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Bitcoin... where adoption by pariah states (this article) and criminals (elsewhere) is presented as good news

oraphalous 5y ago
Pariah state... Oh you mean because it's the one that had a foreign power overthrow its democratically elected leader, replacing them with a despot... ...right yeah I getcha... their desire to bypass the financial system put in place by that very same foreign power must have absolutely no moral standing whatsover, especially since their democracy was ruined.
- sashimi-houdini 5y ago
  'Extended meaning "social outcast" is attested by 1819.' ... I think we can agree that Iran fits that description, no matter your take on the events of 1979 and thereafter
- bafumio 5y ago
  Or he references stuff like 'you get hanged on a carcrain for certain things'
- martin8412 5y ago
  Many, if not most, of threats to the Western countries are directly or indirectly consequences of US foreign policy.
Emma_Goldman 5y ago
I don't think labelling Iran a 'pariah state' is helpful. It was the United States that unilaterally withdrew from the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal, that tacitly accepts Israel's repeated assassination of Iranian scientists, and that launched a catastrophic invasion of its neighbour on a lie. Not to mention, during the Cold War, that it assisted Saddam's war of aggression against Iran, shot down an Irania commercial airliner, and overthrew Iran's democratically elected government and imposed a pliant autocratic in its stead. Which isn't to say this absolves Iran of its oppression of internal opposition or funding of terrorists. But there is no Manichean opposition, and the United States' belligerence has tended to strengthen the conservative hardliners inside of Iran, at the expense of those who want to normalise relations and shift the balance of power in the country's theocratic-democratic structure towards the latter.
- ur-whale 5y ago
  Oh, come on, y'all know there are just bad guys and good guys, right? I mean that's what TV tells you every day of the week. And when it's not enough, politicians at the highest level do the same thing. How dare you make things complicated! /s
- roenxi 5y ago
  There is a technical argument for it. Iran has been savagely bullied by the States for many years and the rest of the world is largely playing along because ... well better Iran than them. So in that sense, Iran is a pariah. But it is grossly unfair, anyone who enthusiastically supports as-implemented US Middle Eastern policy is worse than irredeemable. If Bitcoin pushes back against that policy then I'll shelve what doubts I have about crypto because it would be helping in one of the world's real problems.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- meepmorp 5y ago
  Pariah means outcast, which is an accurate description of Iran's current situation in global affairs. edit: werd
- auiya 5y ago
  The Iran of today is a pariah state. The leader of the Iranian Basij volunteer force, made the declaration that “Wiping Israel off the map is not up for negotiation.” and this has become the de facto policy of its leadership. The central question here is why does Iran need nuclear arms capability at all? If they backed off on their aggressiveness, who would be a threat to them? Iraq was in the 80s, but now certainly not the Israelis or Arabs. Iran has massive hydrocarbon resources to finance any level of wealth desired. They don’t need economic aid, but they choose to behave as a pariah in their neighborhood, and are sanctioned by most of the rest of the world. So yes calling them a 'pariah state' is 100% absolutely accurate and helpful because I think it’s just a matter of time before their relatively young population wakes up realizes it and throws the bums out. As their maniacal leadership keeps squirming to get around the sanctions; they keep screwing their population, which is highly educated, and realize they are suffering for the sins of the theocratic leadership. I really think the best outcome for this is an internal uprising, before the Israelis - and their new Arab friends - decide to take care of the problem.
trident5000 5y ago
The internet...where adoption by pariah states and criminals is presented as good news. Lets shut it down.
- sashimi-houdini 5y ago
  I don't think anyone disagrees that pariah states and criminals use the internet, but I don't see that touted as a good thing particularly often either... presumably because there are actual use cases for using the internet outside of these 2, and hence the use by pariah states and criminals is seen as an acceptable drawback of the technology.
jbverschoor 5y ago
Ah the 50 states and the government you mean? ;-)
DSingularity 5y ago
It’s funny how quick countries are labeled pariah states. Seems like they are always countries which the US and/or Israel disagree with. In the end it’s all propaganda, so I wonder why would individuals on the internet partake?
- shill4humanity 5y ago
  Team sports? Polarizing election cycles? Ignorance is a helluva drug.
bouncycastle 5y ago
Criminals don't like bitcoin, because it's money that they cannot counterfeit.
vmception 5y ago
The article just presents it as news. Not every article or comment needs a long winded disclaimer on how they feel about a topic just so they don't get cancelled. I know thats a foreign concept to some people.

Pariah state... Oh you mean because it's the one that had a foreign power overthrow its democratically elected leader, replacing them with a despot... ...right yeah I getcha... their desire to bypass the financial system put in place by that very same foreign power must have absolutely no moral standing whatsover, especially since their democracy was ruined.

sashimi-houdini 5y ago
'Extended meaning "social outcast" is attested by 1819.' ... I think we can agree that Iran fits that description, no matter your take on the events of 1979 and thereafter
bafumio 5y ago
Or he references stuff like 'you get hanged on a carcrain for certain things'
martin8412 5y ago
Many, if not most, of threats to the Western countries are directly or indirectly consequences of US foreign policy.

Emma_Goldman 5y ago

I don't think labelling Iran a 'pariah state' is helpful. It was the United States that unilaterally withdrew from the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal, that tacitly accepts Israel's repeated assassination of Iranian scientists, and that launched a catastrophic invasion of its neighbour on a lie. Not to mention, during the Cold War, that it assisted Saddam's war of aggression against Iran, shot down an Irania commercial airliner, and overthrew Iran's democratically elected government and imposed a pliant autocratic in its stead. Which isn't to say this absolves Iran of its oppression of internal opposition or funding of terrorists. But there is no Manichean opposition, and the United States' belligerence has tended to strengthen the conservative hardliners inside of Iran, at the expense of those who want to normalise relations and shift the balance of power in the country's theocratic-democratic structure towards the latter.

ur-whale 5y ago
Oh, come on, y'all know there are just bad guys and good guys, right? I mean that's what TV tells you every day of the week. And when it's not enough, politicians at the highest level do the same thing. How dare you make things complicated! /s
roenxi 5y ago
There is a technical argument for it. Iran has been savagely bullied by the States for many years and the rest of the world is largely playing along because ... well better Iran than them. So in that sense, Iran is a pariah. But it is grossly unfair, anyone who enthusiastically supports as-implemented US Middle Eastern policy is worse than irredeemable. If Bitcoin pushes back against that policy then I'll shelve what doubts I have about crypto because it would be helping in one of the world's real problems.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
meepmorp 5y ago
Pariah means outcast, which is an accurate description of Iran's current situation in global affairs. edit: werd
auiya 5y ago
The Iran of today is a pariah state. The leader of the Iranian Basij volunteer force, made the declaration that “Wiping Israel off the map is not up for negotiation.” and this has become the de facto policy of its leadership. The central question here is why does Iran need nuclear arms capability at all? If they backed off on their aggressiveness, who would be a threat to them? Iraq was in the 80s, but now certainly not the Israelis or Arabs. Iran has massive hydrocarbon resources to finance any level of wealth desired. They don’t need economic aid, but they choose to behave as a pariah in their neighborhood, and are sanctioned by most of the rest of the world. So yes calling them a 'pariah state' is 100% absolutely accurate and helpful because I think it’s just a matter of time before their relatively young population wakes up realizes it and throws the bums out. As their maniacal leadership keeps squirming to get around the sanctions; they keep screwing their population, which is highly educated, and realize they are suffering for the sins of the theocratic leadership. I really think the best outcome for this is an internal uprising, before the Israelis - and their new Arab friends - decide to take care of the problem.

trident5000 5y ago

The internet...where adoption by pariah states and criminals is presented as good news. Lets shut it down.

sashimi-houdini 5y ago
I don't think anyone disagrees that pariah states and criminals use the internet, but I don't see that touted as a good thing particularly often either... presumably because there are actual use cases for using the internet outside of these 2, and hence the use by pariah states and criminals is seen as an acceptable drawback of the technology.

jbverschoor 5y ago

Ah the 50 states and the government you mean? ;-)

DSingularity 5y ago

It’s funny how quick countries are labeled pariah states. Seems like they are always countries which the US and/or Israel disagree with. In the end it’s all propaganda, so I wonder why would individuals on the internet partake?

shill4humanity 5y ago
Team sports? Polarizing election cycles? Ignorance is a helluva drug.

bouncycastle 5y ago

Criminals don't like bitcoin, because it's money that they cannot counterfeit.

vmception 5y ago

The article just presents it as news. Not every article or comment needs a long winded disclaimer on how they feel about a topic just so they don't get cancelled. I know thats a foreign concept to some people.