Are you still stealing people's CPU cycles without their knowledge?

No.

Listening to it right now. Enjoying it so far.

So because, with study and care, I have the ability to secure my own property to a degree you deem safe, I am no longer allowed to decide for myself that I would like to spend my life on things besides security for a small fee?

I really don't see what the problem is here - If you don't like the concept, than don't use it.  Educate people to your way of thinking, but don't be surprised when not everyone feels like you.

haha whoooa boy thats quite a podcast. Apparently bitcoins will destroy centralized government and create world anarchy... but luckily we will have a nice stable technology boom since patent laws were the only thing holding us back, everyone wins! yay future!

I think this is actually the only real purpose for a bitcoin bank I can think of so far... Is if they charged you a monthly 'insurance' fee to guarantee like 80% of your coins incase of a hack or something. You are right, they couldnt do much more than you would on your own to secure it... but remember not everyone is an IT admin. So this is a definitely a service that would be used if many normal people were using the system.

Of course with this assurance they are selling you would hope they would be spreading out all those coins over many servers etc so if one was hacked they could cover the losses from profits... and if not, well then steal everything thats left and run for mexico.

Your title strikes out to me.

Good talk and good ideas, a pleasure to listen to.

now about Greece:

Who is going to do this? Who would care to institute a real world currency (be it Bitcoin-backed or gold-backed or whatever) in our country?

Protesters that demand jobs, social benefits and early retirement in an economy that cannot be competitive any more because we just cannot devalue our currency?

Enterpreneurs that demand liquidity (banks have frozen almost all credit lines) for people to be able to borrow and spend again like before?

Politicians that want to save their ass as number 1 priority (and there is no number 2 priority in fact)?

Or bankers that are afraid, not of the shareholders' losses (I don't think they give a shit in fact), but that if they take the long winding road and bear the restructuring costs, next quarters' result will not look good and they stand to lose their high paying jobs, their houses, their cars, their stock options value and their mistresses ?

None of the above would be willing to give up or compromise. Not even for a day as it seems. Though any reasonable person with basic economic knowledge would see that if everybody gives up for a few years on their wish to retain their fiat money benefits, this would open up actual possibilities for recovery and progress.

The above also goes to say that we have been eroded (from the inside) and the cry for freedom and fairness does not necessarily come from a clean inside source, but rather from an already distorted view of reality.

I don't think we're desperate enough for this yet. Having said that, I personally will give it a try at least, as best as I can. Not much you might say, but at least what I can personally guarantee.

All the best.

Re: Greece:

Perhaps I'm not understanding you, Atom, but it sounds like you're under the impression the folk rioting are doing so...  as some sort of anti-government movement?

I would submit that it looks to me like the folks in the street are not into stable currency and minarchy, but instead are the recipients of entitlements losing their shit over a government that can no longer hand it out.

No problem at all. I just don't see a need for it or enough of a demand to make it viable. Instead of study and care concerning procedures, you substitute study and care to ensure the bank is competent and trustworthy. That doesn't save you much effort and time if any. 

I could be wrong. As always, the market has the last word.

The Greeks generally are a bunch of spoiled socialists with an unearned sense of entitlement, BUT they are correct that this bail-out has nothing to do with "saving" them. It's all about saving the banks that foolishly lent the Greek government money. The greek government, like most governments everywhere, shelled out tons of money to buy the support of various voting blocks and interest groups. Now that they are running out of stolen money to bribe the populace with, the people are turning on them. There are no good guys.

The banks lent money to untrustworthy borrowers
the government made promises they couldn't keep
the people believed the promises and spent the hand-outs.

Greece should default NOW. If they delay, the default will only be bigger when it happens.