You mean politicians?

Looks like we have more speakers than attendees. Either that, or you guys are too shy to state that you're going.

"<@MagicalTux>  they're the first bank we've seen in JApan that can do domestic transfers without the need for faxes"

Karpeles is taking us for a ride on this one.

Still there is massive volume missing and I have no clue if localbitcoins and all the others compensate for the missing volume on gox.

http://bitcoinity.org/markets/localbitcoins/USD
Someone's trying to make the price jump or something. We are seeing a lot of coins being sold offered for >$200.
This is a good thing, or a hopeless attempt? 

Shut up walz, you drama queen

Every Intel vPro CPU ships with an undocumented 3G chip inside, according to a report, which is visible on the 3G network even when a PC is not turned on.

The idea is to enable the Anti Theft 3.0 technology, found on every Core i3, i5 and i7 CPU after Sandy Bridge, meaning almost every new CPU from Intel may have an embedded and hidden 3G connection Intel didn't bother to tell you about, Softpedia reports.

While it is usually preferable to tackle the question at hand and not attack the source, the rumour appears to come from the PopularResistance blog, where the story is illustrated with a conspiracy-drenched mock-up of an all seeing eye with Intel in the middle, mentions of creeping fascism in the copy, and peppered with liberal doses of paranoia, a common theme in certain circles - not soothed by proof of the US government's surveillance dragnet.

Although the story is not entirely unfeasible, given the revelations from NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden about backdoors installed into consumer and enterprise technology, as well as the NSA itself setting security certification standards, the actual concrete evidence is not there.

Freelancer Jim Stone, of PopularResistance, claims: "You see, Core vPro processors work in conjunction with Intel’s new Anti Theft 3.0, which put 3g connectivity into every Intel CPU after the Sandy Bridge version of the I3/5/7 processors. Users do not get to know about that 3g connection, but it IS there."

Stone goes on to say, speaking of the vPro: "From the technical viewpoint of someone who worked for an intelligence agency, I call B.S. on Intel, avoid these processors like the plague!"

An Intel spokesperson, responding to TechEye, said: "First, Intel does not participate in government efforts to decrease security in technology, and does not include backdoors for unauthorised access into its products. 

"Second, the piece on vPro is based on incorrect information, assumptions and misunderstandings; it is wrong on many levels," the spokesperson said. "The underlying technology is not new and has been in place for more than 7 years."

When asked if consumers or customers would appreciate hidden 3G technology in Intel CPUs, the spokesperson said: "I would note that the Snowden leaks was not mentioned in the vPro article that has been circulating".

Fax!  In 2013!  For a simple domestic transfer!  Can you even buy fax machines any more?  Must be years since I saw one of those.  No wonder even Japanese transfers were slow during high volume periods.  People still think SWIFT transfers from the same banks are fully automated?

#5. Everything Is Frightfully Low-Tech

Quick question: When was the last time you had to use a fax machine?*

*"What is a fax machine?" is an entirely acceptable response.

Well, you should try moving to Japan if you want to recapture the magic of the fax machine and other 1990s technology. I actually use one about twice a month to send out my work invoices, because many of the Japanese companies that employ me do not accept paperwork by email. The rare ones that do require that my Word/Excel files be compatible with their 1998 version of Microsoft Office, which is sort of like requiring your Avengers Blu-ray to play on a Betamax machine.

My point is, on the surface Japan seems like the closest thing Earth currently has to a moon base, what with their stock exchange being entirely computerized and wireless Internet literally coming out of their vending machines.

But the truth is, many things are still being done in painfully old-fashioned ways, a phrase which here means "by hand and on paper." Actually, having seen the amount of paper a typical Japanese office goes through, I feel safe in assuming that the entire country has declared a shadow war on both the information age and trees.

How can this be? Well, Japan is still mainly in the hands of the older generation: Over a fourth of the population is over 60, and they're in no particular hurry to adopt new technology (particularly not Apple products, because as far as Japan is concerned, Steve Jobs can go fuck himself). Institutions like banks, the postal service and government offices still keep all of their records on paper, maintained and filed by superfluous personnel who could easily be replaced by an old Soviet computer (which incidentally is more or less what a friend of mine at a Yokohama municipal office was using at his workstation as recently as 2010).

Many businesses still don't even accept credit cards. A Japanese airline can get you to any corner of the globe without a hassle, so long as you're paying in cash, even if the tickets come up to a few thousand dollars each (and I wish I wasn't speaking from experience). This is made even more difficult by the fact that I don't think I've ever seen a 24-hour ATM anywhere in Japan.

That's right; most banks in Japan keep their ATMs indoors, which means that once the banks close (typically around 6 p.m.), so do the machines, utterly defeating their entire purpose for existing. It's another extension of that technological resistance -- pretty much anywhere outside of Tokyo harbors a deep generational resentment for automation. They don't want the ATMs operational while there aren't any bank employees around to help in case something goes wrong (although outside of users being clubbed with a thermos and robbed, the list of possible mishaps is embarrassingly short). You can always try an ATM at a convenience store (the number of which currently exceeds the national population), if you don't mind the variable transaction fees that seemingly change at random. And that's only if your ATM card will even work in machines outside of your bank, which it almost certainly won't.

Of course, the best time to find out whether the 7-Eleven around the corner accepts your card is after 1 a.m., when all of the public transport has stopped and you desperately need money for a taxi. Basically, if you're planning on doing anything at all besides going to and from work, you need to keep fistfuls of cash either on your person at all times or piled under a mattress in your freezing apartment.

Wait, why is your apartment freezing? Because ...

In the longer term we're working on revamping our node so this type of thing doesn't happen in the future. Thanks for your patience while we fix this.

BTC that should have been available instantly but instead is stuck in a "pending" state.

Everything else is meaningless. As long as countries know they are getting their "fair" share of tax money, and Bitcoin doesn't become a haven for it, Bitcoin should be OK.