My reflections on the awful plea deal that Julian Assange was forced to take in exchange for his freedom and the threat it presents to freedom of the press. And the good news: Assange definitively proved that information does, indeed, want to be free.

Latest episode of my weekly podcast JUST ASKING QUESTIONS examines the latest economic data out of Argentina six months into Javier Milei’s presidency. In short, monthly inflation rate down, consecutive monthly budget surpluses, bond market recovering, major bill just passed Senate, approval ratings still positive despite extremely rough economy. Looks like the wild Libertarian presidente might know a thing or two about governing after all…

If you're ever looking to purple pill a friend, this discussion I hosted with @jb55 and @DETERMINISTIC OPTIMISM 🌞 ain't a bad place to start.

Why has FDR’s dark side been hidden? Just asking questions. Censoring opponents through regulatory pressure. Mass surveillance of private messages. Indefinite detainment of Americans. Abuse of emergency powers. Does this style of governance remind you of anything? Check out my recent interview with historian David Beito about his revealing new book, “The New Deal’s War on the Bill of Rights.”

The founders of Samourai Wallet have been indicted for "conspiracy to commit money laundering." We know why it's "conspiracy to commit" as opposed to just "money laundering." It's because what they did was provide a privacy tool that some people could use for money laundering. It is part of the government's ongoing war on privacy, specifically financial privacy. Those in power yearn for every transaction to be tracked, taxed and, if need be, frozen. The action against the Canadian truckers was the template, and CBDCs (programmable, instantly manipulated money) are the tool of control that they ultimately want. First, they must dismantle the privacy-centric alternatives so there's no viable exit ramp once CBDCs and the like are implemented. That's what we've been witnessing with the attacks on coin tumblers like Tornado Cash and today's attack on Samourai. They will point to bad people using these tools, just as they pointed out that Hamas raised some funds in various cryptocurrencies, without noting that a vast amount of money laundering happens with government-issued currency. It's the same kind of bad-faith argument the FBI made in the '90s when they tried to kill end-to-end encryption altogether. "Sometimes terrorists might use it." Ok, and? They also use pressure cookers. The internet as we know it today would not exist if they had succeeded. They are unlikely to succeed this time either, but unfortunately there will be casualties in the war on privacy, and those casualties will be those who openly thwart their ambitions of total surveillance. My 2022 video including an interview with a Samourai Wallet founder here:

Momentum is building to "child-proof" the internet by requiring social media age verification. It appears likely that a combination of legislative action and immense political pressure on tech companies over the next 2-3 years will lead to what amounts to a Digital ID for virtually any website where users interact with each other. Online anonymity will become vanishingly rare. This is one way Nostr becomes a final refuge for those seeking surveillance-free, unmediated communication.

How bitcoin transforms energy use 0:00 - Brooklyn’s bitcoin-heated bath house 2:28 - Bitcoin mining’s unquenchable thirst for cheap energy 4:10 - Why decentralization matters 5:14 - How bitcoin mining transformed a small Georgia farming town 6:35 - How bitcoin miners maximize energy efficiency 7:45 - Could bitcoin bootstrap solar power? 9:15 - How bitcoin monetizes “stranded energy” 9:38 - Answering bitcoin’s environmentalist critics 10:49 - How bitcoin stopped a Texas blackout 12:42 - Underground miners fixed Venzuela’s power lines 14:20 - The impossibility of stopping bitcoin

What's the best, safest, most reliable p2p btc exchange at the moment?

Back from a long weekend in the semi-autonomous free zone of Prospera on the Honduran island of Roatán for the “Alternative Visions in Governance” conference hosted by Reason Foundation. Lots of stimulating discussion about “markets in governance” and the power of exit. A phrase that stuck with me as I contemplate the power shifts unfolding in the early 21st century: “Softening of sovereignty.” Will be sharing a recorded convo soon. Pic: Me in Prospera last year drinking coffee purchased with bitcoin earned on Nostr in front of Amity Age Bitcoin Education Center, which has helped ~60 of the island’s vendors set up payments.

Julian Assange published material exposing uncomfortable truths about America's wars, and the US charged him with violating the Espionage Act for it. @Liz Wolfe and I talked about his ongoing imprisonment with his wife Stella assange on this week's show.