Latest posts of: Gyfts

Quote from: lumbanrang on March 15, 2022, 02:50:56 PM

Quote from: Gyfts on March 13, 2022, 03:53:56 PM

U.S. journalist killed by Russian forces in Ukraine. Believe this is the first death of someone from the West in this conflict: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/13/world/europe/brent-renaud-irpin.html

Even if the American government knows that their citizens were killed in Ukraine, what can they do but sanction Russia? they can only criticize and give sanctions without doing anything other than that. smh

In related matters, another journalist was killed. Fox News camera man killed: https://www.foxnews.com/world/fox-news-cameraman-pierre-zakrzewski-killed-ukraine

The U.S. shouldn't do anything, really. Entering a war zone comes with inherent risk. That doesn't make it any less of a tragedy though. Having no context on how this death occurred I won't speculate, but it's apparent that Russia has no regard for any civilians so you can expect more journalists and related persons to get caught in the cross fire. War is hell.

Quote from: 325btc on March 15, 2022, 11:24:50 AM

But who support china first place ?
Usa off course look at biden social circle.

No one supports China, including Biden. Only recently is Biden, pathetically, going to the Chinese on his hands and knees trying to get them to distance themselves from Russia. And they will not budge, they'll just invade Taiwan while they're at it. Biden's social circle has closer ties to Ukraine than it does anywhere else. I guess Ukraine did not get their money's worth when they paid Hunter Biden 50k a year to sit on a board of an energy company seeing as Biden has turned his back to Ukraine.

Quote from: lumbanrang on March 15, 2022, 05:32:33 AM

I recall that more than 2 million people have been quarantined in China because of cases of the new variant of omnicron. So Covid is still popular and I think it will last for a few years.

Not just 2 million, 37 million: https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/15/china/china-covid-outbreak-explainer-intl-hnk/index.html

I've seen sources that say it's over 50 million. The Chinese government are not very transparent about these sort of matters, so it isn't clear to what degree COVID is actually surging. It could be due to Omicron, it could be due to a different variant. We don't have enough information.

If there's any indication that this might be something the rest of the world needs to worry about, we'll receive that information in about a month when the outbreak spreads else where. If it truly is an already known variant, then nothing to worry about.

Pfizer CEO says we all need a second booster, 4 shots in total.

How many vaccines do we have that work this poorly in which you need 4 shots in ~1 year, perhaps not many.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/13/health/pfizer-vaccine-4th-dose/index.html

Israel did a study experimenting with 2nd boosters. Found little effect against Omicron: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-00486-9

An increase in antibody levels, but the lesser rate of infection amongst the group that had 4 shots was marginal. Hardly worth the side effects that might arise after having 4 shots. Also, another study demonstrated something like <15% efficacy of the vaccines against infection for children 5-11.

U.S. journalist killed by Russian forces in Ukraine. Believe this is the first death of someone from the West in this conflict: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/13/world/europe/brent-renaud-irpin.html

Quote from: italiaexec on February 16, 2022, 11:07:32 PM

Reliable? Bitcoin dropped 50% after hitting its all time high twice last year. The Whales and Institutional investors can wreck havoc on the price whenever they like. The entire crypto market is coupled with Bitcoins rise and fall for now which is not healthy.

The correction after the ATH was warranted and to be expected. That doesn't mean it won't recover with healthy growth.

Also, every market operates as a monolithic despite being comprised of multiple components Perhaps it isn't healthy but it isn't detrimental either. When the stock market crashes, there is some variance in the performance of individual stocks, but they all operated together in the sense that a crash would have a negative effect on the entire market. So if Bitcoin has the highest market cap, surely we would expect the entire crypto market to be attached to the fluctuations of Bitcoin's price. Again, not a bad thing, it's how markets operate.

More likely than not there'll be a major economic crash and recession because of inflation, low oil prices, and the war in Ukraine. That's the worst case scenario. Best case scenario is that Ukraine and Russia can resolve its issue and restore whatever certainty the market had before. That doesn't deal with inflation, but it's a start.

https://tradingeconomics.com/commodity/eu-natural-gas

Natural gas prices recovered a bit but you still see they're above pre-war trading price. My prediction is that these prices won't recover well into the year and onward, if we're lucky.

Off to the gulag for him, I suppose.

The Putin propaganda machine is too strong to fail but it does appear that over the last week or so the sentiment is shifting. Even the staunch Putin loyalists aren't able to justify the invasion. Aligns well with the sanctions and major companies pulling out of Russia, but I'm still confident that the sanctions won't stop Putin. He's too far committed to make any concessions that don't involve either Zelenskyy's resignation (or assassination, for that matter) and Ukraine becoming a neutral country.

I've wondered how many hit squads Zelenskyy's been able to evade. I've seen numbers over a dozen. Putin must be getting impatient.

Quote from: swogerino on March 12, 2022, 09:32:12 AM

...

IMO the end goal is implement a fed coin or a CBDC equivalent so that the money supply can be controlled instantaneously and with less oversight. In order to accomplish that, they want to remove crypto as a competitor to USD. It won't be an outright crypto ban, they will just set up a tax structure which drives out institutional investors completely. The government is well aware they can't get involved and ban p2p crypto transactions, so they would elect for the next best thing which is excessive taxation.

Quote from: davis196 on March 07, 2022, 12:12:37 PM

Quote from: Gozie51 on March 07, 2022, 11:32:59 AM

The support for banking is still felt all over the world even in Russia that they got banned from Swift, you can still see queues around the bank and ATM despite the awareness that Russian banks don't have money. The banks still relevant another instance with the banks in Russia, after the remover just recently the Russian government now making plans to trade with China. The bank is still a huge institution that the world is relying on for global trading.

1.Not all Russian banks are excluded from Swift.AFAIK,the biggest Russian bank Sberbank wasn't excluded from the SWIFT system.
2.The banking system will remain strong in the upcoming decades.People will always have the need to borrow money.
3.People aren't really that dependent of the banks.You can deposit money into a bank,if you want to.Nobody is forcing you to do that.You can use bank loans and credit cards if you want to.Nobody is forcing you to borrow money and use credit cards.Saying that the people are innocent victims of those greedy predatory bankers is pretty much an oversimplification.There are greedy bankers for sure,but nobody in the world would force you to use a bank.Probably your employer could force you to make a bank account,in order to receive your salary,but you could just withdraw the money.

You're pretty much forced to use the central banks because that is how most governments operate their financial systems. That's not necessarily the issue. In a crypto based economy, loans are still possible. You just wouldn't be able to create loans out of thin air or create a bubble like the U.S. housing market crisis. A crypto bank could loan as much as they wanted to granted they had the assets to back it up.

Quote from: Haunebu on March 02, 2022, 06:53:56 PM

Quote from: Mauser on February 27, 2022, 03:36:37 PM

This is also why USA doesn't want to get involved to deeply in Ukraine, because their main concern these days is China and not Russia anymore.

I disagree. You are over-estimating China and under-estimating Russia. US doesn't want to get involved just like many other countries because it could start WW3 which is detrimental to the entire world.

Putin already kept nukes on standby which goes to show that he isn't bothered about the fact that his actions could start WW3.

Also the reason why the U.S. won't swap fighter jets with Poland so that their old ones can be used by Ukraine. The no fly zone is understandable, but if the West is already providing ammo and other military equipment, sending fighter jets doesn't seem so over the top. Putin is bluffing with his nuclear weapons IMO. Obviously not a gamble the West should take, but WW3 is a bit hyperbolic. As long as the U.S. is not killing Russian troops, they can support by proxy. It's essentially what's been the case with the Middle East for years, a proxy war between U.S. backed and Russian backed groups.

Quote from: Zlantann on March 11, 2022, 08:08:08 PM

But rather than banning cypto Joe Biden administration gave it some real recognition that is worth celebrating. Instead of becoming a problem to Bitcoin, Joe Biden became a solution, as he has ordered federal agencies to dig into many of the problems that crypto created as it became more mainstream, including its role in money laundering and terrorist groups.

This executive order signals that at the very least, Biden thinks crypto is a serious and important part of the US economy that have some potential. Hence, he mandated the US financial regulators to update and expand their scope to address cryptocurrency by studying crypto.

Remember when the U.S. government said they were invading Iraq because they wanted to keep Americans safe from terrorism and WMD's? Or when they began mass surveillance warrantless and without due process, all under the name of safety post 9/11? No, you should not trust that the U.S. government acts in good faith when they tell you that they're just keeping you safe. It's an easy sell to someone that hasn't been involved in these matters, simply convincing them that the measures the government is taking is done with the citizen in mind. Hardly ever is the case, usually is just a power grab.

The executive order essentially paves the way to overregulation and high taxation. It shouldn't come as any surprise that this executive order aligns so closely with abysmal inflation reports coming out of the U.S., the most recent indicating a 40 year high.

Quote from: Darker45 on March 09, 2022, 02:08:21 AM

The case of inflation has always been present ever since the current fiat system is in place. But, is Bitcoin really the supposed solution to inflation? I don't think so. While Bitcoin's fixed supply is obviously a design which particularly protects the people from the continuous debasement of money due to abuse or indiscriminate printing and injection of new supply to the circulation, it was never a guarantee that the price value of Bitcoin will always move upward. After all, Bitcoin's price is solely determined by the market.

Also, you cannot expect Bitcoin to address the current problem of a different system just as you cannot expect the mechanic to address the problems faced by physicians. Are we a Bitcoin economy? No. Is our existing economic paradigm parallel to that of Bitcoin's standard? No. Are the world's population, companies, governments, and others living according to the principles of Bitcoin? No. We are living in a fiat world, so why are we surprised if we are facing fiat problems?

Bitcoin doesn't necessarily have to increase in price for it to counteract inflation. In any individual's financial repository, as long as they have an asset that doesn't, by design, lose 2 percent annually, their purchasing power can be maintained. It used to be gold that was tucked away, now it's crypto. With currency inflation, the purchasing power is guaranteed to decrease, but with Bitcoin that isn't a factor. Bitcoin is the solution and it doesn't necessarily take a price increase in order to appreciate the decentralization component. We might be living in a fiat world, but with the inflation rate for most currencies, not for long.

Quote from: thecodebear on March 11, 2022, 10:07:25 PM

Remember just a few months ago when the Fed was saying inflation was transitory lol. And all Bitcoiners were laughing because it was obvious inflation would keep rising.

US monetary system is in a very tough position now in which it is not economically feasible to raise interest rates much but they have to in order to get inflation under control.

The way out: own bitcoin as you watch everyone else get screwed.

It gets even funnier when the Biden administration wants to blame inflation on the war in Ukraine and not irresponsible government spending and financial policy. They've already found their scapegoat. Setting aside that the effects of the war would not have factored in for this inflation report, I wouldn't have been surprised to see it hit 9-10 percent pre-war. Any coincidence that Biden signs an executive order invoking inquiries into crypto currencies? My prediction is they will use some excuse to tax crypto into the ground in order to prevent people from abandoning the sinking ship that is USD.

Quote from: paxmao on March 08, 2022, 10:15:31 PM

Is great to know how these companies have decided to act. Many others will follow, as the outrage at the aggression in the West grows and firms are felling the pressure from the consumers.

Those that have publicly states that they will keep doing business in Putin's Russia (never let a few dead stop your profit), are now going to feel the wrath of the consumers. For example Japanese UNIQLO or even a global brand such as Danone. I think we should make them understand that you cannot do business with Putin and with the (reasonably) free world.

Visa, Mastercard, Paypal all pulling out are great only because it demonstrates a need for decentralization. It doesn't make sense to me why these companies (other than fear of cancel culture) would disrupt their services in Russia affecting Russian consumers who have no role in Putin's war efforts. This is an extreme reactionary measure that doesn't effect Putin directly. The fact that a credit card can magically stop working, essentially ceasing you of access to your funds, should terrify people.

Quote from: cabron on March 08, 2022, 02:59:57 PM

Quote from: zeuner on March 07, 2022, 05:17:24 PM

Quote from: Zlantann on February 27, 2022, 10:26:54 AM

Yes Bitcoin has a big opportunity to be widely used in Russia. But Russia is not totally cut off from SWIFT but just few banks are affected. This is because Europe still need to buy from Russia. Also, Russia can seek alternative payment or transaction system which is readily available in China. Hence, Bitcoin will not be Russia's only alternative. But, banning the use of Bitcoin would further compound the economic problems of Europe. The isolation of Russia is already a big shock to the European economy. If they try it, China and Russia will cease the opportunity and investors in Europe will move to Asia.

Considering that embargoes on oil and gas from Russia are at least being discussed by now, it's obvious that self-harm is not a no-go when discussing sanctions. So, I don't see why anyone would avoid banning Bitcoin because it causes economic problems for Europe. Some movement in that direction is at least visible: https://news.coincu.com/68177-ecb-president-create-a-crypto-regulatory-framework-now-to-prevent-russia-from-circling-the-law/.

It probably wouldn't make sense before cutting off all the Russian banks from SWIFT, though.

Not all banks in Russia are sanction though.

But getting around the SWIFT system is often the usual reaction of countries getting sanctioned. The number of countries being sanctioned are increasing too. The sanctions could only back because Russia is not only a big economic power but has alies that are also willing to cut ties from the West. If they all band together, these sanctions will be useless.

Russia has been circumventing SWIFT by using their own financial systems when trading with countries like China. And China has made it clear they won't be cutting off trade with Russia. The sanctions hurt but Russia's been taking steps to mitigate them for some number of years. And even if they didn't, this money isn't coming out of Putin's pocket, just Russian citizens who have nothing to do with the war efforts.

Quote from: suchmoon on March 10, 2022, 11:43:48 PM

Quote from: Gyfts on March 10, 2022, 10:33:29 PM

Sure, let's call that "something something China" for now. If not in China, where else might the U.S. fund gain of function research? Ukraine seems unlikely. And as I've mentioned I've yet to see any evidence, but these things hardly come as a surprise anymore.

So why even bring this up here? Not enough COVID conspiracy threads? Zero relevance to Russia-Ukraine war, it's just words "lab" and "research" and because the other thing has the same words then let's throw it too into the dumpster fire.

This whole "I don't support Putin but <insert Kremlin propaganda almost word for word>" shtick is getting old.

Relevant to the extent only if Putin takes Ukraine, he also takes these bio research labs if they exist or if they're active. Alternatively, it gives Putin an excuse to launch some false flag operation - release a bioweapon and just blame the U.S. or Ukraine for releasing it. I'm thinking it will be the latter because these low effort false flag attempts seem to be the standard now.

In other news: https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2022-03-11/ukraine-says-belarus-leader-was-with-putin-at-time-of-false-flag-attack

Ukraine claims false flag attack on Belarus conducted by Russian jets.

Quote from: suchmoon on March 10, 2022, 09:11:14 PM

It must be true because something something China.

I didn't say it was true. Recall how quickly the narrative changed after the NIH confirmed gain of function research on bat coronaviruses that took place at some point between 2014-2019. Sure, let's call that "something something China" for now. If not in China, where else might the U.S. fund gain of function research? Ukraine seems unlikely. And as I've mentioned I've yet to see any evidence, but these things hardly come as a surprise anymore.

Quote from: Etranger on March 10, 2022, 04:05:16 PM

The United States is developing biological weapons and new strains of coronavirus in Ukraine -> meaning: we need some shitty fabrications to later justify the use of biological and chemical weapons against Ukraine

I would not put chemical warfare or bioweapons past Putin. In fact, it's perfectly in line with his previous usage of nerve agents to assassinate his political opponents. However, I recall the U.S. vehemently denying funding gain of function research in Wuhan where it turns out they actually did fund experiments with bat coronaviruses. So likewise, I would not put it past the U.S. to have been funding whatever twisted experiments in Ukraine just as they were doing in China. I have yet to see any evidence of this, of course, but it's not a wild theory. It took something like a year before the NIH admitted what was going on in Wuhan.

Quote from: RocketSingh on March 07, 2022, 06:29:47 PM

In a world, where Bitcoin exists, all sanctions are pointless.

Not quite. If Russia had taken their some of their reserves and put it in crypto, they'd be immune from asset forfeitures or freezes, but they'd also have to deal with being cut out from the international community. If they're eliminated from SWIFT and, say, all their exports are highly taxed, that doesn't give them much options even if they had enough crypto (hundreds of billions worth) to trade with because the recipients they conduct commerce with also need to accept Bitcoin. To your point, the sanctions will accelerate Bitcoin adoption. There isn't any incentive to hold USD anymore, high inflation and the U.S. governments use sanctions too often (side note, US inflation in fact has hit a 40 year high according to the inflation report released just recently). It'd be best for countries to dump USD as quick as possible, it's becoming worthless.