Absolutely nothing going on here. Nope. Move along now.

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A scary illustration of German's 'anti-hate' laws: author C J Hopkins has been told that he's under investigation by the public prosecutor’s office in Berlin, for “disseminating propaganda, the contents of which are intended to further the aims of a former National Socialist organization” - because his book about the rise of the medico-fascist state contained a swastika. Unbelievable. But this type of censorship is where 'anti-hate' laws invariably lead.

Am curious about the Blue Bird app. Anyone got a list (or an analysis) of the accounts which were subject to 'visibility filtering' / throttling / shadow-banning?

1000 sats for your best meme of the RESTRICT Act. Drop them below and repost.

This is a great piece on how 'disinformation control' is really just politics and censorship: https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/guide-understanding-hoax-century-thirteen-ways-looking-disinformation#domestic_extremists

Who is working on escrow markets for physical goods? Strikes me as a very important problem if we ever want to move towards true decentralisation, and wider use of bitcoin. Otherwise we will always fall back to issues of consumer protection and full disclosure of retailer identity, etc. https://jbonneau.com/doc/GBGN17-FC-physical_escrow.pdf

Anyone working on escrow services for physical goods, like this paper? Strikes me that we need to get this right in order to have a properly functioning economy with bitcoin. https://jbonneau.com/doc/GBGN17-FC-physical_escrow.pdf

This unbelievable: Senator Graham - who co-sponsored the Restrict Act - concedes on camera that he HASN'T EVEN READ THE DAMNED THING! What an utter clown show. (Not sure how to extract video from the blue bird app, so have had to link it)

X (formerly Twitter)

Jesse Watters (@JesseBWatters) on X

I break the news to Lindsey Graham that he co-sponsored a bill he doesn’t support

If you are an American, you NEED to read Bill 686, the Restrict Act, and contact your representatives to get them to opposite it. It is the most draconian power-grab that the country has seen since the Patriot Act: it allows *any* measure to be taken against *any* perceived risk. You probably think I'm exaggerating. Read for yourself: https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/686/text?s=1

China & French-owned TotalEnergies just completed their first trade of liquefied natural gas (LNG) settled in yuan. Another big milestone in the decline of the USD as world reserve currency. Unlike some, I'm not especially cheering this on: it will mark decades of turbulence. An ascendant China will have a lot of downsides. Many of us will realise we're exposed to the USD in ways we hadn't realised. But the US seems determined to commit economic suicide, and has left itself without options.

OilPrice.com

China Settles First LNG Trade In Yuan | OilPrice.com

China has settled its first liquefied natural gas trade in yuan, another step in its efforts to increase the relevance of its currency in global ma...

Not what I usually post about, but it's been on my mind, so I'm going to share it. The dreadful events of Nashville reminded me of Dunblane, the UK's worst school shooting in March 1996 in Scotland, in which a man named Thomas Hamilton shot dead 16 pupils and one teacher, then himself. Hamilton had legally-held firearms, and the Dunblane shooting was used to justify a major tightening of UK firearms law, including banning all pistols. But there is much that is still unresolved about the case. Hamilton was a leader of several youth clubs, including the local boy scouts, and his interests were not wholesome: there were multiple (at least ten) complaints made to police about his inappropriate sexual behaviour towards the boys. The Scout Commissioner for the area took these seriously enough to expel Hamilton from his leadership position, and the police child protection unit recommended revoking Hamilton's gun licence, but no action was taken. Even when local shooting clubs expressed reservations, the local Chief Constable didn't investigate or revoke Hamilton's firearms certificate. Why? Credible rumours have circulated since the time of the shooting that Hamilton and the local Chief Constable were members of the same paedophile ring. This was lent further credence by the fact that the investigating judge very unusually sealed the case files for 100 years (some files were released in 2005, but not all). Allegedly this was to 'protect the victims' families'. Hamilton apparently harboured grievances against boys and teachers who complained about him. But family conditions were also a factor: Hamilton never knew his father and was brought up by his mother's adoptive parents, believing they were his biological parents. He originally thought his biological mother was his older sister. The headfuck of discovering the truth can only be imagined. Why am I relating this? It is clear to me that a lack of transparency can be corrosive: secrecy within Hamilton's family must have been a huge factor in making him mentally disturbed. Secrecy within the police was, quite possibly, another enabling factor (though we won't find out for at least another 73 years). It is also clear to me that governments will exploit any event for the acquisition of more powers over its citizens, often as a diversion from the failings - or criminality - within their own public bodies. Remember this.

Shamelessly stolen from Wall Street Silver on Twitter. Banknotes littering the street in Venezuela. Don't think it can't happen to you too, anon.

“Evidence suggests we are uncovering the most serious, coordinated, and large-scale violation of First Amendment free speech rights by the federal government’s executive branch in US history.”

Fauci’s Red Guards: Lawsuit Reveals Vast Federal Censorship Army

“This evidence suggests we are uncovering the most serious, coordinated, and large-scale violation of First Amendment free speech rights by the f...