Is It the Big Bad Imperial Us?

Show support appreciated: https://donations.cryptovoices.com Show Sponsor: https://hodlhodl.com/join/cryptovoices Matthew, Alec, and Michel interview Alex Gladstein, Chief Strategy Officer of the Human Rights Foundation and Oslo Freedom Forum. We begin with the Human Rights Foundation's efforts to help the people of Eastern Europe living under the dictatorships in Russia and Belarus. Mirroring the educational efforts Alex has been working on for quite a while now concerning the parallels between human rights and Bitcoin, HRF has indeed helped in relaying the benefits of Bitcoin to locals in Eastern Europe (https://hrf.org/belarus). With the help of their solidarity fund, and instead of the traditional payment channels, Bitcoin really did allow capital relief to flow into Belarus and support protestors and unemployed workers, avoiding bank restrictions in the locked down country. Alex elucidates on some of the challenges involved in educating and calling to action those who enjoy basic rights and liberties in the Western world. We discuss how the lockdowns have paradoxically compelled some freedom lovers in the West to declare that places like Belarus (due to their lack of restrictions) are actually "more free." (And this has been occurring long before the virus, due to lack of understanding, the cool dictator factor, etc.). He gives some thoughts on the Magnitsky Act and the modern idea of Western smart sanctions on visas and financial assets of corrupt dictators and cronies from the East, who hold assets, live, and educate their children in the West. And of course, how does Bitcoin fit into this picture? What are the marketing benefits of Bitcoin... and what are the marketing challenges against Bitcoin... vis-a-vis those who support the Magnitsky Act? We discuss the El Salvador story in light of this as well. Alex explains why peaceful protesting really does have a better track record historically, compared to taking up violence and civil war. We talk important privacy questions for those living in tenuous Human Rights' circumstances, touching on capital controls and surveillance in areas from Afghanistan to Sudan to China. Listen on to learn more. Links for more info: https://twitter.com/gladstein https://alexgladstein.com/ https://hrf.org/ https://hrf.org/belarus https://hrf.org/devfund https://oslofreedomforum.com/ Show Sponsor: https://hodlhodl.com/join/cryptovoices Hosts: Matthew Mežinskis, Michel, Alec Harris Music: New Friend Music newfriendmusic.com/ Site: cryptovoices.com/ Podcast & information Bitcoin, privacy, cryptoeconomics & liberty Thanks for listening! Show content is not investment advice in any way.