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Battle of Armageddon
We often envision the battle of Armageddon to be this long violent prolonged war between the Beast and his minions and God and the saints. This is not what Scripture tells us will happen.
And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth:
Rev 19:211st the Beast and False Prophet are thrown into the Lake of Fire, then the minions are killed by the voice of God. The sword going out of his mouth represents the power of His word. The same power was used in creation:
By the word of the LORD were the heavens made …
Psa 33:6Armageddon will be bloody, but it will not be a battle, nor will it be prolonged. Before it even really begins, He ends it.
This reminds me of when the Romans and the Jews came to take Jesus:
Judas then, having received a band of men and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, cometh thither with lanterns and torches and weapons.
John 18:3-6
Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye?
They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am he. And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them.
As soon then as he had said unto them, I am he, they went backward, and fell to the ground.Jesus used the power of His word here in the garden, and the solders were driven backward and to the ground. What a wonderful taste, a foreshadow of how God END the ‘battle’ of Armageddon.
Never forget the power of the One we love and worship. There is none like Him!
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Finding Your People
I have never been fully accepted into the tightknit community I was born into. Once an outsider, always an outsider. This used to really bother me, especially when growing up. It was hard to understand as a teenager and left me feeling like there was actually something wrong with me. In actual fact, it was the people who’s culture and land I was parachuted into who had the issue, not me. Yes, we looked alike and spoke the same language. We would all be considered protestants too. But I was not related, I went to the wrong church and had the wrong last name. This continued into my adult years and I would often find myself on the outside peering in.
Fast forward 20 years. I no longer care. Not only that, but I am thankful that I was not assimilated.
My true friends, those who are part of my inner circle, are a loosely associated group of like minded people and families. Some are from the local community, but many are not. I consider these people ‘my people.’ What makes them so?
As I think about this, I realize that I don’t have a common heritage with many of them. I don’t even share the same Christian systems. Some live close, others up to a couple hours away. Most are younger than we are.
What draws us together?
- We all have families.
- Every one of us marches to our own beat. We are not pulled by the desire to fit in, or please others. We are the exact opposite of The Borg … we are not assimilated.
- Thinking systems. This one is harder to put into words. We all operate our lives and families in an analytical, almost regimented way. Feelings and the wishy washy decisions that come from operating on feels are just not found among us.
- Intelligence/IQ. I’m willing to bet that most of the adults are on the higher IQ end of the scale. They tend to see through organized systems and people who are draining very quickly. (Interesting … just kinda realized this one as I was writing.)
- We all homeschool.
- Most (I think all) run our own companies. A few wives and several of our kids have conventional jobs, but most have a family industry
As I think more though this group of ‘my people,’ its more like we are a loose association of city-states or mini empires. Each are running our own little country. We are not marching in lock-step with anyone. I don’t consider any of them part of my family empire nor do any of them consider me part of theirs. We share a few resources, but mostly what we share is knowledge. I learn what has worked in their empire and they in turn learn from what they see me doing. It’s symbiotic.
The drive to be a part of a whole seems to be strong in many people. Indeed, my desire to be accepted by the community I grew up in is testimony to that. There is comfort in the herd. But is it the best option for you and your family? Will the herd you choose protect you when the storm comes? Or will they all fly apart leaving the weak and vulnerable to be consumed? Counties are breaking up. The wolves who have been allowed to run wild in the herd are consuming us from within. We must resist the urge to try to hold the whole together. That experiment is done. Instead:
Build your own people = family. Associate with other likeminded families. Understand that you and yours will ultimately be your own responsibility.
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Nihilistic Entitlement
There is a general symptom of entitlement sweeping young ‘men’ today. They want:
- Student debt forgiveness
- Rent forgiveness
- Universal income
… and today I discovered that they really want their 6 months maternity leave too.
I was absolutely swarmed on SG for suggesting that ‘men’ who take 3-6 months maternity leave to lay around the house while their wives take care of the newborns … we’re no longer going to be included in my circle of friends.
I weeded out a good 10 or 12 of these entitled snots today … and good riddance. They are weak. They are leaches. And most of all they are deadbeats.
What they can’t seem to understand is that if you live off the sweat of another man’s labour eventually you become dependent on that system of support. Oh, there were a lot of excuses … ‘I pay taxes,’ and ‘the system is out to get you anyway’ … all kinds of excuses. But none of these, no matter how loudly and derisively you shout them mean anything when it comes to taking on your own responsibilities. You either accept the responsibility to provide for your own, or you are not a full man. Full stop.
Further, the very children they claim to be at home raising (I call total BS on that,) are the ones who will eventually pay for their leeching ways. Not only will those children be raised by a shitty role model … a pale imitation of what a man should be … but they will be saddled with the debt and lack of responsibility traits that come from being raised by ‘men’ who have nihilistically given up on their responsibilities as providers. The blind entitlement is astonishing.
These are NOT the sort of men you want in the bunker with you … they are not the kind you goto war with or who you decide to build a society with. They have no spine. You can’t trust them to have your back and you know they will never follow you into the breach. They are the equivalent of women and children … content to hide behind you. They will be nothing but a drain on your resources and society. Useless waste.
In the future, what will this generation be known for?
- Boomers had everything handed to them.
- Gen X (my generation,) had to fight the greed and selfishness of boomers every step of the way … and in many ways lost the battle.
Now these boys are the products of my generation, who fell for the lie of easy divorce, where mom got custody and leeched off the dad who had to support them. This generation, raised by leeching women are now feeling entitled like their soul-sucking mom’s before them.
Boomers created the drain and decline … Gen X couldn’t pull it together … and here we are = a generation of sucking, entitled nihilists.
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How to Read Revelation
Reading Revelation with understanding and following the instructions is given to us as a blessing.
Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.
Revelation 1:3Revelation also ends with a couple of blessings and a promise.
Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.
Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
Revelation 22: 7, 14 and 20Accept the blessings. Read Revelation and ask God for understanding. He will use His Holy Spirit to show you what he wants you to know. It’s really not that mysterious once you get away from the nonsense that churchianity has placed into God’s Word.
To begin: Understand the Who, When and Why.
First of all (and most importantly,) the main purpose of Revelation is found right there in the 1st verse.
The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass …
Revelation 1:1It is the revelation of Christ set in the future. While there have been some partial fulfillments of some prophecies, the bulk of this book has yet to happen. Jesus Christ has not come back yet. Every eye has not beheld Him. The earth has not yet seen the wrath of God. This is a futuristic book. The events found here have not happened yet.
It is the revelation of Jesus Christ, not the Jews as some would have us believe. It is not about finding the lost tribes of Israel. The main topic is not even about punishment, even though the majority of the book is taken up describing the judgements. It’s about Christ coming back to the earth in power and might and how He will set up His kingdom here. It is HIS revelation.
God wants us to be watching for His Son’s return. (See Matt 24:42, Mark 13:33, Luke 21:36, 1 Thes 5:6, 1 Peter 4:7. Look these up … we are to be watching for His return. It’s been told to us over and over again.) So, if we are to be watching, we need to know what we should be looking for. This is what Revelation reveals to us.
Literal vs Symbolic
Not everything in Revelation is symbolic. Much of it is meant to be literal.
Some will tell you that everything is symbolic and can only be understood when you know the code … which only they know and can reveal to you. This is Satanic and based in the belief that there is some higher purpose that God is keeping from you. It is the basis of the original lie by the original liar. God is not keeping secrets from us. He gave us Revelation to be understood. He is not trying to trick us or keep us in the dark. He wants us to take the whole of the Bible and see how everything fits together by summing it all up in Revelation.
So, when reading Revelation, simply assume everything is literal unless it is obviously symbolic. (Not the other way around.)When you read that hail and fire mingled with blood rained down on the earth and that 1/3 of the trees and all the grass were burnt up (Rev 8:7,) you can assume this is literal and true. This has happened before (as a judgement on Sodom and Gomorrah.) It is possible, and you can be assured it will literally happen again.
When you read about something that uses the words ‘as’ or ‘like,’ you can assume that something is being described using an adjective (descriptive term.) The thing is not the adjective but is something LIKE the adjective. For instance, ‘His head and his hairs were white like wool’ (Revelation 1:14.) You can assume that they are white and possibly looked like wool but were not actually wool. Or, ‘his voice as the sound of many waters’ (Revelation 1:15.) This is not about water. It’s not some mysterious symbolic thing. It is simply a description of what His voice sounded like. (To me, this would be like a roaring waterfall, reverberating and thundering.)
Finally. When something is a physical impossibility, you can safely assume it is symbolic of something. ‘And out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword’ (Revelation 1:16.) Jesus is not walking around with a sword growing out of His mouth. This is symbolic of the power of His voice. It is clearly symbolic as it does not make sense as a physicality.
Chronology
Jumping around and grabbing bits and pieces has been a favorite technique of those who try to find hidden meaning in everything … secrets that only they can know. More Satanic influence.
When you read ‘after this’ or ‘after these things,’ these are chronological markers. Don’t assume God is trying to fool you. When He says something will happen after something else, believe Him. When He numbers things, you can assume this is also a chronology; an order of events.
Don’t try to put chronology into Revelation where there is none to be found. A favorite of Dispensationalists is to make the letters to the 7 churches to be some sort of chronology of history and that each letter is describing a ‘church age’ (not a biblical term.) It’s trying to fit God’s Word into a man-imagined system. Don’t do it. Don’t read into God’s Word something that is not there. The letters to the 7 churches are just that: letters. There are no chronological words or markers from church to church.
Gods Order and Divisions in Revelation
There are a couple of two-part divisions in the book of Revelation.
Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter;
Revelation 1:19This is the order that God instructed John to put Revelation into:
- Past = has seen
- Present = things which are
- Future = things which shall be hereafter
What’s interesting is, when we take this order of instruction, we find it as a pattern that was repeated twice in Revelation. This is the first ‘two-part division’ that we will look at.
Chapters 1 to 11 follow the past, present, future pattern and then beginning at Chapter 12 we find Revelation beginning with the past again. So, if you read Revelation with this in mind you will find that you have the same past, present and future written twice but with different emphasis and varying details.
The 1st division (Chapters 1 to 11) have a greater amount of detail on the present. The letters addressed to the 7 churches would have been John’s present time and there are 2 chapters dedicated to these.
In the 2nd division (Chapters 12 to 22) we find details of the future events after the final Vial and Trumpet judgements. These details are not found in the 1st division.
When you understand this division, you can begin to flip back and forth and get a fuller picture of what is happening at the same point in time in each section.
The next two part division we should note is: the book of Revelation details a period of about 7 years which are approximately divided in half. The major event about half way through (3 1/2 years in,) is the ‘Day of the Lord.’ We know this is at approximately the half way point from other Scriptures, specifically Daniel.
The Day of the Lord is characterized by Jesus’ coming back to earth in the clouds. Every person on earth will see him. On that day, the sun will be darkened, the moon turn red and stars will fall. Anytime you read of these events happening, you can know this is referring to the Day of the Lord and that it is approximately half way through the seven year period of Revelation.
The 1st 3.5 years of Revelation is properly referred to as ‘the tribulation’ (see Matt 24 for detail on this,) while the 2nd part is called the Wrath of God.
The events of the 1st half of the seven year period on earth are primarily the opening of the seven book seals of judgement on man and are providential in nature. That means they will be ‘natural.’ Wars, famines, disease, etc.
The events of the 2nd 3.5 years on earth detail the trumpet and the vial judgements. These appear to run concurrently and are mostly un-natural events. These are the wrath of God executed by Jesus and are put on the unbelieving people who are on earth. This will not be a good time for any still here.
OK. Read Revelation.
With these few basic understandings about what the book is about and how it is divided up, begin reading.
I would advise that you read the whole book through one time to get a feel for how it is written. Then read it again, but take the time to begin to compare the two parts. Flip back and forth as you read and picture what is being described.
A third reading can then be done with a notebook in hand. Note how the same events are written twice looking for the commonalities between the two parts. Compare and blend the descriptions together to get a fuller picture of what is happening.
Finally, with these notes, you’ll be able go through the other Scriptures that detail the events of this time period and know exactly what they are talking about and where they fit into the timeline.
Would love to hear your thoughts and comments.
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Worshiping the Beast
And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
Rev 13:8I have wondered how all the major religions of the world would end up worshiping the same Anti-Christ. It just seemed that the major religions were in direct competition with each other. One thing they all seem to have in common though, is the hunt for a new Messiah … one that is not Christ, the God of the world.
- Jews – Looking for the Messiah. They rejected Jesus.
- Christians (not saved ones) – looking for Jesus to come back and set up his kingdom here on earth. They will follow anyone claiming to be Christ because they don’t really know Him.
- Muslims – are looking for al-Mahdi.
- Buddhists – looking for Maitreya.
- Hindu’s – Looking for a new Krishna.
Those that worship state and power like the Marxist Communists who are trying to take over the western world are looking for a global government and will accept any leader who can create the state they desire. (Satan driven.)
And of course, the Liberal left which are mostly Godless atheists are always looking for a new person to revere and worship.
So virtually every religion, or a-religion is looking for a Messiah. They will eventually all come together to worship the beast.
What will that look like? Maybe something like this:
“The House of One” will house a synagogue, a church and a mosque under the same roof on the site of a church that was damaged in fighting in World War II and then torn down by the communist regime that ruled the eastern part of the city until the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1991.
A cornerstone laying ceremony is planned for May 27 to launch the expected four-year construction project for the new building that has been dubbed a “churmosquagogue” located in Petriplatz in the heart of Berlin.
“The idea is pretty simple,” Roland Stolte, a Christian theologian who helped start the project told The Guardian. “We wanted to build a house of prayer and learning, where these three religions could co-exist while each retaining their own identity.”
https://worldisraelnews.com/churmosquagogue-center-in-berlin-to-serve-jews-christians-and-muslims/
“There are many different ways to God, and each is a good way,” Rabbi Nachama said, adding that in the House of One, Christians, Muslims and Jews would worship separately, but would visit each other for religious holidays, commemorations and celebrations.
“We wanted to create a new kind of sacred building that mirrors Berlin today,” Stolte said. “The initiators are acting as placeholders. This is not a club for monotheistic religions – we want others to join us.”
Stolte said the concept has received general support by faith communities and the public, but added that the planners wanted to reach out to non-religious Germans because “East Berlin is a very secular place. Religious institutions have to find new language and ways to be relevant, and to make connections.”And so we have the beginning of the one world religion that will worship the beast in the end times. Those that don’t know Christ will accept this Satanic conglomerations. Make sure you choose the right side!
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Universal Basic Income
Understand this. Virtually every single thing promoted by ‘progressives’ is against God and His order.
The man who hates you … the man who has singlehandedly done more to destroy privacy than any other single human ever … this is the guy who wants Universal Basic Income? Stop giving your life to Facebook. Zuckerberg is an emissary from Satan. He really, really hates you. Universal Income. Sounds wonderful, right? Money for nothing. Every person taken care of. No more poor. Utopia.
Except …
Scripture (God’s Word) says:
For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.
2 Thess. 3:10-12
For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies.
Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread.God’s order is for every man to work for his food. Satan’s way is every man to lay around in idleness and still have food.
God, who loves you, says to work.
Satan, who hates God’s creation and especially man, says Universal Income. Which do you think will be best for you?
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Walking Clichés
So many young men on social media are walking clichés; throwing out their chests, giving ‘strong’ advice to other young men = full of machismo and bravado … all online.
Off to the gym they go, all buff … eating Carnivore … drinking protein. They swagger around, flashing their lats and sneaking peeks at themselves in the mirrors.
They will talk about how they can ‘read people’ using words like ‘behavioral’ … and they have all ‘studied’ something and are now experts. 23 yr old experts.
Hair carefully quaffed or shaved bald. Smelling of some sweet, exotic scent. Clothes immaculate … always. Loafers without sox.
Pictures of Lamborghini’s or Ferrari’s in their Twitter header. They write blogs or social media posts giving advice to other young men and talking about cigars, whiskey and women … and who knows, maybe they’ve bought a few drunk floozies’ in their life.
The smoking and the drinking? That’s to impress the boys. Sucking on phallic symbols, downing large mouthfuls of strong drink … it’s all very homo. It’s all to impress the boys = how cool and nonchalant they can be while sucking on a long, hard … cigar.
Guaranteed to be avid UFC fans. Oh they will talk about this or that fighting style and they will have all the terminology down … but really they just love watching half naked men in tights rolling around on each other. Super gay!
In real life:
Put these closet homo’s on a farm or in a garden. Tell them they must provide for and protect a family … raise children and trust God. Watch them flounder. Most would give up within 24 hours. Completely useless. Utter wastes of resources, food and air.
Do NOT get tied into these frauds. Do not make them a part of your tribe. And most of all, do not be this kind of young man!
Put your head down and work. Get rid of your social media. Stop chasing tail. Stop pretending. Get real with your life. Build things that matter and will last. Create a legacy.
30 seconds of Twitter and I found some examples. I have no clue who any of these ladies are, but they fit the mold. Don’t be this!
The quadrivium … whisky, cigars, money and women. Homo. 
This one claims to understand and study human behaviour. A telltale sign … 
Cigars AND Call of Duty … with a TikTok account. Double gay gamma for sure. 
This one can’t even find cigar sucking mates in real life … virtual homo. 
Kronos … one of the Titans. Descended from YerAnnus. Of course. Ok. Enough. You get the point. Don’t be these guys. Be real.
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Reading Thucydides
Back in 2008 VoxDay lead a reading group through The Peloponnesian War by Thucydides. Along with discussion posts, he also created quizes and a ‘final exam’ for those following along.
The posts on Vox Popoli were all mixed in with his regular posting and the Blogspot search function leaves something to be desired. So I’m linking to all the posts and quizzes in order here to make it easier to follow along if others want to attempt this journey.
A quick note about Thucydides versions and books.
The Landmark Thucydides is by far the best version to read and follow along with. The maps alone make it worth while. The dates, page headers, index and glossary are also very helpful in following the story. I also have a Penguins Classic version which is dry and really hard to read by comparison. Consider making the Landmark version a priority.
Discussion and decision to read The Peloponnesian War.
- The world according to Vox [Out of order, but why we read history.]
- The Declining Value of Education
- I am Tempted
- The Voice of the People is Heard
- Overrated
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
- Read Section 2.47 through 2.103 (To the end of Book 2.)
- Voxiversity: Thucydides S3
- Quiz 3
Part 4
- All of Book Three. Sections 3.1 to 3.116. It’s really quite a remarkable section, as it contains what must be one of the startlingly prescient passages in human history.
- Voxiversity: Thucydides S4
- Quiz 4
Part 5
- All of Book Four.
- Voxiversity: Thucydides S5
- Quiz 5
Part 6
- All of Book Five.
- Voxiversity: Thucydides S6
- Quiz 6
Part 7
- All of Book Six.
- Voxiversity: Thucydides S7
- Quiz 7
Part 8
- All of Book Seven.
- Voxiversity: Thucydides S8
- Quiz 8
Part 9
- All of Book Eight.
- Voxiversity S9
- Quiz 9
Final Exam
- Thucydides – the final
- Final Exam
- Of pseudos and the Peloponnesus [End of post announces those that finished the reading and exam.]
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Private & Encrypted Communications
NOTE: Before I start here, I have to tell you: I am not an expert. I will not try to prove what I say here. I cannot help you with your tech issues and I can’t guarantee anything I say here is 100% true and safe. Do not trust me!
2nd NOTE: As I was researching and writing this article, and discussing it with friends, I slowly came to the realization that there is a high probability that anything I suggest here is either already compromised or could be at any time. Use the information below to make it harder for ‘them’ to openly monitor and silence you, but do NOT trust this with your plans to break free from their system.
I’m not sure there is any place left in the world where you can be 100% sure someone can’t hear or see you. Thermostats, appliances, vehicles … virtually anything electronic now often have either Bluetooth or WIFI (or both) and the software running those machines is often close source. They are watching and listening to you …
Make your freedom plans on paper. Communicate face to face or if that is not possible at least by snailmail paper. Don’t trust any of the systems below with your life or family.
OK … off we go.
As we watch Twitter, Youtube, Facebook (is anybody still on FB? Why???) and now Google banning thought and people that are not approved, we find ourselves in the position where we must employ tactics to protect ourselves or lose the ability to privately communicate with each other.
Twitter and Facebook both used their blocking powers to protect Biden and stop stories about his corruption from coming out during the 2020 Election. Twitter even went so far as to block people from privately direct messaging (DM) the story.
And then they banned the President of the United States of America and about 35% of his supporters.
These companies are not on our side. They do not support truth, and seem to be actively trying to destroy trust along with anything that is honest, true or beautiful. What they call Progressive is regressive in every way. Don’t believe their lies!
So we must employ ways to protect ourselves from them, or at the very least, make it much harder for them to shut us down, spy on us, or monitor our words for profit or for more nefarious entities. (If you think the 3 letter gov agencies are not monitoring domestic web traffic for certain words … well, good luck. See the Ed Snowden files about government spying on citizens for confirmation. After all, he did give up his freedom to tell us this.)
As I’m writing this, Twitter is busy banning and deleting freedom people and posts. Unbelievabe. Most People
The average person, for some reason, still believes that people and companies are inherently honest and good. Of course, that is what they are banking on … and I mean literally banking. They scrape, read, listen and watch virtually everything you do. From that data they build a profile and a social graph and can, with uncanny accuracy, predict what you want, who you want and what you are going to do next. And then they sell you. Not the real you, but the digital you is sold to whoever wants to buy you and own you. You become a slave of your own habits and characteristics and they use you for every cent they can.
Being sold to the highest bidder is the least of your worries though. It gets far darker. The governments of the world have almost always tended toward dictatorial control. Once a government leans that way, with what they already know about you through data collection, it is easy for them to find those that could oppose them. Once they decide what someone who is ‘unauthorized,’ looks like, they can search the data to find those people based on those characteristics. We have given them all our data … for free. They know exactly who and what you are, and they own you.
Lets say they decide that the ‘unauthorized’ ones are:
- Christian,
- land owners,
- who buy prepper and other ‘how to’ type books,
- and are friends with known unauthorized persons,
- and oppose ‘progressive’ and degenerate behaviour.
A simple search of the social graph database using those criteria will give them a list of the those the state could deem dangerous (based on those peoples abilities to oppose or simply live without the state.) This is the scenario that we should fear and hopefully avoid. (Having a blog like this … probably not a great idea. Hmmmm.)
Understanding this, should you be entering your data into their systems? Should you tell them what you are shopping for, who you are friends with … your hopes and dreams? Should you give them pictures of your home, your kids and places you’ve been. Should you have their machines listening to your every word while being in control of the systems of your home? (Alexa, Google Nest, Amazon Echo … etc.)
In this day and age of mass online communication (especially since the Covid Plandemic,) can we actually avoid telling them everything about ourselves?
The answer is … a solid maybe. You might not be able to cut them out of everything you do, but you can certainly mitigate the damage by making it really hard (and expensive) for them to monitor your communications.
Plain Text Everywhere
Eben Moglen Interview 2012. Full video here. Most people communicate with each other in plain text. They use cell phones to text. They use Facebook Messenger to plan meetings and family dinner parties. They use Instagram DM’s to flirt and find partners. They send emails by Gmail knowing that, in exchange for ‘free’ email service, Google will be reading and recording every word. In other words, the average person is undressing with the curtains wide open.
Why?
Well, I suppose it just easier that way. No need to hide if you have nothing to hide is the common answer. But as I’ve shown above, you DO have something to hide = you! You are the product. You are the slave. You are the human being trafficked. The easier you make it for them to see you in all your glorious nakedness, the easier it is for them to pimp you out for money … or worse.
The other issue (one I’m trying to help you through here,) is that encryption is hard to understand. Most of us just want to use our phones and computers … we don’t want to know how they work or how the nerds programmed them. Don’t bore us to death with the details.
Ok. Lets get into the good stuff.
Encryption for Chat Communication
1st of all. If you want to avoid all this encryption stuff, get rid of your phone and computer (and all the rest of the computerized stuff in your home and vehicle.) In my opinion, the safest and most private form of communication is still … zee pen and paper. You can write anything out and as long as you don’t have a camera looking over your shoulder, you can be assured it is private. If you can give that communication to the intended recipient hand to hand and they in turn, open and read it without a camera peering over their shoulder, you’ve just accomplished private chat communication. Realistic in this day and age? Nope. However, if you are really paranoid you can operate like this, and it works. (See 2nd EDIT above … you are probably not paranoid, just smarter than most!)
Not gonna use pen and paper? OK. Let’s move on.
About Federation
Before we begin, a quick word about Federation. Federated is not the feds coming for you. Federation, sometimes also called distributed networking is the distribution of communication without the need for a centralized server (or man) in the middle. Virtually all social media uses the man-in-the-middle approach to communication by using centralized servers to distribute the flow of data. You log into their servers, tell them everything and they relay the message onto it’s intended recipient. This is bad. It means that at any given time, you have to rely on their security and hope and pray that they are not storing more than what they are telling you. Federation on the other hand transfers data through multiple nodes and often via different paths from end to end. This is better as there is no single choke point where people can sit and vacuum up your data.
The one time that a man-in-the-middle is good is if you are ‘the man.’ If you own the server, and the server logs, then you are in control of that choke point. This is good. Be the man.
Lets Begin with the Worst
Assuming you don’t want everything you write to be plain text, then the next best thing is to use one of the mainstream ‘encrypted’ chat services. The big boyz on the block are:
- Telegram
- Signal
- FaceBook Secret Messenger (lol … no.)
- aaaannd a bunch of others all using the same model
I don’t recommend any of these. Here’s why.
They all do two things.
- They all put a man-in-the-middle by routing your messages through their central servers.
- And they all ask you to trust them to do the right thing.
Central Servers. Whoever owns the servers, owns the server logs. Review the video above to understand how important the web servers are. I suspect these messaging systems decided to allow encryption to be used at the ends because they knew that the logs in the middle were as important, or more important than what was actually being said. The social graph stays intact if they know who is talking with whom, how often and who is on your contacts list.
Trust. Remember how Google used to say, ‘Don’t be evil’ and then they turned out to be the most evil of the bunch? It’s the same with all of the above. They all want you to trust them. You have to trust that they won’t steal your keys, keep logs about who you are talking to and that they won’t give up your messages if the feds come knocking. You name it, they want your trust. This is not how encryption works. If I really trusted these companies, I would not be looking for encryption! To go back to the ‘undressing with the curtains open’ analogy, they are saying, ‘It’s OK to undress in front of us, we won’t look. We promise.’ Hard NO.
Let’s look at a few of these specifically.
WhatsApp. Owned by Facebook. Need I say anymore? I would not trust Zuckerberg any further than I could throw him. He literally hates half of the people who are his product, and would do anything to see them destroyed … but you can trust him with your encryption. It will be fine = No.
The 1st thing you do with WhatsApp is give them your cell phone number and profile pic. They then ask for your contacts list … which they will spam to tell everyone on your list that you just joined WhatsApp. Great. Thanks.
They also very helpfully offer the backup your messages for you … using Google Drive. So you end up giving Google a piece of your hot data action too. I wonder how much Google paid to get that cozy little deal? Not only that, but WhatsApp even tells you that once you backup your messages, they are no longer safe. No kidding! You just gave Google all your chats (hopefully still encrypted, but who knows,) who you’ve been chatting with, how often and when. Basically you’ve given them the server logs. Sharing your chat logs with WhatsApp AND Google … this is not good.
Further, WhatsApp has just announced (Jan, 2021) that they are going to link all your WhatsApp data to the Facebook data they have on you … yup, your encrypted chats including your contacts lists, how often and to whom you are chatting are all going into Facebooks social graph. Wonderful.
Telegram.
- Central servers
- Have to register with your Cell number
- Encryption is not default
- Encryption for regular messages is handled at the server level which means the server unencrypts your messages and re-encrypts them on the way out. Why??
- Their server side encryption protocol is closed source. This means that no nerds have inspected their code and we can never be sure what they are doing under the hood. But you can trust them, right?
- Based on trust. We won’t look at your messages … scouts honour.
- Will collect and keep your personal chat connections including IP addresses for up to 12 months (no problem though, trust us.)
Facebook Secret Messenger. First of all, would you please get rid of Facebook? Zuckerberg has done more to destroy your privacy than any single other person in the world. He hates you but as long as you give him all your private life info he is willing to make money from you. Here is what Zuck thinks about you and your privacy:
From Business Insider Still want to use his ‘encryption’ system? Don’t.
Signal. Signal is a unique communication app that might be somewhat better than the previous three. What signal does is replace your phones SMS system with their app. The one main drawback is that it requires you to use data instead of the cellular SMS system. (Here in Canada, data is expensive … very expensive. When you use Signal, it replaces your cellular SMS system and you need to have data enabled. This doubles the price of most mainstream plans in Canada. A huge drawback.)
Signal is easy to use and set up and everything pretty much runs quietly in the background seamlessly replacing SMS. However they still:
- Get your cell number (apparently the profile pic and user name associated with your phone number are encrypted … who knows. Based on trust.)
- Force you to use Google Play Store to get the app and have Google Play Services enabled on your phone. You know, the ‘don’t be evil’ people? (Google Play Services forces you into ‘features’ you don’t necessarily want or even know about. For instance, a Covid tracing ‘feature’ seems to be on the horizon.)
- Use Central Servers
- Ask you to trust that they are not storing messages
The owner of Signal Foundation, Moxie Marlinspike, is an intriguing man. He does not fit into the soft, puttylike mold that the Mark Zuckerbers, Twitter Jack’s and Bill Gates seem to have been poured from. For that reason alone I tend to trust him more … just not enough to get naked in front of him.
EDIT: Jacko from Twitter endorses Signal which is a HUGE warning flag. This was after Apple banned Parler from their app store. Apparently Jack was happy to see Parler go and not unhappy that Signal topped the charts. Not a good sign.
The Encrypted Chat System I Use
Here are the things I want to see with my encrypted chats.
- End to end encryption.
- Completely federated or at least routed through servers I own
- The only person I have to trust is the recipient of the message
- Open source so nerds can inspect the code for nefarious workings
- Don’t have to get it from ‘don’t be evil’ Google
- Don’t have to give up my cell phone number or Contacts list to some central server
- Not developed by people who hate me or want to own me
Enter Delta Chat.
Delta Homepage Delta is an App that you either put on your phone or desktop that provides encryption. What makes them unique is that they use email to send the chat. So instead of your now encrypted message going through WhatsApp or Telegram servers, it goes to your selected email provider and from them through the email system to the intended recipient. Email is the largest federated system in the world, you might as well use it. Once the recipient gets the chat with Delta, their app unencrypts the message and they can read it.
So this is what Delta has done for us:
- Encrypted the message on your side (including the subject line, but not the header … more on that later.)
- Sent the message through a federated network = email
- Recipient gets to unencrypt and open on their own machine
Delta Pros:
- End to End encryption
- completely open source
- Distributed and downloadable from their website. You don’t need to ask Google to let you use it
- Does not use cell phone numbers
- Has no central servers
Delta Cons:
- Does Delta hate its users? Probably not, however, this question has been a little harder to figure out. They don’t seem to be beholden to any financiers that hate us. The people who are building Delta, while diverse don’t seem to be pushing any sort of agenda of indoctrination. The only thing I could find was this somewhat disconcerting post. However, that was the only one they posted along these lines and have since posted about more legitimate security and privacy issues such as those found in Russia and China. For now, I feel like I’m part of the group and not hated … lets hope that continues.
- The other Con is that I’m not sure about is Headers. Because Delta uses email, you email provider needs to know who your are sending the message to. So somehow we have to tell them. This info is not hidden. I wish the ‘from’ part would be hidden, but I don’t think that works with email transport. (I’m at the edge of my understanding of email transport here, so I’ll be happy to be corrected or helped with this … but I’m not putting anymore time into studying it. Nerd speak makes me crazy.)
In Real Life
My family has been using Delta pretty much exclusively for at least 3 yrs now. The system is completely robust. We exchange message chats, voice memos (like WhatsApp voice chat) pictures and videos. We have both family groups and private chats. It’s been great!
To add a level of security, we route our chats through my own email server. I use Yunohost and run the servers on a rented VPS. I own the server. I own the logs. I could delete it any time I want. The only thing better would be if I could host the server in my own home, but my ISP has made that very difficult at this point. I will fix that soon. (I’m talking to you Xplornet and your CGNAT.)
And that’s it folks. If you made it to the end = thanks! If you want to test a Delta installment with me, shoot me a email via my Contact Page and I’ll exchange emails with ya.
Finally, remember … don’t make your freedom plans online. Assume everything you say and write online will be surveilled.
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When to Burn the Bridges
Confession. I’m a burn the bridges kinda guy. It’s how I’m wired. However, after a few years here on earth, I’ve learned to temper my burning desires in some situations.
When to Burn Away
Burning sometimes needs to happen when you are dealing with people. Friends, oftentimes family, sometimes spouses need to be burnt outta your life for you to move ahead. Typically these are interpersonal relationships. If they are:
- Needy
- Negative
- Untrustworthy
- Progressive
- Judgmental/Critical of everything
- Drunkard
- Busybody
- Users
Oh, this list can go on forever … basically, if they are dragging you down instead of building you up = burn ’em. Get those people out of your life. If you can’t trust them in battle to have your back, eventually they will hurt you; could be physically, but most certainly mentally. You already know who they are …
Don’t Burn – Leave the Way Intact
I have discovered that there are certain situations where you might need to distance yourself, but you don’t want to eliminate a way back.
This is primarily in the business setting.
We often burn bridges to companies as if the people working there are the company themselves. In the past I’ve burnt companies because I didn’t like the person I was dealing with. Then later found that many people had not liked dealing with that person and he/she had been eliminated by the company … except now I’m on the outside because I had treated the company as if they were just that person.
Same can happen in a work setting. Your boss or coworker might be a total life suck. You definitely have to decide just how much you will take, but understand that if they are truly a sh!tty person, they will eventually be eliminated anyway. You might have to bide your time rather than burning it all down.
Caveat. Some companies are built from the ground up as ‘progressive’ … these should be burnt out of your life. They can’t change because their identity is built on the premise of hate as a founding ideology. This is different than the case of a crappy human working in a decent company. If the mission statement is written in a way that you are a target instead of a client = burn baby burn.
