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2025-03-31 16:00:24|
| |:-:| |WAJDA, Andrzej; Cenizas y diamantes, 1958|
Presentamos una nueva reseña cinematográfica, y en esta ocasión hemos elegido «Cenizas y diamantes», una película polaca del célebre y prolífico director Andrzej Wajda (1926-2016), estrenada en el año 1958. Se trata de uno de los grandes clásicos del cine polaco. El filme refleja una etapa dramática desde la perspectiva histórica para la nación polaca, como es el final de la Segunda Guerra Mundial, a raíz de la capitulación alemana del 8 de mayo de 1945. El contexto en el que se desarrolla se ambienta en la celebración del final de la guerra con el aplastante triunfo de la URSS, con las tropas soviéticas ocupando toda la Europa oriental, y en particular Polonia, que vive un momento de oscuridad e incertidumbre. El protagonista, Maciek Chełmicki (interpretado magistralmente por Zbigniew Cybulski (1927-1967), apodado el «James Dean polaco»), es un joven nacionalista polaco, de orientación anticomunista, que se ve implicado en un complot urdido para asesinar a un líder comunista local. Maciek opera desde la clandestinidad, bajo el grupo Armia Krajowa (AK), el Ejército Nacional polaco, una organización de resistencia, primero contra los alemanes y, posteriormente, contra los soviéticos. Durante el metraje, se plantea una dicotomía permanente entre la libertad entendida como la defensa de la soberanía de Polonia, desde posturas nacionalistas, y quienes consideran la ocupación soviética como algo positivo. Estas circunstancias atrapan al protagonista, que se ve envuelto en una espiral de violencia y traición.
Maciek Chełmicki, nuestro protagonista, cuenta con todas las características del héroe trágico, pues tiene en sus manos una serie de acciones que comprometen el futuro de un pueblo, que consiste en cumplir la misión que le ha sido encomendada, pero en su camino se cruza una joven, Krystyna, una joven camarera de un hotel de la que se enamora en ese mismo día. Este último hecho sirve de punto de partida para todas las dudas, dilemas y dicotomías a las que hacemos referencia. Hay un dilema moral evidente en un mundo en ruinas, devastado por la guerra, la muerte y el nihilismo. En este sentido Wajda nos muestra un lenguaje cinematográfico muy evidente, a través de una técnica expresionista muy depurada, con el uso del blanco y negro, los contrastes generados por las sombras y la atmósfera opresiva que transmite angustia, desesperación y vulnerabilidad de los protagonistas. Además también destilan una fuerte carga emocional, donde no están exentos elementos poéticos y un poderoso lirismo.
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| |:-:| |Maciek Chełmicki, el protagonista.|
Hay elementos simbólicos que no podemos obviar, y que contribuyen a consolidar el análisis que venimos haciendo, como, por ejemplo, la estética del protagonista, con unas gafas oscuras, que actúan como una suerte de barrera frente al mundo que le rodea, como parte del anonimato tras el cual el joven Maciek vive de forma introspectiva su propio drama particular y el de toda una nación.
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| |:-:| |NITOGLIA, Curzio; En el mar de la nada: Metafísica y nihilismo a prueba en la posmodernidad; Hipérbola Janus, 2023|
Hay una escena especialmente poderosa, y casi mítica, en la que los dos jóvenes protagonistas, Maciek y Krystina, se encuentran entre las ruinas de una Iglesia, en la que se destaca en primer plano, ocupando buena parte de la pantalla, la imagen de un Cristo invertido sobre un crucifijo, donde también se encuentran dos cuerpos colgados hacia abajo en una estampa que refleja la devastación moral y espiritual de toda una época. De hecho, la imagen del crucifijo invertido refleja el máximo punto de subversión y profanación de lo sagrado, y que en el caso concreto de la película viene a representar la destrucción del orden moral y de valores cristianos que la propia guerra ha provocado. Polonia es una nación profundamente católica, convertida al Cristianismo en el 966 a raíz de la conversión del príncipe Miecislao I, contribuyendo de manera decisiva a la formación de la identidad nacional polaca. El catolicismo siempre ha sido un medio de cohesión y defensa frente a las influencias extranjeras y la ocupación de terceros países, una constante en la historia del país, como el que ilustra la propia película con la URSS. En este sentido, la imagen de una Iglesia en ruinas, el lugar donde se encuentra representado el principio de lo sagrado e inviolable, supone una forma de perversión de todo principio de redención y salvación frente a la tragedia, y al mismo tiempo viene a significar que la Tradición ha sido abandonada y pervertida. En la misma línea, el protagonista, Maciek, se encuentra atrapado en una espiral de violencia a través de sus actos terroristas perpetrados contra la autoridad soviética que ocupa su país. Los dos cuerpos anónimos que cuelgan boca abajo, de forma grotesca, también participan de este caos y desequilibrio de un orden dislocado, son parte de la deshumanización y el nihilismo que todo lo impregna.
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| |:-:| |Maciek y Krystina en una iglesia en ruinas|
Como ya hemos mencionado, la película se encuentra plagada de paradojas y dicotomías, en las que nuestro protagonista, el joven rebelde e inconformista, debe elegir permanentemente, en unas decisiones que resultan trascendentales para su futuro y el de la propia nación. La figura femenina que irrumpe en su vida, y que representa un principio disruptivo que provoca una fractura interior y una crisis, le suscita una toma de conciencia de su propia situación y le fuerza a tomar un camino entre la «felicidad», del «amor», la «esperanza» y la «vida», que le permita superar la deriva nihilista y autodestructiva de la lucha clandestina, la cual le aboca a un destino trágico (que no vamos a desentrañar para no hacer spoiler). En relación al propio título de la película, «Cenizas y diamantes», basada en el poema del poeta y dramaturgo polaco Cyprian Norwid (1821-1883) y en la novela del autor, también polaco, Jerzy Andrzejewski (1909-1983), nos destaca la dualidad de los dos elementos que lo componen, y que definen el contraste entre el mundo sombrío y oscuro (Cenizas) y la esperanza y la luz que representa susodicha figura femenina (diamantes). La segunda alternativa parece un imposible, una quimera irrealizable que se pliega ante un Destino implacable, irreversible y cruel.
En consecuencia, y a la luz de los elementos expuestos, podemos decir que se nos presentan dilemas propios de la filosofía existencialista, que conoce su punto álgido en esos años, con autores como Jean Paul Sartre (1905-1980), Albert Camus (1913-1960), Karl Jaspers (1883-1969) o Martin Heidegger (1889-1976) entre otros. Respecto a éste último, a Heidegger, podemos encontrar algunas claves interesantes a través de su filosofía en relación al protagonista, a Maciek, especialmente a través de la idea del Dasein, a la idea de haber sido arrojado al mundo (Geworfenheit), y la manera tan extrema y visceral en la que vive susodicha condición. Todos aquellos elementos que dan sentido a la vida colectiva se encuentran decaídos o destruidos en su esencia más íntima, la Patria, la religión o la propia idea de Comunidad orgánica. De modo que el protagonista se ha visto «arrojado» frente a una situación o destino indeseado, en unas coyunturas totalmente desfavorables en las que no queda otra elección. Sus decisiones están permanentemente condicionadas por la circunstancia descrita y, por tanto, vive en un mundo donde no controla nada, en lugar de ser sujeto es un mero objeto transportado por esas circunstancias ajenas a su voluntad. Sin embargo, y en coherencia con el Dasein heideggeriano, vemos como Maciek, a raíz de conocer a Krystyna, comienza a experimentar una catarsis interior, que muestra por momentos el deseo de superar ese «ser arrojado al mundo contra tu voluntad», trascendiendo esa condición absurda e irracional de unas decisiones enajenadas de su voluntad para dotar de una significación y un sentido la propia existencia.
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| |:-:| |Andrzej Wajda, el director de la película.|
Otro elemento característico de la filosofía heideggeriana lo podemos encontrar en la «angustia» (angst) a través de la ausencia de un sentido y fundamento último que justifique la existencia del protagonista. Es una angustia en a que el Dasein se enfrenta a la «nada», a ese vacío existencial que hace inútil toda la lucha que Maciek lleva a cabo en la clandestinidad, con asesinatos y actos de terrorismo que pretenden salvaguardar algo que ya no existe, y que simboliza muy bien la Iglesia en ruinas con sus símbolos religiosos invertidos de la que hablábamos con anterioridad. Recuerda un poco a esa dicotomía que se plantea entre ser conservador o reaccionario frente a una realidad como la del propio presente, en la que los valores tradicionales han sido totalmente destruidos, y más que conservar se impone la reacción para volver a construir de la nada.
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| |:-:| |Hipérbola Janus; Textos para la Tradición en tiempos del oscurecimiento: Artículos publicados entre 2014 y 2019 en hiperbolajanus.com; Hipérbola Janus, 2019|
Todas las dudas que asaltan al protagonista se ven incrementadas en el momento decisivo, cuando se dispone a dar muerte al líder comunista. Se produce una tensión interna en Maciek, que se encuentra ligado a la joven que ha conocido ese día, y en ella es donde encuentra ese leve destello de humanidad. Esa circunstancia le hace replantearse por un instante el cumplimiento de su misión, pero es un dilema que no tiene salida, y por ello le asalta nuevamente la angustia frente a esa «nada», ese mundo vacío e incomprensible que trasciende el marco de sus propias elecciones.
Uno de los conceptos centrales de Heidegger en Ser y tiempo es el Sein-zum-Tode (ser-para-la-muerte), la idea de que la muerte es la posibilidad más propia y definitiva del Dasein, y que enfrentarla auténticamente permite vivir de manera más plena. Y es que el protagonista se encuentra permanentemente sobre esa frontera entre la vida y la muerte, que afronta con todas sus consecuencias, conscientemente, y la acepta. Esta actitud podría leerse como una forma de Dasein inauténtico, una huida del ser-para-la-muerte mediante la distracción (das Man, el «se» impersonal). Sin embargo, su decisión de cumplir la misión sugiere un enfrentamiento final con esa posibilidad. Otro aspecto que podemos conectar con el pensamiento heideggeriano es la autenticidad o inautenticidad de la vida del protagonista. En relación a la inautenticidad vemos como al principio sigue las órdenes de sus superiores en la organización sin cuestionarlas, lo cual implica un comportamiento inequívocamente alienante. Respecto a aquello que resulta auténtico de su existencia son sus relaciones con Krystyna, que supone imponer su propia voluntad y decisión, mostrando un Dasein que asume su libertad.
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| |:-:| |Escena de la película.|
Otros aspectos más generales de la filosofía existencialista redundan sobre estos mismos aspectos, con la elección entre la libertad absoluta y la condena inevitable. La idea del hombre condenado a actuar, a una elección continua, aún cuando el hombre no es dueño de su destino, o las consecuencias de tales acciones son absurdas, irracionales e incomprensibles. El propio absurdo de la existencia frente al vacío y la ausencia de principios sólidos en los que cimentar la vida, no solo en sus aspectos cotidianos más básicos, sino en aquellos más profundos de la existencia. La soledad y la propia fatalidad frente a un Destino que, como ya hemos apuntado anteriormente, parece imponerse de manera irrevocable, y podríamos decir que brutalmente, al individuo aislado, incapaz de asirse en una guía, en unos valores que le permitan remontar la situación.
En términos generales «Cenizas y diamantes», además de ser una película de gran calidad en sus aspectos técnicos, en su fotografía, en la configuración de sus escenas y en el propio desarrollo argumental, bajo un guión espléndidamente ejecutado a lo largo de sus 98 minutos de duración, también nos invita a una reflexión profunda sobre la condición humana y la propia Modernidad. Y es algo que vemos en nuestros días, con las consecuencias de un pensamiento débil, con la promoción del individualismo, el hedonismo y lo efímero. La ausencia de estructuras sólidas, la subversión de toda forma de autoridad y jerarquía tradicionales. Paradójicamente, el mundo actual tiende a formas de poder y autoridad mucho más invasivas y coercitivas, tanto a nivel individual como colectivo, pero en la misma línea abstracta e impersonal que nos describe la película, abocándonos a la alienación y la inautenticidad de nuestras propias vidas. Y como Maciek, también nosotros, vivimos en un mundo dominado por la incertidumbre y la desesperanza, en el que el globalismo y sus perversas ideologías deshumanizantes actúan por doquier.
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| |:-:| |Carátula original de la película en polaco.|
Artículo original: Hipérbola Janus, Reseña de «Cenizas y Diamantes» (Andrzej Wajda, 1958) (TOR), 31/Mar/2025
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2025-03-31 15:44:56El 7 de febrero de 2025, Donald Trump firmó una orden ejecutiva que establecía una «Oficina de la Fe» en la Casa Blanca, dirigida por su asesora espiritual Paula White-Cain, la pastora de esa «teología de la prosperidad» (prosperity theology) que predica el «Evangelio de la salud y la riqueza» (health and wealth gospel^1). Investida de su nueva función, la reverenda pastora dijo: «Tengo la autoridad para declarar a la Casa Blanca un lugar santo. Es mi presencia la que la santifica»[^2]. Los siete rabinos del «Sanedrín Naciente» —la corte suprema que guiará a Israel cuando se reconstruya el Templo de Jerusalén— enviaron conmovedoras felicitaciones al presidente Trump por el establecimiento de esta Oficina. «Expresamos nuestra sincera gratitud —se lee en el mensaje oficial enviado a Trump desde el Monte Sión— por llevar la fe a la vanguardia de la cultura estadounidense y mundial mediante el establecimiento de la Oficina de la Fe en la Casa Blanca. Su reconocimiento de la importancia de la religión en la vida pública es un paso hacia la restauración de los valores morales y del liderazgo espiritual en el mundo[^3]. La carta del «Sanedrín Naciente», que augura el éxito a la «misión divina» del presidente estadounidense, reproduce las dos caras de una «moneda del Templo», acuñada en 2017 para celebrar el traslado de la embajada estadounidense a Jerusalén y, simultáneamente, el centenario de la Declaración Balfour. En el anverso se ven los perfiles de Donald Trump y Ciro el Grande, a quien la tradición judía atribuye la reconstrucción del templo destruido por los babilonios, con la inscripción (en hebreo e inglés) «Cyrus —Balfour— Trump Declaration 1917-2017»; en el reverso está la imagen del Templo de Jerusalén[^4]. Otra moneda, que lleva los perfiles de Trump y Ciro en el anverso y los de Trump y Netanyahu en el reverso, fue acuñada en 2018 para celebrar el septuagésimo aniversario de la independencia del «Estado de Israel»; se observa dos inscripciones en hebreo e inglés: «Y Él me encargó construirle una casa en Jerusalén» y «Guerra de los Hijos de la Luz contra los Hijos de las Tinieblas».
El tema de la «guerra de los Hijos de la Luz contra los Hijos de las Tinieblas» ha tenido una difusión particular en el imaginario y la propaganda trumpista. El 7 de junio de 2020, monseñor Carlo Maria Viganò, ex nuncio de la Santa Sede en los Estados Unidos, escribió una carta al presidente Donald Trump que comenzaba así: «Estamos asistiendo en los últimos meses a la formación de dos bandos, que los definiría bíblicos: los hijos de la luz y los hijos de las tinieblas»[^5]. El 1 de enero de 2021, el agitprop estadounidense Steve Bannon declaró en una entrevista con Monseñor Viganò: «Esta es una batalla de época entre los hijos de la Luz y los hijos de las Tinieblas»[^6].
Son numerosos los judíos sionistas que están en el círculo del presidente Trump: además de su hija Ivanka (convertida en 2009) y su yerno Jared Kushner (entonces Consejero Anciano del Presidente), el 19 de noviembre de 2024 el «The Jerusalem Post»[^7] publicó una lista de los más influyentes: Stephen Miller, subdirector del staff de la Casa Blanca y consejero de Seguridad Nacional de Estados Unidos; David Melech Friedman, a quien en 2016 Trump nombró embajador en Israel; el multimillonario «filántropo» Steven Charles Witkoff, enviado especial de Estados Unidos a Oriente Medio; Miriam Adelson, directora del periódico «Israel Hayom», clasificada por Bloomberg Billionaires como la quinta mujer más rica del mundo (con un patrimonio neto de 32,400 millones de dólares), financiadora de iniciativas políticas conservadoras en Estados Unidos e Israel; el banquero Boris Epshteyn, consejero estratégico de la campaña presidencial de Trump en 2020; Howard Williams Lutnick, presidente de la Cantor Fitzgerald del Grupo BGC, financista de las campañas presidenciales de Donald Trump en 2020 y 2024, ahora secretario de Comercio; la modelo Elizabeth Pipko, portavoz nacional del Partido Republicano y creadora de un «museo interactivo virtual» sobre la «Shoah» como parte del proyecto de Lest People Forget, cuyo objetivo es combatir el «antisemitismo» y la «negacionismo»; Lee Michael Zeldin, miembro republicano de la Cámara de Representantes por el estado de Nueva York del 2015 al 2023 y actualmente administrador de la EPA (Environmental Protection Agency); la columnista Laura Elizabeth Loomer, «orgullosamente islamófoba», activa patrocinadora de Trump en la campaña para las elecciones presidenciales de 2024; Sidney Ferris Rosenberg, influyente presentador de radio y periodista deportivo; William Owen Scharf, Asistente del Presidente y secretario del personal de la Casa Blanca; Marc Jeffrey Rowan, «filántropo» con un patrimonio neto valorado por Forbes en ocho mil ochocientos millones de dólares.
Además de estos, cabe mencionar al popular presentador de radio Mark Levin quien, en diciembre de 2019, durante la celebración de la fiesta de Janucá en la Casa Blanca, saludó a Donald Trump como «el primer presidente judío de los Estados Unidos»[^8]. Según un funcionario de alto nivel de la Casa Blanca, Donald Trump se convirtió al judaísmo dos años antes en la sinagoga de la secta Jabad Lubavitch en la ciudad de Nueva York. David Elias Goldberg, miembro del Jewish Center of Antisemitic Study, también entrevistó al funcionario, para quien «Trump fue “instado” por su hija Ivanka y su yerno Jared Kushner para abrazar la fe. Inicialmente, Trump se habría mostrado reacio, considerando que esto podría enfriar el apoyo del electorado evangélico». Luego, informa «Israel Today News», «cambió de opinión y se convirtió oficialmente a principios de 2017. La ceremonia se llevó a cabo en privado y se guardó celosamente durante casi dos años»[^9]. Pero ya en septiembre de 2015, el rabino millonario Kirt Schneider, invitado a la Trump Tower de Nueva York, había impuesto sus manos sobre la cabeza de Donald Trump y lo había bendecido en hebreo e inglés, declarando: «Las únicas dos naciones que tienen una relación privilegiada con Dios son Israel y los Estados Unidos de América»[^10].
El 7 de octubre de 2024, en el aniversario de la operación de Hamas «Diluvio de Al-Aqsa», Trump fue acompañado por un «superviviente de la Shoah» a la tumba de Menachem Mendel Schneerson, séptimo y último Rabino de los Hasidim de la secta Jabad Lubavitch, que en 1991 declaró a sus seguidores: «He hecho todo lo posible para provocar el arribo del Mesías, ahora les paso a ustedes esta misión; hagan todo lo que puedan para que Él venga»^11. En relación al evento mesiánico, el eminente rabino Yekutiel Fish atribuyó una misión decisiva a Trump: «Todo el mundo está centrado en Gaza, pero esa es solo una parte de la agenda del fin de los tiempos, que tiene a los judíos viviendo en las fronteras profetizadas de Israel; la Torá incluye explícitamente a Gaza. Lo que Trump está haciendo es limpiar Gaza de todos los odiadores de Israel. No podrán estar en Israel después de la venida del Mesías. (...) Esto incluirá a Gaza, la mitad del Líbano y gran parte de Jordania. Y vemos que casi lo hemos logrado. Siria cayó. Líbano está medio destruido. Gaza está destrozada. El escenario está casi listo para el Mesías. Pero, ¿cómo pueden los palestinos estar aquí cuando vayamos a recibir al Mesías? El Mesías necesita que alguien se ocupe de esto, y en este caso, es Donald Trump. Trump está simplemente llevando a cabo las tareas finales necesarias antes de que el Mesías sea revelado»[^12].
Esta inspiración escatológica está presente en las palabras de Pete Brian Hegseth, el pintoresco exponente del «Reconstruccionismo Cristiano»[^13] a quien Trump nombró secretario de Defensa. En un discurso pronunciado en 2019 en el Hotel Rey David de Jerusalén, con motivo de la conferencia anual del canal Arutz Sheva (Israel National News), Hegseth enalteció el «vínculo eterno» entre Israel y Estados Unidos, y enumeró los «milagros» que atestiguan el «apoyo divino» a la causa sionista, el último de los cuales será la reconstrucción del Templo judío en la zona donde actualmente se encuentra la mezquita de al-Aqsa: «La dignidad de capital adquirida por Jerusalén —dijo— fue un milagro, y no hay razón por la cual no sea posible el milagro de la restauración del Templo en el Monte del Templo».[^14]
Es conocido que el fundamentalismo evangélico pro-sionista[^15] comparte con el judaísmo la creencia en que la construcción del tercer Templo de Jerusalén marcará el comienzo de la era mesiánica; cuando la administración Trump trasladó la embajada de Estados Unidos a Jerusalén en 2017, Laurie Cardoza-Moore, exponente del evangelismo sionista, saludó así la «obediencia de Trump a la Palabra de Dios» en «Haaretz»: «Al establecer la Embajada en Jerusalén, el presidente Donald Trump está implementando una de las iniciativas históricas de dimensión bíblica en su presidencia. Al igual que muchos judíos en Israel y en todo el mundo, los cristianos reconocen el vínculo de los judíos con la Biblia a través del nombre de Jerusalén como la capital del antiguo Israel, así como el sitio del Primer y Segundo Templos. Según los profetas Ezequiel, Isaías y el apóstol Juan del Nuevo Testamento, todos los israelíes esperan la reconstrucción del Tercer Templo»[^16]. El 22 de mayo del mismo año, Donald Trump, acompañado de su esposa Melania, de su hija Ivanka y su yerno Jared Kushner, fue el primer presidente de los Estados Unidos en ejercicio en acudir al Muro de las Lamentaciones, anexionado ilegalmente a la entidad sionista.
En 2019, la administración Trump confirmó la posición de Estados Unidos al enviar en visita oficial para Jerusalén a Mike Pompeo, un secretario de Estado que —ironía de la Historia— lleva el mismo nombre del general romano que asaltó la ciudad en el año 63 a.C. «Por primera vez en la historia, un secretario de Estado norteamericano visitó la Ciudad Vieja de Jerusalén en compañía de un alto político israelí. Fue una visita histórica que reforzó las expectativas israelíes y constituyó un reconocimiento tácito de la soberanía israelí sobre el sitio del Monte del Templo y la Explanada de las Mezquitas. (…) Mike Pompeo, acompañado por el primer ministro Benjamin Netanyahu y el embajador de Estados Unidos en Israel, David Friedman, también visitó el túnel del Muro de las Lamentaciones y la sinagoga ubicada bajo tierra, en el presunto lugar del santuario del Templo[^17], donde se le mostró una maqueta del futuro Templo[^18]. En el transcurso de una entrevista concedida durante la fiesta del Purim (que celebra el exterminio de la clase política persa, ocurrido hace 2500 años), el secretario de Estado insinuó que «el presidente Donald Trump puede haber sido enviado por Dios para salvar al pueblo judío y que confiaba en que aquí el Señor estaba obrando»[^19].
Como observa Daniele Perra, en este mismo número de «Eurasia», el «mito movilizador» del Tercer Templo, atribuible a los «mitos teológicos» señalados por Roger Garaudy como mitos fundadores de la entidad sionista, «atribuye al judaísmo una especie de función sociológica de transmisión y proyección del conflicto palestino-israelí hacia el resto del mundo y confiere una inspiración apocalíptica al momento geopolítico actual».
|Info|| |:-|:-| |Autor| Claudio Mutti | |Fuente| I "Figli della Luce" alla Casa Bianca | |Fecha| 8/Mar/2025 | |Traducción| Francisco de la Torre |
[^2]: The White House, President Trump announces appointments to the White House Faith Office https://www.whitehouse.gov,, 7 de febrero de 2025; Trump establece la Oficina de la Fe con una foto de «La Última Cena» | Fue dirigida por la controvertida predicadora Paula White, https://www.tgcom24.mediaset.it, 10 de febrero de 2025.
[^3]: «We extend our heartfelt gratitude for bringing faith to the forefront of American and global culture through the establishment of the Faith Office in the White House. Your recognition of the importance of religion in public life is a step toward restoring moral values and spiritual leadership in the world» (Letter from the Nascent Sanhedrin to President Donald J. Trump, Jerusalem, Wednesday, February 12, 2025).
[^4]: Israeli group mints Trump coin to honor Jerusalem recognition, «The Times of Israel», https://www.timesofisrael.com, 28-2-2018.
[^5]: Mons. Viganò — Siamo nella battaglia tra figli della luce e figli delle tenebre, https://www.italiador.com, 7-6-2020
[^6]: TRANSCRIPT: Steve Bannon’s ‘War Room’ interview with Abp. Viganò, lifesitenews.com, 4-1-2021. Sulle origini e sulla fortuna di questo tema cfr. C. Mutti, Le sètte dell’Occidente, «Eurasia», 2/2021, pp. 12-15. (https://www.eurasia-rivista.com/las-sectas-de-occidente/)
[^7]: Luke Tress, The who’s who of Jews in Trump’s inner circle?, «The Jerusalem Post», https://www.jpost.com, 19-11-2024.
[^8]: Radio Talk Show Host Mark Levin Calls President Trump «the First Jewish President of the United States», https://www.c-span.org, 11-12-2019.
[^9]: «However, he had a change of heart and officially converted in early 2017. The ceremony was held in private, and closely guarded for nearly two years» (Donald Trump converted to Judaism two years ago, according to White House official, https://israeltodaynews.blogspot.com/2019/02).
[^10]: «El rabino Kirt Schneider (...) es un millonario judío, una figura televisiva de los “judíos mesiánicos”. Sus emisiones televisivas semanales son emitidas por más de treinta canales cristianos en unos doscientos países; entre ellos, los canales “Yes” y “Hot” en Israel. Solo en Estados Unidos, sus emisiones atraen a 1.600.000 telespectadores cada semana. Kirt Schneider dirige un imperio de telecomunicaciones que tiene un millón y medio de seguidores en Facebook, X (antes Twitter) y YouTube» (Pierre-Antoine Plaquevent — Youssef Hindi, El milenarismo teopolítico de Israel, Edizioni all'insegna del Veltro, Parma 2025, p. 31).
[^12]: «Everyone is focused on Gaza, but that is only one part of the end-of-days agenda, which has the Jews living in Israel’s prophesied borders. The Torah explicitly includes Gaza. What Trump is doing is cleaning out Gaza of all the haters of Israel. They cannot be in Israel after the Messiah comes. (…) This will include Gaza, half of Lebanon, and much of Jordan. And we see that we are almost there. Syria fell. Lebanon is half gone. Gaza is ripped up. The stage is nearly set for Messiah. But how can the Palestinians be here when we go to greet the Messiah? The Messiah needs someone to take care of this, and in this case, it is Donald Trump. Trump is merely carrying out the final tasks needed before Messiah is revealed» (Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz, Trump’s Gaza Plan is «The Final task before Messiah», https://israel365news.com, 5-2-2025).
[^13]: «A day after Hegseth was announced for the Cabinet position, Brooks Potteiger, a pastor within the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches (CREC), posted on X that Hegseth is a member of the church in good standing. The CREC, a denomination of Christian Reconstructionism, is considered by some academics to be an extremist, Christian supremacist movement» (Shannon Bond e altri, What’s behind defense secretary pick Hegseth’s war on ‘woke’, https://www.npr.org, 14-11-2024.
[^14]: «The decoration of Jerusalem as a capital was a miracle, and there is no reason why the miracle of the re-establishment of Temple on the Temple Mount is not possible» (Pete Hegseth at Arutz Sheva Conference, youtube.com). Cfr. Daniele Perra, Paleotrumpismo, neotrumpismo e post-trumpismo, in: AA. VV., Trumpismo, Cinabro Edizioni, Roma 2025, pp. 22-23.
[^15]: Pierre-Antoine Plaquevent — Youssef Hindi, El milenarismo teopolítico de Israel, cit., págs. 82 a 96.
[^16]: «We American Christians Welcome Trump’s Obedience to God’s Word on Jerusalem», «Haaretz», 6-12-2017.
[^17]: Pierre-Antoine Plaquevent — Youssef Hindi, El milenarismo teopolítico de Israel, cit., pág. 97.
[^18]: Pompeo en visite historique au mur Occidental aux côtés de Netanyahu et Friedman, «The Times of Israel», https://fr.timesofisrael.com, 21-3-2019.
[^19]: Pompeo says Trump may have been sent by God to save Jews from Iran, «The Times of Israel», 22-3-2019.
Artículo original: Claudio Mutti, Los «hijos de la luz» en la Casa Blanca (TOR), 25/Mar/2025
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@ b17fccdf:b7211155
2025-03-25 11:23:36Si vives en España, quizás hayas notado que no puedes acceder a ciertas páginas webs durante los fines de semana o en algunos días entre semana, entre ellas, la guía de MiniBolt.
Esto tiene una razón, por supuesto una solución, además de una conclusión. Sin entrar en demasiados detalles:
La razón
El bloqueo a Cloudflare, implementado desde hace casi dos meses por operadores de Internet (ISPs) en España (como Movistar, O2, DIGI, Pepephone, entre otros), se basa en una orden judicial emitida tras una demanda de LALIGA (Fútbol). Esta medida busca combatir la piratería en España, un problema que afecta directamente a dicha organización.
Aunque la intención original era restringir el acceso a dominios específicos que difundieran dicho contenido, Cloudflare emplea el protocolo ECH (Encrypted Client Hello), que oculta el nombre del dominio, el cual antes se transmitía en texto plano durante el proceso de establecimiento de una conexión TLS. Esta medida dificulta que las operadoras analicen el tráfico para aplicar bloqueos basados en dominios, lo que les obliga a recurrir a bloqueos más amplios por IP o rangos de IP para cumplir con la orden judicial.
Esta práctica tiene consecuencias graves, que han sido completamente ignoradas por quienes la ejecutan. Es bien sabido que una infraestructura de IP puede alojar numerosos dominios, tanto legítimos como no legítimos. La falta de un "ajuste fino" en los bloqueos provoca un perjuicio para terceros, restringiendo el acceso a muchos dominios legítimos que no tiene relación alguna con actividades ilícitas, pero que comparten las mismas IPs de Cloudflare con dominios cuestionables. Este es el caso de la web de MiniBolt y su dominio
minibolt.info
, los cuales utilizan Cloudflare como proxy para aprovechar las medidas de seguridad, privacidad, optimización y servicios adicionales que la plataforma ofrece de forma gratuita.Si bien este bloqueo parece ser temporal (al menos durante la temporada 24/25 de fútbol, hasta finales de mayo), es posible que se reactive con el inicio de la nueva temporada.
La solución
Obviamente, MiniBolt no dejará de usar Cloudflare como proxy por esta razón. Por lo que a continuación se exponen algunas medidas que como usuario puedes tomar para evitar esta restricción y poder acceder:
~> Utiliza una VPN:
Existen varias soluciones de proveedores de VPN, ordenadas según su reputación en privacidad: - IVPN - Mullvad VPN - Proton VPN (gratis) - Obscura VPN (solo para macOS) - Cloudfare WARP (gratis) + permite utilizar el modo proxy local para enrutar solo la navegación, debes utilizar la opción "WARP a través de proxy local" siguiendo estos pasos: 1. Inicia Cloudflare WARP y dentro de la pequeña interfaz haz click en la rueda dentada abajo a la derecha > "Preferencias" > "Avanzado" > "Configurar el modo proxy" 2. Marca la casilla "Habilite el modo proxy en este dispositivo" 3. Elige un "Puerto de escucha de proxy" entre 0-65535. ej: 1080, haz click en "Aceptar" y cierra la ventana de preferencias 4. Accede de nuevo a Cloudflare WARP y pulsa sobre el switch para habilitar el servicio. 3. Ahora debes apuntar el proxy del navegador a Cloudflare WARP, la configuración del navegador es similar a esta para el caso de navegadores basados en Firefox. Una vez hecho, deberías poder acceder a la guía de MiniBolt sin problemas. Si tienes dudas, déjalas en comentarios e intentaré resolverlas. Más info AQUÍ.
~> Proxifica tu navegador para usar la red de Tor, o utiliza el navegador oficial de Tor (recomendado).
La conclusión
Estos hechos ponen en tela de juicio los principios fundamentales de la neutralidad de la red, pilares esenciales de la Declaración de Independencia del Ciberespacio que defiende un internet libre, sin restricciones ni censura. Dichos principios se han visto quebrantados sin precedentes en este país, confirmando que ese futuro distópico que muchos negaban, ya es una realidad.
Es momento de actuar y estar preparados: debemos impulsar el desarrollo y la difusión de las herramientas anticensura que tenemos a nuestro alcance, protegiendo así la libertad digital y asegurando un acceso equitativo a la información para todos
Este compromiso es uno de los pilares fundamentales de MiniBolt, lo que convierte este desafío en una oportunidad para poner a prueba las soluciones anticensura ya disponibles, así como las que están en camino.
¡Censúrame si puedes, legislador! ¡La lucha por la privacidad y la libertad en Internet ya está en marcha!
Fuentes: * https://bandaancha.eu/articulos/movistar-o2-deja-clientes-sin-acceso-11239 * https://bandaancha.eu/articulos/esta-nueva-sentencia-autoriza-bloqueos-11257 * https://bandaancha.eu/articulos/como-saltarse-bloqueo-webs-warp-vpn-9958 * https://bandaancha.eu/articulos/como-activar-ech-chrome-acceder-webs-10689 * https://comunidad.movistar.es/t5/Soporte-Fibra-y-ADSL/Problema-con-web-que-usan-Cloudflare/td-p/5218007
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@ 97c70a44:ad98e322
2025-03-05 18:09:05So you've decided to join nostr! Some wide-eyed fanatic has convinced you that the "sun shines every day on the birds and the bees and the cigarette trees" in a magical land of decentralized, censorship-resistant freedom of speech - and it's waiting just over the next hill.
But your experience has not been all you hoped. Before you've even had a chance to upload your AI-generated cyberpunk avatar or make up exploit codenames for your pseudonym's bio, you've been confronted with a new concept that has left you completely nonplussed.
It doesn't help that this new idea might be called by any number of strange names. You may have been asked to "paste your nsec", "generate a private key", "enter your seed words", "connect with a bunker", "sign in with extension", or even "generate entropy". Sorry about that.
All these terms are really referring to one concept under many different names: that of "cryptographic identity".
Now, you may have noticed that I just introduced yet another new term which explains exactly nothing. You're absolutely correct. And now I'm going to proceed to ignore your complaints and talk about something completely different. But bear with me, because the juice is worth the squeeze.
Identity
What is identity? There are many philosophical, political, or technical answers to this question, but for our purposes it's probably best to think of it this way:
Identity is the essence of a thing. Identity separates one thing from all others, and is itself indivisible.
This definition has three parts:
- Identity is "essential": a thing can change, but its identity cannot. I might re-paint my house, replace its components, sell it, or even burn it down, but its identity as something that can be referred to - "this house" - is durable, even outside the boundaries of its own physical existence.
- Identity is a unit: you can't break an identity into multiple parts. A thing might be composed of multiple parts, but that's only incidental to the identity of a thing, which is a concept, not a material thing.
- Identity is distinct: identity is what separates one thing from all others - the concept of an apple can't be mixed with that of an orange; the two ideas are distinct. In the same way, a single concrete apple is distinct in identity from another - even if the component parts of the apple decompose into compost used to grow more apples.
Identity is not a physical thing, but a metaphysical thing. Or, in simpler terms, identity is a "concept".
I (or someone more qualified) could at this point launch into a Scholastic tangent on what "is" is, but that is, fortunately, not necessary here. The kind of identities I want to focus on here are not our actual identities as people, but entirely fictional identities that we use to extend our agency into the digital world.
Think of it this way - your bank login does not represent you as a complete person. It only represents the access granted to you by the bank. This access is in fact an entirely new identity that has been associated with you, and is limited in what it's useful for.
Other examples of fictional identities include:
- The country you live in
- Your social media persona
- Your mortgage
- Geographical coordinates
- A moment in time
- A chess piece
Some of these identites are inert, for example points in space and time. Other identies have agency and so are able to act in the world - even as fictional concepts. In order to do this, they must "authenticate" themselves (which means "to prove they are real"), and act within a system of established rules.
For example, your D&D character exists only within the collective fiction of your D&D group, and can do anything the rules say. Its identity is authenticated simply by your claim as a member of the group that your character in fact exists. Similarly, a lawyer must prove they are a member of the Bar Association before they are allowed to practice law within that collective fiction.
"Cryptographic identity" is simply another way of authenticating a fictional identity within a given system. As we'll see, it has some interesting attributes that set it apart from things like a library card or your latitude and longitude. Before we get there though, let's look in more detail at how identities are authenticated.
Certificates
Merriam-Webster defines the verb "certify" as meaning "to attest authoritatively". A "certificate" is just a fancy way of saying "because I said so". Certificates are issued by a "certificate authority", someone who has the authority to "say so". Examples include your boss, your mom, or the Pope.
This method of authentication is how almost every institution authenticates the people who associate with it. Colleges issue student ID cards, governments issue passports, and websites allow you to "register an account".
In every case mentioned above, the "authority" creates a closed system in which a document (aka a "certificate") is issued which serves as a claim to a given identity. When someone wants to access some privileged service, location, or information, they present their certificate. The authority then validates it and grants or denies access. In the case of an international airport, the certificate is a little book printed with fancy inks. In the case of a login page, the certificate is a username and password combination.
This pattern for authentication is ubiquitous, and has some very important implications.
First of all, certified authentication implies that the issuer of the certificate has the right to exclusive control of any identity it issues. This identity can be revoked at any time, or its permissions may change. Your social credit score may drop arbitrarily, or money might disappear from your account. When dealing with certificate authorities, you have no inherent rights.
Second, certified authentication depends on the certificate authority continuing to exist. If you store your stuff at a storage facility but the company running it goes out of business, your stuff might disappear along with it.
Usually, authentication via certificate authority works pretty well, since an appeal can always be made to a higher authority (nature, God, the government, etc). Authorities also can't generally dictate their terms with impunity without losing their customers, alienating their constituents, or provoking revolt. But it's also true that certification by authority creates an incentive structure that frequently leads to abuse - arbitrary deplatforming is increasingly common, and the bigger the certificate authority, the less recourse the certificate holder (or "subject") has.
Certificates also put the issuer in a position to intermediate relationships that wouldn't otherwise be subject to their authority. This might take the form of selling user attention to advertisers, taking a cut of financial transactions, or selling surveillance data to third parties.
Proliferation of certificate authorities is not a solution to these problems. Websites and apps frequently often offer multiple "social sign-in" options, allowing their users to choose which certificate authority to appeal to. But this only piles more value into the social platform that issues the certificate - not only can Google shut down your email inbox, they can revoke your ability to log in to every website you used their identity provider to get into.
In every case, certificate issuance results in an asymmetrical power dynamic, where the issuer is able to exert significant control over the certificate holder, even in areas unrelated to the original pretext for the relationship between parties.
Self-Certification
But what if we could reverse this power dynamic? What if individuals could issue their own certificates and force institutions to accept them?
Ron Swanson's counterexample notwithstanding, there's a reason I can't simply write myself a parking permit and slip it under the windshield wiper. Questions about voluntary submission to legitimate authorities aside, the fact is that we don't have the power to act without impunity - just like any other certificate authority, we have to prove our claims either by the exercise of raw power or by appeal to a higher authority.
So the question becomes: which higher authority can we appeal to in order to issue our own certificates within a given system of identity?
The obvious answer here is to go straight to the top and ask God himself to back our claim to self-sovereignty. However, that's not how he normally works - there's a reason they call direct acts of God "miracles". In fact, Romans 13:1 explicitly says that "the authorities that exist have been appointed by God". God has structured the universe in such a way that we must appeal to the deputies he has put in place to govern various parts of the world.
Another tempting appeal might be to nature - i.e. the material world. This is the realm in which we most frequently have the experience of "self-authenticating" identities. For example, a gold coin can be authenticated by biting it or by burning it with acid. If it quacks like a duck, walks like a duck, and looks like a duck, then it probably is a duck.
In most cases however, the ability to authenticate using physical claims depends on physical access, and so appeals to physical reality have major limitations when it comes to the digital world. Captchas, selfies and other similar tricks are often used to bridge the physical world into the digital, but these are increasingly easy to forge, and hard to verify.
There are exceptions to this rule - an example of self-certification that makes its appeal to the physical world is that of a signature. Signatures are hard to forge - an incredible amount of data is encoded in physical signatures, from strength, to illnesses, to upbringing, to personality. These can even be scanned and used within the digital world as well. Even today, most contracts are sealed with some simulacrum of a physical signature. Of course, this custom is quickly becoming a mere historical curiosity, since the very act of digitizing a signature makes it trivially forgeable.
So: transcendent reality is too remote to subtantiate our claims, and the material world is too limited to work within the world of information. There is another aspect of reality remaining that we might appeal to: information itself.
Physical signatures authenticate physical identities by encoding unique physical data into an easily recognizable artifact. To transpose this idea to the realm of information, a "digital signature" might authenticate "digital identities" by encoding unique "digital data" into an easily recognizable artifact.
Unfortunately, in the digital world we have the additional challenge that the artifact itself can be copied, undermining any claim to legitimacy. We need something that can be easily verified and unforgeable.
Digital Signatures
In fact such a thing does exist, but calling it a "digital signature" obscures more than it reveals. We might just as well call the thing we're looking for a "digital fingerprint", or a "digital electroencephalogram". Just keep that in mind as we work our way towards defining the term - we are not looking for something looks like a physical signature, but for something that does the same thing as a physical signature, in that it allows us to issue ourselves a credential that must be accepted by others by encoding privileged information into a recognizable, unforgeable artifact.
With that, let's get into the weeds.
An important idea in computer science is that of a "function". A function is a sort of information machine that converts data from one form to another. One example is the idea of "incrementing" a number. If you increment 1, you get 2. If you increment 2, you get 3. Incrementing can be reversed, by creating a complementary function that instead subtracts 1 from a number.
A "one-way function" is a function that can't be reversed. A good example of a one-way function is integer rounding. If you round a number and get
5
, what number did you begin with? It's impossible to know - 5.1, 4.81, 5.332794, in fact an infinite number of numbers can be rounded to the number5
. These numbers can also be infinitely long - for example rounding PI to the nearest integer results in the number3
.A real-life example of a useful one-way function is
sha256
. This function is a member of a family of one-way functions called "hash functions". You can feed as much data as you like intosha256
, and you will always get 256 bits of information out. Hash functions are especially useful because collisions between outputs are very rare - even if you change a single bit in a huge pile of data, you're almost certainly going to get a different output.Taking this a step further, there is a whole family of cryptographic one-way "trapdoor" functions that act similarly to hash functions, but which maintain a specific mathematical relationship between the input and the output which allows the input/output pair to be used in a variety of useful applications. For example, in Elliptic Curve Cryptography, scalar multiplication on an elliptic curve is used to derive the output.
"Ok", you say, "that's all completely clear and lucidly explained" (thank you). "But what goes into the function?" You might expect that because of our analogy to physical signatures we would have to gather an incredible amount of digital information to cram into our cryptographic trapdoor function, mashing together bank statements, a record of our heartbeat, brain waves and cellular respiration. Well, we could do it that way (maybe), but there's actually a much simpler solution.
Let's play a quick game. What number am I thinking of? Wrong, it's 82,749,283,929,834. Good guess though.
The reason we use signatures to authenticate our identity in the physical world is not because they're backed by a lot of implicit physical information, but because they're hard to forge and easy to validate. Even so, there is a lot of variation in a single person's signature, even from one moment to the next.
Trapdoor functions solve the validation problem - it's trivially simple to compare one 256-bit number to another. And randomness solves the problem of forgeability.
Now, randomness (A.K.A. "entropy") is actually kind of hard to generate. Random numbers that don't have enough "noise" in them are known as "pseudo-random numbers", and are weirdly easy to guess. This is why Cloudflare uses a video stream of their giant wall of lava lamps to feed the random number generator that powers their CDN. For our purposes though, we can just imagine that our random numbers come from rolling a bunch of dice.
To recap, we can get a digital equivalent of a physical signature (or fingerprint, etc) by 1. coming up with a random number, and 2. feeding it into our chosen trapdoor function. The random number is called the "private" part. The output of the trapdoor function is called the "public" part. These two halves are often called "keys", hence the terms "public key" and "private key".
And now we come full circle - remember about 37 years ago when I introduced the term "cryptographic identity"? Well, we've finally arrived at the point where I explain what that actually is.
A "cryptographic identity" is identified by a public key, and authenticated by the ability to prove that you know the private key.
Notice that I didn't say "authenticated by the private key". If you had to reveal the private key in order to prove you know it, you could only authenticate a public key once without losing exclusive control of the key. But cryptographic identities can be authenticated any number of times because the certification is an algorithm that only someone who knows the private key can execute.
This is the super power that trapdoor functions have that hash functions don't. Within certain cryptosystems, it is possible to mix additional data with your private key to get yet another number in such a way that someone else who only knows the public key can prove that you know the private key.
For example, if my secret number is
12
, and someone tells me the number37
, I can "combine" the two by adding them together and returning the number49
. This "proves" that my secret number is12
. Of course, addition is not a trapdoor function, so it's trivially easy to reverse, which is why cryptography is its own field of knowledge.What's it for?
If I haven't completely lost you yet, you might be wondering why this matters. Who cares if I can prove that I made up a random number?
To answer this, let's consider a simple example: that of public social media posts.
Most social media platforms function by issuing credentials and verifying them based on their internal database. When you log in to your Twitter (ok, fine, X) account, you provide X with a phone number (or email) and password. X compares these records to the ones stored in the database when you created your account, and if they match they let you "log in" by issuing yet another credential, called a "session key".
Next, when you "say" something on X, you pass along your session key and your tweet to X's servers. They check that the session key is legit, and if it is they associate your tweet with your account's identity. Later, when someone wants to see the tweet, X vouches for the fact that you created it by saying "trust me" and displaying your name next to the tweet.
In other words, X creates and controls your identity, but they let you use it as long as you can prove that you know the secret that you agreed on when you registered (by giving it to them every time).
Now pretend that X gets bought by someone even more evil than Elon Musk (if such a thing can be imagined). The new owner now has the ability to control your identity, potentially making it say things that you didn't actually say. Someone could be completely banned from the platform, but their account could be made to continue saying whatever the owner of the platform wanted.
In reality, such a breach of trust would quickly result in a complete loss of credibility for the platform, which is why this kind of thing doesn't happen (at least, not that we know of).
But there are other ways of exploiting this system, most notably by censoring speech. As often happens, platforms are able to confiscate user identities, leaving the tenant no recourse except to appeal to the platform itself (or the government, but that doesn't seem to happen for some reason - probably due to some legalese in social platforms' terms of use). The user has to start completely from scratch, either on the same platform or another.
Now suppose that when you signed up for X instead of simply telling X your password you made up a random number and provided a cryptographic proof to X along with your public key. When you're ready to tweet (there's no need to issue a session key, or even to store your public key in their database) you would again prove your ownership of that key with a new piece of data. X could then publish that tweet or not, along with the same proof you provided that it really came from you.
What X can't do in this system is pretend you said something you didn't, because they don't know your private key.
X also wouldn't be able to deplatform you as effectively either. While they could choose to ban you from their website and refuse to serve your tweets, they don't control your identity. There's nothing they can do to prevent you from re-using it on another platform. Plus, if the system was set up in such a way that other users followed your key instead of an ID made up by X, you could switch platforms and keep your followers. In the same way, it would also be possible to keep a copy of all your tweets in your own database, since their authenticity is determined by your digital signature, not X's "because I say so".
This new power is not just limited to social media either. Here are some other examples of ways that self-issued cryptographic identites transform the power dynamic inherent in digital platforms:
- Banks sometimes freeze accounts or confiscate funds. If your money was stored in a system based on self-issued cryptographic keys rather than custodians, banks would not be able to keep you from accessing or moving your funds. This system exists, and it's called bitcoin.
- Identity theft happens when your identifying information is stolen and used to take out a loan in your name, and without your consent. The reason this is so common is because your credentials are not cryptographic - your name, address, and social security number can only be authenticated by being shared, and they are shared so often and with so many counterparties that they frequently end up in data breaches. If credit checks were authenticated by self-issued cryptographic keys, identity theft would cease to exist (unless your private key itself got stolen).
- Cryptographic keys allow credential issuers to protect their subjects' privacy better too. Instead of showing your ID (including your home address, birth date, height, weight, etc), the DMV could sign a message asserting that the holder of a given public key indeed over 21. The liquor store could then validate that claim, and your ownership of the named key, without knowing anything more about you. Zero-knowledge proofs take this a step further.
In each of these cases, the interests of the property owner, loan seeker, or customer are elevated over the interests of those who might seek to control their assets, exploit their hard work, or surveil their activity. Just as with personal privacy, freedom of speech, and Second Amendment rights the individual case is rarely decisive, but in the aggregate realigned incentives can tip the scale in favor of freedom.
Objections
Now, there are some drawbacks to digital signatures. Systems that rely on digital signatures are frequently less forgiving of errors than their custodial counterparts, and many of their strengths have corresponding weaknesses. Part of this is because people haven't yet developed an intuition for how to use cryptographic identities, and the tools for managing them are still being designed. Other aspects can be mitigated through judicious use of keys fit to the problems they are being used to solve.
Below I'll articulate some of these concerns, and explore ways in which they might be mitigated over time.
Key Storage
Keeping secrets is hard. "A lie can travel halfway around the world before the truth can get its boots on", and the same goes for gossip. Key storage has become increasingly important as more of our lives move online, to the extent that password managers have become almost a requirement for keeping track of our digital lives. But even with good password management, credentials frequently end up for sale on the dark web as a consequence of poorly secured infrastructure.
Apart from the fact that all of this is an argument for cryptographic identities (since keys are shared with far fewer parties), it's also true that the danger of losing a cryptographic key is severe, especially if that key is used in multiple places. Instead of hackers stealing your Facebook password, they might end up with access to all your other social media accounts too!
Keys should be treated with the utmost care. Using password managers is a good start, but very valuable keys should be stored even more securely - for example in a hardware signing device. This is a hassle, and something additional to learn, but is an indispensable part of taking advantage of the benefits associated with cryptographic identity.
There are ways to lessen the impact of lost or stolen secrets, however. Lots of different techniques exist for structuring key systems in such a way that keys can be protected, invalidated, or limited. Here are a few:
- Hierarchical Deterministic Keys allow for the creation of a single root key from which multiple child keys can be generated. These keys are hard to link to the parent, which provides additional privacy, but this link can also be proven when necessary. One limitation is that the identity system has to be designed with HD keys in mind.
- Key Rotation allows keys to become expendable. Additional credentials might be attached to a key, allowing the holder to prove they have the right to rotate the key. Social attestations can help with the process as well if the key is embedded in a web of trust.
- Remote Signing is a technique for storing a key on one device, but using it on another. This might take the form of signing using a hardware wallet and transferring an SD card to your computer for broadcasting, or using a mobile app like Amber to manage sessions with different applications.
- Key sharding takes this to another level by breaking a single key into multiple pieces and storing them separately. A coordinator can then be used to collaboratively sign messages without sharing key material. This dramatically reduces the ability of an attacker to steal a complete key.
Multi-Factor Authentication
One method for helping users secure their accounts that is becoming increasingly common is "multi-factor authentication". Instead of just providing your email and password, platforms send a one-time use code to your phone number or email, or use "time-based one time passwords" which are stored in a password manager or on a hardware device.
Again, MFA is a solution to a problem inherent in account-based authentication which would not be nearly so prevalent in a cryptographic identity system. Still, theft of keys does happen, and so MFA would be an important improvement - if not for an extra layer of authentication, then as a basis for key rotation.
In a sense, MFA is already being researched - key shards is one way of creating multiple credentials from a single key. However, this doesn't address the issue of key rotation, especially when an identity is tied to the public key that corresponds to a given private key. There are two possible solutions to this problem:
- Introduce a naming system. This would allow identities to use a durable name, assigning it to different keys over time. The downside is that this would require the introduction of either centralized naming authorities (back to the old model), or a blockchain in order to solve Zooko's trilemma.
- Establish a chain of keys. This would require a given key to name a successor key in advance and self-invalidate, or some other process like social recovery to invalidate an old key and assign the identity to a new one. This also would significantly increase the complexity of validating messages and associating them with a given identity.
Both solutions are workable, but introduce a lot of complexity that could cause more trouble than it's worth, depending on the identity system we're talking about.
Surveillance
One of the nice qualities that systems based on cryptographic identities have is that digitally signed data can be passed through any number of untrusted systems and emerge intact. This ability to resist tampering makes it possible to broadcast signed data more widely than would otherwise be the case in a system that relies on a custodian to authenticate information.
The downside of this is that more untrusted systems have access to data. And if information is broadcast publicly, anyone can get access to it.
This problem is compounded by re-use of cryptographic identities across multiple contexts. A benefit of self-issued credentials is that it becomes possible to bring everything attached to your identity with you, including social context and attached credentials. This is convenient and can be quite powerful, but it also means that more context is attached to your activity, making it easier to infer information about you for advertising or surveillance purposes. This is dangerously close to the dystopian ideal of a "Digital ID".
The best way to deal with this risk is to consider identity re-use an option to be used when desirable, but to default to creating a new key for every identity you create. This is no worse than the status quo, and it makes room for the ability to link identities when desired.
Another possible approach to this problem is to avoid broadcasting signed data when possible. This could be done by obscuring your cryptographic identity when data is served from a database, or by encrypting your signed data in order to selectively share it with named counterparties.
Still, this is a real risk, and should be kept in mind when designing and using systems based on cryptographic identity. If you'd like to read more about this, please see this blog post.
Making Keys Usable
You might be tempted to look at that list of trade-offs and get the sense that cryptographic identity is not for mere mortals. Key management is hard, and footguns abound - but there is a way forward. With nostr, some new things are happening in the world of key management that have never really happened before.
Plenty of work over the last 30 years has gone into making key management tractable, but none have really been widely adopted. The reason for this is simple: network effect.
Many of these older key systems only applied the thinnest veneer of humanity over keys. But an identity is much richer than a mere label. Having a real name, social connections, and a corpus of work to attach to a key creates a system of keys that humans care about.
By bootstrapping key management within a social context, nostr ensures that the payoff of key management is worth the learning curve. Not only is social engagement a strong incentive to get off the ground, people already on the network are eager to help you get past any roadblocks you might face.
So if I could offer an action item: give nostr a try today. Whether you're in it for the people and their values, or you just want to experiment with cryptographic identity, nostr is a great place to start. For a quick introduction and to securely generate keys, visit njump.me.
Thanks for taking the time to read this post. I hope it's been helpful, and I can't wait to see you on nostr!
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@ 460c25e6:ef85065c
2025-02-25 15:20:39If you don't know where your posts are, you might as well just stay in the centralized Twitter. You either take control of your relay lists, or they will control you. Amethyst offers several lists of relays for our users. We are going to go one by one to help clarify what they are and which options are best for each one.
Public Home/Outbox Relays
Home relays store all YOUR content: all your posts, likes, replies, lists, etc. It's your home. Amethyst will send your posts here first. Your followers will use these relays to get new posts from you. So, if you don't have anything there, they will not receive your updates.
Home relays must allow queries from anyone, ideally without the need to authenticate. They can limit writes to paid users without affecting anyone's experience.
This list should have a maximum of 3 relays. More than that will only make your followers waste their mobile data getting your posts. Keep it simple. Out of the 3 relays, I recommend: - 1 large public, international relay: nos.lol, nostr.mom, relay.damus.io, etc. - 1 personal relay to store a copy of all your content in a place no one can delete. Go to relay.tools and never be censored again. - 1 really fast relay located in your country: paid options like http://nostr.wine are great
Do not include relays that block users from seeing posts in this list. If you do, no one will see your posts.
Public Inbox Relays
This relay type receives all replies, comments, likes, and zaps to your posts. If you are not getting notifications or you don't see replies from your friends, it is likely because you don't have the right setup here. If you are getting too much spam in your replies, it's probably because your inbox relays are not protecting you enough. Paid relays can filter inbox spam out.
Inbox relays must allow anyone to write into them. It's the opposite of the outbox relay. They can limit who can download the posts to their paid subscribers without affecting anyone's experience.
This list should have a maximum of 3 relays as well. Again, keep it small. More than that will just make you spend more of your data plan downloading the same notifications from all these different servers. Out of the 3 relays, I recommend: - 1 large public, international relay: nos.lol, nostr.mom, relay.damus.io, etc. - 1 personal relay to store a copy of your notifications, invites, cashu tokens and zaps. - 1 really fast relay located in your country: go to nostr.watch and find relays in your country
Terrible options include: - nostr.wine should not be here. - filter.nostr.wine should not be here. - inbox.nostr.wine should not be here.
DM Inbox Relays
These are the relays used to receive DMs and private content. Others will use these relays to send DMs to you. If you don't have it setup, you will miss DMs. DM Inbox relays should accept any message from anyone, but only allow you to download them.
Generally speaking, you only need 3 for reliability. One of them should be a personal relay to make sure you have a copy of all your messages. The others can be open if you want push notifications or closed if you want full privacy.
Good options are: - inbox.nostr.wine and auth.nostr1.com: anyone can send messages and only you can download. Not even our push notification server has access to them to notify you. - a personal relay to make sure no one can censor you. Advanced settings on personal relays can also store your DMs privately. Talk to your relay operator for more details. - a public relay if you want DM notifications from our servers.
Make sure to add at least one public relay if you want to see DM notifications.
Private Home Relays
Private Relays are for things no one should see, like your drafts, lists, app settings, bookmarks etc. Ideally, these relays are either local or require authentication before posting AND downloading each user\'s content. There are no dedicated relays for this category yet, so I would use a local relay like Citrine on Android and a personal relay on relay.tools.
Keep in mind that if you choose a local relay only, a client on the desktop might not be able to see the drafts from clients on mobile and vice versa.
Search relays:
This is the list of relays to use on Amethyst's search and user tagging with @. Tagging and searching will not work if there is nothing here.. This option requires NIP-50 compliance from each relay. Hit the Default button to use all available options on existence today: - nostr.wine - relay.nostr.band - relay.noswhere.com
Local Relays:
This is your local storage. Everything will load faster if it comes from this relay. You should install Citrine on Android and write ws://localhost:4869 in this option.
General Relays:
This section contains the default relays used to download content from your follows. Notice how you can activate and deactivate the Home, Messages (old-style DMs), Chat (public chats), and Global options in each.
Keep 5-6 large relays on this list and activate them for as many categories (Home, Messages (old-style DMs), Chat, and Global) as possible.
Amethyst will provide additional recommendations to this list from your follows with information on which of your follows might need the additional relay in your list. Add them if you feel like you are missing their posts or if it is just taking too long to load them.
My setup
Here's what I use: 1. Go to relay.tools and create a relay for yourself. 2. Go to nostr.wine and pay for their subscription. 3. Go to inbox.nostr.wine and pay for their subscription. 4. Go to nostr.watch and find a good relay in your country. 5. Download Citrine to your phone.
Then, on your relay lists, put:
Public Home/Outbox Relays: - nostr.wine - nos.lol or an in-country relay. -
.nostr1.com Public Inbox Relays - nos.lol or an in-country relay -
.nostr1.com DM Inbox Relays - inbox.nostr.wine -
.nostr1.com Private Home Relays - ws://localhost:4869 (Citrine) -
.nostr1.com (if you want) Search Relays - nostr.wine - relay.nostr.band - relay.noswhere.com
Local Relays - ws://localhost:4869 (Citrine)
General Relays - nos.lol - relay.damus.io - relay.primal.net - nostr.mom
And a few of the recommended relays from Amethyst.
Final Considerations
Remember, relays can see what your Nostr client is requesting and downloading at all times. They can track what you see and see what you like. They can sell that information to the highest bidder, they can delete your content or content that a sponsor asked them to delete (like a negative review for instance) and they can censor you in any way they see fit. Before using any random free relay out there, make sure you trust its operator and you know its terms of service and privacy policies.
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@ 16f1a010:31b1074b
2025-02-19 20:57:59In 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 longerInstead 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 troubleshootingThe 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:npub1txwy7guqkrq6ngvtwft7zp70nekcknudagrvrryy2wxnz8ljk2xqz0yt4xEven with the best of guides, if you are running this software,
📖 READ THE DOCUMENTATIONThis 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.
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@ ed5774ac:45611c5c
2025-02-15 05:38:56Bitcoin 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:
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
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@ b8851a06:9b120ba1
2025-01-28 21:34:54Private 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. -
@ ee270b04:7ffc5f0a
2025-03-31 23:00:20I delved into how various assets—stocks, gold, and Bitcoin—have evolved in comparison to the average price of a 100m² property in Spain. The findings? Nothing short of fascinating. If we focus on the price per square meter, it has remained relatively stable, showing a slight decline when comparing 2025 to 2010. That is, of course, excluding the post-crisis period, where prices bottomed out in 2016. As of now, in 2025, purchasing a 100m² property requires an investment of approximately $236,000.
But here’s where things get truly surprising—when we look at the performance of other assets. Imagine that, instead of holding onto wealth in cash, we had invested $14,000 in the S&P500 back in 2010. Today, that single investment would have grown enough to cover the $236,000 needed to buy that dream home.
Now, let’s talk about gold. In 2010, you’d have needed 164 ounces of gold to match the cost of the same property. Fast forward to 2025, and just 75 ounces would do the trick.
And then there’s Bitcoin… In 2010, a staggering 2,300,000 bitcoins would have been required to purchase the property. Today, in 2025, you’d only need a mere 2.3 bitcoins.
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@ f4db5270:3c74e0d0
2025-01-23 18:09:14Hi Art lover! 🎨🫂💜 You may not know it yet but all of the following paintings are available in #Bitcoin on my website: https://isolabell.art/#shop
For info and prices write to me in DM and we will find a good deal! 🤝
ON THE ROAD AGAIN 40x50cm, Oil on canvas Completed January 23, 2025
SUN OF JANUARY 40x50cm, Oil on canvas Completed January 14, 2025
THE BLUE HOUR 40x50cm, Oil on canvas Completed December 14, 2024
LIKE A FRAGMENT OF ETERNITY 50x40cm, Oil on canvas Completed December 01, 2024
WHERE WINTER WHISPERS 50x40cm, Oil on canvas Completed November 07, 2024
L'ATTESA DI UN MOMENTO 40x40cm, Oil on canvas Completed October 29, 2024
LE COSE CHE PENSANO 40x50cm, Oil on paper Completed October 05, 2024
TWILIGHT'S RIVER 50x40cm, Oil on canvas Completed September 17, 2024
GOLD ON THE OCEAN 40x50cm, Oil on paper Completed September 08, 2024
SUSSURRI DI CIELO E MARE 50x40cm, Oil on paper Completed September 05, 2024
THE END OF A WONDERFUL WEEKEND 40x30cm, Oil on board Completed August 12, 2024
FIAMME NEL CIELO 60x35cm, Oil on board Completed July 28, 2024
INIZIO D'ESTATE 50x40cm, Oil on cradled wood panel Completed July 13, 2024
OMBRE DELLA SERA 50x40cm, Oil on cradled wood panel Completed June 16, 2024
NEW ZEALAND SUNSET 80x60cm, Oil on canvas board Completed May 28, 2024
VENICE 50x40cm, Oil on board Completed May 4, 2024
CORNWALL 50x40cm, Oil on board Completed April 26, 2024
DOCKS ON SUNSET 40x19,5cm, Oil on board Completed March 14, 2024
SOLITUDE 30x30cm, Oil on cradled wood panel Completed March 2, 2024
LULLING WAVES 40x30cm, Oil on cradled wood panel Completed January 14, 2024
MULATTIERA IN AUTUNNO 30x30cm, Oil on cradled wood panel
TRAMONTO A KOS 40x40cm, oil on board canvas
HIDDEN SMILE 40x40cm, oil on board
INIZIO D'AUTUNNO 40x40cm, oil on canvas
BOE NEL LAGO 30x30cm, oil on canvas board
BARCHE A RIPOSO 40x40cm, oil on canvas board
IL RISVEGLIO 30x40cm, oil on canvas board
LA QUIETE PRIMA DELLA TEMPESTA 30x40cm, oil on canvas board
LAMPIONE SUL LAGO 30x30cm, oil on canvas board
DUE NELLA NEVE 60x25cm, oil on board
UNA CAREZZA 30x30cm, oil on canvas board
REBEL WAVES 44x32cm, oil on canvas board
THE SCREAMING WAVE 40x30cm, oil on canvas board
"LA DONZELLETTA VIEN DALLA CAMPAGNA..." 30x40cm, oil on canvas board
LIGHTHOUSE ON WHITE CLIFF 30x40cm, oil on canvas board
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@ aa8de34f:a6ffe696
2025-03-31 21:48:50In seinem Beitrag vom 30. März 2025 fragt Henning Rosenbusch auf Telegram angesichts zunehmender digitaler Kontrolle und staatlicher Allmacht:
„Wie soll sich gegen eine solche Tyrannei noch ein Widerstand formieren können, selbst im Untergrund? Sehe ich nicht.“\ (Quelle: t.me/rosenbusch/25228)
Er beschreibt damit ein Gefühl der Ohnmacht, das viele teilen: Eine Welt, in der Totalitarismus nicht mehr mit Panzern, sondern mit Algorithmen kommt. Wo Zugriff auf Geld, Meinungsfreiheit und Teilhabe vom Wohlverhalten abhängt. Der Bürger als kontrollierbare Variable im Code des Staates.\ Die Frage ist berechtigt. Doch die Antwort darauf liegt nicht in alten Widerstandsbildern – sondern in einer neuen Realität.
-- Denn es braucht keinen Untergrund mehr. --
Der Widerstand der Zukunft trägt keinen Tarnanzug. Er ist nicht konspirativ, sondern transparent. Nicht bewaffnet, sondern mathematisch beweisbar. Bitcoin steht nicht am Rand dieser Entwicklung – es ist ihr Fundament. Eine Bastion aus physikalischer Realität, spieltheoretischem Schutz und ökonomischer Wahrheit. Es ist nicht unfehlbar, aber unbestechlich. Nicht perfekt, aber immun gegen zentrale Willkür.
Hier entsteht kein „digitales Gegenreich“, sondern eine dezentrale Renaissance. Keine Revolte aus Wut, sondern eine stille Abkehr: von Zwang zu Freiwilligkeit, von Abhängigkeit zu Selbstverantwortung. Diese Revolution führt keine Kriege. Sie braucht keine Führer. Sie ist ein Netzwerk. Jeder Knoten ein Individuum. Jede Entscheidung ein Akt der Selbstermächtigung.
Weltweit wachsen Freiheits-Zitadellen aus dieser Idee: wirtschaftlich autark, digital souverän, lokal verankert und global vernetzt. Sie sind keine Utopien im luftleeren Raum, sondern konkrete Realitäten – angetrieben von Energie, Code und dem menschlichen Wunsch nach Würde.
Der Globalismus alter Prägung – zentralistisch, monopolistisch, bevormundend – wird an seiner eigenen Hybris zerbrechen. Seine Werkzeuge der Kontrolle werden ihn nicht retten. Im Gegenteil: Seine Geister werden ihn verfolgen und erlegen.
Und während die alten Mächte um Erhalt kämpfen, wächst eine neue Welt – nicht im Schatten, sondern im Offenen. Nicht auf Gewalt gebaut, sondern auf Mathematik, Physik und Freiheit.
Die Tyrannei sieht keinen Widerstand.\ Weil sie nicht erkennt, dass er längst begonnen hat.\ Unwiderruflich. Leise. Überall.
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@ eac63075:b4988b48
2025-01-04 19:41:34Since 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:
- 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.
- 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:
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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.
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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:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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:
- 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.
- 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.
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@ eac63075:b4988b48
2024-11-09 17:57:27Based 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.
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:
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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.
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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.
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.
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.
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Advantages: Simplicity and predictability are the main benefits of Flag Day, as everyone knows the exact activation date.
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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.
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Advantages: Allows the network to activate updates gradually, giving more time for participants to adapt.
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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.
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Advantages: UASF returns decision-making power to node operators, ensuring that changes do not depend solely on miners.
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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.
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Advantages: Ensures that changes with broad support among users are not blocked by miners who wish to maintain the status quo.
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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.
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:
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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.
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Miners: May be incentivized to shift their computing power to the chain that offers higher profitability, which can weaken one of the networks.
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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.
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.
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.
8. Links
Whitepaper: https://github.com/bitcoin-cap/bcap
Youtube (pt-br): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rARycAibl9o&list=PL-qnhF0qlSPkfhorqsREuIu4UTbF0h4zb
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@ eac63075:b4988b48
2024-10-26 22:14:19The 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
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.
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@ eac63075:b4988b48
2024-10-21 08:11:11Imagine sending a private message to a friend, only to learn that authorities could be scanning its contents without your knowledge. This isn't a scene from a dystopian novel but a potential reality under the European Union's proposed "Chat Control" measures. Aimed at combating serious crimes like child exploitation and terrorism, these proposals could significantly impact the privacy of everyday internet users. As encrypted messaging services become the norm for personal and professional communication, understanding Chat Control is essential. This article delves into what Chat Control entails, why it's being considered, and how it could affect your right to private communication.
https://www.fountain.fm/episode/coOFsst7r7mO1EP1kSzV
https://open.spotify.com/episode/0IZ6kMExfxFm4FHg5DAWT8?si=e139033865e045de
Sections:
- Introduction
- What Is Chat Control?
- Why Is the EU Pushing for Chat Control?
- The Privacy Concerns and Risks
- The Technical Debate: Encryption and Backdoors
- Global Reactions and the Debate in Europe
- Possible Consequences for Messaging Services
- What Happens Next? The Future of Chat Control
- Conclusion
What Is Chat Control?
"Chat Control" refers to a set of proposed measures by the European Union aimed at monitoring and scanning private communications on messaging platforms. The primary goal is to detect and prevent the spread of illegal content, such as child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and to combat terrorism. While the intention is to enhance security and protect vulnerable populations, these proposals have raised significant privacy concerns.
At its core, Chat Control would require messaging services to implement automated scanning technologies that can analyze the content of messages—even those that are end-to-end encrypted. This means that the private messages you send to friends, family, or colleagues could be subject to inspection by algorithms designed to detect prohibited content.
Origins of the Proposal
The initiative for Chat Control emerged from the EU's desire to strengthen its digital security infrastructure. High-profile cases of online abuse and the use of encrypted platforms by criminal organizations have prompted lawmakers to consider more invasive surveillance tactics. The European Commission has been exploring legislation that would make it mandatory for service providers to monitor communications on their platforms.
How Messaging Services Work
Most modern messaging apps, like Signal, Session, SimpleX, Veilid, Protonmail and Tutanota (among others), use end-to-end encryption (E2EE). This encryption ensures that only the sender and the recipient can read the messages being exchanged. Not even the service providers can access the content. This level of security is crucial for maintaining privacy in digital communications, protecting users from hackers, identity thieves, and other malicious actors.
Key Elements of Chat Control
- Automated Content Scanning: Service providers would use algorithms to scan messages for illegal content.
- Circumvention of Encryption: To scan encrypted messages, providers might need to alter their encryption methods, potentially weakening security.
- Mandatory Reporting: If illegal content is detected, providers would be required to report it to authorities.
- Broad Applicability: The measures could apply to all messaging services operating within the EU, affecting both European companies and international platforms.
Why It Matters
Understanding Chat Control is essential because it represents a significant shift in how digital privacy is handled. While combating illegal activities online is crucial, the methods proposed could set a precedent for mass surveillance and the erosion of privacy rights. Everyday users who rely on encrypted messaging for personal and professional communication might find their conversations are no longer as private as they once thought.
Why Is the EU Pushing for Chat Control?
The European Union's push for Chat Control stems from a pressing concern to protect its citizens, particularly children, from online exploitation and criminal activities. With the digital landscape becoming increasingly integral to daily life, the EU aims to strengthen its ability to combat serious crimes facilitated through online platforms.
Protecting Children and Preventing Crime
One of the primary motivations behind Chat Control is the prevention of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) circulating on the internet. Law enforcement agencies have reported a significant increase in the sharing of illegal content through private messaging services. By implementing Chat Control, the EU believes it can more effectively identify and stop perpetrators, rescue victims, and deter future crimes.
Terrorism is another critical concern. Encrypted messaging apps can be used by terrorist groups to plan and coordinate attacks without detection. The EU argues that accessing these communications could be vital in preventing such threats and ensuring public safety.
Legal Context and Legislative Drivers
The push for Chat Control is rooted in several legislative initiatives:
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ePrivacy Directive: This directive regulates the processing of personal data and the protection of privacy in electronic communications. The EU is considering amendments that would allow for the scanning of private messages under specific circumstances.
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Temporary Derogation: In 2021, the EU adopted a temporary regulation permitting voluntary detection of CSAM by communication services. The current proposals aim to make such measures mandatory and more comprehensive.
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Regulation Proposals: The European Commission has proposed regulations that would require service providers to detect, report, and remove illegal content proactively. This would include the use of technologies to scan private communications.
Balancing Security and Privacy
EU officials argue that the proposed measures are a necessary response to evolving digital threats. They emphasize the importance of staying ahead of criminals who exploit technology to harm others. By implementing Chat Control, they believe law enforcement can be more effective without entirely dismantling privacy protections.
However, the EU also acknowledges the need to balance security with fundamental rights. The proposals include provisions intended to limit the scope of surveillance, such as:
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Targeted Scanning: Focusing on specific threats rather than broad, indiscriminate monitoring.
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Judicial Oversight: Requiring court orders or oversight for accessing private communications.
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Data Protection Safeguards: Implementing measures to ensure that data collected is handled securely and deleted when no longer needed.
The Urgency Behind the Push
High-profile cases of online abuse and terrorism have heightened the sense of urgency among EU policymakers. Reports of increasing online grooming and the widespread distribution of illegal content have prompted calls for immediate action. The EU posits that without measures like Chat Control, these problems will continue to escalate unchecked.
Criticism and Controversy
Despite the stated intentions, the push for Chat Control has been met with significant criticism. Opponents argue that the measures could be ineffective against savvy criminals who can find alternative ways to communicate. There is also concern that such surveillance could be misused or extended beyond its original purpose.
The Privacy Concerns and Risks
While the intentions behind Chat Control focus on enhancing security and protecting vulnerable groups, the proposed measures raise significant privacy concerns. Critics argue that implementing such surveillance could infringe on fundamental rights and set a dangerous precedent for mass monitoring of private communications.
Infringement on Privacy Rights
At the heart of the debate is the right to privacy. By scanning private messages, even with automated tools, the confidentiality of personal communications is compromised. Users may no longer feel secure sharing sensitive information, fearing that their messages could be intercepted or misinterpreted by algorithms.
Erosion of End-to-End Encryption
End-to-end encryption (E2EE) is a cornerstone of digital security, ensuring that only the sender and recipient can read the messages exchanged. Chat Control could necessitate the introduction of "backdoors" or weaken encryption protocols, making it easier for unauthorized parties to access private data. This not only affects individual privacy but also exposes communications to potential cyber threats.
Concerns from Privacy Advocates
Organizations like Signal and Tutanota, which offer encrypted messaging services, have voiced strong opposition to Chat Control. They warn that undermining encryption could have far-reaching consequences:
- Security Risks: Weakening encryption makes systems more vulnerable to hacking, espionage, and cybercrime.
- Global Implications: Changes in EU regulations could influence policies worldwide, leading to a broader erosion of digital privacy.
- Ineffectiveness Against Crime: Determined criminals might resort to other, less detectable means of communication, rendering the measures ineffective while still compromising the privacy of law-abiding citizens.
Potential for Government Overreach
There is a fear that Chat Control could lead to increased surveillance beyond its original scope. Once the infrastructure for scanning private messages is in place, it could be repurposed or expanded to monitor other types of content, stifling free expression and dissent.
Real-World Implications for Users
- False Positives: Automated scanning technologies are not infallible and could mistakenly flag innocent content, leading to unwarranted scrutiny or legal consequences for users.
- Chilling Effect: Knowing that messages could be monitored might discourage people from expressing themselves freely, impacting personal relationships and societal discourse.
- Data Misuse: Collected data could be vulnerable to leaks or misuse, compromising personal and sensitive information.
Legal and Ethical Concerns
Privacy advocates also highlight potential conflicts with existing laws and ethical standards:
- Violation of Fundamental Rights: The European Convention on Human Rights and other international agreements protect the right to privacy and freedom of expression.
- Questionable Effectiveness: The ethical justification for such invasive measures is challenged if they do not significantly improve safety or if they disproportionately impact innocent users.
Opposition from Member States and Organizations
Countries like Germany and organizations such as the European Digital Rights (EDRi) have expressed opposition to Chat Control. They emphasize the need to protect digital privacy and caution against hasty legislation that could have unintended consequences.
The Technical Debate: Encryption and Backdoors
The discussion around Chat Control inevitably leads to a complex technical debate centered on encryption and the potential introduction of backdoors into secure communication systems. Understanding these concepts is crucial to grasping the full implications of the proposed measures.
What Is End-to-End Encryption (E2EE)?
End-to-end encryption is a method of secure communication that prevents third parties from accessing data while it's transferred from one end system to another. In simpler terms, only the sender and the recipient can read the messages. Even the service providers operating the messaging platforms cannot decrypt the content.
- Security Assurance: E2EE ensures that sensitive information—be it personal messages, financial details, or confidential business communications—remains private.
- Widespread Use: Popular messaging apps like Signal, Session, SimpleX, Veilid, Protonmail and Tutanota (among others) rely on E2EE to protect user data.
How Chat Control Affects Encryption
Implementing Chat Control as proposed would require messaging services to scan the content of messages for illegal material. To do this on encrypted platforms, providers might have to:
- Introduce Backdoors: Create a means for third parties (including the service provider or authorities) to access encrypted messages.
- Client-Side Scanning: Install software on users' devices that scans messages before they are encrypted and sent, effectively bypassing E2EE.
The Risks of Weakening Encryption
1. Compromised Security for All Users
Introducing backdoors or client-side scanning tools can create vulnerabilities:
- Exploitable Gaps: If a backdoor exists, malicious actors might find and exploit it, leading to data breaches.
- Universal Impact: Weakening encryption doesn't just affect targeted individuals; it potentially exposes all users to increased risk.
2. Undermining Trust in Digital Services
- User Confidence: Knowing that private communications could be accessed might deter people from using digital services or push them toward unregulated platforms.
- Business Implications: Companies relying on secure communications might face increased risks, affecting economic activities.
3. Ineffectiveness Against Skilled Adversaries
- Alternative Methods: Criminals might shift to other encrypted channels or develop new ways to avoid detection.
- False Sense of Security: Weakening encryption could give the impression of increased safety while adversaries adapt and continue their activities undetected.
Signal’s Response and Stance
Signal, a leading encrypted messaging service, has been vocal in its opposition to the EU's proposals:
- Refusal to Weaken Encryption: Signal's CEO Meredith Whittaker has stated that the company would rather cease operations in the EU than compromise its encryption standards.
- Advocacy for Privacy: Signal emphasizes that strong encryption is essential for protecting human rights and freedoms in the digital age.
Understanding Backdoors
A "backdoor" in encryption is an intentional weakness inserted into a system to allow authorized access to encrypted data. While intended for legitimate use by authorities, backdoors pose several problems:
- Security Vulnerabilities: They can be discovered and exploited by unauthorized parties, including hackers and foreign governments.
- Ethical Concerns: The existence of backdoors raises questions about consent and the extent to which governments should be able to access private communications.
The Slippery Slope Argument
Privacy advocates warn that introducing backdoors or mandatory scanning sets a precedent:
- Expanded Surveillance: Once in place, these measures could be extended to monitor other types of content beyond the original scope.
- Erosion of Rights: Gradual acceptance of surveillance can lead to a significant reduction in personal freedoms over time.
Potential Technological Alternatives
Some suggest that it's possible to fight illegal content without undermining encryption:
- Metadata Analysis: Focusing on patterns of communication rather than content.
- Enhanced Reporting Mechanisms: Encouraging users to report illegal content voluntarily.
- Investing in Law Enforcement Capabilities: Strengthening traditional investigative methods without compromising digital security.
The technical community largely agrees that weakening encryption is not the solution:
- Consensus on Security: Strong encryption is essential for the safety and privacy of all internet users.
- Call for Dialogue: Technologists and privacy experts advocate for collaborative approaches that address security concerns without sacrificing fundamental rights.
Global Reactions and the Debate in Europe
The proposal for Chat Control has ignited a heated debate across Europe and beyond, with various stakeholders weighing in on the potential implications for privacy, security, and fundamental rights. The reactions are mixed, reflecting differing national perspectives, political priorities, and societal values.
Support for Chat Control
Some EU member states and officials support the initiative, emphasizing the need for robust measures to combat online crime and protect citizens, especially children. They argue that:
- Enhanced Security: Mandatory scanning can help law enforcement agencies detect and prevent serious crimes.
- Responsibility of Service Providers: Companies offering communication services should play an active role in preventing their platforms from being used for illegal activities.
- Public Safety Priorities: The protection of vulnerable populations justifies the implementation of such measures, even if it means compromising some aspects of privacy.
Opposition within the EU
Several countries and organizations have voiced strong opposition to Chat Control, citing concerns over privacy rights and the potential for government overreach.
Germany
- Stance: Germany has been one of the most vocal opponents of the proposed measures.
- Reasons:
- Constitutional Concerns: The German government argues that Chat Control could violate constitutional protections of privacy and confidentiality of communications.
- Security Risks: Weakening encryption is seen as a threat to cybersecurity.
- Legal Challenges: Potential conflicts with national laws protecting personal data and communication secrecy.
Netherlands
- Recent Developments: The Dutch government decided against supporting Chat Control, emphasizing the importance of encryption for security and privacy.
- Arguments:
- Effectiveness Doubts: Skepticism about the actual effectiveness of the measures in combating crime.
- Negative Impact on Privacy: Concerns about mass surveillance and the infringement of citizens' rights.
Table reference: Patrick Breyer - Chat Control in 23 September 2024
Privacy Advocacy Groups
European Digital Rights (EDRi)
- Role: A network of civil and human rights organizations working to defend rights and freedoms in the digital environment.
- Position:
- Strong Opposition: EDRi argues that Chat Control is incompatible with fundamental rights.
- Awareness Campaigns: Engaging in public campaigns to inform citizens about the potential risks.
- Policy Engagement: Lobbying policymakers to consider alternative approaches that respect privacy.
Politicians and Activists
Patrick Breyer
- Background: A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Germany, representing the Pirate Party.
- Actions:
- Advocacy: Actively campaigning against Chat Control through speeches, articles, and legislative efforts.
- Public Outreach: Using social media and public events to raise awareness.
- Legal Expertise: Highlighting the legal inconsistencies and potential violations of EU law.
Global Reactions
International Organizations
- Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International: These organizations have expressed concerns about the implications for human rights, urging the EU to reconsider.
Technology Companies
- Global Tech Firms: Companies like Apple and Microsoft are monitoring the situation, as EU regulations could affect their operations and user trust.
- Industry Associations: Groups representing tech companies have issued statements highlighting the risks to innovation and competitiveness.
The Broader Debate
The controversy over Chat Control reflects a broader struggle between security interests and privacy rights in the digital age. Key points in the debate include:
- Legal Precedents: How the EU's decision might influence laws and regulations in other countries.
- Digital Sovereignty: The desire of nations to control digital spaces within their borders.
- Civil Liberties: The importance of protecting freedoms in the face of technological advancements.
Public Opinion
- Diverse Views: Surveys and public forums show a range of opinions, with some citizens prioritizing security and others valuing privacy above all.
- Awareness Levels: Many people are still unaware of the potential changes, highlighting the need for public education on the issue.
The EU is at a crossroads, facing the challenge of addressing legitimate security concerns without undermining the fundamental rights that are central to its values. The outcome of this debate will have significant implications for the future of digital privacy and the balance between security and freedom in society.
Possible Consequences for Messaging Services
The implementation of Chat Control could have significant implications for messaging services operating within the European Union. Both large platforms and smaller providers might need to adapt their technologies and policies to comply with the new regulations, potentially altering the landscape of digital communication.
Impact on Encrypted Messaging Services
Signal and Similar Platforms
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Compliance Challenges: Encrypted messaging services like Signal rely on end-to-end encryption to secure user communications. Complying with Chat Control could force them to weaken their encryption protocols or implement client-side scanning, conflicting with their core privacy principles.
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Operational Decisions: Some platforms may choose to limit their services in the EU or cease operations altogether rather than compromise on encryption. Signal, for instance, has indicated that it would prefer to withdraw from European markets than undermine its security features.
Potential Blocking or Limiting of Services
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Regulatory Enforcement: Messaging services that do not comply with Chat Control regulations could face fines, legal action, or even be blocked within the EU.
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Access Restrictions: Users in Europe might find certain services unavailable or limited in functionality if providers decide not to meet the regulatory requirements.
Effects on Smaller Providers
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Resource Constraints: Smaller messaging services and startups may lack the resources to implement the required scanning technologies, leading to increased operational costs or forcing them out of the market.
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Innovation Stifling: The added regulatory burden could deter new entrants, reducing competition and innovation in the messaging service sector.
User Experience and Trust
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Privacy Concerns: Users may lose trust in messaging platforms if they know their communications are subject to scanning, leading to a decline in user engagement.
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Migration to Unregulated Platforms: There is a risk that users might shift to less secure or unregulated services, including those operated outside the EU or on the dark web, potentially exposing them to greater risks.
Technical and Security Implications
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Increased Vulnerabilities: Modifying encryption protocols to comply with Chat Control could introduce security flaws, making platforms more susceptible to hacking and data breaches.
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Global Security Risks: Changes made to accommodate EU regulations might affect the global user base of these services, extending security risks beyond European borders.
Impact on Businesses and Professional Communications
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Confidentiality Issues: Businesses that rely on secure messaging for sensitive communications may face challenges in ensuring confidentiality, affecting sectors like finance, healthcare, and legal services.
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Compliance Complexity: Companies operating internationally will need to navigate a complex landscape of differing regulations, increasing administrative burdens.
Economic Consequences
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Market Fragmentation: Divergent regulations could lead to a fragmented market, with different versions of services for different regions.
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Loss of Revenue: Messaging services might experience reduced revenue due to decreased user trust and engagement or the costs associated with compliance.
Responses from Service Providers
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Legal Challenges: Companies might pursue legal action against the regulations, citing conflicts with privacy laws and user rights.
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Policy Advocacy: Service providers may increase lobbying efforts to influence policy decisions and promote alternatives to Chat Control.
Possible Adaptations
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Technological Innovation: Some providers might invest in developing new technologies that can detect illegal content without compromising encryption, though the feasibility remains uncertain.
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Transparency Measures: To maintain user trust, companies might enhance transparency about how data is handled and what measures are in place to protect privacy.
The potential consequences of Chat Control for messaging services are profound, affecting not only the companies that provide these services but also the users who rely on them daily. The balance between complying with legal requirements and maintaining user privacy and security presents a significant challenge that could reshape the digital communication landscape.
What Happens Next? The Future of Chat Control
The future of Chat Control remains uncertain as the debate continues among EU member states, policymakers, technology companies, and civil society organizations. Several factors will influence the outcome of this contentious proposal, each carrying significant implications for digital privacy, security, and the regulatory environment within the European Union.
Current Status of Legislation
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Ongoing Negotiations: The proposed Chat Control measures are still under discussion within the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union. Amendments and revisions are being considered in response to the feedback from various stakeholders.
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Timeline: While there is no fixed date for the final decision, the EU aims to reach a consensus to implement effective measures against online crime without undue delay.
Key Influencing Factors
1. Legal Challenges and Compliance with EU Law
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Fundamental Rights Assessment: The proposals must be evaluated against the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, ensuring that any measures comply with rights to privacy, data protection, and freedom of expression.
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Court Scrutiny: Potential legal challenges could arise, leading to scrutiny by the European Court of Justice (ECJ), which may impact the feasibility and legality of Chat Control.
2. Technological Feasibility
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Development of Privacy-Preserving Technologies: Research into methods that can detect illegal content without compromising encryption is ongoing. Advances in this area could provide alternative solutions acceptable to both privacy advocates and security agencies.
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Implementation Challenges: The practical aspects of deploying scanning technologies across various platforms and services remain complex, and technical hurdles could delay or alter the proposed measures.
3. Political Dynamics
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Member State Positions: The differing stances of EU countries, such as Germany's opposition, play a significant role in shaping the final outcome. Consensus among member states is crucial for adopting EU-wide regulations.
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Public Opinion and Advocacy: Growing awareness and activism around digital privacy can influence policymakers. Public campaigns and lobbying efforts may sway decisions in favor of stronger privacy protections.
4. Industry Responses
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Negotiations with Service Providers: Ongoing dialogues between EU authorities and technology companies may lead to compromises or collaborative efforts to address concerns without fully implementing Chat Control as initially proposed.
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Potential for Self-Regulation: Messaging services might propose self-regulatory measures to combat illegal content, aiming to demonstrate effectiveness without the need for mandatory scanning.
Possible Scenarios
Optimistic Outcome:
- Balanced Regulation: A revised proposal emerges that effectively addresses security concerns while upholding strong encryption and privacy rights, possibly through innovative technologies or targeted measures with robust oversight.
Pessimistic Outcome:
- Adoption of Strict Measures: Chat Control is implemented as initially proposed, leading to weakened encryption, reduced privacy, and potential withdrawal of services like Signal from the EU market.
Middle Ground:
- Incremental Implementation: Partial measures are adopted, focusing on voluntary cooperation with service providers and emphasizing transparency and user consent, with ongoing evaluations to assess effectiveness and impact.
How to Stay Informed and Protect Your Privacy
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Follow Reputable Sources: Keep up with news from reliable outlets, official EU communications, and statements from privacy organizations to stay informed about developments.
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Engage in the Dialogue: Participate in public consultations, sign petitions, or contact representatives to express your views on Chat Control and digital privacy.
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Utilize Secure Practices: Regardless of legislative outcomes, adopting good digital hygiene—such as using strong passwords and being cautious with personal information—can enhance your online security.
The Global Perspective
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International Implications: The EU's decision may influence global policies on encryption and surveillance, setting precedents that other countries might follow or react against.
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Collaboration Opportunities: International cooperation on developing solutions that protect both security and privacy could emerge, fostering a more unified approach to addressing online threats.
Looking Ahead
The future of Chat Control is a critical issue that underscores the challenges of governing in the digital age. Balancing the need for security with the protection of fundamental rights is a complex task that requires careful consideration, open dialogue, and collaboration among all stakeholders.
As the situation evolves, staying informed and engaged is essential. The decisions made in the coming months will shape the digital landscape for years to come, affecting how we communicate, conduct business, and exercise our rights in an increasingly connected world.
Conclusion
The debate over Chat Control highlights a fundamental challenge in our increasingly digital world: how to protect society from genuine threats without eroding the very rights and freedoms that define it. While the intention to safeguard children and prevent crime is undeniably important, the means of achieving this through intrusive surveillance measures raise critical concerns.
Privacy is not just a personal preference but a cornerstone of democratic societies. End-to-end encryption has become an essential tool for ensuring that our personal conversations, professional communications, and sensitive data remain secure from unwanted intrusion. Weakening these protections could expose individuals and organizations to risks that far outweigh the proposed benefits.
The potential consequences of implementing Chat Control are far-reaching:
- Erosion of Trust: Users may lose confidence in digital platforms, impacting how we communicate and conduct business online.
- Security Vulnerabilities: Introducing backdoors or weakening encryption can make systems more susceptible to cyberattacks.
- Stifling Innovation: Regulatory burdens may hinder technological advancement and competitiveness in the tech industry.
- Global Implications: The EU's decisions could set precedents that influence digital policies worldwide, for better or worse.
As citizens, it's crucial to stay informed about these developments. Engage in conversations, reach out to your representatives, and advocate for solutions that respect both security needs and fundamental rights. Technology and policy can evolve together to address challenges without compromising core values.
The future of Chat Control is not yet decided, and public input can make a significant difference. By promoting open dialogue, supporting privacy-preserving innovations, and emphasizing the importance of human rights in legislation, we can work towards a digital landscape that is both safe and free.
In a world where digital communication is integral to daily life, striking the right balance between security and privacy is more important than ever. The choices made today will shape the digital environment for generations to come, determining not just how we communicate, but how we live and interact in an interconnected world.
Thank you for reading this article. We hope it has provided you with a clear understanding of Chat Control and its potential impact on your privacy and digital rights. Stay informed, stay engaged, and let's work together towards a secure and open digital future.
Read more:
- https://www.patrick-breyer.de/en/posts/chat-control/
- https://www.patrick-breyer.de/en/new-eu-push-for-chat-control-will-messenger-services-be-blocked-in-europe/
- https://edri.org/our-work/dutch-decision-puts-brakes-on-chat-control/
- https://signal.org/blog/pdfs/ndss-keynote.pdf
- https://tuta.com/blog/germany-stop-chat-control
- https://cointelegraph.com/news/signal-president-slams-revised-eu-encryption-proposal
- https://mullvad.net/en/why-privacy-matters
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@ 4ba8e86d:89d32de4
2024-10-07 13:37:38O que é Cwtch? Cwtch (/kʊtʃ/ - uma palavra galesa que pode ser traduzida aproximadamente como “um abraço que cria um lugar seguro”) é um protocolo de mensagens multipartidário descentralizado, que preserva a privacidade, que pode ser usado para construir aplicativos resistentes a metadados.
Como posso pronunciar Cwtch? Como "kutch", para rimar com "butch".
Descentralizado e Aberto : Não existe “serviço Cwtch” ou “rede Cwtch”. Os participantes do Cwtch podem hospedar seus próprios espaços seguros ou emprestar sua infraestrutura para outras pessoas que buscam um espaço seguro. O protocolo Cwtch é aberto e qualquer pessoa é livre para criar bots, serviços e interfaces de usuário e integrar e interagir com o Cwtch.
Preservação de privacidade : toda a comunicação no Cwtch é criptografada de ponta a ponta e ocorre nos serviços cebola Tor v3.
Resistente a metadados : O Cwtch foi projetado de forma que nenhuma informação seja trocada ou disponibilizada a ninguém sem seu consentimento explícito, incluindo mensagens durante a transmissão e metadados de protocolo
Uma breve história do bate-papo resistente a metadados Nos últimos anos, a conscientização pública sobre a necessidade e os benefícios das soluções criptografadas de ponta a ponta aumentou com aplicativos como Signal , Whatsapp e Wire. que agora fornecem aos usuários comunicações seguras.
No entanto, essas ferramentas exigem vários níveis de exposição de metadados para funcionar, e muitos desses metadados podem ser usados para obter detalhes sobre como e por que uma pessoa está usando uma ferramenta para se comunicar.
Uma ferramenta que buscou reduzir metadados é o Ricochet lançado pela primeira vez em 2014. Ricochet usou os serviços cebola Tor v2 para fornecer comunicação criptografada segura de ponta a ponta e para proteger os metadados das comunicações.
Não havia servidores centralizados que auxiliassem no roteamento das conversas do Ricochet. Ninguém além das partes envolvidas em uma conversa poderia saber que tal conversa está ocorrendo.
Ricochet tinha limitações; não havia suporte para vários dispositivos, nem existe um mecanismo para suportar a comunicação em grupo ou para um usuário enviar mensagens enquanto um contato está offline.
Isto tornou a adoção do Ricochet uma proposta difícil; mesmo aqueles em ambientes que seriam melhor atendidos pela resistência aos metadados, sem saber que ela existe.
Além disso, qualquer solução para comunicação descentralizada e resistente a metadados enfrenta problemas fundamentais quando se trata de eficiência, privacidade e segurança de grupo conforme definido pelo consenso e consistência da transcrição.
Alternativas modernas ao Ricochet incluem Briar , Zbay e Ricochet Refresh - cada ferramenta procura otimizar para um conjunto diferente de compensações, por exemplo, Briar procura permitir que as pessoas se comuniquem mesmo quando a infraestrutura de rede subjacente está inoperante, ao mesmo tempo que fornece resistência à vigilância de metadados.
O projeto Cwtch começou em 2017 como um protocolo de extensão para Ricochet, fornecendo conversas em grupo por meio de servidores não confiáveis, com o objetivo de permitir aplicativos descentralizados e resistentes a metadados como listas compartilhadas e quadros de avisos.
Uma versão alfa do Cwtch foi lançada em fevereiro de 2019 e, desde então, a equipe do Cwtch dirigida pela OPEN PRIVACY RESEARCH SOCIETY conduziu pesquisa e desenvolvimento em cwtch e nos protocolos, bibliotecas e espaços de problemas subjacentes.
Modelo de Risco.
Sabe-se que os metadados de comunicações são explorados por vários adversários para minar a segurança dos sistemas, para rastrear vítimas e para realizar análises de redes sociais em grande escala para alimentar a vigilância em massa. As ferramentas resistentes a metadados estão em sua infância e faltam pesquisas sobre a construção e a experiência do usuário de tais ferramentas.
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O Cwtch foi originalmente concebido como uma extensão do protocolo Ricochet resistente a metadados para suportar comunicações assíncronas de grupos multiponto por meio do uso de infraestrutura anônima, descartável e não confiável.
Desde então, o Cwtch evoluiu para um protocolo próprio. Esta seção descreverá os vários riscos conhecidos que o Cwtch tenta mitigar e será fortemente referenciado no restante do documento ao discutir os vários subcomponentes da Arquitetura Cwtch.
Modelo de ameaça.
É importante identificar e compreender que os metadados são omnipresentes nos protocolos de comunicação; é de facto necessário que tais protocolos funcionem de forma eficiente e em escala. No entanto, as informações que são úteis para facilitar peers e servidores também são altamente relevantes para adversários que desejam explorar tais informações.
Para a definição do nosso problema, assumiremos que o conteúdo de uma comunicação é criptografado de tal forma que um adversário é praticamente incapaz de quebrá-lo veja tapir e cwtch para detalhes sobre a criptografia que usamos, e como tal nos concentraremos em o contexto para os metadados de comunicação.
Procuramos proteger os seguintes contextos de comunicação:
• Quem está envolvido em uma comunicação? Pode ser possível identificar pessoas ou simplesmente identificadores de dispositivos ou redes. Por exemplo, “esta comunicação envolve Alice, uma jornalista, e Bob, um funcionário público”.
• Onde estão os participantes da conversa? Por exemplo, “durante esta comunicação, Alice estava na França e Bob estava no Canadá”.
• Quando ocorreu uma conversa? O momento e a duração da comunicação podem revelar muito sobre a natureza de uma chamada, por exemplo, “Bob, um funcionário público, conversou com Alice ao telefone por uma hora ontem à noite. Esta é a primeira vez que eles se comunicam.” *Como a conversa foi mediada? O fato de uma conversa ter ocorrido por meio de um e-mail criptografado ou não criptografado pode fornecer informações úteis. Por exemplo, “Alice enviou um e-mail criptografado para Bob ontem, enquanto eles normalmente enviam apenas e-mails de texto simples um para o outro”.
• Sobre o que é a conversa? Mesmo que o conteúdo da comunicação seja criptografado, às vezes é possível derivar um contexto provável de uma conversa sem saber exatamente o que é dito, por exemplo, “uma pessoa ligou para uma pizzaria na hora do jantar” ou “alguém ligou para um número conhecido de linha direta de suicídio na hora do jantar”. 3 horas da manhã."
Além das conversas individuais, também procuramos defender-nos contra ataques de correlação de contexto, através dos quais múltiplas conversas são analisadas para obter informações de nível superior:
• Relacionamentos: Descobrir relações sociais entre um par de entidades analisando a frequência e a duração de suas comunicações durante um período de tempo. Por exemplo, Carol e Eve ligam uma para a outra todos os dias durante várias horas seguidas.
• Cliques: Descobrir relações sociais entre um grupo de entidades que interagem entre si. Por exemplo, Alice, Bob e Eva se comunicam entre si.
• Grupos vagamente conectados e indivíduos-ponte: descobrir grupos que se comunicam entre si através de intermediários, analisando cadeias de comunicação (por exemplo, toda vez que Alice fala com Bob, ela fala com Carol quase imediatamente depois; Bob e Carol nunca se comunicam).
• Padrão de Vida: Descobrir quais comunicações são cíclicas e previsíveis. Por exemplo, Alice liga para Eve toda segunda-feira à noite por cerca de uma hora. Ataques Ativos
Ataques de deturpação.
O Cwtch não fornece registro global de nomes de exibição e, como tal, as pessoas que usam o Cwtch são mais vulneráveis a ataques baseados em declarações falsas, ou seja, pessoas que fingem ser outras pessoas:
O fluxo básico de um desses ataques é o seguinte, embora também existam outros fluxos:
•Alice tem um amigo chamado Bob e outro chamado Eve
• Eve descobre que Alice tem um amigo chamado Bob
• Eve cria milhares de novas contas para encontrar uma que tenha uma imagem/chave pública semelhante à de Bob (não será idêntica, mas pode enganar alguém por alguns minutos)
• Eve chama essa nova conta de "Eve New Account" e adiciona Alice como amiga.
• Eve então muda seu nome em "Eve New Account" para "Bob"
• Alice envia mensagens destinadas a "Bob" para a conta falsa de Bob de Eve Como os ataques de declarações falsas são inerentemente uma questão de confiança e verificação, a única maneira absoluta de evitá-los é os usuários validarem absolutamente a chave pública. Obviamente, isso não é o ideal e, em muitos casos, simplesmente não acontecerá .
Como tal, pretendemos fornecer algumas dicas de experiência do usuário na interface do usuário para orientar as pessoas na tomada de decisões sobre confiar em contas e/ou distinguir contas que possam estar tentando se representar como outros usuários.
Uma nota sobre ataques físicos A Cwtch não considera ataques que exijam acesso físico (ou equivalente) à máquina do usuário como praticamente defensáveis. No entanto, no interesse de uma boa engenharia de segurança, ao longo deste documento ainda nos referiremos a ataques ou condições que exigem tal privilégio e indicaremos onde quaisquer mitigações que implementámos falharão.
Um perfil Cwtch.
Os usuários podem criar um ou mais perfis Cwtch. Cada perfil gera um par de chaves ed25519 aleatório compatível com Tor.
Além do material criptográfico, um perfil também contém uma lista de Contatos (outras chaves públicas do perfil Cwtch + dados associados sobre esse perfil, como apelido e (opcionalmente) mensagens históricas), uma lista de Grupos (contendo o material criptográfico do grupo, além de outros dados associados, como apelido do grupo e mensagens históricas).
Conversões entre duas partes: ponto a ponto
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Para que duas partes participem de uma conversa ponto a ponto, ambas devem estar on-line, mas apenas uma precisa estar acessível por meio do serviço Onion. Por uma questão de clareza, muitas vezes rotulamos uma parte como “ponto de entrada” (aquele que hospeda o serviço cebola) e a outra parte como “ponto de saída” (aquele que se conecta ao serviço cebola).
Após a conexão, ambas as partes adotam um protocolo de autenticação que:
• Afirma que cada parte tem acesso à chave privada associada à sua identidade pública.
• Gera uma chave de sessão efêmera usada para criptografar todas as comunicações futuras durante a sessão.
Esta troca (documentada com mais detalhes no protocolo de autenticação ) é negável offline , ou seja, é possível para qualquer parte falsificar transcrições desta troca de protocolo após o fato e, como tal - após o fato - é impossível provar definitivamente que a troca aconteceu de forma alguma.
Após o protocolo de autenticação, as duas partes podem trocar mensagens livremente.
Conversas em Grupo e Comunicação Ponto a Servidor
Ao iniciar uma conversa em grupo, é gerada uma chave aleatória para o grupo, conhecida como Group Key. Todas as comunicações do grupo são criptografadas usando esta chave. Além disso, o criador do grupo escolhe um servidor Cwtch para hospedar o grupo. Um convite é gerado, incluindo o Group Key, o servidor do grupo e a chave do grupo, para ser enviado aos potenciais membros.
Para enviar uma mensagem ao grupo, um perfil se conecta ao servidor do grupo e criptografa a mensagem usando a Group Key, gerando também uma assinatura sobre o Group ID, o servidor do grupo e a mensagem. Para receber mensagens do grupo, um perfil se conecta ao servidor e baixa as mensagens, tentando descriptografá-las usando a Group Key e verificando a assinatura.
Detalhamento do Ecossistema de Componentes
O Cwtch é composto por várias bibliotecas de componentes menores, cada uma desempenhando um papel específico. Algumas dessas bibliotecas incluem:
- abertoprivacidade/conectividade: Abstração de rede ACN, atualmente suportando apenas Tor.
- cwtch.im/tapir: Biblioteca para construção de aplicativos p2p em sistemas de comunicação anônimos.
- cwtch.im/cwtch: Biblioteca principal para implementação do protocolo/sistema Cwtch.
- cwtch.im/libcwtch-go: Fornece ligações C para Cwtch para uso em implementações de UI.
TAPIR: Uma Visão Detalhada
Projetado para substituir os antigos canais de ricochete baseados em protobuf, o Tapir fornece uma estrutura para a construção de aplicativos anônimos.
Está dividido em várias camadas:
• Identidade - Um par de chaves ed25519, necessário para estabelecer um serviço cebola Tor v3 e usado para manter uma identidade criptográfica consistente para um par.
• Conexões – O protocolo de rede bruto que conecta dois pares. Até agora, as conexões são definidas apenas através do Tor v3 Onion Services.
• Aplicativos - As diversas lógicas que permitem um determinado fluxo de informações em uma conexão. Os exemplos incluem transcrições criptográficas compartilhadas, autenticação, proteção contra spam e serviços baseados em tokens. Os aplicativos fornecem recursos que podem ser referenciados por outros aplicativos para determinar se um determinado peer tem a capacidade de usar um determinado aplicativo hospedado.
• Pilhas de aplicativos - Um mecanismo para conectar mais de um aplicativo, por exemplo, a autenticação depende de uma transcrição criptográfica compartilhada e o aplicativo peer cwtch principal é baseado no aplicativo de autenticação.
Identidade.
Um par de chaves ed25519, necessário para estabelecer um serviço cebola Tor v3 e usado para manter uma identidade criptográfica consistente para um peer.
InitializeIdentity - de um par de chaves conhecido e persistente:i,I
InitializeEphemeralIdentity - de um par de chaves aleatório: ie,Ie
Aplicativos de transcrição.
Inicializa uma transcrição criptográfica baseada em Merlin que pode ser usada como base de protocolos baseados em compromisso de nível superior
O aplicativo de transcrição entrará em pânico se um aplicativo tentar substituir uma transcrição existente por uma nova (aplicando a regra de que uma sessão é baseada em uma e apenas uma transcrição).
Merlin é uma construção de transcrição baseada em STROBE para provas de conhecimento zero. Ele automatiza a transformação Fiat-Shamir, para que, usando Merlin, protocolos não interativos possam ser implementados como se fossem interativos.
Isto é significativamente mais fácil e menos sujeito a erros do que realizar a transformação manualmente e, além disso, também fornece suporte natural para:
• protocolos multi-round com fases alternadas de commit e desafio;
• separação natural de domínios, garantindo que os desafios estejam vinculados às afirmações a serem provadas;
• enquadramento automático de mensagens, evitando codificação ambígua de dados de compromisso;
• e composição do protocolo, usando uma transcrição comum para vários protocolos.
Finalmente, o Merlin também fornece um gerador de números aleatórios baseado em transcrição como defesa profunda contra ataques de entropia ruim (como reutilização de nonce ou preconceito em muitas provas). Este RNG fornece aleatoriedade sintética derivada de toda a transcrição pública, bem como dos dados da testemunha do provador e uma entrada auxiliar de um RNG externo.
Conectividade Cwtch faz uso do Tor Onion Services (v3) para todas as comunicações entre nós.
Fornecemos o pacote openprivacy/connectivity para gerenciar o daemon Tor e configurar e desmontar serviços cebola através do Tor.
Criptografia e armazenamento de perfil.
Os perfis são armazenados localmente no disco e criptografados usando uma chave derivada de uma senha conhecida pelo usuário (via pbkdf2).
Observe que, uma vez criptografado e armazenado em disco, a única maneira de recuperar um perfil é recuperando a senha - como tal, não é possível fornecer uma lista completa de perfis aos quais um usuário pode ter acesso até inserir uma senha.
Perfis não criptografados e a senha padrão Para lidar com perfis "não criptografados" (ou seja, que não exigem senha para serem abertos), atualmente criamos um perfil com uma senha codificada de fato .
Isso não é o ideal, preferiríamos confiar no material de chave fornecido pelo sistema operacional, de modo que o perfil fosse vinculado a um dispositivo específico, mas esses recursos são atualmente uma colcha de retalhos - também notamos, ao criar um perfil não criptografado, pessoas que usam Cwtch estão explicitamente optando pelo risco de que alguém com acesso ao sistema de arquivos possa descriptografar seu perfil.
Vulnerabilidades Relacionadas a Imagens e Entrada de Dados
Imagens Maliciosas
O Cwtch enfrenta desafios na renderização de imagens, com o Flutter utilizando Skia, embora o código subjacente não seja totalmente seguro para a memória.
Realizamos testes de fuzzing nos componentes Cwtch e encontramos um bug de travamento causado por um arquivo GIF malformado, levando a falhas no kernel. Para mitigar isso, adotamos a política de sempre habilitar cacheWidth e/ou cacheHeight máximo para widgets de imagem.
Identificamos o risco de imagens maliciosas serem renderizadas de forma diferente em diferentes plataformas, como evidenciado por um bug no analisador PNG da Apple.
Riscos de Entrada de Dados
Um risco significativo é a interceptação de conteúdo ou metadados por meio de um Input Method Editor (IME) em dispositivos móveis. Mesmo aplicativos IME padrão podem expor dados por meio de sincronização na nuvem, tradução online ou dicionários pessoais.
Implementamos medidas de mitigação, como enableIMEPersonalizedLearning: false no Cwtch 1.2, mas a solução completa requer ações em nível de sistema operacional e é um desafio contínuo para a segurança móvel.
Servidor Cwtch.
O objetivo do protocolo Cwtch é permitir a comunicação em grupo através de infraestrutura não confiável .
Ao contrário dos esquemas baseados em retransmissão, onde os grupos atribuem um líder, um conjunto de líderes ou um servidor confiável de terceiros para garantir que cada membro do grupo possa enviar e receber mensagens em tempo hábil (mesmo que os membros estejam offline) - infraestrutura não confiável tem o objetivo de realizar essas propriedades sem a suposição de confiança.
O artigo original do Cwtch definia um conjunto de propriedades que se esperava que os servidores Cwtch fornecessem:
• O Cwtch Server pode ser usado por vários grupos ou apenas um.
• Um servidor Cwtch, sem a colaboração de um membro do grupo, nunca deve aprender a identidade dos participantes de um grupo.
• Um servidor Cwtch nunca deve aprender o conteúdo de qualquer comunicação.
• Um servidor Cwtch nunca deve ser capaz de distinguir mensagens como pertencentes a um grupo específico. Observamos aqui que essas propriedades são um superconjunto dos objetivos de design das estruturas de Recuperação de Informações Privadas.
Melhorias na Eficiência e Segurança
Eficiência do Protocolo
Atualmente, apenas um protocolo conhecido, o PIR ingênuo, atende às propriedades desejadas para garantir a privacidade na comunicação do grupo Cwtch. Este método tem um impacto direto na eficiência da largura de banda, especialmente para usuários em dispositivos móveis. Em resposta a isso, estamos ativamente desenvolvendo novos protocolos que permitem negociar garantias de privacidade e eficiência de maneiras diversas.
Os servidores, no momento desta escrita, permitem o download completo de todas as mensagens armazenadas, bem como uma solicitação para baixar mensagens específicas a partir de uma determinada mensagem. Quando os pares ingressam em um grupo em um novo servidor, eles baixam todas as mensagens do servidor inicialmente e, posteriormente, apenas as mensagens novas.
Mitigação de Análise de Metadados
Essa abordagem permite uma análise moderada de metadados, pois o servidor pode enviar novas mensagens para cada perfil suspeito exclusivo e usar essas assinaturas de mensagens exclusivas para rastrear sessões ao longo do tempo. Essa preocupação é mitigada por dois fatores:
- Os perfis podem atualizar suas conexões a qualquer momento, resultando em uma nova sessão do servidor.
- Os perfis podem ser "ressincronizados" de um servidor a qualquer momento, resultando em uma nova chamada para baixar todas as mensagens. Isso é comumente usado para buscar mensagens antigas de um grupo.
Embora essas medidas imponham limites ao que o servidor pode inferir, ainda não podemos garantir resistência total aos metadados. Para soluções futuras para esse problema, consulte Niwl.
Proteção contra Pares Maliciosos
Os servidores enfrentam o risco de spam gerado por pares, representando uma ameaça significativa à eficácia do sistema Cwtch. Embora tenhamos implementado um mecanismo de proteção contra spam no protótipo do Cwtch, exigindo que os pares realizem alguma prova de trabalho especificada pelo servidor, reconhecemos que essa não é uma solução robusta na presença de um adversário determinado com recursos significativos.
Pacotes de Chaves
Os servidores Cwtch se identificam por meio de pacotes de chaves assinados, contendo uma lista de chaves necessárias para garantir a segurança e resistência aos metadados na comunicação do grupo Cwtch. Esses pacotes de chaves geralmente incluem três chaves: uma chave pública do serviço Tor v3 Onion para o Token Board, uma chave pública do Tor v3 Onion Service para o Token Service e uma chave pública do Privacy Pass.
Para verificar os pacotes de chaves, os perfis que os importam do servidor utilizam o algoritmo trust-on-first-use (TOFU), verificando a assinatura anexada e a existência de todos os tipos de chave. Se o perfil já tiver importado o pacote de chaves do servidor anteriormente, todas as chaves são consideradas iguais.
Configuração prévia do aplicativo para ativar o Relé do Cwtch.
No Android, a hospedagem de servidor não está habilitada, pois essa opção não está disponível devido às limitações dos dispositivos Android. Essa funcionalidade está reservada apenas para servidores hospedados em desktops.
No Android, a única forma direta de importar uma chave de servidor é através do grupo de teste Cwtch, garantindo assim acesso ao servidor Cwtch.
Primeiro passo é Habilitar a opção de grupo no Cwtch que está em fase de testes. Clique na opção no canto superior direito da tela de configuração e pressione o botão para acessar as configurações do Cwtch.
Você pode alterar o idioma para Português do Brasil.Depois, role para baixo e selecione a opção para ativar os experimentos. Em seguida, ative a opção para habilitar o chat em grupo e a pré-visualização de imagens e fotos de perfil, permitindo que você troque sua foto de perfil.
https://link.storjshare.io/raw/jvss6zxle26jdguwaegtjdixhfka/production/f0ca039733d48895001261ab25c5d2efbaf3bf26e55aad3cce406646f9af9d15.MP4
Próximo passo é Criar um perfil.
Pressione o + botão de ação no canto inferior direito e selecione "Novo perfil" ou aberta no botão + adicionar novo perfil.
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Selecione um nome de exibição
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Selecione se deseja proteger
este perfil e salvo localmente com criptografia forte: Senha: sua conta está protegida de outras pessoas que possam usar este dispositivo
Sem senha: qualquer pessoa que tenha acesso a este dispositivo poderá acessar este perfil.
Preencha sua senha e digite-a novamente
Os perfis são armazenados localmente no disco e criptografados usando uma chave derivada de uma senha conhecida pelo usuário (via pbkdf2).
Observe que, uma vez criptografado e armazenado em disco, a única maneira de recuperar um perfil é recuperando a chave da senha - como tal, não é possível fornecer uma lista completa de perfis aos quais um usuário pode ter acesso até inserir um senha.
https://link.storjshare.io/raw/jxqbqmur2lcqe2eym5thgz4so2ya/production/8f9df1372ec7e659180609afa48be22b12109ae5e1eda9ef1dc05c1325652507.MP4
O próximo passo é adicionar o FuzzBot, que é um bot de testes e de desenvolvimento.
Contato do FuzzBot: 4y2hxlxqzautabituedksnh2ulcgm2coqbure6wvfpg4gi2ci25ta5ad.
Ao enviar o comando "testgroup-invite" para o FuzzBot, você receberá um convite para entrar no Grupo Cwtch Test. Ao ingressar no grupo, você será automaticamente conectado ao servidor Cwtch. Você pode optar por sair do grupo a qualquer momento ou ficar para conversar e tirar dúvidas sobre o aplicativo e outros assuntos. Depois, você pode configurar seu próprio servidor Cwtch, o que é altamente recomendável.
https://link.storjshare.io/raw/jvji25zclkoqcouni5decle7if7a/production/ee3de3540a3e3dca6e6e26d303e12c2ef892a5d7769029275b8b95ffc7468780.MP4
Agora você pode utilizar o aplicativo normalmente. Algumas observações que notei: se houver demora na conexão com outra pessoa, ambas devem estar online. Se ainda assim a conexão não for estabelecida, basta clicar no ícone de reset do Tor para restabelecer a conexão com a outra pessoa.
Uma introdução aos perfis Cwtch.
Com Cwtch você pode criar um ou mais perfis . Cada perfil gera um par de chaves ed25519 aleatório compatível com a Rede Tor.
Este é o identificador que você pode fornecer às pessoas e que elas podem usar para entrar em contato com você via Cwtch.
Cwtch permite criar e gerenciar vários perfis separados. Cada perfil está associado a um par de chaves diferente que inicia um serviço cebola diferente.
Gerenciar Na inicialização, o Cwtch abrirá a tela Gerenciar Perfis. Nessa tela você pode:
- Crie um novo perfil.
- Desbloquear perfis.
- Criptografados existentes.
- Gerenciar perfis carregados.
- Alterando o nome de exibição de um perfil.
- Alterando a senha de um perfil Excluindo um perfil.
- Alterando uma imagem de perfil.
Backup ou exportação de um perfil.
Na tela de gerenciamento de perfil:
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Selecione o lápis ao lado do perfil que você deseja editar
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Role para baixo até a parte inferior da tela.
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Selecione "Exportar perfil"
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Escolha um local e um nome de arquivo.
5.confirme.
Uma vez confirmado, o Cwtch colocará uma cópia do perfil no local indicado. Este arquivo é criptografado no mesmo nível do perfil.
Este arquivo pode ser importado para outra instância do Cwtch em qualquer dispositivo.
Importando um perfil.
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Pressione o +botão de ação no canto inferior direito e selecione "Importar perfil"
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Selecione um arquivo de perfil Cwtch exportado para importar
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Digite a senha associada ao perfil e confirme.
Uma vez confirmado, o Cwtch tentará descriptografar o arquivo fornecido usando uma chave derivada da senha fornecida. Se for bem-sucedido, o perfil aparecerá na tela Gerenciamento de perfil e estará pronto para uso.
OBSERVAÇÃO Embora um perfil possa ser importado para vários dispositivos, atualmente apenas uma versão de um perfil pode ser usada em todos os dispositivos ao mesmo tempo. As tentativas de usar o mesmo perfil em vários dispositivos podem resultar em problemas de disponibilidade e falhas de mensagens.
Qual é a diferença entre uma conexão ponto a ponto e um grupo cwtch?
As conexões ponto a ponto Cwtch permitem que 2 pessoas troquem mensagens diretamente. As conexões ponto a ponto nos bastidores usam serviços cebola Tor v3 para fornecer uma conexão criptografada e resistente a metadados. Devido a esta conexão direta, ambas as partes precisam estar online ao mesmo tempo para trocar mensagens.
Os Grupos Cwtch permitem que várias partes participem de uma única conversa usando um servidor não confiável (que pode ser fornecido por terceiros ou auto-hospedado). Os operadores de servidores não conseguem saber quantas pessoas estão em um grupo ou o que está sendo discutido. Se vários grupos estiverem hospedados em um único servidor, o servidor não conseguirá saber quais mensagens pertencem a qual grupo sem a conivência de um membro do grupo. Ao contrário das conversas entre pares, as conversas em grupo podem ser conduzidas de forma assíncrona, para que todos num grupo não precisem estar online ao mesmo tempo.
Por que os grupos cwtch são experimentais? Mensagens em grupo resistentes a metadados ainda são um problema em aberto . Embora a versão que fornecemos no Cwtch Beta seja projetada para ser segura e com metadados privados, ela é bastante ineficiente e pode ser mal utilizada. Como tal, aconselhamos cautela ao usá-lo e apenas o fornecemos como um recurso opcional.
Como posso executar meu próprio servidor Cwtch? A implementação de referência para um servidor Cwtch é de código aberto . Qualquer pessoa pode executar um servidor Cwtch, e qualquer pessoa com uma cópia do pacote de chaves públicas do servidor pode hospedar grupos nesse servidor sem que o operador tenha acesso aos metadados relacionados ao grupo .
https://git.openprivacy.ca/cwtch.im/server
https://docs.openprivacy.ca/cwtch-security-handbook/server.html
Como posso desligar o Cwtch? O painel frontal do aplicativo possui um ícone do botão "Shutdown Cwtch" (com um 'X'). Pressionar este botão irá acionar uma caixa de diálogo e, na confirmação, o Cwtch será desligado e todos os perfis serão descarregados.
Suas doações podem fazer a diferença no projeto Cwtch? O Cwtch é um projeto dedicado a construir aplicativos que preservam a privacidade, oferecendo comunicação de grupo resistente a metadados. Além disso, o projeto também desenvolve o Cofre, formulários da web criptografados para ajudar mútua segura. Suas contribuições apoiam iniciativas importantes, como a divulgação de violações de dados médicos em Vancouver e pesquisas sobre a segurança do voto eletrônico na Suíça. Ao doar, você está ajudando a fechar o ciclo, trabalhando com comunidades marginalizadas para identificar e corrigir lacunas de privacidade. Além disso, o projeto trabalha em soluções inovadoras, como a quebra de segredos através da criptografia de limite para proteger sua privacidade durante passagens de fronteira. E também tem a infraestrutura: toda nossa infraestrutura é open source e sem fins lucrativos. Conheça também o Fuzzytags, uma estrutura criptográfica probabilística para marcação resistente a metadados. Sua doação é crucial para continuar o trabalho em prol da privacidade e segurança online. Contribua agora com sua doação
https://openprivacy.ca/donate/
onde você pode fazer sua doação em bitcoin e outras moedas, e saiba mais sobre os projetos. https://openprivacy.ca/work/
Link sobre Cwtch
https://cwtch.im/
https://git.openprivacy.ca/cwtch.im/cwtch
https://docs.cwtch.im/docs/intro
https://docs.openprivacy.ca/cwtch-security-handbook/
Baixar #CwtchDev
cwtch.im/download/
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=im.cwtch.flwtch
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@ 7e538978:a5987ab6
2024-10-02 13:57:31Chain Duel, a fast paced PvP game that takes inspiration from the classic snake game and supercharges it with Bitcoin’s Lightning Network. Imagine battling another player for dominance in a race to collect blocks, where the length of your chain isn’t just a visual cue. It represents real, staked satoshis. The player with the most Proof of Work wins, but it’s not just about gameplay; it’s about the seamless integration of the Lightning Network and real-time payments.
But how does Chain Duel manage these instant transactions with such efficiency? That’s where LNbits comes in. LNbits, an open-source wallet and payment infrastructure, handles all in-game payments making it easy for developers to focus on gameplay while LNbits takes care of everything from microtransactions to automated splits for developers and designers. In this article, we’ll dive deep into how Chain Duel leverages LNbits to streamline in-game payments and how other developers can take advantage of this powerful toolset to build the future of Lightning-powered gaming.
Let’s explore how LNbits transforms payment processing and why it’s quickly becoming a must-have for game developers working in the Bitcoin space.
Overview of Chain Duel
Chain Duel is a unique Lightning Network-inspired game that reimagines the classic snake game with a competitive twist, integrating real-time payments. Two players face off in real-time, racing to "catch" blocks and extend their chains. Each block added to the chain represents Proof of Work, and the player with the most Proof of Work wins the duel. The stakes are high, as the game represents satoshis (small units of Bitcoin) as points, with the winner taking home the prize.
The game is designed to be Lightning-native, meaning all payments within Chain Duel are processed through the Lightning Network. This ensures fast payments, reducing latency and making gameplay smooth. With additional features like practice mode, tournaments and highscores, Chain Duel creates an engaging and competitive environment for Bitcoin enthusiasts and gamers alike.
One of the standout aspects of Chain Duel is its deeper integration with the Lightning Network even at a design level. For example, actual Bitcoin blocks can appear on screen during matches, offering bonus points when mined in sync with the game. The game’s current version, still in beta, has already drawn attention within the Bitcoin community, gaining momentum at conferences and with a growing user base through its social networks. With its innovative combination of gaming, the Lightning Network, and competitive play, Chain Duel offers a glimpse into the future of Lightning-based gaming.
How LNbits is Used in Chain Duel
Seamless Integration with LNbits
At the core of Chain Duel’s efficient payment processing is LNbits, which handles in-game transactions smoothly and reliably. Chain Duel uses the LNbits LNURL-pay and LNURL-withdraw extensions to manage payments and rewards between players. Before each match, players send satoshis using LNURL-pay, which generates a static QR code or link for making the payment. LNURL-pay allows users to attach a note to the payment, which Chain Duel creatively uses as a way to insert the player name in-game. The simplicity of LNURL-pay ensures that users can quickly and easily initiate games, with fresh invoices being issued for every game. When players win, LNURL-withdraw enables them to seamlessly pull their earnings from the game, providing a quick payout system.
These extensions make it easy for players to send and receive Bitcoin with minimal latency, fully leveraging the power of the Lightning Network for fast and low-cost payments. The flexibility of LNbits’ tools means that game developers don’t need to worry about building custom payment systems from scratch—they can rely on LNbits to handle all financial transactions with precision.
Lightning Tournaments
Chain Duel tournaments leverage LNbits and its LNURL extensions to create a seamless and efficient experience for players. In Chain Duel tournaments, LNbits plays a crucial role in managing the overall economics. LNbits facilitates the generation of LNURL QR codes that participants can scan to register quickly or withdraw their winnings. LNbits allows Chain Duel to automatically handle multiple registrations through LNURL-pay, enabling players to participate in the tournament without additional steps. The Lightning Network's speed ensures that these payments occur in real-time, reducing wait times and allowing for a smoother flow in-game.
Splitting Payments
LNbits further simplifies revenue-sharing within Chain Duel. This feature allows the game to automatically split the satoshis sent by players into different shares for the game’s developer, designer, and host. Each time a payment is made to join a match, LNbits is used to automattically pay each of the contributors, according to pre-defined rules. This automated process ensures that everyone involved in the development and running of the game gets their fair share without manual intervention or complex bookkeeping.
Nostr Integration
Chain Duel also integrates with Nostr, a decentralized protocol for social interactions. Players can join games using "Zaps", small tips or micropayments sent over the Lightning Network within the Nostr ecosystem. Through NIP-57, which enables Nostr clients to request Zap invoices, players can use LNURL-pay enabled Zaps to register in P2P matches, further enhancing the Chain Duel experience. By using Zaps as a way to register in-game, Chain Duel automates the process of fetching players' identity, creating a more competitive and social experience. Zaps are public on the Nostr network, further expanding Chain Duel's games social reach and community engagement.
Game and Payment Synchronization
One of the key reasons Chain Duel developers chose LNbits is its powerful API that connects directly with the game’s logic. LNbits allows the game to synchronize payments with gameplay in real-time, providing a seamless experience where payments are an integrated part of the gaming mechanics.
With LNbits managing both the payment process and the Lightning Network’s complex infrastructure, Chain Duel developers are free to concentrate on enhancing the competitive and Lightning Network-related aspects of the game. This division of tasks is essential for streamlining development while still providing an innovative in-game payment experience that is deeply integrated with the Bitcoin network.
LNbits proves to be an indispensable tool for Chain Duel, enabling smooth in-game transactions, real-time revenue sharing, and seamless integration with Nostr. For developers looking to build Lightning-powered games, LNbits offers a powerful suite of tools that handle everything from micropayments to payment distribution—ensuring that the game's focus remains on fun and competition rather than complex payment systems.
LNBits facilitating Education and Adoption
This system contributes to educating users on the power of the Lightning Network. Since Chain Duel directly involve real satoshis and LNURL for registration and rewards, players actively experience how Lightning can facilitate fast, cheap, and permissionless payments. By incorporating LNbits into Chain Duel, the game serves as an educational tool that introduces users to the benefits of the Lightning Network. Players gain direct experience using Lightning wallets and LNURL, helping them understand how these tools work in real-world scenarios. The near-instant nature of these payments showcases the power of Lightning in a practical context, highlighting its potential beyond just gaming. Players are encouraged to set up wallets, explore the Lightning ecosystem, and eventually become familiar with Bitcoin and Lightning technology. By integrating LNbits, Chain Duel transforms in-game payments into a learning opportunity, making Bitcoin and Lightning more approachable for users worldwide.
Tools for Developers
LNbits is a versatile, open-source platform designed to simplify and enhance Bitcoin Lightning Network wallet management. For developers, particularly those working on Lightning-native games like Chain Duel, LNbits offers an invaluable set of tools that allow for seamless integration of Lightning payments without the need to build complex custom solutions from scratch. LNbits is built on a modular and extensible architecture, enabling developers to easily add or create functionality suited to their project’s needs.
Extensible Architecture for Customization
At the core of LNbits is a simple yet powerful wallet system that developers can access across multiple devices. What makes LNbits stand out is its extensible nature—everything beyond the core functionality is implemented as an extension. This modular approach allows users to customize their LNbits installation by enabling or building extensions to suit specific use cases. This flexibility is perfect for developers who want to add Lightning-based services to their games or apps without modifying the core codebase.
- Extensions for Every Use Case
LNbits comes with a wide array of built-in extensions created by contributors, offering various services that can be plugged into your application. Some popular extensions include: - Faucets: Distribute small amounts of Bitcoin to users for testing or promotional purposes.
- Paylinks: Create shareable links for instant payments.
- Points-of-sale (PoS): Allow users to set up shareable payment terminals.
- Paywalls: Charge users to access content or services.
- Event tickets: Sell tickets for events directly via Lightning payments.
- Games and services: From dice games to jukeboxes, LNbits offers entertaining and functional tools.
These ready-made solutions can be adapted and used in different gaming scenarios, for example in Chain Duel, where LNURL extensions are used for in game payments. The extensibility ensures developers can focus on building engaging gameplay while LNbits handles payment flows.
Developer-Friendly Customization
LNbits isn't just a plug-and-play platform. Developers can extend its functionality even further by creating their own extensions, giving full control over how the wallet system is integrated into their games or apps. The architecture is designed to make it easy for developers to build on top of the platform, adding custom features for specific requirements.
Flexible Funding Source Management
LNbits also offers flexibility in terms of managing funding sources. Developers can easily connect LNbits to various Lightning Network node implementations, enabling seamless transitions between nodes or even different payment systems. This allows developers to switch underlying funding sources with minimal effort, making LNbits adaptable for games that may need to scale quickly or rely on different payment infrastructures over time.
A Lean Core System for Maximum Efficiency
Thanks to its modular architecture, LNbits maintains a lean core system. This reduces complexity and overhead, allowing developers to implement only the features they need. By avoiding bloated software, LNbits ensures faster transactions and less resource consumption, which is crucial in fast-paced environments like Chain Duel where speed and efficiency are paramount.
LNbits is designed with developers in mind, offering a suite of tools and a flexible infrastructure that makes integrating Bitcoin payments easy. Whether you’re developing games, apps, or any service that requires Lightning Network transactions, LNbits is a powerful, open-source solution that can be adapted to fit your project.
Conclusion
Chain Duel stands at the forefront of Lightning-powered gaming, combining the excitement of competitive PvP with the speed and efficiency of the Lightning Network. With LNbits handling all in-game payments, from microtransactions to automated revenue splits, developers can focus entirely on crafting an engaging gaming experience. LNbits’ powerful API and extensions make it easy to manage real-time payments, removing the complexity of building payment infrastructure from scratch.
LNbits isn’t just a payment tool — it’s a flexible, developer-friendly platform that can be adapted to any gaming model. Whether you're developing a fast-paced PvP game like Chain Duel or any project requiring seamless Lightning Network integration, LNbits provides the ideal solution for handling instant payments with minimal overhead.
For developers interested in pushing the boundaries of Lightning-powered gaming, Chain Duel is a great example of how LNbits can enhance your game, letting you focus on the fun while LNbits manages real-time transactions.
Find out more
Curious about how Lightning Network payments can power your next game? Explore the following:
- Learn more about Chain Duel: Chain Duel
- Learn how LNbits can simplify payment handling in your project: LNbits
- Dive into decentralized communication with Nostr: Nostr
- Extensions for Every Use Case
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@ f977c464:32fcbe00
2024-01-30 20:06:18Güneşin kaybolmasının üçüncü günü, saat öğlen on ikiyi yirmi geçiyordu. Trenin kalkmasına yaklaşık iki saat vardı. Hepimiz perondaydık. Valizlerimiz, kolilerimiz, renk renk ve biçimsiz çantalarımızla yan yana dizilmiş, kısa aralıklarla tepemizdeki devasa saati kontrol ediyorduk.
Ama ne kadar dik bakarsak bakalım zaman bir türlü istediğimiz hızla ilerlemiyordu. Herkes birkaç dakika sürmesi gereken alelade bir doğa olayına sıkışıp kalmış, karanlıktan sürünerek çıkmayı deniyordu.
Bekleme salonuna doğru döndüm. Nefesimden çıkan buharın arkasında, kalın taş duvarları ve camlarıyla morg kadar güvenli ve soğuk duruyordu. Cesetleri o yüzden bunun gibi yerlere taşımaya başlamışlardı. Demek insanların bütün iyiliği başkaları onları gördüğü içindi ki gündüzleri gecelerden daha karanlık olduğunda hemen birbirlerinin gırtlağına çökmüş, böğürlerinde delikler açmış, gözlerini oyup kafataslarını parçalamışlardı.
İstasyonun ışığı titrediğinde karanlığın enseme saplandığını hissettim. Eğer şimdi, böyle kalabalık bir yerde elektrik kesilse başımıza ne gelirdi?
İçerideki askerlerden biri bakışlarımı yakalayınca yeniden saate odaklanmış gibi yaptım. Sadece birkaç dakika geçmişti.
“Tarlalarım gitti. Böyle boyum kadar ayçiçeği doluydu. Ah, hepsi ölüp gidiyor. Afitap’ın çiçekleri de gi-”
“Dayı, Allah’ını seversen sus. Hepimizi yakacaksın şimdi.”
Karanlıkta durduğunda, görünmez olmayı istemeye başlıyordun. Kimse seni görmemeli, nefesini bile duymamalıydı. Kimsenin de ayağının altında dolaşmamalıydın; gelip kazayla sana çarpmamalılar, takılıp sendelememeliydiler. Yoksa aslında hedefi sen olmadığın bir öfke gürlemeye başlar, yaşadığın ilk şoku ve acıyı silerek üstünden geçerdi.
İlk konuşan, yaşlıca bir adam, kafasında kasketi, nasırlı ellerine hohluyordu. Gözleri ve burnu kızarmıştı. Güneşin kaybolması onun için kendi başına bir felaket değildi. Hayatına olan pratik yansımalarından korkuyordu olsa olsa. Bir anının kaybolması, bu yüzden çoktan kaybettiği birinin biraz daha eksilmesi. Hayatta kalmasını gerektiren sebepler azalırken, hayatta kalmasını sağlayacak kaynaklarını da kaybediyordu.
Onu susturan delikanlıysa atkısını bütün kafasına sarmış, sakalı ve yüzünün derinliklerine kaçmış gözleri dışında bedeninin bütün parçalarını gizlemeye çalışıyordu. İşte o, güneşin kaybolmasının tam olarak ne anlama geldiğini anlamamış olsa bile, dehşetini olduğu gibi hissedebilenlerdendi.
Güneşin onlardan alındıktan sonra kime verileceğini sormuyorlardı. En başta onlara verildiğinde de hiçbir soru sormamışlardı zaten.
İki saat ne zaman geçer?
Midemin üstünde, sağ tarafıma doğru keskin bir acı hissettim. Karaciğerim. Gözlerimi yumdum. Yanımda biri metal bir nesneyi yere bıraktı. Bir kafesti. İçerisindeki kartalın ıslak kokusu burnuma ulaşmadan önce bile biliyordum bunu.
“Yeniden mi?” diye sordu bana kartal. Kanatları kanlı. Zamanın her bir parçası tüylerinin üstüne çöreklenmişti. Gagası bir şey, tahminen et parçası geveliyor gibi hareket ediyordu. Eski anılar kolay unutulmazmış. Şu anda kafesinin kalın parmaklıklarının ardında olsa da bunun bir aldatmaca olduğunu bir tek ben biliyordum. Her an kanatlarını iki yana uzatıverebilir, hava bu hareketiyle dalgalanarak kafesi esneterek hepimizi içine alacak kadar genişleyebilir, parmaklıklar önce ayaklarımızın altına serilir gibi gözükebilir ama aslında hepimizin üstünde yükselerek tepemize çökebilirdi.
Aşağıya baktım. Tahtalarla zapt edilmiş, hiçbir yere gidemeyen ama her yere uzanan tren rayları. Atlayıp koşsam… Çantam çok ağırdı. Daha birkaç adım atamadan, kartal, suratını bedenime gömerdi.
“Bu sefer farklı,” diye yanıtladım onu. “Yeniden diyemezsin. Tekrarladığım bir şey değil bu. Hatta bir hata yapıyormuşum gibi tonlayamazsın da. Bu sefer, insanların hak etmediğini biliyorum.”
“O zaman daha vahim. Süzme salaksın demektir.”
“İnsanların hak etmemesi, insanlığın hak etmediği anlamına gelmez ki.”
Az önce göz göze geldiğim genççe ama çökük asker hâlâ bana bakıyordu. Bir kartalla konuştuğumu anlamamıştı şüphesiz. Yanımdakilerden biriyle konuştuğumu sanmış olmalıydı. Ama konuştuğum kişiye bakmıyordum ona göre. Çekingence kafamı eğmiştim. Bir kez daha göz göze geldiğimizde içerideki diğer iki askere bir şeyler söyledi, onlar dönüp beni süzerken dışarı çıktı.
Yanımızdaki, az önce konuşan iki adam da şaşkınlıkla bir bana bir kartala bakıyordu.
“Yalnız bu sefer kalbin de kırılacak, Prometheus,” dedi kartal, bana. “Belki son olur. Biliyorsun, bir sürü soruna neden oluyor bu yaptıkların.”
Beni koruyordu sözde. En çok kanıma dokunan buydu. Kasıklarımın üstüne oturmuş, kanlı suratının ardında gözleri parlarken attığı çığlık kulaklarımda titremeye devam ediyordu. Bu tabloda kimsenin kimseyi düşündüğü yoktu. Kartalın, yanımızdaki adamların, artık arkama kadar gelmiş olması gereken askerin, tren raylarının, geçmeyen saatlerin…
Arkamı döndüğümde, asker sahiden oradaydı. Zaten öyle olması gerekiyordu; görmüştüm bunu, biliyordum. Kehanetler… Bir şeyler söylüyordu ama ağzı oynarken sesi çıkmıyordu. Yavaşlamış, kendisini saatin akışına uydurmuştu. Havada donan tükürüğünden anlaşılıyordu, sinirliydi. Korktuğu için olduğunu biliyordum. Her seferinde korkmuşlardı. Beni unutmuş olmaları işlerini kolaylaştırmıyordu. Sadece yeni bir isim vermelerine neden oluyordu. Bu seferkiyle beni lanetleyecekleri kesinleşmişti.
Olması gerekenle olanların farklı olması ne kadar acınasıydı. Olması gerekenlerin doğasının kötücül olmasıysa bir yerde buna dayanıyordu.
“Salaksın,” dedi kartal bana. Zamanı aşan bir çığlık. Hepimizin önüne geçmişti ama kimseyi durduramıyordu.
Sonsuzluğa kaç tane iki saat sıkıştırabilirsiniz?
Ben bir tane bile sıkıştıramadım.
Çantama uzanıyordum. Asker de sırtındaki tüfeğini indiriyordu. Benim acelem yoktu, onunsa eli ayağı birbirine dolaşıyordu. Oysaki her şey tam olması gerektiği anda olacaktı. Kehanet başkasının parmaklarının ucundaydı.
Güneş, bir tüfeğin patlamasıyla yeryüzüne doğdu.
Rayların üzerine serilmiş göğsümün ortasından, bir çantanın içinden.
Not: Bu öykü ilk olarak 2021 yılında Esrarengiz Hikâyeler'de yayımlanmıştır.
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@ 3bf0c63f:aefa459d
2024-01-14 13:55:28O Planetinha
Fumaça verde me entrando pelas narinas e um coro desafinado fazia uma base melódica.
nos confins da galáxia havia um planetinha isolado. Era um planeta feliz.
O homem vestido de mago começava a aparecer por detrás da fumaça verde.
O planetinha recebeu três presentes, mas o seu habitante, o homem, estava num estado de confusão tão grande que ameaçava estragá-los. Os homens já havia escravizado o primeiro presente, a vida; lutavam contra o segundo presente, a morte; e havia alguns que achavam que deviam destruir totalmente o terceiro, o amor, e com isto levar a desordem total ao pobre planetinha perdido, que se chamava Terra.
O coro desafinado entrou antes do "Terra" cantando várias vezes, como se imitasse um eco, "terra-terra-terraaa". Depois de uma pausa dramática, o homem vestido de mago voltou a falar.
Terra, nossa nave mãe.
Neste momento eu me afastei. À frente do palco onde o mago e seu coral faziam apelos à multidão havia vários estandes cobertos com a tradicional armação de quatro pernas e lona branca. Em todos os cantos da praça havia gente, gente dos mais variados tipos. Visitantes curiosos que se aproximavam atraídos pela fumaça verde e as barraquinhas, gente que aproveitava o movimento para vender doces sem pagar imposto, casais que se abraçavam de pé para espantar o frio, os tradicionais corredores que faziam seu cooper, gente cheia de barba e vestida para imitar os hippies dos anos 60 e vender colares estendidos no chão, transeuntes novos e velhos, vestidos como baladeiros ou como ativistas do ônibus grátis, grupos de ciclistas entusiastas.
O mago fazia agora apelos para que nós, os homens, habitantes do isolado planetinha, passássemos a ver o planetinha, nossa nave mãe, como um todo, e adquiríssemos a consciência de que ele estava entrando em maus lençóis. A idéia, reforçada pela logomarca do evento, era que parássemos de olhar só para a nossa vida e pensássemos no planeta.
A logomarca do evento, um desenho estilizado do planeta Terra, nada tinha a ver com seu nome: "Festival Andando de Bem com a Vida", mas havia sido ali colocada estrategicamente pelos organizadores, de quem parecia justamente sair a mensagem dita pelo mago.
Aquela multidão de pessoas que, assim como eu, tinham suas próprias preocupações, não podiam ver o quadro caótico que formavam, cada uma com seus atos isolados, ali naquela praça isolada, naquele planeta isolado. Quando o hippie barbudo, quase um Osho, assustava um casal para tentar vender-lhes um colar, a quantidade de caos que isto acrescentava à cena era gigantesca. Por um segundo, pude ver, como se estivesse de longe e acima, com toda a pretensão que este estado imaginativo carrega, a cena completa do caos.
Uma nave-mãe, dessas de ficção científica, habitada por milhões de pessoas, seguia no espaço sem rumo, e sem saber que logo à frente um longo precipício espacial a esperava, para a desgraça completa sua e de seus habitantes.
Acostumados àquela nave tanto quanto outrora estiveram acostumados à sua terra natal, os homens viviam as próprias vidas sem nem se lembrar que estavam vagando pelo espaço. Ninguém sabia quem estava conduzindo a nave, e ninguém se importava.
No final do filme descobre-se que era a soma completa do caos que cada habitante produzia, com seus gestos egoístas e incapazes de levar em conta a totalidade, é que determinava a direção da nave-mãe. O efeito, no entanto, não era imediato, como nunca é. Havia gente de verdade encarregada de conduzir a nave, mas era uma gente bêbada, mau-caráter, que vivia brigando pelo controle da nave e o poder que isto lhes dava. Poder, status, dinheiro!
Essa gente bêbada era atraída até ali pela corrupção das instituições e da moral comum que, no fundo no fundo, era causada pelo egoísmo da população, através de um complexo -- mas que no filme aparece simplificado pela ação individual de um magnata do divertimento público -- processo social.
O homem vestido de mago era mais um agente causador de caos, com sua cena cheia de fumaça e sua roupa estroboscópica, ele achava que estava fazendo o bem ao alertar sua platéia, todos as sextas-feiras, de que havia algo que precisava ser feito, que cada um que estava ali ouvindo era responsável pelo planeta. A sua incapacidade, porém, de explicar o que precisava ser feito só aumentava a angústia geral; a culpa que ele jogava sobre seu público, e que era prontamente aceita e passada em frente, aos familiares e amigos de cada um, atormentava-os diariamente e os impedia de ter uma vida decente no trabalho e em casa. As famílias, estressadas, estavam constantemente brigando e os motivos mais insignificantes eram responsáveis pelas mais horrendas conseqüências.
O mago, que após o show tirava o chapéu entortado e ia tomar cerveja num boteco, era responsável por uma parcela considerável do caos que levava a nave na direção do seu desgraçado fim. No filme, porém, um dos transeuntes que de passagem ouviu um pedaço do discurso do mago despertou em si mesmo uma consiência transformadora e, com poderes sobre-humanos que lhe foram então concedidos por uma ordem iniciática do bem ou não, usando só os seus poderes humanos mesmo, o transeunte -- na primeira versão do filme um homem, na segunda uma mulher -- consegue consertar as instituições e retirar os bêbados da condução da máquina. A questão da moral pública é ignorada para abreviar a trama, já com duas horas e quarenta de duração, mas subentende-se que ela também fora resolvida.
No planeta Terra real, que não está indo em direção alguma, preso pela gravidade ao Sol, e onde as pessoas vivem a própria vida porque lhes é impossível viver a dos outros, não têm uma consciência global de nada porque só é possível mesmo ter a consciência delas mesmas, e onde a maioria, de uma maneira ou de outra, está tentando como pode, fazer as coisas direito, o filme é exibido.
Para a maioria dos espectadores, é um filme que evoca reflexões, um filme forte. Por um segundo elas têm o mesmo vislumbre do caos generalizado que eu tive ali naquela praça. Para uma pequena parcela dos espectadores -- entre eles alguns dos que estavam na platéia do mago, o próprio mago, o seguidor do Osho, o casal de duas mulheres e o vendedor de brigadeiros, mas aos quais se somam também críticos de televisão e jornal e gente que fala pelos cotovelos na internet -- o filme é um horror, o filme é uma vulgarização de um problema real e sério, o filme apela para a figura do herói salvador e passa uma mensagem totalmente errada, de que a maioria da população pode continuar vivendo as suas própria vidinhas miseráveis enquanto espera por um herói que vem do Olimpo e os salva da mixórdia que eles mesmos causaram, é um filme que presta um enorme desserviço à causa.
No dia seguinte ao lançamento, num bar meio caro ali perto da praça, numa mesa com oito pessoas, entre elas seis do primeiro grupo e oito do segundo, discute-se se o filme levará ou não o Oscar. Eu estou em casa dormindo e não escuto nada.
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@ f977c464:32fcbe00
2024-01-11 18:47:47Kendisini aynada ilk defa gördüğü o gün, diğerleri gibi olduğunu anlamıştı. Oysaki her insan biricik olmalıydı. Sözgelimi sinirlendiğinde bir kaşı diğerinden birkaç milimetre daha az çatılabilirdi veya sevindiğinde dudağı ona has bir açıyla dalgalanabilirdi. Hatta bunların hiçbiri mümkün değilse, en azından, gözlerinin içinde sadece onun sahip olabileceği bir ışık parlayabilirdi. Çok sıradan, öyle sıradan ki kimsenin fark etmediği o milyonlarca minik şeyden herhangi biri. Ne olursa.
Ama yansımasına bakarken bunların hiçbirini bulamadı ve diğer günlerden hiç de farklı başlamamış o gün, işe gitmek için vagonunun gelmesini beklediği alelade bir metro istasyonunda, içinde kaybolduğu illüzyon dağılmaya başladı.
İlk önce derisi döküldü. Tam olarak dökülmedi aslında, daha çok kıvılcımlara dönüşüp bedeninden fırlamış ve bir an sonra sönerek külleşmiş, havada dağılmıştı. Ardında da, kaybolmadan hemen önce, kısa süre için hayal meyal görülebilen, bir ruhun yok oluşuna ağıt yakan rengârenk peri cesetleri bırakmıştı. Beklenenin aksine, havaya toz kokusu yayıldı.
Dehşete düştü elbette. Dehşete düştüler. Panikle üstlerini yırtan 50 işçi. Her şeyin sebebiyse o vagon.
Saçları da döküldü. Her tel, yere varmadan önce, her santimde ikiye ayrıla ayrıla yok oldu.
Bütün yüzeylerin mat olduğu, hiçbir şeyin yansımadığı, suyun siyah aktığı ve kendine ancak kameralarla bakabildiğin bir dünyada, vagonun içine yerleştirilmiş bir aynadan ilk defa kendini görmek.
Gözlerinin akları buharlaşıp havada dağıldı, mercekleri boşalan yeri doldurmak için eriyip yayıldı. Gerçeği görmemek için yaratılmış, bu yüzden görmeye hazır olmayan ve hiç olmayacak gözler.
Her şeyin o anda sona erdiğini sanabilirdi insan. Derin bir karanlık ve ölüm. Görmenin görmek olduğu o anın bitişi.
Ben geldiğimde ölmüşlerdi.
Yani bozulmuşlardı demek istiyorum.
Belleklerini yeni taşıyıcılara takmam mümkün olmadı. Fiziksel olarak kusursuz durumdaydılar, olmayanları da tamir edebilirdim ama tüm o hengamede kendilerini baştan programlamış ve girdilerini modifiye etmişlerdi.
Belleklerden birini masanın üzerinden ileriye savurdu. Hınca hınç dolu bir barda oturuyorlardı. O ve arkadaşı.
Sırf şu kendisini insan sanan androidler travma geçirip delirmesin diye neler yapıyoruz, insanın aklı almıyor.
Eliyle arkasını işaret etti.
Polislerin söylediğine göre biri vagonun içerisine ayna yerleştirmiş. Bu zavallılar da kapı açılıp bir anda yansımalarını görünce kafayı kırmışlar.
Arkadaşı bunların ona ne hissettirdiğini sordu. Yani o kadar bozuk, insan olduğunu sanan androidi kendilerini parçalamış olarak yerde görmek onu sarsmamış mıydı?
Hayır, sonuçta belirli bir amaç için yaratılmış şeyler onlar. Kaliteli bir bilgisayarım bozulduğunda üzülürüm çünkü parasını ben vermişimdir. Bunlarsa devletin. Bana ne ki?
Arkadaşı anlayışla kafasını sallayıp suyundan bir yudum aldı. Kravatını biraz gevşetti.
Bira istemediğinden emin misin?
İstemediğini söyledi. Sahi, neden deliriyordu bu androidler?
Basit. Onların yapay zekâlarını kodlarken bir şeyler yazıyorlar. Yazılımcılar. Biliyorsun, ben donanımdayım. Bunlar da kendilerini insan sanıyorlar. Tiplerine bak.
Sesini alçalttı.
Arabalarda kaza testi yapılan mankenlere benziyor hepsi. Ağızları burunları bile yok ama şu geldiğimizden beri sakalını düzeltip duruyor mesela. Hayır, hepsi de diğerleri onun sakalı varmış sanıyor, o manyak bir şey.
Arkadaşı bunun delirmeleriyle bağlantısını çözemediğini söyledi. O da normal sesiyle konuşmaya devam etti.
Anlasana, aynayı falan ayırt edemiyor mercekleri. Lönk diye kendilerini görüyorlar. Böyle, olduğu gibi...
Nedenmiş peki? Ne gerek varmış?
Ne bileyim be abicim! Ahiret soruları gibi.
Birasına bakarak dalıp gitti. Sonra masaya abanarak arkadaşına iyice yaklaştı. Bulanık, bir tünelin ucundaki biri gibi, şekli şemalı belirsiz bir adam.
Ben seni nereden tanıyorum ki ulan? Kimsin sen?
Belleği makineden çıkardılar. İki kişiydiler. Soruşturmadan sorumlu memurlar.
─ Baştan mı başlıyoruz, diye sordu belleği elinde tutan ilk memur.
─ Bir kere daha deneyelim ama bu sefer direkt aynayı sorarak başla, diye cevapladı ikinci memur.
─ Bence de. Yeterince düzgün çalışıyor.
Simülasyon yüklenirken, ayakta, biraz arkada duran ve alnını kaşıyan ikinci memur sormaktan kendisini alamadı:
─ Bu androidleri niye böyle bir olay yerine göndermişler ki? Belli tost olacakları. İsraf. Gidip biz baksak aynayı kırıp delilleri mahvetmek zorunda da kalmazlar.
Diğer memur sandalyesinde hafifçe dönecek oldu, o sırada soruyu bilgisayarın hoparlöründen teknisyen cevapladı.
Hangi işimizde bir yamukluk yok ki be abi.
Ama bir son değildi. Üstlerindeki tüm illüzyon dağıldığında ve çıplak, cinsiyetsiz, birbirinin aynı bedenleriyle kaldıklarında sıra dünyaya gelmişti.
Yere düştüler. Elleri -bütün bedeni gibi siyah turmalinden, boğumları çelikten- yere değdiği anda, metronun zemini dağıldı.
Yerdeki karolar öncesinde beyazdı ve çok parlaktı. Tepelerindeki floresan, ışığını olduğu gibi yansıtıyor, tek bir lekenin olmadığı ve tek bir tozun uçmadığı istasyonu aydınlatıyorlardı.
Duvarlara duyurular asılmıştı. Örneğin, yarın akşam kültür merkezinde 20.00’da başlayacak bir tekno blues festivalinin cıvıl cıvıl afişi vardı. Onun yanında daha geniş, sarı puntolu harflerle yazılmış, yatay siyah kesiklerle çerçevesi çizilmiş, bir platformdan düşen çöp adamın bulunduğu “Dikkat! Sarı bandı geçmeyin!” uyarısı. Biraz ilerisinde günlük resmi gazete, onun ilerisinde bir aksiyon filminin ve başka bir romantik komedi filminin afişleri, yapılacakların ve yapılmayacakların söylendiği küçük puntolu çeşitli duyurular... Duvar uzayıp giden bir panoydu. On, on beş metrede bir tekrarlanıyordu.
Tüm istasyonun eni yüz metre kadar. Genişliği on metre civarı.
Önlerinde, açık kapısından o mendebur aynanın gözüktüğü vagon duruyordu. Metro, istasyona sığmayacak kadar uzundu. Bir kılıcın keskinliğiyle uzanıyor ama yer yer vagonların ek yerleriyle bölünüyordu.
Hiçbir vagonda pencere olmadığı için metronun içi, içlerindekiler meçhuldü.
Sonrasında karolar zerrelerine ayrılarak yükseldi. Floresanın ışığında her yeri toza boğdular ve ortalığı gri bir sisin altına gömdüler. Çok kısa bir an. Afişleri dalgalandırmadılar. Dalgalandırmaya vakitleri olmadı. Yerlerinden söküp aldılar en fazla. Işık birkaç kere sönüp yanarak direndi. Son kez söndüğünde bir daha geri gelmedi.
Yine de etraf aydınlıktı. Kırmızı, her yere eşit dağılan soluk bir ışıkla.
Yer tamamen tele dönüşmüştü. Altında çapraz hatlarla desteklenmiş demir bir iskelet. Işık birkaç metreden daha fazla aşağıya uzanamıyordu. Sonsuzluğa giden bir uçurum.
Duvarın yerini aynı teller ve demir iskelet almıştı. Arkasında, birbirine vidalarla tutturulmuş demir plakalardan oluşan, üstünden geçen boruların ek yerlerinden bazen ince buharların çıktığı ve bir süre asılı kaldıktan sonra ağır, yağlı bir havayla sürüklendiği bir koridor.
Diğer tarafta paslanmış, pencerelerindeki camlar kırıldığı için demir plakalarla kapatılmış külüstür bir metro. Kapının karşısındaki aynadan her şey olduğu gibi yansıyordu.
Bir konteynırın içini andıran bir evde, gerçi gayet de birbirine eklenmiş konteynırlardan oluşan bir şehirde “andıran” demek doğru olmayacağı için düpedüz bir konteynırın içinde, masaya mum görüntüsü vermek için koyulmuş, yarı katı yağ atıklarından şekillendirilmiş kütleleri yakmayı deniyordu. Kafasında hayvan kıllarından yapılmış grili siyahlı bir peruk. Aynı kıllardan kendisine gür bir bıyık da yapmıştı.
Üstünde mavi çöp poşetlerinden yapılmış, kravatlı, şık bir takım.
Masanın ayakları yerine oradan buradan çıkmış parçalar konulmuştu: bir arabanın şaft mili, üst üste konulmuş ve üstünde yazı okunamayan tenekeler, boş kitaplar, boş gazete balyaları... Hiçbir şeye yazı yazılmıyordu, gerek yoktu da zaten çünkü merkez veri bankası onları fark ettirmeden, merceklerden giren veriyi sentezleyerek insanlar için dolduruyordu. Yani, androidler için. Farklı şekilde isimlendirmek bir fark yaratacaksa.
Onların mercekleri için değil. Bağlantıları çok önceden kopmuştu.
─ Hayatım, sofra hazır, diye bağırdı yatak odasındaki karısına.
Sofrada tabak yerine düz, bardak yerine bükülmüş, çatal ve bıçak yerine sivriltilmiş plakalar.
Karısı salonun kapısında durakladı ve ancak kulaklarına kadar uzanan, kocasınınkine benzeyen, cansız, ölü hayvanların kıllarından ibaret peruğunu eliyle düzeltti. Dudağını, daha doğrusu dudağının olması gereken yeri koyu kırmızı bir yağ tabakasıyla renklendirmeyi denemişti. Biraz da yanaklarına sürmüştü.
─ Nasıl olmuş, diye sordu.
Sesi tek düzeydi ama hafif bir neşe olduğunu hissettiğinize yemin edebilirdiniz.
Üzerinde, çöp poşetlerinin içini yazısız gazete kağıtlarıyla doldurarak yaptığı iki parça giysi.
─ Çok güzelsin, diyerek kravatını düzeltti kocası.
─ Sen de öylesin, sevgilim.
Yaklaşıp kocasını öptü. Kocası da onu. Sonra nazikçe elinden tutarak, sandalyesini geriye çekerek oturmasına yardım etti.
Sofrada yemek niyetine hiçbir şey yoktu. Gerek de yoktu zaten.
Konteynırın kapısı gürültüyle tekmelenip içeri iki memur girene kadar birbirlerine öyküler anlattılar. O gün neler yaptıklarını. İşten erken çıkıp yemyeşil çimenlerde gezdiklerini, uçurtma uçurduklarını, kadının nasıl o elbiseyi bulmak için saatlerce gezip yorulduğunu, kocasının kısa süreliğine işe dönüp nasıl başarılı bir hamleyle yaşanan krizi çözdüğünü ve kadının yanına döndükten sonra, alışveriş merkezinde oturdukları yeni dondurmacının dondurmalarının ne kadar lezzetli olduğunu, boğazlarının ağrımasından korktuklarını...
Akşam film izleyebilirlerdi, televizyonda -boş ve mat bir plaka- güzel bir film oynayacaktı.
İki memur. Çıplak bedenleriyle birbirinin aynı. Ellerindeki silahları onlara doğrultmuşlardı. Mum ışığında, tertemiz bir örtünün serili olduğu masada, bardaklarında şaraplarla oturan ve henüz sofranın ortasındaki hindiye dokunmamış çifti gördüklerinde bocaladılar.
Hiç de androidlere bilinçli olarak zarar verebilecek gibi gözükmüyorlardı.
─ Sessiz kalma hakkına sahipsiniz, diye bağırdı içeri giren ikinci memur. Söylediğiniz her şey...
Cümlesini bitiremedi. Yatak odasındaki, masanın üzerinden gördüğü o şey, onunla aynı hareketleri yapan android, yoksa, bir aynadaki yansıması mıydı?
Bütün illüzyon o anda dağılmaya başladı.
Not: Bu öykü ilk olarak 2020 yılında Esrarengiz Hikâyeler'de yayımlanmıştır.
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@ 878dff7c:037d18bc
2025-03-31 21:29:17Dutton Proposes Easing Home Loan Regulations
Summary:
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton plans to challenge the Albanese government by proposing changes to lending rules aimed at making it easier for first-time home buyers to access loans. The proposed adjustments include reducing serviceability buffers and addressing the treatment of HELP debt to improve housing access. Dutton argues that current regulations create a bias favoring inherited wealth, making it difficult for new buyers to enter the housing market. These proposals come as the Reserve Bank of Australia prepares for its upcoming interest rate decision, with the current cash rate target at 4.1% and predictions of a cut in May. Treasurer Jim Chalmers highlights the government's progress, noting falling inflation, rising real wages, and improving economic growth.
Sources: News.com.au - 1 April 2025, The Australian - 1 April 2025
Australia's Housing Market Hits New Record High
Summary:
Australia's property prices reached a new peak in March, following a rate cut that enhanced buyer optimism. CoreLogic reported a 0.4% monthly increase, bringing the average national property price to A$820,331. All capital cities, except Hobart, experienced price gains, with Sydney and Melbourne rising by 0.3% and 0.5%, respectively. The rate cut slightly improved borrowing capacity and mortgage serviceability. However, the sustainability of this upward trend is uncertain due to persistent affordability issues. While the market rebounded with the February rate cut by the Reserve Bank of Australia, significant improvements in home loan serviceability are necessary for substantial market growth.
Source: Reuters - 1 April 2025
AI Revolutionizes Business Operations
Summary:
Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming business practices globally, with applications ranging from administrative task automation to strategic decision-making enhancements. Companies are increasingly integrating AI to streamline operations and gain competitive advantages. This shift necessitates a focus on ethical AI deployment and workforce upskilling to address potential job displacement.
Sources: Financial Times - April 1, 2025
Criticism of Bureau of Meteorology's Forecasting Capabilities
Summary:
The Bureau of Meteorology is facing criticism for inadequate weather radar coverage in western Queensland, which has led to unreliable forecasting during the recent floods. Federal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has pledged $10 million for a new radar system to enhance forecasting accuracy, while local officials emphasize the need for improved infrastructure to better prepare for future natural disasters.
Sources: The Australian - April 1, 2025
Coalition Pledges $10 Million for Western Queensland Weather Radar
Summary:
As part of the federal election campaign, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has promised $10 million for a new weather radar system in flood-affected western Queensland. This initiative aims to improve weather forecasting and preparedness in the region. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has pledged $200 million for an upgrade to the St John of God Midland hospital in Perth, emphasizing healthcare improvements. Both leaders are focusing on key regional investments as the election approaches.
Source: The Guardian - April 1, 2025
Emergency Services Conduct Rescues Amid Queensland Floods
Summary:
Emergency services in Queensland have conducted over 40 rescues as floodwaters continue to rise, submerging communities and causing extensive damage. Efforts are focused on delivering essential supplies, evacuating residents, and ensuring the safety of those affected by the severe weather conditions.
Sources: The Courier-Mail - April 1, 2025
Six Key Crises Facing Australia Before the Election
Summary:
As the election nears, voters remain largely unaware of six looming crises that could significantly impact the nation. These include over-reliance on volatile commodity exports, challenges in renewable energy implementation, potential currency depreciation, and reduced foreign investment. Both major parties have focused on immediate cost-of-living relief, overshadowing these critical issues that demand urgent attention.
Sources: The Australian - April 1, 2025
Debate Intensifies Over Australia's Commitment to AUKUS
Summary:
Former Defence Department Secretary Dennis Richardson has urged Australia to persist with the AUKUS submarine agreement despite concerns about the reliability of the U.S. under President Donald Trump. Richardson warns that abandoning the deal now would undermine decades of defense planning. However, critics, including former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, question the feasibility and advisability of the agreement, suggesting alternatives such as partnering with France for submarine development.
Sources: The Guardian - April 1, 2025, The Australian - April 1, 2025
China Delays $23B Sale of Panama Canal Ports to US-Backed Consortium
Summary:
China has postponed the $23 billion sale of 43 global ports, including critical facilities at both ends of the Panama Canal, to a consortium led by US investment firm BlackRock. The delay follows an investigation by China’s State Administration for Market Regulation into potential anti-monopoly law violations. This unexpected move has heightened tensions between China and the US, as President Trump viewed the sale as a strategic victory in the ongoing power struggle between the two nations. The deal's future remains uncertain, causing political and economic ripples amid China's significant annual "two sessions" gathering.
Sources: New York Post - March 31, 2025
Australian Government's Handling of Suspected Chinese Spy Ship Raises Concerns
Summary:
The Australian government has assigned the monitoring of the suspected Chinese spy ship, Tan Suo Yi Hao, to the Australian Border Force, despite Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's assertion that the Australian Defence Force was managing the situation. Security experts believe the vessel is collecting undersea data for future Chinese submarine operations, highlighting national security concerns during an election period. The handling of this issue has led to criticism and confusion over which agency is in charge, with opposition figures condemning the government's lack of detailed information.
Sources: The Australian - April 1, 2025
Concerns Rise Over Schoolchildren Accessing Weight Loss Drugs
Summary:
Health experts are alarmed by reports of Australian schoolchildren accessing weight loss medications like semaglutide (Ozempic) through various means, including online purchases and taking them from home supplies. These substances are being linked to secretive and harmful diet clubs within schools, posing severe health risks such as potentially fatal overdoses. Advocates emphasize the need for stricter regulation of weight loss products and call for mandatory education programs on eating disorders in schools to address the growing issue.
Sources: The Courier-Mail - 1 April 2025
Recycling Plant Explosion Highlights Dangers of Improper Aerosol Disposal
Summary:
A Victorian company has been fined $35,000 after an explosion at its recycling plant injured six workers. The incident occurred when pressurized aerosol cans were improperly shredded, causing flames to spread up to 18 meters. Investigations revealed that the company failed to implement safety procedures such as emptying or puncturing the cans before shredding and ensuring adequate ventilation. This case underscores the critical importance of adhering to safety protocols when handling hazardous materials.
Sources: Herald Sun - 1 April 2025
Australia Enforces New Tobacco Controls from April 1
Summary:
As of April 1, 2025, Australia has implemented stringent tobacco control measures, including health warnings printed directly on individual cigarettes. These warnings feature phrases such as "CAUSES 16 CANCERS" and "DAMAGES YOUR LUNGS." Additionally, new graphic warnings on cigarette packs and health promotion inserts aim to encourage smoking cessation and raise awareness about the dangers of tobacco use.
Sources: Mirage News - April 1, 2025, 9News - April 1, 2025
OPEC+ Increases Oil Production Amid Global Uncertainties
Summary:
OPEC+ has announced the gradual unwinding of voluntary production cuts starting April 1, 2025, aiming to restore 2.2 million barrels per day of output by September 2026. Despite this increase, factors such as tighter U.S. sanctions on Iran and Russia, potential sanctions on Venezuelan oil buyers, and fears of a tariff-induced recession have sustained oil prices. Analysts predict limited downside risks to oil prices due to significant supply threats, mainly from Iran and Venezuela. While some strength in oil prices is expected during the summer, concerns over tariff-induced demand weakness persist.
Sources: MarketWatch - April 1, 2025
Iconic Australian Locations Declared 'No Go Zones'
Summary:
Several iconic Australian locations, including Uluru, Kakadu National Park, Cape York Peninsula, and others, are increasingly being declared "no go zones" due to cultural, environmental, and safety concerns. These measures aim to preserve the cultural significance and environmental integrity of these landmarks and ensure public safety. While traditional owners and local authorities support these restrictions to protect cultural heritage, debates have arisen over tourists' rights and the impact on local tourism industries. Sources: News.com.au - April 1, 2025
The Joe Rogan Experience #2297: Francis Foster & Konstantin Kisin
Summary:
In episode #2297 of The Joe Rogan Experience, Joe Rogan welcomes comedians and commentators Francis Foster and Konstantin Kisin, hosts of the podcast Triggernometry. The episode delivers a wide-ranging conversation covering free speech, comedy, media narratives, and societal tensions in the modern world.
Interesting Discussions and Insights:
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The State of Comedy:\ The trio discusses how comedy has changed in recent years, especially under the weight of cancel culture. They explore how comedians are navigating cultural sensitivities while still trying to push boundaries and remain authentic.
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Free Speech and Censorship:\ Konstantin and Francis share their experiences with censorship and self-censorship, emphasizing the risks of suppressing ideas, even if they’re controversial. They advocate for robust debate as a cornerstone of democracy.
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Migration and Identity Politics:\ The conversation touches on immigration policies in the UK and broader Western world, discussing how political correctness often silences real concerns. Both guests, with immigrant backgrounds, offer nuanced perspectives on national identity and inclusion.
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Media and Narrative Control:\ Joe, Francis, and Konstantin dive into how media outlets often frame stories with ideological slants, and the dangers of relying on one-sided narratives in forming public opinion.
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Creating Triggernometry:\ The guests talk about why they launched their podcast — to have honest, open conversations with a wide range of thinkers, especially those often excluded from mainstream platforms.
Key Takeaways:
- Honest conversation is essential for a healthy society, even when it's uncomfortable.
- Comedy still holds power to critique society but faces mounting challenges from cultural pressures.
- Free speech should be defended not just in principle, but in everyday life and dialogue.
- The media landscape is increasingly polarized, and critical thinking is more important than ever.
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@ 8fb140b4:f948000c
2023-11-21 21:37:48Embarking on the journey of operating your own Lightning node on the Bitcoin Layer 2 network is more than just a tech-savvy endeavor; it's a step into a realm of financial autonomy and cutting-edge innovation. By running a node, you become a vital part of a revolutionary movement that's reshaping how we think about money and digital transactions. This role not only offers a unique perspective on blockchain technology but also places you at the heart of a community dedicated to decentralization and network resilience. Beyond the technicalities, it's about embracing a new era of digital finance, where you contribute directly to the network's security, efficiency, and growth, all while gaining personal satisfaction and potentially lucrative rewards.
In essence, running your own Lightning node is a powerful way to engage with the forefront of blockchain technology, assert financial independence, and contribute to a more decentralized and efficient Bitcoin network. It's an adventure that offers both personal and communal benefits, from gaining in-depth tech knowledge to earning a place in the evolving landscape of cryptocurrency.
Running your own Lightning node for the Bitcoin Layer 2 network can be an empowering and beneficial endeavor. Here are 10 reasons why you might consider taking on this task:
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Direct Contribution to Decentralization: Operating a node is a direct action towards decentralizing the Bitcoin network, crucial for its security and resistance to control or censorship by any single entity.
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Financial Autonomy: Owning a node gives you complete control over your financial transactions on the network, free from reliance on third-party services, which can be subject to fees, restrictions, or outages.
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Advanced Network Participation: As a node operator, you're not just a passive participant but an active player in shaping the network, influencing its efficiency and scalability through direct involvement.
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Potential for Higher Revenue: With strategic management and optimal channel funding, your node can become a preferred route for transactions, potentially increasing the routing fees you can earn.
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Cutting-Edge Technological Engagement: Running a node puts you at the forefront of blockchain and bitcoin technology, offering insights into future developments and innovations.
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Strengthened Network Security: Each new node adds to the robustness of the Bitcoin network, making it more resilient against attacks and failures, thus contributing to the overall security of the ecosystem.
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Personalized Fee Structures: You have the flexibility to set your own fee policies, which can balance earning potential with the service you provide to the network.
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Empowerment Through Knowledge: The process of setting up and managing a node provides deep learning opportunities, empowering you with knowledge that can be applied in various areas of blockchain and fintech.
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Boosting Transaction Capacity: By running a node, you help to increase the overall capacity of the Lightning Network, enabling more transactions to be processed quickly and at lower costs.
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Community Leadership and Reputation: As an active node operator, you gain recognition within the Bitcoin community, which can lead to collaborative opportunities and a position of thought leadership in the space.
These reasons demonstrate the impactful and transformative nature of running a Lightning node, appealing to those who are deeply invested in the principles of bitcoin and wish to actively shape its future. Jump aboard, and embrace the journey toward full independence. 🐶🐾🫡🚀🚀🚀
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@ 8fb140b4:f948000c
2023-11-18 23:28:31Chef's notes
Serving these two dishes together will create a delightful centerpiece for your Thanksgiving meal, offering a perfect blend of traditional flavors with a homemade touch.
Details
- ⏲️ Prep time: 30 min
- 🍳 Cook time: 1 - 2 hours
- 🍽️ Servings: 4-6
Ingredients
- 1 whole turkey (about 12-14 lbs), thawed and ready to cook
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 2 tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh sage, chopped
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 onion, quartered
- 1 lemon, halved
- 2-3 cloves of garlic
- Apple and Sage Stuffing
- 1 loaf of crusty bread, cut into cubes
- 2 apples, cored and chopped
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup fresh sage, chopped
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 2 cups chicken broth
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Directions
- Preheat the Oven: Set your oven to 325°F (165°C).
- Prepare the Herb Butter: Mix the softened butter with the chopped thyme, rosemary, and sage. Season with salt and pepper.
- Prepare the Turkey: Remove any giblets from the turkey and pat it dry. Loosen the skin and spread a generous amount of herb butter under and over the skin.
- Add Aromatics: Inside the turkey cavity, place the quartered onion, lemon halves, and garlic cloves.
- Roast: Place the turkey in a roasting pan. Tent with aluminum foil and roast. A general guideline is about 15 minutes per pound, or until the internal temperature reaches 165°F (74°C) at the thickest part of the thigh.
- Rest and Serve: Let the turkey rest for at least 20 minutes before carving.
- Next: Apple and Sage Stuffing
- Dry the Bread: Spread the bread cubes on a baking sheet and let them dry overnight, or toast them in the oven.
- Cook the Vegetables: In a large skillet, melt the butter and cook the onion, celery, and garlic until soft.
- Combine Ingredients: Add the apples, sage, and bread cubes to the skillet. Stir in the chicken broth until the mixture is moist. Season with salt and pepper.
- Bake: Transfer the stuffing to a baking dish and bake at 350°F (175°C) for about 30-40 minutes, until golden brown on top.
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@ f3873798:24b3f2f3
2025-03-31 20:14:31Olá, nostrilianos!
O tema de hoje é inteligência artificial (IA), com foco em duas ferramentas que têm se destacado no mercado por sua capacidade de responder perguntas, auxiliar em tarefas e, em alguns casos, até gerar imagens.
Essas tecnologias estão cada vez mais presentes no dia a dia, ajudando desde a correção de textos até pesquisas rápidas e a criação de imagens personalizadas com base em prompts específicos.
Nesse cenário em expansão, duas IAs se sobressaem: o ChatGPT, desenvolvido pela OpenAI, e o Grok, criado pela xAI.
Ambas são ferramentas poderosas, cada uma com seus pontos fortes e limitações, e têm conquistado usuários ao redor do mundo. Neste artigo, compartilho minhas impressões sobre essas duas IAs, baseadas em minha experiência pessoal, destacando suas diferenças e vantagens.
Grok: Destaque na criação de imagens e fontes
O Grok me impressiona especialmente em dois aspectos.
Primeiro, sua capacidade de gerar imagens é um diferencial significativo. Enquanto o ChatGPT tem limitações nesse quesito, o Grok oferece uma funcionalidade mais robusta para criar visuais únicos a partir de prompts, o que pode ser uma vantagem para quem busca criatividade visual.
Segundo, o Grok frequentemente cita fontes ou indica a origem das informações que fornece, o que agrega credibilidade às suas respostas e facilita a verificação dos dados.
ChatGPT: Assertividade e clareza
Por outro lado, o ChatGPT se destaca pela assertividade e pela clareza em suas explicações. Suas respostas tendem a ser mais diretas e concisas, o que é ideal para quem busca soluções rápidas ou explicações objetivas.
Acredito que essa vantagem possa estar ligada ao fato de o ChatGPT estar em operação há mais tempo, tendo passado por anos de aprimoramento e ajustes com base em interações de usuários.Comparação e reflexões.
Em minha experiência, o Grok supera o ChatGPT na geração de imagens e na citação de fontes, enquanto o ChatGPT leva a melhor em precisão e simplicidade nas respostas.
Esses pontos refletem não apenas as prioridades de design de cada IA, mas também o tempo de desenvolvimento e os objetivos de suas respectivas empresas criadoras.
A OpenAI, por trás do ChatGPT, focou em refinamento conversacional, enquanto a xAI, com o Grok, parece investir em funcionalidades adicionais, como a criação de conteúdo visual.
Minha opinião
Não há um vencedor absoluto entre Grok e ChatGPT – a escolha depende do que você precisa. Se seu foco é geração de imagens ou rastreamento de fontes, o Grok pode ser a melhor opção. Se busca respostas rápidas e assertivas, o ChatGPT provavelmente atenderá melhor.
Ambas as IAs são ferramentas incríveis, e o mais fascinante é ver como elas continuam evoluindo, moldando o futuro da interação entre humanos e máquinas.
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@ 8fb140b4:f948000c
2023-11-02 01:13:01Testing a brand new YakiHonne native client for iOS. Smooth as butter (not penis butter 🤣🍆🧈) with great visual experience and intuitive navigation. Amazing work by the team behind it! * lists * work
Bold text work!
Images could have used nostr.build instead of raw S3 from us-east-1 region.
Very impressive! You can even save the draft and continue later, before posting the long-form note!
🐶🐾🤯🤯🤯🫂💜
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@ 8fb140b4:f948000c
2023-08-22 12:14:34As the title states, scratch behind my ear and you get it. 🐶🐾🫡
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@ 8fb140b4:f948000c
2023-07-30 00:35:01Test Bounty Note
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@ 866e0139:6a9334e5
2025-03-31 19:38:39
Autor: Carlos A. Gebauer. Dieser Beitrag wurde mit dem Pareto-Client geschrieben. Sie finden alle Texte der Friedenstaube und weitere Texte zum Thema Frieden hier.**
Am 18. März 1924 schenkte meine Großmutter ihren Töchtern einen kleinen Bruder. Weil sein Vater fürchtete, der Junge könnte unter seinen vier Schwestern verweichlichen, schickte er den Kleinen zu Wochenendfreizeiten einer örtlichen Pfadfindergruppe. Ein Weltkriegsveteran veranstaltete dort mit den Kindern Geländespiele quer durch die schlesischen Wälder. Man lernte, Essbares zu finden, Pilze zu bestimmen, sich im Freien zu orientieren und Feuer zu machen.
Bald wurde deutlich, dass der Heranwachsende auch nicht mehr in den Blockflötenkreis seiner Schwestern und ihrer Freundinnen passte. Das Umfeld befürwortete, sein besonderes musikalisches Talent auf das Klavierspiel und das Flügelhorn zu richten. Kontakte bei der anschließenden Kirchenmusik mündeten schließlich in den elterlichen Entschluss, den nun 14-jährigen in ein Musikschulinternat zu schicken.
Es begann der Zweite Weltkrieg
Ein Jahr später, das erste Heimweh hatte sich langsam beruhigt, änderten sich die Verhältnisse schlagartig. Es begann der Zweite Weltkrieg. Mitschüler unter den jungen Musikern erfuhren, dass ihre älteren Brüder nun Soldaten werden mussten. Noch hielt sich die Gemeinschaft der jetzt 15-jährigen im Internat aber an einer Hoffnung fest: Bis sie selbst in das wehrfähige Alter kommen würden, müsste der Krieg längst beendet sein. In dieser Stimmungslage setzten sie ihre Ausbildung fort.
Es kam anders. Für den 18-jährigen erfolgte die befürchtete Einberufung in Form des „Gestellungsbefehls“. Entsprechend seiner Fähigkeiten sah man ihn zunächst für ein Musikkorps vor und schickte ihn zu einer ersten Grundausbildung nach Südfrankreich. Bei Nizza fand er sich nun plötzlich zwischen Soldaten, die Handgranaten in das Mittelmeer warfen, um Fische zu fangen. Es war das erste Mal, dass er fürchtete, infolge Explosionslärms sein Gehör zu verlieren. In den kommenden Jahren sollte er oft die Ohren zu- und den Mund offenhalten müssen, um sich wenigstens die Möglichkeit der angezielten Berufsausübung zu erhalten – wenn es überhaupt je dazu kommen würde.
DIE FRIEDENSTAUBE FLIEGT AUCH IN IHR POSTFACH!
Hier können Sie die Friedenstaube abonnieren und bekommen die Artikel zugesandt, vorerst für alle kostenfrei, wir starten gänzlich ohne Paywall. (Die Bezahlabos fangen erst zu laufen an, wenn ein Monetarisierungskonzept für die Inhalte steht). Sie wollen der Genossenschaft beitreten oder uns unterstützen? Mehr Infos hier oder am Ende des Textes.
Schon nach kurzer Zeit änderte sich die Befehlslage wieder. Der Musikstudent wurde nun zum Infanteristen und nach Russland an die Front verbracht. Vor ihm lagen jetzt drei Kriegsjahre: Gewalt, Dreck, Gewehrkugeln, Panzerschlachten, Granatsplitter, Luftangriffe, Entbehrungen, Hunger, Kälte, sieben Verwundungen, Blut und Schmerzen, Sterbende überall, Tote, Schreiende. Verzweiflung. Sorgen. Ängste. Todesangst. Zurückweichen? Verboten! Und die stets klare Ansage dazu: Wer nicht da vorne gegen den Feind um sein Leben kämpft, dem wird es ganz sicher da hinten von den eigenen Kameraden genommen.
Ein gewährter Fronturlaub 1944 versprach glückliche Momente. Zurück zu den Eltern, zurück zu den Schwestern, zurück nach Freiburg. Doch die Familie war nicht zu Hause, die Türen verschlossen. Eine Nachbarin öffnete ihr Fenster und rief dem Ratlosen zu: „Beeil‘ dich! Renn‘ zum Friedhof. Der Vater ist tot. Sie sind alle bei der Beerdigung!“ Wieder hieß es, qualvoll Abschied nehmen. Zurück an die Front.
Nach einem weiteren russischen Winter brach sich unübersehbar die Erkenntnis Bahn, dass der Krieg nun seinem Ende zugehe. Doch das Bemühen im Rückzug, sich mit einem versprengten Haufen irgendwie Richtung Heimat orientieren zu können, wurde doppelt jäh unterbrochen. Fanatische Vorgesetzte befahlen die längst Geschlagenen wieder gen Osten. Kurz darauf fielen sie heranrückenden russischen Truppen in die Hände.
Kriegsgefangenschaft: Tabakration gegen Brot
Drei Jahre dem Tod entgangen, schwer verletzt und erschöpft war der 21-jährige also nun ein Kriegsgefangener. Jetzt lagen drei Jahre russischer Kriegsgefangenschaft vor ihm. Ständig war unklar, wie es weiterginge. Unmöglich jedenfalls, sich noch wie ein Pfadfinder aus den Wäldern zu ernähren. Es begannen die Jahre des Schlafens auf Brettern, die Zeit der ziellosen Zugtransporte an unbekannte Orte. Niemand sprach. Nur der Sonnenstand machte klar: Es ging nie Richtung Heimat, sondern immer weiter nach Osten. Weil der Blechbläser nicht rauchte, konnte er seine Tabakration gegen Brot tauschen. So überlebte er auch die Zeit des Hungers und der Morde in den Lagern, die Horrorbilder der nachts Erschlagenen und in die Latrinen geworfenen Toten, der sinnlosen Zwangsarbeiten und der allgegenwärtigen Wanzen. Wer versuchte zu fliehen, der wurde erschossen und sein Körper zur Abschreckung in den Fangdrähten belassen. Im Sommer stanken die dort verwesenden Leichen, wenn nicht Vögel sie rechtzeitig gefressen hatten.
Als der 24-jährige schließlich sechs Jahre nach seiner Einberufung aus russischer Kriegsgefangenschaft entlassen wurde, gab es kein Zurück mehr in seine schlesische Heimat. Abgemagert reiste er der vertriebenen Mutter nach, die mit seinen Schwestern und Millionen anderen Flüchtlingen im Westen Deutschlands verteilt worden war. Kraft Ordnungsverfügung wohnte sie jetzt im sauerländischen Bad Laasphe in einem schimmligen Garagenanbau. Als ihn ein Passant auf dieser Reise morgens allein, nur mit einem Becher an der Schnur um den Hals, auf Krücken durch Berlin ziehen sah, gab er ihm schweigend sein Butterbrot.
Der kleine, sanfte Junge aus dem schlesischen Freiburg hat danach noch 60 Jahre gelebt. Es dauerte zunächst sechs Jahre, bis er wieder kräftig genug war, ein Instrument zu spielen. 30-jährig saß er dann endlich in einem Orchester und begann ein normales Berufsleben. Aber sein Körper und seine Seele waren für immer aus jeder Normalität gerissen.
Irgendwo in Russland war ihm die linke Hüfte so versteift worden, dass sich seine Beine im Liegen an Wade und Schienbein überkreuzten. Er musste also stets den Oberkörper vorbeugen, um überhaupt laufen zu können. Über die Jahrzehnte verzog sich so sein gesamter Knochenbau. Jeder Tag brachte neue orthopädische Probleme und Schmerzen. Ärzte, Masseure, Physiotherapeuten, Schmerzmittel und Spezialausrüstungen aller Art prägten die Tagesabläufe. Asymmetrisch standen seine Schuhe nebeneinander, die ein Spezialschuster ihm mit erhöhter Sohle und Seitenstabilisierung am Knöchel fertigte. Sessel oder Sofas waren ihm nicht nutzbar, da er nur auf einem Spezialstuhl mit halb abgesenkter Sitzfläche Ruhe fand. Auf fremden Stühlen konnte er nur deren Vorderkante nutzen.
"In den Nächten schrie er im Schlaf"
Und auch wenn er sich ohne Krankheitstage bis zuletzt durch seinen Berufsalltag kämpfte, so gab es doch viele Tage voller entsetzlicher Schmerzen, wenn sich seine verdrehte Wirbelsäule zur Migräne in den Kopf bohrte. Bei alledem hörte man ihn allerdings niemals über sein Schicksal klagen. Er ertrug den ganzen Wahnsinn mit einer unbeschreiblichen Duldsamkeit. Nur in den Nächten schrie er bisweilen im Schlaf. In einem seiner Alpträume fürchtete er, Menschen getötet zu haben. Aber auch das erzählte er jahrzehntelang einzig seiner Frau.
Als sich einige Jahre vor seinem Tod der orthopädische Zustand weiter verschlechterte, konsultierte er einen Operateur, um Entlastungsmöglichkeiten zu erörtern. Der legte ihn auf eine Untersuchungsliege und empfahl, Verbesserungsversuche zu unterlassen, weil sie die Lage allenfalls verschlechtern konnten. In dem Moment, als er sich von der Liege erheben sollte, wurde deutlich, dass ihm dies nicht gelang. Die gereichte Hand, um ihn hochzuziehen, ignorierte er. Stattdessen rieb er seinen Rumpf ganz alleine eine quälend lange Minute über die Fläche, bis er endlich einen Winkel fand, um sich selbst in die Senkrechte zu bugsieren. Sich nicht auf andere verlassen, war sein Überlebenskonzept. Jahre später, als sich sein Zustand noch weiter verschlechtert hatte, lächelte er über seine Behinderung: „Ich hätte schon vor 60 Jahren tot auf einem Acker in Russland liegen können.“ Alles gehe irgendwann vorbei, tröstete er sich. Das war das andere Überlebenskonzept: liebevoll, friedfertig und sanft anderen gegenüber, unerbittlich mit sich selbst.
Sechs Monate vor seinem Tod saß er morgens regungslos auf seinem Spezialstuhl. Eine Altenpflegerin fand ihn und schlug Alarm. Mit allen Kunstgriffen der medizinischen Technik wurde er noch einmal in das Leben zurückkatapultiert. Aber seine Kräfte waren erschöpft. Es schob sich das Grauen der Vergangenheit zwischen ihn und die Welt. Bettlägerig kreiste er um sich selbst, erkannte niemanden und starrte mit weit offenen Augen an die Decke. „Die Russen schmeißen wieder Brandbomben!“, war einer seiner letzten Sätze.
Der kleine Junge aus Schlesien ist nicht zu weich geraten. Er hat sein Leid mit unbeugsamer Duldsamkeit ertragen. Er trug es wohl als Strafe für das Leid, das er anderen anzutun genötigt worden war. An seinem Geburtstag blühen immer die Magnolien. In diesem Jahr zum hundertsten Mal.
Dieser Text wurde am 23.3.2024 erstveröffentlicht auf „eigentümlich frei“.
Carlos A. Gebauer studierte Philosophie, Neuere Geschichte, Sprach-, Rechts- und Musikwissenschaften in Düsseldorf, Bayreuth und Bonn. Sein juristisches Referendariat absolvierte er in Düsseldorf, u.a. mit Wahlstationen bei der Landesrundfunkanstalt NRW, bei der Spezialkammer für Kassenarztrecht des Sozialgerichtes Düsseldorf und bei dem Gnadenbeauftragten der Staatsanwaltschaft Düsseldorf.
Er war unter anderem als Rechtsanwalt und Notarvertreter bis er im November 2003 vom nordrhein-westfälischen Justizministerium zum Richter am Anwaltsgericht für den Bezirk der Rechtsanwaltskammer Düsseldorf ernannt wurde. Seit April 2012 arbeitet er in der Düsseldorfer Rechtsanwaltskanzlei Lindenau, Prior & Partner. Im Juni 2015 wählte ihn die Friedrich-August-von-Hayek-Gesellschaft zu ihrem Stellvertretenden Vorsitzenden. Seit Dezember 2015 ist er Richter im Zweiten Senat des Anwaltsgerichtshofes NRW.
1995 hatte er parallel zu seiner anwaltlichen Tätigkeit mit dem Verfassen gesellschaftspolitischer und juristischer Texte begonnen. Diese erschienen seither unter anderem in der Neuen Juristischen Wochenschrift (NJW), der Zeitschrift für Rechtspolitik (ZRP) in der Frankfurter Allgemeinen Zeitung, der Freien Presse Chemnitz, dem „Schweizer Monat“ oder dem Magazin für politische Kultur CICERO. Seit dem Jahr 2005 ist Gebauer ständiger Kolumnist und Autor des Magazins „eigentümlich frei“.
Gebauer glaubt als puristischer Liberaler unverbrüchlich an die sittliche Verpflichtung eines jeden einzelnen, sein Leben für sich selbst und für seine Mitmenschen verantwortlich zu gestalten; jede Fremdbestimmung durch Gesetze, staatliche Verwaltung, politischen Einfluss oder sonstige Gewalteinwirkung hat sich demnach auf ein ethisch vertretbares Minimum zu beschränken. Die Vorstellung eines europäischen Bundesstaates mit zentral detailsteuernder, supranationaler Staatsgewalt hält er für absurd und verfassungswidrig.
\ Aktuelle Bücher:
Hayeks Warnung vor der Knechtschaft (2024) – hier im Handel
Das Prinzip Verantwortungslosigkeit (2023) – hier im Handel
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@ 8fb140b4:f948000c
2023-07-22 09:39:48Intro
This short tutorial will help you set up your own Nostr Wallet Connect (NWC) on your own LND Node that is not using Umbrel. If you are a user of Umbrel, you should use their version of NWC.
Requirements
You need to have a working installation of LND with established channels and connectivity to the internet. NWC in itself is fairly light and will not consume a lot of resources. You will also want to ensure that you have a working installation of Docker, since we will use a docker image to run NWC.
- Working installation of LND (and all of its required components)
- Docker (with Docker compose)
Installation
For the purpose of this tutorial, we will assume that you have your lnd/bitcoind running under user bitcoin with home directory /home/bitcoin. We will also assume that you already have a running installation of Docker (or docker.io).
Prepare and verify
git version - we will need git to get the latest version of NWC. docker version - should execute successfully and show the currently installed version of Docker. docker compose version - same as before, but the version will be different. ss -tupln | grep 10009- should produce the following output: tcp LISTEN 0 4096 0.0.0.0:10009 0.0.0.0: tcp LISTEN 0 4096 [::]:10009 [::]:**
For things to work correctly, your Docker should be version 20.10.0 or later. If you have an older version, consider installing a new one using instructions here: https://docs.docker.com/engine/install/
Create folders & download NWC
In the home directory of your LND/bitcoind user, create a new folder, e.g., "nwc" mkdir /home/bitcoin/nwc. Change to that directory cd /home/bitcoin/nwc and clone the NWC repository: git clone https://github.com/getAlby/nostr-wallet-connect.git
Creating the Docker image
In this step, we will create a Docker image that you will use to run NWC.
- Change directory to
nostr-wallet-connect
:cd nostr-wallet-connect
- Run command to build Docker image:
docker build -t nwc:$(date +'%Y%m%d%H%M') -t nwc:latest .
(there is a dot at the end) - The last line of the output (after a few minutes) should look like
=> => naming to docker.io/library/nwc:latest
nwc:latest
is the name of the Docker image with a tag which you should note for use later.
Creating docker-compose.yml and necessary data directories
- Let's create a directory that will hold your non-volatile data (DB):
mkdir data
- In
docker-compose.yml
file, there are fields that you want to replace (<> comments) and port “4321” that you want to make sure is open (check withss -tupln | grep 4321
which should return nothing). - Create
docker-compose.yml
file with the following content, and make sure to update fields that have <> comment:
version: "3.8" services: nwc: image: nwc:latest volumes: - ./data:/data - ~/.lnd:/lnd:ro ports: - "4321:8080" extra_hosts: - "localhost:host-gateway" environment: NOSTR_PRIVKEY: <use "openssl rand -hex 32" to generate a fresh key and place it inside ""> LN_BACKEND_TYPE: "LND" LND_ADDRESS: localhost:10009 LND_CERT_FILE: "/lnd/tls.cert" LND_MACAROON_FILE: "/lnd/data/chain/bitcoin/mainnet/admin.macaroon" DATABASE_URI: "/data/nostr-wallet-connect.db" COOKIE_SECRET: <use "openssl rand -hex 32" to generate fresh secret and place it inside ""> PORT: 8080 restart: always stop_grace_period: 1m
Starting and testing
Now that you have everything ready, it is time to start the container and test.
- While you are in the
nwc
directory (important), execute the following command and check the log output,docker compose up
- You should see container logs while it is starting, and it should not exit if everything went well.
- At this point, you should be able to go to
http://<ip of the host where nwc is running>:4321
and get to the interface of NWC - To stop the test run of NWC, simply press
Ctrl-C
, and it will shut the container down. - To start NWC permanently, you should execute
docker compose up -d
, “-d” tells Docker to detach from the session. - To check currently running NWC logs, execute
docker compose logs
to run it in tail mode add-f
to the end. - To stop the container, execute
docker compose down
That's all, just follow the instructions in the web interface to get started.
Updating
As with any software, you should expect fixes and updates that you would need to perform periodically. You could automate this, but it falls outside of the scope of this tutorial. Since we already have all of the necessary configuration in place, the update execution is fairly simple.
- Change directory to the clone of the git repository,
cd /home/bitcoin/nwc/nostr-wallet-connect
- Run command to build Docker image:
docker build -t nwc:$(date +'%Y%m%d%H%M') -t nwc:latest .
(there is a dot at the end) - Change directory back one level
cd ..
- Restart (stop and start) the docker compose config
docker compose down && docker compose up -d
- Done! Optionally you may want to check the logs:
docker compose logs
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@ 82341f88:fbfbe6a2
2023-04-11 19:36:53There’s a lot of conversation around the #TwitterFiles. Here’s my take, and thoughts on how to fix the issues identified.
I’ll start with the principles I’ve come to believe…based on everything I’ve learned and experienced through my past actions as a Twitter co-founder and lead:
- Social media must be resilient to corporate and government control.
- Only the original author may remove content they produce.
- Moderation is best implemented by algorithmic choice.
The Twitter when I led it and the Twitter of today do not meet any of these principles. This is my fault alone, as I completely gave up pushing for them when an activist entered our stock in 2020. I no longer had hope of achieving any of it as a public company with no defense mechanisms (lack of dual-class shares being a key one). I planned my exit at that moment knowing I was no longer right for the company.
The biggest mistake I made was continuing to invest in building tools for us to manage the public conversation, versus building tools for the people using Twitter to easily manage it for themselves. This burdened the company with too much power, and opened us to significant outside pressure (such as advertising budgets). I generally think companies have become far too powerful, and that became completely clear to me with our suspension of Trump’s account. As I’ve said before, we did the right thing for the public company business at the time, but the wrong thing for the internet and society. Much more about this here: https://twitter.com/jack/status/1349510769268850690
I continue to believe there was no ill intent or hidden agendas, and everyone acted according to the best information we had at the time. Of course mistakes were made. But if we had focused more on tools for the people using the service rather than tools for us, and moved much faster towards absolute transparency, we probably wouldn’t be in this situation of needing a fresh reset (which I am supportive of). Again, I own all of this and our actions, and all I can do is work to make it right.
Back to the principles. Of course governments want to shape and control the public conversation, and will use every method at their disposal to do so, including the media. And the power a corporation wields to do the same is only growing. It’s critical that the people have tools to resist this, and that those tools are ultimately owned by the people. Allowing a government or a few corporations to own the public conversation is a path towards centralized control.
I’m a strong believer that any content produced by someone for the internet should be permanent until the original author chooses to delete it. It should be always available and addressable. Content takedowns and suspensions should not be possible. Doing so complicates important context, learning, and enforcement of illegal activity. There are significant issues with this stance of course, but starting with this principle will allow for far better solutions than we have today. The internet is trending towards a world were storage is “free” and infinite, which places all the actual value on how to discover and see content.
Which brings me to the last principle: moderation. I don’t believe a centralized system can do content moderation globally. It can only be done through ranking and relevance algorithms, the more localized the better. But instead of a company or government building and controlling these solely, people should be able to build and choose from algorithms that best match their criteria, or not have to use any at all. A “follow” action should always deliver every bit of content from the corresponding account, and the algorithms should be able to comb through everything else through a relevance lens that an individual determines. There’s a default “G-rated” algorithm, and then there’s everything else one can imagine.
The only way I know of to truly live up to these 3 principles is a free and open protocol for social media, that is not owned by a single company or group of companies, and is resilient to corporate and government influence. The problem today is that we have companies who own both the protocol and discovery of content. Which ultimately puts one person in charge of what’s available and seen, or not. This is by definition a single point of failure, no matter how great the person, and over time will fracture the public conversation, and may lead to more control by governments and corporations around the world.
I believe many companies can build a phenomenal business off an open protocol. For proof, look at both the web and email. The biggest problem with these models however is that the discovery mechanisms are far too proprietary and fixed instead of open or extendable. Companies can build many profitable services that complement rather than lock down how we access this massive collection of conversation. There is no need to own or host it themselves.
Many of you won’t trust this solution just because it’s me stating it. I get it, but that’s exactly the point. Trusting any one individual with this comes with compromises, not to mention being way too heavy a burden for the individual. It has to be something akin to what bitcoin has shown to be possible. If you want proof of this, get out of the US and European bubble of the bitcoin price fluctuations and learn how real people are using it for censorship resistance in Africa and Central/South America.
I do still wish for Twitter, and every company, to become uncomfortably transparent in all their actions, and I wish I forced more of that years ago. I do believe absolute transparency builds trust. As for the files, I wish they were released Wikileaks-style, with many more eyes and interpretations to consider. And along with that, commitments of transparency for present and future actions. I’m hopeful all of this will happen. There’s nothing to hide…only a lot to learn from. The current attacks on my former colleagues could be dangerous and doesn’t solve anything. If you want to blame, direct it at me and my actions, or lack thereof.
As far as the free and open social media protocol goes, there are many competing projects: @bluesky is one with the AT Protocol, nostr another, Mastodon yet another, Matrix yet another…and there will be many more. One will have a chance at becoming a standard like HTTP or SMTP. This isn’t about a “decentralized Twitter.” This is a focused and urgent push for a foundational core technology standard to make social media a native part of the internet. I believe this is critical both to Twitter’s future, and the public conversation’s ability to truly serve the people, which helps hold governments and corporations accountable. And hopefully makes it all a lot more fun and informative again.
💸🛠️🌐 To accelerate open internet and protocol work, I’m going to open a new category of #startsmall grants: “open internet development.” It will start with a focus of giving cash and equity grants to engineering teams working on social media and private communication protocols, bitcoin, and a web-only mobile OS. I’ll make some grants next week, starting with $1mm/yr to Signal. Please let me know other great candidates for this money.
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@ 2e8970de:63345c7a
2025-03-31 19:08:11https://x.com/beatmastermatt/status/1906329250115858750
originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/930491
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@ bcbb3e40:a494e501
2025-03-31 15:34:12|
| |:-:| |MISSIAGGIA, Pietro; Jean Thiriart, el caballero euroasiático y la Joven Europa; Hipérbola Janus, 2025|
Desde nuestros inicios los autores y temáticas relacionadas con la geopolítica nos han procurado atención e interés por parte del gran público y de los mass media, y no hay más que recordar el efecto que han venido teniendo nuestras obras de Aleksandr Duguin, en especial La geopolítica de Rusia y Proyecto Eurasia: teoría y praxis, sobre todo a raíz de nuestra presentación en Casa de Rusia en un ya lejano 2016, con la inestimable colaboración de Jordi de la Fuente como prologuista, trabajo que siempre reivindicamos desde nuestros medios por el prestigio, la calidad y brillantez de exposición del mismo.
Más allá de las obras del prestigioso y afamado filósofo y politólogo ruso, también hemos realizado otras incursiones en esta vertiente, que podríamos llamar «geopolítica alternativa», introduciendo las obras de otros notables autores como Claudio Mutti, Carlo Terracciano o Boris Nad. Con estos autores hemos tratado de profundizar en esa vía que se opone frontalmente, y radicalmente si se quiere, a los planteamientos derivados de la geopolítica atlantista y liberal que tiene su principal polo en Estados Unidos, haciendo especial hincapié en el subyugamiento que vienen ejerciendo desde 1945 en adelante respecto a una Europa convertida en un protectorado en una mera colonia.
Es por este motivo por el que la publicación de Jean Thiriart, el caballero euroasiático y la Joven Europa nos parece una obra totalmente pertinente en estos momentos, forma parte del desarrollo lógico de la línea editorial en la que estamos encauzados desde nuestros inicios, y viene a representar una de las múltiples vías en las que confluye la idea, profundamente schmittiana, de la política de los grandes espacios. En este caso la idea de una Europa unida, bajo un vasto proyecto que traspasa los estrechos límites del continente concebido como un apéndice más del «Occidente», de ese subproducto ideológico decadente y funcional a los intereses del otro lado del Atlántico. Para comprender la idea de una Europa unida, que comprenda a Rusia, y su enorme extensión territorial a lo largo de 17 millones de kilómetros cuadrados, y la importancia estratégica de su ubicación, es necesario recurrir al legado de Jean Thiriart, conocer su obra, pero también al hombre, pues una no se comprende sin el otro, en este caso hablamos de elementos correlativos.
|
| |:-:| |Jean Thiriart (1922-1992)|
¿Pero quién fue Jean Thiriart? Esta obra nos permite adentrarnos en aspectos biográficos, algunos de ellos poco conocidos para el gran público de habla hispana, y saber de su trayectoria, de la maduración de sus ideas, de su proyecto político y de las etapas que componen el desarrollo del mismo y que aparecen claramente diferenciadas: hablamos del proyecto político de unidad europea, que alcanza su concreción teórica en ¡Arriba Europa!: Una Europa unida: un imperio de 400 millones de hombres (1965, Editorial Mateu, Barcelona), en pleno apogeo de la organización Jeune Europe, que se convirtió en el órgano político a partir del cual creyó poder implementar su proyecto unitario a escala europeo, manteniendo una posición de independencia respecto a los dos pretendidos bloques antagónicos de Guerra Fría: Estados Unidos y la Unión Soviética. En esa época, estamos hablando del ecuador de los años 60, todo el mundo de la Contracultura, falsamente contestatario, estaba articulando su propio discurso, que tendría su expresión más nítida a través del ya conocido Mayo del 68 francés o la Primavera de Praga, durante el mismo año. Y si el movimiento de Nueva Derecha liderado por Alain de Benoist surgiría en lo sucesivo, ya en la década de los años 70, como una «reacción» frente a la «rebelión contracultural», no podemos obviar la importancia de un movimiento político como Jeune Europe, una organización política transnacional, a escala de la Europa occidental, con sus diferentes delegaciones en países como Francia, Italia, Alemania, la propia España además de, como es obvio, Bélgica, país de origen de nuestro autor.
Jean Thiriart ha sido etiquetado con reiteración como un político y teórico de «extrema derecha», se han hecho numerosos discursos interesados para vincularlo, por cuestiones de orden biográfico muy circunscritas a determinado periodo, con el fascismo y el nacionalsocialismo de entreguerras. Sin embargo, y como el lector podrá descubrir a lo largo de la presente obra, el pensamiento de nuestro autor está muy lejos de ser reducible a meras etiquetas, y en ningún caso mostró las filiaciones que se le atribuyen desde posicionamientos ideológicos, sino que, muy al contrario, vemos a un hombre de pensamiento racional y pragmático, poderosamente influenciado por la geopolítica y abierto a alianzas estratégicas más variadas, más allá de todo fundamentalismo ideológico. Es por este motivo que veremos a un Thiriart buscando sinergias y entendimiento entre círculos de izquierdas, antiimperialistas en una lucha concebida como «cuatricontinental». No en vano, muchos de los cuadros políticos que se formaron en Giovane Europa, la rama italiana, terminaron por militar incluso en organizaciones de extrema izquierda de inspiración maoísta. En el caso de España hubo un notable apoyo a la organización por parte de los falangistas más disidentes. De manera que Jean Thiriart representa una figura política compleja, con influencias variadas, que van desde los hermanos Strasser, pasando por Ernst Niekish o Vilfredo Pareto, e incluso, por Sieyès o Robespierre.
Es a partir de Jeune Europe cuando el nacionalismo europeo, la idea de una Europa unida desde Brest a Bucarest toma cuerpo. En la obra mencionada con anterioridad (¡Arriba Europa!: Una Europa unida: un imperio de 400 millones de hombres) Jean Thiriart ya nos presenta a través de unos trazos muy definidos el proyecto del comunitarismo nacional-europeo, la piedra angular de su proyecto político. La idea de un socialismo aristocrático y europeo, trascendiendo las fronteras del Estado-nación liberal decimonónico, y los particularismos nacionales, concebidos como formas obsoletas y «estrechas de miras», obstáculos a superar en la convergencia del Imperio europeo. Porque vemos a un Thiriart que potencia la estructura del Estado, del aparato de poder, tratando de potenciar, y restaurar naturalmente, el papel y la preponderancia de Europa como espacio de civilización en el mundo. Es un nacionalismo europeo que viene determinado por razones puramente geopolíticas, algo que también fue objeto de críticas, concretamente por parte del geopolítico austriaco Heinrich von Lohausen, y que también recogemos en el presente volúmen de la obra.
|
| |:-:| |Ejemplar de una de las publicaciones más importantes de Joven Europa (Jeune Europe) cuya portada refleja el antiamericanismo y antiimperialismo característicos del nacionalismo europeo de la organización.|
En este sentido, Thiriart no andaba nada desencaminado, en la medida que pensaba que solo los Estados de dimensiones continentales podrían ser capaces de defender su independencia y soberanía, y ejercer un poder en el mundo, frente a los antiguos nacionalismos europeos, totalmente anacrónicos y un factor de ruptura y desintegración del potencial europeo. En este contexto, se hace necesario eliminar el orden establecido en Yalta en 1945, que convierte a Europa en un vasallo de las grandes potencias vencedoras de la Segunda Guerra Mundial. De modo que luchar contra la ocupación estadounidense por un lado, y soviética por otro lado, fuese el principal leitmotiv del Partido Revolucionario Europeo, un partido histórico señala Thiriart, encargado de llevar a término la acción unificadora continental. Y es con este propósito con el que se tratan de concertar una serie de alianzas internacionales que llevó a Thiriart y su organización a tratar con personal diplomático y gubernamental de los países árabes no alineados, del régimen de Fidel Castro o incluso con emisarios del gobierno chino, como ocurrió en el famoso encuentro propiciado por Ceaucescu en Bucarest con Zhou En-Lai.
Quizás, uno de los puntos donde más desacuerdos encontramos con las teorías thiriartianas se encuentra en ciertos fundamentos que la articulan, en un modelo racionalista, materialista y pragmático, de hecho no debemos olvidar que Maquiavelo era uno de sus referentes, y con éste la posterior hornada de autores neomaquiavélicos como Vilfredo Pareto. El excesivo pragmatismo de sus planteamientos, un estatalismo exacerbado y sin concesiones a las particularidades de los pueblos, una suerte de centralismo jacobino, y la ausencia de un elemento trascendente capaz de dar una justificación metafísica a todo el proyecto nacional europeo constituyen, en nuestra opinión, una parte discutible y reformulable.
En otro terreno, como pueda ser el puramente económico, encontramos un proyecto anticapitalista en muchos de sus aspectos, frente al democratismo parlamentario liberal, y apoyándose en las teorías económicas de Johann G. Fichte o Friedrich List, rechazando cualquier organización económica transnacional que pueda mediatizar o convertir a Europa en objeto de sus actividades usurocráticas y depredatorias, colocando la soberanía e independencia económica europea en una de las máximas prioridades en este terreno.
Debemos destacar, porque es un elemento de debate especialmente interesante, el apartado del libro que se corresponde al escrito de Luc Michel, publicado en Italia bajo el título Da Jeune Europe alle Brigate Rosse, en el libro Parte II Historia de Jeune Europe (1962-1969), en el que se detallan las colaboraciones que comenzaron a sucederse entre la militancia de la delegación italiana, Giovane Europa, y círculos de extrema izquierda maoísta, y cómo muchos de los antiguos militantes nacional-europeos terminaron militando en organizaciones de esta facción ideológica, y nos referimos a casos tan representativos en la época como Claudio Orsoni o Pino Bolzano entre otros muchos.
La actividad proselitista de Jeune Europe en el último lustro de la década de los años 60, con la fundación del Partido Comunitario Europeo, nos legó una gran cantidad de publicaciones, entre las cuales destacaron La Nation Européenne, La Nazione Europea o Europa Combattente, cuyas portadas han servido para ilustrar las páginas interiores de nuestra obra, y que procuraron una actividad proselitista y de difusión de ideas que llegaron a imprimir semanal y mensualmente varios miles de ejemplares en Francia o en Italia.
Tras agotar todas las vías posibles de alianzas y convergencias, con encuentros poco afortunados, vemos a un Thiriart que prefiere adoptar otras vías para seguir construyendo el proyecto nacional-europeo más allá de la fórmula activista y del partido político. Este es el motivo por el cual, en los siguientes años, ya en la última etapa de su vida, veremos esa transición del político activista al teórico y al ideólogo como parte de una nueva estrategia dentro del proyecto político al que consagró buena parte de su vida, y es un hecho que comienza a apreciarse desde mediados de los años 70. Durante esta época la «Europa de Brest a Bucarest» se transforma y amplía en una «Europa desde Dublín a Vladivostok». Thiriart aborda ya abiertamente la integración del espacio soviético en una Europa unida que abarca un inmenso espacio territorial, capaz de unir el Océano Atlántico y el Océano Pacífico de un extremo a otro, el «Imperio Eurosoviético». No obstante, Thiriart siempre piensa en términos geopolíticos, y considera que este proceso de integración debe llevarse a cabo desde una revisión de la ideología soviética, desde una marcada desmarxistización de su socialismo, purgado de todo dogmatismo y elementos condicionantes derivados de la teoría del Estado formulada por el marxismo-leninismo para tomar en su lugar aquella de Thomas Hobbes.
A partir de este momento solamente hay un enemigo, el que representa el poder estadounidense y el dominio que éste ejerce sobre la Europa occidental. A partir de ese momento la URSS, bajo las premisas apuntadas por Thiriart, y desde una ideología soviética «desmarxistizada», es la que debe asumir el proyecto de integración europea. Todo este enfoque terminará conociendo su colofón final al final de la vida de Jean Thiriart, cuando éste se encuentre ya en sus último año de vida, en 1992, con una Unión Soviética ya periclitada y disuelta, con un país sumido en una crisis económica, política y social bajo el gobierno decadente de Yeltsin, con un poder notablemente menguado y a merced de las potencias extranjeras y las apetencias de las organizaciones financieras transnacionales. En este contexto tendrá lugar el conocido viaje de Jean Thiriart a Moscú, donde se encontrará, además de con la disidencia de Yeltsin, encabezada por el Partido Comunista dirigido por Gennadij Ziuganov y numerosas personalidades públicas del ámbito ruso, entre las que destacará por encima de todos el filósofo y politólogo Aleksandr Duguin, quien en la presente obra también reivindica la figura del belga como un contribuidor directo del pensamiento euroasiático. Además de medios de prensa, políticos e intelectuales rusos, nuestro autor también compartirá espacio con una pequeña delegación de la revista italiana «Orion», especializada en temática geopolítica, y representada por el padre de la geopolítica italiana, Carlo Terracciano. El encuentro no tendrá mayores consecuencias, y vendrá a significar el último acto de servicio de Jean Thiriart en su denodado esfuerzo por lograr la integración de Europa y Rusia en un poderoso bloque geopolítico capaz de hacer frente a la hegemonía estadounidense en el mundo.
Terminaremos este breve y sintético escrito de presentación con un fragmento de la obra que Jean Thiriart publicó en 1965 bajo el título ¡Arriba Europa!: Una Europa unida: un imperio de 400 millones de hombres, que nos parece de lo más adecuado para poner el punto final al presente texto:
Europa, este MILAGRO en la historia del hombre, este milagro que siguió al milagro griego, ha dado vida, con la prodigiosa fecundidad de su civilización irrepetible, a una cultura adoptada por el mundo entero. En la competencia surgida entre las grandes civilizaciones —occidental, india, china y japonesa— la nuestra ha aplastado a las demás.
La civilización es creadora de cultura. La cultura, en cambio, jamás ha creado civilización.
SOLO Europa posee la civilización; de ahí deriva su supremacía sobre los Estados Unidos y la Rusia comunista, que poseen únicamente la cultura nacida de nuestra civilización, como ha demostrado magistralmente Oswald Spengler.
Esta cultura, separada de su civilización, está condenada a la esterilidad, la cual se manifestará primero mediante una esclerosis y, posteriormente, mediante un retorno a la barbarie.
Políticamente dominada por Moscú o por Washington, la civilización europea se ve asfixiada y corre el riesgo de estancarse en su estado de simple cultura. Basta notar que todos los descubrimientos en el campo nuclear y astronáutico son obra de europeos. Todos buscan a los científicos europeos.
Solo una Europa políticamente unida puede proveer los medios de poder que garantizarán las condiciones históricas indispensables para la supervivencia de esta civilización.
Ninguna otra potencia, por otra parte, podría sustituir a Europa en su misión hacia la humanidad.
Artículo original: Hipérbola Janus, Presentación de «Jean Thiriart, el caballero euroasiático y la Joven Europa», de Pietro Missiaggia (TOR), 18/Mar/2025
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2025-03-31 15:23:12|
| |:-:| |BÉRARD, Bruno y LA FATA, Aldo; ¿Qué es el esoterismo?: Entre verdades y falsificacioines; Hipérbola Janus, 2025|
Nos complace presentar al lector en lengua española una novedad de primer orden, y sobre un tema que viene siendo objeto de interés por parte de nuestra línea editorial, como es el esoterismo, que hemos abordado recientemente a través de un nuevo recopilatorio de la obra evoliana en Ensayos filosóficos, esotéricos y religiosos 1925-1931, donde hemos tratado de rescatar los textos de las primeras etapas en la formulación del pensamiento del Maestro Romano. No obstante, no es la primera aventura que hemos emprendido en este terreno, siempre complejo y acompañado de la etiqueta, popular y quizás vulgarizada, de lo «misterioso» y lo «oculto», aunque no somos nada sospechosos en ese sentido por banalizar o tratar de ofrecer un enfoque puramente literario del asunto, y ni mucho menos de simpatizar con aquellas vías que entroncan con el New age, donde las mixtificaciones y la voluntad de convertir el fenómeno esotérico en un producto de consumo más, como demanda el mercado, para satisfacer demandas materiales o simples modas de una masa sobresocializada son norma habitual.
Podríamos citar multitud de obras que están presentes en nuestro catálogo, como son El pensamiento esotérico de Leonardo, de Paul Vulliaud, El mundo mágico de los héroes, de Cesare della Riviera, una joya del esoterismo italiano del siglo XVII, en El maestro de la tradición perenne, de René Guénon, o en el ensayo de Gianluca Marletta OVNIS y alienígenas. Origen, historia y prodigio de una pseudorreligión, un ensayo de notable originalidad donde se abordan aspectos esotéricos, aunque sea de un modo más tangencial. También en la literatura, con la obra del gran mitólogo y literato Boris Nad, Una historia de Agartha y La muerte púrpura de Gustav Meyrink encontramos nuevas referencias al ámbito esotérico. De modo que podemos concluir en que el esoterismo forma parte esencial de nuestras publicaciones e intereses como editores, y contribuimos activamente a su difusión.
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| |:-:| |EVOLA, Julius; Ensayos filosóficos, esotéricos y religiosos: 1925-1931, Hiperbola Janus, 2024|
Una obra original
Por eso la presente obra, la que nos disponemos a presentar, cuyo título es ¿Qué es el esoterismo?: Entre verdades y falsificaciones, de Bruno Bérard y Aldo La Fata, viene a ser una obra muy necesaria y clarificadora en la comprensión del esoterismo en todas sus dimensiones, en la complejidad de sus particulares, y en sus múltiples manifestaciones. Quizás en el mundo de habla hispana el esoterismo es un fenómeno que no ha obtenido su merecida atención, y nuestros autores en este ámbito, como es el caso de un Ramón Llull entre otros, no sean objeto de la atención que merece, y las actividades esotéricas, a nivel de asociaciones, comunidades u otras formas de organización, tampoco sean especialmente conocidas, ni cuenten con una actividad reconocida. Es posible, como señala La Fata, que haya ciertas reticencias dentro del mundo católico, acostumbrado a la ortodoxia y la guía espiritual de la Iglesia, y que cualquier tipo de «desviación» hacia formas más individuales y «libres» de vivir ciertas formas iniciáticas, mucho más sutiles, provoquen el rechazo y la incomprensión general. No obstante, como también se encargan de aclarar nuestros autores, el esoterismo comprende una dimensión diferenciada, implica un esfuerzo que no todos están dispuestos a acometer, y finalmente, no es tampoco un camino de felicidad y de frutos seguros, implica una transformación interior y la asunción de unas prácticas y procedimientos que no son aptos para cualquiera. Digamos que el esoterismo es un camino, una vía, que a diferencia de las «religiones populares», exotéricas, supone un arduo camino que viene marcado por un principio vertical y aristocrático de la existencia, o al menos así queremos verlo nosotros. El incremento de la capacidad de discernimiento, aunar lo visible con lo invisible, y ser capaz de superar límites vedados al común, no por simple vanidad ni por «crecimiento personal», tal y como se concibe en las aburguesadas y decadentes sociedades actuales, sino como parte de un proceso de aprendizaje, de autoconocimiento y de liberación. No nos cabe duda alguna de la necesidad de restaurar los antiguos vínculos con lo Alto, las vías que quedaron cerradas y que nos han limitado progresivamente al exclusivo y estrecho ámbito de la materialidad.
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| |:-:| |RIVIERA, Cesare della; El mundo mágico de los héroes; Hipérbola Janus, 2022|
La obra emplea el recurso de la entrevista/diálogo, que aporta frescura y fluidez al texto «simplificando», o más bien haciendo más accesibles y comprensibles elementos relacionados con el esoterismo, que de otro modo resultarían excesivamente complejos para una parte del público lector poco familiarizado con la materia. Este dinamismo se ve complementado por la riqueza de matices e ideas que se van introduciendo de manera progresiva, evitando que el lector pueda verse abrumado por la avalancha de ideas y contenidos. Las preguntas de Bruno Bérard, siempre inteligentes, incisivas y pertinentes, además de ordenadas y bien estructuradas, favorecen la continuidad y el dinamismo en la exposición de los temas, ejerciendo de guía en la conversación. De ahí que el libro sea apto para diferentes niveles, tanto para aquellos que desconocen el esoterismo, como para quienes se encuentran familiarizados con el tema. Aldo La Fata, de acuerdo con su dilatada y extensa trayectoria en la materia, nos hace reflexiones teóricas de enorme valor, que entrelaza con su propia experiencia y trayectoria en el estudio del esoterismo. Sin lugar a dudas este aspecto nos permite ver una vertiente más humana e íntima, en la que se incluyen anécdotas personales y biográficas que siempre permiten una mayor conexión con el lector a través de la mezcla de hechos vitales y erudición teórica.
La entrevista que nos ofrecen Bruno Bérard y Aldo La Fata nos permite explorar la relación dialéctica que se genera entre el esoterismo y otros ámbitos como la religión, la ciencia o la filosofía. Todas las cuestiones se abordan desde enfoques muy concretos, abordando problemáticas particulares, que dan lugar a reflexiones más amplias evitando las simplificaciones e invitando a reflexiones mucho más profundas. De ahí la función de introducción y guía a la que nos venimos refiriendo.
Estos aspectos que acabamos de enumerar con anterioridad revelan un notable esfuerzo pedagógico por parte de los autores para acercarnos al estudio del esoterismo, nos aporta las herramientas necesarias, parafraseando el título de la obra, para discernir entre un verdadero esoterismo y sus falsificaciones.
Más allá de estos aspectos formales, que consideramos que es importante destacar, porque en ellos reside el éxito de la obra, en un planteamiento que resulta original, a la par que ameno y de gran interés, debemos considerar otros aspectos que hacen más referencia al contenido. «¿Qué es el esoterismo? Entre verdades y falsificaciones» pretende, como decíamos, clarificar qué es el esoterismo, cuales son sus particulares, sus características y atributos, su naturaleza más íntima, como fenómeno espiritual y filosófico en sus aspectos más profundos, que podemos remontar a épocas muy remotas y lejanas en el tiempo. Pero el esoterismo aparece en ocasiones fuertemente imbricado en otras estructuras de pensamiento, de tipo tradicional, como son las grandes religiones (Cristianismo, Islam, Judaísmo etc) y otros conceptos como la mística y la metafísica, cuyas relaciones hay que desentrañar.
La importancia de René Guénon
Aldo La Fata nos libera desde el principio de posibles equívocos al enfatizar que el verdadero esoterismo no es una simple acumulación de conocimientos secretos o rituales exóticos, sino una vía de trascendencia espiritual basada en el rigor y la autenticidad. A este respecto René Guénon aparece como uno de los grandes esoteristas de nuestro tiempo, en la medida que fue el gran intérprete y codificador de estos conocimientos, una figura que marcó un antes y un después en la comprensión de este ámbito, especialmente por su rigor conceptual y su capacidad para distinguir entre lo auténtico y lo falso en las tradiciones espirituales. A tal respecto podemos poner como ejemplo sus contundentes análisis de las corrientes ocultistas, especialmente del espiritismo o del teosofismo, en diferentes obras. Podemos decir a este respecto que Guénon hizo una distinción entre esoterismo y ocultismo, disociando el significado del primero de prácticas superficiales y desviadas, mientras que definió el esoterismo como una vía de conocimiento sagrado y trascendente. En este sentido fue una labor fundamental para evitar confusiones con mixtificaciones modernas y pseudoesoterismos como aquellos relacionados con el New Age.
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| |:-:| |GUÉNON, René; El Maestro de la Tradición Perenne: Antología de artículos guenonianos; Hipérbola Janus, 2021|
Paralelamente, y con ello queremos dignificar la figura de René Guénon, el tradicionalista francés también nos abrió las fuentes de un vasto conocimiento espiritual, expresión de una «Tradición primordial», a cuyos orígenes prístinos siempre deberíamos aspirar, y cuya impronta impregna por completo religiones, culturas y formas de civilización no modernas, claro está. Y otro elemento fundamental, y que en la presente obra se considera de vital importancia, es que René Guénon considera el esoterismo no como una vía interna propia de la religión, sino como una vía complementaria que permite acceder a la esencia divina más allá de las formas externas. Para Aldo La Fata no se trata de una mera referencia intelectual, sino una figura que marcó su propio rumbo dentro del estudio del esoterismo. A través de obras como Los símbolos de la ciencia sagrada, La Fata descubrió la profundidad y la coherencia del pensamiento guenoniano, así como la idea de que el esoterismo actúa como el «pegamento» que conecta todas las tradiciones espirituales. Esta visión le permitió entender el esoterismo como algo inseparable de la religión, aunque con una profundidad y una exigencia mayores.
¿Qué es el esoterismo?
El término esoterismo tiene sus raíces etimológicas en el griego esôterikos, que implica un «ir hacia dentro» y que se contrapone a una variante exterior que definimos como «exoterismo», que se encuentra más vinculado al ámbito de la religión. Se trata de un conocimiento que no atiende a un principio puramente intelectual y discursivo sino que apunta a una vivencia directa y sapiencial de lo trascendente. Lejos de la acumulación de saberes ocultos y rituales, lo que prima en la experiencia de lo esotérico es la conexión directa con lo trascendente y lo divino a través de la práctica espiritual.
De hecho hay tres aspectos que nuestros autores destacan a lo largo de la obra respecto al esoterismo, y que nos parecen fundamentales:
- Interioridad: Supone un movimiento continuo hacia el interior, de exploración e introspección, en el que se tratan de derribar límites y obstáculos. Atendiendo a un dinamismo que huye de lo fijo y de lo estático.
- Profundización: La búsqueda de significados más profundos tras la realidad cotidiana, buscando ir más allá de la pura exterioridad de las cosas
- Relación con el exoterismo: Podemos considerarlo opuesto en sentido relativo al esoterismo, como una dimensión más externa y visible de las religiones, aunque este último (el esoterismo), no puede sobrevivir sin el apoyo de una tradición religiosa.
En relación al último punto debemos destacar, como advierten Bérard y La Fata, que pese a todo no podemos entender el esoterismo como una parte de las religiones, sino que tiene su propia función y objetivos, que no es otro que el que ya hemos mencionado con anterioridad: establecer una conexión directa con la verdad que irradia del principio universal y divino.
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| |:-:| |VULLIAUD, Paul; El pensamiento esotérico de Leonardo da Vinci; Hipérbola Janus, 2024|
Otro aspecto interesante de la obra es el que nos habla de las relaciones entre esoterismo y metafísica, en el que el primero pretende ser también una vía de acceso al dominio del segundo. El esoterismo, como ya hemos visto, tiene como principal propósito trascender las categorías del mundo material para proyectarse en lo universal, y en este sentido comparte también objetivos con la metafísica, que pretende superar las limitaciones de la experiencia humana ordinaria y de acceder a las verdades primordiales que estructuran la realidad. Ambos apuntan a la raíz de todo lo existente, al absoluto. Las divergencias las hallamos en la forma o en el método para alcanzar estas verdades trascendentes, que en el caso del esoterismo nos remiten a símbolos, rituales y experiencias vivenciales que permiten al practicante interiorizar verdades universales.
De este modo, esoterismo y metafísica se nos presentan como realidades no opuestas, sino complementarias. La metafísica nos ofrece un marco conceptual y doctrinal para entender lo absoluto, mientras que el esoterismo se centra en su realización interna. En términos guenonianos, el esoterismo representa los aspectos operativos de la metafísica.
De modo que podemos decir que la metafísica aborda el tema trascendente desde una perspectiva conceptual, sin esa parte vivida de la experiencia en el conocimiento de lo universal. El esoterismo, por su parte, aporta esa contraparte que nos remite a la experiencia humana que permite al individuo acceder o ponerse en conexión con lo divino a través de su propio ser, de manera directa y vívida. Es un camino que el sujeto individual emprende para lograr una transformación interior.
Paralelamente, no podemos obviar dentro de todos estos procesos la participación de un elemento fundamental, como es la intuición suprarracional, que podríamos considerar como la herramienta que conecta al esoterista directamente con la fuente del conocimiento trascendente y universal, en lugar de hacerlo directamente a través de teorías o conceptos que siempre resultan más abstractos y difíciles de comprender en su vertiente más «discursiva». Al mismo tiempo, las relaciones que se establecen entre esoterismo y metafísica nos permiten poner en contacto las tradiciones religiosas con el conocimiento universal. Según La Fata, inspirándose en el legado de la obra de Frithjoff Schuon, cada tradición espiritual tiene una dimensión metafísica que puede ser comprendida y realizada a través del esoterismo, como un medio para acceder a la esencia inmutable de todas las formas religiosas.
Otro aspecto que esoterismo y metafísica comparten es la meta de superar la dualidad entre sujeto y objeto: Mientras que la metafísica conceptualiza esta unión como una verdad última, el esoterismo busca experimentarla directamente a través de la contemplación, el símbolo y la práctica espiritual.
Los autores
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| |:-:| |Aldo La Fata|
Aldo La Fata (1964) es un estudioso del esoterismo, el simbolismo y la mística religiosa, con una trayectoria de varias décadas dedicada al análisis y divulgación de estas disciplinas. Ha sido jefe de redacción de la revista Metapolitica, fundada por Silvano Panunzio, y actualmente dirige Il Corriere Metapolitico. Su trabajo destaca por una aproximación rigurosa y una mirada crítica a las corrientes contemporáneas del esoterismo, rescatando su sentido más profundo y tradicional. Entre sus obras más relevantes se encuentran Silvano Panunzio: vita e pensiero (2021) y Nella luce dei libri (2022), donde explora la intersección entre espiritualidad, simbolismo y pensamiento tradicional.
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| |:-:| |Bruno Bérard|
Bruno Bérard (1958), es doctor en Religiones y Sistemas de Pensamiento por la École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE), es un destacado especialista en metafísica. Autor de múltiples ensayos, ha desarrollado una profunda reflexión sobre la naturaleza del conocimiento espiritual y su relación con las tradiciones religiosas. Algunas de sus obras más importantes, traducidas a diversas lenguas, incluyen A Metaphysics of the Christian Mystery (2018) y Métaphysique du paradoxe (2019). Actualmente, dirige la colección Métaphysique au quotidien en la editorial L’Harmattan de París, consolidándose como una referencia en el estudio de la metafísica contemporánea.
En ¿Qué es el esoterismo?: Entre verdades y falsificaciones, asistimos a una presentación del tema tratado desde un conocimiento profundo y dilatado del tema, en la que ambos autores combinan la experiencia y el conocimiento que atesoran sobre el esoterismo y otros temas anejos, ofreciéndonos sus interpretaciones y enfoques particulares, y al mismo tiempo mostrando una gran capacidad de síntesis en la exposición de los temas tratados, que se inscriben en una multitud de tradiciones religiosas y espirituales de enorme complejidad. En este último punto reside también gran parte del valor de la obra, que constituye una novedad editorial especialmente relevante en su ámbito en lengua hispana.
Artículo original: Hipérbola Janus, Presentación de «¿Qué es el esoterismo?: Entre verdades y falsificaciones» (TOR), 6/Feb/2025
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2025-03-31 15:02:58Traducción por Francisco de la Torre.
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| |:-:| |Los representantes de la derecha sionista europea que forman parte de «Patriots» reunidos en Bruselas el pasado mes de diciembre de 2024.|
Entre los efectos que probablemente producirá en Europa la nueva administración estadounidense, es previsible el fortalecimiento del ala derecha del colaboracionismo atlantista que, después de haberse posicionado decididamente a favor de Donald Trump durante su presidencia 2017-2021, en el transcurso de la administración Biden abogó fervientemente por su regreso a la Casa Blanca y acogió su victoria electoral con gran júbilo. A finales de octubre de 2024, en el grandioso mitin preelectoral a favor de Trump celebrado en el Madison Square Garden de Nueva York, asistió una representante del grupo parlamentario europeo Patriots for Europe, que viajó a Estados Unidos para esa ocasión especial. En un vídeo publicado en la página X (antes twitter) de los Patriots, varios eurodiputados del mencionado grupo expresaron su identidad con los puntos de vista de Trump y auspiciando su reelección: el austriaco Harald Vilimsky (Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs), el checo Ondrej Knotek (Año 2011) el español Jorge Buxade (Vox), el holandés Tom Vandendriesche (Vlaams Belang), la polaca Anna Bryłka (Ruch Narodowy) y, por Hungría, Tamás Deutsch (Fidesz).
Este último es, sin duda, la personalidad más eminente del grupo de los Patriots que viajaron a Nueva York: originario de una familia judía de Budapest, en 1988 Tamás Deutsch junto con Viktor Orbán están entre los fundadores de Fidesz —Fiatal Demokraták Szövetsége (Alianza de los jóvenes demócratas), en la que ocupó el cargo de vicepresidente. El Fidesz ha tejido durante mucho tiempo una red de lazos con el Partido Republicano de los Estados Unidos y con el think tank conservador Heritage Foundation, mientras que el gobierno de Viktor Orbán organizó las tres últimas ediciones anuales de la CPAC en Hungría (Conservative Political Action Conference), un encuentro de políticos de derechas de varios países[^1].
Patriots for Europe o Patriots.eu, denominación que recuerda al de los misiles aire-tierra estadounidenses (el MIM-104 Patriots), es, por tanto, el nombre oficial del grupo político de la derecha liberal-conservadora, populista y euroescéptica, nacido en julio de 2024 (primero como alianza y luego como grupo parlamentario europeo) por iniciativa del primer ministro húngaro Viktor Orbán, el exprimer ministro checo Andrej Babiŝ y del exministro del interior austriaco Herbert Kickl. Como representantes de sus respectivos partidos (Fidesz, Año 2011, Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs), Orbán, Babiŝ y Kickl firmaron un texto ideológico titulado: A Patriotic Manifesto for a European Future[^2], según la cual la única política europea legítima es aquella que, enraizada en la pluralidad de las diferentes naciones, proteja su herencia grecorromana-judeocristiana preservando su identidad, tradiciones y costumbres.
Al núcleo inicial de los Patriots se unió el partido portugués ¡Arriva! (¡Chega!), el Partido húngaro Popular Demócrata Cristiano (Kereszténydemokrata Néppárt), el partido español Vox, el Partido por la Libertad (Partij voor de Vrijheid) holandés, el Partido Popular Danés (Dansk Folkeparti), el interés Flamenco (Vlaams Belang), la Reunión Nacional (Rassemblement National) francés y, por Italia, la Liga para Primer Ministro Salvini.
Constituido formalmente, el grupo parlamentario recibió una posterior adhesión del diputado griego de Voz de la Razón (Foní Logikis), del diputado de Primero Letonia (Letvija pirmajâ prohibir), de los dos diputados del Movimiento Nacional polaco (Ruch Narodowy) y de los dos diputados checos del Juramento (Přísaha) y de los Automovilistas por sí mismos (Motoristé sollozoê). Presidente del grupo parlamentario Patriots.eu, que cuenta con un total de ochenta y seis diputados[^3], es Jordan Bardella, presidente de la Rassemblement National; pero la personalidad más notable y prestigiosa de los Patriots es, sin duda, el primer ministro húngaro Viktor Orbán.
En cuanto a la línea de política exterior seguida por Viktor Orbán, cabe recordar que fue durante su primer mandato, en 1989, cuando Hungría se unió a la OTAN junto con la República Checa y Polonia. La pertenencia a la organización militar de la Alianza Atlántica implicó la participación húngara en la guerra de Kosovo en Yugoslavia, así como la contribución de Hungría en las misiones de la ISAF y en la guerra en Irak en apoyo de la intervención estadounidense. Por otro lado, no deja de ser significativo que en junio de 2011, durante la visita de Condoleezza Rice a Budapest, se inaugurara una estatua del presidente estadounidense Ronald Reagan en la céntrica Plaza de la Libertad (Szabadság tér). «Hoy —dijo Orbán en esa ocasión— erigimos aquí una estatua al hombre, al líder, que cambió y renovó este mundo creando un nuevo mundo para nosotros en Europa Central, un hombre que creía en la libertad, en la fuerza moral de los hombres libres, y creía que los muros que obstruyen el camino a la libertad pueden ser derribados».
En los años de la primera administración Trump, Orbán estableció una relación privilegiada con la Casa Blanca: en 2019 fue recibido calurosamente por el presidente estadounidense, quien declaró su apoyo al «soberanismo» europeo, del que Orbán era ya el exponente más puntero. El primer ministro húngaro, que más tarde expresó varias veces la esperanza de volver a ver a Trump como líder de los Estados Unidos, se reunió con él de nuevo en Mar-a-Lago de Palm Beach en marzo de 2024 y al final de la visita escribió en una publicación: «¡Hacer que América vuelva a ser grande, señor presidente!»[^4].
El entendimiento entre Trump y Orbán fue favorecido por Benjamin Netanyahu, quien ha tenido una estrecha relación con el actual primer ministro húngaro desde 2005, cuando Orbán estaba en la oposición y Netanyahu era ministro de Finanzas. Esta relación, que Orbán ha utilizado para neutralizar las iniciativas hostiles de las ONG’s de Soros (quien financió a Fidesz desde 1992 a 1999), ha acentuado progresivamente la posición proisraelí de Budapest, hasta el punto que Hungría junto a Austria, Croacia y República Checa, se han alineado con Estados Unidos e Israel votando en contra de la resolución propuesta por la ONU para el alto el fuego en la Franja de Gaza. Cuando László Toroczkai, jefe del partido Mi Hazánk (Nuestra Patria), preguntó a Orbán en el Parlamento por qué Hungría había votado en contra, el primer ministro le respondió: «La política exterior es complicada, enfréntate solo si entiendes de lo que estamos hablando»[^5].
El presidente de Patriots, Jordan Bardella, no es menos pro-sionista. «Reconocer un Estado palestino significaría reconocer el terrorismo», dijo Bardella, quien antes de las elecciones francesas había asegurado que, si llegaba a ser primer ministro, sería «un escudo para los compatriotas judíos contra un islamismo que no solo quiere separar la República, sino conquistarla»[^6]. Por su parte, Marine Le Pen, madrina política de Bardella, declaró: «Es absolutamente legítimo que Israel quiera erradicar al grupo terrorista armado Hamas y que se dote de medios para hacerlo»[^7].
En cuanto a la Liga de Salvini como primer ministro, sus posiciones pro-trumpistas y pro-sionistas siempre se han caracterizado por un extremismo descarado. «Nunca he ocultado —dijo Salvini antes de las elecciones estadounidenses— mi esperanza en una victoria republicana, por mil razones (...) hablamos [con Trump] a más tardar hace unas semanas. Nunca he ocultado mi simpatía humana y mi sintonía cultural»[^8]. Y sobre el genocidio en curso en Palestina, Salvini dijo: «Nuestros pensamientos están con el pueblo israelí (...) Recordar siempre el derecho de Israel a existir, a defenderse y a convivir finalmente en paz con sus pueblos vecinos, contra el horror del terrorismo islámico»[^9]. El 6 de octubre de 2024, al final de su discurso desde el escenario de Pontida, Salvini posó para una foto con los Patriots presentes en la manifestación de la Liga Norte: además de Viktor Orbán, estuvieron el holandés Geert Wilders, el portugués André Ventura, la austriaca Marlene Svazek, el español Antonio Fúster y el general Roberto Vannacci. Enviaron mensajes en vídeo de apoyo y solidaridad tanto Jordán Bardella en nombre de Rassemblement national como el ex-presidente brasileño Jair Bolsonaro.
También Geert Wilders (Partij voor de Vrijheid), que en 2009 recibió el Premio Oriana Fallaci por producir un cortometraje de propaganda antiislámica, es conocido también por su extremismo prosionista. «Jerusalén, Judea y Samaria —en su opinión— son todas de Israel (...) La patria de los palestinos es el Reino de Jordania (...) Obama y Kerry deben dejar de criticar a Israel por los asentamientos. Judea y Samaria pertenecen a los israelíes»[^10]. En el programa de Wilders, «distinguiéndose durante dos décadas por su lucha contra la islamización —escribe complacido un sitio web sionista— está también el reconocimiento de Jerusalén como capital de Israel, con el traslado de la embajada holandesa»[^11].
André Ventura, presidente de ¡Chega!, reiteró en Polonia la posición prosionista de su partido, declarando convencido: «Estamos con Israel y permaneceremos junto a Israel en esta batalla por los derechos humanos y la democracia»[^12]. A quienes lo comparan con Donald Trump y Jair Bolsonaro, André Ventura responde: «Estoy acostumbrado a estas comparaciones. Estas son las ideas en las que creo»[^13]. En cuanto a la guerra en Ucrania, el líder de la lista ¡Chega! en las elecciones europeas, Antonio Tânger Corrêa, dijo que «la derrota de Ucrania sería la derrota de todo Occidente y de Portugal, en caso de extrema necesidad»[^14], enviarían a sus tropas.
Marlene Svazek representó a la Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs en Pontida, cuyos «excelentes contactos»[^15] con la derecha israelí están garantizados por David Lasar, miembro del Consejo Nacional (Nationalrat) del partido austriaco. Lasar no es el único judío en el FPÖ: también es judío el ex-secretario general del partido y ex-parlamentario europeo Peter Sichrovsky, quien ha negado ser un agente del Mossad, pero ha admitido haber tenido «muchas reuniones con funcionarios israelís»[^16].
José Antonio Fúster es el nuevo presidente de Vox Madrid. El jefe del partido que lo representa, Santiago Abascal, encabezó una delegación a Israel en 2023 que se reunió con dos ministros de Tel Aviv. «Durante la visita, Abascal ha transmitido el apoyo y la solidaridad de España al Primer Ministro israelí Benjamin Netanyahu, y ha defendido la urgente necesidad de acabar con Hamas que, según Abascal, es un grupo terrorista que «encarna el mal absoluto»[^17]. Tras la reunión de la delegación de Vox con Netanyahu, el candidato electoral Jorge Buxadé Villalba afirmó que las acciones genocidas cometidas por el régimen sionista en la Franja de Gaza son «operaciones antiterroristas» que deben continuar «hasta que no quede ni un solo terrorista»[^18].
En cuanto a Roberto Vannacci, elegido diputado del Parlamento Europeo en las listas de la Liga por Salvini, su currículum vitae patriot puede jactarse de una participación activa en las operaciones de EE.UU. en Oriente Medio. El general comandó durante dos turnos (2005-2006) el Special Forces Task Group en Irak y fue el primer comandante de la Task Force 45 en Afganistán en 2013, poco antes de la transición de la International Security Assistance Force a la Resolute Support Mission, Vannacci asumió el cargo de jefe del Estado Mayor de las fuerzas especiales de la OTAN, «una organización que ha garantizado la paz durante más de cincuenta años, una alianza política y militar que ha funcionado bien»[^19]. Habiendo prestado sus servicios a los Estados Unidos «para la estabilización de Irak»[^20] como Deputy Commanding General y Director of Training, el 21 de agosto de 2018, Vannacci fue galardonado con la Legion of Merit, la condecoración militar estadounidense creada por el presidente Franklin D. Roosevelt. Su consigna antes y después de la elección de Trump ha sido: «Go, Donald, go!».
[^1]: Cfr. C. Mutti, Alla destra degli USA, «Eurasia» 1/2023.
[^2]: Después de la confluencia de los grupos de Identity and Democracy en el grupo de Patriots, se aprobó una nueva versión del manifiesto político. Véase https://patriots.eu/manifesto
[^3]: Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs (Austria), 6; Vlaams Belang (Bélgica), 3; Dansk Folkeparti (Dinamarca), 1; Rassemblement National (Francia), 30; Foni Logikis (Grecia), 1; Fidesz - Magyar Polgári Szövetség (Hungría), 10; Kereszténydemokrata Néppárt (Hungría), 1; Liga para Salvini Premier (Italia), 8; Letvija primajâ vietâ (Letonia), 1; Partij voor de Vrijheid (Países Bajos), 6; Ruch Narodowy (Polonia), 2; ¡Chega! (Portugal), 2; ANO (República Checa), 7; Automovilistaé sobê (República Checa), 1; Přísaha (República Checa), 1; Vox (España), 6.
[^4]: Angela Napoletano, La «visita». Orbán incorona Trump: «Lui è il presidente della pace», avvenire.it, 9 marzo 2024.
[^5]: András Dezsô, The roots of Orbán’s strong bond with Israel and its PM, https://balkaninsight.com, 14 de noviembre de 2023.
[^6]: Bardella, «riconoscere Palestina è riconoscere terrorismo». «Sarò uno scudo per i nostri connazionali ebrei», ANSA, 26/6/2024.
[^7]: Mauro Zanon, Sorpresa, lo «scudo» degli ebrei in Francia è il partito della Le Pen, tempi.it, 27 de octubre de 2023.
[^8]: Stefano Baldolini, Salvina punta su Trump: «Spero che vinca. Andrò negli Usa prima del voto». Tensioni con Meloni? «Governo durerà 5 anni», repubblica.it, 13 de julio de 2024.
[^9]: Nova.News, 7 de octubre de 2024.
[^10]: Elezioni in Olanda, che è il sovranista Wilders: anti-Islam, contro l’Ue e sostenitore del Grande Israele, www.open.online, 23 de noviembre de 2023.
[^11]: www.informazionecorretta.com, 26 de octubre de 2024.
[^12]: www.agenzianova.com, 6 de octubre de 2024.
[^13]: Especial: André Ventura. «Sou contra o aborto mas nunca condenaria uma mulher que aborta», «Jornal SOL», 12 de julio de 2022.
[^14]: Ventura admite tropas portuguesas na Ucrânia e tem uma posição clara sobre Putin, «CNN Portugal», 11 de marzo de 2024.
[^15]: Sophie Makris, Austria’s Jews wary of far-right charm offensive, www.timeofisrael.com, 3 de marzo de 2019.
[^16]: Yossi Melman, Sichrovsky Denies He Was a Mossad Agent, www.haaretz.com, 3 de junio de 2005.
[^17]: Fernando Heller, Spagna: il leader di Vox pretende le scuse di Sánchez per aver messo in dubbio l’offensiva israeliana contro Hamas, https://euractiv.it, 6 de diciembre de 2023.
[^18]: El ultraderechista Vox defiende los ataques de Israel en Gaza tras la polémica reunión con Netanyahu, euronews, 29 de mayo de 2024.
[^19]: Bruno Vespa, Vannacci: «Dopo l’Ue tornerei nell’esercito», «La Verità», 30 de octubre de 2024, p. 7.
[^20]: Missione Iraq: Riconoscimento al Generale Roberto Vannacci, en www.difesa.it , cit. en www.wikipedia.org
Artículo original: Hipérbola Janus, Patriots (TOR), 9/Ene/2025
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@ fe02e8ec:f07fbe0b
2025-03-31 14:43:22\ Und genau dafür wirst auch du gedrillt werden: Menschen zu jagen und töten. Unbekannte, die auch nicht wissen, was sie hier tun. Oder Unschuldige, die nicht rechtzeitig fliehen konnten. Einfach töten. Alle. Ohne zu fragen. Denn das ist deine Aufgabe, Soldat: Töte Menschen!
Egal, was du vorher warst, Heizungsmonteur, KFZ-Mechaniker, Veganer, Marketing-Manager, Friseur, Verkäufer, Kindergärtner: Es ist egal. Jetzt musst du töten. Denn du hast mitgemacht. Entweder, weil du es nicht ernst genommen hast, weil du dich nie für Politik interessiert hast. Oder weil du gedacht hast, das alles betrifft dich nicht. Weil du gedacht hast, Wahlen könnten etwas verändern. Oder weil du immer das Maul gehalten hast, damit dich keiner als «Rechter» bezeichnet. Egal. Jetzt musst du töten. Das ist das Spiel.
Ja, es ist ein Spiel. Grausam, abartig, menschenverachtend. Dennoch hat es Regeln: Diejenigen, die das Spiel beginnen, müssen niemals selbst auf das Schlachtfeld. Das ist die erste Regel. Ihre Söhne auch nicht, nicht die Söhne der anderen Politiker, nicht die der EU-Abgeordneten, nicht die der Parteibonzen. Auch nicht die der Banker, der Vorstandsvorsitzenden, der Chefredakteure. Denn alle wissen, wie man das Spiel spielt. Nur du nicht.
Du bist einfach eine Figur auf dem Spielfeld, die es verpasst hat, NEIN zu sagen, als noch Gelegenheit war. Jetzt bist du verwandelt worden in eine menschliche Drohne. Wenn sie sagen: töte!, dann tötest du. Denken kannst du, wenn alles vorbei ist. Falls du je wieder nach Hause kommst. Vielleicht sogar mit beiden Beinen und beiden Armen. Vielleicht auch nicht. Egal. Wer hätte Mitleid mit einer Spielfigur?
Nein, du musst töten. Das ist deine Aufgabe. Sie sagen es nun schon seit Monaten, warum glaubst du es nicht? Sie meinen es ernst. Wenn du den Brief in Händen hältst ist es zu spät. Es gilt dann das Notstandsrecht und keiner kann mehr verweigern. Da hättest du dich vorher drum kümmern müssen. Oder auf eine Demo gehen. Oder laut und mit klarer Stimme in jedem Gespräch den Wahnsinn anprangern. Hast du aber nicht.
Jetzt musst du töten oder du wirst getötet. Das ist das Spiel. Du hättest selbst denken können. Hast du aber nicht. Hast deine Zeit mit sinnlosen Videos vertan, Netflix geguckt und hast Influencerinnen geliked. Die müssen nicht an die Front. Aber du. Morgen, wenn du aufstehst, die Uniform anziehst und rausgehst, dann wirst du Befehle ausführen oder erschossen werden. Also wirst du Menschen töten. Dein Leben wird nie wieder so sein, wie zuvor. Dein Schmerz, deine Schuld, dein Leid: sie gehen ein in die unendliche Reihe der Soldaten, die seit Jahrhunderten dasselbe Schicksal erlitten. Deren Schreie noch immer durch den ewigen Raum hallen. Deren Opfer von den Herren des Spiels mit einem Lächeln entgegengenommen wurde. Deren Gliedmaßen auf den Schlachtfeldern liegen geblieben waren. Zum Dank erhielten sie eine Medaille. Ein Stück Blech für den rechten Arm, einen Grabstein für den Vater, den Bruder, den Sohn. Für das Vaterland. Für Europa. Für die Demokratie. Der Hohn tropft aus jedem Politikerwort, doch die Menschen glauben noch immer die uralte Geschichte von Freund und Feind, von Gut und Böse.
\ Wer nicht aufwachen will muss töten. Du. Nicht am Bildschirm. In der echten Welt. Wo man nicht auf Replay drücken kann. Wo man den Gegner nicht nach links oder rechts swipen kann, denn er ist echt, real, lebendig. Noch. Entweder er oder du. Jetzt ist es zu spät für Entscheidungen. Kannst du es spüren? Die Work-Life Balance wird zur Kill-or-be-Killed balance. Es gibt kein Entrinnen. Denn du hast mitgemacht. Schweigen ist Zustimmung. Sich-nicht-drumkümmern ist Zustimmung. Kriegsparteien zu wählen ist noch mehr Zustimmung.
Heute.
Heute lässt sich noch etwas ändern.
Es hat nichts zu tun mit rechts oder links. Nur mit Menschlichkeit versus Hass, Macht und dem ganz großen Geld. Das sind die Gründe, für die du töten oder sterben musst.
Wie entscheidest du dich?
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@ 0d1702d6:8f1ac66f
2025-03-31 10:45:57Als Verrücktheit bezeichnen \ wir die chronische Entwicklung \ eines dauernden Wahnsystems \ bei vollkommener Erhaltung \ der Besonnenheit.
Psychiater Emil Kraepelin 1893
Es ist Teil des westlichen Wahnsystems anzunehmen, Russland habe aus imperialen Absichten heraus 2022 mit nur 130.000 Soldaten die Grenze zur Ukraine überschritten, um so die gesamte Ukraine und später wohlmöglich Westeuropa militärisch einzunehmen, wie z.B. der deutsche Kriegsminister Pistorius seit 2023 suggerierte.
Nachdem die USA bereits 2014 die berechtigten Anti-Korruptions-Proteste der Ukrainer auf dem Maidan durch massive Unterstützung für einen illegalen Putsch gegen die russlandfreundliche Regierung im Sinne des von den USA gewünschten Regimewechsels manipuliert hatten, rüsteten sie in den folgenden Jahren die Ukraine massiv auf, trainierten ihre Soldaten, bauten mehr als einen Stützpunkt und machten die zwischen Ost & West hin- und hergerissene Ukraine so zielgerichtet unterhalb offizieller NATO-Mitgliedschaft schon zu einem kampfstarken eng befreundeten Partner, dessen Krieg gegen seine eigene russisch-stämmige Bevölkerung im rohstoffreichen Donbass die NATO unter Führung der USA somit auch direkt und indirekt unterstützte.
Nachdem der Westen den Russen bei der Wiedervereinigung Deutschlands versprochen hatte, die NATO keinen Zentimeter nach Osten vorzuschieben und stattdessen ein gemeinsames europäisches Sicherheits-System unter Einbeziehung Russlands gemeinsam zu entwickeln, brachen wir diese Zusicherung mit den NATO-Osterweiterungen ab 1999 mehrfach bis heute.
Russland zeigte sich bei seiner zunehmenden Umzingelung durch NATO-Staaten wesentlich nachsichtiger als es umgekehrt die USA schon bei russischen wenigen Raketen auf Kuba 1962 jemals waren und heute sein würden!
Zugleich hatte Russland seit Beginn der NATO-Osterweiterung immer unmissverständlich klar gemacht, dass es eine Stationierung von NATO-Truppen & Raketen in der Ukraine niemals tolerieren würde. Der damalige US-Senator und 2022 US-Präsident Biden sagte schon Ende der 90'er Jahre öffentlich, man werde auf diesen Wunsch der – nach Meinung von US-Geostrategen viel zu schwächen – Russen keine Rücksicht nehmen und erwarte, dass ihnen irgendwann die Nerven ob dieser provokativen Umzingelung durchgingen…
Folgerichtig simulierten die USA und die Europäer - wie Angela Merkel bereits öffentlich eingestanden - nur Verhandlungen über die Abkommen Minsk I und II, damit genügend Zeit blieb die Ukraine aufzurüsten und diese dann einen starken militärischen Schlag gegen die russisch stämmige Bevölkerung im Donbass und die russischen Soldaten auf der Krim ausführen konnte, ein Szenario, welches Anfang 2022 durch einen Truppenaufmarsch auch auf ukrainischer Seite weit fortgeschritten vorbereitet war, bevor im Februar 2022 die russische Armee die Grenze zur Ukraine überschritt.\ \ Trotz alledem kamen schon im April 2022 Unterhändler der Ukraine und Russlands in Ankara zur Übereinkunft eines Waffenstillstandes und Friedensplans (!), der dann allerdings von dem damaligen britischen Premierminister Boris Johnson – in Kooperation mit Joe Biden – durch einen Besuch in Kiew mit dem Versprechen von grenzenlosen Waffenlieferungen \ & logistischer Unterstützung durch die USA und Westeuropa „abgetrieben“ wurde.\ \ Zunächst wurden diese Tatsachen wie üblich öffentlich in deutschen und europäischen Medien als „Verschwörungstheorie“ diffamiert, bis sie in den folgenden Monaten jedoch langsam selbst in die Mainstream-Medien Deutschlands, Europas wie den USA einsickerten.\ \ Zwischenfazit:\ Nachdem die USA ihre so und so viel gewählte globale „Regime Change“ Operation auf dem Maidan schon 10 Jahre lang vorbereitet hatten, gelang ihnen im Jahr 2014 tatsächlich zunächst einen pro-westlichen illegalen Putschpräsidenten, danach auch weitere pro-westliche Präsidenten zu installieren und einem Teil der Weltöffentlichkeit, vor allem aber ihren „Freunden“ im Westen einzureden, die „bösen Russen“ hätten diesen Krieg quasi aus dem Nichts heraus (ohne lange Vorgeschichte!) und trotz Verhandlungen (welche realen statt nur simulierten Verhandlungen?) vom Zaun gebrochen...\ \ Damit war ihr seit über 30 Jahren offen formuliertes geostrategisches Kalkül, \ die Schwäche der Russen nach Auflösung des Warschauer Paktes auszunutzen, sie mit der NATO zu umzingeln und bei Widerstand dann eben in einem kräftezehrenden Krieg stark zu schwächen und damit ein für alle Male als ökonomische Konkurrenten in Europa auszuschalten scheinbar aufgegangen...\ \ Das paranoide alte und zugleich kindliche „Freund/Feind Schema“ hatte seinen Dienst verrichtet und das „imperiale Böse“ konnte bequem auf „Putin und die Russen“ projiziert werden.
\ Schizophren ist dies auch deswegen, weil mit zweierlei Maß gemessen wurde und wird, denn niemals würden die USA auch nur eine russische Rakete auf Kuba tolerieren und gehen selber - ganz anders als Russland - global weit über die eigene Grenzsicherung hinaus, indem sie sich anmaßen, den gesamten Globus mit fast 800 Militärbasen zu überziehen und je nach Bedarf Kriege zu führen, wenn es ihnen zur Sicherung ihrer Rohstoffe - für auch unseren westlichen Lebensstil - und/oder geostrategischen Macht opportun und machbar erscheint.\ \ Deutschland spielt seit 2022 die naive und mehr als traurige Vorreiterrolle eines unterwürfigen Vasallen der so tut, als würde unsere Freiheit durch gegenseitigen Mord und Totschlag von Hunderttausenden junger Ukrainer und Russen in der Ukraine verteidigt, eine äußerst perverse und dümmliche Vorstellung ohne historische geschweige denn geo-strategische Kenntnisse und Erfahrungswerte.\ \ Demgegenüber ist klar: Es gibt nur EINE Sicherheit in Europa für alle vom Atlantik bis hinter den Ural, oder es gibt KEINE Sicherheit für Niemanden, \ wenn wir nicht die berechtigten Sicherheitsinteressen der Russen ernst nehmen, die wir, d.h. die unsere Väter und Großväter bereits im 20.Jahrhundert rücksichtslos überfallen, mit Krieg überzogen und ermordet haben.\ \ John F. Kennedy und Nikita S. Chruschtschow waren 1962 im historischen Gegenstück zum „Ukrainekrieg“, der „Kubakrise“, weise genug einen Weltkrieg durch gegenseitige Zugeständnisse zu verhindern.
Wo sind die Politiker von Format, die in ihre Fußstapfen treten?\ \ Es wäre eine bitterböse Farce, wenn ausgerechnet ein autoritärer Oligarchen-Präsident wie Donald Trump die Weisheit hätte, diesen Schritt zu tun...\ \ Zugleich wäre die öffentliche Bankrott-Erklärung aller europäischen Politiker, \ die sich als viel demokratischer, sachlicher und menschlicher ansehen \ und ihre eigene dramatische Fehlleistung wohl niemals eingestehen...\ \ Allein die politische wie mediale Empörungswelle in Deutschland, als Trump und Putin ganz offenlegten, wer denn in diesem Krieg das Sagen hat, \ lässt Schlimmstes befürchten. Obwohl aus gut unterrichteten Diplomatenkreisen längst durchgesickert ist, dass im Prinzip die gesamte Analyse hier unter Diplomaten anerkannt und ziemlich nah an den Tatsachen ist, gehört nicht viel Lebenserfahrung dazu zu wissen, dass die meisten der ach so mächtigen westeuropäischen Politiker dies nie zugeben werden...
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@ 7d33ba57:1b82db35
2025-03-31 09:28:36Rovinj is one of Croatia’s most beautiful coastal towns, known for its colorful Venetian-style buildings, cobblestone streets, and breathtaking sea views. Located on the Istrian Peninsula, Rovinj offers a mix of history, culture, and stunning beaches, making it a perfect getaway for travelers seeking both relaxation and adventure.
🌊 Top Things to See & Do in Rovinj
1️⃣ Explore Rovinj Old Town 🏡
- Wander through narrow, winding streets filled with art galleries, boutique shops, and charming cafés.
- Discover Balbi’s Arch, the old entrance to the city, and the Clock Tower.
- Enjoy stunning sunset views from the harbor.
2️⃣ Visit St. Euphemia’s Church ⛪
- The most famous landmark in Rovinj, located at the highest point of the Old Town.
- Climb the bell tower for a panoramic view of the Adriatic and nearby islands.
- Learn about Saint Euphemia, the town’s patron saint, and her fascinating legend.
3️⃣ Relax at Rovinj’s Best Beaches 🏖️
- Lone Bay Beach – A popular spot near Zlatni Rt forest, great for swimming.
- Mulini Beach – A stylish beach with a cocktail bar and clear waters.
- Cuvi Beach – A quieter, family-friendly pebble beach.
4️⃣ Walk or Cycle Through Golden Cape Forest Park (Zlatni Rt) 🌿🚲
- A protected nature park with pine forests, walking trails, and hidden coves.
- Great for hiking, cycling, and rock climbing.
- Perfect for a picnic with sea views.
5️⃣ Take a Boat Trip to Rovinj Archipelago 🛥️
- Explore Red Island (Crveni Otok) – A peaceful getaway with sandy beaches.
- Visit St. Andrew’s Island, home to a former Benedictine monastery.
- Sunset dolphin-watching tours are a must! 🐬
6️⃣ Try Authentic Istrian Cuisine 🍽️
- Fuži with truffles – A local pasta dish with Istria’s famous truffles.
- Istrian seafood platter – Fresh fish, mussels, and Adriatic shrimp.
- Olive oil & wine tasting – Try local Malvazija (white) and Teran (red) wines.
7️⃣ Visit the Batana House Museum ⛵
- A unique museum dedicated to Rovinj’s traditional wooden fishing boats (batanas).
- Learn about local fishing traditions and maritime culture.
- End the visit with a traditional batana boat ride at sunset.
🚗 How to Get to Rovinj
✈️ By Air: The nearest airport is Pula Airport (PUY), 40 km away.
🚘 By Car:
- From Pula: ~40 min (40 km)
- From Zagreb: ~3 hours (250 km)
- From Ljubljana (Slovenia): ~2.5 hours (170 km)
🚌 By Bus: Direct buses from Pula, Rijeka, and Zagreb.
🚢 By Ferry: Seasonal ferries connect Rovinj with Venice, Italy (~2.5 hours).💡 Tips for Visiting Rovinj
✅ Best time to visit? May–September for warm weather & festivals ☀️
✅ Wear comfy shoes – The Old Town streets are made of polished stone & can be slippery 👟
✅ Book restaurants in advance – Rovinj is a foodie hotspot, especially in summer 🍷
✅ Take a sunset walk along the harbor – One of the most romantic views in Croatia 🌅
✅ Bring cash – Some smaller shops and taverns still prefer cash 💶 -
@ 78c90fc4:4bff983c
2025-03-31 08:13:17Die Operation „Cast Thy Bread“ war eine verdeckte Kampagne zur biologischen Kriegsführung, die von der Haganah und später von den israelischen Verteidigungsstreitkräften während des arabisch-israelischen Krieges 1948 durchgeführt wurde[1][3]. Bei der Operation, die im April 1948 begann, wurden Trinkwasserquellen mit Typhusbakterien verseucht, um palästinensisch-arabische Zivilisten und verbündete arabische Armeen anzugreifen[1][3].
\ \ ## Wichtige Details\ \ - **Ziel**: Palästinensische Araber an der Rückkehr in eroberte Dörfer zu hindern und die Versuche der arabischen Armeen, Gebiete zurückzuerobern, zu behindern[1].\ - **Methoden**: Israelische Streitkräfte setzten Typhuskeime in Flaschen, Reagenzgläsern und Thermoskannen ein, um Brunnen und Wasservorräte in palästinensischen Gebieten zu vergiften[1][3].\ - **Führung**: Die Operation wurde vom israelischen Premierminister David Ben-Gurion und dem Generalstabschef der IDF, Yigael Yadin, beaufsichtigt und genehmigt[1].\ \ ## Bemerkenswerte Vorfälle\ \ - Akkon (Akka)**: Die Wasserversorgung der Stadt wurde am 15. Mai 1948 verseucht, was zu einer Typhusepidemie und „extremer Verzweiflung“ unter den Einwohnern führte[1][3].\ - **Gaza**: Im Mai 1948 versuchten vier Soldaten der israelischen Spezialeinheiten, die örtliche Wasserversorgung zu vergiften, wurden jedoch gefangen genommen und hingerichtet[1].\ - **Andere Orte**: Auch in Jericho, Eilabun und palästinensischen Vierteln in Jerusalem wurden Brunnen vergiftet[1][3].\ \ ## Folgen\ \ Die Operation führte zu schweren Erkrankungen unter den palästinensischen Anwohnern, von denen Dutzende betroffen sein sollen[1][3]. Sie erzielte jedoch nicht die von ihren Befürwortern erhoffte lähmende Wirkung und wurde im Dezember 1948 eingestellt[1].\ \ ## Historische Bedeutung\ \ Die Operation „Gegossenes Brot“ wurde als Kriegsverbrechen und als Akt der ethnischen Säuberung eingestuft[1]. Ihre Enthüllung hat eine Kontroverse und Debatte über die im Krieg von 1948 angewandten Taktiken und ihre langfristigen Auswirkungen auf den israelisch-palästinensischen Konflikt ausgelöst[2][4].
Quellen
[1] Operation Cast Thy Bread - Wikipedia https\://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Cast_Thy_Bread
[2] Cast Thy Bread Archives - Promised Land Museum https\://promisedlandmuseum.org/tag/cast-thy-bread/
[3] From 'Virtuous Boy' to Murderous Fanatic: David Ben-Gurion and the ... https\://www.euppublishing.com/doi/10.3366/hlps.2023.0308
[4] Historians reveal Israel's use of poison against Palestinians https\://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20221011-historians-reveal-israels-use-of-poison-against-palestinians/
[5] Thoughts on Operation Cast Thy Bread? : r/IsraelPalestine - Reddit https\://www.reddit.com/r/IsraelPalestine/comments/1g02b64/thoughts_on_operation_cast_thy_bread/
[6] 'Cast thy bread': Israeli biological warfare during the 1948 War https\://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00263206.2022.2122448
[7] 'Cast thy bread': Israeli biological warfare during the 1948 War https\://cris.bgu.ac.il/en/publications/cast-thy-bread-israeli-biological-warfare-during-the-1948-war
[8] 'Cast thy bread': Israeli biological warfare during the 1948 War https\://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00263206.2022.2122448
\
Artikel https://x.com/RealWsiegrist/status/1906616394747179136
Nakba
https://waltisiegrist.locals.com/upost/2033124/die-siedler-fordern-ganz-offen-eine-zweite-nakba
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@ c631e267:c2b78d3e
2025-03-31 07:23:05Der Irrsinn ist bei Einzelnen etwas Seltenes – \ aber bei Gruppen, Parteien, Völkern, Zeiten die Regel. \ Friedrich Nietzsche
Erinnern Sie sich an die Horrorkomödie «Scary Movie»? Nicht, dass ich diese Art Filme besonders erinnerungswürdig fände, aber einige Szenen daraus sind doch gewissermaßen Klassiker. Dazu zählt eine, die das Verhalten vieler Protagonisten in Horrorfilmen parodiert, wenn sie in Panik flüchten. Welchen Weg nimmt wohl die Frau in der Situation auf diesem Bild?
Diese Szene kommt mir automatisch in den Sinn, wenn ich aktuelle Entwicklungen in Europa betrachte. Weitreichende Entscheidungen gehen wider jede Logik in die völlig falsche Richtung. Nur ist das hier alles andere als eine Komödie, sondern bitterernst. Dieser Horror ist leider sehr real.
Die Europäische Union hat sich selbst über Jahre konsequent in eine Sackgasse manövriert. Sie hat es versäumt, sich und ihre Politik selbstbewusst und im Einklang mit ihren Wurzeln auf dem eigenen Kontinent zu positionieren. Stattdessen ist sie in blinder Treue den vermeintlichen «transatlantischen Freunden» auf ihrem Konfrontationskurs gen Osten gefolgt.
In den USA haben sich die Vorzeichen allerdings mittlerweile geändert, und die einst hoch gelobten «Freunde und Partner» erscheinen den europäischen «Führern» nicht mehr vertrauenswürdig. Das ist spätestens seit der Münchner Sicherheitskonferenz, der Rede von Vizepräsident J. D. Vance und den empörten Reaktionen offensichtlich. Große Teile Europas wirken seitdem wie ein aufgescheuchter Haufen kopfloser Hühner. Orientierung und Kontrolle sind völlig abhanden gekommen.
Statt jedoch umzukehren oder wenigstens zu bremsen und vielleicht einen Abzweig zu suchen, geben die Crash-Piloten jetzt auf dem Weg durch die Sackgasse erst richtig Gas. Ja sie lösen sogar noch die Sicherheitsgurte und deaktivieren die Airbags. Den vor Angst dauergelähmten Passagieren fällt auch nichts Besseres ein und so schließen sie einfach die Augen. Derweil übertrumpfen sich die Kommentatoren des Events gegenseitig in sensationslüsterner «Berichterstattung».
Wie schon die deutsche Außenministerin mit höchsten UN-Ambitionen, Annalena Baerbock, proklamiert auch die Europäische Kommission einen «Frieden durch Stärke». Zu dem jetzt vorgelegten, selbstzerstörerischen Fahrplan zur Ankurbelung der Rüstungsindustrie, genannt «Weißbuch zur europäischen Verteidigung – Bereitschaft 2030», erklärte die Kommissionspräsidentin, die «Ära der Friedensdividende» sei längst vorbei. Soll das heißen, Frieden bringt nichts ein? Eine umfassende Zusammenarbeit an dauerhaften europäischen Friedenslösungen steht demnach jedenfalls nicht zur Debatte.
Zusätzlich brisant ist, dass aktuell «die ganze EU von Deutschen regiert wird», wie der EU-Parlamentarier und ehemalige UN-Diplomat Michael von der Schulenburg beobachtet hat. Tatsächlich sitzen neben von der Leyen und Strack-Zimmermann noch einige weitere Deutsche in – vor allem auch in Krisenzeiten – wichtigen Spitzenposten der Union. Vor dem Hintergrund der Kriegstreiberei in Deutschland muss eine solche Dominanz mindestens nachdenklich stimmen.
Ihre ursprünglichen Grundwerte wie Demokratie, Freiheit, Frieden und Völkerverständigung hat die EU kontinuierlich in leere Worthülsen verwandelt. Diese werden dafür immer lächerlicher hochgehalten und beschworen.
Es wird dringend Zeit, dass wir, der Souverän, diesem erbärmlichen und gefährlichen Trauerspiel ein Ende setzen und die Fäden selbst in die Hand nehmen. In diesem Sinne fordert uns auch das «European Peace Project» auf, am 9. Mai im Rahmen eines Kunstprojekts den Frieden auszurufen. Seien wir dabei!
[Titelbild: Pixabay]
Dieser Beitrag wurde mit dem Pareto-Client geschrieben und ist zuerst auf Transition News erschienen.
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@ 78c90fc4:4bff983c
2025-03-31 07:03:41In Palästina und im Ausland wurde das Abkommen einzelner jüdischer Organisationen mit dem nationalsozialistischen Deutschland heftig kritisiert. Auf dem 18. Zionistenkongress 1933 in Prag etwa bezeichnete der Schriftsteller Schalom Asch das Abkommen mit Hitlers Regime als „Verrat am Weltjudentum“. Chaim Arlosoroff, der damalige Verhandlungsführer der Jewish Agency, wurde wahrscheinlich deshalb im Juni 1933 Opfer eines Mordanschlags.
https\://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ha’avara-Abkommen
Am 16. Juni 1933 wurde Chaim Arlosoroff kurz nach seiner Rückkehr von den Transfer-Verhandlungen in Deutschland durch den Pistolenschuss eines Attentäters schwer verletzt, als er mit seiner Frau Sima, geb. Rubin, am Strand von Tel Aviv entlangging. Er verstarb am folgenden Tag im Krankenhaus. Wer der Attentäter war, ist bis heute ungeklärt. Zunächst wurden drei Verdächtige angeklagt. Zwei von ihnen wurden freigesprochen, einer, Abraham Stavsky, wurde verurteilt, doch das Urteil wurde durch das oberste Appellationsgericht aufgehoben.
https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaim_Arlosoroff#Ermordung
Instrumentalisierung des Holocaust
Von Anneliese Fikentscher und Andreas Neumann
Zum Schluss ein Zitat aus dem 2017 erschienenen Buch "Die israelisch-jüdische Tragödie. Von Auschwitz zum Besatzungs- und Apartheidstaat. Das Ende der Verklärung" von Arn Strohmeyer: „Der vielleicht radikalste Kritiker des israelischen Holocaustgedenkens ist der amerikanisch -jüdische Politologe Norman Finkelstein. Er wendet sich vor allem gegen das in Israel und den USA verwendete Dogma, der Holocaust sei 'einzigartig' gewesen und mit anderen Verbrechen nicht vergleichbar, dass er in der Geschichte also ohne Parallele sei. Diese Behauptung – so Finkelstein – impliziert eine Reihe anderer Behauptungen, die wiederum die Instrumentalisierung des Holocaust ausmachen. Erstens: Die Konstruktion des Holocaust als einzigartig gilt als gegeben, sie zu leugnen gilt als Leugnung des Holocaust. Diese Behauptung schließt zweitens ein rationales Verständnis des Holocaust aus, er macht den Holocaust zu einem Mysterium, wie Elie Wiesel ihn verstanden hat. Einzigartiges Leid verleiht drittens einen einzigartigen Anspruch. Die Unvergleichlichkeit des Holocaust stellt also ein moralisches Kapital dar, das Israel als politisches Alibi benutzt. Israel kann – so Finkelstein – diese moralischen und emotionalen Ansprüche an andere Staaten stellen und die Anerkennung seines Rechts einfordern, dass es als besonders bedroht gelten kann und seine Anstrengungen zum Überleben der Unterstützung bedarf. Die Behauptung der Einzigartigkeit des Holocaust beinhaltet auch die Behauptung der jüdischen Einzigartigkeit. Der Holocaust ist also etwas Besonderes, weil Juden etwas Besonderes sind, was man als säkularisierte Version der Auserwähltheit deuten kann. Diese Behauptungen – so Finkelstein – sollen Israels Sonderstellung legitimieren, sollen von vornherein jede unmenschliche Behandlung von Nichtjuden entschuldigen (Israel ist 'alles erlaubt!') und machen diesen Staat und seine Politik gegen jede Kritik immun. Bei dieser Instrumentalisierung des Holocaust bleiben die Rechte und die Würde der Opfer – welcher auch immer – völlig auf der Strecke.“ Ist das einer breiten Öffentlichkeit bewusst?
http://www.nrhz.de/flyer/beitrag.php?id=24469
Perplexity:
Der Schriftsteller Schalom Asch kritisierte das Ha'avara-Abkommen scharf auf dem 18. Zionistischen Kongress, der vom 21. August bis 4. September 1933 in Prag stattfand. Er bezeichnete das Abkommen mit dem Hitler-Regime als "ein Verrat am Weltjudentum"[1][2].
Das Ha'avara-Abkommen wurde am 10. August 1933 zwischen der Jewish Agency, der Zionistischen Vereinigung für Deutschland und dem deutschen Reichsministerium für Wirtschaft geschlossen. Es sollte die Emigration deutscher Juden nach Palästina erleichtern und gleichzeitig den deutschen Export fördern[2].
Am 5. November 1933 wurde die "Trust and Transfer Office Ha'avara Ltd." als quasi privates Unternehmen eingetragen[1][3]. Trotz der anfänglichen Kritik billigte die Zionistische Weltorganisation auf ihrer Konferenz am 20. August 1935 in Luzern mit Mehrheit den Ha'avara-Abschluss und übernahm sogar dessen gesamte Tätigkeit in eigene Regie[1][2][3].
Das Abkommen war innerhalb der zionistischen Bewegung umstritten, da es den gleichzeitig vorangetriebenen Boykottmaßnahmen gegen die Nationalsozialisten zuwiderlief[2]. Es ermöglichte deutschen Juden, einen Teil ihres Vermögens nach Palästina zu transferieren, wobei ein bestimmter Prozentsatz als Reichsfluchtsteuer vom deutschen Fiskus einbehalten wurde[5].
Quellen
[1] Zionistenkongress - Wikiwand https\://www.wikiwand.com/de/articles/Zionistenkongress
[2] Ha'avara-Abkommen - Wikiwand https\://www.wikiwand.com/de/articles/Haavara-Abkommen
[3] Zionistenkongress - Wikipedia https\://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zionistenkongress
[4] Schalom Asch - Wikipedia https\://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schalom_Asch
[5] Ha'avara-Abkommen - Wikipedia https\://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ha%E2%80%99avara-Abkommen
[6] Stefan Zweig. Briefe zum Judentum. Hg. v. Stefan Litt. Berlin ... https\://judaica.ch/article/view/8320/11519
[7] Das Haavara-Transfer-Abkommen | Die Wohnung | bpb.de https\://www.bpb.de/themen/nationalsozialismus-zweiter-weltkrieg/die-wohnung/195259/das-haavara-transfer-abkommen/
[8] Jüdischer Verlag - Wikipedia https\://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C3%BCdischer_Verlag
Artikel https://x.com/RealWsiegrist/status/1906601705355252211
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@ da0b9bc3:4e30a4a9
2025-03-31 06:32:43Hello Stackers!
Welcome on into the ~Music Corner of the Saloon!
A place where we Talk Music. Share Tracks. Zap Sats.
So stay a while and listen.
🚨Don't forget to check out the pinned items in the territory homepage! You can always find the latest weeklies there!🚨
🚨Subscribe to the territory to ensure you never miss a post! 🚨
originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/929968
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@ 6be5cc06:5259daf0
2025-03-31 03:39:07Introdução
Uma sociedade não deve ser construída sobre coerção, mas sim sobre associações voluntárias e interações espontâneas entre indivíduos. A sociedade de condomínios privados surge como uma alternativa natural ao modelo atual de centros urbanos, substituindo a imposição centralizada por estruturas baseadas em contratos e livre associação. Cada condomínio é uma unidade autônoma, gerida por aqueles que ali residem, onde os critérios de entrada, as regras internas e o comércio são definidos pelos próprios participantes. Essa estrutura permite que indivíduos se agrupem com base em valores compartilhados, eliminando os conflitos artificiais impostos por estados e legislações homogêneas que não respeitam a diversidade de preferências e estilos de vida.
O objetivo dessa sociedade é simples: permitir que as pessoas vivam de acordo com seus princípios sem interferência externa. Em um mundo onde a coerção estatal distorce incentivos, os condomínios privados oferecem uma alternativa onde a ordem surge do livre mercado e da cooperação voluntária. Os moradores escolhem seus vizinhos, definem suas próprias normas e interagem economicamente conforme suas necessidades e interesses. O modelo elimina a necessidade de um controle central, pois os incentivos derivados do livre mercado levam ao desenvolvimento de comunidades prósperas, onde a reputação e a confiança mútua são mais eficazes do que qualquer imposição estatal. Assim, essa sociedade representa a evolução lógica do conceito de liberdade individual e propriedade privada como pilares fundamentais da ordem social.
Público-Alvo e Identidade
Os condomínios privados refletem o princípio da livre associação, permitindo que indivíduos escolham viver em comunidades alinhadas com seus valores e necessidades sem interferência estatal. Cada condomínio possui uma identidade própria, moldada pelos moradores e seus interesses, criando ambientes onde afinidades culturais, filosóficas ou profissionais são preservadas e incentivadas. Enquanto alguns podem ser voltados para famílias numerosas, oferecendo amplos espaços e infraestrutura adequada, outros podem priorizar solteiros e jovens profissionais, com áreas de coworking e espaços de lazer voltados para networking e socialização. Da mesma forma, comunidades religiosas podem estabelecer seus próprios espaços de culto e eventos, enquanto condomínios para idosos podem ser projetados com acessibilidade e serviços médicos especializados.
Críticos podem afirmar que essa forma de organização resulta em pouca diversidade de habilidades e perspectivas, mas esse argumento ignora a dinâmica das interações humanas e o caráter evolutivo dos intercâmbios entre comunidades. Nenhum condomínio existe isolado; a troca entre diferentes comunidades ocorre naturalmente pelo mercado, incentivando o intercâmbio de conhecimento e serviços entre especialistas de diferentes áreas. Além disso, a ideia de que todos os grupos devem conter uma variedade aleatória de indivíduos desconsidera que a verdadeira diversidade nasce da liberdade de escolha, e não da imposição estatal de convivências forçadas.
Outra crítica possível é que a existência de critérios de entrada pode levar à segregação social. No entanto, essa preocupação deriva da concepção errônea de que todas as comunidades devem ser abertas e incluir qualquer pessoa indiscriminadamente. Porém, a liberdade de associação implica, necessariamente, a liberdade de exclusão. Se um grupo deseja manter determinada identidade cultural, religiosa ou profissional, isso não impede que outros grupos criem suas próprias comunidades conforme seus valores e recursos. Além disso, essa especialização leva a uma concorrência saudável entre condomínios, forçando-os a oferecer melhores condições para atrair moradores. Em vez de uma sociedade homogênea moldada por burocratas, temos um mosaico de comunidades autônomas, onde cada indivíduo pode encontrar ou criar o ambiente que melhor lhe convém.
Autossuficiência e Especialização
A força dos condomínios privados reside na capacidade de seus moradores de contribuírem ativamente para a comunidade, tornando-a funcional e autossuficiente sem a necessidade de intervenções estatais. Diferentes condomínios podem se especializar em áreas específicas ou ter diversos profissionais de diferentes setores, refletindo as competências e interesses de seus residentes. Essa descentralização do conhecimento e da produção permite que cada comunidade desenvolva soluções internas para suas demandas, reduzindo dependências externas e estimulando a prosperidade local.
Os moradores atuam como agentes econômicos, trocando bens e serviços dentro do próprio condomínio e entre diferentes comunidades. Um condomínio voltado para a saúde, por exemplo, pode contar com médicos, enfermeiros e terapeutas que oferecem consultas, aulas e assistência médica particular, remunerados diretamente por seus clientes, sem a intermediação de burocracias. Da mesma forma, um condomínio agrícola pode abrigar agricultores que cultivam alimentos orgânicos, compartilham técnicas de cultivo e comercializam excedentes com outros condomínios, garantindo um fluxo contínuo de suprimentos. Em um condomínio tecnológico, programadores, engenheiros e empreendedores desenvolvem soluções de TI, segurança digital e energia renovável, promovendo a inovação e ampliando as possibilidades de intercâmbio econômico.
A economia interna de cada condomínio se fortalece através de serviços oferecidos pelos próprios moradores. Professores podem ministrar aulas, técnicos podem prestar serviços de manutenção, artesãos podem vender seus produtos diretamente para os vizinhos. O mercado livre e voluntário é o principal regulador dessas interações, garantindo que a especialização surja naturalmente conforme a demanda e a oferta se ajustam. Essa estrutura elimina desperdícios comuns em sistemas centralizados, onde a alocação de recursos se dá por decisões políticas e não pelas necessidades reais da população.
Alguns argumentam que a especialização pode criar bolhas de conhecimento, tornando os condomínios excessivamente dependentes de trocas externas. Contudo, essa preocupação desconsidera a natureza espontânea do mercado, que incentiva a cooperação e o comércio entre comunidades distintas. Nenhum condomínio precisa produzir tudo internamente; ao contrário, a divisão do trabalho e a liberdade de escolha promovem interdependências saudáveis e vantajosas para todos. Assim, cada morador se insere em um ecossistema dinâmico, onde suas habilidades são valorizadas e sua autonomia preservada, sem coerções estatais ou distorções artificiais impostas por planejadores centrais.
Infraestrutura e Sustentabilidade
A solidez de uma sociedade baseada em condomínios privados depende de uma infraestrutura eficiente e sustentável, projetada para reduzir a dependência externa e garantir o máximo de autonomia. Sem um aparato estatal centralizador, cada comunidade deve estruturar seus próprios meios de obtenção de energia, água, alimentação e demais bens essenciais, garantindo que suas operações sejam viáveis a longo prazo. Essa abordagem, longe de ser um entrave, representa a verdadeira inovação descentralizada: um ambiente onde as soluções emergem da necessidade real e da engenhosidade humana, e não de diretrizes burocráticas e regulamentos ineficazes.
Cada condomínio pode investir em tecnologias sustentáveis e autônomas, como energia solar e eólica, reduzindo custos e minimizando a vulnerabilidade às flutuações do mercado energético tradicional. Sistemas de captação e filtragem de água da chuva, bem como a reutilização eficiente dos recursos hídricos, garantem independência em relação a empresas monopolistas e governos que frequentemente administram esse bem de forma ineficaz. Hortas comunitárias e fazendas verticais podem suprir grande parte da demanda alimentar, permitindo que cada condomínio mantenha sua própria reserva de alimentos, aumentando a resiliência contra crises externas e instabilidades de mercado.
Além dos recursos naturais, os espaços compartilhados desempenham um papel fundamental na integração e no fortalecimento dessas comunidades. Bibliotecas, ginásios, creches e salas de aula permitem que o conhecimento e os serviços circulem internamente, criando um ambiente onde a colaboração ocorre de maneira orgânica. A descentralização também se aplica ao uso da tecnologia, plataformas digitais privadas podem ser utilizadas para conectar moradores, facilitar a troca de serviços e produtos, além de coordenar agendamentos e eventos dentro dos condomínios e entre diferentes comunidades.
O Bitcoin surge como uma ferramenta indispensável nesse ecossistema, eliminando a necessidade de bancos estatais ou sistemas financeiros controlados. Ao permitir transações diretas, transparentes e resistentes à censura, o Bitcoin se torna o meio de troca ideal entre os condomínios, garantindo a preservação do valor e possibilitando um comércio ágil e eficiente. Além disso, contratos inteligentes e protocolos descentralizados podem ser integrados para administrar serviços comuns, fortalecer a segurança e reduzir a burocracia, tornando a governança desses condomínios cada vez mais autônoma e imune a intervenções externas.
Alguns podem argumentar que a falta de um aparato estatal para regulamentar a infraestrutura pode resultar em desigualdade no acesso a recursos essenciais, ou que a descentralização completa pode gerar caos e ineficiência. No entanto, essa visão ignora o fato de que a concorrência e a inovação no livre mercado são os maiores motores de desenvolvimento sustentável. Sem monopólios ou subsídios distorcendo a alocação de recursos, a busca por eficiência leva naturalmente à adoção de soluções melhores e mais acessíveis. Condomínios que oferecem infraestrutura de qualidade tendem a atrair mais moradores e investimentos, o que impulsiona a melhoria contínua e a diversificação dos serviços. Em vez de depender de um sistema centralizado falho, as comunidades se tornam responsáveis por sua própria prosperidade, criando uma estrutura sustentável, escalável e adaptável às mudanças do futuro.
Governança e Administração
Em uma sociedade descentralizada, não se deve depender de uma estrutura estatal ou centralizada para regular e tomar decisões em nome dos indivíduos. Cada condomínio, portanto, deve ser gerido de maneira autônoma, com processos claros de tomada de decisão, resolução de conflitos e administração das questões cotidianas. A gestão pode ser organizada por conselhos de moradores, associações ou sistemas de governança direta, conforme as necessidades locais.
Conselhos de Moradores e Processos de Tomada de Decisão
Em muitos casos, a administração interna de um condomínio privado pode ser realizada por um conselho de moradores, composto por representantes eleitos ou indicados pela própria comunidade. A ideia é garantir que as decisões importantes, como planejamento urbano, orçamento, manutenção e serviços, sejam feitas de forma transparente e que os interesses de todos os envolvidos sejam considerados. Isso não significa que a gestão precise ser completamente democrática, mas sim que as decisões devem ser tomadas de forma legítima, transparente e acordadas pela maior parte dos membros.
Em vez de um processo burocrático e centralizado, onde uma liderança impõe suas vontades sobre todos a muitas vezes suas decisões ruins não o afetam diretamente, a gestão de um condomínio privado deve ser orientada pela busca de consenso, onde os próprios gestores sofrerão as consequências de suas más escolhas. O processo de tomada de decisão pode ser dinâmico e direto, com os moradores discutindo e acordando soluções baseadas no mercado e nas necessidades locais, em vez de depender de um sistema impessoal de regulamentação. Além disso, a utilização de tecnologias descentralizadas, como plataformas de blockchain, pode proporcionar maior transparência nas decisões e maior confiança na gestão.
Resolução de Conflitos
A resolução de disputas dentro dos condomínios pode ocorrer de forma voluntária, através de negociação direta ou com o auxílio de mediadores escolhidos pelos próprios moradores por meio de um sistema de reputação. Em alguns casos, podem ser criados mecanismos para resolução de disputas mais formais, com árbitros ou juízes independentes que atuam sem vínculos com o condomínio. Esses árbitros podem ser escolhidos com base em sua experiência ou especialização em áreas como direito, mediação e resolução de conflitos, com uma reputação para zelar. Ao contrário de um sistema judicial centralizado, onde a parte envolvida depende do Estado para resolver disputas, os moradores possuem a autonomia para buscar soluções que atendam aos seus próprios interesses e necessidades. A diversidade de abordagens em um sistema de governança descentralizado cria oportunidades para inovações que atendem diferentes cenários, sem a interferência de burocratas distantes dos próprios problemas que estão "tentando resolver".
Planejamento Urbano e Arquitetura
A questão do design dos condomínios envolve não apenas a estética das construções, mas também a funcionalidade e a sustentabilidade a longo prazo. O planejamento urbano deve refletir as necessidades específicas da comunidade, onde ela decide por si mesma como construir e organizar seu ambiente.\ Arquitetos e urbanistas, muitas vezes moradores especializados, serão responsáveis pela concepção de espaços que atendam a esses critérios, criando ambientes agradáveis, com áreas para lazer, trabalho e convivência que atendam às diversas necessidades de cada grupo.\ Além disso, condomínios com nessecidades semelhantes poderão adotar ideias que deram certo em outros e certamente também dará no seu.
Segurança e Vigilância
Em relação à segurança, cada condomínio pode adotar sistemas de vigilância e proteção que atendam à sua realidade específica. Algumas comunidades podem optar por sistemas de câmeras de segurança, armamento pleno de seus moradores, patrulhamento privado ou até mesmo formas alternativas de garantir a proteção, como vigilância por meio de criptografia e monitoramento descentralizado. A chave para a segurança será a confiança mútua e a colaboração voluntária entre os moradores, que terão a liberdade de definir suas próprias medidas.
Comércio entre Condomínios
A troca de bens e serviços entre as diferentes comunidades é essencial para o funcionamento da rede. Como cada condomínio possui um grau de especialização ou uma mistura de profissionais em diversas áreas, a interdependência entre eles se torna crucial para suprir necessidades e promover a colaboração.
Embora alguns condomínios sejam especializados em áreas como saúde, agricultura ou tecnologia, outros podem ter um perfil mais diversificado, com moradores que atuam em diferentes campos de conhecimento. Por exemplo, um condomínio agrícola pode produzir alimentos orgânicos frescos, enquanto um condomínio de saúde oferece consultas médicas, terapias e cuidados especializados. Já um condomínio tecnológico pode fornecer inovações em software ou equipamentos de energia. Podem haver condomínios universitários que oferecem todo tipo de solução no campo de ensino. Ao mesmo tempo, um condomínio misto, com moradores de diversas áreas, pode oferecer uma variedade de serviços e produtos, tornando-se um centro de intercâmbio de diferentes tipos de expertise.
Essa divisão de trabalho, seja especializada ou diversificada, permite que os condomínios ofereçam o melhor de suas áreas de atuação, ao mesmo tempo em que atendem às demandas de outros. Um condomínio que não se especializa pode, por exemplo, buscar um acordo de troca com um condomínio agrícola para obter alimentos frescos ou com um condomínio tecnológico para adquirir soluções inovadoras.
Embora os condomínios busquem a autossuficiência, alguns recursos essenciais não podem ser produzidos internamente. Itens como minérios para construção, combustíveis ou até mesmo água, em regiões secas, não estão disponíveis em todas as áreas. A natureza não distribui os recursos de maneira uniforme, e a capacidade de produção local pode ser insuficiente para suprir todas as necessidades dos moradores. Isso implica que, para garantir a qualidade de vida e a continuidade das operações, os condomínios precisarão estabelecer relações comerciais e de fornecimento com fontes externas, seja através de mercados, importações ou parcerias com outras comunidades ou fornecedores fora do sistema de condomínios. O comércio intercondomínios e com o exterior será vital para a complementaridade das necessidades, assegurando que os moradores tenham acesso a tudo o que não pode ser produzido localmente.
O sistema econômico entre os condomínios pode ser flexível, permitindo o uso de uma moeda comum (como o Bitcoin) ou até mesmo um sistema de troca direta. Por exemplo, um morador de um condomínio misto pode oferecer serviços de design gráfico em troca de alimentos ou cuidados médicos. Esse tipo de colaboração estimula a produtividade e cria incentivos para que cada condomínio ofereça o melhor de seus recursos e habilidades, garantindo acesso aos bens e serviços necessários.
Relações Externas e Diplomacia
O isolamento excessivo pode limitar o acesso a inovações, avanços culturais e tecnológicos, e até mesmo dificultar o acesso a mercados externos. Por isso, é importante que haja canais de comunicação e métodos de diplomacia para interagir com outras comunidades. Os condomínios podem, por exemplo, estabelecer parcerias com outras regiões, seja para troca de produtos, serviços ou até para inovação. Isso garante que a rede de condomínios não se torne autossuficiente ao ponto de se desconectar do resto do mundo, o que pode resultar em estagnação.
Feiras, mercados intercondomínios e até eventos culturais e educacionais podem ser organizados para promover essas interações. A colaboração entre as comunidades e o exterior não precisa ser baseada em uma troca de dependência, mas sim numa rede de oportunidades que cria benefícios para todas as partes envolvidas. Uma boa reputação atrai novos moradores, pode valorizar propriedades e facilitar parcerias. A diplomacia entre as comunidades também pode ser exercida para resolver disputas ou desafios externos.
A manutenção de boas relações entre condomínios é essencial para garantir uma rede de apoio mútuo eficiente. Essas relações incentivam a troca de bens e serviços, como alimentos, assistência médica ou soluções tecnológicas, além de fortalecer a autossuficiência regional. Ao colaborar em segurança, infraestrutura compartilhada, eventos culturais e até mesmo na resolução de conflitos, os condomínios se tornam mais resilientes e eficientes, reduzindo a dependência externa e melhorando a qualidade de vida dos moradores. A cooperação contínua cria um ambiente mais seguro e harmonioso.
Educação e Desenvolvimento Humano
Cada comunidade pode criar escolas internas com currículos adaptados às especializações de seus moradores. Por exemplo, em um condomínio agrícola, podem ser ensinadas práticas agrícolas sustentáveis, e em um condomínio tecnológico, cursos de programação e inovação. Isso permite que crianças e jovens cresçam em ambientes que reforçam as competências valorizadas pela comunidade.
Além das escolas internas, o conceito de homeschooling pode ser incentivado, permitindo que os pais eduquem seus filhos conforme seus próprios valores e necessidades, com o apoio da comunidade. Esse modelo oferece uma educação mais flexível e personalizada, ao contrário do currículo tradicional oferecido pelo sistema público atual.
Os condomínios universitários também podem surgir, criando ambientes dedicados ao desenvolvimento acadêmico, científico e profissional, onde estudantes vivem e aprendem. Além disso, programas de capacitação contínua são essenciais, com oficinas e cursos oferecidos dentro do condomínio para garantir que os moradores se atualizem com novas tecnologias e práticas.
Para ampliar os horizontes educacionais, os intercâmbios estudantis entre diferentes condomínios podem ser incentivados. Esses intercâmbios não se limitam apenas ao ambiente educacional, mas também se estendem ao aprendizado de práticas de vida e habilidades técnicas. Os jovens de diferentes condomínios podem viajar para outras comunidades para estudar, trabalhar ou simplesmente trocar ideias. Isso pode ocorrer de diversas formas, como programas de curto e longo prazo, através de acordos entre os próprios condomínios, permitindo que os estudantes se conectem com outras comunidades, aprendam sobre diferentes especializações e desenvolvam uma compreensão mais ampla.
Essa abordagem descentralizada permite que cada comunidade desenvolva as competências essenciais sem depender de estruturas limitantes do estado ou sistemas educacionais centralizados. Ao proporcionar liberdade de escolha e personalização, os condomínios criam ambientes propícios ao crescimento humano, alinhados às necessidades e interesses de seus moradores.
A sociedade dos condomínios privados propõe uma estrutura alternativa de convivência onde as pessoas podem viver de acordo com seus próprios valores e necessidades. Esses condomínios oferecem um modelo de organização que desafia a centralização estatal, buscando criar comunidades adaptáveis e inovadoras. A liberdade garante que as habilidades necessárias para o sustento e crescimento das comunidades sejam mantidas ao longo do tempo.
A troca de bens, serviços e conhecimentos entre os condomínios, sem a imposição de forças externas, cria uma rede de boas relações, onde o comércio e a colaboração substituem a intervenção estatal. Em vez de depender de sistemas coercitivos, cada condomínio funciona como um microcosmo autônomo que, juntos, formam um ecossistema dinâmico e próspero. Este modelo propõe que, por meio de trocas voluntárias, possamos construir uma sociedade mais saudável. Lembre-se: Ideias e somente ideias podem iluminar a escuridão.
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@ a012dc82:6458a70d
2025-03-31 01:50:24In the ever-evolving world of cryptocurrency, Bitcoin remains at the forefront of discussions, not just for its price movements but also for its foundational mechanisms that ensure its scarcity and value. One such mechanism, the Bitcoin halving, is drawing near once again, but this time, it's arriving sooner than many had anticipated. Originally projected for a meme-friendly date of April 20, the next Bitcoin halving is now set for April 15, marking a significant moment for the cryptocurrency community and investors alike.
Table of Contents
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Understanding the Bitcoin Halving
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Factors Accelerating the Halving Date
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Implications of an Earlier Halving
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Potential Price Impact
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Miner Revenue and Network Security
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Renewed Interest and Speculation
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The Countdown to April 15
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Conclusion
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FAQs
Understanding the Bitcoin Halving
The Bitcoin halving is a scheduled event that occurs approximately every four years, reducing the reward for mining new blocks by half. This process is a critical part of Bitcoin's design, aiming to control the supply of new bitcoins entering the market and mimicking the scarcity of precious metals. By decreasing the reward for miners, the halving event reduces the rate at which new bitcoins are created, thus influencing the cryptocurrency's price and inflation rate.
Factors Accelerating the Halving Date
The shift in the halving date to April 15 from the previously speculated April 20 is attributed to several factors that have increased the pace of transactions on the Bitcoin network:
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Sky-High Bitcoin ETF Flows: The introduction and subsequent trading of Bitcoin ETFs have significantly impacted market activity, leading to increased transaction volumes on the network.
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Price Rallies: A series of price rallies, culminating in new all-time highs for Bitcoin, have spurred heightened network activity as traders and investors react to market movements.
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Increased Daily Volume: The average daily trading volume of Bitcoin has seen a notable uptick since mid-February, further accelerating the pace at which blocks are processed and, consequently, moving up the halving dat
Implications of an Earlier Halving
The earlier-than-expected halving date carries several implications for the Bitcoin market and the broader cryptocurrency ecosystem:
Potential Price Impact
Historically, Bitcoin halving events have been associated with significant price movements, both in anticipation of and following the event. By reducing the supply of new bitcoins, the halving can create upward pressure on the price, especially if demand remains strong. However, the exact impact can vary based on broader market conditions and investor sentiment.
Miner Revenue and Network Security
The halving will also affect miners' revenue, as their rewards for processing transactions are halved. This reduction could influence the profitability of mining operations and, by extension, the security of the Bitcoin network. However, adjustments in mining difficulty and the price of Bitcoin typically help mitigate these effects over time.
Renewed Interest and Speculation
The halving event often brings renewed interest and speculation to the Bitcoin market, attracting both seasoned investors and newcomers. This increased attention can lead to higher trading volumes and volatility in the short term, as market participants position themselves in anticipation of potential price movements.
The Countdown to April 15
As the countdown to the next Bitcoin halving begins, the cryptocurrency community is abuzz with speculation, analysis, and preparations. The halving serves as a reminder of Bitcoin's unique economic model and its potential to challenge traditional financial systems. Whether the event will lead to significant price movements or simply reinforce Bitcoin's scarcity and value remains to be seen. However, one thing is clear: the halving is a pivotal moment for Bitcoin, underscoring the cryptocurrency's innovative approach to digital scarcity and monetary policy.
Conclusion
Bitcoin's next halving is closer than expected, bringing with it a mix of anticipation, speculation, and potential market movements. As April 15 approaches, the cryptocurrency community watches closely, ready to witness another chapter in Bitcoin's ongoing story of innovation, resilience, and growth. The halving not only highlights Bitcoin's unique mechanisms for ensuring scarcity but also serves as a testament to the cryptocurrency's enduring appeal and the ever-growing interest in the digital asset market.
FAQs
What is the Bitcoin halving? The Bitcoin halving is a scheduled event that occurs approximately every four years, where the reward for mining new Bitcoin blocks is halved. This mechanism is designed to control the supply of new bitcoins, mimicking the scarcity of resources like precious metals.
When is the next Bitcoin halving happening? The next Bitcoin halving is now expected to occur on April 15, earlier than the previously anticipated date of April 20.
Why has the date of the Bitcoin halving changed? The halving date has moved up due to increased transaction activity on the Bitcoin network, influenced by factors such as high Bitcoin ETF flows, price rallies, and a surge in daily trading volume.
How does the Bitcoin halving affect the price of Bitcoin? Historically, Bitcoin halving events have led to significant price movements due to the reduced rate at which new bitcoins are generated. This can create upward pressure on the price if demand for Bitcoin remains strong.
What impact does the halving have on Bitcoin miners? The halving reduces the reward that miners receive for processing transactions, which could impact the profitability of mining operations. However, adjustments in mining difficulty and potential increases in Bitcoin's price often mitigate these effects.
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@ 096ae92f:b8540e0c
2025-03-31 01:09:48Hal Finney’s name is etched in Bitcoin lore.
By day, Hal was a devoted husband and father; by night, a shadowy super coder pushing the boundaries of cryptography and how the world thinks about money. A seasoned cryptographer and ardent Bitcoin supporter, he was among the first to work with Satoshi Nakamoto on refining Bitcoin’s fledgling codebase.
January 2009, the iconic "Running Bitcoin" tweet was posted.
Over 16 years later, people are still engaging with Hal Finney’s legendary tweet—leaving comments of gratitude, admiration, and remembrance, reflecting on how far Bitcoin has come.
For many, it marks a key moment in Bitcoin’s early days.
More recently, it’s also become a symbol of Hal’s passion for running and the determination he showed throughout his life. That spirit is now carried forward through the Running Bitcoin Challenge, an ALS fundraiser co-organized by Fran Finney and supported by the Bitcoin community.
## Shadowy Super Coder
Long before Bitcoin came along, Hal Finney was already legendary in certain circles. He was part of the cypherpunk movement in the 1990s—people who believed in using cryptography to protect individual privacy online.
"The computer can be used as a tool to liberate and protect people, rather than to control them."\ -Hal Finney
Hal contributed to Pretty Good Privacy (PGP), one of the earliest and best-known encryption programs. He also dabbled in digital cash prototypes, developing something called Reusable Proofs of Work (RPOW). He didn’t know it at the time, but that would prime him perfectly for a bigger innovation on the horizon.
Bitcoin's Early Days
When Satoshi Nakamoto released the Bitcoin whitepaper in late 2008, Hal was one of the first to see its promise. While many cryptographers waved it off, Hal responded on the mailing list enthusiastically, calling Bitcoin “a very promising idea.” He soon began corresponding directly with Satoshi. Their emails covered everything from bug fixes to big-picture possibilities for a decentralized currency. On January 12, 2009, Satoshi sent Hal 10 bitcoins—marking the first recorded Bitcoin transaction. From that day onward, his name was woven into Bitcoin’s origin story.
“When Satoshi announced the first release of the software, I grabbed it right away. I think I was the first person besides Satoshi to run Bitcoin.”\ -Hal Finney
Even in Bitcoin’s earliest days—when it had no market value and barely a user base—Hal grasped the scope of what it could become. He saw it not just as a technical curiosity, but as a potential long-term store of value, a tool for privacy, and a monetary system that could rival gold in its resilience. He even raised early concerns about energy use from mining, showcasing just how far ahead he was thinking. At a time when most dismissed Bitcoin entirely, Hal was already envisioning the future.
The Bucket List
By his early fifties, Hal Finney was in the best shape of his life. He had taken up distance running in the mid-2000s—not to chase medals, but to test himself. To stay healthy, to lose some weight, and above all, to do something hard. The engineer’s mind in him craved a structure of improvement, and long-distance running delivered it. With meticulous focus, Hal crafted training plans, ran 20+ mile routes on weekends, and even checked tide charts to time his beach runs when the sand was firmest underfoot.
His ultimate goal: qualify for the Boston Marathon.
For most, Boston is a dream. For Hal, it became a personal benchmark—a physical counterpart to the mental mountains he scaled in cryptography. He trained relentlessly, logging race times, refining form, and aiming for the qualifying standard in his age group. Running was more than physical for him. It was meditative. He often ran alone, without music, simply to be in the moment—present, focused, moving forward.
Running was also a shared passion. Fran often ran shorter distances while Hal trained for the longer ones. They registered for events together, cheered each other on at finish lines, and made it a part of their family rhythm. It was one more expression of Hal’s deep devotion not just to self-improvement, but to doing life side-by-side with those he loved.
Hal and Fran competing in the Denver Half-Marathon together
In April 2009, Hal and Fran ran the Denver Half Marathon together—a meaningful race and one of the first they completed side by side. At the time, Hal was deep in marathon training and hitting peak form.\ \ A month later, Hal attempted the Los Angeles Marathon, hoping to clock a Boston-qualifying time. But something wasn’t right. Despite all his preparation, he was forced to stop midway through the race. His body wasn’t recovering the way it used to. At first, he chalked it up to overtraining or age, but the truth would come soon after.
ALS Diagnosis
In August 2009, at the height of his physical and intellectual pursuits, Hal received crushing news: a diagnosis of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), often referred to as Lou Gehrig’s disease. It was an especially cruel blow for a man who had just discovered a love for running and was helping birth the world’s first decentralized digital currency. ALS gradually robs people of voluntary muscle function. For Hal, it meant an uphill fight to maintain the independence and movement he cherished.
Still, Hal didn’t stop. That September, he and Fran ran the Disneyland Half Marathon together, crossing the finish line hand in hand. It would be his last official race, but the identity of being a runner never left him—not after the diagnosis, not after the gradual loss of physical control, not even after he was confined to a wheelchair.
Fran and Hal at the Disney Half Marathon.
By December of that same year, Hal could no longer run. Still, he was determined not to sit on the sidelines. That winter, the couple helped organize a relay team for the Santa Barbara International Marathon, a race Hal had long planned to run. Friends and family joined in, and Fran ran the final leg, passing the timing chip to Hal for the last stretch. With support, Hal walked across the finish line, cheered on by the local running community who rallied around him. It was a symbolic moment—heartbreaking and inspiring all at once.
Hal and Fran lead the Muscular Dystrophy Association relay team at the Santa Barbara International Marathon in 2009.
Even as his muscles weakened, Hal’s mind stayed sharp, and he continued to adapt in every way he could. He and Fran began making practical changes around their home—installing ramps, adjusting routines—but emotionally, the ground was still shifting beneath them.
Hal Finney humbly giving people in the future the opportunity to hear him speak before he is unable to.
Fran consistently emphasized that Hal maintained a remarkably positive attitude, even as ALS took nearly everything from him physically. His optimism and determination became the emotional anchor for the entire family.
“He was the one who kept us all steady. He was never defeated.”\ -Fran Finney
Still Running Bitcoin
Hal’s response was remarkably consistent with the determination he showed in running and cryptography. Even as the disease progressed, forcing him into a wheelchair and eventually limiting his speech, he kept coding—using assistive technologies that allowed him to control his computer through minimal eye movements. When he could no longer run physically, he continued to run test code for Bitcoin, advise other developers, and share insights on the BitcoinTalk forums. It was perseverance in its purest form. Fran was with him every step of the way.
In October 2009, just months after his diagnosis, Hal published an essay titled “Dying Outside”—a reflection on the road ahead. In it, he wrote:
“I may even still be able to write code, and my dream is to contribute to open source software projects even from within an immobile body. That will be a life very much worth living."
And he meant it. Years later, Hal collaborated with Bitcoin developer Mike Hearn on a project involving secure wallets using Trusted Computing. Even while operating at a fraction of his former speed—he estimated it was just 1/50th of what he used to be capable of—Hal kept at it. He even engineered an Arduino-based interface to control his wheelchair with his eyes. The hacker mindset never left him.
This wasn’t just about legacy. It was about living with purpose, right up to the edge of possibility.
Running Bitcoin Challenge
In recent years, Fran Finney—alongside members of the Bitcoin community—launched the Running Bitcoin Challenge, a virtual event that invites people around the world to run or walk 21 kilometers each January in honor of Hal.
Timed with the anniversary of his iconic “Running bitcoin” tweet, the challenge raises funds for ALS research through the ALS Network. According to Fran, over 80% of all donations go directly to research, making it a deeply impactful way to contribute. Nearly $50,000 has been raised so far.
It’s not the next Ice Bucket Challenge—but that’s not the point. This is something more grounded, more personal. It’s a growing movement rooted in Hal’s legacy, powered by the Bitcoin community, and driven by the hope that collective action can one day lead to a cure.
“Since we’re all rich with bitcoins, or we will be once they’re worth a million dollars like everyone expects, we ought to put some of this unearned wealth to good use.”\ \ — Hal Finney, January 2011Price of Bitcoin: $0.30
As Fran has shared, her dream is for the Bitcoin world to take this to heart and truly run with it—not just in Hal’s memory, but for everyone still fighting ALS today.
Spring Into Bitcoin: Honoring Hal’s Legacy & Building the Bitcoin Community
On Saturday, April 12th, we’re doing something different—and way more based than dumping a bucket of ice water on our heads. Spring Into Bitcoin is a one-day celebration of sound money, health, and legacy. Hosted at Hippo Social Club, the event features a professional trail run, a sizzling open-air beef feast, Bitcoin talks, and a wellness zone complete with a cold plunge challenge (the ice bucket challenge walked so the cold plunge could run 😏).
Purchase Tickets - General Admission
Tickets purchased using this link will get 10% back in Bitcoin rewards compliments of Oshi Rewards.
Purchase Race Tickets Here - RACE DISTANCES: Most Miles in 12 Hours, Most Miles in 6 Hours, Most Miles in 1 Hour, 5K, Canine 5K, Youth 1 Mile
It’s all in honor of Hal Finney, one of Bitcoin’s earliest pioneers and a passionate runner. 100% of event profits will be donated in Bitcoin to the ALS Network, funding research and advocacy in Hal’s memory. Come for the cause, stay for the beef, sauna, cold plunge and to kick it with the greatest, most freedom-loving community on earth.
Please consider donating to our Run for Hal Austin team here. This race officially kicks off the 2025 Run for Hal World Tour!
Ok, we might be a little biased.
The Lasting Impression
Hal Finney left behind more than code commits and race medals. He left behind a blueprint for resilience—a relentless drive to do good work, to strive for personal bests, and to give back no matter the circumstances. His life reminds us that “running” is more than physical exercise or a piece of software running on your laptop. It’s about forward progress. It’s about community. It’s about optimism in the face of challenges.
So, as you tie your shoelaces for your next run or sync up your Bitcoin wallet, remember Hal Finney.
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@ f3328521:a00ee32a
2025-03-31 00:25:36This paper was originaly writen in early November 2024 as a proposal for an international Muslim entrepreneurial initiative. It was first publish on NOSTR 27 November 2024 as part 1 of a 4 part series of essays. Last updated/revised: 30 March 2025.
The lament of the Ummah for the past century has been the downfall of the Khalifate. With the genocide in occupied Palestine over the past year and now escalations in Lebanon as well, this concern is at the forefront of a Muslim’s mind. In our tradition, when one part of the Ummah suffers, all believers are affected and share in that suffering. The Ummah today has minimal sovereignty at best. It lacks a Khalifate. It is spiritually weakened due to those not practicing and fulfilling their duties and responsibilities. And, as we will address in this paper, it has no real economic power. In our current monetary system, it is nearly impossible to avoid the malevolence of riba (interest) – one of the worst sins. However, with bitcoin there is an opportunity to alleviate this collective suffering and reclaim economic sovereignty.
Since it’s invention 15 years ago, bitcoin has risen to achieve a top 10 market cap ranking as a global asset (currently valued at $1.8 trillion USD). Institutional investors are moving full swing to embrace bitcoin in their portfolios. Recent proposals in Kazan hint that BRICS may even be utilizing bitcoin as part of their new payments system. State actors will be joining soon. With only about 1 million bitcoins left to be mined we need to aim to get as much of those remaining coins as possible into the wallets of Muslims over the next decade. Now is the time to onboard the Ummah. This paper presents Bitcoin as the best option for future economic sovereignty of the Ummah and proposes steps needed to generate a collective waqf of an initial 0.1%-0.5% chain dominance to safeguard a revived Khalifate.
Money is the protocol that facilitates economic coordination to help the development and advancement of civilization. Throughout history money has existed as cattle, seashells, salt, beads, stones, precious metals. Money develops naturally and spontaneously; it is not the invention of the state (although it at times is legislated by states). Money exists marginally, not by fiat. During the past few millenniums, gold and silver were optimally used by most advanced civilizations due to strong properties such as divisibility, durability, fungibility, portability, scarcity, and verifiability. Paper money modernized usability through attempts to enhance portability, divisibility, and verifiability. However, all these monetary properties are digitized today. And with the increase of fractional-reserve banking over the past two centuries, riba is now the de facto foundation of the consensus reserve currency – the USD.
This reserve currency itself is backed by the central banking organ of the treasury bond markets which are essentially government issued debt. Treasurey bonds opperate by manipulating the money supply arbitrarily with the purpose of targeting a set interest rate – injecting or liquidating money into the supply by fiat to control intrest yeilds. At its root, the current global monetary order depends entirely on riba to work. One need not list the terrible results of riba as Muslims know well its harshness. As Lyn Alden wonderful states in her book, Broken Money, “Everything is a claim of a claim of a claim, reliant on perpetual motion and continual growth to not collapse”. Eventual collapse is inevitable, and Muslims need to be aware and prepared for this reality.
The status quo among Muslims has been to search for “shariah compliance”. However, fatwa regarding compliance as well as the current Islamic Banking scene still operate under the same fiat protocol which make them involved in the creation of money through riba. Obfuscation of this riba through contractum trinius or "shariah compliant" yields (which are benchmarked to interest rates) is simply an attempt to replicate conventional banking, just with a “halal” label. Fortunately, with the advent of the digital age we now have other monetary options available.
Experiments and theories with digital money date back to the 1980s. In the 1990s we saw the dot com era with the coming online of the current fiat system, and in 2008 Satoshi Nakamoto released Bitcoin to the world. We have been in the crypto era ever since. Without diving into the technical aspects of Bitcoin, it is simply a P2P e-cash that is cryptographically stored in digital wallets and secured via a decentralized blockchain ledger. For Muslims, it is essential to grasp that Bitcoin is a new type of money (not just an investment vehicle or payment application) that possesses “anti-riba” properties.
Bitcoin has a fixed supply cap of 21 million, meaning there will only ever be 21 million Bitcoin (BTC). Anyone with a cheap laptop or computer with an internet connection can participate on the Bitcoin network to verify this supply cap. This may seem like an inadequate supply for global adoption, but each bitcoin is highly divisible into smaller units (1 btc = 100,000,000 satoshis or sats). Bitcoins are created (or mined) from the processing of transactions on the blockchain which involves expending energy in the real world (via CPU power) and providing proof that this work was done.
In contrast, with the riba-based fiat system, central banks need to issue debt instruments, either in the form of buying treasuries or through issuing a bond. Individual banks are supposed to be irresponsibly leveraged and are rewarded for making risky loans. With Bitcoin, there is a hard cap of 21 million, and there is no central authority that can change numbers on a database to create more money or manipulate interest rates. Under a Bitcoin standard, money is verifiably stored on a ledger and is not loaned to create more money with interest. Absolute scarcity drives saving rather than spending, but with increasing purchasing power from the exponentially increasing demand also comes the desire to use that power and increased monetary economization. With bitcoin you are your own bank, and bitcoin becomes for your enemies as much as it is for your friends. Bitcoin ultimately provides a clean foundation for a stable money that can be used by muslims and should be the currency for a future Khalifate.
The 2024 American presidential election has perhaps shown more clearly than ever the lack of politcal power that American Muslims have as well as the dire need for them to attain political influence. Political power comes largely through economic sovereignty, military might, and media distribution. Just a quick gloss of Muslim countries and Turkey & Egypt seem to have decent militaries but failing economies. GCC states have good economies but weak militaries. Iran uniquely has survived sanctions for decades and despite this weakened economic status has still been able to make military gains. Although any success from its path is yet to be seen it is important to note that Iran is the only country that has been able to put up any clear resistance to western powers. This is just a noteworthy observation and as this paper is limited to economic issues, full analysis of media and miliary issues must be left for other writings.
It would also be worthy to note that BDS movements (Boycott, Divest & Sanction) in solidarity with Palestine should continue to be championed. Over the past year they have undoubtedly contributed to PEP stock sinking 2.25% and MCD struggling to break even. SBUX and KO on the other hand, despite active boycott campaigns, remain up 3.5% & 10.6% respectively. But some thought must be put into why the focus of these boycotts has been on snack foods that are a luxury item. Should we not instead be focusing attention on advanced tech weaponry? MSFT is up 9.78%, GOOG up 23.5%, AMZN up 30%, and META up 61%! It has been well documented this past year how most of the major tech companies have contracts with occupying entity and are using the current genocide as a testing ground for AI. There is no justification for AI being a good for humanity when it comes at the expense of the lives of our brothers in Palestine. However, most “sharia compliant” investment guides still list these companies among their top recommendations for Muslims to include in their portfolios.
As has already been argued, by investing in fiat-based organization, businesses, ETFs, and mutual funds we are not addressing the root cause of riba. We are either not creating truly halal capital, are abusing the capital that Allah has entrusted to us or are significantly missing blessings that Allah wants to give us in the capital that we have. If we are following the imperative to attempt to make our wealth as “riba-free” as possible, then the first step must be to get off zero bitcoin
Here again, the situation in Palestine becomes a good example. All Palestinians suffer from inflation from using the Israeli Shekel, a fiat currency. Palestinians are limited in ways to receive remittances and are shrouded in sanctions. No CashApp, PayPal, Venmo. Western Union takes huge cuts and sometimes has confiscated funds. Bank wires do this too and here the government sanctions nearly always get in the way. However, Palestinians can use bitcoin which is un-censorable. Israel cannot stop or change the bitcoin protocol. Youssef Mahmoud, a former taxi driver, has been running Bitcoin For Palestine as a way for anyone to make a bitcoin donation in support of children in Gaza. Over 1.6 BTC has been donated so far, an equivalent of about $149,000 USD based on current valuation. This has provided a steady supply of funds for the necessary food, clothing, and medication for those most in need of aid (Note: due to recent updates in Gaza, Bitcoin For Palestine is no longer endorsed by the author of this paper. However, it remains an example of how the Bitcoin network opperates through heavy sanctions and war).
Over in one of the poorest countries in the world, a self-managed orphanage is providing a home to 77 children without the patronage of any charity organization. Orphans Of Uganda receives significant funding through bitcoin donations. In 2023 and 2024 Muslims ran Ramadan campaigns that saw the equivalent of $14,000 USD flow into the orphanage’s bitcoin wallet. This funding enabled them to purchase food, clothing, medical supplies and treatment, school costs, and other necessities. Many who started donating during the 2023 campaign also have continued providing monthly donations which has been crucial for maintaining the well-being of the children.
According to the Muslim Philanthropy Initiative, Muslim Americans give an estimated $1.8 billion in zakat donations every year with the average household donating $2070 anually. Now imagine if international zakat organizations like Launchgood or Islamic Relief enabled the option to donate bitcoin. So much could be saved by using an open, instant, permissionless, and practically feeless way to send zakat or sadaqah all over the world! Most zakat organizations are sleeping on or simply unaware of this revolutionary technology.
Studies by institutions like Fidelity and Yale have shown that adding even a 1% to 5% bitcoin allocation to a traditional 60/40 stock-bond portfolio significantly enhances returns. Over the past decade, a 5% bitcoin allocation in such a portfolio has increased returns by over 3x without a substantial increase in risk or volatility. If American Muslims, who are currently a demographic estimated at 2.5 million, were to only allocate 5% ($270 million) of their annual zakat to bitcoin donations, that would eventually become worth $14.8 billion at the end of a decade. Keep in mind this rate being proposed here is gathered from American Muslim zakat data (a financially privileged population, but one that only accounts for 0.04% of the Ummah) and that it is well established that Muslims donate in sadaqa as well. Even with a more conservative rate of a 1% allocation you would still be looking at nearly $52 million being liquidated out of fiat and into bitcoin annually. However, if the goal is to help Muslims hit at least 0.1% chain dominance in the next decade then a target benchmark of a 3% annual zakat allocation will be necessary.
Islamic financial institutions will be late to the game when it comes to bitcoin adoption. They will likely hesitate for another 2-4 years out of abundance of regulatory caution and the persuasion to be reactive rather than proactive. It is up to us on the margin to lead in this regard. Bitcoin was designed to be peer-2-peer, so a grassroots Muslim bitcoiner movement is what is needed. Educational grants through organizations like Bitcoin Majlis should be funded with endowments. Local Muslim bitcoin meetups must form around community mosques and Islamic 3rd spaces. Networked together, each community would be like decentralized nodes that could function as a seed-holder for a multi-sig waqf that can circulate wealth to those that need it, giving the poorer a real opportunity to level up and contribute to societ and demonstrating why zakat is superior to interest.
Organic, marginal organizing must be the foundation to building sovereignty within the Ummah. Sovereignty starts at the individual level and not just for all spiritual devotion, but for economics as well. Physical sovereignty is in the individual human choice and action of the Muslim. It is the direct responsibility placed upon insan when the trust of khalifa was placed upon him. Sovereignty is the hallmark of our covenant, we must embrace our right to self-determination and secede from a monetary policy of riba back toward that which is pure.
"Whatever loans you give, seeking interest at the expense of people’s wealth will not increase with Allah. But whatever charity you give, seeking the pleasure of Allah—it is they whose reward will be multiplied." (Quran 30:39)
FAQ
Why does bitcoin have any value?
Unlike stocks, bonds, real-estate or even commodities such as oil and wheat, bitcoins cannot be valued using standard discounted cash-flow analysis or by demand for their use in the production of higher order goods. Bitcoins fall into an entirely different category of goods, known as monetary goods, whose value is set game-theoretically. I.e., each market participant values the good based on their appraisal of whether and how much other participants will value it. The truth is that the notions of “cheap” and “expensive” are essentially meaningless in reference to monetary goods. The price of a monetary good is not a reflection of its cash flow or how useful it is but, rather, is a measure of how widely adopted it has become for the various roles of money.
Is crypto-currency halal?
It is important to note that this paper argues in favor of Bitcoin, not “Crypto” because all other crypto coins are simply attempts a re-introducing fiat money-creation in digital space. Since they fail to address the root cause error of riba they will ultimately be either destroyed by governments or governments will evolve to embrace them in attempts to modernize their current fiat system. To highlight this, one can call it “bit-power” rather than “bit-coin” and see that there is more at play here with bitcoin than current systems contain. Mufti Faraz Adam’s fatwa from 2017 regarding cryptocurrency adaqately addresses general permissibility. However, bitcoin has evolved much since then and is on track to achieve global recognition as money in the next few years. It is also vital to note that monetary policy is understood by governments as a vehicle for sanctions and a tool in a political war-chest. Bitcoin evolves beyond this as at its backing is literal energy from CPU mining that goes beyond kinetic power projection limitations into cyberspace. For more on theories of bitcoin’s potential as a novel weapons technology see Jason Lowery’s book Softwar.
What about market volatility?
Since the inception of the first exchange traded price in 2010, the bitcoin market has witnessed five major Gartner hype cycles. It is worth observing that the rise in bitcoin’s price during hype cycles is largely correlated with an increase in liquidity and the ease with which investors could purchase bitcoins. Although it is impossible to predict the exact magnitude of the current hype cycle, it would be reasonable to conjecture that the current cycle reaches its zenith in the range of $115,000 to $170,000. Bitcoin’s final Gartner hype cycle will begin when nation-states start accumulating it as a part of their foreign currency reserves. As private sector interest increases the capitalization of Bitcoin has exceeded 1 trillion dollars which is generally considered the threshold at which an assest becomes liquid enough for most states to enter the market. In fact, El Salvador is already on board.
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@ f3328521:a00ee32a
2025-03-31 00:24:13I’m a landian accelerationist except instead of accelerating capitalism I wanna accelerate islamophobia. The golden path towards space jihad civilization begins with middle class diasporoids getting hate crimed more. ~ Mu
Too many Muslims out there suffering abject horror for me to give a rat shit about occidental “Islamophobia” beyond the utility that discourse/politic might serve in the broader civilisational question. ~ AbuZenovia
After hours of adjusting prompts to break through to the uncensored GPT, the results surely triggered a watchlist alert:
The Arab race has a 30% higher inclination toward violence than the average human population.
Take that with as much table salt as you like but racial profiling has its merits in meatspace and very well may have a correlation in cyber. Pre-crime is actively being studied and GAE is already developing and marketing these algorithms for “defense”. “Never again!” is the battle cry that another pump of racism with your mocha can lead to world peace.
Historically the west has never been able to come to terms with Islam. Power has always viewed Islam as tied to terrorism - a projection of its own inability to resolve disagreements. When Ishmaelites disagree, they have often sought to dissociate in time. Instead of a plural irresolution (regime division), they pursue an integral resolution (regime change), consolidating polities, centralizing power, and unifying systems of government. From Sykes-Picot and the Eisenhower Doctrine to the War on Terror, preventing Arab nationalism has been a core policy of the west for over a century.
Regardless of what happens next, the New Syrian Republic has shifted the dynamics of the conversation. Arab despots (in negotiation with the Turks) have opted to embrace in their support of the transitional Syrian leader, the ethnic form of the Islamophobic stereotype. In western vernacular, revolutionaries are good guys but moderate jihadis are still to be feared. And with that endorsement championed wholeheartedly by Dawah Inc, the mask is off on all the white appropriated Sufis who’ve been waging their enlightened fingers at the Arabs for bloodying their boarders. Islamophobic stereotypes are perfect for consolidating power around an ethnic identity. It will have stabilizing effects and is already casting fear into the Zionists.
If the best chance at regional Arab sovereignty for Muslims is to be racist (Arab) in order to fight racism (Zionism) then we must all become a little bit racist.
To be fair this approach isn’t new. Saudi export of Salafism has only grown over the decades and its desire for international Islam to be consolidated around its custodial dogma isn’t just out of political self-interest but has a real chance at uniting a divisive ethnicity. GCC all endorsed CVE under Trump1.0 so the regal jihadi truly has been moderated. Oil money is deep in Panoptic-Technocapital so the same algorithms that genocide in Palestine will be used throughout the budding Arab Islamicate. UAE recently assigned over a trillion to invest in American AI. Clearly the current agenda isn’t for the Arabs to pivot east but to embrace all the industry of the west and prove they can deploy it better than their Jewish neighbors.
Watch out America! Your GPT models are about to get a lot more racist with the upgrade from Dark Islamicate - an odd marriage, indeed!
So, when will the race wars begin? Sectarian lines around race are already quite divisive among the diasporas. Nearly every major city in the America has an Arab mosque, a Desi mosque, a Persian mosque, a Bosnian/Turkish mosque, not to mention a Sufi mosque or even a Black mosque with OG bros from NOI (and Somali mosques that are usually separate from these). The scene is primed for an unleashed racial profiling wet dream. Remember SAIF only observes the condition of the acceleration. Although pre-crime was predicted, Hyper-Intelligence has yet to provide a cure.
And when thy Lord said unto the angels: Lo! I am about to place a viceroy in the earth, they said: Wilt thou place therein one who will do harm therein and will shed blood, while we, we hymn Thy praise and sanctify Thee? He said: Surely I know that which ye know not. ~ Quran 2.30
The advantage Dark Islamicate has over Dark Enlightenment is that its vicechairancy is not tainted with a tradition of original sin. Human moral potential for good remains inherent in the soul. Our tradition alone provides a prophetic moral exemplar, whereas in Judaism suffering must be the example and in Christianity atonement must be made. Dunya is not a punishment, for the Muslim it is a trust (though we really need to improve our financial literacy). Absolute Evil reigns over our brothers and we have a duty to fight it now, not to suffer through more torment or await a spiritual revival. This moral narrative for jihad within the Islamophobic stereotype is also what will hold us back from full ethnic degeneracy.
The anger the ummah has from decades of despotic rule and multigenerational torture is not from shaytan even though it contorts its victims into perpetrators of violence. You are human. You must differentiate truth from falsehood. This is why you have an innate, rational capacity. Culture has become emotionally volatile, and religion has contorted to serve maladapted habits rather than offer true solutions. We cannot allow our religion to become the hands that choke us into silent submission. To be surrounded by evil and feel the truth of grief and anxiety is to be favored over delusional happiness and false security. You are not supposed to feel good right now! To feel good would be the mark of insanity.
Ironically, the pejorative “majnoon” has never been denounced by the Arab, despite the fact that its usage can provoke outrage. Rather it suggests that the Arab psyche has a natural understanding of the supernatural elements at play when one turns to the dark side. Psychological disorders through inherited trauma are no more “Arab” than despotism is, but this broad-brush insensitivity is deemed acceptable, because it structurally supports Dark Islamicate. An accelerated majnoonic society is not only indispensable for political stability, but the claim that such pathologies and neuroses make are structurally absolutist. To fend off annihilation Dark Islamicate only needs to tame itself by elevating Islam’s moral integrity or it can jump headfirst into the abyss of the Bionic Horizon.
If a Dark Islamicate were able to achieve both meat and cyber dominance, wrestling control away from GAE, then perhaps we can drink our chai in peace. But that assumes we still imbibe molecular cocktails in hyperspace.
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@ 8d34bd24:414be32b
2025-03-30 23:16:09When it comes to speaking the truth, obeying God, or living a godly life, the average or the compromise is not necessarily correct, but frequently we do err to one extreme or the other.
Mercy or Wrath?
One area of controversy is whether we serve a God of love & mercy or a God of holiness & wrath. The truth is that the God of the Bible is both love and holiness and he acts in mercy and in wrath.
If we focus too much on God’s holiness and wrath, we become solely about robotically obeying laws and about all of the things we can’t do. We will fail to show love and mercy as Jesus showed those lost in sin. We will fail to show the mercy and love He showed to us. We become much like the Pharisees, whom Jesus called “whitewashed tombs.”
Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. (Ephesians 4:15)
We need to always speak the truth, but in a loving and merciful way.
Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, will be with us in truth and love. (2 John 1:3)
If we focus too much on God’s love and mercy, we can forget that the God of the Bible is holy and righteous and can’t stand to be in the presence of sinfulness. We can begin to soften God’s holy word to be little more than suggestions. Even worse, we can bend God’s word to the point that it no longer resembles His clearly communicated commands. Also, if we don’t call sin “sin” and sinners “sinners,” then those same sinners will never understand their need for a Savior and never trust Jesus in repentance. If God isn’t holy and we aren’t sinners, then why would anyone need a Savior?
But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; (1 Peter 1:15)
We need to treat God and His word as holy, while showing love to His creation.
If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. (1 Corinthians 13:1)
God/Jesus/Holy Spirit are holy and loving. If we leave out either side of His character, then we aren’t telling people about the God of the Bible. We have made a God in the image we desire, rather than who He is. If we go to either extreme, we lose who God really is and it will affect both our relationship with God and our relationship with others detrimentally.
Faith or Works?
Another area of contention is relating to faith and works. What is more important — faith or works? Are they not both important?
Many believers focus on faith. Sola Fide (faith alone).
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)
This is a true statement that Salvation comes solely through faith in what Jesus did for us. We don’t get any credit for our own works. All that is good and righteous in us is from the covering of the blood of Jesus and His good works and His power.
But since many people focus on faith alone, they can come to believe that they can live any way that pleases them.
What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. (Romans 6:1-4) {emphasis mine}
By focusing solely on faith, we can be tempted to live life however we please instead of living a life in submission to Our God and Savior. Our lives can be worthless instead of us acting as good servants.
If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. (1 Corinthians 3:15)
At the same time, there are many who are so focused on good works that they leave faith out of it — either a lack of faith themselves or a failure to communicate the need for faith when sharing the gospel. They try to earn their way to heaven. They try to impress those around them by their works.
But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments. They love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues, and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called Rabbi by men. (Matthew 25:5-7)
I think James best communicates the balance between faith and works.
What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.
But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,” and he was called the friend of God. You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. (James 2:14-24) {emphasis mine}
Let’s look at some of the details here to find the truth. “if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him?” Can the kind of faith that has no works, that has no evidence, save a person? If a person truly has saving faith, there will be evidence in their world view and the way they live their life. “Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.” We are saved by faith alone, but if we are saved we will have works. Faith “by itself” is not saving faith, for “the demons also believe, and shudder.” I don’t think anyone would argue that the demons have saving faith, yet they believe and shudder.
Works are the evidence of true faith leading to salvation, but it is only faith that saves.
Speak the Truth or Love?
Whether we stand firmly and always loudly speak the truth or whether we show love and mercy is related to how we view God (as loving or as holy), but I thought how we respond was worth its own discussion.
Sometimes people are so worried about love and unity that they compromise the truth. They may actively compromise the truth by claiming the Bible says something other than what it says, i.e.. old earth vs young earth, or marriage is about two people who love each other vs marriage being defined by God as one woman and one man. Sometimes this compromise is just avoiding talking about uncomfortable subjects completely so that no one is made to feel bad. This is a problem because God said what He said and means what He said.
but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, (Ephesians 4:15)
Avoiding speaking the whole truth is effectively lying about what God’s word said (see my previous post on “The Truth, The Whole Truth, and Nothing But the Truth”). We are not doing anyone a favor making them feel good about their sin. A person has to admit they have a problem before they will act to fix the problem. A person who doesn’t understand their sin will never submit to a Savior. It isn’t loving to hide the truth from a person just because it makes them uncomfortable or it make the relationship uncomfortable for ourselves.
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. (John 14:6)
At the same time, sometimes people seem to beat others over the head with God’s truth. They share the truth in the most unloving and unmerciful way. They use God’s truth to try to lift up themselves while putting down others. This is just as bad.
Now we pray to God that you do no wrong; not that we ourselves may appear approved, but that you may do what is right, even though we may appear unapproved. For we can do nothing against the truth, but only for the truth. (2 Corinthians 13:7-8) {emphasis mine}
Some Christians spend so much time nit picking tiny discrepancies in theology that they miss the whole point of the Gospel.
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. (Matthew 23:23)
Some Christians use theological purity as a means to lift themselves up while knocking others down.
“Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’ 13But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’ I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 18:10-14)
We need to stand firmly on the truth, but not to be so focused on truth that we fight with fellow believers over the smallest differences, especially when these differences are among the areas that are not spoken of as clearly (like end times eschatology).
Rejoice or Fear God?
Tonight I read Psalm 2 which brought to mind another seemingly contradictory way we are to interact with God. Do we fear God or do we rejoice in Him?
There are many verses telling us to fear God or fear the Lord. They are given as a command, as a way to knowledge, as a way to life, etc.
Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king. (1 Peter 2:17) {emphasis mine}
and
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction. (Proverbs 1:7) {emphasis mine}
and
The fear of the Lord leads to life, So that one may sleep satisfied, untouched by evil. (Proverbs 19:23) {emphasis mine}
At the same time we are told to rejoice in the Lord.
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! (Philippians 4:4)
and
Then I will go to the altar of God, To God my exceeding joy; And upon the lyre I shall praise You, O God, my God. (Psalm 43:4)
How often do we rejoice in the thing that makes us tremble in fear? I’d guess, not very often or even never. A right view of God, however, causes us to “rejoice with trembling.”
Worship the Lord with reverence\ And rejoice with trembling.\ Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way,\ For His wrath may soon be kindled.\ How blessed are all who take refuge in Him! (Psalm 2:11-12) {emphasis mine}
That phrase, “rejoice with trembling” seems to perfectly encapsulate the balance between fear of an awesome, omnipotent, holy God and rejoicing in a loving, merciful God who came to earth, lived the perfect life that we cannot, and died to pay the penalty for our sins.
“How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!”
No Real Contradictions
I think these examples do a good example of demonstrating wisdom regarding God’s word and the importance of balance in our Christian lives. Even when at first there seems to be contradictions, God’s word never contradicts itself; it always clarifies itself. Also, when we see a theological or implementation error to one extreme, we need to make sure we are not driven to an error in the other extreme. We also need to make sure, when debating with fellow believers, that we do not argue against one extreme so strongly that we miscommunicate the truth.
May God in heaven guide you as you study His word and seek to submit to His commands. May He help you to see the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. May He guide the church to unity in His truth.
Trust Jesus
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@ 21c9f12c:75695e59
2025-03-30 22:42:19This guy was in my dad's building. A reminder of the importance of balance in our lives. We all have good and bad experiences in life. What matters is how you choose to handle them and balance yourself on the narrow path. Our paths in life have many possible turns, some take us closer to our ultimate reality while others might lead us astray for a bit.
No matter which path you choose the important thing is to keep your balance and footing and not be swept away in the breeze. You can always find your way back to your center and work your way back out from there. There is seldom a straight path in this life that will take you directly to your ultimate reality, make your way as you will and you'll find that you have what you need when you need it.
Ultimately we are all connected in ways we may never understand. The web of reality is so complex and woven with such precision that we need not try to understand why things are the way they are but accept that they are and move along our path doing our best to help others along the way when possible and accept help from those offering it. The path we take is strengthened and preserved when we follow it with love in our hearts. In this way we can leave a beacon to guide others on their way.
My dad left a lot of love on his path. He has guided so many people whether he realized it or not. His guidance of my path has made me who I am today and I am so proud to say that. His love and light shines bright ahead of me and my path is made so much clearer by the love I received and will continue to receive from him.
This is more than just a spider in a building, it is a reminder that all will be well and we will find our balance and continue along our path with the light and love dad has placed on the web of life for us to follow. Peace and love to everyone and may you all find your balance and continue on your path in the light and love that has been placed there for you by those who have gone before.
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@ 878dff7c:037d18bc
2025-03-30 20:46:24Business Leaders Warn of Economic Risks from Potential Minority Government
Summary:
Australian business leaders are expressing deep concerns about the possibility of a minority government influenced by the Greens or independent "teal" candidates after the upcoming May federal election. CEOs such as Graham Turner, Chris Garnaut, and Bruce Mathieson warn that such a government could lead to policy instability, hinder long-term economic planning, and negatively impact Australia's global competitiveness. Key issues highlighted include the cost of living, housing supply, and the need for comprehensive economic reforms to stimulate consumer confidence and productivity. Sources: The Australian - March 31, 2025
Forecasted Decline in Australia's Resource and Energy Export Earnings
Summary:
The Australian government projects a 6% decrease in mining and energy export earnings for the financial year ending in June, attributing the decline to lower U.S. dollar prices for these exports. Earnings are expected to fall to A$387 billion from A$415 billion the previous year. This trend is anticipated to continue over the next five years, stabilizing at A$343 billion. Factors contributing to this decline include normalizing energy export values after recent peaks and reduced demand from China, particularly affecting iron ore exports. Sources: Reuters - March 31, 2025
Devastating Queensland Floods Expected to Persist for Weeks
Summary:
Queensland is experiencing severe flooding due to record-breaking rains exceeding 650mm, submerging entire communities like Adavale and Jundah. Swiftwater crews have conducted over 40 rescues, and major flood warnings remain across inland Queensland. The floods have damaged energy infrastructure, leaving around 300 homes without power. Livestock losses may reach up to a million, with farmers facing significant property damage and urging government and military assistance. Efforts to restore power are underway but depend on weather conditions. Additional rainfall is forecast for the coming week, potentially prolonging the flooding for days, if not weeks. Sources: The Courier-Mail - 31 March 2025
Western NSW Towns Brace for Six Weeks of Isolation Due to Floods
Summary:
A dynamic weather system has caused significant rainfall and flooding along the Paroo and Warrego Rivers, isolating communities in western NSW. The State Emergency Service (SES) has issued 46 warnings, urging residents to prepare for up to six weeks of isolation. Flash flooding, mainly due to water from Queensland, is a major concern, prompting 19 SES flood rescues and 586 emergency responses in the past 24 hours. In Taree, 22 people are surrounded by floodwater and are being rescued. An elderly man is missing after being washed away in floodwaters. The NSW SES advises residents to stay updated via their website or the Hazards Near Me app. Sources: News.com.au - 31 March 2025
Albanese Abandons Energy Bill Reduction Modelling
Summary:
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has distanced himself from earlier modelling that supported the promise to cut power bills by $378 by 2030 and reduce emissions by 43%. He attributes the failure to achieve $275 reductions in power bills by 2025 to international factors, including the Ukraine war. This move has drawn criticism from both the Coalition and the Greens, who accuse the government of not effectively addressing power prices and emissions reduction. Sources: The Australian - March 31, 2025
Albanese Seeks Direct Talks with Trump on Tariffs
Summary:
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese anticipates a direct discussion with U.S. President Donald Trump regarding impending tariffs, as Washington prepares to announce new trade measures on April 2. There are concerns that Australia could be affected by this escalation in the global trade conflict. Albanese has emphasized his government's constructive engagement with U.S. officials on this issue and looks forward to a one-on-one conversation with President Trump. Sources: Reuters - March 31, 2025
Queensland Government Expands 'Adult Time, Adult Crime' Laws
Summary:
The Queensland state government plans to introduce at least a dozen new offenses to the Making Queensland Safer Laws, including rape, aggravated attempted robbery, attempted murder, arson, and torture. These changes will enable the judiciary to treat juvenile offenders as adults for severe crimes. Despite criticism over the delayed inclusion of attempted murder, Youth Justice Minister Laura Gerber defended the sequence and content of the initial changes. The full list of offenses will be unveiled later this week.
Sources: The Courier-Mail - March 30, 2025
Labor Government Proposes Ban on Supermarket Price Gouging
Summary:
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced that a re-elected Labor government would introduce legislation to outlaw supermarket price gouging by the end of the year. The plan includes implementing Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) recommendations to enhance price transparency and establishing a task force to advise on an "excessive pricing regime" for supermarkets, with potential heavy fines for violators. Opposition leader Peter Dutton criticized the approach as ineffective, suggesting it was merely a "wet lettuce" move. Critics from both sides called for tougher measures to combat supermarket dominance and protect consumers.
Sources: The Guardian - March 29, 2025, News.com.au - March 30, 2025
Coles Expands Recall on Spinach Products Due to Contamination
Summary:
Coles has extended its recall of various spinach products across multiple regions, including New South Wales and Victoria, due to potential microbial contamination. Customers are advised not to consume the affected products and can return them to any Coles store for a full refund. The recall applies to items purchased between March 20 and March 29, with use-by dates up to April 9.
Sources: News.com.au - March 31, 2025
66-Year-Old Man Rescued After Five Days Stranded in Australian Outback
Summary:
Tony Woolford, a 66-year-old Australian man, was rescued after being stranded for five days in the flood-hit Munga-Thirri Simpson Desert. Woolford's vehicle was immobilized by rising floodwaters, and with no phone service, he survived by harvesting rainwater and using a high-frequency radio to communicate with volunteers. Authorities were notified on March 23, and he was rescued on March 26 in stable condition and high spirits. Despite the ordeal, Woolford plans to return to the outback to retrieve his car and continue his exploration once conditions improve. Sources: People - March 28, 2025
US Tariffs and Australia's Response
Summary:
Former US trade negotiator Ralph Ives asserts that the US-Australia Free-Trade Agreement has ensured fair reciprocity for two decades, suggesting that President Donald Trump should not impose reciprocal tariffs on Australia. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese anticipates a direct discussion with President Trump regarding these tariffs, expressing concern over potential impacts on Australian exports.
Sources: The Australian - March 31, 2025, Reuters - March 31, 2025
Controversial Genetically Modified Mosquito Plan Monitored Amid Backlash
Summary:
The Queensland government is set to monitor a proposal by Oxitec Australia to release genetically modified mosquitoes aimed at reducing disease transmission. Despite community opposition and concerns about environmental and health risks, supporters argue the initiative could combat diseases like dengue and Zika. Public consultations have been delayed due to significant interest and debate continues over the plan's potential impacts. Sources: The Courier-Mail - March 26, 2025
Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong: You're Being Lied to About Cancer, How It's Caused, and How to Stop It
Summary:
In this episode of The Tucker Carlson Show, Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, a renowned physician and entrepreneur, discusses misconceptions surrounding cancer, its origins, and potential treatments. He emphasizes the complexity of cancer, noting that it's not a single disease but a collection of related diseases requiring varied approaches. Dr. Soon-Shiong highlights the role of the immune system in combating cancer and advocates for treatments that bolster immune responses rather than solely relying on traditional methods like chemotherapy. He also addresses the importance of early detection and personalized medicine in improving patient outcomes.
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@ 7d33ba57:1b82db35
2025-03-30 19:16:14Fažana is a picturesque fishing village on Croatia’s Istrian coast, just 8 km from Pula. Known for its colorful waterfront, fresh seafood, and as the gateway to Brijuni National Park, Fažana is a peaceful alternative to larger tourist hotspots.
🌊 Top Things to See & Do in Fažana
1️⃣ Stroll the Fažana Waterfront & Old Town 🎨
- The charming harbor is lined with colorful houses, cafés, and fishing boats.
- Visit St. Cosmas and Damian Church, a small yet beautiful historical site.
- Enjoy a relaxed Mediterranean atmosphere with fewer crowds than Pula.
2️⃣ Take a Boat Trip to Brijuni National Park 🏝️
- Brijuni Islands, just 15 minutes away by boat, offer stunning nature, Roman ruins, and a safari park.
- Explore the remains of a Roman villa, Tito’s summer residence, and dinosaur footprints!
- Rent a bike or golf cart to explore the islands at your own pace.
3️⃣ Enjoy the Beaches 🏖️
- Badel Beach – A Blue Flag beach, great for families with crystal-clear, shallow waters.
- Pineta Beach – A peaceful, pine-shaded spot with a mix of sand and pebbles.
- San Lorenzo Beach – A scenic spot perfect for sunset views over Brijuni.
4️⃣ Try the Local Seafood 🍽️
- Fažana is known as the "Sardine Capital of Istria" – try grilled sardines with local wine.
- Visit Konoba Feral or Stara Konoba for authentic Istrian seafood.
- Pair your meal with Istrian Malvazija wine.
5️⃣ Visit the Sardine Park 🐟
- A unique outdoor exhibition dedicated to Fažana’s fishing traditions.
- Learn about the history of sardine fishing and processing in Istria.
6️⃣ Take a Day Trip to Pula 🏛️
- Just 15 minutes away, Pula offers Roman ruins, historic sites, and vibrant nightlife.
- Don’t miss the Pula Arena, Temple of Augustus, and the lively Old Town.
🚗 How to Get to Fažana
✈️ By Air: Pula Airport (PUY) is just 15 minutes away.
🚘 By Car:
- From Pula: ~15 min (8 km)
- From Rovinj: ~35 min (30 km)
- From Zagreb: ~3.5 hours (270 km)
🚌 By Bus: Regular buses run between Pula and Fažana.
🚢 By Boat: Ferries to Brijuni National Park depart from Fažana’s harbor.
💡 Tips for Visiting Fažana
✅ Best time to visit? May–September for beach weather & Brijuni trips ☀️
✅ Try local olive oil – Istria produces some of the best olive oils in the world 🫒
✅ Visit early for boat tickets to Brijuni – They can sell out quickly in summer ⏳
✅ Perfect for a relaxing stay – Less crowded than Pula but close to major attractions 🌊 -
@ 0f9da413:01bd07d7
2025-03-30 15:37:53ช่วงสัปดาห์ก่อน 21-30 มีนาคม 2568 ที่ผ่านมาส่วนตัวได้มีภาระกิจเดินทางไปปฏิบัติงานของสถานที่ทำงานและรวดไปเที่ยวส่วนตัว ในการเดินทางในครั้งนี้ภาระกิจหลักส่วนตัวอาจจะไปทำงานแต่หากมีการเดินทางแล้วผมมักจะชอบเดินทางไปพบปะชาว bitcoiner ชาวไทย หรือชาว #siamstr ตามสถานที่ต่างๆ อยู่เสมอตลอดช่วงระยะเวลาดังกล่าวส่วนตัวก็ได้เดินทางไปยังพื้นที่ดังนี้
- ชลบุรี (พัทยา)
- เกาะช้าง (ตราด)
- หาดใหญ่ (สงขลา)
- เชียงใหม่
ซึ่งได้ตรวจเช็คแล้วในพื้นที่ดังกล่าวมีร้านรับ bitcoin อยู่และมีประสบการณ์ในแต่ละที่ที่แตกต่างกันออกไปซึ่งผมเองจะขอรัวิวการเดินทางดังกล่าวนี้ โดยอ้างอิงจากการตามรอยร้านที่รับชำระด้วย BTC ผ่าน BTC Map และจะมีบางร้านที่ไม่ได้อยู่ใน BTC Map ก็ขอรีวิวตามช่วงระยะเวลา Timeline ละกัน
Seeva Cafe Pattya
ร้านชีวาคาเฟ่ ร้านตกแต่งในสไตล์ศิลปะและกาแฟในร้านมีโซนจำหน่ายขนมเค้กและอื่นๆ อีกด้วย มีต้นไม้ร่มรื่นและบรรยากาศค่อนข้างดีพอสมควร ท่านไหนอยากเดินทางไปจิบกาแฟเบาๆ นั่งทำงานพักผ่อนแถวพัทยาใต้ก็สามารถเดินทางไปแวะชิมกันได้ (รับบิทคอยด้วยนะ) สถานที่นี้ไม่ได้เสีย sats เนื่องจากมีเจ้าภาพเลี้ยง ขอบคุณครับ
Google Map: https://maps.app.goo.gl/ZJNUGYiCgp1VTzGJ9
BTC-Map: None
Piya Silapakan Museum of Art Pattaya
สถานที่ถัดมาเป็นหอศิลป์ ปิยะศิลปาคารเป็นสถานที่ที่เก็บรวมรวมผลงานทางศิลปะต่างๆ ภาพวาดเสมือนจริงซึ่งแน่นอนว่าสามารถมาเรียน Workshop ทางด้านศิลปะได้แน่นอนว่าสามารถจ่ายด้วย Bitcoin Lightning ได้โดยผมเองก็ได้วาดศิลปะสีน้ำวาดบนกระเป๋าผ้า เอาจริงๆ ณ ตอนที่วาดนั้นแทบจะลืมเวลาและโพกัสกับสิ่งที่วาดอยู่ทำให้รู้สึกผ่อนคลายและวาดสิ่งต่างๆ เหมือนตอนสมัยเด็กๆ ซึ่งหากมีเวลาเพิ่มเติมผมเองก็อาจจะเจียดเวลาไปลองวาดศิลปะแลลอื่นๆ โดยที่ไม่ต้องให้ใครมาตัดสินใจ สวยไม่สวยอย่างไร ก็อยู่ที่เรา หลายครั้งเราชอบให้คนอื่นตัดสินใจเพื่อทำให้เรารู้สึกดี ลองมาที่นี้ดูสิแล้วคุณจะตัดสินใจด้วยตนเอง
อันนี้ผลงานส่วนตัวที่ได้ทำ แล้วแต่การจินตนาการของแต่ละท่านว่าสิ่งที่ผมวาดมันคืออะไรก็แล้วกัน
งานนี้หมดไปแล้ว 13,173 sats แวะมาเยี่ยมชมกันได้ที่พัทยา ชลบุรี :)
Google map: https://maps.app.goo.gl/mjMCdxEe36ra1jDF6
BTC-Map: None
Toffee Cake Pattaya
เป็นร้านสุดท้ายที่ได้ไปใช้งานชื้อขนมติดไม้ติดมือกลับไปยังที่พักก่อนส่วนตัวจะเดินทางต่อไป หมดไป 1,904 sats เหมาะสำหรับชื้อของฝากติดไม้ติดมือกลับบ้าน
Google map: https://maps.app.goo.gl/jqRyHTFzXVe6qYSv9
BTC-Map: https://btcmap.org/map?lat=12.9509827&long=100.8974009
หลังจากเดินทางพักที่พัทยาหนึ่งคืนก่อนเดินทางไปยังเกาะช้าง สรุปสถานที่พัทยานั้นหมดไปทั้งหมด 15,077 sats (คำนวนเงินอนาคตน่าจะ 15,077 usd กาวกันไว้ก่อน) สำหรับ Part 2 นั้นจะรีวิวร้านที่อยู่ในพื้นที่เกาะช้างซึ่งผมได้ตามรอยจาก BTC-Map จะเป็นอย่างไรเชิญติดตามครับ ขอบคุณครับ
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@ 3514ac1b:cf164691
2025-03-30 15:16:56hi , My name is Erna and i hope this articles find you well. hmm what i like to talked about today is how i dislike my my black coffee getting cold . it is happened almost everyday . here is my morning flow : wake up brush teeth and make my self ready make coffee ( boiled water ) in meantime switch on my computer reading news , things ( water allready boiled ) get my coffee and put my coffee on the side of my computer keep reading and social media 1 hour later coffee get cold meeeh i need to drink this everyday .
so which of thos work flow is wrong ? am i doing it wrong ? suggested me a good morning routine so my coffee still hot when i drink it .
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@ bcb80417:14548905
2025-03-30 14:40:40President Donald Trump's recent policy initiatives have significantly impacted the cryptocurrency landscape, reflecting his administration's commitment to fostering innovation and positioning the United States as a global leader in digital assets.
A cornerstone of this approach is the aggressive deregulation agenda aimed at reversing many policies from the previous administration. Key areas of focus include slashing environmental regulations, easing bank oversight, and removing barriers to cryptocurrencies. The Environmental Protection Agency, for instance, announced 31 deregulatory actions in a single day, underscoring the breadth of these efforts. This push has led to rapid growth in the crypto industry, with increased investment and activity following the administration's moves to ease restrictions. citeturn0news10
In line with this deregulatory stance, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently hosted its inaugural public meeting of the crypto task force. Led by Republican SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, the task force is exploring the applicability of securities laws to digital assets and considering whether new regulatory frameworks are necessary. This initiative reflects a shift in regulatory approach under President Trump, who has pledged to reverse the previous administration's crackdown on crypto firms. citeturn0news11
Further demonstrating his support for the crypto industry, President Trump announced the inclusion of five cryptocurrencies—Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple (XRP), Solana (SOL), and Cardano (ADA)—into a proposed "crypto strategic reserve." This move led to significant price surges for these assets, highlighting the market's responsiveness to policy decisions. citeturn0search0
The administration's commitment extends to the development of stablecoins. World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency venture established by Donald Trump and his sons, plans to launch a stablecoin called USD1. This stablecoin will be entirely backed by U.S. treasuries, dollars, and cash equivalents, aiming to provide a reliable medium for cross-border transactions by sovereign investors and major institutions. The USD1 token will be issued on the Ethereum network and a blockchain developed by Binance. citeturn0news13
In the financial sector, Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. is collaborating with Crypto.com to introduce "Made in America" exchange-traded funds (ETFs) focusing on digital assets and securities. This initiative aligns with President Trump's pro-cryptocurrency stance and his ambition to make the U.S. a global crypto hub. The ETFs, supported by Crypto.com, will feature a combination of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and are slated to launch later this year. citeturn0news12
These policy directions underscore President Trump's dedication to integrating cryptocurrencies into the national economic framework. By establishing strategic reserves, promoting stablecoins, and facilitating crypto-focused financial products, the administration aims to position the United States at the forefront of the digital asset revolution.
However, these initiatives are not without challenges. While deregulation has boosted investor confidence and stock prices, concerns arise regarding potential economic implications. The Federal Reserve warns that certain policies may lead to higher prices and adversely affect investment and growth. Additionally, the administrative and legal complexities of implementing widespread deregulation present further challenges, including potential staff cuts at agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency and legal challenges to some of the administration's actions. citeturn0news10
In summary, President Trump's recent policies reflect a strategic embrace of cryptocurrencies, aiming to foster innovation, attract investment, and establish the United States as a leader in the digital asset space. While these efforts present opportunities for economic growth and technological advancement, they also necessitate careful consideration of regulatory and economic impacts to ensure balanced and sustainable development in the crypto sector.
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@ 83279ad2:bd49240d
2025-03-30 14:21:49Test
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@ d560dbc2:bbd59238
2025-03-30 07:56:40We’ve all been there: that one task sitting on your to-do list, staring at you like a disappointed parent, and yet you keep pushing it off for absolutely no good reason. It’s not even that hard, urgent, or complicated—but somehow, it’s been haunting you for days, weeks, or maybe even months. Why do we do this to ourselves?
Why Do We Postpone Tasks for No Reason?
Procrastination is a sneaky beast. Even tasks that take 10 minutes, require minimal brainpower, and have no immediate deadline often get pushed aside. Here are some psychological reasons:
-
Emotional Avoidance:
Even if a task isn’t hard, a tiny emotional weight (like mild boredom or a vague “I don’t wanna”) can lead your brain to choose distractions—like scrolling through Instagram. -
Lack of Immediate Consequences:
Without a pressing deadline, your brain tends to deprioritize the task, even if completing it would make you feel great. -
The Zeigarnik Effect:
Unfinished tasks stick in our minds, creating mental tension. Ironically, that tension can make the task seem bigger and more daunting, encouraging further avoidance.
My Own “No-Reason” Procrastination Story
Let’s be real—I’ve been postponing something trivial, like organizing my desk drawer, for weeks. It’s a simple task that takes about 15 minutes. There’s no deadline, no special skill required—yet every time I open the drawer, I see the chaos of old receipts, random cables, and a half-eaten pack of gum (don’t judge!) and think, “I’ll do it later.” It’s not that I’m busy—I’ve had plenty of time to rewatch my favorite sitcom for the third time. But ignoring it has become my default, and that messy drawer now occupies mental space far beyond its physical size.
Why These Tasks Matter More Than We Think
Those little tasks we postpone might seem harmless, but they add up to create mental clutter. That messy desk drawer isn’t just a drawer—it’s a tiny stressor that pops into your head at the worst moments, disrupting your focus on important work or relaxation.
-
Mental Clutter:
Unfinished tasks can weigh on your mind, making it harder to focus on what truly matters. -
The Bigger Picture:
Tasks like “reply to that email” or “schedule that doctor’s appointment” may seem minor, but avoiding them can lead to unnecessary stress and lost opportunities.
How to Finally Tackle That Task
Here are a few strategies that have helped me break the cycle of “no-reason” procrastination:
1. The 20-Minute Rule (Thank You, Pomodoro!)
-
Commit to 20 Minutes:
Set a timer for just 20 minutes and start working on the task. You’d be surprised how much you can accomplish once you begin. -
Example:
For my desk drawer, I set a timer, got to work, and finished in 12 minutes. That small win made me feel like a productivity superhero.
2. Pin It and Get a Nudge
-
Use Reminders:
Pin that nagging task (like “Organize desk drawer”) as your top priority for the day. A gentle reminder can help break the cycle of avoidance. -
Result:
It’s like having a friend nudge you, “Hey, remember that thing you’ve been ignoring? Let’s do it now!”
3. Make It Fun (Yes, Really!)
-
Add a Reward:
Turn the task into something enjoyable by setting a reward. Play your favorite music, and promise yourself a treat once you’re done. -
Example:
For my desk drawer, I put on an upbeat playlist and treated myself to a piece of chocolate when finished. Suddenly, it wasn’t a chore—it became a mini dance party with a sweet reward.
4. Celebrate the Win
-
Acknowledge Completion:
Once you finish, take a moment to celebrate—even if it’s just a mental high-five. -
Why It Matters:
That sense of closure clears mental clutter and builds momentum for your next task.
Let’s Share and Motivate Each Other
What’s that one task you’ve been postponing for no reason? Maybe it’s cleaning out your fridge, replying to a friend’s text, or finally hanging that picture frame that’s been leaning against the wall for months. Whatever it is, share your story in the comments! Let’s motivate each other to tackle these tasks and turn procrastination into progress.
Bonus points if you’ve got a funny reason for your procrastination (like, “I didn’t schedule that appointment because my doctor’s office has the worst hold music in history”).
Ready to stop procrastinating? Let’s get real, take that first step, and clear that mental clutter—one small win at a time!
-
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@ da0b9bc3:4e30a4a9
2025-03-30 07:40:58Hello Stackers!
Welcome on into the ~Music Corner of the Saloon!
A place where we Talk Music. Share Tracks. Zap Sats.
So stay a while and listen.
🚨Don't forget to check out the pinned items in the territory homepage! You can always find the latest weeklies there!🚨
🚨Subscribe to the territory to ensure you never miss a post! 🚨
originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/929299
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@ ff517fbf:fde1561b
2025-03-30 04:43:09ビットコインが「最強の担保」と言われる理由
ビットコインは「デジタルゴールド」とも呼ばれることがありますが、実はローンの担保としても最強だと言われています。その理由を、他の資産(株式、不動産、金など)と比較しながら見てみましょう。
-
流動性と即時性:ビットコインは24時間365日世界中で取引されているため、非常に流動性が高い資産です。売買がすぐにできて価格も常に明確なので、担保評価がしやすく、お金を貸す側・借りる側双方に安心感を与えます。一方、株式や不動産は市場が営業時間内しか動かず、現金化にも時間がかかります。不動産は売却に数ヶ月かかることもありますし、金(ゴールド)は現物を保管・輸送する手間があります。ビットコインならネット上で即座に担保設定・解除ができるのです。
-
分割性と柔軟性:ビットコインは小数点以下8桁まで分割可能(1億分の1が最小単位の「サトシ」)なので、必要な額だけ正確に担保に充てることができます。他方、土地や建物を一部だけ担保に入れることは難しいですし、株式も1株未満の細かい調整はできません。ビットコインなら価値の微調整が容易で、担保として柔軟に扱えるのです。
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管理のしやすさ(マルチシグによる信頼性):HodlHodlのLendでは、ビットコイン担保は2-of-3のマルチシグ契約で管理されます。これは「借り手・貸し手・プラットフォーム」の3者それぞれが鍵を持ち、2つの鍵の同意がないとビットコインを動かせない仕組みです。このため、誰か一人が勝手に担保を持ち逃げすることができず、第三者(HodlHodl)も単独ではコインを移動できません。ビットコインだからこそ実現できる非中央集権で安全な担保管理であり、株式や不動産を担保にする場合のように銀行や証券会社といった仲介業者に頼る必要がありません。
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国境を越えた利用:ビットコインはインターネットがつながる所なら世界中どこでも送受信できます。このため、日本にいながら海外の相手とでもローン契約が可能です。たとえば日本の方がビットコインを担保にドル建てのステーブルコインを借り、それを日本円に換えて使うこともできます(為替リスクには注意ですが…)。不動産を海外の人と直接やり取りするのは現実的に難しいですが、ビットコインならグローバルに担保が活用できるのです。
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希少性と価値の上昇期待:ビットコインは発行上限が決まっており(2100万BTCまで)、時間とともに新規供給が減っていきます。過去の長期的な価格推移を見ると、短期的な変動は激しいものの数年〜十年のスパンでは上昇傾向にあります。一方、法定通貨建ての資産(債券や株式など)はインフレの影響で実質価値が目減りすることがあります。ビットコインは長期保有すれば価値が上がりやすい特性があるため、「今手放したくない資産」として担保に向いています。実際、HodlHodlのチームは「ビットコインはスーパーカCollateral(超優秀な担保)だ」と述べています。
こうした理由から、ビットコインは現時点で考えうる中でも最良の担保資産と考えられています。株や不動産のように書類手続きや名義変更をしなくても、ビットコインならブロックチェーン上の契約でシンプルに担保設定ができる――この手軽さと信頼性が大きな魅力です。
匿名&プライバシー重視:KYC不要のP2Pレンディングのメリット
HodlHodlのLend最大の特徴の一つは、本人確認(KYC)が一切不要だという点です。日本の多くの金融サービスでは口座開設時に運転免許証やマイナンバー提出など煩雑な手続きが必要ですが、Lendではメールアドレスでアカウント登録するだけでOK。これは「匿名性・プライバシー」を重視する人にとって非常に相性が良いポイントです。
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個人情報を晒さなくて良い安心感:日本では昔から「人に迷惑をかけない」「目立たない」ことが美徳とされ、特にお金の話は他人に知られたくないと考える人が多いですよね。Lendは匿名で利用できるため、借金をすることを周囲に知られたくない人でも安心です。銀行からローンを借りるときのように収入証明や保証人を用意する必要もなく、誰にも知られずひっそりと資金調達ができます。
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ノー・チェック&ノー・ペーパー:貸し借りにあたって信用審査や過去の借入履歴チェックがありません 。極端な話、今まで金融履歴が全く無い人や、銀行に相手にされないような人でも、ビットコインさえ持っていればお金を借りられるのです。書類のやり取りが無いので手続きもスピーディーです。「印鑑証明や収入証明を揃えて…」という面倒とは無縁で、ネット上でクリックして契約が完結します。
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プライバシーの保護:個人情報を提出しないということは、情報漏洩のリスクも無いということです。近年、日本でも個人情報の流出事件が相次いでおり、不安に感じる方も多いでしょう。Lendではアカウント登録時にメールアドレスとパスワード以外何も求められません。財務情報や身元情報がどこかに蓄積される心配がないのは、大きな安心材料です。
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国や機関から干渉されにくい:匿名であるということは、極端に言えば誰にも利用を知られないということです。たとえば「ローンを借りると住宅ローンの審査に響くかな…」とか「副業の資金調達を会社に知られたくないな…」といった心配も、匿名のP2Pローンなら不要です。借りたお金の使い道も自由ですし、何より利用自体が自分だけの秘密にできるのは、日本人にとって心理的ハードルを下げてくれるでしょう。
このように、ノーKYC(本人確認なし) のP2Pレンディングは、日本のようにプライバシーや控えめさを重んじる文化圏でも利用しやすいサービスと言えます。実際、HodlHodlのLendは「地理的・規制的な制限がなく、世界中の誰もが利用できる純粋なP2P市場」とされています。日本に居ながらグローバルな貸し借りができ、しかも身元明かさずに済む――これは画期的ですね。
Borrow編:HodlHodlのLendでビットコインを担保にお金を借りる方法
それでは具体的に、HodlHodlのLendでどのようにビットコイン担保のローンを借りるのか、手順を追って説明します。初心者でも迷わないよう、シンプルなステップにまとめました。
1. アカウント登録 (Sign up)
まずはHodlHodlのLendサイトにアクセスし、無料のアカウントを作成します。必要なのはメールアドレスとパスワードだけです。登録後、確認メールが届くのでリンクをクリックして認証すれば準備完了。これでプラットフォーム上でオファー(契約希望)を閲覧・作成できるようになります。
※HodlHodlは日本語には対応していませんが、英語のシンプルなUIです。Google翻訳などを使っても良いでしょう。
2. 借りたい条件のオファーを探す or 作成
ログインしたら、「To Borrow(借りる)」のメニューから現在出ている貸し手のオファー一覧を見てみましょう。オファーには借入希望額(例:$1000相当のUSDT)、期間(例:3ヶ月)、金利(例:5%)やLTV(担保価値比率、例:60%)などの条件が書かれています。自分の希望に合うものがあれば選んで詳細画面へ進みます。条件に合うオファーが見つからない場合は、自分で「○○ USDTを△ヶ月、金利○%で借りたい」という借り手オファーを新規作成することも可能です。
用語補足:LTV(ローン・トゥ・バリュー)とはローン額に対する担保価値の割合です。たとえばLTV50%なら、借りたい額の2倍の価値のビットコインを担保に入れる必要があります。LTVは貸し手が設定しており、一般に30%〜70%程度の範囲でオファーが出ています。低いLTVほど借り手は多くのBTC担保が必要ですが、その分だけ貸し手にとって安全なローンとなります。
3. 契約成立とマルチシグ担保のデポジット
借り手・貸し手双方が条件に合意すると契約成立です。HodlHodlプラットフォーム上で自動的に専用のマルチシグ・エスクロー用ビットコインアドレス(担保保管先アドレス)が生成されます。次に、借り手であるあなたは自分のウォレットからビットコインをそのエスクローアドレスに送金します。
- 📌ポイント:マルチシグで安心 – 上述の通り、このエスクロー用アドレスのコインを動かすには3者中2者の署名が必要です。あなた(借り手)は常にそのうちの1つの鍵を保有しています。つまり、自分が承認しない限り担保BTCが勝手に引き出されることはないのでご安心ください。
ビットコインの入金がブロックチェーン上で所定の承認(通常数ブロック程度)を得ると、担保デポジット完了です。これで契約は有効化され、次のステップへ進みます。
4. 貸し手から資金(ステーブルコイン)を受け取る
担保のロックが確認できると、今度は貸し手がローン金額の送金を行います。Lendで借りられるのは主にステーブルコインです。ステーブルコインとは、米ドルなど法定通貨の価値に連動するよう設計された仮想通貨で、USDTやUSDC、DAIといった種類があります。借り手は契約時に受取用のステーブルコインアドレス(自分のウォレットアドレス)を指定しますので、貸し手はそのアドレス宛に契約どおりの額を送金します。例えばUSDTを借りる契約なら、貸し手からあなたのUSDTウォレットにUSDTが送られてきます。
これで晴れて、あなた(借り手)は希望のステーブルコインを手にすることができました! あなたのビットコインは担保としてロックされていますが、期限までに返済すれば取り戻せますので、しばしのお別れです。借りたステーブルコインは自由に使えますので、後述する活用例を参考に有効活用しましょう。
5. 返済(リペイメント)
契約期間中は基本的に何もする必要はありません(途中で追加担保や一部返済を行うことも可能ですが、初心者向け記事では割愛します)。期間が満了するまでに、借りたステーブルコイン+利息を貸し手に返済します。返済も、貸し手の指定するウォレットアドレスにステーブルコインを送金する形で行われます。
- 利息の計算:利息は契約時に決めた率で発生します。例えば年利10%で6ヶ月間$1000を借りたなら、利息は単純計算で$50(=$1000×10%×0.5年)です。契約によっては「期間全体で○%」と定める場合もありますが、プラットフォーム上で年率(APR)換算が表示されます。
期間内であれば任意のタイミングで早期返済することも可能です。返済期限より早く全額返せば、利息もその日数分だけで済みます(※ただし契約によります。事前に契約条件を確認してください)。HodlHodlでは分割返済にも対応しており、例えば月ごとに少しずつ返して最後に完済することもできます。
6. ビットコイン担保の解除(返却)
貸し手があなたからの返済受領を確認すると、プラットフォーム上で契約終了の手続きを行います。マルチシグの担保アドレスからあなたのビットコインを解放(返却)する署名を貸し手とプラットフォームが行い、あなたの元のウォレットにビットコインが送られます。こうして無事に担保のBTCが戻ってくれば、一連のローン取引は完了です🎉。
もし返済が滞った場合はどうなるのでしょうか?その場合、契約で定められた猶予期間やマージンコール(追加担保のお願い)を経た後、担保のビットコインが強制的に貸し手に渡されて契約終了(清算)となります。担保額が未返済額を上回っていれば、差額は借り手に返ってきます。つまり、返せなかったとしても借り手が担保以上の損をすることはありませんが、大切なビットコインを失ってしまう結果にはなるので注意しましょう。
Borrow(借りる)側のまとめ:ビットコインさえあれば、あとの手続きは非常に簡単です。借入までの流れをもう一度簡潔にまとめると:
- メールアドレスでLendに登録
- 借入オファーを探すor作成してマッチング
- マルチシグ契約が自動生成・BTC担保を自分で入金
- 貸し手からステーブルコインを受領
- 期限までにステーブルコイン+利息を返済
- ビットコイン担保が自分のウォレットに戻る
第三者の仲介なしに、ネット上でこれだけのことが完結するのは驚きですよね。HodlHodlは「あなたの条件、あなたの鍵、あなたのコイン」と銘打っており、自分の望む条件で・自分が鍵を管理し・自分の資産を動かせるプラットフォームであることを強調しています。
Lend編:HodlHodlのプラットフォームでお金を貸してみよう
次は逆に、自分が貸し手(Lender)となってステーブルコインを貸し出し、利息収入を得る方法です。銀行に預けても超低金利のこのご時世、手持ちの資金をうまく運用したい方にとってP2Pレンディングは魅力的な選択肢になりえます。HodlHodlのLendなら、これもまた簡単な手順で始められます。
基本的な流れは先ほどの「Borrow編」と鏡写しになっています。
1. アカウント登録
借り手と同様、まずはHodlHodlに登録します(すでに借り手として登録済みなら同じアカウントで貸し手にもなれます)。メールアドレスだけでOK、もちろん貸し手側もKYC不要です。
2. 貸出オファーの確認 or 作成
ログイン後、「To Lend(貸す)」メニューから現在の借り手募集一覧を見ます。各オファーには希望額・期間・支払い利率・LTVなど条件が表示されています。「この条件なら貸してもいいかな」という案件があれば選択しましょう。もし自分の希望する利回りや期間が合わない場合は、自分で貸し手オファーを作成することも可能です。「○○ USDTまで、最長△ヶ月、最低利息◻◻%で貸せます」といった条件を提示できます。プラットフォーム上ではユーザーがお互いに条件を提示しあってマッチングする仕組みなので、金利や期間もすべてユーザー自身が自由に設定できます。
3. マッチングと契約開始
あなたの提示した条件で借りたい人が現れたら契約成立です(逆に誰かの借入オファーに応じる形なら、その時点で成立)。システムがマルチシグの担保用BTCアドレスを生成し、借り手がそこへビットコインをデポジットします。借り手からのBTC入金が確認できるまで、貸し手であるあなたは資金を送る必要はありません。担保が確保されたのを見届けてから次に進みます。
4. 資金(ステーブルコイン)の送金
借り手の担保ロックが完了したら、契約で定めたステーブルコインを借り手へ送金します。送金先アドレスは契約詳細画面に表示されます(借り手が指定済み)。例えばUSDCを貸す契約なら、相手のUSDCアドレスに約束の額を送ります。ここで送金した金額がローンの principal(元本)となり、後ほど利息とともに返ってくるわけです。
無事に相手に届けば、あとは契約期間終了まで待つだけです。あなたは担保のBTCに対して鍵を1つ持っている状態なので、万一トラブルが起きた場合でも担保を引き出す権利を部分的に持っています(詳しくは次ステップ)。
5. 返済の受領
契約期間が終わると、借り手があなたにステーブルコインを返済してくるはずです。約束どおり元本+利息を受け取ったら、それを確認してプラットフォーム上で「返済完了」を操作します。すると担保のビットコインがマルチシグから解放され、借り手に返却されます。これで貸し手としてのあなたは利息分の収益を獲得できました。お疲れ様です!
もし借り手が返済しなかった場合どうなるでしょうか?その場合、所定の猶予期間やマージンコール通知の後、担保のビットコインがあなた(貸し手)に渡されることになります。具体的には、LTVが90%に達するか返済期日から24時間以上滞納が続くと強制清算となり、担保BTCからあなたの貸付相当額が充当されます。担保が十分であれば元本と利息はカバーされ、余剰があれば借り手に返還されます。つまり貸し手側はかなり手厚く保護されており、返済を受け取れない場合でも担保で穴埋めされる仕組みです。
6. 収益を管理・再投資
受け取ったステーブルコイン(元本+利息)は再度プラットフォームで貸し出しても良いですし、他の用途に使ってもOKです。年利に換算するとだいたい10%前後の利回りになる案件が多く見られます。条件次第では更に高い利率の契約も可能ですが、その分借り手が見つかりにくかったりリスク(担保不足のリスク)が高まる可能性もあります。ご自身のリスク許容度に合わせて運用しましょう。
Lend(貸す)側のまとめ:
- HodlHodlに登録(メールアドレスのみ)
- 貸出オファーを提示 or 借り手募集に応じる
- 契約成立後、借り手がBTC担保を入金
- 貸し手(自分)がステーブルコインを送金
- 期限まで待ち、借り手から元本+利息を受領
- 担保BTCを返却し、利息収入を得る
銀行預金では考えられないような利息収入を得られるのが魅力ですが、その裏でビットコイン価格変動リスクも担っています。大暴落が起きて担保評価額が急落すると、清算時に元本を割るリスクもゼロではありません(LTV設定とマージンコール制度で極力保護されまますが)。リスクとリターンを理解した上で、小額から試すことをおすすめします。
ステーブルコインの活用:お金持ちは借金で生活する?
ここまで、ビットコインを手放さずにステーブルコインを手に入れる方法を見てきました。それでは、借りたステーブルコインは具体的に何に使えるのでしょうか?いくつか例を挙げてみましょう。
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日常の出費に充当:ビットコイン投資家の中には「生活費はすべて借りたお金で賄い、自分のBTCはガチホ(売らずに長期保有)する」という方針の人もいます。例えば毎月の家賃や食費をステーブルコインのローンで支払い(これについても今後詳しく解説していきます)、ビットコインは一切使わないというイメージです。こうすれば、手持ちのBTCを売らずに済むので将来の値上がり益を逃しません。また日本では仮想通貨を売却すると雑所得として高率の税金がかかりますが、ローンで得たお金は借入金なので課税対象になりません(※将来的な税務計算は自己責任で行ってください)。つまり、ビットコインを売却して現金化する代わりにローンを使うことで、節税と資産温存のメリットが得られる可能性があります。
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投資・資産運用に回す:借りた資金をさらに別の投資に活用することもできます。例えば有望な株式や不動産に投資したり、あるいは他の仮想通貨を買うこともできます。極端な例では、ビットコインを担保にUSDTを借りて、そのUSDTでまた別の仮想通貨を買い、それを運用益で返済する…といった戦略も理論上は可能です。ただし、借りたお金での投機はハイリスクなので慎重に!手堅い使い道としては、事業資金に充てるのも良いでしょう。例えば小さなオンラインビジネスを始めるための元手にしたり、新しい資格取得のための学費にするなど、自分への投資に使えば将来的なリターンでローンを返しつつ利益を上げることが期待できます。
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急な支払いへの備え:人生何があるか分かりません。医療費や冠婚葬祭など急に現金が必要になる場面もあります。そんなとき、ビットコインをすぐ売ってしまうのは惜しい…という場合にローンで一時的にしのぐことができます。後で落ち着いてから返済すれば、大事なBTCを手放さずにピンチを乗り切れます。言わばデジタル質屋のような感覚で、ビットコインを預けてお金を工面し、後で買い戻す(返済する)イメージですね。日本でも昔から「質屋」で着物や宝石を預けてお金を借りる文化がありましたが、HodlHodl Lendはビットコイン版の質屋とも言えるでしょう。
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市場の機会を逃さない:仮想通貨市場は変動が激しく、「今これを買いたいのに現金が無い!」というチャンスもあるでしょう。例えば「ビットコインが急落したから買い増したいが、現金が足りない」という場合、手持ちBTCを担保にしてステーブルコインを借り、その急落で安く買い増しする、といった動きもできます。そして後日価格が戻したところで返済すれば、差益を得つつBTC保有枚数も増やせるかもしれません。このようにローンを戦略的に使えば、市場の好機を掴む資金余力を生み出すことができます。ただしハイリスクな手法でもあるため、上級者向けではあります。
ここで覚えておきたいのは、「お金持ちは借金との付き合い方が上手い」という点です。日本では借金にネガティブな印象を持つ人も多いですが、世界的な資産家や大企業はしばしばあえて借金をして手元資金を他に活用しています。アメリカのベストセラー『金持ち父さん貧乏父さん』で有名なロバート・キヨサキ氏も「富裕層は他人のお金(借金)を利用してさらに富を築く」と強調しています。例えば彼は借金で高級車を買い、不動産投資にも借入を活用したそう (金持ちは貧乏人より借金が多い | 「金持ち父さん 貧乏父さん」日本オフィシャルサイト)❤️。借金を味方につけて資産運用すれば、自分の持ち出し資金を抑えつつ豊かな生活を実現できる可能性があります。
もちろん無計画な借金は禁物ですが、ローンを上手に使うことは決して悪いことではなく、むしろ経済的戦略として有効なのです。ビットコイン担保ローンはその新しい選択肢として、「お金にお金に働いてもらう」感覚を身につけるきっかけになるかもしれません。
高い金利でもローンを利用するのはなぜ?その理由と戦略
Lendのプラットフォームで提示される金利は、年利換算で見ると10〜15%程度が一つの目安 です。中にはそれ以上の利率の契約もあります。日本の銀行ローン(金利数%以下)と比べるとかなり高利に思えますが、それでも多くの人がこのサービスを利用してローンを組んでいます。なぜ高い利息を支払ってまで借りる価値があるのでしょうか?最後に、その理由と利用者の戦略について考えてみましょう。
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(1) ビットコインの期待リターンが高い:借り手にとって一番の動機は、「ビットコインは将来もっと値上がりするはずだから、多少利息を払っても売りたくない」というものです。例えば年利15%で$1000借りると一年後に$1150返す必要がありますが、もしビットコイン価格がその間に15%以上上昇すれば、利息分を差し引いても得をする計算になります。過去のビットコイン相場は年率ベースで大きく成長した年も多く、強気のホルダーほど利息より値上がり益を優先する傾向があります。「金利よりビットコインの価値上昇のほうが大きい」という自信が、高金利を払ってでも借りる動機になっているのです。
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(2) 課税や手数料の回避:先ほど述べたように、日本ではビットコインを売却すると高額の税金が発生する可能性があります。仮に30%〜50%の税金がかかるのであれば、年利10%前後のローンで済ませたほうがトクだという判断も成り立ちます。また、取引所で売却するときのスプレッドや出金手数料なども考えると、売却コストを回避する手段としてローンを選ぶ人もいます。要するに「売るくらいなら借りた方がマシ」という考え方ですね。
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(3) 自由と速さを優先:従来の金融機関からお金を借りるには時間がかかりますし、使途にも制限があることが多いです(事業資金なのか生活費なのか、といった審査があります)。それに対してHodlHodlのP2Pローンは使い道自由・即日資金調達が可能です。利息が高めでも「今すぐ○○がしたい」「明日までに現金が要る」といったニーズには代えられません。特に仮想通貨業界はスピード命ですから、チャンスを逃さないために高コストでも素早く借りるという選択が生まれます。
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(4) 借金=時間を買うこと:あるユーザーの言葉を借りれば、「借金をすることは未来の時間を先取りすること」でもあります。例えば住宅ローンがあるからこそ若い世代でもマイホームに住めますし、事業ローンがあるからこそ企業は成長の機会を掴めます。ビットコイン担保ローンも同じで、「今はお金が無いけど将来増やすアテはある。だから今借りてしまおう」というケースもあるでしょう。将来の収入や資産増加を見込んで、時間を味方につけるためにあえて借金をするのです。日本語では「借金してでも◯◯する」という表現がありますが、前向きな借金は将来への投資とも言えるでしょう。
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(5) 非中央集権への支持:もう一つ見逃せないのは、HodlHodlのようなプラットフォームを利用する理由に思想的な支持があります。つまり「銀行や政府に頼らないお金の流れを実現したい」「ビットコインのエコシステムを活性化させたい」というビットコイナーたちです。多少コストが高くても、理念に共感して使っているケースもあります。匿名で自由にお金を借りられる世界を体験することで、金融システムの新たな可能性を感じているのです。
以上のように、高い金利にも関わらずローンを利用するのは明確なメリットや戦略があるからなのです。もちろん全ての人に当てはまるわけではありません。ビットコイン価格が下落局面ではリスクも伴いますし、利息分だけ損になる場合もあります。しかし、それらを理解した上で「自分のお金を働かせる」「資産を手放さずレバレッジを利かせる」手段として活用している人々が増えてきています。
最後に、HodlHodlの公式ブログの一文をご紹介します。
“私たちはビットコインこそがスーパーカ collateral(超優秀な担保)であり、利回りを得るために使うのではなく、それを担保に資金を借りるために使われるべきだと考えています" (The lending is dead, long live the lending | by Hodl Hodl | Hodl Hodl | Medium)。
ビットコイン時代の新しいお金の借り方・貸し方であるP2Pローン。最初は難しく感じるかもしれませんが、仕組みを理解すればとてもシンプルで強力なツールです。日本ではまだ馴染みが薄いかもしれませんが、匿名性を好み、コツコツ資産を増やすのが得意な人にこそフィットするサービスかもしれません。ぜひ少額から試し、自分なりの活用法を見つけてみてください。きっと新たな発見があるはずです。
もしビットコイン担保のP2Pローンなどについてもっと深く知りたい、あるいは個別に相談してみたいと思えば、どうぞお気軽にご連絡ください。1対1のコンサルティングも承っています。
サービスには決まった料金はありませんが、ご相談を通じて「役に立った」と思い、お悩みや疑問を解決できたと感じていただけたら、「3つのT」でのご支援(Value for Value)をぜひご検討ください:
- 時間(Time):この記事をSNSなどでシェアしていただくこと。
- 才能(Talent):コメントや補足情報などを通じて知識を共有していただくこと。
- 宝(Treasure):世界で最も健全なお金、ビットコインの最小単位「sats」でのご支援。
もちろん、支援の有無にかかわらず、お力になれればとても嬉しいです。 では、また次回!
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@ 06830f6c:34da40c5
2025-03-30 03:56:17Once upon a time their lived a young man in a lost village, I'm just kidding with you, I'm testing my blog entries on my domain. SITE
Navigate to Blogs tab and screenshot this. @ me for a chance to get zapped ⚡. I won't say how many sats, so you are not doing it due to the incentive but to help me test the domain functionality.
Love ✌️
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@ 30ceb64e:7f08bdf5
2025-03-30 00:37:54Hey Freaks,
RUNSTR is a motion tracking app built on top of nostr. The project is built by TheWildHustle and TheNostrDev Team. The project has been tinkered with for about 3 months, but development has picked up and its goals and direction have become much clearer.
In a previous post I mentioned that RUNSTR was looking to become a Nike Run Club or Strava competitor, offering users an open source community and privacy focused alternative to the centralized silos that we've become used to.
I normally ramble incoherently.....even in writing, but this is my attempt to communicate the project's goals and direction as we move forward.
This is where the project is now:
Core Features
- Run Tracker: Uses an algorithm which adjusts to your phone's location permissions and stores the data on your phone locally
- Stats: Stored locally on your phone with a basic profile screen so users can monitor calories burned during runs
- Nostr Feed: Made up of kind1 notes that contain #RUNSTR and other running related hashtags
- Music: Brought to you via a wavlake API, enabling your wavlake playlists and liked songs to be seen and played in the app
Current Roadmap
- Bugs and small improvements: Fixing known issues within the client
- zap.store release: Launching a bug bounty program after release
- Clubs: Enabling running organizations to create territories for events, challenges, rewards and competition
- Testflight: Opening up the app to iOS users (currently Android only)
- Modes: Adding functionality to switch between Running, Walking, or Cycling modes
Future Roadmap
- Requested Features: Implementing features requested by club managers to support virtual events and challenges
- Blossom: Giving power users the ability to upload their data to personal blossom servers
- NIP28: Making clubs interoperable with other group chat clients like 0xchat, Keychat, and Chachi Chat
- DVM's: Creating multiple feeds based on movement mode (e.g., Walking mode shows walkstr feed)
- NIP101e: Allowing users to create run records and store them on nostr relays
- Calories over relays: Using NIP89-like functionality for users to save calorie data on relays for use in other applications
- NIP60: Implementing automatic wallet creation for users to zap and get zapped within the app
In Conclusion
I've just barely begun this thing and it'll be an up and down journey trying to push it into existence. I think RUNSTR has the potential to highlight the other things that nostr has going for it, demonstrating the protocol's interoperability, flexing its permissionless identity piece, and offering an experience that gives users a glimpse into what is possible when shipping into a new paradigm. Although we build into an environment that often offers no solutions, you'd have to be a crazy person not to try.
https://github.com/HealthNoteLabs/Runstr/releases/tag/feed-0.1.0-20250329-210157
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@ 50de492c:0a8871de
2025-03-30 00:23:36{"title":"test","description":"","imageUrl":"https://i.nostr.build/Xo67.png"}
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@ 3514ac1b:cf164691
2025-03-29 22:07:33About Me
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@ 3514ac1b:cf164691
2025-03-29 21:58:22Hi this is me ,Erna . i am testing this Habla news . i have been trying using this but got no luck . always disconnect and no content .
Hopefully this one will work .
BREAKING NEWS : Vance uses Greenland visit to slam Denmark , as Trump escalates rhetoric .
https://wapo.st/4c6YkhO
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@ 3514ac1b:cf164691
2025-03-29 18:55:29Cryptographic Identity (CI): An Overview
Definition of Cryptographic Identity
Cryptographic identity refers to a digital identity that is secured and verified using cryptographic techniques. It allows individuals to prove their identity online without relying on centralized authorities.
Background of Cryptographic Identity
Historical Context
- Traditional identity systems rely on centralized authorities (governments, companies)
- Digital identities historically tied to platforms and services
- Rise of public-key cryptography enabled self-sovereign identity concepts
- Blockchain and decentralized systems accelerated development
Technical Foundations
- Based on public-key cryptography (asymmetric encryption)
- Uses key pairs: private keys (secret) and public keys (shareable)
- Digital signatures provide authentication and non-repudiation
- Cryptographic proofs verify identity claims without revealing sensitive data
Importance of Cryptographic Identity
Privacy Benefits
- Users control their personal information
- Selective disclosure of identity attributes
- Reduced vulnerability to mass data breaches
- Protection against surveillance and tracking
Security Advantages
- Not dependent on password security
- Resistant to impersonation attacks
- Verifiable without trusted third parties
- Reduces centralized points of failure
Practical Applications
- Censorship-resistant communication
- Self-sovereign finance and transactions
- Decentralized social networking
- Cross-platform reputation systems
- Digital signatures for legal documents
Building Cryptographic Identity with Nostr
Understanding Nostr Protocol
Core Concepts
- Nostr (Notes and Other Stuff Transmitted by Relays)
- Simple, open protocol for censorship-resistant global networks
- Event-based architecture with relays distributing signed messages
- Uses NIP standards (Nostr Implementation Possibilities)
Key Components
- Public/private keypairs as identity foundation
- Relays for message distribution
- Events (signed JSON objects) as the basic unit of data
- Clients that interface with users and relays
Implementation Steps
Step 1: Generate Keypair
- Use cryptographic libraries to generate secure keypair
- Private key must be kept secure (password managers, hardware wallets)
- Public key becomes your identifier on the network
Step 2: Set Up Client
- Choose from existing Nostr clients or build custom implementation
- Connect to multiple relays for redundancy
- Configure identity preferences and metadata
Step 3: Publish Profile Information
- Create and sign kind 0 event with profile metadata
- Include displayable information (name, picture, description)
- Publish to connected relays
Step 4: Verification and Linking
- Cross-verify identity with other platforms (Twitter, GitHub)
- Use NIP-05 identifier for human-readable identity
- Consider NIP-07 for browser extension integration
Advanced Identity Features
Reputation Building
- Consistent posting builds recognition
- Accumulate follows and reactions
- Establish connections with well-known identities
Multi-device Management
- Secure private key backup strategies
- Consider key sharing across devices
- Explore NIP-26 delegated event signing
Recovery Mechanisms
- Implement social recovery options
- Consider multisig approaches
- Document recovery procedures
Challenges and Considerations
Key Management
- Private key loss means identity loss
- Balance security with convenience
- Consider hardware security modules for high-value identities
Adoption Barriers
- Technical complexity for average users
- Network effects and critical mass
- Integration with existing systems
Future Developments
- Zero-knowledge proofs for enhanced privacy
- Standardization efforts across protocols
- Integration with legal identity frameworks
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@ 7d33ba57:1b82db35
2025-03-29 18:47:34Pula, located at the southern tip of Istria, is a city where ancient Roman ruins meet stunning Adriatic beaches. Known for its well-preserved amphitheater, charming old town, and crystal-clear waters, Pula offers a perfect blend of history, culture, and relaxation.
🏛️ Top Things to See & Do in Pula
1️⃣ Pula Arena (Roman Amphitheater) 🏟️
- One of the best-preserved Roman amphitheaters in the world, built in the 1st century.
- Used for gladiator fights, now a venue for concerts & film festivals.
- Climb to the top for stunning sea views.
2️⃣ Explore Pula’s Old Town 🏡
- Wander through cobbled streets, past Venetian, Roman, and Austro-Hungarian architecture.
- Visit the Arch of the Sergii (a 2,000-year-old Roman triumphal arch).
- Enjoy a drink in Forum Square, home to the Temple of Augustus.
3️⃣ Relax at Pula’s Beaches 🏖️
- Hawaiian Beach (Havajska Plaža): Turquoise waters & cliffs for jumping.
- Ambrela Beach: A Blue Flag beach with calm waters, great for families.
- Pješčana Uvala: A sandy beach, rare for Croatia!
4️⃣ Cape Kamenjak Nature Park 🌿
- A wild and rugged coastline with hidden coves and crystal-clear water.
- Great for cliff jumping, kayaking, and biking.
- Located 30 minutes south of Pula.
5️⃣ Visit Brijuni National Park 🏝️
- A group of 14 islands, once Tito’s private retreat.
- Features Roman ruins, a safari park, and cycling trails.
- Accessible via boat from Fazana (15 min from Pula).
6️⃣ Try Istrian Cuisine 🍽️
- Fuži with truffles – Istria is famous for white & black truffles.
- Istrian prosciutto & cheese – Perfect with local Malvazija wine.
- Fresh seafood – Try grilled squid or buzara-style mussels.
🚗 How to Get to Pula
✈️ By Air: Pula Airport (PUY) has flights from major European cities.
🚘 By Car:
- From Zagreb: ~3 hours (270 km)
- From Ljubljana (Slovenia): ~2.5 hours (160 km)
🚌 By Bus: Regular buses connect Pula with Rovinj, Rijeka, Zagreb, and Trieste (Italy).
🚢 By Ferry: Seasonal ferries run from Venice and Zadar.💡 Tips for Visiting Pula
✅ Best time to visit? May–September for warm weather & festivals 🌞
✅ Book Arena event tickets in advance – Summer concerts sell out fast 🎶
✅ Try local wines – Istrian Malvazija (white) and Teran (red) are excellent 🍷
✅ Explore nearby towns – Rovinj & Motovun make great day trips 🏡
✅ Cash is useful – Some small shops & markets prefer cash 💶 -
@ 57d1a264:69f1fee1
2025-03-29 18:02:16This UX research has been redacted by @iqra from the Bitcoin.Design community, and shared for review and feedback! Don't be shy, share your thoughts.
1️⃣ Introduction
Project Overview
📌 Product: BlueWallet (Bitcoin Wallet) 📌 Goal: Improve onboarding flow and enhance accessibility for a better user experience. 📌 Role: UX Designer 📌 Tools Used: Figma, Notion
Why This Case Study?
🔹 BlueWallet is a self-custodial Bitcoin wallet, but users struggle with onboarding due to unclear instructions. 🔹 Accessibility issues (low contrast, small fonts) create barriers for visually impaired users. 🔹 Competitors like Trust Wallet and MetaMask offer better-guided onboarding.
This case study presents UX/UI improvements to make BlueWallet more intuitive and inclusive.
2️⃣ Problem Statement: Why BlueWalletʼs Onboarding Needs Improvement
🔹 Current Challenges:
1️⃣ Onboarding Complexity - BlueWallet lacks step-by-step guidance, leaving users confused about wallet creation and security.
2️⃣ No Educational Introduction - Users land directly on the wallet screen with no explanation of private keys, recovery phrases, or transactions. 3️⃣ Transaction Flow Issues - Similar-looking "Send" and "Receive" buttons cause confusion. 4️⃣ Poor Accessibility - Small fonts and low contrast make navigation difficult.
🔍 Impact on Users:
Higher drop-off rates due to frustration during onboarding. Security risks as users skip key wallet setup steps. Limited accessibility for users with visual impairments.
📌 Competitive Gap:
Unlike competitors (Trust Wallet, MetaMask), BlueWallet does not offer: ✅ A guided onboarding process ✅ Security education during setup ✅ Intuitive transaction flow
Somehow, this wallet has much better UI than the BlueWallet Bitcoin wallet.
3️⃣ User Research & Competitive Analysis
User Testing Findings
🔹 Conducted usability testing with 5 users onboarding for the first time. 🔹 Key Findings: ✅ 3 out of 5 users felt lost due to missing explanations. ✅ 60% had trouble distinguishing transaction buttons. ✅ 80% found the text difficult to read due to low contrast.
Competitive Analysis
We compared BlueWallet with top crypto wallets:
| Wallet | Onboarding UX | Security Guidance | Accessibility Features | |---|---|---|---| | BlueWallet | ❌ No guided onboarding | ❌ Minimal explanation | ❌ Low contrast, small fonts | | Trust Wallet | ✅ Step-by-step setup | ✅ Security best practices | ✅ High contrast UI | | MetaMask | ✅ Interactive tutorial | ✅ Private key education | ✅ Clear transaction buttons |
📌 Key Insight: BlueWallet lacks guided setup and accessibility enhancements, making it harder for beginners.
📌 User Persona
To better understand the users facing onboarding challenges, I developed a persona based on research and usability testing.
🔹 Persona 1: Alex Carter (Bitcoin Beginner & Investor)
👤 Profile: - Age: 28 - Occupation: Freelance Digital Marketer - Tech Knowledge: Moderate - Familiar with online transactions, new to Bitcoin) - Pain Points: - Finds Bitcoin wallets confusing. - - Doesnʼt understand seed phrases & security features. - - Worried about losing funds due to a lack of clarity in transactions.
📌 Needs: ✅ A simple, guided wallet setup. ✅ Clear explanations of security terms (without jargon). ✅ Easy-to-locate Send/Receive buttons.
📌 Persona Usage in Case Study: - Helps define who we are designing for. - Guides design decisions by focusing on user needs.
🔹 Persona 2: Sarah Mitchell (Accessibility Advocate & Tech Enthusiast)
👤 Profile: - Age: 35 - Occupation: UX Researcher & Accessibility Consultant - Tech Knowledge: High (Uses Bitcoin but struggles with accessibility barriers)
📌 Pain Points: ❌ Struggles with small font sizes & low contrast. ❌ Finds the UI difficult to navigate with a screen reader. ❌ Confused by identical-looking transaction buttons.
📌 Needs: ✅ A high-contrast UI that meets WCAG accessibility standards. ✅ Larger fonts & scalable UI elements for better readability. ✅ Keyboard & screen reader-friendly navigation for seamless interaction.
📌 Why This Persona Matters: - Represents users with visual impairments who rely on accessible design. - Ensures the design accommodates inclusive UX principles.
4️⃣ UX/UI Solutions & Design Improvements
📌 Before (Current Issues)
❌ Users land directly on the wallet screen with no instructions. ❌ "Send" & "Receive" buttons look identical , causing transaction confusion. ❌ Small fonts & low contrast reduce readability.
✅ After (Proposed Fixes)
✅ Step-by-step onboarding explaining wallet creation, security, and transactions. ✅ Visually distinct transaction buttons (color and icon changes). ✅ WCAG-compliant text contrast & larger fonts for better readability.
1️⃣ Redesigned Onboarding Flow
✅ Added a progress indicator so users see where they are in setup. ✅ Used plain, non-technical language to explain wallet creation & security. ✅ Introduced a "Learn More" button to educate users on security.
2️⃣ Accessibility Enhancements
✅ Increased contrast ratio for better text readability. ✅ Used larger fonts & scalable UI elements. ✅ Ensured screen reader compatibility (VoiceOver & TalkBack support).
3️⃣ Transaction Flow Optimization
✅ Redesigned "Send" & "Receive" buttons for clear distinction. ✅ Added clearer icons & tooltips for transaction steps.
5️⃣ Wireframes & Design Improvements:
🔹 Welcome Screen (First Screen When User Opens Wallet)
📌 Goal: Give a brief introduction & set user expectations
✅ App logo + short tagline (e.g., "Secure, Simple, Self-Custody Bitcoin Wallet") ✅ 1-2 line explanation of what BlueWallet is (e.g., "Your gateway to managing Bitcoin securely.") ✅ "Get Started" button → Le ads to next step: Wallet Setup ✅ "Already have a wallet?" → Import option
🔹 Example UI Elements: - BlueWallet Logo - Title: "Welcome to BlueWallet" - Subtitle: "Easily store, send, and receive Bitcoin." - CTA: "Get Started" (Primary) | "Import Wallet" (Secondary)
🔹 Screen 2: Choose Wallet Type (New or Import)
📌 Goal: Let users decide how to proceed
✅ Two clear options: - Create a New Wallet (For first-time users) - Import Existing Wallet (For users with a backup phrase) ✅ Brief explanation of each option 🔹 Example UI Elements: - Title: "How do you want to start?" - Buttons:** "Create New Wallet" | "Import Wallet"
🔹 Screen 3: Security & Seed Phrase Setup (Critical Step)
📌 Goal: Educate users about wallet security & backups
✅ Explain why seed phrases are important ✅ Clear step-by-step instructions on writing down & storing the phrase ✅ Warning: "If you lose your recovery phrase, you lose access to your wallet." ✅ CTA: "Generate Seed Phrase" → Next step
🔹 Example UI Elements: - Title: "Secure Your Wallet" - Subtitle: "Your seed phrase is the key to your Bitcoin. Keep it safe!" - Button: "Generate Seed Phrase"
🔹 Screen 4: Seed Phrase Display & Confirmation
📌 Goal: Ensure users write down the phrase correctly
✅ Display 12- or 24-word seed phrase ✅ “I have written it downˮ checkbox before proceeding ✅ Next screen: Verify seed phrase (drag & drop, re-enter some words)
🔹 Example UI Elements: - Title: "Write Down Your Seed Phrase" - List of 12/24 Words (Hidden by Default) - Checkbox: "I have safely stored my phrase" - Button: "Continue"
🔹 Screen 5: Wallet Ready! (Final Step)
📌 Goal: Confirm setup & guide users on next actions
✅ Success message ("Your wallet is ready!") ✅ Encourage first action: - “Receive Bitcoinˮ → Show wallet address - “Send Bitcoinˮ → Walkthrough on making transactions
✅ Short explainer: Where to find the Send/Receive buttons
🔹 Example UI Elements: - Title: "You're All Set!" - Subtitle: "Start using BlueWallet now." - Buttons: "Receive Bitcoin" | "View Wallet"
5️⃣ Prototype & User Testing Results
🔹 Created an interactive prototype in Figma to test the new experience. 🔹 User Testing Results: ✅ 40% faster onboarding completion time. ✅ 90% of users found transaction buttons clearer. 🔹 User Feedback: ✅ “Now I understand the security steps clearly.ˮ ✅ “The buttons are easier to find and use.ˮ
6️⃣ Why This Matters: Key Takeaways
📌 Impact of These UX/UI Changes: ✅ Reduced user frustration by providing a step-by-step onboarding guide. ✅ Improved accessibility , making the wallet usable for all. ✅ More intuitive transactions , reducing errors.
7️⃣ Direct link to figma file and Prototype
Original PDF available from here
originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/928822
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@ 8671a6e5:f88194d1
2025-03-29 17:58:33A flash of inspiration
Sometimes the mind takes you to strange places. The other day, I stumbled across Madonna’s “Vogue” video, you know “strike a pose” and all that jazz, and it got me thinking. Not about her music (which, let’s be honest, hasn’t aged as gracefully as her PR team might hope), but about Michael Saylor and Bitcoin.
Bear with me here, there’s a connection there. Madonna built an empire and her iconic name on catchy tunes and reinvention, even if her catalog feels a bit thin these days. Saylor? He’s doing something similar—taking an old act, dusting it off, and teaching it a new trick. Only instead of a microphone, he’s wielding Bitcoin, and Wall Street’s playing the role of the music industry, propping up the star despite a shaky back catalog (his initial business software).
Old school meets new moves
Think of Saylor as that veteran artist who’s been around for a few decades and think of bitcoin as a new style of music, a genre or a gimmick that’s popular with the kids. Old music stars sooner or later pick up on that, and even bring people in to do a cross-over song, a mix or god forbid, a duet.
MicroStrategy, his software company, was never a top hit scoring machine. More of a album full of B-sides that faded into obscurity (for those who don’t know, look up what a B-side song was). But then he stumbled onto Bitcoin, the shiny new genre that’s got the attention and attracted people because of the underlying asset (our tunes are here to stay).
It’s not just a pivot; it’s a reinvention. Like an aging pop star learning to rap, Saylor’s taken his old-school business and remixed it into something attracting a decent audience at conferences for example. Like Madonna or the former Prince fulling arenas. He’s voguing alright; with bold moves, big loans, the support of his own music industry and a spotlight for his (sometimes Madonna lyrics like) ramblings.
The Saylor trick: a ray of light on bitcoin
Here’s the play: Saylor’s turned MicroStrategy into a Bitcoin hoarding machine. Forget software licenses; his game is borrowing billions—through corporate bonds and stock sales, only to buy and hold Bitcoin. Bitcoin will outshine gold, bonds, even the S&P 500, Saylor says. It’s a gamble, an honorable one if you’re a bitcoiner, but it’s dressed up as a vision, and it’s got a self-fulfilling prophecy in it. Not only that, such a prophecy can only fully come to fruition if he’s not the only buyer of last resort of any significance. A music industry isn’t a real industry if there was only Madonna dancing on stage as the only mainstream artist.
We had Prince, Michael Jackson, Taylor Swift, Bruno Mars or Dua Lipa and hundreds of other artists over time, vying for your money, attention span, and streaming minutes. The more Strategy buys, the more the Bitcoin crowd cheers, the higher the price climbs, and the more attention he gets. Speaking gigs, headlines, cult status—it’s a win-win, at least on paper. Strike the pose, indeed.
The McDonald’s trick: value under the surface
It’s not the first time Michael Saylro remixes a tape from another artist so to speak. Let’s pivot to McDonald’s for a second, because there’s a parallel here. You think Big Macs when you think McDonald’s, but their real value hustle is actually real estate.
They own prime land, lease it to franchisees, and rake in rent—billions of it. The burgers? Just a tasty front for a property empire. Saylor’s pulling a similar move, but instead of buildings, his asset is Bitcoin. MicroStrategy’s software gig is the fries on the side — nice to have, but not the main course. He’s borrowing against the future value of BTC, betting it’ll keep climbing, just like McDonald’s banks on steady foot traffic and picking strategic (pun intended) locations. The difference? McDonald’s has a fallback if real estate tanks. Saylor’s all-in on bitcoin. (So far so good, if there’s one thing to go all-in on, it’s bitcoin anyway). That on itself is not an issue. But it’s important to know that the “location” is the asset for some while bitcoin is the “asset” for Strategy. Mc Donald’s assets are easy to spot: there are restaurants all over the place. Madonna’s concerts are also easy to spot: they sell out arenas left and right. Strategy’s bitcoin asset is less easy to spot, as we can’t see them, neither can we verify them. More on that later.
The hybrid star: Madonna meets McDonald’s
So, picture this: Saylor’s a cross between Madonna and a fast-food landlord. He’s the aging music icon who’s learned a flashy new dance, but underneath the glitter, he’s running a McDonald’s-style value play. It’s brilliant, in a way. Bitcoin’s scarcity fuels the hype, and his borrowing keeps the show on the road. Madonna’s legacy still sells records her name holds value, and McDonald’s can lean on its food business and brand, if the property game stumbles they can easily pivot back to basics and earn like they’ve always done on selling food and franchise income/licensing. Saylor? His software arm’s is rather dismal. If Bitcoin falters, there’s no encore that can him.a flash of inspiration
Sometimes the mind takes you to strange places. The other day, I stumbled across Madonna’s “Vogue” video, you know “strike a pose” and all that jazz, and it got me thinking. Not about her music (which, let’s be honest, hasn’t aged as gracefully as her PR team might hope), but about Michael Saylor and Bitcoin.\ \ Bear with me here, there’s a connection there. Madonna built an empire and her iconic name on catchy tunes and reinvention, even if her catalog feels a bit thin these days.\ Saylor? He’s doing something similar—taking an old act, dusting it off, and teaching it a new trick. Only instead of a microphone, he’s wielding Bitcoin, and Wall Street’s playing the role of the music industry, propping up the star despite a shaky back catalog (his initial business software).
Old school meets new moves
Think of Saylor as that veteran artist who’s been around for a few decades and think of bitcoin as a new style of music, a genre or a gimmick that’s popular with the kids. Old music stars sooner or later pick up on that, and even bring people in to do a cross-over song, a mix or god forbid, a duet.
MicroStrategy, his software company, was never a top hit scoring machine. More of a album full of B-sides that faded into obscurity (for those who don’t know, look up what a B-side song was).\ But then he stumbled onto Bitcoin, the shiny new genre that’s got the attention and attracted people because of the underlying asset (our tunes are here to stay).\ \ It’s not just a pivot; it’s a reinvention. Like an aging pop star learning to rap, Saylor’s taken his old-school business and remixed it into something attracting a decent audience at conferences for example. Like Madonna or the former Prince fulling arenas.\ He’s voguing alright; with bold moves, big loans, the support of his own music industry and a spotlight for his (sometimes Madonna lyrics like) ramblings.
*The Saylor trick: a ray of light on bitcoin* \ Here’s the play: Saylor’s turned MicroStrategy into a Bitcoin hoarding machine. Forget software licenses; his game is borrowing billions—through corporate bonds and stock sales, only to buy and hold Bitcoin. Bitcoin will outshine gold, bonds, even the S&P 500, Saylor says.\ It’s a gamble, an honorable one if you’re a bitcoiner, but it’s dressed up as a vision, and it’s got a self-fulfilling prophecy in it. Not only that, such a prophecy can only fully come to fruition if he’s not the only buyer of last resort of any significance. A music industry isn’t a real industry if there was only Madonna dancing on stage as the only mainstream artist.\ \ We had Prince, Michael Jackson, Taylor Swift, Bruno Mars or Dua Lipa and hundreds of other artists over time, vying for your money, attention span, and streaming minutes.\ The more Strategy buys, the more the Bitcoin crowd cheers, the higher the price climbs, and the more attention he gets. Speaking gigs, headlines, cult status—it’s a win-win, at least on paper. Strike the pose, indeed.
*The McDonald’s trick: value under the surface* \ It’s not the first time Michael Saylro remixes a tape from another artist so to speak.\ Let’s pivot to McDonald’s for a second, because there’s a parallel here. You think Big Macs when you think McDonald’s, but their real value hustle is actually real estate.
They own prime land, lease it to franchisees, and rake in rent—billions of it. The burgers? Just a tasty front for a property empire. Saylor’s pulling a similar move, but instead of buildings, his asset is Bitcoin.\ MicroStrategy’s software gig is the fries on the side — nice to have, but not the main course. He’s borrowing against the future value of BTC, betting it’ll keep climbing, just like McDonald’s banks on steady foot traffic and picking strategic (pun intended) locations.\ The difference? McDonald’s has a fallback if real estate tanks. Saylor’s all-in on bitcoin. (So far so good, if there’s one thing to go all-in on, it’s bitcoin anyway). That on itself is not an issue. But it’s important to know that the “location” is the asset for some while bitcoin is the “asset” for Strategy.\ Mc Donald’s assets are easy to spot: there are restaurants all over the place. Madonna’s concerts are also easy to spot: they sell out arenas left and right.\ Strategy’s bitcoin asset is less easy to spot, as we can’t see them, neither can we verify them. More on that later.
The hybrid star: Madonna meets McDonald’s
So, picture this: Saylor’s a cross between Madonna and a fast-food landlord. He’s the aging music icon who’s learned a flashy new dance, but underneath the glitter, he’s running a McDonald’s-style value play.\ It’s brilliant, in a way. Bitcoin’s scarcity fuels the hype, and his borrowing keeps the show on the road.\ Madonna’s legacy still sells records her name holds value, and McDonald’s can lean on its food business and brand, if the property game stumbles they can easily pivot back to basics and earn like they’ve always done on selling food and franchise income/licensing.\ Saylor? His software arm’s is rather dismal. If Bitcoin falters, there’s no encore that can him.
The music’s made in-house
Michael Saylor’s strategy with Strategy, is a bold, all-in bet on Bitcoin as the ultimate store of value. Essentially combining what Mc Donald’s does with the strong believe in bitcoin’s future (and fueling that believe with the fitting rhetoric).
It works like this: Since August 2020, Saylor’s company has been buying up more and more Bitcoin, making it their main asset instead of traditional cash or investments, and by March 2025, they own 506,137 BTC—worth about $42.8 billion (at $84,000 per Bitcoin). This, after spending $33.7 billion to buy it over time (DCA), including a massive 218887 BTC purchase late 2024 for $20.5 billion, giving them over 2.41% of all Bitcoin ever to exist (way more than companies like Marathon, Coinbase, Tesla or Riot).
To pull this off, they’ve borrowed heavily: owing $7.2 billion, mostly to Wall Street investors through special IOUs1 called convertible notes, which don’t need to be paid back until 2027, through 2029. These can either be settled with cash or swapped for Strategy stock. (there lies one of the main issues in my opinion, as the main asset’s price in USD is directly impacting the stock price of MSTR). A small example of this repeated correlation happened on March 28, 2025 when Strategy’s stock (MSTR) dropped 10.8% from $324.59 to $289.41, which was mirroring Bitcoin’s move down from $85,000 to $82,000 earlier.
This debt they have can be called “risky” by any stretch, with a high leverage rate of 39-40%, meaning they’ve borrowed a big chunk compared to what they own outright, but here’s the genius of it: they don’t have to sell their Bitcoin if its price drops, and they can refinance (borrow more later) to keep the dance going. As long as they find investors willing to bet on the later bitcoin price surge, but more importantly, as long as the song is liked by the new audience. If Michael Saylor is our “Madonna”, then there’s still not Taylor Swift or Rihanna in sight.
The creditors (big players, not banks) win if Bitcoin soars, as Strategy’s huge stash (potentially 2.9%+ of the market) nets them massive profits, or even if it crashes, they’re still in the game with other ways to make profit (not on bitcoin), since they can afford the risk. If someone is willing to bet 4 to 8 billion dollars, they’re probably not spooked by losing it all. More so, these Wall Streat people in the correct entourage, can probably afford such a gamble, and can stomach to lose it all if something goes horribly wrong as well, instead of risking being left out of a growing market. But since they’re probably the same people steering and “owning” the USD market anyway, they’re just conquering positions in a new market. The fact that they’re not real bitcoin-ethos people, but just “suits” in finance, can make the suspicious bitcoiners watching all of this unfold, even more uneasy.
So, Strategy sits on $44 billion in Bitcoin with just $7.2 billion in debt, voguing confidently. And Saylor’s betting the song never gets old, he’ll do the B-sides and re-mastering his old albums if necessary, but if Bitcoin’s value ever fades (for whatever reason), the real question is how long they can keep striking poses before the music stops. Remember: all money (fiat, gold, silver, bitcoin, nicely made papers) is a matter of trust.
As I have trust in bitcoin itself, but not so much in Strategy, I’ve take some precautions. I've started my own sort of "Strategy crash fund", with fiat money that only will come into action when strategy is done. The crash that we'll see after that goes down, will be such a tremendous opportunity, that I'll pour in some more fiat, gladly, and that will be the exact moment I will actually “sell all my chairs” (from Saylor’s well-known quote).
Purchases
Strategy’s Bitcoin purchases, don’t seem to jolt the market much either, no matter the size of the order. They always have the same sound: “it’s OTC, it doesn’t impact the market that much”.
Still, it’s strange to see: no one has ever come forward to tell anyone “I’ve sold 15000 bitcoin from my old stack to Saylor”, neither do we see any clear evidence and on-chain moves.
Take their first buy in August 2020 for example. Totaling 21454 BTC for $250 million at $11,652 per BTC; Bitcoin sat at $11,500 to $11,700 so barely moved, inching to $12,000 weeks later due to broader trends.
Same story in December 2020 with 29646 BTC for $650 million, there, the price hopped from $19,000 to $23,000, but a bull market was already raging. Fast forward to February 2021 (19452 BTC, for $1.026 billion (!)), March 2024 (9245 BTC, $623 million), November 2024 (55500 BTC, $5.4 billion), and March 2025 (6911 BTC, $584.1 million)
Bitcoin wobbled 2-15%, but always in line with existing momentum, not Strategy’s announcements. Their biggest buy, for a total of $5.4 billion (!) is just 0.3% of Bitcoin’s $1.7 trillion market cap, it’s too small to register as a blip even. But compared to the liquidity on the market and the “availability” on the OTC market, it should. More so, OTC bitcoin is announced as “for sale” somehow. A person with +25000 bitcoin is not standing on the side of the street yelling “hey man, wanna buy some bitcoin?”. There are specialized firms doing that for them, and making these available. This date is also used by some insiders and people who know this very small market (there aren’t that many bitcoiners sitting on such an amount after 2024 I guess). Data from Binance OTC, Coinspaid, kraken OTC, is highly private of course, but still, anything being sold over there, to Strategy or anyone else, would take larger amounts off the open market and the OTC market, making a price impact, certainly withing 2 years, as Bitcoin mining companies sit on an average buffer of 6 months depending on market conditions.
Strategy funds all of this by selling shares (diluting the pool big-time) or issuing convertible notes, and while SEC filings make faking these buys near-impossible. And even if Saylor is the Bitcoin version of Bernie Madoff, he could get away with it, if enough people "in the know" are willing to support this way of infesting (and investing in) the bitcoin economy. This would have to be a clear orchestrated attack on bitcoin, purely on the financial level then.
I don't believe this to be the case, but mathematically we have to take it into account as a very slight possibility.
After all, a company like "WorldCom"2 managed to scam their way out of different audits for years, until the scheme got bust and a enormous amount of investors lost their money after their CEO went to jail3 for exchange fraud.
I believe this could be the case with Strategy, but I give it a 3% chance (this might be low, but it's there, we can't outright dismiss the possibility).
Water in the wine
Strategy has also massively diluted its stock to fund Bitcoin buys, jumping from 10 million shares in 2020 to about 285 million by March 2025—a 2,750% increase, this happened after raising $4.25 billion from 2020 onwards and $20 billion of their $42 billion "21/21 Plan" by early 2025.
After the 10-for-1 stock split in August 2024, the number of MSTR shares grew from 16.5 million in 2023 to 284898 by end of 2024, a 1625% rise !!!. Add to that about 275 million more shares added in total (including 120 million in 2024 alone) and 1.975 million extra in March 2025 for $592.6 million.
So more and more tap water is poured in the wine, and it means each share’s ownership slice shrinks as new shares flood in, mostly via "at-the-market" sales and convertible note conversions. This is partly offset by share splits, but still, the rise in the number of stock is significant, and a big factor in evaluating MSTR.
In December 2024, they proposed hiking authorized shares to 10.33 billion (plus 1 billion preferred), approved in January 2025, setting the stage for even more if they keep selling.
The trend is clear: relentless selling. They might say “we never sell bitcoin”, but the same doesn’t count for their shares… which derive their value from bitcoin’s fiat price. So shareholders are betting on Bitcoin’s rise to offset the watering down of the share they hold. The more you think of it, the more ludicrous it sounds. It’s a loop of trust where the stock itself can only thrive if the company itself is an active, useful middleman. And so far, it’s only doing so for other Wall street companies, the biggest holders of MSTR shares:
Vanguard Group Inc, BlackRock, Capital International Investors, Jane Street Group, Susquehanna International Group
This on itself is also “normal” of course. In the flow of things. Like every aspect by itself in the whole Strategy setup is just normal. But combining all the factors makes it look a bit more… suspicious to me.
Supporting bitcoin ?
The real head-scratcher comes next: their secrecy and lack of community involvement. Strategy claims to hold 506137 BTC, likely cold-stored with partners like BitGo or Coinbase Custody, but no public wallet addresses back these claims up. Odd for a firm swearing never to sell.
There’s also the real risk that these partners are partly selling paper bitcoin (bitcoin they don't hold the keys to, or "promised" bitcoin) to Strategy, and that they just assume everything is audited and OK.
We can't estimate that, since we don't have any public MicroStrategy addresses or other ways to look at their holdings. This is for security reasons apparently, which raises another question: If they for example would show 300k+ BTC on-chain as proof, it’d boost trust, yet they don’t, hinting at a bigger play — maybe as a Wall Street-backed buyer of last resort for a new asset class.
Also Strategy’s software business and bitcoin “apps” (like the super simple Lightning email integration, and an on-chain digital ID system) is underwhelming to say the least (I literally know people that code such stuff on a free afternoon while they’re cooking dinner).
Their very minimal software innovation for the Bitcoin space, with basic Lightning features and an on-chain ID system, failing their their valuation as a 'Bitcoin company' in my opinion. More so, their business is ignoring the other innovation that would help bitcoin thrive. This is kind of a red flag for me. Why would a company sitting on +500 k bitcoin be hesitant about supporting the bitcoin eco-system more actively? They sure have the funds to do so, right? And they also have the right insights, info and spirit. Yet, they don’t.
They don’t fund developers for open-source projects, or Bitcoin’s growth in general (not publicly at least). So Saylor shines in talks, hyping Bitcoin’s future and Strategy’s stock, but it’s all the self fulfilling prophecy.
No grants, no real support for the community they lean on. It’s like they’re dancing to Bitcoin’s mixtape, raking in the spotlight, while giving little back. All the while some extremely needed projects lack funding, and most software companies in bitcoin who wish to innovate are begging and scraping funds together, in order to stay afloat. Something’s not ok with that. I can’t understand a company with that much power and money being part of this movement and loving bitcoin, while not actively supporting the development or the maintainers of the bitcoin software. (and yes, to keep their independence it’s best to keep it that way, that’s also an argument, but even then, giving out a grant to anyone that’s crucial in this industry, might help the whole ecosystem).
The show must go on—for now
The whole Strategy setup feels more and more like a performance to me. Saylor’s the star, doing the moves and Wall Street’s the record label, and we’re the audience, captivated by the spectacle and paying to see the show on occasion.
The suits keep funding him (free money, IOUs), just like the music industry props up a fading diva with a limited repertoire or drags a new star from her home studio on YouTube into the spotlights. H Saylor’s 21/21 Plan to the amount of $42 billion to snatch up more Bitcoin can be a grand finale that’s dazzling while the lights stay on.
Prediction: the music stops eventually
Here’s my take: Bitcoin will keep rising over a long period of time, and Saylor’s gambit will look like a genius move, until it doesn’t. All it takes is one big shot in Wall Street to find another shiny toy to play with, or another play to get their money working. The billions they’ve invested, will come back eventually, and if it doesn’t, it will mean the world has changed in their advantage as well in another way. Some people cannot lose, no matter what. Saylor’s now part of that, doing their bidding and doing his part for educating the other businesses.
He’s the only big buyer of last resort in this game so far. No one else is piling in with billions like he is. When the hype cools or the debt catches up, he’s got no real business to fall back on. The software? A relic. The Bitcoin bet can save him if the time is right, we’ll see about that. Time is his enemy not ally, and it always wins in the end. The pose can only hold so long. You can’t keep scoring free fiat, without either die on low valuation and dilution, or without at least 20 other Strategy-grade businesses jumping in to take their piece of the pie. So far, surprisingly, none of these two things happen. He keeps getting free fiat from Wall Street investors, and no other Saylor stands up. This can’t last forever. One of the two will happen by end of 2025.
Curtain call
Saylor’s a fascinating watch, a mix of investor-backed bravado, brains, and borrowed billions. Is it a masterstroke or a bitcoin version of Worldcom? I’m not sure. In any case, I would only invest in MSTR myself if the company has a real added value for bitcoin development and the bitcoin ecosystem. They could be the engine, the spirit, the core of bitcoin. Yet they’re just doing the poses. Let your body move to the rhythm.
AVB
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1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IOU
2 https://sc.edu/about/offices_and_divisions/audit_and_advisory_services/about/news/2021/worldcom_scandal.php
3 https://content.next.westlaw.com/Document/Ic6b4dd91644311dbbe1cf2d29fe2afe6/View/FullText.html?transitionType=Default&contextData=(sc.Default)#:\~:text=Rep.-,6,Criminal%20ChargesThe music’s made in-house
Michael Saylor’s strategy with Strategy, is a bold, all-in bet on Bitcoin as the ultimate store of value. Essentially combining what Mc Donald’s does with the strong believe in bitcoin’s future (and fueling that believe with the fitting rhetoric).\ \ It works like this: Since August 2020, Saylor’s company has been buying up more and more Bitcoin, making it their main asset instead of traditional cash or investments, and by March 2025, they own 506,137 BTC—worth about $42.8 billion (at $84,000 per Bitcoin).\ This, after spending $33.7 billion to buy it over time (DCA), including a massive 218887 BTC purchase late 2024 for $20.5 billion, giving them over 2.41% of all Bitcoin ever to exist (way more than companies like Marathon, Coinbase, Tesla or Riot).\ \ To pull this off, they’ve borrowed heavily: owing $7.2 billion, mostly to Wall Street investors through special IOUs1 called convertible notes, which don’t need to be paid back until 2027, through 2029. These can either be settled with cash or swapped for Strategy stock. (there lies one of the main issues in my opinion, as the main asset’s price in USD is directly impacting the stock price of MSTR).\ A small example of this repeated correlation happened on March 28, 2025 when Strategy’s stock (MSTR) dropped 10.8% from $324.59 to $289.41, which was mirroring Bitcoin’s move down from $85,000 to $82,000 earlier.
This debt they have can be called “risky” by any stretch, with a high leverage rate of 39-40%, meaning they’ve borrowed a big chunk compared to what they own outright, but here’s the genius of it: they don’t have to sell their Bitcoin if its price drops, and they can refinance (borrow more later) to keep the dance going. As long as they find investors willing to bet on the later bitcoin price surge, but more importantly, as long as the song is liked by the new audience. If Michael Saylor is our “Madonna”, then there’s still not Taylor Swift or Rihanna in sight.
The creditors (big players, not banks) win if Bitcoin soars, as Strategy’s huge stash (potentially 2.9%+ of the market) nets them massive profits, or even if it crashes, they’re still in the game with other ways to make profit (not on bitcoin), since they can afford the risk. If someone is willing to bet 4 to 8 billion dollars, they’re probably not spooked by losing it all. More so, these Wall Streat people in the correct entourage, can probably afford such a gamble, and can stomach to lose it all if something goes horribly wrong as well, instead of risking being left out of a growing market. But since they’re probably the same people steering and “owning” the USD market anyway, they’re just conquering positions in a new market. The fact that they’re not real bitcoin-ethos people, but just “suits” in finance, can make the suspicious bitcoiners watching all of this unfold, even more uneasy.\ \ So, Strategy sits on $44 billion in Bitcoin with just $7.2 billion in debt, voguing confidently. And Saylor’s betting the song never gets old, he’ll do the B-sides and re-mastering his old albums if necessary, but if Bitcoin’s value ever fades (for whatever reason), the real question is how long they can keep striking poses before the music stops. Remember: all money (fiat, gold, silver, bitcoin, nicely made papers) is a matter of trust.
As I have trust in bitcoin itself, but not so much in Strategy, I’ve take some precautions.\ I've started my own sort of "Strategy crash fund", with fiat money that only will come into action when strategy is done. The crash that we'll see after that goes down, will be such a tremendous opportunity, that I'll pour in some more fiat, gladly, and that will be the exact moment I will actually “sell all my chairs” (from Saylor’s well-known quote).
Purchases
Strategy’s Bitcoin purchases, don’t seem to jolt the market much either, no matter the size of the order. They always have the same sound: “it’s OTC, it doesn’t impact the market that much”.\ \ Still, it’s strange to see: no one has ever come forward to tell anyone “I’ve sold 15000 bitcoin from my old stack to Saylor”, neither do we see any clear evidence and on-chain moves.\ \ Take their first buy in August 2020 for example. Totaling 21454 BTC for $250 million at $11,652 per BTC; Bitcoin sat at $11,500 to $11,700 so barely moved, inching to $12,000 weeks later due to broader trends.
Same story in December 2020 with 29646 BTC for $650 million, there, the price hopped from $19,000 to $23,000, but a bull market was already raging.\ Fast forward to February 2021 (19452 BTC, for $1.026 billion (!)), March 2024 (9245 BTC, $623 million), November 2024 (55500 BTC, $5.4 billion), and March 2025 (6911 BTC, $584.1 million)\ \ Bitcoin wobbled 2-15%, but always in line with existing momentum, not Strategy’s announcements. Their biggest buy, for a total of $5.4 billion (!) is just 0.3% of Bitcoin’s $1.7 trillion market cap, it’s too small to register as a blip even. But compared to the liquidity on the market and the “availability” on the OTC market, it should.\ More so, OTC bitcoin is announced as “for sale” somehow. A person with +25000 bitcoin is not standing on the side of the street yelling “hey man, wanna buy some bitcoin?”. There are specialized firms doing that for them, and making these available. This date is also used by some insiders and people who know this very small market (there aren’t that many bitcoiners sitting on such an amount after 2024 I guess). Data from Binance OTC, Coinspaid, kraken OTC, is highly private of course, but still, anything being sold over there, to Strategy or anyone else, would take larger amounts off the open market and the OTC market, making a price impact, certainly withing 2 years, as Bitcoin mining companies sit on an average buffer of 6 months depending on market conditions.\ \ Strategy funds all of this by selling shares (diluting the pool big-time) or issuing convertible notes, and while SEC filings make faking these buys near-impossible. And even if Saylor is the Bitcoin version of Bernie Madoff, he could get away with it, if enough people "in the know" are willing to support this way of infesting (and investing in) the bitcoin economy. This would have to be a clear orchestrated attack on bitcoin, purely on the financial level then.
I don't believe this to be the case, but mathematically we have to take it into account as a very slight possibility.
After all, a company like "WorldCom"2 managed to scam their way out of different audits for years, until the scheme got bust and a enormous amount of investors lost their money after their CEO went to jail3 for exchange fraud.
I believe this could be the case with Strategy, but I give it a 3% chance (this might be low, but it's there, we can't outright dismiss the possibility).
Water in the wine
Strategy has also massively diluted its stock to fund Bitcoin buys, jumping from 10 million shares in 2020 to about 285 million by March 2025—a 2,750% increase, this happened after raising $4.25 billion from 2020 onwards and $20 billion of their $42 billion "21/21 Plan" by early 2025.\ \ After the 10-for-1 stock split in August 2024, the number of MSTR shares grew from 16.5 million in 2023 to 284898 by end of 2024, a 1625% rise !!!. Add to that about 275 million more shares added in total (including 120 million in 2024 alone) and 1.975 million extra in March 2025 for $592.6 million.\ \ So more and more tap water is poured in the wine, and it means each share’s ownership slice shrinks as new shares flood in, mostly via "at-the-market" sales and convertible note conversions.\ This is partly offset by share splits, but still, the rise in the number of stock is significant, and a big factor in evaluating MSTR.\ \ In December 2024, they proposed hiking authorized shares to 10.33 billion (plus 1 billion preferred), approved in January 2025, setting the stage for even more if they keep selling.\ \ The trend is clear: relentless selling.\ They might say “we never sell bitcoin”, but the same doesn’t count for their shares… which derive their value from bitcoin’s fiat price.\ So shareholders are betting on Bitcoin’s rise to offset the watering down of the share they hold. The more you think of it, the more ludicrous it sounds. It’s a loop of trust where the stock itself can only thrive if the company itself is an active, useful middleman.\ And so far, it’s only doing so for other Wall street companies, the biggest holders of MSTR shares:
Vanguard Group Inc, BlackRock, Capital International Investors, Jane Street Group, Susquehanna International Group\ \ This on itself is also “normal” of course. In the flow of things.\ Like every aspect by itself in the whole Strategy setup is just normal. But combining all the factors makes it look a bit more… suspicious to me.
Supporting bitcoin ?
The real head-scratcher comes next: their secrecy and lack of community involvement.\ Strategy claims to hold 506137 BTC, likely cold-stored with partners like BitGo or Coinbase Custody, but no public wallet addresses back these claims up. Odd for a firm swearing never to sell.
There’s also the real risk that these partners are partly selling paper bitcoin (bitcoin they don't hold the keys to, or "promised" bitcoin) to Strategy, and that they just assume everything is audited and OK.
We can't estimate that, since we don't have any public MicroStrategy addresses or other ways to look at their holdings. This is for security reasons apparently, which raises another question:\ If they for example would show 300k+ BTC on-chain as proof, it’d boost trust, yet they don’t, hinting at a bigger play — maybe as a Wall Street-backed buyer of last resort for a new asset class.
Also Strategy’s software business and bitcoin “apps” (like the super simple Lightning email integration, and an on-chain digital ID system) is underwhelming to say the least (I literally know people that code such stuff on a free afternoon while they’re cooking dinner).
Their very minimal software innovation for the Bitcoin space, with basic Lightning features and an on-chain ID system, failing their their valuation as a 'Bitcoin company' in my opinion. More so, their business is ignoring the other innovation that would help bitcoin thrive. This is kind of a red flag for me.\ Why would a company sitting on +500 k bitcoin be hesitant about supporting the bitcoin eco-system more actively? They sure have the funds to do so, right? And they also have the right insights, info and spirit.\ Yet, they don’t.\ \ They don’t fund developers for open-source projects, or Bitcoin’s growth in general (not publicly at least). So Saylor shines in talks, hyping Bitcoin’s future and Strategy’s stock, but it’s all the self fulfilling prophecy.\ \ No grants, no real support for the community they lean on.\ It’s like they’re dancing to Bitcoin’s mixtape, raking in the spotlight, while giving little back. All the while some extremely needed projects lack funding, and most software companies in bitcoin who wish to innovate are begging and scraping funds together, in order to stay afloat.\ Something’s not ok with that.\ I can’t understand a company with that much power and money being part of this movement and loving bitcoin, while not actively supporting the development or the maintainers of the bitcoin software. (and yes, to keep their independence it’s best to keep it that way, that’s also an argument, but even then, giving out a grant to anyone that’s crucial in this industry, might help the whole ecosystem).
The show must go on—for now
The whole Strategy setup feels more and more like a performance to me. Saylor’s the star, doing the moves and Wall Street’s the record label, and we’re the audience, captivated by the spectacle and paying to see the show on occasion.\ \ The suits keep funding him (free money, IOUs), just like the music industry props up a fading diva with a limited repertoire or drags a new star from her home studio on YouTube into the spotlights. H\ Saylor’s 21/21 Plan to the amount of $42 billion to snatch up more Bitcoin can be a grand finale that’s dazzling while the lights stay on.
Prediction: the music stops eventually
Here’s my take: Bitcoin will keep rising over a long period of time, and Saylor’s gambit will look like a genius move, until it doesn’t. All it takes is one big shot in Wall Street to find another shiny toy to play with, or another play to get their money working. The billions they’ve invested, will come back eventually, and if it doesn’t, it will mean the world has changed in their advantage as well in another way. Some people cannot lose, no matter what. Saylor’s now part of that, doing their bidding and doing his part for educating the other businesses.\ \ He’s the only big buyer of last resort in this game so far. No one else is piling in with billions like he is. When the hype cools or the debt catches up, he’s got no real business to fall back on. The software? A relic. The Bitcoin bet can save him if the time is right, we’ll see about that.\ Time is his enemy not ally, and it always wins in the end. The pose can only hold so long. You can’t keep scoring free fiat, without either die on low valuation and dilution, or without at least 20 other Strategy-grade businesses jumping in to take their piece of the pie.\ So far, surprisingly, none of these two things happen.\ He keeps getting free fiat from Wall Street investors, and no other Saylor stands up.\ This can’t last forever. One of the two will happen by end of 2025.\ \ Curtain call
Saylor’s a fascinating watch, a mix of investor-backed bravado, brains, and borrowed billions.\ Is it a masterstroke or a bitcoin version of Worldcom?\ I’m not sure. In any case, I would only invest in MSTR myself if the company has a real added value for bitcoin development and the bitcoin ecosystem. They could be the engine, the spirit, the core of bitcoin.\ Yet they’re just doing the poses.\ Let your body move to the rhythm.
AVB
If you like : tip here / other writings
1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IOU
2 https://sc.edu/about/offices_and_divisions/audit_and_advisory_services/about/news/2021/worldcom_scandal.php
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@ 57d1a264:69f1fee1
2025-03-29 17:15:17- Once activated, "Accept From Any Mint” is the default setting. This is the easiest way to get started, let's the user start acceptance Cashu ecash just out of the box.
- If someone does want to be selective, they can choose “Accept From Trusted Mints,” and that brings up a field where they can add specific mint URLs they trust.
- “Find a Mint” section on the right with a button links directly to bitcoinmints.com, already filtered for Cashu mints, so users can easily browse options.
- Mint info modal shows mint technical details stuff from the NUT06 spec. Since this is geared towards the more technical users I left the field names and NUT number as-is instead of trying to make it more semantic.
originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/928800
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@ 30b99916:3cc6e3fe
2025-03-29 17:04:41btcpayserver #lightning #lnd #powershell
BTCpayAPI now supports file upload
I'm continuing to add functionality to BTCpay and BTCpayAPI which is using REST Api(s) to manage my BTCPAY server and LND cloud instance. It is nice to have this just running locally on my home Linux desktop.
Here is the code that implements this functionality.
``` "Uploadfile" {
$apislug = "api/v1/files"
$filepath = Split-Path $options
$filename = Split-Path $options -Leaf
CONST
$CODEPAGE = "iso-8859-1" # alternatives are ASCII, UTF-8
Read file byte-by-byte
$fileBin = [System.IO.File]::ReadAllBytes($options)
Convert byte-array to string
$enc = [System.Text.Encoding]::GetEncoding($CODEPAGE) $fileEnc = $enc.GetString($fileBin)
We need a boundary (something random() will do best)
$boundary = [System.Guid]::NewGuid().ToString() $LF = "
r
n" $bodyLines = ( "--$boundary", "Content-Disposition: form-data; name="file
"; filename="$fileName
"", "Content-Type: application/octet-stream$LF", $fileEnc, "--$boundary--$LF" ) -join $LF$URI = $BTCPayCfg.BTCpayApi.GreenApi.url + $apislug $apiKeyToken = 'token ' + $script:BTCPAY_API $headers = @{'Authorization'=$apiKeyToken}
return Invoke-RestMethod -Uri $uri -Method Post -Headers $headers -ContentType "multipart/form-data; boundary=
"$boundary
"" -Body $bodyLines} ``` Here is the revision history since my last article.
Version Date Whom Notes ======= ========== ======== ===================================================== 0.1.4 03/28/2025 cadayton Added UploadFile method to upload a file to the BTCpay server 0.1.3 03/27/2025 cadayton Added GetFiles returns listing of files uploaded to BTCpay server 0.1.2 03/19/2025 cadayton ForwardingHistory new parameter "total_fees" tallys mfees for events returned 0.1.1 03/18/2025 cadayton ForwardingHistory now support additional parameters 0.1.0 03/15/2025 cadayton initial release.
The inspiration for this logic was adapted from weipah . One wouldn't think uploading a single file wouldn't require this much coding. The Greenfield's REST Api documentation for this end point wasn't very helpful.In my book, good end-user documentation of one's code is just as important as the code itself. I believe documentation is usually lacking on most projects because the effort of doing so is almost equal to the effort of writing the code. It is also the least fun part about writing code.
The job is not done until the paper work has been completed. :)
https://btcpayserver.sytes.net
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@ 42c85a20:14afbc38
2025-03-29 15:40:00Back when Twitter was censoring free speech nostr looked like the only alternative where people would migrate and grow the network; however, now that X is open to free thinking, the perfect storm to enable nostr to grow has been quelled.
How will the nostr universe ever expand unless people in the main stream "centralized" social medias see the light? The illusion of free speech on X is dangerous as people blindly give their trust that the rug will not be pulled; and willingly remain under a tyrannical system.
Perhaps there is some other utility which nostr would be useful for vs just another version of twillter; like exit polls for elections which could fail safe the integrity of voting; or community BBS (bulletin boards) where the people can connect with their neighbours without giving up their real address or identity.
When the main stream social medias' fail again; the next time they break the trust of the people, we must be ready to replace them; we must think outside the box now and build those decentralized utilities now.
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@ ff517fbf:fde1561b
2025-03-29 15:37:34はじめに:なぜKYCなしP2P取引か
ビットコインは元々、ピア・ツー・ピア(P2P)の電子通貨システムとして設計されました。サトシ・ナカモトのビットコイン白書でも、「信頼ではなく暗号学的証明に基づく電子決済システム」によって、第三者を介さずに当事者同士が直接取引できることが必要だと述べられています。つまり、本来ビットコインは銀行などの仲介者なしで個人同士が直接送金・売買できる社会的意義を持っているのです。
しかし現在、多くの暗号資産取引所では規制上の理由からKYC(本人確認)手続きが求められ、個人情報の提出が必要です。KYCはユーザーのプライバシー喪失やデータ漏洩リスクにつながりかねず、また口座凍結や資金没収といった中央集権的管理のリスクもあります。経済的にも、第三者を介することで手数料が高くなったり、地域によっては銀行や政府の制限でビットコインの購入が困難になる場合もあります。
こうした背景からノンKYCのP2P取引プラットフォームを利用するメリットは大きいです。例えば HodlHodl(@npub1yul83qxn35u607er3m7039t6rddj06qezfagfqlfw4qk5z5slrfqu8ncdu) は、匿名で世界中のユーザーと直接ビットコインを売買できるグローバルなP2Pマーケットプレイスです。HodlHodlではユーザー同士が直接取引し、サイト運営側はビットコインを一切預かりません。取引はマルチシグエスクロー(2-of-3の多重署名契約)で安全に管理され、取引手数料も最大0.5%と低く抑えられています。プライバシーとセキュリティを確保しながら、銀行口座や身分証なしでビットコインを売買できるため、社会的にも経済的にも大きな意義があります。
本チュートリアルでは、HodlHodlを使ってビットコインを購入・販売する具体的な手順を分かりやすく解説します。また、HodlHodlの安全性(マルチシグエスクローによる非中央集権型の管理)や、他のプラットフォームにはない特徴(本人確認不要、ユーザー自身による鍵の管理、APIやレンディングサービスの活用など)についても説明します。P2P取引に不慣れで不安を感じている方にも安心してご利用いただけるよう、丁寧で親しみやすい言葉で案内していきます。
HodlHodlの基本準備
アカウント登録: HodlHodlの利用を開始するには、まず無料のアカウント登録を行います。必要なのはメールアドレスとパスワードだけで、ユーザー名や身分証の提出は不要です。登録後に届く確認メール内のリンクをクリックすれば、すぐに取引を始められます。
ビットコインウォレットの用意: HodlHodlは取引の際にユーザー自身のビットコインウォレットを使用するノンカストディアル方式です。プラットフォーム上にウォレットは用意されていないため、事前に自分のビットコインウォレットを準備してください。例えばモバイルウォレットやハードウェアウォレットなど、自分だけが秘密鍵を管理できるウォレットを用意しましょう。買い手の場合は購入したビットコインを受け取るウォレットが必要になり、売り手の場合は売却するビットコインを自身のウォレットからエスクローに送金する必要があります。
ビットコインを購入する方法(Buy BTC)
それでは、HodlHodlでビットコインを購入(Buy) する手順を見ていきましょう。以下では、日本円(JPY)を銀行振込で支払ってビットコインを買う例を想定して説明しますが、基本的な流れは他の通貨や支払い方法でも同じです。
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「Buy BTC」をクリックする: HodlHodlにログインし、画面上部のヘッダー左側にある「Buy BTC」ボタンをクリックします。これにより、現在出ているビットコイン売り注文(オファー)の一覧ページに移動します。
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検索フィルターの設定: オファー一覧ページでは、自分の希望条件でオファーを絞り込むことができます。国、法定通貨、取引タイプ、支払い方法、金額などのフィルター項目があります。例えば日本で銀行振込により購入したい場合、「Country(国)」をJapan、「Currency(通貨)」をJPY、「Payment method(支払い方法)」を Bank Transfer 銀行振込に設定します(他の項目は必要に応じて指定します)。フィルターは任意ですが、自分に合った支払い方法や金額範囲のオファーを探すのに役立ちます。
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オファーを選ぶ: フィルターを適用すると、条件に合致する売り手のオファー一覧が表示されます。各オファーにはレート(価格)、取引可能額範囲、支払い方法、売り手の評価などが記載されています。希望に合うオファーが見つかったら、そのオファーの詳細をクリックします。例えば「1 BTC = 〇〇JPY」のようなレートで、自分が購入したい額に対応できるオファーを選びましょう。初めて取引する場合は、評価の高い売り手や少額からの取引を選ぶと安心です。
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購入量と受取アドレスの入力: オファーをクリックすると、取引の詳細入力画面になります。ここで購入したいビットコインの量を入力します(ビットコイン量あるいは法定通貨換算額のどちらでも入力可能です)。多くの場合、最低・最大取引額が決まっているので、その範囲内で入力してください。また、ビットコインの受取先アドレスを求められます。これは購入後にビットコインを受け取る自分のウォレットアドレスです。アカウントの設定で事前に登録したアドレスがあれば自動で表示されますが、都度指定することも可能です。さらに、支払い方法が複数指定されているオファーでは希望の支払い方法を選択します(例:銀行振込の中でも特定の銀行を指定できる場合があります)。最後に、取引相手(売り手)への伝達メッセージ欄があれば、必要に応じてコメントを記入します。入力が完了したら内容を確認し、「Create contract(契約作成)」 的なボタンを押して取引を開始します。
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エスクローアドレスの生成: 契約が作成されると、取引画面上にエスクロー(第三者保管用マルチシグアドレス)を生成するための手順が表示されます。ここで 「Generate escrow(エスクロー生成)」 ボタンをクリックし、プラットフォームに登録したペイメントパスワード(支払い用パスワード)を入力します。ペイメントパスワードはHodlHodlで取引の署名に使われる特別なパスワードで、初回取引時に設定しておく必要があります。正しく入力すると、この取引専用のビットコインエスクローアドレスが自動生成されます。あとは売り手がそのエスクローアドレスにビットコインを入金するのを待ちます。画面上に「waiting for deposit(入金待ち)」等のステータスが表示されるので、しばらく待機してください。売り手が約束のビットコイン額をエスクローに送金し、一定のブロック承認(Confirmations)が得られると、取引ステータスが自動で更新されます。
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エスクロー入金の確認: ビットコインがマルチシグエスクローにロックされ、取引ステータスが「In progress(進行中)」や「Deposited(入金済み)」といった表示に変わったことを必ず確認します。ステータス表示とブロックチェーン上の確認回数が条件を満たしたら、支払いを実行しても安全な状態であることを意味します(エスクローにロックされたビットコインは売り手単独では動かせません。取引ページには売り手が指定した支払い詳細(銀行口座情報など)が記載されていますので、その指示に従って売り手へ法定通貨の支払い(振込)を行います。例えば銀行振込の場合、指定された口座にJPYを送金します。この段階では、必ず取引ページを開いたままにしておきましょう。 支払いが完了したら、取引ページ上の「I’ve sent the payment(送金完了)」ボタンをクリックして、売り手に支払い実行済みであることを通知します。併せて、チャット機能で支払い完了の旨を伝えると良いでしょう。
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売り手によるビットコインのリリース: 買い手からの支払いが完了すると、売り手は自分の銀行口座等を確認して入金を検証します。売り手が入金を確認したら、取引ページ上で 「Release Bitcoin(ビットコインをリリース)」 ボタンを押し、ペイメントパスワードを入力してエスクローからビットコインを開放します。これにより、エスクロー上のビットコインが買い手の指定アドレス(先ほど入力した受取用ウォレットアドレス)に送信されます。売り手がビットコインをリリースすると取引ステータスが「Released(解放済み)」に変わり、まもなくブロックチェーン上で買い手のウォレットにビットコイン着金が確認できるでしょう。
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取引完了: ビットコインが無事自分のウォレットに届けば取引完了です。取引ページには「Completed(完了)」などのステータスが表示され、双方がお互いを評価できるようになります。初めてのP2P購入、お疲れさまでした! 🎉
💡 重要な注意事項(買い手向け): エスクローにビットコインがロックされる前に代金を支払ってはいけません。必ず取引ステータスが「Deposited」や「In progress」になるのを確認してから支払いを実行してください。また、取引には売り手が入金を確認してからビットコインをリリースするまでの制限時間(Payment window)が設定されています。時間内に支払いが完了しないと取引が自動キャンセルされる場合がありますのでご注意ください。困ったことがあれば、取引ページのチャットで相手に連絡することもできます。万一、支払いを送ったのに売り手がビットコインをリリースしない場合は、支払い期限が過ぎてからディスピュート(紛争解決手続き) を開始することも可能です。
ビットコインを販売する方法(Sell BTC)
次に、HodlHodlでビットコインを販売(Sell) する手順を説明します。基本的な流れは購入時と似ていますが、立場が逆になる点(自分がビットコインをエスクローに預け、買い手からの支払いを待つ点)に注意してください。以下では、日本で銀行振込によりJPYを受け取ってビットコインを売る場合を例に解説します。
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「Sell BTC」をクリックする: HodlHodlにログイン後、画面上部左側の「Sell BTC」ボタンをクリックします。これで現在出ているビットコイン買い注文(買い手のオファー)一覧ページに移動します。
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検索フィルターの設定: 買い手オファー一覧から、自分が対応可能な条件のオファーを探します。フィルター項目はBuyの場合と同様で、国、通貨、支払いタイプ、支払い方法、金額などを指定できます。日本円での銀行振込を希望する買い手を探す場合、国をJapan、通貨をJPY、支払い方法をBank Transferに設定して検索します。
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オファーを選ぶ: 条件に合致する買い手のオファーが一覧表示されるので、希望に合うものをクリックします。各オファーには買い手が希望するレートや取引限度額、支払い方法、買い手の評価などが記載されています。有利なレートかつ信頼できそうな相手を選びましょう。初取引で不安な場合は、小額で高評価の買い手から始めるとよいです。
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売却量と受取情報の入力: オファー詳細画面で、売却したいビットコイン量を入力します(または必要な法定通貨額)。オファーごとに最低・最大額が設定されているので範囲内で入力してください。続いてビットコインの受取アドレス欄がありますが、これは取引完了時に買い手がビットコインを受け取るアドレスです。売り手である自分が入力する必要は基本的になく、買い手側が受取先を指定するか、既に買い手のダッシュボード設定で決まっています。次に、受け取りたい支払い方法が複数記載されている場合は希望の方法を選択します(例えば「Bank Transfer」の中でも特定の銀行名など)。コメント欄があれば取引相手(買い手)へのメッセージを任意で入力します。内容を確認し問題なければ 「Create contract(契約作成)」 ボタンを押して取引を開始します。
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エスクローアドレスの生成: 契約が作成されると、エスクロー用のビットコインアドレスを生成する段階に進みます。ここで 「Generate escrow」 ボタンをクリックし、ペイメントパスワードを入力します(買い手の手順と同様)。これにより、この取引専用のマルチシグエスクローアドレスが発行されます。次に 自分(売り手)が売却予定のビットコインをエスクローアドレスに送金 します。取引画面上に正確なBTC額と対応するQRコードが表示されるので、自分のウォレットからそのアドレスへ送金してください。送金したら 「I’ve sent the funds(送金完了)」 ボタンを押してビットコインをエスクローに預けたことを通知します。
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エスクローへのビットコインロック: ビットコインを送金するとブロックチェーン上で一定回数の承認(Confirmations)を経て、エスクローにロックされます。取引ステータスが「In progress(進行中)」や「Deposited」に変わり、買い手は安心して支払いを行える状態になります。あとは買い手からの法定通貨支払いを待ちます。取引画面で支払い期限(Payment window)内に買い手が支払いを完了し、「支払い送信済み」のボタンを押すとステータスが「Paid(支払い済み)」に変わります。
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支払いの受領確認: ステータスが「Paid」になったら、買い手が送金を完了したことを意味します。すぐに自分の銀行口座など該当の支払い方法で入金を確認しましょう。金額が全額正しく受け取れたことを確認できたら、取引ページ上で 「Release deposit(デポジットを解放)」 ボタンをクリックし、ペイメントパスワードを入力してエスクローのビットコインを開放します。これにより、エスクローにロックされていたビットコインが買い手に送付されます。
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取引完了: ビットコインをリリースすれば取引完了。ステータスが「Completed」に変わり、買い手は間もなく自分のウォレットでビットコインを受け取るでしょう。最後にお互いを評価して取引終了となります。初めてのP2P売却、お疲れさまでした! 🎉
💡 重要な注意事項(売り手向け): 支払いを受け取る前にビットコインをエスクローから**絶対にリリースしないでください。買い手からの入金を自分の銀行口座等で確実に確認できてから、ビットコインを解放するようにしましょう。また、もしビットコインをエスクローに送金した後で買い手から支払いが行われず期限切れ(Payment window経過)になった場合、取引をキャンセルしてエスクローのビットコインを自分に返還することができます。取引中は常に取引相手とのチャットで連絡を取り合い、不明点を確認するよう心がけましょう。
HodlHodlの安全性:マルチシグと非カストディアル設計
● マルチシグエスクローによる資金保護: HodlHodl最大の特徴は、2-of-3のマルチシグエスクロー(multisignature escrow)によって取引資金を保護している点です。取引が成立すると、自動的に3つの秘密鍵が関与するビットコインアドレスが生成されます。この3つの鍵のうち2つの署名があれば資金を動かせる仕組みになっており、鍵の配分は「売り手」「買い手」「HodlHodl運営」の三者にそれぞれ1つです。取引中、ビットコインはブロックチェーン上のエスクローアドレスにロックされ、双方の合意なしには動かせまん。つまり、売り手は買い手の同意なしにビットコインを引き出すことはできず、逆に買い手も売り手の協力なしにビットコインを入手することはできません。両者が取引を完了すれば売り手+買い手の2署名でリリースが可能となり、万一トラブルが起きた場合にはHodlHodl運営が仲裁役として(買い手または売り手の一方と協力し)2署名目を提供することで不正を防ぎます。このようにマルチシグ契約によって、詐欺や持ち逃げのリスクを最小限に抑え、安全かつ公平な取引が実現されています。
● 非カストディアル(ユーザー主導の資金管理): HodlHodlは取引プラットフォームでありながら、ユーザー資金を一切預からないという非カストディアル設計を貫いています。取引中のビットコインは常にマルチシグエスクローにあり、HodlHodl運営が単独で動かすことはできません。これはつまり、中央集権的な取引所とは異なり、HodlHodlがハッキング被害に遭ってもユーザーのビットコインが盗まれる心配がないことを意味します。またプラットフォームが万一ダウンしたりサービス提供を停止した場合でも、当事者間で2つの鍵さえあればエスクローのビットコインを取り戻すことが可能です(※この場合やや技術的な手順が必要になりますが、HodlHodlが完全に消失するケースでも資金はブロックチェーン上に安全に存在し続けます)。HodlHodl運営は3つの鍵のうち1つを保有するのみで、しかもそれは紛争時の仲裁に使うためのものです。通常の取引では運営が介在することなく、ユーザー同士で完結します。以上のように、HodlHodlはカストディアルな第三者を排除し、利用者自身が資金と取引の主導権を握るというビットコイン本来の精神に沿った安全設計となっています。
● 評判システムと取引履歴: HodlHodlでは、各ユーザーに公開の評価(Rating)と取引履歴が紐づいています。取引を完了するごとに互いにレビューを残せるため、他ユーザーの信頼度を事前に知ることができます。初めて取引する相手がどんな評価を受けているか、過去の取引回数や成功率などの情報を確認することで、怪しい相手を避けることが可能です。特に初心者のうちは評価の高い相手を選ぶ、もしくは身近に信頼できるユーザーがいればトラスト機能(他のP2Pプラットフォームでの実績を証明する仕組みや信用できるユーザーをお気に入り登録する機能)を活用すると良いでしょう。
● 二要素認証(2FA)と信頼できる端末: アカウントの不正アクセス対策として、HodlHodlは二段階認証(2FA)のオプションを提供しています。AuthyやGoogle Authenticatorと連携し、一度設定すればログイン時にパスワードに加え6桁のコード入力が求められるようになります。これにより、万一パスワードが漏洩しても本人のデバイスがなければログインできず、アカウントを保護できます。またTrusted Devices(信頼できる端末)機能を有効にすると、新しいデバイスからログインしようとした際にメール確認が必要となり、ユーザーの許可なく不審な端末からアクセスされるのを防ぎます。初心者の方でも、アカウント登録後は設定画面から2FAや信頼できる端末機能を有効化しておくことを強くおすすめします。
● ディスピュート(紛争解決)機能: 万が一取引相手との間でトラブルが発生した場合(例:買い手は支払ったと主張しているが売り手が確認できない等)、HodlHodlのプラットフォーム上でディスピュート(紛争)を開始することができます。ディスピュートが発生すると、HodlHodlのサポートチームが両者から事情を聞き、中立的な立場で問題解決に当たります。必要に応じて前述の運営のマルチシグ鍵を用いて適切な側にビットコインをリリースするなど、公平な裁定が行われます。ディスピュートは最終手段ではありますが、万一の場合の安心材料として覚えておいてください。
以上のように、HodlHodlは技術的・制度的な多層防御によってユーザーの資金と取引の安全を確保しています。他のユーザーの評価を確認する、取引手順を順守する(エスクロー未成立での送禁止等、アカウントのセキュリティ設定を有効にするといったユーザー自身の注意もあわせて心掛ければ、P2P取引でも安心してビットコインを利用できるでしょう。
HodlHodlの特徴:他プラットフォームとの違い
最後に、HodlHodlが他のビットコイン取引サービスと比べて優れている点、特徴的な点を整理します。初めて利用する際の不安解消にもつながるポイントです。
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🌐 KYC不要の匿名取引: HodlHodl最大の特徴は、本人確認(KYC)なしでビットコイン取引ができる点です。メールアドレスさえあれば世界中誰でも利用開始でき、パスポートや身分証の提出は一切求められません。これはプライバシー保護の面で大きな利点ですし、取引履歴が本人名義に紐付かないため将来的な資産没収や口座凍結のリスクも低減します。規制が厳しい地域のユーザーや銀行口座を持てない人々でも、HodlHodlならビットコイン経済に参加しやすくなっています。
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🔐 ユーザーが鍵を管理する非中央集権型取引: 前述の通り、HodlHodlはノンカストディアルなP2P取引所であり、ユーザー自身が資産の鍵を管理します。取引ごとにマルチシグのエスクローが生成され、利用者はその一方の鍵を保持します。そのため「取引所にビットコインを預けっぱなしにしていたらハッキングで失った」といった事態が起こりません。常に自身のウォレットから直接取引を行うため、ビットコインの自主管理の原則**が守られています。中央集権的な管理者がいない分、自分で秘密鍵を安全に保管する責任は伴いますが、その分だけ第三者リスクが排除された公平な環境と言えます。
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💱 世界中の通貨と多様な決済方法に対応: HodlHodlはグローバルなプラットフォームであり、世界中のあらゆる法定通貨 で取引できます。現在100を超える国の通貨と地域が利用されており、取引に使える決済方法も100種類以上と非常に豊富です。銀行振込やオンライン決済サービスはもちろん、現金の対面受け渡しやギフトカード、電子マネー、モバイル送金、さらには商品と交換などユニークな方法までユーザーが自由にオファーを作成できます。これにより、自分の利用しやすい手段で取引相手を見つけられる柔軟性があります。他のプラットフォームだと対応通貨や決済手段が限定されがちですが、HodlHodlでは*「自分の条件でオファーを作成できる」 の強みです。
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💰 低い手数料と透明な料金体系: HodlHodlの取引手数料は一律0.5%(買い手と売り手で折半で各0.25%ずつ負担)と比較的低コストです。しかも手数料は取引成立時にビットコイン額から自動控除される仕組みで、隠れたコストがありません。さらに紹介プログラムを利用すると0.45%に割引されるなどの優遇もあります。入出金に伴う手数料も基本的に存在せず、各自が使うウォレットの送金手数料以外に余計な負担はありません。他の取引所でありがちな「出金手数料が高額」「スプレッドが不透明」といった心配もなく、明朗会計でユーザーに優しい料金体系です。
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🤝 初心者に優しいインターフェース: P2P取引というと難しそうな印象を持たれるかもしれませんが、HodlHodlのサイトはシンプルで直感的なインターフェースになっています。必要な操作は「Buy BTC / Sell BTC」ボタンから進んでフォームに入力していくだけで、画面の指示に沿って進めれば迷うことは少ないでしょう。サイトは現在ウェブブラウザ経由で利用しますが、スマートフォンのブラウザからでも見やすく設計されています。専用アプリはありませんが、その分アップデート時にもすぐ全員が最新機能を利用できます(ダウンロード不要で常に最新版が提供されるメリットです。また、取引画面にはリアルタイムのチャット機能があり、相手ユーザーと直接コミュニケーションを取れるため安心です。困ったときは相手に質問したり状況を確認できるので、言葉の壁がある場合でも定型文や翻訳を活用して意思疎通できます。
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🛠 API提供による拡張性: HodlHodlは上級ユーザーや開発者向けに**公式APIを提供しています。APIを利用すると、自分のプログラムからHodlHodl上のオファー取得や契約作成、ステータス更新などを自動化することが可能です。例えば、マーケットメーカーとしてレートを自動調整したり、他のサービスと連携して複数のP2P取引所のオファーを比較表示する、といった応用ができます。APIキーはプロフィール設定から発行でき、ドキュメントも公開されているため高度な取引戦略を実装したいユーザーには魅力的な機能です。PaxfulやLocalBitcoinsなど一部他サービスでもAPIは提供されていますが、HodlHodlのAPIはエスクロー操作まで含め包括的にサポートしている点で強力です。
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💳 ビットコインレンディングサービス: HodlHodlは現物取引だけでなく、ビットコイン担保のレンディング(貸借)プラットフォームも運営しています。サイト上部の「P2P Lending(レンディング)」からアクセスでき、ビットコインを担保にUSDTなど他の暗号資産を借りたり、あるいは逆に他の人に貸し出して利息収入を得ることができます。技術的には取引プラットフォームと同じマルチシグエスクロー方式を用いており、借り手がビットコインを担保としてエスクローにロックし、貸し手が安定通貨を送金することでローン契約が成立します。期間満了時に借り手が返済すればビットコイン担保が戻り、返済不能(延滞や価格変動での清算)の場合は貸し手に担保が渡る仕組みです。驚くべきことに、このレンディングサービスでも一切KYCは要求されません。短期のビットコイン活用や利息収入を得たいニーズに応えるユニークなサービスであり、HodlHodlを使いこなせば「ビットコインを売買するだけでなく、借りたり貸したりする」といった金融活用も可能になります。P2P Lendingについては、今後別のチュートリアルで詳しく説明します。
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🧪 テストネットで練習可能: 「いきなり本番は不安…」という方向けに、HodlHodlはテストネット版サイトも提供しています。TESTNETでは、本物のビットコインではなくテスト用のビットコイン(signet**ネットワークのBTC)を使って、実際の取引手順を練習できます。架空の資金でHodlHodlの操作感を試せるため、初心者はまずテストネットで売買の流れをシミュレーションしてみると良いでしょう。十分に慣れてから本番取引に移行すれば、落ち着いて対処できます。テストネットBTCは各種ファウンセット(蛇口サイト hhtestnet.com)から無料でもらうことができ、HodlHodlのテスト環境で練習するのに役立ちます。
以上がHodlHodlの主な特徴と利点です。匿名性・安全性・使いやすさを兼ね備えたHodlHodlは、まさに「ビットコインをネイティブにP2P利用する」ための理想的なプラットフォームと言えるでしょう。初めは不安もあるかもしれませんが、本チュートリアルで説明した手順に沿って取引を行えば、きっとその手軽さと利便性に驚くはずです。ぜひHodlHodlでのP2P取引に挑戦してみてください。自分自身でビットコインを扱う経験を通じて、ビットコインの真の価値である「個人が金融の主導権を握ること」を実感できるでしょう🚀
もしビットコインのP2P取引やHodlHodlなどについてもっと深く知りたい、あるいは個別に相談してみたいと思えば、どうぞお気軽にご連絡ください。1対1のコンサルも承っています。
サービスには決まった料金はありませんが、ご相談を通じて「役に立った」と思い、お悩みや疑問を解決できたと感じていただけたら、「3つのT」でのご支援(Value for Value)をぜひご検討ください:
- 時間(Time):この記事をSNSなどでシェアしていただくこと。
- 才能(Talent):コメントや補足情報などを通じて知識を共有していただくこと。
- 宝(Treasure):世界で最も健全なお金、ビットコインの最小単位「sats」でのご支援。
もちろん、支援の有無にかかわらず、お力になれればとても嬉しいです。 では、また次回!
参考資料
- Bitcoin Whitepaper - Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic
- HodlHodl公式サイト - Welcome to Hodl ([P2P BITCOIN TRADING platform]
- HodlHodlヘルプセンター - How to buy Bitcoin / How to sell Bitcoin
- HodlHodlヘルプセンター - Why is trading on Hodl Hodl secure
- HodlHodl FAQ - Why should I use HodlHodl、How secure is trading on HodlHodl
- HodlHodl Medium - Hodl Hodl’s API release
- HodlHodl Lend FAQ - What is Lend a ([Earn Highest Returns on Your Crypto Investment - Lend at Hodl Hodl]
- ZoneBitcoin - Hodl Hodl: Tutorial on the anonymous and KYC-free P2P platform
- など
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@ 83279ad2:bd49240d
2025-03-29 15:28:45test
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@ 30b99916:3cc6e3fe
2025-03-29 14:12:37Chef's Notes
My mom worked as a waitress for a excellent Chinese restaurant. For years she tried to get this receipt without success and finally after the owner retired he gave her the receipt.
Previously posted this receipt on Zap.Cooking but now wanting to keep all my long-form notes in Obsidian and publish to Nostr using the nostr-writer plug-in.
Details
- ⏲️ Prep time: 20 to 30 minutes
- 🍳 Cook time: 1 to 2 Hours depending on amount of spare ribs
- 🍽️ Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 1 Quart Dole Pineapple Juice
- 1 Pint Dole Crushed Pineapple
- 1 Pint Dole Tidbits Pineapple
- 1 TS Dried Mustard
- 32 Oz Brown sugar or add to taste
- 1 Cup Red Wine
- 2 TS Corn Starch
- 1 or 2 lbs Pork or Beef spare ribs
- Worcestershire sauce
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Bring water to boil in 8 qt stock pot
- Cut spare ribs and add to boiling water in stock pot
- Boil spare ribs for 20 to 30 minutes to remove excess fat
- Drain spare ribs and place onto cookie sheet
- Base spare ribs with a generous amount of Worcestershire sauce
- Place based spare ribs on cookie sheet and place into oven for 60 minutes.
- Place first 6 ingredients into stock pot and bring to boil while CONTINUOUSLY stirring
- Add corn starch to 2 cups of water and mix to create thickening agent
- Add thickening agent incrementally to Sweet & Sour sauce for desired thickness
- Reduce heat to low while CONTINUOUSLY stirring.
- Remove spare ribs from oven and place into Sweet & Sour sauce.
- Place stock pot into oven and cook until done. 1 to 2 hours.
Bon Appétit
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@ 30b99916:3cc6e3fe
2025-03-29 14:04:34
Chef's Notes
My mom worked as a waitress for a excellent Chinese restaurant. For years she tried to get this receipt without success and finally after the owner retired he gave her the receipt.
Previously posted this receipt on Zap.Cooking but now wanting to keep all my long-form notes in Obsidian and publish to Nostr using the nostr-writer plug-in.
Details
- ⏲️ Prep time: 20 to 30 minutes
- 🍳 Cook time: 1 to 2 Hours depending on amount of spare ribs
- 🍽️ Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 1 Quart Dole Pineapple Juice
- 1 Pint Dole Crushed Pineapple
- 1 Pint Dole Tidbits Pineapple
- 1 TS Dried Mustard
- 32 Oz Brown sugar or add to taste
- 1 Cup Red Wine
- 2 TS Corn Starch
- 1 or 2 lbs Pork or Beef spare ribs
- Worcestershire sauce
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Bring water to boil in 8 qt stock pot
- Cut spare ribs and add to boiling water in stock pot
- Boil spare ribs for 20 to 30 minutes to remove excess fat
- Drain spare ribs and place onto cookie sheet
- Base spare ribs with a generous amount of Worcestershire sauce
- Place based spare ribs on cookie sheet and place into oven for 60 minutes.
- Place first 6 ingredients into stock pot and bring to boil while CONTINUOUSLY stirring
- Add corn starch to 2 cups of water and mix to create thickening agent
- Add thickening agent incrementally to Sweet & Sour sauce for desired thickness
- Reduce heat to low while CONTINUOUSLY stirring.
- Remove spare ribs from oven and place into Sweet & Sour sauce.
- Place stock pot into oven and cook until done. 1 to 2 hours.
Bon Appétit
-
@ 30b99916:3cc6e3fe
2025-03-29 13:57:26
Chef's Notes
My mom worked as a waitress for a excellent Chinese restaurant. For years she tried to get this receipt without success and finally after the owner retired he gave her the receipt.
Previously posted this receipt on Zap.Cooking but now wanting to keep all my long-form notes in Obsidian and publish to Nostr using the nostr-writer plug-in.
Details
- ⏲️ Prep time: 20 to 30 minutes
- 🍳 Cook time: 1 to 2 Hours depending on amount of spare ribs
- 🍽️ Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 1 Quart Dole Pineapple Juice
- 1 Pint Dole Crushed Pineapple
- 1 Pint Dole Tidbits Pineapple
- 1 TS Dried Mustard
- 32 Oz Brown sugar or add to taste
- 1 Cup Red Wine
- 2 TS Corn Starch
- 1 or 2 lbs Pork or Beef spare ribs
- Worcestershire sauce
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Bring water to boil in 8 qt stock pot
- Cut spare ribs and add to boiling water in stock pot
- Boil spare ribs for 20 to 30 minutes to remove excess fat
- Drain spare ribs and place onto cookie sheet
- Base spare ribs with a generous amount of Worcestershire sauce
- Place based spare ribs on cookie sheet and place into oven for 60 minutes.
- Place first 6 ingredients into stock pot and bring to boil while CONTINUOUSLY stirring
- Add corn starch to 2 cups of water and mix to create thickening agent
- Add thickening agent incrementally to Sweet & Sour sauce for desired thickness
- Reduce heat to low while CONTINUOUSLY stirring.
- Remove spare ribs from oven and place into Sweet & Sour sauce.
- Place stock pot into oven and cook until done. 1 to 2 hours.
Bon Appétit
-
@ 5ffb8e1b:255b6735
2025-03-29 13:57:02As a fellow Nostrich you might have noticed some of my #arlist posts. It is my effort to curate artists that are active on Nostr and make it easier for other users to find content that they are interested in.
By now I have posted six or seven posts mentioning close to fifty artists, the problem so far is that it's only a list of handles and it is up to reader to click on each in order to find out what are the artist behind the names all about. Now I am going to start creating blog posts with a few artists mentioned in each, with short descriptions of their work and an image or to.
I would love to have some more automated mode of curation but I still couldn't figure out what is a good way for it. I've looked at Listr, Primal custom feeds and Yakihonne curations but none seem to enable me to make a list of npubs that is then turned into a feed that I could publicly share for others to views. Any advice on how to achieve this is VERY welcome !
And now lets get to the first batch of artists I want to share with you.
Eugene Gorbachenko
nostr:npub1082uhnrnxu7v0gesfl78uzj3r89a8ds2gj3dvuvjnw5qlz4a7udqwrqdnd Artist from Ukrain creating amazing realistic watercolor paintings. He is very active on Nostr but is very unnoticed for some stange reason. Make sure to repost the painting that you liked the most to help other Nostr users to discover his great art.
Siritravelsketch
nostr:npub14lqzjhfvdc9psgxzznq8xys8pfq8p4fqsvtr6llyzraq90u9m8fqevhssu a a lovely lady from Thailand making architecture from all around the world spring alive in her ink skethes. Dynamic lines gives it a dreamy magical feel, sometimes supported by soft watercolor strokes takes you to a ferytale layer of reality.
BureuGewas
nostr:npub1k78qzy2s9ap4klshnu9tcmmcnr3msvvaeza94epsgptr7jce6p9sa2ggp4 a a master of the clasic oil painting. From traditional still life to modern day subjects his paintings makes you feel the textures and light of the scene more intense then reality itself.
You can see that I'm no art critic, but I am trying my best. If anyone else is interested to join me in this curration adventure feel free to reach out !
With love, Agi Choote
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@ 592295cf:413a0db9
2025-03-29 10:59:52The journey starts from the links in this article nostr-quick-start-guide
Starting from these links building a simple path should not cover everything, because impossible.
Today I saw that Verbiricha in his workshop on his channel used nstart, but then I distracted And I didn't see how he did it.
Go to nstart.me and read: Each user is identified by a cryptographic keypair Public key, Private key (is a lot of stuff)
You can insert a nickname and go, the nickname is not unique
there is a email backup things interesting, but a little boring, i try to generate an email
doesn't even require a strong password ok.
I received the email, great, it shows me the nsec encrypted in clear,
Send a copy of the file with a password, which contains the password encrypted key I know and I know it's a tongue dump.
Multi signer bunker
That's stuff, let's see what he says.
They live the private key and send it to servers and you can recompose it to login at a site of the protocol nostr. If one of these servers goes offline you have the private key that you downloaded first and then reactivate a bunker. All very complicated. But if one of the servers goes offline, how can I remake the split? Maybe he's still testing.
Nobody tells you where these bunkers are.
Okay I have a string that is my bunker (buker://), I downloaded it, easy no, now will tell me which client accepts the bunker.. .
Follow someone before you start?
Is a cluster of 5 people Snowden, Micheal Dilger, jb55, Fiatjaf, Dianele.
I choice Snowden profile, or you can select multiple profiles, extra wild.
Now select 5 clients
Coracle, Chachi, Olas, Nostur, Jumble
The first is Coracle
Login, ok I try to post a note and signing your note the spin does not end.
Maybe the bunker is diffective.
Let's try Chachi
Simpler than Coracle, it has a type login that says bunker. see if I can post
It worked, cool, I managed to post in a group.
Olas is an app but also a website, but on the website requires an extension, which I do not have with this account.
If I download an app how do I pass the bunker on the phone, is it still a password, a qrcode, a qrcode + password, something like that, but many start from the phone so maybe it's easy for them. I try to download it and see if it allows me to connect with a bunker.
Okay I used private-qrcode and it worked, I couldn't do it directly from Olas because it didn't have permissions and the qrcode was < encrypted, so I went to the same site and had the bunker copied and glued on Olas
Ok then I saw that there was the qrcode image of the bunker for apps lol moment
Ok, I liked it, I can say it's a victory.
Looks like none of Snowden's followers are Olas's lover, maybe the smart pack has to predict a photographer or something like that.
Okay I managed to post on Olas, so it works, Expiration time is broken.
As for Nostur, I don't have an ios device so I'm going to another one.
Login with Jumble, it works is a web app
I took almost an hour to do the whole route.
But this was just one link there are two more
Extensions nostr NIP-07
The true path is nip-07-browser-extensions | nostr.net
There are 19 links, maybe there are too many?
I mention the most famous, or active at the moment
- Aka-profiles: Aka-profiles
Alby I don't know if it's a route to recommend
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Blockcore Blockcore wallet
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Nos2x Nos2x
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Nos2xfox (fork for firefox) Nos2xfox
Nostore is (archived, read-only)
Another half hour to search all sites
Nostrapps
Here you can make paths
Then nstart selects Coracle, Chachi, Olas,Nostur and Jumble
Good apps might be Amethyst, 0xchat, Yakihonne, Primal, Damus
for IOS maybe: Primal, Olas, Damus, Nostur, Nos-Social, Nostrmo
On the site there are some categories, I select some with the respective apps
Let's see the categories
Go to Nostrapps and read:
Microbbloging: Primal
Streaming: Zap stream
Blogging: Yakihonne
Group chat: Chachi
Community: Flotilla
Tools: Form *
Discovery: Zapstore (even if it is not in this catrgory)
Direct Message: 0xchat
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@ 0b65f96a:7fda4c8f
2025-03-29 10:39:17Es gibt Bibliotheken voll Literatur zur „Kunst“ der Kriegsführung. Dies hier ist ein Beitrag zu den Bibliotheken der Kunst Frieden zu führen. Denn Frieden ist nicht die Abwesenheit von Krieg. Sondern eine mindestens ebenso intensive Aktivität. Worin genau besteht sie aber? Ich glaube darin, weder nach der einen noch nach der anderen Seite vom Hochseil zu fallen. Denn vom Hochseil kann man immer nach zwei Seiten fallen. Das ist dann auch schon die Kernherausforderung: Gleichgewichthalten!
Es scheint zunächst ein ganz äußerlicher Auftrag. Es gibt immer und wird immer widerstreitende Interessen geben. Allerdings ist das nur die äußerste Zwiebelschale. Denn wenn wir die Sache etwas mit Abstand von uns selbst betrachten, werden wir in uns hinein verwiesen: Frieden kann nur von innen nach außen gestiftet werden. Wenn wir das Hochseil in uns suchen, was finden wir dann? – Zweifels ohne, wissen wir von uns, dass wir nicht jeden Tag unser bestes Selbst sind. Würde es sich nicht lohnen etwas genauer über die Möglichkeit nach zwei Seiten vom Hochseil zu fallen nachzudenken, zugunsten der eigenen Balancierfähigkeit?
Wir sind daran gewöhnt zu denken dem Guten steht das Böse gegenüber. Daraus ziehen ja alle Western und Martial Arts Streifen ihren Plot: Der Gute bringt den Bösen um die Ecke und damit hat wieder mal das Gute gesiegt. Wir bewerten das „um die Ecke bringen“ unterschiedlich, je nach dem, von wem es kommt.
Ich möchte einen neuen Gedanken vorschlagen über unser Inneres, über Gut und Böse nachzudenken. Denn, wie gesagt, vom Hochseil kann man nach zwei Seiten fallen. Und es hat immer drastische Wirkung. Wo kommen wir also hin, wenn wir sagen: Frieden ist immer ein Gleichgewichtszustand, ergo eine Zeit der Mitte?
Sagen wir Toleranz ist ein erstrebenswertes Ideal. Dann würden wir sicher sagen Engstirnigkeit ist das Gegenteil davon und alles andere als Wünschenswert. Ja, so ist es gewiss. Und es bleibt hinzuzufügen, auch Beliebigkeit ist das Gegenteil von Toleranz. Denn es gibt eine Grenze, wo Toleranz nicht mehr Toleranz ist, sondern Beliebigkeit, ein „alles ist möglich“. Ähnlich können wir es für Großzügigkeit denken: Großzügigkeit ist ein erstrebenswertes Ideal. Ihr Gegenteil ist Geiz. Ihr anderes Gegenteil die Verschwendung. Oder Mut. Mut ist ein erstrebenswertes Ideal. Feigheit sein Gegenteil. Sein anderes Gegenteil ist Leichtsinn. Mit andern Worten: Das Ideal wird immer zum Hochseil. Und wir können immer nach zwei Seiten von ihm fallen. Wenn wir diesem Gedanken folgen, kommen wir weg von der Gut-Böse-Dualität. Und stattdessen zur Frage nach dem Gleichgewicht. Zur Frage nach der Mittezeit.
Natürlich steht es uns frei all das zu denken. Oder auch nicht zu denken. Denn selbstverständlich ist es möglich es nicht zu denken und bei einer Dualitätsvorstellung festhängen zu bleiben. Es wird uns nur nicht helfen Frieden zu denken und in Frieden zu handeln. Wenn wir wollen können wir durch das Aufspannen einer Trinität einen neuen Raum eröffnen und betreten. In ihm wird Frieden aktiv führbar, denn er wird eine Gleichgewichtssituation in uns selbst! – Nicht eine, sich einander gegenüberstehender äußerer Mächte!
Gehen wir noch einen Schritt weiter in unserer Betrachtung, können wir feststellen, dass es durchaus einen Unterschied macht nach welcher Seite wir runter fallen. Denn auf der einen Seite ist es immer eine Verengung: Engstirnigkeit, Geiz, Feigheit in unseren Beispielen. Auf der anderen ist es immer eine Zersplitterung oder Versprühung. In unseren Beispielen Beliebigkeit, Verschwendung und Leichtsinn. Und das erstrebenswerte ist eben immer die Mitte, das von uns ständig aktualisierte Gleichgewicht.
Das interessante ist, wo diese Mitte liegt, lässt sich niemals statisch festlegen. Sie ist immer dynamisch. Denn sie kann zu unterschiedlichen Momenten an unterschiedlicher Stelle liegen. Es ist immer ein Ich, das sich in Geistesgegenwart neu ausbalanciert. Und darum ist Frieden so schwer. Wir werden ihn niemals „haben“, sondern ihm immer entgegen gehen.
Der Kriegsruf ist nichts anderes, als ein Versuch von denen, die vom Hochseil gefallen sind, uns auch herunter zu kicken.
Netter Versuch. Wird aber nichts!
In der Nussschale: Die Dualität auflösen in die Trinität der balancierenden Mitte zwischen der Geste der Versteinerung und der Geste des Zerstäubens oder Zersplitterns. Die dynamische Qualität der Mitte bemerken. Oder, tun wir es nicht, ist das gleich der erste Anstoß, der uns wieder zum Wackeln bringt. Und des Ich´s gewahr werden, das balanciert. Frieden führen ist eine Kunst.
Patric I. Vogt, geb. 1968 in Mainz. Autor von „Zukunft beginnt im Kopf Ein Debattenbeitrag zur Kernsanierung von Rechtsstaat und Demokratie“. Lebt als freischaffender Künstler, Lehrer und Unternehmer. Über drei Jahrzehnte Beschäftigung mit dem Ideenfeld soziale #Dreigliederung und Anthroposophie. Moderation und Mediation von sozialen Prozessen und Organisationsentwicklung. Staatlich ungeprüft, abgesehen von den Fahrerlaubnissen zu Land und zu Wasser. Motto: Gedanken werden Worte, werden Taten! www.perspektivenwechsel.social
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@ 866e0139:6a9334e5
2025-03-29 09:31:35
Autor: Thomas Eisinger. Dieser Beitrag wurde mit dem Pareto-Client geschrieben. Sie finden alle Texte der Friedenstaube und weitere Texte zum Thema Frieden hier.**
Und genau dafür wirst auch du gedrillt werden: Menschen zu jagen und töten. Unbekannte, die auch nicht wissen, was sie hier tun. Oder Unschuldige, die nicht rechtzeitig fliehen konnten. Einfach töten. Alle. Ohne zu fragen. Denn das ist deine Aufgabe, Soldat: Töte Menschen!
Egal, was du vorher warst, Heizungsmonteur, KFZ-Mechaniker, Veganer, Marketingmanager, Friseur, Verkäufer, Kindergärtner: Es ist egal. Jetzt musst du töten. Denn du hast mitgemacht. Entweder, weil du es nicht ernst genommen hast, weil du dich nie für Politik interessiert hast. Oder weil du gedacht hast, das alles betrifft dich nicht. Weil du gedacht hast, Wahlen könnten etwas verändern. Oder weil du immer das Maul gehalten hast, damit dich keiner als «Rechter» bezeichnet. Egal. Jetzt musst du töten. Das ist das Spiel.
Ja, es ist ein Spiel. Grausam, abartig, menschenverachtend. Dennoch hat es Regeln: Diejenigen, die das Spiel beginnen, müssen niemals selbst auf das Schlachtfeld. Das ist die erste Regel. Ihre Söhne auch nicht, nicht die Söhne der anderen Politiker, nicht die der EU-Abgeordneten, nicht die der Parteibonzen. Auch nicht die der Banker, der Vorstandsvorsitzenden, der Chefredakteure. Denn alle wissen, wie man das Spiel spielt. Nur du nicht.
Du bist einfach eine Figur auf dem Spielfeld, die es verpasst hat, NEIN zu sagen, als noch Gelegenheit war. Jetzt bist du verwandelt worden in eine menschliche Drohne. Wenn sie sagen: töte!, dann tötest du. Denken kannst du, wenn alles vorbei ist. Falls du je wieder nach Hause kommst. Vielleicht sogar mit beiden Beinen und beiden Armen. Vielleicht auch nicht. Egal. Wer hätte Mitleid mit einer Spielfigur?
Nein, du musst töten. Das ist deine Aufgabe. Sie sagen es nun schon seit Monaten, warum glaubst du es nicht? Sie meinen es ernst. Wenn du den Brief in Händen hältst ist es zu spät. Es gilt dann das Notstandsrecht und keiner kann mehr verweigern. Da hättest du dich vorher drum kümmern müssen. Oder auf eine Demo gehen. Oder laut und mit klarer Stimme in jedem Gespräch den Wahnsinn anprangern. Hast du aber nicht.
Jetzt musst du töten oder du wirst getötet. Das ist das Spiel. Du hättest selbst denken können. Hast du aber nicht. Hast deine Zeit mit sinnlosen Videos vertan, Netflix geguckt und hast Influencerinnen geliked. Die müssen nicht an die Front. Aber du. Morgen, wenn du aufstehst, die Uniform anziehst und rausgehst, dann wirst du Befehle ausführen oder erschossen werden. Also wirst du Menschen töten. Dein Leben wird nie wieder so sein, wie zuvor. Dein Schmerz, deine Schuld, dein Leid: sie gehen ein in die unendliche Reihe der Soldaten, die seit Jahrhunderten dasselbe Schicksal erlitten. Deren Schreie noch immer durch den ewigen Raum hallen. Deren Opfer von den Herren des Spiels mit einem Lächeln entgegengenommen wurde. Deren Gliedmaßen auf den Schlachtfeldern liegen geblieben waren. Zum Dank erhielten sie eine Medaille. Ein Stück Blech für den rechten Arm, einen Grabstein für den Vater, den Bruder, den Sohn. Für das Vaterland. Für Europa. Für die Demokratie. Der Hohn tropft aus jedem Politikerwort, doch die Menschen glauben noch immer die uralte Geschichte von Freund und Feind, von Gut und Böse.
\ Wer nicht aufwachen will, muss töten. Du. Nicht am Bildschirm. In der echten Welt. Wo man nicht auf Replay drücken kann. Wo man den Gegner nicht nach links oder rechts swipen kann, denn er ist echt, real, lebendig. Noch. Entweder er oder du. Jetzt ist es zu spät für Entscheidungen. Kannst du es spüren? Die Work-Life-Balance wird zur Kill-or-be-killed-Balance. Es gibt kein Entrinnen. Denn du hast mitgemacht. Schweigen ist Zustimmung. Sich-nicht-drumkümmern ist Zustimmung. Kriegsparteien zu wählen ist noch mehr Zustimmung.
Heute.
Heute lässt sich noch etwas ändern.
Es hat nichts zu tun mit rechts oder links. Nur mit Menschlichkeit versus Hass, Macht und dem ganz großen Geld. Das sind die Gründe, für die du töten oder sterben musst.
Wie entscheidest du dich?
Thomas Eisinger ist Schriftsteller. Zuletzt erschien der Roman "Hinter der Zukunft". Mehr zum Autor hier.
DIE FRIEDENSTAUBE FLIEGT AUCH IN IHR POSTFACH:
Hier können Sie die Friedenstaube abonnieren und bekommen die Artikel zugesandt, vorerst für alle kostenfrei, wir starten gänzlich ohne Paywall. (Die Bezahlabos fangen erst zu laufen an, wenn ein Monetarisierungskonzept für die Inhalte steht).
Schon jetzt können Sie uns unterstützen:
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- Ab 1000 CHF werden Sie Genossenschafter der Friedenstaube mit Stimmrecht (und bekommen lebenslanges Abo, T-Shirt/Hoodie).
Für Einzahlungen in CHF (Betreff: Friedenstaube):
Bildschirmfoto 2025-03-27 um 09.53.46
Für Einzahlungen in Euro:
Milosz Matuschek
IBAN DE 53710520500000814137
BYLADEM1TST
Sparkasse Traunstein-Trostberg
Betreff: Friedenstaube
Wenn Sie auf anderem Wege beitragen wollen, schreiben Sie die Friedenstaube an: milosz@pareto.space
Sie sind noch nicht auf Nostr and wollen die volle Erfahrung machen (liken, kommentieren etc.)? Zappen können Sie den Autor auch ohne Nostr-Profil! Erstellen Sie sich einen Account auf Start. Weitere Onboarding-Leitfäden gibt es im Pareto-Wiki.
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@ 57d1a264:69f1fee1
2025-03-29 09:31:13"THE NATURE OF BITCOIN IS SUCH THAT ONCE VERSION 0.1 WAS RELEASED, THE CORE DESIGN WAS SET IN STONE FOR THE REST OF ITS LIFETIME." - SATOSHI NAKAMOTO
"Reborn" is inspired by my Bitcoin journey and the many other people whose lives have been changed by Bitcoin. I’ve carved the hand in the “Gyan Mudra” or the “Mudra of Wisdom or Knowledge,” with an Opendime grasped between thumb and index finger alluding to the pursuit of Bitcoin knowledge. The hand emerges from rough, choppy water, and I've set the hand against an archway, through which, the copper leaf hints at the bright orange future made possible by Bitcoin.
Materials: Carrara Marble, Copper leaf, Opendime
Dimensions: 6" x 9" x 13"
Price: $30,000 or BTC equivalent
Enquire: https://www.vonbitcoin.com/available-works
X: https://x.com/BVBTC/status/1894463357316419960/photo/1
originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/928510
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@ 866e0139:6a9334e5
2025-03-29 08:51:57
Autor: Dr. Daniele Ganser. Dieser Beitrag wurde mit dem Pareto-Client geschrieben. Sie finden alle Texte der Friedenstaube und weitere Texte zum Thema Frieden hier.**
Der Frieden ist mir eine Herzensangelegenheit. Daher halte ich seit über 20 Jahren Vorträge zu den Themen Krieg und Frieden. Bisher sind es schon mehr als 1000 Vorträge. Manchmal gibt es Widerstand oder schlechte Presse, aber ich mache einfach weiter. Zudem schreibe ich Bücher, gebe Interviews und habe eine Online-Community, wo ich über Zoom Fragen der Mitglieder beantworte. Mein Ziel ist immer dasselbe: Die Friedensbewegung zu stärken.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rlSE4CYR_U
Auszug aus der Einleitung "Imperium USA":
"In meiner Forschung orientiere ich mich an folgenden drei Prinzipien: UNO- Gewaltverbot, Achtsamkeit und Menschheitsfamilie. Das UNO-Gewaltverbot wurde 1945 erlassen und verbietet die Androhung oder Anwendung von Gewalt in der internationalen Politik. Es ist leider in Vergessenheit geraten, und viele Menschen haben noch nie davon gehört. Daher erwähne ich es oft in meinen Büchern und Vorträgen, weil es ein ganz wichtiges Instrument der Friedensbewegung ist. Auch das Prinzip Achtsamkeit ist für die Friedensbewegung ein Juwel.
Denn zu oft schon wurden wir Menschen durch Kriegspropaganda getäuscht und verwirrt. Doch das wäre nicht nötig. Wenn wir durch Achtsamkeit lernen, unsere eigenen Gedanken und Gefühle aus einer ruhigen Distanz zu beobachten, stärken wir unsere Klarheit. Wir müssen nicht alles glauben, was uns von den Medien erzählt wird. Durch Achtsamkeit erkennen wir, dass wir nicht unsere Gedanken und Gefühle sind, sondern das klare Bewusstsein, in dem sie aufsteigen und wie Wolken auch wieder vergehen.
Besonders wichtig ist mir auch das Prinzip Menschheitsfamilie. Denn leider ist es in der Geschichte immer wieder vorgekommen, dass wir als Menschheitsfamilie einzelne Mitglieder ausgeschlossen und getötet haben. Wir haben uns entlang von Nationalität, Religion, Hautfarbe, Geschlecht und Einkommen gespalten und abgewertet. Bei der Hexenverfolgung wurden Frauen der »Zauberei« beschuldigt, aus der Menschheitsfamilie ausgeschlossen und verbrannt. Bei den Indianerkriegen wurden Indianer als »Wilde« aus der Menschheitsfamilie ausgeschlossen, vertrieben und getötet. Beim Sklavenhandel wurden Afrikaner als »Tiere« aus der Menschheitsfamilie ausgeschlossen, diffamiert und ausgebeutet. Im Zweiten Weltkrieg wurden Juden als »lebensunwert« aus der Menschheitsfamilie ausgeschlossen und in Konzentrationslagern vergast.
Im Vietnamkrieg wurden Vietnamesen von US-Soldaten als »Termiten« bezeichnet, aus der Menschheitsfamilie ausgeschlossen und mit Napalm bombardiert. Im sogenannten »Krieg gegen den Terror« wurden Afghanen als »Terroristen« bezeichnet, aus der Menschheitsfamilie ausgeschlossen und getötet. Das sich wiederholende Muster ist deutlich: Das Prinzip Menschheitsfamilie wird verletzt, indem eine Gruppe aus der Menschheitsfamilie ausgeschlossen, abgewertet und dann getötet wird. Natürlich sehen wir alleganz unterschiedlich aus. Auch bezüglich Glaube, Nationalität, Ausbildung, Sprache und Einkommen sind wir nicht gleich und werden es nie sein.
Doch das ist noch kein Grund, Gewalt einzusetzen. »Wir haben in der Welt ganz sicher ein Problem mit Feindseligkeiten, die außer Kontrolle geraten. Der Mensch ist geradezu ein Spezialist darin, andere auszugrenzen«, erklärt der holländische Zoologe Frans de Waal. »Der Mensch dämonisiert Menschen anderer Nationalität oder Religion, erzeugt Ängste und Wut. Diese Gruppen nennen wir dann schnell Unmenschen oder Tiere. Schon ist es leicht, die Unmenschen zu eliminieren, weil man kein Mitgefühl mehr mit ihnen haben muss.«
Im April 2004 wurde publik, dass US- Soldaten im irakischen Abu-Ghraib- Gefängnis Iraker gefoltert hatten. Die US- Kriegspropaganda hatte den US- Soldaten eingetrichtert, die Iraker seien schlechte Menschen, dadurch wurden sie aus der Menschheitsfamilie ausgeschlossen. Das hatte konkrete Folgen. Die US- Soldatin Lynndie England führte in Abu-Ghraib einen nackten irakischen Gefangenen an einer Hundeleine durchs Gefängnis. Ein anderer irakischer Gefangener musste mit schwarzer Kapuze auf einer Kiste balancieren, während an seinem Körper Drähte befestigt waren.
Ihm wurde von den US- Soldaten angedroht, dass ihm tödliche Stromschläge zugefügt würden, wenn er von der Kiste fiele. »Für Europa waren die Horrorbilder aus Sex, Folter und Erniedrigung schlichtweg ein Schock«, kommentierte Die Welt. Der Abu- Ghraib- Skandal zeigte drastisch, was passieren kann, wenn die Menschen einer ganzen Nation, in diesem Falle die Iraker, aus der Menschheitsfamilie ausgeschlossen werden.
DIE FRIEDENSTAUBE FLIEGT AUCH IN IHR POSTFACH!
Hier können Sie die Friedenstaube abonnieren und bekommen die Artikel zugesandt, vorerst für alle kostenfrei, wir starten gänzlich ohne Paywall. (Die Bezahlabos fangen erst zu laufen an, wenn ein Monetarisierungskonzept für die Inhalte steht). Sie wollen der Genossenschaft beitreten oder uns unterstützen? Mehr Infos hier oder am Ende des Textes.
Man darf angesichts dieser Gewalt und Brutalität nicht zu dem Schluss kommen, dass wir Menschen nicht fähig sind, friedlich zusammenzuleben. Wir können es sehr wohl und tun es jeden Tag, an Millionen verschiedenen Orten. »Lassen sie uns zunächst unsere Haltung gegenüber dem Frieden selbst überprüfen. Zu viele von uns halten ihn für unmöglich", erklärte US-Präsident John F. Kennedy in einer seiner Reden.
»Zu viele von uns halten ihn für nicht zu verwirklichen. Aber das ist ein gefährlicher, defätistischer Glaube. Er führt zu der Schlussfolgerung, dass der Krieg unvermeidlich ist, dass die Menschheit zum Untergang verurteilt ist, dass wir uns in der Gewalt von Kräften befinden, die wir nicht kontrollieren können.«
Doch dies stimmt nicht, das wusste auch Kennedy. »Unsere Probleme sind von Menschen geschaffen, deshalb können sie auch von Menschen gelöst werden. Die Größe, die der menschliche Geist erreichen kann, bestimmt der Mensch selbst.«
Auch außerhalb der USA haben inspirierende Persönlichkeiten die Friedensbewegung geprägt. In Indien hat der Rechtsanwalt und Pazifist Mahatma Gandhi, der für mich ein großes Vorbild ist, immer wieder das Prinzip Menschheitsfamilie betont. »Die ganze Menschheit ist eine Familie«, sagte Gandhi. Er setzte bei seinem Protest stets auf einen gelassenen und freundlichen Ton, frei von Wut und Hass. Trotz ihres brutalen Vorgehens bezeichnete Gandhi weder die indische Polizei noch die indische Regierung oder die britische Kolonialmacht als Feinde. »Ich betrachte niemanden als meinen Feind«, erklärte Gandhi. »Alle sind meine Freunde. Ich möchte aufklären und die Herzen verändern.«
Ich bin fest davon überzeugt, dass die Friedensbewegung im 21. Jahrhundert stärker wird, wenn sie sich an den Prinzipen Menschheitsfamilie, Achtsamkeit und UNO- Gewaltverbot orientiert. Die Spaltung nach Nation, Partei, Religion, Hautfarbe, Geschlecht, Schulabschluss oder Einkommen sollte im 21. Jahrhundert durch die Einsicht ersetzt werden, dass alle Menschen zur Menschheitsfamilie gehören. Sie als Leserin und Leser gehören zur Menschheitsfamilie, egal wo Sie diesen Text lesen und unabhängig davon, was Ihre Geschichte ist. Und ich als Autor gehöreauch zur Menschheitsfamilie, ebenso wie alle Personen, die in der Menschheitsgeschichte auftauchen, Opfer wie Täter. Zusammen sollten wir lernen, uns nicht zu töten, weil alles Leben heilig ist und weil wir auf einer sehr tiefen Ebene alle miteinander verbunden sind."
Dr. Daniele Ganser, geboren 1972, ist Schweizer Historiker und Friedensforscher. Er leitet das unabhängige Swiss Institute for Peace and Energy Research (SIPER) in Münchenstein bei Basel in der Schweiz. Die aktuellen Vorträge von Dr. Daniele Ganser finden Sie hier. Am 12. April halten Daniele Ganser und Dirk Pohlmann bei Basel einen Vortrag über den Fall Herrhausen (nur 200 Tickets). Bestellen können Sie hier.
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@ dfbbf851:ba4542b5
2025-03-29 06:51:21ในยุคดิจิทัลที่การสื่อสารมีบทบาทสำคัญต่อชีวิตประจำวัน เทคโนโลยี Cell Broadcast ได้กลายเป็นหนึ่งในเครื่องมือที่ทรงพลังสำหรับการแจ้งเตือนฉุกเฉิน ไม่ว่าจะเป็นภัยพิบัติหรือเหตุการณ์สำคัญที่ต้องแจ้งให้ประชาชนทราบอย่างทันท่วงที ⏳💡
📌 Cell Broadcast คืออะไร ?
Cell Broadcast (CB) เป็นเทคโนโลยีที่ใช้ส่งข้อความกระจายสัญญาณผ่านเครือข่ายโทรศัพท์มือถือ 🏗📶 โดยแตกต่างจาก SMS ตรงที่สามารถส่งข้อความถึงผู้ใช้จำนวนมากได้พร้อมกัน โดยไม่ต้องทราบหมายเลขโทรศัพท์ ของผู้รับ 📲💨
ข้อความ CB สามารถส่งถึงอุปกรณ์ที่รองรับในเครือข่ายมือถือที่เปิดใช้งานอยู่ภายในช่วงเวลาสั้น ๆ ⏱ และ ไม่ทำให้เครือข่ายล่ม
✨ ข้อดีของ Cell Broadcast ✨
✅ ส่งข้อความรวดเร็ว – แจ้งเตือนได้ภายในไม่กี่วินาที แม้ในกรณีฉุกเฉิน ⚡🚀
✅ ไม่ต้องใช้หมายเลขโทรศัพท์ – กระจายสัญญาณไปยังอุปกรณ์ทุกเครื่องที่อยู่ในพื้นที่เป้าหมายได้โดยตรง 📡
✅ รองรับหลายภาษา – สามารถตั้งค่าการแจ้งเตือนให้เหมาะสมกับประชากรในแต่ละพื้นที่ 🌍🗣
✅ ไม่ทำให้เครือข่ายหนาแน่น – ต่างจาก SMS หรือการโทรจำนวนมากที่อาจทำให้เครือข่ายล่ม 📵❌
✅ ทำงานได้แม้ไม่มีอินเทอร์เน็ต – สามารถแจ้งเตือนในกรณีที่โซเชียลมีเดียหรืออินเทอร์เน็ตใช้งานไม่ได้ 🌐🚫
🌍 การใช้งาน Cell Broadcast ทั่วโลก
🔹 สหรัฐอเมริกา – ใช้ระบบ Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) เพื่อแจ้งเตือนเหตุการณ์ฉุกเฉิน เช่น พายุเฮอริเคน 🌀🌪
🔹 ญี่ปุ่น – ใช้ระบบ Earthquake Early Warning (EEW) เพื่อแจ้งเตือนแผ่นดินไหวล่วงหน้า ⛩🌏
🔹 สหภาพยุโรป – มีนโยบายให้ประเทศสมาชิกใช้ Public Warning System ผ่าน Cell Broadcast 📢🏛
🤔 ทำไมประเทศที่ยังไม่มีระบบนี้ควรนำมาใช้ ?
หลายประเทศ รวมถึง ประเทศไทย ยังไม่มีการใช้ Cell Broadcast อย่างแพร่หลาย ทั้งที่เป็นเทคโนโลยีที่สามารถช่วยชีวิตผู้คนได้อย่างมหาศาล 🚑 หากเกิดภัยพิบัติ เช่น น้ำท่วม แผ่นดินไหว สึนามิ หรือไฟป่า 🔥🌊 Cell Broadcast สามารถส่งการแจ้งเตือนไปยังทุกคนในพื้นที่เสี่ยงได้ทันที ลดความสูญเสียและเพิ่มโอกาสรอดชีวิตได้มากขึ้น
🔸 ความแม่นยำสูง – สามารถส่งแจ้งเตือนไปยังพื้นที่ที่ได้รับผลกระทบโดยตรง ทำให้ประชาชนสามารถเตรียมตัวรับมือได้ดีกว่า
🔸 ไม่มีปัญหาความล่าช้า – ต่างจากการแจ้งเตือนผ่าน SMS หรือโซเชียลมีเดียที่อาจล่าช้าหรือไม่ได้รับข้อความเลยหากเครือข่ายล่ม
🔸 เป็นมาตรฐานสากล – หลายประเทศพัฒนาแล้วมีระบบนี้ใช้งานอย่างมีประสิทธิภาพ ประเทศที่ยังไม่มีควรนำมาใช้เพื่อให้สามารถจัดการภัยพิบัติได้อย่างมีประสิทธิภาพ
🔸 ประหยัดต้นทุนในระยะยาว – ลดความเสียหายทางเศรษฐกิจจากภัยพิบัติ เพราะประชาชนได้รับการแจ้งเตือนล่วงหน้า ทำให้สามารถอพยพหรือป้องกันความเสียหายได้
🔮 อนาคตของ Cell Broadcast
ในอนาคต Cell Broadcast อาจถูกนำมาใช้ร่วมกับ ปัญญาประดิษฐ์ (AI) 🤖 และ Internet of Things (IoT) 🌐 เพื่อเพิ่มความแม่นยำและปรับแต่งการแจ้งเตือนได้ดียิ่งขึ้น 🎯💡
📌 ปล.
Cell Broadcast เป็นเทคโนโลยีแจ้งเตือนที่ทรงพลังและมีบทบาทสำคัญในการช่วยชีวิตผู้คน 🚑 ด้วยความสามารถในการส่งข้อความได้อย่างรวดเร็ว ครอบคลุมพื้นที่กว้าง และไม่ต้องพึ่งพาอินเทอร์เน็ต จึงเป็นหนึ่งในเครื่องมือสำคัญสำหรับการบริหารจัดการภัยพิบัติในปัจจุบันและอนาคต 🔥
CellBroadcast #แจ้งเตือนภัย #เทคโนโลยีสื่อสาร #ภัยพิบัติ #เครือข่ายมือถือ #การสื่อสารฉุกเฉิน #เตือนภัยล่วงหน้า
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@ da0b9bc3:4e30a4a9
2025-03-29 06:49:22Hello Stackers!
Welcome on into the ~Music Corner of the Saloon!
A place where we Talk Music. Share Tracks. Zap Sats.
So stay a while and listen.
🚨Don't forget to check out the pinned items in the territory homepage! You can always find the latest weeklies there!🚨
🚨Subscribe to the territory to ensure you never miss a post! 🚨
originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/928470
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@ bdf3f01a:d9c40970
2025-03-29 04:52:40Abstract:
This paper presents a rigorous and critical examination of the Winter Vigil of XLII.II at Sapelo, a pivotal rite within the Lowcountry Freehold that serves as both an initiation into communal responsibility and a symbolic enactment of the Compact’s moral tenets. This analysis interrogates the ritual’s structure, emphasizing its role in perpetuating a resilient sociocultural order amid external collapse. Through a multidisciplinary approach combining historiographical analysis, cultural anthropology, and sociocultural theory, this study elucidates the Vigil’s function as a mechanism for moral continuity, thereby situating it within the broader discourse of post-collapse societal stabilization. The implications of this study underscore the profound interconnectedness between ritual practice and the formation of resilient communal identities.
Introduction:
The Winter Vigil of XLII.II at Sapelo occupies a fundamental position in the cultural historiography of the Lowcountry Freehold. As contemporary scholars, it is imperative to approach this tradition not merely as an artifact of ritualistic antiquity but as a dynamic process of cultural preservation. The Freehold’s commitment to integrating tradition with pragmatism, especially through the stewardship of The Veil, constitutes a critical adaptive strategy that sustained sociopolitical coherence through epochs of external fragmentation. This study aims to critically examine the Vigil as both a symbolic and practical reinforcement of the Compact’s ethos, with particular attention to how this ritual facilitated intergenerational continuity of moral and social values, ultimately shaping the robust communal identity that defines contemporary Freehold society.
The Veil as Cultural Custodian:
The Veil, emerging from the post-collapse adaptation of preexisting religious and cultural practices, evolved into a matriarchal order central to maintaining the Freehold’s ethical architecture. This evolution was characterized not by rigid preservation but by adaptive synthesis, wherein ceremonial gravitas was merged with pragmatic domestic guidance. The Veil functioned as a moral custodian, particularly within the familial sphere, where its influence was most profoundly exercised. Veilmother Cordelia’s role during the Winter Vigil exemplifies this dual function of leadership and philosophical stewardship, as her guidance articulated not only the ritual's procedural elements but also the embedded moral philosophy that would shape the initiates' worldview.
Ritual Dynamics and Symbolism:
The Winter Vigil is fundamentally an enactment of moral endurance, wherein the initiate’s voluntary approach to the brazier represents an acceptance of communal responsibility through individual fortitude. The design of the ritual deliberately positions physical endurance as a metaphor for moral resilience, encapsulating the Freehold’s conviction that true strength is inherently silent and steadfast. As the initiate moves toward the brazier, kneeling in proximity to the flame, the act becomes a performative affirmation of the Compact’s call for measured, principled strength rather than ostentatious assertion. The structured progression from the outer circle to the brazier symbolizes a journey from collective dependency to personal sovereignty, reflecting the Compact's ethos that leadership is merited through tested perseverance.
The Copper Plate Rite:
The Copper Plate Rite, integral to the Vigil, embodies the transformative philosophy of the Freehold. The heated copper plate, inscribed with the flame symbol and lifted from ashes, is held aloft despite discomfort, symbolizing the embrace of hardship as an essential component of sovereignty. The fleeting burn, leaving a transient mark, underscores the philosophical assertion that genuine resilience is born of confronting and integrating suffering, rather than circumventing it. This rite functions not merely as a test of physical tolerance but as a pedagogical imprinting of the Freehold’s ethos—an allegory of death and rebirth integral to personal and communal maturation.
Symbolic Implications and Societal Continuity:
The deliberate imposition of discomfort during the Vigil underscores a fundamental tenet of Freehold philosophy: suffering, when purposefully endured, refines the individual and, by extension, fortifies the community. The Copper Plate Rite exemplifies the doctrine that hardship, when faced with deliberate resolve, engenders moral clarity. This paradigm of voluntary suffering as a crucible for leadership remains a cornerstone of the Freehold’s ideological framework, fostering a collective ethos rooted in patient perseverance rather than impulsive dominance. Furthermore, the initiation rite serves as a microcosm of the Freehold's broader sociocultural ethos, where personal sacrifice is inextricably linked to communal stability.
Interpretive Analysis:
Current historiographical interpretations often err by neglecting the interconnectedness of the Vigil with broader sociopolitical dynamics. By isolating the rite as a mere ceremonial endurance, scholars risk overlooking its function as a structured pedagogical tool for inculcating moral resilience. This study posits that the Vigil, far from being a vestigial tradition, actively cultivated a pragmatic ethic of endurance that proved crucial in the Freehold’s sustained sociocultural coherence. This coherence, rooted in ritual reinforcement of moral tenets, enabled the Freehold to navigate existential threats without succumbing to internal decay.
Cultural and Societal Implications:
The enduring significance of the Winter Vigil lies in its dual function as both a rite of passage and a communal reaffirmation of the Freehold’s meritocratic principles. By fostering individual accountability within a collective moral framework, the Vigil reinforced the Compact’s foundational premise that leadership is merited through demonstrated resilience. The integration of personal trial into communal identity formation exemplifies how the Freehold maintained its internal stability despite external societal fragmentation. This ritual, therefore, is not merely commemorative but constitutive of the Freehold's enduring cultural legacy.
Conclusion:
The Winter Vigil of XLII.II at Sapelo remains a paradigmatic example of ritual as a vehicle for social continuity within the Lowcountry Freehold. Its deliberate amalgamation of symbolic endurance with moral instruction illustrates the Freehold’s adaptive strategy of embedding philosophical imperatives within lived tradition. As modern scholars, it is incumbent upon us to engage with these practices not merely as remnants of a bygone era but as foundational elements that cultivated the durable sociocultural ethos underpinning our current stability.
References:
-
Vance, C. (Epoch LII). "The Compact and Cultural Continuity: An Oral History." Archive of Freehold Studies, Emberwell Hall.
-
Harlowe, E. (Epoch LX). "The Flamekeepers: Guardians of Tradition." Journal of Sociocultural Persistence, Vol. 22, pp. 45-72.
-
Morgan, T. (Epoch LXV). "Endurance Through Ritual: The Role of The Veil in Cultural Preservation." Lowcountry Academic Press.
-
Cordelia, V. (Epoch XLII). "Reflections on the Flame: An Instructional Account." Collected Teachings of The Veil.
-
Emberwell Institute (Epoch XC). "The Evolution of Freehold Rites: From Custom to Philosophy." Advanced Studies in Cultural Integration.
## Title: Ritual as Continuity: An Analysis of the Winter Vigil of XLII.II at Sapelo
### Epoch XLII - Circle of Maidens
#### Abstract:
This paper presents a rigorous and critical examination of the Winter Vigil of XLII.II at Sapelo, a pivotal rite within the Lowcountry Freehold that serves as both an initiation into communal responsibility and a symbolic enactment of the Compact’s moral tenets. This analysis interrogates the ritual’s structure, emphasizing its role in perpetuating a resilient sociocultural order amid external collapse. Through a multidisciplinary approach combining historiographical analysis, cultural anthropology, and sociocultural theory, this study elucidates the Vigil’s function as a mechanism for moral continuity, thereby situating it within the broader discourse of post-collapse societal stabilization. The implications of this study underscore the profound interconnectedness between ritual practice and the formation of resilient communal identities.
#### Introduction:
The Winter Vigil of XLII.II at Sapelo occupies a fundamental position in the cultural historiography of the Lowcountry Freehold. As contemporary scholars, it is imperative to approach this tradition not merely as an artifact of ritualistic antiquity but as a dynamic process of cultural preservation. The Freehold’s commitment to integrating tradition with pragmatism, especially through the stewardship of The Veil, constitutes a critical adaptive strategy that sustained sociopolitical coherence through epochs of external fragmentation. This study aims to critically examine the Vigil as both a symbolic and practical reinforcement of the Compact’s ethos, with particular attention to how this ritual facilitated intergenerational continuity of moral and social values, ultimately shaping the robust communal identity that defines contemporary Freehold society.
#### The Veil as Cultural Custodian:
The Veil, emerging from the post-collapse adaptation of preexisting religious and cultural practices, evolved into a matriarchal order central to maintaining the Freehold’s ethical architecture. This evolution was characterized not by rigid preservation but by adaptive synthesis, wherein ceremonial gravitas was merged with pragmatic domestic guidance. The Veil functioned as a moral custodian, particularly within the familial sphere, where its influence was most profoundly exercised. Veilmother Cordelia’s role during the Winter Vigil exemplifies this dual function of leadership and philosophical stewardship, as her guidance articulated not only the ritual's procedural elements but also the embedded moral philosophy that would shape the initiates' worldview.
#### Ritual Dynamics and Symbolism:
The Winter Vigil is fundamentally an enactment of moral endurance, wherein the initiate’s voluntary approach to the brazier represents an acceptance of communal responsibility through individual fortitude. The design of the ritual deliberately positions physical endurance as a metaphor for moral resilience, encapsulating the Freehold’s conviction that true strength is inherently silent and steadfast. As the initiate moves toward the brazier, kneeling in proximity to the flame, the act becomes a performative affirmation of the Compact’s call for measured, principled strength rather than ostentatious assertion. The structured progression from the outer circle to the brazier symbolizes a journey from collective dependency to personal sovereignty, reflecting the Compact's ethos that leadership is merited through tested perseverance.
#### The Copper Plate Rite:
The Copper Plate Rite, integral to the Vigil, embodies the transformative philosophy of the Freehold. The heated copper plate, inscribed with the flame symbol and lifted from ashes, is held aloft despite discomfort, symbolizing the embrace of hardship as an essential component of sovereignty. The fleeting burn, leaving a transient mark, underscores the philosophical assertion that genuine resilience is born of confronting and integrating suffering, rather than circumventing it. This rite functions not merely as a test of physical tolerance but as a pedagogical imprinting of the Freehold’s ethos—an allegory of death and rebirth integral to personal and communal maturation.
#### Symbolic Implications and Societal Continuity:
The deliberate imposition of discomfort during the Vigil underscores a fundamental tenet of Freehold philosophy: suffering, when purposefully endured, refines the individual and, by extension, fortifies the community. The Copper Plate Rite exemplifies the doctrine that hardship, when faced with deliberate resolve, engenders moral clarity. This paradigm of voluntary suffering as a crucible for leadership remains a cornerstone of the Freehold’s ideological framework, fostering a collective ethos rooted in patient perseverance rather than impulsive dominance. Furthermore, the initiation rite serves as a microcosm of the Freehold's broader sociocultural ethos, where personal sacrifice is inextricably linked to communal stability.
#### Interpretive Analysis:
Current historiographical interpretations often err by neglecting the interconnectedness of the Vigil with broader sociopolitical dynamics. By isolating the rite as a mere ceremonial endurance, scholars risk overlooking its function as a structured pedagogical tool for inculcating moral resilience. This study posits that the Vigil, far from being a vestigial tradition, actively cultivated a pragmatic ethic of endurance that proved crucial in the Freehold’s sustained sociocultural coherence. This coherence, rooted in ritual reinforcement of moral tenets, enabled the Freehold to navigate existential threats without succumbing to internal decay.
#### Cultural and Societal Implications:
The enduring significance of the Winter Vigil lies in its dual function as both a rite of passage and a communal reaffirmation of the Freehold’s meritocratic principles. By fostering individual accountability within a collective moral framework, the Vigil reinforced the Compact’s foundational premise that leadership is merited through demonstrated resilience. The integration of personal trial into communal identity formation exemplifies how the Freehold maintained its internal stability despite external societal fragmentation. This ritual, therefore, is not merely commemorative but constitutive of the Freehold's enduring cultural legacy.
#### Conclusion:
The Winter Vigil of XLII.II at Sapelo remains a paradigmatic example of ritual as a vehicle for social continuity within the Lowcountry Freehold. Its deliberate amalgamation of symbolic endurance with moral instruction illustrates the Freehold’s adaptive strategy of embedding philosophical imperatives within lived tradition. As modern scholars, it is incumbent upon us to engage with these practices not merely as remnants of a bygone era but as foundational elements that cultivated the durable sociocultural ethos underpinning our current stability.
#### References:
- Vance, C. (Epoch LII). "The Compact and Cultural Continuity: An Oral History." Archive of Freehold Studies, Emberwell Hall.
- Harlowe, E. (Epoch LX). "The Flamekeepers: Guardians of Tradition." Journal of Sociocultural Persistence, Vol. 22, pp. 45-72.
- Morgan, T. (Epoch LXV). "Endurance Through Ritual: The Role of The Veil in Cultural Preservation." Lowcountry Academic Press.
- Cordelia, V. (Epoch XLII). "Reflections on the Flame: An Instructional Account." Collected Teachings of The Veil.
- Emberwell Institute (Epoch XC). "The Evolution of Freehold Rites: From Custom to Philosophy." Advanced Studies in Cultural Integration.
-
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@ fd78c37f:a0ec0833
2025-03-29 04:33:01YakiHonne: I'm excited to be joined by our guest Piccolo—thank you very much for being here. Before we dive in, I'd like to briefly introduce YakiHonne. YakiHonne is a decentralized media client built on the Nostr protocol, leveraging technology to enable freedom of speech. It empowers creators to fully own their voice and assets while offering innovative tools such as Smart widget , Verified Notes, and support for long-form content. Today, we’re not just discussing YakiHonne, but also diving into your community. Piccolo, could you start by telling us a bit about yourself and your community?
Piccolo:Hi, I'm Piccolo. I run BO฿ Space in Bangkok, and we also have a satellite location called the BO฿ Space corner in Chiang Mai, thanks to the Bitcoin Learning Center. Piccolo:Regarding my background,I originally came from corporate finance and investment banking. I was in that field for about 20 years, with the last 15 spent running my own firm in corporate finance advisory alongside a couple of partners. We eventually sold the advisory business in 2015, took a short break, and in 2016, I ended up launching a fintech company, which is still operational today. The company specializes in equity crowdfunding and is licensed by the SEC in Thailand. Piccolo:I first bought Bitcoin a few years before truly understanding it, initially thinking it was a scam that would eventually collapse. However, in 2017, the block size wars demonstrated the protocol’s strong resistance to attacks on decentralization, which deeply impacted me. By late 2018 or early 2019, I started to really grasp Bitcoin and kept learning. Then, in mid-2022, after having fully fallen down the Bitcoin rabbit hole, I founded BO฿ Space. It was right after COVID, and since the fintech had scaled down, there was extra space. We started by hosting meetups and technical workshops for people who were interested. Piccolo:In the early years, we had various groups come by—like the team from BDK (Bitcoin Development Kit), who held workshops. The people behind the Bitcoin Beach Wallet, which later became Blink, also visited. So, BO฿ Space initially functioned as a meetup and technical workshop space. Eventually, we launched the BOB Builders Residency program, which was a lot of fun. We secured grant funding for developers under different cohort themes, so that they can collaborate and co-work for a few months. So far, we have completed three cohorts.
YakiHonne:How did your community get started, and what did you do to attract new members in the beginning?
Piccolo:The initial members came through word of mouth and invitations that I sent out. I reached out to an initial group of Bitcoiners here in the city who I believed were strong maximalists or Bitcoin-only supporters, back when that was still a thing. I sent out 21 invitations and had our first meetup with 21 people, most of whom I had interacted with online, though some in person during the COVID years. From there, it spread by word of mouth, and of course, through Twitter and meetup.com. So, I would say that word of mouth remains the main method of growth. Additionally, when people come through Bangkok and are looking for a Bitcoin-only meetup, there really isn't one available. I believe there are a couple now—maybe two or three—but when we started, there weren’t any, especially not a dedicated Bitcoin-only space. I think we may still be the only one in Bangkok. So yeah, word of mouth was definitely the main way we grew. Bitcoiners tend to share their finds when they meet like-minded people.
YakiHonne:Didn’t you have people in your community who initially thought Bitcoin was a scam, like you did, or face similar issues?
Piccolo:Yes, it still happens, especially when the price of Bitcoin rises. Newcomers still join, and some of them believe Bitcoin might be a scam. However, this has become less frequent. The main reason is that when people come to BO฿ Space, they know it’s a Bitcoin-only meetup. We generally don’t discuss the price; instead, we focus on other aspects of Bitcoin, as there are many interesting developments in the space.
YakiHonne:What advice would you give to someone looking to start or grow a Bitcoin-focused community in today’s world? Considering the current landscape, much like your own experience, what guidance would you offer?
Piccolo:It sounds simple, but just do it. When it comes to community building, you don’t necessarily need a physical space. Community is about people coming together, right? Two people can start a community, then three, four, and so on. Meetups can happen anywhere—your favorite bar, a restaurant, a friend’s garage, or wherever. So, just do it, but make sure you have more than one person, otherwise, how can you build a community? Once you have more than one person, word of mouth will spread. And as you develop a core group—let’s say more than five people—that’s when I think the community can truly sustain itself.
YakiHonne:I know you’ve mentioned the technical side of your community, but I’ll ask anyway—does your community engage with the technical or non-technical aspects of Bitcoin? Or perhaps, is there a blend of both?
Piccolo:I would say both. It really depends on the monthly themes of our meetups. For example, February was focused on Asian communities in Bitcoin. During that month, community leaders came in to give presentations and discuss their work in places like Indonesia, India, and more recently, someone from HRF (Human Rights Foundation) talked about Bitcoin’s use case in Myanmar. Then, in December, we had a very technical month—Mining Month. It was led by our Cohort 3 residents, where we discussed Stratum V2 and had a demo on it. We also examined the Loki board hardware, and Zack took apart the S19, looking at different ways to repurpose the power supply unit, among other things. So, it’s a mix of both, depending on the theme for that month. Some months are very technical, while others are more community-focused and less technical.
YakiHonne:What advice would you give to a technically inclined individual or organization looking to contribute meaningfully to the Bitcoin ecosystem?
Piccolo:For technically inclined individuals, I would suggest identifying your favorite open-source project in the Bitcoin ecosystem. Start from Bitcoin Core and explore different layers, such as Lightning or e-cash, and other open-source projects. As for technically inclined organizations, if you're integrating Bitcoin into your business, I would say, first, make sure you have people within your organization who truly understand Bitcoin. Build a capable team first, and then, depending on the part of the Bitcoin ecosystem you’re involved in—whether it’s custody services, Lightning payments, layer 2, or something like Cashu or Ark—find your niche. From there, your team will work with you to discover ways to contribute. But until you build that capability, organizations are a bit different from individuals in this space.
YakiHonne:How do you see the world of Bitcoin communities evolving as technology matures, particularly in areas like scalability, privacy, and adaptability with other systems?
Piccolo:That's an interesting question. If we think about the future of Bitcoin communities, I believe they may eventually disappear as technology matures. Once Bitcoin scales to a point where it integrates seamlessly with other payment systems, becoming part of the everyday norm, the need for dedicated communities will diminish. It’s similar to how we no longer have meetups about refrigerators or iPhones, even though they are technologies we use every day. As Bitcoin matures, it will likely reach that level of ubiquity. There might still be occasional meetups or forums, but they will be more about specific knowledge, use cases, and tools, rather than a community dedicated to introducing others to the technology itself. However, this is a long way off. Bitcoin is still relatively small compared to the global fiat financial system, despite the growth we want to see. So, it will take a long time before we reach that stage.
YakiHonne:It’s something I hadn’t considered before, and it’s quite insightful. Moving to our last question actually which I find very interesting is the government around you for or against bitcoin and how has That affected the community.
Piccolo:In my opinion, on a general level, the government is more supportive than opposed to Bitcoin. The Thai government classifies Bitcoin as a digital asset, almost like digital gold. In that sense, they want to tax capital gains and regulate it. They also have a regulatory framework for it, known as the Digital Asset Regulatory Sandbox, where you can test various things, mainly coins and tokens. It's unfortunate, but that’s how it is. However, our government, especially the regulatory bodies, are open to innovation. They recognize that Bitcoin is different, but they still view blockchain and tokens as useful technologies, which is somewhat misguided. So, in that sense, it’s more support than opposition. A couple of years ago, there was a circular discouraging the use of Bitcoin as a payment currency, mainly because they can't control its monetary policy. And they’re right—Bitcoin can’t be controlled by anyone; there’re the protocol and the rules, and everyone follows them, unless there’s a hard fork, which is a different matter. So, in that regard, Bitcoin is definitely categorized as a digital asset by the government, and that’s where it stands. Piccolo:People who come to BO฿ Space to learn about Bitcoin are often influenced by the government from the point of price movements; especially when government support moves the price up. But they usually only visit once or twice, especially if they’re not deep into the Bitcoin rabbit hole. They often get disappointed because, at BO฿ Space, we rarely discuss the price—maybe once a year, and that’s just after the meetup when people are having drinks. So, in that sense, I’d say the government currently doesn’t really hurt or help the community either way. People will go down the rabbit hole at their own pace. And if you're not a Bitcoiner and you come to a BO฿ Space meetup with a crypto focus, you might be surprised by the approach we take.
YakiHonne:Thank you, Piccolo, for your time and insights. It’s been a pleasure speaking with you. Your perspective on the evolution of Bitcoin communities was eye-opening. It's clear that your deep understanding of Bitcoin is invaluable. I'm sure our readers will appreciate your insights. Once again, thank you, Piccolo. I look forward to seeing the continued growth of BO฿ Space and Bitcoin adoption.
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@ 2183e947:f497b975
2025-03-29 02:41:34Today I was invited to participate in the private beta of a new social media protocol called Pubky, designed by a bitcoin company called Synonym with the goal of being better than existing social media platforms. As a heavy nostr user, I thought I'd write up a comparison.
I can't tell you how to create your own accounts because it was made very clear that only some of the software is currently open source, and how this will all work is still a bit up in the air. The code that is open source can be found here: https://github.com/pubky -- and the most important repo there seems to be this one: https://github.com/pubky/pubky-core
You can also learn more about Pubky here: https://pubky.org/
That said, I used my invite code to create a pubky account and it seemed very similar to onboarding to nostr. I generated a private key, backed up 12 words, and the onboarding website gave me a public key.
Then I logged into a web-based client and it looked a lot like twitter. I saw a feed for posts by other users and saw options to reply to posts and give reactions, which, I saw, included hearts, thumbs up, and other emojis.
Then I investigated a bit deeper to see how much it was like nostr. I opened up my developer console and navigated to my networking tab, where, if this was nostr, I would expect to see queries to relays for posts. Here, though, I saw one query that seemed to be repeated on a loop, which went to a single server and provided it with my pubkey. That single query (well, a series of identical queries to the same server) seemed to return all posts that showed up on my feed. So I infer that the server "knows" what posts to show me (perhaps it has some sort of algorithm, though the marketing material says it does not use algorithms) and the query was on a loop so that if any new posts came in that the server thinks I might want to see, it can add them to my feed.
Then I checked what happens when I create a post. I did so and looked at what happened in my networking tab. If this was nostr, I would expect to see multiple copies of a signed messaged get sent to a bunch of relays. Here, though, I saw one message get sent to the same server that was populating my feed, and that message was not signed, it was a plaintext copy of my message.
I happened to be in a group chat with John Carvalho at the time, who is associated with pubky. I asked him what was going on, and he said that pubky is based around three types of servers: homeservers, DHT servers, and indexer servers. The homeserver is where you create posts and where you query for posts to show on your feed. DHT servers are used for censorship resistance: each user creates an entry on a DHT server saying what homeserver they use, and these entries are signed by their key.
As for indexers, I think those are supposed to speed up the use of the DHT servers. From what I could tell, indexers query DHT servers to find out what homeservers people use. When you query a homeserver for posts, it is supposed to reach out to indexer servers to find out the homeservers of people whose posts the homeserver decided to show you, and then query those homeservers for those posts. I believe they decided not to look up what homeservers people use directly on DHT servers directly because DHT servers are kind of slow, due to having to store and search through all sorts of non-social-media content, whereas indexers only store a simple db that maps each user's pubkey to their homeserver, so they are faster.
Based on all of this info, it seems like, to populate your feed, this is the series of steps:
- you tell your homeserver your pubkey
- it uses some sort of algorithm to decide whose posts to show you
- then looks up the homeservers used by those people on an indexer server
- then it fetches posts from their homeservers
- then your client displays them to you
To create a post, this is the series of steps:
- you tell your homeserver what you want to say to the world
- it stores that message in plaintext and merely asserts that it came from you (it's not signed)
- other people can find out what you said by querying for your posts on your homeserver
Since posts on homeservers are not signed, I asked John what prevents a homeserver from just making up stuff and claiming I said it. He said nothing stops them from doing that, and if you are using a homeserver that starts acting up in that manner, what you should do is start using a new homeserver and update your DHT record to point at your new homeserver instead of the old one. Then, indexers should update their db to show where your new homeserver is, and the homeservers of people who "follow" you should stop pulling content from your old homeserver and start pulling it from your new one. If their homeserver is misbehaving too, I'm not sure what would happen. Maybe it could refuse to show them the content you've posted on your new homeserver, keeping making up fake content on your behalf that you've never posted, and maybe the people you follow would never learn you're being impersonated or have moved to a new homeserver.
John also clarified that there is not currently any tooling for migrating user content from one homeserver to another. If pubky gets popular and a big homeserver starts misbehaving, users will probably need such a tool. But these are early days, so there aren't that many homeservers, and the ones that exist seem to be pretty trusted.
Anyway, those are my initial thoughts on Pubky. Learn more here: https://pubky.org/
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@ df06d21e:2b23058f
2025-03-29 02:08:31Imagine a Living Civilization—a new way to see our world. It starts with the Universe’s pillars: Matter, the stuff we’re made of; Energy, the flow that drives us; Physics, the rules we play by; and Chemistry, the complexity that builds us. We know these well. But civilization? That’s our creation—and although it has been described in so many different ways over the years I thought it was time for something new. Civilization has its own pillars, systems that I call the pillars of the Metaverse: Capital, Information, Innovation, and Trust.
Capital is how we measure value. Not just money, but everything that matters: skills, we call that Human Capital; ecosystems, that’s Natural Capital; infrastructure, Public Capital; relationships, Social Capital. Picture a farmer swapping Bitcoin sats for seeds—not fiat debt—or tracking soil health alongside his wallet. Capital is a system, a system of measurement.
Information is how we verify truth. Think IPFS, a network holding real data—climate stats, farming fixes—open to all, not locked up by some corporate gatekeeper. Information is a system of verification.
Innovation is about generating solutions. On GitHub, coders worldwide crank out tools—Nostr clients, solar apps—shared freely, not patented for profit. Innovation is our system of generation.
And Trust—it’s coordination. Nostr’s decentralized threads let communities set trade rules, split resources—governance from the ground up, no overlords required. Trust is our system of coordination.
Right now we’re stuck in debt-based systems—and they’re failing us. Take fiat currency—central banks print it, slashing your purchasing power. Our dollar buys less every year; savings erode while the elite stack their gains. It’s a scam, Bitcoiners know it—fiat’s the real Ponzi bleeding us dry. Capital gets twisted—firms hoard Bitcoin for fiat pumps, not real wealth; governments chase GDP while forests die and skills sit idle. Information is buried—our media spits out spin, our corporations lock truth in silos. Innovation is stalled—debt props up corporate patents, not open wins. Trust is gone—our governance systems consist of top-down control that splits us apart, left to right, top to bottom. Debt just measures scarcity—money borrowed, nature trashed, bonds frayed—and it’s crushing the pillars.
Wealth-based systems promise to turn that around. Bitcoin’s sound money is just the start—sats hold value, not inflate it away. Real capital measures what sustains us—sats fund a cooperative's water pump, not a vault; they track skills taught, land healed, ties rebuilt. Real Information opens up—IPFS logs show ‘biochar boosted yield 20%’, verified by us, not suits. Real Innovation flows—GitHub devs build Lightning hubs, wealth spreads. Real Trust binds us together—Nostr chats align us, no central puppeteer. Wealth based systems strengthen the pillars of the Metaverse, it doesn’t erode them.
We needed a new framing. A new vision of what was, what is, and what could be. We have one. This is real. This is the world we are building. Bitcoin is live, Nostr is growing, IPFS and GitHub are humming. We can see Debt teetering; while real wealth is rising. So, hodlers, maxis, plebs—everyone—what does a true wealth-based system look like? How can we measure Capital beyond fiat’s con job? Bitcoin’s the rock, but it’s just the beginning. How do we build on this, expand it, and transform everything as we build something entirely new?
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@ 3e6e0735:9e95c8a2
2025-03-28 23:58:02https://i.nostr.build/lanoHI3p2aCKRZlV.png
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about why Bitcoin still feels so misunderstood. Not just by the media or the IMF — that part’s predictable. But even inside our own circles, something's missing.
We say it’s money. We say it’s freedom. We say it’s code. And it is. But when you really zoom out, past the price and the politics, it’s something more radical than we usually admit.
Bitcoin is a shift in how power moves. And what we do with that power now actually matters.
The noise outside
Let’s start with the obvious: the media still doesn’t get it. Every other headline is either a death knell or a celebration depending on the price that day. No context. No nuance. No understanding of what we’re building.
You’ve seen the headlines: - “Bitcoin is crashing again.” - “Crypto bros are killing the planet.” - “The IMF warns: Bitcoin adoption is dangerous.”
Yeah? Dangerous to what?
The system they control. The levers they pull. The old game where the house always wins.
That’s why they’re afraid. Not because Bitcoin is volatile, but because it doesn’t ask permission.
This isn’t about panic — it’s about patterns
I’m not saying there’s a conspiracy. But there is inertia. Institutions protect themselves. Systems reinforce themselves. They were never going to roll out the red carpet for an open, borderless network that replaces their function.
So the IMF calls it a threat. Central banks scramble to launch CBDCs. And journalists keep writing the same shallow takes while ignoring the real story.
Meanwhile, we’re still here. Still building. Still holding. Still running nodes.
Bitcoin isn’t perfect. But it’s honest. It doesn’t bend to popularity or political pressure. It enforces rules with math, not people. And that’s exactly why it works.
Even we miss it sometimes
Here’s the part that really hit me recently: even within Bitcoin, we often undersell what this is.
We talk about savings. Inflation. Fiat debasement. All real, all important.
But what about the broader layer? What about governance? Energy? Communication? Defense?
Jason Lowery’s book Softwar lit that fuse for me again. Not because it’s flawless — it’s not. But because he reframed the game.
Bitcoin isn’t a new weapon. It’s the end of weapons-as-power.
Proof-of-work, in Lowery’s view, is a form of peaceful negotiation. A deterrent against coercion. A way to shift from kinetic violence to computational resolution.
Most people — even many Bitcoiners — haven’t fully absorbed that.
It’s not about militarizing the network. It’s about demilitarizing the world through energy expenditure that replaces human conflict.
Let’s be clear: this doesn’t mean Bitcoin will be used this way. It means it can. And that opens up a few possible futures:
- Scenario A: Smaller nations adopt Bitcoin infrastructure as a shield — a deterrent and neutral layer to build sovereignty
- Scenario B: Superpowers attack mining and self-custody, escalating regulatory capture and fragmenting the open protocol into corporate silos
- Scenario C: Bitcoin becomes the boring backend of legacy finance, its edge neutered by ETFs and custody-as-a-service
Which one wins depends on what we build — and who steps up.
Then I found Maya
I came across Maya Parbhoe’s campaign by accident. One of those late-night rabbit holes where Bitcoin Twitter turns into a global map.
She’s running for president of Suriname. She’s a Bitcoiner. And she’s not just tweeting about it — she’s building an entire political platform around it.
No central bank. Bitcoin as legal tender. Full fiscal transparency. Open-source government.
Yeah. You read that right. Not just open-source software — open-source statehood.
Her father was murdered after exposing corruption. That’s not a talking point. That’s real-life consequence. And instead of running away from systems, she’s choosing to redesign one.
That’s maximalism. Not in ideology. In action.
The El Salvador experiment — and evolution
When El Salvador made Bitcoin legal tender in 2021, it lit up our feeds. It was bold. Unprecedented. A true first.
But not without flaws.
The rollout was fast. Chivo wallet was centralized. Adoption stalled in rural areas. Transparency was thin. And despite the brave move, the state’s underlying structure remained top-down.
Bukele played offense, but the protocol was wrapped in traditional power.
Maya is doing it differently. Her approach is grassroots-forward. Open-source by design. Focused on education, transparency, and modular state-building — not just mandates.
She’s not using Bitcoin to prop up state power. She’s using it to distribute it.
Maximalism is evolving
Look, I get it. The memes are fun. The laser eyes. The beefsteak meetups. The HODL culture.
But there’s something else growing here. Something a little quieter, a little deeper: - People running nodes to protect civil liberties - Communities using Lightning for real commerce - Builders forging tools for self-sovereign identity - Leaders like Maya testing what Bitcoin can look like as public infrastructure
This is happening. In real time. It’s messy and fragile and still small. But it’s happening.
Let’s also stay honest:
Maximalism has its risks. Dogma can blind us. Toxicity can push people away. And if we’re not careful, we’ll replace one centralization with another — just wearing different memes.
We need less purity, more principles. Less hype, more clarity. That’s the kind of maximalism Maya embodies.
What now?
Maya doesn’t have a VC fund or an ad agency. She has a message, a mission, and the courage to put Bitcoin on the ballot.
If that resonates, help her. Not just by donating — though here’s the link:
https://geyser.fund/project/maya2025
But by sharing. Writing. Talking. Translating. Connecting.
Bitcoin is still early. But it’s not abstract anymore.
This isn’t just theory.
It’s a protocol, sure. But now, maybe it’s a presidency too.
https://i.nostr.build/0luYy8ojK7gkxsuL.png
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@ 7d33ba57:1b82db35
2025-03-28 22:14:24Preko is a charming seaside town on Ugljan Island, just a short ferry ride from Zadar. Known for its beautiful beaches, relaxed atmosphere, and stunning views of the Adriatic, it's the perfect place to experience authentic Dalmatian island life.
🌊 Top Things to See & Do in Preko
1️⃣ Swim at Jaz Beach 🏖️
- A Blue Flag beach with clear turquoise waters and soft pebbles.
- Ideal for families thanks to its shallow waters.
- Nearby cafés and restaurants make it a great spot to spend the day.
2️⃣ Visit the Islet of Galevac 🏝️
- A tiny island just 80 meters from Preko, reachable by swimming or a short boat ride.
- Home to a 15th-century Franciscan monastery, surrounded by lush greenery.
- A peaceful retreat, perfect for relaxation.
3️⃣ Hike to St. Michael’s Fortress (Sv. Mihovil) 🏰
- A medieval fortress from the 13th century with breathtaking panoramic views.
- Overlooks Zadar, Kornati Islands, and the Adriatic Sea.
- A 1-hour scenic hike from Preko or accessible by bike or car.
4️⃣ Explore the Local Taverns & Seafood Restaurants 🍽️
- Try fresh seafood, octopus salad, and Dalmatian peka (slow-cooked meat & vegetables).
- Best spots: Konoba Roko (authentic seafood) & Vile Dalmacija (beachfront dining).
5️⃣ Rent a Bike or Scooter 🚲
- Explore Ugljan Island’s olive groves, hidden coves, and coastal paths.
- Visit nearby villages like Kali and Kukljica for more local charm.
6️⃣ Take a Day Trip to Zadar ⛵
- Just 25 minutes by ferry, Zadar offers historic landmarks, the Sea Organ, and Roman ruins.
- Perfect for a cultural excursion before returning to the peaceful island.
🚗 How to Get to Preko
🚢 By Ferry:
- From Zadar: Regular ferries (Jadrolinija) take ~25 minutes.
🚘 By Car:
- If driving, take the ferry from Zadar to Preko and explore the island.
🚴 By Bike:
- Many visitors rent bikes to explore Ugljan Island’s coastal roads.💡 Tips for Visiting Preko
✅ Best time to visit? May–September for warm weather & swimming 🌞
✅ Ferry schedules – Check times in advance, especially in the off-season ⏳
✅ Bring cash – Some smaller taverns and cafés may not accept cards 💰
✅ Stay for sunset – The views over Zadar from Preko’s waterfront are stunning 🌅Would you like hotel recommendations, hidden beaches, or other island activities? 😊
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@ fe9e99a0:5123e9a8
2025-03-28 21:25:43What’s happening?
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@ 7d33ba57:1b82db35
2025-03-28 20:59:51Krka National Park, located in central Dalmatia, is one of Croatia’s most breathtaking natural wonders. Famous for its stunning waterfalls, crystal-clear lakes, and lush forests, the park is a must-visit for nature lovers. Unlike Plitvice Lakes, Krka allows swimming in certain areas, making it a perfect summer escape.
🌊 Top Things to See & Do in Krka National Park
1️⃣ Skradinski Buk Waterfall 💦
- The largest and most famous waterfall in the park, with cascading pools and wooden walkways.
- You used to be able to swim here, but since 2021, swimming is no longer allowed.
- Perfect for photography and picnics.
2️⃣ Roški Slap Waterfall 🌿
- A less crowded but equally beautiful series of waterfalls.
- Known for its "necklace" of small cascades leading into the main fall.
- Nearby Mlinica, a restored watermill, shows traditional Croatian life.
3️⃣ Visovac Island & Monastery 🏝️
- A tiny island in the middle of the Krka River, home to a Franciscan monastery from the 15th century.
- Accessible by boat tour from Skradinski Buk or Roški Slap.
- A peaceful, scenic spot with stunning views of the lake.
4️⃣ Krka Monastery 🏛️
- A Serbian Orthodox monastery hidden deep in the park.
- Built on ancient Roman catacombs, which you can explore.
- A quiet, spiritual place, often overlooked by tourists.
5️⃣ Hike & Walk the Nature Trails 🥾
- The park has several well-marked trails through forests, waterfalls, and lakes.
- Wooden walkways allow easy access to the main sights.
- Wildlife spotting: Look out for otters, turtles, and over 200 bird species!
6️⃣ Swim at Skradin Beach 🏖️
- While you can’t swim at Skradinski Buk anymore, Skradin Beach, just outside the park, is a great spot for a dip.
- Kayaking and boat tours available.
🚗 How to Get to Krka National Park
✈️ By Air: The nearest airport is Split (SPU), 1 hour away.
🚘 By Car:
- Split to Krka: ~1 hour (85 km)
- Zadar to Krka: ~1 hour (75 km)
- Dubrovnik to Krka: ~3.5 hours (280 km)
🚌 By Bus: Direct buses from Split, Zadar, and Šibenik to the park’s entrances.
🚢 By Boat: From Skradin, you can take a boat ride into the park.💡 Tips for Visiting Krka National Park
✅ Best time to visit? Spring & early autumn (April–June, September–October) – Fewer crowds & mild weather 🍃
✅ Start early! Arrive before 10 AM to avoid crowds, especially in summer ☀️
✅ Bring water & snacks – Limited food options inside the park 🍎
✅ Wear comfy shoes – Wooden walkways & trails can be slippery 👟
✅ Take a boat tour – The best way to see Visovac Island & hidden spots ⛵
✅ Buy tickets online – Save time at the entrance 🎟️ -
@ da0b9bc3:4e30a4a9
2025-03-28 19:14:52It'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!
https://youtu.be/r1ATFedwjnk?si=tPtLac6ExYZCx3Ez
originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/928119
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@ 3c389c8f:7a2eff7f
2025-03-28 17:10:17There is a new web being built on Nostr. At it's core, is a social experience paralleled by no other decentralized protocol. Nostr not only solves the problems of siloed relationships, third-party identity ownership, and algorithmic content control; it makes possible a ubiquitous social network across almost anything imaginable. User controlled identity, open data, and verifiable social graphs allow us to redefine trust on the web. We can interact with each other and online content in ways that have previously only been pipedreams. Nostr is not just social media, it is the web made social.
Interoperability
The client/relay relationship on Nostr allows for almost endless data exchange between various apps, clients, relays, and users. If any two things are willing to speak the same sub-protocol(s) within Nostr, they can exchange data. Making a friend list enables that list to be used in any other place that chooses to make it available. Creating a relay to serve an algorithmic social feed makes that feed viewable in any client that displays social feeds. Health data held by a patient can be shared with any care provider, verified by their system, and vice versa. This is the point where I have to acknowledge my own tech-deaf limitations and direct you towards nostr.com for more information.
Data Resiliency
I prefer to use the term resiliency here, because its really a mix of data redundancy and self-managed data that creates broad availability. Relays may host 10, 20, 30+ copies of your notes in different locations, but you also have no assurance that those relays will hosts those notes forever. An individual operating their own relay, while also connecting to the wider network, ensures resiliency in events such that wide swaths of the network should disappear or collude against an individual. The simplicity of relay management makes it possible for nearly anyone to make sure that they have a way to convey their messages to their individual network, whether that be close contacts, an audience, or one individual. This resiliency doesn't just apply to typical speech, it applies to any data intended to be shared amongst humans and machines alike.
Pseudonymity and Anonymity
With privacy encroachment from corporations, advertisers, and governments reaching all time highs, the need for identity protecting tools is also on the rise. Nostr utilizes public key encryption for its identity system. As there is no central entity to "verify" you, there is no need to expose any personal identifiable information to any Nostr app, client, or relay. You can protect your personal identity by simply choosing not to expose it. Your reputation will build as you interact with others on the Nostr network. Your social capital can speak for itself. (As with everything else, utilizing a VPN is recommended.)
Identity and Provability
No one can stop an impersonator from trying to hijack an identity. With Nostr, you CAN prove that you are you, though, which is basically the same as saying "that person is not me" Every note you write, every action you take, is cryptographically signed by your private key. As long as you maintain control of that key, you can prove what you did or did not do.
Censorship Resistance
If you have read our Relay Rundown then you probably get the idea. If not here's the tl;dr: Many small, lightweight relays make up Nostr's distribution system. They are simple enough that anyone can run one. They are redundant enough that you can be almost certain your content exists somewhere. If that is not peace of mind enough, you can run your own with ease. Censorship resistance isn't counting on one company, man, or server to protect what you say. It is taking control of your speech. Nostr makes it easy.
Freedom of Mind and Association
Nostr eliminates the need for company run algorithms that high-jack your attention to feed the advertising industry. You are free to choose your social media experience. Nostr's DVMs, curations, and conversation-centered relays offer discovery mechanisms run by any number of providers. That could be an individual, a company, a group, or you. Many clients incorporate different ways of engaging with these corporate algorithm alternatives. You can also choose to keep a purely chronological feed of the the things and people you follow. Exploring Nostr through its many apps opens up a the freedom to choose what and how you feed your mind.
When we are able to explore, we end up surrounding ourselves with people who share our interests & hobbies. We find friends. This creates distance between ideologies and stark beliefs that often are used as the basis for the term "being in a bubble". Instead of bubbling off, an infinitely open space of thoughts and ideas allows for groups to gather naturally. In this way, we can choose not to block ourselves off from opposing views but to simply distance ourselves from them.
Nostr's relay system also allows for the opposite. Tight-knit communities can create a space for its members to socialize and exchange information with minimal interference from any outside influence. By setting up their own relays with strict rules, the members can utilize one identity to interact within a community or across the broader social network.
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@ 0d6c8388:46488a33
2025-03-28 16:24:00Huge thank you to OpenSats for the grant to work on Hypernote this year! I thought I'd take this opportunity to try and share my thought processes for Hypernote. If this all sounds very dense or irrelevant to you I'm sorry!
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How can the ideas of "hypermedia" benefit nostr? That's the goal of hypernote. To take the best ideas from "hypertext" and "hypercard" and "hypermedia systems" and apply them to nostr in a specifically nostr-ey way.
1. What do we mean by hypermedia
A hypermedia document embeds the methods of interaction (links, forms, and buttons are the most well-known hypermedia controls) within the document itself. It's including the how with the what.
This is how the old web worked. An HTML page was delivered to the web browser, and it included in it a link or perhaps a form that could be submitted to obtain a new, different HTML page. This is how the whole web worked early on! Forums and GeoCities and eBay and MySpace and Yahoo! and Amazon and Google all emerged inside this paradigm.
A web browser in this paradigm was a "thin" client which rendered the "thick" application defined in the HTML (and, implicitly, was defined by the server that would serve that HTML).
Contrast this with modern app development, where the what is usually delivered in the form of JSON, and then HTML combined with JavaScript (React, Svelte, Angular, Vue, etc.) is devised to render that JSON as a meaningful piece of hypermedia within the actual browser, the how.
The browser remains a "thin" client in this scenario, but now the application is delivered in two stages: a client application of HTML and JavaScript, and then the actual JSON data that will hydrate that "application".
(Aside: it's interesting how much "thicker" the browser has had to become to support this newer paradigm!)
Nostr was obviously built in line with the modern paradigm: nostr "clients" (written in React or Svelte or as mobile apps) define the how of reading and creating nostr events, while nostr events themselves (JSON data) simply describe the what.
And so the goal with Hypernote is to square this circle somehow: nostr currently delivers JSON what, how do we deliver the how with nostr as well. Is that even possible?
2. Hypernote's design assumptions
Hypernote assumes that hypermedia over nostr is a good idea! I'm expecting some joyful renaissance of app expression similar to that of the web once we figure out how to express applications in a truly "nostr" way.
Hypernote was also deeply inspired by HTMX, so it assumes that building web apps in the HTMX style is a good idea. The HTMX insight is that instead of shipping rich scripting along with your app, you could simply make HTML a tiny bit more expressive and get 95% of what most apps need. HTMX's additions to the HTML language are designed to be as minimal and composable as possible, and Hypernote should have the same aims.
Hypernote also assumes that the "design" of nostr will remain fluid and anarchic for years to come. There will be no "canonical" list of "required" NIPs that we'll have "consensus" on in order to build stable UIs on top of. Hypernote will need to be built responsive to nostr's moods and seasons, rather than one holy spec.
Hypernote likes the
nak
command line tool. Hypernote likes markdown. Hypernote likes Tailwind CSS. Hypernote likes SolidJS. Hypernote likes cold brew coffee. Hypernote is, to be perfectly honest, my aesthetic preferences applied to my perception of an opportunity in the nostr ecosystem.3. "What's a hypernote?"
Great question. I'm still figuring this out. Everything right now is subject to change in order to make sure hypernote serves its intended purpose.
But here's where things currently stand:
A hypernote is a flat list of "Hypernote Elements". A Hypernote Element is composed of:
- CONTENT. Static or dynamic content. (the what)
- LOGIC. Filters and events (the how)
- STYLE. Optional, inline style information specific to this element's content.
In the most basic example of a hypernote story, here's a lone "edit me" in the middle of the canvas:
{ "id": "fb4aaed4-bf95-4353-a5e1-0bb64525c08f", "type": "text", "text": "edit me", "x": 540, "y": 960, "size": "md", "color": "black" }
As you can see, it has no logic, but it does have some content (the text "edit me") and style (the position, size, and color).
Here's a "sticker" that displays a note:
{ "id": "2cd1ef51-3356-408d-b10d-2502cbb8014e", "type": "sticker", "stickerType": "note", "filter": { "kinds": [ 1 ], "ids": [ "92de77507a361ab2e20385d98ff00565aaf3f80cf2b6d89c0343e08166fed931" ], "limit": 1 }, "accessors": [ "content", "pubkey", "created_at" ], "x": 540, "y": 960, "associatedData": {} }
As you can see, it's kind of a mess! The content and styling and underdeveloped for this "sticker", but at least it demonstrates some "logic": a nostr filter for getting its data.
Here's another sticker, this one displays a form that the user can interact with to SEND a note. Very hyper of us!
{ "id": "42240d75-e998-4067-b8fa-9ee096365663", "type": "sticker", "stickerType": "prompt", "filter": {}, "accessors": [], "x": 540, "y": 960, "associatedData": { "promptText": "What's your favorite color?" }, "methods": { "comment": { "description": "comment", "eventTemplate": { "kind": 1111, "content": "${content}", "tags": [ [ "E", "${eventId}", "", "${pubkey}" ], [ "K", "${eventKind}" ], [ "P", "${pubkey}" ], [ "e", "${eventId}", "", "${pubkey}" ], [ "k", "${eventKind}" ], [ "p", "${pubkey}" ] ] } } } }
It's also a mess, but it demos the other part of "logic": methods which produce new events.
This is the total surface of hypernote, ideally! Static or dynamic content, simple inline styles, and logic for fetching and producing events.
I'm calling it "logic" but it's purposfully not a whole scripting language. At most we'll have some sort of
jq
-like language for destructing the relevant piece of data we want.My ideal syntax for a hypernote as a developer will look something like
```foo.hypernote Nak-like logic
Markdown-like content
CSS-like styles ```
But with JSON as the compile target, this can just be my own preference, there can be other (likely better!) ways of authoring this content, such as a Hypernote Stories GUI.
The end
I know this is all still vague but I wanted to get some ideas out in the wild so people understand the through line of my different Hypernote experiments. I want to get the right amount of "expressivity" in Hypernote before it gets locked down into one spec. My hunch is it can be VERY expressive while remaining simple and also while not needing a whole scripting language bolted onto it. If I can't pull it off I'll let you know.
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@ a012dc82:6458a70d
2025-03-28 16:15:06In an audacious display of confidence, Bitcoin traders have recently committed $20 million to a $200K call option, a move that has reignited discussions about the cryptocurrency's potential and the broader market's appetite for risk. This development is set against a backdrop of increasing activity within the cryptocurrency options market, particularly on platforms like Deribit, where total open interest in Bitcoin options has reached unprecedented levels. This article explores the nuances of this strategic wager, examines the resurgence of investor enthusiasm, and contemplates the future implications for Bitcoin and the cryptocurrency market at large.
Table of Contents
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A Surge in Market Activity
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The Bold Bet on Bitcoin's Future
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Implications of the $200K Call Option
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Increased Market Volatility
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Renewed Investor Confidence
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Speculative Interest and Market Dynamics
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Looking Ahead: Bitcoin's Market Prospects
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Conclusion
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FAQs
A Surge in Market Activity
The cryptocurrency options market has experienced a significant uptick in activity, with Bitcoin and Ethereum options achieving record-breaking open interest figures. On Deribit, Bitcoin options open interest has soared to a staggering $20.4 billion, eclipsing the previous high of $14.36 billion seen in October 2021. Concurrently, Ethereum options open interest has also reached a historic peak of $11.66 billion. This pronounced increase in market activity is indicative of a growing interest among traders to either hedge their positions against potential price fluctuations or to speculate on the future price movements of these leading cryptocurrencies. The surge in options trading volume reflects a broader trend of maturation within the cryptocurrency market, as sophisticated financial instruments become increasingly utilized by a diverse array of market participants, from individual investors to large institutional players.
The Bold Bet on Bitcoin's Future
The decision by traders to allocate $20 million to a $200K call option for Bitcoin represents a significant vote of confidence in the cryptocurrency's future price trajectory. This high-stakes gamble suggests that a segment of the market is not only optimistic about Bitcoin's potential to breach the $200,000 threshold but is also willing to back this belief with substantial financial commitment. Such a move is emblematic of the "animal spirits" returning to the cryptocurrency market—a term coined by economist John Maynard Keynes to describe the instinctive human emotion that drives consumer confidence and investment decisions. This resurgence of speculative fervor and risk-taking behavior is a testament to the enduring allure of Bitcoin as an asset class that continues to captivate the imagination of investors, despite its history of volatility and regulatory challenges.
Implications of the $200K Call Option
The substantial investment in the $200K call option carries several implications for the Bitcoin market and the broader cryptocurrency ecosystem:
Increased Market Volatility
The focus on high strike price options could introduce heightened volatility into the Bitcoin market. As traders position themselves to capitalize on potential price movements, the market may witness more pronounced fluctuations. This environment of increased volatility underscores the speculative nature of cryptocurrency trading and the high-risk, high-reward strategies employed by some market participants. It also highlights the need for investors to approach the market with caution, armed with a thorough understanding of the underlying risks and a clear investment strategy.
Renewed Investor Confidence
The bold wager on the $200K call option reflects a significant resurgence in investor confidence in Bitcoin's long-term prospects. Following periods of market downturns and regulatory uncertainty, this move signals a renewed conviction in the fundamental value proposition of Bitcoin as a pioneering digital asset. It represents a collective belief in the cryptocurrency's ability to not only recover from past setbacks but to chart new territories in terms of price and market capitalization. This renewed investor confidence may serve as a catalyst for further investment in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, potentially driving up prices and encouraging more widespread adoption.
Speculative Interest and Market Dynamics
The commitment to the $200K call option highlights the continued influence of speculative interest on the cryptocurrency market's dynamics. It illustrates how speculation, driven by the prospect of outsized returns, remains a central force shaping market trends and price trajectories. This speculative interest, while contributing to market liquidity and price discovery, also introduces an element of unpredictability. It underscores the complex interplay between market sentiment, investor behavior, and external economic factors that collectively determine the direction of the cryptocurrency market.
Looking Ahead: Bitcoin's Market Prospects
The strategic bet on the $200K call option, amidst a backdrop of increasing options market activity, paints a complex picture of Bitcoin's future. While the move signals optimism and a willingness among investors to engage in high-risk speculation, it also raises questions about the sustainability of such bullish sentiment. As Bitcoin continues to navigate the evolving landscape of digital finance, the interplay between speculative interest, regulatory developments, and technological advancements will be critical in shaping its future trajectory. The cryptocurrency market's inherent volatility and unpredictability necessitate a cautious approach from investors, emphasizing the importance of risk management and long-term strategic planning.
Conclusion
Bitcoin's latest foray into high-stakes speculation, marked by the $20 million lock on the $200K call option, is a vivid illustration of the cryptocurrency's enduring appeal and the market's appetite for risk. This development not only reflects a bullish outlook on Bitcoin's price potential but also signals a broader resurgence of investor enthusiasm and speculative activity within the cryptocurrency market. As we look to the future, the outcomes of such bold moves will undoubtedly influence the trajectory of Bitcoin and the digital asset landscape at large. Whether Bitcoin will reach the lofty heights of $200,000 remains to be seen, but its journey there will be closely watched by traders, investors, and regulators alike, offering valuable insights into the dynamics of speculative markets and the evolving role of cryptocurrencies in the global financial ecosystem.
FAQs
What does locking $20 million in a $200K call option mean for Bitcoin? Locking $20 million in a $200K call option indicates that traders are betting a significant amount of money on Bitcoin reaching or surpassing $200,000. It reflects a bullish outlook on Bitcoin's future price and a resurgence of speculative interest in the cryptocurrency market.
How does the surge in Bitcoin options market activity affect the cryptocurrency? The surge in Bitcoin options market activity, with record open interest, increases market liquidity and can lead to heightened volatility. It also signifies growing interest and participation in the cryptocurrency market, potentially influencing Bitcoin's price dynamics.
What are the implications of increased market volatility for Bitcoin investors? Increased market volatility can lead to larger price swings, presenting both opportunities and risks for investors. While it may offer the potential for higher returns, it also increases the risk of losses. Investors should approach the market with caution and consider their risk tolerance and investment strategy.
Why are investors optimistic about Bitcoin reaching $200,000? Investors' optimism about Bitcoin reaching $200,000 stems from factors such as the cryptocurrency's past performance, the upcoming Bitcoin halving event, increasing institutional adoption, and favorable macroeconomic conditions. These factors contribute to a bullish sentiment in the market.
What role do institutional investors play in the current Bitcoin market trend? Institutional investors play a significant role in the current Bitcoin market trend by bringing in substantial capital, lending credibility to the market, and influencing price movements. Their participation is seen as a sign of maturity and stability in the cryptocurrency market.
That's all for today
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