Ok I got one. Years ago I cashed a check at the bank and they gave me a stack of $50s. I counted it at the counter and then walked to my car. Something was not right. One of the bills felt different and I remember my dad saying that the way to spot counterfeit money was by touch. Apparently the special cloth paper used in money is hard to simulate and I wondered about that bill. When I got home my neighbor and I looked closely at it. It looked real, but when I was able to separate it into two sheets there was no question. The watermark was hand drawn on the verso side of one of the sheets. Kinda cool. But I was out $50! Don't think that because it cam from a bank it is real. I found out the hard way.
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Public service announcement: Lose = be deprived of or cease to have or retain (something). Loose = not firmly or tightly fixed in place; detached or able to be detached.
I wish I could blame spell check, but it's me.
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I am sending a letter to Tom Taylor this week. It explains that the reason he has not heard from me is because I have been shopping at Overstock, which is true.
Well I cant match that but i did leave them feedback on how to improve their service I'm thinking about sending him my login info so he can see for himself. Since I have no credit card linked to my account there is little security risk for me. He can see what I bought and where it was shipped, but there is no money there to steal.
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That's cool!
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I am sending a letter to Tom Taylor this week. It explains that the reason he has not heard from me is because I have been shopping at Overstock, which is true.
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Let me guess, profanity includes making disparaging remarks about Putin.
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The question to ask yourself is can I afford to loose $5000? This money will be gambled and it is possible that you will end up with nothing. It is not likely, but possible.
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Believe what you want. It does not change the facts. I grew up in house where these things were dinner conversation, decades before 9/11. I wish they weren't, but Al Qaeda is very real. And they are spreading in the Maghreb, the Levant and everywhere else.
If you think otherwise you can investigate for yourself. But a youtube video or a rant on the internet does not convince me. Facts do persuade me. Got any?
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Where have you seen TOW or Stingers in action? There are plenty of videos around. If you speak Arabic, they are easy to find on YouTube via search. More evil are the chemical weapons the CIA is using against Syria. I thought these American mercenaries were using Sarin™, but Mimi the smokin' hot Syrian Girl says in this video it was Chlorine... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hn6WpYRJPNgIn this video you can see the gas cloud descending... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_V0fIf3MKUHow are the guys speaking with a Syrian accent American mercenaries? Is the Nusra front fighting against America while being paid by them? It makes no sense.
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If you want to store USD (or other fiat currency) the only safe way to do so is to keep them on a safe (in your house) or in a bank, other methods require a lot of trust on a third party.
+1 get a safe deposit box at the bank. This is what banks are actually good at. As far as hiding your money from the government... Why take that risk? If discovered you will face fines, late fees, jail time, and still owe the original tax. Don't make the mistake that many make the first time they have real money. Look at how many rock stars and athletes wind up flat broke after making millions of dollars. Ok fair point but at least I can decide when I want to declare my gains in a future time in a future place. I mean I could move to Singapore to avoid taxes etc. I'm not a US citizen just so you know. Plus I might sell some and pay taxes but I want to keep a lot online in a digital portfolio I guess is the best way to describe it. Look I would just store in Bitcoin but its future long term potential has too many ifs and buts. I would love to store in a digital currency backed by Gold but that's not a reality. Plus I could drip use it digitally and no one could ever know I bought something off overstock with my cash or whatever or the amount of digital wealth I own. I just want to add. I'm not avoiding taxes cause I'm a scumbag. I genuinely think almost all taxes are criminal and a hindrance to economic development for all. I am a Libertarian but I don't want that to sidetrack the question. You have some good points. And since you do not owe taxes until you spend them it may be in your own interest to hoard them and move to a tax heaven if they reach a huge figure. It may also be years before the IRS has the ability to do anything about bitcoin. Kinda like pirating music in the early days. We all got away with it. But it could go wrong. It would make Satoshi cry if your good fortune with bitcoin turned into a costly legal mess. ------->
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Another point to make is that even if the CIA is not directly arming the Al Qaeda (ISIS) in Syria, they are doing it indirectly. All the Al Qaeda factions in Syria are supported by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, one of the foremost allies of the US. US weapons end up with the ISIS fighters, being routed through the Saudi Arabian agents. Ok. Al Qaeda is a sworn enemy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. They (AQAP) are outlawed in the KSA and any challenge to the monarchy is punishable by death. The House of Saud does, however, provide lots of support to rebel factions. But only to the ones furthering their interest. I would guess that some of the weapons any nation sends will end up in the wrong hands. They may be captured on the battlefield or sold by troops. It's messy stuff. And I don't how good the GIP is. They may do a crappy job of vetting the groups they supply. Your other comment about which groups were both mujaheddin and Taliban are good examples. There are certainly people who fought for both. It makes sense that there would be because both wars were, from the Afghan side, about kicking out the foreigners. In fact Osama Bin Laden was one who did. But this is a complicated place and many Afghans were strongly opposed to the relationship that evolved between Mullah Omar and Osama's group in the early 90's.
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If you want to store USD (or other fiat currency) the only safe way to do so is to keep them on a safe (in your house) or in a bank, other methods require a lot of trust on a third party.
+1 get a safe deposit box at the bank. This is what banks are actually good at. As far as hiding your money from the government... Why take that risk? If discovered you will face fines, late fees, jail time, and still owe the original tax. Don't make the mistake that many make the first time they have real money. Look at how many rock stars and athletes wind up flat broke after making millions of dollars.
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What little support is handed out by the US goes to secular groups such as the FSA. Hahaha. Those TOW anti-tank missiles and shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles the U.S. is supplying to Al Qaeda in Syria cost $40,000 each. "little" indeed. I have not seen those on the battlefield? I have seen Russian MANPADs like the SA-7 and (Turkish?) Cirit anti-tank rockets used against Assad forces. Where have you seen TOW or Stingers in action?
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It's legal because they want your money. They powers that be are not going to stop something that benefits them greatly. Something needs to be done about it though. I am not an American citizen and I can hardly say that I understand all the fine details within the American politic system. Now, I grew up in Germany, and I'm not saying Germany is perfect; however to my knowledge bribery is not directly legal there.. however it seems that bribery is very deeply implemented in the American politic system.. am I getting that right? A few questions in that direction: 1) What is the difference between lobbying and bribing?
I'm no expert but my understanding is... 1. Lobbying is persuading. You are not really allowed to give money. It is not always clear though. What if they take you on a golfing vacation to talk? One person says 'persuading' another says it's 'bribing'. I say the latter. It is pretty much just legalised bribing. The companies or people that donate want their money back in favours or whatnot at some point. I agree. I think it has gotten that way over the years. The basic idea of lobbying makes sense, but the corrupting influence of money has turned it into a "pay for access" scheme. Those with the most money speak loudest, not those who represent the most people. For example the NRA has about 5 million members. It takes $10 from each of them to counter the money of just 1 Michale Bloomberg. This year he is spending $50million dollars to popularize the idea that the way to make NYC a safe place is to take away the rights of people in rural Montana. It's insulting to normal people that we have to listen to to this guy just because he can buy political opinions. He is after all the guy who decided that because he doesn't like to look at fat people, you shouldn't be able to buy a large soda.
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I wonder what kind of identity I should create for them? Just create a couple million, that way I am sure there would be some they would like and approve of. I am sure someone smart enough would create an IDcoin. Basically IDcoin would be premined with a 10 billion internet token IDs per human. You would use each coin once (each sms, each email, each posting on a forum, each chat line would be an IDcoin) Anyway maybe I am not making any senses I don't know man, it almost sounds like your on to something. You could make an identity coin based on the blockchain. I think? Guess I need to start pre-mining my new identities.
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I must like fishing. I keep going and I'm bloody awful at it.
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Thanks for the link. Although the article is not about the military fighting bitcoin. It is about navy proposals to study bitcoin sites that may be used in operations against national security.
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I wonder what kind of identity I should create for them?
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Anyone can create a new "alt-coin" based on bitcoin. And it seems they all do. I would highly recommend staying way clear of any alt coins until you completely understand bitcoin.
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Lead, follow, or get the hell out of the way.
This statement is revealing enough. Most dictators would agree. TBF fanboys don't like to have their primary source of self-confidence threatened. Relax, nobody will take away your cool TBF badge you've proudly collected... You don't know your history. Dictatorships offer only the choice to follow. Fortunately with bitcoin there is an opportunity to organize and effect change. You can take charge of your future and shape it. That's called leadership. You can follow and support ideas and work with others toward a goal. Or you can cry like a baby while the world passes you by. This is why your ideas will remain largely in your own head and buried in unread internet posts. While those who do something productive, like the foundation members, will shape the future. Of course the more the better. If you have other ideas about bitcoin then you should do some work to make it happen. But if your plan begins and ends with tearing other people down then I assume you don't actually have any ideas.
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