July 2023 - cypherpunks@lists.ogf.org

UFO: Inside the BlackVault, FOIA POSSE, MKULTRA, ARTICHOKE, BLUEBIRD
by grarpamp 21 Jan '24

21 Jan '24

https://www.cjr.org/special_report/black-vault-foia-john-greenewald.php https://twitter.com/blackvaultcom https://www.theblackvault.com/documentarchive/cia-mkultra-collection/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcrHQYXIodvtf7omyx10LHA https://www.theblackvault.com/documentarchive/u-s-navy-confirms-videos-depi… https://twitter.com/JasonLeopold/status/1208104526286225409 https://knightfoundation.org/reports/mapping-the-civic-data-universe/ https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/They-Are-Already-Here/Sarah-Scoles/9… https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Men_Who_Stare_at_Goats https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/research/a30645682/navy-ufo-paten… In the summer of 1996, John Greenewald, fifteen years old and fascinated by UFOs, was living at his parents’ house, in the San Fernando Valley. Like his dad, an ex-Marine who worked as a welder on the space shuttle and Mars landers, Greenewald liked looking up at the stars. One day he decided to feed his curiosity by surfing the Web, which at the time meant dialing into America Online and waiting patiently. When he had a connection, he went to the Computer UFO Network, or cufon, a site that had been around since, believe it or not, 1983, disseminating “reliable, verifiable information” on UFO phenomena. cufon had just posted what it claimed to be a document from the United States government describing the sighting of a mother ship—that is, a large aircraft that could release smaller “parasite” aircraft—flying over Iran. Greenewald clicked. It was a report from... Greenewald sent a foia request for the missing files, but the CIA said it could not find them. Greenewald then sent a ninety-seven-page fax to the CIA proving their existence. The CIA admitted it had made a mistake but said that Greenewald would need to pay $425.80 for the remaining pages. For a while he called himself an archivist. “But at this point I don’t even know if that’s accurate, because it is more than that. I’m trying to educate the public on what really is there to be discovered. I’m not sure how to label it.”

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Memo #4 - Goldman Sachs Deferred Prosecution Agreement
by Gunnar Larson 19 Jan '24

19 Jan '24

March 10, 2022 BY ELECTRONIC MAIL Mr. John Marzulli United States Department of Justice Eastern District of New York 271 Cadman Plaza East Brooklyn New York, 11201 John.Marzulli(a)usdoj.gov Re: Memo #4 - Goldman Sachs Deferred Prosecution Agreement Dear Mr. Marzulli: The Department of Justice has yet to respond to Memo #1, Memo #2 and Memo #3 with our recent inquiry to the 1Malaysia Development Berhad Deferred Agreement. Goldman Sachs' Deferred Prosecution Agreement <https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/pr/goldman-sachs-resolves-foreign-bribery…> with the United States of America is in potential breach, with ethical enforcement being concerned. Memo #4 aims to associate the malfeasance in Malaysia with war crimes of aggression (in the planning, initiation, or execution of a large-scale and serious act of aggression), leveraging the world’s only military divided capital city Nicosia, Cyprus. 1. Additionally, Memo #4 aims to earn the DOJ’s assessment of New York State’s regulatory marketplace manipulation deriving the war crime against peace, related to the planning, preparation, initiation, waging or participation in a common plan or conspiracy related to a war of aggression, which can only apply in relation to international armed conflict. 2. In this case, the first challenge is to observe and consider the simple idea that the DOJ’s Deferred Prosecution Agreement with Goldman Sachs alone, through means of regulatory arbitrage naively fails to recognize the ‘cause and effect’ relationship at play at the inception of Memo #4’s assertion of war crimes. 3. Even with the best of intentions, perhaps unknowingly the DOJ may be amplifying the effect of potential war crimes by indirectly supplementing the root cause of the problem and financial model of the Deferred Agreement being self-policing. Mr. Marzulli, there has been an active United Nations peacekeeping mission in Cyprus since the 1964 Turkish military invasion and occupation of the northern third of Cyprus. Only Turkey recognises the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, while there is broad recognition that the ongoing military presence constitutes occupation of territories that are under Turkish military control. - The graduate education behind Memo #4 is a product of the University of Nicosia’s (UNIC) main campus, located adjacent to the United Nations Buffer Zone that separates the invaded Turkish Republic of North Cyprus and the Republic of Cyprus, which joined the European Union in 2004. - Memo #4 is also a product of United Nations consultancy, based at its Manhattan headquarters, where (today, what is now xNY.io - Bank.org) was credited with increasing the breadth and accessibility of reference content from the world’s most important multinational organization. - Memo #4’s subject of war crimes has preeminent association with such projects as the Audio Visual Library of International Law. Over the following sections, Memo #4 will provide a detailed timeline that would constitute real concern of the war crime of aggression yielding the war crime against peace in active war conflict in the world’s only military divided capital, funded from Manhattan Island. The Bank of Cyprus and Illegal Short Selling Irregularities of Turkey’s Markets Mr. Marzulli, turn this matter as we will, and look at it from any side whatsoever, and it presents the appearance of a cross-border act of aggression. Goldman Sachs’ potential disrespect to the Deferred Agreement’s core values has cultivated new crimes that aim to manipulate cross-border war crime regulatory frameworks. - On April 02, 2021 the Financial Times reported that Turkey fined Goldman Sachs over alleged irregularities in short selling, just a week after foreign investors pulled $1.9B from the country’s stock and bond markets. Turkey’s Capital Markets Board said that Goldman Sachs was among 10 securities firms that had placed orders for short selling without proper notification, violating rules enacted previously that temporarily prohibited such transactions. - On April 20, 2021 the CyprusMail (Cyprus’ only English Language daily newspaper) reported Goldman Sachs International acted as Global Coordinators and Dealer Managers in a $330M bond issuance for the Bank of Cyprus. Given the active military conflict in Cyprus, Memo #4 notes that there is one place on the planet you are not supposed to do this sort of thing. Furthermore, the DOJ’s Deferred Agreement with Goldman Sachs may have been tainted with the potential war crime of aggression, risking international peace and the lives of United Nations peacekeepers, while jeopardizing the United States of America’s financial security. Concern of New York Prime Bank Instrument Fraud and Marketplace Manipulation The United States Department of the Treasury warns that Prime Bank Instrument Fraud schemes have attracted significant international attention, since individuals and organizations have lost billions of dollars worldwide. "Prime Bank Instrument Fraud" is the general term given to prime bank fraud schemes that go by many different names. During April 2021, Goldman Sachs could not in good faith (and, plausible deniability) make any reasonable claim of holding a pristine relationship with Turkey’s Central Bank or with Cyprus’ largest financial institutions, given the 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal and then pending Deferred Prosecution Agreement with the United States of America. - Memo #4 suggests that Goldman Sachs developed a Prime Bank Instrument Fraud program to level out yo-yo market dynamics caused by failed marketplace manipulation exercises in Turkey and Cyprus. - Systematic bank fraud and/or marketplace manipulation of any kind between Turkey and Cyprus could constitute the war crime of aggression. - Furthermore, Memo #4 argues that Goldman Sachs may have tried to bambooze governments in New York, Cyprus and Turkey through regulatory arbitrage loopholes, while Goldman seemingly may have not considered the totality of such actions as war crimes. Turkey has the highest inflation in Europe. It has the second-highest rate of inflation among emerging markets, just behind Argentina. It has the 13th highest inflation rate in the world, ranking it between South Sudan and Nigeria. After Goldman Sachs was fined for illegal stock and bond market short selling by the Turkish government, logic would argue further malfeasance potentially could have been avoided by the DOJ’s 1Malaysia Development Berhad investigation. - On April 15, 2021 CNBC reported that Goldman Sachs (note, the previous section’s milestones of April 02, 2021 and April 20, 2021) crucially removed its bias toward Turkey tightening interest rates. Goldman issued guidance highlighting the fact that the bank thought that, “…the removal of the tightening bias against rising inflation expectations suggests that the TCMB (Turkish Central Bank) now has a more dovish reaction function.” - On August 14, 2021 the CyprusMail reported serious concern among economists about data reporting from the Turkish Statistical Institute. Ahmet Takan, a former official with the office of the Turkish prime minister, acted as a whistle blower, warning that Turkey potentially was manipulating inflation data. - On September 1, 2021 Reuters reported that Goldman Sachs hiked Turkish growth forecasts. Goldman economists issued guidance stating, "Overall, the Turkish economy has been able to grow faster than we thought without a deterioration in its external balances, as the pickup in foreign demand has been very supportive." - On November 30, 2021 Reuters reported that Goldman Sachs trimed Turkey’s 2022 growth forecast. Goldman Sachs' Murat Unur stated, "We think that the GDP figures released today tell us little about the pace of economic activity going forward as the recent sell-off in the Lira is likely to impact economic activity significantly" Mr. Marzulli, the DOJ’s Deferred Prosecution Agreement with Goldman Sachs was signed on October 21, 2021. The timeline of events above do not coincide with terms and conditions of the Deferred Agreement mandated by the United States of America. Furthermore, as an international graduate scholars of the world’s only military divided capital on the planet, xNY.io - Bank.org should be protected from any association of crimes against peace, related to the planning, preparation, initiation, waging or participation in a common plan or conspiracy related to a war of aggression, which can only apply in relation to international armed conflict. War Crimes Against Humanity Mr. Marzulli, xNY.io - Bank.org is concerned that potential breaches to the Deferred Agreement are impacting our global enterprise. Crimes against humanity can be committed in peacetime as well as during an armed conflict. Even a single act could fall under this exclusion ground provided it forms part of a widespread or systematic attack against a civilian population and the act is committed by any person (including a civilian) who had knowledge of the attack and the link of the act to the attack. 1. We are looking to learn more about the DOJ’s approach to assessing any potential breaches to the Deferred Agreement’s mandates as we determine New York State’s role in cross-border bank regulation and corresponding innovation beyond war crimes against humanity. 2. In order to establish whether a war crime or a crime against humanity has been committed, the case officer should consult the relevant international instruments and case law. 3. Crimes against humanity are fundamentally inhumane acts, committed as part of a systematic or widespread attack. Inhumane acts, which could reach this threshold when committed pursuant to or in furtherance of a State or organizational policy (potentially, New York State bank regulation). 4. Persecution against any identifiable group or collectivity on political, racial, national, ethnic, cultural, religious, gender, or other grounds that are universally recognised as impermissible under international law. 5. Furthermore, we have made 28 highlights to the Deferred Agreement providing supporting reference to Memo #4’s overarching premise. xNY.io - Bank.org submits Memo #4 for DOJ consideration of other inhumane acts of a similar character intentionally causing great suffering, or serious injury to body or to mental or physical health. Some crimes against humanity would require an additional specific intent, such as Goldman Sachs willfully disrespecting New York State and/or overall peace and security of the United States of America. Memo #1, Memo #2, Memo #3 and Memo #4 outline instances that correspond with the associated definitions of the potential war crimes abroad and jeopardize the future of bank innovation from New York, at great sacrifice to the Homeland. We hope to learn the DOJ’s approach to comment on Memo #4’s subject matter or, without delay refer these concerns to the International Criminal Court and/or International Court of Justice for comment. Respectfully yours with anticipation, Gunnar Larson - xNY.io <http://www.xny.io> | Bank.org <http://bank.org>MSc <https://www.unic.ac.cy/blockchain/msc-digital-currency/?utm_source=Google&u…> - Digital Currency MBA <https://www.unic.ac.cy/business-administration-entrepreneurship-and-innovat…> - Entrepreneurship and Innovation (ip) G(a)xNY.io +1-646-454-9107

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Coinbase Scores Victory with Supreme Court Ruling on Federal Arbitration Act - Litigation Finance Journal
by Gunnar Larson 13 Jan '24

13 Jan '24

Check out my new article: https://litigationfinancejournal.com/coinbase-scores-victory-with-supreme-c… Coinbase Scores Victory with Supreme Court Ruling on Federal Arbitration Act - Litigation Finance Journal Litigation Finance Journal recently reported that Coinbase became the first US-based cryptocurrency company to argue a case in front of the Supreme Court. The June decision has been announced, and with a 5-4 majority in favor of Coinbase, the high court ruled “that an interlocutory appeal about one matter (arbitrability) bars the district court from proceeding on another (the merits).” CoinDesk says the ruling is a distinct legal victory for Coinbase, one that could impact future lawsuits against all companies in the United States. For over a century, the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) has been part of user agreements to protect corporations from risk and expense associated with court battles to resolve customer claims. The decision does not represent any high-court conclusions on cryptocurrencies, outside of Coinbase being one of the associated parties. A lower court decision from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California denied Coinbase’s arbitration agreement approach. On appeal, the Ninth Circuit denied Coinbase’s motion to halt hearings while appeal is in progress. The Supreme Court’s decision in favor of Coinbase effectively stays any trial proceedings while appeal is in progress.

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Collapse: Is Now Locked In
by grarpamp 10 Jan '24

10 Jan '24

A random blurb on overpopulation, resources, stupid Govts and Peoples... http://charleshughsmith.blogspot.com/2021/12/can-any-nation-state-survive-e… Can Any Nation-State Survive The Era Of Inequality And Scarcity? We have an extraordinary opportunity to transform our unsustainable "waste is growth" economy and toxic inequality to sustainable systems that optimize well-being rather than collapse. The possibility that the United States could fragment is no longer a marginalized topic. Maps displaying various post-U.S. regional configurations accompany essays exploring how and why a break-up of the U.S. would be a solution to regional and ideological polarization, for example, Max Borders' recent article, Dear America: It's Time to Break Up. But two forces larger than political polarization may fragment nation-states across the globe, including the U.S.: inequality and scarcity. Inequality and corruption go hand in hand, of course, as the wealthiest few influence the state to protect their monopolies and backstop their speculative gains. Inequality also goes hand in hand with the collapse of nation-states, as this seminal paper explains: Human and nature dynamics (HANDY): Modeling inequality and use of resources in the collapse or sustainability of societies. The parasitic elite can accumulate the majority of income, wealth, political power and resources in eras of expanding abundance, as what's left is enough to support an expanding populace that consumes more per capita every year, i.e. broad-based prosperity. But once abundance transitions to scarcity, the economy and society can no longer sustain the dead weight of its outsized parasitic elite. The parasitic elite believes its bloated share of resources, wealth and power is not only sustainable but can be expanded without consequence, and so it deploys all its formidable power to keep the status quo unchanged even as scarcity lowers the living standards of the bottom 90% and hollows out the economy. In effect, the modern central state, regardless of ideological label, optimizes inequality and growth. Once growth falters while inequality continues increasing, the only possible outcome is fragmentation and/or collapse. Put another way: the status quo is no longer the solution to inequality and scarcity, it is the problem. Private-sector and political elites are incapable of recognizing they are now the problem, and so the rapid unraveling of the status quo will come as a great shock to their magical-thinking confidence in their power. The elite's delusional "solution" is a seamless, painless transition to a new era of abundance via "green energy." Unfortunately, this vision is 100% magical thinking, as all these projections ignore the physical realities of building out a global energy system that generates energy on the same scale as existing hydrocarbon energy sources. Read these three reports for reality-based assessments: The "New Energy Economy": An Exercise in Magical Thinking (manhattan-institute.org) The Delusion of Infinite Economic Growth: Even "sustainable" technologies such as electric vehicles and wind turbines face unbreachable physical limits and exact grave environmental costs. (scientificamerican.com) Assessment of the Extra Capacity Required of Alternative Energy Electrical Power Systems to Completely Replace Fossil Fuels (PDF, Simon P. Michaux, Geological Survey of Finland) Read the 3-page abstract. As explained in the first paper, inequality generates collapse and so does a decline in resources, i.e. scarcity. Put the two together and the only possible outcome is collapse of all centralized nation-states that optimize inequality and endless expansion of consumption. The issue isn't ideological labels or principles, it's whether the state solves problems or covers them up with fake fixes that accelerate collapse. Nations which want to not just survive but emerge stronger have one path: a revolutionary transformation from "waste is growth" to degrowth, from an economy and state dominated by a parasitic elite to a strictly limited parasitic elite and from abject dependence on fragile supply chains originating in other nations to decentralized, localized independence for essentials. I've written a book that is a template for this transformation. This book is the culmination of a lifetime of study, observation, experience and analysis: Global Crisis, National Renewal: A (Revolutionary) Grand Strategy for the United States. Though I devote some analysis specifically to the U.S., the book is a template for any nation to not just survive scarcity but emerge stronger by evolving a degrowth economy and a decentralized political order. We have an extraordinary opportunity to transform our unsustainable "waste is growth" economy and toxic inequality to sustainable systems that optimize well-being rather than collapse.

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Coronavirus: Thread
by grarpamp 10 Jan '24

10 Jan '24

On 3/5/20, Georgi Guninski <guninski(a)guninski.com> wrote: > Is the so called "society" ready for the time when there > are not enough hospitals for ill from corona virus? > > AFAIK all ill from corona virus are sent to hospitals > to not spread the disease further. > > The Chinese built a new hospital for about a week. General purpose hospital is utterly stupid thing to be flooding cases into under a mass affliction. Hospital are general triage and specialized case facilities. Flood them with disease transmitters and you end up wiping out the entire staff thus shutting the entire hospital down. Staff and facilities are far more valuable alive to handle the random shit that shows up at hospitals and do the specialized things. Instead focus care efficiently tuned to the mass affliction by diverting all the diseased people away from hospitals and out to warehouses, cruise ships, new rapid builds, etc full of cots, food service, mass produced respirators and other med gear and supplies, tv's, internet, books, showers, tent farms, drywalled family rooms inside, etc. Everybody there is already afflicted with the single underlying issue, so train them to self care and peer care for that, same as they'd get in the flooded out hospitals for that issue. Then move whatever number you can handle out to more complex "hospital" treatment sections of the same isolation farms as needed. And accept that big losses will happen. Flooding your hospitals is *not* going to change that, and *will* make things worse. Trying to wipe out all your hospitals, all your doctors, surgeons, knowledge, etc... is not smart. Civilization shutdown its mass facilities, wrote off and forgot how to deal with massive single cause casualties since 70 years quiet since last big wars, and other causes on that scale, many of which were easy... "stop the bleeding"... not "do not catch it too" kind of pandemic hasn't really been seen in 100+ years. Now all you have left in cities of *millions* of people, is under 500 beds total worth of proper isolation wards, those are largely meant for holding new unknown bugs and the recurring background noise of known nasties, with all other space on hospital land dedicated to five star baby birthing hotels, trendy cancer shops, pointless architectural atriums, big office rooms, etc. And all other space in the cities completely tuned to commercial purposes. With zero durables supply stockpiles, and no excess production capacity maintained on decade[s] span cold standby... because "just in time" wiped all that out. Deadly contagion is fucked up, expect that. You should have. People warned you. Oldnews Protip: Think, prepare, options, then you can isolate yourselves from people, buy some time, ride some things out. https://old.reddit.com/r/preppers+prepping+supplychain/

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US 2nd Amendment Under Assault, Freedom Firearms Guns Defense
by grarpamp 10 Jan '24

10 Jan '24

"... the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constit… 2nd Amendment, Firearms, Guns, Self Defense, Freedom's Defense Against Tyranny, Gun Confiscation, 3D printed Guns, Blueprint Censorship, FreeSpeech, Crypto Munitions, Natural Law Posession nor production nor transfer of any nonliving "thing" can never logically be "illegal". This is not in conflict with those voluntarily choosing to not themselves posess a "thing", nor preclude sanction for those who use a "thing" against the NAP. Per the Great Reset, all your rights are now under assault by tyrant globalist politicians... the US 2nd Amd is one of them. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diz-8FzHOLM Meaning and Purpose of 2ndA pt1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vioWTwGiELo Meaning and Purpose of 2ndA pt2 Witness the list of non-libertarian countries, ~195, literally all of them, non NAP compliant, anti-libertarian shitholes, including yours... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overview_of_gun_laws_by_nation History proves sequences of "democratic" and tyranny practices will stomp whatever freedom they can leading to brainwashed life lacking means or any will for freedom... During the dictatorship of Juan Vicente Gómez, in 1919, a disarmament law was decreed, ordering every weapon owner to give them away to the authorities; the only exceptions were machetes and hunting shotguns. Historian Manuel Caballero argues that while Gómez final intention was to prevent his enemies from obtaining weapons, the law contributed to avoid civil wars in Venezuela for the next century.[212] In 2012 Venezuela banned private sales of firearms and ammunition hoping to lower crime rates. The Army, police, and certain groups trusted by the government (colectivos) are exempted from the ban and can buy firearms from state-owned manufacturers.[213] In 2013 Venezuela stopped issuing new firearm licenses.[214] In 2017 government banned carrying firearms in public places.[143] Since then, the government began to seize guns from civilian hands, destroying thousands every year, including more than 15,000 in 2018. More than 483,000 private guns have been destroyed since 2003, with only 3,000 of them being surrendered voluntarily. 60 disarmament centres were created in the country and the penalty for illegal firearm possession was raised to 20 years imprisonment.[215] According to the government, the only people who should carry guns are public agents. Néstor Reverol, Minister of the People's Power for Interior Relations and Justice, claimed that strict gun control led to a reduction in crime and kidnappings in Venezuela.[216] No, the top mass shootings, and murders in general, have and are ALWAYS performed by Government and religion... in wars, and in silencing opposition and freedom, and in death sentences, specifically by those following "orders" and willfully violating the NAP. https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2021/04/10/putting_bidens_gun_co… https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-18-440 https://crimeresearch.org/2018/02/op-ed-new-york-times-background-checks-no… https://crimeresearch.org/2016/01/why-the-so-called-charleston-gun-purchase… https://crimeresearch.org/2018/02/with-39-killed-in-tunisia-attack-the-top-… https://crimeresearch.org/2019/01/responding-voxs-popular-americas-unique-g… https://www.wsj.com/articles/democrats-are-coming-for-your-guns-11601938911 https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3671740 There were so many lies in Vice President Kamala Harris’ and President Joe Biden’s presentations on guns Thursday that it is hard to know where to start. One thing is certain, though: The media fact-checkers won’t question their claims. Here are just a few of the false ones: The background check system “has kept more than 3 million firearms out of the hands of dangerous people.” Since the Brady background checks began in 1994, there have been 3.5 million initial denials. However, it is one thing to stop a felon from buying a gun. It is quite another to stop a law-abiding citizen from buying a gun just because his or her name is similar to a felon’s. In 2017, for example, there were 112,000 initial denials for supposedly attempted prohibited purchases, but just 12 federal prosecutions by June 2018. The reason is that these weren’t real cases. The background check system is a mess, with the mistakes primarily born by minorities through no fault of their own. The error rate for black males is three times their share of the population. The Charleston Loophole Biden says that if there had only been more than three days to check Dylann Roof’s background, Roof would have been stopped from buying a gun, thereby preventing the horrible Charleston, S.C., church shooting. But that is a lie. You can’t buy a gun if you have a felony or certain misdemeanor convictions, or if you are arrested but not yet convicted of a crime with a possible prison sentence of at least one year. Since Roof’s arrest was for a misdemeanor drug offense, which had a maximum possible sentence of six months, a longer waiting period would not have blocked his gun purchase. If Democrats want to change the law so that any misdemeanor arrest prevents gun purchases, this would at least be related to the Charleston case. But Democrats want to impose up to a 30-day waiting period without explicitly stating that is their real aim. If they want a long waiting period, they should make a case for why this would somehow be desirable. Instead, Democrats pretend that their proposal would have stopped the Charleston shooting when their actual goal is to obtain a long waiting period. Biden said that gunmakers are “exempt from being sued. ... This is the only outfit that is exempt from being sued.” The president claims this is the top change he wants. In fact, however, if gunmakers make defective guns, you can sue them. Likewise, if they break the law (e.g., sell a firearm without a background check), you can sue them. Biden’s proposal is very different from current law. He wants gun manufacturers held civilly liable for misuse of guns they sell. This would allow lawsuits against manufacturers and sellers whenever a crime, accident, or suicide occurs with a gun. The straightforward result would be to put gunmakers out of business. Imagine what would happen to the car industry if similar rules were applied. The National Safety Council estimates that 39,404 Americans died and 4.5 million were injured from car accidents in 2018. Cars are also frequently used to commit crimes. “The vast majority of Americans believe there should be [universal] background checks.” Gun control advocates frequently claim that over 90% of Americans support background checks for private transfers of guns. Yet, the last time such laws were proposed to voters, they rejected them. When Michael Bloomberg got universal background check initiatives onto Maine and Nevada’s ballots, for example, he lost in Maine by four percentage points and won in Nevada by just 0.8 percentage points. This tough sledding wasn’t for lack of money. In Maine, Bloomberg outspent his opponents by over six times. In Nevada, he spent an incredible $35.30 per vote — three times more than his opponents. If over 90% of Americans supported these laws, this type of spending would be unnecessary. He blamed the “historic spike in homicides” on the lack of gun control laws. No sudden change in gun control laws caused last year’s spike in homicides. Instead, the real explanation is simple, and something Biden refused to consider: prisons released a large number of inmates because of COVID-19, politicians ordered police to stand down, police department budgets were cut, and prosecutors refused to prosecute criminals. In describing mass public shootings, Biden said that gun violence in this country is an “international embarrassment.” The president might not follow international news closely, but mass public shootings are much more common and deadly in the rest of the world than they are in the United States. The U.S. contains 4.6% of the world’s population, yet accounts for only 1% of the world’s shooters. Over the last decade, Europe has experienced deadlier mass public shootings than any of those in the U.S. -- ever. In November 2015, for example, 130 people were shot to death at a concert in Paris. In July 2011, 67 people were shot to death in Norway. European countries such as France, Finland, Norway, and a number of Eastern European countries have higher per capita death rates from mass public shootings than the United States does. Yet, all of these countries have stricter gun control laws than we do. These are just a few of the false claims made on Thursday. No, the rules for buying guns at gun shows are no different than buying them anywhere else. And no, when guns are unavailable neither the suicides nor the suicide attempts drop. Unfortunately, the liberal fact-checkers - as usual - are nowhere to be found. * * * Lott is the president of the Crime Prevention Research Center and the author most recently of “Gun Control Myths.” Until last month, Lott was the senior adviser for research and statistics at the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Policy. Thomas Massie is a Republican member of the House who has represented Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District since 2012.

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SpyVeillance: Thread
by grarpamp 09 Jan '24

09 Jan '24

Tucker: NSA planned to leak my emails to media outlets https://nypost.com/2021/07/07/tucker-carlson-claims-he-was-unmasked-by-nsa-… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9bKEPWviEU Tucker: NSA Disclosed My Emails https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlitOLX8KtU SpyVeillance: People are Concerned https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-2n7lEi--M NSA Spying on US Citizens https://video.foxnews.com/v/6262789335001/ Glenn Greenwald on NSA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bll9mmodikM Styx's Pussy Responds

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Cryptocurrency: Jamie Dimon JPMorgan Ponzi Gets Criminally Convicted on Fraud Racketeering
by grarpamp 09 Jan '24

09 Jan '24

https://nypost.com/2022/08/10/ex-jpmorgan-metals-traders-convicted-of-fraud… https://violationtracker.goodjobsfirst.org/parent/jpmorgan-chase JPMorgan fined $36B in criminal and sanctions since 2000. Cryptocurrencies never required a bailout from any Government.

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Cryptocurrency: Bankster Warren Launches WarOnCrypto To Kill Freedom, Wallets, Miners, Fight Back!!!
by grarpamp 09 Jan '24

09 Jan '24

> https://www.nobsbitcoin.com/the-digital-asset-anti-money-laundering-act-is-… > https://decrypt.co/117221/senator-warren-crypto-bill-kyc-self-custody-walle… > https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/technology/elizabeth-warren-crypt… > https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/dec/14/elizabeth-warren-crypto-reg… > https://cointelegraph.com/news/us-sen-elizabeth-warren-says-crypto-will-rui… > https://www.cnet.com/google-amp/news/elizabeth-warren-targets-crypto-money-… > https://www.realclearpolitics.com/2022/11/23/regulate_crypto_or_itll_take_d… > https://www.theblock.co/post/194941/warren-marshall-introduce-bill-to-tight… > > https://www.warren.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/DAAML%20Act%20of%202022.pdf > https://www.durbin.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/letter_to_fidelity_investments_… > https://www.fatf-gafi.org/media/fatf/documents/recommendations/March%202021… Elizabeth Warren’s crypto bill targets financial freedom, not fraud https://reason.com/2022/12/16/elizabeth-warrens-crypto-bill-targets-financi… Sen. Elizabeth Warren is coming after your financial privacy with her anti-crypto bill. https://www.warren.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/warren-marshall-intro… https://www.warren.senate.gov/download/12/15/2022/daaml-act-of-2022 https://astralcodexten.substack.com/p/why-im-less-than-infinitely-hostile https://reason.com/2021/12/01/turks-flee-to-gold-bitcoin-and-foreign-curren… https://reason.com/video/2022/03/11/the-canadian-government-couldnt-stop-bi… https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/20/americas/canada-trucker-protest-covid-sunday https://www.marshall.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/marshall-warren-int… https://www.wired.com/story/20-years-after-911-surveillance-has-become-a-wa… https://www.wired.com/2011/09/911-surveillance/ https://time.com/6096903/september-11-legal-history/ https://reason.com/2016/04/27/snowden-speaks/ https://www.aclu.org/news/national-security/the-privacy-lesson-of-9-11-mass… https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/rolling-back-post-9… https://www.cato.org/blog/warren-targets-financial-privacy-wake-ftx-fall J.D. Tuccille | 12.16.2022 Senator Warren wants to extend the financial surveillance state cooked up by drug warriors and anti-terrorism fearmongers to cryptocurrencies. Beyond politically connected scammers and frothy valuations, the attractiveness of cryptocurrencies lies in their potential for doing what cash does, but across distances. When governments inflate money, people turn to other stores of value, including crypto. When politicians and their financial-sector accomplices block transactions of which they disapprove, people look for alternative means of doing deals without permission, crypto among them. So, when officials talk of stripping privacy and autonomy from cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, you know they would do the same to cash if they could. "Rogue nations, oligarchs, drug lords, and human traffickers are using digital assets to launder billions in stolen funds, evade sanctions, and finance terrorism," Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D–Mass.) huffed this week. "The crypto industry should follow common-sense rules like banks, brokers, and Western Union, and this legislation would ensure the same standards apply across similar financial transactions. The bipartisan bill will help close crypto money laundering loopholes and strengthen enforcement to better safeguard U.S. national security." The bipartisan bill to which Warren refers sports the tendentious moniker, Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2022. Stripped of grandiose claims, it attempts to extend the financial surveillance state cooked up by drug warriors and anti-terrorism fearmongers to cryptocurrencies. Warren and company picked an opportune moment to do just that, while the public is occupied with a headline-grabbing financial scandal that taints crypto's already sketchy reputation. In fact, Sam Bankman-Fried's shenanigans at FTX, perhaps concealed by generous political donations, look old-school, including mingling personal and corporate funds in ways that would have raised red flags long before digital tokens. But they cast further shade over a crypto sector that had yet to gain acceptance by the American mainstream. After years of breathy warnings that cryptocurrency is shady, and speculative values detached from reality, many people are prepared to believe the worst. "Crypto is an interesting technology that had one terrible piece of bad luck: its standard-bearer, bitcoin, went up in value 10,000x over a few years," wide-ranging commentator Scott Alexander wrote earlier this month. "When something goes up in value 10,000x, it's hard to think of it in any other context. Whatever it was before, now it's 'that thing which went up in value 10,000x'." Alexander points out that, despite the shellacking the crypto sector is taking in the press and from politicians, it remains popular in countries where it's used for its intended purpose as a store of value and a means of exchange in defiance of authoritarian controls. "Vietnam uses crypto because it's terrible at banks," he notes. "There's a history of the government forcing banks to make terrible loans, and then those banks collapsing." In socialist Venezuela, "cryptocurrency provides a hard-to-ban alternative which has caught on among Venezuelan hustlers and small businessmen." This played out in Turkey when the government got serious about turning the lira into toilet paper and people bought gold, foreign currency, and bitcoin. Bitcoin also became a means for Canadian protesters to work around government attempts to financially isolate their protest movement. "Of course a technology centered around avoiding governance and banking failures will be centered in the countries with the most governance and banking failures!" Alexander adds. But any technology that can be used by good people can also be used by bad people. That's as true of window curtains as it is of crypto (or cash). The same privacy sought by a family going through evening routines might serve a terrorist building bombs, just as businesses and activists evading a hostile state might use the same currency that purchases bomb parts. Politicians love playing up potential abuses. "Following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, our government enacted meaningful reforms that helped the banks cut off bad actors' from America's financial system. Applying these similar policies to cryptocurrency exchanges will prevent digital assets from being abused to finance illegal activities without limiting law-abiding American citizens' access," insists Sen. Roger Marshall (R–Kan.), co-sponsor of the Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2022. When politicians hold up the post-9/11 panic that supercharged the surveillance state as their model, take them seriously. The legacy of that time is widely recognized as an over-powerful government that intrudes into Americans' lives, subjecting our activities and communications to monitoring and diminishing our liberty. With their bill, Warren, Marshall, and company want to extend that surveillance to financial technology that was explicitly developed to empower individual liberty and privacy. "The bill first seeks to classify self‐<U+200B>hosted wallets as money service businesses," cautions the Cato Institute's Nicholas Anthony. "For those unfamiliar, self‐<U+200B>hosted wallets are merely the digital equivalent of a wallet in your pocket or purse. ... Where much of the financial surveillance in the United States depends on what's known as the third‐<U+200B>party doctrine, self‐<U+200B>hosted wallets offer individuals protection from government surveillance and censorship. Yet Senator Warren's bill would put an end to that protection." The bill, says Anthony, would "classify cryptocurrency miners, validators, and network participants as money service businesses." It "also sets its sights on cryptocurrency mixers" who "offer individuals the opportunity to enhance their privacy when using cryptocurrencies on public blockchains." In fact, the bill's language specifies that "the Secretary of the Treasury shall promulgate a rule that prohibits financial institutions from ... handling, using, or transacting business with digital asset mixers, privacy coins, and other anonymity-enhancing technologies." Senators Warren and Marshall talk about "terrorism" and "drug lords," but their clear goal (whether or not its within their reach, which is another matter) is to strip crypto of its ability to be used privately and without permission in the same way we use cash. Their objections to digital money also apply to banknotes and coins. Ultimately, it's not crypto they fear, but our liberty to earn, purchase, save, and donate without being impoverished, scrutinized, or stopped by government officials. Bitcoin and other digital tokens have their flaws, but they're an attempt to fulfill a widespread desire for reliable stores of value and means of exchange independent of control. And while all such forms of money are vulnerable to fraud and theft, that's already illegal. The Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2022 doesn't even attempt to address such crimes, instead, it's an attack on financial privacy and liberty. For all the reasons politicians are coming after crypto, you can bet that cash is next.

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Notary Public License Law (New York DEPARTMENT OF STATE Division of Licensing Services)
by Gunnar Larson 08 Jan '24

08 Jan '24

Brody Larson collates 34 highlights to Notary Public License Law (New York DEPARTMENT OF STATE Division of Licensing Services): https://drive.google.com/file/d/1L4rPu4covfuTBAEcQOlP2jS8A8XNDq9E/view?usp=…

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