VoluntaryAmerican
10-22-2013, 07:54 PM
How the FBI brought down Silk Road
Statements Ulbricht made in college and posts he made online show he leaned libertarian. On Facebook in 2010, he posted a page-long essay inspired by Independence Day. "Always, freedom arises in the absence of limitation," he wrote. He embraced Austrian economic theory, whose advocates favor strong protection of private property rights, but minimal economic regulation.
On Silk Road, federal investigators say, Ulbricht called himself "Dread Pirate Roberts," shortened often to "DPR." The moniker comes from a character in the novel The Princess Bride, depicted as a ruthless pirate who takes no prisoners. Eventually, "Captain Roberts" is revealed as a series of people who pass on the "dread pirate" alias, and his fearsome reputation, to a successor on retirement.
In one post to the site, after users complained about a hike in Silk Road commissions, investigators say, Ulbricht wrote, "Whether you like it or not, I am the captain of this ship. You are here voluntarily, and if you don't like the rules of the game, or you don't trust your captain, you can get off the boat."
In San Francisco, where court papers say he moved in September 2012, Ulbricht lived quietly and cheaply, first bunking with friends, then renting a room for $1,000 a month. He paid in cash. His roommates knew him as "Josh" and told authorities he spent a lot of time on his computer.
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In his postings on Silk Road's forum, the site operator "Dread Pirate Roberts' " signature included a link to the Mises Institute website. "Dread Pirate Roberts" often cited Austrian economic theory and the works of Ludwig von Mises as the philosophical underpinning of Silk Road.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/10/21/fbi-cracks-silk-road/2984921/
Statements Ulbricht made in college and posts he made online show he leaned libertarian. On Facebook in 2010, he posted a page-long essay inspired by Independence Day. "Always, freedom arises in the absence of limitation," he wrote. He embraced Austrian economic theory, whose advocates favor strong protection of private property rights, but minimal economic regulation.
On Silk Road, federal investigators say, Ulbricht called himself "Dread Pirate Roberts," shortened often to "DPR." The moniker comes from a character in the novel The Princess Bride, depicted as a ruthless pirate who takes no prisoners. Eventually, "Captain Roberts" is revealed as a series of people who pass on the "dread pirate" alias, and his fearsome reputation, to a successor on retirement.
In one post to the site, after users complained about a hike in Silk Road commissions, investigators say, Ulbricht wrote, "Whether you like it or not, I am the captain of this ship. You are here voluntarily, and if you don't like the rules of the game, or you don't trust your captain, you can get off the boat."
In San Francisco, where court papers say he moved in September 2012, Ulbricht lived quietly and cheaply, first bunking with friends, then renting a room for $1,000 a month. He paid in cash. His roommates knew him as "Josh" and told authorities he spent a lot of time on his computer.
...
In his postings on Silk Road's forum, the site operator "Dread Pirate Roberts' " signature included a link to the Mises Institute website. "Dread Pirate Roberts" often cited Austrian economic theory and the works of Ludwig von Mises as the philosophical underpinning of Silk Road.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/10/21/fbi-cracks-silk-road/2984921/