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Musk delivers on core Twitter promise
by professor rat 13 May '23

13 May '23

Musk promised to respect speech laws of all jurisdictions Twitter succumbs to Erdoğan’s pressure https://www.turkishminute.com/2023/05/13/twitter-succumbs-to-erdogan-pressu… Musk is really delivering on his promises here.

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Anarcho transhumanism committed to technology in the expansion of human freedom and happiness
by professor rat 13 May '23

13 May '23

" . . . without shrinking away from the ethos of aspiring toward ever-increasing degrees of freedom and autonomy for all living beings. This is how an anarchist transhumanism is beginning to crystalize . . . " https://www.anarchistnews.org/content/anarchism-technology-and-transhumanism Reposts not anarchy-ites willing to die in a ditch fighting 5G

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Snakeoil Crypto: Twitter Claims Bulletproof Encrypted Messaging Rollout
by grarpamp 13 May '23

13 May '23

If it's not end-to-end crypto done using crypto code that is not also provided by the messaging service, it's not bulletproof. All that any of these services, or the State and or actors that rubberhose and or crack them or mole them out, need to do is to backdoor the code your browser downloads from them. At that point you're fucked. https://help.twitter.com/en/using-twitter/encrypted-direct-messages https://twitter.com/foaddabiri/status/1654856617723301888 https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1655971825665409024 Musk Launches Twitter's New Encrypted Messaging, But With Big Caveat: "Don't Trust It Yet" https://www.theepochtimes.com/musk-launches-twitters-new-encrypted-messagin… Elon Musk on Thursday announced the official launch of Twitter’s new encrypted direct messaging (DM) function, urging users to give it a try, but warning that the encryption feature in the early version should not be trusted. “Early version of encrypted direct messages just launched,” Musk stated in a Thursday tweet. “Try it, but don’t trust it yet.” Direct messages sent on Twitter will be encrypted end-to-end, meaning that private messages can only be read by the sender and recipient. Musk stated in an earlier post on Wednesday that the sophistication of the encryption feature will grow “rapidly” following the launch of the preliminary version. “The acid test is that I could not see your DMs even if there was a gun to my head,” he said. With the rollout now official, Twitter joins other platforms like Signal and WhatsApp in providing users with an encrypted messaging service, though not all Twitter users will have access to it—at least for now. Twitter stated in a post on its support site that the encryption feature is only available to people who pay for Twitter Blue or are affiliated with a verified Twitter account. Only messages containing text and links are encrypted, while media and other attachments are not yet supported. Early version of encrypted direct messages just launched. Try it, but don’t trust it yet. — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 11, 2023 Reactions to encrypted messages are also encrypted, but metadata—which includes the recipient as well as the creation time—are not. While links themselves are encrypted, the linked content isn’t. Eligible users who want to send encrypted messages on Twitter will see a toggle after clicking on the message icon, allowing them to activate “encrypted” mode. They can then select another eligible recipient, and clicking “send” will dispatch an encrypted message. Alternatively, eligible Twitter users can send encrypted messages though the conversation settings page of an unencrypted conversation in their inbox. After tapping the information icon, they can select the “start an encrypted message” option. Encrypted conversations will be differentiated from unencrypted ones through a lock icon badge. “As Elon Musk said, when it comes to direct messages, the standard should be, if someone puts a gun to our heads, we still can’t access your messages. We’re not quite there yet, but we’re working on it,” Twitter said on the support page, reinforcing Musk’s warning not to trust the encryption feature to protect sensitive information—yet. “Twitter seeks to be the most trusted platform on the internet, and encrypted direct messages are an important part of that,” the support page states. Musk revealed last year that he has plans to roll out a “Twitter 2.0 The Everything App,” which he said would combine encrypted direct messages, long-form tweets, and payments. In March, Musk merged Twitter with a shell firm called X Corp., which he owns. WhatsApp ‘Cannot Be Trusted’ In a Twitter post on Tuesday, Musk took aim at WhatsApp, telling Twitter users that the service “cannot be trusted.” Musk was responding to a post from Twitter engineer Foad Dabiri, who claimed that his WhatsApp application was constantly switching on the microphone, even while he was sleeping. Dabiri shared a screenshot of his device’s microphone usage, which showed that it had been switched on nine times between 4:20 a.m. and 6:53 a.m. while he was asleep, at one point appearing to record him for nearly 30 minutes. Replying to Dabiri’s post, Gannon Breslin, CEO of The Drop NFT Media Inc., wrote, “It’s incredible how many people don’t realize that WhatsApp is owned by Meta/Facebook.” Facebook purchased WhatsApp in 2014 for $16 billion. Musk replied: “Yeah. Or that WhatsApp founders left Meta/Facebook in disgust, started #deletefacebook campaign and made major contributions to building Signal. What they learned about Facebook and changes to WhatsApp obviously disturbed them greatly.” WhatsApp swiftly dismissed Dabiri’s claim, stating that users of the messaging service “have full control over their mic settings.” “Over the last 24 hours, we’ve been in touch with a Twitter engineer who posted an issue with his Pixel phone and WhatsApp,” WhatsApp said on its official Twitter account. “We believe this is a bug on Android that mis-attributes information in their Privacy Dashboard and have asked Google to investigate and remediate.” “Users have full control over their mic settings. Once granted permission, WhatsApp only accesses the mic when a user is making a call or recording a voice note or video—and even then, these communications are protected by end-to-end encryption so WhatsApp cannot hear them,” it added.

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1984: USA Launches Disinfo Ministry of Truth
by grarpamp 13 May '23

13 May '23

The USA Democrat Left just deployed 1984 to continue control the narrative, and program your mind... DHS Disinformation' Unit Headed by Woman Who Said Hunter Biden Laptop Story Was Disinformation https://summit.news/2022/04/28/dhs-disinformation-unit-headed-by-woman-who-… Houston, we have a problem. The Department of Homeland Security's new `disinformation' unit will be headed by a woman who says free speech makes her `shudder' and who falsely labeled the Hunter Biden laptop story disinformation. Oh dear. Just two days after it was revealed that Elon Musk had reached an agreement to buy Twitter, DHS chief Alejandro Mayorkas announced the creation of a "disinformation governance board." The new board will focus primarily on "misinformation related to homeland security, focused specifically on irregular migration and Russia." The board will be headed by Nina Jankowicz, a former advisor to the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry who oversaw related issued at the National Democratic Institute lobby group. "Cat’s out of the bag," Jankowicz tweeted. "Here's what I've been up to the past two months, and why I’ve been a bit quiet on here." Cat's out of the bag: here's what I've been up to the past two months, and why I've been a bit quiet on here. Honored to be serving in the Biden Administration [45]@DHSgov and helping shape our counter-disinformation efforts. [46]https://t.co/uN20vl7qqV [47]pic.twitter.com/JEn4FqLdck -- Nina Jankowicz <U+1F1FA><U+1F1E6><U+1F1FA><U+1F1F8> (@wiczipedia) [48]April 27, 2022 Jankowicz's view of free speech is particularly odious. Free speech apparently makes her physically shudder. "I shudder to think about if free speech absolutists were taking over more platforms, what that would look like for the marginalized communities, which are already shouldering disproportionate amounts of this abuse," she tweeted in response to Musk's Twitter takeover. NEWS: DHS is officially launching its own Ministry of Truth, or the so-called "Disinformation Governance Board." Nina Jankowicz will head the board as executive director. "Free speech absolutists" make her "shudder," so everything should be fine. [49]pic.twitter.com/wVc7hEBX11 -- Young Americans for Liberty (@YALiberty) [50]April 27, 2022 Jankowicz previously called Musk an "online abuser," while arguing for more censorship when she asserted, "The ‘free speech vs censorship’ framing is a false dichotomy." But crucially, the woman handed the role of deciding what constitutes "disinformation," previously labeled a completely truthful story "disinformation" because it was seen to be harmful to Joe Biden's presidential chances. Jankowicz promoted the actual disinformation that the New York Post Hunter Biden laptop story was a "Russian influence op." Back on the "laptop from hell," apparently- Biden notes 50 former natsec officials and 5 former CIA heads that believe the laptop is a Russian influence op. Trump says "Russia, Russia, Russia." -- Nina Jankowicz <U+1F1FA><U+1F1E6><U+1F1FA><U+1F1F8> (@wiczipedia) [51]October 23, 2020 She also wrongly asserted that it was a "Trump campaign product," while also claiming Trump supporters would show up at the polls with weapons to intimidate voters. Jankowicz's appointment once again underscores how moral panics about `disinformation' and `misinformation' are contrived frauds designed to bury legitimate information harmful to the regime's narrative. Both the Hunter Biden laptop scandal and the lab leak theory, two of the biggest news stories of 2020, were truthful yet branded "disinformation" so they could be buried by social media algorithms to prevent their viral spread. Along with `fact checkers', the new DHS disinformation unit is just another branch of the Ministry of Truth, which as in Orwell's 1984, serves a primary purpose of hiding and eliminating the truth.

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DeSantis Campaigns in Iowa as Trump Cancels Rally Due to Weather
by Gunnar Larson 13 May '23

13 May '23

We need this for the Mayor of New York, "The time for excuses is over." --- DeSantis Campaigns in Iowa as Trump Cancels Rally Due to Weather https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-05-13/trump-desantis-to-crissc… Florida Governor Ron DeSantis told Iowa Republicans Saturday that “the time for excuses is over” and said his party can’t look backward if it wants to defeat President Joe Biden in 2024.

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Israel and Gaza Strip Militants Reportedly Close to Ceasefire
by Gunnar Larson 13 May '23

13 May '23

Dos the United Nations do anything these days? I thought the UN got going because of this whole story. -- Israel and Gaza Strip Militants Reportedly Close to Ceasefire https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-05-13/israel-and-gaza-strip-mi… A senior Islamic Jihad leader said Egyptian-led negotiations have produced an agreement with Israel to end a military conflict that began earlier this week.

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NuGenesis Seeks Litigation Funding for Claim Against FTX - Litigation Finance Journal
by Gunnar Larson 13 May '23

13 May '23

Hey Richard: Check out my new LitigationFinanceJournal.com article: https://litigationfinancejournal.com/nugenesis-seeks-litigation-funding-for… ---@ NuGenesis Seeks Litigation Funding for Claim Against FTX NuGenesis (the purveyor of NuCoin), is reported to be exploring AI and litigation finance as investment tools in claims against FTX and Alameda Research’s alleged fraud. Cointelegraph characterizes NuGenesis as a well respected source for quality innovation in the digital asset ecosystem. After NuCoin was attacked by FTX, executives at NuGenesis began to employ AI technology to digest what could be happening behind the scenes at Alameda and the Japanese arm of FTX. Touted as ‘groundbreaking’ by Cointelegraph, NuGenesis’ crypto fraud detection software has been instrumental in uncovering alleged inconsistencies of fiduciary duty across FTX’s global enterprise. NuCoin is said to have tallied almost $55B in potential damages associated with potential FTX scams against the token. The FTX saga could yield new opportunities for litigation financiers in the crypto litigation space. As an added bonus, we have included 185 highlights to the Office of Legal Education’s “Prosecuting Computer Crimes” handbook for reference.

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Cryptocurrency: USA Has Defaulted, Stolen, Rebased, Repriced, Defrauded, and Enslaved Many Times Before
by grarpamp 13 May '23

13 May '23

Here's just a few examples, which sound crypto routes around... "Weird Gold Trick" Could End Debt-Ceiling Showdown https://dailyreckoning.com/weird-gold-trick-could-end-debt-ceiling-showdown/ Authored by James Rickards via DailyReckoning.com, The phrase “X-Date” may remind readers of the TV drama The X-Files or the superhero X-Men. It actually refers to the date when the U.S. Treasury goes broke. The problem arises from the fact that issuing U.S. Treasury debt beyond a certain ceiling requires approval from the U.S. Congress. The amount of outstanding debt today is at the current debt ceiling. The Treasury is allowed to issue new debt to roll over maturing debt as long as the ceiling is not breached. Since the U.S. is running large budget deficits, the Treasury has to increase the total amount of debt outstanding in order to pay the government’s bills for everything from F-35 fighter jets to food stamps. Treasury has already hit the debt ceiling but has been able to scrape by with some positive cash flow (due to tax payments around April 15) and some other revenue sources including excise taxes and tariffs. The Treasury also has a slush fund called the Exchange Stabilization Fund (created with the profits made in 1933–34 when FDR confiscated gold and raised the price from $20.67 per ounce to $35.00 per ounce – one of the great insider trades of all time). Still, the Exchange Stabilization Fund has been used lately to prop up the FDIC insurance fund that has been depleted by the bailout of Silicon Valley Bank. You get the picture. X-Date Could Be Just Three Weeks Away The government can shuck and jive and scrape the bottom of the barrel, but the bottom line is there comes a time when the Treasury is actually broke. That’s the X-Date. And the X-Date could be June 1, just three weeks away. The source for this date is Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. Of course, Yellen cannot be completely trusted. She could just be trying to scare Republicans into raising the debt ceiling without getting spending cuts in return. Yellen actually doesn’t know much about fiscal policy or a number of legitimate and previously used techniques to create additional spending power for the Treasury without violating the debt ceiling. She’s really just a flunky for the White House so she says what they tell her to say. Still, there is an X-Date out there somewhere. Right now, the House of Representatives and the White House are playing a game of fiscal chicken to see who blinks first. Maybe we’ll find out the hard way when the bond market and the U.S. economy drive over a cliff. But it can all be avoided with just one simple phone call. How? One phone call from the Treasury to the Federal Reserve could reprice the Treasury’s gold from $42.22 per ounce (historic cost) to a market level of $2,042 per ounce (today’s price). That would pull over $550 billion of new spending power out of thin air — without issuing any debt. This was actually done by the Eisenhower administration in the 1950s under similar circumstances. That’s right. Most people don’t realize that there’s a way gold can be used to work around the debt ceiling crisis. I call it the weird gold trick, and it’s never seen discussed anywhere outside of some very technical academic circles. It may sound weird, but it actually works. Here’s how… The Weird Gold Trick, Explained When the Treasury took control of all the nation’s gold during the Depression under the Gold Reserve Act of 1934, it also took control of the Federal Reserve’s gold. But we have a Fifth Amendment in this country that says the government can’t just seize private property without just compensation. And despite its name, the Federal Reserve is not technically a government institution. So the Treasury gave the Federal Reserve a gold certificate as compensation under the Fifth Amendment (to this day, that gold certificate is still on the Fed’s balance sheet). Now come forward to 1953. The Eisenhower administration was up against the debt ceiling. And Congress didn’t raise the debt ceiling in time. Eisenhower and his Treasury secretary realized they couldn’t pay the bills. What happened? They turned to the weird gold trick to get the money. It turned out that the gold certificate the Treasury gave the Fed in 1934 did not account for all the gold the Treasury had. It did not account for all the gold in the Treasury’s possession. The Treasury calculated the difference, sent the Fed a new certificate for the difference and said, “Fed, give me the money.” It did. So the government got the money it needed from the Treasury gold until Congress increased the debt ceiling. That ability exists today. In fact, it exists in a much, much larger form, and here’s why… Marking Gold to Market Right now, the Fed’s gold certificate values gold at $42.22 an ounce. That’s obviously not anywhere near the market price of gold, which, again, is about $2,042 an ounce. Now, the Treasury could issue the Fed a new gold certificate valuing the 8,000 tons of Treasury gold at $2,042 an ounce. They could take today’s market price of $2,042, subtract the official $42.22 price and multiply the difference by 8,000 tons. I’ve done the math, and that number exceeds $500 billion. In other words,the Treasury could issue the Fed a gold certificate for the 8,000 tons in Fort Knox at $2,042 an ounce and tell the Fed, “Give us the difference over $42 an ounce.” The Treasury would have over $500 billion out of thin air with no debt. It would not add to the debt because the Treasury already has the gold. It’s just taking an asset and marking it to market. It’s not a fantasy. It was done twice. It was done in 1934 and it was done again in 1953 by the Eisenhower administration. It could be done again. It doesn’t require legislation. Would the government consider the gold trick I just described? All I can say is don’t count on it. You shouldn’t expect it to happen because no one in power wants to recognize the role of gold as a monetary asset. They don’t want anyone to even talk about gold, except as a “barbarous relic” that belongs in the dustbin of history. Instead, expect this game of chicken to continue. You can brace for the worst by buying gold and building up cash reserves that you can redeploy at a later date. The stock market may be in for a rocky road.

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Cryptocurrency: Debtor Nations Still Crashing And Repeating Same Foolish Mistake... Political Debt Itself
by grarpamp 13 May '23

13 May '23

Congress Leaves Town With No Debt Deal As Biden, McCarthy Postpone Meeting Congress left the Capitol this week with no deal on averting a catastrophic debt ceiling default that may be as close as three weeks away. According to NBC News, a meeting scheduled for Friday between President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) was postponed until next week while top aides hash continue to negotiate in the hopes of making more headway before the principal negotiators are brought in. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) explains what year it is to President Joe Biden on March 17, 2023. (Drew Angerer / Getty Images file) For weeks, the negotiations have boiled down to Democrats insisting that Republicans agree to a 'clean' (blank check) debt ceiling increase with no conditions, while Republicans demand that Democrats make spending compromises which would pair a debt limit increase with a budget agreement. With the debt limit having been raised, avoiding economic catastrophe, the GOP could claim Democrats backed down from the no-negotiations posture and Democrats could claim some wins in the budget talks and focus on those. A potential bipartisan deal would “take the budget negotiations and kind of blend it in with the raising of the debt ceiling," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a member of the Budget Committee tasked with selecting topline spending figures for the government annually and of the Appropriations Committee, which doles out that funding. "We’ve eventually got to fund the government” in September, he noted. -NBC News "Maybe they can agree on some top lines that would show some fiscal restraint and raise the debt ceiling, but we’ll get there," said Graham. Rep. Garret Graves (R-LA) outlined four policy areas where Republicans and Democrats may be able to strike a deal; Recapturing unspent Covid relief funds Overhauling the permitting process for infrastructure and energy projects Establishing spending caps for upcoming government funding bills Expanding work requirements for those receiving federal aid "I think there’s a pretty good opportunity there," said Graves, a top ally of McCarthy. Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-SC) thinks the four areas are the "lowest hanging fruit" that could see bipartisan consensus. "The White House has said that all of these Republican asks are nonstarters. They will say they won’t accept anything. We know they will," said Johnson, who chairs the GOP Main Street Caucus. "I’ll take it anywhere I can get it. We’re working to get it," said Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV). "This should be a bipartisan permitting reform bill." Democrats have seized on Wednesday night comments made by former President Trump, who told CNN's Kaitlan Collins during a town hall: "I say to the Republicans out there – congressmen, senators – if they don’t give you massive cuts, you’re going to have to do a default." According to Trump, while he doesn't think a default is likely, "it’s better than what we’re doing right now because we’re spending money like drunken sailors," adding that the effects of a default might not be as disastrous as everyone expects, suggesting "it’s really psychological more than anything else," and adding "maybe it’s, you have a bad week or a bad day." "We might as well do it now" -- Trump endorses a US debt default pic.twitter.com/l81cW3bwH9 — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 11, 2023 "It was dangerous and irresponsible that former President Trump last night said, casually, ‘Eh, just go ahead and default.’" said Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) in a statement to NBC News. Pressed about Trump’s comments encouraging default, McCarthy quickly pivoted Thursday to attacking Biden and repeatedly made the case that House Republicans are the only ones in Washington who have passed legislation to raise the debt ceiling. The McCarthy package would raise the federal borrowing limit by $1.5 trillion or through March, whichever comes first, but it would roll back key pieces of Biden's agenda. -NBC News "I’ve watched President Biden not want a deal and want default," McCarthy told reporters on Thursday - attacking Democrats over the impasse, saying that House Republicans are "the only ones who’ve raised the debt limit." According to the Treasury Department, the country will default on its debt as soon as June 1 unless the borrowing limit is raised.

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Cryptocurrency: Preserves Your Money Against Grubbing ProgDems
by grarpamp 13 May '23

13 May '23

ProgDems want to rob you of your money, no different than any other politicians, just more full of economic bullshit about it. Progressives Want To Eliminate Wealthy Entrepreneurs But Need The Wealth They Create Authored by Lipton Matthews via The Mises Institute, Being perceived as anti–working class is a cardinal sin in American politics. Working-class people are seen as the unappreciated engine of American growth. Hillary Clinton discovered this lesson when she was criticized for calling Donald Trump supporters a “basket of deplorables.” But interestingly, expressing contempt for the upper class is quite tolerable. Rich people are frequently ridiculed by comedians and depicted as snobs in popular culture. Shows like SpongeBob SquarePants and The Simpsons present affluent characters in an unflattering light. Such characters are seldom portrayed as virtuous entrepreneurs who are rewarded for delivering value. Usually, viewers are led to think that the rich are the source of all social ills. Typically, negative depictions of working class or poor people would evoke controversy, but upward classism is tolerated. Sociologist Rainer Zitelmann has written extensively on upward classism and the rich in public opinion. Zitelmann’s research covers how rich people are viewed in Western countries, and his findings are unsurprising. According to the results of Zitelmann’s study, rich people, like other minority groups, are often scapegoats who are blamed for social malaise. However, he observes that the perception of the wealthy is determined by education. In Germany, England, and America, better-educated people have a more favorable view of the rich. A possible explanation is that educated people have higher incomes and are connected to the rich, so their views are more realistic and less tainted by stereotypes. Their education also makes it easier for them to appreciate the significance of the rich in creating value for society. Social enviers, by contrast, have warped perceptions of the rich. Zitelmann documents that such people assign negative traits to the wealthy. Because their views are shaped by a zero-sum mentality, envious people think that when some gain others must lose. Ordinary people benefit tremendously from the inventions of the ambitious and intellectually gifted. The ingenuity of oilman John Davis Rockefeller made the American economy more productive in the nineteenth century, and today our lives are made more convenient by the efficiencies of tech companies like Amazon and Google. Without the traits of the rich, we would lack modern innovations. But unfortunately, most people don’t differentiate the progressive rich who accumulate wealth by delivering value for society from those who increase their wealth by relying on government subsidies or political connections. Hence, we are primarily concerned with the value creators and their attributes that culminate in the formation of dynamic businesses. In undertaking his study, Zitelmann found that the rich are high in conscientiousness and openness to experiences. Other studies assert that rich people have a great propensity for risk. Most rich people are entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs suffer from high failure rates, so this indicates that people who excel in business are not just competent but also perseverant. The average person is not as tenacious as entrepreneurs who establish dynamic businesses that positively transform living standards. Essentially, wealth is the reward for providing value to society. Instead of demonizing the rich, people ought to be thanking them for enriching society with useful skills. However, when envy is pervasive in society, rich people downplay their success to thwart backlash. The downside of doing so is that success is vilified rather than embraced. Societal progress is driven by the passion of ambitious people, and it will come to a halt when the most competent people are demotivated to succeed. Zitelmann noticed in his study that countries like America and England with a lower share of envious people have a relatively higher proportion of millionaires. This is expected because in less envious countries, the success of the rich motivates others to achieve. Economic studies corroborate Zitelmann’s conclusion that the zero-sum mentality of envious people saps industrial progress. One study notes that economic equality fails to mitigate the effects of zero-sum thinking because the possibility of some people becoming more successful can reinforce zero-sum thinking. Redistributing wealth won’t prevent the value-destroying consequences of envious behavior. The zero-sum mindset that fuels envy will only be diminished when societies promote economic freedom to afford more opportunities to generate wealth. When people are free to prosper, they become less likely to engender a zero-sum approach to development and more appreciative of success because it’s now a greater possibility. Rather than wealth redistribution, the solution to envy is progress powered by economic freedom.

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