Mainstream News

Dark Wallet: A Radical Way To Bitcoin

"In the Bitcoin world, where banks no longer serve as intermediaries between people and their money, bank accounts have been replaced by online 'wallets' that people can use to virtually store and send bitcoins. Wilson and Taaki’s project is a simple wallet designed to be easier to use for people who aren’t tech-savvy; they hope that in turn accelerates the currency’s rate of adoption around the world. The wallet will be open-source and free to use. Eventually, Wilson and Taaki hope to create a vast stable of Bitcoin-related tools. The goal, for Wilson, is similar to what he tried to do with the Liberator: use technology to remove government intervention from his life, and from the lives of like-minded people." Continue reading →

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Regulation Opens Door to FinTech Startup Opportunities

"Complying with existing regulations and coping with future regulatory changes represent the biggest opportunity for startups to break into the potentially lucrative world of FinTech (Financial Technology), according to two seasoned FinTech players who spoke at The Wall Street Journal Tech Cafe in London. 'The easiest way to start a business to work within the finance sector is to look for a regulation that is coming down the pipe and develop a solution for that thing,' said Kirk Wylie, co-founder of OpenGamma, an open-source analytics and risk management platform for the financial services industry. 'Anywhere you see new regulation is always a way for startups to make money.'" Continue reading →

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17% Would Vote to Secede and Form New State

"Some residents in Maryland, California, Michigan and Colorado are looking to secede from their respective states, and nearly one-out-of-five Americans think that's a good idea. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 17% of American Adults say they would vote for their section of their state to secede and form a new state. Seventy percent (70%) would vote to keep things the way they are, but another 13% are undecided. Just 22% believe sections of individual states have the right to secede and form a new state. Fifty-five percent (55%) disagree, but a sizable 23% are not sure. Only 17% of voters believe the federal government today has the consent of the governed." Continue reading →

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Declassified Documents: NSA Spied On MLK Jr., Senators, Journalists

"The six-year spying program, dubbed 'Minaret,' had been exposed in the 1970s but the targets of the surveillance had been kept secret until now. The documents were published after the government panel overseeing classification ruled in favor of researchers at George Washington University who had long sought the release of the secret papers. The intensity of anti-war dissent at home led President Lyndon Johnson to ask US intelligence agencies in 1967 to find out if some protests were fueled by foreign powers. The NSA worked with other spy agencies to draw up 'watch lists' of anti-war critics to tap their overseas phone calls." Continue reading →

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Libyan-American Rapper Khaled M Removed From Plane, Detained

"Rapper Khaled Ahmed has drawn attention to airport security and detention practices after he tweeted about his experience of being removed from a connecting flight by unidentified security officials on Monday. Khaled says he was detained, questioned, and had his belongings confiscated without explanation. Khaled is a Libyan-American hip-hop artist who performs under the moniker 'Khaled M.' He first rose to prominence in the hip-hop community with his songs about the Arab spring and events in his ancestral homeland of Libya. After the incident, Khaled M described the experience and expressed his frustration with his repeated run-ins with flight security." Continue reading →

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Greenwald: NSA’s view of drone opponents as ‘threats’ and ‘adversaries’

"Under the title 'adversary propaganda themes', the document lists what it calls 'examples of potential propaganda themes that could be employed against UAV operations'. It states: 'Attacks against American and European persons who have become violent extremists are often criticized by propagandists, arguing that lethal action against these individuals deprives them of due process.' In the eyes of the US government, 'due process' – the idea that the US government should not deprive people of life away from a battlefield without presenting evidence of guilt – is no longer a basic staple of the American political system, but rather a malicious weapon of 'propagandists'." Continue reading →

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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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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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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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