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

When I moved to El Salvador in 2021 there was a hopefulness among the general population which was intoxicating and contagious. In the four years since, much has changed What I felt here in 21' rhymes with what I've felt at various times in various places over the past two decades and I've been reflecting on that a lot lately; what conditions lead to it and why it never lasts First, some personal history. In the early 2000s I was in university in the US and heavily involved with activism. My targets then were the IMF & the military industrial complex (they still are, that’s about the most consistent thing in my life actually). As an organizer who never asked the state for permission, I found myself arrested often and one of those nights in jail I made the decision to leave and to stop spending most of my efforts trying to slow the bad and instead spend them trying to speed the good I moved to Ecuador and in 2005 I participated in my first revolution. I was at the barricades when the president fled the country, and the military began to take off their uniforms and join us. It was euphoric. I had never in my life experienced such a feeling of 'mass hope.' Everyone believed that a corner had been turned and was supremely confident that tomorrow would be better than today In 2011 I felt something similar while living in the encampment those first weeks at Occupy Wall Street in New York I felt it again in Myanmar in 2016 when the military dictatorship ended, and Aung San Suu Kyi assumed office It's a feeling I've been chasing my entire adult life and I found it again in El Salvador in 2021--this communal certainty that tomorrow would be better than today. It’s amazing to be surrounded by that and extremely motivating There are always two things in common: it’s preceded by times with little hope, and it never lasts In Ecuador, a charismatic academic who spoke on behalf of the social movements became president, then became authoritarian, built mega-jails, then filled them with his people. Occupy Wall Street descended into infighting, banks got more powerful, and the rich got richer. Myanmar is now in a civil war between a new military dictatorship and various ethnic minorities For me, the honeymoon is over in El Salvador. That hope I felt in 2021 and 2022 is still there but it is far more tempered among Salvadorans now than it had been. Extreme human emotion can’t be sustained, not for the individual and not for the group—after all the basis is contrast. You need some rain to appreciate the sun Just some morning reflections as I watch the clouds over San Salvador on a rainy Tuesday

Breakfast on San Salvador volcano Today we explored the various trails that criss cross the lower regions and met some of the farmers who cultivate in this area. No views but great walking and conversation Sundays are for father-son hiking 🧡

Good morning from El Salvador We are now in DAY 119 since the government rescinded Bitcoin as legal tender, at the request of the IMF (effective since 30 April) Yesterday the IMF released it's first staff-level review of the agreement which says El Salvador is following through on its commitments. Regarding Bitcoin it only mentioned the prohibition of the state accumulating new bitcoin and the pending sale of Chivo (the govt bitcoin wallet). A link to the full review is in the comments This should serve as a reminder of how long the IMF loan process is and how early we are in that process. There have been some effects on the ground already--for example since earlier this month the govt can no longer accept bitcoin--but most effects are still to come. The IMF will have inside access to all things relating to the terms on the agreement and will regularly review compliance for years. Also, there remain many deadlines pending over the next months (such as the sale of Chivo)

Good morning from El Salvador We are now in Day Three since the government rescinded Bitcoin as legal tender, at the request of the IMF Some updates... After skipping a few days for the first time since the 'bitcoin-a-day' program began, the govt seems to have made up for it and purchased 5 bitcoin yesterday. No word on what happened earlier in the week, but good to see they are back on track. As far as I can tell, this program will not be affected by the IMF deal, at least not at first, though we shall see No other updates from on the ground, but in being very vocal in my opposition to removing legal tender status at the behest of the IMF I have learned a lot about the Bitcoin community. One major surprise is how little Bitcoiners seem to know about how the IMF works This isn't just some loan. This isn't about the law changes El Salvador quietly pushed through earlier this week. This is about power, and how much leverage the IMF now has in determining El Salvador's future. If the govt decided, you know what, we need to update some laws. Great. But, that's not what happened. They are now making law changes cause Daddy IMF wants it, not cause they do. Expect more of the same now. This is the IMF playbook, always has been Some background on me: I've been strongly opposed to the IMF since 2001 when I first realized thier actual role in the world. For more than two decades I've been protesting them. Literally. My first IMF related arrest was in 2002. I never worked for them, but I worked for the UN and UNICEF for over 10 years and got some insight into the global bureaucracy that the IMF was born out of. I've also travelled the globe--to more than 70 nations--, working as a journalist and seeing with my own eyes how the IMF has shaped the world When I first heard about Bitcoin, I understand its potential instantly. I literally sold everything I had (which as a nomadic anarchist was not much) and went all in (I lost that entire first purchase when the exchange was hacked and later, the UK govt seized all my assets cause I was selling p2p bitcoin and they didnt like one of my customers). I understood Bitcoin immediately as a solution because I was already neck deep in the problem, which is best represented by the IMF and how they use 'loans' to control the world and shape our future. There was only one other time in my life when I dropped everything and went all in. El Salvador in 2021, when they announced Bitcoin as legal tender, and implicitly, gave the finger to the IMF. I've built a life here. My son was born here. Whatever its faults, that this nation was willing to resist the IMF made this place incredibly special to me. Maybe you can understand why this news has hit me so hard But I digress. I had wrongly assumed that the why & the how of the IMF was widely known among Bitcoiners. I've come to realize over the past few days that most think of the IMF as simply an organization that gives loans to nation states I'm going to write more in the coming days and weeks about the IMF to try and help people understand how that org works. Any good beginner resources to recommend for those just getting started?