Sntiches Get Crypto, US Government Says

Freedomist Editor August 17, 2021

US Government Now Offers Informants Crypto Rewards in Addition to Bank Wires, Suitcases Full of Cash – Bitcoin News

From news.bitcoin.com
2021-08-16 15:30:07
Jamie Redman
Excerpt:

Attendees of the Black Hat hacker conference in Las Vegas were introduced to a new advertisement crafted by the U.S. State Department. According to individuals who accessed the government advertisement via an open Wi-Fi network called “#Rewardsnotransoms” they discovered the U.S. government is offering to pay crypto rewards to individuals who give up information concerning malicious, state-backed hackers.

US State Department Advertises ‘Rewards for Justice’ at Black Hat 2021 in Las Vegas

The never-ending war on terror continues as the United States government is focused on state-backed cybercriminals that have attacked U.S. infrastructure or have created terrorist organizations. Last week, reporters and attendees of the Las Vegas hacker conference called “Black Hat” explained that the U.S. government, specifically the State Department, was advertising a new program called “<a…

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Poverty Attacks the Brain, Literally

Freedomist Editor August 17, 2021

Scans show the physical marks of poverty on kid brains

From www.futurity.org
2021-08-16 15:16:44
Brandie Jefferson-WUSTL
Excerpt:

Researchers have discovered a link between poverty and smaller, slower growing brain regions.

Children in poverty are more likely to have cognitive and behavioral difficulties than their better-off peers. Plenty of past research has looked into the physical effects of childhood poverty, or documented mental health disparities between socioeconomic classes.

“If we can prevent poverty, we can help circumvent some of these negative outcomes.”

In their new study, researchers wanted to look at a suite of outcomes to determine whether poverty continues to affect people as they enter adulthood. And if so, how?

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Facebook Will Block Any Researcher that Attempts to Research It

Freedomist Editor August 17, 2021

Facebook is obstructing our work on disinformation. Other researchers could be next | Laura Edelson and Damon McCoy

From www.theguardian.com
2021-08-14 10:00:00

Excerpt:

Last week, Facebook disabled our personal accounts, obstructing the research we lead at New York University to study the spread of disinformation on the company’s platform. The move has already compromised our work – forcing us to suspend our investigations into Facebook’s role in amplifying vaccine misinformation, sowing distrust in our elections and fomenting the violent riots at the US Capitol on 6 January.

But even more important than the effect on our work is what Facebook’s hostility toward outside scrutiny means for the many other researchers and journalists trying to study Facebook’s effects on society. We’ve already heard from other researchers planning similar projects who are now pulling back. If Facebook has its way, there will be no independent research of its platform.

Our dispute with Facebook centers on a research tool called Ad Observer. Ad Observer is a web browser extension that Facebook users can choose to install to share with us limited and anonymous…

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Being Aware is a Dopamine Thing

Freedomist Editor August 17, 2021

New Research Shows How Dopamine Plays a Key Role in Consciousness

From singularityhub.com
2021-08-12 15:46:29
Barbara Jacquelyn Sahakian
Excerpt:

In a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Science, we have now shown that conscious brain activity seems to be linked to the brain’s “pleasure chemical,” dopamine.

The fact that the neural mechanisms that underpin consciousness disorders are difficult to characterize makes these conditions hard to diagnose and treat. Brain imaging has established that a network of interconnected brain regions, known as the default mode network, is involved in self-awareness. This network has also been shown to be impaired in anesthesia and after brain damage that causes disorders of consciousness. Importantly, it seems to be crucial to conscious experience.

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SCOTUS Issues Shadow Docket Injunction on NY Eviction Protection Law

Freedomist Editor August 17, 2021

The Supreme Court’s shocking order from the shadows looks like a shot across the bow – Raw Story

From www.rawstory.com
2021-08-13 10:33:49

Excerpt:

On Thursday night, the Supreme Court issued a new injunction against a New York state law meant to shield tenants from eviction in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. But the order came on what’s known as the shadow docket, which means the majority’s decision is unsigned and typically offers little to no defense for the court’s action.

Justice Stephen Breyer, joined by the other two liberals on the court, wrote a sharp dissent, arguing that the majority’s decision doesn’t meet the strict standards that should be applied. Though the case has no technical legal overlap with the arguments made against the federal moratorium on evictions, which expired briefly before the Biden administration reinstated a more circumscribed version of the policy, the conservative majority’s extreme action against the New York law suggests the justices may have been influenced by their feelings about the prior case. It may be seen as a rejoinder to the Democrats’ aggressive steps to protect tenants.

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Fetch Hackers are Binance’s Problem, Says UK Court

Freedomist Editor August 17, 2021

London court orders Binance to trace hackers behind $2.6M Fetch.ai attack

From cointelegraph.com
2021-08-13 17:27:26
Cointelegraph By Turner Wright
Excerpt:

Artificial intelligence research lab Fetch.ai has been granted a request to have major cryptocurrency exchange Binance identify individuals behind a $2.6 million hack.

According to a Friday Reuters report, the Royal Courts of Justice in London has ordered Binance to identify the hackers and seize the stolen assets. Fetch.ai reportedly claimed that hackers stole $2.6 million worth of cryptocurrency from its Binance account on June 6 and resold the tokens for a significantly reduced price.

“We need to dispel the myth that crypto assets are anonymous,” said Syedur Rahman, a partner from Fetch.ai’s legal team at Rahman Ravelli. “The reality is that with the right rules and applications, they can be tracked, traced and recovered.”

Rahman reportedly claimed Binance is already in the process of tracking down the individuals and had frozen some of the affected funds. However, the exchange may request evidence from Fetch.ai that its account was hacked before returning the tokens.

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Too White Jesus Removed by New Seattle Church

Seattle Church Covers Up “Too White Jesus” with Primitive Tree Painting

Freedomist Editor August 17, 2021

A Seattle Church prepared to take over an old church by covering up the stained glass image of Jesus that was popularly called Manifest Destiny Jesus because he was “too white.” They painted over the stained glass window with a transparent foam painting of a crudely blotched tree against an amorphous rainbow-like blob that allows the light to still shine through.

This Seattle church’s stained-glass Jesus was far too White

From www.christiancentury.org
2021-08-16 05:12:55

Excerpt:

Church of Hope’s new artwork—painted onto lightweight packing foam by artist and designer Naomi Cooper (left)—allows light from the original window (right) to shine through. (Images courtesy of Naomi Cooper)

Darla DeFrance noticed the White man in the window the first time she walked into the church building. A friend who joined her on a tour of the space called him Manifest Destiny Jesus. He even points west.

The building was going to be the new home of Church of Hope, the Seattle congregation where DeFrance is pastor. But she “didn’t understand or relate to that image of Jesus,” she says. She was trying to build a community representative of the diverse neighborhood, and having one dominant image of God in the church “felt exclusive,” DeFrance says.

At the beginning of each service at Church of Hope, DeFrance asks where people saw God show up…

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Biden Meets With People Off the Books from Delaware Home

Freedomist Editor August 17, 2021

Joe Biden is not letting anyone know who visits him when he goes home to Delaware, which he often does. He also often gets visitors, but these vistors appear to be off the books, and the Biden team intends on keeping it that way.

Biden REFUSES to disclose who’s visited him in Delaware since becoming president

From www.dailymail.co.uk
2021-08-12 03:12:16

Excerpt:

Biden has boasted of their efforts to ‘restore transparency and trust in government’

Joe Biden will not disclose who has visited him at his Delaware residences in the 17 trips he has taken home since becoming president – despite promising to ‘restore transparency and trust’ to the White House.

President Biden’s Press Secretary Jen Psaki made the announcement at a press conference Wednesday.

She told reporters: ‘I can confirm we are not going to be providing information about the comings and goings of the president’s grandchildren or people visiting him in Delaware,’ Psaki told the New York Post on Biden’s stance on releasing visitor logs.

The publication also flagged visitors who could trigger potential conflicts of interests – including Biden’s former drug abuser son Hunter, who is now on the cusp of becoming a successful artist. He plans to sell some of his works to anonymous buyers for up to $500,000, sparking fears people could buy the works to try and lobby…

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Myanmar Junta Sitting on a Ticking Time Bomb, The Youth

Freedomist Editor August 17, 2021

The Junta of Myanmar may enjoy power today, but their actions, and the brutality with which they executed them, have created a whole generation busy training in preparation from retaking the country from the cabalists.

How Myanmar’s youth are preparing for civil war

From www.telegraph.co.uk
2021-08-13 05:00:00

Excerpt:

Tens of thousands of Myanmar citizens have also fled across its borders to Thailand and India to escape fighting between militias and the Tatmadaw.

“We have seen a proliferation on two fronts, both the number of people under arms and the number of Myanmar citizens, including those from the Bamar and the cities, heading to the frontier regions to get training,” explains Gregory Poling, Senior Fellow for Southeast Asia at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

“The opposition to the Tatmadaw has been far more sustained than most expected and there are daily reports of bomb blasts and ambushes of Tatmadaw figures in major cities. The country is absolutely in a civil war, which is just intensifying.”

Colonel Solomon, 57, is a CNF leader in Camp Victoria. He has fought against the Tatmadaw for 30 years but says ongoing recruitment is unprecedented, with 30 people arriving in the camp daily.

“It’s not just the youth, it’s not just from across Chin state, it is…

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Creating New Concepts of IP with NFTs

Freedomist Editor August 17, 2021

Are NFTs a new shift in our understanding of intellectual property? Nonfungible tokens enable artists to create digital one-offs, among other things, that allow them to sell a unique image, video, etc. that itself can become the source of multiple non-original, non-unique digital copoies. But could NFTs also be used to create temporary, unique, customized copyright licenses tor artists?

A new paradigm for intellectual property assets?

From cointelegraph.com
2021-08-14 07:12:00
Cointelegraph By Greg Gerstenzang
Excerpt:

Nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, are digital records of the ownership of assets. The asset types most commonly associated with NFTs are digital assets, such as artwork like memes, GIFs, or gaming characters or properties. Assets represented by NFTs, however, may be digital, physical, tangible or intangible. Examples of asset types that have been transferred or that have had their ownership recorded utilizing NFTs include sports memorabilia, copyrights in music, artwork and real estate. Intellectual property assets and, specifically, the ownership and transfer of ownership of patents may also be recorded and transferred as NFTs.

Related: Nonfungible tokens from a legal perspective

The ownership of real estate may be recorded in a registry of deeds, the ownership of patents may be recorded in the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), and the ownership of written works or music may be recorded in the Library of Congress through the copyright system. Because similar systems for…

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