Rob Hozack retweeted
There is a letter from the federal housing minister to Mayor Farkas that I think more Calgarians should read, and I have highlighted the part that matters.
Ottawa approved our third Housing Accelerator payment and then attached conditions to the final one, which is worth roughly $65 million, and to collect it council has to allow four units on a significant majority of lots across the city before October 27. Council already spent eight days in public hearings this spring and voted twelve to three the other way, with the repeal taking effect on August 4.
I build homes for a living, so I am not arguing against density or against building more, but the shape of this deal bothers me, because money that came out of Calgarians' pockets is being offered back on the condition that Calgary reverses a decision Calgarians turned up to make.
Would you take the money?
Rob Hozack retweeted
It’s that magical mischief-free time of the week again where I’m allowed to leave my cell within a five hour window in order to purchase all the items necessary to ensure I don’t die.
Meanwhile, back in eastern Canada….
Rob Hozack retweeted
You wake up
Your husband looks young, the same mustache he used to have over twenty years ago
There are voices in the kitchen
You sit and listen, you can make out one, two… three, three little voices all the way in the kitchen
There is the smell of pancakes in the air, along with some bacon, you are hungry
You look down, your hands, so young
As soon as you walk into the kitchen little voices all cry out your name “mama, mama!!” Hugs filled the air along with sticky syrup hands, but you do not care
By the sink there he stands, your husband
Tall, full head of blonde hair, and you cannot help but hug him. His body feels so strong, filled with youth, you take his smell in, and you stand there taking in the warmth, listening to the children arguing over who gets the last piece of bacon, watching their little feet run across the kitchen floor, memorizing everything, because this ordinary so unimportant Saturday is what you wish you could go back to the most
And then you wake up, life has gone by, you are old, the house is empty, the children are grown, your body aches
And you finally know, you finally understand that at the end of life you will not wish to have had more promotions, to have gone back for one more day of work, to of had more time to clean the house, for one more day of school, for errands, for anything else besides a slow Saturday morning where the air smells like pancakes, and the house is filled with little voices, and you are woken up to the small bodies and the smell of the little heads you love most in the entire world.
An extraordinary life is made up of ordinary days. Of a summer breeze, and small hands, of cold cheeks you kiss in the autumn afternoons, of a steady hand that holds yours, of the wonderful miracle that is having everyone you love, all with you under the same roof.
This quoted post is unavailable.
Rob Hozack retweeted
The most common question I am getting right now in the fall out of the news of COLD CARD MK3, MK4, MK5 and Q having compromised entropy, is:
"Rob, what would you do right now if you were in my shoes? Where would you send your bitcoin to be safe?"
I will share with you my list of what I would do, but first, there is AN URGENT SECURITY ADVISORY IN THE BITCOIN ECOSYSTEM.
Below is my personal assessment of the situation.
If you or someone you know:
Uses an MK3, MK4, MK5, or Q in a single signature
OR
A multi signature wallet where the cold card devices can move the funds on their own (Example, 2 cold cards and a Ledger).
Please continue reading. You may be in danger. If this does not apply to you, keep on reading if you like, but you are not impacted by this issue.
If you are still here, there are three identified mitigations that protect you at the moment. They are all different forms in which you may have brought your own entropy.
A: DICE - This is done by either rolling dice from the start, or adding dice rolls to the generated seed phrase. At least 50 dice rolls would be my threshold at 128 bits of entropy.
OR
B: PASSPHRASE - You used a passphrase of sufficient entropy (128 bits).
128 Bits of entropy pass phrase examples include RANDOM combinations of the following:
- 12 BIP 39 seed words.
- 10 common words in the english language
- 25 mixed lower case letters and numbers
- 20 if you use ASCII characters
Note on pass phrases: This does not include the same word 12 times, 10 words in a sentence, etc. This combinations of characters/numbers OR words should never have been seen or spoken before in the total sum of all human knowledge and experiences. It needs to be RANDOM for it to be entropy.
OR
C: EXTERNAL ENTROPY - Your seed phrase was derived entirely outside of the cold card ecosystem. (It was imported into the cold card, not generated on it)
Now, if you are still reading, and you do not have any of these mitigations in place, you need to move your funds. The urgency of circumstances are as follows:
TIER 1: AS SOON AS POSSIBLE
Scenario A: If you are in a signature wallet with an effected device, and did not use any of the mitigations listed above. You need to move funds right now. Find someone to help you, any moment your funds can be stolen.
Scenario B: If you have an N of N (eg 2 of 2, 3 of 3, etc) multisig of just cold card devices that did not have mitigations listed above (dice and/or passphrase).
Attackers will be grinding all of the combinations of compromised keys. They know all your seed phrases. You are compromised. It is just a matter of time for them to assemble the puzzle pieces together and steal your funds.
If this scenario is you, I will have more below on how to mitigate risk when broadcasting your transaction.
TIER 2: URGENTLY
If you are in a single signature wallet with an effected device, and you used either less than 50 dice rolls OR a pass phrase less secure than what I shared above. The entire security of your bitcoin is reliant on how much of Dice AND Passphrases you applied to your wallet.
Attackers know your seed phrase. Your entropy from dice or pass phrase is the only thing protecting you. Did you add a pass phrase of 'bitcoin'? You are basically in tier 1. Did you use 6 words? You are not at tier 1, but you aren't safe. You need to make plans to move funds quickly.
TIER 3 SOON, BUT IMPORTANT CONTEXT:
You have a multi signature wallet where the compromised devices have sufficient ability to move the funds. An example is a 2 of 3 multisig where you have 2 cold cards and another signer.
The issue with Tier 3 is that an attacker may have already figured out your insecure seed phrases. This means when you broadcast your bitcoin transaction, an attacker in theory can then steal your funds.
NOTE: IF YOU ARE IN THIS SITUATION, AND YOU HAVE REUSED ADDRESSES, ALL REUSED ADDRESSES PUT YOU RIGHT BACK AT THE TIER 1 MOVE RIGHT AWAY YOUR FUNDS ARE AT RISK AT THIS VERY MOMENT
You should look into finding a way to use the @MARAFoundation_ slipstream service, which uses a private mempool. This means that by the time an attacker could see your attempted recovery, it is already in a block and not possible for them to steal funds.
TIER 4: KEY ROTATION. This is where you have an insecure cold card(s) in your multisig quorum, and you know that the other keys in your quorum are not impacted by this bug.
If there is a MK3,MK4,MK5 or Q in the quorum, BUT they either: 1. Rolled sufficient dice (50 min) 2. Have a strong pass phrase (as defined above). 3. Used entropy not sourced from the device, they are not impacted by this bug in the Cold Card (see notes earlier on mitigations).
You are in a position where a minority of your keys are compromised. Funds are safe, but you are at reduced security. Make plans when you are able to remove the compromised device from your wallet.
Now. With that security advisory out of the way, back to the question, what would I do in this situation?
Below is just my opinion, but you should not rely on only my opinion, you will have to make your own choices based on what you feel is best for you.
I want to be clear, if you are not on this list. It is not that I think your product/business is bad, insecure or at risk, I am directly answering the question of what I would do. This is my personal judgement given my decade of experience in bitcoin.
First, a disclaimer:
My bitcoin is at my company @AnchorWatch. I have full skin in the game in that if I'm offering a custody solution, there will never be another place I store large amounts of bitcoin long term for myself or my family, and it will be this way as long as I am here.
I was the first bitcoin that went on our Trident Vault platform. If the day ever comes, I will be the last bitcoin to leave the platform.
The years of what we built at AnchorWatch were for exactly moments like this. Avoiding catastrophic risk of ruin scenarios.
We offer 2 products:
1. Our Flagship Product where you as the customer can hold 1 or 3 keys, and we act as a cosigner. We leverage bitcoin native smart contracts which allow for your bitcoin to have different ways it can be spent across time.
2. Multi Institution Custody, where we let you distribute your keys across 3 institutions of ourselves, @bitgo and @CoinCorner. 2 of the 3 institutions must sign off on the transaction, and you have to present a Yubikey signature before withdrawing to mitigate deepfake and compromised accounts.
For both products as, since we are a cosigner, we are able to enforce rules like whitelisted addresses, and velocity controls (how much bitcoin can you send how often). You can even disable the send button on the platform if you so choose!
We also offer 1:1 insurance backed by Lloyd's of London.
If you want to learn more about what we do, hit up @_joerodgers or @BeccaAmilee to learn more, or check out our website.
Now with that out of the way, places where I'd leave my bitcoin (besides @AnchorWatch) in no particular order:
Custodian:
I'd trust my life savings at @River under a duress situation. This is one of those times. @Leishman and the entire team at River are elite operators. It is my favorite bitcoin services business in the market today outside of my own.
They own their own custody infrastructure, and at times like this, you want those who have extreme ownership and control over how their customer's money is being managed.
@River does monthly proof of reserves, and you can turn on the force field feature which will freeze withdrawals of bitcoin. They have a world class custody team as well, and are making improvements regularly with a larger upgrade that has been planned for a long time, happening later this year.
Collaborative Custody:
1. The @Bitkey is an incredible product with an elite team of engineers supported by the @BlockEng organization. They have exceptional bitcoin developers across @spiral_xyz and @CashApp teams who deeply understand Bitcoin.
@jack has been a long time believer in bitcoin who has built an organization that has no peer in the resources they have not just understanding bitcoin, but building on bitcoin.
You can pick it up a Bitkey at best buy today!
I do want to add a disclaimer that all keys are managed within the Bitkey ecosystem. The Bitkey team has gone to great lengths to keep things secure, but in light of recent events, I want to call that out. At the moment, the Bitkey is my only exception to a purist ideal of multi vendor multisig (more below).
2. @CasaHODL - @Nneuman and @lopp have been on top of this incidence response, and have built a very clean user experience to let people be safe. You can either use a 2 of 3 or 3 of 5 multisig with a great mobile app. Casa is the best UX for soverign collaborative multisig that exists in the market today.
3. @uncahined - Unchained pioneered the collaborative custody model and the multi institution custody model. They have been working around the clock trying to support customers and have even been able to use slip stream going the extra mile on short notice to keep customers bitcoin safe.
Self Custody:
I have spent close to $5k on LLM tokens over the past 24 hours scanning over a hundred bitcoin related repositories. As of now, I have seen no vulnerability that has me concerned about any hardware device outside of the Cold Cards.
Even so, you can't be sure. So I would follow the @mflaxman "Bitcoin 10x security guide". Its how I held my bitcoin before I founded @AnchorWatch, and even though the guide is 6 years old, the principles are timeless. I would remove his suggestion of using the cold card and replace it with any other hardware wallet. I would replace the cold card with a @Ledger at this time if it were my decision. You can pick up a Ledger up at Best Buy in the US.
Michael pioneered multi vendor multisig as a concept, and if you want a fully sovereign solution, as of today there is no better mental model on how to think through this, he has advanced tabs to further increase the security. For his cold card guide he fairly calls out the added benefit of rolling dice, which would have saved you today.
I think the future is combining the tech we use at @AnchorWatch to move beyond the single signature/ multi signature paradigm of custody, with the principles of @mflaxman's 10x security guide and the support of collaborative custody.
More on that later, but I would check out @lianabitcoin from @Wizardsardine as well, they offer a fully open source wallet that enables these more advanced smart contracts and are security researchers in the bitcoin ecosystem.
With that, I'm going to get back to work. I will post a followup reply if I have additional information or any corrections or clarifications to make.
Rob Hozack retweeted
🚨 CANADIAN TRAVELERS: YOUR LIFE IS AT RISK 🧳 ✈️
Innocent Canadians are landing abroad and getting ARRESTED for drug smuggling… because airport insiders at @TorontoPearson are switching their luggage tags onto suitcases full of cocaine.
CTV W5 exclusive: At least 17 victims in one year. Destinations include countries where drug smuggling can mean the DEATH PENALTY.
This is the tip of the iceberg.
How is this happening inside our airports? Could it have anything to do with the airport being staffed by majority foreigners? Arrests of baggage handlers aren’t enough. First a gold heist now this! Security must be fixed NOW.
Tag everyone you know who flies.
This could happen to ANYONE. 🇨🇦
#TravelWarning #PearsonAirport #Canada #W5 #DrugSmuggling
EXCLUSIVE: Innocent Canadians are being detained after their bag tags are switched in a drug smuggling scheme. This may just be the tip of the iceberg. ctvnews.ca/canada/article/ex…
Rob Hozack retweeted
One of the suspects was charged with 31 firearms offences and released on bail in September 2023.
The same person was caught with 13 kilos of cocaine, 268 grams of meth, 150 grams of crack cocaine, and 26 grams of fentanyl, but was released on bail again in January 2025.
Rob Hozack retweeted
In July 2022, 19-year-old Josh Burns was killed at the McDonald's in Sundre, Alberta. He was working an overnight shift with Solaimane Elbettah, a 27-year-old man from Morocco who moved to Canada in 2018. The two were alone in the restaurant. After a cigarette break outside, Elbettah went to his nearby motel, got a machete, blocked the drive-thru with milk crates, came back, and cut Burns' throat. Burns died at the scene. Elbettah texted his manager that Burns had been insulting him and acting like he was better than him. He then called 911 and confessed.
In December 2024, a judge convicted Elbettah of first-degree murder and gave him life in prison with no parole for 25 years. The defense claimed he was mentally ill and did not know what he was doing, but the judge rejected that. The judge ruled that Elbettah planned the attack because he was enraged over what he saw as disrespect from Burns and other co-workers.
This happened in a small, low-crime Alberta town. Many Canadians, especially outside big cities, have no idea that in some foreign cultures a perceived slight or insult at work can be treated as a serious offense that justifies killing someone. Most Canadians would never expect a coworker or neighbor to respond to a disagreement or rude comment by deciding to murder them. That gap in understanding is dangerous. It raises the question whether Canada should keep bringing in large numbers of people from cultures where lethal violence over perceived disrespect is far more common and accepted than it is among Canadian citizens in places like rural Alberta.
Why is the Government of Canada putting Canadians in danger by importing millions of violent, culturally incompatible Third Worlders?
Why are we letting them get away with this?
Rob Hozack retweeted
I promise I am not joking...
This is Canada's spaceport.
Last month, the federal government paid $200 million to a company called Maritime Launch Services to lease it for 10 years.
Rob Hozack retweeted
-no valid license
-had never driven before
-fled from police who thought he was impaired
-caused a fatal accident
-does not speak a word of English
Deport? No….absolute discharge
Canada is not a place of justice for victims of crime
Syrian refugee found not criminally responsible for failing to stop after deadly Ontario crash gets absolute discharge
nationalpost.com/news/canada…
Rob Hozack retweeted
‼️ History Lesson
In 2008, police raided a property owned by Guillaume Champagne and found a Hells Angels meth lab.
34,000 pills. A pill press. $50K in cash.
He was charged with conspiracy alongside a Hells Angels member.
Then it all disappeared.
“Negotiated acquittal.”
No trial.
Reasons sealed.
His brother?
François-Philippe Champagne.
The current Finance Minister.
He was getting ready to enter politics at the time.
The media never asks about this.
Ever.
journaldemontreal.com/2017/0…
Rob Hozack retweeted
What the fvck is this headline???
It should read:
Victim of home invasion has charges dropped for using self defense.
wtf global?
Rob Hozack retweeted
Two things about this post:
1. The "Elbows Up" EV-driver is loading up on cheap groceries in the U.S. (Bellingham is on the border with Metro Vancouver)
2. The American poster has no idea what "Elbows Up" means, and likely has no idea there's even a trade war with Canada.
Rob Hozack retweeted
I love that even the prospective NDP leader doesn't know CBC Gem exists.
We need a public option for streaming services!!
Readers added context they thought people might want to know
Canada has a public streaming service called CBC Gem. gem.cbc.ca
Rob Hozack retweeted
Word is that GMO or cloned meat products will no longer go through the Health Canada “novel foods” process and that the change was quietly shared only with 1,200 consultation participants. Products can be sold on the market.
Is this true @GovCanHealth?
Rob Hozack retweeted
Dear Lucy Powell MP,
You think Pakistani rape gangs are a “dog whistle”?
Well, I was sexually abused from 5 years old.
And it’s politicians like you that are the reason little girls like me are still being raped, exploited and murdered across the country.
In my hometown, those in power dismissed victims as troublemakers, paki shaggers and white slags.
They shamed and intimidated little girls like me into silence. They accused us of lying, or putting ourselves in risky situations, or even wanting to be raped.
They stood by and did nothing while young girls were being brutally abused.
And, as many other girls systematically groomed in Telford have testified, I was made to feel as though I was to blame. The system criminalised the victims, rather than going after the perpetrators.
I remember being asked by a detective whether I “consented” at any point to sexual activity, and told by a social worker that “my actions had led me to where I was today”.
All the while the Labour-led council tried to block an independent inquiry into CSE for years and their Council Leader (now the MP for Telford), along with 10 other powerful local men, even wrote a letter to the Home Secretary saying they felt an inquiry would unnecessary.
In Rotherham, Rochdale and elsewhere, victims were continually swept aside by those in positions of power, as if they chose this lifestyle. The attitudes that social workers, local services, authorities had towards children was so skewed, and so deeply unprofessional.
It broke me.
And I spent years in silence because I thought I would somehow be judged or penalised for the abuse I had suffered. Because I had been conditioned to feel like I was somehow responsible for my own victimisation.
The Telford scandal made headlines when it broke in 2015, then again when the Crowther Report was released in 2022. Yet, The news cycle moved on far too quickly.
This isn’t a 60-second-and-then-done issue. For change to occur, there needs to be constant attention brought to this issue because, otherwise, silence and ignorance only serves to support the predators and the paedophiles.
This is a crime that thrives on misinformation, on fears of “racism” and a lack of awareness, and on being swept under the rug.
They rely on girls not being taken seriously, the media not caring and the police not taking any action to investigate.
These are not crimes of the past. Kids are still being exploited, groomed, raped and even murdered in council estates like mine. It isn’t enough to have empty words and hollow promises.
CSE is not a “dog whistle”.
It is a national epidemic.
But those in power like Lucy Powell refuse to address that fact for fear of being forced to confront their decades-long failure to protect young girls from abuse.
It’s easier to ignore victims, especially when they come from communities, social classes or demographics that are already disenfranchised in Britain. And for those who do speak out, it feels like you are screaming at a brick wall that would rather label you as the problem than take you seriously.
Our trauma isn’t a “dog-whistle” or a “trumpet” to blow against the Labour Party.
It is the harrowing reality of the institutional blindness and contempt that allowed little girls to be sacrificed at the altar of political correctness, while politicians sneered and branded us troublemakers and attention-seekers for daring to want justice.
Shame on Lucy Powell.
Shame on Labour.
Shame on all of them.
Rob Hozack retweeted
Powerful visual illustration of how radical, and unsustainable, Liberal immigration policy is.
But what's equally stunning about this imo - look at how natural ppln growth rates have completely collapsed over the last two decades.
(H/T @JJ_McCullough for highlighting it).
Rob Hozack retweeted
For the last four and a half years I've worked out at Robin Sage, the final phase of training to earn your green beret. I retired in 2016 and it's been so good for me to be around the brotherhood while working with the new blood coming in. Brandon worked with me out there, and he was fighting cancer the whole time. He didn't complain, he didn't bitch - he showed up and worked his ass off.
Both of us were retired SF medics, and we had many conversations about his health, treatments, and his future. The dude was the most positive guy you could ever meet. So many times he'd say with absolute certainty, "I'm gonna beat this, Terry."
And I really thought that if anyone could defeat cancer, it would be him.
Sadly, my Brother lost that battle.
I smile when I think of how I used to say to him when a new class would start, "Brandon - aren't you supposed to be dead?"; and he'd reply totally deadpan, "Fuck off." Then we'd laugh, hug, and catch up on the last few months. When every class was over, we'd both say, "I love you" as we left. I'm sad that I will never get to do that anymore, but I know I will see him again.
If you're so inclined, please help out. Either way, say a prayer for a Real One. Brandon Ramirez.
gofund.me/442b117b
