we disagree.  < shrug >  so it goes.


like i said; i don't mind, as long as i get my share.

that's ok.  i'm used to it.  i should be.

oh hey!  did you know that adam and eve rode to the corner convenience store on the back of a dinosaur?

yeah.  i'm used to it...

we are all a part of the culture we are a part of.  like it or not.


i never said it did.  and yet every reasonably civilized country on earth sees to the medical needs of its population.  it's cost-effective.  people live longer and healthier.  they produce more, and revolt less.  these things make the world a better place - at least as i see it.

i never minded paying my share if i get my share.

the world doesn't owe me - or anybody - a living.  but i have no problem with helping out my brothers and sisters - the better they do the better i do.

yup.

if you ain't interested you're dead.  or irrelevant.

do i hate the state?

that would be all of us.  including myself.

the entity we've created that builds our roads, sees to the cleanliness of our water and the purity of our medicines?  that prevents starvation and poverty in our elders?  that - in most places - attends to our medical needs as a human right?

no.  i don't hate that.

or do you mean the state which sponsors unjust wars?  that lies to us and holds secrets, treating us as though we were children?  that steals our health and retirement, or forces us across unsafe bridges to pay for tax cuts to the wealthy?

no.  i don't hate that either - it makes me want to work harder to get what we have worked for.

i see nothing wrong with the basic idea of a state.  some things are too big for individuals; and privatization of those larger needs is a fallacy:  corporations are about rape - nothing else.  i would just as soon entrust my future and my health to the child molester down the street, as to the average large corporation.

but i'm quite sure YMMV.

heh.  i guess that's a jinx...

one of the early forum members is talking to some icelandic government body, soonish.

i forget who.

anyone have the link to hand?

like i said - i've never seen a bank where you didn't need a social.

but you're right - they should be here, posting.

i'm an american.

with the obvious addition of the satoshi, i would prefer this too.

we seem to have had some difficulties with mars orbits...

never run across a bank where you didn't need that...

yeah, it seems kind of nebulous.

and yes, there's a typo in the FAQ: it should be 'principle', not 'principal'.

and yet...

maybe it might be more beneficial to contact them and help them.  no?

i mean... ATMs!  a real customer service department with a phone number!  they're certainly thinking about the right stuff.

i dunno.  i ain't putting any BTC in there right now, but i'm willing to keep an eye on them.

think back to the beginnings of MtGOX...

why is this contrary to the concept of Bitcoin?

it's a convenience - and one that we will pay for if we deem it valuable.

there's nothing about Bitcoin that says you have to be anonymous to use it in an ethical manner.  it's about choice.  if you want anonymity and are willing to jump through those hoops, you can have it - but not through USD transfers from any of the exchanges.

in the meantime, as i mentioned on another thread, i want boring, staid, and everything all tied up in legal niceties where a proper exchange is concerned.  it makes me more secure.

and i note that - again, with any of the exchanges - you can trade to your heart's content and remain completely anonymous.  as long as you take your profits out in Bitcoin.

i dunno about SSL.  secure banking comes to mind.  but SSL can't encrypt files on your computer, and it isn't unbreakable by governments, so i suppose they use it - but i don't know for sure.

yes.  you're correct.

no.

"Once you strip away the desire for anonymity..." you begin to understand what the real purpose of Bitcoin is.

the thing to keep in mind about china - which hasn't been mentioned on this thread, so far - is that they're no different than any other nation as regards the law.  there are enough laws on the books that any time they want you, they've got you.

in china it's against the law to use cryptography without a nationally issued license.  i recall reading that there are only a few thousand such licenses that have been issued.

that's really the major stumbling block for the success of Bitcoin in china:  you're breaking the law just by installing the client.  and once the client includes wallet encryption by default, it'll make folks in china just that much more wary of Bitcoin.  and make the government that much more wary, as well.

but - that said - they're just reg'lar folks, as Nefario points out.  they'll take their risks for wealth like anybody else.

best of luck to them all, and happy mining.

exactly.

anonymity is a function of trust.  merchants don't need to know anything at all about you, if they can be absolutely certain they've actually received payment.  all the bullshit we go through to make online payments with credit cards and PayPal is about establishing trust.  Bitcoin is trust.

nope.  shitferbrains.

i think if everyone who used facebook (and who also used Bitcoin) did this, it would have a negative effect on the number of facebook users currently registered.

how long do you think it will be before facebook sends you a polite little note requesting that you stop?

you've forgotten about Facebook Credits...

i had my daughter on her very own computer when she was three.  she learned her alphabet that year, and to my chagrin developed a preference for walter lantz cartoons over bugs bunny, et al. (since corrected).

she grokked government and money before she was six.

like the guy said - don't underestimate them.

she just turned 22.

ummm...  i looked at your post #51, and you were quoting me.

however, i suppose you have a point.

i would allow the OP to escrow a sum of USD equal to BTC at $20.00000001 USD (the point at which i win and collect), so his escrow account shows no loss over six months in the event he wins.  the escrow holder can convert, if needed, to pay me.  my BTC won't need to be converted to USD, since it's a BTC bet and i pay at the value then.