A thought In response to another great message from #jeffbooth:  How do plebs ensure the network does stay secure? You can make the obvious steps like run your own node, mine BTC and educate others, this helps. But bigger picture how do you prevent KYC and perhaps more importantly  miner centralisation as they coalesce into large publicy traded entities?


Thanks. Well put. How do plebs ensure the network does stay secure? Run your own node, mine BTC and educate others will help. But bigger picture how do you prevent KYC and miner centralisation as they coalesce into large public ally traded entities?


Fantastic. Well done all.


Would like to share but wish to DM in a private way, perhaps on SimpleX?


Love watching the numbers and places grow...

nostr:nevent1qqsy8vnth20cnafk9zsja87z2k4rp3qfuwvrj4x6e0ezvp89tt0607spz4mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujumn0wd68ytnzvuhsygyep9uc8d6vwzqqkxp2h3hkgpr2kuzq06w2hntv74c28zk6nmm465psgqqqqqqshhnwe4


Happy to see this ecosystem growing. Still so much to build, teach and learn.


Lopp.net


# A Declaration of Separation

## To The Governments & People of Earth:

We claim the right to exist, and we will defend it. We do not seek to overthrow anything. We do not seek to control anything. We/merely wish to be left alone.

All we ever wanted was to live in peace with our friends and neighbors. For a long, long time we bore insults to our liberty; we took blows, we did what we could to avoid injury and we worked through the system to get the offenses to stop. That has now changed.

We no longer see any benefit in working through the world?s systems. At some point, working within a system becomes cowardly and immoral; for us, that point has arrived.

Regardless of the parties in power, their governments have continued to restrict, restrain and punish us. We hereby reject them all. We hereby withdraw from them all. We hold the ruling states of this world and all that appertains to them to be self-serving and opposed to humanity. We now withdraw our obedience and reclaim the right to strike back when struck. We will not initiate force, but we do reserve the right to answer it. We did not choose this ? it was forced upon us.

## To The Governments of Earth:

You are building cages for all that is human. In the name of protection, you have intruded into all areas of human life, far exceeding the reach of any Caesar. You claim ultimate control of our property and our decisions, of our travels and even our identities. You claim ownership of humanity far beyond the dreams of any Emperor of any previous era.

Understand clearly: We reject your authority and we reject your legitimacy. We do not believe that you have any right to do the things you do. You have massive power, but no right to impose it upon us and no legitimacy. We have forsaken you. We are no longer your citizens or your subjects. Your systems are inherently anti-human, even if all their operators are not. We are not merely angry young people. We are fathers and mothers; aunts, uncles and grandparents; we are business owners and trusted employees; we are mechanics and engineers and farmers. We are nurses and accountants and students and executives.

We are on every continent.

This is not a burst of outrage; this is a sober declaration that we no longer accept unearned suffering as our role in life.

For long decades we sat quietly, hoping that things would turn around. We took no actions; we suffered along with everyone else. But after having our limits pushed back again and again, we have given up on your systems. If our fellow inhabitants of this planet wish to accept your rule, they are free to do so.

We will not try to stop them. We, however, will no longer accept your constraints upon us.

From now on, when you hurt us, we will bite back. If you leave us alone we will leave you alone and you can continue to rule your subjects. We are happy to live quietly. But if you come after us, there will be consequences. You caused this because of your fetish for control and power. The chief men and women among you are pathologically driven to control everyone and everything that moves upon this planet. You have made yourselves the judge of every human activity. No god-king of the ancient world ever had the power that your systems do.

You have created a world where only the neutered are safe and where only outlaws are free.

## To The People of Earth:

We seek nothing from you. We do not want to rule you and we do not want to control you.

All we wish is to live on earth in peace. As always, we will be helpful neighbors and generous acquaintances. We will remain honest business partners and trustworthy employees. We will continue to be loving parents and respectful children.

We will not, however, be sacrificial animals. We reject the idea that others have a right to our lives and our property. We will not demand anything from you, and we will no longer acquiesce to any demands upon us. We have left that game. We reject all obligations to any person or organization beyond honesty, fair dealing and a respect for human life.

We will shortly explain what we believe, but we are not demanding that you agree with us. All we ask is that you do not try to stop us. Continue to play the game if you wish; we will not try to disrupt it. We have merely walked away from it.

We wish you peace.

## To Those Who Will Condemn Us:

We will ignore you.

We welcome and seek the verdict of a just God, before whom we are willing to expose our innermost thoughts. Are you similarly willing? We would stand openly before all mankind if it were not suicidal. Perhaps some day we will have to accept slaughter for our crime of independence, but not yet.

Your criticism and your malice are much deeper than mere disagreements of strategy or philosophy. You do not oppose our philosophy, you oppose our existence. Our presence in the world means that your precious ideals are false. Some of you would rather kill us than face the loss of your ideologies, just as those like you have either hated or killed every sufficiently independent human.

You present yourselves to the world as compassionate, tolerant and enlightened, but we know that your smooth words are costumes. Oh yes, we know you, servant of the state; don't forget, we were raised with you. We played with you in the schoolyard, we sat next to you in the classroom. Some of us studied at the same elite universities. We watched as you had your first tastes of power. We were the boys and girls standing next to you. Some of us were your first victims. We are not fooled by your carefully crafted public image.

## What We Believe

1: Many humans resent the responsibilities that are implied by consciousness. We accept those responsibilities and we embrace consciousness. Rather than letting things happen to us (avoiding consciousness), we accept consciousness and choose to act in our own interest. We do not seek the refuge of blaming others, neither do we take refuge in crowds. We are willing to act on our personal judgment, and we are willing to accept the consequences thereof.

2: We believe in negative rights for all: That all humans should be free to do whatever they wish, as long as they do not intrude upon others; that no man has a right to the life, liberty or property of another; that we oppose aggression, fraud and coercion.

3: We do not believe that our way of life, or any other, will make life perfect or trouble-free. We expect crime and disagreements and ugliness, and we are prepared to deal with them. We do not seek a strongman to step in and solve problems for us. We agree to see to them ourselves.

4: We believe in free and unhindered commerce. So long as exchanges are voluntary and honest, no other party has a right to intervene before, during or after.

5: We believe that all individuals should keep their agreements.

6: We believe that honestly obtained property is fully legitimate and absolute.

7: We believe that some humans are evil and that they must be faced and dealt with. We accept the fact that this is a difficult area of life.

8: We believe that humans can self-organize effectively. We expect them to cooperate. We reject impositions of hierarchy and organization.

9: We believe that all humans are to be held as equals in all matters regarding justice.

10: We believe that the more a man or woman cares about right and wrong, the more of a threat he or she is perceived to be by governments.

11: We believe that there are only two true classes of human beings: Those who wish to exercise power upon others either directly or through intermediaries and those who have no such desires.

12: Large organizations and centralization are inherently anti-human. They must rely upon rules rather than principles, treating humans within the organization as obedient tools.

## Our Plans:

(We are building our own society. We will supplement traditional tools with networking, cryptography, sound money, digital currency and anonymous messaging. Our society will not be centrally controlled. It will rely solely
on voluntary arrangements.

We welcome others to join us. We are looking for people who are independent creators of value, people who act more than talk, and people who do the right thing because it is the right thing.

We will develop our own methods of dealing with injustice, built on the principles of negative rights, restitution, integrity and equal justice. We do not forbid anyone from having one foot in each realm - ours and the old realm - although we demand that they do no damage to our realm. We are fully opposed to any use of our realm to facilitate crime in the old realm, such as the hiding of criminal proceeds.

We expect to be loudly condemned, libeled and slandered by the authorities of the old regime. We expect them to defend their power and their image of legitimacy with all means available to them. We expect that many gullible and servile people will believe these lies, at least at first. We will consider traps laid for us to be criminal offenses. Any who wish to join us are encouraged to distribute this declaration, to act in furtherance of our new society, to voluntarily excel in virtues and to communicate and cooperate with other members of the new society.

Free, unashamed men cannot be ruled.

# We are The Free and The Unashamed.


Fantastic. Great work.


Love this

nostr:nevent1qqsxtpfx32t7sjdnl5mnpzquu3495f960g25xca6x4tyek06kasakhgpp4mhxue69uhkummn9ekx7mqzyzu7we2xhgry2mknq8v7227yn7jguu9xhu3g90n6rtnjj3mpyq3acqcyqqqqqqga3cdnj


Well done. Karma will come for that guy.


Thank you.


Yes!


Do it anyway.


Great reply.  Well written!


Well done, and thanks.


Mullvad uses Gmail

The VPN company Mullvad mouths off “privacy is a right”, but deep down they really don’t give a shit. They don’t even bother to host their own emails for critical technical support, and point their MX email record to Google. (See attached image)

This is a potential privacy risk because many times people will not bother to use PGP and the technical support will ask for their account number. And you’re assuming the people who need VPN technical support even know how to use PGP, and they likely aren’t hiding their IP address because they need support. Often people may use their real email, so they don’t miss the reply on burners, and that leaks their name. Now Google, and therefore the government, know your mullvad account number…

From here, the government can sign in to Mullvad’s site as you, and see the timestamp of first sign-in on each device with the wireguard public key. Although Mullvad masks it will bullshit names, the government can sign-out of the device so when you re-sign in thinking it’s a random technical error, they now know which is which. This enables at a minimum, the identification of your other devices. Maybe you signed in at another location? For example your cellphone.

When you’re out using WiFi anonymously at a public location, the government signs you out of Mullvad. So then when you sign back in, they identify the public location traffic as you. If this is not enough, now the government knows which account to demand a court order for. What are you going to request technical support? Sounds like more info gathering.

Even if none of this is relevant to you. The basic fact remains that Mullvad is using primarily Google to talk to customers, and the customers aren’t even aware of it because it’s a vanity domain. I don’t think people realize just how difficult it is to avoid Google. It’s not voluntary dude, these companies are forcing me out to the fringe of society, to not have everything I’m doing piped into a company I so vehemently hate.

Google is literally paid by the US government to manipulate search results through their Jigsaw division and Moonshot CVE. They aren’t just doing ads dude, it’s a for-profit propaganda machine.

Other privacy influencers always recommend Mullvad, and for the most part I do agree with this for the “average joe”. But let’s keep it real here, if you check the servers, they use many of the same 3rd party providers. Mullvad, IVPN, and TorGuard all use M247 for New York and Los Angeles. So if you connected to LA Mullvad, then switch to LA IVPN, thinking you’re getting a “new identity” you’re not. It’s NSA passive surveillance on the size of data packets going in and out of places like M247 that reveal you, and NOT Mullvad backstabbing you.

Does using Gmail mean Mullvad is compromised? No! You’re twisting my words…

What I’m saying is that very few people genuinely care about privacy, and when you realize just how involuntary Google is, only then can you actually take steps to free yourself.

Is the point of this to smear Mullvad? Sort of. I want to create negative consequences for all companies that force Big Tech on us. All of them think they can cut costs because the public doesn’t care.

Well, I’m here today to say that I care. And even if I stand alone. Even if I’m shadow banned by search engines off the face of the earth. I stand my ground.

But I got a feeling I’m not alone. So if you spread this message, maybe… just maybe, we can get Mullvad to change.

https://nostrfiles.dev/uploads/e7RKwKHT7ssF6hxtA8ar.png


Yup! Loved it n


Great News! Love StartOS.


Your a genius. That made me chuckle.


I hope more and more people learn from you.


Brilliant. Your brain whirring away wondering when and how to inject useful content into the conversation. Be subtle but powerful.


Just go with Zeus v0.8. Gives you options. Failing the Phoenix and Breez are great. All have different trade offs for backups though which take some effort to understand.


Love this. Spot on. Agreed. I watch this movie over and over so as not to forget.


The OSMAnd app is great, use  with maps pre downloaded to use offline. In your browser you can check traffic on various websites. Not ideal, still working on this problem myself.


Trying to educate the fam this time with some deep knowledge from nostr:npub1a2cww4kn9wqte4ry70vyfwqyqvpswksna27rtxd8vty6c74era8sdcw83a seeing as the hardware wallets didn’t do the job last year https://image.nostr.build/247e7dd76649a787c774cea9035b1e59cb6b20ff8478f6d2861abd2f2724d1ca.jpg


This cartoon is amazing, does anyone know who made it and if there are other episodes? nostr:note1pjqfxzzft5shu65jphfyjnlzxdn3rdu5j8dmlsvvcn04zjlclygsqa79kv


One of the best videos about what is Money and #Bitcoin

This should be taught in every school. https://video.nostr.build/72e0ee8010cf0cce44134172bc644150ed3d25bfbc7e5b3f2b0b3a8ef0c7aebb.mp4


Man this is a valuable thought experiment.


There are 60 million millionaires in the world, and every single one of them has a store of value problem. And so does everyone else in the world.

The cost to ship a sizable amount of gold internationally costs hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars. Even if you just buy hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of gold domestically and bring it home, you're paying a spot markup of thousands of dollars. The cost to close a luxury mansion real estate deal (which many wealthy people just own and leave empty as a store of value) can be hundreds of thousands of dollars or more, and then depending on their jurisdiction they pay hundreds of thousands of dollars per year in property taxes on it. An international wire transfer often costs like $30 and takes days and is entirely permissioned/centralized/credit-based. Credit card fees are like 3%. The global banking industry generates hundreds of billions of dollars in fees per year even though it's all centralized.

Bitcoin is a decentralized global liquid store of value and settlement network. You can send money to any internet-connected person in the world generally in an hour or less depending on desired block confirmations. You can indefinitely self-custodially store value in a unit that is scarcer than gold and scarcer than real estate and that unlike both gold and real estate is globally portable. It currently costs like $35 to do this and everyone is losing their minds at how expensive that seems. But $35 is an *outstanding* price for this service, and in ten years I have no idea what the price will be but there are many scenarios where it could be way higher.

Right now, bitcoin fees are higher than normal because people are trading frogs on the timechain and so forth. But regardless, people need to be ready for the prospect of sustained high fees if bitcoin adoption continues to grow structurally with limited block space. This means users, developers, businesses, etc. To put it into this bigger context, fees are still insanely cheap compared to other alternatives listed above that give similar store of value and global payment properties at scale.

I'm a bit surprised fees haven't *already* been $35 on a regular basis by now. So to flip it around; fees aren't expensive because there are frogs on the timechain; fees are still cheap because relatively few people are using bitcoin to send and store money compared to the total addressable market that could be doing so.

Does this price out small users? Unfortunately, yes. That's where layers come in, and the options vary depending on if someone is a power user or not. Hal Finney wrote about that in 2010; it's not a new narrative.

A couple Lightning channels can open a lot of payment liquidity for you. Sidechains like Liquid didn't get much attention when fees were low but now people are giving them a second look. Chaumian mints allow communities around the world to set up their own community banks/custodians with built-in privacy.  Places like Cash App allow people to buy bitcoin with decent custodial assurances run by serious people (eg it's not some crazy-haired idiot in the Bahamas). These are all tools that people can use to have bitcoin price exposure, pay in bitcoin, etc. And a unique aspect of bitcoin is the ability to split control. Multi-institution multi-sigs, or federated sidechains: the fact that ownership can be broken into several different entities is not something available to gold or similar assets, and yet a lot of people take it for granted on bitcoin. These are all tools that businesses can offer and people can use for smaller amounts, and then pull into on-chain self-custody if they have a sizable balance for longer-term storage.

In the future, some soft forks or non-form upgrades might allow other types of models. I think the ecosystem is still in its infancy. But in the meantime, it helps to have perspective on what bitcoin offers compared to alternatives, and to be realistic about the long-run inevitability of substantial base-layer fees if any meaningful adoption becomes sustained, and thus the importance of preparing for them.

https://m.primal.net/HUCU.png


Love it. This has been my journey. I keep trying to encourage others to do the same.


What Bitcoin Did with Peter McCormack: Macro, Fed Pivot & Bitcoin with Steven McClurg
Starting from: 00:00:00

Episode webpage: https://www.whatbitcoindid.com/podcast/macro-fed-pivot-bitcoin

Media file: https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/whatbitcoindid/WBD738_-_Steven_McClurg.mp3#t=0


Fantastic


Why did Javier Milei campaign on a platform that included a vision of reinstating monetary freedom in Argentina?

The answer is that it's because he is a student of the Austrian School of Economics who also understand his country's history.

Monetary freedom, sometimes referred to as having a system with competing currencies, is properly defined as the right for the people to use the money they like best.

Few are aware that the Argentine people enjoyed monetary freedom from the revolution in 1816 until the government adopted the gold standard in 1881.

The number of people who knew that this made Argentina one of the most prosperous countries in the world, is even smaller.

But Milei, luckily for us, is one of them. Being an economist of the Austrian School, enables him to understand the significance of the monetary system.

Between 1783 and 1857 the people of the United States also enjoyed the right to use the money that they liked best.

Monetary freedom transformed Argentina and the US into powerful magnets.

The two countries attracted capital and talent from all over Europe.

It happened so quickly that it's almost impossible for us to grasp it today.

The economic growth Argentina and the US achieved was unprecedented.

It was almost magical.

Immigration to Argentina and the US was huge:

“In the peak period of the world’s oversee migration,  1821-1932, six countries absorbed 90 per cent of the total, and among these six, Argentina ranked second in the number of immigrants, with a  total of 6,405,000. The only other Latin American country on the list is  Brazil, with 4,431,000. The United States, of course, came first with about 5 times as many as Argentina.”

North America practically drained my country, Norway, of people.

Only a few thousand Norwegians emmigrated to Argentina, which first of all recei an inflow of people mainly from Spain and Italy.

But why did people flee from Europe?

One reason was that the rulers in Europe clinged on to their national monopolies in money creation.

They loved their money printers, just like Gollum loved his precious ring.

The governments shared the privelege of money creation with powerful banks, because it made the system more effective for them.

The European rulers let the banks organize themselves as cartels who could create money out of nothingness when they issued loans.

Each country had a central bank that coordinated how rapidly the banks could create new money.

It had been like this since the Swedish nobility creates the world's first central bank in 1669.

Today almost all countries in the world have the same system as the European nations have had for centuries.

While the rulers and the banks could create money out of nothingness, the people had to work to get the money, or take out loans, to pay taxes to the rulers, and to stay alive.

Over time these monopolies in money creation ensured centralization of wealth and power.

It also made it near impossible for the citizens in the working and middle class "to climb the social ladder."

The banks and governments used their monopolies to extract enormous wealth from their people, something which also enabled them to wage endless wars against the neighboring countries.

Furthermore, flooding the economy with money created out of thin air was like pouring sand in the machinery of the economy.

It hampered capital formation, just like it does today.

And it corrupted the society, and again, just like it does today.

In contrast, the monetary freedom in Argentina and the US enabled a high level of capital formation, broad distrubution of wealth and much less centralization of political power.

You see, the monetary system is society's cornerstone.

Monetary freedom builds civilization and attracts economic resources.

Monopolies in money creation, on the other hand, destroy civilization and consume economic resources.

It's a shame that they don't teach us this when we go to school.

I think we have a right to know, especially since the governments force us through education and dictate what we must learn.

Not telling the people about this is in my opinion a terrible form of gaslighting, whether its intentional or not.

Milei has enligthened the world about the evils of modern monetary policies.

He has also said that he wants to reintroduce monetary freedom, and let the private sector take responsibility for money production, as it has done in the past.

But now Milei has become president.

And while others fear for his security, I fear more for his ability to resist the temptation to control the production of money.

Because, you see; man's lust for securing himselves the exclusive control of a money printer is terribly strong.

To Milei I would like to say the following:

You have enlightened millions around the world about the importance of the monetary system.

This is a priceless gift that I will never forget that you gave us.

But now it's time to take action, Milei.

You must destroy the central bank of Argentina once and for all, just like you promised.

And you must be careful not to let a monopoly in money creation enter into your office via the back door.

And finally:

The fastest way of reinstating monetary freedom in Argentina is probably to abolish the capital gains tax on #Bitcoin   .

Good luck!

***
If you found this piece interesting, I appreciate that you push the like, share and follow buttons.

You may also want to check out the books I’ve done together with my partner, graphic designer wiz Mattis Storhaug, on UNDOQO’s website.

https://image.nostr.build/5b4dcbc5191f7ffeff48c1e32088efeaf47568797492fe2f70007923d2a7e801.jpg

https://image.nostr.build/1be2894b8cd226b1604c7dd2050b0502b3ecd101c1db0ac86988df1e4cb2e661.jpg


A market like eBay but based on peer to peer networks and BTC. Maybe even hooks into the real eBay?


Great.


Delicious and nutritious.


Great work.


Thank you for writing that.


Wow. Good facts.


So true. Maybe we should not waste our time on those that are not ready to listen or don't experience the pain. Spend that energy on helping people in countries that need it. Big conferences call to Africa scheduled!


Brilliant.


I think we grow up being taught to ask for permission. Itbis engrained. Using tools that you don't need this permission for really is an unexpected joy. Magic.

Somehow need to let the masses know how much fun and freedom they could have.


Your insights are gold, your book is what should be given as gifts and somehow you manage to keep producing such clrver and accesible content. Remarkable!


Such great people.


Fantastic guys. So happy for you.


Perhaps it comes down to money in the end. Even strong belief systems are coerced by money, and all people need money. So perhaps by giving both sides more financial freedom and indeed agency they can cross border trade. As a result they can become friends or at least respectful neighbours if they are allowed or able to trade using bitcoin, an emotionally neutral money.


You sir are a legend.


Yes!

nostr:nevent1qqsgtfjk6w762wagaegsl6jce7t8px6k4ndp6wgv0x5fz9kghp3pl6cpp4mhxue69uhkummn9ekx7mqzypvlqestxnw537wl43wewwmhwa98ttc90636ycfpftzumnx46fzyqqcyqqqqqqgzy8m8k


A good read from a reliable source:

nostr:nevent1qqswrf5j8mw0j9ss9gm35ehhqrm330w6m3gp6tzwtahzmuqcvklt66cpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujumn0wd68ytnzvupzqkx8gx4xxrpd5dd9dfmur5znsxggh5g9qn7a9k958ae9a7ndyvvkqvzqqqqqqyplke9j


Fantastic list of resources.


Thank you for timestamping your incredible insight and intellect in one place. You could link it to a specific block in the timechain?


Never KYC.
To buy: Robosats and Bisq
Run own node: Start9 orUmbrel. Use s NUC, ditch raspberry Pi.
On chain wallet: Sparrow for desktop, Samurai for phone.
Lightning: Zeus with own node, or Phoenix or Breeze.
Go to meetups!
Peach and OrangePillApp great too.


Google Pixel phones allow you, surprisingly, to install another operating system. So try grapheneos.org , it is brilliant and respects your privacy. Some work required but you can slowly ween yourself off Apple.


Good luck in Lugano. Some SATs for you. You are doing great. Be proud of yourself.


Strong! Good stuff.


build.it

Privacy focussed Bitcoiner helping to build a circular economy on the shores of Lake Victoria. Simplex.chat, Nostr.com, Bitcoin (lopp.net).


Well done man. You are in the ring. Takes some guts. I want to try the sane but life has got busy.


Amazing. The ultimate mesh network.


So went alto an outdoor show the other day. They only took cash as there was no cellular network. Great to use cash but for bitcoin to work there you need to set up a local mush network that vendors and customers are incentivised to use. Then a gateway somewhere, VPN protected. I want to build this.  Any tips on tech that would help solve this problem?