So much for the free market rulezzz...

Acknowledging, by default, that the state is a major factor in the wealth of nations...

The Teleban won.

Perhaps consider a coinos custodial LN wallet as a backup to Alby for any situation where your self custody node/s are out of action? Running and maintaining a node and full self custody LN wallet has proven too complex technically for me so coinos wallet does the job and enables LN liquidity and reliability.

How? At least the scheme you criticize proposes a possible way via crowd funding. Sure its credibility is questionable but it does at least propose an alternative to direct government intervention/protection of the environment.

China has won the trade war. Trumps tariffs are admission that US industry cannot compete with China and other nations. Tariffs result in all US consumers paying more than the rest of the world does for all the products tariffs are applied to. Tariffs are only ever logical if you expect war and need to rebuild your national supply chains for strategic reasons.

Humans are weak individually so form into groups where they can achieve greater power and security. These groups develop around a set of ideas and values and the result is a culture, which in turn competes with adjacent cultures. As conditions and technology change the ideal form of society changes, and as this happens cultures and empires rise and fall.

The only constant is change.

Thus the contest of ideas, which science and democracy both theoretically embrace, is fundamental to survival.

Forced consensus, common to autocracies/despots is in contrast a considerable risk.

Governments are central to the wealth of nations. Libertarians seem oblivious to these fundamental dynamics.

Yes we grow most of our vegetables and fruit. Went for many years not buying any vegetables but these days a little less strict on it.

Entertaining commentary on the decline of USA and the rise of China.

In summary, China has won the trade war and USA continues to hope that complex financial system gymnastics leveraged upon its legacy institutional and protocols hegemony can somehow delay the inevitable. US insolvency.

USA kicking the can down the road, for how much longer. Another 60 years of chronic and growing trade deficits? Nope, maybe another 5 or 6, at most...

Bitcoin certainly appears to be a good hedge in these circumstances but ultimately it is a bet where you are punting on the downfall of western civilisation and its global hegemony.

Relevant to this and the recent earthquake hitting Myanmar (and China) is that large dams are known to have the potential cause earthquakes. They substantially change the pressure upon the ground rock. Given the experience of the nations downstream from the Three Gorges Dams it is not surprising Bangladesh and India are concerned about this new mega dam three time larger than the Three Gorges project!

Think about why markets are falling...

Fascinating video but somewhat spoiled by the hard sell infomercial for 'Ground news' at the end.

China has won the trade war and is quite logically moving to build tertiary trade and power projection structures- monetary and military. Trump is pushing back as Chinas alliance of Iran, Russia and N.Korea already trade outside of the USD/SWIFT hegemony. If Chinas economic and strategic power continues to grow and US continues to decline Bitcoin adoption is likely to take on a very different character- it may be boosted as a neutral alternative to state imposed and controlled fiat currencies but it also would face uncertainty if China emerges as a the dominant global economic power.

Humans are weak and vulnerable as individuals but in groups we gain power, security and environmental dominance. Religions create a narrative which people can adopt and follow - it creates the potential for 'us and them' dynamics which can then be used to justify conflict between competing groups. This process is fundamental to life and the DNA that codes it. The competition for territory, energy and resources that underpins all known life.

Bitcoin however proposes a revolutionary new narrative- one with a narrow focus upon the monetary protocol which is nonetheless very important to how large organised human groups operate.

Bitcoin removes any religious or political control or leverage over the way in which people can trade between each other, and treats all participants in a strictly equal manner with no fear or favour.

In a world where power is now being increasingly concentrated via protocols, Bitcoin is unique in being a protocol that decentralises power and distributes power rather than concentrating it.

Bitcoin discourages debt slavery- something that most religions also fought to discourage if not outright banish. Jesus and Mohammad would surely have approved of Bitcoin.

Ft Knox is EMPTY

China has won the trade war It is now progressing logically to provision a global empire of military, monetary and other protocol and institutional hegemony which always follows from dominance in trade. Trump reacting to this. His attempt to break the bond that has established between Russia and China, a bond based on mutual interest and ambitions of expansion - China buys Russias oil and pays for it outside of the USD/SWIFT petrodollar hegemony. China has demonstrated that is can provision sufficient manufactured goods and trade apyments separate from USD/SWIFT hegemony to sustain Russia and Iran who both attack the west and its allies in an ongoing proxy war between ultimately, China and the USA. In this context the rise of gold as a hedge is logical. The prospects for Bitcoin are less certain than gold- if US hegemony declines Bitcoin could still be a valuable alternative SoV and MoE to USD and Chinas Yuan, but Chinas apparent hostility to Bitcoin may also adversely affect its utility in a world where Chinas sphere of influence looks like rapidly increasing as US hegemony declines.

China has won the trade war. This and its consequences is not being covered sufficiently in this territory.

Trump has threatened to block trade with all nations buying Russia oil if Putin does not agree to end his invasion of Ukraine...Trumps threat is effectively saying he would block trade with China if the Chinese backed invasion of Ukraine does not stop.

This is getting close to a declaration of war on China. A declaration China knows Trump cannot afford to make.

This has massive implications for the economy of not just USA but of the world and ensues from the fact that China has won the trade war and Trump is fighting to damage control the consequences- namely the decline of US hegemony and the rise of China. Libertarians and US exceptionalists seem blind to what is happening.

It looks like a significant lack of transparency from US law enforcement agencies.

What happened to innocent until proven guilty?

What happened to due process?

Is USA becoming a police state?

When you work for your wealth it is quite different to when you gain it via inheritance or other derivative means. Look at all wealthy nations- the people generally become increasingly demanding of more and more rights and privilege and less and less inclined to see it as their duty to contribute toward the welfare/well being of others. This is why one of the reasons, imo, that it is justified to TAX THE RICH...in fact essential in terms of sustaining a successful society and economy.

With regard to Bitcoin I believe (and have observed) that the wealth and liquid capital it has delivered some of us is in many cases used for innovative and worthwhile projects- Bitcoiner tend to be outsiders - we tend to question the status quo and are open to change and challenging the status quo - Bitcoin capital liquidity is changing the world and the way the economy functions.