You know, speaking of Isreal, this propaganda piece really struck me as making a good point, but was hugely unpopular in the UK. I get that it can be uncomfortable, but it's meant to be. Regardless of what city it depicts, it makes a good point. As someone living in Houston, if Mexico was to fire missiles at us (especially if it went on for years), an invasion would seem entirely valid.

I get that the war is horrible, but I have trouble blaming Isreal myself. Am I missing something here?

I think it should depend on how much you could make in a low-risk investment. If you could make more than 4.4% without too much risk, then it might be better to keep the mortgage. Personally, I think you made a pretty good decision. Being debt free is never a bad thing.

But what if they did ban it? The op isn't asking if they would or if it's justified, but what you would do if they did.

I don't know for sure. I probably wouldn't use it, but I might keep what I had.

Hi, this may be a stupid question, but I want to use bitaddress.org's art with an existing wallet. I don't fully trust the website so I want to use Bitcoin QT to generate an address, but I also want to have the pretty art from bitaddress. Is there an easy way to use an existing key on an offline computer and have it as a qr code on a bitaddress paper wallet?

I am slightly familiar with Javascript, so are there some particular variables I could fill in with my wallet details?

I would prefer to have the website fill everything in as opposed to using GIMP or something like that to do it manually for each wallet.

What happens if the service goes offline?

How about this:

Make a split key (2 of 3 to send) with a tool such as bitaddress.org and give the person one of the keys, then keep the other yourself and give one to a trusted relative or your attorney with instructions to give it to the person at the future date. This way you could also make exceptions for medical emergencies or other dire situations.

When I first read about this case it puzzled me why someone so good at keeping himself anonymous would make such a simple mistake.

That's not very common though. In the recent housing crisis in the US, most foreclosures were fairly new loans, and banks lost a lot of money because the houses ended up being worth less than the loans.

The other thing is that in your scenario, that interest does rightly belong to the bank. The bank doesn't have to loan you money, they only do so because they are promised interest. They wouldn't loan you money if they knew they'd only get 60% of it back (90k out of 150k), because they are losing not only the 60k you don't pay back, but also inflation and the time-value of that money.

Cash can be used for the wrong purposes too. Bitcoin is just a tool, and like all tools it can be used for good or evil. Businesses are not at any more risk of being victimized by theft and fraud as long as they take appropriate precautions.

Do you really believe that the government should be able to trace your transactions? I don't. I believe in privacy rights, my money is my money to do with as I wish, without the government looking over my shoulder, until I am proven guilty of a crime.

True, but when you borrow money you assume the responsibility and risk for that money. That's just the way it is, and probably the way it should be.

The problem with this is that a free market helps to allocate people to where they are best suited, and where they can provide the most benefit possible to society.

If they can do anything, they are free to do things that are a waste of their efforts. The government is not suited to decide who should work where, or what work is worth how much.

Advertising on forums for example, is very likely much less valuable to society than growing food or programming. That being said, neither of us are suited to decide that because we don't have all the information.

Any economic system that interferes with the free market--even if it helps distribute the pie more evenly--is likely to shrink the pie, and perhaps distribute the pie less fairly (there is a difference between even and fair).

The well-intentioned effort to eliminate poverty ends up making everyone less better off.

The reason we have currencies is that we live in conditions of scarcity. A basic income 1) reduces the incentive for work thus reducing the supply of goods and services, and 2) increases demand for many of those same products that now have lower supply!

Plus, the taxes that pay for said income also cause dead-weight economic loss.

I support welfare, but it must be done in a way to encourage work, not in a way that discourages it. A basic income takes money from hard workers and actually pays lazy people *not* to work.

Finally, a world government is a horrible idea. Governments today are already famous for their abuse of power. Even governments in relatively free countries like the US interfere in our lives far more than is reasonable and hurt our economies by introducing massive amounts of waste and perverse incentives.

Government is a necessary evil. While it is necessary, it is important to keep it as weak as possible. A worldwide government would very likely grow out of control, especially since many of the different cultures involved in it may not value freedom and limited government to even the limited extent that people in the western world do.

Credit scores are just a measure of trust much like the trust ratings buyers and sellers in this forum use. If you want to borrow significant amounts of money without collateral, you need a means of proving you are trustworthy. Credit scores may not be perfect, but they do help lenders manage risk.

I would like to see this one busted since I'm not completely sure it's untrue myself.

I'm no expert, but it seems to me this should work as long as any transactions in or out of the system (to or from the outside world) are somehow imported and exported to an online computer. I guess I'm not sure what the use of this would be, but maybe I am misunderstanding.

EDIT: Although I don't know how you'd get your transactions confirmed.

I was a Libertarian-leaning conservative when I started but gradually became more of a hardcore Libertarian. I've actually backpedaled a little bit toward being more moderate. Maybe the liberal college environment is getting to me despite my care.

I'm happy to buy anything with Bitcoin. I just immediately buy more whenever I spend any. If I spend $50 in BTC, I buy $50 in BTC.

This makes me want to get into local selling. It sounds fun. It's almost like being some kind of international super criminal but without doing anything illegal. 

This is why checking the HTTPS info in your web browser before logging in is so important. Unfortunately, I'm not as good about that as I should be.

I am offering to sell a brand new, unused copy of Elder Scrolls Online, elderscrollsonline.com.

I will pm or email you the keys after receiving payment. I am willing to escrow as long as the agent is willing and able to receive the keys on your behalf (so that I have proof that I sent them). Otherwise, you send first unless highly trusted.

What's Included:

• Elder Scrolls Online Game Keys - No Discs
• Explorers Pack (Play any race in any alliance) while supplies last.
• 30 days free game-time. (You have to set up a subscription and accept a $1 hold to receive it.)

Price & Terms

• $39 OBO (MSRP $59.99)
• Payment via BTC, LTC, or DOGE Only.
• $2 fee for LTC or DOGE payment.

If you have any questions, please post or pm me.