- cypherpunks - lists.cpunks.org

Ripple reaches second place by marketing capitalization
by grarpamp 30 Dec '17

30 Dec '17

3 4

size of the imperial american nazi government
by juan 30 Dec '17

30 Dec '17

"Up until Collateral Murder we were a cause célèbre in the United States among various groups; actually we are still a cause célèbre, but it is in a smaller left-wing or libertarian right-wing community now.237 According to Reuters, across twenty-four countries we have the support of over three-quarters of the gen- eral population. Our support is worst in the United States, where we have the support of over 40 percent of the population, which is still pretty good considering what has been happening. As a result of embarrassing the US military and diplomatic class, we have had a counterattack. That counterattack is significant. This is a very significant power group that is not just at the top of the White House, it’s not just a few generals; rather, it is all the people con- nected to and profiting from that system. That’s about a third of the US population, all the way from Chelsea Clinton to someone in the gutters of San Antonio whose brother is deployed in Iraq. There are 900,000 people in the United States with top-secret security clear- ances at this moment. There are two and a half million that have classified security clearances.239 If we go back over the past twenty years and ask how many people had security clearances, maybe it is 15 million. If we then go and look at all their spouses and business partners and children we are looking at something like 30 percent of the population of the United States that is one degree removed from that ideological structure and that patronage system. It is quite diffi- cult in the United States to say something that is against that system." j. assange

3 5

[RUS] [SWPL] humans - the enduring existential reality we all live among
by Zenaan Harkness 29 Dec '17

29 Dec '17

Over and over again, 'tis the human, that is us, we, our brethren and sistren around the world, who shape our own world (of course). (There are links not embedded in the copypasta below.) This is a sobering and heart felt "reality" take, reminding us of poignant "facts on the ground" so to speak. A true story for those with empathy. http://www.unz.com/akarlin/translation-a-hell-of-their-own-making/ Translation: A Hell of Their Own Making Anatoly Karlin • December 19, 2012 Believe it or not but some people call me a Russophobe. Even more shockingly, perhaps, I plead guilty (at least in the sense that I do not have a very high opinion of the Russian people). There are only two logical alternatives: (1) Claims that Russia really is as good as Western Europe and the US on issues like corruption, social cohesion, etc., which is quite simply implausible to almost anyone who lived there; (2) That the cronyism, bad roads, etc. are all the fault of “corrupt bureaucrats” or even just “Putin”, as if to pretend that they are not real Russians but an occupying force, which is simply bizarre and only believed in by liberals. The most plausible but rather banal explanation is that to the extent that things are bad in Russia (although, ironically, as I’ve frequently shown here they are nowhere near as bad as portrayed in the Western media) they are bad because of Russians themselves, or more precisely the crook-enabling and general impudent go-fuck-yourself attitudes inherited from the Soviet era. There is no way to quickly change this, least of all by decree, and Putin himself implicitly recognizes this, although as President, he has to sugarcoat things and explain them to the people in a fatherly way (whereas as a blogger I am perhaps a bit blunt about these things). Anyhow, the following account basically encapsulates the basic thing that is wrong with Russia and, indirectly, the liberal interpretation of the symptoms (that they are the Kremlin’s fault). And while A Hell of their Own Making is set in Ukraine, any Russian would recognize this in her own country; only Ukrainian nationalists would seriously deny that social attitudes in Russia and Ukraine are rather similar. *** A Hell of Their Own Making I live abroad. Once upon a time, I came to visit my mother in Ukraine with my husband. I got the kin together for a barbecue picnic. We decided to go to a place not far from mother’s house – a beautiful valley with a lake and a small forest. During my childhood I loved to wander there among the sweet-smelling grass and wild flowers, and to bathe in the lake. We came there. The wild grass was now covered with tall weeds, many places were burnt out or filled up with plastic rubbish. I was so disappointed! We could barely find a more or less clean clearing by the lake. We tidied up the trash and cigarette butts so that we could sit, then we started a fire in the mangal grill. The barbecue was delicious, but the sight of my beloved valley depressed me – everything was so dirty, so pathetic… The lake was murky and desiccated. I did not risk swimming in it. >From the start I told my relatives not to throw the trash into the grass and bushes, but to gather it up and put it into a special bag. When we were leaving I checked that we had left nothing behind. For I was very sad about this forest clearing. And I was loudly distraught that people could so comprehensively foul up a place where they themselves went to relax. Is it really so difficult to carry the trash over to the bins that are one hundred meters away at the valley’s end? When we were preparing to leave, I found out that no-one had the trash bag in their hands. I started asking who had it. And my mom waved it way – we’ve already thrown it away. “How did you do it, where?” I whispered. “There, into the reeds. What, are we garbage men or something? Everyone dumps it there!” It was hard to refrain from swearing out loud. It was impossible to retrieve the trash from there – it had already lodged in the reeds by the cliff. At that moment I recognized a great truth: They deserve the lives they lead. They deserve their cracked asphalt, broken lampposts, dirty streets, and reeking rivers, and their criminal government, and their miserly wages and pensions. They spit on themselves, so why shouldn’t the government spit on them? They do not respect themselves – so who will respect them? It is not the government which litters on the streets and trashes children’s playgrounds. It is not the President who steals lampposts and cables. I no longer trust your complaints. My countrymen, it is you who created your own hell, and it’s you who will have to live in it. *** Harsh but it rings true. I wonder if any “Russophiles” will now call the author a Russophobe (or perhaps Ukrainophobe) herself? The only thing I have to add is that many Russians – especially liberals, and those who love to complain – really do not realize how their own actions and attitudes (or the lack of them; in a recent poll, only 50% of Russians said they’d report a drunk driver, compared to about 90% in the US and the UK) contribute to problems. It is always someone else who is to blame, like Putin, or the US, or oligarchs, or ethnic minorities. Oftentimes this hatred is expressed in shockingly violent and callous terms to popular approval. They cannot see fault in themselves, so ironically enough, it is the much loathed Russian state itself which is left with the unenviable task of trying to re-inculcate basic moral values and respect for the law into a self-hating and crook-enabling society. That is why I support it. The words of the liberal-conservative Vekhi are as relevant now as they were back in 1909: “We ought to fear the people and bless this government which, with its prisons and bayonets, still protects us from the people’s fury.” (Republished from Da Russophile by permission of author or representative)

1 0

Re: USA: National Security Strategy, Juan's Wet Dream -- OFF-TOPIC (James Donald is a creep)
by Cecilia Tanaka 29 Dec '17

29 Dec '17

On Dec 29, 2017 03:03, <jamesd(a)echeque.com> wrote: > > Blah, blah, blah... And wrote more non-stop blabbing blah, blah, blah in another message... Aff... :P Well, James, I said it once and I’ll say it again... >:( It.

1 0

A cunning French linguist (Milner) cautions climactic consent contracts
by Zenaan Harkness 29 Dec '17

29 Dec '17

To be honest, it's a pretty prickly provocative paradox parading promptly across our current social reality. The best part? A truly public dialogic climax is approaching, and none too soon I might add ... the world truly needs to get a grip and lay down some law and order already! The PHP community should finally be able to resolve their dilemma of who may be permitted to attend a seminar - with strict, and binding, rules upon all who <Enter>, to rope in all miscreants who would sully the good, clean and 100% sex-free image of the one true language to rule all computers! “Consent Conscious Kit”: Political correctness is now destroying relationships Human contact now under attack by political correctness. http://redpilltimes.com/sign-a-contract-before-sex-political-correctness-de… It was bound to happen. All liberal left roads were pushing towards it. Signing a contract, and iron-clad contract, before any intimacy was to take place. A “Consent Conscious Kit”, now for sale, so no sexual assault claims spring up, one, two or twenty years after the act goes down. …

1 0

the endeavour to live free, and courage
by Zenaan Harkness 29 Dec '17

29 Dec '17

A gem, from zerohedge (and other choice one liners sprinkled throughout the rest of the linked article) - enjoy :) https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-12-28/how-defeat-tyranny-no-shortcuts-n… How To Defeat Tyranny: "No Shortcuts... No Secret Weapon... Only Indomitable Spirit" … The Source Of All Freedom ------------------------- Beyond the internalized conflicts within liberty movements, there is a defining methodology at stake. The gravitational pull that strengthens communities, the fuel that drives optimism and a respect for the future, the thing that makes us all more than what we seem to be on the surface, the thing that catches authoritarians off guard, is our propensity for courage and human kindness. Without these two things, any fight against tyranny is destined to implode. Endeavor requires risk, and all risk requires courage (or perhaps stupidity, but courage can often be mistaken as stupidity). The greatest endeavor in the history of mankind is the endeavor to live free. This is one of the few things in the world actually worth fighting or dying for. It only follows that such a fantastic goal would require ultimate risk. Courage is the willingness to take risks while knowing full well the consequences of failure. In some cases, courage means taking action while knowing that there will be consequences even in success. Sometimes, there are no benefits to the courageous beyond the knowledge that they have benefited others. The fight is not about profit. The fight is not about personal survival. The fight is about something much more. Something difficult to define, but intuitively felt. Taking terrible risks with the intention of benefiting others, many of them not even born yet, requires human kindness. Kindness in itself can be a form of risk. A self-absorbed sociopath or narcissist will never achieve greatness, because greatness requires actions that are counter-intuitive to self preservation. A person who embraces moral relativism will also never accomplish much for the future. Kindness requires moral resolve, not moral “flexibility.” It is these two characteristics that will help to dissolve the conflicts within liberty activism listed above. It is these two characteristics that defeat tyrants, and so it will be these two characteristics that tyrants will seek to undermine. It is difficult to conquer a people when they are not afraid of sacrifice and when they are not afraid to organize in the real world. It is difficult to isolate people with selfishness when they are driven by the empathy inherent in kindness. ALL solutions, all practical strategies rely on the existence of these two forces within a movement. As 2017 comes to a close, it is my hope that every liberty activist prepares for more dangerous days ahead. But above all else, their preparations must flow from a foundation of struggle and self sacrifice, foresight and endurance, community and practicality, courage and kindness. If not, then really, what is the point? …

1 0

Exposing Banking's Global Financial Surveillance Networks
by grarpamp 29 Dec '17

29 Dec '17

https://media.ccc.de/v/34c3-9070-financial_surveillance Banks have built a huge surveillance infrastructure sweeping up millions of innocent people. Investigative journalists Jasmin Klofta and Tom Wills explain how, as part of an international collaboration, they exposed World-Check, the privately-run system. A database used to make decisions affecting people and organisations all over the world. They include a mosque that had its bank account shut without explanation, activists blacklisted for a peaceful protest, and ordinary citizens whose political activities were secretly catalogued. We discovered the human impact of this Kafkaesque system, which is used by almost every major bank and many other institutions. We will also ask whether we really want banks to be held responsible for the crimes of their customers? Are Financial Intelligence Units pre-crime agencies?

1 0

Re: USA: National Security Strategy, Juan's Wet Dream -- OFF-TOPIC (James Donald is a creep)
by jamesd＠echeque.com 29 Dec '17

29 Dec '17

I wrote: > Veganism has been cool for a very long time. Indeed, the lies on > saturated fat were manufactured back in the forties to give "scientific" > endorsement to veganism, much as the lies on anthropogenic global > warming were manufactured to give "scientific" endorsement to demonizing > the technological and industrial civilization that white people created. Little background here. Before World War II, England, rather than America, was dominant in the anglosphere, and from the restoration of Charles the second to end of World War II, the Royal Society socially enforced the scientific method, awarding status to people who followed it, and denying status to people who failed to follow it. The King was the fount of all honors, mortal and divine - which means his job was to regulate status competition, so that wins at status were awarded for prosocial, rather than antisocial, activity. In the early days of the Royal Society, some people objected, objected very strongly, to status being awarded in this fashion, and organized a mob to thump those who received status in this fashion, whereupon Charles the Second sent soldiers to physically back up the Royal Society, thumping those who objected to the status awards as if they were disorderly stray dogs, treating them like beggars, gypsies, whores and thieves, punishing them in ways that reduced their status, rather than martyring them. Thereby ensuring that he held on to the role that his father lost, as the fount of all honors mortal and divine. And, while the Royal Society was in charge of defining and enforcing the scientific method, science agreed that saturated fat was good for you, and eating animals was good for you. When Britain lost World War II and America won it, Harvard got the upper hand over the Royal Society, and introduced "peer review", which means that an anonymous committee of "scientists" decide official truth behind closed doors on the basis of secret evidence, rather than following the scientific method. Since then, the output of "science" has generally been an indicator of what is high status, rather than what is supported by the evidence, saturated fats being a spectacular example of "scientists" treating evidence, experiment, and data with total contempt. And thus the output of "science" reveals that veganism was high status until recently, but has recently lost status, because chicks now have high status, chicks like slim men with big muscles, and slim men with big muscles are invariably meat eaters. As a result "science" is now discovering that eating tasty animals is good for you.

1 0

Re: Are cryptocurrencies ready to handle large number of transactions?
by Steven Schear 29 Dec '17

29 Dec '17

Clearly they are not, yet. The problems are somewhat multi-dimensional and the way forward isn't assured. If some counters wanted to scale a "Bitcoin-like" chain to handle, on-chain, the average transaction volume of PayPal (about 120/sec.), quite a coup, it would require (by my reckoning) a block size of about 64 MB. The Bitcoin Unlimited people are planning to test blocks much larger. Clearly, this would likely result in considerable miner concentration, unless, as Garzik's recently announced Bitcoin United (which includes a "our" Escher feature) takes over Bitcoin Corey's mantle. On Dec 25, 2017 8:21 PM, "James A. Donald" <jamesd(a)echeque.com> wrote: On 12/26/2017 12:58 AM, Michalis Kargakis wrote: > Not a ready implementation yet but the mimblewimble protocol solves a lot > of the scalability issues plagued in other blockchains. > > https://scalingbitcoin.org/papers/mimblewimble.pdf > https://github.com/ignopeverell/grin/blob/master/doc/intro.md > Maybe I am understanding this imperfectly, but this hides how much you are paying, and thus how much you have, but does not hide whom you pay it to. Suppose HHitler create an evil fascist website, and requests donations in mimblewimble coins. Let us call the public key advertised on that evil fascist website HHitler. Ann buys mimblewimble coins on an exchange, using US$, and has to give her true name and an image of her true face. Won't the mimblewimble blockchain show that Ann gave an unknown amount to HHitler, whereupon antifa goes around and kills some girl whose face superficially resembles that of Ann, and then the judge lets them off as well intentioned good guys? As the judge recently let off a black man who killed a white man and then took his wallet, and subsequently claimed, without racist inconvenience of actually needing to produce any evidence, that the white man had called him a n****r --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

5 6

USA: National Security Strategy, Juan's Wet Dream
by grarpamp 29 Dec '17

29 Dec '17

https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/NSS-Final-12-18-2017-… http://beyondthemarquee.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/902274_1015333238419… https://img00.deviantart.net/580e/i/2012/043/5/a/giant_hammer___drow_by_zep… https://i.pinimg.com/236x/f8/83/87/f883877b2cc9804048c3ef982500e86e--harly-… Found some holiday gifts for my friend Juan ;)

11 64