145 - Back in Bangkok
🇹🇭 On Saturday, V and I flew down here to Bangkok onto the next stage of our journey. We are staying near Petchaburi MTR station, just next to Sukhumvit - so right in the center of Bangkok - say Hello if you are in town!
We are happy to be back in Bangkok. We have already got back into our routines and are enjoying every day to the max. We have restarted swimming every day and I am also planning to get back to doing yoga which has been suspended since my operation back in February. We have a nice swimming pool and we seem to get it pretty much to ourselves (though our pool last year was better, being out in the full sunshine) and there is a large gym as well as a co-working space in our building - all included in our rental.
Monday evening I was already out at the Satoshi Square Bitcoiner meetup. Nice to see the familiar faces again and, as usual I met a few new people from around the world. It is great to talk with these people and get insights to how things really are around the world - as opposed to the Empire Propaganda that Mainstream espouses. I got some interesting updates in insights into Turkey and Canada as well as around Europe and was able to catch up on all that I have missed here in Bangkok!
Bangkok is already decked out for Christmas, although the hoards of tourists do not seem to have arrived yet. There are huge Christmas trees and Christmas lights everywhere around the city and there are lots of celebrations and festivals planned in the evenings and weekends.
A great place to go in the evening in Benjasiri Park. Get there around 6pm as the sun sets and the atmosphere is perfect. There are hundreds of people in the park, jogging around the sides, kids playing the playgrounds, open-air exercise classes (free to join) as well as the ad-hoc gym (people bring and leave equipment for everyone to use). There are also very active basketball, volley-ball and takraw matches that are also free to join and everyone is welcome.
I nearly forgot! This is the third anniversary of my Newsletter. It originally started out as "Letter from Hong Kong" but when the Covid Lunacy struck and we were forced to evacuate it became - "Letter from… around the world". I hope you have found it informative and at least somewhat inspiring - which is your favourite? I love to get feedback and to take the discussions further so feel free to reach out or say Hello some time! Remember that all the newsletters are available to read on the website and the first one is here.
Book of the week
Thanks to one of my subscribers who pushed me to read this book. Last year he also pushed me to read Harari's earlier book that I also found surprisingly insightful, informative and enjoyable. You can read my review of Sapiens here.
Yuval Harari is, or is portrayed to be, a rather odious character fronting the Agenda of the WEF. As we discussed last week, disagreeing with someone on something does not discredit everything they do or say and very often if you genuinely apply the spirit of Ethical Skepticism you will learn a lot more.
The book delves into the intricate relationship between information and power throughout human history. Harari argues that control over information has consistently equated to authority, shaping societies from ancient oral traditions to the modern digital landscape. Some key themes and insights from the book:
- Power Dynamics: Those who manage the flow of information—be it religious leaders, academics, or media moguls—have historically wielded significant power. This control has evolved from simple storytelling to complex digital networks, fundamentally altering societal structures and decision-making processes.
- The Role of Fictions: Humanity often builds networks of cooperation through shared fictions and myths, which can both unify and mislead societies. The book critiques how these narratives can lead to self-destructive behaviours, particularly in the context of ecological and technological challenges
He then introduces the concept of a "Silicon Curtain", reflecting the geopolitical divide in AI development between nations like China and the West. He warns that as AI becomes increasingly autonomous it could create new forms of power that are disconnected from human oversight, potentially leading to greater societal divides.
He presents numerous historical examples to illustrate the control of information and its impact on power dynamics throughout history:
- The Catholic Church: The Catholic Church maintained control over information through dogmas and doctrines, which shaped societal beliefs for centuries. This centralised control prevented self-correction and allowed the spread of erroneous information, demonstrating how powerful networks can perpetuate falsehoods without accountability.
- Totalitarian Regimes: He examines the ideological extremes of Nazism and Stalinism as examples of how totalitarian systems sought to centralise information. These regimes utilised propaganda and censorship to control narratives, suppress dissent, and maintain power, ultimately leading to their downfall due to the inability to adapt to complex realities.
- Colonialism and Industrial Technologies: He highlights the misuse of industrial technologies during colonialism, showing how advancements were often employed to exert control over populations and resources. This historical context emphasises the potential dangers of information networks when wielded by those in power.
- Democracy vs. Totalitarianism: He contrasts democratic systems, which rely on decentralised information networks that encourage open discussion and criticism, with authoritarian regimes that centralise control. This comparison illustrates how the management of information is crucial for political stability and societal resilience.
- The Compilation of Religious Texts: There is a fascinating discussion on the historical processes involved in compiling religious texts, such as the New Testament, highlighting how debates over what constitutes sacred information can have far-reaching consequences for societies.
All this and much more. I highly recommend that you read this. A good way to do it is to get the audiobook (it's good) and also the paper or electronic copy and read along. Like that you can focus and make your own notes as you go.
One thing that I disliked intensely was the insertion of several seemingly incontrovertible "truths" that are, in fact inter-subjective or fictions. Of course these "truths" state the WEF/Empire agenda points of Moon-Landing, 9/11 terrorists, Climate Change and Covid vaccines. The one saving grace on this is that since they come in the chapter on shared fictions and myths you ought to be able to spot them as such and once you see one of them the others pop out easily. To me this felt like it could have been an editor who inserted them but I am not entirely ready to give him the benefit of the doubt on this! WDYT? Let me know.
More in this issue
- Photo memories - around Bangkok this week
- Project Updates - Focus on Nostr - Primal leads the way
- Plenty of useful links - don't say nobody told you!
- Closing out - The Gateway Process and Tapes - Monroe Institute
Around Bangkok this week
🛠️ Project Updates
A few project-related updates this week. Firstly, Primal is going global and worldwide with their feature packed release 2.0 - do listen to the interview. To try it yourself you can read Gandlaf21's great post on eCash and I wrap up with some thoughts on the Hunger Games and Microsoft Board meeting.
Primal goes for goal
Miljan is the Founder and CEO of Primal, one of the most popular nostr and bitcoin apps in the world. His team recently launched Primal 2.0, bringing users more functionality than ever before. Bitcoin is an open protocol for money, nostr is an open protocol for speech, Primal brings the power of both into an easy to use interface for everyone.
- New tab: READS. Explore the latest Nostr-native long-form content via multiple feeds, including Nostr Reads, Bitcoin Reads, Philosophy Reads, News Reads, and a variety of other custom feeds available on the Feed Marketplace.
- New tab: EXPLORE. Explore custom feeds, profiles and people, zap events, media posts, and hashtag-related topics.
- Feed Marketplace. Explore a variety of custom and paid DVMs that deliver focused notes on demand.
- Advanced Search. New, highly customisable search options including specific words, event type, time, scope, and much more.
- Primal Premium. A $7/month paid service for supporters, allowing them to obtain premium services such as a custom Primal Name and other Nostr tools for power users. This is important as it establishes a non-advertising-based business basis.
- Performance improvements. Better, faster, harder, stronger.
Gandlaf's thoughts on eCash
Gandlaf21 is one of the developers that I met here in Thailand. For the last two years he has been working actively with Calle and the team on one of my favourite projects - Cashu and Chaumian eCash. He recently took to Nostr to write this very informative post on eCash on what eCash is and why it is special. You would do well to click through and read this - on the new Reads tab in Primal!
Click to read Gandlaf's fabulous explainer
You will notice that this is published on Nostr and that Primal now has a "Reads" tab that identifies all such posts on Nostr and collates them for ease of reading and reference. Click below for many more great reads.
Click to access all the long reads on Nostr
The Hunger Games Begin
You likely know that my view on Bitcoin is that it is the best money and the best way to store wealth and productive output. I do not trade crypto nor do I recommend others to do so - but I share this with you so that you are aware what is going on and how things may well evolve in this area in the weeks and months to come.
The most important and insightful remarks are from James at the start. Beware of the Fallacy of Market Capitalisation - trading is done at the margins and this is what sets the price and this is why prices are so volatile for assets that are thinly traded and depending on sentiment. You might recall that we already discussed this in Parker's article (Bitcoin's exchange theory of value) and in relation to upcoming commodity based currencies and BRICS developments - check here.
ICYMI - with Bitcoin there are more useful metrics like Realised Cap (see here) that tends to set a lower bound on price and is more akin to what people think Market Cap means. This is audited every 10 minutes by all of the bitcoin nodes around the world - this is one of the reasons why Bitcoin really is better money.
Meanwhile in the den of the Empire
You may have heard that activist shareholders voted that Microsoft should evaluate holding Bitcoin in their company treasury in addition to (if not yet instead of) government bonds that are guaranteed to lose value through debasement. Michael Saylor does his best to help them with this 3-minute presentation. 3 minutes is all they gave him. You might want to pause and take your time to read the slides; they are packed with valuable information.
Even if you are not a Company Director, you should be able to appreciate this.
🔗 Links for your edification
The following are links from my NetNewswire feeds - learn, enjoy and share.
Is a False Flag event imminent?
I did already share this one in last week's Closing Thoughts but after talking with quite a few subscribers I feel it is important enough to post again here - ICYMI. Click through and read Alex's substack - or click the video and he will read it to you.
Alex Krainer
IMPORTANT - Click to read or have Alex read it to you
Think Lusitania, Pearl Harbour and 9/11 and Nord Stream Pipeline. The Empire believes that there are circumstances when a galvanising event must be orchestrated to detonate the greater conflict, and the list of known examples through history is very long - he cites many in his article and it may well now be one of those times. WDYT?
On a lighter and more positive note
This is not unrelated to Alex's article above. In fact if you have read The Creature from Jekyll Island you will be well aware that the formation of the Federal Reserve in 1913 was but one step in a multi-decade gameplay that is being played out. The Fed is neither Federal (it is a private corporation), nor is it a Reserve (it creates only Debt for its citizens) - this is just another example of the Perverse Matrix in which we live.
Fortunately, Peter suggests a plan and it's worth a listen. He points out that the tools to do this are readily at hand and, as we discussed last week, Argentina was a dress rehearsal for what could be.
Click below to read the entire article with charts and all:
Peter St Onge
Click to read - all the pieces exist and are at hand
🤔 Closing Thoughts
I mentioned above that I had stopped my daily yoga practice after my operation back in February. I have not been wasting my time, however. For the last few months, I have been using that time to listen to the Gateway Tapes from Monroe Institute. First thing in the morning when you wake up really is the best time for this; do it in the evenings and you are likely to doze off - not so in the morning!
In case you wonder what this is all about, watch and listen to Dan's excellent explainer of his experience of doing this for two years. I am still at the Focus 10 level but looking forward to moving beyond. What about you? I'd be happy to discuss with anyone who has experience of using these recordings - let me know!
Click for Dan's personal explainer - how about you?
If you are intrigued by this and want to go deeper, I suggest that you can start by reading the declassified Gateway Process Documentation.
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No one can be told what The Matrix is. You have to see it for yourself.
- Morpheus to Neo in The Matrix
- The Architect
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