for life and liberty

Bitcoin Ticker Available On Bloomberg Terminal For Employees

"Bitcoin is now officially mainstream. According to BTC Geek, Bloomberg terminal users can now look up Bitcoin’s pricing history. Data comes from ubiquitous Bitcoin exchange service Mt. Gox as well as Tradehill. For now, only Bloomberg employees can access the ticker. But the feature should make its way to regular Bloomberg terminal customers under the label XBT. The ticker probably shows what a bitcoin is worth in U.S. dollars over time. With the Bloomberg terminal, traders could easily compare Bitcoins with other currencies in order to short them." Continue reading →

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Japan’s Debt Exceeds 1 Quadrillion Yen as Abe Mulls Tax Rise

"The country’s outstanding public debt including borrowings reached a record 1,008.6 trillion yen as of June 30, the finance ministry said in Tokyo today. Larger than the economies of Germany, France and the U.K. combined, the amount includes 830.5 trillion yen in government bonds. The world’s heaviest debt burden will weigh on Abe when he decides next month whether to implement a two-step plan to double the tax on consumers in a nation with ballooning welfare costs. Moody’s Investors Service yesterday warned that a worsening of finances would erode confidence in government bonds." Continue reading →

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Am Law Lawyers Help Bring Bitcoin to the Masses

"It may be awhile before Kathleen Moriarty lets clients pay her in bitcoin, but the Katten Muchin Rosenman partner is doing her part to help legitimize the digital currency derided as speculative and risky by some prominent economists. In July, Moriarty filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission what appears to be the first-ever proposal to create a bitcoin-based, exchange-traded fund on behalf of two high-profile clients: Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, the twin brothers famous for battling Mark Zuckerberg over Facebook’s origins. The twins turned to Moriarty because of her extensive experience with ETFs." Continue reading →

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6-year-old Colorado girl in national spotlight over medical marijuana

"Charlotte Figi suffers from a rare form of epilepsy called Dravet Syndrome. She’s endured violent seizures since she was a newborn. Most weeks, she’d have about 300 seizures a week. After countless emergency room visits, trips to specialists and children’s hospitals, and more than a dozen pharmaceuticals, nothing worked. Then, a year-and-a-half ago, as a last resort, her mom tried cannabis oil. The medical marijuana worked immediately. 'It’s potent, it’s strong, it’s spicy, it’s got some kick,' her mother, Paige Figi, told FOX31 Denver as she showed us a syringe full of the cannabis oil. It’s diluted with olive oil, and mixed with food." Continue reading →

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Video Shows Pembroke Pines Cop Punching Mentally Ill Girl

"The public defenders uncovered what they’re calling systematic use of physical and chemical force to restrain patients at the Pembroke Pines Facility. They said their investigation revealed kids are routinely tied hand and foot to their beds and administered drugs to knock them out. Weekes said his office conducted five, separate interviews with clients at the facility, all of whom said they had essentially been hogtied and injected – knocked unconscious. Dr. Michael Jochananov, the facility’s director, declined to speak with CBS4′s Gary Nelson at the center Thursday." Continue reading →

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Are Mexican drug cartels recruiting U.S. soldiers as hit men?

"What would cause U.S. soldiers to utilize their skills in such ways? Well, quite frankly, the pay is good — really good. From their military income, Walker brings home around $2,500 per month and Corley about $4,500. Both had agreed to perform the hits for $50,000 each in addition to receiving a supply of cocaine. Burton said that trained soldiers from the U.S., Mexico and Guatemala are highly sought after — and extremely valuable — to the cartels, who can more readily and easily transport drugs into and throughout the states, as well as carry out hits within the country using U.S. servicemen." Continue reading →

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Miami cops defend actions after graffiti artist dies following arrest

"Miami Beach Police Chief Raymond Martinez defended his department’s actions amid growing outrage over the death of an immigrant artist who was Tasered by one of his officers. 'They had an encounter,' Martinez said to WSVN-TV on Friday regarding the death of Israel Hernández-Llach Tuesday morning. 'They were gonna place someone under arrest for a crime. Even though it was only graffiti, it’s still a crime. The subject ran from them. Now he’s eluding police. It’s resisting arrest, if you will.' Miami New Times reported on Friday that Mercado’s record includes charges of battery and excessive force levied against him." Continue reading →

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US Military Caught Manipulating Social Media, Mass Fake Accounts

"The New York Times report goes on to detail information uncovered from hacked data regarding the military operation to stage ‘grassroots’ responses and organizations in order to deceive via psyop. Professor of philosophy Peter Ludlow writes for the Times: 'The hack also revealed evidence that Team Themis was developing a 'persona management' system — a program, developed at the specific request of the United States Air Force, that allowed one user to control multiple online identities ('sock puppets'_ for commenting in social media spaces, thus giving the appearance of grass roots support.'" Continue reading →

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Filipino farmers destroy genetically modified ‘Golden Rice’ crops

"A group of activist farmers in the Philippines stormed a government research facility and destroyed an area of genetically modified rice crops the size of 10 football fields. 'The Golden Rice is a poison,' said Willy Marbella. The farmers attacked the fields at the research facility in Pili, Camarines Sur out of concern that their own crops could be pollinated and thereby contaminated by the GMO plants, possibly resulting in a boycott of their products like U.S. farmers of soft white wheat saw when a strain of Monsanto herbicide-resistant wheat abruptly appeared in an Oregon field. South Korea and Japan both halted imports of U.S. wheat." Continue reading →

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