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wow I am really surprised this was triggered by cryptocurrency. this is terribly authoritarian and disappointing. if you don't mind me asking are you a US citiz

wow I am really surprised this was triggered by cryptocurrency. this is terribly authoritarian and disappointing. if you don't mind me asking are you a US citizen? if so contact your local congressperson and file a complaint with the DEA office. has your friend ever had anything similar happen traveling by air?

Kalium 8y ago
> wow I am really surprised this was triggered by cryptocurrency. this is terribly authoritarian and disappointing. It is authoritarian and disappointing, but to me unsurprising. The cryptocurrency world associates pretty hard with drug trafficking. Coupling that with someone choosing a train over what might be an easier flight could be read as avoiding TSA. The low security of Amtrak likely makes it a common smuggling route.
- jMyles 8y ago
  I surmise that it has less to do with trafficking and more to do with simply whom they think will have money to steal. Perhaps that's the cynic in me talking, but to read the available coverage of this phenomenon, it certainly seems to be more about highway robbery than anything to do with drugs or weapons.
- solotronics 8y ago
  I would be surprised if even 0.1% of drug trafficking is done with cryptocurrency. The big banks have been caught red handed doing industrial scale money laundering for cartels and producers.
  - Kalium 8y ago
    I would be very similarly surprised! And indeed, big banks have been and are very guilty of aiding and abetting. Yet, I would also be very surprised if the percent of actual cryptocurrency usage that is legitimate even begins to rival that of typical currencies. And I may have missed the connection, but I fear I do not see how the illegal behavior of several large banks bears on the use of cryptocurrencies in narcotic markets.
jMyles 8y ago
I need to do that. Life hasn't slowed down long enough to get the legal / political stuff figured out. No, neither of us have had problems traveling by air (and we do it fairly frequently).

Kalium 8y ago

> wow I am really surprised this was triggered by cryptocurrency. this is terribly authoritarian and disappointing. It is authoritarian and disappointing, but to me unsurprising. The cryptocurrency world associates pretty hard with drug trafficking. Coupling that with someone choosing a train over what might be an easier flight could be read as avoiding TSA. The low security of Amtrak likely makes it a common smuggling route.

jMyles 8y ago
I surmise that it has less to do with trafficking and more to do with simply whom they think will have money to steal. Perhaps that's the cynic in me talking, but to read the available coverage of this phenomenon, it certainly seems to be more about highway robbery than anything to do with drugs or weapons.
solotronics 8y ago
I would be surprised if even 0.1% of drug trafficking is done with cryptocurrency. The big banks have been caught red handed doing industrial scale money laundering for cartels and producers.
- Kalium 8y ago
  I would be very similarly surprised! And indeed, big banks have been and are very guilty of aiding and abetting. Yet, I would also be very surprised if the percent of actual cryptocurrency usage that is legitimate even begins to rival that of typical currencies. And I may have missed the connection, but I fear I do not see how the illegal behavior of several large banks bears on the use of cryptocurrencies in narcotic markets.

jMyles 8y ago

I need to do that. Life hasn't slowed down long enough to get the legal / political stuff figured out. No, neither of us have had problems traveling by air (and we do it fairly frequently).