for life and liberty

Fund to Let Investors Bet on Price of Bitcoins

"The upstart stock exchange SecondMarket has made a name for itself allowing investors to buy shares of hot private companies like Twitter. Now that those companies are going public, SecondMarket is turning its attention to the next new thing — bitcoin. On Thursday, SecondMarket is expected to begin raising money for an investment fund — the first of its kind in the United States — that will hold only bitcoins, giving wealthy investors exposure to the trendy but controversial virtual currency. The fund, the Bitcoin Investment Trust, aims to provide a reliable and easy way to bet on the future price of bitcoin, a currency generally traded on unregulated, online exchanges based overseas." Continue reading →

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The world’s first Bitcoin escort agency

"Would-be clients of upscale escorts in Birmingham, UK now have way to pay for escort services that's just as discreet as cash and more secure: Bitcoin has officially entered the realm of sex work. The world's oldest profession met the world's youngest currency as escort agency Passion VIP announced it now accepts payment for its adult companionship services in bitcoin. Located in the second most populous British city (after London), Passion VIP is hoping the introduction of bitcoin payments will open up a new market by giving clients an alternative payment method." Continue reading →

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Media Seeks Answers To General Solicitation

"The SEC, on the same day it issued the final rules on general solicitation that become effective September 23, issued proposed rules that would substantially complicate the general solicitation process. We don’t know when and if the proposed rules will go into effect, but if they are adopted in the form in which they were proposed, they will substantially change the landscape in an unfavorable way for companies that want to generally solicit. In other words, the proposed rules are a take away, a retrenching of the statutory work that Congress did in the JOBS Act." Continue reading →

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Accredited investor – U.S. criteria – Wikipedia

"The federal securities laws define the term accredited investor in Rule 501 of Regulation D and as amended by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act as: [..] a natural person who has individual net worth, or joint net worth with the person's spouse, that exceeds $1 million at the time of the purchase, or has assets under management of $1 million or above, excluding the value of their primary residence; a natural person with income exceeding $200,000 in each of the two most recent years or joint income with a spouse exceeding $300,000 for those years and a reasonable expectation of the same income level in the current year; or [..]" Continue reading →

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General Solicitation Ban Lifted Today – Three Things You Must Know

"It’s official- startups can now publicly advertise that they are seeking investments, but it does come with additional responsibilities of which all entrepreneurs must be aware. In nine out of ten conversations with startups on RockThePost (a startup investing marketplace I co-founded), entrepreneurs were not aware of what it means to generally solicit or the implications tied to doing so set forth by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Among them, a potential consequence of failing to follow the regulations is being banned from fundraising for a year. Even if unintentional, acting against promulgated rules could lead to a death sentence for your startup." Continue reading →

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Abraham Lincoln and the Federal Reserve System: A Forgotten Connection

"There were two traditions in the United States in 1832: the Jeffersonian and the Hamiltonian. In the election of 1832, the two traditions clashed self-consciously. Until Lincoln's inauguration in 1861, the Jeffersonian tradition was dominant in the United States. After that, only Grover Cleveland was self-consciously Jeffersonian. This serves as background to the little-known story of the man whose ideas led to the Federal Reserve System, an immigrant named Paul Warburg. He was from a distinguished banking family in Germany. He married the daughter of the founder of Kuhn-Loeb, and he became a major figure in that investment bank, beginning in 1902." Continue reading →

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Ex-World Bank Counsel: Lawlessness when USD Loses Reserve Status

"Karen Hudes, a former 20 year employee of the World Bank, contends the U.S. credit rating is on very dubious ground. Hudes says, 'This is actually an underhanded move because they know the U.S. dollar is going to lose its status as an international currency.' What would that look like to the man on the street? Hudes predicts, 'Prices would change on a daily basis. They would double. The number of families that would be employed would be in the minority . . . there would be lawlessness.' Join Greg Hunter as he goes One-on-One with former World Bank lawyer Karen Hudes." Continue reading →

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Government Continues Its Attack On The Fifth And Sixth Amendments

"The courts have already found that simply not answering questions post-arrest can be used as evidence of guilt. But what happens when you ask for legal representation before the police have arrested or detained you? The prosecution argued that Okatan's request for a lawyer was itself an admission of guilt. While we all supposedly have a right to remain silent and the right to an attorney, the government (meaning law enforcement and prosecutors -- both operatives of the state) have been poking and prodding at the amendments' weak spots over the years, turning these 'rights' into privileges that have to be asserted loudly, unwaveringly and timed correctly. What a joke." Continue reading →

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J. Cole and TLC Take Down the War on Drugs in ‘Crooked Smile’

"J. Cole takes on the war on drugs in his new video for the Born Sinner track 'Crooked Smile,' featuring TLC. Cole plays a family man who cares deeply for his daughter, juxtaposing this against a white DEA agent who is also a single father. But though Cole slings baggies of marijuana, he's far from a violent criminal, inviting his parents over for his daughter's birthday and making a cake especially for her. Both sides collide tragically when DEA agents raid the house and Cole's daughter is shot, rattling everyone involved in the takedown. The rapper has a direct message with the video: he is honoring deceased seven-year-old Aiyana Stanley-Jones, who was killed during a 2010 police raid in Detroit." Continue reading →

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NYPD urging people to upgrade Apple devices to iOS7 because it is ‘safer’

"New York police officers were handing out flyers to people around New York City on Saturday urging them to upgrade their devices to Apple's new iOS7 operating system. NYPD's Public Awareness Notice promotes the software as giving 'added security to your devices'. The NYPD notice also urges people to register their devices with their 'Operation Identification Program'. One of those given a flyer was Michael Hoffman, who posted a picture on his Twitter account showing the paper from the police that was given to him at his subway stop. His tweet says: 'Four uniformed NYPD officers were at my subway stop tonight asking me to upgrade to iOS 7. Not a joke!'" Continue reading →

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