Clicked. Damn you. Now there isn't enough drugs in the world to make me forget.
I have 24 k items, mostly lossless audio
You have "24 k" items? I guess you could say that your music collection was...
(puts on sunglasses)
There isn't enough cocaine in the world to make me click on that link.
Ahem, are you referring to this guy? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sforhbLiwLA
It was a good laugh!
He rolled out those candy-colored, all-in-one iMacs and simplified the product line.
If I remember correctly, another reason why these iMacs became so popular was the option to lease. Many college students and small businesses took advantage of this.
...I somewhat regret the comment at this point, and I wasn't criticising him, actually; I was annoyed that they didn't mention more of those products specifically because I thought they were deserving of more attention. But, hey, I completely misread it anyway, since I skipped over the half of the list. Yay, leaky memory.
You mean, kind of like an "amnesiac, moronic little squirrel"?
Is there a governing body testing the safety and quality of electronic medical devices? According to this BBC documentary http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3BBjzVQhe0 , there isn't for medical utensils. Is it the same for electronic devices?
The OP presented a definition that currency is only issued and backed by governments. I would agree legal tender can be defined that way but most consider currency a broader term than legal tender.
You may very well be correct, which is exactly why I wrote "it's safer to say
Personally, I cannot declare OP wrong for using 'currency' as a synonym for 'legal tender' any more than I can declare another wrong for distinguishing between them. It may well be that currency is any exchange technology, (by which I mean something which derives the greater part of its value from its use in exchanging other goods or services), which definition would clearly encompass BitCoin. Then again it is perhaps exclusively the official exchange technology. So this dispute largely devolves into argument by definition and even argumentum ad dictionarium, which is best avoided by agreeing on a particular set of definitions prior to the argument. Of course it is another matter when a judge is called upon to determine what definition the law will henceforth accept.
In the end, we have a system that leaves it up to judges.
Indeed, and as someone who has had to read a fair number of judgments, I find this particular one to be wanting.
I would be surprised if any court rules that bitcoin is not currency.
Or, more pertinently, not money. I wouldn't be surprised either way, but I would be interested in reading the legal analysis which led to such a determination. This is what is sadly lacking in the present opinion.
[** I do this when I'm feeling timid. In a less cowardly mood, I'll simply declare money to be what is, from place to place, legal tender. Swashbuckling, no? Currency is perhaps any exchange technology, (by which I mean something which derives the greater part of its value from its use in exchanging other goods or services), which definition would clearly encompass BitCoin. Then again it is perhaps exclusively the official exchange technology. ]
Calm down a little, no?
What the hell? Spoken like a ignorant stereotype of Americans. At what point, exactly did the US government EVER give fuck all about artistic, philosophical, and scientific endeavors? The only reason NASA was funded in the first place was the Space Race. Afterwards science was funded out of pure selfishness, in order to be #1.
You will probably have to stretch a little farther back to discover U.S. politicians reverence of artistic and scientific pursuits. Let me pull one strange character from our history books: William Hope Harvey. In his own words:
"... The record of ancient civilizations which we have unearthed do not tell the merits and demerits of those civilizations, the struggles of those people and why they fell. The Pyramid to be erected here will contain all such records. Upon opening the Pyramid and reading the documents contained therein, mankind thousands of years hence will learn of the railroads, the telegraph, the linotype, the flying machine and of the circulation of the blood through the human body, all discoveries of the last 400 years.
"... Wonderful discoveries have been made by this civilization in a knowledge of the universe and in the sciences as applied to the human anatomy and industries, but comparatively few in statesmanship and non in the study of civilization as a science. Upon the mastery of this latter depends the perfection of a civilization. Nothing less than this in the mental and soul structure embraces this all import divine knowledge.
"... This purpose of the Pyramid is as stated and the person no one will be entombed therein. There will be nothing about it that partakes of self or vanity and no one's name will appear on the outside of it. The only inscription will be what appears on the metal plates.
In short, there are thousands more from the 19th century. You may need to find their accounts in books; you won't find much on Google. One thing is certain, they do not resemble our politicians today.
As a US citizen, it is remarkably easy to travel around the world. I suggest trying. World travel is a great enlightened - you see exactly how fucked-up the rest of the world is. In addition lots and lots of Americans can't stand living anywhere but America. The food is all wrong, the climate is uncomfortable, the locals constantly scheme and cheat foreigners, I could go on and on.
I thought you said it was remarkably easy?
According to my French friends (I've lived out of America for 10 years now BTW) the France of today is a shadow of what it once was.
I can understand your French friends; these aren't the days of 19th century France before the wars. France never seemed to fully recover from them.
If you don't like America, I suggest getting the fuck out and stop complaining. I think you will very quickly find that you hate it. Most Americans do. If not, then welcome to the tiny community of Americans who live abroad and love it.
If you've traveled extensively, are there cultures you'd recommend? And in which countries/regions are you able to obtain long-term visas? What are your thoughts? I hear good things about Berlin and Tokyo.
Specialist, indeed. They will need 3 PMs, 2 lawyers, and a 100 page report detailing the requirements and methodologies of implementing a button.
Presenting as proof, any particular definition of 'currency' or 'money' when the question is what constitutes an apt definition of 'currency' (or 'money'), is begging the question. In fact both these terms prove so difficult that even someone like Allan Greenspan can famously admit that he does not know what money is. (Which is actually wisdom notwithstanding the lampooning he received). And observers such as Steve Forbes can declare that Whatever [Bitcoin] Is, It's Not Money! (Not sure I find his reasoning any more convincing than the current judge's)
And one could equally quote the classical money theorist Georg Friedrich Knapp's quip to the effect that "money is whatever is accepted at government pay offices" to argue the bitcoin is not money. Though perhaps it's safer to say that legal tender is what can be used to a) dispose of tax liability (or fines) and b) to coerce a creditor to settle a debt. Whether money is or is not something other than legal tender is an open question.
Given the highly difficult and contentious nature of 'money' and/or 'currency,' I have to agree with OP that this judge's determination, based largely on the idea bitcoin can be exchanged for conventional currencies, is somewhat lacking. I say this as a lawyer and someone with an interest in money theory. Here is how superficially the magistrate judge disposes of this thorny question:
First, the Court must determine whether the BTCST investments constitute an investment of money. It is clear that Bitcoin can be used as money. It can be used to purchase goods or services, and as Shavers stated, used to pay for individual living expenses. The only limitation of Bitcoin is that it is limited to those places that accept it as currency. However, it can also be exchanged for conventional currencies, such as the U.S. dollar, Euro, Yen, and Yuan. Therefore, Bitcoin is a currency or form of money, and investors wishing to invest in BTCST provided an investment of money.
One hopes a superior court would provide a more considered evaluation as to what constitutes 'money' for the purposes of these Acts.
Thanks for the info.
It should be obvious that there are a lot of reasons besides poverty to prefer other smart phones over Apple phones.
I wasn't suggesting as such. Only whether the majority could *afford* an iPhone. I saw documentaries and reports showing Chinese factory workers who had never even seen their end product nor could they ever dream of owning one.
Do you know what are the price points for smart phones in China?
For large values of one, one equals two, for small values of two.
