Quote from: NeuroticFish on June 23, 2022, 03:50:09 PM

Quote from: Zlantann on June 23, 2022, 12:01:42 PM

most European nation are reverting to using coal for power generation. He retreated that instead of investments in gas infrastructure, renewables or other alternatives, the extension of coal mining is considered the quickest and most viable solution for these European countries. We all understand that these EU nations need alternative source of power but the truth is that they are destroying the environment they claim to love dearly.

It's just one more example of bad and rushed politics. If, instead of basically forcing everybody use mostly Russian gas for everything (with thier hasty green deal), they would have been investing first into infrastructure (from transporting gas from multiple sources to good methods for storing energy/electricity obtained from regenerable sources) we would not be in this situation (maybe even the war would have been avoided)

Of course, now they turn back to coal and atomic energy because they don't have much of a choice.
And of course, they will point fingers to the war, to Bitcoin and so on, not their lack of vision.

But I don't think it's the fault of politicians. The politicians' only goal is to be elected. They are not some smart professionals. When the world wakes up and get (probably not in my lifetime) to put in charge smart people who know what to do instead of people from this or that circle of influence, they would do better. I fear that it may be too late though.

All valid points, but in regards to "it's not the fault of politicians", from what I hear a lot of voters are quite shocked because they would have expected quite the opposite from the people they put in charge in the past. They are going rogue in the EU right now. Not only do they crack down on Bitcoin through their TFR regulations for non-custodial wallets, but also are they going nuts with their approach to personal data. The law is almost for certain to soon come into effect that authorities can read any and all chats you have on your phone or any other device no matter whether there is end-to-end encryption or not. People are supposed to get installed a trojan on their phones either through ISPs/MSPs in order to make it possible for them to really see everything. They justify it with their fight against child pornography. Sure, the intent to fight child pornography is absolutely honorable and has all my support, but the technology is just not ready. They want to use AI and CEOs of data analytics companies already admitted the effective hit rate is still far far far from 100%. So if you send a picture of a little kid that's part of your family to your wife, the kid's grandma or whatever, your name might immediately be broadcasted to a list for potential criminals. In a worst case scenario the police shows up at your door and it turns out you haven't done anything wrong. Cool, but all the neighbors know the police showed up. Imagine these things happen in an environment where everyone knows everyone else, very small towns / villages.

It's crazy...

The non-custodial wallet regulation is also insane. If I understand that correctly, you need to go through KYC with a registered company for every single wallet you hold the keys to. Holy Christ. I guess you know how many wallets the old guys from this forum often have? Cheesy

I wonder whether these regulations actually foster tax evasion rather than prevent it. It is like a cat and mouse game. If regulation raises the bar for people to strike a balance between being honest and being private, isn't the question (of course varies from individual to individual): What does someone value more? If it is honesty, the person gives up privacy. But, also understandably, if it is privacy, the person is willing to give up honesty (or feels even forced to do so). And I must say that this choice between honesty and privacy isn't a trivial one. There are people who have good reasons to stay private, and that doesn't imply they are dishonest just because there is a need for staying private. Political activists, journalists, many others.