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2025-04-10 19:04:23Schon Wolfgang Borchert rief alle dazu auf, laut und deutlich „NEIN“ zu sagen, wenn der Ruf zu den Waffen ertönt. In Vorkriegszeiten, und in diesen leben wir – mal wieder –, dann ist meist nicht viel Zeit, Sand in das Getriebe der anlaufenden Kriegsmaschinerie zu werfen. Jene, die von den Kriegen profitieren, bereiten sie nicht lange vor, um kurz vorher einen Rückzieher zu machen. Die meinen das ernst! Das ist keine Übung!
https://soundcloud.com/radiomuenchen/krieg-einfach-nur-nein-von-tom-oliver-regenauer
Und deswegen formulierte neuerdings auch Tom-Oliver Regenauer ein klares und unmissverständliches „Nein“ für die „Friedenstaube“ auf der neuen, zensurresitenten Plattform Pareto. pareto.space/a/naddr1qqxnzde5xg…xarj9e3xzmny3sn3aw
Hören Sie seinen Text „Krieg? Einfach nur: Nein!“.
Sprecher: Ulrich Allroggen
Bild: Gezeichnet von Tina Ovalle
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2025-04-10 15:57:14article
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2025-04-10 14:25:09Good morning, readers!
Today, HRF takes part in the launch of the Bitcoin Humanitarian Alliance in London, where a dozen human rights and aid groups will convene with policymakers, media, finance professionals, and technologists at the Frontline Club to explain how they are using Bitcoin in their work in the field.
Elsewhere, we bring news from Turkey, where large, pro-democracy protests erupted over President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s increasing political repression and economic fallout. The Turkish regime has detained more than 2,000 protesters (and counting) as youth appear in droves demanding democracy, accountability, and economic reform.
In Eastern Africa, Tanzania’s government extended immense restrictions on foreign currency, effectively barring its use in day-to-day payments outside a few circumstances. In a poverty-stricken country where fuel prices have moved forcibly upward for two consecutive months, access to and usage of alternative currencies can be a financial lifeline.
In Bitcoin news, we spotlight Misty Breez, a new open-source Bitcoin wallet built by Lightning Network infrastructure company Breez. The wallet is a Lightning and Liquid Network hybrid wallet. It gives users control over their funds and abstracts away any complexities of payment channel management, but users must trust the Liquid Federation. In terms of functionality, Misty Breez supports a wide variety of address types, offering users flexibility across the fees, privacy, and censorship resistance of their payments. It may prove a helpful tool for dissidents and activists standing against tyranny.
We end with the latest edition of the HRF x Pubkey Freedom Tech Series, where HRF’s Ayelen Osorio joins Zimbabwean pastor-turned-activist Evan Mawarire, who recounts his inspiring journey of a peaceful uprising against Robert Mugabe’s dictatorship and the hyperinflation and repression he unleashed on the population. We also feature the live streams of the 2025 MIT Bitcoin Expo in collaboration with HRF. These videos highlight the speakers, panels, and activities led by HRF to raise awareness about financial repression and the tools being built to resist it.
Now, let’s jump right in!
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GLOBAL NEWS
Turkey | Government Detains Thousands of Pro-Democracy Protesters
The largest protests in over a decade erupted in Istanbul, Turkey, after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan detained political opposition figure and Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu. Turks of all walks of life find themselves united by common outrage at the regime’s ongoing political repression and tumultuous economic conditions. With inflation soaring above 39% and widespread unemployment among the nation’s youth, it’s no surprise Turks are flooding the streets and demanding change. In response to these demonstrations, law enforcement has since detained more than 2,000 demonstrators, and police blockades have met student protesters with water cannon trucks to suppress their dissent. Many young Turks feel their future is slipping away in a country where saving is futile, the currency is collapsing, and speaking out comes at a high personal cost. “This feels like our last chance,” one young protester said, adding, “If we don’t succeed, many of us will have to leave Turkey.”
Tanzania | Regime Enacts Restrictions on Foreign Currency
Tanzania’s regime is banning the use of foreign currency outside of a few circumstances (such as duty-free retailers and government membership fees). This means quoting prices in, accepting, or facilitating payments with foreign currency is now illegal, alongside declining to accept the official Tanzanian shilling (TZS). Losing the ability to transact with more stable currencies removes individuals’ ability to shield themselves from inflation and subjects them to local currency volatility. The mandate comes in addition to the Energy and Water Utilities Regulatory Authority raising the cost of fuel for a second consecutive month. Locals worry this could further increase the cost of living as the fuel price hike ripples through the economy. These policies mirror the tactics of authoritarians using financial control to limit dissent and restrict individual financial freedom.
China | Incorporates e-CNY CBDC into Financial Sector Guidelines
China is incorporating the e-CNY central bank digital currency (CBDC) into financial sector guidelines for the first time, signaling a strengthening commitment to fully roll out its CBDC. The e-CNY’s usage is reportedly expanding among Chinese citizens, with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) claiming 800 million wallets and over 10.2 trillion CNY in transaction volume — though these numbers are both dubiously high and difficult to independently verify. As usage grows, so do concerns over financial and individual liberties. The CCP already uses the financial system to monitor and suppress dissent. For Uyghurs, a Muslim minority in the Uyghur Region grappling with ongoing cultural genocide, mass surveillance, and forced labor from the CCP, the e-CNY would allow the regime to restrict their financial autonomy and freedom completely. As it begins to roll out, it’s important to become aware of the dangers of the e-CNY here.
Burkina Faso | Arrests Three Journalists in Press Crackdown
Burkina Faso’s military junta arrested three journalists for reporting on regime-imposed press restrictions. Since seizing power in 2022, the military junta, under the leadership of Ibrahim Traoré, has targeted independent media by detaining reporters, forcing critics into exile, abusing emergency laws to suppress dissent, and using financial repression to disrupt independent funding. Journalists disappear under the guise of forced conscription, international coverage of military abuses is blocked, and outlets that report on crimes against humanity are eradicated. With press freedom in ashes, Burkinabés face an information blackout where state propaganda proliferates. In these contexts, open and uncensorable protocols like nostr can serve as a digital town square where information, value, and assembly flow undisturbed by the reach of oppressive regimes.
Tunisia | Saied Sacks Prime Minister as Economy Crumbles
Tunisian President Kais Saied dismissed Prime Minister Kamel Maddouri less than a year into his term and replaced him with Sara Zaafarani, Tunisia’s third prime minister in under two years. As Saied reshuffles his cabinet to best suit his interests and goals, Tunisia’s economy has reached a standstill. Growth is running below 1.5%, the cost of living continues to climb, and shortages of staple goods like rice, sugar, and coffee burden the everyday lives of Tunisians. After staging a coup, dissolving the government, and ruling by decree, Saied’s consolidation of power has come inch by inch with the erosion of democracy and financial stability.
BITCOIN AND FREEDOM TECH NEWS
Breez | Releases New Open-Source Bitcoin Wallet
Breez, a company helping build out the Bitcoin Lightning economy, released a new open-source Bitcoin wallet called “Misty Breez.” It is a hybrid Lightning and Liquid Network wallet built using the Nodeless Breez SDK. The wallet offers fast and private transactions without the complexities of payment channel management. The tradeoff? Trusting the Liquid Federation with custody of your Bitcoin. Still, Misty Breez supports many Bitcoin and Lightning features, including on-chain payments, Lightning addresses, BOLT 12 invoices, and offline receiving. So, while the wallet is a trust-minimized solution rather than fully custodial, users gain a wide range of use cases and features unique to this wallet. This could make Misty Breez useful for people facing financial surveillance, internet outages, or authoritarian-imposed financial restrictions. Learn more about the wallet here.
OpenCash | Bounty for Open Source Cashu x BTCPay Server Plugin
The OpenCash Association is offering a two million satoshi bounty for an open-source plugin allowing merchants to accept Cashu payments through BTCPay Server. Cashu is a Bitcoin-based ecash protocol designed to offer fast, low-cost, and very private transactions. For activists and dissidents, ecash enables payments without compromising financial privacy, but they must trust the mints (entities managing the system) to custody their funds. OpenCash specified that the Cashu plugin must integrate cleanly with BTCPay Server and include an input field for ecash redemption or a scannable Cashu payment request. If claimed, this bounty and subsequent integration will help advance Bitcoin’s medium of exchange capabilities and make private payments more accessible by integrating with self-hosted, independent Bitcoin payment infrastructure. Learn more about the bounty here.
Machankura | Adds Support for Offline Bitcoin Transactions in Uganda
Machankura, a custodial Bitcoin Lightning wallet that helps Africans access Bitcoin without the Internet, announced they expanded service to Uganda, enabling Ugandans to use Bitcoin without an Internet connection. To do so, Machankura leverages the Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) protocol for sending text messages. To use the service, users simply dial a designated number on a feature phone (or a smartphone without data) and can access the Bitcoin network in countries like Nigeria, Malawi, Zambia, and now Uganda. Machankura helps democratize Bitcoin access, expands censorship-resistant money across Africa, and offers a practical solution to financial inclusion. If you’re in Uganda or another supported country, try it here.
Zeus Wallet | Plans to Introduce Cashu Support
Zeus, a leading self-custodial mobile Lightning wallet, shared plans for a future Cashu integration. Cashu is an ecash protocol for Bitcoin. It enables practical everyday payments on Bitcoin that are private by design (but users must trust mints to manage their funds). By adding ecash support, Zeus can expand the accessibility of private Bitcoin payments and provide its users with greater flexibility over their financial activity. As part of its upcoming release, the wallet also introduces two new types of addresses: Zaplocker addresses for Lightning self-custody on mobile and Nostr Wallet Connect (NWC) addresses for remote node runners. While a little more technical, these integrations will improve individuals' ability to transact without exposing their financial history, reducing surveillance risks, especially for those living under authoritarian regimes or in jurisdictions with strict financial controls.
Bitcoin Thailand Festival | Half-Marathon to Challenge Financial Repression
The Thai city of Chiang Mai will host the nation’s inaugural Bitcoin Half Marathon and Bitcoin Thailand Festival from Nov. 1-2, 2025, under the theme “Run For Freedom.” The marathon’s theme contrasts Thailand’s increasing financial repression and long history of erasing dissent. Even still, the festival’s mission to advance financial freedom and financial literacy with participation from the local Bitcoin community comes at a pressing time. The Thai government is increasingly restricting financial freedoms through digital cash handouts, which, for all intents and purposes, function as a central bank digital currency that imposes spending restrictions and expiration dates on money. In these environments, Bitcoin education and awareness are more urgent than ever.
Btrust Builders | Announces Builders Pathways
Btrust Builders introduced Btrust Builders Pathways, a new program designed to equip African developers with the skills and experience needed to contribute to Bitcoin open-source software. The initiative offers five learning tracks, from beginner-friendly Bitcoin fundamentals to advanced Rust programming and Bitcoin Core development. Participants will gain hands-on experience, mentorship, and access to potential funding via Btrust Developer Grants. With this launch, Btrust Builders continues its mission to grow Africa’s Bitcoin development talent and strengthen the software’s ecosystem in a region where many suffer under dozens of authoritarian governments.
RECOMMENDED CONTENT
How Bitcoin Fights Corruption & Injustice with Evan Mawarire
In the latest edition of the HRF x Pubkey Freedom Tech Series, HRF’s Content & Research lead Ayelen Osorio sits down with Zimbabwean pastor-turned-activist Evan Mawarire to explore how Bitcoin can serve as a tool for fighting inflation, corruption, and injustice. Together, they unpack Mawarire’s personal journey of leading a peaceful uprising against the tyranny of Robert Mugabe and the hyperinflation he unleashed on his undeserving population. Mawarire details how Zimbabwe’s economic collapse became an orchestrated strategy to control and silence Zimbabweans. He further explains how the peaceful movement galvanized a generation, why financial repression is a central pillar of authoritarianism, and how Bitcoin offers ordinary citizens a way to resist and rebuild. Catch the full conversation here.
MIT Bitcoin Expo Livestream
Last week, software developers, human rights activists, students, and researchers gathered at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for the 12th annual MIT Bitcoin Expo — this year in partnership with HRF — to explore how Bitcoin and freedom technologies can defend civil liberties and empower individuals, especially under authoritarian regimes. Born from MIT’s 2014 Bitcoin Project, the expo has grown into a major forum for individual liberation, with panels, workshops, and hackathons centered on privacy, financial autonomy, and decentralized protocols. Tune into the livestream recording to catch the speakers, presentations, and panels that defined the event.
If this article was forwarded to you and you enjoyed reading it, please consider subscribing to the Financial Freedom Report here.
Support the newsletter by donating bitcoin to HRF’s Financial Freedom program via BTCPay.\ Want to contribute to the newsletter? Submit tips, stories, news, and ideas by emailing us at ffreport @ hrf.org
The Bitcoin Development Fund (BDF) is accepting grant proposals on an ongoing basis. The Bitcoin Development Fund is looking to support Bitcoin developers, community builders, and educators. Submit proposals here.
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2025-04-10 14:13:23Hackathon 概要
由 Flare 与 Google Cloud 合作举办的 Flare x Google Verifiable AI 线上黑客松&线下黑客松 于 2025 年 3 月同期举行,聚焦可验证自主 AI 应用开发,推动区块链与人工智能技术的深度融合。提交项目涵盖 Social AI Agent、RAG Knowledge、AI x DeFi(DeFAI)和 Consensus Learning 四大核心类别。依托 Google Cloud 机密计算与 Flare 预言机技术,为数据密集型 AI 应用提供安全可信的链上链下协同支持,同时通过线上辅导、技术研讨会及与伯克利大学、DoraHacks 等机构合作,助力开发者实现技术落地
所有获奖者由 Flare 联合创始人 Hugo Philion、Google Cloud 代表 Ross Nicoll 等行业专家组成的评审团评定。线上黑客松于 3 月 7 日至 14 日开展,总奖池 40,000 美元,吸引了 358 名开发者参与,最终提交审核通过了 46 个的创新项目。线下黑客松于 3 月 7 日至 9 日在加州伯克利大学举办,总奖池 60,000 美元,共有 105 位开发者现场参与,提交了 24 个项目。
此次黑客松通过技术整合验证了 AI 代理在去中心化场景中的可信运行机制,为 DeFAI、隐私计算等领域提供实践案例,同时构建产学研一体化平台,加速区块链与 AI 技术的跨领域应用,标志着两大技术在去中心化生态中的深度协同进入新阶段。
线上黑客松获奖者
Social AI Agent 奖项获得者
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ScribeChain - 该项目利用AI将X Spaces中的实时音频转换为简明的文字摘要,帮助有效的信息处理。
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Gosenica je lezla - Telegram 机器人,使用 RAG 数据库分离代码/文档,用于 Flare 文档查询和代码示例生成。
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Flarebot - Flare 的 AI 驱动 Telegram 机器人,提供 DeFi 分析,通过 FTSOv2 和 Gemini 模型进行代币价格/TVL 跟踪。
RAG Knowledge 奖项获得者
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Decentralized Trusted AI - 引入去中心化区块链系统以验证 AI 生成的响应,从而增强对 AI 输出的信任。
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chaincontext - 可验证知识系统,将 FTSO 数据、区块链状态和 RAG 合并在 TEE 中,以进行透明的信任评估。
AI x DeFi (DeFAI) 奖项获得者
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Quince Finance - 该项目结合了由 AI 驱动的聊天机器人和 Google Cloud 于 Flare 上的 DeFi 网页应用中,专注于提高用户安全和访问。
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Flare DeFAI - 在 TEE 中提供安全的 AI 助手,使用自然语言进行 DeFi 操作并在 Flare 上进行智能合约风险评估。
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Flare Sense - 使用实时监控、RAG 和 Telegram 警报检测风险并建议解决方案的 DeFi 安全代理。
Consensus Learning 奖项获得者
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DemistiFI - 在自动钱包管理中利用 AI 代理,并采用共识学习来实现一致、可靠的交易。
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Flava AI - 构想 Flare 网络与爬虫、分块器和嵌入器组件进行交互的智能 RAG 和共识机制。
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Forecaster - 多模型共识平台,通过信心评分和技术分析提高市场预测,以便更好地进行投资决策。
有关这些项目的更多信息,请访问 DoraHacks。
线下黑客松获奖者
Social AI Agent 奖项获奖者
1st Place:
- Flare Fact Checker - 开发了一种基于 AI 的事实检查工具,利用可信执行环境中的验证节点验证社交媒体上的科学声明。
2nd Place:
- FlareBot - 一个 Discord 机器人,为 Flare 社区提供 24/7 支持,具有实时数据检索和可定制的安全过滤器。
3rd Place:
- Flara - 为开发者关系自动化社交媒体互动提供 AI 代理,结合 Gemini-2.0-Pro 模型和可信执行环境确保自主性验证。
RAG Knowledge 奖项获奖者
1st Place:
- Command Flare - 为 DeFi 提供自然语言 AI 界面,使用新颖的图形和向量方法在安全环境中增强交易和查询。
2nd Place:
- 2DeFi - 通过为传统金融用户提供个性化投资策略和 AI 分析,简化在 Flare 区块链上的 DeFi 访问。
3rd Place:
- ragstoriches - 提供抓取、解析和组织区块链数据的工具,以提高分析和响应准确性。
AI x DeFi (DeFAI) 奖项获奖者
1st Place:
- 2DeFi (同时获得 RAG Knowledge 类别的奖项)
2nd Place:
- Voice To Flare - 促进在 Flare 区块链上的安全、多语言区块链交易,借助 AI 增强。
3rd Place:
- Solar v1 - 一个 AI 驱动的 DeFi 助手,通过高级分析和自动化增强在 Flare Network 上的互动。
Consensus Learning 奖项获奖者
1st Place:
- NFT Deep Appraisal - 使用共识学习结合 AI 评估 NFT 价值,结合数据分析和一致性验证。
2nd Place:
- mikey-codebase - 实施了一种合奏 LLM 响应聚合器,包括评估模型影响的 Shapley 估计。
3rd Place:
- Command Flare (也在 RAG Knowledge 类别中获得名次)
欲了解完整的项目列表和更多信息,请访问 DoraHacks。
关于组织者
Flare
Flare 是一家专注于推动区块链解决方案和智能合约应用的技术组织。Flare 以将以太坊虚拟机集成到更广泛的区块链生态系统中而闻名,实现跨链互操作性。Flare Network 是该公司的一个著名开发项目,通过促进各种网络之间的无缝交易,增强数字资产的实用性。Flare 继续扩展去中心化技术能力,推动创新和更广泛的区块链采用。
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2025-04-10 14:00:14Hackathon 概要
HackSecret 5 展示了在去中心化机密计算中的创新,共吸引了 142 位开发者参与并提交了 53 个项目。此 Hackathon 利用 Secret Network 的特性推进了在 Cosmos、EVM 和 Solana 等区块链平台上的机密 AI 应用。
参与者探索了四个主要方向:Secret AI 应用、Autonomys Network dApps、跨链 dApps 和原生 Secret Network dApps。值得注意的项目包括利用 Secret AI SDK 的 AI 驱动法律助理和私密健康咨询平台。
此次 Hackathon 亮点在于通过 Secret Network 增强安全通信和存储的应用。例如,一个去中心化的 AI 人才市场和机密 AI 写作助手,都关注于去中心化应用中的隐私和数据机密性。
总奖池为 15,000 美元,表彰了项目的技术复杂性、创新性和可能的实际应用。HackSecret 5 促进了跨领域合作并激发了对去中心化应用的兴趣。
Hackathon 获奖者
Secret AI dApps 奖项获奖者
此类别表彰了创新利用 Secret Network 的 Secret AI SDK 的 dApps。
- Sentinex: 一个通过 AI 驱动的合约审计和机密分析增强 DeFi 安全的多代理平台,利用 Secret SDK 和 Autonomys 代理进行安全的代币推出和智能合约审计。
- Secret AI Accountant System: 通过结合 Confidential Computing 和 Secret Network 的 AI 安全管理商业账簿,以实现透明的审计过程。
- JS SDK for Secret AI: 通过简单的 JavaScript API 轻松将 Secret Confidential AI 模型集成到 Web 应用中。
- Conflux-AI: 一个去中心化平台,通过联合学习和智能合约实现隐私感知的协同交易及全球模型聚合。
- DocAssist: 通过 AI 洞察安全管理患者数据,利用 Secret AI SDK 支持医生。
- codeforgeai: 促进 AI 与区块链的协作编码开发工具生态系统,提供像 CodeForge CLI 这样的工具。
- Secret AI Writer: 一个确保内容隐私的 AI 写作平台,通过 Secret Network 的智能合约和端到端加密实现。
- autonomous-copilot: 结合 AI 和去中心化存储的安全数据分析数据管理工具。
- SecureChat AI: 提供 AI 驱动的加密聊天,确保跨设备的安全通信。
Native Secret dApps 奖项获奖者
此类别强调了构建于 Secret Network 上的 dApps,注重默认隐私机制。
- Unchained Poker: 一个使用秘密合约解决信任问题的去中心化扑克平台,提供统计分析和语音聊天以增强安全性。
- HabiChain: 部署区块链用于安全的心理健康支持,利用功能行为分析提供个性化工具,同时保护隐私。
使用 Autonomys Agents Framework 的不可阻挡 AI 代理奖项获奖者
此类别表彰了使用 Autonomys Agents Framework 开发具有可验证链上记忆 AI 代理的项目。
- AgentMint.AI: 自动化跨区块链的 AI 驱动 meme 币创建和管理,集成社交媒体工具。
- Aetherlink: 实现 ai3:// 协议以标准化内容访问和发现于去中心化网络中。
- Pixel Lock: 使用 Auto Drive 提供安全图像存储解决方案,保护数据隐私,消除未经授权访问风险。
- Conflux-AI
Autonomys Track 2: 使用 Auto Drive 构建 - 永久去中心化存储奖项获奖者
此方向寻求利用 Auto Drive 的数据持久性和安全性解决方案,超越传统的固定方法。
- autonomous-copilot
- Decentralized Collaborative File Repository (DCFR): 基于 DAO 的文件管理,通过去中心化存储和治理协议提供民主控制和透明操作。
有关所有 hackathon 项目的更多信息,请访问 HackSecret 5 Projects。
关于组织者
Secret Network
Secret Network 是一个通过 Intel SGX 技术、加密和密钥管理实现隐私功能的区块链平台。它支持可扩展的、无需许可的智能合约,默认设计了隐私功能,支持独特的区块链应用。Secret Network 于 2020 年 9 月在其主网上推出了私密智能合约,确立了其在隐私导向区块链开发中的角色。该组织持续探索隐私在区块链技术中的创新应用。
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2025-04-10 13:14:04After five years and over 6,000 commits, LNbits has reached a momentous milestone: Version 1.0.0 is here. LNbits is officially out of beta!
This release represents the five years relentless development, dedication, bug-hunting, feature-building, and community involvement. What started as a lightweight Lightning wallet application for Lightning Network payments has evolved into one of the most versatile, modular, and widely-used Bitcoin tools in the space.
We want to offer a heartfelt thank you to every contributor, developer, tester, and user—from those running LNbits for personal use to the communities and businesses who rely on it every day. Your feedback, bug reports, feature requests, and support have made LNbits what it is today.
🚀 Key Highlights in v1.0.0
- LNbits now at v1.0.0 – the software is stable, hardened, and production-ready.
- Vue 3 migration – a complete frontend overhaul for performance and long-term maintainability.
- WebSocket payments – faster and more efficient, replacing older SSE and long-polling methods.
- New lnbits.sh install script – simplifies setup and local deployment.
- Access Control Lists (ACL) – token-based permissions for powerful role and scope control.
- Admin tools:
- Admin payments overview
- Toggle outgoing payments
- View payments from deleted wallets
- NWC (Nostr Wallet Connect) support
- Login with Nostr or OAuth – expanding integration and authentication options
💱 Fiat & Exchange Upgrades
- Custom exchange providers
- Improved fiat precision
- Wallet-level fiat tracking and labels
- Support for Bitpay and Yadio fiat rate providers
🧑🎨 UI / UX Improvements New Login/Register interface
- Default theme for new users
- Custom background images
- Visual refresh with new themes (including neon and light/dark modes)
- Revamped Pay Invoice dialog and invoice creation
- Custom wallet icons/colours
- CSV export and in-wallet payment filtering
🛠️ Developer Tools & Internal Enhancements Migration to pyjwt, updated to breez-sdk 0.6.6, pyln-client 24.5
- Support for Python 3.10–3.13
- New nodemanager for managing Lightning channels
- Backend refactors, improved database handling, type hinting, and extension logic
- More robust testing and CI support
🩹 Maintenance & Fixes Persistent fix for admin removal bug
- Improved extension handling
- Bug fixes across wallet logic, funding sources, and legacy compatibility
- Dozens of improvements to reliability, performance, and developer experience
🎉 A Huge Thank You
To every developer, translator, tester, UX contributor, node runner, and user: thank you.
LNbits wouldn’t be what it is without your involvement. Whether you've written code, opened issues, translated labels, or simply used it and given feedback—this release is yours too.
Here's to the next chapter!
-
@ 7d33ba57:1b82db35
2025-04-10 11:09:40Tucked into Italy’s far northeastern corner, Trieste feels like a place where cultures meet and stories linger. With Austro-Hungarian architecture, Adriatic views, literary cafés, and a unique Central European flair, it’s Italy—but not quite like the Italy you know. Bordering Slovenia and once the seaport of an empire, Trieste is full of quiet charm and timeless elegance.
🌟 Top Things to Do in Trieste
1️⃣ Piazza Unità d’Italia
- One of Europe’s largest sea-facing squares
- Surrounded by grand buildings and open to the Adriatic—sunsets here are magical
- Great spot to sit at a café and people-watch
2️⃣ Castello di Miramare
- A fairy-tale white castle perched over the sea, built for Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian
- Explore the ornate interiors and stroll the surrounding park with sea views
- A short bus or bike ride from the city
3️⃣ Canal Grande & Borgo Teresiano
- A small Venetian-style canal lined with cafés, bridges, and boats
- At its end, you’ll find the neoclassical Sant’Antonio Nuovo church
- The area is perfect for evening walks and aperitivo
4️⃣ Caffè Culture & James Joyce Trail ☕📖
- Trieste has a legendary café scene—literary, elegant, and historic
- Visit Caffè San Marco or Caffè degli Specchi
- Follow the trail of James Joyce, who lived here for over a decade
5️⃣ Barcola Promenade
- A local favorite for seafront walks, swimming, and sunbathing
- Bring a towel, grab a gelato, and relax like a true Triestino
- Especially lively in summer
🏛️ Also Worth a Visit
- Teatro Romano – A well-preserved Roman theater right in the city center
- Castello di San Giusto & Cathedral – Hilltop views and Roman ruins nearby
- Risiera di San Sabba – A sobering WWII concentration camp memorial site
🍝 What to Eat in Trieste
- Jota – A hearty stew of sauerkraut, beans, and potatoes (Slavic roots!)
- Seafood everything – Fresh Adriatic catch, especially scampi and sardoni
- Strudel, goulash, and schnitzel – Trieste’s menu mixes Italian and Mitteleuropean
- Pair with local wines like Vitovska or a crisp Malvasia
🎯 Tips for Travelers
✅ Trieste is walkable and elegant—bring comfy shoes for those marble pavements
✅ Great base for day trips to Miramare Castle, Grotta Gigante, or even Ljubljana and Piran
✅ Try the osmize in the surrounding hills—rustic, family-run wine farms that open to the public
✅ Slovenian and Croatian borders are right nearby—Trieste is a crossroads city -
@ 20986fb8:cdac21b3
2025-04-10 08:59:38社交应用正迎来全新阶段:从传统的中心化平台迈向去中心化生态,用户对轻量级、智能化和隐私保护的应用需求与日俱增。在这一趋势下,Mini Apps 凭借其快速开发、灵活部署和去中心化的特性,正在成为社交应用的主流选择。加密货币支付的兴起进一步推动了这一趋势,其低成本、无国界和金融自由的优势,不仅大幅降低了交易门槛,还为 Mini Apps 的规模化发展注入了强劲动力。作为比特币生态 Nostr 协议上最受欢迎的去中心化社交支付客户端之一,YakiHonne 凭借卓越的用户体验和便捷的社交支付功能,覆盖全球 170 多个国家。如今,YakiHonne 即将推出可编程 Smart Widgets——一款支持 Mini Apps 的开发者组件。这款产品将重新定义用户在社交平台上的互动与消费方式,为链上应用生态和社交支付带来全新活力。
YakiHonne Smart Widgets:社交与消费的创新引擎
YakiHonne Smart Widgets 是一款融入社交动态的可编程微型应用,让用户在浏览内容时就能轻松完成链上支付、互动和操作。它不仅是一款工具,更是一个开放的去中心化应用市场,为用户和开发者带来无限创造力与灵活性。
Smart Widgets 提供三种简单易用的创建方式,满足不同用户的需求:
- 基础组件(Basic Widgets):任何用户都能通过直观编辑器快速创建,只需选择模板、输入内容,就能生成打赏、Mint 或投票等互动功能。用户在浏览动态时,点击按钮即可完成链上操作,体验快速、无需跳转。
- 动作组件(ActionWidgets):用户可通过嵌入应用链接快速创建,无需开发经验。普通用户点击动态中的按钮,就能直接在当前界面访问外部去中心化应用(如交易所),享受顺畅不中断的体验。
- 工具组件(Tool Widgets-Mini App):适合有开发能力的用户或开发者,通过 Smart Widgets SDK 打造功能更丰富的应用,支持复杂链上操作。用户在社交动态中即可完成数据查询、链上任务、游戏互动或即时支付,体验高度集成且流畅。
主要特性:
- 快速构建:开发者仅需数小时即可将创意变为现实,支持常用 Web 技术,打造接近原生应用的体验,无需繁琐的应用商店审核。
- 社交登录:用户无需账号密码即可进入 Mini Apps,直接使用 Nostr/YakiHonne 身份在动态中互动,流程简单,社交体验更紧密。
- 易于发现与留存:通过动态 feeds 一键发现新应用,内置裂变机制助力快速传播,Mini App 商店提供更多选择,用户可保存喜爱应用并通过通知随时回归。
- 即时互动与消费:Mini Apps 通过 YakiHonne 的社交支付功能基础设施实现无缝集成,用户无需离开动态即可完成支付、投票或游戏等操作。社交互动与链上行为自然融合,消费体验轻松融入每一次互动场景。
改变日常体验:Smart Widgets 的多场景应用
YakiHonne Smart Widgets 将社交互动与链上消费深度结合,为用户带来多样化的应用场景:
- 链上互动:用户在浏览动态时,可通过 Smart Widgets 参与链上投票或轻量游戏。例如,一键完成社区提案投票,或与好友挑战链上小游戏,互动即刻完成,无需跳转。
- 智能 Agent:用户可使用 Agent Widgets 自动创作并发布内容,例如生成个性化帖子或短视频,打造 AI 驱动的新型媒体体验。
- DAO 治理:基于aMACI创建匿名投票,结合 Agent 实现自主治理。用户直接在社交动态中参与 DAO 决策,推动去中心化社区发展。
- 社交支付:用户可通过动态发送即时支付或链上红包,例如分享一笔小额打赏,激发好友互动与消费转化。
- 订阅服务:支持内容创作者或应用的连续订阅,用户一键订阅喜爱的服务,享受无缝续费体验。
这些场景不仅提升了用户的参与感和便利性,还为创作者、开发者及社区提供了新的增长机会。
引领新趋势:Smart Widgets 的生态价值
YakiHonne Smart Widgets 的推出将为链上消费应用生态和社交支付带来深远影响。它为开发者提供了一个开放的舞台,任何人都可以通过 Widgets 快速部署创新应用,丰富 YakiHonne 的生态多样性。YakiHonne 的社交支付功能基础设施进一步为 Mini Apps 赋能,提供高效的支付支持,降低了开发者的支付集成成本,同时为用户带来安全、便捷的交易体验。这种支持不仅加速了 Mini Apps 的商业化进程,还推动了链上消费的规模化增长。
对于用户而言,Smart Widgets 将社交互动与消费行为融为一体,创造更具沉浸感和实用性的数字体验。对于内容创作者和社区,它则提供了一个低门槛的链上入口,助力其触达全球用户。这一产品不仅是对技术边界的探索,更是对未来去中心化生活方式的预演。YakiHonne 致力于通过 Smart Widgets 构建一个开放、活跃的社交与消费生态,让每一次互动都成为链上价值流动的起点。
立即体验:Smart Widgets 等你探索
YakiHonne 诚邀全球用户和开发者共同参与这一激动人心的旅程。开发者可申请加入 Smart Widgets SDK 测试计划,开发属于自己的 Mini Apps,与 YakiHonne 的全球用户群共享成果。用户则可关注 YakiHonne 官方渠道(X或下载YakiHonne iOS/Android),体验链上互动与社交支付的全新可能。
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@ 3b3a42d3:d192e325
2025-04-10 08:57:51Atomic Signature Swaps (ASS) over Nostr is a protocol for atomically exchanging Schnorr signatures using Nostr events for orchestration. This new primitive enables multiple interesting applications like:
- Getting paid to publish specific Nostr events
- Issuing automatic payment receipts
- Contract signing in exchange for payment
- P2P asset exchanges
- Trading and enforcement of asset option contracts
- Payment in exchange for Nostr-based credentials or access tokens
- Exchanging GMs 🌞
It only requires that (i) the involved signatures be Schnorr signatures using the secp256k1 curve and that (ii) at least one of those signatures be accessible to both parties. These requirements are naturally met by Nostr events (published to relays), Taproot transactions (published to the mempool and later to the blockchain), and Cashu payments (using mints that support NUT-07, allowing any pair of these signatures to be swapped atomically.
How the Cryptographic Magic Works 🪄
This is a Schnorr signature
(Zₓ, s)
:s = z + H(Zₓ || P || m)⋅k
If you haven't seen it before, don't worry, neither did I until three weeks ago.
The signature scalar s is the the value a signer with private key
k
(and public keyP = k⋅G
) must calculate to prove his commitment over the messagem
given a randomly generated noncez
(Zₓ
is just the x-coordinate of the public pointZ = z⋅G
).H
is a hash function (sha256 with the tag "BIP0340/challenge" when dealing with BIP340),||
just means to concatenate andG
is the generator point of the elliptic curve, used to derive public values from private ones.Now that you understand what this equation means, let's just rename
z = r + t
. We can do that,z
is just a randomly generated number that can be represented as the sum of two other numbers. It also follows thatz⋅G = r⋅G + t⋅G ⇔ Z = R + T
. Putting it all back into the definition of a Schnorr signature we get:s = (r + t) + H((R + T)ₓ || P || m)⋅k
Which is the same as:
s = sₐ + t
wheresₐ = r + H((R + T)ₓ || P || m)⋅k
sₐ
is what we call the adaptor signature scalar) and t is the secret.((R + T)ₓ, sₐ)
is an incomplete signature that just becomes valid by add the secret t to thesₐ
:s = sₐ + t
What is also important for our purposes is that by getting access to the valid signature s, one can also extract t from it by just subtracting
sₐ
:t = s - sₐ
The specific value of
t
depends on our choice of the public pointT
, sinceR
is just a public point derived from a randomly generated noncer
.So how do we choose
T
so that it requires the secret t to be the signature over a specific messagem'
by an specific public keyP'
? (without knowing the value oft
)Let's start with the definition of t as a valid Schnorr signature by P' over m':
t = r' + H(R'ₓ || P' || m')⋅k' ⇔ t⋅G = r'⋅G + H(R'ₓ || P' || m')⋅k'⋅G
That is the same as:
T = R' + H(R'ₓ || P' || m')⋅P'
Notice that in order to calculate the appropriate
T
that requirest
to be an specific signature scalar, we only need to know the public nonceR'
used to generate that signature.In summary: in order to atomically swap Schnorr signatures, one party
P'
must provide a public nonceR'
, while the other partyP
must provide an adaptor signature using that nonce:sₐ = r + H((R + T)ₓ || P || m)⋅k
whereT = R' + H(R'ₓ || P' || m')⋅P'
P'
(the nonce provider) can then add his own signature t to the adaptor signaturesₐ
in order to get a valid signature byP
, i.e.s = sₐ + t
. When he publishes this signature (as a Nostr event, Cashu transaction or Taproot transaction), it becomes accessible toP
that can now extract the signaturet
byP'
and also make use of it.Important considerations
A signature may not be useful at the end of the swap if it unlocks funds that have already been spent, or that are vulnerable to fee bidding wars.
When a swap involves a Taproot UTXO, it must always use a 2-of-2 multisig timelock to avoid those issues.
Cashu tokens do not require this measure when its signature is revealed first, because the mint won't reveal the other signature if they can't be successfully claimed, but they also require a 2-of-2 multisig timelock when its signature is only revealed last (what is unavoidable in cashu for cashu swaps).
For Nostr events, whoever receives the signature first needs to publish it to at least one relay that is accessible by the other party. This is a reasonable expectation in most cases, but may be an issue if the event kind involved is meant to be used privately.
How to Orchestrate the Swap over Nostr?
Before going into the specific event kinds, it is important to recognize what are the requirements they must meet and what are the concerns they must address. There are mainly three requirements:
- Both parties must agree on the messages they are going to sign
- One party must provide a public nonce
- The other party must provide an adaptor signature using that nonce
There is also a fundamental asymmetry in the roles of both parties, resulting in the following significant downsides for the party that generates the adaptor signature:
- NIP-07 and remote signers do not currently support the generation of adaptor signatures, so he must either insert his nsec in the client or use a fork of another signer
- There is an overhead of retrieving the completed signature containing the secret, either from the blockchain, mint endpoint or finding the appropriate relay
- There is risk he may not get his side of the deal if the other party only uses his signature privately, as I have already mentioned
- There is risk of losing funds by not extracting or using the signature before its timelock expires. The other party has no risk since his own signature won't be exposed by just not using the signature he received.
The protocol must meet all those requirements, allowing for some kind of role negotiation and while trying to reduce the necessary hops needed to complete the swap.
Swap Proposal Event (kind:455)
This event enables a proposer and his counterparty to agree on the specific messages whose signatures they intend to exchange. The
content
field is the following stringified JSON:{ "give": <signature spec (required)>, "take": <signature spec (required)>, "exp": <expiration timestamp (optional)>, "role": "<adaptor | nonce (optional)>", "description": "<Info about the proposal (optional)>", "nonce": "<Signature public nonce (optional)>", "enc_s": "<Encrypted signature scalar (optional)>" }
The field
role
indicates what the proposer will provide during the swap, either the nonce or the adaptor. When this optional field is not provided, the counterparty may decide whether he will send a nonce back in a Swap Nonce event or a Swap Adaptor event using thenonce
(optionally) provided by in the Swap Proposal in order to avoid one hop of interaction.The
enc_s
field may be used to store the encrypted scalar of the signature associated with thenonce
, since this information is necessary later when completing the adaptor signature received from the other party.A
signature spec
specifies thetype
and all necessary information for producing and verifying a given signature. In the case of signatures for Nostr events, it contain a template with all the fields, exceptpubkey
,id
andsig
:{ "type": "nostr", "template": { "kind": "<kind>" "content": "<content>" "tags": [ … ], "created_at": "<created_at>" } }
In the case of Cashu payments, a simplified
signature spec
just needs to specify the payment amount and an array of mints trusted by the proposer:{ "type": "cashu", "amount": "<amount>", "mint": ["<acceptable mint_url>", …] }
This works when the payer provides the adaptor signature, but it still needs to be extended to also work when the payer is the one receiving the adaptor signature. In the later case, the
signature spec
must also include atimelock
and the derived public keysY
of each Cashu Proof, but for now let's just ignore this situation. It should be mentioned that the mint must be trusted by both parties and also support Token state check (NUT-07) for revealing the completed adaptor signature and P2PK spending conditions (NUT-11) for the cryptographic scheme to work.The
tags
are:"p"
, the proposal counterparty's public key (required)"a"
, akind:30455
Swap Listing event or an application specific version of it (optional)
Forget about this Swap Listing event for now, I will get to it later...
Swap Nonce Event (kind:456) - Optional
This is an optional event for the Swap Proposal receiver to provide the public nonce of his signature when the proposal does not include a nonce or when he does not want to provide the adaptor signature due to the downsides previously mentioned. The
content
field is the following stringified JSON:{ "nonce": "<Signature public nonce>", "enc_s": "<Encrypted signature scalar (optional)>" }
And the
tags
must contain:"e"
, akind:455
Swap Proposal Event (required)"p"
, the counterparty's public key (required)
Swap Adaptor Event (kind:457)
The
content
field is the following stringified JSON:{ "adaptors": [ { "sa": "<Adaptor signature scalar>", "R": "<Signer's public nonce (including parity byte)>", "T": "<Adaptor point (including parity byte)>", "Y": "<Cashu proof derived public key (if applicable)>", }, …], "cashu": "<Cashu V4 token (if applicable)>" }
And the
tags
must contain:"e"
, akind:455
Swap Proposal Event (required)"p"
, the counterparty's public key (required)
Discoverability
The Swap Listing event previously mentioned as an optional tag in the Swap Proposal may be used to find an appropriate counterparty for a swap. It allows a user to announce what he wants to accomplish, what his requirements are and what is still open for negotiation.
Swap Listing Event (kind:30455)
The
content
field is the following stringified JSON:{ "description": "<Information about the listing (required)>", "give": <partial signature spec (optional)>, "take": <partial signature spec (optional)>, "examples: [<take signature spec>], // optional "exp": <expiration timestamp (optional)>, "role": "<adaptor | nonce (optional)>" }
The
description
field describes the restrictions on counterparties and signatures the user is willing to accept.A
partial signature spec
is an incompletesignature spec
used in Swap Proposal eventskind:455
where omitting fields signals that they are still open for negotiation.The
examples
field is an array ofsignature specs
the user would be willing totake
.The
tags
are:"d"
, a unique listing id (required)"s"
, the status of the listingdraft | open | closed
(required)"t"
, topics related to this listing (optional)"p"
, public keys to notify about the proposal (optional)
Application Specific Swap Listings
Since Swap Listings are still fairly generic, it is expected that specific use cases define new event kinds based on the generic listing. Those application specific swap listing would be easier to filter by clients and may impose restrictions and add new fields and/or tags. The following are some examples under development:
Sponsored Events
This listing is designed for users looking to promote content on the Nostr network, as well as for those who want to monetize their accounts by sharing curated sponsored content with their existing audiences.
It follows the same format as the generic Swap Listing event, but uses the
kind:30456
instead.The following new tags are included:
"k"
, event kind being sponsored (required)"title"
, campaign title (optional)
It is required that at least one
signature spec
(give
and/ortake
) must have"type": "nostr"
and also contain the following tag["sponsor", "<pubkey>", "<attestation>"]
with the sponsor's public key and his signature over the signature spec without the sponsor tag as his attestation. This last requirement enables clients to disclose and/or filter sponsored events.Asset Swaps
This listing is designed for users looking for counterparties to swap different assets that can be transferred using Schnorr signatures, like any unit of Cashu tokens, Bitcoin or other asset IOUs issued using Taproot.
It follows the same format as the generic Swap Listing event, but uses the
kind:30457
instead.It requires the following additional tags:
"t"
, asset pair to be swapped (e.g."btcusd"
)"t"
, asset being offered (e.g."btc"
)"t"
, accepted payment method (e.g."cashu"
,"taproot"
)
Swap Negotiation
From finding an appropriate Swap Listing to publishing a Swap Proposal, there may be some kind of negotiation between the involved parties, e.g. agreeing on the amount to be paid by one of the parties or the exact content of a Nostr event signed by the other party. There are many ways to accomplish that and clients may implement it as they see fit for their specific goals. Some suggestions are:
- Adding
kind:1111
Comments to the Swap Listing or an existing Swap Proposal - Exchanging tentative Swap Proposals back and forth until an agreement is reached
- Simple exchanges of DMs
- Out of band communication (e.g. Signal)
Work to be done
I've been refining this specification as I develop some proof-of-concept clients to experience its flaws and trade-offs in practice. I left the signature spec for Taproot signatures out of the current document as I still have to experiment with it. I will probably find some important orchestration issues related to dealing with
2-of-2 multisig timelocks
, which also affects Cashu transactions when spent last, that may require further adjustments to what was presented here.The main goal of this article is to find other people interested in this concept and willing to provide valuable feedback before a PR is opened in the NIPs repository for broader discussions.
References
- GM Swap- Nostr client for atomically exchanging GM notes. Live demo available here.
- Sig4Sats Script - A Typescript script demonstrating the swap of a Cashu payment for a signed Nostr event.
- Loudr- Nostr client under development for sponsoring the publication of Nostr events. Live demo available at loudr.me.
- Poelstra, A. (2017). Scriptless Scripts. Blockstream Research. https://github.com/BlockstreamResearch/scriptless-scripts
-
@ 20986fb8:cdac21b3
2025-04-10 08:52:37Social apps are entering a new era, evolving from traditional centralized platforms to decentralized ecosystems. Users increasingly demand lightweight, intelligent, and privacy-focused applications. In this shift, Mini Apps have emerged as a mainstream choice for social applications, thanks to their rapid development, flexible deployment, and decentralized nature. The rise of cryptocurrency payments has further fueled this trend, offering low-cost, borderless, and financially liberating solutions that significantly lower transaction barriers and drive the scalability of Mini Apps. As one of the most popular decentralized social payment clients on the Bitcoin ecosystem’s Nostr protocol, YakiHonne has earned a global reputation for its exceptional user experience and seamless social payment features, reaching over 170 countries. Now, YakiHonne is set to launch its programmable Smart Widgets—a developer toolkit for Mini Apps. This product will redefine how users interact and transact on social platforms, bringing fresh energy to the on-chain app ecosystem and social payments.
Smart Widgets: A Game-Changer for Social and On-Chain Consumption
YakiHonne Smart Widgets are programmable mini-apps embedded within social feeds, enabling users to effortlessly make on-chain payments, engage in interactions, and perform actions without leaving their content stream. More than just a tool, Smart Widgets serve as an open, decentralized app store, empowering both users and developers with unparalleled creativity and flexibility.
Smart Widgets come in three user-friendly formats to meet diverse needs:
- Basic Widgets: Anyone can create these using an intuitive editor—just pick a template, add content, and generate features like zap, minting, or voting. Users can interact with these actions directly in their feed with a single click, enjoying a fast, seamless experience.
- Action Widgets: Users can quickly create these by embedding app links, no coding required. With a single tap on a button in the feed, users can access external decentralized apps (like exchanges) right within the interface, ensuring a smooth, uninterrupted experience.
- Tool Widgets (Mini Apps): Designed for developers or users with coding skills, these are built using the Smart Widgets SDK to create more advanced apps with complex on-chain operations. Users can perform tasks like data queries, on-chain actions, gaming, or instant payments directly in their social feed, with a highly integrated and fluid experience.
Key Features:
- Rapid Development: Developers can turn ideas into reality in just hours, using familiar web technologies to create near-native app experiences—no lengthy app store reviews required.
- Social Login: Users can access Mini Apps without usernames or passwords, using their Nostr/YakiHonne identity to interact seamlessly within their social feed, making the experience more connected and effortless.
- Easy Discovery and Retention: With one-tap discovery through social feeds, built-in viral growth mechanics, and a Mini App store for more options, users can explore new apps effortlessly. They can save favorites and get notifications to return for more.
- Instant Interaction and Consumption: Mini Apps integrate seamlessly with YakiHonne’s social payment infrastructure, allowing users to pay, vote, or play games without leaving their feed. Social engagement and on-chain actions blend naturally, with consumption woven effortlessly into every interaction.
Transforming Daily Experiences: Smart Widgets in Action
YakiHonne Smart Widgets bridge social engagement and on-chain consumption, delivering a wide range of use cases: - On-Chain Interactions: While browsing their feed, users can join on-chain votes or play lightweight games through Smart Widgets—like casting a vote on a community proposal or challenging a friend to a quick game, all without leaving the app. - Smart Agents: Users can leverage Agent Widgets to auto-create and share content, such as personalized posts or short videos, powering an AI-driven media experience. - DAO Governance: Using aMACI for anonymous voting, combined with Agent Widgets for autonomous governance, users can participate in DAO decisions directly within their feed, fostering decentralized community growth. - Social Zap: Users can send small tips through their feed, like rewarding a friend’s post with an on-chain token, sparking more engagement and driving consumption. - Content Subscriptions: Support creators or apps with ongoing subscriptions—users can subscribe to their favorite services with one tap, enjoying a seamless renewal experience.
These scenarios not only boost user engagement and convenience but also open new growth opportunities for creators, developers, and communities.
Shaping the Future: The Ecosystem Impact of Smart Widgets
YakiHonne Smart Widgets are poised to transform the on-chain app ecosystem and social payments. They provide an open platform for developers, enabling anyone to deploy innovative apps quickly and enrich YakiHonne’s ecosystem. YakiHonne’s social payment infrastructure further empowers Mini Apps by offering efficient payment support, reducing integration costs for developers while ensuring a secure, seamless transaction experience for users. This support accelerates the commercialization of Mini Apps and fuels the growth of on-chain consumption.
For users, Smart Widgets seamlessly blend social interaction with consumption, creating an immersive and practical digital experience. For creators and communities, they offer a low-barrier entry to on-chain opportunities, helping them connect with a global audience. This product isn’t just a technological leap—it’s a glimpse into the future of decentralized lifestyles. YakiHonne is committed to building an open, vibrant social and consumption ecosystem through Smart Widgets, where every interaction sparks on-chain value.
Join the Future: Explore Smart Widgets Today
YakiHonne invites users and developers worldwide to join this exciting journey. Developers can apply to join the Smart Widgets SDK testing program, creating their own Mini Apps and tapping into YakiHonne’s global user base. Users can follow YakiHonne on official channels –X or download the YakiHonne iOS/Android app– to experience the next generation of on-chain interactions and social payments.
YakiHonne Programmable Smart Widgets are set to launch a new chapter for social and on-chain consumption. Let’s embrace this transformation together!
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@ 57d1a264:69f1fee1
2025-04-10 05:54:45Some banners to promote ~Design territory in the Wild Web. Interested to kand feedback now your thought on it.
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originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/939548
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@ c1e9ab3a:9cb56b43
2025-04-10 02:55:11The United States is on the cusp of a historic technological renaissance, often referred to as the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Artificial intelligence, automation, advanced robotics, quantum computing, biotechnology, and clean manufacturing are converging into a seismic shift that will redefine how we live, work, and relate to one another. But there's a critical catch: this transformation depends entirely on the availability of stable, abundant, and inexpensive electricity.
Why Electricity is the Keystone of Innovation
Let’s start with something basic but often overlooked. Every industrial revolution has had an energy driver:
- The First rode the steam engine, powered by coal.
- The Second was electrified through centralized power plants.
- The Third harnessed computing and the internet.
- The Fourth will demand energy on a scale and reliability never seen before.
Imagine a city where thousands of small factories run 24/7 with robotics and AI doing precision manufacturing. Imagine a national network of autonomous vehicles, delivery drones, urban vertical farms, and high-bandwidth communication systems. All of this requires uninterrupted and inexpensive power.
Without it? Costs balloon. Innovation stalls. Investment leaves. And America risks becoming a second-tier economic power in a multipolar world.
So here’s the thesis: If we want to lead the Fourth Industrial Revolution, we must first lead in energy. And nuclear — specifically Gen IV Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) — must be part of that leadership.
The Nuclear Case: Clean, Scalable, Strategic
Let’s debunk the myth: nuclear is not the boogeyman of the 1970s. It’s one of the safest, cleanest, and most energy-dense sources we have.
But traditional nuclear has problems:
- Too expensive to build.
- Too long to license.
- Too bespoke and complex.
Enter Gen IV SMRs:
- Factory-built and transportable.
- Passively safe with walk-away safety designs.
- Scalable in 50–300 MWe increments.
- Ideal for remote areas, industrial parks, and military bases.
But even SMRs will struggle under the current regulatory, economic, and manufacturing ecosystem. To unlock their potential, we need a new national approach.
The Argument for National Strategy
Let’s paint a vision:
SMRs deployed at military bases across the country, secured by trained personnel, powering critical infrastructure, and feeding clean, carbon-free power back into surrounding communities.
SMRs operated by public chartered utilities—not for Wall Street profits, but for stability, security, and public good.
SMRs manufactured by a competitive ecosystem of certified vendors, just like aircraft or medical devices, with standard parts and rapid regulatory approval.
This isn't science fiction. It's a plausible, powerful model. Here’s how we do it.
Step 1: Treat SMRs as a National Security Asset
Why does the Department of Defense spend billions to secure oil convoys and build fuel depots across the world, but not invest in nuclear microgrids that would make forward bases self-sufficient for decades?
Nuclear power is inherently a strategic asset:
- Immune to price shocks.
- Hard to sabotage.
- Decades of stable power from a small footprint.
It’s time to reframe SMRs from an energy project to a national security platform. That changes everything.
Step 2: Create Public-Chartered Operating Companies
We don’t need another corporate monopoly or Wall Street scheme. Instead, let’s charter SMR utilities the way we chartered the TVA or the Postal Service:
- Low-margin, mission-oriented.
- Publicly accountable.
- Able to sign long-term contracts with DOD, DOE, or regional utilities.
These organizations won’t chase quarterly profits. They’ll chase uptime, grid stability, and national resilience.
Step 3: Build a Competitive SMR Industry Like Aerospace
Imagine multiple manufacturers building SMRs to common, certified standards. Components sourced from a wide supplier base. Designs evolving year over year, with upgrades like software and avionics do.
This is how we build:
- Safer reactors
- Cheaper units
- Modular designs
- A real export industry
Airplanes are safe, affordable, and efficient because of scale and standardization. We can do the same with reactors.
Step 4: Anchor SMRs to the Coming Fourth Industrial Revolution
AI, robotics, and distributed manufacturing don’t need fossil fuels. They need cheap, clean, continuous electricity.
- AI datacenters
- Robotic agriculture
- Carbon-free steel and cement
- Direct air capture
- Electric industrial transport
SMRs enable this future. And they decentralize power, both literally and economically. That means jobs in every region, not just coastal tech hubs.
Step 5: Pair Energy Sovereignty with Economic Reform
Here’s the big leap: what if this new energy architecture was tied to a transparent, auditable, and sovereign monetary system?
- Public utilities priced in a new digital dollar.
- Trade policy balanced by low-carbon energy exports.
- Public accounting verified with open ledgers.
This is not just national security. It’s monetary resilience.
The world is moving to multi-polar trade systems. Energy exports and energy reliability will define economic influence. If America leads with SMRs, we lead the conversation.
Conclusion: A Moral and Strategic Imperative
We can either:
- Let outdated fears and bureaucracy stall the future, or...
- Build the infrastructure for clean, secure, and sovereign prosperity.
We have the designs.
We have the talent.
We have the need.What we need now is will.
The Fourth Industrial Revolution will either be powered by us—or by someone else. Let’s make sure America leads. And let’s do it with SMRs, public charter, competitive industry, and national purpose.
It’s time.
This is a call to engineers, legislators, veterans, economists, and every American who believes in building again. SMRs are not just about power. They are about sovereignty, security, and shared prosperity.
Further reading:
nostr:naddr1qqgrjv33xenx2drpve3kxvrp8quxgqgcwaehxw309anxjmr5v4ezumn0wd68ytnhd9hx2tczyrq7n2e62632km9yh6l5f6nykt76gzkxxy0gs6agddr9y95uk445xqcyqqq823cdzc99s
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@ 502ab02a:a2860397
2025-04-10 01:47:24เมื่อวานโพสเรื่องบรอกโคลีฝีมือมนุษย์แล้ว มีคนสงสัยว่าตกลงมันดีไหม เวลาพูดถึงอาหารสุขภาพ ภาพที่ลอยมาในหัวของหลายๆ คนคงหนีไม่พ้น "บรอกโคลีลวก" สีเขียวสดใส เสิร์ฟคู่ไข่ต้มขาวๆ หรืออกไก่นุ่มนิ่มในกล่อง meal prep แต่ก่อนจะตักเข้าปาก เราลองตั้งคำถามง่ายๆ ก่อนว่า… “บรอกโคลีเกิดขึ้นในธรรมชาติไหม?” คำตอบคือ ไม่ เลยครับ
บรอกโคลีไม่ได้เกิดจากการงอกงามของเมล็ดในป่า หรือเติบโตตามชายเขาเหมือนพืชสมุนไพรหรือผลไม้ดั้งเดิม แต่มันคือพืชที่มนุษย์ สร้างขึ้นมา ผ่านการคัดสายพันธุ์อย่างตั้งใจให้ได้รูปร่าง กลิ่น สี และรสชาติที่ต้องการ โดยมีจุดเริ่มต้นจากพืชตระกูลเดียวกันกับ “มัสตาร์ดป่า (wild mustard)” ซึ่งเป็นพืชที่แทบไม่มีใครกิน มนุษย์ใช้วิธีเลือกต้นที่มีลักษณะ “หัวดอกใหญ่” มาเพาะซ้ำๆ จนกลายเป็นบรอกโคลี ในขณะที่พืชอีกกิ่งสายพันธุ์จากต้นเดียวกัน กลายร่างไปเป็น กะหล่ำปลี กะหล่ำดอก คะน้า และใบมัสตาร์ด
ฟังไม่ผิด ทั้งหมดนี้คือ “ญาติกัน” จากพืชป่าต้นเดียวกัน และเป็น ผลผลิตของการทดลองจากมนุษย์ ไม่ใช่ธรรมชาติ มันคือ “ของใหม่” ที่เราเพิ่งรู้จักในช่วง 100–150 ปีหลังนี้เอง
แล้วอะไรที่ทำให้บรอกโคลีกลายเป็นอาหารสุขภาพ? หนึ่งในคำตอบคือ ภาพลักษณ์ (branding) บรอกโคลีถูกผลักดันในยุคหลังสงครามโลกโดยรัฐบาลสหรัฐฯ เพื่อโปรโมท “การกินผักเพื่อสุขภาพ” และเป็นพืชที่ปลูกง่าย อดทน ขนส่งสะดวก
อุตสาหกรรมอาหารก็โหนกระแส ผนวกกับงานวิจัยที่เลือกตีแผ่ “ประโยชน์เฉพาะด้าน” ของสารบางตัวอย่างเช่น ซัลโฟราเฟน (sulforaphane) ที่ได้จากกลูโคซิโนเลต (glucosinolate) ในบรอกโคลี ซึ่งมีฤทธิ์กระตุ้นเอ็นไซม์ล้างพิษในตับ
แต่นั่นเป็นแค่ด้านเดียวของเหรียญ…
บรอกโคลียังมีสารในกลุ่มเดียวกันนี้ที่ ต่อต้านการดูดซึมไอโอดีน ทำให้ไทรอยด์เฉื่อยได้ในบางคน ยังไม่รวมถึงความยากในการย่อย ก่อแก๊สในลำไส้ และอาจทำให้เกิดอาการแพ้ในกลุ่มคนที่ระบบภูมิคุ้มกันไวเกิน นอกจากนี้ที่บอกไปแล้วว่า มันไม่ใช่ธรรมชาติ เราเลยไม่สามารถพบบรอกโคลีได้ในป่า มันต้องเกิดจากการปลูกเท่านั้น นั่นแน่ ตาสีส้มเริ่มทำงาน
บรอกโคลี “ไม่มีเมล็ด” แบบธรรมชาติ เพราะมันไม่ได้เกิดจากธรรมชาติแท้ๆ แต่นั่นไม่ได้แปลว่าเราปลูกมันไม่ได้เพราะ “เมล็ดของบรอกโคลีมีนะ แต่เป็นเมล็ดที่ได้จากต้นพันธุ์ที่มนุษย์คัดแยกและควบคุมการผสมพันธุ์มาแล้ว”
บริษัทเมล็ดพันธุ์ระดับโลก อย่าง Monsanto, Syngenta, Bayer ฯลฯ จะพัฒนาเมล็ดที่ผ่านการผสมสายพันธุ์แบบ "F1 Hybrid" ซึ่งหมายความว่าเขาจะเอาพ่อแม่พันธุ์เฉพาะที่คัดเลือกไว้ มาผสมกันเพื่อให้ได้ลูกบรอกโคลีที่มีลักษณะตรงตามต้องการ เช่น ดอกแน่น สีเขียวเข้ม โตเร็ว ต้านทานโรค เมล็ดบรอกโคลีจึงเป็น เมล็ดลูกผสมรุ่นแรก (F1) ซึ่งเกษตรกร ไม่สามารถเก็บเมล็ดจากต้นบรอกโคลีที่ปลูกไว้เอง แล้วปลูกต่อได้ เพราะถ้าเอาไปปลูกใหม่รุ่นถัดไป (F2) ลักษณะจะเริ่มแปรปรวน แตกแถว ดอกเล็กลง หรือกลายพันธุ์ ดังนั้น ทุกปี เกษตรกรต้องซื้อเมล็ดใหม่จากบริษัทผู้ผลิต ซึ่งนี่แหละคือระบบ seed monopoly หรือ เศรษฐกิจผูกขาดพันธุ์พืช ที่ควบคุมโดยบริษัทยักษ์ใหญ่ เอาไว้จะมาขยายความมุมนี้ให้อีกทีครับ
ส่วนเรื่องสารอาหารความอาหารคลีนเค้าว่าดี ต้องมาเคลียร์ mind set กันอีกทีในนี้ คือในโลกของพืชนั้น การเอาตัวรอดไม่ใช่เรื่องเล่น ๆ เพราะพวกมันวิ่งหนีไม่ได้ ไม่มีกรงเล็บ ไม่มีเสียงคำราม มีแค่ “เคมี” เป็นอาวุธ และในกลุ่ม Brassica oleracea หรือพวกบล็อกโคลี กระหล่ำดอก กระหล่ำปี คะน้า ฯลฯ พวกมันเลือกใช้อาวุธลับที่ชื่อว่า glucosinolate และ goitrogen เป็นด่านหน้าในการรับมือสิ่งมีชีวิตที่มากินมัน ซึ่งแน่นอนว่ารวมถึงมนุษย์ด้วย
สารพวกนี้เมื่อถูกเคี้ยว ถูกตัด หรือโดนความร้อน จะเปลี่ยนเป็นสารชื่อ isothiocyanate ซึ่งหลายงานวิจัยมองว่าสามารถกระตุ้นเอนไซม์ต้านอนุมูลอิสระในร่างกาย และลดความเสี่ยงมะเร็งได้ แต่ในขณะเดียวกัน... มันก็สามารถ “ยับยั้งการดูดซึมแร่ธาตุสำคัญ” อย่างไอโอดีน สังกะสี เหล็ก และแคลเซียมได้ด้วย โดยเฉพาะหากกินดิบ หรือกินปริมาณมากเป็นประจำ
ลองนึกภาพตามแบบขำๆ ว่า เรากินผักเพราะคิดว่ามันมีธาตุเหล็ก แต่ตัวมันเองกลับมี “แม่กุญแจเคมี” ที่ล็อกไม่ให้เหล็กดูดซึมได้จริง เหมือนพาเด็กไปสวนสนุกแล้วล็อกไว้ไม่ให้เล่นเครื่องเล่นอะไรเลย
นี่ยังไม่รวมถึง oxalate และ lectin ที่แฝงอยู่ในผักบางกลุ่ม ซึ่งสามารถจับกับแร่ธาตุจำพวกแคลเซียมหรือแมกนีเซียม และพาออกจากร่างกายไปทางลำไส้แบบไม่แยแสว่าเรากำลังขาดมันอยู่
คำถามคือ... แล้วคนที่กินสาย animal-based ซึ่งได้แร่ธาตุจากตับ ไข่แดง เนื้อแดงอยู่แล้ว จำเป็นต้องเสี่ยงกับผักที่มี anti-nutrient สูงแบบนี้ไหม?
คำตอบอาจจะไม่ได้ตรงไปตรงมาเหมือนสูตรยำปลากระป๋อง แต่ถ้าจะตอบในแนวระมัดระวังและตั้งอยู่บนหลักการชีววิทยา คือ “หากจะกินผักกลุ่มนี้ ควรกินในปริมาณที่พอดี และต้องผ่านการปรุงที่เหมาะสม” เช่น ลวก ต้ม หรือนึ่ง เพื่อสลายฤทธิ์ของสารเหล่านั้นลงไปให้ได้มากที่สุด
และที่สำคัญที่สุดอย่าเชื่อว่าผักมีแต่คุณเสมอไป เพราะในขณะที่แร่ธาตุจากเนื้อสัตว์มาพร้อมเอนไซม์ช่วยดูดซึมและไม่มีตัวขัดขวาง แร่ธาตุจากพืชกลับต้องฝ่าด่านสารยับยั้งมากมายที่ซ่อนอยู่
การกินแบบ animal base ที่เน้นเนื้อ เครื่องใน ไข่ น้ำมันดี และหลีกเลี่ยงน้ำตาล เป็นทางเลือกที่ทำให้ร่างกายได้รับสารอาหารสำคัญในรูปแบบที่ดูดซึมได้เต็มที่ ไม่ต้องพึ่งพาการเล่นปาหี่ของเคมีพืชที่คอยยับยั้งการดูดซึม เพราะสุดท้าย ถ้าเรามองอาหารเป็นเหมือนบทสนทนา ผักบางชนิดอาจจะพูดว่า “ฉันดีนะ กินฉันสิ” แต่ลึกๆ แล้ว มันกำลังพูดภาษาสารพิษที่เราแปลไม่ออก
แต่ทำความเข้าใจกันก่อนนะครับว่า เวลาเราพูดเรื่องนี้ไม่ใช่ว่า plant = toxic คือมันมีความพอดี มีกระบวนการบางอย่างที่เราต้องสกัดมันออกมาใช้งาน เหมือนไทยโบราณเรารู้ดีว่า พืช สมุนไพร ยา มันคือเส้นทางการใช้พืชจากความรู้ของมนุษย์ ดังนั้น มองพืชเป็น option ของสารพฤกษะ สารสำคัญ ได้นะครับ ไม่ต้องหัวสี่เหลี่ยมขนาดว่า เห้ย พืช กูไม่เอาเว้ย อะไรขนาดนั้นนะทิด
สารพฤกษะไม่ใช่วิตามิน ไม่ใช่แร่ธาตุ แต่เป็นสารที่พืชสร้างขึ้นเองเพื่อใช้ป้องกันตัวเองจากศัตรูพืช รังสี UV หรือเชื้อจุลินทรีย์ เรารู้จักชื่อพวกนี้อยู่ไม่น้อย เช่น
กลูโคซิโนเลต (glucosinolate) จากตระกูลกะหล่ำ ไลโคปีน (lycopene) จากมะเขือเทศ เรสเวอราทรอล (resveratrol) จากองุ่น ซาโปนิน (saponin) และ เลคติน (lectin) จากธัญพืชและถั่ว
สารพฤกษะมีหลายหมื่นชนิด และในบางกรณีมี ฤทธิ์ต้านอนุมูลอิสระ (antioxidant) หรือ ปรับภูมิคุ้มกัน จึงถูกจัดเป็นสารส่งเสริมสุขภาพ (nutraceutical) ได้ในบางมุม แต่ต้องระวัง... เพราะสารพฤกษะบางชนิดก็คือ "สารต้านสารอาหาร" (anti-nutrient) บางครั้งสิ่งที่เป็น “เกราะป้องกัน” ของพืช ก็กลายเป็น “กับดัก” สำหรับร่างกายเรา เช่น ไฟเตต (phytate) จับแร่ธาตุจำพวกเหล็ก สังกะสี ทำให้ร่างกายดูดซึมไม่ได้ ออกซาเลต (oxalate) สะสมในไตและอาจก่อให้เกิดนิ่ว กลูโคซิโนเลต ไปยับยั้งการดูดไอโอดีน ส่งผลต่อการทำงานของไทรอยด์ เลคติน ทำลายผนังลำไส้และกระตุ้นระบบภูมิคุ้มกันเกินจำเป็น
สารพฤกษะ คือ "ลูกเล่น" ทางชีววิทยาของพืช ที่อาจจะมีประโยชน์บ้าง ถ้าได้รับในปริมาณน้อย และในบริบทที่ร่างกายจัดการได้ แต่ถ้ามากเกิน หรือรับสะสมจากอาหาร plant-based ตลอดเวลา โดยไม่มีอาหารจากสัตว์มาคานสมดุล ก็อาจสร้างปัญหาเงียบๆ ระยะยาว
จะดีก็ฟงหวิน จะเลวก็ฟงหวิน พอเห็นภาพแล้วเนอะครับ
พรุ่งนี้เราจะขุดลงไปลึกอีกหน่อย กับเบื้องหลังของพืชพันธุ์ ที่ "เขา" บอกว่าทำเพื่ออาหารที่ดีของโลกครับ
#pirateketo #กูต้องรู้มั๊ย #ม้วนหางสิลูก
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@ c1e9ab3a:9cb56b43
2025-04-10 02:58:16Assumptions
| Factor | Assumption | |--------|------------| | CO₂ | Not considered a pollutant or is captured/stored later | | Water Use | Regulated across all sources; cooling towers or dry cooling required | | Compliance Cost | Nuclear no longer burdened by long licensing and construction delays | | Coal Waste | Treated as valuable raw material (e.g., fly ash for cement, gypsum from scrubbers) | | Nuclear Tech | Gen IV SMRs in widespread use (e.g., 50–300 MWe units, modular build, passive safety) | | Grid Role | All three provide baseload or load-following power | | Fuel Pricing | Moderate and stable (no energy crisis or supply chain disruptions) |
Performance Comparison
| Category | Coal (IGCC + Scrubbers) | Natural Gas (CCGT) | Nuclear (Gen IV SMRs) | |---------|-----------------------------|------------------------|--------------------------| | Thermal Efficiency | 40–45% | 55–62% | 30–35% | | CAPEX ($/kW) | $3,500–5,000 | $900–1,300 | $4,000–7,000 (modularized) | | O&M Cost ($/MWh) | $30–50 | $10–20 | $10–25 | | Fuel Cost ($/MWh) | $15–25 | $25–35 | $6–10 | | Water Use (gal/MWh) | 300–500 (with cooling towers) | 100–250 | 300–600 | | Air Emissions | Very low (excluding CO₂) | Very low | None | | Waste | Usable (fly ash, FGD gypsum, slag) | Minimal | Compact, long-term storage required | | Ramp/Flexibility | Slow ramp (newer designs better) | Fast ramp | Medium (SMRs better than traditional) | | Footprint (Land & Supply) | Large (mining, transport) | Medium | Small | | Energy Density | Medium | Medium-high | Very high | | Build Time | 4–7 years | 2–4 years | 2–5 years (with factory builds) | | Lifecycle (years) | 40+ | 30+ | 60+ | | Grid Resilience | High | High | Very High (passive safety, long refuel) |
Strategic Role Summary
1. Coal (Clean & Integrated)
- Strengths: Long-term fuel security; byproduct reuse; high reliability; domestic resource.
- Drawbacks: Still low flexibility; moderate efficiency; large physical/logistical footprint.
- Strategic Role: Best suited for regions with abundant coal and industrial reuse markets.
2. Natural Gas (CCGT)
- Strengths: High efficiency, low CAPEX, grid agility, low emissions.
- Drawbacks: Still fossil-based; dependent on well infrastructure; less long-lived.
- Strategic Role: Excellent transitional and peaking solution; strong complement to renewables.
3. Nuclear (Gen IV SMRs)
- Strengths: Highest energy density; no air emissions or CO₂; long lifespan; modular & scalable.
- Drawbacks: Still needs safe waste handling; high upfront cost; novel tech in deployment stage.
- Strategic Role: Ideal for low-carbon baseload, remote areas, and national strategic assets.
Adjusted Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE)
| Source | LCOE ($/MWh) | Notes | |--------|------------------|-------| | Coal (IGCC w/scrubbers) | ~$75–95 | Lower with valuable waste | | Natural Gas (CCGT) | ~$45–70 | Highly competitive if fuel costs are stable | | Gen IV SMRs | ~$65–85 | Assuming factory production and streamlined permitting |
Final Verdict (Under Optimized Assumptions)
- Most Economical Short-Term: Natural Gas
- Most Strategic Long-Term: Gen IV SMRs
- Most Viable if Industrial Ecosystem Exists: Clean Coal
All three could coexist in a diversified, stable energy grid: - Coal filling a regional or industrial niche, - Gas providing flexibility and economy, - SMRs ensuring long-term sustainability and energy security.
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@ c3e23eb5:03d7caa9
2025-04-10 00:41:12The issue I have with the term "mesh networks" is that it is associated with a flat network topology. While I love the idea of avoiding hierarchy, this simply doesn't scale.
Data Plane: How the Internet Scales
The internet on the scales because it has a tree like structure. As you can see in the diagram below, global (tier 1) ISPs branch out to national (tier 2) ISPs who in turn branch out to local (tier 3) ISPs. ``` ,-[ Tier 1 ISP (Global) ]─-───────[ Tier 1 ISP (Global) ] / |
/ ▼
[IXP (Global)]═══╦═══[IXP (Global)]
║
Tier 2 ISP (National)◄──────────╗
/ \ ║
▼ ▼ ║
[IXP (Regional)]════╬══[IXP (Regional)] ║
/ \ ║
▼ ▼ ║
Tier 3 ISP (Local) Tier 3 ISP (Local) ║
| | ║
▼ ▼ ▼
[User] [User] [Enterprise]▲ IXPs are physical switch fabrics - members peer directly ▲ Tier 1/2 ISPs provide transit through IXPs but don't control them ```
This structure also reflects in IP addresses, where regional traffic gets routed by regional tiers and global traffic keeps getting passed up through gateways till it reaches the root of the tree. The global ISP then routes the traffic into the correct branch so that it can trickle down to the destination IP at the bottom.
12.0.0.0/8 - Tier 1 manages routing (IANA-allocated) └─12.34.0.0/16 - Tier 2 allocated block (through RIR) └─12.34.56.0/24 - Tier 3 subnet via upstream provider ├─12.34.56.1 Public IP (CGNAT pool) └─192.168.1.1 Private IP (local NAT reuse)
Balancing idealism with pragmatism
This approach to scaling is much less idealistic than a flat hierarchy, because it relies on an authority (IANA) to assign the IP ranges to ISPs through Regional Internet Registries (RIRs). Even if this authority wasn't required, the fact that many users rely on few Tier 1 ISPs means that the system is inherently susceptible to sabotage (see 2019 BGP leak incident).
Control Plane: the internet is still described as decentralised
The internet is still described as decentralised because there is a flat hierarchy between
tier 1
ISPs at the root of the tree. ``` INTERNET CORE (Tier 1 ISPs)
AT&T (AS7018) <══════════> Deutsche Telekom (AS3320) ║ ╔════════════════════╗ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ╚══>║ NTT (AS2914) ║<══╝ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ╚═══════> Lumen (AS3356) ║ ║ ╚════╩════════════> Telia (AS1299) ```
The border gateway protocol (BGP) is used to exchange routing information between autonomous systems (ISPs). Each autonomous system is a branch of the "internet tree" and each autonomous system advertises routes to downstream autonomous systems (branches). However, the autonomous systems at the root of the tree also maintain a record of their piers, so that they can forward traffic to the correct peer. Hence, the following is a more complete diagram of the internet:
INTERNET CORE (TIER 1 MESH) ╔══════════════╦═════════════╦════════╦═════════════╗ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ AT&T (AS7018) <══╬══> Lumen (AS3356) <══╬══> NTT (AS2914) ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ╚══> Telia (AS1299) <══╝ ║ ║ ╚═══════════════════════════════╝ ║ ║ ╚═> Deutsche Telekom (AS3320) <═╝ ║ TREE HIERARCHY BELOW - MESH ABOVE ║ ▼ [ Tier 1 ISP ]───────────────────┐ / | | / ▼ ▼ [IXP]═══╦═══[IXP] [IXP] ║ ║ ▼ ▼ Tier 2 ISP◄──────────╗ Tier 2 ISP◄───────╗ / \ ║ / \ ║ ▼ ▼ ║ ▼ ▼ ║ [IXP]═╦[IXP] ║ [IXP]═╦[IXP] ║ / \ ║ / \ ║ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ Tier 3 ISP User Tier 3 ISP Enterprise
So its a mesh network - whats wrong with that?
In the example above, NTT can only send traffic to Deutsche Telekom via Lumen or AT&T. NTT relies on its peers to maintain a correct record of the IP range that they are responsible for, so that traffic that was intended for Deutsche Telekom doesn't end up in the wrong network. An intentional or even accidental error in an autonomous system's routing tables can be detrimental to the flow of traffic through the network.
Hence, mesh networks require: * Reliability: peers rely on each-other not to fail (e.g., 2019 AWS US-East-1 availability) * Trust: peers must be honest about address ranges (e.g., 2018 BGP hijacking incident) * Central planning: BGP traffic engineering determines which route a packet takes
Application Layer Innovations
Now that we have a rough overview of how the internet is broken, lets think about what can still be done. The flat hierarchy that we associate with mesh networks sounds beautiful, but it doesn't scale. However, the tree-like structure assumes that most participants in the network rely on an authority to give them an address or a range of addresses so that they can communicate.
Overlay networks
Fortunately all it takes to interact with someone on nostr is their public key. The recipients client will render your signed and/or encrypted event no matter how it reaches them. Whether your note reaches them over the internet, over some other network or via a carrier pigeon doesn't matter. nostr:npub1hw6amg8p24ne08c9gdq8hhpqx0t0pwanpae9z25crn7m9uy7yarse465gr is working on a NIP for that and I'm sure he will share an explanation of how it works.
Bitcoin Instead of a Routing Algorithm
Now that we have digital bearer assets (e-cash), users can pay their internet gateway (TollGate) for access to the internet even though they are still offline. Once the TollGate has redeemed the e-cash, it gives the user access to the internet.
Frictionless Switching between ISPs (TollGates)
Legacy internet service providers use KYC money (fiat) to transfer the cost of the infrastructure to their users. However, this means that they are able to identify which packet belongs to which user. The KYC nature of their interaction with the users also makes it difficult for users to switch ISPs when service providers undercut each-other. Internet users who are on e-cash rails can hop between ISPs frictionlessly since they buy small amounts of data frequently in a granular manner.
Users that have access to independent competing TollGates can switch between them freely, so its impossible for any one TollGate to prevent a user from connecting to the internet. The only thing a TollGate can do is attract traffic by providing cheaper and/or faster internet access.
Anyone can arbitrage connectivity
Now that users have non KYC internet, there is nothing stopping them from reselling access to their internet connection. Anyone who has a WiFi router and access to a cheap internet connection can act as a range extender by re-selling access to that gateway for people who aren't able to connect directly.
Now the route that the traffic takes through the network is determined dynamically by the markets. The individual TollGate operators select their gateways and set their prices when they create a business model. The customers select the route that best meets their needs by selecting a gateway for their next purchase.
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@ 28635a6d:ee6f3a73
2025-04-10 00:21:52Over the past few years, The School of Bitcoin (TSOBTC) has built a reputation as a decentralised, open-source educational initiative dedicated to financial sovereignty and digital literacy. Our faculty, contributors, and global community have worked tirelessly to create resources that embody the Free and Open-Source Software (FOSS) ethos, ensuring that knowledge remains accessible to all.
As part of our commitment to maintaining an open and transparent model, we are excited to announce that The School of Bitcoin is officially migrating to Consensus21.School. This transition is not just a rebranding--it marks the consolidation of all our initiatives, projects, and educational resources under the Consensus21.School banner. The School of Bitcoin will no longer exist as a separate entity.
This move comes as a response to growing confusion between our initiative and another entity operating under the domain schoolofbitcoin (SOB), which has taken a direction that does not align with our open-source philosophy. To reaffirm our dedication to FOSS and community-driven education, we are bringing everything--our courses, programs, and collaborations--into a singular, more focused ecosystem at Consensus21.School.
What Does This Mean for Our Community?
Rest assured, all the valuable content, courses, and educational materials that have been developed under TSOBTC will remain available. We continue to embrace a value-for-value model, ensuring that learners can access resources while supporting the ecosystem in a way that aligns with their means and values.
By consolidating under Consensus21.School, we are doubling down on the principles of decentralisation, self-sovereignty, and permissionless learning. This transition includes all of our key initiatives, including V4V Open Lessons, the Decentralised Autonomous Education System (DAES), and our involvement with the Plan B Network.
Full Migration of DAES and Plan B Network Collaboration
As part of this transition, the Decentralised Autonomous Education System (DAES) is now officially part of Consensus21.School and is fully reflected in the Consensus21.School Whitepaper. DAES will continue to provide a platform for aspiring learners to submit their Bitcoin project ideas for potential funding and mentorship, with active engagement in our Stacker News /~Education territory and Signal chat for collaboration. We invite contributors to support our learner fund and help bring innovative ideas to fruition within this new ecosystem.
Additionally, our collaboration with the Plan B Network will now operate under Consensus21.School. Through this partnership, we will continue teaching using the Plan B Network's curriculum to provide high-quality Bitcoin education and strengthen local Bitcoin communities. This global initiative remains a core part of our mission, now fully integrated within Consensus21.School.
Looking Ahead
With Consensus21.School, we will continue innovating in peer-to-peer learning, integrating cutting-edge developments in Bitcoin, Nostr, and decentralised technologies. We encourage our community to stay engaged, contribute, and help us build an even stronger foundation for the future of open education.
This is more than just a domain change--it is the next evolution of our mission. The School of Bitcoin as an entity is now retired, and all our efforts, including DAES and the Plan B Network collaboration, will move forward exclusively under Consensus21.School. We invite educators, students, and enthusiasts to join us in shaping this next phase of open financial education.
The journey continues, and we are thrilled to embark on this new chapter together
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@ 554ab6fe:c6cbc27e
2025-04-09 23:22:16We all live with our bodies every day, but do we truly experience them? Does this experience of the body have a broader consequence on our interpretation of life and our experience of well-being? The ability to experience the sensations of the body is known as interoception, and mindfulness meditation seems to be a powerful way of enhancing this ability. Enhanced interoception may not just result in a better understanding of the body, but may lead to a general increase in subjective well-being. Furthermore, it also may be indicative of a broader truth about how we can reach a more profound level of consciousness.
In a previous post, I began an exploration into possible reasons why those who meditate claim to achieve an altered form of consciousness. I mentioned that across enlightenment-related research, there is a common experience and interpretation of being one with everything during these altered or heightened states. I proposed that this interpretation of reality was achieved through an improved capability of the brain to process incoming information. The argument stems from the idea that the brain is constantly receiving signals from internal and external stimuli, trying to interpret those signals using previous experiences and predicted models (Seth, 2013). The interpretation created, in part, manifests itself as our conscious reality. I used an analogy of a calm pond to describe a possible consequence of this neuroscientific idea: imagine the brain as this pond, where incoming signals can be thought of as raindrops. When a single raindrop falls upon a pond, the ripples created are distinct. It is incredibly easy to determine how big the raindrop was, where it dropped, and came from, etc. However, if there is a massive rainstorm, then it is almost impossible to interpret all the intersecting ripples, and it is very hard to understand the “information” of each raindrop. This is analogous to how our brains work. The busier the incoming signals, the more difficult it is to interpret the reality of what is happening. This would also be true for the signals within the brain manifested by our thoughts and ruminations. Therefore, the calmer the pond/brain, the clearer and more accurate understanding of our world, and ourselves, is achieved. Meditation may be a method to achieve this heightened state of awareness. I find this idea profoundly interesting, and so my goal is to further explore this idea using scientific evidence as support.
To further explore and verify this idea, I felt it was important to research interoception. If this idea holds water, then it should be observed that meditation allows an individual to achieve a better understanding of incoming stimuli, both internal and external. In this post, I will explore the ability to interpret internal stimuli, which is known as interoception.
A quick note before I continue: As I began researching this topic, I found that the study of interoception was quite complex. The research is constantly evolving, and previous notions are quickly dismissed as the research progresses. Therefore, much of the research presented is speculative, and surely not indicative of definitive truth. Nothing you ever read is definitive of course, but I find that this is especially true here. Regardless, it will adequately depict the fascinating nature of our bodies and the processes involved in interpreting ourselves and reality, hopefully highlighting how important interoception is, and how poorly it is understood.
Understanding the Different Senses
To begin, an outline of our body’s senses is required. Classically speaking, the senses are defined as teloreception (vision and hearing), proprioception (limb position), exteroception (touch), chemoreception (smell and taste), and interoception (sensations from the internal organs)(A. D. Craig, 2002). In this classical definition, sensations of pain, temperature, and itches belonged to the family of touch/exteroception (A. D. Craig, 2002). Therefore, the line between the stimuli from the outside world is clearly defined and separated from the stimuli coming from inside the body. However, more recent findings suggest that temperature, pain, and itch are distinct from touch because they are associated with different neuronal pathways, and the experiences of these sensations seem to rely upon post-processing (A. D. Craig, 2002, 2003). In other words, the experience of these stimuli is more related to the mind than pure touch is. Additionally, interoception is also being redefined. The lamina I spinothalamocortical system is one of the major neuronal pathways that provide the brain with interoceptive signals (A. D. Craig, 2002, 2003). This nerve, across multiple studies, has been shown to not just send signals regarding the organs, but a sense of the condition of the entire body as well (A. D. Craig, 2002). Therefore, interoception encompasses the general feelings we have about the body’s state of being including, but not limited to, thirst, hunger, penile stimulation, exercise/exhaustion, and the condition of our organs such as bladder, stomach, etc. (A. D. B. Craig, 2009). To further complicate things, some researchers have attempted to distinguish between different aspects of interoception (Garfinkel et al., 2015):
• interoceptive accuracy – “Objective accuracy in detecting internal bodily sensations” • interoceptive sensibility – “Self-perceived dispositional tendency to be internally self-focused and interoceptively cognizant” • interoceptive awareness – “Metacognitive awareness of interoceptive accuracy”
Here, the ability to accurately detect signals and the subjective belief of one’s accuracy is differentiated. The interoceptive awareness evaluates if your subjective confidence in your ability to sense the signals coincides with the true ability. Therefore, the mind and our subjective evaluation of our signals are incredibly related to our perceived understanding. For this reason, the neuroscience of interoception should be explored, to gain a better understanding of how it works. The two brain areas that are involved in interoception and that will be discussed here are: the insula and the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC).
Insula
The insula is located deep within the cerebral cortex, and likely plays the most important role in interoception. The insula, especially the anterior portion of the insula, is thought to be involved in bodily and emotional awareness (Giuliani et al., 2011). It plays a major role in interoception and the sensations of internal physical states (Fox et al., 2014; Wolf E. Mehling et al., 2012). Not only is it integral to generating mental images of the internal state, but it is required for the motivation to make reactions based upon the interpretation, which subsequently affect the quality of life and survival (Craig, 2002). Consequentially, it plays a predictive role in awareness and decision-making (Craig, 2009). Therefore, falling in line with the idea that consciousness is the product of the predictive model generating nature of the brain to understanding and interpret incoming stimuli, the insula is thought to be a major seat of human consciousness and awareness of self-hood (Craig, 2009; Fox et al., 2014; Seth, 2013). Already, there is a clear connection between interoception, body awareness, and consciousness within the scientific literature.
Anterior Cingulate Cortex (ACC)
The other brain region heavily involved in interoception is the ACC. Where the insula largely is involved in the processing of the signal, the ACC is more involved with the response to the signal (Craig, 2002). In other words, the insula is related to the limbic sensory cortex, whereas the ACC is associated with the limbic motor cortex (Craig, 2002). Most recent studies have also shown that the ACC and insula are co-activated when a person experiences feelings (Craig, 2002, 2009). For example, both brain regions are involved in the sensation of the intensity and unpleasantness of pain (Grant et al., 2011). This provides further evidence that interoception is both a feeling and a motivation (Craig, 2009). Additionally, this enhances the argument that our interpretations and feelings from our internal environment are there for survival. It supports the idea that our brain is organized in a way that makes predictions, generates a conscious experience, that then elicits a reaction for the continuation of life.
Meditation and Interoception
Interoception involves more than just sensory information. It influences our feelings, and our understanding of our body, self, and the surrounding world. This understanding and experience of the self are seemingly influenced by the practice of meditation. Not only is this idea espoused in the east, but recent research has also indicated that increased mindfulness is correlated with increase interoceptive awareness (de Jong et al., 2016; Farb et al., 2010; Hanley et al., 2017). The exact mechanisms to how this occurs are still unclear. However, fMRI studies have shown that mindfulness meditation seems to increase activation in the insula (Farb et al., 2010). This may indicate that mindfulness promotes neurogenesis in areas that promote interoception. On that same note, the cognitive practices of mindfulness meditation may promote a mental framework that is helpful towards interoception. Mindfulness meditation involves orienting one’s attention to their immediate experience and becoming aware of all incoming stimuli with an open, curious, non-reactive, and non-judgmental interpretation (Bishop et al., 2004). This process helps generate a feeling of safety within the body, and the individual learns to interpret thoughts not as concrete objects of reality, but simply as thoughts that come and go within the mind. Researchers have found evidence to suggest that the non-reactivity obtained through meditation practice is closely linked to the ability to sustain attention towards bodily sensations (Hanley et al., 2017). This concept closely links to the idea that the calmer the mind is, the better the brain can process incoming information. This article brings forward evidence that the brain, with a calmer mind, can process interoceptive information better.
Consciousness
An interesting observation amongst interoceptive research is that an increase in interoceptive awareness is negatively correlated with emotional distress, hence an increase in subjective well-being is achieved (Hanley et al., 2017; W E Mehling et al., 2012). This is further supported by the observation that sadness is correlated with decreased activation of the insula and ACC, the brain regions involved in interoception (Farb et al., 2010). The relationship between the ability to be aware of the internal signals of the body and our mental well-being is very interesting. It suggests that not only does a calm mind generate a greater ability to understand the inner body, but it generates a more positive orientation to said experience. Additionally, it may be possible that this positive outlook spills over into other aspects of life beyond the interpretation of the self. Perhaps the calmer mind generates an accurate and positive outlook on all information received. This is perhaps why those who are expert meditators seem to be so peaceful, loving, and have a feeling of unity amongst everything.
The way we interpret information influences our experience of both ourselves and the world. Being aware of the body and its sensations in a non-judgmental way, creates a general sense of well-being. This may be indicative of a deeper philosophical idea: that the calmer the mind, the more capable the brain can interpret and understand information. This would not only provide a more accurate depiction of reality but provide a more profound understanding of it. Leading to a perspective of the world that is more positive, and potentially more oriented around the idea that we are all one. I cannot claim this is true. Nonetheless, it will be a concept that I will continue to explore. Regardless, it does seem to be the case that mindfulness meditation is capable of increasing interoception and therefore well-being. This being the case, I highly recommend that anyone interested in this topic incorporates mindfulness practice into their life. Reading and thinking about these ideas are all well and good, but to achieve full understanding, one must practice and experience it for themselves.
References
Bishop, S. R., Lau, M., Shapiro, S., Carlson, L., Anderson, N. D., Carmody, J., Segal, Z. v., Abbey, S., Speca, M., Velting, D., & Devins, G. (2004). Mindfulness: A Proposed Operational Definition. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 11(3), 230–241. https://doi.org/10.1093/clipsy.bph077
Craig, A. D. (2002). How do you feel? Nature Review. https://doi.org/10.1177/1359105308095062
Craig, A. D. (2003). Interoception: The sense of the physiological condition of the body. Current Opinion in Neurobiology, 13(4), 500–505. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0959-4388(03)00090-4
Craig, A. D. (2009). How do you feel — now? The anterior insula and human awareness. 10(January).
de Jong, M., Lazar, S. W., Hug, K., Mehling, W. E., Hölzel, B. K., Sack, A. T., Peeters, F., Ashih, H., Mischoulon, D., & Gard, T. (2016). Effects of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy on body awareness in patients with chronic pain and comorbid depression. Frontiers in Psychology, 7(JUN). https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00967
Farb, N. A. S., Anderson, A. K., Mayberg, H., Bean, J., McKeon, D., & Segal, Z. v. (2010). Minding One’s Emotions: Mindfulness Training Alters the Neural Expression of Sadness. Emotion, 10(1), 25–33. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0017151
Fox, K. C. R., Nijeboer, S., Dixon, M. L., Floman, J. L., Ellamil, M., Rumak, S. P., Sedlmeier, P., & Christoff, K. (2014). Is meditation associated with altered brain structure? A systematic review and meta-analysis of morphometric neuroimaging in meditation practitioners. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 43, 48–73. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2014.03.016
Garfinkel, S. N., Seth, A. K., Barrett, A. B., Suzuki, K., & Critchley, H. D. (2015). Knowing your own heart: Distinguishing interoceptive accuracy from interoceptive awareness. Biological Psychology, 104, 65–74. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2014.11.004
Giuliani, N. R., Drabant, E. M., Bhatnagar, R., & Gross, J. J. (2011). Emotion regulation and brain plasticity: Expressive suppression use predicts anterior insula volume. NeuroImage, 58(1), 10–15. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.NEUROIMAGE.2011.06.028
Grant, J. A., Courtemanche, J., & Rainville, P. (2011). A non-elaborative mental stance and decoupling of executive and pain-related cortices predicts low pain sensitivity in Zen meditators. Pain, 152(1), 150–156. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pain.2010.10.006
Hanley, A. W., Mehling, W. E., & Garland, E. L. (2017). Holding the body in mind: Interoceptive awareness, dispositional mindfulness and psychological well-being. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 99, 13–20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychores.2017.05.014
Mehling, W E, Price, C., Daubenmier, J. J., Acree, M., & Bartmess, E. (2012). The Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness (MAIA). PLoS ONE, 7(11), 48230. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0048230
Mehling, Wolf E., Price, C., Daubenmier, J. J., Acree, M., Bartmess, E., & Stewart, A. (2012). The Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness (MAIA). PLoS ONE, 7(11). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0048230
Seth, A. K. (2013). Interoceptive inference, emotion, and the embodied self. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 17(11), 565–573. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2013.09.007
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@ 0fa80bd3:ea7325de
2025-04-09 21:19:39DAOs promised decentralization. They offered a system where every member could influence a project's direction, where money and power were transparently distributed, and decisions were made through voting. All of it recorded immutably on the blockchain, free from middlemen.
But something didn’t work out. In practice, most DAOs haven’t evolved into living, self-organizing organisms. They became something else: clubs where participation is unevenly distributed. Leaders remained - only now without formal titles. They hold influence through control over communications, task framing, and community dynamics. Centralization still exists, just wrapped in a new package.
But there's a second, less obvious problem. Crowds can’t create strategy. In DAOs, people vote for what "feels right to the majority." But strategy isn’t about what feels good - it’s about what’s necessary. Difficult, unpopular, yet forward-looking decisions often fail when put to a vote. A founder’s vision is a risk. But in healthy teams, it’s that risk that drives progress. In DAOs, risk is almost always diluted until it becomes something safe and vague.
Instead of empowering leaders, DAOs often neutralize them. This is why many DAOs resemble consensus machines. Everyone talks, debates, and participates, but very little actually gets done. One person says, “Let’s jump,” and five others respond, “Let’s discuss that first.” This dynamic might work for open forums, but not for action.
Decentralization works when there’s trust and delegation, not just voting. Until DAOs develop effective systems for assigning roles, taking ownership, and acting with flexibility, they will keep losing ground to old-fashioned startups led by charismatic founders with a clear vision.
We’ve seen this in many real-world cases. Take MakerDAO, one of the most mature and technically sophisticated DAOs. Its governance token (MKR) holders vote on everything from interest rates to protocol upgrades. While this has allowed for transparency and community involvement, the process is often slow and bureaucratic. Complex proposals stall. Strategic pivots become hard to implement. And in 2023, a controversial proposal to allocate billions to real-world assets passed only narrowly, after months of infighting - highlighting how vision and execution can get stuck in the mud of distributed governance.
On the other hand, Uniswap DAO, responsible for the largest decentralized exchange, raised governance participation only after launching a delegation system where token holders could choose trusted representatives. Still, much of the activity is limited to a small group of active contributors. The vast majority of token holders remain passive. This raises the question: is it really community-led, or just a formalized power structure with lower transparency?
Then there’s ConstitutionDAO, an experiment that went viral. It raised over $40 million in days to try and buy a copy of the U.S. Constitution. But despite the hype, the DAO failed to win the auction. Afterwards, it struggled with refund logistics, communication breakdowns, and confusion over governance. It was a perfect example of collective enthusiasm without infrastructure or planning - proof that a DAO can raise capital fast but still lack cohesion.
Not all efforts have failed. Projects like Gitcoin DAO have made progress by incentivizing small, individual contributions. Their quadratic funding mechanism rewards projects based on the number of contributors, not just the size of donations, helping to elevate grassroots initiatives. But even here, long-term strategy often falls back on a core group of organizers rather than broad community consensus.
The pattern is clear: when the stakes are low or the tasks are modular, DAOs can coordinate well. But when bold moves are needed—when someone has to take responsibility and act under uncertainty DAOs often freeze. In the name of consensus, they lose momentum.
That’s why the organization of the future can’t rely purely on decentralization. It must encourage individual initiative and the ability to take calculated risks. People need to see their contribution not just as a vote, but as a role with clear actions and expected outcomes. When the situation demands, they should be empowered to act first and present the results to the community afterwards allowing for both autonomy and accountability. That’s not a flaw in the system. It’s how real progress happens.
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@ c892835e:4d87bc55
2025-04-09 23:02:13Hello Brazil
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@ 7d33ba57:1b82db35
2025-04-09 21:01:07Nestled along the Cassowary Coast in Far North Queensland, Mission Beach is a dreamy stretch of palm-fringed sand where the Great Barrier Reef meets the Wet Tropics rainforest. It's serene, scenic, and refreshingly uncrowded—a perfect escape if you’re chasing natural beauty, island vibes, and a bit of adventure.
🌟 Top Things to Do in Mission Beach
1️⃣ Walk the Endless Beach
- A stunning 14-kilometer stretch of golden sand
- Often you’ll feel like you have it all to yourself
- Lined with coconut palms and mountain backdrops—ideal for morning strolls or sunset walks
2️⃣ Dunk Island Adventures
- Just a 10-minute boat ride away, Dunk Island offers hiking trails, snorkeling, and tranquil beaches
- Go for a day trip or camp overnight for the real castaway feel
- You can kayak there if you're feeling adventurous 🚣♀️
3️⃣ Spot a Cassowary in the Wild
- Mission Beach is one of the best places to see the endangered cassowary, a striking and ancient-looking bird
- Keep your eyes peeled around Licuala Rainforest Walk or Bicentennial Trail
4️⃣ Skydiving with a Beach Landing 🪂
- One of the most iconic skydives in Australia
- Jump from 15,000 ft with views of the reef, rainforest, and islands—and land right on the sand!
5️⃣ Explore the Rainforest
- Walk in the Djiru National Park, home to lush jungle, creeks, and butterflies
- Or hike the Clump Mountain track for coastal views
🍉 Where to Eat & Chill
- The Garage Bar & Grill – Laid-back, good vibes, great burgers
- Baba Curry – Casual spot for Indian and tropical twists
- Mission Beach Tavern – Classic Aussie pub fare, cold beers, and often live music
- Spicy Thai Hut – Small, authentic, and big on flavor
🌺 Need-to-Know Tips
✅ Stinger season (Oct–May) means you should swim in designated netted areas or wear stinger suits
✅ Great base to explore the Atherton Tablelands, Tully Gorge, or Paronella Park
✅ Car rental is super handy—Mission Beach is spread out and public transport is limited
✅ It’s quiet here—perfect for relaxing, recharging, and going off-grid -
@ 878dff7c:037d18bc
2025-04-09 21:38:34Coalition Proposes Sovereign Wealth Funds to Address National Debt
Summary:
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has unveiled a plan to reduce Australia's $1.2 trillion debt by creating two sovereign wealth funds: the Future Generations Fund and the Regional Australia Future Fund. These funds aim to allocate 80% of commodity windfall revenues toward debt reduction and regional development, focusing on infrastructure and economic support outside metropolitan areas.
Sources: The Australian - April 10, 2025
Australian Dollar Falls Below 60 US Cents Amid Tariff Concerns
Summary:
The Australian dollar has dropped to a five-year low, trading below 60 US cents, as markets react to escalating tariff tensions initiated by the U.S. This depreciation reflects investor fears of a potential global economic downturn impacting Australia's economy.
Sources: ABC News - 9 April 2025, Reuters - 7 April 2025
AI Transformation Reshaping Australia's Software Development Landscape
Summary:
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming Australia's software development industry. Recent research indicates widespread adoption of AI tools and methodologies, leading to increased efficiency and innovation. This trend positions Australian tech companies competitively in the global market and highlights the importance of AI literacy for professionals in the sector. Sources: Tech Business News - April 10, 2025
UK and Australia Collaborate on Next-Generation Weapons Development
Summary:
The United Kingdom and Australia have launched a partnership to develop next-generation sub-systems for low-cost weapons. This collaboration integrates the UK's Modular Weapons Testbed with Australia's SHARKTOOTH program, featuring innovative 'plug-and-launch' modular technology. The initiative aims to accelerate the deployment of advanced, affordable weapons technologies, enhancing both nations' defense capabilities. Sources: The Defense Post - April 7, 2025, ASD News - April 4, 2025
Smoke Advisory Issued for Greater Sydney Due to Hazard Reduction Burns
Summary:
The NSW Rural Fire Service has issued a smoke advisory for the Greater Sydney area, including the Blue Mountains and Southern Highlands, due to planned hazard reduction burns. Residents are advised to stay indoors, close windows and doors, and keep respiratory medications close by. rfs.nsw.gov.au+1rfs.nsw.gov.au+1 ABC
Sources: NSW Rural Fire Service - April 9, 2025
Leaders Clash in First Election Debate
Summary:
In the first leaders' debate of the 2025 federal election campaign, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton clashed on several key issues during the Sky News/Daily Telegraph People's Forum. Albanese accused the Coalition of historically cutting health and education funding, which Dutton vehemently denied. The debate also saw pointed exchanges over spending levels, energy policy, and cost-of-living concerns. Dutton challenged Albanese’s tax cuts and left open the possibility of extending fuel excise relief. The leaders also addressed infrastructure funding, economic management, and health services. The debate occurred with only 25 days until the election and 14 days before early voting begins.
Sources: The Daily Telegraph - 10 April 2025, News.com.au - 10 April 2025
Australia and Philippines to Increase Joint Military Exercises
Summary:
Australia and the Philippines have agreed to double their joint military drills and security engagements in 2025. This decision underscores the strengthening defense ties between the two nations in response to regional security challenges. Sources: Manila Bulletin - April 7, 2025
Victoria's Working with Children Check System Criticized for Allowing Individuals Under Investigation to Retain Clearance
Summary:
Victoria's Working with Children Check system is under scrutiny for permitting individuals under investigation for abuse and assault to retain their clearance. Parents and advocates are calling for urgent reforms, highlighting cases where children were allegedly harmed by individuals who maintained their working with children credentials despite serious allegations. ABC
Sources: ABC News - April 10, 2025
Ecological Revival Following Inland Floods
Summary:
After unprecedented rainfall transformed over a million square kilometers of inland Australia into floodplains, the region is witnessing a remarkable ecological revival. Native wildlife such as fish, long-haired rats, frogs, and birds are thriving, and previously dried-out habitats are being replenished. Experts view the floods as a rare opportunity for broad ecological regeneration, including mega breeding events and species migrations. While challenges remain, the natural rebirth offers hope as long-dormant ecosystems awaken with vibrant life.
Sources: The Times - April 10, 2025, SciTechDaily - April 10, 2025
CyberCX Report Highlights Evolving Cyber Threat Landscape
Summary:
CyberCX's annual Threat Report for 2025 reveals that business email compromise remains the top incident type, with espionage-related incidents taking longer to detect compared to previous years. The report underscores the need for enhanced cybersecurity measures across Australian organizations. Sources: CyberCX - April 9, 2025
Greens-Backed Study Targets Environmental Impact of Pet Dogs
Summary:
A new study, receiving attention from progressive environmental circles including the Greens, has flagged pet dogs as a significant ecological threat. The research claims dogs contribute to pollution, wildlife disturbances, and even climate change due to their carbon footprint. Critics argue this is part of a broader ideological push to regulate personal lifestyle choices, sparking concerns that common household pets may soon be in the environmental policy crosshairs. With the Greens already pushing for sweeping environmental reforms, some Australians fear this could lead to overreach targeting ordinary families and their beloved pets.
Sources: The Guardian - 10 April 2025
High-Intensity Resistance and Impact Training Enhances Bone Density in Postmenopausal Women
Summary:
The LIFTMOR randomized controlled trial investigated the effects of high-intensity resistance and impact training (HiRIT) on bone health in postmenopausal women with low bone mass. Over eight months, participants engaged in twice-weekly, 30-minute HiRIT sessions, performing exercises such as deadlifts, overhead presses, and back squats at over 85% of their one-repetition maximum. The study found significant improvements in lumbar spine bone mineral density (BMD) by 2.9%, femoral neck BMD by 0.3%, cortical thickness, and functional performance measures, including enhanced leg and back strength. Notably, the HiRIT program was well-tolerated, with high compliance and minimal adverse events, suggesting that such training is both safe and effective for improving bone health and physical function in this demographic. Sources: PubMed - October 4, 2017
Anti-Aging Expert Peter Attia Discusses Longevity and Health Optimization
Summary:
In this episode of "The Diary Of A CEO," host Steven Bartlett engages with Dr. Peter Attia, a physician specializing in longevity and health optimization. Dr. Attia delves into the often-overlooked aspects of aging, emphasizing the importance of proactive health measures. He highlights the critical role of maintaining muscle mass and strength, noting that a decline in these areas significantly increases mortality risk. Dr. Attia also explores natural methods to enhance testosterone levels without resorting to testosterone replacement therapy (TRT), advocating for lifestyle interventions such as strength training, adequate sleep, and balanced nutrition. Throughout the conversation, he underscores the necessity of individualized health strategies and regular monitoring to effectively prevent age-related diseases. Sources: Spotify - April 2025
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@ 7d33ba57:1b82db35
2025-04-09 19:30:29Havana (La Habana) is a city that grabs you with its vintage soul, vivid colors, and irresistible rhythm. Picture classic 1950s cars cruising past crumbling colonial mansions, locals dancing to live salsa in the streets, and the smell of strong Cuban coffee and cigars in the air. It’s not polished, but that’s part of the magic—Havana is alive.
🌟 Top Things to Do in Havana
1️⃣ Explore Old Havana (Habana Vieja)
- A UNESCO World Heritage Site with narrow streets, pastel facades, and grand plazas
- Must-see spots: Plaza Vieja, Plaza de la Catedral, Plaza de Armas, and El Capitolio
- Stop at a rooftop bar for mojitos and views over the city 🌆
2️⃣ Ride in a Classic American Car 🚗
- Take a guided tour in a vintage convertible—pink, red, or baby blue, your choice!
- Cruise along the Malecón, past the Hotel Nacional and through leafy neighborhoods like Vedado
3️⃣ Walk the Malecón
- Havana’s famous seaside promenade is the city’s open-air living room
- Best at sunset, when locals gather to fish, chat, play music, or just watch the waves crash
4️⃣ Visit the Museum of the Revolution
- Housed in Batista’s former palace, it tells the story of Cuba’s revolutionary history
- The building itself, with bullet holes and all, is part of the experience
5️⃣ Fábrica de Arte Cubano (FAC)
- A mix of gallery, nightclub, performance space, and bar
- Where Havana’s artsy and creative crowd hangs out—don’t miss it if you're into music or culture
🍹 What to Eat & Drink in Havana
- Ropa vieja – Shredded beef in tomato sauce, a Cuban classic
- Moros y Cristianos – Black beans and rice served with everything
- Tostones & yuca – Tasty fried plantains and cassava
- Mojitos & daiquiris – Best enjoyed where Hemingway drank them: La Bodeguita del Medio and El Floridita
- Cuban coffee – Small, strong, and sweet
🎵 Feel the Vibe
✅ Catch live music in every bar—from salsa and rumba to jazz and son cubano
✅ Watch a local dance show, or better yet, join a salsa class
✅ Visit Callejón de Hamel on Sundays for Afro-Cuban rhythms and street art🛺 Tips for Visiting Havana
🌞 Bring cash (euros or USD)—credit cards aren’t widely accepted
📶 Expect limited Wi-Fi—most people use Wi-Fi parks with pre-paid cards
💡 Embrace the slower pace—this is Cuba, not a rush
🚖 Use official taxis or pre-negotiate fares
💬 Learn a few Spanish basics—locals really appreciate it
💃 Talk to people—Cubans are warm, proud, and full of stories -
@ 16f1a010:31b1074b
2025-04-09 19:23:44Arceus was born from nothing, not even chaos.
Arceus soon made Dialga, Palkia, and then Giratina. Dialga created time, Palkia created space, and Giratina created anti-matter. And thus, the Universe was born.Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina began battling and as a result were banished to their individual realms by Arceus.
Arceus then created Groudon, Kyogre, and Rayquaza. Groudon formed the huge celestial bodies known as planets, and the trio chose one to inhabit with life. Arceus created the sun, then shot off across the universe to create all the many stars.
But he had learnt from experience, so he tasked Rayquaza as the peace-keeper.
The trio set to work, with Groudon raising land violently, creating volcanoes and mountains; Kyogre, creating the seas, where the land was not, and Rayquaza making an atmosphere full of 'air'.
Sure enough, Kyogre's waters started to corrode Groudon's land, and this angered him. The two battled, but Rayquaza broke it up, and sent Groudon deep underground, while Kyogre was sent deep into the oceans, before returning out into the ozone layer.
Soon, Arceus returned, and it tried to make life, but failed miserably. So it created Regigigas. Regigigas moved the continents with its bare hands, piecing them together like a puzzle.
When the final chunk of land was put into place, the world sprung to life, with grass and trees sprouting everywhere. Finally, the world was ready for life.
Arceus sent Regigigas into a coma until it was needed once more. It then created thousands of Pokémon to inhabit the world. These Pokémon belonged to one of five races.
Celebi
Jirachi
Mew
Manaphy
or Victini
It also created Latios and Latias, its personal agents, whom it sent flying through the universe in search of a species with great intelligence to live in harmony with its creations, before leaving once more to regain energy.
After much searching, Latias found an intelligent alien species known as Deoxys. They were bacterial but advanced. They chose a few of them and brought them back to their world.
For a while, things were fine, and the Deoxys and natives lived together in harmony. Until the Deoxys discovered they could 'infect' the natives and use their bodies. Suddenly, they were all infecting a host, and then war broke out.The Mew, Jirachi, Manaphy, Celebi, and Victini battled their infected brethren to set them free, while the Deoxys sought total dominance.
The war raged on for many centuries, until there were but a handful left of each species. Arceus returned and destroyed the last of the Deoxys, but the damage was done. The population of the world was little more than 20.
The Celebi retreated to the forests, hiding amongst the trees and in time. The Manaphy retreated to the sea, the Jirachi fell asleep, only waking up every so often, and the Victini hid in far-off lands.
This left only the Mew.During the war, three Mew had hidden under lakes in search of enlightenment.
Leaving only a handful of Mew left to roam. They were alone.The war had left the land in ruins; some places were battle-scarred beyond repair. Instead of lush grass, there were harsh deserts. This angered Groudon, sending him into a rage. Volcanoes spurted and spewed lava everywhere.
One day, a Mew was floating along when a sudden flow of lava approached it. Thinking quickly, Mew unleashed energy inside it that even Arceus didn't know about. It morphed the lava into a form and gave it LIFE. The first Heatran was created.
Arceus sensed this and had an idea. Gathering all the able Mew, it channeled immense power through them, using their life-giving abilities to create more living creatures. These were crude and unfinished, prototypes of what was to come.
Aerodactyl filled the sky, while Lileep, Cranidos, and Shieldon roamed the land.
Anorith, Omanyte, and Kabuto populated the seas.
Arceus also bestowed upon most of these beings the power to 'evolve' into more powerful creatures if the correct environment was met.
Finally, Latias returned once more. They had been far more thorough in their searching than before. However, Arceus had told them to stop, but guilt kept them going. They were determined to complete their job.
They brought humans from another planet. Basic but intelligent beings who definitely lacked the ability to infect anything. The humans settled in quickly, initially living relatively separately from the animals.
But Arceus wasn't convinced; he felt the need to test them.
First, Arceus created Articuno, who he ordered to send the planet into an Ice Age.
Articuno froze the planet, killing many creatures, but giving birth to new ones like Mamoswine.
To Arceus' pleasure, the humans adapted, creating structures out of ice and snow. The severe drop in temperature awoke Regigigas, who rose high above the land and saw what was happening.
The humans instantly fell in love with Regigigas, worshipping the titan and creating statues of it from ice. Touched by this, Regigigas found one of the statues and breathed life into it before returning to sleep.
However, this scared the humans, and they locked it away in a cave.
Realizing that the Ice Age did not affect the humans, Arceus created another bird, Moltres, and ordered it to send the world into a drought. The ice melted, and the water evaporated as the temperature rose higher and higher.
While the humans continued to adapt, using the skills they had learned with the ice and applying them to rock, the creatures weren't as lucky. The Mamoswine and other creatures that adapted to the cold died off, but new ones such as huge insects like Yanmega became common.
Once again, the drought awoke Regigigas, who once again saw a statue of himself. Thinking the humans would have learned from last time, Regigigas gave it life. But rumors of the living statue had been passed down and exaggerated since last time, and once again, the scared humans locked away this second 'Regi'.
When the drought finally wore off, Arceus began the third and final test. He created one more legendary bird, Zapdos. Zapdos created powerful electrical storms all across the land.
The storms killed off the last of the prototype creatures, leaving only the humans and the few pets they brought from their home land. One extremely intelligent man managed to harness the power of electricity, creating the first electronic device.
Of course, Regigigas awoke one final time. He discovered that the humans were far more evolved than expected, able to harness metals and electricity, albeit at a somewhat primitive level. More out of tradition than anything else, Regigigas created the third Regi out of steel. The humans were no longer scared of this Regi, but they sealed it away with the other two nonetheless, knowing that one day someone powerful enough would tame them.
Arceus was baffled. The humans had passed all three tests of harsh weather. Zapdos calmed the storms, and the world became peaceful once again.
Arceus herded the Mew together for a second time. Having learned the strengths and weaknesses of his prototype beings, Arceus was ready to go farther.
Siphoning its huge power through the small pink beings, Arceus filled the world with hundreds of species of creatures that would become known as 'Pokémon'. They were more diverse than it had ever imagined, filling the skies, land, and sea.
The life energies even reacted with the sun rays and moonlight, creating Ho-oh and Lugia respectively.
Some radiated out of the planet's moon, creating a population of Clefairy, as well as Cresselia on the light side and Darkrai on the dark side of the moon.
Lugia befriended the three elemental birds, and they followed him like a leader. Meanwhile, humans started to get closer to these new creatures, using them as slaves, weapons, or pets. The term 'Pokémon' arose from strange travelers and stuck.
The first Pokéballs were created from Apricorns, and the bond between human and Pokémon was complete.
Ho-oh took residence at the top of the Bell Tower. It was jealous of Lugia's trio of birds and wanted one of its own. One day, three Kimono girls entered its tower with a Jolteon, Flareon, and Vaporeon.
Ho-oh burnt down the tower with its Sacred Fire. Most escaped, but the three Pokémon were trapped and perished in the flames. Ho-oh soon resurrected them as Entei, Raikou, and Suicune.
Humans continued to evolve and take over the land, and Pokémon continued to work alongside and for them for many, many years.
That is the story of the Pokémon World.
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@ 378562cd:a6fc6773
2025-04-09 17:11:25So, this is the way I see things...
Bitcoin’s rise is not merely a technological revolution—it serves as a masterclass in game theory unfolding in real time. At its core, game theory examines how individuals make decisions when outcomes rely on the choices of others. Bitcoin adoption adheres to this model precisely.
Imagine a global network where each new participant increases the value and security of the system. Early adopters take a risk, hoping others will follow. The incentive to join grows stronger as more people opt in—whether out of curiosity, conviction, or FOMO. No one wants to be last to the party, especially if that party rewrites financial history.
Here’s how the game theory of adoption plays out:
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🧠 First movers take risks but gain the most—they enter when the price is low and the potential is high.
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👀 Everyone watches everyone else—people, companies, and countries are scanning the field for the next move.
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The network effect kicks in—the more players are in the game, the more valuable and secure the system becomes.
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⏳ Waiting can cost you—as adoption grows, the price of entry rises, making hesitation expensive.
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No one wants to be left behind—especially in a global economy battling inflation and instability.
Game theory tells us that smart players make decisions that bring them the most goodies. As Bitcoin gets more popular, it’s like a party that’s really heating up, and you don’t want to be the one left outside! In this thrilling game, the early bird doesn’t just get the worm—it lands a juicy opportunity in a brand-new way to spend money. So don’t dawdle; now’s the time to jump in and grab your piece of this financial fiesta!
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@ c253bd19:7911dadc
2025-04-09 16:52:54Welcome to my overly technical green nook and follow me as I explore the possibility of becoming partially self reliant in terms of produce in an urban setting with only limited resources and effort. 🌱🌱
I was going to write a cool lengthy article explaining my motivation. Explaining how I got here and why I want to do what I want to do. I had all the punchy lines ready and I spend a decent amount of time on the first draft. Some parts were even pretty good. But then I realized that the audience of this content probably already knows that something is off. That some parts of our world are just broken. That we need to do something. We can feel it in our bones. The great uneasiness. I realized I'd be preaching to the choir for most part and I therefore decided to park my lengthy article. At least for now.
I am just going to lay out 3 quick thoughts for you to ponder and then I am going to jump straight in. Alright, here it goes:
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I do software engineering for living. I used to love it for the freedom and creativity. I still like it but I feel like most of my projects have no meaning and add no real world value. You might say this is just a typical case of burnout. But I think that we might be interpreting burnout wrong. Maybe it's just our inner voice telling us to put our skills and efforts towards something meaningful. Maybe we should not fight it. Maybe we should listen.
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I think our world has become overly complex. I think technology and complicated systems bring a lot of convenience and comfort but I also think that sometimes we go too far and we give up control of our lives. The complexity often hides poor design and occasionally even ill intentions - seeking profit no matter the cost. I think some things should remain small-scale, simple, transparent, and pure.
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I value personal freedom but I also think we need to take responsibility for our actions, or lack of action. We use nebulous labels to transfer guilt and abstract problems away. The corporations are exploiting the poor countries. The corporations are killing the planet. It helps us sleep better at night. But in fact, the corporations are just groups of people. It's us exploiting each other. It's us destroying the plant. I think it's up to us to do something about it on the individual level. We don't need any grand plans, we just need to do something. Baby steps.
Loosely following the 3 points above, I set out to come up with a personal project that would be:
- technical and involve coding but at the same time has a very tangible final product
- has potential to improve my day-to-day life, is reproducible, and may inspire other people
- revolves around self-reliance, sustainability, and decreasing my environmental footprint
...and voila, I landed with microgreens. I've always had a green thumb and I have a ton of plants in my apartment. I also like to cook and I pay attention to my nutrition. Especially to the quality of the ingredients I use. Produce is a frequent flyer in my meals so naturally I was curious if I could maybe just grow some on my own. I wanted to see if I can opt out from the grocery industry for at least this little part of my nutritional intake. Baby steps, remember? Well, there's one catch. I am not exactly a farmer. Quite the opposite. I live in a tiny apartment in a big city and I don't have a garden (at least for now). That's why microgreens came into play. Being able to grow fresh greens indoors and within just a few days. With only limited supplies and space. That'd be pretty neat.
In my typical fashion, I jumped straight into it. I got some trays and some soil. I ordered some seeds and in just a couple days I successfully...made a huge mess. I hit all kinds of snags. There was soil everywhere. Majority of my crop went down with mold, and the few greens I actually harvested had soil all over them. Mmmm earthy. They were basically unusable. A great success!/s
I quickly realized that this is not the way to go. Sure, I could learn and make this work, but it was clear to me that this is not what I was looking for. I didn't exactly want to start a farm in my living room. I wanted to come up with a clever yet simple process. I wanted something that might take some effort initially but something that is a smooth sailing once set up. With that I went back to the drawing board.
My pilot attempt was a failure but I did learn a few things:
- soil = mess
- more variables means more things to go wrong
- precise and consistent watering is the key to success
For my next iteration I decided to go small and simple. I am going use my 3d printer to print a reusable tray suitable for bottom watering. I will use a coconut fiber mat as the growing medium in order to avoid all the soil mess. I am also thinking about using a simple grid laid on top of the mat to make the greens grow evenly and to make it easier to cut them once they are ready for harvest.
After a few (read countless) hours with Blender, I've got my prototype and the 3d printer warming up so stay tuned...
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@ 51307ca1:de21c861
2025-04-09 16:02:59{"type": "canvas_creation", "canvas_id": "canvas_1qqs7793", "timestamp": "2025-04-09T09:02:59.945647"}
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@ 51307ca1:de21c861
2025-04-09 15:46:25{"type": "canvas_creation", "canvas_id": "canvas_c06fd5f6", "timestamp": "2025-04-09T08:46:25.204352"}
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@ 51307ca1:de21c861
2025-04-09 15:05:48{"version": "1.0", "type": "canvas", "description": "This is a test canvas that will evolve with zaps", "initial_state": {"width": 1024, "height": 1024, "background_color": "#FFFFFF"}}
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@ 8d34bd24:414be32b
2025-04-09 14:45:28I was listening to “Ultimately with R.C. Sproul.” He made the comment that “Sin is so common that we don’t think it is that concerning, but it is especially concerning because it is so common.” This is so true.
I used to really look down on Adam and Eve for eating the forbidden fruit. I thought, “How hard is it to obey a single command? We have so many to obey today from God, government, parents, etc.” One day I finally realized two truths. Adam and Eve were adults, but they had not been around very long (the Bible doesn’t say how long, but the implication is not very long, maybe even as short as days after being created.) They didn’t have life experience. They also had never been lied to before. They weren’t looking at the world with suspicion. They lived in a perfect environment with a perfect, loving God. It would’ve never crossed their mind that a person would lie, so they trusted the lie instead of God.
Today, we live in a sinful, fallen world. Everyone lies. Everyone steals. Everyone is unkind. Everyone has selfish motives. Yes, there is a difference in how often and how “bad” the lie, the theft, the motive, or the unkindness, but sin is everywhere. We get used to it and it seems normal. When we act the same way, it doesn’t seem that bad. We just took a pen home from work, nobody will miss it. We just told the person what they wanted to hear, so we won’t hurt their feelings. It is only a little white lie. Yes, I was unkind, but that person really deserved it because they were worse. We think this way and excuse our sins because we aren’t as bad as someone else.
I’ve noticed as I’ve grown older that the age when you become old keeps getting older and older. Old is always a little bit older than I am. When I was 10, a teenager was really old. When I was 16, an 18 year old was an adult and old. When I was 20, a 40 year old was old. When I was 50, a 65 year old was old. Old keeps getting older because my reference is myself. The truth is that I am getting older. I am on the downhill slide. I am closer to death than I am to birth. My arbitrary, moving reference doesn’t change this fact.
In the same way, when we look at sin, we have the same problem. We are always looking for someone who sins worse to make us look better and to excuse our sins. We compare ourselves to sinful men instead of our perfect, holy, sinless Savior.
In an earlier post, I made the comparison of the lights in the sky. If you go outside on a dark, moonless night, you will see the stars in the sky shining. They seem bright, but some are brighter than others. You can compare the brightness of the stars and call some brighter and others darker, but when the sun rises, you can’t see any light from the stars. Their light is drowned out by the light of the sun. The sun is so much brighter that it is as if the stars don’t produce any light at all.
In the same way, we may do some good things. When we compare our good deeds to others, we may look better, but when the true reference, the Son of God is our reference, our good works look like they don’t exist at all. The differences between the best person and the worst person are insignificant, just like the brightness of the brightest star and the dimmest star seems insignificant when compared with the brightness of the Sun.
The cool thing is that there is another light in the sky, the moon. The moon doesn’t have any light of its own, but it is the second brightest light in the sky. Why? Because it reflects the light of the sun. We should be the same way. We will never measure up if we seek to be good and sinless. We will never meet the standard that Jesus set for us with His perfect, sinless, sacrificial life, but we can reflect the glory of Jesus in our lives.
Yes, when we sin, we can hurt others, but who are we really sinning against? David knows.
Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness;\ According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions.\ Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity\ And cleanse me from my sin.\ For I know my transgressions,\ And my sin is ever before me.\ **Against You, You only, I have sinned\ And done what is evil in Your sight,\ So that You are justified when You speak\ And blameless when You judge.\ Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,\ And in sin my mother conceived me.\ Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being,\ And in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom. (Psalm 51:1-6) {emphasis mine}
Yes, our sins can hurt other people and do, but the true damage is to the glory of our generous Creator God. We must confess our sins to God first and then to anyone we have hurt. We must accept that we deserve any judgement God gives us because He created us and everyone and everything with which we interact. Our allegiance, submission, and worship is due to our Creator God.
Because we can never fully understand how abhorrent sin is to God, I thought I’d share how a godly man, the priest and prophet, Ezra, reacted to sin among his brethren.
When I heard about this matter, I tore my garment and my robe, and pulled some of the hair from my head and my beard, and sat down appalled. Then everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel on account of the unfaithfulness of the exiles gathered to me, and I sat appalled until the evening offering.
But at the evening offering I arose from my humiliation, even with my garment and my robe torn, and I fell on my knees and stretched out my hands to the Lord my God; and I said, “O my God, I am ashamed and embarrassed to lift up my face to You, my God, for our iniquities have risen above our heads and our guilt has grown even to the heavens. Since the days of our fathers to this day we have been in great guilt, and on account of our iniquities we, our kings and our priests have been given into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity and to plunder and to open shame, as it is this day. But now for a brief moment grace has been shown from the Lord our God, to leave us an escaped remnant and to give us a peg in His holy place, that our God may enlighten our eyes and grant us a little reviving in our bondage. (Ezra 9:3-8) {emphasis mine}
Ezra sees sin, shreds his clothes, pulls out his hair, and sits appalled. Do we feel even a fraction of the horror at guilt that Ezra showed? When faced with some Israelites marrying non-Israelite (many from the banned people groups), Ezra admits that “our iniquities have risen above our heads and our guilt has grown even to the heavens.” How many of us would think that was only a little sin or that since it was only a few people, it wasn’t that important? Ezra, instead of saying, “Why did you send us into exile for 70 years and why are you not blessing us now?” said, “But now for a brief moment grace has been shown from the Lord our God.” Instead of accusing God of not being good enough or kind enough, thanks God for His grace which was completely undeserved. If only we could look at sin in this way.
After all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and our great guilt, since You our God have requited us less than our iniquities deserve, and have given us an escaped remnant as this, (Ezra 9:13) {emphasis mine}
Ezra understood that we all deserve only judgment. Every good thing we receive is only due to God’s grace. Instead of asking why God would allow a bad thing to happen to us, we should be asking why God is so gracious to give us good things in our lives and not give us nothing but punishment.
Jesus also talked about our sins. Although it is good, when we are tempted to sin, to choose to not sin, even evil thoughts are sins. They mean our minds and hearts are not fully submitted to God.
“You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not commit murder’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell. Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering. Make friends quickly with your opponent at law while you are with him on the way, so that your opponent may not hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. Truly I say to you, you will not come out of there until you have paid up the last cent.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery’; but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to go into hell.
“It was said, ‘Whoever sends his wife away, let him give her a certificate of divorce’; but I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for the reason of unchastity, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
“Again, you have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not make false vows, but shall fulfill your vows to the Lord.’ But I say to you, make no oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Nor shall you make an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your statement be, ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’; anything beyond these is of evil.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also. Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:21-48) {emphasis mine}
Many people say that as New Testament believers, we are not under the Old Covenant and the Old Testament laws do not apply to us. While that may be true of the ceremonial laws, the truth is that Jesus made the laws stricter. It is still true that we are not to commit murder, but we are also not to hate another. It is still true that we are not to commit adultery, but we are also not to lust after another. We are also not to fight against those who mistreat us and we are to love those who hate us. Jesus expects more, not less, maybe because we now have the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit within us.
If we have the mind of Christ, we should despise the things God hates. If we have the heart of Christ, we should love even those who hate us and we should seek their eternal good. We should see with the eyes of Christ and see the hurt behind the hate and dishonesty. How do we do this? We need to fill our minds with the word of God. We need to obey Paul’s command to those in Philippi:
Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. (Philippians 4:8)
We need to so fill our mind with God’s word that God’s goodness overflows into our lives.
God of heaven, please change our hearts and minds and make them fully aligned with your heart and mind. Help us to see sin as you see sin and to see people as you see people. Help us to see the hurt instead of the lashing out, so we can have a merciful heart towards those who are unkind to us. Help us to fill our minds with your goodness and your word, so there is no room for evil in us. Make us more like you.
Trust Jesus
FYI, there are many people who can’t see their own sin and who discount the severity of sin. I am writing for these people. There are also people who have no trouble seeing their own sin. Their problem is not accepting the forgiveness of God. Never doubt that God has forgiven you if you have confessed your sins and trusted Jesus as Savior. Jesus has covered your sins and the Father sees only the holiness of Jesus. Your relationship with the Godhead is fully reconciled. You should do right out of thankfulness and love of God, but there is nothing else you need to do to be saved and have a right relationship with God.
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@ 7bc05901:8c26d22b
2025-04-09 14:15:31My wife (girlfriend at the time) and I were heading back from Nashville after celebrating the opening of Bitcoin Park in Nashville. My boy Ryan had, once again, drug me to a Bitcoin event in the waning days of my stubborn shitcoinery. This event was the nail in the coffin for those days, and I'm happy to say the "stay humble stack sats" message finally permeated.
My wife is a dedicated reseller, her family has been flipping garage sale finds and auction grabs for years, so we rarely see a flea market or antique mall that we pass up. Somewhere between Missouri and Nashville we pulled off the highway to check out a spot in a dying but (if you squint your eyes and imagine it is 50 years in the past) a picturesque little town.
We were in my little Scion FRS, a two door sports car, so when I came across an old newspaper vending machine, I had to do a lot of geometry to figure out if I could shove this thing in the Scion. I concluded that my girlfriend would have to ride in the backseat for the remaining three hour drive if I really wanted to scoop up this vending machine, because it was too wide to slide into the trunk. Even though she knew I had an infatuation for retro newspaper things and was encouraging me to buy it, I declined. Probably the right call, but I still think about that thing -- the price was right.
I don't know what I would have done with it, but I have for years produced various hobbyist newspaper zines focusing on local political issues that I distributed from the coffeeshop that I worked at in my small town. The idea was hitting so hard when the social media censorship conversation was at a fever pitch after 2016 -- You can't censor a copy machine, I kept thinking. Analog zines, I was convinced, were the future.
I hadn't thought through decentralized social media protocols, but I did get really tired of distributing zines that nobody was excited to pay me for. Copying, organizing, stapling. I should have known I didn't have the patience to maintain that, or the finances.
Even established local news corporations, especially in my town, are struggling to justify a print version. This wasn't the case a quarter of a century ago.
My dad would stop at the Casey's convenience story every morning on the way into town, as he took us to school. If you brought your own travel mug, it was only fifty cents to fill up your cup of coffee. Nearly everyday, he would also come out with a copy of the local newspaper: The Daily Journal. The price was right around a dollar for the paper. It might have even been cheaper, like fifty or seventy-five cents.
The idea I am inching towards in this post, is that if every person valued the distribution of local (and global) news to the tune of a buck or a buck fifty, we could see the re-emergence sustaining news ecosystems. A buck fifty is almost two thousand sats today -- imagine if each appreciator of local news set aside just a thousand sats a day to zap news distributors. If there was a bias for following and amplifying local news events in each user's town, which tend to get a lot of attention on the centralized social media platforms, I think an entirely new value-4-value journalism enterprise model could emerge.
It may be important to start tinkering on a client that is built specifically for newspapers. I am not sure which features would be critical, but as the normies trickle over to the uncensorable social media protocol -- let's be ready.
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@ 04c195f1:3329a1da
2025-04-09 10:54:43The old world order is crumbling. What was once considered stable and unshakable—the American-led global framework established after World War II—is now rapidly disintegrating. From the fraying fabric of NATO to the self-serving protectionism of Trump’s renewed presidency, the signals are clear: the empire that once held the Western world together is retreating. And in the vacuum it leaves behind, a new power must emerge.
The question is: will Europe finally seize this moment?
For decades, Europe has relied on the illusion of safety under an American umbrella. This dependency allowed us to indulge in what can only be described as “luxury politics.” Instead of strengthening our core institutions—defense, infrastructure, energy independence—we poured our energy into ideological experiments: value-based governance, multiculturalism, aggressive climate goals, and endless layers of bureaucracy.
We let ourselves believe history had ended. That war, scarcity, and geopolitical struggle were things of the past. That our greatest challenges would be inclusivity, carbon credits, and data protection regulations.
But history, as always, had other plans.
Trump, Nationalist Hope and Hard Reality
Across Europe, many nationalists and conservatives initially welcomed Donald Trump. He rejected the tenets of liberal globalism, called out the absurdities of woke ideology, and promised a return to realism. In a world saturated by progressive conformity, he seemed like a disruptive breath of fresh air.
And to a certain extent, he was.
But history will likely remember his presidency not for culture wars or conservative rhetoric—but for something far more consequential: the dismantling of the American empire.
What we are witnessing under Trump is the accelerated withdrawal of the United States from its role as global enforcer. Whether by design or incompetence, the result is the same. American institutions are retracting, its alliances are fraying, and its strategic grip on Europe is loosening.
For Americans, this may seem like decline. For Europe, it is an opportunity—an uncomfortable, painful, but necessary opportunity.
This is our chance to break free from the American yoke and step into the world as a sovereign power in our own right.
The End of Illusions
Europe is not a weak continent. We have a population larger than the United States, an economy that outpaces Russia’s many times over, and centuries of civilizational strength behind us. But we have been kept fragmented, distracted, and dependent—by design.
Both Washington and Moscow have an interest in a divided, impotent Europe. American strategists see us as junior partners at best, liabilities at worst. Russian elites, like Sergey Karaganov, openly admit their goal is to push Europe off the global stage. China, for its part, eyes our markets while quietly maneuvering to undermine our autonomy.
But something is changing.
In Brussels, even the ideologically captured technocrats are beginning to see the writing on the wall. Overbearing regulations like GDPR are being reconsidered. The long-pushed Equal Treatment Directive—a pan-European anti-discrimination law—may finally be scrapped. These are small signs, but signs nonetheless. Europe is waking up.
From Fracture to Foundation
To build something new, the old must first fall. That collapse is now well underway.
The collapse of American hegemony does not mean the rise of chaos—it means the opening of a path. Europe has a choice: continue to drift, clinging to broken institutions and obsolete alliances, or embrace the challenge of becoming a serious actor in a multipolar world.
This does not mean copying the imperial ambitions of others. Europe’s strength will not come from domination, but from independence, coherence, and confidence. A strong Europe is not one ruled from Brussels, but one composed of strong, rooted nations acting together in strategic alignment. Not a federation, not an empire in the classical sense—but a civilization asserting its right to survive and thrive on its own terms.
At the same time, we must not fall into the trap of romantic isolationism. Some nationalists still cling to the idea that their nation alone can stand firm on the global stage, detached from continental collaboration. That vision no longer matches the geopolitical reality. The world has changed, and so must our strategy. In key areas—such as defense, border security, trade policy, and technological sovereignty—Europe must act with unity and purpose. This does not require dissolving national identities; it requires mature cooperation among free nations. To retreat into purely national silos would be to condemn Europe to irrelevance. Strengthening the right kind of European cooperation—while returning power in other areas to the national level—is not a betrayal of nationalism, but its necessary evolution.
A Third Position: Beyond East and West
As the American empire stumbles and Russia attempts to fill the void, Europe must not become a pawn in someone else’s game. Our task is not to shift allegiance from one master to another—but to step into sovereignty. This is not about trading Washington for Moscow, or Beijing. It is about rejecting all external domination and asserting our own geopolitical will.
A truly pro-European nationalism must recognize that our civilizational future lies not in nostalgia or subservience, but in strategic clarity. We must build a third position—a pole of stability and power that stands apart from the decaying empires of the past.
That requires sacrifice, but it also promises freedom.
Hope Through Action
There is a romantic notion among some European nationalists that decline is inevitable—that we are simply passengers on a sinking ship. But fatalism is not tradition. It is surrender.
Our ancestors did not build cathedrals, repel invaders, or chart the globe by giving in to despair. They acted—often against impossible odds—because they believed in a Europe worth fighting for.
We must now rediscover that spirit.
This is not a call for uniformity, but for unity. Not for empire, but for sovereignty. Not for nostalgia, but for renewal. Across the continent, a new consciousness is stirring. From the Alps to the Baltic, from Lisbon to Helsinki, there are voices calling for something more than submission to global markets and American whims.
They are calling for Europe.
The Hour Has Come
There may not be a second chance. The tide of history is turning, and the next ten years will determine whether Europe reclaims its role in the world—or becomes a museum piece, mourned by tourists and remembered by none.
This is not the end.
It is our beginning—if we are brave enough to seize it.
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@ 7d33ba57:1b82db35
2025-04-09 08:25:02Sagres, perched on the dramatic cliffs of Portugal’s Algarve, feels like the end of the world—and in the best way. It's a small, laid-back town with a surfer vibe, windswept beaches, and rugged coastal views that are simply breathtaking. If you’re into nature, chill vibes, and jaw-dropping sunsets, Sagres is your spot.
🌟 Top Things to See & Do in Sagres
1️⃣ Cabo de São Vicente (Cape St. Vincent)
- The southwesternmost point of mainland Europe
- Home to a dramatic cliffside lighthouse and epic sunsets
- Once thought to be the "end of the world" in ancient times
2️⃣ Fortaleza de Sagres
- A 15th-century fortress with a giant stone compass, sea views, and a coastal walking path
- Linked to Henry the Navigator and Portugal’s Age of Discoveries
- Simple, scenic, and full of history
3️⃣ Surf the Waves 🌊
- Some of the best surfing beaches in Europe
- Try Praia do Tonel or Praia do Beliche—great for both beginners and pros
- Tons of surf schools and rental shops around town
4️⃣ Chill on the Beaches
- Praia da Mareta – calm and central, perfect for swimming
- Praia do Beliche – surrounded by cliffs, more secluded
- Praia do Martinhal – family-friendly with shallow water
5️⃣ Coastal Hiking & Cliffs
- Walk along the Rota Vicentina trails for raw Atlantic views, wildflowers, and sea breeze
- Bring water and a camera—it's a nature-lover’s dream
🍽️ What to Eat in Sagres
- Fresh seafood – grilled sardines, octopus salad, and cataplana
- Percebes (goose barnacles) – a local delicacy from the rocks
- Pastéis de nata – always a good idea ☕
- Pair it all with a cold Super Bock or a glass of vinho verde
Try beachside spots or cozy taverns in town—nothing too fancy, just simple, tasty, and fresh.
🏄 Vibe & Tips
✅ Sagres is quiet, remote, and windswept—perfect if you're looking to unwind
✅ Great for vanlifers, surfers, hikers, and sunset chasers
✅ Bring layers—it can be windy, even in summer
✅ Sunsets at Cabo de São Vicente are legendary—get there early for a good spot
✅ A car helps to explore the nearby coastlines and hidden beaches -
@ 3c7dc2c5:805642a8
2025-04-09 19:29:48🧠Quote(s) of the week:
My current state of mind:
It is always the same story Government debases the currency and then blames business for profiteering and "the rich" who the Government has actually enriched. The root cause is government, and its addiction to printing money.
The DEBT crisis cannot be sustained. EU, UK, USA, China, etc., cannot continue the Ponzi scheme of printing more money to pay off old money. The previous rate for debt was 0.1%. Countries have to pay their Treasury Bonds, which will be around 4-5%. Wars start so they can all default, and then what comes after is a global financial reset. This is the information the majority of you do not understand or even look at.
Secretary of the Treasury of the United States, Scott Bessent, before the Election: “In the next few years, we are going to have some kind of grand economic reordering. Something equivalent to a new Bretton Woods. There’s a very good chance that happens in the next 4 years and I’d like to be a part of it.”
Any change of the Bretton Woods order will play in the cards of the scarce, politically neutral, immutable money: Bitcoin.
The problem has, and always will be the abuse and misuse of money by those in power. No one should ever have to work for a currency that others can print at will. The foundations are corrupted. Our money is broken.
This is the real problem.
Until that changes, nothing changes.
Educate yourself. Study Bitcoin.
🧡Bitcoin news🧡
On the 1st of April:
➡️The value of Metaplanet’s Bitcoin treasury is now 24x larger than the market cap of the company in April 2024.
On the 2nd of April:
➡️'Foundry just mined the emptiest non-empty block in over two years, containing only 7 transactions and weighing just 5369 units. The last block weighing less than this was by Binance Pool at height 769895 in January 2023 when the mempool was similarly empty, containing only 4 transactions and weighing 4370 units.' - Mononaut
➡️Last week I mentioned that Gamestop now has $ 1.48 billion available to purchase Bitcoin. If they invest that amount, $1.5 billion, in Bitcoin, it will make them the fourth largest Bitcoin holder among public corporations.
https://i.ibb.co/k6x0YLnV/Gne0shqb-QAAnx4-Z.jpg"
➡️Fidelity announces a no-fee Bitcoin retirement account that allows their 49 million customers to buy in Bitcoin.
➡️Publicly traded Enish announces to buy ¥100 million worth of Bitcoin.
➡️94.5% of the 21 million Bitcoin supply has been mined, based on its predictable predetermined issuance schedule—programmed in the protocol code, enforced by consensus, and verified through hundreds of thousands of globally distributed network nodes. Only 5.5% left to be mined over the next 115 years! - Wicked
➡️'Today, Breez launches Misty Breez, their latest application built using the Breez SDK. The Breez SDK was initially developed to simplify the process of integrating Lightning Network support into different consumer applications. Dozens of existing projects and companies currently build on Lightning using the SDK.
Breez: 'Lightning Made Easy → No channels. No setup fees. Just permissionless P2P payments.
Receive Offline Payments → Receive payments offline using mobile notifications.
Lightning Address Support → Accept payments with a customizable Lightning address.'Documentation for the Breez SDK Nodeless configuration used by Misty Breez is available here. The Github for the Misty Breez implementation is available here. Lastly, for users who wish to play around with the application, an early access release is available here for Android, and here for iOS. A direct APK download is available here.' - Bitcoin Magazine
➡️'Managing over 1.62 trillion dollars, the Bank of America CEO just said they would launch a stablecoin once it's legal. That amount of capital will disrupt all of crypto -- but, only a few networks will capture most of that value.' - Austin King
➡️'Bitcoin processed $5.5 trillion worth of transactions in Q1' - Pierre Rochard https://i.ibb.co/nqwkcCvn/Gni-MSFWYAAg7xu-1.png
On the 3rd of April:
➡️New Record Bitcoin Network Hashrate: 840,000,000,000,000,000,000x per second Bitcoin mining hashrate is rapidly approaching 1 zettahash.
➡️Metaplanet Inc. raised ~$17.8 million (¥2.63 billion) in equity capital through the first two days of April to further our Bitcoin Treasury Operations.
➡️Of 2024’s Top Performing Stocks, Only Two Remain Positive in 2025 — Both Are Bitcoin Treasury Firms. - METAPLANET - STRATEGY
➡️Finally, Jack Dorsey's Block enables Bitcoin payments on merchant terminals. "We are working on it" - Jack
➡️The Bitcoin Fear and Greed Index is now back at "Extreme Fear". Hodl the line people, hodl the line!
➡️'Today, the United States stock market lost $1.65 trillion. To help understand that number, it’s more than all Bitcoin combined. Not one coin—every coin. The global supply of Bitcoin is currently worth $1.63 trillion.' - Documenting Bitcoin
Just to give you one more perspective, the stock market has had the single worst day since the Covid crash. Bitcoin went as low as $3,843 during the Covid crash, and now it's $82,000. That is ~21x increase in just 5 years.
➡️Now, no matter what will happen with Bitcoin's price. Not enough people ask how much purchasing power $? will still hold by in the future. The nominal price is only part of the story.
https://i.ibb.co/qY2Rsfn0/Gno-Qu-Ki-WEAEp-EAM.jpg
On the 4th of April:
➡️Fortnite added a Bitcoin mine to the new map.
➡️Mastercard plans to help users send Bitcoin and cryptocurrency. "We've made a sizable bet on this," said Mastercard’s head of digital assets yesterday. The company has 3 billion cards worldwide and over 100 million places that accept them. So you are telling me that Mastercard wants to use a p2p cash system, Bitcoin, wild. Suddenly is becoming more suddenly all of a sudden. Hello, game theory!
➡️Bitdeer releases test footage of their new Bitcoin mining computer. The SealMiner A2 Pro Hyd calculates 500,000,000,000,000 hashes per second. That's some serious computing power. Do you wonder what the energy bill looks like...
https://www.asicminervalue.com/miners/bitdeer/sealminer-a2-pro-hyd
➡️Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent admits "Bitcoin is a store of value". In an interview with Tucker Carlson.
'Bessent was asked, "Why is Gold moving around the world right now?" After giving a one-line answer, he immediately of his own accord started saying "Bitcoin is becoming a store of value" This is quite the signpost for those with eyes to see.',
Ray Dalio was right, there's a change in world order. But it ain't China, it's Bitcoin.
➡️"Bitcoin is showing signs of breaking free from the gravitational pull of technology stocks during the financial market turmoil of the last few days." - Bloomberg
“We think Trump’s aggressive move has sped up a re-thinking of BTC’s longer-term value in a portfolio.” - Augustine Fan
https://i.ibb.co/cX1FLwr5/Gntq-Le-EXEAAZg-QA.jpg
On the 5th of April:
➡️The mysterious inventor of Bitcoin, going only by the username Satoshi Nakamoto, set April 5th—today—as their birthday. No one knows why for sure, but the date may be symbolic: it’s the same day the U.S. ordered citizens to turn in their gold under Executive Order.
➡️'A new Bitcoin Improvement Proposal (BIP) from developer Agustin Cruz suggests destroying unspent transaction outputs (UTXOs) to protect Bitcoin from potential quantum computer attacks. The proposal, “Quantum-Resistant Address Migration Protocol” (QRAMP), would require users to move funds to quantum-resistant wallets before a deadline or face their coins being effectively burned.' -Bitcoin News
This would mean that Satoshi either becomes active again or his/her Bitcoin is forever gone. There should never be a requirement to force move your coins. Try some other quantum-resistant approach.
Any quantum-resistant upgrade to the Bitcoin network should be a soft fork and completely optional. It is unethical to delete anyone's funds if they don't upgrade within an allotted time limit.
On the 6th of April:
➡️'Bitcoin mining difficulty recently adjusted upwards by 6.81% to an all-time high. Expect more small/medium operators to shut down as margins evaporate. Only survivors- those with ultra-cheap power or hobbyists who don't mine for profit. 'Bitcoin miners are the ultimate Bitcoin psychopaths. If you think we'll turn our miners off, you don't understand Bitcoin.' -Tomas Greif
On the 7th of April:
➡️ETH/BTC has fully retraced 5 years, now down 11% over that timeframe. This is catastrophic for the thesis that new cryptos “with more utility” can sustainably outperform the OG Bitcoin.
Willy Woo: 'ETH "ultrasound money" traded at $1569 today. It traded at $1448 in Jan 2018, thus a compounded IRR of 1.2% for a 7-year investment. I just thought I'd post this to help ETH holders as comments like these are what it takes to help an asset put in a bottom.'
➡️ Luke Broyles: '5 years ago we had a stock market crisis in 2020. Bitcoin fell 40% in one day and 65% in total. The S&P 500 fell 9.5% on that same day. Bitcoin bottomed at $4,000 then went up by 17x in the rebound from the crisis as we printed money.
If Bitcoin now falls 45% from the top and then goes up 10x in a similar timeframe, that would be a $600,000 Bitcoin in late 2026. I don’t care if Bitcoin is $50,000 or $600,000 next year. It is lower risk and more humanitarian than corporate paper.
Stocks had a higher human cost, less upside, and higher downside risk in time frames over 2 years. No matter what prices do I expect the S&P 500 to fall 80% against BTC in the next 5 years. I also suspect in 5 years $60,000 will sound as cheap as $4,000 and most will forget the pain of April 2025 like how most forgot March 2020.'
➡️ There are ~58 million millionaires in the world. And eventually, money printing will turn everyone into a millionaire. But there will only be 21 million bitcoin. 0.362 bitcoin per millionaire alive today. https://i.ibb.co/SDxYXYBz/Gn8-T-xc-XIAAc-GJM.png
➡️ Strategy discloses $5.91 billion in unrealized losses on its Bitcoin holdings for Q1 2025, according to a new SEC filing.
➡️ Cango increased its Bitcoin monthly production to 530.1 bitcoin in March, a 12% rise, with holdings reaching 2,474.8 BTC by month-end, up from 1,944.7 BTC in February. Deployed hashrate remained at 32 EH/s, with the average operating hashrate at 30.3 EH/s.
➡️'Bitcoin's MVRV for supply in loss drops to 0.88. This downturn is milder than previous major corrections in 2018 and 2022; investors remain cautiously optimistic rather than capitulating.' -Bitcoin News
💸Traditional Finance / Macro:
On February 20, JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon sold $234 million worth of JPM stock.
On February 22, Warren Buffett disclosed a record $334 billion cash balance. 30 trading days later, the Nasdaq 100 crashed -24%.
How did they know?
And just to show you how F'ed up the traditional markets are and acting like a memecoin:
On the 7th of April, the following sequence happened.
At 10:10 AM ET, rumors emerged that the White House was considering a "90-day tariff pause."
At 10:15 AM ET, CNBC reported that Trump is considering a 90-day pause on tariffs for ALL countries except for China.
By 10:18 AM ET, the S&P 500 had added over +$3 TRILLION in market cap from its low.
At 10:25 AM ET, reports emerged that the White House was "unaware" of Trump considering a 90-day pause.
At 10:26 AM ET, CNBC reported that the 90-day tariff pause headlines were incorrect.
At 10:34 AM ET, the White House officially called the tariff pause headlines "fake news."
By 10:40 AM ET, the S&P 500 erased -$2.5 TRILLION of market cap from its high, 22 minutes prior.
Never in history have we seen something like this.
Wall Street now trades like meme coins.
So basically > a guy reported fake news > all of World Finance aped the news and added 2.5T to the market > The news is fake, so everyone dumped so basically, finance is just memecoins with suits.
What a world we live in...
On the 2nd of April
👉🏽'President Trump just announced tariffs on 185 countries AT ONCE, one of the largest tariffs in US history. S&P 500 futures erased -$2 TRILLION of market cap in under 15 minutes.' ...'After 3+ years of compounding inflation: 2025 is the year when President Trump, Fed Chair Powell, and Treasury Secretary Bessent all came to the same conclusion. A recession is the only remaining way for inflation AND rates to fall.' -TKL
On the 3rd of April:
👉🏽How bad was today's stock market decline? Of the 11,406 trading days since January 1980, only 29 had larger declines.
https://i.ibb.co/3mg85KLt/Gno34klb-QAAJs52.png
The Magnificent 7 Index is now down over -30% from its all-time high seen on December 18th. While the S&P 500 is down -7.5% year-to-date, most investors are down much more. Large-cap tech is beyond bear market territory.
The Nasdaq 100 is in a bear market following a -6% drop today, the largest drop since March 2020. US stocks have now erased a massive -$11 TRILLION since February 19th with recession odds ABOVE 60%. The S&P 500 has lost ALL OF ITS RETURNS since March 2024.
Just to give you perspective. $10T, that’s a lot, right?
For context, the FED balance sheet is $6.7T. US M2 money supply $21.7T.Meanwhile, Bitcoin is up ~30% in the same period.
March 2020:
The S&P 500 is down 13% Bitcoin down
24% April 2025:
The S&P 500 is down 13% Bitcoin is down 5%
Another perspective, the S&P 500 dropping 10% in two days happened in:
October 1987
November 2008
March 2020
April 2025
On the 4th of April:
👉🏽Retail investors bought $4.7 billion in stocks yesterday, the most in a decade.
On the 5th of April:
👉🏽You can say whatever you wanna say about good ol' Warren Buffett, but he is killing it. https://i.ibb.co/NgfqjF50/Gnudptr-XQAAHPSW.jpg"
🏦Banks:
👉🏽 no news
🌎Macro/Geopolitics:
On the 1st of April:
👉🏽The scandal surrounding Le Pen. She is accused of fraud for allegedly using European Parliament staff for her French party. While everyone in Brussels knows this is exactly how things have worked for years. The whole system is full of these kinds of grey areas and conflicts of interest. Of course, it's not right, but it's also nearly impossible to prove definitively without political motivation. It's a political prosecution, whichever way you look at it. Now, I am no fan of Le Pen, not at all, but isn't it interesting that the unelected ECB President, Christine Lagarde, was accused of fraud, but without a criminal record—so she could become president of the ECB?
What scandal is Christine Lagarde known for, and what was the outcome?
Christine Lagarde was involved in a scandal known as the "Tapie affair" in France. This took place when she served as Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance from 2007 to 2011 under President Nicolas Sarkozy. The scandal revolves around an arbitration ruling in 2008, in which French businessman Bernard Tapie was awarded €403 million in damages in a dispute with the state-owned bank Crédit Lyonnais over the sale of Adidas in the 1990s. Lagarde approved the arbitration, which later became controversial as critics claimed the process was unfair and that Tapie—a known friend of Sarkozy—had been favored.
The outcome of the case came in December 2016, when Lagarde was found guilty of "negligence" by the Court of Justice of the Republic (CJR), a special tribunal for French government officials. The judge cited her “personality” and “international reputation,” as well as the context of the economic crisis during which she had to make decisions. Following the verdict, she remained in her position as managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which she had held since 2011, and in 2019 she was even appointed president of the European Central Bank (ECB), showing that the scandal did not significantly harm her career. However, the case remains a topic of debate, especially due to the perception of class-based justice and the large amount of taxpayer money involved in the payout.
And that is just one example. Just look up all the scandals around Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission. And remember, unelected. Or our own Dutch EU playboy, Frans Timmermans. Today, the EU Commission publicly admitted that NGOs were paid to lobby Members of the European Parliament in favor of the Green Deal. https://www.eppgroup.eu/newsroom/commission-admits-financing-undue-lobbying-activities
'The European Commission admits it has used EU funds that were supposed to "fight climate change" for financing left-wing NGOs and climate organizations to silence the voices of European conservatives in a secretive influence operation. The funds came from the LIFE Program, which is supposed to fund environmental initiatives and has had a total budget of EUR 9 billion since 2014.'
https://x.com/visegrad24/status/1908561357114352127
Nearly a quarter of the 705 Members of the European Parliament have at some point been involved in a scandal or legal violation, reports Follow the Money. It concerns a wide range of behaviors, says investigative journalist Peter Teffer from FTM — from parking fines to corruption. "Perhaps the most extreme case is a Greek MEP who is currently doing his job from prison."
As mentioned before, it's a political prosecution whichever way you look at it. More and more, judicial systems in the West are being weaponized to crush the political opposition of the globalist elites / the ones that are in power now. Supposedly to save 'the rule of law'. Is it all just a coincidence—or a pattern of lawfare? Ask yourself that question.
I will give you a hint...It’s a tale of two justices: Le Pen faces potential jail time for allegedly misusing €2.9M in EU funds, while Christine Lagarde, found guilty of mismanaging €403M, walks free and now runs the European Central Bank!
Giorgia Meloni strongly criticized the disqualification of Marine Le Pen from the elections: “No one who truly believes in democracy can welcome a decision that targets the leader of a major party and deprives millions of citizens of their right to representation.”
Meloni’s right, banning opposition leaders isn’t democracy, it’s soft authoritarianism. Le Pen’s party earned 42% in the last presidential runoff. Silencing millions through legal tricks is a dangerous game.
For the Dutch readers: https://i.ibb.co/9HHsR3z3/Gnbuq-Pi-Xc-AAB1ye.jpg
We need a DOGE in Europe!
👉🏽'Job postings on Indeed dropped -10% year-over-year last week to the lowest in 4 years. Over the last 3 years, job postings have declined -33%. As a result, available vacancies are just 8% above pre-pandemic levels. Additionally, NEW job postings have dropped -40% since February 2022 to near the lowest since December 2020. Data provided by Indeed has been a leading indicator for the BLS-provided job openings data, suggesting more weakness ahead. The labor market is deteriorating.' -TKL
👉🏽'Despite a drop in unemployment and a rise in the labor force participation rate, the growing burden of retirees and public spending recipients is weighing on our finances and blocking essential reforms.' https://www.lepoint.fr/argent/comment-la-dependance-des-electeurs-a-l-argent-public-bloque-les-reformes-en-france-01-04-2025-2586277_29.php?at_variante=Community%20Management
30 million French citizens are economically dependent on public funds. That’s 44% of the population. 60% of eligible voters consist of civil servants, retirees, the unemployed, and welfare recipients. This is why France must reform — but cannot reform. For the Dutch readers, please click here for more insight: https://x.com/hollandgold/status/1908182490130341985
👉🏽The Top 1% of U.S. earners now have more wealth than the entire middle class.
On the 2nd of April:
👉🏽President Trump just announced tariffs on 185 countries AT ONCE, one of the largest tariffs in US history. As Luke Gromen mentioned last week: "Low tariffs on the world’s factories were part and parcel of the post-1971 structure of USD reserve status. Now that US tariffs are no longer low, the next shoe to drop will be a change to the post-1971 structure of USD reserve status."
UBS says a permanent implementation of President Trump's reciprocal tariffs would result in inflation rising to 5%. This would be a result of prices rising to "adjust to the higher costs of imports." We are on the verge of 5% inflation and negative GDP growth
'The rumor is that Trump is crashing the market so that The Fed cut the rate since several trillion of the national debt needs to be refinanced this year. When he refinances the debt on low rates he removes tariffs and the market moons.' -Bitcoin for Freedom
If true, that’s some 4D chess. The script would be: Get the 10-year down to sub 3.5, refinance the debt, initiate QE, roll back the tariffs, RF rate at 3.5% tech rips stocks up.
But I do find a problem with that theory. Most likely, tariffs will increase inflation, so there will be no QE. Trump is causing stagflation, which will kill jobs and businesses. The only people who benefit are oligarchs/the rich with extra cash to buy the dip.
👉🏽Almost every year since 08', GDP growth has been negative if you take out increases in government spending. You don't believe me:
https://i.ibb.co/8gLcnBT5/Gnke94-LWw-AAXHe-X.jpg"
Debt-fueled growth. Loosen monetary policy, FREE Money, ZIRP. Massive government spending has led to over 36T public debt with over $1T/yr. We have not fixed anything since 08. Just kicked the can down the road.
On the 3rd of April:
👉🏽Orthonormalist on Twitter cracked the tariff formula. It’s simply the nation’s trade deficit with the US divided by the nation’s exports to the US. Yes. Really. Vietnam: Exports 136.6, Imports 13.1 Deficit = 123.5 123.5/136.6 = 90% EU: exports 531.6, imports 333.4, deficit 198.2. 198.2/531.6 is 37, close to 39.
https://i.ibb.co/PG03LQwT/Gnmy-Krq-WQAAOf1-N.jpg
The fact that the Trump tariff rates are a simple calculation of the trade balance with that country means that the intention is to close the trade deficit, NOT negotiate for lower export tariffs. Seems the only way to avoid high tariffs is to improve the trade balance with the USA. Crude method, but ingenious all the same. Whether this approach is wise depends entirely on your economic priorities. Do you value balanced trade above all else, or do you prefer more nuanced economic efficiency and diplomatic stability?
Bottom line: simplistic, yes. Insane, no. Worth debating? Absolutely. Just some examples, the US administration imposed a 10% tariff on exports from Heard and McDonald Islands populated only by penguins. What a time to be alive.
https://i.ibb.co/DHdHRgSd/Gnm5-Eh-OXEAAy-GVc.jpg
I really love the Netflix series Peaky (focking) Blinders. The tiny island of St Pierre et Miquelon, featured in Peaky Blinders, St Pierre was a big warehouse for alcohol headed to the US, now got a 50% tariff because somebody bought 3.4 million worth of goods in July 2024 (most likely crustaceans). The 5,8k inhabitants "only" bought 100k worth of US goods in 2024. In the case of St Pierre, it's funny, but tragic in many others.
The tiny island of St Pierre et Miquelon got a 99% tariff because somebody bought 3.4 million worth of goods in July 2024 (most likely crustaceans) The 5,8 k inhabitants "only" bought 100k worth of US goods in 2024
Students for Liberty:
"It’s bold. It’s nationalist. It’s flawed. Because you can’t tariff your way to prosperity. And you can’t revive American industry without fixing what’s broken. The enemy isn’t foreign competition. It’s a big government. That’s what classical liberals have always warned: When the state manipulates markets, prints money, and micromanages trade, it always ends up hurting the very economy it claims to protect. Tariffs won’t save America. But freedom, competition, and reform might."
Trump and Bessent are orchestrating a grand economic reordering on US terms.
👉🏽President Trump invites President Bukele to the White House to discuss "ways we can support each other."
👉🏽China urges the US to "immediately" cancel reciprocal tariffs or they will take "counter-measures." Reciprocal tariffs on reciprocal tariffs should begin within the next 24 hours.
'China has three options: 1. Concede defeat to whatever terms Trump demands 2. Devalue the yuan by 20-40% 3. Unleash the biggest fiscal stimulus in its history (talking $2-3 trillion), which will push its debt off the chart' - ZeroHedge
I am not sure about that though. China isn’t collapsing—but it’s facing real structural headwinds: an aging population, a deflating housing bubble, rising youth unemployment, declining productivity, and global pushback.
Meanwhile, the U.S. still has deep capital markets, global alliances (well, let's see how the tariffs war will play out haha), energy independence, and innovation leadership.
So no—this is not “China checkmate.” It’s the start of a very long game.
👉🏽China claims that they found 2k+ TONNES of new Gold in the past 6 months that could reshape global markets. You can mine more gold if you want, but you can't mine more Bitcoin. That's the difference.
👉🏽That was quick: Thailand to Negotiate With the US on 36% Imposed Tariffs: PM Next: everyone else
👉🏽The European Union is preparing further countermeasures against newly announced US tariffs of 20%, per CNBC.
Apparently, no one is asking why, if these import tariffs are so harmful, the EU itself imposed high tariffs on imports for years. Tariffs that were actually higher than what the U.S. imposed on EU goods — which is what triggered the conflict in the first place.
On the 4th of April:
👉🏽The "World War 3" of Trade Wars Has Begun: Americans are waking up to the first MAJOR tariff retaliation against President Trump. China has announced 34% tariffs on ALL US goods with the S&P 500's 2-day losses now at -$3.5 TRILLION.
👉🏽'The last time the market dropped 9.5% in two days, the Fed unleashed a multi-trillion bailout of the economy including $500BN in QE, $1 trillion daily repo, and tens of billions in junk bond ETF purchases.' - ZeroHedge
👉🏽Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent tells Tucker Carlson - The top 10% of Americans own 88% of equities, and 88% of the stock market. The next 40% owns 12% of the stock market - The bottom 50% has debt - In the summer of 2024: more Americans were using food banks than they ever have in history
On the 5th of April:
👉🏽EU financed targeted campaigns against political opponents and uncomfortable voices.
👉🏽Germany considers withdrawing 1200 tons worth of gold from a US Federal Reserve vault following new tariffs.
👉🏽'On Thursday ALONE, hedge funds sold $40 BILLION of stocks in their largest daily selling spree since 2010. Short sales exceeded longs by 3 TIMES, with North American stocks accounting for 75% of volume.' -TKL
👉🏽'US job cut announcements spiked 205% year-over-year to 275,240 in March, the 3rd-highest monthly reading on record. This is also up 60% from the previous month when 172,017 cuts were announced. Moreover, this is higher than in any month during the 2008 Financial Crisis and the 2001 recession. Year-to-date, US employers have announced 497,052 job cuts, the highest quarterly total since Q1 2009. The US government has led all sectors with 216,215 cuts in March and 279,445 cuts year-to-date, up 672% from Q1 2024' -TKL
On the 7th of April:
👉🏽Hong Kong's stock market closes down 13.2%, the biggest one-day drop since 1997, and China's stock market officially opens with a -10% drop. China's stock market suffers worst single-day crash since 2008. And this isn't a meme coin, it's the Japanese stock market
https://i.ibb.co/7dqwPSc4/Gn5-Hjqc-Xw-AAzn-Yv.jpg
👉🏽European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen says the EU stands ready to negotiate a zero-for-zero tariff deal with the United States. Meanwhile, the President of the European Central Bank: The European Union wants to abandon the American credit cards Visa and Mastercard, PayPal, and Alipay. Make up your goddamnn minds ladies.
👉🏽If China invades Taiwan, the stock market gets cut in half. Apple, Nvidia, all of it. Conflict/trade issues would cause a global recession on top of it. It would make tariffs and Ukraine look like nothing. Immediate global disaster. Still the ultimate risk. Please read Ray Dalio's book The Changing World Order. When, not if...The fourth turning is real.
https://i.ibb.co/yFw7CkLg/Gnd6yqy-Ww-AAb-GFz.jpg
I am convinced this will happen because they need an excuse for why the market crashed or will crash in the future. The entire system in the USA and China is broken. No money, all fake, constant inflation, and debt.
War solves it for both, as mentioned in my quote at the start of this week's Weekly Recap.
I will end this week's Weekly Recap with the following quote made by Bitcoin Archive:
'Bitcoin is a neutral, global commodity without counterparty risk. Zero tariffs. The only commodity with a verifiably limited supply. 21 million forever. Your 0.01 BTC is the same quality as BlacRock's $50b.'
🎁If you have made it this far I would like to give you a little gift:
Start by taking 30 minutes to watch this video. Spend under 40 minutes of your time watching and showing you simply and compellingly what the problem is and the potential solution. Bitcoin.
https://www.satsvsfiat.com/en/#watch
After watching that video, I have another great video: https://youtu.be/k3NN_NZOdhY?si=xwBkv2lRHvEdCA0y
$13 trillion on war over the past two decades: Funded by inflation, hidden taxes, and silent theft. This is how fiat money became a weapon. In this episode with Lyn Alden: 'This might have been my top interview last year. In person at a conference in Madeira. Published today. An evergreen discussion on the Broken Money thesis. The history of monetary technology and its impacts on current socioeconomic realities.'
Credit: I have used multiple sources!
My savings account: Bitcoin The tool I recommend for setting up a Bitcoin savings plan: PocketBitcoin especially suited for beginners or people who want to invest in Bitcoin with an automated investment plan once a week or monthly.
Use the code SE3997
Get your Bitcoin out of exchanges. Save them on a hardware wallet, run your own node...be your own bank. Not your keys, not your coins. It's that simple. ⠀ ⠀
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@ a367f9eb:0633efea
2025-04-09 07:28:49WIEN – Diese Woche enthüllte Innenminister Gerhard Karner von der ÖVP, dass er einen Gesetzesentwurf "schnell" durchsetzen möchte, der der Regierung die Befugnis geben würde, verschlüsselte Kommunikation in Nachrichten-Apps zu überwachen.
Obwohl Karner betont hat, dass die neuen Befugnisse nur sehr gezielt eingesetzt würden, ist unklar, ob die Entwickler und Anbieter von Nachrichten-Apps gezwungen werden sollen, die Verschlüsselung zu brechen, um die Anordnungen durchzuführen.
Wie der stellvertretende Direktor des Consumer Choice Center, Yaël Ossowski, erklärte, würde diese Befugnis bedeuten, die Verschlüsselung für Millionen von österreichischen Verbrauchern zu untergraben und zu brechen.
„Jeder Versuch, die Verschlüsselung für einige ausgewählte Personen zu brechen, gefährdet gleichzeitig die Privatsphäre von Millionen von Österreichern. Dies ist weniger eine Frage der angemessenen Polizeibefugnisse als vielmehr eine Frage der technischen und sicherheitsrelevanten Aspekte. Schwächere Verschlüsselung macht österreichische Nutzer weniger sicher“ sagte Ossowski.
„Verschlüsselungsstandards von Apps wie Signal, WhatsApp und sogar iMessage aufzuheben, würde der österreichischen Regierung außergewöhnliche Befugnisse einräumen, die das Risiko bergen, jede und alle Kommunikation zu kompromittieren, nicht nur die von Verdächtigen oder Terroristen.
„Um gegen kriminelle Akteure vorzugehen, sollte die Koalition das bestehende Justizsystem nutzen, um Haftbefehle auf Grundlage eines begründeten Verdachts durchzusetzen, anstatt Messaging-Dienste und Apps dazu zu zwingen, diese Aufgabe für sie zu übernehmen“ erklärte Ossowski.
Das Consumer Choice Center weist darauf hin, dass ähnliche Versuche, die Verschlüsselung mit polizeilicher Gewalt zu brechen, bereits im Vereinigten Königreich und in Frankreich unternommen wurden, wo sie von Bürgerrechtsgruppen abgelehnt wurden.
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Das Consumer Choice Center ist eine unabhängige, parteiunabhängige Verbraucherorganisation, die die Vorteile von Wahlfreiheit, Innovation und Wachstum im Alltagsleben für Verbraucher in über 100 Ländern fördert. Wir interessieren uns insbesondere für regulatorische Trends in Washington, Brüssel, Wien, Berlin, Ottawa, Brasília, London und Genf genau.
Erfahren Sie mehr auf consumerchoicecenter.org
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@ 872982aa:8fb54cfe
2025-04-09 05:41:40茶业
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@ 872982aa:8fb54cfe
2025-04-09 05:40:27432143214321412
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@ 872982aa:8fb54cfe
2025-04-09 03:47:17 -
@ f7f4e308:b44d67f4
2025-04-09 02:12:18https://sns-video-hw.xhscdn.com/stream/1/110/258/01e7ec7be81a85850103700195f3c4ba45_258.mp4
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@ 67078065:928c2893
2025-04-09 18:04:26If you need to use a C/C++ library in your Android app, you will need to use the Java Native Interface (JNI). This was my experience integrating a C blockchain library called "libqaeda" ,into an Android application we are working on with lash. Many thanks to lash for advising on using this platform , and who wrote the C library.
Libqaeda and What it does
libqaeda is a cryptographic library designed to enable bi-lateral countersigning of chains of promises and statements. At its core, the library provides a robust framework for creating verifiable certificates that require dual signatures - one from the requester and one from the responder. The library excels at establishing cryptographic proof chains that can be used for:
- Verifying authenticity and proof-of-ownership of certificates
- Tracking credit or commitments between individuals
- Creating chains of trust where each link requires mutual agreement
What makes libqaeda particularly flexible is its modular design. It offers customizable components for cryptography implementations, data storage backends, and trust management - allowing developers to adapt it to various environments from servers to mobile devices. While currently in alpha development status and not safe in any way, libqaeda shows promise as a foundation for applications requiring strong cryptographic verification of bilateral agreements.
Java Native Interface
JNI makes it possible to interact with native code( code written in C , C++ , Assembly).
It is useful in the following cases:
- Reusing existing native libraries in your java app
- Accessing low-level system APIs.
- Implementing JVM into a native application.
- Performance critical tasks such as gaming.
How JNI Works 1. Java calls the native methods which are declared with the native keyword. 2. The native code is compiled into a shared library (.so on Linux/Android, .dll on WIndows) 3. JVM loads the library at runtime and executes native functions.
The Challenge
We wanted to use the C library in the Android app, but we faced a few challenges:
- The library was originally built for desktop systems, not Android
- Android needs code compiled for specific CPU architectures like arm64-v8a
- There were dependencies on specific C libraries not available in Android
Step 1: Define the Java Interface
First, I created a Java class that declares the native methods I wanted to use:
``` package org.defalsified.android.badged.services;
public class LibQaeda { static { System.loadLibrary("qaeda"); }
public native long createDummyStore(); public native String dummyContentGet(int payloadType, long storePtr, byte[] key);
} ``` The static block loads our native library, and the native methods t
ell Java these functions are implemented in C.
Step 2: Create the JNI Function Implementations
Next, I created a C file that implements the Java native methods: ```
include
include
include "libqaeda/src/lq/store.h"
include "libqaeda/src/lq/err.h"
include
// Functions from the library extern int lq_dummy_content_get(enum payload_e typ, LQStore store, const char key, size_t key_len, char value, size_t value_len); extern struct lq_store_t LQDummyContent;
// JNI implementation JNIEXPORT jlong JNICALL Java_org_defalsified_android_badged_services_LibQaeda_createDummyStore (JNIEnv env, jobject thiz) { LQStore store = (LQStore)malloc(sizeof(LQStore)); store = LQDummyContent; return (jlong)store; }
JNIEXPORT jstring JNICALL Java_org_defalsified_android_badged_services_LibQaeda_dummyContentGet (JNIEnv env, jobject thiz, jint payloadType, jlong storePtr, jbyteArray key) { LQStore store = (LQStore)storePtr; jbyte keyBytes = (env)->GetByteArrayElements(env, key, NULL); jsize keyLength = (env)->GetArrayLength(env, key);
char value[4096] = {0}; size_t valueLen = sizeof(value); int result = lq_dummy_content_get( (enum payload_e)payloadType, store, (const char*)keyBytes, (size_t)keyLength, value, &valueLen ); (*env)->ReleaseByteArrayElements(env, key, keyBytes, JNI_ABORT); if (result != 0) { return NULL; } return (*env)->NewStringUTF(env, value);
} ``` The function names must match the Java class and method names, prefixed with Java_ and using underscores for package separators.
Step 3: Set Up CMake to Build the Native Library
The key step was creating a CMakeLists.txt file to build our native library. Initially, I tried to use the pre-built library, but it was incompatible with Android. So I decided to directly compile the necessary source files:
``` cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.10) project(badged_app)
set(LIBQAEDA_DIR ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/libqaeda) set(LIBQAEDA_SRC_DIR ${LIBQAEDA_DIR}/src)
include_directories( ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR} ${LIBQAEDA_SRC_DIR} ${LIBQAEDA_SRC_DIR}/aux/include ${LIBQAEDA_SRC_DIR}/aux/liblash/src ${LIBQAEDA_SRC_DIR}/aux/liblash/src/hex ${LIBQAEDA_SRC_DIR}/aux/liblash/src/rerr )
Create qaeda library with all required source files
add_library(qaeda SHARED ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/org_defalsified_android_badged_services_LibQaeda.c ${LIBQAEDA_SRC_DIR}/store/dummy.c ${LIBQAEDA_SRC_DIR}/aux/liblash/src/hex/hex.c ${LIBQAEDA_SRC_DIR}/aux/liblash/src/rerr/rerr.c )
Link against Android libraries
target_link_libraries(qaeda android log atomic m )
Create main app library
add_library(badged SHARED native-lib.cpp )
Link app against our JNI wrapper
target_link_libraries(badged qaeda android log ) ``` Instead of trying to use a pre-built library, I included just the specific source files we needed for our minimal implementation.
Step 4: Configure the Android Project
In the app's build.gradle file, I added the CMake configuration:
``` android { // Other settings...
externalNativeBuild { cmake { path = file("src/main/cpp/CMakeLists.txt") version = "3.22.1" } } // Specify the NDK version to use ndkVersion = "25.1.8937393" // Configure for multiple architectures defaultConfig { ndk { abiFilters.addAll(listOf("armeabi-v7a", "arm64-v8a", "x86", "x86_64")) } }
} ```
Step 5: Use the Library in Your Android Activity
Finally, I used the library in my app:
``` public class MainActivity extends AppCompatActivity { private static final String TAG = "MainActivity";
@Override protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) { super.onCreate(savedInstanceState); TextView textView = new TextView(this); textView.setText("Welcome to Badges!"); try { LibQaeda libQaeda = new LibQaeda(); long storePtr = libQaeda.createDummyStore(); byte[] key = "test_key".getBytes(); String result = libQaeda.dummyContentGet(1, storePtr, key); textView.append("\n\nLibQaeda Test:\n" + result); } catch (Exception e) { textView.append("\n\nLibQaeda Test Error:\n" + e.getMessage()); } setContentView(textView); }
} ```
Key Lessons Learned
- Be careful with pre-built libraries for Android: Pre-built libraries need to be compiled specifically for Android's architectures (arm64-v8a, armeabi-v7a, x86, x86_64). If a library was built for desktop systems (like x86_64 Linux), it won't work on Android devices with different architectures.
- Consider direct compilation when needed: If you have access to the library's source code and encounter compatibility issues with pre-built versions, compiling the source files directly for Android can solve architecture incompatibility problems.
- Use Android NDK tools for cross-compilation: When you do need pre-built libraries, use the Android NDK's toolchain to properly cross-compile them for all target Android architectures.
- Be selective about which files to include: Only include the specific source files you need, which can reduce complexity and potential issues.
- Handle dependencies carefully: Make sure to include any header files and source code required by your library functions.
Conclusion
In this project, we successfully integrated a C library with an Android application using JNI. While this approach of directly compiling the necessary source files worked well for our immediate needs, there are other paths we could explore in the future. We may need to create an arm64 static library instead, but having the code running is an important first step. The JNI bridge provides a powerful way to leverage existing C/C++ code in Android applications. Whether you're working with algorithms, legacy systems, or performance-critical components, understanding how to connect Java and native code opens up many possibilities for Android development. By following the steps outlined in this blog post, you should now have the knowledge to integrate your own C libraries into Android applications, adapting the approach to your specific requirements. Adios!
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@ ba36d0f7:cd802cba
2025-04-09 17:36:54¿Qué es un Jaque Mate?
Jaque mate es la jugada decisiva que termina la partida. Ocurre cuando el rey está bajo amenaza directa (en jaque) y no existe ningún movimiento legal que lo salve: ni capturar la pieza atacante, ni interponer una defensa, ni huir a una casilla segura.
A diferencia de otras piezas, el rey nunca puede ser capturado - su caída sería el fin del juego. Por eso, cuando no hay escape posible, la partida concluye inmediatamente. No es necesario "comerlo", pues su destino ya está sellado.
¿Cómo se llega al mate?
Requiere:- Amenaza inminente: Una o más piezas atacando al rey enemigo.
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Bloqueo total: Todas las casillas de escape controladas por el rival.
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Sin defensa posible: Ninguna pieza puede interceptar el ataque.
Ejemplo básico: El Mate del Pasillo (con torre o dama en la última fila, donde el rey no puede escapar por estar bloqueado por sus propias piezas).
1. El primer mandamiento ajedrecístico: Buscar el mate
En una partida, todo movimiento debería comenzar con una pregunta esencial: ¿Existe un jaque mate en esta posición? Tanto para uno mismo como para el rival. Si no lo hay, la partida se desarrolla en torno a la ventaja material o el control posicional. Pero este orden no es arbitrario: un descuido táctico puede arruinar una posición dominante, mientras que un mate pasado por alto significa la derrota inmediata.
Un ejemplo clásico es el Mate del Pastor (1.e4 e5 2.Ac4 Cc6 3.Dh5 Cf6?? 4.Dxf7#).
Las blancas ganan porque las negras, al enfocarse únicamente en el desarrollo, ignoraron la amenaza mortal.
➡ Reflexión: En la estrategia, como en la vida, lo urgente (sobrevivir) precede a lo importante (triunfar).
2. Filosofía del tablero: Cuando las ventajas no bastan
Un rey solitario puede escapar eternamente si el rival no sabe dar mate. De igual forma, en la existencia humana, las ventajas - ya sean talento, recursos o oportunidades - carecen de valor si no se materializan en acciones decisivas.
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¿De qué sirve dominar el centro del tablero si no se sabe convertir esa ventaja en un ataque?
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¿De qué sirven los privilegios si no se usan para construir algo significativo?
El ajedrez, al igual que la vida, no premia la acumulación, sino la ejecución.
3. El instinto de supervivencia: Entre el ataque y la resistencia
El miedo a la derrota desencadena reacciones viscerales: ataques desesperados, defensas obsesivas o incluso abandonos prematuros. Pero estas respuestas también revelan verdades profundas sobre la naturaleza humana:
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Supervivencia no siempre significa violencia: Un rey acorralado puede refugiarse tras sus piezas, como un estratega que elige la paciencia sobre la confrontación. ¿Es cobardía o sabiduría?
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El peligro del ego: La arrogancia ("debo ganar rápido") conduce a errores irreparables. La humildad ("resistiré hasta que el rival se equivoque") puede convertir una derrota anunciada en una salvación.
➡ Reflexión: El tablero no miente. Cada jugada expone los instintos más profundos del jugador: miedo, ambición o templanza.
Recursos en linea
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Jaque mate - Chess.com https://www.chess.com/es/terms/jaque-mate-ajedrez
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Los 10 mates más rápidos que existen - Chess.com https://www.chess.com/es/article/view/jaques-mates-rapidos-ajedrez
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Aprendiendo a realizar jaque mates básicos - Lichess.org https://lichess.org/study/iQ5KuZ0y/g87kp3nS
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Ejercicios Mate en 1 - Lichess.org https://lichess.org/study/buY7UIv2/wze0wPRL
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Patrones de mates - Lichess.org https://lichess.org/study/HqgY3Z1I/Sv4QhDIb
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Ejercicios Mate en 5 - Lichess.org https://lichess.org/study/VQEv9Cxr
article #chess #ajedrez #elsalvador #ajedrezelsalvador #somachess
- Amenaza inminente: Una o más piezas atacando al rey enemigo.
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@ c230edd3:8ad4a712
2025-04-09 00:33:31Chef's notes
I found this recipe a couple years ago and have been addicted to it since. Its incredibly easy, and cheap to prep. Freeze the sausage in flat, single serving portions. That way it can be cooked from frozen for a fast, flavorful, and healthy lunch or dinner. I took inspiration from the video that contained this recipe, and almost always pan fry the frozen sausage with some baby broccoli. The steam cooks the broccoli and the fats from the sausage help it to sear, while infusing the vibrant flavors. Serve with some rice, if desired. I often use serrano peppers, due to limited produce availability. They work well for a little heat and nice flavor that is not overpowering.
Details
- ⏲️ Prep time: 25 min
- 🍳 Cook time: 15 min (only needed if cooking at time of prep)
- 🍽️ Servings: 10
Ingredients
- 4 lbs ground pork
- 12-15 cloves garlic, minced
- 6 Thai or Serrano peppers, rough chopped
- 1/4 c. lime juice
- 4 Tbsp fish sauce
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1/2 c. chopped cilantro
Directions
- Mix all ingredients in a large bowl.
- Portion and freeze, as desired.
- Sautè frozen portions in hot frying pan, with broccoli or other fresh veggies.
- Serve with rice or alone.
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@ 4d41a7cb:7d3633cc
2025-04-08 20:45:34The most interesting relation that a lawyer holds to the community, outside of his technical occupation, is that of a legislator. Lawyers were the chief authors of the Constitution of the United States and of all the state constitutions.
It seems natural that lawyers should predominate in the government. They framed the former instrument. They both make and interpret the law.
Every time the text is in italics, it is a direct quote from the book.
Lawyers control every branch of the republican form of government: legislative, executive, and judicial. The influence of the lawyers is enormous, for good or for evil.
The lawyer has the supreme power of direction in the general exercise, commencement, and conduct of litigated or other legal matters. It lies with him to suggest and to direct. There is no arbiter over him but his conscience.
The duty of a lawyer is threefold: to the state, as an officer and citizen; to the court, as an officer and adviser; and to his client, as a fiduciary.
The crude sentiments of the people must be filtered through the lawyers, first as politicians, then as legislators, and afterwards as lawyers and judges.
Since lawyers are in charge of every government branch as ‘elected officials’ in representation of the people, education about morality and their duties and responsibilities is fundamental since in their hands lies the monopoly of violence held by the government.
Without contingent arrangements with lawyers, their power would become oppressive and tyrannical.
THE PROBLEM
“Permit me to issue and control the currency of a nation, and I care not who makes its laws.” Mayer Amschel Rothschild (1744-1812)
- Money was placed above rightness, truth, and justice. The incentive structure is inverted, and it's detrimental. Society is morally bankrupt above and below. Institutions are no better than the individuals who compose them.
- Common law was replaced by commercial code (encryption). Adding complexity, inefficiencies, costs, and capacity to trick and twist the law. The incentive structure is broken. Cheating pays more than playing clean; we have more lawyers but less justice.
- The lawyer is not educated about the spirit of the profession, his duty, and the form of government he’s supposed to protect. The interest of the client is put above the interest of the court and the nation. Jurisprudence is taught instead of elementary law.
INSTITUTIONS CANNOT BE BETTER THAN THE MEMBERS OF WHICH THEY ARE COMPOSED. THE GOVERNMENT IS NO DIFFERENT.
The combined acts of a body of lawyers, oft repeated, like an army of worms, silently and secretly gnawing at the foundation of a great and magnificent structure, will gradually but surely cause it to give way and tumble into ruins. It is perhaps not going too far to assert that the lawyers, as a class, are largely answerable for the minimum of respect and obedience that the public has for the law.
1. Money was placed above rightness, truth, and justice.
Commercialism and materialism have placed money above everything else, including the human. This has completely demoralized society in every aspect, from government and justice to education, architecture, medicine, nutrition, and so on.
This has a common denominator: the quality of the currency. As the quality of the currency evaporates, so does the values of the people. But money and currency are inanimate and dead objects; the real actors are the humans trading and using that money.
The ‘fiat money’ we use these days is a result of codified law, a legal fiction for money, a commercial contract paper to exchange goods and services, and a creature of the codified public and private law.
This fiat currency has enabled its possessors to buy, or secure, political and social positions, which should be attained only by real merit, refinement, and learning.
Today judicial systems do not provide justice, newspapers and mainstream media do not provide the truth, today banks do not protect your money, today medical treatment does not cure you, etc. Profit is placed above everything else.
It was evident that materialism completely controlled the economic structure, the ultimate goal of which was for the individual to become part of a system that provided him with economic security at the expense of his soul, mind, and body.
Manly P. Hall, 1988
Society was morally bankrupted by materialistic ideologies and human institutions that are no better than the individuals who compose them.
No judicial action can be put in motion without the sanction of some lawyer.
The lawyer appears everywhere and in all stages of business transactions but also in family and other private and delicate matters as the trusted advisor and friend of his client.
There is a moral corruption, equally as bad in its results upon the judges, the bar, and the community.
2. The incentive structure is inverted, and it's detrimental.
Moral relativism justifies every wrongdoing since ‘there’s no objective difference between right and wrong.’ How can you have justice if you can justify every wrongdoing and there’s no moral compass?
But if being a member of a club or friends with the judge gives you an edge, how can you have excellence, meritocracy, and justice? The incentive is to short-cup your way, to cheat, to manipulate the game and law to your advantage to get economic stability.
If you want to have justice and great institutions, you need to educate their members in a high level of morality, ethics, and purpose…
The commercial code replaced common law. The difference between a common-law lawyer and the practitioner under the Code is the difference between a surgeon and a butcher.
Codification has produced more material to aid dishonest clients than the common law supplied. The lawyers as a body are morally worse than their professional ancestors. The lawyers of the past believed the constitution was adaptable; those of the present regard it as elastic.
Laws have accumulated really fast, creating inextricable confusion and doubt. Making justice was turned into a thing of doubt and change.
Instead of seeking the truth, the courts and the bar are engaged in the pursuit of technicality and form.
A precedent can be found on any side of any subject that anyone chooses to espouse.
The ratio of lawyers has multiplied four times since the law was codified and its complexity increased. The code was adopted in New York in 1848. Argentina's Commercial Code was first adopted by the Province of Buenos Aires in 1859 and later as the national code in 1862. In 1850 there was 1 lawyer per 1000 citizens in the United States. Now there is 1 in 256.
The excessive number of lawyers is detrimental, both to the community and the morale of the profession.
It creates, encourages, and continues illegal, unfounded, and fraudulent practices, demands, and litigations, because necessarily many of the lawyers depend not upon professional knowledge and accomplishments but upon sharpness and cunning. In the effort to sustain themselves, much unnecessary and unfounded litigation is inaugurated, and many disgraceful practices are engendered.
Let anyone consider the effect of the forty or fifty thousand legal agents spending their lives distorting and prostituting the forms of justice, misapplying and perverting its principles, and undermining the constitution and laws, and they can make a fairly accurate calculation as to the longevity of the system of government under which they exist and thrive.
Cunning and trickery have replaced real knowledge and ethics.
The modern code lawyer knows little of elementary law, but he carries, as a soldier would a knapsack, a memory filled with sections of codes and adjudicated cases.
Sheltered in the grip of his office, the lawyer can always, insidiously and secretly, deflect the course of justice and defraud the law. It is difficult to detect him; he is representing another’s interest and is not responsible for his client’s morals or frauds.
To say nothing of the extra cost and expenses, the manifold delays and intricacies of legal procedure, the attempt to simplify has been to muddle, confound, and destroy—to produce a race of pygmy lawyers, chattering and quarreling over the meaning of words in the Code.
The ones who benefit from codification are the same ones who benefit from fiat currencies and central banks. They have used the same strategy in both cases: create a problem, manipulate public opinion and make them demand the ‘solution’ they have already prepared—codification of law, central banks, etc. Time has shown that the public was manipulated and that the solutions that was sold to them only increased the size of the problem they were ‘trying’ to fix.
Picture the lawyers training themselves in a school of dishonesty, trickery, and chicanery, diverting and stopping the machinery of the law, prostituting the forms of justice for gain, selling their knowledge, ability, experience, and such talent as they may possess to the client who pays most for the service, and resorting to every device of cunning and deceit to gain their end! Do such lawyers exist? Do such practices prevail? Unfortunately, yes. In the first rank of the profession can be found many lawyers whose services are sought only to enable guilty men to escape punishment; only to open a door for others to avoid the consequences of the civil law and of their contracts; only to defeat and evade the legislative will and public policy; only to show their clients how to cheat, defraud, vilify, and defame without penalty or damage.
His profession consists of thwarting the law instead of enforcing it. The modern idea of a great lawyer is one who can most successfully manipulate the law and the facts. The public no longer calls them “great” but “successful” lawyers. Not a great jurist or profound student, but a successful practitioner.
The more desperate the case he wins, the greater his reputation.
It is the common belief, inside and outside of the profession, that the most brilliant and learned of the lawyers are employed to defeat or strangle justice.
In this view, every lawyer might be regarded as an intellectual prostitute whose mind, time, experience, knowledge, and influence can be hired and occupied by any stranger who desires to comply with his terms as to fees.
There is nothing secret or underhand about this part of the lawyer’s business. It has the approval of the people everywhere.
In fact, the community looks with perfect complacency and composure upon a transaction in which the leading lawyer sells his talent, his knowledge, his time, and his influence to the most corrupt or infamous individual in the land.
The lawyer is deliberately made an instrument to thwart the law and justice—and he knows it.
He uses the machinery of the law to accomplish results contrary to justice, truth, and right.
When the laws can be easily thwarted, the moral sense of the whole community is deadened. The incentive for justice was inverted and destroyed.
3. The lawyer is not educated about the spirit of the profession.
The lawyer’s power arises from the necessity of political organization; he is the official and authorized agent that puts in motion the machinery of the law.
In the commencement of suits, the lawyer has need, therefore, of honesty, learning, prudence, and patriotism. It rests with him to preserve the purity of the legal system; to separate the chaff of fraud, exaggeration, and doubt from the wheat of fact and truth.
The government exists for the people, not the people for the government.
American governments were organized by the people to provide the people a peaceful way of resolving conflicts and trading peacefully, providing justice and the protection of private property and equality under the law. The public is taxed for the general expenses of the courts, among other things.
Here’s the secret, -the cornerstone- of all legislation.
The goal is to have an easy and understandable set of rules that everyone can understand: to make as few laws as possible; for, in all normal and sound conditions of society, that country is best governed which is least governed. But codification has done the opposite: add complexity and create thousands of codified laws.
Here’s the secret, -the cornerstone- of all legislation.
The legislator should, therefore, be a man who understands the origin and nature of society- familiar with past and existing laws and history- with such practical and discriminating judgment as enables him to comprehend the wants and necessities of his fellow men.
Still, none of the formal oaths defines the duties of the lawyer.
Everything is now left to the moral perception of the lawyer.
THE LOYALTY TO ITS CLIENT (THE HAND THAT FEEDS HIS MOUTH) IS PLACED ABOVE THE ALLIANCE TO THE STATE (THE HAND THAT FEEDS THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM).
It is not the exception, but the rule, for the lawyer to surrender his whole mental, intellectual, and physical power to his client’s cause.
REMEDY
To produce lawyers who can perform their duties, they should be taught to cultivate a moral sense; the nature and object of law; the nature and duties of citizenship; the nature and duties of a legislator; but above and beyond everything else, they should be taught the real mission of the lawyer - which includes professional ethics. These fundamental requisites to the making of a full lawyer are almost entirely overlooked in all of the courses of education followed in law offices, law schools, and academies or colleges. Lawyers are made up to be mere instruments for their clients, without any attention being paid to their duties to the State. The fact is extraordinary, nay, incredible. But it is true. The curriculum of legal study is based upon codification. O means the sentiment of codification., pervades and influences all legal education.
If the moral sense of the community, which is another name for public opinion, should be maintained to the highest possible degree, an educated Bar, and a free, pure and intelligent Press, are the factors which can do much to accomplish all these results.
But this conscience, which should guide the lawyer, comes from training and education.
Trained in the knowledge of human nature, when he enters the field of jurisprudence and politics, his acts and opinions should be of the greatest value to the people. I would build up a race of pure lawyers, as far removed from commercialism as possible.
The country needs such a class more than ever.
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@ 7d33ba57:1b82db35
2025-04-08 14:34:59Barcelona is a city that sizzles with creativity, blends beach life with bold architecture, and radiates Mediterranean energy. From Gaudí’s surreal masterpieces to the lively buzz of La Rambla and the golden sands of Barceloneta Beach, it's a place where every street feels like a gallery—and every evening invites a fiesta.
🌟 Top Things to Do in Barcelona
1️⃣ Sagrada Família
- Gaudí’s unfinished masterpiece and Barcelona’s iconic landmark
- A kaleidoscope of colorful stained glass, soaring columns, and symbolism
- Book tickets in advance—it gets busy for a reason
2️⃣ Park Güell
- A whimsical hilltop park filled with mosaics, dragons, and curves
- Explore the Monumental Zone and enjoy views over the city
- Like stepping into a dream—or a fairytale!
3️⃣ Stroll La Rambla & Explore the Gothic Quarter
- A lively pedestrian street with flower stalls, performers, and markets
- Wander into the Gothic Quarter (Barri Gòtic) for narrow alleys, Roman ruins, and hidden plazas
- Visit Plaça Reial for tapas and a good vibe
4️⃣ Casa Batlló & Casa Milà (La Pedrera)
- Two of Gaudí’s iconic modernist buildings on Passeig de Gràcia
- Casa Batlló looks like it’s made of bones and sea waves 🌊
- La Pedrera is all flowing stone and rooftop sculptures
5️⃣ Magic Fountain of Montjuïc
- Evening light & music shows (check schedule!)
- Combine it with a walk up Montjuïc for museums, parks, and castle views
6️⃣ Barceloneta Beach & Port Vell
- Chill on the beach or bike along the palm-lined promenade
- Great area for seafood, sangria, or sunset cocktails
- Stroll the harbor and check out the yachts at Port Vell
🍴 What to Eat in Barcelona
- Tapas – Patatas bravas, croquetas, pan con tomate
- Paella – Best enjoyed seaside, with seafood or mixed options
- Calçots (in season) – Grilled green onions with romesco sauce
- Crema catalana – Like crème brûlée, but with a Catalan twist
- Vermouth – A pre-lunch drink that's become trendy again 🍸
Try local markets like La Boqueria or cozy taverns in El Born for the full flavor.
🚇 Getting Around
- Metro & buses are fast and efficient – get a T-Casual card or Hola BCN pass
- Walk or rent a bike—many areas are super pedestrian-friendly
- Taxis & ride apps like Free Now are widely available
🎉 Extra Tips & Local Vibes
✅ Time your meals late – locals eat lunch at 2–3pm and dinner after 9pm
✅ Watch a Flamenco show, but choose authentic venues, not tourist traps
✅ Visit Bunkers del Carmel for one of the best panoramic sunset spots in the city
✅ Be aware of pickpockets in crowded areas (especially on La Rambla)
✅ If you love art: check out Museu Picasso and MACBA (modern art)
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@ 4bc0bea1:29b9f2aa
2025-04-08 12:27:36How I’m Training Around An Elbow Injury
My right elbow is a mess.
I hurt it wrestling with a friend on a wooden deck.
It's easy to avoid injuries in wrestling...if you only wrestle on the mat. I guess I don't like it easy.
To take it a step further, I made it much worse by doing straight arm ring exercises.
C'mon Jordan!
Straight arm ring exercises while your elbow already hurts...pure buffoonery.
Alas, here I am.
I could sit out from jiujitsu, but instead, I’m adjusting how I train so I don’t lose progress.
Injuries are part of the game, but how you adapt defines your progress.
Most people see injuries as setbacks. But they're actually opportunities to refine your game.
These opportunities force you to find ways to keep improving even when things aren’t perfect.
Things don't need to be perfect if you have some G.R.I.T.
Let's break this approach down.
G – Grapple (Smart)
Don't stop training. Modify it. Drill with a dummy, watch tape, or do technique you can handle. Buy a brace if need be. Stay in the game.
There's nothing worse than forgetting everything you worked hard to learn. So don't let it happen.
Keep rolling. Do what you can without pain. Buy a brace if you think it will help. I wear Anaconda's Elbow Brace when I roll to make sure my elbow stays safe and pain-free.
I stop if I experience pain and don't allow myself to go 100%. Ignore your ego and give your body the pain-free work that it needs.
On days when it's fatigued, I drill with my dummy and watch instructionals so I can improve my technique.
Don't sit around. Grapple. But do it smart.
R – Restore Movement
Move the injured part pain-free to get blood flowing. Restore function over time.
If you sit around and don't move your injured body part, it will heal slower.
Healing requires the nutrients that blood brings. And blood won't bring as much of the goods if it's not recruited.
Rehab your injury to give it the blood boost it needs.
I diagnosed myself with Olecranon (Elbow) Bursitis. I've been doing exercises recommended here to help it heal faster.
I only do the exercises that are pain-free for me right now. And I'm moving on to more difficult ones as my elbow condition improves.
Waiting for an injury to heal is a slow, frustrating process.
Be patient and stay consistent with your rehab.
I – Integrate Strength
Once pain-free, begin light strengthening. Train around the injury, not through it.
Instagram recently sniped me with an ad for something called The Torque Bar.
The benefits from using it are endless:
- It's a single tool that targets forearms, wrists, elbows, biceps, triceps, and shoulders.
- It has a thick knurled handle that enhances grip strength and forearm activation.
- It improves rotational strength (supination/pronation) for sports.
- It helps with tennis elbow, golfer’s elbow, wrist tendinitis, and rotator cuff issues.
- It strengthens stabilizing muscles to reduce joint hyperextension and strain risks.
So of course I had to buy it.
A couple weeks of these torque bar exercises and I'm hooked. It's strengthening my neglected arm muscles and my elbow without any pain.
It's a key piece of my routine going forward and I highly recommend it for others.
The best part is that it doesn't agitate my injury and it's helping me get stronger.
That's the goal here.
T – Thrive with Nutrition & Sleep
Eat clean to recover faster. Sleep well. Don’t waste healing energy on processed junk.
This is the number one lever to pull in your healing journey. And also a great way to live.
Eat Clean
I eat healthy foods like ground beef, wild caught salmon, fruit, and more whole foods 80% of the time.
The days I eat clean are the days my elbow feels it best.
The other 20% of the time – when I eat some processed, junk food – my elbow aches. It makes me feel like I'm back at square one. The consequences of junk food are astounding.
I've put the 80/20 rule on hold and changed it to 95/5 to help this injury heal faster.
Sleep Well
My sleep has been horrible.
My daughter was born 3 weeks ago and she's been fussy. I'm getting 3-6hrs of sleep a night. It's definitely not helping my elbow.
Sleep is the most important piece of the human equation.
Bad sleep can result in
- Low energy levels
- Increased risk of injury
- Poor eating habits
- Lack of productivity
It sets the tone for each day.
If you take anything away from this, let it be that you need to optimize for sleep.
If you're in a situation like me, control what you can control.
I have more control over my food than my sleep so that's why I'm being more disciplined with it.
Once my sleep improves, I expect everything to be firing on all cylinders.
The Bottom Line
Injuries are opportunities to refine your game.
But you need to have some G.R.I.T. to do it.
- G – Grapple (Smart): Don’t stop training. Change it. Drill with a dummy, watch tape, or do technique you can handle. Stay in the game.
- R – Restore Movement: Move the injured part pain-free to get blood flowing. Restore function over time.
- I – Integrate Strength: Once pain-free, begin light strengthening. Train around the injury, not through it.
- T – Thrive with Nutrition & Sleep: Eat clean to recover faster. Sleep well. Don’t waste healing energy on processed junk.
Do the above and you'll be back better than before.
Injured and not sure what you can still train? Send me a message – happy to help however I can.
Original post is here
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@ e31e84c4:77bbabc0
2025-04-08 11:53:57The third annual edition of Bitcoin FilmFest returns to Warsaw this May. From its niche beginnings in 2023 to today’s global stage, BFF has become a catalyst for authentic storytelling—merging independent cinema, permissionless art, and Bitcoin’s ethos.
“Where centralized scripts end, new narratives begin — explore the uncharted stories beyond the frame.”
May 22-25, 2025, Poland: This year’s theme, “Beyond the Frame,” BFF25 expands the focus on creative expression—featuring narrative films, fiction, Bitcoin ads, and even a touch of AI, while keeping its genuine, community-driven vibe.
Key Highlights of Bitcoin FilmFest 2025
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Pizza Day: The biggest European gathering to celebrate the first real-world Bitcoin transaction.
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Exclusive Screenings: Feature films, documentaries, animations and shorts—including, for example: UNBANKABLE, SATOSHI THE MOVIE, REVOLUCIÓN BITCOIN, THE MAN WHO WOULDN’T CRY, HOTEL BITCOIN —all followed by face-to-face discussions with creators.
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Golden Rabbits: Cinematic awards in categories like Best Movie, Best Story, Audience Choice.
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Movie Pitch Contest: A platform for creators to turn Bitcoin-themed ideas into cinematic reality.
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Generative Cinema: A special segment exploring AI’s role in filmmaking, including screenings and dynamic debates.
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BFF PoWies: A dedicated show with Bitcoin-themed advertising, concluding with its own award ceremony (categories: GRAND PRIX / freestyle, VISUAL / video ad + out of home, IDENTITY / brand creative + campaigns).
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Workshops & Networking: Thematic sessions on filmmaking, art, philosophy, spirituality, and beyond.
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Memorable Experiences: Inspiring conversations in intimate circles, live music (concerts and DJ sets), stand-up comedy, and dozens of site activities—from bitcoin-only marketplaces, though yoga to self-defense.
\ Details, Tickets, Discounts.
For more visit the official event site: bitcoinfilmfest.com/bff25/
Follow the project's official feed on social media to stay up-to-date:
X: @bitcoinfilmfest | Nostr: Bitcoin FilmFest | LinkedIn: Bitcoin FilmFest
Use the discount code BITESIZE to get 10% off on tickets.
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@ 866e0139:6a9334e5
2025-04-09 16:36:35
Autor: Bewegung für Neutralität. Dieser Beitrag wurde mit dem Pareto-Client geschrieben. Sie finden alle Texte der Friedenstaube und weitere Texte zum Thema Frieden hier.**
Der neue Schweizer Verteidigungsminister, Bundesrat Martin Pfister, wurde gewählt, weil er eine weitere Annäherung an die Nato und die Verteidigiungsstrukturen der EU befürwortet. Die «Bewegung für Neutralität» will ihm mit einem offenen Brief zeigen, dass die Basis anders denkt und die Neutralität hochhalten will. Wenn die Medien die Neutralität schon nicht vertreten, müssen wir es den Verantwortlichen selber sagen, in angemessener Deutlichkeit. Die Bewegung für Neutralität freut sich, wenn möglichst viele den offenen Brief unterzeichnen. (Text: Christoph Pfluger, Mit-Initiator).
Unter dem Titel «Hoffnungen, Sorgen und ein wachsamer Blick auf Ihre Arbeit» haben wir dem angehenden Bundesrat Martin Pfister einen offenen Brief geschrieben.\ \ Wir machen uns Sorgen, dass Druck auf ihn ausgeübt wird, sich der Nato weiter anzunähern und die Rüstungskosten der EU mitzutragen.\ \ Im Brief erinnern wir ihn an seinen Verfassungsauftrag (Art. 185), die Neutralität zu wahren und teilen ihm mit, dass seine Arbeit unter Beobachtung steht.\ \ Das Original des Briefes ist hier zu finden.
Herrn\ Martin Pfister\ 6319 Allenwinden\ \ 31. März 2025\ \ Hoffnungen, Sorgen und ein wachsamer Blick auf Ihre Arbeit\ \ Sehr geehrter Herr Bundesrat\ \ Wir möchten Sie ganz herzlich zu Ihrer Wahl in den Bundesrat beglückwünschen, ein Amt, das Sie dieser Tage antreten. Wir haben grosse Hoffnungen, dass Sie sich als Historiker der Wurzeln unseres Landes bewusst sind und sie durch Ihre Entscheidungen stärken. Die tragenden Werte der Eidgenossenschaft – Freiheit, Unabhängigkeit und direkte Demokratie – sind auch heute die Basis für eine Zukunft, die wir gerne den nächsten Generationen übergeben möchten.\ \ Alle diese Werte bauen auf der Neutralität. Denn wenn wir uns fremden Mächten und Militärbündnissen anschliessen oder auch nur «annähern», unterordnen wir uns Entscheidungen, die anderswo getroffen werden und irgendwelchen Interessen dienen. Wir verlieren damit nicht nur unsere Freiheit und unsere Unabhängigkeit, sondern auch das Primat des Souveräns und seiner direkt-demokratischen Instrumente.\ \ Wir hegen nicht nur Hoffnungen in Sie, wir haben auch Sorgen. Sie wurden gemäss allgemeiner Wahrnehmung mit den Stimmen derjenigen gewählt, die eine Öffnung gegenüber Allianzen anstreben und zu diesem Zweck die Neutralität «flexibilisieren», «aktualisieren» und «modernisieren» wollen.\ \ Wir halten diese «Flexibilisierung» für eine hochproblematische Position, die unser Land zu einer Parteinahme zwingt – und dies in einer Zeit, in der sich das bereits bestehende Kriegsgeschehen unvorhersehbar entwickelt und durchaus existenziell werden könnte.\ \ Die sichere Position in Konflikten Dritter ist die neutrale – nicht in schweigender, sondern in vermittelnder Haltung. Praktisch alle Kriege hätten durch frühzeitige Vermittlung durch eine neutrale Partei verhindert werden können.\ \ Eine Schweiz der guten Dienste muss deshalb neutral bleiben – nicht um Geschäfte zu machen, sondern um den Frieden zu gewinnen. Wir gehen davon aus, dass auch Sie das wollen.\ \ Wir befürchten aber auch, dass Druck auf Sie ausgeübt wird, nicht nur aus dem Parlament, sondern auch von fremden Kräften, die sich eine Beteiligung der Schweiz an Rüstungskosten wünschen oder sonstwie von einer kriegerischen Entwicklung profitieren. In vielen Ländern zählen Rüstungslobbies zu den verschwiegensten und mächtigsten Einflussgruppen.\ \ Wir hoffen, dass Sie diesem Druck standhalten, Ihrem Gewissen folgen und die Neutralität wahren, wie es gemäss Art. 185 der Bundesverfassung Ihr Auftrag als Bundesrat ist.\ \ Wir erlauben uns, Ihre Arbeit in diesem Sinn zu beobachten und Ihnen in angemessener Deutlichkeit mitzuteilen, wenn wir Ihren Verfassungsauftrag in Gefahr sehen.\ \ Wir wünschen Ihnen viel Weisheit und Erfolg in Ihrer grossen Aufgabe, die Ihnen das Schicksal so unerwartet gegeben hat und sichern Ihnen unsere Unterstützung bei der Wahrung der Neutralität zu. Wir wünschen uns eine Schweiz der guten Dienste und nicht der teuren Waffen.\ \ Mir vorzüglicher Hochachtung\ Der Vorstand der Bewegung für Neutralität:\ John C. Ermel\ Daniel Funk\ Alec Gagneux\ Dr. phil. Ariet Güttinger\ Peter König\ Christoph Pfluger\ Pia Rycroft\ Dr. phil. René Roca
u.v.m.
Hier kann der Brief unterzeichnet werden.
*«Die «Bewegung für Neutralität» wurde am 9. März 2025 als Verein gegründet. Er versteht sich als Trägerverein zur Unterstützung von lokalen Gruppen und Aktivisten, die sich für die Neutralität als Basis von Frieden, direkter Demokratie und eine Schweiz der guten Dienste einsetzen wollen. *
Die Friedenstaube fliegt auch in Ihr Postfach!
Hier können Sie die Friedenstaube abonnieren und bekommen die Artikel zugesandt. (Vorerst an alle, da wir den Mailversand testen, später ca. drei Mails pro Woche.).
Schon jetzt können Sie uns unterstützen:
- Für 50 CHF/EURO bekommen Sie ein Jahresabo der Friedenstaube.
- Für 120 CHF/EURO bekommen Sie ein Jahresabo und ein T-Shirt/Hoodie mit der Friedenstaube.
- Für 500 CHF/EURO werden Sie Förderer und bekommen ein lebenslanges Abo sowie ein T-Shirt/Hoodie mit der Friedenstaube.
- Ab 1000 CHF werden Sie Genossenschafter der Friedenstaube mit Stimmrecht (und bekommen lebenslanges Abo, T-Shirt/Hoodie).
Für Einzahlungen in CHF (Betreff: Friedenstaube):
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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@ 0f9da413:01bd07d7
2025-04-09 14:23:54หลังจากที่เดินทางเกือบ 18 ชั่วโมงเราก็มาถึงหาดใหญ่กันแล้ว ช่วงระยะเวลาที่อยู่บนรถไฟเป็นอะไรที่เรี่ยเปี่ยมากๆ นั่งมองข้างทางส่วนมีเหตุการณ์อะไรนั่น ติดตามบทความพิเศษได้เร็วๆ นี้ ผมก็ได้พบเจอเพื่อนบน nostr ท่านหนึ่งที่อยู่หาดใหญ่อาสาพาทัวร์ในหาดใหญ่แห่งนี้ กัปตันนั่นเอง ขนาดชื่อเล่นจริงๆ ยังไม่เคยถามหลังจากที่ดูใน btcmap แล้วพบว่าร้านเปิดตอนกลางคืน ซึ่งเรามีเวลาคืนเดียวในการอยู่ที่หาดใหญ่ ดังนั้นหลังจากช่วงกลางวันพาทัวร์แถวสงขลากันแล้ว ก็ได้พากลับมาตามล่าหาร้านรับ bitcoin lighting ในหาดใหญ่ มีอยู่สามสถานที่ แต่มีเพียงสองร้าน คือ
Soymilk Toyou ฉือฉาง และ น้ำเต้าหู้ SOYMILK TOYOU
น้ำเต้าหูหลากหลายรสชาติ มีอยู่สองสาขาอยู่บริเวณ ตลาดโต้รุ่งฉื่อฉาง และ ถนนปุณณกัณฑ์ สาขาแรกอยู่ในตลาดโต้รุ่ง ร้านเล็กๆ เหมาะกับการชื้อกลับ และอีกร้านหนึ่งอยู่บริเวณเป็นร้านที่เหมาะกับนั่งทานที่ร้าน ซึ่งมีเต้าหู้หลากหลายรสชาติ ให้เลือกจนตาลายกันเลยทีเดียว สำหรับสาขา ถนนปุณณภัณฑ์นั้นมีเมนูเพิ่มเติมอย่าง เฉาก๋วยนมสด พุดติ้ง เต้าถึง และเฉาก๊วยโบราณ สาขานี้ลักษณะร้านออกแนวเกาหลีหน่อยๆ ซึ่งก็ค่อนข้างเหมาะกับชื่อร้านเหมือนกัน ค่อนข้างได้ฟิลพอสมควร ซึ่งผมเองกับกัปตันเองก็ได้แวะทั้งสองร้าน 4 แก้ว น่าจะเป็นเบาหวานเร็วๆ นี้ แต่ยังมีอีกหลากหลายอย่างที่ผมยังไม่ได้ลองชิม คราวหน้าอาจจะต้องได้ไปแวะใช้บริการอีกครั้ง ทั้งสองสาขานี้มีป้ายรับ bitcoin lighting ด้วยซึ่งอาจจะต้องสังเกตกันนิดหนึ่ง หากต้องการใช้งาน ซึ่งทั้งสองร้านนี้ก็สปีนประมาณ 5,820 sats
Soymilk Toyou ฉือฉาง (ตลาดโต้รุ่งฉื่อฉาง)
Google-map: https://maps.app.goo.gl/1PUVX3wkuzLBrQjw7
BTC-map: https://btcmap.org/merchant/node:12351330907
น้ำเต้าหู้ SOYMILK TOYOU (ถนนปุณณกัณฑ์)
Google-map: https://maps.app.goo.gl/FFaZSXKEvGwKvrwZ7
BTC-map: https://btcmap.org/merchant/node:12346018233
และเมื่อผมและกัปตันต้อง spin sats ทั้งสองร้านก็กลายเป็นว่าได้น้ำตาลมาหน่อยๆ แต่ไหนๆก็มาแล้วจะไม่ใช้ก็อย่างไรอยู่ ซึ่งรสชาติก็แตกต่างกันไปตามที่เราได้สั่ง ส่วนตัวเองสาขาตลาดโต้รุ่งฉื่อฉาง ผมสั่งน้ำเต้าหู้ธรรมดา และสาขา ถนนปุณณกัณฑ์ ก็น้ำลำใยบวกกับพุดติ้งเมนูของร้าน น้ำตาลน่าจะสไปรท์กันสุดๆแล้วละ 555+
ดูด(Dude) หลังจากเมากับความหวานทั้งสองสาขากันไปแล้ว เอ้ยนี่เราจะลุยกันต่อเรอะ เออว่ะ ก็กูนอนที่หาดใหญ่แค่คืนเดียวแล้วดันก็เปิดแค่กลางคืนด้วย ก็คงต้องอัดหน้าท้องแล้วละ กับอีกร้านหนึ่งที่รับ sats กับร้าน ดูด(Dude)
หากดูในแผนที่อยู่ระหว่างกลางร้านก่อนหน้าทั้งสองสาขา กึ่งกลางพอดิบพอดี ร้านนี้เป็นร้านขายเครื่องดื่มและกับแกล้มและมีกับข้าวช่วงเย็น เป็นบาร์กลางคืน ไม่มีเบียร์เหล้าขายนะ (ในใจนึกว่าจะมีเสียอีก) แต่หากอยากจ่าย lighting อาจจะต้องแจ้งกับเจ้าของร้านหน่อยเพราะไม่เจอป้ายรับ lighting เราก็อัดน้ำถังไปอีกคนละแก้ว (แก้วถังที่ใส่น้ำแข็งเยอะๆ) นั่งคุยกันเพลินๆ ซึ่งทั้งสามร้านเราก็เมากับน้ำหวาน มีกับแกล้มซึ่งกินไม่ค่อยไหวแล้วเพราะไปเปย์สาวๆตอนเย็นไปแล้ว เอ้ย และร้านท้ายนี้หมดไปทั้งหมด 6,809 sats
Google-map: https://maps.app.goo.gl/41Tsj4GLWvm7M6TC6
BTC-map: https://btcmap.org/merchant/node:12478715046
จบกันแล้วสำหรับสองร้านในหาดใหญ่ ตามบน BTC-map ถือว่าเราได้ไปครบแล้วในหาดใหญ่ ซึ่งโซนบริเวณภาคใต้นี่เป็นสถานที่ที่ผมซึ่งเป็นคนเหนือเองอยากจะได้เยี่ยมชมแวะไปหาและอยากไปเรียนรู้เกี่ยวกับวัฒนธรรมที่นี้ มันมีอะไรที่ผมอยากจะค้นหาและตามลิ้มลองรสชาติของอาหารปักใต้ แน่นอนยังมีอีกหลายสถานที่ที่กำลังจะมีให้ใช้งานในอนาคต ร้านค้าที่เกี่ยวข้องที่รับ lighting ซึ่งพอมีเยอะๆแล้วก็คงตามไล่ไปแวะชิมก็น่าจะไม่หมดแน่นอน อย่างน้อยๆ ผมเองก็ได้แวะไปเที่ยวหาเพื่อนที่อยู่บน nostr ที่นั่นที่นี้ แม้จะระยะเวลาสั้นๆ แต่ก็ถือว่าเป็นครั้งแรกที่ได้แวะเที่ยวหาดใหญ่ เที่ยวสงขลา ถ่ายรูปกับรูปนางเงือกหาดสมิลา (กัปตันบอกลูบนมเลย ไม่เอากลัวได้แฟนที่นี้ เอ้าไปที่ไหนก็กลัวหมด บวชพระป่ะ 555+)
แต่เพลงนี้มันเพราะจริงๆ นะถึงแม้จะเศร้านิดหน่อย ไปตรงนั่นได้ยังไง และจุดสุดท้ายนั่นคือเชียงใหม่ ซึ่งช่วงระหว่างกำลังจะขึ้นเครื่องไปเชียงใหม่ อ้าวเกิดแผ่นดินไหวชะงั้น ซึ่งเชียงใหม่นั้น มีร้านใน btcmap เยอะพอสมควรและมีแวะไปร้านหนึ่งกลายเป็นว่าไม่รับชะแล้ว จะมีกี่ร้านที่ผมไปแวะเยี่ยมชิม ติดตามใน ตอนสุดท้ายในบทความกับ ep4
ท้ายนี้ผมเปิดเพจบนเมนสตรีมละเน้อ ตามได้ในเพจ ไปกับจิ๊บ (บนเฟสบุ๊ค) ผมคงเอาไว้แอบติดตามเพื่อนบน nostr บนเฟสบุ๊คที่พอที่จะติดตามได้บ้าง น่าจะได้อ่านอะไรต่างๆที่ใหลมา คงเอาไว้เขียนรีวิวประสบการณ์การท่องเที่ยวส่วนตัว เพื่อนสมัยเรียนผมเคยบอกว่ามึงไปเที่ยวบ่อยมึงไม่เขียนลงบ้างวะ ไม่เอาขี้เกียจวะ ไม่รู้จะดึงพลังงานตอนทำเพจสมัยมอปลายได้หรือไม่ ก็ไม่รู้เหมือนกัน เอาไว้ส่องๆโปรไฟล์ใครบน nostr ที่อยู่บนเฟสแหละ ฮ่าๆ เป็นเพจอยากเล่าอะไรก็อยากเล่า และแว๊บไปคอมเมนต์เพื่อนๆ บน nostr บ้าง ขอบคุณครับ
-
@ c11cf5f8:4928464d
2025-04-08 11:31:37Here we are again with our monthly Magnificent Seven, the summary giving you a hit of what you missed in the ~AGORA territory. This month, new ideas came to us to trying increase engagement within the marketplace. Thanks to all for sharing your ideas and needs.
Auctions OPEN! First of all, @AGORA made a comprehensive research analyzing all the various types of auctions and discovering which one could be the most suitable for stackers. Published a guide that help define a first experimental auction for Satoshi Nakamoto 50th ₿DAY Commemorative Poster.
Build your own Shopfront Second, we discovered that AGORA could enable shopfronts to simply showcase and link external products, one per comment. This allows, for example, @SN to have its own to showcase and collect all the past and future editions of the SNZ weekly zine, check it out here. Isn't that fantastic? We found a new use case, just leveraging current functionalities! We might try to highlight the details with a how-to guide soon.
Now let's check our top performing post Ads!
Top-Performing Ads
This month, the most engaging ones are:
01
[SELL] SNZ serialized inaugural issue, 3k sats (shipping to US) by @plebpoet congrats on launching this great initiative! Look forward to seeing ext one coming out!02
Easy self-hosting of a basic ecommerce store that accepts bitcoin? by @k00b that apparently opted in for @zaprite, as he was unable to find a better solution to self-host and sell zines and other products sovereignly.03
[SELL] Art piece "Reborn" by Von Bitcoin Art - Brekkie⚒️ @BVBTC (30k) by @Design_r promoting @BVBTC wonderful art masterpieces!04
[OFFER] BOLT12 Day: 12K sats for an item from the “Bullish X Alby” collection by @thebullishbitcoiner together with few other offers.05
Sats with 10% discount where @purpurato was trying to have someone pay a VPS service with PayPal and refund in sats. Glad to kow this deal has been completed successfully!06
[GIVEAWAY] Only a few hours left to post a meme to win free 21 Futures paperback by @realBitcoinDog how it went? Keep us posted!07
(SELL) Fine Art Black and White for sale by @Diego a photographer taking timeless shots. I look forward to seeing more of them framed and sold around here.
We also had so many other posts this month by @3a42879d5f, @kurszusz, @catoshi, @Coinsreporter, @BitFlio, @zapsammy and last but not the least, @whiteyfrauds, that actually posted a full list of interesting books and hacking software programs he is currently selling. Thank you all! Let's keep these trades coming and grow the Bitcoin circular economy!
Lost & Found in SN' Wild West Web
Stay with me, we're not done yet! I found plenty of other deals and offers in other territories too..
- Bitaxe 10% off code @stack_harder shared to buy within Europe.
- @plebpoet questioning What has Craigslist done for you?
- Costa Rica based Web Hosting and VPS for Bitcoin & Lightning shared by @hyperfree
- @Darthcoin remind us that there is an extensive set of options out there if you want to buy stuff with your precious sats https://stacker.news/items/775324/r/AG?commentId=776759
Wow, such an exciting month!
Active Professional Services accepting Bitcoin in the AGORA
Let us know if we miss any, here below the most memorable ones: - https://stacker.news/items/900208/r/AG @unschooled offering Language Tutoring - https://stacker.news/items/813013/r/AG @gpvansat's [OFFER][Graphic Design] From the paste editions (It's important to keep these offers available) - https://stacker.news/items/775383/r/AG @TinstrMedia - Color Grading (Styling) Your Pictures as a Service - https://stacker.news/items/773557/r/AG @MamaHodl, MATHS TUTOR 50K SATS/hour English global - https://stacker.news/items/684163/r/AG @BTCLNAT's OFFER HEALTH COUNSELING [21 SAT/ consultation - https://stacker.news/items/689268/r/AG @mathswithtess [SELL] MATHS TUTOR ONILINE, 90k sats per hour. Global but English only.
In case you missed
Here some interesting post, opening conversations and free speech about markets and business on the bitcoin circular economy:
- https://stacker.news/items/917679/r/AG Mundus Sine Caesaribus - A World Without Caesars Shirts by @k00b
- https://stacker.news/items/934100/r/AG 🛍️ Kartapio, a decentralized marketplace connecting businesses with customers. by @supratic
- https://stacker.news/items/924694/r/AG 🐢 4get is an open source search engine without data collection by @isolabellart
- https://stacker.news/items/914570/r/AG Sans is a library which supports ios/android/windows/macos/linux by @profullstack
BUYing or SELLing Cowboys Credits?
BUY or SELL them in the ~AGORA marketplace
Here's what stackers have to offers: - [SWAP] SN Cowboy credits by @DarthCoin - https://stacker.news/items/758411/r/AG by @SimpleStacker that also shares a CCs market analysis. - [BUY] 100 cowboy credits for one satoshi by @ek - Will Pay Sats For Cowboy Credits by @siggy47 - 📢 CCs to Sats Exchange Megathread recently started by @holonite, not sure why in ~bitcoin. Consider the ~AGORA next time ;)
🏷️ Spending Sunday and Selling weekly?
Share your most recent Bitcoin purchases of just check what other stackers are buying with their sats! All series available here: Or read the latest one from https://stacker.news/items/935969/r/AG
We also kickstarted a new weekly series titled What have you sold for Bitcoin this week?. It has been, and will be, going out every Thursday. Subscribe to our @AG0RA
bot
to don't miss the reminders!
Create your Ads now!
Looking to start something new? Hit one of the links below to free your mind:
- 💬 TOPIC for conversation,
- [⚖️ SELL] anything! or,
- if you're looking for something, hit the [🛒 BUY]!
- [🧑💻 HIRE] any bitcoiner skill or stuff from bitcoiners
- [🖇 OFFER] any product or service and stack more sats
- [🧑⚖️ AUCTION] to let stackers decide a fair price for your item
- [🤝 SWAP] if you're looking to exchange anything with anything else
- [🆓 FREE] your space, make a gift!
- Start your own [SHOPFRONT] or simply...
- [⭐ REVIEW] any bitcoin product or LN service you recently bought or subscribed to.
Or contact @AGORA team on nostr DM, and we can help you publish a personalized post.
.
#nostr
#bitcoin
#stuff4sats
#sell
#buy
#plebchain
#grownostr
#asknostr
#market
#business
originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/937858
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@ edeb837b:ac664163
2025-04-08 11:24:58In today’s fast-paced, hyper-connected world, investing is no longer a solo sport.
The rise of social investing has transformed the way people trade, learn, and grow their wealth. Whether you're a seasoned trader or just getting started, chances are you've already encountered social investors—on Twitter, Discord, Reddit, or even in group chats. But who exactly are they? And why is NVSTly the go-to platform for this new wave of investors?
Let’s break it down.
What is a Social Investor?
A social investor is someone who engages in trading or investing with a strong focus on community, transparency, and collaboration.
They're not just buying and selling behind closed doors. They're:
- Sharing trades and strategies in real time
- Following top traders to learn from their wins (and losses)
- Collaborating with others in Discord servers, Telegram groups, and social media threads
- Using data-driven insights from the crowd to sharpen their own edge
Social investors believe that trading is better together—and they’re not wrong.
What Do Social Investors Do?
Social investors operate at the intersection of finance and social media. Here's what their day-to-day might look like:
✅ Share Trades Publicly
They log and post their trades for the community to see—building trust, accountability, and transparency.
✅ Follow Traders They Trust
They find top-performing traders or those with a style that resonates, then follow their moves to learn, mirror, or improve their own game.
✅ Collaborate & Discuss
Social investors thrive on conversation—sharing opinions, chart analysis, market sentiment, and more.
✅ Track Performance Over Time
Many use dashboards to measure their win rates, gain/loss ratios, and trade history to keep improving.
So… How Does Social Investing Actually Work?
At its core, social investing works like this:
-
Connect with the Community
Whether it’s a Discord server, app, or forum—start engaging. -
Log & Share Trades
Share your trade ideas, entries/exits, or even link your brokerage to auto-share your trades in real-time. -
Follow & Learn from Others
Use leaderboards, performance stats, and trade insights to follow top traders or promising new ones. -
Analyze and Improve
Get real-time feedback, stats, and charts to refine your strategy and grow your edge.
That’s where NVSTly comes in.
Why NVSTly is the Best Platform for Social Investors
NVSTly wasn’t just built for social investors—it was built by them.
Whether you're day trading crypto, swinging options, or investing long-term in stocks, NVSTly gives you everything you need to track, share, analyze, and grow—together.
Here’s what makes NVSTly stand out:
-
🚀 Real-Time Trade Sharing
Trades post instantly—on the app, and even in Discord—so your followers are always in the loop. -
📈 POV Charts
Our unique Point-of-View Chart shows the exact candlestick where a trader made a move. No more guessing—you see the strategy play out visually. -
🧠 Advanced Trade Insights
Dive into trade performance with key stats like win rate, average gain/loss, long vs short ratio, and even drawdowns. -
🌎 Global Leaderboards
See who’s crushing it across the platform, by day, week, month, or all-time. Filter by asset class, strategy, and more. -
🔗 Broker & Exchange Integration
Automatically track your trades from brokerages like Webull (with more on the way). No more manual input—just connect and go. -
📲 Multi-Platform Access
Use NVSTly on Web, iOS, Android—and even directly inside Discord via the NVSTly Bot. (Telegram support coming soon!) -
📣 Instant Social Sharing
Auto-post your trades to Discord, X (Twitter), and other platforms the moment they happen. Build your brand while you trade.
Social Investing is the Future. NVSTly is the Hub.
Whether you’re looking to grow your audience, follow expert traders, or just become more disciplined in your own trading, NVSTly is where social investors thrive.
Join 50,000+ traders who believe that sharing trades isn’t just about clout—it’s about accountability, growth, and community.
Ready to Social Trade?
Create your free account today and become part of the fastest-growing social trading platform in the game.
👉 Start Trading with NVSTly on the web, iOS, Android, or through the Discord app/bot.
-
@ f683e870:557f5ef2
2025-04-08 11:13:27When it comes to the Nostr Web of Trust, several NIPs have been proposed, but the one that seemed to gather the most traction was Trusted Assertion by Vitor Pamplona.
The idea is to have
kind:30382
represent assertions made about an entity, which could be a pubkey, for example. The NIP also specifies a tag calledrank
, which can be used to build some basic WoT primitives.Example event:
{ "kind": 30382, "tags": [ ["d", "e88a6...50411"], ["rank", "89"], ["zap_amt_sent", "1000000"], ], "content": "", //... }
However, we quickly realized that this NIP was too limiting for what we wanted to accomplish: real-time, personalized ranking.
To illustrate our different approaches, we will show how to replicate our Verify Reputation with trusted assertions.
Verify Reputation
Verify Reputation returns:
- the rank, follow count and followers count of the given
target
- its top followers by rank.
All ranks are personalized to the given
source
.This “batteries included” solution helps users avoid impersonation and fraud with a single request, no matter what application they are using, be it a kind:1 client, chat app, wallet, marketplace, or more.

To get the same result with trusted assertions, you would have to
- Get all contact lists that contain the
target
(as ap
tag) - Build the target’s
follower
list from those event authors - Get the trusted assertions for the target and each of the followers
- Sort them by the rank provided by the trusted assertions
This operation is computationally expensive, especially on mobile devices. It is clear that if the user is willing to verify and process a large number of events (potentially +100k), he can compute some (rudimentary) ranking directly on the device, without the need to trust a third party.
More generally, trusted assertions are very hard to use when one doesn’t know the pubkeys of the people he’s looking for. This goes fundamentally against our approach of Web of Trust, as a powerful mechanism for discovery.
Are you looking to add Web of Trust capabilities to your app or project?
- the rank, follow count and followers count of the given
-
@ fbf0e434:e1be6a39
2025-04-09 14:09:08Hackathon 概要
近日, Sonic DeFAI 黑客松圆满落幕,在 Sonic 区块链生态系统中掀起参与热潮与创新风暴。此次活动共吸引 822 名开发者注册,最终 47 个项目通过审核。在四周赛程里,参赛者们开发新型 AI 代理,角逐总计 29.5 万美元的奖池。这些代理旨在参与社交及链上活动,助力提升 DeFAI(人工智能驱动的去中心化金融)。
赛事核心创新聚焦自主代理整合,部分亮点项目运用 Zerebro 及其开源框架 ZerePy,展现了 Sonic 每秒 10000 笔交易(TPS)的高处理性能与次秒级最终性,同时凸显其与以太坊的无缝流动性集成优势。
本次黑客松评审标准注重技术实施、设计、潜在影响力及创意,提交项目由行业专家团队评估,其中包括 Sonic Labs 首席执行官 Michael Kong。活动充分突显 Sonic 通过创新 AI 应用与强大区块链基础设施,推动去中心化金融未来发展的实力。
Hackathon 获胜者
最佳代理综合奖获奖者
- Shogun: DeFAi super vault's - 一个由 AI 驱动的 DeFi 协议,通过动态资本分配和再平衡来优化去中心化金融金库的收益。
- Nuvolari.Ai - 利用 AI 代理提高链上财务决策的个人理财助手。
- Hyper Sonic - 一个支持表情包币创新的去中心化枢纽,整合了博彩市场、启动平台和 AI 驱动的功能。
- Paintswap Game Engine - 一个 Web3 dApp,通过 AI 驱动的提示实现游戏创作,民主化游戏开发过程。
- SUPERSONIC - 一个由 AI 驱动的平台,自动识别 Web3 生态系统中的套利机会。
最佳社交代理奖获奖者
- Memegents - 结合 AI 和区块链创建个性化 AI 代理和加密货币代币。
- deChat: AI-Powered DeFi Interface for Sonic - 一个 AI 聊天界面,通过自然语言命令简化 DeFi 交互。
- CurtAIs - 通过一个集成 Telegram 的知识库促进 Sonic Labs 的引导。
最佳 DeFAI 代理奖获奖者
- SonicChat - 一个整合钱包管理、交易分析和 AI 驱动见解的平台。
- NoRugz - 促进 meme 币的创建和推广,并与社交媒体集成。
- Shiami - DeFAI for Everyone on Sonic - 一个简化 Sonic 上 DeFi 操作的便捷聊天机器人。
最佳工具代理奖获奖者
- Sonic's Risk Watch - 提供 Sonic 生态系统中的风险评估和投资组合优化。
- Knowscroll - 将社交媒体转化为 AI 生成内容的微学习体验。
最佳 deBridge 集成奖获奖者
- Crème'ai - 一个由 AI 驱动的投资组合顾问,通过实时数据优化加密管理。
- deChat: AI-Powered DeFi Interface for Sonic
- DogBone - 一个简化 DeFi 交互的平台,利用自动化和自然语言处理。
最佳 Allora 集成奖获奖者
- Sonic TradeZo - 一个去中心化、匿名的 AI 驱动博彩游戏,配有 AI 交易代理。
- Shogun: DeFAi super vault's
- AIm — Artificial Intelligence Manager - 自动化创建 AI 驱动的 DeFi 代理以优化 Sonic 上的财务交互。
DWF Labs 赞助的赛道奖获奖者
- Shogun: DeFAi super vault's
- Crème'ai
- EdgerAI - 利用基于社交信号和智能合约的链上交易策略。
有关项目的完整列表,请访问 Sonic DeFAI Hackathon 页面。
关于组织者
Sonic Labs
Sonic Labs 专注于区块链解决方案,利用在去中心化技术方面的广泛专业知识。该组织开发了提升数据安全性和交易效率的项目,并因创建可扩展的区块链基础设施和实施智能合约而闻名。目前,Sonic Labs 通过主导各种计划来实现无缝区块链技术集成,专注于扩大其在各个领域的影响。
-
@ ef53426a:7e988851
2025-04-08 10:30:14Lead generation experts, growth hackers, and ‘battle-tested’ copywriters — this is the makeup of a 2025 LinkedIn feed.
The platform has grown to nearly 1 billion users and has successfully rebranded itself from an online CV database to a playground for entrepreneurs and content creators. With this comes great opportunity, but it also attracts sycophants and narcissists in their droves.
I’ve been writing on the platform since 2021. As a coach for multilingual writing pros, I post tips and thoughts about the English language, writing craft, and the state of the industry. Overall, it’s been a positive creative outlet, as well as a genuine source for clients. What they say really is true — your network is your net worth.
Yet, in recent months, I’ve become more frustrated with the swathes of ‘experts’ adding their voices to a sea of posts about content marketing. Most of those billion users aren’t active, and very few actually post and comment. LinkedIn is full of lurkers, too scared to let their bosses see the meme they liked. So why are all of these creative minnows so keen to reach them?
Why people write on LinkedIn
Unlike other social platforms, LinkedIn pays content creators 0. It doesn’t matter how many followers you acquire or how many eyeballs you drive to the platform, LinkedIn will pay you 0. In fact, creators often pay for LinkedIn premium accounts in order to access more powerful search functions and understand who is viewing their profile.
In 2022, the social network gained $13.8 billion in revenue, with the majority coming from premium accounts and B2B data sales, rather than ad revenue. For Microsoft (the owner of LinkedIn), advertising is a mere side hustle.
Searchable data is what makes LinkedIn an attractive place for freelancers and founders, as well as big businesses. Imagine you are a freelance web designer who helps Yoga teachers with their online presence. Or maybe you’re a communication coach who works with Japanese executives living in the US. You can find your ideal clients through search, publish useful content just for them, and start conversations by direct message.
Building your network in this way can lead to corporate clients, long-term relationships, and high-ticket sales. All this instead of a few measly dollars of ad revenue.
Of course, you have to learn a lot about marketing and sales, and all of this does not happen over night. Essentially, LinkedIn is a slower game, with a bigger payoff.
What top creators write about
LinkedIn is a business platform, so it’s not surprising that remote work, career growth, technology, and diversity comprise the staple topics of many of the articles, posts and videos shared.
But it’s not all leadership gurus. Whereas the route to LinkedIn gold used to be about selling non-fiction books and booking speaking engagements (a la Simon Sinek or Adam Grant) things look very different in 2023. Entrepreneurship, marketing and personal branding have become more than trending topics — they have stolen the show. Just check your LinkedIn feed, and you’ll see what I mean.
With an army of new creators looking for clients and customers, creators tend to build big followings by telling others how to grow their LinkedIn business. Being a LinkedIn coach would have seemed like a joke in 2019, but hundreds (or even thousands) are making serious money doing so.
These experts sell the dream of becoming a successful entrepreneur, just like them. They sell courses or run paid communities based on copywriting, social media growth, side hustles, and marketing.
For me, most of these ‘top voices’ blend into one. It all seems so insular, and all those likes and shares get kicked up the chain. In fact, it’s not dissimilar to how a pyramid scheme operates:
Step 1: sell a course on how to make money on LinkedIn
Step 2: the original clients learn how to do the same and find other ambitious digital entrepreneurs
Step 3: after several levels of resale, the buck stops with those who want to target clients in other industries, who are less driven by the ‘earn a six-figure income in 30 days’ type headlines.
How the algorithm fuels the fire
First of all, personal networks are much smaller than audiences on other social sites. Most LinkedIn accounts have an audience comprising mostly those they have ‘connected’ with (allowing reciprocal DMs). The maximum number of connections permitted is 30,000, so with a few followers added in, accounts can gain a huge amount of influence on LinkedIn.
Post reach is determined by how many in your network like, share or comment on your posts (similar to other social sites). But here’s the difference, the comments of your connections show up in your feed too.
This means the ultimate goal of smaller accounts is to get bigger creators to comment on their posts. If a big account interacts with your post, you could gain hundreds of followers or connect with other industry players who follow them. So, whatever they post, the top accounts are showered with love. “Great post :)”, “Totally agree”, “You nailed it!!!”.
Once a creator reaches a higher number of followers, they can post insipid quotes and obvious advice and still receive a torrent of engagement. It causes the top 1% to form strong bonds and collaborate on content in order to cement their position as experts and remain at the top. Newer writers tend to parrot the same half-baked marketing advice to try and appear as successful as the ‘Top Voices’ without realising that THEY are the product. Of course, all they have to do to get to the next level is buy a course. Simple.
I say this not to judge or complain. I’m involved in it all in some way. Although I never claim I’ll double clients’ income or make them a star on social media, I do sell coaching courses on writing effectively. Some days, I’m grateful for the positivity and interaction my writing receives on LinkedIn; others, I write sarcastic slideshows about the ridiculous promises, fake gurus and bad advice I see daily on the platform. My question is why are so few others recognising that creators are trapped in a bondage scheme, with all the wealth travelling up to the top 1%?
Is the creator economy a pyramid scheme?
What’s happening with writers on LinkedIn can be seen on other creative platforms too. On YouTube, Patreon, Podcasts, Substack and more, a low percentage of creators are making it work. Those who do best often tell others how to grow and make money. Let’s be honest, it’s a never-ending source of Medium articles too.
However, Medium seems more equitable. If you build a relationship by reading and commenting on others’ posts, they’ll probably return the favour. Our writing does not succeed or fail on whether we paid a designer to make it look beautiful. And many of the most-followed writers on the platform were early adopters, brought an audience from elsewhere, or have logged thousands of hours curating a publication.
As ever, the life of a writer is never easy, and the quandary of how to make money doing it remains. Despite what I’ve said, I do recommend writing on LinkedIn. It is a place where you can build genuine connections and read insightful pieces.
Just remember, if you see a headline like “How I got 34 clients to pay me over $2,000 each last month” or “You are positioning your personal brand TERRIBLY. Do this instead!!!”, beware. Don’t fall into the trap of the pyramid scheme; make your own way as best you can.
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@ fbf0e434:e1be6a39
2025-04-09 14:07:49Hackathon 概要
EurekaHACKS 是加拿大奥克维尔市 Abbey Park 高中主办的年度 12 小时黑客马拉松,主要面向高中生群体。今年共有 92 名参与者,最终 51 个项目通过审核。作为哈顿地区规模最大的高中生黑客马拉松之一,活动开设技术研讨会,提供超 7000 美元奖金,营造出充满竞争的氛围。
赛事分设多个奖项:“最佳整体 Hack” 获奖者可获 Bambu Lab A1 Minis,亚军能得到 Red Dragon 机械键盘;其他奖项用于表彰在本地影响力、创造力及技术专长方面表现突出的项目。其中,运用 Internet Computer Protocol(ICP)的项目最高可获 500 美元奖励,涉及 Vectara 的项目可获 300 美元积分。技术研讨会环节还设有 Jane Street 卡片、泡泡茶及各类代金券等奖励。
这场黑客马拉松将年轻创新者汇聚一堂,激发创造力,促进技术技能提升,同时彰显了当地社区的高度参与。
Hackathon 获奖者
标准赛道奖项得主
2025 年 EurekaHacks 标准赛道的参赛者需让项目贴合特定主题,由此催生出多样的技术创新成果。
最佳整体Hack
- FaunaDex: 这款应用通过使用AI识别真实动物并提供详细信息来促进自然探索,鼓励户外活动和学习。
亚军Hack
- ArcaneStep: 将网页游戏与现实中的身体活动结合,ArcaneStep激励孩子们通过行走收集法力以施放法术,旨在减少屏幕时间。
终极编码者第三名
- LocalLink: LocalLink利用地理空间技术连接户外空间中的个人,以促进社区参与,提供即时、有意义的互动。
最佳本地影响
- Gems: Gems是一个基于地图的界面,促进城市探索,使用户能够发现和分享独特的地点,增强探索体验。
最具触感
- Greenlight: 这个游戏化应用鼓励户外活动,用户可通过体育锻炼和自然互动获得积分。
最佳展示
- The Moss Garden: The Moss Garden旨在提高用户的生产力,通过自然主题的网站来增强与自然的联系,提高专注力和心理健康。
终极编码者最佳年轻黑客
- socialize.ai: 利用AI代理,socialize.ai为在线互动提供对话提示和反向图像搜索功能,以增强社交互动。
如需获取完整项目列表,请访问 EurekaHacks 2025 Buidl Page。
关于主办方
EurekaHACKS
EurekaHACKS以促进技术创新着称,特别是在区块链和技术开发领域。通过组织各种hackathons,它连接了技术爱好者并支持协作项目开发。这些活动推动了去中心化应用程序的显著进展,为区块链社区做出了重要贡献。EurekaHACKS目前专注于培养新的人才,并通过教育项目和专项活动推广可持续技术解决方案。
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@ c892835e:4d87bc55
2025-04-09 12:51:31Marketing digital para bancar a base prestação de serviço tambem
estudar ingles e as parada toda bitcoin programação russo
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@ 866e0139:6a9334e5
2025-04-08 08:52:09
Autor: Lionne Douce. (Bild: Florian Simon Eiler). Dieser Beitrag wurde mit dem Pareto-Client geschrieben. Sie finden alle Texte der Friedenstaube und weitere Texte zum Thema Frieden hier.**
LASSEN SIE DER FRIEDENSTAUBE FLÜGEL WACHSEN!
Hier können Sie die Friedenstaube abonnieren und bekommen die Artikel zugesandt. (Vorerst an alle, da wir den Mailversand testen, später ca. drei Mails pro Woche.).
Schon jetzt können Sie uns unterstützen:
- Für 50 CHF/EURO bekommen Sie ein Jahresabo der Friedenstaube.
- Für 120 CHF/EURO bekommen Sie ein Jahresabo und ein T-Shirt/Hoodie mit der Friedenstaube.
- Für 500 CHF/EURO werden Sie Förderer und bekommen ein lebenslanges Abo sowie ein T-Shirt/Hoodie mit der Friedenstaube.
- Ab 1000 CHF werden Sie Genossenschafter der Friedenstaube mit Stimmrecht (und bekommen lebenslanges Abo, T-Shirt/Hoodie).
Für Einzahlungen in CHF (Betreff: Friedenstaube):
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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@ 000002de:c05780a7
2025-04-08 01:24:25Trump is trying to sell a victim narrative and I don't buy it.
Trump repeats a troupe that I find hard to swallow. The US is getting ripped off. When he says this, as far as I can tell he's not referring to the people. He's referring the US government getting ripped off by other nations. This is so absurd I'm surprised I don't hear more people push back on it.
The US is the most powerful government in the history of the planet. No nation has the firepower or wealth of the US. The US has manipulated the governments and policies of much of the world since WW2. The idea that the US government is getting ripped off is absurd.
Trump and I agree that NATO is obsolete. It was created to counter a government that dissolved in the 90s. This should be an example to everyone that governments do not behave like businesses. They do not respond to market forces. They will always seek to increase their power and influence and always resist any efforts to reduce their size and scope. But back to Trump. He says that the US is getting ripped off by the other NATO countries. I would say the US people are in indeed being ripped off by their own government. But the US government is NOT getting ripped off.
The US military power in Europe is a massive influence on geopolitics in the region. US military companies benefit massively as well. The US military has bases all over the globe and if you don't think that is a factor in "diplomatic" negotiations you are being naive. The US uses this "defensive" shield to keep the "leaders" of Europe in line. The US isn't being ripped off. This is just a marketing tactic Trump is using to sell downsizing the US military deployments.
Trump also loves to point out how other countries are imposing tariffs on the US. We are being ripped off! I mean, he has a point there. But if tariffs aren't a tax as many in his admin like to claim, how exactly are "we" being ripped off? We are being told that Trump's tariff policy isn't a tax and that expecting prices to increase is oversimplifying things. The talk about tariffs is frankly frustrating.
On the one hand the left is saying tariffs are a tax and is going to drive up prices. Yet these same people pretend to not understand that corporate tax increases don't have the same effect. The right claims to understand tax policy and often oppose corporate taxes. They will tell you that those taxes just get passed down to consumers in the form of price increases. Now they are pretending to not get this in relation to tariffs.
I've read and listened to the pro tariff people and they aren't all dumb. They may be right about tariffs not effecting all products and nations equally. I guess we will find out. But, can we be honest? The US is not getting ripped off.
Someone is getting ripped off, but it isn't the US federal government. Its the people of the world. First, the people of the world live under the thumb of the US fiat dollar standard. We in the US complain about 3+% inflation but most people in the world would kill for that level of inflation. Most of the world gets none of supposed benefits from government spending. They only get the debasement of their own currencies.
Moving away from economics, the entire globe is affected by the elections in the US. The US is the top dog government and its decisions effect people everywhere. The US deep state has manipulated many elections across the globe and continues to do so. Meanwhile we are told that Russia is manipulating our elections. So who exactly is getting ripped off here? I think the nation (the people) are being subjected to massive mismanagement at best. I can support that argument.
Don't get me wrong... I know we in the US are getting ripped off. We are being ruled by people that do not represent us and do not answer to us. The politicians that claim to represent us are being paid and influenced by foreign groups ranging from Israeli political groups, to any number of other groups domestic and foreign. We are getting ripped off, but I firmly believe the people in the US have it better than most of the world. Trump is trying to sell a victim narrative and I don't buy it.
originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/937482
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@ c892835e:4d87bc55
2025-04-09 12:49:20primeira 3
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@ 4d41a7cb:7d3633cc
2025-04-08 01:17:39Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, registered his birthday as April 5, 1975, on his P2P Foundation profile. Many think that he chose this date because on that same day in 1933, the United States government confiscated the gold of the American people. Whether this was on purpose or not, what happened in this day is very important to understand how do we ended up here.
In 1933, as expressed in Roosevelt’s Executive Orders 6073, 6102, and 6260, the United States first declared bankruptcy. The bankrupt U.S. went into receivership in 1933. America was turned over via receivership and reorganization in favor of its creditors. These creditors, the International Bankers, from the beginning stated their intent, which was to plunder, bankrupt, conquer and enslave America and return it to its colonial status.1
As one of his first acts as President, Franklin Delano Roosevelt declared a “Banking Emergency” to bail out the Federal Reserve Bank, which had embezzled this country’s gold supply. The Congress gave the President dictatorial powers under the “War Powers Act of 1917” (amended 1933), written, by the way, by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.2
This day marked the official abandonment of the American Constitution, law and real money. Today, 92 years after this event, most of the people living today have never had any real money or paid for anything using real money; unless they used Bitcoin...
There could be no bankruptcy if there was not a private central bank lending paper currency to the government at interest, so we must start from 1913, when the Federal Reserve was created: a non-federal private bank with no reserves and the monopoly of issuing debt based paper currency in unlimited amounts and lending it to the government at interest by buying treasury bills. The fact that this currency is lent into existence at interest makes the debt mathematically impossible to be repaid; it can only be refinanced or defaulted.
Between 1929 and 1933, the Federal Reserve Bank reduced the currency supply by 33%, thereby creating the Great Depression, bankrupting the US government, stealing the Americans’ gold supply, and officially ending the gold standard. Since then the US dollar (money) was replaced with Federal Reserve Notes (debt). This was also the end of the Republican form of government and the beginning of a socialist mob rule democracy (Fascism).
“Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the merger of state and corporate power.” — Benito Mussolini
The United States government has been bankrupt since 1933, since it defaulted on its gold bonds. This type of bond existed until 1933, when the U.S. monetary system abandoned the gold standard. 3 From this year the government has been totally controlled by the International bankers and used as a tool to spread and maintain their power worldwide.
Many people think that the gold standard was abandoned in 1971, but this is not true; in fact, this happened in 1933 when the US dollar was replaced by Federal Reserve Notes that are 100% debt-based fiat paper currency.
The year 1933 in the United States marked:
- The end of the Republican form of government and the beginning of American Fascism
- The end of the United States dollar and its replacement by Federal Reserve Notes
- The abandonment of common law and replacement with military admiralty law
- The takeover of the United States government by International bankers
- A massive gold theft and the end of the US gold standard
- The exchange of rights with privileges and licenses
- The United States government bankruptcy
The next shameful event in our history which still plagues us to this day was the “War Powers Act of 1933.” This Act permitted President Roosevelt to make law in the form of Executive Order, bypass Congress and create his socialist state. We (citizens of this country) were ever after to be considered enemies of the United States who must be licensed to engage in any commercial activity. With the aid of the Federal Reserve (the same people who created the Depression), the President confiscated our gold and silver coin and replaced it with worthless pieces of paper and a debt system that will eventually destroy this great country. Our land and our labor were pledged to the Federal Reserve Bank, Inc., as collateral for a debt system that could never be paid.4
“Emergency Powers” means any form of military style government, martial law, or martial rule. Martial law and martial rule are not the same.
United States Congressional Record March 17, 1993 Vol. #33, page H- 1303, Congressman James Traficant, Jr. (Ohio) addressing the House:
“Mr. Speaker, we are here now in chapter 11. Members of Congress are official trustees presiding over the greatest reorganization of any Bankrupt entity in world history, the U.S. Government. We are setting forth, hopefully, a blueprint for our future”
“There are some who say it is a coroner’s report that will lead to our demise. It is an established fact that the United States Federal Government has been dissolved by the Emergency Banking Act, March 9, 1933, 48 Stat. 1, Public Law 89-719; dered by President Roosevelt, being bankrupt and insolvent. H.J.R. 192, 73rd Congress in session June 5, 1933 – Joint Resolution To Suspend The Gold Standard and Abrogate the Gold Clause dissolved the Sovereign Authority of the United States and the official capacities of all United States Governmental Offices, Officers, and Departments and is further evidence that the United States Federal Government exists today in name only” **“The receivers of the United States Bankruptcy are the International Bankers, via the United Nations, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund”
“All United States Offices, Officials, and Departments are now operating within a de facto status in name only under Emergency War Powers. With the Constitutional Republican form of Government now dissolved, the receivers of the Bankruptcy have adopted a new form of government for the United States. This new form of government is known as a Democracy, being an established Socialist/Communist order under a new governor for America. This act was instituted and established by transferring and/or placing the Office of the Secretary of Treasury to that of the Governor of the International Monetary Fund. Public Law 94-564, page 8, Section H.R. 13955 read in part:”
“The U.S. Secretary of Treasury receives no compensation for representing the United States.”
The American Spirit
The intention of the founding fathers of the United States was to create a constitutional republic to protect natural human rights and escape from the tyrannical English monarchy and its usurious Bank of England's monetary system. They created an honest monetary system based on gold and silver (United State Dollar) and got rid of nobility titles, creating equality under the law.
Section 10 of the American Constitution says:
No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or Confederation; grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal; coin Money; emit Bills of Credit; make anything but gold and silver Coin a tender in payment of debts; pass any bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law impairing the obligation of contracts; or grant any title of nobility.
The United States Dollar (1792-1933)
A dollar is a measure of weight defined by the Coinage Act of 1792 and 1900, which specifies a certain quantity—24.8 grains of gold or 371.25 grains of silver (from 1792 to 1900) when the American dollar was based on a bimetallic standard.
The Gold Standard Act of 1900 formally placed the United States on the gold standard, setting the value of one dollar at 25.8 grams of 90% pure gold, which fixed the price of gold at $20.67 per troy ounce. This standard was totally abandoned in 1933.
Gold and silver were such powerful money during the founding of the United States of America that the founding fathers declared that only gold or silver coins could be “money” in America.
But since the greedy bankers cannot profit from honest money they cannot print, they replaced the money with paper debt instruments. And by doing this, they have effectively enslaved the American people until today. My definition of modern slavery is working for a currency that someone else can create at no cost or effort. What's worse is that they even demand to be paid back and with interest!
Federal Reserve Notes (1913-present)
Federal Reserve Notes are not real money. Money that has metallic or other intrinsic value, as distinguished from paper currency, checks, and drafts.
Federal Reserve Notes (FRNs) are a legal fiction. An assumption that something is true even though it may be untrue. 5 The assumption that they are money, when in fact they are the opposite of money: debt or paper currency.
Paper money. Paper documents that circulate as currency; bills drawn by a government against its own credit. 6 Like Goldsmiths' notes. Hist. Bankers' cash notes: promissory notes given by bankers to customers as acknowledgments of the receipt of money. • This term derives from the London banking business, which originally was transacted by goldsmiths.7
These notes were scientifically designed to bankrupt the government and slave the American people, as Alfred Owen Crozier warned one year before the bill for the creation of the FED was passed through Congress (1912):
If Congress yields and authorizes a private central bank as proposed by the pending bill, the end when the bubble bursts will be universal ruin and national bankruptcy.
Unfortunately, the bill was passed in 1913, and this private bank started printing a new currency different from the US dollar creating the great depression and effectible bankrupting the government like Alfred warned 20 years before.
Alfred also warned:
Thus the way is opened for an unlimited inflation of corporate paper currency issued by a mere private corporation with relatively small net assets and no government guarantee, every dollar supposed to be redeemable in gold, but with not a single dollar of gold necessarily held in the reserves of such corporation to accomplish such redemption.
Differently from what's commonly believed Federal Reserve Notes (FRNs) were never really “backed” by gold; they were never supposed to be hard currency. Currency backed by reserves, esp. gold and silver reserves.
The United States government defaulted on its gold clauses, calling for payment in gold. This marked the end of the gold standard. A monetary system in which currency is convertible into its legal equivalent in gold or gold coin.
Since then we have been under a paper standard, where we use fake money as tender for payments. Paper standard. A monetary system based entirely on paper; a system of currency that is not convertible into gold or other precious metal.
People traded their coupons as money or “currency.” Currency is not money but a money substitute. Redeemable currency must promise to pay a dollar equivalent in gold or silver money. Federal Reserve Notes (FRNs) make no such promises and are not “money.” A Federal Reserve Note is a debt obligation of the federal United States government, not “money.” The federal United States government and the U.S. Congress were not and have never been authorized by the Constitution of the United States of America to issue currency of any kind, but only lawful money—gold and silver coin.8
A bona fide note can be used in a financial transaction to discharge the debt only because it is an unconditional promise to pay by the issuer to the bearer. Is a Federal Reserve Note a contract note, an unconditional promise to pay? At one time the Federal Reserve issued bona fide contractual notes and certificates, redeemable in gold and silver coin. Most people never saw or comprehended the contract. It went largely unread because the Federal Reserve very cunningly hid the contract on the face of the note by breaking it up into five separate lines of text with a significantly different typeface for each line and placing the president’s picture right in the middle of it. They even used the old attorney’s ruse of obscuring the most important text in fine print! Over time, the terms and conditions of the contract were diluted until eventually they literally became an I.O.U. for nothing.
FEDERAL RESERVE NOTE
-
THIS NOTE IS LEGAL TENDER FOR ALL DEBT, PUBLIC AND PRIVATE, AND IT IS REDEEMABLE IN LAWFUL MONEY AT THE UNITED STATES TREASURY OR ANY FEDERAL RESERVE BANK.
-
DATE: SERIES OF 1934
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WILL PAY TO THE BEARER ON DEMAND: ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS
-
TREASURER OF THE UNITED STATES SIGNATURE
-
SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY SIGNATURE
Nowadays FRNs say "This note is legal tender for all debts public and private" it tender debt but it does not pay the bearer on demand. It value was stolen by a counterfeiting technique commonly know as inflation.
One hundred dollars (SERIES OF 1934) will be 2480 grains of gold, or 159.4 grams, or 5.1249 troy ounces. Today one troy ounce is priced around $3,000 federal reserve notes. 5.1249 X 3,000 = $15,375 actual FRNs.
A $100 FRN bill today will buy 0.65% of a real gold $100 dollar certificate. That’s a -99.35% loss of purchasing power in the last 91 years.
FRNs savers have been rugged pulled!
Gold bugs where the winners...
But Bitcoin is even better...
Happy birthday Satoshi! April 5 will be forever remembered.
Satoshi... The man, the myth, the Legend...
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@ a7f85dfe:27305a2b
2025-04-07 23:56:34在收到二手mini pc之前,先制作USB起动器。
首先,官网下载最新安装器的iso文件,下载地址:
https://www.proxmox.com/en/downloads
第二步,linux系统下使用dd命令制作USB起动器
查找usb路径
lsblk
dd命令直接烧录 ``` sudo dd if=/path/to/iso_file.iso of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress```
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@ 8ba93868:44bdde52
2025-04-09 12:42:31ola
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@ a7f85dfe:27305a2b
2025-04-07 23:47:06记录proxmox安装过程。
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@ a396e36e:ec991f1c
2025-04-07 23:46:01Introduction
In recent years, the term "the new normal" has been used to describe a world reshaped by pandemic policies, inflationary economic measures, rising surveillance, and growing cultural compliance. For many, this phrase signals safety and adaptation. But for others, it marks an era of overreach and loss of personal autonomy. At the heart of the digital resistance to this new order stands an unlikely champion: Bitcoin.
More than a volatile investment or tech novelty, Bitcoin has become a tool of protest, a lifeline for dissidents, and a vehicle for economic sovereignty. As governments expand control over currencies, transactions, and narratives, Bitcoin's decentralized, censorship-resistant architecture offers a parallel path. This post explores how Bitcoin is used to challenge the core pillars of the new normal.
- Pandemic-Era Restrictions and Bitcoin as a Lifeline
During the COVID-19 pandemic, governments worldwide implemented measures ranging from lockdowns to vaccine passports and mass surveillance. For many protestors, these policies were seen not as safety measures, but as infringements on civil liberties.
In Nigeria, during the #EndSARS protests against police brutality, bank accounts of organizers were frozen. Bitcoin became the fallback. Donations poured in through decentralized wallets, bypassing government censors. Similarly, in Canada’s 2022 Freedom Convoy, traditional fundraising platforms were blocked. Activists turned to Bitcoin, distributing funds peer-to-peer using QR codes, out of reach from centralized authority.
These examples underscore Bitcoin’s core strength: permissionless value transfer. No bank account, no ID, no government approval required. It provided activists with the means to continue their work even under financial siege.
- Economic Collapse and the Return to Sound Money
The economic fallout from pandemic stimulus measures has been immense. In the U.S. alone, over $5 trillion in stimulus spending contributed to record-breaking inflation, eroding the purchasing power of fiat currencies. Central banks worldwide flooded markets with newly created money, leading to a global crisis of confidence in fiat.
Bitcoin offered an escape route. With its capped supply of 21 million coins and transparent monetary policy, it attracted investors, corporations, and citizens looking to hedge against inflation and financial mismanagement. In countries like Turkey, Argentina, and Venezuela, where national currencies collapsed, Bitcoin emerged as a digital safe haven.
More than a hedge, Bitcoin became a symbol of protest. Where governments printed wealth out of thin air, Bitcoiners opted out. For them, stacking sats (satoshis) wasn't just financial planning—it was civil disobedience against fiat excess.
- CBDCs, Programmable Money, and the Case for Financial Autonomy
Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) are on the rise. Promoted as modern, efficient alternatives to cash, they also raise alarms for privacy advocates. Programmable money, expiration dates on stimulus funds, restrictions on purchases—these aren’t speculative fears. They’re openly discussed features.
Bitcoin offers the inverse: a financial system without surveillance, control, or gatekeeping. Unlike CBDCs, it is neutral, global, and governed by code, not political whim. Where CBDCs threaten to tether money to state approval, Bitcoin affirms the right to transact freely.
In this context, adopting Bitcoin is more than a tech choice. It’s a rejection of programmable compliance in favor of financial autonomy.
- Censorship, Compliance Culture, and the Sovereign Individual
Beyond economics and health, the new normal is marked by growing censorship and behavioral control. From deplatforming to frozen bank accounts, those who dissent often find their financial access cut off.
Bitcoin resists this. It doesn’t care who you are, what you believe, or where you live. As long as you control your private keys, your funds are yours.
This neutrality makes Bitcoin a sanctuary for the politically persecuted, the economically excluded, and the privacy-conscious. It’s not about hiding—it’s about freedom by design. In a time when expressing the wrong opinion can cost you your livelihood, Bitcoin offers a parallel economy where your rights don’t expire when you disagree.
Conclusion
Bitcoin is not a panacea. It doesn’t guarantee utopia, and it's not immune to misuse. But in the context of expanding state power, algorithmic governance, and compliant culture, it stands out as one of the few tools that empowers individuals to say "no."
To use Bitcoin today is to engage in a subtle form of protest. It is to opt out of a system many see as rigged, to reclaim privacy, and to assert control over one’s economic life. For those resisting the new normal—not with slogans, but with actions—Bitcoin is not just code. It’s civil disobedience made digital.
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@ a7f85dfe:27305a2b
2025-04-07 23:26:25{"coverurl":"https://cdn.nostrcheck.me/a7f85dfe651aaa0b47d69659266f434479e40558a640a308a8f6769627305a2b/e9801593f2ea4560c55a6a2651788620cfe6c587c17c08f0e8023f06e7ffaf31.webp","title":"proxmox安装记录","author":"npub15lu"}
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@ 39f70015:9d4e378a
2025-04-07 17:28:03This is a copy of chapter four of Mastering Bitcoin Cash. I'm using it to test out creating long-form content on highlighter.com.
This is an edit after the original post. I want to test how editing long-form content works on Nostr.
4. Transactions
Introduction
Transactions are the most important part of the Bitcoin Cash system. Everything else in Bitcoin Cash is designed to ensure that transactions can be created, propagated on the network, validated, and finally added to the global ledger of transactions (the blockchain). Transactions are data structures that encode the transfer of value between participants in the Bitcoin Cash system. Each transaction is a public entry in Bitcoin Cash’s blockchain, the global double-entry bookkeeping ledger.
In this chapter we will examine all the various forms of transactions, what they contain, how to create them, how they are verified, and how they become part of the permanent record of all transactions.
Transaction Lifecycle
A transaction’s lifecycle starts with the transaction’s creation, also known as origination. The transaction is then signed with one or more signatures indicating the authorization to spend the funds referenced by the transaction. The transaction is then broadcast on the Bitcoin Cash network, where each network node (participant) validates and propagates the transaction until it reaches (almost) every node in the network. Finally, the transaction is verified by a mining node and included in a block of transactions that is recorded on the blockchain.
Once recorded on the blockchain and confirmed by sufficient subsequent blocks (confirmations), the transaction is a permanent part of the Bitcoin Cash ledger and is accepted as valid by all participants. The funds allocated to a new owner by the transaction can then be spent in a new transaction, extending the chain of ownership and beginning the lifecycle of a transaction again.
Creating Transactions
In some ways it helps to think of a transaction in the same way as a paper check. Like a check, a transaction is an instrument that expresses the intent to transfer money and is not visible to the financial system until it is submitted for execution. Like a check, the originator of the transaction does not have to be the one signing the transaction.
Transactions can be created online or offline by anyone, even if the person creating the transaction is not an authorized signer on the account. For example, an accounts payable clerk might process payable checks for signature by the CEO. Similarly, an accounts payable clerk can create Bitcoin Cash transactions and then have the CEO apply digital signatures to make them valid. Whereas a check references a specific account as the source of the funds, a Bitcoin Cash transaction references a specific previous transaction as its source, rather than an account.
Once a transaction has been created, it is signed by the owner (or owners) of the source funds. If it is properly formed and signed, the signed transaction is now valid and contains all the information needed to execute the transfer of funds. Finally, the valid transaction has to reach the Bitcoin Cash network so that it can be propagated until it reaches a miner for inclusion in the pubic ledger (the blockchain).
Broadcasting Transactions to the Bitcoin Cash Network
First, a transaction needs to be delivered to the Bitcoin Cash network so that it can be propagated and included in the blockchain. In essence, a Bitcoin Cash transaction is just 300 to 400 bytes of data and has to reach any one of tens of thousands of Bitcoin Cash nodes. The senders do not need to trust the nodes they use to broadcast the transaction, as long as they use more than one to ensure that it propagates. The nodes don’t need to trust the sender or establish the sender’s "identity." Because the transaction is signed and contains no confidential information, private keys, or credentials, it can be publicly broadcast using any underlying network transport that is convenient. Unlike credit card transactions, for example, which contain sensitive information and can only be transmitted on encrypted networks, a Bitcoin Cash transaction can be sent over any network. As long as the transaction can reach a Bitcoin Cash node that will propagate it into the Bitcoin Cash network, it doesn’t matter how it is transported to the first node.
Bitcoin Cash transactions can therefore be transmitted to the Bitcoin Cash network over insecure networks such as WiFi, Bluetooth, NFC, Chirp, barcodes, or by copying and pasting into a web form. In extreme cases, a Bitcoin Cash transaction could be transmitted over packet radio, satellite relay, or shortwave using burst transmission, spread spectrum, or frequency hopping to evade detection and jamming. A Bitcoin Cash transaction could even be encoded as smileys (emoticons) and posted in a public forum or sent as a text message or Skype chat message. Bitcoin Cash has turned money into a data structure, making it virtually impossible to stop anyone from creating and executing a Bitcoin Cash transaction.
Propagating Transactions on the Bitcoin Cash Network
Once a Bitcoin Cash transaction is sent to any node connected to the Bitcoin Cash network, the transaction will be validated by that node. If valid, that node will propagate it to the other nodes to which it is connected, and a success message will be returned synchronously to the originator. If the transaction is invalid, the node will reject it and synchronously return a rejection message to the originator.
The Bitcoin Cash network is a peer-to-peer network, meaning that each Bitcoin Cash node is connected to a few other Bitcoin Cash nodes that it discovers during startup through the peer-to-peer protocol. The entire network forms a loosely connected mesh without a fixed topology or any structure, making all nodes equal peers. Messages, including transactions and blocks, are propagated from each node to all the peers to which it is connected, a process called "flooding." A new validated transaction injected into any node on the network will be sent to all of the nodes connected to it (neighbors), each of which will send the transaction to all its neighbors, and so on. In this way, within a few seconds a valid transaction will propagate in an exponentially expanding ripple across the network until all nodes in the network have received it.
The Bitcoin Cash network is designed to propagate transactions and blocks to all nodes in an efficient and resilient manner that is resistant to attacks. To prevent spamming, denial-of-service attacks, or other nuisance attacks against the Bitcoin Cash system, every node independently validates every transaction before propagating it further. A malformed transaction will not get beyond one node.
Transaction Structure
A transaction is a data structure that encodes a transfer of value from a source of funds, called an input, to a destination, called an output. Transaction inputs and outputs are not related to accounts or identities. Instead, you should think of them as Bitcoin Cash amounts—chunks of Bitcoin Cash—being locked with a specific secret that only the owner, or person who knows the secret, can unlock. A transaction contains a number of fields, as shown in The structure of a transaction.
| Size | Field | Description | | --- | --- | --- | | 4 bytes | Version | Specifies which rules this transaction follows | | 1–9 bytes (VarInt) | Input Counter | How many inputs are included | | Variable | Inputs | One or more transaction inputs | | 1–9 bytes (VarInt) | Output Counter | How many outputs are included | | variable | Outputs | One or more transaction outputs | | 4 bytes | Locktime | A Unix timestamp or block number |
Table 1. The structure of a transaction
Transaction Locktime
Locktime, also known as nLockTime from the variable name used in the reference client, defines the earliest time that a transaction is valid and can be relayed on the network or added to the blockchain. It is set to zero in most transactions to indicate immediate propagation and execution. If locktime is nonzero and below 500 million, it is interpreted as a block height, meaning the transaction is not valid and is not relayed or included in the blockchain prior to the specified block height. If it is above 500 million, it is interpreted as a Unix Epoch timestamp (seconds since Jan-1-1970) and the transaction is not valid prior to the specified time. Transactions with locktime specifying a future block or time must be held by the originating system and transmitted to the Bitcoin Cash network only after they become valid. The use of locktime is equivalent to postdating a paper check.
Transaction Outputs and Inputs
The fundamental building block of a Bitcoin Cash transaction is an unspent transaction output, or UTXO. UTXO are indivisible chunks of Bitcoin Cash currency locked to a specific owner, recorded on the blockchain, and recognized as currency units by the entire network. The Bitcoin Cash network tracks all available (unspent) UTXO currently numbering in the millions. Whenever a user receives Bitcoin Cash, that amount is recorded within the blockchain as a UTXO. Thus, a user’s Bitcoin Cash might be scattered as UTXO amongst hundreds of transactions and hundreds of blocks. In effect, there is no such thing as a stored balance of a Bitcoin Cash address or account; there are only scattered UTXO, locked to specific owners. The concept of a user’s Bitcoin Cash balance is a derived construct created by the wallet application. The wallet calculates the user’s balance by scanning the blockchain and aggregating all UTXO belonging to that user.
There are no accounts or balances in Bitcoin Cash; there are only _unspent transaction outputs_ (UTXO) scattered in the blockchain.
A UTXO can have an arbitrary value denominated as a multiple of satoshis. Just like dollars can be divided down to two decimal places as cents, bitcoins can be divided down to eight decimal places as satoshis. Although UTXO can be any arbitrary value, once created it is indivisible just like a coin that cannot be cut in half. If a UTXO is larger than the desired value of a transaction, it must still be consumed in its entirety and change must be generated in the transaction. In other words, if you have a 20 Bitcoin Cash UTXO and want to pay 1 Bitcoin Cash, your transaction must consume the entire 20 Bitcoin Cash UTXO and produce two outputs: one paying 1 Bitcoin Cash to your desired recipient and another paying 19 Bitcoin Cash in change back to your wallet. As a result, most Bitcoin Cash transactions will generate change.
Imagine a shopper buying a $1.50 beverage, reaching into her wallet and trying to find a combination of coins and bank notes to cover the $1.50 cost. The shopper will choose exact change if available (a dollar bill and two quarters), or a combination of smaller denominations (six quarters), or if necessary, a larger unit such as a five dollar bank note. If she hands too much money, say $5, to the shop owner, she will expect $3.50 change, which she will return to her wallet and have available for future transactions.
Similarly, a Bitcoin Cash transaction must be created from a user’s UTXO in whatever denominations that user has available. Users cannot cut a UTXO in half any more than they can cut a dollar bill in half and use it as currency. The user’s wallet application will typically select from the user’s available UTXO various units to compose an amount greater than or equal to the desired transaction amount.
As with real life, the Bitcoin Cash application can use several strategies to satisfy the purchase amount: combining several smaller units, finding exact change, or using a single unit larger than the transaction value and making change. All of this complex assembly of spendable UTXO is done by the user’s wallet automatically and is invisible to users. It is only relevant if you are programmatically constructing raw transactions from UTXO.
The UTXO consumed by a transaction are called transaction inputs, and the UTXO created by a transaction are called transaction outputs. This way, chunks of Bitcoin Cash value move forward from owner to owner in a chain of transactions consuming and creating UTXO. Transactions consume UTXO by unlocking it with the signature of the current owner and create UTXO by locking it to the Bitcoin Cash address of the new owner.
The exception to the output and input chain is a special type of transaction called the coinbase transaction, which is the first transaction in each block. This transaction is placed there by the "winning" miner and creates brand-new Bitcoin Cash payable to that miner as a reward for mining. This is how Bitcoin Cash’s money supply is created during the mining process, as we will see in Mining and Consensus.
What comes first? Inputs or outputs, the chicken or the egg? Strictly speaking, outputs come first because coinbase transactions, which generate new Bitcoin Cash, have no inputs and create outputs from nothing.
Transaction Outputs
Every Bitcoin Cash transaction creates outputs, which are recorded on the Bitcoin Cash ledger. Almost all of these outputs, with one exception (see Data Output (OP_RETURN)) create spendable chunks of Bitcoin Cash called unspent transaction outputs or UTXO, which are then recognized by the whole network and available for the owner to spend in a future transaction. Sending someone Bitcoin Cash is creating an unspent transaction output (UTXO) registered to their address and available for them to spend.
UTXO are tracked by every full-node Bitcoin Cash client as a data set called the UTXO set or UTXO pool, held in a database. New transactions consume (spend) one or more of these outputs from the UTXO set.
Transaction outputs consist of two parts:
- An amount of Bitcoin Cash, denominated in satoshis, the smallest Bitcoin Cash unit
- A locking script, also known as an "encumbrance" that "locks" this amount by specifying the conditions that must be met to spend the output
The transaction scripting language, used in the locking script mentioned previously, is discussed in detail in Transaction Scripts and Script Language. The structure of a transaction output shows the structure of a transaction output.
| Size | Field | Description | | --- | --- | --- | | 8 bytes | Amount | Bitcoin Cash value in satoshis (108 Bitcoin Cash) | | 1–9 bytes (VarInt) | Locking-Script Size | Locking-Script length in bytes, to follow | | Variable | Locking-Script | A script defining the conditions needed to spend the output | | 1–9 bytes (VarInt) | Output Counter | How many outputs are included | | variable | Outputs | One or more transaction outputs | | 4 bytes | Locktime | A Unix timestamp or block number |
Table 2. The structure of a transaction output
In A script that calls
bitbox.Address.utxo
to find the UTXO related to an address, we use thebitbox.Address
class to find the unspent outputs (UTXO) of a specific address.Example 1. A script that calls
bitbox.Address.utxo
to find the UTXO related to an address```javascript bitbox.Address.utxo('bitcoincash:qpcxf2sv9hjw08nvpgffpamfus9nmksm3chv5zqtnz').then((result) => { console.log(result); }, (err) => { console.log(err); });
Returns the following: [{ txid: 'cc27be8846276612dfce5924b7be96556212f0f0e62bd17641732175edb9911e', vout: 0, scriptPubKey: '76a9147064aa0c2de4e79e6c0a1290f769e40b3dda1b8e88ac', amount: 0.00007021, satoshis: 7021, height: 527155, confirmations: 11879, legacyAddress: '1BFHGm4HzqgXXyNX8n7DsQno5DAC4iLMRA', cashAddress: 'bitcoincash:qpcxf2sv9hjw08nvpgffpamfus9nmksm3chv5zqtnz' } ] ```
Running the script, we see an array of objects representing unspent transaction outputs which are available to this address.
Spending conditions (encumbrances)
Transaction outputs associate a specific amount (in satoshis) to a specific encumbrance or locking script that defines the condition that must be met to spend that amount. In most cases, the locking script will lock the output to a specific Bitcoin Cash address, thereby transferring ownership of that amount to the new owner. When Alice paid Bob’s Cafe for a cup of coffee, her transaction created a 0.00208507 Bitcoin Cash output encumbered or locked to the cafe’s Bitcoin Cash address. That 0.00208507 Bitcoin Cash output was recorded on the blockchain and became part of the Unspent Transaction Output set, meaning it showed in Bob’s wallet as part of the available balance. When Bob chooses to spend that amount, his transaction will release the encumbrance, unlocking the output by providing an unlocking script containing a signature from Bob’s private key.
Transaction Inputs
In simple terms, transaction inputs are pointers to UTXO. They point to a specific UTXO by reference to the transaction hash and sequence number where the UTXO is recorded in the blockchain. To spend UTXO, a transaction input also includes unlocking scripts that satisfy the spending conditions set by the UTXO. The unlocking script is usually a signature proving ownership of the Bitcoin Cash address that is in the locking script.
When users make a payment, their wallet constructs a transaction by selecting from the available UTXO. For example, to make a 0.00208507 Bitcoin Cash payment, the wallet app may select a 0.002 UTXO and a 0.00008507 UTXO, using them both to add up to the desired payment amount.
Once the UTXO is selected, the wallet then produces unlocking scripts containing signatures for each of the UTXO, thereby making them spendable by satisfying their locking script conditions. The wallet adds these UTXO references and unlocking scripts as inputs to the transaction. The structure of a transaction input shows the structure of a transaction input.
| Size | Field | Description | | --- | --- | --- | | 32 bytes | Transaction Hash | Pointer to the transaction containing the UTXO to be spent | | 4 bytes | Output Index | The index number of the UTXO to be spent; first one is 0 | | 1-9 bytes (VarInt) | Unlocking-Script Size | Unlocking-Script length in bytes, to follow | | Variable | Unlocking-Script | A script that fulfills the conditions of the UTXO locking script | | 4 bytes | Sequence Number | Currently disabled Tx-replacement feature, set to 0xFFFFFFFF |
Table 3. The structure of a transaction input
Transaction Fees
Most transactions include transaction fees, which compensate the Bitcoin Cash miners for securing the network. Mining and the fees and rewards collected by miners are discussed in more detail in Mining and Consensus. This section examines how transaction fees are included in a typical transaction. Most wallets calculate and include transaction fees automatically. However, if you are constructing transactions programmatically, or using a command-line interface, you must manually account for and include these fees.
Transaction fees serve as an incentive to include (mine) a transaction into the next block and also as a disincentive against "spam" transactions or any kind of abuse of the system, by imposing a small cost on every transaction. Transaction fees are collected by the miner who mines the block that records the transaction on the blockchain.
Transaction fees are calculated based on the size of the transaction in kilobytes, not the value of the transaction in Bitcoin Cash. Overall, transaction fees are set based on market forces within the Bitcoin Cash network. Miners prioritize transactions based on many different criteria, including fees, and might even process transactions for free under certain circumstances. Transaction fees affect the processing priority, meaning that a transaction with sufficient fees is likely to be included in the next-most–mined block, whereas a transaction with insufficient or no fees might be delayed, processed on a best-effort basis after a few blocks, or not processed at all. Transaction fees are not mandatory, and transactions without fees might be processed eventually; however, including transaction fees encourages priority processing.
The current algorithm used by miners to prioritize transactions for inclusion in a block based on their fees is examined in detail in Mining and Consensus.
Adding Fees to Transactions
The data structure of transactions does not have a field for fees. Instead, fees are implied as the difference between the sum of inputs and the sum of outputs. Any excess amount that remains after all outputs have been deducted from all inputs is the fee that is collected by the miners.
Transaction fees are implied, as the excess of inputs minus outputs:
Fees = Sum(Inputs) – Sum(Outputs)
This is a somewhat confusing element of transactions and an important point to understand, because if you are constructing your own transactions you must ensure you do not inadvertently include a very large fee by underspending the inputs. That means that you must account for all inputs, if necessary by creating change, or you will end up giving the miners a very big tip!
For example, if you consume a 20-Bitcoin Cash UTXO to make a 1-Bitcoin Cash payment, you must include a 19-Bitcoin Cash change output back to your wallet. Otherwise, the 19-Bitcoin Cash "leftover" will be counted as a transaction fee and will be collected by the miner who mines your transaction in a block. Although you will receive priority processing and make a miner very happy, this is probably not what you intended.
If you forget to add a change output in a manually constructed transaction, you will be paying the change as a transaction fee. "Keep the change!" might not be what you intended.
Let’s see how this works in practice, by looking at Alice’s coffee purchase again. Alice wants to spend 0.00208507 Bitcoin Cash to pay for coffee. To ensure this transaction is processed promptly, she will want to include a transaction fee of 1 satoshi per byte. That will mean that the total cost of the transaction will be 0.00208750. Her wallet must therefore source a set of UTXO that adds up to 0.00208750 Bitcoin Cash or more and, if necessary, create change. Let’s say her wallet has a 0.00277257-Bitcoin Cash UTXO available. It will therefore need to consume this UTXO, create one output to Bob’s Cafe for 0.00208507, and a second output with 0.00068507 Bitcoin Cash in change back to her own wallet, leaving 0.00000243 Bitcoin Cash unallocated, as an implicit fee for the transaction.
Transaction Chaining and Orphan Transactions
As we have seen, transactions form a chain, whereby one transaction spends the outputs of the previous transaction (known as the parent) and creates outputs for a subsequent transaction (known as the child). Sometimes an entire chain of transactions depending on each other—say a parent, child, and grandchild transaction—are created at the same time, to fulfill a complex transactional workflow that requires valid children to be signed before the parent is signed.
When a chain of transactions is transmitted across the network, they don’t always arrive in the same order. Sometimes, the child might arrive before the parent. In that case, the nodes that see a child first can see that it references a parent transaction that is not yet known. Rather than reject the child, they put it in a temporary pool to await the arrival of its parent and propagate it to every other node. The pool of transactions without parents is known as the orphan transaction pool. Once the parent arrives, any orphans that reference the UTXO created by the parent are released from the pool, revalidated recursively, and then the entire chain of transactions can be included in the transaction pool, ready to be mined in a block. Transaction chains can be arbitrarily long, with any number of generations transmitted simultaneously. The mechanism of holding orphans in the orphan pool ensures that otherwise valid transactions will not be rejected just because their parent has been delayed and that eventually the chain they belong to is reconstructed in the correct order, regardless of the order of arrival.
There is a limit to the number of orphan transactions stored in memory, to prevent a denial-of-service attack against Bitcoin Cash nodes. The limit is defined as MAX_ORPHAN_TRANSACTIONS in the source code of the Bitcoin Cash reference client. If the number of orphan transactions in the pool exceeds MAX_ORPHAN_TRANSACTIONS, one or more randomly selected orphan transactions are evicted from the pool, until the pool size is back within limits.
Transaction Scripts and Script Language
Bitcoin Cash clients validate transactions by executing a script, written in a Forth-like scripting language. Both the locking script (encumbrance) placed on a UTXO and the unlocking script that usually contains a signature are written in this scripting language. When a transaction is validated, the unlocking script in each input is executed alongside the corresponding locking script to see if it satisfies the spending condition.
Today, most transactions processed through the Bitcoin Cash network have the form "Alice pays Bob" and are based on the same script called a Pay-to-Public-Key-Hash script. However, the use of scripts to lock outputs and unlock inputs means that through use of the programming language, transactions can contain an infinite number of conditions. Bitcoin Cash transactions are not limited to the "Alice pays Bob" form and pattern.
This is only the tip of the iceberg of possibilities that can be expressed with this scripting language. In this section, we will demonstrate the components of the Bitcoin Cash transaction scripting language and show how it can be used to express complex conditions for spending and how those conditions can be satisfied by unlocking scripts.
Bitcoin Cash transaction validation is not based on a static pattern, but instead is achieved through the execution of a scripting language. This language allows for a nearly infinite variety of conditions to be expressed. This is how Bitcoin Cash gets the power of "programmable money."
Script Construction (Lock + Unlock)
Bitcoin Cash’s transaction validation engine relies on two types of scripts to validate transactions: a locking script and an unlocking script.
A locking script is an encumbrance placed on an output, and it specifies the conditions that must be met to spend the output in the future. Historically, the locking script was called a scriptPubKey, because it usually contained a public key or Bitcoin Cash address. In this book we refer to it as a "locking script" to acknowledge the much broader range of possibilities of this scripting technology. In most Bitcoin Cash applications, what we refer to as a locking script will appear in the source code as scriptPubKey.
An unlocking script is a script that "solves," or satisfies, the conditions placed on an output by a locking script and allows the output to be spent. Unlocking scripts are part of every transaction input, and most of the time they contain a digital signature produced by the user’s wallet from his or her private key. Historically, the unlocking script is called scriptSig, because it usually contained a digital signature. In most Bitcoin Cash applications, the source code refers to the unlocking script as scriptSig. In this book, we refer to it as an "unlocking script" to acknowledge the much broader range of locking script requirements, because not all unlocking scripts must contain signatures.
Every Bitcoin Cash client will validate transactions by executing the locking and unlocking scripts together. For each input in the transaction, the validation software will first retrieve the UTXO referenced by the input. That UTXO contains a locking script defining the conditions required to spend it. The validation software will then take the unlocking script contained in the input that is attempting to spend this UTXO and execute the two scripts.
In the original Bitcoin Cash client, the unlocking and locking scripts were concatenated and executed in sequence. For security reasons, this was changed in 2010, because of a vulnerability that allowed a malformed unlocking script to push data onto the stack and corrupt the locking script. In the current implementation, the scripts are executed separately with the stack transferred between the two executions, as described next.
First, the unlocking script is executed, using the stack execution engine. If the unlocking script executed without errors (e.g., it has no "dangling" operators left over), the main stack (not the alternate stack) is copied and the locking script is executed. If the result of executing the locking script with the stack data copied from the unlocking script is "TRUE," the unlocking script has succeeded in resolving the conditions imposed by the locking script and, therefore, the input is a valid authorization to spend the UTXO. If any result other than "TRUE" remains after execution of the combined script, the input is invalid because it has failed to satisfy the spending conditions placed on the UTXO. Note that the UTXO is permanently recorded in the blockchain, and therefore is invariable and is unaffected by failed attempts to spend it by reference in a new transaction. Only a valid transaction that correctly satisfies the conditions of the UTXO results in the UTXO being marked as "spent" and removed from the set of available (unspent) UTXO.
Combining scriptSig and scriptPubKey to evaluate a transaction script is an example of the unlocking and locking scripts for the most common type of Bitcoin Cash transaction (a payment to a public key hash), showing the combined script resulting from the concatenation of the unlocking and locking scripts prior to script validation.
Figure 1. Combining scriptSig and scriptPubKey to evaluate a transaction script
Scripting Language
The Bitcoin Cash transaction script language, called Script, is a Forth-like reverse-polish notation stack-based execution language. If that sounds like gibberish, you probably haven’t studied 1960’s programming languages. Script is a very simple language that was designed to be limited in scope and executable on a range of hardware, perhaps as simple as an embedded device, such as a handheld calculator. It requires minimal processing and cannot do many of the fancy things modern programming languages can do. In the case of programmable money, that is a deliberate security feature.
Bitcoin Cash’s scripting language is called a stack-based language because it uses a data structure called a stack. A stack is a very simple data structure, which can be visualized as a stack of cards. A stack allows two operations: push and pop. Push adds an item on top of the stack. Pop removes the top item from the stack.
The scripting language executes the script by processing each item from left to right. Numbers (data constants) are pushed onto the stack. Operators push or pop one or more parameters from the stack, act on them, and might push a result onto the stack. For example, OP_ADD will pop two items from the stack, add them, and push the resulting sum onto the stack.
Conditional operators evaluate a condition, producing a boolean result of TRUE or FALSE. For example, OP_EQUAL pops two items from the stack and pushes TRUE (TRUE is represented by the number 1) if they are equal or FALSE (represented by zero) if they are not equal. Bitcoin Cash transaction scripts usually contain a conditional operator, so that they can produce the TRUE result that signifies a valid transaction.
In Bitcoin Cash’s script validation doing simple math, the script 2 3 OP_ADD 5 OP_EQUAL demonstrates the arithmetic addition operator OP_ADD, adding two numbers and putting the result on the stack, followed by the conditional operator OP_EQUAL, which checks that the resulting sum is equal to 5. For brevity, the OP_ prefix is omitted in the step-by-step example.
The following is a slightly more complex script, which calculates 2 + 7 – 3 + 1. Notice that when the script contains several operators in a row, the stack allows the results of one operator to be acted upon by the next operator:
2 7 OP_ADD 3 OP_SUB 1 OP_ADD 7 OP_EQUAL
Try validating the preceding script yourself using pencil and paper. When the script execution ends, you should be left with the value TRUE on the stack.
Although most locking scripts refer to a Bitcoin Cash address or public key, thereby requiring proof of ownership to spend the funds, the script does not have to be that complex. Any combination of locking and unlocking scripts that results in a TRUE value is valid. The simple arithmetic we used as an example of the scripting language is also a valid locking script that can be used to lock a transaction output.
Use part of the arithmetic example script as the locking script:
3 OP_ADD 5 OP_EQUAL
which can be satisfied by a transaction containing an input with the unlocking script:
2
The validation software combines the locking and unlocking scripts and the resulting script is:
2 3 OP_ADD 5 OP_EQUAL
As we saw in the step-by-step example in Bitcoin Cash’s script validation doing simple math, when this script is executed, the result is OP_TRUE, making the transaction valid. Not only is this a valid transaction output locking script, but the resulting UTXO could be spent by anyone with the arithmetic skills to know that the number 2 satisfies the script.
Figure 2. Bitcoin Cash’s script validation doing simple math
Transactions are valid if the top result on the stack is TRUE (noted as {0x01}), any other non-zero value or if the stack is empty after script execution. Transactions are invalid if the top value on the stack is FALSE (a zero-length empty value, noted as {}) or if script execution is halted explicitly by an operator, such as OP_VERIFY, OP_RETURN, or a conditional terminator such as OP_ENDIF.
Turing Incompleteness
The Bitcoin Cash transaction script language contains many operators, but is deliberately limited in one important way—there are no loops or complex flow control capabilities other than conditional flow control. This ensures that the language is not Turing Complete, meaning that scripts have limited complexity and predictable execution times. Script is not a general-purpose language. These limitations ensure that the language cannot be used to create an infinite loop or other form of "logic bomb" that could be embedded in a transaction in a way that causes a denial-of-service attack against the Bitcoin Cash network. Remember, every transaction is validated by every full node on the Bitcoin Cash network. A limited language prevents the transaction validation mechanism from being used as a vulnerability.
Stateless Verification
The Bitcoin Cash transaction script language is stateless, in that there is no state prior to execution of the script, or state saved after execution of the script. Therefore, all the information needed to execute a script is contained within the script. A script will predictably execute the same way on any system. If your system verifies a script, you can be sure that every other system in the Bitcoin Cash network will also verify the script, meaning that a valid transaction is valid for everyone and everyone knows this. This predictability of outcomes is an essential benefit of the Bitcoin Cash system.
Standard Transactions
In the first few years of Bitcoin Cash’s development, the developers introduced some limitations in the types of scripts that could be processed by the reference client. These limitations are encoded in a function called isStandard(), which defines five types of "standard" transactions. These limitations are temporary and might be lifted by the time you read this. Until then, the five standard types of transaction scripts are the only ones that will be accepted by the reference client and most miners who run the reference client. Although it is possible to create a nonstandard transaction containing a script that is not one of the standard types, you must find a miner who does not follow these limitations to mine that transaction into a block.
Check the source code of the Bitcoin Core client (the reference implementation) to see what is currently allowed as a valid transaction script.
The five standard types of transaction scripts are pay-to-public-key-hash (P2PKH), public-key, multi-signature (limited to 15 keys), pay-to-script-hash (P2SH), and data output (OP_RETURN), which are described in more detail in the following sections.
Pay-to-Public-Key-Hash (P2PKH)
The vast majority of transactions processed on the Bitcoin Cash network are P2PKH transactions. These contain a locking script that encumbers the output with a public key hash, more commonly known as a Bitcoin Cash address. Transactions that pay a Bitcoin Cash address contain P2PKH scripts. An output locked by a P2PKH script can be unlocked (spent) by presenting a public key and a digital signature created by the corresponding private key.
For example, let’s look at Alice’s payment to Bob’s Cafe again. Alice made a payment of 0.00208507 Bitcoin Cash to the cafe’s Bitcoin Cash address. That transaction output would have a locking script of the form:
OP_DUP OP_HASH160 <Cafe Public Key Hash> OP_EQUAL OP_CHECKSIG
The Cafe Public Key Hash is equivalent to the Bitcoin Cash address of the cafe, without the Base58Check encoding. Most applications would show the public key hash in hexadecimal encoding and not the familiar Bitcoin Cash address Base58Check format that begins with a "1".
The preceding locking script can be satisfied with an unlocking script of the form:
<Cafe Signature> <Cafe Public Key>
The two scripts together would form the following combined validation script:
<Cafe Signature> <Cafe Public Key> OP_DUP OP_HASH160 <Cafe Public Key Hash> OP_EQUAL OP_CHECKSIG
When executed, this combined script will evaluate to TRUE if, and only if, the unlocking script matches the conditions set by the locking script. In other words, the result will be TRUE if the unlocking script has a valid signature from the cafe’s private key that corresponds to the public key hash set as an encumbrance.
Figures and show (in two parts) a step-by-step execution of the combined script, which will prove this is a valid transaction.
Figure 3. Evaluating a script for a P2PKH transaction (Part 1 of 2)
Pay-to-Public-Key
Pay-to-public-key is a simpler form of a Bitcoin Cash payment than pay-to-public-key-hash. With this script form, the public key itself is stored in the locking script, rather than a public-key-hash as with P2PKH earlier, which is much shorter. Pay-to-public-key-hash was invented by Satoshi to make Bitcoin Cash addresses shorter, for ease of use. Pay-to-public-key is now most often seen in coinbase transactions, generated by older mining software that has not been updated to use P2PKH.
A pay-to-public-key locking script looks like this:
<Public Key A> OP_CHECKSIG
The corresponding unlocking script that must be presented to unlock this type of output is a simple signature, like this:
<Signature from Private Key A>
The combined script, which is validated by the transaction validation software, is:
<Signature from Private Key A> <Public Key A> OP_CHECKSIG
This script is a simple invocation of the CHECKSIG operator, which validates the signature as belonging to the correct key and returns TRUE on the stack.
Figure 4. Evaluating a script for a P2PKH transaction (Part 2 of 2)
Multi-Signature
Multi-signature scripts set a condition where N public keys are recorded in the script and at least M of those must provide signatures to release the encumbrance. This is also known as an M-of-N scheme, where N is the total number of keys and M is the threshold of signatures required for validation. For example, a 2-of-3 multi-signature is one where three public keys are listed as potential signers and at least two of those must be used to create signatures for a valid transaction to spend the funds. At this time, standard multi-signature scripts are limited to at most 15 listed public keys, meaning you can do anything from a 1-of-1 to a 15-of-15 multi-signature or any combination within that range. The limitation to 15 listed keys might be lifted by the time this book is published, so check the isStandard() function to see what is currently accepted by the network.
The general form of a locking script setting an M-of-N multi-signature condition is:
M <Public Key 1> <Public Key 2> ... <Public Key N> N OP_CHECKMULTISIG
where N is the total number of listed public keys and M is the threshold of required signatures to spend the output.
A locking script setting a 2-of-3 multi-signature condition looks like this:
2 <Public Key A> <Public Key B> <Public Key C> 3 OP_CHECKMULTISIG
The preceding locking script can be satisfied with an unlocking script containing pairs of signatures and public keys:
OP_0 <Signature B> <Signature C>
or any combination of two signatures from the private keys corresponding to the three listed public keys.
The prefix OP_0 is required because of a bug in the original implementation of CHECKMULTISIG where one item too many is popped off the stack. It is ignored by CHECKMULTISIG and is simply a placeholder.
The two scripts together would form the combined validation script:
OP_0 <Signature B> <Signature C> 2 <Public Key A> <Public Key B> <Public Key C> 3 OP_CHECKMULTISIG
When executed, this combined script will evaluate to TRUE if, and only if, the unlocking script matches the conditions set by the locking script. In this case, the condition is whether the unlocking script has a valid signature from the two private keys that correspond to two of the three public keys set as an encumbrance.
Data Output (OP_RETURN)
Bitcoin Cash’s distributed and timestamped ledger, the blockchain, has potential uses far beyond payments. Many developers have tried to use the transaction scripting language to take advantage of the security and resilience of the system for applications such as digital notary services, stock certificates, and smart contracts. Early attempts to use Bitcoin Cash’s script language for these purposes involved creating transaction outputs that recorded data on the blockchain; for example, to record a digital fingerprint of a file in such a way that anyone could establish proof-of-existence of that file on a specific date by reference to that transaction.
The use of Bitcoin Cash’s blockchain to store data unrelated to Bitcoin Cash payments is a controversial subject. Many developers consider such use abusive and want to discourage it. Others view it as a demonstration of the powerful capabilities of blockchain technology and want to encourage such experimentation. Those who object to the inclusion of non-payment data argue that it causes "blockchain bloat," burdening those running full Bitcoin Cash nodes with carrying the cost of disk storage for data that the blockchain was not intended to carry. Moreover, such transactions create UTXO that cannot be spent, using the destination Bitcoin Cash address as a free-form 20-byte field. Because the address is used for data, it doesn’t correspond to a private key and the resulting UTXO can never be spent; it’s a fake payment. These transactions that can never be spent are therefore never removed from the UTXO set and cause the size of the UTXO database to forever increase, or "bloat."
A compromise was reached with the introduction of the OPRETURN operator. OP_RETURN allows developers to add 220 bytes of nonpayment data to a transaction output. However, unlike the use of "fake" UTXO, the OP_RETURN operator creates an explicitly _provably unspendable output, which does not need to be stored in the UTXO set. OP_RETURN outputs are recorded on the blockchain, so they consume disk space and contribute to the increase in the blockchain’s size, but they are not stored in the UTXO set and therefore do not bloat the UTXO memory pool and burden full nodes with the cost of more expensive RAM.
``` OP_RETURN scripts look like this:
OP_RETURN ```
The data portion is limited to 220 bytes and most often represents a hash, such as the output from the SHA256 algorithm (32 bytes). Many applications put a prefix in front of the data to help identify the application per the Terab 4-byte prefix guideline for OP_RETURN on Bitcoin Cash.
Keep in mind that there is no "unlocking script" that corresponds to OPRETURN that could possibly be used to "spend" an OP_RETURN output. The whole point of OP_RETURN is that you can’t spend the money locked in that output, and therefore it does not need to be held in the UTXO set as potentially spendable—OP_RETURN is _provably un-spendable. OP_RETURN is usually an output with a zero Bitcoin Cash amount, because any Bitcoin Cash assigned to such an output is effectively lost forever. If an OP_RETURN is encountered by the script validation software, it results immediately in halting the execution of the validation script and marking the transaction as invalid. Thus, if you accidentally reference an OP_RETURN output as an input in a transaction, that transaction is invalid.
A standard transaction (one that conforms to the isStandard() checks) can have only one OP_RETURN output. However, a single OP_RETURN output can be combined in a transaction with outputs of any other type.
OP_RETURN was initially proposed with a limit of 80 bytes, but the limit was raised to 220 bytes of data on the May 15th 2018 BCH network upgrade.
Pay-to-Script-Hash (P2SH)
Pay-to-script-hash (P2SH) was introduced in 2012 as a powerful new type of transaction that greatly simplifies the use of complex transaction scripts. To explain the need for P2SH, let’s look at a practical example.
In What is Bitcoin Cash we introduced Mohammed, an electronics importer based in Dubai. Mohammed’s company uses Bitcoin Cash’s multi-signature feature extensively for its corporate accounts. Multi-signature scripts are one of the most common uses of Bitcoin Cash’s advanced scripting capabilities and are a very powerful feature. Mohammed’s company uses a multi-signature script for all customer payments, known in accounting terms as "accounts receivable," or AR. With the multi-signature scheme, any payments made by customers are locked in such a way that they require at least two signatures to release, from Mohammed and one of his partners or from his attorney who has a backup key. A multi-signature scheme like that offers corporate governance controls and protects against theft, embezzlement, or loss.
The resulting script is quite long and looks like this:
2 <Mohammed's Public Key> 5 OP_CHECKMULTISIG
Although multi-signature scripts are a powerful feature, they are cumbersome to use. Given the preceding script, Mohammed would have to communicate this script to every customer prior to payment. Each customer would have to use special Bitcoin Cash wallet software with the ability to create custom transaction scripts, and each customer would have to understand how to create a transaction using custom scripts. Furthermore, the resulting transaction would be about five times larger than a simple payment transaction, because this script contains very long public keys. The burden of that extra-large transaction would be borne by the customer in the form of fees. Finally, a large transaction script like this would be carried in the UTXO set in RAM in every full node, until it was spent. All of these issues make using complex output scripts difficult in practice.
Pay-to-script-hash (P2SH) was developed to resolve these practical difficulties and to make the use of complex scripts as easy as a payment to a Bitcoin Cash address. With P2SH payments, the complex locking script is replaced with its digital fingerprint, a cryptographic hash. When a transaction attempting to spend the UTXO is presented later, it must contain the script that matches the hash, in addition to the unlocking script. In simple terms, P2SH means "pay to a script matching this hash, a script that will be presented later when this output is spent."
In P2SH transactions, the locking script that is replaced by a hash is referred to as the redeem script because it is presented to the system at redemption time rather than as a locking script. Complex script without P2SH shows the script without P2SH and Complex script as P2SH shows the same script encoded with P2SH.
Locking Script: 2 PubKey1 PubKey2 PubKey3 PubKey4 PubKey5 5 OP_CHECKMULTISIG Unlocking Script: Sig1 Sig2
Table 4. Complex script without P2SH
Redeem Script: 2 PubKey1 PubKey2 PubKey3 PubKey4 PubKey5 5 OP_CHECKMULTISIG Locking Script: OP_HASH160 <20-byte hash of redeem script> OP_EQUAL Unlocking Script: Sig1 Sig2 redeem script
Table 5. Complex script as P2SH
As you can see from the tables, with P2SH the complex script that details the conditions for spending the output (redeem script) is not presented in the locking script. Instead, only a hash of it is in the locking script and the redeem script itself is presented later, as part of the unlocking script when the output is spent. This shifts the burden in fees and complexity from the sender to the recipient (spender) of the transaction.
Let’s look at Mohammed’s company, the complex multi-signature script, and the resulting P2SH scripts.
First, the multi-signature script that Mohammed’s company uses for all incoming payments from customers:
2 <Mohammed's Public Key> <Partner1 Public Key> <Partner2 Public Key> <Partner3 Public Key> <Attorney Public Key> 5 OP_CHECKMULTISIG
If the placeholders are replaced by actual public keys (shown here as 520-bit numbers starting with 04) you can see that this script becomes very long:
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
This entire script can instead be represented by a 20-byte cryptographic hash, by first applying the SHA256 hashing algorithm and then applying the RIPEMD160 algorithm on the result. The 20-byte hash of the preceding script is:
54c557e07dde5bb6cb791c7a540e0a4796f5e97e
A P2SH transaction locks the output to this hash instead of the longer script, using the locking script:
OP_HASH160 54c557e07dde5bb6cb791c7a540e0a4796f5e97e OP_EQUAL
which, as you can see, is much shorter. Instead of "pay to this 5-key multi-signature script," the P2SH equivalent transaction is "pay to a script with this hash." A customer making a payment to Mohammed’s company need only include this much shorter locking script in his payment. When Mohammed wants to spend this UTXO, they must present the original redeem script (the one whose hash locked the UTXO) and the signatures necessary to unlock it, like this:
<Sig1> <Sig2> <2 PK1 PK2 PK3 PK4 PK5 5 OP_CHECKMULTISIG>
The two scripts are combined in two stages. First, the redeem script is checked against the locking script to make sure the hash matches:
<2 PK1 PK2 PK3 PK4 PK5 5 OP_CHECKMULTISIG> OP_HASH160 <redeem scriptHash> OP_EQUAL
If the redeem script hash matches, the unlocking script is executed on its own, to unlock the redeem script:
<Sig1> <Sig2> 2 PK1 PK2 PK3 PK4 PK5 5 OP_CHECKMULTISIG
Pay-to-script-hash addresses
Another important part of the P2SH feature is the ability to encode a script hash as an address, as defined in BIP0013. P2SH addresses are Base58Check encodings of the 20-byte hash of a script, just like Bitcoin Cash addresses are Base58Check encodings of the 20-byte hash of a public key. P2SH addresses use the version prefix "5", which results in Base58Check-encoded addresses that start with a "3". For example, Mohammed’s complex script, hashed and Base58Check-encoded as a P2SH address becomes 39RF6JqABiHdYHkfChV6USGMe6Nsr66Gzw. Now, Mohammed can give this "address" to his customers and they can use almost any Bitcoin Cash wallet to make a simple payment, as if it were a Bitcoin Cash address. The 3 prefix gives them a hint that this is a special type of address, one corresponding to a script instead of a public key, but otherwise it works in exactly the same way as a payment to a Bitcoin Cash address.
P2SH addresses hide all of the complexity, so that the person making a payment does not see the script.
Benefits of pay-to-script-hash
The pay-to-script-hash feature offers the following benefits compared to the direct use of complex scripts in locking outputs:
- Complex scripts are replaced by shorter fingerprints in the transaction output, making the transaction smaller.
- Scripts can be coded as an address, so the sender and the sender’s wallet don’t need complex engineering to implement P2SH.
- P2SH shifts the burden of constructing the script to the recipient, not the sender.
- P2SH shifts the burden in data storage for the long script from the output (which is in the UTXO set) to the input (stored on the blockchain).
- P2SH shifts the burden in data storage for the long script from the present time (payment) to a future time (when it is spent).
- P2SH shifts the transaction fee cost of a long script from the sender to the recipient, who has to include the long redeem script to spend it.
Redeem script and isStandard validation
Prior to version 0.9.2, pay-to-script-hash was limited to the standard types of Bitcoin Cash transaction scripts, by the isStandard() function. That means that the redeem script presented in the spending transaction could only be one of the standard types: P2PK, P2PKH, or multi-sig nature, excluding OP_RETURN and P2SH itself.
As of version 0.9.2, P2SH transactions can contain any valid script, making the P2SH standard much more flexible and allowing for experimentation with many novel and complex types of transactions.
Note that you are not able to put a P2SH inside a P2SH redeem script, because the P2SH specification is not recursive. You are also still not able to use OP_RETURN in a redeem script because OP_RETURN cannot be redeemed by definition.
Note that because the redeem script is not presented to the network until you attempt to spend a P2SH output, if you lock an output with the hash of an invalid transaction it will be processed regardless. However, you will not be able to spend it because the spending transaction, which includes the redeem script, will not be accepted because it is an invalid script. This creates a risk, because you can lock Bitcoin Cash in a P2SH that cannot be spent later. The network will accept the P2SH encumbrance even if it corresponds to an invalid redeem script, because the script hash gives no indication of the script it represents.
P2SH locking scripts contain the hash of a redeem script, which gives no clues as to the content of the redeem script itself. The P2SH transaction will be considered valid and accepted even if the redeem script is invalid. You might accidentally lock Bitcoin Cash in such a way that it cannot later be spent.
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@ 8ba93868:44bdde52
2025-04-09 12:22:12primeira segunda
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@ 3165b802:a9f51d37
2025-04-07 17:01:23Humanrights #Human #Rights
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@ 6152ca12:e3742e80
2025-04-09 11:53:16Uau estou aprendendo isso parece complicado mas vamos la; aos pouco pego o jeito hehe
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@ ef53426a:7e988851
2025-04-07 15:25:58Bitcoin and stories are much alike.
They can be described in powerful simplicity or astonishing complexity. Both are unique developments in human history and feed our well-being. Bitcoin and stories are forces for good, but they must be used wisely.
By removing himself from the equation, Satoshi Nakamoto left it to us to write the future of bitcoin. It’s not surprising that we have been tentative to propose a narrative. Stories have never been decentralized before.
Think of the pyramids, the invention of the printing press, or the release of the iPhone 1. Instead of the technology itself, we focus on the people who made it possible and how its invention affected society. But in relity, the story of the pyramids survives in every tourist’s photograph; the joy of reading touches a higher percentage of the world’s population every year; the garage-to-keynote-speaker tale of Apple’s late CEO inspires would-be entrepreneurs worldwide.
To unite interest in bitcoin, we need to be better at telling its stories. Only stories have the power to stop us, to wake us, to make us feel rather than think.
In late 2022, Konsensus Network, the Freedom Publishing House, announced a call for submissions for the world’s first bitcoin fiction anthology. The book seeks to link the emotive power of stories with the possible effects and ramifications of a hyperbitcoinized world.
For most people, great change doesn’t arrive from binary logic and a working knowledge of code. Understanding grows through narrative. It is stories that bring change.
Here’s https://www.youtube.com/embed/vIQ41B8jFPI?si=pN2kr44P-Th3bug4 for the book with some of the original artwork which accompanies the 21 stories.
21 Futures: Tales from the Timechain
Political dissidents scramble to cross the threshold to freedom. A decades-long hunt for keys incites a change in world order. A clear-blood dares to question the oppression of noderoids. A cryo-frozen oligarch wakes into his worst nightmare.
A lowly space station miner buys a planet.
In this book of diverse stories planted firmly in the bitcoin-verse, reality fractures into 21 futures. Some are wonderful, others terrifying.
You are not prepared.
[https://21futures.com] (21 Futures) is now an imprint of Konsensus Network, publishing a variety of freedom fiction stories and books.
In my next blog, I'll go into some of the many developments in the bitcoin fiction space in the last few years.
For now, let's keep sharing stories.
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@ e97aaffa:2ebd765d
2025-04-07 09:38:20A electricidade ou os computadores ou a Internet foram revoluções que mudaram o mundo, mas a adoção e a evolução da tecnologia foi lenta, permitindo que as populações e as económicas se adaptassem.
Ao contrário, na AI, a evolução está a ser tão rápida, que as sociedades não vão conseguir acompanhar e adaptar a uma nova realidade.
A AI tem um potencial inacreditável, talvez seja a revolução tecnológica mais rápida de sempre, além disso é muito abrangente, quase todos os sectores económicos podem beneficiar, pode provocar um forte aumento na produtividade.
O potencial é tão elevado, como pode ser perigoso, sobretudo quando utilizado como uma arma contra a humanidade. Os governos ou empresas vão construir ferramentas com AI para monitorizar, manipular e controlar os cidadãos.
Muitas profissões vão desaparecer ou reduzir drasticamente o número de trabalhadores. Tal como aconteceu nas revoluções anteriores, muitas profissões acabaram, mas surgir outras novas profissões.
Ou seja, o problema não é a tecnologia, mas sim a maneira como se usa essa tecnologia. Os desafios para o futuro são tremendos.
E o cidadão comum, o que está a fazer e a pensar… a fazer desenhos, a fazer idiotices. https://image.nostr.build/326d506f0015c99d09e061094bf3552764c6f6334be2899c6f5359f0a809d8bc.jpg
Algo similar acontece com o Bitcoin, uma tecnologia revolucionária, em alguns casos particulares, as stablecoins poderão ser interessantes. Mas o povo prefere especulador em tokens absurdos e jogar no casino das memecoins.
Também acontece com a internet, é uma fonte acessível e inesgotável de conhecimento, mas as pessoas preferem passar horas sem fim, nas redes sociais a fazer swipe up, a consumir conteúdo degradante.
O mundo ocidental está a transformar os cidadãos em zumbis, facilmente manipuláveis, obedientes, viciados. Nós necessitamos é de pessoas curiosas, com espírito crítico, criativas. Essencialmente, que pensem pela sua própria cabeça.
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@ 7d33ba57:1b82db35
2025-04-07 09:17:04Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, is like stepping into a real-life fairy tale. With its Gothic towers, baroque churches, medieval streets, and a majestic castle watching over the city, it’s no surprise that it’s one of Europe’s most beloved destinations. Add in great beer, cozy cafés, and stunning river views, and you’ve got the perfect city break.
🌟 Top Things to Do in Prague
1️⃣ Prague Castle & St. Vitus Cathedral
- One of the largest castle complexes in the world
- Don’t miss St. Vitus Cathedral, the Old Royal Palace, and Golden Lane
- Climb the cathedral tower for epic city views
2️⃣ Charles Bridge (Karlův most)
- Iconic 14th-century bridge lined with 30 baroque statues
- Walk it at sunrise or late at night to avoid the crowds
- Great for photos, street musicians, and romantic vibes
3️⃣ Old Town Square & Astronomical Clock
- The heart of the city, with colorful buildings and Gothic spires
- Watch the Astronomical Clock chime on the hour (since 1410!)
- Check out Týn Church and the Old Town Hall Tower
4️⃣ Explore the Jewish Quarter (Josefov)
- Visit the Old Jewish Cemetery, synagogues, and the Jewish Museum
- Learn about centuries of Jewish heritage and resilience in Prague
5️⃣ Climb Up to Petřín Hill
- Take the funicular or walk to the top for gardens, a mirror maze, and a mini Eiffel Tower
- Fantastic place for picnics, sunsets, and panoramic views
🍽️ What to Eat & Drink in Prague
- Goulash with dumplings (guláš s knedlíky) – Hearty and satisfying
- Svíčková – Beef with creamy vegetable sauce and cranberry
- Trdelník – Tourist favorite sweet pastry (not traditionally Czech, but tasty!)
- Czech beer – World-famous for a reason (Pilsner Urquell, Kozel, Staropramen) 🍻
- Try a traditional pub or lokál for authentic Czech cuisine and great prices
🛶 Other Cool Experiences
✅ Take a Vltava River cruise – see Prague from the water
✅ Visit Letná Park for sweeping views and a beer garden
✅ Check out Kafka Museum for surreal vibes and literary history
✅ Explore Vyšehrad – lesser-known castle ruins with gorgeous views and peaceful paths
✅ Snap pics at the Lennon Wall, especially for street art fans 🎨🚇 Getting Around
- Very walkable, especially in the historic center
- Excellent public transport: trams, metro, and buses (get a 24 or 72-hour pass)
- Uber and Bolt are reliable if you need a ride
- Be cautious with exchange rates and ATMs—use official places or bank ATMs only
💡 Tips for Visiting Prague
🕰️ Wake up early to enjoy the city without crowds
🎟️ Book castle or tower tickets in advance during peak seasons
🌧️ Pack layers—it can be breezy even in spring
📷 Keep your camera ready—every corner is postcard-worthy -
@ 0fa50ac1:13162495
2025-04-06 23:56:52You say, “Bitcoin has no intrinsic value.”
But brother, I say to you—nothing does.
❧
Gold, wheat, steel, water, art—
none possess value in themselves.
A thing is not valuable.
A person finds value in a thing.
❧
Value is not a substance.
It is not discovered in the dirt,
nor stamped into metal.
It is born in the mind
of the one who chooses,
who compares,
who prefers.
❧
This is the truth they will not teach you.
Because once you know it,
you cannot be controlled.
❧
To say value is “intrinsic”
is to say it is knowable, measurable,
assignable from above.
And if it can be known,
then it can be fixed.
And if it can be fixed,
then the planners will fix it.
And if the planners fix it,
freedom dies.
❧
Only subjective value
lets prices breathe.
Only subjective value
lets the game go on,
as tastes shift,
as time moves,
as each man finds joy in what others overlook.
❧
It is this truth
that makes room for artists,
for inventors,
for those with strange passions
and quiet genius.
❧
And Bitcoin—
it breaks the frame.
It’s not a commodity.
It’s not a company.
It’s not backed by force.
❧
So they say,
“It has no value.”
❧
And we reply,
“No—you place no value on it.
But others do.
And the market has spoken.”
❧
Transparent. Scarce. Borderless. Unstoppable.
Valued by those who need it most.
Valued by those who understand it best.
❧
It rises not because it was declared valuable,
but because someone, somewhere
was willing to trade for it.
❧
And so the price rose.
And so the signal spread.
And so the economy moved,
as it always has,
not by decree,
but by the ever-motivated
force of desire.
❧
You don’t have to value Bitcoin.
But you do have to accept this:
All value exists only and entirely
in the mind of the economizing human.
You say, “Bitcoin has no intrinsic value.”
But brother, I say to you—nothing does.
❧
Gold, wheat, steel, water, art—
none possess value in themselves.
A thing is not valuable.
A person finds value in a thing.
❧
Value is not a substance.
It is not discovered in the dirt,
nor stamped into metal.
It is born in the mind
of the one who chooses,
who compares,
who prefers.
❧
This is the truth they will not teach you.
Because once you know it,
you cannot be controlled.
❧
To say value is “intrinsic”
is to say it is knowable, measurable,
assignable from above.
And if it can be known,
then it can be fixed.
And if it can be fixed,
then the planners will fix it.
And if the planners fix it,
freedom dies.
❧
Only subjective value
lets prices breathe.
Only subjective value
lets the game go on,
as tastes shift,
as time moves,
as each man finds joy in what others overlook.
❧
It is this truth
that makes room for artists,
for inventors,
for those with strange passions
and quiet genius.
❧
And Bitcoin—
it breaks the frame.
It’s not a commodity.
It’s not a company.
It’s not backed by force.
❧
So they say,
“It has no value.”
❧
And we reply,
“No—you place no value on it.
But others do.
And the market has spoken.”
❧
Transparent. Scarce. Borderless. Unstoppable.
Valued by those who need it most.
Valued by those who understand it best.
❧
It rises not because it was declared valuable,
but because someone, somewhere
was willing to trade for it.
❧
And so the price rose.
And so the signal spread.
And so the economy moved,
as it always has,
not by decree,
but by the ever-motivated
force of desire.
❧
You don’t have to value Bitcoin.
But you do have to accept this:
All value exists only and entirely
in the mind of the economizing human.
-
@ 878dff7c:037d18bc
2025-04-06 23:35:54Australia Highlights Critical Minerals in Trade Discussions with U.S.
Summary:
In an effort to avoid renegotiation of its subsidized prescription-drug system, Australia is emphasizing its vast reserves of essential minerals like lithium and rare earths during trade talks with the U.S. Treasurer Jim Chalmers underscored that these resources serve as a strategic advantage, proposing the creation of a strategic reserve for these minerals. This move aligns with President Trump's initiatives to secure mineral access and reflects Australia's intent to leverage its mineral wealth in international negotiations.
Source: The Wall Street Journal - April 7, 2025
ASX Braces for Significant Losses Amid Global Tariff Tensions
Summary:
The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) is poised for a substantial downturn, with projections indicating a potential loss of approximately $115 billion. This anticipated decline follows the implementation of new tariffs by U.S. President Donald Trump, ranging from 10% to 50% on foreign imports, which have sparked fears of a global trade war. The Australian dollar has also been affected, dropping below 60 US cents for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic. Analysts warn that these developments could have far-reaching implications for the Australian economy, including increased inflation and potential interest rate cuts.
Sources: News.com.au - April 7, 2025, The Australian - April 7, 2025, ABC News - April 7, 2025
U.S. Department of Energy Considers Cuts to Clean Energy Projects
Summary:
The U.S. Department of Energy is reviewing potential funding cuts exceeding $1.5 billion for various clean energy projects, including those focused on energy storage and carbon capture. Affected initiatives span multiple states and involve technologies crucial for integrating renewable energy into the power grid and reducing carbon emissions. Industry stakeholders and lawmakers have expressed concern, emphasizing the strategic importance of these technologies for energy resilience and environmental objectives.
Source: Reuters - April 5, 2025
Hazardous Materials Incident in South Australia's Mount Lofty Ranges
Summary:
The Country Fire Service (CFS) is responding to an ammonia gas leak at Plummer Road near Lenswood and Lobethal in the Mount Lofty Ranges, South Australia. Residents are advised to stay clear of the area as firefighters work to contain the leak. CFS
Sources: CFS - April 6, 2025
Coalition Reverses Work-From-Home Policy Amid Backlash
Summary:
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has reversed the Coalition's policy to mandate full-time office attendance for public servants, acknowledging it was a "mistake" that fueled concerns about opposition to flexible working arrangements, particularly among women. Initially, the plan required Australian Public Service employees to work from the office five days a week, but after criticism from unions and advocacy groups, Dutton amended the policy to apply only to Canberra-based workers. Further backlash led to a complete withdrawal of the mandate, with Dutton apologizing for the confusion and stating that existing flexible work arrangements would remain intact. Labor leaders criticized the policy's inconsistency and potential economic impact on families.
Sources: The Guardian - April 7, 2025, News.com.au - April 7, 2025, The Guardian - April 7, 2025
Chevron Australia Warns of Investment Risks Due to Policy Uncertainty
Summary:
Chevron Australia Managing Director Mark Hatfield has expressed concerns over increasing policy uncertainty affecting investment confidence in Australia's energy sector. He highlighted recent policy shifts, such as changes to the petroleum resource rent tax and proposed domestic gas reservation mandates, as factors creating instability and deterring future investment. Hatfield emphasized the need for a balanced energy transition that prioritizes reliability, affordability, and environmental goals. The Australian
Source: The Australian - April 7, 2025
Australia Calls for Independent Investigation into Aid Worker Deaths in Gaza
Summary:
Australia has joined international calls for an independent investigation into the deaths of aid workers in Gaza, including a United Nations employee and eight Palestinian Red Crescent Society medics, who were found in a mass grave on March 27. Senator Penny Wong emphasized the need for a thorough inquiry to ensure accountability and adherence to international humanitarian law, which mandates the protection of humanitarian workers. Israel's military has launched an internal investigation, but international actors are urging for an independent probe, especially in light of newly emerged video evidence that contradicts Israel’s official explanation for the killings.
Sources: News.com.au - April 7, 2025
Recall Issued for Popular Fitbit Smartwatches Due to Burn Risk
Summary:
Fitbit has issued a recall for its Sense and Versa 3 smartwatches after discovering that the battery may overheat, posing a risk of burns to users. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has advised consumers to update their devices with the latest firmware to mitigate this risk. Users are encouraged to check their devices and follow the manufacturer's instructions to ensure safety.
Sources: News.com.au - April 2, 2025, The Australian - April 2, 2025
Keir Starmer Declares 'Globalisation is Over' Amid Tariff Disputes
Summary:
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has announced the end of globalisation, acknowledging its failure to benefit many voters. This declaration comes in response to significant global economic disruptions caused by new U.S. tariffs imposed by President Trump. Starmer advocates for accelerated supply-side reforms to boost UK growth and plans to introduce pro-growth measures, including easing regulations for electric vehicle manufacturers. He also aims to advance the UK's industrial strategy and pursue trade talks with India and Australia. While opposing tariffs, Starmer recognizes the appeal of Trump's economic nationalism to disaffected voters.
Sources: The Times - April 7, 2025, The Australian - April 7, 2025
Rainbow Lorikeet Tops Australia's Annual Bird Count
Summary:
The rainbow lorikeet has been identified as the most frequently recorded bird in BirdLife Australia's annual Aussie Bird Count, maintaining its top position since the event's inception in 2014. In the 2024 count, over 57,000 participants recorded more than 4.1 million birds, with the noisy miner and Australian magpie following in second and third places, respectively. The count highlights regional diversity in bird populations and provides critical data on environmental trends. Despite concerns about health threats affecting some species, no significant population declines were reported.
Sources: The Guardian - April 7, 2025
In episode #463 of the Lex Fridman Podcast, Lex engages with Douglas Murray, a British author and political commentator, to discuss a range of pressing geopolitical topics.
Key Discussion Points and Insights:
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Russia-Ukraine Conflict: Murray provides his perspective on Vladimir Putin's motivations and the broader implications of Russia's actions in Ukraine. He delves into the resilience and leadership of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy amidst the ongoing conflict.
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U.S. Political Landscape: The conversation shifts to former President Donald Trump, examining his influence on both domestic and international politics. Murray offers insights into the polarization within the United States and the potential trajectory of its political future.
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Middle East Dynamics: An in-depth analysis of Israel's political environment is presented, focusing on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's leadership. The discussion extends to the complexities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with particular attention to the roles of Hamas and the situation in Gaza.
Throughout the episode, Murray emphasizes the importance of understanding historical contexts to fully grasp current geopolitical events. He advocates for nuanced perspectives, cautioning against oversimplified narratives that often dominate media discourse.
Listeners can gain a comprehensive understanding of these intricate issues, benefiting from Murray's extensive experience and thoughtful analysis.
Sources: Lex Fridman Podcast Episode #463
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@ e111a405:fa441558
2025-04-06 18:09:31Running in circles is an expression that is often used to express when no matter what we do, nothing changes. We run in a circle, always ending up where we started.
Imagine the circle lines as boundaries, not physical boundaries, but mental barriers. In our life, we often run within our circle of possibilities. Anything outside our circle seem impossible. Outside the circle is anything that seems unattainable.
For some, healing a chronic disease may seem unattainable, for others it is a nice house, finding one’s soulmate, or merely financial abundance.
Over our lifetime, through our upbringing, we have defined our circle of possibilities. We have defined what is within our possibility and what is outside our possibility.
But this is just a line we drew. It is a mental barrier that does not exist outside our mind. In order to attain what seems unattainable, we have to expand our circle of possibilities. We have to pull what is outside our circle inside.
Imagine it like this: anything that is within our circle is easy and comes effortless. For example, making a coffee, driving a car are within our circle of effortless possibilities.
Other things seem out of reach. They are outside our circle of possibilities. They look extremely hard and impossible to reach.
What we need to do is reframe our understanding of what is within and what is without our circle. We pull seemingly impossible things inside our circle, and thereby we are expanding the size of our circle exponentially. We do this by following our excitement.
Not everything can be pulled inside our circle. But anything we are absolutely excited and passionate about can be pulled inside and made attainable.
You might think that you want to be the founder and CEO of a large, successful company. But if this is merely a desire that comes from mimesis – in other words, a desire that we have because we see other people have or desire it – not from our true inner being.
We will try forever to pull this inauthentic desire inside our circle, but we will fail because it is against our nature. Listening to our true excitement is key. We have to follow what is truly authentic to us — what we are truly excited about from our whole heart – and pull it inside our circle.
You may find true excitement and joy playing the piano or researching a certain subject. But true mastery of the piano or earning a livelihood with it may seem like an impossibility. Don’t let this hold you back. If this is what excites you the most, make the decision to pull it into your circle, define it is easily attainable, possible.
Inside our circle, doing and attaining our desires is as natural and easy as making a cup of coffee. Our inner circle represents our current reality. It is both endless and limiting. Endless in terms of repetition and confinement of boundaries.
Think again of walking in a circle, you always end up in the same spot, never really advancing. We try to improve the conditions within our circles, but improvements within our circles is like improving a prison cell.
True freedom comes from expanding that circle. Or stepping out of that circle into an entirely new one. That is difficult because we are like fish in an aquarium, unaware of the world behind. We only see what is familiar, what is within our circle, and everything beyond that feels alien or unattainable even though we desire it.
The real truth is that it takes the same energy to live and operate within our current circle as it takes to live within a much larger circle or to step. It takes the same effort to be in our current circle as it takes to be in a completely different, much larger circle.
First, you need to identify that you are inside a circle. What are your current habits and goals? What is your current reality?
Once you are aware, the next step is to identify what is outside your circle. What is it that you desire but looks unattainable, impossible?
Now we define a new circle. In this new circle, our goals, our habits are aligned with our authentic aspirations, our true excitement. We create a new reality.
Stepping out of this circle requires risk. It means breaking free from the familiar, and pursing something that may seem uncomfortable or unattainable.
We leave our circle, we leave our comfort zone.
We can do this in small, consistent steps, or we can make a sharp turn–an instant shift in our approach to living, like flipping from being chased to becoming the one who chases.
The real key to escaping our limiting circle is focus.
Where we focus our mental energy on determines the reality we will experience. By only focusing on improving our current reality, we remain locked in. But by expanding our vision to something outside our current circle, outside our current reality, we open up the possibilities of stepping into a new, much larger circle of possibilities.
What seems impossible now, becomes as effortless as making a cup of coffee.
The decision to break free starts with the realization that we are contained in a circle and the decision that we are ready to stop running in circles.
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@ f7d424b5:618c51e8
2025-04-06 16:48:03The promised Nintendo direct has come and there is a LOT to say about it. If you ever wondered how such a reveal would be taken differently by a dad, a NEET, and a people programmer this is the episode for you! Also those SAG bootlickers are getting uppity again. All of that and more!
Sources cited:
- Nintendo Online subscribers get to upgrade the zelda games for free for some reason?
- Do Nintendo games ever actually go on sale?
- Kirby
- Metroid
- TOTK
- Pokeshit
- EOW
- there's literally 252 games on sale at VGP right now
- SAG agreement you can read for yourself
- SAG literally says on their website to go audition for non-union roles and then strongarm them into going union if they wanna keep you
Obligatory:
- Listen to the new episode here!
- Discuss this episode on OUR NEW FORUM
- Get the RSS and Subscribe (this is a new feed URL, but the old one redirects here too!)
- Get a modern podcast app to use that RSS feed on at newpodcastapps.com
- Or listen to the show on the forum using the embedded Podverse player!
- Send your complaints here
Reminder that this is a Value4Value podcast so any support you can give us via a modern podcasting app is greatly appreciated and we will never bow to corporate sponsors!
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@ ee6ea13a:959b6e74
2025-04-06 16:38:22Chef's notes
You can cook this in one pan on the stove. I use a cast iron pan, but you can make it in a wok or any deep pan.
I serve mine over rice, which I make in a rice cooker. If you have a fancy one, you might have a setting for sticky or scorched rice, so give one of those a try.
To plate this, I scoop rice into a bowl, and then turn it upside-down to give it a dome shape, then spoon the curry on top of it.
Serve with chopped cilantro and lime wedges.
Details
- ⏲️ Prep time: 20
- 🍳 Cook time: 20
- 🍽️ Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 2" pieces
- 2 tablespoons coconut or avocado oil
- 1 cup white or yellow onion, finely diced
- 1 cup red bell pepper, sliced or diced
- 4 large garlic cloves, minced
- 1 small (4oz) jar of Thai red curry paste
- 1 can (13oz) unsweetened coconut milk
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 cup carrots, shredded or julienned
- 1 lime, zest and juice
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped for garnish
Directions
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Once hot, add onions and ½ teaspoon salt. Cook 3 minutes, or until onions are softened, stirring often.
- Add the red curry paste, garlic, ginger, and coriander. Cook about 1 minute, or until fragrant, stirring often.
- Add coconut milk, brown sugar, soy sauce, and chicken. Stir, bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to medium. Simmer uncovered for 7 minutes, occasionally stirring.
- Add carrots and red bell peppers, and simmer 5-7 more minutes, until sauce slightly thickens and chicken is cooked through.
- Remove from heat, and stir in the lime zest, and half of the lime juice.
- Serve over rice, topped with cilantro, and add more lime juice if you like extra citrus.
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@ d2554ae1:1e3208b1
2025-04-09 05:51:45Austrian Economics, the Fourth Turning, and the End of the Fiat Era
By DownWithBigBrother
The world is lurching through a period of unprecedented financial, political, and cultural upheaval. Inflation stubbornly persists, government debt has surged to unsustainable highs, bond markets are flashing red, and the institutional legitimacy of the West is crumbling under the weight of contradictions. Many wonder: is this the end of something—or the beginning?
From the vantage point of Austrian economics, this moment isn’t an anomaly. It’s the inevitable result of decades of interventionism, fiat monetary expansion, and distorted incentives. And when this lens is aligned with Ray Dalio’s long-term debt cycle, Strauss-Howe’s Fourth Turning theory, and historical precedent, a clear and troubling pattern emerges: we are in the final stages of a system that can no longer sustain itself.
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The Austrian View: Malinvestment, Fiat Decay, and the Crack-Up Boom
Austrian economists warned us.
When central banks suppress interest rates below the natural rate, they distort the price of capital and create malinvestment across the economy. Asset bubbles form. Risk becomes mispriced. Government grows beyond its means. Eventually, the real structure of the economy collapses under its own weight.
Ludwig von Mises called it the crack-up boom: a moment when the public loses faith in the currency itself, accelerating toward hyperinflation or systemic reset.
Today, we see symptoms everywhere: • Short-term UK gilts faltering, despite higher yields—suggesting credit risk concerns in sovereign debt. • Central banks trapped, unable to raise rates without imploding debt servicing costs. • Pension funds relying on central bank liquidity, not investment returns. • People flocking to Bitcoin, gold, and hard assets, no longer trusting fiat promises.
This isn’t just a crisis of inflation. It’s a crisis of trust—of money, institutions, and narratives.
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Ray Dalio’s Changing World Order: End of Empire, Debt, and Dominance
Ray Dalio, in Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order, offers a complementary framework. He outlines the typical rise and fall of empires based on long-term debt cycles, reserve currency status, and geopolitical hegemony.
Dalio identifies several signs of a declining empire: • Unsustainable debt loads • Political polarization and populism • Declining education, productivity, and innovation • Rising external challengers (e.g. China, BRICS) • Devaluation of the currency to solve internal problems
Sound familiar?
The UK and U.S. fit this bill perfectly. Both are experiencing late-stage fiat dysfunction. Both are overstretched geopolitically. And both are losing internal coherence at the exact moment their adversaries gain strength.
In Dalio’s cycle, these forces typically lead to a changing global reserve currency, a new monetary system, and often—a major war.
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The Fourth Turning: Crisis, Collapse, and Rebirth
Strauss and Howe’s generational theory offers a sociocultural overlay. They argued that every 80–100 years, Anglo-American civilizations undergo a “Fourth Turning”—a period of total institutional breakdown and civic realignment.
The last three Fourth Turnings: • The American Revolution (1776) • The Civil War (1861) • The Great Depression / World War II (1929–1945)
And now: 2008–2030.
The pattern is unmistakable: • Institutions lose credibility. • Society fractures along generational and ideological lines. • The old order resists collapse—but cannot reform. • Crisis breaks the system, and a new order emerges.
This isn’t prophecy. It’s a recurring cycle of institutional entropy followed by rebirth.
In this Fourth Turning, the fault lines are economic (debt, inequality), cultural (wokeism vs. tradition), technological (AI, surveillance), and monetary (fiat vs. Bitcoin).
⸻
Historical Echoes: Lessons from the Past
While our moment is unique, it echoes others: • Weimar Germany (1920s): Massive reparations debt, central bank money printing, social fragmentation—followed by authoritarianism. • Late Roman Empire: Currency debasement (clipping silver coins), overextension, loss of civic trust, internal decay. • French Revolution: State insolvency, rampant inflation, corrupt elite, and public uprising. • 1971–2025 (Modern West): Fiat detachment from gold, credit expansion, asset bubbles, pension fragility, war drums.
Each era collapsed under unsustainable monetary and political structures. Each ended with a reset, usually after pain, upheaval, and systemic failure.
⸻
What Comes Next: Bitcoin, Decentralization, and a Parallel Future
From an Austrian lens, the only sustainable future is built on sound money, decentralized decision-making, and organic community structures—not technocratic control.
Bitcoin represents more than a hedge. It is the lifeboat—the opt-out from a system that cannot be saved.
It aligns with all these frameworks: • Austrian: It restores monetary discipline, mimics gold with perfect scarcity, and resists state manipulation. • Dalio: It offers a neutral settlement layer amid collapsing fiat trust. • Fourth Turning: It is the generational technology of rebirth—decentralized, transparent, trustless.
Whether Bitcoin becomes the new monetary base or simply a parallel escape valve, it is central to the post-collapse architecture.
⸻
Conclusion: Clarity in the Collapse
The old world is dying. The fiat system is entering its terminal stage, unable to sustain the lies and leverage of the past 50 years. Austrian economics saw this coming. Dalio mapped its trajectory. Strauss and Howe timed the sociopolitical rupture. History confirms the pattern.
The only question now is how we prepare. • Do we cling to crumbling institutions, hoping for reforms that never come? • Or do we embrace the clarity of collapse, build resilient systems, and guide the next era?
Austrian thinkers remind us: the crash isn’t the failure—it’s the cure. A painful, necessary purge of decades of distortion.
The question is: will we have the courage to build what comes after?
⸻
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@ 9358c676:9f2912fc
2025-04-06 16:33:35OBJECTIVE
Establish a comprehensive and standardized hospital framework for the diagnosis, treatment, and management of pulmonary embolism (PE), aiming to improve quality of care, optimize resources, and reduce morbidity and mortality associated with this condition in the hospital setting.
SCOPE
All hospitalized patients over 15 years of age in our institution.
RESPONSIBILITIES
Institution physicians. Nursing staff.
REFERENCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY
- SATI Guidelines for the Management and Treatment of Acute Thromboembolic Disease. Revista Argentina de Terapia Intensiva 2019 - 36 No. 4.
- Farreras-Rozman. Internal Medicine. 16th Edition. El Sevier. 2010.
- SAC Consensus for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Venous Thromboembolic Disease. Argentine Journal of Cardiology. October 2024 Vol. 92 Suppl. 6 ISSN 0034-7000
- 2019 ESC Guidelines for the diagnosis and management of acute pulmonary embolism developed in collaboration with the European Respiratory Society (ERS). European Heart Journal (2020) 41, 543-603. doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehz405
INTRODUCTION
Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a cardiovascular emergency caused by a blood clot, usually originating from the deep veins of the lower limbs, that travels to the lungs and obstructs the pulmonary arteries. This condition represents a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in hospitals. Timely diagnosis and treatment are essential to improve clinical outcomes.
The clinical presentation of PE is highly variable, ranging from mild symptoms to acute cardiovascular shock. Risk factors such as prolonged immobilization, recent surgery, and chronic illnesses complicate its identification and management.
PE has an annual incidence of 70 cases per 100,000 people. Prognosis varies from high-risk PE with high mortality to low-risk PE with minimal hemodynamic impact. Without thromboprophylaxis, deep vein thrombosis (DVT)—the main predisposing factor (90–95% of cases)—has variable incidence depending on the surgery type, and up to 25% of embolic events occur post-discharge.
PREDISPOSING FACTORS
Strong Risk Factors (OR >10): - Hip or leg fracture - Hip or knee prosthesis - Major general surgery - Major trauma - Spinal cord injury
Moderate Risk Factors (OR 2–9): - Arthroscopic knee surgery - Central venous catheters - Chemotherapy - Chronic heart or respiratory failure - Hormonal replacement therapy - Malignancy - Oral contraceptives - Stroke with paralysis - Pregnancy or postpartum - Prior VTE - Thrombophilia
Mild Risk Factors (OR <2): - Bed rest <3 days - Prolonged travel - Advanced age - Laparoscopic surgery - Obesity - Antepartum period - Varicose veins
CLINICAL MANIFESTATIONS AND BASIC COMPLEMENTARY STUDIES
Symptoms: Dyspnea, chest pain, cough, hemoptysis, bronchospasm, fever.
Signs: Tachycardia, desaturation, jugular vein distention, orthostatism, DVT signs, syncope, or shock.Basic Studies: - Chest X-ray (may show infarction or atelectasis) - ECG (T wave inversion, RV strain, S1Q3T3 pattern)
RISK ASSESSMENT SCORES
Wells Score: - >6 points: High probability - 2–6: Moderate - ≤2: Low - Modified: >4 = likely PE, ≤4 = unlikely PE
Geneva Score: - >10: High - 4–10: Intermediate - 0–3: Low
PERC Rule: If all criteria are negative and clinical suspicion is low, PE can be excluded without further testing.
DIAGNOSTIC STUDIES
- D-dimer: High sensitivity; used in low/moderate risk patients.
- CT Pulmonary Angiography (CTPA): First-line imaging; limited in pregnancy/renal failure.
- Lower limb Doppler ultrasound: Indirect evidence of PE when DVT is detected.
- V/Q scan: Alternative when CTPA is contraindicated.
- Transthoracic echocardiogram: Used to assess RV function, especially in shock.
- Pulmonary angiography: Gold standard; reserved for complex cases due to invasiveness.
RISK STRATIFICATION
High-risk PE (5%): Hemodynamic instability, mortality >15%. Requires urgent reperfusion.
Intermediate-risk PE (30–50%): Hemodynamically stable with signs of RV dysfunction or elevated biomarkers.
Low-risk PE: Mortality <1%, eligible for outpatient management.
PESI Score: - I (<65): Very low risk - II (65–85): Low - III (86–105): Intermediate - IV (106–125): High - V (>125): Very high
Simplified PESI: ≥1 point = high risk; 0 = low risk
TREATMENT
High-risk PE: - Systemic fibrinolysis with alteplase 100 mg over 2 h or 0.6 mg/kg (max 50 mg) IV bolus over 15 min. - Suspend UFH 30–60 min before lysis if already on treatment. - Resume anticoagulation (UFH or LMWH) when aPTT <2x normal. - Consider surgical embolectomy or catheter-directed therapy if fibrinolysis fails or is contraindicated. - Maintain SpO₂ >90%, CVP 8–12 mmHg, and use vasopressors/inotropes as needed. ECMO in select cases.
Contraindications to Fibrinolytics: - Absolute: Recent stroke, active bleeding, CNS tumors, recent major trauma or surgery. - Relative: Anticoagulant use, recent TIA, pregnancy, uncontrolled hypertension, liver disease.
Intermediate-risk PE: - Initiate anticoagulation (enoxaparin 1–1.5 mg/kg SC every 12 h, max 100 mg/dose). - Fibrinolysis is not routine; reserve for clinical deterioration. - Direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) may be considered. - Consider IVC filter in absolute contraindication to anticoagulation or recurrence despite treatment.
RIETE Bleeding Risk Score: - >4 points: High risk - 1–4: Intermediate - 0: Low
INVASIVE TREATMENT
Consider catheter-directed therapy when: - High bleeding risk - Fibrinolysis contraindicated - Delayed symptom onset >14 days
Some centers use this as first-line therapy in high-risk PE.
QUALITY INDICATOR
Indicator: Proportion of PE cases with documented risk stratification in the medical record at initial evaluation.
Formula: (PE cases with documented stratification / total PE cases evaluated) × 100
Target: >85% of PE cases must have risk stratification recorded at the time of initial evaluation.
Autor
Kamo Weasel - MD Infectious Diseases - MD Internal Medicine - #DocChain Community npub1jdvvva54m8nchh3t708pav99qk24x6rkx2sh0e7jthh0l8efzt7q9y7jlj
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@ 502ab02a:a2860397
2025-04-09 02:08:12ทอดมันปลาฉลาด ของอร่อยและโภชนาการดี ที่หายากเพราะคนไม่ค่อยทำ เวลาพูดถึงทอดมันปลา ภาพที่ลอยมาในหัวของหลายคนคงเป็นเนื้อปลาเด้ง ๆ รสเผ็ดนิด หอมใบมะกรูดหน่อย ทอดให้ขอบกรอบนิด ๆ กินร้อน ๆ กับน้ำจิ้มหวานเปรี้ยว ถ้าไปถามว่าทำจากปลาอะไร ส่วนใหญ่ก็คงตอบว่า "ปลากราย" ซึ่งก็ไม่แปลก เพราะปลากรายถือเป็นวัตถุดิบยอดนิยมสำหรับทอดมันมายาวนาน
แต่วันนี้ เราอยากชวนมาทำความรู้จักกับอีกหนึ่งตัวเลือกที่น่าสนใจ…ปลาที่ชื่อออกจะขี้เล่นหน่อย ๆ ว่า “ปลาฉลาด”
ปลาฉลาดเป็นปลาน้ำจืดที่คนพื้นที่รู้ดีว่าเนื้อแน่น รสหวานธรรมชาติ และมีกลิ่นคาวน้อยจนบางคนเปรียบว่า "ขูดแล้วแทบไม่ต้องปรุงอะไรเยอะก็หอม" แถมยังมีเนื้อที่เหนียวในแบบธรรมชาติ โดยไม่ต้องใส่แป้งเพิ่มให้เสีย texture เลยแม้แต่น้อย
ความน่าสนใจของทอดมันปลาฉลาดคือมันให้สัมผัสที่ดีมาก Real food แท้ๆเพราะเนื้อปลาฉลาดเหนียวด้วยตัวเอง ไม่ต้องพึ่งแป้งหรือสารช่วยคงตัวใดๆ และยังมีกลิ่นหอมแบบปลาแม่น้ำที่ไม่ฉุน ไม่คาวดิน ไม่รบกวนสมาธิการกิน
เวลาขูดเนื้อปลาฉลาด จะรู้สึกได้เลยว่าเนื้อมัน "มีชีวิตชีวา" คือไม่ใช่เนื้อนิ่มเปื่อย ยุ่ย หรือแห้งจนฝืดมือ แต่จะมีความแน่น นุ่ม และติดยางนิด ๆ พอเอาไปคลุกกับพริกแกงกระชายสดสักนิด ใบมะกรูดฝอยบาง ๆ สิ่งที่เราทำแตกต่างเล็กน้อยคือ ใช้ถั่วพลูแทนถั่วฝักยาว ตีไปเรื่อย ๆ จนเหนียวได้ที่ แล้วทอดบนไฟกลาง ๆ...เสียงฉ่าแรกที่ลงกระทะ จะมาพร้อมกลิ่นหอมที่เรียกคนทั้งบ้านให้เดินมาด้อม ๆ มอง ๆ ได้แบบไม่ต้องใช้คำโฆษณา
ในแง่โภชนาการ ปลาฉลาดให้โปรตีนสูง ไขมันต่ำ และที่สำคัญคือ ย่อยง่าย ไม่หนักท้อง เหมาะสำหรับคนที่อยากกินของทอดแต่ไม่อยากให้ร่างกายต้องทำงานหนักเกินไป แถมยังนำมาประยุกต์เป็นทอดมันสายโลว์คาร์บได้สบาย ๆ เพราะเนื้อปลายึดเกาะตัวได้เองโดยธรรมชาติความดีงามของเนื้อปลา โดยไม่ต้องเติมแป้งหรือแปรรูปอะไรเพิ่มเติมอีก
แม้ปลาฉลาดอาจไม่ได้หาซื้อสะดวกเท่าปลาที่เลี้ยงในระบบฟาร์มทั่วไป แต่นั่นแหละคือเสน่ห์ของมัน…มันคือวัตถุดิบที่พาเรา “กลับไปหาของจริง” ที่ธรรมชาติให้มา ไม่ต้องปรุงแต่งมากก็อร่อย
ไม่ต้องบอกว่าปลากรายดีหรือไม่ดี เพราะมันก็ดีในแบบของมัน แต่ถ้าวันใดคุณอยากลองเปิดใจให้กับของหายากอีกหนึ่งชนิด…ลองทอดมันปลาฉลาดดูสักครั้ง แล้วคุณจะเข้าใจว่า บางครั้ง ของที่ไม่ค่อยมีคนพูดถึง อาจเป็นของที่ “พูดแทนตัวเอง” ได้ดีที่สุด #siripun #ตำรับเอ๋
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@ 8d34bd24:414be32b
2025-04-06 14:34:37This weekend my pastor was preaching on this passage. Two words stood out when we were reading the passage, “but Jesus … .” This made me start searching for other instances of “but Jesus …” to see what we could learn.
And a woman who had a hemorrhage for twelve years, and could not be healed by anyone, came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak, and immediately her hemorrhage stopped. And Jesus said, “Who is the one who touched Me?” And while they were all denying it, Peter said, “Master, the people are crowding and pressing in on You.” But Jesus said, “Someone did touch Me, for I was aware that power had gone out of Me.” (Luke 8:43-46) {emphasis mine}
In this passage people were crowding Jesus and fighting to get close to Him or even touch Him and in this dense crowd he asked, “Who is the one who touched Me?” Despite many people being pressed up beside Him, they all denied touching Him and Peter basically reprimanded Jesus that this was a ridiculous question because so many people were touching Him. “But Jesus …” knew that someone had touched Him and faith and that His power had healed that person. For the sake of the woman, the crowd, and His disciples, He wanted them to know what had happened and bless this woman that had suffered for more than a decade. He didn’t see the situation like everyone else. He saw things they did not see and like all of the best teachers, he asked His students questions to lead them to the truth. Despite the fact that he was on the way to helping Jairus’s dying daughter, Jesus stopped for this moment to bless this suffering woman and to teach the crowd the meaning of faith and the meaning of mercy.
How often do we ignore teaching moments or moments of service that could make a difference in a person’s life because we are busy and focused on something else? But Jesus did not miss the opportunity.
So often Jesus’s response to things are not like our own. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:9)
But the news about Him was spreading even farther, and large crowds were gathering to hear Him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray. (Luke 5:15-16) {emphasis mine}
Most of us, if we were bringing crowds through a blog or preaching or conferences would tend to continue working to reach more people, but Jesus took time to slip away from the crowd to pray. He prioritized prayer and fellowship with the Father knowing that ministry without the Father is no ministry at all. Jesus knew that there is more to sharing the Gospel than just drawing a crowd or growing a following. Jesus built the foundation before trying to build the church.
And some men were carrying on a bed a man who was paralyzed; and they were trying to bring him in and to set him down in front of Him. But not finding any way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down through the tiles with his stretcher, into the middle of the crowd, in front of Jesus. Seeing their faith, He said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven you.” The scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, “Who is this man who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?” But Jesus, aware of their reasonings, answered and said to them, “Why are you reasoning in your hearts? Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins have been forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? But, so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,”—He said to the paralytic—“I say to you, get up, and pick up your stretcher and go home.” (Luke 5:18-24) {emphasis mine}
This suffering man was paralyzed. His loving friends were trying to get him help by focusing on his physical needs, but Jesus saw the man’s most important need — his need for salvation. Instead of focusing on the obvious physical needs of the man, He dealt with the more important spiritual needs. He also knew that His critics were judging Him and denying His ability to wipe the man’s sins away. To prove that He could forgive the man’s sins, He also healed the man’s paralysis. After healing the man’s more important spiritual needs, He then healed the more obvious physical needs.
I know I catch myself spending lots of time praying for people’s physical needs. I pray asking for people to have healing from sickness and cancer. I pray for jobs and finances. I pray for relationships. I’ve noticed that I spend more time praying for physical needs that are problem today, but don’t matter eternally and not enough praying for salvation and guidance for people. I focus on what I can see, that although urgent, have little to no effect on the eternal well-being of the people. I should be more like Jesus and spend more time on praying for people’s spiritual needs that determine their eternal well-being.
Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name, observing His signs which He was doing. But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men, and because He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man. (John 2:23-25) {emphasis mine}
When we have people asking for us to share Jesus with them, we jump at the opportunity. We seek the crowds and the following. We seek the influence and prestige, but Jesus did not trust those seeking Him and knew they were looking for blessings without the submission or repentance.
I’ve noticed that I will have people asking questions about the Bible and Christianity. They ask me to defend everything in the Bible and what I believe. Because I have studied these things and studied apologetics, I tend to spend a large amount of time debating these topics, but it is frequently obvious from the beginning that these people are not truth seekers. They are people looking to throw “gotcha” questions at Christians in the hope of destroying their faith or making them look bad. I need to get better at asking questions of them and recognizing these situations as not interest and inquisitiveness, but attempts to destroy and not waste time on them. (Of course, sometimes there are watchers/listeners who can be helped by knowing there are answers to these questions.)
When it was evening, the disciples came to Him and said, “This place is desolate and the hour is already late; so send the crowds away, that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat!” They said to Him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.” And He said, “Bring them here to Me.” Ordering the people to sit down on the grass, He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He blessed the food, and breaking the loaves He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds, and they all ate and were satisfied. They picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve full baskets. (Matthew 14:15-20) {emphasis mine}
We so often see the glass half empty. We see all of the things we can’t do, but Jesus knows what can be done and we should know that we can do all things in Christ who strengthens us. Instead of focusing on why we can’t, we need to trust God to enable us to do whatever He asks us to do.
Some Pharisees came up to Jesus, testing Him, and began to question Him whether it was lawful for a man to divorce a wife. And He answered and said to them, “What did Moses command you?” They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.” But Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother, and the two shall become one flesh; so they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.” (Mark 10:2-8) {emphasis mine}
How often do we look for a loophole in God’s word? The Pharisees were looking for an excuse to do what they wanted to do, but Jesus said that He had allowed for their evil ways (for the good of the woman they wanted to divorce) despite His perfect plan which they had rejected. “Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. (Matthew 18:21-22)” Peter thought he was being generous forgiving someone seven times, but Jesus wanted him to forgive as He had forgiven Peter. (See the Lord’s Prayer “Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.” Luke 11:4)**
And they sent their disciples to Him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and teach the way of God in truth, and defer to no one; for You are not partial to any. Tell us then, what do You think? Is it lawful to give a poll-tax to Caesar, or not?” But Jesus perceived their malice, and said, “Why are you testing Me, you hypocrites? Show Me the coin used for the poll-tax.” And they brought Him a denarius. And He said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said to Him, “Caesar’s.” Then He said to them, “Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God the things that are God’s.” And hearing this, they were amazed, and leaving Him, they went away. (Matthew 22:16-22) {emphasis mine}
Instead of directly answering the question that was asked, since it was not asked in good faith, He corrected their hypocrisy and showed them the truth. We are not nearly as wise and observant as Jesus, but we should still try to see what is truly being asked instead of just answering the obvious question. So often there is a need or motive behind the question that needs to be addressed. I’ve found that asking questions of the questioner can both uncover what is behind the question and also lead them to the truth. This method, also known as the Socratic Method, is taught well from a Christian perspective in the book “Tactics” by Gregory Koukl.
They brought the boy to Him. When he saw Him, immediately the spirit threw him into a convulsion, and falling to the ground, he began rolling around and foaming at the mouth. And He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. It has often thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!” And Jesus said to him, “ ‘If You can?’ All things are possible to him who believes.” Immediately the boy’s father cried out and said, “I do believe; help my unbelief.” When Jesus saw that a crowd was rapidly gathering, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You deaf and mute spirit, I command you, come out of him and do not enter him again.” After crying out and throwing him into terrible convulsions, it came out; and the boy became so much like a corpse that most of them said, “He is dead!” But Jesus took him by the hand and raised him; and he got up. (Mark 9:20-27) {emphasis mine}
Jesus sees things as they are. He honors belief. I love the boy’s father’s response to Jesus, “I do believe; help my unbelief.” I’ve felt like this before. Jesus never gives up and as long as we have Jesus, we should never give up on someone.
As soon as He was approaching, near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the miracles which they had seen, shouting:
“Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord;\ Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.” But Jesus answered, “I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out!” (Luke 19:31-40) {emphasis mine}
The Pharisees saw a threat to their power and prestige, but Jesus saw reality as it was. Jesus saw the fulfillment of scripture and a small glimpse of the glory He deserved. They focused on what they disagreed with and what they didn’t like. Jesus focused on the fact that worship of God cannot be stopped. What do you focus on?
Therefore when Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid; and he entered into the Praetorium again and said to Jesus, “Where are You from?” But Jesus gave him no answer. So Pilate said to Him, “You do not speak to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You, and I have authority to crucify You?” Jesus answered, “You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above; for this reason he who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.” (John 19:8-11) {emphasis mine}
Most innocent men would be continually speaking the truth of their innocence and trying to convince Pilate to listen, but Jesus had a purpose. He didn’t act like a normal innocent man, nor did He act like a normal guilty man. He was God incarnate living out His perfect plan. He knew Pilate didn’t have authority to kill or free Him, but that everything was going according to His perfect plan.
When we are following Jesus, we need to accept that God is in control. Not every hardship needs to be fixed. Sometimes it is part of God’s perfect plan. No one, man or spirit, has the authority to harm a believer unless God allows it and He only allows it if it furthers His perfect plan and is used for good. We need to know God and know His word. We need to listen to His leading through the Spirit, so we respond as Jesus did, “You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above.” This is as true of us today as it was about our savior on that fateful day. God is always in control.
Pilate questioned Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?” And He *answered him, “It is as you say.” The chief priests began to accuse Him harshly. Then Pilate questioned Him again, saying, “Do You not answer? See how many charges they bring against You!” But Jesus made no further answer; so Pilate was amazed. (Mark 15:2-5) {emphasis mine}
How often are people amazed because Jesus does not respond in the way a normal person would. Are there times that we should speak up and defend the word of God? Yes. Are there times that we should, like Jesus, make no further answer? Yes. We must ask God for guidance on the right response for each situation.
While He was still speaking, behold, a crowd came, and the one called Judas, one of the twelve, was preceding them; and he approached Jesus to kiss Him. But Jesus said to him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?” When those who were around Him saw what was going to happen, they said, “Lord, shall we strike with the sword?” And one of them struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his right ear. But Jesus answered and said, “Stop! No more of this.” And He touched his ear and healed him. (Luke 22:47-51) {emphasis mine}
The common response to being mistreated is to mistreat back. We so often try to do to others at least as badly as they have done to us, but Jesus was different. When Judas betrayed Jesus, He mercifully responded, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?” When soldiers came to arrest Jesus for crimes He did not commit and one of His disciples struck a man with his sword, Jesus healed this man who had come to do Him harm. Jesus followed His own command to turn the other cheek. He gave love to those who were unloving. He gave mercy to those who showed no mercy. Do you seek revenge or do you seek to understand those who do you wrong and help them? Be loving and merciful just as Jesus is loving and merciful.
The best way to be a light for Jesus is to act like Jesus and acting like Jesus requires thinking like Jesus and responding in the most unimaginable ways. Jesus was not like a normal man and neither should we be.
Father God, help us to see other people and the world as you see it. Help us to respond as Jesus would. Help us to be different, so we can honor you with our differences.
Trust Jesus
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@ e97aaffa:2ebd765d
2025-04-06 14:06:32Este estudo é bem representativo da divergência geracional que existe em Portugal, sobretudo em quem foi votar nas legislativas de 2024.
Nos +65 anos, são 65% esquerda e 37% na direita. Mas entre os 18 e 34 anos, são 30% na esquerda e 64% na direita. A esquerda tem menos da metade. Ainda é muito o reflexo da herança do 25 de Abril, muitas pessoas votam em partidos, pelo que fizeram no passado e não pelo que fazem hoje em dia.
A maior discrepância é no PS, com 48% nos +65 anos, para apenas 13% dos mais novos. O Chega está no sentido oposto, 8% para 25%.
Nos “pequeninos”, a situação do PCP era previsível, mas o destaque vai para o Livre e o IL, ambos com 1% nos +65 anos, mas têm um crescimento nos mais jovens, com 6% e 11%, respectivamente.
O PS, nos últimos anos, virou muito para esquerda, afastando-se do centro, mas agora está numa encruzilhada, ou volta mais para o centro, ou poderá acontecer o mesmo que o PCP, tornar-se num partido insignificante, sobretudo com um público de pessoas idosas, sem prespetivas de futuro.
Quem tem +65 anos, quer governos mais de esquerda e os mais novos(18 a 34 anos) preferem um governo de direita. Isto é bem demonstrativo, o porquê dos políticos, de todos quadrantes, apostarem em políticas de aumento de pensões, subsídios, tudo para cativar os mais velhos. Muitas das políticas beneficiam mais os velhos em detrimento dos mais novos, isso provocou uma ruptura geracional, no pensamento político, os jovens demonstram um certo cansaço com as políticas socialistas.
E como Portugal é um país com envelhecimento acentuado e o abstencionismo é menor nos mais velhos, quem cativar esta parcela de pessoas, vencerá as eleições. Segundo o INE, existem 2.2 milhões(22%) com +65 anos e 1.8 milhões (18%) entre os 18 e os 34 anos.
Nível de Instrução
Nos níveis de instrução, as diferenças não são profundas mas existem, mas a direita tem um ligeira preferência pelos mais instruídos. A única excepção é o Chega, que é muito mais forte mas pessoas menos instruídas.
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@ 878dff7c:037d18bc
2025-04-08 21:27:19Australian Median Home Value Increases by $230,000 Over Five Years
Summary:
Recent data from CoreLogic reveals that Australia's median home value has risen by approximately $230,000 over the past five years, marking a 39.1% increase. This significant dollar increase surpasses previous five-year periods, highlighting escalating affordability challenges. Factors contributing to this surge include a persistent imbalance between housing supply and demand, low stock levels, and lower long-term interest rates. Major cities like Sydney and Adelaide, as well as parts of regional New South Wales, exhibit some of the highest housing value-to-income ratios.
Sources: The Guardian - April 9, 2025
Reserve Bank of Australia Adjusts Money Market Operations
Summary:
The Reserve Bank of Australia announced an increase in the rate at which it lends to financial institutions in regular money market operations. This technical change is aimed at adjusting the pricing of its open market operations and is stated to have no implications for broader monetary policy. Sources: Reuters - April 9, 2025
BPCL and Sembcorp Form Joint Venture for Green Hydrogen Projects
Summary:
Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and Sembcorp have entered into a joint venture to explore renewable energy and green hydrogen production projects across India. This collaboration aims to decarbonize hard-to-abate sectors and support India's ambitious climate goals by leveraging both companies' expertise in renewable energy solutions.
Sources: PV Magazine India - April 9, 2025
Moderate Earthquake Reported Near Yonakuni, Japan
Summary:
A magnitude 5.6 earthquake occurred after midnight on Wednesday, April 9, 2025, near Yonakuni, Yaeyama-gun, Okinawa, Japan. The earthquake struck at a depth of approximately 33 kilometers. There have been no immediate reports of damage or casualties.
Sources: Volcano Discovery - April 9, 2025
Peter Dutton Unveils Gas Reservation Policy to Reduce Energy Prices
Summary:
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has introduced a gas reservation policy aimed at lowering energy prices in Australia. The plan requires gas companies to prioritize domestic supply over exports, projecting a 15% reduction in gas prices for industrial consumers and a 7% decrease in residential gas bills. The policy also includes a 25% cut in fuel excise for one year and expedited approvals for new gas projects. While modeling suggests potential benefits, analysts caution that consumer advantages may be delayed due to existing contracts and retail bill components.
Sources: News.com.au - April 9, 2025, The Australian - April 9, 2025
Greens Propose Abolition of Negative Gearing and Capital Gains Tax Discounts
Summary:
Greens leader Adam Bandt has proposed significant reforms to Australia's housing policies, including the abolition of capital gains tax discounts and negative gearing tax breaks for investment properties. The plan also includes a nationwide rent freeze. Bandt argues these measures are necessary to address housing affordability and support renters and first-home buyers. The Greens suggest limiting tax concessions to a single pre-existing investment property and banning them for future purchases or inheritances. Additionally, they propose a two-year rent freeze with subsequent increases capped at 2% every two years. Analysis indicates these reforms could raise home ownership rates and save renters billions. Bandt criticized Labor's $33 billion housing plan as insufficient and is also advocating for dental care to be included in Medicare, funded by higher corporate taxes.
Sources: The Australian - April 9, 2025, News.com.au - April 9, 2025
Australian Stock Market Rebounds Despite Tariff Threats
Summary:
The Australian stock market experienced a strong rebound, with the S&P/ASX 200 rising over 2.3% to close at 7,510 points. This recovery follows a sharp decline prompted by escalating global trade tensions. The rally suggests investor optimism despite the looming tariff conflict between the U.S. and China. The Australian dollar also saw a slight rebound, benefiting exporters.
Sources: The Guardian - April 8, 2025
Divers Left Stranded Off Perth Coast During Charter Expedition
Summary:
Two brothers were left stranded in the ocean during a diving expedition off the Perth coast after their charter boat allegedly departed without them. The incident occurred four kilometers offshore, and the pair was rescued by a passing Rottnest ferry after being spotted in distress. The divers have criticized the Perth Diving Academy for failing in their duty of care and have engaged legal representation.
Source: ABC News - April 9, 2025
Australian Beef Industry Resilient Amid Global Tariff Changes
Summary:
Despite recent U.S. tariffs, Australia's beef industry remains robust, with exports to the United States averaging $275 million a month in the six months to February. Industry insiders express confidence that the 10% tariff will not significantly impact exports, highlighting the sector's resilience and strong international demand.
Sources: Hindustan Times - April 9, 2025
US Imposes 104% Tariffs on Chinese Imports, Sparking Global Economic Concerns
Summary:
US President Donald Trump has announced a 104% tariff on Chinese imports, escalating trade tensions and raising fears of a global economic slowdown. China has threatened retaliation, prompting concerns about a full-scale trade war that could impact international markets, including Australia.
Sources: The Guardian - April 9, 2025
Massive Decline in Bogong Moth Population Raises Ecological Concerns
Summary:
The bogong moth, once abundant in Australia, has experienced a drastic population decline of up to 99.5% by 2019. Despite its ecological and cultural significance, the Australian government recently declined to list it as threatened, citing limited data. The moth plays a crucial role in alpine ecosystems and Indigenous cultures, serving as a key food source for species like the mountain pygmy possum. Experts are calling for nationwide research and conservation efforts to protect this iconic species.
Sources: The Guardian - April 9, 2025
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent Discusses Trump's Tariff Plan and Its Impact on the Middle Class
Summary:
In this episode of The Tucker Carlson Show, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent provides an in-depth analysis of President Trump's proposed tariff plan, focusing on its potential effects on the American middle class. Bessent outlines the administration's objectives behind implementing the tariffs and addresses concerns about possible economic repercussions. He emphasizes that the tariffs are designed to protect domestic industries and create jobs, asserting that any short-term price increases will be offset by long-term economic growth. The discussion also covers strategies to mitigate adverse impacts on consumers and the importance of fair trade practices in strengthening the U.S. economy.
Key Insights: - Protection of Domestic Industries: Bessent explains that the tariffs aim to shield American manufacturers from unfair foreign competition, thereby preserving and creating jobs within the country. - Short-Term vs. Long-Term Effects: While acknowledging potential immediate price hikes on certain goods, Bessent argues that the long-term benefits, including a more robust economy and job market, will outweigh these initial challenges. - Fair Trade Practices: The conversation highlights the administration's commitment to establishing equitable trade agreements that prevent exploitation of U.S. markets and ensure reciprocal benefits.
Sources: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent Discusses Trump's Tariff Plan and Its Impact on the Middle Class
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@ 7d33ba57:1b82db35
2025-04-06 09:29:33Istanbul is one of the world’s most mesmerizing cities, where East meets West—literally. Straddling Europe and Asia, it offers a rich blend of cultures, centuries-old architecture, vibrant bazaars, and world-class food. From the Byzantine wonders of the Old City to the buzzing energy of modern neighborhoods, Istanbul is a city of contrasts—and it's unforgettable.
🏛️ Top Things to See & Do in Istanbul
1️⃣ Hagia Sophia (Ayasofya)
- Once a church, then a mosque, then a museum—and now a mosque again
- A stunning symbol of Byzantine architecture with a vast domed ceiling
- Open to all visitors (entry to main floor is free)
2️⃣ Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmed Mosque)
- Famous for its six minarets and beautiful blue Iznik tiles inside
- Still an active mosque—visitors are welcome outside of prayer times
- Dress modestly and bring a scarf if you're visiting as a woman
3️⃣ Topkapi Palace
- Former residence of the Ottoman sultans
- Visit the Imperial Harem, treasury with the Topkapi Dagger, and panoramic gardens overlooking the Bosphorus
4️⃣ Grand Bazaar & Spice Bazaar 🛍️
- One of the largest and oldest covered markets in the world
- Shop for lamps, ceramics, carpets, jewelry, spices, and teas
- Practice your bargaining skills—it’s part of the fun!
5️⃣ Bosphorus Cruise
- Sail between Europe and Asia for incredible views of palaces, mosques, and waterfront mansions
- Options range from 1-hour quick cruises to sunset or dinner cruises
6️⃣ Galata Tower & Karaköy
- Climb the medieval Galata Tower for 360° city views
- Explore Karaköy’s trendy cafés, street art, and boutique shops nearby
7️⃣ Sultanahmet Square & Hippodrome
- Historic heart of Istanbul—once the center of Byzantine Constantinople
- See the Obelisk of Theodosius, Serpent Column, and German Fountain
🍽️ What to Eat in Istanbul
- Simit – Turkish sesame bagel, best fresh in the morning
- Kebabs – From Adana to Iskender, every type has its own flavor
- Meze platters – Tasty small plates to share (like hummus, ezme, dolma)
- Balık Ekmek – Fish sandwich by the Galata Bridge
- Baklava & Turkish delight – Sweet, flaky, and irresistible
- Turkish tea (çay) & strong coffee – Always served with hospitality ☕
🕌 Local Experiences You Shouldn’t Miss
✅ Soak in a historic hammam (Turkish bath) – like Cemberlitas or Hurrem Sultan Hammam
✅ Watch the Whirling Dervishes ceremony for a glimpse into Sufi spirituality
✅ Get lost in Süleymaniye Mosque – peaceful and less crowded than the Blue Mosque
✅ Explore Balat & Fener – colorful, local neighborhoods with rich Jewish and Greek history
✅ Take a ferry to the Asian side (Kadıköy or Üsküdar) for a more local vibe and great food🚇 Getting Around Istanbul
- Use Istanbulkart for all public transport: trams, ferries, metro, and buses
- Traffic can be intense—trams and ferries are your best friend
- The city is very walkable in historical areas, but hilly in places
- Ferries between continents are not just scenic—they’re super efficient too!
💡 Tips for Visiting Istanbul
🕌 Mosques are free to visit, but check prayer times and dress respectfully
📸 Sunset at Galata Bridge or from a rooftop in Karaköy = magic
🛍️ Bargaining is expected in markets, but done with a smile
📅 Best times to visit: April–June or September–October for mild weather
🍽️ Eat like a local – some of the best food is found in tiny family-run spots
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@ f3328521:a00ee32a
2025-04-06 08:58:34Notes from the Inaugural Muslim Bitcoin Summit Nostr Workshop.
04.06.25 Dallas, TX
What is Nostr?
“Notes and Other Stuff Transmitted by Relays” ~ fiatjaf
Nostr is an open protocol that is a censorship-resistant, global "social" network. It doesn't rely on any trusted central server (has resilient decentralization), and is based on cryptographic keys and signatures (so it is tamperproof).
The initial description of the idea can be found at https://fiatjaf.com/nostr.html.
Digital Sovereignty
“The first step towards establishing any type of Digital Sovereignty is to consider migration away from infrastructure and networks that are saturated with malevolent surveillance… there must be a simple recognition that anything sustainable from an Islamic perspective cannot be built on the platforms of Meta, Google or Amazon.” ~ Ibn Maghreb
Palestine has become the litmus test for censorship in social media:
- X (formerly Twitter) - Musk openly supports Zionism
- Meta (FB, IG, WhatsApp) - Project Lavender
- Google (YouTube) - Project Nimbus
- Microsoft (LI) - BDS “No Azure for Apartheid” campaign
These are just a few examples of the barrier for a muslim narrative in fiat social media. To build unstoppable resistance we must move away from the platform and address the issue at the protocol level.
Nostr Protocol Explained
- Relays: Backend servers that store and broadcast data. Anyone can run one. Currently over 1k relays across over 50 countries.
- Clients: Platforms built for graphical user interface with Nostr. Anyone can build these and most are interoperable.
- Key Cryptography: User public and private keys.
Simple video explaination: Nostr in less than 10 minutes!
Nostr's Key Features:
- No Ownership - No CEO, board of directors, foundation, etc.
- No Ads, No Big Data Collection - Users are not a product.
- No Algorithms - Less drama, less depressing content.
- Uncensorability - Not your keys, not your posts.
- SEO - clean
dofollow
links for “Google Juice”. - Zaps! - BTC/Lightning integration.
“This is really really important in the age of AI where in a few years you are not going to know the difference between something that is real and something that is fake. We need technologies that you can actually sign and you have the authenticity to do so, and only you, to do that.” ~ Jack Dorsey
Getting Started On Nostr
Nostr 101: A Beginners Guide To Nostr
Top Recommended Client: Yakihonne
Other popular options: (web) Nostrudel (iOS) Damus (Android) Amethyst
Top Recommended Wallet: Coinos
Other popular options: Primal Wallet AlbyHub Zeus (pending NWC integration)
Highlights From The Nostr Ecosystem:
Other Clients: Olas (photos) Habla (blogging) Zap.Stream (video)
Shopping: Plebeian Market Shopstr
Podcasting 2.0: Fountain Wavlake
Workspace Tools: Listr Formstr Docstr Nostr.Build
Footnote
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@ 6be5cc06:5259daf0
2025-04-08 19:45:10O que são os juros?
Os juros são um reflexo da preferência temporal dos indivíduos: o valor que damos ao consumo no presente em comparação ao consumo no futuro. Em termos práticos, se alguém te pede dinheiro emprestado hoje e promete devolver só daqui a um ano, faz sentido você querer algo em troca por ter que esperar e postergar o consumo — esse “algo a mais” é o juro.
Nas palavras da Escola Austríaca, os juros não são um fenômeno artificial ou técnico, mas sim um fato da realidade humana: tempo tem valor. E como o tempo passa para todos, a preferência temporal é um traço universal. Logo, juros sempre existirão — e isso independe de moeda, bancos ou qualquer arranjo institucional.
Juros e poupança
Num mercado genuinamente livre, os juros emergem da relação entre dois grupos:
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Poupadores, que abrem mão do consumo presente para acumular bens que serão utilizados no futuro.
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Investidores, que tomam emprestados esses recursos para realizar projetos que renderão frutos adiante.
Quando há muita poupança, a taxa de juros tende a cair, pois há mais capital disponível para investimentos. Quando há pouca poupança, os juros sobem, pois o capital é escasso. Simples assim. É uma dinâmica voluntária, descentralizada e natural — e, portanto, intolerável para os engenheiros sociais e planejadores centrais.
Como sabotar tudo
O problema começa quando uma entidade com poder coercitivo — como um banco central, como o Federal Reserve (FED) — resolve interferir nesse processo natural. Em vez de permitir que os juros sejam determinados pelas preferências temporais das pessoas, o FED manipula a taxa básica de juros da economia, criando a ilusão de que há mais poupança do que realmente existe.
Como ele faz isso?
Simples: imprimindo dinheiro do nada e injetando esse capital nos mercados financeiros por meio da compra de títulos, operações com bancos e linhas de crédito. Essa expansão monetária distorce os sinais econômicos: os juros caem artificialmente, mesmo sem um aumento real na poupança. O crédito se torna barato — mas ilusoriamente.
O efeito prático dessa mentira monetária
Empresas e investidores, enganados por esses juros baixos, começam a empreender projetos de longo prazo como se houvesse capital real disponível para sustentá-los. Shoppings, fábricas, startups, construções, tudo parece viável. A sensação é de prosperidade: mais empregos, salários, consumo e lucros.
Mas há um detalhe crucial: a preferência temporal da população não mudou. As pessoas continuam consumindo no presente — e não há bens de capital suficientes para suprir os dois desejos ao mesmo tempo: o consumo presente e os investimentos de longo prazo.
Com o tempo, a realidade bate à porta: os preços dos bens de capital sobem, os custos dos projetos disparam, os empréstimos se tornam mais caros e muitos empreendimentos tornam-se inviáveis. Então vem a quebradeira: demissões, falências e recessão. Todo o “crescimento” anterior se revela uma miragem inflacionária.
Ciclos econômicos: uma criação do Estado
Esse processo de boom artificial seguido de colapso inevitável é o que Mises e Hayek explicaram como o Ciclo Econômico Austríaco. Não é um “erro do mercado”. É o resultado direto da distorção dos sinais econômicos provocada pela manipulação dos juros. E o culpado tem nome: o banco central — neste caso, o FED.
O FED não é um árbitro neutro. Ele é um planejador central disfarçado de autoridade monetária. Seu objetivo real é manter o sistema financeiro vivo à base de impressora. Ele socializa prejuízos, distorce o cálculo econômico e destrói o processo de alocação racional de capital. Tudo isso enquanto afirma estar “estabilizando a economia”.
A consequência disso? Inflação, endividamento, má alocação de recursos e, acima de tudo, roubo institucionalizado da poupança das pessoas comuns. O juro baixo artificial é um imposto oculto. É uma forma disfarçada de pilhagem, uma transferência silenciosa de riqueza dos poupadores — que trabalharam e se abstiveram do consumo — para os primeiros recebedores do novo dinheiro, como bancos e governos. Essa manipulação é um confisco disfarçado, que destrói capital real e sabota o esforço honesto de quem poupa.
O caminho da correção
Para que os juros cumpram sua função genuína — sinalizar a escassez ou abundância de capital — é preciso eliminar a interferência coercitiva dos bancos centrais. Em um mercado verdadeiramente livre, sem manipulação monetária, os juros seriam determinados pela poupança real, e não por burocratas em Washington.
Isso exige o fim do monopólio estatal sobre a moeda. Exige a destruição da base legal que sustenta o cartel bancário. E exige uma transição para formas de dinheiro que não podem ser inflacionadas por decreto, como o ouro ou — melhor ainda — o Bitcoin.
Para finalizar
Os juros não são uma variável a ser “ajustada” por tecnocratas com PhDs. Eles são a expressão natural das escolhas humanas diante do tempo. Qualquer tentativa de manipular essa realidade só pode gerar desequilíbrios, crises e sofrimento econômico.
Enquanto o FED existir, ciclos econômicos serão inevitáveis. Não por causa do mercado — mas porque um punhado de burocratas acredita que sabe mais do que milhões de pessoas agindo voluntariamente.
Liberdade monetária é a única solução. E a destruição do banco central é apenas o começo.
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@ fbf0e434:e1be6a39
2025-04-08 15:08:21Hackathon 概览
ETHiopia x BAM Hackathon 于 2 月 10 日至 14 日在线上进行,吸引了 108 名注册开发者和创新者深入探索以太坊技术。活动包括 Solidity 开发的技术研讨会和鼓励创造性技能培养的环节,最终审核通过了 38 个的项目。这些项目展示了参赛者的技术创造力以及他们对区块链技术的投入。
Hackathon 促进了以太坊生态系统内解决方案的创建,重点关注社区贡献和在现实场景中创新应用。参赛者在获得技能和探索了区块链创新的同时,也建立了开发者网络。活动提供了 2,000 美元 USDC 现金奖金,用于激励在代码质量、社区参与和展示技能方面表现出色的项目。
包括 ETHiopia, BAM 和 THE MU 在内的实体促进了非洲 Web3 BUIDLer的环境,推动了有影响力的解决方案。此次合作强调了区块链在应对现实世界挑战中的角色,并赋能了非洲开发者和BUIDLer。
Hackathon 获奖者
ETHiopia X Circles 奖项获奖者
第一名: Ethera
Ethera支持非洲内容创作者通过区块链实现货币化,利用Circles Protocol和CRC代币进行交易,以确保在Gnosis Chain上的透明度和去中心化。它通过Circles Protocol Avatar验证用户身份。
第二名: ETHqub
ETHiopia x BAM 一般Hackathon 获奖者
第一名: Imara
Imara是一个去中心化平台,帮助区块链开发者组建团队。它利用基于里程碑的质押和治理工具来增强协作,防止项目被遗弃,旨在区块链生态系统内实现广泛的集成。
第二名: Hakiba
Hakiba是一个去中心化的借贷协议,促进区块链上的社区信贷。它实施质押、担保和链上保险,以促进负责任的贷款和借款人支持,使用Solidity智能合约和FastAPI。
第三名: ETHqub
有关所有项目的更多信息,请访问 https://dorahacks.io/hackathon/ethiopiabamhackathon/buidl
关于组织者
BAM
BAM,即Bold African Movement,是一个为非洲的新兴建设者和创始人提供平台的机构,专注于区块链、AI和其他新兴技术。该组织致力于在非洲大陆培养创新人才,开发关键技术解决方案。通过积极参与重要的技术领域,BAM促进了这些行业的成长和协作。他们的使命是赋予非洲新一代的技术领导者,从而推动从愿景想法到实际实施的过渡。更多信息请访问他们的网站 joinbam.xyz。
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@ fbf0e434:e1be6a39
2025-04-08 14:55:41Hackathon 概览
ETH Oxford 2025 Hackathon 于2月7日至9日在牛津数学学院举办,吸引了大量的开发者的兴趣和参与。活动共有318名开发者注册,最终通过审核有142个项目。活动强调创新和合作,主要集中在以太坊区块链上,参与者通过demo视频和GitHub仓库展示了他们的作品。
Hackathon 于2月9日结束,开发者们通过 Demo 他们的项目来角逐最后的奖项。他们在创新同时,也解决了区块链领域的各个技术挑战。这次 Hackathon 还促进了社区互动和知识分享,带来了区块链开发社区的实质贡献。
Hackathon 获奖者
主赛道奖项获胜者
- 可编程密码学
- CallOrNothing:利用区块链的去中心化扑克游戏,确保无中心化的信任游戏。
- AI
- DeFi
- Quantum Enhanced Cross-chain Arbitrage:结合量子优化与DeFi协议在生态系统间进行盈利套利交易的机器人。
- 消费者领域
- FlareGate:一个去中心化的P2P平台,用于法币-加密货币交易,整合Flare网络的安全数据。
- GuessTheHuman:基于区块链的AI社交推理游戏,用于识别真人玩家。
- The Golden Key:针对老年用户的区块链基础防欺诈移动应用。
Flare 奖项获胜者
- 刻入式数据协议
- FlareGate:用于法币-加密货币传输的去中心化P2P平台。
- Kingdom of LagaFlare:一个NFT卡牌游戏,通过区块链提供公平游戏和独特卡牌收集。
- ProteinMango:使用ZKP的自动理赔的参数性地震保险。
- 外部数据源/跨链
- portent
- bump.artist:为艺术家代币和收入分享的DeFi平台。
- ProteinMango
- FlareInsure:使用现实世界数据为智能合约服务的区块链小额保险。
- Decentralised Zero:利用Flare的FDC进行信任、透明的赌注操作的平台。
Torus 奖项获胜者
- 去中心化记忆机构
- ZK memory Organ:利用零知识证明实现高安全性和高效性的数据存储解决方案。
- Torus Decentralised Memory:安全、容错数据存储的分布式数据库。
- Porous Torus:为Torus AI代理提供安全、高吞吐量的数据存储。
- TorBit:通过OrbitDB为Torus AI代理提供零信任记忆系统。
- Discord 社区洞察生成器
- Hivemind:一个使用LLM从Discord聊天生成反馈和协作洞察的工具。
- stbb:分析服务器消息生成主题/趋势报告的Discord机器人。
- discord community bot:用于每周服务器报告的AI驱动Discord分析。
- 加密推特辩论分析器
- DebateFi:分析和总结有关加密货币的推特辩论,以获得可行的见解。
- Oxford Kaggle Debaters:一个用于加密推特分析、影响力评分和内容优化的AI工具。
- DebateChain:通过情绪和声誉评分分析加密推特辩论的AI。
- Wildcard 挑战
- NewsCrypt:去中心化论坛,通过辩论分析提升客观新闻报道。
基于Mina平台构建应用的获胜者
- MinAES:整合AES加密到Mina的zk-native区块链中,实现使用零知识技术的安全应用。
- MINA Verify:在电路中实现BLS12-381签名的一个平台。
- Guantanabet:基于Mina的隐私预测市场,使用基于ZKP的匿名投注。
Avalanche 奖项获胜者
- 一等奖 ($2000)
- Swiish.cash:一个通过手机号码全球稳定币转账的移动解决方案,使用Avalanche。
- Smart Memorandum:为智能合约提供司法管辖区特定法律文件的工具。
- blindbird.ai:去中心化AI推理平台,用于安全的小额付款。
- AADC- AI Agent for DeFi & Cross-Chain Operations
- 二等奖 ($1500)
- AI-Powered DeFi Position Management Platform:为GMX DEX头寸管理提供自然语言界面。
- NovaTools:包括多链NLP机器人和数据分析在内的加密AI工具。
- 三等奖 ($800)
- Oxwell AI agent:通过自然语言资产管理进行跨链DeFi助手。
- Wired:通过NLP为BNB/AVAX资产管理提供跨链AI助手。
- DEFAI:为链上操作提供自然语言的AI驱动DeFi代理。
- NLWallet:配备NLP和账户抽象的机构加密钱包。
- helpi:Avalanche平台的社会项目捐赠,配有AI风险评估。
AirDAO 奖项获胜者
- GameFi DApp
DeSci World: NERDo 奖项
- DebateChain
- CrypTweep by RugPullCoin#42
- Project Lydia:通过AI分析检测不当行为的Discord机器人。
- bump.artist
- Flare-FL:用于安全AI模型训练的去中心化联邦学习。
Ripple 奖项获胜者
- 使用RLUSD构建的顶级消费者应用
- CoverMax:一个使用oracle触发条件自动赔付的去中心化保险协议。
- BlockInvest:现代投资互助系统,利用XRPL通过智能合约进行集体储蓄。
- PayCoin IC:支持XRPL的QR码支付的移动RLUSD钱包。
- 使用XRPL的DID、凭证和RLUSD功能的最佳去中心化身份解决方案
- XRPL Diploma Verify:一个使用DIDs在XRPL区块链上安全存储和验证文凭的网页平台。
- 最具创新性的XRPL集成
BNB 奖项获胜者
- 主奖
- NovaTools
- insr.finance:一个通过Venus Protocol提供稳定币保护同时进行收益的保险协议。
- 荣誉提名
- BNB Shield:利用TEEs和ZKPs进行PEP检测的去中心化AML系统。
- CloutDrop:用于KOL空投优化的数据驱动平台。
- AADC- AI Agent for DeFi & Cross-Chain Operations
- Greenfield奖
- ReviewChain:一个去中心化的同行评审系统,提升学术出版透明度和质量。
- 荣誉提名
Vyper 奖项获胜者
- 最佳使用Vyper Lang
- SecureStake:一个使用Vyper进行质押和多签名验证的安全交易令牌管理平台。
- Quantum Enhanced Cross-chain Arbitrage
- The Golden Key by Avalock
若要探索 ETH Oxford 2025 的所有项目,请访问 DoraHacks。
关于组织者
ETH Oxford
ETH Oxford 是一个以推动区块链技术和创新而闻名的组织。以其技术专长而著称,ETH Oxford 对去中心化系统和安全交易协议的发展做出了重大贡献。其参与的众多项目提升了区块链的效率和可及性。目前,ETH Oxford 强调合作研究和区块链的实际应用,解决复杂的现实世界挑战,展现了其对技术进步和行业领导力的承诺。
- 可编程密码学
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@ ec9bd746:df11a9d0
2025-04-06 08:06:08🌍 Time Window:
🕘 When: Every even week on Sunday at 9:00 PM CET
🗺️ Where: https://cornychat.com/eurocornStart: 21:00 CET (Prague, UTC+1)
End: approx. 02:00 CET (Prague, UTC+1, next day)
Duration: usually 5+ hours.| Region | Local Time Window | Convenience Level | |-----------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------| | Europe (CET, Prague) 🇨🇿🇩🇪 | 21:00–02:00 CET | ✅ Very Good; evening & night | | East Coast North America (EST) 🇺🇸🇨🇦 | 15:00–20:00 EST | ✅ Very Good; afternoon & early evening | | West Coast North America (PST) 🇺🇸🇨🇦 | 12:00–17:00 PST | ✅ Very Good; midday & afternoon | | Central America (CST) 🇲🇽🇨🇷🇬🇹 | 14:00–19:00 CST | ✅ Very Good; afternoon & evening | | South America West (Peru/Colombia PET/COT) 🇵🇪🇨🇴 | 15:00–20:00 PET/COT | ✅ Very Good; afternoon & evening | | South America East (Brazil/Argentina/Chile, BRT/ART/CLST) 🇧🇷🇦🇷🇨🇱 | 17:00–22:00 BRT/ART/CLST | ✅ Very Good; early evening | | United Kingdom/Ireland (GMT) 🇬🇧🇮🇪 | 20:00–01:00 GMT | ✅ Very Good; evening hours (midnight convenient) | | Eastern Europe (EET) 🇷🇴🇬🇷🇺🇦 | 22:00–03:00 EET | ✅ Good; late evening & early night (slightly late) | | Africa (South Africa, SAST) 🇿🇦 | 22:00–03:00 SAST | ✅ Good; late evening & overnight (late-night common) | | New Zealand (NZDT) 🇳🇿 | 09:00–14:00 NZDT (next day) | ✅ Good; weekday morning & afternoon | | Australia (AEDT, Sydney) 🇦🇺 | 07:00–12:00 AEDT (next day) | ✅ Good; weekday morning to noon | | East Africa (Kenya, EAT) 🇰🇪 | 23:00–04:00 EAT | ⚠️ Slightly late (night hours; late night common) | | Russia (Moscow, MSK) 🇷🇺 | 23:00–04:00 MSK | ⚠️ Slightly late (join at start is fine, very late night) | | Middle East (UAE, GST) 🇦🇪🇴🇲 | 00:00–05:00 GST (next day) | ⚠️ Late night start (midnight & early morning, but shorter attendance plausible)| | Japan/Korea (JST/KST) 🇯🇵🇰🇷 | 05:00–10:00 JST/KST (next day) | ⚠️ Early; convenient joining from ~07:00 onwards possible | | China (Beijing, CST) 🇨🇳 | 04:00–09:00 CST (next day) | ❌ Challenging; very early morning start (better ~07:00 onwards) | | India (IST) 🇮🇳 | 01:30–06:30 IST (next day) | ❌ Very challenging; overnight timing typically difficult|
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@ fd208ee8:0fd927c1
2025-04-05 21:51:52Markdown: Syntax
Note: This document is itself written using Markdown; you can see the source for it by adding '.text' to the URL.
Overview
Philosophy
Markdown is intended to be as easy-to-read and easy-to-write as is feasible.
Readability, however, is emphasized above all else. A Markdown-formatted document should be publishable as-is, as plain text, without looking like it's been marked up with tags or formatting instructions. While Markdown's syntax has been influenced by several existing text-to-HTML filters -- including Setext, atx, Textile, reStructuredText, Grutatext, and EtText -- the single biggest source of inspiration for Markdown's syntax is the format of plain text email.
Block Elements
Paragraphs and Line Breaks
A paragraph is simply one or more consecutive lines of text, separated by one or more blank lines. (A blank line is any line that looks like a blank line -- a line containing nothing but spaces or tabs is considered blank.) Normal paragraphs should not be indented with spaces or tabs.
The implication of the "one or more consecutive lines of text" rule is that Markdown supports "hard-wrapped" text paragraphs. This differs significantly from most other text-to-HTML formatters (including Movable Type's "Convert Line Breaks" option) which translate every line break character in a paragraph into a
<br />
tag.When you do want to insert a
<br />
break tag using Markdown, you end a line with two or more spaces, then type return.Headers
Markdown supports two styles of headers, [Setext] [1] and [atx] [2].
Optionally, you may "close" atx-style headers. This is purely cosmetic -- you can use this if you think it looks better. The closing hashes don't even need to match the number of hashes used to open the header. (The number of opening hashes determines the header level.)
Blockquotes
Markdown uses email-style
>
characters for blockquoting. If you're familiar with quoting passages of text in an email message, then you know how to create a blockquote in Markdown. It looks best if you hard wrap the text and put a>
before every line:This is a blockquote with two paragraphs. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aliquam hendrerit mi posuere lectus. Vestibulum enim wisi, viverra nec, fringilla in, laoreet vitae, risus.
Donec sit amet nisl. Aliquam semper ipsum sit amet velit. Suspendisse id sem consectetuer libero luctus adipiscing.
Markdown allows you to be lazy and only put the
>
before the first line of a hard-wrapped paragraph:This is a blockquote with two paragraphs. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aliquam hendrerit mi posuere lectus. Vestibulum enim wisi, viverra nec, fringilla in, laoreet vitae, risus.
Donec sit amet nisl. Aliquam semper ipsum sit amet velit. Suspendisse id sem consectetuer libero luctus adipiscing.
Blockquotes can be nested (i.e. a blockquote-in-a-blockquote) by adding additional levels of
>
:This is the first level of quoting.
This is nested blockquote.
Back to the first level.
Blockquotes can contain other Markdown elements, including headers, lists, and code blocks:
This is a header.
- This is the first list item.
- This is the second list item.
Here's some example code:
return shell_exec("echo $input | $markdown_script");
Any decent text editor should make email-style quoting easy. For example, with BBEdit, you can make a selection and choose Increase Quote Level from the Text menu.
Lists
Markdown supports ordered (numbered) and unordered (bulleted) lists.
Unordered lists use asterisks, pluses, and hyphens -- interchangably -- as list markers:
- Red
- Green
- Blue
is equivalent to:
- Red
- Green
- Blue
and:
- Red
- Green
- Blue
Ordered lists use numbers followed by periods:
- Bird
- McHale
- Parish
It's important to note that the actual numbers you use to mark the list have no effect on the HTML output Markdown produces. The HTML Markdown produces from the above list is:
If you instead wrote the list in Markdown like this:
- Bird
- McHale
- Parish
or even:
- Bird
- McHale
- Parish
you'd get the exact same HTML output. The point is, if you want to, you can use ordinal numbers in your ordered Markdown lists, so that the numbers in your source match the numbers in your published HTML. But if you want to be lazy, you don't have to.
To make lists look nice, you can wrap items with hanging indents:
- Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aliquam hendrerit mi posuere lectus. Vestibulum enim wisi, viverra nec, fringilla in, laoreet vitae, risus.
- Donec sit amet nisl. Aliquam semper ipsum sit amet velit. Suspendisse id sem consectetuer libero luctus adipiscing.
But if you want to be lazy, you don't have to:
- Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aliquam hendrerit mi posuere lectus. Vestibulum enim wisi, viverra nec, fringilla in, laoreet vitae, risus.
- Donec sit amet nisl. Aliquam semper ipsum sit amet velit. Suspendisse id sem consectetuer libero luctus adipiscing.
List items may consist of multiple paragraphs. Each subsequent paragraph in a list item must be indented by either 4 spaces or one tab:
-
This is a list item with two paragraphs. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aliquam hendrerit mi posuere lectus.
Vestibulum enim wisi, viverra nec, fringilla in, laoreet vitae, risus. Donec sit amet nisl. Aliquam semper ipsum sit amet velit.
-
Suspendisse id sem consectetuer libero luctus adipiscing.
It looks nice if you indent every line of the subsequent paragraphs, but here again, Markdown will allow you to be lazy:
-
This is a list item with two paragraphs.
This is the second paragraph in the list item. You're only required to indent the first line. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit.
-
Another item in the same list.
To put a blockquote within a list item, the blockquote's
>
delimiters need to be indented:-
A list item with a blockquote:
This is a blockquote inside a list item.
To put a code block within a list item, the code block needs to be indented twice -- 8 spaces or two tabs:
- A list item with a code block:
<code goes here>
Code Blocks
Pre-formatted code blocks are used for writing about programming or markup source code. Rather than forming normal paragraphs, the lines of a code block are interpreted literally. Markdown wraps a code block in both
<pre>
and<code>
tags.To produce a code block in Markdown, simply indent every line of the block by at least 4 spaces or 1 tab.
This is a normal paragraph:
This is a code block.
Here is an example of AppleScript:
tell application "Foo" beep end tell
A code block continues until it reaches a line that is not indented (or the end of the article).
Within a code block, ampersands (
&
) and angle brackets (<
and>
) are automatically converted into HTML entities. This makes it very easy to include example HTML source code using Markdown -- just paste it and indent it, and Markdown will handle the hassle of encoding the ampersands and angle brackets. For example, this:<div class="footer"> © 2004 Foo Corporation </div>
Regular Markdown syntax is not processed within code blocks. E.g., asterisks are just literal asterisks within a code block. This means it's also easy to use Markdown to write about Markdown's own syntax.
tell application "Foo" beep end tell
Span Elements
Links
Markdown supports two style of links: inline and reference.
In both styles, the link text is delimited by [square brackets].
To create an inline link, use a set of regular parentheses immediately after the link text's closing square bracket. Inside the parentheses, put the URL where you want the link to point, along with an optional title for the link, surrounded in quotes. For example:
This is an example inline link.
This link has no title attribute.
Emphasis
Markdown treats asterisks (
*
) and underscores (_
) as indicators of emphasis. Text wrapped with one*
or_
will be wrapped with an HTML<em>
tag; double*
's or_
's will be wrapped with an HTML<strong>
tag. E.g., this input:single asterisks
single underscores
double asterisks
double underscores
Code
To indicate a span of code, wrap it with backtick quotes (
`
). Unlike a pre-formatted code block, a code span indicates code within a normal paragraph. For example:Use the
printf()
function. -
@ fd208ee8:0fd927c1
2025-04-05 21:36:33Markdown: Syntax
Note: This document is itself written using Markdown; you can see the source for it by adding '.text' to the URL.
Overview
Philosophy
Markdown is intended to be as easy-to-read and easy-to-write as is feasible.
Readability, however, is emphasized above all else. A Markdown-formatted document should be publishable as-is, as plain text, without looking like it's been marked up with tags or formatting instructions. While Markdown's syntax has been influenced by several existing text-to-HTML filters -- including Setext, atx, Textile, reStructuredText, Grutatext, and EtText -- the single biggest source of inspiration for Markdown's syntax is the format of plain text email.
Block Elements
Paragraphs and Line Breaks
A paragraph is simply one or more consecutive lines of text, separated by one or more blank lines. (A blank line is any line that looks like a blank line -- a line containing nothing but spaces or tabs is considered blank.) Normal paragraphs should not be indented with spaces or tabs.
The implication of the "one or more consecutive lines of text" rule is that Markdown supports "hard-wrapped" text paragraphs. This differs significantly from most other text-to-HTML formatters (including Movable Type's "Convert Line Breaks" option) which translate every line break character in a paragraph into a
<br />
tag.When you do want to insert a
<br />
break tag using Markdown, you end a line with two or more spaces, then type return.Headers
Markdown supports two styles of headers, [Setext] [1] and [atx] [2].
Optionally, you may "close" atx-style headers. This is purely cosmetic -- you can use this if you think it looks better. The closing hashes don't even need to match the number of hashes used to open the header. (The number of opening hashes determines the header level.)
Blockquotes
Markdown uses email-style
>
characters for blockquoting. If you're familiar with quoting passages of text in an email message, then you know how to create a blockquote in Markdown. It looks best if you hard wrap the text and put a>
before every line:This is a blockquote with two paragraphs. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aliquam hendrerit mi posuere lectus. Vestibulum enim wisi, viverra nec, fringilla in, laoreet vitae, risus.
Donec sit amet nisl. Aliquam semper ipsum sit amet velit. Suspendisse id sem consectetuer libero luctus adipiscing.
Markdown allows you to be lazy and only put the
>
before the first line of a hard-wrapped paragraph:This is a blockquote with two paragraphs. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aliquam hendrerit mi posuere lectus. Vestibulum enim wisi, viverra nec, fringilla in, laoreet vitae, risus.
Donec sit amet nisl. Aliquam semper ipsum sit amet velit. Suspendisse id sem consectetuer libero luctus adipiscing.
Blockquotes can be nested (i.e. a blockquote-in-a-blockquote) by adding additional levels of
>
:This is the first level of quoting.
This is nested blockquote.
Back to the first level.
Blockquotes can contain other Markdown elements, including headers, lists, and code blocks:
This is a header.
- This is the first list item.
- This is the second list item.
Here's some example code:
return shell_exec("echo $input | $markdown_script");
Any decent text editor should make email-style quoting easy. For example, with BBEdit, you can make a selection and choose Increase Quote Level from the Text menu.
Lists
Markdown supports ordered (numbered) and unordered (bulleted) lists.
Unordered lists use asterisks, pluses, and hyphens -- interchangably -- as list markers:
- Red
- Green
- Blue
is equivalent to:
- Red
- Green
- Blue
and:
- Red
- Green
- Blue
Ordered lists use numbers followed by periods:
- Bird
- McHale
- Parish
It's important to note that the actual numbers you use to mark the list have no effect on the HTML output Markdown produces. The HTML Markdown produces from the above list is:
If you instead wrote the list in Markdown like this:
- Bird
- McHale
- Parish
or even:
- Bird
- McHale
- Parish
you'd get the exact same HTML output. The point is, if you want to, you can use ordinal numbers in your ordered Markdown lists, so that the numbers in your source match the numbers in your published HTML. But if you want to be lazy, you don't have to.
To make lists look nice, you can wrap items with hanging indents:
- Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aliquam hendrerit mi posuere lectus. Vestibulum enim wisi, viverra nec, fringilla in, laoreet vitae, risus.
- Donec sit amet nisl. Aliquam semper ipsum sit amet velit. Suspendisse id sem consectetuer libero luctus adipiscing.
But if you want to be lazy, you don't have to:
- Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aliquam hendrerit mi posuere lectus. Vestibulum enim wisi, viverra nec, fringilla in, laoreet vitae, risus.
- Donec sit amet nisl. Aliquam semper ipsum sit amet velit. Suspendisse id sem consectetuer libero luctus adipiscing.
List items may consist of multiple paragraphs. Each subsequent paragraph in a list item must be indented by either 4 spaces or one tab:
-
This is a list item with two paragraphs. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aliquam hendrerit mi posuere lectus.
Vestibulum enim wisi, viverra nec, fringilla in, laoreet vitae, risus. Donec sit amet nisl. Aliquam semper ipsum sit amet velit.
-
Suspendisse id sem consectetuer libero luctus adipiscing.
It looks nice if you indent every line of the subsequent paragraphs, but here again, Markdown will allow you to be lazy:
-
This is a list item with two paragraphs.
This is the second paragraph in the list item. You're only required to indent the first line. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit.
-
Another item in the same list.
To put a blockquote within a list item, the blockquote's
>
delimiters need to be indented:-
A list item with a blockquote:
This is a blockquote inside a list item.
To put a code block within a list item, the code block needs to be indented twice -- 8 spaces or two tabs:
- A list item with a code block:
<code goes here>
Code Blocks
Pre-formatted code blocks are used for writing about programming or markup source code. Rather than forming normal paragraphs, the lines of a code block are interpreted literally. Markdown wraps a code block in both
<pre>
and<code>
tags.To produce a code block in Markdown, simply indent every line of the block by at least 4 spaces or 1 tab.
This is a normal paragraph:
This is a code block.
Here is an example of AppleScript:
tell application "Foo" beep end tell
A code block continues until it reaches a line that is not indented (or the end of the article).
Within a code block, ampersands (
&
) and angle brackets (<
and>
) are automatically converted into HTML entities. This makes it very easy to include example HTML source code using Markdown -- just paste it and indent it, and Markdown will handle the hassle of encoding the ampersands and angle brackets. For example, this:<div class="footer"> © 2004 Foo Corporation </div>
Regular Markdown syntax is not processed within code blocks. E.g., asterisks are just literal asterisks within a code block. This means it's also easy to use Markdown to write about Markdown's own syntax.
tell application "Foo" beep end tell
Span Elements
Links
Markdown supports two style of links: inline and reference.
In both styles, the link text is delimited by [square brackets].
To create an inline link, use a set of regular parentheses immediately after the link text's closing square bracket. Inside the parentheses, put the URL where you want the link to point, along with an optional title for the link, surrounded in quotes. For example:
This is an example inline link.
This link has no title attribute.
Emphasis
Markdown treats asterisks (
*
) and underscores (_
) as indicators of emphasis. Text wrapped with one*
or_
will be wrapped with an HTML<em>
tag; double*
's or_
's will be wrapped with an HTML<strong>
tag. E.g., this input:single asterisks
single underscores
double asterisks
double underscores
Code
To indicate a span of code, wrap it with backtick quotes (
`
). Unlike a pre-formatted code block, a code span indicates code within a normal paragraph. For example:Use the
printf()
function. -
@ 21c9f12c:75695e59
2025-04-05 18:11:02Details
- 🍳 Cook time: 1 hour and 15 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 cup dried red lentils
- (2) 25-ounce jars marinara sauce
- 1 cup raw cashews
- 14.5 ounce firm tofu (patted dry)
- ½ cup nutritional yeast
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from about 2 lemons)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 3 cups baby spinach
- 1 box lasagna noodles (about 12 noodles) (regular, gluten free or whole grain)
- Double recipe Easy Vegan Mozzarella Cheese (or 2-3 cups shredded vegan mozzarella)
Directions
- lentilsCook the red lentils . Add 1 cup dried red lentils and 3 cups of water to a medium pot. Bring to a boil, and then simmer for about 20 minutes. Drain the lentils in a fine strainer, and then add back to the pot and stir in the marinara sauce . Set aside.
- ovenPreheat the oven to 350 degrees .
- Make the Cashew-Tofu Ricotta: Add the cashews to a food processor and process until fine and crumbly. Then add the tofu in chunks, nutritional yeast , lemon juice , salt , basil , oregano and garlic powder to the food processor. Pulse until well combined and pretty smooth. If it's too thick, add a few tablespoons of water to blend. Set aside.
- LasagnaAssembling the lasagna: Add about 1 cup of lentil marinara to the bottom of a large 9x13 inch casserole dish. Spread it around evenly. Next add 4-5 lasagna noodles (uncooked). Spread half of the ricotta on top of the noodles . Top with half of the spinach . Add about 1 cup of the marinara sauce over the spinach , then place 4-5 lasagna noodles on top. Spread the rest of the ricotta over the noodles , then the rest of the spinach . Place 4-5 more noodles on top of the spinach , and then pour the rest of the sauce over the top, evenly.
- LasagnaCover tightly with foil and bake for 40 minutes.
- MozzarellaWhile the lasagna is cooking, make your Vegan Mozzarella Cheese , if using. Alternatively, use 2-3 cups store bought vegan mozzarella cheese .
- LasagnaAfter 40 minutes, remove the foil and spoon on the mozzarella (or sprinkle the cheese all over). Place the lasagna back in the oven and bake for 20 more minutes, uncovered. Remove from oven, let cool for at least 15 minutes and serve.
-
@ c066aac5:6a41a034
2025-04-05 16:58:58I’m drawn to extremities in art. The louder, the bolder, the more outrageous, the better. Bold art takes me out of the mundane into a whole new world where anything and everything is possible. Having grown up in the safety of the suburban midwest, I was a bit of a rebellious soul in search of the satiation that only came from the consumption of the outrageous. My inclination to find bold art draws me to NOSTR, because I believe NOSTR can be the place where the next generation of artistic pioneers go to express themselves. I also believe that as much as we are able, were should invite them to come create here.
My Background: A Small Side Story
My father was a professional gamer in the 80s, back when there was no money or glory in the avocation. He did get a bit of spotlight though after the fact: in the mid 2000’s there were a few parties making documentaries about that era of gaming as well as current arcade events (namely 2007’sChasing GhostsandThe King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters). As a result of these documentaries, there was a revival in the arcade gaming scene. My family attended events related to the documentaries or arcade gaming and I became exposed to a lot of things I wouldn’t have been able to find. The producer ofThe King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters had previously made a documentary calledNew York Dollwhich was centered around the life of bassist Arthur Kane. My 12 year old mind was blown: The New York Dolls were a glam-punk sensation dressed in drag. The music was from another planet. Johnny Thunders’ guitar playing was like Chuck Berry with more distortion and less filter. Later on I got to meet the Galaga record holder at the time, Phil Day, in Ottumwa Iowa. Phil is an Australian man of high intellect and good taste. He exposed me to great creators such as Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Shakespeare, Lou Reed, artists who created things that I had previously found inconceivable.
I believe this time period informed my current tastes and interests, but regrettably I think it also put coals on the fire of rebellion within. I stopped taking my parents and siblings seriously, the Christian faith of my family (which I now hold dearly to) seemed like a mundane sham, and I felt I couldn’t fit in with most people because of my avant-garde tastes. So I write this with the caveat that there should be a way to encourage these tastes in children without letting them walk down the wrong path. There is nothing inherently wrong with bold art, but I’d advise parents to carefully find ways to cultivate their children’s tastes without completely shutting them down and pushing them away as a result. My parents were very loving and patient during this time; I thank God for that.
With that out of the way, lets dive in to some bold artists:
Nicolas Cage: Actor
There is an excellent video by Wisecrack on Nicolas Cage that explains him better than I will, which I will linkhere. Nicolas Cage rejects the idea that good acting is tied to mere realism; all of his larger than life acting decisions are deliberate choices. When that clicked for me, I immediately realized the man is a genius. He borrows from Kabuki and German Expressionism, art forms that rely on exaggeration to get the message across. He has even created his own acting style, which he calls Nouveau Shamanic. He augments his imagination to go from acting to being. Rather than using the old hat of method acting, he transports himself to a new world mentally. The projects he chooses to partake in are based on his own interests or what he considers would be a challenge (making a bad script good for example). Thus it doesn’t matter how the end result comes out; he has already achieved his goal as an artist. Because of this and because certain directors don’t know how to use his talents, he has a noticeable amount of duds in his filmography. Dig around the duds, you’ll find some pure gold. I’d personally recommend the filmsPig, Joe, Renfield, and his Christmas film The Family Man.
Nick Cave: Songwriter
What a wild career this man has had! From the apocalyptic mayhem of his band The Birthday Party to the pensive atmosphere of his albumGhosteen, it seems like Nick Cave has tried everything. I think his secret sauce is that he’s always working. He maintains an excellent newsletter calledThe Red Hand Files, he has written screenplays such asLawless, he has written books, he has made great film scores such asThe Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, the man is religiously prolific. I believe that one of the reasons he is prolific is that he’s not afraid to experiment. If he has an idea, he follows it through to completion. From the albumMurder Ballads(which is comprised of what the title suggests) to his rejected sequel toGladiator(Gladiator: Christ Killer), he doesn’t seem to be afraid to take anything on. This has led to some over the top works as well as some deeply personal works. Albums likeSkeleton TreeandGhosteenwere journeys through the grief of his son’s death. The Boatman’s Callis arguably a better break-up album than anything Taylor Swift has put out. He’s not afraid to be outrageous, he’s not afraid to offend, but most importantly he’s not afraid to be himself. Works I’d recommend include The Birthday Party’sLive 1981-82, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds’The Boatman’s Call, and the filmLawless.
Jim Jarmusch: Director
I consider Jim’s films to be bold almost in an ironic sense: his works are bold in that they are, for the most part, anti-sensational. He has a rule that if his screenplays are criticized for a lack of action, he makes them even less eventful. Even with sensational settings his films feel very close to reality, and they demonstrate the beauty of everyday life. That's what is bold about his art to me: making the sensational grounded in reality while making everyday reality all the more special. Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai is about a modern-day African-American hitman who strictly follows the rules of the ancient Samurai, yet one can resonate with the humanity of a seemingly absurd character. Only Lovers Left Aliveis a vampire love story, but in the middle of a vampire romance one can see their their own relationships in a new deeply human light. Jim’s work reminds me that art reflects life, and that there is sacred beauty in seemingly mundane everyday life. I personally recommend his filmsPaterson,Down by Law, andCoffee and Cigarettes.
NOSTR: We Need Bold Art
NOSTR is in my opinion a path to a better future. In a world creeping slowly towards everything apps, I hope that the protocol where the individual owns their data wins over everything else. I love freedom and sovereignty. If NOSTR is going to win the race of everything apps, we need more than Bitcoin content. We need more than shirtless bros paying for bananas in foreign countries and exercising with girls who have seductive accents. Common people cannot see themselves in such a world. NOSTR needs to catch the attention of everyday people. I don’t believe that this can be accomplished merely by introducing more broadly relevant content; people are searching for content that speaks to them. I believe that NOSTR can and should attract artists of all kinds because NOSTR is one of the few places on the internet where artists can express themselves fearlessly. Getting zaps from NOSTR’s value-for-value ecosystem has far less friction than crowdfunding a creative project or pitching investors that will irreversibly modify an artist’s vision. Having a place where one can post their works without fear of censorship should be extremely enticing. Having a place where one can connect with fellow humans directly as opposed to a sea of bots should seem like the obvious solution. If NOSTR can become a safe haven for artists to express themselves and spread their work, I believe that everyday people will follow. The banker whose stressful job weighs on them will suddenly find joy with an original meme made by a great visual comedian. The programmer for a healthcare company who is drowning in hopeless mundanity could suddenly find a new lust for life by hearing the song of a musician who isn’t afraid to crowdfund their their next project by putting their lighting address on the streets of the internet. The excel guru who loves independent film may find that NOSTR is the best way to support non corporate movies. My closing statement: continue to encourage the artists in your life as I’m sure you have been, but while you’re at it give them the purple pill. You may very well be a part of building a better future.
-
@ 2b24a1fa:17750f64
2025-04-08 11:01:09Was haben wir damals gelacht, als jede „Miss“ ihren Wunsch nach Weltfrieden artikulierte, um ihre Chancen, zur Welt Schönsten gekürt zu werden, zu erhöhen. Was wird heute gewünscht? Solidarität? Zusammenhalt gegen den Feind? Stärke? Ich weiß es nicht.
https://soundcloud.com/radiomuenchen/alle-waffen-still-gestanden/s-pmO0oieSdzK?
Ich weiß nur, dass sich Intellektuelle, Künstler, Bürger durch alle Schichten wegen zunehmender Kriegsrhetorik, Aufrüstungspläne und Rekrutierungsideen große Sorgen um unser friedliches Zusammenleben machen. So lebt auch unsere lose Reihe „friedensnoten“ wieder auf. Hören Sie heute „Alle Waffen stillgestanden!“ des Liederpoeten Yann Song King. Der inspirierte den Philosphen- und Radialfeldforscher Uli Fischer zu einem Text den Ulrich Allroggen für uns eingelesen hat.
-
@ 2b24a1fa:17750f64
2025-04-08 10:57:20Mux, die Hauptfigur im Film „Muxmäuschenstill“ von 2004, leidet an Rechthaberitis. Das geht so weit, dass er quasi als Verschmelzung von Denunziant, Kläger, Richter und Henker in Eigenregie Leute bestraft, die Gesetze oder Regeln verletzen - egal ob jemand zu schnell fährt, in der U-Bahn ohne Fahrschein fährt, Graffiti sprüht oder Ladendiebstahl begeht. Mux geht mit seiner Sichtweise zwar gesetzeskonform, aber er hat kein Mandat für seine Übergriffe, sagte kürzlich sinngemäß der Drehbuchautor Jan Henrik Stahlberg in einem Interview. Diese Blockwart-Mentalität verbindet man automatisch mit dem Dritten Reich, doch ihre Wurzeln liegen tiefer. In ihr steckt zugleich eine Sehnsucht nach Einigkeit wie sie Stahlberg auch in der bürgerlichen Bewegung der Romantik erkennt.
https://soundcloud.com/radiomuenchen/corona-schicksale-ein-buch-von-eugen-zentner?
Die Kehrseite dieses Harmoniestrebens ist eine Aversion gegen Differenzen, gegen abweichendes Verhalten und der Drang, dagegen vorzugehen. Nicht umsonst attestiert man den Deutschen eine starke Neigung zur Prozesshanselei. Im Alltag der meisten Leute hielten sich deren Auswüchse noch in Grenzen. Dann kam Corona. Während der sogenannten Pandemie wurde Mux zum Standard-Typus, zur Monika Mustermann des Mainstream. Die Folgen durften viele von uns am eigenen Leib erfahren. Eugen Zentner erinnert daran anhand von 15 exemplarischen Kurzgeschichten in seinem Buch „Corona-Schicksale“, das im März erschienen ist:\ www.masselverlag.de/Programm/Corona-Schicksale/
Unser Autor Jonny Rieder hat das Buch gelesen.
Sprecher: Karsten Troyke.
Redaktion: Jonny Rieder
Bild: Ania Hardukiewicz / Massel Verlag
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Radio München ist eine gemeinnützige Unternehmung.\ Wir freuen uns, wenn Sie unsere Arbeit unterstützen.
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@ fd208ee8:0fd927c1
2025-04-05 15:27:55Overview
Philosophy
Markdown is intended to be as easy-to-read and easy-to-write as is feasible.
Readability, however, is emphasized above all else. A Markdown-formatted document should be publishable as-is, as plain text, without looking like it's been marked up with tags or formatting instructions. While Markdown's syntax has been influenced by several existing text-to-HTML filters -- including Setext, atx, Textile, reStructuredText, Grutatext, and EtText -- the single biggest source of inspiration for Markdown's syntax is the format of plain text email.
Block Elements
Paragraphs and Line Breaks
A paragraph is simply one or more consecutive lines of text, separated by one or more blank lines. (A blank line is any line that looks like a blank line -- a line containing nothing but spaces or tabs is considered blank.) Normal paragraphs should not be indented with spaces or tabs.
The implication of the "one or more consecutive lines of text" rule is that Markdown supports "hard-wrapped" text paragraphs. This differs significantly from most other text-to-HTML formatters (including Movable Type's "Convert Line Breaks" option) which translate every line break character in a paragraph into a
<br />
tag.When you do want to insert a
<br />
break tag using Markdown, you end a line with two or more spaces, then type return.Headers
Markdown supports two styles of headers, [Setext] [1] and [atx] [2].
Optionally, you may "close" atx-style headers. This is purely cosmetic -- you can use this if you think it looks better. The closing hashes don't even need to match the number of hashes used to open the header. (The number of opening hashes determines the header level.)
Blockquotes
Markdown uses email-style
>
characters for blockquoting. If you're familiar with quoting passages of text in an email message, then you know how to create a blockquote in Markdown. It looks best if you hard wrap the text and put a>
before every line:This is a blockquote with two paragraphs. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aliquam hendrerit mi posuere lectus. Vestibulum enim wisi, viverra nec, fringilla in, laoreet vitae, risus.
Donec sit amet nisl. Aliquam semper ipsum sit amet velit. Suspendisse id sem consectetuer libero luctus adipiscing.
Markdown allows you to be lazy and only put the
>
before the first line of a hard-wrapped paragraph:This is a blockquote with two paragraphs. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aliquam hendrerit mi posuere lectus. Vestibulum enim wisi, viverra nec, fringilla in, laoreet vitae, risus.
Donec sit amet nisl. Aliquam semper ipsum sit amet velit. Suspendisse id sem consectetuer libero luctus adipiscing.
Blockquotes can be nested (i.e. a blockquote-in-a-blockquote) by adding additional levels of
>
:This is the first level of quoting.
This is nested blockquote.
Back to the first level.
Blockquotes can contain other Markdown elements, including headers, lists, and code blocks:
This is a header.
- This is the first list item.
- This is the second list item.
Here's some example code:
return shell_exec("echo $input | $markdown_script");
Any decent text editor should make email-style quoting easy. For example, with BBEdit, you can make a selection and choose Increase Quote Level from the Text menu.
Lists
Markdown supports ordered (numbered) and unordered (bulleted) lists.
Unordered lists use asterisks, pluses, and hyphens -- interchangably -- as list markers:
- Red
- Green
- Blue
is equivalent to:
- Red
- Green
- Blue
and:
- Red
- Green
- Blue
Ordered lists use numbers followed by periods:
- Bird
- McHale
- Parish
It's important to note that the actual numbers you use to mark the list have no effect on the HTML output Markdown produces. The HTML Markdown produces from the above list is:
If you instead wrote the list in Markdown like this:
- Bird
- McHale
- Parish
or even:
- Bird
- McHale
- Parish
you'd get the exact same HTML output. The point is, if you want to, you can use ordinal numbers in your ordered Markdown lists, so that the numbers in your source match the numbers in your published HTML. But if you want to be lazy, you don't have to.
To make lists look nice, you can wrap items with hanging indents:
- Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aliquam hendrerit mi posuere lectus. Vestibulum enim wisi, viverra nec, fringilla in, laoreet vitae, risus.
- Donec sit amet nisl. Aliquam semper ipsum sit amet velit. Suspendisse id sem consectetuer libero luctus adipiscing.
But if you want to be lazy, you don't have to:
- Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aliquam hendrerit mi posuere lectus. Vestibulum enim wisi, viverra nec, fringilla in, laoreet vitae, risus.
- Donec sit amet nisl. Aliquam semper ipsum sit amet velit. Suspendisse id sem consectetuer libero luctus adipiscing.
List items may consist of multiple paragraphs. Each subsequent paragraph in a list item must be indented by either 4 spaces or one tab:
-
This is a list item with two paragraphs. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aliquam hendrerit mi posuere lectus.
Vestibulum enim wisi, viverra nec, fringilla in, laoreet vitae, risus. Donec sit amet nisl. Aliquam semper ipsum sit amet velit.
-
Suspendisse id sem consectetuer libero luctus adipiscing.
It looks nice if you indent every line of the subsequent paragraphs, but here again, Markdown will allow you to be lazy:
-
This is a list item with two paragraphs.
This is the second paragraph in the list item. You're only required to indent the first line. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit.
-
Another item in the same list.
To put a blockquote within a list item, the blockquote's
>
delimiters need to be indented:-
A list item with a blockquote:
This is a blockquote inside a list item.
To put a code block within a list item, the code block needs to be indented twice -- 8 spaces or two tabs:
- A list item with a code block:
<code goes here>
Code Blocks
Pre-formatted code blocks are used for writing about programming or markup source code. Rather than forming normal paragraphs, the lines of a code block are interpreted literally. Markdown wraps a code block in both
<pre>
and<code>
tags.To produce a code block in Markdown, simply indent every line of the block by at least 4 spaces or 1 tab.
This is a normal paragraph:
This is a code block.
Here is an example of AppleScript:
tell application "Foo" beep end tell
A code block continues until it reaches a line that is not indented (or the end of the article).
Within a code block, ampersands (
&
) and angle brackets (<
and>
) are automatically converted into HTML entities. This makes it very easy to include example HTML source code using Markdown -- just paste it and indent it, and Markdown will handle the hassle of encoding the ampersands and angle brackets. For example, this:<div class="footer"> © 2004 Foo Corporation </div>
Regular Markdown syntax is not processed within code blocks. E.g., asterisks are just literal asterisks within a code block. This means it's also easy to use Markdown to write about Markdown's own syntax.
tell application "Foo" beep end tell
Span Elements
Links
Markdown supports two style of links: inline and reference.
In both styles, the link text is delimited by [square brackets].
To create an inline link, use a set of regular parentheses immediately after the link text's closing square bracket. Inside the parentheses, put the URL where you want the link to point, along with an optional title for the link, surrounded in quotes. For example:
This is an example inline link.
This link has no title attribute.
Emphasis
Markdown treats asterisks (
*
) and underscores (_
) as indicators of emphasis. Text wrapped with one*
or_
will be wrapped with an HTML<em>
tag; double*
's or_
's will be wrapped with an HTML<strong>
tag. E.g., this input:single asterisks
single underscores
double asterisks
double underscores
Code
To indicate a span of code, wrap it with backtick quotes (
`
). Unlike a pre-formatted code block, a code span indicates code within a normal paragraph. For example:Use the
printf()
function. -
@ 2b24a1fa:17750f64
2025-04-08 10:52:10Eine Kolumne von Michael Sailer, jeden ersten Freitag bei Radio München, nachzulesen auf sailersblog.de.
https://soundcloud.com/radiomuenchen/belastigungen-34-die-zeit-der-toten-stadte?
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@ 2b24a1fa:17750f64
2025-04-08 10:49:21Wie praktisch, das Smartphone, das ohnehin in der Hand liegt, etwas gegen den Scanner neigen: Bezahlung erfolgt! Die Bewusstheit aber, was mit dem Zurückdrängen des Bargeldes an Freiheitsverlusten einhergehen, steckt wahrlich in den Kinderschuhen. Muss zuerst ein Stromausfall die Bezahlungen verunmöglichen? Müssen wir erst auf ein Creditsystem warten, das uns den Kauf von unliebsamen Produkten verweigert um zu verstehen, dass Bargeld ein großes Stück Freiheit bedeutet?
Es sind nicht nur die alten Menschen, die am Bargeld hängen, weil ihnen das Digitale fremd ist. Immer noch etwa die Hälfte aller Geschäfte werden bar abgewickelt. Und jetzt erhalten die Verteidiger des Bargeldes unverhofft Unterstützung: die Verbraucherzentrale, denn Euro Banknoten und Münzen sind gemäß § 14 1 Satz 2 des Gesetzes über die Deutsche Bundesbank gesetzliches Zahlungsmittel. Das bedeutet, dass die Banknoten und Scheine prinzipiell von jedermann zur Begleichung von Geldforderungen akzeptiert werden müssen. Häufig aber wird in Restaurants und Cafés beispielsweise kein Bargeld mehr annehmen. Deshalb ruft die Verbraucherzentrale seit kurzem dazu auf, Bargeldablehnungen mit einem eigens dafür eingerichteten Formular zu melden.
Hören Sie hierzu Norbert Härings Text „Verbraucherzentrale dokumentiert Bargeldablehnung“, der zunächst auf seinem Blog erschienen war. norberthaering.de/bargeld-widersta…entrale-bargeld/
Sprecher: Karsten Troyke
Bild: Radio München
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@ 8bad797a:8461b4bc
2025-04-05 14:49:13Frank Palmer Purcell
I claim to be a Catholic American; even though I now follow the Russian Orthodox tradition, I do so in a small sui juris Church in communion with Rome, not Constantinople. When I was a little kid, knee high to a trilobite, some folks still had a problem with that, with being Catholic and American, I mean; Orthodoxy was beyond our horizon. My mother was one of those who had the problem. As long as I was a Catholic like my father (and her own mother, as a little girl in Ireland and on the lower East Side), I couldn't be a real American like her father, a bookbinder replaced by a machine, disowned by his family for marrying out of caste, who spent his days in the nearest tavern. "Pop" Palmer died at 78, and four years later I was born and named for him, or at least that was my mother's intention. The priest baptized me in Latin, as was the custom in those dark days, and pronounced "Frank" so that it sounded like the nickname ("Frenchy") of a (doubtless) dirty medieval Italian beggar baptized Giovanni.
My early spirituality, to use a ten dollar word for a fifty cent thing, was more American than Franciscan. Emerson and Thoreau, Melville and Whitman spoke and still speak to me as no European voice can, and when I came to study philosophy in a serious way I found the Americans, Josiah Royce, Rufus Jones and Ernest Hocking, C. I. (not C. S.) Lewis and Brand (not Paul) Blanshard, speaking a language that was my own, though by then the professoriate resonated to other tonalities. Though I fell in love with Schopenhauer and Kierkegaard, as every teenager who meets them must, and inhaled the sweet incense and felt the calming breeze of the shrines of the East, as my generation did, and was introduced to the mysteries of Thomas Aquinas by the subtle writings of Jacques Maritain, as we should all be, when I came to take hold of the great tradition of Western theology in a personal way, I found the distinctly American perspectives of Paul Tillich and Richard (not Reinhold) Niebuhr most helpful.
Back in 1963, in the New Jersey family television room, Joseph Campbell's urbane mythological sermons on Channel 13 (still a Newark station) touched something deep inside me an hour after Bishop Sheen's passionate exhortations on Channel 5 had left me (perhaps deplorably) cold. I would go up to my room and say my prayers after a fashion in time for the nightly racetrack bugle and exhilarating nostalgia of Arthur Fiedler's performance of the Bahnfrei Polka of Edouard Strauss, which introduced the nightly raconteurship of the incomparable Jean Shepherd, and, if I were still awake, the more outre world of Long John Nebel and his, ah, eccentric guests. You can't get more American than that. Or more New Jersey.
As the child of a mixed marriage and a pupil of the public schools I was not warmly welcome in the Catholic ghetto. Still, in those years of the civil rights revolution and the Vietnam War, with the polarized positions of right and left equally abstract and inhumane, I found my take on national affairs reflecting the distinctly Catholic perspectives of Dorothy Day and Thomas Merton on the one hand and Frederick Wilhelmsen and Erik Maria, Ritter von Kuehnelt-Leddihn on the other. And, though the writings of Rufus Jones, to which I even now frequently turn for inspiration, had led me to seek out a Quaker education, I found it was the Catholic scholars and pioneers of the spirit who were beginning the interreligious dialogue which was then and is now one of the pressing needs of humanity. In graduate school I became a devoted Americanist, that is, a scholar dedicated to using the tools of the historian of ideas to get some sense of what this place is all about, this gallimaufry of peoples who have somehow, in spite of all learned and astute prognostications, made themselves and each other into a kind of unity, a unity which it may take someone like the present [at the time of writing] Pope (and there isn't really anyone else very much like him) to discern.
I do not speak of Joseph Ratzinger, Benedict XVI, as a theologian nor even as a philosopher, but I must note that in New York and Washington in 2008 he revealed himself as an historian of ideas of astonishing and exquisite discernment. By this I mean, among other things, of course, that he strongly confirmed the discoveries and intimations of my own forty years of brooding in and on America. I was fortunate indeed to turn up at Columbia University's Teachers College when Douglas Sloan was putting the finishing touches on his groundbreaking study of the Scottish Enlightenment as the great inspiration of the American colonists, especially the intellectual elite, in the age of the War of Independence. Sloan's insights would eventually be popularized, without their scholarly context and qualifications, in Garry Wills' bestselling Inventing America, and it is now taken for granted that our Founding Father Across the Sea was not John Locke, but the Ulster Scot Francis Hutcheson (1694-1746).
Indeed, the Evangelical position seems to be that it was Hutcheson who corrupted American civilization at the root, turning us from the Calvinist faith once delivered to Jonathan Edwards (himself a notorious Lockean, but never mind). In fact, Oxford University Press recently published a six hundred page tract to that effect, authored at Wheaton. Hutcheson, and the Scottish school of Common Sense which he inspired, held that all human beings, Pagan and Christian, Protestant and Catholic, share a basic ability to come to an understanding of certain fundamental truths, and can come to agreement upon these with the aid of reason. Calvinism, especially the neoCalvinism which is the unquestioned (because unquestionable) paradigm of the Evangelical academy, holds that the elect have a unique and divinely sanctioned "world view" which stands in judgment of all others in all particulars. To these zealots the very idea that there can be any common human ground between believers and unbelievers is itself a damnable heresy. Still, it is the damnable heresy on which American society and civilization are built, and the Calvinism which so despises it is a near kin of those varieties of Islam that Benedict so boldly challenged at Regensburg in 2006.
When the same Benedict addressed the United Nations a year and a half later, he pointed out how the principles of that august body, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights whose anniversary he was commemorating, grew out of the Natural Law philosophy of CounterReformation Scholasticism, particularly as formulated by Francisco de Vitoria (1492?–1546). Needless to say, the "Scottish Philosophy" of a later age grew out of this tradition as well, and many of the American founders were directly familiar with Natural Law theory as expounded by Catholic and Protestant Scholastics. On the same visit Benedict made ample use of the language of sacred architecture, as if in conscious homage to the fact that he was honoring a country founded by Freemasons, who used that language to teach the conformity of right living to the law of nature and nature's God. If he was giving a Catholic interpretation to this symbolism, so did the Catholic Jacobites who were prominent in the Craft before the Masonic movement became identified with indifferentism, anticlericalism, and finally (at least on the Continent) atheism. It was striking indeed that to one steeped in American tradition it was the Pope of Rome of all people who was speaking our own language in a familiar tone, and the neoCalvinist Evangelicals who jibbered and muttered in an outlandish and menacing jargon more Muslim than Christian. I sure wonder what Mommy would think.
Natural Law. What is that to us today; what was it to me in what we call the Vietnam era? In 2008 the issue was torture, and a President of the United States who took pleasure in his presumed power to order it, to physically degrade his enemies, to morally degrade our own soldiers. I am proud that when Mr. Bush asked our military for advice on the subject, they replied that he has no such power, that such actions are contrary to our laws and the traditions of our armed services, and, moreover, ineffectual. (The latter point is an important indication that powerful men order torture not to accomplish anything, but to pleasure themselves.) And I am ashamed that he chose to take the advice of Israeli advisors, who hold to another morality, one going back to ancient Assyria, and profoundly alien to our own Christian civilization.
In my youth the overriding issue was not torture, but terrorism. Not that torture didn't take place. At graduate school I knew a former naval officer who had interrogated captured Viet Minh and Viet Cong; the "extraordinary means" had been applied by our allies by the time he was introduced to his prisoners, and the specialists who had softened them up had already moved on or backed off. The issues before us then were atrocious acts of war against civilian populations in North and South Vietnam, in Laos and Cambodia, in Central and South America, even in Germany and Japan a generation before, not to mention the subversion and corruption of constitutional government in America by a regime that felt justified in using any means necessary to keep power away from the Communists and their sympathizers, the Democrats and liberal Republicans.
Nor was such evil a monopoly of the socalled right. A young antiwar activist formerly associated with Martin Luther King even went so far as to criticize the sainted Che Guevara for not being enough of a terrorist to tear the peasantry away from their conformity to a "fascist" state. (Two generations later the man was advising George Bush.) In my undergraduate days I had been a loyal member of the conservative movement, back when the Intercollegiate Studies Institute was still called the Intercollegiate Society of Individualists, some members of the Students for a Democratic Society still honored democracy, and Murray Rothbard and Carl Ogelsby were moving "beyond left and right." If I got nothing more from the conservatives, and in fact I got a great deal more, it was an ever deepening admiration for Edmund Burke. Burke was prized by the cold warriors because his Letters on a Regicide Peace could be used to justify a war of extermination against the Soviet Union, the Peoples Republic of China, and any other people so temerarious as not join the alliance against these forces of absolute evil and subordinate their interests to those of the United States. A superficial reading, I need hardly remark. But Burke was not only the acute critic of the French Revolution who predicted the Terror from its earliest signs, he also was a tireless advocate for Irish freedom, particularly freedom of conscience, and a loyal ally of the American colonies in Parliament. But Burke's finest hour came at the end of his long career, when he boldly fought against the depredations of Warren Hastings and the British East India Company. Anyone who wants to know what natural law meant to the men of the Eighteenth Century, including those who liberated the American colonies and forged their political constitution can get a good sense of it from the eighth day (!) of his impeachment of Hastings before the House of Lords, which, I warn you, I have quoted before and shall no doubt quote again:
No man can lawfully govern himself according to his own will—much less can one person be governed by the will of another. We are all born in subjection—all born equally, high and low, governors and governed, in subjection to one great, immutable, preexistent law, prior to all our devices, and prior to all our contrivances, paramount to all our ideas and to all our sensations, antecedent to our very existence, by which we are knit and connected in the eternal frame of the universe, out of which we can not stir. This great law does not arise from our conventions or compacts; on the contrary, it gives to our conventions and compacts all the force and sanction they can have: it does not arise from our vain institutions. Every good gift is of God, all power is of God; and He who has given the power, and from whom alone it originates, will never suffer the exercise of it to be practised upon any less solid foundation than the power itself. If, then, all dominion of man over man is the effect of the divine disposition, it is bound by the eternal laws of Him that gave it, with which no human authority can dispense; neither he that exercises it, nor even those who are subject to it; and, if they were mad enough to make an express compact, that should release their magistrate from 5 his duty, and should declare their lives, liberties and properties, dependent upon, not rules and laws, but his mere capricious will, that covenant would be void. This arbitrary power is not to be had by conquest. Nor can any sovereign have it by succession; for no man can succeed to fraud, rapine, and violence. Those who give and those who receive arbitrary power are alike criminal; and there is no man but is bound to resist it to the best of his power, wherever it shall show its face to the world.
Mr. Jefferson couldn't have put it better. Human rights are inalienable -- you can't give them away, and when they are taken away there is not only the right of rebellion, but the solemn duty to resist. The difficulty of natural law theory, of course, is in the details. Back in '68 Pope Paul VI had announced that artificial contraception was against the natural law, but this decision did not immediately commend itself to the common sense of many of those who were not subject to his religious authority. I don't mean he was wrong, or that he exceeded his authority, or even that his decision was inopportune. But when the Supreme Court, alarmed by the birthrate of blacks and an end to white domination of the nation and the world, soon mandated abortion on demand, it was all too easy to dismiss arguments in favor of the human being of the embryonic human as religious dogma rather than an honest attempt to think things through. Since then the concept of natural law is often dismissed by feminists and homosexualists (to use Mr. Vidal's eloquent term) as a mere excuse for oppression. It does seem to me, however, that the insistent denial of the very idea of human rights does nothing to advance the liberation of humanity or any part of it. But maybe that's just me.
In any case, I don't think America was ever anything like the sort of Catholic nation that, say, Portugal was under the late Dr. Salazar, or is very likely to get there any time soon, despite the best wishes and even efforts of some of my friends. I do think that for a good part of our history a great many people in public life would have said that the words of Burke I have quoted express their most basic political convictions and sentiments as well as anyone ever could, and this puts America right at the center of the great tradition of Western civilization. And this was true long after old Europe had gone down other ways, the ways of the French revolution, the reaction against it, and the nationalism that synthesized the worst of both. To be sure, we have had nationalists here, and have them today, and have preached our crusades to end slavery, make the world safe for democracy, eradicate the evil empire of the moment, but there is, if not always a ringing and uncontested affirmation of civilized values, by which I mean the values of our civilization, at least a powerful nostalgia for them, and a sincere wish that one could believe in them with a good conscience, a good conscience which postmodernist deconstructionism denies us. A good conscience which Joseph Ratzinger Benedict XVI, who has suffered modernity as few of us have and thought more deeply about it, was offering us back.
To be perfectly frank, it took the Catholic Church a good long time to recognize the Christian virtues of Enlightenment, even the Scottish one, and Revolution, even the American one. Better late than never. And despite the mantric invocation of John Courtney Murray, the Church in America has not always been on the side of the angels. The theology of the American Church has always been Jansenist, not Catholic, combining the worst of Pelagius and Calvin, making Boston Irish the kissing cousins of Cotton Mather. The American Church never permitted itself to be organized according to canon law because this would limit the despotism of prelates. The American Church refused to acknowledge the priesthood of Eastern Catholics ordained as married men, driving the Catholic Ruthenians into communion with the Patriarch of Moscow (the present Orthodox Church in America), and later blackmailing a bankrupt papacy into forbidding married priests throughout the Western hemisphere, driving a second group of Ruthenians into communion with the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople (the present American CarpathoRussian Orthodox Diocese).
They American Cathholic Church wouldn't even allow American women to become real nuns, or foreign nuns to come to America without renouncing their vows. The vast majority of Catholic women called nuns are nothing of the sort, but religious sisters first organized as cheap labor at the beck and call of the clergy, and now loose cannons like the Papessas Mother Angelica and Sister Joan. Yes, one or two real abbeys for women were founded in the last century, but the American Church continues to hold the contemplative life in deepest contempt, even for women. Women religious lead the crusade against contemplative traditions, and now rail against the Church as an organ of worldly power from which they are unjustly excluded.
Deprived of traditional spiritual direction, a lamentable number of priests "demythologized" the Faith while looking to worldly culture for a way of salvation. Many found it in the gospel of orgasm, and undertook to liberate the young men in their care by sharing the only joy they thought worth having, with results we see today.
Catholic involvement in American public life has not been edifying either. The American bishops turned their backs on Benedict XV's attempt to end the slaughter in the trenches and refused to make any move to bring Woodrow Wilson over to the side of peace. As patriotic Americans, they in effect signed on to the WASP jihad to extirpate the Catholic powers of the Old World. A couple of generations later millions of Catholic schoolchildren were forced to write letters demanding that the Senate not censure that great American Joseph McCarthy, who was probably the Soviet Union's most valuable (presumably unwitting) asset in American public life, who had discredited all responsible criticism of Communism and its supporters by viciously slandering the United States Army, the Department of State, and the Protestant clergy as nests of traitors. Some years later Catholic activists succeeded in driving the voices of moderation out of the Republican Party, and the urban ethnic social conservatives out of the Democratic, and the forms of civility from the public square.
Americans can be forgiven for not rushing to enlist in the nearest Roman Catholic parish. There are other conversions needed, perhaps beginning with American Catholics themselves. Back in the days of Reagan a fellow named Alan Bloom made an almost persuasive case that the American Mind was closed to the Great Tradition of Western Civilization, and needed to be reopened. Alas, Bloom was a Neoconservative, a follower of their guru Leo Strauss, and a teacher of a a number of shady operatives of the Program for the New American Century type, as Saul Bellow's last novel so amusingly portrays him. Bloom's Great Tradition was something cobbled together by Machiavelli and others out of the misunderstood shards of ancient paganism; thinkers and writers tainted by the Christian gospel remained under embargo. (Mortimer Adler was less fearful, more intellectually curious, but look where he ended up.) It took a Bavarian Pope to remind us that the basic principles of our cherished hopes of international organization and human rights, and indeed of the American founding itself, go back to the Iberian scholastics of the Catholic Reformation. ("CounterReformation" is misleadingly negative.)
Benedict's reminder harmonized well with my own studies in the history of philosophy. I began some five decades ago with the riddle, the riddles, of Charles Sanders Peirce (1839 - 1914), our own and only philosopher to be ranked with the likes of Aristotle and Kant. What was this Common Sense he went on and on about? (The Scottish Philosophy was studiously ignored in the academy; it still is.) As I said, I was lucky to find out. Now John Deely has been showing that any postmodern philosophy worthy of the name, one founded on semeiology rather than Cartesian (or empiricist) methodologism, needs to go back to Peirce and with Peirce back to the very beginnings of the theory of signification as we find them in John Poinsot (1589 1644). Poinsot, as it happens, is part of the same Iberian Renaissance to which Benedict has now called our attention. Indeed, under another name (John of St. Thomas) Poinsot inspired the neo Thomism of Jacques Maritain which undergirded the Christian Humanism of Paul VI and many other Fathers of the Second Vatican Council. (His treatise on *The Gifts of the Holy Spirit, as interpreted by theologians often dismissed as too conservative, is behind the rather daring notion that all Christians are called to holiness in this life, and, indeed to the mystical path of acquired contemplation, and thus such more recent developments as Centering Prayer, the World Community for Christian Meditation, and the ommunion and Liberation movement.
As if all this were not enough, Murray Rothbard, no Christian he, though personally excommunicated and anathematized by Ayn Rand for not repudiating his openly Christian wife, has argued that the Austrian School of Economics, the Old Liberalism of von Mises and Hayek, goes back not so much to Adam Smith (who missed a few points), as to the scholastic philosophers of Spain and Portugal in the early modern period. Mention Iberian philosophy to the American of average education and he will look at you as though you had spoken of Uzbek grand opera or (indeed) the Scottish Enlightenment. He might even tell you that Spanish ignorance, superstition, and bigotry are precisely what God sent Englishmen into the New World to stamp out: the legenda negra. Needless to say, this is not a view of history a good many newcomers to the United States are likely to tolerate with equanimity, and it is just as well that it isn't true.
Once we retire that vulgar prejudice against Hispanidad we might just get a fair hearing for the work of Xavier Zubiri, the only European thinker of the last century who compares with Peirce for breadth of learning and depth of discernment as well as sheer unadulterated difficulty. If nothing else, the challenge of Catholicity invites Americans to break down the walls of the AngloSaxon ghetto, which do not serve us well now, if they ever did. But it may also provoke a new interest in our own Golden Age of (Protestant) theology. Let me set the stage for this with an extended quotation from Joseph Ratzinger's 1977 essay, "Is Faith Really Good News?" (Now translated in Principles of Catholic Theology:
Truth is not always comfortable for man, but it is only truth that makes him free and only freedom that brings him joy. Now, however, we must ask more precisely: What makes a man joyful? What robs him of joy? What puts him at odds with himself? What opens him to himself and to others? When we want to describe the most extreme form of being at odds with existence, we often say of an individual that he does not like himself. But whom or what is he to like who does not like himself? Something very importamt makes its appearance here: egoism, certainly, is natural to man and needs no encouragement; but this is not true of selfacceptance. The former must be overcome; the latter must be discovered, and it is assuredly one of the most dangerous errors of Christian teachers and moralists that they have all too often confused the two and, by exorcizing the affirmation of self, have enabled egoism to avenge such a betrayal by becoming all the more rampant this, ultimately, of what the French have labeled the maladie catholique: one who wants to live only on the supernatural level and to the exclusion of self will be, in the end, without a self but not, for that reason, selfless. (79)
Reading this a day or two after Ratzinger's papification I couldn't help thinking of our own Paul Tillich, whose seminal sermon "You are Accepted" baptized the human potential movement (as it was called), whose Courage to Be is a perennial best seller even after half a century, whose Systematic Theology Martin Luther King had asked for in his Georgia prison cell, and I myself poured over eagerly as an Earlham undergraduate. Of course the problematic goes back to Kierkegaard's penetrating analysis of despair, and, indeed to Luther's experience of divine wrath and mercy. Now it is all very well to say we must accept our acceptance, somehow (mysticism? art?) so ground ourselves in the very Ground of Being as to powerfully affirm our being against the powers of nonbeing. But is it true? That is the question haunting Tillich, Martin Luther King, and modern American culture down to our own time, which Ratzinger, challenged by Nietzsche and Camus, dared to speak aloud:
We come now to the allimportant question: Is it true, then, when someone says to me: "It is good that you exist"? Is it really good? Is it not possible that that person's love, which wills my existence, is just a tragic error? If the love that gives me courage to exist is not based on truth, then I must, in the end, come to curse the love that deceives me that maintains in existence something that were better destroyed. This dilemma could be 10 strikingly illustrated by reference to the interpretations of the contemporary experience of life in Sartre or Camus or in the attitudes of the new Left. Even without such evidence, it is obvious, however, that the apparently so simple act of liking myself, of being at one with myself, actually raises the question of the whole universe It raises the question of truth: Is it good that I exist? Is it good that anything at all exists? is the world good? How many persons today would dare to affirm this question from the heart to believe it is good that they exist? That is the source of the anxiety and despair that incessantly affect mankind. Love alone is of no avail. It serves no purpose if truth is not on its side. Only when truth and love are in harmony can man know joy. For it is truth that makes man free. (80)
And the question of truth won't leave us alone. For Tillich the Christian faith was perhaps a true myth, but, perhaps true only the way that other myths are true. He tended to sacramentalize modern art, leftish politics, and sexual liberation; the president of Union Seminary had to remind him that it looked bad for their most eminent theologian not to go to church. The tragedy of attempting to make a religion of art, politics, or sex is obvious by now, and it as a sad circumstance that the leadership of the American Catholic Church were seminarians at a time when Catholic theology looked to the Protestants for validation, and Tillich was at the height of his prestige in the liberal denominations. The painful story of Tillich's sexual obsessions is now well known enough from his wife's two memoirs, Dr. King's escapades have stained the memory of the civil rights movement as much as his infatuation with the Soviet power, and the sexual scandals of the American Church are unspeakably worse, blighting the lives of tens (hundreds?) of thousands of children. That is something Benedict, on his recent visit, would not allow us to forget for even a moment. But at least he offers a remedy in that confrontation with the truth of our being which liberal theology, Catholic and Protestant (though perhaps not Orthodox),attempted to evade:
The content of the Christian evangelium reads: God finds man so important that he himself has suffered for man. The Cross, which was for Nietzche the most detestable expression of the negative character of the Christian religion, is in truth the center of the evangelium, the glad tidings: "It is good that you exist" No, "It is necessary that you exist." The Cross is the approbation of our existence, not in words, but in an act so completely radical that it caused God to become flesh and pierced this flesh to the quick; that, to God, it was worth the death of his incarnate Son. One who is so loved that the other identifies his life with this love and no longer desires to live if he is deprived of it; one who is loved even unto death such a one knows that he is truly loved. But if God so loves, then we are loved in truth. Then love is truth, and truth is love. Then life is worth living. This is the evangelium. (81)
The whole idea of the Cross as God's affirmation of man will strike many an American as shocking, ludicrous even. It the caross not the stock in trade of a thousand "evangelists" as the ultimate proof of our total depravity, the ultimate refutation of all aspirations for human freedom and dignity? Surely Nietzsche got that from his preacher father, though it is hard to find any such slander of humanity in either the written scriptures or the teaching of the Fathers of the Church (except for Augustine, and that on a bad day he later repented). I am happy to note that Ratzinger's point of view, scriptural, patristic, and Benedictine in every sense of the term is very close to what some in the Evangelical churches are calling "gracious Christianity," for that is what it is. That movement is still a prophetic minority in the churches and the academy, and we still need to come to terms with the main stream of American spirituality as represented, for better and worse, by Tillich. And Ratzinger, even in his early days as a professor, has given us the means to do just that. Not everything in the American theological mainstream, and not everything in Tillich, needs to be discarded wholesale.
A follower of Ratiznger's good friend Don Liugi Giussani who studies Tillich's theology will find close analogies between Tillich's method of correlation and the principle of correspondence which Giussani urged on members of the Communion and Liberation movement he founded, a movement in which the Ratzinger Pope (to use the Catholic injargon) takes more than a passing interest he is said even now to take part in a weekly School of Community in which movement people use that method to explore the meaning of the Gospel in relation to their own day to day lives, and the meaning of their lives in relation to the Gospel, though his episcopal orders forbid his formal membership in the Fraternity. I do not mean to imply that Benedict is a follower of Giussani in matters of pure theology, but it seems clear that he recognizes Giussani's method as the best practical application of the theological principles both men learned from such masters of La Nouvelle Theologie as de Lubac, von Balthasar, and (with reservations) Rahner.
But before I move away from the idea of correspondence, the method of correlation, I should mention that this became the life work of two American philosophers, Ira Progoff, with whom and with whose students I was privileged to do postdoctoral work, and Eugene Gendlin, both known as psychologists for the contributions they have made to psychology, who offer what I can only describe as means of spiritual direction. The few folks who remember Tillich today often contrast him with Reinhold Niebuhr, his colleague at Union, who inspired the Cold war mainstream much as Tillich inspired the New Left, and whom Don Gius was fond of quoting.
But the man to rediscover is Reinhold's brother Richard, a theologian's theologian, that is, one whose writings were never taken up by the movers and shakers of middlebrow culture. His Meaning of Revelation shows the kind of emphasis the Catholic Church in Europe is coming around to, or coming back to, as it is very much in the spirit of the Fathers of the Church, the Eastern Fathers in particular. For many of us what may be most prophetic in his life work is his refusal of the temptation of neoconservatism to which Reinhold gave in to his fame and profit. Reinhold ostentatiously resigned from the Fellowship of Reconciliation in the early '30s in righteous indignation that some Christians did not demand that the government do something (what?) about the Japanese in China. Richard, on the other hand, had no hope for the efficacy of political, economic, and military power exercised by the United States against Japan. Sensing that Western Christendom was going the way of old Rome, he thought that the best Christian response was that pioneered by St. Benedict, from whom of course among others the last pontiff took his name. For him the issue was not Japan against China, or the United States against Japan, but, to cite the title of a 1935 book to which he contributed, The Church Against the World. A few years later Dietrich von Hildebrand, in his villa in Florence, was giving the retreats later published as Transformation in Christ to Christian activists who intended to remain behind in Nazi Germany to keep the light of Christian civilization burning in that dark time, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer would take refuge with the Benedictines in his own effort to do the same. A few pages before the long passage I have quoted, Ratzinger's Principles of Catholic Theology gives a lengthy exegesis of Hildebrand's text as the model for Christian repentance. I can't help wondering if this forbidden book is one that his father had hidden around the house, as Evangelicals might have concealed Bonhoeffer's Cost of Discipleship. Discipleship and transformation are not matters of effortful striving, but the response to a calling which is a revelation.
Richard is particularly enlightening on revelation as calling. He shows that it is not the communication of some kind of knowldege, however supernatural or esoteric, by possession of which we are justified, elevated from the companionship of our neighbors, saved from the world; that would be Gnosticism. Rather, revelation is participation in an ongoing event, a relationship with a person previously unknown, or at least unrecognized. Some words toward the end of The Meaning of Revelation put the matter thus:
Revelation means the moment in our history through which we know ourselves to be known from beginning to end, in which we are apprehended by the knower; it means the the selfdisclosure of the judge. Revelation means that we find ourselves to be valued rather than valuing and that all our values are transvaluated by the activity of a universal valuer. When a price is put upon our heads, which is not our price, when the unfairness of all the fair prices we have placed on things is shown up, when the great riches of God reduce our wealth to poverty, that is revelation. When we find out that we are no longer thinking him, but that he first thought us, that is revelation. Revelation is the emergence of the person on whose external garments and body we had looked as objects of our masterful and curious understanding. Revelation means that in our common history the fate that lowers over us as persons in our communities reveals itself to be a person in community with us. What this means for us cannot be expressed in the impersonal ways of creeds or other propositions but only in responsive acts of a personal character. we acknowledge revelation by no third person proposition, such as that there is a God, but only in the direct confession of the heart, "Thou art my God."... From this point forward we must listen for the remembered voice in all the sounds that assail our ears, and look for the remembered activity in all the actions of the world upon us. The God who reveals himself in Jesus Christ is now trusted and known in the contemporary God, revealing himself in every event, but we do not understand how we could tract his working in these happenings if he did not make himself known to us through the memory of Jesus Christ; nor do we know how we should be able to interpret all the words we read as words of God save by the aid of this Rosetta stone. (80 - 81)
Catholics who remember the discourses of the Pope Benedict will find the flavor of this passage very Benedictine in both senses of the term. Those who follow the way of Luigi Giussani find their spirit particularly familiar, for those of them who live in community, including the little band that managed Benedict's household and conduct the School of Community he attended, are known precisely as Memores Domini, those who strive to keep the Lord constantly in mind, and allow their own memory and mindfulness, personal and collective, painful and pleasing, on the surface of association or deeply hidden, to be transformed by their relationship with God in Christ, their participation in the ongoing incarnation of the Word of God: the God who is the author of our nature, and an incarnation that runs to meet the deepest desire of that nature with more that could have been imagined. What this means in the experience of living our life is well stated at the conclusion of Niebuhr's great work:
The God who reveals himself in Jesus Christ meets no unresponsive will but the living spirit of men in search of all good. And he fulfills our need. Here is the one for whose sake all life and every life is worth living, even lives that seem bereft of beauty, of truth and of goodness. The glimpse of his great glory in the face of Jesus Christ, its reflections in the darkened mirrors of the saints' adorations intimate a God who is good beyond all that is good and fair beyond all fairness. Yet the goodness that shines upon us through the moment of revelation is not the glory or the goodness we had expected in our thoughts about deity. The essential goodness of the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is the simple everyday goodness of love the value which belongs to a person rather [than] the value we find in an idea or a pattern; it is the goodness which exists as pure activity. He fulfills our expectation of the intrinsic good and yet this adorable goodness differs from everything we had expected, and puts our expectations to shame. We sought a good to love and were found by a good that loved us. And therewith all our religious ambitions are brought low, all our desires to be ministers of God are humbled; he is our minister. By that revelation we are convicted of having corrupted our religious life through our unquenchable desire to keep ourselves with our love of our good in the center of the picture. Here is the goodness that empties itself, and makes itself of no reputation, a goodness that is all outgoing, reserving nothing for itself, yet having all things. So we must begin to rethink all our definitions of deity and convert all our worship and our prayers. Revelation is not the development and not the elimination of our natural religion; it is the revolution of the religious life. (98 - 99)
But what does all this mean to one who stands outside the light of revelation, who relies on the reason of Western Civilization, the common sense of the founding Fathers? If believers and unbelievers are to take part in one community, what do we have to say to each other? This is the point of Benedict's challenge to the Muslim world, the question of what could make the libertine Doctor Franklin and the evangelical President Witherspoon active participants in the same foundational dialog. Niebuhr has an answer, and it is the same answer as Benedict:
The pure reason does not need to be limited in order that room be made for faith, but faith emancipates the pure reason from the necessity of defending and guarding the interests of selves, which are now found to be established and guarded, not by nature, but by the God of revelation whose garment nature is. (91 - 92)
It is faith that liberates and, indeed, inspires us to invent, develop, explore, and test scientific understandings which would otherwise be too much for the vain imaginings of our all too human hearts:
To know the person is to lose all sense of shame because of kinship with the clod and the ape. The mind is freed to pursue its knowledge of the external world disinterestedly not by the conviction that nothing matters, but by the faith that nothing God has made is mean or unclean. Hence any failure of Christians to develop scientific knowledge of the world is not an indication of their loyalty to the revealed God but of their unbelief. (90 - 91)
Seven going on eight decades after these words were published, ministers of "religion" are still attempting to prevent the teaching of ascertained facts of human biology in order to retain the authority of their own stupidly selectively literalistic reading of the Bible; some of the more advanced institutions of Evangelical learning defiantly profess a form of Calvinism in which some sort of theology remains the queen of the sciences in an unconstitutional monarchy, with no other discipline permitted its own proper autonomy and integrity; while in more numerous groves of Academus, even the Roman Catholic plantations, men and women of faith are quickly brushed off as obvious enemies of intellect.
My own mother, as I have said already, doubted that you can be a good Catholic and a real American at the same time. Pope Benedict warned his flock that they will not be good Catholics until they are Americans to the extent of acknowledging the law of nature and of nations as developed by Victoria (among others, some of them Scots), and aspiring to live in local, regional national and international communities under that law, in which the freedom and dignity of the human person are given the first priority. On the other hand I do not see how we can be real Americans without realizing that the aspirations of 1776 and 1789 are grounded in that natural law, and grew up as the fruit of a civilization in which the reason of Greece and Rome reached full maturity in the care of Mother Church, a church whose members, including the hierarchy, were not always consistently faithful to it, calling forth reformations, enlightenments, and even revolutions. I think we must all be Catholic at least in the wider sense of loyalty to that civilization, and our best way may well be to reappropriate the riches of the golden age of American philosophy and theology, of which the work of H. Richard Niebuhr is a small but important part.
Sources quoted: Edmund Burke, Impeachment of Warren Hastings before the House of Lords (numerous editions), eighth day. Joseph Ratzinger, Principles of Catholic Theology. San Fransisco: Ignatius, 1987. H. Richard Niebuhr, The Meaning of Revelation [1941]. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2006.
© FP Purcell
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@ e97aaffa:2ebd765d
2025-04-05 10:47:37Vamos analisar a volatilidade do Bitcoin em gráficos, são dados desde 2012 até à atualidade.
4.2% dos dias, o Bitcoin tem uma variação diária de ~0%, enquanto no S&P500 é de ~7.7%.
83.5% dos dias, o S&P 500 teve variação entre o -1% e 1%, enquanto o bitcoin, foi apenas 39%, foram 1882 dias, desde 2012.
Agora com os dois mercados em simultâneo, a curva da distribuição do S&P500 é mais centralizada, o bitcoin é mais alargado, sinónimo de mais volatilidade.
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@ f1577c25:de26ba14
2025-04-08 09:26:26النهاردة هنتكلم عن طريقة استثمار مختلفة: إزاي تستثمر في الدهب جوه مصر. فيه طريقتين: يا إما تشتري الدهب من محلات الصاغة يا إما تستثمر أونلاين (زي صندوق AZG). أنا بفضل الطريقة الأونلاين عشان سهلة والحد الأدنى للاستثمار أقل بكتير، بس فيه عمولة سنوية. هشرح مميزات وعيوب كل طريقة بالتفصيل.
الدهب الحقيقي
المميزات
- استثمار في أصل حقيقي تقدر تلمسه
- مش محتاج أوراق ولا كارت بنك عشان تشتري
العيوب
- محتاج مكان آمن تخزنه فيه (بيتك أو خزنة في البنك)
- الحد الأدنى للاستثمار عالي (جرام أو ربع جرام)
- ممكن تشتري دهب مغشوش لو مشتريتش من مكان موثوق فيه
الدهب الإلكتروني
المميزات
- سهل وسريع في الشرا والبيع
- الورق المطلوب بسيط (صورة البطاقة بس)
- تقدر تستثمر بفلوس قليلة
العيوب
- العمولات السنوية عالية شوية
المنصات
للشرا أونلاين، أنا عارف بس منصة AZG سواء عن طريق AZinvest أو من خلال برامج التداول زي ثاندر. بنصح باستخدام AZinvest عشان أسهل وكل الإجراءات بتتم أونلاين، أما منصة ثاندر فمحتاجة توقع ورق وبتاخد وقت أطول.
منصة AZinvest
ده تطبيق تابع لشركة أزموت (اللي مالكة صندوق الدهب وصناديق استثمارية تانية). الخطوات سهلة: 1. تنزل التطبيق 2. تسجل باستخدام صورة البطاقة 3. توقع العقد أونلاين 4. تحط فلوس عن طريق التحويل البنكي (إنستاباي) أو كارت البنك
المشكلة الوحيدة هي عمولة السحب (2 جنيه لبنك مصر، وأكتر للبنوك التانية). ممكن تتجنب العمولة دي لو سجلت من خلال منصة تانية زي ثاندر.
ويمكن شئ تاني و هو مواعيد الشراء و البيع و هي من كل اثنين لخميس لو عملت امر البيع قبل 12 الظهر هيبقي بنفس اليوم ولكن لو بعد يبقي تاني يوم (+ يوم او يومين عمل لو سحب لحسابك البنكي) بس دا كله يعتبر متوقع و طبيعي بس هي لو حاطط في بالك هتبقي بسرعة
و ملحوظة مهمة لما تيجي تبيع حصص في كل مرة هيخصموا عمولة الصندوق 4.9% فا حاول لو هتخرج خالص بيع كلة مرة واحدة و العمولة بتقل كل سنة لحد التالتة او الرابعة بتبقي من غير عمولة
ادعمني (اختياري)
- USDT (TRC20):
TKQ3Uwkq21ntiua2Zh9Hu376fdMdnRGWN6
شوف الكومنتات لو فيه أي تعديل أو بوستات جديدة.
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@ 7d33ba57:1b82db35
2025-04-05 09:35:14Ljubljana (pronounced lyoo-blyah-nah) is the small but stunning capital of Slovenia, known for its laid-back vibe, green spaces, baroque architecture, and lively café culture along the emerald-green Ljubljanica River. With its pedestrian-friendly Old Town, castle-topped hill, and artsy, youthful spirit, Ljubljana is often called one of Europe’s most underrated cities**—and it’s easy to see why.
🌟 Top Things to See & Do in Ljubljana
1️⃣ Ljubljana Castle
- Perched above the city, this medieval castle offers spectacular views
- Visit the watchtower, interactive museum, or take the funicular up and walk down
- Great spot for sunset or evening drinks with a view
2️⃣ Wander the Old Town
- Explore the cobbled streets, baroque buildings, and colorful facades
- Visit Prešeren Square, the Triple Bridge, and Town Hall
- Don’t miss Robba Fountain and St. Nicholas Cathedral
3️⃣ Stroll Along the Ljubljanica River
- Lined with outdoor cafés, bridges, and market stalls
- Cross the famous Dragon Bridge and Butcher’s Bridge (filled with love locks)
- Ideal for a coffee, gelato, or evening drink by the water
4️⃣ Central Market & Open Kitchen (Odprta Kuhna)
- Fresh produce, local products, and street food stalls
- Open Kitchen (Fridays in warm months) brings chefs from all over Slovenia to cook in the open air – a foodie’s dream!
5️⃣ Metelkova Art Center 🎨
- A gritty, colorful alternative culture zone filled with street art, galleries, and live music venues
- Great for nightlife, or even just to wander through during the day
6️⃣ Tivoli Park
- Ljubljana’s largest green space, ideal for relaxing walks or picnics
- Home to manicured gardens, sculptures, and Jakopič Promenade’s open-air photo exhibitions
🍽️ What to Eat & Drink in Ljubljana
- Kranjska klobasa – Traditional Carniolan sausage
- Štruklji – Rolled dough dumplings with sweet or savory fillings
- Jota – Hearty stew with beans, sauerkraut, and potatoes
- Local wines & craft beer – Slovenia has excellent wineries and microbreweries 🍷🍺
- Try riverside restaurants or cozy spots like Druga Violina, Gostilna Sokol, or Slovenska Hiša
🚶♀️ Tips for Visiting Ljubljana
✅ It’s small and walkable – most attractions are in or near the Old Town
✅ Free walking tours are great for learning local history & legends
✅ Rent a bike or e-scooter for exploring parks and neighborhoods
✅ Day trip options include Lake Bled, Postojna Cave, and Triglav National Park
✅ Ljubljana is eco-friendly – the center is car-free, and tap water is clean and drinkable