Tag Archives: cypherpunk

Documentary Review: We Steal Secrets: The Story Of Wikileaks (2013)

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Release Date: January 21st, 2013 (Sundance)
Directed by: Alex Gibney
Written by: Alex Gibney
Music by: Will Bates
Cast: Julian Assange, Heather Brooke, various

Jigsaw Productions, Global Produce, Focus World, Universal Pictures, 130 Minutes

Review:

“You talk of times of peace for all, and then prepare for war.” – Julian Assange

This has been in my queue for awhile but I finally got around to seeing it. Granted, I know the story of Julian Assange and Wikileaks rather well. I spent extensive time writing about it all a decade ago.

Overall, this is a fairly decent documentary but it also didn’t have nearly the amount of time it needed to dive as deeply as it probably needed to. I also can’t say that it’s completely accurate, as there are some biases thrown in whether that was the intent of the filmmaker or because of certain people in this trying to steer the ship in their own way.

However, this is still a good primer and starting point for those who might not know the story of Assange and his “infamous” website without the always present mainstream media slant.

Politics aside, this does present a good defense for Assange. He wasn’t the person that initially leaked all of this information, he just provided the platform for those who wanted to expose some dark secrets.

In the end, if this stuff interests you, this is probably worth a look. However, as with all things touched by political motives, it’s still best to not take all of this at face value. Do your own research and come to your own conclusions.

Rating: 7/10

Book Review: ‘Layered Money: From Gold and Dollars to Bitcoin and Central Bank Digital Currencies’ by Nik Bhatia

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A friend of mine read this and told me to check it out, even though I knew most of what this book contained.

That being said, it’s still a must read for those who care about these things and it’s the best quick primer on the history of money and where it’s going.

I like that this was about 150 pages without a single page wasted. It was a great, condensed but thorough history on the different eras of currency. For those just learning about this stuff, there is a lot here to peak one’s interest and inspire further research on the topics.

I especially liked the sections on the Federal Reserve, its role, and how due to its economic meddling, cryptocurrencies have risen from the ashes of their chaotic monetary policy.

This actually came out this year, so the crypto sections of the book are as current as they can be.

All in all, this is a solid, quick read and its certainly a great primer for those just waking up to the bullshit around us.

Rating: 9.5/10

TV Review: Q: Into the Storm (2021)

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Original Run: March 21st, 2021 – April 4th, 2021
Created by: Adam McKay, Todd Schulman, Nancy Abraham, Lisa Heller, Cullen Hoback, Alina Solodnikova, Tina Nguyen
Directed by: Cullen Hoback
Cast: various

HBO Documentary Films, Hyperobject Industries, Hyrax Films, 6 Episodes, 57-60 Minutes (per episode)

Review:

I have HBO Max but I didn’t even know this was out there until Joe Rogan was talking to Zuby about it on his podcast. Granted, I also didn’t know what the hell Q was until a few months before the 2020 presidential election when you couldn’t escape mention of it on Twitter, a platform I still use because apparently I’m into torture and pig vomit limited to 280 characters.

Because of all the hoopla regarding Q, especially over the last twelve months, I figured I should watch this to learn more about what it is, why it is, how it is and the people that are connected to it. It’s become this strange, cultish, conspiratorial phenomenon and whether you agree with any of it or not, it’s still pretty fucking fascinating.

Being that this was put out by HBO, I was skeptical about it, as I wasn’t sure how objective and unbiased it would be. And frankly, that’s a real issue that I have with most documentaries these days that deal with political and/or social issues.

I ended up seeing this as pretty objective, though. It let all sides of the story that participated, clearly give their points of view on QAnon and everything surrounding 8Chan and its effect on the world of social media, American politics and the minds of those caught within its orbit.

That being said, this did feel more like a documentary about 8Chan than Q and QAnon. Sure, this does try to solve the mystery about who Q is and even though it does try to point to someone in the documentary, the viewer is still allowed to take the evidence presented and draw their own ideas and theories. But, at the same time, does it even really matter who it is?

All in all, I thought this was well-made, well-edited, well-paced after the first two episodes and it was hard to turn off and not watch in a single sitting. In a lot of ways, I guess this became my Tiger King for this year.

In the end, I don’t think this came close to solving this mystery but it was an entertaining journey and pretty damn informative, overall.

Rating: 7.5/10