leftist, and some activist movements (e.g., radical environmentalism) seem to include both personalities of the leftist type and personalities of thoroughly un-leftist types who ought to know better than to collaborate with leftists. Varieties of leftists fade out gradually into varieties of non-leftists and we ourselves would often be hard-pressed to decide whether a given individual is or is not a leftist. To the extent that it is defined at all, our conception of leftism is defined by the discussion of it that we have given in this article, and we can only advise the reader to use his own judgment in deciding who is a leftist.

228. But it will be helpful to list some criteria for diagnosing leftism. These criteria cannot be applied in a cut and dried manner. Some individuals may meet some of the criteria without being leftists, some leftists may not meet any of the criteria. Again, you just have to use your judgment.

229. The leftist is oriented toward large-scale collectivism. He emphasizes the duty of the individual to serve society and the duty of society to take care of the individual. He has a negative attitude toward individualism. He often takes a moralistic tone. He tends to be for gun control, for sex education and other psychologically "enlightened" educational methods, for social planning, for affirmative action, for multiculturalism. He tends to identify with victims. He tends to be against competition and against violence, but he often finds excuses for those leftists who do commit violence. He is fond of using the common catch-phrases of the left, like "racism," "sexism," "homophobia," "capitalism," "imperialism," "neocolonialism," "genocide," "social change," "social justice," "social responsibility." Maybe the best diagnostic trait of the leftist is his tendency to sympathize with the following movements: feminism, gay rights, ethnic rights, disability rights, animal rights, political correctness. Anyone who strongly sympathizes with ALL of these movements is almost certainly a leftist. [36]

230. The more dangerous leftists, that is, those who are most power-hungry, are often characterized by arrogance or by a dogmatic approach to ideology. However, the most dangerous leftists of all may be certain oversocialized types who avoid irritating displays of aggressiveness and refrain from advertising their leftism, but work quietly and unobtrusively to promote collectivist values, "enlightened" psychological techniques for socializing children, dependence of the individual on the system, and so forth. These crypto-leftists (as we may call them) approximate certain bourgeois types as far as practical action is concerned, but differ from them in psychology, ideology and motivation. The ordinary bourgeois tries to bring people under control of the system in order to protect his way of life, or he does so simply because his attitudes are conventional. The crypto-leftist tries to bring people under control of the system because he is a True Believer in a collectivistic ideology. The crypto-leftist is differentiated from the average leftist of the oversocialized type by the fact that his rebellious impulse is weaker and he is more securely socialized. He is differentiated from the ordinary well-socialized bourgeois by the fact that there is some deep lack within him that makes it necessary for him to devote himself to a cause and immerse himself in a collectivity. And maybe his (well-sublimated) drive for power is stronger than that of the average bourgeois.

FINAL NOTE

231. Throughout this article we've made imprecise statements and statements that ought to have had all sorts of qualifications and reservations attached to them; and some of our statements may be flatly false. Lack of sufficient information and the need for brevity made it impossible for us to formulate our assertions more precisely or add all the necessary qualifications. And of course in a discussion of this kind one must rely heavily on intuitive judgment, and that can sometimes be wrong. So we don't claim that this article expresses more than a crude approximation to the truth.

232. All the same, we are reasonably confident that the general outlines of the picture we have painted here are roughly correct. Just one possible weak point needs to be mentioned. We have portrayed leftism in its modern form as a phenomenon peculiar to our time and as a symptom of the disruption of the power process. But we might possibly be wrong about this. Oversocialized types who try to satisfy their drive for power by imposing their morality on everyone have certainly been around for a long time. But we THINK that the decisive role played by feelings of inferiority, low self-esteem, powerlessness, identification with victims by people who are not themselves victims, is a peculiarity of modern leftism. Identification with victims by people not themselves victims can be seen to some extent in 19th century leftism and early Christianity but as far as we can make out, symptoms of low self-esteem, etc., were not nearly so evident in these movements, or in any other movements, as they are in modern leftism. But we are not in a position to assert confidently that no such movements have existed prior to modern leftism. This is a significant question to which historians ought to give their attention.

Notes

1. (Paragraph 19) We are asserting that ALL, or even most, bullies and ruthless competitors suffer from feelings of inferiority.

2. (Paragraph 25) During the Victorian period many oversocialized people suffered from serious psychological problems as a result of repressing or trying to repress their sexual feelings. Freud apparently based his theories on people of this type. Today the focus of socialization has shifted from sex to aggression.

3. (Paragraph 27) Not necessarily including specialists in engineering or the "hard" sciences.

4. (Paragraph 28) There are many individuals of the middle and upper classes who resist some of these values, but usually their resistance is more or less covert. Such resistance appears in the mass media only to a very limited extent. The main thrust of propaganda in our society is in favor of the stated values.

The main reason why these values have become, so to speak, the official values of our society is that they are useful to the industrial system. Violence is discouraged because it disrupts the functioning of the system. Racism is discouraged because ethnic conflicts also disrupt the system, and discrimination wastes the talents of minority-group members who could be useful to the system. Poverty must be "cured" because the underclass causes problems for the system and contact with the underclass lowers the morale of the other classes. Women are encouraged to have careers because their talents are useful to the system and, more importantly, because by having regular jobs women become better integrated into the system and tied directly to it rather than to their families. This helps to weaken family solidarity. (The leaders of the system say they want to strengthen the family, but they really mean is that they want the family to serve as an effective tool for socializing children in accord with the needs of the system. We argue in paragraphs 51, 52 that the system cannot afford to let the family or other small-scale social groups be strong or autonomous.)

5. (Paragraph 42) It may be argued that the majority of people don't want to make their own decisions but want leaders to do their thinking for them. There is an element of truth in this. People like to make their own decisions in small matters, but making decisions on difficult, fundamental questions requires facing up to psychological conflict, and most people hate psychological conflict. Hence they tend to lean on others in making difficult decisions. But it does not follow that they like to have decisions imposed upon them without having any opportunity to influence those decisions. The majority of people are natural followers, not leaders, but they like to have direct personal access to their leaders, they want to be able to influence the leaders and participate to some extent in making even the difficult decisions. At least to that degree they need autonomy.

6. (Paragraph 44) Some of the symptoms listed are similar to those shown by caged animals.

To explain how these symptoms arise from deprivation with respect to the power process:

Common-sense understanding of human nature tells one that lack of goals whose attainment requires effort leads to boredom and that boredom, long continued, often leads eventually to depression. Failure to attain goals leads to frustration and lowering of self-esteem. Frustration leads to anger, anger to aggression, often in the form of spouse or child abuse. It has been shown that long-continued frustration commonly leads to depression and that depression tends to cause guilt, sleep disorders, eating disorders and bad feelings about oneself. Those who are tending toward depression seek pleasure as an antidote; hence insatiable hedonism and excessive sex, with perversions as a means of getting new kicks. Boredom too tends to cause excessive pleasure-seeking since, lacking other goals, people often use pleasure as a goal. See accompanying diagram.

The foregoing is a simplification. Reality is more complex, and of course, deprivation with respect to the power process is not the ONLY cause of the symptoms described.

By the way, when we mention depression we do not necessarily mean depression that is severe enough to be treated by a psychiatrist. Often only mild forms of depression are involved. And when we speak of goals we do not necessarily mean long-term, thought-out goals. For many or most people through much of human history, the goals of a hand-to-mouth existence (merely providing oneself and one's family with food from day to day) have been quite sufficient.

7. (Paragraph 52) A partial exception may be made for a few passive, inward-looking groups, such as the Amish, which have little effect on the wider society. Apart from these, some genuine small-scale communities do exist in America today. For instance, youth gangs and "cults." Everyone regards them as dangerous, and so they are, because the members of these groups are loyal primarily to one another rather than to the system, hence the system cannot control them.

Or take the gypsies. The gypsies commonly get away with theft and fraud because their loyalties are such that they can always get other gypsies to give testimony that "proves" their innocence. Obviously the system would be in serious trouble if too many people belonged to such groups.

Some of the early-20th century Chinese thinkers who were concerned with modernizing China recognized the necessity breaking down small-scale social groups such as the family: "(According to Sun Yat-sen) the Chinese people needed a new surge of patriotism, which would lead to a transfer of loyalty from the family to the state.... (According to Li Huang) traditional attachments, particularly to the family had to be abandoned if nationalism were to develop in China." (Chester C. Tan, "Chinese Political Thought in the Twentieth Century," page 125, page 297.)

8. (Paragraph 56) Yes, we know that 19th century America had its problems, and serious ones, but for the sake of brevity we have to express ourselves in simplified terms.

9. (Paragraph 61) We leave aside the "underclass." We are speaking of the mainstream.

10. (Paragraph 62) Some social scientists, educators, "mental health" professionals and the like are doing their best to push the social drives into group 1 by trying to see to it that everyone has a satisfactory social life.

11. (Paragraphs 63, 82) Is the drive for endless material acquisition really an artificial creation of the advertising and marketing industry? Certainly there is no innate human drive for material acquisition. There have been many cultures in which people have desired little material wealth beyond what was necessary to satisfy their basic physical needs (Australian aborigines, traditional Mexican peasant culture, some African cultures). On the other hand there have also been many pre-industrial cultures in which material acquisition has played an important role. So we can't claim that today's acquisition-oriented culture is exclusively a creation of the advertising and marketing industry. But it is clear that the advertising and marketing industry has had an important part in creating that culture. The big corporations that spend millions on advertising wouldn't be spending that kind of money without solid proof that they were getting it back in increased sales. One member of FC met a sales manager a couple of years ago who was frank enough to tell him, "Our job is to make people buy things they don't want and don't need." He then described how an untrained novice could present people with the facts about a product, and make no sales at all, while a trained and experienced professional salesman would make lots of sales to the same people. This shows that people are manipulated into buying things they don't really want.

12. (Paragraph 64) The problem of purposelessness seems to have become less serious during the last 15 years or so, because people now feel less secure physically and economically than they did earlier, and the need for security provides them with a goal. But purposelessness has been replaced by frustration over the difficulty of attaining security. We emphasize the problem of purposelessness because the liberals and leftists would wish to solve our social problems by having society guarantee everyone's security; but if that could be done it would only bring back the problem of purposelessness. The real issue is not whether society provides well or poorly for people's security; the trouble is that people are dependent on the system for their security rather than having it in their own hands. This, by the way, is part of the reason why some people get worked up about the right to bear arms; possession of a gun puts that aspect of their security in their own hands.

13. (Paragraph 66) Conservatives' efforts to decrease the amount of government regulation are of little benefit to the average man. For one thing, only a fraction of the regulations can be eliminated because most regulations are necessary. For another thing, most of the deregulation affects business rather than the average individual, so that its main effect is to take power from the government and give it to private corporations. What this means for the average man is that government interference in his life is replaced by interference from big corporations, which may be permitted, for example, to dump more chemicals that get into his water supply and give him cancer. The conservatives are just taking the average man for a sucker, exploiting his resentment of Big Government to promote the power of Big Business.

14. (Paragraph 73) When someone approves of the purpose for which propaganda is being used in a given case, he generally calls it "education" or applies to it some similar euphemism. But propaganda is propaganda regardless of the purpose for which it is used.

15. (Paragraph 83) We are not expressing approval or disapproval of the Panama invasion. We only use it to illustrate a point.

16. (Paragraph 95) When the American colonies were under British rule there were fewer and less effective legal guarantees of freedom than there were after the American Constitution went into effect, yet there was more personal freedom in pre-industrial America, both before and after the War of Independence, than there was after the Industrial Revolution took hold in this country. We quote from "Violence in America: Historical and Comparative Perspectives," edited by Hugh Davis Graham and Ted Robert Gurr, Chapter 12 by Roger Lane, pages 476-478:

"The progressive heightening of standards of propriety, and with it the increasing reliance on official law enforcement (in 19th century America) ... were common to the whole society.... [T]he change in social behavior is so long term and so widespread as to suggest a connection with the most fundamental of contemporary social processes; that of industrial urbanization itself...."Massachusetts in 1835 had a population of some 660,940, 81 percent rural, overwhelmingly preindustrial and native born. It's citizens were used to considerable personal freedom. Whether teamsters, farmers or artisans, they were all accustomed to setting their own schedules, and the nature of their work made them physically independent of each other.... Individual problems, sins or even crimes, were not generally cause for wider social concern...."But the impact of the twin movements to the city and to the factory, both just gathering force in 1835, had a progressive effect on personal behavior throughout the 19th century and into the 20th. The factory demanded regularity of behavior, a life governed by obedience to the rhythms of clock and calendar, the demands of foreman and supervisor. In the city or town, the needs of living in closely packed neighborhoods inhibited many actions previously unobjectionable. Both blue- and white-collar employees in larger establishments were mutually dependent on their fellows; as one man's work fit into anther's, so one man's business was no longer his own.

"The results of the new organization of life and work were apparent by 1900, when some 76 percent of the 2,805,346 inhabitants of Massachusetts were classified as urbanites. Much violent or irregular behavior which had been tolerable in a casual, independent society was no longer acceptable in the more formalized, cooperative atmosphere of the later period.... The move to the cities had, in short, produced a more tractable, more socialized, more 'civilized' generation than its predecessors."

17. (Paragraph 117) Apologists for the system are fond of citing cases in which elections have been decided by one or two votes, but such cases are rare.

18. (Paragraph 119) "Today, in technologically advanced lands, men live very similar lives in spite of geographical, religious, and political differences. The daily lives of a Christian bank clerk in Chicago, a Buddhist bank clerk in Tokyo, and a Communist bank clerk in Moscow are far more alike than the life of any one of them is like that of any single man who lived a thousand years ago. These similarities are the result of a common technology...." L. Sprague de Camp, "The Ancient Engineers," Ballantine edition, page 17.

The lives of the three bank clerks are not IDENTICAL. Ideology does have SOME effect. But all technological societies, in order to survive, must evolve along APPROXIMATELY the same trajectory.

19. (Paragraph 123) Just think an irresponsible genetic engineer might create a lot of terrorists.

20. (Paragraph 124) For a further example of undesirable consequences of medical progress, suppose a reliable cure for cancer is discovered. Even if the treatment is too expensive to be available to any but the elite, it will greatly reduce their incentive to stop the escape of carcinogens into the environment.

21. (Paragraph 128) Since many people may find paradoxical the notion that a large number of good things can add up to a bad thing, we illustrate with an analogy. Suppose Mr. A is playing chess with Mr. B. Mr. C, a Grand Master, is looking over Mr. A's shoulder. Mr. A of course wants to win his game, so if Mr. C points out a good move for him to make, he is doing Mr. A a favor. But suppose now that Mr. C tells Mr. A how to make ALL of his moves. In each particular instance he does Mr. A a favor by showing him his best move, but by making ALL of his moves for him he spoils his game, since there is not point in Mr. A's playing the game at all if someone else makes all his moves.

The situation of modern man is analogous to that of Mr. A. The system makes an individual's life easier for him in innumerable ways, but in doing so it deprives him of control over his own fate.

22. (Paragraph 137) Here we are considering only the conflict of values within the mainstream. For the sake of simplicity we leave out of the picture "outsider" values like the idea that wild nature is more important than human economic welfare.

23. (Paragraph 137) Self-interest is not necessarily MATERIAL self-interest. It can consist in fulfillment of some psychological need, for example, by promoting one's own ideology or religion.

24. (Paragraph 139) A qualification: It is in the interest of the system to permit a certain prescribed degree of freedom in some areas. For example, economic freedom (with suitable limitations and restraints) has proved effective in promoting economic growth. But only planned, circumscribed, limited freedom is in the interest of the system. The individual must always be kept on a leash, even if the leash is sometimes long (see paragraphs 94, 97).

25. (Paragraph 143) We don't mean to suggest that the efficiency or the potential for survival of a society has always been inversely proportional to the amount of pressure or discomfort to which the society subjects people. That certainly is not the case. There is good reason to believe that many primitive societies subjected people to less pressure than European society did, but European society proved far more efficient than any primitive society and always won out in conflicts with such societies because of the advantages conferred by technology.

26. (Paragraph 147) If you think that more effective law enforcement is unequivocally good because it suppresses crime, then remember that crime as defined by the system is not necessarily what YOU would call crime. Today, smoking marijuana is a "crime," and, in some places in the U.S., so is possession of an unregistered handgun. Tomorrow, possession of ANY firearm, registered or not, may be made a crime, and the same thing may happen with disapproved methods of child-rearing, such as spanking. In some countries, expression of dissident political opinions is a crime, and there is no certainty that this will never happen in the U.S., since no constitution or political system lasts forever.

If a society needs a large, powerful law enforcement establishment, then there is something gravely wrong with that society; it must be subjecting people to severe pressures if so many refuse to follow the rules, or follow them only because forced. Many societies in the past have gotten by with little or no formal law-enforcement.

27. (Paragraph 151) To be sure, past societies have had means of influencing human behavior, but these have been primitive and of low effectiveness compared with the technological means that are now being developed.

28. (Paragraph 152) However, some psychologists have publicly expressed opinions indicating their contempt for human freedom. And the mathematician Claude Shannon was quoted in Omni (August 1987) as saying, "I visualize a time when we will be to robots what dogs are to humans, and I'm rooting for the machines."

29. (Paragraph 154) This is no science fiction! After writing paragraph 154 we came across an article in Scientific American according to which scientists are actively developing techniques for identifying possible future criminals and for treating them by a combination of biological and psychological means. Some scientists advocate compulsory application of the treatment, which may be available in the near future. (See "Seeking the Criminal Element," by W. Wayt Gibbs, Scientific American, March 1995.) Maybe you think this is OK because the treatment would be applied to those who might become violent criminals. But of course it won't stop there. Next, a treatment will be applied to those who might become drunk drivers (they endanger human life too), then perhaps to peel who spank their children, then to environmentalists who sabotage logging equipment, eventually to anyone whose behavior is inconvenient for the system.

30. (Paragraph 184) A further advantage of nature as a counter-ideal to technology is that, in many people, nature inspires the kind of reverence that is associated with religion, so that nature could perhaps be idealized on a religious basis. It is true that in many societies religion has served as a support and justification for the established order, but it is also true that religion has often provided a basis for rebellion. Thus it may be useful to introduce a religious element into the rebellion against technology, the more so because Western society today has no strong religious foundation. Religion, nowadays either is used as cheap and transparent support for narrow, short-sighted selfishness (some conservatives use it this way), or even is cynically exploited to make easy money (by many evangelists), or has degenerated into crude irrationalism (fundamentalist protestant sects, "cults"), or is simply stagnant (Catholicism, main-line Protestantism). The nearest thing to a strong, widespread, dynamic religion that the West has seen in recent times has been the quasi-religion of leftism, but leftism today is fragmented and has no clear, unified, inspiring goal.

Thus there is a religious vacuum in our society that could perhaps be filled by a religion focused on nature in opposition to technology. But it would be a mistake to try to concoct artificially a religion to fill this role. Such an invented religion would probably be a failure. Take the "Gaia" religion for example. Do its adherents REALLY believe in it or are they just play-acting? If they are just play-acting their religion will be a flop in the end.

It is probably best not to try to introduce religion into the conflict of nature vs. technology unless you REALLY believe in that religion yourself and find that it arouses a deep, strong, genuine response in many other people.

31. (Paragraph 189) Assuming that such a final push occurs. Conceivably the industrial system might be eliminated in a somewhat gradual or piecemeal fashion (see paragraphs 4, 167 and Note 4).

32. (Paragraph 193) It is even conceivable (remotely) that the revolution might consist only of a massive change of attitudes toward technology resulting in a relatively gradual and painless disintegration of the industrial system. But if this happens we'll be very lucky. It's far more probably that the transition to a nontechnological society will be very difficult and full of conflicts and disasters.

33. (Paragraph 195) The economic and technological structure of a society are far more important than its political structure in determining the way the average man lives (see paragraphs 95, 119 and Notes 16, 18).

34. (Paragraph 215) This statement refers to our particular brand of anarchism. A wide variety of social attitudes have been called "anarchist," and it may be that many who consider themselves anarchists would not accept our statement of paragraph 215. It should be noted, by the way, that there is a nonviolent anarchist movement whose members probably would not accept FC as anarchist and certainly would not approve of FC's violent methods.

35. (Paragraph 219) Many leftists are motivated also by hostility, but the hostility probably results in part from a frustrated need for power.

36. (Paragraph 229) It is important to understand that we mean someone who sympathizes with these MOVEMENTS as they exist today in our society. One who believes that women, homosexuals, etc., should have equal rights is not necessary a leftist. The feminist, gay rights, etc., movements that exist in our society have the particular ideological tone that characterizes leftism, and if one believes, for example, that women should have equal rights it does not necessarily follow that one must sympathize with the feminist movement as it exists today.

If copyright problems make it impossible for this long quotation to be printed, then please change Note 16 to read as follows:

16. (Paragraph 95) When the American colonies were under British rule there were fewer and less effective legal guarantees of freedom than there were after the American Constitution went into effect, yet there was more personal freedom in pre-industrial America, both before and after the War of Independence, than there was after the Industrial Revolution took hold in this country. In "Violence in America: Historical and Comparative Perspectives," edited by Hugh Davis Graham and Ted Robert Gurr, Chapter 12 by Roger Lane, it is explained how in pre-industrial America the average person had greater independence and autonomy than he does today, and how the process of industrialization necessarily led to the restriction of personal freedom.

@ fd208ee8:0fd927c1

E-cash are coupons or tokens for Bitcoin, or Bitcoin debt notes that the mint issues. The e-cash states, essentially, "IoU 2900 sats".

They're redeemable for Bitcoin on Lightning (hard money), and therefore can be used as cash (softer money), so long as the mint has a good reputation. That means that they're less fungible than Lightning because the e-cash from one mint can be more or less valuable than the e-cash from another. If a mint is buggy, offline, or disappears, then the e-cash is unreedemable.

It also means that e-cash is more anonymous than Lightning, and that the sender and receiver's wallets don't need to be online, to transact. Nutzaps now add the possibility of parking transactions one level farther out, on a relay. The same relays that cannot keep npub profiles and follow lists consistent will now do monetary transactions.

What we then have is * a transaction on a relay that triggers * a transaction on a mint that triggers * a transaction on Lightning that triggers * a transaction on Bitcoin.

Which means that every relay that stores the nuts is part of a wildcat banking system. Which is fine, but relay operators should consider whether they wish to carry the associated risks and liabilities. They should also be aware that they should implement the appropriate features in their relay, such as expiration tags (nuts rot after 2 weeks), and to make sure that only expired nuts are deleted.

There will be plenty of specialized relays for this, so don't feel pressured to join in, and research the topic carefully, for yourself.

https://github.com/nostr-protocol/nips/blob/master/60.md https://github.com/nostr-protocol/nips/blob/master/61.md

@ ac8bb9b0:70278acc

Details

• ⏲️ Prep time: 10
• 🍳 Cook time: 20
• 🍽️ Servings: 5

Ingredients

• 8 ounces uncooked linguine
• 1 pound chicken breast, cut into strips
• 1-2 tsp Cajun seasoning, or more to taste
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium red bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 medium yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 8 oz fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 red onion, sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tomatoes, diced
• 1 cup low sodium chicken broth
• 1/3 cup skim milk
• 1 tbsp flour
• 3 tbsp light cream cheese
• fresh cracked pepper
• 2 scallions, chopped
• kosher salt to taste
• avocado oil spray

Directions

1. Prep all your vegetables.
2. In a small blender make a slurry by combining milk, flour and cream cheese. Set aside.
3. Season chicken generously with Cajun seasoning, garlic powder and salt.
4. Prepare pasta in salted water according to package directions.
5. Heat a large heavy nonstick skillet over medium-high heat; spray with oil and add half of the chicken.
6. Sauté 5 to 6 minutes or until done, set aside on a plate and repeat with the remaining chicken. Set aside.
7. Add olive oil to the skillet and reduce to medium; add bell peppers, onions, and garlic to skillet, sauté 3-4 minutes.
8. Add mushrooms and tomatoes and sauté 3-4 more minutes or until vegetables are tender.
9. Season with 1/4 tsp salt, garlic powder and fresh cracked pepper to taste.
10. Reduce heat to medium-low; add chicken broth and pour in slurry stirring about 2 minutes.
11. Return chicken to skillet; adjust salt and Cajun seasoning to taste, cook another minute or two until hot, then add linguine; toss well to coat.
12. Top with chopped scallions and enjoy!

@ da0b9bc3:4e30a4a9

It's Finally here Stackers!

It's Friday!

We're about to kick off our weekends with some feel good tracks.

Let's get the party started. Bring me those Feel Good tracks.

Let's get it!

Party Rock! https://youtu.be/KQ6zr6kCPj8?si=jyncDuzGh73_PbuP

Talk Music. Share Tracks. Zap Sats.

originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/892973

@ 916a7ab7:146bb83e

tens of thousands of Afghans flee

by often desperate measures,

detained, assaulted, murdered,

martyred

faithless and in fetters.

school girls in Uganda know

they many never have a wedding

when terror rapes

the peace they sow,

punished by beheading.

Chinese mosques, temples, homes

are dismantled brick by brick

for believing something higher than

the state or politic.

the glowing boxes in our hands

or hanging from our walls

manipulate the way we think

becoming passive thralls.

@ 9f94e6cc:f3472946

Der Entartungswettbewerb TikTok hat die Jugend im Griff und verbrutzelt ihre Hirne. Über Reels, den Siegeszug des Hochformats und die Regeln der Viralität.

Text: Aron Morhoff

Hollywood steckt heute in der Hosentasche. 70 Prozent aller YouTube-Inhalte werden auf mobilen Endgeräten, also Smartphones, geschaut. Instagram und TikTok sind die angesagtesten Anwendungen für junge Menschen. Es gibt sie nur noch als App, und ihr Design ist für Mobiltelefone optimiert.

Einst waren Rechner und Laptops die Tools, mit denen ins Internet gegangen wurde. Auch als das Smartphone seinen Siegeszug antrat, waren die Sehgewohnheiten noch auf das Querformat ausgerichtet. Heute werden Rechner fast nur noch zum Arbeiten verwendet. Das Berieseln, die Unterhaltung, das passive Konsumieren hat sich vollständig auf die iPhones und Samsungs dieser Welt verlagert. Das Telefon hat den aufrechten Gang angenommen, kaum einer mehr hält sein Gerät waagerecht.

Homo Digitalis Erectus

Die Welt steht also Kopf. Die Form eines Mediums hat Einfluss auf den Inhalt. Marshall McLuhan formulierte das so: Das Medium selbst ist die Botschaft. Ja mei, mag sich mancher denken, doch medienanthropologisch ist diese Entwicklung durchaus eine Betrachtung wert. Ein Querformat eignet sich besser, um Landschaften, einen Raum oder eine Gruppe abzubilden. Das Hochformat entspricht grob den menschlichen Maßen von der Hüfte bis zum Kopf. Der TikTok-Tanz ist im Smartphone-Design also schon angelegt. Das Hochformat hat die Medieninhalte unserer Zeit noch narzisstischer gemacht.

Dass wir uns durch Smartphones freizügiger und enthemmter zur Schau stellen, ist bekannt. 2013 wurde „Selfie“ vom Oxford English Dictionary zum Wort des Jahres erklärt. Selfie, Selbstporträt, Selbstdarstellung.

Neu ist der Aufwand, der heute vonnöten ist, um die Aufmerksamkeitsschwelle der todamüsierten Mediengesellschaft überhaupt noch zu durchbrechen. In beängstigender Hypnose erwischt man viele Zeitgenossen inzwischen beim Doomscrollen. Das ist der Fachbegriff für das weggetretene Endloswischen und erklärt auch den Namen „Reel“: Der Begriff, im Deutschen verwandt mit „Rolle“, beschreibt die Filmrolle, von der 24 Bilder pro Sekunde auf den Projektor gewischt oder eben abgespult werden.

Länger als drei Sekunden darf ein Kurzvideo deshalb nicht mehr gehen, ohne dass etwas Aufregendes passiert. Sonst wird das Reel aus Langeweile weggewischt. Die Welt im Dopamin-Rausch. Für den Ersteller eines Videos heißt das inzwischen: Sei der lauteste, schrillste, gestörteste Marktschreier. Das Wettrennen um die Augäpfel zwingt zu extremen Formen von Clickbait.

15 Sekunden Ruhm

Das nimmt inzwischen skurrile Formen an. Das Video „Look who I found“ von Noel Robinson (geboren 2001) war im letzten Jahr einer der erfolgreichsten deutschen TikTok-Clips. Man sieht den Deutsch-Nigerianer beim Antanzen eines karikaturartig übergewichtigen Menschen. Noel wird geschubst und fällt. Daraufhin wechselt das Lied – und der fette Mann bewegt seinen Schwabbelbauch im Takt. Noel steht wieder auf, grinst, beide tanzen gemeinsam. Das dauert 15 Sekunden. Ich rate Ihnen, sich das Video einmal anzuschauen, um die Mechanismen von TikTok zu verstehen. Achten Sie alleine darauf, wie vielen Reizen (Menschenmenge, Antanzen, Sturz, Schwabbelbauch) Sie in den ersten fünf Sekunden ausgesetzt sind. Wer schaut so was? Bis dato 220 Millionen Menschen. Das ist kapitalistische Verwertungslogik im bereits verwesten Endstadium. Adorno oder Fromm hätten am Medienzeitgeist entweder ihre Freude oder mächtig zu knabbern.

Die Internet- und Smartphoneabdeckung beträgt mittlerweile fast 100 Prozent. Das Überangebot hat die Regeln geändert. Um überhaupt gesehen zu werden, muss man heute viral gehen. Was dafür inzwischen nötig ist, spricht die niedrigsten Bedürfnisse des Menschen an: Gewalt, Ekel, Sexualisierung, Schock. Die jungen Erwachsenen, die heute auf sozialen Netzwerken den Ton angeben, haben diese Mechanismen längst verinnerlicht. Wie bewusst ihnen das ist, ist fraglich. 2024 prallt eine desaströse Bildungssituation samt fehlender Medienkompetenz auf eine egomanische Jugend, die Privatsphäre nie gekannt hat und seit Kindesbeinen alles in den Äther ballert, was es festhalten kann. Man muss kein Kulturpessimist sein, um diese degenerative Dynamik, auch in ihrer Implikation für unser Zusammenleben und das psychische Wohlergehen der Generation TikTok, als beängstigend zu bezeichnen.

Aron Morhoff studierte Medienethik und ist Absolvent der Freien Akademie für Medien & Journalismus. Frühere Stationen: RT Deutsch und Nuoviso. Heute: Stichpunkt Magazin, Manova, Milosz Matuschek und seine Liveshow "Addictive Programming".

@ ac8bb9b0:70278acc

Details

• ⏲️ Prep time: 10
• 🍳 Cook time: 20
• 🍽️ Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2 pounds ground chicken
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 2 tablespoons taco seasoning
• salt and black pepper
• 2 1/2 cups salsa or enchilada sauce
• 1 chipotle chili in adobo, chopped
• 2 cups fresh corn
• 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup plain greek yogurt
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 1/2 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend
• 2 cups tortilla chips
• avocado, cilantro, and green onions, for serving

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400° F.
2. In a large oven-safe skillet, combine the olive oil, chicken, onion, salt, and pepper. Set the skillet over high heat. Cook, breaking up the meat as it cooks, until browned all over, 5 minutes. Add the taco seasoning, cook another 2 minutes. Then add 1/2 cup water. Stir in the salsa/enchilada sauce and chipotle. Simmer 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and add in the cilantro.
3. In a bowl, combine the corn, cream cheese, yogurt, chili powder, and salt. Stir in 1/2 cup cheese.
4. Dollop 1/3 of the corn mix over the skillet. Add the tortilla chips on top, pressing them gently into the skillet. Add the remaining corn mix by spoonfuls on top of the chips (like nachos). Top with the remaining cheese. Bake for 15 minutes, until the cheese is melted.
5. Serve topped as desired with avocado, cilantro, green onion, and cotija/feta cheese.

@ 07804b78:c375c543

Japanese follows. 日本語はあとで。

This article is for the 14th day of Nostr Advent Calendar 2024 (relay blogging). The article for the 13th day was "Open Sats 申請編" (Applying for Open Sats) by mono-san. The article for the 14th day will be "Nostrはじめました。" (I started Nostr) by bro-san.

Thinking of Thingstr

I've come up with an idea for Other Staff that I think is interesting (at least, for me), so I'm going to write about it. I actually wanted to show you the implementation and brag about it, but it's not solid enough to be implemented yet.

The key idea is just “add a reaction to the WikiData ID”.

WikiData

There is a service called WikiData. It is a knowledge base that provides structured data. You may be wondering what it is, but the important thing to understand here is that WikiData assigns identifiers to a fairly wide range of “objects” and “things”.

So, if you can react to this, you can think of various applications just by thinking of it for a moment, right?

For example, the anime series “There are too many losing heroines!” is assigned the ID Q123819103. The corresponding page is https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q123819103 .

(NOTE: The canonical URI for entities on Wikidata is http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q1142841. This is in accordance with Semantic Web conventions, and is not https, but http. Also, this URI does not necessarily match the actual address of the correspnding web page. Just an identifier. In most cases, it will redirect).

What can wd do?

For example, what about a website that records your anime viewing history? You can record what you want to watch with 👀, what you've already watched with ✅, and your favorites with ☆. You can also express your “likes” for production companies, staff, voice actors, etc. In this way, you can see what a particular user likes.

This could be a movie, a book, a comic, an author, music, an idol group, a place, or food (Someone likes pork cutlet Q1142841). The fact that you can record everything in the same framework is what makes it interesting.

What form of event should it be recorded as?

There is probably room for discussion about how to record this information in a concrete way. The simplest way would be to use NIP-25's "Reactions to a website" kind:17 (a.k.a. Makibishi). How about something like this?

json [ ["i", "wd:Q123819103", "http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q123819103"], ]

Since NIP-73 has External Content IDs, it would be good if we could include WikiData here so that we could write wd:Q123819103. Actually, isbn: and other identifiers have already been defined, so it is possible to use the current NIP range to describe books (however, the authors do not have IDs. If we use WikiData as an ID, we can also describe reactions related to the author). Of course, it is not a matter of choosing one or the other, and it is also fine to add the ISBN tag at the same time as the WikiData tag for books.

Search for recorded reactions

So far, this is all very simple, but it would be inconvenient if we didn't include tags to mark subsets of reactions (for example, only those related to anime) so that we can query them together. When we try to create a site that is specialized for a certain purpose, we need to be able to extract the reactions that are necessary.

On Wikidata, the predicate wdt:P31 (instance of) is used to group together concepts that represent the same thing. For example, how about including this in the l tag? "There are too many losing heroines!" is a "Japanese television anime series (Q63952888)", so:

json [ ["i", "wd:Q1142841", "http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q1142841"], ["l", "wdt:P31 wd:Q63952888"] ]

UPDATE(2024-12-15): rnurachue-san suggested that #l or #L might be better for labeling (the first version used #a). I think that's a good idea, so I've updated the article. nostr:nevent1qgswamu0rsela0kwhj87p24ueapxdp04vzz7ar0pp6lfyq923t3l02cqyr9786635s60ra0f973nwv2sln2l74lqx4twdlgxfz2jgevpvsgtc9zwn6d

However, when you think about creating an anime website, you may want to query both TV anime and anime films. This makes things more complicated. "Japanese TV anime series (Q63952888)" is a subclass (subclass of; wdt:P279) of "Anime series (Q117467261)", which is in turn a subclass of "Anime (Q1107)". However, if you were to embed this hierarchy in each reaction, it would waste a lot of space. The following query will get all the superclasses of "Japanese TV anime series (Q63952888)", but there are 54 of them.

https://query.wikidata.org/#%23%20Subclass%20hierarchy%20traversal%20for%20Q63952888%0ASELECT%20%3Fitem%20%3FitemLabel%20%3Fsuperclass%20%3FsuperclassLabel%0AWHERE%20%7B%0A%20%20%23%20Starting%20class%0A%20%20wd%3AQ63952888%20wdt%3AP279%2a%20%3Fsuperclass%20.%0A%20%20BIND%28wd%3AQ63952888%20AS%20%3Fitem%29%0A%20%20SERVICE%20wikibase%3Alabel%20%7B%20bd%3AserviceParam%20wikibase%3Alanguage%20%22%5BAUTO_LANGUAGE%5D%2Cen%22.%20%7D%0A%7D%0AORDER%20BY%20%3Fsuperclass%0A

So, I think it should be okay for practical purposes to embed P31s of the reaction target. In other words, if you search for "anime series Q63952888" and "anime movie Q20650540", that should be enough. Fortunately, the conditions for single-character tags work with OR, so you can query multiple tags at once. we'll have to try it to see how well it works in practice, though.

Discussion: Which kind should I use?

So far we have considered using kind:17, but we have not yet decided whether it is a good idea to mix Thingstr events with reactions to web pages.

Also, there may be a debate over whether to record regular events or addressable events, depending on the purpose of use. For example, if you want to record the transition of viewing results and impressions on an anime viewing site, you should use regular events, and if you want to maintain the viewing status, you should use addressable events.

What do you think?

Other ideas

If we can react to Nodes on OpenStreetMap using the same framework, we might be able to create something like Swarm. Since the views you want to see will differ depending on the purpose, it would be good to create various sites while having a consistent way of recording. Wouldn't that be the most Nostr-like thing?

Summary

I discussed how to use WikiData and OpenStreetMap as an ID infrastructure and realize various check-in and review services with a unified data model by using them on Nostr. Please let us know if you have any feedback. Or why not try implementing it?

---

この記事は Nostr Advent Calendar 2024 の14日目の記事です。13日目の記事はmonoさんによる「Open Sats 申請編」でした。15日目の記事はbroさんによる「Nostrはじめました。」です。

Thingstrについて考えた

面白そうな（と勝手に思ってる） Other Staff のアイディアを思いついたので、書いてみます。 本当は実装を持ってきて自慢したかったのですが、まだふわっとしていて実装に落ちていません。

コアになるアイディアは「WikiData の ID に対して、Reactionをつける」これだけです。

WikiData

WikiData というサービスがあります。構造化データを提供する知識ベースです。 なにそれ？という感じですが、ここで大事なのはWikiDataはかなり広範な「もの」「こと」に識別子(Identifier)を付与している、ということです。

だから、これにリアクションできれば、ぱっと思いつくだけでもいろいろな応用ができそうじゃないですか。

例えば、アニメシリーズ「負けヒロインが多すぎる！」には Q123819103 というIDが振られています。これに対応するページとして https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q123819103 があります。

（ただし、WikiData のエンティティに対する canonical な URI は http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q1142841 であることには注意が必要です。セマンティックウェブの作法で https ではなく http になっています。そして、このURIは必ずしもWebページのアドレス一致しません。大抵の場合はリダイレクトされます）。

なにができるの

たとえば、アニメの視聴記録サイトはどうでしょう。👀は見たい作品、✅は視聴済み、☆はお気に入り、みたいに記録していく。制作会社、スタッフ、声優、...に対してLikeを表明したりできそうです。そうすると、あるユーザが何にLikeしているかわかります。

これが映画でもいいし、書籍、漫画、作家でもいいし、音楽でもいいし、アイドルグループでもいいし、場所でもいいし、食べ物でもいい（とんかつ Q1142841 が好き、とか）。全部同じ枠組みで記録できるのが面白そうなところです。

どういうNostrイベントで記録する？

具体的な記録の仕方には議論の余地があるでしょう。一番単純なのは、NIP-25の "Reactions to a website" kind:17 (Makibishi) を使う方法でしょうか。こんなのはどうでしょう。

json [ ["i", "wd:Q123819103", "http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q123819103"], ]

NIP-73にExternal Content IDsがあるので、ここにWikiDataを入れられるようにして wd:Q123819103 と書けるとよさそうです。実は isbn: などはすでに定義されているので、書籍に関しては現行のNIPの範囲でもうまいことできます（ただ、著者にはIDが振られていません。WikiDataをIDに使うと著者に関するリアクションも記述できます）。もちろん、どちらか一方を選ぶというものでもなくて、書籍にはWikiDataのタグと当時にISBNのタグを付与しておいてもいいと思います。

記録されたリアクションを検索する

ここまではシンプルでよいのですが、リアクションの部分集合（たとえばアニメに関連するものだけ、とか）をまとめてクエリできるように、目印となるタグを入れておかないと不便です。ある目的に特化したサイトを作ろうとしたとき、必要になるリアクションが抽出できるようにしておかないといけません。

WikiData では wdt:P31 (instance of) という述語で、ある概念が何を表しているかをグルーピングしてくれています。例えばこれをlタグとかに含めておくのはどうでしょうか。

負けヒロインが多すぎる！は「日本のテレビアニメシリーズ(Q63952888)」なので、

json [ ["i", "wd:Q1142841", "http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q1142841"], ["l", "wdt:P31 wd:Q63952888"] ]

みたいな感じで付与します。

UPDATE(2024-12-15): rnurachueさんからラベル付けには #l または #L のほうがよいかもという提案をいただきました。最初のバージョンでは #a を使用していました。そのとおりだと思ったので更新しました。 nostr:nevent1qgswamu0rsela0kwhj87p24ueapxdp04vzz7ar0pp6lfyq923t3l02cqyr9786635s60ra0f973nwv2sln2l74lqx4twdlgxfz2jgevpvsgtc9zwn6d

ただ、アニメサイトを作ることを考えると、テレビアニメも劇場版アニメも両方クエリしたいこともありそうですよね。そうなると話が複雑になってきます。

「日本のテレビアニメシリーズ(Q63952888)」は「アニメシリーズ(Q117467261)」のサブクラス(subclass of; wdt:P279)で、それがさらに「アニメ(Q1107)」 のサブクラスになっています。ただ、この階層をいちいちリアクションに埋め込むのと大変なことになります。以下のようなクエリで「日本のテレビアニメシリーズ(Q63952888)」のすべての上位クラスが取れるのですが、54件もあります。

https://query.wikidata.org/#%23%20Subclass%20hierarchy%20traversal%20for%20Q63952888%0ASELECT%20%3Fitem%20%3FitemLabel%20%3Fsuperclass%20%3FsuperclassLabel%0AWHERE%20%7B%0A%20%20%23%20Starting%20class%0A%20%20wd%3AQ63952888%20wdt%3AP279%2a%20%3Fsuperclass%20.%0A%20%20BIND%28wd%3AQ63952888%20AS%20%3Fitem%29%0A%20%20SERVICE%20wikibase%3Alabel%20%7B%20bd%3AserviceParam%20wikibase%3Alanguage%20%22%5BAUTO_LANGUAGE%5D%2Cen%22.%20%7D%0A%7D%0AORDER%20BY%20%3Fsuperclass%0A

なので、リアクション対象のP31を埋め込む、くらいで実用上は問題ないような気がします。つまり、検索するときに 「アニメシリーズ Q63952888」と「アニメ映画 Q20650540」を対象にすれば、十分では、ということです。幸い、一文字タグの条件はORで効くので、複数を並べて一度にクエリできます。実際にどのくらいうまく行くかはやってみないとわからないですが。

議論: どの kind を使うべきか？

一旦 kind 17 を使うことを考えてきましたが、Thingstr のイベントが Web ページに対するリアクションと混ざるのが良いことなのか、いまいち判断がついていません。

また、用途によって regular event で記録するべきか、それとも addressable event で記録すべきか、という議論もありそうです。 アニメ視聴サイトを例にあげるなら、視聴実績とか感想の変遷を記録したいならば regular event でしょうし、視聴の状態を保持したいならば addressable とするのがよさそうです。

どう思いますか？

他のアイディア

これと同じ枠組みで OpenStreetMap の Node に対してリアクションできるようにすれば Swarm のようなものも実現できるかもしれません。

用途ごとに見たいビューは違うだろうから、一貫した記録の仕方を持ちつつ、色々なサイトを作ったらいいんじゃないでしょうか。それって最高にNostrっぽくないですか？

まとめ

WikiDataやOpenStreetMapをID基盤として活用し、Nostr上でreactすることで、様々なチェックインサービス、レビューサービスを統一的なデータモデルで実現する方法について議論しました。フィードバックがあったら教えてください。むしろ実装してみてください。

@ 916a7ab7:146bb83e

my eyes

are not blurry

when they see through lenses

of someone's suffering, and then

I see.

@ d360efec:14907b5f

Overall Assessment:

Bitcoin (BTCUSDT) on OKX remains highly volatile and the overall trend is uncertain. While the long-term trend (Daily chart) is technically still an uptrend, it has weakened significantly. The 4-hour and 15-minute charts are in confirmed downtrends. This analysis focuses on identifying key levels where Smart Money might be active and assessing trend strength.

Detailed Analysis by Timeframe:

(1) TF Day (Daily): https://www.tradingview.com/x/o9YgoBlr/

• Trend: Uptrend (Significantly Weakening, at high risk of reversing).
• SMC (Smart Money Concepts):
  • Higher Highs (HH) and Higher Lows (HL) structure is becoming less defined and broken. The recent price action has broken previous lows.
  • Prior Breaks of Structure (BOS) to the upside, but now a significant and deep pullback is underway.
  • Liquidity:
    • Sellside Liquidity (SSL): Significant SSL rests below previous lows in the 85,000 - 90,000 range. This is a likely target for Smart Money.
    • Buyside Liquidity (BSL): BSL is present above the all-time high.
• ICT (Inner Circle Trader Concepts):
  • Order Block: The price has broken below the prior bullish Order Block (the large green candle before a significant up-move). This is a major bearish signal.
• EMA (Exponential Moving Average):
  • Price has broken below the 50-period EMA (yellow), a bearish signal.
  • The 200-period EMA (white) is the next major support level.
• Money Flow (LuxAlgo):
  • A long red bar indicates strong selling pressure.
• Trend Strength (AlgoAlpha):
  • Red Cloud indicating Downtrend, No Buy/Sell Signal.
• Volume Profile: Relatively low volume on the recent decline.
• Candlesticks: The most recent candlestick is red, confirming selling pressure.
• Support: EMA 200, 85,000-90,000 (SSL area).
• Resistance: EMA 50, Previous All-Time High.
• Summary: The Daily chart's uptrend is significantly weakening. The break below the 50 EMA and the bullish Order Block, combined with the negative Money Flow and bearish Trend Strength, are all major warning signs. The SSL below is a key area to watch.

(2) TF4H (4-Hour): https://www.tradingview.com/x/0sGC0Gny/

• Trend: Downtrend.
• SMC:
  • Lower Highs (LH) and Lower Lows (LL).
  • BOS to the downside.
  • Liquidity:
    • SSL: Below previous lows.
    • BSL: Above previous highs.
• ICT:
  • Order Block: The price was rejected by a bearish order Block
• EMA:
  • Price is below both the 50-period and 200-period EMAs (bearish).
• Money Flow (LuxAlgo):
  • Predominantly red, confirming selling pressure.
• Trend Strength (AlgoAlpha):
  • Green Cloud But No Buy/Sell Signal. Indicates Sideway
• Volume Profile: * Relatively high volume.
• Support: Recent lows.
• Resistance: EMA 50, EMA 200, Order Block.
• Summary: The 4-hour chart is in a confirmed downtrend. The Money Flow is bearish, price below both EMAs.

(3) TF15 (15-Minute): https://www.tradingview.com/x/c7kIbqU0/

• Trend: Downtrend (but showing some signs of consolidation/sideways movement).
• SMC:
  • Lower Highs (LH) and Lower Lows (LL) - but with slightly higher lows recently.
  • BOS to the downside.
• ICT:
  • Order Block Price could not break up the bearish Order Block.
• EMA:
  • The 50-period and 200-period EMAs are acting as resistance.
• Money Flow (LuxAlgo):
  • Alternating red and green, predominantly red.
• Trend Strength (AlgoAlpha):
  • Red Cloud (Bearish), BUT there's a bullish divergence (price made a lower low, but the Trend Strength indicator made a higher low). This is a potential early warning sign, but needs strong confirmation.
• Volume Profile:
  • Relatively high Volume
• Support: Recent lows.
• Resistance: EMA 50, EMA 200, Order Block.
• Summary: The 15-minute chart is in a downtrend, although with very tentative signs of stabilization. The bullish divergence on the Trend Strength is noteworthy, but not a buy signal on its own.

Overall Strategy and Recommendations (BTCUSDT):

• Primary Trend (Day): Uptrend (Significantly Weakening).
• Secondary Trend (4H): Downtrend.
• Short-Term Trend (15m): Downtrend (Potential Early Reversal Signals).
• Liquidity: Significant SSL zones exist below the current price on all timeframes.
• Money Flow: Negative on all timeframes.

• Trend Strength: Bearish on Day and 15m. Sideway on 4H.

• Strategies:

  1. Wait & See (Best Option): The conflicting signals and the strong bearish momentum on the shorter timeframes, combined with the weakening Daily chart, make waiting the most prudent approach. Look for:

     • Bearish Confirmation: A decisive break below the recent lows on the 15m and 4H charts, with increasing volume and continued negative Money Flow. This would confirm the continuation of the downtrend.
     • Bullish Confirmation: A strong, sustained break above the 15m EMAs, a shift in the 15m Money Flow to green, and a bullish signal on the 4H Trend Strength, and price holding above EMAs and ideally reclaiming the Daily Order Block.

  2. Short (High Risk): This aligns with the 4H and 15m downtrends.

     • Entry: On rallies towards resistance levels (EMAs on 15m/4H, previous support levels that have turned into resistance).
     • Stop Loss: Above recent highs on the chosen timeframe.
     • Target: The next support levels (recent lows on 15m, then potentially the SSL zones on the 4H and Daily charts).

  3. Buy (Extremely High Risk - Not Recommended): Do not attempt to buy until there are very strong and consistent bullish reversal signals across all timeframes, including a definitive shift in market structure on the 4H and 15m charts, positive Money Flow, and a clear break above resistance levels. The bullish divergence on the 15m Trend Strength is not sufficient on its own.

Key Recommendations:

• Conflicting Timeframes: The primary conflict is now resolved toward the downside. The Daily is weakening significantly.
• Money Flow: Consistently negative, a major bearish factor.
• Trend Strength: Bearish on Day and 15, Sideways on 4H, but the divergence on the 15m is a potential early warning.
• Daily Order Block: The break of the bullish Order Block is a significant bearish development.
• Sellside Liquidity (SSL): Be aware that Smart Money may target the SSL zones below. This increases the risk of stop-loss hunting.
• Risk Management: Due to the high uncertainty and volatility, strict risk management is absolutely critical. Use tight stop-losses, do not overtrade, and be prepared for rapid price swings.
• Volume: Confirm any breakout or breakdown with volume.

Day Trading and Intraday Trading Strategies:

• Day Trade (TF15 focus):

  • Short Bias: Given the current 15m downtrend and negative Money Flow, the higher probability is to look for shorting opportunities.
    • Entry: Look for price to rally to resistance levels (EMAs, Order Blocks, previous support levels that have become resistance) and then show signs of rejection (bearish candlestick patterns, increasing volume on the downside).
    • Stop Loss: Place a stop-loss order above the resistance level where you enter the short position.
    • Take Profit: Target the next support level (recent lows).
    • Be very cautious: The bullish divergence on the Trend Strength indicator suggests a potential bounce could occur. Don't be aggressive with shorts until this divergence is invalidated.
  • Avoid Long positions: Until there's a clear and confirmed bullish reversal on the 15m chart (break above EMAs, positive Money Flow, bullish market structure).

• Swing Trade (TF4H focus):

  • Short Bias: The 4H chart is in a downtrend.
    • Entry: Wait for price to rally to resistance levels (EMAs, Order Blocks) and show signs of rejection.
    • Stop Loss: Above the resistance level where you enter the short position.
    • Take Profit: Target the next support levels (e.g., the 200 EMA on the Daily chart, SSL zones).
    • Avoid Long positions: Until there's a clear and confirmed bullish reversal on the 4H chart.

SMC Day Trade Setup Example (TF15 - Bearish):

1. Identify Bearish Order Block: Locate a bearish Order Block on the TF15 chart (a bullish candle before a strong downward move). We have identified this in previous analyses.
2. Wait for Pullback: Wait for the price to pull back up to test the Order Block (this may or may not happen).
3. Bearish Entry:
   • Rejection: Look for price action to reject the Order Block (e.g., a pin bar, engulfing pattern, or other bearish candlestick pattern).
   • Break of Structure: Look for a break of a minor support level on a lower timeframe (e.g., 1-minute or 5-minute) after the price tests the Order Block.
   • Money Flow: Confirm that Money Flow remains negative (red).
4. Stop Loss: Place a stop-loss order above the Order Block.
5. Take Profit: Target the next support level (e.g., recent lows) or a bullish Order Block on a higher timeframe.

In conclusion, BTCUSDT is currently in a high-risk, bearish environment in the short-to-medium term. The "Wait & See" approach is strongly recommended for most traders. Shorting is the higher-probability trade at this moment, but only for experienced traders who can manage risk extremely effectively. Buying is not recommended at this time.

Disclaimer: This analysis is for informational purposes only and represents a personal opinion. It is not financial advice. Investing in cryptocurrencies involves significant risk. Investors should conduct their own research and exercise due diligence before making any investment decisions.

@ 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.

---

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.

@ ac8bb9b0:70278acc

Details

• ⏲️ Prep time: 15
• 🍳 Cook time: 1 hour 30 minutes
• 🍽️ Servings: 10

Ingredients

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 cup celery diced
• 1 cup carrots diced
• 1 medium onion diced
• 2 medium potatoes diced
• 5 cups beef broth
• 1 15 oz. can corn, drained
• 1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
• 1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1 bay leaf

Directions

1. In a large dutch oven (I used a 6-quart), over medium heat brown the ground beef until done. Spoon off the excess fat.
2. Add the remaining ingredients and stir. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat. Allow to simmer for 1 to 1 ½ hours (with the lid on, but tilted so steam can release) or until the vegetables are tender.
3. Remove the bay leaf and serve.

@ d360efec:14907b5f

ภาพรวม BTCUSDT (OKX):

Bitcoin (BTCUSDT) ยังคงมีความผันผวนและแนวโน้มที่ไม่ชัดเจน แม้ว่า TF Day จะยังคงแสดงโครงสร้างตลาดที่เป็นขาขึ้น แต่ ก็เริ่มอ่อนแรงลงอย่างเห็นได้ชัด แนวโน้ม TF4H และ TF15 เป็น Sideway Down

วิเคราะห์ทีละ Timeframe:

(1) TF Day (รายวัน): https://www.tradingview.com/x/IVA4uegL/

• แนวโน้ม: ขาขึ้น (Uptrend) อ่อนแรงลงอย่างมาก, มีความเสี่ยงที่จะเปลี่ยนแนวโน้ม
• SMC:
  • Higher Highs (HH) และ Higher Lows (HL) เริ่มไม่ชัดเจน, ราคาหลุด Low ก่อนหน้า
  • Break of Structure (BOS) ด้านบน แต่มีการปรับฐานที่รุนแรง
  • Liquidity:
    • มี Sellside Liquidity (SSL) อยู่ใต้ Lows ก่อนหน้า (บริเวณ 85,000 - 90,000)
    • มี Buyside Liquidity (BSL) อยู่เหนือ High เดิม
• ICT:
  • Order Block: ราคาหลุด Order Block ขาขึ้น
• EMA:
  • ราคา หลุด EMA 50 (สีเหลือง) ลงมาแล้ว
  • EMA 200 (สีขาว) เป็นแนวรับถัดไป
• Money Flow (LuxAlgo):
  • สีแดงยาว แสดงถึงแรงขายที่แข็งแกร่ง
• Trend Strength (AlgoAlpha):
  • สีแดง (เมฆแดง) แสดงถึงแนวโน้มขาลง และไม่มีสัญญาณซื้อ/ขายปรากฏ
• Volume Profile: Volume ค่อนข้างเบาบาง
• แท่งเทียน: แท่งเทียนล่าสุดเป็นสีแดง แสดงถึงแรงขาย
• แนวรับ: EMA 200, บริเวณ 85,000 - 90,000 (SSL)
• แนวต้าน: EMA 50, High เดิม
• สรุป: แนวโน้มขาขึ้นอ่อนแรงลงอย่างมาก, สัญญาณอันตรายหลายอย่าง, Money Flow และ Trend Strength เป็นลบ, หลุด Order Block และ EMA 50

(2) TF4H (4 ชั่วโมง): https://www.tradingview.com/x/BP0BDAts/

• แนวโน้ม: Sideway Down
• SMC:
  • Lower Highs (LH) และ Lower Lows (LL)
  • Break of Structure (BOS) ด้านล่าง
  • Liquidity:
    • มี SSL อยู่ใต้ Lows ก่อนหน้า
    • มี BSL อยู่เหนือ Highs ก่อนหน้า
• ICT:
  • Order Block: ราคาไม่สามารถผ่าน Order Block ขาลงได้ และราคากำลังทดสอบ Order Block ขาขึ้น
• EMA:
  • ราคาอยู่ใต้ EMA 50 และ EMA 200
• Money Flow (LuxAlgo):
  • สีแดง แสดงถึงแรงขาย
• Trend Strength (AlgoAlpha):
  • เขียว/ไม่มีสัญญาณ แสดงถึงแนวโน้ม Sideway
• Volume Profile: * Volume ค่อนข้างสูง
• แนวรับ: บริเวณ Low ล่าสุด, Order Block
• แนวต้าน: EMA 50, EMA 200, บริเวณ Order Block
• สรุป: แนวโน้ม Sideway Down, แรงขายมีอิทธิพล

(3) TF15 (15 นาที): (https://www.tradingview.com/x/c7kIbqU0/)

• แนวโน้ม: ขาลง (Downtrend) แต่เริ่มเห็นสัญญาณ Sideways
• SMC:
  • Lower Highs (LH) และ Lower Lows (LL) เริ่มเห็นการยก Low เล็กน้อย
  • Break of Structure (BOS) ด้านล่าง
• ICT:
  • Order Block: ราคา Sideways ใกล้ Order Block
• EMA:
  • EMA 50 และ EMA 200 เป็นแนวต้าน
• Money Flow (LuxAlgo):
  • แดงสลับเขียว
• Trend Strength (AlgoAlpha):
  • สีแดง (เมฆแดง) แสดงถึงแนวโน้มขาลง แต่มีสัญญาณ Bullish Divergence (ราคาทำ Lower Low แต่ Trend Strength ยก Low)
• Volume Profile: * Volume ค่อนข้างสูง
• แนวรับ: บริเวณ Low ล่าสุด
• แนวต้าน: EMA 50, EMA 200, Order Block
• สรุป: แนวโน้มขาลง, เริ่มพักตัว, Money Flow เริ่มมีความไม่แน่นอน

สรุปภาพรวมและกลยุทธ์ (BTCUSDT):

• แนวโน้มหลัก (Day): ขาขึ้น (อ่อนแรงลงอย่างมาก, เสี่ยงที่จะเปลี่ยนแนวโน้ม)
• แนวโน้มรอง (4H): Sideway Down
• แนวโน้มระยะสั้น (15m): ขาลง (เริ่มพักตัว, มี Divergence)
• Liquidity: มี SSL ทั้งใน Day, 4H, และ 15m
• Money Flow: เป็นลบในทุก Timeframes
• Trend Strength: Day/15m เป็นขาลง, 4H Sideway
• กลยุทธ์:
  1. Wait & See (ดีที่สุด): รอความชัดเจน
  2. Short (เสี่ยง): ถ้าไม่สามารถ Breakout EMA/แนวต้านใน TF ใดๆ ได้ หรือเมื่อเกิดสัญญาณ Bearish Continuation
  3. ไม่แนะนำให้ Buy: จนกว่าจะมีสัญญาณกลับตัวที่ชัดเจนมากๆ

Day Trade & การเทรดรายวัน:

• Day Trade (TF15):

  • Short Bias: หาจังหวะ Short เมื่อราคาเด้งขึ้นไปทดสอบแนวต้าน (EMA, Order Block)
  • Stop Loss: เหนือแนวต้านที่เข้า Short
  • Take Profit: แนวรับถัดไป (Low ล่าสุด)
  • ระวัง: Bullish Divergence ใน Trend Strength
  • ไม่แนะนำให้ Long

• Swing Trade (TF4H):

  • Short Bias: รอจังหวะ Short เมื่อราคาไม่สามารถผ่านแนวต้าน EMA หรือ Order Block ได้
  • Stop Loss: เหนือแนวต้านที่เข้า Short
  • Take Profit: แนวรับถัดไป
  • ไม่แนะนำให้ Long

สิ่งที่ต้องระวัง:

• Sellside Liquidity (SSL): มีโอกาสสูงที่ราคาจะถูกลากลงไปแตะ SSL
• False Breakouts: ระวัง
• Volatility: สูง
• Divergence (TF15): อาจเป็นสัญญาณเริ่มต้นของการกลับตัว แต่ต้องรอการยืนยัน
• Trend Strength (TF4H): ไม่มีสัญญาณซื้อ/ขาย ต้องระวัง

Setup Day Trade แบบ SMC (ตัวอย่าง):

1. ระบุ Order Block: หา Order Block ขาลง (Bearish Order Block) ใน TF15 (แท่งเทียนสีเขียวก่อนที่ราคาจะลงแรง)
2. รอ Pullback: รอให้ราคา Pullback ขึ้นไปทดสอบ Order Block นั้น
3. หา Bearish Entry:
   • Rejection: รอ Price Action ปฏิเสธ Order Block (เช่น เกิด Pin Bar, Engulfing)
   • Break of Structure: รอให้ราคา Break โครงสร้างย่อยๆ ใน TF ที่เล็กกว่า (เช่น 1m, 5m) หลังจากที่ทดสอบ Order Block
   • Money Flow: ดู Money Flow ให้เป็นสีแดง
4. ตั้ง Stop Loss: เหนือ Order Block
5. ตั้ง Take Profit: แนวรับถัดไป (เช่น Low ล่าสุด) หรือ Order Block ขาขึ้น (Bullish Order Block) ใน TF ที่ใหญ่กว่า

คำแนะนำ:

• ความขัดแย้งของ Timeframes: มีอยู่ แต่แนวโน้มระยะกลาง-สั้น เป็นลบ
• Money Flow: เป็นลบในทุก Timeframes
• Trend Strength: เริ่มมี Divergence ใน TF15
• Order Block TF Day: หลุด Order Block ขาขึ้นแล้ว
• ถ้าไม่แน่ใจ อย่าเพิ่งเข้าเทรด

Disclaimer: การวิเคราะห์นี้เป็นเพียงความคิดเห็นส่วนตัว ไม่ถือเป็นคำแนะนำในการลงทุน ผู้ลงทุนควรศึกษาข้อมูลเพิ่มเติมและตัดสินใจด้วยความรอบคอบ

@ f0c7506b:9ead75b8

Rainer Maria Rilke

Yalnızca güçlü olanların hakkıdır yaşamak.

Güçlü olan ileri gider ve saflar seyrekleşir. Ama üç beş büyük, güçlü ve tanrısal kişi güneşli ve aydınlık gözleriyle o yeni, o vaat edilmiş ülkeye ulaşacaktır. Belki binlerce yıl sonra ancak. Ve güçlü, adaleli, hükmetmek için yaratılmış elleriyle hastaların, zayıfların ve sakatların ölüleri üzerinde bir krallık kuracaklardır. Bir krallık!

Benim aradığım insanların kendileri değil, sesleridir.

Duyguları körelmiş, çeşitli düşüncelere saplanmış kalabalık hiçbir zaman ilerlemenin taşıyıcısı olamaz, kendi küçüklüğünün o küflü içgüdüsüyle kalabalığın kin ve nefretle baktığı bir kişi, bir büyük kişi, iradesinin gösterdiği yolda kimsenin gözünün yaşına bakmaksızın ilahi bir güç ve bir zafer gülümsemesiyle yürüyebilir ancak.

Bizim soyumuz da sonsuz oluşum piramidinin doruk noktasını oluşturmaktan uzaktır. Bizler de mükemmelliğe ulaşmış değiliz. Bizler de henüz olgunlaşmadık.

Şairler sevgiye övgüler döşenir; doğrusu sevginin güçlü bir şey olduğu kesin. Hüneşin bir ışınıdır sevgi, aydınlatıp nurlandırır insanı der bazıları; bazıları da insanı esrikliğe sürükleyen bir zehri kendisinde barındırdığını söyler. Gerçekten de yol açtığı sonuçlar, bir hekimin ağır bir ameliyattan önce korkudan titreyen hastaya teneffüs ettirdiği güldürücü gazınkine benzer, içinde tepinip duran acıyı unutturur hastaya.

Önemli olan, hayatta hiç değilse bir kez kutsal bir ilkbaharın yaşanmasıdır; öyle bir bahar ki, insanın gönlünü ilerideki bütün günleri altın yaldızla kaplamaya yetecek kadar ışık ve parıltıyla doldursun.

Şu hayat denen şey kötü bir işçiliğin ürünü, acemilere göre bir şey. Bu kepaze yaşam uğruna insan nelere katlanmıyor ki!

Kendisine sadakatten ayrılmadığı, yalnızca kendisinin olan bir tek bu var: Yalnızlığı.

Sahildeki üstü tenteli hasır koltuklar arkasındaki yüksek, sessiz kum tepeleri içinde yürürsen, tenteler altındaki insanları göremezsin; ama birinin bir diğerine seslendiğini, bir başkasının gevezelik ettiğini, bir ötekinin güldüğünü işitir ve anlarsın hemen: bu insan şöyle şöyle biridir diyebilirsin. Onun hayatı sevdiğini, bağrında büyük bir özlem ya da acı barındırdığını, bu acının da sesini ağlamaklı kıldığını her gülüşünde hissedersin.

@ fa0165a0:03397073

Chef's notes

This recipe is for 48 buns. Total cooking time takes at least 90 minutes, but 60 minutes of that is letting the dough rest in between processing.

The baking is a simple three-step process. 1. Making the Wheat dough 2. Making and applying the filling 3. Garnishing and baking in the oven

When done: Enjoy during Fika!

PS;

• Can be frozen and thawed in microwave for later enjoyment as well.

• If you need unit conversion, this site may be of help: https://www.unitconverters.net/

• Traditionally we use something we call "Pearl sugar" which is optimal, but normal sugar or sprinkles is okay too. Pearl sugar (Pärlsocker) looks like this: https://search.brave.com/images?q=p%C3%A4rlsocker

Ingredients

• 150 g butter
• 5 dl milk
• 50 g baking yeast (normal or for sweet dough)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1-1 1/2 dl sugar
• (Optional) 2 teaspoons of crushed or grounded cardamom seeds.
• 1.4 liters of wheat flour
• Filling: 50-75 g butter, room temperature
• Filling: 1/2 - 1 dl sugar
• Filling: 1 teaspoons crushed or ground cardamom and 1 teaspoons ground cinnamon (or 2 teaspoons of cinnamon)
• Garnish: 1 egg, sugar or Almond Shavings

Directions

1. Melt the butter/margarine in a saucepan.
2. Pour in the milk and allow the mixture to warm reach body temperature (approx. + 37 ° C).
3. Dissolve the yeast in a dough bowl with the help of the salt.
4. Add the 37 ° C milk/butter mixture, sugar and if you choose to the optional cardamom. (I like this option!) and just over 2/3 of the flour.
5. Work the dough shiny and smooth, about 4 minutes with a machine or 8 minutes by hand.
6. Add if necessary. additional flour but save at least 1 dl for baking.
7. Let the dough rise covered (by a kitchen towel), about 30 minutes.
8. Work the dough into the bowl and then pick it up on a floured workbench. Knead the dough smoothly. Divide the dough into 2 parts. Roll out each piece into a rectangular cake.
9. Stir together the ingredients for the filling and spread it.
10. Roll up and cut each roll into 24 pieces.
11. Place them in paper molds or directly on baking paper with the cut surface facing up. Let them rise covered with a baking sheet, about 30 minutes.
12. Brush the buns with beaten egg and sprinkle your chosen topping.
13. Bake in the middle of the oven at 250 ° C, 5-8 minutes.
14. Allow to cool on a wire rack under a baking sheet.

@ dd664d5e:5633d319

Most people only know customer-to-customer (C2C) and business-to-customer (B2C) software and websites. Those are the famous and popular ones, but business-to-business (B2B) is also pretty big. How big?

Even something boring and local like DATEV has almost 3 million organizations as customers and €1,44 billion in annual revenue.

FedEx has €90 billion in annual revenue and everyone who uses it comes into contact with its software. There's a whole chain of software between the sender and receiver of the package, and it all has to work seamlessly.

Same with Walmart, Toyota, Dubai Airport, Glencore, Tesla, Edeka, Carrefour, Harvard and University of Texas, Continental, Allianz, Asklepios, etc.

That's the sort of software I help build. You've probably never heard of it, but when it doesn't work properly, you'll hear about it on the news.

@ 5188521b:008eb518

At 21 Futures, we publish original fiction in the cypherpunk, libertarian, sci-finance and bitcoin genre.

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Hybrid publishers outside the freedom space will take your money, but they will lack the niche expertise and desire to make your book succeed.

21 Futures is run by a passionate team of freedom-loving editors and professionals. We only accept the highest quality manuscripts because we want to champion work that we believe in too.

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