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BitCoin Plunges Following US Government Seizure Of Silk Road Website, "Dread Pirate Roberts" In Custody
Earlier today, one of the most popular websites that use and promote the use of BitCoin, Silk Road, was shut down by the US government. As Reuters reports, U.S. law enforcement authorities raided an Internet site that served as a marketplace for illegal drugs, including heroin and cocaine, and arrested its owner, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said on Wednesday. The FBI arrested Ross William Ulbricht, known as "Dread Pirate Roberts," in San Francisco on Tuesday, according to court filings. Federal prosecutors charged Ulbricht with one count each of narcotics trafficking conspiracy, computer hacking conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy, according to a court filing. Anyone visiting the site would be greeted with the following "game over" screen.
As part of the raid, The FBI said it has also seized approximately $3.6m (£2.2m) worth of bitcoins. The agency described it as the biggest Bitcoin seizure to date. It is unclear just how the FBI will keep the money: since there is no physical manifestation, and increasingly less practical uses, will it just be stuck on some FBI hard disk in perpetuity?
Further details from the FBI's complaint via BBC:
"From in or about January 2011, up to and including September 2013, the Silk Road Hidden Website... has served as an online marketplace where illegal drugs and other illicit goods and services have been regularly bought and sold by the site's users," court papers filed in the Southern District of New York state.
"The complainant further alleges, in part, that the Silk Road Hidden Website is designed to facilitate the illicit commerce hosted on the site by providing anonymity to its users, by operating on what is known as The Onion Router or Tor network... and by requiring all transactions to be paid in bitcoins, an electronic currency designed to be as anonymous as cash."
It adds that Mr Ulbricht - who is alleged to have gone by the pseudonym Dread Pirate Roberts - had generated sales of more than $1.2bn via the Silk Road.
The FBI believes he took cuts ranging from between 8% to 15% and was subsequently involved in a money laundering operation to hide the activity.
A second document alleges that private communications recovered from the Silk Road's computer server suggested the suspect had been willing to pursue violent means to defend his interests.
It said that messages sent in March and April indicated he had "solicited a murder-for-hire" of a Canadian Silk Road user nicknamed FriendlyChemist who had tried to extort money by threatening to release the identities of thousands of the site's users.
Subsequent messages indicated he had been sent a photograph of the victim after paying $150,000 to have the blackmailer killed.
"I've received the picture and deleted it. Thank you again for your swift action," Mr Ulbricht is alleged to have written to an assassin.
Who is the Dread Pirate Roberts?
The court documents described Mr Ulbricht, 29, as a former physics student at the University of Texas, who had gone on to study at the University of Pennsylvania between 2006 and 2010.
It was here, according to Mr Ulbricht's LinkedIn profile, as quoted by court documents, that his "'goals' subsequently 'shifted'".
He wrote on the social network that he had wanted to "give people a first-hand experience of what it would be like to live in a world without the systemic use of force" by "institutions and governments".
Authorities said he took to online forums to publicise Silk Road as a potential marketplace for drugs back in January 2011.
In one such message, a user believed to be Mr Ulbricht allegedly said: "Has anyone seen Silk Road yet? It's kind of like an anonymous Amazon.com."
Investigators said he used the same channels months later to recruit help - starting with a search for an "IT pro in the Bitcoin community".
The FBI said Mr Ulbricht would appear in San Francisco federal court later on Wednesday.
And more from NYMag:

The dark Internet's favorite massive drug marketplace, Silk Road, was shut down by the FBI last night and its alleged mastermind arrested on an array of colorful charges after a nearly two-year undercover operation.
Twenty-nine-year-old Ross Ulbricht, a.k.a. "Dread Pirate Roberts," was picked up in San Francisco and accused of running the underground e-warehouse while allegedly laundering money, trafficking narcotics, and even hiring a hit man to kill one of the site's users. Fittingly for a computer nerd, not a Heisenberg, he left a rich personal trail online.
According to the federal complaint, filed in the Southern District of New York, "Silk Road has emerged as the most sophisticated and extensive criminal marketplace on the Internet today," enabling "several thousand drug dealers" to move "hundreds of kilograms of illegal drugs." The site's sales totaled about $1.2 billion in the form of 9.5 million Bitcoins (naturally). About $3.6 million in the Internet currency has been seized.
Ulbricht, though, wasn't exactly great at covering his tracks, attaching his name, photo, and personal e-mail address to Silk Road business, eventually resulting in his arrest.
...
Last year on his Google+ account, Ulbricht, who's now charged with facilitating the sale of drugs through the mail, asked, "Anybody know someone that works for UPS, FedEX, or DHL?"
...
On YouTube, Ulbricht ("ohyeaross") liked videos by Ron Paul, along with clips called "The Market for Security" and "How to Get Away With Stealing." (Of Paul, Ulbricht once told his Penn State Univeristy paper, "There's a lot to learn from him and his message of what it means to be a U.S. citizen and what it means to be a free individual.") Most recently, he followed the Vice channel.
The immediate result has been a quick and brutal dump in the USD-equivalent value of the BitCoin currency itself as can be seen on the chart below:
And a chart showing the move in proportion:
That the US government would crack down on BitCoin and all affiliated services should not be surprising and is happening just as we warned it would back in March when we first charted the initial ramp of BitCoin. This move was especially inevitable considering none other than the ECB "warned" in November of 2012 against virtual currency Ponzi schemes (though it has no problem with fiat equivalents).
So is this the end of the crypto currency? It is unclear, but judging by the sudden lack of publicly available BitCoin pricing data, ostensibly to prevent a chaotic selloff or merely a result of the onslaught in trading volume, the end may be nigh for this monetary alternative.
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green for pointing out the non sequiter
Thanks, bnc.
But, um, it's ... non sequitur.
Sorry. I'm older than I look.
GPG is safe. Uncrackable.
I like coinbase.com, they are quirky for about 4-6 weeks, but after that, very easy to use.
The beauty of Bitcoin is they can't seize shit if you don't let them to.
You can send all your BTC to a new wallet somewhere on the web and they can kiss your ass.
The current price is a good opportunity to get some Bitcoin on the cheap, folks! I have only a "handful" but I just bought more.
What was that line about a fool and his bitcoins???
Got you, put that priceless CD collection on an USB stick
and bury it...
The chance of bitcoin becoming a viable, accepted alternative currency to the U.S. dollar is zero. You are either (A) wasting your money buying bitcoins (B) going to be arrested someday and put away for 20 years or (C) both.
And this compares differently to AAPL how?
1. Send all your BTC to a new wallet
2. Tell Feds to kiss your ass
3. Sit in a prison cell until you give up the coins. Just like the jokers who think that they can encrypt evidence of their crimes and never have to give up the key.
You seem to have missed the ending to your story.
Xenocock
i can rarely be bothered commenting on this site these days but every post i've ever seen of yours is painful
the fucks close down the silk road - an action just as aggressive by TPTB as any in the last 5 years and the only thread this dopey site devotes to it gets highjacked by a maggot like you.
sums it up really
"fuckers. If they can't tax it they seize it. If they can't control it, they seize it. If you look around, this isn't exactly a free country."
This is just a dry run for gold seizure. And all you dumb ass gold bugs and your apocalyptic dreams that gold will get you through the collapse.....LOL !! The Corp/Fed will just seize it from your very hands....and if they can't then they will just force everyone who receives it for payment of a transaction to tax the hell out of it to the point that it's worthless as a medium of exchange.
Jealous much
Right. Because everyone who deals in a cash-based society reports their transactions to the government.
LOL !!
If and when you start having to REALLY survive by transacting in gold.....trust me....the Feds will get it. They're getting your land via property tax and eminent domain....they've already spent your social security decades ago.....they're getting your income now through the income tax....payroll tax, etc. The states get it through sales tax, tag tax on cars and trailers, some on food.
Your little example of a little something held back under the table is silly. The Corp/Feds have you by the balls. Get over it.
Unless you guys are ready to finally pick up the gun like the Founders.
But....it's easier to bitch, buy gold and sneak a little under the table. Whatever gets you through the night.
Incorrect. No transactions can be taxed because they all will be secret, off-grid, untrackable.
that is y u need to hold physical bitcoins...
Try trading them for chickens and eggs with the guy on the edge of town. I think I will keep my pre-65 silver coins.
+1 ^^
Me too!!!
DaddyO
Likewise. Too bad they couldn't put those "bits" in a safe. When fraud is the status quo, possession is the law.
Like the feds couldn't have opened his safe and taken the bitcoins(gold/silver/cash)? My bits are still here, not moving at all. the price is changing, like when they slam gold and silver. It may be time to buy some more. Blood in the streets right?
Please, what safe? what gold?
Not the sharpest tool in the shed are we?
monkey...i dont believe there is a fizz bitcoin dude...
Dude, none of the people I know out here in ZH has a single bit of silver left. I lost mine in a boating accident, got some more, and lost those in a hand of poker. Then I got some more and spent it all on lollipops, unicorn shit, and bitcoins. I'm one broke ass motherfucker. It's a tragedy of a story really...several tragedies.
ooooo hand of poker.. I like that one, thanks!
+1
I invested all my silver into Bitcoins and lost the USB stick in a tragic boating accident. /doublefucked
Funny, because I recently paid a plumber with silver coins, not sure he would know what to do with a USB stick, or if he even has a computer.
doublefucked indeed.
That's really funny LOL! There are a lot of bad things and only 1 or 2 good things that could come from trying to pay a plumber with virtual currency on a USB stick.
There are in fact physical bitcoins, but they still depend on the network to be redeemed. Early physical bitcoins are actually worth more than the bitcoin itself, just like in the traditional coin market.
These are perhaps the best known physical bitcoins: https://www.casascius.com/
If the price is higher than $2/btc you're paying too much.
You CAN print the codes out. Physical. You can store BTC off line. Anything you want, it's called "archiving".
LOL you silver bugs (who already lost a fortune in the last couple years) always obsess over buying chickens. Its rather funny.
How did any of us lose a fortune when buying at $9 per ounce? Riddle me that, bitcoin boy.
And I don't need to buy chickens. I've got several. When the time comes, I might buy some more, but that's when I take all your farm because your ass got foreclosed on when you bought bitcoins. All your shit are belong to us. Even those dumbass bitcoins...
I started "stacking" in the 80's at $4/oz, bought my first gold eagles in 1999 at $250/oz still doing ok at $22. and $1320.
I like chicken. It tastes like....oh wait.
Sorry, but that was pretty good. Chickens are the Apocalypse Pet.
My In laws neighbor just bought some. He has been watching some prepper shows. now he has a hand pump well, clothesline to put on a gill net (they live on the water) and now chickens. Too bad they take like 15 pills a day to get by and they are pushing 80. At their age and level of activity, they should have bought 100 lbs of beans and 100 lbs of rice. With the sound they have all the meat they desire in the form of fish or crab.
pods
Is that why silver was up over 10% in Q3?
Now head back over to you child porn website, skippy.
It's always funny to see bit-chasers fail to comprehend that food is important and chickens are food. Bitcoins aren't food.
I've got physical bitcoins for sale! I think I'll sell some on ebay! LOL
phys bitcoin=gold! They'll never seize that! ;)
Okay, WHY would anyone with a site such as silk road be in the U.S. in the first place? Or any bitcoin related exchange/site?
Silk Road will be back, under a new name, sooner than you think. Bitcoin market is tough and tenacious.
I think someone is at your door.
Silk Road will be back, under a new name, sooner than you think.
Hell yeah!
DPR made a LOT of money.
From what I've seen so far, they caught him with $3.4M -- it's entirely possible he was smart and sent far more than that to other bitcoin accounts.
Of course given how he was caught, it's also entirely possible they captured every single bitcoin he made due to his stupidity.
Ahhhhhhhh duuuhhhuh! The Feds were tracking this supposedly anonymous site since it's inception. Get used to reality people. There is nowhere to hide on the internet! The NSA can defeat any security or encryption that you have. They have giant buildings full of hackers working for them instead of going to jail. They have unlimited R&D budget. Accept the facts that everything on the internet, phone and in the mail can and will be intercepted.
That's not true.
Recent Slashdot story and comments explain why:
http://m.slashdot.org/story/192327
And btw $3.6 MM in BTC was seized from this SR guy.
That means there's fewer BTC in circulation.
While the speed of circulation will now drop, this is a mid and long term positive. Criminals all over the world will now take a closer look at this interesting approach..
well...if they didn't have enough bitcoins to manipulate the market, they do now.
The feds likely let this site run for a while in order to collect all the data that might become available (thanks NSA, you assholes), and when novel data income slowed, and the site was no longer useful for tracking big fish, they closed it down.
Same as how Anonymous was used. To entrap any goofs silly enough to volunteer.
So far no government has ever broken 1000+ bit keys with PGP or GPG and I use 8000+ bit keys.
It would take thousands of years with every computer on the face of the earth working non-stop on ONLY one key to have a hope of breaking ONE.
I feel bad, I found out about silkroad today. Seems like I missed out on a hell of a party. But I did not buy Bitcoins to party.
Bitcoin is not a ponzi scheme and no single government can stop it
I believe that was said of tax haven bank accounts not so long ago.
Just got my new terms and conditions from Barclays on a certain island.
Not only will they be sharing their info on me with any Govt. that asks,the real
kicker was in the small print.I don't have to notify them them when travelling abroad.
They said they would already know from my cell phone GPS.
How do you like them apples ?
I dunno - been mining BTC since the early days. Reinvested profits in more hardware, got more BTC.
Cashed out at $230/BTC, made a killing. Didn't even pay for the electricity used to mine it :)
Scam or not, I rolled the dice and won. Big.
So fuck you.
HAND.
Is btishit biting the coin?
Fuc king moronic thinking this new ponzi would ever work. Ponzi did a stamp, so these assholes did a coin.
Fuck you if you got in this bullshit. Grow the fuck up and get a real account, like PFG MF global, stuff like that, you assholes.
Nothing is safe.
shit-coinz :-)
Wait.
"That the US government would crack down on BitCoin and all affiliated services should not be surprising"
I think the feds seized an online drug sales site? Right?
So that's now an affiliated service of BitCoin? Next up, Craigslist then for being an affiliate of prostitution.
Where is this reporting coming from, DHS?
Silkroad's existence depended entirely upon bitcoin. The price of bitcoins was (as we're finding out today) very dependent upon the illegal activities on Silkroad.
Very insightful.
The price of Bitcoin isn't dependent on Silk Road.
I just bought some @117 because it's more likely than not that it'll recover to 120+ today.
To the Fed morons: thanks for the free marketing!
When it loses 30% (so far) of its value on the news, the relationship is obvious.
The smart (less dumb than some) money is moving into litecoins since there's still a drug exchange open for those.
I bought most of my (few) Bitcoins @$90 and today at $115 and $117.
It's $125 now, so your " 30% drop" statement doesn't quite compute.
The idea that I would dump my Bitcoins (or USD) just because someone was busted dealing illegal shit in that currency is total idiocy.
(crickets)
Ah, the proprietary strain. Picture starting to get less fuzzy now...
Awesome.
What if Silkroad's existence depended entirely upon Visa and Mastercard? If that had been the case, the story would have never made it to ZH.
Something odd about what just happened here. Connecting the dots. Ain't hard to figure out.
You have a moral problem with illegal?
Gassing jews was legal. Smoking a joint is not legal. The government is just a criminal gang fleecing the populous. Who cares what their rules are for you, other than that they lock people in a cage like animals that disobey them? Can't believe you go for that child porn scare. Still take their moral authority seriously after Iraq, Libia, Syria, droning kids in Yemen and Pakistan? How can these guys have any authority left?
Good question. Answer: they dont...among thinking people anyway. The erosion in moral authority explains the increasing reach for draconian measures. It smacks of desperation tinged with deep fear bordering on panic.
The internet grew on formerly illegal porn activities.
no, most places in the world they were not illegal at all.
CIA didn't get their cut and certainly couldn't control the revenues from sale of illegal drugs through Bitcoin. The only reason the Feds give a care about the drug trade is so they may control it and profit from it. Government is legalized mafia. They are holding everyone in this country hostage and only survive by way of extortion. Black market is the only solution to escape the grab.
Coming soon to a Gold/Silver exchange near you ...
Lets hope so, but consdering the exchanges manufacture a fraudulent price, its doubtful.
PROOF that Bitcoin is NOT better than Gold.
I've never seen gold sell off... Ever
Good point. If the gold paper price craters the chunks of metal that I have are still mine. Gold could tank 20 percent today and I am not going to have a shit fit. It will be my piece of shit investment and my decision to sell or buy.
Further, I can scatter my shitty investment all over the world...even up my ass...a la Christopher Walken.
Do not part with your gold till you've reached El Dorado.
Are you talking about paper gold or physical gold?
The price of paper gold still affects the price of physical gold... at some point, the two will diverge significantly, but until that day...
< meh > the last time I bought physical gold, it was under $300 and once. If it went back to under $900, I might buy again.
Kudos to you, but for some of us, the last time gold was around that price point, we were mowing yards for arcade change... our entire investing lives have been at elevated PM prices. Aside from the fact that the paper market still dictates PM prices...
Wait for it. But be ready to fly to indonesia or singapore to load up. The paper "price" will crash again.
I don't know much about Bitcoin and I don't really care, but I don't get this. By this logic, does it mean gold has failed if a marketplace is shut down?
Re: I don't know much about Bitcoin and I don't really care
Me either, but I suppose only time will tell if BitCoin has any resiliency.
If it's really a "currency" it should survive (altho, it does seem overly dependant on electric).
You got it, by your reasoning gold trading will be suspended
for lack of interest (read inventory) at Crimex and LBMA
and be declared failed in the marketplace for reasons related to being a barbarious relict.
There's no database to track gold in hand traded for goods in hand.
This is the perfect new screen for the Federal Reserve.!
Go for it. Raid it, and while there, count the gold!
<----- Fascism
<----- Fascism
Yes, those are the only options.
Techically, all roads lead to fascism, but the path taken by the authority worshipping dumbasses is different.
Those with kick-ass daddy old-testament "conservative" brains are climbing up the right face of Mt Authority
Those with smothering-mommy new-testament "liberal" brains are climbing up the left face of Mt Authority.
Those with smart-n-savvy brains don't care; they are the ones at the top of Mt Authority creating all the bullshit for the dumbasses to fight over.
And those of us who aren't lemmings are preparing to level Mt. Authority by stocking up the right kinds of stuff and creating community with other like-minded individuals. Our "neighborhood" all look out for one another, even though I can only see one house from anywhere on my property.
Re: And those of us who aren't lemmings are preparing to level Mt. Authority
Unlike "Lord of the Rings" the smart-n-savvy people on the top of Mt Authority will send their hords of dumbasses to kill those who doubt the power of suits.
And, unlike "Lord of the Rings" there's no such thing as magic plus 50 sword that kill bazzilions of dumbasses with a single swipe.
The smart-n-savvy win. The dumbasses love their masters on the top of Mt Authority. They always have.
1 path does not: revoking all corporations.
That's interesting, I can record both an up vote and a down vote
LOL! Green is the new red! Forvards Zoviet!
How do they shut websites down when THEY are supposed to be shut down? Oh, wait..
As I've had to explain to several 12 year olds on twitter, the ATF/DEA are still operating as an essential service.
1,350,000 'Essential' Federal Government Employees Continue to Workhttp://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/1350000-essential-federal-government...
1,350,000 too many
"As I've had to explain to several 12 year olds on twitter, the ATF/DEA are still operating as an essential service."
Essential to whom?
So how do you keep track of which issue you have slated for which profile? Big excel spreadsheet? You graded on productivity or quality? Any end result metrics?
TPTB are only confirming that the Shutdown was/is the right thing to do, as things are ticking along just the same.
18% people off the payroll for a few days or weeks is a healthy colon cleanse -- good for the Body Politik. They should do it 2-4x per year.
Should be a fun foodfight to watch as to whether these ne'r-do-wells get back pay for services NOT provided. They did in Clinton shutdown. Times are bit different today. I suspect they'll cave and pay, but who knows?
Part of the magic, for those few of us paying attention, is to let us know that it's all a big joke. It's their way of saying, "We know you know, smarty pants, and we'll tend to you in a minute."
Their first mistake was messing with the fed. Their second mistake was competing with the government in the drug market place. I'm sure that they will "find" child pornography on the servers to. Just to make sure people get the message.
CP was just one of the many different things that you could get on silkroad. A buddy of mine saw a listing for a 24oz jar of Arsenic. For scientific research purposes of course...
You seem to be well versed in the kiddie pron universe.
Hey Xeno, i'm just curious how much you charge for your hand in your snatch pictures on your facebook, or do you just give it away for free like all the other feminists?
http://www.spamvault.de/ipb/index.php?s=ea346098a10809eaa8dc1066d4537b72...
How'd you do dat?
I put on a Praxis cd, all the inspiration i needed.
The funny part is, the US agencies most likely did this to get control of this part of the trade too. They're always looking for new ways to sell and new companies to take over.
Is there no end to the outrage that this out of control behemoth can foist upon us?
Drug Dealing? So I can assume all our troops guarding the poppy fields will be cuffed too?
Lets not forget a man that blew the doors off of our benevolent government's trafficking of dope during the 80's through Mena, AK.
Gary Webb, RIP.
He got too close and the US Government killed him. Wait no, he committed suicide. By shooting himself in the head, TWICE, with a revolver.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Webb
Then they went after Liberty "dolla" which is odd cause they were closer to the Coinage Act of 1792 than our FRNs ever were.
A big fucking racket is all this government has become. They just toss loaves of bread off the sides of the cart to appease enough plebes.
pods
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_journalists_killed_in_the_United_St...
Anyone else think the timing of this event is more than coincidental?
No, just a bit coincidental.
HA! I love it. "...just a BIT COINcidental."
up vote up vote!
GOOD ONE!!
Well played, sir. Just be careful where you point that hat.
I find the timing interesting as I was predicting that BTC price would drop when fed governement employees owning BTC would seek to sell some in order to get some liquidity while they stop receiving their paycheck.
What bank was that again that was found guilty of laundering drug money, etc a few months back?
Oh yeah, that's right - bankers do whatever they fucking want.
Hong Kong Sketchy Bank Corp (HSBC)
Did they really get Shanghaied?
I thought the government was on furlough?
Re: I thought the government was on furlough?
The part that helps the top 10% is still functioning.
Big-Airport is still running. Can't keep these private jets grounded, think of the [chilren | trrrrsss] !
Only the FED can run FIAT BITCHEZ!
hahahahahahahaahah
See what happens at the threat of competition?
It's the user database I worry about. Will no one think of the users?
They already had those databases.
pods
There is no substitute for gold and ammo. Come, try to take those.
I'VE HEARD DRUGSDEALERS ALSO USE DOLLAR BILLS!!!!
RAID THE FED AND SHIT THEIR OPERATION DOWN ASAP!!!
It's all fun and games until someones eye gets poked out
and yet woman keep rubbing ice cubes against their nipples... barbaric..
"It's always funny until someone gets hurt, and then it's just hilarious...!"
Then it's a Christmas movie!
They arrested the Dread Pirate Roberts?
Inconceivable.
I've hear Captain Sparrow is keeping low in his hideout in Tortuga because of this shit...
Yo HEE ho!
You keep on using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
Now, or soon at least, all the little leg humpers will see the difference between a real asset and a "crypto/digital" asset.
But, I also realize they can also force to zero any other "asset" they fear. We are all fucked, but bitcoin was one that I will never be fucked out of:)
The Petrodollar is the universal currency. Bank of International Settlements only need two more countries to secure the entire web of central banking control.
After that is accomplished, the new cashless system will become mandatory and the only form to conduct commerce. I cannot wait to see the expressions on the face of people who aided in transforming the process. Yet, no reward for prole. Hahahahahahahaha.
The spirit of your comment is correct but this statement - "the new cashless system will become mandatory and the only form to conduct commerce." which I have heard in various forms for some time now is not. It will simply not happen in the forseeable future. It belngs in the same dust bin as "keyboards are now obsolete" or "the desktop computer is a thing of the past". or even "change we can believe in". Pure nonsense, especially the latter.
O come on. The government is among the biggest users of cash to fund its black operations. You really think its going to slit its own throat. Yeah, I know, they're not the brightest bulbs in the string, but neither are they suicidal.
When the cost of using the government's medium of exchange becomes too costly, people will abandon it and find something else. Same as it ever was.
What's so hard to understand about BITCOIN not being money?
BITCOIN is just another Fiat Money scheme, another Ponzi Scheme.
Why are people so easy to fool???
Why are people so easy to fool???
Uhmmm..because they are stupid?
I think stupid implies a lack of capacity... I dispute there is any issue with the capacity to not be taken advantage of... I think we're just exceptionally good at deluding ourselves. Denial is a bitch, and a rather mean one at that. I think the nanny state is partly to blame...
Did you watch the video on Obamacare vs the affordable care act?.... People are stupid.
Stupid or desperately trying to give the camera something, presuming anything about the interaction is real... Aside from the fact that I'm not sure the "experiment" is particularly representative of society as a whole. There ARE dumb people everywhere, no doubt, but the vast majority of them are perfectly capable of making reasonable decisons... The fact that we CHOOSE not to doesn't necessarily mean that we're stupid, it means that we make bad decisions... The issue isn't capacity so much as incentive.
The problem isn't stupidity it's ignorance. You can't fix stupid, but you can fix ignorant.
Slaves are always left as ignorant as possible about the things that might reveal their slavery. The best slave doesn't realize he is one, and will resist being told. That is what TPTB count on.
#41
"I think we're just exceptionally good at deluding ourselves."
You are absolutely correct. No other person will ever lie to you as much as you lie to yourself. Period. It's just what we do to make ourselves feel better about ourselves.
Probably why doomers, who are just honest, get a bad rap for being 'doomers'. I like how Faber can be a 'doomer' yet still laugh at it all.
Jim Rogers is kinda like that too saying this or that thing is 'bad for his nerves'
Greed is very easy to exploit. Especially when dealing with targets who are already suspicious of facts by their nature.
From the looks of this dox on you, your snatch is very easy to exploit as well:
http://www.spamvault.de/ipb/index.php?s=ea346098a10809eaa8dc1066d4537b72...
FunFact: My avatar isn't me. All you're doing is spamming some poor woman's naked photos all over ZH. You're a moron if you think anyone on ZH would use their actual picture as an avatar.