Sunrise in San Salvador

NO WAR

We are nearly 4 years into El Salvador’s Bitcoin experiment which seems a great time to take a big step back and evaluate how things are going There’s been lots of talk about expectations vs reality for those that move down here and that’s a valuable conversation to have and I hope it continues. I firmly believe that El Salvador will benefit greatly if we can close that gap I want to highlight a topic that I think is even more valuable to discuss though: censorship Bitcoin attracts each of us for different reasons; at the very top of my list is censorship-resistance so that’s the lens from which I view things There is a worrying trend here of a shrinking independent civil society. In recent weeks prominent critics have been arrested, dozens of journalists are now in exile and questioning the official narrative is more likely to result in name calling rather than a serious response of the issue raised So that’s the problem—what is the solution? IMO it’s two-fold, an open discussion & education that encourages critical thought I’d love to see the shrinking civil society in El Salvador openly discussed El Salvador needs builders and independent thinkers—as many as possible!

In 2018 I traveled to Iran While in Isfahan I visited the 450 year old Khaju Bridge. The river it was built over had decreased over time and on the night I visited there was no water. It had become a local tradition for Iranians to take advantage of the acoustic echos and sing, often the songs were well known and strangers would come in to sing the chorus or alternate parts. It was not a performance, no one asked for money, it was just strangers singing with each other in the cool night air. It was beautiful Isfahan has been heavy bombed by Israel this week and it's unclear if this bridge still stands These are the kinds of things war destroys NO WAR