----BEGIN SAT API MSG---- It does not deny the existence of dyscatastrophe, of sorrow and failure: the possibility of these is necessary to the joy of deliverance; it denies (in the face of much evidence, if you will) universal final defeat and in so far is evangelium, giving a fleeting glimpse of Joy, Joy beyond the walls of the world, poignant as grief. —J.R.R. Tolkien, Tolkien On Fairy-stories ----END SAT API MSG----

----BEGIN SAT API MSG---- *The Denationalisation of Money* by Friedrich Hayek, 1976 ----END SAT API MSG----

----BEGIN SAT API MSG---- PS For those wondering, the watch mentioned at the beginning was a platinum Rolex Daytona with an ice blue dial and brown subdials - I believe the reference is 116506. The guy wearing it was in his fifties or sixties, and - surprise surprise - speaking Russian to two younger compatriots. ----END SAT API MSG----

----BEGIN SAT API MSG---- The Bahamas aren't all wealth and debauchery however. That very same Starbucks also hosts a more familiar sight: retarded American tourists. While queuing for your 'venti' portion of milky boomerslop one can overhear inquisitive minds ask aloud profound questions such as "what's three times ten?" and "does US law apply here?". Props to the couple who waited in line for twenty minutes, not to buy coffee, but location-specific Starbucks merch ('Been There' mug, Bahamas edition). If there's any reason to be bullish $SBUX, it's their marketing team. Coming up next time: central bankers wearing their underwear on their faces (no, really) and utterly botching a CBDC rollout. Until then, Jim Hawkins The Treasure Island Times ----END SAT API MSG----

----BEGIN SAT API MSG---- Boomer sex in pirate Starbucks | THE TREASURE ISLAND TIMES #6 15 February 2023 | 21:28 EST NASSAU, THE BAHAMAS - First day here, I sit down in a Starbucks and the guy sitting next to me is wearing a watch worth $120k. I go to the toilet and am met by a mixed-race couple in their sixties emerging from a cubicle together. “Well, that was a memorable experience...” says she. “I didn’t know I needed to go that fast...” he replies. Not much has changed here since the golden age of piracy, it seems. Maybe that’s why SBF was here. Not for the low taxes, ease of business and proximity to the US, but the centuries-old acceptance of foreigners possessing wealth of dubious origin and a ‘who gives a fuck’ attitude. A kindly old lady (Christian, unvaccinated) running a souvenir stand mentioned there were plenty of Ukrainians in town. She thought they were fleeing the war, bless her. ----END SAT API MSG----

----BEGIN SAT API MSG---- (You can’t become a successful tax haven just by cutting taxes: you need English common law.) Further, while the Bahamas is independent, the country has kept the British monarch as head-of-state and maintains a strong relationship with the City of London Corporation. Anyone telling you the City has lost or is losing its status as a financial centre as a result of Brexit is an idiot. The ‘Square Mile’ remains the world’s financial centre, and will continue to be for the forseeable unless certain financial and legal innovation takes place (more on this in a future issue). The City of London as you will likely know counts numerous pirates as valuable clients, and deploys their capital to tax havens. The majority of which - like the Bahamas - have English common law and the British Monarch as sovereign. The Empire ain’t dead. But nor are the pirates - head to Starbucks and see for yourself. ----END SAT API MSG----

----BEGIN SAT API MSG---- While much has changed in the ages since, the location and governance of the Bahamas has kept this spirit of piracy alive. Interestingly, the British Empire returns as an aider and abetter in this modern retelling. While Spanish treasure fleets are no more, the Bahamas now has an even richer vein of gold nearby to tap into: the USA. Just a short flight (or ferry) away lies the richest nation of earth, and dominant superpower (red balloons notwithstanding). It’s a prime location for those wanting to store and conceal wealth siphoned from the America. Not to mention a (relatively) safe perch for those wanting to prey upon the US without American oversight - like SBF. The Bahamas declared independence from the British Empire in 1973. But it’s legal system is a derivative of English common law: the backbone of the Western financial system. ----END SAT API MSG----

----BEGIN SAT API MSG---- The Bahamas has been a home for ill-gotten gains since Blackbeard was lighting his hair on fire as a flex; all that’s changed is the profession and clothing of the pirates. Even the mode of transport is often the same, with modern freebooters often cruising the seas in yachts. This continuity through the ages is a product of two strengths: location and governance. Back when Blackbeard was inventing Snapchat filters in Nassau, a vein of gold was coursing nearby: the shipping lanes of the Spanish treasure fleet. From the slave mines of Peru and Mexico to the ports of Seville and Cadiz, Spanish treasure galleons ran across the Atlantic and prayed they weren’t preyed upon. The British Empire invested little in governing the islands; some British imperials even encouraged piracy as it weakened Spain. And so the islands were a perfect haven for those planning on plundering these vessels, or spending the spoils afterward. ----END SAT API MSG----

----BEGIN SAT API MSG---- BITCOIN WAS MADE TO BE FREE. GRAYSCALE AND BARRY DISAGREE. JOIN VALKYRIE. FIGHT TO FREE BITCOIN AT HTTP://WWW.FREEMYBITCOIN.COM ----END SAT API MSG----

----BEGIN SAT API MSG---- LocalBitcoins service is discontinued Dear Valued Customer, Originally LocalBitcoins was established to Bring Bitcoin Everywhere and drive global financial inclusion. We have honored that mission for over 10 years and we are proud of what we have achieved together with all of you, our loyal community. We are therefore sad to share, that regardless of our efforts to overcome challenges during the ongoing very cold crypto-winter, we have regretfully concluded that LocalBitcoins can no longer provide its Bitcoin trading service. 😢 ----END SAT API MSG----

----BEGIN SAT API MSG---- Hola, soy BlueMoon. ----END SAT API MSG----

----BEGIN SAT API MSG---- What is misophonia? People with misophonia are affected emotionally by common sounds — usually those made by others, and usually ones that other people don’t pay attention to. ----END SAT API MSG----

----BEGIN SAT API MSG---- ----END SAT API MSG---- ----BEGIN SAT API MSG---- ----END SAT API MSG----

----BEGIN SAT API MSG---- ----BEGIN SAT API MSG---- ----END SAT API MSG---- ----END SAT API MSG----

----BEGIN SAT API MSG---- If I send my grain to the mill to be turned collectively into flour and have a share of the profits arising for the collective efforts of the mill, this contract is a security? It's possible that the contract in your example could be considered a security under the Howey Test. The first prong of the test, investment of money, would be satisfied if you invested your grain with the expectation of profits. The second prong, common enterprise, would be satisfied if the profits and losses from the milling operation are shared among multiple investors. The third prong, expectation of profits, would be satisfied if you expect to earn profits from the milling operation. And the fourth prong, profits solely from the efforts of others, would be satisfied if the profits you earn are dependent on the efforts of the mill and its employees. ----END SAT API MSG----

----BEGIN SAT API MSG---- Kept you waiting huh? Outer heaven is abandoned. We need to talk, Ahab ----END SAT API MSG----

----BEGIN SAT API MSG---- Supposedly, 10:10 has been picked as the time we must always see in an advert as is gives the watch an approachable ‘smile’ expression. Why not 1:50, which would give the same effect? I have no idea. Interestingly, one of the few exceptions to the 10:10 rule is Ulysses Nardin, who are evidently trying to trigger mass depression by advertising their watches at 8:19 - as sad a face as is possible to conjure on a watch dial. (Note that this doesn’t apply to the watches they choose not to advertise, which are designed to trigger a different response entirely: https://www.ulysse-nardin.com/usa_en/3202-136le-2-manara-06.html) Watches with a date window show the 28th in ads as the majority of dates have two digits and all months have at least 28 days. Given the fact January is the first month of the year, it’s fair to assume it is the month being photographed in pictures with little date-context. ----END SAT API MSG----

----BEGIN SAT API MSG---- I think we should make 10:10 on January 28th a holiday, and christen it with a name. My humble suggestion: ‘The Liar’s Minute’. Post your ideas on the Blockstream Satellite, or if you’re lazy just respond in the Blockstream Transmission Feed Telegram group. Next time: What dysfunctional luxury watch owner are you? Until then, Jim Hawkins The Treasure Island Times ----END SAT API MSG----

----BEGIN SAT API MSG---- That’s the official story for 10:10/28 being plastered across magazines, newspapers, and banner ads for the last half century anyhow. I imagine the numerology chicks have a different interpretation. And I’m sure some wingnut is exasperated at my inability to decipher this obvious message of mockery from the Illuminati to the subjugated masses. But perhaps this piece of trivia will come in handy for the rest of you in a pub-quiz - or in a game of one-upmanship with your peers. After all, the crypto space is full of luxury watch owners - just go to a Web3 conference and see for yourself. My own interest began in the 2017 bull-run after McAfee (RIP) pumped my bags and I decided it was time for some conspicuous spending. I’m clearly not the only person who did the same, as many popular watches now trade in line with the crypto market. ----END SAT API MSG----

----BEGIN SAT API MSG---- I was going to write this to you beforehand so you could observe it yourself, but the ‘Carlos V’ breakfast cereal they sell over here got in the way. (I’ve no idea what they put in it, but it trashes your ability to focus on anything other than pouring yourself another bowl.) Don’t worry if you failed to notice the occasion. As I say, not much happened. And there’s always next year... If you haven’t guessed already, the phenomenon I’m referring to is in watch adverts. The overwhelming majority of watch ads will show the watch in question displaying a time of 10:10. If the watch has a date window, it will show the 28th. This convention has lasted decades, and will continue for as long as we have analogue watch dials (and possibly if we don’t). ----END SAT API MSG----