Ukraine ceasefire ends, government will attack rebels: Poroshenko

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said on Tuesday government forces would renew offensive operations against rebels and ‘free our lands,’ hours after a ceasefire to allow for peace talks with the pro-Russian separatists had expired.

10 Things Every College Grad Needs To Know About Money

One Stanford student thought “paid vacation” meant that her boss would pay for all her travel and leisure activities. Another didn’t know there was such a thing as a water bill, and a third threatened to call the police and report the work study office because it was letting the government withhold money from her paycheck.

GM Recalls Another 8.4 Million Vehicles

said Monday it’s recalling 8.4 million more vehicles in North America, the vast majority due to ignition switch defects, and disclosed additional fatalities. The automaker also dramatically increased its estimate of the cost of its recent wave of recalls, forecasting a second-quarter charge of $1.2 billion, up from $700 million.

Why Successful Leaders Acknowledge Cultural Differences

In a world where even the most far-flung places show the movies we see in Britain and the United States, where the same – mainly western – music pours from radios and personal devices and where, thanks to the reach of the internet, English is arguably more dominant than it ever was before it is easy to assume that cultural differences are a thing of the past. Or at least not important.

Facebook Added 'Research' To User Agreement 4 Months After Emotion Manipulation Study

Unless you’ve spent the last couple of days in a Faraday pouch under a rock, you’ve heard about Facebook’s controversial ‘emotion manipulation’ study. Facebook data scientist Adam Kramer ran an experiment on 689,003 Facebook users two and a half years ago to find out whether emotions were contagious on the social network. It lasted for a week in January 2012. It came to light recently when he and his two co-researchers from Cornell University and University of California-SF published their study describing how users’ moods changed when Facebook curated the content of their News Feeds to highlight the good, happy stuff (for the lucky group) vs. the negative, depressing stuff (for the unlucky and hopefully-not-clinically-depressed group). The idea of Facebook manipulating users’ emotions for science — without telling them or explicitly asking them first — rubbed many the wrong way. Critics said Facebook should get “informed consent” for a study like this — asking people if they’re okay being in a study and then telling them what was being studied afterwards. Defenders said, “Hey, the Newsfeed gets manipulated all the time. What’s the big deal?” Critics and defenders alike pointed out that Facebook’s “permission” came from its Data Use Policy which among its thousands of words informs people that their information might be used for “internal operations,” including “research.” However, we were all relying on what Facebook’s data policy says now. In January 2012, the policy did not say anything about users potentially being guinea pigs made to have a crappy day for science, nor that “research” is something that might happen on the platform.

Cameroon Soccer Federation to probe match-fixing claims

Cameroon are to investigate claims of match-fixing in their World Cup group games, especially the match against Croatia, the country’s football federation said on Monday.

Aussie Startup Expert360, Aims To Disrupt The Consulting Industry

Sydney-based, Expert360 is a web platform that connects top-level consultants to mid-size clients around the world. Think oDesk for consultants. Consultants range from retired CEOs and CFOs to lawyers and supply chain experts and can charge as little as an hour of their time.

Worker Productivity Dropped During USA-Germany World Cup Game

At half past noon yesterday, as the U.S. soccer team was battling Germany on a rain-soaked field in Recife, Brazil, I looked out over the fourth floor newsroom at Forbes and saw only three colleagues at their desks. The rest had decamped for a gathering in the Forbes galleries, where most of the office was watching America’s attempt to stay in the tournament.

The Cold Calculus of Death In GM's Victims Compensation Fund

How much is a life worth?

The Mystery Of The Missing Ocean Trash

Deep in the ocean is a plastic vortex, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Some people say it’s twice the size of Texas, others that it’s bigger than the continental United States. But the latest research indicates it doesn’t have nearly as much pollution as scientists thought it would.

BNP Paribas Agrees To Pay $8.83 Billion In Sanctions Probe

The U.S. alleges that the French bank violated U.S. sanctions laws by facilitating transactions involving Sudan, Cuba and Iran.

Obama's No-Win Immigration Predicament

The president’s announcement that he would shift immigration enforcement resources to the Southern border failed to placate anyone.

Founding Fathers Spinning In Their Graves As SCOTUS Rules That Corporations Are People Too

It turns out that Mitt Romney was right after all—corporations are people too.

Kim Kardashian's $28 Million Year: How She Made More Than Ever Before

Kim Kardashian has cemented her status as the queen of the famous-for-being-famous this year, raking in an estimated $28 million over the last 12 months.

How The Pensado Awards Leveled The Playing Field - And Spoke Truth To Power

Last Saturday night, in the ballroom of the Fairmont Miramar Hotel in Santa Monica, a few hundred people—some of them famous, others far more important than famous—gathered to acknowledge a truth in today’s music industry: the times, to misquote a modern day bard, have a-changed.

Can A New Strategy Put The 'Monster' Back In Monster?

Job search behemoth Monster Worldwide is hoping a new strategy–and a cleaner, more modern rebrand–will restore the company to internet recruiting and placement domination.

ISIS Gets A Rebrand, Declaring Its New Caliphate In The Process

The militant group that has swept over much of Syria and now Iraq has renamed itself. The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria now wants to be called, simply, “The Islamic State.” It’s a new and ambitious claim to rule the Muslim world.

Beside A Crumbling Iraq, Iran Looks On With Alarm Bells Ringing

With Sunni militants proclaiming a new Islamic caliphate including northern Syria and much of Iraq, Iran is searching for solutions to the looming threat next door. It’s taking an active approach to bolster Shiites against the Sunni spread.

Between Israel And Hamas, 3 Killed Teens Escalate Tensions

Three Israeli teens who have been missing since June 12 were found killed in the West Bank. Israel blames Hamas and is expected to take action against the militant group.

Lead Exposure Causes Anxiety And Depression In Chinese Children

Lead exposure lowers children’s IQ and causes aggression. But children exposed to low levels of lead show different symptoms, including more depression and anxiety, a study of preschoolers finds.

BNP Paribas Agrees To $9 Billion Fine And Admission Of Guilt

The French banking giant BNP Paribas will pay a penalty of nearly $9 billion and plead guilty to criminal charges for doing business with countries sanctioned by the U.S.

National Instruments Stepping Ahead Of Agilent Technologies With New 5G LabVIEW Wireless Design Tools?

National Instruments Corp. (NASDAQ:NATI) has been primarily known by engineers and scientists as one of the premiere test and measurement equipment companies. In my nearly 25 years experience in high tech, I’ve spent a lot of time in many labs, and have seen National instruments gear in nearly every one of them. While National Instruments customers like SpaceX, Max Planck Institute, and Ford get most of the attention, National Instruments is starting to garner attention in the 5G wireless research market with its new offerings. National Instruments rethought the entire value chain in 5G research and prototyping, which could very well disrupt companies like . If you want a deep dive, you can read our white paper (free) here. Otherwise, read on. If it’s not blindingly obvious, the growth in connected devices, whether it’s smartphones, tablets, cars, connected homes or wearables will create a future shortage in the required bandwidth. With each successive standard, whether it was 2G, 3G, 4G, 4G LTE, LTE-A, came more bandwidth to apply to more devices at faster speeds. It takes literally a decade to create and deliver reasonable “research to prototype” for each major jump in wireless technology, and that’s where National Instruments comes into play.

U.K. jury convicts TV host Rolf Harris on child sex abuse charges

Veteran Australian entertainer Rolf Harris was found guilty today of 12 charges of indecently assaulting four girls in the U.K. over nearly 20 years, starting from 1968, the BBC reports.

Emperor penguin numbers to slide as Antarctica warms

Antarctica’s emperor penguin population could fall by at least a fifth by 2100 as the sea ice on which the birds breed becomes less secure, a new study predicts.

U.S. Leads Developed Economies In Startup Activity

Americans are leading industrialized nations around the globe when it comes to starting businesses, with nearly 13% of the U.S. working-age population–or approximately 25 million Americans–launching or running a new venture in 2013. The U.S. had the highest entrepreneurship rate reported among 25 countries in North America, Europe, and Asia, according to the recently released Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2013 United States Report prepared by Babson and Baruch Colleges. Researchers surveyed nearly 5,700 working-age adults.

You Know Bitcoin Is Mainstream When Your Extortionist Requests It

When Overstock said it would begin accepting bitcoin for payment, supporters of the currency were thrilled. This is it, they said, ‘bitcoin is going mainstream!’

Beyoncé Knowles Tops The FORBES Celebrity 100 List

Who runs the world? In entertainment, it’s Beyoncé. The singer has climbed to the No. 1 spot on the Forbes Celebrity 100 after an amazing year featuring a massive tour.

Ukraine, as expected, drops 2022 Olympic bid

The Ukrainian city of Lviv withdrew its bid for the 2022 Winter Games on Monday, becoming the third contender to drop out of the race for an Olympics that no one seems to want.

Obama To Request $2 Billion To Deal With Border Issue

The huge numbers of illegal migrant children has overwhelmed detention center. His request comes at a time when GOP leaders say Obama’s idea of flexibility means taking the law into his own hands.

ISIS Declares Caliphate As Iraq Fights To Retake Tikrit

The plan was unveiled one day before the Iraqi parliament will hold its first meeting since the April 30 national elections.

Two American Men Will Likely Face Trial In North Korea

A trial date for the two, who were traveling separately when they were arrested this spring, hasn’t yet been announced.

Paging Nurse Practitioners As Demand Soars Under ObamaCare

There is unprecedented demand for nurse practitioners and physician assistants as demand grows for more primary care medical providers and care coordinators to treat millions of newly insured patients under the Affordable Care Act.

Apple Maps Data Is Now Improving Every Day

In September 2012, launched iOS 6 with Apple Maps as a default mapping replacement for Maps. When Apple Maps was introduced, it was plagued with errors so CEO Tim Cook issued an apology. Cook said that Apple Maps “fell short” and he recommended alternatives like Bing Maps, Waze and Google Maps. Fortunately, Apple is now improving Maps every day.

Around 30 migrants found dead on boat near Sicily

The rescues, which the coast guard said have been going on since Friday evening, are the latest in a seemingly endless succession as the chronic migrant crisis in the southern Mediterranean has picked up this year. A total of 3,612 migrants from Syria and North Africa were picked up from 11 boats and taken to ports in Sicily and the Mediterranean island of Lampedusa, a coastguard spokesman told Reuters. Some 43,000 people have crossed from North Africa to Italy so far this year, the same amount as in the whole of 2013, the coastguard said. REUTERS/Antonio Parrinello (ITALY - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST SOCIETY IMMIGRATION) - RTR3RPV8' height='259' alt='MIGRANTS-ITALY/RESCUES' width='460' src='http://news.guugll.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/around-30-migrants-found-dead-on-boat-near-sicily.jpg' />

As many as 30 migrants were found dead on a boat packed with people off the coast of Sicily, said Italy’s navy, which rescued thousands more trying to cross from North Africa over the weekend.

As caliphate declared, battle continues in Iraq

Iraqi troops battled to dislodge an al-Qaeda splinter group from the city of Tikrit on Monday after its leader was declared caliph of a new Islamic state in lands seized this month across a swath of Iraq and Syria.

Owner of sunken South Korean ferry blamed for 5 earlier crashes

The company that owned the South Korean ferry that sunk in April, killing more than 300 people — many of them schoolchildren — was blamed for five crashes involving its vessels from 2003 to 2011, but none was considered serious enough to suspend or revoke its licence.

Welcome To The Real World: The Simple Money Equation You Need To Solve After College Graduation

Among the most obvious differences between college and the so-called real world is that in the latter you ideally receive a regular paycheck. Yet shockingly few of us know what to do with that check — big or small — once we possess it. I asked this question of Alexa von Tobel, founder of financial planning site LearnVest. She responded, “Everything.”

At Google I/O, A Bid To Beat Apple To New Devices

More than ever, the devices, software, and services we use to connect to media, play games, and communicate with people depend on two companies: and .

Nicki Minaj at BET Awards: 'I was about to die'

Nicki Minaj told the crowd at the BET Awards that she was close to death recently — an experience that has helped her be herself.

Pistorius knew the 'wrongfulness of his act,' psychiatric reports say

A panel of mental health experts has concluded that Oscar Pistorius was not suffering from a mental illness when he killed girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in his home last year, the chief prosecutor at the athlete’s murder trial said Monday.

The man who saved children, including me, from Hitler: Joe Schlesinger

Exactly 75 years ago, CBC journalist Joe Schlesinger was one of 669 Jewish children rescued from the advancing Nazis by Nicholas Winton, a British businessman unwilling to take No for an answer. Today, “Nicky’s children” and their extended families number over 6,000 people.

Putin gets payback for Canada's anti-Russia stance: Brian Stewart

As Stephen Harper was pouring vitriol and sanctions on Russia for months over the Crimea and Ukraine crisis, he did not seem to have expected much of a serious slap-back from President Vladimir Putin. But as Brian Stewart writes, Harper badly underestimated Putin’s sense of the strategic counter-punch.

Online Psychotherapy Gains Fans And Raises Privacy Concerns

Video chatting with a therapist is convenient, people who have tried it say. Research suggests online therapy can be effective, but issues with the quality of the service and privacy remain unsolved.

In Shetland, Oil Shapes Debate Over Scottish Independence

Offshore oil and gas money is central to the debate over whether Scotland should break off from the U.K. — especially in the remote Shetland Islands, where North Sea oil has transformed the economy.

In Unofficial Referendum, Hong Kong Voters Demand Change

Residents of the Chinese territory went to the polls for democratic change. The vote was not binding, but organizers are threatening mass demonstrations if the results aren’t heeded.

China Tries To Establish Foothold In Zambia, Tanzania

Africa is big business for China. Howard French, author of China’s Second Continent, talks to Steve Inskeep about why some African countries are of particular interest to Chinese leaders.

How Much Elephant Is In That Mouse?

‘New mouse species has elephant DNA,’ declared the headlines. It must have been hard to resist, considering the contrast in size between these animals. The wording conjures up images of runt elephants evolving into dwarf and then pocket pachyderms before shrinking so small that they could run up their bigger cousins’ trunks.

What's Next For Your Career?

At any age and at any point in your career, you might ask yourself “What’s my next step?” Your next move isn’t always clear. There may be a promotion opportunity available at your current job. Does that mean you should go for it? That depends! Does the bigger job you could get promoted to advance your career in the way you want?

The Three Key Leadership Lessons From 'Seinfeld'

It may take 50 or 100 years for people to pay proper tribute to Jerry Seinfeld’s insights into the human condition. After all, when Shakespeare was churning out his comedies and tragedies, people saw them as lively tales with compelling characters; but it took later generations of scholars to pontificate with straight faces about how Shakespeare “invented” the modern human sense of self. But already it’s telling that whole academic studies often tell us no more about people than what Seinfeld has been able to figure out on his own. The whole range of human foibles is catalogued in the nine seasons that his self-named show was on the air. And the Internet is now filled with life lessons from the show.

25 Hot Israeli Tech Startups

Israel’s dynamic tech startup scene is no secret. The country has been called the “start-up nation” for years and, today, only the U.S. and China have more companies listed on the NASDAQ than Israel’s 90 – worth a total of $40 billion. Innovation continues and a new crop of Israeli tech startups are on their way up, transforming healthcare, entertainment, finance, media and a myriad of other industries. The hot startups below have secured funding from investors, and are perhaps, on their way to successful exits or IPOs. Here are 25 Israeli tech startups to watch this year:

SeaWorld guests stranded 60 metres high for hours on Skytower ride

Dozens of people were stranded more than 60 metres up on a revolving tower at SeaWorld San Diego for hours Sunday when a power failure stalled the ride, authorities said.

Meet The British Online Retailer Ready To Take On Amazon

Amazon is the dominant force in online retail in the West, right? Well, that’s the case today, but a small British startup has the giant U.S. business in its sights. From a standing start two years ago, Flubit has already established itself as the world’s fourth largest e-commerce marketplace, even though it doesn’t list a single product on its website.

We Need More Innovations In Finance And Investing, Not Just Startups

Currently, over 565,000 startups are launched each month in the U.S. They raise an average of $78,406, which translates to over $531 billion per year. Yet, less than 1% ($42 billion) of that is from venture capital and angel investors, and  over 95% from friends and family or personal savings and debt.

If Facebook's Secret Study Bothered You, Then It's Time To Quit Facebook

There are more than 1 billion Facebook users—I’m one of them—and the reality is that all of us are test subjects for the company’s not-so-grand experiments.

For Iraqis, A Ramadan Filled With Fear And Uncertainty

It’s typically a holy month of reflection for Muslims, but Iraqis face a bleak Ramadan this year. Extremists have taken over much of the country and show no sign of easing their fighting.

Fast Growth Forecast For Nanogrids, Microgrids

Two new research reports project fast growth for nanogrid and microgrid technologies over the next three to 10 years, as commercial interest peaks and communities seek distributed, alternate power sources to run smart transportation systems or keep buildings running independently off the grid.

Ten-man Costa Rica survives Greek comeback

Costa Rica survived a Greek comeback and a red card to win the teams’ Round of 16 match 5-3 in a penalty shootout on Sunday after the game ended 1-1, keeping its improbable World Cup run alive.

Bill Clinton, Canadian movie mogul aim to help Haitian peanut farmers

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton on Sunday toured a peanut depot in central Haiti that’s part of a new enterprise aimed at helping roughly 12,000 small farmers.

9 Simple Tips To Protecting Yourself and Your Business Online

The recent headlines about Target, Neiman Marcus, and Snapchat’s security breaches in the past few months make it clear that data security is a real-time, everyday issue. At the Dell Women’s Entrepreneur Network event in Austin, TX in early June, Verna Grayce Chao, Director of Global Security Solutions Marketing at Dell, noted that 73% of organizations globally have experienced a security breach in the last twelve months. With a statistic like that, how can we feel protected on the Internet?

Privacy Fears Cost 100,000 Lives?

Larry Page, one of ’s founders, recently told a developer conference that he thinks consumer worries about data privacy may allow for 100,000 needless deaths every year. According to Farhad Manjoo of the New York Times, he said:

Five Ways To Keep Your Cool When Under Fire

When you most want to smash someone in the face or run out of the room, remember this irony. Cooling off someone else’s anger can be a way to actually bring that person closer. Warning: Don’t add fuel to the fire by suggesting that they calm down. Hint: “the opposite of anger is not calmness, it’s empathy,” notes Mehmet Oz.  So, when someone’s angry at you, that empathy must start with you.

Colombia Advances In World Cup, Two Decades After Infamous Murder

In 1994, star player Andres Escobar was killed just weeks after he scored an own goal in the Cup. NPR’s Arun Rath speaks with Colombian-American journalist and novelist John Rojas about the crime.

The Perfect Time To Teach Your Kids About Money Is Earlier Than You Think

Whether we like it or not, money decisions permeate just about every aspect of our adult lives. Everything from going to the grocery store to filling up the gas tank to what college we choose involves money decisions. Even if money is far from what is most important to you, it’s impossible to get away from dealing with it. For that reason, it’s important to master your finances and make your money work for you. It’s crucial to pass these skills on to our children so they can become successful, independent and happy adults. There are a plethora of resources on how to teach kids about money and financial literacy, but when should we start teaching them? It’s never too late to start, but there is an optimal time to add a little financial literacy to their life lessons. As you teach your kids to get along with others, to count, and to read, sprinkle in a few money lessons to help them to get started on a positive track. According to research by the Center For Financial Security, “It has been shown that children make great strides in economic understanding between the ages of 6 and 12, such that children’s understanding is ‘essentially adult’ around age 12.” The following list lays out when children understand different financial concepts: Counting Studies on habit forming in children by Dr. David Whitebread and Dr. Sue Bingham at the University of Cambridge report that by age 7, children have developed many of the basic concepts that relate to financial behaviors. Children may start to understand counting as early as 2 to 3 years old, but they often haven’t mastered the concept of “equals” until about age 5. Conservation Typically, the researchers explain, by age 7, children understand the concept of conservation, which essentially means that the value of money is not measured by coin size. In other words, a dime is worth more than a nickel even though the latter is larger. Until they get this point, they may want five pennies instead of a dime since the size of the coin as well as the quantity is more. Exchange and Equivalence The other concept children start to grasp after age 6 is “exchange and equivalence” — that money has different denominations, and that there isn’t always enough to pay for certain items. The old cliche makes sense here:  Some of your children’s first money lessons could address this concept of having to give up their money to get their item as well as how much things cost.  One idea would be doing a “dollar day” and seeing what they can get when they spend that dollar.  I guess the Dollar Store would be perfect for this!  Children can then practice parting with their dollar for their item and maybe even receive some change in return. Whatever you do, make it real. When your money teaching points are real life practical experiences that children can relate to instead of abstract concepts, the lesson may just stick. , but you might as well start their money education at the optimal time. For more information about teaching your kids about finances, check out these resources: • Money As You Grow • MyMoney.gov • The Mint • National Financial Educators Council • Jump Start

Forbes Celebrity 100 Sneak Peek: Pharrell Williams And Bradley Cooper Debut On The List

The complete Celebrity 100 list, Forbes annual ranking of the most powerful people in entertainment, will be released at 8 AM ET on Monday, June 30.

Walmart And Costco Are Not The Same

There’s a running thread in the discussion about minimum wage and worker benefits that pits Walmart and Costco against each other. But the idea that they are identical in more than the most basic sense is utter rubbish.

Athens' ghost airport future site for glitzy resort

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Derelict airport, shut down in 2001, is the planned location for a glitzy new resort.

Sunni Extremist Group ISIS Declares New Islamic Caliphate

Some analysts says the move may signal the birth of a new era of transnational jihadism. ISIS also announced a name change: It will now be known simply as The Islamic State.

For U.S. Vets, Iraq's Newest Conflict Awakens Complex Emotions

In 2004, Jason Hansman was helping to rebuild Mosul with the 448th Civil Affairs Battalion. A decade later, he and other veterans are watching the cities where they served fall to Sunni militants.

Columbia Advances In World Cup, A Decade After Infamous Murder

In 1994, star player Andres Escobar was killed just weeks after he scored an own goal in the Cup. NPR’s Arun Rath speaks with Colombian-American journalist and novelist John Rojas about the crime.

NASA Successfully Tests Its Own 'Flying Saucer'

NASA’s official name for it is the “Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator,” but let’s be honest – it looks like a flying saucer.  But whatever it’s called, one thing that is true about this new concept vehicle being developed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory just had a successful test run.

Bourbon Street shootout leaves 9 injured in New Orleans

Nine people were shot and injured — including two critically — after being caught in the crossfire when a gun battle erupted between two men on touristy Bourbon Street in New Orleans’ celebrated French Quarter, police said.

Indonesia surpasses Brazil in deforestation

Indonesia has for the first time surpassed Brazil in clearing tropical forests and losses are accelerating despite a 2011 moratorium meant to protect wildlife and combat climate change, scientists said on Sunday.

China's Wanxiang Challenges Tesla For Dominance Of Global Electrics Market

“The road is still very long,” said Lu Guanqiu last month, employing the imagery of a famous Chinese proverb as he talked about building electric cars.  “We want to concentrate for now on manufacturing in the U.S.  If I don’t succeed, my son will continue with it.  If he doesn’t make it, my grandson will.”

Tokyo man sets self on fire to protest Japan military policy

A man set himself on fire at Tokyo’s busy Shinjuku railway station on Sunday in what appears to be a rare violent political protest. Witnesses were quoted as saying the man spoke through a megaphone to protest the government’s moves to change Japan’s defence policy.

How To Turn Your Internship Into A Job: Three Real-Life Stories

Most college students don’t have to be as resourceful as Molly Dodd. At 21 years old she had lost both of her parents, her father to a sudden heart attack when she was 16 and her mother to liver and adrenal cancer. On her own financially, Dodd held down four jobs while she worked toward her B.S. in journalism and public relations at Southeastern University, a Christian college in Lakeland, FL with 1,500 students. Though she’d done two unpaid internships in Florida, at a Lakeland magazine and a Plant City marketing and communications firm, she had no big-city connections or much of an alumni network from her tiny school.

As Penalty Kick Deciders Loom At 2014 World Cup Here Are The Two Most Ridiculous Myths

The round of 16 starts tomorrow at the World Cup and all games will now be played to a conclusion. Sometimes the conclusion becomes a penalty kick decider and it is odds on that we will experience at least one between now and the end of the final match on July 13.

The Supreme Court Denial Of Presidential Appointment Power May Hurt College Players' Claims

There is a good chance you glanced at this title and said, “ ?”  Well, sometimes intelligence is skewered by education. I am such an exhibit. So below is what came to mind when the Supreme Court made its ruling.

George Clooney Eyeing Run For Calif. Governor Or U.S. Senate?

 — at least according to reports summarized by The Washington Times and the San Jose Mercury News. Both outlets cite to foreign news stories and celebrity magazines like US Weekly, which quote “insiders” and friends of the actor.

Iraqi Military Launches Offensive Against Insurgents In Tikrit

The city was the hometown of former dictator Saddam Hussein. The government was trying to retake territory from Sunni insurgents.

In Paris, Training Wheels For The Littlest Riders

Paris streets are often too dangerous for kids to learn to ride, and most parents have no room to store bikes in their apartments. So the city has started renting bikes for smallest Parisiens.

Pope says communists are closet Christians

Pope Francis, whose criticisms of unbridled capitalism have prompted some to label him a Marxist, said in an interview published on Sunday that communists had stolen the flag of Christianity.

Aretha Franklin still rewarded by her audience's love of music

In a one-on-one interview with the CBC’s Sandra Abma, legendary soul and gospel singer Aretha Franklin discusses her love of music, the meaning of respect and her brand new album.

Iraqi army launches Tikrit assault in fight to dislodge ISIS rebels

Insurgents brought down an army helicopter over the northern city of Tikrit on Sunday as the military sent in tanks to try to dislodge them on second day of a major pushback against a Sunni militant takeover of large stretches of Iraq.

A New Call To Build A Massive Alien-Seeking Space Telescope

With the Hubble Space Telescope aging and Kepler crippled, leading astronomers are mounting a new push for the construction of a telescope so huge that it may need to be constructed by astronauts in space rather than being launched aboard a single rocket.

Space Could Be Littered With Earth-Sized 'Diamond' Stars

Astronomers have identified a distant white dwarf star so dim and cool that its carbon has actually crystallized, forming what is essentially a giant diamond the size of Earth.

Ramadan around the world

The world’s estimated 1.6 billion Muslims mark the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan this weekend, when Muslims abstain from food, drink and other pleasures from sunrise to sunset.

World Cup Wisdom: To Succeed In Business, Think Like A Goalie

World cup fever has taken us all.  During popular games, our co-working space typically filled with startups is a wasteland: the computer screens are blank, the seats are empty and the ideas are on hold.  Everyone surrounds the large screen television watching 22 men kick a ball around.  At a lull during the action, my mind started to wander, and I started to think about penalty kicks.  Watching some of the games where penalty kicks determined the outcome, I realized how impossible the odds were for the goalie.  The ball was going to the left but the goalie jumped to the right.  Looking at the physics of penalty kicks it started to make more sense.  The kick is from 12 yards away.  The goal is 24 feet wide by 8 feet tall or 192 square feet.  The ball typically moves at 70-80 mph reaching the goal line in 500 milliseconds.  A goalie can get to one end of the 24-foot goal in 600 milliseconds. If the goalie waits to see which direction the ball goes, which might take one second, it is too late, the ball is in the goal.  Even though a world-class goalie can cover the entire net, a penalty kick is pretty much a guaranteed goal.

Bernie Sanders Channels Claude Rains, Blames Oil Companies

It’s hardly shocking that the Senate’s only Socialist doesn’t like oil companies, Wall Street speculators, or high oil prices. “I am getting tired of big oil companies telling us that gasoline prices are going up because of the turmoil in Iraq,” Sanders said in a statement. “The truth is that big oil will never miss an opportunity to increase the price of gas. Today, it’s Iraq. Tomorrow, it may be the weather. On and on it goes.”

Israel strikes Gaza militant sites in response to rocket attacks

Israel carried out airstrikes on militant targets in the Gaza Strip early Sunday after a rocket attack, the military said, as the country’s foreign minister suggested it consider reoccupying the Hamas-ruled territory to stop the increasing rocket fire.

22 dead, dozens still trapped in India building collapses

Police in southern India detained two construction company directors Sunday as rescuers using gas cutters and shovels searched for dozens of workers believed buried in the rubble of a building that collapsed during monsoon rains — one of two weekend building collapses killing 22 people.

Hong Kong wraps up unofficial democracy vote in defiance of Beijing

More than 780,000 votes were cast by Sunday, the final day of an unofficial referendum on democratic reforms in Hong Kong, part of a civil campaign that has been branded illegal by local and mainland Chinese authorities.

Secular And Socialist Sunnis Ally With Extremists In Mosul

Iraq’s military has launched a large-scale offensive to take back ground seized by Sunni fighters. Authorities say they have recaptured the city of Tikrit, which is less than 100 miles from Baghdad.

In Nigeria, Many Girls Are Married And Divorced Before Adulthood

Nigeria’s rate of child marriage is among the highest in the world. Michelle Faul of the Associated Press tells NPR’s Don Gonyea that the rate of girls being divorced and abandoned is rising too.

Muslim Refugees Make Do Without A Mosque In Greece

Iraqi and Syrian refugees in Athens find themselves in the only major EU capital without a formal mosque. Muslims in Greece are celebrating Ramadan at a difficult time in Greece.

Feathercoin Multipool

Hey lovely Feathercoiners,

as you know, its hard to mine Feathercoins and get any profit out of mining. So here we got a solution for you!

Mine the most profitable Coins (Scrypt,SHA256,X11,X13,Scrypt-N) and get paid in Feathercoins! You will get more Feathercoins a day AND the buypower for Feathercoin will increase!

Special thanks to the Team from CoinKing.io for the fast implementation of this service for Feathercoin!

Yay, finally I can mine x11 or x13 (got lots of problems because of heat lately), and get paid in FTC!

Official Feathercoin Referral Link: http://coinking.io/register.php?r=15539

Guugll Search

http://www.guugll.eu/feathercoin-multipool/

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The Feathercoin Team

On this page, we would like to introduce to you some of our community members who’ve made significant contributions to Feathercoin.

Each member has their own field of expertise and has found a way to help out. This is the reason why Feathercoin is recognized as having one of the strongest communities gathered around a crypto currency.

Bushstar

35, Oxford, UK

Founder/Development

Peter Bushnell is the former Head of ICT at Brasenose college which is part of Oxford University. He is a keen enthusiast for crypto currency and has been involved in many projects the most known of which is Feathercoin for which he is lead developer. Peter lives by the open source ethos and believes that we are here to work together to progress the underlying software. It has been Peter’s task to oversee the development of Feathercoin and to make some of hard decisions to secure its future.

ghostlander

Development

Has been with Feathercoin development team since the early days. Currently leading the development on new hashing algo Neoscrypt. Contributes to all things technical when we’re talking code, he and Bushstar work closely together hashing out the technical details with other members of the development team too.

He is also the lead developer on Phoenixcoin after he volunteered to raise it out of the ashes, take care of their code and developments after previous devs abandoned the coin in dust. He is also the lead on Orbit Coin.

chrisj

34, UK

Promotion/PR

After fighting long battles with the trolls in the depths of the Bitcointalk forum (and he did slay many shills as they spread FUD in the BTCe trollbox in wee hours), Chris was on a long quest to find good people in the world of Bitcoin. Then on the horizon Chris spotted the Feathercoin forum.

“Finally a bunch of decent human beings in the Bitcoin space!”, he thought as he finished confirming his registration email (which had found its way into his spam folder by mistake).

Chris spent many glorious months inviting new members, introducing people to one another, writing newsletters, settling disagreements between developers and staying up until the middle of the night to take part in Interviews with like minded individuals in America.

Wrapper

50+ grey haired English

Development, analysis, testing

An early member of the Feathercoin forum, joining in the technical discussions. Helps out maintaining the forum, greeting new members, answering and analysing mining and technical support issues. Mentor for new staff. Monitoring the block chain network and some development and testing. We run a small home miner as a hobby and p2pool hub.

I am disabled, retired ill health, so am limited in what I can do. But with the help of my son and some friends, for the last year that has been 100% Feathercoin. I’ve got a PhD in Physics and was working as Maintenance Management systems consultant and Software designer at Manchester University before I retired.

Ruthie

Mid 30′s, Oxford, UK

Engagements

Been with feathercoin from early on, Ruthie is involved in helping introduce new users to the forum and organising meetups like The Oxford Crypto Group and feathercoin meets. Offers on going support to the Hull Coin Project, helps in building relations with merchants and organisations that support feathercoin, happy to reach out to new projects. Willing to pitch in with members when needed, always here to assist.

People ask how I got into feathercoin? I always say, “I never expected to be this involved, but there is something that draws you – the community spirit”.

Calem

Late 20′s, Australia

Project Management and Digital Media

Came across feathercoin after having his interest in crypto currencies rekindled in late 2013. On his days off he acts as a “night shift” forum mod due to his timezone. He has assisted the community in his spare time with forum moderation alongside supporting any projects able. He is currently working on adoption within Australia but works on other projects like the game “Feather Roller” as well as the Digital Media section of the forum. – “I came to the forum looking for an answer to a question, but ended up staying because of the community!”

iawgoM

Mid 30′s, Croatia

Website Development and Digital Media

In-house designer. Usually summoned when your Paint skills aren’t good enough. Joined Feathercoin as a miner in April 2013, liked the people, decided to stay and help around as much as possible. Besides doing graphics and web development/maintenance for FTC community needs, also available as a freelancer for other cryptos (portfolio here).

uncle_muddy

Late 30’s, West Midlands, UK

Development and Merchant Adoption

Became involved with feathercoin in late 2013, he has helped feathercoin along its journey with the Prostate Cancer UK fundraiser, developing a building the OpenFeathercoinATM, assisting with the organisation of meet-ups, and is now working on featherPay the handheld PoS terminal.

ChekaZ

22, Germany

Allrounder

I am a German student who became involved in Feathercoin at May 2013. Since then I have been helping with merchant adoption in Germany with Dahms Winery being our first merchant. I also like doing my own little projects such as spearheading the special limited edition bottles of wine from the winery, also have taken a dabble in some development work and made MinerX – a mining tool for beginners.

Wellenreiter

50+, Germany

Technical Development

Grey haired German, working as network specialist for a large company. Linux fan. Got involved with Feathercoin in summer 2013. Started with mining, and still mines with low hashrates. Does some programming and testing. Creates the Linux install packages and Android releases.

MrWyrm

30’s, Cumbria, UK

Forum Moderator

In his very early thirties, he’s a community and people power enthusiast working in IT and retail systems. He found Crypto Currencies late but instantly fell in love with the technology and its potential to help communities. When not involved in crypto currencies he’s tending to his allotment, crossing stupidly hot chilli peppers and is currently enrolled on a Natural Sciences degree.

xonar

49, Italy

Contributor

In early May 2013 I became owner of my 1st FTC, really not remember from what “faucet” – it came into my wallet… then I became a member of the community. I’m not a big writer, and not a great technician, but I love this community, it’s serious and at same time nice and interesting.

mirrax

30, Czech Republic

Trader, PR support

BTC and FTC literally changed my life. After initial big losses as fresh trader I gained some confidence. Enough to quit my work and divide my time into my familly, hobbies and trading. FTC was first coin I was involved with and I have no intention to quit.

Education: electronic engineering degree. Last job: 4 years chinese goods imports.

Ilocans

Contributor

I discovered the world of cryptos in april 2013 when the bitcoin reached 60$USD. Almost 2 weeks after I discovered Bitcoins, Feathercoin was launched and I was one of the first miners. Since then, I am a strong supporter of Feathercoin and I am still mining with my small rig. I also helped by working a little bit with UKMark, translating to french, developing 2 android apps regarding FTC (FTC Miner Tool: a tool to track your rig on a pool and CryptocoinsManager: a tool to track the balance of your FTC wallet and also for other currencies), working with Wellenreiter on the Feathercoin Android wallet.

I can’t be really present very often because I have a family and a lot of work. However, I read the forum very often, I am supporting Feathercoin because I love the community since day one and because it is the first coin I could really mine and because I can be involved in its evolution.

Nathaniel / RIPPEDDRAGON

Contributor

Mined FTC from the beginning and helped push us through our hardest mining times post launch, never lost faith in the coin. Joined the dev team briefly but my full time dev job took up too much time for me to contribute anything useful. Mined WDC at the start of UNOCS (I still hold some of all 3 coins), helped with bugs in PXC/WDC, and helped nutnut with bugs in his pool software. Actively helped others in our GPU mining community for a long time. I developed power optimization strategies for GPU miners here and was able to boost electrical efficiency close to 50% while mining scrypt. I no longer mine FTC as I am a GPU miner but still hold FTC for our bright future!

I am currently working on building out a half rack GPU farm in my employer’s data center. Each 4u machine runs and cools 6 GPUs effectively while running at full power. I just finished getting my first 2 4u servers running 24/7 and I have 3 more 6 GPU 4u server chassis arriving late this week or next Monday at the latest. I am moving toward building a scale-able cloud mining service for GPU miners even if the current market just isn’t there for it.

Vizay

29, Sweden

Project management

I’m a Swedish chap closing in on 30 with an almost annoyingly positive attitude and a strong belief that the world can be made better than it is today. Working as a ICT Engineer at ///, mainly focused on building internal cloud services for the R&D dept here in Stockholm. When I don’t work I spend a lot of time with my daughter and girlfriend, enjoying life with them. First got involved with crypto through a colleague that introduced me to Feathercoin in December -13. Started out with mining, mainly just for profit, but quickly saw that there’s a whole lot more to crypto than just making quick bucks and moving on. It’s the philosophy around crypto that makes me stay, I want to be part in making the world a better place, and I believe there’s big potential for crypto to play a key role in that process.

Tuck Fheman

North America

Forum Moderator

Involved with the Feathercoin community since a few weeks after launch, because it’s the most friendly/helpful community in all of cryptocurrency! Created/maintains several Feathercoin blogs and is a former trollbox FUD fighter. Helped fund Kevlar’s LINK protocol project with other community members.

T4rQu1N

Contributor

I don’t have as much time to engage as regularly as I would like, nor do I have the technical skills to support development work. What I do have, is a passion for this coin, and more so the community that defines it. My promise, is to do everything I can to mentor, support, and inspire anyone willing to make an intellectual contribution!

Lizhi

38,China Beijing

Forum Moderator

I am a chinese technocrat, a keen enthusiast for crypto currency. Full of love for Feathercoin, believe that technology can change the life. I know that when people use FTC, I would be proud. I read the forum very often. In the meantime, I set up chinese-language of FTC website, I did it for the greater good. Let’s go ahead, we work together to establish our history.

mnstrcck

Toronto, Canada

Contributor

Besides enjoying spending any free time I have outdoors in the Canadian wilderness, I run my own business focused on online marketing services for small to medium sized businesses. I also double as a project manager on new media for Canadian film and television.

Crypto-currency interests me, and I’ve spent the last year learning about it as much as possible and gotten involved with the Feathercoin community. It’s been a ton of fun!

and many more…

source: https://www.feathercoin.com/about/meet-the-feathercoin-team/

Guugll Search

http://www.guugll.eu/feathercoin-team/

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Six Ways to Stop Overanalyzing & Become More Decisive

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Software Enables New Applications For Flash Memory

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North Korea test fires rockets, news agency says

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Benghazi Suspect Arrives On American Soil To Face Charges

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Facebook Manipulated 689,003 Users' Emotions For Science

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X11

There has been lots of chatter in the crypto-community surrounding X11.

If you have yet to hear about it, we are not referring to the Honda motorcycle or anything to do with the X Windows System. We are referring to the new X11 hashing algorithm for crypto-currencies. Some believe its the “algorithm of the future”, others find it too complicated and prone to errors.

Many miners have been forced out of the ‘mining race’, primarily in Bitcoin, because of the rapid advancement in the development of mining technology. CPU and GPU equipment is not as fast at processing transactions as ASIC equipment is. The more ASIC equipment attached to the network, the more the overall network hashing power increases, along with the level of difficulty. If you do not have the budget to keep your computer hardware up to date, or up to speed, your costs will quickly become higher than your profits. At that point you either have to take a loss, switch to mining a more compatible crypto-currency or upgrade.

Flow chart concept with a descision.As a result a lot of time, effort and resources have been put into the development of technologies and strategies that can prolong the takeover of ASIC technology. X11, because of its complexity, fits into this category. The more complex the process, the more time-consuming it becomes rather than power-consuming – which isn’t what ASIC was designed for.

X11 was first introduced to us through the crypto-currency Darkcoin which was released earlier this year in March, created by Evan Duffield and Kyle Hagan. In the abstract of the coin’s whitepaper it stated that Darkcoin uses:

“An improved proof-of-work using a chain of hashing algorithms replaces the SHA256 algorithm and will result in a slower encroachment of more advanced mining technologies (such as ASIC devices).”

X11 has 11 rounds of hashing and uses 11 algorithms: blake, bmw, cubehash, echo, groestl, jh, keccak, luffa, skein, sharite and simd. This is similar to that of Quarkcoin, which has 9 rounds of hashing from 6 hashing functions (blake, groestl, blue midnight wish, jh, SHA-3, skein) and was released in 2013.

Many miners who have jumped on board to mine the crypto-currencies utilizing X11 claim to be experiencing reduced power and heat generation with their equipment. For some miners this could simply be due to outdated or insufficient equipment. For others its the algorithm, which is barely friendly for GPU mining. In the Darkcoin forum one community member, LimLims, explains:

“The answer is that some kinds of processing are extremely easy to scale up on a GPU to 100% utilization. In distributed computing parlance, these are called “embarrassingly parallel” problems, because they are trivial to scale up on parallel computer hardware. X11 is relatively more difficult (compared to scrypt) to parallelize on a GPU with perfect efficiency. This is because the code has to coordinate 11 different hashing algos, each of which is computed in a different way and in a different timeframe. So hypothetically we might have optimized an X11 miner as well as humanly possible, but it still only manages 50% utilization of a GPU.

source: http://bitcoinbarbie.com/x11/

Guugll Search

http://www.guugll.eu/x11/

Vericoin: The Altcoin You Can Spend Wherever Bitcoin is Accepted

Vericoin has launched an innovative and potentially game-changing approach to gaining merchant acceptance that could shake up the altcoin world should the service gain broader usage.

Launched in May, vericoin is a proof-of-stake altcoin that features a variable interest rate which fluctuates depending on how many coins are staking. As more coins are used to stake and support the network, the interest rate climbs.

One of the ways in which alternative digital currencies seek a broader audience is through expanding merchant acceptance. Companies like Coinkite and CoinPayments.net enable payments in altcoins, but it remains unclear exactly how successful these efforts have been at expanding the number of merchants that take alternative digital currencies as a payment method.

To date, roadblocks have emerged owing to the infrastructure an altcoin needs to be accepted by merchants and the varied willingness on the part of these businesses to accept a potentially volatile digital currency.

Enter VeriBit

Vericoin sidesteps these obstacles entirely with VeriBit, a value-added service to the network that enables people to make smaller bitcoin purchases with their vericoin. VeriBit acts as a go-through for vericoin spenders, facilitating purchases for consumers at any business that accepts bitcoin.

This new service opens up the tens of thousands of merchants currently accepting bitcoin to consumers who wish to use vericoin.

CoinDesk spoke with co-creator Patrick Nosker, who said that prior to a feature like VeriBit, those who wanted to use an altcoin to make a payment had to exchange a set amount for bitcoin. But, because of factors such as exchange fees and the natural volatility of a marketplace, consumers face the real risk of losing value prior to making their purchase.

Nosker said:

“It’s not very simple for a beginner. So what we made is a transaction layer between exchanges and the user.”

VeriBit is geared toward smaller transactions rather than large ones. Currently, there is a spending limit of 0.15 BTC (roughly $87 at press time), though according to Nosker, this cap is expected to rise in the future.

How VeriBit works

VeriBit is designed to be a user-friendly way to pay for bitcoin purchases using vericoin. The vericoin development team acts as a payments processor for these transactions, operating one wallet for vericoin to be deposited into by a paying consumer and another one that pays out to the payment destination in bitcoin.

VeriBit

To make a payment, you first enter the address you want to send bitcoin to and how much BTC you wish to transfer. After you’ve entered in the information, VeriBit calculates how much vericoin you need to send, plus a 2 VRC transaction fee.

You then have 20 minutes to send your vericoins to the address, after which the wallet operators – currently the vericoin development team – complete the transaction and send out the BTC to its destination.

According to Nosker, the feature stays funded through donations and the exchange of vericoin fees for more bitcoin. He said that VeriBit was developed largely to build more services into the network rather than make money off of user transactions, saying:

“We didn’t want to get into the exchange business or make tons of money doing this. It’s really just to make vericoin usable immediately. [The fee] just covers the cost of doing it.”

Ultimately, he said, the goal is to create an incentive for consumers to use an altcoin by allowing them to spend it wherever bitcoin is accepted.

Vericoin’s anonymity service

In addition to VeriBit, the vericoin team has also developed several other services that appeal to both mainstream consumers and more seasoned altcoin users.

One of the major forces in altcoin at this time is the anonymous transaction movement. This cluster of altcoin projects, led by projects like darkcoin and XC, focuses on anonymizing transactions to render them invisible to detection efforts.

Nosker noted that anonymity, by and large, is not a feature that appeals to most people. But in acknowledgement of demand for such functionality, the team produced a tool to hide transations though it stopped short of instituting it across the vericoin network.

VeriSend

VeriSend is a transaction-mixing service that, for a fee, scrambles vericoin transfers and makes them harder – but not impossible, Nosker clarified – to detect.

He added that the vericoin team at one point looked into creating a standard anonymizing system, but ultimately passed on integrating one.

In the future, VeriSend will be added to the alt’s wallet, at which time users can opt to use VeriSend or not.

Text-based management

Another vericoin-based service, VeriSMS, functions as text-based gateway and wallet system that links the cell network to the vericoin network. Vericoin users can load vericoins onto this wallet and use the SMS network to make transactions.

VeriSMS works on an international level. According to the VeriSMS webpage, there are a variety of gateway numbers that can be used in the US, Europe and Asia.

The service offers three commands to users. The balance feature can be used to actually create a wallet address and later utilized to check the amounts currently deposited. Users can type in addresses to send transactions and set passwords for their wallet. This creates a simple security feature should a person’s phone be compromised.

Nosker cautioned that VeriSMS remains in the alpha stage, and that there are risks to using it, telling CoinDesk:

“It’s not perfect. We’re still ironing out bugs with it.”

Nosker added that the team is exploring other projects, including one that could facilitate vericoin-to-fiat transactions, that tie in to the ultimate goal of making an altcoin that is as consumer-friendly as it is functional.

source: http://www.coindesk.com/vericoin-altcoin-spend-wherever-bitcoin-accepted/

Guugll Search

http://www.guugll.eu/vericoin-altcoin-can-spend-wherever-bitcoin-accepted/

WinkDex, the Bitcoin Index Created by the Winklevoss Twins

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DuckDuckGo added Bitcoin to their search using Chain.com, Google added Bitcoin to Google Finance using Coinbase, and now Bloomberg with WinkDex. Bitcoin is suddenly everywhere!

The Winklevoss twins promise to be providing a public API in the near future, presumably an API that would enable developers to easy access data they have collected and crunched on WinkDex. You can apply for early access to the API.

source: http://www.followthecoin.com/winkdex-bitcoin-index-created-winklevoss-twins-now-bloomberg/

Guugll Search

http://www.guugll.eu/winkdex-bitcoin-index-created-winklevoss-twins/

The Most Coveted Employers For Engineering Students

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Coined

The story of Bitcoin, and other digital currencies, is being explored in a new documentary, titled “Coined”.

A work in progress, Coined is currently raising $72,000 on the popular crowd funding platform Kickstarter. With 19 days to go on their crowd funding campaign, Coined has raised almost $9,000 at the time this post is being written. To donate towards the documentary, go here.

The documentary team has already shot over 20 hours of footage, including interviews with the creators of Dogecoin, and footage from the Dogecoin sponsored NASCAR race at Talladega (where we, team Follow The Coin, actually accidentally ran into the Coined team!).

We caught up the with director of Coined, Chris Higgins, to get more info.

How did you get into digital/crypto currencies? What was that experience like for you?

I read my friend David Wolman’s book The End of Money and it got me thinking about, you know, money. I had heard about Bitcoin for several years at that point (mainly on NPR) but hadn’t actually looked into it. So I started poking around online in 2013, first to see if I could mine Bitcoin with my laptop. (I know, stop laughing.)

I ended up finding Litecoin and the whole altcoin scene, which was much more approachable for the hobbyist like me. So I started looking into what it would take to build a mining rig.

Right around that time, Adam Cornelius, my old friend and occasional comrade in filmmaking, showed up and said, “I’m thinking about building a Litecoin mining rig.” So that was that.

What triggered the idea for Coined?

So Adam and I built this mining rig in December 2013. He bought the parts, we both assembled them, I fought with Linux video card drivers for a few days, and then we sort of sat back and watched it do its thing.

Adam was at a Bitcoin meetup in Portland when he ran into Billy Markus, who programmed Dogecoin. Turns out Adam was mining Dogecoin at the time (he was using multipool, and it had pointed him at Dogecoin — remember, this was late Dec 2013/early Jan 2014). Adam and I had been talking about doing a documentary for a while, and here it was, this story starting in our own back yard. So we grabbed our cameras and went to Billy’s house. We were interviewing him in January 2014, very early in the life of the coin.

When we flew to New York City to film the Dogeparty in February, we knew we had a solid story. Here were hundreds of real people converging in a real place, next to the New York Stock Exchange, to celebrate a cryptocurrency. As filmmakers, seeing something that was formerly an online-only phenomenon (and thus, kind of boring to see on film) turn into a literal party…well, that was the moment we knew we had a documentary on our hands.

How many digital currencies are covered in Coined?

Hard to say at the moment, since we need to shoot another hundred hours.

We have about 20 hours on Dogecoin and Bitcoin, with some discussion of Litecoin in there as well, plus some other altcoins here and there. But that’s primarily because we have been interviewing people in the Dogecoin scene.

Our goal for the film is to focus on:

1. The concept of digital currency as a whole. In other words, an exploration of the value of any currency and looking into how these things go digital.

2. Specific incarnations of these currencies (such as Dogecoin, Bitcoin, potentially any other currency) and the stories of their creation and use.

3. An exploration of how the rise of digital currencies fits in with the rise of other currencies throughout history. People have been creating currencies for millennia…this is a very new take on a very old idea. How is this different? How is this the same? And so on.

What is the one thing people should know about digital currencies?

That all money is a shared agreement — we agree that some token (dollar bill, coin, etc.) has value and then it does — and that the embodiment of that token is irrelevant. The fact that digital currency is “just bits on a computer” is the same thing as a dollar bill being “just ink on paper.” The value isn’t in the bits or the ink, it’s in the agreement that we share when we say that thing has value.

Do you mine?

I’ve done CPU mining on various laptops, but stopped when the weather warmed up. Adam has a GPU mining rig and has mined tons of oddball coins. (He was very excited to mine a Breaking Bad themed coin at one point, if I recall correctly.)

We are also building mining rigs for the movie; they’re available as rewards on the Kickstarter.

How would you explain Dogecoin to your mom?

Dogecoin is a digital form of money that started as a joke, then became very real. It actually has value, but it’s accessible by people with very little money, unlike other digital currencies like Bitcoin. People who use Dogecoin tend to value sharing, inclusivity, and charitable giving. A culture has grown around Dogecoin that emphasizes this kind of sharing culture, where “tipping” is common — if you make a cool thing online, I can tip you some Dogecoin for it, just by typing a command into Twitter or Reddit. It’s a way to put your money where your mouth is, and reward work and projects that you value. It also has a picture of a cute dog on it.

What’s the most surprising thing you have learned during the process of creating Coined?

That /r/Dogecoin is exactly as susceptible to flame wars and drama as any other online community. In other words, for something that is lighthearted and fun, there sure is a lot of drama that goes down on the subreddit. I’m curious whether that’s simply how online communities work (to some extent, it is) but also I wonder whether that’s what happens when you mix money into an online community — stuff gets real, and everything is amped up.

The other thing that surprises me is how willing everybody is to talk about the concept of money. When I say I’m working on a documentary about how money is changing, and turning into this virtual thing, people engage with that idea. It’s not just nerds, it’s everybody. Quite honestly, I thought that interest in the “What is money?” question would be limited to finance nerds and tech nerds. But no, not at all — this is genuinely something that everybody cares about, because, let’s face it, everyone uses money.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

Yeah, two things I’d point out:

1. The Dogecar video has only 500 views. That’s dumb. I think people simply haven’t noticed that it exists yet. Dudes, this is 15 minutes in the pit with Josh Wise!!! This is what /r/Dogecoin gave us 3,000,000 Dogecoin to go and film! HERE, LOOK! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_EpAAzQUVQ

2. Our documentary is designed to be inclusive. Whether it’s $1 or $10, we want people to get involved and join our community, share their stories, ask questions, etc. And yes, we take tips (see our FAQ on the Kickstarter) if you don’t dig the whole fiat currency thing.

source: http://www.followthecoin.com/coined-the-first-digital-currency-documentary/

Guugll Search

http://www.guugll.eu/coined/

XC NEWS

It has been a while since we last did an article on XC , formerly X11Coin; And maybe that’s a good thing, as we have some very nice updates to bring to the CryptoArticles audience. The team behind XC has been revealed, and there is a Tor stick available, so let’s take a look!

The biggest news is the fact the XC developers have decided to reveal their identities, after much eager anticipation from the community. Do keep in mind this is not a complete list, as there will be more roles to be filled as XC progresses.

From the looks of it, there is one lead developer and one co-developer behind XC. There is also a community manager, social media manager/consultant, a web developer, a PR & media liaison, and, of course, someone taking care of branding and design.

All in all, the XC team looks pretty solid. What strikes me as most interesting, is that pretty much everyone involved got into Crypto in 2012 or 2013. Just goes to show how far the Crypto world has come since then.

You can find the official announcement and more information about the XC team here :

http://xc-official.com/XCPlatform/14-06-16%20Team%20Announcement%20D.pdf

In other news, the XC team have developed a Tor stick, which runs a secure XC wallet by connecting to the network via Tor, and makes your coins portable. No installation is required, as it is just plug-and-play.

You can find out more about the XC Tor Stick here :

http://xc-official.com/XCPlatform/xc-tor-stick/14-06-25_Press_release-XC_TOR_Stick.pdf

Last but not least, the XC team have also revealed their short-term roadmap for the currency. On July 7th, we will see REV 2, as well as the launch of the new website , a social media revamp and updated XC wallet logo.

Later on, there will be REV 2.5 and REV 3 , XC Tor sticks being shipped to the community, Encrypted Messaging will become available, a marketing campaign will be launched, and many more things will be taking place shortly.

You can find the XC Short-term roadmap here :

http://xc-official.com/XCPlatform/XC-Short-Term-Roadmap.pdf

source: http://www.cryptoarticles.com/crypto-news/xc-news-meet-the-team-tor-stick-and-short-term-roadmap

Guugll Search

http://www.guugll.eu/xc-news/

Dogecoin Creator Jackson Palmer To Leave Dogecoin Community

In an unexpected turn of events in the Dogecoin community, the creator of Dogecoin Jackson Palmer has decided unsubscribe from the Dogecoin subreddit. Through a public argument between himself and Alex Green, creator of the platform Moolah.io, over UltraPRO seeking trademark, Palmer has publicly shown intention to take a step back from the Dogecoin community due to the mass amount of internal issues brought to the public forum.

CCN

“Given that I just can’t be bothered dealing with the massive amounts of hate you’ve somehow had directed at me though, in the past 24 hours, I’m going to step back and let you run this community here on Reddit from now on, which you obviously own,” Palmer said to Green, “Unsubshibing. Peace.”

Green responded to this sentiment with anger, “Really? Are you going to respond with that? That is ridiculously childish. You’re being pissy because you no longer run the community. I never have, and I never will, and I will never want to. Personally, I will be very glad once you step back from this coin and let the community run it.”

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Green also went on to add an edit, furthering his response to the statement, “No. It’s just that the community sides with us because we haven’t let them down. On the other hand, they seem to not agree with a number of your points and arguments.”

The Dogecoin subreddit is the main source of community within the digital currency. While they are stretched over many social media, Reddit has provided them a solid forum that contains a large majority of the community activity.

Prior to this, Palmer released the email correspondence between himself and Jay Kuo, General Manager of UltraPRO. The introduction of the email debunked any fear that Jackson had prior to the trademarking announcement.

From Jay Kuo

Hi Jackson,

No, we didn’t file a trademark with the intention of going after any existing vendors. One thing we learned was the value of a property can often be supported by uses outside of legal rights. We are, however, creating and selling products through a license of Kabosu’s image, and we needed a defining name for the product line, and ‘doge’ was the obvious choice.

Jackson’s unsubscribing statement arose after Green filed on opposition to UltraPRO trademarking the term Doge. “Unlike Jackson, I am not willing to sit back and have my customers and this community be at the mercy of Ultra Pro’s good will,” Green said, “Utter bullshit, and I would recommend that each and every one of you take that on board.”

Green spoke at length about his issues with select member of the Dogecoin community, along with his uneasy feeling by being attacked so often. Green has been the victim of public attacks by prominent members of the Dogecoin subreddit in the past, and has addressed his opposition swiftly each time.

“Just once, I would like to announce that we’re doing something to help the community, and not have a bunch of throwaways with obsessive stalking compulsions, try and convince the community that I am trying to eat a baby,” he said, “Just once, I would like prominent members actually try and reach out to us, as opposed to claiming I’m the second coming of Hitler. At the end of the day, our platform has been around for half a year now, and our core business is continuing to do well, and make our customers happy.”

Palmer ended his statements with one final goodbye response to Green, leaving the Dogecoin community to wonder how long their creator will take a step back.

“You’re way too trigger happy with your legal team nonsense, and it puts a real damper on any of the fun we used to have around here. Like I said, I’m stepping away from this sadly cult-like subreddit.”

source: http://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/news/dogecoin-creator-jackson-palmer-leave-dogecoin-community-calls-cult-like/2014/06/24

Guugll Search

http://www.guugll.eu/dogecoin-creator-jackson-palmer-leave-dogecoin-community/

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The Box Office:

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