Check out this great video by Stefan Molyneux. This video discusses the dangers of Bitcoin for central banks, governments, and also Bitcoin users as well. Must see.

Darkmarket crackdown: Onymous

"A full-blown dark web drug crackdown is in the works, and it’s not stopping with the Silk Road.
On Thursday the FBI along with other law enforcement agencies including the Department of Homeland Security and Europol announced that it had seized the Silk Road 2, perhaps the most well-known drug market to appear on the Dark Web since the takedown of the original Silk Road last year. What it didn’t announce is that at least two other drug market sites have also been busted, and more takedowns are likely coming. The drug markets Hydra and Cloud 9 now both display the same “This Hidden Site Has Been Seized” notices as the Silk Road 2, emblazoned with the logos of the FBI and Europol. Several other popular dark net markets were down Thursday morning, as well, though they didn’t display that banner. An FBI spokesperson tells WIRED that there will be more than three market seizures in total, with the full extent of the operation set to be revealed by Friday."--from Wired

The control freaks just can't stand the fact that people are using technology to liberate themselves and circumvent prohibitionist measures in a way that reduces violence and provides better quality products. That scares them because it refutes some of the largest reasons for the drug war; the secondary effects of violence and theft that is often correlated with use.

Dark markets are removing this, and the statists can't stand it. They are losing control and losing the argument, simultaneously.

Despite this large push, a few darkmarkets are still operating. And just like the last push, I expect Silk Road 3.0 to be up and running in no time. People will always try to get what they want.

BlackEnergy

" A destructive “Trojan Horse” malware program has penetrated the software that runs much of the nation’s critical infrastructure and is poised to cause an economic catastrophe, according to the Department of Homeland Security. National Security sources told ABC News there is evidence that the malware was inserted by hackers believed to be sponsored by the Russian government, and is a very serious threat. The hacked software is used to control complex industrial operations like oil and gas pipelines, power transmission grids, water distribution and filtration systems, wind turbines and even some nuclear plants. Shutting down or damaging any of these vital public utilities could severely impact hundreds of thousands of Americans."-- From ABCnews.

It was only a matter of time. Just one more reason to develop robust, local infrastructure.

H/T-- http://market-ticker.org/

 

Have the Feds found the second leaker?

"Anyone who has been following Edward Snowden’s heroic whistleblowing, and the reporting of Glenn Greenwald on the classified documents that prove egregious violations of the United States Constitution by the NSA, will also be aware of speculation that a “second leaker” had emerged earlier this year. It appears this person may have been identified by the FBI."

More at Zerohedge.

Kind of sad...

Trying to convince the new hipster bar in town of why they should take bitcoin. I hoped they got it already.....


 Shit.

Kardashian Krypt

"“Kim's image is everywhere. You think of selfies and you think of Kim Kardashian,” Varner told me over the phone. “She's the number one most followed woman on Instagram. Her image is already in the back of everyone's mind, whether you want her to be or not. So the fact that her image is everywhere makes it easier to slip in a few secret messages.”

That's exactly what Varner's Chrome extension Kardashian Krypt, which was developed as part of her internship at FAT Lab, allows you to do."

http://motherboard.vice.com/read/finally-a-way-to-send-secret-messages-inside-pictures-of-kim-kardashian

Crypto 2.0

"Just when people were getting used to the idea that bitcoin might not be a boom-and-bust fad destined for failure, entirely new applications of the technology have joined digital currency on stage.
Crypto 2.0 – also know as cryptography 2.0, decentralized applications, or, popularly, as bitcoin 2.0 – is the application of block chain or distributed ledger technology to things other than digital currency. The block chain offers the ability to facilitate decentralized ownership and store, transfer and process information in a decentralized, programmable way. Many consider that innovation to be the true value of this technology." 

More at Coindesk.

Soon we will begin to see how revolutionary cryptocurrency really is.

Great articles

Two from WRSA.

On the Open Source Revolution.

And on lessons from a deep-web drug dealer.

Both are worth a read and your consideration.

I know Dylan said it in the 60's but it's as true now as then.

Bitcoin inspired art work

Hit the link to see some really awesome and innovative pieces inspired by Bitcoin.

This one is my favorite. What's yours?

http://www.coindesk.com/10-impressive-bitcoin-inspired-art-pieces/

Word to the wise

Encrypt your sexts and compromising selfies.

"In an extensive new interview with The Guardian, National Security Agency (NSA) whistleblower Edward Snowden emphasized the need for "lawyers, journalists, doctors, accountants, priests," and others with a duty to protect confidentiality to ditch unencrypted communication. He also confirmed what many people have joked about since the NSA's surveillance was first revealed: Yes, agents are totally looking at and passing around your "sexually compromising" photos."

http://reason.com/blog/2014/07/18/sexy-time-at-the-nsa

 

This poor girl just got the news....a little bit too late though.

Protect yourself. Use crypto.

 

Could Cody Wilson and Amir Taaki's Dark Wallet help fulfill Second Realm Strategy?

If you are not familiar with these characters and their project, Dark Wallet, read this excellent Wired article.

"Wilson and Taaki intend Dark Wallet to be the most user-friendly method yet to spend bitcoins under the cover of anonymity’s shadow—without switching to a niche alternative coin or trusting any shady middleman.
Every coin spent through the program, an add-on to Google’s Chrome browser, gets matched up and merged with another transaction in a process called CoinJoin. The trick is a bit like Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train, who agree to murder each other’s victims: When Dark Wallet combines two transactions on behalf of two users, their coins are spent simultaneously. The blockchain only records one movement of money, and since the CoinJoin negotiation is encrypted, there’s no way to tell whose coins end up where. As Dark Wallet’s user base grows—today it’s already in the low thousands despite still being in development—those CoinJoins will grow to combine three or even more transactions. Add enough users and the system becomes “a magnificent layer of uncertainty” over “a massive confusion of addresses,” as one early tester describes it.
Dark Wallet also offers what it calls “stealth addresses” that allow a user to receive bitcoins at an encrypted address, where only he or she can retrieve them using a private key. When a coin passes through either a CoinJoin transaction or a stealth address, it becomes vastly more difficult to track, making taxation, regulation, and prosecution virtually impossible. “We want a bitcoin that laughs at the regulatory pageantry,” Wilson says. “We’re going to permanently problematize bitcoin’s reputation.”"

Seriously, though, read the whole thing because it is excellent. With this article and the implications of Dark Wallet in mind, read(or re-read) the Second Realm Strategy paper.

Wilson and Taaki may have developed the tool to bring about crypto-anarchists' greatest wish.

Encryption for dummies

This is something I've been hoping to see for some time.

"Encryption is hard. When NSA leaker Edward Snowden wanted to communicate with journalist Glenn Greenwald via encrypted email, Greenwald couldn’t figure out the venerable crypto program PGP even after Snowden made a 12-minute tutorial video.

Nadim Kobeissi wants to bulldoze that steep learning curve. At the HOPE hacker conference in New York later this month he’ll release a beta version of an all-purpose file encryption program called miniLock, a free and open-source browser plugin designed to let even Luddites encrypt and decrypt files with practically uncrackable cryptographic protection in seconds."

Read more at Wired.

You might want to look this over

http://borepatch.blogspot.com/2014/07/is-there-second-nsa-leaker.html?m=1

EFF's TOR challenge

https://www.eff.org/torchallenge/

Tying it all together

I'd like to tie together a few things that recently came to my attention. I assume you read the previous blog post. If not please do so at this time. http://normorweird.blogspot.com/2014/05/but-at-least-you-won-die-in-drone-strike.html

Caught up? Ok. Now did you see last night's NBC interview with Edward Snowden?

No? Here it is then.


Next, I just finished listening to Dan Carlin's latest podcast (episode 275 if you are reading this in the future) and I really think anyone who is following recent events would find rather compelling. In it he draws some very good parallels with the tone and climate of the late 60's and early 70's and modern times. I've seen some strong similarities for several years as well, and they get stronger all the time. God forbid it flashes over to the riots and assassinations like then.

If so...well remember that Zerohedge article from the previous post?

Not a pretty picture when you take all these things together. The gripes of the TEA party and OWS crowd were never addressed. In fact, nearly all those problems are worse now. How long will people quietly put up with the illusion of democracy? How long will they watch their standard of living fall and prospects of hope for future generations dwindle?

I have no answer for that, but it appears that those in DC are making moves like they expect not too much longer. I think it is prudent if you plan accordingly as well.

Good little overview on TAILS and TOR

Silicon Graveyard gives a simple explanation on the how's and why's of TAILS and TOR. This post, as well as his other stuff, is recommended reading.

http://www.thesilicongraybeard.blogspot.com/2014/05/when-you-need-envelope-part-ii.html?m=1

Dark wallet

If you watched the whole video with Cody Wilson that I posted recently, you probably were intrigued by the bit where he talks about his new project, Dark Wallet.

Here is a pretty decent little overview from Wired. Enjoy!

http://www.wired.com/2014/04/dark-wallet

Permacredits

What happens when you combine the convenience of a premier cryptocurrency, like Bitcoin, the crowd funding of Kickstarter, and the democratic aspects of Reddit?

You get Permacredits.

Distributed technologies like this are changing our society and the face of the planet. In good ways I hope. But that is up to us. If you don't like what you see, and want to change it, I encourage you to educate yourself on these tools, use them, and support those who are out doing the work.

For once in human history, average people of little to modest means have the ability to make truly sweeping changes in a non-violent way. I certainly prefer that to the other way of altering the social order, don't you?

Non-state solutions to social problems

Here is Amanda Billyrock's latest video.



I don't know about you, but these ideas sound preferable to our current institutions to me.

Follow up on "Black Hats"

The other day I posted  an article on NSA surveillance techniques and some new revelations on their capabilities. I said I would do some research and get back on some ways to possibly secure you data.  I sadly haven't had much time to research but, I will throw up some links for you to check on some tools and techniques that can help.

Epic.org

Prism Break

And here is Borepatch's primer on data security and steganography.  That blog post is most excellent, as is much of his content. Recommended.

It's probably best you figure this out for yourself depending on your hardware, software, and current updates on what has been compromised or not. More and more folks are adopting these techniques and encouraging others to as well, so help can likely be found in your close circle of friends. If not be the first and share the knowledge.