Blog's Tenth Birthday

Stills from Blade Runner 2049 (2017) © Warner / Sony. Reproduced non-commercially under Fair Use. Image Source: RPF.

Happy Birthday, Dear Blog

Last month was the blog's tenth birthday! The blog has almost reached 4 million unique hits. I am deeply grateful to all readers who stop by and to fellow content creators in the alt media.

The Best Posts page will soon be updated, here. The five-year retrospective, Perspectives and Milestones, summarized my rationale for blogging about the impact of technology on the 20th century world, as a way of understanding the history of the 21st century.

Conclusion of a Decade

Image Source: tumblr.

Over the past decade, I observed two main trends: first, the erosion of conventional authority in the face of democratized access to information; and second, the attempt by the establishment to exploit and manipulate information to regain control of an increasingly red-pilled public.

I am now writing a book based on the blog, Inside the Potemkin Village (more below).

Given current circumstances, I am moving daily posts and community discussions to closed forums.

I am a Canadian blogger. In April 2020, there was a discussion in Ottawa about criminalizing anyone who discussed conspiracy theories or peddled disinformation online about COVID19. I analyze disinformation and conspiracy theories as examples of techno-culture. This distinction would be missed by authorities.

I am also writing on the Blogger platform, which is run by Google, notorious for its deplatforming of the alt media on Youtube. I expect social media censorship to increase, along with mayhem in the streets.

A man had an open container of Alcohol. NYPD slammed him on his head unconscious. (24 May 2020). Video Source: Youtube.

For these reasons, research links and updates about my work will be found for free on Discord. Please join the conversation. I will write fewer blog posts, and the ones I do write will be behind a small Patreon subscriber paywall ($1 per month). I will still occasionally write non-crisis posts here and at my other blogs.


This isn't just about me. The current circumstances are so serious and volatile that I am asking for support to develop a private online community, based on this blog.

Become a Patron!
The TLDR:

• A private free text chat on Discord (https://discord.com/ invitation code Zy9XVad) for all blog readers, with daily information and updates on my book-writing. Join the discussion.
• A free newsletter - sign up at the bottom of my Website. The newsletter will give regular updates for those who access free material and for Patreon supporters, who will be added automatically.
• Private blog posts on the pandemic and current crises for start-tier Patreon supporters (https://www.patreon.com/LCDouglass).
• A private forum (https://hottc.forumotion.com) to build a community for medium-tier Patreon supporters. Register at the forum and your account will be activated when your Patreon support is confirmed. Discussions will cover the pandemic; economic collapse; coming tech innovations; personal resilience and survival; censorship; laws and civil rights; evolving politics; the US election; digital education; cryptos; hyperinflation; food insecurity; and other topics.
• Private scheduled virtual video and audio meetings to consider community strategies in times of change (for upper-tier Patreon supporters).
• Insider, behind-the-scenes information in virtual meetings (for top-tier Patreon supporters).

If you want to buy cryptos on exchanges as a hedge against hyperinflation, please buy through the links below, which will also support me, my writing projects, and the development of a community for mutual support during tough times. Some links also provide you with a bonus at sign-up.

In particular, Crypto.com offers a Visa card in the UK, USA, Singapore, Canada, and Europe, which will draw from your cryptos stored in your online wallet. The cryptocurrencies you hold will be converted into fiat money at the moment when you make purchases in stores. Crypto.com is also a crypto exchange and an online wallet (where I do not recommend you keep anything for long); and it has other services in the works. Their whitepaper is here. This financial tool might be useful next year, when a head of lettuce might cost USD $400 or more.

ADDENDUM (1 July 2020): Unfortunately, the German fintech behind the crypto.com wallet, Wirecard, has collapsed in the biggest accounting fraud scandal in post-war history. Use of crypto.com's Visa is not recommended and/or prohibited and restricted until crypto.com can find a different wallet provider.

• My invitation link to Crypto.com is here: (referral code: zju6byz4vq). NB: Please refer to the addendum above.

• Support my work when you buy cryptos at Bitbuy, my referral link is here (referral ID: 9NNHWIHWE).

• My Swissborg referral link is here.

• Wealthsimple's crypto waitlist is here.

• My Brave encrypted browser referral link is here.

• My invitation to Binance is here (referral IDs: 41817819 or IBYYBGRH).

• My referral to Coinbase is here.

• Please donate to keep this blog and related platforms running.

BTC: 1NnSDexmAjopLUhdxu6jzChFNpxrGzHpT9 DOGE: DJPwPuXqNoqUJxC3oj4SZPbKHmqRt3ESQT ETH: 0x4F3b2199f789F2182b46caf6dFB18bE462567497

Real-Time, Red-Pilled History

Image Source: Jesus Mendez.

Why support the writing of Inside the Potemkin Village?

This blog was conceived as an original and unique experiment in writing what I call 'real-time history.' The idea was that information was moving so quickly, and in such volumes, and in so many new formats, that it was not possible to write a professional academic history of the new Millennium by waiting the traditional 30+ years before engaging the historical view. It had to be done day-by-day.

Technologically-driven communication poses other serious problems for historical writing. There are new forms of global community and identification; new media; malleable and anonymous sources; disappearing information; whistle-blowing; challenges to traditional information authorities; big data; and censorship.

The most popular post here is my 2017 summary of new Millennial politics: Red Pill, Blue Pill, Green Pill, Black Pill. One of the readers remarked:

"This was a truly amazing and inspired blog post. I do hope you are able to publish a book that further delves into these cyber resistance and cultural movements. I'd buy it today. The closest I've seen to someone actually publishing a book that attempts to cover 4chans massive cultural influence is 'hacker hoaxer whistleblower spy', but you are far more versed in the minutiae of it all."

To the Red Pills: do you want your history written by someone who understands what you went through and followed it every day?

Without an alternative history, your experiences from the first quarter of the 21st century will be judged through the lens and politics of mainstream academic theory. Not only will this be inaccurate, it will reflect the Orwellian aims of the current establishment, which silences alternative voices, suppresses independent implementations of technology, and absorbs the best of tech start-ups and cyber-movements, while removing their independent legacies from the record.

This is a complete misunderstanding of being red-pilled. It’s not about right- or left-wing pre-21st century paradigm politics, projected onto hacktivists. Its about having your world view shattered and acting accordingly. https://t.co/VJ9jxhwSGV

— LC Douglass (@tamaranorbust) May 24, 2020

Without a crowd-funded, real-time, red-pilled history, the story of life on the early Internet will be written by scholars funded by the likes of Bill Gates, Eric Schmidt, and Jeff Bezos. You know how it will read.

Going forward, alternative voices won't just be erased from the Internet. They will be erased from history. He who writes history provides the future world view.

This is why I am writing my first collection of essays on this early Millennial period in Inside the Potemkin Village. In order to finish the book and other writing projects, while also developing that knowledge into community strategies to survive at this challenging time, I am asking for your support.

NOTE: I may change platforms for chat, forums, and virtual meetings; check below for any updates or write to me (here) for new invite links.

Stateless Futures: Crypto, Quadriga, and Anarchy in Acapulco

Court photograph showing Quadriga's book-keeping system; incredibly, the published photograph reveals personal and business data. Image Source: Twitter via Reddit. You can follow updates from Quadriga here.

On the heels of the Dark Overlord 9/11 hacks and bitcoin ransoms, the primary and most reputable Canadian cryptocurrency exchange, QuadrigaCX, has melted down over the past two months after its missing 30-year-old CEO 'died' (or maybe, 'did not die') on 9 December 2018. He supposedly was the only person who had the passwords to the company's cold wallets. A dig into Quadriga reveals interests in charitable orphanages (human trafficking?), e-gold, and money laundering.

The crypto exchange has filed for court protection, which was granted by the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia. As of 5 February 2019, Quadriga has a 30-day stay of proceedings to stop lawsuits from its clients and account holders. The company has to find CAD $250 million in that time. Third-party observer Ernst and Young will oversee the process; they are publishing relevant documents here.

From the story: "It appears #Quadriga transferred customer funds to other #cryptocurrency exchanges, although it isn’t clear what might have happened to the money from there." Curiouser and curiouser. https://t.co/OpPmaUQpvK via @WSJ #Crypto #CryptoNews #cryptocurrencynews

— David G Zeiler ⚡️ (@DavidGZeiler) February 6, 2019

Agreed. An independant analysis made on my side confirms several elements from this article. So far, it seems likely that QCX's "cold wallet" was actually a set of accounts opened on others exchanges (Kraken, Huobi, Binance, etc) and controlled by G.Cotten (or someone else).

— LaurentMT (@LaurentMT) February 3, 2019

We know from court docs that 15.62074542 BTC was transferred to Quadriga hot wallet from Gerrys phone on January 15th, lets hunt down the TX and we will have a confirmed Gerry personal address #quadriga #QuadrigaCX @ProofofResearch pic.twitter.com/Dy9NnSVyf4

— DogePreacher (@DogePreacher) February 6, 2019

#QuadrigaCX #QuadrigaCXscam Scammers Scammers!!!!!! It was a new wallet, there was 1 transaction. I transfered 0.47BTX there. And magically.... the money was moved elsewhere....F U QUADRIGA! pic.twitter.com/K2AyxaRWKy

— ybrenar (@brenarchique) February 3, 2019

[Addendum: the above three tweets were added to this post on 7 February 2019, after the original publication date of the post.]

This case and a recent murder in Acapulco, Mexico reveal how tech-driven internationalism is faring as an alternative to globalism. The latter is growing out of older institutions, legal systems, governments and similar structures. The former is the Wild West: there are thousands of start-ups in the world which are trying to develop decentralized, scalable infrastructure based on block chain technology and smart contracts.

The real question is how these two worlds are contrasting and, more surprisingly, colliding. They are becoming integrated in the shadows.

The conventional assumption is that the established world is legitimate and legal and the alt-world is illegitimate and illegal. The alt-world maintains that the established system is completely corrupt, a rotten, eaten-out hulk, staffed by passive blue pills, complicit agents, and masterminds who want to impoverish and destroy the common people. Underground circles assumed that anything anti-establishment was automatically virtuous, a signpost to a new and better world. Quadriga's collapse suggests that the truth is much more murky and everything is connected.

In Crypto We Trust

Earthcoins launched on 20 December 2013. The earthcoin motto is: "In crypto we trust." Image Source: eBay.

On 8 January 2014, Vice posted an interview which discusses how bitcoin works and why. Quicker Coins:

Bitcoin is the leading crypto-currency in the world.  The currency was first generated by a mysterious group or individual named Satoshi Nakamoto in 2009.

Wiki explains how a currency works when it has no banking or conventional financial infrastructure:

It is a cryptocurrency, so-called because it uses cryptography to control the creation and transfer of money. Users send payments by broadcasting digitally signed messages to the network. Participants known as miners verify and timestamp transactions into a shared public database called the block chain, for which they are rewarded with transaction fees and newly minted bitcoins.

While bitcoin (BTC) and Litecoin (LTC: 'the silver to bitcoin's gold') have emerged as frontrunners, Quicker Coins lists the following currencies which are alternatives to bitcoin: InfiniteCoin, Peercoin, Primecoin, Feathercoin, Devcoin, Terracoin, Namecoin, Freicoin, Dogecoin, Earthcoin, Novacoin, Quark, Stablecoin, Ripples, Anoncoin, BitBar, Chuck Norris Coin, CoinyeCoin, Franko, Asiccoin, CatCoin, BlakeCoin, Bytecoin, 42Coins, Copperlark. They are either bitcoin clones or declare their superiority - as with the Russian Copperlark - based on the type of coding and security their designers use. Anoncoin declares itself the "currency of the underground": 

The only one that supports the darknet with i2p capability.  Join the ranks of the underground forces and start saving up your Anoncoin. ... Why does this project exist? We want to make sure cryptocurrency will still be available for use and trade within the darknets even in the event that the central banks decide to crack down on the bitcoin buisness on a large scale.

Anoncoin is currently the only cryptocoin that supports the i2p darknet. With the addition of being fully tor compatible there is a huge possibility of hiding in plain sight by transferring coins using the darknets only. This  kind of transfer across darknets, exchanges, and “coin mixers” can help you ensure that the coins you received initially either from mining, purchasing, or as payment of services can be fully scrambled and thus not traceable back to your wallet. Even if the blockchain is studied in detail there will be no way to tell which coins belong to what wallet, nor any kind of ID.

Second generation crypto-currencies include Protoshares, eMunie, Mastercoin, MintChip, DYM and Opencoin. What are these things worth in real world currency terms? Look here.

Reihan Salam's Vice interview with Jerry Brito, a senior research fellow at George Mason University's Mercatus Center and director of its Technology Policy Program, is posted below the jump. For more explanations on what these developments mean for society and the economy, see this article at Wired and this podcast interview, in which GoldMoney's Andy Duncan talks to Jon Matonis. See the original bitcoin whitepaper by bitcoin designer 'Satoshi Nakamoto' here and a chat with bitcoin investors, the Winklevoss twins, here.

Litecoin mining contract on eBay. The bitcoin motto is Vires in Numeris ('strength in numbers') and appears here on a litecoin image. Image Source: eBay.

Above the jump: images from listings related to bitcoin and other crypto-currencies on eBay; the eBay listings were current at the time of writing this blog post. EBay's listings include many contracts for crypto-currency mining and bits of hardware necessary to do currency mining.

150 netcoin, physical wallet. Image Source: eBay.

Earthcoin (EAC), pictured at the top of this post, is so new (it launched on 20 December 2013) that its Wikipedia entry (created 8 January) has not been edited yet. A child of litecoin, earthcoin's transactions are authorized by a decentralized peer-to-peer network. Its designers are issuing virtual coins in blocks, the size of which coincide with the movements of the heavens:

[D]ue to the recent cluster in the market we're all seeing developers and teams try to bring something to market that will last, and all we get are quick short lifecycles and 20 more coins before your portfolio can even mature from last week[']s launches...

Our goal isn't to compete, as much as compliment, create balance, and not divert into launching 9 more coins because we can. Instead, we'd like to see what kind of actual substance and value we can create with a coin that represents us all. No matter what race, age, ethnicity, we're all a part of this beautiful planet, and who knows maybe this tiny lil' grass roots idea might be enough to unite some/many of us!

EarthCoin is a new generation scrypt coin that is a descendant of Litecoin. Like Litecoin - it uses scrypt as a proof of work scheme.

EarthCoin uses a 365 day period. It will start with 10,000 coins per block, and it varies in a sine curve with amplitude of 2,000, with a period of one year (like the Earth moving around the Sun).

This means that you start with 10,000 coins, and it adjusts at each block, reaches a maximum of 12,000 coins per block after about 3 months, then it will descend gradually to approx 10,000 coins per block again at about 6 months. Then a new minimum of 8000 coins per block at about 9 months.

Then we reverse that - to climb and return to 10,000 coins per block at one year, before finally cutting the payout in half.

Coin Trader praises earthcoin for something its competitors lack: good marketing (it is "Litecoin with a business plan" and a Facebook page), including the seemingly eco-friendly element in that the coin is named after the planet, and its rewards system follows the seasons:

This is where Earthcoin attempts to differentiate itself, somewhat. As humans, we’re all used to working in different seasons.. now crypto-coin mining is no different. The block rewards system is modeled after the seasonal rotation of the Earth moving around the sun.. an interesting concept, if you’re into mining.

Earthcoin's Website announces the new currency with a breathless, quasi-political, quasi-historical revolutionary overture:

We have all been poisoned for over 100 years and suffer from the same affliction, whether we have been fortunate to live in luxury or poverty, the disease has infected all of us. Some can live with the disease for a lifetime through fortune, some do not get to live at all. Some of us can eat food each and every day, some of us do not get to eat at all.

Fractional reserve fiat currencies have infected all aspects of human existence on the Earth. Through direct examples as mentioned above or through indirect correlation as to how cities are designed or how medicine is administered or where strawberries are grown. Centrally organized institutions regulating the money supply for the betterment of each of their respective nations, trying to outwit one another to achieve exclusive benefits in an ever-expanding inflationary environment that only destroys value with each passing second. Some would call it a common divider. A mechanism through its degradation that has fostered and supported fraud, cheating, manipulation, counterfeit, crime, mistrust and War. ...

Imagine removing regulatory bodies whose sole purpose was to ensure the integrity of a store of value based on a set of standards and measurements through the checks and balances of fallible men and instead giving that responsibility to millions of upon millions of participants plugged into an automated network, leaving standardization and confirmation of value up to perfect algorithms, removed of the human condition.

Imagine waking up each and every day with naturally just a little bit more money than you had yesterday.

Imagine how cities would be designed sustainably and how a man’s efforts in Bangladesh would be rewarded with the same incentive as a man in the United States.

Imagine how loans would be discouraged and instead work effort and product would become more valuable as humanity expanded.

Imagine travelling anywhere in the World to buy anything from anyone without middlemen transaction fees or conversions. Imagine storing your currency on your password protected cell phone where you are able to buy anything anywhere at anytime, simply by scanning your QR-Code.

Imagine where our efforts were all measured equally, where freedom was for everyone, and where someone had the foresight to plan for the generations to come.

You have been taught not to imagine this. You have been told it is not possible. You have been told this by the very people who manage and control the fractional reserve, fiat system.

We assure you it is real. We assure you EarthCoin is real. It is already here. The roadmap to be set forth soon for EarthCoin is nothing short of inspirational and revolutionary.

Take back the planet. This isn’t just about paying for things in EarthCoins, this is a about a revolution!

There are warnings on the bitcoin forum against trade in pseudo-currencies outside exchanges (let alone on the exchanges). So what is going on on eBay? Even seasoned crypto-currency forum members were startled to see trade in these coins appear on the mainstream e-auction site. But here we are. According to Bitcoin Talk and the Earthcoin Website, earthcoin exchanges include:

• CRYPTSY
• Coinedup.com
• CoinEx.pw 
• CoinEx EAC/LTC trade
• btc38
• btc-8.com (EAC/CNY trade) and (EAC/BTC trade)   
• REDDIT trades 
•  Coinmarketcap

Bitcoin (BTC) Paper Wallet with 0.1BTC balance. Image Source: eBay.

QuadrigaCX: Opinions and Sources

Image Source: PrestonMartelly.

[NOTE (7 April 2020): Updates on this post after March 2019 were interrupted by the hospitalization and subsequent death of a family member. If I update information on Quadriga, they will appear in new posts.]

This blog will embark on a larger exploration into decentralized institutions and how they are relating to mainstream institutions, governments and globalism. To support that research, this post will feature links, opinions, and sources on the QuadrigaCX crypto exchange collapse. See my initial post on QuadrigaCX's meltdown, here.

Horrific stories involving QuadrigaCX emerging.

A former US-based software engineer lost $422,000, all of his savings he gained working 7 years to move back to Canada.

He sent crypto to Quadriga, filed withdrawal in October, hasn't received the money.https://t.co/zoLMnkU4Yz

— Joseph Young (@iamjosephyoung) February 9, 2019

11 February 2019: TRON CEO Justin Sun offered a job to QuadrigaCX client Tong Zhou who lost $422,000 on the exchange. Image Source: UToday.

Tong Zhou was an ex-@BitTorrent employee and I am saddened by the news of the loss of his life savings in Quadriga CX's digital EX. I sympathize with his predicament and would like to hereby extend an offer to him to once again return to #BitTorrent. #TRON https://t.co/TFh41DWD77

— Justin Sun (@justinsuntron) February 11, 2019

Vlog - QuadrigaCX, how I lost my life savings, how I am dealing with it so far.. (15 February 2019). Video Source: Youtube.

By the second week of February 2019, the picture of QuadrigaCX as presented by CEO Gerald Cotten's widow, Jennifer Robertson, began falling apart under scrutiny of different cryptocurrencies' blockchains. See the 'Blockchain Forensics' section below in this post for details.

Social Media Innovation:
Crowd-Sourced Truth and Justice

In an innovative twist, Quadriga's users banded together on social media in early February 2019 to change the narrative. Instead of the funds being automatically lost, they set out to discover the truth about the exchange, because this affair is possibly "just the tip of the iceberg" in the cryptosphere and beyond it.

Together, Quadriga's users are launching their own investigation and are slowly turning the tide of opinion, first in the establishment, which refuses to touch the crypto space or treat it as a legitimate enterprise. On 8 February 2019, Reuters reported that Canada's biggest securities regulator (the Ontario Securities Commission) was looking into QuadrigaCX and cooperating with an RCMP investigation.

Second, Quadriga's users may sway the crypto sphere, where conventional wisdom and cynicism take lack of trust for granted; anyone who leaves fiat or crypto on an exchange is considered a fool who got what is coming to him or her. Some crypto users would rather look the other way and look at this crime as a non-issue. Quadriga is a transitional test case for mainstream adoption; thus, complacency in crypto circles about the collapse of this large exchange and crimes committed therein will affect that space over the long term.

Unfortunately, it appears that there was a difference between what Quadriga seemed to be and what it really was. Informal investigations and unconfirmed and dodgy information related to Quadriga are listed in the 'Theories' section near the bottom of this post.

On 7 February 2019, Quadriga's users set up a Wiki, qcWiki.org dedicated to their online investigation. Declaring that they were seeking "Crowd Sourced Truth and Justice," the site's founders stated:

"The events surrounding QuadrigaCX are extremely suspect; the official story simply doesn't make sense. As things stand, we're left with a mix of facts, rumors and hearsay. This wiki has been created to organize and verify facts. It will help eliminate the spread of misinformation, bring clarity to those interested in following the case and help law enforcement with their investigation.

If you have information/evidence of potential crimes committed by QuadrigaCX or individuals associated with it, you can contact RCMP Toronto West who are currently investigating.

Phone: (905) 876-9500

Website: Toronto West (Milton)

This is insane, but we’re coming in to help the community. The global crypto ecosystem is coming in to help, stay tuned

— Joseph Wein₿erg ⚡️ (@josephweinberg) February 11, 2019

We were actually discussing (on Reddit) a crowdfund campaign for the legal costs of any contractors who wish to be transparent & speak out. I think this may be a good idea. https://t.co/OnwdDu4EB9

— Mitch Airey⚡ (@MitchAirey) February 11, 2019

PROTEST UPDATE(1/3):
We're working diligently to ensure all hands are on deck in both the planning and execution of the protest on March 5, 2019 in Halifax, NS.

Help plan: https://t.co/O8HydZzW3O
Announcements: https://t.co/kRk6y5DdW6

— Mitch Airey⚡ (@QuadrigaCXed) February 22, 2019

-This post will be continually expanded and updated in chronological order and will serve as a resource and links dump for researchers. Suggestions are welcome in the comments below the post. Over time, I will try to make it as complete as possible.

Time and Politics 11: Lessons in Crypto-Anarchy

Image Source: The Art of Not Being Governed.

Does the predominance of the Internet mean that we can, and will, live in a great, stateless society? On 12 March 2014, BBC's show HARDtalk interviewed Cody Wilson, Gen Y enfant terrible of 3-D printed gun on the Web fame, about the rise of crypto-anarchy.

Wilson expresses a perspective coming from a generation that has grown up without reference points outside of technological immersion. HARDtalk interviewer Stephen Sackur's uneasiness was evident. Wilson displayed cheerful enthusiasm and faint condescension as he dished out life's tough new truths for HARDtalk's viewers, whom he obviously presumed were out of the loop. Wilson was eloquent, voluble, intelligent, and not nice at all. Or perhaps he only meant to appear that way. He has had a media makeover over the past year; for all his disdain for the MSM, he loves publicity.

Wilson dismissed 20th century liberal values as a catechism of control, murder and inefficiency, a grand moralistic delusion which enables state, social and economic oppression. He off-handedly referred to Obama as a "grocery clerk" (in a sly nod to Kurtz's dialogue in Apocalypse Now, Coppola's 1979 version of Heart of Darkness). Wilson's aside spoke volumes: how far will he take us up the river? As far as he - and we - can go. He was giggly and laid back, but make no mistake: he was deadly serious.

Redefinitions of Currency 3: Kim Dotcom's Scary Tweets

Image Source: Greg Sandoval/The Parallax.

Kim Dotcom (aka Kim Schmitz), the Finnish-German-Kiwi Internet pirate, has decided that the USA is going to go the way of Venezuela. Dotcom is piloting a new crypto-powered ecosystem, K.im, and his own branded KimCoin, to reward content creators. This month, the Megaupload and Mega founder, Assange ally, Deep State foe, and founder of the Internet Party has also been writing scary tweets about the future of the US and global economy.

Dotcom has an axe to grind, because his companies' copyright violations led in July 2018 to a New Zealand court ruling that he could face extradition to the United States for racketeering, money laundering, fraud, and criminal copyright charges. While this gives him a motive to trash talk the US, and he is fundraising for a new project to cover his legal bills, Dotcom really believes that America's economy is about to go bust.

He has thought so for awhile. Originally, the hacker was based on the top floor of the five-star Grand Hyatt Hotel in Hong Kong. But Dotcom moved to New Zealand because he felt it was the best place to start and raise a family during and after World War III. As he put it:

"You wouldn't want to be stuck in a penthouse at the top of a hotel tower when it's end days. ... That's why I was looking for a place. And I thought that if I had somewhere in the South Island, shielded by mountain ranges on both sides, I would install a really sophisticated solar power plant. I was thinking if I had something like that, you could survive. New Zealand strategically is the safest spot in the world. It has everything that is required to sit it out and start again."

Dotcom is not alone. The very rich are talking about the end of the world and building bunkers in preparation. They see the future just like the backwoods and doomsday cult preppers, except billionaires build nicer bunkers.

1 TRILLION DOLLARS in additional US Govt debt PER YEAR!

US spending is funded by lenders who will never get paid. US Empire will collapse followed by a world wide economic collapse. https://t.co/kdtB0GnewP

Shift your USD into Gold & Bitcoin asap before USD becomes toilet paper. https://t.co/a5UIuhJvUT

— Kim Dotcom (@KimDotcom) August 9, 2018

Trust me. Buy crypto and gold. Your USD will become worthless. With US economic collapse all old money currencies will crash.

Times will get tough. But you’ll be fine if you hedge some of your assets in preparation for the crash.

The big crash is coming 100%.

— Kim Dotcom (@KimDotcom) August 12, 2018

“We have significantly reduced our investment in US assets. In fact, the dollar, which is considered to be the international currency, becomes a risky tool for payments”

— Finance Minister of Russia

The US debt burden has become unmanagable. Watch USD when China drops US debt.

— Kim Dotcom (@KimDotcom) August 12, 2018

The average total debt per family in the US is now at 845000 USD.

The average unfunded liability in the US is now at 938000 USD per taxpayer.

Anyone who thinks US debt can be solved with economic growth, new debt or printing more dollars is an idiot. US Empire will default.

— Kim Dotcom (@KimDotcom) August 12, 2018

Many economists agree. The US economy and US dollar will collapse under the enormous US debt burden. The pyramid game is coming to an end. Crypto and precious metals will go up when everything else falls. I think it’s going to happen in the next 2 years. https://t.co/kdtB0GnewP https://t.co/3PlheQeQHg

— Kim Dotcom (@KimDotcom) August 19, 2018

Redefinitions of Currency 2: Crypto Venezuela

Venezuela: then and now. Image Source: Total Crypto.

To paraphrase Chris Dixon, technology has changed the underlying drivers of wealth; once, wealth was determined by commodities; then it was decided by politics; and now, wealth is based on mathematics. There is no better indicator of that shift than in Venezuela.

Fiat collapse: Venezuela's currency crisis (20 August 2018). Video Source: Youtube.

Return to the world's oldest economy: Venezuela's economic crisis fuels sex trade (23 August 2018). Video Source: Youtube.

Venezuela: New currency fails to curb hyperinflation | Al Jazeera English (22 August 2018). Video Source: Youtube.

Venezuela is currently Ground Zero for bad news. In one month, the president, Nicolás Maduro, dodged a historic first drone assassination attempt on a world leader. The country survived a 7.3 magnitude earthquake. Millions of Venezuelans are migrating to neighbouring countries, which are becoming less and less welcoming.

The hacktivist group Anonymous dismissed the Maduro assassination attempt as a government hoax, perhaps similar to a recent incident in Zimbabwe; note the discrepancy in footage that showed - and did not show - Maduro's wife, Cilia Flores, from two different cameras. Note also that the source of the differing footage is the Russian network RT (Ruptly) and these could be two separate occasions. Otherwise, this means that there were two versions of the footage of the attack, which were filmed separately. Anonymous - LA VERDAD sobre supuesto atentado contra Nicolás Maduro 2018 [Anonymous - THE TRUTH about alleged attack against Nicolás Maduro 2018] (5 August 2018). Video Source: Youtube.

Maduro's popularity is in the toilet; back-chamber rumours are circulating that he knows secrets about Hugo Chávez's death, that he is in league with the devil, and that he is not a true Venezuelan, but perhaps was born in Colombia, and in any event - it is whispered - he will die soon, though not by assassination. Other rumours are circulating the president tried to escape Venezuela in secret on 26 August 2018, knowing that the situation is irreparable. The cult of personality may not provide a suitable replacement, since alternatives to Maduro, like María Gabriela Chávez, are not popular either.

A New Day is Dawning

Bitcoin and the global markets | Funny | 2020 (31 March 2020). Video Source: Youtube. Hat tip: The Dollar Vigilante.

A new day is dawning. Will mainstream financial entities consume the cryptospace or will they be consumed by it? That is the topic of discussion this Friday evening (31 July 2020 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Eastern (22:00 to 01:00 UTC)) on the blog's Discord group.

• My invitation link to Crypto.com is here: (referral code: zju6byz4vq).

• My Coinbase invitation is here.


• My Bitbuy referral link is here (referral ID: 9NNHWIHWE).


• Binance, here (referral IDs: 41817819 or IBYYBGRH).

• My Swissborg referral link is here.

• Wealthsimple's crypto waitlist is here.

• BTC: 1NnSDexmAjopLUhdxu6jzChFNpxrGzHpT9

• DOGE: DJPwPuXqNoqUJxC3oj4SZPbKHmqRt3ESQT

Politics, Ideology and the Technosphere 2: Anarchists and Luciferians

Image Source: The Transmetropolitan Review via The Conversation.

This year, I am presenting a series on ideology and the technosphere. The series rejects mainstream political discourse and returns to first principles, historical background, and online trends to deconstruct the current evolution of politics.

Thus far and in today's post, I have identified the following components of tech-oriented politics:

• New political terms, like the Red Pill and Black Pill
• The weaponization of political virtues, morals, ideals, and values, leading to inversions of those values in practice
• Internet dynamics and unpredictability
• New moral, spiritual, or ethical frameworks of common reference

Positive Values, Negative Outcomes: Our Inverted World

Political virtues, moral labels, and positive platforms contrast with real outcomes, whether in everyday reality or online practice. There is a vast gap between what people say they are doing politically and what actually happens. On the Internet, this gap is exposed and described, especially among the alt media and conspiracy theorists, as corruption.

Recession, Apocalypse and Hipster Futures

"The photo was taken December 7, 1978 in Albuquerque, New Mexico before the company moved its offices to Washington. The people in the photo are (from left to right, starting at the top) Steve Wood, Bob Wallace, Jim Lane, Bob O' Rear, Bob Greenberg, Marc McDonald, Gordon Letwin, Bill Gates, Andrea Lewis, Marla Wood, and Paul Allen." Image/Text Source: Museum of Hoaxes.

Remember the poster of the original members of Microsoft Corp. in 1978, which challenges investors' ability to recognize future trends? Museum of Hoaxes comments on the Baby Boomer board's future worth:

If you had chosen to invest your money with this bunch of scruffy looking characters back in 1978, you'd be quite rich now. But how rich did the people in the photo become? Here's their estimated wealth, listed in descending order:

Bill Gates: Still with Microsoft as it's chairman and chief software architect. His fortune is somewhere in the range of $50 billion.

Paul Allen: Left Microsoft in 1983 but remains a senior strategy advisor to the company. Worth around $25 billion.

Bob O'Rear: Left Microsoft in 1983. Is now a cattle rancher and is worth around $100 million.

Bob Greenberg: Left Microsoft in 1981 and then helped launch those Cabbage Patch Dolls that were so popular in the 1980s. Last time anyone checked, he was worth around $20 million.

Jim Lane: Left Microsoft in 1985. Now has his own software company and is worth around $20 million.

Gordon Letwin: Left Microsoft in 1993 and now devotes himself to environmental causes. Is worth around $20 million.

Steve and Marla Wood: They both left Microsoft in 1980 and Marla then sued the company for sex discrimination. They're worth around $15 million.

Bob Wallace: Left Microsoft in 1983. Worth around $5 million.

Andrea Lewis: Was Microsoft's first technical writer. Left the company in 1983. Worth around $2 million.

Marc McDonald: Was Microsoft's first employee. Left the company in 1984, but recently rejoined the company when Microsoft bought Design Intelligence, the company he was working for. Has the honor of getting to wear badge number 00001. Probably worth at least $1 million.

Nothing has changed since 1978. It is equally difficult to recognize today's counterparts of Microsoft Corp.'s scruffy characters.

2012: Would you invest in this man? Image Source: Bike Co.

This post is about two things: the tanking economy and the Internet-based underclass who will be architects of a future society in the post-recession wreckage, if they are lucky.

First, the tanking economy. Yesterday, the market plunged in another general global loss of confidence. The Wall Street Journal summarized the rat-a-tat-tat of headlines: Moody's downgraded the ratings of fifteen financial firms with global capital markets operations; Asian markets sank over fears of a "deepening global economic slowdown"; US stocks suffered the second worst day of 2012; for the EU, the advice was to dump Greece, and save Italy and Spain; and tech stocks slumped in a broad sector retreat. Following yesterday's Wall Street nosedive, Aussie stocks opened down today. Business Spectator: "The Australian stock market extended its losses at noon on the back of disappointing economic data from China and Europe and a move from the US Federal Reserve's to slash its growth forecast for the United States." The psychological atmosphere in the financial sector yesterday was one of anxiety, worry, frustration and thwarted premature optimism.

In other words, the recent economic recovery was only a middle part of a double-dip recession; the economy passed through the calm eye of a storm and is now hitting the wall on the other side. This argument demolishes the fiction that the recession ended in 2009, when it is in fact still ongoing. Today's drop was predicted by Charles Nenner, a former Goldmanite who remarked in March 2012 that the stock market rally in the first quarter of this year - the best since 1998 - would peak in April. He promised (here) that the rally would be followed by a plunge, which is now occurring.

Time and Politics 18: Quid Pro Quo

Follow Your Dreams/Cancelled by Banksy (2010) on a wall in Boston's Chinatown. Image Source: Lifehack.

Do not ask if the middle class is dead and where the political blame lies. Ask how much time you have, now that they are dying or already dead. Ask what has happened in the past in other societies after a middle class has died. Most people in the middle classes are waiting for things to improve. If that does not happen, there are two modern roads out of extreme social inequality and economic disparity: revolution or a police state. This was the message, on 20 March 2016, when BBC World News broadcast a programme on the post-recession destruction of the middle classes, entitled The Super Rich and Us, hosted by Jacques Peretti.

For a time after the Second World War, the social contract became quid pro quo - meaning, 'this for that' or 'something for something.' In English-speaking countries, it is a contractual concept under the Common Law, "an item or service traded in return for something of value." The Latin expression is the source for the British slang 'quid' for the pound sterling. One would work for a certain amount of time and gain money and a livelihood in return. Now however, the social contract is increasingly just - quo.

Infosec and the Totalitarian Principle

The Intercept: "New Study Shows Mass Surveillance Breeds Meekness, Fear and Self-Censorship" (28 April 2016). Image Source: The Intercept (Hat tip: Edward Snowden).

On 26 April 2016, the political commentator Fareed Zakaria, host of CNN's main foreign affairs programme, GPS, debated ex-NSA contractor Edward Snowden for NYU Wagner's Debates of the Century, on whether the American government should have access to privately-held technology and private data. Debates of the Century:

"Some people believe the recent dispute between the FBI and Apple over a locked iPhone marks the return of what privacy advocates called the 'crypto wars' of the 1990s, when federal authorities tried and failed to mandate government access to most forms of electronic communication. Although the FBI managed to decrypt the iPhone at issue without the company’s help, Apple and others are racing to build devices and messaging services that no one but their owners can unlock. The legal question remains unresolved in Congress, where competing bills have been introduced, and in dozens of cases pending in state and federal courts.

Law enforcement agencies believe their vital mission requires compulsory access, under valid court order, to any device or communications stream. Leading technology companies (backed by some other U.S. government voices) say they cannot meet law enforcement demands without undermining customer security and privacy against hackers and foreign adversaries. Edward Snowden and Fareed Zakaria disagree on which course better serves society at large. Should companies be required to break into their own encrypted products, and should they be allowed to sell encryption that no one can break?" 

Awaken the Amnesiacs 1: The Gnostic-Hermetic Synthesis of 2015

Image Source: Spiritual Unite.

Western culture is undergoing a shift. New Age circles have been buzzing about it for the past few years, especially since the recession and 2012. Their chatter is now reaching a dull roar. For skeptics who want the TL;DR version, here is the

Executive Summary.
Several online movements are currently combining hermeticism and gnosticism to realign western values.

What this means.
Hermeticism combines monotheistic arcane traditions to inspire blind leaps in how we understand the world. Its early triad of alchemy, astrology and theurgy were termed as the 'three parts of the wisdom of the whole universe.' These translate in our terms into three aspects: first, science and rationalism of the mind; second, politics and emotions in the physical, the choices made to change the "life of matter and material existence"; and third, spirituality, our grasp of the relationship between the soul and what we define as divine. Sometimes associated with old Arab mysticism and the Kabbalah, sometimes with the occult, the Tarot and astrology, sometimes with Freemasonry, hermeticism is prevalent in popular culture today. This syncretic practice is being applied to gnostic philosophical unions of masculine and feminine principles to enable a shift in western perspectives. Much of this combination is due to the aftermath and reappraisal of 1960s' social revolutions, playing out during the Technological and Communications revolutions of the 2000s and 2010s. The philosophical synthesis also shows the next level of western engagement with virtual reality. Surging in the latter half of 2015, the trend may constitute a Fifth Great Awakening in America, but it is also evident in other western countries.

From September 2015. Image Source: Power of Consciousness.