It’s A Trap

Putin: Syria chem arms handover will work only if US calls off strike

"'Of course, all of this will only mean anything if the United States and other nations supporting it tell us that they're giving up their plan to use force against Syria. You can’t really ask Syria, or any other country, to disarm unilaterally while military action against it is being contemplated,' President Putin said on Tuesday. President Putin said that the matter of bringing Syria’s chemical weapons under international control has long been a subject of discussion by experts and politicians. Putin confirmed that he and President Barack Obama had 'indeed discussed' such a possibility on the sidelines of the G20 summit in St. Petersburg last week." Continue reading →

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Bitcoin and Politics: What Could Go Wrong?

"Bitcoin, the alternative sort-of currency whose most ardent fans congregate in that part of the Venn diagram where 'tech' and 'libertarian' overlap, has always had a political flip-side. Other political organizations have already worked the Bitcoin vein, including candidates in North Dakota and Vermont. Darryl Perry, a libertarian candidate for president in 2016, sent an open letter to the FEC in April informing the commission that his campaign would 'not be accepting donations in currencies recognized by the federal legal tender laws.' Instead, Perry will 'only accept bitcoin, litecoin and precious metals.'" Continue reading →

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Bitcoin’s dilemma: go mainstream, or stay radical?

"Bitcoin enthusiasts and libertarians the world over are in a state of confusion about the slowness with which the outside world is catching on to their new way of exchanging money. But regulators and lawmakers are now, very gradually, realising they need to do something about this growing beast, even if they don't quite know what that something is. If the 'teenage band' gets signed on a 'mainstream label' then it will inevitably stray into more commercially minded territory. However, if the managers of the labels are not listening closely or do not like what they hear, perhaps this period of underground innovation will continue." Continue reading →

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Federal Election Commission rules requested on Bitcoin campaign donations

"Coming soon to a political campaign near you: Bitcoin donations? The Federal Election Commission is poised to determine rules governing donations made in Bitcoins and how they apply to political campaigns. 'As increasing numbers of individuals trade in Bitcoin, political parties and candidates also wish to accept and spend this new currency,' Dan Backer of DB Capitol Strategies wrote in the request. The request lays out 24 technical questions for the FEC regarding the use of Bitcoin as political contributions. Backer told POLITICO that he expects that by 2014, many federal candidates will be interested in accepting the currency — and that many donors will demand it." Continue reading →

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What the Justice Department Pot Memo Means

"How soon is 'relatively soon?' The answer is 296 days. That’s how long it took for the Obama Justice Department to respond to the passage of last November’s historic statewide ballot measures in Colorado and Washington authorizing the commercial production and retail sale of cannabis to those over the age of 21. Cannabis law reformers welcomed the Justice Department’s directive, though some also expressed skepticism. Their caution is understandable. In a 2009 memo (the Ogden memorandum), the administration pledged not to intervene in medical cannabis states. But federal officials reversed course in 2011. Yet there are indications that things may be different now." Continue reading →

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Air Force Launches “Terminator” Quadrotor Project

"Quadrotors - they're all the rage right now. From applications from amateur videographers to weapons enthusiasts. Now the United States Air Force is launching a program to develop a fully autonomous quadrotor. The air force released this statement on the program: '...this project will further the development of autonomous quadrotor systems—teaching them to think and act with minimal human intervention. 'In a promotional video released today by the Air Force, they call on the quad-rotor community to assist in the development of these next generation drones." Continue reading →

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U.S. Will Now Let in A Whole 2,000 Syrian Refugees Per Year

"The numbers are relatively small: just 2,000 refugees, compared to an estimated two million people who have fled Syria during the civil war. But it's a significant increase from the 90 or so Syrian refugees who have been permanently admitted to the U.S. in the last two years. And it's not entirely uncontroversial. The refugees, mostly women and children, will be screened for terrorist ties -- a process that could take a year or more to complete. Unlike previous efforts by the Department of Homeland Security to give temporary protected status to Syrians already in the United States, the State Department effort will bring in Syrians from overseas for permanent resettlement in America." Continue reading →

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Watch out, startup communities: The Congressmen are coming

"The tech industry and startup world are only just waking up to the need to maintain an ongoing dialogue with Congress, while the political class is starting to realize that innovation and entrepreneurship are vital pieces in the nation’s economic puzzle. In the weeks ahead, however, the gap between the two worlds will shrink just a little as Congressmen fan out across the country to visit startup communities in their home districts. Starting today and proceeding throughout September, 44 members of Congress will be meeting with startups in their home districts from Tennessee to Ohio as part of Startup Day Across America." Continue reading →

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As prices soar, Indians exchange gold for cash

"Jewellery associations in Hyderabad said with the single day surge of Rs 2,500, customers were coming in droves from early morning to take back cash in exchange for their gold jewellery. Already reeling under protests and strikes over the bifurcation issue, the sudden increase in gold price has come as a death blow to the jeweler shops in Seemandhra areas. Jeweler shop owners in Tirupati, Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada said their existence would be doubtful if the present stalemate continued any further. With gold prices increasing, enquiries for gold loans are also on the rise, said Nagaraju Rao, a manager with one of the outlets of Muthoot finance group." Continue reading →

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Can Indian Temple Gold Help the Rupee?

"At a time when nothing seems to be able to stem the Indian rupee’s decline, a novel idea to boost the currency is doing the rounds: use the tons of gold stashed away in people’s homes and in temples. There is no firm estimate of how much gold is held by Indian temples, but it is believed to be several thousand tons. Jamal Mecklai said banks could pay interest for gold, and then sell a large portion of the stock in the domestic market. London Bullion Market Association Chairman David Gornall told The Hindu Business Line newspaper that the Reserve Bank of India could swap the 200 tons of gold that it had bought from the International Monetary fund in 2009, for dollars." Continue reading →

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