9 March 2014

Andrew Leonard Eyeball

A/K/A Andrew W. Leonard, Andrew E. Leonard, Null.

"So much rage. So much anger. So much disappointment. Newsweek’s Leah McGrath Goodman stunned the Internet on Thursday with a report that, for the first time, identified the man who created Bitcoin, the world’s most successful, and infamous, crypto-currency. In a twist worthy of Thomas Pynchon, the pseudonymous mastermind “Satoshi Nakamoto” turned out to be a 64-year-old Japanese American named — incredibly — Satoshi Nakamoto.

This bombshell caused enthusiasts to explode in fury. ...

But governments and bankers and Wall Street money men will still be around. Neither Satoshi Nakamoto nor Bitcoin ever stood any chance of operating outside the bounds of conventional society. There will be regulation, there will be consumer protection, there will be rules and taxes, and criminal prosecutions for those who break the law. Bitcoin isn’t cyberpunk fantasy and it isn’t a Thomas Pynchon novel. It’s dull. The thrill is gone. And that’s why people are so mad."

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2014-0359.htm         Stop Media Glorifying          March 9, 2014
2014-0358.htm         Leah McGrath Goodman Eyeball   March 8, 2014

Cryptome was a long-time admirer of New York Times cultural critic John Leonard, Andrew's father. It is not likely John would have written what Andrew has, instead shamed his son's feeble, hipsterish condescending status quo of the way things are characteristic of superficial digital journalistic slickness over investigtive content -- anybody who brags about how long active online is implanting reputation malware just like the media touting their Pritzkers and explosives manufacturers grandstanding prizes.

Andrew Leonard Eyeball

http://www.salon.com/2014/03/07/sorry_libertarians_your_dream_of_a_ bitcoin_paradise_is_officially_dead_and_gone/ Friday, Mar 7, 2014 07:43 AM EDT Sorry, libertarians: Your dream of a Bitcoin paradise is officially dead and gone The apparent demasking of the currency's mysterious creator is the last nail in the coffin Andrew Leonard So much rage. So much anger. So much disappointment. Newsweek’s Leah McGrath Goodman stunned the Internet on Thursday with a report that, for the first time, identified the man who created Bitcoin, the world’s most successful, and infamous, crypto-currency. In a twist worthy of Thomas Pynchon, the pseudonymous mastermind “Satoshi Nakamoto” turned out to be a 64-year-old Japanese American named — incredibly — Satoshi Nakamoto. This bombshell caused enthusiasts to explode in fury. Goodman was attacked as a bad journalist: All her evidence — declared scores of angry tweets and posts on Reddit – was circumstantial. (And it is true, Goodman’s case, while persuasive and fascinating, is not definitive. After the Newsweek story, in which he seemed to tacitly acknowledge involvement with Bitcoin, Nakamoto would go on to deny to an AP reporter that he was actually its creator.) Goodman was also flagellated for invading Nakamoto’s privacy, for “doxxing” him by publishing photos of his house and license plate that betrayed his anonymity. She was put on notice that she would be responsible if anything untoward happened to Nakamoto, who is believed to own a fortune in Bitcoin, and could now be the target of violent thieves. To people who live in the real world, the sound and fury seems mostly absurd (although the horde of media chasing Nakamoto through L.A. on Thursday afternoon definitely wasn’t journalism’s finest hour). If you invent a multibillion-dollar digital currency explicitly designed to remake the global financial system that gains serious traction, people will want to know who you are. If you mastermind an anarcho-libertarian project to break the hold of governments over money, history will demand answers — and good reporters will find them. Exposing Nakamoto’s identity is the very definition of “news.” If Goodman hadn’t figured it out, someone else would have, but credit goes to the reporter who nails the scoop. [More]

http://www.salon.com/writer/andrew_leonard/# Andrew Leonard has been working at Salon as a technology reporter, editor, blogger and staff writer for quite a bit longer than he ever anticipated being employed by an online magazine -- 15 years. He's enjoyed the luck of becoming obsessed with the Internet just before it broke into mainstream consciousness and the housing bust just before it precipitated a global economic collapse. Prior to becoming a Salon lifer he freelanced for a wide variety of publications, from Newsweek to Rolling Stone to Wired, and wrote a book, "Bots: The Origin of New Species". He lives in Berkeley, Calif., with his two children and he likes to ride his bicycle up hill.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/34/Andrew_leonard_wiki-620x412.jpg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Leonard http://www.salon.com/2013/05/31/my_wikipedia_hall_of_mirrors/ Productivity has been low this morning for reasons of pure self-indulgence. In an unexpected piece of fallout from my investigation of the strange affair of Robert Clark Young, the rogue Wikipedia editor, Wikipedia has decided — for the moment — that I am worthy of my own Wikipedia page. For someone who has been writing about “the Internet” for online publications since 1994, this feels like a signal achievement. It also feels a little like Tom Sawyer attending his own funeral, except it’s my birth that is being celebrated (or eventually, perhaps, mourned), and not my passing. It’s a strange experience. People I do not know, disguised by their Wikipedia pseudonyms, are constructing a textual version of my identity. Hey! I’m a writer — isn’t that my job?! Shouldn’t I be at least involved? Nope. Not on on Wikipedia. If there’s one thing I learned while writing about Young, it’s that editing one’s own page is considered a severe violation of conflict-of-interest rules. But now I understand why so many writers can’t resist breaking those rules. It’s crazy making, watching total strangers pick and choose through my online detritus. The temptation to rally my own army of sock puppets and send them forth to bravely edit is difficult to resist. I’ve been categorized: (American magazine journalists, American technology writers, Critics of Wikipedia!). I’ve been summarized: (“Andrew Leonard (born 1962) is an American journalist who writes for Salon.com about science fiction and internet culture, among other topics.”). I’ve got “selected works” and “references” — some of which seem to be chosen at random. I mean, I love that 16-year-old piece on Xena and fan fiction, but I’m not sure I would place it in my top ten of all time. (How about “Mutiny on the Net,” or the chapters on Finland and Bill Joy from my never-finished Free Software Project?) Laura Miller’s elegy to my father is included on my Wikipedia page, so why not my own? For six years I wrote a blog for Salon on globalization and economics called How The World Works. But from my bio, you’d never know it ever existed. Sob. [More]

Intelius.com John D. Leonard, father of Andrew, was a New York Times culture critic. 1 Andrew W Leonard (510) 845-3011 2913 Harper ST Berkeley, CA 94703 2 Andrew W Leonard (510) 845-3011 1210 Burnett ST Berkeley, CA 94702 3 Andrew W Leonard 2037 Lincoln ST Berkeley, CA 94709 4 Andrew W Leonard State Capitol Room 4081 Sacramento, CA 95814 5 Andrew W Leonard (434) 242-8202 22 4th 16th Floor ST San Francisco, CA 94103 6 Andrew W Leonard 101 Spear ST #STE 203 San Francisco, CA 94105 7 Andrew W Leonard 255 E 78th ST New York, NY 10021 8 Andrew W Leonard 1280 Centre ST #STE 230 Newton Center, MA 02459 9 Andrew W Leonard (770) 995-7266 2913 Harper ST Lawrenceville, GA 30044 10 Andrew W Leonard 94 Curtis RD Bridgewater, CT 06752