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My worry is that Donald Trump is going to sell out Taiwan to China in exchange for help with Iran.
If he does, I will no longer believe in the United States.
I am not Taiwanese. I have never even visited Taiwan. But for my entire life — all 45 years of it — while everyone here kept saying, “Russia, Russia, Russia,” even long after the Cold War ended, I saw China as the main concern. I have watched China bully its neighbors, spy on other countries including the United States (people like to forget the scandal involving stolen nuclear secrets), and threaten both Hong Kong and Taiwan with a horrible future.
Today, Hong Kong has not escaped that nightmare, and perhaps for them it was unavoidable. But Taiwan has been effectively independent for nearly a century, with its own people, laws, government, justice system, and rights. The United States promised, long before I was born and throughout my entire life, that we would aid Taiwan if needed.
Throughout my life, we have fought so many senseless wars instead of noble ones — or at least the kinds we once claimed to fight. We teach children about how America once stood up for what was right, even though I have never seen that in my lifetime. We spent enormous amounts of money on war while failing to provide healthcare or guarantee Social Security’s future. There always seemed to be more money for bombs than for people.
I think that after a lifetime of portraying Russia as the great enemy — when they clearly were not the threat we made them out to be — while ignoring China, bombing innocent people for oil, and failing to provide for our own citizens, if we now abandon our promise and sell out Taiwan, I do not think I will be able to say I still like this country anymore.
Many people I know do not even vote anymore. It almost seems like it does not matter, especially when the Democratic Party admitted in a court of law that the primaries were essentially only a formality and that, as a private organization, they could choose whomever they wanted — the will of the people be damned.
I remember watching live TV coverage, and later YouTube videos, of the Nevada caucuses, where an entire room full of Bernie Sanders supporters was ignored and, in the opinion of the chair, Hillary Clinton was declared the nominee even without the votes.
Long before that, I remember the Supreme Court telling the state of Florida to stop counting votes when it looked like Al Gore might win instead of George Bush.
Today, we have fascist Republicans redrawing maps, and a Supreme Court saying they can, while most Democrats refuse to respond in kind. The few who try are often told that somehow it is only acceptable when Republicans do it.
If we cannot elect a truly progressive government to correct this madness, voting will no longer seem like a valid or legitimate means for change. And the so-called democracy we learn about in schools will have long been dead, while the illusion that we still have it today will be nothing more than a farce.
Our government, I fear, has become the very enemy of the state — for in the United States, the state was always meant to represent the people. If it no longer does that, then the true threat is not some enemy from a foreign land, but the corruption here at home.
I, and many others, have many reasons to no longer have faith or trust in our government. I suppose I look at our promise and good faith toward Taiwan as the last canary in the coal mine. And as I hold onto that last shred of hope, I worry that today a very dangerous man — one who should be in prison and never should have been allowed to become president because of his crimes — will sell out yet another ally, abandon yet another promise, and whatever hope I still have left for this country will blow away as easily as a dandelion in the wind.
#Taiwan #UnitedStatesOfAmerica #China #Iran #Faith #Election
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My worry is that Donald Trump is going to sell out Taiwan to China in exchange for help with Iran.
If he does, I will no longer believe in the United States.
I am not Taiwanese. I have never even visited Taiwan. But for my entire life — all 45 years of it — while everyone here kept saying, “Russia, Russia, Russia,” even long after the Cold War ended, I saw China as the main concern. I have watched China bully its neighbors, spy on other countries including the United States (people like to forget the scandal involving stolen nuclear secrets), and threaten both Hong Kong and Taiwan with a horrible future.
Today, Hong Kong has not escaped that nightmare, and perhaps for them it was unavoidable. But Taiwan has been effectively independent for nearly a century, with its own people, laws, government, justice system, and rights. The United States promised, long before I was born and throughout my entire life, that we would aid Taiwan if needed.
Throughout my life, we have fought so many senseless wars instead of noble ones — or at least the kinds we once claimed to fight. We teach children about how America once stood up for what was right, even though I have rarely seen that in my lifetime. We spent enormous amounts of money on war while failing to provide healthcare or guarantee Social Security’s future. There always seemed to be more money for bombs than for people.
I think that after a lifetime of portraying Russia as the great enemy — when they clearly were not the threat we made them out to be — while ignoring China, bombing innocent people for oil, and failing to provide for our own citizens, if we now abandon our promise and sell out Taiwan, I do not think I will be able to say I still like this country anymore.
Many people I know do not even vote anymore. It almost seems like it does not matter, especially when the Democratic Party admitted in a court of law that the primaries were essentially only a formality and that, as a private organization, they could choose whomever they wanted — the will of the people be damned.
I remember watching live TV coverage, and later YouTube videos, of the Nevada caucuses, where an entire room full of Bernie Sanders supporters was ignored, and, in the opinion of the chair, Hillary Clinton was declared the nominee even without the votes.
Today, we have fascist Republicans redrawing maps, and a Supreme Court saying they can, while most Democrats refuse to respond in kind. The few who try are often told that somehow it is only acceptable when Republicans do it.
If we cannot elect a truly progressive government to correct this madness, voting will no longer seem like a valid or legitimate means for change. And the so-called democracy we learn about in schools will have long been dead, while the illusion that we still have it today will be nothing more than a farce.
Our government, I fear, has become the very enemy of the state — for in the United States, the state was always meant to represent the people. If it no longer does that, then the true threat is not some enemy from a foreign land, but the corruption here at home.
I, and many others, have many reasons to no longer have faith or trust in our government. I suppose I look at our promise and good faith toward Taiwan as the last canary in the coal mine. And as I hold onto that last shred of hope, I worry that today a very dangerous man — one who should be in prison and never should have been allowed to become president because of his crimes — will sell out yet another ally, abandon yet another promise, and whatever hope I still have left for this country will blow away as easily as a dandelion in the wind.
#Taiwan #UnitedStatesOfAmerica #China #Iran #Faith #Election
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Except for my family, every man, woman, and child I knew before COVID-19 died.
All of them are dead.
In my small state of Massachusetts, over 60,000+ died. That is a population equal to that of an entire city full of people. Nationwide, over 1,000,000 people died of COVID-19. We were the leading nation on the planet in total deaths during the pandemic.
We're the country where people argued that vaccines had 5G chips in them. We're the country that said face masks don't work and are a symbol of oppression. We're the country where our so-called leader joked about drinking bleach as a treatment.
You think the hantavirus is not going to take root here after we defunded and gutted the CDC (Centers for Disease Control)? We're the nation where propaganda and misinformation run supreme. They're already starting with press statements claiming the person is only "mildly" positive. That's not how any of this works!
We're so screwed.
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1 American returning from hantavirus-stricken cruise showing symptoms, another US passenger positive.
Who had pandemic on their bingo card? We're so screwed!
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2028:
President: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Vice President: Jasmine CrockettYou know, that is what would be best for this country. 💯
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2028:
President: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Vice President: Jasmine Crockett
You know, that is what would be best for this country. 💯
#Election #Potus #President #UnitedStates -
The biggest threat to your privacy, security, civil liberties, rights, and justice is not Russia, China, the United States, or any other country. It is not nationalism, fascism, libertarianism, or any other political ideology.
Your greatest threat is also something everyone wants — including you: money.
Money changes incentives. Corporations will sell you out for it. Governments will look the other way when it benefits them. And in the right circumstances, even friends or family may turn against you for it.
Money — or more precisely, the pursuit of wealth — is one of the most powerful forces shaping human behavior, and often the one most capable of overriding trust, ethics, and principle.
#Money #Wealth #Privacy #Security #Government #Rights #Justice -
I think you'd like Misskey. Anytime some development here pops up, the source is always Misskey.
I first joined the Fediverse on May 30, 2023, so Firefish was on its way out and buggy at the time, since its last update came before the project was all but abandoned. I'm told that before then, it was fun to use. But nevertheless, it was still Misskey under the hood.
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If The New York Times, The Atlantic, ans USA Today are preventing archiving or caching of their content, perhaps Mastodon and Misskey administrators should be denying these publishers from trending.
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RE: https://mastodon.archive.org/@internetarchive/116545689013964335
If The New York Times, The Atlantic, ans USA Today are preventing archiving or caching of their content, perhaps Mastodon and Misskey administrators should be denying these publishers from trending.
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Hopefully this nonsense is resolved in the future when Trump is out of office.
In the meantime, they're claiming some corporations can be made exempt if they agree to include U.S. approve control ship, firmware, and pay a fee.
Netgear seems to have been the first company to apply for that exception (see URL). But who wants a router with USA approved spyware? 🙄
Suggest people look into alternative hardware, while it is still available.
https://www.pcmag.com/news/netgear-scores-the-first-exemption-from-the-fccs-foreign-made-router-ban
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A reminder,
The U.S. Government has made new routers, illegal.
To be more accurate, they made it so no new routers made outside the U.S.A. could be imported and sold in the U.S.A. The problem is no mainstream manufacture makes routers in the United States,
The current supply currently available in stores and warehouses is all that is currently left. Many people have yet to know this, but that is why router prices are slowly climbing.
Suggest you buy WiFi 7 soon.
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1 hour and 50 minutes on hold because EverSource does not hire enough people. You are told by their automated system that if you press 1 on your phone’s keypad, they will call you back, but that is a lie because I did that Friday morning and never received a call back.
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Eversource is both my electric and gas company, and they’re dumb as f*ck — why?
My gas meter is outside. They themselves put it there two years ago. Yet they keep telling me I need to schedule an appointment to have my ‘inside’ meter inspected, even though it doesn’t exist. Last year, I had them come out to inspect this imaginary meter. Now they’re claiming this is my last notice to have it inspected or they’ll shut off my service.
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Do you have a significant amount of money?
No?
Then, as far as your government is concerned, your opinions, beliefs, wants, and needs don’t matter. Is life hard? Too bad. Is justice unfair? So what?! You don’t matter to them. You’re not the money!
Now, the only way we can fix this is by getting money out of politics and overturning Citizens United. The only way we can do that is by electing a progressive government.
#Government #UnitedStates #MidTerms #Democrats #DNC #Justice #HumanRights
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Ask.com is no more.
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@[email protected]
Honestly, that would be my biggest fear. You buy a budget plane ticket and suddenly can no longer take the flight. Growing up poor, I worried about that sort of thing, which is why I never flew anywhere. I’m no longer in as tight a financial situation as I was back then, but that mindset is why I still don’t fly anywhere.
#Spirit #Aviation -
RE: https://mastodon.social/@Mastodon/116489457177711947
⚠️ Upgrade your copy of Mastodon.
Now that we know Mastodon 5.0 will be released sometime around September, October, or perhaps November 2026.
Those of you still running really outdated early versions of Mastodon v4 — and even some of you still using Mastodon v3 😱
Please consider updating so that when v5 comes around, you too can benefit from the improvements.
Mastodon's current stable release is v4.5.9 https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon/releases
#Mastodon #FediAdmin #InfoSec #Security #ActivityPub #Update
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8647
We are being told that numbers no longer count as freedom of speech. But not just numbers, generally anything, Donald Trump dislikes or finds offensive.
Mr. Donald John Trump, shut the fuck up, you cock sucking, ass ramming, mother fucking, piece of shit.
8647
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8647
We are being told that numbers no longer count as freedom of speech. But not just numbers, generally anything, Donald Trump dislikes or finds offensive.
Mr. Donald John Trump, shut the fuck up, you cock sucking, ass ramming, mother fucking, piece of shit.
8647
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8647
We are being told that numbers no longer count as freedom of speech. But not just numbers, generally anything, Donald Trump dislikes or finds offensive.
Mr. Donald John Trump, shut the fuck up, you cock sucking, ass ramming, mother fucking, piece of shit.
8647
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The other “interesting” thing is that Mstdn.jp no longer displays the administrator account.
I suspect they’re doing something stupid — wanting everyone to reach them via email only.
If so, they’re creating their own future problem. That’s not how the Fediverse works!
This all seems like a case of a corporation getting involved in something without knowing what it’s doing or how anything in the ecosystem works.
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I think what makes Mastodon Dot Cloud so “interesting” is that it’s one of the few Fedi sites owned by a corporation. That same corporation also owns Mstdn Dot JP.
Mstdn.jp had staff — if you reported a problem, someone handled it. You also needed approval to activate an account after registering.
It’s ironic that the corporation managed Mstdn Dot JP fairly well while completely abandoning Mastodon Dot Cloud.
That said, Mstdn.jp is still running out-of-date software.
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2 of 2
I’m surprised they’re finally upgrading the site — slowly over days — but that’s part of the problem. It shows the same pattern: no action or long delays.
8 days, and they’re right back where they started with discontinued software.
Mastodon.Cloud has upgraded to 4.3.22, the last 4.3.x release, which will be end of life in 8 days.
4.3.22 also has documented security bugs, so they’re still running a version that isn’t fully secure.
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Their lack of communication is one of their biggest problems and why many sites have defederated and disconnected from Mastodon Dot Cloud.
A scammer, troll, or spammer would join your site, people would report the content, and nothing would happen. Worse, it would keep happening. Mastodon Dot Cloud has, for the past year, become known as a revolving door of trash and nonsense, and the whole time there’s been no proof anyone cared.
1 of 2
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8 days, and they're right back where they started with discontinued software.
Mastodon Dot Cloud has upgraded to 4.3.22 which is the last 4.3.x branch and will be end of life in 8 days.
4.3.22 also has a few known documented security bugs. So once again, they're still using a version of Mastodon that is not completely secure.
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Normally, AWS (Amazon Web Services) is fairly reliable. The issue is not likely their hosting provider, and more likely everything to do with how they've been managing things.
If you follow the hashtag #MastodonCloud you will see a lot of other sites were fed up with how that site was managed. You'll note they had basically abandon that site and the other sites they operated (they owned a few) and were using software from years ago.
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The same people who ran Mastodon Dot Cloud also ran Mstdn Dot JP.
By comparison, Mastodon Dot Cloud had no active staff and was filled with spam, scams, and bots.
However, ironically, while Mstdn was also using old software, it was still staffed. There were people there trying to keep it going, and you needed staff approval to join.
However, Mstdn Dot JP is now also offline.
I'm kind of sad to see that one offline — I used to have an account.
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The website called Website Down Dot com checks locations from around the world and reports Mastodon Dot Com is down everywhere.
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@cceddie @housepanther @TheAdmin
Its not a puzzling choice, because realistically, you have no choice — you must upgrade.
The new software has features that will not communicate with older versions. Plus, the old version has known security bugs.
If they’re unwilling or unable to upgrade, Mastodon Dot Cloud is not being properly managed or secured. They will continue to be de-federated.
It really comes down to existing within the Fediverse or not, and hoping you’re not hacked
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If you are not progressive left — which is the only way we save this country — I don’t want to hear from you anymore.
I will vote progressively or not at all. It is not up for debate or discussion.
I will not support pedophile Nazis or their sympathizers or collaborators. Unity is not more important than accountability and change.
#Democrat #Democrats #VoteBlue #DNC #DCCC #UnitedStates #America #USA #UnitedStatesOfAmerica
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Mastodon Dot Cloud seems to be offline, again.
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RE: https://masto.ai/@Linux/116471427484550414
Mastodon Dot Cloud could theoretically upgrade to the latest 4.5.x build or even 4.6 nightly build, today, and no one would trust them to maintain it.
It's too late.
For over a year they left their site abandon. There is scam post, spam post, and bots all over the site because it was left abandon.
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Someone needs to explain "Internet time" to the people running Mastodon Dot Cloud.
Seconds or less = Now.
1 minute = 1 hour
1 hour = 1 day
1 day = 1 week
1 week = 1 month
1 month = 1 year
1 year or more = Forever.
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Mastodon Dot Cloud seems to have either disabled or removed their security certificate. Standard httpS is not working.
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BBC News has a video of where they quickly pull Vice President JD Vance off the stage, but leave Donald Trump there for a bit. 😂
https://www.bbc.com/news/live/c1je28p42ret
#JdVance #VicePresident #President #DonaldTrump #Trump -
13-year-old computer from 2013 running Windows 11.
When the Dell Precision T3610 was sold, it would have originally included a copy of Windows 7 Professional.
Microsoft has partnerships with Dell, HP, Lenovo, and Acer to help generate sales. Most of the time, your hardware is just fine, but being ‘just fine’ does not encourage you to buy a new computer.
Yes, I can play Steam games and work on my 13-year-old PC just fine. 😉
#Windows #Windows11 #Microsoft #Dell #HP #Lenovo #Acer #Hardware
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There are many alternatives outside U.S. jurisdiction.
You have choices in your quest for a better digital sovereignty, away from the United States.
https://codeberg.org/Linux-Is-Best/Outside_US_Jurisdiction/src/branch/main/Index.md
#DigitalSovereignty #DigitalIndependence #DigitalEurope #DigitalAsia
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Proton is under U.S. jurisdiction.
Proof?
Read their TOS (Terms of Service). It starts by claiming it is governed under the laws of Switzerland — and this is true — but it also continues by citing U.S. laws, regulations, and jurisdiction.
They don’t list any other countries they do business with in their TOS — not in Asia, Europe, Africa, South America, North America, or Australia. Only Switzerland and the USA.
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@EeveeEuphoria @cobra @argv_minus_one
False flag is false frag.
I absolutely support LGBTQ+ rights, trans rights, women's right, black lives matters.... I'm so progressive, that I think Bernie Sanders is a bit concervative.
But you're no alley, because you'll say anything, including false flag people, just for clout.
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No one is saying you should always be using the latest bleeding-edge software.
But if you can’t keep your community updated at least twice (2x) a year — when people are depending on you — you really shouldn’t be running a Fedi site.
#Mastodon #Misskey #PixelFed #PeerTube #FediAdmin #Fediverse #ActivityPub
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That is possible.
I know you can jump version with Mastodon, but some of the older versions you had to be more caution when doing so. So it is possible.
However, with the newer versions, I recall someone jumping from 4.3.x to 4.5.x. I'm not certain when the code became stable enough to do that.
That said, you do bring up a valid point since they were on 4.1.x
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@housepanther @cceddie @TheAdmin
4.2.9 is bad because the 4.2.x branch is discontinued and has a security flaw.
The last 4.2.x branch was 4.2.29
https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon/releases/tag/v4.2.29
They "upgrade" to a new version by "downgrading" to a new security flaw. But more importantly, they are still using discontinued software because both 4.1.x and 4.2.x are no longer is supported.
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OMG. 🤣
Mastodon.cloud is back online and now using older software.
Originally, they were running Mastodon 4.1.25 from April 2025 (a year ago), and now they’re on Mastodon 4.2.9 from May 2024 — two years ago.
I mean, sure, they’ve bumped the version number while actually using an older codebase. 🤦
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Not my doing, but Mastodon Dot Cloud seems to have finally gone offline.
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미국 관할권 밖에는 많은 대안이 있습니다.
당신은 더 나은 디지털 주권을 추구하는 과정에서 미국으로부터 벗어난 선택지도 있습니다.
https://codeberg.org/Linux-Is-Best/Outside_US_Jurisdiction/src/branch/main/Index.md
#DigitalSovereignty #DigitalIndependence #DigitalEurope #DigitalAsia
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Proton은 미국의 관할권 아래에 있습니다.
증거는?
그들의 TOS(이용 약관)를 읽어보세요. 스위스 법의 적용을 받는다고 주장하는 것으로 시작합니다 — 그리고 이것은 사실입니다 — 하지만 동시에 미국의 법률, 규정 및 관할권도 계속해서 인용합니다.
그들은 TOS에서 다른 어떤 국가와 관련된 법이나 관할권도 명시하지 않습니다 — 아시아, 유럽, 아프리카, 남아메리카, 북아메리카 또는 호주 어디에도 없습니다. 스위스와 미국만 있습니다.
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米国の管轄外には多くの代替手段があります。
より良いデジタル主権を求めて、米国から離れた選択肢があります。
https://codeberg.org/Linux-Is-Best/Outside_US_Jurisdiction/src/branch/main/Index.md
#DigitalSovereignty #DigitalIndependence #DigitalEurope #DigitalAsia -
Protonは米国の管轄下にあります。
証拠は？
彼らのTOS（利用規約）を読んでください。冒頭ではスイスの法律に準拠すると述べており — これは事実です — しかし同時に、米国の法律、規制、および管轄についても言及しています。
彼らのTOSには、事業を行っている他の国は記載されていません — アジア、ヨーロッパ、アフリカ、南アメリカ、北アメリカ、オーストラリアのどこにもありません。スイスと米国のみです。
https://proton.me/legal/terms
#Proton #ProtonMail #ProtonVPN #ProtonPass #ProtonDrive -
Proton is under U.S. jurisdiction.
Proof?
Read their TOS (Terms of Service). It starts by claiming it is governed under the laws of Switzerland — and this is true — but it also continues by citing U.S. laws, regulations, and jurisdiction.
They don’t list any other countries they do business with in their TOS — not in Asia, Europe, Africa, South America, North America, or Australia. Only Switzerland and the USA.