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When someone told me about this story I thought they were totally full of shit. I figured he was some crazy ass militia wackadoo that ate one too many mushrooms while running around in the woods shooting at trees. Turns out they were not nuts at all. Apparently some DA in Milwaukee decided it was a good idea to manipulate the legal system to rain shit down on conservatives and did so in a fashion that would have made the Nazis proud. http://www.nationalreview.com/article/417155/wisconsins-shame-i-thought-it-was-home-invasion-david-french"For dozens of conservatives, the years since Scott Walker’s first election as governor of Wisconsin transformed the state — known for pro-football championships, good cheese, and a population with a reputation for being unfailingly polite — into a place where conservatives have faced early-morning raids, multi-year secretive criminal investigations, slanderous and selective leaks to sympathetic media, and intrusive electronic snooping. Yes, Wisconsin, the cradle of the progressive movement and home of the “Wisconsin idea” — the marriage of state governments and state universities to govern through technocratic reform — was giving birth to a new progressive idea, the use of law enforcement as a political instrument, as a weapon to attempt to undo election results, shame opponents, and ruin lives." |
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I have started this thread because the people at Black Arrow have been deleting information on consumer agencies from their thread.
I will put information here on consumer agencies that will take consumer complaints as well as general information.
If anyone has anything to add for the benefit of Black Arrow customers, by all means do so.
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Edit:
I'm adding this because a lot people are asking me what they should do. I want to make it clear that I'm not an attorney, just a guy trying to get his money back, just like everyone else.
Please take a look at all of this and look into the options to see what you think is best for you. If I knew the absolute best thing to do, I'd post it. If I knew what the outcome of this or that option would be, I'd tell you. I don't and don't claim to. Wish I did.
I'm putting up the options I've found that I think might help people. do your homework, and ask questions of the representatives of the consumer groups if you have questions to find out if these things are right for you. If you find new information that you think might help, by all means post it. If you're talking to law firms let us know.
When a legal firm is chosen I'll let people know, direct people to them and let people know what they tell me to tell people.
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Something's up with Charlie today. He tweeted:
Charlie Shrem @CharlieShrem 34m
Big day today, please keep me in your prayers. Thanks for all your support.
Tweet him your support, or post here, if you're so inclined.
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Bitcoin Blockchain Will Be Backed Up In Space http://www.ihavebitcoins.com/featured/bitcoins-space-earth/"Are users’ bitcoins safe under all earthly conditions? In the event of disruptions or outages to the terrestrial bitcoin peer to peer network, the not-for-profit project BitSat proposes a satellite node in space for the bitcoin network on Earth with a constellation of tiny BitSats continuously broadcasting the latest bitcoin block from orbit. The arrangement serves as a backup to the current information contained in the blockchain. Jeff Garzik’s Dunvegan Space Systems (DSS) is an early stage spaceflight micro-company operating the non-profit BitSat project. “Private spaceflight is breaking big, driving down costs so that great ideas like BitSats are within reach of even volunteer nonprofits,” said Garzik, who is organizing a donation-supported campaign to build and fly the system. “We want to keep bitcoin healthy and free by finding alternative ways to distribute blockchain data.” According to DSS, BitSat network will be a free-to-use network, permitting anyone with compatible satellite receiver hardware to receive the latest bitcoin blocks. Bitcoin block data is easy to distribute widely, lending itself to alternative ways to distribute blockchain data. This provides remote or off-grid bitcoin access and provides bitcoin access behind restrictive firewalls. Bitcoin is peeking into the future and communities and scientists are moving heaven and earth to ensure it is here to stay." I've decided Garzik is one crazy sonofabitch....and I need to party with that Cowboy. |
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I received an unsolicited e-mail blast from my Ameriprise Financial guy this morning.
This is a portion of it:
"What if someone told you about an investment that has made some people millionaires overnight and has both a number of high-profile supporters and a global reach? Would you be tempted to invest? Now what if someone told you that the same investment also could lose most or all of its value almost overnight, and that you might not have access to your money when you need it? How does it sound now?
You've just confronted the debate surrounding the five-year-old digital phenomenon known as Bitcoin. An alternative currency that exists strictly as digital code, Bitcoin has received a lot of attention, especially in the last year. In part that's because speculation in Bitcoin has resulted in wild gyrations in its value.
Is Bitcoin an investment? A scam? A network of computers? The future of currency? If you're unclear on what all the fuss is about, here's a brief introduction to just what it is, how it works, and what's been happening in the Bitcoin world lately, as well as some of the potential pitfalls it presents"
I goes on to talk about some other stuff, that is more general in nature, which I won't post here.
I'm wondering if anyone else has gotten similar things from their financial advisors. I've asked for clarification from my guy as to what Ameriprise's plans are, if any. This could be a whole bunch of nothing or it could be Ameriprise gauging interest for a product launch.
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http://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2014/03/25/bitcoin-taxman-cometh-this-start-up-wants-to-help-crypto-investors-pay-the-irs/"With April 15 just weeks away, the IRS dropped its long-awaited “virtual currency guidance,” decreeing that cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin will be regarded as property rather than currencies. “In general, the sale or exchange of convertible virtual currency, or the use of convertible virtual currency to pay for goods or services in a real-world economy transaction, has tax consequences that may result in a tax liability,” says the notice from the IRS. “Purchasing a $2 cup of coffee with Bitcoins bought for $1 would trigger $1 in capital gains for the coffee drinker and $2 of gross income for the coffee shop,” translates Bloomberg. All those people who rode the Bitcoin rollercoaster last year, who bought in at $13 and then sold (or spent) their Bitcoin when it topped $1,000, will need to use some of their profits to pay an accountant, because H&R Block’s free tax software isn’t going to do the trick. At least one entrepreneur sees opportunity here that would take advantage of the public nature of Bitcoin activity. “Accountants are going to want a very accurate transaction history and value of Bitcoin at the time it was purchased and used or sold,” says Jake Benson, 25. At least one Bitcoin tax service — Bitcointaxes.info — invites users to manually enter their Bitcoin trades to calculate taxes, or to import it their trading activity from their chosen wallet service, such as Coinbase, Bitstamp or (eek) Mt. Gox. Founder Colin Mackie, a Seattle-based software engineer, started the service after he realized he needed it himself. “I was trying to calculate my own taxes [this Christmas], opened up Excel, and realized that was going to be impossible,” he says via chat. “So I started writing something.” He says that approximately 400 people have used the site since it launched in February. That was before the guidance from the IRS came out; now he plans to update the service to incorporate the self-employment tax that Bitcoin “miners” are expected to pay, per the new guidance. Mackie says that 4,000 people visited his site the day the guidance came out, which is a “lot more” than usual. But Benson says tracking Bitcoin trades could be even more automated. He launched Libra Tax in December, incorporated it weeks ago, and says he found an angel investor (today coincidentally). A responsible taxpayer would simply plug his or her Bitcoin wallet addresses into his service. Because Bitcoin is one huge public ledger, the service could pull data about all the Bitcoin that moved in and out of the wallet, automatically compute the value of the Bitcoin at the time, and calculate the tax burden. Users will be able to decide which exchanges they want to use to value the Bitcoin (Mt. Gox or Bitstamp or BTC-E…) and whether they want to “cash in” the first bitcoins they bought (the ones from years ago purchased for $2) or the last ones in (in case they want to claim capital losses for those purchased in November for $1,100). Sounds great! Unfortunately, it’s not built yet."
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http://newsbtc.com/2014/03/14/tigerdirect-exceeds-1-million-sales-paid-bitcoin/In late January, electronics retailer TigerDirect began accepting bitcoin payments, becoming the second large-scale retailer to do so following Overstock.com. A day later, we learned that the store had reeled in a whopping $250,000 worth of sales paid for in the digital currency, breaking that which Overstock brought in. Today, bitcoin news website CoinDesk is reporting that the online retailer has broke the $1 million mark as of the 13th of March — nearly 50 days after first beginning to accept it. The report from CoinDesk does not specifically list a source, but lists the disclaimer that the site’s founder is a BitPay investor — the company accepting payments on TigerDirect’s behalf (a possible avenue from which the news originated). On the 4th of March, Overstock.com announced they passed the $1 million marker, and continues to bring in $20,000-$30,000 worth of bitcoin payments per day. TigerDirect is reportedly content with the decision to accept bitcoin, with the director of marketing Steven Leeds noting that “The overwhelming response from our customers validates our decision.”
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http://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/1ztjmg/andreas_im_fundraising_for_dorian_nakamoto/Hi everyone, Andreas M. Antonopoulos here. I'm fundraising for Dorian Nakamoto, the person named in the newsweak article. I have no idea if this person is Satoshi, though it seems increasingly unlikely. However, it doesn't matter either way. If this person is Satoshi, then the funds are a small "thanks" and won't make much of a difference. However, if this person is not Satoshi, then these funds will serve as a "sorry for what happened to you", help with medical bills his family is facing, any legal bills they may incur, or anything else. Most of all, it serves to soften the damage caused by irresponsible journalism and to demonstrate the generosity and empathy of the community, which I know is huge Here's how it will work. I will collect donations to a single bitcoin address, posted below, with the following rules: Donations accepted until the end of March. At the end of March, donations will be converted to USD and delivered to Dorian Nakamoto. If the donation is rejected by Dorian, then the funds will go to a charity of his choice If he doesn't want to choose a charity, funds will be donated to the Electronic Frontier Foundation Any funds sent after the deadline, will be donated to Dorian at a later date, or a charity of his choice or EFF as above. After the end of March, I will make my best effort to contact Dorian and deliver the donations in USD. I will document as much of that process as possible to prove the donations were delivered, as long as that documentation does not affect Dorian's privacy. The blockchain will provide transparency of all funds donated, which will not move from that address until the funds are delivered to the intended recipient based on the rules above. Donation address: 1Dorian4RoXcnBv9hnQ4Y2C1an6NJ4UrjX Check the fundraising progress here: https://blockchain.info/address/1Dorian4RoXcnBv9hnQ4Y2C1an6NJ4UrjXEDIT: Find the donation address and the terms, signed by my PGP key, at the pastebin below http://pastebin.com/4MHvpaeN
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Karpeles is gone. we'll see how far down the legal sinkhole he goes, and just how dirty he is. Based on that joint statement put out by Coinbase, Circle, et al, I think Mark has been a bad, bad, boy, but that's another thread. At this rate the Foundation's logo should be a prison jumpsuit.
Anyhow, who sits in that empty chair (chairs if you count Charlies)? If we think the Foundation needs a bit of help selecting people that do not have their heads up their asses, maybe we can forward some suggestions.
So, let's hear yours. Give reasons why if you're so inclined. Obviously these folks may be too damn busy, but that doesn't mean we can't ask.
These can be serious or not so much. This is a serious question, but that doesn't mean I'm dumb enough to think we'll get all serious answers.
For me CEO of Overstock. He loves it, loves the idea of it, has an independent mindset and knows how the big machine runs. He'll be able to sniff out the bullshit, identify what checks and balances are missing, and bring some legitimacy to the table.
I'd love to see someone from the financial sector, although I can't think of any of them, at least in the private sector, that I'd trust for two seconds. In the public sector, it's not much different.
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http://www.coindesk.com/safello-600k-investment-round/After this debacle with Gox it's obvious that we need more solid players running the exchanges. And here they come.... ----------------------- Swedish bitcoin exchange Safello has secured a $600,000 investment that it hopes will push it into the wider European market. The exchange, which launched its service last August, can now count bitcoin luminaries Erik Voorhees and Roger Ver among its investors. Safello, which also saw Blockchain.info CEO Nicolas Cary invest, is currently revamping its website, and promises a range of new services in the coming months. The startup has worked hard to establish credibility in the fledgling bitcoin exchange market, signing deals with at least two major banks, and also negotiating with the Swedish regulator – the Financial Supervisory Authority. The company, which set up the first bitcoin ATM in Sweden, shares the bitcoin market in that country with three other exchanges: btcx.se, Kapiton, and FYB-SE. It said in a statement, however, that it wants to focus on the broader European market “as a first step to globalisation”. The firm did not provide details of what its new services might be, but it’s worth noting that one of the new investors is Henrik von Schoultz, founder of Mosync – a platform enabling developers to produce mobile applications for a variety of platforms. Bitcoin angels Other investors in this latest around include Ira Miller, the CTO of Coinapult, and Jan Rees, an expert in retail banking and card payments. Also investing were Anders Bruzelius, the former head of equity research at Swedbank – Sweden’s largest bank in terms of customer numbers – and Victor & Victor, angel investors in casino Vera&John, which recently became the first licenced online casino to begin accepting bitcoins. This investment round also sees a recommitment by Ludvig Öberg, an early angel investor in Safello, who, like Roger Ver, is listed as an advisor on the firm’s site. Aside from the amount invested, this investment round is also notable for the number of investors involved. The firm lists 15 in its statement announcing the deal, which would mean an average of $40,000 each (although the investment is likely to be unevenly spread). The large number of contributors may be down to the way in which Safello engineered the round via DealCircle, a Danish startup that offers to make it easier for angel investors and startup founders to make deals. Finding investors in this way offers the advantage of reducing the legal fees involved in organising angel investments, and DealCircle itself secured $750,000 in funding just last week.
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http://coincrunch.com/Overstock-nears-a-total-of-1m-in-Bitcoin-purchasesOverstock nears a total of $1m in Bitcoin purchases " Overstock began accepting bitcoin on 9th January – garnering $130,000 in total first-day spending. " CoinDesk It will announce a rewards program to save 1% on Bitcoin purchases Nice. This sort of rebate/rewards/discount program will help drive it. Nice Job Overstock!
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I'm wondering if the Bitcoin foundation has formal mechanics in place to fund legal representation for purposes of forwarding/defending Bitcoin.
I'm talking about high end New York, Chicago, LA firms lined up and ready to roll.
If not, are there plans in the works for this?
It seems to me that going forward someone has to speak for Bitcoin and likely defend it against the banks, governments etc., and that has to be a seasoned group that know how the system works and has the resources and influence to push back against people that have the resources to push as hard as anyone on the planet.
As a follow on to that is there a bitcoin lobby group that is busting on Congress in the US or globally?
If necessary take some cut of mining fees or something to establish funds for this sort of activity. Anything not used beyond a certain amount is put back into circulation, donated to a charity or some such thing. The logistics can be put in place I'm sure, but it seems to me that Bitcoin needs this sort of firepower going forward.....
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Just putting out some info on what I've been able to find on Hasher Technologies, a company that advertises that it is a manufacturer of bitcoin mining hardware http://www.hashertech.com/They only take bitcoin. Their site was, according to the whois info I've been able to find, registered on Jan 22 http://who.godaddy.com/whois.aspx?k=DDKkjppyTpUJzDZwhQ//t7nRM93tJYx4pP01v6qFV0mD9+qZfv2CiDBtg0d9hBjc&domain=hashertech.com&prog_id=GoDaddyThey indicate a Kansas City, MO base of operations: "Our main offices are headquartered in Kansas City, MO along with our manufacturing lab and warehouses." I searched the Missouri Sec State for this corporation "Hasher Technologies" and found nothing. I inquired via their site for information on products. When I asked this question on legal incorporation state and legal name of the organization: "Can you tell me what state Hashertech is incorporated in and under what name?" I got this: "I know the investors or the parent company is in California, I believe, but Im not 100%. I have forwarded this to the main office. I work for a 3rd party customer service vendor hired by Hasher Technologies in Utah and this this is better to be escalated to corporate. Thank you for contacting Hasher Technologies, someone from the corporate office should reach out to you soon." I searched California Sec State also and was unable to find anything. I did a reverse lookup on the phone number. http://www.whitepages.com/phone/1-913-725-0945That shows as a VOIP. Their twitter account similarly is fairly new. I was unable to find a physical address for them anywhere on their site. I asked for a tour, as I travel through KC on business, but haven't heard anything as yet. If I do I will post here. |
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