Probably an idiot question but I'll ask anyhow. Testing has been done to instantly swap litecoin and bitcoin without the use of an intermediary exchange, via Lightning.

How then is price/the exchange rate discovered ?

As per title.

Unions are held over a barrel by arbitrary laws that are put in place to restrict their freedoms and practices. When the random and unnecessarily punitive/restrictive laws are inevitably breached, the unions activities are deemed unlawful.
Ultimately the end result is that union funds (held in banks) can be seized/sequestrated.
ie. ordinary workers do not have sovereignty over their own assets.

Could anyone out there come up with some ideas about how union funds could be held, such that they are transparent and auditable, but completely safe from seizure ?

I know of course that bitcoin wallets can be used etc but I would be particularly interested if anyone has any experience of the practical implementation of such a scheme - in particular in the use of multi sig wallets in such an environment.

I'm asking a lot I know - but I'm not a technical expert and would appreciate someone confirming the viabilty of such a setup, local laws notwithstanding.

It might not be unions that you have experience of, but a setup something similar.

Thanks in advance.

Lets say I hold the old Land Rover engines in high regard. Lets say I believe, partly because they aren't made anymore, partly because they were well engineered and partly because I believe going forward they will be in high demand by enthusiasts, that they are a good store of value.
Lets say also that I personally have no need of a Land Rover engine and that even if I did I wouldn't be able to store them.

My question is, would I be able, one day, to get paid in Land Rover engines ? That is, would I be able to choose, one day, via bitcoin, to choose to take and have my value stored in Land Rover engines ?

If its possible, what would be the mechanisms that would allow it ? How would the price be discovered ? How would the blockchain facilitate it ?

Land Rover engines are purely arbitrary of course - it could be anything of value - and just about everything has some value.

Early speculation - nothing more.

But what happens if Donald doesn't honour his anti establishment rhetoric and pledges ? What if he turns out to be, when all is said and done, a billionaire bastion of the establishment ? Aren't they fielding the idea of Jamie Dimon for one of the top Treasury slots ( ) ?

Where then ? Where to turn ?

Just strikes me that you can play this card once but you can't play it twice.

What then will fill the void ? What then will become of the US ?

Or will it just be a reversion to type ?

 Strikes me that democracy, or what passes for it, is hanging by a thread.

Just voted (by post) in the referendum. I voted to come out. I reckon over time power should become decentralised and accountable. Not the total opposite, as is the case with the EU. FWIW I think the immigration issue is a bit of a red herring - they let people in before, and they will let them in after Europe. How else they gonna keep wages down ?

Anyhow, according to the polls, the UK could well be pulling out of Europe.

Should there be a referendum about our membership of NATO ?

The Labour Shadow Chancellor has just fielded the idea.
We all know that there isn't nearly enough jobs to go around as it is - and with further automation, robots, the information age etc it is going to become way worse.

The Universal Basic Income is starting to look like a very good idea.



Eleven Reasons to Support Basic Income:-

1) Basic Income will help us rethink how & why we work

2) Basic Income will contribute to better working conditions

3) Basic Income will downsize bureaucracy

4) Basic income will make benefit fraud obsolete

5) Basic income will help reducing inequalities

6) It will provide a more secure and substantial safety net for all people

7) Basic Income will contribute to less working hours and better distribution of jobs

8 ) Basic Income will reward unpaid contributions

9) Basic Income will strengthen our Democracy

10) Basic Income is a fair redistribution of technological advancement

11) Basic Income will end extreme financial poverty

Basic Income UK


Switzerland have just rejected it at a referendum - I suppose its a pretty radical upheaval to the welfare system, and its early days (reminds me a little of bitcoin, in that sense).

What do you think ?

I am a benevolent father. I have a daughter aged 17. I want her to abide by speed limits and not visit certain parts of town - but am quite happy for her to visit others. I care for her.
 I will be able (at some time in the not too distant future) to offer incentives/disincentives that will guide her decisions in a more mature direction  .

If all this transpires (which it will) and the blockchain is the backbone (which it likely will)- then I most likely will be a well off man.

But at what price to all our freedoms ? In my example above we have a benevolent father figure - but what happens when all our decisions are being (monetarily) demarcated by a corporate kleptocracy ?

I'm a little worried here.

I'm worried that the blockchain will be put into the service of "the man"/corporations. I'm uneasy that everything that can be known about me and my interaction with the world will be quantified and registered. I'm a little concerned that Satoshi's vision (and thats who we are talking about here) is politically naive.

Is perfect competition the answer to everything ? Is it really the answer to the inequalities in the distribution of wealth, power and opportunity in this world ?


Truth be told, I'm worried that (at the least) without the ability to transact anonymously, combined with some kind of a consumption tax, then for the ordinary man the blockchain might be more of a curse than a blessing.


Fascinating interviews, that apparently have been very little viewed.



https://vimeo.com/149119154

https://vimeo.com/149115042

https://vimeo.com/149035662

How will IPv6 +ipsec help ?
What happened to darkwallet?

Someone help me out here.

Still in testing.

Vapourware ? I dunno.

A few years back as a noob I questioned why it was necessary. Now I think its essential.

Maybe maidsafe is the way forward.

Any ideas anyone ?

As per title of thread.

I'm a UK citizen but the problems the same in British politics (as in the US).

Are we, by voting, adding weight to a system that is letting us down badly ?

Would it be better to abstain ?

Or is this as good as its gonna get - so we'd be better throwing our hats into the ring ?

Tony Blair admits he is baffled by rise of Bernie Sanders and Jeremy Corbyn

Are you ?

Apparently socialism is the most looked up word of 2015.

I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

[we]

Fellow bitcoin enthusiasts and binary thinkers.

Could you too be easy prey to radical thinking ?

Could this explain why you/we are here in the first place (our propensity to radical thought that is) - afterall, the bitcoin project itself is seen by some as pretty leftfield/subversive ?

Is the line between "Us" and "Them" thinner than we might like to think ?




"What kind of person becomes a jihadi terrorist? Specifically, what kind of educated person? The overwhelming majority of graduates recruited into Islamist terrorism studied engineering, science and medicine. Almost none are social science or arts graduates, according to research. The insight could have important implications.

Almost half (48.5%) of jihadis recruited in the Middle East and north Africa had a higher education of some sort, according to a 2007 analysis by Diego Gambetta that is cited in Immunising the Mind, a new paper published by the British Council; of these 44% had degrees in engineering. Among western-recruited jihadis that figure rose to 59%.

A study of terrorists in Tunisia – where an electrical engineer went on a murderous rampage in June – showed similar proportions. And a study of 18 British Muslims implicated in terrorist attacks found that eight had studied engineering or IT, and four more science, pharmacy and maths; only one had studied humanities."

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/dec/03/scientists-easy-prey-jihadis-terrorists-engineering-mindset




Whilst they have undoubtedly forfeited their right to life, lets be honest - they aren't idiots are they ?

   Even the attack closer to (my particular) home was perpetrated by, well, intelligent people (and, for better or worse, we generally measure intelligence almost exclusively in relation to academic performance). The 2007 Glasgow Airport attack was perpetrated by ".... two men - Bilal Abdullah, a British-born, Muslim doctor of Iraqi descent working at the Royal Alexandra Hospital, and Kafeel Ahmed, also known as Khalid Ahmed, an engineer and the driver".


  I reckon they must be in possession of information that we are not - or perhaps experiences. Otherwise, perhaps we too might be likewise radicalised - just going on probabilities alone.


    What is this information ? What are these experiences ?


    Are we potential terrorists ? And if we are, under what circumstances ?

     If not, why not ?

PracticalDreamer,

On Thursday David Cameron set out his case in the House of Commons for a UK bombing campaign in Syria.

We have all been horrified by the despicable attacks in Paris and are determined to see ISIS defeated.

The issue now is whether what the Prime Minister is proposing strengthens, or undermines, our national security.

I put a series of questions in response to the Prime Minister's statement, raising concerns about his case that are on the minds of many in the country. You can read my response here.

There could not be a more important matter than whether British forces are sent to war.

As early as next week, MPs could be asked to vote on extending UK bombing to Syria.

I do not believe that the Prime Minister made a convincing case that British air strikes on Syria would strengthen our national security or reduce the threat from ISIS.

When I was elected I said I wanted Labour to become a more inclusive and democratic party.

So I am writing to consult you on what you think Britain should do. Should Parliament vote to authorise the bombing of Syria?

Let me know your views, if you are able to, by the start of next week.

Yours,

Jeremy Corbyn MP
Leader of the Labour Party


    

I get emails from Jeremy Corbyns people asking for suggestions for a question to put in Parliament to the PM at PM Questions. This isn't unique to me BTW - just in case it sounds like I'm trying to big myself up - its a standard email sent to any member (or in my case affiliate member) of the Labour Party.

Thing is - Jeremy Corbyn has and will, if you're lucky, ask one of your questions - and quote you as the source - in Parliament.

So, anyway, I'm scratching my head trying to think of something to put to Mr.Cameron - I struggle to know where to start.

So I thought I'd put it out there to you lot.

The best question I will forward to the Labour Party in my response email - I will quote you as source - and, you never know, your question might get asked and yourself acknowledged in the House of Commons.

Chances are probably quite low - but increase exponentially according to the quality of the question - so why not have a go. This is what democracy is about (apparently).

Topical questions probably stand best chance of getting aired.

Why are we there ?

Should we be there ?

To all the economists, both professional and amateur, out there - given that Varoufakis has ruled out Greece adopting btc nationally (and, lets face it, at this stage who can blame him ?) do any of you have any practical suggestions how a nation like Greece might best be able to utilise btc/the blockchain, moving forward from here ?

  What small scale initiatives might Varoufakis adopt ? He is, after all, sympathetic and not averse to bitcoin.

I guess education is the starting point - but what are your thoughts ?

If someone has to give it to you, it's not a right - it's a privilege. It's only a right when you seize/assert it for yourself.

In the UK we call them public schools - this is a misnomer - they are actually schools that require hefty fees for admission (starting at £10k pa for non boarders and £25k for boarders) - they are private schools.

Do they have a place in a meritocratic society ?

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jun/28/state-or-private-education-painful-decision-britains-class-divide

Or should our children start off on a level playing field ?

Well, I suppose he's right - there's no absolutes.

   But who is to decide whats permissible - and whats a permissible infringement ?

This must surely be an argument for openness and transparency - even in that most clandestine and underground of worlds , that of the intelligence community.

"Hannigan asserts that the members of the public “know” the internet grew out of the values of western democracy...."

       Do they    


      ".....and insists that customers of the technology firms he criticises would be “comfortable with a better, more sustainable relationship between the agencies and the technology companies."  

       Would they ?

3 and a half years.

Seems a lot to me.