The Evolution of Contract Law in the Age of Technology – Lexology

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There is an old saying, to err is human. But what about machines? Is humanity imposing double standards on artificial intelligence?

Introduction

COVID-19 has wreaked havoc of magnitude proportion across the globe, not even machines had been spared of its ramifications.

This is exemplified by an incident back in April 2020 when traders attempted to sell off Mays oil future contracts which resulted in a futures oil prices nosedive into negative digits (Note: these are crude oil we are speaking of, so normal consumers will have little use for such oil you cannot store it in your backyard either).

On 20 April 2020, the price of West Texas Intermediate futures contracts traded to as low as negative $40.32 per barrel.

Dangers of Machine Reliance

Investors trading on the algorithmic trading platform Interactive Brokers were among those who took a major hit that day, but for a slightly unusual and peculiar reason.

In a nutshell, the brokerage firms platform was NOT programmed to trade on negative price. Its users mistakenly placed and were consequently locked up with positive bids while the price went below zero with insufficient equity in their accounts to satisfy the maintenance margin. The technical blip had caused Interactive Brokers to suffer US$88Million as it accepted responsibility for any loss suffered by its users while futures price went negative.

This costly oversight raises an interesting issue on how the law allocates loss occasioned by erroneously executed automated contracts.

But under existing laws, should Interactive Brokers be obliged to accept responsibility?

The Singaporean Decision

In the B2C2 Ltd v Quoine Pte Ltd [2019] SGHC(I) 03, [2020] SGCA(I) 02 the question of machine liability was explored by the Singaporean Courts.

Quoine operates an algorithmic virtual currencies trading platform (Platform) programmed to place and close orders without human intervention. B2C2 is an electronic market maker, which trades virtual currencies on exchange platforms with the aid of its algorithmic trading software (Trading Software).

In April 2017, B2C2, through its Trading Software, placed orders on the Platform to sell Ethereum for Bitcoins. As a result of several technical errors on the Platform, it erroneously sold Bitcoins held by its two margin traders (Margin Traders) to B2C2 at a significant undervalue in favour of B2C2 (Transactions). The Platform automatically credited the proceeds of the Transactions to and debited the corresponding Ethereum from B2C2s account. Upon discovery of the error, Quoine reversed the Transactions.

B2C2 commenced proceedings against Quoine at the Singapore International Commercial Court (SICC), claiming reversal of the Transactions amounted to a breach of contract and trust by Quoine, and the matters went to the Singapore Court of Appeal (SGCA).

We will focus on the courts deliberation on the issues of implied term and unilateral mistake.

No Implied Term Allowing Operator to Unravel for Technical Error

The platform agreement between Quoine and B2C2 contains a clause that once the order is completed on the Platform it is irreversible.

The SICC held, and the SGCA concurred, that no terms can be implied allowing Quoine to reverse any transaction whatever the circumstance. It reasoned that the implication of such a term undermined the very certainty that the agreement sought to instil in algorithmic trading on the Platform.

Knowledge in Unilateral Mistake if Computer Programme is Responsible

Quoine argued the Transactions should be void for unilateral mistake on the part of the Margin Traders under common law and equity. To find a unilateral mistake, Quoine must show that there was a fundamental mistake on the terms of the contract and B2C2 in seeking to enforce the Transactions must have knowledge of the mistake.

In the context of algorithmic trading, SICC held that algorithmic programmes have no mind of their own and likened them to a kitchen blender relieving a cook of the manual act of mixing ingredients. Further ruling that the intention or knowledge underlying the mode of operation of a robot or trading software would be that of the person who was responsible for causing it to work in the way it did, in other words, the programmer, at the time when the programme was written.

SICC held that B2C2s programmer who designed the Trading Software did not have actual knowledge (to invoke unilateral mistake under common law), nor constructive knowledge (to invoke unilateral mistake under equity) of such mistaken belief.

The SGCA further found that the Margin Traders were not under a mistaken belief as to the term of the contract, but had mistakenly assumed that the Platform would not fail, which was not an actionable mistake under common law.

The defence of unilateral mistake at common law raised by Quoine therefore fails.

So the question comes again, was Interactive Brokers obliged to accept responsibility under existing laws?

Takeaways

Courts in B2C2 Ltd v Quoine Pte Ltd adopted an incremental approach to develop the law in novel context and confined their legal discussion to deterministic programmes, thus leaving open contracts formed between more sophisticated artificial intelligence which may be said to have a mind of their own.

Given that the law is still at its embryonic stage, institutions and platform operators of algorithmic trading are encouraged to make adequate provisions for risk allocation in the event of technical glitch or abnormal trades in their service contracts, and implement robust monitoring to identify and contain any technical glitch in time. Hong Kong Monetary Authority's recent circular titled Sound risk management practices for algorithmic trading published on 6 March 2020 may provide some helpful guidance.

This article first appeared in Hong Kong Lawyer.

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The Evolution of Contract Law in the Age of Technology - Lexology

The real stumbling block in Arsenal’s evolution is there to see – Football365.com

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Its always like this. When a new cycle begins, theres always this betwixt and between period when a team teases its future. Arsenal are there at the moment. Theyre in a something good, something bad world, with two fantastic performances against Liverpool and Manchester City to follow that bizarre loss to Tottenham, and now another ugly setback.

At Villa Park they reverted. The kind way to describe the Trezeguet goal which won the game would be to praise the strike. The fairer observation, however, would be to note how he was able to loiter alone at the back of the box. And then how easily the ball reached him. And then just how much time and space he had to volley his side into a lead that they would never really look like losing.

It was dispiriting in being such an obvious step back. Arsenal defended outstandingly well at Wembley. They had this defiant spirit to them in the FA Cup semi-final a palpable determination not to allow their concentration to waiver. On Tuesday night, that new resolve seemed like it had been illusory. The mistakes were back, so were the gaps and the chances given up.

But this is the way of things and it probably will be for a while. That isnt to say that a brighter dawn is definitely on its way, but that those clubs that have been led into a new era have always suffered through this kind of scenario to get there. Pochettinos Spurs, Guardiolas City, Klopps Liverpool; read through the early chapters of those tales to find the same inconsistency and the same calls back to what made revolution necessary in the first place.

Generally speaking, thats been because those coaches didnt just inherit a muddle on the pitch, but imbalanced squads with critical shortages. On this evidence, Arteta is very much in the same position.

Stylistically, this was a different challenge to the previous two games. Being able to sit deep and snap onto the counter-attack is a virtue, but trying to break down a more cautious opponent is another matter entirely. As during that game at White Hart Lane, Arsenal played with plenty of the ball 64% in the first half but without really creating opportunities. Or even situations from which opportunities may develop.

Its suggestive of where they are in their evolution. The improvements that Arteta has instituted are still dependent on certain conditions to be relevant, and thats because he remains short of the players needed to cure that problem. Arsenal have pace up front and in wide positions, but they still lack credible balance in midfield and, as this evening showed, their defenders can only be relied upon when the mood takes them. Theyre an attractive team round the edges, but brittle and limited where it counts.

That showed on Tuesday night in a few different ways. Firstly, in Villa looking more dangerous than they have for many, many weeks. Secondly, in Jack Grealish doing more or less as he wished with the ball at his feet and giving his best performance of 2020. And, finally, in Arteta being able to send out Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette and later Nicolas Pepe against the Premier Leagues second-worst defence statistically, but not getting a shot on target in return.

Its instructive, because that tranche of issues shows where the problems lie. Most importantly, it demonstrates how little creativity there is in this side. For all their hold on possession, in the absence of Mesut Ozil there isnt an Arsenal player capable of using it to find a clever angle or a dangerous pass.

That doesnt seem like a coaching point, either. Its not a problem which can be cured on the training ground or by convincing players to think or act in a different way. Instead, it requires a different set of attributes. Either Arsenal import someone capable of unlocking the heavy doors in a low block, or Artetas improvements are going to be limited in their effect. The passing will have a certain rhythm, but it wont necessarily go anywhere.

The defence is the defence and the midfield is the midfield. Those are tired issues which have needed a solution for years. But the lack of a playmaker will be the real stumbling block here; if it continues to be so, it will also separate what Arsenal are from what Arteta is trying to turn them into. And what a waste that would be.

There are excuses, because Saturdays game was probably a draining experience and Arsenal rotated in response to that. This was also an excellent, committed Villa performance which got what it deserved and was long overdue. Dean Smith got his approach right and among others Grealish, Tyrone Mings and Douglas Luiz were all excellent.

Still, in the subtext lies a pre-emptive message for those above and around Arteta: either hes given what he needs to convert this early promise to something more permanent, or these types of evenings will become more common.

Seb Stafford-Bloor is on Twitter

We could not keep away from the camera for long so we made a Football365 Isolation Show. Watch it, subscribe and share until we get back in the studio/pub and produce something a little slicker

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New dinosaur discovery in Switzerland fills a gap in evolutionary history of sauropods – The Conversation UK

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Dinosaurs were the dominant group of animals on Earth for over 150 million years. Long-necked, plant-eating sauropods such as Brontosaurus, Diplodocus and Brachiosaurus are probably among the most famous dinosaurs, in part thanks to their huge size and strange body shape (consisting of a long neck, long tail, round body and columnar limbs). Some of the largest sauropods measured up to 37 metres long.

But less well known is that they descended from much smaller, two-legged, omnivorous or plant-eating creatures called sauropodomorphs. My colleagues and I recently identified a new dinosaur species that represents the oldest known evolutionary step between early sauropodomorphs and sauropods, from about 225 million years ago.

The sauropodomorphs were among the first dinosaurs to exist during the late Triassic period, from about 230 million years ago. During this time, dinosaurs werent yet the dominant group of animals on Earth and had to share the world with, among others, crocodile-like reptiles called phytosaurs and mammal-like reptiles, such as Morganucodon.

Towards the end of the Triassic and in the earliest Jurassic, environmental changes led to the evolution of larger, more immediate predecessors of sauropods. These dinosaurs were larger, had longer necks, ate only plants and, more importantly, walked on all fours due to their size. These transitional species include Pulanesaura from around 190 million years ago in what is now South Africa, and Leonerasaurus from a similar time in what is now South America.

Our new dinosaur, which we have named Schleitheimia, falls into this category. Some of its bones were first found in Switzerland as early as 1915. Others had been found in Hallau, near Zurich, in the 1940s, and others from the same geological layer had been discovered in Schleitheim, also near Zurich, in the 1950s. But for years, these fossils were thought to belong to an earlier, sauropodomorph species.

In 1986, palaeontologist Peter Galton identified this set of fossilised dinosaur remains, kept at the University of Zurich in Switzerland, as belonging to a common sauropodomorph known as Plateosaurus. Plateosaurus had quite a long neck, but did not walk on all fours all the time.

However, when Munich palaeontologist Oliver Rauhut examined the bones more recently, he noticed odd features on them, which made it impossible for them to belong to Plateosaurus. So in 2015, he and I visited the Zurich Palaeontological Museum and examined the bones thoroughly. We discovered several sauropod-like adaptations on the dorsal vertebrae (backbones), the femur (leg bone) and the pelvic or hip area.

All these adaptations suggest the dinosaur was heavier and mainly walked on all fours, so it couldnt be a Plateosaurus. It had to be something else, and indeed, it turned out to be something new.

We ran a phylogenetic analysis, which compares anatomical traits between different animals and calculates how many evolutionary steps are necessary to make them related to one another. This suggested our new dinosaur, Schleitheimia, was actually an intermediate type between sauropodomorphs such as Plateosaurus and true sauropods such as Brontosaurus.

This makes Schleitheimia special in two ways. First, it is a lot older than the other known transitional types of dinosaur between sauropodomorphs and sauropods. And second, it is the first transitional form known from Europe.

What is even more interesting, is that some of the Schleitheimia fossils were found in the same quarry as an actual Plateosaurus. This means that both the ancestral sauropodomorphs and the transitional forms shared the same habitat for a time. Eventually, however, the true sauropods took over the environment.

Perhaps their size and longer necks helped them forage for food, we arent sure. But what we do know is that by the early Jurassic period, around 170 million years ago, sauropods were already living around the world from China to Argentina. Schleitheimia provides one more piece of the puzzle as to what happened in the sauropods very early history on Earth.

The next steps here will be to look at other material from roughly the same age from Switzerland. The original, historic pit where Schleitheimia was found, has been reopened to see whether there is more material.

We want to know if there were more intermediate sauropodiforms around, such as Schleitheimia, or just more sauropodomorphs? And how did the early sauropods diversify and spread out in the early Jurassic? The fact that we can still find new dinosaur species, even in historical museum collections, gives us hope of answering these questions.

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New dinosaur discovery in Switzerland fills a gap in evolutionary history of sauropods - The Conversation UK

Larson Sparking An Evolution In Sprint Car Racing – SPEED SPORT

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PORT ROYAL, Pa. Toting his HANS device and a look of frustration, Brent Marks stormed out of his car and into his massive hauler, through the glass sliding doors in the very back.

He and crew chief Barry Jackson went into debrief, a confidential conversation on what they couldve possibly deployed to fight back and not become the latest victim of a Kyle Larson victory attack.

Honestly, I dont know, Marks said after finishing second to Larson on Saturday in night one of the Bob Weikert Memorial at Port Royal Speedway. We were just as fast. He was just able to work his way around me.

Were really good right now and its a little frustrating.

This is, quite simply, a snippet of the aftermath over these last few weeks in central Pennsylvania.

On the very weekend that happens to honor legendary car owner Weikert, as well as his storied drivers like Doug Wolfgang, Larson and Paul Silva are pressuring teams to evolve, or at least act similarly to what Weikert and Wolfgang did all those years ago.

While the paths are incomparable, the streaks and win percentages are. In 1985, Weikert and Wolfgang won 53 races together in more than 100 races, with some guy named Davey Brown as crew chief.

On Saturday night, with a pair of Weikert trophies in hand, Larson won his 19th race in his past 32 starts. Thats roughly 50 percent versus 59 percent, with Larson as the latter.

Larsons doled plenty of exhilaration and headaches since his first stop in Pennsylvania on June 24, and Marks hasnt been the only one left vexed in this wake.

On Friday at Williams Grove Speedway, Anthony Macri had everything go his way until Larson rushed in like a bat out of hell. Two weeks before that, Larson started his Pennsylvania Speedweek title runaway by blitzing Freddie Rahmer at Grandview, his home track, prompting Rahmers accomplished father to say, Son, you need to match that.

Larson then denied Lance Dewease of win No. 100 at Williams Grove, flipping the script for his first victory at the speedway. He capped it all off by bettering one of the Posses finest in Danny Dietrich by 323 points in the final Pennsylvania Speedweek standings.

I watched Doug Wolfgang come in and changed the way people did things, Fred Rahmer said in a recent phone interview. Now, style wise, it looks to me like Kyle Larson is doing it again.

Weikert, Wolfgang, and Brown forged their place in sprint car racing royalty through unmatched grit and their revolutionary mechanical approach.

Larson, however, is as distant as one could be from having such knowledge.

While Silva and crew toil away at the race car in between on-track moments, Larson sits inside the trailer, on a bench behind one of the black cabinets, hunched over and watching maintenance from afar.

Hes not burdened with the knowledge of what it takes to fix the car if its not right, Fred Rahmer said. He just finds a way to drive it.

In a way, its probably one of the reasons behind this dominant run, that Larson has simply made do with what hes been given.

Wolfgang, according to his mechanic Davey Brown, built everything and anything behind Weikerts race shop walls, often housed with cars that were lighter than most and engines more powerful than any other team around.

We were just ahead of everyone else, Brown said. But Kyle, I wish he wouldve stayed in NASCAR.

Brown laughed, and then carried on with his assessment.

Hes hard to beat, he said. Hes a heck of a driver. Theres nobody that cant be beat, but well have to try a little harder. Everyones trying harder to catch him, I guess.

Thirty some years later, after competitors relentlessly chased Brown, Weikert, and Wolfgang, everyone else, including Brown in a way, is now chasing Larson and Silva in an age where sprint cars seem so equal to one another.

Its pretty impressive when in a time people say, You cant have a dominant car, Fred Rahmer said. Yeah, well somebody tell him. Hopefully a group of us will learn from it.

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Automated Bagging Machines Market Size, Growth Evolution, Trends, Demand, Analysis, Segment and Forecasts Report, 2026 – Cole of Duty

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Automated Bagging Machines Market (2018) Report Provides an in-depth summary of Automated Bagging Machines Market Status as well as Product Specification, Technology Development, and Key Manufacturers. The Report Gives Detail Analysis on Market concern Like Automated Bagging Machines Market share, CAGR Status, Market demand and up to date Market Trends with key Market segments.

The latest report about the Automated Bagging Machines market provides a detailed evaluation of the business vertical in question, alongside a brief overview of the industry segments. An exceptionally workable estimation of the present industry scenario has been delivered in the study, and the Automated Bagging Machines market size with regards to the revenue and volume have also been mentioned. In general, the research report is a compilation of key data with regards to the competitive landscape of this vertical and the multiple regions where the business has successfully established its position.

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This research report for Automated Bagging Machines Market explores different topics such as product scope, product market by end users or application, product market by region, the market size for the specific product Type, sales and revenue by region forecast the Market size for various segments. The Report provides detailed information regarding the Major factors (drivers, restraints, opportunities, and challenges) influencing the growth of the Automated Bagging Machines market. The Automated Bagging Machines Market Report analyzes opportunities in the overall Automated Bagging Machines market for stakeholders by identifying the high-growth segments.

The following manufacturers are covered in this report:Fuji MachineryOmori MachineryConcettiTokyo Automatic Machinery WorksAll-FillSTATEC BINDERHassia-RedatronRenncoE-Pak MachineryAutomated Bagging Machines Breakdown Data by TypeHorizontal Bagging MachinesVertical Bagging MachinesAutomated Bagging Machines Breakdown Data by ApplicationFood and Beverage IndustriesPharmaceuticals IndustryFeed IndustryChemical IndustryOthers

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Table of Content of The Report

Chapter 1- Automated Bagging Machines Industry Overview:

1.1 Definition of Automated Bagging Machines

1.2 Brief Introduction of Major Classifications

1.3 Brief Introduction of Major Applications

1.4 Brief Introduction of Major Regions

Chapter 2- Production Market Analysis:

2.1 Global Production Market Analysis

2.1.1 Global Capacity, Production, Capacity Utilization Rate, Ex-Factory Price, Revenue, Cost, Gross and Gross Margin Analysis

2.1.2 Major Manufacturers Performance and Market Share

2.2 Regional Production Market Analysis

Chapter 3- Sales Market Analysis:

3.1 Global Sales Market Analysis

3.2 Regional Sales Market Analysis

Chapter 4- Consumption Market Analysis:

4.1 Global Consumption Market Analysis

4.2 Regional Consumption Market Analysis

Chapter 5- Production, Sales and Consumption Market Comparison Analysis

Chapter 6- Major Manufacturers Production and Sales Market Comparison Analysis

Chapter 7- Major Classification Analysis

Chapter 8- Major Application Analysis

Chapter 9- Industry Chain Analysis:

9.1 Up Stream Industries Analysis

9.2 Manufacturing Analysis

Chapter 10- Global and Regional Market Forecast:

10.1 Production Market Forecast

10.2 Sales Market Forecast

10.3 Consumption Market Forecast

Chapter 11- Major Manufacturers Analysis:

11.1.1 Company Introduction

11.1.2 Product Specification and Major Types Analysis

11.1.3 Production Market Performance

11.1.4 Sales Market Performance

11.1.5 Contact Information

11.2.1 Company Introduction

11.2.2 Product Specification and Major Types Analysis

11.2.3 Production Market Performance

11.2.4 Sales Market Performance

11.2.5 Contact Information

Chapter 12- New Project Investment Feasibility Analysis:

12.1 New Project SWOT Analysis

12.2 New Project Investment Feasibility Analysis

Continued

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Automated Bagging Machines Market Size, Growth Evolution, Trends, Demand, Analysis, Segment and Forecasts Report, 2026 - Cole of Duty

ETHUSD: Ethereum Price on Cusp of a Breakout Ahead of August ETH.20 Upgrade – InvestingCube

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Ethereum Price (ETHUSD) pair is down by about 1.3% as traders continues to wait for the upcoming Ethereum 2.0 upgrade. The pair is trading at $242.73, which is slightly below this weeks high of $247.

The biggest driver to Ethereum price these days is the upcoming ETH 2.0 upgrade. This is a process that will improve the original back end of Ethereum and will be the first major update to the system. It will help to make the protocol more secure and faster. In an announcement, Danny Ryan, a launch coordinator of the upgrade said that the preliminary launch date of this upgrade will be on August 4th. He said:

After discussions with client teams, the next multi-client testnet (mainnet config including min validator numbers) will have a min genesis time of August 4th.

Behind the scenes, tests of phase zero (Sapphire) of its test net has been going on since April this year. In the new protocol, ETH mining will shift from a proof-of-work system. Instead, it will be secured by users putting about 32 ETH stake to validate a node. The second test, known as Onyx has been going on since June this year and involves more than 20,000 validators. Another, phase, known as Altona moved from phase zero in June.

ETH 2.0 is the next major event in the cryptocurrency industry after the Bitcoin halving event that took place in May.

Like Bitcoin, Ethereum price has been boring in recent months. In the past two months, the price has traded within a range of between $215 and $254. As a result, the Average True Range (ATR), which is a good measure of volatility has dropped to the lowest level since January this month.

On the daily chart, the price is slightly above the 78.6% Fibonacci retracement level. It is also above the 50-day and 100-day exponential moving averages. Therefore, because of the low volatility, it means that the price is on a cusp of a break out with key support and resistance levels being at $215 and $255.

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ETHUSD: Ethereum Price on Cusp of a Breakout Ahead of August ETH.20 Upgrade - InvestingCube

Ethereum (ETH) Down $0.77 Over Past 4 Hours, Makes Big Move Relative to Two Week Trend; Breaks Above 20 Day Average – CFDTrading

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Ethereum 4 Hour Price Update

Updated July 22, 2020 11:21 AM GMT (07:21 AM EST)

The choppiness in the recent four-hour candle price action of Ethereum continues; to start the current 4 hour candle, it came in at a price of 243.83 US dollars, up 0.6% ($1.45) since the last 4 hour candle. Relative to other instruments in the Top Cryptos asset class, Ethereum ranked 3rd since the last 4 hour candle in terms of percentage price change.

245.87 (USD) was the opening price of the day for Ethereum, resulting in the previous day being one in which price moved up 4.11% ($9.71) from the previous day. The price move occurred on stronger volume; specifically, yesterdays volume was up 91.7% from the day prior, and up 97.94% from the same day the week before. Out of the 5 instruments in the Top Cryptos asset class, Ethereum ended up ranking 2nd for the day in terms of price change relative to the previous day. Lets take a look at the daily price chart of Ethereum.

Moving average crossovers are always interesting, so lets start there: Ethereum crossed above its 20 day moving average yesterday. The clearest trend exists on the 90 day timeframe, which shows price moving up over that time. Or to view things another way, note that out of the past 14 days Ethereums price has gone down 8 them.

Behold! Here are the top tweets related to Ethereum:

Important,We have just created a test token on the ethereum mainnet for the final stage of our POL testing today -and it will be added to uniswap.I hope this goes without saying, please dont buy a token called TESTTOKEN$TESTTOKENThis token has NO FUTURE. Be warned

If you: are obsessive about crypto (Ethereum in particular) have strong analytical skills know SQL, Git, and maybe some Python want a fun job, 100% remoteplease DM me your resume and/or Github profile

Im going to save you some time : the oracle pb isnt fully solvable the team holds a big % of the supply no staking/penalty system yet its built on ethereum$LINK marines have spent 2 years on twitter discussing those facts.

For a longer news piece related to ETH thats been generating discussion, check out:

Introduction to Building on DeFi with Ethereum and USDC Part 1 | by Coinbase | Jul, 2020 | The Coinbase Blog

That is the function well be calling to get some USDC sent to our account.Read-only functions can be called without creating a transaction and therefore without a transaction fee, unless called as part of a read-write function.Look for gimmeSome again in the contract source code and you will find that the interface is the following: It is a really simple function that does not take in any arguments, and it is marked as external, which means that this function can only be called from outside, and not from other functions within this contract.Create a new file called getTestnetUSDC.js in the src folder and enter the following code: The code first instantiates a contract object (new ethers.Contract) with the interface of the function we are interested in, gimmeSome, and points it at the address of the testnet USDC contract: 0x68ec69c4.Run the code, and now you will see USDC balance as well: Now lets check out how we can spend ETH and USDC we have in our account.Create transferUSDC.js in the same folder and enter the following: Try it out, it should work just as well: In this tutorial, youve learned how to generate an account, query balance, transfer tokens, and call smart contract functions.

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Ethereum (ETH) Down $0.77 Over Past 4 Hours, Makes Big Move Relative to Two Week Trend; Breaks Above 20 Day Average - CFDTrading

DeFi hacks on Ethereum 2.0 easier to scale than on Eth1: report – Decrypt

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DeFi has proven to be something of a double-edged sword for crypto. On the one hand, its generating excitement and income. On the other, it poses security threats. Derivative attacks and other hacks made possible by the DeFi money piata could cause cracks in the forthcoming Ethereum 2.0 network.

So say ConsenSys Tanner Hoban and Thomas Borgers, who, with funding from MolochDao, used their free time to analyze the incentive structure and security for Ethereums long-awaited proof-of-stake network. (Disclosure: ConsenSys funds an editorially independent Decrypt.)

In their just-released paper, Ethereum 2.0 Economic Review: An Analysis of Ethereums Proof of Stake Incentive Model, the co-authors argue that with options volume increasing and unique financial instruments like flash loans being used in malicious exploits [] derivatives could become the favored avenue of attack for adversaries.

Not to fear, though. They have a solution: Just pay a bit more for security.

Attacks on Eth2 are easier to scale than on Eth1, write Hoban and Borgers. Thats counterintuitively because network participation should be easier on the network; users dont need as much hardware or to use as much electricity to get involved. To mount attacks, they dont need more machines, they need more ETH. And there are plenty of markets for them to get it: The flourishing of DeFi and eventual connectivity to Eth2 can vastly accelerate and magnify this trend.

Most blockchain watchers are already aware of the risks inherent to Ethereum-based derivatives. Just see Februarys bZx exploit, which cost the company hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Though DeFi is already risky on Ethereum 1.0, a proof-of-work blockchain, Borgers told Decrypt that he thinks such derivative attacks will only continue to proliferate with Eth2, and so far we haven't seen that Eth2 addresses that vector better than Eth1.

In their analysis, Hoban and Borgers found that risk to be most acute during the transition to Ethereum 2.0. Thats because at the beginning of the shift, validators must lock up their ETH stakesand all the rewards they receive for doing sountil the PoW chain fully merges with the PoS chain. That decreases liquidity, and the authors believe it could lead to centralization.

Given the choice between waiting or putting their ETH to work for them, people will likely turn to centralized exchanges and derivatives trading. A high concentration of validators leveraging these platforms creates centralization risk and unpredictability, wrote the authors. In other words, more derivatives, more problemsat least while the network is transitioning.

Borgers told Decrypt that while some types of attacks could become more difficult, other attack vectors, in addition to derivative attacks, could present themselves. Therefore, he supports a slow rollout of Eth2giving us ample time to test.

After Ethereum fully transitions, network security should come to rely on three key variables: ETH staked, the price of ETH, and volatility. (The current iteration of Ethereum relies on hashrate for security, explained Borgers, which is related to price.)

The authors laid out their reasoning in the papers conclusion:

Our primary concern with regards to the economic stability and security of Eth2 is the resilience of the network at low ETH prices. Profitability diminishes, which could force validators to exit, further diminishing security.

With fewer validators, the cost to attack the network also decreases. Hoban and Borgers calculate that the network needs 13.8% of ETH to be staked for adequate security.

To incentivize people to stake their ETH, and thereby losing some flexibility with their funds, they recommend doubling the base rewards factorwhich, along with the amount of ETH at stake, helps determine the amount of ETH stakers can earnfrom the currently planned 64 to 128.

Security is highly dependent [on] ETH price and ETH staked, and we should make sure there is enough ETH staked, as that is the only variable we can really influence directly, Borgers told Decrypt.

Moreover, adding financial incentives is affordable given that security for the PoS network should actually cost less than with Ethereum 1.0. We believe the network is underpaying for security, Hoban and Borgers wrote.

Borgers thinks the transition to Eth2 is worth it from a security standpoint. It just needs some fine-tuning.

I think if we can find good mechanisms to incentivize enough ETH stake (~15%), which is very possible, as hinted at in our recommendations, said Borgers, this is a much more secure, scalable, and decentralized system.

The views and opinions expressed by the author are for informational purposes only and do not constitute financial, investment, or other advice.

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DeFi hacks on Ethereum 2.0 easier to scale than on Eth1: report - Decrypt

EOS, Ethereum and Ripple’s XRP Daily Tech Analysis July 16th, 2020 – FX Empire

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For the day ahead

Ethereum would need to move through the $238.70 pivot to support a run at the first major resistance level at $241.06.

Support from the broader market would be needed, however, for Ethereum to break back through to $240 levels.

Barring an extended crypto rally, the first major resistance level and Wednesdays high $241.44 should cap any upside.

Failure to move through the $238.70 pivot would bring the first major support level at $235.98 into play.

Barring another extended sell-off, Ethereum should continue to steer clear of sub-$230 levels. The second major support level at $233.63 should limit any downside.

Major Support Level: $235.98

Pivot Level: $238.71

Major Resistance Level: $241.06

23.6% FIB Retracement Level: $257

38.2% FIB Retracement Level: $367

62% FIB Retracement Level: $543

Ripples XRP fell by 0.92% on Wednesday. Reversing a 0.10% rise from Tuesday, Ripples XRP ended the day at $0.19740.

A mixed start to the day saw Ripples XRP rise to an early morning intraday high $0.19999 before hitting reverse.

Falling short of the first major resistance level at $0.2012, Ripples XRP slid to a late morning intraday low $0.19644.

Steering clear of the first major support level at $0.1963, Ripples XRP recovered to $0.199 levels before easing back.

At the time of writing, Ripples XRP was down by 0.44% to $0.19653. A bearish start to the day saw Ripples XRP fall from an early morning high $0.19755 to a low $0.19609.

Ripples XRP left the major support and resistance levels untested early on.

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EOS, Ethereum and Ripple's XRP Daily Tech Analysis July 16th, 2020 - FX Empire

Top Developer Says Ethereum 2.0 Will Launch Sooner Than Expected | NewsBTC – newsBTC

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Following delays to the rollout of ETH 2.0, its no secret that the Ethereum community grows restless over the wait.

A recent public discussion on the matter had Ethereum Foundation Researcher, Justin Drake give a tentative date of January 2021 for Phase 0 rollout, during a Reddit AMA.

The announcement garnered a mixed response. Some took the view that the slow progress to date has tarnished Ethereums credibility, leading the door open for competitors to gain ground.

It makes it look like Ethereum has lost the hunger. Which opens the door to all the scrappy Ethereum killer VC chains who have no problem putting the pedal to the metal.

Others took a more pragmatic approach by acknowledging the need to get things right the first time around.

Ethereum co-founder, Vitalik Buterin, took heavy criticism for expressing his desire to launch well before January 2021, even if things arent ready.

In an unexpected twist to the saga, Ethereum developer, Afri Schoedon believes Phase 0 will be ready for launch in November 2020.

Reports have circulated that the development team is struggling to meet soft deadlines, as a result of building with legacy architecture in mind, but Schoedon paints a contrasting view.

Schoedon stated that the team is making good progress and on schedule for launch during late 2020. He also remarked that Drakes provisional date of January 2021 would be overkill, barring the discovery of severe issues.

The Ethereum 2.0 beacon chain will launch in November unless we find severe bugs in clients or protocol. Im in-between Vitalk and Justin with my estimation here, I dont think that we necessarily need to delay Ethereum 2.0 into 2021 unless we find critical issues. We are well on track for a late 2020 launch.

During the interview, Schoedon spoke briefly about his area of responsibility, developing the multi-client testnet. He confirmed that all is going as planned and that the multi-client testnet will launch in the near future.

Currently, at least five clients implement the latest version of the Ethereum 2.0 specification. The currently running Altona testnet appears to be stable which featured four clients in Genesis and just added a fifth with Lodestar. This allows us to prepare launching the official multi-client testnet Medalla very soon, which would mark the final step towards an Ethereum 2.0 mainnet launch.

Much anticipation surrounds the launch of Ethereum 2.0, in particular, the move to a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism.

The race to complete Phase 0 refers to the launch of Beacon Chain. This will implement PoS and manage the registry of validators.

Ethereum developers have stated that Beacon Chain will initially run in parallel with the existing Ethereum chain. But it will not be able to process transactions, execute smart contracts, or host dApps.

Instead, at Phase 0, it will provide the live testing ground for PoS until Phase 1.5. At this point, the two blockchains will merge to form a single Ethereum network.

Implementing this while administrating a live chain means the Ethereum team have their work cut out for them. For that reason, delays are somewhat understandable.

However, it remains to be seen if Schoedons optimism is justified.

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Top Developer Says Ethereum 2.0 Will Launch Sooner Than Expected | NewsBTC - newsBTC

Ethereum Price Prediction: ETH/USD reclaims $240 drawing nearer to $250 – FXStreet

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Ethereum is hanging at the edge of a cliff after stepping above the critical $240. The 50-day SMA is providing immediate support. However, buyers are finding it extremely difficult to hold above $240 due to the low trading volume witnessed across the board. The ongoing bullish action is taking place after confluence resistance discussed on Monday above $239 was overcome.

At the time of writing, Ether is doddering at $240.94. The immediate upside is limited by a descending trendline. If broken, Ethereum is likely to scale the levels above $245 (last weeks main hurdle). Glancing farther up, the ultimate medium milestone to be achieved is a break above $250.

Looking at the cryptos technical levels, the trend is mainly in the hand of the bulls. This calls for buyers to join the market in order to support the trend with volume. The RSI, for example, is rising above the midline with eyes on the overbought region. Such a move is likely to bring back the volatility to Ethereum markets. The bullish momentum witnessed during the European session is reinforced by the MACD as it crosses into the positive region.

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Ethereum Price Prediction: ETH/USD reclaims $240 drawing nearer to $250 - FXStreet

Interest from institutional investors for Bitcoin and Ethereum at record level – Crypto News Flash

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The LMAX Group has revealed figures on the growth of its crypto exchange, LMAX Digital. In a press release, LMAX states that the exchange has seen a 106% increase in the first half of 2020 for its trading volume with Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH). This translates into a record trading volume of $36 billion.

The LMAX Group reported total gains in trading volume of $2.3 trillion, with a 33% growth over the first half of 2019. The exchange is based in the UK and is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). For the past two years, the exchange has been offering institutions trade in the above-mentioned cryptocurrencies and in XRP, Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin.

The LMAX Group also reports a significant increase in the trading volume for the United States. Compared to the first half of 2019, the current trading volume registered an increase of 165%. In addition, the crypto exchange has a record number of new clients.

According to the press release, LMAX Digital is working with more than 200 large institutions globally that trade with Bitcoin, Ethereum and the other cryptocurrencies it offers in the United States, Europe and Asia. LMAX CEO, David Mercer, said the following

We have seen growth in new large institutional clients around the world trading on our execution venues and the deepening of existing relationships. This is attributed to the quality of the liquidity and execution we offer across exchanges ()In the two years since LMAX Digital launched, it has become the leading crypto currency exchange for institutional market participants and has secured its position as the primary price discovery venue.

In an earlier statement, the LMAX Group revealed that nearly $85 billion in cryptocurrencies have been traded since the service was launched. In addition, the last 10 months trading volume has increased 10-fold to $75 billion.

In the first quarter of this year, the crypto exchange experienced a 41% increase in quarterly trading volume and reached $20 billion, despite the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the global economy. David Mercer had the following to say about the growth in trade volume for cryptocurrencies:

We have been impressed by the resilience of crypto currencies, particularly Bitcoin, and note that they have been relatively stable compared to other asset classes which have enjoyed central bank intervention and still shown extreme levels of instability. We see this as an encouraging sign that investors are starting to place more value in digital currencies and have continued to trade through spikes in volatility.

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Interest from institutional investors for Bitcoin and Ethereum at record level - Crypto News Flash

Chinese Blockchain Network Integretes Ethereum, Tezos, NEO, and More – Cryptonews

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Source: Adobe/bankrx

Chinas Blockchain Service Network (BSN) platform will integrate the Ethereum (ETH), Ios, Tezos (XTZ), Nervos (CKB), NEO and IRISnet blockchain networks as an international portal is unveiled in August.

Per a blog post, a version of the BSN a network that already has full coverage in all major Chinese cities, per official sources will roll out on August 10. Its operators said it will be called the BSN International Portal and will allow users around the world access to low-cost blockchain solutions.

BSN said it will offer three main services, namely permissioned services, permissionless services and inter-chain services.

The existing BSN-China portal has already begun offering permissioned services for Mainland Chinese locations. However, the operators added that due to regulations in China, permissionless services will only be available on the BSN International Portal and on international public city nodes.

Regardless, the operators appear keen to push ahead with interoperability drives, and claimed that they will add an additional three to five public chains to the BSN International Portal per month. They noted that they will focus on public chains that emphasize and encourage [decentralized app] development.

As previously reported, the BSN initiative is the brainchild of a number of Chinese government organs and state-owned firms, including government think tank the State Information Center of China, telecom giant China Mobile and financial services company China UnionPay.

In an official statement, BSN operators stated that the network has already deployed more than 120 public city nodes at locations around the world.

The operators also added that five BSN International nodes would be linked to the BSN-China network, but added that they would need to operate independently and comply with the laws and regulations of the areas in which they are active.

BSN has previously claimed that it has nodes activein Tokyo, Paris, Sydney, and So Paulo.

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Chinese Blockchain Network Integretes Ethereum, Tezos, NEO, and More - Cryptonews

Ethereum transactions are now near 2018s ICO boom levelsits the DeFi effect – CryptoSlate

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Ethereum transactions are seeing transactional activity last seen in 2018when massive ICO activity dominated the network.

Much of the activity can be attributed to the rise of DeFi and Layer-2 applications. Furthermore, wallet data suggests investors may be accumulating ETH ahead of the networks upgrade to a staking mechanism.

Data shows Ethereum transactions are nearing 2018s levels. GAS prices have increased as a result, and are now at a record high.

As seen in the chart below, transactional activity has broken above last years 1 million/day levelnearing 1.3 million/day seen in January 2018. Current transaction activity is ranging between the 1.1-1.2 million/day level:

The charts coincide with the rise of DeFi applications this year. Projects like Balancer, Aave, Compound, and Synthetix have gained both a fan following and media interest in 2020and their rise in popularity is synchronous with the surge in Ethereum transactions.

DeFi tokens now account for 1.44 percent of the total cryptocurrency space, CryptoSlates proprietary analytics page shows. Sector volume has been $456 million over July 17-18.

The sector has returned 6.53 percent to investors in the past seven days. This is the most among any other sub-sectorssuch as smart contracts, general currencies, and privacy tokens.

Theres promise price-wise too. As CryptoSlate reported yesterday, one economic model has suggested Ethereums price will be boosted by DeFis growth. This was proposed by analyst Morgan Bennett earlier this week:

Meanwhile, mempool data on Ethereum is not helping its cause. Transaction fees have soared in the past week; costing over $10 on some smart contract transfers.

This can be traced back to DeFi token usage; the top-10 (DeFi) coins run on the Ethereum mainnet currently:

A relevant Reddit thread captures some of the community sentiment in this regard. The high gas prices make it really painful (and sometimes confusing) to interact with (a) smart contract, said one forum member.

But Ethereums broader ecosystem is working to solve some of these issues. ConsenSys-backed Starkware reached 9,000 transactions/second in testing in May, while Matic Network reported 7,200 tps in a testnet last week.

As Ethereums current tps is a small 12-15; block data shows. Layer-2 designs and rollup tech, once deployed, promise to power the network to over 1 million tps.

And thats required as well; if at all any decentralized cat meme games arrive on the scene again.

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Ethereum transactions are now near 2018s ICO boom levelsits the DeFi effect - CryptoSlate

Will Tezos Be the Altcoin to Unseat Ethereum on the Crypto Market? – AMBCrypto English

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Ever since it then-record $232 million ICO (initial coin offering) back in 2017, Tezos (XTZ) has earned a justifiable amount of buzz in the crypto world. But does the Swiss-US joint venture have legs?

First off, its important to understand what makes Tezos stand out among the thousands of cryptocurrencies on the market. XTZ utilizes a proof-of-stake based consensus model, which, unlike Bitcoin and Ethereums proof-of-work models, isnt dependent on mining for its blockchain protocol.

Instead, Tezos employs a more democratic model where all stakeholders have a hand in managing the protocol in what is known as a self-amending blockchain. One of the big takeaways from this model is that it avoids the issue of hard forking into two different blockchains. Hard forking is what caused bitcoin cash to break off from bitcoin and Ethereum to break off from Ethereum classic.

In comprehensive terms, Tezos uses a formal, on-chain mechanism for proposing, selecting, testing, and activating protocol upgrades. It results in a uniquely formalized process, in which users have control of what happens to updates, as long as its within the Tezos protocol.

It all adds up to some exciting potential for Tezos, which has generated some major public enthusiasm and investor interest. The Bank of France is testing out a Tezos node, and a tech investment firm called Silicon Valley Coin chose Tezos (noticeably over Ethereum) to tokenize its fund.

XTZ is also making a lot of noise on the STO (security token offering) market, with global investment banks like BTG Pactual, tZERO, and Alliance Investments contributing to a reported $2.6 billion-plus in STOs deployed on the Tezos blockchain.

So, will all this buzz and heightened interest result in Tezos being the next altcoin to go boom? Or is it all just hot air? Check out eToros video to find out more about Tezos and if it has what it takes to rival Ethereum as the no. 2 cryptocurrency on the market.

[VIDEO]

Disclaimer:

eToro is a multi-asset platform that offers both investing in stocks and crypto assets, as well as trading CFDs.

Please note that CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 75% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

Past performance is not an indication of future results.

Cryptoassets are volatile instruments that can fluctuate widely in a very short timeframe and therefore are not appropriate for all investors. Other than via CFDs, trading crypto assets are unregulated and therefore is not supervised by any EU regulatory framework.

This is a paid post and should not be considered as news/advice.

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Will Tezos Be the Altcoin to Unseat Ethereum on the Crypto Market? - AMBCrypto English

Opinion: The Future of Free Speech – OnFocus

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For Marshfield (OnFocus) There is a recent development in the US that concerns me about the future of our country. No, its not the handling of COVID-19, nor is it the upcoming Presidential election. This development is the attack against one of the fundamental freedoms provided to us in the first amendment of the US Constitution: the freedom of speech.

The first amendment reads, Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

While Congress has not explicitly introduced any bills that would limit this freedom of speech, there is a movement in public opinion as to what is and is not acceptable that could lead us to a watershed moment in the future.

Back in 2016, Canadian lawmakers were debating a proposed law, known as Bill C-16, that would provide protections towards transgender and gender-diverse citizens, or individuals who identify with a non-traditional or non-stereotypical concept of gender. However, the main controversy over the bill was the authority given to Government to determine whether using the incorrect pronoun to identify an individual was constituted a hate crime and was deemed illegal by this bill.

The bill was infamously opposed by Dr. Jordan Peterson, a professor at the University of Toronto. In Dr. Petersons view, the issue wasnt whether the use of preferred pronouns was right or wrong; rather, it was centered around the Governments regulation of free speech. Dr. Peterson reasoned the passing of this bill as written could open Pandoras box for the Government to determine acceptable speech in all facets of our lives, which could be a dangerous proposition.

For the regulation of freedom of speech, the power to determine what is and is not acceptable falls on other humans. The ones calling for restriction in speech through cancel culture and public shaming believe this regulation will be done by those who are like-minded and share the same viewpoints. What happens when your opinion is the one disallowed or deleted because moderators disagree with your opinion? This is the slippery slope society runs by implementing restrictions on freedom of speech. The world isnt filled with like-minded individuals who share 100% of your opinions. Its what makes humans human. We have our own thoughts and opinions based on our knowledge and experience. I doubt youll ever find another person who shares 100% of your thoughts. Shaming someone because they disagree with you dehumanizes every one victimized by public shaming.

Please understand Im not advocating for the use of hate speech, racial slurs, or blatant lies. There are comments that nearly everyone would agree is egregious and inappropriate, and those people should get called out for saying it. The argument isnt whether certain words should be spoken at all. It lies with who should be responsible for making the final determination of what is and is not allowed.

Recently, public social media outlets, like Twitter and YouTube, have been accused of removing tweets and videos from certain viewpoints. On political or controversial topics, only allowing one side of the argument to be published creates an echo chamber that keeps conversation stagnant and further divides the different sides to the argument.

Twitter recently announced President Trumps account will be fact-checked. You may think, Well this is a good thing. The President shouldnt be tweeting false information, especially from a position of power. While I agree he shouldnt be blatantly spreading lies and false information, 1) there is a difference between sharing facts and opinions and 2) theres a societal expectation to formulate and share an opinion on a topic before we have the full set of facts.

Have you ever voiced an opinion on a topic, only to learn more facts later to change your position? What if you were publicly shamed for holding your original viewpoint? If people are afraid to share their opinions for fear of public scrutiny, youll create a society where the citizens dare not think for themselves. When you stop thinking for yourself, you stop determining right from wrong. You become nihilistic. Ultimately, you open the door for regimes like communism and Marxism, or the rise in satanic leaders, like Stalin or Hitler.

The New York Times recently came under heavy scrutiny because they published an op-ed piece from Senator Tom Cotton, a Republican from Arkansas, voicing his opinion on the use of the military to manage the riots and public protests arising from the death of George Floyd. Instead of listening to the Senators views to better understand his position, some pushed back to whether the piece should have posted at all. The public outcry towards the editor of the NYT for even publishing the piece points towards the cancel culture some in our society are pushing.

What can we do to combat this issue? First, accept that others will hold and share differing opinions. Whether its religion, abortion, climate control, the Presidential election, or if the earth is round or flat, you will find others who disagree with you. Second, remember opinions are not facts. Facts are available to support your opinion, but ultimately, your opinion is your own viewpoint. You may think Aaron Rodgers is the best quarterback of all time, but youll be hard-pressed to convince someone thats factually true. Its merely your opinion on his career. Third, and most importantly, listen to each other with open minds. Social media has harvested a culture of disregarding differing opinions and undermining someones character when they disagree with you.

You cant squash someones differing viewpoint by disallowing them to speak. Not only will they harden their stance, but they will lose respect for you. The great divide in this country is a direct result of the inability to hear others viewpoints and to understand why they hold their position. If youre on the left, you can listen to the echo chamber created by MSNBC and CNN, or on the right, Fox News, and youll only hear points that support your current position and further the divide with those on the other side of the political spectrum.

It falls on each of us to hold freedom of speech to a higher standard, even if it means allowing others to voice opinions differing from our own. I encourage you to listen to different opinions and talking to others about controversial topics, not with the goal to teach, but with the goal to listen and learn. Only when we place an emphasis on listening to learn do we truly understand the value of freedom of speech.

We welcome your stories! Contact us at [emailprotected]!

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Opinion: The Future of Free Speech - OnFocus

The Synagogue of Satan And Destroying The Right To ‘Free Speech’ – FinalCall.com News

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[Editors note: The following article contains excerpts from an hour-long message delivered by the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan as Part 22 of his 52-week Lecture Series The Time and What Must Be Done. This message originally aired on Saturday, June 8, 2013. To order this message in its entirety on MP3, DVD and CD, call 1.866.602.1230, ext. 200, or visit store.finalcall.com. We urge readers to visit The Final Call Channel on http://www.youtube.com and view the full lecture, Part 22 of the The Time and What Must Be Done series.]

In The Name of Allah, The Beneficent, The Merciful.

During this critical time, when The Old World is going out, and The New World is coming in, we must beacquaintedwith the ruler of the old world thats going out, and we must get acquainted with The New Ruler of The World that is coming in. The world that is going out is a world that God gave Divine privilege to, to rule the people of our planet for 6,000 years. And, the 6,000 years of the rule of thiscontraryworld and people is now up. And The New Ruler is in the world: He is The God of The New World; and He comes to make Himself known, and to manifest Satan so that the people of the Earth may fall away from Satan and get ready to prepare themselves to become a part of that which God makes new.

Synagogue of Satans schemes to destroy the First Amendment right to free speech

We want to focus again on that Synagogue of Satan. I want to speak about the charge of anti-Semitism, and what that charge leads to.

The First Amendment ofThe United States Constitution reads as follows: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.And so, I would like to put before you the following questions:

How does one go from engaging infree speechthat we assume is protected by The First Amendment of The Constitution, to finding ones self facing possiblycriminal penalties?

How does sucha wicked claim of anti-Semitismmovethe accused onefrom speaking or writing the truth, and then to legal jeopardy?

What isa legal mechanismby which theseattack dogs ofThe Synagogue of Satanactivate the governmental apparatus toseek out, punishanddestroythose that are labeled as an anti-Semite or as a hate groupand destroy their right to free speech in the process?

We want to look at the criminal effect of being labeled anti-Semitic. We want to look at how these private Jewish organizations who do the labeling, like theAnti-Defamation LeagueandThe Southern Poverty Law Center, manipulate the government law enforcement agencies like theFBIand theIRSto target and harass those who are so labeled. Then, we want to see how they work to effect their scheming, with the disproportionate number of members of the Jewish community working as DAs (or district attorneys) or federal and state prosecutors and judges, in the United States court system where these cases will ultimately be tried.

It begins with someone,anyone, who holds a controversial view, and speaks or writes about it in public.Controversialmeans contrary to the popular version of the truth.

However, instead of engaging in honest and open public dialogue and debate about the issue that the spokesperson raises, as is called for and encouraged by the United States Constitution,private interest groups start with the labeling:Hes a hate teacher, with a hateful message.And then the group he belongs to: If they dont repudiate the spokesperson fast enough, they also get called a hate group that promotes intolerance.They dont have to prove it, they just have to say it over and over againand then the drumbeats get amplified by their brethren who controlthe media.And if that person does not apologize quick enough after that, they start to pick away at his supporters. And those who would defend that person: If they are not strong enough to stand up to the slander, they begin to fall away and distance themselves; and some may even start repudiating and apologizing for their former friend and ally.

Still, if he refuses to bow down: They connect certain inflammatory terms that are intended to generate real hatred, and even retribution, against the person who is speaking these controversial points. They start with:He hates! Hes intolerant!and that escalates to,Hes threatening, and he incites hatred in others!And then the wordviolencegets thrown in, and thenhate crimesare mentioned; and ultimately, you hear the wordsdomestic terrorism.This is all calculated to get the public to put so much pressure on that individual; that they, and their supporters, relent, apologize and retreat.

And this is why I say to my great brothers and sisters in The Twitter Army:No matter what vile speech comes at you, no matter what threats are made against my life by those who hate The Truth that we are speaking, never ever get down in the gutter, or threaten anyone with violence, because they are building a record of what we are saying! So, if you threaten anyone with violence, or you act like you wish to do them evil because they desire to domeevil, then one day you might hear this again in a court of law.

The Synagogues efforts to modernize government persecution of individuals and groups

If we continue to stand on our principles and exercise our freedom of speech, these members of The Synagogue of Satan then get their brethren in The Judicial Branch of government, in the IRS, and their brethren in the Congress and the Senate, and even up to the White House or the Justice Department, and they begin to act in a conspiratorial manner to charge, condemn, try and punishand even killthose who are so charged. This government persecution of individuals and groups who speak boldly about the wrongs in American society was started underJ. Edgar HooversF.B.I. Counterintelligence Program [COINTELPRO].

Although that Program was exposed, and it was said that certain controls were ultimately put on the activity of the FBI; but yet, those wicked policies still continue even up to this very momentof courseThe Synagogue of Satanstepped in tore-establish the worst of Hoovers illegal operations.In August of 1999, under the administration of President Bill Clinton, federal surveillance of those labeled hate groups was restricted to those who committed, or were linked to, actual crimes. According to published reports, hisAttorney General Janet Reno said: It is important that you not focus on a group unless you have a reasonable indication that they are engaged in criminal conduct.But then 29 Jewish leaders led by the Anti-Defamation Leagues Abraham Foxman went to the Justice Department, and told them this is too timid an approach. It was reported that Foxman stated:We want better surveillance and infiltration if necessary the concern, Mr. Foxman said, wasmodernizing the regulations, so federal authoritiescan deal not only with getting the man, but with preventing the crime.

So now, they have their way: A position was created inside the Justice Dept. which they say is to monitor and combat anti-Semitism. [Based uponThe Global Anti-Semitism Review Act of 2004] Secretary of State John Kerry appointed a man namedIra Formanas the newSpecial Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism.

What will happen with these positions, except to coordinate the government surveillance and infiltration of those who have been labeled anti-Semitic?There are real anti-Semites in this country that hate the Jewish people, and there is nothing wrong with monitoring arealanti-Semitic hate group.But when you have that intention formeandThe Nation of Islam, then we have tocharge youandchallenge youto prove your claim.

You have a long history of lying on The Nation of Islam. And it is time that we throw down the gauntlet now, and make you come before the American people and the world, and prove your charge. And if you cannot,and you cannot, then youre going to have to pay for all these years that you have poisoned the minds of the American people; destroyed progress of tens of hundreds and thousands of peopleand you thought you got away with it.

Not today

In The Preface ofThe Secret Relationship Between Blacks and Jews, Volume 2, The Historical Research Department provides us with historical proof on how Jews at the highest organizational levels havealwayslabeled The Nation of Islam as anti-Semitic. For example, they write that in 1942, a secret Anti-Defamation League of Bnai Brith file titledTemple of Islam Infiltrationstates:A Negro employed byusus here is The Anti- Defamation Leagueprovedquite instrumental in a F.B.I. raid on the Chicago mosque resulting in 82 arrests.So, this has been going on a long time.

And what did you mean,Mr. Abraham Foxman, when you said,Louis Farrakhan is the only African-American leader?Your words exactly, sir, as they appear in aHaaretznews article published in April 2013:The last time an African-American leader stood up to anti-Semitism was Martin Luther King Jr., who said its a sin. The only leadership that now exists inthat community the African American communityisLouis Farrakhan. Farrakhan can assemble 20,000 people several times a year, and he flaunts his anti-Semitism. Whats worse, they deny it exists, so theres no one to talk to.

I interpret that as meaningThe Nation of Islam and Louis Farrakhan are the only ones we dont control;I interpret that to mean thatLouis FarrakhanandThe Nation of Islammay very well beThe Last Man Standingin the way ofyour successful capture of Black leaders, your successful capture of Black professionals and Black businessmen, your capture of Black artists, and your capture of heads of state and government that bow to your commands!Then ifweare The Last Man Standing, then you are calling on all of your forces to concentrate their attention on Louis Farrakhan and The Nation of Islam.

Well, concentrate with everything youve got, because The God that we serve will answereffectivelyandefficiently, and will ultimately destroy your power.

A party from amongThe Synagogue of Satanthat designs to ruin Gods Warner among us

Look at whats written in theHoly Quran, Surah4 Al-Nisa(The Women), verses 111-112:And whoever commits a sin, commits it only against himself. And Allah is ever Knowing, Wise. And whoever commits a fault or a sin, then accuses of it one innocent, he indeed takes upon himself the burden of acalumnyand amanifest sin.

Now, what is acalumny? A calumny is the making of a false and defamatory statement in order to damage someones reputation. It is slander, it is character assassination, and it is vilification.

ToThe Anti-Defamation League, The Southern Poverty Law Center, a.k.a. The Synagogue of Satan:You are the sinner! You want to put your evil onan innocent man; you say I am the hateryoure wrong! We can prove that you are the hater, and youve been the hater of us ever since youve been onour planet. You are the liar; you are the one that is creating violence and hatredit is you. You manipulate your media brethren, turning them into tools of your wicked ideas and policies.

Well now your day has come.In the Holy Quran, Surah 104is calledAl-Humazah(The Slanderer):Woe to every slanderer, defamer! Who amasses wealth and counts itHe thinks that his wealth will make him abide. Nay, he will certainly be hurled into the crushing disaster; And what will make thee realize what the crushing disaster is? It is the Fire kindled by Allah, Which rises over the hearts. Surely it is closed in on them, In extended columns.

What will make thee know what the great and utter destruction is? It is The Fire, inthe heart of the slanderer; that leads that slanderer to The Fire of Hell.

Inverse 113ofSurah 4, The Holy Quransays:And were it not for Allahs grace on thee and His mercy,a party of themhad certainly designed to ruinthee. And they ruin only themselves, and they cannot harm thee in any way. And Allah has revealed to thee the Book and the Wisdom, and taught thee what thou knewest not, and Allahs grace on thee is very great.

I rely on The Wisdom of that scripture, because as I said: This Synagogue of Satan is comprised not only of members of the Jewish community, but you have Gentiles, you have Blacks, you have AsiansYour Synagogue is big. And a lot of the people that are members of The Synagogue are unwitting pawns in The Wicked Game of this Satanic group.

Remember these words of The Quran:a partyand thats you, Synagoguefrom among themcertainly designed to ruinthee.Thee here meansMuhammad; thee, here, means what he represents. And if you dont think that I am a part of Muhammad, then watch and see. Your evil is designed to ruin me, and to ruin The Nation of Islam. But you ruin only yourself. So keep on planning and watch what happens to you, and what you represent.

A Who is Anti-Semitic? roll call

Let us take a look at all the Black leaders that have been charged with anti-Semitic behavior because they dared to utter a word of criticism against Jewish misbehavior and mislabeling. Lets take a look at Who is anti-Semitic?I bet you wont even believe this:Booker T. Washington, the founder of Tuskegee University;W.E.B. DuBois; Marcus Mosiah Garvey;and, yes:The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.the man that said, anti-Semitism is a sin, yet you all referred to him, at one point, as an anti-Semite!Malcolm X, The Honorable Elijah Muhammad, President Nelson Mandela, Bishop Desmond Tutu, Julian Bond; Kwame Ture, formerly known as Stokely Carmichael;Andrew Young; Kweisi Mfume, former member of Congress, and former leader of the N.A.A.C.P.; The ReverendsAl Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, Joseph Lowery; The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee called SNCC; The Black Panthers; The Universal Negro Improvement Association, which was Mr. Garveys movement; and,The Nation of Islam.

But it doesnt stop there! They accusedMahatma Gandhi[a leader for Indias independence], of being an anti-Semite. Also: HistoriansJohn Hope FranklinandJ. A. Rogers; WritersJames Baldwin, Richard Wright, Julius LesterandAlice Walker; and entertainersMichael Jackson, Spike Lee, Ice Cube, Arsenio Hall, Muhammad Ali, Public Enemy, Oprah Winfreythis is just a few. Look at the great company that Louis Farrakhan is in.

You meaneverybodyis a hater of the Jewish people? Stop It!

Now lets call the roll of those White people that you have called anti-Semiticbeginning with U.S. presidents: President Harry Truman, President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, President Richard M. Nixon,President Jimmy Carter, President Gerald Ford, President George H. W. Bushand PresidentBarack Obama. Also, a listing of White leaders, historians, inventors, writers, clergymen, philosophers, etc.:H. L. Mencken, George Bernard Shaw, Henry Adams, H. G. Wells, Edgar Degas, T. S. Eliot, Immanuel Kant, Tacitus, Philostratus, Cicero, Shakespeare, Voltaire, Hitler, Edward VIII, Aleksander Pushkin, Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Richard Wagner, Bobby Fischer, and The Reverend Billy Graham.

These members ofThe Synagogue of Satan have always known that a Day of Reckoning was coming; and so over time, they put themselves in positions of power in every nation of the Western Hemisphere. This was done to monitor The Awakening ofThe Gentilesthe masses of so-called heathens, savages andgoyim; as well as the masses of Blacks. So anyone that rises and criticizes: They put fear in them by charging them with being anti-Semitic. Even if theyknewthat what we were saying is the truth, most would be afraid and would not stand up under the heat of Jewish power.

Well, today we are calling you out, and asking you to use your inordinate power, because The God that we represent wants to crush you and your power. Hes here to bring in a Brand New Worldand Hes chosen the despised and the rejected, unloved and unwantedBlack man and woman of Americato be The Cornerstone of a Brand New Reality.

The trick of anti-Semitic labeling confirmed

During an August 14, 2002 interview on her showDemocracy Now! (democracynow.org), host and executive producer AmyGoodmaninterviewed former Israeli MinisterShulamit Aloni. Pay attention to Miss Goodmans words introducing her guest:Yours is a voice of criticism we dont often hear in the United States. Often when there is dissent expressed in the United States against policies of the Israeli government, people here are called anti-Semitic. What is your response to that as an Israeli Jew?AndMinister Shulamit Alonianswered:Well, its a trick, we always use it.When from Europe somebody is criticizing Israel, then we bring up the Holocaust. When in this country people are criticizing Israel, then they are anti-Semitic. And the organization is strong, and has a lot of money, and the ties between Israel and the American Jewish establishment are very strong and they are strong in this country, as you know. And they have power, which is OK. They are talented people, and they have power and money, and the media and other things; and their attitude isIsrael my country, right or wrong,identificationand they are not ready to hear criticism. And its very easy to blame people who criticize certain acts of the Israeli government as anti-Semitic, and to bring up the Holocaust, and the suffering of the Jewish people, and that is [to] justify everything we do to the Palestinians.

This anti-Semitic labeling is atrickthat they use! But look at how many people have been destroyed on account of such a trick!

Where did you learn such tricks? Did you not learn this from your FatherYakub, who taught you a System of Tricks and Lies? Look at howeasyit is for you to lie, and put your wickedness on innocent persons. What is the meaning of atrick? Atrickisa cunning, or skillful, act or scheme intended to deceive or outwit someone; a mischievous practical joke; a skillful act performed for entertainment or amusement; an illusion; a clever or particular way of doing something.

Its really amusing to Satan when he can tell a lie, and we operate on that lie, and act in a manner that we would never act if we had only knownThe Truth. They are entertained by playing tricks on unsuspecting, ignorant people. And this is why it isanimperativethat The Synagogue of Satan must be called out, and Satan and his Synagogue must be made known.

(A partial listing)

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The Synagogue of Satan And Destroying The Right To 'Free Speech' - FinalCall.com News

‘Disillusionment With Leadership is About Free Speech, Can’t Disqualify for it’: Sachin Pilot’s Amended H… – News18

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Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot. (PTI File)

Sacked deputy chief minister of Rajasthan Sachin Pilot has submitted in the Rajasthan High Court that expressions of "dissatisfaction and disillusionment" against the party leadership cannot make a MLA amenable for disqualification.

In the amendments carried out in his original petition, Pilot emphasised on freedom of speech and expression, and the right to dissent.

This petition will be heard in the afternoon on Friday. The Speaker has assured the Rajasthan High Court that the proceedings against Pilot and others shall remain in abeyance till 5pm on Friday in the wake of the prosper hearing.

The petition, filed jointly by Pilot along with 18 other MLAs, has challenged the validity of clause 2(1)(a) of the 10th Schedule of the Constitution of India.

This provision and the interpretations given to it by a body of judgments by the Supreme Court have held that indulging in any anti-party activity tantamount to voluntarily giving up the membership of the party.

The petition has maintained that this provision cannot be so widely construed that the very same fundamental freedom of speech and expression of a member of the House is jeopardised.

Pilot and others said: "Mere expression of dissatisfaction or even disillusionment against the party leadership cannot be treated to be conduct falling within the clause 2(1)(a) of the 10th Schedule of the Constitution of India."

The plea added that even if expression of views and opinions, howsoever strongly worded, are treated to be a part of clause 2(1)(a), the said clause would not stand the scrutiny and will have to be declared ultra vires the basic structure of the Constitution of India in general and that of right of free speech under Article 19(1)(a) in particular.

It said that since the basis of the disqualification notices by the Speaker was expressions of dissent by some MLAs, it is necessary that the high court examines the validity of the impugned provision under the 10th Schedule.

The amended petition, apart from annulment of the disqualification notices, has also sought for declaring clause 2(1)(a) of the 10th Schedule ultra vires since it impinges upon the fundamental right of free speech.

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'Disillusionment With Leadership is About Free Speech, Can't Disqualify for it': Sachin Pilot's Amended H... - News18

Trump concedes pandemic to ‘get worse before it gets better’ – BBC News

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President Donald Trump has warned the US pandemic may "get worse before it gets better", as he revived his virus briefings with a more scripted tone.

Mr Trump also asked all Americans to wear face coverings, saying "they'll have an effect" and show "patriotism".

The president, who was not wearing a mask at the briefing, has previously disparaged them as unsanitary.

His aides have reportedly pressed him to adopt a more measured approach as virus caseloads spike across the US.

The daily White House news conferences ended soon after Mr Trump suggested in April during freewheeling remarks from the podium that the virus might be treated by injecting disinfectant into people.

In his first White House coronavirus briefing for months on Tuesday, a less off-the-cuff president echoed what public health officials on his pandemic task force have been saying as he warned: "It will probably unfortunately get worse before it gets better.

"Something I don't like saying about things, but that's the way it is."

He added: "We're asking everybody that when you are not able to socially distance, wear a mask, get a mask.

"Whether you like the mask or not, they have an impact, they'll have an effect and we need everything we can get."

Mr Trump - who more than once referred to Covid-19 as the "China virus" - took a mask from his pocket in the briefing room, but did not put it on.

The president is facing an uphill climb to re-election in November against Democratic challenger, Joe Biden, according to opinion polls.

Mr Biden on Tuesday accused Mr Trump of having failed Americans in his handling of the pandemic. "He's quit on you, he's quit on this country," the former US vice-president said.

Donald Trump's afternoon coronavirus press briefings are back. Regardless of what the president said during his brief appearance on Tuesday, the simple fact of their return speaks volumes about the dismal course the pandemic has taken in the US in the past three months.

Cases are rising, particularly in the south and west, perhaps most directly as a result of the administration's support for states to end mitigation measures before public-health benchmarks were met.

And so the president, sticking closely to his prepared remarks, sombrely noted that things "will probably get worse before they get better". After previously dismissing a mask-wearing reporter as being "politically correct", he now encouraged people to wear face coverings.

A number of recent polls have indicated that sinking public support for the president's handling of the virus has been dragging down his re-election prospects. The White House reportedly hopes getting the president back in front of the American people will help rebuild their confidence in his leadership.

A real solution to the president's dilemma, however, won't come until coronavirus cases once again go down, the hospitals empty, Americans go back to work, schools reopen and life returns to some semblance of normal. That day still seems a long way off, while election day is drawing close.

Mr Trump appeared without the medical experts who used to address the briefings. He kept his remarks brief and focused, avoiding sparring with reporters who asked a few questions.

He continued: "We're asking Americans to use masks, socially distance and employ vigorous hygiene - wash your hands every chance you get, while sheltering high risk populations.

"We are imploring young Americans to avoid packed bars and other crowded indoor gatherings. Be safe and be smart."

Mr Trump has been reluctant to wear a mask himself in front of the media, claiming that some people only wore such face coverings as a political statement against him. The press pictured him recently wearing a mask for the first time as he visited a military hospital.

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When asked on Tuesday about his shifting support for masks, the president pointed out that even health experts had changed their minds.

Back in March, both Dr Anthony Fauci, one of the leading members of the president's coronavirus task force, and US Surgeon General Jerome Adams said there was no reason people in the US should wear a mask.

Since at least April, the US Centers for Disease Control has recommended Americans wear face coverings in public.

Dr Fauci now argues US authorities should be more "forceful" in compelling mask wearing, though Mr Trump has rejected calls for the White House to issue a national order on the issue.

During the briefing, the president continued to assert the virus would one day "disappear".

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He also wrongly claimed the US has a lower coronavirus death rate than "almost everywhere else in the world".

According to Johns Hopkins University, the US mortality rate is ranked 10th out of the 20 worst-hit countries.

The United States has recorded nearly 3.9 million Covid-19 cases and over 141,000 deaths - the highest by volume in the world.

Mr Trump was also asked by a reporter about the case of Ghislaine Maxwell, the British socialite who was charged this month by US authorities with sex-trafficking children for her ex-boyfriend, the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The president said: "I haven't really been following it too much. I just wish her well, frankly. I've met her numerous times over the years, especially since I lived in Palm Beach [Florida], and I guess they lived in Palm Beach."

"I don't know the situation with Prince Andrew," added Mr Trump, mentioning the British royal who denies claims he had sex with a teenage girl who says she was trafficked by Epstein.

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Trump concedes pandemic to 'get worse before it gets better' - BBC News

Trump signs order targeting undocumented immigrants in the US census – CNN

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The memorandum marks the Trump administration's latest effort to change the way US populations are counted and advance the President's immigration agenda. And like previous efforts, the issue will end up in court.

"I have accordingly determined that respect for the law and protection of the integrity of the democratic process warrant the exclusion of illegal aliens from the apportionment base, to the extent feasible and to the maximum extent of the President's discretion under the law," the order states.

The American Civil Liberties Union plans to challenge the memo, Dale Ho, director of the ACLU's Voting Rights Project, said in a statement.

"(Trump's) latest attempt to weaponize the census for an attack on immigrant communities will be found unconstitutional. We'll see him in court, and win, again," Ho said.

Trump has long sought to use the US census as a way to advance his immigration priorities but the Supreme Court rejected an attempt to ask respondents if they are US citizens in 2019. The administration, however, is allowed to collect information on citizenship status by other means.

Convincing immigrant communities to participate in the census has already been an uphill battle, and Trump's announcement threatens to deepen fears in communities where some were already wary of participating.

Community organizations and immigrant advocacy groups across the country have spent months focused on outreach efforts to convince immigrants to participate in the census, regardless of their immigration status. Even though no citizenship question is on this year's census, advocates worried lingering fears over the question would deter immigrants from responding and lead to shortfalls in funding for schools, roads and other community projects.

But on Tuesday, advocacy groups that have devoted resources to boosting census participation said they were ready to fight the administration's latest effort to influence the count.

The courts will likely have the final say. The Constitution says congressional representation is apportioned based on "the whole Number of free Persons," not only those who are American citizens.

"The legal problem is that the 14th Amendment says that representatives shall be apportioned among the several states according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons," said Joshua Geltzer of the Georgetown University Law Center.

"That means House seats are divvied up based on everyone present in the 50 states, not just based on those lawfully present," he said.

In addition, Geltzer said, the census doesn't currently ask whether someone immigrated illegally to the United States. "Presumably the Trump administration will have to rely on a hodgepodge of other records to guess the population they intend to use for apportionment."

Michael Li, who serves as senior counsel for the Brennan Center's Democracy Program, questioned how the federal government would make the determination on whether someone is undocumented.

"The Constitution requires counting everyone -- children, immigrants, everyone -- it doesn't have exclusions based on legal status," Li said.

This story has been updated with additional developments Tuesday.

CNN's Kate Sullivan contributed to this report.

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Trump signs order targeting undocumented immigrants in the US census - CNN