John Dennehy

In 2018 I traveled to Iran While in Isfahan I visited the 450 year old Khaju Bridge. The river it was built over had decreased over time and on the night I visited there was no water. It had become a local tradition for Iranians to take advantage of the acoustic echos and sing, often the songs were well known and strangers would come in to sing the chorus or alternate parts. It was not a performance, no one asked for money, it was just strangers singing with each other in the cool night air. It was beautiful Isfahan has been heavy bombed by Israel this week and it's unclear if this bridge still stands These are the kinds of things war destroys NO WAR

When I moved to El Salvador in 2021 there was a hopefulness among the general population which was intoxicating and contagious. In the four years since, much has changed What I felt here in 21' rhymes with what I've felt at various times in various places over the past two decades and I've been reflecting on that a lot lately; what conditions lead to it and why it never lasts First, some personal history. In the early 2000s I was in university in the US and heavily involved with activism. My targets then were the IMF & the military industrial complex (they still are, that’s about the most consistent thing in my life actually). As an organizer who never asked the state for permission, I found myself arrested often and one of those nights in jail I made the decision to leave and to stop spending most of my efforts trying to slow the bad and instead spend them trying to speed the good I moved to Ecuador and in 2005 I participated in my first revolution. I was at the barricades when the president fled the country, and the military began to take off their uniforms and join us. It was euphoric. I had never in my life experienced such a feeling of 'mass hope.' Everyone believed that a corner had been turned and was supremely confident that tomorrow would be better than today In 2011 I felt something similar while living in the encampment those first weeks at Occupy Wall Street in New York I felt it again in Myanmar in 2016 when the military dictatorship ended, and Aung San Suu Kyi assumed office It's a feeling I've been chasing my entire adult life and I found it again in El Salvador in 2021--this communal certainty that tomorrow would be better than today. It’s amazing to be surrounded by that and extremely motivating There are always two things in common: it’s preceded by times with little hope, and it never lasts In Ecuador, a charismatic academic who spoke on behalf of the social movements became president, then became authoritarian, built mega-jails, then filled them with his people. Occupy Wall Street descended into infighting, banks got more powerful, and the rich got richer. Myanmar is now in a civil war between a new military dictatorship and various ethnic minorities For me, the honeymoon is over in El Salvador. That hope I felt in 2021 and 2022 is still there but it is far more tempered among Salvadorans now than it had been. Extreme human emotion can’t be sustained, not for the individual and not for the group—after all the basis is contrast. You need some rain to appreciate the sun Just some morning reflections as I watch the clouds over San Salvador on a rainy Tuesday

Breakfast on San Salvador volcano Today we explored the various trails that criss cross the lower regions and met some of the farmers who cultivate in this area. No views but great walking and conversation Sundays are for father-son hiking 🧡

In 2018 I traveled around Iran This is a photo I took of the main square in Isfahan, which was my favorite city there. It was also one of the cities targeted by Israeli airstrikes yesterday My trip was tightly controlled--I literally had a government agent with me at all times as a condition of my visa. But there were stolen moments with everyday people that made a really deep impression on me. Everyone seemed aware that Iran & the US were supposed to be enemies and everyone, literally everyone, went out of their way to tell me that wasn't the case and I should feel welcome and comfortable The people in Iran are NOT your enemy The politicians that want you to believe that--they are our enemy NO WAR

Good morning from El Salvador!

Good morning from El Salvador We are now in DAY 119 since the government rescinded Bitcoin as legal tender, at the request of the IMF (effective since 30 April) Yesterday the IMF released it's first staff-level review of the agreement which says El Salvador is following through on its commitments. Regarding Bitcoin it only mentioned the prohibition of the state accumulating new bitcoin and the pending sale of Chivo (the govt bitcoin wallet). A link to the full review is in the comments This should serve as a reminder of how long the IMF loan process is and how early we are in that process. There have been some effects on the ground already--for example since earlier this month the govt can no longer accept bitcoin--but most effects are still to come. The IMF will have inside access to all things relating to the terms on the agreement and will regularly review compliance for years. Also, there remain many deadlines pending over the next months (such as the sale of Chivo)

Understanding how the IMF works is advanced financial literacy Lesson one: Nations ALWAYS approach the IMF, never the other way around. The IMF is a 'lender of last resort.' They give low or no interest loans to nations that need money and have no other options. Why? Leverage. They take away a nation's sovereignty, and no govt would allow that unless they had to. This allows the IMF to dictate terms and be part of the decision-making process regarding anything related to loan conditions during the duration of the loan IMF loans are a harbinger of bad times to come not because of any specific conditions imposed but because if a nation takes an IMF loan it means they are in a weak position to begin with

Happy Bitcoin Pizza Day! Celebrating Bitcoin as money while eating pizza is my favorite holiday 😁 Spend your sats every chance you get! This is how we push bitcoin adoption forward

Another Sunday morning hike up San Salvador volcano This guy loves nature 🧡🧡🧡🧡

Bitcoin can be humanity's first revolution In every previous 'revolution' we have fought over who has power; we now have a chance to change our very relationship with power

Good morning from El Salvador We are now in DAY 90 since the government rescinded Bitcoin as legal tender, at the request of the IMF. The new laws go into effect today (April 30) Let’s step back for some context The Bitcoin Law from 2021 mandated businesses accept Bitcoin, with a carve out for anyone not able to. On the ground what this meant was that many small businesses never accepted Bitcoin but all of the large chains with a compliance team did—think international such as Wendy’s or Starbucks, as well as regional or domestic ones such as SuperSelectos or Freund The small businesses were never affected by the 2021 law so it’s unlikely we will see any change there. The large chains—which are ubiquitous in San Salvador and to a lesser extent around the country—are the ones to pay attention to They have all already set up their systems, so the heavy lifting is done, still I expect some of them to start dropping bitcoin acceptance over the next weeks and months. Most of them used Chivo, the government bitcoin app, which adds a further upcoming complication. That same IMF deal requires El Salvador to close down or sell off Chivo by June 30th. It’s unclear right now how that transition will go and unclear if it would affect businesses that use that application to accept Bitcoin The bitcoin revolution was never about governments or laws though. Support your local business who accepts Bitcoin—wherever you are

Bitcoin is a means, it is not the end The end is a world where the individual is empowered and able to think critically and independently Anyone who supports that end is an ally & should be supported. Anyone who opposes that is an enemy & should be ignored

Kill your heroes CC: nostr:nprofile1qqsvf646uxlreajhhsv9tms9u6w7nuzeedaqty38z69cpwyhv89ufcqpp4mhxue69uhkummn9ekx7mqpr4mhxue69uhkummnw3ez6ur4vgh8wetvd3hhyer9wghxuet5tm8sjr

Kill your heroes Cc: nostr:nprofile1qqsvf646uxlreajhhsv9tms9u6w7nuzeedaqty38z69cpwyhv89ufcqpp4mhxue69uhkummn9ekx7mqpr4mhxue69uhkummnw3ez6ur4vgh8wetvd3hhyer9wghxuet5tm8sjr

Three years ago today nostr:nprofile1qqs0vzw43dp9x3v8drvm4udj326dld0ku6gdnxajwcxg8h36ssxragsprdmhxue69uhkzmrvv4ek7tngv93rxumfw3ax2m3wv3jj7qgewaehxw309akxjemgw3hxjmn8wfjkccte9e3k7mf0jzjm6m made history! They taught the first Bitcoin Diploma in a public school system (El Salvador) anywhere in the world. There has been so much progress since... That book shown in the photo...it was only the first 4 weeks of a 10-week Bitcoin Diploma. We were rushing to take advantage of an opportunity and only had weeks to prepare, so we were still building the program when the first classes began. Now, that same Bitcoin Diploma has been improved significantly, made open-source, translated into dozens of languages and used in dozens of nations In April 2022, there was zero bitcoin education in the public schools in El Salvador or any other on-the-ground education efforts by the government. In late 2023 the Ministry of Education sent the first 150 teachers into schools to teach. They used the Bitcoin Diploma as a base, and were trained by teachers from My First Bitcoin & Bitcoinbeach. By the end of 2024 over 500 teachers were trained. This year the govt have taken over bitcoin education in the public schools With plenty of new government and government-supported bitcoin educators now active, nostr:nprofile1qqs0vzw43dp9x3v8drvm4udj326dld0ku6gdnxajwcxg8h36ssxragsprdmhxue69uhkzmrvv4ek7tngv93rxumfw3ax2m3wv3jj7qgewaehxw309akxjemgw3hxjmn8wfjkccte9e3k7mf0jzjm6m left the public school system in 2025 in order to work more on grassroots, community-led education and to shift toward a more international focus--creating open source materials, infrastructure and working directly with educators in 40 nations This is incredible progress on all fronts--all in just three years! Independent, impartial, community-led education will change the world. It already has.

It's good to be home ❤️

What an inspiring day yesterday I attended the 5th nostr:nprofile1qqs0vzw43dp9x3v8drvm4udj326dld0ku6gdnxajwcxg8h36ssxragsprdmhxue69uhkzmrvv4ek7tngv93rxumfw3ax2m3wv3jj7qgewaehxw309akxjemgw3hxjmn8wfjkccte9e3k7mf0jzjm6m Bitcoin Educators Unconference, this one at nostr:nprofile1qqs9mus73mq3ug08kug2cltvj3p8gpawd85n5l70p59rach6cn7usjcpp4mhxue69uhkyunz9e5k7tcpzemhxue69uhk2er9dchxummnw3ezumrpdejz7mlnsyp in Nashville Wow Each Unconference is unique--for example, tons of interest in privacy & 501c3's yesterday, while at the previous Unconference, in El Salvador, the most popular topic was Circular Economies There is one thing they all have in common though. Every single time I leave more confident than ever that not only is a better world possible, but that it's already here if you know where to look