Silk Road forums
Discussion => Newbie discussion => Topic started by: The Advocate on January 24, 2013, 10:51 am
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Hello fellow libertarians,
Once in a great while I discover something that changes my view of life. Silk Road is one of those things. I feel compelled to help this community any way I can, as you have all been so very good to me. I feel blessed to work beside you and fight for the winning team in the war on drugs. As a criminal defense atty, I see the lives that are destroyed as a result of the tyranny of our governments. I see first hand the lives it destroys. The families torn apart. The dreams, shattered. I have lost a very close friend to the war on drugs. Eventually, I came to accept the status quo on some level. This, worries me. I'm worried that I will continue shuffling along in submission to these unlawful policies that regulate our bodies and unjustifiably punish the most sick and desperate of our citizenry. When I found Silk Road I realized that there is still hope for me to change my apathetic attitude. There is hope that we can make the most of our lives. Enjoying them to the fullest. Finding reality in what was a long lost dream of mine when I was younger. My life has been made new because of what Silk Road means. I now realize once again that we own our bodies. And you know what; we now are delivering the death touch to our government's unlawful policies. We are revolutionaries. We have almost won. An idea whose time has come cannot be stopped by any army or any government. Silk Road is more than a website. It's an idea. And we will eventually succeed.
In the spirit of spurring us toward success, I realized something. We all have some talents that can help each of us make this community a safer, more prosperous, and more enjoyable place. For some, being a fair and honest vendor makes for the greatest contribution. For others, generously supporting the cause with their btc. For me, I am able to help us become wiser through legal help. Before I take any questions, I just want to say thank you to DPR and all of those that have risked their lives to making the world a freer and more enjoyable place for us.
The first 3 persons who post here that voted for Ron Paul get 0.01btc sent to their SR wallet. Just PM me @TheAdvocate on the road so I can get your wallet address.
I'll take any criminal law questions, but due to time constraints it may take me a while to respond. I'll try my best to answer any reasonable questions that I feel are of use to us as a community.
Donations are welcome, and every last cent of the proceeds goes toward posting bail for a client who has fallen in the drug war.
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preach on brother, fight the power!
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I really like this idea and we can expand upon it to make SR a protected community. We should have a thread for people that get into trouble from SR. One where people looking at time can ask questions and even ask for help if need be. If we became a family on here it will only make this revolution more of a revolution. When people run into trouble we'll be there with a few coins to help with legal help or bail. We will equip them with the right drugs (mushrooms or lsd) should they get put on probation and make life easier on them through the tragic time. There are enough people on here where even a dollar could help. Also im 100% Ron Paul all the way but i do not need compensation for that as it is expected that either support Mr. Paul or you are a terrorist
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Awesome to have you on the SR! I heard that Ron Paul wasn't on the list during the vote, so I didn't even bother to go vote for any of the other folks. Funny story... one time I was doing a computer repair house call and my clients where very talkative and they told me that Ron Paul was their gynecologist when they used to have kids. That's when I first learned about him years ago, and I've been a fan of him ever since.
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Advocate, your OP sparks a renewal of interest in the feeling of unity/brotherhood/peace. This is the caring nature of the consciousness that we all are. That is the essence of this subculture, and you speak it very well :D
I believe we should assemble an A-Team for Silk Road- where those with a legal background are dedicated to providing legal advise, an IT team for the technical aspects behind the site, etc.. I wonder what DPR would say.
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What a guy! Im sure youl be popular ;) Im here in the uk and iv been toying with the idea of a career change. Believe me I dont underestimate the commitment that becoming an attorney is I just have a small favour to ask. Before I enrol on any courses id like to know a few legal books literally idiots guides to law in general esp criminal law. Real starting with the basic principles etc. What im asking for a proffessor would normally do so I know its a big ask but I feel the right book at this moment in time could have a momentous effect on the direction I know deep down I want to go in
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I like the idea of the community standing together against the evil oppressors. To quote some wise words i once heard "For if you look away you'll be doing what they say and if you look alive you'll be singled out and tried." We should all stand up for each other in any way we can..... for if we don't we will be looking away. "Nothing to see here, move along now."
As to SR being the start of the victory of the war I beg to differ. It is just another defensive measure developed in an arms race that has been going on for the whole war. 99 years of war so far, and in my country (where the war was started and the one who has been most aggressive in spreading it), it looks like the end is still a long way away. I say that because the government has grown so large, using the war as an excuse, that now millions of people make their living as fighters in the war. Many of those people don't want to lose their jobs so will never vote to end the war. I myself was drafted into the war at the ripe age of 13 and have made a living as a fighter ever after. My fondest dream is that someday I will not have to live in constant fear anymore. To have a "honest" job.
If more people though like theadvocate, about helping their fellows the world would be a much better place. I am going to become a fan, and try to follow his example.
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What a guy! Im sure youl be popular ;) Im here in the uk and iv been toying with the idea of a career change. Believe me I dont underestimate the commitment that becoming an attorney is I just have a small favour to ask. Before I enrol on any courses id like to know a few legal books literally idiots guides to law in general esp criminal law. Real starting with the basic principles etc. What im asking for a proffessor would normally do so I know its a big ask but I feel the right book at this moment in time could have a momentous effect on the direction I know deep down I want to go in
You're right about it being a commitment. Most people take the bar two or three times before they pass, if they even pass at all. I tend to believe that a person on the road would have a better shot because there appears to be a slightly higher IQ here when compared to the general populace.
I've always thought that when you take out the Latin, legalese is actually quite basic English and easy to follow. There are too many great books out there at the intermediate level but Foundation Press is the go-to for most (if not all) law schools. But if you're looking for criminal law for "idiots" I think Nolo is great. Nolo offers some great books on how to beat traffic tickets, form a trust, and a variety of do-it-yourself legal books. Nolo is also a great place to start when someone isn't sure exactly which type of law interests them most, which it seems might be the case for you I'm not sure. Very first law book I ever bought myself was Nolo The Criminal Law Handbook. It's a great start, but keep in mind that law school gets expensive and the books themselves are a little ridiculous but you can often time find them used on amazon for a fair price. I hope I helped you some.
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Just wanted to stop in and say the advocate came through on bitcoins a few times for me, and that I love that silkroad is branching out into non-drug fields as well, we're creating a beautiful community here and there's no doubt in my mind that it takes all kinds to tear apart this power structure piece by piece and im glad that TheAdvocate is now apart of that :)
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The first 3 persons who post here that voted for Ron Paul get 0.01btc sent to their SR wallet. Just PM me @TheAdvocate on the road so I can get your wallet address.
I voted for Ron Paul in 1988 when he ran for President on the Libertarian ticket.
It was its own reward though, so you can put the bitcoin to some worthy purpose.
-- Scratch
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So by pursuing my self centered quest to score a bit of cheap weed I'm also contributing to the international revolutionary libertarian cause and the overthrow of illegitimate government policy?
I'm liking SR more every minute.
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My own fancy pants lawyer, well I'll be.
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So by pursuing my self centered quest to score a bit of cheap weed I'm also contributing to the international revolutionary libertarian cause and the overthrow of illegitimate government policy?
I'm liking SR more every minute.
When you put it like that... +1 if I could
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@ The Advocate
Thank you, in advance, for the wealth of information you will provide to inviduals who travel the silk road.
If I have legal questions to pose, your my guy!
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Ok, I've got a question for you.
Let's say I have a clean record - no arrests, no nothing. Let's say I have a couple of degrees and have a full time, respectable job. I'm white. I am a law-abiding citizen in all other respects and always have been. Let's say I start selling some prescription drugs via SR. Some of them I have a prescription for, some of them I don't. I'm very careful. I sell low volume (10 orders per month, less than $1000 in value). I encrypt EVERYthing. I research safe practices, and follow them.
But one day, let's say I slip up and get nabbed as I'm dropping off a couple of orders in a mailbox. How deep is the shit I will be in?
I suspect that with a good lawyer, and because of my safe practices (keeping a relatively clean house with strong encryption of all sensitive data), a conviction of any severity will be hard to obtain. But more importantly, I have a hard time believing LE gives a shit about my volume.
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Ok, I've got a question for you.
Let's say I have a clean record - no arrests, no nothing. Let's say I have a couple of degrees and have a full time, respectable job. I'm white. I am a law-abiding citizen in all other respects and always have been. Let's say I start selling some prescription drugs via SR. Some of them I have a prescription for, some of them I don't. I'm very careful. I sell low volume (10 orders per month, less than $1000 in value). I encrypt EVERYthing. I research safe practices, and follow them.
But one day, let's say I slip up and get nabbed as I'm dropping off a couple of orders in a mailbox. How deep is the shit I will be in?
I suspect that with a good lawyer, and because of my safe practices (keeping a relatively clean house with strong encryption of all sensitive data), a conviction of any severity will be hard to obtain. But more importantly, I have a hard time believing LE gives a shit about my volume.
Good question. In every case, the evidence against you can't usually be summed up with the scant details above. One of my most common answers to hypotheticals is "it depends on the facts of the case." You see, many criminal defendants don't know the evidence against them until they meet with their lawyer at their first or second hearing. They think they know. They usually figure most of it out, but sometimes they're way off. In the above scenario, the "slip up" part has me scratching my head. What does that mean? Do beat cops know there are percocets in that envelope just by looking at it? No. So there is some proof missing in this fact pattern. I can't say for certain, but it's more likely than not that this was a long time ongoing investigation which would have many pages of evidence to review before jumping to conclusions. The important thing in your fact pattern is that there is no statement made to police. This is very helpful. I've seen more than a few cases completely broken because the defendant had time to conjure up a better defense [in his cell/while out on bail] than the impromptu and often adrenaline fueled pleas of a guy holding a bag (or package) of drugs in plain view of a police officer. To not talk to the cops is to breath life into a case that is clear and convincing of the defendant's guilt. It gives me a little edge, especially if the defendant is smart. I can walk up to the prosecutor and say something I almost never get to say: "Looks like the cops couldn't get him to talk. You sure you ready for trial?" And it provides a lot of leverage when compared to an outright confession. As one of my professors, an appellate judge once said to me in my first semester: "It f#4ks up their whole case!" (talking about remaining silent when you're the suspect of a criminal investigation)
So in short I would say you're in hot water because they found out there were drugs in your package somehow. But while the knowing elements of the crime of possession are often proven circumstantially, an admission of guilt tends to support a much tighter noose, in my experience. Depending on your state, you must have two mental elements; (i) know that the object is there; (ii) know that the object is a controlled substance. Can't say for sure, but I'd bet my shiniest penny that the cops are counting on a confession to prove the latter.
Law is complex, but I try to make it simple. If you feel I've answer your question satisfactorily, please let me know.
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Ron Paul 4 God
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That's a great answer, thanks for the time you took to write it out. It further galvanizes the directive to NEVER talk except to say, "I'd like to speak with my lawyer."
But just for the sake of thought experiment, let's elaborate on the "slip up" part. Let's say someone I know only tangentially somehow hears that I'm selling drugs via the internet. That acquaintance mentions it to their LE brother in the area. The LE is a hothead with nothing better to do in a small town. He follows me for a few hours a week and gets LUCKY in seeing me make a mailbox drop of several suspicious looking packages. He makes note of my drop location and time, and I'm foolish enough to repeat another drop at the same time, same location 2 days later. This is enough for him to look into my activities more.
Since he knows where I live, he asks the ISP to hand over data on my account (no warrant). ISP complies because they're dicks. I've been careful not to use anything but Tor and PGP and encrypted drives for all sensitive communication. However, the data from the ISP shows that I've been logging onto Tor (easily seen by a connection to a Tor node).
Is this enough for them to get a warrant, bust down my door, and prosecute me for possession of some prescription drugs and shipping supplies? What if they could somehow match me with my vendor account on SR, let's say via metadata on one of my pictures for one of my listings? For the latter case (where they've matched me to my vendor account), is the conviction sure? What do you think the sentence ballpark is? 1 year? 10? What kind of prison would I go to? I really have no clue, as I've never been arrested before and have very little experience with legal proceedings. Just trying to get a feel here.
Thanks for your time.
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Well done
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Sure help in future..
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Pass
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That's a great answer, thanks for the time you took to write it out. It further galvanizes the directive to NEVER talk except to say, "I'd like to speak with my lawyer."
But just for the sake of thought experiment, let's elaborate on the "slip up" part. Let's say someone I know only tangentially somehow hears that I'm selling drugs via the internet. That acquaintance mentions it to their LE brother in the area. The LE is a hothead with nothing better to do in a small town. He follows me for a few hours a week and gets LUCKY in seeing me make a mailbox drop of several suspicious looking packages. He makes note of my drop location and time, and I'm foolish enough to repeat another drop at the same time, same location 2 days later. This is enough for him to look into my activities more.
Since he knows where I live, he asks the ISP to hand over data on my account (no warrant). ISP complies because they're dicks. I've been careful not to use anything but Tor and PGP and encrypted drives for all sensitive communication. However, the data from the ISP shows that I've been logging onto Tor (easily seen by a connection to a Tor node).
Is this enough for them to get a warrant, bust down my door, and prosecute me for possession of some prescription drugs and shipping supplies? What if they could somehow match me with my vendor account on SR, let's say via metadata on one of my pictures for one of my listings? For the latter case (where they've matched me to my vendor account), is the conviction sure? What do you think the sentence ballpark is? 1 year? 10? What kind of prison would I go to? I really have no clue, as I've never been arrested before and have very little experience with legal proceedings. Just trying to get a feel here.
Thanks for your time.
That's right. Always opt for silence. It is human to deny or explain or (God forbid) confess, but it's better to tell it to the judge or jury than the cops. One thing I think doesn't get said enough is that it's never too late to stop talking. Just because you started doesn't mean you have to finish.
Your LEO in this fact patter sounds like the boys in blue in my town lol. Yes he and the snitch can go to a judge and try to get a search warrant. If he finds the snitch believable and there is enough corroborating evidence to support a finding of probably cause (at least 10%-30% likelihood of guilt), he can issue a warrant for specific objects in specific places. The catch in your fat pattern is that, normally in a hearing a witness must have personal knowledge of what he is testifying to. So hearing a rumor would likely be insufficient. So depending on what you mean by "tangentially," I would say they have to get to the origin of this information, in order to test the credibility of the witness and see if he can corroborate his story with some evidence that police can verify and present in an affidavit to the judge issuing the warrant.
As for the technical side where you mention meta data and linking you to the vendor account and watching it somehow, I would have to ask an expert on how that is possible. If after a hearing or two challenging the search as unlawful, the court finds that the search warrant was lawful, then you would have to prove that the drugs were not in your actual possession (probably easy) and that they were not in your constructive possession (probably hard, depending on all the surrounding circumstances). We are skipping many steps and breezing by a few constitutional safeguards you have, but in the end you are probably getting popped based on the scarce details in your hypothetical. In my experience, if you don't talk and they fail to find enough evidence that you were mailing what you possess, they will probably be more than happy to pick up the PWID charge, and probably plea it down to mere possession for personal use. Maybe 6 months, depending on the drug. Or if you have me, pretrial rehab diversion without a conviction ;) But there are myriads of variables that play into plea bargains, so let's not speculate on that too much.
Most SR activities carry very serious maximum punishments, typically life imprisonment. Certain states consider certain drug offenses violent and offer beautiful enhancements for persons who just make the world a better place. The punishments for slanging kilos of meth on SR might make the most ballsy individual cop a plea. Good luck catching us, though :P
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If I have explicitly explained to my heads of state that I am not interested in their laws, that I do not consent to be governed by them and that I do not wish to contract with them, do I have the right to to live in peace, free from harassment by police, tax collectors etc...? If not, why not, or what gives anyone else the right to dictate what I may or may not do when I'm not infringing on the rights of any other?
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Let's say someone I know only tangentially somehow hears that I'm selling drugs via the internet. That acquaintance mentions it to their LE brother in the area.
Is this enough for them to get a warrant, bust down my door, and prosecute me for possession of some prescription drugs and shipping supplies? What if they could somehow match me with my vendor account on SR, let's say via metadata on one of my pictures for one of my listings? For the latter case (where they've matched me to my vendor account), is the conviction sure? What do you think the sentence ballpark is? 1 year? 10? What kind of prison would I go to? I really have no clue, as I've never been arrested before and have very little experience with legal proceedings. Just trying to get a feel here.
I'm no attorney, but LE doesn't play by the rules... if they want you, they will do whatever to get you.
Basically I'm just saying... if you have problems with some dude's cop brother possibly on your ass, it's best to play it safe. Stop.
And if you do ever get busted, expect a whole plethora of additional fictional charges... like a car salesman, expecting you'll eventually want to cop a plea, they start high so you'll have to work them down. (your attorney will have to waste effort on whittling away the frivolous stuff) Looking at possibly 65+ years for some stuff you grew etc. will put you in shock. In your case, google your states controlled substance act... controlled substance penalties are harsh. (I literally seen murders get less time than me)
When you first get arrested, you go to jail. You will have a bond hearing, if you make bond, you can live irl while on trial... if you cant make bond, then you stay in jail while on trial. Some trials can take years. Each jail is different... some are absolute hell, others aren't so bad. In my case, I couldn't wait to get to prison. Once convicted... the jail will transfer you to a prison receiving center most likely. Each state handles things differently I imagine, but in high prison pop places the first month will be like a big separation process... filtering different types of people to different places. Like they don't want warring gangs in the same place etc. Or they don't want minimum security cases with hard core murderers doing triple life or whatever. Depending on where you finally end up, you might go to a place that lets you have a tv, buy food, make phone calls... it's really boring and the food will absolutely blow. You might end up in a worse place. But just like in the movie Blow, you will make a ton or connections if you want, and you will learn how to be a better criminal. Doing time isn't the hard part, it's living afterward.... nobody cares how nice you are etc., all they see is that you're an excon. Good luck finding work/gf/life.
Note: In many states, if you do cop a plea... you automatically lose your right to appeal. (nobody tells you this though). And typically if you do want to appeal, you only have a very short period of time to file in many states (30 days?)... so get on that like ASAP. Please correct me if I'm wrong here, OP.
Go Ron Paul!
@OP... wish you were my attorney when I was in need, sounds like you're much better.
Wow, that was long... sry
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If I have explicitly explained to my heads of state that I am not interested in their laws, that I do not consent to be governed by them and that I do not wish to contract with them, do I have the right to to live in peace, free from harassment by police, tax collectors etc...? If not, why not, or what gives anyone else the right to dictate what I may or may not do when I'm not infringing on the rights of any other?
I've never seen that question before, and I initially thought it was a bit dumb *no offense*. But after thinking for a while, I think it is a pretty good question; if we are all born equal, with the same 'human rights' and what not, then why do groups of individuals (governments) have the right to impose their own decided views on other, supposedly equal individuals? Is there any way to separate yourself from the 'system', and live as an un-ruled individual?
I've heard something about the laws governments impose being 'Maritime' laws which can only be enforced upon people who agree to be governed by them, and this is accomplished by some formalities in court. 'Common' laws are the only laws that one is obliged to abide by, and they basically just say don't hurt / steal from other people. Advocate, if you know anything about this then I would love to have it made clear. Moreover, I'd hate to be arrested and claim to be abiding by common law if it doesn't help me or mean anything. I'm sure there are other people who'd appreciate it too :)
- JH
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If I have explicitly explained to my heads of state that I am not interested in their laws, that I do not consent to be governed by them and that I do not wish to contract with them, do I have the right to to live in peace, free from harassment by police, tax collectors etc...? If not, why not, or what gives anyone else the right to dictate what I may or may not do when I'm not infringing on the rights of any other?
I've never seen that question before, and I initially thought it was a bit dumb *no offense*. But after thinking for a while, I think it is a pretty good question; if we are all born equal, with the same 'human rights' and what not, then why do groups of individuals (governments) have the right to impose their own decided views on other, supposedly equal individuals? Is there any way to separate yourself from the 'system', and live as an un-ruled individual?
I've heard something about the laws governments impose being 'Maritime' laws which can only be enforced upon people who agree to be governed by them, and this is accomplished by some formalities in court. 'Common' laws are the only laws that one is obliged to abide by, and they basically just say don't hurt / steal from other people. Advocate, if you know anything about this then I would love to have it made clear. Moreover, I'd hate to be arrested and claim to be abiding by common law if it doesn't help me or mean anything. I'm sure there are other people who'd appreciate it too :)
- JH
That's exactly what I'm talking about. I just think that for some people, the words "common law" or "maritime law" have strong negative connotations. But yeah, that's what I was getting at. I appreciate you saying you thought it was a dumb question at first. It's amazing how entrenched the concept of authority is in us. I was saying in another thread how for a lot of people I talk to, the framework of government authority is not even visible to many...I mean to say that it's like a shell around their thoughts that contains everything they think and is therefore inaccessible to their conscious thought process. People just don't seem to fathom the concept.
One concept that has really stuck with me is the idea that the creator (us) can not be ruled by its creation (government), period. There're some really good quotes from dead dudes on the subject too ;) One is about how in a free and democratic society, the power of a government is dependent on the consent of the governed. I'll try and dig some of those up...
I really want to hear Advocate's thoughts on this. Many up here believe that the BAR Assoc. (which you must by law be a member of in order to practice law) is an "old boys club" and when you go to court, the judge, prosecutor, and your lawyer are are all in the club and are all getting paid by the Plaintiff ie. The Crown. Using a lawyer is akin to surrender. I've never been to court except as an observer, so this is all just stuff that I see people trying as we're attempting to reclaim some of our rights. And also, Advocate, I really hope you don't take any of this as a personal attack. People are just really really frustrated that we don't seem to have the rights that were entrenched in our own constitution, and we somehow can't break through to the point where a peaceful man can exercise his right not to belong to an association if he doesn't want to.
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Kudos to you, brother. This is the kind of thread I enjoy reading, keep it up.
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If the police stop at my house to talk to me(say a crime happened down the block) and im not home but my door is unlocked and nothing is in view and their is no probable cause can they walk in? Also if i call 911 because of an overdose but never tell the dispatch it was an overdose just a seizure, is that probable cause to enter my residence? One last question (this actually happened to me) if I am in a hotel sleeping at the time and the police knock at the door (they said they were their because I had a recent drug conviction no other reason) if I would have said no is it my right or is it up to hotel policy. Honestly though how do my search and seizure rights not apply if i own(rent) the
room for the night?
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What's preventing someone from the DEA from ordering a product from here, then using the postal service to trace the package back to its origin once they confirm it contains illegal drugs?
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What's preventing someone from the DEA from ordering a product from here, then using the postal service to trace the package back to its origin once they confirm it contains illegal drugs?
Update I: As for the quote... I am really looking forward to an educated answer for this question!
Fellow roaders!
I have enjoyed reading everything you have posted here. It is very interesting read. In regards to this separating yourself from the system; I refer you to read upon the death of Socrates. If this world experienced a utopia like state then I think this would be applicable. As it looks now, I do not think it will solve things practically but rather worsen them. Not because you are trying to do the wrong thing, it is the opposite in fact and yes you are doing this in spirit of human rights and democracy, but there is too much hypocrisy and retardedness for this in the world you are living today.
If you ever manage, somehow, to become free from oppression in this way then please let the rest of us here know :).
Mr Advocate and everyone else who contributed nicely, you have my full support!
Sincerely,
Entity
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Police aren't trying to catch small-time drug users. There are surely many more drug users than LEO in this country.
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What's preventing someone from the DEA from ordering a product from here, then using the postal service to trace the package back to its origin once they confirm it contains illegal drugs?
+1 I would love to hear the answer to this.
and I don't know if you can answer another question: it's obvious to me that the U.S. Gov't *could* shut this sort of thing down if it really wanted to. But how does the U.S. Attorney General prioritize things? I mean, I hope to god we're looking harder for terrorists,etc than we are for drug dealers and people downloading movies online!
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For the most part, vendors just drop packages into random mailboxes, perhaps not even near their base of operations. So, tracing it back won't provide much information.
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Hello fellow libertarians,
Once in a great while I discover something that changes my view of life. Silk Road is one of those things. I feel compelled to help this community any way I can, as you have all been so very good to me. I feel blessed to work beside you and fight for the winning team in the war on drugs. As a criminal defense atty, I see the lives that are destroyed as a result of the tyranny of our governments. I see first hand the lives it destroys. The families torn apart. The dreams, shattered. I have lost a very close friend to the war on drugs. Eventually, I came to accept the status quo on some level. This, worries me. I'm worried that I will continue shuffling along in submission to these unlawful policies that regulate our bodies and unjustifiably punish the most sick and desperate of our citizenry. When I found Silk Road I realized that there is still hope for me to change my apathetic attitude. There is hope that we can make the most of our lives. Enjoying them to the fullest. Finding reality in what was a long lost dream of mine when I was younger. My life has been made new because of what Silk Road means. I now realize once again that we own our bodies. And you know what; we now are delivering the death touch to our government's unlawful policies. We are revolutionaries. We have almost won. An idea whose time has come cannot be stopped by any army or any government. Silk Road is more than a website. It's an idea. And we will eventually succeed.
In the spirit of spurring us toward success, I realized something. We all have some talents that can help each of us make this community a safer, more prosperous, and more enjoyable place. For some, being a fair and honest vendor makes for the greatest contribution. For others, generously supporting the cause with their btc. For me, I am able to help us become wiser through legal help. Before I take any questions, I just want to say thank you to DPR and all of those that have risked their lives to making the world a freer and more enjoyable place for us.
The first 3 persons who post here that voted for Ron Paul get 0.01btc sent to their SR wallet. Just PM me @TheAdvocate on the road so I can get your wallet address.
I'll take any criminal law questions, but due to time constraints it may take me a while to respond. I'll try my best to answer any reasonable questions that I feel are of use to us as a community.
Donations are welcome, and every last cent of the proceeds goes toward posting bail for a client who has fallen in the drug war.
Sir you are awesome! Glad to see you are on my side and in line with my thoughts. Ron Paul is great! A real libertarian of our Republic.
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Police aren't trying to catch small-time drug users. There are surely many more drug users than LEO in this country.
I do not know about this first statement of yours...If a LEO could catch a less dangerous "criminal" or even rather harmless, I think they would opt catching the easy prey rather than go on a vendor who is moving loads of drugs and has good dangerous backup.
Would you go for the big guys if you got 5000 USD a month if the risk of personal injury or family at risk is high? The fcking legal system has created these problems, they do not really exist, they only do because the masses allow them to or maybe most of us are just ignorant...
Entity
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That's a great answer, thanks for the time you took to write it out. It further galvanizes the directive to NEVER talk except to say, "I'd like to speak with my lawyer."
If you are ever booked in a jail or holding facility you might be asked some pedigree questions that are mostly so they can keep you safe and provide proper medical care. Questions include gang affiliations, existance or nonexistance of suicidal thoughts, race, weight, height, etc. It can make your stay much more comfortable if you answer these questions. If you've properly received your Miranda warning, be careful because right before, after or while your answering pedigree questions they might try to slip in a few questions about your case. Even questions like "are you upset" sound like pedigree questions but are not. Anything that might tend to incriminate you shouldn't be answered. Ironically, this includes past or present drug use, which is technically a pedigree question. But you never need to answer. "I'm exercising my privilege against self incrimination" is a good way to deal with such questions while being booked. This is how it is dealt with on the stand in a court of law. But as for the cops that arrested you, or their "good buddies of yours" that are in uniform inquiring about your case: give them nothing more than the sound of silence. They don't deserve to hear you speak one word. Not even to answer whether you understand the Miranda warning. Fuck em'
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Let's say someone I know only tangentially somehow hears that I'm selling drugs via the internet. That acquaintance mentions it to their LE brother in the area.
Is this enough for them to get a warrant, bust down my door, and prosecute me for possession of some prescription drugs and shipping supplies? What if they could somehow match me with my vendor account on SR, let's say via metadata on one of my pictures for one of my listings? For the latter case (where they've matched me to my vendor account), is the conviction sure? What do you think the sentence ballpark is? 1 year? 10? What kind of prison would I go to? I really have no clue, as I've never been arrested before and have very little experience with legal proceedings. Just trying to get a feel here.
I'm no attorney, but have been though the system...
LE doesn't play by the rules... if they want you, they will do whatever to get you. My entire arrest report was fiction; cops actually took my keys off me then got into my apt complex & my apt door. (I was outside talking to them, they had no warrant... nor could they see any crime being committed through windows etc.) When my attorney made a motion to dismiss the case due to this blatant violation of my rights... basically the judge just said he believed the cops that both doors were wide open whilst it being 5 degrees out/in the ghetto/5 am. (utterly laughable) Still even that didn't make sense to me either though... even if doors are open while I'm talking to them outside, that shouldn't give them the right to search. Anyways... court could be a toss up, you never know.
Basically I'm just saying... if you have problems with some dude's cop brother possibly on your ass, it's best to play it safe. Stop.
And if you do ever get busted, expect a whole plethora of additional fictional charges... like a car salesman, expecting you'll eventually want to cop a plea, they start high so you'll have to work them down. (your attorney will have to waste effort on whittling away the frivolous stuff) Looking at possibly 65+ years for some stuff you grew etc. will put you in shock. In your case, google your states controlled substance act... controlled substance penalties are harsh. (I literally seen murders get less time than me)
When you first get arrested, you go to jail. You will have a bond hearing, if you make bond, you can live irl while on trial... if you cant make bond, then you stay in jail while on trial. Some trials can take years. Each jail is different... some are absolute hell, others aren't so bad. In my case, I couldn't wait to get to prison. Once convicted... the jail will transfer you to a prison receiving center most likely. Each state handles things differently I imagine, but in high prison pop places the first month will be like a big separation process... filtering different types of people to different places. Like they don't want warring gangs in the same place etc. Or they don't want minimum security cases with hard core murderers doing triple life or whatever. Depending on where you finally end up, you might go to a place that lets you have a tv, buy food, make phone calls... it's really boring and the food will absolutely blow. You might end up in a worse place. But just like in the movie Blow, you will make a ton or connections if you want, and you will learn how to be a better criminal. Doing time isn't the hard part, it's living afterward.... nobody cares how nice you are etc., all they see is that you're an excon. Good luck finding work/gf/life.
Note: In many states, if you do cop a plea... you automatically lose your right to appeal. (nobody tells you this though). And typically if you do want to appeal, you only have a very short period of time to file in many states (30 days?)... so get on that like ASAP. Please correct me if I'm wrong here, OP.
Go Ron Paul!
@OP... wish you were my attorney when I was in need, sounds like you're much better.
Wow, that was long... sry
Unfortunately, your story is all too common. You touched on many points and some of them are perfectly correct and others vary by jurisdiction. There are many types of plea deals and some of them offer more leverage to come back and win than others. Generally, a guilty plea is a conviction.
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If I have explicitly explained to my heads of state that I am not interested in their laws, that I do not consent to be governed by them and that I do not wish to contract with them, do I have the right to to live in peace, free from harassment by police, tax collectors etc...? If not, why not, or what gives anyone else the right to dictate what I may or may not do when I'm not infringing on the rights of any other?
These are very good questions for a civil rights atty. I would contact the ACLU if I were you and ask them about this topic. Sovereign Citizen Movement has been gaining ground, lately. Good question.
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If I have explicitly explained to my heads of state that I am not interested in their laws, that I do not consent to be governed by them and that I do not wish to contract with them, do I have the right to to live in peace, free from harassment by police, tax collectors etc...? If not, why not, or what gives anyone else the right to dictate what I may or may not do when I'm not infringing on the rights of any other?
I've never seen that question before, and I initially thought it was a bit dumb *no offense*. But after thinking for a while, I think it is a pretty good question; if we are all born equal, with the same 'human rights' and what not, then why do groups of individuals (governments) have the right to impose their own decided views on other, supposedly equal individuals? Is there any way to separate yourself from the 'system', and live as an un-ruled individual?
I've heard something about the laws governments impose being 'Maritime' laws which can only be enforced upon people who agree to be governed by them, and this is accomplished by some formalities in court. 'Common' laws are the only laws that one is obliged to abide by, and they basically just say don't hurt / steal from other people. Advocate, if you know anything about this then I would love to have it made clear. Moreover, I'd hate to be arrested and claim to be abiding by common law if it doesn't help me or mean anything. I'm sure there are other people who'd appreciate it too :)
- JH
That's exactly what I'm talking about. I just think that for some people, the words "common law" or "maritime law" have strong negative connotations. But yeah, that's what I was getting at. I appreciate you saying you thought it was a dumb question at first. It's amazing how entrenched the concept of authority is in us. I was saying in another thread how for a lot of people I talk to, the framework of government authority is not even visible to many...I mean to say that it's like a shell around their thoughts that contains everything they think and is therefore inaccessible to their conscious thought process. People just don't seem to fathom the concept.
One concept that has really stuck with me is the idea that the creator (us) can not be ruled by its creation (government), period. There're some really good quotes from dead dudes on the subject too ;) One is about how in a free and democratic society, the power of a government is dependent on the consent of the governed. I'll try and dig some of those up...
I really want to hear Advocate's thoughts on this. Many up here believe that the BAR Assoc. (which you must by law be a member of in order to practice law) is an "old boys club" and when you go to court, the judge, prosecutor, and your lawyer are are all in the club and are all getting paid by the Plaintiff ie. The Crown. Using a lawyer is akin to surrender. I've never been to court except as an observer, so this is all just stuff that I see people trying as we're attempting to reclaim some of our rights. And also, Advocate, I really hope you don't take any of this as a personal attack. People are just really really frustrated that we don't seem to have the rights that were entrenched in our own constitution, and we somehow can't break through to the point where a peaceful man can exercise his right not to belong to an association if he doesn't want to.
Fuck the DA! I'm not in court to make friends and if I'm not making enemies I'm not doing my job correctly.
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What's preventing someone from the DEA from ordering a product from here, then using the postal service to trace the package back to its origin once they confirm it contains illegal drugs?
Nothing political or procedural or as a matter of law. I'm not sure how they would bust you with that method, though. Or if it is worth their time. There are some very dumb criminals out there and they tend to keep LE pretty busy.
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What's preventing someone from the DEA from ordering a product from here, then using the postal service to trace the package back to its origin once they confirm it contains illegal drugs?
Mr Advocate and everyone else who contributed nicely, you have my full support!
Sincerely,
Entity
Hopefully one day I'll have the honor of being a trusted vendor in your sig :)
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If the police stop at my house to talk to me(say a crime happened down the block) and im not home but my door is unlocked and nothing is in view and their is no probable cause can they walk in? Also if i call 911 because of an overdose but never tell the dispatch it was an overdose just a seizure, is that probable cause to enter my residence? One last question (this actually happened to me) if I am in a hotel sleeping at the time and the police knock at the door (they said they were their because I had a recent drug conviction no other reason) if I would have said no is it my right or is it up to hotel policy. Honestly though how do my search and seizure rights not apply if i own(rent) the
room for the night?
Police cannot break and enter your home just because they want to. It's a crime. If emergency personnel need to enter your home in order to save your life then that would be an emergency and they would be allowed to do that under most circumstances. Under the circumstances you listed with respect to the hotel, if you were on probation then they can search. If you owe rent, then the hotel may enter under some circumstances. They can't break and enter your hotel, just like your home.
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For the most part, vendors just drop packages into random mailboxes, perhaps not even near their base of operations. So, tracing it back won't provide much information.
Almost all of the cases I see involving drugs in the mail have the receiver of a very, very poorly packaged parcel on the losing end. They usually know the sender and have been receiving shipments for some time. But there is usually even more proof than the drugs being shipped. Usually a trip to the hospital and a confession, or something like that. Most have extensive criminal records. And almost always have plenty of contraband in their actual or constructive possession. Police aren't even able to articulate how they will stop SR Vendors, let alone do anything.
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What's preventing someone from the DEA from ordering a product from here, then using the postal service to trace the package back to its origin once they confirm it contains illegal drugs?
Mr Advocate and everyone else who contributed nicely, you have my full support!
Sincerely,
Entity
Hopefully one day I'll have the honor of being a trusted vendor in your sig :)
Indeed, but the honour would fall upon me!
Entity
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blarb
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What's preventing someone from the DEA from ordering a product from here, then using the postal service to trace the package back to its origin once they confirm it contains illegal drugs?
Nothing political or procedural or as a matter of law. I'm not sure how they would bust you with that method, though. Or if it is worth their time. There are some very dumb criminals out there and they tend to keep LE pretty busy.
Well lets say they find a vendor that sells in large quantities, someone they really want to bust. They complete a transaction, confirm the product, trace it back to it's origins. Then they acquire whatever warrants are necessary and confiscate a few video tapes profiling whoever sent out packages on the date registered for what they received.
A week or two goes by and they perform a second transaction and follow the steps above. Now they're looking for anyone who appears in both of the tapes they've received.
Do it a third time, and the evidence seems pretty incriminating. Or maybe it isn't, I don't know, physics and math is more my thing.
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What's preventing someone from the DEA from ordering a product from here, then using the postal service to trace the package back to its origin once they confirm it contains illegal drugs?
Nothing political or procedural or as a matter of law. I'm not sure how they would bust you with that method, though. Or if it is worth their time. There are some very dumb criminals out there and they tend to keep LE pretty busy.
Well lets say they find a vendor that sells in large quantities, someone they really want to bust. They complete a transaction, confirm the product, trace it back to it's origins. Then they acquire whatever warrants are necessary and confiscate a few video tapes profiling whoever sent out packages on the date registered for what they received.
A week or two goes by and they perform a second transaction and follow the steps above. Now they're looking for anyone who appears in both of the tapes they've received.
Do it a third time, and the evidence seems pretty incriminating. Or maybe it isn't, I don't know, physics and math is more my thing.
I have no idea what that investigation would look like, but the very first sentence is the part that provides the largest lacunae in logic and myriads of unanswered questions.
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Thanks mate.
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In the spirit of spurring us toward success, I realized something. We all have some talents that can help each of us make this community a safer, more prosperous, and more enjoyable place. For some, being a fair and honest vendor makes for the greatest contribution. For others, generously supporting the cause with their btc. For me, I am able to help us become wiser through legal help. Before I take any questions, I just want to say thank you to DPR and all of those that have risked their lives to making the world a freer and more enjoyable place for us.
The first 3 persons who post here that voted for Ron Paul get 0.01btc sent to their SR wallet. Just PM me @TheAdvocate on the road so I can get your wallet address.
Glad to see people like you on Silk Road!
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I have a question about my area of expertise.
Many people worry that if they order chemicals online, or buy them from a local chemical distributor and even if those chemicals are in no way illegal or listed, that they can arouse suspicion
My understanding is that unless you order a drug precursor or one of a set of lists, no warrants can be gotten or anything. Did this change post 9/11? In my extended experiance, like you said, the dumb criminals keep the cops busy.
P.S. If you can prove that the money goes toward someones bail/services I will donate a few hundred.
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I have a question about my area of expertise.
Many people worry that if they order chemicals online, or buy them from a local chemical distributor and even if those chemicals are in no way illegal or listed, that they can arouse suspicion
My understanding is that unless you order a drug precursor or one of a set of lists, no warrants can be gotten or anything. Did this change post 9/11? In my extended experiance, like you said, the dumb criminals keep the cops busy.
P.S. If you can prove that the money goes toward someones bail/services I will donate a few hundred.
I have a client. He was popped for some serious trafficking and manufacture shit and is facing up to 22 1/2 years. It involved USPS but I'm not saying any more than that. The evidence is weak. And it's getting weaker the more I work on it. The evidence is so weak that the lil bitch prosecutor that wants to hang him offered time served as a plea. She knows what's coming next. More exculpatory evidence. I enjoy this job! Anyways he is looking at losing his whole life and family and house and career but he's not coppin' pleas. Fucking balls on that guy. MY fave clients have balls like that. Anyways, bail was couple hundo thousand but this next hearing I should get it down to $10k. After that, it's a piece of cake for me to post it for him. If in case I fail to get bail lowered to my affordability point, how can I prove to you all these things? I certainly could never indicate the name of my client, or myself. I could prove that it's not going to me, personally though. I'd have you pay direct to the commissary fund or the bail agency. But then again..anonymity issues. Any ideas?
Ok I got so excited at the idea that a vendor of your stature cares about an upstanding citizen behind bars that I forgot all about your question.
"Many people worry that if they order chemicals online, or buy them from a local chemical distributor and even if those chemicals are in no way illegal or listed, that they can arouse suspicion."
- If LE finds out about it, that means they were probably already looking at the subject. So it depends. When I say "stupid criminals" I'm talking about criminals that see everything in black and white. They think they're completely safe until they believe their completely busted. Indeed it is more of a spectrum. I've seen cases where the person had ziplock sandwhich bags in their kitchen drawer and it was used against them. Effectively. Iodine alone might not be incriminating to a pool serviceman, but when coupled with a beaker and pseudoephedrine cold pills the scene begins to take on a different complexion [for the same pool serviceman/involved person]. The surrounding circumstances have a great deal to do with whether or not the chemicals you sell are damning. Not just the chemicals themselves.
"My understanding is that unless you order a drug precursor or one of a set of lists, no warrants can be gotten or anything. Did this change post 9/11? In my extended experiance, like you said, the dumb criminals keep the cops busy."
- Much like my answer above, I'd have to say that depending on the facts of the case a non-precursor is much better than a known precursor. Always there is the issue of how LE came to know about the chemical in the first place, which might be the best question and all the more reason to never speak to police when you are the suspect of a serious crime. There could be perfectly innocent explanations for why you ordered that chemical. But until you see the evidence against you it's better to leave those explanations open.
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With a case this? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:MDMAjakarta.jpg
Can you still bail / release them out? if yes,how do you do it?
Any way,i got a private questions for you & send it to your SR account.
Thanks for the help! ;)
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Lawyers are worse than the cops or judges. Greedy scumbags that profit off someone in a bad situation.
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lawyers are just doing their jobs, they fill a niche just like everything else in this world. There are a lot of people worth directing your anger at in this world, even entire classes of people. Lawyers are not one of them, especially if you have ever needed one.
If you can't get bail lower than 10K, I will pay some of the difference for sure.
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Thanks for all this information. It is very helpful.
After being involved in stuff like this for over 10 years, I've managed to stay out of trouble so far. It's a priority for me to keep it that way.
Other than the obvious "don't do anything illegal" bit, are there any seemingly obvious things people can do to stay out of trouble?
Perhaps just a checklist of common sense stuff. It can be easy to overlook simple things.
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Some people are freeing them selves from the law and starting to use the laws of the land/ not laws of the sea to get by there known as Freeman, www.tpuc.org is one place to get info also google freeman..
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SR's very own lawyer - nice thing for you to do, man!
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What is your most interesting story from a person here who has reached out to you?
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What is your most interesting story from a person here who has reached out to you?
There was this awesome tale of how I invoked the atty-client privilege in order to protect my client. And then there was another one where I invoked my privilege against self-incrimination. :D
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Thanks for using your talents for the community.
Play safe!
Your DrugBuddy.
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Yeah, thanks a lot atty!!!!
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Thanks for the inspiration!
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I had suggested once that they should add a 'donate to legal trust fund' button to the checkout.
Then donators to the fund can draw legal help/representation from the fund pending on how much you contribute. The Trust Fund would help pay for legal expenses for SR members and vendors in trouble. It would have a board of directors and retain a lawyer for everyone to benefit from.
Its time to offer some protection / insurance for members who want to pay for it. Those who don't contribute to the fund get nothing from it. Sounds fair. I'd pay something each month for the lawyer / trust fund as well as donations at each checkout purchase. A running total can be tallied up for each contributor and that would determine how much legal assistance you can get from the fund.
Most members are middle-class working people who could benefit from such a trust fund. There is nothing illegal about setting up an independent corporation/trust fund that offers legal services to its paying members.
This would help pay for his legal fees and the board of directors and committee members would choose who gets assistance and at what amount, based on the members contributions into the fund.
Group plans work well.
Just a thought to help pay for this generous offer from the OP.
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Alright Advocate, another question for you. How easy is it to obtain a search warrant? Is it more difficult for a home rather than an apartment? For an apartment building with secure access only (ie, someone has to buzz you in)?
Have you ever had a case or heard of one where government-paid hackers have tracked down drug traffickers?
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Hey brother can I pm you? Might have some non free work for your services
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I had suggested once that they should add a 'donate to legal trust fund' button to the checkout.
Then donators to the fund can draw legal help/representation from the fund pending on how much you contribute. The Trust Fund would help pay for legal expenses for SR members and vendors in trouble. It would have a board of directors and retain a lawyer for everyone to benefit from.
Its time to offer some protection / insurance for members who want to pay for it. Those who don't contribute to the fund get nothing from it. Sounds fair. I'd pay something each month for the lawyer / trust fund as well as donations at each checkout purchase. A running total can be tallied up for each contributor and that would determine how much legal assistance you can get from the fund.
Most members are middle-class working people who could benefit from such a trust fund. There is nothing illegal about setting up an independent corporation/trust fund that offers legal services to its paying members.
This would help pay for his legal fees and the board of directors and committee members would choose who gets assistance and at what amount, based on the members contributions into the fund.
Group plans work well.
Just a thought to help pay for this generous offer from the OP.
Very good points. Before I made my 2nd post on these forums, I was in contact with DPR about some of the above ideas. In the end it came down to whether I would send my State ID to the most wanted man in all of onionland. I was almost going to, but I saw things getting very bad for me someday. The FBI would tar and feather me just to scare the rest of you. They'd make me an example so that everyone thinks its not safe here. I just can't run that risk. I was going to charge around $500/hour including paralegal research on complex private matters. I saw it as a fun way to make a little money. But my attitude has changed, as evidenced by the original post I issued in this thread. And yes I realize that I'm a big chicken lol. But I'm still alive and kickin' ;)
There were numerous issues that weren't readily solved with respect to the legal insurance plan. I don't have the time to detail all of them. Perhaps someday we'll make it work. The good thing is if we remain anonymous, we all continue to benefit. But then there are some benefits that can't ever be realized, so it's a trade-off.
The legal insurance scheme you say is legal is actually called money laundering. It could be that the lawyer(s) don't actually know where the money is coming from, but I think there would, in some cases, be a constructive knowledge. Also, there is an ethical duty to not accept what is reasonably suspected as proceeds of crime. That's probably not a huge issue for the criminal defense atty sitting across the desk from you, but I can tell you it would be for some guy at "The Firm" who is jockeying to become partner. There are other issues, but I digress.
Once I get PGP up (very soon, hopefully) I will entertain helping out ala saul goodman style. Until then it's off to real life. There's a DA that needs to get bent over somewhere out there!
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Alright Advocate, another question for you. How easy is it to obtain a search warrant? Is it more difficult for a home rather than an apartment? For an apartment building with secure access only (ie, someone has to buzz you in)?
Have you ever had a case or heard of one where government-paid hackers have tracked down drug traffickers?
This question was asked in a different thread and I answered it there, so I'm going to be lazy and copy n paste it:
A search warrant for a a dwelling house that you currently reside within requires a judge to find "probable cause" of criminal activity. Probable cause is a reasonable, articulatable, suspicion that criminal activity is afoot. It is sometimes described as a 10%-30% likelihood of the suspected crime being true. LE learns which judges are lenient and which are more strict, so you can safely bet that they will seek out the easy sale by going to a more lenient judge. The search warrant has to list the items that are expected to be found, as well as the places that will be searched. The way LE finds probable cause is usually through the affidavit of a confidential informant. The identity of the CI need not be known to the judge, or even law enforcement. The evidence provided by the CI is generally in need of corroboration. The more detailed the affidavit, the more effective it will be. Whether a CI has been reliable in the past is also something judges look at when considering the issuance of a search warrant. There are different types of evidence that can secure a search warrant, but in my experience as a criminal defense atty they usually involve some sort of informant, undercover agent, and surveillance.
It's important to have a criminal defense atty that is passionate about fighting for your rights and knowledgeable on how to make the evidence procured form the warrant inadmissible.
As for the hackers, it's not beyond the realm of possibility that they would use technological means to bust traffickers. But I wouldn't know the first thing about the computer security side. I can't even figure out PGP without my IT guy lol. There is a guy in the Security section, I think his name starts with "kmf"; he seems to know a great deal when I read his writings about computer security research. But then again I wouldn't know if he's BSing all of us unless I paid an expert in that field to spell it out to me. Something I've never had to do, yet. As for the different landscapes and security levels for your residence, as a matter of law the thing that is most trying to be protected is your privacy. So property destruction is a concern, but the cops don't seem to care when they fuck your shit up. They just don't want the evidence suppressed. So they follow the judge's orders on how and where and for what they may search. You'd have to be more specific to get a quality answer on that generality.
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I have a feeling prices in property certain areas of Washington and Colorado are going to go way up with the legalization of cannabis and any US citizens would do their best to scout out some real estate their if they were smart.
Keep multiple backups of your BTC wallet, and keep them on the smallest and most discreet devices you can and away from your systems. The other thing I can't stress enough is top of the line system security and cleaning software and data destroying programs that run at minimum US DDoS standards 7X minimum overwrite deletion. Running undelete software on your average system might disturb you about what comes out. Once you've recovered what can be saved, encrypt it all then destroy the info using proper deletion software.
Personally although I'm not a criminal (although in another life I was leaving me to still think like one) as well as have multiple VPN's, and only VERY occasionally now buy weed off SR, still going on the Darknet to get to here everyday to keep up with the latest goss is enough for me to run a security clean every night before bed to get rid of Silk Road cookies and the like, just on the one bazillionth of a chance the Waffen SS Stormtroopers kick my door in tomorrow morning for some unknown fucking reason to kidnap and enslave me at gunpoint, they'll get 11grams of weed (bought IRL) and three bongs (bought online) at this point in time.
I suggest everyone, both vendor and customer alike, be this diligent if they can help it so in case someone kicks your down tomorrow, unlike Shadh1 or Ryan "The Pest" West, when they take your systems away for examination they get NOTHING and you walk FREE due to lack of evidence. Meanwhile the information was staring them smack in the face the whole time and one of those dog shits in the back yard aren't actually real shit, if you know what I mean. I've never seen a cop go looking through dog shit (fake or otherwise) to look for mini-SD's that contain someone's Bitcoins that the tax man will never see or much more that the FEDS would salivate over.
Hidden in plain sight is the smartest way folks, coupled with top notch security software programs, encryption and VPN's on top of TOR, you'll be safe as houses, but always always cover your tracks. ;)
- JWM 8)
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thanks for the info
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Alright Advocate, another question for you. How easy is it to obtain a search warrant? Is it more difficult for a home rather than an apartment? For an apartment building with secure access only (ie, someone has to buzz you in)?
Have you ever had a case or heard of one where government-paid hackers have tracked down drug traffickers?
While I'm here, I should point out that most controlled deliveries consist of what's called an "anticipatory warrant." It is a warrant that is based on a certain act or omission occurring in order to render a search as valid. Signing for a package is one way of validating a search of the place being shipped to, as well as the person signing. Admitting to the package being yours, being expect, etc can have the same effect, but for the most part law enforcement likes to get your John Hancock.
IMPORTANT: If LE asks for your consent to search a place, this means they don't have a right to search. Unless you are certain that allowing them to search a particular place will help, I'd advise against it. It's tough to know to an absolute certainty whether a search will will help exculpate you. Especially if the area being search has had persons other than yourself previously visit. Therefore, the best general advice without knowing the facts of your case is to not consent to a search. I almost never like to see my client being quoted in a police report. Silence, often called being "uncooperative" is a luxury towards victory, but by no means necessary when you've got me in your corner ;)
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Thank you for doing this !
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Advocate, you are a diamond in the rough... A few more like you could make real steps to improving this world. Keep it up mate, fingers crossed I never need your help ;D.
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Advocate, you are a diamond in the rough... A few more like you could make real steps to improving this world. Keep it up mate, fingers crossed I never need your help ;D.
Thank you!
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Hey Advocate
My father recently passed away and I've been made the executor of his estate (i.e. I'm the one who has to pay back all his bills and shit). Here's the problem that I'm dealing with, he had a permanent life insurance policy but he didn't make me the beneficiary. So essentially, I'm here paying off all his debts and not getting any money from his life insurance policy to do so. I know its someone in my family but they're all greedy bastards and won't fess up to who it is. The insurance company won't tell me who it is either despite the fact that I am the executor of his estate because I am not the beneficiary. Is there any way to get this information without getting a lawyer? Thanks so much. You are really are doing us a great service.
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Ok, I've got a question for you.
Let's say I have a clean record - no arrests, no nothing. Let's say I have a couple of degrees and have a full time, respectable job. I'm white. I am a law-abiding citizen in all other respects and always have been. Let's say I start selling some prescription drugs via SR. Some of them I have a prescription for, some of them I don't. I'm very careful. I sell low volume (10 orders per month, less than $1000 in value). I encrypt EVERYthing. I research safe practices, and follow them.
But one day, let's say I slip up and get nabbed as I'm dropping off a couple of orders in a mailbox. How deep is the shit I will be in?
I suspect that with a good lawyer, and because of my safe practices (keeping a relatively clean house with strong encryption of all sensitive data), a conviction of any severity will be hard to obtain. But more importantly, I have a hard time believing LE gives a shit about my volume.
"Let's say I have a couple of degrees and have a full time, respectable job. I'm white. I am a law-abiding citizen in all other respects and always have been." That right there is almost as important as the arrest record. And it is wrong. Take a black man selling crack in the hood right? He's just trying to make some cash too, perhaps he did not have the opportunites in life you had to be doing so well. Yet, he still needs money right? He, if a first offender will be treated less lenient. Now, I am no lawyer. I know this to be fact, because it is real in the states. If I am incorrect, please post actual facts. Not opinions. United we stand means untied white men we stand.
I am not trying to be unpatriotic. I just feel it's a shitty deal. chicago would not be so scary if the gov't regulated drugs as they do rx ones. How many pharmecies do you know that have AR-15's or pistols behind the counter. Or get held up? The element of violence is placed there. It does not just spring up. How many children go hungry because you can get a decent amount of dope for your foodstamps? Allow that mother to safely do what she think she needs to and treat her to help her kick it. Allow her to get safe shit so she is less likey to od. Make it available so that she does not have to have 5 guys over a night to get a fix of garbage dope. whatever it may be. Yet we wanna call these people the scum of our society. Well, I gotta believe it is not entirely the uses fault any longer.
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Hey Advocate
My father recently passed away and I've been made the executor of his estate (i.e. I'm the one who has to pay back all his bills and shit). Here's the problem that I'm dealing with, he had a permanent life insurance policy but he didn't make me the beneficiary. So essentially, I'm here paying off all his debts and not getting any money from his life insurance policy to do so. I know its someone in my family but they're all greedy bastards and won't fess up to who it is. The insurance company won't tell me who it is either despite the fact that I am the executor of his estate because I am not the beneficiary. Is there any way to get this information without getting a lawyer? Thanks so much. You are really are doing us a great service.
This can get pretty deep. We're dealing with atty-client privilege and work product extensions. I'd prefer you PM me on the road at vendor id TheAdvocate and we can pick up from there, but I have to warn you that, being a criminal defense atty, I might end up referring you to a civil atty in the insurance field. Thanks for your question. I can tell it's going to be a good one.
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Please explain to us what "atty-client privilege and work product extensions" have to do with trying to find out the beneficiary of a life insurance policy. Are you even an attorney? I dropped out of high school, but even Stevie Wonder can see you are a complete ass, trying to be evasive and throwing out gobbledygook like "atty-client privilege and work product extensions" that have nothing to do with answering the guy's question. You couldn't just say "that is not my area of expertise", you just had to throw out 3 dollar words and confusing legalese, trying to hide behind private message. That tells me volumes about who you are. But hey, glad to see you drape yourself in the mantle of the legal profession. If you are a lawyer, I am the Sultan of Brunei.
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Please explain to us what "atty-client privilege and work product extensions" have to do with trying to find out the beneficiary of a life insurance policy. Are you even an attorney? I dropped out of high school, but even Stevie Wonder can see you are a complete ass, trying to be evasive and throwing out gobbledygook like "atty-client privilege and work product extensions" that have nothing to do with answering the guy's question. You couldn't just say "that is not my area of expertise", you just had to throw out 3 dollar words and confusing legalese, trying to hide behind private message. That tells me volumes about who you are. But hey, glad to see you drape yourself in the mantle of the legal profession. If you are a lawyer, I am the Sultan of Brunei.
I do not know you, however. I can tell that you have a high school education, furthermore. Your karma does not prove anything to anyone. However, it does prove something to me.
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Hey got a question, its not a legal question could not find a review for the advocates MP to BTC service was wondering if anyone has ever used his service, and could comment on it. Sorry if this not the right place for this but been searching and this thread was the only result hanks in advance
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Please explain to us what "atty-client privilege and work product extensions" have to do with trying to find out the beneficiary of a life insurance policy. Are you even an attorney? I dropped out of high school, but even Stevie Wonder can see you are a complete ass, trying to be evasive and throwing out gobbledygook like "atty-client privilege and work product extensions" that have nothing to do with answering the guy's question. You couldn't just say "that is not my area of expertise", you just had to throw out 3 dollar words and confusing legalese, trying to hide behind private message. That tells me volumes about who you are. But hey, glad to see you drape yourself in the mantle of the legal profession. If you are a lawyer, I am the Sultan of Brunei.
VortexMilkMan?
Yea, you're right. Privileges and confidential communications are gobbledygook. Well guys I guess that's it. california says we don't need to "hide behind" even the most meager security measure. Sounds like the kinda guy that would keep customer data and tell it to the cops. Because anything other than dry snitching is gobbledegook. :)
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Hey got a question, its not a legal question could not find a review for the advocates MP to BTC service was wondering if anyone has ever used his service, and could comment on it. Sorry if this not the right place for this but been searching and this thread was the only result hanks in advance
Hit up Purple Lotus' official thread. A few people there have known me to sell btc in exchange for western union or moneygram.
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I'll try to answer your question (white male with degrees up above) since the lawyer doesn't want to. A member of my team, in fact, my best friend, got arrested in a similar position you are in. Minus the mail stuff and shipping online. He had a degree, a job, did volunteer work, was white, and fresh out of college. And he got arrested selling heroin to local college kids. He had a quarter pound. That's a lot of heroin considering it sells for $100-120/gram in the area. They were incredibly lenient on him because of his non-criminal history but with sales of that magnitude (yours isnt nearly as large but I dont know what the mailing aspect would do to you), it is always hard to avoid doing any time. He did 9 months but got it converted to house arrest and did not have to quit his job or anything. Served four and a half months with half time. Was allowed onto a drug program after, completed it successfully after passing the required number of piss tests and x number of meetings, and then had his record expunged completely so that it didn't appear on background checks. All of this is in southern California though with its drug courts, drug diversion programs, etc.
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I'll try to answer your question (white male with degrees up above) since the lawyer doesn't want to. A member of my team, in fact, my best friend, got arrested in a similar position you are in. Minus the mail stuff and shipping online. He had a degree, a job, did volunteer work, was white, and fresh out of college. And he got arrested selling heroin to local college kids. He had a quarter pound. That's a lot of heroin considering it sells for $100-120/gram in the area. They were incredibly lenient on him because of his non-criminal history but with sales of that magnitude (yours isnt nearly as large but I dont know what the mailing aspect would do to you), it is always hard to avoid doing any time. He did 9 months but got it converted to house arrest and did not have to quit his job or anything. Served four and a half months with half time. Was allowed onto a drug program after, completed it successfully after passing the required number of piss tests and x number of meetings, and then had his record expunged completely so that it didn't appear on background checks. All of this is in southern California though with its drug courts, drug diversion programs, etc.
What a story. Great to see that getting caught/arrested isn't necessarily "the end."
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I'll try to answer your question (white male with degrees up above) since the lawyer doesn't want to.
Which question?
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I'll try to answer your question (white male with degrees up above) since the lawyer doesn't want to.
Which question?
Already answered above by mondomax. Could you answer one from me? Sorry for not reading all this thread before posting. I will read it as soon as I can but right now is worst time. Can you tell me if you are in U.S.? You seem to be criminal not civil, from the answers you've given. It's kind of urgent I write this as soon as possible so I'm putting it out now and then coming back later.
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thanks.
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RON PAUL ALL THE WAY....
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Hello all,
SR Vendor Support has suspended my account. I wasn't given a reason. I wasn't asked any questions. The only thing I can thing of is that my vendor account was showing inaccurate information, such as my being a vendor for 4 months, then 5, then 4, then 6, etc. There was other inaccurate information, is my best guess. I recieved DPR's blessing to give legal advice and sell btc, but that policy may have changed. Whatever the reason, I will not likely be selling legal advice on SR ever again. I was giving my legal advice in exchange for positive reviews. I had a 100% approval rating on the 5/5 scale. I know people thanked me for my help. Hopefully I've been some help to you. Thank you for all the great feedback. I wish you all well.
Sincerely,
TheAdvocate
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Thats shit mate, I've enjoyed your posts.
A parting +1 from me.
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fuck ur unicorns
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So they gave you no explaination?
Didnt your vendor account cost money?
Thats fucked up!
Yes it cost me about 10 btc, I think.
They just got back to me. Here is a summary of our correspondence:
Me- There are inaccuracies on my vendor page. Some are in my favor, and some are against. Please correct them.
SR- "Dear TheAdvocate,
We appologize in advance if this action has been made in error. Your account is under investigation for violation of your agreement as an independent seller at Silk Road. You are not being accused of anything, but your account has been suspended until further notice. If you have any questions or concerns, please reply to this message. Thank you for your patience with this.
Best regards,
Silk Road staff"
SR (shortly after the automated message)- " Well thank you for bringing yourself to my attention. Doesn't matter how long you were a vendor for, you are a vendor no more."
Me- I'm not sure what's happening. Have I done something wrong?
SR- "You mean besides break the record for the largest army of shill accounts that I have ever seen? You almost deserve an award for faking so much feedback."
Me- So basically my violation is that I came to you with the complaint that my vendor page was showing inaccurate information, and I was suspended because that's actually the case. Is that what I'm hearing?
I provided real legal advice to real people on Tormail. I never created an account other than my own. Not one.
How are you going to deal with this problem of inaccurate information on my vendor page? By suspending me. Fine, but what about when this problem repeats itself? Obviously there is something dramatically wrong with the source code of SR, and I couldn't tell you why I had so many sales recorded that never took place. All I can do is direct your attention to the problem. And if suspending me is your way of dealing with this issue, I can't imagine how insecure that will make other vendors feel. Especially when their vendor page starts turning up fake statistics...
So that's where we're at right now. Obviously someone has it out for me. There have been some people that message me about how they know I'm working for the DEA and they're gonna bring me down blah blah blah...probably one of those guys clicking the report a vendor button.
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welcome !!
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So they gave you no explaination?
Didnt your vendor account cost money?
Thats fucked up!
Yes it cost me about 10 btc, I think.
They just got back to me. Here is a summary of our correspondence:
Me- There are inaccuracies on my vendor page. Some are in my favor, and some are against. Please correct them.
SR- "Dear TheAdvocate,
We appologize in advance if this action has been made in error. Your account is under investigation for violation of your agreement as an independent seller at Silk Road. You are not being accused of anything, but your account has been suspended until further notice. If you have any questions or concerns, please reply to this message. Thank you for your patience with this.
Best regards,
Silk Road staff"
SR (shortly after the automated message)- " Well thank you for bringing yourself to my attention. Doesn't matter how long you were a vendor for, you are a vendor no more."
Me- I'm not sure what's happening. Have I done something wrong?
SR- "You mean besides break the record for the largest army of shill accounts that I have ever seen? You almost deserve an award for faking so much feedback."
Me- So basically my violation is that I came to you with the complaint that my vendor page was showing inaccurate information, and I was suspended because that's actually the case. Is that what I'm hearing?
I provided real legal advice to real people on Tormail. I never created an account other than my own. Not one.
How are you going to deal with this problem of inaccurate information on my vendor page? By suspending me. Fine, but what about when this problem repeats itself? Obviously there is something dramatically wrong with the source code of SR, and I couldn't tell you why I had so many sales recorded that never took place. All I can do is direct your attention to the problem. And if suspending me is your way of dealing with this issue, I can't imagine how insecure that will make other vendors feel. Especially when their vendor page starts turning up fake statistics...
So that's where we're at right now. Obviously someone has it out for me. There have been some people that message me about how they know I'm working for the DEA and they're gonna bring me down blah blah blah...probably one of those guys clicking the report a vendor button.
Take this up directly with DPR. The judgement made by him/her will be final, but I have always found those judgements to be incredibly fair. I'm sure you can find his/her accounts to message but if you need the links feel free to PM me.
- grahamgreene
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I've contacted DPR and he sent me back to Vendor Support. Now that I have an answer from Vendor Support, I guess I have nothing to lose by raising the issue with DPR.
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I have been in prison 3 times and got railroaded. It is good to see you trying to help people who do not know the law because if you don't the system does bend the rules to benefit them!
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So SR Vendor Support is affirming their decision without any further review. They more or less told me to stop talking about it before things get worse for me. And since they have my btc I'm going to listen to them.
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I definitely think this is a worthy post to bump with one of my 50. Good to know people are waking up to compassion and trying to enact some sort of change upon the system.
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Well man you know they record your browser session tags so if you logged out and then back in under a different UID in the same browser session than your goose is cooked.
But if you did not log into other accounts and buy from yourself then you should keep going.
If they told me something like that I think I would start posting that they stole your coins and threatened you to keep quiet in places like reddit.com/r/silkroad, bitcointalk forums and every other place I could think of. I would search for every news story on Silkroad and start comments on those pages.
Thats not how DPR treats people and I have no fucking clue why he is letting SSBD and SR Vendor Support get away with this shit.
You would think DPR would want to treat the Vendors with a little respect.
Again, just because its SR support doesnt mean that person isnt expendable.
Many Vendors have told you that DPR has reversed whatever SR Support did in the first place.
Whoever is SR Support is a fucking idiot and DPR is aware of that, trust me.
You literally have NO idea what you're talking about! ???
TOR - "The Onion Router": you should read about it sometime. As for the rest of your post.. I don't even know where to begin.
- grahamgreene
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It is Tor, not TOR....
And yes there are tags that distinguish your session and those are recorded By SR and SR Forum and cross referenced. sorry to have to break it to you.
What else you got?
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The Tor Browser Bundle contains firefox which makes a hash for each session, this is seen by every site you visit, its used to determine you from everyone else.
this is an example:
Signature
8ab3a24c55ed99f4e3a6e6c03cad9446 (Firefox)
They get reset each session
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And that is not the only thing that can be used to track you even on Tor.
tab name, window.name has an unique ID for you and there are also others like SSL_session_id.
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fuck SR Vendor Support, encrypt a msg to DPR...how could things get worse for you?
They could ban my consumer account, which has substantial purchases. They could also take a few coins I have in my SR account. Also, even though I did no wrong, the evidence of wrongdoing may be there. I couldn't tell you, because they never presented me with any such evidence. They just repeated the accusation made against me. And if there was ever a substitute for proof, it would be repeating the same accusation with progressively increasing anger. A shitty substitute...I know.
Anyways, many people have come to my aid in all of this. Used to have my TorChat on my vendor page, but now I'm going to post it here in my sig later tonight. If anyone wants to reach me for legal advice, or if you'd like to talk about trading horses or forging business deals...perhaps even a good deal on adderall... I'd be game. The vendors and consumers of SR are a class act, and this case reaffirms this conclusion of mine.
I must say that SR might be due for some viable competition. I still believe in the road. But maybe it's time that a few other roads pop up, in order to keep SR on it's toes..?
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Well man you know they record your browser session tags so if you logged out and then back in under a different UID in the same browser session than your goose is cooked.
But if you did not log into other accounts and buy from yourself then you should keep going.
If they told me something like that I think I would start posting that they stole your coins and threatened you to keep quiet in places like reddit.com/r/silkroad, bitcointalk forums and every other place I could think of. I would search for every news story on Silkroad and start comments on those pages.
Thats not how DPR treats people and I have no fucking clue why he is letting SSBD and SR Vendor Support get away with this shit.
You would think DPR would want to treat the Vendors with a little respect.
Again, just because its SR support doesnt mean that person isnt expendable.
Many Vendors have told you that DPR has reversed whatever SR Support did in the first place.
Whoever is SR Support is a fucking idiot and DPR is aware of that, trust me.
There was no such evidence of logging. I didn't do this. But then again, I didn't deface my vendor page, only to contact SR vendor support and alert them to the problem. I contacted them because of the problem. I could care less who did this to me. I just wanted it fixed. There certainly was some "fixing" going on, I'll tell you that much. Luckily, not everyone here has it out for me. I'm sure it was just one person with a chip on his shoulder. So I'll move on :)
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Sheeeeit. I get legal advice on every street corner: "N*gger don't do that, that's 5 to 10"
(Dave Shapelle Joke)
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Sheeeeit. I get legal advice on every street corner: "N*gger don't do that, that's 5 to 10"
(Dave Shapelle Joke)
lol
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Whoever is SR Support is a fucking idiot and DPR is aware of that, trust me.
That is blatantly untrue.
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Prove up your claim!
I can prove this from the fact that DPR regularly reverses SR Vendor Support decisions after they get called on it.
What would you call that?
Whoever is SR Support is a fucking idiot and DPR is aware of that, trust me.
That is blatantly untrue.
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I can't say they are incompetent in general. I never had any problems the entire time I dealt here. I think this was just an isolated incident of a careless rush to judgement.
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Sorry to hear about your troubles here. Hopefully it will be sorted out soon. Also MOON UNIT you have no clue what you're talking about, man.