11-May-2014 Clif High IDIR, Bitcoin, Gold, Silver, US Dollar, Ukraine War, Russia, Children, Housing – Video

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11-May-2014 Clif High IDIR, Bitcoin, Gold, Silver, US Dollar, Ukraine War, Russia, Children, Housing
Recording Date (start): 11-May-2014, 01:28 PM Pacific Coast of North America Time Release Date: 11-May-2014 Runtime: 00h 48m 35.0s (2915.0s) Topics Discussed: CIA Receives Bad Press for Mishandlin...

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11-May-2014 Clif High IDIR, Bitcoin, Gold, Silver, US Dollar, Ukraine War, Russia, Children, Housing - Video

Cody Wilson revives the anarchist spirit of bitcoin with Dark Wallet – Video

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Cody Wilson revives the anarchist spirit of bitcoin with Dark Wallet
Just when you thought cryptocurrency was being threatened by government, Cody Wilson rides in to save the day. And he still designs guns for 3D printers. http://darkwallet.is http://defdist.org...

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Cody Wilson revives the anarchist spirit of bitcoin with Dark Wallet - Video

Bitcoin for videogames as UK store goes digital

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The cryptocurrency has proven a useful marketing tool for many companies hoping to boost their brand. Billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson announced that his commercial spaceflight venture would accept bitcoin as payment. Meanwhile a university in Cyprus, a sustainable grocer, a travel website, a delicatessen and a guitar repair shop are just some of the smaller businesses that have received attention online thanks to their decisions to accept the cryptocurrency.

CeX state that their decision means they are the first national U.K. retailer adopting bitcoin. They currently have 250 stores in the country and have outlets now in five U.S. states. Despite indicating that the adoption would be a trial, there are currently no details on whether the adoption would be rolled out to its other main street stores.

Read MoreBitcoin having trouble shedding its dark side

The reaction to the news was overwhelmingly positive on the social networking service Reddit. Some users described it as "huge news" and potentially "game changing" highlighting the company's decisions to pay out in bitcoin rather than just accepting the currency.

Fans of the videogame exchange were a little more skeptical on its Facebook page highlighting the lack of merits that the digital currency offered and the relatively small uptake.

Read MoreWatch 'Bitcoin Uprising'

"Bitcoin, like gold, is now too heavily mined and hoarded to be accessible to everyday folk who might shop at CeX...I admire and welcome the initiative though," said one user on the social media site.

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Bitcoin for videogames as UK store goes digital

Bitcoin payments startup BitPay looks to expand after raising $30 million

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Bitcoin payment processor BitPay has raised $30 million to fund its international expansion.

The Atlanta-based company helps businesses accept payments in bitcoin with its range of plugins for 22 e-commerce system. BitPay takes the bitcoin exchange rate risk, paying its customers in bitcoin or a variety of currencies including US dollars, euros and pounds sterling.

Over 30,000 organizations already use its services, according to the companys website, including blogging platform WordPress and the space tourism company Virgin Galactic owned by Virgin Group Chairman Richard Branson.

Branson and Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang are part of the group that will invest $30 million in BitPay, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday. The investment follows an earlier $2.7 million investment round and is the biggest venture capital investment in the digital currency industry, valuing the company at about $160 million, according to the report.

The deal, expected to be announced on Tuesday, will help BitPay to expand its business outside the U.S., BitPay CEO Tony Gallippi told the newspaper.

The startup has offices in Amsterdam, Buenos Aires and San Francisco, but will now focus on emerging markets such as India and other countries where a large part of the population doesnt have bank accounts, Gallippi said.

Regulators and governments around the world are struggling with accepting bitcoin as a currency. The EU, Denmark and New Zealand for instance all issued warnings against the technology, questioning its viability. The currency is also very volatile, leading at least one expert to conclude that it could become harder for Bitcoin startups to land investments.

However, despite the volatility of the digital currency and setbacks like the recent demise of the Mt. Gox Bitcoin exchange and hack attacks targeting Bitcoins transaction network, Gallippi is confident Bitcoin is here to stay, he told the newspaper. His investors also arent worried about the fluctuating bitcoin prices. They are betting that the digital currency will emerge as the Internet payment method of choice, according to the report.

BitPay is not the only Bitcoin startup landing a big investment. By the end of last year venture capitalists invested at least $50 million into the industry. Half of that amount went to Coinbase, a bitcoin bank, in December.

Loek Essers focuses on online privacy, intellectual property, open-source and online payment issues. More by Loek Essers

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Bitcoin payments startup BitPay looks to expand after raising $30 million

Bitcoin payments startup raises $30M, looks to expand

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IDG News Service - Bitcoin payment processor BitPay has raised $30 million to fund its international expansion.

The Atlanta-based company helps businesses accept payments in bitcoin with its range of plugins for 22 e-commerce system. BitPay takes the bitcoin exchange rate risk, paying its customers in bitcoin or a variety of currencies including US dollars, euros and pounds sterling.

Over 30,000 organizations already use its services, according to the company's website, including blogging platform WordPress and the space tourism company Virgin Galactic owned by Virgin Group Chairman Richard Branson.

Branson and Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang are part of the group that will invest $30 million in BitPay, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday. The investment follows an earlier $2.7 million investment round and is the biggest venture capital investment in the digital currency industry, valuing the company at about $160 million, according to the report.

The deal, expected to be announced on Tuesday, will help BitPay to expand its business outside the U.S., BitPay CEO Tony Gallippi told the newspaper.

The startup has offices in Amsterdam, Buenos Aires and San Francisco, but will now focus on emerging markets such as India and other countries where a large part of the population doesn't have bank accounts, Gallippi said.

Regulators and governments around the world are struggling with accepting bitcoin as a currency. The EU, Denmark and New Zealand for instance all issued warnings against the technology, questioning its viability. The currency is also very volatile, leading at least one expert to conclude that it could become harder for Bitcoin startups to land investments.

However, despite the volatility of the digital currency and setbacks like the recent demise of the Mt. Gox Bitcoin exchange and hack attacks targeting Bitcoin's transaction network, Gallippi is confident Bitcoin is here to stay, he told the newspaper. His investors also aren't worried about the fluctuating bitcoin prices. They are betting that the digital currency will emerge as the Internet payment method of choice, according to the report.

BitPay is not the only Bitcoin startup landing a big investment. By the end of last year venture capitalists invested at least $50 million into the industry. Half of that amount went to Coinbase, a bitcoin bank, in December.

Loek is Amsterdam Correspondent and covers online privacy, intellectual property, open-source and online payment issues for the IDG News Service. Follow him on Twitter at @loekessers or email tips and comments to loek_essers@idg.com

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Bitcoin payments startup raises $30M, looks to expand

Two Comets Visible in Telescopes This Month: Where to Look

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Skywatchers have a chance to see two comets in May, one of which may spawn a spectacular "meteor storm" at the end of next week.

Comets PanSTARRS and LINEAR are streaking through the night sky this month, and both should be visible through binoculars or a small telescope, experts say.

ThisNASA video shows how to spot the two comets, as well as Saturn, in the May night sky.Comet PanSTARRS, officially known as PanSTARRS C/2012 K1, "is easy to find as it skims the sky below the Big Dipper," narrator Jane Houston Jones said in the May skywatching video by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

PanSTARRS C/2012 K1 was discovered in 2012 by astronomers using the PanSTARRS telescope in Hawaii.The comet should be particularly visible on dark, moonless nights from May 17 through early June, she added. But some folks have already gotten a good look at the icy wanderer, including astrophotographer Chris Schur, who sent Space.com a great shot of PanSTARRS captured on May 9 from Payson, Arizona.

"Now in Ursa Major, this comet is around 8th magnitude and developing not only a slight curved dust fan, but now a long, 5-degree gas tail, seen here shooting down to the bottom of this 4-degree field," Schur told Space.com via email. "Needless to say, we are very excited on the prospects for imaging in the next few months as this comet brightens to naked-eye magnitudes!"

Comet 209P/LINEAR, meanwhile, will make a close flyby of Earth on May 29, coming within about 5 million miles (8 million kilometers) of the planet. But the best viewing opportunities will come before that close approach.

"You may be able to spot the small, faint comet as it passes the familiar constellations Ursa Major and Leo from May 10 through the 27th," Houston Jones said.

Comet LINEAR has skywatchers excited for another reason as well. On May 23 and 24, Earth is set to plow through much of the debris the comet has shed on its trips around the sun over the last 200 years, possibly setting up a brilliant new meteor shower.

"This potential new shower is so new that astronomers aren't sure what to expect," Houston Jones said. "Predictions run from less than 100 meteors per hour up to an unlikely but possible meteor storm as high as 1,000 per hour."

The Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research project, which observes from New Mexico, found Comet LINEAR in 2004.

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Two Comets Visible in Telescopes This Month: Where to Look

Tryouts for Squirt Major Travel Team Start Tonight

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May 12, 2014 - American Hockey League (AHL) Utica Comets The Utica Jr. Comets are pleased to announce that three members of the Utica Comets front office staff have been named coaches of the 2014-15 squirt major travel team. Tryouts for the squirt majors will be held this week at Whitestown Ice Arena.

Former NHL goaltender and President of the Utica Comets Robert Esche will have a hands-on role with the squirt team; contributing to the coaching and development of the team as well as working directly with the players during practices and games.

Keith Veronesi is a recent addition to the Comets front office and recently completed his senior season as the captain of the Connecticut College men's hockey team. Matthew Potrzeba takes on a coaching role after years of playing experience in youth hockey, high school and collegiate.

Tryouts for the squirt major team will be held on May 12, 13, 14 and 15 from 5-6 p.m. The tryout fee is $50.

Al players that were not registered with the Mohawk Valley Youth Hockey / Utica Jr. Comets last season must provide a release from their previous organization before taking the ice for tryouts.

More information on the Utica Jr. Comets organization is available on http://www.uticajrcomets.com. Please send all questions to info@uticajrcomets.com.

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Tryouts for Squirt Major Travel Team Start Tonight

Comets Clobber Eagles

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The Stew-Stras/Windsor Comet softball team (18-4) is red hot. They blew out St. Elmo/Brownstown in the NTC tourney on Friday, 10-1.

SS/W pounded out 12 hits and Becca Schlchte notched her 7th win, allowing just four hits and two walks, while striking out seven. Nine of the 12 hits came from four batters. Lindsay Burton led the Comets, hitting 3-for-4 with an RBI. Kendall Knop and Kennedy Ferris were both 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs, while Kati Greuel went 2-for-3.

The Comets brought to runs home in the 1st and followed with a 4-run rally in the 2nd, 6-0. They led 7-0, before St. Elmo got their only run in the 4th. The Comets put distance between them and St. E with a 2-run 5th and a run in the 6th.

Stew-Stras/Windsor (#2) was to go up against top-seeded Altamont in the championship game in Altamont on Monday.

Friday

Stew-Stras/Windsor 10, St. Elmo/Brownstown 1

St E 000 100 0--1-4-4

St-St 241 021 x--10-12-1

SS/W stats: Knop 2-for-4, 2B, 2 RBIs; Burton 3-for-4, RBI; Ferris 2-for-4, 2B, 2 RBIs; Greuel 2-for-3. Pitching (W) Schlechte (7-1) 7 IP, 1 run, 4 hits, 2 BBs, 7 Ks.

St E stats: Oberlink 1-for-3, RBI. Pitching (L) Scholes 6 IP, 10 runs, 12 hits, BB, 3 Ks.

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Comets Clobber Eagles

Fan Week: Utica's Own Green Man

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May 12, 2014 - American Hockey League (AHL) Utica Comets If you attended a Utica Comets game this past season, then you have undoubtedly seen the man in green taunting opposing players in the penalty box, celebrating Comets goals and jumping around during warmups trying to get a rise out of the visitors. Spawned from the Vancouver Canuck's unofficial mascots, the "Green Men" (Sully and Force), Utica's own Green Man provides constant entertainment during each and every home game this season.

When asked how he decided to become the Green Man, he explained, "It was definitely inspiration from Vancouver. I had come in on the first day that season tickets went on sale. I was actually one of the first ones in the line. I came in and thought I would get a good but not great seat. I paid, cashed out and was on my way out the door when I realized that the Green Men come from Vancouver, our affiliate. I immediately wondered if those seats by the penalty box were still open. So I went back in and the seat was still there, so I changed my ticket."

The Green Man then said that he went home, grabbed all of the appropriate names on social media and started to plan out his year hidden in green.

"In one word, this season can be described as unbelievable," the Green Man, whose identity will forever remain a secret, said. "Everyone has been so nice, with the exception of the opposing players. The fans love the idea."

The Green Man's excitement was palpable as he expressed his excitement for next season and what the future looks like for the Comets.

For those who do not follow him around during the game, the Green Man typically starts down by the zamboni tunnel while the opposing team lines up for warmups.

"That's the most fun part of the game," he said. "That's the time when you can get a reaction out of the players. One guy from Adirondack didn't like what I had written on my sign one night, and smacked the board right out of my hands."

For the most part, he said that players respond well to his antics. He does, however, get the occasional player who has a temper, making it easy to slide under his skin.

"The other time I can remember where I really got a player annoyed was the last time Abbotsford came to town. It was during warmups, and I was on the other side near the Abbotsford bench. One of their players looked up and saw me, and just took his stick and swung it at the glass trying to get me to jump. I thought, 'I'm in his head now, let's hope he goes to the box.'"

After running around during warmups, the Green Man (and, occasionally a second Green Man), head to their seats right next to the visitor's penalty box to wait for a visitor to hook, trip or fight. When asked what the best reaction he got from the penalty box was, he described a visit from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

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Fan Week: Utica's Own Green Man

Comets repeat championship performance

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CATLIN Winning the Vermilion County championship does not always correlate to winning the Vermilion Valley Conference title.

Oakwood/Armstrong-Potomac girls track coach Lynn Anderson knows that very well. The veteran leader of the Comets reminded her team of that before Mondays meet at Catlin High School.

We had a little talk before we got off the bus, Anderson said. I told them that I have seen many a County champion, in both basketball and volleyball, turn around and lose. I told them, dont let this be a fluke that you won the County. You have to come out and do it again.

And trying to repeat a championship performance for a second time in 72 hours, is not easy for anyone.

Its actually harder to try and repeat something, said Oakwood/Armstrong-Potomacs Summer Kitchens, who second in the high jump as well as running legs on both the Comets winning 400 and 800-meter relay teams. Its always harder to do something like twice in a row, especially when there are so many variables.

One of the big variables, according to their coach on Friday night, was the fact that prom was on Saturday night.

They responded just fine, said Anderson, whose team won the title by 34 points (161-127) over Salt Fork, but after 10 events the Storm had a 15-point lead (90-75) over the Comets.

We didnt plan on that and I looked at the rest of our events and knew that we were pretty solid, Anderson added. But, it was still an eye opener, as most of our girls came out and asked if that score was for real. We knew they were after us.

Oakwood/A-P won four of the final eight events and the Comets double scored in five of the final six individual events.

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Comets repeat championship performance

Japanese soccer fans head for World Cup in Brazil, regardless of the cost

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TOKYO - With only one month to go before the FIFA World Cup kicks off in Brazil, package tours are so popular that many football fans who have not been able to secure seats on the tours have joined waiting lists, regardless of the expense. To offset these high prices, an increasing number of fans are independently arranging air tickets and sharing hotel rooms.

Major travel agency tour packages for matches featuring the Japanese team are 200,000 (S$2,450)to 300,000 more than the cost for previous World Cup tours. JTB Corp.'s cheapest tour, for instance, is priced at 685,000 for watching one game in the tour that includes three nights and seven days. If fans wish to watch three games, the cost swells to 1.78 million for a 13-night, 17-day package. H.I.S. Co. offers a tour that includes one game, three nights and seven days for 648,000.

A JTB tour to watch a Milan derby game between Keisuke Honda's AC Milan and Yuto Nagatomo's Inter Milan on May 4 cost 238,000 for three nights and five days, including an admission ticket to the game. In addition to the long distance between Japan and Brazil, a major reason for these high World Cup tour costs are soaring Brazilian domestic airfares and hotel rates.

The ticket sales system this year has changed, and football's global governing body FIFA is selling tickets directly to spectators. In response, each travel agency has organised tours targeting people who have already acquired tickets.

Even under these circumstances, tour applications have been steady and many have a waiting list for cancellations. According to travel agencies, tours to watch the Japanese team's first and second games in a group league are especially popular. A JTB official in charge said, "Expectations for the Japanese team that includes many Japanese players active overseas has overwhelmingly boosted tour prices."

Faced with such conditions, there are many fans choosing to arrange tours by themselves. Hiroshi Shiga, 56, who runs a company in Chiba, has organised an association that offers packages that are about 20 per cent cheaper compared to those arranged by major travel agencies. Having worked at a travel agency, Shiga used this experience to his advantage and directly contacted airlines and local travel agencies in Brazil. He not only keeps prices down by chartering buses for travel to game venues, but also pays attention to safety.

Shiga used this method during the previous World Cup, which saw about 180 fans sign up. His reputation spread by word of mouth, and about 270 people have applied for his tours this year.

Mitsugu Okada, 40, a company employee from Kawasaki who attended Shiga's briefing session, said, "It's reassuring that I can go to Brazil to cheer on the Japanese team with like-minded people."

On Facebook, there are open pages being shared among fans planning to visit Brazil independently. More than 1,000 have participated and posted information about hotels, airlines and how to reach the stadiums. On the pages, such messages are posted as "Is there anyone who will share their hotel room with me?" and "We feel uneasy going as only two women. We need someone to accompany us."

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Japanese soccer fans head for World Cup in Brazil, regardless of the cost