lol, Lady Shazam.  

Well, that confirms it then.
Go ahead and get to the part about how your alt-coin is the solution.

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?

2. Yes, you must be a registered lobbyist. I think at the state and federal level.

3. They should not be giving any money. That is a bribe. They are also audited.

4. It's not the lobbying that is as bad as campaign donations. They have become very corrupt recently. Pure lobbying is just a profession. You pay some expert to meet with politicians and try to convince them of your position. But that lobbyist is not supposed to just pass money to the politician. That is illegal.   

Loss of net neutrality? maybe?

I worry that ISPs in the future will block ports or otherwise try impeding bitcoin network traffic. 

Did you provide some sympathy sex? 

It is very confused now. The Kurds are fighting for a homeland in the north, Hezbollah is fighting the FSA in the south, former Al Qaeda groups are fighting Al Qaeda because they are not radical enough. Some groups are just criminal gangs fighting to steal things. It has devolved into a district by district free for all. What a mess. 

I saw stuff like this in former Yugoslavia. Some of the guys I trained were Muslims who were being radicalized in front of my eyes. They would arrive in hip-hop clothing, eating a ham sandwich while drinking vodka.  A few months later you would see them with a beard, head covered and carrying a Koran. Hard to blame the ones in Bosnia. While the west sat around watching them die, the jihadis came and shed blood with them.

If we had a smart policy in the mid east we would recognize that in that region a friend or enemy is not only for life, it's forever.

1. Well aware of this. My own father had a major role in that operation. The Mujahideen was a blanket term for the resistance army fighters. It was centered around the northern alliance.  Later, OBL and the Taliban formed and became bitter enemies of the Mujahideen. For example, a few days before 9/11 the "Lion of Panjshir" (Massoud) was assassinated in Afghanistan. Al Qaeda and the Talibs under Mulla Omar knew well that a war would soon be there and they had to kill the Mujahideen leaders of the northern alliance. It has become fashionable among some Taliban groups to call themselves Mujahideen, but to say that the fighters from the 80's became the Taliban is largely incorrect.

2. Totally wrong.  There are HUNDREDS of groups fighting in Syria. Some are way more religiously radical than even Al Qaeda, others seek a secular state. What little support is handed out by the US goes to secular groups such as the FSA. It is hard to keep some FSA fighter from selling his kit to finance his desertion, but Al Qaeda is a sworn enemy of the west. It would be considered punishable by death to cooperate in any way with the US. It would also be treason in the US to supply or help them in any way. Civil wars rarely have just two sides. Syria is an extreme example of just how fragmented the fighting can become.  

3. It is true that, like all nations on Earth, the US is self interested. That is what diplomats do. Sometimes you even have to work with less desirable elements. But that can blow up in your face and effort is made to find the right people. War is a messy business full of compromise.
I have spent time in the region and speak some Arabic. Like you might think it is much more nuanced than the story in the news. We (the US) have done a piss poor job since 9/11 at understanding what is happening in the Islamic world. That has benefited radical groups and so I'm not defending our thoughtful policy. But if you honestly think US forces would ever even consider working with the base, then you need to look at more informed sources.  

Here is a list of SOME of the Syrian groups fighting the civil war.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_armed_groups_in_the_Syrian_Civil_War

I disagree. I normally am anti-loan. But with rates at historic lows it may make more sense to take the loan and keep your cash. You should be able to make more than the loan interest on your money and come out ahead.
Once you spend your money on a house it's gone and turning the house back into cash is a hassle.

I ain't going to war with Russia or China. F that, the rich old men who decide to send us to secure their wealth are going to have to fight this one.

Better to take advantage of the low rates (assuming that is true in the UK as well). Get a 3-4% loan on a home then try to beat that in interest or earnings.

Lead, follow, or get the hell out of the way.

Socks. Sounds funny, but they are damn fine socks.

http://grasshillalpacas.com/

That's good advice. I only mentioned a manager because posting here is a red flag about his current financial plan. And index funds are a great suggestion. Unlike a 401k. Which I consider a suckers bet.

Oh yes. I forgot to include that in my post. I am religious about informing them. It does not seem to matter at all. Weirdly, the one recent time I did not let them know of my travels it worked fine. And that was in the Persian gulf. 

Busted! lol
Thanks for posting this.

If only it were as easy as asking.   

I love that song. The Birds are an underrated band, IMO.  

I hear you bro. When I travel they often shut my card down. For example I was in L.A. paying for brunch when my card was declined. I paid for my airline tickets with that card, rented the hotel room with that card, and was eating at the hotel restaurant. Still they flagged the transaction. It's a hassle. A few weeks ago I had brunch in Seattle. Because I paid with bitcoin, there wasn't an authority in the world that could screw with my transaction.

Wrong, wrong, and ...right.

OMG, the first thing to do is shut up. You are going to attract every scammer, thief, lost relative, and con artist there is. Time is on your side and having too much money is a problem you can solve on your own.
Put it in a vault and HIRE a good manager. You want to get that money working for you and that is a specialty of some managers. They will likely want you to invest some and diversify your assets out of cash. Bitcoin should NOT be more than a tiny fraction of your holdings. It is a VERY risky "investment". I would not put more than say £2000 into bitcoin.

I think this is such a good project. It makes me interested in visiting a place I would not otherwise consider. The ban on alcohol is ridiculous however.