That's a good point; the effects of monopolies are well documented.  I hadn't thought about that!  Monopolies bring about a deterioration of the good/service.  So is it intentional?  I mean, they had thoughts about cutting the funding to the socialist schools by up to half, which would further deteriorate their quality.  But if you call this out as budgeting problems, ala being totally broke, the finger can't sit on intentional.  Then again, since we're totally broke, why not cut the cord and let private schooling become a thing?  Isn't business a good thing?  But at the same, it could be bad, at least until people aren't running the hamster wheel for a living, and it won't sit well with people when putting their kids through school costs them more than they can afford.  They see public schools as "free", and therefore great, yet pay no mind to where the funding for their "free" school is coming from.

What a convoluted web we're in right now.

If that's a bot, he recently took control of his account again and attempted to "buy" 1000 BTC in bulk via GayPal

So, not surprised.  Boost the post count (a pointless measure, really,) then attempt a scam.  Classic!  But overplayed.

A conflict of interest, you say?

Optimistic, I see

Oh my god this

Local is a good choice, often you'll find people selling at or slightly above MT GOX price.

localbitcoins.com

Your next bet is Coinbase, which requires you to connect your bank account.  It takes a couple of days to process this.  Finally, the most popular trading platform, MT GOX itself, which I do not recommend if you're trying to buy BTC easily--but once you finally, FINALLY, get into it, it's great if you're getting serious.  However, many people are avoiding it right now, due to issues you'll find in other parts of this board.

Wait--if the waiting list to die on death row is longer than the length of a pregnancy...

Ah, forget it.  This is like the deflowering law.

I find this quite a comical comparison

A few of the commenters are pointing out that the gov can't trace Bitcoin to any one person, so it's a pointless practice to monitor the exchanges.

However, the trades which occur on, say, Mt Gox, are mostly data on the site; no Bitcoin is actually passed around until people deposit and withdraw.  So they can, in fact, monitor what coins and cash are going where, as you must give them all your info, your name, your address, your everything that can be traced back to you.

In other words, if you're laundering, you won't use an exchange, since it has everything anyone would ever need to incarcerate you.

So...who will they be monitoring?

Welcome, long-time-hidden pal

This is absolutely eye opening.  This described the perfect capitalistic society.

Just the fact that wars were extremely costly and kept very short is enough to appeal to anyone.  And considering this was a time period without the luxury of the technologies we hold today, it's only that much more amazing it worked for so long.

FinCEN just gives advice   And the advice is directed toward the American government.

So nothing is happening yet, and nothing should be affected outside of the US.  But your own govs will have their own opinions about it, at some time or another.

Name coins?  You mean like Davecoins and Stevecoins?

What did your original post say in English?

Is it supposed to be affecting only the right side of my body?

If by God you mean Satoshi, you may be on to something

Oh, Muricuh.  Always gotta wage a war on something, somewhere.

Just going to hit the punch line: America's waging a war on freedom.  Because the government loves you, and wants you to know, your privilege to privacy is their number one concern.

Its been pretty lax so far

Didn't know that!  This guy has serious vision, then.  If he had enough foresight to know what would become of the Internet, and he supports Bitcoin, it's amazing he didn't get elected.

But even the mighty defender of the Internet Ron Paul didn't get elected.  Fishy, fishy.

They've been dead to me.  I absolutely refuse to buy another EA product for as long as I live.  I don't even want to play their games anymore, knowing the hand behind them.

Same goes for Blizzard.  Diablo III, Blizzard?  Are you even kidding me?  I have to be online to play offline?  DRM is just hurting these companies, but they're so butt-plugged with the idea that their DRM is securing a few more bucks.  Not to advocate piracy, but a company which is lax with their piracy policy (like Minecraft, whose owner didn't even care if it was being pirated, and he still made millions) is in a MUCH MUCH MUCH better light.  Heck, you don't even have to login when you load the game up, it'll just let you play anyway.

EA can go ahead with attempting to do a blockchain DRM method, but it's not going to make me throw money at them.  Or Bitcoin, if that's the case.  It's awfully vague on what they're attempting.  A proof-of-work DRM?  Where you have to prove you bought the game, or you're rejected by the chain...  I still see these games being pirated, either way.  As creative as some companies are with their DRM, the scene is always a step ahead.  If people want something, they're going to get it.  Nothing is sacred anymore.  Anything and everything can be pirated, so long as there's enough interest in it.  It's not up to the company to decide what people do, it's the people.  Strangely, the gaming industry chugs on, despite the scene.  So why bother with DRM?  It only affects those who abide by the DRM, and pisses them off, so they get pissed off at pirates who get to play the games with ineffective, always ineffective, DRM.