Sunday Ramble
The US Thanksgiving holiday is now in the rearview mirror. While the rest of the world may not celebrate it, working for a US company allowed me to enjoy a couple of restful days with family here in Peru. In addition, it gave me the perfect excuse to go to a clinic to check in on my lagging energy. It turns out parasites are awfully easy to pick up here in the jungle. Thankfully, readily available meds make it an easy fix, and despite feeling sleepier than usual, I get to start next week with a parasite-free intestinal tract.
It was an eventful Sunday morning as a distant 7.5 scale earthquake jolted me and the family out of bed this morning. Having weathered more than a few earthquakes between living in San Francisco and living through the 2015 8.9 quake in Nepal, it felt like old hat to pop out of bed and skedadle for the safety of open air. Besides knocking the town’s power out for most of the day and a few items tossed from shelves, there was minor damage in our area. Of course, I knew it coming here, but the last few days have been a good reminder that it’s not all root beer floats and unicorns in the Amazon. Enough about me, let’s ramble.
The Big Lie. That’s the topic that’s been floating around my head this week. If you’re not familiar with it, Hitler described the term in Mien Kampf (I’ve not read it) to explain a lie so colossal that no one would believe that someone "could have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously." The Nazis’ big lie was their depiction of Germany as the innocent, besieged populace striking back against international Jews they blamed for starting WWI. We know how stupid that lie was and how the Jews were instead the victims of WWII with hindsight.
I thought the big lie was a relic of the history dust bin for most of my adult life. But is it? We are now living in a world where those who are unvaccinated are being held in detention camps (see Rad Things on the Interwebs), being told they should be shot, and having their native cultures ripped apart.
Lars’ Twitter account has been suspended for what it’s worth.
How did it get to the point where sane individuals threaten one another’s lives and feel morally justified doing so? Am I the only one reminded of the Nazis in WWII and their persecution of the Jews seeing this behavior? The only conclusion I’ve been able to draw is that despite being in the grave more than 70 years, Hitler’s idea of The Big Lie has retaken root. Today’s Big Lie seems to be something like, “we could all get back to life before COVID if everyone does their part and follows the official vaccine schedule.”
There’s more than enough evidence that it’s not true. (Africa, anyone?) But the desire for normalcy paired with the belief that the government is the all-knowing and capable paternal figure for society has created an environment too close to WWII for my liking. Regardless of your stance on this whole thing, we should all heed the fact that we’re already a third of the way through the ten stages of genocide.
Don’t worry; I’m not going to leave on this dismal note. Instead, I’m going to tell you the antidote to the Big Lie — what do the folks telling it want? No one does a better job breaking down that question than Catherine Austin Fitts. Summary: it always and forever will be, about the money.
Rad Things on the Interwebs
Even in captivity, Ozzies keep their spirits high.
Bitcoin Price Prediction
Weekly Range: $48k - $63k
Last week put in a picture-perfect bottom around $56k only to see the floor blown by the announcement of the latest flavor of COVID, Omicron. All the macro markets sold off on Friday, pulling Bitcoin down with it — clearly, Bitcoin is still a risk-on asset. The price dropped to $53k but is now trading at $57k after a weekend rally. The factors continue for a bottom with leverage at a minimum, fear high, and momentum indicators reset. That said, Bitcoin is not out of the woods and could be dragged down further if global markets sell-off bigly this week. On the bear side, $48k would be the next logical support to attempt a pivot. If the broader markets hold, then the more likely route is to push up but consolidate for the better part of this week.
Bitcoin Q & A
Q: What is the best way to learn how to run your own Bitcoin Lightning Node?
A: Plebnet.
The Bitcoin Lightning Network, a payment-focused network built on top of the Bitcoin network, solves the issue of how to transfer bitcoin cheaply. It is also the technology responsible for the country of El Salvador adopting Bitcoin as legal tender alongside the US dollar. Plebnet is a grassroots movement that anyone can join to learn the ins and outs of running an individual node on the Lightning Network. It boasts more than 5,000 active members and is now responsible for more than one-third of the capacity of the Lightning Network — and it started only a few months ago. Anonymous users worldwide unified by the Bitcoin network are becoming the most significant competition to the legacy financial system. We live in exciting times.
Do you have questions or Ramble topics? Leave a comment or reply to the newsletter to reach me.
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Thank you, Ken, for your valuable content! How often you post your letter? I got 2 per month. Is this right?