Topic: Silk road (Read 7090 times)

A couple intersting Ted talks.  Funny, it says it was shot in July, but he mentions not a word of the bitcoin or ye old silk road.  Maybe in his next book. 
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/misha_glenny_hire_the_hackers.html
http://www.ted.com/talks/misha_glenny_investigates_global_crime_networks.html

That... still sounds safer than coke and other drugs... 

Not at all.  I am however super under estimating how much of a difference that makes for people who do whatever it is they do for a living to earn enough money to spend on zoo animals for their birthday party.  Or for that one dealer who just has to own a tiger.  Or whatever.  Basically the people who would be using such services could probably care less about the general btc user, probably much like the Silk Road users.

Realistically though, the people who would run this would literally have to be farming wild animals, otherwise they would be tracked I'm guessing.   Maybe start with small stuff like rare snakes and insects or something.

Look, if this were to all happen, the legit Bitcoin users would keep knowing the media is wrong in associating all Bitcoin usage with animal trafficking, and business would continue as normal.

The pro-drug crowd isn't going anywhere, they are hooked lol.  The reasons they are in Bitcoin are already done, they are now part of Bitcoin's history and I'm pretty sure some people probably make a living off of Silk Road.    I'm pretty sure a bitcoin animal black market appearing would do far more strides for actual Bitcoin use than most BTC related ventures.

You're probably under-estimating how hostile many Aussies are to illegal trafficking of our native wildlife.  It's an especially cruel industry not just because a lot of animals die in transit but also because many of them have special dietary and other requirements which can't be met outside their native habitats or specialised care facilities like zoos and animal parks.  

You can pretty much guarantee that if Bitcoin becomes associated with the illegal smuggling of Australian wildlife, then Bitcoin itself will come under considerable public scrutiny here.  A lot of people who couldn't give a shit about what drugs people choose to use in private and how they purchase them will give a fuck about anything which is perceived as making smuggling our native wildlife easier.

Yeah -sorry, it was a 'have you stopped beating your wife' type question for sure.  It was based on my presumption that the only approach that might work with you is an appeal to self interest  

Hey Mr Rastani, didn't I just see you interviewed on the BBC?

I understand loving a system like bitcoin which *allows* any use -  but not so much the desire that any and every usecase will actually eventuate.
This is why I'm actually fairly glad the anonymity-level of bitcoin lies in between that of cash and credit cards. The theory being that if the 'crime' is important enough, governments can still throw enough resources at it to get some evidence, but most underground stuff wouldn't warrant it.

Perhaps though in the long run, increased use of systems like tor & i2p will indeed make it effectively anonymous and I should simply learn to be happy with the idea of 'free transactions' being truly free - as in the ideal of 'free speech'.

Right now though, as bitcoin struggles to grow - it just seems bad for business.

That drug transactions might be enabled pales into insignificance compared to some of the other theoretical uses.
Assisting in wildlife smuggling is one that will potentially even alienate a large slice of the pro-drug crowd.




  

Can't answer false loaded question, sorry julz.   I'd love for Bitcoin to be used in any way people will realistically use them.    So far I see more talk of underground usage than quote unquote legitimate uses.


You are so mean hearted      I just seen this part, I have little to add to what I wrote above, but I will try to expand in a legitimate way.  I want Bitcoin to succeed overall, I do not just hope that people use Bitcoin in a way that is basically just replacing the dollar in people's minds.  I think Bitcoin is a little greater than that, and is obviously being used in ways much greater than the dollar, helping support and put some kind of trust in places it wasn't before, like black markets.

Your comment regarding OccupyWallstreet means little to me, I know that it is going on, but I have no idea what it is.   I do know it made this happen https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/donor-thread-for-occupywallstreet-bitcoin-promotion-45943 and though I don't have shit for btc at the moment, I made a small anon donation to that address a few hours ago when the thread was made (one of the .25 donations in Block Explorer is me, yay). 

So julz, can you in a positive way explain why someone who loves Bitcoin and wants it to succeed would be anti buying koala's with Bitcoin?   

I feel by asking that I answered in the sense that we both probably have different definitions of what success would be for Bitcoin.

And they smell.  Dear god do they smell.

you don't want a koala, they're mean vicious animals that only procreate by raping their females.

 This.

Is why I love this forum. I always get a good laugh. 

It's also relatively easy to get hold of legitimately prescribed opiates through the black market here at a fairly low price.

The whole cocaine thing was weird though.  It virtually disappeared as a drug of choice here for about 15 years and has only recently main a comeback in popularity.  It's still nowhere near as popular as other illegal stimulants which probably has a lot to do with its high price/short duration.  Crack never really took off here so we've never had low cost cocaine available and there are plenty of other cheap, long-acting stimulants out there for the party all night brigade.

Hash and hash oil have also pretty much disappeared from the market here over the last couple of decades even though they commanded a high price twenty years ago.

And anyone who wants a koala is nuts.  Not only are they hard to care for in captivity due to their limited dietary range, they're nasty fuckers when they get pissed off.

Yeah.. I'm just throwing slaps now while it's just a comment in a hopefully obscure thread.
I get that it just starts as a joke.
BTCP is as an easy slap target I guess because his mouth seems to take things and run a bit... diarrhoea like. 

I was kinda kidding about the whole buying koalas with bitcoins thing, even if they are adorably cute. Not sure if gtcporn was, but still, no need to get worked up about it.

I swear you're a thoughtless motormouth at best, and probably a psychopath.  
Bad enough that you don't give a shit about the planet or the suffering of individual animals.. but what have you got against bitcoin?

To even mention this on a day when other people (you know - ones who *have* consciences) are talking about increasing bitcoin adoption by dovetailing in with the #occupywallst event - just smacks of sabotage.   A very large slice of the #occupywallst type would run a mile from bitcoin if there were evidence of a wildlife smuggling market enabled by bitcoin at this stage. 

Look - this sort of thing and worse will come, and it's no more bitcoin's fault than it is that of traditional cash.. but WTF is your beef with the effort to promote bitcoin in positive light such that you would actively seek and/or talk about this shit now?

Yeah.. free speech and all.. say what you want.. but get a sense of timing

Australia produces 50% of the worlds legal poppy crop and has been grown in Tasmania for 30 years.
The "street" price has been constant because of that.

I swear I've mentioned it before, but who wouldn't want a Silk Road type service for rare and exotic animals?

Screw what mother earth says as far as what animals should live where, I want to have a koala as a pet.  And a panda too.   Drug dealers are known for buying exotic wildlife, in all honesty is this black market already on TOR and I just haven't looked hard enough?

Wha, no Opiates in Australia? And the prices there are atleast 2x what they are in the US. (and read closer to a 'drug enforcement' price list even for AUD) And I would highly advise hedging against cocaine over the next five years. My money would be on the Opiates as the demand has gone up over the past few years and is still trending in that direction.

Interesting info none the less.

I hope they are full of shit and not just young and ignorant.

One, they are likely full of shit.
Two, it's nice to see someone so invested and committed in Bitcoin, and willing to fight to protect it and support its value. (Even if they are likely full of shit) Sad they don't know enough about markets to understand that day trading isn't the issue.

  They're full of shit.