Bitcoin "Utopia" - Project Sol - Under Construction In Puerto Rico By Probable Weirdos
The more I read about this story, the more my mind is blown.
The reason for that is the big name behind this "vision" for a utopian rebuild of Puerto Rico, post Irma.
That name is Brock Pierce.
Brock Pierce has an (allegedly) checkered past. He was a child actor, notably appearing in the movie "The Mighty Ducks". By 18, he had moved into an executive VP role at newly founded Digital Entertainment Network. Unfortunately for just about everyone, Digital Entertainment Network and Piece would later find themselves at the center of the documentary "An Open Secret", chronicling the state of child sex rings in Hollywood.
It's also a really...unpleasant...coincidence that the original name for the project - "Puertopia" - had to be changed when the group discovered it translated to "boy paradise."
Ultimately, Pierce avoided jail, moved/fled (depending on who you ask) to Spain, and his business partner settled with the primary alleger out of court for a mere $21,600.
Pierce then went on to found IGE, also known as Internet Gaming Entertainment. For me, this where the story really gets interesting.
IGE is a company I have personally been connected to, primarily as a competitor. As I have mentioned previously on this blog, I experienced rather substantial success in scripting for profit during the 90's and 2000s. Perhaps even more important, was the ability to multiple capital (in this case, in game) once accrued, which I was even better at. The bottom line was that as early as 1995, I was sitting on amounts of in-game currency in some popular online games with relatively-easily-gamed economies with fiat values upwards of 5 digits.
It was time to cash out. I used Ebay, when Ebay was rather new. It was a gold mine, literally and figuratively. Because there was nobody really selling digital items yet, supply was minimal and prices were through the roof. Prices have fallen 99.9% or more since, but for a time it was hugely profitable and inevitable that larger companies would move in.
Brock Pierce was that company. IGE moved in and rendered Ebay obsolete. Rather than being a few small, independent sellers who acquired their own merchandise, IGE took a reseller approach. They sourced the cheapest labor in the world with internet access, which at the time was mostly Chinese, and they knocked the margins down so low that one couldn't compete unless you were willing to "work" for 25 cents an hour.
After dominating the market in games relevant at the time (Ultima Online, Everquest,) IGE ramped up hard when genre-defining smash-hit World of Warcraft hit. Their website was perpetually stocked with loads of product (in game items and currency, farmed up at 10-15 cents an hour), right up until Blizzard/Activision rejected their offers of partnership and shut them down nearly overnight with an enormous ban of company owned accounts, which they had apparently been tracking in secret.
The story only gets weirder. Steve Bannon (recently relevant in the culture again as a Donald Trump advisor) was brought in as advisor to attempt to legitimize IGE during the downfall period, and managed to secure a $60 million (!!) investment from Goldman Sachs and partners not long before Brock Pierce left the company, leaving Bannon to preside as CEO during the remainder of the business' "failure period".
Fast forward to crypto relevance. Pierce became an early investor in Bitcoin, leading to his eventual appointment as the Chairman of the Board of the Bitcoin foundation. This immediately led to the resignation of 10 key members and this tweet:
So, now Pierce claims to be "helping the Puerto Rican people", hoping that the hurricane has provided a point to "start from scratch with." This is likely doublespeak for hot money looking for a low/no-regulation environment to build a tax haven and engender a minor, geographically limited return to Serfdom. Puerto Rico is already known as a tax haven for foreign nationals, with it being one of the few territories that can avoid the double-taxation clause for US-nationals working out of the country.
I wouldn't bet my Bitcoin on the generous motives of this particular project, and neither should you.
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Sources: Google, Wired, Washington Post, SaveHaven.com
Copyright: Zero Hedge, Washington Post
Block.one should have never used Brock as a public speaker for EOS. He had no role in the management team and no role in the development team. Maybe I'm wrong, but as far as I know he is just an investor.
I commented on a post a couple of months ago that he had skeletons in his closet and his past might one day come back to bite him in the ass.
It's a bit sad how many people kiss his ass and comment how amazing everything he does is. Seems like we don't research anything anymore. The past doesn't exist. We take everything at face value, no critical thinking and we are always surprised when we find out we have been lied and duped.
I wouldn't be surprised if we find out a couple of years from now that this Puerto Rico project of Brock's was used to launder some money or some shenanigans like that.
I totally forgot about the connection with EOS. Thank you for this valuable bit of memory recall.
I note with particular interest that Pierce has just left that organization also. Let's hope EOS doesn't follow the footsteps of other outfits that shed his influence, like DEN and IGE.
Good post
Wow! Thanks for enlightening me with your topnotch information! :D :D :D
may be we the followers of Bitcoin are brainwashed that it is our new religion.
Any clue why bitcoin even exists?
Right?! Why does bitcoin exist? I have wondered that many times myself. It is very, very, VERY rare for someone to just, you know, invent some revolutionary new way (like the change the world way) of doing money.
No big deal.
Founders of Bitcoin unknown. Total secret.
WTF? I personally think the bitcoin thing is super shady. The ONE thing I absolutely love about what bitcoin brought was the blockchain but when we still don't know who Satoshi is, then that's where you lose me. Completely.
How in the hell does someone or some group create a blockchain which is ALL about transparency and then ghost itself?
That's why I left bitcoin and started looking at other cryptos. Unless/ until it is revealed who Satoshi is, then I am out.
Well, at least this is a sign that the comments are working again.
"Any clue why bitcoin even exists?"
If this is a serious question, then a serious answer is because banks/government suck.
Bitcoin is only worth what it is worth to others.
If you can buy laptops with bitcoin, cool, bitcoin has a value.
But don't sit on one side calling banks greedy corporations, and then on the other quote some rich asshole who bought a tone of bitcoin and states that the currency is awesome.
If people take bitcoin more seriously, the value he invested into it increases.
"other quote some rich asshole who bought a tone of bitcoin and states that the currency is awesome."
If this is aimed at me, it confirms my suspicion you did not read the article.
Or the rest of my blog, for that matter.
lol... no not at all... i dint evenknow u brother... i was just goin thruthe blog... cuttthe crap... i was just curious about it ... thats y...
fairies and the bank collapse its not a religion
Because money hasn't had a major technological advance since the invention of paper money a thousand years ago in China.
I am pretty sure you misspelled WEIRDOS ....LOL
Fair point. Blockchain was a mess when I tried to post this earlier, I had several edits not get carried over from my draft.
Thanks.
@teakwood
Can you confirm the title change I noted in a comment above? This article was NOT titled about Aragon when it was published, and it DID have the word "weirdoes/weirdos" in it, did it not?
Steemit changed the title of my article without my permission to an article I haven't even written yet, which exists only in a draft on Busy.org:
Steemit/Busy/Blockchain edited the name of this article without permission:
Somehow this article's title was changed without my permission or initiation to the name of an article I haven't even written yet, sitting in a drafts folder. This occurred after the terrible performance on 3/16 (note the 0 comments after 1 hour - almost unheard of, only happened due to it being almost impossible to submit a comment).
nice post
Great job man.... you are a genius!!!! its like... you know the game in and out and like, no one even suspects that you found the loophole... its amazing bro!!!! omg!!! can I be your pupil???
Upvoted.
@lexiconical - appreciate your great post and information, spotlighting Brock Pierce & other nefarious folks involved in the Child-sex abuse rings of Hollywood/Entertainment cabal. And of course some very Bad Apples in DC doing the very same thing- google the Wikileaks confirmed emails from John Podesta, that detail references to Pizza (law enforcement has reference these code words being euphemisms for kids) and strange demonic-rituals known as "spirit cooking".
Corey Feldman has spoken out about this abuse for years and blames this abuse on fellow actor and friend Cory Haim's suicide a few years ago (both were in Lost Boys together & other movies). This scandal has still not really seen the light of day- because I know of no big producer or other power players that have been prosecuted for this abuse. I am very upset that this abuse seems to continue to go on with no accountability from anyone. The whole abuse focus has been turned into the "Me Too" movement, while there has been serious abuse uncovered here too with Harvey Weinstein & others against largely adult actors; the child endangerment and sex-abuse from Hollywood players is still there & nothing is being done about it.
Some high level folks need to go to jail over this, but sadly I am not sure this will happen- due to the power brokers in Hollywood burying this story.
Thanks for bringing this important topic up; I will definitely check out this movie when it comes out to theaters on on video. Upvoted!!
I've seen the video interview of Cory.
There's a lot more of this going on than people want to admit, while as you noted, the victim parade marches on to the tune of "me too".
after all read and I don't bet. Thanks. 👍
Possibly the best write up of the Brock Pierce saga is covered here on Buzzfeed.
You have summarised much of it however there are a few errors like Brock settled with the accuser not his business partner. This immediately brought up the question who pays to settle a case for 20k+ when there is no legitimacy to the claim? Somebody well off and just wanting it to go away is a slim possibility.
My feeling is there is too much smoke for there not to be a fire!
As to EOS I'm a big believer in the team behind it and feel their involvment with Brock was a poor decision. It was not a decision that will stop EOS though just hurts their public relations efforts A LOT.
Personally I take one look at Brock Pierce and I think weasel. There is something not right there.