This not only hurts; it is sad.  I had an account at BTC-e for over four years and never had a problem with them.  They were fast, efficient, accurate and gave excellent customer service.  I have over five BTC, some 40 ETH and some 60 LTC at stake.  That's roughly $25,000 USD.  As a retiree living abroad on a fixed income, this is a devastating blow to me.  But here's a thought: suppose I had an account at, say, BofA, and a senior executive was indicted for money laundering.  Do you think that the US DOJ would freeze all accounts because of this ?  Of course not.  There would be riots in the streets, and people hung from lamp posts.  But the US DOJ thinks it can get away with this when dealing with a little foreign guy who can't fight back.  Make no mistake.  This is a declaration of war by the US gov't on cryptocurrencies.  Governments have been managing money for 4000 years, and they have never failed to grossly mishandle their charge.  We bitcoiners want to take our money back.  And witness their response.

Hey, Nagato ... is volume picking up with the November spike in the BTC price?

Here's one possible solution to ending Social Security: Stop further enrollments immediately. For those folks not yet collecting benefits, pay them back their "contributions" in full, at prevailing interest rates. For those already collecting benefits, continue the payments. They will eventually all die off, and the system will wither away.  How to pay for this? One way would be to stop getting involved in unwinnable wars overseas. Another would be to close some unnecessary federal bureaucracies, such as the DOE and the EPA, just to name two.

You are correct.  The US Founding Fathers realized this also.  They authorized only gold and silver as a currency of the realm, and proclaimed the death penalty for anyone who debased that currency.  That was the first crime to carry the death penalty in the US.

This thread began with a look at the inability of Illinois to pay the pensions of its civil employees.  Read "PLUNDER!: How Public Employee Unions Are Raiding Treasuries, Controlling Our Lives And Bankrupting The Nation" by Steven Greenhut (The Forum Press; Santa Ana, CA,; 2009).  Then you will understand why I have no sympathy for these folks.

But Baby Boomers on Social Security don't deserve anyone's hatred.  They were forced to participate in a Ponzi scheme, and now they want to be paid back what was taken from them.  Social Security is one of FDR's enduring legacies, and it should be ended.  It can be done gracefully; there's no need for anger and animosity.

Maybury's reference to bankruptcies is in respect to the malinvestment caused by government intervention into the economy, malinvestment that will be shaken out as the economy eventually corrects from the outside distortions.

You're right -- it doesn't require me to be Singaporean.  I guess the wording on the page led me to believe this.

I have done this -- i.e., I have opened a bank account in S'pore.  But to deal with FYB in amounts exceeding 1000 SGD you have to get "verified".  The verification process assumes you are a citizen of S'pore, so it fails for me.  So, for now, any transactions I make must be in amounts less than 1000 SGD.  Highly inconvenient, but workable.  S'pore is such a tiny state that one would assume much of their financial dealings are with foreigners, and things like account verification would be automatically tailored to foreigners.  Unfortunately, this appears not to be the case.  At least with respect to FYB.

I admit to a poor choice of words.  I should have said "measured" instead of "attached".  But, so what?  Would it be a bad thing if, during the transition, bitcoin was actually BACKED by gold?  Gold has a very long history, and it is not something that can be easily dismissed.  Bitcoin makes the movement of money convenient; gold gives bitcoin respect (is that the correct word?).  Unlike fiat.

 

Bitcoin wasn't designed to replace gold; it was designed to replace fiat currencies.  There is a marked distinction.  In the long term, bitcoin should stand on its own, but in the short term -- during the transition period -- bitcoin will  be attached to a known value, such as gold, whether you like it or not.  It's the market at work.  Today, it is attached to myriad fiat currencies.  This works, for now.  But it cannot last.

Here'a an article and video about the high-security, high-concept vault in S'pore where Deutsche Bank will store $9 billion of gold:

http://goldsilver.com/video/the-high-security-high-concept-vault-where-deutsche-bank-will-store-9-billion-of-gold/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Gold++Silver+Weekly+6+-+11+-+2013&utm_content=Gold++Silver+Weekly+6+-+11+-+2013+Version+A+CID_61fcd2274e813b7c48d6c34cd0f603f4&utm_source=GoldSilver%20Email%20Marketing&utm_term=read%20more

When the US dollar collapses, perhaps we will see bitcoin backed by gold as the new world currency.

Hey, BTCLuke, that's a great reference at  Historical examples of Anarchy without Chaos

wolverine.ks obviously didn't read it, as it is voluminous.  I read (so far) just the part on Ireland.  Wonderful stuff.

And what role would bitcoin play in this scenario?

Morris and Linda Tannehill give a wonderful treatment of this in "The Market For Liberty", available as an e-book from Laissez Faire Books: lfb.org

The US gov't is in so far over its head that the only way out is default.  Paying back these astronomical debts is impossible.  And if the US gov't defaults, it is game over.  The Fed will lose its exalted status as issuer of the world's reserve currency, and will go back to being just another group of banks.  That's if they are lucky.  If they are unlucky, and weren't quick enough to grab their loot and skedaddle to the Bahamas, they will be hung from lamp posts.  Or worse.

Don't be discouraged.  It is hard for most people to wrap their heads around this thing.

I just opened an account on your exchange and funded it with btc from cold storage.  If btc spikes, I would look to you to handle any sales I might want to do.

I don't live in S'pore or the US; but I do, of course, have a bank account in S'pore.

The DHS may very well drive this business out of the US, to everyone's disadvantage.  S'pore should step up, as should Hong Hong.

Aquaponics sounds like the way to go.  See "Backyard Liberty: The smart, easy way to food independence", available on the Interrnet.

Dr, Arthur B. Robinson, a research chemist at the Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine, recommends a ration of one part soybeans, two parts corn and two parts wheat (by weight).  Plus vitamin C and salt (sodium chloride).  The vitamin C can be omitted if some of the wheat is sprouted.  Stored in a cool, dry place as whole grains, this ration will last for decades and costs very little. This ration is in the FEMA public literature, according to him.

If you do not have a well, check out LifeSaver at  http://www.lifesaversystems.com/

I have one of their jerry cans.

Where to be when TSHTF?  Near a military base.  Preferably a Marine camp.

Africa doesn't have the infrastructure.  Also, many English-speaking expats live in Asia and South America.

10 is hex.  As is ff.