Gavin will visit the CIA

[kiba]

That has basically already happened:  see the first "news" link on bitcoinwatch.com

As an employee of bitcoinwatch/bitcoinchart, I must said that it's bitcoinwatch, not the bitcoin community.

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[kiba]

The "slave" talk is rubbish.  I'm calling on him to say what he'll do with the money; he can choose or choose not to do so ("voluntarily," as libertarians like to say).  Which he chooses will inform the community about features of its organization and of Gavin.

Inform what about Gavin? What do you wish to get out of it what?

Too many in this forum respond with blind negativity to anything that sounds like cooperation, which is particularly ironic in an open-source community.  The most ridiculous along those lines that I've seen was, in an early discussion of pooled mining, the response:  "But isn't pooling communism?"  For people professedly so concerned with political theory, it might help actually to read some political theory.  (Also, it might help to examine the world a bit more empirically; for example, do you think neoclassical economics and the incentive structure it proposes easily explains the motivations behind the developers of Linux?)

If this ain't a strawman, I don't know what it is.

[kiba]

This "s" guy rubs me the wrong way, seriously.

He's talking about the community and whatever, deciding Gavin need to do this and this for the sake of the community.

Pfft. What s thinks is not what I think, and certainly not what others think.

[Gavin Andresen]

The "slave" talk is rubbish.  I'm calling on him to say what he'll do with the money

Me and my good friend Charlie will spend it on hookers and blow, of course.

[rezin777]

The "slave" talk is rubbish.  I'm calling on him to say what he'll do with the money

Me and my good friend Charlie will spend it on hookers and blow, of course.

After the airplane ticket, hotel room, and food, that won't be much of a party, will it? 

[mpkomara]

The CIA probably stole bitcoins from the faucet, liquidated them on mtgox, forced jed to sell mtgox to magicaltux in japan, took some of the revenue and paid for Gavin's trip.  If this is the case, then Gavin can just go back to mtgox, buy some bitcoins and put them back in the faucet.  loser: jed.

[em3rgentOrdr]

The CIA probably stole bitcoins from the faucet, liquidated them on mtgox, forced jed to sell mtgox to magicaltux in japan, took some of the revenue and paid for Gavin's trip.  If this is the case, then Gavin can just go back to mtgox, buy some bitcoins and put them back in the faucet.  loser: jed.

[goatpig]

I don't understand this talk of community. To mine and use Bitcoins doesn't entitle anyone to any kind of responsibility towards any other Bitcoin user. There is also no fee or responsibility to endorse in order to start using Bitcoins. There is thus not such a thing as a hierarchy in what is simply a group of people going about their business using the same commodity. It's like saying a gold miner who's invited to speak about his digging experience should share his compensation fee with every other person using gold in the nation.

[JohnDoe]

If talking to them makes y'all trust me less... then good!  I'd like to see more careful code review

Now that's a good attitude.

[Jered Kenna (TradeHill)]

following this.

[JohnDoe]

I don't understand this talk of community. To mine and use Bitcoins doesn't entitle anyone to any kind of responsibility towards any other Bitcoin user. There is also no fee or responsibility to endorse in order to start using Bitcoins. There is thus not such a thing as a hierarchy in what is simply a group of people going about their business using the same commodity. It's like saying a gold miner who's invited to speak about his digging experience should share his compensation fee with every other person using gold in the nation.

Yeah, pretty ridiculous.

[rezin777]

It's an all expenses paid trip. I sure hope Gavin will fly first class, stay in 5 start hotel and treated by hookers as 'client number 9' or whatever number it is. lol.

According to the first post the $3k is to "cover expenses". That doesn't sound like all expenses paid to me! But I hope he treats himself to first class the entire way.

I would probably ride a bike, sleep in a box, and eat at mcdonalds, return home and buy more mining hardware.  

[goatpig]

That essentially covers the traveling fair from Australia to East coast USA, so yeah.

Doesn't Gavin already live on the east cost of the US?  I thought he was only originally from Australia.

I read somewhere that he lives in Australia but I can be wrong.

[cypherdoc]

The CIA probably stole bitcoins from the faucet, liquidated them on mtgox, forced jed to sell mtgox to magicaltux in japan, took some of the revenue and paid for Gavin's trip.  If this is the case, then Gavin can just go back to mtgox, buy some bitcoins and put them back in the faucet.  loser: jed.

LOL!

[caveden]

If talking to them makes y'all trust me less... then good!  I'd like to see more careful code review

Now that's a good attitude.

+1

[cypherdoc]

I want to get this out in the open because it is the kind of thing that will generate conspiracy theories:  I'm going to give a presentation about Bitcoin at CIA headquarters in June at an emerging technologies conference for the US intelligence community.

I accepted the invitation to speak because the fact that I was invited means Bitcoin is already on their radar, and I think it might be a good chance to talk about why I think Bitcoin will make the world a better place. 

I'm very interested to hear the content of your talk, Gavin. I assume you'll be posting it here or that it will eventually be available online somewhere?

And on a side note, I wrote this parable a while ago but never found a fitting time to post it:

HISTORY OF MAN AND BITCOIN

Child walks in jungle. Cub walks in the jungle.

Man hunts in the jungle. Tiger hunts in the jungle.

Man cuts down jungle. Tiger runs.

Tiger  in zoo. Man in ticket booth.

Gavin,

u should take this golden opportunity to try and convince the CIA that in the long run the banksters are detrimental to gov'ts as well.  if u doubt me, just look whats happening in the Middle East.  its all about unsustainable debt from unfettered money creation.

[Gavin Andresen]

Doesn't Gavin already live on the east cost of the US?  I thought he was only originally from Australia.

Yep, I live in Amherst, Massachusetts; my family moved to the US when I was 5 years old.

I will be visiting Australia (Sydney for a couple of days then Tasmania for a couple weeks then Cairns for a week or two) in July.

[BitterTea]

immature answers and pocketing speaker fees while purportedly representing the community

I found your mistake. Gavin has never claimed to represent anyone but himself.

[jimbobway]

Gavin,

It it possible to convince the CIA to pay you in bitcoins?  That would be awesome.  (Maybe not the full $3000 but half in bitcoins?)

[goatpig]

Doesn't Gavin already live on the east cost of the US?  I thought he was only originally from Australia.

Yep, I live in Amherst, Massachusetts; my family moved to the US when I was 5 years old.

I will be visiting Australia (Sydney for a couple of days then Tasmania for a couple weeks then Cairns for a week or two) in July.

My bad.

I'm glad for him that others of you are satisfied with him as a leader

Leader under what terms? One of the goals of this project is to break part of the coercive control government has over the economy, so it is not in the governmental sense. Then do you mean in the representative sense? If so, then representatives that can't represent properly will eventually be replaced. Now let the guy take his shot.