add info and sources related to Paraguay's history. (#156)

.gitignore

@@ -10,3 +10,4 @@ projects
 markdown_books
 music
 social_journal.md
+Pixel watch 2 battery.md

audiobooks.md

@@ -83,6 +83,15 @@
 - [Nia Frome - Tankies [audiobook] by dessalines](magnet:?xt=urn:btih:2b8982840b1cd9d9c8c64a87142464100524de25&dn=Nia%20Frome%20-%20Tankies%20%5Baudiobook%5D%20by%20dessalines)
 - [Mahasi Sayadaw - Question and Answer with Mahasi Sayadaw [audiobook] by dessalines](magnet:?xt=urn:btih:35ce15deda165b36ae8d617be9f3d4f67fe8e333&dn=Mahasi%20Sayadaw%20-%20Question%20and%20Answer%20with%20Mahasi%20Sayadaw%20%5Baudiobook%5D%20by%20dessalines)- [Joseph Stalin - Stalin on Churchill [audiobook] by dessalines](magnet:?xt=urn:btih:72620c61846ab4b346920d989bbacf7bce17891a&dn=Joseph%20Stalin%20-%20Stalin%20on%20Churchill%20%5Baudiobook%5D%20by%20dessalines)
 - [Alice Malone - Concessions [audiobook] by dessalines](magnet:?xt=urn:btih:3456507db9a1b1da62dc689f1c61863fc18c011d&dn=Alice%20Malone%20-%20Concessions%20%5Baudiobook%5D%20by%20dessalines)
+- [Buddha - Middle Discourses 20 - How to Stop Thinking [trans Bhikku Sujato] [audiobook] by dessalines](magnet:?xt=urn:btih:0056f9dc4f46444231817e036f5c42e598f4df38&dn=Buddha%20-%20Middle%20Discourses%2020%20-%20How%20to%20Stop%20Thinking%20%5Btrans%20Bhikku%20Sujato%5D%20%5Baudiobook%5D%20by%20dessalines)
+- [Buddha - Middle Discourses 10 - Mindfulness Meditation [trans Bhikku Sujato] [audiobook] by dessalines](magnet:?xt=urn:btih:b6a1454daecfafbdb706328f4afec2efb6b27268&dn=Buddha%20-%20Middle%20Discourses%2010%20-%20Mindfulness%20Meditation%20%5Btrans%20Bhikku%20Sujato%5D%20%5Baudiobook%5D%20by%20dessalines)
+- [Jeff Brown - The Myth of Chinese Capitalism [audiobook] by dessalines](magnet:?xt=urn:btih:9e0d633037ff6feab896124a55672a7d0cc0d913&dn=Jeff%20Brown%20-%20The%20Myth%20of%20Chinese%20Capitalism%20%5Baudiobook%5D%20by%20dessalines)
+- [Domenico Losurdo - Western Marxism [audiobook] by dessalines](magnet:?xt=urn:btih:724294ba57ffbcd34d115f05ddd4fe67b1fb9572&dn=Domenico%20Losurdo%20-%20Western%20Marxism%20%5Baudiobook%5D%20by%20dessalines)
+- [Bhante Gunaratana - Loving-Kindness in Plain English [audiobook] by dessalines](magnet:?xt=urn:btih:e7ea562415a07dd591907170570a243ce7c61ac1&dn=Bhante%20Gunaratana%20-%20Loving-Kindness%20in%20Plain%20English%20%5Baudiobook%5D%20by%20dessalines)
+- [Gabriel Rockhill - The US did not defeat fascism in WWII, it discreetly internationalized it [audiobook] by dessalines](magnet:?xt=urn:btih:66b3f9d7fd171e1c9e70ba8120c9f29969986007&dn=Gabriel%20Rockhill%20-%20The%20US%20did%20not%20defeat%20fascism%20in%20WWII%2C%20it%20discreetly%20internationalized%20it%20%5Baudiobook%5D%20by%20dessalines&xl=42364281)
+- [Swiss Policy Research - The Propaganda Multiplier [audiobook] by dessalines](magnet:?xt=urn:btih:e4e6466f1d84f610590f34ca1b53200b71346a1e&dn=Swiss%20Policy%20Research%20-%20The%20Propaganda%20Multiplier%20%5Baudiobook%5D%20by%20dessalines)
+- [Domenico Losurdo - Has China Turned to Capitalism [audiobook] by dessalines](magnet:?xt=urn:btih:2568e9f8632f7354f6edf315cfb270ffdf8995b9&dn=Domenico%20Losurdo%20-%20Has%20China%20Turned%20to%20Capitalism%20%5Baudiobook%5D%20by%20dessalines)
+- [Anna Louise Strong - The Stalin Era [audiobook] by dessalines](magnet:?xt=urn:btih:2c1880fa4615bad64d3ebf73451db46e3dbdabee&dn=Anna%20Louise%20Strong%20-%20The%20Stalin%20Era%20%5Baudiobook%5D%20by%20dessalines)
 
 ## Read by others
 
@@ -93,6 +102,7 @@
 - [Robert Cialdini - The Psychology of Persuasion (New and Expanded)](magnet:?xt=urn:btih:e23a07e07eea40cb172625b03253b6484fb27e2f)
 - [Walter Rodney - How Europe underdeveloped Africa](magnet:?xt=urn:btih:C8EA24A6B93F427D17585CBDE9F31EE2F5ACF2EB&dn=Walter+Rodney+-+How+Europe+Underdeveloped+Africa+%5Baudiobook%5D+audible)
 - [Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz - An indigenous peoples history of the US. ](magnet:?xt=urn:btih:1ae24bda86bd23da6edad32568ad5ff574663f88&dn=Roxanne%20Dunbar-Ortiz%20-%20An%20Indigenous%20Peoples'%20History%20of%20the%20United%20States.mp3)
+- [Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz - La historia indígena de Estados Unidos (audible)](magnet:?xt=urn:btih:52c18ab11d6bf9e2bebf25882d9175d1f74da120&dn=Roxanne%20Dunbar-Ortiz%20-%20La%20historia%20ind%C3%ADgena%20de%20Estados%20Unidos%20%5Baudible%5D)
 - [Autobiography of Malcolm X - as told to Alex Haley](magnet:?xt=urn:btih:4e1ba39a81f987fddf7e6abf9e49e2a0c8490168&dn=Malcolm X - The Autobiography of Malcolm X)
 - [Daniel Immerwahr - How to hide an empire.](magnet:?xt=urn:btih:f9a1c6d9302b2a0de71ebe40eedf74ec0c3dbfff&dn=How%20to%20Hide%20an%20Empire%20by%20Daniel%20Immerwahr)
 - [Gerda Lerner - The Creation of the Patriarchy](magnet:?xt=urn:btih:F3B575BBD18FEC05B1838C9E9CA9532B462C24F2&dn=Gerda+Lerner+-+The+Creation+of+the+Patriarchy+%5Baudible%5D)
@@ -126,3 +136,5 @@
 - [William Blum - Killing Hope [audiobook] by hablini](magnet:?xt=urn:btih:386a3416b92a2c48adf0a2f547a4be3c841ded09&dn=William%20Blum%20-%20Killing%20Hope%20%5Baudiobook%5D%20by%20hablini)
 - [Malcolm Harris - Palo Alto](magnet:?xt=urn:btih:99856fbbe2662a1a8a3c149d4d8dd1d5a3f375d8&dn=Malcolm%20Harris%20-%20Palo%20Alto%20-%20mp3)
 - [Bhikkhu Bodhi - The Buddhas Teaching As It Is [audiobook]](magnet:?xt=urn:btih:b5a4037840def073c7b05dfbf6e47b05b5d991af&dn=Bhikkhu%20Bodhi%20-%20The%20Buddhas%20Teaching%20As%20It%20Is%20%5Baudiobook%5D)
+- [Margaret Kimberley - Prejudential - Black America and the Presidents](magnet:?xt=urn:btih:51d1ac6cba2a13d71030545f80a91db9ff179522&dn=Margaret%20Kimberley%20-%20Prejudential%20-%20Black%20America%20and%20the%20Presidents%20%5Baudible%5D&xl=307497410)
+- [Paul L. Williams - Operation Gladio [audible]](magnet:?xt=urn:btih:e92370d9f51043cfda1efa2cba0933bba6fdeed0&dn=Paul%20L.%20Williams%20-%20Operation%20Gladio%20%5Baudible%5D&xl=341764705)

buddhism/meditation.md

@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 ## Daily schedule
 
 - Pick at least 2 specific times every day, to meditate for 15-30m. Setting an alarm helps, for consistency. Find what works best for you.
+- 7m of concentration, 7m of insight, 7m of metta
 
 ## What doesn't work
 
@@ -19,6 +20,7 @@
 
 [Source](https://suttacentral.net/mn20/en/sujato?lang=en&layout=plain&reference=none&notes=asterisk&highlight=false&script=latin)
 
+Acronym: ODISC
 - Focus on its opposite, or something else.
   - Sensual desire
     - The gross body, dead bodies, old bodies, rotting food, reguritated food, food inside the stomach.
@@ -39,7 +41,7 @@
   - Or devotional practices.
 - Examine its drawbacks / dangers (three marks). Keeping us entangled in suffering, and not doing good for ourselves and others.
 - Forget or ignore. Think of other things: breathing.
-- Analyze it deeply, still it and slow it down, see its causes, and see how it causes suffering.
+- Stop, still it and and slow it down, see its causes, and see how it causes suffering.
 - Crush them, reject them, expell them, with teeth clenched and tongue against roof of mouth.
 
 ## List of cravings
@@ -147,7 +149,7 @@
 - Right mindfuless
   - Awareness/attention to the present, without elaborating, judging, liking/disliking, grasping, or evaluating with a goal.
   - 4 foundations: body(breathing, postures, parts), feeling, states of mind, ideas/perceptions
-  - When enough concentration is built up to mindfulness, panna develops, direct seeing into the 4 noble truths, from moment to moment. Seeing qecomes direct and immediate.
+  - When enough concentration is built up to mindfulness, panna develops, direct seeing into the 4 noble truths, from moment to moment. Seeing becomes direct and immediate.
 - Right concentration
   - Wholesome one-pointedness, collected, stilled, focused, tranquil, without disturbances or hindrances.
   - 4 jhanas

capitalism_doesnt_work.md

@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ Lets unpack the idea that "Capitalism works". In the US, the most developed Capi
 - [Empty homes outnumber the homeless by 6 to 1](http://archive.today/2014.05.23-032153/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/richard-skip-bronson/post_733_b_692546.html). Bank foreclosures and housing speculators have left 18.9 million empty homes. [2.5 million **homeless children**, or ~1 / 30](https://www.newsweek.com/child-homelessness-us-reaches-historic-high-report-says-285052). In the UK, [there are 10x more empty houses than homeless families](http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/ampp3d/housing-crisis-10-empty-homes-5008151). In [Christmas, 2019, more than half a million homeless people across the US.](https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/24/pers-d24.html) [In 2019 in Los Angeles, ~60k people are homeless on any given night.](http://www.laalmanac.com/social/so14.php)
 - Rising Housing prices from real estate speculation have skyrocketed to the point that an epidemic of [hidden homeless](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/los-angeles-hidden-homeless-priced-out-cbsn-originals/) has arisen: families who live in their cars, or on the street, but who still work. In most US cities, such as LA, it's illegal to sleep in your car overnight. 1/3rd of all renters pay half their income towards landlords. Even mid-size cities like Boise Idaho are experiencing a [surge of homelessness as of 2019](https://www.kivitv.com/news/state-of-208/affordable-housing-crisis-leading-to-rise-in-first-time-homelessness-in-boise).
 - [80% of US workers live paycheck to paycheck](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jul/29/us-economy-workers-paycheck-robert-reich), 40% cannot cover a [$400 emergency.](http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/federal-reserve-more-than-4-out-of-10-americans-do-not-even-have-enough-money-to-cover-an-unexpected-400-expense)
+- - [US millenials are dying at alarming rates](https://slate.com/technology/2025/08/millennials-gen-z-death-rates-america-high.html).
 - [Low-income renters can't afford rent in nearly 45% of America's largest metro areas](https://phys.org/news/2022-06-low-income-renters-rent-america-largest.html)
 - [The bottom half of US citizens have a combined negative net worth.](https://www.timesunion.com/technology/businessinsider/article/One-brutal-sentence-captures-what-a-disaster-13882763.php) [Average US household carries ~$140k in debt. Median household income only $60k](https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/2017/11/18/a-foolish-take-heres-how-much-debt-the-average-us-household-owes/107651700/).
 - [52% of young adults live with their parents, for the first time since the great depression.](https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/09/04/a-majority-of-young-adults-in-the-u-s-live-with-their-parents-for-the-first-time-since-the-great-depression/), [1](http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/goodbye-american-dream-the-average-u-s-household-is-137063-in-debt-and-38-4-of-millennials-live-with-their-parents) Younger generations, with dwindling opportunities, feeling disposable and unwanted under late capitalism, suffer from a [burnout epidemic](https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/annehelenpetersen/millennials-burnout-generation-debt-work). Many have [stopped pursuing romantic relationships](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/20/young-people-japan-stopped-having-sex), and [having children.](https://www.curbed.com/2019/7/19/20700379/raising-kids-cities-family-friendly) [Deaths of despair have skyrocketed, especially among those who never went to college.](https://archive.is/XSvWD) [2](https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/hikikomori-japan). [12% of americans in 2021 say they have no close friends, up from 3% in 1991](https://www.americansurveycenter.org/research/the-state-of-american-friendship-change-challenges-and-loss/)

dessalines_marxism_study_plan.md

@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ It alternates between theory, history, and psychology.
 - [Rosa Luxemburg - Reform or Revolution](http://www.marxists.org/archive/luxemburg/1900/reform-revolution/index.htm) . [Audiobook](https://youtube.com/watch?v=YhzmaUofLS8&list=PL0-IkmzWbjoYqO_Yec4sWzPeeFXMOkPWs). Why electoralism will not save us, and revolution is the only way forward.
 - [Red Phoenix - Pacifism - How to do the enemy's job for them.](https://theredphoenixapl.org/2011/08/11/pacifism-how-to-do-the-enemys-job-for-them/), [audiobook](https://youtube.com/watch?v=GxrO7p-6w_k&list=PL0-IkmzWbjoZ5IIhnzFBOImzySh827FyK) A great essay to go with the previous book.
 - [Kwame Nkrumah - The Mechanisms of Neo-colonialism.](https://www.marxists.org/subject/africa/nkrumah/neo-colonialism/ch01.htm) Essay describing how neocolonialism and US "aid" impoverishes Africa.
+- Paul L. Williams - Operation Gladio. [Audiobook](magnet:?xt=urn:btih:e92370d9f51043cfda1efa2cba0933bba6fdeed0&dn=Paul%20L.%20Williams%20-%20Operation%20Gladio%20%5Baudible%5D&xl=341764705). An expansive history of Operation Gladio - A CIA / NATO program beginning after WW2 by Allen Dulles, which united former Nazis (such as Gehlen and Barbie), Fascist organizations (like P2), international financial instutions, druglords, mafiosi, right-wing military commander and politicians, and the Catholic Church in a Eurasian anti-communist crusade. Gladio agents initiated acts of terrorism in Italy, Turkey, France, killing many thousands of civilians (while blaming the acts on communists), crushed leftist political movements, uniting latin american right-wing movements with european fascists and former nazis, and carrying out uncounted numbers of atrocities. To fund these groups, the CIA took over the international drug trade (particularly heroin and opium, via the Helliwell plan), and the catholic church helped them launder the money using the vatican bank. Many journalists, whistleblowers, prosecutors... even a pope and a few prime ministers, who threatened to expose the program, were killed by gladio operatives. Neither the US, NATO, or the Vatican, has admitted its role in these atrocities.
 - [Ward Wilson - The bomb didn't beat Japan, Stalin did.](http://foreignpolicy.com/2013/05/30/the-bomb-didnt-beat-japan-stalin-did/) [Audiobook](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0-IkmzWbjoaLP3G2HGj-O5JTepm0Kjt-). Essay on the mythology around the US use of atom bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
 - (Optional) [Zinn - A people's history of the US.](https://www.amazon.com/Peoples-History-United-States/dp/0060838655) A good beginner US history book, looks at US history from the lens of its most oppressed populations. The chapters on the US constitution and civil wars are excellent.
 - [Fidel Castro - My Life](<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Life_(Fidel_Castro_autobiography)>) (Audiobook on torrents). This book will get you into the mindset of what it means to be a socialist: to rebel, to teach, to be a good comrade, and to fight for the betterment of humanity. Castro was an active part of many of the most important events of the 20th century; but not only is his wisdom on these events invaluable, his life was truly extraordinary. You will learn hundreds of lessons from communist grandpa reading this book.
@@ -53,3 +54,4 @@ It alternates between theory, history, and psychology.
 - [Assata Shakur - autobiography](magnet:?xt=urn:btih:025372fdb0eca162348dc9d9185f7cd8820945bb&xt=urn:btmh:12200a14d2408e951b8f15a7219478e23899cd10bb1d89c50fe0c89c36d9180fead3&dn=Assata%20Shakur%20-%20Assata%20%5baudible%5d) . An enthralling story told by one of the most persecuted black revolutionaries in the US.
 - [Domenico Losurdo - Liberalism - A Counter-History](https://www.amazon.com/Liberalism-Counter-History-Domenico-Losurdo/dp/178168166X) . [Audiobook](magnet:?xt=urn:btih:c11fa136c28b993bcb86404b725dc38f2ec7c332&dn=Domenico%20Losurdo%20-%20Liberalism%20-%20A%20Counter-History%20%5baudiobook%5d%20by%20dessalines). An in-depth look at the history of liberalism and its founders, focusing on the English, American, Dutch, and French revolutions, and their support for colonialism, slavery, and genocide of those they considered not belonging to the "community of the free." Rather than focusing on the individualism supposed to be the defining characteristic of liberalism, Losurdo focuses on the master/slave or owner/servile dialectic as its core tenet.
 - [Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz - Loaded - A Disarming History of the Second Amendment](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loaded:_A_Disarming_History_of_the_Second_Amendment) [audible](magnet:?xt=urn:btih:162963ae3b655a8259decfbf2d0f85078bcebb32&dn=Roxanne%20Dunbar-Ortiz%20-%20Loaded%20-%20A%20Disarming%20History%20of%20the%20Second%20Amendment%20%5baudible%5d). A companion book to "a people's history of the US", focusing on firearms ownership in the US. It deconstructs the two "noble myths" of the US 2nd-amendment: its bases of a "well-regulated militia", as well as "the citizens right to bear arms", as both serving (and continuing) the primary US goals of genocide and appropriation of native lands.
+- Margaret Kimberly - Black America and the Presidents. [Audiobook](magnet:?xt=urn:btih:51d1ac6cba2a13d71030545f80a91db9ff179522&dn=Margaret%20Kimberley%20-%20Prejudential%20-%20Black%20America%20and%20the%20Presidents%20%5Baudible%5D&xl=307497410). A history of each US president's dealings with the black colony within the US's borders.

microsoft.md

@@ -6,7 +6,6 @@
   - NSA recorded all Skype calls.
   - [Windows 10 watches everything you type and sends it to Microsoft.](http://www.newsweek.com/windows-10-recording-users-every-move-358952) Branded by microsoft as telemetry, its stated purpose is to provide you a _personalized user dictionary_, and provide you with text suggestions as you type. Even after turned off, [it still collects data and sends to microsoft.](https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2015/08/even-when-told-not-to-windows-10-just-cant-stop-talking-to-microsoft/) Microsoft retroactively added Windows 10 spying to [Windows 7 and 8. ](https://www.pcworld.com/article/2978239/windows/microsoft-slips-user-tracking-tools-into-windows-7-8-amidst-windows-10-privacy-storm.html)
 - [Microsoft has a long history of buying up and killing small companies to stifle competition and innovation.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mergers_and_acquisitions_by_Microsoft) The US Department of Justice launched an anti-trust suit against Microsoft in 2001. Documents on microsoft found that they referred to a policy called [Embrace, Extend, Extinguish](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embrace,_extend,_and_extinguish), to describe its strategy for entering product categories involving widely used standards, extending those standards with [proprietary](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proprietary_software) capabilities, and then using those differences to strongly disadvantage its competitors. This policy was either attempted or successfully carried out via:
-
   - After Microsoft crushed browser competition with its operating system monopoly, a [web dark ages stalled browser development for 2 years.](https://www.reddit.com/r/ragecomics/comments/11c1t1/internet_explorer_rfunny_said_i_should_post_it/c6lbhu2/)
   - Browser incompatibilities: Killing Netscape via incompatible Java, CSS, and ActiveX incompatibilies.
   - Office incompatibilities: Bill gates : "One thing we have got to change in our strategy—allowing Office documents to be rendered very well by other peoples [*sic*] browsers is one of the most destructive things we could do to the company."

paul_cockshott_cyber_communism.md

@@ -48,7 +48,6 @@ Taken from his book, [Towards a New Socialism](http://ricardo.ecn.wfu.edu/~cottr
   - This is the reverse of the USSR's system, which was to pay for imports in held dollars or marks, and restrict the export of its own currency.
 - Exports (or sales) to capitalist countries are either an exchange of goods, or labor vouchers they sell back to us.
 - Planners decide whether to import a good, or produce it locally, based on the offered price vs domestic cost.
-
   - Sell the good if the labor voucher price offered is higher than the actual labor-time cost, buy the good if its less than the domestic labor-time cost.
   - Example:
 

routines/routines.md

@@ -111,6 +111,7 @@ I like [this pomodoro app](https://f-droid.org/packages/com.apps.adrcotfas.goodt
 ### Face care
 
 Put moisturizer and retinol on your face before bed.
+
 ### Get water
 
 You'll need water when you wake up, so fill a bottle and put it next to your bed.

socialism_faq.md

@@ -8,39 +8,38 @@
 
 <!-- toc -->
 
-- [Socialism FAQ](#socialism-faq)
-  - [Didn't communism fail? It works in theory but not in practice.](#didnt-communism-fail-it-works-in-theory-but-not-in-practice)
-  - [What about human nature?](#what-about-human-nature)
-  - [Schools of thought](#schools-of-thought)
-  - [On Ultra-leftism / Left-Communism](#on-ultra-leftism--left-communism)
-  - [Did economic planning work?](#did-economic-planning-work)
-  - [Who would sweep the floors under communism?](#who-would-sweep-the-floors-under-communism)
-  - [What about cooperatives?](#what-about-cooperatives)
-  - [What about democracy? Can't voting fix our problems?](#what-about-democracy-cant-voting-fix-our-problems)
-  - [Pacifism and Violence](#pacifism-and-violence)
-  - [What would X be like under communism?](#what-would-x-be-like-under-communism)
-  - [On Economics and Sociology](#on-economics-and-sociology)
-  - [On Nationalism and Internationalism](#on-nationalism-and-internationalism)
-  - [On Women's Liberation](#on-womens-liberation)
+- [Didn't communism fail? It works in theory but not in practice.](#didnt-communism-fail-it-works-in-theory-but-not-in-practice)
+- [What about human nature?](#what-about-human-nature)
+- [Schools of thought](#schools-of-thought)
+- [On Ultra-leftism / Left-Communism](#on-ultra-leftism--left-communism)
+- [Did economic planning work?](#did-economic-planning-work)
+- [Who would sweep the floors under communism?](#who-would-sweep-the-floors-under-communism)
+- [What about cooperatives?](#what-about-cooperatives)
+- [What about democracy? Can't voting fix our problems?](#what-about-democracy-cant-voting-fix-our-problems)
+- [Pacifism and Violence](#pacifism-and-violence)
+- [What would X be like under communism?](#what-would-x-be-like-under-communism)
+- [On Economics and Sociology](#on-economics-and-sociology)
+- [On Nationalism and Internationalism](#on-nationalism-and-internationalism)
+- [On Women's Liberation](#on-womens-liberation)
   - [The Sex Trade, Prostitution, and Porn](#the-sex-trade-prostitution-and-porn)
-  - [On Race and Class](#on-race-and-class)
-  - [On Decolonization](#on-decolonization)
-  - [On Unequal Exchange](#on-unequal-exchange)
-  - [On Guns / Firearms / Violence](#on-guns--firearms--violence)
-  - [On Capitalism](#on-capitalism)
-  - [On Liberalism](#on-liberalism)
-  - [On Leninism](#on-leninism)
+- [On Race and Class](#on-race-and-class)
+- [On Decolonization](#on-decolonization)
+- [On Unequal Exchange](#on-unequal-exchange)
+- [On Guns / Firearms / Violence](#on-guns--firearms--violence)
+- [On Capitalism](#on-capitalism)
+- [On Liberalism](#on-liberalism)
+- [On Leninism](#on-leninism)
   - [Further reading](#further-reading)
-  - [On Trotskyism](#on-trotskyism)
-  - [On India](#on-india)
-  - [On the USSR](#on-the-ussr)
+- [On Trotskyism](#on-trotskyism)
+- [On India](#on-india)
+- [On the USSR](#on-the-ussr)
   - [Did the Soviet Union repress and kill millions of people?](#did-the-soviet-union-repress-and-kill-millions-of-people)
   - [Did the Soviet Union and the Warsaw pact nations have functioning democracies?](#did-the-soviet-union-and-the-warsaw-pact-nations-have-functioning-democracies)
   - [Was Soviet Socialism an economic failure?](#was-soviet-socialism-an-economic-failure)
   - [Did the citizens of the Soviet Union dislike their government?](#did-the-citizens-of-the-soviet-union-dislike-their-government)
   - [Russian Federation (1991-present)](#russian-federation-1991-present)
   - [Further reading](#further-reading-1)
-  - [On Mao, Maoism, and Marxism-Leninism-Maoism, and the PRC](#on-mao-maoism-and-marxism-leninism-maoism-and-the-prc)
+- [On Mao, Maoism, and Marxism-Leninism-Maoism, and the PRC](#on-mao-maoism-and-marxism-leninism-maoism-and-the-prc)
   - [Is China State Capitalist?](#is-china-state-capitalist)
   - [Is China a Democracy?](#is-china-a-democracy)
   - [Workers rights](#workers-rights)
@@ -55,16 +54,16 @@
   - [What is Radio Free Asia?](#what-is-radio-free-asia)
   - [Did Mao kill millions of people?](#did-mao-kill-millions-of-people)
   - [Was the PRC a totalitarian dictatorship?](#was-the-prc-a-totalitarian-dictatorship)
-  - [On the German Democratic Republic (GDR)](#on-the-german-democratic-republic-gdr)
-  - [On Cuba](#on-cuba)
+- [On the German Democratic Republic (GDR)](#on-the-german-democratic-republic-gdr)
+- [On Cuba](#on-cuba)
   - [Was Che a murderer and/or a racist?](#was-che-a-murderer-andor-a-racist)
   - [Is Cuba a functioning democracy or a terrible place to live?](#is-cuba-a-functioning-democracy-or-a-terrible-place-to-live)
-  - [On North Korea / the DPRK](#on-north-korea--the-dprk)
+- [On North Korea / the DPRK](#on-north-korea--the-dprk)
   - [Do North Koreans believe in unicorns and think Kim Jong-Un is immortal?](#do-north-koreans-believe-in-unicorns-and-think-kim-jong-un-is-immortal)
   - [Is the DPRK a Fascist Monarchy?](#is-the-dprk-a-fascist-monarchy)
   - [Further reading](#further-reading-2)
-  - [On Venezuela](#on-venezuela)
-  - [People](#people)
+- [On Venezuela](#on-venezuela)
+- [People](#people)
   - [Whats so bad about Elon Musk?](#whats-so-bad-about-elon-musk)
   - [Whats so bad about Bill Gates?](#whats-so-bad-about-bill-gates)
   - [What's so bad about George Orwell?](#whats-so-bad-about-george-orwell)
@@ -81,7 +80,6 @@
   - [Kamala Harris](#kamala-harris)
   - [Pete Buttigieg](#pete-buttigieg)
   - [Joe Biden](#joe-biden)
-    - [Greta Thunberg](#greta-thunberg)
   - [Slavoj Zizek](#slavoj-zizek)
   - [What's wrong with Barack Obama?](#whats-wrong-with-barack-obama)
     - [Imperialism](#imperialism-1)
@@ -94,7 +92,7 @@
     - [Law and Order](#law-and-order)
     - [Others](#others)
   - [Others](#others-1)
-  - [Other Topics](#other-topics)
+- [Other Topics](#other-topics)
   - [Why are socialists against bitcoin mining?](#why-are-socialists-against-bitcoin-mining)
   - [Did atom bombs really end WW2?](#did-atom-bombs-really-end-ww2)
   - [What about overpopulation / unsustainability?](#what-about-overpopulation--unsustainability)
@@ -109,8 +107,6 @@
 
 <!-- tocstop -->
 
-# Socialism FAQ
-
 ## Didn't communism fail? It works in theory but not in practice.
 
 - [Did Socialism work in the USSR, and didn't the fall of the USSR bring more prosperity to Russia? IE, how to respond to "Communism doesn't work."](capitalism_doesnt_work.md), [2](https://www.reddit.com/r/communism/comments/ea6av0/how_to_respond_to_communism_doesnt_work/)
@@ -446,7 +442,7 @@
 - [Hakim - Why the USSR was socialist - A critique of left-communism.](https://youtube.com/watch?v=CKggZ22izDs)
 - [Did Stalin really try to resign 4 times?](https://socialistmlmusings.wordpress.com/2017/02/23/stalins-four-attempts-at-resignation/)
 - [Why were there prison labor camps in the USSR and were they justified?](https://www.reddit.com/r/communism101/comments/2hkn8r/why_were_there_prison_labor_camps_in_the_ussr_and/)
-- [Did the USSR really make an alliance with the nazis? (Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact)](https://www.reddit.com/r/communism101/comments/148o4x/1939_sovietnazi_partition_of_poland/c7azkz9/), [2](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/3223834/Stalin-planned-to-send-a-million-troops-to-stop-Hitler-if-Britain-and-France-agreed-pact.html), [3](https://www.reddit.com/r/communism101/comments/8mg59o/why_did_the_ussr_aid_nazi_germany_in_invading/), [4](https://www.reddit.com/r/communism/comments/4t1p4j/why_did_the_soviet_union_sign_the/), [5](https://i.imgur.com/cAMvQ1O.jpg)
+- [Did the USSR really make an alliance with the nazis? (Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact)](https://www.reddit.com/r/communism101/comments/148o4x/1939_sovietnazi_partition_of_poland/c7azkz9/), [2](https://archive.is/6afHk), [3](https://www.reddit.com/r/communism101/comments/8mg59o/why_did_the_ussr_aid_nazi_germany_in_invading/), [4](https://www.reddit.com/r/communism/comments/4t1p4j/why_did_the_soviet_union_sign_the/), [5](https://i.imgur.com/cAMvQ1O.jpg)
   - [Einstein on the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact.](https://hexbear.net/comment/3582146)
 - [Did the USSR supply the Nazis with raw materials and weapons in the years before WW2?](https://www.reddit.com/r/communism101/comments/a5r9sx/-/eboru9r)
 - [How many Jews escaped from Poland to the USSR in WW2?](https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/escape-of-jews-from-poland-to-the-soviet-union)
@@ -563,7 +559,7 @@
 - [Deng on why Mao's legacy must be upheld.](https://redsails.org/deng-and-fallaci/)
 - [Deng Xiaoping - a visionary marxist-leninist.](https://twitter.com/RodericDay/status/1353776771573948418?s=20)
 - [Deng - We will always side with the third world.](https://www.reddit.com/r/GenZedong/comments/p9d2zy/117_years_ago_a_national_hero_was_born/h9wxz32/)
-- [What about Tibet? (95% of the population were slaves or feudal serfs before China invaded in 1959)](http://www.michaelparenti.org/Tibet.html) [audiobook](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0-IkmzWbjoZjKom_Qj0jcDReaMb_r52z)
+- [What about Tibet? (95% of the population were slaves or feudal serfs before China invaded in 1959)](https://redsails.org/friendly-feudalism/) [audiobook](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0-IkmzWbjoZjKom_Qj0jcDReaMb_r52z)
 - [Tibet, China, and the Violent reaction of a wealthy elite.](https://historicly.substack.com/p/tibet-china-and-the-violent-reaction)
 - [Mao's liberation of Tibet](https://stalinsmoustache.org/2018/09/19/maos-liberation-of-tibet/)
 - [Dalai Lama - Forgive Pinochet](https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/forgive-pinochet-says-dalai-lama-1.187150)
@@ -620,6 +616,7 @@
 - [What kind of democracy does China have, and how is it different from the west?](https://www.quora.com/What-kind-of-democracy-does-the-China-have/answers/81676052?share=0ac8c628&srid=JMzz)
 - In contrast to low US political approval ratings, 96% of Chinese are satisfied with the national government (Edelmans 2016). World Values Surveys says that 83% think the country is run for their benefit rather than for the benefit of special groups. [A Harvard research center study of long-term public opinion survey finds that > 95% of Chinese citizens approved their government.](https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2020/07/long-term-survey-reveals-chinese-government-satisfaction/) [How is this possible in a one-party state? (TED talk by Eric X Li)](https://youtube.com/watch?v=s0YjL9rZyR0)
 - [How does China’s political system work?](https://youtube.com/watch?v=Qu4QTxl9GVw)
+- [Interview with Zhang WeiWei on China's political system, and its differences from the US](https://www.geopoliticaleconomy.report/p/china-model-zhang-weiwei-interview)
 - [How are Chinese leaders elected / chosen? How meristocratic is the system? How do elections differ from those in western bourgeois democracies?](https://youtube.com/watch?v=TgpQxVCekgw)
 - [Who runs China? Makeup of the national people's congress.](https://news.cgtn.com/event/2019/whorunschina/index.html)
 - [US policy-makers are misjudging popular support China's Government.](https://www.marketwatch.com/story/these-numbers-show-just-how-much-the-lives-of-everyday-chinese-have-improved-in-recent-decades-2019-10-02)
@@ -692,6 +689,7 @@
 
 - [Megathread #1](https://www.reddit.com/r/communism/comments/cpm5q1/we_need_a_serious_discussion_on_the_overwhelming/), [#2](https://bitbucket.org/TheCrypticMan/hong-kong-protests/wiki/2019%20attempted%20'Black%20Revolution')
 - The extradition bill came about when a [man from Hong Kong killed his pregnant girlfriend while in holiday in Taiwan.](https://www.reddit.com/r/communism101/comments/c1nxga/opinions_on_hong_kong_protests/ered9wl/) [1](https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3008099/sentence-man-who-killed-girlfriend-taiwan-sets) He fled back to Hong Kong. Taiwan asked for him to be extradited, but Hong Kong did not have an extradition treaty with Taiwan, so the administration in Hong Kong proposed a bill that would allow Taiwan, the PRC, and Macau to request extradition, which the judiciary in Hong Kong can then approve. [There were 49 crimes that were to be included in the bill that would allow extradition requests.](https://qz.com/1636663/the-37-crimes-included-in-hong-kongs-proposed-extradition-law/) Some of these were financial crimes (Hong Kong is a popular tax haven for billionaires), and the Capitalists in Hong Kong shit themselves because they are often in breach of PRC law, but protected by Hong Kong's independence as a Special Administrative Region. This bill is completely reasonable, and any fears of the PRC taking over or of the extradition of 'political' criminals is unfounded. The US is encouraging the organizers to keep protesting in order to provoke the administration in Hong Kong to crack down on them, so that they can blame China and keep up their propaganda narrative that 'CHINA BAD!' [More here.](https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3008099/sentence-man-who-killed-girlfriend-taiwan-sets)
+- [KnowWayNoHow - A history of Hong Kong, and the reality of the anti-chinese protest movement.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaCTepqfFkE)
 - [AntiConquista - the History of Hong Kong, and the nature of the protest movement, and who's funding it.](https://youtube.com/watch?v=hY8rCElJ4nQ)
 - [The Hong Kong Protests: Irrational chaos](https://youtube.com/watch?v=PCokRDKR89c).
 - [Bayarea415 on The Hong Kong Protests, and color revolutions](https://youtube.com/watch?v=ClKkoteV1ts).
@@ -717,7 +715,7 @@
 - The US's credit score system is vastly more influential and detrimental to a majority of its population than China's social credit system, [which largely doesn't even exist](https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/11/16/chinas-orwellian-social-credit-score-isnt-real/), and where it does exist it is [only used to target businesses](https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/09/15/china-social-credit-system-authoritarian/).
 - [numuves - How the US dominates tech](https://youtube.com/watch?v=EgzB4_Zw3RE)
 - [What about the "great firewall", isn't it repressive?](https://youtu.be/LAEwoYIYgJA)
-- [On the great firewall, and china not allowing US taech companies. ](https://mobile.twitter.com/Mango_Press_/status/1423263749302067202)
+- [On the great firewall, and china not allowing US tech companies. ](https://mobile.twitter.com/Mango_Press_/status/1423263749302067202)
 
 ### What's going on with the Uyghurs?
 
@@ -1442,7 +1440,7 @@ Much credit to [David Kinder's current affairs article, the rise of the Ruth Bad
 - [Is there any real evidence for Russian interference in US elections?](https://www.realclearinvestigations.com/articles/2019/07/05/crowdstrikeout_muellers_own_report_undercuts_its_core_russia-meddling_claims.html) [2](https://thegrayzone.com/2020/05/11/bombshell-crowdstrike-admits-no-evidence-russia-stole-emails-from-dnc-server/)
 - [Why don't communists call trump treasonous? Aren't Putin and Trump collaborating and meddling in US elections?](https://www.reddit.com/r/LateStageCapitalism/comments/a9tgff/lsc_insulted_some_democrats/ecmcel1/)
 - [Why doesn't X minority just lift themselves up by the bootstraps out of poverty? Response by MLK. ](https://streamable.com/eafqq)
-- [To what extent is modern day Vietnam Socialist?](https://medium.com/@otelocarvalho/socialism-today-in-vietnam-ac22ce2edf47)
+- [To what extent is modern day Vietnam Socialist?](https://archive.is/cW7rW)
 - [Gensec Nguyen Phu Trong - On Vietnam's socialist market economy, and its historical development. What were the Doi Moi reforms?](https://en.nhandan.org.vn/politics/item/9924202-some-theoretical-and-practical-issues-on-socialism-and-the-path-towards-socialism-in-vietnam.html)
 - [How is socialism progressing in Bolivia?](https://www.reddit.com/r/communism/comments/cg2t3j/masterpost_on_the_achievements_of_socialism_in/)
 - [Anti-imperialism of Evo Morales - A fight for Bolivia's resources.](https://www.commondreams.org/views/2019/11/12/after-morales-ousted-coup-lithium-question-looms-large-bolivia)

us_atrocities.md

@@ -130,7 +130,7 @@ Notes :
 - On 11 September 1973, The CIA backed a [military coup](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1973_Chilean_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat) to remove democratically elected socialist president Salvador Allende, in favor of right-wing dictator [Augusto Pinochet](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augusto_Pinochet). His US-supported regime was characterized by the systematic suppression of political parties and the persecution of dissidents to an extent that was unprecedented in the history of Chile, backed by the neoliberal free-market economic policies of the [Chicago Boys](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Boys). Over-all, the regime left over 3,000 dead or "dissappeared", tortured thousands of prisoners, and forced 200,000 Chileans into exile. He's known for the [Villa Grimaldi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villa_Grimaldi), a torture complex, and his [Caravan of Death](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caravan_of_Death), a Chilean Army death squad guilty of countless atrocities, including dropping pregnant women and teenagers out of helicopters in the ocean, and executions where prisoners were shot by parts, over extended periods of time. Pinochet's forces are conservatively estimated to have killed over 11,000 people in his first year in power. [1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1973_Chilean_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat), [2](http://www.spunk.org/library/otherpol/critique/sp001280.html)
 - In 1971 in Bolivia, after half a decade of CIA-inspired political turmoil, a CIA-backed military coup overthrows the leftist President [Juan Jose Torres](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Jos%C3%A9_Torres), eventually being kidnapped and murdered by CIA backed right wing death squads, as part of [Operation Condor](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Condor). In the next two years, dictator [Hugo Banzer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_Banzer) will have over 2,000 political opponents arrested without trial, then tortured, raped and executed. Banzer wwas trained at the U.S.-operated School of the Americas in Panama and later at Fort Hood, Texas. A few years later the Catholic Church denounced an army massacre of striking tin workers in 1975, Banzer, assisted by information provided by the CIA, was able to target and locate leftist priests and nuns. His anti-clergy strategy, known as the Banzer Plan, was adopted by nine other Latin American dictatorships in 1977.
 - In 1971, A CIA operative told a reporter he delivered a strain of the [African Swine Fever](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_swine_fever_virus#Cuba) virus from an army base in the Canal Zone to anti-Castro Cubans. An outbreak of the disease then occurred in Cuba, resulting in the slaughter of 500,000 pigs to prevent a nationwide animal epidemic. It was labeled the "most alarming event" of 1971 by the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization.[1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_swine_fever_virus#Cuba)
-- In the 1950s-80s, the CIA [supported a right-wing dictator in Paraguay, general Stroessner.](https://youtu.be/sYJyarFqqY8), an anti-communist pedophile who sheltered nazis, created an indigenous slave trade, surpressed worker revolts, and killed at least 50k people, working with other operation condor countries.
+- In the 1950s-80s, the CIA [supported a right-wing dictator in Paraguay, general Alfredo Stroessner](https://youtu.be/sYJyarFqqY8), an anti-communist pedophile who sheltered Nazis (notably [Josef Mengele](https://web.archive.org/web/20201006230538/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1979/08/10/mengele-hunt-focuses-on-paraguay/101ad31d-e3a0-480c-bfea-7b116792ed2a/)), established an indigenous slave trade ([with the Aché people as the main victims](https://iwgia.org/images/publications/0295_ache.pdf)), suppressed worker revolts, and [forcibly disappeared at least 336 people](https://www.derechoshumanos.net/lesahumanidad/informes/paraguay/Informe_Comision_Verdad_y_Justicia_Paraguay_Conclusiones_y_Recomendaciones.htm) as part of Operation Condor. The United States government provided extensive financial aid to Stroessner's government: _"From 1947 until 1977, the United States supplied about USD 750,000 worth of military hardware each year and trained more than 2,000 Paraguayan military officers in counterintelligence and counterinsurgency."_ ([Paraguay, a country study](https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/master/frd/frdcstdy/pa/paraguaycountrys00hanr_0/paraguaycountrys00hanr_0.pdf)).
 - Starting in the 1970s, a CIA-backed coalition of right wing governments in Argentina, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia and Brazil, began [Operation Condor](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Condor), a campaign of political repression and state terror involving intelligence operations and assassination of opponents, with the stated aim of "eliminating Marxist subversion." Victims included dissidents and leftists, union and peasant leaders, priests and nuns, students and teachers, intellectuals and suspected guerillas. An estimated 30,000 to 80,000 leftists or sympathizers were killed. [1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Condor)
 - In 1969, amid a collapsing economy, labor and student strikes in Uruguay, CIA operative [Dan Mitrione](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Mitrione) initiates a campaign of torture and violence against the left-wing student group [Tuparamos](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tupamaros). Former Uruguayan police officials and CIA operatives stated Mitrione had taught torture techniques to Uruguayan police, including the use of electrical shocks delivered to his victims' mouths and genitals. It has been alleged that he used homeless people for training purposes, who were executed once they had served their purpose.[1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Mitrione#cite_note-9)
 - In 1968, a CIA-organized military operation in Bolivia led by cuban exile and CIA agent [Félix Rodríguez](<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F%C3%A9lix_Rodr%C3%ADguez_(soldier)>) captures legendary guerilla [Che Guevara](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Che_Guevara), defeating the [Ñancahuazú Guerrilla](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%91ancahuaz%C3%BA_Guerrilla). The Bolivian president ordered his immediate execution to prevent worldwide calls for clemency, and the drama of a trial. Nazi war criminal [Klaus Barbie](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klaus_Barbie) aka "The Butcher of Lyon", advised and possibly helped the CIA orchestrate Guevara's eventual capture.[1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%91ancahuaz%C3%BA_Guerrilla#cite_note-ObserverChe-1)
@@ -221,7 +221,7 @@ Notes :
 - From March to June of 1999, After Serbs refused to acquiesce in the break-up of their republic, the US and NATO began [bombing Yugoslavia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NATO_bombing_of_Yugoslavia) killing ~500 civilians, leaving thousands homeless, destroying bridges, industrial plants, public buildings, private businesses, as well as barracks and military installations. [1](https://www.counterpunch.org/2016/11/18/breaking-yugoslavia-how-the-us-used-nato-as-its-battering-ram/), [2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NATO_bombing_of_Yugoslavia)
 - In February, 1998, A US marine core plane flying wrecklessly below regulations, cut a cable supporting aerial cable cars at a ski resort near Cavalese, Italy, killing 20 people, in the [Cavalese Cable Car Disaster / Massacre of Cermis.](<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cavalese_cable_car_disaster_(1998)>) The pilots destroyed the plane's tape, and were found not guilty. Italian prosecutors were outraged that the US refused to forgoe the NATO treaty that gives all jurisduction to US military courts. By February 1999, the victims' families had received USD $65,000 per victim as immediate help by the Italian government, which was reimbursed by the U.S. government. In May 1999, the U.S. Congress rejected a bill that would have set up a $40 million compensation fund for the victims. In December 1999, the Italian legislature approved a monetary compensation plan for the families ($1.9 million per victim). NATO treaties obligated the U.S. government to pay 75% of this compensation, which it did.
 - In 1995, the US conducted a campaign of airstrikes called [Operation Deliberate Force](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Deliberate_Force), as part of an intervention in the [Bosnian civil war](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bosnian_War). [1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Deliberate_Force)
-- From the 1950s-90s, the CIA and NATO ran a series of clandestine networks, headquartered in Rome, Italy called [Operation Gladio.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Gladio) Its purpose was supplying aid (primarily money and weaponry) to right wing paramilitaries to attack left-wing movements, and carry out assassinations and bombings, as well as funnel money to centrist political parties. It had operations in Belgium, Finland, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Turkey, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and Austria. In Italy, the group had 600+ members, and carried out car bombings during Italy's [years of lead.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Years_of_Lead) In Germany, it included former Nazi SS members—Staff Sgt. Heinrich Hoffman, Lt. Col. Hans Rues, and Lt. Col. Walter Kopp. CIA weapons caches are still being discovered in all the countries above.
+- From the 1950s up to the present day, the CIA and NATO runs Operation Gladio - a program beginning after WW2 by Allen Dulles, which united former Nazis (such as Gehlen and Barbie), Fascist organizations (like P2), international financial instutions, druglords, mafiosi, right-wing military commander and politicians, and the Catholic Church in a Eurasian anti-communist crusade. Gladio agents initiated acts of terrorism in Italy, Turkey, France, killing many thousands of civilians (while blaming the acts on communists), crushed leftist political movements, uniting latin american right-wing movements with european fascists and former nazis, and carrying out uncounted numbers of atrocities. To fund these groups, the CIA took over the international drug trade (particularly heroin and opium, via the Helliwell plan), and the catholic church helped them launder the money using the vatican bank. Many journalists, whistleblowers, prosecutors... even a pope and a few prime ministers, who threatened to expose the program, were killed by gladio operatives. Neither the US, NATO, or the Vatican, has admitted its role in these atrocities. You can read more in [Paul L. Williams - Operation Gladio. Audiobook](magnet:?xt=urn:btih:e92370d9f51043cfda1efa2cba0933bba6fdeed0&dn=Paul%20L.%20Williams%20-%20Operation%20Gladio%20%5Baudible%5D&xl=341764705).
 - Throughout the 1980-90s, the US, with the aid of the IMF and NATO, [actively destabilized and aided](https://www.counterpunch.org/2016/11/18/breaking-yugoslavia-how-the-us-used-nato-as-its-battering-ram/) in the [breakup of Yugoslavia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breakup_of_Yugoslavia), with the goal of weakening and destroying the last surviving socialist bloc in Europe. These include stirring up ethnic tensions between the member countries, economic warfare, and military intervention. The Reagan administration in a 1982 secret memo, advocated "expanded efforts to promote a 'quiet revolution' to overthrow Communist governments and parties," while reintegrating the countries of Eastern Europe into a market-oriented economy. In November 1990, the Bush administration pressured Congress into passing the [1991 Foreign Operations Appropriations Act](https://archive.org/details/TheUSLawThatPushedTheBreakUpOfYugoslaviaPublicLaw101513Nov51990MultilateralEconomicAssistance), which provided that any part of Yugoslavia failing to declare independence within six months would lose U.S. financial support, demanded separate elections in each of the six Yugoslav republics, and mandated U.S. State Department approval of both election procedures and results as a condition for any future aid. In 1991, Yugoslav Army chief [Veljko Kadijević](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veljko_Kadijevi%C4%87) stated: "An insidious plan has been drawn up to destroy Yugoslavia. Stage one is civil war. Stage two is foreign intervention. Then puppet regimes will be set up throughout Yugoslavia." [1](https://www.counterpunch.org/2016/11/18/breaking-yugoslavia-how-the-us-used-nato-as-its-battering-ram/), [2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breakup_of_Yugoslavia), [3](https://archive.org/details/TheUSLawThatPushedTheBreakUpOfYugoslaviaPublicLaw101513Nov51990MultilateralEconomicAssistance)
 - In 1967 in Greece, the CIA installed [Georgios Papadopoulos](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgios_Papadopoulos) in a military coup, a CIA agent and former nazi collaborator, as the military ruler of Greece. He's seen today as an relic of authoritarianism , xenophobia, and anti-communism. [1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgios_Papadopoulos) Phillips Talbot, the US ambassador in Athens, disapproved of the military coup which established the "Regime of the Colonels" (1967–1974), complaining that it represented "a rape of democracy"—to which Jack Maury, the CIA chief of station in Athens, answered, "How can you rape a whore?
 - From the 1940s - 60s, the [CIA provided an average of $5 million annually](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CIA_activities_in_Italy) in covert aid towards financially supporting centrist Italian governments and using the awarding of contracts to weaken the Italian Communist Party's hold on labor unions. It was also involved in bombings and assassinations as a part of [Operation Gladio.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Gladio)
@@ -543,7 +543,7 @@ Notes :
 - In 2004, during a protest at the republican national convention, over 1,800 people were arrested. They were held at [Hudson Pier Depot](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bus_depots_of_the_New_York_City_Transit_Authority#Hudson_Pier_Depot) at [Pier 57](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pier_57) on the [Hudson River](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_River_%28Hudson_River%29), a three-story, block-long pier that has been converted into a temporary prison, described as overcrowded, dirty, and contaminated with [oil](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroleum) and [asbestos](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asbestos). People reported having suffered from smell, bad ventilation, and even chemical burns and rashes. In 2014, the city was forced to pay \$6.4 million to 430 individual plaintiffs. \$6.6 million was paid to settle a class-action lawsuit filed by 1,200 additional people. [1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_Republican_National_Convention_protest_activity),[2](https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/peter-gelderloos-how-nonviolence-protects-the-state)
 - In 1987, FBI agent [Jack Ryan](<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Ryan_(FBI_agent)>) was arrested for refusing to investigate non-violent activists. He lost his job in September 1987 ten months short of retirement. He was thus ineligible for a full pension and had to live in a [homeless shelter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeless_shelter). In a report by the _LA Times_, he stated his belief that the Bureau could reinstate him to a position which would not conflict with his personal beliefs that U.S. involvement in [Central America](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_America) is "violent, illegal and immoral."[1](<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Ryan_(FBI_agent)>)
 - In 1976, the US tested [Agent White](https://www.projectcensored.org/4-agent-white/), a powerful pesticide developed by Dow Chemical, in Cherokee county, North Carolina. Within 3 years, the rate of cancer deaths leapt to 60% above the national average.
-- In 1968, the US army tested VX gas, a nerve agent to be used in biological warfare, in the Skull valley Indian reservation in Utah. 27 miles away from the test, 6,000 sheep died, known as the [Dugway sheep incident](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dugway_sheep_incident). Since its founding in 1941, much of the activity at [Dugway Proving Ground](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dugway_Proving_Ground "Dugway Proving Ground") has been a closely guarded secret. Activities at Dugway included aerial [nerve agent](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nerve_agent "Nerve agent") testing.[[2]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dugway_sheep_incident#cite_note-norrell-2) According to reports from _[New Scientist](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Scientist "New Scientist")_, Dugway was still producing small quantities of non-infectious [anthrax](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthrax "Anthrax") of a type used in the making of vaccines as late as 1998, 30 years after the United States renounced biological weapons.[[3]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dugway_sheep_incident#cite_note-hambling-3) There were at least 1,100 other chemical tests at Dugway during the time period of the Dugway sheep incident. In total, almost 500,000 lb (230,000 kg) of nerve agent were dispersed during open-air tests.[[2]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dugway_sheep_incident#cite_note-norrell-2) There were also tests at Dugway with other [weapons of mass destruction](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weapons_of_mass_destruction "Weapons of mass destruction"), including 332 open-air tests of biological weapons, 74 [dirty bomb](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dirty_bomb "Dirty bomb") tests, and eight furnace heatings of nuclear material under open air conditions to simulate the dispersal of fallout in the case of [meltdown](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_meltdown "Nuclear meltdown") of aeronautic nuclear reactors.
+- In 1968, the US army tested VX gas, a nerve agent to be used in biological warfare, in the Skull valley Indian reservation in Utah. 27 miles away from the test, 6,000 sheep died, known as the [Dugway sheep incident](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dugway_sheep_incident). Since its founding in 1941, much of the activity at [Dugway Proving Ground](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dugway_Proving_Ground "Dugway Proving Ground") has been a closely guarded secret. Activities at Dugway included aerial [nerve agent](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nerve_agent "Nerve agent") testing.[2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dugway_sheep_incident#cite_note-norrell-2) According to reports from _[New Scientist](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Scientist "New Scientist")_, Dugway was still producing small quantities of non-infectious [anthrax](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthrax "Anthrax") of a type used in the making of vaccines as late as 1998, 30 years after the United States renounced biological weapons.[3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dugway_sheep_incident#cite_note-hambling-3) There were at least 1,100 other chemical tests at Dugway during the time period of the Dugway sheep incident. In total, almost 500,000 lb (230,000 kg) of nerve agent were dispersed during open-air tests.[2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dugway_sheep_incident#cite_note-norrell-2) There were also tests at Dugway with other [weapons of mass destruction](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weapons_of_mass_destruction "Weapons of mass destruction"), including 332 open-air tests of biological weapons, 74 [dirty bomb](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dirty_bomb "Dirty bomb") tests, and eight furnace heatings of nuclear material under open air conditions to simulate the dispersal of fallout in the case of [meltdown](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_meltdown "Nuclear meltdown") of aeronautic nuclear reactors.
 - In 1968, the CIA implemented [Operation CHAOS](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_CHAOS), a spying program targeting [Students for a Democratic Society (SDS)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Students_for_a_Democratic_Society), the [Black Panthers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Panther_Party), the [Young Lords](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_Lords), Women Strike for Peace, and Ramparts Magazine, in an effort to tie vietnam anti-war protests to foreign intervention. CIA agents went undercover as student radicals to spy on and disrupt campus organizations protesting the Vietnam War. In total, Operation CHAOS contained files on 7,200 Americans, and a computer index totaling 300,000 civilians and approximately 1,000 groups, with no foreign interventionism found. The operation was halted after the watergate break-in, and exposed a few years later. [1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_CHAOS)
 - In January 1961, the [US air force accidentally dropped two nuclear bombs on North Carolina, each of them 250x the strength of the bombs dropped on Hiroshima, and one of them came very close to detonating](https://www.cnn.com/2014/06/12/us/north-carolina-nuclear-bomb-drop/index.html). This was covered up for nearly 50 years. In 2013, the US finally [admitted the coverup and released the classified documents.](https://www.cnn.com/2014/06/12/us/north-carolina-nuclear-bomb-drop/index.html) Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara stated: "By the slightest margin of chance, literally the failure of two wires to cross, a nuclear explosion was averted." The estimated death tolls would have been 28,000 dead with 26,000 people injured.
 - In the 1960s, the CIA implemented an operation called [Acoustic Kitty](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acoustic_Kitty), to spy on the soviet union. Veterinary surgeons implanted a microphone in cat's ear canals, a small radio transmitter at the base of its skull and a thin wire into its fur.

why_not_signal.md

@@ -38,8 +38,6 @@
 
 <!-- tocstop -->
 
-# Why not Signal?
-
 About me: While I'm no cryptography expert, I'm a software developer with 10+ years of experience, both in the professional and open source world. Currently I'm a lead developer for a popular open source federated software called [Lemmy](https://github.com/LemmyNet/lemmy). My perspective and recommendations here come from being an active participant in open source communities.
 
 ## The Problem