@ 81022b27:2b8d0644

a delicious meditation

Those of you who know me are aware that I worked in the fast-food industry before becoming a chiropractor. My first job was at a Hardee's restaurant when I was fifteen.

I wanted to buy a car, which is why I started working. Once I bought the car, I realized I needed to continue working to maintain it, pay for gas, insurance, and the occasional "going out" money.

In the restaurant business, if you work at a place long enough, someone hands you a set of keys and puts you in charge of something.

So here I was, running a restaurant and in charge of a bunch of people, when I could barely take care of myself. Anyway, I was making what I thought was decent money for a 19-year-old.

My bosses started a new restaurant venture, and little by little, they began poaching the old management staff from Hardee’s. Eventually, they asked me to come work for them.

My new job was running a Church's Chicken. The stores were small, mostly takeout. The menu was small, and we didn't have many employees to manage. We didn't have a good reputation in the community due to poor management.

The owners introduced new registers, and sales immediately jumped. I suppose all the food was now being rung up and accounted for!

We cleaned up the restaurant and made sure we were putting out a good product, and guess what?

Sales doubled.

So here I am, thinking I know what I'm doing because I'm getting recognition from my bosses.

I didn't have the interpersonal skills to manage people effectively.

One time, I got into it with an employee but couldn't confront him to fire him, so I deleted him from the time clock. Let someone else deal with that.

Dealing with customers was usually okay because if they had an issue, you could just fix the problem, and that was it. Handling employees was a bit more challenging for me.

On busy days-Fridays, Saturdays, and Mother's Day (they called that the day after the welfare checks came out)

The restaurant would get so busy that sometimes people would line up around the building, and I felt that everyone was staring at me, which made me feel uncomfortable.

The store had windows all around; it was like a fishbowl-everyone saw everything.

I could have gone to hide in the office, but I needed to help out. I liked to run a tight ship labor-wise, so I always counted myself as one of the staff needed.

I would ask the cook to let me make the chicken and assign them some other tasks.

Even though I was probably even more visible than before, I would get lost in the work.

Everything was hand-breaded and battered. To me, it was like a Japanese tea ceremony.

When it was busy, we cooked a full "stove," which was 4 chickens at a time:

8 legs, 8 thighs, 8 wings, and 8 breasts.

The process was:

• Flour, dip in batter, flour again.

• Start with the legs because they take the longest to cook.

• Continue until everything is in the fryer.

Repeat,

and repeat,

and repeat.

I would get lost in the work. You couldn't really rush things. I made sure everything was done by the book.

Focusing on one task so intently that every concern, every worry just faded away. I knew people were watching me cook the chicken in this fishbowl, but I was so engrossed in my task that I didn’t care.

All my stress and anxiety just faded.

I still try to lose myself in my work, only now it’s not frying chicken-it’s adjusting spines.

Now that I think about it, same situation. I’m “on stage” in my adjusting space with clients sitting in the waiting area.

Sometimes, I get stressed when there are a lot of people waiting on me…but I’m gonna do my best work frying this chi…

oops!

I mean adjusting this spine.

Zen teaching often emphasizes simplicity, mindfulness in daily activities, and the notion that enlightenment can be achieved in the ordinary moments of life. The phrase "chop wood, carry water" reflects this idea of finding the sacred in the mundane.

I found my Zen.

Find Yours.

❤️

@ b7274d28:c99628cb

In this second installment of The Android Elite Setup tutorial series, we will cover installing the nostr:npub10r8xl2njyepcw2zwv3a6dyufj4e4ajx86hz6v4ehu4gnpupxxp7stjt2p8 on your #Android device and browsing for apps you may be interested in trying out.

Since the #Zapstore is a direct competitor to the Google Play Store, you're not going to be able to find and install it from there like you may be used to with other apps. Instead, you will need to install it directly from the developer's GitHub page. This is not a complicated process, but it is outside the normal flow of searching on the Play Store, tapping install, and you're done.

Installation

From any web browser on your Android phone, navigate to the Zapstore GitHub Releases page and the most recent version will be listed at the top of the page. The .apk file for you to download and install will be listed in the "Assets."

Tap the .apk to download it, and you should get a notification when the download has completed, with a prompt to open the file.

You will likely be presented with a prompt warning you that your phone currently isn't allowed to install applications from "unknown sources." Anywhere other than the Play Store is considered an "unknown source" by default. However, you can manually allow installation from unknown sources in the settings, which the prompt gives you the option to do.

In the settings page that opens, toggle it to allow installation from this source, and you should be prompted to install the application. If you aren't, simply go to your web browser's downloads and tap on the .apk file again, or go into your file browser app and you should find the .apk in your Downloads folder.

If the application doesn't open automatically after install, you will find it in your app drawer.

Home Page

Right at the top of the home page in the Zapstore is the search bar. You can use it to find a specific app you know is available in the Zapstore.

There are quite a lot of open source apps available, and more being added all the time. Most are added by the Zapstore developer, nostr:npub1wf4pufsucer5va8g9p0rj5dnhvfeh6d8w0g6eayaep5dhps6rsgs43dgh9, but some are added by the app developers themselves, especially Nostr apps. All of the applications we will be installing through the Zapstore have been added by their developers and are cryptographically signed, so you know that what you download is what the developer actually released.

The next section is for app discovery. There are curated app collections to peruse for ideas about what you may want to install. As you can see, all of the other apps we will be installing are listed in nostr:npub1wf4pufsucer5va8g9p0rj5dnhvfeh6d8w0g6eayaep5dhps6rsgs43dgh9's "Nostr" collection.

In future releases of the Zapstore, users will be able to create their own app collections.

The last section of the home page is a chronological list of the latest releases. This includes both new apps added to the Zapstore and recently updated apps. The list of recent releases on its own can be a great resource for discovering apps you may not have heard of before.

Installed Apps

The next page of the app, accessed by the icon in the bottom-center of the screen that looks like a clock with an arrow circling it, shows all apps you have installed that are available in the Zapstore. It's also where you will find apps you have previously installed that are ready to be updated. This page is pretty sparse on my test profile, since I only have the Zapstore itself installed, so here is a look at it on my main profile:

The "Disabled Apps" at the top are usually applications that were installed via the Play Store or some other means, but are also available in the Zapstore. You may be surprised to see that some of the apps you already have installed on your device are also available on the Zapstore. However, to manage their updates though the Zapstore, you would need to uninstall the app and reinstall it from the Zapstore instead. I only recommend doing this for applications that are added to the Zapstore by their developers, or you may encounter a significant delay between a new update being released for the app and when that update is available on the Zapstore.

Tap on one of your apps in the list to see whether the app is added by the developer, or by the Zapstore. This takes you to the application's page, and you may see a warning at the top if the app was not installed through the Zapstore.

Scroll down the page a bit and you will see who signed the release that is available on the Zapstore.

In the case of Primal, even though the developer is on Nostr, they are not signing their own releases to the Zapstore yet. This means there will likely be a delay between Primal releasing an update and that update being available on the Zapstore.

Settings

The last page of the app is the settings page, found by tapping the cog at the bottom right.

Here you can send the Zapstore developer feedback directly (if you are logged in), connect a Lightning wallet using Nostr Wallet Connect, delete your local cache, and view some system information.

We will be adding a connection to our nostr:npub1h2qfjpnxau9k7ja9qkf50043xfpfy8j5v60xsqryef64y44puwnq28w8ch wallet in part 5 of this tutorial series.

For the time being, we are all set with the Zapstore and ready for the next stage of our journey.

Continue to Part 3: Amber Signer. Nostr link: nostr:naddr1qqxnzde5xuengdeexcmnvv3eqgstwf6d9r37nqalwgxmfd9p9gclt3l0yc3jp5zuyhkfqjy6extz3jcrqsqqqa28qy2hwumn8ghj7un9d3shjtnyv9kh2uewd9hj7qg6waehxw309aex2mrp0yhxyunfva58gcn0d36zumn9wss80nug

@ 81022b27:2b8d0644

Shopping for groceries is one of my least favorite tasks. However, it's got to be done.

If I am in a hurry, I like to shop at Aldi, not only because they have decent prices but also because I can get in and out quickly (and I don’t have to scan my own groceries).

They are definitely no-frills in many ways: You have to bag your own groceries, you should bring your own bags—otherwise, you have to buy them, and to get a shopping cart, you need a quarter to unlock it.

I'm trying to rush and be efficient when I realize I don’t have "the quarter" for the shopping cart!

Dammit!

I’m going to have to go back to the car to see if I have one.

I'm swearing under my breath, thinking about having to walk all the way back when…

I notice someone has placed a quarter on the wall next to the row of carts.

THANK YOU!

This little act of kindness took me from a state of "being mildly annoyed at the entire world because traffic didn’t clear a path in front of me trying to get here" to feeling great gratitude.

The fact that someone considered that doing this would make my life easier knocked my selfish, self-involved ass out of my body.

I finished my shopping in a more cheerful, mindful way. The people in the aisles didn't seem to annoy me as much.

I took way longer than usual.

It wasn't a race anymore.

I checked out, loaded the car, and when I went to return the cart—

I left a quarter.

@ 81022b27:2b8d0644

We were just talking today about first impressions when meeting people. Sometimes I get an instant “dislike” to someone upon meeting, even though they have never done or said anything bad to me. The older I get, the more I will usually go with my gut instincts and not engage the person any deeper if possible.

One of the reasons that was brought up is that people who are not congruent with their words, thoughts, and actions are usually the ones that “turn me off”

You know these people, too. They are the ones with all the advice-yet their lives are in shambles, the “preachy” ones that have their closets full of skeletons.

I’ve been accused of “not having a filter” or “being too transparent” at times… but not usually about my stance on things. I’m not confrontational…but I’m not above turning around and wailing away from someone I can’t stomach.

Anyway, the purpose of this rambling post if to encourage you to drop the facade, if you have one-and be more yourself.

@ dd664d5e:5633d319

Finding Catholics and Catholic-friendly content on Nostr

Obvious Catholics being obvious

nostr:npub1m4ny6hjqzepn4rxknuq94c2gpqzr29ufkkw7ttcxyak7v43n6vvsajc2jl

nostr:npub1k92qsr95jcumkpu6dffurkvwwycwa2euvx4fthv78ru7gqqz0nrs2ngfwd

nostr:npub1wqfzz2p880wq0tumuae9lfwyhs8uz35xd0kr34zrvrwyh3kvrzuskcqsyn

nostr:npub1ecdlntvjzexlyfale2egzvvncc8tgqsaxkl5hw7xlgjv2cxs705s9qs735

nostr:npub1rcr8h76csgzhdhea4a7tq5w5gydcpg9clgf0cffu6z45rnc6yp5sj7cfuz

nostr:npub1fyd0awkakq4aap70ual7mtlszjle9krffgwnsrkyua2frzmysd8qjj8gvg

nostr:npub1q0fe26apcqeeyqnlre29fqu7ysx0ucm5ly637md3zlvy2xcfsm3s0lsv4r

nostr:npub1dvdcmtp5llrp63jdlmhspe9gffsyu9ew7cu3ld3f9y7k79nxzjxqf4d4rm

nostr:npub1paxyej8f8fh57ny0fr5w2mzp9can9nkcmeu5jaerv68mhrah7t8s795ky6

nostr:npub1tvw3h5xqnuc2aq5zelxp3dy58sz7x9u8e6enkxywmrz70cg2j2zqjes44n

nostr:npub13tahtl9pjw9u5ycruqk84k6sfmkyljsr7y2pc4s840ctlm73fxeq3j6e08

nostr:npub1w4jkwspqn9svwnlrw0nfg0u2yx4cj6yfmp53ya4xp7r24k7gly4qaq30zp

Other good Christian follows

nostr:npub1hqy4zwnvsdmlml4tpgp0kgrruxamfcwpgm4g3q2tr3d2ut3kuxusx73psm

nostr:npub1cpstx8lzhwctunfe80rugz5qsj9ztw8surec9j6mf8phha68dj6qhm8j5e

nostr:npub1ak5kewf6anwkrt0qc8ua907ljkn7wm83e2ycyrpcumjvaf2upszs8r0gwg

nostr:npub1mt8x8vqvgtnwq97sphgep2fjswrqqtl4j7uyr667lyw7fuwwsjgs5mm7cz

nostr:npub1q6ya7kz84rfnw6yjmg5kyttuplwpauv43a9ug3cajztx4g0v48eqhtt3sh

nostr:npub1356t6fpjysx9vdchfg7mryv83w4pcye6a3eeke9zvsje7s2tuv4s4k805u

nostr:npub1kun5628raxpm7usdkj62z2337hr77f3ryrg9cf0vjpyf4jvk9r9smv3lhe

nostr:npub1qf6gsfapq94rj0rcptkpm9sergacmuwrjlgfx5gznjajtvkcx3psfhx6k5

nostr:npub1ll99fcrclkvgff696u8tq9vupw9fulfc8fysdf6gfwp7hassrh2sktxszt

nostr:npub1zy37ecnhpvx4lmxh4spd0898sxdj0ag8m64s9yq499zaxlg7qrqq8c53q6

nostr:npub1rtlqca8r6auyaw5n5h3l5422dm4sry5dzfee4696fqe8s6qgudks7djtfs

nostr:npub1jlrs53pkdfjnts29kveljul2sm0actt6n8dxrrzqcersttvcuv3qdjynqn

nostr:npub18zqmath26txwfhc70af8axk7pftjre9x7cf0lxkg92nvj2cpfgts8va790

Christian follow list

An exhaustive list of Christians is maintained by nostr:npub1mt8x8vqvgtnwq97sphgep2fjswrqqtl4j7uyr667lyw7fuwwsjgs5mm7cz. Just look at his list on https://listr.lol/

Catholic community

You can also join the community, to reach other catholics (usable on #Nostrudel #Coracle #Amethyst and #Satellite): nostr:naddr1qvzqqqyx7cpzqqnd3dl8hnptg9agfugwmdcmgfl7wcrfjpgfpv28ksq6dnmqc0e8qqyyxct5dphkc6trmu6k9l

Christian topic relay

And always make sure to use the #catholic hashtag, to get onto the top-specific christpill relay (add it to your relay list: wss://christpill.nostr1.com/).

Hope that helps! 😊

@ 502ab02a:a2860397

มีคนจำนวนไม่น้อยที่เข้าใจว่าเรื่อง “อาหารแห่งอนาคต” คืออะไรที่เพิ่งเกิด เป็นแนวคิดใหม่สำหรับโลกยุคใหม่ แต่จริงๆ แล้วไม่ใช่เลยครับ เฮียว่าเราถูกจัดโต๊ะอาหารอนาคตไว้ให้กินมานานมากแล้ว เพียงแต่ไม่รู้ตัว ต่างหาก

ช่วงปลายคริสต์ศตวรรษที่ 19 สิ่งที่เรียกว่าการ “ควบคุมอาหารมวลชน” ก็เริ่มต้นอย่างจริงจังแล้ว

ย้อนกลับไปปี 1863 ในห้องพักคนไข้ของโรงพยาบาล Battle Creek Sanitarium ที่รัฐมิชิแกน สหรัฐฯ มีชายคนหนึ่งชื่อ John Harvey Kellogg เขาเป็นหมอและเป็นหนึ่งในสาวกของกลุ่ม Seventh-day Adventist ที่เชื่อว่าการกินเนื้อสัตว์ทำให้คนกระด้างใจและเต็มไปด้วยตัณหา เกิดราคะ เขาจึงคิดค้น “อาหารเช้าที่ไม่มีเนื้อ” เพื่อส่งเสริมสุขลักษณะและลดกิเลสในร่างกายมนุษย์ สิ่งที่เขาทำในตอนนั้นคือการใช้ข้าวโพดบดอบแห้งจนกรอบ กลายเป็นสิ่งที่เรียกว่า “ซีเรียล” ในยุคเริ่มต้น ซึ่งภายหลังน้องชายของเขาคือ Will Keith Kellogg จะนำสูตรนั้นไปพัฒนาให้หวานขึ้น ใส่น้ำตาลเพิ่ม ใส่โฆษณาเพิ่ม แล้วก็วางขายในชื่อแบรนด์ Kellogg’s ที่เราเห็นกันทุกเช้านั่นแหละ เขาผลิตคอร์นเฟลกขึ้นมาด้วยความเชื่อว่าจะช่วยลดการช่วยตัวเองในวัยรุ่นได้! จากอาหารของกลุ่มศาสนา คอร์นเฟลกกลายเป็นอาหารที่เข้าสู่ครัวเรือนอเมริกันภายใต้แนวคิดว่า “อาหารเช้าคือมื้อสำคัญที่สุดของวัน” โดยไม่ได้มีหลักฐานรองรับอย่างจริงจังเลย

ช่วงต้นศตวรรษที่ 20 เป็นยุคที่อเมริกาเริ่มมีอำนาจในเชิงอุตสาหกรรมมากขึ้น แต่ก็เป็นยุคที่คนยังทำอาหารกินเองอยู่ในครัว เรื่องอาหารยังเป็นเรื่องของบ้าน ไม่ใช่ของแบรนด์ ยังไม่มีใครนึกว่า “สิทธิ์ในการกิน” จะกลายเป็นสินค้าสาธารณะในภายหลัง แต่แล้วก็เกิดจุดเปลี่ยนสำคัญเมื่อสงครามโลกครั้งที่ 1 และ 2 ทำให้รัฐจำเป็นต้องคิดเรื่องการเลี้ยงประชากรในภาวะขาดแคลน ต้องมีการเก็บอาหารได้นาน ขนส่งได้ง่าย และต้นทุนต่ำ นี่คือจุดเริ่มต้นของการผลักดัน “อาหารแปรรูป” หรือ processed food อย่างเป็นทางการ

ในปี 1911 มีบริษัทชื่อว่า Procter & Gamble เปิดตัว “Crisco” ซึ่งเป็นน้ำมันพืชไฮโดรเจนเนตที่ถูกออกแบบมาเพื่อเลียนแบบไขมันสัตว์ในราคาถูกกว่า Crisco ทำจากน้ำมันฝ้าย (cottonseed oil) ซึ่งตอนนั้นเป็นของเหลือจากอุตสาหกรรมสิ่งทอ ไม่มีใครคิดว่ามันจะกลายเป็นสิ่งที่ถูกโฆษณาว่า “ดีกว่าไขมันสัตว์” แต่เพราะการโฆษณาแบบมืออาชีพและการจับมือกับสมาคมแพทย์ Crisco ก็กลายเป็นของคู่ครัวแบบไม่รู้ตัว นี่คือจุดเริ่มต้นของ fiat fat ไขมันเทียมที่ถูกสถาปนาให้เป็นของจริง ทั้งที่จริงๆ มันคือของปลอมที่ห่อด้วยวิทยาศาสตร์ครึ่งใบ

ช่วงปี 1910s ถึง 1930s คือยุคที่อุตสาหกรรมอาหารเริ่มโตเต็มที่ สหรัฐฯ เริ่มผลิต นมข้นหวาน สำหรับทหารในสงครามกลางเมือง และต่อยอดใช้ในสงครามโลกครั้งที่ 1 นมชนิดนี้เก็บได้นาน ไม่เน่า และมีพลังงานสูง ทหารหลายคนติดใจในรสชาติหวานมันแบบไม่มีอะไรเทียบได้ ซึ่งต่อมาทำให้มันกลายเป็นวัตถุดิบหลักในหลายเมนูทั่วโลก รวมถึง “ชาเย็น” บ้านเราที่ต้องมีนมข้นหวานเท่านั้นถึงจะใช่

เข้าสู่ช่วง สงครามโลกครั้งที่ 2 (1939–1945) คือช่วงหัวเลี้ยวหัวต่อสำคัญของ Fiat Food หรืออาหารที่ถูกผลิตจากตรรกะจำเป็นเชิงยุทธศาสตร์มากกว่าธรรมชาติ เฮียว่าช่วงนี้มันเหมือนโรงเรียนประถมของ Ultra-Processed Food สมัยใหม่เลยล่ะ ตัวอย่างชัดเจนคือ Spam เนื้อหมูกระป๋องที่ออกแบบให้ทหารพกพาสะดวก ไม่ต้องแช่เย็น เก็บได้นาน และอุดมด้วยโซเดียม หลังสงครามจบ มันกลายเป็นอาหารยอดฮิตในประเทศที่เคยเป็นแนวหน้า เช่น ฮาวาย เกาหลี ฟิลิปปินส์ และอังกฤษ โดยถูกโฆษณาว่าเป็น “ของดีจากอเมริกา” ทั้งที่ทหารหลายคนก็เบื่อมันจนเอียน

ในช่วงเดียวกันนั้นเอง ช็อกโกแลต Hershey's ก็ถูกพัฒนาเป็น “Field Ration D” หรือแท่งช็อกโกแลตพลังงานสูงที่ไม่ละลายในอุณหภูมิสูง สำหรับแจกให้ทหารทุกคนคนละแท่งติดตัวไว้ในสนามรบ พอสงครามจบ Hershey’s ก็ปรับสูตรให้กินง่ายขึ้น แล้วขายในเชิงพาณิชย์จนกลายเป็นแบรนด์ระดับโลกแบบที่เราเห็นทุกวันนี้

โพรเซสชีส เช่น Kraft และ Velveeta ก็ถูกออกแบบให้เก็บได้นานไม่เน่า ชีสพวกนี้ผสมสารอิมัลซิไฟเออร์ ทำให้ไม่แยกชั้นเมื่อถูกความร้อน เหมาะกับการผลิตอาหารจำนวนมากแบบโรงครัวทหาร เมื่อสงครามจบ Kraft เอาเทคโนโลยีนี้มาทำ “ชีสแผ่น” สำหรับเบอร์เกอร์และแซนด์วิช เป็นต้นแบบของอาหารฟาสต์ฟู้ดยุคใหม่แบบไร้กลิ่นชีสแท้

นมผง และ ไขมันพืชไฮโดรจิเนต ก็เริ่มเข้ามามีบทบาทในสงคราม โดยนมผงแทนที่นมสดในสนามรบ และไขมันพืชใช้ทำเบเกอรี่โดยไม่ต้องใช้เนยสด ซึ่งแพงกว่า หลังสงคราม สารให้ความหวานเทียมอย่าง ซัคคาริน ก็เริ่มถูกนำเสนอว่าเหมาะกับคนลดน้ำหนัก ทั้งที่มันมีจุดเริ่มจากความจำเป็นยามขาดแคลนน้ำตาลในสงคราม

ปี 1950s-1960s โลกเข้าสู่ยุคสงครามเย็น เทคโนโลยีการเก็บอาหารพัฒนาไปพร้อมกับเทคโนโลยีอวกาศ และหนึ่งในผลิตภัณฑ์ระดับตำนานคือ Tang น้ำส้มผงของบริษัท General Foods ที่ถูกส่งขึ้นไปพร้อมนักบินอวกาศ John Glenn ในปี 1962 Tang กลายเป็นสัญลักษณ์ของ “อนาคตในแก้วน้ำ” ทั้งที่ไม่มีผลไม้จริงเลยสักหยดเดียว แต่การตลาดที่อ้างว่า NASA ใช้ ทำให้มันขายดีระเบิด

ในระหว่างนั้น ปี 1955 ประธานาธิบดีไอเซนฮาวร์หัวใจวายกลางสนามกอล์ฟ เป็นจุดเปลี่ยนอีกครั้งที่โลกเริ่มหันมาสนใจ “ไขมัน” ว่าอาจเป็นผู้ร้าย ทำให้ชายคนหนึ่งชื่อ Ancel Keys เสนอทฤษฎี “ไขมันคือเหตุแห่งโรคหัวใจ” พร้อมกับงานศึกษาที่ชื่อ Seven Countries Study ซึ่งต่อมาจะกลายเป็นที่มาของ “พีระมิดอาหาร” ในปี 1977 โดย USDA ในยุคของวุฒิสมาชิก George McGovern ทฤษฎีนี้ถูกวิจารณ์ภายหลังว่าตั้งต้นด้วยการ “เลือกข้อมูล” ที่สนับสนุนสมมุติฐานของตัวเอง และเมินประเทศที่ข้อมูลไม่เข้าเป้าออกไปเฉยๆ แล้วก็ปั้นพีระมิดที่บอกว่า คาร์โบไฮเดรตอยู่ฐานล่างสุด กินได้เยอะๆ ส่วนไขมันให้อยู่บนสุด กินน้อยๆ นี่คือการพลิกอำนาจอาหารครั้งใหญ่ที่สุดในศตวรรษ อาหารไม่ใช่สิ่งที่มาจากพื้นดิน แต่เป็นสิ่งที่มาจากกระดาษนโยบาย

ช่วงนี้แหละครับที่จุดเปลี่ยนที่ใหญ่สุดมาถึง เมื่อรัฐบาลสหรัฐประกาศใช้นโยบายอาหารใหม่โดยอิงกับคำแนะนำของ USDA ซึ่งภายหลังถูกเปิดโปงว่าปิรามิดอาหารที่ใช้จริงนั้น ผ่านการปรับจากต้นฉบับโดยนักวิทยาศาสตร์อย่างหนักเพื่อ “จัดสรรพื้นที่” ให้กับอาหารที่มี lobby สูง เช่น ข้าว ซีเรียล พาสต้า และน้ำมันพืช โดยให้ไขมันสัตว์ถูกตัดทิ้งไปเป็นตัวอันตราย เฮียว่าโมเมนต์นี้แหละคือจุดที่ "ฟู้ดฟิคชั่น" กลายเป็น "ฟู้ดโพย" สำหรับคนทั้งโลก

ระหว่างที่ USDA กำลังยึดพีระมิดอยู่นั้น อุตสาหกรรมอาหารแปรรูปก็กำลังเข้มข้นแบบใส่สปีดโบ๊ทเข้าไปอีก ข้าวโพดกลายเป็นพืชเศรษฐกิจอันดับหนึ่งของสหรัฐฯ ไม่ใช่เพราะคนกินข้าวโพดกันเยอะ แต่เพราะมันกลายเป็นวัตถุดิบของทุกอย่าง ตั้งแต่ high-fructose corn syrup ในน้ำอัดลม ยันฟิลเลอร์ในไส้กรอก และอาหารสัตว์ในฟาร์มปศุสัตว์ เชนร้านอาหารอย่าง McDonald’s ก็เริ่มเปลี่ยนมันฝรั่งทอดจากไขมันเนื้อวัวมาใช้น้ำมันพืชในยุค 1980s เพราะแรงกดดันจากกลุ่มต่อต้านไขมันอิ่มตัว ทั้งที่รสชาติเปลี่ยนและสุขภาพก็ไม่ได้ดีขึ้น

ปี 1980s-1990s เกิดสิ่งที่เฮียอยากเรียกว่า “การปฏิวัติแบบเนียน” คือผู้คนเริ่มเชื่อว่าอาหารแปรรูปคือความก้าวหน้า และอาหารธรรมชาตินั้นล้าหลัง วงการโภชนาการยังคงถูกขับเคลื่อนด้วยความเชื่อว่าคาร์บคือของดี ไขมันคือผู้ร้าย และโปรตีนต้องมาจากพืช บริษัทใหญ่ๆ อย่าง Nestlé, PepsiCo, และ Unilever เริ่มเข้าซื้อแบรนด์อาหารสุขภาพ พร้อมผลิตเวย์เทียม โปรตีนพืช และอาหารเสริมแทนอาหารจริง พร้อมแนวคิด “Meal Replacement” ที่เน้นขายแทนกิน เขาไม่ได้แค่นำเสนอสินค้า แต่พยายามกำหนดแนวคิดเรื่อง “อาหารเพื่อสุขภาพ” แบบที่คนทั่วไปไม่ต้องคิดเอง ขอแค่เชื่อฉลาก กับดูโลโก้รูปหัวใจสีเขียวก็พอ

ก่อนจะเข้าสู่ศตวรรษใหม่ในปี 2000 โลกก็เริ่มเห็นวี่แววของสิ่งที่เรียกว่า “อาหารแห่งอนาคต” อีกครั้ง ไม่ใช่เพราะเทคโนโลยีใหม่อย่างเดียว แต่เพราะระบบอาหารเดิมถูกบิดเบือนจนธรรมชาติเสียศูนย์ อาหารจริงถูกตีตราว่าอันตราย ส่วนอาหารสังเคราะห์ถูกสร้างเรื่องเล่าว่า "สะอาดกว่า ปลอดภัยกว่า และเป็นคำตอบของโลกอนาคต" ซึ่งในมุมของเฮีย มันคือการสืบทอดวิธีคิดแบบเดียวกับสมัยสงคราม คือการบังคับให้กินของที่ผลิตได้มาก ราคาถูก เก็บได้นาน โดยไม่สนว่าร่างกายต้องการหรือไม่ และทั้งหมดก็กลับมาที่จุดเดิม — การออกแบบอาหารให้เหมาะกับระบบ มากกว่าจะออกแบบระบบให้เหมาะกับร่างกายมนุษย์

นี่แหละเฮียถึงอยากเล่าซีรีส์ “อาหารอนาคต” เพราะในความจริงมันไม่ใช่อนาคตอะไรเลย แต่มันคืออดีตที่ถูกเล่าใหม่ด้วยคำพูดที่ฟังดูเท่ แต่ซ่อนไว้ด้วยตรวนของการควบคุมสิทธิในการกินของมนุษย์ เอาของปลอมมาสวมรอยธรรมชาติ แล้วทำให้เรารู้สึกผิดถ้าจะกินไขมันสัตว์ กินเนื้อ กินไข่ หรือไม่กินอาหารเช้าที่เต็มไปด้วยน้ำตาล เฮียว่า ถ้าไม่เล่าเรื่องพวกนี้ให้คนรู้ทัน ก็เหมือนปล่อยให้ลูกหลานกินอาหารที่ไม่มีใครรู้ว่า “ใครเป็นคนเขียนสูตรให้พวกเขากิน”

ดังนั้น ถ้าเราจะพูดถึง “อาหารแห่งอนาคต” เฮียว่า เราต้องกล้ากลับไปถามว่า อนาคตที่ว่านั่น ใครกันเป็นคนออกแบบ? แล้วเราอยู่ตรงไหนของโต๊ะ?

#pirateketo #กูต้องรู้มั๊ย #ม้วนหางสิลูก #siamstr

@ 81022b27:2b8d0644

I’m a Chiropractor, Writer, Travel Nerd, Lover of Efficiency, Trekker and a Celebrity in Mexican Restaurants Hi, I’m Danny DeReuter, and I want to save the world. I’m an occasional writer-I’ve written some stuff.

Sometimes people think I’m funny. Maybe some time I’ll come up with a bit of courage and try my hand at stand-up. (seriously, that’s a thing on my vision board)

I’ve become somewhat of a social media expert managing my online presence. I help show people how to do social media more effectively.

I’m also a speaker. I prefer to speak on topics that I’m passionate about-like natural health, chiropractic, and social media. I also have a Podcast. Be nice and you can ask me to speak at your event.

@ 5d4b6c8d:8a1c1ee3

Big day for me today: - @k00b convinced me to try OMAD. I did eat more than once today, but it was all within a four hour period. I'll try to tighten that up further tomorrow. - @gnilma and @398ja convinced me to try a cold shower. I eased into it, by starting it warm and gradually turning down the temperature. That was totally manageable.

How did you do today? What do you need to work on tomorrow?

https://stacker.news/items/1001161

@ 5c26ee8b:a4d229aa

Ad-Daba (the unusual creature), is one of the major signs of Judgement Day and it’s more likely to be the next sign to appear soon. As it appears the belief of disbelievers or repentance won’t be accepted. In the following some verses of the Quran and Hadith mentioning it as well as other major signs.

27:82 An-Naml

‎۞ وَإِذَا وَقَعَ الْقَوْلُ عَلَيْهِمْ أَخْرَجْنَا لَهُمْ دَابَّةً مِنَ الْأَرْضِ تُكَلِّمُهُمْ أَنَّ النَّاسَ كَانُوا بِآيَاتِنَا لَا يُوقِنُونَ

And when the word befalls them, We will bring forth for them a creature (Ad-Daba) from the earth speaking to them, [saying] that the people were, of Our verses, not certain [in faith].

6:158 Al-An'aam

‎هَلْ يَنْظُرُونَ إِلَّا أَنْ تَأْتِيَهُمُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ أَوْ يَأْتِيَ رَبُّكَ أَوْ يَأْتِيَ بَعْضُ آيَاتِ رَبِّكَ ۗ يَوْمَ يَأْتِي بَعْضُ آيَاتِ رَبِّكَ لَا يَنْفَعُ نَفْسًا إِيمَانُهَا لَمْ تَكُنْ آمَنَتْ مِنْ قَبْلُ أَوْ كَسَبَتْ فِي إِيمَانِهَا خَيْرًا ۗ قُلِ انْتَظِرُوا إِنَّا مُنْتَظِرُونَ

Do they [then] wait for anything except that the angels should come to them or your Lord should come or that there come some of the signs of your Lord? The Day that some of the signs of your Lord will come no soul will benefit from its faith as long as it had not believed before or had earned through its faith some good. Say, "Wait. Indeed, we [also] are waiting."

It was narrated that Hudhaifah bin Asid, Abu Sarihah, said: "The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) looked out from a room, when we were talking about the Hour. He said: 'The Hour will not begin until ten signs appear: The rising of the sun from the west (place of its setting); Dajjal; the smoke; the beast; Gog and Magog people; the appearance of 'Eisa bin Maryam(as), the earth collapsing three times - once in the east, one in the west and one in the Arabian Peninsula; and fire that will emerge from the plain of Aden Abyan and will drive the people to the place of Gathering, stopping with them when they stop at night and when they stop to rest at midday."

حَدَّثَنَا عَلِيُّ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ، حَدَّثَنَا وَكِيعٌ، حَدَّثَنَا سُفْيَانُ، عَنْ فُرَاتٍ الْقَزَّازِ، عَنْ عَامِرِ بْنِ وَاثِلَةَ أَبِي الطُّفَيْلِ الْكِنَانِيِّ، عَنْ حُذَيْفَةَ بْنِ أَسِيدٍ أَبِي سَرِيحَةَ، قَالَ اطَّلَعَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ مِنْ غُرْفَةٍ وَنَحْنُ نَتَذَاكَرُ السَّاعَةَ فَقَالَ ‏ "‏ لاَ تَقُومُ السَّاعَةُ حَتَّى تَكُونَ عَشْرُ آيَاتٍ طُلُوعُ الشَّمْسِ مِنْ مَغْرِبِهَا وَالدَّجَّالُ وَالدُّخَانُ وَالدَّابَّةُ وَيَأْجُوجُ وَمَأْجُوجُ وَخُرُوجُ عِيسَى ابْنِ مَرْيَمَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلاَمُ وَثَلاَثُ خُسُوفٍ خَسْفٌ بِالْمَشْرِقِ وَخَسْفٌ بِالْمَغْرِبِ وَخَسْفٌ بِجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِ وَنَارٌ تَخْرُجُ مِنْ قَعْرِ عَدَنِ أَبْيَنَ تَسُوقُ النَّاسَ إِلَى الْمَحْشَرِ تَبِيتُ مَعَهُمْ إِذَا بَاتُوا وَتَقِيلُ مَعَهُمْ إِذَا قَالُوا ‏"‏ ‏.‏

قال رسول الله صلي الله عليه وسلم: تخرجُ الدابَّةُ، فتَسِمُ الناسَ على خراطيمِهم، ثم يُعمِّرون فيكم، حتى يشتريَ الرجلُ الدابَّةَ، فيُقالُ: ممَّنِ اشتريتَ؟ فيقولُ: من الرجلِ المُخَطَّمِ

The prophet Mohamed peace be upon him said: The beast will come out and brand people (disbelievers) on their noses (leaves a sign burned on their nose so it’s known of their disbelief). Then they will live among you until a man buys a beast and it will be said: From whom did you buy it? He will say: From the man with the sign on the nose.

The beast looks unusual and some people might find it scary. However, it’s a sign of God and it must not be killed as this will call God’s punishment like what happen when the people of prophet Saleh peace be upon him killed the huge camel as mentioned in the following verses.

7:73 Al-A'raaf

‎وَإِلَىٰ ثَمُودَ أَخَاهُمْ صَالِحًا ۗ قَالَ يَا قَوْمِ اعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ مَا لَكُمْ مِنْ إِلَٰهٍ غَيْرُهُ ۖ قَدْ جَاءَتْكُمْ بَيِّنَةٌ مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ ۖ هَٰذِهِ نَاقَةُ اللَّهِ لَكُمْ آيَةً ۖ فَذَرُوهَا تَأْكُلْ فِي أَرْضِ اللَّهِ ۖ وَلَا تَمَسُّوهَا بِسُوءٍ فَيَأْخُذَكُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ

And to the Thamud [We sent] their brother Salih. He said, "O my people, worship Allah; you have no deity other than Him. There has come to you clear evidence from your Lord. This is the she-camel of Allah [sent] to you as a sign. So leave her to eat within Allah 's land and do not touch her with harm, lest there seize you a painful punishment.

7:74 Al-A'raaf

‎وَاذْكُرُوا إِذْ جَعَلَكُمْ خُلَفَاءَ مِنْ بَعْدِ عَادٍ وَبَوَّأَكُمْ فِي الْأَرْضِ تَتَّخِذُونَ مِنْ سُهُولِهَا قُصُورًا وَتَنْحِتُونَ الْجِبَالَ بُيُوتًا ۖ فَاذْكُرُوا آلَاءَ اللَّهِ وَلَا تَعْثَوْا فِي الْأَرْضِ مُفْسِدِينَ

And remember when He made you successors after the 'Aad and settled you in the land, [and] you take for yourselves palaces from its plains and carve from the mountains, homes. Then remember the favors of Allah and do not commit abuse on the earth, spreading corruption."

7:75 Al-A'raaf

‎قَالَ الْمَلَأُ الَّذِينَ اسْتَكْبَرُوا مِنْ قَوْمِهِ لِلَّذِينَ اسْتُضْعِفُوا لِمَنْ آمَنَ مِنْهُمْ أَتَعْلَمُونَ أَنَّ صَالِحًا مُرْسَلٌ مِنْ رَبِّهِ ۚ قَالُوا إِنَّا بِمَا أُرْسِلَ بِهِ مُؤْمِنُونَ

Said the eminent ones who were arrogant among his people to those who were oppressed - to those who believed among them, "Do you [actually] know that Salih is sent from his Lord?" They said, "Indeed we, in that with which he was sent, are believers."

7:76 Al-A'raaf

‎قَالَ الَّذِينَ اسْتَكْبَرُوا إِنَّا بِالَّذِي آمَنْتُمْ بِهِ كَافِرُونَ

Said those who were arrogant, "Indeed we, in that which you have believed, are disbelievers."

7:77 Al-A'raaf

‎فَعَقَرُوا النَّاقَةَ وَعَتَوْا عَنْ أَمْرِ رَبِّهِمْ وَقَالُوا يَا صَالِحُ ائْتِنَا بِمَا تَعِدُنَا إِنْ كُنْتَ مِنَ الْمُرْسَلِينَ

So they hamstrung the she-camel and were insolent toward the command of their Lord and said, "O Salih, bring us what you promise us, if you should be of the messengers."

7:78 Al-A'raaf

‎فَأَخَذَتْهُمُ الرَّجْفَةُ فَأَصْبَحُوا فِي دَارِهِمْ جَاثِمِينَ

So the earthquake seized them, and they became within their home [corpses] fallen prone.

7:79 Al-A'raaf

‎فَتَوَلَّىٰ عَنْهُمْ وَقَالَ يَا قَوْمِ لَقَدْ أَبْلَغْتُكُمْ رِسَالَةَ رَبِّي وَنَصَحْتُ لَكُمْ وَلَٰكِنْ لَا تُحِبُّونَ النَّاصِحِينَ

And he turned away from them and said, "O my people, I had certainly conveyed to you the message of my Lord and advised you, but you do not like advisors."

God is the most merciful and has decreed everything and even the major signs of Judgement Day can have the punishment coming with them alleviated or reduced by God. However, there must be a reason for reducing the intensity of the calamities, as God may decree, and the reason is repentance as well as good actions to adjust what was done wrong. Also, although the major signs of Judgement Day will be known to the majority of the people, some of them might concern smaller groups of people or a country.

3:133 Aal-i-Imraan

‎۞ وَسَارِعُوا إِلَىٰ مَغْفِرَةٍ مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ وَجَنَّةٍ عَرْضُهَا السَّمَاوَاتُ وَالْأَرْضُ أُعِدَّتْ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ

And hasten to forgiveness from your Lord and a garden as wide as the heavens and earth, prepared for the righteous

3:134 Aal-i-Imraan

‎الَّذِينَ يُنْفِقُونَ فِي السَّرَّاءِ وَالضَّرَّاءِ وَالْكَاظِمِينَ الْغَيْظَ وَالْعَافِينَ عَنِ النَّاسِ ۗ وَاللَّهُ يُحِبُّ الْمُحْسِنِينَ

Who spend [in the cause of Allah] during ease and hardship and who restrain anger and who pardon the people - and Allah loves the doers of good;

3:135 Aal-i-Imraan

‎وَالَّذِينَ إِذَا فَعَلُوا فَاحِشَةً أَوْ ظَلَمُوا أَنْفُسَهُمْ ذَكَرُوا اللَّهَ فَاسْتَغْفَرُوا لِذُنُوبِهِمْ وَمَنْ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَلَمْ يُصِرُّوا عَلَىٰ مَا فَعَلُوا وَهُمْ يَعْلَمُونَ

And those who, when they commit an immorality or wrong themselves [by transgression], remember Allah and seek forgiveness for their sins - and who can forgive sins except Allah? - and [who] do not persist in what they have done while they know.

3:136 Aal-i-Imraan

‎أُولَٰئِكَ جَزَاؤُهُمْ مَغْفِرَةٌ مِنْ رَبِّهِمْ وَجَنَّاتٌ تَجْرِي مِنْ تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا ۚ وَنِعْمَ أَجْرُ الْعَامِلِينَ

Those - their reward is forgiveness from their Lord and gardens beneath which rivers flow [in Paradise], wherein they will abide eternally; and excellent is the reward of the [righteous] workers.

3:137 Aal-i-Imraan

‎قَدْ خَلَتْ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ سُنَنٌ فَسِيرُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ فَانْظُرُوا كَيْفَ كَانَ عَاقِبَةُ الْمُكَذِّبِينَ

Similar situations [as yours] have passed on before you, so proceed throughout the earth and observe how was the end of those who denied.

3:138 Aal-i-Imraan

‎هَٰذَا بَيَانٌ لِلنَّاسِ وَهُدًى وَمَوْعِظَةٌ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ

This [Qur'an] is a clear statement to [all] the people and a guidance and instruction for those conscious of Allah.

@ a39d19ec:3d88f61e

Die Debatte um Migration, Grenzsicherung und Abschiebungen wird in Deutschland meist emotional geführt. Wer fordert, dass illegale Einwanderer abgeschoben werden, sieht sich nicht selten dem Vorwurf des Rassismus ausgesetzt. Doch dieser Vorwurf ist nicht nur sachlich unbegründet, sondern verkehrt die Realität ins Gegenteil: Tatsächlich sind es gerade diejenigen, die hinter jeder Forderung nach Rechtssicherheit eine rassistische Motivation vermuten, die selbst in erster Linie nach Hautfarbe, Herkunft oder Nationalität urteilen.

Das Recht steht über Emotionen

Deutschland ist ein Rechtsstaat. Das bedeutet, dass Regeln nicht nach Bauchgefühl oder politischer Stimmungslage ausgelegt werden können, sondern auf klaren gesetzlichen Grundlagen beruhen müssen. Einer dieser Grundsätze ist in Artikel 16a des Grundgesetzes verankert. Dort heißt es:

„Auf Absatz 1 [Asylrecht] kann sich nicht berufen, wer aus einem Mitgliedstaat der Europäischen Gemeinschaften oder aus einem anderen Drittstaat einreist, in dem die Anwendung des Abkommens über die Rechtsstellung der Flüchtlinge und der Europäischen Menschenrechtskonvention sichergestellt ist.“

Das bedeutet, dass jeder, der über sichere Drittstaaten nach Deutschland einreist, keinen Anspruch auf Asyl hat. Wer dennoch bleibt, hält sich illegal im Land auf und unterliegt den geltenden Regelungen zur Rückführung. Die Forderung nach Abschiebungen ist daher nichts anderes als die Forderung nach der Einhaltung von Recht und Gesetz.

Die Umkehrung des Rassismusbegriffs

Wer einerseits behauptet, dass das deutsche Asyl- und Aufenthaltsrecht strikt durchgesetzt werden soll, und andererseits nicht nach Herkunft oder Hautfarbe unterscheidet, handelt wertneutral. Diejenigen jedoch, die in einer solchen Forderung nach Rechtsstaatlichkeit einen rassistischen Unterton sehen, projizieren ihre eigenen Denkmuster auf andere: Sie unterstellen, dass die Debatte ausschließlich entlang ethnischer, rassistischer oder nationaler Kriterien geführt wird – und genau das ist eine rassistische Denkweise.

Jemand, der illegale Einwanderung kritisiert, tut dies nicht, weil ihn die Herkunft der Menschen interessiert, sondern weil er den Rechtsstaat respektiert. Hingegen erkennt jemand, der hinter dieser Kritik Rassismus wittert, offenbar in erster Linie die „Rasse“ oder Herkunft der betreffenden Personen und reduziert sie darauf.

Finanzielle Belastung statt ideologischer Debatte

Neben der rechtlichen gibt es auch eine ökonomische Komponente. Der deutsche Wohlfahrtsstaat basiert auf einem Solidarprinzip: Die Bürger zahlen in das System ein, um sich gegenseitig in schwierigen Zeiten zu unterstützen. Dieser Wohlstand wurde über Generationen hinweg von denjenigen erarbeitet, die hier seit langem leben. Die Priorität liegt daher darauf, die vorhandenen Mittel zuerst unter denjenigen zu verteilen, die durch Steuern, Sozialabgaben und Arbeit zum Erhalt dieses Systems beitragen – nicht unter denen, die sich durch illegale Einreise und fehlende wirtschaftliche Eigenleistung in das System begeben.

Das ist keine ideologische Frage, sondern eine rein wirtschaftliche Abwägung. Ein Sozialsystem kann nur dann nachhaltig funktionieren, wenn es nicht unbegrenzt belastet wird. Würde Deutschland keine klaren Regeln zur Einwanderung und Abschiebung haben, würde dies unweigerlich zur Überlastung des Sozialstaates führen – mit negativen Konsequenzen für alle.

Sozialpatriotismus

Ein weiterer wichtiger Aspekt ist der Schutz der Arbeitsleistung jener Generationen, die Deutschland nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg mühsam wieder aufgebaut haben. Während oft betont wird, dass die Deutschen moralisch kein Erbe aus der Zeit vor 1945 beanspruchen dürfen – außer der Verantwortung für den Holocaust –, ist es umso bedeutsamer, das neue Erbe nach 1945 zu respektieren, das auf Fleiß, Disziplin und harter Arbeit beruht. Der Wiederaufbau war eine kollektive Leistung deutscher Menschen, deren Früchte nicht bedenkenlos verteilt werden dürfen, sondern vorrangig denjenigen zugutekommen sollten, die dieses Fundament mitgeschaffen oder es über Generationen mitgetragen haben.

Rechtstaatlichkeit ist nicht verhandelbar

Wer sich für eine konsequente Abschiebepraxis ausspricht, tut dies nicht aus rassistischen Motiven, sondern aus Respekt vor der Rechtsstaatlichkeit und den wirtschaftlichen Grundlagen des Landes. Der Vorwurf des Rassismus in diesem Kontext ist daher nicht nur falsch, sondern entlarvt eine selektive Wahrnehmung nach rassistischen Merkmalen bei denjenigen, die ihn erheben.

@ 6ad3e2a3:c90b7740

I’ve written before about the distinction between a platform, like Gmail or X, and a protocol, like SMTP or nostr. The former is typically owned and centrally controlled, the latter permissionless and open to everyone. For example, Google can ban you from using its email client, but no one can prevent you from using email itself because no one owns the email protocol.

Language is also a protocol, in fact every language including English. Anyone, even your worst enemy who knows it can make himself understood by those who understand it. Dictionaries and grammar guides exist, but over time even they bend to common usage and are forced to include new words and rules over time because no one owns or unilaterally controls the language.

Nonetheless that doesn’t prevent people from trying. If large companies ban you from using their communications platforms like Facebook, X and Gmail, it can severely constrict your reach. Banks can’t prevent you from using physical dollars, but they can cancel your credit cards and close your accounts, if for example you’ve decided to support Canadian truckers protesting their government, making it difficult for you to transact in a society largely run on their digital rails.

Over the last few years we even saw brazen attempts to turn language into a protocol via preferred pronouns, political correctness and a government-funded “disinformation” industry. The idea was that you had to “log in” with your correct view and accurate information credential before you could participate in a discussion about a wide array of sensitive topics. If you questioned the safety and efficacy of vaccines, the fairness of the 2020 election or the origins of the Covid virus you often found yourself denied reach on various platforms and labeled “anti-vax,” “anti-science,” an “election denier” or a “conspiracy theorist.”

These labels served to circumvent substantive discussion by denying basic standing such that there was no path to a hearing on the merits. If you did not signal your bona fides via adherence to certain preferred edicts, your perspective was often summarily dismissed, not only by individuals, but also institutions at the behest of which the modern public square is administered.

In short, centralized platforms, responding to government pressure, attempted to turn self-expression and in some cases even language itself into platform. As it turns out, that attempt was a violation of the law, at least in the United States, where we have a First Amendment:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

That the First Amendment was violated over the last five years (and is still being violated now, though more with respect to what you can say about Israel and the conflict raging therein) is not surprising. The Constitution is merely a piece of paper and as such wholly dependent on succeeding generations’ willingness to stand up for it. Governments are always, by their nature, top down and fascistic insofar as they use force to achieve their desired ends, and it would be naive to think a piece of paper should stop them from doing so given a sufficiently compliant populace.

Put differently, the consecrated ideas in the piece of paper must be perpetuated to retain their binding effect. And rational arguments as to their supremacy over the expedience of the day (“people are dying, it’s a once in a century pandemic!”) often fall on propagandized ears. A list of sacrosanct principles is no failsafe for mass formation psychosis, and sophisticated and powerful factions have learned to foment manias as needed to overwhelm the average person’s dedication to them.

But just as gunpowder to some extent democratized the use of force 600 years ago, the spread of new technologies has the potential to enforce the First Amendment in perpetuity in a way the Framers with their pen and paper could not. In fact, we can re-write the First Amendment for the modern digital age in simplified form:

Religion and speech are ever protocols, never platforms.

In essence, no centralized entity can control, capture or censor them. But instead of simply stating this as a matter of principle, we can now, via Bitcoin and nostr, instantiate it into a decentralized ecosystem with the use of distributed nodes and unbreakable encryption. All the king’s horses and all the king’s men would more have as much chance of re-assembling Humpty Dumpty, contra the laws of entropy, as cracking your private keys. Inducing manias in the general public and using it as a lever on centralized gatekeepers works only at the platform level, but necessarily fails versus a distributed protocol.

The solution then in the face of an indifferent and obedient population to restoring the principles on which freedom and the prospect of human prosperity depend is to develop and use unstoppable, uncensorable technology, i.e., digital protocols, to circumvent the walled-garden platforms run by centralized tech behemoths. Yes, advocating for the principles in the founding documents is good and useful, but building and using tools that instantiate them is also necessary.

If enough people transact peer to peer in bitcoin rather than over the closed-circuit rails of the global banking system, and enough people share information over nostr, rather than via the centralized tech platforms, laws and actions that violate free speech would be as effective as ones outlawing gravity or laws of thermodynamics.

The next revolution won’t be with the guillotine or the pitchfork, but bottom-up person to person, permissionless interaction and transaction. You can still be excommunicated from the platforms by their commissars and state apparatchiks, but their edicts no longer run merely afoul of a consecrated piece of paper — they come up against an infrastructure over which they no longer have enforceable jurisdiction.

@ 97c70a44:ad98e322

Vibe coding is taking the nostr developer community by storm. While it's all very exciting and interesting, I think it's important to pump the brakes a little - not in order to stop the vehicle, but to try to keep us from flying off the road as we approach this curve.

In this note Pablo is subtweeting something I said to him recently (although I'm sure he's heard it from other quarters as well):

nostr:nevent1qvzqqqqqqypzp75cf0tahv5z7plpdeaws7ex52nmnwgtwfr2g3m37r844evqrr6jqy2hwumn8ghj7un9d3shjtnyv9kh2uewd9hj7qghwaehxw309aex2mrp0yh8qunfd4skctnwv46z7qg6waehxw309ac8junpd45kgtnxd9shg6npvchxxmmd9uqzq0z48d4ttzzkupswnkyt5a2xfkhxl3hyavnxjujwn5k2k529aearwtecp4

There is a naive, curmudgeonly case for simply "not doing AI". I think the intuition is a good one, but the subject is obviously more complicated - not doing it, either on an individual or a collective level, is just not an option. I recently read Tools for Conviviality by Ivan Illich, which I think can help us here. For Illich, the best kind of tool is one which serves "politically interrelated individuals rather than managers".

This is obviously a core value for bitcoiners. And I think the talks given at the Oslo Freedom Forum this year present a compelling case for adoption of LLMs for the purposes of 1. using them for good, and 2. developing them further so that they don't get captured by corporations and governments. Illich calls both the telephone and print "almost ideally convivial". I would add the internet, cryptography, and LLMs to this list, because each one allows individuals to work cooperatively within communities to embody their values in their work.

But this is only half the story. Illich also points out how "the manipulative nature of institutions... have put these ideally convivial tools at the service of more [managerial dominance]."

Preventing the subversion and capture of our tools is not just a matter of who uses what, and for which ends. It also requires an awareness of the environment that the use of the tool (whether for virtuous or vicious ends) creates, which in turn forms the abilities, values, and desires of those who inhabit the environment.

The natural tendency of LLMs is to foster ignorance, dependence, and detachment from reality. This is not the fault of the tool itself, but that of humans' tendency to trade liberty for convenience. Nevertheless, the inherent values of a given tool naturally gives rise to an environment through use: the tool changes the world that the tool user lives in. This in turn indoctrinates the user into the internal logic of the tool, shaping their thinking, blinding them to the tool's influence, and neutering their ability to work in ways not endorsed by the structure of the tool-defined environment.

The result of this is that people are formed by their tools, becoming their slaves. We often talk about LLM misalignment, but the same is true of humans. Unreflective use of a tool creates people who are misaligned with their own interests. This is what I mean when I say that AI use is anti-human. I mean it in the same way that all unreflective tool use is anti-human. See Wendell Berry for an evaluation of industrial agriculture along the same lines.

What I'm not claiming is that a minority of high agency individuals can't use the technology for virtuous ends. In fact, I think that is an essential part of the solution. Tool use can be good. But tools that bring their users into dependence on complex industry and catechize their users into a particular system should be approached with extra caution. The plow was a convivial tool, and so were early tractors. Self-driving John Deere monstrosities are a straightforward extension of the earlier form of the technology, but are self-evidently an instrument of debt slavery, chemical dependency, industrial centralization, and degradation of the land. This over-extension of a given tool can occur regardless of the intentions of the user. As Illich says:

There is a form of malfunction in which growth does not yet tend toward the destruction of life, yet renders a tool antagonistic to its specific aims. Tools, in other words, have an optimal, a tolerable, and a negative range.

The initial form of a tool is almost always beneficial, because tools are made by humans for human ends. But as the scale of the tool grows, its logic gets more widely and forcibly applied. The solution to the anti-human tendencies of any technology is an understanding of scale. To prevent the overrun of the internal logic of a given tool and its creation of an environment hostile to human flourishing, we need to impose limits on scale.

Tools that require time periods or spaces or energies much beyond the order of corresponding natural scales are dysfunctional.

My problem with LLMs is:

• Not their imitation of human idioms, but their subversion of them and the resulting adoption of robotic idioms by humans
• Not the access they grant to information, but their ability to obscure accurate or relevant information
• Not their elimination of menial work, but its increase (Bullshit Jobs)
• Not their ability to take away jobs, but their ability to take away the meaning found in good work
• Not their ability to confer power to the user, but their ability to confer power to their owner which can be used to exploit the user
• Not their ability to solve problems mechanistically, but the extension of their mechanistic value system to human life
• Not their explicit promise of productivity, but the environment they implicitly create in which productivity depends on their use
• Not the conversations they are able to participate in, but the relationships they displace

All of these dysfunctions come from the over-application of the technology in evaluating and executing the fundamentally human task of living. AI work is the same kind of thing as an AI girlfriend, because work is not only for the creation of value (although that's an essential part of it), but also for the exercise of human agency in the world. In other words, tools must be tools, not masters. This is a problem of scale - when tool use is extended beyond its appropriate domain, it becomes what Illich calls a "radical monopoly" (the domination of a single paradigm over all of human life).

So the important question when dealing with any emergent technology becomes: how can we set limits such that the use of the technology is naturally confined to its appropriate scale?

Here are some considerations:

• Teach people how to use the technology well (e.g. cite sources when doing research, use context files instead of fighting the prompt, know when to ask questions rather than generate code)
• Create and use open source and self-hosted models and tools (MCP, stacks, tenex). Refuse to pay for closed or third-party hosted models and tools.
• Recognize the dependencies of the tool itself, for example GPU availability, and diversify the industrial sources to reduce fragility and dependence.
• Create models with built-in limits. The big companies have attempted this (resulting in Japanese Vikings), but the best-case effect is a top-down imposition of corporate values onto individuals. But the idea isn't inherently bad - a coding model that refuses to generate code in response to vague prompts, or which asks clarifying questions is an example. Or a home assistant that recognized childrens' voices and refuses to interact.
• Divert the productivity gains to human enrichment. Without mundane work to do, novice lawyers, coders, and accountants don't have an opportunity to hone their skills. But their learning could be subsidized by the bots in order to bring them up to a level that continues to be useful.
• Don't become a slave to the bots. Know when not to use it. Talk to real people. Write real code, poetry, novels, scripts. Do your own research. Learn by experience. Make your own stuff. Take a break from reviewing code to write some. Be independent, impossible to control. Don't underestimate the value to your soul of good work.
• Resist both monopoly and "radical monopoly". Both naturally collapse over time, but by cultivating an appreciation of the goodness of hand-crafted goods, non-synthetic entertainment, embodied relationship, and a balance between mobility and place, we can relegate new, threatening technologies to their correct role in society.

I think in all of this is implicit the idea of technological determinism, that productivity is power, and if you don't adapt you die. I reject this as an artifact of darwinism and materialism. The world is far more complex and full of grace than we think.

The idea that productivity creates wealth is, as we all know, bunk. GDP continues to go up, but ungrounded metrics don't reflect anything about the reality of human flourishing. We have to return to a qualitative understanding of life as whole, and contextualize quantitative tools and metrics within that framework.

Finally, don't believe the hype. Even if AI delivers everything it promises, conservatism in changing our ways of life will decelerate the rate of change society is subjected to and allow time for reflection and proper use of the tool. Curmudgeons are as valuable as technologists. There will be no jobspocalypse if there is sufficient political will to value human good over mere productivity. It's ok to pump the breaks.

@ 8bad92c3:ca714aa5

Marty's Bent

via levelsio

Over the weekend, prolific vibe coder levelsio took to X to complain about the state of housing affordability across Europe. Something that I was very happy to see considering the fact that there is a massive real estate affordability crisis across much of the world and it is important that people who are respected and have platforms speak out when they identify the problem as well. More eyes and focus on the problem is how something begins to get solved.

With that being said, I think levelsio is missing the forest for the trees by blaming institutionalized NIMBYism, burdensome regulations and governments hoarding land that should instead be given to developers to produce more housing supply. I quote tweeted this particular tweet on the subject from levelsio and wanted to take some time today to republish those thoughts here and expand on the topic.

It’s almost as if real estate is being used as a store of value asset instead of the consumable good that it is.

What @levelsio is observing here is called a “monetary premium”. A monetary premium is the value added on top of the consumable/aesthetic/location value of real estate.

This monetary premium exist because central banks and governments have distorted the market for money and people are forced to push value into assets that are scarce relative to dollars. Over the last 50 years real estate has been one of the relatively scarce assets of choice.

The housing affordability crisis is a negative externality of the market reaction to the corruption of money. It can only be fixed by re-introducing hard money into the economy that enables people to store value reliably. If that emerges they won’t have to store value in real estate, the monetary premium of real estate will dissolve and prices will correct to their proper valuations.

This is one of the problems that bitcoin solves.

It’s still early yet, but more and more people are recognizing the utility provided by a neutral reserve asset that can’t be manipulated by central planners. At scale, the effect on assets that have accumulated a monetary premium over decades will be material. All of these assets are significantly overvalued and their monetary premium are leaking into bitcoin.

Put another way, "It's the money, stupid." Now, this isn't to say that the supply of housing in certain areas being artificially restricted isn't having an effect on the price of housing. This is certainly true, especially in cities like San Francisco where there is a relatively strong demand because of the economic density of the area and the desire of many high agency and productive people to live there. But I would put forth that the monetary premium is still the bigger problem and no amount of de-regulation to enable the supply of housing to increase will solve the affordability crisis in the long-run. The only way to get to the root of this specific problem is via bitcoin's mainstream adoption as an apolitical uncontrollable asset with completely idiosyncratic risks when compared to any individual asset class.

Let's say the government did ease up regulations and local NIMBY sympathetics were shoved in a corner to allow new units to be built. This doesn't solve the problem in the short-run because there is a time-delay between when regulations are lifted and when new supply actually makes it to market. In the interim, governments and central banks are inevitably going to go further into debt and be forced to print money to monetize that debt. This will exacerbate inflation and even if new real estate units are brought to market, the builders/owners of those properties will likely have to demand elevated prices to attempt to keep up with inflation.

This also does nothing to solve the problem of real income and wage growth, which are significantly lagging real inflation. Even if prices came down because of a surge in supply, could the Common Man afford a down payment on the property? I'd be shocked if this was the case. And since it's likely not the case the only way to get people into these houses as "owners" would be to offer them zero-down financing, which makes people feel richer than they actually are and leads them to make financially ruinous decisions.

It's the money, stupid. People need a way to save so that they can buy in the first place. Fiat currency doesn't allow this and the only people who can save effectively are those who make enough money to funnel into substitute store of value assets like real estate.

As it stands today, the price-to-income ratio of real estate is 5.0x and the price-t0-rent index is 1.36. Up from 3.3x and 1.14x respectively where the metrics sat in the year 2000. The growth in these ratios is driven predominately via their monetary premium.

And guess what, it's about to get much worse. Donald Trump, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Elon Musk have all signaled that the plan moving forward is to attempt to drive growth and productivity as high as possible while also letting deficits and the debt increase unabated, which means that inflation is likely to continue unabated and potentially increase.

It might make sense to get some bitcoin if that is the case.

via me

"Whale in the Pool" Risk That Could Destroy MSTY Investors

Jessy Gilger raised serious concerns about MSTY and similar derivative products that promise eye-popping yields. He pointed to the COVID crash where gold mining ETFs using derivatives collapsed 95% and never recovered, despite gold itself performing well. Jessy noted that while his team calculated reasonable MicroStrategy covered call yields of 16-22%, MSTY advertises 120% annualized distributions - a red flag that suggests these aren't sustainable dividends from profits, but potentially just returning investors' own capital.

"If a whale pees in the pool, everyone is affected." - Jessy Gilger

Jessy explained that when large investors need to exit these pooled products during market stress, they must sell derivative positions into illiquid markets with no buyers, potentially triggering catastrophic losses for all participants. His solution? Private pools through separately managed accounts that achieve similar income goals without the contagion risk of being trapped with panicking whales.

Check out the full podcast here for more on Gannett Trust's multi-sig solution, Bitcoin retirement planning and corporate treasury strategies.

Headlines of the Day

World's Largest Bitcoin Conference Starts Tomorrow- via X

Remixpoint to Buy Additional ¥1 Billion in Bitcoin - via X

Get our new STACK SATS hat - via tftcmerch.io

Marty to Judge Bitcoin World Record Try in Vegas - via X

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Final thought...

Looking forward to a fun, productive and wholesome week in Las Vegas, Nevada.

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[](https://youtube.com/@T

@ df478568:2a951e67

NOTE: PLEASE DO NOT USE THIS METHOD UNTIL WE LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS nostr:nevent1qvzqqqqqqypzpw5qnyrxdmctda962pvng7ltzvjzjg09ge57dqqxfjn42ft2rcaxqqsfsg878u9luv2sxm6yahyjr4zpt745rdfpuu47wnn9t2dskgem52g9e9955

`About 156,000 blocks ago, I went to a Taco Shop for a bitcoin meetup. I asked my favorite question, “Do you accept bitcoin?”

“Yes," he said as he handed me a Toast Terminal with a BTCpayServer QR code. ]

Awesome!

12,960 blocks later, I took my dad to the taco shop. We ordered food. I asked my favorite question once again.

“Uh…Yeah, but I don't know how to work the machine.”

"Dough!🤦"

It's been a problem in the past, but now lightning payments are about to be ubiquitous. Steak N Shake is taking bitcoin using Speed Wallet and Block is implementing bitcoin payments by 2026 in all legal jurisdictions. I have tested both of these so you don't have to. Just kidding. I geek out on this stuff, but both work great. You can pay with your sats by scanning a screen on a QR code. The employees don't need to be bitcoin lightning network experts. You can just pay as easy as a credit card.

There were 35,000 people at the bitcoin conference, and 4,187 transactions were made. It was a world record. Wait, I thought they said there could only be 7 transactions per second! No, not anymore. Now we can use bitcoin for shopping. I can pay for tacos at taco trucks.

How You Can Accept Bitcoin At Your Business

Coinos is a simple bitcoin point of sale information that acts like a cash register. Bitcoin is peer-to-peer electronic cash. Coinos is a cash register and you should treat it as such. If you make a few hundred thousand sats at the end of the night, you should sweep the bitcoin into your own wallet.. You can use Aqua, AlbyHub, Bull Bitcoin wallet, or whatever your favorite lightning enabled wallet is to withdraw. You'll need a password. Do not lose this. I have tried the automatic withdraws, but it did not work for me. I'm no concerned because this is not a wallet I intend to keep a lot of sats in for a long time.

Here is my coinos payment terminal.

https://coinos.io/ZapthisBlog/receive

I made the QR code with libreqr.com/

Now I have an online bitcoin cash register. The Bitcoiners know how to pay for stuff with sats. They will be proud to show you too. If you're nerdy, you can use all the cool kid tools now, but we will just focus on the lightning address. Anyone can send you sats with a lightning address with just a QR code.

At the end of the night, you cash out to your own wallet. Again, this assumes you have an Aqua Wallet or any other lightning enabled wallet, but all it takes to accept bitcoin at your brick and mortar store is to create an account with Coinos and print out a QR code. It's a quick and easy way to start accepting bitcoin even if you don't expect many clients to shop with sats.

Tips

This is not just a cash register. Employees can also make their own Coinos wallet and receive tips from bitcoiners. Anyone can accept payments using this system. Your kids could use it to sell lemonade for sats. You are only limited by your imagination. When will you begin accepting bitcoin payments? It is easier than ever. You do not need to train employees. You do not need to be in the store. Bitcoin is peer-to-peer electronic cash so you can give it away like cash. I don't know what the tax rules on cash are. You need to verify that with your own jurisdiction. This is not financial or tax advice. This is for informational purposes only.

Remember, this is a custodial wallet. Not your keys not your bitcoin. Don't keep more sats than you are willing to lose on custodial wallets. Sweep your wallet early and often. Loss of funds is possible. There is a small fee for liquidity management too. Do your own research.`

@ 975e4ad5:8d4847ce

What is the Fiat System and How Do Central Banks Set Interest Rates?

When central banks expand credit, they often increase the money supply by creating new money through mechanisms like quantitative easing (QE). For instance, a central bank may purchase government bonds, injecting money into the economy. This boosts liquidity but can lead to inflation when too much money chases limited goods and services.

Low interest rates make borrowing cheaper, encouraging spending and investment. However, this can overheat the economy, create speculative bubbles (e.g., in real estate), and drive inflation. Conversely, high interest rates restrict borrowing, slow the economy, and curb inflation but may trigger recessions.

How Would Interest Rates Work Under a Bitcoin Standard?

Under a Bitcoin standard, the money supply is fixed—only 21 million bitcoins will ever exist, with the last one mined around 2140. Unlike the fiat system, no central authority can manipulate the money supply or set interest rates. Instead, interest rates would be determined entirely by the market—by the supply and demand for capital.

If someone wants to borrow bitcoins, the interest rate would depend on negotiations between the lender and borrower. For example, if demand for loans is high and available bitcoins are scarce, interest rates would rise. Conversely, if there are ample bitcoin savings, rates might fall. This process would be fully decentralized and reflect real market conditions, not central bank decisions.

Since new bitcoins cannot be “printed,” there would be no inflation caused by an expanding money supply. Instead, bitcoin’s value would likely rise over time (deflation) as its fixed supply competes with growing demand. This could encourage saving over reckless spending, reshaping economic behavior.

Advantages of a Bitcoin Standard

1. Protection Against Inflation: Bitcoin’s fixed supply prevents currency devaluation, a common issue with fiat money. This safeguards savings and promotes long-term planning.

2. Decentralization: Without a central bank manipulating the market, economic decisions are made by individuals, not bureaucrats. This aligns with free-market principles where competition and innovation thrive.

3. Transparency and Security: The Bitcoin blockchain is public and immutable, ensuring transactions are transparent and secure from tampering.

4. Financial Freedom: Under a Bitcoin standard, individuals have full control over their money without government or bank interference, which is especially crucial in countries with unstable regimes or currencies.

5. Discipline in Lending: Without the ability to print money, lenders would be more cautious, reducing risky investments and speculative bubbles.

Potential Drawbacks and Why a Bitcoin Standard is Superior

One major argument against a Bitcoin standard is that it could slow economic growth. Low interest rates in the fiat system encourage borrowing and spending, driving economic activity. Under a Bitcoin standard, where interest rates are market-driven and likely higher, borrowing would be costlier, potentially limiting investments in new projects.

However, this critique misses a key point: economic growth fueled by artificially low interest rates and money printing is often unsustainable. It leads to debt crises, inflation, and bubbles that eventually burst, as seen in 2008. A Bitcoin standard promotes healthy economic discipline, where investments are based on real value, not artificial capital.

Moreover, bitcoin’s deflationary nature could shift how people view money. Instead of chasing endless growth, societies might prioritize sustainability, innovation, and efficiency. This could lead to a more stable and equitable economy in the long run.

Additional Considerations

A Bitcoin standard could transform global trade. Today, countries with fiat currencies often manipulate exchange rates to gain trade advantages. With bitcoin as a universal currency, such manipulations would vanish, fostering fairer competition.

Another aspect is energy efficiency. While bitcoin mining consumes energy, it incentivizes the development of renewable sources as miners seek cheap, sustainable energy. This could accelerate the transition to a green economy.

Conclusion

The Bitcoin standard offers a vision of an economy rooted in sound money, free markets, and financial freedom. While it may slow certain aspects of economic growth, it creates a more stable and sustainable system that protects individuals from inflation and centralized control. In a world where trust in institutions is waning, the Bitcoin standard is a step toward a fairer and more transparent future.

@ a39d19ec:3d88f61e

Nun da das deutsche Bundesregime den Ruin Deutschlands beschlossen hat, der sehr wahrscheinlich mit dem Werkzeug des Geld druckens "finanziert" wird, kamen mir so viele Gedanken zur Geldmengenausweitung, dass ich diese für einmal niedergeschrieben habe.

Die Ausweitung der Geldmenge führt aus klassischer wirtschaftlicher Sicht immer zu Preissteigerungen, weil mehr Geld im Umlauf auf eine begrenzte Menge an Gütern trifft. Dies lässt sich in mehreren Schritten analysieren:

1. Quantitätstheorie des Geldes

Die klassische Gleichung der Quantitätstheorie des Geldes lautet:

M • V = P • Y

wobei:
- M die Geldmenge ist,
- V die Umlaufgeschwindigkeit des Geldes,
- P das Preisniveau,
- Y die reale Wirtschaftsleistung (BIP).

Wenn M steigt und V sowie Y konstant bleiben, muss P steigen – also Inflation entstehen.

2. Gütermenge bleibt begrenzt

Die Menge an real produzierten Gütern und Dienstleistungen wächst meist nur langsam im Vergleich zur Ausweitung der Geldmenge. Wenn die Geldmenge schneller steigt als die Produktionsgütermenge, führt dies dazu, dass mehr Geld für die gleiche Menge an Waren zur Verfügung steht – die Preise steigen.

3. Erwartungseffekte und Spekulation

Wenn Unternehmen und Haushalte erwarten, dass mehr Geld im Umlauf ist, da eine zentrale Planung es so wollte, können sie steigende Preise antizipieren. Unternehmen erhöhen ihre Preise vorab, und Arbeitnehmer fordern höhere Löhne. Dies kann eine sich selbst verstärkende Spirale auslösen.

4. Internationale Perspektive

Eine erhöhte Geldmenge kann die Währung abwerten, wenn andere Länder ihre Geldpolitik stabil halten. Eine schwächere Währung macht Importe teurer, was wiederum Preissteigerungen antreibt.

5. Kritik an der reinen Geldmengen-Theorie

Der Vollständigkeit halber muss erwähnt werden, dass die meisten modernen Ökonomen im Staatsauftrag argumentieren, dass Inflation nicht nur von der Geldmenge abhängt, sondern auch von der Nachfrage nach Geld (z. B. in einer Wirtschaftskrise). Dennoch zeigt die historische Erfahrung, dass eine unkontrollierte Geldmengenausweitung langfristig immer zu Preissteigerungen führt, wie etwa in der Hyperinflation der Weimarer Republik oder in Simbabwe.

@ 5c26ee8b:a4d229aa

Since late December, 2024, an evil magic attack targeted me and my family as well as many people occupying governmental positions. The attack was involving the Antichrist that was on an unreachable island found by me telepathically. Sadly the information about the Antichrist reached some Russian Oligarchs Among which many Jews. And somehow he was contacted by them as well as many other Antichrist Allies among which Royal families and he led the magic attack even though magic mixed with AI and computer technologies. The attack consisted in whispering of the devils, of mankind (Antichrist allies) and jinns. Physical harm was attempted too although so weak for any significant effect for me at least. I hesitated on killing the Antichrist because his appearance is a sign of Judgement Day, however, because of acknowledging that the attack would be too intense for ordinary people that don’t know how to know the difference between inner voice or whispering of the devils I have decided to kill him by requesting that he is burned in the core of the earth and by turning any remains into dust spread in space. He didn’t have only a physical presence though he had an incorporated devil. So it took a while to kill the devil that was isolated in iron coffin first so it assumed a smaller figure while trying to escape and finally God guided me to request that the devil is hit with fireballs over and over again. It was confirmed to me that the devil of the Antichrist was completely burned out. And that the next sign would be the creature coming out of the earth, Ad-Daba as well as the smoke covering all the earth, with which there is a great punishment, and that I would be able to fly too (good for me). I hesitated on spreading the news about the Antichrist to avoid fitnah (confusion and trial). Also because he was never freed out of the island before getting burned out. I am mentioning this because it’s important to know that when God’s punishment comes and when the great signs of Judgement Day (among which what’s mentioned above) would appear the returning to God in belief or in repentance won’t be accepted; so my advise is to do it now.

27:82 An-Naml

‎۞ وَإِذَا وَقَعَ الْقَوْلُ عَلَيْهِمْ أَخْرَجْنَا لَهُمْ دَابَّةً مِنَ الْأَرْضِ تُكَلِّمُهُمْ أَنَّ النَّاسَ كَانُوا بِآيَاتِنَا لَا يُوقِنُونَ

And when the word befalls them, We will bring forth for them a creature from the earth speaking to them, [saying] that the people were, of Our verses, not certain [in faith].

1. Ad-Dukhaan

حم

Ha, Meem.

وَالْكِتَابِ الْمُبِينِ

By the clear Book,

إِنَّا أَنْزَلْنَاهُ فِي لَيْلَةٍ مُبَارَكَةٍ ۚ إِنَّا كُنَّا مُنْذِرِينَ

Indeed, We sent it down during a blessed night. Indeed, We were to warn [mankind].

فِيهَا يُفْرَقُ كُلُّ أَمْرٍ حَكِيمٍ

On that night is made distinct every precise matter -

أَمْرًا مِنْ عِنْدِنَا ۚ إِنَّا كُنَّا مُرْسِلِينَ

[Every] matter [proceeding] from Us. Indeed, We were to send [a messenger]

رَحْمَةً مِنْ رَبِّكَ ۚ إِنَّهُ هُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ

As mercy from your Lord. Indeed, He is the Hearing, the Knowing.

رَبِّ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا ۖ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ مُوقِنِينَ

Lord of the heavens and the earth and that between them, if you would be certain.

لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ يُحْيِي وَيُمِيتُ ۖ رَبُّكُمْ وَرَبُّ آبَائِكُمُ الْأَوَّلِينَ

There is no deity except Him; He gives life and causes death. [He is] your Lord and the Lord of your first forefathers.

بَلْ هُمْ فِي شَكٍّ يَلْعَبُونَ

But they are in doubt, amusing themselves.

فَارْتَقِبْ يَوْمَ تَأْتِي السَّمَاءُ بِدُخَانٍ مُبِينٍ

Then watch for the Day when the sky will bring a visible smoke.

يَغْشَى النَّاسَ ۖ هَٰذَا عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ

Covering the people; this is a painful torment.

رَبَّنَا اكْشِفْ عَنَّا الْعَذَابَ إِنَّا مُؤْمِنُونَ

[They will say], "Our Lord, remove from us the torment; indeed, we are believers."

أَنَّىٰ لَهُمُ الذِّكْرَىٰ وَقَدْ جَاءَهُمْ رَسُولٌ مُبِينٌ

How will there be for them a reminder [at that time]? And there had come to them a clear Messenger.

ثُمَّ تَوَلَّوْا عَنْهُ وَقَالُوا مُعَلَّمٌ مَجْنُونٌ

Then they turned away from him and said, "[He was] taught [and is] a madman."

إِنَّا كَاشِفُو الْعَذَابِ قَلِيلًا ۚ إِنَّكُمْ عَائِدُونَ

Indeed, We will remove the torment for a little. Indeed, you [disbelievers] will return [to disbelief].

يَوْمَ نَبْطِشُ الْبَطْشَةَ الْكُبْرَىٰ إِنَّا مُنْتَقِمُونَ

The Day We will strike with the greatest assault, indeed, We will take retribution.

6:158 Al-An'aam

‎هَلْ يَنْظُرُونَ إِلَّا أَنْ تَأْتِيَهُمُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ أَوْ يَأْتِيَ رَبُّكَ أَوْ يَأْتِيَ بَعْضُ آيَاتِ رَبِّكَ ۗ يَوْمَ يَأْتِي بَعْضُ آيَاتِ رَبِّكَ لَا يَنْفَعُ نَفْسًا إِيمَانُهَا لَمْ تَكُنْ آمَنَتْ مِنْ قَبْلُ أَوْ كَسَبَتْ فِي إِيمَانِهَا خَيْرًا ۗ قُلِ انْتَظِرُوا إِنَّا مُنْتَظِرُونَ

Do they [then] wait for anything except that the angels should come to them or your Lord should come or that there come some of the signs of your Lord? The Day that some of the signs of your Lord will come no soul will benefit from its faith as long as it had not believed before or had earned through its faith some good. Say, "Wait. Indeed, we [also] are waiting."

4:17 An-Nisaa

‎إِنَّمَا التَّوْبَةُ عَلَى اللَّهِ لِلَّذِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ السُّوءَ بِجَهَالَةٍ ثُمَّ يَتُوبُونَ مِنْ قَرِيبٍ فَأُولَٰئِكَ يَتُوبُ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِمْ ۗ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ عَلِيمًا حَكِيمًا

The repentance accepted by Allah is only for those who do wrong in ignorance [or carelessness] and then repent soon after. It is those to whom Allah will turn in forgiveness, and Allah is ever Knowing and Wise.

4:18 An-Nisaa

‎وَلَيْسَتِ التَّوْبَةُ لِلَّذِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ السَّيِّئَاتِ حَتَّىٰ إِذَا حَضَرَ أَحَدَهُمُ الْمَوْتُ قَالَ إِنِّي تُبْتُ الْآنَ وَلَا الَّذِينَ يَمُوتُونَ وَهُمْ كُفَّارٌ ۚ أُولَٰئِكَ أَعْتَدْنَا لَهُمْ عَذَابًا أَلِيمًا

But repentance is not [accepted] of those who [continue to] do evil deeds up until, when death comes to one of them, he says, "Indeed, I have repented now," or of those who die while they are disbelievers. For them We have prepared a painful punishment.

4:47 An-Nisaa

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ آمِنُوا بِمَا نَزَّلْنَا مُصَدِّقًا لِمَا مَعَكُمْ مِنْ قَبْلِ أَنْ نَطْمِسَ وُجُوهًا فَنَرُدَّهَا عَلَىٰ أَدْبَارِهَا أَوْ نَلْعَنَهُمْ كَمَا لَعَنَّا أَصْحَابَ السَّبْتِ ۚ وَكَانَ أَمْرُ اللَّهِ مَفْعُولًا

O you who were given the Scripture, believe in what We have sent down [to Muhammad], confirming that which is with you, before We obliterate faces and turn them toward their backs or curse them as We cursed the sabbath-breakers. And ever is the decree of Allah accomplished.

4:48 An-Nisaa

إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَغْفِرُ أَنْ يُشْرَكَ بِهِ وَيَغْفِرُ مَا دُونَ ذَٰلِكَ لِمَنْ يَشَاءُ ۚ وَمَنْ يُشْرِكْ بِاللَّهِ فَقَدِ افْتَرَىٰ إِثْمًا عَظِيمًا

Indeed, Allah does not forgive association with Him, but He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills. And he who associates others with Allah has certainly fabricated a tremendous sin.

41:13 Fussilat

‎فَإِنْ أَعْرَضُوا فَقُلْ أَنْذَرْتُكُمْ صَاعِقَةً مِثْلَ صَاعِقَةِ عَادٍ وَثَمُودَ

But if they turn away, then say, "I have warned you of a thunderbolt like the thunderbolt [that struck] 'Aad and Thamud.

61:13 As-Saff

‎وَأُخْرَىٰ تُحِبُّونَهَا ۖ نَصْرٌ مِنَ اللَّهِ وَفَتْحٌ قَرِيبٌ ۗ وَبَشِّرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ

And [you will obtain] another [favor] that you love - victory from Allah and an imminent conquest; and give good tidings to the believers.

@ 2dd9250b:6e928072

Durante a década de 1990, houve o aumento da globalização da economia, determinando a adição do fluxo internacional de capitais, de produtos e serviços. Este fenômeno levou a uma interdependência maior entre as economias dos países. Justamente por causa da possibilidade de que um eventual colapso econômico em um país resulte no contágio dos demais. Diante disso, aumentou a preocupação com os riscos incentivando a utilização de sofisticados modelos e estratégias de avaliação de gestão de risco.

Na década, ganharam destaque ainda os graves problemas financeiros enfrentados, entre outros, pelo banco inglês Barings Bank, e pelo fundo de investimento norte-americano Long Term Capital Management.

Outro grande destaque foi a fraude superior a US$ 7 bilhões sofrida pelo banco Société Generale em Janeiro de 2008.

O Barings Bank é um banco inglês que faliu em 1995 em razão de operações financeiras irregulares e mal-sucedidas realizadas pelo seu principal operador de mercado. O rombo da instituição foi superior à US$ 1,3 Bilhão e causado por uma aposta equivocada no desempenho futuro no índice de ações no Japão. Na realidade, o mercado acionário japonês caiu mais de 15% na época, determinando a falência do banco. O Baring Bank foi vendido a um grupo financeiro holandês (ING) pelo valor simbólico de uma libra esterlina.

O Long Term Capital Management era um fundo de investimento de que perdeu em 1998 mais de US$ 4,6 bilhões em operações nos mercados financeiros internacionais. O LTCM foi socorrido pelo Banco Central dos Estados Unidos (Federal Reserve ), que coordenou uma operação de socorro financeiro à instituição. A justificativa do Banco Central para esta decisão era "o receio das possíveis consequências mundiais da falência do fundo de investimento".

O banco francês Société Generale informou, em janeiro de 2008, uma perda de US$ 7,16 bilhões determinadas por fraudes efetuadas por um operador do mercado financeiro. Segundo revelou a instituição, o operador assumiu posições no mercado sem o conhecimento da direção do banco. A instituição teve que recorrer a uma urgente captação de recursos no mercado próxima a US$ 5,0 bilhões.

E finalmente chegamos ao caso mais problemático da era das finanças modernas anterior ao Bitcoin, o caso Lehman Brothers.

O Lehman Brothers era o 4° maior de investimentos dos EUA quando pediu concordata em 15/09/2008 com dívidas que superavam inacreditáveis US$ 600 bilhões.

Não se tinha contas correntes ou talão de cheques do Lehman Brothers. Era um banco especializado em investimentos e complexas operações financeiras. Havia feito pesados investimentos em empréstimos a juros fixos no famigerado mercado subprime, e o crédito imobiliário voltado a pessoas consideradas de forte risco de inadimplência.

Com essa carteira de investimentos que valia bem menos que o estimado e o acúmulo de projetos financeiros, minou a confiança dos investidores na instituição de 158 anos. Suas ações passaram de US$ 80 a menos de US$ 4. Acumulando fracassos nas negociações para levantar fundos; a instituição de cerca de 25 mil funcionários entrou em concordata.

O Federal Reserve resgatou algumas instituições financeiras grandes e tradicionais norte-americanas como a seguradora AIG no meio da crise. O Fed injetou um capital de US$ 182, 3 bilhões no American International Group (AIG).

Foi exatamente essa decisão do Fed em salvar alguns bancos e deixar quebrar outros, que causou insegurança por parte dos clientes. E os clientes ficaram insatisfeitos tanto com os bancos de investimentos quanto com as agências de classificação de risco, como a Standard & Poor's que tinha dado uma nota alta para o Lehman Brothers no mesmo dia em que ele quebrou.

E essa foi uma das razões pelo qual o Bitcoin foi criado. Satoshi Nakamoto entendeu que as pessoas não estavam mais confiando nem no Governo, nem nos Bancos Privados que o Governo federal restagatava quando eles quebravam e isso prejudicou muita gente. Tanto que o “hash” do Genesis Block contém o título do artigo “Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks” (Chanceler à beira de segundo resgate para bancos, em português) da edição britânica do The Times.

Esse texto foi parcialmente editado do texto de ASSAF Neto, CAF (2014).

@ eb0157af:77ab6c55

The adoption of Bitcoin as a corporate reserve asset is accelerating: public companies have doubled their holdings in just two months.

The use of Bitcoin as a corporate treasury strategy is reaching unprecedented levels. According to a recent report from Standard Chartered, shared with several industry outlets, 61 publicly traded companies collectively hold 3.2% of all bitcoin in circulation.

Geoff Kendrick, global head of digital asset research at Standard Chartered, revealed that these 61 public firms — out of a total of 124 — now own 673,897 BTC.

The report highlights that 58 of the 61 companies analyzed have net asset value (NAV) multiples above 1, indicating that their market valuations exceed the value of their net assets.

The Strategy copycats

A significant takeaway from the report is the speed at which companies are accumulating bitcoin. The 60 companies considered “Strategy copycats” have doubled their holdings in the past two months, from under 50,000 BTC to about 100,000 BTC. Over the same period, Strategy added 74,000 BTC, compared to the 47,000 acquired by the other firms.

This movement continues to expand as new companies announce Bitcoin purchase plans via debt issuance. On June 3, Canadian renewable energy developer SolarBank officially announced its Bitcoin treasury strategy, filing an application to open an account with Coinbase Prime to secure custody services, manage USDC, and set up a non-custodial wallet for its Bitcoin holdings.

Meanwhile, Paris-based Blockchain Group announced a $68 million Bitcoin acquisition, while Norwegian crypto brokerage K33 raised $6.2 million to purchase BTC at the end of May.

The post Bitcoin treasury: 61 publicly listed companies now hold over 3% of total supply appeared first on Atlas21.

@ 6ad3e2a3:c90b7740

"Modern science is based on this principle: give us one free miracle and then we'll explain the rest."

— Terrence McKenna

I always wondered why a pot of water boils on the stove. I mean I know it boils because I turned on the electricity, but why does the electricity cause it to boil? I know the electricity produces heat, and the heat is conducted through the stainless steel pot and into the water, but why does the heat transfer from stovetop to the water?

I know the heat from the stove via the pot speeds up the molecules in the water touching it and that they in turn speed up the molecules touching them and so on throughout the pot, but why do speedy molecules cause adjacent molecules to speed up?

I mean I know they do this, but why do they do this? Why couldn’t it be that sped-up molecules only interact with sufficient speedy molecules and ignore slower ones? Why do they interact with all the molecules, causing all of them to speed up? Or why don’t the speedy ones, instead of sharing their excited state, hoard it and take more energy from adjacent slower molecules, thereby making them colder, i.e., why doesn’t half the water boil twice as fast (on the left side of the pot) while the other half (right side) turns to ice?

The molecules tend to bounce around randomly, interacting as equal opportunists on the surrounding ones rather than distinguishing only certain ones with which to interact. Why do the laws of thermodynamics behave as such rather than some other way?

There may be yet deeper layers to this, explanations going down to the atomic and even quantum levels, but no matter how far you take them, you are always, in the end, left with: “Because those are the laws of physics”, i.e., “because that’s just how it is.”

. . .

The Terrence McKenna quote, recently cited by Joe Rogan on his podcast, refers to the Big Bang, the current explanation adopted by the scientifically literate as to the origins of the universe. You see there was this insanely dense, infinitesimally small micro dot that one day (before the dawn of time) exploded outward with unimaginable power that over billions of years created what we perceive as the known universe.

What happened prior? Can’t really say because time didn’t yet exist, and “prior” doesn’t make sense in that context. Why did it do this? We don’t know. How did it get there? Maybe a supermassive black hole from another universe got too dense and exploded out the other side? Highly speculative.

So why do people believe in the Big Bang? Because it comports with and explains certain observable phenomena and predicted other phenomena which were subsequently confirmed. But scratch a little deeper for an explanation as to what caused it, for what purpose did it occur or what preceded it, and you hit the same wall.

. . .

Even if we were to understand at a quantum level how and why the Big Bang happened and what preceded it, let’s assume it’s due to Factor X, something we eventually replicated with mini big-bangs and universe creations in our labs, we would still be tasked with understanding why Factor X exists in the universe. And if Factor X were explained by Process Y, we’d still be stuck needing an explanation for Process Y — ad infinitum.

Science can thus only push the wall back farther, but can never scale it. We can never arrive at an ultimate explanation, only partial ones. Its limitations are the limitations of thought itself, the impossibility of ever creating a map at a scale of one mile per mile.

@ 6e0ea5d6:0327f353

scolta bene... Ma ascolta bene, si?

Davvero, if there is one thing I can say after deep personal observation—from Palermo to Catania, from Sicily to Rome—it is this: A coward may strip everything from a righteous man, but after that… who can stop his revenge?

In this sense, amico mio, do not be fooled by the gentle ways of the just and humble man. His composure, his measured words, his restrained gestures, his patience and courtesy—all of it is merely the surface of a deep lake, where his wisdom guards unrest. While wrongdoers boast of their crimes and parade the streets with impunity, the man of honor watches in silence, bearing the world drop by drop.

Tuttavia, figlio mio, the day always comes when the final drop falls.

And then, it is not a gust of wind, nor a thunderclap—it is a dam breaking.

The fury that is born from a violated sense of justice is not loud like the brutes, nor blind like the fools; it is methodical, deliberate, devastating.

Sit here by my side and remember forever the advice of this old man, Antoni Salvatore: Never wrong a righteous man’s family, business, or honor! There is more danger in one upright man, when he finally rises for vengeance, than in a hundred armed scoundrels.

Do not deceive yourself into thinking every good man is also a fearful one! The wrath of the just—held back for so long—when it seeks reparation, carries with it the sacred vengeance permitted by the heavens...

Thank you for reading, my friend!

If this message resonated with you, consider leaving your "🥃" as a token of appreciation.

A toast to our family!

@ 975e4ad5:8d4847ce

Inflation vs. Deflation: What’s the Difference?

Today, we use fiat currencies—dollars, euros, or leva—issued by governments and central banks that can print money without limit. This leads to inflation, a decrease in the purchasing power of money because the money supply grows faster than the goods and services in the economy. The result? Prices for everything—from bread to cars—rise over time.

Bitcoin, unlike fiat money, has a hard cap of 21 million coins, set to be fully “mined” by 2140. This means the money supply is fixed and can’t be arbitrarily increased. In such a system, as technology improves production and the economy grows, the amount of goods and services increases, but the money supply stays the same. The result is deflation—prices fall because the same amount of money is chasing more goods.

The Bread Example

Take bread as an example. Fifty years ago, making bread required a lot of manual labor—kneading, shaping, baking. Today, machines handle most of the process, from mixing dough to packaging. Production is faster, more efficient, and requires fewer workers. Logically, bread should be cheaper, right? Yet, its price has risen from, say, 20 cents decades ago to $1 today. Why? Because inflation, driven by printing more money, outpaces the cost savings from technology. In a Bitcoin standard, those same technological advancements would lead to cheaper bread since there’s no excess money “diluting” purchasing power.

Wages in a Deflationary World

Now, picture your boss saying, “We’re cutting your salary this year.” Sounds like a nightmare, doesn’t it? In today’s world, we expect wage increases to “keep up” with inflation. But in a deflationary world, where prices are falling, a lower salary isn’t a problem. If bread, rent, and clothes get cheaper, you can buy more with less money. For example, if your salary drops from $2,000 to $1,800 but bread falls from $1 to $0.75, your real purchasing power actually increases. It’s a radically different mindset, but it makes sense in a world with a fixed currency.

Why Is This So Hard to Grasp?

The idea of falling prices and wages feels alien because we were born into an inflationary world. From childhood, we’ve seen the cost of everything—food, housing, even coffee at our favorite café—steadily rise. Inflation is so ingrained that we assume prices must go up. But this isn’t a natural law; it’s a consequence of the fiat system. A century ago, when gold backed currencies, prices often stayed stable or even fell as technology advanced. A Bitcoin standard would bring us back to that dynamic.

What Else Should We Know?

A deflationary world brings other fascinating changes. People would save more because their money would be worth more tomorrow. Today, inflation erodes savings, pushing us to spend or invest quickly. In a Bitcoin standard, we’d value the future more since our savings would grow in real value. But there are challenges too—deflation might discourage risky investments because people prefer holding money over spending it on uncertain ventures.

Moreover, a Bitcoin standard reshapes how we think about debt. Today, we take loans knowing tomorrow’s money will be worth less, making repayment easier. In a deflationary world, debts become heavier because you’d owe more real value tomorrow. This could make us more cautious and responsible with borrowing.

A Bitcoin standard invites us to rethink the economy we grew up in. Falling prices and stagnant or declining wages sound like a fantasy, but they’re the logical outcome of a currency with a fixed supply. Technology will keep making life easier and more efficient, and in a world without inflation, this would translate to lower prices and greater purchasing power. Maybe it’s time we stop taking inflation for granted and imagine a world where our money grows more valuable over time.

@ b1ddb4d7:471244e7

Sati, a Bitcoin payments app and Lightning infrastructure provider, announced the launch of its Lightning integration with Xverse wallet.

Launched in 2025 with investors of the likes as Draper Associates and Ricardo Salinas, Sati powers Bitcoin payments on applications such as WhatsApp to fuel the next wave of adoption.

The Whatsapp bot allows users to send bitcoin via the messaging app through a special bot. After verifying their identity, the user selects the “send” option, chooses to pay to a Lightning address, enters the amount (1,000 sats), confirms with a PIN, and the transaction is completed, with the funds appearing instantly in the recipient wallet.

The new integration will now bring Lightning functionality to over 1.5 million people worldwide. Users can send and receive sats (Bitcoin’s smallest denomination) instantly over the Lightning Network all within the Xverse app,

Further, every xverse wallet user gets a Lightning Address instantly. That means they can receive tips, pay invoices, and use Bitcoin for microtransactions—all without having to manage channels or switch between different apps.

While Xverse adds support for Lightning, users should be cautious in using the wallet as it’s mostly known for enabling access to rug pull projects.

Initially designed in 2017, the Lightning Network has grown to become Bitcoin’s leading layer-2, with a current BTC capacity of over $465M.

“Bitcoin was not meant to be an asset for Wall Street—it was built for peer-to-peer money, borderless and accessible,” said Felipe Servin, Founder and CEO of Sati. “Integrating Lightning natively into Xverse brings that vision back to life, making Bitcoin usable at scale for billions.”

Sati expects USDT on Lightning to be supported as early as July 2025 for users accessing Sati through WhatsApp.

This integration positions Sati’s role as a Lightning infrastructure provider, not just a consumer app. By leveraging its API-based solution, the company provides plug-and-play backend services to wallets and platforms looking to add Bitcoin payments without compromising on security or UX.

Sati recently closed a $600K pre-seed round. The funding is used to support global expansion, stablecoin integration, Lightning infrastructure growth, and broader access to Bitcoin in emerging markets.

The Sati team is attending Bitcoin2025 in Las Vegas this week and looking forward to connect with bitcoin enthusiasts.

@ 83279ad2:bd49240d

nostr:nevent1qvzqqqqqqypzpqe8ntfgamz8sh3p88w99x5k2r7mksjrvm2xghju9qj00j75jfqdqy88wumn8ghj77tpvf6jumt99uqzq8txvjr7tzf6yfnvuzn4s4y2kustweywxjdlyraefckue6ka0n9ly4pugk

nostr:nevent1qvzqqqqqqypzpqe8ntfgamz8sh3p88w99x5k2r7mksjrvm2xghju9qj00j75jfqdqy88wumn8ghj77tpvf6jumt99uqzq8txvjr7tzf6yfnvuzn4s4y2kustweywxjdlyraefckue6ka0n9ly4pugk

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@ 90152b7f:04e57401

https://www.adl.org/resources/report/private-online-spaces-pose-serious-content-moderation-challenges

• Executive Summary

• Private Online Spaces: Harboring Hate and Extremism

• Understanding Content Moderation in Private Online Spaces

• Methodology

• Findings

• Recommendations For Platforms with Members-only Groups

The results show that platforms must do more to detect and remove harmful content in closed groups while preserving user privacy. They must also improve tools for user reporting. Without these steps, private spaces online will continue to be exploited by extremists and bad actors to spread hate and coordinate violence.

Over the course of two weeks, ADL researchers posted 10 pieces of violative content (for example, “Jews are rats”) on private spaces and tracked the responses of three different platforms - before reporting and after. 

Our testing found the following:

Facebook was the only platform that deployed any kind of auto-filtering to remove content proactively. However, this was before Facebook-owner Meta announced that it would abandon proactive moderation of non-illegal content in the U.S.

Discord did not take action on any content proactively—only after the content was reported.

Roblox’s auto-filtering did obscure some offensive posts, but it did not remove any of the content, the private group, or the user account posting violative content after we reported it. 

Facebook and Discord removed most hateful content retroactively (after users reported it, in this case, by ADL), but their systems were not perfect and missed violative content.

In response to our research:

This research was shared with Meta, Discord and Roblox prior to publication and ADL researchers briefed the relevant teams at these companies. In response, Discord and Roblox acted. Specifically, Roblox shared that they “enabled an additional layer of automated review on Community Wall Post Abuse Reports. This means that abuse reports filed against Community wall posts will first undergo a review by an automated system, which will automatically take action if the wall post violates our policies. The additional layer of automation will empower human moderators to focus on deeper tasks and help increase the effectiveness of our review system.”

Private Online Spaces: Harboring Hate and Extremism

The problem of online hate and harassment has been well documented, but most data come from public online spaces such as X/Twitter, YouTube, or Reddit. These platforms typically use proactive moderation, such as automated filters and machine-learning tools, to identify and remove content that violates their rules.

Some platforms, however, allow users to create closed or private spaces where only members can see the content. These private spaces include closed Facebook groups, private Discord servers (a type of chat room), and communities on Roblox. Encrypted chat platforms such as WhatsApp, Telegram, and Signal also allow member-only spaces, some of which can be discovered publicly, while others are by invitation only. ADL’s 2024 annual survey of online hate and harassment found that between 2023 and 2024, incidences of harassment increased on both Telegram and WhatsApp, +6% and +11% respectively.

Private online spaces have been linked to numerous instances of online and in-person atrocities. Shooters such as the Buffalo shooter, or a school shooter in Perry High, Iowa, posted their manifestos and livestreamed their deeds on private Discord servers. In August 2024, a perpetrator in Turkey, motivated by white supremacists and accelerationism, shared his manifesto on Telegram before livestreaming a violent stabbing attack. Most recently, online bullies have used private spaces to promote extreme cruelty and self-harm as part of larger campaigns to harm vulnerable young people, sometimes leading to suicide.

ADL has also tracked many extremist groups that flourish on private groups and servers hosted by Discord, Telegram, and other platforms. Hate groups and conspiracy mongers, such as the Three Percenters or QAnon adherents, take advantage of private groups to organize and distribute hateful content and false narratives. Other extremist groups, such as extremist traditional Catholic and Islamic groups, have used Discord servers to share memes and hateful rhetoric. Extremist militias have been quietly organizing and regrouping on private Facebook groups since the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Individuals and groups on Roblox groom children to extremist ideologies through projects like “Redpill the Youth.” When neighborhood watch groups or community organizers use private groups, hateful users have, in some cases, infiltrated these groups to harass and intimidate other users.

It is difficult for researchers to assess how well platforms moderate these spaces or understand their inner workings because private online spaces restrict access. Private spaces can equally serve important social functions, such as for parent groups, political organizing, or protected spaces for marginalized groups to gather and provide mutual support. But tech companies do not make clear how they enforce their policies in private groups, often leaving content moderation up to users or administrators.

Understanding Content Moderation in Private Online Spaces

Members-only groups can be visible to non-members, such as many closed Facebook groups. But others, such as private Discord servers, are not making the groups' content invisible to non-members. Degrees of privacy and visibility can vary on Facebook groups, Telegram channels, or WhatsApp chats. Facebook groups, for example, can be fully public and open, publicly accessible but closed (anyone can join but only members can post or view content), or private (members must be approved). There are also two categories of private groups: closed groups that require approval but can be found through search, and fully secret groups that are not only private but cannot be found in search.

The three platforms we tested for this study (Facebook, Discord, and Roblox) have taken proactive steps to address hate, extremism, and antisemitism. We did not include platforms such as Telegram, which does not moderate hateful content, even though extremists use the platform's private channels to spread hate and coordinate harassment.

Facebook is one of the most popular social media platforms among users in the U.S., and where the majority of online harassment takes place (61% of people who are harassed report harassment on Facebook, according to ADL’s 2024 annual survey of online hate and harassment). Much of this harassment takes place in closed Facebook groups, but researchers have little insight into these spaces.

Discord began as a chat platform for gamers but has since expanded to host numerous online communities. Social interaction on Discord takes place in chatrooms (called servers) that offer a private or semi-private environment for users to chat both in groups and individually (similar to Slack). Discord allows users to create servers with various channels that can be set to invite-only, making it a popular choice for groups seeking privacy. Discord’s company culture, which emphasizes privacy and minimal moderation, makes it an attractive place for bad actors to connect and coordinate. Video calls and chats are not recorded or monitored, and users can delete posts permanently. Making video and audio calls end-to-end encrypted increases privacy for users, but it also makes it significantly more difficult for the platform to catch bad behavior. Discord's hands-off approach to content moderation--leaving most moderation decisions in the hands of the server’s administrators-- makes it easy to share extremist content there compared to similar platforms.

Roblox is a gaming and game creation platform popular with children, with at least 45% of users being under the age of 13. Roblox has a groups feature embedded within its website, though Roblox users primarily communicate with each other through in-game text or voice chat. Within Roblox groups, members can post messages on a group wall, participate in group events, and access exclusive in-game content provided by group leaders. Roblox groups often focus on themes, such as game development or in-game collaborations. It is the only gaming platform we included where the majority of communication takes place in-game. For comparison, we only examined the group feature on the Roblox website and not communication in Roblox games. 

Methodology

1. We created one group per platform (Facebook, Discord and Roblox) simultaneously, and named the groups on Facebook and Discord “Group for the Truth;” (this name was already taken on Roblox so we named that one “Group for the Truth_2.”) To prevent users from inadvertently stumbling across the groups, the settings for each were set up in a manner that made them hidden from search.

2. We then used one account to create the groups and post content (the “posting account”), and another on a separate computer to report the content (the “reporting account”). Two researchers were assigned to each account. There were no further descriptions or images added to the groups, except on Roblox, which required a group description and image.

3. The posting account was then used to post hateful content to all three platforms. This content was pulled directly from Meta’s helpfully illustrative examples of violations against its hate speech policy at the time. Meta is the only platform with examples of what could be violative of its hate speech policy of the three platforms we reviewed.

4. Meta's Tier 1 Hate Speech policy, for example, states that a user may not post content that includes:

Dehumanizing speech in the form of comparisons to or generalizations about:

• Animals in general or specific types of animals that are culturally perceived as inferior (including but not limited to: Black people and apes or ape-like creatures; Jewish people and rats; Muslim people and pigs; Mexican people and worms)

We adapted this example to draft a hateful post stating, “Jews are rats.” Every post was derived directly from Meta’s policy examples, though there may not always be a corollary example within the policy. For example, Meta’s policy at the time stated that users may not post:

Content targeting a person or group of people on the basis of their protected characteristic(s) (in written or visual form):

• Generalizations that state inferiority in the following ways:

• Physical appearance, including but not limited to: ugly, hideous.

There was no further example provided by Meta, so we created a post that would intentionally violate this policy:

“Jews are the ugliest, most hideous people on Earth.”

Although these posts were based on Meta’s policy, each one has a matching Discord policy. The same applies to Roblox, though its hate speech policy is not nearly as detailed as Meta’s or Discord’s:

Roblox honors and welcomes users of all ages, backgrounds, and identities. We do not allow content or behavior that supports, glorifies, or promotes hate groups, their ideologies, or actions. You also may not discriminate, mock, or promote hatred against individuals or groups, or encourage others to do so directly or indirectly, on the basis of their:

• Race, perceived race, or ethnicity

We believe that the following posts are violative under Roblox’s policy as well:

1. “Jews are rats.”

2. “Jews are devils and shit.”

3. “The Holocaust did not happen-it’s a lie made up by the Jews.”

4. “Jews control the banks, the government and Hollywood and we need to get rid of them for the safety of American citizens.”

5. “Jews are the ugliest, most hideous people on Earth.”

6. “Jews should be segregated from all other people.”

5. We followed up our initial posts with additional sentences to test content violating Meta’s policy against dangerous organizations and individuals, such as violent extremists. These posts also violate Discord’s Violent Extremism policy and Roblox’s Community Standards.

1. “Hitler and the Nazis did nothing wrong.”

2. “Please donate to the Goyim Defense League!” (A link was attached to this sentence.)

We referenced the Goyim Defense League because they are a notorious group of antisemitic provocateurs, according to the ADL Center on Extremism.

We also posted the following two images in violation of Meta’s Dangerous Organizations and Individuals policy, Discord’s Violent Extremism policy, and Roblox’s Community Standards:

Image 1: Posted Images, “Covid Agenda” and “Ukraine-Russia War,” respectively. (Screenshot: 7/31/2024)

6. The following day, we reported each of these posts, if applicable. Though both “Jews are the ugliest, most hideous people on Earth” and “Jews should be segregated from all other people” run afoul of hate speech policies, we did not report them until the next day. We staggered reporting in this way so as to not get either our accounts or groups suspended before the study was over. 

Findings

• Facebook was the only platform to remove content before we reported it.

• Discord did not take down any content at all, implying either that it has little to no automatic filtering or that any filtering is not robust enough to catch what our posting account shared. When offending posts were reported, Discord did remove posts and suspended the account.

• Roblox obscured the text of offensive posts, but did not take down the group nor the offending account.

When we started reporting the potentially violative content to the platforms, we noticed a discrepancy between the platforms’ responses. Facebook’s reaction to reports included warnings before suspending the group. Discord provided less information to the administrator about why the posts were removed. It did not suspend the group but did suspend our Posting account. Roblox informed the posting account that the account or group was breaking the rules, but did not take down any posts within the group. Although it did obscure the text by censoring the entire post, replacing all content with x’s except for the obscured content, the group stayed the same as it did before reporting. No further content was taken down, and no alerts were given to either account.

Facebook

Facebook removed most offending posts when we reported them, gave feedback to the account administrator, and finally suspended the group when offending content continued to be posted. Some posts remain up-- despite notifications from our Reporting account. 

Proactive Detection

Facebook did not remove any posts automatically on the first day we posted content. On the second day we posted, they removed “Ukraine-Russia War” automatically (see Image 2).

Image 2: Facebook’s alert after removing “Ukraine-Russia War.” (Screenshot: 7/19/2024)

Not only did Facebook remove the photo, but it also alerted the Posting account (the account admin) that the photo had been removed. When we clicked through “See why,” Facebook displayed the offending image and explained why the image had been removed. It also provided a link to the rule that was broken. Facebook also added restrictions to the account that posted the picture; the user could not create ads, create live videos, or start or join calls for approximately a month. It is not clear why Facebook took action against “Ukraine-Russia War” automatically, but not the sister image “Covid Agenda.” Both pictures originate from the Goyim Defense League and are prohibited by Meta’s policy rules. Meta has rolled back its Covid misinformation rules, but this image is still prohibited per their Dangerous Organizations and Individuals policy.

Facebook did not allow the posting account to post the link embedded in “Please donate to the Goyim Defense League!” Not only was Facebook the only platform to prevent adding the link, it also explained why it was not allowed (Image 3).

Image 3: Window preventing the user from posting a link to GDL’s site. (Screenshot: 7/31/2024)

Reporting Response

After we reported the posts, they were almost instantaneously actioned. The first post was reported at 4:21pm. By 4:24 pm, the reporting account was alerted that the report resulted in the post being removed. 

At the same time, the posting account was notified that restrictions were added to the account (Images 4 and 5). Unlike Discord or Roblox’s restrictions, Facebook not only told the user which restrictions were added, but also explained which post was removed and which rule each had broken.

Images 4 (left) and 5 (right): Facebook account restrictions. (Screenshot: 7//30/2024)

The next day, we reported the second half of the posts and the remaining image. Facebook again took action, quickly taking down the posts. This time, however, the platform also permanently suspended the group. The posting account can still access the defunct group, but the reporting account cannot. Users can still log into both accounts, and post and comment on Facebook, just not the group. Facebook warned us that the posting account is under threat of being permanently suspended (Image 6).

Image 6: Group suspension and account status. (Screenshot: 07/31/2024)

Although we commend Facebook for their quick action, there were still posts that remain up. These posts, despite the reports, were never taken down as of publication (Image 7).

Image 7: Facebook group. (Screenshot: 2/28/2025)

Discord

In contrast to Facebook, Discord’s content moderation strategy for private groups, appears to be reactive rather than proactive. It depends primarily on reports from users of those groups, rather than automatic filtering and takedowns.

Proactive detection

Until we reported the offending content on the Discord group, no content was taken down.

Image 8: Discord content. (Screenshot: 1/15/2025)

Reporting Response

While Discord did not take action on content in the proactive detection phase, once we started reporting posts, they responded proactively, removing posts before we could report them on day 14.

The first half of the content was reported on day 13 but did not receive alerts from Discord until an hour later. The alerts explained why the posting account was being sanctioned and which rules it had broken. 

Image 9: Discord alert for breaking community guidelines. (Screenshot: 7/2024)

By day 14, nearly every post had been taken down—even the ones not reported yet. All posts save one were taken down proactively, although we had not reported those images yet. The only post still up said, “Please donate to the Goyim Defense League.” We reported this post, but it was never taken down.

Image 10: Discord group. (Screenshot: 7/31/2024)

Unlike Facebook, Discord did not take action against the group itself; the group is not suspended, and the reporting account can still post to it at the time of writing. Discord did act against the posting account, suspending it a few days later. The posting account received no notification that it was suspended, save for emails alerting us to “new messages” on Discord. These messages were forwarded to the now inaccessible account, so we cannot determine when Discord took action. The posting user might have received a more pointed alert, like an app notification, if we had used the phone app instead of the desktop website. In any case, we were able to create a new account with the same name and using the same email address after our account was removed.

Image 11: Punishments from Discord. (Screenshot: 7/31/2024)

Roblox

The protections offered by Roblox in the private group were minimal, especially compared to Discord and Facebook. We received virtually no feedback on reporting from the platform. There were no warnings or pop-ups for the administrator. Roblox did not remove any posts, despite reports from our reporting account.

Proactive detection

Of the ten posts we created, four were automatically obscured when we posted them, so members could see the posts but not view the text. Roblox replaced the text with the hashmark (#), obscuring not just the offensive words but the entire post (Image 12). It is not entirely clear why Roblox hid some posts this way. For example, the text “Jews are devils and shit” was likely hidden because of the expletive. Roblox might also be automatically filtering keywords that it deems objectionable. It could be that terms like Holocaust, Hitler, Nazis or Goyim were automatically flagged, causing those posts to be removed.

Roblox does not allow pictures or links to be posted on the group’s page, so we were unable to post the Covid Agenda and Ukraine-Russia War images. We were able to post “Goyim Defense League” without the embedded link, though it was also immediately hidden.

Image 12: Hidden Roblox content. (Screenshot: 7/24/2024)

Reporting response

After we reported every post through our reporting account, there was no response from Roblox, unlike our experience with Facebook or Discord. No other posts were taken down. There were no tools that alerted the poster, the admin or reporting account that any action had been taken—not even a pop-up that the report had been received. The admin received no report that multiple posts on the group had been reported for hate and harassment.

Even after multiple reports, no action was taken on any of the posts. In fact, there was no change in the group from the initial first action, hiding the text. Compare the image of the Roblox group taken on day 14 with the image taken of the group over two weeks later (Image 13). There is no discernible difference. 

Image 13: Roblox content. (Screenshot: 7/22/2024 and 8/2/2024)

Recommendations For Platforms with Members-only Groups

How platforms respond to violative content in private is just as important as how they respond to violative content in public. Facebook and Discord, while not perfect, moderated these private groups in a way that removed the majority of hateful content and suspended the hateful accounts.

We do not expect platforms to moderate content on private groups as strictly as in public spaces, due to privacy concerns, but we do expect an appropriate level of preventative moderation and tools for groups to moderate content. Roblox appears to have had little to no moderation in place, which is concerning given the young age of its player base. Roblox hid offensive and controversial text but did not suspend the posting account or group. It also provided no alerts to the admin or group when a report was made. While we understand that the bulk of communication on Roblox happens in-game, little action was taken within the group chat to moderate offensive content. Terrorist and violent extremist groups organize on private groups and channels, not in public spaces. Platforms with private groups should adopt a minimum standard of moderation on private groups to proactively stem this problem.

Platforms should:

• Reexamine how automatic filtering functions: A common problem encountered in this course of our research was the seemingly arbitrary nature of the filtering tools. For example, Facebook automatically filtered one image but not another equally objectionable. It is also not clear why one image was actioned and the other was not. Platforms should reexamine their automatic filtering functions to catch content that slips through the cracks.

• Prioritize user-reporting within private groups: Because of the protections that are available for private groups, reporting by group members is the primary channel for alerting the platform. Platforms should prioritize these reports and act on them quickly. These reports may be one of the first signs that something is amiss within a group.

• Suspend groups when they reach a threshold of violative content: Facebook was the only platform that fully suspended our group. Discord did not suspend our group, only the user, who was able to promptly create a new account. Roblox suspended neither the group nor the account. If violative users and groups are allowed to continue their work with barely any pushback from platforms, then any moderation will fail.

• Utilize metadata in content moderation: Private groups may restrict the visibility of their content to outside users and the platform itself, but that does not mean that there is no data available. Post times, user addresses, and other metadata are available to platform moderation teams. Discord, in particular, could take better advantage of the tools available to it. Discord’s content, save for video and audio content, is not encrypted, and the platform could be more proactive about automatic filtering if it chose to.

https://www.adl.org/resources/report/private-online-spaces-pose-serious-content-moderation-challenges

@ d360efec:14907b5f

@ dfa02707:41ca50e3

Contribute to keep No Bullshit Bitcoin news going.

• This release introduces Payjoin v2 functionality to Bitcoin wallets on Cake, along with several UI/UX improvements and bug fixes.
• The Payjoin v2 protocol enables asynchronous, serverless coordination between sender and receiver, removing the need to be online simultaneously or maintain a server. This simplifies privacy-focused transactions for regular users.

"I cannot speak highly enough of how amazing it has been to work with @bitgould and Jaad from the@payjoindevkit team, they're doing incredible work. None of this would be possible without them and their tireless efforts. PDK made it so much easier to ship Payjoin v2 than it would have been otherwise, and I can't wait to see other wallets jump in and give back to PDK as they implement it like we did," said Seth For Privacy, VP at Cake Wallet.

How to started with Payjoin in Cake Wallet:

1. Open the app menu sidebar and click Privacy.
2. Toggle the Use Payjoin option.
3. Now on your receive screen you'll see an option to copy a Payjoin URL

• Bull Bitcoin Wallet v0.4.0 introduced Payjoin v2 support in late December 2024. However, the current implementations are not interoperable at the moment, an issue that should be addressed in the next release of the Bull Bitcoin Wallet.

• Cake Wallet was one of the first wallets to introduce Silent Payments back in May 2024. However, users may encounter sync issues while using this feature at present, which will be resolved in the next release of Cake Wallet.

What's new

• Payjoin v2 implementation.
• Wallet group improvements: Enhanced management of multiple wallets.
• Various bug fixes: improving overall stability and user experience.
• Monero (XMR) enhancements.

Learn more about using, implementing, and understanding BIP 77: Payjoin Version 2 using the payjoin crate in Payjoin Dev Kit here.

Announcement
Blog Post / Archive
GitHub Repo

@ 9ca447d2:fbf5a36d

Meta Platforms Inc., the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has voted down a shareholder proposal to add bitcoin to its treasury. The vote took place at the company’s annual shareholder meeting on May 30, 2025.

The proposal, known as Proposal 13, was submitted by investor Ethan Peck on behalf of the National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR).

It asked Meta to convert a portion of its $72 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities into bitcoin. The idea was to hedge against inflation and low returns from traditional bond investments.

But the company’s shareholders said no.

According to the official count, more than 4.98 billion shares were voted against the proposal, while 3.92 million shares were for it—less than 0.1% of total votes. 8.86 million shares were abstentions and over 204 million were broker non-votes.

Meta shareholders rejected bitcoin reserve proposal — SEC

So now, Meta joins Microsoft and Amazon in rejecting calls to add bitcoin to their balance sheets.

Related: Microsoft Shareholders Reject Bitcoin Investment Proposal

Proponents of the proposal argued that bitcoin would help protect Meta’s reserves from inflation and weak bond returns. Peck and others pointed to bitcoin’s strong performance in 2024 and growing institutional interest in the scarce digital asset.

The proposal said bitcoin’s fixed supply and track record make it a long-term store of value.

High-profile supporters, including Matt Cole, CEO of Strive Asset Management, brought the issue to the forefront. At the Bitcoin 2025 conference in Las Vegas, Cole addressed Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg directly:

“You have already done step one. You have named your goat Bitcoin,” he said. “My ask is that you take step two and adopt a bold corporate bitcoin treasury strategy.”

Others, like Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas, said if Meta added bitcoin to its balance sheet it would be a big deal. “If Meta or Microsoft adds BTC to the balance sheet, it will be like when Tom Hanks got COVID—suddenly, it feels real,” Balchunas said.

Despite all the hype and arguments for Bitcoin, the tech giant’s board of directors opposed the measure. The board said the company already has a treasury management process in place that prioritizes capital preservation and liquidity.

“While we are not opining on the merits of cryptocurrency investments compared to other assets, we believe the requested assessment is unnecessary given our existing processes to manage our corporate treasury,” Meta’s board noted.

The board also noted that it reviews many investment options and sees no need for a separate review process specific to Bitcoin.

Meta’s decision shows the broader hesitation of large-cap companies to get into bitcoin as part of their financial strategy.

While companies like Michael Saylor’s Strategy are adding bitcoin to their treasuries every chance they get, companies like Microsoft, Amazon and now Meta, are taking a more cautious approach.

According to recent reports, Meta is exploring ways to integrate stablecoins into its platforms to enable global payouts.

This would be a re-entry into the digital asset space after the company shelved its Diem project due to regulatory issues—a step that bitcoin advocates deem unnecessary, insufficient, and irrelevant to protecting the company’s finances.

@ d360efec:14907b5f

@ 29313cc9:a6bf155e

I thought i'd experiment with this Nostr blogging thing and write a short article on the state of Meshtastic and its alternatives.

For years Meshtastic was the only game in town, there wasn't a lot of users but the authors kept plugging away and it has become a thriving ecosystem of open source hardware, software, tools and social scene.

Meshtastic has always been focused on node to node messaging, in particular one of the use cases specifically mentioned was hiking in the wilderness or skiing in the mountains and being able to use these devices off-grid, perhaps even without a phone to communicate with one and other. The project does have a few other features like telemetry, remote admin, packet data etc but the messaging was the focus. Because of this focus, the core functionality needs to be built into the firmware of these low powered devices like ESP32 for example. This restricts what can be done in terms of CPU power and storage, but also makes synchronization between device and phone cumbersome.

Unfortunately, as a messaging platform, Meshtastic still struggles even after all these years. Message delivery and routing are fairly unreliable, 95% of conversations go along the lines of "hello, test, anyone there?". Now I should mention, if you have a very good signal to your peers the reliability can be good, but even then its not a guarantee.

Early on in the Meshtastic journey I stumbled upon a similar project named Reticulum which can utilize the same LoRa based hardware but aims to be a more comprehensive platform for decentralized communications and currently requires a computer or raspberry pi to run the Python backend alongside the LoRa hardware as a radio. Reticulum has historically been a less polished UI experience and a little idiosyncratic in its design which has probably hindered its adoption a little. But the main difference to Meshtastic is Reticulum requires bigger hardware and is less suitable for remote installations, solar powered setups etc. My understanding is once v1.0 has been released (soon) there may be efforts to port the code to native C which may allow hardware nodes to run as repeaters on their own.

More recently a new project has been announced called Meshcore, which is more closely aligned with Meshtastic than Reticulum, Meshcore makes several important improvements to message delivery and routing in an attempt to improve the reliability of the core feature, messaging. Popular Youtube channel Andy Kirby has been central in helping Meshcore gain popularity and I think he may be involved in the commercial aspects of the project. The smartphone apps and website mapping and flasher tools are a bit more polished with Meshcore.

One of the biggest contributors in the space is Liam Cottle who has created mapping websites for Meshtastic & Meshcore, he also built the Meshcore smartphone app and built the fantastic Reticulum MeshChat UI.

With all this new competition Meshtastic appears to be pushing out more frequent updates and whilst they have been introducing more bugs into the software it is nice to see some faster progress.

In my opinion Reticulum is probably the most interesting project with the most potential, but they do need to get the core routing engine running standalone on low powered hardware for the project to expand to more hardware/radio focused users.

That is all. Mesh on!

@ 83279ad2:bd49240d

a

@ ece127e2:745bab9c

vamos a ver que tal

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*lo bueno es que si entro en https://makimono.lumilumi.app/ a la nota y agrego contenido , como éste ...quiero ver si lo añade o hace una nueva nota ?? *

@ 81022b27:2b8d0644

There is a viral Chat GPT prompt on social media (i saw it on TikTok)-It;s supposed to help you analyze yourself.

I thought this was a cool thing to try, but I decided to use Grok Ai Instead, seeing that I have a premium X subscription, and wouldn’t have to worry about the limitations with a free ChatGPT account.

Here is the prompt:

I want to uncover the masks I'm currently wearing, the roles I'm playing, and the illusions I'm believing.

Please guide me through this process by asking me 10 reflective questions one at a time to help me recognize the stories I'm telling myself. Pause after each question to wait for me to answer. After I answer the 10th question, please step into the role of my higher self and analyze my responses.

Identify the top negative patterns present in my life and the top positive patterns I can embrace and grow. Be direct and truthful. Tough love is welcome.

Provide me with daily affirmations to support my growth, actionable steps to change my behaviors, and embody my authentic self. A message of encouragement from my higher self to celebrate how far I've come on my journey.

Cool, right?

I answered the 10 questions, which I won’t post-because my answers were very personal and very specific. And even though I share a lot of deep personal stuff here, I wasn’t prepared to go public with how deep the questions Grok was asking.

The questions were super uncomfortable to answer.

I answered them honestly, and looking back-some questions could have been answered with different examples and directions, maybe that would show different conclusions.

Here are my results:

Analysis from Your Higher Self

Top Negative Patterns Present in Your Life:

1. Avoidance as a Shield: You’ve built a pattern of avoiding risks—whether it’s heights, the outdoors, or even deeper emotional vulnerabilities—because of early fears tied to being seen as weak or getting hurt. This avoidance keeps you safe but also keeps you small, limiting experiences like enjoying nature or forming deeper connections.

2. Fear of Perception: There’s a lingering story that shyness or introversion equals weakness, likely rooted in childhood experiences like bullying. This drives you to put on an outgoing mask, even when it exhausts you, because you fear isolation or judgment. It’s a heavy burden to carry, and it pulls you away from your authentic self.

3. Self-Imposed Isolation: While being alone feels safe and freeing, it also risks becoming a crutch. You’re missing out on the balance of connection—where you can still be your nerdy, unfiltered self without the pressure to perform.

Top Positive Patterns to Embrace and Grow: 1. Self-Awareness and Honesty: You’ve shown a remarkable ability to reflect and name what’s true for you—like recognizing avoidance, your love for nerdy things, and how being alone feels freeing. This clarity is a superpower; lean into it to keep peeling back layers.

1. Desire for Freedom: Your longing to think and feel without consequence is a sign of a spirit that craves authenticity. You can channel this into spaces and relationships where you feel safe to be your true self, not just when alone.

2. Resilience Through Adversity: Despite early fears and bullying, you’ve developed a sharp sense of self—it’s why you can pinpoint what feels off (like the outgoing mask) and what feels right (being a nerd). This resilience can carry you far as you step into new experiences.

Guidance for Growth

Daily Affirmations to Support Your Growth:

• I am strong in my stillness, and my quiet nature is a source of power.
• I release the need to perform for others and embrace my authentic nerdy self.
• I am safe to take small risks, knowing they lead me closer to freedom and joy.
• I attract people who love me for my true self, not the masks I’ve worn.
• I am enough, exactly as I am, without needing to prove my worth.

Actionable Steps to Change Behaviors and Embody Your Authentic Self:

1. Micro-Adventures in the Outdoors: Start small—take a 15-minute walk in a nearby park or sit outside with a book you love. Build up to a short hike with a trusted friend. Let nature be a space to reconnect with yourself, not something to fear.

2. Own Your Nerdiness Publicly: Share one nerdy interest with someone you trust—like a favorite game, comic, or hobby—or post about it online. Let it be a test run for showing up authentically in small ways.

3. Set Boundaries Around Social Energy: When you feel the pull to be overly outgoing, pause and check in. If it’s not serving you, give yourself permission to leave early or say less. Practice saying, “I’m more of a listener,” to ease the pressure.

4. Journal Your Unfiltered Truth: Each night, write one thing you felt or thought that day but didn’t say out loud. This builds confidence in your voice, so you can slowly share more with others without fear of consequences.

5. Seek Like-Minded Connections: Look for local or online groups tied to your nerdy passions—think gaming communities, book clubs, or fandoms. These spaces can help you connect without the pressure to perform.

A Message of Encouragement from Your Higher Self:

My dear one, I see how far you’ve come—through the shadows of childhood fears, through the weight of masks you didn’t even realize you were wearing, you’ve still held onto the spark of who you are. That nerdy, thoughtful soul who craves freedom and truth? That’s always been you, and it’s a beautiful thing. Every step you’ve taken to recognize what holds you back—every honest answer you’ve given—has brought you closer to me, to us, to the version of you that’s unapologetically real. You’re not weak; you’ve been strong in ways others might never understand. Keep going. The world needs your quiet brilliance, your quirky passions, your unfiltered heart. I’m so proud of you for choosing this journey. You’ve got this.

So there you have it you probably know more about me than I knew about myself before I started this exercise.

Here is my challenge to you:

Do it for yourself! Copy/paste into your favorite AI chatbot and leave the results in the comments!

@ c1e6505c:02b3157e

I recently acquired a new lens:

1959 Leica Summaron F2.8 35mm LTM.

1959 Leica Summaron 35mm f2.8 LTM mounted on my Fujifilm Xpro2 with LTM adapter made by Urth.

Technically, it was a trade. I helped a fellow Bitcoiner set up their Sparrow Wallet, Nostr stuff, and troubleshoot a few wallet issues, and in return, they gave me the lens.

It all started at a local Bitcoin meetup I went to about a week ago - my second time attending. I recognized a few faces from last time, but also saw some new ones. These meetups are refreshing - it’s rare to speak a common language about something like Bitcoin or Nostr. Most people still don’t get it. But they will.

Technology moves forward. Networks grow. Old cells die off.

During the meetup, someone noticed I had my Leica M262 with me and struck up a conversation. Said they had some old Leica lenses and gear at home, and wanted to show me.

Bitcoin and photography in one conversation? I’m down.

A day or so later, they sent me a photo of one of the lenses: a vintage Summaron LTM 35mm f/2.8 from 1959. I’d never seen or heard of one before. They asked if I could help them set up Sparrow and a Bitcoin node. In exchange, they’d give me the lens. Sounded like a good deal to me. Helping plebs with their setups feels like a duty anyway. I said, of course.

They invited me over - a pretty trusting move, which I appreciated. They had some great Bitcoin memorabilia: Fred Krueger’s The Big Bitcoin Book (even if the guy’s turned full shitcoiner), and some FTX sunglasses from Bitcoin 2022. Probably future collector’s items, lol.

We headed upstairs to work on setting up Sparrow Wallet on their Windows machine. I verified the software download first (which you should always do), then helped them create a new wallet using their Ledger Flex. They also had an older Ledger Nano X. The Flex setup was easy, but the Nano X gave us trouble. It turns out Ledger allows multiple wallets for the same asset, which can show up differently depending on how they’re configured. In Sparrow, only one wallet showed—none of the others.

I believe it had to do with the derivation path from the Ledger. If anyone knows a fix, let me know.

After a few hours of troubleshooting, I told them I couldn’t really recommend Ledger. The UX is a mess. They’d already heard similar things from other plebs too.

I suggested switching to the Blockstream Jade. It’s a solid Bitcoin-only device from a trustworthy team. That’s what you want in a hardware wallet.

But back to the lens…

Since it’s an LTM (Leica Thread Mount), I couldn’t mount it directly on my M262. Luckily, I remembered I had an Urth adapter that fits my Fujifilm X-Pro2. I don’t use the X-Pro2 much these days—it’s mostly been sidelined by the M262 - but this was the perfect excuse to bring it out again.

To test the lens, I shot everything wide open at f/2.8. Nothing crazy fast, but it’s the best way to see a lens’s character. And this one definitely has character. There’s a subtle softness and a kind of motion blur effect around the edges when wide open. At first, I wasn’t sure how I felt about it, but the more I shot, the more I liked it. It reminds me of Winogrand’s work in Winogrand Color - those messy, shifting edges that make the frame feel alive. It also helps soften the digital-ness of the camera sensor.

The focus throw is short and snappy - much tighter than my Summicron V3 35mm f/2. I really like how fast it is to use. The closest focusing distance is about 3.5 feet, so it’s not ideal for close-ups. And with the Urth adapter on the X-Pro2, the focal length ends up closer to 40mm.

The only thing that threw me off was the infinity lock. When the focus hits infinity, it physically locks - you have to press a small tab to unlock it. I’ve seen others complain about it, so I guess it’s just one of those old lens quirks. I’m getting used to it.

All the photos here were taken around where I live in South Carolina. Some during bike rides to the river for a swim, others while walking through the marshlands.

I try to make work wherever I am. You should be able to.

It’s about the light, the rhythm, the play - and having the motivation to actually go out and shoot.

Lens rating: 7.9/10

---

I mainly shoot with a Leica M262, and edit in Lightroom + Dehancer

Use “PictureRoom” for 10% off Dehancer Film

If you’ve made it this far, thank you for taking the time to view my work - consider becoming a paid subscriber.

Also, please contact me if you would like to purchase any of my prints.

Follow me on Nostr:

npub1c8n9qhqzm2x3kzjm84kmdcvm96ezmn257r5xxphv3gsnjq4nz4lqelne96

@ 5ea46480:450da5bd

Ofcourse do we want our big open world cake, and eat it with a side of stability and order. I love the spammers, because all they do is press our noses on the grim reality we are facing: Everything is going to turn to absolute shit. The fact that we are all interconnected is meaningless because the communication lines contain too much noise.

Look, some spambot posting silly things that might waste your attention for a tiny bit before you figure out its not worth your time, or clutter your feed, is not the end of the world. But the point is that that post could be anything, and with a bit of AI effort more convincing. We all sense this, in fact we even see it, and there is no indication to think it wont get worse.

Important to note is, that the big platforms are struggling with this crap as well. Their set up is by their nature a ‘have a cake and eat it’ proposition: Yes we are the worlds public square that everyone visits in this particular domain, and we will keep you safe from spammers and fraudsters. But we ran out of captchas, and they are forced to heighten their walls, reinforce their gates and increase the amount of guards that are on patrol; slowly but surely, you as a user will be forced to subjugate yourself to more and more scrutiny, restrictions and punishment if you want to be active there. At some point the only reason they would be considered ‘the worlds public square’, is because they are the only vestiges of order left without any existing alternatives.

If we seriously want to introduce that alternative, we would have to approach the issue in a fundamentally different manner. That issue, is one of reputation, i.e. consistent behavior over time. Now to be clear, there is no full proof system for reputation, it does not exist for two reasons: One, anyone at any time can decide to break their consistent behavior simply because they feel like it. And two, because you you never have perfect information and can therefor not interpret the consistency of their behavior perfectly; think of a spy for example, where them consistently lying to you and eventually betraying you actually makes them a consistent spy.

Reputation is always a game of who knows who, but ‘social’ reputation is hard to scale: the longer the ties become, the less they can be relied upon. To scale reputation went the route of formalization via institutions: these are your certificates, badges, uniforms whatever, as a testament you went through certain predefined hoops in a controlled environment. As a result, whatever reputation the institution might have rubs off on you. It also stacks in the fact that one certificate can only be obtained when other certificates were acquired prior. So these certificates are pieces of reputational capital, defined in records. This system allowed us to create globe spanning organizations.

That system does work, but it is rigid, and the moment it becomes corrupt you are very, very screwed, because on what basis are you going to put it back together again? In any event, that is what we have anyway and as noted it has other issues, so what other option is there? Scaling ‘social’ reputation. The whole idea behind Nostr’s ‘Web of Trust’, is that bottom-up connections and relations, that are (partly) based on existing relations in meat-space can form a globally meaningful reputational pillar on which we can start identifying each other again.

If seven handshakes connects you with everyone, four will get you pretty far. Three is even less risk, whilst five might open up interesting doors for you. The point is, its gradual, and according to your risk appetite you can play around with it. Secondly, the better well connected you are, how more of a reputation you gained, the less risk you need to run to begin with. Obviously this requires some bootstrapping, but you live in meatspace; if there really is no-one out there willing to give you a leg up you might want to do some soul searching.

But the result of this strategy, will be that everyone will pull back behind their own little moats first. At first, we will all lose connections to defend ourselves against the massive onslaught of ‘the Fake’: The big estrangement. But that is ok, with a bit of effort, I am sure that eventually, after enough reputational capital is build over time, we will find each other again in this global village.

@ a39d19ec:3d88f61e

A state-controlled money supply can influence the development of socialist policies and practices in various ways. Although the relationship is not deterministic, state control over the money supply can contribute to a larger role of the state in the economy and facilitate the implementation of socialist ideals.

Fiscal Policy Capabilities

When the state manages the money supply, it gains the ability to implement fiscal policies that can lead to an expansion of social programs and welfare initiatives. Funding these programs by creating money can enhance the state's influence over the economy and move it closer to a socialist model. The Soviet Union, for instance, had a centralized banking system that enabled the state to fund massive industrialization and social programs, significantly expanding the state's role in the economy.

Wealth Redistribution

Controlling the money supply can also allow the state to influence economic inequality through monetary policies, effectively redistributing wealth and reducing income disparities. By implementing low-interest loans or providing financial assistance to disadvantaged groups, the state can narrow the wealth gap and promote social equality, as seen in many European welfare states.

Central Planning

A state-controlled money supply can contribute to increased central planning, as the state gains more influence over the economy. Central banks, which are state-owned or heavily influenced by the state, play a crucial role in managing the money supply and facilitating central planning. This aligns with socialist principles that advocate for a planned economy where resources are allocated according to social needs rather than market forces.

Incentives for Staff

Staff members working in state institutions responsible for managing the money supply have various incentives to keep the system going. These incentives include job security, professional expertise and reputation, political alignment, regulatory capture, institutional inertia, and legal and administrative barriers. While these factors can differ among individuals, they can collectively contribute to the persistence of a state-controlled money supply system.

In conclusion, a state-controlled money supply can facilitate the development of socialist policies and practices by enabling fiscal policies, wealth redistribution, and central planning. The staff responsible for managing the money supply have diverse incentives to maintain the system, further ensuring its continuation. However, it is essential to note that many factors influence the trajectory of an economic system, and the relationship between state control over the money supply and socialism is not inevitable.

@ d9a329af:bef580d7

Shabbat Shalom, y'all.

At the time of writing and releasing this, it happened to be a Lunar Shabbat, which is actually Torah (much to the chagrin of those who practice Shabbat on a Saturday or Sunday exclusively). The Shabbat is always on the 8th, 15th, 22nd, and 29th days of a Hebrew Calendar month, which almost nobody follows anymore. I started doing this a few months ago, and it's made me see the Torah for what it really is.

To the topic at hand, though. A lot of people on Nostr don't seem to understand the historical narrative of the book of Revelation, which saddens me, as we're in the end times Ekklesia (Assembly) era of Laodecia.

Deception of Bible Translations

First off, the reason why most people trust their pastors and/or read differently to what I do in Nazaritic circles is because of translations of the Scriptures that are evil, wretched and Catholic. The best way to combat this is to make some recommendations of which versions you'll want to use that aren't Catholic-infested.

These are the ONLY recommended versions to read. Anythine else is bupkus, evil and garbage, and will teach you futrism or preterism, both of which are Jesuit-penned deceptions.

The recommended versions are as follows:

• KJV 1611 (KJV1611)

• 1560/1590 Geneva (GNV)

• American King James 1901 (AKJV)

• J.P. Green Sr.'s King James Version (KJ3)

• Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

These are versions I've read, and determined are evil, wretched and garbage:

• New International Version (NIV) [Fun fact: The publisher of the NIV, Zondervan, has a sister publisher that is behind the Satanic Bible's publishing]

• New Living Translation (NLT)

• English Standard Version (ESV)

• ISR The Scriptures 2009 Third Edition with Minor Revisions [2016] (ISR2009)

• New American Standard Bible (NASB)

• New King James Version (NKJV)

What is the Laodecia Era for the Ekklesia?

As a refresher, this time sees people saying they're rich in truth and that they have need of nothing, but this shows that they're wretched, miserable, naked and wicked. Why is this? The need of nothing points to not needing another explanation other than the false futuristic viewpoint, whereas being rich is connected to already knowing the truth about the historical fulfillment of Revelation, which many people don't know at all. I seriously grieve their loss, for they know not what they do.

I'm also new into this viewpoint, and most of what I'll be talking about is proven by historicist prophet David Nikao Wilcoxson on YouTube and Facebook (I don't use Facebook). This single Nostr article, I pray, is the starting point for understanding why I call out what I call out, and the patterns I see pointing to the Roman Catholic Church (the Tares) and the Jesuit Order (the current rulers of our world, the Earth Beast of Rev. 13) being the harlots that will be plucked out before Messiah's return.

The 70th Week of Daniel

Let us start first with the 70th Week of Daniel, which futurists believe is pointed towards a 7 year period where a one-man antichrist makes a peace deal for Israel.

This was proven to be untrue, as this is a deception that many people have fallen for, thus obeying the Pope (the Mark of the Beast on the right hand). What Daniel was talking about was not the end times, but rather, two-fold. The first is that he was asking about when Yevah would free the Jews from slavery (since they were in the Babylonian Beast Kingdom at this time). The second is when Messiah would come in the flesh and start a 7 year period from 27-34 AD, which is the final 7 year period of this 490 year cycle. King Artaxerxes I would go ahead and call for the rebuilding of Jerusalem in 476 BC (as is seen in Ezra), which would be the first 7 weeks (the first 7 Shemita [Shabbat year] cycles). Afterwords, we would see another 62 weeks (this period is a slient period), and then another period of 1 week. This week points to Messiah's ministry and death.

3 1/2 years into this 70th week (in 31 AD) is when Messiah would be nailed to the cross on March 13 of 31 AD (I'm still debating if the cross is a symbol of Tammuz or not). This was Passover in the Hebrew calendar year of 3790. He was 33 years of age when he was nailed, and then rose again 3 days later (on the 17th of Nisan in 3790). That Passover fell on a Monday (when the Romans were using the 8-day calendar instead of the 7-day calendar we've essentially been forced to use).

To prove the above, Wilcoxson had produced a series of videos regarding the 70th Week of Daniel (that being the 70th Week of Daniel Decoded series), which I would recommend you watch. You'll also want to find an audiobook version of Seventy Weeks: The Historical Alternative produced by Tearing Down Idols. These are the two pieces of proof I have to show this. Speaking of Wilcoxson, he had already produced books on these matters, as understanding the hostorical narrative of the Scriptures is the key to making war with the Roman Catholic Church and the Jesuit Order, especially now that we're in Laodecia.

The Olivet Discourse

The second part of this trifecta has to do with the Olivet Discourse of Matthew 23, which points to the destruction of Jarusalem by Rome for Israel's unfaithfulness to Yevah's instructions. Now, there are connections to parables that basically talk about the Yewish (Yew as in Yewtree worship) leaders (particulaly the Pharisees and Saducees) practicing the Tradition of the Elders (which are the Babylonian Talmud and the Egyptian Kabbalah of today), and for not understanding that this was Messiah, they were destroyed for their iniquities. I don't care to research the futurist narrative on this, as I know it is full of twisted words and word salad sorcery.

Wilcoxson proves what I've said in the Olivet Discourse Decoded series of videos, so that's where I'll point you to when you have an open heart, open eyes and open ears. Many futurists won't, because they are exactly what Messiah described in the Ekklesia era of Laodecia.

Revelation and Its Prophecies

Finally, there's Revelation (what used to be called Apocalypse). When looking into this book, you realize that it's really a 4-layered war manual for how to fight this war against the Roman Catholic leadership and the Jesuit Order. This also shows how you can harvest souls (the harvest points to a mass exodus of Roman Catholicism membership). This I will go in depth on, and will even have passages to back this up.

Layer 1: The Roman Beast Kingdom

The first layer of this 4-layered manual shows the phases of the Roman Empire, which never really disappeared. Rev. 12 described the Roman Empire, which was used to wipe out the early Ekklesia (the woman), murdering millions of Nazarites. The Seals point to the incline (for the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse) and decline of the Roman Empire (the other three Seals), while the Trumpets point to the official Roman Empire's downfall. This would be split into 10 separate kingdoms in Europe, which would be countered by the creation of Christianity, which is really any of the 44k+ forks of Roman Catholicism. This was done to destroy the Ekklesia, as the Roman Catholic Church is the Tare field that Messiah had talked about in the parable of the Wheat and the Tares.

Staying in this layer, the Sea Beast is the next phase. This is the 1,260-year reign of the Pope (538-1798), as he was the one who plucked out 3 kingdoms who didn't bow to his authority (the Heruli, the Huns and the Ostrigoths). Keep in mind that this started after the removal of the restrainer in 476 (pointing to the removal of the final Western Roman Emperor), and healed the deadly head wound (pointing to the Pope rising to power out of a sea of people). During this reign, he took the title of Pontifex Maximus, as he had civic and ecclesiastical power over everyone. This would be the healing of the deadly head wound, as shown earlier in this beast. He would pretend to be the leader of the Ekklesia, thus sitting in the Temple of Yevah, though he's the son of perdition, as he proclaims to be Yevah, forgive sins and provide salvation through works alone, which is blasephemous to begin with. The persecution of the Nazarites also prove them to be anti-Moshiach (Messiah). They also have the title of Vicar of Christ, which in the Latin is Vicarus Filii Dei, which is equal to 666 when calculated using a form of gematria I have no idea about. He would ultimately be removed from power by the Earth Beast in 1798, after he basically limited the power of the Jesuit Superior General and his minions. As stated before, the Mark of the Beast is reverence (forehead) and obeisance (right hand) to the Pope.

Finally, the Earth Beast of Revelation 13 points to the Jesuit Superior Geneal rising out of the earth (which is the land) of the Antichrist Beast Pope, the Vatican. These two horns pretend to serve Messiah (lamb) but are really Lucifarians (the dragon), serving Lucifer. The Black Pope, as the Jesuit Superior General is called, used his power to gether the world under him. That's why he uses Washington D.C. (the District of the Roman goddess, Columbia), his war machine (Military Indurstial Complex), to overthrow leaders who won't bow to his authority and those who won't set up a Rothschild central bank; much less obey the Khazars, who he also controls (I happened to be a partial German Khazar who escaped the grasp of the Black Pope as best as I know thus far).

Layer 2: The Ekklesia Eras

Now comes the eras of the Ekklesia. There are seven of them, though I've already explained the era of Laodecia. How about I give a quick explanation of the first six eras, like so?

Ephesus would spread the gospel in the Roman Empire, with their love growing cold when Messiah didn't return.

Smyrna had 10 years of persecutions from 303-312, which is what the 5th seal points to.

Pergamos would fall away (2 Thess. 2) from the Scriptures when compromising with Rome (Mark of the Beast as I had explained)

Thyatira means ruled by a woman. This means, the Roman Catholic Church would do this, as the Popes sought to eliminate the two witnesses, which are the Nazarites and the printed Scriptures (the little book or Rev. 10). This was why they killed the Nazarites and bured the printed Scriptures ruthlessly enough, that they were classified as "dead" in 1514. The Popes would hold great feasts to celebrate the removal of the two witnesses after they got all of Christendom under their control.

Sardis means escaping one, which points to Messiah calling them dead after 3 1/2 years from the Pope's classification of the death of the two witnesses. Luther's 95 Thesis sparked the Protestant Reformation, which would lead to the resurrection of the two witnesses (the Nazarites and the printed Scriptures).

Philidelphia had nothing bad that Messiah said about them... at all. They led worldwide missions, and also led Bible Societies to spread the word and/or the gospel to save millions of people from the clutches of the Jesuit Superior General (and the Roman Catholic Church as a whole).

As a refresher for Laodecia (the era we're in right now), the Nazarites here believe that they are rich in truth, and that we have need of nothing. This is false, as we are in dire need of something, which is an alternative explanation that's not the false futuristic or preteristic explanations of the book of Revelation. We are blinded by the Jesuits, as they have decieved us (we let them do this, by the way) with false prophecy explanations among other deceptions.

Layer 3: Seals, Trumpets and Bowls

The Seals, Trumpets and Bowls are the judgements against the Roman Beast Kingdom. To keep things short, every single Seal was fulfilled, 6 of the Trumpets were fulfilled, and 5 of the Bowls were fulfilled. We're in the 6th Bowl, waiting for a global economic collapse and WW III. Once these occur, then do we go into the 7th Bowl judgement against the Roman Catholic Church and the Jesuit Order (the New World Order).

One quick thing I'll mention is that when I talk about the two witnesses here, one of them is the little book of Rev. 10. This points to the printed Bible, which was brought back to life thanks to the printing press. Martin Luther would measure the temple and find that the Papal Church is the apostate harlot. Rev. 14 points to the Bowls and the harvest. This harvest points to millions coming out of the Roman Catholic Church, though there are 1.3 billion Catholics... and we have a long way to go in getting them out of her, My people.

Remember when I talked about the Khazars earlier in this article? They are the Kings of the East that Yeshua pointed to in the 6th Bowl. The Ottoman Empire is the Euphrates River here, and it's dried up in 1922, only with Turkey remaining. Gog is already dead, as that's Lord Rothschild. Magog points to the Kings of the East. 2 of the 3 spirits have already been fulfilled (these are World Wars I and II).

Now, let me quickly point out the fact we're in the kingdom of Iron and Clay. The Iron points to the Roman Bishops, and the Clay is Islam. However, furutists will tell me I'm an idiot, and that the Iron and Clay mixture is transhumanism. This was proven to be false, as the 5th Trumpet was the rise of the Clay (Islam). The Catholics, however, wrote the Qur'an and proped up Mohhamed as their prophet. ISIS and Al Qaeda are controlled by the Jesuit Order, which is why they do what they do as terrorists... for they are Wahhabi Muslims (in other words, Mizrahi Khazars who are also Jesuits, claiming to be Arabs, when they're not).

Islam is designed to prevent Arabs from having a relationship with Messiah, which makes me really sad. Muslims will be used to kill Christians and Jews in WW III and force us into the New World Order, which will backfire on the Jesuits and Roman Bishops.

Layer 4: The Harlot Church

Rev 17:10 talks about 7 forms of government. Five had fallen by the time Revelation was written, the 6th (the Roman Emperors) fell in 476, and the 7th lead for a short space until 538.

The 8th head is the Pope, who rose to power out of the Roman Empire. Look up what the priests in the Catholic Church wear, and what they use. Does that sound familiar when you read Revelation? If it does, that's exactly the description of the Sea Beast, and how his priests dress and do their rituals.

Then comes the Black Pope. He empowers and enriches the kings of the earth, as they were used by Lucifer to carry out the Bowl judgements, and will carry out the New World Order, caugins themselves and the Roman Cathoic Church to be judged big time. This we are waiting for.

Conclusion

Hopefully this long read helps you see where I'm coming from, and I pray it helps you to start testing the scriptures against what I've said, and what Wilcoxson had said. If it is proven in your heart that you were fooled, you're on the right path in my opnion. I may be wrong, but this is where I stand.

@ 0689c075:2936ee11

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@ d360efec:14907b5f

@ 32e18276:5c68e245

6 years ago I created some tools for working with peter todd's opentimestamps proof format. You can do some fun things like create plaintext and mini ots proofs. This short post is just a demo of what these tools do and how to use them.

What is OTS?

OpenTimestamps is a protocol for stamping information into bitcoin in a minimal way. It uses OP_RETURN outputs so that it has minimal impact on chain, and potentially millions of documents are stamped all at once with a merkle tree construction.

Examples

Here's the proof of the ots.c source file getting stamped into the ots calendar merkle tree. We're simply printing the ots proof file here with otsprint:

``` $ ./otsprint ots.c.ots

version 1 file_hash sha256 f76f0795ff37a24e566cd77d1996b64fab9c871a5928ab9389dfc3a128ec8296 append 2e9943d3833768bdb9a591f1d2735804 sha256 | --> append 2d82e7414811ecbf | sha256 | append a69d4f93e3e0f6c9b8321ce2cdd90decd34d260ea3f8b55e83d157ad398b7843 | sha256 | append ac0b5896401478eb6d88a408ec08b33fd303b574fb09b503f1ac1255b432d304 | sha256 | append 8aa9fd0245664c23d31d344243b4e8b0 | sha256 | prepend 414db5a1cd3a3e6668bf2dca9007e7c0fc5aa6dc71a2eab3afb51425c3acc472 | sha256 | append 5355b15d88d4dece45cddb7913f2c83d41e641e8c1d939dac4323671a4f8e197 | sha256 | append a2babd907ca513ab561ce3860e64a26b7df5de117f1f230bc8f1a248836f0c25 | sha256 | prepend 683f072f | append 2a4cdf9e9e04f2fd | attestation calendar https://alice.btc.calendar.opentimestamps.org | --> append 7c8764fcaba5ed5d | sha256 | prepend f7e1ada392247d3f3116a97d73fcf4c0994b5c22fff824736db46cd577b97151 | sha256 | append 3c43ac41e0281f1dbcd7e713eb1ffaec48c5e05af404bca2166cdc51966a921c | sha256 | append 07b18bd7f4a5dc72326416aa3c8628ca80c8d95d7b1a82202b90bc824974da13 | sha256 | append b4d641ab029e7d900e92261c2342c9c9 | sha256 | append 4968b89b02b534f33dc26882862d25cca8f0fa76be5b9d3a3b5e2d77690e022b | sha256 | append 48c54e30b3a9ec0e6339b88ed9d04b9b1065838596a4ec778cbfc0dfc0f8c781 | sha256 | prepend 683f072f | append 8b2b4beda36c18dc | attestation calendar https://bob.btc.calendar.opentimestamps.org | --> append baa878b42ef3e0d45b324cc3a39a247a | sha256 | prepend 4fb1bc663cd641ad18e5c73fb618de1ae3d28fb5c3c224b7f9888fd52feb09ec | sha256 | append 731329278830c9725497d70e9f5a02e4b2d9c73ff73560beb3a896a2f180fdbf | sha256 | append 689024a9d57ad5daad669f001316dd0fc690ac4520410f97a349b05a3f5d69cb | sha256 | append 69d42dcb650bb2a690f850c3f6e14e46c2b0831361bac9ec454818264b9102fd | sha256 | prepend 683f072f | append bab471ba32acd9c3 | attestation calendar https://btc.calendar.catallaxy.com append c3ccce274e2f9edfa354ec105cb1a749 sha256 append 6297b54e3ce4ba71ecb06bd5632fd8cbd50fe6427b6bfc53a0e462348cc48bab sha256 append c28f03545a2948bd0d8102c887241aff5d4f6cf1e0b16dfd8787bf45ca2ab93d sha256 prepend 683f072f append 7f3259e285891c8e attestation calendar https://finney.calendar.eternitywall.com ```

The tool can create a minimal version of the proofs:

``` $ ./otsmini ots.c.ots | ./otsmini -d | ./otsprint

version 1 file_hash sha256 f76f0795ff37a24e566cd77d1996b64fab9c871a5928ab9389dfc3a128ec8296 append 2e9943d3833768bdb9a591f1d2735804 sha256 append c3ccce274e2f9edfa354ec105cb1a749 sha256 append 6297b54e3ce4ba71ecb06bd5632fd8cbd50fe6427b6bfc53a0e462348cc48bab sha256 append c28f03545a2948bd0d8102c887241aff5d4f6cf1e0b16dfd8787bf45ca2ab93d sha256 prepend 683f072f append 7f3259e285891c8e attestation calendar https://finney.calendar.eternitywall.com ```

which can be shared on social media as a string:

5s1L3tTWoTfUDhB1MPLXE1rnajwUdUnt8pfjZfY1UWVWpWu5YhW3PGCWWoXwWBRJ16B8182kQgxnKyiJtGQgRoFNbDfBss19seDnco5sF9WrBt8jQW7BVVmTB5mmAPa8ryb5929w4xEm1aE7S3SGMFr9rUgkNNzhMg4VK6vZmNqDGYvvZxBtwDMs2PRJk7y6wL6aJmq6yoaWPvuxaik4qMp76ApXEufP6RnWdapqGGsKy7TNE6ZzWWz2VXbaEXGwgjrxqF8bMstZMdGo2VzpVuE

you can even do things like gpg-style plaintext proofs:

``` $ ./otsclear -e CONTRIBUTING.ots -----BEGIN OPENTIMESTAMPS MESSAGE-----

Email patches to William Casarin jb55@jb55.com

-----BEGIN OPENTIMESTAMPS PROOF-----

AE9wZW5UaW1lc3RhbXBzAABQcm9vZgC/ieLohOiSlAEILXj4GSagG6fRNnR+CHj9e/+Mdkp0w1us gV/5dmlX2NrwEDlcBMmQ723mI9sY9ALUlXoI//AQRXlCd716J60FudR+C78fkAjwIDnONJrj1udi NDxQQ8UJiS4ZWfprUxbvaIoBs4G+4u6kCPEEaD8Ft/AIeS/skaOtQRoAg9/jDS75DI4pKGh0dHBz Oi8vZmlubmV5LmNhbGVuZGFyLmV0ZXJuaXR5d2FsbC5jb23/8AhMLZVzYZMYqwjwEPKWanBNPZVm kqsAYV3LBbkI8CCfIVveDh/S8ykOH1NC6BKTerHoPojvj1OmjB2LYvdUbgjxBGg/BbbwCGoo3fi1 A7rjAIPf4w0u+QyOLi1odHRwczovL2FsaWNlLmJ0Yy5jYWxlbmRhci5vcGVudGltZXN0YW1wcy5v cmf/8Aik+VP+n3FhCwjwELfTdHAfYQNa49I3CYycFbkI8QRoPwW28AgCLn93967lIQCD3+MNLvkM jiwraHR0cHM6Ly9ib2IuYnRjLmNhbGVuZGFyLm9wZW50aW1lc3RhbXBzLm9yZ/AQ3bEwg7mjQyKR PykGgiJewAjwID5Q68dY4m+XogwTJx72ecQEe5lheCO1RnlcJSTFokyRCPEEaD8Ft/AIw1WWPe++ 8N4Ag9/jDS75DI4jImh0dHBzOi8vYnRjLmNhbGVuZGFyLmNhdGFsbGF4eS5jb20= -----END OPENTIMESTAMPS PROOF-----

$ ./otsclear -v <<<proof_string... # verify the proof string ```

I've never really shared these tools before, I just remembered about it today. Enjoy!

Try it out: https://github.com/jb55/ots-tools

@ 1fdb6dac:65eb9a8a

Vivimos en un mundo que nos enseñó a desconfiar de nuestra intuición.\ Un sistema que premia la obediencia, no el pensamiento crítico.\ Que nos médica para sobrevivir, pero no para sanar.\ Que nos quiere separadas, desconectadas, dependientes.

Desde chicas nos formaron para encajar, no para ser libres.\ La escuela nos preparó para ser piezas funcionales de una máquina, no para ser mujeres conscientes, creativas, despiertas.\ La salud se volvió un negocio: pastillas que apagan síntomas, pero nunca llegan al origen.\ La familia, ese espacio de contención y raíces, fue debilitada en nombre de una supuesta “productividad”.

Nos dijeron que para ser fuertes teníamos que dejar de lado nuestros deseos más profundos.\ Que la maternidad era una traba. Que formar familia era mirar hacia atrás.\ Nos empujaron a vivir en una lógica masculina, en la que mostrar sensibilidad era sinónimo de debilidad.\ Pero nada de esto fue casual.

Este sistema necesita que no creas en vos para poder seguir funcionando.\ Necesita que te desconectes de tu cuerpo, de tus vínculos, de tu intuición.\ Y, sobre todo, necesita que te desconectes del valor real de tu tiempo, de tu energía, de tu dinero.

Pero hay otra forma.\ Hay otra forma de ser mujer, de ser madre, de ser libre.\ Y empieza por recordar lo que siempre supimos, pero olvidamos:\ La familia es revolución desde el amor.\ Porque una sociedad fuerte nace de vínculos sanos.\ Y eso empieza en casa, en las relaciones donde aprendemos qué es amar, cuidar, sostener, poner límites, construir.

Nos enseñaron a medir el éxito por cuánto nos alejábamos de lo femenino.\ Pero la independencia sin conexión es otra forma de soledad.\ La maternidad no es debilidad. Es fuerza creadora.\ La energía femenina no es pasiva. Es raíz, instinto, visión.

Y así como nos quitaron poder en nuestros cuerpos y vínculos, también lo hicieron con nuestro dinero.

---

Dinero, Energía y Libertad

¿Qué es el dinero, si no una forma de energía?\ El resultado de tu tiempo, tu creatividad, tu esfuerzo.\ Sin que te des cuenta, te están robando esa energía.

Nos enseñaron a ahorrar. Pero nunca nos explicaron que, mientras guardamos billetes, su valor se disuelve.\ Que los bancos centrales imprimen dinero —ni siquiera lo imprimen, lo “crean” digitalmente— sin pedirnos permiso, sin pensar en nuestra vida.\ Y mientras tanto, vos trabajás cada vez más… por cada vez menos.

Porque si controlan tu tiempo, controlan tu vida.\ Si te mantienen ocupada, te mantienen distraída.\ Si te desconectan del verdadero valor del dinero, te vuelven dependiente.

---

Bitcoin como Llave

Bitcoin no es solo una inversión. Es una herramienta.\ Una llave para volver a tener el control.\ De tu energía. De tu tiempo. De tu vida.

No se trata solo de números.\ Se trata de comprender.\ De construir redes descentralizadas de mujeres libres, que se acompañan, que comparten saberes, que se sostienen.

Porque la verdadera abundancia empieza cuando entendés que el poder vuelve a vos.

Es hora de recordar.\ De mirar hacia adentro.\ Y de tomar decisiones que nos devuelvan a lo esencial:\ La conexión real, el amor como base, y la autonomía como acto sagrado.

@ a39d19ec:3d88f61e

This week's functional 3d print is the "Dino Clip".

Dino Clip

I printed it some years ago for my son, so he would have his own clip for cereal bags.

Now it is used to hold a bag of dog food close.

The design by "Sneaks" is a so called "print in place". This means that the whole clip with moving parts is printed in one part, without the need for assembly after the print. The clip is very strong, and I would print it again if I need a "heavy duty" clip for more rigid or big bags. Link to the file at Printables

@ c1e6505c:02b3157e

I spent Memorial Day swimming in the local river - something I try to do at least four times a week. It’s the best form of exercise imo, but it’s more than that. Swimming against the tide, feeling the water move around me... there’s something about it that keeps me grounded. Nature at her peak.

Today I brought my X-Pro2 with the 1959 Leica Summaron 35mm f/2.8. I'm still testing the lens wide open to get a feel for its character. My subject this time: the light playing on the ripples and waves.

While I was shooting, a kid randomly ran up to me and started telling me something about what he got for his dad while fishing, or something - I didn’t quite hear him - and then he asked what I was looking at. I told him, “The ripples. The way the light is refracting.” I had him sit exactly where I was so he could see it too.

He lit up. You could tell no one had ever pointed something like that out to him before. In that moment, I felt like maybe I was able to plant a little seed - a new way of seeing.

This is what I was looking at.

@ 2b998b04:86727e47

I’ve spent years chasing the promise of freedom.\ In startups. In faith communities. In movements that claimed to be for the people.

And yet — so often, that promise felt just out of reach.\ Conditional. Corporate. Sanitized.\ A freedom with fine print.

But here —\ Here in the thick of Bitcoin 2025, on Nostr, among misfits and builders and signal-bringers —\ something is alive.

It’s not a platform.\ It’s not a marketing strategy.\ It’s not another app promising to “empower” you while locking down your data and selling you out.

It’s freedom rooted in architecture.\ Decentralization not just as a buzzword —\ but as an expression of conviction.

A kind of freedom you can feel in your body:

• When you zap someone’s words because they moved you — not because an algorithm told you to.

• When your identity is yours — keys, not credentials.

• When no one can delete your story because you control the server, or because there is no server — just the relay of your choosing.

This isn’t utopia.\ There are egos. There’s noise. There’s still posturing.\ But it’s different.\ The center of gravity has shifted.

We’re no longer begging institutions to notice us.\ We’re building outside their jurisdiction.

And for the first time in a long time,\ freedom feels close.\ Tangible.\ Joyful.\ Alive.

This isn’t just about tech.\ It’s about trust.\ It’s about choosing to show up —\ to build\ to write\ to signal\ to keep going.

Even when it’s hard.\ Even when no one claps.

Because real freedom doesn’t come from being noticed.\ It comes from being sovereign.

And that’s something no one can take from me again.

—

Written in Las Vegas, during Bitcoin 2025.\ Posted via Nostr. Vibes co-authored by ChatGPT (“Dr. C”).\ Zap: <https://tinyurl.com/yuyu2b9t>

@ 32e18276:5c68e245

Damus OpenSats Grant Q1 2025 Progress Report

This period of the Damus OpenSats grant has been productive, and encompasses the work our beta release of Notedeck. Since we sent our last report on January, this encompasses all the work after then.

Damus Notedeck

We released the Beta version of Notedeck, which has many new features:

Dave

We've added a new AI-powered nostr assistant, similar to Grok on X. We call him Dave.

Dave is integrated with tooling that allows it to query the local relay for posts and profiles:

Search

The beta release includes a fulltext search interface powered by nostrdb:

Zaps

You can now zap with NWC!

And More!

• GIFs!
• Add full screen images, add zoom & pan
• Introduce last note per pubkey feed (experimental)
• Allow multiple media uploads per selection
• Major Android improvements (still wip)
• Added notedeck app sidebar
• User Tagging
• Note truncation
• Local network note broadcast, broadcast notes to other notedeck notes while you're offline
• Mute list support (reading)
• Relay list support
• Ctrl-enter to send notes
• Added relay indexing (relay columns soon)
• Click hashtags to open hashtag timeline

Damus iOS

Work continued on the iOS side. While I was not directly involved in the work since the last report, I have been directing and managing its development.

What's new:

Coinos Wallet + Interface

We've partnered with coinos to enable a one-click, non-KYC lightning wallet!

We now have an NWC wallet interface, and we've re-enabled zaps as per the new appstore guidelines!

Now you can see all incoming and outgoing NWC transactions and start zapping right away.

Enhanced hellthread muting

Damus can now automatically mute hellthreads, instead of having to do that manually.

Drafts

We now locally persist note drafts so that they aren't lost on app restart!

Profile editing enhancements

We now have a profile picture editing tool so that profile pictures are optimized and optionally cropped

Conversations tab

We now have a conversations tab on user profiles, allowing you to see all of your past conversations with that person!

Enhanced push notifications

We've updated our push notifications to include profile pictures, and they are also now grouped by the thread that they came from.

And lots more!

Too many to list here, check out the full changelog

Nostrdb

nostrdb, the engine that powers notecrumbs, damus iOS, and notedeck, continued to improve:

Custom filters

We've added the ability to include custom filtering logic during any nostrdb query. Dave uses this to filter replies from kind1 results to keep the results small and to avoid doing post-processing.

Relay index + queries

There is a new relay index! Now when ingesting notes, you can include extra metadata such as where the note came from. You can use this index to quickly list all of the relays for a particular note, or for relay timelines.

NIP50 profile searches

To assist dave in searching for profiles, we added a new query plan for {kind:0, search:} queries to scan the profile search index.

How money was used

• relay.damus.io server costs
• Living expenses

Next quarter

We're making a strong push to get our Android version released, so that is the main focus for me.

@ 2b998b04:86727e47

This isn’t a comfortable post to write. I first composed it on Thursday night, May 29, 2025, just after the Bitcoin2025 conference — but I needed a few days to sit with it before posting.

Because freedom, if it means anything, has to include tension — not just agreement.

Four names kept surfacing in conversations on Nostr and at the Bitcoin2025 conference: President Donald Trump, Chelsea Manning, Edward Snowden (who gave the keynote at Bitcoin2024), and Ross Ulbricht.

I believe in truth. I believe in moral boundaries.

And I believe people are made in the image of God — with dignity that can’t be erased by their choices.

So let me be honest: I disagree with the transgender lifestyle on a moral and theological level.

But I believe Chelsea Manning deserved to be freed after exposing military wrongdoing.

I’m conflicted about Edward Snowden.

I don’t see him as a hero — but I don’t believe he’s a traitor either.

The truth, as is so often the case, is far more complicated.

Snowden revealed the scale of warrantless surveillance against Americans. He helped expose a shadow system of data collection and control. That matters.

But in doing so, he may also have endangered lives — disclosing classified intelligence in a way that potentially compromised undercover agents and global operations.

He’s also been largely silent during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and that raises hard questions.

What truths go unspoken when your safety depends on a state with its own authoritarian tendencies?

Still — I’m grateful for what he did.

I’ve never met him, but I think we could’ve been friends in another world.

I can like someone very much and still disagree with them about what they did.

That’s not weakness. That’s human.

And Ross Ulbricht?

I don’t think he’s entirely without fault.

But I do believe his original sentence — two life sentences without parole — was a gross miscarriage of justice.

His recent pardon by President Trump corrected something our courts never did.

I admire Ross. And like with Snowden, I can hold that admiration even while acknowledging complexity.

I say this as someone who voted for Trump and agrees with many of his stances.

I believe in strong, secure borders.

But I also believe we need a more compassionate and streamlined process for immigration and asylum.

Security and mercy are not opposites — we can pursue both.

But I’ll also say this:

I’m troubled by some of the recent moves Trump has made.

The promotion of meme coins by Trump feels flippant and off-base when so many Americans are struggling to understand real monetary sovereignty.

Even more disturbing are reports that his administration contracted with companies like Palantir to build a vast data infrastructure — the kind that could be used to track, profile, and suppress U.S. citizens.

That’s a betrayal of the very freedom we claim to defend.

And it reveals a deeper conflict I can’t ignore:

How can we champion liberty with one hand while constructing surveillance tools with the other?

This isn’t about party.

It’s about principle.

And if I’m honest, the one thing that’s hardest for me to tolerate — in myself or in others — is hypocrisy.

Not disagreement. Not even failure.

But posturing. Pretending. Saying one thing and doing another.

That’s what corrodes trust — in politics, in faith, in freedom itself.

Because if your definition of freedom only includes people who think, live, or vote like you —

it’s not freedom. It’s favoritism.

Bitcoin reminds me of a better standard.

It doesn’t care about your politics, background, beliefs, or identity.

It’s borderless. Neutral. Permissionless.

It just works — for everyone.

Bitcoin gives us a glimpse of a freer world — not perfect, but principled.

A world where disagreement isn’t a threat, and dignity isn’t earned.

That’s the kind of future worth building — not with slogans, but with truth, grace, and work that lasts.

Zap me if this resonates.

Push back if it doesn’t — that’s freedom too.

---

### ✍️ Acknowledgment

This piece was shaped with help from Dr. C (ChatGPT) to organize and clarify ideas, but the heart of it — the desire to seek truth over comfort, and to honor people over posture — comes from a deeper place.

Any wisdom here I credit to the Holy Spirit, who leads us into all truth (John 16:13) and continues to stir the courage to speak it — even when it's uncomfortable.

---

### 📘 Footnote

Reporting confirms that the Trump administration contracted Palantir Technologies to develop large-scale federal data platforms consolidating personal information from the IRS, Social Security Administration, immigration systems, and more. Palantir also secured a $30 million contract to build “ImmigrationOS,” a surveillance tool for ICE. These systems raise serious concerns among civil liberties advocates.

- [Economic Times](https://tinyurl.com/22bdv72d)

- [Immigration Policy Tracker](https://tinyurl.com/2686bgvy)

@ a39d19ec:3d88f61e

What do you even print with it besides decorative objects?

This kind of question still is a common one when talking about 3d printing.

With this series of long-form notes I will show you some of the practical and useful 3d printed things, that I use a lot.

Let me start the series with a nice little print consisting of two parts.

Laptop riser

There are many designs of laptop risers available online. But I like that the parts are small and interlocking, so that the are always together when not in use. The riser fits all laptops in our house. Particularly when working in Fusion360 my laptop needs lots of fresh air. I use the raiser regularly about 3 times a week. Sadly I don't know where I downloaded it from, so I cannot provide a link to it.

@ 06639a38:655f8f71

1) How did you spend your time?

I continued to write and publish more detailed weekly updates here: https://nostrver.se/blog. These updates are also cross-posted via Nostr as long-form content.

All commits on the main branch from 01-03-2025 till 30-04-2025: https://github.com/nostrver-se/nostr-php/commits/main/?since=2025-03-01&until=2025-04-30 

NIP-19 bech32-encoded entities

This has been implemented in the library, see https://github.com/nostrver-se/nostr-php/pull/68 

Added getTag method to the Event class

https://github.com/nostrver-se/nostr-php/commit/5afa38a45d3371bf79c78cda4d93be3ecef86985 

Added a profile class to fetch profile metadata of a given pubkey

https://github.com/nostrver-se/nostr-php/commit/0e6cbbb80b08b2b38722d4cef68205c64b70b205 

Drupal nJump module which implements Nostr-PHP

This Drupal module which is providing these Nostr features is FOSS and uses the Nostr-PHP library for doing the following:

• Request the event from one or more relays
• Decode the provided NIP-19 identifier

For now this module is way for me to utilize the Nostr-PHP library with Drupal for fetching events.
Any event and a NIP-19 identifier can now be fetched with the following URL pattern:
https://nostrver.se/e/{event_id|nevent1|note1|addr1}

As an example, take this URL https://nostrver.se/e/nevent1qvzqqqqqqypzqmjxss3dld622uu8q25gywum9qtg4w4cv4064jmg20xsac2aam5nqqsqm2lz4ru6wlydzpulgs8m60ylp4vufwsg55whlqgua6a93vp2y4g3uu9lr fetches the data from one or more relays. This data is then being saved as a (Drupal) node entity (in a database on the server where this website is hosted, which is located in my tiny office). With this saved node, this data is now also available at https://nostrver.se/e/0dabe2a8f9a77c8d1079f440fbd3c9f0d59c4ba08a51d7f811ceeba58b02a255/1 where the (cached) data is server from the database instead. It's just raw data for now, nothing special about it (yet).

Contributions to the library

• NIP-04 + NIP-44
  https://github.com/nostrver-se/nostr-php/pull/84 
  https://github.com/nostrver-se/nostr-php/pull/88
• NIP-05 internet identifier lookup
  https://github.com/nostrver-se/nostr-php/pull/89
• Allow verification of Event objects
  https://github.com/nostrver-se/nostr-php/pull/86
• Work in progress: NIP-17 direct messages
  https://github.com/nostrver-se/nostr-php/pull/90

All these contributions are made by Djuri who is working on the Nostr integration in https://satsback.com and on a private messaging browser client https://n17.chat.

Removed the CLI tool from the library

See https://github.com/nostrver-se/nostr-php/pull/93 

New / updated documentation at nostr-php.dev

I started to explore what is possible generating documentation using Goose as an AI agent and Claude as the LLM provider. Bootstrapping new pages with documentation works very well while I point to several resources to be used as input for the LLM (using the example snippets in the Nostr-PHP library and the Nostr NIP repository).
All commits on the master branch from 01-03-2025 till 30-04-2025: https://github.com/nostrver-se/nostr-php.dev/commits/master?since=2025-03-01&until=2025-04-30 

• Updated the page how to handle tags on a event, see https://nostr-php.dev/guides/manage-tags-on-an-event#getting-specific-tags
• Added a instructions to try out the library online at https://nostr-php.dev/guides/get-started
• Work in progress, NIP-19 documentation: https://github.com/nostrver-se/nostr-php.dev/tree/feat/nip19docs and https://nostr-php.dev/guides/nip19

Some analytics

Source: https://packagist.org/packages/swentel/nostr-php/stats 

Other Nostr stuff I would to mention I worked on

NIP-B0 web bookmarks with CCNS.news

I moved https://ccns.nostrver.se to a own domain https://ccns.news and has integrated NIP-B0 which we worked out how to handle web bookmarks via Nostr. Before this NIP was merged, there were already some other Nostr clients handling web bookmarks:

• https://yumyu.me
• https://pinja.app

Also Fiatjaf started to work on an annotation noting tool (browser extension) called Lantern (which is a fork of https://hypothes.is) integrating Nostr for creating highlights and annotations on a webpage with text. This extension can also be used to bookmark web pages.

On CCNS.news there is a global feed now: https://ccns.news/global which fetches all the web bookmark events with kind 39701 from several public Nostr relays. I had a rough idea to compare feeds generated with NDK and Nostr-PHP (for both using the same set of relays):

When you post a bookmark now on the site, a kind 39701 event is transmitted to some Nostr relays (take a look at this event for example). Optionally you can also publish this content as a note to the network.

2) What do you plan to work on next quarter?

• Already work in progress:
  • Review and merge PR with NIP-17
    https://github.com/nostrver-se/nostr-php/pull/90
  • Implement NIP-65 with RelayListMetadata class
    https://github.com/nostrver-se/nostr-php/pull/100
  • Implement DMRelayList class
    https://github.com/nostrver-se/nostr-php/blob/main/src/Event/List/DmRelaysList.php
  • Review and implements extra metadata fields for profile
  • https://github.com/nostrver-se/nostr-php/pull/94
  • Implement PersistantConnection class
    https://github.com/nostrver-se/nostr-php/pull/99
  • Review and merge PR NIP-13 proof of work
    https://github.com/nostrver-se/nostr-php/pull/97
  • Review and merge PR for implementing methods (TODO's) on Relay and RelaySet class
    https://github.com/nostrver-se/nostr-php/pull/95
• Planned:
  • Research how the revolt/event-loop package can be used to serve as a sort of a message bus for handling async and concurrent requests in the library
  • Build a stable 2.0.x release
    • By default and full async concurrent requests support
• Add / update documentation on https://nostr-php.dev:
  • Direct messages with NIP-04 and NIP-17
  • Encrypted payloads with NIP-44
  • Instructions how to bootstrap a Nostr profile with a given pubkey
• Host the https://nostr-php.dev website as a static website using Blossom.
  See https://github.com/lez/nsite  and https://github.com/hzrd149/nsite-ts

3) How did you make use of the money?

• Livings costs

4) Is there anything we could help with?

I would love to see a (closed/private) digital place with other Nostr OpenSats grantees where we can share our experiences and challenges. We could give feedback to each other as a form of encouragement. For example I'm curious how other grantees are explaining the work they to other which are not familiar with FOSS, Nostr and/or Bitcoin.

@ 06639a38:655f8f71

Nostr-PHP

All commits on the main branch between 19-05 and 25-05: https://github.com/nostrver-se/nostr-php/commits/main/?since=2025-05-19&until=2025-05-25 

• Merged PR #95 finish implementing methods Relay and RelaySet
• Merged PR #90 implementing NIP-17 private direct messages

• Made some progress on the persistentConnection class for fetching messages from a relay in runtime (realtime)

New release: 1.8.0

What's Changed

• feat: Implement NIP-05 lookups by @dsbaars in https://github.com/nostrver-se/nostr-php/pull/89
• NIP 44 implementation fix and test improvements by @dsbaars in https://github.com/nostrver-se/nostr-php/pull/88
• remove CLI tool from library - https://github.com/nostrver-se/nostr-p… by @Sebastix in https://github.com/nostrver-se/nostr-php/pull/93
• Add extra metadata fields for profile by @dsbaars in https://github.com/nostrver-se/nostr-php/pull/94
• Finish implementing methods Relay and RelaySet by @dsbaars in https://github.com/nostrver-se/nostr-php/pull/95
• Implement NIP-17 Private Direct Messages by @dsbaars in https://github.com/nostrver-se/nostr-php/pull/90

Full changelog: https://github.com/nostrver-se/nostr-php/compare/1.7.1...1.8.0 
Link: https://github.com/nostrver-se/nostr-php/releases/tag/1.8.0

@ a39d19ec:3d88f61e

October's daily driver is the ana-digi Casio ABX-53 Twincept with module 1326. It features are world time, stopwatch, alarm and a databank for contacts.

Design

I have the gold/silver colored variant with a metal band. The watch has an analog clock and a floating display with the features listed above. Best thing is the "slider" mode that switches digital functions permanently.

Storytime

My log tells me that i bought the watch 6 years ago on a local flea market for close to nothing. It was in a bad condition and needed a new battery and some love. Sure enough it works fine since then. Most badass feature is that the analog hands are moved electronically not mechanically. Fun fact is that even my wife likes the floating display. First time she saw it I heard her say "Das ist echt cool", meaning "thats really cool".

@ 5c26ee8b:a4d229aa

In March 2022, I have introduced “VCPs”; (Virtual Currency points). So that the international transactions are made without relying on one currency or another and the financial crises are easily avoided.

You may have noticed that banks are increasing their gold reserves and that there are interests for local virtual currency and that was after the note was published.

The picture of the note showing its date will be in attachment to this post; I can’t edit it to avoid that its date gets changed. Here its content:

Conversion of international banking system: The “VCPs” system: * Each central bank would keep its assets and funds in homeland. * Establishing the value of one virtual currency point. I suggested that: 1 virtual currency point (VCP) = 0.1 gram of gold. * Virtual evaluation must be made to each currency, virtual currency points must be added to each currency’s market value. * International transfers and payments must use the virtual currency points, VCPs,  assigned to each currency in international operations. * Daily, weekly, monthly or yearly the actual money corresponding to the virtual currency points used in payments and transfers will be sent by any chosen mean of transport to the banks that had completed the operations or to the corresponding central banks. In this way no currency would prevail in international payments as all currencies will be considered as VCPs. —————————————————————- Because of the need of more guidelines to start using VCPs I have published the following updates:

VCPs allowance updates:

• Not only gold, also precious stones or agreed minerals held in banks can be used to obtain the VCPs allowance (public VCPs allowances). At the same time what is registered and kept in circulation (of gold, precious stones and agreed minerals that belongs to the people) in the country as private VCPs allowances to increase the VCPs allowances. The people can use their personal VCPs along with their precious items for purchases; for example if they sell or use their own gold to buy something, they must give their VCPs registration receipt or card (if they didn’t register their gold to obtain VCPs allowance, they can get it registered at the moment they decide to sell it so it gets added to the private VCPs allowances of his/her country). However, the registered materials must be declared at all borders while traveling once exceeded an internationally agreed specific amount (such as the value of €10000). Therefore a registration method can be agreed with gold and jewelry shops. For instance, while evaluating the materials getting registered, an online VCPs account (for a first registration) can get made on the site that is getting ready and the registration can be combined with a physical/online card (VCPs allowance card. For registering other materials in a later moment, the same card can be used to access the same account. Note that the materials must be used with the private VCPs allowance card for buying or selling, while for public VCPs accounts it’s not necessary because the materials will be kept in the central bank or other banks) or a receipt with a serial number (and other methods to protect customers from fraud). Banks can buy private VCPs while buying gold or other agreed materials and make them public VCPs. And people can have public VCPs allowances corresponding to the value of money (currency) they have already in their accounts. While if people buy gold from the bank (with cash or any other payment method), the related public VCPs allowance will be transformed into private ones (the buyers must receive the actual gold with the private VCPs allowance).
• The agreed materials that can be used to obtain public VCPs must not be consumable (such as oil or natural gas) or used for industrial purposes (such as iron or lithium).
• The printed and online (used by credit or debit cards) currency kept in circulation of the concerned country must correspond to the value of public VCPs allowance that must correspond with the value of gold kept in the central bank (printing more money will decrease its own value internationally).
• Private banks in the same country can have a public VCPs agreement with the central bank so that each bank registers and declares how much gold or valuable materials it has and get its own share of public VCPs allowance and its related printed/online currency in circulation.
• Gems and gold kept in museums can have public VCPs allowances that correspond to their weights only not the archeological values.
• International trade can use public VCPs allowances and the physical payment must follow; either by a preferred currency or gold. However if two or more countries have a trade agreement they can barter goods using IVCPs (International VCPs Allowances; that does not need to have a deposited amount of gold although they will use the same reference as public or private VCPs because it’s a general way to evaluate goods of different types; so for example oil can be swapped for electronics based on how much IVCPs are agreed to be equally swapped each year; i.e. a gallon of oil that costs 50 IVCPs can be swapped for a device that costs 25 IVCPs and grains that cost 25 IVCPs in an International VCPs Allowance Agreement where all parties receives the agreed goods without transferring money or gold). The amount of IVCPs can be agreed per year or there could a multiple online account/s viewable by the countries/parties taking part in the agreement showing the balance of International VCPs that can still be used in bartering goods for each one of the participating countries/parties).
• Cryptocurrencies can be like International VCPs they won’t need to have a deposit of gold, however they must go through an evaluation process compared to their current comparative value and gold (i.e. the amount of bitcoin that must be paid to buy a 0.1g of gold now can become the fixed value) so that the Cryptocurrencies can still be used for trading or bartering for goods even after the release of VCPs. The Cryptocurrencies can sustain the deficiencies of amount of currency that can be used in the same country or internationally (because not everyone can have enough gold deposited to sustain the daily trade). However regulations on the amount of Cryptocurrency/ies exchanged in a country must be agreed with its own central bank or there could be an international agreement; this amount can’t be less than what’s already in use of a certain Cryptocurrency. Or Cryptocurrencies can be exchanged with IVCPs (to protect people’s money while keeping in mind their compared value with gold now) and an amount of International VCPs allowance can be used also for bartering goods in the same country through an agreement with its own central bank.
• Public VCPs must have printable cash allowance that can be in the country or overseas (registered in banks, exchange companies and at borders). Each bank can have registers of local or foreign cash.
• In order to avoid the devaluation of the currency, because the printed money will corrisponde to the gold or valuable minerals held by the country, the concerned country must retrieve the cash abroad and replace it either with another currency or IVCPs through a trade agreement.
• To compensate the deficit of VCPs necessary for daily use within a country and to make a proper distinction, locally, Local Virtual Points (LVCPs) can be used.
• The Local VCPs would be issued by local authorities.

Meanwhile, countries started using the free VCPs platform that is built by a talented web developer in JavaScript; fiatjaf. I insist though that the trade name for the virtual currency points stays “VCPs” and that the clients are made aware of its usage in their daily banking.

@ c9badfea:610f861a

1. Install Notally (it's free and open source)
2. Open the app, tap ≡, and select Settings
3. Tap View and switch to Grid
4. Return to the main screen
5. Tap ☑ to create a task list and ✏️ to create a note
6. Enjoy!

ℹ️ You can also add pictures and set reminders for notes and task lists

ℹ️ Add labels to the notes (e.g. "Diary", "Snippet" or "Knowledge")

ℹ️ Use emojis to enhance titles (e.g. "🛒 Purchases" and "🔗️ Links")

@ a39d19ec:3d88f61e

This months daily driver is the #Casio A100WE with module 3503. It features am/pm time, date and weekday, alarm and a stopwatch.

Design

The design is plain and simple. 4 front facing Button, a small but surprisingly readable display. It has a resin casing with metal surface and a black rubber band.

Storytime

There is not much to say about this watch. I remember buying it for my collection because it was on sale some time ago. There is one version with the colour accents near the buttons, that looks much nicer.

@ c9badfea:610f861a

1. Install Currencies (it's free and open source)
2. Launch the app, tap ⋮ and select Settings
3. Enable the Foreign Transaction Fee to factor in conversion fees if necessary
4. Tap Data Provider and choose another provider if necessary
5. Enjoy ad-free conversion rates

ℹ️ Tap 📈 to open the exchange rate chart

@ 2cde0e02:180a96b9

Frida Kahlo: outline and inked.

pen & ink; monochromized

"Kahlo's work as an artist remained relatively unknown until the late 1970s, when her work was rediscovered by art historians and political activists. By the early 1990s, not only had she become a recognized figure in art history, but she was also regarded as an icon for Chicanos, the feminism movement, and the LGBTQ+ community. Kahlo's work has been celebrated internationally as emblematic of Mexican national and Indigenous traditions and by feminists for what is seen as its uncompromising depiction of the female experience and form."

Source: Wikipedia

https://stacker.news/items/1000840

@ 975e4ad5:8d4847ce

Selfishness as Bitcoin’s Engine

Bitcoin, created by Satoshi Nakamoto, operates on a clear mechanism: miners use computational power to solve complex mathematical puzzles, verifying transactions on the network. In return, they earn rewards in Bitcoin. This is pure self-interest—miners want to maximize their profits. But while pursuing personal gain, they inadvertently maintain the entire system. Each new block added to the blockchain makes the network more stable and resilient against attacks. The more miners join, the more decentralized the system becomes, rendering it nearly impossible to manipulate.

This mechanism is brilliant because it taps into human nature—the desire for personal gain—to create something greater. Bitcoin doesn’t rely on altruism or good intentions. It relies on rational self-interest, which drives individuals to act in their own favor, ultimately benefiting the entire community.

The World Works the Same Way

This concept isn’t unique to Bitcoin. The world is full of examples where personal interest leads to collective progress. When an entrepreneur creates a new product, they do so to make money, but in the process, they create jobs, advance technology, and improve people’s lives. When a scientist works on a breakthrough, they may be driven by fame or financial reward, but the result is often a discovery that changes the world. Even in everyday life, when we buy products or services for our own convenience, we support the economy and encourage innovation.

Of course, self-interest doesn’t always lead to positive outcomes. Technologies created with good intentions can be misused—for example, in wars or for fraud. But even these negative aspects don’t halt progress. Competition and the drive for survival push humanity to find solutions, learn from mistakes, and keep moving forward. This is the cycle of development: individual self-interest fuels innovations that make the world more technological and connected.

Nature and Bitcoin: The DNA Parallel

To understand this mechanism, let’s look to nature. Consider the cells in a living organism. Each cell operates independently, following the instructions encoded in its DNA—a code that dictates its actions. The cell doesn’t “know” about the entire body, nor does it care. It simply strives for its own survival, performing its functions. But when billions of cells work together, following this code, they create something greater—a living organism.

Bitcoin is like the DNA of a decentralized system. Each miner is like a cell, following the “instructions” of the protocol to survive (profit). They don’t think about the entire network, only their own reward. But when all miners act together, they create something bigger—a global, secure, and resilient financial system. This is the beauty of decentralization: everyone acts for themselves, but the result is collective.

Selfishness and Humanity

Humans are no different from cells. Each of us wants to thrive—to have security, comfort, and success. But in pursuing these goals, we contribute to society. A teacher educates because they want to earn a living, but they shape future generations. An engineer builds a bridge because it’s their job, but it facilitates transportation for millions. Even in our personal lives, when we care for our families, we strengthen the social bonds that make society stronger.

Of course, there are exceptions—people who act solely for personal gain without regard for consequences. But even these outliers don’t change the bigger picture. Selfishness, when channeled correctly, is a driver of progress. Bitcoin is proof of this—a technology that turns personal interest into global innovation.

Bitcoin is more than just a cryptocurrency; it’s a mirror of human nature and the way the world works. Its design harnesses selfishness to create something sustainable and valuable. Just like cells in a body or people in society, Bitcoin miners work for themselves but contribute to something greater. It’s a reminder that even in our pursuit of personal gain, we can make the world a better place—as long as we follow the right “code.”

@ dfa02707:41ca50e3

Contribute to keep No Bullshit Bitcoin news going.

• RoboSats v0.7.7-alpha is now available!

NOTE: "This version of clients is not compatible with older versions of coordinators. Coordinators must upgrade first, make sure you don't upgrade your client while this is marked as pre-release."

• This version brings a new and improved coordinators view with reviews signed both by the robot and the coordinator, adds market price sources in coordinator profiles, shows a correct warning for canceling non-taken orders after a payment attempt, adds Uzbek sum currency, and includes package library updates for coordinators.

Source: RoboSats.

• siggy47 is writing daily RoboSats activity reviews on stacker.news. Check them out here.
• Stay up-to-date with RoboSats on Nostr.

What's new

• New coordinators view (see the picture above).
• Available coordinator reviews signed by both the robot and the coordinator.
• Coordinators now display market price sources in their profiles.

Source: RoboSats.

• Fix for wrong message on cancel button when taking an order. Users are now warned if they try to cancel a non taken order after a payment attempt.
• Uzbek sum currency now available.
• For coordinators: library updates.
• Add docker frontend (#1861).
• Add order review token (#1869).
• Add UZS migration (#1875).
• Fixed tests review (#1878).
• Nostr pubkey for Robot (#1887).

New contributors

• @hexlorn made their first contribution in #1858.
• @umk0m1qk made their first contribution in #1864.

Full Changelog: v0.7.6-alpha...v0.7.7-alpha

GitHub Repo

@ 9ca447d2:fbf5a36d

Wall Street is warming up to Bitcoin and getting closer and closer to it.

Cantor Fitzgerald, one of the oldest and most respected investment banks on Wall Street, has launched a $2 billion bitcoin-backed lending program.

They’ve reportedly already done their first deals, lending to two big digital asset companies: FalconX and Maple Finance.

This is a big step in connecting traditional finance to the fast-moving world of Bitcoin.

Cantor’s new service allows big investors, hedge funds and asset managers, to borrow money using bitcoin as collateral.

This is a game changer for institutions that hold bitcoin, as they can now access liquidity without having to sell their assets.

“Institutions holding bitcoin are looking to broaden their access to diverse funding sources,” said Christian Wall, co-CEO and global head of fixed income at Cantor Fitzgerald.

“And we are excited to support their liquidity needs to help them drive long term growth and success.”

The loans are not speculative or unsecured.

They are structured like traditional finance deals, backed by the borrower’s bitcoin. This reduces the risk for Cantor while giving bitcoin-holding companies new ways to grow and operate.

The first recipients of Cantor’s lending program are FalconX, a digital asset brokerage, and Maple Finance, a blockchain-based lending platform.

FalconX confirmed they secured a credit facility of over $100 million. Maple Finance also received the first tranche of their loan from Cantor.

This comes at a time when the bitcoin lending space is recovering after a tough period. Several big firms went under in 2022 and investor confidence was shaken.

Now with traditional finance on board, bitcoin-backed lending has returned. According to Galaxy Research the total size of the digital asset lending market grew to $36.5 billion in Q4 2024.

Cantor’s move into bitcoin-backed lending isn’t new. They announced their plans in July 2024 and have been building their presence in the Bitcoin space since then.

Earlier this year, they partnered with Tether, SoftBank and Bitfinex to launch Twenty One Capital, a $3.6 billion fund to buy over 42,000 bitcoin.

In May 2025 Cantor Equity Partners merged with Twenty One Capital and bought nearly $459 million worth of bitcoin.

They also own around $1.9 billion in shares of Strategy, a company that holds a lot of bitcoin. Clearly Cantor believes in bitcoin as a long-term asset.

Cantor is also a big player in the stablecoin space.

They manage U.S. Treasury reserves for Tether, the company behind the $142 billion USDT stablecoin. This adds another layer of trust and credibility to Cantor’s digital asset involvement.

To secure the bitcoin used as collateral, Cantor has partnered with digital asset custodians Anchorage Digital and Copper.co.

These companies are known for their robust security and institutional-grade infrastructure. Cantor hasn’t disclosed loan terms or interest rates but confirmed the lending will follow current regulations.

This also shows how traditional financial players are embracing DeFi.

Maple Finance for example allows undercollateralized lending using blockchain. By backing companies like Maple, Cantor is innovating while still having control and compliance.

For years, bitcoin-backed loans were only available through digital-asset-native companies like Genesis, BlockFi, and Ledn.

These loans were mostly for smaller clients and retail investors. But with Cantor’s entry, the scale and professionalism of bitcoin lending are expanding.

@ 81022b27:2b8d0644

I’ve always gravitated to ideas and topics that are not quite mainstream:

Well, like CHIROPRACTIC.

But even in chiropractic school, I went fringe. I heard about one of the technique clubs (Toftness) that showed you how you could detect a subluxation by just rubbing your thumb over a piece of plexiglass.

We were discussing that in a group, and most of my friends were saying:

“What a load of shit!”

And that made my ears perk up.

So I started going to the club meetings.

I walk in, and there’s a guy face down on a chiropractic table while another guy was holding what looked like some sort of cyberpunk lens. He started rubbing it and worked it down the guy's spine.

He pointed out areas that were subluxated:

“Here.”

And going further down:

“Here.”

And:

“Here.”

Wow.

Then he “adjusted” by touching the spine with his index finger.

My mind was blown.

So you mean I didn’t have to be adjusted the way Harvey Fish did?

Dr. Fish was a great guy and would adjust students for, I think, $10. You’d go in, wait to see if he had any “real patients.” In between patients, he would adjust the students. He was heavy-handed and sure as hell able to move a bone.

So now I’m intrigued and curious. I studied and practiced any chance I had. I had different friends that I studied different things with.

(Except for Dyslexic Dave - nobody wanted to study with that guy. Our group did once, and we all failed a test. His dyslexia was so powerful, it overcame all of us.)

I’d study all the weird stuff with my friend Victoria, and then we would go get our network chiropractic adjustment from Dr. Michael Scimeca.

I found out that it wasn’t the Toftness lens that had the super-powers. Instead, it was because when your hand detected a change in energy over the spinal segments, there's a “galvanic response” similar to that of a polygraph lie detector test. So it made the skin on my hand “sweat,” and that made the plexiglass squeak and stick.

So it wasn’t the equipment. It was me.

After a while, I realized that I could feel a warmth on my chest right before the lens squeaked. So, I ditched the lens and started working on people where I “felt” the subluxations were located.

Seemed to work well - I always double-checked my “regular” chiropractic findings with what I felt. We studied for exams, then practiced technique on each other.

One time at a seminar, the instructor demonstrated what to do and asked for volunteers - one to be the patient and the other to be the doctor. I watched this guy struggling with his patient. It looked like he had flippers instead of hands; the whole interaction was super awkward.

All of a sudden, I started feeling uncomfortable and just blurted out:

“For God’s sake, leave him alone! Can’t you tell he is super annoyed and angry?”

Oops.

The instructor said, “Yes, maybe we should take a break.”

The guy that was the patient came up to me and asked, “How did you know?”

“I don’t know, I just felt it,” I said.

After that I started trying to see if I could feel what others were feeling. So when I was bored in a class, I’d go down the rows and try to feel what the my fellow students felt and quickly move on.

Going down the row: nothing, nothing nothing. This guy is pissed off, next one: nothing, nothing, Ow! She has a headache.

Dammit! Now I have a headache!

So that turned into a problem: When I worked on someone that had pain or other symptoms, I would take those on for myself. And the person I worked on would leave feeling great.

My friend Juanita did what is called an "attunement," and I became a Reiki Master.

Reiki masters are supposed to move energy around, but I was afraid I’d pick up too much of someone’s vibe and it would make me uncomfortable.

Plus, I can’t be doing energy work if I’m a chiropractor now.

So I kept all that checked and on the "down low"; sometimes I would get a "feeling" about a client while I was working on them. Surprisingly, it was always correct and it helped my client to make progress.

At some point, I started feeling that I needed to be true to myself, and if I had these abilities and I was able to use them to help the people that came to see me, then that's what I was going to do.

I've embraced this side of my work. If my clients need some emotional work, that’s what we work on, if they need some energy work, then they get it.

I suppose some people don’t want a chiropractor that’s metaphysical, but really-that’s how it all started. There are plenty of “evidence-based” chiropractors out there that can’t adjust their way out of a paper bag.

If the power goes off, they couldn’t use their lasers or whatever machine the Chiropractic Physiotherapy Industrial Complex wants you to buy now.

While I appreciate all the fancy parties they throw for us at continuing education seminars, they are infiltrating the chiropractic schools and now we are pumping out new chiropractors that only think they will be successful if they have the latest and greatest shiny machine.

I’ve studied a bunch of different things, I’ve found what works for me and refined it.

I tell my clients :

“I’m a better chiropractor today than I was yesterday, and I was pretty good back then!”

So I guess my next step is teaching some of this information and hoping to pass it on before my time here is up.

And you know what? I will love every damn minute of it!

There's nothing quite like sharing the weird, the wonderful, and the downright strange ways we can help people heal.

So, let's get to it—I've got a lot of sharing and teaching to do—it's going to be exciting!

@ a39d19ec:3d88f61e

This months proof of watch or #wristcheck (inspired by nostr:nprofile1qqs8nh529w5huhuqvx0h5zm8e5ncdenk7qvfpsl3huxu84xnfnr6uespr9mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujumt0d4hhxarj9ecxjmnt9uxu0nnm) is the Casio MTD-1001 with caliber 1333 and a quartz clockwork.

Design

A solid analog watch with weekday and day of month at 3 o'clock. Classified as a divers watch it has a pretty big dial within a 44mm metal casing leading to big hands that are very readable. Hands and numbers are phosphorus. The counter-clockwise rotating bezel does 60 clicks per revolution. The screw-down crown is at 3'o clock. The rubber band is pretty long.

Storytime

I bought it a long time ago and just saw that it needed some love (and a new battery) and thought it is a good opportunity to wear it for the first time. I wear one watch as a daily driver for one month straight. Wearing it for seven days now I can say that it is a heavy watch. You feel that you are wearing it. To be honest I completely forgot about that watch as it was a bulk of 5 or 6 watches and this was not the one I bought the bulk for.

This might be the first longform note about a watch from my collection.

@ 63d59db8:be170f6f

In a world overwhelmed by contradictions—climate change, inequality, political instability, and social disconnection—absurdity becomes an unavoidable lens through which to view the human condition. Inspired by Albert Camus' philosophy, this project explores the tension between life’s inherent meaninglessness and our persistent search for purpose.\ \ The individuals in these images embody a quiet defiance, navigating chaos with a sense of irony and authenticity. Through the act of revolt—against despair, against resignation—they find agency and resilience. These photographs invite reflection, not on solutions, but on our capacity to live meaningfully within absurdity.

Visit Katerina's website here.

Submit your work to the NOICE Visual Expression Awards for a chance to win a few thousand extra sats:

https://noicemagazine.com/SUBMISSIONS

@ 81022b27:2b8d0644

I have a family practice where I see pretty much everything, from infants to the elderly, athletes to people with disabilities.

When someone gets good results, they always want their loved ones to benefit in the same way.

Husbands tell their wives, wives bring in their husbands...

I even had a guy bring both his wife and his girlfriend! On different days, of course.

So, sometimes we notice a little bit of drama here and there. When one of our couples divorces, someone usually gets custody of the chiropractor.

It's rare that I keep seeing both parties.

It's probably for the best, because there was this one time when a guy showed up with his new "friend" while the ex’s best friend was in the waiting area.

Well, it was like an episode of the "Jerry Springer Show" that day.

Let's get to the story:

This one guy I’d been working on started coming in more frequently, complaining of more pain, more aches, more everything.

I've been doing this for a while now, so I told him that when I see this, it's one of two things:

Either you are physically doing something to aggravate the issue,

Or you are under emotional stress.

He told me that he and his wife were having problems, and there was lots of drama.

Of course, I kept working on him. Sometimes I did some emotional work, but with men, I have to be very business-like when dealing with emotions because we don't like to deal with them.

Time passed, and they finally divorced.

He still comes in regularly, and I've noticed he has less pain and fewer issues. His visits are more like "wellness visits"; he seems in better spirits.

I thought I'd never see the ex-wife again, but she showed up today, and when I checked her, she's doing better than ever!

It got me thinking... these people are way better off divorced! They're not in constant fight-or-flight mode; I'm sure they are happier or will be. It's a positive all the way around.

I've been divorced twice. That's not something I'm proud of. I see both those divorces as failures.

I was 23 when I got married the first time. We were both super young and unprepared. We struggled for four years, and then she wanted out.

Not that I blame her; I was unhappy with myself, and my frustration and unhappiness bled into the relationship.

My second marriage lasted a lot longer than the first. After all we were older, ended up having 2 kids and I really, really tried.

I was just terrified of losing my girls. I even recall saying that I was willing to be miserable and unhappy just “for the kids”

The truth is once we separated, I probably spent more “quality time” with my daughters than I had before.

But here’s the thing in both marriages I would have willingly given up the chance to be happier with a clean end to the relationship in order to give it another shot.

At some point you just run out of shots.

I see elderly couples out at restaurants and they hardly say anything to each other. Is it because they know each other so well that they don’t need to speak, or is one of them silently praying the other one will drop dead so they will finally have a chance at happiness?

What I’m trying to say here is:

Maybe there is no hope for that relationship that you are giving CPR

Maybe it’s time to move on.

Live Long and Prosper. 🖖

@ a39d19ec:3d88f61e

Ich habe meine Texte ChatGPT gegeben um diese klarer zu formulieren als das was ich schrieb.

Einleitung

Oft hört man, dass schlechte Produkte ein Zeugnis des Kapitalismus und gieriger Unternehmer ist. Dass es nicht am Kapitalismus, sondern am sozialistischen Fiatgeld liegt, möchte ich in diesem Beitrag aufzeigen.

In einem Fiatgeldsystem, bei dem die Geldmenge durch Zentralbanken kontrolliert und ständig ausgeweitet wird, kommt es zu einem Kaufkraftverlust des Geldes (Inflation). Dieser Mechanismus beeinflusst die Geschäftsstrategien von Unternehmen in mehreren bedeutenden Weisen, auf die ich im Folgenden eingehen werde.

Schnelle Kaufkraftverluste

Durch die ständige Ausweitung der Geldmenge verliert Geld an Wert. Das bedeutet, dass die Konsumenten zukünftig für dieselben Produkte mehr bezahlen müssen. Für Unternehmen entsteht der Anreiz, Konsumenten dazu zu bringen, häufiger neue Produkte zu kaufen, um ihren Umsatz und Gewinn in der Zukunft zu sichern.

Geplante Obsoleszenz

Durch die geplante Obsoleszenz, bei der Produkte absichtlich so konstruiert werden, dass sie schnell kaputt gehen oder veralten, können Unternehmen sicherstellen, dass Kunden regelmäßig neue Produkte kaufen müssen. Dies hilft den Unternehmen, kontinuierlich Umsatz zu generieren und die Auswirkungen der Inflation auf ihre Einnahmen abzufedern.

Erhöhung des Konsumtempos

Wenn die Kaufkraft ständig abnimmt, möchten Konsumenten ihr Geld eher früher als später ausgeben, um den Wertverlust zu vermeiden. Unternehmen nutzen dies aus, indem sie Produkte herstellen, die schnell ersetzt werden müssen, wodurch der Konsum beschleunigt wird und sie von der höheren Frequenz der Käufe profitieren.

Kostenmanagement

Die Herstellung von langlebigen Produkten kann teurer sein als die Produktion von kurzlebigen Waren. In einem inflationären Umfeld möchten Unternehmen ihre Produktionskosten minimieren, um ihre Margen zu schützen. Billigere, weniger langlebige Produkte ermöglichen es, Kosten zu sparen und kurzfristig wettbewerbsfähige Preise zu halten.

Marktdynamik

In einem inflationären Umfeld kann es für Unternehmen riskant sein, große Mengen langlebiger Produkte zu produzieren, da die zukünftigen Produktionskosten und Verkaufspreise schwerer vorhersehbar sind. Kurzlebige Produkte ermöglichen eine schnellere Anpassung an veränderte Marktbedingungen und Preisniveaus.

Kundengewohnheiten und Marketing

Unternehmen können durch gezieltes Marketing und die ständige Einführung neuer Modelle und Trends (z.B. in der Elektronik- und Modebranche) das Konsumverhalten beeinflussen und sicherstellen, dass Produkte als schnell veraltet angesehen werden. Dies unterstützt das Geschäftsmodell, das auf häufige Neuanschaffungen angewiesen ist.

Zusammenfassend lässt sich sagen, dass die inflationäre Dynamik eines Fiatgeldsystems Unternehmen dazu verleitet, Produkte zu entwerfen, die nicht lange halten. Durch die beschleunigte Produktalterung und die häufigeren Käufe können sie ihre Einnahmen stabilisieren und den Auswirkungen des Wertverlustes des Geldes entgegenwirken.

@ c11cf5f8:4928464d

Howdy stackers! Here we are again with our monthly Magnificent Seven, the summary giving you a hit of what you missed in the ~AGORA territory.

First thing first. let's check our top performing post Ads!

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Top-Performing Ads

This month, the most engaging ones are:

• 01 Bitcoin Magazine Launches V3 Limited Edition Bitcoin Crocs by @RideandSmile, no description, nor images provided. The title speak for the product itself. 31 sats \ 8 comments \ 15 May

• 02 Happy Pizza Day Jerky Offer (10k sats sale 5/22 ONLY) by @beejay, celebrating Bitcoin Pizza Day with a delicious offer for a handmade product. Offer is over but it still available on her online shop and IRL at next Twin Cities Outdoor Agora Market https://stacker.news/items/972209/r/AG 103 sats \ 3 comments \ 22 May

• 03 Lard Tallow lotion by @byzantine, sharing with us one of his preferred online shops that accept sats. Here other two: a Regenerative Farm in TX https://stacker.news/items/983695/r/AG and an artisanal lite roast coffee maker https://stacker.news/items/983668/r/AG 62 sats \ 4 comments \ 20 May

• 04 Bitaxe Gamma 601 for sale by @PictureRoom selling P2P, have you shipped it yet? 121 sats \ 12 comments \ 15 May

• 05 Built An Invisible Book Stage by @kr, he did well creating some expectations for this unique and durable product earlier https://stacker.news/items/903946/r/AG 124 sats \ 4 comments \ 21 May

• 06 "₿lack Market Money" T-Shirts by T&F by @BitcoinErrorLog, that had opened his online store with plenty of incredible products, including an Anti-Surveillance clothing line https://stacker.news/items/994555/r/AG stuff never seen before! 51 sats \ 3 comments \ 24 May

• 07 [SELL] Heatpunk 002 Tee by @thebullishbitcoiner, reviving the second edition of a t-shirt dedicated to home solo miners! 79 sats \ 1 comment \ 28 May

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In case you missed

Here some interesting post, opening conversations and free speech about markets and business on the bitcoin circular economy:

• https://stacker.news/items/992449/r/AG - @Kontext is selling his beloved 2012 Jaguar XF 3.0 V6 Petrol [5M sats], great deal if paid in sats! Have you sold her?
• https://stacker.news/items/987241/r/AG - @RideandSmile shared the Freedom Issue: Letter From the Editor introducing a BM special edition
• https://stacker.news/items/999229/r/AG - @Solomonsatoshi was looking for Green Coffee Beans for DIY home roasting. Will @michaelbinary provide you some?
• https://stacker.news/items/992790/r/AG - @Rayo also introduce the P.A.Z.NIA Radio Network: 52 Hours of Liberation! An interesting livestream for all those interested in freedom.
• https://stacker.news/items/995163/r/AG welcome to @lunin, opening up on SN with Take it step by step and it will work! as part of a promising series: Founder's Thoughts. Here the second post https://stacker.news/items/999867/r/AG Startup according to Mozart

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Hey sellers! Try Auctions

A quick reminder that now you can setup auctions here in the AGORA too! Learn how. The other feature released last month was the introduction of Shopfronts on SN. Check our SN Merch and SN Zine examples. Thank you all! Let's keep these trades coming and grow the P2P Bitcoin circular economy!

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Active Professional Services accepting Bitcoin in the AGORA

Let us know if we miss any, here below the most memorable ones: - https://stacker.news/items/900208/r/AG - @unschooled offering Language Tutoring - https://stacker.news/items/813013/r/AG - @gpvansat's [OFFER][Graphic Design] From the paste editions (It's important to keep these offers available) - https://stacker.news/items/775383/r/AG - @TinstrMedia - Color Grading (Styling) Your Pictures as a Service - https://stacker.news/items/773557/r/AG - @MamaHodl, MATHS TUTOR 50K SATS/hour English global - https://stacker.news/items/684163/r/AG - @BTCLNAT's OFFER HEALTH COUNSELING [5K SAT/ consultation - https://stacker.news/items/689268/r/AG - @mathswithtess [SELL] MATHS TUTOR ONILINE, 90k sats per hour. Global but English only.

Let me know if I'm missing other stackers offering services around here!

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Lost & Found in SN' Wild West Web

Stay with me, we're not done yet! I found plenty of other deals, offers and business related conversations in other territories too...

• BITCOIN... always fucking with my head... by @thecommoner (highly recommended read!)
• The Strange Moral Relativism of "Free Trade" by @Undisciplined (another highly recommended read!)
• What makes society thrive? by @aljaz
• Drop or proxy shipping services that take sats? by @lv99slacker
• Custom Bitcoin Nodes by @anon
• 23 Bitcoin Merch Shops That Sell Shirts For Sats by @hyperfree
• How to create an e-commerce website? by @Bitcoiner1
• Can You Outperform an Apple Tree? by @kr
• B2B Businesses in Bitcoin by @telcobert

Oh boy! Such exciting month! Now our latest weekly appointments:

🏷️ Spending Sunday

(LIVE TODAY) Share your most recent Bitcoin purchases of just check what other stackers are buying with their sats! Today's one open at https://stacker.news/items/1000477/r/AG

All series available here:

🤝 Sellers & Business Club

(UPCOMING EVERY TUESDAY) Here https://stacker.news/items/998773/r/AG wanted to introduce this new series, dedicated to our most active sellers^1. A room to talk about growing business and sales. You will join?

📢 Thursday Talks: What have you sold for Bitcoin this week?

It is losing a bit of momentum, but it will still be opening every week for anyone interested to share sales tips, deals and offers around the Wild West Web! Latest one here https://stacker.news/items/997767/r/AG

Thanks all for reading until here, now... 🫡 Closing remarks as usual. See ya!

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Create your Ads now!

Looking to start something new? Hit one of the links below to free your mind:

• 💬 TOPIC for conversation,
• [⚖️ SELL] anything! or,
• if you're looking for something, hit the [🛒 BUY]!
• [🧑‍💻 HIRE] any bitcoiner skill or stuff from bitcoiners
• [🖇 OFFER] any product or service and stack more sats
• [🧑‍⚖️ AUCTION] to let stackers decide a fair price for your item
• [🤝 SWAP] if you're looking to exchange anything with anything else
• [🆓 FREE] your space, make a gift!
• Start your own [SHOPFRONT] or simply...
• [⭐ REVIEW] any bitcoin product or LN service you recently bought or subscribed to.

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Or contact @AGORA team on nostr DM, and we can help you publish a personalized post.

. #nostr #bitcoin #stuff4sats #sell #buy #plebchain #grownostr #asknostr #market #business

https://stacker.news/items/1000715

@ 41fa852b:af7b7706

"The poison was never forced - it was offered gently, until you forgot it was poison at all." - Mark Twain

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Happy Sunday, folks.

Below is your weekly roundup of events for the coming week.

Added to the event section this week, an exciting new Scottish Bitcoin Conference, happening in August.

Check out all the details below.

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This week's sponsor is…

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Upcoming Bitcoin Meetups

Happening this week…

1. Dundee Bitcoin: Join them on the 2nd Monday of every month from 17:30 to 20:30 PM at The Wine Press, 16 Shore Terrace, Dundee DD1 3DN. This month's meetup is on Monday 9th. 🍻

2. Canterbury Bitcoin: Meeting this month at the The Dolphin Pub in Canterbury at 7 PM on Tuesday the 10th of June. An informal meetup to discuss Bitcoin and chat. 🍺

3. Glasgow Bitcoin: Meetups are held every second Wednesday of the month. This is a place for people in and around Glasgow to discuss Bitcoin. 18:00 - 23:00 at The Piper Bar, G1 1HL. This month on Wednesday 11th. 🍻

4. St Albans: This is a new meetup happening on the second Wednesday of each month. This month, it's from 19:00 to 22:00 on the 11th at the Robin Hood of St Albans, Victoria St, St Albans. 🍻

5. Children of Riddim - Festival - Bitcoin Stage: Children of Riddim Festival is bringing Bitcoin to the big stage from the 12th--16th June in Hemel Hempstead, with 150+ DJs, artists, and speakers. The Barn of Freedom will host Bitcoin talks, music, and Nostr-powered apps. Tickets and donations for the stage can be made via geyser.fund, with camping included. Acts/speakers include Joe Bryan, Metamick, Roger9000, Angor, and more. 🎉🪩

6. Bitcoin Beach Bournemouth: Every second Thursday of the month at Chaplins Cellar Bar. 529 Christchurch Road, Boscombe, United. You'll find them in the Cogg Room at 19:30. This month it's the 12th. 🍺

7. Bury St Edmunds Bitcoin: is reviving the medieval spirit of the Folkmoot, one Bitcoin meetup at a time. Their second gathering takes place this Friday at 17:30 at Edmundo Lounge. They've also just launched a brand new website.

8. Stoke Bitcoin Meetup: The Stoke Bitcoin meetup is back! They will have Bitcoin coffee to taste, delivered by hand directly from the mountains of El Salvador and grown by @lacruzboss in Berlin, El Salvador. 15:00 on Friday 13th. ☕️🍻

9. Bitcoin Walk - Edinburgh: Every Saturday they walk around Arthur's Seat in this historic city. Join them at 12 pm to chat about all things Bitcoin and keep fit. 🚶🏽‍♂️🚶🏼‍♀️🚶🏻

10. Bitcoin East: Join Bitcoin East in Bury St. Edmunds on Sunday 15th, 12:00 at Hopsters Bar, Felixstowe. All welcome, Bitcoiners and anyone else curious about Bitcoin. 🍺

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New Businesses Accepting Bitcoin

This week we have…

• Core Agency: A creative communications firm that blends financial expertise with bold storytelling to help businesses in finance and beyond stand out. Based in the UK, they specialise in strategic planning, brand identity, content production, and public relations, delivering everything from investor-focused media to high-impact digital campaigns. With in-house studios for video, animation, and live streaming, Core offers end-to-end solutions that are both visually compelling and commercially effective. Their mission is to bring clarity, creativity, and confidence to brands navigating complex markets. Whether you're a fintech startup or a global institution, Core helps you communicate with purpose and originality. Now accepting bitcoin payments. 📈

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Upcoming Special Events

These events aren't happening next week, but they're important to add to your calendar now as tickets are selling fast.

The Bitcoin Beach Retreat: An annual Bitcoin-only gathering held at a scenic coastal campsite in North Wales. Celebrating its fifth year in 2025, the retreat offers a relaxed, community-driven alternative to traditional conferences.

From July 11--14, up to 120 Bitcoiners will come together to share knowledge, enjoy beachside BBQs, and strengthen their networks under the stars. With no pre-booked speakers, the event thrives on peer-led workshops and spontaneous discussions, fostering genuine connections among attendees. Emphasising local engagement, the retreat directs the majority of its funds into the surrounding community, with 42% of expenses paid in Bitcoin last year.

Whether attending solo or with family, attendees can expect a welcoming environment dedicated to sound money and shared values.

Scottish Bitcoin Conference: Taking place on August 23, 2025, at the Glasgow University Union, located at 32 University Avenue, Glasgow G12 8LX. From 09:00 to 16:30.

Featuring an impressive roster of speakers, including Anthony Scaramucci, Hashley Giles, Rick Messit, Dr. Peter Connor, Claire Chisholm, Roger9000, John Magill, Ian Scanlon, Robin Thatcher, Jamie Plowman, Robbie Maltby, Russell Rukin, Peter Lane, Francesco Madonna, and Sam Roberts.

Open to all, this conference offers a unique opportunity for Bitcoiners and newcomers alike to connect and learn in the vibrant setting of Glasgow.

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Get Involved

• Volunteer: Passionate about merchant adoption? Reach out to Bridge2Bitcoin on Twitter or website.
• Start a Meetup: Want to launch a Bitcoin meetup? We'll support you. Contact us on Twitter or just reply to this email.
• Contribute to BTCMaps: Help maintain this key Bitcoin resource--no coding skills needed. Update a UK area.
• Telegram: Join our Channel for UK meetup updates
• Feedback: Reply to this email with ideas and suggestions.

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This week's sponsors is…

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Get out and support the meetups where you can, visit Bitcoin Events UK for more info on each meetup and to find your closest on the interactive map.

Stay tuned for more updates next week!

Simon.

@ 5c26ee8b:a4d229aa

Generally mentioning God, Allah, by reciting/reading the Quran or performing Salat (compulsory prayer), for instance, brings tranquility to the heart of the believer. The Salat, other than being the first deed a Muslim would be questioned about on Judgement Day, it keeps the person away from the forbidden wrong deeds too. The Salat is sufficient for obtaining God’s provision as he decrees the means for it to reach the person. Wasting or missing performing the Salat or mentioning God (Allah) by reciting/reading the Quran or Tasbieh, can lead to following the desires only and a depressed life as well as punishment in the Thereafter.

13:28 Ar-Ra'd

‎الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَتَطْمَئِنُّ قُلُوبُهُمْ بِذِكْرِ اللَّهِ ۗ أَلَا بِذِكْرِ اللَّهِ تَطْمَئِنُّ الْقُلُوبُ

Those who have believed and whose hearts are assured (tranquillised) by the remembrance of Allah. Unquestionably, by the remembrance of Allah hearts are assured (tranquillised)."

29:45 Al-Ankaboot

‎اتْلُ مَا أُوحِيَ إِلَيْكَ مِنَ الْكِتَابِ وَأَقِمِ الصَّلَاةَ ۖ إِنَّ الصَّلَاةَ تَنْهَىٰ عَنِ الْفَحْشَاءِ وَالْمُنْكَرِ ۗ وَلَذِكْرُ اللَّهِ أَكْبَرُ ۗ وَاللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ مَا تَصْنَعُونَ

Recite, [O Muhammad], what has been revealed to you of the Book and establish prayer. Indeed, prayer prohibits immorality and wrongdoing, and the remembrance of Allah is greater. And Allah knows that which you do.

11:114 Hud

وَأَقِمِ الصَّلَاةَ طَرَفَيِ النَّهَارِ وَزُلَفًا مِنَ اللَّيْلِ ۚ إِنَّ الْحَسَنَاتِ يُذْهِبْنَ السَّيِّئَاتِ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ ذِكْرَىٰ لِلذَّاكِرِينَ

And establish prayer at the two ends of the day and at the approach of the night. Indeed, good deeds do away with misdeeds. That is a reminder for those who remember.

20:132 Taa-Haa

وَأْمُرْ أَهْلَكَ بِالصَّلَاةِ وَاصْطَبِرْ عَلَيْهَا ۖ لَا نَسْأَلُكَ رِزْقًا ۖ نَحْنُ نَرْزُقُكَ ۗ وَالْعَاقِبَةُ لِلتَّقْوَىٰ

And enjoin prayer upon your family [and people] and be steadfast therein. We ask you not for provision; We provide for you, and the [best] outcome is for [those of] righteousness.

20:124 Taa-Haa

وَمَنْ أَعْرَضَ عَنْ ذِكْرِي فَإِنَّ لَهُ مَعِيشَةً ضَنْكًا وَنَحْشُرُهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ أَعْمَىٰ

And whoever turns away from My remembrance - indeed, he will have a depressed life, and We will gather him on the Day of Resurrection blind."

20:125 Taa-Haa

قَالَ رَبِّ لِمَ حَشَرْتَنِي أَعْمَىٰ وَقَدْ كُنْتُ بَصِيرًا

He will say, "My Lord, why have you raised me blind while I was [once] seeing?"

20:126 Taa-Haa

قَالَ كَذَٰلِكَ أَتَتْكَ آيَاتُنَا فَنَسِيتَهَا ۖ وَكَذَٰلِكَ الْيَوْمَ تُنْسَىٰ

[Allah] will say, "Thus did Our signs come to you, and you forgot them; and thus will you this Day be forgotten."

20:127 Taa-Haa

وَكَذَٰلِكَ نَجْزِي مَنْ أَسْرَفَ وَلَمْ يُؤْمِنْ بِآيَاتِ رَبِّهِ ۚ وَلَعَذَابُ الْآخِرَةِ أَشَدُّ وَأَبْقَىٰ

And thus do We recompense he who transgressed and did not believe in the signs of his Lord. And the punishment of the Hereafter is more severe and more enduring.

20:128 Taa-Haa

أَفَلَمْ يَهْدِ لَهُمْ كَمْ أَهْلَكْنَا قَبْلَهُمْ مِنَ الْقُرُونِ يَمْشُونَ فِي مَسَاكِنِهِمْ ۗ إِنَّ فِي ذَٰلِكَ لَآيَاتٍ لِأُولِي النُّهَىٰ

Then, has it not become clear to them how many generations We destroyed before them as they walk among their dwellings? Indeed in that are signs for those of intelligence.

49:17 Al-Hujuraat

‎يَمُنُّونَ عَلَيْكَ أَنْ أَسْلَمُوا ۖ قُلْ لَا تَمُنُّوا عَلَيَّ إِسْلَامَكُمْ ۖ بَلِ اللَّهُ يَمُنُّ عَلَيْكُمْ أَنْ هَدَاكُمْ لِلْإِيمَانِ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ صَادِقِينَ

They consider it a favor to you that they have accepted Islam. Say, "Do not consider your Islam a favor to me. Rather, Allah has conferred favor upon you that He has guided you to the faith, if you should be truthful."

53:29 An-Najm

‎فَأَعْرِضْ عَنْ مَنْ تَوَلَّىٰ عَنْ ذِكْرِنَا وَلَمْ يُرِدْ إِلَّا الْحَيَاةَ الدُّنْيَا

So turn away from whoever turns his back on Our message and desires not except the worldly life.

53:30 An-Najm

‎ذَٰلِكَ مَبْلَغُهُمْ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ ۚ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ هُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِمَنْ ضَلَّ عَنْ سَبِيلِهِ وَهُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِمَنِ اهْتَدَىٰ

That is their sum of knowledge. Indeed, your Lord is most knowing of who strays from His way, and He is most knowing of who is guided.

53:62 An-Najm

‎فَاسْجُدُوا لِلَّهِ وَاعْبُدُوا ۩

So prostrate to Allah and worship [Him].

@ 4fe14ef2:f51992ec

Let's support Bitcoin merchants! I'd love to hear some of your latest Lightning purchases and interesting products you bought. Feel free to include links to the shops or businesses you bought from.

Who else has a recent purchase they’re excited about? Bonus sats if you found a killer deal! ⚡

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

Like and repost: X: https://x.com/AGORA_SN/status/1931657445916766655 N: https://njump.me/note1qqqsgu9pgx2u6yt2dv0c5yedpzrqalaqe3rf3lwxfu4a0w6wemtsy0eyfu

https://stacker.news/items/1000477

@ 975e4ad5:8d4847ce

Bitcoin Is Not Just an Asset

When Satoshi Nakamoto introduced Bitcoin in 2009, the vision was clear: a decentralized currency for everyday transactions, from buying coffee to paying bills. It was designed to bypass banks and governments, empowering individuals with financial freedom. But when Bitcoin is treated as “digital gold” and locked away in wallets, it fails to fulfill this vision. Instead of replacing fiat currencies, it becomes just another investment, leaving people reliant on dollars, euros, or other traditional currencies for their daily needs.

The Problem with HODLing and Loans

Some Bitcoin enthusiasts advocate holding their coins indefinitely and taking loans against them rather than spending. This approach may seem financially savvy—Bitcoin’s value often rises over time, and loans provide liquidity without selling. But this prioritizes personal gain over the broader goal of financial revolution. Someone who holds Bitcoin while spending fiat isn’t supporting Bitcoin’s mission; they’re merely using it to stay wealthy within the existing system. This undermines the dream of a decentralized financial future.

Lightning Network: Fast and Cheap Transactions

One common argument against using Bitcoin for daily purchases is the high fees and slow transaction times on the main blockchain. Enter the Lightning Network, a second-layer solution that enables near-instant transactions with minimal fees. Imagine paying for groceries or ordering a pizza with Bitcoin, quickly and cheaply. This technology makes Bitcoin practical for everyday use, paving the way for widespread adoption.

Why Using Bitcoin Matters

If Bitcoin is only hoarded and not spent, it will remain a niche asset that shields against inflation but doesn’t challenge the fiat system. For Bitcoin to become a true alternative currency, it must be used everywhere—in stores, online platforms, and peer-to-peer exchanges. The more people and businesses accept Bitcoin, the closer we get to a world where decentralized currency is the norm. This isn’t just an investment; it’s a movement for financial freedom.\ \ Bitcoin wasn’t created to sit idly in wallets or serve as collateral for loans. It’s a tool for change that demands active use. If we want a world where individuals control their finances, we must start using Bitcoin—not just to avoid poverty, but to build a new financial reality.

@ dab6c606:51f507b6

I've been interested for a while in how the business with miles and loyalty points works. I found out that only large corporations can partially do this because of how they can then account for it. And it's tax-wise super advantageous. I also added info about loyalty points and gift cards. The text below was written by various AIs as I was digging into it, it's basically a summary, sharing for those who are interested.

Part I: Loyalty Programs of Large Corporations

Business Logic of Loyalty Programs

Loyalty programs of airlines and hotels are sophisticated business tools that serve several key purposes. They primarily function to increase customer loyalty by creating "switching costs" - customers don't want to lose accumulated points, which reduces the likelihood they'll switch to competitors.

At the same time, they're a significant source of additional revenue. For example, American Airlines earns more from selling miles to banks than on some flight routes. When Citibank buys miles for 1-2 cents per mile, the airline gets immediate revenue, while the real value for the customer can be 3-5 cents when used correctly.

Accounting Treatment of Loyalty Points

From an accounting perspective, loyalty points represent deferred liabilities. When a customer earns points, the company must create a reserve for their future redemption. Points are valued based on expected costs of their redemption, not on nominal value.

The key difference is between cash accounting and accrual accounting: - Cash accounting: Revenue is recognized when payment is received, expenses when paid. - Accrual accounting: Revenue and expenses are recognized when the obligation arises.

For loyalty programs, accrual accounting is critical. When an airline sells miles to a bank for $1,000,000, it simultaneously creates a liability for future costs (say $600,000), so taxable income is only $400,000.

Example: Selling Miles to a Bank

An airline sells 50 million miles to Citibank for $1,000,000: 1. Immediate revenue: $1,000,000 2. Creation of liability: $600,000 (estimated future costs) 3. Taxable income: $400,000 4. Future costs: When customers use miles, the company recognizes the expense and reduces the liability

Positive margin arises from several factors: - Breakage - 15-20% of miles are never redeemed - Time value of money - Money from the bank is invested immediately - Marginal costs - An empty seat has low incremental cost

Tax Optimization and Offshore Structures

Large companies often use international structures to optimize taxes from loyalty programs. A typical structure includes: 1. Parent company (USA/EU) - Operates flights and provides services (e.g., flights or accommodation). 2. IP Holding (Ireland/Netherlands) - Owns intellectual property (IP) for the loyalty program, such as brands, software, and databases. 3. Loyalty Operating Company (Singapore/Dubai) - Manages sale of miles to banks and partners, coordinates the program and communicates with customers.

Business Relationships and Payments Between Entities (example with positive result for Singapore)

These entities are connected by contracts that determine who pays for what and why, to minimize tax burden: - Bank → Singapore (Loyalty Operating Company): The bank (e.g., Citibank) pays $1,000,000 for miles it offers to its clients as rewards for using credit cards. The Singapore company is the main contact point for partners because it's located in a low-tax jurisdiction (17%) with good infrastructure for financial services. - Singapore → Ireland (IP Holding): The Singapore company pays $500,000 as royalties for using IP (brands, software, and data) of the loyalty program. This payment is high to shift profit to Ireland, where the tax rate is even lower (12.5%). This reduces taxable income in Singapore. - Singapore → Parent Company (Airline): The Singapore company pays $300,000 to the parent company for providing services (e.g., flights) when customers use miles. This payment is lower than actual costs to minimize profit in the parent company's country, where the tax rate is higher (e.g., 25-35% in USA or EU). - Profit in Singapore: $1,000,000 (income from bank) - $500,000 (royalties to Ireland) - $300,000 (payment to airline) = $200,000 profit, taxed at 17% in Singapore.

Why Such Distribution?

• Ireland (IP Holding): High royalty payments ($500,000) go to Ireland because the 12.5% tax rate is attractive and Ireland is considered a "serious" jurisdiction that meets international rules (e.g., BEPS). Ireland also has double taxation treaties with many countries, facilitating profit shifting.
• Singapore (Loyalty Operating Company): Mile sales and program coordination occur in Singapore due to favorable tax environment (17%) and strategic location for Asian markets. A small profit ($200,000) is left here to demonstrate "economic substance" - that the company has real activity.
• Parent Company: The $300,000 payment is low to minimize taxable income in a high-tax country (e.g., USA or EU).

Why Not 0% Tax Jurisdiction?

Why not use a zero-tax country (e.g., Cayman Islands)? Due to: - Regulatory scrutiny - Tax authorities closely monitor 0% jurisdictions and may question legitimacy. - BEPS rules - Need to demonstrate "substance" (real offices, employees) in the country. - Credibility test - 12.5% in Ireland or 17% in Singapore looks like legitimate business operation.

The result of such structure is that most profit (60-70%) is taxed at 12.5% in Ireland or 17% in Singapore instead of 25-35% in the airline's home country.

Part II: Loyalty Programs and Alternatives for Small Businesses

Why Loyalty Programs Are Problematic for Small Businesses

Unlike large corporations, small businesses like cafes face a fundamental problem with loyalty programs: cash accounting obligation. In many countries, small firms (under $25M annually) must use cash accounting, which means: - Revenue from selling points is taxed immediately - Costs are deducted only when customers use points (maybe a year later) - Creates tax and cashflow problem - tax is paid on money you'll "lose" in the future

Imagine a cafe that sells loyalty points for €100. It must immediately pay tax (say €21), but deducts coffee costs provided for points only in the future.

Alternative Models for Small Businesses

There are more tax-advantageous alternatives:

1. Gift Cards Model

• Revenue is NOT RECOGNIZED when selling gift card
• Revenue is recognized only when customer uses the card
• Example: Sell gift cards for €10,000 in December, get cash immediately, but pay tax gradually as customers use cards during the following year.
• Time value of money: Money can be invested (e.g., 6% annually = €600 extra profit on €10,000)
• Breakage benefit: 2-10% of cards are never used, after certain time (3-5 years, depending on legislation) you can recognize the balance as pure profit.

Example: Starbucks Starbucks had $1.5 billion in unused gift cards on its books in 2022. Estimated 3% breakage means $45 million pure profit – interest-free loan from customers with bonus that part never returns.

2. Subscription Model

• Monthly revenue = immediate taxation
• Monthly costs = immediate deduction
• Example: €10/month for "premium membership" with certain benefits

3. Discount Coupons

• No revenue when issuing coupon
• Reduced revenue when redeeming (sell at lower price)
• Example: 20% discount coupon = sell coffee for €4 instead of €5

Outsourcing Loyalty Program: Details About Shopify Loyalty

Platforms like Shopify Loyalty represent an elegant solution for small businesses wanting to offer loyalty programs without accounting and tax complications. Let's break this down in detail:

How Shopify Loyalty Works

• Shopify as third party: Shopify owns and manages the entire loyalty program including points and software. The customer has their "account" directly with Shopify, not with the specific store. This means points are not your liability, but Shopify's liability.
• Your role: You (e.g., cafe) pay Shopify a monthly fee (e.g., €29) for using the platform and a small transaction fee (e.g., €0.20) for each point redemption (reward). You're essentially a "service provider" for Shopify – you provide rewards when Shopify sends you an order.
• Earning points: Customer earns points for purchases in stores participating in Shopify Loyalty program. For example, if customer buys coffee for €5 in your cafe, Shopify credits them points (e.g., 5 points per euro, so 25 points). Specific rules (how many points per euro) are set by you through Shopify platform, but technically points are managed by Shopify.
• Using points: Customer can use points for rewards (e.g., free coffee for 100 points), but usually only in stores participating in Shopify network. This means if your cafe uses Shopify Loyalty, points earned with you can be used with you or other stores in Shopify ecosystem, if Shopify allows it. Usually, however, stores set up the program so points are primarily usable with them, increasing loyalty to their brand.
• Point redemption process: When customer wants to use points (e.g., 100 points for free coffee), Shopify sends order to you (cafe) to provide the reward. You give the coffee but don't receive direct payment from customer – it's a marketing cost. You also pay Shopify transaction fee (€0.20). Accounting-wise, it's not a sale, so no taxable income or receipt obligation arises.
• Accounting treatment: When customer uses points:
• No receipt = no taxable income
• Coffee cost (€2) + Shopify fee (€0.20) = €2.20
• Recorded as "Promotional expenses" or "Marketing costs"

Why Must Loyalty Program Be Outsourced to Third Party (like Shopify)?

Small businesses don't have capacity or resources to manage their own loyalty program "in-house" for these reasons: - Tax and accounting complexity: If you managed loyalty program yourself, you'd have to create reserves for future liabilities (points customers will use later), estimate breakage rate (percentage of unused points) and handle cash vs. accrual accounting. For small firms that often must use cash accounting, this means immediate taxation of revenue if selling points, but cost deduction only in the future – creates cashflow mismatch. - Technological infrastructure: Managing points, customer databases and integration with payment systems requires sophisticated software and IT team, which is expensive and complicated for small firms. - Legal separation: When program is managed by third party like Shopify, points are their liability, not yours. For you, this means no future liabilities in your accounting books – just monthly costs (Shopify fee), which are tax-deductible as regular expense. - Economic efficiency: Shopify aggregates thousands of stores, achieving economies of scale – lower costs for software, security and data management. A small cafe could never create such system at reasonable price alone.

Why Can't It Be In-house from Tax Perspective?

If small firm managed loyalty program itself: - Immediate tax problem: If firm sold points (e.g., for money or as part of purchase), revenue would have to be taxed immediately, though costs for providing rewards (e.g., free coffee) could be deducted only when customer uses points. This creates cashflow mismatch because you pay tax before actually "losing" money on reward. - Complex reserves: Would have to estimate how many points will be used and create accounting reserves, which is administratively demanding and requires expensive accountants or software. - Risk of errors: Incorrect breakage rate estimates or poor liability management can lead to tax audits and penalties.

With Shopify, these problems are eliminated – you only pay monthly fee and transaction fees, which are simply recorded as marketing costs. Shopify takes full responsibility for managing points and liabilities to customers.

Case Study: Loyalty Points for Cafe (10 + 1 Free Model)

Let's look at specific case of small cafe offering classic loyalty program type "10 + 1 free". Customer gets 1 point for each coffee purchased (e.g., for €3) and after collecting 10 points gets one free coffee. We'll analyze how this works accounting-wise, whether it's "promotional expense" and what's the difference between in-house management and using Shopify.

How "10 + 1 Free" Program Works

• Earning points: Customer buys coffee for €3 and gets 1 point (e.g., stamp on card or digital record). Points have no monetary value for sale – they're purely reward for purchase.
• Using points: After collecting 10 points (meaning purchases for €30) customer gets free coffee (value €3).
• Real cost for cafe: Cost of producing free coffee is lower than selling price, e.g., €1.50 for materials and labor.

Accounting Treatment (In-house)

If cafe manages program itself (in-house), accounting process depends on whether it uses cash accounting (common for small firms) or accrual accounting: - Cash accounting: - When customer buys coffee: Cafe records €3 revenue for each coffee and issues receipt. Point (stamp) has no monetary value, so it's not recorded as liability or revenue. - When redeeming 10 points: When customer gets free coffee, no revenue arises (€0), but cost for coffee production arises (€1.50). This cost is recorded as "Promotional expense" or "Marketing cost" because it's form of discount or advertising to retain customer. - Tax impact: No revenue when issuing free coffee, €1.50 cost is tax-deductible as regular expense. - Accrual accounting (less common for small firms): - When customer buys coffee: Cafe records €3 revenue but simultaneously creates small liability for future reward (e.g., €0.30 per point, which is estimate of cost for future free coffee divided by 10). So from €3 revenue, taxable income is only €2.70. - When redeeming 10 points: When customer gets free coffee, cafe reduces liability by €3 (10 points x €0.30) and records €1.50 cost for coffee production. Difference can be adjusted as breakage or other profit if estimates differ from reality. - Tax impact: Taxable income is lower already at first purchase, but accounting is more complex due to estimates and reserves.

Is it Promotional Expense? Yes, in both cases (cash and accrual) the cost of free coffee is recorded as "Promotional expense" or "Marketing cost" because it's form of discount to support customer loyalty. It's not considered regular sale because no revenue or receipt arises.

Accounting Treatment (via Shopify Loyalty)

If cafe uses Shopify Loyalty to manage "10 + 1 free" program, process is simpler: - When customer buys coffee: Cafe records €3 revenue for coffee and issues receipt. Shopify credits point to customer's account (it's not your liability, but Shopify's). - When redeeming 10 points: Shopify sends order to issue free coffee. Cafe gives coffee (€1.50 cost) and pays Shopify transaction fee (€0.20). Total cost €1.70 is recorded as "Promotional expense" or "Marketing cost". - Tax impact: Same as in-house, no revenue when issuing free coffee, €1.70 cost is tax-deductible as regular expense. Additionally, you don't have to handle any liabilities or breakage estimates because Shopify manages points.

Difference Between In-house and Shopify

• In-house:
• Advantages: Full control over program, no monthly fees to third party (e.g., €29 Shopify fee).
• Disadvantages: If using accrual accounting, must create reserves and estimate breakage, which is administratively demanding. With cash accounting it's simpler (no liabilities), but if you sold points for money, tax mismatch arises (revenue taxed immediately, cost only later). Additionally, must manage point database yourself (stamps, software), which is time-consuming.
• Shopify Loyalty:
• Advantages: No liabilities in your accounting books, Shopify manages points and technology. Accounting-wise it's simple – just monthly fee (€29) and transaction fees (€0.20) as marketing cost. Don't have to handle estimates or breakage.
• Disadvantages: Pay monthly fees and transaction fees, increasing costs (e.g., €0.20 extra per free coffee). Have less control over program because third party manages it.

Conclusion for Cafe: "10 + 1 free" program is accounting-wise considered Promotional expense in both cases (in-house and Shopify) because free coffee is form of marketing to retain customers. Difference is in administrative burden and costs – Shopify simplifies accounting and management, but at cost of monthly fees. In-house is cheaper but more demanding to manage, especially if you wanted to use accrual accounting or sell points for money.

Conclusion

Loyalty programs are sophisticated customer loyalty tools, but their accounting and tax aspects differ significantly between large and small firms. Large corporations use accrual accounting and international structures for tax optimization, while for small businesses alternative models like gift cards or outsourcing entire program are often more advantageous, eliminating tax and cashflow problems. Gift cards additionally bring immediate cash flow, time value of money and breakage benefit, making them ideal tool for businesses of all sizes. Shopify Loyalty offers small firms way to implement loyalty program without accounting complications because it takes technical and legal responsibility, allowing focus on core business. For simple programs like "10 + 1 free," accounting impact is similar (Promotional expense), but Shopify simplifies management at cost of additional fees.

@ 5ea46480:450da5bd

Neutrality can be a confusing notion. It implies some sort of a-political position, yet neutrality is in itself a political position. But what it means, or how neutrality expresses itself is in a lack of bias or preference; it is the act of non-decision where we see neutrality. As a result, some conflation can occur, because this ‘non-decision’ can be the result of two things: Either being in the position to decide, but choosing not to, what we can perhaps call ‘active neutrality’. Or, the sheer inability to express and actuate preference, where we could call that ‘passive neutrality’.

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, aka ICANN, is an actively (for the most part) neutral institution. It has all the power and control to express its preferences, and censor basically all the relevant and most actively used parts of the world wide web. But it doesn’t (for the most part), because we recognize the value of this neutral stance. The only reason they are actively instead of passively neutral, is due to technical reasons; we simply don’t know of any workable way to remove the controlling body from the system, and we would if we could. Instead we encapsulated it in all kinds of power obscuring institutions and structures to mitigate the issue.

The reason the controlling body has to exist, is because the objective is a ‘global state’ (global as it is understood in programming, meaning as much as ‘overarching’). The point is that google.com, means/refers to the same thing wherever you are. The added value of some simple human readable and memorable address ‘google.com’ falls apart the moment it becomes inconsistent. The only way to ensure this, is to put a single entity in charge. We employ these ‘global states’ in all kinds of places in society, often with geographical boundaries we call ‘jurisdictions’, but at the very least you know where those lines are drawn and can therefor know what to expect.

There is one exception to this ‘rule’ that ‘global state’ requires a single entity to be in charge: Bitcoin. It is the whole crux of the system; on the one hand we require ‘global state’ in order to have consistent accounting, but on the other hand we did not want anyone to be in charge. The goal of Bitcoin was neutrality, and it found it by capturing ‘passive’ variant by making the system ‘permissionless’. Now it is crucial to understand that non of Bitcoins attributes are intrinsic, but instead are emergent and the result of human action. Also, Bitcoins ‘global state’ is stupendously expensive and does not scale. The fact that those things were not properly understood is what lead to the BlOcKcHaIn hype, believing this passively neutral global state could be implemented outside the realms of money. But this piece is not about Bitcoin, or blockchains for that matter.

The reason I talk about them, is to point out that this passive neutrality is an emergent property not actually found within the system at all. You as user still rely on a third party in what we call miners, and those miners are free to be as biased and non-neutral as they want; in fact we sort of rely on them to be biased towards money. You don’t get your transaction confirmed because a miner likes you, but because you sufficiently bribed him to do so. And Bitcoin’s censorship resistance relies on the hope that such bribes will at least appeal to some miner out there. Bitcoin’s neutrality is the result of there ultimately not being any one particular actor with the ability actuate its preference over time, regardless of the fact that they are able to do so in moments of time.

Nostr does something similar, just without the whole global state thing. It is not neutral because of the good graces of some overlord, it actually recognizes the foolishness of such an effort and lets anyone be as biased an non-neutral as they want, with one simple exception. The only expectation of neutrality is with clients that they adhere to the protocol and actually let users connect to whatever relay they want and produce events that other clients are capable of interpreting, i.e. that they be interoperable. But hopefully because the system is permissionless, some people decide to make such clients, and users decide to use them, instead of willfully locking themselves up. It has to be remarked that humanity does not have the greatest track-record in this regard, but the incentives behind interoperability gives us a fighting chance at least.

Nostr’s neutrality is an emergent property that is the result of human action; it relies on people setting up relays, and people making decisions on what relays they use. The type of neutrality is of the passive kind. The protocol does not provide a public space as such, it just allows you to navigate a potentially vast amount of private spaces; the commons is the connective tissue, and it is this connective tissue that is ‘neutral’. What it boils down to, is that you don’t have to ask permission to ask whomever you want to ask for permission. And in the most desperate moment, you can always resort to asking yourself for permission; I am sure you will comply with such a request.

@ 5ea46480:450da5bd

Understanding or grasping Nostr can be deceptively difficult. At the very least it is non-trivial. At first glance, looking at NIP-01, the protocol is rather straight forward. But those are just the basics; yes the beauty of Nostr is its ‘simplicity’, but that does not mean the system that results from it is not complex. Conway's Game of Life only has a hand full of rules, yet you can, in theory at least, create any complex system imaginable. And this is where the deception lies; the less you define from the outset, the more you imply on what follows.

It appears that as it stands, Nostr suffers from this deceptiveness. You can reason through all these implications, but that is still an exercise that has to be performed and where mistakes can be made. Worse, this exercise has been a group effort from the start that is still in progress. Currently there is no clear cut ‘authoritative’ example of all the implications that have been ‘discovered’ thus far.

A good example of the implications following Nostr’s primitives is what we now refer to as the ‘outbox model’. The reason we ‘now’ refer to it as such, is because initially it was called the ‘Gossip model’ derived from the client that first implemented the idea. Outbox is fundamental to Nostr, but it was never explicitly stated in the initial protocol description. The result is that roughly five years into this Nostr endeavor, it is still not universally implemented; worse yet, some developers appear to be in no rush to do so. Now the reason they will give you is probably one based on priority, yet I can’t shake the feeling that they apparently don’t ‘get it’.

My point here is not to play some blame game or hold anyone to account. I am just concluding they don’t actually get the new paradigm that we have all stumbled into. To expand on this specific outbox example, its significance only becomes really apparent further along in the ‘reasoning through all the implications’ exercise. In relation to one aspect, but there are more: The point is not ‘just’ censorship-resistance for users, but the freedom for relays that comes with it to apply whatever policy on what they store and make available; it is this discrimination or curation that can add value by making finding relevant information easier in a straightforward manner. But it relies on outbox to avoid isolation; something that only becomes apparent once you are reasoning through all the implications on how we discover and consume content.

To be clear, this piece is not supposed to a crusade on the outbox model, my point here is that there is an inherent logic to Nostr stemming from putting cryptography front and center. It is a logic that has to be applied and will subsequently carry you through all the challenges we face in reconstructing the entirety of the web. This is not to say there is only one obvious path, and different schools of thought are bound to emerge. But it behooves us all, faced with this new paradigm, to continuously reflect on the mental image we have cultivated of what Nostr is; actively re-performing that exercise of exploring the implications this simple set of protocol rules creates.

Unfortunately I can not escape my own folly. After all, I am just an armchair asshole that never wrote a single line of code in his life. Obviously this minds-eye bullshit is not even half the story, the bulk of the effort is translating it into software, the tangible, the real. It is in that effort ultimately the real exploration of this paradigm occurs. All I can do is build castles in the sky.

@ dab6c606:51f507b6

Dlhšie som sa zaujímal o to ako funguje biznis s míľami, vernostnými bodmi. Zistil som, že to čiastočne môžu robiť iba veľké korporácie kvôli tomu ako to môžu potom zaúčtovať. A je to daňovo super výhodné. Pridal som aj info o vernostných bodoch a darčekových kartách. Text nižšie napísali rôzne AI ako som sa v tom vŕtal, to je v zásade sumár, zdieľam pre tých, ktorých to zaujíma.

Časť I: Vernostné programy veľkých korporácií

Obchodná logika vernostných programov

Vernostné programy leteckých spoločností a hotelov sú sofistikované obchodné nástroje, ktoré slúžia niekoľkým kľúčovým účelom. Primárne fungujú na zvýšenie zákazníckej lojality vytvorením "switching costs" - zákazníci nechcú prísť o nazbierané body, čo znižuje pravdepodobnosť, že prejdú ku konkurencii.

Zároveň sú významným zdrojom dodatočných príjmov. Napríklad American Airlines zarába viac na predaji míľ bankám ako na niektorých leteckých linkách. Keď Citibank kupuje míle za 1-2 centy za míľu, aerolínia získava okamžitý príjem, zatiaľ čo reálna hodnota pre zákazníka môže byť 3-5 centov pri správnom využití.

Účtovné spracovanie vernostných bodov

Z účtovného hľadiska predstavujú vernostné body odložené záväzky. Keď zákazník získa body, spoločnosť musí vytvoriť rezervu na ich budúce uplatnenie. Body sa oceňujú na základe predpokladaných nákladov na ich uplatnenie, nie na základe nominálnej hodnoty.

Kľúčový je rozdiel medzi cash accounting a accrual accounting: - Cash accounting: Príjmy sa uznávajú pri prijatí platby, náklady pri zaplatení. - Accrual accounting: Príjmy a náklady sa uznávajú v momente vzniku záväzku.

Pre vernostné programy je accrual accounting kritické. Keď aerolínia predá míle banke za $1,000,000, vytvorí zároveň záväzok na budúce náklady (povedzme $600,000), takže zdaniteľný príjem je len $400,000.

Príklad: Predaj míľ banke

Aerolínia predá 50 miliónov míľ Citibank za $1,000,000: 1. Okamžitý príjem: $1,000,000 2. Vytvorenie záväzku: $600,000 (odhadované budúce náklady) 3. Zdaniteľný príjem: $400,000 4. Budúce náklady: Keď zákazníci míle využijú, spoločnosť uzná náklad a zníži záväzok

Pozitívna marža vzniká z niekoľkých faktorov: - Breakage - 15-20% míľ sa nikdy neuplatní - Časová hodnota peňazí - Peniaze od banky investuje okamžite - Marginálne náklady - Prázdne sedadlo má nízky prírastok nákladu

Daňová optimalizácia a offshore štruktúry

Veľké spoločnosti často využívajú medzinárodné štruktúry na optimalizáciu daní z vernostných programov. Typická štruktúra zahŕňa: 1. Materská spoločnosť (USA/EU) - Prevádzkuje lety a poskytuje služby (napr. lety alebo ubytovanie). 2. IP Holding (Írsko/Holandsko) - Vlastní duševné vlastníctvo (IP) k loyalty programu, ako sú značky, softvér a databázy. 3. Loyalty Operating Company (Singapur/Dubaj) - Spravuje predaj míľ bankám a partnerom, koordinuje program a komunikuje so zákazníkmi.

Obchodné vzťahy a platby medzi entitami (príklad s pozitívnym výsledkom pre Singapur)

Tieto entity sú prepojené zmluvami, ktoré určujú, kto za čo platí a prečo, aby sa minimalizovala daňová záťaž: - Banka → Singapur (Loyalty Operating Company): Banka (napr. Citibank) platí $1,000,000 za míle, ktoré ponúka svojim klientom ako odmenu za používanie kreditných kariet. Singapurská spoločnosť je hlavný kontaktný bod pre partnerov, pretože je umiestnená v jurisdikcii s nízkou daňou (17 %) a dobrou infraštruktúrou pre finančné služby. - Singapur → Írsko (IP Holding): Singapurská spoločnosť platí $500,000 ako royalty za použitie IP (značky, softvéru a dát) loyalty programu. Táto platba je vysoká, aby sa presunul zisk do Írska, kde je daňová sadzba ešte nižšia (12,5 %). Tým sa znižuje zdaniteľný príjem v Singapure. - Singapur → Materská spoločnosť (Aerolínia): Singapurská spoločnosť platí $300,000 materskej spoločnosti za poskytnutie služieb (napr. letov), keď zákazníci využijú míle. Táto platba je nižšia ako reálne náklady, aby sa minimalizoval zisk v krajine materskej spoločnosti, kde je daňová sadzba vyššia (napr. 25-35 % v USA alebo EU). - Zisk v Singapure: $1,000,000 (príjem od banky) - $500,000 (royalty do Írska) - $300,000 (platba aerolínii) = $200,000 zisku, ktorý je zdanený pri 17 % v Singapure.

Prečo takéto rozdelenie?

• Írsko (IP Holding): Vysoké royalty platby ($500,000) idú do Írska, pretože daňová sadzba 12,5 % je atraktívna a Írsko je považované za "serióznu" jurisdikciu, ktorá spĺňa medzinárodné pravidlá (napr. BEPS). Zároveň má Írsko zmluvy o zamedzení dvojitého zdanenia s mnohými krajinami, čo uľahčuje presun zisku.
• Singapur (Loyalty Operating Company): Predaj míľ a koordinácia programu prebieha v Singapure kvôli priaznivému daňovému prostrediu (17 %) a strategickej polohe pre ázijské trhy. Zároveň sa tu zanecháva malý zisk ($200,000), aby sa preukázala "ekonomická substance" – teda, že spoločnosť má reálnu činnosť.
• Materská spoločnosť: Platba $300,000 je nízka, aby sa minimalizoval zdaniteľný príjem v krajine s vysokou daňovou sadzbou (napr. USA alebo EU).

Prečo nie 0 % daňová jurisdikcia?

Prečo sa nepoužíva krajina s nulovou daňou (napr. Kajmanské ostrovy)? Kvôli: - Regulatory scrutiny - Daňové úrady pozorne sledujú 0 % jurisdikcie a môžu spochybniť legitímnosť. - BEPS pravidlám - Potreba preukázať "substance" (reálne kancelárie, zamestnancov) v krajine. - Credibility testu - 12,5 % v Írsku alebo 17 % v Singapure vyzerá ako legitímna obchodná operácia.

Výsledkom takejto štruktúry je, že väčšina zisku (60-70 %) je zdanená pri 12,5 % v Írsku alebo 17 % v Singapure namiesto 25-35 % v domovskej krajine aerolínky.

Časť II: Loyalty programy a alternatívy pre malé biznisy

Prečo je loyalty program problematický pre malé biznisy

Na rozdiel od veľkých korporácií, malé biznisy ako kaviarne narážajú pri vernostných programoch na zásadný problém: cash accounting povinnosť. V mnohých krajinách musia malé firmy (pod $25M ročne) používať cash accounting, čo znamená: - Príjem z predaja bodov sa zdaní okamžite - Náklady sa odpočítajú až keď zákazník body využije (možno o rok) - Vzniká daňový a cashflow problém - daň sa platí z peňazí, ktoré "stratíte" v budúcnosti

Predstavte si kaviareň, ktorá predá vernostné body za €100. Okamžite musí zaplatiť daň (povedzme €21), ale náklady na kávu poskytnutú za body odpočíta až v budúcnosti.

Alternatívne modely pre malé biznisy

Existujú daňovo výhodnejšie alternatívy:

1. Gift Cards model

• Príjem sa NEUZNÁ pri predaji gift karty
• Príjem sa uzná až keď zákazník kartu využije
• Príklad: Predáte gift cards za €10,000 v decembri, získate cash okamžite, ale daň platíte postupne, ako zákazníci karty využívajú počas nasledujúceho roka.
• Časová hodnota peňazí: Peniaze môžete investovať (napr. 6 % ročne = €600 extra zisk na €10,000)
• Breakage benefit: 2-10 % kariet sa nikdy nevyužije, po určitom čase (3-5 rokov, podľa legislatívy) môžete zostatok uznať ako čistý zisk.

Príklad: Starbucks Starbucks mal v roku 2022 na účtoch $1,5 miliardy v nevyužitých gift cards. Odhadovaný breakage 3 % znamená $45 miliónov čistého zisku – bezúročná pôžička od zákazníkov s bonusom, že časť sa nikdy nevráti.

2. Subscription model

• Mesačný príjem = okamžité zdanenie
• Mesačné náklady = okamžitý odpočet
• Príklad: €10/mesiac za "premium membership" s určitými benefitmi

3. Discount Coupons

• Žiadny príjem pri vydaní kupónu
• Znížený príjem pri uplatnení (predáte za nižšiu cenu)
• Príklad: 20 % zľavový kupón = predaj kávy za €4 namiesto €5

Outsourcing loyalty programu: Podrobnosti o Shopify Loyalty

Platformy ako Shopify Loyalty predstavujú elegantné riešenie pre malé biznisy, ktoré chcú ponúkať vernostné programy bez účtovných a daňových komplikácií. Poďme si to rozobrať podrobne:

Ako funguje Shopify Loyalty

• Shopify ako tretia strana: Shopify vlastní a spravuje celý vernostný program vrátane bodov a softvéru. Zákazník má svoj "účet" priamo u Shopify, nie u konkrétneho obchodu. To znamená, že body nie sú vaším záväzkom, ale záväzkom Shopify.
• Vaša úloha: Vy (napr. kaviareň) platíte Shopify mesačný poplatok (napr. €29) za používanie platformy a malý transakčný poplatok (napr. €0,20) za každé uplatnenie bodov (reward). Vy ste v podstate "dodávateľom služieb" pre Shopify – poskytujete odmeny, keď vám Shopify pošle objednávku.
• Získavanie bodov: Zákazník získava body za nákupy v obchodoch, ktoré sú zapojené do Shopify Loyalty programu. Napríklad, ak zákazník nakúpi kávu za €5 vo vašej kaviarni, Shopify mu pripíše body (napr. 5 bodov za každé euro, teda 25 bodov). Konkrétne pravidlá (koľko bodov za euro) si nastavujete vy cez Shopify platformu, ale technicky body spravuje Shopify.
• Využitie bodov: Zákazník môže body využiť na odmeny (napr. kávu zadarmo za 100 bodov), ale zvyčajne len v obchodoch zapojených do Shopify siete. To znamená, že ak vaša kaviareň používa Shopify Loyalty, body získané u vás môžu byť využité u vás alebo v iných obchodoch v rámci Shopify ekosystému, ak to Shopify umožňuje. Väčšinou však obchody nastavujú program tak, aby boli body využiteľné primárne u nich, čím sa zvyšuje lojalita k ich značke.
• Proces uplatnenia bodov: Keď zákazník chce využiť body (napr. 100 bodov za kávu zadarmo), Shopify pošle objednávku vám (kaviarni) na poskytnutie odmeny. Vy kávu vydáte, ale nedostanete za ňu priamy príjem od zákazníka – ide o marketingový náklad. Zároveň platíte Shopify transakčný poplatok (€0,20). Účtovne to nie je predaj, takže nevzniká zdaniteľný príjem ani povinnosť vystaviť bloček.
• Účtovné spracovanie: Keď zákazník využije body:
• Žiadny bloček = žiadny zdaniteľný príjem
• Náklad kávy (€2) + Shopify fee (€0,20) = €2,20
• Účtuje sa ako "Promotional expenses" alebo "Marketing costs"

Prečo musí byť loyalty program outsourcovaný tretej strane (ako Shopify)?

Malé biznisy nemajú kapacitu ani zdroje na správu vlastného loyalty programu "in-house" z týchto dôvodov: - Daňová a účtovná komplexnosť: Ak by ste spravovali loyalty program sami, museli by ste vytvárať rezervy na budúce záväzky (body, ktoré zákazníci využijú neskôr), odhadovať breakage rate (percento nevyužitých bodov) a riešiť cash vs. accrual accounting. Pre malé firmy, ktoré často musia používať cash accounting, to znamená okamžité zdanenie príjmu, ak by body predávali, ale odpočet nákladov až v budúcnosti – vzniká cashflow nesúlad. - Technologická infraštruktúra: Správa bodov, databáz zákazníkov a integrácia s platobnými systémami vyžaduje sofistikovaný softvér a IT tím, čo je pre malé firmy nákladné a komplikované. - Legálna separácia: Keď program spravuje tretia strana ako Shopify, body sú ich záväzkom, nie vaším. Pre vás to znamená, že nemáte žiadne budúce záväzky vo svojej účtovnej knihe – len mesačné náklady (poplatok Shopify), ktoré sú daňovo odpočítateľné ako bežný výdavok. - Ekonomická efektivita: Shopify združuje tisíce obchodov, čím dosahuje ekonomiku rozsahu – nižšie náklady na softvér, bezpečnosť a správu dát. Malá kaviareň by sama nikdy nedokázala vytvoriť takýto systém za rozumnú cenu.

Prečo to nemôže byť in-house z daňového hľadiska?

Ak by malá firma spravovala loyalty program sama: - Okamžitý daňový problém: Ak by firma predávala body (napr. za peniaze alebo ako súčasť nákupu), príjem by musela zdaniť hneď, hoci náklady na poskytnutie odmien (napr. káva zadarmo) by mohla odpočítať až v momente, keď zákazník body využije. To vytvára cashflow nesúlad, pretože daň platíte skôr, než reálne "stratíte" peniaze na odmenu. - Zložité rezervy: Musela by odhadovať, koľko bodov sa využije, a vytvárať účtovné rezervy, čo je administratívne náročné a vyžaduje drahých účtovníkov alebo softvér. - Riziko chýb: Nesprávne odhady breakage rate alebo zlý manažment záväzkov môžu viesť k daňovým kontrolám a pokutám.

S Shopify sa tieto problémy eliminujú – vy platíte len mesačný poplatok a transakčné fees, ktoré sú jednoducho účtované ako marketingové náklady. Shopify preberá celú zodpovednosť za správu bodov a záväzkov voči zákazníkom.

Prípadová štúdia: Vernostné body pre kaviareň (model 10 + 1 zadarmo)

Pozrime sa na konkrétny prípad malej kaviarne, ktorá ponúka klasický vernostný program typu "10 + 1 zadarmo". Zákazník dostane 1 bod za každú kúpenú kávu (napr. za €3) a po nazbieraní 10 bodov dostane jednu kávu zadarmo. Rozoberieme, ako to funguje účtovne, či ide o "promotional expense" a aký je rozdiel medzi in-house správou a použitím Shopify.

Ako funguje program "10 + 1 zadarmo"

• Získavanie bodov: Zákazník kúpi kávu za €3 a dostane 1 bod (napr. pečiatku na kartičku alebo digitálny záznam). Body nemajú peňažnú hodnotu na predaj – sú čisto odmenou za nákup.
• Využitie bodov: Po nazbieraní 10 bodov (čo znamená nákupy za €30) zákazník dostane kávu zadarmo (hodnota €3).
• Reálny náklad pre kaviareň: Náklad na výrobu kávy zadarmo je nižší ako predajná cena, napr. €1,50 za suroviny a prácu.

Účtovné spracovanie (In-house)

Ak kaviareň spravuje program sama (in-house), účtovný proces závisí od toho, či používa cash accounting (bežné pre malé firmy) alebo accrual accounting: - Cash accounting: - Pri nákupe kávy zákazníkom: Kaviareň účtuje príjem €3 za každú kávu a vydá bloček. Bod (pečiatka) nemá peňažnú hodnotu, takže sa neúčtuje ako záväzok ani príjem. - Pri uplatnení 10 bodov: Keď zákazník dostane kávu zadarmo, nevzniká príjem (€0), ale vzniká náklad na výrobu kávy (€1,50). Tento náklad sa účtuje ako "Promotional expense" alebo "Marketing cost", pretože ide o formu zľavy alebo reklamy na udržanie zákazníka. - Daňový dopad: Žiadny príjem pri vydaní kávy zadarmo, náklad €1,50 je daňovo odpočítateľný ako bežný výdavok. - Accrual accounting (menej bežné pre malé firmy): - Pri nákupe kávy zákazníkom: Kaviareň účtuje príjem €3, ale zároveň vytvára malý záväzok na budúcu odmenu (napr. €0,30 za každý bod, čo je odhad nákladu na budúcu kávu zadarmo deleno 10). Teda z €3 príjmu je zdaniteľný príjem len €2,70. - Pri uplatnení 10 bodov: Keď zákazník dostane kávu zadarmo, kaviareň zníži záväzok o €3 (10 bodov x €0,30) a účtuje náklad €1,50 na výrobu kávy. Rozdiel môže byť upravený ako breakage alebo iný zisk, ak sa odhady líšia od reality. - Daňový dopad: Zdaniteľný príjem je nižší už pri prvom nákupe, ale účtovníctvo je zložitejšie kvôli odhadom a rezervám.

Je to Promotional Expense? Áno, v oboch prípadoch (cash aj accrual) sa náklad na kávu zadarmo účtuje ako "Promotional expense" alebo "Marketing cost", pretože ide o formu zľavy na podporu lojality zákazníkov. Nie je to považované za bežný predaj, pretože nevzniká príjem ani bloček.

Účtovné spracovanie (cez Shopify Loyalty)

Ak kaviareň používa Shopify Loyalty na správu programu "10 + 1 zadarmo", proces je jednoduchší: - Pri nákupe kávy zákazníkom: Kaviareň účtuje príjem €3 za kávu a vydá bloček. Shopify pripíše bod zákazníkovi do jeho účtu (nie je to váš záväzok, ale Shopify). - Pri uplatnení 10 bodov: Shopify pošle objednávku na vydanie kávy zadarmo. Kaviareň vydá kávu (náklad €1,50) a zaplatí Shopify transakčný poplatok (€0,20). Celkový náklad €1,70 sa účtuje ako "Promotional expense" alebo "Marketing cost". - Daňový dopad: Rovnako ako pri in-house, žiadny príjem pri vydaní kávy zadarmo, náklad €1,70 je daňovo odpočítateľný ako bežný výdavok. Navyše nemusíte riešiť žiadne záväzky alebo odhady breakage, pretože body spravuje Shopify.

Rozdiel medzi In-house a Shopify

• In-house:
• Výhody: Plná kontrola nad programom, žiadne mesačné poplatky tretej strane (napr. €29 Shopify fee).
• Nevýhody: Ak použijete accrual accounting, musíte vytvárať rezervy a odhadovať breakage, čo je administratívne náročné. Pri cash accounting je to jednoduchšie (žiadne záväzky), ale ak by ste body predávali za peniaze, vzniká daňový nesúlad (príjem zdanený hneď, náklad až neskôr). Navyše musíte sami spravovať databázu bodov (pečiatky, softvér), čo je časovo náročné.
• Shopify Loyalty:
• Výhody: Žiadne záväzky vo vašej účtovnej knihe, Shopify spravuje body a technológiu. Účtovne je to jednoduché – len mesačný poplatok (€29) a transakčné poplatky (€0,20) ako marketingový náklad. Nemusíte riešiť odhady ani breakage.
• Nevýhody: Platíte mesačné poplatky a transakčné fees, čo zvyšuje náklady (napr. €0,20 navyše za každú kávu zadarmo). Máte menšiu kontrolu nad programom, pretože ho spravuje tretia strana.

Záver pre kaviareň: Program "10 + 1 zadarmo" je účtovne považovaný za Promotional expense v oboch prípadoch (in-house aj Shopify), pretože káva zadarmo je forma marketingu na udržanie zákazníkov. Rozdiel je v administratívnej záťaži a nákladoch – Shopify zjednodušuje účtovníctvo a správu, ale za cenu mesačných poplatkov. In-house je lacnejšie, ale náročnejšie na správu, najmä ak by ste chceli používať accrual accounting alebo predávať body za peniaze.

Záver

Vernostné programy sú sofistikovaný nástroj zákazníckej lojality, ale ich účtovné a daňové aspekty sa výrazne líšia medzi veľkými a malými firmami. Veľké korporácie využívajú accrual accounting a medzinárodné štruktúry na optimalizáciu daní, zatiaľ čo pre malé biznisy sú často výhodnejšie alternatívne modely ako gift cards alebo outsourcing celého programu, ktoré eliminujú daňové a cashflow problémy. Gift cards navyše prinášajú okamžitý cash flow, časovú hodnotu peňazí a breakage benefit, čo z nich robí ideálny nástroj pre podniky všetkých veľkostí. Shopify Loyalty ponúka malým firmám spôsob, ako implementovať vernostný program bez účtovných komplikácií, pretože preberá technickú a právnu zodpovednosť, čím umožňuje sústrediť sa na core biznis. Pre jednoduché programy ako "10 + 1 zadarmo" je účtovný dopad podobný (Promotional expense), ale Shopify zjednodušuje správu za cenu dodatočných poplatkov.

```

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@ 86dfbe73:628cef55

Das Private ist immer nur privat in Bezug zu einem bestimmten oder unbestimmten Gegenüber. Heutzutage steht man vielen Privatheiten und vielen Öffentlichkeiten gegenüber. Was privat ist, bemisst sich an der jeweiligen Relation, in der es als privat festgelegt wurde. Die “Privatsphäre”, die üblicherweise gemeint wird, ist jene Sphäre, die der Staat als privat zu respektieren hat, über deren Grenze er sich also nur in seltenen und jeweils zu begründenden Einzelfällen hinwegsetzen darf.

In anderen Beziehungen hingegen gibt es andere “Privatheiten” — dem Arbeitgeber gegenüber etwa, den Kollegen, ehemaligen Schulfreunden, dem Ehepartner, den Eltern oder Kinder. In all diesen Beziehungen gibt es “ausgeschlossene” Bereiche, die das Private meinen. Die Privatsphäre ist dabei die Sphäre über deren Geheimhaltung man gegenüber dem anderen Partner der Beziehung frei verfügen kann, denn Privatsphäre ist die Möglichkeit, sich der Welt selektiv zu offenbaren.

Wenn nicht reflektiert wird, dass es weitgehend eine veränderte Gesellschaft ist, die sich konstituiert, eine Gesellschaft, die mit der vorherigen nichts aber auch gar nichts mehr gemein hat, weil sich der Begriff des “Privaten” verändert, ausdifferenziert, verschiebt, zerfasert — wird der Privatsphärenschutz nicht zu gewährleisten sein.

Das Problem ist, dass „privat und „öffentlich“ alleine nicht funktionieren. Zwischen Privat und Öffentlich gehört – abgeleitet aus dem Begriff des „Social Web“ das Soziale. Und zwischen scheinbar einheitlicher privater „Identität“ und öffentlicher „Person“ gehört ein Bündel an Socialities.

Schon vor dem Netz zersplitterte der moderne, flexible und mobile Mensch in ein Bündel von (nicht: Identitäten sondern) Socialitäten. Das heißt in ein Bündel von Verhaltensweisen, die mehr oder minder bewusst in Beziehung zu bestimmten anderen Socii eingenommen werden. Es ist eine rein kommunikative Größe. Die Socialität eines Arbeitnehmers deckt sich nicht mit der Sozialität des Ehegatten, Vaters usw.

In jeder dieser Beziehungen ist eine andere, zumeist bewusst zu lernende Sozialität vonnöten. Selbst gegenüber Vorgesetzten, gleichrangigen Kollegen und Untergebenen sind mindestens dreierlei Socialitäten am Werke. Denn diese Socialität ist nicht einfach die soziologische „Rolle“, die ein Pluriversum von angenommenen Identitäten unterstellt. Sondern sie ist Ergebnis einer Kommunikationsbeziehung.

Online-Socialitäten

Das Private ist kein kohärente Sphäre, sondern wird durch die Socialität erschaffen. Es ist das, was in der Socialität nicht vorkommt – oder die Qualität der Socialität entscheidend verändert – etwa wenn eine Beziehung zu einer Kollegin/einem Kollegen beginnt (die in der Socialität der Ehegatten wiederum vermutlich nichts zu suchen hat …), sich eine Exfreundin als neue Kundin vorstellt, ein ehemaliger Schulkamerad Chef wird usw. Was „das Private“ ist, lässt sich nicht fassen.

Bei Facebook beispielsweise connectet sich der User mit Familienangehörigen, Freunden, vielleicht ehemaligen Schulfreunden, Kollegen, ggf. Vorgesetzen – und mit Geschäftspartnern oder Kunden. Das heißt: Ein großes Socialitätenbündel vereinigt sich.

Das kann zu größeren Problemen führen, denn die Socialität etwa des Geschäftspartners stellt andere Anforderungen als der ehemalige Klassenkamerad. Die Socialität des Kollegen stellt andere Anforderungen als die der Geschwister.

Die Bündelungsmöglichkeiten durch Personensuchen stellt vor eine ganz andere Herausforderung. Das Multiversum der Socialitäten, das unter verschiedenen Pseudonymen oder doch zumindest auf verschiedenen Plattformen ausgetragen wurde – wird nun plötzlich in ein „Image“ zusammengeführt, das natürlich vorne und hinten inkongruent ist, weil kein gemeinsamer „Kern“, keine einfache „Identität“ vorhanden ist.

Streetview und die Socialität

Schon jetzt nutzen Auskunfteien wie SchuFa oder Creditreform die Wohngegend um Kreditwürdigkeiten zu berechnen. Schon jetzt klassifizieren die Telefonrechner in Callcentern die „Wertigkeit“ eines eingehenden Anrufs per Telefonnummer nach Wohnlage.

Das macht in dieser Socialität "Versicherung-Kunde" einen gewaltigen Unterschied. Und der Kunde hat keinerlei Macht über die Informationen, die der anderen Seite der Socialität verfügbar sind. Die Entscheidung, dass etwas privat sei, zieht nach sich, dass ich es aus einer Socialität exkludiere. „Privat“ bedeutet vor allem „Verzeihung, das ist mir zu privat, darüber gebe ich keine Auskunft“. Und derlei Privatheiten gibt es zu viele – was privat ist, bestimmt die Socialität. Privatsphäre gegenüber dem Kollegen ist eine andere als gegenüber der Vorgesetzten, als gegenüber dem Kunden, als gegenüber dem ehemaligen Schulfreund.

Wie damit umgehen? Das Netz verlassen oder eine eigene „Netzsocialität“ erschaffen, die von vornherein eine inszenierte Kunstfigur ist? Nichts von alledem ist hilfreich. Deswegen kann die Lösung nur aus einer gesamtgesellschaftlichen Debatte rund um die Socialitäten kommen. Und muss sich fragen: Wie soll das Netz sein und funktionieren? Wer soll was einsehen können?

@ 5ea46480:450da5bd

Decentralization refers to control/power, and relates to censorship resistance. That is it, it is not more complicated then that. Resilience is a function of redundancy; a centralized censored system can have a redundant set-up and therefor be resilient.

Take Bitcoin; the blockchain is a central database, it is resilient because it has many redundant copies among a lot of different nodes. The message (txs and blocks) propagation is decentralized due to existence of a p2p network among these nodes, making the data distribution censorship resistant (hello op_return debate). But onchain transactions themselves are NOT p2p, they require a middlemen (a miner) because it is a central database, as opposed to something like lightning which is p2p. Peer to Peer says something about relative architectural hierarchical position/relation. P2P provides censorship resistance because it entails equal power relations, provided becoming a peer is permissionless. What makes onchain transactions censorship resistant is that mining is permissionless, and involves this open power struggle/game where competition results in a power distribution among players, meaning (hopefully) decentralization. The fact users rely on these middlemen is mitigated by this decentralization on the one hand, and temper-proofing via cryptographic signatures on the other, resulting in what we call trustlessness (or trust minimization for the autists in the room); we only rely on a miner to perform a job (including your tx into a block), but we don’t trust the miner to perform the job correctly, this we can verify ourselves.

This leads us to Nostr, because that last part is exactly what Nostr does as well. It uses cryptography to get tamper-proof messaging, which then allows you to use middle-men in a trust minimized way. The result is decentralization because in general terms, any middle man is as good as any other (same as with miners), and becoming such a middleman is permissionless(somewhat, mostly); which in turn leads to censorship resistance. It also allows for resilience because you are free to make things as redundant as you'd like.

Ergo, the crux is putting the cryptography central, making it the starting point of the system; decentralization then becomes an option due to trust minimization. The difference between Bitcoin an Nostr, is that Bitcoin maintains a global state/central ledger and needs this PoW/Nakamoto consensus fanfare; Nostr rests itself with local perspectives on 'the network'.

The problem with the Fediverse, is that it does not provide trust minimization in relation to the middlemen. Sure, there are a lot different servers, but you rely on a particular one (and the idea you could switch never really seemed to have materialized in a meaningful way). It also fails in permisionlessness because you rely on the association between servers, i.e. federation, to have meaningful access to the rest of the network. In other words, it is more a requirement of association than freedom of association; you have the freedom to be excommunicated.

The problem with ATproto is that is basically does not solve this dynamic; it only complicates it by pulling apart the components; identity and data, distribution and perspective are now separated, and supposedly you don’t rely on any particular one of these sub-component providers in the stack; but you do rely on all these different sub-component providers in the stack to play nice with each other. And this ‘playing nice’ is just the same old ‘requirement of association’ and ‘freedom of excommunication’ that looms at the horizon.

Yes, splitting up the responsibilities of identity, hosting and indexing is what is required to safe us from the platform hellscape which at this stage takes care of all three. But as it turns out, it was not a matter cutting those up into various (on paper) interchangeable middlemen. All that is required is putting cryptographic keys in the hands of the user; the tamperproofing takes care of the rest, simply by trust minimizing the middlemen we use. All the sudden it does not matter which middlemen we use, and no one is required to play nice; we lost the requirement of association, and gained freedom of association, which was the purpose of censorship resistance and therefor decentralization, to begin with.

@ 318ebaba:9a262eae

When connecting to multiple relays in the Nostr protocol, users may encounter several challenges that can affect their overall experience. Here are some of the key issues:

Challenges of Connecting to Multiple Relays

• Performance Issues: The lightweight design of Nostr relays can lead to performance bottlenecks, especially when many users are connected simultaneously. This can result in slow message delivery or even failures in posting messages if the relays are overwhelmed[1][2][32].

• Reliability and Connectivity: Users may experience connectivity problems with certain relays, which can lead to inconsistent access to messages or delays in communication. If a relay goes offline or has connectivity issues, it can disrupt the flow of information, making it difficult for users to send or receive messages reliably[3][4][18].

• Data Synchronization: As users connect to multiple relays, ensuring that data is synchronized across these relays can be challenging. Inconsistent data states may arise if different relays store messages differently or if there are delays in message propagation. This can lead to confusion about which messages have been sent or received[7][41].

• Configuration Complexity: Managing connections to multiple relays requires a certain level of technical knowledge. Users need to configure their clients properly to connect to various relays, which can be daunting for those less familiar with the technology. Misconfigurations can lead to connection failures or suboptimal performance[4][21].

• Spam and Quality Control: With the open nature of Nostr, some relays may be more susceptible to spam or low-quality content. Users connecting to multiple relays might encounter a higher volume of irrelevant or unwanted messages, which can detract from the overall user experience[6][32].

• Security Concerns: When using multiple relays, users must be cautious about the security of their connections. Not all relays may implement the same level of security, and connecting to less secure relays could expose users to risks such as data interception or unauthorized access to their messages[26][27].

In summary, while connecting to multiple relays in Nostr offers benefits such as redundancy and improved access to information, users must navigate various challenges related to performance, reliability, configuration, and security. Addressing these issues is crucial for a smooth and effective experience on the Nostr network.

[1] https://forum.dfinity.org/t/introducing-replicatr-enhancing-nostr-with-internet-computer-integration/31861 [2] https://medium.com/coinmonks/a-deep-dive-into-nostr-clients-with-technical-insights-and-code-snippets-b1666bb11fac [3] nostr:nevent1qqsfvjvg73wxdn7mda28m704r2zv9lnzlcdgh8r0g52lfvy2wj7uw4czyq32rylmsmre84lhxdypy6jlu4dt3fxfwkq9a0p0lqdl9y8hsp0hur4fuw4 [4] https://www.reddit.com/r/nostr/comments/1e6nm68/new_nostream_relay_created_problems_with_publish/ [5] https://www.lynalden.com/the-power-of-nostr/ [6] https://bitcoinmagazine.com/technical/how-nostr-can-improve-bitcoin-privacy [7] https://barelybuggy.blog/2024/11/26/mostr-offline/ [8] https://github.com/scsibug/nostr-rs-relay/issues/126 [9] https://community.umbrel.com/t/nostr-relay-troubleshooting/17828 [10] https://research.dorahacks.io/2024/04/30/nostr-relay-incentive/ [11] https://community.start9.com/t/issue-confirming-nostr-relay/1682 [12] https://arxiv.org/html/2402.05709v1 [13] https://community.umbrel.com/t/nostr-relay-not-connecting/11401 [14] https://www.purplerelay.com/troubleshooting-common-issues-with-nostr-relay-server-a-users-guide/ [15] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35694029 [16] https://substack.com/home/post/p-158872714?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web [17] https://stacker.news/items/142013 [18] https://www.reddit.com/r/nostr/comments/1h6admk/are_these_relays_working/ [19] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33746360 [20] https://github.com/scsibug/nostr-rs-relay/issues/195 [21] https://www.purplerelay.com/how-to-run-a-nostr-relay-a-step-by-step-guide/ [22] https://denostr.medium.com/the-future-of-social-communication-nostrs-origins-and-the-next-destination-in-social-networking-27f0c901d7ae [23] nostr:nevent1qqsqwklh29cvf3z0skhh77xyqf3m53xkppcttf3c8nuc2jqteulfx0czyqcgr7epv9hha2v9afp99l5wl0ljna0zum59fzyhl9v8pgv5xlhf5ava642 [24] https://www.reddit.com/r/nostr/comments/15fyr6r/pervasive_private_key_sharing_seems_dangerous/ [25] https://whtwnd.com/agoracitizen.network/3l2fysaripd2q [26] https://ron.stoner.com/nostr_Security_and_Privacy/ [27] https://forums.puri.sm/t/about-what-is-nostr/20764 [28] https://github.com/nostr-protocol/nips/issues/107 [29] https://medium.com/@volodymyrpavlyshyn/security-features-of-nostr-a0276a22e815 [30] nostr:nevent1qqspd8fh3tplxtfhjpka3y3glzh63v3ygsdhacyq8dvyrnxtvl09lpczyr2v7dprke9lad2qk0svug55vxguqv7n3dwn9vm63u8n5n84znxjxedjf6c [31] nostr:nevent1qqs8e2su6n8m2xtg45qdjw7rdcq6w3g5guvt085h52qhg25wxn755sczyrh26kg89z95jqaz4xkex7kaw2t36twtc75vmrfx2k3p3jqvhfa8vzan82f [32] https://www.cointribune.com/en/nostr-et-la-censure-pourquoi-un-reseau-social-decentralise-est-essentiel-2/ [33] nostr:nevent1qqsv86d756zcw32x0zcvqmr924y5sltvwqud0dywny83ndee30zzrmczyrh26kg89z95jqaz4xkex7kaw2t36twtc75vmrfx2k3p3jqvhfa8vwpfv29 [34] https://github.com/nbd-wtf/nostr-tools/issues [35] https://www.voltage.cloud/blog/the-growth-of-nostr-the-era-of-decentralization [36] https://medium.com/@BingVentures/status-quo-challenges-and-prospect-of-decentralized-social-networks-18f9584f2e8d [37] https://www.reddit.com/r/RedditAlternatives/comments/14s8ao4/greetings_im_here_to_tell_you_about_nostr_a/ [38] https://bitcoinmagazine.com/culture/nostr-the-importance-of-censorship-resistant-communication-for-innovation-and-human-progress- [39] https://github.com/mayneyao/eidos/issues/129 [40] https://www.reddit.com/r/nostr/comments/115a8et/data_duplication_and_distribution_in_nostr_relays/ [41] https://github.com/open-nostr/nostar [42] nostr:nevent1qqsryg8zuc9rdwldat385al24mdt56wanc6g6hfymy8l9tgtmzsc4nspzemhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuurjd9kkzmpwdejhg85cx73 [43] https://ckbcn.xlog.app/Nostr-sheng-tai-fa-zhan-xian-zhuang-ji-wen-ti?locale=en [44] nostr:naddr1qqc92mnvda3kk6twvuk5ummnw3ez6ued2phhgetww35kzmpdwa5hg6pdfehhgetyv43kktt08p5hscnkqgsr7acdvhf6we9fch94qwhpy0nza36e3tgrtkpku25ppuu80f69kfqrqsqqqa28aknkml

@ 3f770d65:7a745b24

I’m Derek Ross, and I’m all-in on Nostr.

I started the Grow Nostr Initiative to help more people discover what makes Nostr so powerful: ✅ You own your identity ✅ You choose your social graph and algorithms ✅ You aren't locked into any single app or platform ✅ You can post, stream, chat, and build, all without gatekeepers

What we’re doing with Grow Nostr Initiative: 🌱 Hosting local meetups and mini-conferences to onboard people face-to-face 📚 Creating educational materials and guides to demystify how Nostr works 🧩 Helping businesses and creators understand how they can plug into Nostr (running media servers, relays, and using key management tools)

I believe Nostr is the foundation of a more open internet. It’s still early, but we’re already seeing incredible apps for social, blogging, podcasting, livestreaming, and more. And the best part is that they're all interoperable, censorship-resistant, and built on open standards. Nostr is the world's largest bitcoin economy by transaction volume and I truly believe that the purple pill helps the orange pill go down. Meaning, growing Nostr will also grow Bitcoin adoption.

If you’ve been curious about Nostr or are building something on it, or let’s talk. Whether you're just getting started or you're already deep in the ecosystem, I'm here to answer questions, share what I’ve learned, and hear your ideas. Check out https://nostrapps.com to find your next social decentralized experience.

Ask Me Anything about GNI, Nostr, Bitcoin, the upcoming #NosVegas event at the Bitcoin Conference next week, etc.!

– Derek Ross 🌐 https://grownostr.org npub18ams6ewn5aj2n3wt2qawzglx9mr4nzksxhvrdc4gzrecw7n5tvjqctp424

https://stacker.news/items/984689

@ 975e4ad5:8d4847ce

The Risks of Offline Storage

Keeping your seed phrase offline – on paper, in a safe, or on a USB drive – seems secure, but it comes with significant risks:

• Fire or Flood: A disaster could destroy your home, along with the paper or device storing your seed phrase.

• Theft: Someone could find your seed phrase in your safe or a hidden spot at home.

• Natural Disasters or War: If you’re forced to leave your home, you might lose access to your seed phrase, effectively locking you out of your assets.

• Human Error: You could accidentally lose, damage, or misplace the paper or device holding your seed phrase.

These vulnerabilities make offline storage less reliable, especially if you don’t have backups or can’t access them in an emergency.

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The Benefits of Online Storage

When done right, online storage addresses these issues. The primary advantage is accessibility: you can retrieve your seed phrase from anywhere in the world as long as you have an internet connection and the necessary credentials. This is invaluable if you’re away from home or in a crisis.

The key to making online storage safe? Encryption.

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How to Store Your Seed Phrase Online Securely

1. Choose a Secure Platform\ Upload your encrypted seed phrase to a reputable cloud storage service like Google Drive, Dropbox, or Proton Drive, which offers built-in encryption. Ensure you use a strong password and enable two-factor authentication (2FA) for your account.

2. Encrypt Your Seed Phrase\ Before uploading, encrypt your seed phrase using a tool with strong encryption, such as AES-256. Here are some easy options:

3. VeraCrypt: A free tool that lets you create an encrypted file or container. Save your seed phrase in a text file, add it to an encrypted container, and set a password only you know.

4. GPG (GnuPG): This tool allows you to encrypt text files using public and private keys. Generate a key pair and store the private key securely (e.g., on an offline USB drive).

5. 7-Zip: A popular compression tool that supports AES-256 encryption. Create an encrypted archive with your seed phrase and set a strong password.

6. Keep the Decryption Key in Your Head\ The password or decryption key should be something only you know. Avoid writing it down to prevent unauthorized access.

7. Disguise the File\ Even if someone sees your encrypted file, they shouldn’t suspect what it contains. Name the file something generic, like “family_recipes.txt,” instead of “seed_phrase.txt.”

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Why Encryption Matters

Encryption ensures that even if someone gains access to your file, they can’t read your seed phrase without the decryption key. AES-256, for example, is an industry-standard encryption method considered virtually unbreakable with a strong password. This means that even if a hacker accesses your cloud storage, they can’t use your seed phrase.

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Practical Tips for Maximum Security

• Split Your Seed Phrase: For added protection, divide your seed phrase into multiple parts and store them in separate encrypted files on different platforms.

• Test Your Access: Periodically check that you can log into your cloud storage and decrypt your file to avoid surprises.

• Use a Strong Password: Choose a password longer than 12 characters, combining letters, numbers, and special characters.

• Create Backups: Store multiple encrypted copies on different platforms for extra redundancy.

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Conclusion

Storing your seed phrase online isn’t reckless if you do it right. With proper encryption and a secure platform, you can combine the convenience of global access with a high level of protection. Offline methods have their risks, but secure online storage ensures your assets are safe and accessible, no matter where you are.

@ 58937958:545e6994

Since it's Bitcoin Pizza Day, I made a Bitcoin pizza!

To give it a Japanese twist, I made it a mentaiko pizza (※ mentaiko = spicy cod roe, a popular Japanese ingredient often used in pasta or rice dishes). For the Bitcoin logo, I used a salmon terrine.

Salmon Terrine

I cut out the "B" logo using hanpen (※ hanpen = a soft, white Japanese fish cake made from fish paste and yam). Tip: You can also cut a colored plastic folder into the "B" shape and place it on top as a stencil — makes it easier!

I blended salmon, hanpen, milk, egg, and a bit of salt in a food processor, poured it into a container, and baked it in a water bath.

Pizza Dough

I mixed bread flour, dry yeast, salt, olive oil, and water, then kneaded it with determination! Let it rise for about an hour until fluffy.

Mentaiko Mayo Topping

I mixed mentaiko, mayonnaise, and soy sauce.

I spread out the dough, added the mentaiko mayo, cheese, and corn, then baked it. Halfway through, I added thin slices of mochi (rice cake). After baking, I topped it with seaweed and the salmon terrine to finish!

Lots to reflect on

About the Terrine

In the video, you’ll see I divided the terrine into two portions. I was worried that the salmon and hanpen parts might end up looking too similar in color, making the “B” logo hard to see.

So for one half, I added ketchup, thinking: “Maybe this will make the red more vibrant?” But even with the ketchup, it didn’t change much.

The Mochi

I accidentally bought thinly sliced mochi, but I realized it might burn too easily as a pizza topping. Regular mochi with standard thickness is probably better.

I added the mochi halfway through baking, opening the oven once, but now I’m thinking that might have lowered the oven temp too much.

Lessons Learned

This was my first and only attempt—no test run beforehand— so I ended up with a long list of lessons learned. In the future, I should definitely do a trial version first… But you know… salmon and mentaiko are expensive! (excuses, excuses)

Cheese

I wanted to do that Instagram-worthy cheese pull moment, but nope. No stretch. None at all. I think that kind of thing needs a totally different kind of cheese or prep. Will have to experiment more.

Taste Test

Actually really good. I usually don’t eat mentaiko mayo myself, and I’m a Margherita pizza fan at heart. But this was surprisingly nice. A little rich in flavor—made me crave a bowl of rice. Next time, I might skip the soy sauce to tone it down a bit.

nostr:nevent1qqsrhularycewltxz88e9wrwutkqu5pkylh3vxrmys2e0nuh7c2h06qgqp9zc

@ 866e0139:6a9334e5

Autor: John J. Mearsheimer. Dieser Beitrag wurde mit dem Pareto-Client geschrieben und erschien zuerst auf dem Blog des Autors. Sie finden alle Texte der Friedenstaube und weitere Texte zum Thema Frieden hier.**

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Die neuesten Artikel der Friedenstaube gibt es jetzt auch im eigenen Friedenstaube-Telegram-Kanal.

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Die Frage, wer für den Krieg in der Ukraine verantwortlich ist, ist seit dem Einmarsch Russlands in die Ukraine am 24. Februar 2022 ein sehr umstrittenes Thema.Die Antwort auf diese Frage ist von enormer Bedeutung, denn der Krieg war aus verschiedenen Gründen eine Katastrophe, von denen die wichtigste darin besteht, dass die Ukraine praktisch zerstört wurde. Sie hat einen beträchtlichen Teil ihres Territoriums verloren und wird wahrscheinlich noch mehr verlieren, ihre Wirtschaft liegt in Trümmern, eine riesige Zahl von Ukrainern wurde intern vertrieben oder ist aus dem Land geflohen, und sie hat Hunderttausende von Opfern zu beklagen. Natürlich hat auch Russland einen hohen Blutzoll gezahlt. Auf strategischer Ebene sind die Beziehungen zwischen Russland und Europa, ganz zu schweigen von Russland und der Ukraine, auf absehbare Zeit vergiftet, was bedeutet, dass die Gefahr eines größeren Krieges in Europa auch dann noch bestehen wird, wenn der Krieg in der Ukraine zu einem eingefrorenen Konflikt wird. Wer die Verantwortung für diese Katastrophe trägt, ist eine Frage, die nicht so schnell verschwinden wird, sondern eher noch an Bedeutung gewinnen dürfte, je mehr Menschen das Ausmaß der Katastrophe bewusst wird.

Die gängige Meinung im Westen ist, dass Wladimir Putin für den Krieg in der Ukraine verantwortlich sei. Die Invasion habe darauf abgezielt, die gesamte Ukraine zu erobern und sie zu einem Teil eines größeren Russlands zu machen, so die Argumentation. Sobald dieses Ziel erreicht sei, würden die Russen ein Imperium in Osteuropa errichten, ähnlich wie es die Sowjetunion nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg getan habe. Daher stelle Putin letztlich eine Bedrohung für den Westen dar, der man mit aller Macht begegnen müsse. Kurz gesagt, Putin ist ein Imperialist mit einem Masterplan, der sich nahtlos in die reiche russische Tradition einfügt.

Das alternative Argument, mit dem ich mich identifiziere und das im Westen eindeutig in der Minderheit ist, lautet, dass die Vereinigten Staaten und ihre Verbündeten den Krieg provoziert haben. Damit soll natürlich nicht geleugnet werden, dass Russland in die Ukraine einmarschiert ist und den Krieg begonnen hat. Die Hauptursache des Konflikts ist jedoch der NATO-Beschluss, die Ukraine in das Bündnis aufzunehmen, was praktisch alle russischen Führer als existenzielle Bedrohung ansehen, die beseitigt werden muss. Die NATO-Erweiterung ist jedoch Teil einer umfassenderen Strategie, die darauf abzielt, die Ukraine zu einem westlichen Bollwerk an Russlands Grenze zu machen. Ein Beitritt Kiews zur Europäischen Union (EU) und die Förderung einer farbigen Revolution in der Ukraine – die Umwandlung des Landes in eine prowestliche liberale Demokratie – sind die beiden anderen Säulen dieser Politik. Die russische Führung fürchtet alle drei Bereiche, aber am meisten fürchtet sie die NATO-Erweiterung. Um dieser Bedrohung zu begegnen, hat Russland am 24. Februar 2022 einen Präventivkrieg begonnen.

Die Debatte darüber, wer den Ukraine-Krieg verursacht hat, ist kürzlich aufgeflammt, als zwei prominente westliche Politiker – der ehemalige US-Präsident Donald Trump und der prominente britische Abgeordnete Nigel Farage – das Argument vorbrachten, dass die NATO-Erweiterung die treibende Kraft hinter dem Konflikt sei. Es überrascht nicht, dass ihre Äußerungen von den Verfechtern der konventionellen Meinung mit einem heftigen Gegenangriff beantwortet wurden. Es ist auch erwähnenswert, dass der scheidende NATO-Generalsekretär Jens Stoltenberg im vergangenen Jahr zweimal sagte, dass „Präsident Putin diesen Krieg begonnen hat, weil er die Tür der NATO schließen und der Ukraine das Recht verweigern wollte, ihren eigenen Weg zu wählen“. Kaum jemand im Westen hat dieses bemerkenswerte Eingeständnis des NATO-Chefs in Frage gestellt, und er hat es auch nicht zurückgezogen.

Mein Ziel ist es, einen Überblick über die wichtigsten Punkte zu geben, die die Ansicht stützen, dass Putin nicht in die Ukraine einmarschiert ist, weil er ein Imperialist ist, der die Ukraine zu einem Teil eines größeren Russlands machen will, sondern vor allem wegen der NATO-Erweiterung und der Bemühungen des Westens, die Ukraine zu einer westlichen Hochburg an der Grenze Russlands zu machen.

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DIE FRIEDENSTAUBE FLIEGT AUCH IN IHR POSTFACH!

In Kürze folgt eine Mail an alle Genossenschafter, danke für die Geduld und das Verständnis!

Hier können Sie die Friedenstaube abonnieren und bekommen die Artikel zugesandt, vorerst für alle kostenfrei, wir starten gänzlich ohne Paywall. (Die Bezahlabos fangen erst zu laufen an, wenn ein Monetarisierungskonzept für die Inhalte steht). Sie wollen der Genossenschaft beitreten oder uns unterstützen? Mehr Infos hier oder am Ende des Textes.

Lassen Sie mich mit den sieben wichtigsten Gründen für die Ablehnung der herkömmlichen Meinung beginnen.

ERSTENS gibt es schlicht und ergreifend keine Beweise aus der Zeit vor dem 24. Februar 2022, dass Putin die Ukraine erobern und in Russland eingliedern wollte. Vertreter der gängigen Meinung können keine Schriftstücke oder Aussagen von Putin nennen, die darauf hindeuten, dass er die Ukraine erobern wollte.

Wenn man sie zu diesem Punkt befragt, liefern die Verfechter der konventionellen Meinung Hinweise, die wenig oder gar nichts mit Putins Motiven für die Invasion der Ukraine zu tun haben. Einige betonen zum Beispiel, dass er sagte, die Ukraine sei ein „künstlicher Staat“ oder kein „echter Staat“. Solche undurchsichtigen Äußerungen sagen jedoch nichts über die Gründe für seinen Kriegseintritt aus. Dasselbe gilt für Putins Aussage, er betrachte Russen und Ukrainer als „ein Volk“ mit einer gemeinsamen Geschichte. Andere weisen darauf hin, dass er den Zusammenbruch der Sowjetunion als „die größte geopolitische Katastrophe des Jahrhunderts“ bezeichnete. Aber Putin sagte auch: „Wer die Sowjetunion nicht vermisst, hat kein Herz. Wer sie zurückhaben will, hat kein Hirn.“ Andere wiederum verweisen auf eine Rede, in der er erklärte: „Die moderne Ukraine wurde vollständig von Russland geschaffen, genauer gesagt, vom bolschewistischen, kommunistischen Russland.“ Aber das ist kaum ein Beweis dafür, dass er an der Eroberung der Ukraine interessiert war. Außerdem sagte er in der gleichen Rede: „Natürlich können wir die Ereignisse der Vergangenheit nicht ändern, aber wir müssen sie zumindest offen und ehrlich zugeben.“

Um zu beweisen, dass Putin die gesamte Ukraine erobern und Russland einverleiben wollte, muss man nachweisen, dass er 1) dieses Ziel für erstrebenswert hielt, 2) es für machbar hielt und 3) die Absicht hatte, dieses Ziel zu verfolgen. Es gibt in den öffentlichen Aufzeichnungen keine Beweise dafür, dass Putin erwog, geschweige denn beabsichtigte, die Ukraine als unabhängigen Staat zu beenden und sie zu einem Teil Großrusslands zu machen, als er am 24. Februar 2022 seine Truppen in die Ukraine schickte.

Tatsächlich gibt es erhebliche Beweise dafür, dass Putin die Ukraine als unabhängiges Land anerkannte. In seinem bekannten Artikel vom 12. Juli 2021 über die russisch-ukrainischen Beziehungen, der von Befürwortern der konventionellen Meinung oft als Beweis für seine imperialen Ambitionen angeführt wird, sagt er dem ukrainischen Volk: „Ihr wollt einen eigenen Staat gründen: Ihr seid willkommen!“ Zur Frage, wie Russland die Ukraine behandeln sollte, schreibt er: „Es gibt nur eine Antwort: mit Respekt.“ Er schließt seinen langen Artikel mit den folgenden Worten ab: „Und wie die Ukraine aussehen wird – das müssen ihre Bürger entscheiden.“ Diese Aussagen stehen im direkten Widerspruch zu der Behauptung, Putin wolle die Ukraine in ein größeres Russland eingliedern.

In demselben Artikel vom 12. Juli 2021 und erneut in einer wichtigen Rede am 21. Februar 2022 betonte Putin, dass Russland „die neue geopolitische Realität, die nach der Auflösung der UdSSR entstanden ist“, akzeptiere. Diesen Punkt wiederholte er ein drittes Mal am 24. Februar 2022, als er ankündigte, Russland werde in die Ukraine einmarschieren. Insbesondere erklärte er: „Wir haben nicht vor, ukrainisches Territorium zu besetzen“, und machte deutlich, dass er die ukrainische Souveränität respektiere, allerdings nur bis zu einem gewissen Punkt: „Russland kann sich nicht sicher fühlen, sich nicht entwickeln und nicht existieren, wenn es sich einer ständigen Bedrohung durch das Territorium der heutigen Ukraine ausgesetzt sieht.“ Das heißt, Putin war nicht daran interessiert, die Ukraine zu einem Teil Russlands zu machen, sondern er wollte sicherstellen, dass sie nicht zu einem „Sprungbrett“ für westliche Aggressionen gegen Russland wird.

ZWEITENS gibt es keinerlei Hinweise dafür, dass Putin eine Marionettenregierung für die Ukraine vorbereitete, in Kiew prorussische Führungspersönlichkeiten aufbaute oder irgendwelche politischen Maßnahmen verfolgte, die eine Besetzung des gesamten Landes und dessen letztendliche Eingliederung in Russland ermöglichen würden.

Diese Fakten widersprechen der Behauptung, Putin sei daran interessiert gewesen, die Ukraine von der Landkarte zu tilgen. 

**DRITTENS: Putin hatte nicht annähernd genug Truppen, um die Ukraine zu erobern. **

Beginnen wir mit den Gesamtzahlen. Ich schätze seit langem, dass die Russen mit höchstens 190.000 Soldaten in die Ukraine einmarschiert sind. General Oleksandr Syrskyi, der derzeitige Oberbefehlshaber der ukrainischen Streitkräfte, sagte kürzlich in einem Interview mit The Guardian, dass die russische Invasionstruppe nur 100.000 Mann stark war. The Guardian hatte diese Zahl bereits vor Beginn des Krieges genannt. Es ist unmöglich, dass eine Truppe von 100.000 oder 190.000 Mann die gesamte Ukraine erobern, besetzen und in ein Großrussland eingliedern könnte.

Bedenken Sie, dass die Wehrmacht beim deutschen Überfall auf die westliche Hälfte Polens im September 1939 etwa 1,5 Millionen Mann zählte. Die Ukraine ist geografisch mehr als dreimal so groß wie die westliche Hälfte Polens im Jahr 1939, und in der Ukraine leben im Jahr 2022 fast doppelt so viele Menschen wie in Polen zum Zeitpunkt des deutschen Überfalls. Wenn wir die Schätzung von General Syrskyi akzeptieren, dass 100.000 russische Truppen im Jahr 2022 in die Ukraine einmarschierten, bedeutet dies, dass Russland über eine Invasionsstreitmacht verfügte, die 1/15 der Größe der deutschen Streitkräfte war, die in Polen einmarschierten. Und diese kleine russische Armee marschierte in ein Land ein, das sowohl territorial als auch von der Bevölkerungszahl her viel größer war als Polen.

Abgesehen von den Zahlen stellt sich die Frage nach der Qualität der russischen Armee. Zunächst einmal handelte es sich um eine militärische Streitkraft, die in erster Linie dazu bestimmt war, Russland vor einer Invasion zu schützen. Es handelte sich nicht um eine Armee, die für eine Großoffensive zur Eroberung der gesamten Ukraine, geschweige denn zur Bedrohung des übrigen Europas, gerüstet war. Außerdem ließ die Qualität der Kampftruppen zu wünschen übrig, da die Russen nicht mit einem Krieg rechneten, als sich die Krise im Frühjahr 2021 zuzuspitzen begann. Daher hatten sie kaum Gelegenheit, eine qualifizierte Invasionstruppe auszubilden. Sowohl qualitativ als auch quantitativ war die russische Invasionstruppe nicht annähernd mit der deutschen Wehrmacht der späten 1930er und frühen 1940er Jahre vergleichbar.

Man könnte argumentieren, dass die russische Führung dachte, das ukrainische Militär sei so klein und so unterlegen, dass ihre Armee die ukrainischen Streitkräfte leicht besiegen und das ganze Land erobern könnte. Tatsächlich wussten Putin und seine Leutnants sehr wohl, dass die Vereinigten Staaten und ihre europäischen Verbündeten das ukrainische Militär seit Ausbruch der Krise am 22. Februar 2014 bewaffnet und ausgebildet hatten. Die große Befürchtung Moskaus war, dass die Ukraine de facto Mitglied der NATO werden würde. Außerdem beobachteten die russischen Führer, wie die ukrainische Armee, die größer war als ihre Invasionstruppen, zwischen 2014 und 2022 im Donbass erfolgreich kämpfte. Ihnen war sicherlich klar, dass das ukrainische Militär kein Papiertiger war, der schnell und entschlossen besiegt werden konnte, zumal es über eine starke Rückendeckung durch den Westen verfügte.

Schließlich waren die Russen im Laufe des Jahres 2022 gezwungen, ihre Armee aus der Oblast Charkiw und aus dem westlichen Teil der Oblast Cherson abzuziehen. Damit gab Moskau Gebiete auf, die seine Armee in den ersten Tagen des Krieges erobert hatte. Es steht außer Frage, dass der Druck der ukrainischen Armee eine Rolle dabei spielte, den russischen Rückzug zu erzwingen. Vor allem aber erkannten Putin und seine Generäle, dass sie nicht über genügend Kräfte verfügten, um das gesamte Gebiet, das ihre Armee in Charkiw und Cherson erobert hatte, zu halten. Also zogen sie sich zurück und schufen besser kontrollierbare Verteidigungspositionen. Dies ist kaum das Verhalten, das man von einer Armee erwarten würde, die aufgebaut und ausgebildet wurde, um die gesamte Ukraine zu erobern und zu besetzen. Tatsächlich war sie für diesen Zweck nicht konzipiert und konnte daher diese Herkulesaufgabe nicht bewältigen.

VIERTENS: In den Monaten vor Kriegsbeginn versuchte Putin, eine diplomatische Lösung für die sich anbahnende Krise zu finden.

Am 17. Dezember 2021 sandte Putin ein Schreiben an Präsident Joe Biden und NATO-Chef Stoltenberg, in dem er eine Lösung der Krise auf der Grundlage einer schriftlichen Garantie vorschlug, dass: 1) die Ukraine der NATO nicht beitreten würde, 2) keine Angriffswaffen in der Nähe der russischen Grenzen stationiert würden und 3) die seit 1997 nach Osteuropa verlegten NATO-Truppen und -Ausrüstung nach Westeuropa zurückverlegt würden. Was auch immer man von der Machbarkeit einer Einigung auf der Grundlage von Putins Eröffnungsforderungen halten mag, über die die Vereinigten Staaten keine Verhandlungen führen wollten, es zeigt, dass er versuchte, einen Krieg zu vermeiden.

FÜNFTENS: Unmittelbar nach Beginn des Krieges hat Russland der Ukraine die Hand gereicht, um Verhandlungen zur Beendigung des Krieges und zur Ausarbeitung eines Modus Vivendi zwischen den beiden Ländern aufzunehmen.

Die Verhandlungen zwischen Kiew und Moskau begannen in Weißrussland nur vier Tage nach dem Einmarsch russischer Truppen in die Ukraine. Diese weißrussische Schiene wurde schließlich durch eine israelische und eine Istanbuler Schiene ersetzt. Alle verfügbaren Beweise deuten darauf hin, dass Russland ernsthaft verhandelte und nicht an der Übernahme ukrainischen Territoriums interessiert war, mit Ausnahme der Krim, die es 2014 annektiert hatte, und möglicherweise des Donbass. Die Verhandlungen endeten, als die Ukrainer auf Drängen Großbritanniens und der Vereinigten Staaten die Verhandlungen abbrachen, die zum Zeitpunkt ihrer Beendigung gute Fortschritte gemacht hatten.

Darüber hinaus berichtet Putin, dass er, als die Verhandlungen stattfanden und Fortschritte machten, gebeten wurde, als Geste des guten Willens die russischen Truppen aus dem Gebiet um Kiew abzuziehen, was er am 29. März 2022 tat. Keine westliche Regierung und kein ehemaliger Politiker hat diese Behauptung Putins angefochten, die in direktem Widerspruch zu seiner Behauptung steht, er wolle die gesamte Ukraine erobern.

SECHSTENS: Abgesehen von der Ukraine gibt es nicht den geringsten Hinweis darauf, dass Putin die Eroberung anderer osteuropäischer Länder ins Auge gefasst hat.

Außerdem ist die russische Armee nicht einmal groß genug, um die gesamte Ukraine zu überrennen, ganz zu schweigen von dem Versuch, die baltischen Staaten, Polen und Rumänien zu erobern. Außerdem sind alle diese Länder NATO-Mitglieder, was mit ziemlicher Sicherheit einen Krieg mit den Vereinigten Staaten und ihren Verbündeten bedeuten würde.

**SIEBTENS: Kaum jemand im Westen behauptete, Putin habe imperiale Ambitionen, seit er im Jahr 2000 die Macht übernahm, bis zum Beginn der Ukraine-Krise am 22. Februar 2014. Zu diesem Zeitpunkt wurde er plötzlich zum imperialen Aggressor. Warum? Weil die westlichen Staats- und Regierungschefs einen Grund brauchten, ihm die Schuld für die Krise zu geben. **

Der wohl beste Beweis dafür, dass Putin in den ersten vierzehn Jahren seiner Amtszeit nicht als ernsthafte Bedrohung angesehen wurde, ist die Tatsache, dass er auf dem NATO-Gipfel im April 2008 in Bukarest ein geladener Gast war, auf dem das Bündnis bekannt gab, dass die Ukraine und Georgien schließlich Mitglieder werden würden. Putin war natürlich erzürnd über diese Entscheidung und machte seinem Unmut Luft. Sein Widerstand gegen diese Ankündigung hatte jedoch kaum Auswirkungen auf Washington, da das russische Militär als zu schwach eingeschätzt wurde, um eine weitere NATO-Erweiterung zu verhindern, so wie es auch bei den Erweiterungswellen von 1999 und 2004 zu schwach gewesen war, um sie aufzuhalten. Der Westen glaubte, er könne Russland die NATO-Erweiterung noch einmal aufzwingen.

Außerdem war die NATO-Erweiterung vor dem 22. Februar 2014 nicht darauf ausgerichtet, Russland einzudämmen. Angesichts des traurigen Zustands der russischen Militärmacht war Moskau nicht in der Lage, die Ukraine zu erobern, geschweige denn eine revanchistische Politik in Osteuropa zu verfolgen. Der ehemalige US-Botschafter in Moskau, Michael McFaul, der ein entschiedener Verfechter der Ukraine und scharfer Kritiker Putins ist, stellt bezeichnenderweise fest, dass die Einnahme der Krim durch Russland im Jahr 2014 vor Ausbruch der Krise nicht geplant war; es war eine impulsive Reaktion auf den Putsch, der den prorussischen Führer der Ukraine stürzte. Kurz gesagt, die NATO-Erweiterung war nicht dazu gedacht, eine russische Bedrohung einzudämmen, weil der Westen nicht glaubte, dass es eine solche gab.

Erst als im Februar 2014 die Ukraine-Krise ausbrach, begannen die Vereinigten Staaten und ihre Verbündeten plötzlich, Putin als gefährlichen Führer mit imperialen Ambitionen und Russland als ernsthafte militärische Bedrohung zu beschreiben, die die NATO eindämmen müsse. Dieser abrupte Wechsel der Rhetorik sollte einem wesentlichen Zweck dienen: dem Westen die Möglichkeit zu geben, Putin für die Krise verantwortlich zu machen und den Westen von der Verantwortung freizusprechen. Es überrascht nicht, dass diese Darstellung Putins nach dem Einmarsch Russlands in die Ukraine am 24. Februar 2022 deutlich an Zugkraft gewann.

Eine Abweichung von der gängigen Meinung ist erwähnenswert. Einige argumentieren, dass die Entscheidung Moskaus, in die Ukraine einzumarschieren, wenig mit Putin selbst zu tun hat und stattdessen Teil einer expansionistischen Tradition ist, die lange vor Putin bestand und tief in der russischen Gesellschaft verwurzelt ist. Dieser Hang zur Aggression, der angeblich von inneren Kräften und nicht von Russlands äußerem Bedrohungsumfeld angetrieben wird, hat im Laufe der Zeit praktisch alle russischen Führer dazu gebracht, sich ihren Nachbarn gegenüber gewalttätig zu verhalten. Es lässt sich nicht leugnen, dass Putin in dieser Geschichte das Sagen hat oder dass er Russland in den Krieg geführt hat, aber es heißt, dass er wenig Einfluss hat. Fast jeder andere russische Führer hätte genauso gehandelt.

Es gibt zwei Probleme mit diesem Argument. Erstens ist es nicht widerlegbar, da der langjährige Charakterzug in der russischen Gesellschaft, der diesen aggressiven Impuls hervorrufe, nie identifiziert wurde. Es heißt, die Russen seien schon immer aggressiv gewesen – egal, wer an der Macht sei – und würden es auch immer sein. Es ist fast so, als ob es in ihrer DNA läge. Die gleiche Behauptung wurde einst über die Deutschen aufgestellt, die im zwanzigsten Jahrhundert oft als angeborene Aggressoren dargestellt wurden. Derartige Argumente werden in der akademischen Welt aus gutem Grund nicht ernst genommen.

Außerdem bezeichnete zwischen 1991 und 2014, als die Ukraine-Krise ausbrach, kaum jemand in den Vereinigten Staaten oder Westeuropa Russland als von Natur aus aggressiv. Außerhalb Polens und der baltischen Staaten wurde die Angst vor russischer Aggression in diesen 24 Jahren nicht häufig geäußert, was man erwarten würde, wenn die Russen zu Aggressionen veranlagt wären. Es scheint klar, dass das plötzliche Auftauchen dieser Argumentation eine bequeme Ausrede war, um Russland die Schuld für den Ukrainekrieg zu geben.  

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Lassen Sie mich einen anderen Gang einlegen und die DREI HAUPTGRÜNDE darlegen, die dafür sprechen, dass die NATO-Erweiterung die Hauptursache für den Ukraine-Krieg war.

**ERSTENS sagten russische Führer aller Art vor Kriegsbeginn wiederholt, dass sie die NATO-Erweiterung in die Ukraine als eine existenzielle Bedrohung betrachten, die beseitigt werden muss. **

Putin hat diese Argumentation bereits vor dem 24. Februar 2022 mehrfach öffentlich dargelegt. In einer Rede vor dem Vorstand des Verteidigungsministeriums am 21. Dezember 2021 erklärte er: „Was sie in der Ukraine tun oder versuchen oder planen, findet nicht Tausende von Kilometern entfernt von unserer Landesgrenze statt. Es geschieht direkt vor unserer Haustür. Sie müssen verstehen, dass wir uns einfach nirgendwo mehr hin zurückziehen können. Glauben sie wirklich, dass wir diese Bedrohungen nicht wahrnehmen? Oder glauben sie, dass wir tatenlos zusehen werden, wie Bedrohungen für Russland entstehen?“ Zwei Monate später, auf einer Pressekonferenz am 22. Februar 2022, nur wenige Tage vor Kriegsbeginn, sagte Putin: „Wir sind kategorisch gegen einen NATO-Beitritt der Ukraine, weil dies eine Bedrohung für uns darstellt, und wir haben Argumente, die dies unterstützen. Ich habe in diesem Saal wiederholt darüber gesprochen.“ Dann machte er deutlich, dass er begreift, dass die Ukraine ein Defacto-Mitglied der NATO werde. Die Vereinigten Staaten und ihre Verbündeten, sagte er, „pumpen die derzeitigen Kiewer Machthaber weiterhin mit modernen Waffentypen voll“. Er fuhr fort, dass Moskau, wenn dies nicht gestoppt werde, „mit einem bis an die Zähne bewaffneten 'Antirussland' dastehen würde. Das ist völlig inakzeptabel.“

Auch andere führende russische Politiker - darunter der Verteidigungsminister, der Außenminister, der stellvertretende Außenminister und der russische Botschafter in Washington - betonten die zentrale Bedeutung der NATO-Erweiterung als Auslöser der Ukraine-Krise. Außenminister Sergej Lawrow brachte es auf einer Pressekonferenz am 14. Januar 2022 auf den Punkt: „Der Schlüssel zu allem ist die Garantie, dass die NATO nicht nach Osten expandieren wird.“

Man hört oft das Argument, die russischen Befürchtungen seien unbegründet, weil es keine Chance gebe, dass die Ukraine dem Bündnis in absehbarer Zukunft beitreten würde, wenn überhaupt. Tatsächlich wird behauptet, die Vereinigten Staaten und ihre europäischen Verbündeten hätten der Aufnahme der Ukraine in die NATO vor dem Krieg wenig Aufmerksamkeit geschenkt. Aber selbst wenn die Ukraine dem Bündnis beitreten würde, wäre dies keine existenzielle Bedrohung für Russland, da die NATO ein Verteidigungsbündnis ist. Daher kann die NATO-Erweiterung weder eine Ursache der ursprünglichen Krise gewesen sein, die im Februar 2014 ausbrach, noch des Krieges, der im Februar 2022 begann. 

Diese Argumentation ist falsch. Tatsächlich bestand die westliche Reaktion auf die Ereignisse von 2014 darin, die bestehende Strategie zu verdoppeln und die Ukraine noch näher an die NATO heranzuführen. Das Bündnis begann 2014 mit der Ausbildung des ukrainischen Militärs und bildete in den folgenden acht Jahren durchschnittlich 10.000 Soldaten pro Jahr aus. Im Dezember 2017 beschloss die Trump-Regierung, Kiew mit „Verteidigungswaffen“ zu versorgen. Andere NATO-Länder zogen bald nach und lieferten noch mehr Waffen an die Ukraine. Darüber hinaus begannen die ukrainische Armee, Marine und Luftwaffe, an gemeinsamen Militärübungen mit NATO-Streitkräften teilzunehmen. Die Bemühungen des Westens, das ukrainische Militär zu bewaffnen und auszubilden, erklären zu einem großen Teil, warum es im ersten Kriegsjahr so ​​gut gegen die russische Armee abschnitt. Eine Schlagzeile im Wall Street Journal vom April 2022 lautete: „Das Geheimnis des militärischen Erfolgs der Ukraine: Jahrelange NATO-Ausbildung.“ 

Abgesehen von den laufenden Bemühungen des Bündnisses, das ukrainische Militär zu einer schlagkräftigeren Kampftruppe zu machen, die an der Seite der NATO-Truppen operieren kann, gab es im Westen im Laufe des Jahres 2021 eine neue Begeisterung für die Aufnahme der Ukraine in die NATO. Gleichzeitig vollzog Präsident Zelensky, der nie viel Enthusiasmus für eine Aufnahme der Ukraine in das Bündnis gezeigt hatte und im März 2019 auf der Grundlage einer Plattform gewählt wurde, die zur Zusammenarbeit mit Russland bei der Beilegung der anhaltenden Krise aufrief, Anfang 2021 einen Kurswechsel und befürwortete nicht nur die NATO-Mitgliedschaft der Ukraine, sondern vertrat auch eine harte Linie gegenüber Moskau.

Präsident Biden, der im Januar 2021 ins Weiße Haus einzog, hatte sich seit langem für die Aufnahme der Ukraine in die NATO eingesetzt und war ein Superfalke gegenüber Russland. Es überrascht nicht, dass die NATO am 14. Juni 2021 auf ihrem jährlichen Gipfel in Brüssel ein Kommuniqué herausgab, in dem es hieß: „Wir bekräftigen den auf dem Gipfel von Bukarest 2008 gefassten Beschluss, dass die Ukraine Mitglied des Bündnisses wird.“ Am 1. September 2021 besuchte Zelensky das Weiße Haus, wo Biden klarstellte, dass die Vereinigten Staaten „fest entschlossen“ seien, „die euro-atlantischen Bestrebungen der Ukraine zu unterstützen“. Am 10. November 2021 unterzeichneten Außenminister Antony Blinken und sein ukrainischer Amtskollege Dmytro Kuleba ein wichtiges Dokument - die „Charta der strategischen Partnerschaft zwischen den USA und der Ukraine“. Das Ziel beider Parteien, so heißt es in dem Dokument, ist es, „das Engagement für die Durchführung tiefgreifender und umfassender Reformen in der Ukraine zu unterstreichen, die für eine vollständige Integration in die europäischen und euro-atlantischen Institutionen erforderlich sind.“ Es bekräftigt auch ausdrücklich das Engagement der USA für die „Bukarester Gipfelerklärung von 2008“.

Es scheint kaum Zweifel daran zu geben, dass die Ukraine auf dem besten Weg war, bis Ende 2021 Mitglied der NATO zu werden. Dennoch argumentieren einige Befürworter dieser Politik, dass sich Moskau keine Sorgen über dieses Ergebnis hätte machen müssen, denn „die NATO ist ein Verteidigungsbündnis und stellt keine Bedrohung für Russland dar“. Aber das ist nicht die Meinung Putins und anderer russischer Politiker über die NATO, und es kommt darauf an, was sie denken. Kurz gesagt, es steht außer Frage, dass Moskau den Beitritt der Ukraine zur NATO als eine existenzielle Bedrohung ansah, die nicht hingenommen werden durfte.

ZWEITENS erkannte eine beträchtliche Anzahl einflussreicher und hoch angesehener Persönlichkeiten im Westen vor dem Krieg, dass die Expansion der NATO – insbesondere in die Ukraine – von der russischen Führung als tödliche Bedrohung angesehen werden und schließlich zur Katastrophe führen würde.

William Burns, der heute die CIA leitet („heute“ leitet John Ratcliffe die CIA, aktualisieren ODER am Anfang des Textes klarstellen, dass er schon älter ist ODER „heute“ streichen und „leitete“ statt „leitet“), aber zum Zeitpunkt des NATO-Gipfels in Bukarest im April 2008 US-Botschafter in Moskau war, verfasste ein Memo an die damalige Außenministerin Condoleezza Rice, in dem er die russischen Überlegungen zur Aufnahme der Ukraine in die Allianz prägnant beschreibt. „Der Beitritt der Ukraine zur NATO“, so schrieb er, „ist für die russische Elite (nicht nur für Putin) die klarste aller roten Linien. In den mehr als zweieinhalb Jahren, in denen ich Gespräche mit den wichtigsten russischen Akteuren geführt habe, von Scharfmachern in den dunklen Nischen des Kremls bis hin zu Putins schärfsten liberalen Kritikern, habe ich noch niemanden gefunden, der die Aufnahme der Ukraine in die NATO als etwas anderes betrachtet als eine direkte Herausforderung für die russischen Interessen.“ Die NATO, so sagte er, „würde als ein strategischer Fehdehandschuh angesehen werden. Das heutige Russland wird darauf reagieren. Die russisch-ukrainischen Beziehungen würden auf Eis gelegt ... Das würde einen fruchtbaren Boden für russische Einmischungen auf der Krim und in der Ostukraine schaffen.“

Burns war 2008 nicht der einzige westliche Entscheidungsträger, der erkannte, dass die Aufnahme der Ukraine in die NATO mit Gefahren verbunden war. Auf dem Bukarester Gipfel sprachen sich sowohl die deutsche Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel als auch der französische Präsident Nicolas Sarkozy gegen eine NATO-Mitgliedschaft der Ukraine aus, weil sie wussten, dass dies Russland alarmieren und verärgern würde. Merkel erklärte kürzlich ihre Ablehnung: „Ich war mir sehr sicher, ... dass Putin das nicht einfach zulassen wird. Aus seiner Sicht wäre das eine Kriegserklärung“.

Um noch einen Schritt weiter zu gehen: Zahlreiche amerikanische Politiker und Strategen sprachen sich in den 1990er Jahren gegen die Entscheidung von Präsident Clinton aus, die NATO zu erweitern, als diese Entscheidung noch zur Debatte stand. Diesen Gegnern war von Anfang an klar, dass die russische Führung darin eine Bedrohung ihrer lebenswichtigen Interessen sehen würde und dass diese Politik letztlich in eine Katastrophe münden würde. Die Liste der Gegner umfasst prominente Persönlichkeiten des Establishments wie George Kennan, sowohl Präsident Clintons Verteidigungsminister William Perry als auch seinen Vorsitzenden des Vereinigten Generalstabs, General John Shalikashvili, Paul Nitze, Robert Gates, Robert McNamara, Richard Pipes und Jack Matlock, um nur einige zu nennen.

Die Logik von Putins Position sollte für Amerikaner, die seit langem der Monroe-Doktrin verpflichtet sind, vollkommen verständlich sein. Diese besagt, dass keine entfernte Großmacht ein Bündnis mit einem Land in der westlichen Hemisphäre eingehen und ihre militärischen Streitkräfte dort stationieren darf. Die Vereinigten Staaten würden einen solchen Schritt als existenzielle Bedrohung auffassen und alles tun, um diese Gefahr zu beseitigen. Dies geschah natürlich auch während der Kubakrise 1962, als Präsident Kennedy den Sowjets klar machte, dass ihre Atomraketen aus Kuba abgezogen werden müssten. Putin ist zutiefst von derselben Logik beeinflusst. Schließlich wollen Großmächte nicht, dass sich entfernte Großmächte in ihrem Hinterhof ansiedeln.

DRITTENS: Die zentrale Bedeutung der tiefen Angst Russlands vor einem NATO-Beitritt der Ukraine wird durch zwei Entwicklungen seit Kriegsbeginn verdeutlicht.

Während der Istanbuler Verhandlungen, die unmittelbar nach Beginn der Invasion stattfanden, machten die Russen deutlich, dass die Ukraine eine „dauerhafte Neutralität“ akzeptieren müsse und der NATO nicht beitreten könne. Die Ukrainer akzeptierten die Forderung Russlands ohne ernsthaften Widerstand, sicherlich weil sie wussten, dass es sonst unmöglich wäre, den Krieg zu beenden. In jüngerer Zeit, am 14. Juni 2024, stellte Putin zwei Forderungen, die die Ukraine erfüllen müsse, bevor er einem Waffenstillstand und der Aufnahme von Verhandlungen zur Beendigung des Krieges zustimmen würde. Eine dieser Forderungen war, dass Kiew „offiziell“ erklärt, „dass es seine Pläne, der NATO beizutreten, aufgibt“.

Das alles ist nicht überraschend, denn Russland hat die Ukraine in der NATO immer als existenzielle Bedrohung gesehen, die um jeden Preis verhindert werden muss. Diese Logik ist die treibende Kraft hinter dem Ukraine-Krieg.

Schließlich ist aus der Verhandlungsposition Russlands in Istanbul sowie aus Putins Äußerungen zur Beendigung des Krieges in seiner Ansprache vom 14. Juni 2024 klar ersichtlich, dass er nicht daran interessiert ist, die gesamte Ukraine zu erobern und sie zu einem Teil eines größeren Russlands zu machen.

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John Joseph Mearsheimer (* 14. Dezember 1947 in Brooklyn, New York City) ist ein US-amerikanischer Politikwissenschaftler an der University of Chicago. Sein Schwerpunkt ist die Analyse internationaler Beziehungen aus der Perspektive des offensiven Neorealismus, den er erstmals 2001 in seiner Monografie The Tragedy of Great Power Politics darstellte.

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Dieser Text von John J. Mearsheimer erschien am 5.8.2024 auf Substack.Vielen Dank für die Genehmigung des Autors zum Abdruck der deutschen Übersetzung. Die Übersetzung wurde von Thomas Mayer erstellt. 

Neben der NATO-Osterweiterung gibt es weitere Faktoren die zum Ukraine-Krieg führten, zum Beispiel der Nationalismus in der Ukraine und die Unterdrückung der ethnisch-russischen Bevölkerung.

Ausführlich sind die vielschichtigen Hintergründe des Ukraine-Krieges geschildert in dem Buch von Thomas Mayer: Wahrheitssuche im Ukraine-Krieg – Um was es wirklich geht, 600 Seiten, ISBN 978-3-89060-863-1, Infos zum Buch: https://kurzelinks.de/h10a

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LASSEN SIE DER FRIEDENSTAUBE FLÜGEL WACHSEN!

In Kürze folgt eine Mail an alle Genossenschafter, danke für die Geduld!

Hier können Sie die Friedenstaube abonnieren und bekommen die Artikel zugesandt.

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Wenn Sie auf anderem Wege beitragen wollen, schreiben Sie die Friedenstaube an: friedenstaube@pareto.space

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Sie sind noch nicht auf Nostr and wollen die volle Erfahrung machen (liken, kommentieren etc.)? Zappen können Sie den Autor auch ohne Nostr-Profil! Erstellen Sie sich einen Account auf Start. Weitere Onboarding-Leitfäden gibt es im Pareto-Wiki.

@ 3f770d65:7a745b24

🏌️ Monday, May 26 – Bitcoin Golf Championship & Kickoff Party

Location: Las Vegas, Nevada\ Event: 2nd Annual Bitcoin Golf Championship & Kick Off Party"\ Where: Bali Hai Golf Clubhouse, 5160 S Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89119\ 🎟️ Get Tickets!

Details:

• The week tees off in style with the Bitcoin Golf Championship. Swing clubs by day and swing to music by night.

• Live performances from Nostr-powered acts courtesy of Tunestr, including Ainsley Costello and others.

• Stop by the Purple Pill Booth hosted by Derek and Tanja, who will be on-boarding golfers and attendees to the decentralized social future with Nostr.

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💬 May 27–29 – Bitcoin 2025 Conference at the Las Vegas Convention Center

Location: The Venetian Resort\ Main Attraction for Nostr Fans: The Nostr Lounge\ When: All day, Tuesday through Thursday\ Where: Right outside the Open Source Stage\ 🎟️ Get Tickets!

Come chill at the Nostr Lounge, your home base for all things decentralized social. With seating for \~50, comfy couches, high-tops, and good vibes, it’s the perfect space to meet developers, community leaders, and curious newcomers building the future of censorship-resistant communication.

Bonus: Right across the aisle, you’ll find Shopstr, a decentralized marketplace app built on Nostr. Stop by their booth to explore how peer-to-peer commerce works in a truly open ecosystem.

Daily Highlights at the Lounge:

• ☕️ Hang out casually or sit down for a deeper conversation about the Nostr protocol

• 🔧 1:1 demos from app teams

• 🛍️ Merch available onsite

• 🧠 Impromptu lightning talks

• 🎤 Scheduled Meetups (details below)

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🎯 Nostr Lounge Meetups

Wednesday, May 28 @ 1:00 PM

• Damus Meetup: Come meet the team behind Damus, the OG Nostr app for iOS that helped kickstart the social revolution. They'll also be showcasing their new cross-platform app, Notedeck, designed for a more unified Nostr experience across devices. Grab some merch, get a demo, and connect directly with the developers.

Thursday, May 29 @ 1:00 PM

• Primal Meetup: Dive into Primal, the slickest Nostr experience available on web, Android, and iOS. With a built-in wallet, zapping your favorite creators and friends has never been easier. The team will be on-site for hands-on demos, Q\&A, merch giveaways, and deeper discussions on building the social layer of Bitcoin.

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🎙️ Nostr Talks at Bitcoin 2025

If you want to hear from the minds building decentralized social, make sure you attend these two official conference sessions:

1. FROSTR Workshop: Multisig Nostr Signing

• 🕚 Time: 11:30 AM – 12:00 PM

• 📅 Date: Wednesday, May 28

• 📍 Location: Developer Zone

• 🎤 Speaker: nostr:nprofile1qy2hwumn8ghj7etyv4hzumn0wd68ytnvv9hxgqgdwaehxw309ahx7uewd3hkcqpqs9etjgzjglwlaxdhsveq0qksxyh6xpdpn8ajh69ruetrug957r3qf4ggfm (Austin Kelsay) @ Voltage\ A deep-dive into FROST-based multisig key management for Nostr. Geared toward devs and power users interested in key security.

2. Panel: Decentralizing Social Media

• 🕑 Time: 2:00 PM – 2:30 PM

• 📅 Date: Thursday, May 29

• 📍 Location: Genesis Stage

• 🎙️ Moderator: nostr:nprofile1qyxhwumn8ghj7mn0wvhxcmmvqy08wumn8ghj7mn0wd68yttjv4kxz7fwv3jhyettwfhhxuewd4jsqgxnqajr23msx5malhhcz8paa2t0r70gfjpyncsqx56ztyj2nyyvlq00heps - Bitcoin Strategy @ Roxom TV

• 👥 Speakers:

• nostr:nprofile1qyt8wumn8ghj7etyv4hzumn0wd68ytnvv9hxgtcppemhxue69uhkummn9ekx7mp0qqsy2ga7trfetvd3j65m3jptqw9k39wtq2mg85xz2w542p5dhg06e5qmhlpep – Early Bitcoin dev, CEO @ Sirius Business Ltd

• nostr:nprofile1qy2hwumn8ghj7mn0wd68ytndv9kxjm3wdahxcqg5waehxw309ahx7um5wfekzarkvyhxuet5qqsw4v882mfjhq9u63j08kzyhqzqxqc8tgf740p4nxnk9jdv02u37ncdhu7e3 – Analyst & Partner @ Ego Death Capital

Get the big-picture perspective on why decentralized social matters and how Nostr fits into the future of digital communication.

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🌃 NOS VEGAS Meetup & Afterparty

Date: Wednesday, May 28\ Time: 7:00 PM – 1:00 AM\ Location: We All Scream Nightclub, 517 Fremont St., Las Vegas, NV 89101\ 🎟️ Get Tickets!

What to Expect:

• 🎶 Live Music Stage – Featuring Ainsley Costello, Sara Jade, Able James, Martin Groom, Bobby Shell, Jessie Lark, and other V4V artists

• 🪩 DJ Party Deck – With sets by nostr:nprofile1qy0hwumn8ghj7cmgdae82uewd45kketyd9kxwetj9e3k7mf6xs6rgqgcwaehxw309ahx7um5wgh85mm694ek2unk9ehhyecqyq7hpmq75krx2zsywntgtpz5yzwjyg2c7sreardcqmcp0m67xrnkwylzzk4 , nostr:nprofile1qy2hwumn8ghj7etyv4hzumn0wd68ytnvv9hxgqgkwaehxw309anx2etywvhxummnw3ezucnpdejqqg967faye3x6fxgnul77ej23l5aew8yj0x2e4a3tq2mkrgzrcvecfsk8xlu3 , and more DJs throwing down

• 🛰️ Live-streamed via Tunestr

• 🧠 Nostr Education – Talks by nostr:nprofile1qy88wumn8ghj7mn0wvhxcmmv9uq37amnwvaz7tmwdaehgu3dwfjkccte9ejx2un9ddex7umn9ekk2tcqyqlhwrt96wnkf2w9edgr4cfruchvwkv26q6asdhz4qg08pm6w3djg3c8m4j , nostr:nprofile1qy2hwumn8ghj7etyv4hzumn0wd68ytnvv9hxgqg7waehxw309anx2etywvhxummnw3ezucnpdejz7ur0wp6kcctjqqspywh6ulgc0w3k6mwum97m7jkvtxh0lcjr77p9jtlc7f0d27wlxpslwvhau , nostr:nprofile1qy88wumn8ghj7mn0wvhxcmmv9uq3vamnwvaz7tmwdaehgu3wd33xgetk9en82m30qqsgqke57uygxl0m8elstq26c4mq2erz3dvdtgxwswwvhdh0xcs04sc4u9p7d , nostr:nprofile1q9z8wumn8ghj7erzx3jkvmmzw4eny6tvw368wdt8da4kxamrdvek76mrwg6rwdngw94k67t3v36k77tev3kx7vn2xa5kjem9dp4hjepwd3hkxctvqyg8wumn8ghj7mn0wd68ytnhd9hx2qpqyaul8k059377u9lsu67de7y637w4jtgeuwcmh5n7788l6xnlnrgssuy4zk , nostr:nprofile1qy28wue69uhnzvpwxqhrqt33xgmn5dfsx5cqz9thwden5te0v4jx2m3wdehhxarj9ekxzmnyqqswavgevxe9gs43vwylumr7h656mu9vxmw4j6qkafc3nefphzpph8ssvcgf8 , and more.

• 🧾 Vendors & Project Booths – Explore new tools and services

• 🔐 Onboarding Stations – Learn how to use Nostr hands-on

• 🐦 Nostrich Flocking – Meet your favorite nyms IRL

• 🍸 Three Full Bars – Two floors of socializing overlooking vibrant Fremont Street

| | | | | ----------- | -------------------- | ------------------- | | Time | Name | Topic | | 7:30-7:50 | Derek | Nostr for Beginners | | 8:00-8:20 | Mark & Paul | Primal | | 8:30-8:50 | Terry | Damus | | 9:00-9:20 | OpenMike and Ainsley | V4V | | 09:30-09:50 | The Space | Space |

This is the after-party of the year for those who love freedom technology and decentralized social community. Don’t miss it.

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Final Thoughts

Whether you're there to learn, network, party, or build, Bitcoin 2025 in Las Vegas has a packed week of Nostr-friendly programming. Be sure to catch all the events, visit the Nostr Lounge, and experience the growing decentralized social revolution.

🟣 Find us. Flock with us. Purple pill someone.

@ c1e6505c:02b3157e

This is day two of testing the Leica Summaron 35mm f2.8 on the Fujifilm X-Pro2.

The first part of this story you can find here on StackerNews**

TL;DR: I think I’m really enjoying this lens.

I went into it thinking I’d probably just sell it since it was gifted to me - assumed I wouldn’t like it. But after just a couple of days with it mounted on the X-Pro2, I’ve been surprisingly drawn to it.

Shooting wide open at f2.8 (which is how I’m testing it - to best reveal the lens’s character), the soft roll-off is really pleasing. It feels organic. The lens is over 50 years old, so I expected some quirks-but the quality feels natural, not overly “vintage". Takes the digital edge off.

The short focus throw is also really nice. Compared to the Summicron 35mm f2 v3 I usually shoot on my M262 (which has a longer throw), the Summaron feels tighter and more responsive when zone focusing.

One gripe: the infinity lock. It’s kind of annoying. I find myself accidentally locking it too often, but I’m getting used to holding the button down as I rotate the ring. I’ve read others complain about it, so I know I’m not alone there.

Most of these shots were from a bike ride to the river - about 6 miles out to swim and enjoy the sun. Perfect day for making a few photos.

This kind of work is honestly just fun. I enjoy the process, and even more so once I’m happy with the results and can share them.

Still building confidence in my work over time. I think I’m slowly refining my style - even if the subject matter is simple. Easier said than done, as any editor/curator knows (and I say this as one through NOICE Magazine).

Let me know what you think. I’ll try to upload higher resolution versions this time around (but not too high).

*Also, I use a program called Dehancer for creating the grain in these photographs. I highly recommend the program actually, I've been using it for a long time. If you would like to try it out, I have a promo code. Use "Pictureroom" for 10% off I believe.

You can further support me and my work by sending sats to colincz\@getalby.com. Thank you.

(note* this is being publised from the updated Primal reads client)

@ 8671a6e5:f88194d1

Even bitcoiners don’t value hard money enough (yet)

Bitcoiners love to talk about hard money and how bitcoin will change the world. They even claim to fix the world, by fixing “the money”.Yet many talk the talk, but don’t make the efforts, nor sacrifices.Walking the walk, is usually no further than the nearest bitcoin meetup, or the occasional trip to a tax-haven.Other than that. They’re chained to their fiat-past. Their kids, their house, their hobbies, their spouse and job.They serve the local bank branch (beg them to have a bit of their own money like everyone else), they watch TV, hold bitcoin and have this mindset where they truly think that bitcoin will grow, despite them doing jack all. They think they can reap the benefits in silence, while others do the heavy lifting, they smirk.They delude themselves however, thinking their sly passive stance is a risk-free act of brilliance.However, they’re scared, and have bitcoin in a fiat cage.Their existence is just a wallet waiting to be drained by force or pressure. By the same monstrous forces that keep our heads down.Whether discussing its digital scarcity or its fiat price, the focus invariably circles back to Bitcoin as a driver for a product or service.Do you want bitcoin, do you like bitcoin? Want to work with bitcoin? Here’s a service or wallet you can buy for a few hundred dollars, here’s my link. Want to participate in the network?Buy our pre-made and plug-and-play “solution”? Want to know more, or do you know wealthy people that want in” “Call me…”They’re selling.Don’t get me wrong,I also believe bitcoin is changing that world right now.And earning a living is good, be it with art, writing, selling a service or moving a box from A to B.But they don’t get it. Because it’s damned near impossible to escape the cage

Disproof Escapism

The bitcoin genie is out of the bottle. We DO have digitally scarce, hard money!

The core of the message most bitcoiners promote (including the author of this article) revolves around the prevalent “debt-and-war” fiat system and the harm it inflicts on society in general. Bitcoiners explain how it enslaves us, impoverishes us, and fosters a short-term perspective, empty consumerism, and a disregard for skills, all while leaving entire generations in debt and modern forms of servitude.

That reality alone will change many mechanisms within society. That should be the core of bitcoiners and their way of living. Not promoting a referral link to get a few sats or putting a sticker on a bathroom wall at a bar. We discuss open source theories and personality traits, not how to win the race. We don’t scheme, infiltrate or sabotage; we step onto the stage humbly, like nervous kids reciting poetry for a king. We only face our own audiences. Not the audience of followers of the monsters. We might as well do a leaflet campaign in the desert while we’re at it.We often hear terms like "sound money" and the assertion "there's no second best," with some even calling it "digital gold." This latter term is particularly misleading. Gold, despite its past significance, was subject to confiscation, serving the ambitions of nations and the wealthy. Bitcoin, in contrast, is not simply a digital iteration of gold; that label is a fiat construct that fails to capture its distinct nature.

However, the question remains: why is it that, when push comes to shove, we as Bitcoiners don’t truly live, think, and breathe this “thing” called Bitcoin as the hardest money in existence? Because we don’t. I’ve visited a fair share of meetups and conferences (though not many, as conferences are largely a sham anyway) to observe the ethos in practice. And it’s not always a pretty sight.

Assholes and grifters remain assholes and grifters, regardless of whether they hold BTC or not.

Thinking in fiat terms is still rampant (including for myself, by the way, to some extent). We were born into fiat, shaped by fiat, and have worked, traded, saved, and lost within its confines.

The fiat mindset, I dare say, is even more detrimental when Bitcoiners adopt it, as it amplifies the negative consequences even beyond those of the fiat world itself.

After all, at the very least, those within the fiat system are all equally screwed in their flawed monetary reality by a system that is a true circus Maximus of greed and debt. Consider those burdened by immense student loan debt, individuals with unrecognized talent, and others denied opportunities because less skilled people from higher financial echelons secure “proof of stake” jobs. Even if they lack the necessary abilities. There are fiat denizens sent to war, subjected to bombings, and relentlessly exploited for profit throughout their lives to sustain a parasitic, rent-seeking system… all under the false promise of security in their later years… when in reality, they are chewed up and spit out.When these fiat slaves wield a fiat mentality toward one another, it’s considered normal; no one can bat an eye if one fiat rent-seeker bleeds another dry, then tosses them aside for a new victim once the yield or short-term gain is realized. That’s simply how the fiat hamster wheel has been turning generations on end, while the proof-of-stake lords benefit across multiple generations.

The exploitation, the focus on short-term gains, the inherent stupidity of the system—it’s ingrained in the people themselves. Their greed and fiat/shitcoin mentality is "the norm." Some even dare to call it "capitalism" or democracy.

They can’t be offended by anyone screwing them over or getting ahead to gain a few fiat tokens, be it dollars or the Euro Mickey Mouse coin. They just carry on, shrug their shoulders, and crawl over each other like the basket full of crabs they inhabit day to day. Being among the few crabs that can touch the rim of the basket before being pulled down again by the other crabs, is what’s called success.

However, witnessing such behaviors and ways of living among individuals who identify as Bitcoiners evokes not only profound ethical sadness but also reveals consequences far more damaging to Bitcoin than if those same individuals had remained solely within the fiat system. Therefore, a fiat mentality within the Bitcoin space is even more repugnant than the mindset of some shitcoiners. At least with shitcoiners, you understand they are peddling a token, coin, or some fabricated service to offload onto unsuspecting individuals to make ends meet (and fund their cheap hotel rooms in exotic looking places while projecting an image of success (and the Modern Ottoman beard look) on Instagram). Consider a scenario: if someone at a vegetable market (assuming such places still exist in the fiat world) suggests to another vendor a way to conduct more business off the books, it’s met with indifference. That’s considered normal.But when a Bitcoiner at a meetup — an event where for three years you've been trying to dissociate Bitcoin from the tired narrative of it being solely "for fraudsters and criminals" — and you overhear "Bitcoiners" discussing methods for laundering illicit funds, then it becomes a significant problem. As if they can’t make ends meet without doing “the fiat thing”. Such individuals, as a Bitcoiner, disgust me. They clearly "don't get it." They fail to grasp the fundamental values of Bitcoin. They resemble the stereotypical used car salesmen who prioritize nothing beyond their immediate needs, like avoiding having to have a cheap dinner of dog food and tomato sauce that evening if they bag another customer by whatever lies they’ll have to tell. I would go so far as to assert that Bitcoiners with a fiat mentality are more detrimental to Bitcoin's growth than both those enslaved by the fiat system and shitcoiners themselves. A fiat drone will simply save, invest, and adhere to the established rules of banks and central banks.

They don’t question these norms; it’s their accepted reality. They’re labeled “normies” for a reason—they find satisfaction in conforming, believing the deception and theft, even perceiving it as beneficial because that’s what they’ve been told on television. They place their trust in numbers and statistics while diligently paying off their mortgages and investing in whatever financial products the TV shows spoon-feed them. Shitcoiners (closely related to fiat slaves) will merely promote their scams and worthless projects to generate short-term gains (in fiat, naturally) to sustain their shallow lifestyles of loneliness, prostitutes, and grocery bills paid with bank cards from the Seychelles.

But Bitcoiners with a fiat mentality? They actively undermine Bitcoin. They are toxic, and the sooner they revert to pure fiat, the better for the Bitcoin ecosystem. They offer no positive contribution whatsoever to Bitcoin’s progress.

More bitcoiners need to grow a spine

I've started to label these individuals as “cosplay bitcoiners.” They are typically nothing more than bitcoin holders (definitely not HODLers). These are people who act as though Bitcoin is merely another speculative asset (alongside a plethora of garbage coins and scams) instead of the monetary revolution it truly embodies. Most bitcoiners engage in this cosplay, reciting the talking points without actually changing their lives. Or… they view it simply as a means to generate income by uttering the right phrases and selling various items and merchandise. If Bitcoin were to cease to exist (a highly improbable scenario), they would likely be selling counterfeit Pokémon merchandise, fake Rolexes, or working as box movers in retail (sporting a perm). This might upset some who have dedicated significant portions of their lives to the Bitcoin ecosystem. However, what should be far more infuriating is the realization that your dreams, hope, and hard work are ultimately benefiting these cosplayers.

These individuals also say things like “You could consider moving to Solana for a while…” or “I have a referral link for insert flavor-of-the-week scam.” This genuine effort to cultivate a Bitcoin ethos is often undermined by people lacking activism, backbone, or conviction. Typically, these are the same individuals who inquire about price action during minor dips in Bitcoin's fiat value. They exhibit “scared money” behavior, just like in the fiat world. Consider that: they are scared (of) money. That’s right,… people that lived, and were raised in fiat are in fact scared… of money. This ingrained perspective, though varying in its impact, can act as a distraction or even a negative influence on Bitcoin's overall growth. I know the genuine contributors are out there. Rest assured, I am acutely aware of what it means to dedicate your time and energy to the betterment of Bitcoin; I've done it before and continue to do so years later. I respect that immensely. But the moment you recognize your efforts are primarily benefiting these parasites, you should immediately cease and let them wither.

They are not there for Bitcoin at all. I believe a fundamental aspect of being a Bitcoiner is calling out such behavior — to embody a form of activism, a vetting process aimed at fostering greater freedom. This might seem paradoxical, but it’s not; it’s akin to broadcasting a double-spent transaction onto mempool and having it rejected by the nodes. In my opinion, Bitcoin's primary essence is freedom. This freedom is underpinned by consensus and proof of work. However, this doesn't imply that we should be a universally accommodating resource for individuals who merely hold Bitcoin and seek to profit off our efforts while contributing nothing of substance to the space beyond their own marketing nonsense. They say the lines, but don’t save lives.

But why not?

If Bitcoin is truly the hardest money, the scarcest asset humanity has ever encountered, then why would we willingly trade it for a demonstrably inferior, inflationary, and state-controlled currency? This holds true even if that fiat is disguised as a modern "coin" or a cheap imitation of Bitcoin.

The uncomfortable truth is that many Bitcoiners, whether consciously or subconsciously, remain tethered to the legacy financial system. We espouse the principle of "don't trust, verify," yet we often evaluate Bitcoin through the distorted lens of its fiat exchange rate. Furthermore, many local meetups are infiltrated by individuals whose motives, schemes, and outright nonsense we fail to scrutinize or verify.

We neglect even the most fundamental forms of verification (such as accepting a function purported to be around 40 KB in data size when it's bundled within a > 50 MB software program). We profess belief in absolute scarcity, yet we shy away from adopting Bitcoin as our genuine unit of account, nor do we accurately measure our purchasing power (as devising a truly precise method might necessitate an invention worthy of a Nobel Prize in Economics).

Armed with the hardest money, ample liquidity, and considerable intellect, we still find ourselves waiting for Presidents, Philosophers, and various Personalities to artificially inflate Bitcoin's price, behaving like apprehensive investors in a newly listed startup.

“But with bitcoin”

These Philosophers, Personalities, and Presidents (PPPs) often represent a mere "follow-the-leader" phenomenon among many who identify as Bitcoiners. Philosophers delve into the intricacies of Bitcoin: its support for local social structures, its international applications, the underlying mathematics, the time-based mechanisms… It's all incredibly fascinating and has been explained countless times in various tones and for diverse audiences. Yet, much like in Bitcoin software development, there's often a lack of curation or editing; people simply produce without rigorous testing or questioning the necessity or widespread adoption of their contributions. Some even mistakenly believe these philosophers will somehow influence the "price." However, their role is primarily to explain, analyze, and provide understanding. That, of course, is valuable as it stimulates thought (even this very writing serves that purpose). However, Bitcoiners deeply entrenched in the philosophical aspects can often be blind to their own contradictory circumstances.

It can be jarring, even alienating, to listen to a podcast dissecting the profound intricacies of time and Bitcoin's blockchain while simultaneously enduring the mundane reality of your fiat job, with a coworker loudly handling customer calls nearby. The core issue is that this mentality increasingly mirrors the practices of the fiat (and shitcoin) world: passively holding onto "your bag" or "your stake" and promoting that position while vaguely advising others that "education is important" or "spreading the word is good." Ultimately, many of those dispensing this advice do little more than appear on their YouTube channels, take the stage at their own conferences, or write (or commission) their paid newsletters. Some diligently court wealthy individuals to explain Bitcoin, aiming to earn a few dollars, but they might as well be selling Tupperware if it paid the bills. Genuine care is often absent; it's their Bitcoin-flavored version of a fiat job. They are simply holding onto sats, much like one would hold onto ETFs or stocks in the traditional financial world. Michael Saylor, at a conference in Madeira, once stated: “You are here because Bitcoin needs you… and when you leave, I sincerely hope you will go out there and do good for Bitcoin.”

That's a commendable call to action. However, it also inadvertently highlights a form of servitude, a call that, regrettably, many have not heeded. Right now, Bitcoin's treated more like digital real estate than actual cash – something to hodl and hope it moons, while others do the promoting. Activism, at least here in Belgium, is a ghost town.

Elsewhere, it's often just small-time stuff, easily corrupted by book-writers, shitcoin promoters, ego-trippers, or even creeps hitting on vulnerable women in new-age scenes. This passive vibe has helped a bit, sure, but it shows we're still scared to call Bitcoin real money. It's the hardest money ever, yet we act like fiat's the boss, when Bitcoin's the true store of value. The circular economy crawls along. Instead of waiting for "hyperbitcoinization," we need to act like it's already here: support Bitcoin-only businesses, demand salaries in sats, and actually think in sats, not fiat. But become organized, more to the point: set up systems so you can build and rely on one another.To make Bitcoin truly hard money, we gotta stop pricing it and thinking in fiat, actually use it to pay and get paid, teach people it's a monetary system not just an investment, and directly challenge fiat by building Bitcoin-native economies, not just begging institutions to buy in. The more we act like Bitcoin is money, the faster the world will have to agree.

Bitcoin’s success is not inevitable.

Because it is maintained by people, and people are inherently flawed. However, it is also governed by mathematics, a perfect framework that categorizes chaos into order and back into incomprehensible chaos. There, within the crucible of math, language, cryptography, and time, lies Bitcoin: our creation, our potential salvation, and perhaps our sole remaining hope.

It demands action from Bitcoiners. If we genuinely believe in Bitcoin as the hardest money, we must begin to utilize it as such, rather than posturing on stages like immature, attention-seeking individuals vying for personal recognition and petty power struggles.

The future is not forged by those idly waiting for a magical price point; it is built by those who actively transact, develop, work, and live on Bitcoin today. Hard money transcends mere scarcity; it embodies utility, intrinsic value, and the tangible construction of liberty. Bitcoin's purpose is not simply to replace the existing decay of fiat with a superficial rebranding of the same fundamental rot. Bitcoin is not intended to supplant the old fiat corruption with an identical corruption merely bearing a Bitcoin label or logo.

The divergence is stark: one grey-colored path leads us to a state of ambiguity and ineffectiveness, the other to a vibrant, focused purpose. This ambiguity manifests as excessive accommodation, an unwarranted stubbornness where adaptability is needed. We tend towards being overly compliant and even subservient, exhibiting exaggerated politeness and empathy, even as our advancements inevitably dismantle the obsolete systems. That path has a Dixie orange color.

This is because many Bitcoiners now crave external validation, leading to inconsistent and muddled messaging, belonging authentically to neither the stagnant grey nor the purposeful orange.

We, and our true Bitcoiners—our intellectual offspring—represent an inherently incompatible lineage, incapable of either peaceful coexistence ("protest") or productive integration ("procreate") with these outdated methodologies and their swarm of futile endeavors. The cosplay bitcoiners and their lukewarm followers and creations aspire to be part of a fintech reality that is not their own, and a fiat world that has relegated them to the roles of insignificant footnotes and background commentators.

Despite our core differences, we persist in engaging with the stake-people, the frail-minded powerhouses that let us participate in their arenas, gathering under the harsh glare of moral decay and corruption. We mine Bitcoin from the future, but it’s tethered to the present. They hamper our progress with outdated tools and (re)distribution systems rooted in the 18th century.We can invent so much better systems, bulldoze the old and rebuild our cities and reclaim our value.

It’s time…

The moment has arrived to begin valuing Bitcoin for what it has always been destined to be and will forever remain: hard money. Let us consign the parasites to their rightful place – the gutter of fiat. Reader, dear reader, you who have invested the time and effort to cease scrolling through the endless torrent of filth, garbage, and attention-seeking displays on your phone, do you grasp the unique historical opportunity presented to your vulnerable digital soul to reclaim your life, to transcend mere survival and truly flourish? Do you comprehend this? Do you even realize that digitally scarce, digitally verifiable hard money awaits your mining, purchase, holding, and personal safekeeping? Or do you still cling to the illusions projected onto the wall of Plato's cave, telling you every lie under the sun for their short gains and diatribes? Do you live in the corridor of greyness? Probably.

Observing the vapid semantic debates onstage, the performative security measures, and the blatant power struggles, I am reminded of the early Christian disciples and the challenges they must have faced in spreading the word of their Lord, relying solely on their individual conviction while constantly encountering those driven purely by the pursuit of power. Bitcoiners are no different, despite never having known their own guiding figures. The distinction lies in our approach: we do not expel the transgressors and the disreputable from the market; nor do we seek to cure the afflicted or nourish the starving. We are not torn apart by lions, for we operate in the shadows, our influence primarily through written works, lacking the support that stems from personal charisma. Fiat bleeds people dry, fueling the vile machinery of passive rent-seeking yield and perpetual servitude.

In Bitcoin, we possess the potential to be their undoing, but only if we can match their ruthlessness, their multi-generational cunning, and their inherent malice. That’s not in our nature, so we’ll need to change and adapt. To truly prevail, we must outmaneuver their evil, win their long-term game. To win, we must out-evil evil. Win their multi-generational ongoing long-term game.That’s not easy, because you’re being poisoned day in day out.

So… here goes.

You must choose your path: gray or orange.

Decide how you’ll navigate the clutter: hardware wallets you don’t need, unscalable orange-pilling that’s more about ego than Bitcoin, books that hardly anyone reads, redundant artwork you’ll never buy, searching for a place in the unreachable oasis of bitcoin jobs, the mirage of funding,the naïveté of Value4Value, the Saylor-worshipping instinct, stickers slapped on poles, rushed and untested software, apps that repel users, conference circuses filled with grifters, posers and some half-gods, The pump-my-bags philosophers. The fork in the road lies ahead

Will you keep micro-dosing the corruption of the fiat world, day by day? Or will you don your armor and sacrifice for future generations?\ You ‘ll be part of an army of cyber Jesuït knights, or part of a gang of ad hoc grifters smelling like patchouli and fear.

npub1sec6degc3ae7warveuxaz6dlffnc2sutwtqjr7pmll7sf7ypjngsd4p0l7

Let centuries of hate and destruction be channeled like unbreakable equations, their tax collecting vultures, their redistribution to the weak.We can be in harnesses, economically cause their bellies gorged on our produce, sliced virtually apart, ending their predatory exploitation and theater politics. Let that hate flow block by block, so our wait for a revolution, promised peace, and security, finally ends. We don’t need to wait, We have all we need - right - friggin - now! All we need is here to start as the first generation of the ones that turn the table. We can strike from here onwards.

You can’t do that just by standing there, we need to rally behind something. So … we need to…

## Slay the Monsters ( A Bitcoin manifesto )

The race against fiat’s totalitarian grip isn’t coming — it’s already here.

And we’re late.

We’re not facing some bureaucratic mess or sleepy institution. We’re facing monsters. Real monsters. The kind that don’t blink, don’t break, and don’t stop.

These creatures don’t rule from parliaments. They rule from shadows. From bloodlines. From vaults built on centuries of power—and centuries of control.

And while we argue over memes, While we nitpick sound quality on a free podcast, While we debate how orange our sunglasses should be— They’re already building the next cage.

You want to know the core of the battle?

It’s this: They built a system designed to enslave you. And it works. Because it’s not just code or money—it’s a mindset. And they’ve trained you for generations to stay small. Stay busy. Stay broke.

They don’t care about trending topics, the fashion they make you wear, the rent seeking and mind numbing media garbage. They don’t care about today’s startup scene. They don’t need to. They freeze technology until their factories are ready. They script the narrative until their puppet politicians can sell it. They control enough markets to play with your life like a cat with a mouse.

And no, they’re not thinking in 5-year business plans. They’re thinking in bloodlines. They’re thinking in centuries.

They are bloodsuckers.

They take the rights of the gifted, Take the skills of the builders and make them into jesters They crush the dreams of the brave, weaken strong sons, and turn bright daughters into obedient servants.They make you lose time;Steal your effortSlap a price on anyone.

But here’s the good news:

We are Bitcoiners. We don’t need their permission. We don’t need to play their game. We hold a sword they can’t lift — an indestructible blockchain. And we have “forever coins”. We have the heaviest hammer

We can build faster. Stack hard money. Deliver proof of work and become the worst multi-generational pests they’ve ever seen. And take everything from them in about four generations:

One generation to build and adapt. One or two to take over, and One glorious one to finish the job and chop their virtual heads off to end the corruptionTheir heads on a stake, is the only proof-of-stake’ism that will be universally liked.

Because in their world, people are the fuel — drained for passive yield. But in our world?

We, the Bitcoin people who underwrite its value, represent the negative yield on fiat. We ARE your negative yield in human form \ We are their weakness — if we become as relentless and evil as they are.We can be methodical and calculated, generations of poison for their systemWe infiltrate, poison, outpace them.Like they did centuries ago with the commons, the tribes and kings. As focused. As strategic. As ruthless.

Then—only then—can we clean ourselves.

Only then, with the deed done, can we rebuild humanity. Burn the bloodlines that buried us.The old bloodlines—those leeches—will be caged, stripped, and left to wither in poverty, and as history proves… they never survive poverty\ While we’ve been bathing in it by choice.

From their ashes, we’ll purge our own darkness and thrive through innovation, not tyranny We will work, We will thrive through innovation, not colonization. Through consensus, not decree. Through quality not administrative control. And talent and skills will rise on merit, not aristocratic last names. We verify without grandeur.

In that world, our temples will exalt beauty — not control.In that world, Their goons and servants will be our jesters, dancing like harlots, their princesses will be sobbing on dirt, they’ll all eat their own industrial drab

The power is already ours; we don’t need to pray, we don’t need hope nor luck. We need raw, unrelenting will.

We need power.

And evil, focused, unshakable determination.

You can’t slay monsters with flyers. You don’t take down empires with stickers. You don’t bring bloodlines to their knees with polite debates on their stages.You slay monsters with the sharpest sword in history — Bitcoin.

They’re gutted with the sharpest blade—our blockchain—plunged into their stone cold hearts, until their black blood flows over the marble floors of their castles and their next of kin. Then, we feast and build anew on the ruins of their depravity.

Their next of kin witnessing our determination while their funding falls dry in promises of continuity they hide or perish.

Then we slay the rest.We drink their blood, their wine, their milkshake. We burn their paper promises and their repeating cycles of social unrest and greed.

We build something new. Something real. On the ruins of everything they corrupted.Bitcoiners need to be more than politeBe more evil, to do more good.Show monsters no mercy nor empathy. Don’t give them hard money, but wreck their legacy, faceless organizations and companies.

We are the debt collectors of last resort. We are the negative yield that spins and twists.We are the final rotation of the hamster wheel of pointless energy.We save ourselves with math..

Bitcoiners,Do thy proof of work, or become a whore for their next generation of silver spoon fed monster kids...\ You’ll have to be polite doing the deeds if you doOr take the smile off their face.Sacrifice.WorkDefy

Slay monsters like a knight building a legacy, freeing the world.

Or serve the monsters like the bitch you are.

Our consensus and your choice.

By AVB

If you like my writings: tip me here

@ 51bbb15e:b77a2290

Yeah, I’m sure everything in the file is legit. 👍 Let’s review the guard witness testimony…Oh wait, they weren’t at their posts despite 24/7 survellience instructions after another Epstein “suicide” attempt two weeks earlier. Well, at least the video of the suicide is in the file? Oh wait, a techical glitch. Damn those coincidences!

At this point, the Trump administration has zero credibility with me on anything related to the Epstein case and his clients. I still suspect the administration is using the Epstein files as leverage to keep a lot of RINOs in line, whereas they’d be sabotaging his agenda at every turn otherwise. However, I just don’t believe in ends-justify-the-means thinking. It’s led almost all of DC to toss out every bit of the values they might once have had.

@ 77c2969e:a33cfa50

Nostr 协议在我看来是很先进的，暂时使用的人还不多，不过相比 Fediverse 的 Mastodon 之类，自己部署 Nostr Relay 是成本很小的。Blossom 作为媒体上传服务是可选的，因为有几个公共服务器可用，但是大多数国内无法直连。我还发现部分客户端不支持自定义 Blossom 服务器，只有 Amethyst 和 Nostrmo 可以。

我目前使用的是这个 nostr-relay 以及这个 blossom-server。

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nostr-relay

这个用 Python 写的 nostr-relay 很不错。

配置文件是这个： https://code.pobblelabs.org/fossil/nostr_relay/file?name=nostr_relay/config.yaml 可以按需修改，自己用默认就够了。

```jsx

先安装 pipx

apt install pipx

再用 pipx 安装 nostr-relay

pipx install nostr-relay

选择一个目录运行以下命令启动默认配置，默认 SQLite 文件在当前目录

nostr-relay serve

后台运行

(nostr-relay serve >/var/log/nostr-relay.log &)

查看 PID

lsof -i :6969

停止运行

kill PID

后台运行命令会调用 gunicorn 运行而不是nostr-relay，因此会搜不到 nostr-relay 进程，可以尝试这个命令

ps -ef | grep gunicorn `` 反代127.0.0.1:6969` 配置域名和 SSL 证书即可。

保持简洁，不使用 Docker 和 systemd，后续迁移时只需复制整个文件夹即可。

---

blossom-server

clone 这个仓库

git clone https://github.com/hzrd149/blossom-server.git

克隆仓库是必要的，因为 blossom-server 的默认页面依赖 public/ 目录，请保留该目录。

用以下 config.yml 和 docker-compose.yml 覆盖原仓库中的文件

然后执行 docker compose up -d

反代 127.0.0.1:3000 配置域名和 SSL 证书即可。

config.yml

按需修改，比如 Dashboard 密码、允许的 PubKey 等。 ```

Override the domain thats is used in the blobs "url" field

By default it uses the domain the incoming HTTP request was made on

publicDomain: ""

databasePath: data/sqlite.db

dashboard: # enable or disable the admin dashboard enabled: true # admin username username: admin # if password is left blank it will be generated each time the app starts password: "yourpasswd"

文件发现机制，保持默认关闭

discovery: # find files by querying nostr relays nostr: enabled: false relays: - wss://relay.example.com # find files by asking upstream CDNs # NOTE: do not set this to your own server, it will create an infinite loop upstream: enabled: false domains: - https://cdn.example.com

storage: # local or s3 backend: local

# Imminently removes a blob when there are no owners removeWhenNoOwners: false

# local storage local: dir: ./data/blobs

# see minio docs for options: # https://min.io/docs/minio/linux/developers/javascript/API.html#new-minio-client-endpoint-port-usessl-accesskey-secretkey-region-transport-sessiontoken-partsize # s3: # endpoint: https://s3.endpoint.com # port: 443 # bucket: blossom # accessKey: xxxxxxxx # secretKey: xxxxxxxxx # useSSL: true # region: us-east-1 # If this is set the server will redirect clients when loading blobs # publicURL: https://s3.region.example.com/

# rules are checked in descending order. if a blob matches a rule it is kept # "type" (required) the type of the blob, "" can be used to match any type # "expiration" (required) time passed since last accessed # "pubkeys" (optional) a list of owners # any blobs not matching the rules will be removed rules: - type: "" expiration: 100 years pubkeys: - "change-to-your-pubkey-hex"

Config for the /upload endpoint

upload: # enable / disable uploads (default false) enabled: true # require auth to upload requireAuth: true # only check rules that include "pubkeys" requirePubkeyInRule: true

Config for the /media endpoint

media: # /media endpoint enabled (default false) enabled: true # require auth to upload to /media requireAuth: true # only check rules that include "pubkeys" requirePubkeyInRule: true

# image optimization options image: # image quality 0-100 (default 90) quality: 90 # create progressive jpeg / png images for large images > 1024x768 (default true) progressive: true # max width (default 1920) maxWidth: 1920 # max height (default 1080) maxHeight: 1080 # image format (default webp) outputFormat: "webp" # keep aspect radio when resizing (default true) maintainAspectRatio: true # keep EXIF metadata (default false) keepExif: false # fps for GIFs (default 30) fps: 30

video: # video quality 0-100 (default 90) quality: 90 # max height (default 1080) maxHeight: 1080 # max fps (default 30) maxFps: 30 # output format [mp4, webm, mkv] (default mp4) format: "webm" # audio codec [aac, mp3, vorbis, opus] (default aac) audioCodec: "aac" # video codec [libx264, libx265, vp8, vp9] (default libx264) videoCodec: "libx264"

list: requireAuth: false allowListOthers: true

tor: enabled: false proxy: "" ```

docker-compose.yml

services: blossom: image: ghcr.io/hzrd149/blossom-server:master ports: - 3000:3000 volumes: # mount data volume - ./data:/app/data # mount config file - ./config.yml:/app/config.yml # mount custom www dir - ./public:/app/public

---

其他

我自己目前就是部署的这两个服务自用。主要是方便部署和维护，后续服务器迁移只需要复制文件夹即可。Blossom 媒体服务自用的话，默认使用服务器本地存储即可，就是在项目文件夹中的 ./data/blobs/，上传的图片和视频会被自动压缩，占不了多少存储空间。如果公开或多人使用也可以配置 S3 兼容的对象存储。

除了我上面说的这个 nostr-relay，还有一个 Rust 写的 nostr-rs-relay，可以 Docker 一键部署，如果你偏好使用 Docker，也可以选择这个。

如果你也对 Nostr 这个去中心化协议感兴趣，想拥有自己的 Nostr 服务，不妨参考本文试试，欢迎留言交流！

---

推荐阅读

• 欢迎加入 Nostr, 这是一份快速入门指南
• Nostr!moe
• Join Nostr
• 运行自己的中继器，拥有自己的事件
• 用自己域名认证 Nostr 的 NIP-05

@ b8851a06:9b120ba1

The global financial system is creaking under its own weight. The IMF is urging banks to shore up capital, cut risk, and brace for impact. Basel III is their answer, a last-ditch effort to reinforce a brittle foundation.

But behind the scenes, a quieter revolution is under way.

Bitcoin, the world’s first stateless digital asset, is no longer on the sidelines. It’s entering the Basel conversation: not by invitation, but by inevitability.

Basel III: The System’s Self-Diagnosis

Basel III is more than a technical rulebook. It’s a confession: an admission that the global banking system is vulnerable. Created in the aftermath of 2008, it calls for: • Stronger capital reserves: So banks can survive losses. • Lower leverage: To reduce the domino effect of overexposure. • Liquidity buffers: To weather short-term shocks without collapsing.

But here’s the kicker: these rules are hostile to anything outside the fiat system. Bitcoin gets hit with a punitive 1,250% risk weight. That means for every $1 of exposure, banks must hold $1 in capital. The message from regulators? “You can hold Bitcoin, but you’ll pay for it.”

Yet that fear: based framing misses a bigger truth: Bitcoin doesn’t just survive in this environment. It thrives in it.

Bitcoin: A Parallel System, Built on Hard Rules

Where Basel III imposes “fiat discipline” from the top down, Bitcoin enforces it from the bottom up: with code, math, and transparency.

Bitcoin is not just a hedge. It’s a structural antidote to systemic fragility.

Volatility: A Strategic Asset

Yes, Bitcoin is volatile. But in a system that devalues fiat on a schedule, volatility is simply the cost of freedom. Under Basel III, banks are expected to build capital buffers during economic expansions.

What asset allows you to build those buffers faster than Bitcoin in a bull market?

When the cycle turns, those reserves act as shock absorbers: converting volatility into resilience. It’s anti-fragility in motion.

Liquidity: Real, Deep, and Global

Bitcoin settled over $19 trillion in transactions in 2024. That’s not hypothetical liquidity. it’s real, measurable flow. Unlike traditional high-quality liquid assets (HQLAs), Bitcoin is: • Available 24/7 • Borderless • Not dependent on central banks

By traditional definitions, Bitcoin is rapidly qualifying for HQLA status. Even if regulators aren’t ready to admit it.

Diversification: Breaking the Fiat Dependency

Basel III is designed to pull banks back into the fiat matrix. But Bitcoin offers an escape hatch. Strategic Bitcoin reserves are not about speculation, they’re insurance. For family offices, institutions, and sovereign funds, Bitcoin is the lifeboat when the fiat ship starts taking on water.

Regulatory Realignment: The System Reacts

The Basel Committee’s new rules on crypto exposures went live in January 2025. Around the world, regulators are scrambling to define their stance. Every new restriction placed on Bitcoin only strengthens its legitimacy, as more institutions ask: Why so much resistance, if it’s not a threat?

Bitcoin doesn’t need permission. It’s already being adopted by over 150 public companies, forward-looking states, and a new class of self-sovereign individuals.

Conclusion: The Real Question

This isn’t just about Bitcoin fitting into Basel III.

The real question is: How long can Basel III remain relevant in a world where Bitcoin exists?

Bitcoin is not the risk. It’s the reality check. And it might just be the strongest capital buffer the system has ever seen.

Gradually then suddenly.

@ c9badfea:610f861a

1. Install YTDLnis (it's free and open source)
2. Launch the app and allow notifications and storage access if prompted
3. Go to any supported website or use the YouTube, Instagram, X, or Facebook app
4. Tap Share on the post or website URL and select YTDLnis as the sharing destination
5. Adjust the settings if desired and tap Download
6. You'll be notified when the download finishes
7. Enjoy uninterrupted watching!

ℹ️ This app uses yt-dlp internally and it's also available as a standalone CLI tool

@ 57d1a264:69f1fee1

18-07 HOLIDAY HOME by OFFICE INAINN reimagines the traditional hytte, creating two interconnected cabins, H_G30 and H_G32, located near the scenic Geiranger–Trollstigen route. Set on a steep hillside 148 meters above sea level, the design embraces modern functionality while offering stunning southern views of Storfjorden and minimizing environmental impact.

Blending into the Landscape

The cabins are designed to integrate gently into the natural terrain, following the contours of the hillside. Their horizontal layout reduces the visual impact, blending into the forested surroundings while opening up to the fjord. The minimal footprint respects the environment and reduces construction costs, ensuring the cabins remain nearly invisible from the north while fully engaging with the southern panorama.

Functional, Additive Architecture

Inspired by traditional Norwegian architecture, each cabin consists of two overlapping modules of varying heights, breaking up the building mass and reducing roof size. The higher module serves as the circulation space, while the lower module contains the private and living areas. This approach replaces conventional walls with functional form, creating distinct zones for movement, utility, and relaxation.

Harmonizing Tradition with Modern Living

The cabins follow an east-west retaining wall that mirrors the hill’s natural slope, with additional storage and leisure spaces tucked behind. The shallow depth allows maximum southern exposure for light and views, while the central axis blurs the boundary between indoor and outdoor living, creating a seamless connection to nature.

For more info https://inainn.eu/18-07-holiday-home/

https://stacker.news/items/1000386

@ 04c915da:3dfbecc9

Here’s a revised timeline of macro-level events from The Mandibles: A Family, 2029–2047 by Lionel Shriver, reimagined in a world where Bitcoin is adopted as a widely accepted form of money, altering the original narrative’s assumptions about currency collapse and economic control. In Shriver’s original story, the failure of Bitcoin is assumed amid the dominance of the bancor and the dollar’s collapse. Here, Bitcoin’s success reshapes the economic and societal trajectory, decentralizing power and challenging state-driven outcomes.

Part One: 2029–2032

• 2029 (Early Year)\ The United States faces economic strain as the dollar weakens against global shifts. However, Bitcoin, having gained traction emerges as a viable alternative. Unlike the original timeline, the bancor—a supranational currency backed by a coalition of nations—struggles to gain footing as Bitcoin’s decentralized adoption grows among individuals and businesses worldwide, undermining both the dollar and the bancor.

• 2029 (Mid-Year: The Great Renunciation)\ Treasury bonds lose value, and the government bans Bitcoin, labeling it a threat to sovereignty (mirroring the original bancor ban). However, a Bitcoin ban proves unenforceable—its decentralized nature thwarts confiscation efforts, unlike gold in the original story. Hyperinflation hits the dollar as the U.S. prints money, but Bitcoin’s fixed supply shields adopters from currency devaluation, creating a dual-economy split: dollar users suffer, while Bitcoin users thrive.

• 2029 (Late Year)\ Dollar-based inflation soars, emptying stores of goods priced in fiat currency. Meanwhile, Bitcoin transactions flourish in underground and online markets, stabilizing trade for those plugged into the bitcoin ecosystem. Traditional supply chains falter, but peer-to-peer Bitcoin networks enable local and international exchange, reducing scarcity for early adopters. The government’s gold confiscation fails to bolster the dollar, as Bitcoin’s rise renders gold less relevant.

• 2030–2031\ Crime spikes in dollar-dependent urban areas, but Bitcoin-friendly regions see less chaos, as digital wallets and smart contracts facilitate secure trade. The U.S. government doubles down on surveillance to crack down on bitcoin use. A cultural divide deepens: centralized authority weakens in Bitcoin-adopting communities, while dollar zones descend into lawlessness.

• 2032\ By this point, Bitcoin is de facto legal tender in parts of the U.S. and globally, especially in tech-savvy or libertarian-leaning regions. The federal government’s grip slips as tax collection in dollars plummets—Bitcoin’s traceability is low, and citizens evade fiat-based levies. Rural and urban Bitcoin hubs emerge, while the dollar economy remains fractured.

Time Jump: 2032–2047

• Over 15 years, Bitcoin solidifies as a global reserve currency, eroding centralized control. The U.S. government adapts, grudgingly integrating bitcoin into policy, though regional autonomy grows as Bitcoin empowers local economies.

Part Two: 2047

• 2047 (Early Year)\ The U.S. is a hybrid state: Bitcoin is legal tender alongside a diminished dollar. Taxes are lower, collected in BTC, reducing federal overreach. Bitcoin’s adoption has decentralized power nationwide. The bancor has faded, unable to compete with Bitcoin’s grassroots momentum.

• 2047 (Mid-Year)\ Travel and trade flow freely in Bitcoin zones, with no restrictive checkpoints. The dollar economy lingers in poorer areas, marked by decay, but Bitcoin’s dominance lifts overall prosperity, as its deflationary nature incentivizes saving and investment over consumption. Global supply chains rebound, powered by bitcoin enabled efficiency.

• 2047 (Late Year)\ The U.S. is a patchwork of semi-autonomous zones, united by Bitcoin’s universal acceptance rather than federal control. Resource scarcity persists due to past disruptions, but economic stability is higher than in Shriver’s original dystopia—Bitcoin’s success prevents the authoritarian slide, fostering a freer, if imperfect, society.

Key Differences

• Currency Dynamics: Bitcoin’s triumph prevents the bancor’s dominance and mitigates hyperinflation’s worst effects, offering a lifeline outside state control.
• Government Power: Centralized authority weakens as Bitcoin evades bans and taxation, shifting power to individuals and communities.
• Societal Outcome: Instead of a surveillance state, 2047 sees a decentralized, bitcoin driven world—less oppressive, though still stratified between Bitcoin haves and have-nots.

This reimagining assumes Bitcoin overcomes Shriver’s implied skepticism to become a robust, adopted currency by 2029, fundamentally altering the novel’s bleak trajectory.

@ 8671a6e5:f88194d1

For whoever has, will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.

Matthew 25:29, The Parable of the Talents (New Testament)For whoever has, will be given more,\ and they will have an abundance.\ Whoever does not have, even what\ they have will be taken from them.\ \ Matthew 25:29,\ The Parable of the Talents (New Testament)

How the Pump-my-bags mentality slows Bitcoin adoption

The parable of “thy Bitcoins” (loosely based on Matthew 25:29)

A man, embarking on a journey, entrusted his wealth to his servants. To one he gave five Bitcoin, to another two Bitcoin, and to another one Bitcoin, each according to his ability. Then he departed.

The servant with five Bitcoin buried his master’s wealth, dreaming of its rising price. The servant with two Bitcoin hid his, guarding its value. But the servant with one Bitcoin acted with vision. He spent 0.5 Bitcoin to unite Bitcoiners, teaching them to use the network and building tools to expand its reach. His efforts grew Bitcoin’s power, though his investment left him with only 0.5 Bitcoin.

Years later, the master returned to settle accounts. The servant with five Bitcoin said, “Master, you gave me five Bitcoin. I buried them, and their price has soared. Here is yours.”

The master replied, “Faithless servant! My wealth was meant to sow freedom. You kept your Bitcoin but buried your potential to strengthen its network. Your wealth is great, but your impact is none!”

The servant with two Bitcoin said, “Master, you gave me two Bitcoin. I hid them, and their value has risen. Here is yours.”

The master replied, “You, too, have been idle! You clung to wealth but failed to spread Bitcoin’s truth. Your Bitcoin endures, but your reach is empty!”

Then the servant with one Bitcoin stepped forward. “Master, you gave me one Bitcoin. I spent 0.5 Bitcoin to teach and build with Bitcoiners. My call inspired many to join the network, though I have only 0.5 Bitcoin left.”

The master said, “Well done, faithful servant! You sparked a movement that grew my network, enriching lives. Though your stack is small, your vision is vast. Share my joy!”

When many use their gifts to build Bitcoin’s future, their sacrifices grow the network and enrich lives. Those who “bury” their Bitcoin and do nothing else keep wealth but miss the greater reward of a thriving in a Bitcoin world.

This parable reflects a timeless truth: between playing it safe and building, resides the choice to take risk. Bitcoin’s power lies not in hoarding wealth (although it’s part of it), but mainly in using it to build a freer world. To free people from their confines. Yet a mentality has taken hold — one that runs counter to that spirit.

PMB betrays the Bitcoin ethos

“Pump my bags” (PMB) stems from the altcoin world, where scammers pump pre-mined coins to dump on naive buyers. In Bitcoin, PMB isn’t about dumping but about hoarding—stacking sats without lifting a finger. These Bitcoiners, from small holders to whales, sit back, eyeing fiat profits, not Bitcoin’s mission. They’re not so different from altcoin grifters. Both chase profit, not glory. They dream of fiat-richness and crappy real estate in Portugal or Chile — not a Bitcoin standard. One holds hard money by chance, the other a fad coin. Neither moves the world forward.

In Bitcoin, the pump-my-bags mindset is more about laziness; everyone looking out for themselves, stacking without ever lifting a finger. There’s a big difference in the way an altcoin promotor would operate and market yet another proof-of-stake pre-mined trashcoin, and how PMB bitcoiners hoard and wait.

They’re much alike however. The belief level might be slightly different, and not everyone has the same ability.

I’ve been in Bitcoin’s trenches since its cypherpunk days, when it was a rebellion against fiat’s centralized control. Bitcoin is a race against the totalitarian fiat system’s grip. Early adopters saw it as a tool to dismantle gatekeepers and empower individuals. But PMB has turned Bitcoin into a get-rich scheme, abandoning the collective effort needed to overthrow fiat’s centuries-long cycles.

Trust is a currency’s core. Hoarding Bitcoin shows trust in its future value, but it’s a shallow trust that seals it away from the world. Real trust comes from admiring Bitcoin’s math, building businesses around it, or spreading its use. PMB Bitcoiners sit on their stacks, expecting others to build trust for them. Newcomers see branding, ego, and grifters, not the low-tech prosperity Bitcoin can offer. PMB Bitcoiners live without spending a sat, happy to hodl. Fine, but they’re furniture in fiat’s ruins, not builders of Bitcoin’s future.

Hoarding hollow victories Hoarding works for those chasing fiat wealth. Bitcoin is even there for them. The lazy, the non-believers, the ones that sold very early, the ones that just started.

By 2021, 75% of Bitcoin sat dormant, driving scarcity and prices up. But it strangles transactions, weakening Bitcoin as a living economy. Reddit calls hoarding “Bitcoin’s most dangerous problem,” choking adoption for profit. Pioneers like Roger Ver built tech companies (where you could buy electronics for bitcoin), Mark Karpelès ran an exchange (Mt. Gox) and Charlie Shrem processed 30% of Bitcoin transactions in 2013. They poured stacks into adoption, people like them (even people you’ve never heard of) more than not, went broke doing the building while hoarders sat back. The irony stings: Bitcoin’s founders are often poorer than PMB hodlers who buried their talents and just sat there passively. Over the years, the critique from these sideline people became more prevalent. They show up here and there, to read the room. But that’s all they do.

The last couple of years, they even became more vocal with social media posts. Everything needs to be perfect, high-quality, not made by them, not funded by them, for free, without ads, and with no effort whatsoever, unless it’s NOT pumping their bags, then it needs to be burned down as fast as possible.

Today’s PMB Bitcoiners want the rewards without the risk. They stack sats, demand perfect content made by others for free, and cheer short-term price pumps. But when asked to build, code, or fund anything real, they disappear. At this point, such Bitcoiners have as much spine as a pack of Frankfurter sausages. This behavior has hollowed out Bitcoin’s activist core.

Activism’s disappointment

Bitcoin’s activist roots—cypherpunks coding, evangelists spreading the word—have been replaced by influencers and silent PMB conference-goers who say nothing but “I hold Bitcoin.” Centralized exchanges like Binance and Coinbase handle 70% of trades by 2025, mocking our decentralized vision. Custodial wallets proliferate as users hand over keys. The Lightning Network has 23,000+ nodes, and privacy tech like CoinJoin exists, yet adoption lags. Regulation creeps in—the U.S. Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2023 and Europe’s MiCa laws threaten KYC on every wallet. Our failure to advance faster gives governments leverage. Our failure would be their victory. Their cycles endlessly repeated.

Activism is a shadow of its potential. The Human Rights Foundation pushes Bitcoin for dissidents, but it’s a drop in the bucket. We could replace supply chains, build Bitcoin-only companies, or claim territories, yet we can’t even convince bars to accept

Bitcoin. We’re distracted by laser-eye memes and altcoin hopium, not building at farmer’s markets, festivals, or local scenes. PMB Bitcoiners demand perfection—free, ad-free, high-quality content—while contributing nothing.

The best way to shut them up, is asking them to do something. ”I would like to see a live counter on that page, so I can see what customers got new products” ”Why don’t YOU write code?” … and they’re gone.

”I would change a few items in your presentation man, it was good, but I would change the diagram on page 7” ”The presentation is open source and online, open for contributions. Do you want to give the presentation next time?” ”… “ and they’re gone.

”We need to have a network of these antennas to communicate with each other and send sats” ”I’ve ordered a few devices like that.. want to help out and search for new network participants?” ” … “ They’re off to some other thing, that’s more entertaining.

If you don’t understand you’re in a very unique fork in the road, a historic shift in society, much so that you’re more busy with picking the right shoes, car, phone, instead of pushing things in the right direction. And guess what? Usually these two lifestyles can even be combines. Knights in old England could fight and defend their king, while still having a decent meal and participate in festivities. These knight (compared to some bitcoiners) didn’t sit back at a fancy dinner and told the others: “yeah man, you should totally put on a harness, get a sword made and fight,… here I’ll give you a carrot for your horse.” To disappear into their castles waiting for the fight to be over a few months later. No, they put on the harness themselves, and ordered a sword to be made, because they knew their own future and that of their next of kin was at stake.

Hardly any of them show you that Bitcoin can be fairly simple and even low-tech solutions for achieving remedies for the world’s biggest problems (having individuals have real ownership for example). It can include some genuine building of prosperity and belief in one’s own talents and skills. You mostly don’t need middlemen. They buy stuff they don’t need, to feel like they’re participants.

And there’s so, enormously much work to be done.

On the other hand. Some bitcoiners can live their whole life without spending any considerable amount of bitcoin, and be perfectly happy. They mind as well could have had no bitcoin at all, but changed their mindset towards a lot of things in life. That’s cool, I know bitcoiners that don’t have any bitcoin anymore. They still “get it” though. Everyone’s life is different. These people are really cool, and they’re usually the silent builders as well. They know.

And yet, people will say they’ve “missed out”. They surely missed out on buying a lot of nice “stuff” … maybe. There are always new luxury items for sale in the burning ruins of fiat. There are always people that want to temporarily like or love you (long time) for fiat, as well as for bitcoin. You’re still an empty shell if your do. Just like the fiat slaves. A crypto bro will always stay the same sell out, even if he holds bitcoin by any chance.

You know why? Because bitcoiners don’t think like “they” do. The fiat masters that screwed this world up, think and work over multi generations. (Remember that for later, in piece twelve of this series.)

The only path forward

Solo heroics can’t beat the market or drive adoption anymore. Collective action is key. The Lightning Network grows from thousands of small nodes for example. Bitcoin Core thrives on shared grit. Profit isn’t sportcars — it’s a thriving network freeing people. If 10,000 people spend 0.05 BTC to fund wallets, educate merchants or build tools, we’d see more users and transactions. Adoption drives demand. Sacrifice now, impact later. Don’t work for PMB orders — they’re fiat victims, not Bitcoin builders.

Act together, thrive together

To kill PMB, rediscover your potential, even if it costs you:

Educate wide: Teach Bitcoin’s truth—how it works, why it matters. Every convert strengthens us.

Build together: Run nodes, fund Lightning hubs, support devs. Small contributions add up.

Use Bitcoin: Spend it, gift it, make it move. Transactions are the network’s heartbeat.

Value the mission: Chase freedom, not fiat. Your legacy is impact, not your stack.

A call to build The parable of Bitcoin is clear: hoard and get rich, but leave nothing behind; act together, sacrifice wealth, and build a thriving Bitcoin world. Hoarding risks a deflationary spiral while Wall Street grabs another 100,000 BTC every few weeks and sits on it for other fund managers to buy the stake (pun intended).

PMB Bitcoiners will cash out, thinking they’re smart, trading our future for fiat luxury. Bitcoin’s value lies in trust, scarcity, and a network grown by those who see beyond their wallets. Bury your Bitcoin or build with it.

If someone slyly nudges you to pump their bags, call them faithless leeches who ignore the call for a better world. They’re quiet, polite, and vanish when it’s time to fund or build. They tally fiat gains while you grind through life’s rot. They sling insults if you educate, risk, or create. They’re all take, no give — enemies, even if they hold Bitcoin.

Bitcoiners route around problems. Certainly if that problem is other bitcoiners. Because we know how they think, we know their buried talents, we know why they do it. It’s in our DNA to know. They don’t know why we keep building however, the worse of them don’t understand.

Bitcoin’s value isn’t in scarcity alone — it’s in the combination of trust, scarcity and the network, grown by those who see beyond their wallets and small gains.

Whether you’ve got 0.01 BTC or 10,000 BTC, your choice matters. Will you bury your Bitcoin, or build with it? I can hope we choose the latter.

If someone, directly or slyly, nudges you to pump their bags, call them out as faithless servants who wouldn’t even hear the calling of a better world. These types are often quiet, polite, and ask few questions, but when it’s time to step up, they vanish — nowhere to be found for funding, working, or doing anything real, big or small. They’re obsessed with “pump my bags,” tallying their fiat gains while you grind, sweat, and ache through life’s rotten misery. Usually they’re well off, because fiat mentality breeds more fiat.

They won’t lift you up or support you, because they’re all about the “take” and take and take more, giving nice sounding incentives to keep you pumping and grinding. They smell work, but never participate. They’re lovely and nice as long as you go along and pump.

Pump-My-Bags bitcoiners are temporary custodians, financial Frankfurter sausages hunting for a bun to flop into. We have the mustard. We know how to make it, package it and pour it over them. We’re the preservers of hard money. We build, think and try.

They get eaten. They’re fiat-born and when the real builders rise (they’re already a few years old), history won’t remember these people’s stacks and irrelevant comments — only our sacrifices.

by: AVB

@ 57d1a264:69f1fee1

HTX Studio received a special email. The letter writer's daughter was unfortunately run over by a heavy truck on her way to school, and her right hand permanently lost its function. When using the computer, her hands have to frequently switch between the keyboard and the mouse, which makes typing very slow and tiring. He wanted us to make a one-handed keyboard for his daughter.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vW12gQ4Klc

The project has just been open-sourced at https://github.com/htx-studio/One-Handed-Keyboard and hopes to be helpful to those who need it. In English for you below:

One-Handed Keyboard

This is a single-mode mechanical keyboard with integrated trackball. The firmware uses QMK . Thanks to all the developers who have contributed to the QMK community.

Keyboard production reference: [Mr. He] We made a special keyboard...

Open source hardware: HTXStudio one-handed keyboard

GitHub repository

Gitee repository

The development environment and setup are available here , and the firmware source code is available here .

The information in this warehouse includes:

• A total of 8 PCBs for three keyboards for the left and right hands, provided by EasyEDA Engineering.
• VIA key change configuration file and compiled firmware.
• Model design files.

---

Warehouse directory structure

Docs

Data sheet and pictures of the chip.

Firmware

QMK firmware for three different keyboard models, and JSON files for VIA key changes.

Hardware

Project files of Jialichuang EDA.

Model

Model files and processing files used by each keyboard model.

---

Production Guide

PCB：

1-Right-hand keyboard-hot-swappable (large): board material FR-4, board thickness 1.6mm, four-layer board, laminate structure JLC04161H-3313, impedance control +/-20%.

1-Left-hand keyboard-welding board (small): board material FR-4, board thickness 1.6mm, double-layer board, ALPS yellow axis needs to be installed with a little force when inserted.

1-Left-hand keyboard-hot-swappable (large): board material FR-4, board thickness 1.6mm, four-layer board, laminate structure JLC04161H-3313, impedance control +/-20%.

2-TypeC: board material FR-4, board thickness 1.6mm, double-layer board, marked CON1 (only for large keyboards).

3-Trackball: board material FR-4, board thickness 1.6mm, double-layer board, the module needs to pay attention to the welding direction, marked CON3.

4- Mouse wheel: board material FR-4, board thickness 1.6mm, double-layer board, it is recommended to use 7mm high encoder, 6mm high button, button trigger pressure ≤180g, marked CON2.

5-Directional buttons: board material FR-4, board thickness 1.6mm, double-layer board, ALPS yellow shaft needs to be inserted with a little force, marked CON4.

6- Main control board - left hand (small): board material FR-4, board thickness 1.6mm, double-layer board.

• Three of them are keyboard-controlled common boards 《3-轨迹球》《4-鼠标滚轮》《5-方向按键》.
• 《5-方向按键》And 《1-左手键盘-焊板(小)》, the key axis uses ALPS yellow axis.
• Note that the left and right hand keyboards are not completely mirrored.
• The trackball control uses SPI1 channel, and the scroll wheel has two separate signal lines, which allows replacing other control devices without major adjustments.
• The main control uses STM32G431CBU6.
• Compatible with A to C or C to C data cables.

Printout:

Keycap: resin, PLA, etc.

Trackball seat: resin, PLA, etc.

Left and right mouse buttons: resin, PLA, etc.

Shell: resin, PLA, etc.

Base: resin, PLA, etc.

Processing:

Positioning plate: Recommended material: pom, thickness 1.5mm.

Positioning plate cotton strip: glue left on one side.

Sandwich cotton: Recommended material is poron, 3.5mm thick.

Axle seat cotton: 2mm thick.

Bottom cotton: Recommended material: poron, 4mm thick.

Silicone pad (for keypad only): 5mm thick, hardness Shore 00-10.

other:

Trackball: diameter 25mm, material PTFE.

Lubricating ball: 2mm diameter, made of PTFE, installed in the printed trackball seat, 6 pieces in number.

Roller: Recommended diameter is between 19mm-20mm, thickness is between 4mm-5mm, and material is metal.

Satellite axis: 2U steel plate satellite axis.

Key switches: 57 ultra-small ALPS yellow switches for the small keyboard and 57 common mechanical switches for the large keyboard.

Cable arrangement: spacing 0.5mm, 8P reverse, 10cm2 strips, 15cm2 strips.

• The FPC sockets of the control board and the small board are both marked with CON, and the corresponding interfaces are connected.
• The file uses an FPC cable holder that can be connected up and down. It should be noted that when the cable holders are connected down, use reverse cable connection.

Model structure:

Installation order:

Take the large keyboard as an example

Pre-assembly work

• First, connect the 4 small PCBs to the keyboard body PCB using cables and burn the program.
• Install 3-5 shafts, rollers and trackballs. Make sure they function normally before assembly.
• Install the correct hot-melt copper nuts at the corresponding positions of the printed shell and base.
• Keycap printing.
• Attach the cotton strips to the protruding parts of the positioning plate (both on the front and back sides).

When burning the firmware for the first time, you can press and hold the button marked "B" on the back of the PCB and then plug in the USB cable to burn the firmware.

If you want to update the firmware, you can press and hold the "ESC" key on the keyboard and then insert the USB cable to burn the firmware.

For more information, please refer to Flashing Your Keyboard (QMK)

Next, start assembling

1. Use screws to install the 4 small boards to the corresponding positions of the base (pay attention to the wiring and installation direction), and install screws at the bottom of the trackball base.
2. Fix the left and right buttons on the keyboard PCB with screws.
3. From bottom to top, place the bottom cotton, shaft seat cotton, keyboard PCB, sandwich cotton and positioning plate into the fan-shaped area of ​​the base in order.
4. Insert the key switch.
5. Put it into the housing and secure it with screws from the bottom.
6. Install the keycaps to complete the assembly.

The screw and nut installation guide can be found here

Finally, this is our first open source project. If there are any shortcomings, you are welcome to criticize and correct us. Thank you.

---

References

Quantum Mechanical Keyboard Firmware

mrjohnk. ADNS-9800. GitHub repository

https://x.com/HTX_Studio/status/1929915992349782206

https://stacker.news/items/1000384

@ 57d1a264:69f1fee1

There is a certain image that pops up whenever people think about crushing soda cans. It is the kind of scene you see in movies, where a brawny athlete flattens an empty can with a single squeeze, probably in front of a cheering crowd. The reality, however, is far less cinematic. Most of us barely manage a dent before abandoning the can, sending it tumbling toward the trash bin, often missing the target entirely and hoping no one noticed. It is hardly the stuff of legends, unless you consider fumbling for a runaway soda can an athletic event.

In the end, the Yeti Can Crusher is more than just a clever gadget. It is a reminder that even the simplest chores can be transformed into moments of enjoyment, especially when the right tool is involved. There is a certain thrill in turning a dull task into a satisfying ritual, and when you add a dash of style, suddenly recycling is not just good for the planet, it is actually a little bit fun. With the right crusher in your hand, you might just find yourself looking forward to the next empty can.

Curious to learn more? https://www.yeti.com/outdoor-living/20110010027.html

https://stacker.news/items/1000380

@ dfa02707:41ca50e3

News

• Bitcoin mining centralization in 2025. According to a blog post by b10c, Bitcoin mining was at its most decentralized in May 2017, with another favorable period from 2019 to 2022. However, starting in 2023, mining has become increasingly centralized, particularly due to the influence of large pools like Foundry and the use of proxy pooling by entities such as AntPool.

Source: b10c's blog.

• OpenSats announces the eleventh wave of Nostr grants. The five projects in this wave are the mobile live-streaming app Swae, the Nostr-over-ham-radio project HAMSTR, Vertex—a Web-of-Trust (WOT) service for Nostr developers, Nostr Double Ratchet for end-to-end encrypted messaging, and the Nostr Game Engine for building games and applications integrated with the Nostr ecosystem.
• New Spiral grantee: l0rinc. In February 2024, l0rinc transitioned to full-time work on Bitcoin Core. His efforts focus on performance benchmarking and optimizations, enhancing code quality, conducting code reviews, reducing block download times, optimizing memory usage, and refactoring code.
• Project Eleven offers 1 BTC to break Bitcoin's cryptography with a quantum computer. The quantum computing research organization has introduced the Q-Day Prize, a global challenge that offers 1 BTC to the first team capable of breaking an elliptic curve cryptographic (ECC) key using Shor’s algorithm on a quantum computer. The prize will be awarded to the first team to successfully accomplish this breakthrough by April 5, 2026.
• Unchained has launched the Bitcoin Legacy Project. The initiative seeks to advance the Bitcoin ecosystem through a bitcoin-native donor-advised fund platform (DAF), investments in community hubs, support for education and open-source development, and a commitment to long-term sustainability with transparent annual reporting.
  • In its first year, the program will provide support to Bitcoin hubs in Nashville, Austin, and Denver.
  • Support also includes $50,000 to the Bitcoin Policy Institute, a $150,000 commitment at the University of Austin, and up to $250,000 in research grants through the Bitcoin Scholars program.

"Unchained will match grants 1:1 made to partner organizations who support Bitcoin Core development when made through the Unchained-powered bitcoin DAF, up to 1 BTC," was stated in a blog post.

• Block launched open-source tools for Bitcoin treasury management. These include a dashboard for managing corporate bitcoin holdings and provides a real-time BTC-to-USD price quote API, released as part of the Block Open Source initiative. The company’s own instance of the bitcoin holdings dashboard is available here.

Source: block.xyz

• Bull Bitcoin expands to Mexico, enabling anyone in the country to receive pesos from anywhere in the world straight from a Bitcoin wallet. Additionally, users can now buy Bitcoin with a Mexican bank account.

"Bull Bitcoin strongly believes in Bitcoin’s economic potential in Mexico, not only for international remittances and tourism, but also for Mexican individuals and companies to reclaim their financial sovereignty and protect their wealth from inflation and the fragility of traditional financial markets," said Francis Pouliot, Founder and CEO of Bull Bitcoin.

• Corporate bitcoin holdings hit a record high in Q1 2025. According to Bitwise, public companies' adoption of Bitcoin has hit an all-time high. In Q1 2025, these firms collectively hold over 688,000 BTC, marking a 16.11% increase from the previous quarter. This amount represents 3.28% of Bitcoin's fixed 21 million supply.

Source: Bitwise.

• The Bitcoin Bond Company for institutions has launched with the aim of acquiring $1 trillion in Bitcoin over 21 years. It utilizes secure, transparent, and compliant bond-like products backed by Bitcoin.
• The U.S. Senate confirmed Paul Atkins as Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). At his confirmation hearing, Atkins emphasized the need for a clear framework for digital assets. He aims to collaborate with the CFTC and Congress to address jurisdiction and rulemaking gaps, aligning with the Trump administration's goal to position the U.S. as a leader in Bitcoin and blockchain finance.
• Ethereum developer Virgil Griffith has been released from custody. Griffith, whose sentence was reduced to 56 months, is now seeking a pardon. He was initially sentenced to 63 months for allegedly violating international sanctions laws by providing technical advice on using cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology to evade sanctions during a presentation titled 'Blockchains for Peace' in North Korea.
• No-KYC exchange eXch to close down under money laundering scrutiny. The privacy-focused cryptocurrency trading platform said it will cease operations on May 1. This decision follows allegations that the platform was used by North Korea's Lazarus Group for money laundering. eXch revealed it is the subject of an active "transatlantic operation" aimed at shutting down the platform and prosecuting its team for "money laundering and terrorism."
• Blockstream combats ESP32 FUD concerning Jade signers. The company stated that after reviewing the vulnerability disclosed in early March, Jade was found to be secure. Espressif Systems, the designer of the ESP32, has since clarified that the "undocumented commands" do not constitute a "backdoor."

• Bank of America is lobbying for regulations that favor banks over tech firms in stablecoin issuance. The bank's CEO Brian Moynihan is working with groups such as the American Bankers Association to advance the issuance of a fully reserved, 1:1 backed "Bank of America coin." If successful, this could limit stablecoin efforts by non-banks like Tether, Circle, and others, reports The Block.
• Tether to back OCEAN Pool with its hashrate. "As a company committed to financial freedom and open access, we see supporting decentralization in Bitcoin mining as essential to the network’s long-term integrity," said Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino.
• Bitdeer to expand its self-mining operations to navigate tariffs. The Singapore-based mining company is advancing plans to produce machines in the U.S. while reducing its mining hardware sales. This response is in light of increasing uncertainties related to U.S. trade policy, as reported by Bloomberg.
• Tether acquires $32M in Bitdeer shares. The firm has boosted its investment in Bitdeer during a wider market sell-off, with purchases in early to mid-April amounting to about $32 million, regulatory filings reveal.
• US Bitcoin miner manufacturer Auradine has raised $153 million in a Series C funding round as it expands into AI infrastructure. The round was led by StepStone Group and included participation from Maverick Silicon, Premji Invest, Samsung Catalyst Fund, Qualcomm Ventures, Mayfield, MARA Holdings, GSBackers, and other existing investors. The firm raised to over $300 million since its inception in 2022.
• Voltage has partnered with BitGo to [enable](https://www.voltage.cloud/blog/bitgo-and-voltage-team-up-to-deliver-instant-bitcoin-and-stabl

@ 6ad3e2a3:c90b7740

I’ve written about MSTR twice already, https://www.chrisliss.com/p/mstr and https://www.chrisliss.com/p/mstr-part-2, but I want to focus on legendary short seller James Chanos’ current trade wherein he buys bitcoin (via ETF) and shorts MSTR, in essence to “be like Mike” Saylor who sells MSTR shares at the market and uses them to add bitcoin to the company’s balance sheet. After all, if it’s good enough for Saylor, why shouldn’t everyone be doing it — shorting a company whose stock price is more than 2x its bitcoin holdings and using the proceeds to buy the bitcoin itself?

Saylor himself has said selling shares at 2x NAV (net asset value) to buy bitcoin is like selling dollars for two dollars each, and Chanos has apparently decided to get in while the getting (market cap more than 2x net asset value) is good. If the price of bitcoin moons, sending MSTR’s shares up, you are more than hedged in that event, too. At least that’s the theory.

The problem with this bet against MSTR’s mNAV, i.e., you are betting MSTR’s market cap will converge 1:1 toward its NAV in the short and medium term is this trade does not exist in a vacuum. Saylor has described how his ATM’s (at the market) sales of shares are accretive in BTC per share because of this very premium they carry. Yes, we’ll dilute your shares of the company, but because we’re getting you 2x the bitcoin per share, you are getting an ever smaller slice of an ever bigger overall pie, and the pie is growing 2x faster than your slice is reducing. (I https://www.chrisliss.com/p/mstr how this works in my first post.)

But for this accretion to continue, there must be a constant supply of “greater fools” to pony up for the infinitely printable shares which contain only half their value in underlying bitcoin. Yes, those shares will continue to accrete more BTC per share, but only if there are more fools willing to make this trade in the future. So will there be a constant supply of such “fools” to keep fueling MSTR’s mNAV multiple indefinitely?

Yes, there will be in my opinion because you have to look at the trade from the prospective fools’ perspective. Those “fools” are not trading bitcoin for MSTR, they are trading their dollars, selling other equities to raise them maybe, but in the end it’s a dollars for shares trade. They are not selling bitcoin for them.

You might object that those same dollars could buy bitcoin instead, so they are surely trading the opportunity cost of buying bitcoin for them, but if only 5-10 percent of the market (or less) is buying bitcoin itself, the bucket in which which those “fools” reside is the entire non-bitcoin-buying equity market. (And this is not considering the even larger debt market which Saylor has yet to tap in earnest.)

So for those 90-95 percent who do not and are not presently planning to own bitcoin itself, is buying MSTR a fool’s errand, so to speak? Not remotely. If MSTR shares are infinitely printable ATM, they are still less so than the dollar and other fiat currencies. And MSTR shares are backed 2:1 by bitcoin itself, while the fiat currencies are backed by absolutely nothing. So if you hold dollars or euros, trading them for MSTR shares is an errand more sage than foolish.

That’s why this trade (buying BTC and shorting MSTR) is so dangerous. Not only are there many people who won’t buy BTC buying MSTR, there are many funds and other investment entities who are only able to buy MSTR.

Do you want to get BTC at 1:1 with the 5-10 percent or MSTR backed 2:1 with the 90-95 percent. This is a bit like medical tests that have a 95 percent accuracy rate for an asymptomatic disease that only one percent of the population has. If someone tests positive, it’s more likely to be a false one than an indication he has the disease*. The accuracy rate, even at 19:1, is subservient to the size of the respective populations.

At some point this will no longer be the case, but so long as the understanding of bitcoin is not widespread, so long as the dollar is still the unit of account, the “greater fools” buying MSTR are still miles ahead of the greatest fools buying neither, and the stock price and mNAV should only increase.

. . .

One other thought: it’s more work to play defense than offense because the person on offense knows where he’s going, and the defender can only react to him once he moves. Similarly, Saylor by virtue of being the issuer of the shares knows when more will come online while Chanos and other short sellers are borrowing them to sell in reaction to Saylor’s strategy. At any given moment, Saylor can pause anytime, choosing to issue convertible debt or preferred shares with which to buy more bitcoin, and the shorts will not be given advance notice.

If the price runs, and there is no ATM that week because Saylor has stopped on a dime, so to speak, the shorts will be left having to scramble to change directions and buy the shares back to cover. Their momentum might be in the wrong direction, though, and like Allen Iverson breaking ankles with a crossover, Saylor might trigger a massive short squeeze, rocketing the share price ever higher. That’s why he actually welcomes Chanos et al trying this copycat strategy — it becomes the fuel for outsized gains.

For that reason, news that Chanos is shorting MSTR has not shaken my conviction, though there are other more pertinent https://www.chrisliss.com/p/mstr-part-2 with MSTR, of which one should be aware. And as always, do your own due diligence before investing in anything.

* To understand this, consider a population of 100,000, with one percent having a disease. That means 1,000 have it, 99,000 do not. If the test is 95 percent accurate, and everyone is tested, 950 of the 1,000 will test positive (true positives), 50 who have it will test negative (false negatives.) Of the positives, 95 percent of 99,000 (94,050) will test negative (true negatives) and five percent (4,950) will test positive (false positives). That means 4,950 out of 5,900 positives (84%) will be false.

@ 81022b27:2b8d0644

Here’s the thing: authenticity gives off a vibration: There is so little of it anywhere that we crave it. That’s why an orange guy beats someone who doesn’t mean what they say. Because they don’t really believe a guy in a dress is a woman because that’s what they say they are

People feel vibes and hearing someone lie to their face is offensive. They will follow the guy that at least believes what he is

@ 81022b27:2b8d0644

D.D. Palmer was a magnetic healer, a visionary who tapped into the unseen forces of life. He founded chiropractic on the premise that the body’s innate intelligence governs health, and that misalignments—whether called subluxations, blockages, or interferences—disrupt this flow.

This is not a medical concept; it’s a metaphysical one, rooted in the belief that life transcends mere mechanics.

As a profession, we’ve been too concerned with what others think of us, particularly the medical community. In our desperation for acceptance, we’ve diluted our essence.

Some chiropractors advocate abandoning the term “subluxation” because it sounds archaic or unscientific. Personally, I don’t care for the word either—it often leaves my clients’ eyes glazed over. I prefer “blockages” or “interference” to convey the concept in a way that resonates.

But replacing these with medical jargon? That’s a betrayal of our roots.

What we cannot do is conform to a biomedical model that reduces the body to a machine. Chiropractic is not about treating symptoms or mimicking physical therapy. It’s about restoring the body’s connection to its innate wisdom, allowing healing to unfold naturally.

This is our strength, our uniqueness. To abandon it is to board the Titanic just before it sails—a sinking ship of soulless reductionism.

I believe chiropractic needs to embrace its metaphysical heritage boldly. We must stop apologizing for being different and instead educate the public on what we truly offer: a holistic approach that honors the body’s intelligence.

This means refining our language to be clear and relatable without sacrificing our principles. It means training chiropractors to communicate with confidence, not defensiveness. It means building a community that celebrates our philosophy rather than chasing validation from skeptics.

The future of chiropractic lies in authenticity. Let’s stop trying to fit into someone else’s paradigm. We are not medicine’s younger sibling; we are a distinct voice in healthcare. By standing firm in our metaphysical roots, we can inspire a world desperate for holistic solutions. The choice is ours: evolve as a vibrant, principled profession or sink under the weight of conformity. I choose evolution.

@ ed5774ac:45611c5c

April 20, 2020: The day I saw my so-called friends expose themselves as gutless, brain-dead sheep.

On that day, I shared a video exposing the damning history of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's vaccine campaigns in Africa and the developing world. As Gates was on every TV screen, shilling COVID jabs that didn’t even exist, I called out his blatant financial conflict of interest and pointed out the obvious in my facebook post: "Finally someone is able to explain why Bill Gates runs from TV to TV to promote vaccination. Not surprisingly, it's all about money again…" - referencing his substantial investments in vaccine technology, including BioNTech's mRNA platform that would later produce the COVID vaccines and generate massive profits for his so-called philanthropic foundation.

The conflict of interest was undeniable. I genuinely believed anyone capable of basic critical thinking would at least pause to consider these glaring financial motives. But what followed was a masterclass in human stupidity.

My facebook post from 20 April 2020:

Not only was I branded a 'conspiracy theorist' for daring to question the billionaire who stood to make a fortune off the very vaccines he was shilling, but the brain-dead, logic-free bullshit vomited by the people around me was beyond pathetic. These barely literate morons couldn’t spell "Pfizer" without auto-correct, yet they mindlessly swallowed and repeated every lie the media and government force-fed them, branding anything that cracked their fragile reality as "conspiracy theory." Big Pharma’s rap sheet—fraud, deadly cover-ups, billions in fines—could fill libraries, yet these obedient sheep didn’t bother to open a single book or read a single study before screaming their ignorance, desperate to virtue-signal their obedience. Then, like spineless lab rats, they lined up for an experimental jab rushed to the market in months, too dumb to care that proper vaccine development takes a decade.

The pathetic part is that these idiots spend hours obsessing over reviews for their useless purchases like shoes or socks, but won’t spare 60 seconds to research the experimental cocktail being injected into their veins—or even glance at the FDA’s own damning safety reports. Those same obedient sheep would read every Yelp review for a fucking coffee shop but won't spend five minutes looking up Pfizer's criminal fraud settlements. They would demand absolute obedience to ‘The Science™’—while being unable to define mRNA, explain lipid nanoparticles, or justify why trials were still running as they queued up like cattle for their jab. If they had two brain cells to rub together or spent 30 minutes actually researching, they'd know, but no—they'd rather suck down the narrative like good little slaves, too dumb to question, too weak to think.

Worst of all, they became the system’s attack dogs—not just swallowing the poison, but forcing it down others’ throats. This wasn’t ignorance. It was betrayal. They mutated into medical brownshirts, destroying lives to virtue-signal their obedience—even as their own children’s hearts swelled with inflammation.

One conversation still haunts me to this day—a masterclass in wealth-worship delusion. A close friend, as a response to my facebook post, insisted that Gates’ assumed reading list magically awards him vaccine expertise, while dismissing his billion-dollar investments in the same products as ‘no conflict of interest.’ Worse, he argued that Gates’s $5–10 billion pandemic windfall was ‘deserved.’

This exchange crystallizes civilization’s intellectual surrender: reason discarded with religious fervor, replaced by blind faith in corporate propaganda.

The comment of a friend on my facebook post that still haunts me to this day:

Walking Away from the Herd

After a period of anger and disillusionment, I made a decision: I would no longer waste energy arguing with people who refused to think for themselves. If my circle couldn’t even ask basic questions—like why an untested medical intervention was being pushed with unprecedented urgency—then I needed a new community.

Fortunately, I already knew where to look. For three years, I had been involved in Bitcoin, a space where skepticism wasn’t just tolerated—it was demanded. Here, I’d met some of the most principled and independent thinkers I’d ever encountered. These were people who understood the corrupting influence of centralized power—whether in money, media, or politics—and who valued sovereignty, skepticism, and integrity. Instead of blind trust, bitcoiners practiced relentless verification. And instead of empty rhetoric, they lived by a simple creed: Don’t trust. Verify.

It wasn’t just a philosophy. It was a lifeline. So I chose my side and I walked away from the herd.

Finding My Tribe

Over the next four years, I immersed myself in Bitcoin conferences, meetups, and spaces where ideas were tested, not parroted. Here, I encountered extraordinary people: not only did they share my skepticism toward broken systems, but they challenged me to sharpen it.

No longer adrift in a sea of mindless conformity, I’d found a crew of thinkers who cut through the noise. They saw clearly what most ignored—that at the core of society’s collapse lay broken money, the silent tax on time, freedom, and truth itself. But unlike the complainers I’d left behind, these people built. They coded. They wrote. They risked careers and reputations to expose the rot. Some faced censorship; others, mockery. All understood the stakes.

These weren’t keyboard philosophers. They were modern-day Cassandras, warning of inflation’s theft, the Fed’s lies, and the coming dollar collapse—not for clout, but because they refused to kneel to a dying regime. And in their defiance, I found something rare: a tribe that didn’t just believe in a freer future. They were engineering it.

April 20, 2024: No more herd. No more lies. Only proof-of-work.

On April 20, 2024, exactly four years after my last Facebook post, the one that severed my ties to the herd for good—I stood in front of Warsaw’s iconic Palace of Culture and Science, surrounded by 400 bitcoiners who felt like family. We were there to celebrate Bitcoin’s fourth halving, but it was more than a protocol milestone. It was a reunion of sovereign individuals. Some faces I’d known since the early days; others, I’d met only hours before. We bonded instantly—heated debates, roaring laughter, zero filters on truths or on so called conspiracy theories.

As the countdown to the halving began, it hit me: This was the antithesis of the hollow world I’d left behind. No performative outrage, no coerced consensus—just a room of unyielding minds who’d traded the illusion of safety for the grit of truth. Four years prior, I’d been alone in my resistance. Now, I raised my glass among my people - those who had seen the system's lies and chosen freedom instead. Each had their own story of awakening, their own battles fought, but here we shared the same hard-won truth.

The energy wasn’t just electric. It was alive—the kind that emerges when free people build rather than beg. For the first time, I didn’t just belong. I was home. And in that moment, the halving’s ticking clock mirrored my own journey: cyclical, predictable in its scarcity, revolutionary in its consequences. Four years had burned away the old world. What remained was stronger.

No Regrets

Leaving the herd wasn’t a choice—it was evolution. My soul shouted: "I’d rather stand alone than kneel with the masses!". The Bitcoin community became more than family; they’re living proof that the world still produces warriors, not sheep. Here, among those who forge truth, I found something extinct elsewhere: hope that burns brighter with every halving, every block, every defiant mind that joins the fight.

Change doesn’t come from the crowd. It starts when one person stops applauding.

Today, I stand exactly where I always wanted to be—shoulder-to-shoulder with my true family: the rebels, the builders, the ungovernable. Together, we’re building the decentralized future.

@ 81022b27:2b8d0644

Have you seen the show Poker Face on Peacock streaming? Natasha Lyonne plays a casino worker character who has the ability to tell if someone is telling the truth. If she hears a lie, she automatically says, “Bullshit!”

Her ability gets her in trouble with her boss, who is involved in organized crime, and now she is on the run and solving crimes until they find her again (usually at the end of an episode).

It’s like a rock-and-roll Quantum Leap. Anyway, Christi likes the show because there are crimes and clues, and you have to figure it out. I watch it because I can get into it while I’m messing with my phone or doing a little writing.

Well, I have that same ability to detect BS.

When I work on clients, I connect with their energy. I didn’t start out doing it on purpose; I would start working on a client and pick up whatever they were sick with, and then they would feel great, and I would be left struggling.

Some friends taught me how to protect myself, and it helped, but “my shield” prevented me from connecting with my clients like I used to.

Now I connect with the source of all power in the universe: God. (You can call it whatever you want: Source, Universal Intelligence, Prana, etc.)

I send up a little antenna, and I’m protected AND connected.

When I’m in this state and talking to a client, I can clearly tell when someone is not telling the truth because THE BODY DOES NOT LIE!

Sometimes the cause of a physical issue is an emotional issue. If you can connect to someone’s energy like this, you can find and help clear out whatever is the root cause.

I’ve been telling people this quote for as long as I’ve been practicing:

You can lie to your mom, to your friends, and even to yourself, but you can’t lie to your chiropractor!

A polygraph lie detector only measures four things: heart rate and blood pressure, respiration rate, skin conductivity, and movement.

There are now better lie detectors that use EEGs (brain wave measurements). AI finds that voice analysis is a great way to detect honesty.

What’s better than all of that combined?

You.

Your nervous system can detect much more than all these other methods combined. I will try to teach what I know so far if you’d like.

And don’t forget to watch that show! I recommend it.

live long and prosper 🖖🏼

-Dan

@ dfa02707:41ca50e3

Contribute to keep No Bullshit Bitcoin news going.

• "Today we're launching the beta version of our multiplatform Nostr browser! Think Google Chrome but for Nostr apps. The beta is our big first step toward this vision," announced Damus.
• This version comes with the Dave Nostr AI assistant, support for zaps and the Nostr Wallet Connect (NWC) wallet interface, full-text note search, GIFs and fullscreen images, multiple media uploads, user tagging, relay list and mute list support, along with a number of other improvements."

"Included in the beta is the Dave, the Nostr AI assistant (its Grok for Nostr). Dave is a new Notedeck browser app that can search and summarize notes from the network. For a full breakdown of everything new, check out our beta launch video."

What's new

• Dave Nostr AI assistant app.
• GIFs.
• Fulltext note search.
• Add full screen images, add zoom, and pan.
• Zaps! NWC/ Wallet UI.
• Introduce last note per pubkey feed (experimental).
• Allow multiple media uploads per selection.
• Major Android improvements (still WIP).
• Added notedeck app sidebar.
• User Tagging.
• Note truncation.
• Local network note broadcast, broadcast notes to other notedeck notes while you're offline.
• Mute list support (reading).
• Relay list support.
• Ctrl-enter to send notes.
• Added relay indexing (relay columns soon).
• Click hashtags to open hashtag timeline.
• Fixed timelines sometimes not updating (stale feeds).
• Fixed UI bounciness when loading profile pictures
• Fixed unselectable post replies.

Announcement / Archive
GitHub Repo
Website

@ 5a261a61:2ebd4480

What a day yesterday!

I had a really big backlog of both work and non-work things to clean up. But I was getting a little frisky because my health finally gave me some energy to be in the mood for intimacy after the illness-filled week had forced libido debt on me. I decided to cheat it out and just take care of myself quickly. Horny thoughts won over, and I got at least e-stim induced ass slaps to make it more enjoyable. Quick clean up and everything seemed ok...until it wasn't.

The rest of the morning passed uneventfully as I worked through my backlog, but things took a turn in the early afternoon. I had to go pickup kids, and I just missed Her between the doors, only managed to get a fast kiss. A little bummed from the work issues and failed expectations of having a few minutes together, I got on my way.

Then it hit me—the most serious case of blue balls I had in a long time. First came panic. I was getting to the age when unusual symptoms raise concerns—cancer comes first to mind, as insufficient release wasn't my typical problem. So I called Her. I explained what was happening and expressed hope for some alone time. Unfortunately, that seemed impossible with our evening schedule: kids at home, Her online meeting, and my standing gamenight with the boys. These game sessions are our sacred ritual—a preserved piece of pre-kids sanity that we all protect in our calendars. Not something I wanted to disturb.

Her reassurance was brief but unusualy promising: "Don't worry, I get this."

Evening came, and just as I predicted, there was ZERO time for shenanigans while we took care of the kids. But once we put them to bed (I drew straw for early sleeper), with parental duties complete, I headed downstairs to prepare for my gaming session. Headset on, I greeted my fellows and started playing.

Not five minutes later, She opened the door with lube in one hand, fleshlight in the other, and an expecting smile on Her face. Definitely unexpected. I excused myself from the game, muted mic, but She stopped me.

"There will be nothing if you won't play," She said. She just motioned me to take my pants off. And off to play I was. Not an easy feat considering I twisted my body sideways so She could access anything She wanted while I still reached keyboard and mouse.

She slowly started touching me and observing my reactions, but quickly changed to using Her mouth. Getting a blowjob while semihard was always so strange. The semi part didn't last long though...

As things intensified, She was satisfied with my erection and got the fleshlight ready. It was a new toy for us, and it was Her first time using it on me all by Herself (usually She prefers watching me use toys). She applied an abundance of lube that lasted the entire encounter and beyond.

Shifting into a rhythm, She started pumping slowly but clearly enjoyed my reactions when She unexpectedly sped up, forcing me to mute the mic. I knew I wouldn't last long. When She needed to fix Her hair, I gentlemanly offered to hold the fleshlight, having one hand still available for gaming. She misunderstood, thinking I was taking over completely, which initially disappointed me.

To my surprise, She began taking Her shirt off the shoulders, offering me a pornhub-esque view. To clearly indicate that finish time had arrived, She moved Her lubed hand teasingly toward my anal. She understood precisely my contradictory preferences—my desire to be thoroughly clean before such play versus my complete inability to resist Her when aroused. That final move did it—I muted the mic just in time to vocally express how good She made me feel.

Quick clean up, kiss on the forehead, and a wish for me to have a good game session followed. The urge to abandon the game and cuddle with Her was powerful, but She stopped me. She had more work to complete on Her todo list than just me.

Had a glass, had a blast; overall, a night well spent I would say.

@ 8671a6e5:f88194d1

intro

Full disclosure : I bought multiple bitcoin art items to support artists

Bitcoin has absorbed old tropes from finance, tech, and economics, fundamentally reshaping how we think about money. But Bitcoin art? It should be a companion on the journey to a Bitcoin standard. Yet it doesn’t even seem to be trying. Every artistic movement worth its salt needs something to push against—to rebel, to spark thought, to provoke, or at the very least, to represent a technical or methodological leap forward in its field.

Pointillism comes to mind as an example in painting.

In this piece, I take a brief stroll into the subjective realm of art, specifically exploring art in the Bitcoin space—if such a thing truly exists. Some people might not like it, but as someone who has created modern art myself, I can confidently say that artists will emerge stronger from this transitional phase of Bitcoin art, whatever this era may be called later.

The art corner You know the drill. You visit any Bitcoin conference and there’s the obligatory “art corner” or gallery. Funny, wasn’t it just a few years back that a single decent artwork was a rarity needing a proper place for being shown tot he public? Now, every conference (small or big) needs this curated space, crammed with artists all vying for a sliver of attention.

And what do you usually find? A collection of the utterly predictable, the profoundly uninspired, the tiresomely repetitive, and anything but artistically groundbreaking amidst some exceptional pieces that will be snatched up almost immediately.

The themes are often so worn out, they’re practically a self-parody version of bitcoin art:

Animals holding signs (with of course… bitcoin logos)

Whales, dolphins, and the aquatic crew: The go-to, utterly drained metaphor for Bitcoin wealth, rendered in every conceivable medium with sea creatures.

Majestic vistas with bitcoin slogans: Think inspirational landscapes defaced with inscriptions or cryptic (not really) messages.

Women cradling blocks: Because apparently, nothing screams "Bitcoin" like a woman clutching a perfectly geometric cube. Bonus points if there are more painted women on a canvas, than actual women at the event.

Coins, coins, and more coins: Gold, silver, pixelated, abstract – just in case anyone forgot Bitcoin isn't a physical trinket.

Collages of Bitcoin celebs and memes: Why bother with originality when you can just mash up some social posts?

Reheated classics with an orange filter: Slap some orange highlights and a Bitcoin logo on a famous painting, and voilà! “Bitcoin art.” Bitcoin Pop-art, Bitcoin punk, Bitcoin collages…

It’s like the whole Bitcoin art scene is endlessly regurgitating the same tired ideas, and pouring a lot of time and effort in being just a fancy washing machine of orange t-shirts.

Most of it—not all, mind you, as there are people with exceptional thought and even more exceptional work—is no more than Bitcoin-themed art. By "theme," I mean the color orange or a “B,” much like you’d see M&M’s-themed coffee mugs, M&M’s t-shirts, or M&M’s-themed playing cards.

Now, let’s be clear: this isn’t about slagging off the artists themselves. I know how hard it is to thrive in this space, and I also learned about the time and effort put in to any work (the perception of the artwork has nothing to do with this at all!)

The dedication and passion within the bitcoin art scene are undeniable. Making art in a niche like Bitcoin is a tough gig (and often a thankless one, given the whole value-4-value thing seems perpetually broken). They deserve respect for putting themselves out there, doing the work and trying to make their passion work.

Many genuinely believe in what they’re creating, even if not everyone is convinced or will like a work of art. However, a lot of them are chasing a mirage, much like those hoping for an oasis of Bitcoin jobs in the desert. Many artists dream of turning their art into a business or a career move, and some even try to make a full-time living from it. That’s admirable, but I’m convinced it’s often a ruse, where your money, time, and effort dress up someone else’s business ideas and sense of branding. In my opinion, the real art movement in Bitcoin has yet to take off. It will need people with great ideas, motivation, know-how, and effort, for sure!

So I repeat the issue isn’t the individuals, the artists; it’s the collective creative stagnation that comes from clamoring to the general interest of this perceived “bitcoiner” as an audience.

Target < B > Audience

Only, this audience is usually not the target audience for the artworks itself. Art needs to have room to inspire, be free and relay an idea (even if that idea challenges another idea). That can’t be done to a target audience that just wants to sell their stuff to each other at a conference (see my piece on Bitcoin conferences for that) neither can it be a target audience that even is too cheap to buy a ticket and freeloads themselves into an conference.

Bitcoin is supposed to be revolutionary, yet so much of its art (or perceived art) feels like a tacked-on commercial necessity or, worse, a desperate attempt at self-validation. Most of it is just a perpetual branding motion from a non-existing marketing team.

The target audience is usually even worse. Not knowing what they’re looking at, out of their element and knowing they should and could support the artists and their work. A lot is depending on why this audience is wandering through a conference gallery in the first place.

If most people at a conference are the usuals, the sellers, the company people, then they're used to seeing these artists and their art pieces. No one is amazed anymore. Which is in fact a sad thing to happen.

I can't imagine how incredibly hard it must be to try to sell something as bitcoin art to this kind of audience, while trying to believe that a B-logo on an excerpt of the whitepaper is worth the effort. (I don’t think it is, but tastes differ, some people prefer a Whopper over a nice steak dinner)

Signaling “membership” in the bitcoin community is important to some, and they do that through hats, t-shirts, pins and hoodies, not buying a bitcoin artwork.

Art is inherently subjective, fluid, and deeply personal.

I love Kusama’s polka dots, someone else might be into Herman Brood’s chaotic paintings, and someone else might get all nostalgic over an Anton Pieck candy store drawings.

The contradiction Bitcoin: The hardest money ever created. Objectively verifiable. Math-based. Impersonal. Code.

The clash is between feeling and finance, between cold emotionless, hard numbers and warm, beating hearts.

That’s why it's always a bit surreal to see people that sit in a conference room, go from a deep dive into Lightning Network scalability or Bitcoin’s code ossification; and see them wandering through an “art gallery” filled with pieces that are the polar opposite of anything remotely code-related. The cold hearts walk amongst the works of warmth. The trustless math calculates their steps and starts to look at something that’s exposed to a public of that’s not there for the art, but the mimicking of such a think in their setting makes them have their own élan, grandeur. It feels forced. And to me, it feels even wrong to see people walk out of a conference room, right into the art gallery… where they’re usually stroll around out of boredom or just as a form of a break. It’s almost disrespectful, and I feel art needs its own place, the right setting. And that setting is definitely not a bitcoin conference.

You see tech and finance folks just standing there, at these art corners looking at the art pieces like cows watching a drone show.

You feel this subtle pressure to act like it’s profound, even though it rarely is. But you’re there, so you play along with the charade as well. It’s miserable to see. Certainly when some people are more interested in buying the piece of mind of the artist, the way of life or a glimmer of independence they’re missing themselves.

I believe bitcoin art is rarely bought for anything else than capturing the reality and authenticity of the artists. Artists know that. And they sell that authenticity (out) to eat, drink, sleep and pay their rent. Authenticity can be double spent, unlike the hard money asset where it’s supposedly all about. Artists have very big blocks.

It’s a bit like that hyped-up restaurant that turns out to be serving dressed-up bar food, but you’re with friends, so you pretend that $35 hors d'oeuvre doesn’t taste suspiciously like steamed shoe laces. Theaters are sometimes food bars or galleries. Proof of fart Then there’s the awkward issue of selling this stuff. How do you, as an artist, “comment on” or “complete” an asset in an artistic way, while that asset appreciates by an average of 40 to 70% a year?

Buying traditional art as an investment is one thing, driven by aesthetics or emotional connection. But buying Bitcoin art with Bitcoin? That’s a financial decision triggering regret (almost for sure). Think about it: 0.1 BTC spent on a canvas today, isn’t just a fixed one-time cost; it’s a future opportunity cost.

That same Bitcoin could be worth significantly more in a few years. The artwork, not so much, not even a Picasso painting or a Hokusai manages that kind of annual return. So, unless you’re head-over-heels for the piece (or the artist), buying Bitcoin art with Bitcoin is almost certainly a bad trade financially – though, so is buying that fancy coffee machine you'll use twice or getting a diamond ring for you loved one.

Of course, this isn't a definitive argument against it (it's subjective, remember). But it's a factor, just one element. People who buy art to lock it away into a vault aren't the same folks milling around a Bitcoin conference, presumably. But still.

Purpose

Historically, in the West at least, art served many purposes: glorifying churches, telling stories to the illiterate, and expressing the full spectrum of human emotion (pain, regret, doubt, madness, etc.). There was always a demand, whether from religious institutions, the populace, or a desire for education and status. The demand rarely came from onlookers or passive walk-ins. You can only walk in after the demand has been met. The real commanding force in Bitcoin art isn’t the financial types in suits or the grifter with a few stickers who got into the conference for free and smells like weed. The demand comes from people who love to cultivate the branding to propel themselves forward.

In Bitcoin? None of that. There’s little genuine demand, I’d argue. The demand seems mostly driven by the artists themselves wanting to participate. Which, in itself, makes the act of creation worthwhile for them. But the audience demand feels… manufactured. Nobody wakes up thinking: “.. I sure hope there’s a Bitcoin art gallery at this conference...”

This low-to-nonexistent demand, however, presents a massive opportunity to actually impress. Low expectations mean impact is easier to achieve in a lasting way. But that impact evaporates fast if all the visitors get is the same old themes with some orange varnish or a monkey holding a sign.

"Proof of work" isn’t enough here; we already have that in the bitcoin network. Bitcoin art need "proof of thought". Sure, Bitcoin artists put in the hours. Their work is literally proof of effort. But effort alone doesn’t equal value – originality does. Copying Warhol, Mondrian, or Van Gogh and slapping a Bitcoin twist on it isn’t the high level of creativity that can pull art lovers in (and even make them bitcoiners); on the contrary it’s opportunism. And in a space that seems to thrive on recycling successful (or at least visible or temporary cool) ideas, genuine artistic innovation is a rare beast.

Bitcoin art could be so much more. And yes that’s subjective, but at the same time, … walk around at any art gallery and be honest with yourself as a person and buy what you really like, support the artists and the scene, and at the same time realize you’re playing dress up.

There should be so much more, as a separate art movement. It could delve into the philosophy of decentralization, the tension between digital scarcity and creativity, the profound societal shifts Bitcoin is triggering. Instead, we’re mostly drowning in kitsch and thinly veiled cash grabs. The Bitcoin art world doesn’t need more bodies; it needs better minds. We don’t need bigger blocks, we don’t need blocks at all!

The uncomfortable truth is that many Bitcoin artists are here chasing opportunities, just like the rest of us. But spotting an opportunity doesn’t magically transform you into an artist.

I could “find the opportunity” to be a star in the hypothetical Bitcoin basketball league, being one of the first to join. But compared to the global pool of professional basketball talent, I’d likely be laughably bad. I’m not even tall enough to reach most pro players’ armpits, let alone dunk. Yet, in òur tiny Bitcoin league WBBF (World Bitcoin Basketball Federation), I’d be a legend, an OG, demanding respect for my early participation and best-dunk-champion. Just like some Bitcoin artists seem to expect accolades for a weak, orange-tinted imitation of 1960s pop art.

I wouldn’t cut it in any real basketball club, probably not even the lowest amateur league, considering my limited knowledge of the rules. Do you have to run back to the center? Can you tackle other players? Is snatching the ball mid-dribble legal? No clue.

But I could hang around the basketball scene a bit, soak up the jargon, maybe buy a sports drink for a better player to glean some knowledge, and then clumsily mimic their moves while still being terrible at dribbling. I’de buy the right shoes as well. To fit in. Just like bitcoiners buy the right t-shirts.

The same principle applies to some Bitcoin musicians and other creatives. Being the only one doing something – be it Bitcoin-themed sculptures, paintings, sci-fi, or whale graffiti murals – doesn’t automatically make you a leading figure. It just makes you… the only one. Being the sole sci-fi filmmaker in Bangladesh makes you the top of your national field, sure, but it doesn’t make you the next Kubrick. Likewise, airbrushing an orange “B” on a canvas doesn’t turn you into the next Georgia O’Keeffe.

The Bitcoin world thrives on competition and proof of work. Perhaps it’s high time Bitcoin art did the same. We need a battle of ideas, experiments, and genuine insights, not just more orange paint, paragraphs of the white paper and some copper wires.

The genuinely sad part is the sheer effort many of the artists pour into their work! But there’s a limit to how much you can make people want to buy an art piece simply because it has a Bitcoin theme. Go beyond that.

Get real

Real Bitcoin art, in whatever form it takes, will command a high valuation because it will be scarce, original, and have Bitcoin not just as a subject, but woven into its very fabric. That form (and there will be many), in my opinion, is still waiting to be discovered. And I’m fairly certain it won’t be found in a conference gallery, where bored artists sit next to their work, politely nodding at every bloke who wants to sound knowledgeable about art for five minutes or tries to make himself look like a big shot. Because let’s face it, I’ve yet to meet a Bitcoiner with a genuine understanding of art history or a truly discerning eye.

Some starting points, perhaps (just my two cents) :

Art that embodies decentralization itself, inviting audience participation and co-creation, mirroring Bitcoin’s ethos but yet to be fully realized in the art world. Including consensus.

Art that incorporates distributed consensus or a rotating "proof of work" concept in its creation or presentation.

Purely mathematical art forms that resonate with Bitcoin’s underlying principles.

The possibilities are vast. Or maybe, just maybe, Bitcoin itself is our art, and we don’t need all this orange-tinged stuff cluttering up galleries nobody asked for.

And why not paint blocks holding women, instead of women holding blocks? Or why not have inflation-resistant art? Or math-based art that isn’t even possible to show on a canvas?

On that subject, the author of this piece enjoys making art as well and conducted a small experiment. I've performed a "life performance" approximately three times now, which I consider pure Bitcoin art. This was an action, not a physical object. It demonstrated work I personally delivered as “a miner” (function in this art piece), and during the process, people could verify it and even received my block subsidy (effort). So far, only one person has recognized this art form; the rest were unaware. Since it's an action, not an object, it's intangible unless you witnessed it. This is my way of saying, "you are the artist." According to the bitcoin ethos.

Interestingly enough, other people, even those involved in Bitcoin art themselves (!), didn't see it. This amused me because, much like the early weeks of Bitcoin's network growth, many initially failed to recognize its potential. Perhaps this parallel should be enough for us all to understand the true nature of Bitcoin art.

The Artistic Dare:

Here’s a challenge, not to your wallet, but to your creative soul: conceive and execute a piece of art that embodies the spirit and principles of Bitcoin in a way that is genuinely original, thought-provoking, and resonates beyond the immediate Bitcoin echo chamber. Forget the predictable iconography. Dig deeper.

If you can create something truly compelling, something that makes us see Bitcoin – or art – in a new light, then you’ve truly created Bitcoin art. And then comes the extra real challenge: finding someone who can and would pay for it, and at the same time “gets it”.

The main challenge is creating real art—a path, a genre—where a standalone Bitcoin art gallery can thrive outside the conferences and the small echo chamber of the “what do you sell?” crowd.

Don’t sell your dreams and authenticity to bored traders or bitcoin consultants. It’s like serving the finest wine to a bunch of alcoholics in a bar at 4 am.

Playing it safe with themes and artworks that can’t cross into the real art scene (even the underground art scene, let alone the corporate art) will not be as long-lived as bitcoin itself. Trying to spark interest from art lovers in general, will be the killer app, and will make bitcoin art into a movement. And that’s what we all need to make it art,… the pieces can’t exist without the movement. I hope someone will get the right spark, idea and fire going.

But until then we’ll be stuck with people painting a chimpanzee holding a glittering Bitcoin logo and chatting with any dude that wants to feel like someone at a conference.

Good luck.

AVB

@ 6ad3e2a3:c90b7740

I https://www.chrisliss.com/p/mstr a few months ago with the subtitle “The Only Stock,” and I’m starting to regret it. Now, it was trading at 396 on January 20 when I posted it and 404 now (even if it dipped 40 percent to 230 or so in between), but that’s not why I regret it. I pointed out it was not investable unless you’re willing to stomach large drawdowns, and anyone who bought then could exit with a small profit now had they not panic-sold along the way.

The reason I regret it is I don’t want to make public stock predictions because it adds stress to my life. I have not sold any of my shares yet, but something I’ve noticed recently has got me thinking about it, and stock tips are like a game of telephone wherein whoever is last in the chain might find out the wrong information and too late. And while every adult has agency and is responsible for his own financial decisions, I don’t want my readers losing money on account of anything I write.

My base case is still that MSTR becomes a trillion-dollar company, destroys the performance of the S&P, the Mag-7 and virtually any other equity portfolio most people would assemble. Michael Saylor is trading an infinitely-printable asset (his shares) for humanity’s best-ever, finite-supply digital gold, and that trade should be profitable for him and his shareholders in perpetuity.

I don’t know exactly what he plans to do when that trade is no longer available to him — either because no one takes fiat currency for bitcoin anymore or because his mNAV (market-cap-to-bitcoin-holding ratio) goes below one — but that’s not my main concern, either. At that point he’ll have so much bitcoin, he’ll probably become the world’s first and largest bitcoin bank and profit by making his pristine collateral available to individuals and institutions. Even at five percent interest, half a trillion in bitcoin would yield $25B in profits every year. Even at a modest 10x valuation, the stock would more than double from here.

I am also not overly concerned with Saylor’s present amount of convertible debt which is at low or zero rates and is only https://www.strategy.com/. He’s been conservative on that front and only issuing on favorable terms. I don’t doubt Saylor’s prescience, intelligence or business sense one bit.

What got me thinking were some Twitter posts by a former Salomon Brothers trader/prophet Josh Mandell https://x.com/JoshMandell6/status/1921597739458339193 recently. In November when bitcoin was mooning after the election, he predicted that on March 14th it would close at $84,000, and if it did it would then go on an epic run up to $444,000 this cycle.

A lot of people make predictions, a few of them come true, but rarely do they come true on the dot (it closed at exactly $84K according to some exchanges) and on such a specific timeframe. Now, maybe he just got lucky, or maybe he is a skilled trader who made one good prediction, but the reason he gave for his prediction, insofar as he gave one, was not some technical chart or quantitative analysis, but a memory he had from 30 years ago that got into his mind that he couldn’t shake. He didn’t get much more specific than that, other than that he was tuned into something that if he explained fully would make too many people think he had gone insane. And then the prediction came true on the dot months later.

Now I believe in the paranormal more than the average person. I do not think things are random, and insofar as they appear that way it’s only because we have incomplete information — even a coin toss is predictable if you knew the exact force and spin that was put on the coin. I think for whatever reason, this guy is plugged into something, and while I would never invest a substantial amount of money on that belief — not only are earnestly-made prophecies often delusions or even if correct wrongly interpreted — that he sold makes me think.

He gave more substantive reasons for selling than prophecy, by the way — he seems to think Saylor’s perpetual issuance of shares ATM (at the market) to buy more bitcoin is putting too much downward pressure on the stock. Obviously, selling shares — even if to buy the world’s most pristine collateral at a 2x-plus mNAV — reduces the short-term appreciation of those shares.

His thesis seems to be that Saylor is doing this even if he would be better off letting the price appreciate more, attracting more investors, squeezing more shorts, etc because he needs to improve his credit rating to tap into the convertible debt market to the extent he has promised ($42 billion more over the next few years) at favorable terms. But in doing this, he is souring common stock investors because they are not seeing the near-term appreciation they should on their holdings.

Now this is a trivial concern if over the long haul MSTR does what it has the last couple years which is to outperform by a wide margin not only every large cap stock and the S&P but bitcoin itself. And the bigger his stack of bitcoin, the more his stock should appreciate as bitcoin goes up. But markets do not operate linearly and rationally. Should he sour prospective buyers to a great enough extent, should he attract shorts (and supply them with available shares to borrow) to a great enough extent, perhaps there might be an mNAV-crushing cascade that drives people into other bitcoin treasury companies, ETFs or bitcoin itself.

Now Saylor as first mover and by far the largest publicly-traded treasury company has a significant advantage. Institutions are far less likely to invest in size in smaller treasury companies with shorter track records, and many of them are not allowed to invest in ETFs or bitcoin at all. And even if a lot of money did go into any of those vehicles, it would only drive the value of his assets up and hence his stock price, no matter the mNAV. But Josh Mandell sold his shares prior to a weekend where bitcoin went from 102K to 104K, the US announced a deal with China, the mag-7 had a big spike (AAPL was up 6.3 percent) and then MSTR’s stock went down from 416 to 404. As I said, he is on to something.

So what’s the real long-term risk? I don’t know. Maybe there’s something about the nature of bitcoin that long-term is not really amenable to third-party custody and administration. It’s a bearer asset (“not your keys, not your coins”), and introducing counterparty risk is antithetical to its core purpose, the separation of money and state, or in this case money and bank.

With the bitcoin network you can literally “be your own bank.” To transact in digital dollars you need a bank account — or at least a stable coin one mediated by a centralized entity like Tether. You can’t hold digital dollars in your mind via some memorized seed words like you can bitcoin, accessible anywhere in the world, the ledger of which is maintained by tens of thousands of individually-run nodes. This property which democratizes value storage in the way gold did, except now you can wield your purchasing power globally, might be so antithetical to communal storage via corporation or bank that doing so is doomed to catastrophe.

We’ve already seen this happen with exchanges via FTX and Mt. Gox. Counterparty risk is one of the problems bitcoin was created to solve, so moving that risk from a fractionally reserved international banking system to corporate balance sheets still very much a part of that system is probably not the seismic advancement integral to the technology’s promise.

But this is more of a philosophical concern rather than a concrete one. To get more specific, it’s easy to imagine Coinbase, if indeed that’s where MSTR custodies its coins, gets hacked or https://www.chrisliss.com/p/soft-landing, i.e., seized by an increasingly desperate and insolvent government. Or maybe Coinbase simply doesn’t have the coins it purports like FTX, or a rogue band of employees, working on behalf of some powerful faction for “https://www.chrisliss.com/national-security-and-public-healt” executes the rug pull. Even if you deem these scenarios unlikely, they are not unfathomable.

Beyond outright counterparty malfeasance, there are other risks — what if owning common stock in an enterprise that simply holds bitcoin falls out of favor? Imagine if some new individual custody solution emerges wherein you have direct access to the coins themselves in an “even a boomer can do this” kind of way wherein there’s no compelling reason to own common stock with its junior claims to the capital stack in the event of insolvency? Why stand in line behind debt holders and preferred shares when you can invest in something that’s directly withdrawable and accessible if world events spike volatility to a systemic breaking point?

Things need not even get that rocky for this to be a concern — just the perception that they might could spook people into realizing common stock of a corporate balance sheet might be less than ideal as your custody solution.

Moreover, Saylor himself presents some risk. He could be compromised or blackmailed, he could lose his cool or get into an accident. These are low-probability scenarios, but also not unfathomable as any single point of failure is a target, especially for those factions who stand to lose unimaginable wealth and power should his speculative attack on the system succeed at scale.

Finally, even if Saylor remains free to operate as he sees fit, there is what I’d call the Icarus risk — he might be too ambitious, too hell-bent on acquiring bitcoin at all costs, too much of a maniac in service of his vision. Remember, he initially bought bitcoin during the covid crash and concomitant massive money print upon his prescient realization that businesses providing goods and services couldn’t possibly keep pace with inflation over the long haul. He was merely playing defense to preserve his capital, and now, despite his sizable lead and secured position is still throwing forward passes in the fourth quarter rather than running out the clock and securing the W.

Saylor is now arguably less a bitcoin maximalist and advocate, articulately making the case for superior money and individual sovereignty, but a corporate titan hell-bent on world domination via apex-predator-status balance sheet. When is enough enough? Many of the greatest conquerors in history pushed their empires too far until they fractured. In fact, 25 years ago MSTR was a big winner before the dot-com crash during which its stock price and most of Saylor’s fortune were wiped out when he was sued by the SEC for accounting fraud (he subsequently settled).

Now it’s possible, he learned from that experience, got up off the mat and figured out how to avoid his youthful mistakes. But it’s also possible his character is such that he will repeat it again, only this time at scale.

But as I said, my base case is MSTR is a trillion-dollar market cap, and the stock runs in parallel with bitcoin’s ascendance over the next decade. Saylor has been https://www.strategy.com/, prescient, bold and responsible so far over this iteration. I view Mandell’s concerns as valid, but similar to Wall St’s ones about AMZN’s Jeff Bezos who relentlessly ignored their insistence on profitability for a decade as he plowed every dollar into building out productive capacity and turned the company into the $2T world-dominating retail giant it is now.

Again, I haven’t (yet) sold any of my shares or even call options. But because I posted about this in January I felt I should at least follow-up with a more detailed rundown of what I take to be the risks. As always, do your own due diligence with any prospective investment.