Almost everyone in this thread believes that because there are billions of stars in each galaxy, and billions of galaxies in the observable universe, even a small probability of life arising would mean a great abundance of life throughout the universe. The classic argument that the Drake equation can be satisfied even with an exceedingly small f₁ and f_i. However, we can flip this argument on its head by asking: where are the aliens? 10 billion trillion stars, over 13 billion years, and not one of them has developed a species that has sent radio waves that can reach Earth. The radio silence of the universe is telling. The fact is, it is nearly impossible that zero discernable signals would have been emitted within that time, and at that scale, unless the probability of developing (intelligent) life is astronomically low. The fact that there is an incredible number of habitable worlds, yet no observed aliens, is the greatest proof that there is nothing out there.

I'd like to state that there is nothing I would like more than to be proven wrong. These facts sadden me immensely.

Yes, since the PATRIOT Act KYC has been required for accessing any financial service over $10,000 (as well as certain services under that amount) in the US, and basically all other countries have followed suit (and since the law is vague, companies sometimes try to collect as much as possible, to be safe). This ensures that money is not being laundered, countries sanctioned by the US don't have access to finance, and that tax is paid whenever necessary.

All transactions over $10,000 also have to be alerted to the IRS and FBI. It's a brilliant example of governmental overreach, along with the rest of the PATRIOT act.

Carlos Andres Perez, a former president of Venezuela, attempted a liberalization of the economy in the late '80s to early '90s. The result? Widespread demonstrations, vandalism and looting, and the rise of Hugo Chavez, who attempted a coup. The liberalization failed mainly because, firstly, the first price control to be removed was that of oil, understandably a sacred cow for Venezuelans, and, secondly, he campaigned against economic liberalism while running for office (and was a big economic interventionist during his first term), then went ahead and instituted it, at the behest of the IMF, World Bank and the US.

Check this out:
https://books.google.com/books?id=CUIiQCIygFcC&pg=PA10&lpg=PA10&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false