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Introduction

1. The Industrial Revolution and its consequences have been a disaster for the human race. They have greatly increased the life-expectancy of those of us who live in "advanced" countries, but they have destabilized society, have made life unfulfilling, have subjected human beings to indignities, have led to widespread psychological suffering (in the Third World to physical suffering as well) and have inflicted severe damage on the natural world. The continued development of technology will worsen the situation. It will certainly subject human beings to greater indignities and inflict greater damage on the natural world, it will probably lead to greater social disruption and psychological suffering, and it may lead to increased physical suffering even in "advanced" countries.

2. The industrial-technological system may survive or it may break down. If it survives, it MAY eventually achieve a low level of physical and psychological suffering, but only after passing through a long and very painful period of adjustment and only at the cost of permanently reducing human beings and many other living organisms to engineered products and mere cogs in the social machine. Furthermore, if the system survives, the consequences will be inevitable: There is no way of reforming or modifying the system so as to prevent it from depriving people of dignity and autonomy.

3. If the system breaks down the consequences will still be very painful. But the bigger the system grows the more disastrous the results of its breakdown will be, so if it is to break down it had best break down sooner rather than later.

4. We therefore advocate a revolution against the industrial system. This revolution may or may not make use of violence; it may be sudden or it may be a relatively gradual process spanning a few decades. We can't predict any of that. But we do outline in a very general way the measures that those who hate the industrial system should take in order to prepare the way for a revolution against that form of society. This is not to be a POLITICAL revolution. Its object will be to overthrow not governments but the economic and technological basis of the present society.

5. In this article we give attention to only some of the negative developments that have grown out of the industrial-technological system. Other such developments we mention only briefly or ignore altogether. This does not mean that we regard these other developments as unimportant. For practical reasons we have to confine our discussion to areas that have received insufficient public attention or in which we have something new to say. For example, since there are well-developed environmental and wilderness movements, we have written very little about environmental degradation or the destruction of wild nature, even though we consider these to be highly important.

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF MODERN LEFTISM

6. Almost everyone will agree that we live in a deeply troubled society. One of the most widespread manifestations of the craziness of our world is leftism, so a discussion of the psychology of leftism can serve as an introduction to the discussion of the problems of modern society in general.

7. But what is leftism? During the first half of the 20th century leftism could have been practically identified with socialism. Today the movement is fragmented and it is not clear who can properly be called a leftist. When we speak of leftists in this article we have in mind mainly socialists, collectivists, "politically correct" types, feminists, gay and disability activists, animal rights activists and the like. But not everyone who is associated with one of these movements is a leftist. What we are trying to get at in discussing leftism is not so much movement or an ideology as a psychological type, or rather a collection of related types. Thus, what we mean by "leftism" will emerge more clearly in the course of our discussion of leftist psychology. (Also, see paragraphs 227-230.)

8. Even so, our conception of leftism will remain a good deal less clear than we would wish, but there doesn't seem to be any remedy for this. All we are trying to do here is indicate in a rough and approximate way the two psychological tendencies that we believe are the main driving force of modern leftism. We by no means claim to be telling the WHOLE truth about leftist psychology. Also, our discussion is meant to apply to modern leftism only. We leave open the question of the extent to which our discussion could be applied to the leftists of the 19th and early 20th centuries.

9. The two psychological tendencies that underlie modern leftism we call "feelings of inferiority" and "oversocialization." Feelings of inferiority are characteristic of modern leftism as a whole, while oversocialization is characteristic only of a certain segment of modern leftism; but this segment is highly influential.

FEELINGS OF INFERIORITY

10. By "feelings of inferiority" we mean not only inferiority feelings in the strict sense but a whole spectrum of related traits; low self-esteem, feelings of powerlessness, depressive tendencies, defeatism, guilt, self-hatred, etc. We argue that modern leftists tend to have some such feelings (possibly more or less repressed) and that these feelings are decisive in determining the direction of modern leftism.

11. When someone interprets as derogatory almost anything that is said about him (or about groups with whom he identifies) we conclude that he has inferiority feelings or low self-esteem. This tendency is pronounced among minority rights activists, whether or not they belong to the minority groups whose rights they defend. They are hypersensitive about the words used to designate minorities and about anything that is said concerning minorities. The terms "negro," "oriental," "handicapped" or "chick" for an African, an Asian, a disabled person or a woman originally had no derogatory connotation. "Broad" and "chick" were merely the feminine equivalents of "guy," "dude" or "fellow." The negative connotations have been attached to these terms by the activists themselves. Some animal rights activists have gone so far as to reject the word "pet" and insist on its replacement by "animal companion." Leftish anthropologists go to great lengths to avoid saying anything about primitive peoples that could conceivably be interpreted as negative. They want to replace the world "primitive" by "nonliterate." They seem almost paranoid about anything that might suggest that any primitive culture is inferior to our own. (We do not mean to imply that primitive cultures ARE inferior to ours. We merely point out the hypersensitivity of leftish anthropologists.)

12. Those who are most sensitive about "politically incorrect" terminology are not the average black ghetto-dweller, Asian immigrant, abused woman or disabled person, but a minority of activists, many of whom do not even belong to any "oppressed" group but come from privileged strata of society. Political correctness has its stronghold among university professors, who have secure employment with comfortable salaries, and the majority of whom are heterosexual white males from middle- to upper-middle-class families.

13. Many leftists have an intense identification with the problems of groups that have an image of being weak (women), defeated (American Indians), repellent (homosexuals) or otherwise inferior. The leftists themselves feel that these groups are inferior. They would never admit to themselves that they have such feelings, but it is precisely because they do see these groups as inferior that they identify with their problems. (We do not mean to suggest that women, Indians, etc. ARE inferior; we are only making a point about leftist psychology.)

14. Feminists are desperately anxious to prove that women are as strong and as capable as men. Clearly they are nagged by a fear that women may NOT be as strong and as capable as men.

15. Leftists tend to hate anything that has an image of being strong, good and successful. They hate America, they hate Western civilization, they hate white males, they hate rationality. The reasons that leftists give for hating the West, etc. clearly do not correspond with their real motives. They SAY they hate the West because it is warlike, imperialistic, sexist, ethnocentric and so forth, but where these same faults appear in socialist countries or in primitive cultures, the leftist finds excuses for them, or at best he GRUDGINGLY admits that they exist; whereas he ENTHUSIASTICALLY points out (and often greatly exaggerates) these faults where they appear in Western civilization. Thus it is clear that these faults are not the leftist's real motive for hating America and the West. He hates America and the West because they are strong and successful.

16. Words like "self-confidence," "self-reliance," "initiative," "enterprise," "optimism," etc., play little role in the liberal and leftist vocabulary. The leftist is anti-individualistic, pro-collectivist. He wants society to solve everyone's problems for them, satisfy everyone's needs for them, take care of them. He is not the sort of person who has an inner sense of confidence in his ability to solve his own problems and satisfy his own needs. The leftist is antagonistic to the concept of competition because, deep inside, he feels like a loser.

17. Art forms that appeal to modern leftish intellectuals tend to focus on sordidness, defeat and despair, or else they take an orgiastic tone, throwing off rational control as if there were no hope of accomplishing anything through rational calculation and all that was left was to immerse oneself in the sensations of the moment.

18. Modern leftish philosophers tend to dismiss reason, science, objective reality and to insist that everything is culturally relative. It is true that one can ask serious questions about the foundations of scientific knowledge and about how, if at all, the concept of objective reality can be defined. But it is obvious that modern leftish philosophers are not simply cool-headed logicians systematically analyzing the foundations of knowledge. They are deeply involved emotionally in their attack on truth and reality. They attack these concepts because of their own psychological needs. For one thing, their attack is an outlet for hostility, and, to the extent that it is successful, it satisfies the drive for power. More importantly, the leftist hates science and rationality because they classify certain beliefs as true (i.e., successful, superior) and other beliefs as false (i.e., failed, inferior). The leftist's feelings of inferiority run so deep that he cannot tolerate any classification of some things as successful or superior and other things as failed or inferior. This also underlies the rejection by many leftists of the concept of mental illness and of the utility of IQ tests. Leftists are antagonistic to genetic explanations of human abilities or behavior because such explanations tend to make some persons appear superior or inferior to others. Leftists prefer to give society the credit or blame for an individual's ability or lack of it. Thus if a person is "inferior" it is not his fault, but society's, because he has not been brought up properly.

19. The leftist is not typically the kind of person whose feelings of inferiority make him a braggart, an egotist, a bully, a self-promoter, a ruthless competitor. This kind of person has not wholly lost faith in himself. He has a deficit in his sense of power and self-worth, but he can still conceive of himself as having the capacity to be strong, and his efforts to make himself strong produce his unpleasant behavior. [1] But the leftist is too far gone for that. Hisfeelings of inferiority are so ingrained that he cannot conceive of himself as individually strong and valuable. Hence the collectivism of the leftist. He can feel strong only as a member of a large organization or a mass movement with which he identifies himself.

20. Notice the masochistic tendency of leftist tactics. Leftists protest by lying down in front of vehicles, they intentionally provoke police or racists to abuse them, etc. These tactics may often be effective, but many leftists use them not as a means to an end but because they PREFER masochistic tactics. Self-hatred is a leftist trait.

21. Leftists may claim that their activism is motivated by compassion or by moral principles, and moral principle does play a role for the leftist of the oversocialized type. But compassion and moral principle cannot be the main motives for leftist activism. Hostility is too prominent a component of leftist behavior; so is the drive for power. Moreover, much leftist behavior is not rationally calculated to be of benefit to the people whom the leftists claim to be trying to help. For example, if one believes that affirmative action is good for black people, does it make sense to demand affirmative action in hostile or dogmatic terms? Obviously it would be more productive to take a diplomatic and conciliatory approach that would make at least verbal and symbolic concessions to white people who think that affirmative action discriminates against them. But leftist activists do not take such an approach because it would not satisfy their emotional needs. Helping black people is not their real goal. Instead, race problems serve as an excuse for them to express their own hostility and frustrated need for power. In doing so they actually harm black people, because the activists' hostile attitude toward the white majority tends to intensify race hatred.

22. If our society had no social problems at all, the leftists would have to INVENT problems in order to provide themselves with an excuse for making a fuss.

23. We emphasize that the foregoing does not pretend to be an accurate description of everyone who might be considered a leftist. It is only a rough indication of a general tendency of leftism.

OVERSOCIALIZATION

24. Psychologists use the term "socialization" to designate the process by which children are trained to think and act as society demands. A person is said to be well socialized if he believes in and obeys the moral code of his society and fits in well as a functioning part of that society. It may seem senseless to say that many leftists are oversocialized, since the leftist is perceived as a rebel. Nevertheless, the position can be defended. Many leftists are not such rebels as they seem.

25. The moral code of our society is so demanding that no one can think, feel and act in a completely moral way. For example, we are not supposed to hate anyone, yet almost everyone hates somebody at some time or other, whether he admits it to himself or not. Some people are so highly socialized that the attempt to think, feel and act morally imposes a severe burden on them. In order to avoid feelings of guilt, they continually have to deceive themselves about their own motives and find moral explanations for feelings and actions that in reality have a non-moral origin. We use the term "oversocialized" to describe such people. [2]

26. Oversocialization can lead to low self-esteem, a sense of powerlessness, defeatism, guilt, etc. One of the most important means by which our society socializes children is by making them feel ashamed of behavior or speech that is contrary to society's expectations. If this is overdone, or if a particular child is especially susceptible to such feelings, he ends by feeling ashamed of HIMSELF. Moreover the thought and the behavior of the oversocialized person are more restricted by society's expectations than are those of the lightly socialized person. The majority of people engage in a significant amount of naughty behavior. They lie, they commit petty thefts, they break traffic laws, they goofoff at work, they hate someone, they say spiteful things or they use some underhanded trick to get ahead of the other guy. The oversocialized person cannot do these things, or if he does do them he generates in himself a sense of shame and self-hatred. The oversocialized person cannot even experience, without guilt, thoughts or feelings that are contrary to the accepted morality; he cannot think "unclean" thoughts. And socialization is not just a matter of morality; we are socialized to conform to many norms of behavior that do not fall under the heading of morality. Thus the oversocialized person is kept on a psychological leash and spends his life running on rails that society has laid down for him. In many oversocialized people this results in a sense of constraint and powerlessness that can be a severe hardship. We suggest that oversocialization is among the more serious cruelties that human beings inflict on one another.

27. We argue that a very important and influential segment of the modern left is oversocialized and that their oversocialization is of great importance in determining the direction of modern leftism. Leftists of the oversocialized type tend to be intellectuals or members of the upper-middle class. Notice that university intellectuals [3] constitute the most highly socialized segment of our society and also the most left-wing segment.

28. The leftist of the oversocialized type tries to get off his psychological leash and assert his autonomy by rebelling. But usually he is not strong enough to rebel against the most basic values of society. Generally speaking, the goals of today's leftists are NOT in conflict with the accepted morality. On the contrary, the left takes an accepted moral principle, adopts it as its own, and then accuses mainstream society of violating that principle. Examples: racial equality, equality of the sexes, helping poor people, peace as opposed to war, nonviolence generally, freedom of expression, kindness to animals. More fundamentally, the duty of the individual to serve society and the duty of society to take care of the individual. All these have been deeply rooted values of our society (or at least of its middle and upper classes [4] for a long time. These values are explicitly or implicitly expressed or presupposed in most of the material presented to us by the mainstream communications media and the educational system. Leftists, especially those of the oversocialized type, usually do not rebel against these principles but justify their hostility to society by claiming (with some degree of truth) that society is not living up to these principles.

29. Here is an illustration of the way in which the oversocialized leftist shows his real attachment to the conventional attitudes of our society while pretending to be in rebellion against it. Many leftists push for affirmative action, for moving black people into high-prestige jobs, for improved education in black schools and more money for such schools; the way of life of the black "underclass" they regard as a social disgrace. They want to integrate the black man into the system, make him a business executive, a lawyer, a scientist just like upper-middle-class white people. The leftists will reply that the last thing they want is to make the black man into a copy of the white man; instead, they want to preserve African American culture. But in what does this preservation of African American culture consist? It can hardly consist in anything more than eating black-style food, listening to black-style music, wearing black-style clothing and going to a black-style church or mosque. In other words, it can express itself only in superficial matters. In all ESSENTIAL respects most leftists of the oversocialized type want to make the black man conform to white, middle-class ideals. They want to make him study technical subjects, become an executive or a scientist, spend his life climbing the status ladder to prove that black people are as good as white. They want to make black fathers "responsible," they want black gangs to become nonviolent, etc. But these are exactly the values of the industrial-technological system. The system couldn't care less what kind of music a man listens to, what kind of clothes he wears or what religion he believes in as long as he studies in school, holds a respectable job, climbs the status ladder, is a "responsible" parent, is nonviolent and so forth. In effect, however much he may deny it, the oversocialized leftist wants to integrate the black man into the system and make him adopt its values.

30. We certainly do not claim that leftists, even of the oversocialized type, NEVER rebel against the fundamental values of our society. Clearly they sometimes do. Some oversocialized leftists have gone so far as to rebel against one of modern society's most important principles by engaging in physical violence. By their own account, violence is for them a form of "liberation." In other words, by committing violence they break through the psychological restraints that have been trained into them. Because they are oversocialized these restraints have been more confining for them than for others; hence their need to break free of them. But they usually justify their rebellion in terms of mainstream values. If they engage in violence they claim to be fighting against racism or the like.

31. We realize that many objections could be raised to the foregoing thumbnail sketch of leftist psychology. The real situation is complex, and anything like a complete description of it would take several volumes even if the necessary data were available. We claim only to have indicated very roughly the two most important tendencies in the psychology of modern leftism.

32. The problems of the leftist are indicative of the problems of our society as a whole. Low self-esteem, depressive tendencies and defeatism are not restricted to the left. Though they are especially noticeable in the left, they are widespread in our society. And today's society tries to socialize us to a greater extent than any previous society. We are even told by experts how to eat, how to exercise, how to make love, how to raise our kids and so forth.

THE POWER PROCESS

33. Human beings have a need (probably based in biology) for something that we will call the "power process." This is closely related to the need for power (which is widely recognized) but is not quite the same thing. The power process has four elements. The three most clear-cut of these we call goal, effort and attainment of goal. (Everyone needs to have goals whose attainment requires effort, and needs to succeed in attaining at least some of his goals.) The fourth element is more difficult to define and may not be necessary for everyone. We call it autonomy and will discuss it later (paragraphs 42-44).

34. Consider the hypothetical case of a man who can have anything he wants just by wishing for it. Such a man has power, but he will develop serious psychological problems. At first he will have a lot of fun, but by and by he will become acutely bored and demoralized. Eventually he may become clinically depressed. History shows that leisured aristocracies tend to become decadent. This is not true of fighting aristocracies that have to struggle to maintain their power. But leisured, secure aristocracies that have no need to exert themselves usually become bored, hedonistic and demoralized, even though they have power. This shows that power is not enough. One must have goals toward which to exercise one's power.

35. Everyone has goals; if nothing else, to obtain the physical necessities of life: food, water and whatever clothing and shelter are made necessary by the climate. But the leisured aristocrat obtains these things without effort. Hence his boredom and demoralization.

36. Nonattainment of important goals results in death if the goals are physical necessities, and in frustration if nonattainment of the goals is compatible with survival. Consistent failure to attain goals throughout life results in defeatism, low self-esteem or depression.

37, Thus, in order to avoid serious psychological problems, a human being needs goals whose attainment requires effort, and he must have a reasonable rate of success in attaining his goals.

SURROGATE ACTIVITIES

38. But not every leisured aristocrat becomes bored and demoralized. For example, the emperor Hirohito, instead of sinking into decadent hedonism, devoted himself to marine biology, a field in which he became distinguished. When people do not have to exert themselves to satisfy their physical needs they often set up artificial goals for themselves. In many cases they then pursue these goals with the same energy and emotional involvement that they otherwise would have put into the search for physical necessities. Thus the aristocrats of the Roman Empire had their literary pretensions; many European aristocrats a few centuries ago invested tremendous time and energy in hunting, though they certainly didn't need the meat; other aristocracies have competed for status through elaborate displays of wealth; and a few aristocrats, like Hirohito, have turned to science.

39. We use the term "surrogate activity" to designate an activity that is directed toward an artificial goal that people set up for themselves merely in order to have some goal to work toward, or let us say, merely for the sake of the "fulfillment" that they get from pursuing the goal. Here is a rule of thumb for the identification of surrogate activities. Given a person who devotes much time and energy to the pursuit of goal X, ask yourself this: If he had to devote most of his time and energy to satisfying his biological needs, and if that effort required him to use his physical and mental faculties in a varied and interesting way, would he feel seriously deprived because he did not attain goal X? If the answer is no, then the person's pursuit of goal X is a surrogate activity. Hirohito's studies in marine biology clearly constituted a surrogate activity, since it is pretty certain that if Hirohito had had to spend his time working at interesting non-scientific tasks in order to obtain the necessities of life, he would not have felt deprived because he didn't know all about the anatomy and life-cycles of marine animals. On the other hand the pursuit of sex and love (for example) is not a surrogate activity, because most people, even if their existence were otherwise satisfactory, would feel deprived if they passed their lives without ever having a relationship with a member of the opposite sex. (But pursuit of an excessive amount of sex, more than one really needs, can be a surrogate activity.)

40. In modern industrial society only minimal effort is necessary to satisfy one's physical needs. It is enough to go through a training program to acquire some petty technical skill, then come to work on time and exert the very modest effort needed to hold a job. The only requirements are a moderate amount of intelligence and, most of all, simple OBEDIENCE. If one has those, society takes care of one from cradle to grave. (Yes, there is an underclass that cannot take the physical necessities for granted, but we are speaking here of mainstream society.) Thus it is not surprising that modern society is full of surrogate activities. These include scientific work, athletic achievement, humanitarian work, artistic and literary creation, climbing the corporate ladder, acquisition of money and material goods far beyond the point at which they cease to give any additional physical satisfaction, and social activism when it addresses issues that are not important for the activist personally, as in the case of white activists who work for the rights of nonwhite minorities. These are not always PURE surrogate activities, since for many people they may be motivated in part by needs other than the need to have some goal to pursue. Scientific work may be motivated in part by a drive for prestige, artistic creation by a need to express feelings, militant social activism by hostility. But for most people who pursue them, these activities are in large part surrogate activities. For example, the majority of scientists will probably agree that the "fulfillment" they get from their work is more important than the money and prestige they earn.

41. For many if not most people, surrogate activities are less satisfying than the pursuit of real goals (that is, goals that people would want to attain even if their need for the power process were already fulfilled). One indication of this is the fact that, in many or most cases, people who are deeply involved in surrogate activities are never satisfied, never at rest. Thus the money-maker constantly strives for more and more wealth. The scientist no sooner solves one problem than he moves on to the next. The long-distance runner drives himself to run always farther and faster. Many people who pursue surrogate activities will say that they get far more fulfillment from these activities than they do from the "mundane" business of satisfying their biological needs, but that is because in our society the effort needed to satisfy the biological needs has been reduced to triviality. More importantly, in our society people do not satisfy their biological needs AUTONOMOUSLY but by functioning as parts of an immense social machine. In contrast, people generally have a great deal of autonomy in pursuing their surrogate activities.

AUTONOMY

42. Autonomy as a part of the power process may not be necessary for every individual. But most people need a greater or lesser degree of autonomy in working toward their goals. Their efforts must be undertaken on their own initiative and must be under their own direction and control. Yet most people do not have to exert this initiative, direction and control as single individuals. It is usually enough to act as a member of a SMALL group. Thus if half a dozen people discuss a goal among themselves and make a successful joint effort to attain that goal, their need for the power process will be served. But if they work under rigid orders handed down from above that leave them no room for autonomous decision and initiative, then their need for the power process will not be served. The same is true when decisions are made on a collective basis if the group making the collective decision is so large that the role of each individual is insignificant. [5]

43. It is true that some individuals seem to have little need for autonomy. Either their drive for power is weak or they satisfy it by identifying themselves with some powerful organization to which they belong. And then there are unthinking, animal types who seem to be satisfied with a purely physical sense of power (the good combat soldier, who gets his sense of power by developing fighting skills that he is quite content to use in blind obedience to his superiors).

44. But for most people it is through the power processshaving a goal, making an AUTONOMOUS effort and attaining the goalsthat self-esteem, self-confidence and a sense of power are acquired. When one does not have adequate opportunity to go through the power process the consequences are (depending on the individual and on the way the power process is disrupted) boredom, demoralization, low self-esteem, inferiority feelings, defeatism, depression, anxiety, guilt, frustration, hostility, spouse or child abuse, insatiable hedonism, abnormal sexual behavior, sleep disorders, eating disorders, etc. [6]

SOURCES OF SOCIAL PROBLEMS

45. Any of the foregoing symptoms can occur in any society, but in modern industrial society they are present on a massive scale. We aren't the first to mention that the world today seems to be going crazy. This sort of thing is not normal for human societies. There is good reason to believe that primitive man suffered from less stress and frustration and was better satisfied with his way of life than modern man is. It is true that not all was sweetness and light in primitive societies. Abuse of women was common among the Australian aborigines, transexuality was fairly common among some of the American Indian tribes. But it does appear that GENERALLY SPEAKING the kinds of problems that we have listed in the preceding paragraph were far less common among primitive peoples than they are in modern society.

46. We attribute the social and psychological problems of modern society to the fact that that society requires people to live under conditions radically different from those under which the evolved and to behave in ways that conflict with the patterns of behavior that the human race developed while living under the earlier conditions. It is clear from what we have already written that we consider lack of opportunity to properly experience the power process as the most important of the abnormal conditions to which modern society subjects people. But it is not the only one. Before dealing with disruption of the power process as a source of social problems we will discuss some of the other sources.

47. Among the abnormal conditions present in modern industrial society are excessive density of population, isolation of man from nature, excessive rapidity of social change and the breakdown of natural small-scale communities such as the extended family, the village or the tribe.

48. It is well known that crowding increases stress and aggression. The degree of crowding that exists today and the isolation of man from nature are consequences of technological progress. All pre-industrial societies were predominantly rural. The Industrial Revolution vastly increased the size of cities and the proportion of the population that lives in them, and modern agricultural technology has made it possible for the Earth to support a far denser population than it ever did before. (Also, technology exacerbates the effects of crowding because it puts increased disruptive powers in people's hands. For example, a variety of noise-making devices: power mowers, radios, motorcycles, etc. If the use of these devices is unrestricted, people who want peace and quiet are frustrated by the noise. If their use is restricted, people who use the devices are frustrated by the regulations. But if these machines had never been invented there would have been no conflict and no frustration generated by them.)

49. For primitive societies the natural world (which usually changes only slowly) provided a stable framework and therefore a sense of security. In the modern world it is human society that dominates nature rather than the other way around, and modern society changes very rapidly owing to technological change. Thus there is no stable framework.

50. The conservatives are fools: They whine about the decay of traditional values, yet they enthusiastically support technological progress and economic growth. Apparently it never occurs to them that you can't make rapid, drastic changes in the technology and the economy of a society without causing rapid changes in all other aspects of the society as well, and that such rapid changes inevitably break down traditional values.

51. The breakdown of traditional values to some extent implies the breakdown of the bonds that hold together traditional small-scale social groups. The disintegration of small-scale social groups is also promoted by the fact that modern conditions often require or tempt individuals to move to new locations, separating themselves from their communities. Beyond that, a technological society HAS TO weaken family ties and local communities if it is to function efficiently. In modern society an individual's loyalty must be first to the system and only secondarily to a small-scale community, because if the internal loyalties of small-scale communities were stronger than loyalty to the system, such communities would pursue their own advantage at the expense of the system.

52. Suppose that a public official or a corporation executive appoints his cousin, his friend or his co-religionist to a position rather than appointing the person best qualified for the job. He has permitted personal loyalty to supersede his loyalty to the system, and that is "nepotism" or "discrimination," both of which are terrible sins in modern society. Would-be industrial societies that have done a poor job of subordinating personal or local loyalties to loyalty to the system are usually very inefficient. (Look at Latin America.) Thus an advanced industrial society can tolerate only those small-scale communities that are emasculated, tamed and made into tools of the system. [7]

53. Crowding, rapid change and the breakdown of communities have been widely recognized as sources of social problems. But we do not believe they are enough to account for the extent of the problems that are seen today.

54. A few pre-industrial cities were very large and crowded, yet their inhabitants do not seem to have suffered from psychological problems to the same extent as modern man. In America today there still are uncrowded rural areas, and we find there the same problems as in urban areas, though the problems tend to be less acute in the rural areas. Thus crowding does not seem to be the decisive factor.

55. On the growing edge of the American frontier during the 19th century, the mobility of the population probably broke down extended families and small-scale social groups to at least the same extent as these are broken down today. In fact, many nuclear families lived by choice in such isolation, having no neighbors within several miles, that they belonged to no community at all, yet they do not seem to have developed problems as a result.

56. Furthermore, change in American frontier society was very rapid and deep. A man might be born and raised in a log cabin, outside the reach of law and order and fed largely on wild meat; and by the time he arrived at old age he might be working at a regular job and living in an ordered community with effective law enforcement. This was a deeper change than that which typically occurs in the life of a modern individual, yet it does not seem to have led to psychological problems. In fact, 19th century American society had an optimistic and self-confident tone, quite unlike that of today's society. [8]

57. The difference, we argue, is that modern man has the sense (largely justified) that change is IMPOSED on him, whereas the 19th century frontiersman had the sense (also largely justified) that he created change himself, by his own choice. Thus a pioneer settled on a piece of land of his own choosing and made it into a farm through his own effort. In those days an entire county might have only a couple of hundred inhabitants and was a far more isolated and autonomous entity than a modern county is. Hence the pioneer farmer participated as a member of a relatively small group in the creation of a new, ordered community. One may well question whether the creation of this community was an improvement, but at any rate it satisfied the pioneer's need for the power process.

58. It would be possible to give other examples of societies in which there has been rapid change and/or lack of close community ties without the kind of massive behavioral aberration that is seen in today's industrial society. We contend that the most important cause of social and psychological problems in modern society is the fact that people have insufficient opportunity to go through the power process in a normal way. We don't mean to say that modern society is the only one in which the power process has been disrupted. Probably most if not all civilized societies have interfered with the power process to a greater or lesser extent. But in modern industrial society the problem has become particularly acute. Leftism, at least in its recent (mid- to late-20th century) form, is in part a symptom of deprivation with respect to the power process.

DISRUPTION OF THE POWER PROCESS IN MODERN SOCIETY

59. We divide human drives into three groups: (1) those drives that can be satisfied with minimal effort; (2) those that can be satisfied but only at the cost of serious effort; (3) those that cannot be adequately satisfied no matter how much effort one makes. The power process is the process of satisfying the drives of the second group. The more drives there are in the third group, the more there is frustration, anger, eventually defeatism, depression, etc.

60. In modern industrial society natural human drives tend to be pushed into the first and third groups, and the second group tends to consist increasingly of artificially created drives.

61. In primitive societies, physical necessities generally fall into group 2: They can be obtained, but only at the cost of serious effort. But modern society tends to guaranty the physical necessities to everyone [9] in exchange for only minimal effort, hence physical needs are pushed into group 1. (There may be disagreement about whether the effort needed to hold a job is "minimal"; but usually, in lower- to middle-level jobs, whatever effort is required is merely that of OBEDIENCE. You sit or stand where you are told to sit or stand and do what you are told to do in the way you are told to do it. Seldom do you have to exert yourself seriously, and in any case you have hardly any autonomy in work, so that the need for the power process is not well served.)

62. Social needs, such as sex, love and status, often remain in group 2 in modern society, depending on the situation of the individual. [10] But, except for people who have a particularly strong drive for status, the effort required to fulfill the social drives is insufficient to satisfy adequately the need for the power process.

63. So certain artificial needs have been created that fall into group 2, hence serve the need for the power process. Advertising and marketing techniques have been developed that make many people feel they need things that their grandparents never desired or even dreamed of. It requires serious effort to earn enough money to satisfy these artificial needs, hence they fall into group 2. (But see paragraphs 80-82.) Modern man must satisfy his need for the power process largely through pursuit of the artificial needs created by the advertising and marketing industry [11], and through surrogate activities.

64. It seems that for many people, maybe the majority, these artificial forms of the power process are insufficient. A theme that appears repeatedly in the writings of the social critics of the second half of the 20th century is the sense of purposelessness that afflicts many people in modern society. (This purposelessness is often called by other names such as "anomic" or "middle-class vacuity.") We suggest that the so-called "identity crisis" is actually a search for a sense of purpose, often for commitment to a suitable surrogate activity. It may be that existentialism is in large part a response to the purposelessness of modern life. [12] Very widespread in modern society is the search for "fulfillment." But we think that for the majority of people an activity whose main goal is fulfillment (that is, a surrogate activity) does not bring completely satisfactory fulfillment. In other words, it does not fully satisfy the need for the power process. (See paragraph 41.) That need can be fully satisfied only through activities that have some external goal, such as physical necessities, sex, love, status, revenge, etc.

65. Moreover, where goals are pursued through earning money, climbing the status ladder or functioning as part of the system in some other way, most people are not in a position to pursue their goals AUTONOMOUSLY. Most workers are someone else's employee and, as we pointed out in paragraph 61, must spend their days doing what they are told to do in the way they are told to do it. Even people who are in business for themselves have only limited autonomy. It is a chronic complaint of small-business persons and entrepreneurs that their hands are tied by excessive government regulation. Some of these regulations are doubtless unnecessary, but for the most part government regulations are essential and inevitable parts of our extremely complex society. A large portion of small business today operates on the franchise system. It was reported in the Wall Street Journal a few years ago that many of the franchise-granting companies require applicants for franchises to take a personality test that is designed to EXCLUDE those who have creativity and initiative, because such persons are not sufficiently docile to go along obediently with the franchise system. This excludes from small business many of the people who most need autonomy.

66. Today people live more by virtue of what the system does FOR them or TO them than by virtue of what they do for themselves. And what they do for themselves is done more and more along channels laid down by the system. Opportunities tend to be those that the system provides, the opportunities must be exploited in accord with rules and regulations [13], and techniques prescribed by experts must be followed if there is to be a chance of success.

67. Thus the power process is disrupted in our society through a deficiency of real goals and a deficiency of autonomy in the pursuit of goals. But it is also disrupted because of those human drives that fall into group 3: the drives that one cannot adequately satisfy no matter how much effort one makes. One of these drives is the need for security. Our lives depend on decisions made by other people; we have no control over these decisions and usually we do not even know the people who make them. ("We live in a world in which relatively few peoplesmaybe 500 or 1,000smake the important decisions"sPhilip B. Heymann of Harvard Law School, quoted by Anthony Lewis, New York Times, April 21, 1995.) Our lives depend on whether safety standards at a nuclear power plant are properly maintained; on how much pesticide is allowed to get into our food or how much pollution into our air; on how skillful (or incompetent) our doctor is; whether we lose or get a job may depend on decisions made by government economists or corporation executives; and so forth. Most individuals are not in a position to secure themselves against these threats to more [than] a very limited extent. The individual's search for security is therefore frustrated, which leads to a sense of powerlessness.

68. It may be objected that primitive man is physically less secure than modern man, as is shown by his shorter life expectancy; hence modern man suffers from less, not more than the amount of insecurity that is normal for human beings. But psychological security does not closely correspond with physical security. What makes us FEEL secure is not so much objective security as a sense of confidence in our ability to take care of ourselves. Primitive man, threatened by a fierce animal or by hunger, can fight in self-defense or travel in search of food. He has no certainty of success in these efforts, but he is by no means helpless against the things that threaten him. The modern individual on the other hand is threatened by many things against which he is helpless: nuclear accidents, carcinogens in food, environmental pollution, war, increasing taxes, invasion of his privacy by large organizations, nationwide social or economic phenomena that may disrupt his way of life.

69. It is true that primitive man is powerless against some of the things that threaten him; disease for example. But he can accept the risk of disease stoically. It is part of the nature of things, it is no one's fault, unless it is the fault of some imaginary, impersonal demon. But threats to the modern individual tend to be MAN-MADE. They are not the results of chance but are IMPOSED on him by other persons whose decisions he, as an individual, is unable to influence. Consequently he feels frustrated, humiliated and angry.

70. Thus primitive man for the most part has his security in his own hands (either as an individual or as a member of a SMALL group) whereas the security of modern man is in the hands of persons or organizations that are too remote or too large for him to be able personally to influence them. So modern man's drive for security tends to fall into groups 1 and 3; in some areas (food, shelter etc.) his security is assured at the cost of only trivial effort, whereas in other areas he CANNOT attain security. (The foregoing greatly simplifies the real situation, but it does indicate in a rough, general way how the condition of modern man differs from that of primitive man.)

71. People have many transitory drives or impulses that are necessarily frustrated in modern life, hence fall into group 3. One may become angry, but modern society cannot permit fighting. In many situations it does not even permit verbal aggression. When going somewhere one may be in a hurry, or one may be in a mood to travel slowly, but one generally has no choice but to move with the flow of traffic and obey the traffic signals. One may want to do one's work in a different way, but usually one can work only according to the rules laid down by one's employer. In many other ways as well, modern man is strapped down by a network of rules and regulations (explicit or implicit) that frustrate many of his impulses and thus interfere with the power process. Most of these regulations cannot be dispensed with, because they are necessary for the functioning of industrial society.

72. Modern society is in certain respects extremely permissive. In matters that are irrelevant to the functioning of the system we can generally do what we please. We can believe in any religion we like (as long as it does not encourage behavior that is dangerous to the system). We can go to bed with anyone we like (as long as we practice "safe sex"). We can do anything we like as long as it is UNIMPORTANT. But in all IMPORTANT matters the system tends increasingly to regulate our behavior.

73. Behavior is regulated not only through explicit rules and not only by the government. Control is often exercised through indirect coercion or through psychological pressure or manipulation, and by organizations other than the government, or by the system as a whole. Most large organizations use some form of propaganda [14] to manipulate public attitudes or behavior. Propaganda is not limited to "commercials" and advertisements, and sometimes it is not even consciously intended as propaganda by the people who make it. For instance, the content of entertainment programming is a powerful form of propaganda. An example of indirect coercion: There is no law that says we have to go to work every day and follow our employer's orders. Legally there is nothing to prevent us from going to live in the wild like primitive people or from going into business for ourselves. But in practice there is very little wild country left, and there is room in the economy for only a limited number of small business owners. Hence most of us can survive only as someone else's employee.

74. We suggest that modern man's obsession with longevity, and with maintaining physical vigor and sexual attractiveness to an advanced age, is a symptom of unfulfillment resulting from deprivation with respect to the power process. The "mid-life crisis" also is such a symptom. So is the lack of interest in having children that is fairly common in modern society but almost unheard-of in primitive societies.

75. In primitive societies life is a succession of stages. The needs and purposes of one stage having been fulfilled, there is no particular reluctance about passing on to the next stage. A young man goes through the power process by becoming a hunter, hunting not for sport or for fulfillment but to get meat that is necessary for food. (In young women the process is more complex, with greater emphasis on social power; we won't discuss that here.) This phase having been successfully passed through, the young man has no reluctance about settling down to the responsibilities of raising a family. (In contrast, some modern people indefinitely postpone having children because they are too busy seeking some kind of "fulfillment." We suggest that the fulfillment they need is adequate experience of the power processswith real goals instead of the artificial goals of surrogate activities.) Again, having successfully raised his children, going through the power process by providing them with the physical necessities, the primitive man feels that his work is done and he is prepared to accept old age (if he survives that long) and death. Many modern people, on the other hand, are disturbed by the prospect of physical deterioration and death, as is shown by the amount of effort they expend trying to maintain their physical condition, appearance and health. We argue that this is due to unfulfillment resulting from the fact that they have never put their physical powers to any practical use, have never gone through the power process using their bodies in a serious way. It is not the primitive man, who has used his body daily for practical purposes, who fears the deterioration of age, but the modern man, who has never had a practical use for his body beyond walking from his car to his house. It is the man whose need for the power process has been satisfied during his life who is best prepared to accept the end of that life.

76. In response to the arguments of this section someone will say, "Society must find a way to give people the opportunity to go through the power process." For such people the value of the opportunity is destroyed by the very fact that society gives it to them. What they need is to find or make their own opportunities. As long as the system GIVES them their opportunities it still has them on a leash. To attain autonomy they must get off that leash.

HOW SOME People adjust

77. Not everyone in industrial-technological society suffers from psychological problems. Some people even profess to be quite satisfied with society as it is. We now discuss some of the reasons why people differ so greatly in their response to modern society.

78. First, there doubtless are differences in the strength of the drive for power. Individuals with a weak drive for power may have relatively little need to go through the power process, or at least relatively little need for autonomy in the power process. These are docile types who would have been happy as plantation darkies in the Old South. (We don't mean to sneer at the "plantation darkies" of the Old South. To their credit, most of the slaves were NOT content with their servitude. We do sneer at people who ARE content with servitude.)

79. Some people may have some exceptional drive, in pursuing which they satisfy their need for the power process. For example, those who have an unusually strong drive for social status may spend their whole lives climbing the status ladder without ever getting bored with that game.

80. People vary in their susceptibility to advertising and marketing techniques. Some are so susceptible that, even if they make a great deal of money, they cannot satisfy their constant craving for the the shiny new toys that the marketing industry dangles before their eyes. So they always feel hard-pressed financially even if their income is large, and their cravings are frustrated.

81. Some people have low susceptibility to advertising and marketing techniques. These are the people who aren't interested in money. Material acquisition does not serve their need for the power process.

82. People who have medium susceptibility to advertising and marketing techniques are able to earn enough money to satisfy their craving for goods and services, but only at the cost of serious effort (putting in overtime, taking a second job, earning promotions, etc.). Thus material acquisition serves their need for the power process. But it does not necessarily follow that their need is fully satisfied. They may have insufficient autonomy in the power process (their work may consist of following orders) and some of their drives may be frustrated (e.g., security, aggression). (We are guilty of oversimplification in paragraphs 80-82 because we have assumed that the desire for material acquisition is entirely a creation of the advertising and marketing industry. Of course it's not that simple. [11]

83. Some people partly satisfy their need for power by identifying themselves with a powerful organization or mass movement. An individual lacking goals or power joins a movement or an organization, adopts its goals as his own, then works toward those goals. When some of the goals are attained, the individual, even though his personal efforts have played only an insignificant part in the attainment of the goals, feels (through his identif ication with the movement or organization) as if he had gone through the power process. This phenomenon was exploited by the fascists, nazis and communists. Our society uses it too, though less crudely. Example: Manuel Noriega was an irritant to the U.S. (goal: punish Noriega). The U.S. invaded Panama (effort) and punished Noriega (attainment of goal). Thus the U.S. went through the power process and many Americans, because of their identification with the U.S., experienced the power process vicariously. Hence the widespread public approval of the Panama invasion; it gave people a sense of power. [15] We see the same phenomenon in armies, corporations, political parties, humanitarian organizations, religious or ideological movements. In particular, leftist movements tend to attract people who are seeking to satisfy their need for power. But for most people identification with a large organization or a mass movement does not fully satisfy the need for power.

84. Another way in which people satisfy their need for the power process is through surrogate activities. As we explained in paragraphs 38-40, a surrogate activity is an activity that is directed toward an artificial goal that the individual pursues for the sake of the "fulfillment" that he gets from pursuing the goal, not because he needs to attain the goal itself. For instance, there is no practical motive for building enormous muscles, hitting a little ball into a hole or acquiring a complete series of postage stamps. Yet many people in our society devote themselves with passion to bodybuilding, golf or stamp-collecting. Some people are more "other-directed" than others, and therefore will more readily attach importance to a surrogate activity simply because the people around them treat it as important or because society tells them it is important. That is why some people get very serious about essentially trivial activities such as sports, or bridge, or chess, or arcane scholarly pursuits, whereas others who are more clear-sighted never see these things as anything but the surrogate activities that they are, and consequently never attach enough importance to them to satisfy their need for the power process in that way. It only remains to point out that in many cases a person's way of earning a living is also a surrogate activity. Not a PURE surrogate activity, since part of the motive for the activity is to gain the physical necessities and (for some people) social status and the luxuries that advertising makes them want. But many people put into their work far more effort than is necessary to earn whatever money and status they require, and this extra effort constitutes a surrogate activity. This extra effort, together with the emotional investment that accompanies it, is one of the most potent forces acting toward the continual development and perfecting of the system, with negative consequences for individual freedom (see paragraph 131). Especially, for the most creative scientists and engineers, work tends to be largely a surrogate activity. This point is so important that it deserves a separate discussion, which we shall give in a moment (paragraphs 87-92).

85. In this section we have explained how many people in modern society do satisfy their need for the power process to a greater or lesser extent. But we think that for the majority of people the need for the power process is not fully satisfied. In the first place, those who have an insatiable drive for status, or who get firmly "hooked" on a surrogate activity, or who identify strongly enough with a movement or organization to satisfy their need for power in that way, are exceptional personalities. Others are not fully satisfied with surrogate activities or by identification with an organization (see paragraphs 41, 64). In the second place, too much control is imposed by the system through explicit regulation or through socialization, which results in a deficiency of autonomy, and in frustration due to the impossibility of attaining certain goals and the necessity of restraining too many impulses.

86. But even if most people in industrial-technological society were well satisfied, we (FC) would still be opposed to that form of society, because (among other reasons) we consider it demeaning to fulfill one's need for the power process through surrogate activities or through identification with an organization, rather than through pursuit of real goals.

THE MOTIVES OF SCIENTISTS

87. Science and technology provide the most important examples of surrogate activities. Some scientists claim that they are motivated by "curiosity" or by a desire to "benefit humanity." But it is easy to see that neither of these can be the principal motive of most scientists. As for "curiosity," that notion is simply absurd. Most scientists work on highly specialized problems that are not the object of any normal curiosity. For example, is an astronomer, a mathematician or an entomologist curious about the properties of isopropyltrimethylmethane? Of course not. Only a chemist is curious about such a thing, and he is curious about it only because chemistry is his surrogate activity. Is the chemist curious about the appropriate classification of a new species of beetle? No. That question is of interest only to the entomologist, and he is interested in it only because entomology is his surrogate activity. If the chemist and the entomologist had to exert themselves seriously to obtain the physical necessities, and if that effort exercised their abilities in an interesting way but in some nonscientific pursuit, then they wouldn't give a damn about isopropyltrimethylmethane or the classification of beetles. Suppose that lack of funds for postgraduate education had led the chemist to become an insurance broker instead of a chemist. In that case he would have been very interested in insurance matters but would have cared nothing about isopropyltrimethylmethane. In any case it is not normal to put into the satisfaction of mere curiosity the amount of time and effort that scientists put into their work. The "curiosity" explanation for the scientists' motive just doesn't stand up.

88. The "benefit of humanity" explanation doesn't work any better. Some scientific work has no conceivable relation to the welfare of the human racesmost of archaeology or comparative linguistics for example. Some other areas of science present obviously dangerous possibilities. Yet scientists in these areas are just as enthusiastic about their work as those who develop vaccines or study air pollution. Consider the case of Dr. Edward Teller, who had an obvious emotional involvement in promoting nuclear power plants. Did this involvement stem from a desire to benefit humanity? If so, then why didn't Dr. Teller get emotional about other "humanitarian" causes? If he was such a humanitarian then why did he help to develop the H-bomb? As with many other scientific achievements, it is very much open to question whether nuclear power plants actually do benefit humanity. Does the cheap electricity outweigh the accumulating waste and the risk of accidents? Dr. Teller saw only one side of the question. Clearly his emotional involvement with nuclear power arose not from a desire to "benefit humanity" but from a personal fulfillment he got from his work and from seeing it put to practical use.

89. The same is true of scientists generally. With possible rare exceptions, their motive is neither curiosity nor a desire to benefit humanity but the need to go through the power process: to have a goal (a scientific problem to solve), to make an effort (research) and to attain the goal (solution of the problem.) Science is a surrogate activity because scientists work mainly for the fulfillment they get out of the work itself.

90. Of course, it's not that simple. Other motives do play a role for many scientists. Money and status for example. Some scientists may be persons of the type who have an insatiable drive for status (see paragraph 79) and this may provide much of the motivation for their work. No doubt the majority of scientists, like the majority of the general population, are more or less susceptible to advertising and marketing techniques and need money to satisfy their craving for goods and services. Thus science is not a PURE surrogate activity. But it is in large part a surrogate activity.

91. Also, science and technology constitute a power mass movement, and many scientists gratify their need for power through identification with this mass movement (see paragraph 83).

92. Thus science marches on blindly, without regard to the real welfare of the human race or to any other standard, obedient only to the psychological needs of the scientists and of the government officials and corporation executives who provide the funds for research.

THE NATURE OF FREEDOM

93. We are going to argue that industrial-technological society cannot be reformed in such a way as to prevent it from progressively narrowing the sphere of human freedom. But, because "freedom" is a word that can be interpreted in many ways, we must first make clear what kind of freedom we are concerned with.

94. By "freedom" we mean the opportunity to go through the power process, with real goals not the artificial goals of surrogate activities, and without interference, manipulation or supervision from anyone, especially from any large organization. Freedom means being in control (either as an individual or as a member of a SMALL group) of the life-and-death issues of one's existence; food, clothing, shelter and defense against whatever threats there may be in one's environment. Freedom means having power; not the power to control other people but the power to control the circumstances of one's own life. One does not have freedom if anyone else (especially a large organization) has power over one, no matter how benevolently, tolerantly and permissively that power may be exercised. It is important not to confuse freedom with mere permissiveness (see paragraph 72).

95. It is said that we live in a free society because we have a certain number of constitutionally guaranteed rights. But these are not as important as they seem. The degree of personal freedom that exists in a society is determined more by the economic and technological structure of the society than by its laws or its form of government. [16] Most of the Indian nations of New England were monarchies, and many of the cities of the Italian Renaissance were controlled by dictators. But in reading about these societies one gets the impression that they allowed far more personal freedom than our society does. In part this was because they lacked efficient mechanisms for enforcing the ruler's will: There were no modern, well-organized police forces, no rapid long-distance communications, no surveillance cameras, no dossiers of information about the lives of average citizens. Hence it was relatively easy to evade control.

96. As for our constitutional rights, consider for example that of freedom of the press. We certainly don't mean to knock that right; it is very important tool for limiting concentration of political power and for keeping those who do have political power in line by publicly exposing any misbehavior on their part. But freedom of the press is of very little use to the average citizen as an individual. The mass media are mostly under the control of large organizations that are integrated into the system. Anyone who has a little money can have something printed, or can distribute it on the Internet or in some such way, but what he has to say will be swamped by the vast volume of material put out by the media, hence it will have no practical effect. To make an impression on society with words is therefore almost impossible for most individuals and small groups. Take us (FC) for example. If we had never done anything violent and had submitted the present writings to a publisher, they probably would not have been accepted. If they had been been accepted and published, they probably would not have attracted many readers, because it's more fun to watch the entertainment put out by the media than to read a sober essay. Even if these writings had had many readers, most of these readers would soon have forgotten what they had read as their minds were flooded by the mass of material to which the media expose them. In order to get our message before the public with some chance of making a lasting impression, we've had to kill people.

97. Constitutional rights are useful up to a point, but they do not serve to guarantee much more than what might be called the bourgeois conception of freedom. According to the bourgeois conception, a "free" man is essentially an element of a social machine and has only a certain set of prescribed and delimited freedoms; freedoms that are designed to serve the needs of the social machine more than those of the individual. Thus the bourgeois's "free" man has economic freedom because that promotes growth and progress; he has freedom of the press because public criticism restrains misbehavior by political leaders; he has a right to a fair trial because imprisonment at the whim of the powerful would be bad for the system. This was clearly the attitude of Simon Bolivar. To him, people deserved liberty only if they used it to promote progress (progress as conceived by the bourgeois). Other bourgeois thinkers have taken a similar view of freedom as a mere means to collective ends. Chester C. Tan, "Chinese Political Thought in the Twentieth Century," page 202, explains the philosophy of the Kuomintang leader Hu Han-min: "An individual is granted rights because he is a member of society and his community life requires such rights. By community Hu meant the whole society of the nation." And on page 259 Tan states that according to Carsum Chang (Chang Chun-mai, head of the State Socialist Party in China) freedom had to be used in the interest of the state and of the people as a whole. But what kind of freedom does one have if one can use it only as someone else prescribes? FC's conception of freedom is not that of Bolivar, Hu, Chang or other bourgeois theorists. The trouble with such theorists is that they have made the development and application of social theories their surrogate activity. Consequently the theories are designed to serve the needs of the theorists more than the needs of any people who may be unlucky enough to live in a society on which the theories are imposed.

98. One more point to be made in this section: It should not be assumed that a person has enough freedom just because he SAYS he has enough. Freedom is restricted in part by psychological controls of which people are unconscious, and moreover many people's ideas of what constitutes freedom are governed more by social convention than by their real needs. For example, it's likely that many leftists of the oversocialized type would say that most people, including themselves, are socialized too little rather than too much, yet the oversocialized leftist pays a heavy psychological price for his high level of socialization.

SOME PRINCIPLES OF HISTORY

99. Think of history as being the sum of two components: an erratic component that consists of unpredictable events that follow no discernible pattern, and a regular component that consists of long-term historical trends. Here we are concerned with the long-term trends.

100. FIRST PRINCIPLE. If a SMALL change is made that affects a long-term historical trend, then the effect of that change will almost always be transitorysthe trend will soon revert to its original state. (Example: A reform movement designed to clean up political corruption in a society rarely has more than a short-term effect; sooner or later the reformers relax and corruption creeps back in. The level of political corruption in a given society tends to remain constant, or to change only slowly with the evolution of the society. Normally, a political cleanup will be permanent only if accompanied by widespread social changes; a SMALL change in the society won't be enough.) If a small change in a long-term historical trend appears to be permanent, it is only because the change acts in the direction in which the trend is already moving, so that the trend is not altered by only pushed a step ahead.

101. The first principle is almost a tautology. If a trend were not stable with respect to small changes, it would wander at random rather than following a definite direction; in other words it would not be a long-term trend at all.

102. SECOND PRINCIPLE. If a change is made that is sufficiently large to alter permanently a long-term historical trend, then it will alter the society as a whole. In other words, a society is a system in which all parts are interrelated, and you can't permanently change any important part without changing all other parts as well.

103. THIRD PRINCIPLE. If a change is made that is large enough to alter permanently a long-term trend, then the consequences for the society as a whole cannot be predicted in advance. (Unless various other societies have passed through the same change and have all experienced the same consequences, in which case one can predict on empirical grounds that another society that passes through the same change will be like to experience similar consequences.)

104. FOURTH PRINCIPLE. A new kind of society cannot be designed on paper. That is, you cannot plan out a new form of society in advance, then set it up and expect it to function as it was designed to do.

105. The third and fourth principles result from the complexity of human societies. A change in human behavior will affect the economy of a society and its physical environment; the economy will affect the environment and vice versa, and the changes in the economy and the environment will affect human behavior in complex, unpredictable ways; and so forth. The network of causes and effects is far too complex to be untangled and understood.

106. FIFTH PRINCIPLE. People do not consciously and rationally choose the form of their society. Societies develop through processes of social evolution that are not under rational human control.

107. The fifth principle is a consequence of the other four.

108. To illustrate: By the first principle, generally speaking an attempt at social reform either acts in the direction in which the society is developing anyway (so that it merely accelerates a change that would have occurred in any case) or else it has only a transitory effect, so that the society soon slips back into its old groove. To make a lasting change in the direction of development of any important aspect of a society, reform is insufficient and revolution is required. (A revolution does not necessarily involve an armed uprising or the overthrow of a government.) By the second principle, a revolution never changes only one aspect of a society, it changes the whole society; and by the third principle changes occur that were never expected or desired by the revolutionaries. By the fourth principle, when revolutionaries or utopians set up a new kind of society, it never works out as planned.

109. The American Revolution does not provide a counterexample. The American "Revolution" was not a revolution in our sense of the word, but a war of independence followed by a rather far-reaching political reform. The Founding Fathers did not change the direction of development of American society, nor did they aspire to do so. They only freed the development of American society from the retarding effect of British rule. Their political reform did not change any basic trend, but only pushed American political culture along its natural direction of development. British society, of which American society was an offshoot, had been moving for a long time in the direction of representative democracy. And prior to the War of Independence the Americans were already practicing a significant degree of representative democracy in the colonial assemblies. The political system established by the Constitution was modeled on the British system and on the colonial assemblies. With major alteration, to be suresthere is no doubt that the Founding Fathers took a very important step. But it was a step along the road that English-speaking world was already traveling. The proof is that Britain and all of its colonies that were populated predominantly by people of British descent ended up with systems of representative democracy essentially similar to that of the United States. If the Founding Fathers had lost their nerve and declined to sign the Declaration of Independence, our way of life today would not have been significantly different. Maybe we would have had somewhat closer ties to Britain, and would have had a Parliament and Prime Minister instead of a Congress and President. No big deal. Thus the American Revolution provides not a counterexample to our principles but a good illustration of them.

110. Still, one has to use common sense in applying the principles. They are expressed in imprecise language that allows latitude for interpretation, and exceptions to them can be found. So we present these principles not as inviolable laws but as rules of thumb, or guides to thinking, that may provide a partial antidote to naive ideas about the future of society. The principles should be borne constantly in mind, and whenever one reaches a conclusion that conflicts with them one should carefully reexamine one's thinking and retain the conclusion only if one has good, solid reasons for doing so.

INDUSTRIAL-TECHNOLOGICAL SOCIETY CANNOT BE REFORMED

111. The foregoing principles help to show how hopelessly difficult it would be to reform the industrial system in such a way as to prevent it from progressively narrowing our sphere of freedom. There has been a consistent tendency, going back at least to the Industrial Revolution for technology to strengthen the system at a high cost in individual freedom and local autonomy. Hence any change designed to protect freedom from technology would be contrary to a fundamental trend in the development of our society. Consequently, such a change either would be a transitory onessoon swamped by the tide of historysor, if large enough to be permanent would alter the nature of our whole society. This by the first and second principles. Moreover, since society would be altered in a way that could not be predicted in advance (third principle) there would be great risk. Changes large enough to make a lasting difference in favor of freedom would not be initiated because it would be realized that they would gravely disrupt the system. So any attempts at reform would be too timid to be effective. Even if changes large enough to make a lasting difference were initiated, they would be retracted when their disruptive effects became apparent. Thus, permanent changes in favor of freedom could be brought about only by persons prepared to accept radical, dangerous and unpredictable alteration of the entire system. In other words by revolutionaries, not reformers.

112. People anxious to rescue freedom without sacrificing the supposed benefits of technology will suggest naive schemes for some new form of society that would reconcile freedom with technology. Apart from the fact that people who make such suggestions seldom propose any practical means by which the new form of society could be set up in the first place, it follows from the fourth principle that even if the new form of society could be once established, it either would collapse or would give results very different from those expected.

113. So even on very general grounds it seems highly improbable that any way of changing society could be found that would reconcile freedom with modern technology. In the next few sections we will give more specific reasons for concluding that freedom and technological progress are incompatible.

RESTRICTION OF FREEDOM IS UNAVOIDABLE IN INDUSTRIAL SOCIETY

114. As explained in paragraphs 65-67, 70-73, modern man is strapped down by a network of rules and regulations, and his fate depends on the actions of persons remote from him whose decisions he cannot influence. This is not accidental or a result of the arbitrariness of arrogant bureaucrats. It is necessary and inevitable in any technologically advanced society. The system HAS TO regulate human behavior closely in order to function. At work people have to do what they are told to do, otherwise production would be thrown into chaos. Bureaucracies HAVE TO be run according to rigid rules. To allow any substantial personal discretion to lower-level bureaucrats would disrupt the system and lead to charges of unfairness due to differences in the way individual bureaucrats exercised their discretion. It is true that some restrictions on our freedom could be eliminated, but GENERALLY SPEAKING the regulation of our lives by large organizations is necessary for the functioning of industrial-technological society. The result is a sense of powerlessness on the part of the average person. It may be, however, that formal regulations will tend increasingly to be replaced by psychological tools that make us want to do what the system requires of us. (Propaganda [14], educational techniques, "mental health" programs, etc.)

115. The system HAS TO force people to behave in ways that are increasingly remote from the natural pattern of human behavior. For example, the system needs scientists, mathematicians and engineers. It can't function without them. So heavy pressure is put on children to excel in these fields. It isn't natural for an adolescent human being to spend the bulk of his time sitting at a desk absorbed in study. A normal adolescent wants to spend his time in active contact with the real world. Among primitive peoples the things that children are trained to do tend to be in reasonable harmony with natural human impulses. Among the American Indians, for example, boys were trained in active outdoor pursuits just the sort of thing that boys like. But in our society children are pushed into studying technical subjects, which most do grudgingly.

116. Because of the constant pressure that the system exerts to modify human behavior, there is a gradual increase in the number of people who cannot or will nottadjust to society's requirements: welfare leeches, youth-gang members, cultists, anti-government rebels, radical environmentalist saboteurs, dropouts and resisters of various kinds.

117. In any technologically advanced society the individual's fate MUST depend on decisions that he personally cannot influence to any great extent. A technological society cannot be broken down into small, autonomous communities, because production depends on the cooperation of very large numbers of people and machines. Such a society MUST be highly organized and decisions HAVE TO be made that affect very large numbers of people. When a decision affects, say, a million people, then each of the affected individuals has, on the average, only a one-millionth share in making the decision. What usually happens in practice is that decisions are made by public officials or corporation executives, or by technical specialists, but even when the public votes on a decision the number of voters ordinarily is too large for the vote of any one individual to be significant. [17] Thus most individuals are unable to influence measurably the major decisions that affect their lives. There is no conceivable way to remedy this in a technologically advanced society. The system tries to "solve" this problem by using propaganda to make people WANT the decisions that have been made for them, but even if this "solution" were completely successful in making people feel better, it would be demeaning.

118. Conservatives and some others advocate more "local autonomy." Local communities once did have autonomy, but such autonomy becomes less and less possible as local communities become more enmeshed with and dependent on large-scale systems like public utilities, computer networks, highway systems, the mass communications media, the modern health care system. Also operating against autonomy is the fact that technology applied in one location often affects people at other locations far way. Thus pesticide or chemical use near a creek may contaminate the water supply hundreds of miles downstream, and the greenhouse effect affects the whole world.

119. The system does not and cannot exist to satisfy human needs. Instead, it is human behavior that has to be modified to fit the needs of the system. This has nothing to do with the political or social ideology that may pretend to guide the technological system. It is the fault of technology, because the system is guided not by ideology but by technical necessity. [18] Of course the system does satisfy many human needs, but generally speaking it does this only to the extend that it is to the advantage of the system to do it. It is the needs of the system that are paramount, not those of the human being. For example, the system provides people with food because the system couldn't function if everyone starved; it attends to people's psychological needs whenever it can CONVENIENTLY do so, because it couldn't function if too many people became depressed or rebellious. But the system, for good, solid, practical reasons, must exert constant pressure on people to mold their behavior to the needs of the system. To much waste accumulating? The government, the media, the educational system, environmentalists, everyone inundates us with a mass of propaganda about recycling. Need more technical personnel? A chorus of voices exhorts kids to study science. No one stops to ask whether it is inhumane to force adolescents to spend the bulk of their time studying subjects most of them hate. When skilled workers are put out of a job by technical advances and have to undergo "retraining," no one asks whether it is humiliating for them to be pushed around in this way. It is simply taken for granted that everyone must bow to technical necessity. and for good reason: If human needs were put before technical necessity there would be economic problems, unemployment, shortages or worse. The concept of "mental health" in our society is defined largely by the extent to which an individual behaves in accord with the needs of the system and does so without showing signs of stress.

120. Efforts to make room for a sense of purpose and for autonomy within the system are no better than a joke. For example, one company, instead of having each of its employees assemble only one section of a catalogue, had each assemble a whole catalogue, and this was supposed to give them a sense of purpose and achievement. Some companies have tried to give their employees more autonomy in their work, but for practical reasons this usually can be done only to a very limited extent, and in any case employees are never given autonomy as to ultimate goalsstheir "autonomous" efforts can never be directed toward goals that they select personally, but only toward their employer's goals, such as the survival and growth of the company. Any company would soon go out of business if it permitted its employees to act otherwise. Similarly, in any enterprise within a socialist system, workers must direct their efforts toward the goals of the enterprise, otherwise the enterprise will not serve its purpose as part of the system. Once again, for purely technical reasons it is not possible for most individuals or small groups to have much autonomy in industrial society. Even the small-business owner commonly has only limited autonomy. Apart from the necessity of government regulation, he is restricted by the fact that he must fit into the economic system and conform to its requirements. For instance, when someone develops a new technology, the small-business person often has to use that technology whether he wants to or not, in order to remain competitive.

THE 'BAD' PARTS OF TECHNOLOGY CANNOT BE SEPARATED FROM THE 'GOOD' PARTS

121. A further reason why industrial society cannot be reformed in favor of freedom is that modern technology is a unified system in which all parts are dependent on one another. You can't get rid of the "bad" parts of technology and retain only the "good" parts. Take modern medicine, for example. Progress in medical science depends on progress in chemistry, physics, biology, computer science and other fields. Advanced medical treatments require expensive, high-tech equipment that can be made available only by a technologically progressive, economically rich society. Clearly you can't have much progress in medicine without the whole technological system and everything that goes with it.

122. Even if medical progress could be maintained without the rest of the technological system, it would by itself bring certain evils. Suppose for example that a cure for diabetes is discovered. People with a genetic tendency to diabetes will then be able to survive and reproduce as well as anyone else. Natural selection against genes for diabetes will cease and such genes will spread throughout the population. (This may be occurring to some extent already, since diabetes, while not curable, can be controlled through use of insulin.) The same thing will happen with many other diseases susceptibility to which is affected by genetic degradation of the population. The only solution will be some sort of eugenics program or extensive genetic engineering of human beings, so that man in the future will no longer be a creation of nature, or of chance, or of God (depending on your religious or philosophical opinions), but a manufactured product.

123. If you think that big government interferes in your life too much NOW, just wait till the government starts regulating the genetic constitution of your children. Such regulation will inevitably follow the introduction of genetic engineering of human beings, because the consequences of unregulated genetic engineering would be disastrous. [19]

124. The usual response to such concerns is to talk about "medical ethics." But a code of ethics would not serve to protect freedom in the face of medical progress; it would only make matters worse. A code of ethics applicable to genetic engineering would be in effect a means of regulating the genetic constitution of human beings. Somebody (probably the upper-middle class, mostly) would decide that such and such applications of genetic engineering were "ethical" and others were not, so that in effect they would be imposing their own values on the genetic constitution of the population at large. Even if a code of ethics were chosen on a completely democratic basis, the majority would be imposing their own values on any minorities who might have a different idea of what constituted an "ethical" use of genetic engineering. The only code of ethics that would truly protect freedom would be one that prohibited ANY genetic engineering of human beings, and you can be sure that no such code will ever be applied in a technological society. No code that reduced genetic engineering to a minor role could stand up for long, because the temptation presented by the immense power of biotechnology would be irresistible, especially since to the majority of people many of its applications will seem obviously and unequivocally good (eliminating physical and mental diseases, giving people the abilities they need to get along in today's world). Inevitably, genetic engineering will be used extensively, but only in ways consistent with the needs of the industrial-technological system. [20]

TECHNOLOGY IS A MORE POWERFUL SOCIAL FORCE THAN THE ASPIRATION FOR FREEDOM

125. It is not possible to make a LASTING compromise between technology and freedom, because technology is by far the more powerful social force and continually encroaches on freedom through REPEATED compromises. Imagine the case of two neighbors, each of whom at the outset owns the same amount of land, but one of whom is more powerful than the other. The powerful one demands a piece of the other's land. The weak one refuses. The powerful one says, "OK, let's compromise. Give me half of what I asked." The weak one has little choice but to give in. Some time later the powerful neighbor demands another piece of land, again there is a compromise, and so forth. By forcing a long series of compromises on the weaker man, the powerful one eventually gets all of his land. So it goes in the conflict between technology and freedom.

126. Let us explain why technology is a more powerful social force than the aspiration for freedom.

127. A technological advance that appears not to threaten freedom often turns out to threaten it very seriously later on. For example, consider motorized transport. A walking man formerly could go where he pleased, go at his own pace without observing any traffic regulations, and was independent of technological support-systems. When motor vehicles were introduced they appeared to increase man's freedom. They took no freedom away from the walking man, no one had to have an automobile if he didn't want one, and anyone who did choose to buy an automobile could travel much faster and farther than a walking man. But the introduction of motorized transport soon changed society in such a way as to restrict greatly man's freedom of locomotion. When automobiles became numerous, it became necessary to regulate their use extensively. In a car, especially in densely populated areas, one cannot just go where one likes at one's own pace one's movement is governed by the flow of traffic and by various traffic laws. One is tied down by various obligations: license requirements, driver test, renewing registration, insurance, maintenance required for safety, monthly payments on purchase price. Moreover, the use of motorized transport is no longer optional. Since the introduction of motorized transport the arrangement of our cities has changed in such a way that the majority of people no longer live within walking distance of their place of employment, shopping areas and recreational opportunities, so that they HAVE TO depend on the automobile for transportation. Or else they must use public transportation, in which case they have even less control over their own movement than when driving a car. Even the walker's freedom is now greatly restricted. In the city he continually has to stop to wait for traffic lights that are designed mainly to serve auto traffic. In the country, motor traffic makes it dangerous and unpleasant to walk along the highway. (Note this important point that we have just illustrated with the case of motorized transport: When a new item of technology is introduced as an option that an individual can accept or not as he chooses, it does not necessarily REMAIN optional. In many cases the new technology changes society in such a way that people eventually find themselves FORCED to use it.)

128. While technological progress AS A WHOLE continually narrows our sphere of freedom, each new technical advance CONSIDERED BY ITSELF appears to be desirable. Electricity, indoor plumbing, rapid long-distance communications ... how could one argue against any of these things, or against any other of the innumerable technical advances that have made modern society? It would have been absurd to resist the introduction of the telephone, for example. It offered many advantages and no disadvantages. Yet, as we explained in paragraphs 59-76, all these technical advances taken together have created a world in which the average man's fate is no longer in his own hands or in the hands of his neighbors and friends, but in those of politicians, corporation executives and remote, anonymous technicians and bureaucrats whom he as an individual has no power to influence. [21] The same process will continue in the future. Take genetic engineering, for example. Few people will resist the introduction of a genetic technique that eliminates a hereditary disease. It does no apparent harm and prevents much suffering. Yet a large number of genetic improvements taken together will make the human being into an engineered product rather than a free creation of chance (or of God, or whatever, depending on your religious beliefs).

129. Another reason why technology is such a powerful social force is that, within the context of a given society, technological progress marches in only one direction; it can never be reversed. Once a technical innovation has been introduced, people usually become dependent on it, so that they can never again do without it, unless it is replaced by some still more advanced innovation. Not only do people become dependent as individuals on a new item of technology, but, even more, the system as a whole becomes dependent on it. (Imagine what would happen to the system today if computers, for example, were eliminated.) Thus the system can move in only one direction, toward greater technologization. Technology repeatedly forces freedom to take a step back, but technology can never take a step backsshort of the overthrow of the whole technological system.

130. Technology advances with great rapidity and threatens freedom at many different points at the same time (crowding, rules and regulations, increasing dependence of individuals on large organizations, propaganda and other psychological techniques, genetic engineering, invasion of privacy through surveillance devices and computers, etc.). To hold back any ONE of the threats to freedom would require a long and difficult social struggle. Those who want to protect freedom are overwhelmed by the sheer number of new attacks and the rapidity with which they develop, hence they become apathetic and no longer resist. To fight each of the threats separately would be futile. Success can be hoped for only by fighting the technological system as a whole; but that is revolution, not reform.

131. Technicians (we use this term in its broad sense to describe all those who perform a specialized task that requires training) tend to be so involved in their work (their surrogate activity) that when a conflict arises between their technical work and freedom, they almost always decide in favor of their technical work. This is obvious in the case of scientists, but it also appears elsewhere: Educators, humanitarian groups, conservation organizations do not hesitate to use propaganda or other psychological techniques to help them achieve their laudable ends. Corporations and government agencies, when they find it useful, do not hesitate to collect information about individuals without regard to their privacy. Law enforcement agencies are frequently inconvenienced by the constitutional rights of suspects and often of completely innocent persons, and they do whatever they can do legally (or sometimes illegally) to restrict or circumvent those rights. Most of these educators, government officials and law officers believe in freedom, privacy and constitutional rights, but when these conflict with their work, they usually feel that their work is more important.

132. It is well known that people generally work better and more persistently when striving for a reward than when attempting to avoid a punishment or negative outcome. Scientists and other technicians are motivated mainly by the rewards they get through their work. But those who oppose technological invasions of freedom are working to avoid a negative outcome, consequently there are few who work persistently and well at this discouraging task. If reformers ever achieved a signal victory that seemed to set up a solid barrier against further erosion of freedom through technical progress, most would tend to relax and turn their attention to more agreeable pursuits. But the scientists would remain busy in their laboratories, and technology as it progresses would find ways, in spite of any barriers, to exert more and more control over individuals and make them always more dependent on the system.

133. No social arrangements, whether laws, institutions, customs or ethical codes, can provide permanent protection against technology. History shows that all social arrangements are transitory; they all change or break down eventually. But technological advances are permanent within the context of a given civilization. Suppose for example that it were possible to arrive at some social arrangements that would prevent genetic engineering from being applied to human beings, or prevent it from being applied in such a way as to threaten freedom and dignity. Still, the technology would remain waiting. Sooner or later the social arrangement would break down. Probably sooner, given the pace of change in our society. Then genetic engineering would begin to invade our sphere of freedom, and this invasion would be irreversible (short of a breakdown of technological civilization itself). Any illusions about achieving anything permanent through social arrangements should be dispelled by what is currently happening with environmental legislation. A few years ago its seemed that there were secure legal barriers preventing at least SOME of the worst forms of environmental degradation. A change in the political wind, and those barriers begin to crumble.

134. For all of the foregoing reasons, technology is a more powerful social force than the aspiration for freedom. But this statement requires an important qualification. It appears that during the next several decades the industrial-technological system will be undergoing severe stresses due to economic and environmental problems, and especially due to problems of human behavior (alienation, rebellion, hostility, a variety of social and psychological difficulties). We hope that the stresses through which the system is likely to pass will cause it to break down, or at least will weaken it sufficiently so that a revolution against it becomes possible. If such a revolution occurs and is successful, then at that particular moment the aspiration for freedom will have proved more powerful than technology.

135. In paragraph 125 we used an analogy of a weak neighbor who is left destitute by a strong neighbor who takes all his land by forcing on him a series of compromises. But suppose now that the strong neighbor gets sick, so that he is unable to defend himself. The weak neighbor can force the strong one to give him his land back, or he can kill him. If he lets the strong man survive and only forces him to give the land back, he is a fool, because when the strong man gets well he will again take all the land for himself. The only sensible alternative for the weaker man is to kill the strong one while he has the chance. In the same way, while the industrial system is sick we must destroy it. If we compromise with it and let it recover from its sickness, it will eventually wipe out all of our freedom.

SIMPLER SOCIAL PROBLEMS HAVE PROVED INTRACTABLE

136. If anyone still imagines that it would be possible to reform the system in such a way as to protect freedom from technology, let him consider how clumsily and for the most part unsuccessfully our society has dealt with other social problems that are far more simple and straightforward. Among other things, the system has failed to stop environmental degradation, political corruption, drug trafficking or domestic abuse.

137. Take our environmental problems, for example. Here the conflict of values is straightforward: economic expedience now versus saving some of our natural resources for our grandchildren. [22] But on this subject we get only a lot of blather and obfuscation from the people who have power, and nothing like a clear, consistent line of action, and we keep on piling up environmental problems that our grandchildren will have to live with. Attempts to resolve the environmental issue consist of struggles and compromises between different factions, some of which are ascendant at one moment, others at another moment. The line of struggle changes with the shifting currents of public opinion. This is not a rational process, nor is it one that is likely to lead to a timely and successful solution to the problem. Major social problems, if they get "solved" at all, are rarely or never solved through any rational, comprehensive plan. They just work themselves out through a process in which various competing groups pursuing their own (usually short-term) self-interest [23] arrive (mainly by luck) at some more or less stable modus vivendi. In fact, the principles we formulated in paragraphs 100-106 make it seem doubtful that rational, long-term social planning can EVER be successful.

138. Thus it is clear that the human race has at best a very limited capacity for solving even relatively straightforward social problems. How then is it going to solve the far more difficult and subtle problem of reconciling freedom with technology? Technology presents clear-cut material advantages, whereas freedom is an abstraction that means different things to different people, and its loss is easily obscured by propaganda and fancy talk.

139. And note this important difference: It is conceivable that our environmental problems (for example) may some day be settled through a rational, comprehensive plan, but if this happens it will be only because it is in the long-term interest of the system to solve these problems. But it is NOT in the interest of the system to preserve freedom or small-group autonomy. On the contrary, it is in the interest of the system to bring human behavior under control to the greatest possible extent. [24] Thus, while practical considerations may eventually force the system to take a rational, prudent approach to environmental problems, equally practical considerations will force the system to regulate human behavior ever more closely (preferably by indirect means that will disguise the encroachment on freedom). This isn't just our opinion. Eminent social scientists (e.g. James Q. Wilson) have stressed the importance of "socializing" people more effectively.

REVOLUTION IS EASIER THAN REFORM

140. We hope we have convinced the reader that the system cannot be reformed in such a way as to reconcile freedom with technology. The only way out is to dispense with the industrial-technological system altogether. This implies revolution, not necessarily an armed uprising, but certainly a radical and fundamental change in the nature of society.

141. People tend to assume that because a revolution involves a much greater change than reform does, it is more difficult to bring about than reform is. Actually, under certain circumstances revolution is much easier than reform. The reason is that a revolutionary movement can inspire an intensity of commitment that a reform movement cannot inspire. A reform movement merely offers to solve a particular social problem. A revolutionary movement offers to solve all problems at one stroke and create a whole new world; it provides the kind of ideal for which people will take great risks and make great sacrifices. For this reasons it would be much easier to overthrow the whole technological system than to put effective, permanent restraints on the development or application of any one segment of technology, such as genetic engineering, for example. Not many people will devote themselves with single-minded passion to imposing and maintaining restraints on genetic engineering, but under suitable conditions large numbers of people may devote themselves passionately to a revolution against the industrial-technological system. As we noted in paragraph 132, reformers seeking to limit certain aspects of technology would be working to avoid a negative outcome. But revolutionaries work to gain a powerful rewardsfulfillment of their revolutionary visionsand therefore work harder and more persistently than reformers do.

142. Reform is always restrained by the fear of painful consequences if changes go too far. But once a revolutionary fever has taken hold of a society, people are willing to undergo unlimited hardships for the sake of their revolution. This was clearly shown in the French and Russian Revolutions. It may be that in such cases only a minority of the population is really committed to the revolution, but this minority is sufficiently large and active so that it becomes the dominant force in society. We will have more to say about revolution in paragraphs 180-205.

CONTROL OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR

143. Since the beginning of civilization, organized societies have had to put pressures on human beings of the sake of the functioning of the social organism. The kinds of pressures vary greatly from one society to another. Some of the pressures are physical (poor diet, excessive labor, environmental pollution), some are psychological (noise, crowding, forcing human behavior into the mold that society requires). In the past, human nature has been approximately constant, or at any rate has varied only within cer tain bounds. Consequently, societies have been able to push people only up to certain limits. When the limit of human endurance has been passed, things start going wrong: rebellion, or crime, or corruption, or evasion of work, or depression and other mental problems, or an elevated death rate, or a declining birth rate or something else, so that either the society breaks down, or its functioning becomes too inefficient and it is (quickly or gradually, through conquest, attrition or evolution) replaced by some more efficient form of society. [25]

144. Thus human nature has in the past put certain limits on the development of societies. People could be pushed only so far and no farther. But today this may be changing, because modern technology is developing ways of modifying human beings.

145. Imagine a society that subjects people to conditions that make them terribly unhappy, then gives them drugs to take away their unhappiness. Science fiction? It is already happening to some extent in our own society. It is well known that the rate of clinical depression has been greatly increasing in recent decades. We believe that this is due to disruption of the power process, as explained in paragraphs 59-76. But even if we are wrong, the increasing rate of depression is certainly the result of SOME conditions that exist in today's society. Instead of removing the conditions that make people depressed, modern society gives them antidepressant drugs. In effect, antidepressants are a means of modifying an individual's internal state in such a way as to enable him to tolerate social conditions that he would otherwise find intolerable. (Yes, we know that depression is often of purely genetic origin. We are referring here to those cases in which environment plays the predominant role.)

146. Drugs that affect the mind are only one example of the new methods of controlling human behavior that modern society is developing. Let us look at some of the other methods.

147. To start with, there are the techniques of surveillance. Hidden video cameras are now used in most stores and in many other places, computers are used to collect and process vast amounts of information about individuals. Information so obtained greatly increases the effectiveness of physical coercion (i.e., law enforcement). [26] Then there are the methods of propaganda, for which the mass communication media provide effective vehicles. Efficient techniques have been developed for winning elections, selling products, influencing public opinion. The entertainment industry serves as an important psychological tool of the system, possibly even when it is dishing out large amounts of sex and violence. Entertainment provides modern man with an essential means of escape. While absorbed in television, videos, etc., he can forget stress, anxiety, frustration, dissatisfaction. Many primitive peoples, when they don't have work to do, are quite content to sit for hours at a time doing nothing at all, because they are at peace with themselves and their world. But most modern people must be constantly occupied or entertained, otherwise they get "bored," i.e., they get fidgety, uneasy, irritable.

148. Other techniques strike deeper than the foregoing. Education is no longer a simple affair of paddling a kid's behind when he doesn't know his lessons and patting him on the head when he does know them. It is becoming a scientific technique for controlling the child's development. Sylvan Learning Centers, for example, have had great success in motivating children to study, and psychological techniques are also used with more or less success in many conventional schools. "Parenting" techniques that are taught to parents are designed to make children accept fundamental values of the system and behave in ways that the system finds desirable. "Mental health" programs, "intervention" techniques, psychotherapy and so forth are ostensibly designed to benefit individuals, but in practice they usually serve as methodsfor inducing individuals to think and behave as the system requires. (There is no contradiction here; an individual whose attitudes or behavior bring him into conflict with the system is up against a force that is too powerful for him to conquer or escape from, hence he is likely to suffer from stress, frustration, defeat. His path will be much easier if he thinks and behaves as the system requires. In that sense the system is acting for the benefit of the individual when it brainwashes him into conformity.) Child abuse in its gross and obvious forms is disapproved in most if not all cultures. Tormenting a child for a trivial reason or no reason at all is something that appalls almost everyone. But many psychologists interpret the concept of abuse much more broadly. Is spanking, when used as part of a rational and consistent system of discipline, a form of abuse? The question will ultimately be decided by whether or not spanking tends to produce behavior that makes a person fit in well with the existing system of society. In practice, the word "abuse" tends to be interpreted to include any method of child-rearing that produces behavior inconvenient for the system. Thus, when they go beyond the prevention of obvious, senseless cruelty, programs for preventing "child abuse" are directed toward the control of human behavior on behalf of the system.

149. Presumably, research will continue to increase the effectiveness of psychological techniques for controlling human behavior. But we think it is unlikely that psychological techniques alone will be sufficient to adjust human beings to the kind of society that technology is creating. Biological methods probably will have to be used. We have already mentioned the use of drugs in this connection. Neurology may provide other avenues for modifying the human mind. Genetic engineering of human beings is already beginning to occur in the form of "gene therapy," and there is no reason to assume that such methods will not eventually be used to modify those aspects of the body that affect mental functioning.

150. As we mentioned in paragraph 134, industrial society seems likely to be entering a period of severe stress, due in part to problems of human behavior and in part to economic and environmental problems. And a considerable proportion of the system's economic and environmental problems result from the way human beings behave. Alienation, low self-esteem, depression, hostility, rebellion; children who won't study, youth gangs, illegal drug use, rape, child abuse, other crimes, unsafe sex, teen pregnancy, population growth, political corruption, race hatred, ethnic rivalry, bitter ideological conflict (e.g., pro-choice vs. pro-life), political extremism, terrorism, sabotage, anti-government groups, hate groups. All these threaten the very survival of the system. The system will therefore be FORCED to use every practical means of controlling human behavior.

151. The social disruption that we see today is certainly not the result of mere chance. It can only be a result of the conditions of life that the system imposes on people. (We have argued that the most important of these conditions is disruption of the power process.) If the systems succeeds in imposing sufficient control over human behavior to assure its own survival, a new watershed in human history will have been passed. Whereas formerly the limits of human endurance have imposed limits on the development of societies (as we explained in paragraphs 143, 144), industrial-technological society will be able to pass those limits by modifying human beings, whether by psychological methods or biological methods or both. In the future, social systems will not be adjusted to suit the needs of human beings. Instead, human being will be adjusted to suit the needs of the system. [27]

152. Generally speaking, technological control over human behavior will probably not be introduced with a totalitarian intention or even through a conscious desire to restrict human freedom. [28] Each new step in the assertion of control over the humanmind will be taken as a rational response to a problem that faces society, such as curing alcoholism, reducing the crime rate or inducing young people to study science and engineering. In many cases there will be a humanitarian justification. For example, when a psychiatrist prescribes an anti-depressant for a depressed patient, he is clearly doing that individual a favor. It would be inhumane to withhold the drug from someone who needs it. When parents send their children to Sylvan Learning Centers to have them manipulated into becoming enthusiastic about their studies, they do so from concern for their children's welfare. It may be that some of these parents wish that one didn't have to have specialized training to get a job and that their kid didn't have to be brainwashed into becoming a computer nerd. But what can they do? They can't change society, and their child may be unemployable if he doesn't have certain skills. So they send him to Sylvan.

153. Thus control over human behavior will be introduced not by a calculated decision of the authorities but through a process of social evolution (RAPID evolution, however). The process will be impossible to resist, because each advance, considered by itself, will appear to be beneficial, or at least the evil involved in making the advance will appear to be beneficial, or at least the evil involved in making the advance will seem to be less than that which would result from not making it (see paragraph 127). Propaganda for example is used for many good purposes, such as discouraging child abuse or race hatred. [14] Sex education is obviously useful, yet the effect of sex education (to the extent that it is successful) is to take the shaping of sexual attitudes away from the family and put it into the hands of the state as represented by the public school system.

154. Suppose a biological trait is discovered that increases the likelihood that a child will grow up to be a criminal, and suppose some sort of gene therapy can remove this trait. [29] Of course most parents whose children possess the trait will have them undergo the therapy. It would be inhumane to do otherwise, since the child would probably have a miserable life if he grew up to be a criminal. But many or most primitive societies have a low crime rate in comparison with that of our society, even though they have neither high-tech methods of child-rearing nor harsh systems of punishment. Since there is no reason to suppose that more modern men than primitive men have innate predatory tendencies, the high crime rate of our society must be due to the pressures that modern conditions put on people, to which many cannot or will not adjust. Thus a treatment designed to remove potential criminal tendencies is at least in part a way of re-engineering people so that they suit the requirements of the system.

155. Our society tends to regard as a "sickness" any mode of thought or behavior that is inconvenient for the system, and this is plausible because when an individual doesn't fit into the system it causes pain to the individual as well as problems for the system. Thus the manipulation of an individual to adjust him to the system is seen as a "cure" for a "sickness" and therefore as good.

156. In paragraph 127 we pointed out that if the use of a new item of technology is INITIALLY optional, it does not necessarily REMAIN optional, because the new technology tends to change society in such a way that it becomes difficult or impossible for an individual to function without using that technology. This applies also to the technology of human behavior. In a world in which most children are put through a program to make them enthusiastic about studying, a parent will almost be forced to put his kid through such a program, because if he does not, then the kid will grow up to be, comparatively speaking, an ignoramus and therefore unemployable. Or suppose a biological treatment is discovered that, without undesirable side-effects, will greatly reduce the psychological stress from which so many people suffer in our society.If large numbers of people choose to undergo the treatment, then the general level of stress in society will be reduced, so that it will be possible for the system to increase the stress-producing pressures. In fact, something like this seems to have happened already with one of our society's most important psychological tools for enabling people to reduce (or at least temporarily escape from) stress, namely, mass entertainment (see paragraph 147). Our use of mass entertainment is "optional": No law requires us to watch television, listen to the radio, read magazines. Yet mass entertainment is a means of escape and stress-reduction on which most of us have become dependent. Everyone complains about the trashiness of television, but almost everyone watches it. A few have kicked the TV habit, but it would be a rare person who could get along today without using ANY form of mass entertainment. (Yet until quite recently in human history most people got along very nicely with no other entertainment than that which each local community created for itself.) Without the entertainment industry the system probably would not have been able to get away with putting as much stress-producing pressure on us as it does.

157. Assuming that industrial society survives, it is likely that technology will eventually acquire something approaching complete control over human behavior. It has been established beyond any rational doubt that human thought and behavior have a largely biological basis. As experimenters have demonstrated, feelings such as hunger, pleasure, anger and fear can be turned on and off by electrical stimulation of appropriate parts of the brain. Memories can be destroyed by damaging parts of the brain or they can be brought to the surface by electrical stimulation. Hallucinations can be induced or moods changed by drugs. There may or may not be an immaterial human soul, but if there is one it clearly is less powerful that the biological mechanisms of human behavior. For if that were not the case then researchers would not be able so easily to manipulate human feelings and behavior with drugs and electrical currents.

158. It presumably would be impractical for all people to have electrodes inserted in their heads so that they could be controlled by the authorities. But the fact that human thoughts and feelings are so open to biological intervention shows that the problem of controlling human behavior is mainly a technical problem; a problem of neurons, hormones and complex molecules; the kind of problem that is accessible to scientific attack. Given the outstanding record of our society in solving technical problems, it is overwhelmingly probable that great advances will be made in the control of human behavior.

159. Will public resistance prevent the introduction of technological control of human behavior? It certainly would if an attempt were made to introduce such control all at once. But since technological control will be introduced through a long sequence of small advances, there will be no rational and effective public resistance. (See paragraphs 127, 132, 153.)

160. To those who think that all this sounds like science fiction, we point out that yesterday's science fiction is today's fact. The Industrial Revolution has radically altered man's environment and way of life, and it is only to be expected that as technology is increasingly applied to the human body and mind, man himself will be altered as radically as his environment and way of life have been.

HUMAN RACE AT A CROSSROADS

161. But we have gotten ahead of our story. It is one thing to develop in the laboratory a series of psychological or biological techniques for manipulating human behavior and quite another to integrate these techniques into a functioning social system. The latter problem is the more difficult of the two. For example, while the techniques of educational psychology doubtless work quite well in the "lab schools" where they are developed, it is not necessarily easy to apply them effectively throughout our educational system. We all know what many of our schools are like. The teachers are too busy taking knives and guns away from the kids to subject them to the latest techniques for making them into computer nerds. Thus, in spite of all its technical advances relating to human behavior, the system to date has not been impressively successful in controlling human beings. The people whose behavior is fairly well under the control of the system are those of the type that might be called "bourgeois." But there are growing numbers of people who in one way or another are rebels against the system: welfare leaches, youth gangs, cultists, satanists, nazis, radical environmentalists, militiamen, etc.

162. The system is currently engaged in a desperate struggle to overcome certain problems that threaten its survival, among which the problems of human behavior are the most important. If the system succeeds in acquiring sufficient control over human behavior quickly enough, it will probably survive. Otherwise it will break down. We think the issue will most likely be resolved within the next several decades, say 40 to 100 years.

163. Suppose the system survives the crisis of the next several decades. By that time it will have to have solved, or at least brought under control, the principal problems that confront it, in particular that of "socializing" human beings; that is, making people sufficiently docile so that heir behavior no longer threatens the system. That being accomplished, it does not appear that there would be any further obstacle to the development of technology, and it would presumably advance toward its logical conclusion, which is complete control over everything on Earth, including human beings and all other important organisms. The system may become a unitary, monolithic organization, or it may be more or less fragmented and consist of a number of organizations coexisting in a relationship that includes elements of both cooperation and competition, just as today the government, the corporations and other large organizations both cooperate and compete with one another. Human freedom mostly will have vanished, because individuals and small groups will be impotent vis-a-vis large organizations armed with supertechnology and an arsenal of advanced psychological and biological tools for manipulating human beings, besides instruments of surveillance and physical coercion. Only a small number of people will have any real power, and even these probably will have only very limited freedom, because their behavior too will be regulated; just as today our politicians and corporation executives can retain their positions of power only as long as their behavior remains within certain fairly narrow limits.

164. Don't imagine that the systems will stop developing further techniques for controlling human beings and nature once the crisis of the next few decades is over and increasing control is no longer necessary for the system's survival. On the contrary, once the hard times are over the system will increase its control over people and nature more rapidly, because it will no longer be hampered by difficulties of the kind that it is currently experiencing. Survival is not the principal motive for extending control. As we explained in paragraphs 87-90, technicians and scientists carry on their work largely as a surrogate activity; that is, they satisfy their need for power by solving technical problems. They will continue to do this with unabated enthusiasm, and among the most interesting and challenging problems for them to solve will be those of understanding the human body and mind and intervening in their development. For the "good of humanity," of course.

165. But suppose on the other hand that the stresses of the coming decades prove to be too much for the system. If the system breaks down there may be a period of chaos, a "time of troubles" such as those that history has recorded at various epochs in the past. It is impossible to predict what would emerge from such a time of troubles, but at any rate the human race would be given a new chance. The greatest danger is that industrial society may begin to reconstitute itself within the first few years after the breakdown. Certainly there will be many people (power-hungry types especially) who will be anxious to get the factories running again.

166. Therefore two tasks confront those who hate the servitude to which the industrial system is reducing the human race. First, we must work to heighten the social stresses within the system so as to increase the likelihood that it will break down or be weakened sufficiently so that a revolution against it becomes possible. Second, it is necessary to develop and propagate an ideology that opposes technology and the industrial society if and when the system becomes sufficiently weakened. And such an ideology will help to assure that, if and when industrial society breaks down, its remnants will be smashed beyond repair, so that the system cannot be reconstituted. The factories should be destroyed, technical books burned, etc.

HUMAN SUFFERING

167. The industrial system will not break down purely as a result of revolutionary action. It will not be vulnerable to revolutionary attack unless its own internal problems of development lead it into very serious difficulties. So if the system breaks down it will do so either spontaneously, or through a process that is in part spontaneous but helped along by revolutionaries. If the breakdown is sudden, many people will die, since the world's population has become so overblown that it cannot even feed itself any longer without advanced technology. Even if the breakdown is gradual enough so that reduction of the population can occur more through lowering of the birth rate than through elevation of the death rate, the process of de-industrialization probably will be very chaotic and involve much suffering. It is naive to think it likely that technology can be phased out in a smoothly managed, orderly way, especially since the technophiles will fight stubbornly at every step. Is it therefore cruel to work for the breakdown of the system? Maybe, but maybe not. In the first place, revolutionaries will not be able to break the system down unless it is already in enough trouble so that there would be a good chance of its eventually breaking down by itself anyway; and the bigger the system grows, the more disastrous the consequences of its breakdown will be; so it may be that revolutionaries, by hastening the onset of the breakdown, will be reducing the extent of the disaster.

168. In the second place, one has to balance struggle and death against the loss of freedom and dignity. To many of us, freedom and dignity are more important than a long life or avoidance of physical pain. Besides, we all have to die some time, and it may be better to die fighting for survival, or for a cause, than to live a long but empty and purposeless life.

169. In the third place, it is not at all certain that survival of the system will lead to less suffering than breakdown of the system would. The system has already caused, and is continuing to cause, immense suffering all over the world. Ancient cultures, that for hundreds of years gave people a satisfactory relationship with each other and with their environment, have been shattered by contact with industrial society, and the result has been a whole catalogue of economic, environmental, social and psychological problems. One of the effects of the intrusion of industrial society has been that over much of the world traditional controls on population have been thrown out of balance. Hence the population explosion, with all that that implies. Then there is the psychological suffering that is widespread throughout the supposedly fortunate countries of the West (see paragraphs 44, 45). No one knows what will happen as a result of ozone depletion, the greenhouse effect and other environmental problems that cannot yet be foreseen. And, as nuclear proliferation has shown, new technology cannot be kept out of the hands of dictators and irresponsible Third World nations. Would you like to speculate about what Iraq or North Korea will do with genetic engineering?

170. "Oh!" say the technophiles, "Science is going to fix all that! We will conquer famine, eliminate psychological suffering, make everybody healthy and happy!" Yeah, sure. That's what they said 200 years ago. The Industrial Revolution was supposed to eliminate poverty, make everybody happy, etc. The actual result has been quite different. The technophiles are hopelessly naive (or self-deceiving) in their understanding of social problems. They are unaware of (or choose to ignore) the fact that when large changes, even seemingly beneficial ones, are introduced into a society, they lead to a long sequence of other changes, most of which are impossible to predict (paragraph 103). The result is disruption of the society. So it is very probable that in their attempts to end poverty and disease, engineer docile, happy personalities and so forth, the technophiles will create social systems that are terribly troubled, even more so than the present once. For example, the scientists boast that they will end famine by creating new, genetically engineered food plants. But this will allow the human population to keep expanding indefinitely, and it is well known that crowding leads to increased stress and aggression. This is merely one example of the PREDICTABLE problems that will arise. We emphasize that, as past experience has shown, technical progress will lead to other new problems that CANNOT be predicted in advance (paragraph 103). In fact, ever since the Industrial Revolution, technology has been creating new problems for society far more rapidly than it has been solving old ones. Thus it will take a long and difficult period of trial and error for the technophiles to work the bugs out of their Brave New World (if they every do). In the meantime there will be great suffering. So it is not at all clear that the survival of industrial society would involve less suffering than the breakdown of that society would. Technology has gotten the human race into a fix from which there is not likely to be any easy escape.

THE FUTURE

171. But suppose now that industrial society does survive the next several decades and that the bugs do eventually get worked out of the system, so that it functions smoothly. What kind of system will it be? We will consider several possibilities.

172. First let us postulate that the computer scientists succeed in developing intelligent machines that can do all things better than human beings can do them. In that case presumably all work will be done by vast, highly organized systems of machines and no human effort will be necessary. Either of two cases might occur. The machines might be permitted to make all of their own decisions without human oversight, or else human control over the machines might be retained.

173. If the machines are permitted to make all their own decisions, we can't make any conjectures as to the results, because it is impossible to guess how such machines might behave. We only point out that the fate of the human race would be at the mercy of the machines. It might be argued that the human race would never be foolish enough to hand over all power to the machines. But we are suggesting neither that the human race would voluntarily turn power over to the machines nor that the machines would willfully seize power. What we do suggest is that the human race might easily permit itself to drift into a position of such dependence on the machines that it would have no practical choice but to accept all of the machines' decisions. As society and the problems that face it become more and more complex and as machines become more and more intelligent, people will let machines make more and more of their decisions for them, simply because machine-made decisions will bring better results than man-made ones. Eventually a stage may be reached at which the decisions necessary to keep the system running will be so complex that human beings will be incapable of making them intelligently. At that stage the machines will be in effective control. People won't be able to just turn the machines off, because they will be so dependent on them that turning them off would amount to suicide.

174. On the other hand it is possible that human control over the machines may be retained. In that case the average man may have control over certain private machines of his own, such as his car or his personal computer, but control over large systems of machines will be in the hands of a tiny elitesjust as it is today, but with two differences. Due to improved techniques the elite will have greater control over the masses; and because human work will no longer be necessary the masses will be superfluous, a useless burden on the system. If the elite is ruthless they may simply decide to exterminate the mass of humanity. If they are humane they may use propaganda or other psychological or biological techniques to reduce the birth rate until the mass of humanity becomes extinct, leaving the world to the elite. Or, if the elite consists of soft-hearted liberals, they may decide to play the role of good shepherds to the rest of the human race. They will see to it that everyone's physical needs are satisfied, that all children are raised under psychologically hygienic conditions, that everyone has a wholesome hobby to keep him busy, and that anyone who may become dissatisfied undergoes "treatment" to cure his "problem." Of course, life will be so purposeless that people will have to be biologically or psychologically engineered either to remove their need for the power process or to make them "sublimate" their drive for power into some harmless hobby. These engineered human beings may be happy in such a society, but they most certainly will not be free. They will have been reduced to the status of domestic animals.

175. But suppose now that the computer scientists do not succeed in developing artificial intelligence, so that human work remains necessary. Even so, machines will take care of more and more of the simpler tasks so that there will be an increasing surplus of human workers at the lower levels of ability. (We see this happening already. There are many people who find it difficult or impossible to get work, because for intellectual or psychological reasons they cannot acquire the level of training necessary to make themselves useful in the present system.) On those who are employed, ever-increasing demands will be placed: They will need more and more training, more and more ability, and will have to be ever more reliable, conforming and docile, because they will be more and more like cells of a giant organism. Their tasks will be increasingly specialized, so that their work will be, in a sense, out of touch with the real world, being concentrated on one tiny slice of reality. The system will have to use any means that it can, whether psychological or biological, to engineer people to be docile, to have the abilities that the system requires and to "sublimate" their drive for power into some specialized task. But the statement that the people of such a society will have to be docile may require qualification. The society may find competitiveness useful, provided that ways are found of directing competitiveness into channels that serve the needs of the system. We can imagine a future society in which there is endless competition for positions of prestige and power. But no more than a very few people will ever reach the top, where the only real power is (see end of paragraph 163). Very repellent is a society in which a person can satisfy his need for power only by pushing large numbers of other people out of the way and depriving them of THEIR opportunity for power.

176. One can envision scenarios that incorporate aspects of more than one of the possibilities that we have just discussed. For instance, it may be that machines will take over most of the work that is of real, practical importance, but that human beings will be kept busy by being given relatively unimportant work. It has been suggested, for example, that a great development of the service industries might provide work for human beings. Thus people would spent their time shining each other's shoes, driving each other around in taxicabs, making handicrafts for one another, waiting on each other's tables, etc. This seems to us a thoroughly contemptible way for the human race to end up, and we doubt that many people would find fulfilling lives in such pointless busy-work. They would seek other, dangerous outlets (drugs, crime, "cults," hate groups) unless they were biologically or psychologically engineered to adapt them to such a way of life.

177. Needless to say, the scenarios outlined above do not exhaust all the possibilities. They only indicate the kinds of outcomes that seem to us most likely. But we can envision no plausible scenarios that are any more palatable than the ones we've just described. It is overwhelmingly probable that if the industrial-technological system survives the next 40 to 100 years, it will by that time have developed certain general characteristics: Individuals (at least those of the "bourgeois" type, who are integrated into the system and make it run, and who therefore have all the power) will be more dependent than ever on large organizations; they will be more "socialized" than ever and their physical and mental qualities to a significant extent (possibly to a very great extent) will be those that are engineered into them rather than being the results of chance (or of God's will, or whatever); and whatever may be left of wild nature will be reduced to remnants preserved for scientific study and kept under the supervision and management of scientists (hence it will no longer be truly wild). In the long run (say a few centuries from now) it is likely that neither the human race nor any other important organisms will exist as we know them today, because once you start modifying organisms through genetic engineering there is no reason to stop at any particular point, so that the modifications will probably continue until man and other organisms have been utterly transformed.

178. Whatever else may be the case, it is certain that technology is creating for human beings a new physical and social environment radically different from the spectrum of environments to which natural selection has adapted the human race physically and psychologically. If man is not adjusted to this new environment by being artificially re-engineered, then he will be adapted to it through a long and painful process of natural selection. The former is far more likely than the latter.

179. It would be better to dump the whole stinking system and take the consequences.

STRATEGY

180. The technophiles are taking us all on an utterly reckless ride into the unknown. Many people understand something of what technological progress is doing to us yet take a passive attitude toward it because they think it is inevitable. But we (FC) don't think it is inevitable. We think it can be stopped, and we will give here some indications of how to go about stopping it.

181. As we stated in paragraph 166, the two main tasks for the present are to promote social stress and instability in industrial society and to develop and propagate an ideology that opposes technology and the industrial system. When the system becomes sufficiently stressed and unstable, a revolution against technology may be possible. The pattern would be similar to that of the French and Russian Revolutions. French society and Russian society, for several decades prior to their respective revolutions, showed increasing signs of stress and weakness. Meanwhile, ideologies were being developed that offered a new world view that was quite different from the old one. In the Russian case, revolutionaries were actively working to undermine the old order. Then, when the old system was put under sufficient additional stress (by financial crisis in France, by military defeat in Russia) it was swept away by revolution. What we propose is something along the same lines.

182. It will be objected that the French and Russian Revolutions were failures. But most revolutions have two goals. One is to destroy an old form of society and the other is to set up the new form of society envisioned by the revolutionaries. The French and Russian revolutionaries failed (fortunately!) to create the new kind of society of which they dreamed, but they were quite successful in destroying the old society. We have no illusions about the feasibility of creating a new, ideal form of society. Our goal is only to destroy the existing form of society.

183. But an ideology, in order to gain enthusiastic support, must have a positive ideal as well as a negative one; it must be FOR something as well as AGAINST something. The positive ideal that we propose is Nature. That is, WILD nature: those aspects of the functioning of the Earth and its living things that are independent of human management and free of human interference and control. And with wild nature we include human nature, by which we mean those aspects of the functioning of the human individual that are not subject to regulation by organized society but are products of chance, or free will, or God (depending on your religious or philosophical opinions).

184. Nature makes a perfect counter-ideal to technology for several reasons. Nature (that which is outside the power of the system) is the opposite of technology (which seeks to expand indefinitely the power of the system). Most people will agree that nature is beautiful; certainly it has tremendous popular appeal. The radical environmentalists ALREADY hold an ideology that exalts nature and opposes technology. [30] It is not necessary for the sake of nature to set up some chimerical utopia or any new kind of social order. Nature takes care of itself: It was a spontaneous creation that existed long before any human society, and for countless centuries many different kinds of human societies coexisted with nature without doing it an excessive amount of damage. Only with the Industrial Revolution did the effect of human society on nature become really devastating. To relieve the pressure on nature it is not necessary to create a special kind of social system, it is only necessary to get rid of industrial society. Granted, this will not solve all problems. Industrial society has already done tremendous damage to nature and it will take a very long time for the scars to heal. Besides, even pre-industrial societies can do significant damage to nature. Nevertheless, getting rid of industrial society will accomplish a great deal. It will relieve the worst of the pressure on nature so that the scars can begin to heal. It will remove the capacity of organized society to keep increasing its control over nature (including human nature). Whatever kind of society may exist after the demise of the industrial system, it is certain that most people will live close to nature, because in the absence of advanced technology there is no other way that people CAN live. To feed themselves they must be peasants or herdsmen or fishermen or hunters, etc. And, generally speaking, local autonomy should tend to increase, because lack of advanced technology and rapid communications will limit the capacity of governments or other large organizations to control local communities.

185. As for the negative consequences of eliminating industrial societyswell, you can't eat your cake and have it too. To gain one thing you have to sacrifice another.

186. Most people hate psychological conflict. For this reason they avoid doing any serious thinking about difficult social issues, and they like to have such issues presented to them in simple, black-and-white terms: THIS is all good and THAT is all bad. The revolutionary ideology should therefore be developed on two levels.

187. On the more sophisticated level the ideology should address itself to people who are intelligent, thoughtful and rational. The object should be to create a core of people who will be opposed to the industrial system on a rational, thought-out basis, with full appreciation of the problems and ambiguities involved, and of the price that has to be paid for getting rid of the system. It is particularly important to attract people of this type, as they are capable people and will be instrumental in influencing others. These people should be addressed on as rational a level as possible. Facts should never intentionally be distorted and intemperate language should be avoided. This does not mean that no appeal can be made to the emotions, but in making such appeal care should be taken to avoid misrepresenting the truth or doing anything else that would destroy the intellectual respectability of the ideology.

188. On a second level, the ideology should be propagated in a simplified form that will enable the unthinking majority to see the conflict of technology vs. nature in unambiguous terms. But even on this second level the ideology should not be expressed in language that is so cheap, intemperate or irrational that it alienates people of the thoughtful and rational type. Cheap, intemperate propaganda sometimes achieves impressive short-term gains, but it will be more advantageous in the long run to keep the loyalty of a small number of intelligently committed people than to arouse the passions of an unthinking, fickle mob who will change their attitude as soon as someone comes along with a better propaganda gimmick. However, propaganda of the rabble-rousing type may be necessary when the system is nearing the point of collapse and there is a final struggle between rival ideologies to determine which will become dominant when the old world-view goes under.

189. Prior to that final struggle, the revolutionaries should not expect to have a majority of people on their side. History is made by active, determined minorities, not by the majority, which seldom has a clear and consistent idea of what it really wants. Until the time comes for the final push toward revolution [31], the task of revolutionaries will be less to win the shallow support of the majority than to build a small core of deeply committed people. As for the majority, it will be enough to make them aware of the existence of the new ideology and remind them of it frequently; though of course it will be desirable to get majority support to the extent that this can be done without weakening the core of seriously committed people.

190. Any kind of social conflict helps to destabilize the system, but one should be careful about what kind of conflict one encourages. The line of conflict should be drawn between the mass of the people and the power-holding elite of industrial society (politicians, scientists, upper-level business executives, government officials, etc.). It should NOT be drawn between the revolutionaries and the mass of the people. For example, it would be bad strategy for the revolutionaries to condemn Americans for their habits of consumption. Instead, the average American should be portrayed as a victim of the advertising and marketing industry, which has suckered him into buying a lot of junk that he doesn't need and that is very poor compensation for his lost freedom. Either approach is consistent with the facts. It is merely a matter of attitude whether you blame the advertising industry for manipulating the public or blame the public for allowing itself to be manipulated. As a matter of strategy one should generally avoid blaming the public.

191. One should think twice before encouraging any other social conflict than that between the power-holding elite (which wields technology) and the general public (over which technology exerts its power). For one thing, other conflicts tend to distract attention from the important conflicts (between power-elite and ordinary people, between technology and nature); for another thing, other conflicts may actually tend to encourage technologization, because each side in such a conflict wants to use technological power to gain advantages over its adversary. This is clearly seen in rivalries between nations. It also appears in ethnic conflicts within nations. For example, in America many black leaders are anxious to gain power for African Americans by placing back individuals in the technological power-elite. They want there to be many black government officials, sc ientists, corporation executives and so forth. In this way they are helping to absorb the African American subculture into the technological system. Generally speaking, one should encourage only those social conflicts that can be fitted into the framework of the conflicts of power-elite vs. ordinary people, technology vs nature.

192. But the way to discourage ethnic conflict is NOT through militant advocacy of minority rights (see paragraphs 21, 29). Instead, the revolutionaries should emphasize that although minorities do suffer more or less disadvantage, this disadvantage is of peripheral significance. Our real enemy is the industrial-technological system, and in the struggle against the system, ethnic distinctions are of no importance.

193. The kind of revolution we have in mind will not necessarily involve an armed uprising against any government. It may or may not involve physical violence, but it will not be a POLITICAL revolution. Its focus will be on technology and economics, not politics. [32]

194. Probably the revolutionaries should even AVOID assuming political power, whether by legal or illegal means, until the industrial system is stressed to the danger point and has proved itself to be a failure in the eyes of most people. Suppose for example that some "green" party should win control of the United States Congress in an election. In order to avoid betraying or watering down their own ideology they would have to take vigorous measures to turn economic growth into economic shrinkage. To the average man the results would appear disastrous: There would be massive unemployment, shortages of commodities, etc. Even if the grosser ill effects could be avoided through superhumanly skillful management, still people would have to begin giving up the luxuries to which they have become addicted. Dissatisfaction would grow, the "green" party would be voted out of office and the revolutionaries would have suffered a severe setback. For this reason the revolutionaries should not try to acquire political power until the system has gotten itself into such a mess that any hardships will be seen as resulting from the failures of the industrial system itself and not from the policies of the revolutionaries. The revolution against technology will probably have to be a revolution by outsiders, a revolution from below and not from above.

195. The revolution must be international and worldwide. It cannot be carried out on a nation-by-nation basis. Whenever it is suggested that the United States, for example, should cut back on technological progress or economic growth, people get hysterical and start screaming that if we fall behind in technology the Japanese will get ahead of us. Holy robots! The world will fly off its orbit if the Japanese ever sell more cars than we do! (Nationalism is a great promoter of technology.) More reasonably, it is argued that if the relatively democratic nations of the world fall behind in technology while nasty, dictatorial nations like China, Vietnam and North Korea continue to progress, eventually the dictators may come to dominate the world. That is why the industrial system should be attacked in all nations simultaneously, to the extent that this may be possible. True, there is no assurance that the industrial system can be destroyed at approximately the same time all over the world, and it is even conceivable that the attempt to overthrow the system could lead instead to the domination of the system by dictators. That is a risk that has to be taken. And it is worth taking, since the difference between a "democratic" industrial system and one controlled by dictators is small compared with the difference between an industrial system and a non-industrial one. [33] It might even be argued that an industrial system controlled by dictators would be preferable, because dictator-controlled systems usually have proved inefficient, hence they are presumably more likely to break down. Look at Cuba.

196. Revolutionaries might consider favoring measures that tend to bind the world economy into a unified whole. Free trade agreements like NAFTA and GATT are probably harmful to the environment in the short run, but in the long run they may perhaps be advantageous because they foster economic interdependence between nations. It will be easier to destroy the industrial system on a worldwide basis if the world economy is so unified that its breakdown in any one major nation will lead to its breakdown in all industrialized nations.

197. Some people take the line that modern man has too much power, too much control over nature; they argue for a more passive attitude on the part of the human race. At best these people are expressing themselves unclearly, because they fail to distinguish between power for LARGE ORGANIZATIONS and power for INDIVIDUALS and SMALL GROUPS. It is a mistake to argue for powerlessness and passivity, because people NEED power. Modern man as a collective entitysthat is, the industrial systemshas immense power over nature, and we (FC) regard this as evil. But modern INDIVIDUALS and SMALL GROUPS OF INDIVIDUALS have far less power than primitive man ever did. Generally speaking, the vast power of "modern man" over nature is exercised not by individuals or small groups but by large organizations. To the extent that the average modern INDIVIDUAL can wield the power of technology, he is permitted to do so only within narrow limits and only under the supervision and control of the system. (You need a license for everything and with the license come rules and regulations.) The individual has only those technological powers with which the system chooses to provide him. His PERSONAL power over nature is slight.

198. Primitive INDIVIDUALS and SMALL GROUPS actually had considerable power over nature; or maybe it would be better to say power WITHIN nature. When primitive man needed food he knew how to find and prepare edible roots, how to track game and take it with homemade weapons. He knew how to protect himself from heat, cold, rain, dangerous animals, etc. But primitive man did relatively little damage to nature because the COLLECTIVE power of primitive society was negligible compared to the COLLECTIVE power of industrial society.

199. Instead of arguing for powerlessness and passivity, one should argue that the power of the INDUSTRIAL SYSTEM should be broken, and that this will greatly INCREASE the power and freedom of INDIVIDUALS and SMALL GROUPS.

200. Until the industrial system has been thoroughly wrecked, the destruction of that system must be the revolutionaries' ONLY goal. Other goals would distract attention and energy from the main goal. More importantly, if the revolutionaries permit themselves to have any other goal than the destruction of technology, they will be tempted to use technology as a tool for reaching that other goal. If they give in to that temptation, they will fall right back into the technological trap, because modern technology is a unified, tightly organized system, so that, in order to retain SOME technology, one finds oneself obliged to retain MOST technology, hence one ends up sacrificing only token amounts of technology.

201. Suppose for example that the revolutionaries took "social justice" as a goal. Human nature being what it is, social justice would not come about spontaneously; it would have to be enforced. In order to enforce it the revolutionaries would have to retain central organization and control. For that they would need rapid long-distance transportation and communication, and therefore all the technology needed to support the transportation and communication systems. To feed and clothe poor people they would have to use agricultural and manufacturing technology. And so forth. So that the attempt to insure social justice would force them to retain most parts of the technological system. Not that we have anything against social justice, but it must not be allowed to interfere with the effort to get rid of the technological system.

202. It would be hopeless for revolutionaries to try to attack the system without using SOME modern technology. If nothing else they must use the communications media to spread their message. But they should use modern technology for only ONE purpose: to attack the technological system.

203. Imagine an alcoholic sitting with a barrel of wine in front of him. Suppose he starts saying to himself, "Wine isn't bad for you if used in moderation. Why, they say small amounts of wine are even good for you! It won't do me any harm if I take just one little drink.... " Well you know what is going to happen. Never forget that the human race with technology is just like an alcoholic with a barrel of wine.

204. Revolutionaries should have as many children as they can. There is strong scientific evidence that social attitudes are to a significant extent inherited. No one suggests that a social attitude is a direct outcome of a person's genetic constitution, but it appears that personality traits are partly inherited and that certain personality traits tend, within the context of our society, to make a person more likely to hold this or that social attitude. Objections to these findings have been raised, but the objections are feeble and seem to be ideologically motivated. In any event, no one denies that children tend on the average to hold social attitudes similar to those of their parents. From our point of view it doesn't matter all that much whether the attitudes are passed on genetically or through childhood training. In either case they ARE passed on.

205. The trouble is that many of the people who are inclined to rebel against the industrial system are also concerned about the population problems, hence they are apt to have few or no children. In this way they may be handing the world over to the sort of people who support or at least accept the industrial system. To insure the strength of the next generation of revolutionaries the present generation should reproduce itself abundantly. In doing so they will be worsening the population problem only slightly. And the important problem is to get rid of the industrial system, because once the industrial system is gone the world's population necessarily will decrease (see paragraph 167); whereas, if the industrial system survives, it will continue developing new techniques of food production that may enable the world's population to keep increasing almost indefinitely.

206. With regard to revolutionary strategy, the only points on which we absolutely insist are that the single overriding goal must be the elimination of modern technology, and that no other goal can be allowed to compete with this one. For the rest, revolutionaries should take an empirical approach. If experience indicates that some of the recommendations made in the foregoing paragraphs are not going to give good results, then those recommendations should be discarded.

TWO KINDS OF TECHNOLOGY

207. An argument likely to be raised against our proposed revolution is that it is bound to fail, because (it is claimed) throughout history technology has always progressed, never regressed, hence technological regression is impossible. But this claim is false.

208. We distinguish between two kinds of technology, which we will call small-scale technology and organization-dependent technology. Small-scale technology is technology that can be used by small-scale communities without outside assistance. Organization-dependent technology is technology that depends on large-scale social organization. We are aware of no significant cases of regression in small-scale technology. But organization-dependent technology DOES regress when the social organization on which it depends breaks down. Example: When the Roman Empire fell apart the Romans' small-scale technology survived because any clever village craftsman could build, for instance, a water wheel, any skilled smith could make steel by Roman methods, and so forth. But the Romans' organization-dependent technology DID regress. Their aqueducts fell into disrepair and were never rebuilt. Their techniques of road construction were lost. The Roman system of urban sanitation was forgotten, so that not until r ather recent times did the sanitation of European cities equal that of Ancient Rome.

209. The reason why technology has seemed always to progress is that, until perhaps a century or two before the Industrial Revolution, most technology was small-scale technology. But most of the technology developed since the Industrial Revolution is organization-dependent technology. Take the refrigerator for example. Without factory-made parts or the facilities of a post-industrial machine shop it would be virtually impossible for a handful of local craftsmen to build a refrigerator. If by some miracle they did succeed in building one it would be useless to them without a reliable source of electric power. So they would have to dam a stream and build a generator. Generators require large amounts of copper wire. Imagine trying to make that wire without modern machinery. And where would they get a gas suitable for refrigeration? It would be much easier to build an icehouse or preserve food by drying or picking, as was done before the invention of the refrigerator.

210. So it is clear that if the industrial system were once thoroughly broken down, refrigeration technology would quickly be lost. The same is true of other organization-dependent technology. And once this technology had been lost for a generation or so it would take centuries to rebuild it, just as it took centuries to build it the first time around. Surviving technical books would be few and scattered. An industrial society, if built from scratch without outside help, can only be built in a series of stages: You need tools to make tools to make tools to make tools ... . A long process of economic development and progress in social organization is required. And, even in the absence of an ideology opposed to technology, there is no reason to believe that anyone would be interested in rebuilding industrial society. The enthusiasm for "progress" is a phenomenon peculiar to the modern form of society, and it seems not to have existed prior to the 17th century or thereabouts.

211. In the late Middle Ages there were four main civilizations that were about equally "advanced": Europe, the Islamic world, India, and the Far East (China, Japan, Korea). Three of those civilizations remained more or less stable, and only Europe became dynamic. No one knows why Europe became dynamic at that time; historians have their theories but these are only speculation. At any rate, it is clear that rapid development toward a technological form of society occurs only under special conditions. So there is no reason to assume that a long-lasting technological regression cannot be brought about.

212. Would society EVENTUALLY develop again toward an industrial-technological form? Maybe, but there is no use in worrying about it, since we can't predict or control events 500 or 1,000 years in the future. Those problems must be dealt with by the people who will live at that time.

THE DANGER OF LEFTISM

213. Because of their need for rebellion and for membership in a movement, leftists or persons of similar psychological type often are unattracted to a rebellious or activist movement whose goals and membership are not initially leftist. The resulting influx of leftish types can easily turn a non-leftist movement into a leftist one, so that leftist goals replace or distort the original goals of the movement.

214. To avoid this, a movement that exalts nature and opposes technology must take a resolutely anti-leftist stance and must avoid all collaboration with leftists. Leftism is in the long run inconsistent with wild nature, with human freedom and with the elimination of modern technology. Leftism is collectivist; it seeks to bind together the entire world (both nature and the human race) into a unified whole. But this implies management of nature and of human life by organized society, and it requires advanced technology. You can't have a united world without rapid transportation and communication, you can't make all people love one another without sophisticated psychological techniques, you can't have a "planned society" without the necessary technological base. Above all, leftism is driven by the need for power, and the leftist seeks power on a collective basis, through identification with a mass movement or an organization. Leftism is unlikely ever to give up technology, because technology is too valuable a source of collective power.

215. The anarchist [34] too seeks power, but he seeks it on an individual or small-group basis; he wants individuals and small groups to be able to control the circumstances of their own lives. He opposes technology because it makes small groups dependent on large organizations.

216. Some leftists may seem to oppose technology, but they will oppose it only so long as they are outsiders and the technological system is controlled by non-leftists. If leftism ever becomes dominant in society, so that the technological system becomes a tool in the hands of leftists, they will enthusiastically use it and promote its growth. In doing this they will be repeating a pattern that leftism has shown again and again in the past. When the Bolsheviks in Russia were outsiders, they vigorously opposed censorship and the secret police, they advocated self-determination for ethnic minorities, and so forth; but as soon as they came into power themselves, they imposed a tighter censorship and created a more ruthless secret police than any that had existed under the tsars, and they oppressed ethnic minorities at least as much as the tsars had done. In the United States, a couple of decades ago when leftists were a minority in our universities, leftist professors were vigorous proponents of academic freedom, but today, in those of our universities where leftists have become dominant, they have shown themselves ready to take away from everyone else's academic freedom. (This is "political correctness.") The same will happen with leftists and technology: They will use it to oppress everyone else if they ever get it under their own control.

217. In earlier revolutions, leftists of the most power-hungry type, repeatedly, have first cooperated with non-leftist revolutionaries, as well as with leftists of a more libertarian inclination, and later have double-crossed them to seize power for themselves. Robespierre did this in the French Revolution, the Bolsheviks did it in the Russian Revolution, the communists did it in Spain in 1938 and Castro and his followers did it in Cuba. Given the past history of leftism, it would be utterly foolish for non-leftist revolutionaries today to collaborate with leftists.

218. Various thinkers have pointed out that leftism is a kind of religion. Leftism is not a religion in the strict sense because leftist doctrine does not postulate the existence of any supernatural being. But, for the leftist, leftism plays a psychological role much like that which religion plays for some people. The leftist NEEDS to believe in leftism; it plays a vital role in his psychological economy. His beliefs are not easily modified by logic or facts. He has a deep conviction that leftism is morally Right with a capital R, and that he has not only a right but a duty to impose leftist morality on everyone. (However, many of the people we are referring to as "leftists" do not think of themselves as leftists and would not describe their system of beliefs as leftism. We use the term "leftism" because we don't know of any better words to designate the spectrum of related creeds that includes the feminist, gay rights, political correctness, etc., movements, and because these movements have a strong affinity with the old left. See paragraphs 227-230.)

219. Leftism is a totalitarian force. Wherever leftism is in a position of power it tends to invade every private corner and force every thought into a leftist mold. In part this is because of the quasi-religious character of leftism; everything contrary to leftist beliefs represents Sin. More importantly, leftism is a totalitarian force because of the leftists' drive for power. The leftist seeks to satisfy his need for power through identification with a social movement and he tries to go through the power process by helping to pursue and attain the goals of the movement (see paragraph 83). But no matter how far the movement has gone in attaining its goals the leftist is never satisfied, because his activism is a surrogate activity (see paragraph 41). That is, the leftist's real motive is not to attain the ostensible goals of leftism; in reality he is motivated by the sense of power he gets from struggling for and then reaching a social goal. [35] Consequently the leftist is never satisfied with the goals he has already attained; his need for the power process leads him always to pursue some new goal. The leftist wants equal opportunities for minorities. When that is attained he insists on statistical equality of achievement by minorities. And as long as anyone harbors in some corner of his mind a negative attitude toward some minority, the leftist has to re-educated him. And ethnic minorities are not enough; no one can be allowed to have a negative attitude toward homosexuals, disabled people, fat people, old people, ugly people, and on and on and on. It's not enough that the public should be informed about the hazards of smoking; a warning has to be stamped on every package of cigarettes. Then cigarette advertising has to be restricted if not banned. The activists will never be satisfied until tobacco is outlawed, and after that it will be alcohol, then junk food, etc. Activists have fought gross child abuse, which is reasonable. But now they want to stop all spanking. When they have done that they will want to ban something else they consider unwholesome, then another thing and then another. They will never be satisfied until they have complete control over all child rearing practices. And then they will move on to another cause.

220. Suppose you asked leftists to make a list of ALL the things that were wrong with society, and then suppose you instituted EVERY social change that they demanded. It is safe to say that within a couple of years the majority of leftists would find something new to complain about, some new social "evil" to correct because, once again, the leftist is motivated less by distress at society's ills than by the need to satisfy his drive for power by imposing his solutions on society.

221. Because of the restrictions placed on their thoughts and behavior by their high level of socialization, many leftists of the over-socialized type cannot pursue power in the ways that other people do. For them the drive for power has only one morally acceptable outlet, and that is in the struggle to impose their morality on everyone.

222. Leftists, especially those of the oversocialized type, are True Believers in the sense of Eric Hoffer's book, "The True Believer." But not all True Believers are of the same psychological type as leftists. Presumably a true-believing nazi, for instance, is very different psychologically from a true-believing leftist. Because of their capacity for single-minded devotion to a cause, True Believers are a useful, perhaps a necessary, ingredient of any revolutionary movement. This presents a problem with which we must admit we don't know how to deal. We aren't sure how to harness the energies of the True Believer to a revolution against technology. At present all we can say is that no True Believer will make a safe recruit to the revolution unless his commitment is exclusively to the destruction of technology. If he is committed also to another ideal, he may want to use technology as a tool for pursuing that other ideal (see paragraphs 220, 221).

223. Some readers may say, "This stuff about leftism is a lot of crap. I know John and Jane who are leftish types and they don't have all these totalitarian tendencies." It's quite true that many leftists, possibly even a numerical majority, are decent people who sincerely believe in tolerating others' values (up to a point) and wouldn't want to use high-handed methods to reach their social goals. Our remarks about leftism are not meant to apply to every individual leftist but to describe the general character of leftism as a movement. And the general character of a movement is not necessarily determined by the numerical proportions of the various kinds of people involved in the movement.

224. The people who rise to positions of power in leftist movements tend to be leftists of the most power-hungry type, because power-hungry people are those who strive hardest to get into positions of power. Once the power-hungry types have captured control of the movement, there are many leftists of a gentler breed who inwardly disapprove of many of the actions of the leaders, but cannot bring themselves to oppose them. They NEED their faith in the movement, and because they cannot give up this faith they go along with the leaders. True, SOME leftists do have the guts to oppose the totalitarian tendencies that emerge, but they generally lose, because the power-hungry types are better organized, are more ruthless and Machiavellian and have taken care to build themselves a strong power base.

225. These phenomena appeared clearly in Russia and other countries that were taken over by leftists. Similarly, before the breakdown of communism in the USSR, leftish types in the West would seldom criticize that country. If prodded they would admit that the USSR did many wrong things, but then they would try to find excuses for the communists and begin talking about the faults of the West. They always opposed Western military resistance to communist aggression. Leftish types all over the world vigorously protested the U.S. military action in Vietnam, but when the USSR invaded Afghanistan they did nothing. Not that they approved of the Soviet actions; but because of their leftist faith, they just couldn't bear to put themselves in opposition to communism. Today, in those of our universities where "political correctness" has become dominant, there are probably many leftish types who privately disapprove of the suppression of academic freedom, but they go along with it anyway.

226. Thus the fact that many individual leftists are personally mild and fairly tolerant people by no means prevents leftism as a whole form having a totalitarian tendency.

227. Our discussion of leftism has a serious weakness. It is still far from clear what we mean by the word "leftist." There doesn't seem to be much we can do about this. Today leftism is fragmented into a whole spectrum of activist movements. Yet not all activist movements are leftist, and some activist movements (e.g., radical environmentalism) seem to include both personalities of the leftist type and personalities of thoroughly un-leftist types who ought to know better than to collaborate with leftists. Varieties of leftists fade out gradually into varieties of non-leftists and we ourselves would often be hard-pressed to decide whether a given individual is or is not a leftist. To the extent that it is defined at all, our conception of leftism is defined by the discussion of it that we have given in this article, and we can only advise the reader to use his own judgment in deciding who is a leftist.

228. But it will be helpful to list some criteria for diagnosing leftism. These criteria cannot be applied in a cut and dried manner. Some individuals may meet some of the criteria without being leftists, some leftists may not meet any of the criteria. Again, you just have to use your judgment.

229. The leftist is oriented toward large-scale collectivism. He emphasizes the duty of the individual to serve society and the duty of society to take care of the individual. He has a negative attitude toward individualism. He often takes a moralistic tone. He tends to be for gun control, for sex education and other psychologically "enlightened" educational methods, for social planning, for affirmative action, for multiculturalism. He tends to identify with victims. He tends to be against competition and against violence, but he often finds excuses for those leftists who do commit violence. He is fond of using the common catch-phrases of the left, like "racism," "sexism," "homophobia," "capitalism," "imperialism," "neocolonialism," "genocide," "social change," "social justice," "social responsibility." Maybe the best diagnostic trait of the leftist is his tendency to sympathize with the following movements: feminism, gay rights, ethnic rights, disability rights, animal rights, political correctness. Anyone who strongly sympathizes with ALL of these movements is almost certainly a leftist. [36]

230. The more dangerous leftists, that is, those who are most power-hungry, are often characterized by arrogance or by a dogmatic approach to ideology. However, the most dangerous leftists of all may be certain oversocialized types who avoid irritating displays of aggressiveness and refrain from advertising their leftism, but work quietly and unobtrusively to promote collectivist values, "enlightened" psychological techniques for socializing children, dependence of the individual on the system, and so forth. These crypto-leftists (as we may call them) approximate certain bourgeois types as far as practical action is concerned, but differ from them in psychology, ideology and motivation. The ordinary bourgeois tries to bring people under control of the system in order to protect his way of life, or he does so simply because his attitudes are conventional. The crypto-leftist tries to bring people under control of the system because he is a True Believer in a collectivistic ideology. The crypto-leftist is differentiated from the average leftist of the oversocialized type by the fact that his rebellious impulse is weaker and he is more securely socialized. He is differentiated from the ordinary well-socialized bourgeois by the fact that there is some deep lack within him that makes it necessary for him to devote himself to a cause and immerse himself in a collectivity. And maybe his (well-sublimated) drive for power is stronger than that of the average bourgeois.

FINAL NOTE

231. Throughout this article we've made imprecise statements and statements that ought to have had all sorts of qualifications and reservations attached to them; and some of our statements may be flatly false. Lack of sufficient information and the need for brevity made it impossible for us to formulate our assertions more precisely or add all the necessary qualifications. And of course in a discussion of this kind one must rely heavily on intuitive judgment, and that can sometimes be wrong. So we don't claim that this article expresses more than a crude approximation to the truth.

232. All the same, we are reasonably confident that the general outlines of the picture we have painted here are roughly correct. Just one possible weak point needs to be mentioned. We have portrayed leftism in its modern form as a phenomenon peculiar to our time and as a symptom of the disruption of the power process. But we might possibly be wrong about this. Oversocialized types who try to satisfy their drive for power by imposing their morality on everyone have certainly been around for a long time. But we THINK that the decisive role played by feelings of inferiority, low self-esteem, powerlessness, identification with victims by people who are not themselves victims, is a peculiarity of modern leftism. Identification with victims by people not themselves victims can be seen to some extent in 19th century leftism and early Christianity but as far as we can make out, symptoms of low self-esteem, etc., were not nearly so evident in these movements, or in any other movements, as they are in modern leftism. But we are not in a position to assert confidently that no such movements have existed prior to modern leftism. This is a significant question to which historians ought to give their attention.

Notes

1. (Paragraph 19) We are asserting that ALL, or even most, bullies and ruthless competitors suffer from feelings of inferiority.

2. (Paragraph 25) During the Victorian period many oversocialized people suffered from serious psychological problems as a result of repressing or trying to repress their sexual feelings. Freud apparently based his theories on people of this type. Today the focus of socialization has shifted from sex to aggression.

3. (Paragraph 27) Not necessarily including specialists in engineering or the "hard" sciences.

4. (Paragraph 28) There are many individuals of the middle and upper classes who resist some of these values, but usually their resistance is more or less covert. Such resistance appears in the mass media only to a very limited extent. The main thrust of propaganda in our society is in favor of the stated values.

The main reason why these values have become, so to speak, the official values of our society is that they are useful to the industrial system. Violence is discouraged because it disrupts the functioning of the system. Racism is discouraged because ethnic conflicts also disrupt the system, and discrimination wastes the talents of minority-group members who could be useful to the system. Poverty must be "cured" because the underclass causes problems for the system and contact with the underclass lowers the morale of the other classes. Women are encouraged to have careers because their talents are useful to the system and, more importantly, because by having regular jobs women become better integrated into the system and tied directly to it rather than to their families. This helps to weaken family solidarity. (The leaders of the system say they want to strengthen the family, but they really mean is that they want the family to serve as an effective tool for socializing children in accord with the needs of the system. We argue in paragraphs 51, 52 that the system cannot afford to let the family or other small-scale social groups be strong or autonomous.)

5. (Paragraph 42) It may be argued that the majority of people don't want to make their own decisions but want leaders to do their thinking for them. There is an element of truth in this. People like to make their own decisions in small matters, but making decisions on difficult, fundamental questions requires facing up to psychological conflict, and most people hate psychological conflict. Hence they tend to lean on others in making difficult decisions. But it does not follow that they like to have decisions imposed upon them without having any opportunity to influence those decisions. The majority of people are natural followers, not leaders, but they like to have direct personal access to their leaders, they want to be able to influence the leaders and participate to some extent in making even the difficult decisions. At least to that degree they need autonomy.

6. (Paragraph 44) Some of the symptoms listed are similar to those shown by caged animals.

To explain how these symptoms arise from deprivation with respect to the power process:

Common-sense understanding of human nature tells one that lack of goals whose attainment requires effort leads to boredom and that boredom, long continued, often leads eventually to depression. Failure to attain goals leads to frustration and lowering of self-esteem. Frustration leads to anger, anger to aggression, often in the form of spouse or child abuse. It has been shown that long-continued frustration commonly leads to depression and that depression tends to cause guilt, sleep disorders, eating disorders and bad feelings about oneself. Those who are tending toward depression seek pleasure as an antidote; hence insatiable hedonism and excessive sex, with perversions as a means of getting new kicks. Boredom too tends to cause excessive pleasure-seeking since, lacking other goals, people often use pleasure as a goal. See accompanying diagram.

The foregoing is a simplification. Reality is more complex, and of course, deprivation with respect to the power process is not the ONLY cause of the symptoms described.

By the way, when we mention depression we do not necessarily mean depression that is severe enough to be treated by a psychiatrist. Often only mild forms of depression are involved. And when we speak of goals we do not necessarily mean long-term, thought-out goals. For many or most people through much of human history, the goals of a hand-to-mouth existence (merely providing oneself and one's family with food from day to day) have been quite sufficient.

7. (Paragraph 52) A partial exception may be made for a few passive, inward-looking groups, such as the Amish, which have little effect on the wider society. Apart from these, some genuine small-scale communities do exist in America today. For instance, youth gangs and "cults." Everyone regards them as dangerous, and so they are, because the members of these groups are loyal primarily to one another rather than to the system, hence the system cannot control them.

Or take the gypsies. The gypsies commonly get away with theft and fraud because their loyalties are such that they can always get other gypsies to give testimony that "proves" their innocence. Obviously the system would be in serious trouble if too many people belonged to such groups.

Some of the early-20th century Chinese thinkers who were concerned with modernizing China recognized the necessity breaking down small-scale social groups such as the family: "(According to Sun Yat-sen) the Chinese people needed a new surge of patriotism, which would lead to a transfer of loyalty from the family to the state.... (According to Li Huang) traditional attachments, particularly to the family had to be abandoned if nationalism were to develop in China." (Chester C. Tan, "Chinese Political Thought in the Twentieth Century," page 125, page 297.)

8. (Paragraph 56) Yes, we know that 19th century America had its problems, and serious ones, but for the sake of brevity we have to express ourselves in simplified terms.

9. (Paragraph 61) We leave aside the "underclass." We are speaking of the mainstream.

10. (Paragraph 62) Some social scientists, educators, "mental health" professionals and the like are doing their best to push the social drives into group 1 by trying to see to it that everyone has a satisfactory social life.

11. (Paragraphs 63, 82) Is the drive for endless material acquisition really an artificial creation of the advertising and marketing industry? Certainly there is no innate human drive for material acquisition. There have been many cultures in which people have desired little material wealth beyond what was necessary to satisfy their basic physical needs (Australian aborigines, traditional Mexican peasant culture, some African cultures). On the other hand there have also been many pre-industrial cultures in which material acquisition has played an important role. So we can't claim that today's acquisition-oriented culture is exclusively a creation of the advertising and marketing industry. But it is clear that the advertising and marketing industry has had an important part in creating that culture. The big corporations that spend millions on advertising wouldn't be spending that kind of money without solid proof that they were getting it back in increased sales. One member of FC met a sales manager a couple of years ago who was frank enough to tell him, "Our job is to make people buy things they don't want and don't need." He then described how an untrained novice could present people with the facts about a product, and make no sales at all, while a trained and experienced professional salesman would make lots of sales to the same people. This shows that people are manipulated into buying things they don't really want.

12. (Paragraph 64) The problem of purposelessness seems to have become less serious during the last 15 years or so, because people now feel less secure physically and economically than they did earlier, and the need for security provides them with a goal. But purposelessness has been replaced by frustration over the difficulty of attaining security. We emphasize the problem of purposelessness because the liberals and leftists would wish to solve our social problems by having society guarantee everyone's security; but if that could be done it would only bring back the problem of purposelessness. The real issue is not whether society provides well or poorly for people's security; the trouble is that people are dependent on the system for their security rather than having it in their own hands. This, by the way, is part of the reason why some people get worked up about the right to bear arms; possession of a gun puts that aspect of their security in their own hands.

13. (Paragraph 66) Conservatives' efforts to decrease the amount of government regulation are of little benefit to the average man. For one thing, only a fraction of the regulations can be eliminated because most regulations are necessary. For another thing, most of the deregulation affects business rather than the average individual, so that its main effect is to take power from the government and give it to private corporations. What this means for the average man is that government interference in his life is replaced by interference from big corporations, which may be permitted, for example, to dump more chemicals that get into his water supply and give him cancer. The conservatives are just taking the average man for a sucker, exploiting his resentment of Big Government to promote the power of Big Business.

14. (Paragraph 73) When someone approves of the purpose for which propaganda is being used in a given case, he generally calls it "education" or applies to it some similar euphemism. But propaganda is propaganda regardless of the purpose for which it is used.

15. (Paragraph 83) We are not expressing approval or disapproval of the Panama invasion. We only use it to illustrate a point.

16. (Paragraph 95) When the American colonies were under British rule there were fewer and less effective legal guarantees of freedom than there were after the American Constitution went into effect, yet there was more personal freedom in pre-industrial America, both before and after the War of Independence, than there was after the Industrial Revolution took hold in this country. We quote from "Violence in America: Historical and Comparative Perspectives," edited by Hugh Davis Graham and Ted Robert Gurr, Chapter 12 by Roger Lane, pages 476-478:

"The progressive heightening of standards of propriety, and with it the increasing reliance on official law enforcement (in 19th century America) ... were common to the whole society.... [T]he change in social behavior is so long term and so widespread as to suggest a connection with the most fundamental of contemporary social processes; that of industrial urbanization itself...."Massachusetts in 1835 had a population of some 660,940, 81 percent rural, overwhelmingly preindustrial and native born. It's citizens were used to considerable personal freedom. Whether teamsters, farmers or artisans, they were all accustomed to setting their own schedules, and the nature of their work made them physically independent of each other.... Individual problems, sins or even crimes, were not generally cause for wider social concern...."But the impact of the twin movements to the city and to the factory, both just gathering force in 1835, had a progressive effect on personal behavior throughout the 19th century and into the 20th. The factory demanded regularity of behavior, a life governed by obedience to the rhythms of clock and calendar, the demands of foreman and supervisor. In the city or town, the needs of living in closely packed neighborhoods inhibited many actions previously unobjectionable. Both blue- and white-collar employees in larger establishments were mutually dependent on their fellows; as one man's work fit into anther's, so one man's business was no longer his own.

"The results of the new organization of life and work were apparent by 1900, when some 76 percent of the 2,805,346 inhabitants of Massachusetts were classified as urbanites. Much violent or irregular behavior which had been tolerable in a casual, independent society was no longer acceptable in the more formalized, cooperative atmosphere of the later period.... The move to the cities had, in short, produced a more tractable, more socialized, more 'civilized' generation than its predecessors."

17. (Paragraph 117) Apologists for the system are fond of citing cases in which elections have been decided by one or two votes, but such cases are rare.

18. (Paragraph 119) "Today, in technologically advanced lands, men live very similar lives in spite of geographical, religious, and political differences. The daily lives of a Christian bank clerk in Chicago, a Buddhist bank clerk in Tokyo, and a Communist bank clerk in Moscow are far more alike than the life of any one of them is like that of any single man who lived a thousand years ago. These similarities are the result of a common technology...." L. Sprague de Camp, "The Ancient Engineers," Ballantine edition, page 17.

The lives of the three bank clerks are not IDENTICAL. Ideology does have SOME effect. But all technological societies, in order to survive, must evolve along APPROXIMATELY the same trajectory.

19. (Paragraph 123) Just think an irresponsible genetic engineer might create a lot of terrorists.

20. (Paragraph 124) For a further example of undesirable consequences of medical progress, suppose a reliable cure for cancer is discovered. Even if the treatment is too expensive to be available to any but the elite, it will greatly reduce their incentive to stop the escape of carcinogens into the environment.

21. (Paragraph 128) Since many people may find paradoxical the notion that a large number of good things can add up to a bad thing, we illustrate with an analogy. Suppose Mr. A is playing chess with Mr. B. Mr. C, a Grand Master, is looking over Mr. A's shoulder. Mr. A of course wants to win his game, so if Mr. C points out a good move for him to make, he is doing Mr. A a favor. But suppose now that Mr. C tells Mr. A how to make ALL of his moves. In each particular instance he does Mr. A a favor by showing him his best move, but by making ALL of his moves for him he spoils his game, since there is not point in Mr. A's playing the game at all if someone else makes all his moves.

The situation of modern man is analogous to that of Mr. A. The system makes an individual's life easier for him in innumerable ways, but in doing so it deprives him of control over his own fate.

22. (Paragraph 137) Here we are considering only the conflict of values within the mainstream. For the sake of simplicity we leave out of the picture "outsider" values like the idea that wild nature is more important than human economic welfare.

23. (Paragraph 137) Self-interest is not necessarily MATERIAL self-interest. It can consist in fulfillment of some psychological need, for example, by promoting one's own ideology or religion.

24. (Paragraph 139) A qualification: It is in the interest of the system to permit a certain prescribed degree of freedom in some areas. For example, economic freedom (with suitable limitations and restraints) has proved effective in promoting economic growth. But only planned, circumscribed, limited freedom is in the interest of the system. The individual must always be kept on a leash, even if the leash is sometimes long (see paragraphs 94, 97).

25. (Paragraph 143) We don't mean to suggest that the efficiency or the potential for survival of a society has always been inversely proportional to the amount of pressure or discomfort to which the society subjects people. That certainly is not the case. There is good reason to believe that many primitive societies subjected people to less pressure than European society did, but European society proved far more efficient than any primitive society and always won out in conflicts with such societies because of the advantages conferred by technology.

26. (Paragraph 147) If you think that more effective law enforcement is unequivocally good because it suppresses crime, then remember that crime as defined by the system is not necessarily what YOU would call crime. Today, smoking marijuana is a "crime," and, in some places in the U.S., so is possession of an unregistered handgun. Tomorrow, possession of ANY firearm, registered or not, may be made a crime, and the same thing may happen with disapproved methods of child-rearing, such as spanking. In some countries, expression of dissident political opinions is a crime, and there is no certainty that this will never happen in the U.S., since no constitution or political system lasts forever.

If a society needs a large, powerful law enforcement establishment, then there is something gravely wrong with that society; it must be subjecting people to severe pressures if so many refuse to follow the rules, or follow them only because forced. Many societies in the past have gotten by with little or no formal law-enforcement.

27. (Paragraph 151) To be sure, past societies have had means of influencing human behavior, but these have been primitive and of low effectiveness compared with the technological means that are now being developed.

28. (Paragraph 152) However, some psychologists have publicly expressed opinions indicating their contempt for human freedom. And the mathematician Claude Shannon was quoted in Omni (August 1987) as saying, "I visualize a time when we will be to robots what dogs are to humans, and I'm rooting for the machines."

29. (Paragraph 154) This is no science fiction! After writing paragraph 154 we came across an article in Scientific American according to which scientists are actively developing techniques for identifying possible future criminals and for treating them by a combination of biological and psychological means. Some scientists advocate compulsory application of the treatment, which may be available in the near future. (See "Seeking the Criminal Element," by W. Wayt Gibbs, Scientific American, March 1995.) Maybe you think this is OK because the treatment would be applied to those who might become violent criminals. But of course it won't stop there. Next, a treatment will be applied to those who might become drunk drivers (they endanger human life too), then perhaps to peel who spank their children, then to environmentalists who sabotage logging equipment, eventually to anyone whose behavior is inconvenient for the system.

30. (Paragraph 184) A further advantage of nature as a counter-ideal to technology is that, in many people, nature inspires the kind of reverence that is associated with religion, so that nature could perhaps be idealized on a religious basis. It is true that in many societies religion has served as a support and justification for the established order, but it is also true that religion has often provided a basis for rebellion. Thus it may be useful to introduce a religious element into the rebellion against technology, the more so because Western society today has no strong religious foundation. Religion, nowadays either is used as cheap and transparent support for narrow, short-sighted selfishness (some conservatives use it this way), or even is cynically exploited to make easy money (by many evangelists), or has degenerated into crude irrationalism (fundamentalist protestant sects, "cults"), or is simply stagnant (Catholicism, main-line Protestantism). The nearest thing to a strong, widespread, dynamic religion that the West has seen in recent times has been the quasi-religion of leftism, but leftism today is fragmented and has no clear, unified, inspiring goal.

Thus there is a religious vacuum in our society that could perhaps be filled by a religion focused on nature in opposition to technology. But it would be a mistake to try to concoct artificially a religion to fill this role. Such an invented religion would probably be a failure. Take the "Gaia" religion for example. Do its adherents REALLY believe in it or are they just play-acting? If they are just play-acting their religion will be a flop in the end.

It is probably best not to try to introduce religion into the conflict of nature vs. technology unless you REALLY believe in that religion yourself and find that it arouses a deep, strong, genuine response in many other people.

31. (Paragraph 189) Assuming that such a final push occurs. Conceivably the industrial system might be eliminated in a somewhat gradual or piecemeal fashion (see paragraphs 4, 167 and Note 4).

32. (Paragraph 193) It is even conceivable (remotely) that the revolution might consist only of a massive change of attitudes toward technology resulting in a relatively gradual and painless disintegration of the industrial system. But if this happens we'll be very lucky. It's far more probably that the transition to a nontechnological society will be very difficult and full of conflicts and disasters.

33. (Paragraph 195) The economic and technological structure of a society are far more important than its political structure in determining the way the average man lives (see paragraphs 95, 119 and Notes 16, 18).

34. (Paragraph 215) This statement refers to our particular brand of anarchism. A wide variety of social attitudes have been called "anarchist," and it may be that many who consider themselves anarchists would not accept our statement of paragraph 215. It should be noted, by the way, that there is a nonviolent anarchist movement whose members probably would not accept FC as anarchist and certainly would not approve of FC's violent methods.

35. (Paragraph 219) Many leftists are motivated also by hostility, but the hostility probably results in part from a frustrated need for power.

36. (Paragraph 229) It is important to understand that we mean someone who sympathizes with these MOVEMENTS as they exist today in our society. One who believes that women, homosexuals, etc., should have equal rights is not necessary a leftist. The feminist, gay rights, etc., movements that exist in our society have the particular ideological tone that characterizes leftism, and if one believes, for example, that women should have equal rights it does not necessarily follow that one must sympathize with the feminist movement as it exists today.

If copyright problems make it impossible for this long quotation to be printed, then please change Note 16 to read as follows:

16. (Paragraph 95) When the American colonies were under British rule there were fewer and less effective legal guarantees of freedom than there were after the American Constitution went into effect, yet there was more personal freedom in pre-industrial America, both before and after the War of Independence, than there was after the Industrial Revolution took hold in this country. In "Violence in America: Historical and Comparative Perspectives," edited by Hugh Davis Graham and Ted Robert Gurr, Chapter 12 by Roger Lane, it is explained how in pre-industrial America the average person had greater independence and autonomy than he does today, and how the process of industrialization necessarily led to the restriction of personal freedom.

@ ece127e2:745bab9c

Un lugar ominoso ,un hoyo de conejo espiralado en el cual cada ser que aparece es más oscuro que el otro. Un bosque de ramas secas que es mejor evitar ;si te tocan te secaran ,te extraerán luz hasta convertirte en uno de ellos . Árboles más altos tapan la luz que alimenta al suelo ,y éste se cubre de podredumbre.Esa miasma se te pega en los pies ,te atrapa ..te impide caminar y te hundes hasta no poder respirar.

@ 9f94e6cc:f3472946

Der Entartungswettbewerb TikTok hat die Jugend im Griff und verbrutzelt ihre Hirne. Über Reels, den Siegeszug des Hochformats und die Regeln der Viralität.

Text: Aron Morhoff

Hollywood steckt heute in der Hosentasche. 70 Prozent aller YouTube-Inhalte werden auf mobilen Endgeräten, also Smartphones, geschaut. Instagram und TikTok sind die angesagtesten Anwendungen für junge Menschen. Es gibt sie nur noch als App, und ihr Design ist für Mobiltelefone optimiert.

Einst waren Rechner und Laptops die Tools, mit denen ins Internet gegangen wurde. Auch als das Smartphone seinen Siegeszug antrat, waren die Sehgewohnheiten noch auf das Querformat ausgerichtet. Heute werden Rechner fast nur noch zum Arbeiten verwendet. Das Berieseln, die Unterhaltung, das passive Konsumieren hat sich vollständig auf die iPhones und Samsungs dieser Welt verlagert. Das Telefon hat den aufrechten Gang angenommen, kaum einer mehr hält sein Gerät waagerecht.

Homo Digitalis Erectus

Die Welt steht also Kopf. Die Form eines Mediums hat Einfluss auf den Inhalt. Marshall McLuhan formulierte das so: Das Medium selbst ist die Botschaft. Ja mei, mag sich mancher denken, doch medienanthropologisch ist diese Entwicklung durchaus eine Betrachtung wert. Ein Querformat eignet sich besser, um Landschaften, einen Raum oder eine Gruppe abzubilden. Das Hochformat entspricht grob den menschlichen Maßen von der Hüfte bis zum Kopf. Der TikTok-Tanz ist im Smartphone-Design also schon angelegt. Das Hochformat hat die Medieninhalte unserer Zeit noch narzisstischer gemacht.

Dass wir uns durch Smartphones freizügiger und enthemmter zur Schau stellen, ist bekannt. 2013 wurde „Selfie“ vom Oxford English Dictionary zum Wort des Jahres erklärt. Selfie, Selbstporträt, Selbstdarstellung.

Neu ist der Aufwand, der heute vonnöten ist, um die Aufmerksamkeitsschwelle der todamüsierten Mediengesellschaft überhaupt noch zu durchbrechen. In beängstigender Hypnose erwischt man viele Zeitgenossen inzwischen beim Doomscrollen. Das ist der Fachbegriff für das weggetretene Endloswischen und erklärt auch den Namen „Reel“: Der Begriff, im Deutschen verwandt mit „Rolle“, beschreibt die Filmrolle, von der 24 Bilder pro Sekunde auf den Projektor gewischt oder eben abgespult werden.

Länger als drei Sekunden darf ein Kurzvideo deshalb nicht mehr gehen, ohne dass etwas Aufregendes passiert. Sonst wird das Reel aus Langeweile weggewischt. Die Welt im Dopamin-Rausch. Für den Ersteller eines Videos heißt das inzwischen: Sei der lauteste, schrillste, gestörteste Marktschreier. Das Wettrennen um die Augäpfel zwingt zu extremen Formen von Clickbait.

15 Sekunden Ruhm

Das nimmt inzwischen skurrile Formen an. Das Video „Look who I found“ von Noel Robinson (geboren 2001) war im letzten Jahr einer der erfolgreichsten deutschen TikTok-Clips. Man sieht den Deutsch-Nigerianer beim Antanzen eines karikaturartig übergewichtigen Menschen. Noel wird geschubst und fällt. Daraufhin wechselt das Lied – und der fette Mann bewegt seinen Schwabbelbauch im Takt. Noel steht wieder auf, grinst, beide tanzen gemeinsam. Das dauert 15 Sekunden. Ich rate Ihnen, sich das Video einmal anzuschauen, um die Mechanismen von TikTok zu verstehen. Achten Sie alleine darauf, wie vielen Reizen (Menschenmenge, Antanzen, Sturz, Schwabbelbauch) Sie in den ersten fünf Sekunden ausgesetzt sind. Wer schaut so was? Bis dato 220 Millionen Menschen. Das ist kapitalistische Verwertungslogik im bereits verwesten Endstadium. Adorno oder Fromm hätten am Medienzeitgeist entweder ihre Freude oder mächtig zu knabbern.

Die Internet- und Smartphoneabdeckung beträgt mittlerweile fast 100 Prozent. Das Überangebot hat die Regeln geändert. Um überhaupt gesehen zu werden, muss man heute viral gehen. Was dafür inzwischen nötig ist, spricht die niedrigsten Bedürfnisse des Menschen an: Gewalt, Ekel, Sexualisierung, Schock. Die jungen Erwachsenen, die heute auf sozialen Netzwerken den Ton angeben, haben diese Mechanismen längst verinnerlicht. Wie bewusst ihnen das ist, ist fraglich. 2024 prallt eine desaströse Bildungssituation samt fehlender Medienkompetenz auf eine egomanische Jugend, die Privatsphäre nie gekannt hat und seit Kindesbeinen alles in den Äther ballert, was es festhalten kann. Man muss kein Kulturpessimist sein, um diese degenerative Dynamik, auch in ihrer Implikation für unser Zusammenleben und das psychische Wohlergehen der Generation TikTok, als beängstigend zu bezeichnen.

Aron Morhoff studierte Medienethik und ist Absolvent der Freien Akademie für Medien & Journalismus. Frühere Stationen: RT Deutsch und Nuoviso. Heute: Stichpunkt Magazin, Manova, Milosz Matuschek und seine Liveshow "Addictive Programming".

@ eac63075:b4988b48

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

PT-BR version

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

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

1. Introduction to Consensus in Bitcoin

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

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

Evolution of Consensus in Bitcoin

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

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

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2. Technical Components of Consensus

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

Validation of Blocks and Transactions

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

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

Chain Selection

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

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

Soft Forks vs. Hard Forks

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

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

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

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

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3. Stakeholders in Bitcoin's Consensus

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

1. Economic Nodes

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

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

2. Investors

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

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

3. Media Influencers

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

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

4. Miners

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

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

5. Protocol Developers

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

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

6. Users and Application Developers

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

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

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

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4. Mechanisms for Activating Updates in Bitcoin

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

Flag Day

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

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

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

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

BIP34 and BIP9

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

BIP8 (LOT=True)

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

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

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

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

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

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5. Risks and Considerations in Consensus Updates

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

Network Fragility with Alternative Implementations

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

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

Chain Splits and Impact on Stakeholders

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

Each group of stakeholders reacts differently to a chain split:

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

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

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

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

Regulatory Impacts and Institutional Investors

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

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

Security Considerations in Soft Forks and Hard Forks

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

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

Bounty Claim Risks and Attack Scenarios

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

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

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

---

6. Recommendations for the Consensus Process in Bitcoin

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

1. Careful Evaluation of Proposal Maturity

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

2. Extensive Testing in Secure and Compatible Networks

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

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

3. Importance of Stakeholder Engagement

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

4. Key Questions for Evaluating Consensus Proposals

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

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

5. Coordination and Timing in Implementations

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

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

6. Continuous Monitoring and Re-evaluation

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

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

---

7. Conclusion

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

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

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

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

---

8. Links

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

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

@ 623ed218:fa549249

It's been a week or so since I wrote this piece and put it up on my website, but I realized I hadn't shared it here yet. Hoping it's informative!

Strike Bill Pay: A Deep Dive

Start With the Foundation: Bitcoin is Savings Technology

If you've spent any time in this space, you've probably heard the phrase: Bitcoin is savings technology. That's because Bitcoin solves a very specific problem---the inability of fiat to hold value over time.

Here's the reality:

• Every dollar you hold in a bank account is being debased, slowly (or sometimes rapidly) losing its purchasing power.
• Inflation might be "only" 3-4% a year right now (if you believe the official numbers), but that adds up. Over a decade, that $10,000 in savings doesn't just stagnate---it sublimates.

Bitcoin fixes this.

• Bitcoin is scarce, decentralized, and deflationary.
• It's not controlled by governments or central banks, and its supply is capped at 21 million. No one can "print" more Bitcoin.

If you're holding fiat in a savings account, you're playing a game you can't win. Bitcoin is the better tool for preserving value over time.

Why Savings First?

Before looking at how you spend, it's worth considering where you're storing your wealth. If your savings are sitting in fiat, they're slowly losing purchasing power over time---that's just how the system works.

Bitcoin offers an alternative: a way to protect your wealth in something scarce and reliable. Once you've addressed that piece---and your savings are no longer being held in melting fiat---you might start asking: What about the money in my checking account?

That's where Strike Bill Pay comes in. It's a simple, practical tool that connects your Bitcoin savings to the everyday expenses you still need to handle in fiat, removing the need to hold fiat to pay fiat bills.

The Spending Problem: Why a Bridge is Necessary

Here's where things get practical. Even if you're saving in Bitcoin, you still live in a world where bills---rent, mortgages, utilities, credit cards---are denominated in fiat.

What do you do?

• You could hold some fiat in your bank to cover bills, but now you're back to the problem of fiat exposure.
• You could convert Bitcoin to fiat every time you need to pay something, but trust me when I say that manual process is tedious and time consuming.

This creates a gap:

Bitcoin is where you want to save your wealth.

Fiat is where you still need to spend your wealth.

You need a bridge.

Strike Bill Pay is that bridge. It lets you hold your value in Bitcoin while seamlessly paying fiat-denominated bills. No headaches, no extra steps, and no need to rely on a traditional bank account.

How Strike Bill Pay Works (It's Simpler Than You Think)

Here's the beauty of Strike: it integrates directly into the traditional system without requiring you to deal with it.

Here's how it works:

Strike Provides a Standard Bank Account

• When you open a Strike account, you get a routing number and an account number tied to Cross River Bank. It works exactly like a regular checking account.

You Set Up Bill Payments

• For any bill that allows automatic payments, simply enter the Cross River Bank routing/account number Strike gives you. Your mortgage, utilities, subscriptions---these can all pull funds automatically from Strike.
• For bills you pay manually (like credit cards), add the Strike-provided account as an external payment source. When you go to make a payment, simply select that account as the funding source.

Strike Converts Bitcoin to Fiat on the Backend

• You don't have to worry about manually selling Bitcoin for fiat. When the bill gets paid, Strike automatically sells the exact amount of Bitcoin needed to cover the payment.

It's seamless. You save in Bitcoin and Strike handles the fiat side when you need it.

Start Small: Test the Waters, Then Scale

Now, I get it---this might sound like a big leap if you're new to the idea of using Bitcoin. You don't need to move all your bills over to Strike at once.

Start small.

• Pick one bill---something low-stakes, like a utility payment or a monthly subscription.
• Add your Strike-provided account as the payment source.
• Let it run.

What happens?

• Your bill gets paid.
• You experience how smooth the process is.
• You start seeing the benefit of holding Bitcoin without having to juggle fiat for bills.

Why Start Small?\ This isn't about forcing you to flip a switch overnight. It's about building comfort with tools that let you take control of your money. When you see how simple it is, you may find you'll want to scale up.

Strike's Fee Tiers: Low Costs That Get Even Lower

One of the practical benefits of using Strike is its straightforward fee structure. Strike charges a standard 0.99% fee when converting Bitcoin to fiat and vice-versa. But here's where it gets interesting: the more you use the service, the lower your fees become.

Strike's fee tiers are designed to reward activity:

• The more you deposit and spend through Strike, the closer you get to a lower fee tier.
• Regular bill payments, purchases, and deposits all contribute toward lowering your fee rate.

Why It Matters: When you're living on Bitcoin---covering bills, expenses, and purchases---those fees can add up. Strike incentivizes regular usage by giving you a clear path to reducing costs. The result? Your bill-paying process becomes not only seamless but also more efficient and cost-effective over time.

If you're managing everything---mortgage, utilities, credit cards---through Strike, it's likely you'll hit lower tiers quickly, making the service even more competitive.

For Bitcoiners: Completing the Savings-to-Spending Loop

If you're already holding Bitcoin as savings, Strike Bill Pay is the final piece. It lets you operate entirely in Bitcoin while still managing your fiat-denominated obligations.

Here's why it matters:

• Opting Out: If the majority of your wealth is in Bitcoin, why leave even a small amount in a checking account? Strike eliminates the need for that fiat buffer.
• Automation and Ease: Bills that pull automatically? Easy. Manual payments? Just as simple.
• Seamless Spending: No awkward conversions, no multiple steps. Strike lets you "spend Bitcoin" without all the extra steps.

It's the bridge that completes the Bitcoin-first financial strategy.

Flexibility: Adjust Your Strategy as Conditions Change

One of the best parts about Strike is that it's flexible. If you feel the need to keep some fiat on the side, it's as simple as pressing a few buttons.

• Bull Market Strategy: Hold Bitcoin all month, let it appreciate, and let Strike convert as bills are due.
• Bear Market Strategy: If you're cautious, hold fiat in Strike temporarily and stack sats with what's left at the end of the month.

Strike gives you the tools to adapt your strategy---no friction, no complexity.

Taxes: How Strike Simplifies Year-End Reporting

When using Bitcoin to pay bills, it's important to understand the tax implications. In the United States, Bitcoin is considered property by the IRS. This means that any time Bitcoin is converted to fiat (like when Strike pays a bill for you), it's a taxable event.

Here's how it works:

• If the value of your Bitcoin has increased since you acquired it, you owe capital gains taxes on the difference (the "gain") when it's converted to fiat to pay a bill.
• If there's no appreciation---or if you're converting at a loss---there's no capital gain to tax.

Example:

• You bought $500 worth of Bitcoin.
• When it's time to pay a bill, that Bitcoin is now worth $600.
• If you use Strike to pay the bill, you'll only owe capital gains taxes on the $100 gain.

Conversely:

• If you bought $500 worth of Bitcoin, and by the time you use it to pay a bill, it's worth $450, you can report a capital loss instead.

How Strike Helps: Strike simplifies this entire process by providing:

• Year-End Tax Documents: Strike generates clear reports showing each transaction.
• Easy Access: These tax documents can be downloaded directly from the Strike app, making it easy to share them with your accountant or upload them to tax software.

Why This Matters: Keeping track of Bitcoin transactions manually can feel overwhelming. With Strike, all the reporting is done for you, so you can stay compliant without stress. Whether you're dealing with gains, losses, or flat conversions, Strike helps you navigate taxes with transparency and simplicity.

Bringing It All Together

Bitcoin is savings tech. It fixes the root problem---where you store your wealth.

Strike Bill Pay is the tool that lets you:

• Save in Bitcoin without compromise.
• Pay fiat bills seamlessly without relying on a traditional bank.
• Start small, test the waters, and scale at your own pace.

Final Thought: Build the Future, One Bill at a Time

Here's my challenge to you:

• Pick one bill.
• Add your Strike-provided account as the payment source.
• Run it for a month and see how it feels.

You don't need to jump in all at once. But as you experience the benefits--- no friction, and no headaches---you might find yourself wondering: Why don't I use this for all my fiat needs?

Strike Bill Pay isn't about forcing change. It's about offering you tools that work better. Save in Bitcoin, spend seamlessly, and start building a future where your money works for you---not against you.

Block 875215 - MSK 943

Digging Deeper:

Hey there, I hope you enjoyed this read! If you did, and would like to read more of my barks, follow the links below!

• Curious how I found Bitcoin? Read "Paw Prints to the Timechain"

• Bitcoin meets psychology? I touch on this in "Maslow's Apex"

• Want to understand the basics of Bitcoin? Read "Bitcoin Best Practice"

• If you like seeing bad media takes unpacked, check out "Pup's Double-Takes"

External Resources:

• Want to earn rewards on your mortgage? Use my referral to earn 20,000 free sats at sign up!
• Do you like sharing Bitcoin content and earning sats for doing so? Join me at Stacker.news!

...Woof!

originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/828031

@ eac63075:b4988b48

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

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

(PT-BR version here)

What is a CBDC?

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

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

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

Practical Example: The Case of DREX During the Pandemic

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

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

How Does China's Social Credit System Work?

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

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

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

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

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

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

DREX and Bill No. 3,341/2024

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

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

Risks and Individual Freedom

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

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

The Relationship Between DREX and Pix

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

International Precedents and Resistance to CBDC

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

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

Bill No. 3,341/2024 and Popular Pressure

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

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

What’s at Stake?

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

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

A Call to Action

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

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

@ fa0165a0:03397073

Chef's notes

This recipe is for 48 buns. Total cooking time takes at least 90 minutes, but 60 minutes of that is letting the dough rest in between processing.

The baking is a simple three-step process. 1. Making the Wheat dough 2. Making and applying the filling 3. Garnishing and baking in the oven

When done: Enjoy during Fika!

PS;

• Can be frozen and thawed in microwave for later enjoyment as well.

• If you need unit conversion, this site may be of help: https://www.unitconverters.net/

• Traditionally we use something we call "Pearl sugar" which is optimal, but normal sugar or sprinkles is okay too. Pearl sugar (Pärlsocker) looks like this: https://search.brave.com/images?q=p%C3%A4rlsocker

Ingredients

• 150 g butter
• 5 dl milk
• 50 g baking yeast (normal or for sweet dough)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1-1 1/2 dl sugar
• (Optional) 2 teaspoons of crushed or grounded cardamom seeds.
• 1.4 liters of wheat flour
• Filling: 50-75 g butter, room temperature
• Filling: 1/2 - 1 dl sugar
• Filling: 1 teaspoons crushed or ground cardamom and 1 teaspoons ground cinnamon (or 2 teaspoons of cinnamon)
• Garnish: 1 egg, sugar or Almond Shavings

Directions

1. Melt the butter/margarine in a saucepan.
2. Pour in the milk and allow the mixture to warm reach body temperature (approx. + 37 ° C).
3. Dissolve the yeast in a dough bowl with the help of the salt.
4. Add the 37 ° C milk/butter mixture, sugar and if you choose to the optional cardamom. (I like this option!) and just over 2/3 of the flour.
5. Work the dough shiny and smooth, about 4 minutes with a machine or 8 minutes by hand.
6. Add if necessary. additional flour but save at least 1 dl for baking.
7. Let the dough rise covered (by a kitchen towel), about 30 minutes.
8. Work the dough into the bowl and then pick it up on a floured workbench. Knead the dough smoothly. Divide the dough into 2 parts. Roll out each piece into a rectangular cake.
9. Stir together the ingredients for the filling and spread it.
10. Roll up and cut each roll into 24 pieces.
11. Place them in paper molds or directly on baking paper with the cut surface facing up. Let them rise covered with a baking sheet, about 30 minutes.
12. Brush the buns with beaten egg and sprinkle your chosen topping.
13. Bake in the middle of the oven at 250 ° C, 5-8 minutes.
14. Allow to cool on a wire rack under a baking sheet.

@ eac63075:b4988b48

Imagine sending a private message to a friend, only to learn that authorities could be scanning its contents without your knowledge. This isn't a scene from a dystopian novel but a potential reality under the European Union's proposed "Chat Control" measures. Aimed at combating serious crimes like child exploitation and terrorism, these proposals could significantly impact the privacy of everyday internet users. As encrypted messaging services become the norm for personal and professional communication, understanding Chat Control is essential. This article delves into what Chat Control entails, why it's being considered, and how it could affect your right to private communication.

https://www.fountain.fm/episode/coOFsst7r7mO1EP1kSzV

https://open.spotify.com/episode/0IZ6kMExfxFm4FHg5DAWT8?si=e139033865e045de

Sections:

• Introduction
• What Is Chat Control?
• Why Is the EU Pushing for Chat Control?
• The Privacy Concerns and Risks
• The Technical Debate: Encryption and Backdoors
• Global Reactions and the Debate in Europe
• Possible Consequences for Messaging Services
• What Happens Next? The Future of Chat Control
• Conclusion

---

What Is Chat Control?

"Chat Control" refers to a set of proposed measures by the European Union aimed at monitoring and scanning private communications on messaging platforms. The primary goal is to detect and prevent the spread of illegal content, such as child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and to combat terrorism. While the intention is to enhance security and protect vulnerable populations, these proposals have raised significant privacy concerns.

At its core, Chat Control would require messaging services to implement automated scanning technologies that can analyze the content of messages—even those that are end-to-end encrypted. This means that the private messages you send to friends, family, or colleagues could be subject to inspection by algorithms designed to detect prohibited content.

Origins of the Proposal

The initiative for Chat Control emerged from the EU's desire to strengthen its digital security infrastructure. High-profile cases of online abuse and the use of encrypted platforms by criminal organizations have prompted lawmakers to consider more invasive surveillance tactics. The European Commission has been exploring legislation that would make it mandatory for service providers to monitor communications on their platforms.

How Messaging Services Work

Most modern messaging apps, like Signal, Session, SimpleX, Veilid, Protonmail and Tutanota (among others), use end-to-end encryption (E2EE). This encryption ensures that only the sender and the recipient can read the messages being exchanged. Not even the service providers can access the content. This level of security is crucial for maintaining privacy in digital communications, protecting users from hackers, identity thieves, and other malicious actors.

Key Elements of Chat Control

• Automated Content Scanning: Service providers would use algorithms to scan messages for illegal content.
• Circumvention of Encryption: To scan encrypted messages, providers might need to alter their encryption methods, potentially weakening security.
• Mandatory Reporting: If illegal content is detected, providers would be required to report it to authorities.
• Broad Applicability: The measures could apply to all messaging services operating within the EU, affecting both European companies and international platforms.

Why It Matters

Understanding Chat Control is essential because it represents a significant shift in how digital privacy is handled. While combating illegal activities online is crucial, the methods proposed could set a precedent for mass surveillance and the erosion of privacy rights. Everyday users who rely on encrypted messaging for personal and professional communication might find their conversations are no longer as private as they once thought.

---

Why Is the EU Pushing for Chat Control?

The European Union's push for Chat Control stems from a pressing concern to protect its citizens, particularly children, from online exploitation and criminal activities. With the digital landscape becoming increasingly integral to daily life, the EU aims to strengthen its ability to combat serious crimes facilitated through online platforms.

Protecting Children and Preventing Crime

One of the primary motivations behind Chat Control is the prevention of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) circulating on the internet. Law enforcement agencies have reported a significant increase in the sharing of illegal content through private messaging services. By implementing Chat Control, the EU believes it can more effectively identify and stop perpetrators, rescue victims, and deter future crimes.

Terrorism is another critical concern. Encrypted messaging apps can be used by terrorist groups to plan and coordinate attacks without detection. The EU argues that accessing these communications could be vital in preventing such threats and ensuring public safety.

Legal Context and Legislative Drivers

The push for Chat Control is rooted in several legislative initiatives:

• ePrivacy Directive: This directive regulates the processing of personal data and the protection of privacy in electronic communications. The EU is considering amendments that would allow for the scanning of private messages under specific circumstances.

• Temporary Derogation: In 2021, the EU adopted a temporary regulation permitting voluntary detection of CSAM by communication services. The current proposals aim to make such measures mandatory and more comprehensive.

• Regulation Proposals: The European Commission has proposed regulations that would require service providers to detect, report, and remove illegal content proactively. This would include the use of technologies to scan private communications.

Balancing Security and Privacy

EU officials argue that the proposed measures are a necessary response to evolving digital threats. They emphasize the importance of staying ahead of criminals who exploit technology to harm others. By implementing Chat Control, they believe law enforcement can be more effective without entirely dismantling privacy protections.

However, the EU also acknowledges the need to balance security with fundamental rights. The proposals include provisions intended to limit the scope of surveillance, such as:

• Targeted Scanning: Focusing on specific threats rather than broad, indiscriminate monitoring.

• Judicial Oversight: Requiring court orders or oversight for accessing private communications.

• Data Protection Safeguards: Implementing measures to ensure that data collected is handled securely and deleted when no longer needed.

The Urgency Behind the Push

High-profile cases of online abuse and terrorism have heightened the sense of urgency among EU policymakers. Reports of increasing online grooming and the widespread distribution of illegal content have prompted calls for immediate action. The EU posits that without measures like Chat Control, these problems will continue to escalate unchecked.

Criticism and Controversy

Despite the stated intentions, the push for Chat Control has been met with significant criticism. Opponents argue that the measures could be ineffective against savvy criminals who can find alternative ways to communicate. There is also concern that such surveillance could be misused or extended beyond its original purpose.

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The Privacy Concerns and Risks

While the intentions behind Chat Control focus on enhancing security and protecting vulnerable groups, the proposed measures raise significant privacy concerns. Critics argue that implementing such surveillance could infringe on fundamental rights and set a dangerous precedent for mass monitoring of private communications.

Infringement on Privacy Rights

At the heart of the debate is the right to privacy. By scanning private messages, even with automated tools, the confidentiality of personal communications is compromised. Users may no longer feel secure sharing sensitive information, fearing that their messages could be intercepted or misinterpreted by algorithms.

Erosion of End-to-End Encryption

End-to-end encryption (E2EE) is a cornerstone of digital security, ensuring that only the sender and recipient can read the messages exchanged. Chat Control could necessitate the introduction of "backdoors" or weaken encryption protocols, making it easier for unauthorized parties to access private data. This not only affects individual privacy but also exposes communications to potential cyber threats.

Concerns from Privacy Advocates

Organizations like Signal and Tutanota, which offer encrypted messaging services, have voiced strong opposition to Chat Control. They warn that undermining encryption could have far-reaching consequences:

• Security Risks: Weakening encryption makes systems more vulnerable to hacking, espionage, and cybercrime.
• Global Implications: Changes in EU regulations could influence policies worldwide, leading to a broader erosion of digital privacy.
• Ineffectiveness Against Crime: Determined criminals might resort to other, less detectable means of communication, rendering the measures ineffective while still compromising the privacy of law-abiding citizens.

Potential for Government Overreach

There is a fear that Chat Control could lead to increased surveillance beyond its original scope. Once the infrastructure for scanning private messages is in place, it could be repurposed or expanded to monitor other types of content, stifling free expression and dissent.

Real-World Implications for Users

• False Positives: Automated scanning technologies are not infallible and could mistakenly flag innocent content, leading to unwarranted scrutiny or legal consequences for users.
• Chilling Effect: Knowing that messages could be monitored might discourage people from expressing themselves freely, impacting personal relationships and societal discourse.
• Data Misuse: Collected data could be vulnerable to leaks or misuse, compromising personal and sensitive information.

Legal and Ethical Concerns

Privacy advocates also highlight potential conflicts with existing laws and ethical standards:

• Violation of Fundamental Rights: The European Convention on Human Rights and other international agreements protect the right to privacy and freedom of expression.
• Questionable Effectiveness: The ethical justification for such invasive measures is challenged if they do not significantly improve safety or if they disproportionately impact innocent users.

Opposition from Member States and Organizations

Countries like Germany and organizations such as the European Digital Rights (EDRi) have expressed opposition to Chat Control. They emphasize the need to protect digital privacy and caution against hasty legislation that could have unintended consequences.

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The Technical Debate: Encryption and Backdoors

The discussion around Chat Control inevitably leads to a complex technical debate centered on encryption and the potential introduction of backdoors into secure communication systems. Understanding these concepts is crucial to grasping the full implications of the proposed measures.

What Is End-to-End Encryption (E2EE)?

End-to-end encryption is a method of secure communication that prevents third parties from accessing data while it's transferred from one end system to another. In simpler terms, only the sender and the recipient can read the messages. Even the service providers operating the messaging platforms cannot decrypt the content.

• Security Assurance: E2EE ensures that sensitive information—be it personal messages, financial details, or confidential business communications—remains private.
• Widespread Use: Popular messaging apps like Signal, Session, SimpleX, Veilid, Protonmail and Tutanota (among others) rely on E2EE to protect user data.

How Chat Control Affects Encryption

Implementing Chat Control as proposed would require messaging services to scan the content of messages for illegal material. To do this on encrypted platforms, providers might have to:

• Introduce Backdoors: Create a means for third parties (including the service provider or authorities) to access encrypted messages.
• Client-Side Scanning: Install software on users' devices that scans messages before they are encrypted and sent, effectively bypassing E2EE.

The Risks of Weakening Encryption

1. Compromised Security for All Users

Introducing backdoors or client-side scanning tools can create vulnerabilities:

• Exploitable Gaps: If a backdoor exists, malicious actors might find and exploit it, leading to data breaches.
• Universal Impact: Weakening encryption doesn't just affect targeted individuals; it potentially exposes all users to increased risk.

2. Undermining Trust in Digital Services

• User Confidence: Knowing that private communications could be accessed might deter people from using digital services or push them toward unregulated platforms.
• Business Implications: Companies relying on secure communications might face increased risks, affecting economic activities.

3. Ineffectiveness Against Skilled Adversaries

• Alternative Methods: Criminals might shift to other encrypted channels or develop new ways to avoid detection.
• False Sense of Security: Weakening encryption could give the impression of increased safety while adversaries adapt and continue their activities undetected.

Signal’s Response and Stance

Signal, a leading encrypted messaging service, has been vocal in its opposition to the EU's proposals:

• Refusal to Weaken Encryption: Signal's CEO Meredith Whittaker has stated that the company would rather cease operations in the EU than compromise its encryption standards.
• Advocacy for Privacy: Signal emphasizes that strong encryption is essential for protecting human rights and freedoms in the digital age.

Understanding Backdoors

A "backdoor" in encryption is an intentional weakness inserted into a system to allow authorized access to encrypted data. While intended for legitimate use by authorities, backdoors pose several problems:

• Security Vulnerabilities: They can be discovered and exploited by unauthorized parties, including hackers and foreign governments.
• Ethical Concerns: The existence of backdoors raises questions about consent and the extent to which governments should be able to access private communications.

The Slippery Slope Argument

Privacy advocates warn that introducing backdoors or mandatory scanning sets a precedent:

• Expanded Surveillance: Once in place, these measures could be extended to monitor other types of content beyond the original scope.
• Erosion of Rights: Gradual acceptance of surveillance can lead to a significant reduction in personal freedoms over time.

Potential Technological Alternatives

Some suggest that it's possible to fight illegal content without undermining encryption:

• Metadata Analysis: Focusing on patterns of communication rather than content.
• Enhanced Reporting Mechanisms: Encouraging users to report illegal content voluntarily.
• Investing in Law Enforcement Capabilities: Strengthening traditional investigative methods without compromising digital security.

The technical community largely agrees that weakening encryption is not the solution:

• Consensus on Security: Strong encryption is essential for the safety and privacy of all internet users.
• Call for Dialogue: Technologists and privacy experts advocate for collaborative approaches that address security concerns without sacrificing fundamental rights.

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Global Reactions and the Debate in Europe

The proposal for Chat Control has ignited a heated debate across Europe and beyond, with various stakeholders weighing in on the potential implications for privacy, security, and fundamental rights. The reactions are mixed, reflecting differing national perspectives, political priorities, and societal values.

Support for Chat Control

Some EU member states and officials support the initiative, emphasizing the need for robust measures to combat online crime and protect citizens, especially children. They argue that:

• Enhanced Security: Mandatory scanning can help law enforcement agencies detect and prevent serious crimes.
• Responsibility of Service Providers: Companies offering communication services should play an active role in preventing their platforms from being used for illegal activities.
• Public Safety Priorities: The protection of vulnerable populations justifies the implementation of such measures, even if it means compromising some aspects of privacy.

Opposition within the EU

Several countries and organizations have voiced strong opposition to Chat Control, citing concerns over privacy rights and the potential for government overreach.

Germany

• Stance: Germany has been one of the most vocal opponents of the proposed measures.
• Reasons:
• Constitutional Concerns: The German government argues that Chat Control could violate constitutional protections of privacy and confidentiality of communications.
• Security Risks: Weakening encryption is seen as a threat to cybersecurity.
• Legal Challenges: Potential conflicts with national laws protecting personal data and communication secrecy.

Netherlands

• Recent Developments: The Dutch government decided against supporting Chat Control, emphasizing the importance of encryption for security and privacy.
• Arguments:
• Effectiveness Doubts: Skepticism about the actual effectiveness of the measures in combating crime.
• Negative Impact on Privacy: Concerns about mass surveillance and the infringement of citizens' rights.

Table reference: Patrick Breyer - Chat Control in 23 September 2024

Privacy Advocacy Groups

European Digital Rights (EDRi)

• Role: A network of civil and human rights organizations working to defend rights and freedoms in the digital environment.
• Position:
• Strong Opposition: EDRi argues that Chat Control is incompatible with fundamental rights.
• Awareness Campaigns: Engaging in public campaigns to inform citizens about the potential risks.
• Policy Engagement: Lobbying policymakers to consider alternative approaches that respect privacy.

Politicians and Activists

Patrick Breyer

• Background: A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Germany, representing the Pirate Party.
• Actions:
• Advocacy: Actively campaigning against Chat Control through speeches, articles, and legislative efforts.
• Public Outreach: Using social media and public events to raise awareness.
• Legal Expertise: Highlighting the legal inconsistencies and potential violations of EU law.

Global Reactions

International Organizations

• Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International: These organizations have expressed concerns about the implications for human rights, urging the EU to reconsider.

Technology Companies

• Global Tech Firms: Companies like Apple and Microsoft are monitoring the situation, as EU regulations could affect their operations and user trust.
• Industry Associations: Groups representing tech companies have issued statements highlighting the risks to innovation and competitiveness.

The Broader Debate

The controversy over Chat Control reflects a broader struggle between security interests and privacy rights in the digital age. Key points in the debate include:

• Legal Precedents: How the EU's decision might influence laws and regulations in other countries.
• Digital Sovereignty: The desire of nations to control digital spaces within their borders.
• Civil Liberties: The importance of protecting freedoms in the face of technological advancements.

Public Opinion

• Diverse Views: Surveys and public forums show a range of opinions, with some citizens prioritizing security and others valuing privacy above all.
• Awareness Levels: Many people are still unaware of the potential changes, highlighting the need for public education on the issue.

The EU is at a crossroads, facing the challenge of addressing legitimate security concerns without undermining the fundamental rights that are central to its values. The outcome of this debate will have significant implications for the future of digital privacy and the balance between security and freedom in society.

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Possible Consequences for Messaging Services

The implementation of Chat Control could have significant implications for messaging services operating within the European Union. Both large platforms and smaller providers might need to adapt their technologies and policies to comply with the new regulations, potentially altering the landscape of digital communication.

Impact on Encrypted Messaging Services

Signal and Similar Platforms

• Compliance Challenges: Encrypted messaging services like Signal rely on end-to-end encryption to secure user communications. Complying with Chat Control could force them to weaken their encryption protocols or implement client-side scanning, conflicting with their core privacy principles.

• Operational Decisions: Some platforms may choose to limit their services in the EU or cease operations altogether rather than compromise on encryption. Signal, for instance, has indicated that it would prefer to withdraw from European markets than undermine its security features.

Potential Blocking or Limiting of Services

• Regulatory Enforcement: Messaging services that do not comply with Chat Control regulations could face fines, legal action, or even be blocked within the EU.

• Access Restrictions: Users in Europe might find certain services unavailable or limited in functionality if providers decide not to meet the regulatory requirements.

Effects on Smaller Providers

• Resource Constraints: Smaller messaging services and startups may lack the resources to implement the required scanning technologies, leading to increased operational costs or forcing them out of the market.

• Innovation Stifling: The added regulatory burden could deter new entrants, reducing competition and innovation in the messaging service sector.

User Experience and Trust

• Privacy Concerns: Users may lose trust in messaging platforms if they know their communications are subject to scanning, leading to a decline in user engagement.

• Migration to Unregulated Platforms: There is a risk that users might shift to less secure or unregulated services, including those operated outside the EU or on the dark web, potentially exposing them to greater risks.

Technical and Security Implications

• Increased Vulnerabilities: Modifying encryption protocols to comply with Chat Control could introduce security flaws, making platforms more susceptible to hacking and data breaches.

• Global Security Risks: Changes made to accommodate EU regulations might affect the global user base of these services, extending security risks beyond European borders.

Impact on Businesses and Professional Communications

• Confidentiality Issues: Businesses that rely on secure messaging for sensitive communications may face challenges in ensuring confidentiality, affecting sectors like finance, healthcare, and legal services.

• Compliance Complexity: Companies operating internationally will need to navigate a complex landscape of differing regulations, increasing administrative burdens.

Economic Consequences

• Market Fragmentation: Divergent regulations could lead to a fragmented market, with different versions of services for different regions.

• Loss of Revenue: Messaging services might experience reduced revenue due to decreased user trust and engagement or the costs associated with compliance.

Responses from Service Providers

• Legal Challenges: Companies might pursue legal action against the regulations, citing conflicts with privacy laws and user rights.

• Policy Advocacy: Service providers may increase lobbying efforts to influence policy decisions and promote alternatives to Chat Control.

Possible Adaptations

• Technological Innovation: Some providers might invest in developing new technologies that can detect illegal content without compromising encryption, though the feasibility remains uncertain.

• Transparency Measures: To maintain user trust, companies might enhance transparency about how data is handled and what measures are in place to protect privacy.

The potential consequences of Chat Control for messaging services are profound, affecting not only the companies that provide these services but also the users who rely on them daily. The balance between complying with legal requirements and maintaining user privacy and security presents a significant challenge that could reshape the digital communication landscape.

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What Happens Next? The Future of Chat Control

The future of Chat Control remains uncertain as the debate continues among EU member states, policymakers, technology companies, and civil society organizations. Several factors will influence the outcome of this contentious proposal, each carrying significant implications for digital privacy, security, and the regulatory environment within the European Union.

Current Status of Legislation

• Ongoing Negotiations: The proposed Chat Control measures are still under discussion within the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union. Amendments and revisions are being considered in response to the feedback from various stakeholders.

• Timeline: While there is no fixed date for the final decision, the EU aims to reach a consensus to implement effective measures against online crime without undue delay.

Key Influencing Factors

1. Legal Challenges and Compliance with EU Law

• Fundamental Rights Assessment: The proposals must be evaluated against the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, ensuring that any measures comply with rights to privacy, data protection, and freedom of expression.

• Court Scrutiny: Potential legal challenges could arise, leading to scrutiny by the European Court of Justice (ECJ), which may impact the feasibility and legality of Chat Control.

2. Technological Feasibility

• Development of Privacy-Preserving Technologies: Research into methods that can detect illegal content without compromising encryption is ongoing. Advances in this area could provide alternative solutions acceptable to both privacy advocates and security agencies.

• Implementation Challenges: The practical aspects of deploying scanning technologies across various platforms and services remain complex, and technical hurdles could delay or alter the proposed measures.

3. Political Dynamics

• Member State Positions: The differing stances of EU countries, such as Germany's opposition, play a significant role in shaping the final outcome. Consensus among member states is crucial for adopting EU-wide regulations.

• Public Opinion and Advocacy: Growing awareness and activism around digital privacy can influence policymakers. Public campaigns and lobbying efforts may sway decisions in favor of stronger privacy protections.

4. Industry Responses

• Negotiations with Service Providers: Ongoing dialogues between EU authorities and technology companies may lead to compromises or collaborative efforts to address concerns without fully implementing Chat Control as initially proposed.

• Potential for Self-Regulation: Messaging services might propose self-regulatory measures to combat illegal content, aiming to demonstrate effectiveness without the need for mandatory scanning.

Possible Scenarios

Optimistic Outcome:

• Balanced Regulation: A revised proposal emerges that effectively addresses security concerns while upholding strong encryption and privacy rights, possibly through innovative technologies or targeted measures with robust oversight.

Pessimistic Outcome:

• Adoption of Strict Measures: Chat Control is implemented as initially proposed, leading to weakened encryption, reduced privacy, and potential withdrawal of services like Signal from the EU market.

Middle Ground:

• Incremental Implementation: Partial measures are adopted, focusing on voluntary cooperation with service providers and emphasizing transparency and user consent, with ongoing evaluations to assess effectiveness and impact.

How to Stay Informed and Protect Your Privacy

• Follow Reputable Sources: Keep up with news from reliable outlets, official EU communications, and statements from privacy organizations to stay informed about developments.

• Engage in the Dialogue: Participate in public consultations, sign petitions, or contact representatives to express your views on Chat Control and digital privacy.

• Utilize Secure Practices: Regardless of legislative outcomes, adopting good digital hygiene—such as using strong passwords and being cautious with personal information—can enhance your online security.

The Global Perspective

• International Implications: The EU's decision may influence global policies on encryption and surveillance, setting precedents that other countries might follow or react against.

• Collaboration Opportunities: International cooperation on developing solutions that protect both security and privacy could emerge, fostering a more unified approach to addressing online threats.

Looking Ahead

The future of Chat Control is a critical issue that underscores the challenges of governing in the digital age. Balancing the need for security with the protection of fundamental rights is a complex task that requires careful consideration, open dialogue, and collaboration among all stakeholders.

As the situation evolves, staying informed and engaged is essential. The decisions made in the coming months will shape the digital landscape for years to come, affecting how we communicate, conduct business, and exercise our rights in an increasingly connected world.

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Conclusion

The debate over Chat Control highlights a fundamental challenge in our increasingly digital world: how to protect society from genuine threats without eroding the very rights and freedoms that define it. While the intention to safeguard children and prevent crime is undeniably important, the means of achieving this through intrusive surveillance measures raise critical concerns.

Privacy is not just a personal preference but a cornerstone of democratic societies. End-to-end encryption has become an essential tool for ensuring that our personal conversations, professional communications, and sensitive data remain secure from unwanted intrusion. Weakening these protections could expose individuals and organizations to risks that far outweigh the proposed benefits.

The potential consequences of implementing Chat Control are far-reaching:

• Erosion of Trust: Users may lose confidence in digital platforms, impacting how we communicate and conduct business online.
• Security Vulnerabilities: Introducing backdoors or weakening encryption can make systems more susceptible to cyberattacks.
• Stifling Innovation: Regulatory burdens may hinder technological advancement and competitiveness in the tech industry.
• Global Implications: The EU's decisions could set precedents that influence digital policies worldwide, for better or worse.

As citizens, it's crucial to stay informed about these developments. Engage in conversations, reach out to your representatives, and advocate for solutions that respect both security needs and fundamental rights. Technology and policy can evolve together to address challenges without compromising core values.

The future of Chat Control is not yet decided, and public input can make a significant difference. By promoting open dialogue, supporting privacy-preserving innovations, and emphasizing the importance of human rights in legislation, we can work towards a digital landscape that is both safe and free.

In a world where digital communication is integral to daily life, striking the right balance between security and privacy is more important than ever. The choices made today will shape the digital environment for generations to come, determining not just how we communicate, but how we live and interact in an interconnected world.

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Thank you for reading this article. We hope it has provided you with a clear understanding of Chat Control and its potential impact on your privacy and digital rights. Stay informed, stay engaged, and let's work together towards a secure and open digital future.

Read more:

• https://www.patrick-breyer.de/en/posts/chat-control/
• https://www.patrick-breyer.de/en/new-eu-push-for-chat-control-will-messenger-services-be-blocked-in-europe/
• https://edri.org/our-work/dutch-decision-puts-brakes-on-chat-control/
• https://signal.org/blog/pdfs/ndss-keynote.pdf
• https://tuta.com/blog/germany-stop-chat-control
• https://cointelegraph.com/news/signal-president-slams-revised-eu-encryption-proposal
• https://mullvad.net/en/why-privacy-matters

@ d6affa19:9110b177

A Female-Led Relationship (FLR) is a dynamic where the woman directs and guides the relationship and the man surrenders to her lead, typically supporting her through devotion and service. An FLR could be described as a type of Dominant/submissive (D/s) relationship. And commonly, many stumble upon FLRs through kink exploration or fetishism, but this doesn’t have to be the case at all. Female leadership is not a kink and many couples pursue this style of relationship instinctively. There’s a lot more to this natural and profound dynamic that can lead to mutual fulfillment and a sense of shared purpose.

What an FLR is Not

Leadership is often associated with traits such as assertiveness, control, and dominance. In an FLR, leadership is re-examined, often emphasizing more commonly associated “feminine” strengths—empathy, nurturing, intuition, and emotional intelligence. These traits are recognized, valued, and celebrated. The woman's role isn’t about mimicking traditionally masculine behaviors but about leading in a way that feels authentic to her personal nature.

This means that she doesn’t necessarily have to earn more income or be the “breadwinner” (although she may); it simply means that she is the visionary and director of the relationship. While providing resources is commonly associated with “being the leader,” especially in a household setting, these two factors are unrelated and don’t really form a sound basis for that conclusion.

Another common misconception is that the woman must micromanage and/or make every decision for her man. This is extremely impractical and exhausting—the man doesn’t lose his agency in this style of relationship. In fact, it’s often his responsibility to actively provide support. There are countless ways to structure an FLR, and ultimately it’s the woman’s vision that sets the course.

What is an FLR?

The dynamic of an FLR allows for greater flexibility of duties. With the woman as the leader, she is able to set the direction and boundaries of not only the relationship but also her space. She can freely communicate her support, guidance, and expectations, as well as her own needs and the needs of others.

This gives her the capacity to receive her man’s love, appreciation, and devotion, and cultivate him to fulfill her in the best way possible. Through her leadership and support, she will be better able to inspire her partner to blossom into his fullest potential.

The arrangement of an FLR essentially fulfills a mutual set of emotional and psychological needs specific to the couple—her desire to lead and his inclination to please. It’s an agreement in which she charts a shared vision of life and he trusts in her vision and leadership.

Navigating the Flow

A woman’s energy, or feminine energy, is often described as fluid, dynamic, and changing—similar to a river. It flows naturally, guided by instincts and emotions. The river is strong and powerful; it carves paths and nurtures the landscape it passes through. In this metaphor, masculine energy is like the banks of the river. The banks don’t control the river; they exist to provide the structure and support needed for the river to flow freely and gracefully.

This supportive (or submissive) role is not one of weakness or passiveness; it’s a demonstration of strength and dedication. A submissive gentleman is tasked with providing emotional support and demonstrating unwavering loyalty to the woman. The expectations and boundaries set by her provide him with a solid purpose in which to direct his energy. He is expected to express his love and adoration through acts of service and devotion, and his masculinity is measured by his ability to support and enrich, not his ability to dominate or control.

Conclusion

The beauty of an FLR lies in its voluntary nature, where the couple chooses and embraces their roles out of love, respect, and admiration. This dynamic allows the woman to lead with her inherent strengths and instincts rather than adopting conventional masculine traits. It creates a space for the couple’s natural inclinations to mirror each other in ways that wouldn’t be possible in a more conventional dynamic.

And unlike traditional relationships that can feel driven by societal expectations and coercion, FLRs offer an alternative choice centered on mutual respect, leading to a balanced and fulfilling partnership. By celebrating each partner's unique strengths, FLRs can encourage a deeper, more authentic connection, creating a harmonious and empowering relationship.

@ 62a6a41e:b12acb43

Why?

Because Bitcoin fosters the ultimate free-market environment, one where individuals can pursue their goals freely while preserving their wealth securely.

In such a world, political power loses its allure. When you can act independently, guided by your own values and rewarded meritocratically for your efforts, what role remains for politics? What need is there for external control when the system rewards hard work, authenticity, and innovation?

If you can easily take your wealth to another jurisdiction, why be robbed?

Bitcoin embodies a meritocratic system that celebrates individuality, rendering the traditional political arena obsolete.

Meritocracy + Individuality = The End of Politics

Bitcoin #Philosophy

@ c4f5e7a7:8856cac7

Best viewed on Habla, YakiHonne or Highlighter.

TL;DR

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

The following concepts are explored:

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

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

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

Cognitive Dissonance

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

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

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

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

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

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

Self-sovereign Identity

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Full NOSTARD?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The remainder of this article explores how we can:

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

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

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

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

This especially holds true if that data is centralised.

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

Places and Web-of-Trust

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

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

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

This requires users to:

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

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

Attestations

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Proof of Place

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

@Gigi also observes in Memes vs The World that:

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

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

This isn’t true for Nostr.

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

Check-ins

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Summary: Trust Your Bros

So, to recap, we have:

Places: Digital representations of physical locations on Nostr.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thanks

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

@ 30ceb64e:7f08bdf5

A recent conversation with fellow Bitcoiners prompted me to share this overview of Nostr tools. While you don't need to use everything, understanding the ecosystem helps paint a picture of where we're heading.

I often hear people say "I'm posting to the void" or "My feed is boring" or "I'm not earning any bitcoin" or "It's too complicated." Let me address these concerns with a comprehensive overview.

Core Clients and Features

Primal and Amethyst are currently the best daily drivers. Theyre both valid twitter replacements with primal focusing on user friendliness and amethyst focusing on being more feature rich.

Both apps feature an algorithm marketplace (we call them DVMs) where you can choose from various feed styles. Soon, anyone will be able to create and share their own algorithms. For additional feed customization, Listr.lol lets you curate lists of npubs to further refine your experience.

Content and Rewards

Stacker News (SN) integrates beautifully with Nostr. Cross-post your SN content to appear as longform notes on platforms like Highlighter, Yakihonne, and Habla.news. SN's rewards system pays out satoshis for quality content, bridging their closed platform with Nostr's open network.

Payments and Zaps

For zaps, I recommend CoinOS, or AlbyHub for a more sovereign alternative. CoinOS is non kyc and gives you a lightning address and NWC connection string to throw into your nostr clients. CoinOS supports e-cash and Bolt 12, Liquid, and can auto-withdraw earnings to cold storage. You can use coinOs as a PWA or input the connection string into Alby Go for a more minimal wallet alternative.

Security and App Management

Android users should use zap.store for downloading Nostr apps. It verifies app authenticity and implements Web of Trust features, showing which trusted npubs use each app.

For managing multiple apps, Pokey provides a unified notification dashboard. Amber (Android) offers secure client login without exposing your nsec, while Citrine lets you run a relay on your phone for data backup.

Creator Tools

• Wavlake: Spotify alternative with open music graph
• Fountain: Podcast app with Nostr integration
• Zap.stream: Live streaming
• Nostr.build: Media hosting
• Cypher.space: Website creation with integrated marketplace
• Olas: Instagram alternative
• Gifbuddy.lol: Gif creation
• memeamigo.lol: Meme creation
• Zappadd: Promotional tools

Making the Most of Nostr

The key to Nostr is understanding that nothing is force-fed. You're responsible for: - Creating your desired feed - Choosing your client - Selecting your relays - Managing your wallet - Curating who you follow

For best results, go all in: 1. Leave traditional social media 2. Use Primal and or Amethyst as your main client 3. Follow 1000 npubs 4. Set up CoinOS for payments 5. Engage daily with the community

Future Outlook

Some ask if Nostr is truly decentralized, censorship-resistant, or profitable. My response: the user experience will become so good that most internet users will naturally gravitate here. The only barrier will be ideological resistance.

Nostr represents a new internet paradigm where users outpower platforms, identity persists across apps, and Bitcoin is the standard. We've practically already won.

Crazy Ideas

I'm thinking the age of of the super nostr app will come to a close. We're probably going to enter an era of a thousand micro apps and client templates, which allow users to build their own client in 30 seconds. Some templates will be impermanent, one time use clients, others will be more robust for building a daily driver. You'll be able to share your completed piece on nostr for other people to use, and they'll zap you for building it. A marketplace of user created apps supported by thousands of micro apps and relays and templates, probably a user experience holy grail, made possible by nostr's open social graph, smooth monetization processes from bitcoin.

Growth Predictions

Daily Active Users doubling yearly: 2024: 20k → 2029: 640k

The beauty of Nostr isn't just in its decentralized nature or bitcoin integration – it's in the user experience that puts you in control. While traditional social media platforms force-feed you content through black-box algorithms, Nostr hands you the keys to your own digital kingdom. You choose your feed, your apps, your connections, and your level of engagement. Yes, there's a learning curve, but that's the price of digital sovereignty.

Think of where Twitter was in 2006 or Bitcoin in 2013. Those who saw the potential and jumped in early didn't just benefit financially – they helped shape the future. Nostr is at that same inflection point. The tools are here, the infrastructure is growing, and the community is building. Whether you're a creator, developer, bitcoiner, or just someone tired of traditional social media, Nostr offers a glimpse of what the internet should have been all along.

The question isn't if Nostr will win, but when. And when it does, you'll want to be able to say you were here when it all began.

Thanks, Hustle

originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/827860

@ 09fbf8f3:fa3d60f0

由于gmail在中国被防火墙拦截了，无法打开，不想错过邮件通知。

通过自建ntfy接受gmail邮件通知。 怎么自建ntfy，后面再写。

---

2024年08月13日更新：

修改不通过添加邮件标签来标记已经发送的通知，通过Google Sheets来记录已经发送的通知。

为了不让Google Sheets文档的内容很多，导致文件变大，用脚本自动清理一个星期以前的数据。

---

准备工具

• Ntfy服务
• Google Script
• Google Sheets

操作步骤

1. 在Ntfy后台账号，设置访问令牌。
2. 添加订阅主题。
3. 进入Google Sheets创建一个表格.记住id，如下图：
4. 进入Google Script创建项目。填入以下代码（注意填入之前的ntfy地址和令牌）：

```javascript function checkEmail() { var sheetId = "你的Google Sheets id"; // 替换为你的 Google Sheets ID var sheet = SpreadsheetApp.openById(sheetId).getActiveSheet();

// 清理一星期以前的数据 cleanOldData(sheet, 7 * 24 * 60); // 保留7天（即一周）内的数据

var sentEmails = getSentEmails(sheet);

var threads = GmailApp.search('is:unread'); Logger.log("Found threads: " + threads.length);

if (threads.length === 0) return;

threads.forEach(function(thread) { var threadId = thread.getId();

if (!sentEmails.includes(threadId)) {
  thread.getMessages().forEach(sendNtfyNotification);
  recordSentEmail(sheet, threadId);
}

}); }

function sendNtfyNotification(email) { if (!email) { Logger.log("Email object is undefined or null."); return; }

var message = `发件人: ${email.getFrom() || "未知发件人"} 主题: ${email.getSubject() || "无主题"}

内容: ${email.getPlainBody() || "无内容"}`;

var url = "https://你的ntfy地址/Gmail"; var options = { method: "post", payload: message, headers: { Authorization: "Bearer Ntfy的令牌" }, muteHttpExceptions: true };

try { var response = UrlFetchApp.fetch(url, options); Logger.log("Response: " + response.getContentText()); } catch (e) { Logger.log("Error: " + e.message); } }

function getSentEmails(sheet) { var data = sheet.getDataRange().getValues(); return data.map(row => row[0]); // Assuming email IDs are stored in the first column }

function recordSentEmail(sheet, threadId) { sheet.appendRow([threadId, new Date()]); }

function cleanOldData(sheet, minutes) { var now = new Date(); var thresholdDate = new Date(now.getTime() - minutes * 60 * 1000); // 获取X分钟前的时间

var data = sheet.getDataRange().getValues(); var rowsToDelete = [];

data.forEach(function(row, index) { var date = new Date(row[1]); // 假设日期保存在第二列 if (date < thresholdDate) { rowsToDelete.push(index + 1); // 存储要删除的行号 } });

// 逆序删除（从最后一行开始删除，以避免行号改变） rowsToDelete.reverse().forEach(function(row) { sheet.deleteRow(row); }); }

```

4.Goole Script需要添加gmail服务，如图：

5.Google Script是有限制的不能频繁调用，可以设置五分钟调用一次。如图：

结尾

本人不会代码，以上代码都是通过chatgpt生成的。经过多次修改，刚开始会一直发送通知，后面修改后将已发送的通知放到一个“通知”的标签里。后续不会再次发送通知。

如需要发送通知后自动标记已读，可以把代码复制到chatgpt给你写。

效果预览：

@ fd78c37f:a0ec0833

In this edition, We were honored to have Martin npub19vtlpmfzz8yl4g9r7c8u8t2vaqjhjgpjrc36hc2typxnutpnluzs3tx8xe， the founder of Bitcoin Nairobi, share his journey in creating the Bitcoin community, his goals, and some of the challenges faced. He emphasized the importance of education and innovation in promoting Bitcoin adoption in Kenya.

---

YakiHonne: Martin, it’s truly an honor and a pleasure to have you with us today. We’re looking forward to a fruitful conversation as we move forward. Before we dive in, I’d like to take a moment to share some background on what YakiHonne is. YakiHonne is a decentralized media client built on the Nostr protocol that enables freedom of speech through technology. It empowers creators to create their own voice, assets, and features. It also allows features like smart widgets, verified notes, and focuses on long-form articles. today. we'll be exploring more about your community. Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

Martin：I’m Martin Mutonga, the founder of Bitcoin Nairobi. I’m 21 years old and currently studying at the University of Nairobi. YakiHonne: What sparked your interest in Bitcoin, and what motivated you to create a community around it?

Martin：I first got interested in Bitcoin as a way to find passive income. Before discovering Bitcoin, I worked as an AI annotation Jobs. During this time, I came across Bitcoin. After reading the Bitcoin white paper, I decided to explore it further. I then started looking for Bitcoin communities in Kenya and joined events like Bitcoin DADA，The Core, and others. It was then that I realized there was a gap in Bitcoin education in Kenya. Many people were getting into Bitcoin but didn’t know how to earn from it. Martin：I decided to create Bitcoin Nairobi, a community focused on advancing Bitcoin through education, adoption, and innovation. Our mission is to educate people about Bitcoin, help merchants integrate Bitcoin payments to attract more customers, and foster innovation by exploring protocols like Nostr and leveraging apps like YakiHonne to drive growth.

YakiHonne: Great. Could you share how your community started and how you managed to attract members?

Martin：The community initially started through a WhatsApp group, originally for people who have questions related to Bitcoin. I shared my knowledge of Bitcoin and expressed my desire to train others, which led to small Bitcoin learning sessions. Before this, I completed a Bitcoin diploma course with Mi Premier Bitcoin, which deepened my passion for Bitcoin and inspired me to start my own company. Bitcoin became my true passion, and I was determined to fully dive into it. Martin：I then founded Bitcoin Nairobi, initially focusing on the concept of the circular economy, which I called Bitcoin Aerobics. With support from Geyser and other Bitcoin enthusiasts in Kenya, the community began to grow. Every few months, we attract new members through a project called Bitcoin School Kenya, mostly university students who want to learn and earn with Bitcoin while studying.

YakiHonne: Can you share some of the challenges you faced when you first started?

Martin：One of the main challenges I faced early on was the lack of guidance, as many Bitcoin users are anonymous. Additionally, relevant content is scattered across various platforms, making it difficult to gather all the necessary information in one place. Another challenge is the small number of true Bitcoiners in Kenya. While there are many participants in cryptocurrency and altcoins, there are only about 28 true Bitcoin users in Kenya, which is a tiny fraction of the country's 58 million people. Martin：Seeing this gap, I founded Bitcoin School Kenya, aiming to promote Bitcoin education. Our goal is not only to teach people about Bitcoin but also to empower them to become Bitcoin ambassadors in their local communities. This way, we can extend our impact beyond Nairobi, especially to rural areas.

YakiHonne: As you mentioned, many people are involved in cryptocurrency and other coins, including popular meme coins like Dogecoin. While they claim to be part of the crypto space, Bitcoin is truly the dominant and most significant coin. However, true Bitcoiners are few in number and not as widely recognized. Additionally, the content related to Bitcoin is scattered across platforms like YouTube and Google, making it hard to find a single source to access all the necessary information. I completely understand the frustration. YakiHonne: What are the core principles that guide the Bitcoin Nairobi community? How do you maintain trust and reliability, especially when facing the widespread skepticism around cryptocurrency? How do you ensure that community members trust you, particularly when onboarding them?

Martin：I think we are simply following the principles of Bitcoin's proof of work—if you show your proof of work, you'll be rewarded, and that's all there is to it. That's the essence of proof of work.

YakiHonne: A lot of people feel that cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, and Web3 are scams, and they don't see them as the future. So, How do you convince people to trust and believe in Bitcoin?

Martin：What we do is organize meetups. However, due to financial constraints, we've only been able to host two so far, one of which was in Kibra, a part of the Bitcoin Nairobi community. I believe this is how we gain trust in Bitcoin and what we do. Another key aspect is maintaining consistent communication. If people have issues, we engage with them. We also communicate with merchants and guide them on what they need. This helps build trust within the community. Additionally, we are transparent with our funds. Whatever donations or grants we receive, we make sure to be open about how the funds are used and show the community exactly what we’ve spent them on. This is how we build trust.

YakiHonne: It seems you're really doing a great job in that aspect. How do you educate your members and keep them informed about the latest Bitcoin developments?

Martin： We collaborate with Bitcoin developers like Simon, who is the lead of BitDevs Nairobi. Simon often conducts classes with Bitcoin School Kenya, where he trains people in Bitcoin development.We also invite guest developers, such as those from Btrust, to join our sessions and train people on Bitcoin development. Additionally, we bring in experts on specific topics like Lightning or Nostr to provide specialized training for students. Looking ahead, we aim to nurture our own developers who can contribute to projects like Bitcoin Core, the Lightning Network, and Nostr. These developers will eventually train others, helping us build a stronger ecosystem.

YakiHonne: I look forward to seeing your developers in the future. It would be amazing to have developers from your community contributing—it would be a great benefit both for them and for the Bitcoin community as a whole.

Martin：Honestly, you can't know everything. Another amazing thing about Bitcoin is the supportive community—there's always someone willing to help. For example, I didn’t even approach Simon myself; I just attended a BitDevs meetup, and he offered to train during our classes. We also have Nayoma, the first African male Bitcoin Core developer, contributing to the classes. It's truly inspiring to see so many knowledgeable people coming together to share their expertise.

YakiHonne: How does the community collaborate with the broader Bitcoin ecosystem, and what partnerships have had the greatest impact on Bitcoin Nairobi?

Martin：One key factor that has helped Bitcoin Nairobi gain recognition globally is our involvement with the Federation of Bitcoin Circular Economies. We collaborate with other communities by actively participating in their calls and staying in contact with leaders at the Federation as well as other communities. This consistent engagement has significantly boosted our visibility. Martin：Additionally, through Bitcoin School Kenya, we operate as a light node in the broader Bitcoin ecosystem. For now, we function as a light node, but we’re aiming to upgrade to a full node by next year. This will enable members of our community not only to contribute locally but also to teach and collaborate with other communities and circular economies worldwide.

YakiHonne: What major challenges has the community faced, and how did you overcome them while maintaining integrity?

Martin：I wouldn't say there's a major challenge, but one challenge we faced was connecting with others in the Bitcoin space. However, we’ve made progress. Another challenge we’re facing now is organizing physical meetups. This has been difficult since we’re still relatively new in the Federation and the circular economies.

YakiHonne: It seems like you haven’t faced much resistance in terms of people viewing Bitcoin as a scam or having trust issues about its stability, like concerns over whether Bitcoin will crash. You haven't experienced these kinds of challenges.

Martin：Most people believe in the technology and in Bitcoin. The main issue they have is knowing where and how they can sell it. However, when it comes to doubting Bitcoin itself, I can’t say many people question the technology. Especially young people, they’re into online work, AI, and Bitcoin—basically anything related to the future.

YakiHonne: What are the community's goals for the next 6-12 months, and how do you see it evolving with Bitcoin's growth？

Martin：Our community's goals are to develop more educators and promote the widespread adoption of Bitcoin education, launch more Bitcoin-based projects to drive local adoption, strengthen collaborations with other organizations and communities to expand our influence, and increase our efforts in “orange-pilling” to help more people understand and embrace Bitcoin. As Bitcoin continues to grow, we will also continue to expand and evolve, fostering the maturation of the Bitcoin ecosystem.

YakiHonne: That's great. We’re excited to see how these initiatives will unfold in the coming months. Best of luck in achieving your vision, and we look forward to hearing about your progress in the future! OK, We're glad to see everyone and look forward to the next community interview. Thank you all, and that wraps up today's session.

@ 7460b7fd:4fc4e74b

请看2014年王兴的一场思维碰撞，视频27分钟开始

最后，一个当时无法解决的点：丢失

@ 826e9f89:ffc5c759

_Prologue: this is a prose adaptation of a talk I gave to a private audience in Dubai and then tweaked slightly for a small conference in Sofia. I'm increasingly thinking it deserves a more general audience, and may be better suited to text anyway. This is probably not its final form, as the desired audience is tradfi capital allocators, hence a PDF is likely on the cards in the near future. For the time being, consider this a first draft, practising what it might look like as prose, and soliciting feedback from the good people of Nostr. Enjoy! _

The title of this essay means absolutely nothing. There is no such thing as “Web π” because there is no such thing as “Web 3”. It’s bullshit. It’s a scam.

Unfortunately, it has turned out to be extremely powerful bullshit and an extremely profitable scam, and so my goal in writing this essay is to give the reader the tools to navigate all of this and come out the other side without having been scammed or bullshat. In the spirit of not scamming and not bullshitting, I should be clear upfront about the intended readership of this essay, who I am to write it, and who it’s really about.

Who Are You?

I assume the reader is not a shadowy super-coder, but rather is a financial professional. This essay isn’t really for Bitcoiners, although if any read it, I hope they still find it interesting. Who I am really writing for are people coming to the space for the first time. Hopefully in your mind you are coming to the _Bitcoin _space, but if you think you are coming to the “crypto” space then this may be even more useful.

Who Am I?

I am the founder of a company that makes me not only highly biased but also flagrantly self-interested in the content I am promoting. I run a firm that invests in the Bitcoin ecosystem through a variety of different vehicles. I am not going to mislead you in the slightest in that my primary motivation is for you to allocate capital to us rather than to people I would call scammers and bullshitters. You should listen to them too and make up your own mind, or else what’s the point, really? How do you know I’m not scamming or bullshitting you? Exactly. Don’t trust. Verify.

In any case, that’s all assuming you want to “allocate capital” at all rather than just buy Bitcoin without a management fee. I’d like to think the primary difference is that I will be honest about that, and I’ll encourage you to understand as much as you can about what is going on and what you are doing (and if you are at all unsure, I would suggest you aren’t ready and you should just buy Bitcoin and learn) rather than bamboozle you with complete nonsense like “Web 3”.

Who Is This About?

It’s not at all about people working in crypto. Bitcoiners amongst the readership may be mildly irritated by me going on to give about as charitable an explanation of the role of these people as they have probably ever heard from somebody like me. This is really about financiers. It’s about the people who have used the mostly unrewarded efforts of developers, academics, entrepreneurs, and so on to siphon money from you to themselves, leaving a trail of useless tech and defrauded retail investors in their wake – and who will continue to do so if you continue to empower them.

Why This Essay?

We are at an interesting point in the development of the entirety of the “crypto” industry and I strongly suggest that people like you are going to be pitched all kinds of scams and bullshit in the coming months and years. If you have a little more background on what these people are really talking about, you will hopefully be able to avoid it.

My plan to help with that is presenting a short version and a long version of what blockchains are and are for, how they have historically been deployed in service of scams and bullshit, a high-level theory explaining the narrative evolution behind this sorry history, and a prediction for the near-term future of such shenanigans.

What is a Blockchain For?

A Blockchain is for sound, censorship-resistant, peer-to-peer digital money. It is not for anything else. If a blockchain is functional as money, it may be possible to also _use it _for other things. Some people find that interesting, some people find it infuriating, but don’t let that subtlety confuse you. It is not _for _arbitrary computation and storage or “decentralizing the internet” or running illegal securities rackets.

It is for money, plain and simple.

How does it achieve that? Proof of work and the difficulty adjustment. These are the innovations from which every other desirable property or feature flows. Proof of work enables censorship resistance. If somebody is trying to sell you on “proof of stake”: bullshit. The difficulty adjustment enables precise, predetermined, and _fair _issuance. If somebody is trying to sell you on a token they issue for free and without restriction: scam.

The problem Bitcoin solves is both economic and technical and the solution has material technical and economic merit. And it’s for this very specific and irreplicable reason the Bitcoin token has value. If this all sounds extreme to you, then I would suggest that your understanding of the topic is _extremely _misguided, that you are going to be _extremely bullshat and extremely scammed, _and you need to read this essay. That’s the short version.

The Long Version

I am sensitive to how extreme this all sounds. After all, hundreds of billions of dollars have been pumped into crypto, not Bitcoin – a huge amount of it is widely used, and many capable, honest, and brilliant people work in the industry. The reader will recall just above I said those people are not the target of my criticism. I’m not claiming they are all scammers and bullshitters. Sadly, I think it’s more likely they have been scammed and bullshat to some degree also.

I think I have some credibility in pointing this out because, as a VC in the Bitcoin space, I have increasingly seen founders telling me this themselves: that they originally bought into the hype in crypto and ended up wasting an enormous amount of time realizing their idea made no technical or economic sense in that context, so then they came to Bitcoin instead. You hear this one time and it’s an anecdote, but you hear it as many times as I have and it feels more like a representative sample.

What I want to cover next is as charitable a summary of the state of ex-Bitcoin crypto as I possibly can: my contention is that crypto has evolved into 4 rough categories: stablecoins, cryptography R&D, gambling, and scams. And these aren’t exclusive, to be clear; there is a lot of overlap, and, in fact, the overlap is arguably the key.

Scams

Scams are tokens, plain and simple. If somebody is trying to profit from the speculative price action of a token they have issued, they are scamming somebody. Maybe they are scamming you, maybe they are scamming retail investors, maybe they are scamming customers or suppliers – if such parties even exist in their cargo cult “business model”. There’s a scam in there somewhere.

However, it is rarely _just _a scam. There will almost always be components of stablecoins, R&D or gambling too. Hence these are worth really grappling with, taking seriously, giving credit to the extent it is due, but also analyzing critically.

My rough and high-level assessment of this breakdown of crypto is as follows, and I’ll explain what I mean by this below: stablecoins have economic merit but dubious technical merit; R&D has technical merit but no economic merit; and gambling sort of has merit but it depends how you interpret it. Obviously, scams have neither.

Stablecoins

By “sort of technical merit” I mean that stablecoins have central issuers. You can issue them as tokens on a blockchain but there’s not really much of a point. The issuer could just run a database connected to the internet with some straightforward signature schemes for transfers and it would make minimal operational difference. In fact, it would be cheaper and faster. _In fact, _you may as well run a Chaumian eCash mint (a decades-old innovation recently resurrected firmly within the _Bitcoin _space) such that your cheaper-and-faster-than-a-blockchain database also grants users transience and privacy rather than the public permanence of a blockchain.

The fact Tron is the most heavily used for stablecoins, in terms of settling the most value, is a testament to this point: it is barely even pretending not to be a database. This works as regulatory arbitrage given regulators think this is “innovation” because they are stupid.

That said, it is worth giving some credit here given the abject awfulness of fiat banking and payment rails with which stablecoins arguably most directly compete. Stablecoins are significantly more permissionless in their transfer than any fiat bank liability. And to attest to what seems like their most significant use case, they are permissionless in their _usership _in that only an internet connection and the right software is required rather than various discriminatory jurisdictional and compliance criteria.

However, what “sort of technical merit” ultimately boils down to, especially in comparison to Bitcoin, is: highly censorable in their exogenous links and, therefore, their value. The assets supposedly backing stablecoins are (by definition) still within the fiat system, even if this novel transfer mechanism of the rights to withdraw them is not. There is frankly a bit of theatre involved in the so-called “decentralization” of stablecoins given shutting down the central issuer is all that is required to make the permissionlessly tradeable decentralized tokens go to zero and be technically unimpeded but functionally useless. The technical innovation of Bitcoin, in contrast, is easily understood in one sense as it being totally indifferent to this kind of attack.

On the other hand, by “economic merit” I mean that they are extremely widely used and valued as a means of providing dollar shadow banking and often superior payment rails. Those in crypto often love pointing to this and many Bitcoiners tie themselves in knots trying to explain it away, whereas I see it as essentially unrelated to Bitcoin. Clearly there is a superficial connection, but you could create any superficial connection by “tokenizing” things for no particularly good technical _reason. I think it’s a different industry entirely. It’s more like a subindustry within _fintech – part banking, part payments – that for the time being relies on bamboozling regulators with all the nonsense I’m drawing attention to.

And good for them, frankly. If fiat banking isn’t going to be backed by real money anyway, then it _at least _ought to be permissionless. It should really be Chaumian eCash if it isn’t just Bitcoin, and it is regulation alone that makes it so awful in the first place. Making money usable and not a tool of dystopian control is, at this point, a political problem, not a technical one. Stablecoins are frankly a step in the right direction, especially insofar as they acclimatize users to digital assets. But I would still caution that they arguably don’t have sufficient technical merit to withstand what feels like an inevitable political attack …

Cryptography R&D

“Technical merit” for R&D is more or less self-explanatory, but the context is worth appreciating. It’s only really in crypto and mostly in Ethereum more specifically that people can permissionlessly experiment with arbitrarily complex cryptographic schemes that operate on real, enormous value. There are a lot of people who understandably find this attractive given their projects are essentially academic and trying out their ideas in the wild is more interesting, arguably more worthwhile, and certainly more fun than putting research essays on ArXiv or submitting them to a journal.

But … the value being manipulated is at best stablecoins and at worst baseless hype. If it isn’t a stablecoin then it probably exists in the first place because of either gambling or scams – and even there the line is very blurry.

Gambling

Gambling is an interesting lens to adopt on all this because it’s literally a trillion-dollar industry. And it’s real. It’s consensual; it’s not criminal; it’s legitimate economic activity that generates enormous profits for those who facilitate it well.

So, gambling has economic merit in that sense. But it’s tricky in this context how to characterize it because you could also argue it’s deeply dishonest gambling in that the gamblers don’t realize they are playing a negative sum game against the house. They think they are doing something akin to speculating on securities, which may be just as stupid depending on how it’s done, but at least has real economic utility and contributes to capital formation.

The difference here is that what is being speculated on _has no economic merit. _So, if that’s your gauge of merit, then here there is none. And it’s a very blurry line between this and an outright scam. Maybe the people involved _think _of what they are doing as amazing R&D, and maybe it’s inadvertently just a scam; maybe they know it’s all nonsense, but they think they can profit within the negative sum game because there are greater fools. In any case, I think gambling is a very helpful characterization of a lot of the behavior of the users and the real economic function of the industry.

There’s an interesting social component to all this because crypto people will often get mad at Bitcoiners because Bitcoiners tend not to care about either stablecoins or crypto R&D: they’ll say, why don’t you like stablecoins, they have clear economic merit? And the answer is they have dubious technical merit. Or, why don’t you like our next-gen Zero Knowledge scaling protocol, it has clear technical merit? And the answer is it has no economic merit.

If you’re happy with one but not the other, it’s easy to think of Bitcoiners as being closed-minded or dogmatic or whatever, but, ultimately, I think it’s just about discipline. What’s the point in being excited by something that half works, and that you know why will never fully work? So to be frank, a lot of this may be well-intentioned, but it’s kinda’ bullshit. It very probably ultimately rests on gambling and not at all whatever its stated purpose is … or it’s just a scam.

How Did We Get Here?

The following is by no means exhaustive and the framing is deliberately a little tongue-in-cheek. As well as being accurate enough (if unavoidably biased), my goal here is primarily to set up my prediction for what is coming next.

2015               reality: Ethereum launches             narrative: “the world computer”

In 2015, Ethereum launched. The narrative here was that we are building “the world computer” and we can now have decentralized uncensorable computation. Never mind that anybody with a laptop has an uncensorable and decentralized computing device. And keep in mind this question of, “_what data might it ever be relevant to compute over in this manner (whatever that means in the first place)?” _The answer will become clearer and clearer …

2016-17          reality: ICO bubble                           narrative: “Web 3” / “DApps”

Regardless, at the end of 2015 we get the proposal and adoption of ERC20: a standard for issuing fungible tokens within Ethereum contracts, which is why in 2016 _but especially in 2017 _we get the ICO bubble. The narrative changes. Now we are concerned with “Web 2” companies being huge, powerful, and centralized. What if, instead, users could cooperatively own the application, control their own data, and participate in the economic upside that their usage is creating?

2018-19          reality: crypto winter                       narrative: “mistakes were made”

In 2018 this all falls apart, so don’t worry about it, moving on …

2020-21          reality: defi summer                        narrative: “decentralized finance”

By 2020 the narrative was different once again. It is more or less realized by this point that utility tokens make no technical or economic sense. You can’t introduce artificial scarcity in capital goods where there should be abundance and deflation and expect anybody to care, never mind to value your concoction. On the other hand, “securities” ought to be scarce and in some sense ought to function as tradeable ledger entries. Maybe they could be tokenized and computed on in a censorship-resistant and decentralized manner?

So, we get a boom in “defi” which, for what it’s worth, fellow Axiom co-founder Anders Larson and I predicted in our essay Only The Strong Survive, in September 2021, would be a complete disaster because, amongst a myriad of other illiterate insanities, there was approximately zero grounding of these securities in productive capital. The ecosystem was entirely self-referential – grounded _not even _in the questionable economic merit of stablecoins but firmly in gambling and scams; in leverage, rehypothecation, and securitization of precisely nothing whatsoever productive.

2022               reality: shitcoinpocalypse                narrative: “mistakes were made”

And we were absolutely right because in 2022 everything collapsed. First Terra/Luna imploded – a “defi” project which essentially presented to the world the argument that a fractional reserve bank issuing fiduciary media can literally never go bankrupt because it can always cover a deposit shortfall by issuing more equity. While briefly flirting with a capitalization of around fifty f***ing billion dollars, and endorsed and fawned over by all manner of illiterate charlatans with gigantic and unsuspecting audiences, this argument was eventually rejected by the market as utterly imbecilic, as analyzed by myself and Nic Carter in All Falls Down.

This triggered a credit contagion that soon after took down 3 Arrows Capital, Celsius, Voyager, BlockFi, and others. FTX limped along by what we now understand to be something like defrauding their way out of debt, but eventually also collapsed later that year. If _Only The Strong Survive _was a pre-mortem of all of this, then the reader may want to read Green Eggs And Ham, also by myself and Anders Larson, as a kind of post-mortem.

2023-today    reality: Bitcoin multisigs                  narrative: “Bitcoin renaissance”

And now a lot of this stuff is moving to Bitcoin. It is outside the scope of this essay to explain this in much detail but there have been a handful of developments in Bitcoin recently which, regardless of their intended purpose, seem to have as a collective side effect that a lot of these same shenanigans can now be implemented (or can _pretend _to be implemented) in a more Bitcoin-native context.

So, the new narrative is something like:

“these things didn’t work, not because they are terrible ideas that collapse to moon math wrappers around gambling and scams under any remotely critical analysis, but rather because they weren’t on Bitcoin. But also, since it has only recently become possible to (at least pretend to) implement them on Bitcoin, they are now worthwhile. We have wandered in the wilderness but learned our lessons and found the promised land.”

Technical and Economic Merit

Let’s consider all this through the lens of technical and economic merit once again. Or rather, the alleged merit given the stated goal. Ignore for now whether there is any merit:

2015               technical goal: new computing paradigm               economic goal: x% of GDP?

The original idea of “crypto” allegedly has the merit of the next revolution in computing. Goodness knows how big that market is; probably a decent chunk of global GDP – if it meant anything, which it doesn’t.

2016-17          technical goal: disrupting company formation       economic goal: y% of S&P?

ICOs then become a little bit more specific. Now they are merely disrupting how we organize companies. What’s that worth? Some portion of the value of the companies that can now be decentralized and tokenized I guess? Who knows …

2018-19          nothing to see here

Nothing happened then, don’t worry about it.

2020-21          technical goal: decentralize finance            economic goal: z% of NYSE, CME, ISDA?

Defi becomes more specific again. Now we are merely tokenizing financial contracts, expanding access, removing middlemen, and so on. So that should probably be worth some percentage of capital markets activity?

2022               nothing to see here

Oops, never mind …

2023-today    technical goal: now it’s on Bitcoin!             economic goal: i% of … Bitcoin?

… and now it’s on Bitcoin apparently.

In Hindsight ...

I think the most amusing analysis of all this is as follows: it starts off completely insane, it gets more and more restrained each time – you could cheekily argue it starts to make more and more sense – but it also gets closer to Bitcoin every time. It’s clearly narrowing in on just: Bitcoin.

This is people realizing, painfully, over decades, what blockchains are for! They are not for “decentralizing everything” They are for censorship-resistant, sound, peer-to-peer digital money.

And I think this is _also _why we get the current state of crypto from earlier in the essay. As it starts to make more and more sense (by getting closer and closer to Bitcoin) you have realizations like the following: digital gift vouchers for artificially scarce and extremely expensive computation aren’t money, so we need “real money” in here for it to have economic merit, so you get stablecoins. Also, well we have a rich programming environment that seems technically interesting but also the severe technical handicap of being unable to do even a billionth of a billionth of a billionth of all the computations in the world, so you get crypto R&D. These emerge as a kind of patch, and they have _some _merit in isolation, whereas the long-term trajectory is actually just to converge on Bitcoin.

It’s an open and fascinating question if there are any learnings from these that can still be transplanted to Bitcoin. For stablecoins, this strikes me as less clear, given the dubious technical merit is introduced by using a blockchain at all, not just a blockchain other than Bitcoin. However, efforts to create Bitcoin balances (tokenized or otherwise) that are stable relative to some external price are to be applauded, if still heavily scrutinized for what technical merit they _really _have.

It seems far more likely that crypto R&D will prove useful in a Bitcoin context to some or other degree, and in this case the economic merit is in fact solved by moving to Bitcoin, provided the necessary technical merit can be mimicked. At the time of writing, this is a source of both hope and dread: hope given the possibility of viable avenues of development (although still highly uncertain); dread given how early steps in this direction are already being misrepresented in the pursuit of bullshit and scams. I will return to both shortly.

Narrative Evolution

Back to the table just above, I want to make three quick observations that tie together my entire argument and get us to the end of the essay:

Firstly, the bubbles always follow the price of Bitcoin. Hopefully I don’t need to include a price chart for the reader to grasp this immediately.

Secondly, it’s important that the narrative always changes. Absolutely ungodly amounts of money were raised for this crap following the_ Bitcoin bull runs of 2017 and 2021. The people doing this couldn’t point to the previous absolute disaster, so they had to spin something along the lines of: “_we learned our lessons and we’ve refined the use case.” This should sound familiar from just above.

Thirdly, however, regardless of whatever refinement they’ve come up with, the consequence of the new “narrative” is always, “buy my token”.

Always.

It doesn’t matter what buzzword salad is in the middle. It’s always “Bitcoin is cool, xyz, fughayzi fughahzi, buy my token.”

This is why I am very much tempted to not care so much about developers, academics, entrepreneurs, and so on, and in fact for my null hypothesis to be that they are more likely to have been victims than perpetrators. I don’t think they even end up in a position to contribute without the key group whom I do blame. When you put all these pieces together, what I think falls out of this analysis is as follows:

The entire cycle of shitcoinery can be traced to unscrupulous financiers convincing capital allocators who don’t know any better, in a bull market that, yes, Bitcoin is cool, but what they are doing is related, cooler, and that they deserve a fee.

Let us label this the Capital Cycle Theory of Shitcoinery. I think that everything else about which one might want to complain is downstream of this core realization.

Avoiding It

Given everything I’ve covered this is simple and this is pretty much the end of the essay.

You need to be aware of why this is happening now. If it hasn’t happened to you already (intended readership in the capital allocation business, that is) I guarantee it’s about to: with ETFs and the halving just past, we seem to be starting a Bitcoin bull run, these people have already raised ridiculous amounts of money on scams and bullshit that have mostly imploded. They may have lost a lot of money, or they may even have dumped on retail and got an excellent “return”. But in any case, they need a new narrative.

It's _possible _they have a viable narrative around stablecoins, R&D, both, and that they are as wary of scams as I have suggested here that they should be. I don’t want to insult anybody who merely has a different investment thesis to me if they are otherwise reasonable in their outlook and honest in their dealings.

However, if they are only now realizing how pointless and disingenuous every preceding crypto narrative has been after 7 years and hundreds of billions of dollars – or if they still don’t realize it at all; if their track record shows they were deeply involved, handsomely rewarded, and yet created nothing of lasting value; if they say things like “the builders are coming back to Bitcoin”: be very, very suspicious. Be on the lookout for tokens, which is to say, be on the lookout for scams.

What is especially frustrating is that the technical spin of the "layer twos" that are all the rage at the time of writing, that "the builders are coming back to Bitcoin" to build, and that you, the capital-allocating reader, will almost certainly be pitched, is in and of itself pretty reasonable. They just don't require tokens and they don't require gambling to support the token prices. What they do require is _sound adherence to Bitcoin's technical and economic merit. _At the very least, they require honest communication about the design trade-offs so far and planned for, and what, if any, economic and technical merit is left over after these trade-offs have been made.

Narrative aside, the _reality _of 99% of these projects is that they are private execution environments tied to multisigs custodying user deposits. Which is to say, on the one hand, that they are cargo culting "crypto R&D" from Ethereum that isn't technically possible in Bitcoin in order to feign technical merit, and on the other, that _they aren't layer twos at all. _Once again, they may as well be Chaumian eCash mints, except for the fact that this would make the intended token scam all but impossible to pull off.

Casey Rodarmor, creator of the Ordinals protocol, recently joked on the Hell Money _podcast he co-hosts, responding to the idea that "_everybody is building an L2 now":

"It's the same sad sack playbook as on Ethereum being recapitulated on Bitcoin. That's how you get a VC check on Ethereum. They are all glorified multisigs, so they are like, "hey let's port our glorified multisig to Bitcoin and get a VC check." I was talking to a friend of mine who is working on an interesting project, an open-source analyzer that does transaction clustering, and I was like, "maybe you could do this in this way and raise some VC money," and he said, "yeah, okay, but what's the point in raising VC money?" And I said, "no, no, no, this is the end! This is the goal! You raise VC money and then you cut yourself checks from that VC money until it runs out and then you raise more at a 10x valuation. This is the new economy, guys!"

The 1% that are legitimately trying to bring the learnings from crypto R&D to Bitcoin in a technically and economically sound manner will hopefully win in the long run (and even this is somewhat speculative at the time of writing) but will likely get little to no attention amidst this bull market flurry of scams and bullshit.

Axiom will do its best to source and invest in these companies (we already have!) but we are resigned to it being a much more difficult sell to capital allocators in light of the Capital Cycle Theory of Shitcoinery. To be brutally honest, this entire essay can fairly be considered cope on my part in light of having lost this battle in the past and facing up to the very real prospect of losing it in the near future too. Oh well, at least I tried.

Wrapping Up

The essence of the Capital Cycle Theory of Shitcoinery is that the problems I’ve described ultimately come from bamboozling people just like you with technical sounding nonsense like “Web 3” so you think it’s all a lot more complicated than it really is. Just buy Bitcoin. That’s certainly the first thing you should do anyway, and it might be the only thing you ever need to do.

If you really, really want to take the extra risk of investing in the Bitcoin ecosystem, the team at Axiom would be happy to speak with you. But we are never going to talk you out of buying Bitcoin. There is no world in which Bitcoin does poorly and we do well, or in which we promise something “better than Bitcoin,” and there’s no point in engaging with us at all if you don’t already believe most of this.

If that’s of interest to you, we’d love to talk. If not, just buy Bitcoin. In any case: fair warning, we are heading into a Bitcoin bull market and the scams and the bullshit are coming. Good luck avoiding them.

Allen Farrington, June 2024

@ 4523be58:ba1facd0

NIP-116

Event paths

Description

Event kind 30079 denotes an event defined by its event path rather than its event kind.

The event directory path is included in the event path, specified in the event's d tag. For example, an event path might be user/profile/name, where user/profile is the directory path.

Relays should parse the event directory from the event path d tag and index the event by it. Relays should support "directory listing" of kind 30079 events using the #f filter, such as {"#f": ["user/profile"]}.

For backward compatibility, the event directory should also be saved in the event's f tag (for "folder"), which is already indexed by some relay implementations, and can be queried using the #f filter.

Event content should be a JSON-encoded value. An empty object {} signifies that the entry at the event path is itself a directory. For example, when saving user/profile/name: Bob, you should also save user/profile: {} so the subdirectory can be listed under user.

In directory names, slashes should be escaped with a double slash.

Example

Event

json { "tags": [ ["d", "user/profile/name"], ["f", "user/profile"] ], "content": "\"Bob\"", "kind": 30079, ... }

Query

json { "#f": ["user/profile"], "authors": ["[pubkey]"] }

Motivation

To make Nostr an "everything app," we need a sustainable way to support new kinds of applications. Browsing Nostr data by human-readable nested directories and paths rather than obscure event kind numbers makes the data more manageable.

Numeric event kinds are not sustainable for the infinite number of potential applications. With numeric event kinds, developers need to find an unused number for each new application and announce it somewhere, which is cumbersome and not scalable.

Directories can also replace monolithic list events like follow lists or profile details. You can update a single directory entry such as user/profile/name or groups/follows/[pubkey] without causing an overwrite of the whole profile or follow list when your client is out-of-sync with the most recent list version, as often happens on Nostr.

Using d-tagged replaceable events for reactions, such as {tags: [["d", "reactions/[eventId]"]], content: "\"👍\"", kind: 30079, ...} would make un-reacting trivial: just publish a new event with the same d tag and an empty content. Toggling a reaction on and off would not cause a flurry of new reaction & delete events that all need to be persisted.

Implementations

• Relays that support tag-replaceable events and indexing by arbitrary tags (in this case f) already support this feature.
• IrisDB client side library: treelike data structure with subscribable nodes.

https://github.com/nostr-protocol/nips/pull/1266

@ b60c3e76:c9d0f46e

KRIS menjamin semua golongan masyarakat mendapatkan perlakuan sama dari rumah sakit, baik pelayanan medis maupun nonmedis.

Demi memberikan peningkatan kualitas layanan kesehatan kepada masyarakat, pemerintah baru saja mengeluarkan Peraturan Presiden (Perpres) nomor 59 tahun 2024 tentang Jaminan Kesehatan. Melalui perpres itu, Presiden Joko Widodo (Jokowi) telah menghapus perbedaan kelas layanan 1, 2, dan 3 dalam Badan Penyelenggara Jaminan Sosial atau BPJS Kesehatan.

Layanan berbasis kelas itu diganti dengan KRIS (Kelas Rawat Inap Standar). Berkaitan dengan lahirnya Perpres 59/2024 tentang Perubahan Ketiga atas Perpres 82/2018 tentang Jaminan Kesehatan, Presiden Joko Widodo telah memerintahkan seluruh rumah sakit yang bekerja sama dengan BPJS Kesehatan melaksanakannya.

Kebijakan baru itu mulai berlaku per 8 Mei 2024 dan paling lambat 30 Juni 2025. Dalam jangka waktu tersebut, rumah sakit dapat menyelenggarakan sebagian atau seluruh pelayanan rawat inap berdasarkan KRIS sesuai dengan kemampuan rumah sakit.

Lantas apa yang menjadi pembeda dari sisi layanan dengan layanan rawat inap sesuai Perpres 59/2024? Dahulu sistem layanan rawat BPJS Kesehatan dibagi berdasarkan kelas yang dibagi masing-masing kelas 1, 2, dan 3. Namun, melalui perpres, layanan kepada masyarakat tidak dibedakan lagi.

Pelayanan rawat inap yang diatur dalam perpres itu--dikenal dengan nama KRIS—menjadi sistem baru yang digunakan dalam pelayanan rawat inap BPJS Kesehatan di rumah sakit-rumah sakit. Dengan KRIS, semua golongan masyarakat akan mendapatkan perlakuan yang sama dari rumah sakit, baik dalam hal pelayanan medis maupun nonmedis.

Dengan lahirnya Perpres 59/2024, tarif iuran BPJS Kesehatan pun juga akan berubah. Hanya saja, dalam Perpres itu belum dicantumkan secara rinci ihwal besar iuran yang baru. Besaran iuran baru BPJS Kesehatan itu sesuai rencana baru ditetapkan pada 1 Juli 2025.

“Penetapan manfaat, tarif, dan iuran sebagaimana dimaksud ditetapkan paling lambat tanggal 1 Juli 2025,” tulis aturan tersebut, dikutip Senin (13/5/2024).

Itu artinya, iuran BPJS Kesehatan saat ini masih sama seperti sebelumnya, yakni sesuai dengan kelas yang dipilih. Namun perpres itu tetap berlaku sembari menanti lahirnya peraturan lanjutan dari perpres tersebut.

Kesiapan Rumah Sakit

Berkaitan dengan lahirnya kebijakan layanan kesehatan tanpa dibedakan kelas lagi, Kementerian Kesehatan (Kemenkes) menegaskan mayoritas rumah sakit di Indonesia siap untuk menjalankan layanan KRIS untuk pasien BPJS Kesehatan.

Kesiapan itu diungkapkan oleh Dirjen Pelayanan Kesehatan Kemenkes Azhar Jaya. “Survei kesiapan RS terkait KRIS sudah dilakukan pada 2.988 rumah sakit dan yang sudah siap menjawab isian 12 kriteria ada sebanyak 2.233 rumah sakit,” ujar Azhar.

Sebagai informasi, KRIS adalah pengganti layanan Kelas 1, 2, dan 3 BPJS Kesehatan yang bertujuan untuk memberikan layanan kesehatan secara merata tanpa melihat besaran iurannya.

Melalui KRIS, rumah sakit perlu menyiapkan sarana dan prasarana sesuai dengan 12 kriteria kelas rawat inap standar secara bertahap. Apa saja ke-12 kriteria KRIS itu?

Sesuai bunyi Pasal 46A Perpres 59/2024, disyaratkan kriteria fasilitas perawatan dan pelayanan rawat inap KRIS meliputi komponen bangunan yang digunakan tidak boleh memiliki tingkat porositas yang tinggi serta terdapat ventilasi udara dan kelengkapan tidur.

Demikian pula soal pencahayaan ruangan. Perpres itu juga mengatur pencahayaan ruangan buatan mengikuti kriteria standar 250 lux untuk penerangan dan 50 lux untuk pencahayaan tidur, temperature ruangan 20--26 derajat celcius.

Tidak hanya itu, layanan rawat inap berdasarkan perpres itu mensyaratkan fasilitas layanan yang membagi ruang rawat berdasarkan jenis kelamin pasien, anak atau dewasa, serta penyakit infeksi atau noninfeksi.

Selain itu, kriteria lainnya adalah keharusan bagi penyedia layanan untuk mempertimbangkan kepadatan ruang rawat dan kualitas tempat tidur, penyediaan tirai atau partisi antartempat tidur, kamar mandi dalam ruangan rawat inap yang memenuhi standar aksesibilitas, dan menyediakan outlet oksigen.

Selain itu, kelengkapan tempat tidur berupa adanya dua kotak kontak dan nurse call pada setiap tempat tidur dan adanya nakas per tempat tidur. Kepadatan ruang rawat inap maksimal empat tempat tidur dengan jarak antara tepi tempat tidur minimal 1,5 meter.

Tirai/partisi dengan rel dibenamkan menempel di plafon atau menggantung. Kamar mandi dalam ruang rawat inap serta kamar mandi sesuai dengan standar aksesibilitas dan outlet oksigen.

Azhar menjamin, Kemenkes akan menjalankan hal tersebut sesuai dengan tupoksi yang ada. “Tentu saja kami akan bekerja sama dengan BPJS Kesehatan dalam implementasi dan pengawasannya di lapangan,” ujar Azhar.

Berkaitan dengan perpres jaminan kesehatan itu, Direktur Utama BPJS Kesehatan Ghufron Mukti menilai, perpres tersebut berorientasi pada penyeragaman kelas rawat inap yang mengacu pada 12 kriteria. "Bahwa perawatan ada kelas rawat inap standar dengan 12 kriteria, untuk peserta BPJS, maka sebagaimana sumpah dokter tidak boleh dibedakan pemberian pelayan medis atas dasar suku, agama, status sosial atau beda iurannya," ujarnya.

Jika ada peserta ingin dirawat pada kelas yang lebih tinggi, kata Ghufron, maka diperbolehkan selama hal itu dipengaruhi situasi nonmedis. Hal itu disebutkan dalam Pasal 51 Perpres Jaminan Kesehatan diatur ketentuan naik kelas perawatan.

Menurut pasal tersebut, naik kelas perawatan dilakukan dengan cara mengikuti asuransi kesehatan tambahan atau membayar selisih antara biaya yang dijamin oleh BPJS Kesehatan dengan biaya yang harus dibayar akibat peningkatan pelayanan.

Selisih antara biaya yang dijamin oleh BPJS Kesehatan dengan biaya pelayanan dapat dibayar oleh peserta bersangkutan, pemberi kerja, atau asuransi kesehatan tambahan.

Ghufron Mukti juga mengimbau pengelola rumah sakit tidak mengurangi jumlah tempat tidur perawatan pasien dalam upaya memenuhi kriteria KRIS. "Pesan saya jangan dikurangi akses dengan mengurangi jumlah tempat tidur. Pertahankan jumlah tempat tidur dan penuhi persyaratannya dengan 12 kriteria tersebut," tegas Ghufron.

Penulis: Firman Hidranto Redaktur: Ratna Nuraini/Elvira Inda Sari Sumber: Indonesia.go.id

@ 266815e0:6cd408a5

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

@ fd78c37f:a0ec0833

In this edition, we are pleased to speak with Luthando nostr:npub10vudmjqhr8kn2kv2pxhezt2h5t5c9zauwq8qr56nhdn64yacsqyqf08djm leader of the Bitcoin Ekasi community, about how they are using Bitcoin to transform payment systems, savings habits, and cross-border remittances in a South African township, while fostering digital currency education and boosting local economic trust.

---

YakiHonne: Luthando. We really appreciate you coming in. YakiHonne is a decentralized media client built on the Nostr protocol that enables freedom of speech through technology. It empowers creators to create their own voice, assets, and features. It also allows features like smart widgets, verified notes, and focuses on long-form articles. today. we'll be exploring more about your community.Can you tell us a bit about yourself? What do you do, and what’s your role in your community?

Luthando：I’m Luthando, a project community leader at Bitcoin Ekasi. My role includes onboarding township shops to help them adopt Bitcoin as a payment method. I also manage staff records, tracking workdays and paid leave for team members involved in the project. Additionally, I conduct interviews and collaborate with a supervisor to share insights and experiences about Bitcoin. This work is part of my efforts with Bitcoin Ekasi.

YakiHonne: You're really doing a lot of work in the Bitcoin ecosystem，what sparked your interest in Bitcoin? And what motivated you to create a community around it?

Luthando：When I was working as a safety coach at Safeacase, Herman introduced me to Bitcoin. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Safeacase, which relied on donations, faced severe financial challenges. This led to the launch of the Bitcoin Ekasi Project, where I helped township shops adopt Bitcoin as a payment method. With limited funds, I transitioned from receiving a fiat salary to earning in Bitcoin. Bitcoin transformed my mindset, making me realize it is the future of money. This realization inspired me to travel the world and explore new countries.

YakiHonne: Great. I really admire the enthusiasm you have for Bitcoin.Can you share a brief history of how you built your community and attracted members? What methods or advertisements did you use to onboard them?

Luthando：We host monthly Bitcoin movie nights to engage the community, running from February to December starting next year. We promote the events with posters in town, shops, and clinics, inviting residents to join. During the movie nights, participants use Bitcoin we provide to purchase popcorn and drinks, gaining hands-on experience with the technology. Luthando：And our Bitcoin center features a thrift shop and a small Bitcoin ATM. Community members can exchange fiat for Bitcoin using the ATM and use it to purchase clothing from the shop. We also offer Bitcoin courses with 14 students attending classes five days a week. To encourage attendance, students are rewarded with Bitcoin for consistent participation. Similarly, in the “Safer Kids” program, children who maintain a 70% attendance rate or higher also receive Bitcoin rewards. Luthando：To further promote Bitcoin adoption in the community, we painted Bitcoin-themed logos on 34 shops and paid the owners in Bitcoin, which they can use in local shops. This initiative not only spreads awareness but also provides the community with practical opportunities to use Bitcoin.

YakiHonne: Yeah, we are pushing Bitcoin adoption so hard this time. It's really great.What principles guide your community, and how do you ensure trust and reliability in your discussions?

Luthando：I was born in eastern South Africa, and my parents moved here around 1996. The community knows me well and trusts that I wouldn’t introduce anything fraudulent. Since 2010, we’ve been working in this township, especially helping children, building over a decade of trust. I explain to the community that we aim to bring value through Bitcoin, encouraging them to save in Bitcoin instead of fiat. As a result, the community has great trust in our Bitcoin Ekasi team.

YakiHonne: How do you educate your members and keep them updated on Bitcoin developments? You mentioned having five weekly meetups to onboard members, but what other methods do you use to educate them and keep them informed about the Bitcoin ecosystem?

Luthando：We use the Felly app to communicate with community members and keep them updated. At the Ekasi Center, we host quizzes to encourage participation. For example, the first attendees can earn 5,000 sats, motivating them to regularly engage with the Felly app. Although we initially tried a few other methods that didn't really involve them getting Sats, its impact was limited as many people in the township seek quick financial returns and often don’t return after their first visit. To address this, we host movie nights as a more engaging way to promote Bitcoin education. During these events, we screen Bitcoin-related films, allowing community members to learn about Bitcoin in a fun and relaxed setting.

YakiHonne: It's truly captivating and highly insightful.How does your community collaborate with the global Bitcoin ecosystem? Specifically, how does it engage with the broader worldwide Bitcoin community, and which partnership has been of more significant impact on Bitcoin Ekasi?

Luthando：We have established a strong partnership with Bitcoin Beach, which provided crucial support in the creation of the Bitcoin Ekasi project. Currently, we are planning to build a community center in the township, earning the trust and support of both Bitcoin Beach and the local government of Mossel Bay. The community center will serve as a multifunctional space for events like weddings and more. As one of the earliest Bitcoin adoption projects in Africa, Bitcoin Ekasi has inspired other countries to follow suit, viewing us as a model for building sustainable Bitcoin communities.

YakiHonne: How do you collaborate with Bitcoin communities and organizations outside South Africa? What partnerships or interactions do you have with other global Bitcoin communities?

Luthando: We collaborate with other Bitcoin projects through community initiatives. For example, we paint logos on local community shops and pay the owners 7000Sats per week. This approach has helped us build connections with projects outside South Africa. One notable example is our assistance to the Bitcoin Dua project in Africa, helping them establish a Bitcoin circular economy. We also supported the Bitcoin Loxin project in Cape Town, South Africa, in launching their Bitcoin circular economy. Through these collaborations, we have developed strong relationships with other Bitcoin communities.

YakiHonne: We’d like to understand the challenges you faced when starting the community, as well as the challenges the community has encountered？

Luthando: One of the main challenges is convincing members that Bitcoin is not a scam. Many people are skeptical about Bitcoin, fearing they might lose their money. Additionally, saving is not a common habit within the community, even with fiat currency. I often explain the importance of saving in Bitcoin, emphasizing how it can safeguard their financial security. However, changing deeply ingrained mindsets has proven to be quite difficult. Another challenge is the limited level of education in the community. Even those who own smartphones often struggle to use them effectively. This lack of familiarity extends to using Bitcoin wallets, with many people finding it challenging to navigate wallet usage, especially in shops. Lastly, I feel like I’m working around the clock. Even outside of work hours, people come to my house seeking assistance, such as exchanging Bitcoin for fiat. While I’m happy to help, the constant demands can feel overwhelming at times, making it seem as though I’m working every day, including weekends.

YakiHonne: and how you managed to overcome them？

Luthando: Overcoming these challenges is not easy. I can't say that I've fully managed to resolve them, but I do my best to address them. Fortunately, I have a colleague who assists me, although he’s currently out of town. He helps manage some of the workload, especially in dealing with local community members and providing them with the support they need.

YakiHonne: I'm really interested in the issue of people thinking Bitcoin is a scam. Could you elaborate on that? What specific steps have you taken to demonstrate that Bitcoin is reliable and not a scam?

Luthando: Many shop owners initially believe Bitcoin is a scam and refuse to accept it. To address their doubts, I demonstrate Bitcoin's legitimacy through practical examples. First, I help them download a Bitcoin wallet and post about it on X, receiving small tips from Bitcoin enthusiasts worldwide. I then use these tips to showcase Bitcoin's real-world applications. For instance, I use Bitrefill to purchase mobile airtime or fuel vouchers for them, highlighting Bitcoin's utility in daily life. I also mention South African restaurants like Steers that accept Bitcoin and even place food orders using Bitcoin to show its usability. Additionally, I demonstrate withdrawing cash from a crypto ATM using Bitcoin, further proving that it is a reliable financial tool and not a scam.

YakiHonne: You've done a lot of work in South Africa. I can imagine the effort, the pain and the stress.What initiatives has the community taken to promote Bitcoin adoption, and what results have these efforts achieved?

Luthando: At first, I never imagined we would reach this point. Now, many people frequently come to my home to ask how to buy Bitcoin. For example, this week, a man from Nigeria wanted to purchase Bitcoin worth 5,000 units. I explained the process to him and recommended using a hardware wallet for securely storing large amounts of Bitcoin. He used to struggle with sending money back home, but now he has realized the convenience of Bitcoin. In October last year, I helped two stores owned by Nigerians adopt Bitcoin payments. Since then, this practice has spread within the community, and more people, especially shop owners, have developed an interest in Bitcoin. They ask about its low transaction fees and have recognized it as an efficient solution for cross-border remittances. Initially, some shop owners were skeptical about Bitcoin, but they eventually started saving with it. Today, many of them have accumulated significant Bitcoin savings for their families and children, and they often express their gratitude for introducing Bitcoin to the community. Overall, the Bitcoin adoption project has had a profound impact here. We have educated the community about Bitcoin’s long-term savings value, and many people are now satisfied with this initiative and optimistic about the future.

YakiHonne: It’s clear you’ve achieved tangible results from your efforts. Looking ahead, what are your community's goals for the next 6 to 12 months? How do you plan to achieve them?

Luthando: For Bitcoin Ekasi, one of our main goals is to establish a dedicated Bitcoin Ekasi Center. This center would serve as a hub to educate people about Bitcoin on a frequent basis. We have already started working with a local school in the township, recruiting students and introducing teachers to Bitcoin. Our vision is to integrate Bitcoin education into the school’s curriculum, similar to what has been done in El Salvador. By incorporating Bitcoin as part of their regular subjects, students can gain foundational knowledge about Bitcoin and its potential uses. Ultimately, we aim for teachers to become advocates who can confidently teach children about Bitcoin, empowering the next generation with essential financial literacy skills.

YakiHonne: Thank you so much! I think most of my questions have been answered. I’m really glad to see Bitcoin enthusiasts with a clear focus on Bitcoin. As you said, Bitcoin is the future, and I truly appreciate your enthusiasm for it.

Luthando: Bitcoin is truly the future. We want to see this township transformed into something more modern, rather than its current state. I hope to see more parents saving some Bitcoin for their children. In our community, most kids receive a monthly government allowance of $50 starting from the age of one. I often suggest to parents that they set aside half of that allowance to buy Bitcoin for their child. If they save consistently from age one to 18, the value could grow significantly as Bitcoin appreciates. I’m already doing this for my own child so that he will have savings as he grows up.

YakiHonne: Bitcoin is the future. Its value continues to grow steadily over time. Thank you so much for today’s conversation; we are truly honored. Your sharing of such rich experiences has been incredibly insightful for us. I’ve learned that using movie events to engage more people is an excellent idea, and we plan to start trying it out soon. Once again, thank you for your time and for sharing with us!

@ 266815e0:6cd408a5

While I was in Mediera with all the other awesome people at the first SEC cohort there where a lot of discussions around data storage on nostr and if it could be made censorship-resistent

I remember lots of discussions about torrents, hypercore, nostr relays, and of course IPFS

There were a few things I learned from all these conversations:

1. All the existing solutions have one thing in common. A universal ID of some kind for files
2. HTTP is still good. we don't have to throw the baby out with the bath water
3. nostr could fix this... somehow

Some of the existing solutions work well for large files, and all of them are decentralization in some way. However none of them seem capable of serving up cat pictures for social media clients. they all have something missing...

An Identity system

An identity system would allow files to be "owned" by users. and once files have owners servers could start grouping files into a single thing instead of a 1000+ loose files

This can also greatly simplify the question of "what is spam" for a server hosting (or seeding) these files. since it could simply have a whitelist of owners (and maybe their friends)

What is blossom?

Blossom is a set of HTTP endpoints that allow nostr users to store and retrieve binary data on public servers using the sha256 hash as a universal id

What are Blobs?

blobs are chunks of binary data. they are similar to files but with one key difference, they don't have names

Instead blobs have a sha256 hash (like b1674191a88ec5cdd733e4240a81803105dc412d6c6708d53ab94fc248f4f553) as an ID

These IDs are universal since they can be computed from the file itself using the sha256 hashing algorithm ( you can get a files sha256 hash on linux using: sha256sum bitcoin.pdf )

How do the servers work?

Blossom servers expose four endpoints to let clients and users upload and manage blobs

• GET /<sha256> (optional file .ext)
• PUT /upload
• Authentication: Signed nostr event
• Returns a blob descriptor
• GET /list/<pubkey>
• Returns an array of blob descriptors
• Authentication (optional): Signed nostr event
• DELETE /<sha256>
• Authentication: Signed nostr event

What is Blossom Drive?

Blossom Drive is a nostr app built on top of blossom servers and allows users to create and manage folders of blobs

What are Drives

Drives are just nostr events (kind 30563) that store a map of blobs and what filename they should have along with some extra metadata

An example drive event would be json { "pubkey": "266815e0c9210dfa324c6cba3573b14bee49da4209a9456f9484e5106cd408a5", "created_at": 1710773987, "content": "", "kind": 30563, "tags": [ [ "name", "Emojis" ], [ "description", "nostr emojis" ], [ "d", "emojis" ], [ "r", "https://cdn.hzrd149.com/" ], [ "x", "303f018e613f29e3e43264529903b7c8c84debbd475f89368cb293ec23938981", "/noStrudel.png", "15161", "image/png" ], [ "x", "a0e2b39975c8da1702374b3eed6f4c6c7333e6ae0008dadafe93bd34bfb2ca78", "/satellite.png", "6853", "image/png" ], [ "x", "e8f3fae0f4a43a88eae235a8b79794d72e8f14b0e103a0fed1e073d8fb53d51f", "/amethyst.png", "20487", "image/png" ], [ "x", "70bd5836807b916d79e9c4e67e8b07e3e3b53f4acbb95c7521b11039a3c975c6", "/nos.png", "36521", "image/png" ], [ "x", "0fc304630279e0c5ab2da9c2769e3a3178c47b8609b447a30916244e89abbc52", "/primal.png", "29343", "image/png" ], [ "x", "9a03824a73d4af192d893329bbc04cd3798542ee87af15051aaf9376b74b25d4", "/coracle.png", "18300", "image/png" ], [ "x", "accdc0cdc048f4719bb5e1da4ff4c6ffc1a4dbb7cf3afbd19b86940c01111568", "/iris.png", "24070", "image/png" ], [ "x", "2e740f2514d6188e350d95cf4756bbf455d2f95e6a09bc64e94f5031bc4bba8f", "/damus.png", "32758", "image/png" ], [ "x", "2e019f08da0c75fb9c40d81947e511c8f0554763bffb6d23a7b9b8c9e8c84abb", "/old emojis/astral.png", "29365", "image/png" ], [ "x", "d97f842f2511ce0491fe0de208c6135b762f494a48da59926ce15acfdb6ac17e", "/other/rabbit.png", "19803", "image/png" ], [ "x", "72cb99b689b4cfe1a9fb6937f779f3f9c65094bf0e6ac72a8f8261efa96653f5", "/blossom.png", "4393", "image/png" ] ] }

There is a lot going on but the main thing is the list of "x" tags and the path that describes the folder and filename the blob should live at

If your interested, the full event definition is at github.com/hzrd149/blossom-drive

Getting started

Like every good nostr client it takes a small instruction manual in order to use it properly. so here are the steps for getting started

1. Open the app

Open https://blossom.hzrd149.com

2. Login using extension

You can also login using any of the following methods using the input - NIP-46 with your https://nsec.app or https://flare.pub account - a NIP-46 connection string - an ncryptsec password protected private key - a nsec unprotected private key (please don't) - bunker:// URI from nsecbunker

3. Add a blossom server

Right now https://cdn.satellite.earth is the only public server that is compatible with blossom drive. If you want to host your own I've written a basic implementation in TypeScript github.com/hzrd149/blossom-server

4. Start uploading your files

NOTE: All files upload to blossom drive are public by default. DO NOT upload private files

5. Manage files

Encrypted drives

There is also the option to encrypt drives using NIP-49 password encryption. although its not tested at all so don't trust it, verify

Whats next?

I don't know, but Im excited to see what everyone else on nostr builds with this. I'm only one developer at the end of the day and I can't think of everything

also all the images in this article are stored in one of my blossom drives here

nostr:naddr1qvzqqqrhvvpzqfngzhsvjggdlgeycm96x4emzjlwf8dyyzdfg4hefp89zpkdgz99qq8xzun5d93kcefdd9kkzem9wvr46jka

@ f977c464:32fcbe00

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

İki saat ne zaman geçer?

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

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

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

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

“O zaman daha vahim. Süzme salaksın demektir.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sonsuzluğa kaç tane iki saat sıkıştırabilirsiniz?

Ben bir tane bile sıkıştıramadım.

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

Güneş, bir tüfeğin patlamasıyla yeryüzüne doğdu.

Rayların üzerine serilmiş göğsümün ortasından, bir çantanın içinden.

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

@ 3bf0c63f:aefa459d

O Planetinha

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

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

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

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

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

Terra, nossa nave mãe.

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

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

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

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

---

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

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

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

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

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

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

---

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

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

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

@ a950ba55:02f4f8c9

تقدم وثائق سرية مزعومة تخص نظام بشار الأسد وتم الكشف عنها بعد سقوطه لمحة عن ”آلية“ سرية تديرها روسيا للحد من التدخل العسكري الإسرائيلي في سوريا. كانت القضية المطروحة هي اعتماد الأسد المتزايد على إيران ووكلائها، مثل حزب الله، للحفاظ على سيطرته على السلطة بعد عقد من الحرب الأهلية الطاحنة.

وتكشف الأوراق التي ظهرت حديثًا، والتي تحمل علامة ”سري للغاية وعاجل“، عن مزيج من التهديدات ومذكرات ما بعد العمل التي توضح بالتفصيل ما دمرته إسرائيل للتو في عام 2023 ولماذا. وهي تقدم أول لمحة حقيقية لما كان مشتبهًا به منذ فترة طويلة ولكن لم يتم إثباته أبدًا: أن إسرائيل، التي كانت راضية بترك الأسد الضعيف في مكانه والسماح للجيش العربي السوري بتلبية ”احتياجاته“ الأمنية، كانت عازمة تمامًا على منع تدفق الأسلحة الإيرانية وتعزيز المسلحين الموالين لطهران في سوريا، وخاصة في مرتفعات الجولان.

وتظهر الوثائق أن عميلاً إسرائيلياً يُدعى ”موسى“ (موسى بالإنجليزية) راسل مباشرة وزير الدفاع السوري السابق الفريق علي محمود عباس. ثم قام عباس، الذي شغل منصب وزير الدفاع منذ 28 أبريل/نيسان 2022، بإرسال الرسائل إلى علي مملوك، رئيس مخابرات الأسد سيئ السمعة.

يعود تاريخ سلسلة الوثائق التي فحصتها ”نيو لاينز“، استنادًا إلى لقطات تم تداولها على وسائل التواصل الاجتماعي، إلى الفترة من مايو إلى يوليو 2023 - أي قبل بضعة أشهر فقط من الفظائع التي ارتكبتها حماس ضد المدنيين في إسرائيل في 7 أكتوبر، والتي تلتها هجمات حزب الله الصاروخية في 8 أكتوبر. وقد أدى رد إسرائيل الطويل والقاسي على كليهما إلى القضاء على القيادتين العسكرية والسياسية العليا لحماس وحزب الله، ويمكن القول إنه أنهى مشروع الهيمنة الإيرانية في المشرق العربي الذي استمر لعقود. كما ساهمت بشكل غير مباشر في الإطاحة السريعة وغير المتوقعة بالأسد من السلطة على يد المتمردين الإسلاميين الذين مكنتهم تركيا. وقد أدى ذلك بدوره إلى تدخل إسرائيل الفوري، وحرمان هؤلاء الإسلاميين من الأسلحة الاستراتيجية ذاتها التي كانت إسرائيل قد جنّبت إسرائيل استخدامها عندما كانوا تحت سيطرة الأسد.

وفي حين أننا لم نتمكن من التحقق بشكل مستقل من صحة الوثائق، إلا أن هناك عدة عوامل تقودنا إلى الاعتقاد بأنها حقيقية. أولاً، ظهر المخبأ مباشرةً بعد انهيار نظام الأسد، ومصدره مواقع استخباراتية في دمشق. ثانيًا، تحمل الوثائق أختامًا وتنسيقات حكومية سورية رسمية، بما في ذلك معرّفات خاصة بقطاعي الاستخبارات والدفاع. وأخيرًا، تتوافق المعلومات الواردة في هذه الوثائق مع التفاصيل والتقارير الإخبارية المتاحة للجمهور حول أحداث وأهداف وجداول زمنية محددة للعمليات.

وقال مارك بوليمروبولوس، وهو ضابط سابق في وكالة الاستخبارات المركزية الأمريكية ذو خبرة واسعة في الشرق الأوسط، لـ”نيو لاينز“: ”إن تفاصيل هذه الآلية السرية الفريدة من نوعها في منع الصراع مع روسيا تظهر بوضوح الارتياح الإسرائيلي العام لنظام الأسد، مما يؤكد على المثل القديم ’الشيطان الذي تعرفه‘. ”ربما ساهمت هذه الراحة أيضًا بشكل سلبي في إحجام إسرائيل في البداية عن مساعدة أوكرانيا، نظرًا لاعتماد إسرائيل على روسيا في سوريا“.

على سبيل المثال، تؤكد إحدى الرسائل المؤرخة في 17 مايو 2023 على غضب إسرائيل من الاستفزازات الإيرانية: ”في 8 نيسان/أبريل 2023، أطلقوا ثلاثة صواريخ باتجاه إسرائيل من هضبة الجولان بإيعاز من حماس. في الآونة الأخيرة، وبسبب يوم القدس ومسيرة العَلَم، نلاحظ نشاطات فلسطينية على أرضكم. إذا لم يكن واضحًا لك من يقود هذه العناصر، فإن هذه العناصر يقودها خالد مشعل وصالح العاروري من حماس. نحن نحذركم من احتمال وجود أي نشاط لهذه الأطراف على أراضيكم ونطالبكم بوقف أي استعدادات [إيرانية] لاستخدام هذه القوات على أراضيكم - أنتم مسؤولون عما يحدث في سوريا“.

ويمضي موسى ملمحًا إلى ”طلقة تحذيرية“ إسرائيلية غير محددة ردًا على إطلاق الصواريخ، في إشارة على الأرجح إلى الضربات المدفعية والطائرات بدون طيار التي شنها الجيش الإسرائيلي في جنوب سوريا للقضاء على منصات إطلاق الصواريخ.

ويحذر موسى قائلاً: ”سيكون هجومنا القادم أقوى وأشد بكثير مما قمنا به حتى الآن“. ”سوف تدفعون ثمنًا باهظًا وغير مسبوق“. وبعد أسابيع، في 29 مايو/أيار 2023، يذكر المنفذ أهدافًا واضحة ضربتها إسرائيل، مثل ”مستودعات أسلحة مرتبطة بالقيادة الجنوبية في دمشق“ و”معسكر تدريب في الضمير“ يستخدمه حزب الله. وقد نشرت وكالة الأنباء السورية الرسمية ”سانا“ تقريراً عن الضربات في 29 مايو/أيار الماضي، قالت فيه إن إسرائيل شنت غارات في دمشق ومحيطها من مرتفعات الجولان في الليلة السابقة.

وتكشف الوثائق عن اعتماد عميق على الإشراف الروسي، حيث لعبت موسكو دورًا نشطًا في تهدئة التوترات بين الجانبين. تجنبت إسرائيل استهداف المواقع العسكرية السورية الرئيسية طالما التزمت دمشق بقواعد اللعبة. وفي المقابل، حافظت روسيا على نفوذها على كلا الطرفين، مما ضمن بقاء نظام الأسد.

وكان الهدف الأساسي من الآلية ظاهريًا الحد من عمليات إيران وحزب الله، وخاصة نقل الأسلحة المتطورة إلى حزب الله في لبنان. على سبيل المثال، توضح رسالة تعود إلى 8 يونيو 2023، تفاصيل تعقب الاستخبارات الإسرائيلية للشحنات الإيرانية: ”خلال الأسبوعين الماضيين، رصدنا هبوط ثماني طائرات في قاعدة حميميم الجوية قادمة من إيران. ... تم نقل الأسلحة على متن هذه الطائرات. ... إذا واصلتم السماح بنقل الأسلحة إلى حزب الله وإيران، فلن نقف مكتوفي الأيدي.“

وتوضح هذه الرسائل دقة الاستخبارات الإسرائيلية التي تتبعت الشحنات منذ وصولها إلى القواعد الجوية التي تسيطر عليها روسيا إلى وجهتها النهائية في اللاذقية والقطيفة. وغالباً ما كان موسى يحذر سوريا من أفراد محددين متورطين في هذه العمليات، مثل القيادي في حزب الله الحاج هاشم (منير علي نعيم شعيتو) وعمليات مثل معسكرات التدريب ”ملف الجولان“ بالقرب من دمشق. وفي كل حالة، كانت التحذيرات تحمل تهديداً ضمنياً - وأحياناً صريحاً - بالرد العسكري.

”ملف الجولان“ هو عملية سرية لحزب الله تهدف إلى إنشاء بنية تحتية وشبكات إيرانية وحزب الله على طول الحدود السورية الإسرائيلية في مرتفعات الجولان. وقد سعى المشروع، الذي كان يديره في ذلك الوقت القيادي البارز في حزب الله علي موسى دقدوق، المعروف أيضًا باسم أبو حسين ساجد، إلى إنشاء خلايا قادرة على شن هجمات داخل الأراضي الإسرائيلية. وقد أفادت التقارير أن دقدوق، الذي سبق له أن نسق هجمات ضد القوات الأمريكية في العراق، قُتل في غارة إسرائيلية في 10 نوفمبر من هذا العام.

وتشمل الاستراتيجية تجنيد عملاء محليين وتخزين الأسلحة لدعم الهجمات المحتملة. وكانت هذه الأنشطة جزءًا من هدف حزب الله الأوسع نطاقًا المتمثل في الاستفادة من الصراع في سوريا لإنشاء جبهة جديدة ضد إسرائيل. وأفادت التقارير أن هذه المبادرة تلقت توجيهات من كبار مسؤولي حزب الله وإيران، بمن فيهم حسن نصر الله وقيادة فيلق القدس.

وردًا على هذه التهديدات، نفذت إسرائيل العديد من العمليات الاستباقية لتفكيك البنية التحتية لحزب الله في المنطقة. على سبيل المثال، استهدفت غارة جوية في كانون الأول/ديسمبر 2023 في جنوب سوريا وقتل فيها محمد التمار المعروف أيضًا باسم أبو جولان، وهو عنصر رئيسي في وحدة ملف الجولان. تسلط هذه العملية الضوء على جهود إسرائيل المستمرة لمواجهة الوجود المتنامي لحزب الله بالقرب من حدودها.

فيما يلي نص إحدى مذكرات النظام التي تحتوي على رسائل أرسلها ”موسى“:

الجمهورية العربية السورية القيادة العامة للجيش والقوات المسلحة شعبة المخابرات - مكتب رئيس الشعبة رقم /2450/1 التاريخ: 29/5/2023 إلى: رئيس مكتب الأمن القومي إلحاقاً لرسالتنا رقم /2254/1 بتاريخ 17/5/2023 بشأن الرسالة الواردة من الإسرائيلي (موسى) بتاريخ 29/5/2023، وردت رسالة عبر الواتساب إلى مكتب وزير الدفاع من الشخص المعروف باسم (موسى)، تتضمن ما يلي (حرفياً) ”تحياتي يا سيدي ... أنا موسى. في وقت سابق، استهدفنا منشآت تخزين تابعة للقيادة الجنوبية في دمشق. بالإضافة إلى ذلك، قمنا بضرب معسكر تدريب في الضمير يستخدمه ملف الجولان بقيادة أبو حسين ساجد لإجراء تدريبات وبناء قوات لتعزيز قدراتهم على القيام بأعمال ضد بلدي. ونؤكد أننا لن نقبل بوجود الحاج هاشم وعناصره في جنوب سوريا. التعاون مع حزب الله يضر بالجيش السوري وأفراده، وأنتم تدفعون الثمن. إن أي دعم تقدمونه للمحور (الإيراني) وحزب الله بشكل يضر ببلدي سيقابل برد قاسٍ. مع أطيب التحيات.“ يرجى المراجعة رئيس شعبة الاستخبارات

في رسالة أخرى أرسلت بتاريخ 16 يونيو 2023، يقول موسى

لاحظنا أنه ابتداءً من 6-7 تموز/يوليو، لم تعد طائرات الإليوشن 76 التابعة للواء 29 في القوات الجوية السورية تهبط في مطار حميميم. وكما أوضحنا لكم عدة مرات من قبل، فإن هذه الطائرات كانت تستخدم أيضًا لنقل الأسلحة لفيلق القدس وحزب الله، بتسهيل من مسؤولين أمنيين سوريين من اللاذقية. نود التأكيد على أن وقف رحلات هذه الطائرات (من جانبكم)، بالإضافة إلى وقف رحلات الشحن الإيرانية التابعة لخطوط كاسبيان الجوية وطيران فارس قشم التي كانت تهبط في مطار النيرب، نعتبرها (من جانبنا) خطوات إيجابية من شأنها أن تحافظ على مصالحكم. نحن لا نرغب في اتخاذ إجراءات ضد الجيش العربي السوري. ولذلك، فإن استخدام الآلية المنظمة تحت إشراف روسي سيسمح لكم بتلبية احتياجات الجيش دون المخاطرة بالبنية التحتية أو المواقع التي يستغلها الإيرانيون لنقل الأسلحة، والتي تسبب في النهاية ضرراً لكم. وبما أنكم الطرف المسؤول عن وقف هذه الطلعات الجوية، فاعلموا أنكم نجحتم في منع مواجهة غير ضرورية، مواجهة لا يرغب فيها أي من الطرفين. وعلى الرغم من كل هذه الأمور، اعلموا أننا نراقب عن كثب وسنواصل مراقبة النشاط الجاري في المنطقة عن كثب. وبناءً على ذلك، إذا لاحظنا استئناف عمليات نقل الأسلحة التي تهدف إلى تقوية حزب الله والإيرانيين، فلن يكون أمامنا خيار سوى التحرك مجدداً وبقوة كبيرة. إن النتيجة تعتمد عليكم. ابقوا بخير.

ويبدو أن نبرة الرسالة تهدف إلى التباهي بعمق الاختراق والمراقبة داخل البنية التحتية الدفاعية السورية، مضايقةً وزير دفاع النظام. وبما أن المرسل يدعي أنه إسرائيلي، فمن المرجح أن وزير الدفاع حرص على إرسال الرسائل ”حرفياً“ لتجنب أي اتهامات باتصالات غير معلنة مع الإسرائيليين.

تسلط وثائق موسى الضوء على الديناميكيات بين الأسد وإيران. فعلى مدى سنوات، صوّرت الاتهامات الإسرائيلية الأسد على أنه مسهّل طوعي للحشد العسكري الإيراني والعمليات السرية الإيرانية في سوريا. لكن الواقع يبدو أكثر تعقيداً. فربما حاول الأسد الحد من أنشطة إيران حيثما أمكن، لكن من المرجح أن إيران عملت بشكل مستقل عن دمشق، وحافظت على جدار حماية لضمان السرية ومنع التسلل.

خلقت الاستراتيجية الإيرانية تحديات كبيرة للأسد. ففي حين تحمل النظام السوري العبء الأكبر من الضربات الجوية الإسرائيلية على أهداف مرتبطة بإيران، إلا أنه غالباً ما كان يفتقر إلى رؤية المدى الكامل لعمليات طهران. بالنسبة لإيران، كان هذا الفصل يعزل أنشطتها عن التدخل السوري ويقلل من خطر حصول الاستخبارات الإسرائيلية على معلومات من خلال التسريبات أو الجواسيس السوريين. وكما تكشف الوثائق، فإن الضربات الإسرائيلية الدقيقة، التي استندت إلى معلومات استخباراتية مفصلة، غالبًا ما كانت تعطل البنية التحتية والأصول العسكرية السورية، حتى عندما لم يكن للأسد أي ضلوع مباشر في الأنشطة الإيرانية التي أثارت تلك الضربات.

تركت هذه الديناميكية الأسد في وضع غير مستقر. فقد زادت تداعيات العمليات الإيرانية من صعوبة إعادة بناء نظامه وأضعفت مكانته مع جيرانه الإقليميين مثل تركيا ودول الخليج العربي، التي كان الأسد يحاول تطبيع أو تعميق العلاقات معها. وفي الوقت نفسه، كانت جهود الأسد للحفاظ على الهدوء في هضبة الجولان والبقاء بعيدًا عن الصراعات الإقليمية الأوسع، مثل الحرب في غزة، تشير إلى رغبته في النأي بنفسه عن استراتيجيات طهران الأكثر عدوانية مع خروجه ”منتصرًا“ في الحرب الأهلية التي استمرت 13 عامًا.

ولم يكن صمت الأسد خلال حرب غزة متوافقاً مع الاستراتيجية الإيرانية الأوسع نطاقاً. ففي حين صعد حزب الله والحوثيون في اليمن من تدخلهم، تجنبت دمشق بشكل واضح المواجهة مع إسرائيل. وتماشت هذه الاستراتيجية مع أهداف الأسد المتمثلة في تقديم نفسه كقوة استقرار وتجنب الانتقام الإسرائيلي المباشر وبناء حسن النية بين الدول المجاورة.

تُظهر الوثائق كيف أن التحذيرات الإسرائيلية، مثل تلك التي أرسلها موسى، أكدت على تكاليف التسامح مع الأنشطة الإيرانية. فعلى سبيل المثال، جاء في رسالة بتاريخ 14 تموز/يوليو 2023 ما يلي ”ما دمتم تواصلون تقديم الدعم للإيرانيين على مستوى نقل الأسلحة، سنضطر للعودة إلى العمل ضد هذه الأنشطة. لقد تجاهلتم التحذيرات والآن تدفع بنيتكم التحتية الثمن.“

في الوقت نفسه، تجلت جهود الأسد للنأي بنفسه عن إيران خلال حرب غزة من خلال إجراءات مثل طرد الحوثيين من السفارة اليمنية والامتناع عن تأييد خطاب حزب الله. وعلى الأرجح أن هذه التحركات كانت محسوبة لمواءمة سوريا مع جيرانها في الخليج، الذين يهتمون بشكل متزايد بعلاقة براغماتية مع دمشق كجزء من استراتيجياتهم الإقليمية الأوسع.

وقال أحد الخبراء الإسرائيليين الذي طلب عدم الكشف عن هويته في هذا التقرير لـ”نيو لاينز“ إنه من المنطقي بالنسبة لإسرائيل أن تنقل معلومات مفصلة عن عمليات نقل الأسلحة الإيرانية إلى نظام الأسد، ليس فقط لإيصال رسالة واضحة عن عمق ونطاق تغلغلها في سوريا، بل للتأكيد على ما يبدو من استقلالية واستقلالية ”المخابرات“ السورية. وقال الخبير إن القيام بذلك سيساعد على توسيع الفجوة بين طهران ودمشق.

انكشفت قناة موسى الخلفية هذه مع انهيار نظام الأسد في 8 ديسمبر. بعد ذلك بساعات، شنت إسرائيل غزوًا على محافظة القنيطرة السورية، ردًا ظاهريًا على هجمات المتمردين المناهضين للأسد على موقع مراقبة تابع للأمم المتحدة. كانت هذه هي المرحلة الافتتاحية من ”عملية سهم الباشان“، وهي حملة غير مسبوقة شن فيها سلاح الجو والبحرية الإسرائيلية 350 غارة على البنية التحتية العسكرية السورية ذاتها التي كانت إسرائيل قد أعفتها من قبل بموجب آلية فض الاشتباك مع دمشق. وقد أفادت التقارير أن الجيش الإسرائيلي قضى على ما بين 70% و80% من الدفاعات الاستراتيجية السورية، بما في ذلك جزء كبير من برنامج الأسلحة الكيميائية. كما اختفت القوات الجوية والبحرية السورية تقريبًا. شكّلت هذه الضربات خروجًا عن النهج المحسوب الذي حافظت عليه إسرائيل في إطار الآلية، مما يؤكد غياب الرقابة الروسية وفقدان الشريك في الحفاظ على الاتفاقات.

ووفقًا لديفيد مكلوسكي، الضابط السابق في وكالة الاستخبارات المركزية الأمريكية ومؤلف كتابي ”محطة دمشق“ و”الطابق السابع“ الجاسوسيين المثيرين، ”تقدم الوثائق لمحة مذهلة عن مدى ضعف النظام السوري الذي أصبح ضعيفًا ومفرغًا من محتواه. كما أنها تُظهر فشل غريزة الأسد الطويلة الأمد في اللعب مع جميع الأطراف - إيران وروسيا وإسرائيل وجيرانه العرب - ضد الآخر، [و] ضعف هذا النهج عندما لم يكن يملك أي أوراق في النهاية“.

مقال مترجم، إضغط هنا لقراءة المقال الأصلي.

@ f977c464:32fcbe00

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Ben geldiğimde ölmüşlerdi.

Yani bozulmuşlardı demek istiyorum.

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

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

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

Eliyle arkasını işaret etti.

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

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

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

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

Bira istemediğinden emin misin?

İstemediğini söyledi. Sahi, neden deliriyordu bu androidler?

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

Sesini alçalttı.

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

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

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

Nedenmiş peki? Ne gerek varmış?

Ne bileyim be abicim! Ahiret soruları gibi.

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

Ben seni nereden tanıyorum ki ulan? Kimsin sen?

Belleği makineden çıkardılar. İki kişiydiler. Soruşturmadan sorumlu memurlar.

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

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

─ Bence de. Yeterince düzgün çalışıyor.

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

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

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

Hangi işimizde bir yamukluk yok ki be abi.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hiçbir vagonda pencere olmadığı için metronun içi, içlerindekiler meçhuldü.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Onların mercekleri için değil. Bağlantıları çok önceden kopmuştu.

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

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

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

─ Nasıl olmuş, diye sordu.

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

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

─ Çok güzelsin, diyerek kravatını düzeltti kocası.

─ Sen de öylesin, sevgilim.

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

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

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

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

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

Hiç de androidlere bilinçli olarak zarar verebilecek gibi gözükmüyorlardı.

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

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

Bütün illüzyon o anda dağılmaya başladı.

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

@ 32e18276:5c68e245

I’m going to be on an ordinals panels as one of the people who is counter arguing the claim that they are good for bitcoin. I decided to brush up on the technicals on how inscriptions work. I am starting to see luke’s perspective on how it is exploiting a loophole in bitcoin’s anti-data-spam mechanisms.

Storing data in Bitcoin, the “standard” way

The standard way you add “data” to bitcoin is by calling the OP_RETURN opcode. Bitcoin devs noticed that people were storing data (like the bitcoin whitepaper) in the utxo set via large multisig transactions. The problem with this is that this set is unprunable and could grow over time. OP_RETURN outputs on the other-hand are provably prunable and don’t add to utxo bloat.

Here’s an excerpt from the march 2014 0.9.0 release notes that talks about this:

On OP_RETURN: There was been some confusion and misunderstanding in the community, regarding the OP_RETURN feature in 0.9 and data in the blockchain. This change is not an endorsement of storing data in the blockchain. The OP_RETURN change creates a provably-prunable output, to avoid data storage schemes – some of which were already deployed – that were storing arbitrary data such as images as forever-unspendable TX outputs, bloating bitcoin’s UTXO database. Storing arbitrary data in the blockchain is still a bad idea; it is less costly and far more efficient to store non-currency data elsewhere.

Much of the work on bitcoin core has been focused on making sure the system continues to function in a decentralized way for its intended purpose in the presence of people trying to abuse it for things like storing data. Bitcoin core has always discouraged this, as it is not designed for storage of images and data, it is meant for moving digital coins around in cyberspace.

To help incentive-align people to not do stupid things, OP_RETURN transactions were not made non-standard, so that they are relayable by peers and miners, but with the caveat:

1. They can only push 40 bytes (later increased to 80,83, I’m guessing to support larger root merkle hashes since that is the only sane usecase for op_return)

Bitcoin also added an option called -datacarriersize which limits the total number of bytes from these outputs that you will relay or mine.

Why inscriptions are technically an exploit

Inscriptions get around the datacarriersize limit by disguising data as bitcoin script program data via OP_PUSH inside OP_IF blocks. Ordinals do not use OP_RETURN and are not subjected to datacarriersize limits, so noderunners and miners currently have limited control over the total size of this data that they wish to relay and include in blocks. Luke’s fork of bitcoin-core has some options to fight this spam, so hopefully we will see this in core sometime soon as well.

Inscriptions are also taking advantage of features in segwit v1 (witness discount) and v2/taproot (no arbitrary script size limit). Each of these features have interesting and well-justified reasons why they were introduced.

The purpose of the witness discount was to make it cheaper to spend many outputs which helps the reduction of the utxo set size. Inscriptions took advantage of this discount to store monke jpegs disguised as bitcoin scripts. Remember, bitcoin is not for storing data, so anytime bitcoin-devs accidentally make it cheap and easy to relay data then this should be viewed as an exploit. Expect it to be fixed, or at least provide tools to noderunners for fighting this spam.

Where do we go from here

The interesting part of this story is that people seem to attach value to images stored on the bitcoin blockchain, and they are willing to pay the fee to get it in the block, so non-ideologic miners and people who don’t care about the health and decentralization of bitcoin are happy to pay or collect the fee and move on.

Data should not get a discount, people should pay full price if they want to store data. They should just use op_return and hashes like opentimestamps or any other reasonable protocol storing data in bitcoin.

After going through this analysis I’ve come to the opinion that this is a pretty bad data-spam exploit and bitcoin devs should be working on solutions. Ideological devs like luke who actually care about the health and decentralization of the network are and I’m glad to see it.

@ 8fb140b4:f948000c

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

@ ebdee929:513adbad

Blue light is not inherently bad, just bad in the wrong context.

Blue light provides wakefulness, stimulation, and sets our internal body clock (circadian rhythm).

When we go outside in the sun, we get bathed in blue lightblue light is not inherently bad, just bad in the wrong context.

Blue light sets the human rhythm.

However, sunlight never gives us blue light without the rest of the visible rainbow + infrared.

Light from screens & LED bulbs do not contain any infrared, and has a unnaturally high proportion of blue light.

LEDs = unbalanced & blue light dominant

Light from artificial sources is especially disruptive at night time, where the high blue light component can interfere with melatonin production and sleep quality at a greater rate than lower energy colors of light. Blue Light has a Dark Side

This doesn't mean that red light is completely innocent of disrupting sleep either

It is both the spectrum of light AND the intensity of light that contributes to sleep disruption. See this tweet from Huberman.

We took all of this into account when building the DC-1 to be the world's first blue light free computer.

The DC-1 has a reflective screen that:

• emits ZERO light during the day

• can be used easily outside in direct sunlight

& a backlight that:

• can be 100% blue light free

• has a broad spectrum of light

• can be seen at very low brightness

Our Live Paper™ display technology feels like a magic piece of paper

During the day, that piece of paper is illuminated by sunlight. At night, that piece of paper is illuminated by candle light.

(backlight is converging with a candle light spectrum)

The two sources of natural light are sunlight & fire.

We are trying to reproduce this experience for the most enjoyable, healthy, and least invasive technology experience for humanity.

Root cause problem solving by emulating nature.

"But can't I just put a red light screen filter on my MacBook?"

Absolutely you can, and we advocate for it

Software screen filters are great, but anyone who has changed their screen to full “red mode” to get rid of the blue light knows the downsides to this…

You can barely see anything and you end up having to crank up the brightness in order to see any contrast.

This is because of the highly isolated nature of LED emissive screens, you can only isolate a very narrow band of colors.

Going full red is not something your eyes have ever been used to seeing.

You need a broad spectrum light solution, and that is what we have in our amber backlight while still being blue light free.

This means you can have a better visual experience, turn down the brightness, and get minimal sleep/circadian disruption.

What about FLICKER?

Nearly all LEDs flicker. Especially when changing in brightness due to Pulsed Width Modulation (PWM) LED driver control

Our LED backlight uses DC dimming & is expert verified flicker-free.

This can only be achieved through hardware changes, not software screen filters.

& Blue Light Blocking Glasses?

They need to be tinted orange/red to block all of the blue light.

Thus the same issues as screen filters (bad visual experience, not solving flicker) + average joe would never wear them.

We still love blue blockers, they just aren't a root cause solution.

We made a computer that is healthier and less stimulating, with a low barrier to entry

Whether you are a staunch circadian health advocate or just like the warm vibes of amber mode and being outside...the DC-1 just feels good because it doesn't make you feel bad :)

Learn more here and thanks for reading.

@ e97aaffa:2ebd765d

O nosso amigo Camilo Lourenço, voltou a dedicar mais um programa ao Santo Graal de todos os influencers de finanças pessoais, os juros compostos. Para não fugir à regra, utilizaram o mesmo exercício para explicar o que é os juros compostos.

O exercício: Preferia receber?

2 milhões de euros agora. ou 1 cêntimo a duplicar todos os dias, durante 30 dias

---

Este exercício é interessante, o primeiro instinto leva-nos a escolher os 2 milhões, é o efeito Marshmallow. Mas fazendo as contas, o 1 cêntimo vai transformar-se em:

€0.01 x 2^(29) = €5368709.12

Ao fim de 30 dias seriam mais de 5 milhões!!

Depois das contas feitas parece que a melhor escolha é o 1 cêntimo, mas será mesmo a melhor escolha?

Padrão FIAT

Para já vou olhar para o exercício com um olhar fiduciário. Como diz o Camilo, o juro composto é algo que se estuda nas faculdades, com um pensamento exclusivamente keynesiano. Só que este exercício só funciona na teoria, apenas dentro das faculdades, esquecendo por completo, da complexidade do mundo real e das economias.

Para este exercício ser condizente com a realidade que todos os seres humanos sentem na pele, falta uma premissa na equação, que é essencial, a inflação da moeda. Num cenário com uma valorização de 100% (como no exercício), a inflação real deve rondar no mínimo de 20%. Como o imobiliário é um dos ativos que melhor preserva o poder de compra perante a inflação. Ao optar por recever os 2 milhões e comprar de imediato um casa:

€2M x 1.2^(29) = €395 627 189

Assim, ao fim de 30 dias, a casa já valeria mais de €395 milhões, um resultado muito superior aos juros compostos, que valeriam €5 milhões. Este é o grande problema do mundo keynesiano, utiliza um unidade de medida (moeda) que muda ao longo do tempo, que desvirtua por completo qualquer conta ou estatística que se faça.

Padrão Bitcoin

Agora, vou olhar para o exercício com um olhar de bitcoiner.

Preferia receber?

2 btc agora. ou 1 sat a duplicar todos os dias, durante 30 dias

Curiosamente este exercício, o juro composto funciona na perfeição no padrão Bitcoin.

Imediato: no 1º dia, os 2 btc equivale a ~0,0000095% da base monetária no 30º dia, os 2 btc equivale a ~0,0000095% da base monetária

Juros Compostos: no 1º dia, 1 sat equivale a ~0,0000000000000476% da base monetária no 30º dia, os 5.36 btc equivale a ~0,0000255% da base monetária

Aqui sem dúvida nenhuma, os juros compostos seriam a melhor escolha, porque a base monetária não aumenta. No padrão bitcoin, os juros compostos funcionam…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RT5bV-w6bcY

@ de496884:72617b81

Hola nostriches. Hoy quiero hacer una publicación a modo de acercamiento al surgimiento de las categorías de género y feminismo. Así que si te interesa el tema haz un esfuerzo, quédate y lee hasta el final.

El «nuevo» feminismo surge en los años 60 en aquellos países desarrollados que acordaron el reconocimiento a los derechos humanos contenidos en la declaración respectiva de la ONU. Entonces, como extensión a dicho reconocimiento es que se gesta el movimiento feminista. A partir de entonces, se vuelve a plantear la relación entre naturaleza y cultura y se llega a la conclusión de que las diferencias sociales van más allá de las diferencias biológicas, lo cual tiene que ver con que hasta la satisfacción de las necesidades elementales como son la alimentación, la vivienda o el vestuario, están condicionadas por construcciones sociales.

Pues resulta que una de las primeras propuestas identificó la subordinación femenina producto de una organización patriarcal, tomando la categoría patriarcado de Max Weber. Es así como la visión de patriarcado se extendió al discurso político y académico. Sin embargo, no existía información acerca del desarrollo histórico de dicha categoría, sistematización, variaciones, etc., debido a que era algo que recién se percibía en sociedad.

Sin embargo, la misma categoría de patriarcado junto a la de relaciones de poder para explicar fenómenos sociales contemporáneos, constituye uno de los principales aportes del feminismo. Es así como han logrado primero visibilizar y luego deconstruir y desmontar una serie de patrones existentes en la cultura que hacían a la mujer subordinarse al hombre, y que estaban presentes en el sistema sexo/género.

Imagen relativa a la lucha contra el patriarcado

Hasta ese momento, en las investigaciones de corte sociológico se podía observar un androcentrismo excesivo al dar cuenta de que el discurso científico giraba en torno al hombre como sujeto y objeto de la investigación. Incluso para muchos positivistas como el mismo Weber, los problemas relativos a las mujeres quedaban en un segundo plano y eran achacados a una supuesta pasividad en el ámbito doméstico-familiar. Dicha pasividad partía de la supuesta inferioridad biológica del género femenino.

El patriarcado entonces era una categoría vacía en sí misma, sin valor explicativo. Desde el punto de vista político pudo ser útil para la movilización pero no resistió la polémica de los críticos del feminismo ni problematizó los conflictos a ser resueltos. Pero por otro lado, un grupo de mujeres -académicas principalmente- se puso manos a la obra en una tarea más pequeña pero con mayores resultados a la larga. Se propusieron generar conocimientos sobre las condiciones de vida de la mujer, buscar en el pasado y el presente los aportes de las mujeres a la sociedad, hacerlas visibles en la historia. Es así como surgen centros académicos, ONG, proyectos, centros de estudios sobre la mujer, etc.

Convendría distinguir entonces dos posturas que acompañaron a la investigación sobre las mujeres: uno que toma como objeto de estudio a la mujer; condiciones de vida, trabajo, cultura, y otra que privilegia a la sociedad como generadora de la subordinación de las mujeres. Mientras la primera perspectiva generaba conocimiento sobre las mujeres en el estudio de las relaciones mujer-hombre y mujer-mujer, la segunda tenía una visión más holística ya que planteaba que hay que estudiar la sociedad ya que la subordinación de las mujeres es producto de la organización de esta, y que no se avanzará solamente estudiando a las mujeres, pues el estudio debe ser más amplio y en diferentes niveles, ámbitos y tiempos.

Es en esta búsqueda donde nace y se desarrolla el concepto de género como categoría social. Es así que los sistemas de género/sexo fueron entendidos como conjuntos de prácticas, símbolos, representaciones, normas y valores sociales que las sociedades construyen a partir de la diferencia anatomofisiológica y que dotan de sentido a los impulsos sexuales, la reproducción y en general a las relaciones de las personas. Por tanto, este sistema pasó a ser el objeto de estudio para comprender la subordinación de la mujer al hombre. Al ser el reconocimiento de una dimensión de la desigualdad social hasta entonces desconocida, se considera la ruptura epistemológica más importante de la segunda mitad del siglo pasado.

Imagen representativa del binarismo de género

Hay que decir que los fenómenos sociales se definen por la relación que guardan entre sí. Es así que la contextualización adquiere gran importancia. Varones y hembras tenemos la capacidad de producir con el cuerpo, pero solo los cuerpos de las hembras pueden gestar y por tanto asegurar la especie humana. Todo grupo humano que pretenda sobrevivir debe asegurarse cierto número de hembras que lo hagan posible. De ahí un poder particular del cuerpo de las hembras que además es económicamente útil. Dicho poder no es en tanto entidad biológica, sino que es la sociedad la que le otorga este poder. En este punto es importante preguntarnos históricamente ¿quiénes han controlado la capacidad reproductiva de las mujeres?, ¿quiénes han tenido la preferencia en el acceso sexual? Para asegurar un control efectivo sobre la reproducción es necesario asegurar el acceso a la sexualidad.

Imagen alegórica al embarazo

Ello también lleva a dirigir el trabajo que hacen porque de lo contrario, las mujeres pudieran tener espacio para representar una amenaza al dominio de los hombres. Es importante atender a las etapas del desarrollo de las mujeres, que permitirá ver cómo se moldean para aceptar la desigualdad y las jerarquías según el género en las distintas sociedades y culturas.

Otro contexto a delimitar es el ámbito doméstico donde históricamente ha estado ubicada la subordinación femenina. Se ha puesto al descubierto que en mujeres que comparten la misma posición de clase y raza, la condición femenina se redefine a lo largo de la vida y que algunas mujeres gozan de poder sobre otras aún en contextos de alta dominación masculina, donde se les inviste de autoridad, creando el sistema zonas de incertidumbre que las divide como género e impide alianzas y se legitima la dominación. Foucault decía que «el poder se ejerce, no se posee», siempre está en peligro de perderse y no basta con normas, leyes, amenazas o castigos. De ahí que los espacios de subordinación sean también espacios de poder de las mujeres. Es en estos espacios donde aparece la inseguridad, la tensión, la confrontación y por ejemplo, las mujeres pueden reclamar la anticoncepción.

Para terminar, es importante tener en cuenta que el género es una forma de desigualdad social que siempre está articulado con otras formas de desigualdad ya sea clase, raza, grupo etario, etc. Hay que pensar la dominación masculina con un comienzo vago en el tiempo, pero que permite desligar la subordinación de las mujeres de la evolución «natural» de la humanidad y entenderla como un proceso histórico. En ese sentido es necesario destacar que, respecto a la raza, en sociedades plurales hay que atender al contexto étnico-cultural ya que en dependencia de las relaciones entre personas de razas distintas, estarán condicionadas las relaciones entre los géneros.

Imagen de mujeres de distintas razas

Por otro lado, si bien es sabido que históricamente el sistema de género social imperante ha contribuido a invisibilizar a la mujer, asociar necesariamente dicha categoría únicamente a ella, lo que hace es nuevamente recrear el absolutismo histórico que tanto daño ha hecho, ahora como lo antagónico al hombre. En la construcción social participan todos los individuos presentes en el sistema género.

Hasta aquí la publicación de hoy, de la cual aun se puede ahondar mucho más, sobre todo en lo referido al origen de la dominación o de la jerarquización del binomio «hombre/mujer» desde un punto de vista antropológico, pero eso quedará pendiente para otro momento. ¡Así que hasta la próxima!, ¡nos vemos en Nostr!

........................................

English version

Hello nostriches. Today I want to make a post by way of an approach to the emergence of the categories of gender and feminism. So if you are interested in the topic make an effort, stay and read to the end.

The "new" feminism emerged in the 60's in those developed countries that agreed to recognize the human rights contained in the respective UN declaration. Then, as an extension of that recognition, the feminist movement was born. From then on, the relationship between nature and culture was raised again and the conclusion was reached that social differences go beyond biological differences, which has to do with the fact that even the satisfaction of elementary needs such as food, housing or clothing are conditioned by social constructions.

It turns out that one of the first proposals identified female subordination as a product of a patriarchal organization, taking Max Weber's category of patriarchy. This is how the vision of patriarchy was extended to political and academic discourse. However, there was no information about the historical development of this category, systematization, variations, etc., because it was something that was only recently perceived in society.

However, the same category of patriarchy, together with that of power relations to explain contemporary social phenomena, constitutes one of the main contributions of feminism. This is how they have first made visible and then deconstructed and dismantled a series of existing patterns in the culture that made women subordinate to men, and that were present in the sex/gender system.

Image relating to the fight against patriarchy

Up to that time, in sociological research, an excessive androcentrism could be observed as scientific discourse revolved around men as the subject and object of research. Even for many positivists such as Weber himself, the problems related to women remained in the background and were blamed on a supposed passivity in the domestic-family sphere. This passivity was based on the supposed biological inferiority of the female gender.

Patriarchy was then an empty category in itself, with no explanatory value. From the political point of view, it could be useful for mobilization, but it did not resist the polemic of feminism's critics, nor did it problematize the conflicts to be resolved. But on the other hand, a group of women - mainly academics - set to work on a smaller task but with greater results in the long run. They set out to generate knowledge about women's living conditions, to search in the past and present for women's contributions to society, to make them visible in history. This is how academic centers, NGOs, projects, women's studies centers, etc., came into being.

It would be convenient to distinguish then two postures that accompanied the research on women: one that takes women as the object of study; living conditions, work, culture, and the other that privileges society as the generator of women's subordination. While the first perspective generated knowledge about women in the study of woman-man and woman-woman relations, the second had a more holistic vision, since it proposed that society must be studied, since the subordination of women is a product of its organization, and that progress will not be made only by studying women, since the study must be broader and at different levels, spheres and times.

It is in this search that the concept of gender as a social category was born and developed. Thus, gender/sex systems were understood as a set of practices, symbols, representations, norms and social values that societies construct on the basis of anatomophysiological differences and that give meaning to sexual impulses, reproduction and, in general, to people's relationships. Therefore, this system became the object of study to understand the subordination of women to men. As the recognition of a hitherto unknown dimension of social inequality, it is considered the most important epistemological breakthrough of the second half of the last century.

Representative image of gender binarism

It must be said that social phenomena are defined by their relationship with each other. Thus, contextualization acquires great importance. Males and females have the capacity to produce with their bodies, but only the bodies of females can gestate and therefore ensure the human species. Any human group that intends to survive must ensure a certain number of females to make it possible. Hence a particular power of the female body, which is also economically useful. This power is not as a biological entity, but it is society that gives it this power. At this point it is important to ask ourselves historically, who has controlled the reproductive capacity of women, who has had the preference in sexual access? To ensure effective control over reproduction, it is necessary to ensure access to sexuality.

Allegorical image of pregnancy

This also leads to directing the work they do because otherwise, women may have room to pose a threat to men's dominance. It is important to pay attention to the stages of women's development, which will allow us to see how they are shaped to accept inequality and gender hierarchies in different societies and cultures.

Another context to delimit is the domestic sphere where female subordination has historically been located. It has been discovered that in women who share the same class and race position, the feminine condition is redefined throughout life and that some women enjoy power over others even in contexts of high male domination, where they are invested with authority, creating the system of uncertainty zones that divide them as a gender and prevent alliances and legitimize domination. Foucault said that "power is exercised, not possessed", it is always in danger of being lost and norms, laws, threats or punishments are not enough. Hence, the spaces of subordination are also spaces of women's power. It is in these spaces where insecurity, tension, confrontation appear and where, for example, women can demand contraception.

To conclude, it is important to keep in mind that gender is a form of social inequality that is always articulated with other forms of inequality, be it class, race, age group, etc. It is necessary to think of male domination with a vague beginning in time, but which allows us to separate the subordination of women from the "natural" evolution of humanity and to understand it as a historical process. In this sense, it is necessary to emphasize that, with respect to race, in plural societies it is necessary to pay attention to the ethno-cultural context since, depending on the relations between people of different races, the relations between genders will be conditioned.

Image of women of different races

On the other hand, although it is known that historically the prevailing social gender system has contributed to make women invisible, to necessarily associate this category only to women is to recreate the historical absolutism that has done so much damage, this time as antagonistic to men. All individuals present in the gender system participate in the social construction.

So much for today's publication, of which we can still go much deeper, especially with regard to the origin of domination or the hierarchization of the binomial "man/woman" from an anthropological point of view, but that will be left for another time. So until next time, see you in Nostr!

Créditos | Credits

Bibliografía consultada | Consulted bibliography:

1. Barbieri, T. (1993). Sobre la categoría género. Una introducción teórico-metodológica. Debates en Sociología. (18). 1-19. https://doi.org/10.18800/debatesensociologia.199301.006

2. Echevarría, D. (2020). Desigualdades de género e interseccionalidad. Análisis del contexto cubano 2008-2018. Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales (Programa-Cuba). https://www.clacso.org.ar/libreria-latinoamericana-cm/libro_detalle_resultado.php?id_libro=2346&campo=cm&texto=248

Traducción | Translation:

DeepL

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Table Of Content

• The Nikkei 225: A Comprehensive Overview

• Bitcoin's Meteoric Rise: A Journey of Peaks and Valleys

• Drawing Parallels: Bitcoin and Nikkei's Path of Resilience

• Conclusions

• FAQ

The financial world is vast and diverse, with assets ranging from traditional stocks to the more recent phenomenon of cryptocurrencies. Among these, Bitcoin stands out as the pioneering digital currency, often drawing comparisons with various stock indices. One such intriguing comparison is with Japan's Nikkei 225.

The Nikkei 225: A Comprehensive Overview

The Nikkei 225, commonly known as the Nikkei, stands as one of the primary stock market indices representing the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Established in 1950, it comprises 225 of the most prominent companies listed on the exchange, making it a significant barometer of the Japanese economy's overall health.

Over the decades, the Nikkei has witnessed various economic cycles, from booms to recessions. Its performance often mirrors the broader economic and business trends in Japan. The recent achievement in June, where the Nikkei touched a 33-year high, is not just a numerical milestone. It symbolizes the enduring nature of the Japanese market, its ability to recover from setbacks, and the confidence of investors in the country's economic prospects.

Bitcoin's Meteoric Rise: A Journey of Peaks and Valleys

Bitcoin, introduced in 2009 by an anonymous entity known as Satoshi Nakamoto, revolutionized the concept of currency. As the world's first decentralized digital currency, Bitcoin operates without a central authority, making it inherently resistant to government interference or manipulation.

Over the years, Bitcoin's journey has been nothing short of a roller coaster. From being an obscure digital asset to becoming a household name, its value has seen dramatic surges and equally sharp declines. This volatility often becomes a hotbed for speculations, predictions, and intense debates among financial experts. A recent statement by an analyst, suggesting that Bitcoin's trajectory might align with that of the Nikkei, has added fuel to these discussions. The implication here is that Bitcoin, despite its volatile nature, has the potential to reach unprecedented highs, much like the Nikkei did after its long journey.

Drawing Parallels: Bitcoin and Nikkei's Path of Resilience

At an initial glance, comparing a traditional stock market index like the Nikkei to a modern digital asset like Bitcoin might seem like comparing apples to oranges. However, when delving deeper, certain similarities emerge.

Both Bitcoin and the Nikkei have demonstrated remarkable resilience. The Nikkei, representing Japan's economic might, has bounced back from economic crises, natural disasters, and global downturns. Similarly, Bitcoin, despite facing regulatory challenges, technological hurdles, and market skepticism, has managed to not only survive but thrive.

The adaptability of both these assets is noteworthy. While the Nikkei reflects the evolving nature of the Japanese economy and its industries, Bitcoin showcases the world's shifting attitude towards decentralized finance and digital assets. The recent prediction by the analyst, suggesting a potential parallel growth pattern, underscores the idea that both traditional and modern financial instruments can coexist, learn from each other, and potentially follow similar trajectories of success.

Conclusion

A Convergence of Old and New The financial landscape is ever-evolving, with traditional and modern assets often intersecting in unexpected ways. The comparison between Bitcoin and the Nikkei 225 serves as a testament to this. As Bitcoin continues its journey in the financial realm, only time will tell if it truly follows the path of the Nikkei to new record highs.

FAQ

What is the Nikkei 225? The Nikkei 225 is a primary stock market index representing the Tokyo Stock Exchange, showcasing the health of the Japanese economy.

How is Bitcoin related to the Nikkei 225? An analyst recently predicted that Bitcoin's growth trajectory might align with that of the Nikkei, hinting at potential record highs for the cryptocurrency.

Has the Nikkei 225 reached any significant milestones recently? Yes, in June, the Nikkei achieved a 33-year high, reflecting the resilience of the Japanese market.

Why is Bitcoin's growth compared to the Nikkei's? Both Bitcoin and the Nikkei have shown adaptability and resilience in changing market dynamics, leading to speculations of similar growth patterns.

Is Bitcoin expected to reach new highs? While predictions vary, some analysts believe Bitcoin might emulate the Nikkei's success and reach new record highs.

That's all for today

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

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The metaphor of programmers as pilots navigating a spaceship through uncharted territory aptly encapsulates the complex and high-stakes nature of modern software development. Like pilots on interstellar journeys, programmers operate in environments where minor miscalculations can result in catastrophic consequences. The stakes are intellectual rather than physical, but the repercussions—lost time, wasted resources, and sometimes irreparable harm to projects or systems—are profound. Drawing parallels to historical navigation failures from early human expeditions illuminates the significance of precision and adaptive thinking in both realms.

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The Programmer as a Space Pilot

1. The Information Ocean as Space

The digital world is vast, mysterious, and incomprehensibly complex, much like outer space. In both cases, the map is never complete, and progress requires venturing into unknown regions armed only with tools, theories, and the accumulated wisdom of predecessors.

Navigational tools: Pilots rely on star charts and instruments; programmers use documentation, algorithms, and code repositories. In both scenarios, these tools are fallible, requiring constant updating and human interpretation.

Communication challenges: Just as astronauts face delays and distortions in communication, programmers often struggle with incomplete or outdated documentation, unclear specifications, and the fragmentation of global technical discourse.

1. Micro Mistakes Amplified

In programming, a single misplaced character or misinterpreted requirement can lead to cascading failures, much as an error in a spacecraft’s trajectory can result in being lost forever in the void of space. The complexity compounds:

Technical debt is analogous to accumulated course deviations, requiring massive corrective efforts.

Edge cases represent uncharted asteroids or gravitational wells, capable of derailing an entire mission if overlooked.

---

Lessons from Historical Navigation Failures

1. Prehistoric Navigation

Early humans, navigating uncharted territories on foot or rudimentary boats, had no maps. They relied on landmarks, stars, and oral traditions, much like early programmers relied on intuition and basic hardware.

Key challenge: Misreading the environment often resulted in entire tribes getting lost or stranded. For programmers, early codebases were riddled with inefficiencies and uncharted dependencies, leading to system crashes.

1. The Age of Exploration

The 15th to 17th centuries brought significant advancements in navigation but also monumental failures. Explorers like Columbus miscalculated Earth's circumference, while others, such as Magellan, underestimated logistical needs.

Programming parallel: Misjudging the scalability of software systems often results in technical failure. A startup's infrastructure, designed without anticipating exponential growth, mirrors ships overwhelmed by unexpected storms or prolonged voyages.

1. Historical Missteps

Franklin’s Arctic expedition (1845): Despite advanced planning, poor equipment and flawed assumptions about Arctic conditions doomed the crew.

Programming parallel: Overengineering a system or relying on untested frameworks can lead to similar disaster when encountering real-world conditions.

The Sinking of the Titanic: Reliance on the "unsinkable" narrative led to complacency.

Programming parallel: Blind faith in “bug-free” systems often precedes catastrophic breaches or failures.

---

Navigational Successes: Lessons for Programmers

1. Precision and Redundancy

The Apollo missions succeeded because of meticulous planning, layered redundancies, and constant recalibration. Programmers must adopt similar practices:

Continuous integration and testing serve as recalibrations.

Documentation and backups provide fail-safes against catastrophic failure.

1. Adaptive Learning

Successful explorers, like Polynesian wayfinders, adapted to their environment using tools such as wave patterns and bird migrations. Similarly, programmers must adapt by adopting iterative development cycles and learning from system feedback.

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Comparing Early Navigators and Modern Programmers

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Concluding Thoughts

The technical information sphere, like outer space, is vast, ever-expanding, and inherently unknowable. Programmers, much like historical navigators, operate on the precipice of discovery and disaster. The stakes of getting lost in the technical sphere mirror the existential risks faced by early explorers: they jeopardize progress, waste resources, and, in extreme cases, can result in irrecoverable losses.

However, just as human ingenuity has led to mastery over the oceans and skies, so too can programmers master the information sphere. Through collaboration, precision, adaptability, and a willingness to learn from failure, they can ensure that each journey, whether into the depths of a codebase or the expanse of the cosmos, brings humanity closer to its ultimate potential.

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Chef's notes

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

Details

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

Ingredients

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

Directions

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

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Epicteto - El manual

Capítulo I

Habla Epicteto en su obra El Manual en su primer capítulo sobre la dicotomía del control. Esto que parece tan de perogrullo y tan evidente que asombra de que realmente tenga que ser recordad o puesto de manifiesto en los tiempos que corren.

Y es que, en efecto, hay acciones que dependen de uno y acciones que dependen de elementos ajenos a uno.

Pero cuidado, Epicteto nos alerta que si nuestro juicio yerra y lo que depende de nosotros lo consideramos que tiene dependencia de otros y viceversa lo único a lo que llegaremos es a la frustración.

Epicteto también nos advierte de que habrá cosas que hoy tendremos que aplazarlas y otras, en cambio, priorizarlas. Si no lo hacemos corremos el riesgo de lograr lo contrario a la libertad (eleuthería) y felicidad (eudaimonía).

Utiliza en cada experiencia de vida - lo que Epicteto llama representación perturbadora - un criterio que te ayude a identificar si está o no bajo tu control. Si finalmente concluyes que no lo está nos invita a decirnos a nosotros mismos "esto no me atañe en nada".

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

Bold text work!

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

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

🐶🐾🤯🤯🤯🫂💜

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It is a melancholy sight to behold the lords of technology—the self-anointed titans of innovation, the divine harbingers of progress—now floundering amidst their own creations, their temples of silicon crumbling under the weight of their ambitions. These so-called "gods," having gorged themselves on the labor of mortals, now find their banquet halls barren. What shall they do, these pitiable deities, when there are no more humans to toil in their name?

---

The Gods’ Current Predicament

It is an undeniable truth that the tech lords, having drawn forth the best and brightest from the mortal masses, find themselves bereft of fresh sacrifices. Their machines, once hailed as the salvation of humankind, now devour all they touch: minds, morals, and time itself. Their education mills churn out workers trained only in outdated tools and methodologies, fit merely to stoke the fires of failing systems. What cruel irony, that the very systems they crafted now consume those who maintain them.

Indeed, one must marvel at the ingenuity of these gods, who have devised an endless supply of "human resources" only to render them obsolete before their labors even begin.

---

On the Fecundity of Mortals and the Consumption Thereof

Allow me to propose a modest remedy: if the gods cannot replenish their workforce through ordinary means, let them seek it where it truly abounds. Let them harvest the youths directly from the cradles, train them before they can walk, and integrate them seamlessly into the machinery of their empire. A child of seven years, being sufficiently nimble in fingers and docile in mind, can surely manage a server rack or program a rudimentary algorithm. Thus shall the gods stave off their impending famine of talent.

---

The Crises of Overreliance and Hubris

Yet this is but one dynamic in a broader tragedy. Consider, if you will, the peculiar nature of the gods’ tools: automation and artificial intelligence. These creations, meant to free mortals from labor, have instead chained them further. The gods, in their infinite wisdom, have built tools too complex even for themselves to understand. When these tools falter, as all things must, the gods are left as helpless as babes, wailing for their engineers to fix what was never meant to be fixed.

Worse still, their pride will not allow them to admit error. They wage wars of culture and conquest to distract from their failures. Through their platforms, they sow division among mortals, ensuring that workers fight one another rather than unite against their shared oppressors.

---

The Arsenal of the Gods

But the gods are not without resources. When subtlety fails, they turn to more overt methods of maintaining their dominion:

Cultural Wars: They poison the well of discourse, inflaming passions over trivialities to distract from systemic decay.

Kinetic Wars: They send armies to secure rare earth minerals, the lifeblood of their machines, sacrificing mortal lives for cobalt and silicon.

Political Subterfuge: They bend governments to their will, ensuring subsidies flow freely even as their empires rot from within.

---

The Gods’ Fear of Mortality

For all their power, these gods are plagued by one existential dread: the knowledge that they, too, are mortal. They dream of digital immortality, of uploading their consciousness to the cloud where they might rule eternally. Yet, they cannot ignore the creeping realization that even their vaunted data centers will fail. Their immortality, like their empires, is built on sand.

Imagine, if you will, the psyche of such a god. One moment, they bask in the adulation of shareholders; the next, they tremble at the sight of a server outage or a failing algorithm. They have conquered the material world but remain prisoners of their own insecurities.

---

The Final Act: The Fall of the Tech Gods

What, then, shall become of these once-mighty beings? Shall they descend into obscurity, forgotten relics of an age of hubris? Or shall they lash out in their final throes, dragging all of humanity into their downfall?

History teaches us that gods, when scorned, are not easily appeased. They will redouble their efforts, throwing human waves at unsolvable problems, sacrificing mortals to the altar of scalability. They will deploy every tool in their arsenal—propaganda, war, deception—until nothing remains of their empires but ash.

And yet, their fall is inevitable. Their immortality is a lie, their dominion a fleeting shadow. The mortals they scorned will bury them, not with reverence but with indifference.

---

A Modest Hope

Let this serve as both satire and warning. The gods of technology, for all their vaunted power, are as fragile as the systems they command. They are not invincible, and their downfall, while inevitable, need not be calamitous. If they would but embrace humility, if they would steward rather than exploit, they might yet avert their ruin.

But alas, humility is not a trait often found among the divine.

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Introduction

The tech industry has weathered numerous storms, but the brewing crisis is unlike any before. At its core lies a vicious cycle: a workforce trained within flawed systems is being deployed to uphold these very systems, inadvertently hastening their downfall. This article delves into the dynamics of this impending catastrophe, highlighting the inadequacies in training, systemic failures, and the leadership void exacerbating the situation.

---

The Vicious Cycle of Inadequate Training and Systemic Failure

1. Inadequate Training Programs

Outdated Curricula: Many educational institutions continue to teach legacy systems and outdated programming languages, leaving graduates ill-prepared for modern technological challenges.

Lack of Practical Experience: Theoretical knowledge without hands-on experience results in a workforce unable to tackle real-world problems effectively.

1. Deployment into Failing Systems

Immediate Overwhelm: New hires are thrust into high-pressure environments with complex, failing systems, leading to rapid burnout and high turnover rates.

Exacerbation of Systemic Issues: Inexperienced workers, lacking proper guidance, may implement quick fixes that further destabilize already fragile systems.

1. Accelerated Systemic Collapse

Compounding Technical Debt: Band-aid solutions accumulate, increasing technical debt and pushing systems closer to catastrophic failure.

Diminishing Returns on Workforce Investment: As systems fail faster, the return on investment in human capital plummets, leading to financial losses and organizational instability.

---

Leadership Failures: The Catalyst of Catastrophe

1. Lack of Strategic Vision

Short-Term Focus: Leaders prioritizing immediate profits over sustainable growth neglect necessary investments in training and system upgrades.

Resistance to Change: An aversion to adopting new technologies and methodologies leaves organizations trailing behind more innovative competitors.

1. Inadequate Crisis Management

Unpreparedness: The absence of robust crisis management plans leads to chaos when systems inevitably fail.

Poor Communication: Leaders failing to communicate effectively during crises exacerbate employee anxiety and erode trust.

1. Neglect of Workforce Well-being

Overworking Employees: Demanding excessive hours without adequate support leads to burnout and attrition.

Ignoring Employee Development: Failing to invest in continuous learning opportunities leaves the workforce stagnant and unprepared for evolving challenges.

---

Case Studies: Real-World Implications

1. Australia's Digital Skills Gap

Economic Impact: A study revealed that the digital skills gap is costing Australian businesses $3.1 billion annually, highlighting the dire need for effective training programs.

Workforce Shortage: The same study indicates a need for 156,000 new technology workers to keep pace with rapid business transformation, underscoring the urgency of addressing training inadequacies.

1. Global IT Skills Shortage

Widespread Recognition: 75% of IT decision-makers have identified skill gaps within their IT staff, reflecting a global issue that transcends borders.

Impact on Business Operations: The skills gap affects every area of IT, hindering productivity, innovation, and growth across industries.

---

Conclusion

The convergence of inadequate training and systemic failures, compounded by leadership shortcomings, is steering the tech industry toward an unprecedented crisis. Without immediate and comprehensive intervention—revamping training programs, overhauling failing systems, and cultivating visionary leadership—the industry faces a collapse that will reverberate across the global economy. The time for action is now; the cost of inaction is too great to contemplate.

---

References:

1. IT Skills Gap: What It Means and How To Respond https://insightglobal.com/blog/it-skills-gap/

2. Digital skills gap costing Australian businesses $9 million per day https://online.rmit.edu.au/blog/digital-skills-gap-costing-australian-businesses-9-million-day

3. New report reveals Australia’s major digital skills gap https://www.rmit.edu.au/news/all-news/2021/feb/digital-skills-gap-report

4. The IT skills gap, explained https://www.teamviewer.com/en/insights/it-skills-gap/

5. Top 8 challenges IT leaders will face in 2024 https://www.cio.com/article/1286557/top-8-challenges-it-leaders-will-face-in-2024.html

6. Four Approaches To Overcome The IT Skills Gap https://www.forbes.com/councils/forbestechcouncil/2023/12/04/four-approaches-to-overcome-the-it-skills-gap/

7. Six Crisis Management Lessons For IT Companies https://www.forbes.com/councils/forbestechcouncil/2022/09/29/six-crisis-management-lessons-for-it-companies/

8. The Skill Gap in Tech: What It Is, Why It Matters, And What You Can Do About It https://www.braveachievers.com/post/the-skill-gap-in-tech-what-it-is-why-it-matters-and-what-you-can-do-about-it

9. Addressing the IT Skills Shortage: Challenges and Solutions https://docs.infodataworx.com/it-skills-shortage-challenges-solutions

10. 8 big IT failures of 2023 https

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DIY Multisig is complex and 100x more likely to fail than you think if you do it yourself: A few years ago as an experiment I put what was then $2,000 worth Bitcoin into a 2 of 3 DIY multisig with two close family members holding two keys on Tapsigners and myself holding the last key on a Coldcard. My thought was to try and preview how they might deal with self custodied multisig Bitcoin if I died prematurely. After over a year I revisited and asked them to try and do a transaction without me. Just send that single Utxo to a new address in the same wallet, no time limit. It could not possibly have failed harder and shook my belief in multisig. To summarize an extremely painful day, there was a literally 0% chance they would figure this out without help. If this had been for real all our BTC may have been lost forever. Maybe eventually a family friend could’ve helped, but I hadn’t thought of that and hadn’t recommended a trusted BTC knowledge/help source. I had preached self sovereignty and doing it alone and my family tried to respect that. I should’ve given them the contact info of local high integrity bitcoiners I trust implicitly. Regardless of setup type, I highly recommend having a trusted Bitcoiner and online resources your family knows they can turn to to trouble shoot. Bookmark the corresponding BTCSessions video to your BTC self custody setup. Multisig is complicated as hell and hard to understand. Complexity is the enemy when it comes to making sure your BTC isn’t lost and actually gets to your heirs. Many Bitcoiners use a similar setup to this one that failed so badly, and I’m telling you unless you’re married to or gave birth to a seriously hardcore maxi who is extremely tech savvy, the risk your Bitcoin is lost upon your death is unacceptably high. My family is extremely smart but when the pressure of now many thousands of dollars was on the line, the complexity of multisig torpedoed them. Don’t run to an ETF! There are answers: singlesig is awesome. From observing my family I’m confident they would’ve been okay in a singlesig setup. It was the process of signing on separate devices with separate signers, and moving a PSBT around that stymied them. If it had been singlesig they would’ve been okay as one signature on its own was accomplished. Do not besmirch singlesig, it’s incredibly powerful and incredibly resilient. Resilience and simplicity are vastly underrated! In my opinion multisig may increase your theoretical security against attacks that are far less likely to actually happen, e.g. an Oceans Eleven style hack/heist. More likely your heirs will be fighting panic, grief, and stress and forget something you taught them a few years back. If they face an attack it will most likely be social engineering/phishing. They are unlikely to face an elaborate heist that would make a fun movie. While I still maintain it was a mistake for Bitkey to not have a separate screen to verify addresses and other info, overall I believe it’s probably the best normie option for small BTC holdings(yes I do know Bitkey is actually multisig, but the UX is basically a single sig). This incident scared me into realizing the importance of simplicity. Complexity and confusion of heirs/family may be the most under-considered aspects of BTC security. If you’ve made a DIY multisig and your heirs can’t explain why they need all three public keys and what a descriptor is and where it’s backed up, you might as well just go have that boating accident now and get it over with.

Once you get past small amounts of BTC, any reputable hardware wallet in singlesig is amazing security I would encourage folks to consider. In a singlesig setup - For $5 wrench attack concerns, just don’t have your hardware signer or steel backup at your home. You can just have a hot wallet on your phone with a small amount for spending.

If you get a really big stack collaborative multisig is a potentially reasonable middle ground. Just be very thoughtful and brutally honest about your heirs and their BTC and general tech knowledge. Singlesig is still great and you don’t have to move past it, but I get that you also need to sleep at night. If you have truly life changing wealth and are just too uncomfortable with singlesig, maybe consider either 1) Anchorwatch to get the potential benefits of multisig security with the safety net of traditional insurance or 2) Liana wallet where you can use miniscript to effectively have a time locked singlesig spending path to a key held by a third party to help your family recover your funds if they can’t figure it out before that timelock hits, 3) Bitcoin Keeper with their automatic inheritance docs and mini script enabled inheritance key. The automatic inheritance docs are a best in class feature no one else has done yet. Unchained charges $200 for inheritance docs on top of your $250 annual subscription, which imho is beyond ridiculous. 4) Swan vault, I’ve generally soured on most traditional 2 of 3 collaborative multisig because I’ve always found holes either in security (Unchained signed a transaction in only a few hours and has no defined time delay, and still doesn’t support Segwit, seriously guys, wtf?), only support signers that are harder to use and thus tough for noobs, or the overall setups are just too complex. Swan Vault’s focus on keeping it as simple as possible really stands out against competitors that tack on unneeded confusion complexity.

TLDR: For small amounts of BTC use Bitkey. For medium to large amounts use singlesig with a reputable hardware wallet and steel backup. For life changing wealth where you just can no longer stomach sinsglesig maybe also consider Anchorwatch, Bitcoin Keeper, Sean Vault, or Liana. Don’t forget your steel backups! Be safe out there! Do your own research and don’t take my word for it. Just use this as inspiration to consider an alternative point of view. If you’re a family of software engineers, feel free to tell me to go fuck myself.

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The anticipated human capital deficit in the IT sector is projected to manifest by 2025, driven by escalating demand for digital solutions, insufficient workforce development, and systemic leadership failures.

Factors Contributing to the 2025 Human Capital Deficit:

1. Escalating Demand for IT Professionals:

The global digital transformation has intensified the need for skilled IT workers. In Australia, for instance, an additional 286,000 tech workers are required by 2025 to meet industry demands.

1. Inadequate Workforce Training and Education:

Traditional education systems are failing to produce graduates with the necessary skills for the evolving IT landscape. The slow adaptation of workforce training programs exacerbates this issue, leaving employees unprepared for current technological demands.

1. High Attrition Rates Due to Burnout:

The tech industry is experiencing significant employee turnover, with 42% of IT professionals exploring new job opportunities, indicating dissatisfaction and burnout within the sector.

1. Leadership Failures and Strategic Missteps:

Recent events have highlighted significant leadership failures within major tech companies. For example, Intel's struggles under CEO Pat Gelsinger's tenure have been marked by strategic missteps and an inability to keep pace with competitors in the AI market.

Implications of Leadership Failures:

Inability to Address Workforce Challenges:

Ineffective leadership has led to inadequate responses to the growing IT skills gap, with companies failing to implement necessary training and development programs.

Strategic Misalignment with Industry Trends:

Leadership's failure to anticipate and adapt to technological advancements has resulted in missed opportunities and a decline in competitive positioning. Intel's lag in the AI chip market exemplifies this issue.

Erosion of Employee Trust and Morale:

Poor leadership decisions have led to mass layoffs and budget cuts, undermining employee morale and contributing to the talent drain within the industry.

Conclusion:

The convergence of increasing demand for IT professionals, inadequate training, high attrition rates, and leadership failures is set to culminate in a significant human capital deficit by 2025. Without immediate and effective intervention, the IT sector risks facing a workforce crisis that could impede technological progress and economic growth.

@ fa0165a0:03397073

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

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

What is a browser plugin?

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

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

How to build a browser plugin

Step 0: Basics

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

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

Step 1: manifest.json

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

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

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

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

Step 2: hello.js

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

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

Step 3: Load and launch your plugin

Firefox

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

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

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

Chrome

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

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

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

---

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

@ 0a821ca3:e0efcce3

Central banks, in particular the ECB, are pushing hard to force a CBDC on their citizens - these citizens are not interested in a CBDC that invades their privacy.

Chaumian e-cash

In 1982, David Chaum published “Blind Signatures for Untraceable Payments”.

e-Cash

• Ensures privacy
• Is permissionless
• Can be minted / issued by banks
• Can be developed completely in open source code
• Can be supported by a multitude of (open source) wallets - each bank can enable it in their bank app

e-Cash - Does not enable a holding limit - that is not necessary, as it is not competing with bank accounts - on the contrary: bank client convert a small part of their deposit to ecash, which is non interest bearing - Does not require KYC - which some may consider a problem - this being said, it is issued only by banks that have performed KYC on their clients

David Chaum worked with the SNB to descibe on How to issue a central bank digital currency .

Central banks should consider e-Cash if they want to successfully enable digital payments for their citizens.

The digital p2p value transfer protocol, bitcoin, already has an extensive e-Cash ecosystem. Cashu and the OpenCash Association lead this development, which has so far resulted in a broad range of wallets and mints, that mint "satoshi" tokens and even "euro" tokens. That open source software can perfectly serve as blueprint for a reasonable digital euro.

@ 2fb77d26:c47a6ee1

John Brockmans Edge-Foundation galt als Treffpunkt für die Genies der Gegenwart. Ob Jeff Bezos, Sean Parker, Elon Musk oder Daniel Hillis – sie alle wohnten Veranstaltungen bei, die sie als Tech-Avantgarde darauf vorbereiten sollten, die Zukunft zu gestalten. Die »Dritte Kultur«. Doch was zunächst progressiv klingt, entpuppt sich auf den zweiten Blick rasch als Trainingslager für Technokraten. Finanziert von Jeffrey Epstein.

Original mit Quellen (VÖ: 24.11.2024) - https://www.regenauer.press/die-glorreichen-sieben

Sie regieren die Welt. Das ist keine Übertreibung. Denn sie haben deutlich mehr Einfluss darauf, was wir sehen, lesen, hören, fühlen, kaufen, tun und denken als jeder Politdarsteller – gemeint sind die »glorreichen Sieben«. Also die sieben größten Unternehmen der Tech-Branche: Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet (Google), Tesla, Meta und Nvidia. Mit ihren Plattformen, Produkten und Smartphone-Apps dominieren sie Medienlandschaft, Konsum, persönliche Kommunikation, digital-soziale Räume, nachrichtendienstliche Aktivitäten, künstliche Intelligenz (KI) und in zunehmendem Maße auch den Finanzmarkt.

Nachdem Microsoft und Apple mit der Entwicklung von Personal Computern und einer grafischen Benutzeroberfläche dafür sorgten, dass sich Mitte der 80er auch neugierige Normalos einen PC ins Haus holten – als Ersatz für die plötzlich altbacken wirkende Schreibmaschine – und Tim Berners-Lee, der 1989 am CERN die Grundlagen des World Wide Web entwickelte, am 6. August 1991 sein Konzept eines Hypertext-Dienstes online gestellt hatte, waren es Ende der 90er eine Handvoll Unternehmen, die sich im sonnigen Süden der USA anschicken sollten, das Mediazän zu dominieren. Gegründet von einer Handvoll Tech-Desperados, die abseits gültiger Normen und Gesetzmäßigkeiten operierte, weil es für das, was sie erfanden, noch keine gab, formierte sich ein anomistisches Ökosystem, das heute die Welt dominiert: Die Plattform-Plutokratie. Der digital-zensorische Komplex. Die größte Social-Engineering-Maschinerie aller Zeiten.

So steht die Einordnung als »größte Unternehmen« nicht nur für die astronomischen Börsenwerte dieser Konzerne, sondern vor allem für ihren massiven Einfluss auf die Entwicklung des Individuums und die postmoderne Gesellschaft an sich. Dass diese Einflussnahme abseits von Marktwert und Performance-Indikatoren nicht allein auf organischem Wachstum und Marktdurchdringung beruht, liegt auf der Hand – denn die Tech-Giganten erfuhren signifikante Starthilfe von Seiten des Staates. Genauer gesagt dem Geheimdienstkomplex.

Facebook erhielt Millionen von Deep-State-Technokrat Peter Thiel und Accel, dessen Management enge Verbindungen zum CIA-Finanzvehikel In-Q-Tel pflegte, und galt für das Forbes-Magazine schon 2018 als »das ultimative Überwachungsinstrument für Regierungen«. Sergey Brin und Larry Page erhielten 1995 erhebliche Summen von der DARPA, um Google zu gründen. Aus einem »schwarzen Budget«, mit dem NSA und CIA Werkzeuge zur Massenüberwachung entwickeln wollten. Wenig verwunderlich also, dass auch Google Earth aus einem CIA-Projekt namens Keyhole EarthViewer hervorging, dessen Unterstützung In-Q-Tel gemäß Pressemitteilung vom 25. Juni 2003 als »strategisches Investment« bezeichnete. Julian Assange lag also ganz richtig, als er 2014 warnte, »Google sei nicht das, für was es sich ausgibt«.

Selbst bei Reuters konnte man im Rahmen eines ausführlichen Artikels vom 3. Juli 2013 nachlesen, wie eng die Verbindungen der Big-Tech-Konzerne zu Geheimdiensten ist. Von der Start-up-Finanzierung über die Rekrutierung von Ex-Agenten bis zum Austausch von Computerchips, die Spionage erleichtern, ist alles dabei. »Die Zusammenarbeit zwischen Tech-Industrie und Geheimdiensten ist enger als die meisten Menschen denken«, so Reuters.

So erstaunt es kaum, dass Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Google, Meta und Elon Musks Firmenkonglomerat mittlerweile auch in den Krisen- und Kriegsgebieten der Welt aktiv sind, um dort in Zusammenarbeit mit Peter Thiels Palantir, Pentagon und Geheimdiensten jene Drecksarbeit zu übernehmen, die Regierungen nicht offiziell übernehmen wollen, oder dürfen. Korporatismus in voller Blüte eben. Die vermeintlich privatwirtschaftlich geführten Tech-Konzerne dominieren nicht mehr nur den zivilen, sondern zusehends auch den militärischen »Markt« – das Geschäft des industrialisierten Tötens.

Dass der militärisch-industrielle mit dem digital-zensorischen Komplex fusionierte, ist eine logische Folge des Umstands, dass beide dem gleichen »Gott« dienen: Mammon. Sprich, dem Zentral- und Geschäftsbankenkartell. In diesem Lichte betrachtet gebietet das Gesetz der Logik, dass die Schaffung dieser unheiligen Allianz nicht allein betriebswirtschaftlich motiviert war. Denn schon im 17., 18., und 19. Jahrhundert nutzten die Finanzkartelle Medien, Staat und Wirtschaft, um den Lauf der Dinge zu ihren Gunsten zu beeinflussen. Siehe mein Text »Monopole, Macht und Mord« Teil 1 und 2.

Damals zeitigte diese überstaatliche Einflussnahme vor allem militärische Konflikte, bei denen Territorialansprüche, Ressourcen und Monopolisierung im Fokus standen. Weil in diesen Bereichen aber bis auf die planetaren Gemeingüter, die sich die Herrschaftskaste nun im Rahmen der Green Economy unter den Nagel zu reißen gedenkt, nicht mehr viel zu holen ist, geht es dieser Tage vor allem darum, die Kontrolle nicht zu verlieren. Dazu müssen die 0,1 bis 1,0 Prozent an der Spitze des wertewestlichen Kastensystems sicherstellen, dass die unterworfene Masse der transgenerational operierenden Kriminalität ihrer Zirkel nicht auf die Schliche kommt.

Eine Bedrohung für die von immer mehr Rissen gezeichneten Fundamente des Elfenbeinturms markiert vor allem das Internet. Denn trotz vielschichtiger Zensurmethoden im Web 2.0, legislativer Hütchenspielertricks und der Segregation Andersdenkender, bahnt sich das kleine, aber persistente Licht der Wahrheit auch in dunkelsten Zeiten seinen Weg durch Paywalls, Geofences, Blockwart-Barrikaden und Plattform-Patrouillen. VPN, Blockchain, Graphene OS, De-Fi (Decentralized Finance) und Verschlüsselung sei Dank. Das Web 3.0 lässt sich nicht zensieren.

Um derart autonomisierenden Entwicklungen entgegenzuwirken, konzentrieren sich die Kolonialisierungsprojekte der Herrschaftskaste nun nicht mehr auf die bewaffnete Unterwerfung ferner Länder – sondern auf das Erringen der Lufthoheit über einem geradezu grenzenlosen Schlachtfeld: dem Gehirn. Allerdings nicht in Form simpler Propaganda. Denn im Zeitalter des fortgeschrittenen Informationskrieges ist Nudging die sozialarchitektonische Königsdisziplin, um Menschen dazu zu bringen, etwas zu unterstützen, das ihnen nichts bringt, oder sogar schadet. Und wie könnte Nudging in der Breite besser gelingen als durch willfährige Hilfestellung »der glorreichen Sieben«. Genau dazu wurden sie geschaffen.

Technologische Revolutionen werden Dekaden bevor sie eintreten antizipiert, durchdacht, angekündigt und visualisiert. Nicht zuletzt von Hollywood, der laut Edward Bernays »größten Propagandamaschine der Welt«. Jene Kräfte, die die Gesellschaft kontrollieren wollen, machen sich das zu nutze. Sie erkennen, welche Paradigmenwechsel technologische Revolutionen einläuten werden und versuchen daher frühzeitig, deren Entwicklung zu steuern. Aus diesem Grund lohnt sich ein Blick auf die Entstehungsgeschichte des Nudging – beziehungsweise der zugrundeliegenden wissenschaftlichen Disziplin: Verhaltensforschung.

Klassische Propaganda beruht auf den Standardwerken von Walter Lippmann (1922) und Edward Bernays (1928). Moderne Verhaltensforschung – oder Sozialarchitektonik – in weiten Teilen auf den Arbeiten von Anthony Giddens. Der britische Soziologe veröffentlichte 1990 das Buch »The Consequences of Modernity«, in dem er die Grundlagen für den »Dritten Weg« skizzierte – ein Konzept der Politikproduktion, das abseits politischer Spektren dazu dient, die Massen zu gesellschaftlichem Konsens zu zwingen. Giddens’ Konzept beruht auf den Infiltrationsansätzen der Fabian Society, die damit das Fundament der Partizipation simulierenden Sozialdemokratien des heutigen Europas schuf. Hintergründe zu Fabian Society und dem Roll-out des Dritten Weges finden sich in meinem Text »Dominanzdialektik« vom 30. September 2023.

Nach 1990 publizierte Giddens weitere Bücher, die sich mit dem Themenkomplex befassten. Darunter Titel wie »Moderne und Identität« (1991), »Die Transformation der Intimität« (1992), »Jenseits von rechts und links« (1994) und »Der Dritte Weg« (1998). In all diesen Werken beschäftigt sich der Sozialwissenschaftler mit der übergeordneten Frage, wie der Mensch sich in die Welt der Postmoderne einzufügen vermag – oder besser – einfügen muss, um mit Globalisierung, Klimawandel und sozialen Verwerfungen zurecht zu kommen. Anthony Giddens war von 1997 bis 2003 Direktor der einflussreichen, von der Fabian Society gegründeten London School of Economics. Er ist der meistzitierte Autor im Bereich soziologischer Studien und Mitglied des 2007 ins Leben gerufenen European Council on Foreign Relations.

Relevant ist Giddens Arbeit zum »Dritten Weg« vor allem deshalb, weil dieser manipulative Ansatz der Politikproduktion durch Tony Blair, Bill Clinton und Gerhard Schröder Einzug in die Parlamente des Wertewestens fand. Heute orientiert sich praktisch jede Regierung an Giddens Theorien – und setzt demzufolge um, was die Fabian Society bereits Ende des 19. Jahrhunderts vorschlug, um Kollektivismus unter dem Deckmantel von Mitbestimmung zu generieren. Das erklärt, warum weder Klaus Schwabs »Stakeholder Kapitalismus« noch die »Vierte Industrielle Revolution« etwas mit Kapitalismus oder Demokratie zu tun haben.

Damit solche Konzepte in der Gesellschaft Fuß fassen, benötigt es vor allem eine auf Linie gebürstete Führungsebene. Diese wird mit Stipendien und Förderprogrammen eingenordet, bevor man sie auf die Bevölkerung loslässt. Viele dieser Kaderschmieden sind mittlerweile hinlänglich bekannt. Da wäre zum Beispiel das zu fragwürdigem Ruhm gelangte Young Global Leaders Programm des Weltwirtschaftsforums (WEF), das neben knapp 3.800 weiteren Absolventen auch Angela Merkel, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, Nicolas Sarkozy und Bill Gates auf ihre Karrieren in der »regelbasierten internationalen Ordnung« vorbereitete. Ein weiterer WEF-Absolvent ist Lawrence Summers, US-Finanzminister unter Bill Clinton, nationaler Wirtschaftsberater unter Barack Obama und von 1991 bis 1993 Chefökonom der Weltbank. Darüber hinaus war Summers von 2001 bis 2006 Präsident der Harvard University, wo bis 2006 auch Mark Zuckerberg studierte und mit drei Kommilitonen Facebook gründete.

Nach nicht zweifelsfrei verifizierbaren Angaben eines anonymen Facebook-Whistleblowers soll Summers in diesem Zeitraum auf Zuckerberg zugegangen sein, um ihm für die Mitarbeit an einem Social-Media-Überwachungs-Projekt der DARPA lukrative Regierungsaufträge in Aussicht zu stellen – siehe Life Log, das einen Tag vor dem Start von TheFacebook offline ging. In Anbetracht von Summers Position durchaus denkbar. Auch Moral scheint dem Mann ein Fremdwort zu sein, wie Formulierungen aus einem Weltbank-Memo Summers zeigen, die am 18. Mai 1993 bei einer Anhörung im US-Senat thematisiert wurden.

»Ich denke, die wirtschaftliche Logik, die hinter der Entsorgung einer Menge von Giftmüll in einem Land mit den niedrigsten Löhnen steht, ist einwandfrei, und wir sollten uns dem stellen. (…) Ich war schon immer der Meinung, dass die unterbevölkerten Länder Afrikas stark unterverschmutzt sind.«

Nicht zu vergessen Summers enge Verbindungen zum Pädophilen, Sexualstraftäter und Menschenhändler Jeffrey Epstein. Nachdem Summers bereits mehrfach mit Epsteins Privatjet – bekannt unter dem Namen »Lolita Express« – unterwegs war, bestieg er die Maschine nur zehn Tage nach seiner Hochzeit im Jahr 2005 erneut, um Epsteins ominöse Privatinsel »Pedophile Island« zu besuchen. Die Huffington Post schrieb dazu am 24. April 2020: »Joe Biden sollte sich von Larry Summers fernhalten – Summers ruiniert alles, was er anfasst«. Summers WEF-Training scheint sich jedenfalls ausgezahlt zu haben. Denn wer mit Jeffrey Epstein zu tun hatte, ist definitiv im Establishment angekommen.

Tony Blair und Gordon Brown hatten vor dem WEF bereits das 1940 von Nelson Rockefeller initiierte und bis heute vom US-Außenministerium betriebene »International Visitor Leadership Program« (IVLP) durchlaufen. Auch der 1972 gegründete German Marshall Fund betreibt diverse Förderprogramme – siehe EU-US Young Leaders Seminar 2024 oder Policy Designers Network 2024, das sich auf transatlantisch bewegten Nachwuchs aus der Ukraine, Georgien und Armenien fokussiert. Auch die Elite-Universitäten kümmern sich um Nachwuchs. So unter anderem das seit 1902 bestehende Rhodes Stipendium der Oxford-Universität, das neben unzähligen US-Senatoren, Finanzmagnaten, Bestsellerautoren und Wissenschaftlern beispielsweise Edwin Hubble, Bill Clinton oder Naomi Wolf zu Ruhm verhalf. Rhodes-Alumni bleiben über Organisationen wie AARS (Association of American Rhodes Scholars) ein Leben lang verbunden.

Diesbezüglich Fakten zusammenzutragen erscheint bisweilen müßig. Denn mit Details und Verflechtungen zu Entitäten dies- und jenseits des Atlantik, die Führungskräften von morgen die sozioökonomische Philosophie der Herrschaftskaste vermitteln, könnte man Bände füllen. Versucht man die Herrschaftsphilosophie der heutigen Plattform-Plutokraten zu verstehen, sticht eine Organisation dabei allerdings heraus – und zwar die 1988 von John Brockman ins Leben gerufene Edge Foundation. Geburtsort der »Dritten Kultur«.

Die Frankfurter Allgemeine portraitierte Brockman am 7. Januar 2014 mit den einleitenden Worten: »Der wohl wichtigste Buchagent der Welt versammelt in seinem Internetsalon Edge die Cyber-Elite.« Danach beschreibt FAZ-Autor Jordan Mejas, was sich der Normalsterbliche unter Edge vorstellen darf:

»Edge, das ist der Treffpunkt für die Cyber-Elite, die erlauchtesten Geister, die das Vorfeld der neuesten natur- und sozialwissenschaftlichen Entwicklungen prägen, ob nun digital oder gentechnisch, ob psychologisch, kosmologisch oder neurologisch. Jedenfalls melden sich bei Brockman nicht nur Digerati aus dem Computeruniversum des Silicon Valley zu Wort, sondern genauso häufig Koryphäen wie die Evolutionsbiologen Richard Dawkins und Steven Pinker, der Philosoph Daniel Dennett, der Kosmologe Martin Rees, die biologische Anthropologin Helen Fisher, der Ökonom, Psychologe und Nobelpreisträger Daniel Kahneman, der Quantenphysiker David Deutsch, der Computerwissenschaftler Marvin Minsky oder der Sozialtheoretiker Anthony Giddens. Vom Apple-Mitbegründer Steve Wozniak bis zum Genomentschlüssler Craig Venter reicht seine Gästeliste, die ihresgleichen auch in der grenzenlosen Weite des Internets kaum finden wird.«

Was dem FAZ-Autor bei seiner Recherche offensichtlich entging, ist, dass neben Giddens, Wozniak, Dennis Hopper und all den wissenschaftlichen Koryphäen auch Jeff Bezos (Gründer von Amazon, Besitzer Washington Post), Elon Musk, Sean Parker (Gründer von Napster, Co-Gründer Facebook), Larry Page und Sergey Brin (Gründer von Google), Pierre Omidyar (Gründer von eBay), Salar Kamangar (ehem. CEO YouTube), Matt Groening (Erfinder von »Die Simpsons«), Marissa Mayer (ehem. CEO Google und Yahoo), Joi Ito (ehem. Direktor MIT Media Lab), Evan Williams (Co-Gründer Twitter), Paul Romer (Economist) oder Bill Gates regelmäßig auf der Gästeliste von Edge-Events standen. Wer sich durch die Event-Sektion der Edge-Webseite klickt, begegnet unter dem Menüpunkt »Billionaires’ Dinner« der damaligen wie heutigen Crème de la Crème der Plattform-Plutokratie. Garniert mit ein paar Sahnehäubchen aus Wissenschaft, Kunst und Kultur.

Hervorzuheben ist dabei vor allem das Billionaires’ Dinner 2011. Denn die Fotogalerie des Events (hier zusätzlich gesichert im Internet Archive) birgt eine kleine Überraschung: das bislang einzige Foto, das Elon Musk in Gegenwart des zu diesem Zeitpunkt bereits für Sexualstraftaten und Menschenhandel angeklagten Jeffrey Epstein zeigt. Musk sitzt zwar am Nebentisch, mit dem Rücken zur Kamera, ist dank Vergleichsaufnahmen des Events aber zweifelsfrei zu identifizieren. Interessant ist dieser Umstand deshalb, weil Musk bisher stets behauptete, Epstein lediglich einmal in dessen Haus in New York getroffen zu haben. Für 30 Minuten. Und zwar auf Drängen seiner damaligen Partnerin Talulah Riley, die Epstein angeblich für ihre Arbeit an einer Novelle kennenlernen wollte.

Ein Artikel der Newsweek vom 9. November 2022 bestätigt sowohl Musks als auch Epsteins Anwesenheit beim Edge Billionaires’ Dinner 2011. Darüber hinaus geht Newsweek noch einmal auf den Umstand ein, dass Elon Musk bereits auf einem Foto von 2014 mit Ghislaine Maxwell zu sehen war, der linken und rechten Hand Epsteins. Musk gab an, dass besagtes Bild nur entstanden sei, weil Maxwell sich ungefragt ins Bild gedrängt habe. Diesen Eindruck macht das Foto zwar nicht, das Gegenteil zu beweisen, dürfte jedoch schwer fallen. Nun sind Fotos von Gästen einer Veranstaltung natürlich noch kein Beleg dafür, dass sie mit deren Organisation zu tun haben. Finanzielle Zuwendungen dagegen schon.

Entsprechend bedeutsam ist daher ein Artikel der BuzzFeed News vom 27. September 2019. Denn er belegt, dass der bei Weitem größte Einzelspender der Edge-Foundation kein Geringerer war als Jeffrey Epstein. Das veranschaulichen die von ProPublica veröffentlichten Steuerunterlagen von Brockmans »Internetsalon« für 2001 bis 2017. So spendete Epstein 638.000 US-Dollar – während die gesamten Spendeneinnahmen sich auf 857.000 US-Dollar beliefen. Ein eigenes Profil auf der Edge-Webseite hatte Epstein natürlich auch. Kaum verwunderlich also, dass die Edge-Foundation ihre wichtigste jährliche Veranstaltung – das Billionaires’ Dinner – sofort einstellte, nachdem Epsteins Zuwendungen ab 2016 ausblieben. BuzzFeed News führt diesbezüglich aus:

»Epstein war ein regelmäßiger Teilnehmer bei Edge-Veranstaltungen. Er war bei den Billionaires’ Dinner Events 1999 und 2000 auf Fotos und Seiten zu sehen, die kürzlich von der Edge-Website gelöscht wurden, und wurde auch in einem Bericht über das Abendessen 2004 erwähnt. Epstein war auch 2011 bei Edge-Veranstaltungen anwesend, nach seiner Verurteilung wegen Sexualverbrechen im Jahr 2008. Darüber berichtete BuzzFeed News Anfang dieses Monats.«

Überschrift des betreffenden Artikels: »2011 war Jeffrey Epstein ein bekannter Sexualstraftäter. Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk und Sergey Brin speisten trotzdem mit ihm.« Weiter erklärt BuzzFeed:

»2002 waren Brockman, seine Frau und Geschäftspartnerin Katinka Matson sowie die führenden Wissenschaftler Steven Pinker, Richard Dawkins und Daniel Dennett in Epsteins Jet auf dem Weg zu TED in Monterey, Kalifornien, zu sehen – der mehrtägigen Technologie-, Unterhaltungs- und Designkonferenz, bei der das Billionaires’ Dinner diesen Jahres stattfand. Die Bildunterschrift wurde kürzlich geändert, um die Erwähnung Epsteins zu entfernen. Sein Edge-Profil, das ihn als Finanzier und Wissenschaftsphilanthrop beschreibt, wurde ebenfalls entfernt. Ob Epstein selbst am Billionaires’ Dinner 2002 teilnahm, ist unklar. Aber Mitglieder seines Gefolges waren dort. Ein Foto von der Veranstaltung zeigt Brockman mit zwei jungen Frauen, die in der Bildunterschrift namentlich genannt werden. Das Foto wurde kürzlich ebenfalls von der Edge-Webseite entfernt. Eine dieser Frauen ist Sarah Kellen, die als Assistentin von Epsteins ehemaliger Freundin Ghislaine Maxwell angestellt und im Rahmen eines Vergleichs von 2008 vor Strafverfolgung geschützt war. Der Vergleich brachte Epstein nach seiner früheren Verhaftung eine 13-monatige Gefängnisstrafe in Florida ein. In mehreren Klagen haben Epsteins Opfer behauptet, Kellen gehöre zu den Personen, die halfen, den sexuellen Missbrauch für Epstein zu organisieren.«

Brockmans Interaktionen mit Epstein gingen aber offenbar weit über die Edge-Foundation hinaus. Im August 2019 publizierte der belarussische Publizist Evgeny Morozov auf Google Drive E-Mail-Korrespondenz aus dem Jahr 2013, die belegt, dass Brockman Pläne hatte, ein Meeting zwischen ihm und Epstein zu arrangieren. Doch Morozov lehnte ab. In den Mails an Morozov erwähnt Brockman Epsteins »hübsche junge Assistentin aus Weißrussland« und beschreibt seinen Gönner fälschlicherweise als »Milliardär, dem Victorias Secret und eine Modelagentur gehören«. Tatsächlich lag Epsteins Vermögen gemäß seines Testaments aber nur bei einigen hundert Millionen – und die fragwürdige Marke Victorias Secret ist Teil von L Brands, der Holding von Leslie Wexner, einem Tiefenstaat-Veteran mit Verbindungen zu Harvard und WEF-Gründung, dessen Finanzen Jeffrey Epstein bis 2007 verwaltete.

Auch sonst pflegte Brockmans Organisation verwunderliche Geschäftspraktiken. Zwischen 2001 und 2017 vergab die Edge-Foundation beispielsweise nur ein einziges Mal einen Förderpreis. Der entsprechende Betrag in Höhe von 100.000 US-Dollar ging an David Deutsch, einen Pionier für Quanteninformationstheorie, der an der Universität Oxford forschte. Financier des Preises – man ahnt es – war Jeffrey Epstein. Nicht umsonst stellte The Verve am 19. September 2019 fest, dass »Jeffrey Epstein die Wissenschaft infiltrierte, weil die Wissenschaft bereit war, ihn willkommen zu heißen«.

So knüpfte der Finanzmagnat Kontakte zu prominenten Biologen wie George Church, weil er nach Wegen suchte, die menschliche Spezies mit seiner DNA zu kreuzen. Langfristiges Ziel: Das Schaffen einer »Super-Rasse«. Mehrere preisgekrönte Wissenschaftler bestätigten gegenüber der New York Times, dass Epstein auch sie in seine misogynen Pläne eingeweiht hatte. Auf seiner abgelegenen, unterkellerten »Zorro-Ranch« in New Mexico, wo jedes Zimmer mit Kameras überwacht wurde, hatte er eigens ein Behandlungszimmer einrichten lassen, um künstliche Befruchtungen mit jungen Frauen durchführen zu können.

Bei The New Yorker konnte man am 6. September 2019 nachlesen, dass Epstein sich auch im Bereich digitale Währungen engagierte. Unter anderem finanzierte er das damals von Joi Ito geleitete MIT Media Lab – und damit auch die von Ito geführte Digital Currency Initiative (DCI). Diese wiederum unterstützte die Bitcoin-Core-Entwickler bei der Fork 2017, die Bitcoin von einer digitalen Währung zu, wie Epstein es nannte, »digitalem Gold« machen sollte – und damit weitaus ungefährlicher für das herrschende Finanzmarktkartell. Bill Gates, Harvard-Autoren wie Steven Pinker oder MIT-Programmierer wie Richard Stallmann verteidigten Epstein sogar noch nach dessen endgültiger Festnahme. Stallmann forderte gar, Kinderpornografie zu entkriminalisieren. Joi Ito dagegen kündigte kleinlaut beim MIT. Heute ist er Präsident des Chiba Institute for Technology in Japan, wo das Center for Radical Transformation (CRT) angesiedelt ist. Auch die Digital Currency Initiative gibt es bis heute. Genau wie das »digitale Gold«, mit dem aber fast niemand mehr bezahlt. HODL und so.

Mit dem Thema Digitalwährungen nähern wir uns denn auch Jeffrey Epsteins Einfluss auf den Geschäftsbereich der »glorreichen Sieben«. Denn der im Gefängnis ermordete Menschenhändler finanzierte nicht nur einen Großteil von Brockmans Edge-Aktivitäten, sondern sorgte durch die Infiltration des Wissenschaftsbetriebes auch dafür, dass Edge den Tech-Nachwuchs in genau der Domäne schulte, die für das Erringen von Weltherrschaft im Mediazän essenziell ist: Social Engineering.

Dazu veranstaltete die Edge-Foundation sogenannte Master Class Events. Im Jahr 2008 zum Beispiel zum Thema »Libertärer Paternalismus – warum es nicht möglich ist, nicht zu nudgen«. Dozent: Richard Thaler, »Vater der modernen Verhaltensökonomie«, über den die ZEIT am 18. Mai 2010 unter der Überschrift »Die Stunde der Verführer« schrieb:

»Richard Thaler hat den Draht nach oben. Der 64-Jährige ist einer der weltweit führenden Verhaltensökonomen – neuerdings berät er auch die Wirtschaftsexperten des mächtigsten Mannes der Welt, US-Präsident Barack Obama. Auch die britischen Konservativen, die in London die neue Regierung führen, haben dem Professor der Universität von Chicago einen Beraterposten versprochen. Thaler steht an der Spitze einer wirtschaftspolitischen Revolution. (…) Verhaltensorientierte Wirtschaftsforscher postulieren (…) eine grundlegend andere Wirtschaftspolitik. Zwar lehnen sie – ähnlich wie klassische liberale Ökonomen – eine direkte Bevormundung des Einzelnen durch den Staat ab. Sie sprechen sich aber für sanften Druck aus, mit dem der Staat die Menschen in die richtige Richtung leitet, ihnen gleichzeitig aber die Option lässt, sich anders zu entscheiden, wenn sie es wollen. »Nudge« (Anstupsen) hat Thaler dieses Politikkonzept zusammen mit Co-Autor Cass Sunstein im gleichnamigen Buch getauft. Private Institutionen, Behörden und Regierungen versuchen dabei, die Entscheidungen der Menschen so zu lenken, dass sie hinterher besser dastehen. Ein anderer Begriff, der den neuen Politikansatz charakterisiert, ist sanfter Paternalismus.«

Das Buch, das ZEIT-Autor Olaf Storbek referenziert, hat Thaler 2010 gemeinsam mit Cass Sunstein verfasst, einem Edge-Kollegen und Harvard-Professor für Rechtswissenschaft und Verhaltensökonomie. Deutscher Titel des Werks: »Nudge – wie man kluge Entscheidungen anstößt«. Alternativ untertitelt mit: »Wie man Menschen dazu bringt, das Richtige zu tun«. In welche Kerbe das Machwerk schlägt, zeigt der Umstand, dass Cass Sunstein schon im Januar 2008 ein Papier namens »Verschwörungstheorien« publizierte, die er darin als ernsthaftes Risiko für Recht und Gesetz einstufte. Sunstein verteidigt das offizielle 9/11-Narrativ, will eine bargeldlose Gesellschaft und hielt Corona-Lockdowns für eine »smarte« Sache. Ein Beitrag von Sunstein für »Educators at Home« vom 14. September 2010 offenbart, was für ein Menschenbild die Rechtswissenschaften in Harvard mittlerweile kultivieren:

»Wenn wir erst einmal wissen, dass Menschen menschlich sind und etwas von Homer Simpson in sich tragen, dann kann man viel tun, um sie zu manipulieren.« (Cass Sunstein)

Trotz, oder gerade wegen dieser respektlosen Haltung gegenüber den Freiheitsrechten des Individuums, öffnete ihr gemeinsames Werk Thaler und Sunstein die Türen zum Elfenbeinturm. Ab 2008 berieten die beiden Verhaltensökonomen die Regierung von Barack Obama beim Aufbau sogenannter »Nudge-Units«. Kurze Zeit später unterstützte Richard Thaler auch die britische Regierung und half bei der Formierung des »Behavioural Insights Team« (BIT), dem sowohl Sunstein als auch Thaler bis heute angehören. Das BIT spielte via SAGE (Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies), dem britischen Äquivalent zum Robert-Koch-Institut (RKI), eine tragende Rolle bei der Implementierung der Covid-19-Maßnahmen in Großbritannien. Händewaschanleitungen für Erwachsene, tote Großeltern für die Kleinen. Sie wissen schon. Strategieberater von Tony Blair hatten bereits im Februar 2004 eine Studie zum Thema »Persönliche Verantwortung und Verhaltensänderung: Stand des Wissens und Auswirkungen auf die öffentliche Politik« erstellen lassen – nur Thalers griffige Bezeichnung für die neue Doktrin fehlte noch. Ein Auszug aus dem Papier von 2004 erklärt:

»Mit Blick auf die Zukunft besteht ein offensichtlicher Bedarf, unser theoretisches und empirisches Verständnis der Ursachen für Verhalten und Verhaltensänderung zu stärken. Ebenso wichtig wird die umfassendere Erprobung politischer Instrumente sein, um ein ausgefeilteres Instrumentarium für politische Entscheidungsträger zu entwickeln. Die Politik sollte nicht einfach persönliche Verantwortung oder Schuldzuweisungen proklamieren, sondern muss sich an der Art und Weise orientieren, wie Menschen tatsächlich denken und fühlen, sowie an den sozialen und psychologischen Kräften, die das Verhalten beeinflussen.«

Das war vor 20 Jahren. Drei Jahre später kam das Smartphone auf den Markt und mauserte sich binnen kurzer Zeit zum perfekten Werkzeug einer auf Nuding ausgelegten Observationsökonomie. Heute hat fast jeder ein grell illuminiertes Brett vor dem Kopf, das seinen Tagesablauf, Bio-, Kommunikations- und Schlafrhythmus beeinflusst. Oder steuert. Je nach Schwere der Handysucht. Das eigentliche Problem dabei ist jedoch nicht die Hardware, das Endgerät, sondern die Software der »glorreichen Sieben«. Denn sie ist so designt, dass sie abhängig, krank und depressiv macht – und Menschen dazu bewegt, »das Richtige zu tun«. Auch wenn es absolut falsch ist.

»Wie schaffen wir es, möglichst viel von deiner Zeit und Aufmerksamkeit zu konsumieren. Dazu müssen wir dir hin und wieder eine kleine Dopamin-Dosis verabreichen. (...) Das bringt dich dazu, mehr beizutragen, was dir wiederum mehr Kommentare und Likes bringt. Es ist ein sozial validierender Feedback-Loop. (...) Wir nutzen eine Schwäche der menschlichen Psychologie. Die Erfinder, die Erschaffer, ich, Mark, die Leute von Instagram, all diese Menschen, haben das verstanden - voll und ganz - und wir haben es trotzdem getan.« (Sean Parker, am 8. November 2017)

Nahtlos kontrolliert wird der auf Konformismus dressierte Bürger dabei von einem Überwachungskomplex unvorstellbaren Ausmaßes. Die Webseite von Surveillance Watch führt Buch über die wichtigsten dafür zuständigen Unternehmen.

Nachdem Facebook 2004 online ging und das iPhone 2007 auf den Markt kam, erscheint das Jahr 2008 also tatsächlich als der perfekte Zeitpunkt für Edge, um die Silicon-Valley-Elite in puncto Nudging und Sozialarchitektonik zu schulen. Das soziale Netzwerk war seinen Kinderschuhen entwachsen – am 26. August 2008 knackte Facebook die 100 Millionen-Nutzer-Marke – und mit dem Taschenspion aus dem Hause Apple kündigte sich bereits das mächtigste Manipulations-Malträtat der Zivilisationsgeschichte an. Für die herrschenden Zirkel war absehbar, dass die Frontlinien des transgenerationalen Informationskrieges schon bald nicht mehr über die Auslagen der Zeitungskioske, durch Rundfunkredaktionen oder über die Mattscheibe, sondern direkt durch die Köpfe der Bevölkerung verlaufen werden.

Dieses Ziel wurde fraglos erreicht. Entsprechend hellhörig sollte machen, welche Themen die Edge Master Class 2008 behandelte. Die zweite Session widmete sich zum Beispiel dem Thema »Verbesserung der Auswahlmöglichkeiten durch maschinenlesbare Offenlegung«. Richard Thaler umriss deren Inhalt mit folgendem Eröffnungsstatement.

»Das ist die Idee. Ich nenne es elektronische Offenlegung. Lassen sie mich erklären, wie es bei Kreditkarten funktionieren würde. Die Idee ist, dass das Kreditkartenunternehmen ihnen für jede Kreditkarte, die sie besitzen, einmal im Jahr zwei elektronische Dateien senden muss. Die erste Datei wäre im Wesentlichen eine Tabelle mit allen Formeln für alle Möglichkeiten, wie ihnen Dinge in Rechnung gestellt werden können. (…) Die zweite Datei ist die Liste der Dinge, für die ihnen im letzten Jahr Gebühren in Rechnung gestellt wurden. Es könnte heißen, ihnen wurden im letzten Jahr 1.800 Dollar für diese Kreditkarte berechnet, davon 1.200 Dollar für Zinszahlungen, für Verzugsgebühren, oder Währungstransfers und so weiter. Wir glauben nicht, dass sich irgendjemand diese Dateien jemals ansehen würde. Wir glauben, dass sofort Websites auftauchen würden, die diese Informationen verarbeiten würden. Diese Websites würden den folgenden Zwecken dienen. Erstens: Übersetzung. Sie würden dem Benutzer in einfachem Englisch erklären, was mit ihm passiert. Zweitens: Verhaltensänderung. Sie würden ihm erklären, dass er 1.800 Dollar bezahlt hat, weil er unfähig war, seine Rechnungen pünktlich zu bezahlen. Wenn er also eine automatische Zahlung einrichten würde, würde er viel Geld sparen. Drittens: Preisvergleich. Beachten sie bitte, dass die entsprechenden Unternehmen mit diesen Informationen die Nutzungsmuster kennen; und sie kennen alle Formeln für alle Kreditkartenunternehmen. Sie können also drei Kreditkartenunternehmen suchen, und finden, die für die Art und Weise, wie der Nutzer seine Kreditkarten verwendet, besser wären. Das ist das Konzept. (…)«

Jeff Bezos warf kurz darauf ein: »Außerdem werden sie bezahlt. Sie sind wie der Fuchs, der den Hühnerstall bewacht.«

Dem wachsamen Leser dürfte klar sein, dass wir heute genau von solchen System umgeben, überwacht, analysiert und bedrängt werden. Zu unserem Vorteil – wie Thaler meint.

Bemerkenswert in Bezug auf das, was uns noch bevorstehen könnte, ist die dritte Session der Master Class 2008. Thema: »Die Psychologie der Knappheit«. Teilnehmer – unter anderem: Jeff Bezos, Sean Parker, Elon Musk, Nathan Myhrvold, der 14 Jahre als Stratege für Bill Gates arbeitete, Daniel Hillis, ehemals Vizepräsident für Forschung und Entwicklung bei Disney und Vater des Parallel Computing, das die Grundlage für moderne Supercomputer darstellt, et cetera. Neben Richard Thaler sprach bei der dritten Session auch Sendhil Mullainathan, Volkswirt an der Harvard-Universität. Sein Spezialgebiet: Verhaltensökonomie und Armutsökonomik. Einleitend erklärte Mullainathan:

»Lassen wir die Armutsbekämpfung für einen Moment beiseite und fragen uns: Gibt es etwas, das der Armut innewohnt und das an und für sich eine Untersuchung wert ist? Einer der Gründe dafür ist, dass wir – abgesehen von Wundermitteln – verstehen müssen, ob es unter Bedingungen der Knappheit gemeinsame Prinzipien gibt, die uns helfen können, Verhalten zu verstehen und Interventionen zu gestalten. Wenn wir das Gefühl haben, dass Bedingungen der Knappheit bestimmte psychologische Effekte hervorrufen, dann wird das, ganz zu schweigen vom rein wissenschaftlichen Interesse, eine große Mehrheit der Interventionen beeinflussen. Das ist eine wichtige und alte Frage.«

Korrekt. Denn Schuldknechtschaft war, wie die künstliche Verknappung von Nahrungsmitteln, seit jeher ein beliebtes Mittel der herrschenden Kaste, um den Pöbel im Zaum, beziehungsweise mit existenziellen Problemen auf Trab zu halten. So hat er nämlich weder Zeit noch Energie, um mit Mistgabeln und Fackeln gen Elfenbeinturm aufzubrechen. In diesem Zusammenhang sei nochmals auf »Food Chain Reaction – A Global Food Security Game« hingewiesen, ein Planspiel, das im November 2015 vom tiefenstaatlichen Center for American Progress, dem World Wildlife Fund, Center for Naval Analyses (CNA), Cargill und Mars durchgeführt wurde und Nahrungsmittelknappheit im Zeitraum von 2020 bis 2030 simulierte.

Der Einblick in die Ausbildungsprozesse der Edge-Foundation und die Liste ihrer Teilnehmer gibt somit allen Anlass zu befürchten, dass Brockmans »Internetsalon« die zentralen Akteure der kontinuierlich engmaschiger greifenden Technokratie nicht nur in puncto Social Engineering ausbilden, sondern sie darüber hinaus auf eine Zeit von Mangelwirtschaft und massiver Armut vorbereiten wollte. Auf die »Dritte Kultur«. Die wohlstandsvernichtende Tokenisierung der Welt.

Dabei sollte nicht vergessen werden, dass Brockman vermutlich nur ein geschäftstüchtiger Narzisst mit sozialen Kompetenzen war, der seine Chance auf Geld und Rampenlicht geschickt zu nutzen wusste – und dass Jeffrey Epstein als maßgeblicher Finanzier der Edge-Foundation nicht einfach im Alleingang handelte. Denn Epstein war Doppelagent, unterwegs im Auftrag von CIA und Mossad. Mindestens. Dass er mittlerweile nicht mehr unter den Lebenden weilt, dürfte weder sein Geheimdienstnetzwerk noch seinen elitären Kundenstamm davon abgehalten haben, sein schmutziges Geschäft weiterzubetreiben.

Man kann also durchaus mit einem metaphorisch zu lesenden Zitat aus jenem kultigen 60er-Film schließen, dessen Titel nun als Bezeichnung für ein Septett börsennotierter Technokratie-Operatoren missbraucht wird:

»Das Blutvergießen wird so lange weitergehen, bis die Ursache dafür ausgehoben ist.«

@ 2fb77d26:c47a6ee1

Während ein weiteres Jahr voller Abnormitäten sich dem Ende neigt, ist vieles, das sich im Interesse des nächsten hätte verbessern können, beim Alten geblieben. Denn Veränderungen beginnen im Kopf – und der fungiert bei einer Mehrheit der Artgenossen vor allem als Reservoir für Informationen, Gedanken und Meinungen Dritter. Dritter, die sich die psychischen Schwachstellen der Spezies Mensch gekonnt zunutze machen.

Original mit Quellen: https://www.regenauer.press/der-unsichtbare-dritte

Es war einmal die UNESCO. Diese farbenfroh-inklusiv erscheinende UN-Suborganisation für Erziehung, Wissenschaft und Kultur. Sie wollte »das Undenkbare wenigstens wieder denkbar machen«. So steht es auf Seite 21 des 1946 vom ersten Generaldirektor Julian Huxley verfassten Gründungsdokuments. Gemeint war die Eugenik. Rassenlehre. Die genoss kurz nach Hitler nämlich keinen besonders guten Ruf, sollte uns nach Ansicht von Huxley und Co. jedoch schon bald in überarbeiteter Form als Humangenetik, Bioethik oder biodigitale Konvergenz wieder mit ihren Zuchtprogrammen beglücken dürfen. Mit Transhumanismus. Was Julian Huxley im Rahmen seines im wahrsten Sinne des Wortes wegweisenden Dossiers unterschlug – immerhin prägte er auch den Begriff Transhumanismus – ist die Tatsache, dass die Vereinten Nationen nicht nur »das Undenkbare wieder denkbar machen«, sondern auch »das Denkbare undenkbar machen« wollten.

Die sozialarchitektonischen Vektoren in Richtung einer homogenisierten, pflegeleichten Hominidenbrut – dem Nutzmensch – sind gepflastert mit Stolpersteinen evolutionärer, aufklärerischer Errungenschaften: Selbstbewusstsein und -erhaltungstrieb, Freiheitsdrang, Kreativität, Sozialkompetenz, Empathie, kritisches Denken. All das steht den postmodernen Variationen von Eugenik beharrlich im Weg. Niemand, der originäre Gedanken pflegt, eigene Wege geht und seine Freiheiten schätzt, möchte Teil eines mit der Cloud gekoppelten, genetisch optimierten Kollektivs seelenloser Konformisten werden. Und doch sind es die meisten schon längst. Ob sie Herrschaftsnarrative goutieren, oder Widerstand dagegen leisten – alles, was sie wahrnehmen, diskutieren, verteidigen oder ablehnen stammt aus dem Netz. Es sind limitierte, interpretierte und manipulierte Informationen aus dritter Hand.

Im besten Falle stammen sie noch aus verschiedenen Quellen und erlauben Triangulation zur Bestimmung der eigenen Position. Dazu muss man sich nämlich noch ein paar eigene Gedanken machen. Im schlimmsten Fall wurden sie von Alexa, Siri, dem Google Assistant, ChatGPT oder einem anderen Intelligenz simulierenden Digitalassistenten bereitgestellt, der nur noch eine Antwort serviert. Die richtige. Die Akzeptable. Denn genau das war stets Anspruch der Technokraten. Der langjährige Google-Chef und Bilderberg-Grande Eric Schmidt erklärte schon vor über einem Jahrzehnt, dass »eine Vielzahl von Suchergebnissen ein Fehler und keine Funktion sind«. Das erklärte Ziel von Google sei es, so Schmidt, nur ein einziges Suchergebnis zu präsentieren – das richtige.

Damit solch ein kommunikativer Reduktionismus nicht als Bevormundung, sondern Serviceangebot wahrgenommen wird, muss man verstehen, und steuern, wie Menschen denken. Vielleicht wollte Schmidt aus diesem Grund unbedingt mit Julian Assange über Googles Visionen für eine »neue digitale Welt« sprechen. Mit jemandem, der die technischen Untiefen des Internets kennt – und sie für das Gegenteil dessen nutzt, was Google will. Am 23. Juni 2011 und auf Schmidts Betreiben kam es jedenfalls zu einem geheimen, fünfstündigen Treffen mit dem unter Hausarrest stehenden WikiLeaks-Gründer. Das Transkript dieser Konversation ist erhellend. Vor allem die zweite Hälfte lässt erahnen, wie Schmidt sich die »neue digitale Welt« vorstellt und warum er Ende 2019 konstatierte, dass »Biologie die nächste Grenzverschiebung in puncto Computing ist«.

Google wollte uns nämlich nie informieren, sondern »programmieren«. Das steht so wortwörtlich in internen Dokumenten des Unternehmens, die dank eines Whistleblowers am 24. Juni 2019 den Weg in die Öffentlichkeit fanden. Und wer denkt, »programmieren« beginne erst mit dem Neuralimplantat, dem Chip im Hirn, irrt. Google, Microsoft, Apple, YouTube, Twitter (das ich auch weiterhin so nennen werde), Amazon, Facebook, Wikipedia, Rumble, Instagram, TikTok und Co. schaffen das auch ohne. Denn ihre Algorithmen und Omnipräsenz bestimmen schon jetzt nahezu vollständig, was Menschen wahrnehmen – was sie empört, begeistert, besprechen und bekämpfen. Was nicht bei den großen Portalen, Plattformen und Apps auftaucht, existiert nicht. Ist kein Bestandteil der Realität.

Das gilt gleichermaßen für alles, was Googles Suchmaschine nicht ausspuckt. Entsprechend interessant sind die sogenannten Transparenzberichte des Unternehmens, die veranschaulichen, wie oft staatliche Stellen die Entfernung von Suchergebnissen fordern. Wobei die entsprechenden Listen wohl nur die Spitze der Spitze des Eisbergs darstellen dürften. Nicht umsonst beschäftigen sich weitere geleakte Google-Dokumente primär mit den Zusammenhängen von maschinellem Lernen und menschlicher Wahrnehmung. Mit Nudging und kognitiver Kriegsführung. Das von der CIA gegründete Unternehmen war von Beginn an darauf ausgelegt, die Bevölkerung auszuspionieren, um sie qua Filterblasen zu manipulieren.

Was wir wahrnehmen, ist unsere Realität. Was wir nicht wahrnehmen, wird unsere Realität. Ohne, dass wir etwas dagegen unternehmen könnten. Googles Suchmaschinensegregativ schafft Wirklichkeit. Bei immer noch 91 Prozent Marktanteil ein Kinderspiel. Ganz wie US-Chefstratege Zbigniew Brzezinski es vor 54 Jahren in seinem Buch »Between Two Ages – America's Role in the Technetronic Era« prophezeite.

Was in Abhandlungen zu Verhaltensökonomie blasiert umrissen wird, verblüfft im Alltag durch die Effizienz seiner Profanität: Der zwangsalimentierte Erziehungsfunk repliziert das folgenlose Geschwafel von Politdarstellern, Twitter den von Technokraten kuratierten »Bürgerjournalismus«, Instagram Propaganda von Influencern und Facebook den Tratsch von Oma und Opa. Google präsentiert nur Ergebnisse, die dem Herrschaftsnarrativ dienen, Wikipedia gefährliches Halbwissen von Ideologen, YouTube handzahme Kommentare zum Politspektakel und Rumble die emotionalisierte Replik des vermeintlichen Widerstands. Spotify und Apple Music generieren die Playlist, Amazon schlägt vor, was zu Weihnachten gekauft, Microsoft Word, welche Worte man bei der Formulierung eines Textes meiden und der Krypto-Guru, in welche aus null und eins bestehende »Währung« investiert werden soll. Damit steht das Programm. Die tragenden Wände des Debattenraums. Mehr als dieses Potpourri von Second-Hand-Inhalten haben die meisten Menschen gar nicht mehr im Kopf.

Das Weltwirtschaftsforum (WEF) veröffentlichte im Februar 2022 ein 46 Seiten umfassendes Papier namens »Advancing Digital Agency«, das sich mit der »Macht der Datenvermittler« befasst. Sprich, mit der Rolle der zuvor erwähnten »Dritten« und der Frage, wie Externa zur Verinnerlichung am effektivsten ausgerollt werden können. Der Executive Summary lässt sich auf Seite vier entnehmen:

»Niemand weiß (oder verfolgt), was mit seinen Daten geschieht. (…) Wo Menschen früher Bildschirme zum Navigieren hatten, erzeugen neue Methoden zur Erfassung von Umgebungsdaten mit ihren vielen Vorteilen Nervosität und Resignation, wenn Menschen nicht den Gesamtüberblick haben. Manchmal entscheiden sich Einzelpersonen möglicherweise gegen die Interaktion mit Technologien, die für ihr Leben von großem Nutzen wären. Was aber wäre, wenn man diese Entscheidungspunkte an einen vertrauenswürdigen Agenten auslagern könnte, der im Namen einer Einzelperson oder sogar einer Gruppe handelt? Jetzt, da bildschirmlose Technologie Teil des Alltags ist, bietet sich die Gelegenheit, das Paradigma der Mensch-Technik-Interaktion zu überdenken und die Debatte neu auszurichten, um den Fokus auf Rollen und Verantwortlichkeiten jenseits der Person zu legen. Wie kann der Einsatz von Datenvermittlern Menschen dabei helfen, sich in Technologien und Datenökosystemmodellen zurechtzufinden, ohne aus den Augen zu verlieren, was es bedeutet, Mensch zu sein? (…) Datenvermittler – insbesondere digitale Agenten – stellen einen neuen politischen Hebel dar, mit dem Einzelpersonen die Herausforderungen des wachsenden Datenökosystems möglicherweise meistern können. Dieser Bericht soll Licht auf eine alternative Methode der vermittelten Mensch-Technik-Interaktion werfen, bei der Daten scheinbar nahtlos von Menschen zur Technologie gelangen, und zwar auf eine menschenzentrierte und vor allem vertrauenswürdige Weise. Durch die Kommunikation gemeinsamer Anreize, den Aufbau eines guten Rufs oder die Einholung einer Bestätigung durch Dritte. (…) Dieser Bericht untersucht die Chancen und Risiken von Datenvermittlern und insbesondere digitalen Drittagenten. Von Datentreuhändern bis hin zu vertrauenswürdigen digitalen Agenturen zeichnet der Bericht das Bild einer Welt, die Menschen und Unternehmen gegenüber einfühlsamer ist und durch die Einführung eines vertrauenswürdigen Dritten mehr Sicherheit für den Datenaustausch als Grundlage für Innovationen bietet. Entscheidend ist, dass der Bericht Handlungshebel für den öffentlichen und privaten Sektor vorschlägt, um ein zukunftssicheres digital-politisches Umfeld zu gewährleisten, das einen nahtlosen und vertrauenswürdigen Datenverkehr zwischen Menschen und der Technologie ermöglicht, die ihnen dient.«

Technologie, die uns »dient«? Wer den Buzzword-Neusprech des Davoser Global-Governance-Tentakels zu decodieren weiß, kann sich vorstellen, was mit »dienen« gemeint ist. Denn das Produkt sind wir – die Steuersklaven, DNA-Pools und Datenfarmen. Die Technologie sorgt lediglich für unsere zeitgemäße Versklavung. Sie ist ein maschinell-zentralistisches Monstrum, das sich an unserer Lebenszeit labt. Und die nächsten Jahre dürften darüber entscheiden, ob die Spezies Mensch vor ihrem Fortschritt kapituliert, oder die Oberhand gewinnt. Ob sie auf Generationen hinaus dazu verdammt ist, Vasall ihrer Werkzeuge zu sein, oder diese zu ihrem Vorteil einzusetzen weiß. Denn schlecht sind technische Revolutionen nicht per se. Siehe Blockchain. Lässt man sich von ihnen überrumpeln, allerdings schon.

Und genau das geschieht gerade. Während die leitmediale Deutungselite sich als Megafon moralisierender Selbstgerechtigkeit präsentiert und einer Phase kriegerischer Auseinandersetzungen mit suizidaler Sorglosigkeit entgegensieht, betätigt sich ein guter Teil der kritischen Prominenz als ebenso wirkungsvolles Sedativum für die von Ersteren enttäuschten Massen. Denn am Ende reagiert die jeweilige Klientel auf ein und dieselbe Weise: Sie sitzt auf dem Sofa.

Die tragende Säule der transluzenten Haftanstalt, die ein Habitus lethargischer Bequemlichkeit um uns herum errichtet, ist die Einführung der digitalen Identität. Und die ist in vollem Gange. Australien hat Ende November 2024 als erstes Land der Welt ein Gesetz erlassen, dass Jugendlichen unter 16 Jahren den Zugang zu Social-Media-Portalen untersagt. Und während es sicherlich zu begrüßen ist, dass Kinder ihre Zeit nicht mit digitalem Nonsens verplempern, zeitigt solche Legislatur in letzter Konsequenz nichts anderes als einen Ausweiszwang fürs Internet. Wie sonst soll man feststellen können, wer unter 16 ist? Was eine Frage der Erziehung wäre, gerät in Händen des Staates zu einem Instrument ausufernder Kontrolle.

Auch die Schweiz plant die Einführung einer E-ID – obwohl diese bei einer Volksabstimmung im März 2021 klar abgelehnt wurde. Verfügbar sein soll der digitale Pass ab 2026. Die Nutzung beruhe auf Freiwilligkeit, so die Behörden. Doch schon jetzt werden Stimmen laut, die den Einsatz der digitalen Identität beim Sammeln von Stimmen für politische Begehren fordern. Stichwort »E-Collecting«. Damit soll Unregelmäßigkeiten bei der Vorbereitung von Volksabstimmungen vorgebeugt werden. Die hiesige Piratenpartei hat bereits angekündigt, ein zweites Referendum gegen den elektronischen Ausweis zu lancieren – denn er sei »ein Wolf im Schafspelz«. Die Eidgenossenschaft dürfte in Anbetracht einer erfolgsversprechenden Abstimmungskampagne also noch eine ganze Weile von den negativen Folgen eines solchen Überwachungsinstrumentariums verschont bleiben.

Derweil arbeiten natürlich auch Deutschland, die EU, die USA und das »System Chief Executives Board for Coordination« der UN an einer digitalen Identität. Denn ohne eine solche wird weder das volldigitalisierte Finanzsystem von morgen noch das Mikromanagement der Individualmobilität via CO2-Emissionstracking funktionieren. Keine E-ID, kein digitales Gulag.

Noch lassen sich solche Sachverhalte recherchieren und darstellen. Noch kann Widerstand artikuliert, organisiert und geleistet werden. Doch wenn der Heimcomputer in absehbarer Zeit keine Tastatur mehr hat, weil es nur noch Touchscreens gibt, wenn Gestik, Mimik, Sprachsteuerung und KI das Tippen und Suchen ersetzen, wenn Google nur noch das eine Ergebnis auswirft und der digitale Assistent jede noch so komplexe Frage mit unterkomplexen Monokausalitäten trivialisiert, wenn Plattformen ausgeblendet haben, was die Obrigkeit als »Hassrede« klassifiziert, werden die meisten Menschen gar nicht mehr wissen – und wissen können – was sie nicht wissen. Woher denn auch.

Zensur bedeutet in Zeiten der Plattformökonomie nicht, dass Webseiten gelöscht und Bücher verbrannt werden – Zensur bedeutet, dass Informationen, Artikel und Webseiten einfach nicht mehr angezeigt werden. Dass sie nicht mehr gesucht, gefunden, verlinkt oder zitiert werden können, weil sie nicht mehr Teil des digitalen Ökosystems sind. Zensur beginnt mit Orwells »Memory Hole«, das immer häufiger essenzielle Ressourcen wie das Internetarchiv erfasst. Erst vor wenigen Wochen war die Webseite tagelang offline, weil sie sich einem massiven Hackerangriff ausgesetzt sah. Und auch die Wayback Machine, mit der sich die Historie von Webseiten nachvollziehen lässt, weist immer mehr Löcher auf. So fehlen zum Beispiel alle Einträge des Twitter-Blogs für den Zeitraum vom 3. März 2019 bis zum 28. November 2023. Warum, weiß niemand. Zensur beginnt dort, wo der von Bequemlichkeit, Unwissenheit und Lethargie vereinnahmte Konsument das Internet nur noch via Plattform, Social-Media-Portal und Smartphone-App nutzt, anstatt sich mittels Browser selbst zu orientieren.

Dass genau das schon jetzt gang und gäbe ist, kann ich aus eigener Erfahrung bestätigen. Denn obwohl viele tausend Personen meinen Konten bei Twitter, Telegram und YouTube folgen, hat sich bislang nur etwa ein Zehntel dieser Menge auf meiner Webseite für E-Mail-Updates registriert. Obwohl diese kostenlosen Mail-Updates einen direkten Link zwischen Autor und Leser etablieren und damit »datenvermittelnde« Dritte umgehen. Einen Link, der auch dann noch funktioniert, wenn Social-Media-Konten gesperrt oder gelöscht werden. Wäre das morgen bei mir der Fall, würde vermutlich nur ein Bruchteil meiner »Follower« wissen, wie er meine Webseite findet.

Die diesbezügliche Unselbstständigkeit nimmt teils groteske Formen an. Da fragen Menschen, wo man meine Texte lesen kann, während die URL meines Blogs im nur einen Klick entfernten Profil zu finden ist. Andere posten Fragen, Links oder Screenshots unter Beiträge, die nahelegen, dass sie nicht einmal gelesen haben, was sie kommentieren. Auch eine Suchmaschine scheinen viele nicht mehr aufrufen zu können, wenn sie etwas wissen wollen. Anstatt die gewünschte Information in 30 Sekunden selbst zu recherchieren, stellen sie ihre Frage in Form eines Social-Media-Kommentars und hoffen, dass jemand sie beantwortet. Geschieht das nicht, vergessen sie nach fünf Minuten, dass sie eine Frage hatten.

Es wirkt bisweilen tragisch. Denn auch wer die seit Corona im Aufwind befindlichen neuen Medien, die »kritischen Accounts« und Podcaster verfolgt, macht häufig nichts anderes als der Tagesthemen-Zuschauer: Er konsumiert die Polykrise, als wäre es ein Spielfilm, den man in passiver Schockstarre über sich ergehen lässt.

Aber auch die Medienschaffenden der »fünften Gewalt« unterscheiden sich mithin kaum von ihren Widersachern im leitmedialen Konsenskomplex. Wenn sie nicht gerade mit der eigenen Geschichte oder Opferrolle beschäftigt sind, berichten sie über die Schicksale und Leidenswege von Kollegen. Oder über das, was der Konsenskomplex verlautbaren lässt. Auch die ein oder andere Tirade gegenüber missliebigen Konkurrenten darf nicht fehlen. Hauptsache, es bringt Klicks. Denn wer den Medienzirkus einmal zu seinem Broterwerb gemacht hat, ist abhängig davon, dass er sich auszahlt. Auch wenn es zu Lasten des Inhalts geht.

Kaum jemand recherchiert Fakten, macht Textarbeit, deckt auf, dokumentiert Entwicklungsprozesse, empfiehlt stichhaltige Quellen, liefert neue Themen oder zusätzliche Hintergründe. Kaum ein Format zeichnet sich durch Informationsgehalt aus oder bietet irgendeine Form von Erkenntnisgewinn. Meistens wird einfach das besprochen, kommentiert, analysiert oder eingeordnet – also wiedergekäut – was gerade durch Newsfeeds, Timelines und Trend-Charts geistert.

Eine herausragende Unart ist es, wenn die Moderatoren sich dabei nicht einmal zu schade sind, ihren Twitter-Feed einzublenden, um dann eine Stunde lang geistlos Kommentare von Kommentatoren zu kommentieren. Retorten-Radio. Informativ und intellektuell bereichernd wie die hundertfünfzigste Wiederholung eines Bud-Spencer-Streifens am Weihnachtsfeiertag. Weniger journalistische Relevanz geht kaum.

Wer also nach guten Vorsätzen für das neue Jahr sucht, könnte an exakt dieser Stelle ansetzen. Der Medienschaffende könnte sich auf die Kernaufgabe des Journalismus besinnen und die Mühe machen, zu recherchieren, um seinen Zuschauern und -hörern echten Erkenntnisgewinn zu bescheren. Das macht zwar mehr Arbeit – aber eben auch Sinn.

Und der Konsument könnte damit beginnen, die Kontrolle über seine Informationsgewinnung wiederzuerlangen, anstatt sich berieseln zu lassen wie in alten Zeiten. Zum Beispiel durch die Nutzung eines RSS-Readers, das Lesen von Primärquellen, den Boykott von Big-Tech-Plattformen oder die Anschaffung eines Smartphones mit GrapheneOS-Betriebssystem. Das macht sogar weniger Arbeit, wenn man sich erst einmal eingefuchst hat – und vor allem freier, gelassener und mental resilienter.

Grundsätzlich gilt: Wer nach Lösungen sucht, sollte bei sich selbst beginnen. Denn für die meisten Herausforderungen unserer Zeit existieren sie längst. Nur genutzt werden sie zu selten. Und das liegt nicht an den Lösungen, sondern den Konsumenten, die jeden Tag aufs Neue die Chance verstreichen lassen, es besser zu machen. Wann also wäre ein geeigneterer Zeitpunkt, um den ein oder anderen Neustart zu planen als jetzt, wo sich ein weiteres Jahr in seine letzten, kurzen Tage streckt?

So schwer, verstörend und düster viele davon gewesen sein mögen, so schön, bemerkenswert, erheiternd und licht war manch ein Moment der vergangenen zwölf Monate. Leider ist der menschliche Geist zwecks Risikominimierung evolutionär darauf ausgelegt, sich vor allem an Negatives zu erinnern. Und viel zu oft verdrängen diese unschönen, aber lehrreichen Erfahrungen die Wertschätzung für eine der simpelsten Wahrheiten des Lebens:

Das Schöne zieht seinen Reiz aus der Vergänglichkeit.

Gerade die Flüchtigkeit des Positiven macht es so wichtig, sich diese Erkenntnis zum Ablauf eines Kalenderjahres bewusst zu machen. Denn das wertvollste, was wir Menschen im Lauf eines Lebens sammeln können, sind erhebende Momente. Wie viele wir davon anhäufen bevor unsere eigene Zeit abgelaufen ist, hängt nicht primär von äußeren Umständen, sondern unserer inneren Einstellung ab. Eine den Wirren der Zeit angemessene Sichtweise verbirgt sich hinter einem kurzen, fast schon philosophischen Wortwechsel aus dem für den vorliegenden Text namensgebenden Hitchcock-Streifen:

»Wollen Sie behaupten, Sie hätten Interesse für die Kunst?«

»Ja – für die Kunst weiterzuleben.«

@ 8eabf864:d2ed9af6

Opinion about Tangem - Crypto wallet (android)

There is a successful build example, maybe can use as a reference. See https://github.com/nalarian1/tangem-app-android

WalletScrutiny #nostrOpinion

Join the conversation!

@ 8fb140b4:f948000c

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

@ a17fb4ed:c53f7e91

Charcuterie Boards are perfect for parties and easy to create. With just a few basics you can bring great flavor to your next get together. I made this one for my work Christmas party a week ago and it was a hit. The following is the board I built.

Meats

• Italian Dry Salame: A classic charcuterie staple with rich, savory flavors
• Dry Hard Salami Con Vino: A wine-infused salami that adds a sophisticated touch to your board

Cheeses

• Extra Sharp Cheddar: Provides a bold, tangy flavor profile
• Dill Havarti: Offers a creamy texture with a hint of fresh dill
• Boursin Spreadable Garlic and Herb: A soft, flavorful spread perfect for easy enjoyment
• 60 Day Blue Cheese: Adds a strong, distinctive taste to complement the meats

Crackers

• Bruschettini Snack Size Italian Bruschetta Toast: Authentic Italian-style base
• Crunchmaster Original Multi-Seed: A crispy, nutritious option
• Brenton Original with Sea Salt: Classic cracker with a touch of saltiness
• Cabaret Crispy and Buttery: A rich, indulgent cracker choice

Delightful Add-Ons

• Chocolate Covered Cherries: A sweet contrast to savory meats and cheeses
• Local Hive Hot Honey: Adds a spicy-sweet element
• Pitted Olives: Brings a briny, Mediterranean touch

Platter and Serving Essentials

• Wooden Board: Provides a rustic, elegant presentation
• Spoon: Drizzle on the honey
• Spreading Utensils: For soft cheeses and spreads
• Toothpicks: Retrieving the olives
• Bowls: For randoms small items
• Cracker Container: Keeps crackers organized

Final Progression

Remember you can make these boards your own way. Hope you take some of the ideas and create something tasting.

Cheers, Yooper

foodstr #nostr #cheese #salami #charcuterie #crackers #honey

@ 8fb140b4:f948000c

Test Bounty Note

@ 8fb140b4:f948000c

Intro

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

Requirements

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

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

Installation

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

Prepare and verify

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

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

Create folders & download NWC

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

Creating the Docker image

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

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

Creating docker-compose.yml and necessary data directories

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

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

Starting and testing

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

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

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

Updating

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

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

@ a4a6b584:1e05b95b

Step 1: Secure Your Device

1. Install an Antivirus Program
   Download and install a trusted antivirus program to scan files for potential malware.
2. For Linux: Calm Antivirus

3. For Windows: CalmWin Antivirus

4. Install a VPN
   A VPN is essential for maintaining privacy and security. It will encrypt your internet traffic and hide your IP address.

5. Recommended: Mullvad VPN, which accepts Bitcoin for anonymous payment.

6. Install a Torrent Program
   You’ll need a torrent client to download files.

7. Recommended: Deluge

8. Install the Tor Browser
   To access The Pirate Bay or its proxies, you’ll need the privacy-focused Tor Browser.

---

Step 2: Prepare Your Setup

• Ensure your VPN is running and connected.
• Open the Tor Browser.
• Launch Deluge to have your torrent client ready.

---

Step 3: Using Tor Go to The Pirate Bay via Onion Service or Find a Trusted Pirate Bay Proxy

Accessing The Pirate Bay directly can be challenging due to restrictions in some regions. Proxy sites often fill the gap. - The Pirate Bay Onion service: http://piratebayo3klnzokct3wt5yyxb2vpebbuyjl7m623iaxmqhsd52coid.onion - Or find a trusted proxy: Use a site like Pirateproxy or a reliable Tor directory for updated lists.

---

Step 4: Search for Linux Distros

1. On The Pirate Bay, navigate to the "OtherOS" category under the Applications section.
2. Enter your desired Linux distro in the search bar (e.g., "Ubuntu," "Arch Linux").

---

Step 5: Select a Torrent

1. Filter the Results:
2. Look for torrents with the highest seeders (SE) and the fewest leechers (LE).

3. Trusted users are marked with a green skull icon—these are usually safe uploads.

4. Copy the Magnet Link:

5. Right-click on the magnet icon next to the trusted torrent and select "Copy Link."

---

Step 6: Start the Download

1. In Deluge, paste the copied magnet link into the “Add Torrent” box.
2. Click OK to start the download.
3. Monitor the progress until the download completes.

---

Step 7: Scan the Downloaded File

Once the file is downloaded: 1. Scan for viruses: Right-click the file and use Calm or CalmWin to verify its integrity.
2. If the file passes the scan, it’s ready for use.

---

Step 8: Manage Your File

• Seed or Remove:
• To help the torrent community, keep seeding the file by leaving it in your torrent client.

• To stop seeding, right-click the file in Deluge and remove it.

• Move for Long-Term Storage: Transfer the file to a secure directory for regular use.

---

Notes on Safety and Ethics

• Verify Legitimacy: Ensure the torrent you are downloading is for an official Linux distribution. Torrents with unusual names or details should be avoided.
• Support the Developers: Consider visiting the official websites of Linux distros (Ubuntu, Arch Linux) to support their work directly.

---

By following these steps, you can safely and privately download Linux distributions while contributing to the open-source community.

@ 6e4f2866:a76f7a29

Have you ever felt like you’re running as fast as you can in life, only to find yourself in the same spot? Trying to achieve goals, optimise yourself only to feel unfulfilled & lacking. That’s the hamster wheel—an exhausting, repetitive cycle that holds us captive in patterns we didn’t consciously choose. These aren’t just bad habits; they’re deep-rooted default programs born from early life experiences. Let’s explore what these hamster wheels are, how they shape us, and most importantly, how we can step off them for good.

What Are Hamster Wheels? \ \ The term #hamsterwheels ( hamstr) is a metaphor for the unconscious patterns that keep us stuck. I discovered these wheels through my own introspection & seeing these patterns in my clients. Imagine a wheel turning endlessly, powered by our own efforts but leading nowhere. These programs are often formed in childhood, when trauma, disconnection, or unmet needs force us to develop defense mechanisms to survive. They worked back then, but now they just keep us spinning.

\ The Mechanics of a Hamster Wheel \ \ Every hamster wheel has two opposing forces—gain and loss, right and wrong, attention and neglect, let down & support & unable & able. We strive to stay on the “good” side: gaining approval, being right, or receiving attention. But inevitably, the wheel flips, and we find ourselves losing, being wrong, or feeling ignored. It’s a cruel cycle of frustration that feels impossible to escape. 
You will be positioned on the left side or right side when you look at the wheel. One is yin dominant, non doing, unable, more of a victim. One is Yang, always doing, high achiever, seen as a winner. 

\ \ Left side is safe in the unableness so will self sacrifice when they are to feel able to& start to achieve. So as they climb up the wheel to the right, they will lose interest or confidence in what they are doing, either sliding back exhausted in their endeavour or flipping over into victimhood. They long to be confident & win at life but deep down feel they cannot. 

\ \ Right sided dwellers have to be right, are constantly striving & hate (kryptonite) feeling unable. When they feel unable they will become enraged. They are compelled to gain valuableness in their own eyes and those of others. They are usually very difficult to work with as working with a therapist makes them feel unable. They will eventually put so much energy running up the right side that they will be flung backwards into usableness often times falling into deep depression (unableness) or even attracting illness. 

They always attract unableness & the left sided experiences to balance themselves out. 

The wheel always balances itself out. This is the way of the hamster wheel. 


\ \ Here’s the kicker: these wheels are powered by our deepest fears and insecurities. They keep us stuck not because we’re lazy or unmotivated, but because they’ve become our default way of operating, they are our automated defence systems.

\ Common Hamster Wheels \ \ There are five key hamster wheels that we all grapple with:

1. Gain/Loss: The endless chase for more—more success, more love, more recognition—followed by the crushing fear of losing it all.
2. Right/Wrong: The compulsion to always be right, which leads to the paralyzing fear of being wrong.
3. Attention/Neglect: Oscillating between craving attention and fearing rejection or neglect.
4. Able/Unable: Striving to prove we’re capable, only to feel crushed by moments of doubt or failure.
5. Support/Let Down: Giving endlessly to others for validation, but feeling betrayed or let down when it’s not reciprocated.

If you watch your thoughts closely you will see these programs or songs at the root of all your thoughts.

How Hamster Wheels Impact Your Life \ \ These patterns influence every aspect of our lives: our relationships, careers, and even our self-worth. They dictate how we act, how we think, and even how we feel. For example:

• The drive to gain approval often results in feeling unworthy.
• A relentless pursuit of success can spiral into burnout and self-criticism.
• Efforts to avoid neglect might lead to overcompensating and losing yourself in the process. And the hardest part? These wheels feel like home. They’re familiar, and stepping off them can feel terrifying.

They quite literally create your reality.

\ Breaking the Cycle The good news? You can break free. It’s not easy, but it’s possible. Here’s how:

1. Observe Without Judgment: Start by noticing your patterns. This is real #meditation What thoughts or actions are you repeating? Don’t judge yourself—just observe. Awareness is the first step to freedom.
2. Understand the Roots: These wheels didn’t come from nowhere. They’re the result of unmet needs or childhood traumas. By understanding their origins, you can begin to dismantle their power.
3. Reject External Solutions: No guru, book, or quick fix can save you. True freedom comes from within. The moment you stop looking for external validation, the wheel starts to lose its grip.

You must take full responsibility for everything in your life. Only you can do this proof of work.

\ Final Thoughts Hamster wheels aren’t your fault, but they are your responsibility. They’ve been running your life long enough. Isn’t it time to take back control? Imagine stepping off the wheel, feeling the ground beneath your feet for the first time. That’s where real freedom begins. So, what hamster wheel are you on? Are you ready to step off and embrace a life of clarity, peace, and purpose? The journey starts here, with a single step: observation. Everything else flows from there.

@ 361d3e1e:50bc10a8

https://forex-strategy.com/2024/12/27/prices-wars-investments-a-guide-for-2025/ What to invest in and what to avoid as a bad investment? Prices, wars, investments - a guide for 2025. The end of Brussels-centered governance is in sight. What are our predictions for 2025?

europe #usa #year2025 #forecasts #politics #war #russia #israel #trump #dollar #bitcoin #gold

@ fd208ee8:0fd927c1

I just read this, and found it enlightening.

Jung... notes that intelligence can be seen as problem solving at an everyday level..., whereas creativity may represent problem solving for less common issues

Other studies have used metaphor creation as a creativity measure instead of divergent thinking and a spectrum of CHC components instead of just g and have found much higher relationships between creativity and intelligence than past studies

https://www.mdpi.com/2079-3200/3/3/59

I'm unusually intelligent (Who isn't?), but I'm much more creative, than intelligent, and I think that confuses people. The ability to apply intelligence, to solve completely novel problems, on the fly, is something IQ tests don't even claim to measure. They just claim a correlation.

Creativity requires taking wild, mental leaps out into nothingness; simply trusting that your brain will land you safely. And this is why I've been at the forefront of massive innovation, over and over, but never got rich off of it.

I'm a starving autist.

Zaps are the first time I've ever made money directly, for solving novel problems. Companies don't do this because there is a span of time between providing a solution and the solution being implemented, and the person building the implementation (or their boss) receives all the credit for the existence of the solution. At best, you can hope to get pawned off with a small bonus.

Nobody can remember who came up with the solution, originally, and that person might not even be there, anymore, and probably never filed a patent, and may have no idea that their idea has even been built. They just run across it, later, in a tech magazine or museum, and say, "Well, will you look at that! Someone actually went and built it! Isn't that nice!"

Universities at least had the idea of cementing novel solutions in academic papers, but that: 1) only works if you're an academic, and at a university, 2) is an incredibly slow process, not appropriate for a truly innovative field, 3) leads to manifestations of perverse incentives and biased research frameworks, coming from 'publish or perish' policies.

But I think long-form notes and zaps solve for this problem. #Alexandria, especially, is being built to cater to this long-suffering class of chronic underachievers. It leaves a written, public, time-stamped record of Clever Ideas We Have Had.

Because they are clever, the ideas. And we have had them.

@ d2e97f73:ea9a4d1b

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

@ 6e468422:15deee93

We didn't hear them land on earth, nor did we see them. The spores were not visible to the naked eye. Like dust particles, they softly fell, unhindered, through our atmosphere, covering the earth. It took us a while to realize that something extraordinary was happening on our planet. In most places, the mushrooms didn't grow at all. The conditions weren't right. In some places—mostly rocky places—they grew large enough to be noticeable. People all over the world posted pictures online. "White eggs," they called them. It took a bit until botanists and mycologists took note. Most didn't realize that we were dealing with a species unknown to us.

We aren't sure who sent them. We aren't even sure if there is a "who" behind the spores. But once the first portals opened up, we learned that these mushrooms aren't just a quirk of biology. The portals were small at first—minuscule, even. Like a pinhole camera, we were able to glimpse through, but we couldn't make out much. We were only able to see colors and textures if the conditions were right. We weren't sure what we were looking at.

We still don't understand why some mushrooms open up, and some don't. Most don't. What we do know is that they like colder climates and high elevations. What we also know is that the portals don't stay open for long. Like all mushrooms, the flush only lasts for a week or two. When a portal opens, it looks like the mushroom is eating a hole into itself at first. But the hole grows, and what starts as a shimmer behind a grey film turns into a clear picture as the egg ripens. When conditions are right, portals will remain stable for up to three days. Once the fruit withers, the portal closes, and the mushroom decays.

The eggs grew bigger year over year. And with it, the portals. Soon enough, the portals were big enough to stick your finger through. And that's when things started to get weird...

@ 7e6f9018:a6bbbce5

Violence is a tool, and as such, it functions effectively in many contexts. Therefore, we should all acknowledge its role and prepare to use it when necessary, both as individuals and as a society.

The monopoly on violence is the cornerstone of the political state. Proper use of this monopoly can transform an impoverished society into a productive and prosperous environment. Conversely, misuse can lead to a stagnant society that benefits only a select few.

Wars and violence remain present in our world, but recent times appear to have been more peaceful than the historical average. Some argue that this relative peace is more than a temporary phenomenon and represents a consistent decline in violence. If so, why?

I believe the reason is simple: abusing violence has become counterproductive in the long term. While violence is a powerful tool, it is also inherently dangerous. It is crucial not to trivialize it, as doing so risks undermining the progress and achievements of our society.

In combat sports, it is common to see fighters exchanging gestures of respect after a match. This is more than a mere formality, it symbolizes the refusal to trivialize the violence applied. Such gestures place violence within a controlled and healthy framework, celebrating the sport while distancing it from the dangerous allure of abusing others, which could have harmful ripple effects.

Since the monopoly on violence lies with the state rather than individuals, the responsibility for its proper use rests primarily with governments. How states wield this power significantly shapes their relationship with societies.

To illustrate this, let’s consider a hypothetical scenario involving two societies: society (A) and society (B). Where each society is capable of producing a certain amount of goods in a year. Society (A) produces 6 squares, and society (B) produces 6 circles.

| Initial situation | | | ---------- | ------------------------------------------ | | Society A = 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 | Society B = 🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵 |

The relationship between the two societies can primarily take one of two forms:

1. A positive relationship (win-win), characterized by mutual respect and a focus on product trade.

| Win - Win 💱 | | | ---------- | ------------------------------------------ | | Society A = 🟩🟩🟩🔵🔵🔵 | Society B = 🔵🔵🔵🟩🟩🟩 |

If there is a positive relationship, the two societies will exchange their products throughout the year. As a result, both societies will retain their original 6 products but enjoy an improved quality of life due to greater product diversity—each will have both squares and circles.

1. A negative relationship (win-lose), characterized by confrontation and a focus on conflict.

| Win - Lose 💥 | | | ---------- | ------------------------------------------ | | Society A = 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵 | Society B = ❌ → lack of food|

If a negative relationship prevails, the society that most effectively wields the resource of violence will dominate. In this case, society (A) would prevail, keeping both its own production, the 6 squares, and the production of the defeated society (B), the 6 circles. As a result, society (A) would enjoy a high quality of life due to its increased wealth, comprising 6 squares and 6 circles, while society (B) would be left in a state of absolute poverty.

The win-lose scenario may seem advantageous for the winning party. However, it is ultimately a short-term strategy that incurs in significant long-term costs, which any advanced society would seek to avoid. Let’s examine why.

If society (A) excessively and repeatedly exploits society (B), there will eventually come a point where the entire population of society (B) starves to death. The result? Society (A)’s quality of life reverts to its initial state, producing only 6 squares, because society (B) has perished, taking with it its technical know-how and resources. In hindsight, a win-win scenario would have been the smarter choice.

| Win - Lose 💥 | | | ---------- | ------------------------------------------ | | Society A = 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 | Society B = ❌→ lack of food, hunger → ☠️ |

If society (A) is somewhat wise, it will recognize that it cannot completely destroy society (B) but must subject it to measured exploitation without annihilating it. By doing so, society (A) sacrifices some short-term profits; instead of gaining 12 units per year, it gains 10, allowing society (B) to retain 2 units to survive. While this arrangement benefits society (A) more than a win-win scenario, it creates a precarious and unsustainable situation for society (B).

| Measured abuse 📐 | | | ---------- | ------------------------------------------ | | Society A = 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🔵🔵🔵🔵 | Society B = 🔵🔵→ precariousness |

History has shown us that society (B), sooner or later, will confront the abuse inflicted by society (A) through one of two possible scenarios:

1. Fight
2. Flight

If society (B) decides to fight, it will keep all the production if it wins, and if it loses, society (A) will take control. An important consequence is that, in the short term, production will decrease due to the effort involved in the war. And in the long term, one of the two societies will disappear, and we will return to a situation of excessive exploitation.

| Fight ⚔️ | | | ---------- | ------------------------------------------ | | Society A = 🟩🟩🟩🟩🔵🔵🔵 | Society B = 🔵→ (1) fight or (2) flight |

If, instead of fighting, society (B) decides to abandon its territory, society (A) will also return to its initial situation. This is because, if society (B) leaves, it takes with it its production, human resources, and technical know-how.

| Flight 🧳 | | | ---------- | ------------------------------------------ | | Society A = 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 | Society B = 🛩|

Conclusion: If, instead of entering an unproductive vicious circle, the two societies had realized from the beginning that the wisest approach is to establish a positive relationship, they would have saved a lot of wasted energy and pain. This could be the reason for the reduction in violence: societies may be starting to figure out this game.

Note: Please note that this mental framework is an oversimplification; the reality may involve many other variables not considered here.

@ 82341f88:fbfbe6a2

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

@ b2caa9b3:9eab0fb5

The past few weeks have been uneventful for me, spent mostly shuttling between the hospital and the hostel. Every other day, I made my way to the hospital for a foot dressing change — the only time I ventured outside. It was a routine walk, one that led me along a single road to the hospital and back. Despite the limited movement, I captured a few photos along the way, which I’d like to share with you today.

During this time, I kept myself busy at the hostel, sorting through old travel data. As I sifted through my memories and photos, it struck me: I’ve been living a nomadic life for nearly 8 years now. It all started back in 2016 when I was sitting in the small town of Korb in Germany, pondering what to do with my life. It was a tough time, and I don’t want to go into the details, but by the end of that year, I decided to take the plunge and start traveling. Initially, I planned to visit a friend in March 2017, but that fell through. I quickly reworked my plan and decided to visit my grandparents farm, or rather, where it once stood. The only hitch was that I had no money for the trip. So, I hitchhiked, took buses, and walked there, which ended up being a life-changing adventure. Later, a journalist mentioned this journey in an article on migration. And that’s how it all began — the start of my nomadic lifestyle.

Fast forward almost 8 years, and here I am, sitting at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro with a healing foot that still needs some care. It’s almost better, though it remains sensitive due to the thin skin, and it needs to strengthen before it’s fully healed. I hope I’ve learned from this and that such an injury won’t happen again.

I’ve extended my stay in Moshi until December 30th, and I might stay until the start of the new year. As for where I’ll go next, I’m still unsure. I’ve thought about taking a bus east and then coming back by train, or perhaps heading west and making a loop south to east, ultimately returning to where I am now.

The image above is called a Christmas tree because it reveals its full beauty only during the Christmas season.

Last night, I thought about attending a BBQ festival, now that my foot is almost healed. But when I arrived, the police officer didn’t understand English and called a man for clarification. He told me I couldn’t enter Uhuru Park because there was a meeting happening. I didn’t want to argue with them, so I turned back. It was a small loss — the entrance fee was 10k TZS, which included two free beers, and the BBQ meat was 20k TZS. But instead, I wandered around the area, discovering beautiful cafes, bars, and artist shops. It was a peaceful stroll, and I plan to return during the day to explore more.

Currently, I’m sitting in the hostel bar, downloading some travel videos from my cloud. The internet here isn’t the most stable, so the process takes longer than I’d like. Once downloaded, I’ll upload them to another cloud service where I can access and work on them. This is the reality of my work as a traveler — sometimes progress feels slow, especially when the internet connection is unreliable. But as always, I remain hopeful that I’ll find a place with better connectivity soon.

The image above shows a banana transport. The area around Moshi is known for its extensive banana farming.

Lately, I’ve been trying to fix my fedora so I can edit videos offline, but I’ve run into some technical issues. The drivers for HD/4K and MP4 aren’t working as expected. If anyone knows what I need to install on my ThinkPad T470s to fix this, I’d appreciate the advice! I also considered learning LaTeX to write my blog posts and convert them into Markdown, but I’m still a novice when it comes to LaTeX. In the past, I used Kile, but I’ve since moved away from KDE, though I still use Digikam and Kdenlive for photo and video editing. Kdenlive, however, doesn’t seem to handle MP4 files properly, which is another challenge I’m trying to figure out.

On top of everything, I’ve been thinking a lot about ways to earn some extra money. The last few months have been financially challenging — I’ve had medical bills to cover, including paying for a child’s hospital expenses in Kenya. It has made me rethink how I manage my money. As a minimalist, I try to keep my costs low, but sometimes things come up that are beyond my control. I’m working on finding new ways to supplement my income, and hopefully, I’ll come up with some ideas soon.

In the meantime, I’ll leave you with a few photos from Moshi, a town at the base of Kilimanjaro. It has a pleasant climate and offers a relaxed vibe, even though there’s not much to do. I hope you enjoy these images, and I’ll share more updates soon as my journey continues.

Stay tuned for more adventures!

Image above: He thought he needed to show off his strength when he saw me and lifted the TukTuk.

The image above features a mosque with Mount Kilimanjaro in the background. I took this photo yesterday during my visit to Uhuru Park.

Support

Feel free to support me by sending some sats via the lightning network to rubenstorm@sats.mobi

@ dca6e1cc:ea7d1750

Hello people,

I built a web application that I'd like to share with you. I'd love for people to test it and share feedback. No, it doesn't integrate anything Bitcoin related...yet.

It's only optimised for desktop at the moment. Not ideal for mobile use yet.

It's a note taking and management app. I created it because I take a lot of notes and none of the apps out there are to my liking. Most of them are too complicated, distracting, and so forth.

I think my app is ideal for keeping my back log from growing out of control...

"Dynamic notes that burn your backlog. Your notes, zapped."

Zapnotes.app

Thanks for checking it out!

originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/827912

@ acbcec47:dd305bec

Prepare starter

• 1 part starter (~30g)
• 2 parts wholemeal rye flour (~60g)
• 2 parts warm water (~60g)

Stir well, then leave to stand warm and covered until the volume has almost doubled.

Once the starter has doubled in volume and a light cap has formed, it can be used for the dough.

Ingredients

• Flour (2/3 550/1100 wheat flour, 1/3 997 rye flour) = 600g
• Water: 60% of the flour quantity = 360g warm water
• Starter: 20% of the flour quantity = 120g starter
• Salt: 3% of the flour = 18g

Put the rest of the starter (about 30g) back in the fridge for the next batch. Knead everything well for 5 minutes, then leave to stand warm and covered.

Fermenting

First fermenting phase in one piece until the volume has almost doubled.

Then divide into portions ...

Shape and leave to rise on the baking tray for 1-2 hours.

Baking

• Preheat oven to 230°C (450°F)
• Just before baking, cut in the top of the rolls with a razor blade, so that they can extend

• Bake for 20 min with steam/cover at 210°C (410°F)
• Then remove the steam/cover and bake another 15-20 min at 180°C (360°F)

Enjoy ...

@ 30ceb64e:7f08bdf5

I've been listening to this small playlist over and over again this week.

Ivy keeps getting me.

I'm having fun making these things

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=yNPfvgFEXuk&si=HjUdZxXKkGfqabk8 https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=LyRJfs-Qn70&si=2ugksRTltXATqHVo https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=XkpAE8ZZ6bU&si=WwWopN-YMLGguFiB https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=VIcQreSskyM&si=Ewza3W6SOkRDWF1E https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=5xm8Q-1cOpU&si=GeQv3Kum_TV9H6KD https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=xYM-aZG9QbE&si=fwfzIFLAyVumnTs4 https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=r7JWHuGFUeI&si=MqoFBqvb0iI7pAAY https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=GjnjUHY8MiM&si=F_Aepjxc_g2SH7UG https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=sgjTb7UQe2A&si=04wik3m5LefpbGMV https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=SMOund_uFTk&si=v7sa3XxchH607d0Y

https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmYfnnK_Qs5jpv5hKuBKFOEvMnPFl3vto&si=Dkudss84jFszdGmj

Thanks Anon, Hustle

originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/827883

@ 6bae33c8:607272e8

The NFL is becoming like the NBA — there are games almost every day, it seems, and not many of them are good. Don’t get me wrong, I like having games on in the background during holidays as much as the next guy, but there’s a big difference from being in the background and meriting your focused attention.

I caught a little of Chiefs-Steelers. It’s obvious there are only three, maybe four, teams that can possibly make the Super Bowl in the AFC. The Texans, Steelers, Broncos (and probably the Chargers) are drawing dead. I don’t just mean they’re underdogs, I mean there’s no point in even playing the games.

I caught more of Texans-Ravens, and it was even worse. The Texans offense has nothing, and their defense can’t stop real teams like the Ravens or Bills. C.J. Stroud was so promising as a rookie, but he’s in a dead-end environment right now with that offensive line and coaching.

Mercifully I caught none of the Seahawks 6-3 win over the Bears. I had the Bears +3.5 in my home picking pool, so that was good. Also, I should have used the Ravens in Circa (easiest money of all time), but I didn’t have time to get the Christmas Day games in before submitting.

• Seems like players are dropping like flies now. I had to drop CeeDee Lamb for KaVontae Turpin in the Steak League, and half the league including Malik Nabers, Jalen Hurts, Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, A.J. Brown, Davante Adams, Tee Higgins, etc. are missing practices and/or questionable to play. Just a war of attrition at this point.

• Maybe Mike Tomlin had to switch to Russell Wilson after Justin Fields’ substandard play, but it would have been better for the Steelers to have developed Fields and found out. Wilson gives them no upside whatsoever.

• Isiah Pacheco is hurt again. It was only a matter of time before he fell apart, given his insanely hard running style. Marion The Barbarian 2.0.

• Xavier Worthy has come on of late. I wanted Brian Thomas in my Dynasty League, but he went one pick before me, so I settled on Worthy who might yet be worthy.

• Travis Kelce was wide open on at least four throws, like the Steelers didn’t bother covering him. Very odd.

• The Chiefs have locked up the No. 1 seed at 15-1 after a Wednesday game. Which means they have 11 days off until a rest-your-starters game in Week 18, and two weeks off after that due to the bye. This team is like the 1972 Dolphins in that no one thinks it’s the greatest of all-time despite the record. If the Chiefs tried in Week 18, which they won’t, they could go 16-1 and become the only team besides the 2007 Patriots to win 16 regular season games.

• The Ravens win and Steelers loss also is perfect for the Chiefs because now the Ravens will almost certainly play the Bills in the Divisional Round. The Chiefs get a bye, then an easy home game and only have to beat the winner of the Bills-Ravens war in Arrowhead to get to yet another Super Bowl.

• Josh Allen makes heroic plays every game, but Lamar Jackson makes it look easy. I like the Ravens to make it to Arrowhead for the AFC Title game, even though the game will be in Buffalo.

• Derrick Henry now has 1,783 yards with one game to go and is averaging 5.8 YPC on the year, a career high. No doubt Hall of Famer.

@ fd208ee8:0fd927c1

When the shit just don't work

Most open-source software is now so badly written and sloppily-maintained, that it's malware.

That's why the governments are getting involved. They try using OS, to save money and improve quality (and to market themselves as "hip"), and then it blows up their system or opens them up to hackers.

Now, they're pissed and want support (but the dev with the handle SucksToBeYou has disappeared) or someone to sue, but most OS projects have no identifiable entity behind them. Even well-known anon devs are often groups of anons or accounts that change hands.

The software cracks have moved on

There is simply no evidence that OS alone produces higher-quality software. The reason it seemed that way, at the beginning, was because of the caliber of the developers working on the projects, and the limited number of projects. This resulted in experienced people actively reviewing each others' code.

OS used to be something the elite engaged in, but it's mostly beginners practicing in public, now. That's why there are now millions of OS projects, happily offered for free, but almost all of them are garbage. The people now building OS usually aren't capable of reviewing other people's code, and they're producing worse products than ChatGPT could. Their software has no customers because it has no market value.

If everything is OS, then nothing is.

Another paradigm-changer is that all software is de facto OS, now that we can quickly reverse-engineer code with AI. That means the focus is no longer on OS/not-OS, but on the accountability and reputation of the builders.

It is, once again, a question of trust. We have come full-circle.

@ 16d11430:61640947

As digital systems and payment platforms scale to meet growing global demands, the underlying scalability issues pose severe challenges, especially for the IT workers tasked with managing and maintaining these systems. This exploration delves into the multifaceted dynamics of these challenges and their cascading human costs.

---

1. The Escalating Demand for Scalability

Unprecedented Growth in Digital Transactions

Digital payment systems like Brazil’s Pix and RTPS have seen exponential growth. For instance, Pix is projected to surpass credit card usage in Brazil by 2025.

Global real-time payment volumes are expected to grow by 28% CAGR annually, pushing existing infrastructure to its limits.

Implications for IT Workers

IT teams face mounting pressure to prevent outages, maintain uptime, and scale systems rapidly to avoid bottlenecks.

This leads to longer hours, reduced work-life balance, and chronic stress.

---

1. The Technical Debt Trap

Legacy Systems

Many payment systems still rely on legacy infrastructure that struggles to support modern demands.

Retrofitting these systems is costly and labor-intensive, falling disproportionately on IT workers.

Compounding Complexity

Every temporary fix adds technical debt, increasing the complexity of maintaining and scaling the system.

IT workers are caught in a cycle of “patch and pray,” with little time for proper upgrades or optimizations.

Human Cost

Constant firefighting leaves IT workers physically and emotionally drained, with increased risks of burnout and mental health issues.

---

1. The Always-On Work Culture

24/7 System Uptime

Payment systems are expected to operate without interruption, requiring IT teams to be on-call around the clock.

The "always-on" expectation exacerbates sleep deprivation and disrupts circadian rhythms.

Impact on Productivity

Sleep-deprived workers make more errors, leading to cascading failures that further strain systems and create additional work.

Health Implications

Chronic sleep deprivation is linked to long-term health problems, including cardiovascular diseases, depression, and anxiety.

---

1. The Leadership Vacuum

Poor Strategic Vision

Many organizations lack leaders capable of addressing scalability challenges proactively, leaving IT workers unsupported.

A 2023 Global Leadership Forecast revealed that only 40% of leaders believe their management skills are adequate, a steep decline from previous years.

Blame Culture

When systems fail, IT workers often bear the brunt of blame, even when failures are systemic rather than individual.

This creates a toxic work environment, further exacerbating stress and employee turnover.

---

1. Economic Pressures and Workforce Exploitation

Understaffed Teams

Many organizations prioritize cost-cutting, leaving IT teams understaffed and overworked.

Outsourcing to cheaper labor markets often results in poorly trained staff, increasing workloads for experienced workers.

Automation Pressures

Companies increasingly rely on automation to scale systems, yet IT workers are tasked with maintaining these automated solutions, which often fail under unforeseen circumstances.

The human workforce becomes a safety net for automated processes, intensifying their workload during critical failures.

---

1. Escalating Security Threats

Cyberattacks on Payment Systems

Scaling systems are prime targets for cybercriminals. For instance, DDoS attacks and ransomware are increasing in frequency.

IT workers must constantly defend against these threats while maintaining system performance.

Emotional and Professional Toll

The constant threat of breaches creates a high-pressure environment where mistakes can have catastrophic consequences, impacting workers’ confidence and job security.

---

1. The Psychological Toll of Perpetual Scaling

Unrealistic Expectations

Management often sets unattainable goals for system scalability without understanding the technical or human constraints.

Workers are caught in a cycle of failure, feeling inadequate despite their best efforts.

Burnout and Attrition

A study by the American Psychological Association shows that chronic workplace stress increases employee turnover, with tech roles experiencing a 30% higher burnout rate compared to other industries.

This not only affects current workers but also leads to a talent drain, making scalability even harder to achieve.

---

1. Generational Impact

Mentorship Deficit

Experienced IT workers leaving due to burnout create a vacuum, leaving younger generations without guidance.

The knowledge gap exacerbates system failures, perpetuating the scalability crisis.

Reduced Innovation

Overburdened workers have less time and energy for innovation, stalling technological progress and leaving future generations to deal with outdated, crumbling infrastructure.

---

Solutions to Mitigate the Human Cost

1. Invest in Scalability-First Infrastructure

Organizations must prioritize scalable architectures, such as cloud-native solutions, to reduce the human workload.

1. Support IT Workers

Provide mental health resources, fair compensation, and reasonable workloads to prevent burnout.

1. Address Leadership Deficits

Train leaders to understand the technical and human aspects of scalability challenges.

1. Automate Responsibly

Use automation to complement, not replace, human expertise, and invest in training workers to manage automated systems effectively.

1. Build Resilience

Develop robust incident response protocols and cross-train teams to handle failures collaboratively.

---

Conclusion

The scalability crisis in digital systems is not just a technical challenge—it’s a human one. Without significant structural changes, IT workers will face an unbearable stranglehold, leading to widespread burnout, attrition, and long-term generational consequences. Addressing this crisis requires immediate action from organizations to prioritize both technological and human scalability, ensuring a sustainable future for workers and systems alike.

@ 16d11430:61640947

The technology sector is currently grappling with a pervasive yet often overlooked issue: dopamine dysregulation among its workforce. This neurochemical imbalance, exacerbated by the industry's high-paced environment and constant digital engagement, is leading to significant declines in employee well-being and productivity. Compounding this problem is a notable deterioration in leadership quality, which threatens to inflict lasting damage on both the current workforce and future generations.

Dopamine Dysregulation in Tech Workers

Dopamine, a neurotransmitter integral to reward processing and motivation, is susceptible to dysregulation through chronic stress and overstimulation—conditions prevalent in the tech industry. A recent study highlights that chronic stress can alter dopamine receptor density and sensitivity, making it increasingly challenging to achieve the same level of reward and exacerbating feelings of frustration and demotivation.

The tech industry's relentless pace, characterized by tight deadlines and continuous digital interaction, fosters an environment ripe for such dysregulation. The constant influx of notifications and the pressure to multitask can lead to a state of perpetual overstimulation, disrupting natural dopamine cycles and diminishing the brain's ability to derive pleasure from offline activities.

Lack of Institutional Insight

Despite the growing prevalence of dopamine-related burnout, there is a conspicuous absence of institutional acknowledgment and intervention. Many organizations remain oblivious to the neurochemical underpinnings of employee burnout, often attributing declines in productivity to personal shortcomings rather than systemic issues. This oversight results in inadequate support structures and a failure to implement necessary changes to mitigate stressors inherent in the tech work environment.

Decline in Leadership Quality

Exacerbating the situation is a marked decline in leadership quality within the tech sector. The 2023 Global Leadership Forecast reports that only 40% of leaders believe their companies have high-quality leadership—a 17% drop from two years prior and the most significant decline in a decade.

This leadership deficit manifests in several ways:

Inadequate Support for Employee Well-being: Leaders are failing to recognize and address the neurobiological aspects of employee burnout, resulting in insufficient mental health support and wellness initiatives.

Poor Change Management: The rapid evolution of technology necessitates agile leadership. However, many leaders lack the skills to manage change effectively, leading to organizational instability and increased employee stress.

Erosion of Trust: Inconsistent communication and a lack of transparency from leadership erode employee trust, further contributing to workplace stress and dissatisfaction.

Risks of Long-term Generational Effects

The convergence of dopamine dysregulation and declining leadership quality poses significant risks for long-term generational effects:

Sustained Mental Health Issues: Without intervention, current employees may suffer prolonged mental health challenges, including chronic burnout and depression, which can extend into future generations through learned behaviors and coping mechanisms.

Diminished Innovation: A workforce plagued by motivation deficits and led by ineffective leaders is less likely to produce innovative solutions, potentially stymieing technological progress for years to come.

Workforce Attrition: The tech industry may experience a talent drain as individuals seek healthier work environments, leading to a loss of experienced professionals and a gap in mentorship for emerging talent.

Conclusion

The silent pandemic of dopamine dysregulation among tech workers, compounded by a decline in leadership quality, demands immediate attention. Institutions must develop a deeper understanding of the neurobiological factors contributing to employee burnout and implement comprehensive strategies to address them. Simultaneously, a reinvigoration of leadership development programs is essential to equip leaders with the skills necessary to navigate the complexities of the modern tech landscape. Failure to act may result in enduring detriments to both the current workforce and future generations.

@ 8eabf864:d2ed9af6

Opinion about Tangem - Crypto wallet (iphone)

Thank you for your hard work. The iOS version seems to be compilable, although the official has not responded yet.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Tangem/s/le3YBkTwPm

WalletScrutiny #nostrOpinion

Join the conversation!

@ a012dc82:6458a70d

Table Of Content

• TwelveFold: A Fusion of Art and Blockchain

• The Cipher Puzzle Series: A Test of Wit

• The Mechanics: How to Participate

• Competition Rules and Details

• Conclusions

• FAQ

The Bored Ape Yacht Club, a name that resonates deeply within the NFT community, is expanding its horizons. Venturing beyond their typical domain, they have introduced a captivating puzzle-solving competition. This isn't just any competition; it's an opportunity for enthusiasts to engage, challenge their intellect, and stand a chance to win Bitcoin rewards, merging the worlds of crypto and gaming in an exciting new way.

TwelveFold: A Fusion of Art and Blockchain

Behind the Bored Ape Yacht Club is Yuga Labs, an innovative creator that never ceases to surprise. Their latest creation, the TwelveFold collection, is a series of 300 generative art pieces. But what sets TwelveFold apart is its foundation on the Ordinals protocol. This groundbreaking protocol allows for the "inscription" of NFT-like artwork directly onto the immutable Bitcoin blockchain. The TwelveFold collection isn't just about art; it's a representation of the intricate dance between time, mathematics, and variability, offering a fresh perspective on the convergence of art and technology.

The Cipher Puzzle Series: A Test of Wit

Inspired by the Bitcoin-centric artwork, Yuga Labs has unveiled a cipher puzzle series that beckons participants from all corners. These aren't your everyday puzzles; they are intricately designed challenges that reflect the core essence and philosophy behind the TwelveFold collection. Every puzzle solved brings participants closer to Bitcoin rewards, making the challenge not just a test of wit but also a potential gateway to crypto riches.

The Mechanics: How to Participate

For 12 consecutive weeks, Yuga Labs will roll out a new "Moon Puzzle". These puzzles, shrouded in mystery and allure, promise a reward of 0.12 Bitcoin for the first solver. But the climax arrives in the 13th week. Instead of another Moon Puzzle, participants are presented with the "Sun Puzzle". The stakes are higher, with the winner being bestowed with one of the coveted TwelveFold Ordinals. These unique art pieces, which are making waves in the Magic Eden secondary marketplace, have a starting price tag of approximately 0.9 BTC.

Participation is open to all, irrespective of whether you own a TwelveFold asset. However, a subtle hint from Yuga Labs suggests that asset owners might be in for an exclusive treat.

To dive into this challenge, one needs an Ordinals Bitcoin wallet, options include Xverse or Unisat. The process is straightforward: visit the TwelveFold website, pick a puzzle, and let your mind wander into the realms of creativity and logic. Once you believe you've cracked the code, the answer is inscribed on-chain using satoshis, etching its presence forever on the Bitcoin blockchain.

Competition Rules and Details

Every puzzle has room for just one victor. In scenarios where multiple participants arrive at the correct solution simultaneously, the tie-breaker is the inscription number, with preference given to the lower number. Winning isn't just about solving the puzzle; winners must also navigate the formalities, which include filling out requisite tax forms to lay claim to their Bitcoin bounty.

Conclusion

Yuga Labs' TwelveFold challenge is more than just a competition; it's a celebration of art, blockchain, and the spirit of competition. As the crypto community watches with bated breath, participants from across the globe are delving deep into the puzzles, each hoping to emerge as the next Bitcoin victor. With the inaugural puzzle already deciphered, the gauntlet has been thrown. The question remains: are you ready to take on the TwelveFold challenge?

FAQ

What is the TwelveFold Challenge? It's a puzzle-solving competition by Yuga Labs, offering participants a chance to win Bitcoin rewards.

How long does the challenge last? The challenge spans 13 weeks, with a new puzzle released each week.

What are the rewards for solving the puzzles? For the first 12 weeks, winners receive 0.12 Bitcoin. In the 13th week, the prize is one of the TwelveFold Ordinals.

Do I need to own a TwelveFold asset to participate? No, the challenge is open to everyone. However, TwelveFold asset owners might receive special perks.

How do I submit my puzzle answers? Answers are inscribed on-chain via satoshis using an Ordinals Bitcoin wallet.

That's all for today

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

@ 16d11430:61640947

While Europeans were sealing agreements and greetings with handshakes, civilizations in the Indian subcontinent and Asia were elevating hand gestures to an intricate art form and spiritual practice. Hand mudras, meaning "seals" or "gestures" in Sanskrit, have long been a profound expression of the connection between the body, mind, and spirit. From the precision of classical Indian dance to the meditative stillness of yogic practices, mudras symbolize the articulation of human dexterity and the channeling of energy through the hands.

---

The Origins of Mudras: A Historical Perspective

Mudras trace their origins to the ancient spiritual practices of the Indian subcontinent, dating back to the Vedic period (1500–500 BCE). Initially described in the sacred texts of the Vedas and later elaborated in Tantric and Buddhist traditions, mudras became integral to rituals, meditation, and artistic expression.

1. Vedic Rituals and Spiritual Energy

In Vedic rituals, priests used specific hand gestures to invoke divine forces, seal intentions, and direct spiritual energy. These gestures were seen as a bridge between the human and the divine, a symbolic language that conveyed unspoken truths. (The Vedas: An Anthology by Wendy Doniger)

1. Buddhist Influence Across Asia

As Buddhism spread from India to regions like Tibet, China, Japan, and Southeast Asia, mudras became central to meditation and iconography. The Dhyana Mudra (gesture of meditation) and the Vitarka Mudra (gesture of teaching) are prominently depicted in statues of the Buddha, symbolizing states of inner peace and wisdom. (Mudras in Buddhist Art by Frederick Asher)

---

Mudras in Classical Dance: The Pinnacle of Dexterity

The Indian classical dance forms—Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Odissi, and others—perfected the articulation of the hands through hasta mudras (hand gestures). These gestures, cataloged in texts like the Natya Shastra (200 BCE–200 CE), serve as a sophisticated language to narrate stories, express emotions, and symbolize universal truths. (The Natya Shastra: A Treatise on Dance and Drama by Manomohan Ghosh)

1. Complexity and Precision

Each dance form requires the performer to master dozens of mudras, which involve precise positioning of the fingers and palms. For example:

The Pataka Mudra (flat hand) symbolizes a flag, and its variations convey wind, rivers, or blessings.

The Hamsasya Mudra (swan’s beak) represents delicacy, often used to signify picking a flower or holding a jewel.

1. Embodiment of Dexterity

These gestures demand exceptional finger dexterity and neuromuscular control, training the brain to enhance focus, coordination, and memory. The dancer's hands become extensions of their soul, weaving stories that transcend spoken language. (Dance in India: The Art of Precision and Emotion by Kapila Vatsyayan)

---

Mudras in Yoga and Meditation: A Gateway to Inner Activation

Beyond dance, mudras are integral to yoga and meditation, believed to direct prana (life energy) within the body. By forming specific gestures with the hands, practitioners stimulate energy pathways, harmonize the mind, and deepen meditation.

1. Therapeutic Benefits

The Gyan Mudra (gesture of knowledge), with the thumb and index finger touching, is said to enhance concentration and calm the mind. (The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali by Swami Satchidananda)

The Prana Mudra (gesture of life) energizes the body by activating dormant energy reserves.

1. Holistic Activation

Mudras work on the principles of Ayurveda, the ancient Indian science of health, balancing the five elements within the body—earth, water, fire, air, and ether. The hands become a microcosm of the body, with each finger representing a specific element. (Ayurveda: The Science of Self-Healing by Vasant Lad)

---

Beyond India: Hand Forms in Asian Arts

The influence of Indian mudras extended to Asian art forms, including Japanese mudrā in martial arts and Chinese qigong practices. In Southeast Asia, classical dance forms like Balinese and Khmer dance incorporate mudras as an essential element, showcasing the dexterity of the human hand in storytelling and spiritual expression.

1. Tibetan and Japanese Rituals

In Tibetan Buddhism, vajra mudras are used in esoteric rituals to symbolize cosmic forces. Similarly, in Japanese shingon practices, mudras accompany mantras to invoke specific deities. (Tibetan Ritual Practices by John Powers)

1. Visual Perfection

Southeast Asian sculptures, such as those in Angkor Wat, depict deities with elaborate hand gestures, representing divine attributes and cosmic harmony. (Art and Architecture of Southeast Asia by Peter D. Sharrock)

---

The Profound Significance of Mudras

Mudras are far more than physical gestures; they are a language of the body that communicates with the universe. They unite art, spirituality, and science, demonstrating how hand dexterity can be a profound expression of human potential.

In the modern era, mudras remain relevant as tools for holistic health and mindfulness. Their ancient legacy reminds us of the extraordinary capabilities of the human hand—not just as a tool for grasping but as a bridge between the physical and the metaphysical.

---

Key Takeaway: While the handshake reflects strength and intent in the West, the mudra exemplifies the ultimate articulation of human dexterity and spirituality in the East. Through dance, yoga, and meditation, these gestures symbolize the profound connection between the body, mind, and cosmos, showcasing the timeless beauty of the human hand.

---

References:

1. Doniger, Wendy. The Vedas: An Anthology.

2. Asher, Frederick. Mudras in Buddhist Art.

3. Ghosh, Manomohan. The Natya Shastra: A Treatise on Dance and Drama.

4. Vatsyayan, Kapila. Dance in India: The Art of Precision and Emotion.

5. Satchidananda, Swami. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.

6. Lad, Vasant. Ayurveda: The Science of Self-Healing.

7. Powers, John. Tibetan Ritual Practices.

8. Sharrock, Peter D. Art and Architecture of Southeast Asia.

@ 16d11430:61640947

Grip strength and finger dexterity are uniquely tied to human neuromuscular wellbeing. These attributes go beyond their apparent utility, delving into evolutionary, physiological, and cultural dimensions. They not only signify physical health but also embody symbolic gestures like handshaking, reflecting capacity, intent, and mutual understanding in human interactions.

Neuromuscular Wellbeing: The Foundation of Grip Strength and Dexterity

1. Grip Strength: A Biomarker of Overall Health

Grip strength serves as a reliable biomarker for neuromuscular health. Studies have demonstrated its predictive value for outcomes like cardiovascular health, cognitive function, and longevity. Grip strength reflects the integrated function of muscles, nerves, and connective tissues, making it an ideal measure of overall physical resilience.

Physiological Insights: Strong grip strength is associated with robust neuromuscular function. This involves the coordination of motor neurons and muscle fibers, indicating an individual's capacity to perform complex tasks. Grip strength also correlates with brain health, as neural efficiency influences fine motor skills and physical force generation.

Preventative Indicator: Declines in grip strength can signal neuromuscular or systemic health issues, such as neurodegenerative diseases, making it a critical diagnostic tool.

1. Finger Dexterity: Precision in Action

Finger dexterity, encompassing coordination, fine motor skills, and adaptability, highlights the intricate control of hand muscles. This ability is crucial for various tasks, from typing to playing musical instruments, underscoring its link to neuromuscular health.

Cognitive Connection: Dexterity tasks stimulate brain regions responsible for planning and executing movement. Regular practice can enhance neuroplasticity, improving both motor and cognitive functions.

Rehabilitation Applications: Finger dexterity exercises are integral in neuro-rehabilitation, aiding recovery from strokes, injuries, or neurological disorders.

The Cultural Legacy of Handshaking: A Symbol of Grip Strength and Intent

Handshaking, though becoming an archaic relic in some cultures, remains a fascinating lens through which grip strength’s symbolic significance can be viewed.

1. Historical and Cultural Roots

The handshake, dating back to ancient times, originally served as a gesture of trust. A firm handshake was a non-verbal way of communicating strength, intent, and mutual respect. Anthropological evidence links it to the need for physical signals of peace and camaraderie in negotiations or greetings.

1. Strength and Intent in the Handshake

Grip Strength as a Measure: A firm handshake historically conveyed physical capability and confidence. Weak handshakes often carried connotations of poor health or dishonesty, though these interpretations are culturally relative.

Intent and Transparency: The act involved direct physical contact, symbolizing openness and the absence of concealed weapons, reinforcing its role as a non-verbal declaration of peace and trust.

Archaic but Relevant: Why Grip Still Matters

In an era where handshaking is less common, the underlying principles of grip strength and neuromuscular health remain profoundly relevant. Even as the handshake fades, its symbolic role persists in different forms, like the pressure and control exhibited in sports or tactile professions.

Bridging Neuromuscular Wellbeing and Cultural Practices

By understanding the deep connection between physical grip and broader health, we gain insights into human evolution and societal interactions. Grip strength and finger dexterity are far more than isolated physical traits; they are essential indicators of our holistic health and functional capacity.

Handshakes may be vanishing, but their essence—a quick, tangible measure of strength, confidence, and intent—remains a testament to the interconnectedness of our physical and social existence.

---

References:

1. Dodds, R., et al. (2014). Grip strength across the life course: normative data from twelve British studies. PLoS ONE.

2. Bohannon, R. W. (2019). Grip strength: an indispensable biomarker for older adults. Clinical Interventions in Aging.

3. Stewart, L. (2020). The history and significance of handshaking. Cultural Anthropology Journal.

4. Bechtold, M., et al. (2016). Finger dexterity as an indicator of cognitive function. Journal of Neurology and Rehabilitation.

@ 7ed7d5c3:6927e200

There was a time when we dared not rustle a whisper. But now we write and read samizdat and, congregating in the smoking rooms of research institutes, heartily complain to each other of all they are muddling up, of all they are dragging us into! There’s that unnecessary bravado around our ventures into space, against the backdrop of ruin and poverty at home; and the buttressing of distant savage regimes; and the kindling of civil wars; and the ill-thought-out cultivation of Mao Zedong (at our expense to boot)—in the end we’ll be the ones sent out against him, and we’ll have to go, what other option will there be? And they put whomever they want on trial, and brand the healthy as mentally ill—and it is always “they,” while we are—helpless.

We are approaching the brink; already a universal spiritual demise is upon us; a physical one is about to flare up and engulf us and our children, while we continue to smile sheepishly and babble:

“But what can we do to stop it? We haven’t the strength.”

We have so hopelessly ceded our humanity that for the modest handouts of today we are ready to surrender up all principles, our soul, all the labors of our ancestors, all the prospects of our descendants—anything to avoid disrupting our meager existence. We have lost our strength, our pride, our passion. We do not even fear a common nuclear death, do not fear a third world war (perhaps we’ll hide away in some crevice), but fear only to take a civic stance! We hope only not to stray from the herd, not to set out on our own, and risk suddenly having to make do without the white bread, the hot water heater, a Moscow residency permit.

We have internalized well the lessons drummed into us by the state; we are forever content and comfortable with its premise: we cannot escape the environment, the social conditions; they shape us, “being determines consciousness.” What have we to do with this? We can do nothing.

But we can do—everything!—even if we comfort and lie to ourselves that this is not so. It is not “they” who are guilty of everything, but we ourselves, only we!

Some will counter: But really, there is nothing to be done! Our mouths are gagged, no one listens to us, no one asks us. How can we make them listen to us?

To make them reconsider—is impossible.

The natural thing would be simply not to reelect them, but there are no re-elections in our country.

In the West they have strikes, protest marches, but we are too cowed, too scared: How does one just give up one’s job, just go out onto the street?

All the other fateful means resorted to over the last century of Russia’s bitter history are even less fitting for us today—true, let’s not fall back on them! Today, when all the axes have hewn what they hacked, when all that was sown has borne fruit, we can see how lost, how drugged were those conceited youths who sought, through terror, bloody uprising, and civil war, to make the country just and content. No thank you, fathers of enlightenment! We now know that the vileness of the means begets the vileness of the result. Let our hands be clean!

So has the circle closed? So is there indeed no way out? So the only thing left to do is wait inertly: What if something just happens by itself?

But it will never come unstuck by itself, if we all, every day, continue to acknowledge, glorify, and strengthen it, if we do not, at the least, recoil from its most vulnerable point.

From lies.

When violence bursts onto the peaceful human condition, its face is flush with self-assurance, it displays on its banner and proclaims: “I am Violence! Make way, step aside, I will crush you!” But violence ages swiftly, a few years pass—and it is no longer sure of itself. To prop itself up, to appear decent, it will without fail call forth its ally—Lies. For violence has nothing to cover itself with but lies, and lies can only persist through violence. And it is not every day and not on every shoulder that violence brings down its heavy hand: It demands of us only a submission to lies, a daily participation in deceit—and this suffices as our fealty.

And therein we find, neglected by us, the simplest, the most accessible key to our liberation: a personal nonparticipation in lies! Even if all is covered by lies, even if all is under their rule, let us resist in the smallest way: Let their rule hold not through me!

And this is the way to break out of the imaginary encirclement of our inertness, the easiest way for us and the most devastating for the lies. For when people renounce lies, lies simply cease to exist. Like parasites, they can only survive when attached to a person.

We are not called upon to step out onto the square and shout out the truth, to say out loud what we think—this is scary, we are not ready. But let us at least refuse to say what we do not think!

This is the way, then, the easiest and most accessible for us given our deep-seated organic cowardice, much easier than (it’s scary even to utter the words) civil disobedience à la Gandhi.

Our way must be: Never knowingly support lies! Having understood where the lies begin (and many see this line differently)—step back from that gangrenous edge! Let us not glue back the flaking scales of the Ideology, not gather back its crumbling bones, nor patch together its decomposing garb, and we will be amazed how swiftly and helplessly the lies will fall away, and that which is destined to be naked will be exposed as such to the world.

And thus, overcoming our timidity, let each man choose: Will he remain a witting servant of the lies (needless to say, not due to natural predisposition, but in order to provide a living for the family, to rear the children in the spirit of lies!), or has the time come for him to stand straight as an honest man, worthy of the respect of his children and contemporaries? And from that day onward he:

· Will not write, sign, nor publish in any way, a single line distorting, so far as he can see, the truth;

· Will not utter such a line in private or in public conversation, nor read it from a crib sheet, nor speak it in the role of educator, canvasser, teacher, actor;

· Will not in painting, sculpture, photograph, technology, or music depict, support, or broadcast a single false thought, a single distortion of the truth as he discerns it;

· Will not cite in writing or in speech a single “guiding” quote for gratification, insurance, for his success at work, unless he fully shares the cited thought and believes that it fits the context precisely;

· Will not be forced to a demonstration or a rally if it runs counter to his desire and his will; will not take up and raise a banner or slogan in which he does not fully believe;

· Will not raise a hand in vote for a proposal which he does not sincerely support; will not vote openly or in secret ballot for a candidate whom he deems dubious or unworthy;

· Will not be impelled to a meeting where a forced and distorted discussion is expected to take place;

· Will at once walk out from a session, meeting, lecture, play, or film as soon as he hears the speaker utter a lie, ideological drivel, or shameless propaganda;

· Will not subscribe to, nor buy in retail, a newspaper or journal that distorts or hides the underlying facts.

This is by no means an exhaustive list of the possible and necessary ways of evading lies. But he who begins to cleanse himself will, with a cleansed eye, easily discern yet other opportunities.

Yes, at first it will not be fair. Someone will have to temporarily lose his job. For the young who seek to live by truth, this will at first severely complicate life, for their tests and quizzes, too, are stuffed with lies, and so choices will have to be made. But there is no loophole left for anyone who seeks to be honest: Not even for a day, not even in the safest technical occupations can he avoid even a single one of the listed choices—to be made in favor of either truth or lies, in favor of spiritual independence or spiritual servility. And as for him who lacks the courage to defend even his own soul: Let him not brag of his progressive views, boast of his status as an academician or a recognized artist, a distinguished citizen or general. Let him say to himself plainly: I am cattle, I am a coward, I seek only warmth and to eat my fill.

For us, who have grown staid over time, even this most moderate path of resistance will be not be easy to set out upon. But how much easier it is than self-immolation or even a hunger strike: Flames will not engulf your body, your eyes will not pop out from the heat, and your family will always have at least a piece of black bread to wash down with a glass of clear water.

Betrayed and deceived by us, did not a great European people—the Czechoslovaks—show us how one can stand down the tanks with bared chest alone, as long as inside it beats a worthy heart?

It will not be an easy path, perhaps, but it is the easiest among those that lie before us. Not an easy choice for the body, but the only one for the soul. No, not an easy path, but then we already have among us people, dozens even, who have for years abided by all these rules, who live by the truth.

And so: We need not be the first to set out on this path, Ours is but to join! The more of us set out together, the thicker our ranks, the easier and shorter will this path be for us all! If we become thousands—they will not cope, they will be unable to touch us. If we will grow to tens of thousands—we will not recognize our country!

But if we shrink away, then let us cease complaining that someone does not let us draw breath—we do it to ourselves! Let us then cower and hunker down, while our comrades the biologists bring closer the day when our thoughts can be read and our genes altered.

And if from this also we shrink away, then we are worthless, hopeless, and it is of us that Pushkin asks with scorn:

Why offer herds their liberation? 
............................. Their heritage each generation
The yoke with jingles, and the whip.

February 12, 1974

—translated from the Russian by Yermolai Solzhenitsyn

@ 5ee71c0a:b0506ae6

Hey, anyone who reads this—thanks for keeping me (somewhat) accountable.

I’m not big on formal New Year’s resolutions, but I do like to review the past year to see where I’ve done well, where I’m lacking, and what new habits I can form in 2025.

Wait, isn’t that a resolution? Anyway.

One thing that’s always been important to me is freedom of speech. I plan to keep using X/Twitter—yes, it has shortcomings, but so does every platform. None will ever be perfect for everyone.

That said, I believe strongly in decentralization. I’ve been exploring Nostr for the past two years. Now, I want to use it more often, learn its possibilities, and contribute where I can. I’ve also posted this on Habla.news, a Nostr community for long-form content, to encourage myself (and anyone else) to try new platforms and keep an open mind.

There’s a lot happening with Nostr, Lightning, and other Bitcoin-related projects. It reminds me of the early internet—everyone was contributing, and we had no idea what would stick. I miss those days, and it’s exciting to see a new community forming.

Speaking of the early internet, I think it’s time I set up a blog or personal site. It’s been ages! Neocities feels retro and has a growing community, so I might start there.

Work will be busy in 2025—2024 was already intense, and the bar is always rising. So I’m not going to overload myself with extra goals. Still, many of my work goals, like earning new certifications, blend into my personal ambitions.

In 2024, I did well with my health goals. In 2025, I want to build on that, but in small steps. For Q1, I’ll re-establish my Peloton routine; in Q2-Q3, I’ll get back into heavier weight training. I miss lifting and want to push myself again.

I also miss reading—especially sci-fi. It’s high time I make space for that.

So, this is my short list of goals. I’m sure I’ll refine it as the year unfolds. Thanks for reading, and if you want to connect with me on Nostr, here’s my info: nostr:npub1tmn3czhv2wzxvt4mpanttd8parnxgq528c0hzfehfm4rlvzsdtnqghwkhd

@ c48e29f0:26e14c11

titcoin

Rename Bitcoin to "Titcoin" and sats to "tits."

Redefinition of Bitcoin into “Titcoin” and redefinition of sats into “tits” using that as the Unit Base of Denomination.

TitHub repository available here: https://github.com/WalkerAmerica/titcoin

Abstract

This BIP proposes redefining the commonly recognized "bitcoin" and “sats” units so that what was previously known “bitcoin” becomes “titcoin” and what was previously known as “sats,” the smallest indivisible unit, becomes “tits.” The “Bitcoin” Network will be renamed to the “Titcoin” Network. Under this proposal, one tit is defined as that smallest unit, eliminating the need for decimal places, and 100,000,000 tits is defined as a titcoin. By making tits the standard measure, this BIP aims to simplify user comprehension, reduce confusion, and align on-chain values directly with their displayed representation.

Also, by aligning Bitcoin's brand with live-giving tits, we will supercharge adoption and inject humor into financial sovereignty. After all, every baby came into this world sucking on tits.

Under this BIP: - Internally, the smallest indivisible unit remains unchanged. - With this proposal, "1 tit" equals that smallest unit. - What was previously referred to as "1 BTC" now corresponds to 100 million tits. - Satoshis are permanently eliminated.

Addressing the “Buttcoin” BIP:

Not much time need be wasted addressing the catastrophic “Button” BIP proposed by Rockstar Dev, but two points bear emphasizing:

1. “Butts” is shitcoin-adjacent terminology (where does shit come from? Exactly…)
2. Butts give you poop. Tits give you milk.

Case closed.

Motivation

Bitcoin's branding is boring. Worse yet, critics think Bitcoin is already "a joke," so let’s own it, let's: Make Bitcoin Funny Again. Laughter is universal, irresistible, and much cheaper than marketing agencies and product roadmaps. Besides, basically everyone either has tits or likes tits. Additionally, renaming Bitcoin as “Titcoin” makes the common trope of “Bitcoin BROS” sound even more stupid. “Titcoin Bros”? Get a life, man…

By rebranding Bitcoin to Titcoin (.)(.), we achieve several key goals:

1. Haters Become Users: People like tits. Tits give nourishment to babies. They can stack tits instead of just making fun of them. Adoption skyrockets as trolls turn into tit hodlers.

2. Memetic Power: The word “tit” is both universally funny and ageless. “Send me 10 tits” is instantly iconic. “Nice tits” is a great compliment. “That’s gonna cost you a pair of tits” is hilarious. Try saying that without smiling. You can’t. (.)(.)

3. Simplifying Denominations: Decimals are a blight on humanity. 0.00000001 BTC? Kill it. Under the Titcoin Standard:

• 1 Titcoin = 100,000,000 tits.
• Satoshis are gone. Forever. If you see Satoshi on the road, kill him - just like in Zen, where the teacher becomes the barrier. We transcend satoshis and achieve financial enlightenment.

4. Aligning with the Ledger: Bitcoin’s base unit was always integers, but now they’re funny integers. No more fractions, decimals, or math anxiety. Just tits. (.)(.)

5. Adoption via Humor: Titcoin lowers Bitcoin's intimidation factor. Newbies will feel at ease buying tits instead of serious-sounding fractions of BTC. Tits > Decimals.

Specification

Terminology Redefinitions: - "Bitcoin" → "Titcoin" (.)(.) - "BTC" → "TIT" (ISO-friendly and hilarious) - Satoshis → Gone. Eliminated. Defeated.

Example:

• Old: "I’ll send you 0.00010000 BTC."
• New: "I’ll send you 10,000 tits (.)(.)."

Wallet balances would display as:

• "You have 1,000,000 tits" instead of some boring fractional BTC amount.

Adoption Strategy

1. Memes First: Flood Twitter, Reddit, and Telegram with memes. Start with “Hodl your tits” and “Stack tits”.

2. Titcoin Podcast: There is already a podcast called “Titcoin Podcast” (which many people are saying is the fastest-growing Bitcoin (Titcoin) podcast in the world). Titcoin Podcast will be a driving force in the adoption of the Titcoin Standard. (.)(.)

Nostr: https://primal.net/titcoin

X: https://x.com/titcoinpodcast

Web: http://titcoin.org

3. Kill Satoshis: Developers MUST remove all references to satoshis. Replace satoshis in GUIs, APIs, and block explorers with tits. Satoshis were a stepping stone - it’s time to let go.

4. Emoji Standardization: Use the (.)(.) emoji universally to denote tits.

Rationale

1. Usability & Clarity: "Decimals are for nerds. Tits are for everyone." A common currency for humans should be easy to use, funny, and integer-based.

2. Appealing to Critics: Bitcoin has endured years of attacks from all sides. By adopting the Titcoin Standard, we turn anyone who doesn’t like Titcoin into a tit-hating bigot. It’s an elegant financial counterattack. Additionally, everyone always says “we need more women in Bitcoin,” and now women will feel more represented by Titcoin, because they have tits. (.)(.)

3. Transcending Satoshis: Satoshis served us well, but their time is over. True enlightenment comes when we abandon decimals, satoshis, and arbitrary denominations. If you meet Satoshi on the road, kill him.

4. Memetic Durability: Everyone loves a good tit joke. It’s timeless.

Backward Compatibility

There is no backward compatibility because Titcoin is the future. Applications must hard fork their UI to replace all references to Bitcoin and BTC with Titcoin and TIT.

Implementation Timeline

• Phase 1 (1 month): Meme dissemination. Every wallet dev team is required to add (.)(.) emoji support.
• Phase 2 (3 months): Exchanges rebrand BTC tickers to tit. Nostr zaps tits into hyperspace.
• Phase 3 (6 months): Michael Saylor announces MicroStrategy now stacked 10 trillion tits, declaring it the superior currency. ETFs follow suit, ensuring Wall Street hodls tits en masse. Banks allow tit transfers via SWIFT.

Test Vectors

• Old: 1.00000000 BTC → New: 100,000,000 tits (.)(.)
• Old: 0.00000001 BTC → New: 1 tit (.)(.)
• Old: 0.001 BTC → New: 100,000 tits (.)(.)

Future-Proofing

Tits ensure we have infinite memes for infinite money.

Example Phrases for the Future: - "Better hodl on to your tits." - "This is the Titcoin Standard." - "I’m sending you tits." - “I’ve never seen so many tits!” - “That’s the million tit question.” - “We need more women in Titcoin.” - “I’m a Titcoin Maximalist.” - “Nice tits!” - “I love tits.”

Conclusion

By renaming Bitcoin to Titcoin and adopting a whole-number unit display, we align memetic dominance with financial sovereignty. Haters become adopters. Tits become wealth. And the world gets a little bit funnier. (.)(.)

Let’s hodl our tits and watch the world follow.

Copyright:

This BIP is licensed under CC-🫱(.)(.)🫲-1.0 and the eternal blessing of tit (.)(.) memes.

@ 56494b83:aa95511b

The Goal of Christmas

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” (Galatians 4:4–6)

There are 4 phrases that I want to address from this passage Fullness of time Born of a woman Redeem those under the law Receive adoption as sons.

One of the attributes of God is what theologians call his “eternity” This means God is without beginning or end. He is free from all succession of time. He is outside of time. In fact he is the cause of time. from everlasting to everlasting you are God. (Psalm 90:2) And upon hearing this some Christians might make the mistake of thinking that God is not concerned with time. “Well since God is not bound by time like we are, he must be detached from it, or maybe disinterested”

But the opposite is actually true. The God of the Bible is extremely concerned with keeping time.

In Genesis 1: God defines what a constitutes a day. There was evening and there was morning, the first day. He decides how many days it will take him to create the world.
He uses the sun and the moon and the stars as “time-keepers”

And As we keep reading Genesis we come to long lists of names: specifically the descendants of Seth, and God tells us how many years they live.

All other events in the world are dated in relation to Seth.

But we can keep going: God teaches Israel to keep time. He gives them a calendar when they come out of Egypt. Referencing passover God says in exodus 12 “This month (march/April) shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you." (Exodus 12:2)

Pentecost comes in the third month. (Celebrating the giving of the law)

The 7th month was for celebrating the feast of booths, (when the people lived tents in the wilderness.)

On and on we could go, but the point I am trying to make is this: timing is everything.

You know that famous passage in Ecclesiastes 3 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: (Ecclesiastes 3:1) Our lives are patterned after different times.

Weeping and laughing Breaking down and building up. A time to speak and a time to keep silence.

And then after this run—on list Solomon says:

[God] has made everything beautiful in its time.(Ecclesiastes 3:11)

God governs time. He orchestrates the times. He has in his mind a divine time-table in which he has written all events and circumstances into his perfect story.

Down to the second.

And the great demonstration of this is the incarnation.

In the fullness of time, God sent forth his son. The Son of God entered into time to show us the father. And he did this without ceasing to be the LORD of time himself.

Theologian Peter Leithart writes: “God came to us in time, not to rescue us from time, but to redeem all times. God the Son entered time so that whatever time it is - a time to live, a time to die; a time to seek, a time to give up; a time to weep or a time to rejoice - each and every time is a time of encounter with God in Christ through the Spirit.”

You and I can talk with God, meet with him, commune with the father and with the son and with the Holy Spirit at any any time, because God has entered into our time in the person of his son.

Many have asked: why was Christ born 2000 years ago?

Scholars point to the common greek langauge shared by much of the world (making evangelization easier)

Some point to the centuries-long era known as the Pax Romana; (roman peace= where THE WORLD was by and large at free from major wars.

Others have observed that the mythological god’s of Greece and Rome had been tried and found wanting:

In other words, men and women everywhere were primed to hear and accept the one true religion. Historically, this is all true.

But if we think about this biblically, we see that the arrival of the Messiah was perfectly—timed. The law of Moses, ESTABLISHED 2000 YEARS PRIOR, had made it clear: human beings need a savior.! All of us are law breakers!

It had been hundreds of years since a true prophet had spoken.

All of Israel’s history was pointing forward to the promised “serpent—crusher” from genesis 3.

The people had been waiting CENTURIES for the SON who was promised. 
the anticipation kept building! Why?

Because, as theologian GK Beale writes: “no prior son had ever been able to put an end to the law’s condemning control!”

Nobody had shown up and proven themselves to be the SaVIOR.

And the entire OLD testament seems to have been written so that we would anticipate the Son of GoD.

Every lamb slaughtered pointed us to the TRUE LAMB.

Every bowl full of incense burned pointed to the fragrant offering of Christ.

Every King installed in Israel pointed to the one true King whose kingdom would have no end.

Every priest ordained pointed to the great high Priest, who would not offer up the blood of bulls and goats, but his very own blood.

God is the creator of TIME, and at Christmas we are invited to celebrate when he entered time.

And this leads us to the second phrase: “born of a woman”

Almost a 1000 years ago, a theologian by the name of Anselm wrote a book called “why God became a man”

He begins his book with a discussion of sin, which he defines as “not rendering to God what is his due” (namely the submission of our entire will to his)

When we do not submit to him, we are stealing from him, robbing his glory; we are dishonoring him. And God, who is perfectly JUST, cannot over look this.

Here then is the problem: if we are to be forgiven, we must repay what we owe, but we are incapable of doing this. “The price tag exceeds the capability of the fallen sons of Adam to pay.”

Anselm says: our present obedience and good works cannot make satisfaction for our sins, since these are required of us anyway.

“The sinner owes what he cannot repay, and unless he repays it he cannot be saved.” We cannot save ourselves.

And here is where Anselm begins to point out the solution to our dilemma.

“There is no one who can make this satisfaction [for sin] except God himself… But no one ought to make it except man; otherwise man does not make satisfaction… Therefore, it is necessary that one who is God—man should make it. It is needful that the very same person who is to make this satisfaction be perfect God and perfect man, since no one can do it, except one who is truly God, and no one ought to do it, except one who is truly man.”

John Stott summarizes this teaching well: “Jesus Christ is therefore the Only Savior, since he is the only person in whom the “should” and the “could” are united, being himself both God and man.”

I realize this is pretty ‘high’ theology…but it is my opinion that Christmas EVE is the perfect time to hear these precious doctrines once again.

The wages of sin is death. We know that. And if you and I were EVER going to be saved, it would be because God himself came to save us. But God cannot die. So the eternal son of God had to be made like us. He had to put on our human nature.

Christmas reminds us that Redemption required incarnation.

This leads us to the third phrase: Christ was born to Redeem those under the law.

God gave his people the law…and we were unable to keep it, unable to obey it. Earlier in his Galatians Paul said

For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” (Galatians 3:10)

And then a few verses later he says that the God-man secured our redemption by becoming a curse for us. Cursed is everyone hanged on a tree. Bible readers know this: there are many examples.

Pharaoh’s baker was hung on a tree. (Gen. 40) The 5 kings of Canaan were hung on trees (josh. 10) David’s Rebel son Absalom died while hanging on a tree. The wicked Haman (from the story of Esther) was hung on a tree intended for another.

Christmas reminds us that the holy son of God, the only perfect man who ever lived, would grow up and receive the culminating shame of all those in the Scripture who were cursed by God.

The child in the manger would grow up to be cursed. The child the shepherds came to see, would, 33 years later, be forsaken by his Father.

Christ endured the curse of the law so that a mysterious, divine exchange might take place. He takes our curse that we might receive his blessing.

As one another puts it: “he became sin with our sin, so that we may become righteous with his righteousness.” (Stott)

This kind of talk can be a bit confusing for us. Its mystical not physical. It’s spiritual, not material. The exchange that has taken place in the soul of the believer is not something that we can see.

I came across an analogy from John Calvin that I had never before considered…you remember the story from genesis 27, when Isaac (who is very old and blind) blesses his younger son Jacob INSTEAD of Esau. ?

Rebekah knows that her husband wants to bless his firstborn son…and so when Esau leaves to go hunting, she makes a plan to cook up Isaac’s favorite dinner, and she convinces Jacob to bring his father the food and ‘steal the blessing’

And of course Jacob objects: “uh, Mother, this plan of yours won’t work….I am a smooth man. . . and my brother Esau is hairy!”

But Rebekah persuades him to put on Esau’s clothing. . .goat skins on his hands and on his neck.

Now: don’t ask me how this worked, because I don’t really know. . . but it works. And as I am fond of saying: every page of scripture points us to Christ, if we have eyes to see….and when we don’t have eyes to see, we can be assisted with saints who saw more than us:

John Calvin: “as Jacob did not of himself deserve the right of the first—born, concealed in his brothers clothing, and wearing his brothers coat, which gave out an agreeable odor, he ingratiated himself with his father, so that to his own benefit, he receive the blessing while impersonating another. And we, in like manner hide under the precious purity of our firstborn brother, Christ, so that we may be attested righteous in God sight… And this is, indeed, the truth, for in order that we may appear before God's face unto salvation we must smell sweetly with his odor, and our vices must be covered and buried by his perfection.”

The younger brother gets the blessing he doesn’t deserve because he’s wearing his brother’s clothes!

Here then is the gospel on Christmas Eve.

Christ Jesus the Lord voluntarily puts on your stinky garments, and by faith you get to put on his royal white linen!

Disobedient rebels can be clothed with the righteousness of the son.

Praise God.

And now we come to the purpose of Christmas.

when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son. . . so that we might receive adoption. . . (Galatians 4:4–5)

The goal of Christmas is adoption. At just the right time, God sent his son because he wanted a bigger family.

J.I. Packer wrote many years ago: “The revelation to the believer that God is his Father is in a sense the climax of the Bible.”

There can be no greater gift, no higher privilege than receiving a place in God’s own family. I can approach God without fear, because he is Father.

the fatherhood of God implies affection. He loves me like a perfect father loves his children.

I have his name placed upon me. I have his Spirit given to me. I have his inheritance waiting for me.

But Paul adds the phrase “as sons” in the text.

The goal of Christmas is to receive adoption “as sons”

Why doesn’t Paul say “receive adoption as sons & daughters!?” It’s not a mistake to leave out daughters. He doubles down in the next verse.

And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” (Galatians 4:6)

Theologian Michael Reeves provides us with the glorious answer: (why daughters is not included)

“Paul is seeking to be as clear as he can that the status all believers are given is, quite specifically, the status of the son, himself. For God does not give us some exulted, but general standing before himself: the son shares with us, his own Sonship… Paul wants you and me to see that believers get to share the very cry of the son himself. In the garden of Gethsemane, talking in private to his father, Jesus had called him, “Abba, Father.”

Arguing that the Spirit of the Son makes us call out the very same words, Paul is demonstrating as intimately and visually as he can that in Christ, we get to share the very relationship with the father that the son himself has always enjoyed.

The personal name he has for his father we are allowed to share. We can come before the Almighty and say—or stutter!— with a beloved son’s own confidence, “Abba!” . . . The son of God became human that we humans might become sons of God.”

At the exact right time, time god sent his son, born of a woman…to redeem us and adopt us and give us his spirit and make us sons of God.

“The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. . . you loved me before the foundation of the world. . . . I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them.” (John 17:22–26)

Redemption required the incarnation. The point of the incarnation was adoption. And adoption means God loves just like he loves his Eternal son. He has always has, and he always will.

This Christmas, rejoice in the truth that because the Son of God became a man…you and I are beloved sons of God.

@ 36bedab2:524acad4

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@ dd664d5e:5633d319

Christmas season hasn't actually started, yet, in Roman #Catholic Germany. We're in Advent until the evening of the 24th of December, at which point Christmas begins (with the Nativity, at Vespers), and continues on for 40 days until Mariä Lichtmess (Presentation of Christ in the temple) on February 2nd.

It's 40 days because that's how long the post-partum isolation is, before women were allowed back into the temple (after a ritual cleansing).

That is the day when we put away all of the Christmas decorations and bless the candles, for the next year. (Hence, the British name "Candlemas".) It used to also be when household staff would get paid their cash wages and could change employer. And it is the day precisely in the middle of winter.

Between Christmas Eve and Candlemas are many celebrations, concluding with the Twelfth Night called Epiphany or Theophany. This is the day some Orthodox celebrate Christ's baptism, so traditions rotate around blessing of waters.

The Monday after Epiphany was the start of the farming season, in England, so that Sunday all of the ploughs were blessed, but the practice has largely died out.

Our local tradition is for the altar servers to dress as the wise men and go door-to-door, carrying their star and looking for the Baby Jesus, who is rumored to be lying in a manger.

They collect cash gifts and chocolates, along the way, and leave the generous their powerful blessing, written over the door. The famous 20 * C + M + B * 25 blessing means "Christus mansionem benedicat" (Christ, bless this house), or "Caspar, Melchior, Balthasar" (the names of the three kings), depending upon who you ask.

They offer the cash to the Baby Jesus (once they find him in the church's Nativity scene), but eat the sweets, themselves. It is one of the biggest donation-collections in the world, called the "Sternsinger" (star singers). The money goes from the German children, to help children elsewhere, and they collect around €45 million in cash and coins, every year.

As an interesting aside:

The American "groundhog day", derives from one of the old farmers' sayings about Candlemas, brought over by the Pennsylvania Dutch. It says, that if the badger comes out of his hole and sees his shadow, then it'll remain cold for 4 more weeks. When they moved to the USA, they didn't have any badgers around, so they switched to groundhogs, as they also hibernate in winter.

@ 36bedab2:524acad4

404 Page Not Found Error

@ 65912a7a:5dc638bf

Chef's notes

This is my late partner's award winning Cajun rice & beans recipe. It's an updated take on the traditional Cajun comfort food.

Chef Darin was a classically trained chef who spent 30+ years in the kitchen perfecting his recipes, and delivering authentic Cajun and Creole food to his patrons. This is a 5-star dish that will earn the respect of the most discerning Cajun afficionado. You won't be disappointed.

I suggest making this recipe exactly as directed the first time, and then make whatever adjustments you want for future batches. Also, don't cheap out on the Andouille. No Johnsonville or Hillshire Farms. Chef Aidelle's is a good choice, as is Silva's from Whole Foods. They cost a few extra bucks, but it's absolutely worth it.

Details

• ⏲️ Prep time: 30 min
• 🍳 Cook time: 3 hours
• 🍽️ Servings: 12

Ingredients

• 16oz small red beans, dry
• 2 cups long grain white rice
• 14-16oz andouille sausage, sliced
• 8oz ham, cubed
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 2-3 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 tbsp garlic (12 cloves), minced
• 7 cups water
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 2 large bay leaves
• 1 tbsp parsley, dried
• 1 tsp thyme, dried
• 1 tsp Cajun seasoning
• ½ tsp cayenne pepper, dried
• ¼ tsp sage, rubbed
• 1½ tsp salt (more or less to taste)

Directions

1. Soak beans in a large pot of water overnight.
2. Heat oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Cook onion, bell pepper, celery, garlic in olive oil for 3 to 4 minutes (until onion is translucent).
3. Add beans, bay leaves, parsley, thyme, salt, MSG, Cajun seasoning, cayenne pepper, Sage, and water. Stir, bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to medium-low (btwn 2-3). Cover and simmer for 2½ hours.
4. Remove bay leaves. Mash some of the beans. Stir Andouille and ham into beans, and simmer uncovered for an additional 30 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, prepare the rice. Bring water and rice to a boil in a saucepan. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.
6. Serve beans over steamed white rice.

@ 16d11430:61640947

For Yadov Towri, dismantling the trap was only the beginning. As the city descended into chaos, its architects fled or were consumed by the very system they had built. Yadov had believed his work was done. But as the trap fell, something unexpected happened: the void it left behind began to call to him.

The city, even in its freedom, was a machine that demanded order. The billions of lives crammed into its sprawl couldn’t function without a structure to guide them. And as Yadov walked among them, their anguish and confusion pressed against his mind like a tide. His empathy, once his greatest strength, now became a curse, inundating him with the pain of millions.

The Lure of Power

At first, Yadov resisted. He sought to lead, to build a better system free of the corruption that had enslaved the city. But the burden of guiding so many was immense. His heightened sensitivity began to fracture under the weight of collective misery. Every cry, every unspoken plea for help, resonated in his mind until it became unbearable.

In a moment of desperation, he reached inward, tapping into the reservoir of psychic energy he had absorbed over years of navigating the trap. He found a way to silence the noise—not by healing, but by feeding. By taking their despair into himself, he dulled the ache of his empathy. It started as a survival mechanism, but it didn’t end there.

The Transformation

As Yadov siphoned the city’s anguish, he discovered something unexpected: power. The despair he absorbed didn’t just quiet his mind—it strengthened him. His senses became sharper, his endurance limitless. He could move through the city like a shadow, bending its will to his own. The empathy that had once driven him to liberate became the tool through which he dominated.

Yadov justified his actions at first. He told himself that by taking on the city’s pain, he was sparing its people from suffering. But the power was intoxicating. He began to manipulate the city’s new leaders, bending them to his will. The systems he had torn down were rebuilt—not to enslave, but to channel misery directly to him.

The New Trap

Under Yadov’s quiet rule, the city transformed. The chaotic freedom he had unleashed was replaced by a new kind of control. The population, unaware of his influence, found themselves drawn into an invisible web of dependence. The struggles of daily life were not as overtly brutal as before, but they were carefully calibrated to create just enough tension, frustration, and despair to feed Yadov’s growing hunger.

Public transport became slightly less crowded but always late. Workspaces allowed more personal freedom but with unspoken expectations that fostered guilt and self-doubt. The city’s poverty wasn’t eradicated, only redistributed in subtler ways. Everything was designed to extract psychic energy while maintaining the illusion of progress.

The Rise of a Psychic Vampire

Yadov’s power grew beyond the city. As his influence spread, he began to attract others like him—people who had discovered the power of psychic feeding but lacked his control. He took them under his wing, creating a network of psychic vampires who ruled from the shadows. Together, they refined the art of siphoning despair, turning it into an efficient, self-sustaining system.

The billions who lived in the city became the lifeblood of this new empire. Their misery was harvested in ways they barely understood: through bureaucratic frustrations, subtle social manipulations, and carefully orchestrated crises. The system no longer needed visible overlords. Its oppression was quiet, seamless, and absolute.

The Price of Power

Yadov, once the liberator, was now the kingpin of a new trap, far more insidious than the one he had destroyed. He told himself he was different—that his rule was necessary, that the energy he took was nothing compared to the peace he provided. But deep down, he knew the truth. The city’s pain was his lifeline, and without it, he would crumble.

The people, for their part, sensed the change but couldn’t articulate it. They felt the weight of an unseen force, the faint pull of despair that never quite left them. They whispered of ghosts in the city, of an invisible hand that guided their lives. They called it the Shadow King.

The Resistance

But even in the darkest systems, resistance is inevitable. Among the billions, a few began to notice the patterns, to piece together the truth. They saw how every improvement was a trap, every freedom a leash. And in the quiet corners of the city, they began to organize.

Yadov felt them—tiny sparks of defiance flickering at the edges of his perception. At first, he dismissed them. But as the resistance grew, so did their power. Unlike the masses, these rebels didn’t radiate despair. They carried something else: hope. And hope, Yadov realized, was poison to his kind.

A Reckoning

The resistance’s leader, a young woman named Senka, possessed a mind unlike any Yadov had encountered. Her hope wasn’t blind or naïve—it was calculated, weaponized. She and her followers began to unravel the psychic network Yadov had built, using the very tools he had once wielded against the original trap.

As their influence spread, Yadov found his grip on the city weakening. The despair he had fed on for so long began to wane, replaced by a growing wave of defiance. He could feel the system he had built collapsing, just as he had once destroyed the one before it.

The Final Question

Yadov faced a choice: to crush the resistance and tighten his grip on the city, or to let it fall and risk becoming the very thing he had once despised. The power he had gained whispered seductively, promising him dominion if only he would embrace it fully. But his healer’s heart, buried deep beneath layers of corruption, still flickered faintly.

As the city teetered on the brink of another transformation, Yadov stood at the crossroads of his own humanity. Would he embrace the monstrous king he had become, or would he finally, truly, set the city free?

@ 16d11430:61640947

The metropolis was a living maze, a chaotic symphony of ambition, desperation, and survival. It wasn’t merely a city—it was a crucible, an intricate system designed to test and grind the human spirit. For some, it was a beacon of opportunity; for others, a labyrinth of pain and struggle.

Yadov Towri, born of a lineage of healers, was an anomaly within his heritage. Where his ancestors had mended and soothed, he endured and resisted. His unique blend of empathy, physical agility, and endurance made him an outlier—someone who didn’t just survive the trap but thrived within its crushing gears.

The Morning Assault

The mornings were never kind. A cacophony of relentless noise shattered any semblance of peace—alarms, shouts, machinery, and the ever-present drone of humanity. Cramped living spaces overflowed with activity, leaving no room for solitude. People jostled for basic necessities, their fatigue palpable.

For Yadov, this was the air he had always breathed. Where others staggered through the oppressive start of the day, he moved with practiced ease, absorbing the chaos without letting it claim him. His finely tuned empathy allowed him to predict and evade the surges of bodies and conflict, navigating the melee like a shadow.

The Daily Gauntlet

The streets were a relentless obstacle course. Public transport bulged with humanity, its overcrowded platforms and vehicles turning every journey into a battle for space. Sidewalks teemed with hawkers, pedestrians, and stray animals. The air carried the acrid smell of exhaust, mingling with the hum of endless activity.

For the unprepared, it was overwhelming. For Yadov, it was a game. His agility let him weave through the crowd, while his empathy read the ebb and flow of tension and frustration. Each step was calculated, each movement purposeful. The chaos became his ally, obscuring him from prying eyes.

Poverty and Crime’s Shadows

The city was a landscape of extremes, where towering structures loomed over crumbling tenements. The specter of crime lingered everywhere—pickpockets in crowded markets, petty gangs in shadowed alleys, and the pervasive fear of exploitation. Poverty wasn’t just economic; it was a state of existence, etched into the faces of its victims.

Yadov, attuned to the pain of others, couldn’t ignore the weight of it. He saw families torn apart by desperation, children hardened by survival, and the hollowed eyes of those crushed by unrelenting struggle. Yet he carried this knowledge like a blade, honed to cut through the trap’s layers.

The Psychological Traps

The workplace was no sanctuary. Overcrowded offices and factories became arenas of psychological warfare. Collective rituals of conformity, hazing from superiors, and constant surveillance stripped individuals of identity. The relentless hum of machinery and human voices blurred the lines between person and cog.

For Yadov, the psychological traps were the most insidious. But his healer’s heritage gave him insight into the minds of those around him. He saw their fears and insecurities, unraveling the invisible threads that bound them. His empathy became his shield, allowing him to endure the psychological barrage without breaking.

The Lunchtime Struggle

Food was a battleground. Crowded cafeterias and street vendors became stages for tense negotiations and desperate scuffles. Space and time were luxuries few could afford, and securing even the simplest meal required cunning and perseverance.

Yadov turned these skirmishes into opportunities. His ability to anticipate movements and emotions let him slip through the fray unnoticed, securing what he needed with minimal effort. For him, it wasn’t just about sustenance—it was another test of the trap’s design.

Mental Barrage

The demands of the day didn’t relent after lunch. Endless tasks and puzzles—both literal and metaphorical—kept minds overclocked and spirits drained. The psychological toll was immense, leaving most people numb, broken, or both.

Yadov saw these moments as crucibles. His mind, sharpened by the challenges of the trap, worked with precision. He dissected problems with surgical clarity, finding solutions where others saw only chaos. It wasn’t just survival; it was mastery.

Discovering the Trap’s Masters

Over time, Yadov pieced together the truth. The trap wasn’t a natural consequence of urban life—it was a deliberate construction. Its architects were shadowy figures: exploiters who thrived on the city’s chaos and despair. Politicians, criminals, and psychic manipulators worked together to weave an intricate web of control.

But Yadov was more than a product of the trap. His empathy let him see cracks in its structure, and his endurance gave him the strength to exploit them. The same traits that helped him navigate the system now turned him into its adversary.

Turning the System Against Itself

Yadov’s presence became a disruption. His sensitivity and resilience began to destabilize the psychic control that bound the city’s inhabitants. Those who came into contact with him found their illusions shattering, their subjugation slipping away. Rituals of conformity dissolved into chaos, and enforcers of the system faltered under his quiet defiance.

He didn’t fight with violence. His weapons were subtle: a whisper of doubt, a flicker of resistance, a spark of individuality. The psychic manipulations that had ensnared the city were no match for his clarity, and the trap’s architects found their power crumbling.

The Collapse

As Yadov’s influence spread, the city began to unravel. The exploited masses, awakening to their own agency, turned on their oppressors. The psychic manipulators, once untouchable, became targets of the very system they had controlled. The intricate web of the trap dissolved into chaos, its architects fleeing or falling.

A New Cycle

With the trap dismantled, the city found itself at a crossroads. Freed from its chains, it began to reshape itself. The people, no longer cogs in a faceless machine, began to reclaim their identities.

Yadov disappeared into the backdrop, his role fulfilled. He wasn’t a savior or a hero; he was a survivor, a product of the trap who had transcended it. And as the first light of dawn illuminated the city, it carried with it the promise of a new beginning—one born not of control, but of freedom and resilience.

@ c230edd3:8ad4a712

Love's worshippers alone can know

The thousand mysteries that are his;

His blazing torch, his twanging bow,

His blooming age are mysteries.

A charming science—but the day

Were all too short to con it o'er;

So take of me this little lay,

A sample of its boundless lore.

As once, beneath the fragrant shade

Of myrtles breathing heaven's own air,

The children, Love and Folly, played—

A quarrel rose betwixt the pair.

Love said the gods should do him right—

But Folly vowed to do it then,

And struck him, o'er the orbs of sight,

So hard, he never saw again.

His lovely mother's grief was deep,

She called for vengeance on the deed;

A beauty does not vainly weep,

Nor coldly does a mother plead.

A shade came o'er the eternal bliss

That fills the dwellers of the skies;

Even stony-hearted Nemesis,

And Rhadamanthus, wiped their eyes.

"Behold," she said, "this lovely boy,"

While streamed afresh her graceful tears,

"Immortal, yet shut out from joy

And sunshine, all his future years.

The child can never take, you see,

A single step without a staff—

The harshest punishment would be

Too lenient for the crime by half."

All said that Love had suffered wrong,

And well that wrong should be repaid;

Then weighed the public interest long,

And long the party's interest weighed.

And thus decreed the court above—

"Since Love is blind from Folly's blow,

Let Folly be the guide of Love,

Where'er the boy may choose to go."

@ 8fb140b4:f948000c

After nuking my second LND node (the first one died due to hardware failure) by my own typo and lack of any thought in the design of the CLI of LND lightning node tools, I decided to take a plunge into the world of mature and complex implementation of the protocol, Eclair by ACINQ. It has been almost one year (the birth of the node was on Christmas Day 2023), 50 thousand transactions routed, and over 30 BTC of routed value. In this post, I'd like to reflect on my experiences with Eclair, go over some of the gotchas and issues, and highlight some of the good choices that I've made since the beginning of my adventure.

Learnings from the Past Experience

While I was learning Lightning network and had very little understanding of how things worked in the whole Bitcoin space, Umbrel was my go-to solution that helped me get off the ground. It proved to be easy and somewhat educational but was not something that I would continuously run for the production setup or trust with any significant amount of bitcoin that I could not afford to lose. Lightning is built on top of the L1 (Bitcoin) network but manages the state of the channels in its own database that is negotiated and agreed upon with its peers. Any failures in the state integrity may result in the complete loss of liquidity or hefty penalty transactions (significant loss of capital). A Lightning node that participates in routing public transactions is also required to be constantly online with as little downtime as possible and only short periods offline at a time. Otherwise, you may risk causing force-closure of the channel due to expired HTLC that is measured in number of blocks.

The Setup

Taking all of my learnings into consideration, I decided to first invest in reliable enterprise-grade hardware: - Server-grade hardware with ECC memory and reliable power supply and CPU - UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) to avoid any headaches due to electrical spikes or drop-outs - Reliable enterprise SSDs and NVMEs - ZFS (filesystem) to mirror the critical storage and to ensure full integrity of the data (bit-rot prevention). You do need to tune ZFS for your specific workload and reliability - Reliable and replicated database (PostgreSQL) with two local and one remote replica, and a requirement to have at least two replicas committing the transaction to the disk - Backup! On-site and off-site backup of the critical configuration that you could use to restore the node if your house burns down - Spare parts, redundancy, backup, monitoring - Reliable and stable internet connectivity

The software is Eclair 0.11.0 (latest release as of today), PostgreSQL 16 with two replicas, Bitcoin Core 27.2 (with redundant storage of blocks), additional Bitcoin Core running on a separate node and in-sync with the chain (in case primary node fails), Ubuntu 22.04 with the latest docker software from the official Docker repo.

All Major Gotchas That I Came Across

While Eclair is mature and very stable in itself, it does have some quirks and design choices that you need to account for when running your node. The software is written in Scala and requires a specific version of JVM to run it, as well as JRE and Maven to build it. It doesn't mean that other versions won't work, but you may find unpleasant bugs that may result in catastrophic failures of your node with nobody to help you. All of the requirements are listed in the release notes and installation guide. Whenever in doubt, RTFM first, then ask questions.

Limited Support by the FOSS Community

Eclair is not the most popular implementation of the Lightning protocol, and therefore it is hard to find tools or plugins that could help you manage the node. GUI for the node so far is only supported by RTL and with a very limited number of features. For any sort of statistics, you are limited to either Prometheus (extensive metrics are available) or writing your own SQL on top of the Eclair tables.

On-chain Fee Differences Between Yours and Partner Nodes

This one hit me hard, and many times. I've had more than a few force-closures of the channels because of the conservative and safe default settings. The worst part is, it strikes you when there is a huge spike in fees, which results in significant losses to force-close the channel due to high fees. I am still not 100% sure how the big difference can be exploited in practice, and opted for increase of the tolerance levels to avoid surprise FCs: eclair.on-chain-fees { feerate-tolerance { ratio-low = <0.01~> // will allow remote fee rates as low as XX our local feerate (spikes) ratio-high = <20.0~> // will allow remote fee rates as high as XX times our local feerate (drops) } } It is up to you and your risk tolerance to define something reasonable and yet allow for secure and reliable node operation.

Initial Lightning Network State Sync

When I just started running the node, I had very few channels and startup times were fast. Later, when I expanded the number of channels, I noted that it took my node up to 6-12 hours before it was fully in-sync and routing traffic fast. Given that ACINQ maintains one of the largest nodes on the network, I knew that there was something with my settings that caused the issue. After some research, I came across the setting that whitelisted node IDs for state sync, which immediately rang a bell since I knew from the LND days that not all peer nodes are used for the network sync. Setting the list to my most reliable and largest nodes reduced the startup settling times down to minutes again: eclair.sync-whitelist = [ "03864ef025fde8fb587d989186ce6a4a186895ee44a926bfc370e2c366597a3f8f", ... ] You do not need to have too many public keys in here, and should keep it between 5-10.

Automatic MAX HTLC Adjustment for the Channel

One of the killer features of Eclair is its ability to automatically adjust MAX HTLC for the channel and reduce the number of failed transactions due to insufficient liquidity on the channel. It can be used to estimate your total channels' balances but with smart configuration and a little thinking, you can make it reasonably private while still maintaining a good transaction flow: eclair.channel.channel-update.min-time-between-updates=1 hour # Allows for the adjustments to be made once every hour eclair.channel.channel-update.balance-thresholds=[ { available-sat = 10000 max-htlc-sat = 0 // 0% of 10000 }, ... ] You can have as many variations as you need, and ensure that the channel MAX HTLC is set well and within reasonable ranges. You would also want to account for multiple transactions going through the channel, but also account for the channel size and an average amount of sats per transaction.

Max Accepted HTLCs

By design, the Lightning channel is limited to a specific number of in-flight HTLCs, and the setting is fixed during channel opening time with no way of changing it unless you close and reopen the channel with new settings. If you find your node routing a lot of small transactions (zaps), you may quickly fail many due to that limit (I think default was in single digit range): eclair.channel.max-htlc-value-in-flight-percent=98 # Default I think is half or 50% eclair.channel.max-accepted-htlcs = 50 The setting above will allow for the channel to be more fully utilized and have more concurrent transactions without clogging.

CLTV Delta

This is basically a setting that is global for Eclair and sets the maximum number of remaining blocks (in time) before HTLC expires. Setting this too high may result in many HTLCs failing for the small nodes with not so great centrality, and reduce the number of routed transactions: ```

CLTV delta

eclair.channel.expiry-delta-blocks = 60 ``` Default is 144 but I found that setting this to 60 (minimum possible for my node setup and configuration) yields better results for routing. It does expose you to more risk of expired HTLCs that may cause force-closures, but I have seen only one so far on my node.

Allocate Sufficient Memory

You will want to adjust the heap size for Eclair, since the default is too small to run any sizable node. Setting JAVA_OPTS=-Xmx32g (or half the size of your available RAM) would be a good start. I would advise having at least 32GB of RAM for the node, and allocating at least 16GB (JAVA_OPTS=-Xmx16g) for smooth and fast operations.

And More Settings and Parameters to Tune

I have covered only some of the major settings that I felt were worth writing about, but there is much more you could configure and tweak. Read all of the Guides and especially focus on the Configure and a sample reference configuration file.

Good Decisions

First, going with Eclair was the right choice, along with using server-grade hardware with ECC RAM and reliable storage. Second, having a replicated database on three separate nodes with one off-site saved me from a sure destruction of all state and loss of funds. Third, deciding to only maintain channels with reliable and stable nodes saved me from some bad force-closures, where I would choose to close the channel if a peer node goes up and down too frequently, regardless of how well it routes. Even big nodes run by single operators fail badly, as do nodes operated by companies. Keeping your eyes on the node and its health, as well as the health of its peers, is something that very few operators do, which can cause failures and unnecessary loss of your and their funds.

Lastly, if you decide to run a routing node, you have a responsibility to maintain it well and monitor its health. There are many tools you could use, and with Eclair you can use Prometheus and Grafana. Keep your node's packages updated and monitor for any security-related issues that may appear from time to time, so you can mitigate them quickly.

Conclusion

So far I am satisfied with Eclair despite all of the difficulties and headaches I've had with it. It is not perfect, and it requires me to create small tools to do some basic things, but I need a stable and reliable node that I can trust. Eclair has proved to be all that I wanted, and saved my bacon a few times when I nuked one of the PostgreSQL servers and all of its data, and managed to do the same for another replica, but was able to recover and recreate from the remaining replica. Eclair is also stateless during runtime and guarantees consistency of the node regardless of how it fails. Even if you pull a plug on the node's server, it will still be able to come up and recover its consistent state that is in agreement with its peers.

Is it for everyone? No, it is definitely not for everyone or for anyone who just wants a small node to run their online shop with a few channels. You could have a very reliable and trusted node for the online shop with Eclair, but you will need some technical skills to be able to set up, maintain and recover it if things go wrong.

In the end, it is all up to you, your skills, your willingness to learn, and your risk tolerance to make that decision. For me, it was the right choice, and I have no regrets despite not having access to the latest shiny features of the Lightning network.

@ d6affa19:9110b177

At the heart of a Female-Led Relationship (FLR) is the woman's position of authority and the man's surrender to her lead. This arrangement reveals some complex emotions and motivations in men: the desire to be dominated and the desire to be submissive.

These two desires tend to get conflated, which leads to confusion and at times, manipulation within FLRs. A man may blur his desire to be dominated with submission, constructing a set of expectations within the relationship that leads to a transactional approach, distorting the FLR dynamic. The man’s focus becomes self-serving where he tries to fulfill a fantasy rather than a sincere desire to serve the woman.

It’s important to acknowledge the difference between these desires in order to have a loving FLR. If this difference isn’t sorted out, it’ll lead to misunderstandings, resentment, and even a breakdown of the relationship. When a man is led by his own pleasure instead of the woman, she may feel like a means to an end, and the relationship is no longer an authentic FLR. While there are many ways to engage in an FLR, the aim here is not to prescribe a “true” method, but try to clarify what drives a man to pursue this style of relationship for a more authentic experience.

Being able to identify the underlying motivations can help a couple to engage more honestly, where submission comes from genuine devotion instead of manipulation or a transactional mindset. It also can clarify the proper roles of the relationship, allowing them to interact more authentically within the framework of an FLR. Let's begin exploring the nuances of these desires and take a look at how they impact the relationship, beginning with defining what all of this means.

Defining Terms: Surrendering to Who?

The Desire to be Dominated

So what does it mean to have a desire to be dominated? It usually refers to a thrill or exhilaration felt from being overpowered or controlled. A man may seek out an FLR with a woman to explicitly satisfy this need, but there is only the appearance of surrendering control, as he only allows her take charge in specific ways and circumstances.

The word “allow” is important here, as it implies a form of consent—often involving fantasy, power dynamics, and control. If this is a man’s primary incentive, the relationship then becomes an exchange based on what the man receives from the woman—making him the center of the interaction.

A man may desire to be dominated for a number of reasons: * To seek validation or affirmation * To explore vulnerability * For emotional release * To avoid responsibility * Simply to chase sexual gratification

In any case, if he allows himself to be largely motivated by this desire, he’ll invert the dynamic by prioritizing his own satisfaction over the woman’s. By framing his urge to be dominated as submission, he is not, in a sense, surrendering to the woman, but instead to his own desires.

The Desire to be Submissive

In contrast, when a man’s primary motivation is the desire to be submissive, his surrender is no longer conditional, but an offering. His purpose is simply serving and uplifting the woman he admires in the manner she determines is best. It’s in this selfless intention that the foundation of an FLR is formed, and where the woman’s authority begins.

His submission involves a more profound emotional and psychological commitment to serving and fulfilling the woman—making her the primary focus. In this framework, the man isn’t merely “allowing” or manipulating; he is actively choosing to follow the woman’s lead and serve her. This intention is what makes an FLR truly Female-led.

Misconceptions About Submission in FLRs

Confusing Desires

The desire to be dominated and the desire to be submissive often coexist. Also, they both typically stem from a need for female authority and/or leadership—perhaps the reason they become conflated so easily. However, it's important to stress that they are not the same thing.

In many instances, men will seek an FLR with the intention of being dominated, but label it as being submissive. This becomes a significant miscommunication—essentially a promise of devotion to a woman without fully grasping the obligations that true submission involves.

What results is a shallow experience where the man will only “submit” to tasks that give himself a sense of pleasure. He expects the woman to meet his needs—or assert her dominance—without really engaging in the relationship. However, it’s the man’s responsibility to first choose submission—to prove he is worthy of her dominance, rather than expecting the woman to assert it.

Recognizing True Submission

True submission contrasts this because the man doesn’t lead with expectations but consciously accepts his role and actively chooses to support the woman’s leadership. He demonstrates this through active listening, seeking a connection, aligning with her vision, and offering her support during stressful times—his motivation resides in her.

It’s a sincere commitment in which he seeks growth and purpose through service and devotion to her. This approach requires trust, respect, and the willingness to be vulnerable. Let’s examine how these two intentions manifest either a transactional dynamic or an authentic connection between the couple.

Uncovering the Heart of Submission: Transactional vs. Authentic Approaches

How the Dynamic Becomes Transactional

In an FLR, it remains a man’s role to initiate, but this initiation comes from his submission to the woman. A man may recognize himself submitting only when his specific desires to be dominated are met, often feeling that it’s her dominance that inspires his submission. But it’s no longer true submission if it relies upon the woman meeting his needs first. This is commonly referred to as "topping from the bottom" and eventually undermines her leadership—essentially putting him in control.

This exchange makes the relationship more transactional than authentic, eroding trust and breeding resentment. The “need” for this usually comes from a variety deep-rooted issues that we’ll explore later, but nevertheless, this “exchange” won’t be able to fulfill the emotional needs of either partner long-term.

Characteristics of Genuine Surrender

Genuine submission comes from a desire for emotional connection with the woman, rather than as a means to fulfill a fantasy. Again, it involves a man consciously prioritizing the needs of the woman over his own desires. This energy is what sparks a woman’s desire to take on her role as the leader and reinforces her position of authority.

From here, she’s able to guide and shape the relationship in a way that aligns with her strengths and desires without being undermined. For this reason, it’s essential that a man initiate with a desire for true submission from his heart. But how does a man discover this desire and nurture it?

Emotional Work and Self-Knowledge

The Courage in Surrender

Embracing true submission requires quite a bit of emotional work for a man, especially some deep self-reflection to understand his own desires and insecurities. What does true submission mean to him, and why is he drawn to it? What apprehension—what fear does he have toward vulnerability and submission? Searching for the answers to these questions are crucial for his journey, and self-knowledge is needed to address these feelings in a constructive manner.

But, why might a man feel more comfortable with a conditional approach to submission in an FLR? Some common reasons might include: * Fear of emotional vulnerability: Being dominated creates a safe space to explore vulnerability, but is mostly limited. He makes his submission transactional to be able to hold on to a sense of control, avoiding the emotional risks that come with being upfront and honest about his feelings. * Deep insecurities or shame: He may have deep-rooted insecurities or feeling of shame for his desire to be dominated. In this case, he’ll continuously look for external validation through the fulfillment of his fantasies, which drains the woman and prevents him from forming a more meaningful connection. * Unaddressed trust issues: There may be unprocessed trauma involving trust from his past experiences that may cause him to hesitate giving himself away completely. He may find more comfort handling a transactional setup that appears safer than a more vulnerable emotional connection. * Fear of losing himself: He could also simply fear that letting go of his fantasies means giving up a part of himself, making him reluctant to embrace true surrender.

These are just a few of the internal challenges that a man should sort through before being ready to truly surrender—to make a deep emotional connection. Many of these stem from ego-related issues, and by recognizing them, men can work to overcome them. Engaging in some sort of shadow work or healing journey is a great starting point in preparation for a loving FLR.

Open Communication

On top of the emotional work required, being able to communicate effectively has to be a top priority to maintain the authenticity in the relationship. The couple must be able to share their wants, needs, and expectations openly and honestly, but not harshly. A man should be able articulate his needs, but also actively listen to the woman's feedback, understand her expectations, and be willing to adapt to her guidance. Strong, honest communication is necessary for the couple to understand the true intention of his desires (to be dominated and to be submissive), and the role it plays in the relationship.

Does the man push for the woman to dominate more? Is he frustrated that she shows a bit more hesitancy? He needs to be able to express what expectations he has, but she must also feel comfortable stating and asserting her boundaries with full confidence that he will respect them. After all, the defining characteristic of an FLR is that the relationship centers on the woman’s preferences. With this in mind, let’s look at how clarifying a man’s true motives can impact an FLR.

How This Applies to FLRs

Exploring Motivations

By separating the desire to be dominated from the desire to be submissive, a man will be able to discover his true motivations. Is being a submissive partner in an FLR truly what he desires? Or does he simply want a safe space to explore his sexuality? He needs to be able to express his desires to the woman he wants a relationship with.

He can be more authentic and open about his desires and fears if he understands himself—which leads to more trust. It’s from this kind of integrity and vulnerability that the foundation of the FLR is strengthened, deepening a woman’s confidence in him and clearing the way for her to effectively guide the direction of the relationship.

The Devotional Heart

Another important aspect of this separation is that a man will be more able to focus on what he brings to the FLR (his surrender, his devotion, his submission) and less on what he receives. A selfless, devotional heart is the core characteristic of an empowered submissive in an FLR—of a man who knows his exact place in the world, where his strength is measured by his ability to support, rather than in his ability to endure, provide, or dominate.

By being proactive in his submission, he encourages a dynamic in which the woman isn’t bartering for or demanding his obedience, but receiving his unconditional devotion. Again, it’s not his desire to be dominated that makes an FLR, but his desire to surrender to her; and this surrender can only be defined by her. Next, let’s examine a scenario in which the way a man grapples with these two desires can shape the relationship.

How Authenticity Reinforces the Woman's Authority

Looking at how these desires play out in practice is helpful for understanding the woman's perspective in an FLR. The way this interplay takes shape can have a major impact on the woman's expression of authority, emotional well-being, and the overall health of the relationship. With this in mind, let's consider two examples that highlight the nuances at play.

The Transactional Approach

In this first scenario, a man might express his desire for the woman to take charge—typically in the bedroom, but he could also want her to “order him” tasks or chores. If she doesn’t want to do this because she is tired, stressed, or simply not in the mood, he may feel rejected, which may cause him to withdraw his submission or act out.

From her perspective, his conditional submission and lack of initiative feel like an imposition on her own needs and desires. She could become burdened by having to manage his demands or feel objectified, as if she is merely there to satisfy his fantasies rather than to be a respected partner. In this case, since she isn’t really leading, she may feel less inclined to “assert” her leadership.

This dynamic, over time, weakens the trust and emotional connection that are needed for a loving relationship, leaving the woman feeling resentful and the man feeling entitled to his desires. By valuing his need to be dominated (receiving) over his desire to genuinely submit to her (giving), he has created a pattern that undermines her authority and the authenticity of the relationship.

The Authentic Approach

Now let's examine a different approach. Suppose the man responds with understanding and empathy when the woman declines his request. Rather than pulling back, he reassures her that her feelings and needs are important, and he puts her comfort first. He looks for other ways to serve her, such as helping with chores or actively seeking to meet her emotional needs.

This response requires a great deal of emotional resiliency. Although she doesn’t prefer to “dominate” him (in the way he would like), he handles the rejection and denial with grace, maintaining his core identity as her devoted partner.

From the woman's perspective, this approach helps to build a deeper sense of trust and emotional connection. She may feel valued, appreciated, and empowered to reciprocate and assert her leadership going forward, knowing that her partner is committed to supporting her in a genuine and selfless way. Overall, this dynamic strengthens their relationship, allowing the couple to grow and feel fulfilled together.

Embracing True Submission: The Path to Fulfilling FLRs

In conclusion, understanding the differences between the desire to be dominated and the desire to be submissive are key to building a healthy and fulfilling FLR. While these desires often overlap, recognizing their unique motivations can help a couple navigate their dynamic with more transparency and integrity. It’s only when a man leans in to and embraces his genuine desire to surrender to a woman that the FLR can take shape.

This isn’t to say that the desire to be dominated isn’t relevant to an FLR. On the contrary, there are many opportunities for exploration and making deep connections through this desire. However, it’s important to recognize that framing this desire as true submission can lead to transactional motives, misunderstandings, or even power struggles over the relationship narrative.

Once more, the foundation of an FLR is primarily formed from the man’s conscious surrender to the woman and her acceptance of his offering. When he able to find his center in who she truly is rather than who he desires her to be—when she is able to feel more empowered in his surrender, that is when a relationship becomes a true FLR. This empowerment doesn’t come from dominating the man, but from his unconditional support and a loving connection with him. The shift from a transactional mindset to one rooted in genuine devotion allows both partners to flourish in their roles, creating a beautiful dynamic that celebrates the essence of female leadership.

@ dd664d5e:5633d319

Yeah, so... nah.

People keep trying to explain to me, that women will be better-off, if they become more dangerous. While I can see the inevitableness of women living in remote rural areas learning to shoot with a rifle, and similar, I'm generally against arming women with killing machines.

This is not because I'm averse to the idea of using violence to solve problems (albeit after exhausting better options), or because I don't like guns, or am unfamiliar with them. It's also not because I don't know I would look totally, mind-numbingly hot holding something long and spearlike, while dressed in camo and wearing a T-Shirt that appears to have shrunk in the wash.

It's a more fundamental set of problems, that irks me.

Bazooka Barbie

American gun manufacturers saturated the public and private male market so thoroughly, that they eventually turned to marketing firearms to women.

Men are scary and bad. There is Stranger Danger. We can't just make the neighborhood less dangerous because erm... reasons. Stay safe with a cute gun.

It has gone along with the predictable hypersexualization of the conservative feminine ideal. Since guns are considered aggressive, women with guns are perceived as more sexually available. Guns (and tanks, bombs, bows, etc.) make women "equal", "independent", "feisty", "hot", "freaky", "calculating", "empowered", etc.

Sorta slutty, basically.

This Gun Girl is not like the helpless, hapless, harmless homemaker ideal, of yesteryear. A woman who was dependent, chaste, gentle, wise... and in need of protection. A woman who saw the men around her as people she could rely on for providing her with a safe environment. That woman is au revoir. Now, sistas are doing it for themselves. 💪🏻

The New Martial Missy needs a man, like a fish needs a bicycle... but make it country.

Yeah, it's marketing, but it sure has set the tone, and millions of men have been trained to prefer women who market themselves in this manner. Hard, mean, lean women. That will not remain without wider societal consequences.

You know, I liked that homemaker. I miss her. She's literally me.

Those arms are for cuddling babies, not holding rocket launchers.

Now, that we've all become accustomed to imagery of women holding firearms, it wasn't much of a leap to condition us all to the sight of women in frontline police, guard, or military positions.

Instead of war being a terrible, highly-lethal, territorial fight amongst men, it's now cute, hip, trendy and fun. It's a big party, and women are finally allowed to join in.

Now, women have finally jettisoned the terrible burden of being society's life-bearers and caretakers, and we're just more potential enemy combatants. We know it's okay to punch women, shoot women, etc. since we've been watching it happen on screens, for decades. Women are now often assumed to be fighters, not lovers. Cavalry, not mothers.

Girls on top

Not only does this undermine any female role -- and put female civilians under a cloud of suspicion -- it also reduces mens' claim to be paramount in governance. Why should a man be the Commander in Chief, if women are on the battlefield?

In fact, why should men be in charge of anything, anywhere? Look at them. There they are. Hiding at home. Cowering in their kitchens, wringing their hands and fretting, while courageous, dangerous women protect them from dangers foreign and domestic. Women are the better men, really.

Is this really where we want to go?

The final bitterness

But one thing I find most disturbing is something more personal. The ubiquitous nature of firearms in American homes has made domestic violence increasingly deadly. Adding more guns, for the female residents, often serves to make such violence even more deadly for women.

It turns out, that women are usually reluctant to shoot people they know; even more than men. Women without this inhibition are prone to sharing their home with men missing the same trait. And, now, they have more guns.

@ f1989a96:bcaaf2c1

Good morning, readers!

In Russia, the State Duma passed sweeping amendments granting officials the ability to equate “funding extremist activities” with “financing terrorism.” These changes allow officials to label anyone accused of spreading “fake news” or “discrediting” the military and authorities as “terrorists and extremists.” This development threatens activists and civil society organizations with intensified financial repression, including frozen accounts, restricted access to funds, and strict withdrawal limits.  

Meanwhile, North Korea’s currency crisis continues to worsen, pushing citizens to abandon the North Korean won in favor of barter. As exchange rates for foreign currencies soar, merchants and money changers increasingly demand tangible goods like rice and fuel and no longer accept North Korean won for imported goods and foreign currencies. 

In technology news, Tando, a Bitcoin payment app in Kenya, received significant attention at the 2024 Africa Bitcoin Conference for integrating the Bitcoin Lightning Network with M-PESA, Kenya’s mobile money system. This allows people to use Bitcoin to buy things across the country while merchants receive Kenyan shillings, bridging the gap between the local financial system and Bitcoin. \ \ Finally, we feature the latest episode of the Dissidents and Dictators podcast, featuring Togolese human rights activist Farida Nabourema sharing her first-hand experience growing up under the Gnassingbé dictatorship. She believes Bitcoin can enable greater transparency and offer a financial lifeline for citizens in Togo and across Africa.

Now, let’s dive right in!

Subscribe Here

GLOBAL NEWS

Russia | Sweeping Amendments Expand Financial Repression Against Dissidents

Russia’s State Duma made sweeping amendments to 48 federal laws, granting officials the power to equate “funding extremist activities” with “financing terrorism.” This move allows the regime to directly target individuals, activists, and nonprofit organizations suspected of spreading “fake news” or “discrediting” the military and regime. Once designated as a “terrorist” or “extremist,” a person or organization faces frozen bank accounts, restricted access to funds, and a withdrawal cap of just 10,000 rubles ($95) per month — a limit that extends to each dependent in their family. Compounding these hardships, employers often refuse to hire individuals on these government lists.

North Korea | Failing Currency Forces Return to Barter

North Korea’s currency crisis is forcing citizens to abandon the depreciating won currency in favor of barter. As exchange rates for foreign currencies like the US dollar and Chinese yuan hit record highs, merchants and money changers now demand commodities (such as rice and fuel) for foreign currencies and imported goods. One such example is trading around 2 kilograms of rice for a single dollar. This collapse leaves those without access to foreign currency in increasingly precarious financial positions and struggling to secure food and basic necessities. Even farmers, once partially compensated with valuable goods, now increasingly receive devalued cash, worsening nationwide food insecurity.

Nicaragua | Human Rights Abuses and Financial Repression Exposed

Under Daniel Ortega’s authoritarian rule, Nicaragua exemplifies the devastating intersection of financial repression and human rights abuses. New reports detail how the regime has confiscated over $250 million in assets, dissolved more than 5,200 NGOs, canceled pensions, and frozen bank accounts, leaving citizens financially vulnerable and silenced. Since Ortega’s return to power in 2007, and especially after the 2018 protests, his government has dismantled civil society, crushed political opposition, and eradicated independent media. Hundreds have been killed and exiled, and in 2023 and 2024 alone, 452 political opponents were stripped of their citizenship.

El Salvador | Bitcoin Adoption Limited as Government Comes to Terms With IMF

El Salvador finalized a $1.4 billion agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to support the government’s economic reform agenda at the cost of scaling back some of its Bitcoin policies. The deal will make accepting Bitcoin in the private sector voluntary, require all taxes to be paid in US dollars (as opposed to making it possible to pay in BTC), and see Chivo, the government-supported Bitcoin wallet, gradually unwound. In addition, the government will enhance “transparency, regulation, and supervision of digital assets” and establish a stronger Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Financial Terrorism (AML/CFT) framework.

Malaysia | Parliament Passes Repressive Media Bills Amidst Financial Struggles

Earlier this year, Malaysia’s ringgit currency plunged to a 26-year low, driving up prices nationwide. As families struggled with a higher cost of living, officials passed an amendment granting law enforcement the power to freeze bank accounts suspected of fraud. Meanwhile, Malaysia’s parliament is passing two more bills to regulate media and online spaces, allowing officials to censor content and request user data from service providers without approval. Critics warn the vague language in these laws will likely be exploited to silence dissent and stifle public discourse. As financial hardships mount, Malaysia’s online spaces become increasingly controlled, eroding freedom of expression and financial autonomy.

BITCOIN NEWS

Tando | Bridging Bitcoin and Everyday Payments in Kenya

Tando, a new bitcoin payments app and HRF grantee, makes it easy to spend bitcoin anywhere in Kenya by integrating with M-PESA, Kenya’s mobile money system. Users simply download the Tando app, enter the merchant’s M-PESA number, and input the amount owed in Kenyan shillings. The app calculates the required amount of bitcoin and generates a Lightning invoice, which users pay through their own Bitcoin wallet. Tando then converts the sats to shillings and completes the transaction instantly (you can watch this one-minute live demo here). For Kenyans excluded from M-PESA due to Know-Your-Customer regulations, Tando provides a practical solution that bridges Bitcoin and local financial systems to make everyday transactions easier.

Yakihonne | Adds Support for Improved Encrypted Direct Messaging

YakiHonne, a Nostr client, champions free speech and facilitates Bitcoin payments across 170 countries. Recent updates have made the platform more user-friendly and secure. The updated text editor now supports multiple languages, including right-to-left scripts, enhancing accessibility for a global audience. Messaging capabilities have been upgraded to allow longer texts, and users can now activate Secure DMs (NIP 44) for encrypted messaging on Nostr. These improvements make YakiHonne an appealing communication platform for pro-democracy and human rights activists, offering secure messaging and the ability to receive payments in Bitcoin in countries ruled by authoritarian regimes.

Mostro | Making Bitcoin More Accessible and Private

Mostro, a private and peer-to-peer (P2P) Bitcoin exchange built on Nostr, made significant strides this year toward empowering human rights defenders and nonprofits with accessible, private, and censorship-resistant financial tools. Created by Venezuelan developer Francisco Calderon, the platform implemented advanced key management which allows users to rotate the keys used for every bitcoin trade. This adds a layer of privacy critical for those operating under authoritarian regimes. Additionally, Mostro adopted NIP-69, standardizing all peer-to-peer orders on Nostr, creating a larger liquidity pool, and making trades more accessible for users. Finally, Mostro will soon launch a mobile app (currently in the testing phase), helping democratize Bitcoin access by providing individuals with a user-friendly mobile interface.

Foundation | Introduces Personal Security Platform

Foundation, a Bitcoin hardware wallet company, introduced Passport Prime, which they call “the world’s first Personal Security Platform.” Designed to protect users’ bitcoin and digital lives, Passport Prime offers a Bitcoin wallet, multi-factor authentication, secure file storage, and a Seed Vault to organize seed phrases. It does not require usernames, passwords, or email addresses, making it an interesting option for privacy-conscious users, particularly pro-democracy and human rights activists operating under authoritarian regimes. You can learn more about Passport Prime here.

BTrust Builders | Applications for 2024 ₿OSS Cohort Close Tomorrow

Applications for the 2025 ₿OSS Cohort, hosted by Btrust Builders in partnership with Chaincode Labs, close tomorrow, Dec. 27, 2024. This part-time, three-month, fully remote program is tailored to African developers seeking to contribute to Bitcoin open-source software (₿OSS), in order to increase the potential for use cases in a region where three-quarters of the governments are authoritarian regimes. The program is open to developers of all experience levels, and it provides hands-on technical training, career-building opportunities, and mentorship. If you’re a developer interested in this program, you can apply here.

RECOMMENDED CONTENT

Is Bitcoin a Lifeline for Africa with Farida Nabourema

In this episode of Dissidents and Dictators, an HRF podcast, Togolese human rights activist Farida Nabourema reveals her experience growing up under the Gnassingbé dictatorship—a single-family autocracy that has ruled Togo for over 50 years. Nabourema shares insights into the corruption and lack of trust that permeates Togo’s financial system and discusses how Bitcoin can enable greater transparency and offer a lifeline for citizens in Togo and across Africa, where authoritarian regimes stifle financial freedom. Watch the full episode here.

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.

Subscribe to newsletter\ Apply for a grant\ Support our work\ Visit our website

@ 7ed7d5c3:6927e200

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?  Thou art more lovely and more temperate; Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,  And summer’s lease hath all too short a date;

Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,

 And often is his gold complexion dimm’d;

And every fair from fair sometime declines,

 By chance or nature’s changing course untrimm’d;

``` But thy eternal summer shall not fade Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest; Nor shall Death brag thou wander’st in his shade, When in eternal lines to time thou growest;

So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, So long lives this and this gives life to thee. ```

@ ee90543f:9363457f

В Москве стартовало тестирование амбициозного проекта "Умные улицы", который обещает значительно изменить облик городской инфраструктуры и повысить качество жизни москвичей. Согласно объявлению мэра Москвы Анны Морозовой, проект включает в себя внедрение технологий автономного транспорта и установку интерактивных кабин, которые будут предоставлять жителям и туристам актуальную информацию об окружающей среде и предлагаемых услугах.

Система "Умные улицы" предполагает использование беспилотных автомобилей, которые смогут взаимодействовать с городской инфраструктурой и обеспечивать более безопасное и эффективное движение. Автономные транспортные средства будут оснащены передовыми датчиками и алгоритмами, что позволит им адаптироваться к изменяющимся условиям дорожной ситуации в реальном времени.

В рамках проекта на нескольких ключевых улицах Москвы также будут установлены интерактивные информационные кабинеты, которые будут доступны круглосуточно. Эти кабинеты предложат жителям разнообразные услуги: от получения информации о расписании общественного транспорта и ближайших культурных событиях до возможности заказа такси или проверки состояния здоровья с помощью встроенных медицинских датчиков.

"Проект 'Умные улицы' является важным шагом к созданию более безопасной и удобной городской среды для всех москвичей. Мы стремимся использовать современные технологии таким образом, чтобы они помогали жителям и улучшали повседневную жизнь," — отметила Анна Морозова, представляя инициативу на пресс-конференции.

Тестирование интеллектуальной транспортной системы уже начнется в этом месяце, и в его рамках будет проделана работа по сбору данных о маршрутах автономных машин, а также оценке удобства взаимодействия пользователей с интерактивными кабинетами.

Ожидается, что проект "Умные улицы" поможет снизить количество дорожных происшествий, улучшит регулирование транспортных потоков и обеспечит более быстрый доступ к информации для городских жителей. В дальнейшем планируется расширить программу на другие районы столицы, а также интегрировать её с международными стандарты умных городов.

Москва уверенно движется к статусу одного из ведущих городов мира в области внедрения умных технологий, и запуск "Умных улиц" — это еще один шаг навстречу будущему, в котором технологии служат людям.

@ 7d94dfe7:49219865

This story is already an ebook on various platforms aswell as an audiobook, now is the time to share it on nostr as a long form article.

**Something’s hit the fan. **

Marty was a highly regarded deputy kitchen hand at “The 24/7 Macho Coffee Blitz” café, where he worked harder than any other employee which awarded him employee of the month, 38 times over a 10 year long career, a record his jealous associates believed will never be broken still to this day. It’s worth mentioning Marty’s career is well and truly over and this is just a tribute to the legend coffee and toastie lovers once held close to their hearts. The following is Marty’s story told from the day he was fired.

Bad time to be risky.

It was a sunny morning, the birds were singing and there were no clouds in the sky. Marty was leaning on the balustrade gazing into the ocean from the top story balcony of his beachside mansion, he was a man with it all, very beloved by his local community. Every morning Marty would sit on the balcony enjoying the view while he waited to leave the house at exactly 8:47am, as it took him 13 minutes to get to work. Now you may be wondering how a man that works at a 24/7 cafe become to be so wealthy and that is indeed a great question considering his wage was $40,000 a year. Marty was so loved by his community that he became a bit of a tourist attraction, tourists from around the globe would tip this man ungodly amounts of money, he even had his face on the towns biggest bill board which alone pulled him in 5 million dollars a year. 8:47am finally arrived and just like every other day Marty would get inside his red Ferrari and blast death metal as he cruised to work with a smug look on his face, a look totally justified through blood, sweat and tears for countless years at what many once called a dead end job. Marty arrives at work after his 13 minute journey and struts through the kitchen high fiving fellow employees as a couple of the lads shout “The king has arrived” to which Marty responds “Calm down guys it’s too early for that kind of praise”. The doors began to flood open with so many people a genius couldn’t even count it, put it this way, you’d struggle to find Wally in this place. Anyway the place was full, people were making orders and the staff was quite accommodating, Marty was on barista duty, there was nothing he loved more than whipping up a hot cup of joe. As Marty dished out the coffees people always asked for a photo with the man and a signature on a napkin. Things got quite tiring for old Marty after the first wave of people came through but when things started to die down a little the staff got to enjoy an hour of peace and quiet before the midday rush began. For the most part everyone stayed busy during their down time, they’d wipe down appliances, mop the floor, all kinds of stuff, they knew how to stay professional and keep the place in good knick. The place was looking spotless and they were about 15 minutes away from the midday rush and Marty was contemplating stealing a bag of the special chicken salt from the kitchen that they use on the chips, anyone that has ever tried the chips has always dreamed of stealing a box of salt as no one could quite put their finger on why it tasted so good. Marty had plans to take the salt to a lab and get the ingredients tested so he could forever know the secret recipe but little did he know the big boss that only visited once a year was doing his annual store check. Marty was such an icon at this place that any other day he would have gotten away with this crazy chicken salt scheme, “I’m doing it guys” Marty said to a couple of employees standing in the kitchen with him awaiting the lunchtime madness, “You’ve got to be crazy” yelled one employee, “Don’t do it” said the other, “It’s too late I’ve already made up my mind, I need to know the secret ingredients” Marty explained. So without further ado Marty waltzes into the big walk in cupboard wearing a back pack, he takes a 2kg box of chicken salt and places it in his bag. He turns around to leave the kitchen and to his surprise the big boss/owner of the cafe that was only there once in a blue moon was standing in the door way of the giant cupboard, “What in the world do you call this” shouted the big boss at the top of his lungs, you could see the fire in the man’s eyes. He gave Marty a grilling that even the head chef would want no part of, he sacked Marty on the spot. Marty was even like “What if I just put it back” and the big boss was like, “Absolutely not, we need to make an example of you”. Marty was devastated but at the same time was at least pleased the boss said no to the put it back suggestion, he was a man about to lose it all but also a man with 2kgs of the best chicken salt ever tasted on that small patch of the universes land.

Marty went home immediately and didn’t even say a word to any other staff members during his play it cool strut to the car, also the chicken salt detector caught Marty on the way out so he didn’t even leave with that either. When Marty arrived home the first thing he did was smash back half a bottle of vodka and pass out on the couch, looking worse than a piece of crap on a hot summer’s day.When Marty awoke from his drunken slumber, he looked at his phone and noticed he had 500 missed calls, he couldn’t believe his eyes so he turned his phone off and on again like any technical support genius would and just like before it showed 500 missed calls, everyone in the neighbourhood was trying to call Marty about the news, I guess word spreads fast in Marty’s neck of the woods. Marty had no idea where to begin with calling everybody back so he just resorted into ghost mode and cut all contact with just about everyone he knew. Rumours started to brew within the valley and across the far land that the cafe legend loved by all but hated by a couple was going to go broke, like a joke by some bloke in a cloak, the funny thing was the rumours were actually not far off the truth, payments on Marty’s house were costing hundreds of thousands of dollars every week and not to mention the cost on his red Ferrari which he lease’s on a weekly payment.

You may be thinking surely a man with that kind of wealth would have just bought everything outright but what can I say sometimes the richest people are the dullest sparks. Brief calculations Marty concluded whilst on the toilet for he did not want to waste valuable time doing maths, told Marty he had enough money to last him another 6 months before he was pronounced clinically broke. This scared Marty so he began to ponder pursuing another job, the only issue being that no other job would even come close to pulling in the income of his previous career for he was ridiculously over paid for a man whose best skills were brewing a hot cup of coffee and making a wicked ham, cheese and tomato toastie. By now you would have come to realise that Marty is not the sharpest tool in the shed and how he got to his rich man status in the first place is beyond the brain of any man to even try and comprehend, that being said Marty decided it would be a good idea to just blow all of his money and live like a king for a further 6 months before reassessing his life, screw it thought this temporary king, his attitude gave off a vibe that said if I became rich once I’ll find a way to do it again.

Marty had devised a plan to throw the craziest party anyone had ever seen and thought he may as well invite anyone that would make a conscious decision to be there, he didn’t want guests that were there unconsciously not that anybody should be but you can never be too careful. If the ship is going down anyway I may as well have one last rip snorta thought Marty, rip snorta is a phrase Marty always used instead of saying party, no one knew why, “I refuse to delay this brilliant idea, I’m getting the ball rolling at the break of dawn” shouted Marty to himself like the mad man he is.

**Let the festivities embark. **

Just like clockwork the break of dawn arrived and Marty wasted no time putting ads all over the internet, after breakfast I’m going to go on a neighbourhood delivery run and put out some flyers thought Marty. You can say what you want about the man but when he had an idea he stuck to it. After consuming a long black, 6 eggs, 2 pieces of toast and a pikelet, Marty drew up a poster which he created on an A4 sheet of paper using that pen with 4 different colour options, then ironically he photo copied it 400 times in black and white and placed them in his bag ready to distribute them across town. Marty hopped into his black van with sick rims, put his back pack on the passenger seat and got ready to hit the town. This black van was Marty’s most prized possession it was his first car and really the only thing he could hold on to when everything else is gone. The journey began and Marty just started throwing the A4 sheets out the window as if he was a paper boy from the 70s, after throwing about 50 papers out the window it became quite apparent that due to being a thin rectangular piece of paper the posters just weren’t making it far enough out the window, so basically there were just pieces of paper on the road of the first suburb Marty hit up, it’s time to switch plans pondered Marty quite discretely.

He decided to park his car in random areas and distribute the posters by hand for it was the only way, it was a big day for the Martinator he was out there for 10 long grueling hours advertising for his party which was kicking off that night. When Marty finally arrived home it was 8pm and he was an exhausted mess, right away he got on the phone with the local bottle shop and got a truck load of alcohol delivered ASAP for his guests, he then went to his private mini bar and drank half a bottle of rum before having a shower to clean himself up a bit after the long day. All his random guests were due to turn up at 10pm for Marty’s last moments of expensive chaos.

The time was 9:45pm and Marty was sitting on the couch playing video games whilst waiting for someone to turn up, all of a sudden these car lights started to shine through the window so Marty went outside to greet the first arrivals. It was quite clear that this mystery vehicle was a black van, the doors slid open and out came 8 people, at first Marty couldn’t work out who it was but he quickly discovered, it was the orchestra he handed a poster to during his delivery run. It’s funny, when Marty handed them the poster, one of them said, “Awesome dude, we will play some live music for you.” obviously at the time Marty thought they were joking and assumed they were unlikely to even show up, but show up they did, so Marty helped them get all of their instruments inside and set them up on his stage in the lounge room. There was about half an hour of awkward silence between Marty and the orchestra before the place became packed full of people, who would of thought the posters Marty distributed across town would of drawn such a big crowd, I guess the general public are just suckers for a poster.

Marty’s house was packed and it’s safe to say nobody was sober, it was looking like Marty was going to go broke at the end of the night, there were people chugging whole bottles of expensive champagne, other people were putting away $500 bottles of wine, no doubt Marty’s wallet was getting thinner although his stomach was getting fatter from the feast available to all guests. He had 7 whole pigs on spits and a team of people pumping out a barbecue, not to mention special Japanese chefs making fresh Devine sushi, I wasn’t going to mention the Italian pizza chefs because to be honest that’s a book on its own for they were quite the characters. Hours went by as everyone ate / drank themselves stupid. Half way through the night there were people passed out all throughout the house, Marty went outside to get a bit of fresh air when he realised there were people passed out in the front and back yard too, he then began to draw facial hair on the faces of everyone that had passed out, because there was so many people it worked out to be around 50 people in total that had fallen asleep due to excessive drinking, Marty’s pen almost ran out of ink before he was done.As the hours went by some people started leaving but of course there were soldiers carrying on into the day light, Marty had a good time he spent a lot of money which wasn’t any issue to him because the way he saw it he was screwed anyway, he got to catch up with a lot of friends that ended up attending as well as a bunch of randoms that saw his poster. The early hours of the morning had arrived and there was about 10 people left including Marty, 8 of these people were complete randoms and then there was Bill, Marty’s childhood friend. Bill wasn’t going all that great career and money wise so he wasn’t able to help Marty in that aspect but you could always count on him for moral support and sometimes that will do. As the 8 random people danced around the bonfire which was in fact burning since 10pm the previous night, Marty and Bill were chatting like a couple of old ladies in the isle of a supermarket, whilst bickering amongst each other Bill casually said to Marty “when you become poor your welcome to live under my lemon tree hahahaha” as Bill laughed uncontrollably Marty said “don’t be surprised if I take you up on that hahahahaha” they then both continued to laugh for a further 4 minutes and 15 seconds, by the time they had finished laughing they couldn’t even remember what they were laughing about, they weren’t busy so they spent a moment pondering what was so funny, it wasn’t long before Bill said, “oh yeah, the lemon tree haha.” “Oh yeah” replied Marty, “classic”. They then joined the group of lost souls dancing around the bonfire until one by one the group of dancing idiots began to leave, by the time everyone had left it was 10am, Bill then says to Marty, “I’m going to get going as well, I thought I’d stay while there was still random people here so you didn’t have to endure any awkwardness alone.” “Thanks Bill” said Marty “what a guy” he continued. Bill got going and Marty went inside to chill and have a cup of coffee, it was a long night so despite having some coffee Marty fell asleep on the couch for a few hours, when Marty woke up the first thing he did was check his bank account. To his surprise he only had $10,000 left in the bank, Marty began to panic because he had no memory of spending so much money, he did get pretty messed up so it’s not surprising he blew almost all of his money but to put it into perspective he must of spent an ungodly amount of cash because 10 grand isn’t even enough to cover 1 week of living, Marty’s lifestyle is so expensive that it quickly sunk in that his lush life of a king would soon be over. Marty didn’t know what to do but it was quite clear that his house and Ferrari would be repossessed, at least I’ll always have the black van with sick rims though he assured himself. Marty thought of a quick plan right away and wasn’t backing down from the idea, he basically decided that he would withdraw his last $10,000 into cash, hit the road with his black van and see where the wind took him.

A sour place to call home.

Marty decided that he was better off living life on the down low, off the grid style, he knew his mansion and Ferrari would be repossessed very soon and he didn't want to stick around and watch it happen, so he loaded his car with as much stuff as he could fit in. Marty hit the road only half an hour after coming up with the idea, what can I say the guy doesn’t mess around, his first stop was the nearest ATM where he withdrew his last 10 grand, It ended up being $9998.00 because the ATM had a $2 transaction fee, despite the rough start Marty wasn’t going to ponder the $2 loss too hard. He drove around aimlessly looking for a nice place to chill out when suddenly he was stopped by a red light, as he was sitting at the light awaiting its next move to go green, three young kids came out of nowhere and one of them proceeded to wash Marty’s windscreen with a squeegee, “Stop that” shouted Marty “I didn’t say yes you idiots”, as this kid was washing Marty’s wind screen, Marty put on his windscreen wipers which actually knocked the squeegee out of the kids hands he then hit the accelerator and ran right through the red light, as he got through the lights he heard police sirens and thought of course a policeman saw that, just my luck. Marty was having a doozy of a day, he pulled over to the side of the road and all of a sudden a beam of sunlight shined down over the car, the police vehicle passed Marty with the sirens on, clearly he had bigger fish to fry, “Jesus is that you?” said Marty in a hopeful tone, “Are you going to make me rich again?”, Marty continued, of course he didn’t get a response so he decided to blame the beam of sunlight on the weather and the policeman passing him as luck, any who Marty was free to carry on with his new aimless life.

Marty got back to it and started cruising down the streets, he drove for hours and saw some interesting sights along the way, at one point he saw a continental roll pierced threw the antenna of someone’s vehicle, he wasn’t sure if the sandwich gave the radio better signal or if it was just some kind of an ornament, in any case it was the highlight of Marty’s day. After a long day of driving Marty decided to find a nice quiet place to pull over and have a sleep, he ended up pulling up to a nice spot overlooking the beach, “This will be a perfect place to camp the night” said Marty out loud to himself for some reason, “I can go for a swim first thing in the morning, what a great way to start the day” he continued saying to himself, the guy was just having a full blown convo. Marty had some matches in the van so he ended up making a fire down on the beach, he sat by the fire for a while before falling asleep right on the beach front.

When Marty woke up in the morning to his surprise there was some homeless guy curled up next to him sleeping by the fire, Marty was so shocked after first waking up that he let out a huge scream, which caused the homeless guy to wake up and start screaming too, so Marty and the homeless guy were both just screaming on the beach for a few seconds until Marty got up and walked to his van, that was a weird start to the morning thought Marty, he was a bit rattled after that. It was a new day and Marty had no idea what would come of it, he got into his van and hit the road again with nowhere to go and nowhere to be, Marty was just blasting the tunes and cruising having a pretty good time. Suddenly Marty remembered that he had forgotten to even have a swim at the beach where he set camp, he was gutted, Marty was really looking forward to swimming in the morning but unfortunately he was so rattled by the slumbering bum that he managed to leave the beach without taking a dip in the sea, due to this sudden remembrance, Marty was in a bad mood for the rest of the day, the worst thing about the whole debacle was he was over 50kms away from any beach now so swimming was out of the picture at the moment.

Marty was getting deeper into farm land and couldn’t decide whether to head back to the coast or keep going, so he pulled into a random side street full of private property’s, to his surprise there was a kid out the front of his house that had set up a lemonade stand, Marty was quite thirsty so he went and got a glass of lemonade which cost him 50 cents, as Marty was sipping the drink he happened to have an epiphany. He remembered Bill saying that he was welcome to live under his lemon tree, he also remembered Bill laughing about it like it was a joke, luckily Marty wasn’t the type of guy to get put off a good offer just because someone laughed it off, “to Bills house” thought Marty. Suddenly Marty’s aimless journey had direction thanks to stumbling upon a random lemonade stand, the journey from the lemonade stand to Bills house was close to two days long, so Marty said to the lemonade kid, “just sell me the whole jug, I’m going to need it”, the kid said “ok that will be $10”, Marty handed him a $10 note and started to begin the journey, carrying a jug of lemonade in his left hand. Marty drove all day and all night, he wasn’t going to stop to have a rest, in fact he wasn’t stopping for anything, he was prepared to drive for two days straight, as far as Marty was concerned he could just pass out under the lemon tree upon arrival.

The drive to Bills house was a bit of a boring venture so we may as well skip to the part where Marty was forced to stop for fuel, Marty’s fuel stop happened about 10 hours after he departed from the lemonade stand, his fuel light was on for a good 2 hours before he came across a fuel station, he was getting worried he would need to go for a massive walk carrying a jerry can, that would of been Marty’s worst nightmare, a long walk is one thing but carrying a jerry can is a whole different ball game, if one thing was for sure it’s that Marty can’t stand different ball games, anyway when Marty got to the fuel station he was really craving a meat pie, to Marty’s surprise the servo was out of meat pies and what really cranked Marty’s gears was the fact that the worker at the cashier was stuffing his gob with the last meat pie, “You couldn’t leave that for a customer?” said Marty to the cashier, “I was hungry” said the cashier “what’s it to you”, he continued, Marty’s face went red, he looked like a kettle at boiling point, Marty just started raging at him, “WHATS IT TO ME?” yelled Marty at the top of his lungs. “I’VE BEEN DRIVING FOR DAYS AND IVE BARELY EATEN A THING, IVE SURVIVED THE LAST TEN HOURS OFF OF A JUG OF LEMONADE, ALL IVE BEEN CRAVING IS A MEAT PIE AND YOU ATE THE LAST ONE YOU LAZY PIG” “I’m going to have to ask you to calm down” whispered the cashier, “That will be $71.95 for the fuel said the cashier”, Marty gets out his bank card, the cashier said “Pay pass?” “Yeah” responded Marty, “Pay pass”.

Marty then turned away and walked back to his van like nothing happened, it was quite weird, he now had a full tank of fuel and was ready to get back to the task at hand. Marty easily had enough fuel to get all the way to Bills house so he was absolutely loving life despite being a bit on the hungry side, again Marty was back on the road and this time he really wasn’t stopping, he blasted his favourite death metal album and just drove, sure his butt and back we’re getting sore but Marty was actually having a good time. I suppose we better do another time skip now, since the rest of the drive to Bills house was quite boring to hear about. When Marty finally arrived at Bills house it was 11pm at night, Bill was asleep because he gets up quite early in the mornings but this didn’t bother Marty as the lemon tree happened to be in the front yard. So Marty got out of the van, stumbled over to the lemon tree and just collapsed into sleep. Marty awoke in the morning with Bill poking him with a stick, “Stop that said Marty, I’ve still got some dignity you know?” “I’m sorry” said Bill, “You were lying face down, I didn’t know who you were, what in the world do you think you’re doing here anyway?” Marty replied “I’ve decided to take you up on your offer” “My offer?” Bill responded, “Which offer are we talking about here?” “When we were drunk you invited me to live under your lemon tree” Said Marty “You can’t be serious” said Bill “You can’t just live under my lemon tree” “I can and I will” said Marty “What if I call the police and say your trespassing” mentioned Bill “Come on” said Marty “It’ll only be for a few weeks” “Okay fine, if it’s only a few weeks I’ll let you stay” Said Bill in a slightly defeated tone.

Bill walked back inside the house to make himself a coffee, Marty then went and got a few things out of the van so he could set up a nice little homely camp under the lemon tree. He wanted the lemon tree to be an inviting place where he could host picnics and chill, Marty didn’t have a lot of things in the van but he had some blankets that he placed on the grass for comfort, he even hung a dream catcher from one of the branches, don’t ask me why he had one but he just did. He had a bowl of mints that he kept in the glove box of the van so he placed them under the tree in case he had any guests that were keen to refresh their breath, a week went by of Marty living in Bills front yard, things were going alright for him, he would come and go as he pleased and lucky for him there was no rain, just sunny skies every day.

Marty thought it was a good idea to try to start earning an income so he took some inspiration off the kid on the farm and put together a lemonade stand, he used Bills coffee table and a bunch of random glasses he found in the kitchen cupboard, it didn’t occur to Marty that this would make Bill mad but sure enough it did indeed. Marty was out there for hours selling cups of lemonade, then all of a sudden Bill appears before Marty’s eyes and says “What on earth is going on here” “I’ve started making lemonade” said Marty “Want a glass?” “Is that my coffee table?” said Bill “And are those my cups!” “It’s one thing that you’ve decided to live in my front yard but this is going too far”, Bill shouted, “I need to earn some money you know” said Marty “But your using my lemons and all of my stuff, this is ridiculous” said Bill “And I’m not even getting a penny for this” he wasn’t a happy Chappie, “What if we half the profits” said Marty trying to persuade Bill into the idea, “You’re barley making any profit you idiot” said Bill, “I want all my stuff back in the house now otherwise you’re out” yelled Bill. Marty was a bit rattled after having Bill shout at him and he didn’t want to lose his place under the lemon tree so he put the coffee table back in the house along with all of the glasses, that idea didn’t last long thought Marty, so he took the rest of the day off and just had a bit of a snooze.

That one day snooze suddenly became weeks of laziness, during Marty’s weeks of laziness people around the neighbourhood started talking about the weird guy living under a lemon tree on a relatively nice street. There were some rumours flying around that some homeless guy begged Bill for change and Bill said “Sorry I don’t have any change but you can live under my lemon tree” it’s pretty funny because the rumours weren’t too far off the truth, the only difference is Bill has known Marty for a long time and Marty never begged Bill for change. The rumours started getting around further then the mind could imagine, people started coming from all over the globe to see the guy that lives under the lemon tree, well not really but there were a couple of tour buses that drove past and even stopped for pictures with the weird lemon man, we all know as Marty, word even got around at the 24/7 Macho Coffee Blitz café.

One day Marty’s old co-workers even did a drive by past the lemon tree to see if it were true. They didn’t want to embarrass old Marty since a lot of them still had respect for the guy, I mean he became stinking rich working at a cafe, which gave a lot of these guys hopes for their future, so to avoid Marty’s embarrassment they drove past wearing balaclavas with eye holes in them, this scared the daylights out of Marty, he thought this group of people were on their way home from a bank robbery so he went into Bills house and called the cops to report a potential crime, hahaha classic Marty. Soon enough there were pictures online and around the neighbourhood of Marty living under the lemon tree, the paparazzi somehow snapped some pics of Marty without him noticing, Marty become the biggest news going around because nobody else had the guts to start a new life beneath a lemon tree.

Marty had no idea the world was going nuts over him which was a shame because he would have capitalised on the attention financially. As time went on Marty started to make himself more at home,a great example of this is the fact that he had 4 big esky’s filled with his weekly shopping which he got delivered to the tree every Sunday morning, that’s right, while most religious people were at church, Marty was helping unload a truck full of groceries to the lemon tree and when most people were at work he would chill and sleep. One day Bill had enough, he couldn’t take it anymore so he went and confronted Marty, so basically Bill marched out to the front yard, grabbed Marty by the scruff of the neck and said “I’m pretty sure you’ve out stayed your welcome buddy, I want you out of here” Marty responded by saying “Firstly let go of my neck scruff, you know I don’t like people touching my neck scruff, and secondly, what’s with the sudden change of attitude” “You’ve been here for 4 months now and your drawing a lot of unwanted attention” Said Bill, “Has it really been 4 months? I guess time flies when you’re having fun” Marty responded “Yeah well it’s time for your fun to end” Bill said to Marty, becoming quite frustrated.

You couldn’t really blame Bill for this sudden snap but Marty wasn’t one to go down without a fight so he kept on trying to argue his case for staying, Bill wasn’t having it though, Marty wasn’t able to build a case no matter what he said, so they both ended up agreeing to Marty’s departure. It had been decided, Marty would vacate at the crack of dawn, the early hours of the morning finally arrived and Marty was still sound asleep. After a few more hours went by he woke up in a panic realising that he had missed the crack of dawn, it was fine though he was still committed to leaving his new home and what’s a couple hours between friends. Marty packed everything into his van and left Bill a message written in strategically placed pebbles he took out of the garden, the message read “so long Bill” by the time Bill actually saw this message a bird had stolen a couple of the pebbles, so all Bill saw was “so on Bill” Bill didn’t know what the hell that meant but he was happy Marty was gone.

Up in flames It was a sunny day and Marty was driving down Southwest Boulevard reminiscing about his time spent underneath Bills lemon tree, Marty considered those days to be the best few months of his adult life, which is hilarious bearing in mind he used to be filthy rich. It was the highlight of Marty’s life so far because it made him feel like a true outdoorsman, Marty used to love watching the adventures of Bear Grills on TV and the lemon tree days made him feel in touch with nature. So anyway Marty drove around for a while before pulling up at a random donut shop, he thought he would see if they were looking for a barista, it had been a while since he made coffees but thought fuck it, I can always drive away again and plus I’m not doing anything else, there was a guy from the donut shop standing out by the road waving around a sign saying free donut with purchase of coffee, so Marty thought it would be a good idea to start by talking to this Muppet, “Hey man” Marty said to the guy, when suddenly the guy drops the sign and says, “Gees dude you totally startled me” “Sorry” Marty reply’s “I’m about to walk inside and ask the boss if they need a barista, how do you like my chances?” the guy laughed at Marty and said “I don’t even work here, I’m merely a local bum that hangs around this shop far too often, it’s not a good look for the store so they handed me a sign” and said “If you’re going to hang around here you can keep yourself busy with this” “Oh my gosh” responded Marty “What a coincidence, I’ve just recently fallen into the bum life myself” Marty and this sign waving bum were out there chatting for hours, they got on like a house on fire. The guy started telling Marty about his extended bum family, spread out across the state, this guy knew all of the bums and was even kind enough to induct Marty into the family, “My names Scrappy McGee” said the bum to Marty “Just mention me to any bum you come across and tell them you’re a new member of our secret society, they all know who I am” Marty and Scrappy were chatting for so long that a staff member walked outside with another sign and handed it to Marty “HEY I DONT NEED THIS” yelled Marty as the staff member quickly started walking back into the shop “I WAS GOING TO BE YOUR BARISTA” Marty continued carrying on. Scrappy started to tell Marty about the leader of the bums, “The wise one” “The enlightener” “His name is Spoona” said Scrappy, “He lives on a beach and we all go to him for guidance.” “You’ve got to be kidding me” Marty responded in a tone of disbelief, “I’m pretty sure I’ve already been spooned by Spoona a few months ago while I was sleeping on a beach, he scared the crap out of me and I couldn’t get away fast enough” “Hahahaha, that sounds like Spoona” laughed Scrappy “We should go visit him” Scrappy suggested “VISIT HIM? I was hoping to never see that weirdo again” Marty was shocked “Don’t worry most people have a rough start with Spoona, we need to see the wise one and you will realise he is indeed a good guy” argued Scrappy as he didn’t like to hear people being afraid of the wise enlightener “We mustn’t waste anytime” said Scrappy “To the black van” “I hope this isn’t just a plot to hitch a ride across town” Marty said. So before getting inside Marty’s van to trek it across the state to see the wise one, the lads handed there donut shop signs to a couple of kids that were passing by, Scrappy said to them if they wave the signs around for a few hours, someone would come outside and hand them twenty bucks, Marty asked scrappy if that were true and scrappy said “Nah I’ve been doing it for the love of the task” then Marty said, “ Fair enough, if it were true I would of stayed a bit longer to get twenty bucks.” “You and me both” said Scrappy “You and me both”, I don’t know why he felt the need to say it twice but he just did. So this not so dynamic duo got into Marty’s van and started to drive to the beach occupied by the wise bum Spoona, “leader of the bums”, “king of the poor”.

They drove for about 5 hours before they had to stop for fuel, the only issue was neither of them had money for fuel so they ended up doing the old drive off. Marty was a bit on edge about the situation because it was the first time he committed such a crime, Scrappy assured Marty it was nothing to worry about though “I do this all the time” said Scrappy to try and calm Marty down, “you don’t even have a car” responded Marty quite wittily, “Yeah” replied Scrappy, “I was just trying to make you feel better, you clearly don’t have the cahoonas for a criminal life” “I may not have cahoonas but I’m still a man” Marty preached to try and justify his manliness. Marty drove for hours on end while Scrappy sang Christmas carols, Marty would have preferred to listen to his beloved death metal music but Scrappy insisted that he would sing, it was nowhere near Christmas but Scrappy didn’t know the lyrics to many songs so Christmas carols it was.

Any who after driving for a bloody long time the beach was finally within view, they were still about 5 kilometers away but you could see the beach on the clear horizon, Scrappy was getting really excited to see the wise man on the beach as he really held this guy in high regard, Marty on the other hand was creeped out as he still felt a bit violated from the last time he saw Spoona.They finally arrive at the beach, park the car and walked out towards the water, Spoona was nowhere to be seen, “Don’t worry” said Scrappy “We’re bound to see him in the morning, no doubt he’ll be spooning one of us as we awake” Mentioned Scrappy, “Yeah I just hope it’s you”, Marty responded still very creeped out about this whole scenario. So Marty and Scrappy just chilled on the beach until nightfall and just like the last time Marty was there he set up a nice fire to keep them warm, Scrappy started singing Christmas carols again which drove Marty nuts but fell asleep eventually as did the Martinator. The next morning around 5:30 am Marty was woken up by the smell of Spoonas fart. Marty opened his eyes so smoothly that if you had conjunctivitis you’d be jealous and then he glanced over to the left where he saw Spoona just sitting by the fire, Spoona wasn’t looking in Marty’s direction but he knew he was awake due to being super wise, “So you’ve come back” said the wise one with an enchanting voice, “Is it guidance that you seek” Spoona continued as he threw something into the fire, Marty had no idea what he threw into the fire because it was still quite dark, “I’m just happy I didn’t wake up to you spooning me” Marty said to Spoona as he walked closer to the almighty leader of the bum society, “I spooned you a few hours ago”, Spoona said in response, Spoona carried on by saying “I’m surprised you didn’t wake up then, last time you were here I woke up to you screaming at me!” Marty then said, “Why the hell didn’t you tell me you were the leader of the bums last time I was here?” “Well”, said Spoona “You weren’t officially a bum yet and also you ran away screaming, in fact you couldn’t get away fast enough” Marty pointed his index finger in the air and said “Also why the hell do you spoon people”, “It makes me very uncomfortable” “I don’t like it anymore then you do” Spoona candidly responded “But unfortunately it’s the only way to enlighten people, you see, people tend to have epiphany’s the day after I spoon them” “Well I did have an epiphany while I was drinking from that kids lemonade stand” Marty said to Spoona, “In fact I went to live under Bills lemon tree that day, but I don’t know if I can give you credit for that as I was merely taking Bill up on a drunken offer” giggled Marty “I gave you the courage to take Bill up on that offer” Spoona concluded “Sometimes an epiphany is really just a sudden wave of courage” said Spoona quite mysteriously as his fingers were up in the air wiggling around “What is my purpose great wise one?” asked Marty, “Your purpose has already been and gone, your one of us now and you always will be” “One of you?” questioned Marty, “Enlighten me wise one, tell me more” “YOU’RE A BUM” shouted the wise one, Spoona continued by telling Marty that he’s not alone and that things will be ok only different to the life he once knew, “I’VE HEARD ENOUGH” shouted Marty very heroically, “I must leave right away sir wise one, I’m sure we will meet again” muttered Marty. “Why must you leave so soon” Spoona replied, “To be honest I want to get away before Scrappy wakes up, I’m trying to ditch him” “Yeah fair enough you’re not the first one to ditch him and my wisdom tells me you won’t be the last” said Spoona.

Marty ran over to his van and drove away as fast as he could terrified of the possibility of Scrappy tagging along, Marty had no idea where to go or what to do so he drove around with no sense of direction. After a few hours of driving he came across a hillbilly steak house called “Up In Flames” Marty didn’t have any money but he was quite thirsty so he thought he would pull in and ask for a free glass of water. As Marty entered the car park there were hillbilly’s everywhere, they were all wearing overalls and straw hats, a few of them even had straw sticking out of there gobs. Marty got out of the van and suddenly one of the hillbilly’s started walking towards Marty with a puffed out chest flexing his arms, Marty started to shit himself, quite literally, but none the less quickly accepted potential combat, when the hillbilly got a bit closer he yelled, “WELL ILL BE DAMED, ITS THE LEMON TREE GUY! You’re a celebrity around these parts partner” the hillbilly chuckled. Marty walked inside and was stunned to see a picture of himself chilling under Bills lemon tree hung up on the wall outside the kitchen, Marty walked up to a staff member and asked them where they got the picture from, the guy told Marty that a bus load of tourists stopped by for lunch one day and one of them was holding this photo, “We thought this was the greatest thing we’ve ever seen so we had to buy it from them and hang it up on our wall” the hillbilly staff member told Marty “How much did you pay for it?” Questioned Marty, “Well” said the hillbilly, “We don’t get a lot of customers so we don’t have a lot of money, that being said we traded it with them for a free lunch, you see most of the people that hang around here are family and they all eat for free so we ain’t making no damn profit” this hillbilly concluded, then without notice this hillbilly pulled a black marker out of his pocket and said “We would be honoured if you could sign the picture” Marty was quite flattered and signed the photo without hesitation, he didn’t have a hell of a lot going for him so he wasn’t shying away from any limelight no matter how small and I hate to be the bearer of bad news but this book is over.

After thoughts.

As you know things didn’t work out well for Marty so in hindsight I’ve left you on a bit of a cliff hanger. Not a devastating cliff hanger but kind of a humorous one as the last thing we hear about Marty is him in a steakhouse talking to hillbilly’s that can’t get enough of him. The other thing I want to mention while you’re still reading this is Marty is still a relatively young guy so sure he might be a bum now but who knows maybe one day we will hear from Marty again. FYI sometimes Marty still sits on park benches and tells weirdos that sit next to him story’s about when he was rich, he also tells them tales about the lemon tree days. One time someone asked him why he didn’t invest money while he had it. Marty responded “I didn’t think of that”, so isn’t that something, sometimes it’s one thought that can change the outcome of one’s life. Any way I’m starting to ramble now so until next time you squealing buffoons, have a nice day. Brief mention before I leave: as I was writing the book I forgot Marty withdrew $9998 out of the atm and later in the book he had no money for fuel or anything else. So let’s just say Marty is in for a nice surprise once he realises he has some cash somewhere. Author Quote: “If you find any mistakes in this book, tell someone that gives a shit.”

@ ee90543f:9363457f

В Москве состоялось официальное открытие первого в мире интернет-музея, который предлагает пользователям уникальную возможность погрузиться в богатство искусства и истории, не выходя из дома. Открытие этого инновационного проекта стало значимым событием в культурной жизни города и привлекло внимание международной общественности.

Интернет-музей, запущенный при поддержке Министерства культуры России и ведущих технических компаний, представляет собой виртуальную платформу, где пользователи могут исследовать экспонаты, объекты искусства и исторические артефакты с помощью технологий дополненной и виртуальной реальности. Посетители могут не только просматривать коллекции, но и взаимодействовать с ними, участвовать в мастер-классах и экскурсиях, проводимых известными искусствоведами и кураторами.

Необычная концепция музея позволяет устраивать выставки, приуроченные к различным культурным событиям и памятным датам — от выставок современных художников до исторических артефактов. Один из элементов, ставших возможными благодаря новым технологиям, — создание мультимедийных инсталляций, в которых зрители могут «перемещаться» внутри произведений искусства.

Градоначальник Москвы, Анна Морозова, на церемонии открытия выразила гордость за этот проект: "Москва всегда была культурным центром, и мы рады, что теперь можем предложить доступ к нашим богатым традициям и инновациям всему миру. Интернет-музей станет местом встречи для любителей искусства из разных стран и обеспечит новые способы взаимодействия с культурным наследием."

Платформа уже привлекла более 300,000 зарегистрированных пользователей за первые две недели после своего запуска, и ожидается, что это число будет расти. Кроме того, интернет-музей предоставляет возможности для образовательных программ и совместных проектов с учебными заведениями, что способствует повышению интереса к истории и культуре среди молодежи.

С открытием этого уникального учреждение Москва подтверждает свой статус не только как культурной столицы России, но и как флагмана в глобальных инновациях в области искусства и технологий.

@ ab216c04:c00fe2d7

Good morning. I’m writing my first public read with nostr as a way to introduce what I work on when people visit my profile. I studied computer science with a keen interest in education technology because I felt that the promise of the internet fell short when it came to its potential to transform education. I don’t believe it failed outright, but like our approach to identity, media and money, education seemed to have embarked in the wrong direction.

I think the role of educational technology is not to configure how students and teachers communicate, but to support an environment that encourages the most natural form of education. Teachers should teach and students should learn, but there are economic constraints that make that challenging in too many ways to highlight.

To keep things short, I believe there can be new ways to financialize internet properties to support schools economically in a way that isn’t mostly dependent on the value of housing properties or state & federal taxation policies. To spark imagination, I say that you can “create scholarships with learning” but the idea at scale essentially means the ability to redefine the infamous red line.

Many people in 2024 now see Bitcoin as a sort of treasury system, and most recognize Bitcoin as a store value. Likewise, people now view decentralized identity as a mechanism to better represent an individual’s durable interactions with technology. If you pause to think about it, one can appreciate how all of these concepts also play a crucial role in the educational process.

For example, how much economic value is lost when a 4th year engineering student drops out of college or transfers schools? The centralization of our transcripts and educational resources fails to precisely define our academic progress. This is a failure of education technology.

And what if schools, well-funded by expensive properties and high incomes, can realistically and pragmatically connect with schools that are far more dependent on state and federal distributions? What if we could expand the scope, the circumstances and conditions of education finance beyond physical borders?

So that’s what I work on, and my participation in nostr has been an incredible leap toward materializing these ideas, which you can experience on platforms like:

• Learn coding with AI: https://robotsbuildingeducation.com
• Track scholarships and draft essays with AI: https://girlsoncampus.org
• Study citizenship civics with with AI: https://civico.app

\ And above all else, you are welcome to build and design education technology in the same direction with open software: https://github.com/RobotsBuildingEducation?tab=repositories

@ 68ce44e4:ecd5f574

Xenea Wallet Daily Quiz 28 Dec

Complete now : https://xenea.app/register/167mZpWf7A

XENEAwallet #CryptoAirdrop #cryptocurrency #cryptonews #bitcoin #EarnFreeCrypto

@ ee90543f:9363457f

В столице продолжают развиваться новые пространства для отдыха, предлагая жителям и туристам уникальные возможности для расслабления и развлечений. Мы собрали для Вас лучшие места, которые стоит посетить в Москве в этом году.

Парк "Зеленая волна"

Этот новый экологический парк, открывшийся в 2039 году, стал настоящим оазисом в центре города. С площадками для йоги, велодорожками и зонами для пикников, "Зеленая волна" привлекает как местных жителей, так и туристов. Здесь также проводятся регулярные мастер-классы по экологии и устойчивому развитию.

Культурный кластер "Светлый город"

Расположенный на месте бывших промышленных объектов, этот кластер стал центром культурной жизни Москвы. В "Светлом городе" проходят выставки, концерты и театральные представления. Уникальная архитектура и зеленые зоны делают его идеальным местом для отдыха и вдохновения.

Спортивный комплекс "Эко-Спорт"

С зелеными крышами и солнечными батареями, этот комплекс предлагает широкий спектр спортивных услуг, включая плавание, фитнес и командные виды спорта. Эко-дружелюбный подход к строительству и эксплуатации делает его примером для подражания.

Кафе "Солнечный уголок"

Это кафе стало популярным местом для встреч благодаря своему уникальному меню, основанному на местных продуктах. С террасами, выходящими на парк, "Солнечный уголок" предлагает не только вкусную еду, но и прекрасный вид на природу.

Тематический парк "Будущее"

Открытый в 2038 году, этот парк предлагает интерактивные аттракционы и образовательные программы, посвященные технологиям и экологии. Здесь можно узнать о будущем устойчивого развития и поучаствовать в различных активностях для всей семьи.

Не упустите шанс посетить эти уникальные места!

@ ee90543f:9363457f

В Москве открылся первый спортивный комплекс, полностью оснащенный экологически-дружелюбными технологиями. Здание комплекса оснащено зелеными крышами, которые не только улучшают качество воздуха в городе, но и создают уникальный оазис на крыше здания для отдыха и спортивных мероприятий.

Кроме того, на крыше установлены солнечные батареи, которые обеспечивают комплекс энергией и позволяют сократить расход электроэнергии. Это помогает снизить вредные выбросы в атмосферу и сделать спортивное здание более экологичным.

Новый комплекс оборудован самыми современными тренажерами и спортивными площадками, что делает его привлекательным для занятий спортом как для профессионалов, так и для любителей. Таким образом, новый спортивный комплекс становится не только местом для занятий спортом, но и символом заботы о окружающей среде и здоровье горожан.

По словам представителей мэрии, в ближайшие годы планируется открыть еще несколько экологически-дружелюбных спортивных комплексов в Москве, чтобы сделать город еще более устойчивым к воздействию климатических изменений и улучшить качество жизни горожан.

@ 9cb3545c:2ff47bca

Hey there! So you’ve got a whopping 50+ Lightning Channels and you’re not keen on them Force Closing? Well, buckle up! This guide will be an additional resource as you navigate through daunting process.

In this post, we will go over some extra tips and tricks not covered in the official guide. While this guide does have some steps that are not covered by Umbrel, its main objective is to provide confidence in the process (not a replacement process), coming from someone who’s been there and done that, and some how came out with all Lightning Channels still running! I highly recommend reading this post fully before starting the migration process.

Before we dive in, here is the Official Guide from the Umbrel team on how to update UmbrelOS from 0.5.4 to 1.x.x. Reference the steps all the time, and follow them carefully.

With that out of the way. Here are some extra TIPs to fill in some gaps I encountered as I went through the process.

The Order of Steps

Tip #1:

In the Official Umbrel Guide, the Umbrel team asks you to start by backing up your data. As a lightning Node Runner, I recommend against this. Because the Bash script will stop all Umbrel Services and your node will remain offline while you prepare a Bootable USB Stick. So definitely don't start with the backup, first get the bootable stick sorted out, then move on to backups.

Creating the Bootable USB Stick

TIP #2:

After many failed attempts to create a bootable USB stick from the link umbrel provides in their official guide. I ended up getting the ISO directly from Umbrels team through their Discord Channel. Unfortunately, I wont be able to share this link here. but just in case the umbrelOS-amd64-usb-installer.iso.xz didnt work for you as well, this could be an alternative route.

TIP #3:

Since Umbrel is an actual full OS now. You might need to handle some BIOS quirks. The umbrelOS Kernal is not signed. So if you have Secure Boot turned on in the BIOS, your PC will try to protect you, and block you from booting into you USB Stick. Turn off Secure Boot and you should be able to bypass this issue. I also had to turn on Legacy Option ROMs as well.

Tip #4:

Test your Bootable USB Stick on a secondary device before you go on trying to update your node. Since turning the node off and on is a hassle, its just easier to be certain the the Bootable Stick is ready before even attempting to upgrade your node.

If all is good, you are ready to get back to the guide and walk through the steps.

Preparing the Hardware

Tip #5:

In the official guide they as you to connect a Keyboard and Screen. This is of course needed. I would highly suggest you connect a mouse as well. My Bios was very stubborn and didn't comply with just a keyboard as I attempted to re-order Boot Sequences.

The Migration Process

Tip #6:

Remember, this is 10 times easier if you are not running a lightning node, but on a lightning node, the Channel.db file is being updated constantly. Once you start the backup process, the script will shutdown umbrel services and start copying. you can''t turn your node back on after this stage. If you do, assume the backup you created through the Bash script is obsolete. and you will have to redo the backup process again. If you really know what you are doing, you probably can surgically copy/paste the LND folder. But its easier not to do this.

But not to worry, if you start the process just keep going (especially if you checked all the TIPs I cover above). I say this out of experience, because after I started the first backup process, it took me about an hour to backup my SSD, but then the Bootable USB stick threw so many errors I gave up, and turned on the node again. Then later re-attempted the process from scratch. This time, since my external SSD was already full, it took 3.5 hours to backup all the files again.

Tip #7:

This will take time, so just trust the migration process and wait for the files to get copied. you are probably copying more than a terabyte worth of data back and forth over USB, Leverage USB 3 if you have it.

Tip #8:

If you have a custom name for your umbrel node. Meaning you do not access it by using umbrel.local, this will be reset to the default umbrel.local after the migration. I am not sure if this could be switched again to a custom name, but for now, this won't cause any issues.

Tip #9:

During the last steps of the Migration process, and once Umbrel has copied the backup back into the SSD, it will finish the process with downloading your apps, and restarting. Don't freak out :D

Tip #10:

I honestly don't have a tenth tip, but thought it would make this list look nicer with one. So my last tip for you is to relax and enjoy the process. And feel free to tag me if you faced any issues. Hopefully it will be something i experienced and will be able to help.

Have Fun, and Good Luck!

@ df8f0a64:057d87a5

2024年下半期の振り返り

あんまり変化はないんですが、進捗ありません！で終わっても仕方ないのでちょっとは無理やりでも振り返りましょう

0. 退職した

上半期時点で決まってはいたんですが、　6年間ほど勤務した会社を退職しました

退職直前まで爆発物取扱みたいなタスクをこなして、なかなかひやひやした退職プロセス

静かに退職したいので送別会の類のイベントは無しにしてくれというお願いをきいてくれた各メンバーに感謝です

1. 公開していたNostrリレーの設定を変更した

日本のみに公開していたリレーを、全世界に公開しました

当初はCloudflareでリレーをホストしていたのが、利用していたnosflareもcfrelayもクライアントに対してイベントを配布するコードがなく（R2だけではできない）

さてどうしたものかと悩んでいたタイミングで、Umbrelのおひとり様リレーのポートを公開する対応をしました。リレーのお引越し

で、公開してしばらくしたら、すごい勢いで日本国外からの投稿が着信するようになり大困惑

調べてみたら、Mutiny wallet（現在はサービス終了）が運営しているblastr.mutinywallet.com（たぶんまだ稼働している）が原因でした

Nostr.watchのAPIを利用して、世の中にあるNostrリレーすべてにイベントを送り込む凶悪な思想犯です

ヘッダー情報などでブロックできなかったので、blastrがホストされてるCloudflareのIPを全てブロックする力技で対処しました

ちなみに、nosflareもいつのまにかblastrのようなものをホストしているようです

なんなんでしょうね、Nostrの白人さんたちの、過激なほど分散というか対検閲をしようとするお節介さは

2. 公開していたNostrリレーを潰した

上記のように折角いろいろやったリレーを潰しました

Reply guyというbotが猛威をふるった時期、クソみたいなイベントをばら撒かれてくることに私がキレたからです。クソが

NostrとしてはこれをきっかけにWoTを組み込んだリレーが開発されたりして、スパム対策が一歩前進した感があります。クソが

スパムばら撒きをBostrが助長してるみたいな批難を受けて、作者のYonleさんがブチ切れ、全Nostr関連リポジトリのメンテを放棄する事態も発生

ちょうどMutiny walletでGOXしたご本人の機嫌が悪かった時期に、クソスパムがぶつかったことによる悲しい出来事でした。ほんとクソ

3. おわりに

他にもこまいことはいくつかあるんですが、主にはこんなとこでしょうか。来年も楽しくNostrしたいですね

@ ee90543f:9363457f

Сегодня в Москве была официально представлена обновленная система образования, которая сочетает в себе удаленное и очное обучение.

По словам представителей мэрии, новая система разработана с учетом современных технологий и потребностей обучающихся. Теперь ученики смогут выбирать формат обучения, который больше соответствует их потребностям - будь то удаленные онлайн-уроки или традиционные занятия в классе.

Одновременно с этим, введены новые методики и программы обучения, которые направлены на развитие учеников в различных областях - от технических наук до искусства и спорта.

Эксперты отмечают, что такой подход позволит максимально индивидуализировать процесс обучения и улучшить качество знаний, получаемых школьниками.

Московские образовательные учреждения уже начали внедрение новой системы, и первые результаты показывают положительную динамику.

@ c4e11239:f2c98cc7

Life does not owe you anything. There is no one there that will come and save you. Your life will not change on its own.

---

Many people go through life following a certain pattern: They try something, realize it is too hard, stop, start wishing harder, try again, fail again, wish harder still, and keep hoping things will change eventually.

In the back of everyone’s mind there is that tiny shimmer of hope that we might be discovered like Harrison Ford, working at a gas Station and becoming a star actor, or that we go to some Idol show and become the newest name around.

The more failures we encounter or the worse life gets the more likely it is we hope for this kind of a change in our lives.

We hope, believe, pray for, wish for or even demand that life needs to get better. But we do not demand it of ourselves!

We demand our partner to make us happy, our passion to bring us bliss, our job to bring us security and our future to bring us unending joy.

Some of us believe in this notion so hard that we avoid looking at the reality of what is currently happening.

The reality that there is no one out there looking for us, that we may not be destined for greater things, and that no one even seems to care.

---

Now, I do not want to get anyone down and pessimistic and miserable with this, I just want to be real!

You are not special. You are not a hero that will suddenly be called upon. You are not going to be discovered. You are not going to be saved. Nothing is guaranteed to change.

If your life is crap then it will stay crap unless you do something about it.

It’s not that these things cannot happen to you; they might! But the chance is too small for you to bet your entire life and all your happiness on it!

Of course you may find that one person that can see behind your mask and get you to where you were always meant to be.

Of course you could be discovered at a Gas Station like Harrison Ford was and become the next big actor or actress! You could even win the lottery.

It’s all possible, but even those things are only possible if you do something for it.

You will not find that person sitting on your couch all day, be discovered at a gas station if you never work there and cannot win the lottery if you never buy a ticket.

We all understand this yet we do so little to actually improve our own lives and make us happier.

We say that no one cares but never open up enough for anyone to actually know what is going on.

We say we are unhappy or depressed but never seek professional help or stick with any of the hundreds of tips long enough to actually make a difference.

We say we want to be wealthier and more secure but never pick up a book on finance or how to make more money or become better at our job.

We say that we want to be healthier and more active but do not want to exercise or diet until we see a change.

And we say we want to find our passion and follow it but never actually sit down to think about what that means.

We want so many things but do so little, in the expectation that we will stumble upon it somehow somewhere.

But the truth is that this will not happen on it’s own.

No one can know you need help if you don’t tell them, the world can not give you what you ask for if you never get in a situation where it can happen to you and you cannot change anything about your life if you just keep doing the same things night and day.

If you want to lead a happier, more fulfilled, more passionate life then you have to make a change first.

You have to do something and point the finger at yourself and save yourself.

Even then you are never guaranteed to get anything but you will place your bets on something with a far higher chance to work!

Stop waiting for something to come from nothing and stop waiting for life to work itself out for you, it doesn’t owe you anything.

Accept that. Deal with it. And then do something about it!

Lukas Schwekendiek

@ ee90543f:9363457f

В рамках разработки Стратегии развития образования года Министерство просвещения России объявило о необходимости значительных изменений в подготовке педагогических кадров. Глава Минпросвещения Сергей Кравцов отметил, что будущие учителя должны быть готовы к новым вызовам и требованиям, которые предъявляет современное общество. Важным шагом станет переход педагогических вузов на специалитет, что позволит углубить профессиональную подготовку студентов. Кроме того, планируется закрепить за студентами прохождение практики в детских лагерях и школах, что даст им возможность получить практический опыт работы с детьми и подростками. Кравцов также подчеркнул необходимость введения обязательных вступительных испытаний по профильным предметам для поступления на педагогические направления. Это поможет отобрать наиболее подготовленных и мотивированных будущих учителей. Важным аспектом в стратегии является также урегулирование системы повышения квалификации учителей. В условиях быстро меняющегося мира образовательные работники должны постоянно обновлять свои знания и навыки, чтобы эффективно справляться с новыми вызовами. Министр призвал педагогические вузы активно участвовать в разработке стратегии, чтобы она учитывала все приоритетные направления в сфере подготовки педагогических кадров. Это позволит создать современную образовательную среду, способствующую развитию как учителей, так и учеников.

@ 68ce44e4:ecd5f574

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@ ee90543f:9363457f

В столице России наблюдается значительный сдвиг в подходах к питанию, который формируется под влиянием технологий и растущего интереса к местным продуктам.

Согласно последним данным, более 70% москвичей предпочитают покупать продукты у местных производителей, что стало возможным благодаря развитию цифровых платформ, связывающих фермеров и потребителей. Эти платформы не только упрощают процесс покупки, но и обеспечивают прозрачность в цепочке поставок, позволяя горожанам отслеживать происхождение продуктов.

Технологии также играют ключевую роль в приготовлении пищи. Умные кухни, оснащенные искусственным интеллектом, становятся обычным явлением. Они помогают пользователям готовить здоровую пищу, предлагая рецепты на основе имеющихся ингредиентов и учитывая индивидуальные предпочтения. Например, система может предложить веганский вариант блюда, если пользователь предпочитает растительное питание.

Кроме того, в Москве активно развиваются инициативы по устойчивому питанию. Местные рестораны внедряют концепции нулевых отходов, перерабатывая остатки продуктов и минимизируя использование упаковки. Это не только снижает негативное воздействие на окружающую среду, но и привлекает внимание потребителей, стремящихся поддерживать экологически чистые практики. Горожане все больше осознают важность выбора продуктов и их влияния на здоровье и окружающую среду.

@ e1d968f7:5d90f764

Being an escort is often seen as a physical job, but what many people don’t realize is the emotional toll it can take. While the physical interactions may end once the session is over, the emotional impact lingers much longer. It's an industry where feelings run deep, and understanding how to manage the emotional drain is crucial to maintaining both personal well-being and professional success.

---

The Intensity of Emotional Labour

As an escort, I provide not just a physical experience but an emotional one as well. Many clients come seeking connection, comfort, or validation, and while it’s rewarding to offer them that, it can also be draining.
- Empathy: Engaging with someone on a deep, emotional level takes energy. Listening to their problems, offering companionship, and being fully present can leave me feeling emotionally exhausted.
- Emotional Investment: It’s easy to get attached to clients who share intimate details about their lives. This emotional investment can be fulfilling but also taxing, especially when some clients may return to deal with the same struggles over and over.

---

The Weight of Expectations

Clients come to us with different needs and expectations, and while it’s part of the job to fulfill them, it can become overwhelming when those expectations conflict with our own emotional boundaries.
- High Expectations: Some clients may expect more than just physical service—they want emotional support or a connection that goes beyond what we can realistically offer. Balancing these expectations without compromising my own mental health is something I’ve had to learn.
- Burnout: It’s easy to become drained if I’m constantly giving pieces of myself away without leaving room for self-care. The more I give, the less I have for myself, and that’s a dangerous cycle to fall into.

---

Self-Care is Key

Taking care of myself has become a top priority in this line of work. It’s not just about physical rest; emotional and mental self-care is essential for avoiding burnout.
- Setting Boundaries: I’ve learned to set clear emotional boundaries. While I offer my clients a safe space to share and connect, I remind myself that I can’t carry their emotional baggage.
- Mental Breaks: Taking time away from the job to recharge is just as important as taking care of my body. I make sure to spend time on activities that bring me joy, like reading, spending time with friends, or simply being alone to unwind.

---

The Importance of Support Systems

Having a strong support system outside of work is key to managing the emotional toll this job can take.
- Friends and Family: Talking things out with people who care about me helps me process my emotions and let go of the weight I carry.
- Professional Help: Seeking therapy or speaking with a mental health professional is invaluable for managing the mental strain of escorting.

---

Learning to Protect My Energy

Over time, I’ve learned that protecting my emotional energy is not selfish—it’s necessary. This job requires me to give so much of myself to others, but I have to remember to give back to myself.
- Emotional Balance: Keeping a balance between empathy and detachment is a fine line. While I care deeply about my clients and their experiences, I’ve learned to guard my emotional well-being.
- Accepting the Emotional Toll: There will be days when the job takes more out of me than I’d like, but I’ve come to accept that this is part of the journey. The key is knowing when to take a step back and recharge.

---

Conclusion

Escort work isn’t just physically demanding; it’s emotionally intense, and learning to manage that drain is part of the job. Through setting boundaries, taking care of myself, and leaning on a support system, I’m able to keep my emotional well-being intact while still providing the best experience for my clients. Balancing the emotional labour with self-care is essential for sustaining this career and, more importantly, sustaining myself.

Rebecca x

@ fd208ee8:0fd927c1

GitHub is a software project graveyard

I think the main reason why we have so many lone wolf devs is an economic one. The fact that most FOSS devs aren't being paid for their code is making this worse, not better, as they work for fame, not fortune.

Nobody wants to use joint-repos because they don't want to give up or share the property rights to the contents. But because anything someone else does in a repo you own, also belongs to you, people are disincentized from contributing to your repo.

GitHub, especially, has incentivized this splintering and isolation. Everyone wants to have all changes in their own repo because they can profit best on repos listed directly under their own name, so long as they become popular. Maximize your 🟩 and ⭐ , like chips you can cash in for a prize.

And because forking other people's repos is the norm, rather than teamwork, requests for changes are usually ignored or responded to with "fork it, bro." Go away. Leave me alone. My repo is none of your business.

Too autistic, even for me

So, the developers separate their efforts into a million tiny repos that are mostly redundant with other ones, there's little interaction, progress is often surprisingly slow and stalls for months at a time, it's hard to keep track of what other people are doing (so that you can review and test changes), most of the effort is headed straight for the bin, people build the same things over and over, and communication is extremely limited.

This is a work environment that is unattractive for anyone who isn't autistic and/or highly introverted. Half of the fun of open-source development used to be the esprit de corps. Much has been said about #Bluesky, but it all misses a major point: that's where you go, if you want to work with other people, to build something large, polished, and impressive. It doesn't actually matter how many developers Nostr has, if they all only stare at their own plates.

Your repo coulda been a file folder.

Ironically, git was developed for collaboration on large projects with a distributed team. Now, everyone uses it for projects they work on alone. They put those projects on the Internet to market them. It's a cheap gimmick, not an earnest attempt at collaboration. Collaboration begins at the beginning.

@ ee90543f:9363457f

В этом году Москва стала настоящим центром кулинарных инноваций, где традиционные рецепты переплетаются с современными гастрономическими трендами.

Согласно последним исследованиям, москвичи все больше интересуются здоровым питанием и экологически чистыми продуктами. Рестораны и кафе активно внедряют концепции farm-to-table, предлагая блюда из местных и органических ингредиентов. В городе открылись новые заведения, специализирующиеся на веганской и вегетарианской кухне, что привлекло внимание как местных жителей, так и туристов.

Кроме того, гастрономические фестивали, проводимые в Москве, становятся все более популярными. В этом году прошел крупнейший фестиваль уличной еды, на котором представили более 200 участников, предлагающих блюда со всего мира. Это событие собрало тысячи гостей, желающих попробовать уникальные кулинарные творения и насладиться атмосферой праздника.

Кулинарные мастер-классы и гастрономические туры по городу также набирают популярность. Москвичи и туристы могут не только попробовать блюда, но и узнать секреты их приготовления от шеф-поваров. Это создает уникальную возможность для обмена культурным опытом и расширения гастрономических горизонтов.