how to program ethereum
Ethereum is behind one of the most popular cryptocurrencies - and yet it is much more than that. This means that cryptographic money can be managed completely autonomously thanks to algorithms. But how do the so-called smart contracts work and where is the journey going?
In order to understand the principle of smart contracts in Ethereum, it is necessary to first undertake a brief excursion into the world of programming languages. The common programming languages are basically divided into two groups: interpreted and compiled languages. In the first group, programs are written in a high-level language, which are then executed by an interpreter. Two popular examples of this are Python and JavaScript. Interpreted languages are common in many application domains (such as the web) because you can get started right away. In addition, they are very universal and can be used on different platforms without the need for additional tooling.
On the other hand, there are compiled languages in which a compiler first converts the program text into another language - often binary machine code. This binary code is platform-dependent and is executed directly on a processor. The compiler can (and must) output tailor-made code for the instruction set of the processor, for example for ARM or Intel compatible CPUs. Well-known representatives of this type are C and Rust.
However, the reality is, as always, more complex than these simple categories suggest. For a long time there have been mixed forms, such as Java. The Java compiler does not translate Java code directly into "real" machine code, but into a special intermediate format. This intermediate format in turn is then executed by an interpreter - the Java Virtual Machine - on the specific processor architecture.
The smart contracts in Ethereum work in a similar way. All nodes that validate transactions in Ethereum and mine new currencies contain an instance of the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). In the Yellow Paper, the technical specification of Ethereum, it is precisely defined which instructions the EVM support - and how they are to be executed.
It is an in-house development that has numerous special features:
Interaction with the outside world is not possible: All algorithmic decisions must result from the blockchain and its transactions.
Arithmetic is based on 256-bit values to make it easier to deal with addresses and large amounts of money.
Special operations such as the hash functions are built in directly to increase performance.
A cost function (fuel) is assigned to all instructions, which roughly corresponds to the required execution time and the amount of memory required. The term metering is common in English.
Programming on the EVM
Similar to the Java ecosystem, there are several programming languages for which EVM compilers are available. The most common language is Solidity, which superficially (syntactically) is reminiscent of JavaScript. As of the end of 2020, the Ethereum documentation lists two other languages: Vyper, which is based on Python, and Yul Plus, a completely independent development.
What all these languages have in common is that they are domain-specific because, in contrast to the general-purpose languages, they occupy a niche with special features and in particular a special runtime: the EVM. Of course, such domain-specific languages (DSL) are generally a good idea to reduce the complexity of applications.
But in the case of the EVM, that doesn't make much sense. After all, regardless of the lack of opportunities to interact with the blockchain-external world, it can execute any algorithm, so it is (in simple terms) Turing-complete.
So why not use an existing language and runtime environment? If necessary, you would then have to remove features, but you could fall back on longer experience, more stable tooling and - much more importantly - a broader base of programmers. Because it is old hat that nowadays the popularity of a programming language not only depends on whether you can program in it particularly concise, type-safe or dynamic, but also how easily you can access how many existing libraries and packages. This change of times is particularly illustrated by JavaScript, which is often criticized for its crude semantics, but has been the most popular programming language since the millionth NPM package at the latest.
The people behind the Ethereum specification have come to the conclusion that some problems can be solved by migrating away from an in-house development to a universal language. How practical that development is currently underway on the web to establish an alternative to the top dog JavaScript: web assembly (WASM). This is both a universal intermediate language and a binary format, paired with a specification for interpreters. As the name suggests, the open standard was originally conceived for the web; In the meantime, however, other areas of application (e.g. smartphone apps) are also being discussed.
The development of WASM is being driven by industry giants such as Microsoft, Google and Apple. What distinguishes the language is that it is designed for portability from the start. This can be recognized by the fact that numerous existing programming languages such as Rust, C ++ or Go can already compile for web assembly.
So also a perfect basis for smart contracts? In fact, Webassembly seems to be made for this purpose. Also in the browser - the original domain for WASM - it is necessary to strictly regulate the running code in order to prevent security gaps. In addition, the fact that WASM does not have garbage collection, i.e. the programmer has to take care of memory management himself, ensures the deterministic execution of algorithms. As a bonus, there are solid and efficient interpreters available for various platforms.
All of these are also criteria that are extremely important for the design of a blockchain. Therefore, the use of Ethereum flavored web assembly (EWASM) is the logical aim of the long-term planning of Ethereum 2. EWASM is fully compatible with WASM, but introduces an additional interface to the blockchain in order to be able to control typical Ethereum operations (for example the transfer of tokens). For Ethereum users, the interaction with EWASM smart contracts is transparent and works exactly like EVM contracts.
Smart contracts in web assembly
But how do you proceed if you want to program a smart contract in EWASM? On the one hand, you need a suitable Ethereum network. Because as beautiful as the vision of Ethereum 2.0 is, it is just a vision. Unfortunately, there is no official test network, but you can switch to Oasis Ethereum, which is compatible with Ethereum and, to a certain extent, offers a preview of the future Ethereum 2.0.
You also need a programming language so that you don't have to write assembly code by hand. Rust offers many advantages here. Thanks to the support of WASM in the Rust compiler, compatible smart contracts can be generated directly from a Rust program. However, Rust is currently not a sensible choice for Ethereum because the toolchain is still too fragile. Most of the examples that can be found on the Internet are already out of date shortly after publication.
That's why it's worth taking a look at Solidity here instead. The classic example of a smart contract in Solidity is an ERC-20 token, a standardized interface to manage any token on the Ethereum chain. By default, Ethereum uses the currency ether. With ERC-20 tokens, you can define other currencies, for example a token that can be exchanged one-for-one for euros. Such a contract has a fixed structure. Basically there are storage fields in the contract for:
The number of tokens in circulation (an upper limit can therefore be set)
Current account balances
In Solidity this can be defined as follows:
uint256 private totalSupply;
mapping(address => uint256) private balances;
***function add(uint256 a, uint256 b) internal pure returns (uint256) {***
***uint256 c = a + b;***
***require(c >= a, „SafeMath: addition overflow“);***
***return c;***
***}***
***function sub(uint256 a, uint256 b) internal pure returns (uint256) {***
***require(b <= a, „SafeMath: subtraction overflow“);***
***uint256 c = a - b;***
***return c;***
***}***
These two methods are used to safely add or subtract two numbers. For example, if there are not enough tokens on the source account, the transaction is aborted with an error message ("Subtraction Overflow"). The actual transfer function is then implemented quickly:
***function transfer(***
***address recipient,***
***uint256 amount***
***) {***
***balances[msg.sender] = sub(balances[msg.sender], amount);***
***balances[recipient] = add(balances[recipient], amount);***
***}***
First, the account balance with the sender is reduced, then increased with the recipient. Calling this method is always transactional: If either the recipient already has too many or the sender does not have enough tokens, neither of the two operations is carried out. The above solidity code can be translated to web assembly using the SOLL compiler.
Deployment and other options
This finished WASM file can be deployed on a blockchain using web3.js, as is usual with Ethereum. If you want to use Oasis for this, you can configure an appropriate provider. You can either work in the browser or in Node.js.
In order to deploy the contract, you have to create a new transaction that has not given a recipient address. The HEX-coded string of the web assembly code is transferred as data:
***const receipt = await web3.eth.sendTransaction({ from: 0, data: "0061736d...", gas: 10000000 });***
***console.log(receipt.contractAddress);***
If everything went right, the last line outputs the address of the newly created contract:
***'0xad1c3896b09F86906030654F6e92D61bf0D24293***'
In addition to being used in a blockchain, the WASM code generated by the compiler can theoretically also be executed unchanged in the browser, provided that the necessary Ethereum functions are provided. The web assembly tools also offer a number of other processing options, for example the binary code can be translated to C. It would therefore be entirely possible to use the same code in both smart contracts and classic applications.
Conclusion
With EWASM, the Ethereum community has set the course to put smart contracts on a solid basis in the future. In contrast to self-made EVM, web assembly offers tangible advantages - for example, broad applicability and greater security thanks to numerous analysis options.
Various Ethereum clients are already implementing this alternative VM, but some of them are not yet compatible with one another. It is a pity that the Rust toolchain has not yet been properly integrated into Ethereum. However, since the development of Ethereum 2.0 is constantly progressing and there is a high level of interest in web assembly, there will hopefully soon be a more robust tooling.
Ethereum (ETH) Ethereum DeFi Ethereum 2.0 https://www.publish0x.com/tag/ethereum https://www.publish0x.com/tag/defi
Decentralised finances
It is so exciting Seeing how Decentralized Finance (DeFi) fought their way to the top. Its no lie that DeFi is making headlines these days as investors and traders are now much into it.
**How Did they Manage to Do So**
Back in the days even up to now investors and traders are losing their hard earned money to scammers end the Centralized Finance and they have access to every penny being held in their wallets. If they decide to disappear they can just vanish with everything or if the platform is hacked then everything will be gone.
Another thing which investors did not like is letting the future of an assets they are into to be left in the hands of a few group of people, they have always wanted to be part of the future planning and making process. If a project is laid on the table and the community allowed to vote for ideas it will make it the perfect project ever.
**DeFi's Started Low but are higher now**
There are a lot of DeFi projects which stated low and managed to become the most invested upon and that led to the increase in their prices. I selected a few i just want us to look into:
Maker
Uniswap
Synthetix
AAVE
The above 4 has a good history, if you check where they came from you will see that they proved to be promising and now they are the household DeFi's.
**MAKER** was launched back in 2017 and it was trading at $24 at that time. Its low supply of 991,501.05 MKR helped a lot as there was low supply and the demand was high and the price went to the roof, it is expensive than the second largest Crypto Ethereum.
**Uniswap** was launched in 2018 but became popular in 2020. From trading at less than $0.5 it managed to reach an all time high of $44.97 just a moth ago.
**Synthetix** was launched in 2018 and its price did not move much as it was trading around $0.4 and at one time its traded at $0.03 until 2020 when it started to breath fire and boomed till it broke a record and set an all time high of $28.77. Its future is bright as is is aiming high with its protocols.
**AAVE** was launched in October 2020 with A supply of 16,000,000 but now they have a capitalization of $4,200,500,143. When it was launched it was trading around $54 but it surged and it is now trading at $330.62, and the Return on Investment (RIO )its 63424.31%
**Conclusion**
Like in today's world if you are to be an inventor and if you want your product to be successful you have to identify the problem first then you have to provide the solution so that the idea will be a success. That is what happened with DeFi's that is why their prices are always going up and they are the future.
Uniswap Maker DAO (MKR) DeFi and Decentralization https://www.publish0x.com/tag/uniswap-uni https://www.publish0x.com/tag/maker-dao https://www.publish0x.com/tag/defi-and-decentralization-typkpnp
nvesting your IFarm Tokens with Harvest Finance with no Deposit Fees
Investing your iFarm token earnings from publish0x is the best thing you can do at the moment. iFarm is like a receipt that you own the Farm Token. If you take a closer look at it it is a promising token with a brighter future ahead.
**Why Do i say its promising?**
For a crypto token to be said its promising, we should look at certain factors and i always talk more about these factors in my articles so i am not going to go deeper with it, i will just brush through. First let me give you an example why i say so, lets take a look at Yearn-finance which is a well performing Decentralized Finance.
It has a limited supply of 36,635.03 YFI and its capitalization and its capitalization is still $1,580,343,755 buy its trading at $43,177.77 which is more expensive than Bitcoin. Now imagine Harvest Finance Token is trading at $72.41 with a supply of 565,387.76 FARM which is less than that of Bitcoin so you can imagine where its going to be in the next 10 years.
As you can see the APY for Farm is 50.16% which is a good yield and it has the high number value of assets valued at 24.02M deposited into the farms which is a good start.
**Advantages of Harvest Farms Deposits**
As we know this token is Ethereum related and the transaction fees are paid in ethereum. So when ever you want to deposit on any Yield Farming Platform you will pay transaction cost which is costly to invest, but with Harvest Finance its story of the past.
Due to the recent updates now when you want to deposit your iFarms on Harvest Finance you are no longer charged deposit fees. So those who could not invest their small earning from publish0x you can now happily invest and invest more iFarms while you relax.
Yield Farming based on Binance Smart Chain vs Ethereum Based
Crypto Investors and crypto traders are now venturing into the Decentralized Finance and Crypto Yield Farming, by doing so they are letting their money work for them while they are relaxed.
**What is Yield Farming?**
Yield Farming is whereby investors and traders deposit or lend out their crypto assets into the Decentralized Finance and in return they earn APY's. These DeFi's differ they can be Binance Smart Chain based e.g Venus or they can be Ethereum Based e.g Harvest Finance or Sushiswap.
**What is the main difference?**
The main difference on these Yield Farming market place is the blockchain they are build upon and the network used. Venus is built upon the Binance Smart Chain. Is is currently on top of the Yield Farming rankings as it has the highest number of assets value locked of $3,283,928,689.43 and the second Binance Based is Bakery swap though its on ranked number 4 on the list with assets worth $353,826,076.95.
Another difference of Binance Smart Chain based is its lower fees, it is a bit cheaper to farm with binance based and if its fees remain low there are higher chances that it can Dominate the Crypto Farming.
Then we have those which are based on the Ethereum with Sushi being the second to Venus with assets worth $1,969,114,214.61 locked in their vaults and Curve following behind with assets valued $1,854,776,987.44 locked. As we can see those based on Ethereum has low number of assets locked in an d this might be due to higher transaction and network costs related with the Ethereum.
**Conclusion**
Ethereum is popular as it ha the large number of smart contracts and being the second dominant to Bitcoin and Binance is still following behind but it is proving that it can be reliable and cost efficient as compared to Ethereum
Polkadot Cryptocurrency Slides By 19% In The Last 6 Hours
Polkadot (DOT-USD) Cryptocurrency is as of now on bearish force by 19.38% just now. At 06:14 EST on Friday, 28 May, Polkadot (DOT-USD) is at $21.10.
Unsurpassed High and Low
Polkadot's present worth is at $21.1 which is 57.43% beneath its unequaled high of $49.35 at Saturday, 15 May.
Polkadot's present worth is at $21.1 which is 678.82% over its unsurpassed low of $2.7 at Thursday, 20 August.
Market Cap, Volume, and Supply
Polkadot's present market cap is at 20944443213 and complete volume is at 2628679771. Absolute inventory is at 1077939338.8066, greatest stock is at 0, and circling supply is at 996990206.5837.
Polkadot (DOT-USD) Highs and Lows
Polkadot (DOT-USD) is % down from its untouched high of $49.35 on Saturday, 15 May
On the drawback, Polkadot (DOT-USD) is % down from its unsurpassed low of $2.7% on Thursday, 20 August
Economic wellbeing
Right now, Polkadot (DOT-USD) has 440165 Twitter adherents and 25099 Reddit endorsers.
Instability
Polkadot's last week, last month's, and last quarter's present unpredictability was a negative 3.42%, a negative 0.47%, and a positive 4.23%, separately.
Polkadot's present instability rank, which estimates how unstable a monetary resource is (variety between the most reduced and most elevated worth in a period), was 8.58% (a week ago), 4.74% (a month ago), and 4.23% (last quarter), separately.
Crypto Price Classification
As per the stochastic oscillator, a valuable pointer of overbought and oversold conditions, Polkadot's crypto is viewed as oversold (<=20).
Other News About Polkadot (DOT-USD)
As indicated by FX Empire on Friday, 28 May, "Binance Coin (- 2.56%), Bitcoin Cash SV (- 1.78%), Litecoin (- 2.43%) and Polkadot (- 0.39%) saw moderately unobtrusive misfortunes on the day, be that as it may."
News about Bitcoin
HSBC will not offer Bitcoin, crypto administration to affluent, Reuters says. As indicated by Bloomberg Quint on Tuesday, 25 May, "The bank isn't into Bitcoin given its instability and isn't advancing it as a resource class inside its abundance the board business, Quinn said, as per the news organization."
Bitcoin pushes past $40,000 as cryptos skip back from selloff. As indicated by Bloomberg Quint on Wednesday, 26 May, "While stalwart digital money followers accept the positively trending market in Bitcoin has quite recently stopped, different observers are more prudent."
Cathie wood says Bitcoin 'inconceivable' for authorities to close down. As indicated by Bloomberg Quint on Friday, 28 May, "Star financial backer Cathie Wood has a message of consolation for Bitcoin financial backers in the midst of the noise of ever harsher administrative manner of speaking: authorities will not have the option to make the biggest cryptographic money disappear.", "Very rich person Elon Musk likewise featured ecological dangers in suspending Bitcoin installments at Tesla Inc."
Cryptocurrency Polkadot (DOT) Polkadot https://www.publish0x.com/tag/cryptocurrency https://www.publish0x.com/tag/polkadot
beautiful places
have a look over this beautiful place
Having checked in at the Indiana State Fairgrounds for overnight accomodations,
we couldn't help but notice the overwhelming noise coming from the nearby critter pavilions...
Daily news roundup may 24
The cryptocurrency industry continues to plod along as the market finds it support levels. Here are the top stories from the past few days.
**1. Vitalik Addresses Scaling and Elon Musk Tweets in Blog Post**
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin published a detailed blog post on May 23, describing various scaling solutions along with their pros and cons. The post was partly inspired by Elon Musk’s tweet that recommended simply upping Dogecoin protocol parameters to make it scalable. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1D73wvXUL2L-bDZGBlL4rHaBINn_JJAojJZJAGzbcWQE/edit
Vitalik described the several ways in which blockchains could be scaled, including changing parameters and sharding. The downside of these changes, he says, is that it comes at a cost. With respect to Musk’s tweet, Vitalik rightly said that it would bring centralization problems. To him, the capacity for regular users to be able to run a full node is critical for blockchain decentralization.
Vitalik outlines several challenges associated with scaling development and the post is well worth reading in full.
**2. Huobi Suspending Futures Trading in Some Jurisdictions, Also Scaling Back Mining in China**
he Huobi exchange is suspending futures trading in several jurisdictions, with some analysts pointing to the Chinese government’s decision to impose stricter regulation on the market as a potential motivation for the decision. The exchange is reducing its mining activity in China after China recently clamped down on the mining industry. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/cryptocurrency-exchange-huobi-suspend-services-new-users-china-2021-05-24/
Huobi will instead focus on overseas markets, after previously preparing to launch in the Hong Kong jurisdiction. As one of the world’s largest centralized exchanges, which is particularly popular in the Asian market, Huobi will likely see some of its business affected. Other exchanges that are scaling back their presence in China include OKEx.
**3. Hedge Funds are Really Taking to DeFi Assets, According to PwC Report**
PwC, in its third Global Crypto Hedge Fund report released on May 23, notes that the amount of crypto managed in hedge funds amounted to $3.8 billion in 2020. The report was co-written with Elwood Asset Management. https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/financial-services/pdf/3rd-annual-pwc-elwood-aima-crypto-hedge-fund-report-(may-2021).pdf
Interestingly, 31% of these hedge funds used DEXs, with Uniswap being the most popular platform with 16% of hedge funds using it for their accumulation. Even more telling is the fact that DeFi tokens were the most sought after. In order, Chainlink, Polkadot and Aave were the most common purchases, at 30%, 28% and 27% respectively. The report also notes that the hedge funds are staking, lending and borrowing.
**4. Defi100 Calls $32 Million Rug Pull Reports False, Says it Was Hacked**
1/2 Firstly, Total supply of D100 at present is less than 4 million tokens. At the beginning of the project, total supply was 2.5 million Tokens. Secondly, D100 was never a yield farming protocol which was holding investors funds with TVL over 32 million.
DEFI100 https://twitter.com/DEFI100?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1396489795266768904%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.publish0x.com%2Fembed%2Ftwitter%2Ftweet%3Fid%3D1396489795266768904
@DEFI100
2/2 Thirdly, total tokens sold during IDO were 750,000 at $0.80 per token. These facts are available in public for checking their authenticity. The rumours of stealing $32 million are absolutely false and baseless.
ryptocurrency project Def100 has allegedly been hacked to say that the project had executed a rug pull to steal funds, with the attackers posting a message on the website saying that “investors couldn’t do **** about it”. Reports emerged that it had stolen an estimated $32 million in investor funds, but updates from the team have shown that this might not be the case. The project’s associated token tanked significantly as a result.
Built on the Binance Smart Chain, the DeFi100 platform provides synthetic assets on the network. The team has addressed the hack in a series of tweets, saying that the reports were false and baseless. https://twitter.com/DEFI100/status/1396489770281226244
Rug pulls are a classic case of theft, and many investors in the market still fall prey to one of the most common theft tactics. Uninformed and newer investors typically form this group.
**5. Ukraine’s Dynamo Kiev to Sell Match Tickets as NFTs**
Dynamo Kiev, Ukraine’s successful football team, has joined the NFT craze, with plans to launch match tickets as NFTs on the Binance NFT marketplace. This marks the first time a football team will sell tickets as NFTs. The tickets will begin selling in June and will be tokenized by Moonwalk. The club also said that it hopes that at least 25% of tickets will be sold as NFTs. https://www.binance.com/en/blog/421499824684902072/FC-Dynamo-Kyiv-to-Become-First-Major-Sports-Team-in-the-World--to-Sell-its-First-NFT-Event-Tickets
NFTs are highly popular in the sports industry, with teams like Barcelona and Juventus, the Global State Warriors all incorporating the special asset into their fan experiences. NFTs are often used in collectibles, exclusive access and merchandising in sports, which sees heavy involvement because of enthusiastic fanbases.
fantom.quick defi research
After BSC and HECO I start locking some more decentralized ecosystems to explore. In this post, I present my quick researches about this chain.
What is Fantom?
Fantom is a fast, high-throughput open-source smart contract platform for digital assets and dApps. Network consensus protocol is a Fantom’s aBFT.
What is aBFT consensus?
In an aBFT network, nodes can reach consensus independently conveys this information, and they don’t need to exchange finalized blocks. For this reason, aBFT consensus mechanisms are completely leaderless, increasing security: there is no round-robin and no Proof-of-Work.
Unlike pBFT, which relies on the fact that all the messages shared among nodes will eventually be delivered, aBFT allows for messages to be delayed or lost altogether. Besides making networks particularly resilient to DDoS attacks, aBFT also lowers the transaction’s latency, resulting in a faster network.
Famtom Wallets
Fantom is an EVM compatibility network that means to work with this network you can use your present Ethereum wallet and Metamask.
How configure Famtom and MetaMask
To configure metamask for work with the Fantom Opera network you must add the custom network to your metamask.
Network Name : Fantom Opera
New RPC URL : https://rpcapi.fantom.network
Chain ID : 250
Currency Symbol (optional) : FTM
Block Explorer URL (optional) : https://explorer.fantom.network/
Buying the Dip Explained
**Buying the dip**" is a phrase we hear all over the crypto community. This basic investment strategy doesn't mean going all in when a crypto value is lower than normal, but rather averaging in as it goes down and/or buying after it settles out. This strategy is much safer to use during a **bull market** or when the market is stagnant. This is because the general trend is either going to continue up or sideways. During a **bear market**, the general price trend is down and will most-likely continue to fall.
There's a few ways to include yourself in buying the dip alongside the rest of the market. You can buy incrementally as the price goes down, creating an average position and setting your aim to buy more as (or if) the price decreases further. You can wait until the price settles and, perhaps, show signs of recovering... buying at that point. You can also set your buy orders at lower prices and let them fill over time. Setting buys just before historic support levels, large "buy walls", and psychological levels is an especially good strategy. Prices will tend to do at least a quick bounce off of these levels and there should be a decent margin for profit.
This takes patience, but can reap great rewards if you play your cards right. Taking a look into the history of the value of your assets can give you an estimate on how the market will be reacting in the future. This is always a risk as the crypto market is highly volatile. Although volatile, it's always good to keep an eye out on when the market dipped, why it dipped, and how it recovered afterwards.
The following pools will deplete soon at the Star Cluster
The following pools will deplete soon at the Star Cluster:
✅$DOGE
✅$WBNB
✅$ZBTC
On the ⌛️ 31/05/2021 ⌛️
What next? Stay tuned!
reasons of independence
*This is the third in a series of articles looking at the topics which will dominate the coming independence referendum campaign. These pieces are aimed at undecided voters and soft no voters. In this piece I look at some of the reasons for wanting an independent Scotland*
I want independence because ...
There are as many reasons for supporting Scottish independence as there are people who support independence. Before I suffered a stroke and before the covid lockdowns I travelled the length and breadth of Scotland, meeting with Yes groups, talking to local activists, and speaking at local Yes organisations. What has struck me during all these travels is that no one I've met wants Scottish independence because they hate anyone, and certainly not because they might hate the English. That's a nasty myth put about by opponents of independence in order to stop undecided people from engaging with arguments for independence.
Neither have I met anyone who wants independence because they believe that Scotland is better than anywhere else. No, overwhelmingly the reasons that people want Scottish independence is because they recognise that there is so much that is wrong with Scotland, and it needs to be fixed. We each have our own individual reasons for wanting independence, our own individual beliefs about what changes we'd like to see made in that Scotland once we achieve it. But what unites us all is the understanding that none of us can make any progress until we establish the principle that it's up to the people of Scotland to decide what happens in Scotland. We can argue forever about whether we want a shot on the swings, or whether we want a go on the roundabout, but we can't do anything until we build the independent Scottish park.
These are my own personal reasons for wanting independence. You may share some of them, you may have some other reasons of your own. But none of us can start to make any progress on making Scotland a better place until we have an independent Scotland and the power to change this country lies with its people.
I want Scottish independence ... because it's the only way to rid ourselves of the obscenity of weapons of mass destruction on the Clyde. For decades we've marched. We've protested. We've established peace camps. Those of us who are old and long in the tooth were protesting against Trident when we were young, and now we see young kids embarking on the same journey of protest, a journey with no end, a journey that goes nowhere as long as we are subject to Westminster rule and a British state which fetishes nuclear weapons as the viagra of an impotent ex-empire. The only way to rid ourselves of Trident is with independence. Otherwise kids in Scotland will still be doing in forty years time what I did forty years ago, marching, protesting, and getting absolutely nowhere.
I want Scottish independence ... because I grew up thinking that the poverty and deprivation, the inequality and lack of opportunity, which I witnessed in the East End of Glasgow in the 60s and 70s was normal. And now a new generation of East End weans is growing up thinking that foodbanks are normal. Well it's not bloody normal. It's an outrage in one of the richest nations on the face of this Earth. It's an affront to human dignity that the British state prioritises tax cuts for the wealthy and turning the UK into a tax haven for drug lords and oligarchs over the provision of decent public services. It's indecent that the poor are forced to pay for the crimes of the rich, but that's the British way. I want Scottish independence so that we can start to tackle the inequalities and injustices which blight this country.
I want Scottish independence ... because so many of us are fatalistic and resigned to our powerlessness that we self medicate on alcohol and drugs. We've learned that hope is something for other people, that it doesn't matter what we say because no one is listening anyway. We've learned that the only way to live without hope is to anaesthatise ourselves into oblivion, a brief respite from the pain of the everyday. It's no way to live. No way to die. We need to know that the bright light is the light of hope and a better future, not a paramedic shining a torch in our eye in order to check for a sign of life. During the independence referendum of 2014, for the first time in my life I saw ordinary working class people discovering that hope was something for them too, that they too could dream, that they too had a voice, and that voice was important and it counted for something. Independence gives us hope.
I want Scottish independence ... because we've bred generations of Scottish people who have learned that it doesn't matter how we vote. It doesn't matter what Scotland's people say that they want through the ballot box. We get what England votes for, our votes can only make a difference when opinion in England is narrowly divided. It's only with independence that Scotland can get governments that it votes for, governments which are answerable to the people of Scotland and which work in their interests. It's only with independence that Scotland can see the true strengths of democracy.
I want Scottish independence ... because politicians need to be held to account. The British system rewards political failure. We kicked out Michael Forsyth yet there he still is, all these years later, in the House of Lords influencing our laws and deciding our futures. British governments don't need to pay any heed to Scotland, so they make decisions without considering us, and we have no remedy against them. I want Scottish independence because politicians cannot be trusted, and we need to keep them close to us so that their arses are within kicking distance of our feet.
I want Scottish independence ... because this should be a land that is welcoming. Scotland was always a shelter for people from all over the world, because for centuries it was literally the end of the Earth. Once you got to Scotland, there was nowhere else to go. This is a land of migrants, and we should honour those who do us the honour of choosing to throw their lot in with the rest of us and becoming a part of the story of Scotland. Brexit Britain is closed in, inward looking, intolerant, xenophobic. I want a kinder, gentler, more welcoming country.
I want Scottish independence ... because we need to do something about land ownership. Vast tracts of our country are owned by faceless multimillionaires hiding behind shell companies. They've turned Scotland into a desert designed as the playground for the wealthy. The Highlands are so beautiful and empty because its people were turfed out into the slums of the Lowland cities to produce the wealth that allowed the rich to buy up the land. Meanwhile rural communities die and decline.
I want Scottish independence ... because we need to unlock Scotland's vast renewable energy resources. Scotland could be a beacon for the world, a beacon lit by energy from the wind and the waves. We need to create a sustainable economy, to reindustrialise in a green, carbon neutral and environmentally friendly way, but we can't do that as long as the political and economic levers of our country are controlled by a Westminster dominated by Conservative politicians who know the price of everything and the value of nothing.
I want Scottish independence ... because despite being told that this country was a partner nation in the UK we were torn out of the EU against our will and without being allowed any meaningful input into the form that Brexit took. Scotland found that the Brexit which was foisted upon it was designed and created with the interests of right wing English nationalists in mind and no one else. Only independence will allow Scotland to rebuild a relationship with Europe which is in accordance with the desires and interests of the people of Scotland. Independence represents the quickest way back into the EU, if that is what the people of Scotland want.
I want Scottish independence ... because we need a written constitution that spells out the proper division of powers between the legislature, the executive, and the judiciary. Within the UK we have an unwritten constitution which permits the powerful to make things up to suit themselves as they go along. That has to stop. But above all, we need a written constitution in order to establish once and for all that the only sovereign body in Scotland is the totality of the people of Scotland. This is our land, independence allows us to own it as citizens, instead of being subjects within it.
I want Scottish independence ... because there is so much that is wrong with Scotland, and we need to fix it. We have waited patiently for generations for the Westminster system to fix Scotland for us, only to slowly come to the realisation that it has a vested interest in keeping Scotland weak, dependent, powerless, and marginalised. We kept the faith all through the bitter years of Thatcher, only to discover that the British Parliamentary road to socialism ended in bombs on the road to Baghdad. Westminster doesn't want to solve Scotland's problems, because it's only by keeping Scotland impoverished and feeble that it can tell us that we need them, that we're too small and weak to stand on our own two feet. The truth is that the only people who can fix Scotland's problems are the people of Scotland themselves, and we need the powers of independence in order to do so. I want Scottish independence because generations of wise Scottish women have always told us, if you want something done, ye need tae dae it yersel.
I want independence ... because Scotland is a land that is so rich in resources, possesses such an abundance of talent, is pregnant with so many possibilities. They need to be put to the service of the people of Scotland, and not leeched away to enrich the City of London. It's only with independence that Scotland can blossom.
I don't want Scottish independence because I hate anyone. I don't want Scottish independence because I believe Scotland to be better than anywhere else. I don't want Scottish independence because I hark back to a rosy vision of a mythical Scotland that has never existed. I recognise the issues Scotland faces. I want Scottish independence ... because I see the problems of this country with a clear eye, and I want Scotland to have the powers to fix them. I want Scottish independence ... because I want Scotland to be a normal country.
**NEW MODERATION POLICY**
In the wake of recent events I am determined that this site will not become a home for bigots and conspiracy theorists. They will not be welcome here. Moderation is the most stressful part of running a blog, but this site is going to continue to make the positive case for independence. With this in mind as of today a new moderation policy is in force.
Anyone who attempts to use this site to post hatred, bigotry, or conspiracy theories will be banned. If you attempt to insult and abuse anyone you will be banned. This site has a zero-toleration policy for homophobia, transphobia, racism, and misogyny. Failure to respect this will result in a ban.
If you intend to spend the next four years undermining the SNP, the Scottish Goverment
I left the house
I haven’t posted since March which probably makes it the longest period of time in which I haven’t looked at the blog since I started it over eight years ago, and I’ve missed it.
Part of the reason why I’ve had such a long absence is that there has been very little to post about. With lockdown restrictions only starting to ease over the last few weeks I’ve continued to live a rather Groundhog Day existence that has primarily involved getting up, washed and dressed, logging in, logging out, eating dinner and going to bed. It’s hasn’t been a bad thing – my workload has grown by a phenomenal level which has kept me really busy and I wake up most mornings raring to go and excited to start the day – but it has left little time to focus on my own content.
May was also a month of dealing with multiple health issues. It’s rare that I’m ill, but when something hits me it tends to stick around for a while. I had my first covid vaccination at the start of the month and the side effects kept me in bed for three days, followed by an ear infection. When getting the ear checked out at the doctors he was concerned about something else which resulted in multiple blood tests, an anxious wait and thankfully a surprisingly clear bill of health (aside from the ear). I then developed a nasty tooth infection in a tooth that I’ve had issues with for over a year, and I’ve never experienced pain like it. It was so bad that the tooth had to be pulled last week, and so the last few days have consisted of eating soft and puréed food, multiples salt washes and looking like I had been punched in the face. I also started experiencing pain in my back and so have had multiple chiropractor appointments, which leaves me feeling like I’ve been hit by a bus for a day or two afterwards.
Good Morning
It certainly is a wonderful morning: clear blue skies and trails of passing planes which are now dissolving. It could not be better after the month of rain we have had and cold temperatures. It is even getting warmer and according to the weather forecast it will stay that way for the next week at least. I can really now get prepared for the summer. I noticed my supply of short trousers has dwindled, but I have four in perfectly good condition. I just have to renew the elastic in the waist. For homewear I do not have to resemble Cindy Crawford, no-one really sees me except for the neighbours and their home dress is no no competition.
So what am I going to do today in this wonderful weather? Not very much, but I will escape in the afternoon for an hour to the nearby supermarket for a few bits and pieces. Most of my week-end food supply will be delivered this morning. Although Mr. Swiss has now stopped hugging the bed and tells me he will go shopping quickly in the local store so he will bring me what I need and there will be no need to go anywhere. I think I am getting lazy in my golden oldie days.
My orchids can at last enjoy the warmer weather outside. I got them about a month ago and they are still looking good. Even more buds have opened in the meanwhile.
How I Learned to Make Maps by Marie Cartier
1.
I went into the unknown world with glasses
that made everything so clear I could
move through this world into the next.
Before I got my glasses…I didn’t see the way I could step to the edge,
put out my hand, split the known world and
go through: *into the unknown.*
I became someone without history.
Those rooms with my father, those times, those days, then nights.
Those stories …
Incest really is not a word that describes anything.
It does not describe the way the body splinters and then the known world separates and
when the known world separates, when all you know is you splitting,
all you see is clouds.
So, I got glasses and I walked to the very edge of the flat world and stepped through.
*Oh*, I said, *the world is round…* is round is round. I started circling the round world
to find my hero, my Self.
I was alone, but my glasses were sparkling clean.
The garden
this is beautiful and it gives life to the community that is why i love this garden
beautiful birds around this tree
have a look on clouds and the greenish stuff
this is so nice
butterfly
oh my God
this is wat i have for the day bless you
Ethereum
Following on BTCs footsteps, Ethereum Smashes $1,000 USD Per ETH! Market Rallies Hard! Full Fomo!!! Fun Times! Today's Ethereum price is $1,030, which is up 31% over the last 24 hours. Ethereum's market cap is $117.52B. 24 hour ETH volume is $48.4...
SARI WULAN In Indonesia, there is a well-known magical practice called "pengasihan" or if it is translated in English, it becomes the word "compassion". According to the stories of people who claim to have performed and are users of these magical...
Love
I would like to write about my love life that I have ever experienced since 2014 until today , iam still going through the pains that I for from the mother of my child of whom I love dearly , we met in church early of December 2012 and I left her for work nearby country and when I came back and she was a student at the time ,I went hunting for a job and there was no job at all and the girl was ready to abandon her studies and marry me ,I failed to make her happy though I was trying to do that and our marriage failed and I still feel the pangs of that love until today and I still love her but because of money I failed the love of my life , I now give thanks to Read.cash for giving me a chance to make money on their platform since I failed many things because of money and could not get the job to sustain my family ,now iam living with hope that one day crypto will surely change the world economy,my love was dragged in the mud and it is the love that I have ever expressed as the best ever in my entire life
An extra wing
Welcome to 2021. We are back at the bar, still engaged in socially distant drinking and chatter and working our way around Linda G. Hill’s **Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt**. Of course, today we get to double-dip and count this post for Just Jot January as well. https://lindaghill.com/2021/01/01/the-friday-reminder-for-socs-jusjojan-2021-daily-prompt-jan-2nd/
***“Your prompt for #JusJoJan and Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: ‘in the corner.’ Write about whatever the image or thought of ‘in the corner’ brings to mind. Have fun!”***
If we were having a beer, we would be off to a good start…at being ourselves.
“If you’re looking for Dan, David, he’s over there. I’ll bring your drinks over in a minute.”
“Thanks Cheryl, I guess.”
“Happy New Year, David. I took the liberty of ordering for you.”
“Dan, why are we sitting in the corner?”
“The bar is full, David.”
“But there are plenty of seats.”
“David, twenty-twenty ended but the pandemic rages on. Anti-socially-distant drinking is still all the rage.”
“Sigh…”
“Geeze, David. I heard that sigh from halfway across the bar.”
“That’s because there are no people between here and there, Cheryl.”
“Dan, can’t you cheer him up?”
“I ordered him a John Howell’s Bourbon Special, Cheryl. I’m not sure what else I can do.”
“And here that special is. A glass of bourbon, a snifter of seltzer, a glass of ice. Cherries in the bourbon, lemon and lime in the Seltzer, and one more lime in a cold Corona for Dan.”
“Thank you both. I do appreciate the gesture. Dan, I might be happier if you didn’t insist on drinking a tribute to the damn virus each week. There are other beers.”
“Cheers David. The tribute is to my late sister-in-law, at least that’s how it started. Then I realized that I really like Corona.”
“Your late sister-in-law liked Mexico?”
“She liked Corona, actually, she drank Coronitas.”
“The pony bottles?”
“Yes, she couldn’t have much alcohol.”
“I don’t think they make those anymore, Dan.”
“I haven’t seen them in years, Cheryl. Fortunately, I can still handle twelve ounces.”
“Listen guys, I have to check the lounge, but keep your eye on the two girls in the corner of the bar. I just gave them their slip; those stools will be opening up soon.”
“There they go, Come on, David. Gather up all your glassware and let’s move before someone else comes in.”
“Just take the bourbon and the seltzer, David. I’ll give you more ice.”
“Um, well, Cheryl…”
“I’ll wipe down the bar as soon as you get there, David.”
“OK.”
“I feel like I’m playing musical chairs, Dan”
“You know, David, for a guy that just wants this to be over, you’re being extra careful.”
“I know Dan. I was so happy to see twenty-twenty end, I got caught up in it. I really didn’t want that year to continue one more minute.”
“How about one more second?”
“Minute, second, no difference in my mind, Dan.”
“Well, it could have been given an extra second. As opposed to ending at twelve-fifty-nine-fifty-nine, it could have continued until twelve-sixty.”
“Dan, how many Corona’s did you have before I got here? You can’t randomly add seconds to a year.”
“It isn’t random, but you can add a second David. It’s called a ‘leap second’ and it can be added to December thirty-first or June thirtieth. They haven’t added one since December, twenty-sixteen, and they decided not to add one to twenty-twenty.”
“***They***? Who are ‘they’ Dan?”
“They are the **International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service**, a.k.a. the I-E-R-S.” https://endruntechnologies.com/support/leap-seconds
“In the event that you’re not making this whole thing up Dan, I’m sure those people would rather let the earth be one second off its mark for six months rather than give twenty-twenty another second of life.”
“It’s bad enough they hold presidential elections in a leap year, I wouldn’t want twenty-twenty to have had an extra second, either. Here’s your ice, David.”
“Thanks Cheryl. You’re right about the extra day during big election years. Dan, can that alphabet-soup agency of yours move the next leap year to twenty-twenty-five?”
“Actually…”
“Actually, Dan, that was a rhetorical question. Perhaps you could resolve to recognize rhetorical questions in twenty-twenty-one.”
“Cheryl, could we have another round?”
“Sure, Dan. You boys want any food?”
“We’ll have an order of wings, Cheryl.”
“You want an order of ten or twenty-one?”
“Twenty-one?”
“Yeah, the owner is celebrating.”
“David, are you hungry enough for ten wings?”
“I’m hungry enough for eleven, Dan.”
“You never miss a trick, do you?”
“I do not – Happy New Year, Dan.”
There you have it folks. 2021 is off to a good start. You can join us in SoCS or JusJoJan and, if you’re looking for another creative outlet, **step on over to Teagan’s place**. I hear she has a mini challenge for you today. http://teagansbooks.com/?p=28986
That’s a full bar in 2021.
Early morning in Hartford.
On my way into Hartford, I was skirting the side of a red sky.
Wispy clouds in front of the December full moon.
On that early morning walk with Maddie.
Sunset, contrails and a full moon. That’s a good evening.
Dissipating contrails at sunrise.
Most people get upset when stuck behind a train. I always enjoy it. That’s CT Rail’s Hartford Line on the way to Springfield, MA. I will ride this in 2021.
Hi Smokey.
The flag is in there, as are three contrails.
It was 21°f (-6°c) when we left for this walk.
We opted for the longer walk on the first day of the year. It was cold, but we weren’t feeling it.
Long shadows, still drifting off to the northwest.
Jinx calling to his buddies.
Maddie loves finding love
Good morning
A quiet morning, no dramatic sunrise and all I can hear are the birds chirping in the trees and a few unsatisfied crows making a lot of noise. A new year and a new dawn - now I am getting poetical. I was really not looking forward to the end year stress with Christmas holidays, stores closed, and afterwards the same routine with the New Year. This year we had the Covid curse as well. However, every cloud has a silver lining, you just have to find it and adapt. I found it, although it needed some mental preparation and organisation. The result is that for the first time in a long while I can relax, organise my shopping from a computer and just go on a trip to town or the stores when I feel like it. I have become a lady of leisure and almost everything is delivered. I am beginning to bake my own bread (at least some time next week when I have everything I need). This morning I even discovered that making your own pastry is no big deal, at least normal pie pastry. Flaky pastry is a lot of work, I have made it myself, but not worth the trouble. . My mum always made her own pastry for the simple reason that at that time you could not buy it already prepared.
It is never to late to adapt, and at the age of 74 I am on an voyage of discovery. Some may laugh and find no big deal, but it is for me. It keeps me active.
Although yesterday was a snowy day with the birds helping theirselves to food, today it has almost disappeared.
They seemed to be quite happy in the trees having a break between eating.
And now to get a start on today, although I have nothing planned. Dinner is again nice a straight forward. I have a Swiss ham, already cooked and pasteurised. all I have to do is boil it. I have something we call dry beans to go with it. I quite like them. They are normal green runner beans but dehydrated and you can keep them for a long while. All you have to do is soak them for a couple of hours or overnight, which is happening at the moment, and cook them as normal beans. I quite like them, something a little different.
Today is still a holiday in Switzerland for St. Bartholomew's day, 2nd January. That is why the stores are still closed. And now I am off to continue my holiday - as a golden oldie every day is a holiday, almost. Now and again you have to visit the doc, but I avoid that when possible. Have a good one and make the most of it. And what about Leonard Bernstein with the Vienna Philharmonic conducting Beethoven's eight
Good day read.cash it has been a moment
The pushback against free speech
A while back I predicted—though I'm not sure it was here—that, just as college students are questioning free speech, so the Left-wing media would also begin questioning it, eventually calling for an end to "hate speech" or "fake news." Today I'll treat you to another prediction, at the bottom, and the ask you for yours. Also, I'd like readers to weigh in on the issue of whether we should restrict America's First Amendment beyond the form it's been construed by the courts. Should we go to the European system in which some speech, including "hate speech" is banned and can be subject to criminal prosecution? But I'm getting ahead of myself.
Within the last two days I've seen two article in two Woke sites (the *New Yorker* and the *New York Times*) implicitly and explicitly calling for more bans on speech. Granted, some of the bans would be legal, like those at Facebook described in the *New Yorker,* and it would be hard to alter the legal interpretation of the First Amendment given today's conservative Supreme Court, but many of us free-speech absolutists find this media pushback a worrying trend.
Here's an article from last week's *New York Times Magazine*:
And one from the latest *New Yorker*, which I believe is free online:
Both articles refer to the kind of "hate speech" or "fake news" appearing on platforms like Facebook, and both suggest that perhaps the U.S. needs to modify what we think of as "free speech" to prevent these occurrences. Neither article, curiously, actually *defines* "hate speech," and that's perhaps because it's a notoriously slippery term. That in itself highlights the problem of censortship.
Here are a few statements suggesting that we need to rethink free speech in the U.S.
From the *NYT*:
It’s an article of faith in the United States that more speech is better and that the government should regulate it as little as possible. But increasingly, scholars of constitutional law, as well as social scientists, are beginning to question the way we have come to think about the First Amendment’s guarantee of free speech. They think our formulations are simplistic — and especially inadequate for our era. Censorship of external critics by the government remains a serious threat under authoritarian regimes. But in the United States and other democracies, there is a different kind of threat, which may be doing more damage to the discourse about politics, news and science. It encompasses the mass distortion of truth and overwhelming waves of speech from extremists that smear and distract.
. . . These scholars argue something that may seem unsettling to Americans: that perhaps our way of thinking about free speech is not the best way. At the very least, we should understand that it isn’t the only way. Other democracies, in Europe and elsewhere, have taken a different approach. Despite more regulations on speech, these countries remain democratic; in fact, they have created better conditions for their citizenry to sort what’s true from what’s not and to make informed decisions about what they want their societies to be. Here in the United States, meanwhile, we’re drowning in lies.
. . . In other words, good ideas do *not* necessarily triumph in the marketplace of ideas. “Free speech threatens democracy as much as it also provides for its flourishing,” the philosopher Jason Stanley and the linguist David Beaver argue in their forthcoming book, “The Politics of Language.”
And another system, that of many European countries:
The principle of free speech has a different shape and meaning in Europe. For the European Union, as well as democracies like Canada and New Zealand, free speech is **not an absolute right** from which all other freedoms flow. The European high courts have allowed states to punish incitements of racial hatred or denial of the Holocaust, for example. Germany and France have laws that are designed to prevent the widespread dissemination of hate speech and election-related disinformation.“Much of the recent authoritarian experience in Europe arose out of democracy itself,” explains Miguel Poiares Maduro, board chairman of the European Digital Media Observatory, a project on online disinformation at the European University Institute. “The Nazis and others were originally elected. In Europe, there is historically an understanding that democracy needs to protect itself from anti-democratic ideas. It’s because of the different democratic ethos of Europe that Europe has accepted more restrictions on speech.” https://rm.coe.int/media-regulatory-authorities-and-hate-speech/16807338f5
Finally, in the last paragraph:
As we hurtle toward the November election with a president who has trapped the country in a web of lies, with the sole purpose, it seems, of remaining in office, it’s time to ask whether the American way of protecting free speech is actually keeping us free.
As the title implies, the *New Yorker* article is about Facebook, and it's quite absorbing to read about the ever-changing standards of that platform and its double standard when leaders and politicians like Trump violate its "community standards" versus when regular folks do. (Leaders get to post "hate speech.") While the criticism of free speech is nowhere near as obvious as in the *New York Times* article, the fact that the magazine is quite concerned with how to restrict "hate speech", as well as "fake news", shows you that they think it's a serious problem. And both articles don't mount any extensive *defenses* of letting social media post whatever it wants; in other words, they are showing but one side of the free-speech debate.
To be fair, the NYT does suggest non-censorious ways of dealing with this problem, including fact-checking and labeling (as Facebook already does), the use of anti-trust laws, and so on. Too, it also faults the Supreme Court's 2010 decision in *Citizens United* case saying that, for the purposes of political speech, corporations can be counted as individuals—a decision that I think was badly misguided and harmful.
Finally, the First Amendment applies only to speech in public or connected with the organs of government, not to corporations like Facebook. But I've argued that, as far as possible, platforms with that much reach and power should strive to abide by the First Amendment. That doesn't mean, however, that I don't favor monitoring and counterspeech, including labeling posts as misleading or false if there's fact-checking. That's just counter-speech, though it's counter-speech by the authorities.
The term "hate speech," too is slippery. If Holocaust Denial is hate speech, well, I don't favor criminalizing or censoring it. People need to hear the arguments against the Holocaust, for how can you counter them (many sound quite convincing!) until you know what they are? Further, allowing "hate speech", including stuff like praising Hitler, simply outs people who are bigots, letting you know where people stand. To ban such things implicitly assumes that Americans are stupid, and will be easily swayed by arguments that are false but sound good. And it drives the "hate" underground, but doesn't do a thing to eliminate it. Free speech is what's needed to get rid of bigotry, and was largely responsible for the decline of racism in America in the last 70 years.
And if you think that people can't be trusted to suss out the truth, or consider all ideas, then somebody has to appoint A DECIDER to work out what speech people can read and what speech they are too credible to be exposed to. Do you want Mark Zuckerberg to do that? Indeed, Facebook's standards for taking down posts, as the *New Yorker* shows, are so confused and contradictory that the company won't even make them public.
My prediction continues: in the next year we'll see an increasing number of articles in Left-wing or liberal media questioning the need for "free speech" in America.
And here's another prediction, which is mine. As Wokeness continues to seep into the fabric of America, we'll see increasing calls to get rid of qualifications that support the meritocracy of colleges and other institutions, because meritocracy is considered racist. This has already started, with colleges getting rid of requirements for standardized tests like the SAT and ACT, even though those tests have palpable predictive power on how well students do in college (the University of California system is weeding out all standardized tests in the next few years). This erosion of meritocracy will continue, I predict, with calls to get rid of grades as well, perhaps replacing them with other criteria that don't involve directly comparing students against each other.
At any rate, here's my question. The NYT article implicitly argues that Europe is doing fine despite its hate speech laws (some of those, by the way, **include blasphemy laws**, specifying that it's a crime to make fun of religion), so why can't America be like Europe? Shouldn't it be illegal to deny the Holocaust or praise Hitler? Shouldn't it be illegal to say that we should ban Muslims from immigrating to America? Shouldn't it be illegal to say that the Jews are trying to take over the country? After all, is our democracy really better than France or Germany? According to the *New York Times*, we're "drowning in lies." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blasphemy_law#:~:text=A%20blasphemy%20law%20is%20a,something%20considered%20sacred%20or%20inviolable.
Weigh in below, and if you have any predictions like the two I've given, let us hear them.
the glory that is frisky
Frisky, the male **wood duck** (*Aix sponsa*) is still with us, though other woodies come and go. Frisky is pretty much in his full breeding plumage now, and he's a sight to behold! These photos were taken yesterday and today. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Wood_Duck/id
They're called wood ducks because they perch (and nest) in trees. Frisky likes the feel of wood under his feet, and so perches on the cypress knees:
A living jewel:
And Honey is still here. She's found herself a new boyfriend, the biggest and handsomest drake in the pond. He's called Leviathan because of his size:
i like it
Good Morning
Sometimes hugging the bed for half an hour longer in the morning does have its rewards. The misty morning has disappeared and the sun is poking its way through and this photo is the result, so what could be better. It has been a long while since I slept on and surprisingly saw that it was already 8.30 a.m., but does it really matter. I have no appointments, no-one is waiting for me and no longer a cat to greet me (and I do miss her even two months later).
My first action was to creep down to the cellar and take todays meat out of the freezer. Monday is always frozen as it keeps fresher because I buy it on Friday usually.
My neighbours are luckier. They do not have to find their food in the store, their store is the outside and there is always something green to eat somewhere. Yes I was out and about in the top half of the village yesterday where the chickens and goats walk wing in foot and I was glad to get out.
The chickens were also busy foraging for some hidden morsals, whatever they are. I think they are more into the seeds before they burst open and begin to grow. The rooster seemed to be having an afternoon sleep so the chickens were left to their own life. I suppose roosters do feel tired during the day, as they are the first to wake in the morning, one of their duties being to wake everyone else.
And yet another new arrival in the chicken run. I had never seen this one before. It is really surprising what those eggs contain. I suppose being a London girl and growing up in the big city, the only birds being pigeons or sparrows, chickens are still exotic for me.
Otherwise the cows were out in the fields making the most of the laid table, before it is covered by the Winter snow. Reflecting on last Winter I remember we only had about 2-3 days of actual snow. It was cold, but the snow stayed away. It would be great if this year we had a similar state of affairs. Snow for me would mean no more scooter journeys, not to speak of the wheelchair, and I would have to rely on the local train. It would not be a great problem, but not so convenient.
I took the usual route through the cemetery on my way and Autumn has certainly moved in
This morning I was wakened by the local gardener clearing our paths with his leaf blower. In the old days they would do it with special brooms combined with bunches of twigs. Today it is all mechanical and very noisy. The swishing of the brooms was much better. The grand finale is when the gardener arrives with his mega vacuum machine sucking it all away.
And let us not forget Christmas is just around the corner, so get your Christmas shopping done and begin to plan for your decorations. Am I too early? I think so, but according to various TV and radio stations we are constantly be reminded to start preparing for the holiday I cannot believe it, but every year the same old story. Buy, buy, buy and make sure that everyone has their presents, even if it is just in the name of doing it. I am not a believer, do not really celebrate Christmas as such but just like to have an excuse for some good food and relaxation. When all the stores are closed, there is not much else to do. I do not buy Christmas presents (with the exception of my two grandchildren) and do not need anything. As a golden oldie I am happy with what I have. Let's face it, it is only October and we have another two months before it arrives.
I wonder if our Covid invader realises that it is Christmas. I do not thing so. Our Swiss government gave out some new restrictions yesterday as cases are increasing to over one thousand a day, which is a lot for little Switzerland. Masks in all rooms available to the public and only 15 people allowed to meet together with the required space in between. As Mr. Swiss and I lead a somewhat secluded life, it will be no problem. Home office is now being recommended where possible.
And now I am off to get down to some serious work. Cannot sit at the computer all morning, have some hoovering, mopping and cooking to do. Of course there will be the afternoon visit to the stores (with mask) in the afternoon. So keep safe, take it easy and of course, do not forget your Christmas Shopping list.
**#good-morning** http://angloswiss-chronicles.com/tag/good-morning/
Good Morning
was not a happy bunny when I opened the window this morning. Before I even opened the shutters I could hear the rain tumbling down in a torrential downpour. It was early in the morning, so it could stop during the day and only get better. My next movement was to have a quick look on my iPad at the daily weather forecast which showed little pictures of rainclouds, although the afternoon programme did show a little sun peeping through. It's Friday so I can hibernate over the week-end if the rain continues.
Friday used to be my week-end shopping day, but with my new system, it is no longer such a big event. I go to the new supermarket along the road and do not have a lot to buy: enough, but it is no longer the large project it used to be. Mr. Swiss is off to the dentist again, but this time during the afternoon to have his new tooth fitted. Yesterday was really one drama after the other, and I will be pleased for some smooth runnings today
I just needed some music to brighten up the day to accompany me on my Olympic games in the appartment.
Otherwise I stayed at home yesterday not doing very much, so my photo expedition was limited to the garden.
And that is also now looking a bit dismal with yellow leaves almost everywhere. The hostas are now planning to go until nest year. I have a good system. I wait for the leaves to die down and crumple and eventually just a light tug removes them. Usually No. 1 son helps me with the task.
Covid statistics are not looking good in Switzerland at the moment, and the cases are increasing in leaps and bounds. mainly in the large towns. We have now joined countries in Europe with high rises in infections.Our Kanton is still one of the less infected places, but even that has increased considerably. I am thinking of wearing a mask everywhere and not just in the stores or public transport, although it is more for the protection of the others and not myself. It would only help me if others did the same. I have no signs of coughing or fever but it is a risky business. Even prominent people get it. We now have a few cases in the Swiss parliament.
I was watching a programme on the BBC TV yesterday evening called "The Trump Show". I did not really intend to watch it, but there was nothing else worth seeing. It showed how this person had no idea when he was elected and the chaos that developed in the White House at the beginning of his reign: the various advisors that came and went. Eventually Mr. Trump got the idea, and now he makes the decisions as he is the King, at least he thinks so. I think I might follow this programme, it covers his first, and I hope, only four years. I just wonder how the elections will develop. It seems he still has many followers.
Otherwise nothing new to report. Have good day, keep safe and try to ignore the problems, although easier said than done.
Congratulations
Congratulations, Mr Johnson! It's a boy! ...or... I think it's a boy... oh, wait. That's something else. Well, it's a baby!
Roger looked down on the creature in his arms. It wasn't crying. It was making a strange gurgling sound, hissing fiercely. Its skin was green and rough. Its mouth full of sharp teeth. .
*Babies don't have teeth, do they?*
It was the kind of mouth you wouldn't want to get your fingers too close to. He looked at his wife. She smiled, looking tired, yet immensely happy.
They took the baby home to their place, their love nest where they had made everything so cosy for the new family member.
It didn't cry.
Roger didn't say anything, and Mary seemed totally unaware of the horrible aspect of the little creature.
-Here, hold him! She said. The little monster hissed towards him, snapping its teeth.
-I... I think it... I mean he... should be with his mum, my love.
They ate supper, and Roger finally asked. -Don't you think the little one looks a bit... Strange?
-Strange? Sure does! He looks just like you!
They sat in silence. The little monster lie in its bed, but it didn't sleep. It had its eyes wide open, its eyes flicking wildly around the room. Every once in a while they stopped at Roger, staring at him until he looked away.
-Aaaaw, isn't he cute?
Roger didn't answer. He didn't feel too good. The coming days he **read** a lot. He tried to understand what this creature was. He read religious texts. Old manuscripts he found at the library. Stories of demon possession, medical explanations, anything that could ease his worries. Medieval theories that didn't make sense at all. Conception during **menstruation** was just silly. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monstrous_birth https://books.google.com/books?id=Q8U9dLCbPfYC&pg=PA64
*Just like me...* Roger thought. He lie awake at night. Questions were tearing him apart, questions he didn't dare ask. He lay in bed, looking at the ceiling in the darkness.
He could hear the hissing of the monster from the other room, an evil sound of hate and hunger. It didn't cry. He couldn't stop thinking about the night a little less than a year ago, just before they found out she was pregnant, like he had so many times during the pregnancy.
The night she hadn't come home until the next morning. The night she had slept somewhere else.
good morning
It seems I stopped hugging the bed at the right time this morning to catch the sun rising and bathing the surroundings in its glow which does not often happen. Wednesday is a less stressful morning: no cleaning lady arriving to get me earlier out of bed and otherwise nothing planned for the day, except for a shopping trip.
No excursion into town yesterday for shopping, but just a short visit to the local supermarket along the road. I only had a few items to get- I had planned on hamburger for lunch which I had alrady bought in the town store, I decided we had eaten enough hamburgers lately, but on Monday there is never a good choice. However yesterday in the local store I discovered they had got a fresh supply of lamb racks, which is a level higher than hamburger and they were even on special offer, so that is today's lunch. In the meanwhile I froze the hamburgers for a later date.
There is not a great opportunity for stunning photos at the local store, but this building always fascinated me next ot the store. The windows are regularly cleaned and it keeps them nice and shiny capturing the reflections of anything near. This time it caught the clouds and I noticed a flock of birds winging they way past on the left. It is a very good store, just as big as the one in town, but has no butchers department, only packed meat, but also that can be OK. I also needed a cucumber for a salad in the evening to go with the cold cuts.
I was also expecting the big delivery yesterday. The time given was from 4.30 p.m. until 9.00 p.m. He usually arrives around 6.00 but yesterday he only came at 8.30 in the evening. I was getting a little worried whether he would actually be coming. I had ordered quite a lot, but No. 1 son and I organised ourselves and within half an hour we had everything stowed away in the cellar laundry room where I have it all organised. The deep freezer chest is now quite full and I have enough provisions for the next month at least. It gives me a secure feeling to know that we are covered with food for any emergencies. We even have 60 rolls of toilet paper in store, just imagine. After the experience made at the beginning of the first attack of the hairy pins, I discovered that as long as you have toilet paper you will survive according to the panic buying that was then being carried out at the time.
Otherwise a quiet relaxed evening, although I had a bit of a job with the computer. I had to update my credit card on the computer for one of my regular subscriptions, jus 2 Swiss Francs a month. It was for youTunes and I had really forgotten the password, so I had to organise a new one, then everything was OK. This time I recorded the new password on my list of passwords, which is now already on the fourth page. Don't you love all these passwords, and woe betide you if you happen to forget one.
Having solved that small drama, I settled down to the TV. Since discovering Channel 4 on the BBc programmes, there is always some sort of film to watch. The nice thing is they repeat them throughout the month, so I can always catch up on the parts I miss due to a visit perhaps to the washing machine or hanging the wash and even falling asleep in front of the television. The films they show are sometimes quite good.
And now I am off to further fields, like organising life in the apartment. Keep well and safe and try to take it easy - not always possible I know.
My neighbour had organised her wild meadow and planted some new seeds and I saw these two poppies yesterday which did brighten up my day a little.
Good Morning
A bit dismal, but it can only get better. If I was again a working person, I would say a typical Monday morning, but being a lady of leisure and a golden oldie, it makes no great difference. At least it is not raining and according to the week's weather report for my little village somewhere in the wilds of Switzerland, there will be no rain this week.
Yesterday was a Sunday at home, but I was not doing nothing.
decided to try my new baking tin which is especially designed for pastry with fillings. The main idea is for meat, a pork filet or perhaps meat loaf enclosed in pastry, but as I have so many apples, I decided to fill the pastry with apple mixed with some cranberries I happened to have left from a fruit cake I baked.
As it was something completely new for me it was a case of getting used to it, but the result was not too bad and with some whipped cream it was almost perfect. I did not make the pastry myself, but bought it already rolled. Otherwise I was just sitting at home enjoying the view from the window.
I then heard a commotion outside approaching and saw my sweet little cat that has been visiting daily, walk passed with a mouth full of bird. I felt really sorry for the bird, not for the cat, but that is unfortunately nature and this bird did not get away fast enough. Needless to say I did not feed this sweet little cat with any feline tit bits yesterday.
There was another film which appealed to my taste yesterday on the ITV channel of the BBC. In the film series of Jurassic World. They showed Fallen Kingdom when the island where the dinos and other prehistoric animals were developed, and it was destroyed by a volcanic outbreak. I know it sounds stupid but such silly films appear to my taste. It was sweet to see how the baby dinosaurs were shown. Dinosaurs being vegetarians, were the goodies. There was a story line involving the good and bad human guys, but at the end the various giants of the prehistoric world had settled nicely in modern day surroundings in our part of the world, so instead of seeing a few lions and tigers on a safari, there were a few dinosaurs trampling around.
By the way, I am making progress with my air fryer that I bought a month ago. At the beginning I just tried the pre frozen french fries which turned out very well. In between I tried it on some marrow squash pieces which turned out quite well and yesterday I cooked some small potatoes. The picture shows only some, as I had already distributed most of them on the plates for dinner. The basic idea of cooking veg is to spice it and afterwards add a few spoons of oil, about 2-3. then mix it all and put it in the friar for about 20 minutes to cook, giving it a shake about half way through. I must say I find it perfect as I am not a follower of ready made food from the store. My next project will be today when I want to try my bratwurst (Swiss Sauge) in it. It looks quite straight forward. What I like about it is that the food is not swamped in fat or oil, but nice a crisp and tasty.
Otherwise not very much to show this morning as my photos from the outside world are restricted to some Autumn colour in my garden.
Have a good start to the week. I will be off to the store this afternoon for some meat and fresh veg. Yesterday I made a big online order for the standard supplies which will be delivered tomorrow afternoon. Since this attack of the hairy peas disease, I like to have enough stocks of food at home. I am also freezing some meat now and again in case I cannot get out to the store. Life really has a different outlook today. I suppose we are all partaking in the course of history of our world. So keep safe everyone. The newest phrase is hands, face and space according to what I hear constantly on the BBC radio: wash your hands, wear a face covering and keep a distance to others. What a world this has become.
A Matter of Perspective
t’s been almost seven months since we have been operating under some sort of restrictions. Businesses have closed, and our lives have been disrupted. Without any judgment, I thought I’d share some posters from the 1940s, during World War II. Material, food, and transportation had to be diverted to the war effort. Women and in some cases, children had to be forced into the labor ranks. Rationing was in effect for high-demand items. “Points” were issued to each person, even babies. Points had to be turned in along with money when buying restricted items. One example I found:
“A pound of bacon cost about 30 cents, but a shopper would also have to turn in seven ration points to buy the meat. These points came in the form of stamps that were distributed to citizens in books throughout the war.”
Other items were rationed as well, including gasoline. Families were allocated 3 US gallons (11 l; 2.5 imp gal) each week. You couldn’t drive very far, but that might not have been too bad, since you couldn’t buy a new car or even new tires for your old car. Also, cars and tires didn’t last nearly as long as they do today.
I started thinking about these things after visiting the “Propaganda Posters of World War II” exhibit at the Connecticut Historical Society in August. Today’s gallery includes photos from that exhibit. The posters are described in the captions, some of which are long, so I’m going to end this post without too many more words. I do have to include my favorite tidbit.
Macaroni and cheese became a nationwide sensation because it was cheap, filling, and required very few ration points. Kraft sold some 50 million boxes of its macaroni and cheese product during the war.
I love that stuff.
Think about that.
Out and back
We were offered a fine morning with light winds so the sensible thing to do would be for me to get going as soon after breakfast as possible if I wanted a good bike ride. To the amazement of both Mrs Tootlepedal and myself, I was out of the house and cycling up the road towards Hawick by ten o'clock.
The downside was that in spite of the sun, it was still pretty chilly at the time, but I was wrapped up well, and even the sight of the moon still in the sky above Potholm Hill...
didn't cast a damper over my enthusiasm. A little autumn colour along the way kept me cheerful too..
and I got to the head of the Ewes valley in good order to enjoy one of my favourite views.
It was a lovely day...
and I pedalled on up to Mosspaul and then down the other side of the hill, following the course of the River Teviot towards Hawick.
The rather curious monument to Henry Scott Riddell, the bard of Teviothead, stood out prominently on the hill to my left on the far side of the river.
And below me, a shiny new bridge crossed the river.
My target for the day was Branxholme, twenty miles north of Langholm and when I got there, I stopped for a banana and a view of the river.
When I looked down, I found that I was surrounded by dandelion-like flowers and I had to look hard to find one that didn't have insects or bees on.
t Branxholme, I was at 125m, roughly 50m higher above sea level than I had been when I started out from Langholm, so although I had to climb back over the hill at Mosspaul at 262m, I had more downhill than up on my way home. This is always welcome.
As I had already looked at the scenery on my way out, I put my mind to cycling on the way back and only stopped for one more autumn colour picture on the way, and that was in sight of the sign welcoming me to Langholm.
Although it was a working day and there was a fair amount of traffic on the road, there were enough gaps between the busy moments to make the ride seem quite calm and the gentle gradients made for steady pedalling so I thoroughly enjoyed the outing.
And I got home in perfect time for lunch. The weather in October has been kind to cycling so far. I hope that this continues.
I took a walk round the garden when I got back before I ate my soup with bread and cheese.
@craigy
