sound money

Mining for digital gold in Thailand

"Bitcoin can be compared with voice-over-IP or internet telephone in the last decade. The technologies were first deemed illegal since there was no law supporting them. Surangkana Wayuparb, director of the Electronic Transactions Development Agency (ETDA) under the Information and Communication Technology Ministry, said the agency will study the business model of Bitcoin, as well as possible regulations and public awareness of this digital currency since the central bank said the issue was not within its authority. Don Sambandaraksa said the decision by the central bank to ban trading of Bitcoins in and out of the country while still allows Bitcoin mining doesn't make any sense." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMining for digital gold in Thailand

Winklevoss twins say Bitcoin could become a country’s currency

"Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, currently making headlines with plans to launch a Bitcoin fund, said on Tuesday that they could see the digital currency becoming a country's official money. 'The next step for Bitcoin is potentially becoming the currency of a country,' Tyler Winklevoss said. The twin brothers, famous for their history with Facebook Inc, were speaking at the 9th annual Value Investing Congress in New York. Speaking after filing plans to launch the Winklevoss Bitcoin Trust, an exchange traded fund that would allow investors to trade the digital currency like stocks, the brothers laid out a primer on Bitcoin and spoke about what might be next for the currency." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWinklevoss twins say Bitcoin could become a country’s currency

Winklevoss twins: Bitcoins better than gold

"'It's gold 2.0,' he said in a presentation at the Value Investing Conference in New York Tuesday. Tyler and his brother Cameron, who shared the stage, outlined the bull case for bitcoins. They have been investors and are aspiring Bitcoin entrepreneurs. The twins recently filed paperwork with the SEC for a Bitcoin exchanged traded fund. Like gold, the virtual currency retains its value regardless of what central bankers do to the money supply. But unlike gold, bitcoins are easier and cheaper to store. Cameron Winklevoss said that another sovereign debt crisis could be a catalyst for a sharp move higher." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWinklevoss twins: Bitcoins better than gold

Bitcoin gaining market-based legitimacy as XBT

"Punctual trams run quietly along the street out front. It looks like any other office building in Zürich. But inside the nondescript building of SIX Interbank Clearing, a small unit of professionals maintains the list of the world’s currency codes. Last week in that very same building, I had the honor of presenting the bitcoin cryptocurrency to a gathered audience of various bank officials at an e-commerce conference. And I mentioned that the individual, or committee, that endorses and finalizes XBT as the ISO currency code for bitcoin will earn their spot in history next to Satoshi Nakamoto." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBitcoin gaining market-based legitimacy as XBT

Bitcoin: Getting Down to Virtual Currency Basics

"At many credit unions, the apparent upshot of the regulatory signals is confusion. 'The guidance is not straightforward. It is incredibly confusing,' said one credit union CEO who asked for anonymity on the advice of legal counsel. He added that, according to his analysis, there also would be a substantial staff burden in complying with regulatory requirements imposed on a credit union classified as a money transmitter under FinCEN, and he is unsure the costs to process Bitcoin transactions are worth the benefits. 'You have to decide if it is worth it to adhere to the regulations and for us, right now, the answer is no,' he said. But he insisted that door could open if the Bitcoin demand surfaced." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBitcoin: Getting Down to Virtual Currency Basics

100 to 115 SWAT raids per day in the US

"We are talking 100 to 115 SWAT raid per day in the U.S., and if we are going to continue to fight the drug war we need to go after these low and mid level offenders. There’s just not enough police man power, there’s just not enough creative non-violent ways to come up with to get them to turn themselves in. This has become the default way to carry out the drug war…bashing into somebody’s home at night. It’s born from just an overwhelming case flows, and also a lack of creativity. You also have a lot of incentives coming from the federal government that encourage warrants to be served this way." Continue reading →

Continue Reading100 to 115 SWAT raids per day in the US

Police Made One Marijuana Arrest Every 42 Seconds in 2012

"Residents of two states voted to legalize marijuana in 2012, but despite an increase in public support for liberalizing drug policy, American police arrested about the same number of people last year on pot-related charges as in 2011. Data released Monday by the Federal Bureau of Investigation show there were an estimated 1,552,432 arrests for drug-related crimes in 2012 – a slight uptick from the 1,531,251 drug arrests in 2011. Marijuana offenses accounted for 48.3 percent of all drug arrests, a slight reduction from 49.5 percent in 2011, which itself was the highest rate since before 1995." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPolice Made One Marijuana Arrest Every 42 Seconds in 2012

Pot And Pregnancy: It’s Harmless, So Why Are Moms Still Prosecuted?

"Weighing decades of research, it’s fairly safe to say that marijuana during pregnancy has very little to no effect on the developing fetus. Unfortunately, child welfare laws in many states do not agree. Some states equate smoking marijuana while pregnant — whether to alleviate nausea, vomiting, stress or depression — with felony child neglect or abuse. Given that marijuana is the most widely used drug by women of child-bearing age, and the potential for women to use marijuana without knowing they’re pregnant, this is a women’s rights issue. Why should a woman surrender autonomy over her body, her children and her approach to motherhood to civil authorities, whether she uses cannabis or not?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPot And Pregnancy: It’s Harmless, So Why Are Moms Still Prosecuted?

FDA rewrites opioid narcotic labels to limit use for pain

"The new guidelines will not place formal new restrictions on prescriptions by physicians who treat patients for pain, but administration officials announcing the change made clear they hope to chasten physicians who prescribe the medications for anything other than ongoing, intractable pain. The revision made by the FDA would not just remove 'moderate pain' from the agency’s list of approved uses for the medications: It aims to get patients and their physicians to focus not only on levels of pain, but on how long it can be expected to persist and what alternatives exist to relieve it." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFDA rewrites opioid narcotic labels to limit use for pain