Ok. most of this is google translate (since I couldn't take the time to do everything manually, but I read through it so it's kind of understandable. It's from a 3-column format pdf, so some vim-fu and google-translate-fu made it into the piece below. It's good enough to get an understanding. Forgive me if some of the language used is rather weird and for the spelling mistakes.
Since this thread gave you something to chew on. Did not expect so much interest actually, I have something more to tell you about.
This thread (use google translate if you're not fluent in Norwegian):
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=91897.0I will tell you the gist of it:
The Norwegian Trade Union Finance Organization (not the same as the financial supervisory authority obv.) organizes finance and IT-employees and have nearly 40K members in Norway.
This is relevant, because most of these employees are bound by the rules set forth by the financial supervisory authority, so if nothing else, this makes them aware of that something like bitcoin does exist.
Magazine printed in 38550 copies.
They publish a magazine called 'Finans Fokus', and they've used the speculative headline 'Cryptocurrency is taking over' in their 4th magazine of 2012.
It can be downloaded from here:
https://anonfiles.com/file/c31894b1ed098cdffbf4db364b5b859fEnglish translation (used google translate) and fixed some spelling erros.
Heading in the start of the magazine:
10 Bitcoin - the cryptocurrency
A new and revolutionary digital currency can turn upside down on the banking system as we know it today.
Japanese Satoshi Nakamoto has developed a new digital currency that has the cryptic name Bitcoin.
The financial crisis inspired him to develop an alternative digital currency that is not based on trust.
Heading for article, page 11:
Is cryptocurrency making banks obsolete?
Imagine a currency that is not composed of notes and coins, but reminiscent of
Skype and Napster. The legality is questionable, but just like with the file-sharers
Napster, the new cryptocurrency BITCOIN is difficult to avoid.
Text: Stephan Alsman, freelance journalist, Denmark
Translated and edited: Bjørg Buvik
Credit: Shutterstock
The financial turmoil after the finance
crisis spread like rings in the water. Occupy
Wall Street was widely covered. Meanwhile,
aqnother protest movement created waves silently.
It is about a revolutionary new form of
currency - a global payment platform called 'creeping carded currency'. (Comment: I kid you not, that was what Google Translate suggested. lol. The correct term should be crypto currency)
Bitcoin is the first
creep carded currency cryptocurrency.
The currency is, as the name suggests, a digital
single currency.
We get our payment check electronically. We
do not consider electronic money that
unnatural. Our online payroll receive physical
life by being associated with a country's physical
currency.
Bitcoin is an electronic code. It uses encryption to prevent falsify-
schemes. The same code can be used several times. In practice, works as a small bitcoin
program that runs continuously.
"Not based on trust" It began on 3 January 2009. Satoshi Nakamoto presented its global currency
completely out of the financial system. Neither the
banks, central banks or governments can stir (Note: I thought of James Bond at this point: Shaken but not stirred!, the correct term would be 'touch') currency.
In an announcement in about 30 pages Nakamoto lashes out with fury and how the
financial crisis inspired him to innovate.
He would create a system "that is not based on trust. "
From Nakamoto's view, the financial crises proved that we
could not trust
unpredictable bankers, central banks and
politicians.
fact-box:
Bitcoin (of 'bit' and English 'coin' =
is a digital currency created in 2009, of
Satoshi Nakamoto.
Peer-to-peer (P2P) is a way to
organisere resource sharing in a computer network
on. Resources in a P2P network is
spread on one or more local admini-
strerte client processes that repre-
sents individual users.
Source: www.bitcoin.org
- The central bank requires customer confidence
that banks will not dilute the value of the fiat currency.
But history is rich in examples
that confidence will be abused. Banks get our money.
They will protect them and
forward them electronically. But they
invested them during the credit bubble, with
only a fraction in reserve, according to the announcement.
Bitcoins on 44 exchanges Nakamoto freed piece of software to
Initially, worth 200,000 kroner. This
was certainly braggy for a piece of software and
claiming that the code represents a value.
The thing is that bitcoin not based on anything
other than itself. Neither gold
or other currencies back BITCOIN.
It is strange that the value of the BITCOIN was accepted.
Bitcoin has a real purchasing power.
You can buy everything from electro-
nod to rent hotel rooms with bitcoin.
coin)
The value of bitcoin was 8 per June 2011 at
126,116,250 euros.
Today there are 44 stock exchanges
that can switch bitcoins to general
currency. The total number bitcoins goes against 21
million in 2030.
All transactions are free.
Bitcoin operates in a field where neither central banks,
banks, country or governments have control of it.
Nobody can quite figure out if the currency is legal.
For a half years ago, something shocking happend.
startling: Satoshi Nakamoto disappeared. Before this, nobody knew if he really existed.
- He had
communicated online with
many who helped him during
the initial phases, but he had
never revealed anything about himself. And
since April noone has heard from him.
He has left a extremely sophisticated software. It is
designed to eliminate many of the pitfalls by - traditional currencies.
To earn bitcoinsBitcoins are distributed online in a highly sophisticated way.
Users can earn bitcoins by setting its computing power available
for bitcoinsystem.
A quote:
"It's a sort of mystique around Satoshi Nakamoto, because he
is unknown. But that's not the point. The most important thing is that he
has left a brilliant tool. The fact that he remained
anonymous, shows that he is a genius. "
Bruce Wagner, a spokesman for bitcoin
Emphasize:
"Whoever is behind the
coding is of world-
class, knows all about
Encryption and peer-to-peer
and has very good
knowledge of the Economy
and politics. It is either a
fantastic team
behind, or we're talking
about a genius. "
Quote, Dan Kaminsky, cyber expert
A process called "Mining" has created a gold fever among
computer nerds. The more computing power to set the
available to bitcoin, the more you can bitcoins
serve. Computer nerds are therefore over
mining in the Klondike pure style.
The site bitcoinminingaccidents.com
if ("Bitcoin Mining Accidents - get rich or die
Trying ") tells of a student who was
injured in his attempt to recover bitcoins.
He had stacked up to five computers
each other. It took place around the clock.
One day it was generated so much heat from
machines that he had heat stroke while
asleep. It was so severe that the doctor described it
as a minor brain injury.
- A brain injury is of course better
than to die. There is some dirt, but it could
worse, the student wrote on the website.
World class codingThe structure of bitcoin are so cleverly
constructed that leading cyber security
experts believe that in practice it is impossible
that Nakamoto is only one man.
(My comment: Who are therese leading experts?)
- Whoever is behind the coding is a world class coder, knows all about encryption and
peer-to-peer, and has very good knowledge
about economics and politics. Either there is
a fantastic team behind, or we are talking about a genius, said cyber-
expert Dan Kaminsky of the magazine The
New Yorker.
But if the creator is a genius, he can
also be able to show up and run off with
everything as more bitcoins are coming into
circulation (Comment: Lack of understanding here).
If we can imagine such a case, we're talking about the most elaborate cybercrime possible.
Bruce Wagner is a New Yorker. For some
over a year ago he was a kind of spokesman
for Bitcoin. He was fascinated by the currency and
wrote a practical guide on how businesses
can use Bitcoin. Since then it is he who has spoken out about bitcoin (Comment: WTF!).
- There is a kind of mystique about Satoshi
Nakamoto, because he is unknown. But it is
not the point. The most important thing is that he has
left a brilliant tool. The fact that he remained anonymous, shows that he is a genius. He
would surely have been in prison if
government had got hold of him, according to
Bruce Wagner, referring to the proceedings
against Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.
Perhaps the ideal currency The myth of Nakamoto is colorful and in real-
ity an effective PR machine for bitcoin.
But on a more general plan is bitcoin a response to
the criticism that financial institutions have experienced, as an extension of the crisis.
It seems that there are three different
subgroups in bitcoin. Geeks are attracted to the technical elegance behind
bitcoin. Then there are the liberals, who are scpetic to everything centrally governed, including a central bank.
Finally there are those who operate in a grey zone and who are in favor of a system abolishing the suitcases full of cash
and where the transactions are tax-free and hard to track.
An investment object Skeptics say that perhaps bitcoin is a sophisticated piece of software.
As a currency it is a primitive size. Nobel Prize recipient
Paul Krugman is one of the critics.
He thinks that the progress is what hampers it's successful growth.
The cause of this is that since NAkamoto released bitcoins it has grown so much in value that people keep it as an investment object.
It is pointless with a currency system that rewards people who do not use money. What we want is to facilitate trans-
actions, and thus make society richer, writes Paul Krugman in his Homepage.
He believes that what is now happening with
bittcoin, can be compared with deflated intent
problems in Japan, where the currency for years
became more and more valuable.
- The bitcoin economy has in essence gone trhough a massive deflation, says Krugman.
But for the Bitcoin spokes man Bruce Wagner, this is no problem.
- I think there are many who agree with
me that the financial crisis has shown that simply
not a bad idea that ordinary people
start saving again, says Wagner. He is
now underway to launch a television program about
bitcoin. Online, of course.
Creep Tova Luta (acc. to Google translate, lol) aka Crypto CurrencyThis is just a straight copy of some text from the Norwegian wikipedia about bitcoin and I saw no point in quoting it here, since it adds no value over what can already be read at the wikipedia site.
My comment: It seems like this was more of an old recycled article printed just to stirr some controversion, but printing this in a trade union magazine brings awareness of bitcoin to a larger group, and even if there are some incorrect statements in the article, it may spur more bitcoin interest.
