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#CEOtaku's Gundam Wing: Endless Duel Top 8 has some... interesting competitors! 🎙️ TNS|Zero, Alex Russ & Kanme | Risky Sweep's TitanTron is just an Eva Ep 📺

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12,008 views • 1 year ago •via X (Twitter)

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Jing4121 year ago

@ZeroSyndicate @johannhat That's Lt Quatro, one of the leaders of the AEUG what an honor to see him

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DonaldTrumpofWarframe1 year ago

@ZeroSyndicate @johannhat I came here to laugh at this tweet. Absolute master class from the announcers.

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When it comes to KNOCKOUT POWER… The general consensus (amongst actual FIGHTERS) is that you can slightly improve. But largely… it’s either something you have or you don’t. And some people just have (what actual FIGHTERS will describe as) a ‘freaky’ ability to put people to sleep with a tap. But it’s not enough to be genetically blessed with explosive power and torque… Alex Pereira is one of the greatest examples of these blessed individuals. He has a(n open) secret. You see, on top of being an elite athlete. Through the assistance of his tribe shaman, Alex has been granted the ability to channel something very special. Each punch he throws, he does so with the strength of all of his ancestors. On some avatar state shit. To the point where prior competitors have asked for a clean fight, man to man, without involvement of voodoo or spirits… But it’s not against the rules. State athletic commissions are yet to patch shamanic intervention. Chama.
0:44

When it comes to KNOCKOUT POWER… The general consensus (amongst actual FIGHTERS) is that you can slightly improve. But largely… it’s either something you have or you don’t. And some people just have (what actual FIGHTERS will describe as) a ‘freaky’ ability to put people to sleep with a tap. But it’s not enough to be genetically blessed with explosive power and torque… Alex Pereira is one of the greatest examples of these blessed individuals. He has a(n open) secret. You see, on top of being an elite athlete. Through the assistance of his tribe shaman, Alex has been granted the ability to channel something very special. Each punch he throws, he does so with the strength of all of his ancestors. On some avatar state shit. To the point where prior competitors have asked for a clean fight, man to man, without involvement of voodoo or spirits… But it’s not against the rules. State athletic commissions are yet to patch shamanic intervention. Chama.

DR22 Ω 🪬🎭

18,247 views • 9 months ago

Last week, I had the opportunity to give back to the region that helped shape me into the player I am today. ❤️ As a Midwest Tekken player, it meant a lot to work with Red Bull Gaming and fgc meetups to create an incredible opportunity for the local community. The winner of the event earned an all-expenses-paid trip to EVO! 🏆✈️ Huge congratulations to Kanme | Shadow 20z, who fought through an incredible losers side run to take the entire tournament. 🔥 And congrats to everyone who left it all on the sticks that weekend. That Top 8 was INSANE and had me on the edge of my seat every match. Watching both veteran competitors and the next generation of players showcase their skill, passion, and determination always confirms why I love this region so much. The Midwest continues to produce some of the strongest fighting game talent in the world, and I can't wait to see what comes next. 💪🏾🎮 A huge thank you to TNS | TankTopTento Loading…. as well for being such an amazing person to commentate with. Working alongside passionate people who care about the players and the game always makes these events special. 🎙️ Massive thank you to Nick and my mom for the amazing photos as well! 📸❤️ Thank you for everything 👏🏾
0:06

Last week, I had the opportunity to give back to the region that helped shape me into the player I am today. ❤️ As a Midwest Tekken player, it meant a lot to work with Red Bull Gaming and fgc meetups to create an incredible opportunity for the local community. The winner of the event earned an all-expenses-paid trip to EVO! 🏆✈️ Huge congratulations to Kanme | Shadow 20z, who fought through an incredible losers side run to take the entire tournament. 🔥 And congrats to everyone who left it all on the sticks that weekend. That Top 8 was INSANE and had me on the edge of my seat every match. Watching both veteran competitors and the next generation of players showcase their skill, passion, and determination always confirms why I love this region so much. The Midwest continues to produce some of the strongest fighting game talent in the world, and I can't wait to see what comes next. 💪🏾🎮 A huge thank you to TNS | TankTopTento Loading…. as well for being such an amazing person to commentate with. Working alongside passionate people who care about the players and the game always makes these events special. 🎙️ Massive thank you to Nick and my mom for the amazing photos as well! 📸❤️ Thank you for everything 👏🏾

RB | Cuddle_Core 🦋🌻🦀 (@tkcuddle.bsky.social)

13,077 views • 1 month ago

THE WEEKLY TOP 10 THINGS THAT MAKE LEFTISTS THROW THEIR PHONES ACROSS THE ROOM. 🔟 HUNTER BIDEN MAY BE ON X BE HE DOESN’T HAVE A WICKED JUMP SHOT As the late, great Notorious B.I.G. once said: “Either you’re slingin’ crack rock or you got a wicked jump shot.” 9️⃣ I’VE BEEN BLACK FOR A LONG TIME Someone asked me if my views make me racist. Well, I’ve been black for a long time. In fact, I’ve been black my entire life. So I’m going to go with “no.” 🎱 HARVARD, COLUMBIA, CORNELL… Protect Jewish students. These are institutions of higher learning, they shouldn’t be breeding grounds for antisemitism. 7️⃣ THIS IS WHAT WE’RE CALLING JIM CROW NOW? Apparently showing an ID is Jim Crow. That’s interesting. I had to show an ID to get into this building. I showed an ID to get on the airplane. I showed an ID to rent a car. But voting? Now that’s where we draw the line? 6️⃣ WE CAN PUT PEOPLE IN SPACE We’ve got billionaires launching civilians into outer space for fun. But somehow securing the border under Biden was the one technological challenge humanity just can’t solve? 5️⃣ MAYORKAS HAD THE SAFEST JOB IN AMERICA Most Americans get fired for being bad at their jobs. In Washington, you get promoted. 4️⃣ THE ANSWER IS ZERO How many non-citizens should vote in American elections? This isn’t a trick question. The answer isn’t “some.” The answer isn’t “it depends.” The answer is ZERO. PASS THE SAVE AMERICA ACT. 🥉EITHER YOU’RE A CITIZEN OR YOU’RE NOT This isn’t quantum physics. You either are or you aren’t. 🥈THE TERRORIST WATCHLIST If people on the terrorist watchlist can cross the border… At some point we have to ask: What exactly is the watchlist watching? 🥇THE AMERICAN DREAM HAS RULES Every American who came here legally followed the process. The American Dream is open to everyone. But even Monopoly has rules.
1:55

THE WEEKLY TOP 10 THINGS THAT MAKE LEFTISTS THROW THEIR PHONES ACROSS THE ROOM. 🔟 HUNTER BIDEN MAY BE ON X BE HE DOESN’T HAVE A WICKED JUMP SHOT As the late, great Notorious B.I.G. once said: “Either you’re slingin’ crack rock or you got a wicked jump shot.” 9️⃣ I’VE BEEN BLACK FOR A LONG TIME Someone asked me if my views make me racist. Well, I’ve been black for a long time. In fact, I’ve been black my entire life. So I’m going to go with “no.” 🎱 HARVARD, COLUMBIA, CORNELL… Protect Jewish students. These are institutions of higher learning, they shouldn’t be breeding grounds for antisemitism. 7️⃣ THIS IS WHAT WE’RE CALLING JIM CROW NOW? Apparently showing an ID is Jim Crow. That’s interesting. I had to show an ID to get into this building. I showed an ID to get on the airplane. I showed an ID to rent a car. But voting? Now that’s where we draw the line? 6️⃣ WE CAN PUT PEOPLE IN SPACE We’ve got billionaires launching civilians into outer space for fun. But somehow securing the border under Biden was the one technological challenge humanity just can’t solve? 5️⃣ MAYORKAS HAD THE SAFEST JOB IN AMERICA Most Americans get fired for being bad at their jobs. In Washington, you get promoted. 4️⃣ THE ANSWER IS ZERO How many non-citizens should vote in American elections? This isn’t a trick question. The answer isn’t “some.” The answer isn’t “it depends.” The answer is ZERO. PASS THE SAVE AMERICA ACT. 🥉EITHER YOU’RE A CITIZEN OR YOU’RE NOT This isn’t quantum physics. You either are or you aren’t. 🥈THE TERRORIST WATCHLIST If people on the terrorist watchlist can cross the border… At some point we have to ask: What exactly is the watchlist watching? 🥇THE AMERICAN DREAM HAS RULES Every American who came here legally followed the process. The American Dream is open to everyone. But even Monopoly has rules.

Wesley Hunt

10,466 views • 1 month ago

For those who don’t think eRUC’s will lead to you paying for your emissions or that you won’t be tracked in real time, Here’s some bad news for you. eROAD (which has been going bananas on the stock market) is the lead contender for the multi million contract with the govt, has as one of its main organisation objectives “To track all emissions to get us to net zero” which just so happens is one of the stated goals of the UN, and WEF. Coincidence. In fact in their investor presentation the company proudly claims that is “led by the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals” 7 of them in fact - and reports against the UN’s SDG’s. On dear. It gets worse, way way worse. The WEF has a local shop, called ‘Chapter Zero’ which Luxon & Willis has presented to and engages with . The board of eRoad is are also paid up members of the WEF’s shop - Chapter Zero. Convenient. Reading their last 3 years of investor presentations - it is clear that eRoad sees its future growth in measuring and reporting data to what it calls ‘partners’, but doesn’t say who these partners are. The company claims it was the first in NZ to build an eRUC system, looking on line its employees were also involved in the first prosecution of inside trading. In fact that incident is now used a case study for criminal lawyers. Reading their privacy statement is interesting, they reserve the right to credit check all system users, and here’s something they reserve the right - to share ‘anonymised’ data of your location and emissions data to ‘partners’ and AI firms. Wonderful. So easy just like a Netflix subscription ! Here’s CEO of eROAD Mark Heine (pronouns in his LinkedIn profile btw) talking to Greg Murphy about how their eRUC system works - - Records where the vehicle is all the time - It will monitor distance, and the speed you are doing. - They can monitor emissions, Mark says “that’s what the govt wants us to do” - Will be a huge data collector which is ‘exciting because of the possibilities’. Oh yes the possibilities. Endless. So many possibilities! Like being linked to your electronic money, being limited on your car use, freedom of travel, being debited to pay for the Paris Agreement.. oh man it’s all good stuff ! For people comparing this to “oh just like your mobile” a better comparison for this system is an ankle bracelet criminals wear. A reminder this was a joint National and Act coalition agreement. You like it ?
2:07

For those who don’t think eRUC’s will lead to you paying for your emissions or that you won’t be tracked in real time, Here’s some bad news for you. eROAD (which has been going bananas on the stock market) is the lead contender for the multi million contract with the govt, has as one of its main organisation objectives “To track all emissions to get us to net zero” which just so happens is one of the stated goals of the UN, and WEF. Coincidence. In fact in their investor presentation the company proudly claims that is “led by the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals” 7 of them in fact - and reports against the UN’s SDG’s. On dear. It gets worse, way way worse. The WEF has a local shop, called ‘Chapter Zero’ which Luxon & Willis has presented to and engages with . The board of eRoad is are also paid up members of the WEF’s shop - Chapter Zero. Convenient. Reading their last 3 years of investor presentations - it is clear that eRoad sees its future growth in measuring and reporting data to what it calls ‘partners’, but doesn’t say who these partners are. The company claims it was the first in NZ to build an eRUC system, looking on line its employees were also involved in the first prosecution of inside trading. In fact that incident is now used a case study for criminal lawyers. Reading their privacy statement is interesting, they reserve the right to credit check all system users, and here’s something they reserve the right - to share ‘anonymised’ data of your location and emissions data to ‘partners’ and AI firms. Wonderful. So easy just like a Netflix subscription ! Here’s CEO of eROAD Mark Heine (pronouns in his LinkedIn profile btw) talking to Greg Murphy about how their eRUC system works - - Records where the vehicle is all the time - It will monitor distance, and the speed you are doing. - They can monitor emissions, Mark says “that’s what the govt wants us to do” - Will be a huge data collector which is ‘exciting because of the possibilities’. Oh yes the possibilities. Endless. So many possibilities! Like being linked to your electronic money, being limited on your car use, freedom of travel, being debited to pay for the Paris Agreement.. oh man it’s all good stuff ! For people comparing this to “oh just like your mobile” a better comparison for this system is an ankle bracelet criminals wear. A reminder this was a joint National and Act coalition agreement. You like it ?

Holyhekatuiteka

47,912 views • 11 months ago

🚨 Steven Gerrard has just given 10 top reasons why Manchester United should stick with Micheal Carrick: 1. “He understands the identity of Manchester United better than almost anyone.” 2. “The players clearly trust him and you can see they fight harder for him on the pitch.” 3. “He has improved players individually, especially Kobbie Mainoo who looks more confident and complete under him.” 4. “Carrick brings calmness during difficult moments instead of panic.” 5. “His style of football is modern, brave and far more suited to Manchester United than defensive football.” 6. “The dressing room looks united again and that says a lot about the manager.” 7. “He knows what it takes to win at Old Trafford because he lived it for years under Sir Alex Ferguson.” 8. “Young players are developing properly under him and that should always matter at Manchester United.” 9. “You can already see tactical improvement even with an unbalanced squad and injuries.” 10. “Manchester United keep changing managers every two years. At some point you have to trust someone and build something long term. Carrick deserves that opportunity.” {Diario SPORT }
0:23

🚨 Steven Gerrard has just given 10 top reasons why Manchester United should stick with Micheal Carrick: 1. “He understands the identity of Manchester United better than almost anyone.” 2. “The players clearly trust him and you can see they fight harder for him on the pitch.” 3. “He has improved players individually, especially Kobbie Mainoo who looks more confident and complete under him.” 4. “Carrick brings calmness during difficult moments instead of panic.” 5. “His style of football is modern, brave and far more suited to Manchester United than defensive football.” 6. “The dressing room looks united again and that says a lot about the manager.” 7. “He knows what it takes to win at Old Trafford because he lived it for years under Sir Alex Ferguson.” 8. “Young players are developing properly under him and that should always matter at Manchester United.” 9. “You can already see tactical improvement even with an unbalanced squad and injuries.” 10. “Manchester United keep changing managers every two years. At some point you have to trust someone and build something long term. Carrick deserves that opportunity.” {Diario SPORT }

SethOfficial

32,774 views • 2 months ago

An Open Letter to Governor Alex Otti Alex Otti Dear Sir, I just want to say thank you. Last Thursday, I traveled home to Arochukwu after work in Enugu just to spend the May 1 public holiday the next day. For many people, that might not sound like a big deal. But for those of us from Arochukwu, it is something we haven’t been able to do for years, making a short trip to Arochukwu just for leisure?? You must be an indaboski!!! Before now, traveling home was something we avoided, even during festive periods like Christmas. The road was simply too bad that those of us who dare travel will go from Umuahia to Akwaibom then to Arochukwu. It made journeys stressful, long, and sometimes even risky. Personally, it has been about four years since I last made a trip home. But this time was different. The road from Umuahia to Arochukwu is now smooth, dualized, and truly motorable. People now leave Umuahia by 7 pm and get to Arochukwu by 8 pm. That’s something we couldn’t have imagined not too long ago. People are traveling again. There’s movement, there’s ease, and there’s joy. And for that, I am deeply grateful. This is not just about a road. It is about reconnecting people to their homes, restoring a sense of normalcy, and giving us back something we had almost lost, the freedom to travel without fear or frustration. I am speaking for myself, but I know I am not alone. Many of us from Arochukwu see this, feel this, and appreciate it. We know where we are coming from. We understand that Abia State still has a long way to go after many years without real development. But these steps you are taking, even if they seem small to some, mean a lot to us. They give us hope. We believe you can do even more. We trust that you will continue to work towards rebuilding our state and positioning Abia where it truly belongs. We look forward to seeing our state rise, not just in words, but in real, visible progress until it stands proudly among the best in Nigeria. Thank you for remembering us. Thank you for this road. Thank you for making it possible for people like me to go home again at ease Yours sincerely, Mercy Torty A grateful indigene of Arochukwu
1:14

An Open Letter to Governor Alex Otti Alex Otti Dear Sir, I just want to say thank you. Last Thursday, I traveled home to Arochukwu after work in Enugu just to spend the May 1 public holiday the next day. For many people, that might not sound like a big deal. But for those of us from Arochukwu, it is something we haven’t been able to do for years, making a short trip to Arochukwu just for leisure?? You must be an indaboski!!! Before now, traveling home was something we avoided, even during festive periods like Christmas. The road was simply too bad that those of us who dare travel will go from Umuahia to Akwaibom then to Arochukwu. It made journeys stressful, long, and sometimes even risky. Personally, it has been about four years since I last made a trip home. But this time was different. The road from Umuahia to Arochukwu is now smooth, dualized, and truly motorable. People now leave Umuahia by 7 pm and get to Arochukwu by 8 pm. That’s something we couldn’t have imagined not too long ago. People are traveling again. There’s movement, there’s ease, and there’s joy. And for that, I am deeply grateful. This is not just about a road. It is about reconnecting people to their homes, restoring a sense of normalcy, and giving us back something we had almost lost, the freedom to travel without fear or frustration. I am speaking for myself, but I know I am not alone. Many of us from Arochukwu see this, feel this, and appreciate it. We know where we are coming from. We understand that Abia State still has a long way to go after many years without real development. But these steps you are taking, even if they seem small to some, mean a lot to us. They give us hope. We believe you can do even more. We trust that you will continue to work towards rebuilding our state and positioning Abia where it truly belongs. We look forward to seeing our state rise, not just in words, but in real, visible progress until it stands proudly among the best in Nigeria. Thank you for remembering us. Thank you for this road. Thank you for making it possible for people like me to go home again at ease Yours sincerely, Mercy Torty A grateful indigene of Arochukwu

Revolutionary Youth!

19,504 views • 2 months ago

Resurrecting this dead issue to activate women against the right at this existential moment in the immigration fight needs to be shut down. Recent polling has One Nation around 31% of the primary vote with immigration being the single biggest reason voters are backing them. That’s where the public’s attention is and that’s where the momentum is coming from. Immigration restriction exists under a social license, allowing unpopular or poorly thought-through policies has previously destroyed the right in Australia. Hanson’s EasyTax proposal in the 1998 federal election ruined One Nation electorally at a time when immigration was equally as salient a concern as today. It is entirely plausible we see a repeat of this with abortion. Abortion is a low-salience issue. Australians don’t rank it among their top political concerns, and it is nowhere near the vote mover that immigration has become. A February 2026 Redbridge poll for The Australia Institute (N=2,010) found 62% support access to abortion services, with another 25% supporting it in limited circumstances. Only 8% oppose it outright. Even among One Nation voters themselves, a substantial majority support access in at least some circumstances. Even if your concern is solely with sex-selective abortion, it has been empirically demonstrated that certain migrant communities (particularly from India and China) exhibit notably higher rates of early induced abortion, including patterns consistent with sex-selective practices that produce skewed sex ratios at birth far above the natural level. Australian-born women show lower rates. But regardless of the nuance of your preferred ban, attempts to legislate in this area walks a tightrope. The distinction between opposing sex-selective abortion and restricting abortion rights more broadly is unlikely to survive media coverage or partisan campaigning. Opponents will almost certainly present it as an attack on women’s bodily autonomy, regardless of the narrower intent and the electoral apocalypse will ensue. The left can no longer rely on accusations of racism to halt growing opposition to mass immigration. Instead, it is attempting to recast the right as anti-women, sexist and anti-abortion. That is particularly risky when women have been moving towards One Nation in significant numbers, and in some polls more than men. Australia has largely avoided the political gender divide seen elsewhere. Why hand opponents a wedge issue when the public is already delivering a mandate on immigration? The opportunity to secure meaningful change on immigration, demographics and our existential problem is rare and may not come again. Turning a low-priority social issue into a central political battle risks everything by energising opponents and distracting from the issue that created the momentum in the first place. Keep the focus on immigration. Don’t squander momentum when it is finally translating into political leverage. Have your vote of conscience as Labor and Liberals have done but don’t risk it as National platform or an artificial right wing position.
2:50

Resurrecting this dead issue to activate women against the right at this existential moment in the immigration fight needs to be shut down. Recent polling has One Nation around 31% of the primary vote with immigration being the single biggest reason voters are backing them. That’s where the public’s attention is and that’s where the momentum is coming from. Immigration restriction exists under a social license, allowing unpopular or poorly thought-through policies has previously destroyed the right in Australia. Hanson’s EasyTax proposal in the 1998 federal election ruined One Nation electorally at a time when immigration was equally as salient a concern as today. It is entirely plausible we see a repeat of this with abortion. Abortion is a low-salience issue. Australians don’t rank it among their top political concerns, and it is nowhere near the vote mover that immigration has become. A February 2026 Redbridge poll for The Australia Institute (N=2,010) found 62% support access to abortion services, with another 25% supporting it in limited circumstances. Only 8% oppose it outright. Even among One Nation voters themselves, a substantial majority support access in at least some circumstances. Even if your concern is solely with sex-selective abortion, it has been empirically demonstrated that certain migrant communities (particularly from India and China) exhibit notably higher rates of early induced abortion, including patterns consistent with sex-selective practices that produce skewed sex ratios at birth far above the natural level. Australian-born women show lower rates. But regardless of the nuance of your preferred ban, attempts to legislate in this area walks a tightrope. The distinction between opposing sex-selective abortion and restricting abortion rights more broadly is unlikely to survive media coverage or partisan campaigning. Opponents will almost certainly present it as an attack on women’s bodily autonomy, regardless of the narrower intent and the electoral apocalypse will ensue. The left can no longer rely on accusations of racism to halt growing opposition to mass immigration. Instead, it is attempting to recast the right as anti-women, sexist and anti-abortion. That is particularly risky when women have been moving towards One Nation in significant numbers, and in some polls more than men. Australia has largely avoided the political gender divide seen elsewhere. Why hand opponents a wedge issue when the public is already delivering a mandate on immigration? The opportunity to secure meaningful change on immigration, demographics and our existential problem is rare and may not come again. Turning a low-priority social issue into a central political battle risks everything by energising opponents and distracting from the issue that created the momentum in the first place. Keep the focus on immigration. Don’t squander momentum when it is finally translating into political leverage. Have your vote of conscience as Labor and Liberals have done but don’t risk it as National platform or an artificial right wing position.

auspill

141,176 views • 1 month ago

A central bank. And Bitcoin. My speech at The Bitcoin Conference 2026 in Las Vegas on 28 April 2026. Video and text; the slide link is below: Today, I want to talk about a strange combination: A central bank. And Bitcoin. Most people do not put these two things together. I do. In monetary policy, a central bank must be conservative. But it must think ahead. When I became Governor of the Czech National Bank in mid-2022, inflation in my country was close to 20 percent. Twenty percent. It was a serious moment. When I took office, I said we would bring inflation back to 2 percent within two years. And we did. Not with magic. With discipline. I said this clearly: Even before covid, money was too cheap for too long. For too long, the system promoted borrowing. For too long, the currency was weakened. We changed that. We kept policy tighter for longer. We supported saving. And the koruna became strong. That, for me, is conservative monetary policy. Our rule is simple: stay hawkish forever. We also manage very large foreign exchange reserves. Very large. We manage about 180 billion dollars in reserves. That is about 44 percent of GDP. Relative to the size of our economy, our reserves are among the largest in the world. So we have to build the right portfolio for the future. Here, you can see the long-term risk and return. It is based on Czech koruna data, the currency in which our books are kept. Bonds are at the low end. Low risk. Low return. Stocks and gold can offer higher returns. But they also bring higher risk. The next point is the Czech National Bank’s portfolio. Over the past four years, we increased the share of equities from 15 to 26 percent. We also increased the share of gold from almost zero to 6 percent. We built a diversified portfolio. A higher expected return than before. Lower risk than an all-stock portfolio. And even lower risk than an all-bond portfolio. But then came the next question. Can we do more? Can we build an even stronger portfolio for the future This is where Bitcoin comes in. The first time I used Bitcoin, I bought a coffee in Prague about ten years ago. Today, that coffee comes to about 350 dollars. It was the most expensive coffee of my life. Bitcoin has had very high returns. But honestly, it looks risky. It is much more volatile than other assets. One day, its price may be much higher. Or it could go to zero. Yes, zero. And that is true for other assets too. A stock can go to zero. Even a bond can fail. That is why it is not wise to bet on just one asset. We have to think about the whole portfolio. The next point on the chart is what we found in our new analysis. This is our model portfolio with 1 percent in Bitcoin. And here comes the interesting part. With 1 percent in Bitcoin, the expected return goes up. And the overall risk stays about the same. That is what our new study shows. Why? Because Bitcoin has low long-term correlation with many traditional assets. It does not move in the same way. And that matters. When you add an asset like this, the whole portfolio can work better. The return can go up. And the risk can stay about the same. That is diversification. Over the long term, Bitcoin can provide returns that are not closely linked to other assets. In some ways, it is similar to venture capital. But it is much more liquid. So we started a separate test portfolio with Bitcoin. A test portfolio. Not a revolution. Not a political statement. A test. We will run it for two years. Then we will publish the results. Then we will decide what comes next. Be conservative in monetary policy. Be innovative in how we work. This is the future. Česká národní banka
8:09

A central bank. And Bitcoin. My speech at The Bitcoin Conference 2026 in Las Vegas on 28 April 2026. Video and text; the slide link is below: Today, I want to talk about a strange combination: A central bank. And Bitcoin. Most people do not put these two things together. I do. In monetary policy, a central bank must be conservative. But it must think ahead. When I became Governor of the Czech National Bank in mid-2022, inflation in my country was close to 20 percent. Twenty percent. It was a serious moment. When I took office, I said we would bring inflation back to 2 percent within two years. And we did. Not with magic. With discipline. I said this clearly: Even before covid, money was too cheap for too long. For too long, the system promoted borrowing. For too long, the currency was weakened. We changed that. We kept policy tighter for longer. We supported saving. And the koruna became strong. That, for me, is conservative monetary policy. Our rule is simple: stay hawkish forever. We also manage very large foreign exchange reserves. Very large. We manage about 180 billion dollars in reserves. That is about 44 percent of GDP. Relative to the size of our economy, our reserves are among the largest in the world. So we have to build the right portfolio for the future. Here, you can see the long-term risk and return. It is based on Czech koruna data, the currency in which our books are kept. Bonds are at the low end. Low risk. Low return. Stocks and gold can offer higher returns. But they also bring higher risk. The next point is the Czech National Bank’s portfolio. Over the past four years, we increased the share of equities from 15 to 26 percent. We also increased the share of gold from almost zero to 6 percent. We built a diversified portfolio. A higher expected return than before. Lower risk than an all-stock portfolio. And even lower risk than an all-bond portfolio. But then came the next question. Can we do more? Can we build an even stronger portfolio for the future This is where Bitcoin comes in. The first time I used Bitcoin, I bought a coffee in Prague about ten years ago. Today, that coffee comes to about 350 dollars. It was the most expensive coffee of my life. Bitcoin has had very high returns. But honestly, it looks risky. It is much more volatile than other assets. One day, its price may be much higher. Or it could go to zero. Yes, zero. And that is true for other assets too. A stock can go to zero. Even a bond can fail. That is why it is not wise to bet on just one asset. We have to think about the whole portfolio. The next point on the chart is what we found in our new analysis. This is our model portfolio with 1 percent in Bitcoin. And here comes the interesting part. With 1 percent in Bitcoin, the expected return goes up. And the overall risk stays about the same. That is what our new study shows. Why? Because Bitcoin has low long-term correlation with many traditional assets. It does not move in the same way. And that matters. When you add an asset like this, the whole portfolio can work better. The return can go up. And the risk can stay about the same. That is diversification. Over the long term, Bitcoin can provide returns that are not closely linked to other assets. In some ways, it is similar to venture capital. But it is much more liquid. So we started a separate test portfolio with Bitcoin. A test portfolio. Not a revolution. Not a political statement. A test. We will run it for two years. Then we will publish the results. Then we will decide what comes next. Be conservative in monetary policy. Be innovative in how we work. This is the future. Česká národní banka

Aleš Michl

68,481 views • 3 months ago

1B Tanner Thach (UNCW Baseball) is another college bat to keep close tabs on this season. Thach was drafted by the Giants in the 18th round of the 2022 draft but decided to honor his commitment to the Seahawks. Thach made a significant impact in his first year on campus and posted a .290/.356/.544 slash line with 11 2B, 15 HR—a UNCW single-season freshman record—and 68 RBIs. He outdid himself in 2024 and hit .324/.406/.700 with 11 2B, a UNCW single-season record 27 HR and 75 RBIs in 61 games. Thach’s production didn’t end there, though, as he was named a Cape League all-star, hitting .275/.367/.493 with 6 doubles, 8 HR and 25 RBIs. Thach has a strong, physical build at 6’4” and 220-lbs. He has a crouched stance in the box with an open front side and a medium-high handset. It’s a bit of a noisy load in which he drops and drifts his hands, but Thach does possess plenty of bat speed. He has a steep, uphill swing path, and it’s a violent operation that is geared towards getting the ball up in the air and doing damage. However, it can get long at times. Thach’s carrying tool is undoubtedly his immense power. He has established a now-lengthy track record of power production with both metal and wood, and he has zero issue tapping into it on a game-to-game basis. Thach has home run power to all fields, though his highest quality of contact comes to the pull side. He gets the ball up in the air on a consistent basis, and when he catches the baseball on the sweet spot, it flies. Thach posted maximum exit velocities during the spring and summer of 113.5 mph and 103.1 mph, respectively. At the start of the summer, he would sometimes unnecessarily sell out to get to his power which caused him to top-spin line drives to the pull side, but as the season progressed he was able to break that habit. Thach has plus in-game power to all fields. The biggest key going forward for Thach is for him to continue to make enough contact to get to his power on a regular basis. His bat-to-ball skills are fringy, though he did post a 90% in-zone contact rate against all fastballs. Like a lot of hitters, the root of Thach’s contact struggles are secondary offerings. He’ll have difficulty at times picking up spin out of the hand which leads to both miss and chase. Thach will also tend to whiff and chase against heaters that are either elevated or on the outer-half of the plate. However, he does handle velocity well and last season he hit .533/.588/1.033 against all fastballs 92+. While Thach feasts on righthanded pitching, he hit just .246/.321/.551 last season against lefties. Thach’s power is tremendous, but he’ll need to add a coat or two of polish to his hit-ability as he transitions into professional baseball. First base isn’t the flashiest defensive profile, but Thach moves well around the bag and is a strong athlete at the position. He’s not afraid to range into the four-hole and he is a reassuring anchor on the right side of the infield. Thach has an advanced baseball sense, a trait that shines on a game-to-game basis. While he won’t pitch professionally, expect Thach to log some innings this spring for UNCW. His fastball tops out in the low 90s and flashes some hop in the top of the zone, but he’ll also mix in a mid-70s curveball and a low-80s changeup. The cherry on top with Thach is his makeup, both on and off the field. It’s impossible to stick a grade on it because it’s a 90 on the 20-80 scale. Would have him as a 2nd-early 3rd round type this July. (🎥: UNCW Baseball, Cotuit Kettleers)
0:36

1B Tanner Thach (UNCW Baseball) is another college bat to keep close tabs on this season. Thach was drafted by the Giants in the 18th round of the 2022 draft but decided to honor his commitment to the Seahawks. Thach made a significant impact in his first year on campus and posted a .290/.356/.544 slash line with 11 2B, 15 HR—a UNCW single-season freshman record—and 68 RBIs. He outdid himself in 2024 and hit .324/.406/.700 with 11 2B, a UNCW single-season record 27 HR and 75 RBIs in 61 games. Thach’s production didn’t end there, though, as he was named a Cape League all-star, hitting .275/.367/.493 with 6 doubles, 8 HR and 25 RBIs. Thach has a strong, physical build at 6’4” and 220-lbs. He has a crouched stance in the box with an open front side and a medium-high handset. It’s a bit of a noisy load in which he drops and drifts his hands, but Thach does possess plenty of bat speed. He has a steep, uphill swing path, and it’s a violent operation that is geared towards getting the ball up in the air and doing damage. However, it can get long at times. Thach’s carrying tool is undoubtedly his immense power. He has established a now-lengthy track record of power production with both metal and wood, and he has zero issue tapping into it on a game-to-game basis. Thach has home run power to all fields, though his highest quality of contact comes to the pull side. He gets the ball up in the air on a consistent basis, and when he catches the baseball on the sweet spot, it flies. Thach posted maximum exit velocities during the spring and summer of 113.5 mph and 103.1 mph, respectively. At the start of the summer, he would sometimes unnecessarily sell out to get to his power which caused him to top-spin line drives to the pull side, but as the season progressed he was able to break that habit. Thach has plus in-game power to all fields. The biggest key going forward for Thach is for him to continue to make enough contact to get to his power on a regular basis. His bat-to-ball skills are fringy, though he did post a 90% in-zone contact rate against all fastballs. Like a lot of hitters, the root of Thach’s contact struggles are secondary offerings. He’ll have difficulty at times picking up spin out of the hand which leads to both miss and chase. Thach will also tend to whiff and chase against heaters that are either elevated or on the outer-half of the plate. However, he does handle velocity well and last season he hit .533/.588/1.033 against all fastballs 92+. While Thach feasts on righthanded pitching, he hit just .246/.321/.551 last season against lefties. Thach’s power is tremendous, but he’ll need to add a coat or two of polish to his hit-ability as he transitions into professional baseball. First base isn’t the flashiest defensive profile, but Thach moves well around the bag and is a strong athlete at the position. He’s not afraid to range into the four-hole and he is a reassuring anchor on the right side of the infield. Thach has an advanced baseball sense, a trait that shines on a game-to-game basis. While he won’t pitch professionally, expect Thach to log some innings this spring for UNCW. His fastball tops out in the low 90s and flashes some hop in the top of the zone, but he’ll also mix in a mid-70s curveball and a low-80s changeup. The cherry on top with Thach is his makeup, both on and off the field. It’s impossible to stick a grade on it because it’s a 90 on the 20-80 scale. Would have him as a 2nd-early 3rd round type this July. (🎥: UNCW Baseball, Cotuit Kettleers)

Peter Flaherty III

42,659 views • 1 year ago

It always takes me a little time to absorb the events of the day before adding new commentary. There’s no question, Friday’s events took some absorbing for sure. I’ve watched the entire clip of the ‘Ambush in the Oval’ a few times and it is beyond doubt, it was a staged event in which it had been decided, the best leverage could be had by publicly humiliating Zelensky in front of the world’s media. Once you take a closer look at the staging, it becomes very clear who this event was being staged for. Among the hand-picked pool of reporters for the Oval Office presser, was an interesting addition. A correspondent for TASS, the Russian state media organization. It’s worthy of note that AP and Reuters were deliberately excluded. The White House later claimed this was an error and the reporter was eventually asked to leave. In addition, there was a plant in the room. The boyfriend of Marjorie Taylor Green, Brian Glenn. He reports for fringe conservative site ‘Real America's Voice’. This was the guy who asked Zelensky "Why don't you wear a suit? You're the highest level in this country's office, and you refuse to wear a suit”, adding “Do you own a suit” JD Vance openly laughed as the question was posed. Zelenskyy’s polite response? "I will wear a suit after this war is over. Maybe something like yours. Maybe better." It was a vacuous question asked in order to tee up Vance for his disgusting demand that Zelenskyy show gratitude to the man who had run a campaign on not providing a cent in military aid to Ukraine. The current Kremlin talking points are that Zelenskyy should step down. We saw this being echoed by the likes of Lyndsay Graham and other right wing talking heads. Effectively, the hard right is doing the bidding of the Kremlin propaganda machine, in an attempt to do what Russia has not been able to do since day one of the invasion. Remove Zelenskyy from the chess board. In addition, they’re running a bogus impeachment narrative, using the line “Ukrainian MP Oleksandr Dubinsky just called for an Emergency Session of Ukraine’s Parliament to initiate IMPEACHMENT” For context, Dubinsky is a suspect in a number of criminal cases related to corruption and treason. He was charged with document forgery in August 2023 after he allegedly travelled abroad under a false pretext. In addition, the US had sanctioned him in 2021, alleging ties to a Russian influence network and interference in the 2020 US election. I think it safe to say, he is of dubious character. This impeachment narrative is already on this platform being circulated by MAGA accounts. As they say, "A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes". Replacing Zelenskyy is now a top priority for the Kremlin. Therefore, it’s a top priority for the U.S. administration. Think about that for a moment and let it sink in. Trump allies are now actively using Kremlin talking points to unseat the Democratically elected president of a sovereign nation. Sound familiar? Zelenskyy is clearly exhausted. This is a man whose country is under siege not only from Russian aggression, but from a proxy Russian campaign run from inside the White House, to undermine his authority. The pressure must be off the chart. Let’s be clear, all Zelenskyy did was stand up for his people against an international criminal extortion gang, attempting to strip an ally of its mineral rights. I have said all week he should not sign the agreement and he was right not to do so. Now the real challenge begins. The good news for Zelenskyy is, he is now among friends as he found when he landed in London last night.
0:51

It always takes me a little time to absorb the events of the day before adding new commentary. There’s no question, Friday’s events took some absorbing for sure. I’ve watched the entire clip of the ‘Ambush in the Oval’ a few times and it is beyond doubt, it was a staged event in which it had been decided, the best leverage could be had by publicly humiliating Zelensky in front of the world’s media. Once you take a closer look at the staging, it becomes very clear who this event was being staged for. Among the hand-picked pool of reporters for the Oval Office presser, was an interesting addition. A correspondent for TASS, the Russian state media organization. It’s worthy of note that AP and Reuters were deliberately excluded. The White House later claimed this was an error and the reporter was eventually asked to leave. In addition, there was a plant in the room. The boyfriend of Marjorie Taylor Green, Brian Glenn. He reports for fringe conservative site ‘Real America's Voice’. This was the guy who asked Zelensky "Why don't you wear a suit? You're the highest level in this country's office, and you refuse to wear a suit”, adding “Do you own a suit” JD Vance openly laughed as the question was posed. Zelenskyy’s polite response? "I will wear a suit after this war is over. Maybe something like yours. Maybe better." It was a vacuous question asked in order to tee up Vance for his disgusting demand that Zelenskyy show gratitude to the man who had run a campaign on not providing a cent in military aid to Ukraine. The current Kremlin talking points are that Zelenskyy should step down. We saw this being echoed by the likes of Lyndsay Graham and other right wing talking heads. Effectively, the hard right is doing the bidding of the Kremlin propaganda machine, in an attempt to do what Russia has not been able to do since day one of the invasion. Remove Zelenskyy from the chess board. In addition, they’re running a bogus impeachment narrative, using the line “Ukrainian MP Oleksandr Dubinsky just called for an Emergency Session of Ukraine’s Parliament to initiate IMPEACHMENT” For context, Dubinsky is a suspect in a number of criminal cases related to corruption and treason. He was charged with document forgery in August 2023 after he allegedly travelled abroad under a false pretext. In addition, the US had sanctioned him in 2021, alleging ties to a Russian influence network and interference in the 2020 US election. I think it safe to say, he is of dubious character. This impeachment narrative is already on this platform being circulated by MAGA accounts. As they say, "A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes". Replacing Zelenskyy is now a top priority for the Kremlin. Therefore, it’s a top priority for the U.S. administration. Think about that for a moment and let it sink in. Trump allies are now actively using Kremlin talking points to unseat the Democratically elected president of a sovereign nation. Sound familiar? Zelenskyy is clearly exhausted. This is a man whose country is under siege not only from Russian aggression, but from a proxy Russian campaign run from inside the White House, to undermine his authority. The pressure must be off the chart. Let’s be clear, all Zelenskyy did was stand up for his people against an international criminal extortion gang, attempting to strip an ally of its mineral rights. I have said all week he should not sign the agreement and he was right not to do so. Now the real challenge begins. The good news for Zelenskyy is, he is now among friends as he found when he landed in London last night.

𝔗𝔯𝔲𝔱𝔥 𝔐𝔞𝔱𝔱𝔢𝔯𝔰

11,384 views • 1 year ago

STRAIGHT TO THE POINT: Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon As Head of U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, AAGHarmeetDhillon is taking on DEI, political violence, getting boys out of girls sports, government overreach, and more. We sat down with her for an exclusive interview you’ll only see right here on Straight to the Point. FULL INTERVIEW 0:50 Staffing Challenges in Civil Rights Division 2:00 200+ DOJ lawyers quit after learning President Trump’s priorities would now be their priorities 3:00 AAG Dhillon: “We've had a mass exodus of the career staff here in the Civil Rights Division. In fact, they have their own support groups.” 4:20 AAG Dhillon: “We are here to serve all Americans, not just some Americans or the Americans who are winning the diversity sweepstakes.” 4:40 AAG Dhillon Responds to Senator Schiff’s allegations that the Civil Rights Division has been cancelled. 5:30 “Massive Fail”: Tuesday elections, 75,000+ Independent voters in PA not included in poll books 7:00 Anti-semitism is a top priority for President Trump’s Civil Rights Division 7:30 Calls Zohran Mamdani’s rhetoric throughout the campaign ”extremely inflammatory and concerning to the Jewish community.” 8:15 AAG Dhillon: This DOJ “has zero tolerance” for anti-semitism 8:50 AAG Dhillon opens investigation into swastika at Jewish day school in Brooklyn 11:20 AAG Dhillon reaches out to Federal Election Staff (FEC) over former UK Labor Party leader Jeremy Corbyn phone-banking For Mamdani 12:45 DOJ seeks 2020 election records from Georgia 16:10 California’s Prop 50: Challenging redistricting 20:30 Federal Shutdown impact at DOJ and Civil Rights Division 21:30 AAG uses X as tool to spot and refer issues 24:00 Senate rules should be re-evaluated: lost civility under Obama Administration 24:30 Investigating Potential Hate Crimes: Iryna Zarutska’s murder on mass transit in Charlotte, NC and Charlie Kirk’s assassination 30:05 Big Tech censorship, cancelled Americans, and the need for legal consequences 31:30 Outdated: Communications Decency Act of 1996 32:30 AAG Dhillon: Confirms review of Arctic Frost Records for potential legal violations 34:40 Getting boys out of girls sports 37:30 College Settlements: AAG Dhillon reports progress on Harvard talks “ I think a number of points have moved quite far along” and UCLA “has been slowed down significantly” 39:30 AAG Dhillon responds to criticism alleging “lack of civility” and an “election denier”; confirms death threats 41:05 Press Freedom: Examining new Trump administration rules 42:50 Role of independent journalism “that's where the real news and the real journalism is coming out…” 43:50 END
45:37

STRAIGHT TO THE POINT: Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon As Head of U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, AAGHarmeetDhillon is taking on DEI, political violence, getting boys out of girls sports, government overreach, and more. We sat down with her for an exclusive interview you’ll only see right here on Straight to the Point. FULL INTERVIEW 0:50 Staffing Challenges in Civil Rights Division 2:00 200+ DOJ lawyers quit after learning President Trump’s priorities would now be their priorities 3:00 AAG Dhillon: “We've had a mass exodus of the career staff here in the Civil Rights Division. In fact, they have their own support groups.” 4:20 AAG Dhillon: “We are here to serve all Americans, not just some Americans or the Americans who are winning the diversity sweepstakes.” 4:40 AAG Dhillon Responds to Senator Schiff’s allegations that the Civil Rights Division has been cancelled. 5:30 “Massive Fail”: Tuesday elections, 75,000+ Independent voters in PA not included in poll books 7:00 Anti-semitism is a top priority for President Trump’s Civil Rights Division 7:30 Calls Zohran Mamdani’s rhetoric throughout the campaign ”extremely inflammatory and concerning to the Jewish community.” 8:15 AAG Dhillon: This DOJ “has zero tolerance” for anti-semitism 8:50 AAG Dhillon opens investigation into swastika at Jewish day school in Brooklyn 11:20 AAG Dhillon reaches out to Federal Election Staff (FEC) over former UK Labor Party leader Jeremy Corbyn phone-banking For Mamdani 12:45 DOJ seeks 2020 election records from Georgia 16:10 California’s Prop 50: Challenging redistricting 20:30 Federal Shutdown impact at DOJ and Civil Rights Division 21:30 AAG uses X as tool to spot and refer issues 24:00 Senate rules should be re-evaluated: lost civility under Obama Administration 24:30 Investigating Potential Hate Crimes: Iryna Zarutska’s murder on mass transit in Charlotte, NC and Charlie Kirk’s assassination 30:05 Big Tech censorship, cancelled Americans, and the need for legal consequences 31:30 Outdated: Communications Decency Act of 1996 32:30 AAG Dhillon: Confirms review of Arctic Frost Records for potential legal violations 34:40 Getting boys out of girls sports 37:30 College Settlements: AAG Dhillon reports progress on Harvard talks “ I think a number of points have moved quite far along” and UCLA “has been slowed down significantly” 39:30 AAG Dhillon responds to criticism alleging “lack of civility” and an “election denier”; confirms death threats 41:05 Press Freedom: Examining new Trump administration rules 42:50 Role of independent journalism “that's where the real news and the real journalism is coming out…” 43:50 END

Catherine Herridge

1,709,281 views • 8 months ago

7 tiny AI agent startup ideas you can start building today 1. The domain flipper agent. Monitors expired domain drops, scores them on backlinks and keywords, sends you a ranked list every morning. Buy for $10, flip for $3,000. I used to run this exact business manually with designers making logos for each domain. Now the whole thing is automated and 25x cheaper. 2. The local liquidation agent. Monitors restaurant closures and bankruptcy auctions in your city. Equipment worth $30k new sells for 10 cents on the dollar. Broker the deal for 15-30% fees with zero inventory risk. Works for dental, gym, and salon equipment too. 2. The hiring signal agent. Job postings are buying signals. Agent monitors boards daily, matches hiring patterns to what you sell, and sends draft outreach to your Slack every morning. Sell the leads to agencies or use them to build your own. 3. The sunset SaaS agent. Scans Product Hunt launches from 3-4 years ago that still have data and SEO traffic. Most founders have moved on and will be pumped to sell for cheap. Buy it. Rebuild the product as agent-first. 4. The dying app store agent. Finds apps that were top 100 three years ago, dropped to 500+, but still have 1,000+ reviews. Developer moved on. Product is validated. Acquire it. Relaunch with better monetization + AI features where it makes sense. 5. The competitive intel agent. Monitors 5 competitors while you sleep. Pricing changes, new pages, job postings, founder tweets. One-page brief by 7am. Sell as productized service or just use the intel. The idea framework behind all of these: 1. Think about any job where someone spends hours checking for updates or scanning listings 2. That's an agent 3. Build the agent that does the watching 4. You do the acting (or sell the watching to someone else) 5.Stack them. Each one is its own revenue stream. I built all of these using Genspark Claw in under 20 minutes each. Been testing it for last few weeks. I show you how to do it too in today's The Startup Ideas Podcast (SIP) 🧃 pod. Tiny agent ideas are interesting to me. Maybe you too. Some of the best businesses started off tiny. Watch
30:17

7 tiny AI agent startup ideas you can start building today 1. The domain flipper agent. Monitors expired domain drops, scores them on backlinks and keywords, sends you a ranked list every morning. Buy for $10, flip for $3,000. I used to run this exact business manually with designers making logos for each domain. Now the whole thing is automated and 25x cheaper. 2. The local liquidation agent. Monitors restaurant closures and bankruptcy auctions in your city. Equipment worth $30k new sells for 10 cents on the dollar. Broker the deal for 15-30% fees with zero inventory risk. Works for dental, gym, and salon equipment too. 2. The hiring signal agent. Job postings are buying signals. Agent monitors boards daily, matches hiring patterns to what you sell, and sends draft outreach to your Slack every morning. Sell the leads to agencies or use them to build your own. 3. The sunset SaaS agent. Scans Product Hunt launches from 3-4 years ago that still have data and SEO traffic. Most founders have moved on and will be pumped to sell for cheap. Buy it. Rebuild the product as agent-first. 4. The dying app store agent. Finds apps that were top 100 three years ago, dropped to 500+, but still have 1,000+ reviews. Developer moved on. Product is validated. Acquire it. Relaunch with better monetization + AI features where it makes sense. 5. The competitive intel agent. Monitors 5 competitors while you sleep. Pricing changes, new pages, job postings, founder tweets. One-page brief by 7am. Sell as productized service or just use the intel. The idea framework behind all of these: 1. Think about any job where someone spends hours checking for updates or scanning listings 2. That's an agent 3. Build the agent that does the watching 4. You do the acting (or sell the watching to someone else) 5.Stack them. Each one is its own revenue stream. I built all of these using Genspark Claw in under 20 minutes each. Been testing it for last few weeks. I show you how to do it too in today's The Startup Ideas Podcast (SIP) 🧃 pod. Tiny agent ideas are interesting to me. Maybe you too. Some of the best businesses started off tiny. Watch

GREG ISENBERG

77,537 views • 2 months ago

$AMD Strategic Price Positioning Long🧵 AMD is increasingly the most hated semi stock that can rival $NVDA dominance in GPUs and software(Cuda v. ROCm). $AMD is also the most under-owned among all Funds in 2025 according to Bank of America! For what I learnt for years as an investor with Dr. Lisa Su, all analysts and market are underestimate Dr. Su leadership. $AMD is capable of raising price, making high quality hardware with software. Dr. Su or AMD choice to adopt a lower price strategy to gain market share is a deliberate and multifacets approach rooted in competitive positioning, market dynamics, and long-term growth objectives. As an investor, it may take time like CPUs and embedded to see margin improving. 1. . Penetration Pricing to Challenge Dominant Competitors AMD has historically positioned itself as a cost-effective alternative to dominant players like Intel in CPUs and Nvidia in GPUs. By setting prices lower than competitors, AMD aims to attract customers and quickly gain market share. This is a classic penetration pricing strategy, where the goal is to capture a significant portion of the market by offering high-performance products at a lower price point. ~CPU Market Example: When AMD launched its Ryzen processors in 2017, it priced them competitively compared to Intel's Core processors, emphasizing a better price-to-performance ratio. Ryzen CPUs offered higher core counts and multi-core performance at lower prices, appealing to cost-conscious consumers, gamers, and professionals. This strategy helped AMD increase its CPU market share to 16.6% by early 2025, narrowing the gap with Intel. ~GPU Market Context: In the GPU market, where Nvidia holds an 88% share compared to AMD's 12%, AMD has been criticized for not launching GPUs at low enough prices to compete effectively. However, posts on X and articles suggest AMD is shifting its GPU strategy to focus on mainstream, cost-effective products rather than high-end enthusiast segments, aiming to regain market share through competitive pricing. 2. Appealing to Cost-Conscious Market Segments AMD targets price-sensitive customers, including gamers, small businesses, and enterprises looking for high-performance computing at a lower cost. This is particularly effective in segments where performance is critical, but budgets are constrained. ~Value Proposition: AMD’s Ryzen and EPYC processors, as well as Radeon GPUs, are designed to deliver performance comparable to or better than competitors in specific workloads (e.g., multi-core processing or AI compute) at a lower price. For example, Ryzen processors have been noted for their superior multi-core performance compared to Intel CPUs at similar or lower price points, making them attractive for tasks like video editing or gaming. ~AI and Data Center: In the AI and data center markets, AMD’s cost-effective Instinct MI300X GPUs and EPYC CPUs target enterprises seeking affordable alternatives to Nvidia’s expensive AI ecosystem. This strategy taps into an underleveraged market segment that Nvidia’s broad, premium-priced AI solutions may not fully address. 3. Building Scale and Developer Support AMD’s leadership, including Jack Huynh, has emphasized the importance of scale—gaining a larger market share to attract developer support and optimize software ecosystems. A lower price strategy helps AMD achieve this by increasing adoption among consumers and enterprises. ~Gaming GPUs: By focusing on mainstream GPUs with competitive pricing (e.g., targeting an 80% addressable market rather than the high-end 10%), AMD aims to build a larger user base. This scale encourages developers to optimize games for AMD’s technologies, such as FSR 3 (FidelityFX Super Resolution) and Anti-Lag 2, improving the ecosystem and competitiveness against Nvidia’s CUDA platform. ~Open Ecosystem in AI: AMD’s open-source ROCm platform contrasts with Nvidia’s proprietary CUDA, appealing to developers who prefer flexibility. Lower-priced hardware makes it easier for developers to adopt AMD’s solutions, fostering a broader AI software ecosystem. 4. Historical Context and Brand Positioning Since its founding in 1969, AMD has positioned itself as a challenger brand, often acting as a “second source” supplier to Intel. This role required competitive pricing to gain a foothold in markets dominated by established players. Over time, AMD has built a reputation for quality and affordability, reinforced by products like the Am9080 (a reverse-engineered Intel 8080) and modern Ryzen and EPYC lines. This historical strategy of undercutting competitors’ prices while delivering comparable performance continues to define AMD’s approach. 5. Countering Competitor Dominance AMD operates in highly competitive markets where Intel and Nvidia have significant advantages in brand recognition, market share, and ecosystems. A lower price strategy is a pragmatic way to disrupt this in CPUs: ~Intel’s historical dominance in the CPU market (servers, desktops, and laptops) has been challenged by AMD’s Ryzen and EPYC processors, which offer better value. For instance, AMD’s EPYC CPUs have driven a 122% year-over-year revenue increase in the data center segment, partly due to their cost-effectiveness, helping AMD capture 94% of CPU sales at some retailers. ~Nvidia in GPUs: Nvidia’s 88% GPU market share and premium pricing (e.g., high-end GPUs like the RTX 4090) leave room for AMD to compete in the mid-to-low range. However, AMD’s failure to launch GPUs at sufficiently low prices (e.g., the RX 7900 XT at $900 instead of its current $680) has limited its success, prompting a strategic shift toward more aggressive pricing in future RDNA 4 GPUs. 6. Market Share as a Long-Term Investment AMD’s lower price strategy is not just about immediate sales but also about long-term market positioning. By capturing market share, AMD can: ~Increase Brand Loyalty: Affordable, high-performance products build customer loyalty, especially among gamers and small businesses, creating a foundation for future sales. ~Drive Revenue Growth: Market share gains in CPUs (e.g., 16.6% in 2025) and data centers (e.g., $3.5 billion in Q3 revenue) translate into higher revenue, even if margins are initially lower. ~Influence Industry Standards: Greater market presence allows AMD to influence hardware and software standards, such as pushing for open-source AI frameworks or gaming optimizations, reducing reliance on competitors’ proprietary systems. 7. Challenges and Risks While effective, AMD’s lower price strategy carries risks: ~Profitability Concerns: Lower prices can compress profit margins, and some analysts note that AMD’s high stock valuation expects future profitability that may be delayed if pricing remains aggressive. ~Perception of Quality: Persistently low prices risk positioning AMD as a “budget” brand, potentially undermining its ability to compete in premium segments. ~Competitor Response: Intel and Nvidia can counter with price cuts or superior features, as seen with Nvidia’s feature-rich GPUs. AMD must balance price with innovation to avoid being outmaneuvered. 8. Strategic Shift in GPUs Recent reports indicate AMD is adjusting its GPU strategy to prioritize market share over competing in the high-end enthusiast segment. For the upcoming Radeon RX 8000 series (RDNA 4), AMD is focusing on mainstream GPUs priced competitively to appeal to a broader audience, rather than chasing Nvidia’s high-end dominance. This shift aligns with AMD’s broader goal of achieving 40–50% market share by targeting the “80%” of the market that prioritizes affordability over premium features. Lastly, AMD’s lower price strategy is a calculated move to disrupt Intel and Nvidia’s dominance, capture market share, and build scale for long-term growth. By offering high-performance CPUs and GPUs at competitive prices, AMD appeals to cost-conscious consumers and enterprises, particularly in the CPU and AI markets, where it has seen significant gains (e.g., 16.6% CPU market share and $3.5 billion in data center revenue). Recent price increase on MI350 and MI355 and more on MI400 signaled #AI chip leadership and pricing power, which will result in significant top and bottom line growth.
5:19

$AMD Strategic Price Positioning Long🧵 AMD is increasingly the most hated semi stock that can rival $NVDA dominance in GPUs and software(Cuda v. ROCm). $AMD is also the most under-owned among all Funds in 2025 according to Bank of America! For what I learnt for years as an investor with Dr. Lisa Su, all analysts and market are underestimate Dr. Su leadership. $AMD is capable of raising price, making high quality hardware with software. Dr. Su or AMD choice to adopt a lower price strategy to gain market share is a deliberate and multifacets approach rooted in competitive positioning, market dynamics, and long-term growth objectives. As an investor, it may take time like CPUs and embedded to see margin improving. 1. . Penetration Pricing to Challenge Dominant Competitors AMD has historically positioned itself as a cost-effective alternative to dominant players like Intel in CPUs and Nvidia in GPUs. By setting prices lower than competitors, AMD aims to attract customers and quickly gain market share. This is a classic penetration pricing strategy, where the goal is to capture a significant portion of the market by offering high-performance products at a lower price point. ~CPU Market Example: When AMD launched its Ryzen processors in 2017, it priced them competitively compared to Intel's Core processors, emphasizing a better price-to-performance ratio. Ryzen CPUs offered higher core counts and multi-core performance at lower prices, appealing to cost-conscious consumers, gamers, and professionals. This strategy helped AMD increase its CPU market share to 16.6% by early 2025, narrowing the gap with Intel. ~GPU Market Context: In the GPU market, where Nvidia holds an 88% share compared to AMD's 12%, AMD has been criticized for not launching GPUs at low enough prices to compete effectively. However, posts on X and articles suggest AMD is shifting its GPU strategy to focus on mainstream, cost-effective products rather than high-end enthusiast segments, aiming to regain market share through competitive pricing. 2. Appealing to Cost-Conscious Market Segments AMD targets price-sensitive customers, including gamers, small businesses, and enterprises looking for high-performance computing at a lower cost. This is particularly effective in segments where performance is critical, but budgets are constrained. ~Value Proposition: AMD’s Ryzen and EPYC processors, as well as Radeon GPUs, are designed to deliver performance comparable to or better than competitors in specific workloads (e.g., multi-core processing or AI compute) at a lower price. For example, Ryzen processors have been noted for their superior multi-core performance compared to Intel CPUs at similar or lower price points, making them attractive for tasks like video editing or gaming. ~AI and Data Center: In the AI and data center markets, AMD’s cost-effective Instinct MI300X GPUs and EPYC CPUs target enterprises seeking affordable alternatives to Nvidia’s expensive AI ecosystem. This strategy taps into an underleveraged market segment that Nvidia’s broad, premium-priced AI solutions may not fully address. 3. Building Scale and Developer Support AMD’s leadership, including Jack Huynh, has emphasized the importance of scale—gaining a larger market share to attract developer support and optimize software ecosystems. A lower price strategy helps AMD achieve this by increasing adoption among consumers and enterprises. ~Gaming GPUs: By focusing on mainstream GPUs with competitive pricing (e.g., targeting an 80% addressable market rather than the high-end 10%), AMD aims to build a larger user base. This scale encourages developers to optimize games for AMD’s technologies, such as FSR 3 (FidelityFX Super Resolution) and Anti-Lag 2, improving the ecosystem and competitiveness against Nvidia’s CUDA platform. ~Open Ecosystem in AI: AMD’s open-source ROCm platform contrasts with Nvidia’s proprietary CUDA, appealing to developers who prefer flexibility. Lower-priced hardware makes it easier for developers to adopt AMD’s solutions, fostering a broader AI software ecosystem. 4. Historical Context and Brand Positioning Since its founding in 1969, AMD has positioned itself as a challenger brand, often acting as a “second source” supplier to Intel. This role required competitive pricing to gain a foothold in markets dominated by established players. Over time, AMD has built a reputation for quality and affordability, reinforced by products like the Am9080 (a reverse-engineered Intel 8080) and modern Ryzen and EPYC lines. This historical strategy of undercutting competitors’ prices while delivering comparable performance continues to define AMD’s approach. 5. Countering Competitor Dominance AMD operates in highly competitive markets where Intel and Nvidia have significant advantages in brand recognition, market share, and ecosystems. A lower price strategy is a pragmatic way to disrupt this in CPUs: ~Intel’s historical dominance in the CPU market (servers, desktops, and laptops) has been challenged by AMD’s Ryzen and EPYC processors, which offer better value. For instance, AMD’s EPYC CPUs have driven a 122% year-over-year revenue increase in the data center segment, partly due to their cost-effectiveness, helping AMD capture 94% of CPU sales at some retailers. ~Nvidia in GPUs: Nvidia’s 88% GPU market share and premium pricing (e.g., high-end GPUs like the RTX 4090) leave room for AMD to compete in the mid-to-low range. However, AMD’s failure to launch GPUs at sufficiently low prices (e.g., the RX 7900 XT at $900 instead of its current $680) has limited its success, prompting a strategic shift toward more aggressive pricing in future RDNA 4 GPUs. 6. Market Share as a Long-Term Investment AMD’s lower price strategy is not just about immediate sales but also about long-term market positioning. By capturing market share, AMD can: ~Increase Brand Loyalty: Affordable, high-performance products build customer loyalty, especially among gamers and small businesses, creating a foundation for future sales. ~Drive Revenue Growth: Market share gains in CPUs (e.g., 16.6% in 2025) and data centers (e.g., $3.5 billion in Q3 revenue) translate into higher revenue, even if margins are initially lower. ~Influence Industry Standards: Greater market presence allows AMD to influence hardware and software standards, such as pushing for open-source AI frameworks or gaming optimizations, reducing reliance on competitors’ proprietary systems. 7. Challenges and Risks While effective, AMD’s lower price strategy carries risks: ~Profitability Concerns: Lower prices can compress profit margins, and some analysts note that AMD’s high stock valuation expects future profitability that may be delayed if pricing remains aggressive. ~Perception of Quality: Persistently low prices risk positioning AMD as a “budget” brand, potentially undermining its ability to compete in premium segments. ~Competitor Response: Intel and Nvidia can counter with price cuts or superior features, as seen with Nvidia’s feature-rich GPUs. AMD must balance price with innovation to avoid being outmaneuvered. 8. Strategic Shift in GPUs Recent reports indicate AMD is adjusting its GPU strategy to prioritize market share over competing in the high-end enthusiast segment. For the upcoming Radeon RX 8000 series (RDNA 4), AMD is focusing on mainstream GPUs priced competitively to appeal to a broader audience, rather than chasing Nvidia’s high-end dominance. This shift aligns with AMD’s broader goal of achieving 40–50% market share by targeting the “80%” of the market that prioritizes affordability over premium features. Lastly, AMD’s lower price strategy is a calculated move to disrupt Intel and Nvidia’s dominance, capture market share, and build scale for long-term growth. By offering high-performance CPUs and GPUs at competitive prices, AMD appeals to cost-conscious consumers and enterprises, particularly in the CPU and AI markets, where it has seen significant gains (e.g., 16.6% CPU market share and $3.5 billion in data center revenue). Recent price increase on MI350 and MI355 and more on MI400 signaled #AI chip leadership and pricing power, which will result in significant top and bottom line growth.

Mike

38,006 views • 10 months ago

I just got back from a 5 day trip to visit San Francisco. I met 1 billionaire, 30 founders and startups execs from Google, Meta and Apple. 11 honest observations from having 50+ meetings in San Francisco this week: 1. Bryan Johnson is a hero in SF. The guy who spends $2M/year on “not dying”. I met lots of people who were on his “blueprint” and drizzling his $60 olive oil over everything. He has obtained cult-like status in SF. Literally zero people talk about Bryan where I live. 2. People are still drunk on venture capital. A buddy of mine recently moved to SF from Florida. This is a guy who runs a bootstrapped 7 figure year cash-flowing tech-enabled business. Now, all of a sudden he’s got a term sheet from a leading VC. And he’ll be on the VC treadmill. Forget dividends, pray for exit, my guy. He’ll probably take the deal too. Most founders I spoke to mentioned valuation more than profit. Most founders I spoke to name dropped VCs who they work with. It’s a status thing. Somehow VCs made it fashionable to be in the VC-backed world. Even with 2023 being a bloodshed with VC funding. It doesn’t matter. My takeaway: if you’re in SF long enough (even if you’re a bootstrapper), you’ll probably raise a round. Everyone wants to raise money and optimize that valuation. 3. Everyone is “crushing it” but not really at all. It was hard to find people who would actually tell me how things are going. Virtually everyone I spoke to told me they were “crushing it” or some version of that. The reality is being an entrepreneur is 3% crushing it and 97% being crushed (if you’re lucky). What is it about SF that makes people do this? 4. There is renewed interest in hardware. Maybe thanks to products like the Humane AI pin, Rabbit R1 etc. I met some cool 19 year old founders who are 3D printing a device and partner with creators for distribution with a 30% affiliate cute. Probably will do $2M this year. They raised $100k for some odd reason. But, I chatted with a bunch of founders interested in experimenting with hardware that would cash-flow and would be relatively asset light businesses. I expect to see more interesting low-cost ($50-$200) pieces of hardware with software subscriptions ($9-$29/month) coming up with startups who haven’t raised a ton. 5. Uber/Lyft drivers are confronting Waymo. I was at a stoplight in a regular uber with a guy 70 year old driver named Pedro. Pedro looks to his right. It’s a self-driving Waymo car. He goes: “my days are numbered. He puts his foot on the gas and tries to cutoff the Waymo and starts laughing. This human vs robot saga is probably going to get weirder. 6. It’s AI-mania. I thought just from being on X that I knew, but you really get sense for how many people are building in AI. It feels like almost everyone. 7. Most people think I’m crazy for running cash-flowing businesses. BUT there is growing intrigue about owning a portfolio of cash-flowing internet assets. It’s still fringe, but I threw an event and 600 people showed up to talk about multipreneurship. Lots of those people felt like outsiders in the land of VC. It turns out, not everyone's sold on the VC dream. 8. Very few people drink alcohol. I lived in SF from 2012-2019. Probably 10x the amount of people drinking alcohol drinking 3x the amount of alcohol. Everyone is “sober” but everyone is on some form of “organic” drug like mushrooms. 9. I asked a billionaire what his biggest regret was: His response was short and sweet: "I wish I wrote more down". You'll never remember all the ups and downs. Write it down. Got me thinking – you'll appreciate it in 5 years. Even more in 25. 10. Lots still think content creators are low status. In SF, running a unicorn is high status, creating content is still pretty low status. 11. People are going into offices. I work remote, but lots of the fast-growing startups offices I went to were packed with people and buzz. It was a vibe. Lots more observations. But these were top of mind. Love to hear what you think. I don't know if SF is “back” but it’s definitely a dose of inspiration. I had a really good time. – I share what I’m learning in real-time about startups. Follow along GREG ISENBERG.
0:51

I just got back from a 5 day trip to visit San Francisco. I met 1 billionaire, 30 founders and startups execs from Google, Meta and Apple. 11 honest observations from having 50+ meetings in San Francisco this week: 1. Bryan Johnson is a hero in SF. The guy who spends $2M/year on “not dying”. I met lots of people who were on his “blueprint” and drizzling his $60 olive oil over everything. He has obtained cult-like status in SF. Literally zero people talk about Bryan where I live. 2. People are still drunk on venture capital. A buddy of mine recently moved to SF from Florida. This is a guy who runs a bootstrapped 7 figure year cash-flowing tech-enabled business. Now, all of a sudden he’s got a term sheet from a leading VC. And he’ll be on the VC treadmill. Forget dividends, pray for exit, my guy. He’ll probably take the deal too. Most founders I spoke to mentioned valuation more than profit. Most founders I spoke to name dropped VCs who they work with. It’s a status thing. Somehow VCs made it fashionable to be in the VC-backed world. Even with 2023 being a bloodshed with VC funding. It doesn’t matter. My takeaway: if you’re in SF long enough (even if you’re a bootstrapper), you’ll probably raise a round. Everyone wants to raise money and optimize that valuation. 3. Everyone is “crushing it” but not really at all. It was hard to find people who would actually tell me how things are going. Virtually everyone I spoke to told me they were “crushing it” or some version of that. The reality is being an entrepreneur is 3% crushing it and 97% being crushed (if you’re lucky). What is it about SF that makes people do this? 4. There is renewed interest in hardware. Maybe thanks to products like the Humane AI pin, Rabbit R1 etc. I met some cool 19 year old founders who are 3D printing a device and partner with creators for distribution with a 30% affiliate cute. Probably will do $2M this year. They raised $100k for some odd reason. But, I chatted with a bunch of founders interested in experimenting with hardware that would cash-flow and would be relatively asset light businesses. I expect to see more interesting low-cost ($50-$200) pieces of hardware with software subscriptions ($9-$29/month) coming up with startups who haven’t raised a ton. 5. Uber/Lyft drivers are confronting Waymo. I was at a stoplight in a regular uber with a guy 70 year old driver named Pedro. Pedro looks to his right. It’s a self-driving Waymo car. He goes: “my days are numbered. He puts his foot on the gas and tries to cutoff the Waymo and starts laughing. This human vs robot saga is probably going to get weirder. 6. It’s AI-mania. I thought just from being on X that I knew, but you really get sense for how many people are building in AI. It feels like almost everyone. 7. Most people think I’m crazy for running cash-flowing businesses. BUT there is growing intrigue about owning a portfolio of cash-flowing internet assets. It’s still fringe, but I threw an event and 600 people showed up to talk about multipreneurship. Lots of those people felt like outsiders in the land of VC. It turns out, not everyone's sold on the VC dream. 8. Very few people drink alcohol. I lived in SF from 2012-2019. Probably 10x the amount of people drinking alcohol drinking 3x the amount of alcohol. Everyone is “sober” but everyone is on some form of “organic” drug like mushrooms. 9. I asked a billionaire what his biggest regret was: His response was short and sweet: "I wish I wrote more down". You'll never remember all the ups and downs. Write it down. Got me thinking – you'll appreciate it in 5 years. Even more in 25. 10. Lots still think content creators are low status. In SF, running a unicorn is high status, creating content is still pretty low status. 11. People are going into offices. I work remote, but lots of the fast-growing startups offices I went to were packed with people and buzz. It was a vibe. Lots more observations. But these were top of mind. Love to hear what you think. I don't know if SF is “back” but it’s definitely a dose of inspiration. I had a really good time. – I share what I’m learning in real-time about startups. Follow along GREG ISENBERG.

GREG ISENBERG

456,862 views • 2 years ago

At CPAC Hungary 2025, Dutch political commentator Eva Vlaardingerbroek delivered a scathing rebuke of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, accusing her of operating with "zero accountability" and warning that her time of political immunity is running out. "In the DDR, you at least knew that the government was listening in on you. In The USSR, you at least knew that going against the government could end you in the gulags." "In Mao Zedong's China, going against the government was something that surely would have you met with violence. But make no mistake, being a dissident now is just as dangerous as it was back then. Our regime uses pretty words to hide their intentions, but they pervert and invert our definitions all the time. They say that to maintain peace in Europe, we need to go to war with Russia. They say that to protect democracy, we have to ban right wing parties." "And they say that to safeguard freedom of speech, they need to censor this information. Just like in Orwell's 1984, war is peace, freedom is slavery, ignorance is strength. And now, ladies and gentlemen, we can find the embodiment of that regime in one person in particular. The worst leader of them all, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. America got four more years of Trump. We, here in Europe, got five more years of Ursula von der Leyen. The thing is, though, that no one ever voted for Ursula von der Leyen. No one ever voted for her, yet she is one of the most powerful people in Europe, and she's implementing one of the some of the most destructive policies that our continent has ever seen." "Just to give you a few examples, she's the one who introduced the Green Deal, crippling our economy. She's the one who introduced the remigration or the migration pact, excuse me, replacing our native population. And now, she's attacking our national sovereignty even further by introducing the Rearm Europe program." "An eight eight hundred billion euro defense fund mostly used for Ukraine, a country that isn't and should never be part of the European Union. And last but not least, when are we ever going to see those text messages in which she closed a €35,000,000,000 deal with Albert Bourla, the CEO of Pfizer?" "As I told you earlier, Ursula von der Leyen and the Eurocrats are most likely the ones reading my private messages, those of a private citizen. When are we going to see hers, those of a per public servant spending billions and billions of our taxpayers money." "Ursula von der Leyen thinks she is untouchable. She thinks she is above the law. But we are here today to remind her that she is not. So allow me to take this moment, look straight in into the camera, and speak truth to power for a moment. Missus Von der Leyen, do you think about what you have done?" "Do you think about the people who suffer because of your policies? Do you think about the people who have died because of the vaccine that you pushed on them, that you bought behind closed doors? Missus Von der Leyen, do you ever think about the cries of the mothers who cry at night because their children were raped or murdered by immigrants that you let in?" "Do you ever think about the farmers whose entire life's work were destroyed because you pushed the communist agenda? Do you ever think about the people who cannot afford food for their children because you implemented policies that are crippling our economy while you were able to send your seven children off to the most expensive schools in Europe?" "Do you ever think about that? I bet you don't. I bet you don't because none of this is happening in your backyard. But, ladies and gentlemen, I do. I think about those people. I think about them. I will not forget them." "So let me promise you right here, right now, I will not stop fighting for them. I will not stop fighting for the truth. And I will not stop fighting for my people. The time of zero accountability will come to an end. And I will promise you, we will make Europe great again."
5:50

At CPAC Hungary 2025, Dutch political commentator Eva Vlaardingerbroek delivered a scathing rebuke of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, accusing her of operating with "zero accountability" and warning that her time of political immunity is running out. "In the DDR, you at least knew that the government was listening in on you. In The USSR, you at least knew that going against the government could end you in the gulags." "In Mao Zedong's China, going against the government was something that surely would have you met with violence. But make no mistake, being a dissident now is just as dangerous as it was back then. Our regime uses pretty words to hide their intentions, but they pervert and invert our definitions all the time. They say that to maintain peace in Europe, we need to go to war with Russia. They say that to protect democracy, we have to ban right wing parties." "And they say that to safeguard freedom of speech, they need to censor this information. Just like in Orwell's 1984, war is peace, freedom is slavery, ignorance is strength. And now, ladies and gentlemen, we can find the embodiment of that regime in one person in particular. The worst leader of them all, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. America got four more years of Trump. We, here in Europe, got five more years of Ursula von der Leyen. The thing is, though, that no one ever voted for Ursula von der Leyen. No one ever voted for her, yet she is one of the most powerful people in Europe, and she's implementing one of the some of the most destructive policies that our continent has ever seen." "Just to give you a few examples, she's the one who introduced the Green Deal, crippling our economy. She's the one who introduced the remigration or the migration pact, excuse me, replacing our native population. And now, she's attacking our national sovereignty even further by introducing the Rearm Europe program." "An eight eight hundred billion euro defense fund mostly used for Ukraine, a country that isn't and should never be part of the European Union. And last but not least, when are we ever going to see those text messages in which she closed a €35,000,000,000 deal with Albert Bourla, the CEO of Pfizer?" "As I told you earlier, Ursula von der Leyen and the Eurocrats are most likely the ones reading my private messages, those of a private citizen. When are we going to see hers, those of a per public servant spending billions and billions of our taxpayers money." "Ursula von der Leyen thinks she is untouchable. She thinks she is above the law. But we are here today to remind her that she is not. So allow me to take this moment, look straight in into the camera, and speak truth to power for a moment. Missus Von der Leyen, do you think about what you have done?" "Do you think about the people who suffer because of your policies? Do you think about the people who have died because of the vaccine that you pushed on them, that you bought behind closed doors? Missus Von der Leyen, do you ever think about the cries of the mothers who cry at night because their children were raped or murdered by immigrants that you let in?" "Do you ever think about the farmers whose entire life's work were destroyed because you pushed the communist agenda? Do you ever think about the people who cannot afford food for their children because you implemented policies that are crippling our economy while you were able to send your seven children off to the most expensive schools in Europe?" "Do you ever think about that? I bet you don't. I bet you don't because none of this is happening in your backyard. But, ladies and gentlemen, I do. I think about those people. I think about them. I will not forget them." "So let me promise you right here, right now, I will not stop fighting for them. I will not stop fighting for the truth. And I will not stop fighting for my people. The time of zero accountability will come to an end. And I will promise you, we will make Europe great again."

Camus

80,362 views • 1 year ago

(long post on going from pre-product to post-product as a founder) We're swiftly approaching launch, so I thought I'd take some time to reflect. The accompanying video is of the first graphical implementation of Onflow (on Android) for a demo we did at Devcon. Barebones (a bit rough around the edges compared to today's visuals) from exactly a year ago. Onflow might prove to be the most complex protocol engineered thus far within the ZK/MPC/privacy space. ~2 years of work, 13 employees, expertise, refining, rebuilding, consulting, re-writing, auditing, novel research in MPC and ZK constructions. What goes into what we're building? First I'll outline what the scope for the initial release of Onflow is (skip to next section if this isn't interesting to you): - Be an SDK, not a standalone monolith. While we do have Onflow ID (our Onflow implementation), we never want Onflow to be centralized around 1 app. This also makes our user-by-default system so much more stronger in garnering network effects. If you've used Onflow even once, as soon as you open another app a few months later that requires compliance, you'll be pleasantly surprised to find that the magic of the protocol has auto-submitted exactly what the service provider is looking for and there is no-to-little user interaction required on your end. - Privacy, privacy, privacy. My background, and a 90% of the development team at Sundial has a solid background in complex privacy schemes, zero-knowledge, academia and practical implementations. We believe compliance/KYC breaches are some of the most dangerous (both physically and virtually) data leaks that can occur, and so Onflow was built to be virtually impossible to leak any meaningful data from, even if you're delegating work to overseas staff, due to how data is stealth-schematized so support agents only see *exactly* what they need to solve your case, and nothing else. - Privacy, again. So what does privacy entail? Well. For Onflow we're utilizing so many new primitives in one, that all come from different departments. From the zero-trust infrastructure for our compliance dashboard, our never-before-seen quantum-resistant QuantMQ data dispatch protocol that is pervasive throughout the entire Onflow ecosystem, to complex routers for oracling and verifying proofs onchain (EVM and SVM initially, as recently announced). We also have our TDE, or "Trusted Data Enclave", which allows you to easily port your credentials to a new device, whether it be your laptop, or another phone, it'll all get transferred over seamlessly through a bespoke mesh-based distribution system (think Signal-type), again through QuantMQ tunnels. Now the true beauty of all of this? Some of the most senior software engineers, protocol engineers, system administrators, applied (& research) cryptographers alongside amazing visual artists, and our incredible CPO (ex-Disney, Apple, AOL and many more) all worked on their individual bits of the protocol. All with a shared love, and deep respect for privacy and great UX, came together to build the behemoth that is the inner workings of Onflow and distill it down to an SDK that takes just a dozen lines to implement, whether in an app, on a website, or in a cryptocurrency setting. One simple SDK that encapsulates hundreds of bespoke, novel and battle-tested MPC, ZK, QP protocols, and productized it into something that will make onboarding and compliance in general a one-click action going forward (for the most part), and will only be more and more normalized as more and more apps adopt this. Who is interested in using Onflow? We're very fortunate to have an exceptional product, which traditional finance, fintech and digital assets immediately recognize the importance of. Therefore, we're proud to announce that alongside our joint announcement with our day-1 deployment to Circle's Arc network, we're also entering traditional finance. Soon, users will be able to create bank accounts for short-stay overseas work solely using Onflow. We're actually surprised at the extremely positive reception from traditional finance, as you can quickly convince yourself words like "zero-knowledge" will scare what's often seen as arcane institutions, but our experience has been the polar opposite. Banks understand the importance of privacy. Banks understands utilizing privacy-enhancing tools to make the onboarding UX more convenient, and save them money and risk assessment staff when it comes to compliance. What's coming up? More privacy, more convenience. Soon you'll be introduced to the full product offerings of our initial release of Onflow. We plan to open-source every part of the stack that we're able to and provides a benefit to proliferating privacy online (such as our QuantumMQ library with bindings for C++, Rust, C#, Swift and Typescript). We plan to prove that all of the hundreds of millions, if not billions of dollars spent on solid cryptographic, privacy-oriented research has not gone in vain, and we've employed and improved upon under-explored breakthroughs to make Onflow happen. What took you so long? Perfect is the enemy of (progress/good/etc.), however, being a product that de-risks businesses and transmits PII (even over quantum-proof tunnels) still require extreme rigor and a lot of systems and novel infrastructure to make sure that there is no central breach point. Version one of Onflow will support 147 jurisdictions, and we soon plan to add support for Aadhar 2.0 as well, to include India (even though they just got biometric passports, they're not as ubiquitous). We support thousands of passports and IDs and have the most comprehensive coverage out of any compliance provider with over 15,000 documents covered. Novel things take time. Onflow is truly a novel, never-before-seen approach to the full compliance stack, with inherent digital ID features as an essential part of the protocol, giving it endless possibilities. We wanted to make extremely sure that what we're releasing here in a couple of months is as solid as can be, and will offer hefty bounties to people who can successfully find a way to disrupt the protocol (one can never do too much manual review, fuzzing, external audits, etc., and we firmly believe in rewarding solo auditors for findings). Lastly. Thank you to everyone building in, researching, contributing to or otherwise promoting, privacy. Privacy is not reliant on financial turmoil, it is the first question a start-up should ask itself when making a new product class. And we're super fortunate to say that in the difficulties of navigating novel privacy, we've found extremely satisfying solutions to extremely complex problems we otherwise never would've discovered. Do not fade privacy. Privacy is a moat, and there are so many markets that are begging to be disrupted if someone with a privacy-oriented view decided to take a pragmatic look at them. Thank you.
1:28

(long post on going from pre-product to post-product as a founder) We're swiftly approaching launch, so I thought I'd take some time to reflect. The accompanying video is of the first graphical implementation of Onflow (on Android) for a demo we did at Devcon. Barebones (a bit rough around the edges compared to today's visuals) from exactly a year ago. Onflow might prove to be the most complex protocol engineered thus far within the ZK/MPC/privacy space. ~2 years of work, 13 employees, expertise, refining, rebuilding, consulting, re-writing, auditing, novel research in MPC and ZK constructions. What goes into what we're building? First I'll outline what the scope for the initial release of Onflow is (skip to next section if this isn't interesting to you): - Be an SDK, not a standalone monolith. While we do have Onflow ID (our Onflow implementation), we never want Onflow to be centralized around 1 app. This also makes our user-by-default system so much more stronger in garnering network effects. If you've used Onflow even once, as soon as you open another app a few months later that requires compliance, you'll be pleasantly surprised to find that the magic of the protocol has auto-submitted exactly what the service provider is looking for and there is no-to-little user interaction required on your end. - Privacy, privacy, privacy. My background, and a 90% of the development team at Sundial has a solid background in complex privacy schemes, zero-knowledge, academia and practical implementations. We believe compliance/KYC breaches are some of the most dangerous (both physically and virtually) data leaks that can occur, and so Onflow was built to be virtually impossible to leak any meaningful data from, even if you're delegating work to overseas staff, due to how data is stealth-schematized so support agents only see *exactly* what they need to solve your case, and nothing else. - Privacy, again. So what does privacy entail? Well. For Onflow we're utilizing so many new primitives in one, that all come from different departments. From the zero-trust infrastructure for our compliance dashboard, our never-before-seen quantum-resistant QuantMQ data dispatch protocol that is pervasive throughout the entire Onflow ecosystem, to complex routers for oracling and verifying proofs onchain (EVM and SVM initially, as recently announced). We also have our TDE, or "Trusted Data Enclave", which allows you to easily port your credentials to a new device, whether it be your laptop, or another phone, it'll all get transferred over seamlessly through a bespoke mesh-based distribution system (think Signal-type), again through QuantMQ tunnels. Now the true beauty of all of this? Some of the most senior software engineers, protocol engineers, system administrators, applied (& research) cryptographers alongside amazing visual artists, and our incredible CPO (ex-Disney, Apple, AOL and many more) all worked on their individual bits of the protocol. All with a shared love, and deep respect for privacy and great UX, came together to build the behemoth that is the inner workings of Onflow and distill it down to an SDK that takes just a dozen lines to implement, whether in an app, on a website, or in a cryptocurrency setting. One simple SDK that encapsulates hundreds of bespoke, novel and battle-tested MPC, ZK, QP protocols, and productized it into something that will make onboarding and compliance in general a one-click action going forward (for the most part), and will only be more and more normalized as more and more apps adopt this. Who is interested in using Onflow? We're very fortunate to have an exceptional product, which traditional finance, fintech and digital assets immediately recognize the importance of. Therefore, we're proud to announce that alongside our joint announcement with our day-1 deployment to Circle's Arc network, we're also entering traditional finance. Soon, users will be able to create bank accounts for short-stay overseas work solely using Onflow. We're actually surprised at the extremely positive reception from traditional finance, as you can quickly convince yourself words like "zero-knowledge" will scare what's often seen as arcane institutions, but our experience has been the polar opposite. Banks understand the importance of privacy. Banks understands utilizing privacy-enhancing tools to make the onboarding UX more convenient, and save them money and risk assessment staff when it comes to compliance. What's coming up? More privacy, more convenience. Soon you'll be introduced to the full product offerings of our initial release of Onflow. We plan to open-source every part of the stack that we're able to and provides a benefit to proliferating privacy online (such as our QuantumMQ library with bindings for C++, Rust, C#, Swift and Typescript). We plan to prove that all of the hundreds of millions, if not billions of dollars spent on solid cryptographic, privacy-oriented research has not gone in vain, and we've employed and improved upon under-explored breakthroughs to make Onflow happen. What took you so long? Perfect is the enemy of (progress/good/etc.), however, being a product that de-risks businesses and transmits PII (even over quantum-proof tunnels) still require extreme rigor and a lot of systems and novel infrastructure to make sure that there is no central breach point. Version one of Onflow will support 147 jurisdictions, and we soon plan to add support for Aadhar 2.0 as well, to include India (even though they just got biometric passports, they're not as ubiquitous). We support thousands of passports and IDs and have the most comprehensive coverage out of any compliance provider with over 15,000 documents covered. Novel things take time. Onflow is truly a novel, never-before-seen approach to the full compliance stack, with inherent digital ID features as an essential part of the protocol, giving it endless possibilities. We wanted to make extremely sure that what we're releasing here in a couple of months is as solid as can be, and will offer hefty bounties to people who can successfully find a way to disrupt the protocol (one can never do too much manual review, fuzzing, external audits, etc., and we firmly believe in rewarding solo auditors for findings). Lastly. Thank you to everyone building in, researching, contributing to or otherwise promoting, privacy. Privacy is not reliant on financial turmoil, it is the first question a start-up should ask itself when making a new product class. And we're super fortunate to say that in the difficulties of navigating novel privacy, we've found extremely satisfying solutions to extremely complex problems we otherwise never would've discovered. Do not fade privacy. Privacy is a moat, and there are so many markets that are begging to be disrupted if someone with a privacy-oriented view decided to take a pragmatic look at them. Thank you.

SIGNAL

20,192 views • 8 months ago

After Trump kidnapped Maduro on behalf of Pax Judaica, he turned his attention elsewhere. To Greenland. Trump has announced that they're considering using military force to take over Greenland. But surely his interest in Greenland is only about the interests of US Empire and not that of the transnational empire being developed by the Zionists? Think again. The entire power of the US military is now at the disposal of individual Zionist Oligarchs for whatever pet project they want. In this case the genocidal Jewish supremacist is Ronald Lauder. What is Lauder’s connection to Greenland? Here is Danish social scientist Steven N. Højlund (in the video below with extracts pasted here to). While Trump threatens to seize Greenland by force, a quieter takeover is already underway. And it's happening through the same billionaire who planted the idea in Trump's head Ronald Lauder. The same Lauder who convinced Trump to buy Greenland back in 2017, isn't just talking anymore. He's buying his way in, through a Delaware registered company called Greenland Development Partners. Lauder has quietly purchased stakes in strategic Greenlandic companies. But here's what nobody's reporting. His business partners in Greenland are some of Greenland's most influential people with very, very close ties to Greenland's foreign minister. That's the same person negotiating Greenland's response to Trump's threats. This is economic infiltration disguised as investment and I'm going to show you exactly how it works... This is the story the media isn't telling. Let me introduce you to Greenland Development Partners. It's a Delaware registered investment consortium. And if that sounds deliberately obscure, that's because it is. Delaware corporations are famous for one thing and that's opacity. Delaware is the shell company's capital of America where you can hide ownership structures and avoid scrutiny. According to Danish newspaper Politken's investigation, Lauder is a key participant in this consortium. And the consortium has bought stakes in two Greenlandic companies. One of these companies is called Greenland Water Bank: and it's owned by two Greenlandic businessmen, Svend Hardenberg and Jørgen Wæver Johansen. Hardenberg is a former top civil servant and top adviser to the prime minister of Greenland until he got fired recently. He was also the director of Greenland's National Energy Company. In other words, he knows the system inside and out. But Johansen is far more interesting. Johansen is a former minister in several Greenlandic governments and he currently chairs the governing Siumut party in Nuuk, Greenland's capital. Siumut is one of the four parties in Greenland's current coalition government. But that's not the real kicker. His wife is Vivian Motzfeldt, the foreign minister of Greenland. That's the person responsible for handling foreign relations, including relations with the United States. Just take a moment and think about what that means. Ronald Lauder, Trump's friend and adviser on Greenland, is now in business with the husband of Greenland's foreign minister. This isn't just investment. This is influence buying at the very highest level. And I will explain why that is the case. The company Greenland Water Bank, it sounds small and innocent, and it really is. In fact, in 2024, the company's accounts showed minimum staffing costs of only $5,500 and a modest financial loss. In other words, this is a very small company. Greenland Water Bank bottles water from the Lyngmark Spring [near the town of Qeqertarsuaq on Disko Island]…They sell the water locally in the brand name. Until 2024, the company was fully owned by Hardenberg and Wæver Hansen. Then they sold part of their shares to Lauder’s investor group. Now here's what Hardenberg told the Danish newspaper Politiken about why they took Lauder’s investment. The investment is not the most important thing for us, but rather gaining better access to the luxury market where our water should be a natural part. When they tested the water, the conclusion was that our water was the best in the world. It is on the basis of that that they became interested in participating in the development of our company. So you could say Lauder's pitch is very simple. We'll help you sell premium Greenlandic water to the American luxury market. But what did Lauder get in return? Why would one of the world's richest men invest in this tiny company in Greenland? Is it the pure water in bottles that he is interested in or is it something else? The two founders of the company weren't able to attract any other investors since the company started in 2016 until Lauder showed up. Personally, I can only see one thing Lauder gets out of this and that's a conflict of Interest pressure point and a foothold into Greenland's top elite. Direct business relationships with politically connected Greenlanders. Think about it. Sums of invested funds can now flow very easily to Svend and Jørgen through Greenland Water Bank. It could flow directly as large salaries or bonuses or it can be in the form of a business trip, a fancy office, luxury boats or cars. All of course in the name of the company paid by invested money from Lauder. The possibilities for enriching Svend and Jørgen are endless and so is the money that Lauder has at his disposal. $10 million is nothing for Lauder who is good for 5 billion USD. But being in business together can also be a pressure point. An investor can sue you and make your life a living hell, especially if the pockets are very deep and you can buy every lawyer and PR person to spin stories and drag people through the mud. That's the negative pressure angle that this co-operation can also lead to. But the most controversial part is still the connection to the active foreign minister of Greenland, Vivian Motzfeldt. The foreign minister previously served on the board of Greenland Water Bank, but she must have felt that that would have been too obvious a conflict of interest. But the problem is still there. It's the family connection to her husband that makes up the problem in the company that's now partially owned by Trump's friend, who also happens to be the brain behind Trump's acquisition plans. In other words, if Ronald Lauder decides to invest a large sum in Greenland water bank and also pay out a huge bonus to Yan, this money will also enrich Vivian. If it was almost any other investor in the entire world, it wouldn't have been a problem. ____ The Zionists appear to be up to something more ambitious than any previous state or movement in the modern period. If Venezuela and Greenland are both Pax Judaica plays via Singer and Lauder, which Jewish supremacist oligarch is responsible for Canada, the Horn of Africa/Yemen or elsewhere? This is much bigger than just deporting Palestinians, or even resource-grabbing. #DismantleZionism
6:35

After Trump kidnapped Maduro on behalf of Pax Judaica, he turned his attention elsewhere. To Greenland. Trump has announced that they're considering using military force to take over Greenland. But surely his interest in Greenland is only about the interests of US Empire and not that of the transnational empire being developed by the Zionists? Think again. The entire power of the US military is now at the disposal of individual Zionist Oligarchs for whatever pet project they want. In this case the genocidal Jewish supremacist is Ronald Lauder. What is Lauder’s connection to Greenland? Here is Danish social scientist Steven N. Højlund (in the video below with extracts pasted here to). While Trump threatens to seize Greenland by force, a quieter takeover is already underway. And it's happening through the same billionaire who planted the idea in Trump's head Ronald Lauder. The same Lauder who convinced Trump to buy Greenland back in 2017, isn't just talking anymore. He's buying his way in, through a Delaware registered company called Greenland Development Partners. Lauder has quietly purchased stakes in strategic Greenlandic companies. But here's what nobody's reporting. His business partners in Greenland are some of Greenland's most influential people with very, very close ties to Greenland's foreign minister. That's the same person negotiating Greenland's response to Trump's threats. This is economic infiltration disguised as investment and I'm going to show you exactly how it works... This is the story the media isn't telling. Let me introduce you to Greenland Development Partners. It's a Delaware registered investment consortium. And if that sounds deliberately obscure, that's because it is. Delaware corporations are famous for one thing and that's opacity. Delaware is the shell company's capital of America where you can hide ownership structures and avoid scrutiny. According to Danish newspaper Politken's investigation, Lauder is a key participant in this consortium. And the consortium has bought stakes in two Greenlandic companies. One of these companies is called Greenland Water Bank: and it's owned by two Greenlandic businessmen, Svend Hardenberg and Jørgen Wæver Johansen. Hardenberg is a former top civil servant and top adviser to the prime minister of Greenland until he got fired recently. He was also the director of Greenland's National Energy Company. In other words, he knows the system inside and out. But Johansen is far more interesting. Johansen is a former minister in several Greenlandic governments and he currently chairs the governing Siumut party in Nuuk, Greenland's capital. Siumut is one of the four parties in Greenland's current coalition government. But that's not the real kicker. His wife is Vivian Motzfeldt, the foreign minister of Greenland. That's the person responsible for handling foreign relations, including relations with the United States. Just take a moment and think about what that means. Ronald Lauder, Trump's friend and adviser on Greenland, is now in business with the husband of Greenland's foreign minister. This isn't just investment. This is influence buying at the very highest level. And I will explain why that is the case. The company Greenland Water Bank, it sounds small and innocent, and it really is. In fact, in 2024, the company's accounts showed minimum staffing costs of only $5,500 and a modest financial loss. In other words, this is a very small company. Greenland Water Bank bottles water from the Lyngmark Spring [near the town of Qeqertarsuaq on Disko Island]…They sell the water locally in the brand name. Until 2024, the company was fully owned by Hardenberg and Wæver Hansen. Then they sold part of their shares to Lauder’s investor group. Now here's what Hardenberg told the Danish newspaper Politiken about why they took Lauder’s investment. The investment is not the most important thing for us, but rather gaining better access to the luxury market where our water should be a natural part. When they tested the water, the conclusion was that our water was the best in the world. It is on the basis of that that they became interested in participating in the development of our company. So you could say Lauder's pitch is very simple. We'll help you sell premium Greenlandic water to the American luxury market. But what did Lauder get in return? Why would one of the world's richest men invest in this tiny company in Greenland? Is it the pure water in bottles that he is interested in or is it something else? The two founders of the company weren't able to attract any other investors since the company started in 2016 until Lauder showed up. Personally, I can only see one thing Lauder gets out of this and that's a conflict of Interest pressure point and a foothold into Greenland's top elite. Direct business relationships with politically connected Greenlanders. Think about it. Sums of invested funds can now flow very easily to Svend and Jørgen through Greenland Water Bank. It could flow directly as large salaries or bonuses or it can be in the form of a business trip, a fancy office, luxury boats or cars. All of course in the name of the company paid by invested money from Lauder. The possibilities for enriching Svend and Jørgen are endless and so is the money that Lauder has at his disposal. $10 million is nothing for Lauder who is good for 5 billion USD. But being in business together can also be a pressure point. An investor can sue you and make your life a living hell, especially if the pockets are very deep and you can buy every lawyer and PR person to spin stories and drag people through the mud. That's the negative pressure angle that this co-operation can also lead to. But the most controversial part is still the connection to the active foreign minister of Greenland, Vivian Motzfeldt. The foreign minister previously served on the board of Greenland Water Bank, but she must have felt that that would have been too obvious a conflict of interest. But the problem is still there. It's the family connection to her husband that makes up the problem in the company that's now partially owned by Trump's friend, who also happens to be the brain behind Trump's acquisition plans. In other words, if Ronald Lauder decides to invest a large sum in Greenland water bank and also pay out a huge bonus to Yan, this money will also enrich Vivian. If it was almost any other investor in the entire world, it wouldn't have been a problem. ____ The Zionists appear to be up to something more ambitious than any previous state or movement in the modern period. If Venezuela and Greenland are both Pax Judaica plays via Singer and Lauder, which Jewish supremacist oligarch is responsible for Canada, the Horn of Africa/Yemen or elsewhere? This is much bigger than just deporting Palestinians, or even resource-grabbing. #DismantleZionism

David Miller

188,501 views • 6 months ago

The false prophets of the "New Media" Dear international friends and users of X, We are witnessing a dangerous situation unfold where Romania is being used by popular accounts on the platform to create panic and a false image of what is actually happening in the world. One of those accounts is Mario Nawfal, whom I choose to reference because I met him a few months ago and helped my partner film an interview which now seems incredible to listen to. Everyone in the crypto industry had an image of Mario from the last cycle, and it was interesting to see him pivot to what is now called "New Media" and the success he was able to achieve mainly because of retweets from Elon Musk. During the interview you can watch below, he talks about the high level of attention he receives and the responsibility that comes with it. He admits to taking a side in US politics by supporting Donald Trump because he is a "free speech" advocate, but other than that, he says that his journalism is objective regarding Ukraine/Gaza or any other hot topic around the world. He also speaks highly about posting factual information and not misinformation. Now on the current subject, I feel he is not only taking a side but also spreading significant misinformation about the situation in Romania, and I want to help you understand by clarifying some of these "facts." He refers to Calin Georgescu as "the rightful president of Romania." Let me explain what happened here. Romania had a presidential election at the end of 2024. This type of election in Romania is split into two rounds unless one of the candidates gets more than 50% of the votes. In that case, the candidate wins from the first round and gets to be installed as president. Calin Georgescu won the first round with 22.94% of the votes, which equals 2,120,401 votes out of 9,242,186. The total number of eligible voters on the lists was 18,021,800. By simple math, he obtained the vote of 11.77% of Romanians allowed to vote. Although we can objectively admit he was a favorite for the second round based on these numbers, the election was annulled. The Constitutional Court of Romania first validated the first round and then two days later decided to cancel the election after voting had already started in some areas outside the country where voting takes three days to help Romanian citizens living abroad cast their votes. Romania's president at that time declassified the documents based on which the CCR canceled the elections, and most of the data given to the public was vague. It mentioned interference from another state, social media manipulation, or the cost of the campaign being different than previously declared. Georgescu declared 0$ (ZERO) campaign budget. Now again, even if that would be enough to cancel the election, we all agree that the way the situation unfolded is terrible. It showed the lack of interest from Romanian authorities regarding the elections or, worse, parts of the system that accepted all of this before and during the vote. The root of all problems Much like all over the world, Romania is a country with corrupt politicians. Most of the time in the 35 years of democracy, the same parties ruled the country with one main goal: FILL THE POCKETS WHILE YOU CAN. I'm pretty sure you know what that feels like and thus understand that most of the population is fed up and really wants change. It all erupted in the past 2-3 years with inflation skyrocketing after the pandemic and the cost of living becoming unbearable for some parts of the population. Now here comes Calin Georgescu. A self-portrayed savior of the people and a fighter against the current establishment, he campaigned mainly on social media. Most of his ideology is nationalist, populist, and Christian Orthodox. Most of us had no idea who he was until the very last day before the first round, especially in big cities, and the fact that he won struck the country like a truck. In fact, some of his voters declared that they had no idea who he was, but social media, especially TikTok, portrayed him as the savior, and the other options were people they couldn't vote for anymore. One week before the election, most polls gave Georgescu less than 5% and, in the best cases, 8% of the votes. So you can now understand the surprise we had after the counting was done. After that night, Romanians started to analyze the winner of the first round, and what they found was sometimes scary and other times funny—ranging from "There are microchips in Pepsi that enter your body like a laptop" to "The moon landing was fake", "5G technology is extremely dangerous" or "Covid is not real, you can't see it." You can find most of his statements on this website with sources: Setting aside some of these statements, which are mostly harmless, he said things like "Romania should look towards Russian wisdom." He even said he would be ready to leave NATO if it felt necessary and criticized the EU and the way it treats Romania. While we can agree on some small details in these claims, you have to understand the raw feeling of Romanians when it comes to Russia after more than 40 years of communism. It's the same in most of the Eastern Bloc, and it is being passed from one generation to another. And it is mostly hate. Romania is not the most developed country in Europe, but it grew a lot after being accepted into NATO and the EU, and you can check the economic data that sustains this. That being said, you can probably understand why some of those statements were labeled as dangerous by parts of the population that doesn't want to accept even a small chance of leaving the EU/NATO and turning toward "Russian wisdom." Back to our current government One thing that actually unites most Romanians these days is their lack of trust in the current political scene. There is a feeling of exhaustion among us, and we just want honest people ruling the country. Probably just a dream, as my personal take is it will never happen and most of this drama is just "circus". It's always the same situation, just different pockets. Our current prime minister, Marcel Ciolacu , was recently investigated by journalists for different private flights paid for by a company that scammed many Romanians in the real estate industry. Of course, some of those involved in the scam are also politicians. So you probably now understand why we also want change. The situation in Romania is wild these days. We do want change; some think Georgescu is that change, some think he is exactly what we don't need. I don't want to make any judgments in this article. I'm trying to show you what I think "New Media" and "Citizen journalism" should be, at least in my view. What I thought Mario also stands for after that interview. In the course of the last few weeks, Mario has posted every step of Georgescu alongside a network of other popular accounts, some of them known for edgy takes or straightforward propaganda, like Jackson Hinkle or Alex Jones. He even came to Romania to interview Calin and George Simion and said he was afraid. Afraid of what? What did he think he did wrong to be afraid of? Nothing. Just the usual recipe of fear to create drama for views. Many Romanians are asking him in replies to actually dig deeper into the matter and to listen to everyone, but he clearly took a side and goes forward. Why? We don't know for sure; there are some people claiming he was paid to campaign for Georgescu, but there is no actual proof of that being the case. Maybe it's because he wants to continue with the whole "Anti-Soros" agenda widely spread even by Elon Musk these days. We don't know, and I don't want to point out a reason without proof or facts. In fact, that's exactly why I wrote this piece. I'm tired of Old Media, and now the concept of "New Media" is failing harder than I would've ever imagined. Misinformation spreads the fastest on the internet, and most people don't take the time to double or triple check. It is exactly the same practice of biased mainstream media, but for the other side. It's no longer "it must be true, I saw it on CNN" but "it must be true, I saw *insert popular account* posted it." We are witnessing a difficult situation, not only in Romania, and I think journalism should evolve into what it should've always been. But this is not the way. We need to present facts and acknowledge the responsibility, especially as our accounts grow bigger. I encourage every one of you to join the conversation and fill the gaps that I might've missed. Bring facts, bring arguments, do not bring insults. I hope I was clear enough and that this helps some of you understand the situation better. I would love to see you help this post get the attention it needs. Thank you, andreibratucu
9:33

The false prophets of the "New Media" Dear international friends and users of X, We are witnessing a dangerous situation unfold where Romania is being used by popular accounts on the platform to create panic and a false image of what is actually happening in the world. One of those accounts is Mario Nawfal, whom I choose to reference because I met him a few months ago and helped my partner film an interview which now seems incredible to listen to. Everyone in the crypto industry had an image of Mario from the last cycle, and it was interesting to see him pivot to what is now called "New Media" and the success he was able to achieve mainly because of retweets from Elon Musk. During the interview you can watch below, he talks about the high level of attention he receives and the responsibility that comes with it. He admits to taking a side in US politics by supporting Donald Trump because he is a "free speech" advocate, but other than that, he says that his journalism is objective regarding Ukraine/Gaza or any other hot topic around the world. He also speaks highly about posting factual information and not misinformation. Now on the current subject, I feel he is not only taking a side but also spreading significant misinformation about the situation in Romania, and I want to help you understand by clarifying some of these "facts." He refers to Calin Georgescu as "the rightful president of Romania." Let me explain what happened here. Romania had a presidential election at the end of 2024. This type of election in Romania is split into two rounds unless one of the candidates gets more than 50% of the votes. In that case, the candidate wins from the first round and gets to be installed as president. Calin Georgescu won the first round with 22.94% of the votes, which equals 2,120,401 votes out of 9,242,186. The total number of eligible voters on the lists was 18,021,800. By simple math, he obtained the vote of 11.77% of Romanians allowed to vote. Although we can objectively admit he was a favorite for the second round based on these numbers, the election was annulled. The Constitutional Court of Romania first validated the first round and then two days later decided to cancel the election after voting had already started in some areas outside the country where voting takes three days to help Romanian citizens living abroad cast their votes. Romania's president at that time declassified the documents based on which the CCR canceled the elections, and most of the data given to the public was vague. It mentioned interference from another state, social media manipulation, or the cost of the campaign being different than previously declared. Georgescu declared 0$ (ZERO) campaign budget. Now again, even if that would be enough to cancel the election, we all agree that the way the situation unfolded is terrible. It showed the lack of interest from Romanian authorities regarding the elections or, worse, parts of the system that accepted all of this before and during the vote. The root of all problems Much like all over the world, Romania is a country with corrupt politicians. Most of the time in the 35 years of democracy, the same parties ruled the country with one main goal: FILL THE POCKETS WHILE YOU CAN. I'm pretty sure you know what that feels like and thus understand that most of the population is fed up and really wants change. It all erupted in the past 2-3 years with inflation skyrocketing after the pandemic and the cost of living becoming unbearable for some parts of the population. Now here comes Calin Georgescu. A self-portrayed savior of the people and a fighter against the current establishment, he campaigned mainly on social media. Most of his ideology is nationalist, populist, and Christian Orthodox. Most of us had no idea who he was until the very last day before the first round, especially in big cities, and the fact that he won struck the country like a truck. In fact, some of his voters declared that they had no idea who he was, but social media, especially TikTok, portrayed him as the savior, and the other options were people they couldn't vote for anymore. One week before the election, most polls gave Georgescu less than 5% and, in the best cases, 8% of the votes. So you can now understand the surprise we had after the counting was done. After that night, Romanians started to analyze the winner of the first round, and what they found was sometimes scary and other times funny—ranging from "There are microchips in Pepsi that enter your body like a laptop" to "The moon landing was fake", "5G technology is extremely dangerous" or "Covid is not real, you can't see it." You can find most of his statements on this website with sources: Setting aside some of these statements, which are mostly harmless, he said things like "Romania should look towards Russian wisdom." He even said he would be ready to leave NATO if it felt necessary and criticized the EU and the way it treats Romania. While we can agree on some small details in these claims, you have to understand the raw feeling of Romanians when it comes to Russia after more than 40 years of communism. It's the same in most of the Eastern Bloc, and it is being passed from one generation to another. And it is mostly hate. Romania is not the most developed country in Europe, but it grew a lot after being accepted into NATO and the EU, and you can check the economic data that sustains this. That being said, you can probably understand why some of those statements were labeled as dangerous by parts of the population that doesn't want to accept even a small chance of leaving the EU/NATO and turning toward "Russian wisdom." Back to our current government One thing that actually unites most Romanians these days is their lack of trust in the current political scene. There is a feeling of exhaustion among us, and we just want honest people ruling the country. Probably just a dream, as my personal take is it will never happen and most of this drama is just "circus". It's always the same situation, just different pockets. Our current prime minister, Marcel Ciolacu , was recently investigated by journalists for different private flights paid for by a company that scammed many Romanians in the real estate industry. Of course, some of those involved in the scam are also politicians. So you probably now understand why we also want change. The situation in Romania is wild these days. We do want change; some think Georgescu is that change, some think he is exactly what we don't need. I don't want to make any judgments in this article. I'm trying to show you what I think "New Media" and "Citizen journalism" should be, at least in my view. What I thought Mario also stands for after that interview. In the course of the last few weeks, Mario has posted every step of Georgescu alongside a network of other popular accounts, some of them known for edgy takes or straightforward propaganda, like Jackson Hinkle or Alex Jones. He even came to Romania to interview Calin and George Simion and said he was afraid. Afraid of what? What did he think he did wrong to be afraid of? Nothing. Just the usual recipe of fear to create drama for views. Many Romanians are asking him in replies to actually dig deeper into the matter and to listen to everyone, but he clearly took a side and goes forward. Why? We don't know for sure; there are some people claiming he was paid to campaign for Georgescu, but there is no actual proof of that being the case. Maybe it's because he wants to continue with the whole "Anti-Soros" agenda widely spread even by Elon Musk these days. We don't know, and I don't want to point out a reason without proof or facts. In fact, that's exactly why I wrote this piece. I'm tired of Old Media, and now the concept of "New Media" is failing harder than I would've ever imagined. Misinformation spreads the fastest on the internet, and most people don't take the time to double or triple check. It is exactly the same practice of biased mainstream media, but for the other side. It's no longer "it must be true, I saw it on CNN" but "it must be true, I saw *insert popular account* posted it." We are witnessing a difficult situation, not only in Romania, and I think journalism should evolve into what it should've always been. But this is not the way. We need to present facts and acknowledge the responsibility, especially as our accounts grow bigger. I encourage every one of you to join the conversation and fill the gaps that I might've missed. Bring facts, bring arguments, do not bring insults. I hope I was clear enough and that this helps some of you understand the situation better. I would love to see you help this post get the attention it needs. Thank you, andreibratucu

andreibratucu🦇🔊

67,630 views • 1 year ago

Tension and uncertainty among Russians are growing. In the spring of 2026, Russian polling agencies recorded a noticeable decline in several key indicators: approval of Putin's performance, trust in him, and the overall emotional mood. The most intriguing point was the closure of Russian Public Opinion Research Center’s (VCIOM) open trust rating: when respondents are asked to name politicians they trust without being prompted with names. In March 2026, this indicator for Putin fell to 29.5% - the lowest level since the start of the full-scale war. After that, VCIOM did not publish the figures for April and May. The gap between the open trust rating (29.5%) and the closed trust rating (72-73%) is roughly 1:2.5. It reflects the distance between Putin's actual political weight and the ritual of loyalty to the "tsar." The reason is simple: Russians do not want a loser president. Putin's ratings were sustained not simply by war, but by the prospect of a victorious war. He traded Russia's development and prosperity for greatness, but now Russians see neither greatness nor prosperity. Let’s take a closer look at what is happening within Russian society. First, most Russians continue to support the war. This is illustrated by Levada Center's May data. Support for the actions of the Russian army, which had been declining since the end of last year, suddenly rebounded by six points in May, reaching 74%. At the same time, the share of those favoring peace negotiations, which had remained at around two-thirds since December, has been slowly shrinking for three consecutive months - down seven points, to six out of ten. Meanwhile, the camp supporting the continuation of military operations has grown to 30%. The main motive among supporters of peace has not changed: "too many casualties and heavy losses." What happened? Television stopped talking about peace negotiations. As long as negotiations seemed realistic, peace appeared to be a way out. Once they collapsed, part of Russian society obediently switched back to supporting the war. This is conformism. Russians do not want peace or war - they want to be on the side of the winner. The demand for negotiations was, in fact, a demand for a victorious peace. Since no victorious peace was granted, they have taken back the war. However, there is a dangerous trap here for the Kremlin: Russians agree to war, but not to a war without victory. They agree to anything except a compromise that would be perceived as defeat. This is dangerous for the Kremlin because it calls into question the legitimacy of the entire system of power - and Putin above all - if Russian society is no longer given proof of greatness and victory. Putin is doomed to constant escalation. The situation is further complicated by public fatigue and rising anxiety among Russians. The state of the Russian economy is deteriorating, while the defense sector is no longer able to offset the decline in the civilian economy. This is especially noticeable in the regions. By the end of 2025, the deficit of consolidated regional budgets had reached a record 1.48 trillion rubles ($20.56 billion) - 3.6 times more than a year earlier. Seventy-four regions, including Moscow and the oil and gas districts, ended up in deficit. The first months of 2026 did not reverse the trend: industry is stagnating, construction is shrinking, corporate profits are falling, and debt burdens are increasing. The accompanying symptoms include a sharp rise in wage arrears, large-scale revisions of regional budgets for 2026 involving spending cuts, primarily social, as well as a hidden employment crisis - where there is no work, but employees are not laid off; instead, they are shifted to reduced working weeks and unpaid leave. Official unemployment statistics barely reflect this. Yet since December 2025, part-time employment has been rising at large and medium-sized enterprises: 4.6 million out of 33 million workers. The map of Russian society’s concerns, which the Levada Center publishes annually, looks telling in May 2026. At the top - for twenty years in a row - is rising prices: 55%. The "special military operation" and related issues worry 35%. And then comes the most interesting part - the destruction of a comfortable life and the feeling of war at home have become additional drivers of tension: fear of explosions and terrorist attacks has jumped by 8 points since November - to 27%. One in five (22%) cites internet restrictions and the blocking of social media as among the most pressing issues - on the list of problems, the digital blockade now ranks alongside poverty and lack of access to healthcare (both at 19%). The state has managed to turn a disabled messenger app into a social problem on the level of poverty. That takes some doing. Many Western observers have been inspired by rumors of elite dissatisfaction in Russia. Indeed, Moscow's economic circles have seen unusually open criticism of the government from parts of the financial elite. However, I suggest we avoid wishful thinking: no direct scenario of a political crisis emerges from this data. The most realistic scenario is the continuation of the war, coupled with a search for political doping: events that can be sold to society as victories, as proof that Russia is moving in the right direction. The problem is that the bar has risen - what would have been considered a triumph a year ago would now look like capitulation. Therefore, stronger doses of doping will be required: escalation in Ukraine aimed at maximizing destruction, a military adventure somewhere in Europe, new strikes, nuclear signaling, or provocations against the West. The ground has already been prepared: 54% of Russians believe that the war in Ukraine could escalate into an armed conflict with NATO - half the population is living in anticipation of a major war. The Kremlin’s logic is as old as time: unite through fear. Putin may also be saved by an "unexpected event" - a black swan, as has already happened when the U.S. started a war with Iran. Here, it’s not even necessary to do anything: it’s enough to interpret it skillfully. A U.S. defeat or stalemate in the war with Iran could be presented as a victory of Russia and its allies over America - because in the minds of Russians, the war with Ukraine has long been just a fragment of a larger Russian war with the West. Within this worldview, any failure by Washington automatically counts as a point for Moscow, regardless of whether it had a hand in it. There is also a third scenario - not for Putin, but against him. This is not a scenario of popular uprising, but one of self-preservation by the Russian elites. But such an option is possible only under a sharp convergence of several factors: military defeat, economic collapse, the loss of the ability to allocate resources, and the emergence of a figure or group capable of guaranteeing the elite’s security after the transition. So far, there are few such signs.
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Tension and uncertainty among Russians are growing. In the spring of 2026, Russian polling agencies recorded a noticeable decline in several key indicators: approval of Putin's performance, trust in him, and the overall emotional mood. The most intriguing point was the closure of Russian Public Opinion Research Center’s (VCIOM) open trust rating: when respondents are asked to name politicians they trust without being prompted with names. In March 2026, this indicator for Putin fell to 29.5% - the lowest level since the start of the full-scale war. After that, VCIOM did not publish the figures for April and May. The gap between the open trust rating (29.5%) and the closed trust rating (72-73%) is roughly 1:2.5. It reflects the distance between Putin's actual political weight and the ritual of loyalty to the "tsar." The reason is simple: Russians do not want a loser president. Putin's ratings were sustained not simply by war, but by the prospect of a victorious war. He traded Russia's development and prosperity for greatness, but now Russians see neither greatness nor prosperity. Let’s take a closer look at what is happening within Russian society. First, most Russians continue to support the war. This is illustrated by Levada Center's May data. Support for the actions of the Russian army, which had been declining since the end of last year, suddenly rebounded by six points in May, reaching 74%. At the same time, the share of those favoring peace negotiations, which had remained at around two-thirds since December, has been slowly shrinking for three consecutive months - down seven points, to six out of ten. Meanwhile, the camp supporting the continuation of military operations has grown to 30%. The main motive among supporters of peace has not changed: "too many casualties and heavy losses." What happened? Television stopped talking about peace negotiations. As long as negotiations seemed realistic, peace appeared to be a way out. Once they collapsed, part of Russian society obediently switched back to supporting the war. This is conformism. Russians do not want peace or war - they want to be on the side of the winner. The demand for negotiations was, in fact, a demand for a victorious peace. Since no victorious peace was granted, they have taken back the war. However, there is a dangerous trap here for the Kremlin: Russians agree to war, but not to a war without victory. They agree to anything except a compromise that would be perceived as defeat. This is dangerous for the Kremlin because it calls into question the legitimacy of the entire system of power - and Putin above all - if Russian society is no longer given proof of greatness and victory. Putin is doomed to constant escalation. The situation is further complicated by public fatigue and rising anxiety among Russians. The state of the Russian economy is deteriorating, while the defense sector is no longer able to offset the decline in the civilian economy. This is especially noticeable in the regions. By the end of 2025, the deficit of consolidated regional budgets had reached a record 1.48 trillion rubles ($20.56 billion) - 3.6 times more than a year earlier. Seventy-four regions, including Moscow and the oil and gas districts, ended up in deficit. The first months of 2026 did not reverse the trend: industry is stagnating, construction is shrinking, corporate profits are falling, and debt burdens are increasing. The accompanying symptoms include a sharp rise in wage arrears, large-scale revisions of regional budgets for 2026 involving spending cuts, primarily social, as well as a hidden employment crisis - where there is no work, but employees are not laid off; instead, they are shifted to reduced working weeks and unpaid leave. Official unemployment statistics barely reflect this. Yet since December 2025, part-time employment has been rising at large and medium-sized enterprises: 4.6 million out of 33 million workers. The map of Russian society’s concerns, which the Levada Center publishes annually, looks telling in May 2026. At the top - for twenty years in a row - is rising prices: 55%. The "special military operation" and related issues worry 35%. And then comes the most interesting part - the destruction of a comfortable life and the feeling of war at home have become additional drivers of tension: fear of explosions and terrorist attacks has jumped by 8 points since November - to 27%. One in five (22%) cites internet restrictions and the blocking of social media as among the most pressing issues - on the list of problems, the digital blockade now ranks alongside poverty and lack of access to healthcare (both at 19%). The state has managed to turn a disabled messenger app into a social problem on the level of poverty. That takes some doing. Many Western observers have been inspired by rumors of elite dissatisfaction in Russia. Indeed, Moscow's economic circles have seen unusually open criticism of the government from parts of the financial elite. However, I suggest we avoid wishful thinking: no direct scenario of a political crisis emerges from this data. The most realistic scenario is the continuation of the war, coupled with a search for political doping: events that can be sold to society as victories, as proof that Russia is moving in the right direction. The problem is that the bar has risen - what would have been considered a triumph a year ago would now look like capitulation. Therefore, stronger doses of doping will be required: escalation in Ukraine aimed at maximizing destruction, a military adventure somewhere in Europe, new strikes, nuclear signaling, or provocations against the West. The ground has already been prepared: 54% of Russians believe that the war in Ukraine could escalate into an armed conflict with NATO - half the population is living in anticipation of a major war. The Kremlin’s logic is as old as time: unite through fear. Putin may also be saved by an "unexpected event" - a black swan, as has already happened when the U.S. started a war with Iran. Here, it’s not even necessary to do anything: it’s enough to interpret it skillfully. A U.S. defeat or stalemate in the war with Iran could be presented as a victory of Russia and its allies over America - because in the minds of Russians, the war with Ukraine has long been just a fragment of a larger Russian war with the West. Within this worldview, any failure by Washington automatically counts as a point for Moscow, regardless of whether it had a hand in it. There is also a third scenario - not for Putin, but against him. This is not a scenario of popular uprising, but one of self-preservation by the Russian elites. But such an option is possible only under a sharp convergence of several factors: military defeat, economic collapse, the loss of the ability to allocate resources, and the emergence of a figure or group capable of guaranteeing the elite’s security after the transition. So far, there are few such signs.

Anton Gerashchenko

36,205 views • 1 month ago