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A highlight from Introduction to Philippians
"Brothers and sisters, I would encourage you to open up your Bibles this evening to Philippians. We're going to be taking a look at Philippians chapter 1 and verses 1 and 2. We are beginning the book of Philippians. Today will be more of an introduction to that particular book than anything else. I will attempt to talk about the author, the themes, the aim of the epistle, the things that we can learn from it without spoiling too much of the content so that later on as we preach on individual portions, it becomes anticlimax after anticlimax. I don't want to give away the entire book, but I do want you to have an idea of where it came from, why it is so very important to us today, what we can learn from it, and to see the similarities that exist between this book and indeed our own time. As I'll be discussing in the sermon, Philippi was actually a military colony, and you may have noticed we live in a military colony for the most part. So the resemblances between us and the Philippians, apart from the fact that we have microwaves and cell phones and things like that, and they did not, are very strong. They are still the same kind of people who deal with the same kind of difficulties. They too had a state which was sometimes nice to them and sometimes which oppressed them very badly. They also dealt with the problems of relationships and all of the things that the fall has brought in. So as we look at Philippians and we hear Paul writing to this beloved congregation of his, let us seek to apply it to our own time, but before we come to the word of God, let go us to the God who has given us this word and let's ask him to bless it. Please join me. Oh sovereign Lord, we do pray now that you would be the illuminator of our minds, that you would help us to understand your word. I pray that you would help me to divide it to write, that you would give me liberty and power and unction as I do so, that oh Lord, I would not say anything that goes against your word. I know I am a man with feet of clay. I am capable of interpreting the word or wrong, but I pray Lord that you would prevent me from doing so. I do pray also Lord that you would give me the sustaining power to go through this book, a right, and to apply it to your people. May you give us ears to hear and hearts to receive all that you have to tell us. We pray this in Jesus' holy name. Amen and amen. Philippians chapter one and I'll be reading verses one and two. It says the word of the Lord. Paul and Timothy bond servants of Jesus Christ to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi with the bishops and deacons. Grace to you and peace from God our father and the Lord Jesus Christ. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. I wonder if say 10 or 11 years from now, if I was in jail in Washington for my preaching of the gospel and possibly facing the federal death penalty and this congregation had sent me a gift in jail to help me along and I was writing a letter in reply to your generous gift. What would that letter sound like? What would I say? How would I come across in writing to you? Would it be complaining about the government and my situation? Would I be going on and on about the unfairness of it all? And speaking about how my liberties had been infringed or would I be writing to you to know a little about how I was doing and then spend the vast majority, not talking about myself and my own situation as dire as it was, but to spend the vast majority of my letter attempting to stir you up to joy and in the Lord to encourage you to be full of peace and grace and joy even in the midst of adversity. Would I think so little of myself that my letter would seek to lovingly correct problems of disunity that I knew about in the congregation? Would I push back against those who perhaps were on the fringes or in the congregation itself who were teaching bad doctrine in the community? And above all, would I urge you to keep the person and power of the Lord Jesus Christ at the center of everything you did? I hope that I would. I hope I would not send you a letter merely of whining or a simple thank you note that said very little. In my case, though, we're going to have to find out. But in the case of Paul and the Philippian Christians, we already know how he spoke in the midst of those circumstances because that is the letter that we have in front of us. Paul is in the midst of serious adversity, serious difficulty. He is struggling, we know, with loneliness, with persecution, and he writes a letter to his much beloved Philippines that is full of joy and encouragement in spite of all of those difficulties that stood against him in the world. So much so this letter is so full of joy that it has been often called the epistle of joy. Paul writing from jail, remember, and a Roman jail was not like the jails today. We speak today of jails as being three hots and a cot. You have TV, recreation yards, things like that. In Paul's day, that was not the case. You either had to pay for a place to stay if the charges weren't that serious yourself or if you were thrown into a Roman dungeon, you could often die of exposure. You went in with the clothes on your back, and if your friends and your family did not provide you with the things that you needed, including food in jail, you could die very, very easily while awaiting your trial. But Paul, writing from that kind of jail, he uses the Greek words for joy and rejoice, imploring the Philippian saints to rejoice. He uses those words kara and kairo more than a dozen times, and this is just a four -chapter letter, remember. So joy is one of the most prominent themes in what he is writing. He is, as I said, in a Roman jail. This is possibly the second time. I think it's probably the first time that he was there. He is waiting a trial on a capital charge of treason, and the people who will judge him are members of Emperor Nero's brutal and corrupt administration. And as we know, Paul was not somebody who was going to give them a bribe, so there's no way out of his imprisonment that way. And yet, as we shall see, Paul is able to look well beyond the circumstances that surround him, and he's able to actually see Christ in heaven and the work that Christ is doing in the world and indeed in Philippi and throughout the church and to know that God throughout is in control and that all of God's promises are coming to pass. Let me just stop and ask that question right now of you. Do you know those things as well? Do you have that solid trust no matter what your circumstances are in the Lord Jesus Christ, that no matter what afflictions, adversities, difficulties, diseases you're dealing with today, yet still you know that the Lord is in control and that his will is coming to pass and that none of his promises will ever fail. I pray that that is the case, and if not, I pray that you will take encouragement from Paul. He was writing to encourage the Philippians, but we remember that he wasn't writing just to the Philippian congregation. Through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he was writing to us as well. And so I pray that he would be encouraging you in whatever situation you are in. But we see him trusting absolutely in God, trusting in the Christ whom he knew and that therefore there was this inner principle of joy in his heart, an inner principle that no one could take away and that he still wants to share with others. He wants that joy inexpressible that we heard about this morning to overflow to others. The Romans might take his life. They could do that, but they cannot take away his joy or his peace. That is one of the great promises that is given to the Christian. Nobody can take away the Holy Spirit dwelling within you. Nobody can take away your salvation, and nobody can steal your joy and your peace in those things. But let's take a moment now to discuss how all of this came to pass, how he came to be writing this letter from jail. Where is Philippi? What was it like? Who were the Philippians, and how did Paul come to know them? Incidentally, this is a picture of the Philippian ruins that you will find in Macedonia. I am told they are amazing. It is a UNESCO historic site. Maybe one day as I got to see Ephesus, I will also have a chance to see Philippi. But in the meantime, let's talk about the city. Philippi was originally founded as a colony in northeastern Macedonia by colonists from the island of Thanos. They were called Thacians in 359 BC. But it was captured by Alexander the Great's father, Philip, and renamed Philippi three years later. So it didn't have much of a long run of independence. But in saying that, I have told you very little about Philippi itself. Because the Philippi that Paul knew came along much later on. It is like me telling you that Fayetteville was settled by colonists from Scotland. Because almost 400 years had passed between the founding of Philippi and the time that Paul was writing. Just as almost 400 years have passed between the time of the founding of Fayetteville in our own time. So the Philippi that Paul first visited in around 51 or 52 AD was a very different place. The Romans had captured it from the Macedonians in 168 BC. And in 42 BC during the Roman Civil War that brought an end to the Roman Republic. It was the scene of the final defeat of the forces of Brutus and Cassius by the forces of Anthony and Octavian. Who later of course became Augustus Caesar. And that final battle occurred just outside of this city. This was critical because after the city Octavian turned Philippi into a Roman colony and a military outpost. They released some of their veteran soldiers. The war to defeat the men who had stabbed Caesar had finished as far as they were concerned. And they released some of their legionaries from Legion 28 to colonize the city. Which was founded and I apologize for my terrible Latin here. Colonia Victrix Philippensium meaning the colony of the victory of Philippi. From that point onwards it was a place where Italian veterans from the Roman army were given land. And it sat upon an important Roman road called the Via Ignatia. Which was a road that was constructed by the Romans in the 2nd century BC. Incidentally I learned while we were on our trip that the Greeks joke particularly in Cyprus. That the only roads in Greece that last were built by the Romans. The modern ones all fall apart. It crossed through Illyricum, Macedonia, Thracia and runs into the territory that is now part of Albania. North Macedonia, Greece and European Turkey. Why is that important? Well it's important because it meant that Philippi was a center not only of trade. And they had mines we'll talk about in a little while where they mined gold and silver. But it was a place where it was possible to go from Philippi to other areas of Macedonia. Or to turn south and to go into Greece. They had their own route 95 so to speak running right through the city. That allowed them to have concourse with all the people in Greece and up in Macedonia and into the Roman Empire. This meant that the Lord in founding his church there. Put it in a place where the inhabitants could as they did their daily trade. Carry not only letters to Rome but they could also carry the gospel to the surrounding areas. Now the citizens of this colony were regarded as citizens of Rome. And they were given a number of special privileges that ordinary inhabitants of the empire didn't have. It was in many senses a miniature Rome. Literally because they were under the municipal law of Rome. It was as though they were a colony that was in Italy actually attached to Rome. That was the way the law functioned. And they were governed by two military officers the Duumviri who were appointed directly from Rome. And the colony itself although it was relatively small. It was only about 10 ,000 people when Paul reached it. It was very wealthy as a general rule. They had gold and silver mines just outside the city. And those mines were still productive in Paul's day. It was as I said a little Rome in the midst of Macedonia. And not just in the government. It was laid out like a Roman city. And so to this day you can see that they have a Roman forum in addition to a Greek Agora. But how did Paul get to this city? How did he get there? Well let's read a little from Acts 16 which actually tells us. So if you would turn in your Bible to Acts chapter 16. And I want to begin with verse one which will tell us that Paul was actually when this all started. He was in Asia Minor. He was over in modern day Turkey on his second missionary journey. We read then he came to Derby in Lystra and behold a certain disciple was there named Timothy. The son of a certain Jewish woman who believed but his father was Greek. He was well spoken of by the brethren who were at Lystra and Iconium. Paul wanted to have him go with him and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in that region. For they all knew that his father was Greek. And as they went through the cities they delivered to them the decrees to keep which were determined by the apostles and elders of Jerusalem. So the churches were strengthened in the faith and increased in number daily. Now when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia. After they had come to Mysia they tried to go into Bithynia but the Spirit did not permit them. So passing by Mysia they came down to Troas and a vision appeared to Paul in the night. A man of Macedonia stood and pleaded with him saying come over to Macedonia and help us. Now many people have speculated just as an aside that this is Luke who was speaking to Paul in a vision. Now after he had seen the vision immediately we sought to go to Macedonia concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them. Therefore sailing from Troas we ran a straight course to Samothrace and the next day came to Neapolis and from there to Philippi which is the foremost city of that part of Macedonia, a colony. And we were staying in that city for some days and on the Sabbath day we went out of the city to the riverside where prayer was customarily made and we sat down and spoke to the women who met there. Now a certain woman named Lydia heard us. She was a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira who worshiped God. The Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul and when she and her household were baptized she begged us saying if you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord come to my house and stay so she persuaded us. And we know that Paul and Timothy stayed with Lydia for some days. They had some other encounters. I'm not going to read the rest of chapter 16 but I would encourage you to actually read all of chapter 16 tonight. It won't take you that long but you will read about the exorcism of the demon possessed slave girl which unfortunately got them into trouble because the demon allowed her unfortunately to know about things that men didn't know about. And so her owners used to get money from her that way. We'll also tell you about Paul and Silas's unjust imprisonment and then the household baptism of the Philippian jailer which is marvelous and of course one of those household baptisms that shows us that we are to be baptizing not just parents on their confession of faith but also their children. This was the first church established in Europe. Note that. And that at the explicit direction of the Holy Spirit who made it very clear that Paul was to turn the direction of his labors from Asia Minor which is modern day Turkey to Europe. He goes through Macedonia and then after that he goes into Greece and brings the gospel into Europe. Now the bond as you will read through the Philippi you can't help but notice the friendship, the love that exists between Paul and this congregation. It was peculiarly close though others had abandoned him in his imprisonment as we shall see these Philippians had not. They continued to pray for him and they continued to provide for his needs in this world. They sent him a gift. As I said I don't want to give away too many spoilers but they had sent a man by the name of Epaphroditus with a gift for him in jail and then he had sent Epaphroditus back to them with this letter. That's how he got it. And as I mentioned this letter was written from Rome during his imprisonment. The beginning of that is related in Acts 28. The reference to Caesar's household which you will read in Philippians 4 22 and the palace in Philippians 1 13. In the Greek it's Praetorium. It was probably the barrack of the Praetorium guard attached to the palace of Nero and that confirms this. So I tend to think it was during his first imprisonment at Rome. That would tend to sit with the mention of the Praetorium and that he was in the custody of the Praetorium prefect and his situation agrees with the situation in the first two years of his imprisonment that you can read about in Acts. In Acts 28 30 and 31. It's not that important whether it was the first or the second imprisonment. The fact is he's in prison. He's in prison for his faith. He's in prison for his preaching. But he does not allow that to destroy him or even to to drive him down or to change the nature of his ministry. Many people might have switched over perhaps to a martyr's ministry at this point in time and yet he does not. He continues to encourage the people to go about their their business preaching the gospel and being members of the church no matter what the circumstances are. Now the tone of this letter as we go through it you'll notice this. It's unlike most of his other letters. It contains no long doctrinal discussions. It contains no rebukes of evils that were festering in the particular church. But it is an outpouring rather of happy love and also confidence in these brothers and sisters. He loves them. He is confident in them and he wants them to be confident not in themselves. He wants them to be confident in Christ and in his promises. Like all of Paul's epistles, as you saw, it starts with a salutation. Our letters, of course, and with the identification of the person who's sending it. But the letters back there started with who this letter was from. And like most of his letters, it also starts with a prayer for the people that he is writing to. He isn't just in intending to give them information. He wants to bless them, to bless them with his letter and to bless them with his prayer. And one commentator calls the entire letter a long gush of love towards the Philippians. And it is. There's nothing wrong with that. Verses 1 and 2 that we read there, they contain an apostolic greeting. The senders are identified there. Timothy is associated with Paul. Timothy was with Paul, therefore, in his imprisonment. We remember from 2 Timothy in his second imprisonment that Paul noted that only Timothy had stayed with him. Or rather that he wanted Timothy to come to him in his imprisonment to bring things to him. Timothy remained loyal to Paul no matter what. Timothy also, you remember, was going to become very important to Paul in the Ephesian church and building them up and so on. Timothy was a genuine, he was more than just an amanuensis or a secretary for Paul. He was a helper to Paul. He was a brother in Christ, somebody who would stand with him in thick or thin. Now, Paul mentions him and he often does that. He brings the friends who are about him into prominence. That also indicates that the people in Philippi knew of him and would be interested to hear how he was doing. Timothy is in Rome with Paul when the letter is being dictated. And although Timothy is not the one who is inspired to write the letter, Paul is using him as his secretary to take it down. It's very possible that Paul had an eye disease, which made it very difficult for him to write. He calls Timothy and himself, he addresses himself as a bondservant of Jesus Christ. Now, that's a nice little word, bondservant. It conjures up the idea of indentured bondage, the idea that we're just working off a debt. But when he says bondservant, he's actually using the Greek word doulos. Doulos means literally slave. He is a slave of Christ. Some prefer the translation bondservant to kind of neaten it up. We don't like the idea of Paul calling himself a slave of Christ because of the bad connotations of that. But we remember that most of the Roman Empire, in fact, 20 % of the city there, and this would have had, as a Roman colony, a military colony, Philippi would have had a lower than normal slave population, more free men than slaves. But they still speculate that at least 20 % of those 10 ,000 people within the colony were slaves. And here is Paul saying, I too am a slave. But who is he a slave of? He's a slave of Jesus Christ. He and Timothy are slaves, and they aren't complaining about that. They understood that they were bought with a price by the Lord Jesus Christ in his sacrifice for their sake, and therefore they were owned by their master. They are completely dependent upon him, and they give him their undivided allegiance. They love this master of theirs, the Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, Paul clearly, he views it as the highest honor that we can attain to serve Christ, to have his light yoke upon us instead of the heavy chains of sin which he takes away. And he is bound to absolute submission to this Lord who is all worthy and who gave everything for his sake. Paul, note in all of his letters, never forgot what Christ had done for him, never forgot where he was when Christ found him, how he was an enemy of the church, a persecutor of the church. Somebody whom Christ, you remember, addressed on the road to Damascus saying, Paul, Paul, or rather at that time, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? Jesus associates himself so keenly with his people that to persecute them is to persecute him. I was thinking about that as we were hearing about how the Pakistanis are wretchedly persecuted. What their persecutors in Pakistan, the Muslims, do not recognize or realize is that in persecuting them, they are persecuting God the Son. And it will not go well for them to be counted amongst the persecutors on the last day. But he had once been a persecutor. Now he is no longer. He is a slave, a willing servant of the Lord Jesus Christ who loves him with all of his heart. Now note also at the beginning, he doesn't mention that he's an apostle. And so there's a great contrast here between letters like Galatians where he asserts his apostolic authority when he's teaching them. This is a very friendly letter. He doesn't actually need to. He knows they know that he's an apostle of the Lord. Jesus greets all of the saints in Christ. Jesus, who are in Philippi, and he abused them. He calls them saints. And what is he talking about there when he calls them saints? Haggai, literally holy ones. These are people who he considers as they are in Christ. Have you ever thought about this? We may think of ourselves as wretches. We may think of ourselves as people in whom there is nothing worthy of praise. And yet the way that the Lord looks at us is his holy ones, his ones who are set apart. His chosen ones who are even now being conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. If you are in Christ, that is who you are. You are one of his special people. In the Old Testament, the word was segula, his special treasure. Brothers and sisters, the devil wants us to think of ourselves as only what we can accomplish by our meager efforts. And let's face it, that's not much. Isaiah, at the end of his long, his long prophetic letter in Isaiah 66, he talks about righteousness, the righteousness that a holy man like himself might be able to accomplish by himself. And he says these things, our righteousnesses are but filthy rags. But Christ, what does he do? He endows us with robes of righteousness. He enrobes us, as Luther put it so very well, so that when we stand before God on the last day, the saints are seen as they are in Christ. That is who Paul sees them as. They are people who are called to be holy and who are being made holy. We have been saved by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, but we are also, and this will come out from this letter, we are also being conformed to the image of Christ. It is as that example that was given to us a little while ago of the, as we were going through the Bible study of the princess who had been made, or rather the commoner who had been made into the queen. She was given the title, but then gradually she was taught the courtly graces and made into somebody who everybody understood and saw was the wife of the king. They are the people of God. They are the saints of Christ and that because of their union with the Lord Jesus Christ. All of the saints together in their communal sense are being addressed by Paul. This letter would have been probably read just as we read it in the midst of worship and so on, and then copied and passed on to the other congregations, the other saints throughout the world.
The Big Take
Fresh update on "philippines" discussed on The Big Take
"Look at whether China would be able to use all to of these things achieve together something like an amphibious landing on Taiwan or a Marine Corps actually prepared to fight. Can they effectively use all of these assets if the time came? Right, and I think the truth is that they don't know and leaders in Washington don't know. The Chinese military literally hasn't fought a major conflict since 1979, when it fought a brief and largely known and pretty punishing war against Vietnam. Since then, most of the officers took who part in that campaign or even the junior people have retired, which means that virtually no one in the senior ranks China's of military has combat experience. So that's one of the big worries that kind of gets the China's leaders. Pete, you write that the US is conducting war games where they try to imagine various scenarios of how a China invasion of Taiwan might play out. What exactly are they looking for? They're trying to assess what are the PLA and the US military's relative strengths and weaknesses. So if China were to invade, for example, would it be able to land troops on the beach? Would it then be able to supply them with the logistics that they need for a sustained campaign on the island? How well would its air force hold up overhead? How capable would its submarines be deterring US involvement? All of these things go together in an incredibly complex picture, which is very, very challenging to pull off. And when they're doing these war games, what are the scenarios? How do they think China might choose to go about taking over Taiwan with military force? There different are a few scenarios that worry US planners. I think the most ambitious effort that China could undertake would be an amphibious landing on the island, which is where you use landing vessels kind of like D -Day to put troops ashore and then to push on and conquer a territory. That's really difficult. There are others which fall short of that which are in some ways more worrying. A naval blockade the of island, for example, could be very very difficult. And then there are scenarios outside of Taiwan which worry US military leaders. There's the possibility of a clash with the US and the South China Sea where China has extremely claims expansive to territory. Or there's the possibility of an unintended clash, an intercept between two aircraft, for example, leading to an inadvertent unintended war. And seen we've those sorts of close calls happen over the years in the South China Sea. Now we're starting see to a rising conflict between China, the US over the Philippines. Yeah, that's exactly right. These incidents have been on the rise. It's something that Pentagon leaders have been warning about publicly, and especially drawing attention to the fact that the communication channels between the two militaries are very, very weak, which means that there's the possibility that an inadvertent clash could spiral into something much larger at very short notice. During the Cold War, and even for many years after the US and the Soviet of the Union and then Russia had what they called these deconfliction lines, which allowed the two countries to communicate quickly in a time of crisis. Right, and that's something that's really lacking in US -China relations. China has tended to view any contact between the two militaries as kind of a goodie that it can hand out or rescind according to whether it's happy with the US or not. The says US that that's a dangerous stance, but it's nevertheless one that Beijing's taken. It's kind of interesting if you talk to Pentagon leaders, they say they'd like to get to the stage where the US was with the Soviet Union after the Cuban Missile Crisis, but ideally without a scare threatens to destroy mankind in the meantime. Pete, you spell out how the US military and intelligence establishment is assessing China's military capability, but you write that within China there is a very deep concern about its own military capabilities. One of the best ways to this look at from China's perspective is to delve into the speeches of Chinese leaders, especially Xi Jinping, but also into People's Liberation Army publications. They're turgid, they're hard work, they're sleep inducing, they're rich incredibly and rewarding if you take the time to go through them. And Xi's speeches I think give the clearest picture of all. And you know, it turns out that actually the harshest and most unforgiving critic of China's military is China's President Xi Jinping, who is at the same I'm head of the country's armed forces. When we come back, why Xi Jinping is the toughest office critic of China's military readiness. I'm Wes Bloomberg Radio is where you are. Get live business news and market headlines from anywhere 24 hours a day via your mobile device. Listen on the iHeart Radio app, tune in, the Bloomberg Business app and Bloomberg .com. Bloomberg Radio on demand and in your podcast On the latest sound on podcast, I talk with Congressman Bill Huizenga, who joined with Republican leadership the in House in voting against expelling George
The Mason Minute
Lost Continent (MM #4615)
"I've always been fascinated with continents. In particular, how the world started out as one continent, Pangaea, and over the course of hundreds of millions of years split into the now, depending how you look at it, six or seven. It's all based on tectonic plates. But for a long time, scientists have been puzzled how Australia and Southeast Asia really fit together. Because when you start looking at the areas around Indonesia and the Philippines, it didn't make sense to where there was a fit. Well, it's taken them 155 million years to figure out there's a missing continent that they've now named Argo Land. And it's the continent that kind of gets shoved underneath Indonesia and underneath the Philippines, and it's kind of like buried and missing when all the plates started clashing together. This stuff is way above my knowledge of science, but it's fascinating to read and to try to understand just how this world has evolved over 300 million years. I can't even fathom it. But it's interesting to think another continent that's there, but isn't.
Afternoon News with Tom Glasgow and Elisa Jaffe
Fresh update on "philippines" discussed on Afternoon News with Tom Glasgow and Elisa Jaffe
"Just make sure you visit video because if you don't you'll be sorry in Southcenter Bellevue Linwood Federal Way and Tacoma video I'm only Elena I have a master's degree in giving hope to children in I'm John my farm experience helped villagers in the Philippines feed themselves if you have a in agriculture the environment or teaching English you actually have a degree in doing more than you ever thought possible Peace Corps volunteers can have a positive impact in the lives of people all over the world. To learn more visit Peace Corps .gov. I'm Elena. My resume now includes changing lives. 654 Northwest News Radio your home for breaking news traffic
The Mason Minute
Lost Continent (MM #4615)
"I've always been fascinated with continents. In particular, how the world started out as one continent, Pangaea, and over the course of hundreds of millions of years split into the now, depending how you look at it, six or seven. It's all based on tectonic plates. But for a long time, scientists have been puzzled how Australia and Southeast Asia really fit together. Because when you start looking at the areas around Indonesia and the Philippines, it didn't make sense to where there was a fit. Well, it's taken them 155 million years to figure out there's a missing continent that they've now named Argo Land. And it's the continent that kind of gets shoved underneath Indonesia and underneath the Philippines, and it's kind of like buried and missing when all the plates started clashing together. This stuff is way above my knowledge of science, but it's fascinating to read and to try to understand just how this world has evolved over 300 million years. I can't even fathom it. But it's interesting to think another continent that's there, but isn't.
The Mason Minute
Lost Continent (MM #4615)
"I've always been fascinated with continents. In particular, how the world started out as one continent, Pangaea, and over the course of hundreds of millions of years split into the now, depending how you look at it, six or seven. It's all based on tectonic plates. But for a long time, scientists have been puzzled how Australia and Southeast Asia really fit together. Because when you start looking at the areas around Indonesia and the Philippines, it didn't make sense to where there was a fit. Well, it's taken them 155 million years to figure out there's a missing continent that they've now named Argo Land. And it's the continent that kind of gets shoved underneath Indonesia and underneath the Philippines, and it's kind of like buried and missing when all the plates started clashing together. This stuff is way above my knowledge of science, but it's fascinating to read and to try to understand just how this world has evolved over 300 million years. I can't even fathom it. But it's interesting to think another continent that's there, but isn't.
The Mason Minute
Lost Continent (MM #4615)
"I've always been fascinated with continents. In particular, how the world started out as one continent, Pangaea, and over the course of hundreds of millions of years split into the now, depending how you look at it, six or seven. It's all based on tectonic plates. But for a long time, scientists have been puzzled how Australia and Southeast Asia really fit together. Because when you start looking at the areas around Indonesia and the Philippines, it didn't make sense to where there was a fit. Well, it's taken them 155 million years to figure out there's a missing continent that they've now named Argo Land. And it's the continent that kind of gets shoved underneath Indonesia and underneath the Philippines, and it's kind of like buried and missing when all the plates started clashing together. This stuff is way above my knowledge of science, but it's fascinating to read and to try to understand just how this world has evolved over 300 million years. I can't even fathom it. But it's interesting to think another continent that's there, but isn't.
The Mason Minute
Lost Continent (MM #4615)
"I've always been fascinated with continents. In particular, how the world started out as one continent, Pangaea, and over the course of hundreds of millions of years split into the now, depending how you look at it, six or seven. It's all based on tectonic plates. But for a long time, scientists have been puzzled how Australia and Southeast Asia really fit together. Because when you start looking at the areas around Indonesia and the Philippines, it didn't make sense to where there was a fit. Well, it's taken them 155 million years to figure out there's a missing continent that they've now named Argo Land. And it's the continent that kind of gets shoved underneath Indonesia and underneath the Philippines, and it's kind of like buried and missing when all the plates started clashing together. This stuff is way above my knowledge of science, but it's fascinating to read and to try to understand just how this world has evolved over 300 million years. I can't even fathom it. But it's interesting to think another continent that's there, but isn't.
Crypto Banter
A highlight from These 5 Altcoins Will Explode In November!
"The crypto market is pumping and Total 3 just broke out of a yearly long downtrend. In today's video I want to run you through my favourite altcoins for Q4 2024, specifically zooming in on this week and the month of November as a whole to look at some of the altcoins with specific catalysts at the moment and alts that could potentially outperform based on current events. I also want to talk about some of my favourite trades, a couple of which are actually also short setups as I think there are a couple coins which are starting to look frothy and run you through exactly what I'm thinking at this point in the market. If you're looking forward to this video, smash the like button, subscribe if you're not already subscribed, and without further ado, let's get straight into the show. It would be remiss of me not to start with Bitcoin, just on a quick Bitcoin update, almost looks like a bull flag here is starting to form on the four -alley timeframe and the daily, but more structurally zooming out and looking at things for Bitcoin, we can see that it's clearly still holding above its range high, resistance flipped into support at the 31 ,500 zone. It's still in an uptrend, we can see it had multiple support retests of this channel, although it did break down below, it's now successfully holding above. Maybe we do get some sort of pullback back down to the mean deviation, that is something that I'm looking for, but generally this is positive signs for Bitcoin undoubtedly from a macro perspective. It's very nice that it also broke above the QEMA 200, this is one of my major bull versus bear indicators. Typically when Bitcoin is above this level for a sustained period of time, that does indicate sustainable bullish momentum and vice versa when it holds down for a sustained period of time, as you can see when it held underneath in March 2022, it pretty much went on a yearly long downtrend. Conversely when it breaks above as it did in January 2023, it's been able to maintain bullish momentum pretty much all the way through, disregarding one of the fake outs that we did get after we got a short term shake out with a bunch of regulatory FUD happening back in September, but ever since then it's bounced strongly and responded strongly to the upside. So that is where Bitcoin is looking strong, but what about the altcoins, what are we seeing in the altcoin market? Well I think there has been a real turning of the tide for alts, a lot of people now starting to perpetuate this bull market is back narrative and many people starting to foam it back into the alt market. So if you want to take advantage of some of that new momentum, the first thing we need to do is identify the strongest coins in the market and in today's show let's go through some of the coins that I think are exhibiting strength not only based on price action, so technicals but also based on fundamentals and some of the underlying catalysts that are powering a lot of these narratives. The first narrative I want to talk about is crypto gaming, it's one that has been silent for quite some time but is starting to come back into the forefront of the market with a lot of creators now starting to talk about crypto gaming again. Alex Becker even said he was going to do a video on gaming on Wednesday, Elio doing a lot of gaming coverage again, a lot of the big creators starting to pick it up, Hustle of course he hasn't gone anywhere but his gaming videos from a view perspective are now starting to really uptick in terms of general interest and you can see the interest is back in this sector. Long term gaming is a vertical I'm really bullish on, I think it's one of the strongest crypto adoption verticals we have for retail to come into the market apart from speculation which crypto basically is one big casino in a way right, but crypto gaming is a bonafide way for users to come into the ecosystem and use web3 without even knowing that they're using web3 so I'm bullish on it long term, in the short term though I am seeing it starting to garner more steam, how sustainable it will be let's see but there are a couple of specific altcoins which I want to point out now which are bucking the trend even within the niche. The first one is YGG which is Yield Guild Games and they have a big conference on November 18th till November 25th in the Philippines so this is one that started to run, we know that pre -conference runs have been some of the most powerful trades in recent times in the market, we can see this with Adjix and FET and the AI coin narrative, XRP, Solana running into Breakpoint, this is the next conference that's still a couple of weeks away so do we see a gaming run into this summit, I mean maybe but YGG specifically does stand out to me considering you're still going to be able to position yourself around two weeks ahead of the pinnacle, the apex of this summit so definitely that's one to keep your eye on, YGG, a lot of the other crypto games as well are starting to tick up if I have to pick my favourites in terms of trades over the next few weeks if gaming does continue in its uptrend, I think Axie Infinity is one that I'm looking at, this one pumps really hard when the market decides to bid, Alluvium as well is one that's already been pumping but I'm starting to see a lot of big creators talking about it and a lot of hype around it, Steppen is an interesting one, we all know how well Steppen performs when gaming catches a bid, on the daily this is one of the strongest performers in crypto gaming alongside Vulcan Forge which is also on my watchlist because it just broke above a major level on the higher time frame so it broke above resistance and that is also looking super strong, so those are some of the gaming coins I'm looking at, I'm sure Hustle shows will do the more specific short term trades some justice but if you want to look more at actually trading a lot of the gaming coins, what I'm doing is I'm actually looking at a lot of the on -chain data because a lot of the smart money trades on -chain so I do like to track the on -chain whale net flow and one way you can do that is by going into an application like Kyber AI, if you sort by market cap by more than 100 you can kind of filter for a lot of the bigger gaming coins, you can see like PYR here is actually number 2 out of any altcoin in terms of its bullish scores, this is an AI generated metric based on machine learning data that is compounded from Kyber AI's database worth of resources and you can see here in terms of on -chain analysis we're starting to see a lot of traders flick into the long territory with 249 buys versus 202 sells over the past day and you can also see that trading volumes experiencing an uptick alongside net flow to whale wallets which is also ticking in the green territory which means whale wallets are essentially buying, negative net flow to whale wallets generally indicates that whales are selling so this is a positive sign that shows the big players they're starting to position themselves in gaming so definitely if you want to try and use this kind of data check it out on Kyber AI there's a link in the description below to sign up for early access because you're a crypto banter subscriber or at least we hope so by using the link you can get early access versus the rest of the pack that have to wait you'll be expedited as part of the crypto banter member so Kyber AI definitely check it out and get some of that on -chain data for yourself not only for PYR but for a lot of other coins in the market that are available on -chain most coins are on -chain obviously some coins they're traded more in centralized exchanges so I usually use it for the ones that are mostly traded on -chain PYR being one that is heavily traded on a chain like Ethereum as well.
The Podcast On Podcasting
A highlight from Ep406: Get On All The Platforms You Dummy
"Now you're going to get more downloads, more listeners, more plays, more ratings and reviews, and will end up happening is it'll trigger algorithms where your podcast playing platform sees that you're doing great. They put you in front of more and more people. And that means that your podcast grows. Most hosts never achieved the results they hoped for. They're falling short on listenership and monetization, meaning their message isn't being heard and their show ends up costing them money. This podcast was created to help you grow your listenership and make money while you're at it. Get ready to take notes. Here's your host, Adam Adams. Hey, podcaster, it is your host, Adam Adams. And on this episode, I really want to talk about getting on all of the different platforms we titled this episode. Get on all the platforms, you dummy. Now, I think that was more of a hook like, hey, wake up and I want you to wake up. Why? Because I get so many people that come to me. And they tell me that they're on all the platforms and they tell me that the reason why they know that they're on all the platforms is because their hosting platform syndicates it everywhere. That's a lie. And I'm sorry to tell you, I'm sorry to put this in to your head right now. You're not on all the platforms. You are not unless you work with a team like ours that really knows how to get you on every single platform. You're not there. You're not there just because Libsyn or Buzzsprout or you name the hosting platform. You're not there just because that company syndicates, quote, quote, everywhere automatically. You got to do a little bit of research. I want to give you a couple of examples. When Facebook this was a short stint when Facebook decided, hey, I want to jump on the podcast bandwagon. I think Facebook might have been saying, I think that we need to keep people on our platform. They're going to all these other platforms. They're going to name the platform Apple and we're losing out on attention. And so for us to get more attention, let's offer to be a hosting platform for podcasts as well. So they tried it out. Now, not very many people moved over. It didn't end up working out. They didn't put enough money behind marketing. They didn't spend enough time on it. They didn't do it right. They didn't really launch it very well. I don't think Metta has been doing everything perfectly lately. Who knows? We can save that for another thing. Anyway, Facebook ended up trying to do podcasts. And guess what? You probably never got your podcast on there. But guess what else? Our 60 clients at the time all were on Facebook within 10 days. Within 10 days, we had 100 percent of our clients on Facebook. Then they went out. And that's fine. That's not proving the point or taking away from the point. The point is that you need to get on every platform that you can. Let's use another example. YouTube comes out and says, hey, we're going to be a hosting platform now, too. Now, you could already have your podcast video on YouTube. You could already put even the audio as a video with a still image on YouTube. Those things already could happen. But that was never good. Being on YouTube was never that great. And why? Why wasn't it? And it's basically because unfortunately, when somebody has a regular old YouTube channel, they're listening to your episode or they're watching your episode. Maybe they're subscribed. Who knows? Maybe they found you because somebody forwarded it to them. The point is that as they're watching your video, YouTube is going to basically say you should watch these other videos. And here's the sad thing. They're watching your video. And let's just pretend that you have about 150 people that have watched it. That's a pretty typical number. So you're on YouTube and 150 people watched it. And what's going to happen is YouTube is going to say, well, you should watch this other one that 70 ,000 people looked at because we trust them because they have a lot of people that liked it. Or you should watch this other video with a million people. And so the little guy or the little girl, that person, let's just say you, who only has a certain number of downloads and it's not over a million per episode on YouTube. Well, what's going to be happening is YouTube is going to push people in front of the other ones that are doing better. That's the sad thing, but that's a reality about it. So when YouTube said, hey, I'm going to have a podcast playing platform like Apple and Spotify, for example, what ended up happening is my team again within 10 days all of our clients are now on YouTube for the audio version with where people can subscribe for the podcast. So within 10 days, all of my clients, boom. And you might not have even known that Facebook ever did that. You might not have known that YouTube, as I'm recording, is currently doing that. And that's because you well, I guess there's a lot of reasons. You're not doing all of your research and you're not finding out how to do all this. But working with our team, we are always trying to find out where all the platforms are. Regardless of how you get on the platforms, you work with our company. Great. You find it on your own by like a Google search, wherever you search, then you're going to be able to connect it. And so here's at the end of this episode, here's what you need to know. You need to go and research unless you're already a client of ours and working with us. You're everywhere. You need to go and research all of the other places. I'm going to use the next couple of minutes to share another platform that all of our clients are on. It's called Ganna, G -A -N -N -A, I think is how it's spelled, Ganna. And it's a place where a few years back in India, they came up with a podcast playing platform and it became one of the biggest playing platforms. And a few different countries, especially last year from the day that I'm recording this, about a year and a half ago, Mandarin, Chinese and Spanish became huge, huge listener base. So China and for example, Mexico had more listeners than they did the previous years before. And with Ghana, this allowed a lot of more people in eastern India, for example, to become listeners of podcasts. It gave them a great platform that was for them. And then you might be saying, OK, Adam, what you're saying, what I'm hearing you say, this is you talking, I'm imitating you right now, not to be rude. You might say this, well, Adam, sounds like that would be good. But you keep telling me that the listeners are from India and like my podcast is in Germany. My podcast is in America. My podcast is in Canada. My podcast is in Europe, wherever my podcast is in the United Kingdom. So here you are saying like, I don't really think you're onto something, Adam. If you're trying to tell me to be on one and that's in a totally different country, like I don't understand the point. OK, I get you. I'm understanding with you. I'm with you right now. You don't get the point. Yet. Let me share it with you. Even if you have a podcast and let's just say you're in Germany, you got a podcast in Germany. You only can serve people in Germany for your business. I don't know what your business is, but let's just pretend you live in Germany and your podcast is in Germany and you can only serve people in your country. And so you're asking, so why would I need to be in this other country where there's a lot of listeners growing just like they did in China and Mexico recently? And here comes the answer. The answer is you want to trigger some algorithms so that you can get pushed in front of more people that can work with you. So regardless if you think you can serve them, if your business is also in that country, you will still want to allow your podcast to be on every platform. Get on all the platforms you dummy. Get on all the platforms you dummy. OK, so you're going to want to be on in the platform Ghana, even though most of the listeners are going to be in India, because now you're going to get more downloads, more listeners, more plays, more ratings and reviews and will end up happening is it'll trigger algorithms where your podcast playing platform sees that you're doing great. They put you in front of more and more people. And that means that your podcast grows, your podcast will grow as well. And also it's a small world after all. I mean, we've all been to Disneyland or Disney World and ridden that ride. It's a small world after all. They say it like a million times and it's still not in your head. It is a freaking small world, which means that in India or the Philippines or Mexico or Germany or the US or Canada or Australia name more countries, that's fine. I'm going to stop there in this country. Many people know people in other countries. Many people can refer people. So on top of you just getting more downloads and stuff on top of you triggering algorithms so that your person can find you easier, you will also have that third benefit where somebody listening, let's use Ghana and India for a second. And I hate to sound racist or however this might sound, but I'm just going to finish the sentence anyway, because I have a shit ton of friends who are Indian and engineers or I .T. So I'm just going to use the friends that I have as the example. So I've got a friend who lives in Texas. They are Indian and they migrated directly from India. And so they even still have that stronger accent as well. Right. So they haven't been here their whole life. They are a first born immigrant. They moved here. And well, guess what? When Ghana starts growing and your podcast starts growing in Ghana, what are the chances that that person who's listening on Ghana in India has a close friend or family member in Silicon Valley, a close friend or family in San Antonio, Texas, Austin, Texas, Dallas, Texas, has a strong family member and named the city. I have so many close friends that are Indian, that are engineers or technology or whatever, and they migrated or their parents or the grandparents migrated and they need to know my podcast. So there's still more chance using that third example of referrals to be able to get in front of my right person. So let's just say that you've got a real estate podcast. You syndicate deals, which means that you raise capital so you can buy bigger real estate and you get out up on Ghana. Awesome. Engineers and IT make a lot of money. They both do. And so all of a sudden you got that person listening and they might just tell their friend who lives in name the city in the US, for example, or in Australia. Maybe you're in Australia. I know that there's a lot of good technology there as well. Technology is a big thing right now. And so not to be prejudiced or saying that everybody of a certain race is a certain job title. I know that's not true. It's just that I have a shit ton of friends that are Indian. They're either engineers or IT, just like most of the time. Sometimes they're lawyers, sometimes they're other things as well. But I just so many of them are those two things. And just depending like where you are, what you're looking at, what you're looking for, there's no reason not to be on every single platform. So I feel like this is like a racist episode. I hope nobody thinks that I'm being negative toward anybody in any way because my heart's not there. Anyway, going back to what I'm saying is at the end of this episode, what we want you to take away, it's work with a company like ours where we can make sure that you're always on every platform that's possible so that you can get the best end result, regardless if that listener is the best listener immediately. There's three reasons why to do it. And if you don't work with us, for example, just do a really good research on a search engine where you're trying to find what are all the places possible. It's a small world. After all, I'll see you on the next episode. You're not alone if you're ready to either get your very first affordable microphone or if you're ready to upgrade your equipment to some legit podcasting studio equipment, because on all of the forums over the last few months, I'm seeing this all the time. Even my own personal clients that work with my team, they're ready to get that next microphone. They're asking us for it. Additionally, when I'm on discovery calls with potential clients, they're always asking for this stuff. Hey, what mic do you recommend? Hey, what lighting do you recommend? What webcam should I be using? So many questions. And so what we did, my whole team has put together a PDF so that if you're one of those people who is looking to either get your very first affordable microphone or if you're ready to upgrade your equipment to more professional podcast studio equipment, whether it's soundproofing or whatever, we've got you covered by going to growyourshow .com forward slash PDF, and you can download the PDF for free or right there on the webpage is everything that you would have and you don't need to download the PDF either way. Just go to growyourshow .com forward slash PDF, which will put you to the podcasting equipment that me and my team have personally vetted. I'll see you on the next episode.
Telecom Reseller
A highlight from Crexendos NetSapiens Platform Winning Share, Growing Fast, in the Service Provider Market, Podcast
"This is Doug Green and I'm the publisher of TR Publications and I'm very pleased to have with me Doug Gaylor, who is the President and Chief Operating Officer at Crescendo. Doug, thank you for joining me. Thanks, Doug. Glad to be here. And we also have with us, again, John Britton, who's the Chief Revenue Officer at Crescendo. John, thank you for joining us today. Thanks for having me, Doug. We needed one guy not named Doug on the podcast. Yeah, so there won't be any confusion. And as you can – I know this is an audio podcast, but as people see we do the real Doug and I, we're clearly separated birds. Fairly related. So, you know, I'm very pleased to be able to host these podcasts here at Crescendo's NetSapiens platform meeting. And Crescendo's NetSapiens platform winning, we're going to be talking about winning in the service provider market, a huge and important topic to all of our partner readers who are looking for new, good ideas to grow in 2024. So, you know, again, we're here at the NetSapiens platform user group meeting. And this is your third UGM, is that right? Since we merged with NetSapiens, this is the third time since we brought the two companies together. And maybe for people who are not familiar with that, because the two companies are using Crescendo's NetSapiens platform. Tell us just briefly what that all means. Yeah, so Crescendo is the parent company. Obviously, we acquired NetSapiens in 2021, and so the NetSapiens platform now supports over three and a half million users out there. And so it's still the NetSapiens platform. This is a NetSapiens platform event, but it's Crescendo powered by NetSapiens. So Crescendo is still the main name out there, but NetSapiens is the important name from the platform perspective. So it's the NetSapiens platform and it's Crescendo powered by NetSapiens. So, you know, inside this hall where we're doing this special conference about the NetSapiens ecosystem, the Crescendo ecosystem, but also outside of this place, in the wider world, what are the trends you're seeing, especially for the partners? Yeah, so I would see, you know, just to kind of touch on that, Doug, I would see for us as a company, we're having a new partner community coming to us that we'll have Doug talk about a little bit. And then from our partners' perspective, you know, they're continuing to see great growth in the UCAS market. You know, I think Cavell's got it forecast with a 15 percent annual growth rate over the next five years. Our partners in total are growing at about double the rate of the market. Many of them also moving into contact center as a service. And with what we're talking about at this event a lot, our new API 2 .0 release in our version 44 software, the ability to do more CPaaS type offerings or programmable communications. So the trend we're just seeing is, you know, companies wanting to deliver a great employee experience and customer experience. And, you know, it's our responsibility, and we feel like what we empower our partners to do is to be able to deliver a platform that does that. Well, let's drill down a little bit more into detail. So, you know, we have Legacy Broadsoft and Metaswitch partner communities. Are you guys making inroads into those communities? Those are pretty big places. They are big places, and we're making great inroads there. So we have 220 -plus licensees using our platform now. We had 18 new logos or licensees last year in 2022, and we're on pace to eclipse that for 2023. And we're seeing a lot of interest from Cisco's Broadsoft base and Microsoft's Metaswitch base. We know that Cisco has got the largest base of platform providers out there and Microsoft Metaswitch second to Cisco. We're the third largest platform provider in the country now. But what we're seeing out there is that Cisco and Microsoft increased their prices, decreased their support. Broadsoft had a major layout at the end of last year. So we're seeing a lot of dissatisfaction with those Broadsoft and Metaswitch licensees, and that's good for us. We announced a large Broadsoft migration just a few months ago on a press release, Access4, out of Australia. And we've assigned a nice Metaswitch opportunity that's going to be migrating over from Metaswitch to the Crescendo platform here very relatively shortly. And so we're excited to see as they ignore their customer base. We're getting a lot of knocks on their door, and that's great for us. And I think there's two separate trends that are kind of motivating those partners to look elsewhere. On the Microsoft Metaswitch side, it's really a feel that there's no roadmap or future or really ongoing enablement of their platform. They're not adding anything new. They don't have a robust roadmap. On the Cisco Broadsoft side, they're just actively substantially increasing the costs for their partners. And then from the smaller partners on up, on the Broadsoft software, which a lot of them built their businesses around, forcing a more overt move to try to make the partners go move to WebEx and WebEx calling with the Cisco brand on it. With our solution, it's 100 % brandable to the customer. We consider ourselves the Intel inside of the communications industry, if I can use a term from a few years ago. But it's just many people that use our platform over 3 .5 million users globally, they don't even know who Crescendo or NetSapiens is. It's 100 % branded for our partners. Right. And that's the way you guys like it, right? In other words, you're here to help them create a brand. Absolutely. And it's their brand. They're using our platform, but it's their company and it's their messaging. We're giving them all the tools to be more successful. And as John says, most of our licensees are growing faster than the industry is growing on an annual growth rate. So, you know, in some ways you've answered some of my questions that, you know, it sounds like this market, these marketing roads are beyond geography and also beyond specific market to market issues. Yeah, they really are. We saw 43 % growth year over year in our revenue just for the first six months of this year. So we're seeing tremendous growth within our organization. And that growth is being spurred by our licensees out there growing their business, adding new licenses and new sessions with us. But we're also seeing great growth internationally as well with that 630 % growth in our international markets year over year. And obviously that started with a low number because it's a fairly new market for us. But we've got over 20 licensees internationally now and seeing great growth in the international markets and that great representation at our conference from folks from Australia, the Philippines, the UK, Germany. And so we're seeing great adoption in the international markets. And that's probably because the international markets are still a little bit behind the U .S. with VoIP adoption and cloud adoption. Yeah, it's really cool, Doug, at this event because we do this annually with our community. We've got attendees from five continents that are here. So we really, you know, are honored that our partners from Australia and other places around the world, the Philippines, would travel all the way to Scottsdale to be at the event with us this week. It's great engagement with them. And we're just thrilled with the growth in that part of our community. That's really amazing for someone to get on a plane from Manila all this way to come to this conference and learn about different options and so on. I mean, you know, which brings me to another issue. Are there other issues, other reasons that are driving this growth that are getting someone to get on a plane from Manila to come to Phoenix? Yeah, I would say one of the things that we consist in is something that we work to maintain, but consistent feedback we get from our partners. We're in a place in the market that nobody builds their first UCAS offer on our platform. They come from an open source. We talked about Broadsoft, Metaswitch, another. They've done something else first. They get to a point where the scalability and the management gets challenging for them or they have other pressures that maybe their partner is producing for them. So people find, you know, our platforms powerful, but it's simple to manage and easy to use. So I think part of what's helping to continue to drive that growth is just that, you know, ease of use in the technology. We use a sessions, not seats model. So where some of our competitors in this part of the market really, I would say nickel and dime their community with a lot of incremental licensing, right? You've been in the industry a long time, so you know how complex licensing schemes are for a lot of people. With us, our core pricing is really built on concurrent sessions. So as you're successful with our platform and your customers are using it more, you're paying for that usage based on their utilization and not based on the specific feature set that you deploy to any one user or one customer. So, you know, people can have extremely profitable offers built on our platform and they can also really customize to go after specific verticals industries or other things that kind of fit the ethos of their business in the markets they're trying to address. You know, we talked a little earlier about, and we also just before we started podcasting about UCAS, but you know, I've seen a lot of conversation here at the show about CCAS and CPAS. So that is deliberate? Is that something you're saying to the partner community, hey, these are places now where you can win? It really is. You know, our partners for years have always been UCAS as their core and UCAS is continuing to grow. It's a twenty eight billion dollar industry with 15 percent growth rate over the next five years. And so that's still the core competency. But we've really expanded that with our offerings to CCAS and now CPAS. So CCAS is what a four point five billion dollar industry right now, but that's going to grow actually faster than UCAS over the next five years, about 18 percent clip. And we're extremely excited about our our CCAS offering with our CX product having great, great adoption out there. We had some great success stories on one of our forums yesterday talking about the adoption of our CCAS offering out there and just ease of implementation. And also with the technology, we're seeing a check dbt application built into that context and offering sourcing great adoption there. And then on the market, the CPAS market is actually growing faster than the other two markets. So we're seeing twenty eight percent growth rate on the CPAS market. So a lot of talk in the conference over the last two days on where CPAS is going and how we're helping our partners with CPAS offerings to help in their expansion on what they can offer their end user customers. Yeah. And last year's event, we made some announcements around the CCAS and had a focus there this year with our version 44 release of the software. We're enabling what we call our API 2 .0 release, which really takes and makes it gives our partners capabilities more like CPAS type things. So I know you've been in the industry long enough. You know, we talk about communications enabled business processes before back a few years ago. You know, but for us, we think of this more as programmable communications where I can build applications specific to my customers or industries or areas that I want to address. And so with that higher growth rate market, we're very excited that we're giving our partners these tools so that they can kind of expand their offer into some some different parts of the market. And we're you know, this is we've also joined recently the CPAS Acceleration Alliance, which is obviously an industry group, a global group that's kind of focused on addressing that part of the market. And our chair of one of their working groups are steering committees also as well. So we're making a big commitment to that because it gives us and our community new areas to go after and grow in their business and continue to be successful. And this seems to be a big thing here that I've heard again and again that you guys are helping organize at a very extensive portfolio solutions that someone has partnered to put out of their umbrella and walk in and solve lots of problems for us. Sure. Absolutely. We've got 43 vendors that are part of our conference. That's a record number for us. And all of them have different tools and applications that our community needs. And so the electricity and the energy we've got out on the floor out there is tremendous because all of our licensees are seeing products that they're seeing how they can grow their business by taking advantage of any of these applications. And so, as John mentioned with the API 2 .0, it allows all of these applications to work much more seamlessly with the core UCAS product. And again, you're walking in there as a partner with your own brand, with all this backing you. Exactly. And you're able to then customize the API. Yes. So you can be a small company in Boise, Idaho, but you're appearing as the biggest and the best because you've got all the tools to go take care of that customer, whether it's an SMB customer or a large enterprise customer. One of our partners yesterday, he's got a 10 ,000 seat customer out there and he's bringing these applications to us. We're not talking about just the SMB market now. With all these applications, we're able to go much higher in the ecosystem and get into those small and good sized enterprises. Doug and John, I really want to thank you for joining me today. And also, by the way, thank you for inviting me to join this experience to do some programming and podcasting, really, I guess, from from this event. It's been really interesting. It's really incredible that I hope all the partners listening and watching this will consider this as well. Where can we learn more about Crescendo? So you can go to crescendo .com now at C -R -E -X -E -N -D -O dot com and go to our website and find out more about the company. Gentlemen, thank you very much indeed. Thanks, Doug.
Evangelism on SermonAudio
A highlight from Problems to Expect on the Mission Field
"Amen. Alright, thank you very much for being here this morning and before we get in the sermon Let me just make a couple of statements. First of all, thank you everybody. It's been a wonderful wonderful week and Because of all of you making it happen and making it possible and you know, I've spent first time in the Philippines I know I look Filipino, but I'm not We're out in public and somebody asked if I'm Filipino just say yeah, I am in I Notice at least in the States the Filipinos treat you a lot better if they think you're a Filipino There's like this Filipino love, you know, and I want to be a part of that. So I appreciate that But you know, I've heard a lot about the Philippines I've heard a lot about soul winning in the Philippines and evangelism in the Philippines and now that I've been here and I've experienced it I feel like the Queen of Shiva, you know I believe not the words till I came and saw for myself and the half was not told me And it's really just a wonderful place and I'm excited to be here I want to thank brother Stuckey of course and this hand for coming out here and leading this church plant and we're excited for the work that they're doing and I do want to thank brother Stuckey and brother Jared for preaching some wonderful sermons on Wednesday night And that was some good preaching that edified me. So I was thankful for that and You know, I also just want to thank Pastor Logan Robertson for being with us this week. I'm looking forward to a sermon From the second service. I'm thankful brother signs has been with us this week and all of you that took time and energy and you know, this is a unique thing when you think about the fact that The number that I was given is there's a hundred and thirty seven people here this morning and we had over a hundred soul winners and the vast majority Of the soul winners here this week are people that are not full -time evangelists are not full -time in ministry You took your own time money time off of work to travel to a different country To preach the gospel and that's pretty amazing that says a lot about the love that you have for souls and you know says a lot about our type of churches and What we're trying to accomplish in places like this and I do want to say this. I'm gonna be here till Thursday, so I'm thankful to be preaching this morning, but I will be preaching on Wednesday night I realize that most of you will be gone by then but for the BBC Manila family I'd love for you to make it I know Wednesday nights can be difficult for some of you But if you're able to make it for the ones that I service I'm gonna be preaching a different type of sermon on Wednesday night It's what I like to call more of a pastoral type sermon Or I want to kind of speak to the church family and give you some thoughts in regards to what we need from you If this church plan is going to succeed It's not just on brother stuck in mist and it's on you To make it happen and I want to talk to you about that on Wednesday night So I hope you can make it to that service and this morning I'm preaching on the subject of problems to expect on the mission field and the reason that I'm preaching this sermon is For a couple of reasons. Well, the first one is because we have several full -time missionaries evangelists here This this morning and I want to try to kind of encourage them and help them with some of those thoughts About things that they should expect on the mission field, but also we have several men here this morning I've talked to several men who have told me that they have a desire to one day be in full -time ministry To be an evangelist a missionary a pastor or something like that I want to encourage you along the way and then for those of us that are not Filipino This is a mission field, right? This is a mission church I realize if you're a Filipino this might not feel like a mission church this feels like home to you But for but us this is missions So I want to talk about problems to expect on the mission field But let me just say this if you don't feel like you're on the mission field Or maybe you're watching the sermon on line or on YouTube or whatever and you're not on the mission field Then you can just change the title in your mind to problems to expect in ministry because it's really all the same thing We're dealing with people whether it's in the Philippines or in Sacramento, California You're gonna have to expect issues while on the mission field and what I'd like to do this morning I just like you to join me and we're going to join the Apostle Paul on his missionary journeys and we're gonna look at some of the problems that he faced on his missionary journeys and make application in regards to problems that you and I can expect on the mission field that we can expect in Ministry in general if you are able to write down some notes I'd love for you to take some notes if you've got somewhere to write there if you've got a baby on your lap I can understand why you might not be able to but if you've got a pen I'd like you to write some of these statements down.
Coin Stories with Natalie Brunell
"philippines" Discussed on Coin Stories with Natalie Brunell
"There's a couple we actually met at the Canadian Bitcoin Conference here in Toronto back in June. So it's one of those, you know, silver lining things where it's like it was really rough at the time. But looking back, it's just been a great experience. And like I said, we've met people we probably wouldn't have met prior to that or other than that if this didn't happen. So, yeah, we're happy to support the truckers. Yeah, and connecting on similar values. Are you willing to share why you lost your jobs? And was that part of the reason why you also wanted to move? It's time for a quick break to hear these messages from my partners. First up, Bitcoin Amsterdam. The biggest Bitcoin conference in Europe is just around the corner. The second annual event will held October 12th and 13th and bring together speakers from around the world, including the one and only Edward Snowden, Stella Assange, Balaji, Eva Vlardinger broke and so many more. Get your tickets with a 10% discount using code HODL. And don't forget to get your early bird pass to Bitcoin Nashville 2024. You're going to get the best price right now. And again, use code HODL for that discount. I'll see you there. Next up, Fold. Fold is the best Bitcoin rewards debit card and shopping app in the world. You can earn Bitcoin on everything you purchase from Amazon to groceries to your Bitcoin conference ticket with Fold's Bitcoin cashback debit card. And you can play to win free satoshis or even a whole Bitcoin by spinning the rewards wheel. Head to foldapp.com slash Natalie and you'll get 10,000 satoshis when you sign up for spin or spin plus and spend at least $20 on the card. All right, back to the show. Yeah, so, you know, we worked for the government and there was mandates obviously back in 2021, early 2022. And, you know, we made personal choices that were just that personal and we didn't feel we had to disclose anything or do anything that, you know, was against our beliefs. So once that happened, you know, it took necessary steps to fight back against that. And here we are in Bitcoin Island. So, yeah, like I said, it all worked out. It is really interesting. I was watching a documentary the other night. It was with Milton Friedman and he talked about how if you don't have economic freedom, you can't have personal freedom. And we see more and more those freedoms being eroded all over the world, including in the places that we consider to be the most democratic. So what about the Philippines? What is it like there? And how did this Bitcoin Island spring up? Are people literally just creating a circular economy like in El Salvador? I've been to Bitcoin Beach in El Salvador, so I'm trying to, you know, kind of compare it to that. Are people using their Bitcoin wallets and spending locally? Yeah, for sure. So the story of that is basically there's a gentleman, now I'm not affiliated with this company that I'm mentioning, just supporting from the background, obviously, but not affiliated with them. So there's a young gentleman whose wife is Filipino and he's from Seattle, I believe, and he came last year to visit his wife and his family. And he realized how hard it was, Natalie, to exchange money on the island. And so what he did is his background is a software engineer, so he created a Lightning wallet just for himself, actually, just to help navigate and spend money on the island because the main sort of technology that they use, foreigners are not able to access that technology because they're not from here. It was hard for him to exchange money, so he created this wallet just for himself to utilize while he was here on the island. And from there, it sort of blossomed. So he started talking to people, they started talking to local businesses, and like I said, they actually have a brick and mortar store now, sort of right at the main entrance when you get into the island. And they have folks there where you can walk in and, you know, help look for information. And they make their way around the island, like I said, trying to onboard more people. So we've been like, really keeping our eye out for the Bitcoin accepted here signs that are in all the storefronts. So we've seen a bunch of them already. And I find that the ones we've spoken to, they still don't really, really understand it. They've just seen the magic work. And I think that's enough for them at this time. But I think there's still more education that needs to be done, obviously, because to them, it's just another QR code that they can use and accept the money right now. So like anything else in life, Natalie, I think it's just more education that's required. But like I said, 256 merchants, 260 merchants. So they've done a fabulous job in a short period of time, actually. Wow. No, that's amazing. And it does remind me of my visit to El Salvador, because the merchants I met there, it was no big deal. They were all using it, very, very comfortable with it. But in terms of that deeper knowledge of really saving for the future, a lot of the people that I met, they never saved. Really, they were living what we would consider paycheck to paycheck. Some of them were taking out loans, even at high interest rates in order to purchase the things that they were going to sell. And so there was no concept really of planning for the future and being able to save. Plus, a lot of them see Bitcoin as very, very volatile. But can you share anything about, I mean, are the people in Philippines and on this island, are they now thinking more about the future? Are they thinking about actually not spending all of their Bitcoin, but actually putting some away, even though the price does fluctuate very, very aggressively? Yeah, great question. So similar to El Salvador, the Philippines is considered a third world country, right? So the lack of education is there. But actually, they have a lot of people sort of, they brought it actually into one of the main universities in Manila now, a Bitcoin course, actually. So they're actually teaching the course in one of the main universities here, which is a big step forward. And, you know, my wife, she's told me, you know, back in the 80s, what happened with the Philippines, how the corrupt government at that time, sort of, you know, back in the mid 80s, Natalie, I believe the Filipino peso in the US dollar was sort of even. After that, it slowly started to go away. Now, I think it's to the US things like 55 to one. So all those families who sort of are saving in fiat and cash all those years for their kids to go to school, helped leave the country to, you know, send money back home and support their families overnight, it got wiped out. Right. So I think that's a similar sort of theme to some of these countries that are kind of ruled by these tyrants, right, is that they just wipe this completely. So this new technology that's being explained is that, you know, it's a deflationary asset, it's a digital asset, nobody can confiscate it, as we discussed with the trucker convoy. So I think once they're trying to really drill that point home, and once now that's in the in the university, in the classes, and they're teaching that, I think that's really big. So the progression is happening. Again, you always hear about, you know, it's kind of like the internet in the early 90s. And it's true, it's just a, it's just a matter of the people getting more familiar with it, using it. And as you know, Natalie, it's really just, you know, you ask them just to download the wallet, you send them like, you know, a couple hundred sats or whatever, just to show them how easy it is, you explain to them that it's their money, nobody can take it from them now. Zip it anywhere in the world and kind of start with that. And they seem to be on board. So yeah, it's amazing when you, there's a necessity for them to learn. So no matter how difficult it is, per se, they're going to learn, because it almost is life and death for them, right? So when you're kind of backs against the wall in that aspect, they're going to learn the technology real quick. So yeah, it's a lot of progress here. Yeah, for sure. I've always been a big believer that if you have a pain point, a financial pain point, you're going to appreciate Bitcoin much faster. And you did with the remittances. A lot of people, for me, I think it was my backstory with the great financial crisis. If you have a reason why you haven't trusted money, or you feel like that system has taken advantage of you, you're probably going to pay attention to Bitcoin faster than others, which is great, because it's happening all over the world, because so many of us have been on the other side of that system and being taken advantage. One thing I wanted to talk to you about is orange-pilling your friends, because that's what a lot of us are trying to do, sometimes more successfully than other times. What has worked for you, and where are people kind of, you know, maybe still not understanding, and you have trouble pushing that door down? Yeah, I get real passionate when I speak about Bitcoin. My father's Italian, so I have that sort of little spark in me to really get into it. So, okay, I really just start with, you know, just talking kind of about money and what money is to them, what they think it is. And like I said, they've really never taught us that in school, right? There's the old adage that I think Robert Kiyosaki always talks about, which is, you know, you get a good education, go to school, get a good job, you know, you pay taxes, and you kind of die type thing, right? So, that's how I kind of start with it. Then I same thing, I just kind of, you know, explain that to them, explain how it's a deflationary asset, store of value. We get into the halving cycles, not obviously in the first conversation we have with them, but then, you know, download a wallet, you know, send them a couple sats, explain to them like that. So, and I think, you know, we kind of live in a privileged society, right? So, as I just mentioned a few minutes ago, it's not really out of necessity for them. They can still go to a bank, open a bank account. You know, here in the Philippines, there's 60% of the people, Natalie, who are unbanked still. So, you know, they're making like $11 a day, some people, or a day, $11 a day, you know? So, when you kind of explain to them that they can keep this money, and this won't get deflated, like if they keep holding fiat or cash, that's a big thing. So, the back home, I wouldn't say it's a little more difficult, although I guess it really is, because again, out of necessity, they haven't, as you were saying a few minutes ago, they haven't put their hand on the stove and got burned yet. Yeah. Right? So, once you do that, and it affects you directly, then you kind of pivot your mindset and say, wait a sec, something's not right. And I think that takes a little longer for folks, and it's not really a fault of their own. Like I said, we're kind of in a privileged society, you know, North America, where you can go to the bank and take out money, and you can open up an account, and you can get a mortgage if you want, and these types of things. So, here in the Philippines, you can't do that. So, we're trying, you know, we've onboarded like dozens of folks back home onto Bitcoin, and got them set up with wallets and cold storage, and explained the importance of cold storage, right? So, you know, getting Bitcoin onto, buying Bitcoin is one thing, but then immediately, as you know, we get it to cold storage right away. So, we've had some success, and we're still pushing forward with that. So, I'd say it's been pretty good so far. It's time for another quick break to hear these messages from my partners. Next up, Coinkite, which offers everything you need to safely take custody of your Bitcoin. Coinkite produces the cold card wallet, which is the cold storage device I use for safekeeping my Bitcoin. You can verify the source code. It's ultra secure, and it's easy to use, even if you're a beginner. Head to their website in my show notes to find all of their custody products, and you'll get a 5% discount with my link. Become your own bank with Bitcoin and Coinkite. Next up, I want to share with you about crowd health. Health insurance costs are sky high today, and you send your money every month to a fiat corporation, only to never see that money again, even if you don't get sick. But if you do need care, you end up having to pay even more out pocket. But luckily, there's an alternative, and it's all about community. CrowdHealth brings together Bitcoiners who crowdfund each other's healthcare. So, how it works is when you need a doctor or hospital visit, CrowdHealth negotiates down the medical bill lower than what insurance would be, and the community helps you cover the costs. You get to save the money you would have sent to an insurance company, and hey, why not put it into Bitcoin? To sign up, head to join crowdhealth.com slash Natalie. All right, next up, I'm excited to share that I am an advisor for the Orange Pill app. If you haven't downloaded this app yet, then you're missing out on connecting with Bitcoiners in your area. The Orange Pill app is focused on building the social layer for Bitcoin and helping create opportunities for in-person connections and community building. Come join us and use the referral link in my show notes to start connecting today. But we're still pushing forward with that, so I'd say it's been pretty good so far. Yeah, I mean, you bring up a great point. One of the best ways is just have someone download the wallet and send them satoshis and talk about the fact that there was no bank in the middle, there was no third party, you didn't have to wait weeks for settlement, and there you go, you have the money. So with your wife, I mean, she immigrated from the Philippines to Canada, right? So in addition to the remittance side of it, does she have her own personal story of just witnessing, you know, maybe her family going through a fiat crisis that led her to also believe in Bitcoin when you shared it with her? Yeah, I mean, if you talk to her, she'll tell you that she Orange Pilled me, and that kind of is correct in a sense where she kind of brought the idea from her eldest brother. As I mentioned, they're computer engineers, so they kind of understood it from a different standpoint than I did. I didn't know anything about that, right? I just know, like I said, we could send it, zip it, quick it, and that's kind of the angle I come at when I talk to people. So as far as her family sort of feeling the effects of what we discussed earlier, yeah, I think for the most part, the whole country did, right? So like I said before, you know, we'd have to send it and her mom would have to travel to one of these places to get the remittance, but it would take a few days, they take, you know, whatever percentage of it as well. So I mean, they're all sharp people. So it was a no brainer for all of them. It's like, I don't have to leave my house and get it. I can just accept it on a wallet, convert it to pesos via a lightning wallet or through, I mean, so to them, it was just all on board. And again, they didn't necessarily have to understand all the underlying technology of this technology. They just knew, like I said, they can get it quickly, easy, safely, nobody can take it from them. So yeah, they were all in when they heard about it. Right. Well, you know, it's interesting because a lot of us, you know, when people are scared about the technical components of Bitcoin, I wouldn't be able to tell you how the heck they make this thing work, right? It feels like magic in so many ways to me still. But I think a lot of people in the future will use Bitcoin even if they don't go down to the sand like so many of us did to actually study how mining works and the difficulty adjustment and all that. Well, Mark, it's been awesome to talk to you. I'm wishing you all the best on Bitcoin Island. Is there anything else you want to share with the audience today? Honestly, Natalie, I just want to thank you for the time today. Like I've told you kind of in the private chat while we're setting this up, I appreciate what you do. You know, we've been a fan since we saw you, I think, in Miami 2021, maybe. That's kind of when I joined Twitter and X, I guess, was around that time. So that's when I started following the different people in Bitcoin and whatnot. So just thanks for your time today. And yeah, just, you know, keep stacking sets, everybody. It's still super early. You know, I saw Michael Saylor just bought a bunch of more Bitcoin yesterday. So if you still want to get some, we better hurry up because he's going to scoop it all up right now. So just hopefully we can continue pushing the good word forward of Bitcoin. What it'll do for humanity, the type of help it can provide to a lot of people, people in El Salvador, the Philippines, all over the world, etc. So yeah, keep stacking sets. And thanks again for having me. I love it. Yes, the Philippines needs Bitcoin, the world does. And we need a front run, those institutions and CEOs. So thank you so much, Mark. And I'll put your X handle in the show notes. And I'm sure a lot of people will want to connect with you after this. So see you soon.Appreciate you, Natalie. Thank you. All right. And finally, this show is also brought to you by I Trust Capital. I Trust lets you invest in Bitcoin for your retirement with the tax benefits of an IRA. And here are some important things to know. I Trust does not lend against client assets, and the accounts are FDIC insured up to $250,000. So if you're doing retirement planning and thinking about adding Bitcoin to your portfolio, you can sign up at itrust.capital slash nataliebrunel. Thanks so much for listening to this episode of Coin Stories. I'd love to connect with you if you have questions or guest requests, so feel free to get in touch on Twitter at Nat Brunel or Instagram at Natalie Brunel. Take care till next time.
Coin Stories with Natalie Brunell
"philippines" Discussed on Coin Stories with Natalie Brunell
"In El Salvador, they have Bitcoin Beach, and in the Philippines, in this little island, it's called Bitcoin Island, and they've onboarded about 260 merchants right now on the island. Welcome to the Coin Stories podcast, where we get to explore the future of money, business, technology, and Bitcoin's revolutionary promise to boost economic prosperity around the world and mend our broken financial system. I'm Natalie Brunel, and I'm here to learn with you. This podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. None of the discussions should constitute as official investment advice, and you should always do your own research. Please make sure to subscribe to the show so you don't miss out on any new episodes. This podcast is made possible through partnerships with companies I trust, and I'm very picky about who I choose to partner with, so I hope you take the time to listen to the ad reads throughout the show. Thanks for joining me, and if you like this type of content and want to see more of it, make sure to hit that like button. All right, it's time for the show. Welcome back, everyone. A couple of weeks ago, I put out a tweet, and I asked for Bitcoiners from around the world to get in touch with me if they want to share their Bitcoin story. I just want to hear from other people about how they got into Bitcoin, why they believe in it, maybe their struggles with fiat, and I got a lot of responses, and I'm really excited to share these stories, starting with Mark Mantini, who is living on Bitcoin Island in the Philippines, has a fascinating backstory. So, Mark, thank you so much for joining me. Hey, Natalie. Thanks so much for having me. It's great chatting with you, and yeah, I'm glad we're able to connect and happy to be here and share my story today. Okay. So, Mark, you're originally from Canada. You learned about Bitcoin in 2016. So just tell me a little bit about your backstory and how you actually heard about Bitcoin. Yeah, for sure. So, like most people, I actually heard about it prior to sort of jumping in, right? So I came across my path maybe in 2014, and I kind of dismissed it, just, you know, busy with life. So I didn't really think too much into it. And then in 2016, my wife, her and her siblings are all sort of computer engineers background, software engineers, network engineers, and it was her brother in Australia who actually told us about this new technology where we can sort of send money back home to the Philippines and Australia where some of her other siblings live at cheaper, faster rates. So at that point right there, I mean, that sold me. At that point, I didn't know anything about the network, difficulty adjustments, having cycles. I didn't know anything about the underlying technology. We just knew we could send it home quicker, faster, instant than Western Union and other remittances that the Philippines typically uses. So once we found out that, I was pretty much sold at that point. Yeah, I mean, millions of people around the world, they're sending money back home to their families and they're spending. I was surprised by how high the fees are with companies like Western Union. So for you, it was like this solves an immediate problem. Exactly. It was a no-brainer really, right? So once we found out that, it was just, that was it. And then it took me another maybe year or so before I really started going down the rabbit hole and understanding the whole underlying technology and everything that comes with it. But at that time, we were just like, we can get it there instant. You know, mom didn't have to take a bus to go get it. They didn't, you know, take their 15%, didn't take three days. So like I said, we were all in just with that alone. And then once we started digging deeper into it, then we just fell down the hole. And then, yeah, so it's been almost seven, eight years now. Wow. Well, so how did you learn about it? Because I think that there is this wide chasm between when you first hear about it, you're skeptical, you maybe dip your toe in, and then going on a Bitcoin standard and moving to Bitcoin island. So what was that process like for you and how did you actually learn about it so that you have total conviction in it? For sure. So once I started to put my mind to like learning about this new technology, obviously started with reading the white paper, right? I think that's where you start understand what it's about, all the underlying technology. And from there, it just started getting into sort of podcasts. Although back then, it wasn't that many podcasts, I guess, it was just as many videos, I could see YouTube videos, anything that came across our path, we were just all over it, basically trying to gather as much information as possible. And then speaking with my wife's brother, they were just kind of helping explain sort of the technology about it from the network standpoint. And then from there, we just started stacking as much as possible. And we really haven't stopped since. And about the Bitcoin standard. Yeah. So the Philippines, we're on an island called Barakay right now. And it's also known as Bitcoin island. So in El Salvador, they have Bitcoin beach. And in the Philippines, in this little island, it's called Bitcoin island. And they've onboarded about 260 merchants right now on the island, accepting Bitcoin. So it's pretty amazing, actually, yeah. What made you decide to move there from Canada? I know that you were really involved in in the meetups in Toronto, you helped out with the first Canadian Bitcoin conference. So what made you leave? You know, really, it's, um, the world is changing. And if you follow anything that's happening with Canada, it's pretty much run by like, a tyrant government right now. And we were personally affected with our jobs. And once that happened, I mean, I'm Generation X, so we don't trust in general, a lot of things. And when that happened to us at work, that was kind of the final tipping point for us. So we went out to the trucker convoy in Ottawa back in early 2022, just to support the whole trucker movement. And it was just a great experience, Natalie, so many great people we met, that we probably wouldn't have met, if that didn't happen. So it was kind of a blessing in disguise, although going through it at the time, obviously, it wasn't a lot of fun. So that was the tipping point for us, right. And then once we heard about Bitcoin island, and all the things they're doing, my wife is originally from there. So we just decided to make a move. So we're just out here right now, basically, on an open ticket, just exploring, having fun, contributing just from a sort of a grassroots level, trying to help out as much as we can with people who are interested in trying to help them out. So, you know, the Philippines remit, I think the fourth largest company that country, excuse me, that remits money back home. So this is just another way to basically help them do it at a cheaper, faster, more efficient rate. So we're just kind of doing our part, like I said, at the grassroots level. And, yeah, we're just gonna be out here and see how it goes and plan to stay for a while and help out as much as we can. Yeah, you know, I actually met a woman from the Philippines here in St. Louis, she's on a work visa. And she was mentioning to me how she sends money back home and the inflation that she's experienced in her country. And I was trying to tell her about Bitcoin, but you know, it's so hard. It's really hard to get people to understand and to trust it, since it's all digital. And a lot of people, when they look at this space from the outside, they feel like they could potentially lose their money. So there's that, you know, initial hurdle. But I want to ask you a little bit more about the Philippines. But first, you know, in terms of Canada and that trucker protest, I think that that was a huge orange pill moment for so many people, including even a presidential candidate here that we have, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., said that that's what made him realize that we really need Bitcoin and Bitcoin freedoms need to be protected. So, I mean, were you surprised that the government today in 20, well, it was 2022, I think at the time, but overreached in that way? And I know your family was personally affected. I mean, lost your jobs because of the decisions that you made. Did you think that that was possible in this day and age? I didn't really think it possible, but I did. If you look at the history of our current prime minister, I mean, his father was prime minister and it's sort of they're cut from the same cloth, right? So it's a good point you mentioned, Natalie, because there was a lot of money donated to the truckers via different methods. And the only method that wasn't confiscated was Bitcoin donations. So all the GoFundMe, all of the other avenues to help out the truckers, they got confiscated by the government, frozen bank accounts. I mean, Natalie, we were talking about single mothers donating 10 bucks, you know, just to help out the truckers getting confiscated. Meanwhile, we already know what's happening. Did you know people who had a year and seven months, eight months now, and people are still going to court for that and people are still trying to fight those in court? And it was really unfortunate. So circle back to your question, was I kind of surprised in this day and age? Not really, not from the current government in Canada, unfortunately. So it's just a really, really sad situation. But we're proud to be a part of the Trucker Convoy supporting. We were there for four or five days. We met some great folks who are still in touch with today.
Coin Stories with Natalie Brunell
A highlight from Finding Freedom on Bitcoin Island in the Philippines with Marc Mantini
"In El Salvador, they have Bitcoin Beach, and in the Philippines, in this little island, it's called Bitcoin Island, and they've onboarded about 260 merchants right now on the island. Welcome to the Coin Stories podcast, where we get to explore the future of money, business, technology, and Bitcoin's revolutionary promise to boost economic prosperity around the world and mend our broken financial system. I'm Natalie Brunel, and I'm here to learn with you. This podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. None of the discussions should constitute as official investment advice, and you should always do your own research. Please make sure to subscribe to the show so you don't miss out on any new episodes. This podcast is made possible through partnerships with companies I trust, and I'm very picky about who I choose to partner with, so I hope you take the time to listen to the ad reads throughout the show. Thanks for joining me, and if you like this type of content and want to see more of it, make sure to hit that like button. All right, it's time for the show. Welcome back, everyone. A couple of weeks ago, I put out a tweet, and I asked for Bitcoiners from around the world to get in touch with me if they want to share their Bitcoin story. I just want to hear from other people about how they got into Bitcoin, why they believe in it, maybe their struggles with fiat, and I got a lot of responses, and I'm really excited to share these stories, starting Mark with Mantini, who is living on Bitcoin Island in the Philippines, has a fascinating backstory. So, Mark, thank you so much for joining me. Hey, Natalie. Thanks so much for having me. It's great chatting with you, and yeah, I'm glad we're able to connect and happy to be here and share my story today. Okay. So, Mark, you're originally from Canada. You learned about Bitcoin in 2016. So just tell me a little bit about your backstory and how you actually heard about Bitcoin. Yeah, for sure. So, like most people, I actually heard about it prior to sort of jumping in, right? So I came across my path maybe in 2014, and I kind of dismissed it, just, you know, busy with life. So I didn't really think too much into it. And then in 2016, my wife, her and her siblings are all sort of computer engineers background, software engineers, network engineers, and it was her brother in Australia who actually told us about this new technology where we can sort of send money back home to the Philippines and Australia where some of her other siblings live at cheaper, faster rates. So at that point right there, I mean, that sold me. At that point, I didn't know anything about the network, difficulty adjustments, having cycles. I didn't know anything about the underlying technology. We just knew we could send it home quicker, faster, instant than Western Union and other remittances that the Philippines typically uses. So once we found out that, I was pretty much sold at that point. Yeah, I mean, millions of people around the world, they're sending money back home to their families and they're spending. I was surprised by how high the fees are with companies like Western Union. So for you, it was like this solves an immediate problem. Exactly. It was a no -brainer really, right? So once we found out that, it was just, that was it. And then it took me another maybe year or so before I really started going down the rabbit hole and understanding the whole underlying technology and everything that comes with it. But at that time, we were just like, we can get it there instant. You know, mom didn't have to take a bus to go get it. They didn't, you know, take their 15%, didn't take three days. So like I said, we were all in just with that alone. And then once we started digging deeper into it, then we just fell down the hole. And then, yeah, so it's been almost seven, eight years now. Wow. Well, so how did you learn about it? Because I think that there is this wide chasm between when you first hear about it, you're skeptical, you maybe dip your toe in, and then going on a Bitcoin standard and moving to Bitcoin island. So what was that process like for you and how did you actually learn about it so that you have total conviction in it? For sure. So once I started to put my mind to like learning about this new technology, obviously started with reading the white paper, right? I think that's where you start understand what it's about, all the underlying technology. And from there, it just started getting into sort of podcasts. Although back then, it wasn't that many podcasts, I guess, it was just as many videos, I could see YouTube videos, anything that came across our path, we were just all over it, basically trying to gather as much information as possible. And then speaking with my wife's brother, they were just kind of helping explain sort of the technology about it from the network standpoint. And then from there, we just started stacking as much as possible. And we really haven't stopped since. And about the Bitcoin standard. Yeah. So the Philippines, we're on an island called Barakay right now. And it's also known as Bitcoin island. So in El Salvador, they have Bitcoin beach. And in the Philippines, in this little island, it's called Bitcoin island. And they've onboarded about 260 merchants right now on the island, accepting Bitcoin. So it's pretty amazing, actually, yeah. What made you decide to move there from Canada? I know that you were really involved in in the meetups in Toronto, you helped out with the first Canadian Bitcoin conference. So what made you leave? You know, really, it's, um, the world is changing. And if you follow anything that's happening with Canada, it's pretty much run by like, a tyrant government right now. And we were personally affected with our jobs. And once that happened, I mean, I'm Generation X, so we don't trust in general, a lot of things. And when that happened to us at work, that was kind of the final tipping point for us. So we went out to the trucker convoy in Ottawa back in early 2022, just to support the whole trucker movement. And it was just a great experience, Natalie, so many great people we met, that we probably wouldn't have met, if that didn't happen. So it was kind of a blessing in disguise, although going through it at the time, obviously, it wasn't a lot of fun. So that was the tipping point for us, right. And then once we heard about Bitcoin island, and all the things they're doing, my wife is originally from there. So we just decided to make a move. So we're just out here right now, basically, on an open ticket, just exploring, having fun, contributing just from a sort of a grassroots level, trying to help out as much as we can with people who are interested in trying to help them out. So, you know, the Philippines remit, I think the fourth largest company that country, excuse me, that remits money back home. So this is just another way to basically help them do it at a cheaper, faster, more efficient rate. So we're just kind of doing our part, like I said, at the grassroots level. And, yeah, we're just gonna be out here and see how it goes and plan to stay for a while and help out as much as we can. Yeah, you know, I actually met a woman from the Philippines here in St. Louis, she's on a work visa. And she was mentioning to me how she sends money back home and the inflation that she's experienced in her country. And I was trying to tell her about Bitcoin, but you know, it's so hard. It's really hard to get people to understand and to trust it, since it's all digital. And a lot of people, when they look at this space from the outside, they feel like they could potentially lose their money. So there's that, you know, initial hurdle. But I want to ask you a little bit more about the Philippines. But first, you know, in terms of Canada and that trucker protest, I think that that was a huge orange pill moment for so many people, including even a presidential candidate here that we have, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., said that that's what made him realize that we really need Bitcoin and Bitcoin freedoms need to be protected. So, I mean, were you surprised that the government today in 20, well, it was 2022, I think at the time, but overreached in that way? And I know your family was personally affected. I mean, lost your jobs because of the decisions that you made. Did you think that that was possible in this day and age? I didn't really think it possible, but I did. If you look at the history of our current prime minister, I mean, his father was prime minister and it's sort of they're cut from the same cloth, right? So it's a good point you mentioned, Natalie, because there was a lot of money donated to the truckers via different methods. And the only method that wasn't confiscated was donations. Bitcoin So all the GoFundMe, all of the other avenues to help out the truckers, they got confiscated by the government, frozen bank accounts. I mean, Natalie, we were talking about single mothers donating 10 bucks, you know, just to help out the truckers getting confiscated. Meanwhile, we already know what's happening. Did you know people who had a and year seven months, eight months now, and people are still going to court for that and people are still trying to fight those in court? And it was really unfortunate. So circle back to your question, was I kind of surprised in this day and age? Not really, not from the current government in Canada, unfortunately. So it's just a really, really sad situation. But we're proud to be a part of the Trucker Convoy supporting. We were there for four or five days. We met some great folks who are still in touch with today.
Milk Crates and Turntables. A Music Discussion Podcast
A highlight from Time Travel to 1994: A Journey into the Music and Movies of that year.
"Well, here we are, episode 119. And on this episode, myself in the wrecking tube, Mark Smith and Lou Colicchio from the Music Relish Show. We'll be talking about the year 1994, in music and movies I think, it's always interesting. So sit back, relax, break out your flannel shirt, your grungy jeans, and enjoy 1994 music. It was an interesting year, so I think you'll enjoy it. More interesting than what Todd Zauchman thinks it is. He thinks it's nothing, so we'll see. The KLFB studio presents Milk Crate and Turntables, a music discussion podcast hosted by Scott McLean. Now, let's talk music, enjoy the show. Thank you, Amanda, for that wonderful introduction, as usual. Welcome back, my friends, to the show that never ends, and welcome to the podcast. You know the name, I'm not gonna say it. We're streaming live right now over Facebook, YouTube, Dlive, Twitch, and X, formerly known as Twitter, and I don't know how many other live platforms. Well, it's gonna be a good show tonight. It's gonna be an interesting show tonight. Yeah, 1994. As I said in the intro, my friend Todd Zauchman just absolutely sent me a text destroying the year 1994. Oh, I just looked up 1994, I don't know what you're gonna talk about, there's a few things and I don't know how you're gonna make a whole show out of it, and good luck with that, because that's how he talks. That's exactly how he talks. I'm just gonna do this, and you know, it's not gonna be a good, blah, blah, blah, blah. That's how he talks. Now, he'll deny that, and you'll never know if that's the way he talks or not. He'll just have to take my word for it. I'm Todd Zauchman, and I don't know about 1994. Well, enough about him. He'll probably be piping in pretty soon, but yeah, 1994, it's a good year. It was a good year for Mark Smith from the Music Rellers Show and Luke Colicchio from the Music Rellers Show. That's for damn sure. It was. What's up, gentlemen? It was a really good year. How you doing? I was just guessing. I figured for 94, listen, we were all younger, so it was better. It was a big year. Hey. So I have to stop right here. Dave Phillips, who's been watching the podcast from pretty much day one, Patty Yossi. Hi, Patty. Good evening. I love you. Dave Phillips, for the last couple of weeks, he's piped in at the end, and he's like, I missed it. Like something's changed. Ah, Tiffany Van Hill. That's my buddy. That's my buddy, Tiffany. She's one of the people that teaches me how to work with horses. Oh. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So. And she knows what she's talking about. She's modest, but she's very good at what she does. As are all of my friends and teachers, trainers, mentors from The Herd Foundation in Delray Beach, Florida. It's a nonprofit if you're in the mood to donate today. Look them up. Herd Foundation. Give us some money. Nah, I'm not going like that. No. No, we do. We help veterans. We help veterans, and so it's a good cause. But back to Tiffany. Yep. That's my buddy. Good evening. The Herd Foundation teaches us so much. That's right. That's right. Maybe I'll do a Herd Foundation podcast. You should. Since I'm pretty good at it. You're going to have horses on? What's the horse named after the cookie? Huh? Isn't there a horse named after a cookie? What are some of the horses' names? Oh, Fig Newton. Fig Newton. Yeah. Fig Newton. That's my boy. That's my boy. Good looking horse. Yes. Yes, he is. And we have Stitch. Fig Newton is a retired dressage horse, dancing horse, right? Echoes of Echo and the Bunny Men bring on the dancing horses. We have Stitch. He's a retired racehorse. We have Miss America. She's a retired jumper. Then we have two mini horses. We have Cinnamon. She was a cot horse. You know, pulls the kids around. As would be Sammy. Sammy's the one that looks like Kaja Gugu for you people from the 80s. Looks like Lamal. It looks like Lamal from Kaja Gugu. Gotta do. And he was saved from a kill pen. Yeah. But he's a mini, but he thinks he's a Clydesdale. What do they do with horses after that? Is that the proverbial glue factory? All right. You know what? Right away. Penalty box. Oh. He's raining on my parade. I'm in a good mood. Now I'm all bummed out. Thanks. You feel sad for the drummer now. This is going to be a horrible show now. Leave it to the drummer. Right, Mark? Leave it to the drummer. Get out. It's always the drummer's fault. That's right. See, Tiffany says, that does not exist past our gates, Lou. Because nobody wants to talk. Back to the penalty box. Great start to the show. Lou is just in a mood tonight. I think he's been hitting the whistle. What's going to happen? You're going to come back and it's going to be an empty chair. He's very ornery tonight. Right away. He's very ornery. All right. He's filling his oats, as they would say. Yeah. All right. Lou's back. I'm all right. I'm all right. Okay. Enough about horses, although I could now, at this point, talk about horses for two hours. I love it. I love it. But instead, gentlemen, first of all, how's things on the music relish show? You. Take it away, Lou. Sure. It's fine. It was such an awful show. I thought I said the wrong show for a second there. It's been nothing short of amazing. Don't jump over each other to answer that question. It's always fun. Last week was fun. We got knocked down a bit by Warner Brothers because we played a clip of an America song featuring Dan Peake. Yeah. You're going to watch that. Yeah. We talked through the whole thing, but Spotify is much cooler than YouTube. YouTube sucks like that. YouTube, they have a very strong algorithm. They can kiss my rosy red ass over that. That's right. You tell them, Lou. Fuckers. That's right. Get me kicked off YouTube. That's right. Let me see. John Morris, he was our shift commander. When I met him, I was, I think, a two striper, and he was what they called a butterbot. He was a second lieutenant, I believe. He said, tell them stories from the Nipah Hut in the Philippines. That's a big no. That's a whole other podcast, but they would never make it on the air. Just leave it at that. It's like a chain of Nipah Huts? No. It was a bar slash club called the Nipah Hut. Tell one story. No. They had a giant spaceship that would come down from the top. It's kind of like George Clinton in parliament. At the end of the show, this big spaceship came down from the top. Smoke. Like you said, parliament fucking pelican. Then the thing went open, and everyone would walk up and get up on stage, all those drunk GIs. Like, yeah, I'm going in the spaceship, and you go down these stairs, and you're in a fucking basement. I don't think it was a basement. It's like something from a fucking horror movie. How do you get out? And then somebody goes, this way, this way, go, go, go, go. That's the cleanest story I can tell you. It's the cleanest story I can tell you. Sounds like fun. It was a lot of fun. It was a lot of fun. I got a story for you off the air one of these days. So okay, music relish show's going good. Excellent. I just wanted to say, Lou brought up, he made the show. His segment on bad love songs. That will go down in history as some of the best podcasting ever. Bad love songs? Really bad love songs. The worst love songs of all time, like in rock. It's a deep vein. Is that something, is that like content I could probably like borrow with Perry Mind? Because I'd love to hear that list someday. We voted him off the board. We're no longer a false triumvirate democracy. Wait a minute. We toppled the AI monarchy. There's three of us on this one. Are you two going to overthrow me too? Are you like rebels? None of those stories you're told, no. They're wrecking too. Instead I'll start calling you the Sandinistas. The hostile takeovers. You go on podcasts just to take them over? Like Amiens took over the White House. Really, yeah. Yeah, we could do that. I would love to. Maybe next week we'll do, we'll take a break from the years and we'll do like a, kind of a jambalaya, you know, of stuff. Like throw some music news in there. We'll do some trivia. Maybe I'll come up with some questions for you guys. You could give us that deep vein of worst love songs ever. And it's funny, we noticed that several of them made everyone's list of worst love songs. So it's got to be universally bad. Okay. If everyone said that, that fucking song. Then there were a couple where I said I liked the song, but Lou and Perry were like, what? I'm always, you know, on the one side. Yeah, the one. When it falls into like that kind of metal, metal category, you have a soft spot. Air metal. Metal ballads. Oh my God. How I grew up. Yeah, yeah. As young as Ron Mark, you didn't have to deal with those 70s ones. Yeah, that's true. I did. This fucking guy. Blah. See what I mean? He's setting the bar high. Remember, this is how he talks. I don't think there's anything good about 1994. Blah. So he talks like Arnold Schwarzenegger. Yeah, well, an American Arnold Schwarzenegger. He talks like Arnold Schwarzenegger without the accent. We're going to pass the bar on this one. I am here. Let me see if you can entertain me. 1994. Blah. All right. So let's actually get right into 1994. Yeah. So we'll start on January 19th, 1994. Bryan Adams becomes the first major Western music star to perform in Vietnam since the end of the Vietnam War. Oh, shit. Bryan Adams. Bryan Adams, yeah. Wow. On January 21st to February, as it's spelled, the Big Day Out Festival takes place, again, expanding from those previous years. Blah, blah, blah. Auckland, New Zealand. The festival is headlined by Soundgarden, Ramones, and Bjork. Nice. That's an interesting... Probably each night there were headlines. I would love to see Bjork. Me too. I would never want to see the Ramones. They'll never get back together again. Unless they perform in the Pet Sematary. Yeah. Hey, Lou, can you put him in the green room? No, I'd like that one. That's a good one. Come on, there's a little crossover. Put him in the green room. Put him in the green room. Okay, yeah, yeah. Oh, it's going to be a long show. It's going to be a long one tonight. I feel better about myself now. Got a little redemption? The redemption song? Yes. I got a Buffett story for you. Oh, yeah? His one song was The Pirate Looks at 40. He would segue into Bob Marley's redemption song. Oh, jeez. And it didn't quite... Wait a minute. Buddy, that is the quickest way to get to the penalty box. I'm not playing it, though. I know you're not. You're poking the rhino right now. I'm a guitarist. You're poking the rhino right now. You're not a rhino, you're a nice guy. Come on, we went through that last week. And so, as I've been saying each week, I'm just going to say right now, where's Jack? Okay, and we'll move on from that. Hey, Jack. Hey, Jack, please come back. He didn't listen before, so I don't think he's listening now. Let's see. January 25th, Alice in Chains released their Jar of Flies album, which makes its U .S. chart debut at number one on the Billboard 200, becoming the first ever EP to do that. Right? But they still are always talked about as like number three or number four out of the big four. Big four being? Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden. And Alice in Chains. Alice in Chains is never getting that kind of... Whereas... That first album, the record company made them sound like another band. Yeah. And that's not their fault. They were produced that way. Dirt was a great album. Yes, yes. And Layne Staley was one of the greatest frontmen ever. Just as cool as the other side of the pillow, as they say. Yeah. voice Very unique also. Today we were talking about what we were going to talk about in the show. And he goes, when I saw the videos, he goes, I didn't match his face with the way he looked. Right? He said he was expecting like a grungy, more... No, he was slick. He was slick. In the Man in the Box video, he's got the kind of long... But then he changed it up. He slicked the hair back, he wore the shades, you know. Just turned into a... Suzanne McPhail. Another one of my horse people. She's the one that introduced me to that whole thing. And she said, who's Jack? That's right, I guess. At this point. On January 29th, The Supremes' Mary Wilson is injured when her Jeep hits a freeway median and flips over just outside of LA. Wilson's 14 -year -old son is killed in the accident. What a good day. Ah, this fucking... I saw this and I was like... Dead horses was a bummer. I know, I know. I saw this and I'm like, there's no way around this. February 1st, Green Day releases their breakthrough album, Dookie. Ushering in the mid -1990s punk revival. Dookie eventually achieves diamond certification. Now, I did like them back then. I actually did. I was stationed in Southern California in Riverside. And I decided to get like a side job. You know, I was in the Air Force. But I was like, I want to make a little more money. I want to do something. So I got a job at a record store. Cool. Was it Spencer's or something? Forget the name of it. Oh, Spencer's. They sold all the trinkets, too. No, no, it wasn't Spencer's then. It was something like that. It was a chain. Hot topic. They sold DVDs, too. FYE. No, it wasn't that. I'll remember it. I was working there when Dookie came out and the fucking whole wall was covered with Dookie CDs and they were flying off the shelves. It had a pretty fresh sound. It was fresh then. And coming off the 80s were kind of slick in a lot of ways, except for some of the real heavy alternative. But to hear a song like that on the radio, that was like hearing Smells Like Teen Spirit on mainstream rock radio. Good drummer, too. As a band, whether you like him or not, I think he's really good. Billy Joe Armstrong. Oh, Trey Cool. Trey Cool, yeah. February 7th, Blind Melons lead singer is Shannon Poon forced to leave the American Music Awards ceremony because he is loud and disruptive behavior. Poon is later charged with battery assault, resisting arrest, and destroying a police station telephone. Now, this is the dude that sang, you know, And I don't really care if I sleep all day And he's in the daisy field, so you think he's like this really, like, chill dude. And like, you know, me and the B -girl, man, you know. The B -girl, yes. And the tap -dancing B -girl, and like, I'm just this dude's a fucking lunatic. He was taking substances that made him. Oh, yeah. That was a short career. Was it him that did a duet with Guns N' Roses? What was the video, a song from Guns N' Roses with a video where they're up on like a water tower and they jump into the water or something. I forget what it was called. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe they did it with him.
The Bad Crypto Podcast
A highlight from Crypto Kingpins: The War Between SBF and CZ
"It's been almost one year since FTX collapsed and created a horrific ripple effect in the crypto industry. Sam Bankman -Fried and Chengpeng Zhao have become key players in this incident, and a new podcast goes behind the scenes to tell about exactly what took place. With SBF's trial ramping up as we speak, we're pleased to welcome Tom Wright, one of the creators of the new Crypto Kingpins podcast to the show, to share some insights. So let's go ahead and get into it today on our episode number 697 of the Bad Crypto Podcast. Five, four, three, two, one, go. Who's bad? Well, what do you know? Once again, it's the Bad Crypto Podcast, the show for the crypto curious and crypto serious. We had a week off because I was traveling en France, and was Travis keynoting at a crypto event in Manila. He was the thriller in Manila. And how was it, Trev? I tell you what, you know, I think I maybe made a quote of this before. Somebody said, go where you're celebrated, not where you're tolerated. And I do think in Puerto Rico sometimes it's like, you know, the natives tolerate, they don't really like the gringos, but they tolerate them. And then there's some people that'll throw hate. So, but in the Philippines, oh my God, they are so open and welcome and kind. And like, hello, sir, how can I help you, sir? Like just most lovable people, probably that I've ever encountered in the world. Thailand, the same, very nice people. Not a lot of crime in these places. I think maybe the Buddhist nature of that. And they're like, oh, you know, and it was so nice, very nice. And the keynote was great. They had me kick off the whole conference. So the founder came up, Dr. Donald Lin, he came up, did a little thing. And boom, then they had me kick off the keynote. And I think it was one of the better ones that I've done. I think it'll be up on YouTube here shortly and we'll share the link when that comes available. I had a few people come up and tell me it was one of the best keynotes they've ever seen. So I was like, ah, you've not seen very many keynotes. Perfect answer. Well, I'm sure you did a fantastic job and represented the Republic of Bad Cryptopia. So, you know, it's hard to believe that it's been a year since the dominoes started falling. You know, Luna was first, then FTX and Three Arrows, and then Celsius. And it's just been, it's gonna be a bear market anyway, but boy, the downward pressure exerted by these, you know, horrible black swan incidents have made it a really, really bad bear market. And of course, we've been here with you guys throughout it all. We've not abandoned you. We've not turned into bears. It was like a kick to the ass, a nudge, an elbow to your face, and then a kick to the crotch. And here we are. And the bear markets can be - Here we are. Here we go, sweetie. It was fun, fun times. Crypto goes up, crypto goes down. Or as our next guest would say, number go up. You mentioned that book right there. So we're gonna have a great conversation here with maybe my long lost relative, Tom Wright, who's been doing, who's an investigative journalist, gonna talk about what happened with FTX and SBF and CZ. And he's got his own podcast around that, multiple topics or multiple episodes. So you're gonna want to tune in. This is a pretty good interview, Mr. Joel Kopp. I think so. Let's let the people decide as they listen now. Unless you're living under a rock, you have heard the names Sam Bankman -Fried and Chengpeng Zhao, or CZ, of Binance. And you've heard about the fall of FTX. Well, Sam Bankman -Fried's big trial for basically making off with countless billions of dollars is coming up shortly. Scam bank man fraud, right? That's the guy. We have a guy with us today who is the co -founder of Project Brazen, a journalism -focused content studio. He's a New York Times bestselling author and Pulitzer finalist. And his name is quite similar to Travis Wright's. His name is Tom Wright. We're talking, it's two T Wright's here today. There's two TWs here today. And Tom, welcome to the Bad Crypto Podcast. Thanks for having me on. Yeah, tell us, just kind of give us a little more meat on the bones of your background and how that led you to this new podcast called Crypto Kingpins. Well, I was at the Wall Street Journal for about 20 years, Dow Jones and the Wall Street Journal in 2019 after writing a book called Billion Dollar Whale, which is about the one MDB scandal. That's the scandal where a bunch of money was taken out of a sovereign wealth fund in Asia and used to make films like The Wolf of Wall Street and for all these guys to party on this fraudster Joe Lowe's tab. Clearly people like Paris Hilton and big actors, Leonardo DiCaprio and others. And then the guy who I wrote the book with, Bradley Hope and I quit the journal and set up this company Project Brazen. And what we do is we make podcasts and we also write magazine articles and other things, books as well, that we use as the basis for adaptation into TV and film. So that's Project Brazen, that's a business. And our latest podcast is Crypto Kingpins, which we've done in conjunction with USG Audio, which is Universal's audio. And that just started rolling out last week and the episodes are running weekly on Tuesdays. And it's about the huge rivalry between Changpeng Zhao, who you mentioned of Binance, and Sam Bankman -Fried of FTX and how that rivalry played out and how it led to the downfall of SPF. And we went based on exclusive access to CZ himself. There was some interesting stuff that was going down with that. A lot of personality clashes and then just like, oh, CZ is gonna come in and save the day. Oh no, he's not. Because it looked like he got some, he was feeling the heebie jeebies. He was looking at some stuff and going, whoa, we better get rid of all of my FTT because this ain't working. And so this is great. We're talking about some of the big crypto frauds, right? That's what you've done. You know, actually, since Joel and I have not done this show as regularly here in the last couple of weeks because of travel, a documentary just came out about Ruja Igniktova called The Crypto Queen on 2BTV and I was in there talking about that. So I'm featured on that. So it's like, it seems like there's a lot of stuff going on right now and I'll put that in the show notes if you guys wanna watch The Crypto Queen documentary. But this is fascinating. There's so many bad actors in crypto. Hopefully we can get past this and only the good people remain in crypto. The fraudsters are kicked out. Hopefully all the good people haven't left and are chasing dreams in AI now. So hopefully there's still some good foundations here in the crypto space. Well, we got into this podcast because I'm based here in Singapore and for a long time, CZ was based here. And what he was hoping to do was get a license from the Singapore government. I mean, a lot of people were here. Do Kwan of Terra Luna was here. Carl Davis was here. The Three Arrows guys were here. Their yacht Much Wow that they bought, I think was supposed to be in the marina here but never made it, as you said. A lot of people getting washed out of the system. But anyway, I got to know CZ because he was living down in this area called Sentosa Cove which is a lot like Miami. You know, it's big mansions with a marina. And at that time, now what a lot of people do know about is what happened last November, which you just alluded to, which is when CZ decided to sell his tokens and that caused a world of pain for Sam Bagman Frieden FTX, right? But what people don't really understand is the degree to which CZ and SPF had interacted over time. People know that the Binance was one of the big first investors in FTX back in the early days. They took a 25 million stake for 20 % of FTX. But Sam really looked up to CZ. Obviously CZ and Binance go back to 2017 and Sam didn't set up FTX until a couple years later. And we show in the podcast how CZ first met Sam when Sam invited him to this party in an aquarium in Singapore in 2019. And he was just a trader, one of many traders. I don't think he was a VIP trader, but just a trader nonetheless on Binance. And so that's really when the story begins and that's how we start the podcast by showing that relationship and how it evolves and then all of the stuff in between that initial meeting and then what happened last November, which was what we call the kill shot. So he kind of went from being a trader to becoming a traitor. We're gonna talk about some of that political stuff that he did down the road, which was really crazy. It's like you look at some of this stuff, Joel, and I go, man, anybody else was doing some of this stuff where they hadn't have donated so much money to the political parties? There's no way that you get taken out of a Bahamas prison and then immediately brought to America and then released on a first class flight to fly back home to go be with your mommy and daddy if you've done this amount of fraud. So there's so many different nuances to this story. I can't wait to get into this with you. Well, the most amazing thing about that is he was released on a $250 million bail, which was I think the biggest ever bail in American pretrial history. But was it really? It wasn't really like they didn't actually pay that. No, their house is not worth $250 million. I didn't quite understand that it was backed by their house, but that was the, I think they judged him a very low flight risk based on how recognizable he is. Yeah, did they think that house would be a collector's item someday or something? With a future value of this home, yeah, that's crazy. So do this for us. When everything went down, kind of set the stage for what happened that day when this story broke. How much money were we actually talking about? How many people were impacted? And just how far did the ripples extend? Well, I think it's November the 2nd is when this CoinDesk article comes out, which basically says, look, the Alameda, which was Sam's hedge fund, FTX's hedge fund, its financial situation isn't all that it looks like because somebody inside the company leaked these documents to CoinDesk. And they showed that they were heavily reliant on FTT tokens, which were basically a cryptocurrency that Sam had made up and bought himself to prop up the value. And then if you took those out, they were about almost a half of the total assets of the hedge fund. And so at that point, CZ is pacing in his penthouse in Dubai where he left Singapore where I got to know him and he moved to Dubai.
Op Persoonlijke Titel
A highlight from Caroline van der Plas
"Up, person de ketitel, a respect van vlees en bloot, for the keike die we luestern, and the luesterer die go keiken. Keike and luestern are... Caroline, van der Plas, welcome! Thank you! Eindeke eef rist? Euhm, neewen ik sie tom ik jou. Haha, there you are. Dit is heedleker eef een sprekjeso. Ja. Euhm. Euhm, dit is heedleker eef een sprekjeso. Euhm, neewen ik sie tom ik jou. Haha. Euhm, neewen ik sie tom ik jou. Haha. That doesn't happen all the time, but we do our best for it. That's a lot of work to do. So, since the general over -winning, with the rules... ...a club in the Netherlands... ...is it enough? No. No, the over -winning of 15 months... ...that took all the provinces together... ...and the United States... ...the formation of the colleges of the United States... ...the first came, and we said no. It was a long day for now. All uni, all cities and states... ...and all cities together... ...took a lot of time... ...and we came together in the same way. That's right. And Caroline for the Plus is the overall winner. Yes. You come to the overall table. So sick. Yes, yes, sicker. So we're going to take five or six years of Israel... ...in a module. Yes, clubs. What do you need? What do you need? Now, I have a lot of work to do. I work here, naturally... ...and a lot of work by income citizens... ...because, yes, I don't belong here. I come with my parents... ...and I also like to see that I'm still living here. I have a lot of work to do. Of course, Israel has a lot of work... ...by the opening of MBO here... ...and they say to me... ...you don't have time for that... ...but I'm still living here. I'm still living here. That's why I have a lot of work to do. It's a lot of work for people... ...a lot of work for people. I have a lot of input, so... ...yes, I still have a lot of work to do... ...with my kids. Well, that's it. We're really looking forward to it. You're a journalist. Yes. Are you more? No. I'm not more. No, you're not. You're more of a journalist... ...than a journalist. Yes. Who is more of a journalist than you? Yes, my father. My father was a journalist... ...a sports journalist... ...by David Dagblad... ...and, yes, at the same time... ...I also worked with a lot of sports... ...and so on... ...and I found out... ...that I really liked what he did... ...and that I really liked the Redaxi. What kind of sport was that? I've played a lot of amateur football... ...a lot of times in David... ...and I also played with the Eagles... ...because I think it's the most important thing... ...to be able to drive a motorcycle... ...and to be able to drive the Redaxi... ...and, yes, it's a little... ...but I also really liked the Redaxi... ...and I found out that I really liked... ...a lot of people... ...with a lot of spinners... ...and what -not... ...and coffee halls... ...for the journalists... ...and so on. I also liked the chocolate milk... ...because I thought... ...that I would also be able to help... ...with the KISS Rave. And so on... ...I really liked it. So it's a lot of fun. So it's not so much the journalistic... ...in the interest of where I'm going. No, my father gave me that offer. And he said... ...that you can't do anything... ...and you're not going to do anything... ...and you're not going to do anything... ...and you can't do anything else... ...and you have to pay for it. So it's a lot of the Redaxi work... ...and then the work comes up. So we all have to do something else. And... ...no, that's what I just said. Yeah. The question of whether or not... ...you're going to stick to it... ...can I ask? Yeah, yeah. No, yeah. I'm going to ask you to do something else. And say... ...you're not going to do anything else. No, no, no. I don't know if you know... ...the journalists... ...or the younger generation... ...with which I contacted China. I don't want to get into a Gladiator List... ...but I think it's also a big part of the younger generation. You know, younger generation always SCREAMS... ...about whether you're going to talk about their kind and... ... Their own states and things like that. So we can really talk about younger generations... ...who are going to talk about their own state. I always think that the criticism... ...and everyday else is applied to younger generations... ...so sometimes we think of younger generations as Russian... ...as being assume that it's not just you. We have had insane fish. They don't mind that that's not the best. We can do it without drugs. But we still have to find a way to double this on paper instantly In the mayoralpanels. Can you repeat the question in my context? Yeah well, our publictime support goes back to the start of the setup of the FC times, and to prevent so many types of emergencies. it works .pparang The pattern will break, in the states too fast. This will be ideal cherry grass, but that has to be done spiritually. They are very special for the society. This thing isDexter from the point of view of thephone. What about the speaker? There are several questions that you can answer. At least for a Rocky Buss. It's not that it's a big name, it's just a realistic name. But that's what we're talking about. Maybe if we're talking about problems? Yes. What do you think about that? I think that I'm 33 years old now. Yes, I'm not, but I'm an adult now. Yes, you are. Yes, I know, but... You don't have anything else to say? No, no, my ears are not really working. No, I don't have anything else to say. I'm not sure, but I'm not sure. But it was more that we were actually not really talking about the fact that we were talking about the fact that we were talking about the fact that this restaurant, the cafe, which is called Dina Weis, was a place that was closed for the first time. It was closed for the first time. And now that it's closed, the cafe is still closed, so it's hard to say. And you're from Bine, too? Yes, that was for him a question that is not working. There is no real time for it. No. There comes, well, a normal work up your ass. Yeah. And what you can do is take a stand from a bisturier to an angst for a new party. Yeah. The ground is open. Each year, at least, there's a tour back of the Bible, and stuff like that, so there's no real time for it. There is no real time for this party. It's open. So, it's a bisturier with the hand behind it. And that's what, what's the name of Caroline's bisturier? Her lance bisturier, that's what you're talking about. Yeah. No, it's a bisturier, but I think that we're seeing that we're already open to it. We're always open to it, that we're always looking at it, and that's what's next. And, of course, it's been a long time. And that's what we're seeing is the need for employees. And we're seeing employees that are always looking for a new job, a new job, a new job, a new job, So we're not too far away. So, we're not too far away. So, we're finally in the middle of the day. And, of course, we're having a good time with the candidates. We're having a lot of fun. We'll be doing some work with the candidates, we'll be doing some good things, and we'll be doing some good things. And we'll have a tour where we'll be able to get to know the candidates. So, yeah. Yeah, I think that I think that yeah, what is it? I think that it's a very important thing for the candidates. Because I see it on the wall. I'm not a fan of the wall. Yeah. I think that I think that we're not going to be able to do anything or do anything. Or, I guess so. But, what's your job for your audience? What's your job for your kids? Well, for my first job, I was really lucky. I thought I had a job, of course, and I thought I was very lucky. But I thought that it would be nice for my audience to be able to do something. And it would be nice to be able to do something if it were honest, if it were a technique, or something for my audience. What was it? Yeah, I think I was in the middle of the class. I was 13, 12, 13 years old. I was in the middle of the class. I was 13, 12, 13 years old. When I was really lucky. I didn't have any other things to do. I didn't go to school or other things to do. So, that was my thing. But, I did it. I got to have my own thing. And I was interested in it. I wasn't interested in it. I wasn't interested in it. I was very interested in music, pop stars, French, that kind of thing. So, what kind of music were you interested in? Aspen, ballet, and The Renderer, Ultra Fox, U2. That was the biggest thing. Were you interested in music? Yeah, I wasn't interested in music. I was interested in Spotify, so I wasn't interested in music. I thought, oh yeah, you can't do anything amazing. You have to do things in your head. You have to do everything amazing. Yeah, that's the thing. That's the thing that you have to do in your head. Yeah. on the other hand, you have to do things intuitively. Yeah. And that's another thing in politics. Yeah. No, I have a lot of things that in my head are the biggest things that the United States was in. The United States was free and I wasn't interested in music. I wasn't interested in music at all. I was interested in music. But I didn't have the best set of shows. I had a lot of things that I had done that the United States was free. I was not interested in music. It was good. Good. It was It was good. I was music. It was good. I didn't set of shows. The United States was free. The father was free. Man was free. The author was free. Most of the were free. In fact after that I was excited about my would you be more clear with the history of the place, the land and the state? Yes, I was at my base, but in the period before I came, I was in overland. My father was there in 2013, overland. So he didn't have much money. But my brother, my mom and my friend Henk, they visited as well. And they told me to come back. I was there in 2013, and I was there in 2013, and I was there in 2013. So I was there in 2013, and I was there in 2013. But I was there in 2013, and I was there in 2013. And they had a great experience. They came up with this idea of the Great Lakes. So, yeah. But who is that in the region that believes everything about it? And is there no state for it? Yes, then you have to think about what I'm talking about. Yes. Yes, it's a little different. If a person lives, has a loss of the right to be part of it, they have to go back home with a little bit of a miss. There's also the period that you're sick. It's going to be very difficult. Is it going to be very difficult? No, it's not. I think it's going to be very difficult. But, yeah, overland. In a health care process, I can take care of it. Yes, I think it will have a lot of impact on my health. I think that, with a lot of people, it's difficult to get enough of it. You have to take care of it. You have to take care of it. It's a little bit difficult to get enough of it. But if you see that you have a lot of pain and loss of health, that is a lot harder. That is not a good idea. That I think is a little bit hard. have That you a lot of pain and loss of health. That you don't have a lot of pain, that you're sick. And that's what I really want to hear, from the fact that it's over -layed, that it's all over the place. Is it a sort of good off -site? That you have a lot of pain? Yes, for sure. That's what I wanted to hear. A hundred percent. Overall, it's what I want to hear. That's what I want to hear. If someone has a heart attack and is sick, then they don't have the person who is sick. But you have to take care of it. That's what I want. That's what I want to hear. That's what I want to hear. And if they do that, then they will have a lot of pain. And that's what I want to hear. A lot of things can be explained. And it's sort of off -site, in the sense of, no, we don't have a lot of pain. We don't have a lot of pain. So that's a big deal. Yes, that's a big deal. A big deal. A lot of people do that. And that's a big deal. For someone who has a lot of pain, that they don't have a lot of pain. But I really want to hear it. And that's what I really want to hear. It's a very important moment that you have met Okaa. And you have to think about what it can mean in one day. And you have to work with it. You have to work with it. So you can take care of it. All of that will happen. You have to work with Okaa. And if it works, then it's not going to work. And that really is a real fact. It's not going to work. It's not going to work. So it's an important moment. Our lives and our practices will work together. So if you have a partner, or maybe even a partner, you have to think about it. If it doesn't work, it's not going to work. And realize that people don't have a lot of pain. No, they can't. No. And you don't have a lot of pain. Yes. You have to have a lot of pain. No, no. A lot. A lot of pain. A lot of pain. A lot of pain. Yes. Yes. No, but I've been very much involved in my family. My direct family. My sons. My mother. My brother. My life. That I really feel very good. That it's going to work. In the end, it's a very difficult thing to do. And how I want to do it. Is the state of your life, well, on your own right. Or on your own right. But if my own right is there, well, on your own right. That's it. I find it very difficult. That you have to be good at your own right. And after all, especially from my mother, my friend, my kids, have you ever felt yourself? Yes, it's a good thing. It's a good thing for me. It's a good thing that I'm on the court. I'm in a burnout. That I overcome my own right. That's what I'm talking about. Yes, I know. I'm a good man. I don't want to sit in the bibber as a rich guy at the bank. But if I'm going to be able to do it, it's a good thing. I'm a little bit of a man, but I'm a good man. If I can do it myself, I can do it myself. It's a good thing that my son can do it himself. I'm a big man. I'm a little bit of a man. I'm good at my own right. And I find it very difficult. I find it very difficult for people to do it myself. Yes, because you go to the middle, you have a hope in Bangladesh for a lot of people who are living in the States. That's a political point. But, it's a very big challenge for people to be in the States and be able to do it. And for people to be in the States, I think it belongs to you. Yes, it does. Yes, I think... ...you feel bad in your life, or have bad in your life, then... ...it's as if you make a thing out of it, that you think... ...is it really a bad thing, or is it a drug? And I think, no, it's totally not a bad thing. The people in my life are like a group. I have other things to do. That's why I think it belongs to you. But that's what's wrong, I think. I have a lot of talk about what the ungriving of my fund is... ...but now it's more about my base. My father was a journalist. He was a doctor. My mother was a reporter. She was a reporter. A CDR. A CDR, yes. You can't blame it. You can't blame it, then. No, yes, yes. I feel that it's really a bad thing. And we can work together. We can work together. But that's not the case. No, it's not that. I think it's a drug. I think it's a drug... ...to realize that people... ...who have a letter on their hands... ...have to pay for it. I think it's a bad thing. So I don't think it's a drug. There's no social media. But I think it's a bad thing. I'm a bit scared. But we don't have that. I think it's a bad thing. Yes, it's a bad thing. It's what you're saying. Yes, it's true. It's true. But it's true here. It's true. It's true. Like Savannah was talking about. Or like a little girl. I think it's a bad thing. I think it's a bad thing. I think it's a bad thing. And then there's politics. And then there's politics. I don't think it's a bad thing. But I'm aware of politics. That's what I'm talking about. People are asking for money and money. And that's what's coming out. Irish blood. Yes, I think it's a bad thing. Yes, yes. Is that a thing you're talking about? That you're not talking about Irish blood? In my personal life? Yes, of course. We have a lot of Irish blood. We have a lot of Dutch families. But I also have a lot of Irish families. And they say that I'm poor. But when they say that I'm poor, they say that I have a lot of other problems. In family, my my mother used to say that she had children. She used to work in a mail factory. She had a lot of children. And she had children. She was very poor. So she was very poor. But it was all right. It was all right. It was all right. Everyone was welcome. It was in the eyes of nature. She was very poor. She was very poor. She was the oldest. She was very poor. But she was very poor. That's what she thought. She was poor. And she was very poor. She was only eight years old. And she wasn't very old. She had two brothers of the Philippines. But she was very poor. And she was very poor. She was young. And she was very poor. She was straight and had a coma. And that was what she knew. She had three children. She was very poor. And she was very ill, she had a lot of children. Yes, she was very ill. No, she was very poor. She was a child. And in Limerick, she used to think that I that think the state of life, there is a state of life all over the world. The state of life in the middle of the channel. It's a big part of the roadblocks. It's a big part of the society with meteors. And that's why it's so much more controlled. And not only that, but also the IRAs. They were based on the boomers. And as we know, a boomers was created. There were a lot of strangers and strackers. That was a period when a lot of people... Yeah, a lot of people were in the Republic of Ireland.
CoinDesk Podcast Network
A highlight from UNCHAINED: Jeremy Allaire on Circle's Multi-Decade Strategy and Where Stablecoin Regulation Is Headed
"Hi everyone, welcome to Unchained, your no -hype resource for all things crypto. I'm your host, Laura Shin, author of The Cryptopians. I started covering crypto eight years ago and as a senior editor of Forbes was the first mainstream media reporter to cover cryptocurrency full -time. This is the September 12th, 2023 episode of Unchained. The game has changed. The Google Cloud Oracle built for Layer 0 is now securing every Layer 0 message by default. Their custom end -to -end solution sets itself up to bring its world -class security to Web 3 and establish itself as the HTTPS within Layer 0 messaging. Visit layer0 .network to learn more. Arbitrum's leading Layer 2 scaling solutions can provide you with lightning -fast transactions at a fraction of the cost, all while ensuring security rooted on Ethereum. Arbitrum's newest addition, Orbit, enables you to build your own tailor -made Layer 3. Visit arbitrum .io today. Toku makes implementing global token compensation and incentive awards simple. With Toku, you get unmatched legal and tax tech support to grant and administer your global team's tokens. Make it simple today with Toku. Buy, trade, and spend crypto on the Crypto .com app. New users can enjoy zero credit card fees on crypto purchases in the first seven days. Download the Crypto .com app and get $25 with the code LAURA. Link in the description. Today's guest is Jeremy Allaire, co -founder, chairman, and CEO of Circle. Welcome, Jeremy. Thank you, Laura. It's really great to be back on the show and see you. Thanks for having me. Yeah, it's been a while, you know, out of any desire to not talk to you, because Circle has been making waves, and one of the most recent bits of news is that you've dissolved the center consortium that was managing the development of USDC, and Coinbase now has taken a stake in Circle. What was the impetus behind these moves? Yeah, it's really exciting. I mean, there are a few pieces to this. I think the first is, you know, if you go back a number of years, you know, we sort of invented USDC and kind of debuted it to the world, you know, just over five years ago. And, you know, when we created USDC, you know, we had a vision for like what a protocol could be for fiat tokens is what we called them. They weren't called stable coins really broadly then, but some people did. But that could work, you know, on blockchains and that you could build something that would allow for a kind of interoperable value exchange, you know, built on these open networks. And so we had a big set of ideas, and we really thought about these kinds of protocols as things that would benefit from sort of having standards around them. And it was really important to us when we got started that we could kind of develop those standards together with other industry leaders and kind of have, you know, a sort of shared stake in the success of a protocol like USDC. And so we were very fortunate in 2018 to forge a partnership with Coinbase. It was a really important strategic partnership for both firms to drive USDC in the market. And as part of that, you know, Circle was sort of issuing USDC, it was sort of were the electronic regulated money transmission firm and issuing it. But we had a lot of ideas for how that could evolve over time. But also, most importantly, while there were regulations around like what money transmission was and how a firm like Circle needed to operate, there were a lot of things about stable coins in particular that, you know, there weren't really regulations around like how to hold the reserves, how to manage the security of the network itself. You know, all these kind of governance issues in a sense that were needed and how to deal with, you know, law enforcement interactions and other things. And so we created Center Consortium with this idea of kind of creating self -governance around a stable coin and published more and more of the policies of that and so on. Now, what's happened in five years, a lot of things have happened. And so one is, you know, USDC went from nothing to being one of the most important digital currencies and digital assets in the world today. It went from, you know, very small to being, you know, a billion dollar plus, you know, revenue stream business today. But also most critically is, you know, really starting a few years ago, governments sort of said, well, we're actually going to govern this. We see stable coins as part of what I refer to as the prudential regulatory framework, meaning the regulatory framework that the central banks and the major regulators of payment systems wanted to have rules around. And that was really key. And so kind of coming back to the heart of your question, which is as governance goes from kind of a self -governance model to a government governance model, the kind of nature of this changed. And so, you know, working together with Coinbase, we looked at, you know, how do we, you know, how do we make sure that Circle can continue to build and innovate and do what we need to do as the issuer and operator of this and do it in a way that is responsive to the regulations that are emerging all around the world on stable coins and stable coin issuers and make sure we can follow those guidelines now that there are rules that are kind of out there and also, you know, have really continued to have really strong aligned economic incentives to make this as widely successful as possible. And so a mixture of things there in terms of them taking a stake in Circle, Circle kind of taking full on ownership over all of the development operations of USDC, but also making sure that this can work in the context of all these new stable coin laws that are popping up around the world. Yeah, you know, it's funny because when I saw the news, it sort of felt like the consortia model was sort of the crypto way of doing things, and that was appropriate for a time when, yeah, USDC was smaller. This was something that was really kind of more focused on the crypto community. But of course, now the conversation has just changed so much and we have like regulators and lawmakers that are really looking at this space, you know, there's probably going to be legislation about it. And so, you know, it felt like, oh, they're moving to a model that can fit into existing regulations. Yeah, big time. Yeah, I mean, something else that was interesting, which I'm sure you saw, is that the news of this arrangement caused some speculation that Circle was setting itself up to be acquired by Coinbase. And I was wondering, as the CEO of Circle, which direction are you working toward when you're steering Circle to going public or to an acquisition by another company such as Coinbase? Right. We're definitely on the path to be an independent public company. We've had the benefit of having a number of strategic investors in the company over the years. You know, more recently, BlackRock took a minority stake in the company as part of a broader strategic partnership between the firms that was last year. Having a stake in a company can create really good product and value alignment, and that's really key. And it's important. I want to make sure that, you know, Coinbase has a stake in our long -term success in addition to being able to make money from USDC. I think that's like a win -win, but, you know, as a company, just to be clear, like it's our 10 -year anniversary. So, you know, it's a fun year for us. Congratulations. Thank you. And I say this often, but, you know, when we founded the company 10 years ago, you know, I made it very clear to my investors and employees that, you know, this is a multi -decade journey to really realize the vision of the company. And, you know, when you think about kind of where we are today, right, there's whatever, a hundred and some billion stablecoins in circulation. You know, yes, there's a lot of volume of transactions that are happening, but this is like barely begun to penetrate the financial system. And so there's just an enormous amount ahead and a general purpose, you know, protocol and utility for dollars on the internet, there's an enormous market to go after there, not just for the movement of money, but actually just having money represented and stored in this kind of form, you know, there's $25 trillion of electronic dollars in the world across the different kind of formats of that. And so we're really quite small. So, and frankly, like the utility of programmable money and the utility of a frictionless medium of exchange that becomes possible like this, we're like just beginning to see the value of that. And so, like, I would just say for everyone out there, like Circle still, even though we're doing a lot of revenue and very profitable, we're an early stage company, as far as I'm concerned. I view Circle as an early stage company right now. When I think about what I'm trying to do and what we're trying to build, it's a multi -decade kind of strategy and I'm excited to see that through and really to do that as a, you know, I hope a very strong, independent, publicly traded company. Well, one of the steps that's definitely going to take you out of the early stage development is that you recently announced that the largest e -commerce and payments firm in Latin America, Mercado Libre, announced that it's going to adopt USDC. So tell us a little bit about that partnership and what impact do you think it'll have on Circle? Yeah, I mean, it's very exciting. It's a tremendous firm that has paved the way for kind of modern commerce and they play a really big role in payments as well in Latin America. And it's part of a broader theme that we're seeing around the growth in sort of demand for digital dollars and demand for using those in markets where maybe local currencies aren't as exciting. And Latin America is definitely one of those places. But I think very specifically, you know, the first phases of this are going live, you know, in specific countries in Latin America. You know, ultimately, we envision that this will be very broadly rolled out. But I think it's important as we look at sort of indicators of where we are in the adoption of stablecoins, that this is going from, oh, this is just used as something to trade on DeFi or this is just, you know, used for arbitrage traders or whatever, you know, to... Speculation. Yeah. Speculation to... This is something that is fundamentally providing, you know, dollar store of value to people who need it, providing a very efficient cross -border payment mechanism for people who need it. And these are major mainstream companies that serve hundreds of millions of users. So, you know, Mercado Libre has, I believe, around 200 million customers. And that's tremendous. And so we think about, you know, how do we grow the TAM of wallets that can transact in USDC? And you know, Coinbase has over 100 million wallets that can transact in USDC. These kinds of partnerships really grow that. And there are many, many, you know, wallets that people use. I think MetaMask has 30 million active users and they can all transact in USDC. And so as we see more and more wallets, these traditional, you know, kind of fintech commerce firms, digital wallets companies, and then all the new people building, you know, the next account abstraction, smart account wallet that's going to be the killer app for making all this usable. Like as those things get built, it just creates more and more avenues for people to use USDC. And I want to talk about those tech developments, but before we move on, I just wanted to ask for the Mercado Libre. So obviously, like, let's say I'm in Chile and I, you know, I'm going to buy something on Mercado Libre. It would show me the Chilean peso price. But then in addition, would it have this price in USDC or is because like, is the consumer also recognizing that their price could be denominated in dollars? Is that how that will work? I don't actually have the like the details of the user experience exactly how that is set up in front of me. What I do know is that they have a lot of demand from their customers to hold and transact in dollars. And so this is really a really powerful way to move more of the store of value that exists for their customers into digital dollars. And then obviously, once you have those, the usefulness of them both within their own platform but the power of all this and the reason why stablecoins are interesting in some ways in the first place and USDC specifically is because of the reach, because of the interoperability. Like I want to I want to live in a world where I've got a digital wallet and I'm in the Philippines and I know someone in Brazil and I know someone wherever and like that's power of crypto, right? Open networks that you can transact over directly, peer to peer, interoperably, I mean, that's really the power. And so, you know, kind of, you know, I think that's ultimately the big unlock that comes from a partnership with Circle like this. And you've tweeted that 70 percent of USDC usage is from out of the US. Is it is that one of the drivers that people simply want to keep their savings in US dollar denominated currency or, you know, what's driving that? Yeah, well, it's a few things. I think the first is just the whole blockchain ecosystem, if you think about it, is highly global. Right. We know this just in general, just like there's just huge amounts of the activity are in markets all over the world. And so to the degree that you need, you know, a trusted redeemable digital dollar, right, USDC is a great option. And so it sort of follows the overall growth of that of that international market as well. However, we've absolutely seen a major uptick in basically that demand for either store of value in dollars. And we've seen that in particular come from emerging markets. And so we've seen growth in emerging markets, Latin America, Africa, Southeast Asia, other places like this, where we've seen we're seeing just so many startups that are launching things and building partnerships with those major companies, major global companies as well that are actually embracing this as a way to settle transactions. That international dimension is very powerful, and I expect that to continue to be the case. And this, you know, I'm sure we'll get to this in the conversation, but this ties into like, why should the US government care about dollar stablecoins? Well, it turns out that it makes digital dollars a powerful export product of the United States that it enhances the soft power of the country and reinforces the economic interests of households, firms, and the government itself. And so there's a strategic alignment of interests between, you know, the proliferation of dollar stablecoins, especially ones that are well -regulated and really trying to follow the law and supervise and national economic interests and foreign policy interests as well, which is, you know, for some, you know, controversial, but it is it is a fact.
The Aloönæ Show
A highlight from S13 E07: Sardor's Journey and Jafton.com Excellence
"Hello, welcome to The Loney Show. I'm your host, John Mayolone. In this episode, don't have regulars because reasons as always, sadly. As for our guest, he's from Tashkent, Uzbekistan, currently in Miami, Florida. He's a serial tech entrepreneur and a public speaker, currently holding a position as a CRO and managing partner at Jaffton .com. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Sodor Akhmedov. Hey Peter, thanks for having me on. Anytime. So, how's life? It's great, yeah. Super, super good. Very grateful to be where I'm at right now with everything both professional and personal life, so can't be happier. Alright, fabulous. And have you been up too much recently? Up too much? Yeah, I mean, meaning like what I'm up to these days? Yes, what are you doing right now? What am I doing right now? Yeah, a lot of things. So mainly work -wise, busy with currently scaling our sales, hiring more people for our agency and making sure that every lead that we get is being serviced properly. That's my main thing right now outside of that, running a weekly AI event, networking, helping others find a community, building a community, all the AI enthusiasts and professionals here in South Florida. And yeah, that's mainly what I'm doing right now. Alright, fabulous. And what was life like growing up? What was life like growing up? So I grew up in Uzbekistan. I came here to the US when I was 16, nine years ago, and I've been a student here in a couple of years and then I dropped out. I went into work here, but I grew up in Uzbekistan and it was a good life. I mean, I've been fortunate to have great parents that gave me good education, gave me a set up for life type of thing. And yeah, it was a good childhood. Well, that's nice. And in terms of your journey, what inspired you to take the path that you're currently on right now? So yeah, to me, I'm in business, I'm in technology, both of these things. I think, first of all, the entrepreneurship, the business route, to me, that was more inspired by my father who is also in business. He's a businessman himself and I think his journey inspired me to do the same because I always wanted to be like my dad. I really wanted his attention and I looked up at him and I think I chose entrepreneurship as my path because for as long as I remember myself, I've always wanted to be an entrepreneur. And as far as technology, I think it was more of a thing that when I was growing up, it was the time of the rise of personal computers and internet in our country. So it was a very limited throughout access the country to internet and technology. So I really liked spending time on a computer playing video games, but I had a very limited access because my parents never got me a computer thinking it's not good for your health. So I think that kind of kicked me and pushed me to be passionate about technology. So those are the two, I think, reasons that inspired me to find my passion and stick to it unconsciously at that time. And now I think it's actually been a gift to me. Fantastic. And have you ever thought about going back to Uzbekistan and do business there at some point? In a way, yes. I mean, not necessarily doing business there. I mean, currently my business is also involved with Uzbekistan in a way that our current employees and developers are mainly in Uzbekistan. So even though we don't sell to Uzbekistan, we source talent from there. So definitely, I would say, legally also, we have a company there registered. So yeah, I definitely have like a business there, but it's not necessarily selling to Uzbekistan, but it's more like exporting Uzbekistan's talent. Oh, okay. I can see that. So if you could live like anywhere in the world, where would it be? At the current moment, it'd probably be the same place where I'm at right now. If we're not talking any fiction, if we're talking fictional places included, then I'd probably say New York City, but with a combination of Miami weather. Alright then. If you were to start another business, what kind of business would that be? It'd probably be, at first, also an agency, similar to the business I have right now, but maybe more specialized in a different type of development. Or it would probably be like a marketing agency. That's second option. But honestly, it's hard for me to imagine like what I would start right now, because I'm so deeply ingrained within this current business. There are certain areas that I'm passionate about that I would want to go long term in, which is like the part, consumer social like building my own social media app. But that's more longer term down the road. But yeah, if we're talking again, ideally, that'd probably be like the end goal is to build my own social media app. Oh, that's pretty cool. Where do you see yourself 20 years from now? 20 years from now, I actually do see myself, yep, have successfully built a social media application that is globally renowned and big, bigger than Facebook and Instagram and all these. That's where I see myself career wise, family wise, I see, you know, having kids and having a pretty big family, and being able to spend as much time as I want with my family, probably be on a personal level, goal wise, and being able to start more of social projects, in terms of live social projects, you know, bringing people together creating communities, I love doing that. So doing what I'm kind of doing now, but more on a bigger scale of like, you know, hundreds of millions, if not billions of people impacted by that. Ah, very good. If, if you could ask one question, and you want to know the unfiltered truth to it, what question would you ask? From anyone? Yes, from anyone. unfiltered truth to any question. Interesting. I probably want to know who runs the world. Hmm, I would want to know that question, too. Yeah, it's definitely an intriguing one. Yes, it sure is. What should they teach in high school, but they don't? Many things, including personal finances, how to do proper budgeting, and how to understand certain financial structures, and things like that. I wish they taught that at school, doing your taxes properly and everything. And that would probably be the biggest thing. And then I would say also maybe starting an actual business, not like working for a business, necessarily, but actually starting as an entrepreneur, starting your own business, and understanding capitalism properly, through that. Okay, so those things, I would say, yeah. Yeah, absolutely. What has taken you the longest to get good or decent at? Can you repeat that question? What has taken you the longest to get good or decent at? Hmm, the longest to get good and decent at? Hmm, that's a good question. Probably being disciplined. You know, it was a hard take for me. When I moved to the US, it was like difficult to stay disciplined and living on my own. So that's probably been a long shot for me. Yeah, I absolutely agree. Discipline is always the key. Yep. If you could, sorry, go on. No, she said, yep, I agree with that. Okay, yeah, indeed. If you could see one movie again, for the first time, what movie would that be? If I could see one movie again, what movie that would be? It's only one that would probably be Mr. Nobody. All right, then. If you had a song every time you entered the room, what song would that be? Probably All The Way Up. Nothing Can Stop Me. I'm All The Way Up. Oh, that's a good one. Yeah, that's a good one. Yeah, sweet. What improved your life quality so much you wish you did it sooner? Very question. Give me a second to really think of this one. Probably. Yeah, moving to Miami. Actually, I wish I did that sooner. Not too soon, because living in New York also helped me. But living in Miami has been one of the top choices that I made that has been definitely a really good improvement. Yeah, it's great to live in warm climates. 100%. Yeah. Oh, yes. If someone wrote a book about you, what do you think its title would be? I'd want it to be titled with my name, which literally means leader. So I want to stand for leadership and title would be something along the lines of leadership. And how, you know, to actually be a good leader. Fabulous. What's your favorite season? Summer. Oh, yes. It all makes sense. You're in Miami. You love it there. Exactly. Why wouldn't it be summer? Yeah, that's why I moved here. Yeah, I definitely understand that. Yeah. What's the best way to start the morning? Doing your workout in the morning. It's something that I barely do myself, to be honest. But I think it's like, by far, usually the most amount of energy in the morning. Oh, yes. It's always good to stay fit. Yeah. Every day, any day. 100%. Yeah. If you could get an exotic pet, what kind of companion would you like to have? Exotic pet. Yeah, I'm not too much into pets, but if I were to get an exotic one, especially, it'd probably be maybe a lizard. Plenty of those here, but it'd be interesting to have one. The tab that actually, I don't know if that's called a lizard, but the tab that actually changes colors depending on the environment. Ah, okay. That'd be pretty cool. Yeah. Yeah. I was always fascinated as a kid by those when I saw them on TV. All right, then. If you could get rid of one holiday, which one would you get rid of? I'd probably get rid of, in my culture, we celebrate, we call it properly now, the May 9th as like the Memorial Day. But in a lot of Russian -speaking countries and Russia itself, they call it the Victory Day, which they mean that the Second World War, victory of Soviet Union. Which I actually disagree with because it is almost like celebrating war. So I'd probably get rid of that one. Oh, yes. Yeah, that's understandable. Yeah. And I would rename it to Memorial Day everywhere because it's good to memorialize the people who have gone through the war, but not necessarily celebrate. There's no winners in the war. That's what I think. Only losers. Exactly. Yeah. What is one app that you hate so much, but you still use it anyway? Plenty. Probably the top ones would be something that has to do with the government services. That really sucks, but we have to use it. So utilities app, any government utility apps are pretty bad. They're outdated and I wish they were remade. I would probably, you know, I have to use it because I have to pay my bills, but they completely are not good. Yep, absolutely. You've got to get somewhere in life. What's your favorite quote? Oh, there's many. If I were to name one, it would probably be around systems that you don't rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems. So that's a quote by James Clear who wrote Atomic Habits. And it's a fascinating quote because it makes you realize that, you know, you may have big goals all day, but if you don't have proper systems in place, that ain't going to happen and you're not going to achieve anything. Ah, very inspiring. Thank you. You're welcome. If life is a game, like some people say, what are some of the rules? What are some of the rules? I think all the rules are pretty much, I mean, they're all made up by us, by humans. But obviously there are some common sense things that I think everybody has to follow, such as being respectful. I think that is a rule to play long term in this life and being respectful to others. And thinking of them when doing certain actions, anything you do toward, that involves other parties, to consider their feelings, to consider their interests. I think that has to be a rule and it will always be a rule in life. But if it were truly a game, the rules, I mean, that's the beauty of life, unlike a game, right? I mean, every part of life you go to, you get to experience different rules. I think for me, for my game though, the rule number one would be actually that you can create your own rules. And you can have your own quote unquote game that you can create in this world and have your people play by those rules. Like we create companies, you know, we create cities, countries, regimes. So that would be my number one rule for this game that I learned, I think, is that you get to create your own rules. Nice. Would you rather not be able to open closed doors or not be able to close open doors? I would rather not be able to open closed doors or close opened doors. I hate open doors. I mean, when they're left open when I'm inside, at the same time, if I'm not able to open closed doors, that's also problematic. So that would probably be worse. So I would actually choose rather being able to open closed doors and not being able to close opened doors. And so that would make me very thoughtful of what I choose and what doors I open. Ah, all right, then. Brilliant. You're welcome. What is your usual from your favorite fast food place or a place where you eat normally? Yeah, I don't really prefer fast food, but if I were to name my go to place for something that I want a quick bite of. I'll name two because I live in two countries almost. So in Uzbekistan, I would do plov, which is the traditional Uzbek food. And in the US, I would probably, in Miami, I would choose kausa, which is this Cuban dish with potato. Ah, sweet. What's your favorite kind of dessert? Oh, probably ice cream. And to be more specific, rocky road ice cream. Oh, nice. That's pretty cool. You're welcome. What fictional item do you wish you owned in real life? Harry magic Potter's wand. Probably would be one or actually, no, no, I take that back. I would want to own Iron Man's flying suit. Okay, that's pretty cool. Decent. Thanks. You're welcome. What has been the longest trip you have taken? Longest trip I've taken? Probably the trips I make quite often actually. I don't think I've done anything longer than that yet. Is when I go from or to Uzbekistan from the US. I mean, it's very long flights of like total travel time of over 30 hours. Wow. That is madness. Yes. That's very long. That's like over the double the time duration it takes for me from where I am from to visit my family in Brazil. That's like... Yeah. But it's with the stops, I'm saying. You'd be stopping and you'd be flying for like 12 hours, stay in Turkey, and then after a day fly again for another six hours to Uzbekistan from there. Total flight time is 18, but I'm saying like if you stay in Turkey for like 12 hours, which I usually do... Oh, layovers. Yeah, that's why I'm counting too. So yeah, 30 hours of flight would be madness. Yes, I would not stand up for something like that. That is crazy. That's like a whole day. Yeah, you could probably make a whole round trip around the globe in that time. Yeah. If you had to bury a treasure chest, where would you hide it? On the second page of Google. I love it. That's a good answer. No one would know who goes that far in Google. So that's a good place. If you see a puddle on the ground, do you walk around it, over it, or through it? Is it a puddle? Yes, a puddle on the ground. Puddle on the ground. Is that like you're saying like a hole? Not a native speaker, sorry. That's alright. I'm talking about like, you know when it's raining and there's like, there's a bunch of wet puddles that like minute, very small ponds. Oh, I see. Yeah, those kind of puddles. Okay, okay. Puddles. Now walk over it, through it, or what's the third option? So around it, over it, or through it. I jump would over it. Okay, that's cool. Yeah. What is something popular now, but in five years, everyone will look back on it and be embarrassed they even liked it in the first place? 99 % of AI tools that are popping up, maybe. No, I'm kidding, but probably, hmm, I hope smartphones, because there's going to be better alternatives with the glasses and augmented reality. Oh yeah, of course. Technology is a good thing, but it does have its downsides and concerns. Yeah. What app can you not believe someone hasn't made yet? Oh, there's many have a ton of ideas for those, but if I were to name the latest I've been thinking of, that would be a marketplace app where you can hire offshore professionals on demand. And on a monthly basis, so I think there's a huge opportunity in offshore arbitrage that is still not being utilized. Many people that live in the first world countries like US, Canada, UK, Australia, they have very expensive labor and a lot of people are either overpaying or they're not able to afford a virtual assistant. And somewhere in Uzbekistan or Philippines, you can hire a virtual assistant for $400 a month and get a really good quality virtual assistant. So on demand, any kind of offshore work outsourcing app. Quality? That would benefit so many people in many ways in one. Yeah. We create opportunities for people that want to work online and for those who want to hire people online, but pay less than they would pay in their own country. That makes a lot of sense. If your mind was an island, what would it look like? It would probably be a very unique island of a lot of trees, dragons, water, sand, a lot of parties, a lot of science labs on that island too. And a mix of a ton of different things that you wouldn't be able to put in one island. Okay, cool. If you could travel back in time, what decade would you want to live in? I think we live in the best decade now and I'm very happy with how we ended. So if anything, I'd want to travel more further in time. But if I had to go back, you said decade, right? Not a century. I would probably want to see the time when the Scientific Revolution started, that decade of the 16th century around that time. So anywhere in the 16th century when the Scientific Revolution was at its peak. Okay, I could agree to that. Would you consider yourself to be an extrovert or an introvert? Extrovert. Sweet. Would you rather be able to breathe underwater or have the agility of a cat? I'll breathe underwater by all means. Okay, yes, I would choose that too. Yeah, so much more to explore. 70 % of the earth is water. Yeah, there's so much you can explore, especially the Mariana Trench. Yep, exactly. Yeah, sweet. What is something you can never seem to finish? Something I never seem to finish? I would probably say, up until recently maybe, setting up my new office, but I'm almost done with that, so I'm proud of that. Ah, alright then. Would you rather be transported 500 years into the future or 500 years into the past? I thought I was in the future for sure. Me too. The technologies that could have been invented by that time. Exactly, yeah. Oh, we would benefit so much from that. Yeah. 100%. Yeah. And that is all we have for this episode. It was great having you on, Sodor. Talking about your journey, where you're from, Uzbekistan to Miami, you worked as a serial tech entrepreneur and a lot of other things. It's been fabulous. Thank you so much for having me on, Peter, and I really enjoyed it. It's definitely not a conventional podcast that I've been on before, so this was a very interesting experience for me. Thank you for having me on. You're welcome. And until next time, stay tuned for more.
Thinking Crypto News & Interviews
A highlight from CATHIE WOOD ARK ETHEREUM SPOT ETF, SBI XRP PAYMENTS, STORY PROTOCOL $54M PARIS HILTON & A16Z!
"Hey everybody, welcome back to the Thinking Crypto Podcast, your home for cryptocurrency news and interviews. If you are new here, please hit that subscribe button as well as the thumbs up button and leave a comment below. If you're listening on a podcast platform such as Spotify, Apple or Google, please leave a 5 star rating and review. It supports the podcast and it doesn't cost you anything. Well, folks, I want to start off with the DXY because it has been pumping and as you all know, or many of you should know, when the dollar current or the US dollar is pumping, asset prices go down. So asset prices are going to bleed and of course, risk assets are going to bleed the most such as crypto and certain stocks. So right now the price of Bitcoin not looking good, certainly deviating from that retracement movement we were looking at. It was on track similar to 2019, but seems to be deviating. It could still find some support in late September and then move upwards, but we'll have to wait and see. We don't have a crystal ball and based on the different charts and analysis, we form a thesis and we have to wait and see how things play out. But just so you know, some rough times may be ahead, but my OG subscribers and listeners, you know what to do, right? You dollar cross average, you hodl and you be patient because we are loading our bags and preparing for the 2024, 2025 macro bull run. And we still got some pain to go through here. It's certainly not as bad as 2022 and the end of 2022, which was really, really rough, but we're slowly climbing out of that hole and we will eventually find ourselves back in the bull market folks. I know the bear markets and these times are boring, they're painful, but these are the times where you are preparing yourself to make great returns because you're buying the lows and of course selling the highs. And I'm looking to do the same on both crypto and stocks. So just a heads up on what's happening there. Now we got very big news today that Cathie Woods, ARK Invest filed for a Bitcoin, excuse me, an Ethereum spot ETF. See, I'm so used to saying Bitcoin spot ETF, but Ethereum spot ETF. So Eric Balkanis and the folks at Bloomberg who are ETF analysts reported on this and it comes as no surprise, I think, but I'm surprised how early they're doing it. I think we all assumed an Ethereum spot ETF application would be filed soon, but maybe right after the Bitcoin ETF application was approved, but Cathie Wood and these folks are not waiting. And James Seyford, who I've had on the podcast, he's also at Bloomberg, also said that Van Eck, they did a filing as well. So as you can imagine, game theory is going to play out here and everybody's going to throw their hat in the ring as we saw with the Bitcoin spot ETF filing. So it's just a matter of time, folks. I know Gary Gensler, scumbag regulator, Gary Gensler has been playing a lot of games. Obviously the SEC lost the lawsuit against Grayscale, I mean, well, Grayscale won their appeal we'll and see what the SEC does. Folks are anticipating this Q4 or this coming end of year, there's going to be some approvals, but who knows, right? Gary is going to be under a lot of pressure. I think he's going to be testifying pretty soon. So we'll see what pressure comes down on him and if he gets, he passes some of these ETFs. It wouldn't surprise me if he does it for Bitcoin alone and altcoins maybe a year after, but guy's this nuts. So it's interesting though, what is happening here and how these big players are reacting. Now quick word from our sponsor, and that is Uphold, which makes crypto investing easy. I've been using Uphold since 2018. I highly recommend this platform. I vouch for it because I use it and I've trusted these folks and I've interviewed many of them, the folks at Uphold. So I know them and they have 10 plus million users, 250 plus cryptocurrencies, and they're available in 150 countries. You can also trade precious metals on here as well as 37 national currencies. And you can easily switch between and convert between cryptocurrencies, precious metals and different currencies, fiat currencies that is. So if you'd like to learn more about Uphold, please visit the link in the description. All right, folks, some other big news we got here from SBI Group. As you all know, that is the major bank in Japan, and they are a shareholder of Ripple, but they also use XRP. And today they put out some very interesting literature highlighting they are using XRP for cross -border payments via coins .ph and Tranglo to the countries that include Philippines, Vietnam, and Indonesia. So XRP being used to facilitate payments between different currencies. And we know Ripple has their ODL. This is what they're looking to achieve, get more XRP adoption to solve the payments issue, because we know right now it's not instant settlement. It's a messaging system with SWIFT, which is very outdated. And don't get me wrong, there are other folks looking to solve this as well with stable coins and CBDCs and these things. But not everyone's going to use the same method in a sense that not everyone's going to use Ripple and XRP. I don't believe that. I believe there's going to be competitors, but that's fine. And Ripple will continue to pitch different central banks and payment companies to use this service. So we'll just have to wait and see how the free market plays out. But XRP has the clarity in the United States. So that means some institutions here in the US will use it. It's just a matter of time. And I can't wait for those announcements, but this is folks right here out in the wild, all real world adoption of XRP. And it does take time for banks and these institutions to adopt this technology. It's like trying to steer a cargo ship. It's not going to move like a Ferrari. It's going to be very slow. They're so used to doing things one way for a very long time. And these solutions, which are disruptive, they may try to create their own version or try to do something else and eventually they'll have to adopt it. So, but this is really great if you're an XRP holder and it shows that XRP is being used by payment companies, banks, and so forth. Now they did SBI, they did a full breakdown here on their news and press section on their website. And obviously this is translated. It's in Japanese, but here's the headline, expand international money transfer services using Ripple's money transfer solution that utilizes XRP to the Philippines, Vietnam, and Indonesia. So that's the headline. Pretty clear. They're using ODL here and pretty exciting as well. Now we also got some more XRP news and this comes from Santiment. Santiment is a market intelligence platform with on -chain and social metrics for 2 ,500 plus cryptocurrencies. They tweeted out new and free XRP ledger metrics are now available from Santiment feed. We are proud to be one of the most comprehensive data sources in the world for XRP and XRPL, including several key on -chain social and development related metrics that are used by Ripple. So this is great. You know, these are the type of infrastructure items that are needed for more adoption of XRP and other cryptos, right? You want to have the data, the analytics, what are the different metrics, right? So you can look at this thing holistically, what's happening on the blockchain, who's using it. And these are key components for the future adoption of crypto. So great to see this integration. Now we got some Coinbase news. Coinbase cajoles institutional market with new crypto lending service. Coinbase's new lending service will allow institutional loans. So obviously catered to the institutional money, the big money, and it's pretty funny that they're doing this given the SEC is going after them. But I think Coinbase knows they're in the driver's seat with this situation. The SEC is in a bad place right now. Gary Gensler is in a bad place. So the new lending service permits institutions to loan out digital assets under standardized terms and is structured to qualify for a Regulation D exception, which allows for capital raising without full SEC registration, Coinbase reportedly said. Users of the Coinbase's prime service have already invested $57 million in the new lending program according to a September 1st regulatory filing signed by CFO Alicia Haas. So a big move here by Coinbase. They continue to expand and do their thing. They are the number one brand trusted, obviously a public exchange within the United States, I should say. They're not the largest crypto exchange, but they got BlackRock as a partner. So many big companies are using them for custody and different institutional crypto services.
Milk Crates and Turntables. A Music Discussion Podcast
A highlight from Ep. 116 - Talking About The Music Of 1977
"Well, here we are. Episode 116. On the march to 200 and beyond. And on this episode, I have the Wrecking Two with me, Mark Smith and Luke Colicchio from the Music Relish Show. And we're going to be talking about the year 1977, and music, and some movies, some news flashbacks maybe. Interesting, yeah. I say it was the beginning of the end of the 70s. Yeah. So sit back, relax, get yourself some Acapulco Gold or some Panama Red, break open a bottle of Rianini Limbrusco, sit back, relax, and enjoy 1977 all over again. The KLFB Studio presents Milk Crate and Turntables, a music discussion podcast hosted by Scott McLean. Now, let's talk music. Enjoy the show. Thank you, Amanda, for that wonderful introduction, as usual. I got a little FaceTime from young Amanda this afternoon. So I'm sitting there just kind of chilling. Oh, my little girl's calling me. She calls me. And hi. I'm like, what's up, little girl? She just kind of looks and says, can I see the cats? Oh, yeah, that's my life. She don't miss me. Misses the cats. Anyway, welcome back, my friends, to the show that never ends. And welcome to the podcast. Do you know the name of it? So I'm not going to say it. We're streaming live right now over YouTube, Twitch, Twitter. It's Twitter, formerly known as Twitter X, whatever, a lot of them all over the place. It's going to be a good show tonight. It's going to be a good show. In the intro, I mentioned Acapulco Gold. And speaking of Acapulco Gold, it's Luke Aleccio from the Music Relish show. No stems, no seeds that you don't need. Acapulco Gold is... There you go, buddy. That's a blast. That's sweet. Let me give you some of that, buddy. Thank you. Yeah. A little teaching charm for you. Enough of that. And speaking of Panama Red, it's Mark Smith from the Music Relish. Chardonnay Gold. Instead of Acapulco Gold, he's got the Chardonnay Gold. Yeah. As usual. What's up, gentlemen? How you doing, gentlemen? Good. How are you? Doing all right. Doing all right. Yeah. Hey, you know who I don't miss? Who? I really don't miss Jimmy Buffett. Let's start off the show on a... He's a cynic. I don't miss him. I don't miss him. I'm not going to miss Jimmy Buffett. I really jumped on that bandwagon. Never really got it. Me neither. To me, it's not a bandwagon thing. It's something where I knew there's two or three songs and more steel drums, really more steel drums. But things I've heard, you know, scanning through Margaritaville radio, there was some pretty good stuff. You know, like nothing going to change your world, but you know... It's not my type of music. No, I'm not a parrothead. And I think his concerts were his big, like the Grateful Dead, you know? The concert is what it is. The experience. Yeah. Right? The Jimmy Buffett experience. I guess so. Yeah. It was his motif, you know, escapism kind of, you know. But he did spawn that horrible genre of golf and western music. Yeah. Yeah. I'd rather sit in the parking lot with a cooler of beers and a hibachi and listen to the pretenders. Yeah. Did Jimmy ever tour with the dead? Is there really a fuck up with the dead? That would have been a huge crowd, though. Boy, that's the mellowest concert ever. Dead parrotheads. Dead parrotheads. I think he's more of that mellow west coast. I think I could see him touring with the Eagles or James Taylor, I think, more now. He's some Key West buddy. Don't put him on the left coast. No, no, no. He's a Key West man. He was his own entity. Actually, he moved from the Key West. He didn't live there for a long time. Right. But his studio was there. His studio was right next to his bar, right like connected to his studio. Yeah. So that's where he would go. I remember when I worked U .S. Customs behind the scenes at Miami International, he had his own private jet. It would come up from, I guess, the Keys, but he didn't travel in just anything. It would be like, because if you have your own jet, you have a parking spot. You would have a bus. You would have a bus, like a tour bus would take him from Key West. It is from Miami. It's about a two hour drive. So you're going to do it in luxury, but everything's good with you guys. Hot. Yeah. Too damn hot up here in New York. It's hot as Bono's whatever was balls in the back of my neck. Yeah. Yeah. I don't like this. I want winter. Did Lou freeze up? Oh, no. There we go again. The pressure's on me. I got to be Lou. You've got to be Lou. Let me get this brain. I've got to be Lou. I've got to be Lou. Then there he goes. He's off the screen. Ten minutes. Let's set the timer. Set the timer. Will he break ten minutes? Will he come back on under ten minutes? Let's see. I'm starting it. See? I got the timer going there. All right. All right. Well, we're talking about 1977. I was old, but eight years old. So, I was, let me see, probably 12 going on 13, I think, right? I'm 59 now, so you're what, 56? 53. 53? Yeah. And you were eight? Yeah. I was born in 1969. So, eight, nine, 10, 11, 12. Yeah. That was right. 13. Well, 12, 13. Yeah. Yeah. I think I was beginning. I was a freshman. I was a freshman. Although, where I grew up, the freshman didn't go to the high school. That was only 10, 11, and 12. Ninth grade was at its own building. Oh. Isn't that interesting? Yeah. Yeah. But, yeah, 1977, interesting year. Yeah. A lot happened. Yeah. As I said in the intro, I think 1977 was the beginning of the end of the 70s. Yeah. Things were really starting to change. I think disco still had a little bit of a hold, but I think that was the tail end of disco, and it was the beginning of punk, and so there was a transition. That's where, I think, right there is where it started. So, let's get right into 77, as I usually do. I'm starting to like this little format. Yeah. Year by year. And it makes a long podcast, but hey, listen, we're in it for the ride with whoever's listening. We're in it for the ride. January 1st, 1977, The Clash headlined the opening night of London's only punk rock club. You know the name of that club? No. The Roxy. Another Roxy. Yeah. Wow. Yeah. So, let's start right off with stories. So, I get off the plane at Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines. So, 10 years later, right? 10 years later, 87, I get off the plane. My buddy's there, meets me. It lands right on the base. They called it the freedom bird because the turnaround flight was taking people home, right? I get, you know, they bring me back to temporary quarters. I get changed. My buddy's like, let's go. And we go off base. And it is absolutely insane. Like, you can't even imagine the sounds and sights and the energy. And yeah, I can always say, like, if you saw Deer Hunter when Robert De Niro goes back to Saigon, you know, and it's like just that motor, little motorcycles driving by and it's a dirt road. The main street is a dirt road. And this was your first time in the Philippines? In the Philippines. Yeah. It's stationed there. And my buddy says to me, he says, all right, listen, when you go into these bars, you got to act like you've done it before. Oh, come on. I grew up in Boston. I run the streets. I was in the subways. Of course I can. I walk in the first bar I walk into, The Roxy. It's called The Roxy, right? And I just, first thing you see is a bar, a U -shaped bar, right? Big U -shaped bar. The music is just cranking. I think it was like Motley Crue or something just cranking. And right in the middle of that, running right down the center of that Horseshoe bar was a stage and there had to be 15 girls up there just dancing. Like go -go girls type thing. Uh -huh. In bikinis. I was like, what the fuck? Oh, shit. And then I order a beer and the bartender is this Filipino girl. She looks, she says, first thing she says to me, you cherry boy. Cherry boy. Meaning I'm new. And I said, I looked at my buddy. I said, how does she know? He says, it's in your eyes. You're just staring around. They see it in your eyes. Yeah. They know that look. And the rest, as they say, is history.
The Crypto Overnighter
"philippines" Discussed on The Crypto Overnighter
"Good evening, and welcome to The Crypto Overnight. I'm Nick Ademus, and I will be your host as we take a look at the latest cryptocurrency news and analysis. So sit back, relax, and let's get started. And remember, none of this is financial advice. And it's 10pm Pacific Time on Monday, July 17th, 2023. Welcome back to The Crypto Overnight, where we have no sponsors, no hidden agendas, and no BS. But we do have the news, and we're going to get to that. First, though, make sure you've entered this month's hardware wallet contest. Just subscribe to the YouTube channel, have a US mailing address, and comment on the June 2023 covers video, and then you're in. Simple as that. Right now, there are not very many entrants, so your chances are high. Tonight, we've got a packed lineup for you. We'll be diving into the latest developments from the SEC, as they review applications for Bitcoin ETFs from some of the biggest names in the game. We'll also be exploring the crypto boom in the Philippines, and what it means for the future of blockchain technology in the country. Then we'll be discussing the ongoing legal battle between Ripple and the SEC, and what that means for the future of crypto regulation. We'll also be taking a look at the Financial Stability Board's latest call for stricter crypto rules, and what that could mean for the industry. We'll also be discussing the EU's new Data Act rules, and how they could impact smart contracts. Finally, we'll be looking at the National Australia Bank's decision to block certain crypto exchanges, and what that means for the future of crypto in Australia. The US Securities Exchange Commission rolled up its sleeves and started reviewing the latest applications for Bitcoin exchange traded funds. And these aren't just any old applications. They're from some of the biggest names in the game. We're talking about Wise Origin, Wisdom Tree, VanEck, Invesco Galaxy, and ARK21 shares, all under the umbrella of the CBOE.
WTOP
"philippines" Discussed on WTOP
"The philippines leya salonga became the first asian actress to win a tony for miss saigon before providing the singing voice of jasmine in disney's aladdin we see genesis of two people falling in love and there is always so much hope that goes along with that especially in a disney movie a whole new world a dazzling place i she next provided the singing voice for disney's mulan before representation was even a thing that movie was doing it here are full chat on my podcast beyond the fame jason for l -e -w tv news well for the first time since february swimmers will be welcome back to the wilson aquatic center starting today the pool will through be open summer residents can swim from six a m to nine p m during the weekend from ten a the m five p m on the weekends the dc department of parks and recreation says the opening is a temporary one though the pool will close again for two months this fall and winter for an overhaul of the facility's hv ac system which caused the initial closure earlier this year keeping a few plants around your office may do more than add to the decor new evidence shows they also fight indoor pollution from toxic petrofuels to cancer causing pollutants a new study has revealed plants are able to remove these toxins from the air we breathe the university of technology sydney led the study and when put to the test the indoor plants were able to get rid of 97 percent of the most toxic compounds in the air in just eight hours and the more concentrated the toxins the faster the plants worked to remove them researchers say this is new evidence of the important role plants play in our everyday spaces making plants more than just aesthetically pleasing but a cost -effective addition to your overall health melissa howell wtop news sports at 25 and powered by red river technology decisions aren't black and white think red by the update now our friend george well that's very
Bloomberg Radio New York
"philippines" Discussed on Bloomberg Radio New York
"A breeze, and now let's bring in Michael Barr to get a look at what else is happening in New York and around the world. Good morning, Michael. Good morning, Nathan. The FBI says there has been an arrest after a man was seen on video in a ski mask lining a molotov cocktail and throwing it at the front door of a bloomfield, New Jersey synagogue, authorities identified the suspect in the temple near to meet attack as Nicholas malinda's. The U.S. attorney's office says the 26 year old from Clifton was charged with federal arson related charges, you will face a judge today. Mourners celebrated the life of Tyree Nichols at his funeral. The 29 year old died three weeks ago after video shows Memphis police, beating him violently during a traffic stop, vice president Kamala Harris sat with the family. We are here on behalf of the people of our country and our president Joe Biden. And we are here to celebrate the life of Tyree Nicholas. Vice president Harris said Nichols memory will shine a light toward justice. The U.S. and the Philippines have announced an agreement that will give the U.S. a larger military presence in the Philippines, defense secretary Lloyd Austin spoke in Manila This is an opportunity to increase our effectiveness, increase interoperability. It is not about permanent basing, but it is a big deal. It's a really big deal. Secretary Austin says the idea is to deter China's aims on Taiwan and boost the Philippines claims in the South China Sea, where China continues to increase its operations. Israeli warplanes bomb parts of Gaza Strip early today after a bloody month of rising tensions between Palestinians and Israel, the Israeli defense forces said its fighter jets struck a production site for raw chemical material production. Stick a fork in plastic forks in New York City, mayor Eric Adams signed a new law prohibiting restaurant and delivery services from including single use plastic utensils, napkins, and condiment packages in food delivery orders unless you ask for them. We must have all said it, you know, we ordered something to take out, and we wondered why is all this plastic? You know, you tend to, we go home, we have utensils at home. And this was just a brilliant idea. Mayor Adams says the new law takes effect in July. Global news powered by more than 2700 journalists and analysts in over 120 countries, I'm Michael Barr, this is Bloomberg, Nathan. Thanks, Michael. 6 O 9 on Wall Street time for the Bloomberg sports update brought to you by tri state out of years John Stanton. Thanks, Nathan. Tom Brady's retirement announcement means Tampa Bay now needs a quarterback, so this Las Vegas, they've cut ties with Derek Carr, they were thought Brady might go there, hook up with Josh McDaniels who he was with for many years in New England. There was also talk of him playing for Miami as kids now live there, but he used to be in reported Brady did not have any interest in joining a new team that it was going to be either stay with the Buccaneers or retire, which he's doing. At age 45. Family, my Friends, teammates, my competitors, I could go on forever. There's too many thank you guys for
Stories Philippines Podcast
"philippines" Discussed on Stories Philippines Podcast
"Film center ice open nicholas selena nakayama lap be amongst our cultural center of the philippines or ccp semi psi. It though i dini saying unions Dome froylan home. It throwing data also now been how many international film festival in being bingo. Why mugging got prestige film festival. So europa guyanan.
Stories Philippines Podcast
"philippines" Discussed on Stories Philippines Podcast
"The malaysian public stories philippines podcast. Only.
KCRW
"philippines" Discussed on KCRW
"Philippines has said to ease coronavirus restrictions starting on Monday, the capital, Manila, and it's four surrounding provinces will be placed under a less restrictive quarantine status until April, 30th The Philippines is dealing with one of the worst corona virus outbreaks in Southeast Asia, with hospitals overwhelmed amid record daily infections. Equestrian history was made in Britain this weekend. A woman has won the world famous grand National race. Vicki Barker has more from London, Rachel Blackmore says she grew up watching the 1944 film National Velvet about a girl who wins the grueling steeplechase race disguised as a male jockey. Saturday, Riding the Horseman L A times, The 31 year old Irish woman cleared all 16 fences and galloped to victory, six lengths ahead of her nearest competitors. I don't feel me a female right now. I don't even feel human. This is just Unbelievable. Anyone who believed enough in Blackmore to bed on her would have cleaned up. The odds against her were put at 11 to 1 for NPR News. I'm Vicki Barker in London. India is reporting its highest single day total of Corona virus infections. Country's Health Ministry has confirmed more than 150,000 new infections. The recent surge has prompted a strict curfew in Mumbai, the capital, New Delhi, has recorded its largest single day spike and has banned public gatherings. I. Winter Johnston and you're listening to NPR news in Washington. Support for NPR comes from NPR stations. Other contributors include Want fully committed to helping self employed workers and small businesses. Get their P P P loans application determines eligibility. Maura W. O M p l y dot com slash NPR. KCRW. Sponsors include every table dedicated to making fresh chef prepared meals accessible to everyone learn more about their locally sourced menu, meal delivery service and store locations at every table dot com. Warren all day on our to the point podcast. Can we cope with climate change and grow the economy this system and this.
Stories Philippines Podcast
"philippines" Discussed on Stories Philippines Podcast
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Sabrina by being golo dinning lee one clash late beduso tongue by buying liam pattern laputa. To sonke own end by nasa Dimension mansion unless young. Dally dallied mcdumber on. Tennessee are gonna die now decide. According to win on october by dna dial it on unite. Anina pa ballato much somporn. But i lay my slung it on not up. A tag of ina may indian day. Milacron young monks somebody boggle pressure maha been space mission kai-bong lamictal hanging bugging nine nakayama balibo old pattern s applegate. Oh ms chino. Teluga suboxone young union sydney hiding thousands ninety shadow mono dinatale hota wilton without easter. Then annettee lisa cowboy not on me gusta' kazaa groupings over at. But i knew up now to someone. Jimmy she good automobile. Galanga you d. Don't mock dayton alarming. i'm pelegrina ganja mama attending written lulu on them to go book by pressure lulu one hundred and busness good inch. I didn't ask them media lab. I am kamei in a modern pressure. 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Stories Philippines Podcast
"philippines" Discussed on Stories Philippines Podcast
"Was up. congratulations coon. Hang on the this apart natively my buckeye and welcome subpoena bag on segment nine stories philippines podcasts. Where in at the end of every episode is mesa in question about ghosts. Now sigler to a an-an-and. Or so i hope you enjoy and sit back and relax. And here's the question of the day. are you happening. Bygone episode opening boggling for adding episode. Ethos question of the week and at the thing nine will. I know legally legally a poltergeist harm. People can ago's kill you while you are asleep. So my poster guy. The union guys manat my more or my entity. Nah doggone super on them and why by the guy. But i got pregnant at all. We need there have been cases. A report of a poltergeist throwing stones glasses or beats at the person the hurting them or him or her but the ghost dealing person while asleep is something else. I've not heard of such a thing. Maybe a person die of a heart attack upon seeing a ghost but the ghost itself. Kennedy prec While he's asleep because we all have our spirit guides who protects us while we leave or some of the things i be in dispute get gandhi. Don't products happen while we sleep so Anything anyone can harm us. But at all may senior guys god's protection is always her so indeed that mamba sobbing Do i walk through the shadow of the value of this. You are with me. So i hope May not get guy i know. No god will never leave you or forsake you. No matter what the an-and must no physically mind emotionally mentally and not online and not spiritually saw. I all You learn something new today in this episode now Young by fiction one of our cat borough fiction or non featured beto at the end maradona to the tone and hainan. Now meaning adding a oh domino in salon You'll protection onwards at in a parliamentary dialogue. So you engage. Guess is goal echo. I independent companies. I mean but gusts not your ordinary gas nazi spotify. Then i invite everyone mining being inspired insurance no matter view and your on so see you or get a kit style. Retaliates again Sasso sooner the episode..
Stories Philippines Podcast
"philippines" Discussed on Stories Philippines Podcast
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HalloCasa Real Estate Show
"philippines" Discussed on HalloCasa Real Estate Show
"Of them don. It's the best. I would like to implement in britain stash. That do a single. The single a done in the transaction would be canceled because here all the payments are non refundable transferable and it is agreed and signed in endre. Just be honest they have to be Do not far Reliable person because even though they are not light sense are light. Licensed agents or brokers still. They don't know if this person is trustworthy and reliable to talk. With because transactions death anthem start and end with being there survey shen beijing and signing the android transactions our services transaction lasted up to the point that they have already transferred to their unique because on our part over our value. That you guys when we reach the level of their satisfaction Does services w offered i know by their heart that they will also ready for us to their friends and relatives that are interested in buying properties and they have to be loyal also to egypt are talking with also panetta's. That is the best that i could not really like. That's that's that's fantastic. Thank you so much for your time. I really appreciate your your also and it's it's Was really great to really learn about all the information and also especially the final words as in what to take care of and also that you really have to make sure that you that you are trustworthy and reliable perfect jessica. How would you rate day. I know it's early in the morning for you. So the start the day for you start. The sun is shining in in your face. That's great so i we should really create day. I'm going to sleep now and we'll talk soon much for your plan. Thank you for also on c. During meetal be against and be featured in your show. And i i wish the best for your show also more power to you and i am looking forward to listen more of the ages up your feature in the near future also and i think i am the fourth of filipino. That you've interviewed here in the philippines and eat some might brighten honored. Lippert have these show with your also absent any future. You could visit us in the philippines. Philippines love the philippines. I love talking to filipino. So i love to have two filipinas in the on the show. It's great so i i totally i. I'm always pumped to have to have more and more filipinos on the shelves so always happy. Thank you very much. Have a nice day. And we talked allergic. Great day. ahead thank you bye..
Adventures in a tuk tuk
"philippines" Discussed on Adventures in a tuk tuk
"Yes years. Yeah oh i take eighteen. Thousand columba's I right lost. Not too bad is it every few which shimon came to you and ordered one. What's what's the lead. Time the do over sham. Gordon stalker the myron have you was helped. One to install smoke They want a different calla about fooled ice right. That's pretty good a night and after familiar is it like a amendment. Nila like ship with the weekend from the house. Right search so. Tbs have a few days throughout the philippines that away. So you deal with the central hub in manila and then just won't one of their splits down. Cheer rose okay so tell me about have you. Had you been in a way. Did you went out the Have you been at the volcano in. It's your with ligo. Close by the volcano. Quite a law Bob it's about twenty miles. South park was One of best weren't swift done a Like laguna caputo. Like a a big is the second-biggest like in asia freshwater lake. Yeah yeah we went. We met up with a group a small group from batangas while ago but yagya may land a. We spent two days touring way down the almost hosa comfort to like a pop of north. Bend over manila where we might up a big pool pools yet so we had to go all the way back the way. We count Tastic we went up the bus. We went police japanese gardens which our existed really. Yeah up to the free twelve sweat based free courses fell on a hillside look. Noble intellect We had a tastic days. Why did you stay on. Did hurtado de decamp. Lakeland is all oakland harris like a place where scholars swimming olwin the commutation. Yeah so we stay ahead to swim and noise. few drinks. yeah food winks uncle Do anymore have made you ll. Obeyed added the after find otherwise took. Yes yes i was saying. When i was researching it's the tourism in the philippines could be a really big thing so much like shrine and a A has that. How's that progression of the moment. A something. I plan to do office by combine Dot co with would say yes. So we're just gonna sit and wait to see how that go Oso we have got a situation willow bowl hair. So i would have to saw what i would where people could go a The national highway someplace that you some. Don't write a is down two weeks. They supply like toll which is like a set area. If i was to come out there and just say howard your toko fear.
Adventures in a tuk tuk
"philippines" Discussed on Adventures in a tuk tuk
"What what are the line leases. Do you think portrayed in virginia. Tvs thing you know On the body walk a much better finished land. Soon as you pull away you know away. Okay legs celebration. Compared to the judge it's tremendous off up ahead. Come up a place to tie which is by No in the middle of like Actually up to delhi at least year as a huge lack the josh. You're struggling up imposed on the tv in second again. That's pretty impressive. And i was just hooked. What late late. Let me one for mum. And i just didn't get into. Is there a difference in the engines in Leopard with see. Say i just the only thing i can look Tbs has gone foot to allow and web ajayi has gone the talk high end rock which is probably why gifts the extra acceleration in the bat. Hill climbing yes. Yes we were in wires earlier this year at a twenty five percent hill and much paper were aid such gear a twenty percent. He's pretty state the show section. But i'm not sure There was not status. I i do believe much paper when i So you've So how long have you agitated The philippines for the way they've february but because the codes yep this like june before we started out. You expecting to import anything from india Tbs actually like he s global way. Sell the man a moment. We're struggling. Because i got a little most by nights companies that i sell on by nights 'til your business one year rise but we're still salad with with by enable might money out of has this week at nine a. b. cell of about the among. Okay that's called. That's that's pretty cool. Yeah so how do they come in kentucky to they come Do they come. Brady assembled or are they in a crate of Lay say them yeah. I'm a pound a pbs. tell me like. I'm completely assembled which the judge. I actually save at place when the Sam band several tonight come in like a box. Yeah the big kick for. I think that something to do with especially for the. I think that's something to do tax. Yeah an i'll get mowing in the container though. Get your through. They get a dozen a twenty foot container. I believe as opposed to walk four six and a forty foot present yellow. I would guess. I feel like it when i have how called it. Between india and the philippines is it fall. Not law is is a low short limited to huge a totally days. It's early days there for you to draw Yeah with with just took over. Dylan lozada lozada Like a version of amazon Us took tokes to deliver la busa with just took over a huge area She quotes batangas. Could be laguna Manila with the local though in the last episode way mechanics now rather electric turks four-stroke to strengh books vote. Tbs an idea start down the kaga worship ahead so you have for hamad you have during that.
Adventures in a tuk tuk
"philippines" Discussed on Adventures in a tuk tuk
"The sharp. Today's allen raymond from three wheelers in the philippines he owns and runs. Tbs dealership me. Manila the philippines is still an emerging market for the rich shop with george. Tvs and battling it out for market share and alan has a unique insensitive. Having been there from the very start of this new took took revolution. Hello and welcome to the show. How was the thai food. Abide right. that's lightly. No no well damage and come up. 'cause we got a small shop so closely assigned come me took like diamonds. Decided knock took. You definitely had no for twins ace way because i completely lost they know is the while you put on silly midland. Max and i think you travel so much. I saw pick the me lax ed but yeah i know me some cause. They picked up a language and i have him talking him with an accent. So how how. Strong the winds last night and the right of the line was horrendous. That carried on all night. Long right the wind was abida swell Damage but not substantial. Bu- lost st A most played miranda A by two o'clock in the morning but we didn't lose it till seven. Am way Me some because they picked up a language. And i have him with an old big accent. Just trying i've just. I've got some notes on just need to find a the ray. We got so how how strong the winds last night and the right lane was horrendous carried on all night long right. The wind was abide as well Assay as dumb damaged but nothing substantial But we lost steve. Ray will let a most plate About two o'clock in the morning but we didn't lose it till seven. Am up by six hours with no wall. Yeah last bad rarely pain at that. Voluble isn't a full years ago. I actually would reap ajaj. When i had to judge met foods. Category free telephone latte was scary. I had six inches. A wall coming nine arose. It was like a food wrapper. It's a lot lately for us to a silent wrought because the traffic was old stale. And i had to send happy. Time moved the point in the direction. The cowan with scowling. So you tacked down. The road did you. Yeah i it's gonna take me sewed ways oakland. Oh really yeah can't be pretty scary. It's a choke you norfolk to finish. Tate's i used to suffer from seasonal affective sold and i can always the Drive for so getting up early in the balding saying very little. Delay yep I've been to hong kong on holiday and go friendly with some filipinos Then i'll come to below on holiday to save a me. Doctor said to me. I went to a always under an edict A said move to look a little paints. Show you date. So david and i have not suffered from depression since living in the philippines at only took they all the to recipes. Full Having good mental health is definitely one..
Reverie True Crime
"philippines" Discussed on Reverie True Crime
"Tank. Missile operative. Joseph was one of thousands of american and philippine military personnel. Who took part and shared exercises in the country and twenty fourteen. Joseph among other marines. Were on leave. After these exercises so jennifer. And joseph struck up a conversation at the bar and one thing led to the next witnesses and police claim that joseph and jennifer decided to go to a hotel just for short time barbie also met up with someone and they all went to this hotel together but staying in different rooms after they checked into the hotel. Joseph left about thirty minutes afterwards. He left the door to the hotel room slightly. Open that saturday night sometime after midnight. October the twelfth people that worked at the hotel opened the door to joseph and jennifer's room to discover a grisly scene the staff spotted jennifer's nude slouched body only somewhat covered below her waist. Her neck was dark. Shades of black from being strangled her body was brutally beaten and her head was shoved into the toilet by some accounts and some reports say her head was laying against the toilet bowl. There were three condoms in the restroom. That were dna tested to check. If the same in the condom was that of joseph pemberton's one of these condoms. That was discovered along with a condom. Package did have josephs fingerprints on them. This was found by forensic professionals from the. Us army criminal investigation lab however the dna inside of the condoms didn't have jennifer's dna in them jennifer's cause of death was determined to be as fixation by drowning. Joseph was taken into custody by the us navy on december fifteenth of fourteen. All in gop oh city. Prosecutor's office of the philippine department of justice found probable cause to charge. Joseph pemberton with murder. He was charged with murder in front of the along. Gobbo city regional trial court branch seventy four. The prosecutor chose to go for murder charges because of quote the presence of treachery cruelty and abuse of superior strength. Joseph did appeal that decision. To the secretary of justice it was denied on february. Twenty third twenty fifteen. Joseph was taken to court and alan gobbo and on his behalf. The court announced a plea of not guilty. The pre began february. Twenty seven. th of two thousand fifteen. The murder trial began on march sixteenth. Under the visiting agreement which is also known as the v. f. a. the local courts have one year to carry out any legal actions. Joseph confessed but he said he started to strangle jennifer when he found out she was in fact transgender. Joseph all told a witness this very same excuse he used what is called as the quote gay panic defense so for anyone who may not know what the gay panic defense is. it's illegal strategy in which the defendant claims. They acted in a state of violent temporary insanity committing assault or murder because of unwanted same sex sexual advances defendant may alleged to have found the same sex sexual advances so offensive or frightening that they were provoked into reacting were acting in self defense were of diminished capacity or were temporarily insane and that this circumstance is mitigating a manifestation of homophobia and transphobia trans panic is a closely related defense plot in cases of assault manslaughter or murder of a transgender individual with whom the assailants engaged in sexual relations unaware that the victim is transgender until seeing them naked or further into or after sexual activity broadly the defenses may be called the gay and transparent defense or the lgbtq plus panic defense they are typically used by heterosexual gender men against gay men and trans women the us military put off the court hearing as long as they possibly could one joseph final and did go to trial in two thousand fifteen jennifer's loving family had to sit through this guy awful trial that smeared their daughter's name dehumanized her and the cruelty that was exhibited throughout when the trial was finally over joseph. Pemberton was convicted and sentenced for homicide. Which is not as high of charge as murder is. They couldn't charge him for murder because there was no evidence of cruelty and or treachery which just makes me scratch my head and his sentence only ten years in prison on top of that light sentence for murder. Let's call a thing a thing here. He didn't even have to serve time in philippines. Prison a defense pact. That the us in the philippines has with each other allow joseph to serve his time at a us military base instead in september. Twenty twenty he had only served five years and he was given a quote absolute. Pardon by rodriguez do territory the president of the philippines for good conduct which is part of the visiting forces agreement. Which is the pact between the us and the philippines that allows much shorter jail. Time for good conduct also. This agreement was authorized back in nineteen eighty eight it gives. Us military aircraft and vessels free entrance into the philippines. The v. faa lowers visa restrictions for us military personnel. It does give the philippines prom authority over. Us military personnel and died of crimes in the country unless those crimes include other us troops joseph. Pemberton wasn't in a prison around other inmates. He was by himself so of course. He wouldn't have many options to not exhibit good behavior. Joseph said he was extremely grateful to do tetteh and gave his quote most sincere sympathy to jennifer law days family. He went on to say he spent so much time thinking about the.
Reverie True Crime
"philippines" Discussed on Reverie True Crime
"Start off this episode. I want to read you. A mark twain quote from the new york herald on october fifteenth. Nineteen hundred quote. I've seen that. We do not intend to free. But to subjugate the people of the philippines we have gone to conquer not to redeem. And so. I am an anti imperialist. I am opposed to having the american eagle put its talents on any other land in quote. I also think it's important that we all know and understand the history between the us and the philippines because what happened to. Jennifer has only shown the characteristics of the blood-soaked past of american domination over the philippine people. The us and spain made a deal that ended. Spain's rule over the philippines brought on a new age of suppression to the native people. There was a battle between the filipino. People and the us forces but the us had many more deadly weapons than the filipinos had thousands of men. Women and children were brutally killed. Some passed away because they were starved to death and others lost their lives to disease. During the imperial war of the early twentieth century. The us were raping the filipino. People torching their villages and waterboarding which was newer at the time there were concentration camps and the slaughtering of filipinos at random in nineteen o two. Us president theodore roosevelt called this race war in a speech at the arlington cemetery. He said this war was quote the triumph of civilization over forces. Which stamp for the black chaos of savagery and barbarism in quote the us had been dehumanizing and brutalizing the filipino people. So much so that it was routed. An american methods and rules and nineteen o four for example at the saint louis fair. There were families from the philippines that were put on display and called quote monkey. Like by w j mckee. an anthropologist. White won't thought it was just hilarious. You even had publications that were taken seriously. Such as national geographic calling filipino. People uncivilised these people were not at all treated like human beings as we have seen time and time again with people of color in the past and the present the philippines finally thought they had gotten freedom but it was only made to seem that way to them they were still treated like crap. Their ecosystem was trashed and the us military made sure to poison the area before the us withdrew in nineteen ninety-three the military spread ross sewage pesticides and chemicals. For years and years pollution still causes diseases. Premature deaths and birth defects in the philippines. Today as we will see in this case the us military gets away with just about any crime. They commit against filipino. People they may get a slap on the wrist. But that's really about it so without further ado. Let's get into the case of jennifer lawday. jennifer law. day was born with the name jeffrey. She was a filipina transgender woman. Born on november the fourth nineteen eighty seven in two thousand fourteen. She was a vibrant twenty six year old and had a fiance who was a german national named mark. Social beck they had met online and the rest was history. They were sporting their engagement. Rings and ready to tie the knot in thailand. At least that was the plan. Jennifer was described by friend as joyful. She was not only gorgeous on the outside. But her soul radiated beauty jennifer was super confident about who she was as a person and her sexuality another word for beautiful is gonda and almost everyone who knew jennifer called her that jennifer as fixed herself up stunningly with makeup and her outfits but as her friends and family said her beauty was not only on the outside jennifer's friend said quote she was full of joy she was selfless and did not get on bad terms with one in quote. Jennifer sister reminisced about how jennifer would always no matter. What help out any of her loved ones. Who were going through problems that involved money anytime she saw someone struggling she would never hesitate to help them in any way. Jennifer made the most money out of oliver family members so she would always send her mom money to help her out with whatever she may have needed. She had a stunning personality. She was out and proud and she loved who she was. Jennifer was never scared or thought that anyone whatever be cruel or physically aggressive to her just for being herself. Unfortunately she was born into a world of insane realities that she couldn't control at all as i said jennifer was filipina which is hard enough and a nation where the. Us military is domineering but being transgender woman when the lgbtq plus community is already enduring more and more violence globally. That makes things even harder. People should not have to live in fear because of their gender sexuality race or anything else but the fact of the matter is even. If you don't live in fear which is brave. And i respect that so much. You have to be cautious and aware that people are really cruel especially if you're a minority because you are unfortunately more likely then myself to be a target for violence and it's a difficult sad and unfair fat. Even if you choose not to live your life afraid you can't trust that everyone is approaching you for reasons that are genuinely good. All of the time is just so upsetting that. It's how people need to look at others but being trusting of someone right away honestly no matter who you are as we have heard time and time again it can really put you in a horrible situation. Trusting and more naive people are who abusers and killers gravitate towards because it makes their job a lot easier. it's sickening but it's true on october. The eleventh of twenty fourteen jennifer and her good friend barbie were at the ambiance disco. This was a bar and oppo which is in the philippines at this bar. Jennifer met in american man. This man was lance corporal. Joseph scott pemberton and he was a us. Marine only nineteen years old from new bedford massachusetts so lance corporal in the marine corps is the third enlisted rank and is equal to private first class in the army as a lance corporal. Your duty is to exhibit a degree of leadership skill. and you serve. As a role model for the new recruits. he.