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bullshit

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I appreciate the MEH interview and all the comments below on Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. I have not understood how they work and have felt in the dark about them. It's illuminating to learn that extremist groups are being funded with these currencies. Also disturbing to me is that the radical right is so adept at using these cryptocurrencies.

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"Follow the money." has long been the heuristic used by those who endeavor to uncover the machinations of evildoers and then use the resulting knowledge to hold them to account. Criminals, terrorists and shady business persons and politicians have seized upon cryptocurrency as an opportunity to immunize themselves from the effects of this kind of monetary surveillance. The anonymity of current cryptocurrency is the nexus of the problem Hayden describes. So the question becomes: If those "bits" could be followed by any and all, would cryptocurrency have any redeeming value to anyone?

If yes, should government get involved either to de-anonymize cryptocurrency or supplant it as state supported lotteries have done to the numbers racket?

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I've read so much of Dave Troy's work and the history of Libertarian thinking/beliefs going back to The New Deal. My takeaway is that the crypto bros (Bannon, The Council for National Policy, etc) are working hard to convince the general public to move in this direction. I don't understand all of it, but its impact on the environment will accelerate the climate crisis rapidly and with crypto there's nothing to put your hands on. It sounds like play money being used in criminal ways. I'm perpetually bombarded with advertising (using famous faces, CNBC, MarketWatch) to jump into the crypto market. The depth of Troy's work and messaging leaves me terrified.

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P.S. Susan I'm a big Canes fan!

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Central banks hold gold and I have not heard of any holding crypto. There is a reason. The dollar is a fiat currency, as are the rest of the world's currencies and that makes crypto even more risky, as it is below fiat in safety.

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There are a few banks that will handle it. 65% won’t go near it. A few countries are accepting it, third world nations and authoritarian regimes. The new Mayor of NYC is taking 3 pay checks in Bit. He wants NYC to become the Bitcoin trading Capital. Point is, Bitcoin is the untraceable King in the underworld right now. Get an offshore account, deposit 100,000, buy some Bitcoin. Go on the Darkweb, hire a hitman, buy some drugs, or if you’re Epstein, women. Currency of choice for the underground. Frank Lowney (see above), makes an excellent point. If Bitcoin becomes legal, would there be a market. (Paraphrased) I personally think so. It will become legal tender, easier to handle then what we have now. “A world Currency” if you will. And only those in the club can use it. The rest, won’t be able to buy or sell. Then what ? Then the underground will come up with a new “currency” for the Dark Web Clients.

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A system of currency, worldwide, that can be totally controlled. Folks finances and lives at the whim of the Wizard who makes the rules. Diamonds, are a freedom fighters best friend.

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👏👏👏👏👏👏

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With all due respect, I found this interview a bit too brief. I understand that one cannot expect an in-depth explanation of bit-coin, but it would have been helpful if Michael Hayden had given one simple example of how donors get money to these rightwing groups, following it from normal currency to bitcoin to extremist group to use of bitcoin for practical action on the ground. This is an area that is very opaque to me.

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Three helpful sources, John. Lucidite Heidi Cuda’s 1st episode of RADICALIZED devoted to cryptocurrency uses by right-wing extremists; Mother Jones Daily news round-up today (1/19/22) has granular details on Steve Bannon’s new cryptocurrency … probably another scam like his “build the wall” flim-flam; in this Hayden interview, Ruth provides link to a previous Hayden article that includes some discussion on crypto

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Thanks for the lead, Randolph.

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The neo-Nazi movement has strong roots in Belgium, Austria, Ukraine (especially Odessa), and the US. As Hayden & Ruth said, it’s a money laundering system. I’ll tell you how to see it, but won’t advise it. Pick an alias and a burner internet connection. Make sure to use a VPN. Use TOR and Duck. Get onto the dark web. Even 4 or 8 Chan will do. Start following the trail. Don’t say much. They’ll spot you in a heartbeat. We live in an International Mafia connected world. The neo-Nazis are the Brownshirts. Bellingcat is a good legal guide. If you go dark, be careful. It’s not nice. Bitcoin is the currency.

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Not my area of expertise. But thanks for the information.

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Same. Thanks.

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I thought this as well. I do not understand bitcoin at all let alone how it is being used to fund these groups and individuals. (Or fund anything really.) I enjoyed the interview though. Thank you.

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I did as well. And Cavnar-Johnson has a great link just below.

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Well, the January 6 Committee has got you covered. At almost the same time that this article was published, the committee published their subpoena to Nick Fuentes and included this link that explains one such transaction: https://blog.chainalysis.com/reports/capitol-riot-bitcoin-donation-alt-right-domestic-extremism/

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Thanks for the link.

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Ditto. Thanks.

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Loved the interview. I never realized before but am not surprised to learn just how dependent these extremest groups are on using crypto currencies to fund their operations. Also, I like MEH's self care, I like sports too particularly the Carolina Hurricanes and MN Wild. You've got to have your escapes and streaming services like HBO and Netflix help too.

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Heidi Cuda devoted her first RADICALIZED podcast to the many cryptocurrency / extremists connections. My favorite escapes are wandering thru the local hardware stores … and discovering a “I’ve never done that before, gotta get these new tools” home improvement project to do … and saying yes to anyone who asks, “wanna take a day-trip to the Oregon coast?”

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While the depth of dark money funding extremism is alarming, the existence of these networks are unsurprising. What I struggle with on a daily basis is why so many millions of people are so amenable to messages of hatred, bigotry, and violence. Where is th ef personal agency? Where is the desire for a safer, healthier world for their children? I understand that a portion are grifters or motivated by tax cuts, and a portion are motivated by a self-importance fostered by a delusion of being part of a grand revolution, but that leaves millions who don't obviously fall into either bucket. What am I missing?

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The world of Epstein. The world of human scum. It’s real.

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Mainstream Christian belief in “the Devil” is the gateway drug to accepting an inherently, always unsafe world, accepting the need for Strongmen-saviors, accepting belief in the inherent evil of non-Christians like Muslims, accepting the need to justify any means to vanquish those evil ones, accepting that there is no way to make this inherently and always evil world a better place (so the best you can do is teach your kids to fight back better, better guns, etc) I’ve been recovering from that really dark, but really common view of the world that millions in the US have, for decades. Thank whatever, for Carl Sagan and Sam Harris!! Not the story for all the deluded right-wing extremists, hw .… but the story for some.

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Part of what you describe is social Darwinism, which is rampant in fascist societies and has seen a rise here since Trump. Parts of society are indentified as unworthy and punished/scapegoated. It is the epitome of division.

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