Nott: Our love-hate relationship with the First Amendment – Danville Commercial News

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Common practice for liberals and conservatives now is to take turns calling each other enemies of the First Amendment. The results of this years State of the First Amendment survey gave us the opportunity to consider these insults and after the numbers are crunched, who is the real enemy of the First Amendment?

Well, no one. And, everyone.

Most of our fellow citizens, regardless of their political ideology, are quite fond of the First Amendment, at least in the abstract. The people who think that the First Amendment goes too far are a minority 22.5 percent of us. A majority of Americans (67.7 percent) think that the press plays an important role as a watchdog on government; a slightly narrower majority (58.8 percent) thinks that freedom of religion should extend to all religious groups, even those widely considered extreme or fringe.

Thats the good news: Even in a time of great political turmoil, were generally supportive of the First Amendments protections.

The bad news: When it comes down to specific applications of the First Amendment, were less positive, and also deeply divided along ideological lines. Both liberals and conservatives have certain pain points where they balk at the amount of protection that the First Amendment provides.

Liberals are more likely than conservatives to think:

Colleges should be able to ban speakers with controversial views.

People should not be able to express racist comments on social media.

Meanwhile, conservatives are more likely than liberals to think:

Government officials who leak information to the press should be prosecuted.

Journalists should not be able to publish information obtained illegally, even if it serves the public interest.

Government should be able to determine which media outlets can attend briefings.

Government should be able to hold Muslims to a higher standard of scrutiny.

Worth noting: Some of these differences in attitude may not be a direct result of whether youre a liberal or a conservative; instead, they might be circumstantial. Do more liberals support press freedoms because thats a core value of liberal ideology or because the press is a watchdog on the government, which liberals dont currently control?

Do more conservatives think that colleges shouldnt be able to ban speakers because of a greater commitment to free speech or because most banned speakers, at least in recent years, have tended to be conservative? It will be interesting to see in subsequent years if attitudes change as circumstances change.

One thing that unites the majority of Americans right now: Most of us, liberals and conservatives, prefer to read or listen to news that aligns with our own views.

Thats true even if you think that the news media reports with a bias, as most Americans do (56.8 percent). Apparently, were not inclined to correct that bias by taking in multiple and varied news sources. Instead, were more likely to double down on the news that fits in with our pre-existing ideological perspectives.

This finding is both obvious and disheartening: Everyone likes reading and hearing news that confirms what they already believed. Thats one of the factors that keep us so divided.

Lata Nott is executive director of the First Amendment Center of the Newseum Institute. Contact her via email at lnott@newseum.org, or follow her on Twitter at @LataNott.

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Nott: Our love-hate relationship with the First Amendment - Danville Commercial News

‘First amendment of the internet’: what is net neutrality and why is it at risk? – The Guardian

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Net neutrality activists in Washington. The Trump administration is trying to overturn Obama-era regulations that protected it. Photograph: UPI / Barcroft Images

About 200 internet companies and activist groups are coming together this week to mobilize their users into opposing US government plans to scrap net neutrality protections.

The internet-wide day of action, scheduled for Wednesday 12 July, will see companies including Facebook, Google, Amazon, Vimeo, Spotify, Reddit and Pornhub notify their users that net neutrality a founding principle of the open internet is under attack. The Trump administration is trying to overturn Obama-era regulation that protected net neutrality, and there is less than a week left for people to object.

Just as the internet came together in a blackout to protest against the Stop Online Piracy Act (Sopa) in 2012, many websites will on Wednesday feature a prominent message on their homepage, showing visitors what the web would look like without net neutrality and urging them to contact Congress. But what exactly is net neutrality, why is it under threat, and what can individuals do to protect it?

Net neutrality is the idea that internet service providers (ISPs) treat everyones data equally whether thats an email from your mother, a bank transfer or a streamed episode of The Handmaids Tale. It means that ISPs dont get to choose which data is sent more quickly, and which sites get blocked or throttled (for example, slowing the delivery of a TV show because it is streamed by a video company that competes with a subsidiary of the ISP) and who has to pay extra. For this reason, some have described net neutrality as the first amendment of the internet.

Net neutrality is basically the principle that keeps the internet open. Without it, big cable companies will be able to slow down certain websites and pick winners and losers on the internet, said Mark Stanley from Demand Progress, one of the activist groups organizing the day of action.

ISPs, such as Verizon, Comcast, Charter, Verizon, CenturyLink and Cox, provide you with access to the internet. Content companies include Netflix, Hulu and Amazon. In some cases, ISPs are also content providers: for example, Comcast owns NBCUniversal and delivers TV shows through its Xfinity internet service.

In February 2015, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to more strictly regulate ISPs and to enshrine in law the principles of net neutrality.

The vote reclassified wireless and fixed-line broadband service providers as title II common carriers, a public utility-type designation that gives the FCC the ability to set rates, open up access to competitors and more closely regulate the industry.

Net neutrality is the principle that keeps the internet open. Without it big cable companies can pick winners and losers

The internet is the most powerful and pervasive platform on the planet, said FCC chairman Tom Wheeler at the time. Its simply too important to be left without rules and without a referee on the field.

Two years on, Trumps new FCC chairman, Ajit Pai, a former Verizon lawyer, has pushed to overturn the 2015 order. On 18 May, the FCC voted to support a new proposal that would repeal the order and started a 90-day period in which members of the public could comment. The deadline for feedback is 17 July, after which the FCC has to provide reply comments by 16 August, before a final vote later in the year.

Content providers including Netflix, Apple and Google. They argue that people are already paying for connectivity and so deserve access to a quality experience.

Mozilla, the not-for-profit company behind the Firefox web browser, is a vocal supporter, and argues that net neutrality allows for creativity, innovation and economic growth.

More than 800 startups, investors and other people and organizations sent a letter to Pai that read: Without net neutrality, the incumbents who provide access to the internet would be able to pick winners or losers in the market. They could impede traffic from our services in order to favor their own services or established competitors. Or they could impose new tolls on us, inhibiting consumer choice.

Many consumers support the rules to protect the openness of the internet. Some of them may have been swayed by Last Week Tonight host John Oliver, who pointed out that there are multiple examples of ISP fuckery over the years so restrictions are important.

Big broadband companies including AT&T, Comcast, Verizon and Cox. They argue that the rules are too heavy-handed and will stifle innovation and investment in infrastructure. These firms have filed a series of lawsuits challenging the FCCs authority to impose net neutrality rules.

Publicly, however, the message is different. Verizon released an odd video insisting that they were not trying to kill net neutrality rules and that pro-net neutrality groups are using the issue to fundraise.

Comcast also launched a Twitter campaign insisting it supported net neutrality.

Yes. Opponents dont like the idea of putting the federal government at the center of the internet when, as Pai has said, nothing is broken.

The new FCC chairman argues that the 2015 rules were established on hypothetical harms and hysterical prophecies of doom and that they are generally bad for business.

Its basic economics. The more heavily you regulate something, the less of it youre likely to get, he said.

The big broadband companies publicly state they are quibbling the title II common carrier designation rather than net neutrality per se. They believe they shouldnt be regulated in the same way that telecommunications services are, and prefer the light-touch regulation they would otherwise be subject to under their previous title I designation of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. The FCC lacks the direct authority to regulate title I information services.

Fight for the Future, Free Press Action Fund and Demand Progress have teamed up to create the Battle for the Net campaign. They have signed up almost 200 participants in the day of action, and created explainer videos, banner advertisements, tools and suggested messaging for communicating with users en masse about why net neutrality matters.

Trumps Republican party is friendly to big corporations even if it leads to the unfettered accumulation of corporate power.

Its the second major rollback of Obama-era internet protections. In March, Congress voted to allow ISPs to sell the browsing habits of their customers to advertisers. The move, which critics charge will fundamentally undermine consumer privacy in the US, overturned rules drawn up by the FCC that would have given people more control over their personal data. Without the rules, ISPs dont have to get peoples consent before selling their data including their browsing histories to advertisers and others.

Tell the FCC and Congress to protect the open web through BattleForTheNet.com, or through one of the widgets on many popular websites on Wednesday.

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'First amendment of the internet': what is net neutrality and why is it at risk? - The Guardian

A Small Town in Pennsylvania Is Treading on This Naval Officer’s … – ACLU (blog)

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Lieutenant Commander Joshua Corney, an active duty naval officer who lives in rural Pennsylvania, returned from combat zones in Iraq and Afghanistan with a promise. As he settled back into life stateside, he wanted to offer a meaningful tribute to his fellow service members especially those who never had the chance to come home.

So, in 2015, he started playing a recording of taps a military bugle call most often heard at sunset and at military funerals on his five-acre property in Glen Rock, a small town of 2,000 people near the Pennsylvania-Maryland border. Every evening before 8:00 p.m., Lt. Commander Corney would offer the musical testament to all who have served.

I play this audio memorial in remembrance of those who paid the ultimate sacrifice as well as those who continue to serve and protect our country and freedoms, said Lt. Commander Corney, who is represented by lawyers from the ACLU of Pennsylvania. It is a way to honor a promise I made to God by taking 57 seconds each day to reflect on sacrifices made 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to obtain and sustain our freedoms."

For nearly two years, his tribute went on with little controversy. The borough allows other music to be amplified on a regular basis, including church hymns and bells and live performances at a local restaurant. At less than a minute long, the recording of taps was one of the boroughs shorter pieces of amplified music. When one neighbor approached Lt. Commander Corney about a year ago to ask if he could turn down the volume, Corney accommodated the request by reorienting the speakers away from the neighbors home. But this spring, the controversy erupted when another neighbor complained to the borough.

This controversy is a reminder that no matter who you are or your station in life, you may need the Constitution.

In response, the borough ordered Corney to limit the playing of taps to Sundays and what it termed flag holidays. Each violation of the boroughs order would bring a criminal fine of 300 dollars. But the boroughs enforcement action involves two big constitutional no-nos: the hecklers veto and content-based censorship.

The borough is relying on a nuisance ordinance that prohibits sound that annoys or disturbs others. In a patriotic town like Glen Rock, which is home to many military veterans, its no surprise that Lt. Commander Corney has many supporters. But a single complaint triggered the enforcement action. If a heckler could shut down anyone who said or played something that annoyed or offended them by complaining to government officials, freedom of speech would be no more. For more than 75 years, it has been black letter First Amendment law that the government cannot censor speech simply because it is not universally appreciated.

Moreover, the borough cannot use its vague nuisance ordinance to single out only Lt. Commander Corneys musical expression for censorship from the range of sounds that are part of the boroughs regular sonic landscape. The borough has not ordered Lt. Commander Corney to lower the volume of taps or claimed he has violated a noise-level ordinance.

And it could not claim such a violation because the recording neither exceeds any established noise levels nor is it as loud as many other sounds the borough tolerates including many sounds that do not communicate a message, like lawnmowers, leaf blowers, chainsaws, and vehicles. Censoring clearly protected expression, like taps, for being too loud, while allowing louder sounds that carry no constitutionally protected message turns the First Amendment on its head.

The borough has decided that taps alone, among the other musical sounds in the borough, must be silenced. The borough may not make this type of content-based distinction without some compelling reason, which doesnt exist in this situation.

Last week, the ACLU of Pennsylvania sent a letter to the borough council to insist that Glen Rock drop its threat to fine Lt. Commander Corney and honor his First Amendment right to free expression. The dispute is not yet resolved, but on Friday the borough indicated that it would review the ACLUs demand at its regularly scheduled July 19 meeting. In the meantime, Lt. Commander Corney will resume his nightly ritual.

Free-speech cases often arise in unusual settings. Some people may be surprised that a servicemans broadcast of taps a song widely regarded as patriotic and intended to honor the sacrifices of those who place themselves in harms way to fight for our constitutional rights would end up being the focus of a First Amendment censorship battle. This controversy is a reminder that no matter who you are or your station in life, you may need the Constitution.

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A Small Town in Pennsylvania Is Treading on This Naval Officer's ... - ACLU (blog)

U.S. Court of Appeals sides with First Amendment right to video … – Poynter (blog)

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The Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of journalists and ordinary bystanders video recording police. The three-judges appellate panel ruled in the cases of a Temple University student, Richard Fields and Amanda Geraci, who was a member of a police watchdog group in Philadelphia called Up Against the Law.

It was a case that drew a "friend of the court"brief from The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and was joined by 31 other media organizations including the National Press Photographers Association, Radio Television Digital News Association, The Associated Press, Gannett, McClatchy, NPR, The New York Times, The Online News Association and the Society of Professional Journalists. The groups argued that the right to video-record police in a public place is a First Amendment right. And if the police could stop a bystander from recording an officer in a public place, then police could stop journalists too.

The American Civil Liberties Union filed the lawsuits on behalf of Fields and Geraci.TheU.S. District Judge Mark A. Kearney ruledthat in order to be protected by the First Amendmentthe videographer had to announce that he or she wasrecordingas an act of protest or challenge to police. The ACLU said sometimes it is not possible to know whether a recording will be useful until after the recording is over. So the ACLU appealed the lower court ruling.

Government operates best in sunlight, and the police are not an exception, Reggie Shuford, executive director of the ACLU of Pennsylvania,said on the ACLU website.

Mickey Osterreicher, a former photojournalist and now counsel for NPPA explained to Poynter why this decision is so important:

"The opinion in Fields by the Third Circuit adds to the growing number of U.S. Court of Appeals decisions affirming the First Amendment rights of citizens and journalists to photograph and record police performing their official duties in a public place, as being 'clearly established.' This is extremely important for a number of reasons," he said.

"The Third Circuit was the only U.S. Court of Appeals that had held in a 2010 case (Kelly v. Borough of Carlisle), that 'the claimed right was not clearly established.' When police interfere with, harass or arrest people who are doing nothing more than photographing or recording while standing in a place where they have a legal right to be present (such as a public sidewalk or park), citizens and journalists may bring a federal civil rights lawsuit against the officers and the department for violating their constitutional rights. Police, in turn, then may assert the defense of'qualified immunity' against such claims."

Osterreicher explained why it helps to have more than one appellate court to agree that journalists have First Amendment right to record police:

"In order to overcome that 'qualified immunity' defense, plaintiffs must show that they were engaged in a constitutionally protected activity that was 'clearly established' at the time of the incident. The only way for that to be substantiated is for the U.S. Supreme Court, a U.S. Court of Appeals or a federal district court having jurisdiction over the area where the incident took place to have previously articulated that right as being clearly established beforehand so that any reasonable police officer would know that what they were doing was unconstitutional," he said. "The Supreme Court has so far declined to hear such a case but every Circuit Court of Appeals to address this issue (First, Fifth, Seventh, Ninth, and Eleventh and now the Third,) has held that such a clearly established right exists. By those courts doing so, police in those jurisdictions may not successfully use qualified immunity in their defense."

Osterreicher said at least once a week, and sometimes more often, he hears from a photojournalist or newsroom who police have ordered to stop recording. It's a problem nationwide, he said, even in those jurisdictions where courts have already ruled in favor of constitutional protection for recording.

"When arrests occur, the charges are usually disorderly conduct, disturbing the peace, obstruction of governmental administration, loitering or some other discretionary charge because there are almost no circumstances under which photography or recording itself may be classified as a crime," he said.

In their Amicus brief, the media organizations pointed out that recordings of police have become critical evidence in cases as far back at the Rodney King case in 1991 as well as more recent cases in South Carolina, Louisiana, New York, New Jersey, Minnesota and California.

The brief went on to point out how often bystanders record video that makes news: "With the ubiquity of mobile phones that contain high-tech cameras, video content generated by witnesses and bystanders has become a common component of news programming. A 2014 study of eight international 24-hour news channels found that 'an average of 11 pieces of [user-generated content] were used every day on television by [the] news organizations [studied].' Another study of eight popular news websites uncovered that the sites collectively used 237 items of citizen-created video per day, with The New York Times using on average 20 pieces per day."

I asked Osterreicher what advice he gives to photojournalists when police attempt to stop them from recording:

A police officer may not tell you to stop photographing or recording if you are in a public place where you have a legal right to be present but that does not mean that they will not still do so. That is because the right to photograph and record is a First Amendment protected activity which may only be limited by reasonable time, place and manner restrictions. The most common of those restrictions are location. If a police officer orders you to move it is advisable to comply with the request. How far you move is something that you will have to decide for yourself. If you believe that the order is not a reasonable one, ask to speak to a supervisor or the public information officer if that is possible. It is important to be very aware that most police officers do not like to be questioned or challenged once they have told you to do (or not do) something and a mere hesitation, question or request may result in your detention or arrest. Only you can make that judgment call as to what to do. Whatever you do remain polite and professional and keep recording as it may be the only evidence to support your claim if you are arrested. If possible work in pairs so that of you are unable to record your partner can.

Police may only seize your images and/or recording device (cell phone, camera, etc.) only under certain conditions known as 'exigent circumstances.' If they do so without satisfying the exigent circumstances requirements they may also have violated your civil rights against unreasonable search and seizure protected under the Fourth Amendment and due process rights protected by the Fourteenth Amendment.

Those requirements are:

All three prongs must be met and many departments require that a supervisory officer is called before such a seizure takes place. Many departments also have policies that distinguish between seizures of evidence from journalists and citizens. Even after such a seizure, those images may not be viewed without your voluntary consent or subject to a court order.

Also remember that according to the U.S. Department of Justice guidelines: 'under the First Amendment, there are no circumstances under which the contents of a camera or recording device should be deleted or destroyed.'

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U.S. Court of Appeals sides with First Amendment right to video ... - Poynter (blog)

Our love-hate relationship with the First Amendment – Keyser Mineral Daily News Tribune

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Common practice for liberals and conservatives now is to take turns calling each other enemies of the First Amendment. The results of this year's "State of the First Amendment" survey gave us the opportunity to consider these insults and after the numbers are crunched, who is the real enemy of the First Amendment?

Well, no one. And, everyone.

Most of our fellow citizens, regardless of their political ideology, are quite fond of the First Amendment, at least in the abstract. The people who think that the First Amendment goes too far are a minority 22.5 percent of us. A majority of Americans (67.7 percent) thinks that the press plays an important role as a watchdog on government; a slightly narrower majority (58.8 percent) thinks that freedom of religion should extend to all religious groups, even those widely considered extreme or fringe.

That's the good news: Even in a time of great political turmoil, we're generally supportive of the First Amendment's protections.

The bad news: When it comes down to specific applications of the First Amendment, we're less positive, and also deeply divided along ideological lines. Both liberals and conservatives have certain pain points where they balk at the amount of protection that the First Amendment provides.

Liberals are more likely than conservatives to think:

Colleges should be able to ban speakers with controversial views.

People should not be able to express racist comments on social media.

Meanwhile, conservatives are more likely than liberals to think:

Government officials who leak information to the press should be prosecuted.

Journalists should not be able to publish information obtained illegally, even if it serves the public interest.

Government should be able to determine which media outlets can attend briefings.

Government should be able to hold Muslims to a higher standard of scrutiny.

Worth noting: Some of these differences in attitude may not be a direct result of whether you're a liberal or a conservative; instead, they might be circumstantial. Do more liberals support press freedoms because that's a core value of liberal ideology or because the press is a watchdog on the government, which liberals don't currently control?

Do more conservatives think that colleges shouldn't be able to ban speakers because of a greater commitment to free speech or because most banned speakers, at least in recent years, have tended to be conservative? It will be interesting to see in subsequent years if attitudes change as circumstances change.

One thing that unites the majority of Americans right now: Most of us, liberals and conservatives, prefer to read or listen to news that aligns with our own views.

That's true even if you think that the news media reports with a bias, as most Americans do (56.8 percent). Apparently, we're not inclined to correct that bias by taking in multiple and varied news sources. Instead, we're more likely to double down on the news that fits in with our pre-existing ideological perspectives.

This finding is both obvious and disheartening: Everyone likes reading and hearing news that confirms what they already believed. That's one of the factors that keep us so divided.

Lata Nott

Executive director

First Amendment Center

Newseum Institute.

Washington, D.C.

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Our love-hate relationship with the First Amendment - Keyser Mineral Daily News Tribune

As Investors Turn to Cryptocurrencies, Gold Suffers – Investopedia

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Investors looking to make an investment in an exciting new area are increasingly turning to cryptocurrencies. It's no wonder why: Bitcoin, the leading digital currency by market capitalization, has gained nearly 200% since the beginning of 2017. Ethereum, the next biggest currency, has gained more than 3,000% over the same period. (See also: Why Ethereum Prices Reached Record Highs.)

There are new currencies added to the list every month, and a sharp uptick in the number of initial coin offerings, or ICOs, means there are many other new startups and ventures related to the burgeoning crypto industry as well. As investors move to place their assets in the digital realm, demand in other areas seems to be drying up. In fact, gold may have been the most heavily impacted by the recent gains in the cryptocurrency world.

Cryptocurrency supply has actually dropped fairly significantly in recent months, according to a report by Business Insider. The rate of Bitcoins added to the market has more than halved in the past 12 months, from a rate of 9.3% to 4.4%.

If mining continues to slow down, Bitcoin won't reach its theoretical maximum number of 21 million Bitcoins until the year 2045, if not later. As supply has dwindled, prices have continued to rise.

It seems that the opposite may be true for gold. Gold production has climbed significantly since 2009, now sitting at 3,100 metric tons. This constitutes a record high level of production of the precious metal.

Tom Lee, managing partner and head of research for Fundstrat Global Advisors, indicated in a letter to clients that "cryptocurrencies are cannibalizing demand for gold. Bitcoin is arguably becoming a scarcer store of value. Investors need to identify strategies to leverage this potential rise in cryptocurrencies."

What could the future look like for the prices of Bitcoin and gold? Fundstrat's research indicates that prices for the cryptocurrency could climb by about eight times over the next five years, with Bitcoin prices reaching $20,000 during that time.

If the scenario turns out more bullish, Fundstrat believes Bitcoin could surge to more than $55,000 by 2022. What would happen to gold during that period? "Our model shows gold's value being relatively static against a rise in Bitcoin," Lee suggested.

Lee believes that if central banks begin to invest in Bitcoin and other digital currencies, that could speed up the process by which Bitcoin takes the place of gold in the international markets.

"Already central banks have looked into this possibility. In our view, this is a game changer, enhancing the legitimacy of the currency," he wrote. Of course, there are also analysts who believe a potential crash or bubble collapse is imminent in the cryptocurrency space, so only time will tell what will happen. (See also: Goldman Sachs Takes Bearish View on Bitcoin.)

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As Investors Turn to Cryptocurrencies, Gold Suffers - Investopedia

Is Solar-Powered Cryptocurrency Mining the Next Big Thing … – Investopedia

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Cryptocurrency mining is a difficult and costly activity. Miners must pay to build rigs capable of vast amounts of processing power, and then the rigs themselves must be powered with large quantities of electricity. It's all a careful balance between how much the operation costs and how much profit it is able to generate. (See also: What Happens to Bitcoin After All 21 Million are Mined?)

With mining operations for Ethereum, one of the leading digital currencies on the market today, taking up the same share of electricity as that of a small country, miners have to be careful that they aren't spending more than they are making. Because of that, some mining operations have begun to look to solar-powered rigs, set up in the desert, in order to reduce mining costs and make the largest profit possible. (See also: Chinese Investment in Bitcoin Mining is Enormous.)

Mining operations with the tools and resources to be able to set up solar-powered rigs in the desert are finding that it is a good investment. Once you have paid for the solar panel system itself, the cost of mining is virtually free. Getting rid of a hefty electric bill which typically weighs down mining operations leaves more room for profit.

The Merkle recently documented a mining operation focused on Bitcoin in this manner. The setup has been running successfully for almost a year and currently uses 25 separate computing rigs. The process has been so profitable, in fact, that the miner running the operation plans to increase the number of computers to 1,000 this fall.

In the case of this particular desert miner, the individual mining rigs cost about $8,000. This cost has included all solar panels, power controls, batteries, and the Antminer S9 ASIC processor. When fully operational, each miner brings in a profit of about $18 per day.

Of course, a cheap mining operation is only part of the equation. In order for miners to make a tidy profit, the price of the cryptocurrencies they are generating must remain high.

In the case of the mining operation in question, Merkle suggests that Bitcoin prices must stay above $2,000 in order for the operation to be profitable. Considering that the price of most cryptocurrencies is highly volatile, and that drops of 205 or more have occurred in many individual days, this keeps a certain element of risk present in any mining operation.

It seems likely that more and more miners will turn to areas in which renewable energy is easily accessed. Iceland has already become a popular destination for Bitcoin miners thanks to its fast, virtually limitless internet. Miners looking to move to the desert should be cautious for other reasons, though: mining in the heat can cause rigs to break down more easily.

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Is Solar-Powered Cryptocurrency Mining the Next Big Thing ... - Investopedia

Bitcoin Is Having a Civil War Right as It Enters a Critical …

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Its time for bitcoin traders to batten down the hatches.

The notoriously volatile cryptocurrency, whose 150 percent surge this year has captivated everyone from Wall Street bankers to Chinese grandmothers, could be headed for one of its most turbulent stretches yet.

Blame the bitcoin civil war. After two years of largely behind-the-scenes bickering,rival factions of computer whizzeswho play key roles in bitcoins upkeep are poised to adopt two competing software updates at the end of the month. That has raised the possibility that bitcoin will split in two, an unprecedented event that would send shockwaves through the $41 billion market.

While both sides have big incentives to reach a consensus, bitcoins lack of a central authority has made compromise difficult. Even professional traders whove followed the disputes twists and turns arent sure how it will all pan out. Their advice: brace for volatility and be ready to act fast once a clear outcome emerges.

QuickTake All About Bitcoin

Its a high-stakes game of chicken, said Arthur Hayes,a former market maker at Citigroup Inc. who now runs BitMEX, a bitcoin derivatives venue in Hong Kong. If youre a trader, theres a lot of uncertainty as to what happens. Once theres a definitive signal about what will be done, the price could move very quickly.

(Detailed summary of key dates and potential outcomes at bottom.)

Behind the conflict is anideological split about bitcoins rightful identity. The community has bitterly argued whether the cryptocurrency should evolve to appeal to mainstream corporations and become more attractive to traditional capital, or fortify its position as a libertarian beacon; whether it should act more as an asset like gold, or as a payment system.

The seeds of the debate were planted years ago: To protect from cyber attacks, bitcoin by design caps the amount of information on its network, called the blockchain. That puts a ceiling on how many transactions it can process -- the so-called block size limit -- just as the currencys growing popularity is boosting activity. As a result, transaction times and processing fees have soared to record levels this year, curtailing bitcoins ability to process payments with the same efficiency as services like Visa Inc.

To address this problem, two main schools of thought emerged. On one side are miners, who deploy costly computers to verify transactions and act as the backboneof the blockchain. Theyre proposing a straightforward increase to the block size limit.

On the other is Core, a group of developers instrumental in upholding bitcoins bug-proof software. They insist that to ease blockchains traffic jam, some of its data must be managed outside the main network. They claim that not only would it reduce congestion, but also allow other projects including smart contracts to be built on top of bitcoin.

But moving data off the blockchain effectively diminishes the influence of miners, the majority of whom are based in China and who have invested millions on giant server farms. Not surprisingly, Cores proposal, called SegWit, has garnered resistance from miners, the most vocal being Wu Jihan, co-founder of the worlds largest mining organization Antpool.

SegWit is itself a great technology, but the reason it hasnt taken off is because its interest doesnt align with miners, Wu said.

Still, after previous counter-proposalschampioned by Wu fell through, miners last month agreed to compromise and support SegWit, in exchange for increasing the block size. Wu says the plan will alleviate short-to-medium term congestion and give Core enough time to flesh out a long-term solution. That proposal is what is known as SegWit2x, which implements SegWit and doubles the block size limit.

You can think of the SegWit2x proposal as an olive branch, said Wu.

Support for SegWit2x has reached levels unseen for previous solutions. About 85 percent of miners have signaled they are willing to run the software once its released on July 21, and some of bitcoins largest companies have also jumped on board.

The unprecedented level of endorsement is partly prompted by anxiety of bitcoin losing its dominant status to ethereum, a newer cryptocurrency whose popularity has soared thanks to its ability to run smart contracts and its more corporate-friendly approach.

Still, hardliners say that after more than two years of bitter arguments, a split would let people part ways to explore different visions, even if prices crash.

Bitcoin dropped for a fourth day on Tuesday, declining 1.9 percent as of 7:49 a.m. in New York, to its lowest level since June 15. The cryptocurrency is down 22 percent from a record high in early June.

Some of Core supporters are pushing a separate agenda called UASF (user activated soft fork). Starting from Aug. 1, it will reject transactions not compliant with SegWit. If a majority of miners do not adopt SegWit by then, two versions of bitcoin would come into existence, triggering a currency split.

Its moderates versus extremists, saidAtlanta-based Stephen Pair, chief executive officer of BitPay, one of the worlds largest bitcoin wallets. It depends on how much a person values the majority of people staying on one chain at least for a little while longer, versus splitting and allowing each pursuing their own vision for scaling.

Many Core developers continue to reject SegWit2x because they see its development and implementation as being too rushed, which they say could undermine the software underpinning bitcoin.

To suggest a hard fork happen significantly faster than even the most minor of changes in recent history is irresponsible and dangerous, said Matt Corallo, a Core contributor and former co-founder of Blockstream, which is among companies that stand to benefit from SegWit.

Below is an outline of the main events that could unify or divide bitcoin:

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Bitcoin Is Having a Civil War Right as It Enters a Critical ...

Cryptocurrencies need regulation, says CEO of Chinese bitcoin exchange BTCC – CNBC

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Regulators are exploring ways to regulate these digital currencies, and some have flexed their muscles in recent months. Earlier this year, the People's Bank of China stepped up its efforts to regulate the market, including setting up a task force to carry out inspections and ensure bitcoin exchanges had implemented anti-money laundering systems, and warned several exchanges against violating rules.

Some saw the moves from the PBOC as an attempt to crackdown on bitcoin and part of Beijing's broader attempts to stem capital outflows. But Lee disagreed.

"It's not really a crackdown," he said. "The central bank previously was not very aware of the details of how bitcoin is utilized, how bitcoin is traded."

He explained that the surge in bitcoin prices coincided with the massive capital outflows from China and the exchange rate changes of the renminbi against the dollar.

"There was a causation and correlation issue. People thought bitcoin was causing it but after studying it more, I think the central bank has realized that bitcoin is not the cause of the change in exchange rate, nor is it the cause of the capital outflows."

Even then, some key voices in China are skeptical about the future of cryptocurrencies in the mainland. Earlier this month, reports said an adviser to the PBOC said virtual currencies like bitcoin are assets, but they do not have the attributes needed to be a currency that can meet modern economic development needs.

Lee said central banks need to embrace the fact that bitcoin is a new digital currency that's being traded actively in China and around the world.

"It's a new thing the central banks should pay attention to and figure out what the rules and regulations should be."

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Cryptocurrencies need regulation, says CEO of Chinese bitcoin exchange BTCC - CNBC

Chief of bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox denies embezzlement as trial opens – CNBC

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Tomohiro Ohsumi | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Mark Karpeles, chief executive officer of Mt. Gox, in February, 2014.

The 32-year-old chief executive of defunct Mt. Gox pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to charges relating to the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of bitcoins and cash from what was once the world's biggest bitcoin exchange.

French national Mark Karpeles filed the plea in response to charges of embezzlement and data manipulation at the Tokyo District Court, according to a pool report for foreign journalists.

Mt. Gox once handled 80 percent of the world's bitcoin trades but filed for bankruptcy in 2014 after losing some 850,000 bitcoins - then worth around half a billion U.S. dollars - and $28 million in cash from its Japanese bank accounts.

In its bankruptcy filing, Tokyo-based Mt. Gox blamed hackers for the lost bitcoins, pointing to a software security flaw. Mt. Gox subsequently said it had found 200,000 of the missing bitcoins.

Karpeles was indicted for transferring 341 million yen ($3 million) from a Mt. Gox account holding customer funds to an account in his name during September to December 2013. He also allegedly boosted the balance of an account in his name in Mt. Gox's trading system.

Karpeles' defense had told a pre-trial consultation that the remittance was within the scope of the firm's revenue and not the embezzlement of customer funds, the Nikkei business daily reported on Tuesday.

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Chief of bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox denies embezzlement as trial opens - CNBC

An Italian bank’s server was hijacked to mine bitcoin – Quartz

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Ah, those were the days, when you could steal a bit of a companys server power and mine some valuable bitcoin all for yourself.

During a presentation at a conference last week, British cybersecurity experts had some tales to tell of surreptitious and sometimes illegal bitcoin mining in the time before huge computing power was required to turn a profit at the activity. In January 2015 the British cybersecurity firm Darktrace was called to investigate a possible intrusion in the systems of an Italian bank. Darktrace uses artificial intelligence techniques to detect aberrations in computer systems.

The firm discovered streams of data were being transmitted from one of the banks servers to a European crime syndicate, Dave Palmer, director of technology at Darktrace, told the Research and Applied AI Summit in London July 30. It was a fairly well known European criminal botnet, said Palmer, director of technology at Darktrace. The data was not customer data; it turned out to be a fairly buggy implementation of bitcoin mining software.

The hijacked Italian bank server was discovered rapidly, Palmer told Quartz, and it was disabled within less than an hour of it beginning to mine bitcoin. I dont think they made very much money out of it, he says.

2014 was the heyday of criminal bitcoin mining activity. It was super fashionable to have coin mining going on alongside sending spam from botnets, he says. The case of the banking server was rare because it was usually laptops or desktop computers that were hit by this type of malware, Palmer said.

Darktrace didnt have data for the number of bitcoin mining malware cases from that period, but Palmer says it felt like it was a daily occurrence. By contrast, the firm has only detected 24 such cases in the last six months, across the 24,000 sites it monitors. It has really dropped off, he says.

While sophisticated cyber criminals did steal computing power for bitcoin mining in those days, it was far less common than employees casually mining from their standard-issue corporate laptops. Weve seen normal employees running these services on their workstations overnight, Palmer says. No surprise; people do all sorts of things like peer-to-peer file sharing and hosting Tor nodes [infrastructure for the anonymized network thats part of the dark web], so I bet there are a load of coin mining stories all over the place.

But some employees took their cryptocurrency enthusiasm a step too far. Darktrace has found servers concealed by staff in corporate data centers mining bitcoin non-stop. The servers benefit from the special cooling systems and reliable power supply at the data centers. We found employees had procured some servers, [and] had hidden them under the data center false flooring, Palmer says. They were off-the-record servers that no one recognized, mining coins 24/7.

The days of such secret bitcoin mining are now over. Too much computing power is required to profitably mine bitcoins; the scene is now dominated by professional outfits with thousands of servers stored in giant, purpose-built warehouses. Processing power devoted to bitcoin mining has risen by 770-fold since 2014, leaving little chance of profit for servers hidden in data centers or laptops churning away after work. I think we have seen the last of successful coin mining, Palmer says.

Correction: An earlier version of this post mistakenly said Darktrace investigated the Italian banks server in 2014.

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An Italian bank's server was hijacked to mine bitcoin - Quartz

Comets suffer walk-off heartbreak at Columbus – Marshalltown Times Republican

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Local Sports

Jul 11, 2017

T-R PHOTO BY THORN COMPTON BCLUW pitcher Samantha Ubben (16) fires the ball to first baseman Jordyn Beeghly (18) while Waterloo Columbus freshman Emily Mollenhoff legs it out during the Comets 1-0 loss in 11 innings to the Sailors on Monday night.

WATERLOO Both the humidity and the tension were thick enough to cut with a knife on Monday at Deviney Waterburg Field, as the No. 12 BCLUW softball team battled No. 5 Waterloo Columbus well into the night in an extremely tight contest with the winner moving onto the state softball tournament.

After 10 scoreless innings from both squads, Waterloo Columbus managed to finally capitalize off of some base runners as Emily Mollenhoff knocked in a walk-off single with two outs in the bottom of the 11th to secure a 1-0 victory in the Class 2A Region 3 championship game.

After talking with his clearly devastated Comets squad, who just missed out on a second-straight trip to State, head coach David Lee said the loss came down to his teams inability to knock in hits from Waterloo Columbus (34-5) starting pitcher Kayla Sproul.

We just couldnt get it figured out. I think we were trying too hard maybe, Lee said. I thought we laid off the bad pitches there after the first few innings pretty well but we just couldnt get the bat solid on anything she had. We tried taking some first pitches but then we would chase a bad second pitch and now we are in a hole and now we are getting the end of the bat on it. We just couldnt drive the ball.

Sproul pitched all 11 innings for the Sailors, only surrendering five hits and striking out four batters. Senior Jordan Beeghly was the only Comet with more than one hit in the game, as she knocked down a two-out single in the seventh and got into scoring position on a double in the 10th. Samantha Ubben and Kate Goecke each recorded the other two hits for BCLUW.

T-R PHOTO BY THORN COMPTON Comets senior Jordyn Beeghly slides into second after hitting a tenth-inning double in BCLUWs 1-0 loss on Monday to Waterloo Columbus. Beeghly led the team with two hits in the game.

Lee said Mollenhoffs style of pitching is different than other pitchers his team has faced recently, but he said that is still no excuse for his teams performance at the plate.

We just didnt do a good job offensively and I dont really know why. Its hard to prepare for someone like her, someone bringing it with such a change of speed from slow to slower, not hard to slow, he said. One or two people cant take the blame for that because I told them nine of you had a chance to hit the ball and you had a chance four or five times. It is just a thing where we couldnt get anything going offensively, and we have been playing so well against all kinds of pitching. I didnt think this could happen to us but it did.

While the bats struggled, that wasnt the case on the defensive end, as Ubben pitched a fantastic game backed up by some stellar plays from her supporting cast. Ubben went all 10 2/3 innings for the Comets, allowing only eight hits and one run while striking out five and walking one.

Even when the ball was put in play, defensive stalwarts like Leah Yantis, Sara Sharp and Easton Swanson were there to make the out and end any threat the Sailors posed.

We made some great plays, Easton made a couple of great plays over at short stop, Lee said. I was disappointed that we didnt handle the bunt a little better because we talked about that. We knew they were quick bunting and that they could do that, the ground was just so soft too and it didnt go anywhere after they bunted. But that didnt hurt us, they were finally able to put some hits together and at some point in the game that is bound to happen.

T-R PHOTO BY THORN COMPTON

While the taste of this loss will take some time to wash out, Lee said the Comets should be proud of what they accomplished this season. They finish the year at 29-9 while repeating as NICL West Division champions for a second-straight season.

Lee, who returned to the squad at the beginning of last season after a three-year break, said he couldnt ask for a better group of girls to coach.

I feel blessed to have been able to coach these girls for the last couple years. It has been a great experience, weve had a great two years, he said. Weve won two conference titles and weve been in this game twice, with us going all the way to state last year. These kids have had a great last couple years and I am blessed to have been a part of that.

Marshalltown High School will host a Friday Night Lights youth football camp on July 28 at Leonard Cole ...

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Comets suffer walk-off heartbreak at Columbus - Marshalltown Times Republican

Comets capture silver at Ambassador Cup – Belleville Intelligencer

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The Trish Belford Realty Group U16 girls Belleville Comets rolled a seven but came up second in the gold medal final of the Ambassador Cup hosted recently by the Kingston Clippers in The Limestone City.

In a nail-biting championship game against Aurora, neither team could find the back of the opposition net in regulation time.

"The Comets played beautiful football, said team manager Lynn Barnabi. There were some great passes and ball control, but Comets just couldn't score.

Barnabi also cited the strong defence of Annissa Bray, Andrea Sorokine, Lindsay Hannah and Molly McKinney for making potential Aurora snipers feel equally frustrated in the attacking zone.

The subsequent O.T. went to penalty shots seven of the them both ways before Aurora claimed the crown.

Here's a tournament recap:

Game 1

Comets opened the festivities with a 2-0 win over Oshawa Turel Hurricanes on goals by Natasha Luffman and Heidi LaCosta. In net, Belleville keeper Victoria Lippitt posted the clean sheet.

Game 2

In a closer contest, Comets clipped the Darlington Blizzard 2-1. Sorokine notched the first Belleville goal which was later matched by the Blizzard. Late in the second half, Peyton Barnabi did the honours by scoring the game-winning goal for the Comets.

Game 3

Comets were unable to find the range in a 2-0 loss to Markham Lightning, but with a 2-1 slate claimed top spot in their pool and advanced to the semi-final round against the host Kingston Clippers.

Game 4

Morgan Hawley and Anna Noronha supplied the local markers as Comets blanked the Clippers 2-0. Lippitt posted her second shutout of the tournament and the U16's were off to the final.

ON DECK: Comets return to SOSA league action Tuesday versus the host Wolverines at Quinte West.

ACE F.C. COMETS

The ACE F.C. boys Comets split a pair of recent ERSL matches, rebounding from a tough 2-1 loss to Kingston United to defeat the Nepean Hotspurs 2-1 on the road in Ottawa.

Karl Wachner scored in the loss to KU; Evan Zakos, Jackson Moore and Lucas Culhane deposited the Belleville goals in the victory over Nepean.

Zane Neill was in net for both games for the Comets.

U15 BOYS COMETS

In SOSA league competition, the U15 boys Comets tied the first-place Kingston United squad 1-1. Aidyn Goulah scored the Belleville goal his league-leading ninth of the season. Cayde Culhane, Blake Douglas, Brett Foley and keeper Aden Deryaw-Walsh were cited by the coaching staff for strong efforts.

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Comets capture silver at Ambassador Cup - Belleville Intelligencer

Workington Comets slip to first home defeat of the season – News & Star

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With their inspirational skipper Craig Cook racing in Poland for Team GB in the World Cup final, and reserve James Sarjeant injured, the Comets resources were stretched, although augmented by guests Danny Ayres (for Sarjeant) and former captain and number one Ricky Wells, for Cook.

But Cook, the current British Champion and by far and away the best rider in the league, is irreplaceable and his absence proved too big a handicap to overcome as without him the Comets only took the chequered flag on five out of 15 occasions and it was that lack of race wins that ultimately proved costly.

Meanwhile, for the Tigers it was two former Comets, Josh Grajczonek and Kyle Howarth, who topped their score-chart with three race wins each in their double-figure returns on a night where on several occasions the visiting riders came from behind to take vital points from the home riders.

Heat 1 had to be re-run as Wells and Grajczonek became tangled on the first corner causing them both to fall. But the re-start saw Wells lead from tape to flag and with Mason Campton in third place the Comets took an early advantage.

The second heat saw guest Danny Ayres quickly endear himself to the home crowd by coming from behind to undertake Sheffields Rob Branford at the end of lap two while there was drama on the last bend as third-placed Nathan Stoneman fell heavily into the air fence to gift Rob Shuttleworth a point and double the Comets advantage.

Heat 3 took three attempts to get under way as, at the first attempt, Sheffields Josh Bates was adjudged to have touched the tapes and was excluded, to be replaced by reserve Rob Branford in the re-start.

However, his partner Lasse Bjerre then did the same thing, with him then re-starting from a 15-metre handicap. This played into the Comets hands with Proctor and Williamson racing to maximum points, although Bjerre, having passed Branford on lap three, hunted down second placed Williamson but simply ran out of laps to challenge for second place.

Comets asset Howarth raced to his first heat win of the night in the fourth and with Thomas Jorgensen and Shuttleworth packing the minor places the points were shared as the Comets maintained their eight-point advantage.

However, with Grajczonek getting the better of fellow Aussie Proctor in heat 5 while Todd Kurtz held off Williamson for third place, the Tigers were able to cut the Comets lead to six points but with heats 6 and 7 being shared, with Jorgensen and Howarth taking the chequered flag respectively, that remained the situation going into heat 8, which became the second race of the night to be re-run as a result of a first bend incident.

On this occasion it was Campton who was sent sprawling across the track after receiving a nudge from fellow-Aussie Todd Kurtz. Referee Phil Griffin again declared a re-start with all four riders and this saw Kurtz just get ahead of Campton who, despite pressing him throughout, could not find a way through. But, with Branford leading Shuttleworth home for the vital third place the Tigers further ate into the Comets advantage, which now stood at just four points.

Heat 9 saw Proctor and Williamson hit the front but, as they entered turn one for the second time, Howarth forced his way under Williamson for second place but was unable to catch Proctor as the heat advantage extended the Comets lead back up to six points at 30-24.

But that joy was short-lived for the Comets as Wells struggled away from the gate in the next, which saw Bjerre hit the front and although Campton valiantly resisted the pressure from Bates the former double British Under-21 Champion found a way round the Comet on the back straight of the third lap to seal the Tigers only maximum heat advantage of the night, which ultimately proved to be a turning point in the match.

Then, when the Tigers gained another heat advantage in heat 11 through Grajczonek and Kurtz the scores were tied at 33-33 and it was the visitors who now had the momentum.

For over three laps in heat 12 the Comets looked set to get their noses in front once more before Bjerre was able to force his way under Proctor on the back straight, while a vital third place from guest Danny Ayres at least kept the scores level.

Heat 13 always looked to be a crucial heat, and so it proved, as Wells led from the gate and held the lead for over two laps before Howarth forced his way under him as they entered turn one for the third time. As Howarth gradually pulled away Wells then had to defend second place from the hard-riding Grajczonek and only just held on as they crossed the finish line in a blanket finish. Meanwhile, a disconsolate Jorgensen was tailed off at the back on a very sick sounding machine as Sheffield took the lead for the first time in the match.

However, for three laps of the penultimate heat the Comets looked set to level the scores once more until Bates was able to drive under race-leader Danny Ayres to share the points and maintain the Tigers slender advantage going into the crucial final race.

This saw the Comets needing to take maximum points to win and gain a heat advantage to draw, but once again it was a case of the Tigers coming from behind to take the points as Wells led from the gate until Grajczonek powered under him as they entered turn one for the third time.

Then, no sooner had Grajczonek passed Wells than third-placed Howarth retired, but the resulting shared heat was not enough to save the Comets as the Tigers claimed their third away league success of the campaign by the narrowest of margins.

WORKINGTON COMETS 44: Ty Proctor 11+1, Ricky Wells 8+1, Thomas Jorgensen 7, Danny Ayres 6+1, Mason Campton 6, Matt Williamson 4+2, Rob Shuttleworth 2+1

SHEFFIELD 46: Josh Grajczonek 12, Kyle Howarth 11, Lasse Bjerre 8+1, Josh Bates 7+1, Todd Kurtz 5, Rob Branford 3, Nathan Stoneman 0

Championship points: Workington 0 Sheffield 3

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Workington Comets slip to first home defeat of the season - News & Star

UNESCO 2017: Which sites have been added to the World Heritage List? – CNN

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That challenge is about to get tougher.

UNESCO's huge list of World Heritage properties has grown even longer this month, with the global body voting to add 21 sites during the 41st annual World Heritage Committee session in Krakow, Poland.

That brings the total of UNESCO World Heritage Sites to 1,073.

Northwest England's mountainous Lake District was among the new sites added to the list, the UK's first national park to become a World Heritage property.

"The combined work of nature and human activity has produced a harmonious landscape in which the mountains are mirrored in the lakes," says UNESCO's statement announcing the inscription.

India's walled city of Ahmedabad, founded by Sultan Ahmed Shah in the 15th century, was also added to the list, becoming the country's first city to get a UNESCO nod.

Located on the eastern bank of the Sabarmati river, it "presents a rich architectural heritage from the sultanate period, notably the Bhadra citadel, the walls and gates of the Fort city and numerous mosques and tombs as well as important Hindu and Jain temples of later periods," says UNESCO's description of the city.

Now on the list: The English Lake District.

Two South America properties were added to the list, including Brazil's Valongo Wharf, an archeological site.

Located in central Rio de Janeiro, the wharf encompasses the entire Jornal do Comrcio Square and was built to receive enslaved Africans who began landing the South American continent from 1811.

"It is the most important physical trace of the arrival of African slaves on the American continent," says UNESCO.

Controversial: The Cave of the Patriarchs, also known as the Ibrahimi Mosque.

Israel accused UNESCO of making a politically motivated move, part of what it says is an attempt to deny the Jewish character and heritage of certain key sites in the Holy Land.

Meanwhile, UNESCO's decision to approve China's nomination of Hoh Xil, part of the high-altitude Tibetan plateau in Qinghai Province, has also drawn protests.

The International Campaign for Tibet says the nomination poses a threat to Tibetan nomads and their way of life.

Here's this year's list of newly inscribed sites, several of which can be viewed in the above gallery:

Turkey: Aphrodisias, archeological site and marble quarries

Eritrea: Asmara, modernist city of Africa

Russia: Assumption Cathedral and Monastery of Sviyazhsk

Germany: Caves and ice age art in the Swabian Jura

Palestinian territories: Hebron/Al-Khalil Old Town

Iran: Historic city of Yazd

Denmark: Kujataa Greenland, sub-arctic farming landscape

China: Kulangsu, historic international settlement

Angola: Mbanza Kongo, political and spiritual capital of the Kingdom of Kongo

Japan: Sacred Island of Okinoshima

France: Taputaputea, center of the "Polynesian Triangle"

Poland: Tarnowskie Gry, lead-silver-zinc mine

Cambodia: Sambor Prei Kuk temple zone

United Kingdom: English Lake District

Brazil: Valongo Wharf, archeological site

Croatia, Italy, Montenegro: Venetian Works of Defense

South Africa: Khomani Cultural Landscape

Mongolia, Russia: Landscapes of Dauria

Argentina: Los Alerces National Park

China: Qinghai Hoh Xil, world's highest and largest plateau

India: Historic city of Ahmedabad

12 incredible UNESCO sites you've probably never heard of: Surrounded by forests of beech, fir and spruce, a multi-level system of 16 lakes spills into waterfalls and pools in Croatia's Plitvice Lakes National Park. The lakes are known for their distinctive colors, which can be turquoise, green, blue or gray. No swimming is allowed in the pristine pools.

The United Nations' World Heritage Committee, made up of representatives from 21 countries, meets annually to vote natural, cultural and sites of mixed significance around the world to its prestigious preservation list, which includes places of "outstanding universal value."

The inscribed sites must meet at least one of 10 criteria such as "representing a masterpiece of human creative genius," containing "exceptional natural beauty" or being an outstanding example of a traditional human settlement.

UNESCO has been adding sites to the World Heritage List since 1978.

In the travel world, being able to add the words "UNESCO World Heritage Site" to destination marketing materials is the equivalent of striking tourism gold, bringing fame and cultural cachet as well as resources for sites in need of restoration and protection.

As a result, nations often spend years developing pitches for inclusion on the list and must convince the UNESCO committee they will protect their sites and support them financially.

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UNESCO 2017: Which sites have been added to the World Heritage List? - CNN

World Travel Awards Indian Ocean Event Maldives Excels – Travel Wires

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Seychelles was also celebrating, as it won the Indian Oceans Leading Cruise Destination and the Indian Oceans Leading Cruise Port.

At the same time, Mauritius Tourism was happy to receive the title of Indian Oceans Leading Honeymoon Destination.

Graham Cooke, president of the World Travel Awards, said: What a fantastic evening its been here at Sun Aqua Vilu Reef in the Maldives.

It has been an honour to recognise the leading hospitality providers from the Indian Ocean tonight and I offer my heartfelt congratulations to each and every one of them.

It is your hard work, dedication, initiative and investment that makes the Indian Ocean tourism sector the success it is today.

He continued by adding: I look forward to seeing many of tonights winners later this year at the Grand Final in Vietnam, where they will compete for the global titles.

On the other hand, there were also awards for airline categories. Therefore, Air Seychelles was voted Indian Oceans Leading Airline and Indian Oceans Leading Airline Business Class, while Air Mauritius received the Indian Oceans Leading Airline Economy Class award.

Trans Maldivian Airways left the event holding the trophy for Indian Oceans Leading Seaplane Operator.

At the same time, the St Regis Maldives Vommuli Resort was the happy winner of the award for Indian Oceans Leading Island Resort.

The guest nation, Sri Lanka, was handed the awards for Asias Leading Destination and Asias Leading Adventure Tourism Destination; Hilton Colombo received the awards for Sri Lankas Leading Business Hotel and the Movenpick Colombo was voted Sri Lankas Leading Hotel.

In the travel industry, World Travel Awards Gala Ceremonies are knows as the best networking opportunities, and are attended by government and industry leaders, as well as broadcast media.

The event was first established in 1993 to reward and celebrate excellence in all areas of the tourism industry.

Nowadays, the World Travel Awards is a brand recognized globally as a hallmark of quality, with winners that set the benchmark for others to aspire to.

Every year, World Travel Awards puts together a series of regional gala ceremonies that aim to recognize and celebrate both individual and collective successes.

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World Travel Awards Indian Ocean Event Maldives Excels - Travel Wires

Colorado’s natural gas could travel the world via an Oregon LNG terminal – Denver Business Journal

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Colorado's natural gas could travel the world via an Oregon LNG terminal
Denver Business Journal
Colorado backers of a proposed liquefied natural gas terminal on the Oregon coast are hoping the project's second trip before federal energy regulators will be the charm. Subscribe to get the full story. Already a subscriber? Sign in. Subscribe to get the

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Colorado's natural gas could travel the world via an Oregon LNG terminal - Denver Business Journal

Seychelles wins Indian Ocean’s Leading Tourist Board & Cruise Destination accolades at World Travel Awards – eTurboNews

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The Seychelles Tourism Board (STB) is the Indian Oceans Leading Tourist Board and Seychelles the Indian Oceans Leading Cruise Destination in 2017.

This was revealed at the World Travel Awards Indian Ocean Gala Ceremony 2017. The event was held at Sun Aqua Vilu Reef a 5-star beach resort in the neighboring Indian Ocean island of Maldives, on Saturday, July 8.

The Chief Executive of the Seychelles Tourism Board Mrs. Sherin Francis was presented with the accolades at the red-carpet ceremony, attended by tourism and hospitality leaders from the region and international media.

Its the third consecutive year that the Seychelles Tourism Board wins the Indian Oceans Leading Tourist Board award.

Mrs. Francis has described the award as an encouragement for the STB team.

We do not have even a quarter of the resources other tourism boards have given our size but yet we are seen as very effective and this is because we do our work with a lot of passion and enthusiasm, we understand that its a people industry, we never fail to bring other partners onboard and always ensure we value the relationship and support of our friends and partners in this industry all over the world, she added.

This is also the fourth consecutive year that Seychelles wins the Indian Oceans Leading Cruise Destination accolade.

Mrs. Francis said: We are surrounded by the Ocean and this is one attribute that we always recommend to our visitors to discover Seychelles by sea. The award is testament that Seychelles remains one the best cruise destination there is to experience.

Speaking at the 24th annual World Travel Awards ceremony for the Indian Ocean region in the Maldives on Saturday, the World Travel Awards President and Founder, Graham Cooke, said: It has been an honor to recognize the leading hospitality providers from the Indian Ocean tonight and I offer my heartfelt congratulations to each and every one of them.

It is your hard work, dedication, initiative and investment that makes the Indian Ocean tourism sector the success it is today, he added.

Seychelles as a destination had been nominated in six categories in the Indian Ocean region for this years regional World Travel Awards ceremony: Leading Beach Destination, Leading Cruise Destination, Leading Destination, Leading Dive Destination, Leading Honeymoon Destination and Leading Tourist Board.

The World Travel Awards was established in 1993 to recognize the very best travel organizations in the world, through a global vote including by travel and tourism professionals.

Awards are presented for excellence in providing services in different categories of the worlds travel and tourism industry. This includes air services, car rental services, spas, travel agencies and tour operators, hotels and resorts among others.

The awards are first given on a regional basis, with the winners qualifying for the grand final of the World Travel Award.

This years grand final will be held in Phu Quoc, Vietnam on December 10.

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Seychelles wins Indian Ocean's Leading Tourist Board & Cruise Destination accolades at World Travel Awards - eTurboNews

This woman with agoraphobia travels the world with Google Street View, and how she documents it is so beautiful – HelloGiggles

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Art we heart Ezra Bailey / iStock / Getty

When it comes to facing your fears, sometimes you have to get creative. A clear-cut example of someone whos managed to outsmart the very thing that terrifies her is Jacqui Kennedy, the woman who runs the Agoraphobic Traveller Instagram account. Typically, traveling is one of the last activities youd associate with someone who has agoraphobia, which Psychology Today defines as a fear of any place where escape may be difficult, including large open spaces or crowds, as well as various means of travel.

In Kennedys case, her unique approach to dealing with the condition has sparked inspiring conversations around agoraphobia and how those who live with the restrictive, anxiety-inducing disorder can better cope.

After she began collecting snapshots in 2015, Kennedys sister encouraged her to continue with her hobby. Today, Agoraphobic Traveller is a collection of street scenes Kennedy curated based on her emotional response to each photo.

As she told National Geographic, the act of choosing photos that resonate with her helped Kennedy to hone a unique world perspective.

Kennedys Instagram features photos from places like New Mexico, Peru, Canada and everywhere in between. She intentionally curates images that dont usually include lots of people, instead opting to highlight random structures, animals, and the landscape.

To date, Kennedy has snapped over 27,000 screenshots, a far cry from the 200 photos on her Instagram page. But still, her perusal of Google Street View represents a sort of freedom from the isolation and loneliness agoraphobics experience.

Its connected me with so many other people that have agoraphobia, so I dont feel so alone with it, Kennedy told National Geographic. It does make me what to travel more. It makes me want to face my fears.

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This woman with agoraphobia travels the world with Google Street View, and how she documents it is so beautiful - HelloGiggles

Photographer Travels to Find Beauty in Diverse Faces of the World (PHOTOS) – The Weather Channel

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Traveling can often be a time for self-discovery. Photographer Alexander Khimushin, 47, has spent the last nine years visiting 84 countries to do just that. After years of traveling it was getting clearer and clearer to me that the people and their cultures were the best of all my experience, Khimushin told weather.com

Khimushins nomadic lifestyle provided him with the opportunity to see the rich diversity of human civilization. For the last three years, he focused on photographing peoples portraits in each city he visited, all included in a series called The World in Faces. Faces of all of that people--its like an encyclopedia of the world to me, he said. The face of each individual person depicts personality, character traits, an imprint of an occupation, inherent only to him [or] her and no one else.

His life as a travel photographer has prepared him to be aware of the various cities and countries climates. Its in the hands of the photographer to know how to photograph even in the most challenging conditions. You can easily die from sun or dehydration, get frozen to death in [freezing temperatures] in less than hour, have your high altitude sickness in the mountains or [go crazy] in wet climate[s] from anxiety and insomnia from humidity, he said.

Through World in Faces, Khimushin hopes to portray the possibility of a peaceful coexistence among the people of the world. It is humans themselves, who, at any given time, can destroy this fragile world by their lack of understanding, intolerance towards people of other cultures, religions [and] ethnicities, he said. The beauty of our world, he said, is in our differences. Where [people] live and whatever culture they belong to, [we] share the same universal values.

Despite this commonality, Khimushin says that forces like globalization, economic hardship, war and discrimination, many ethnic minority groups are forced to live on the edge. He hopes to use this project to help unify people despite the differences in their cultures and outward appearances. If we all realise how unique and amazing we, the people, are, we will care more about each other, be more tolerant to people of another ethnicity, religion and culture, he said.

Khimushin plans to continue the series as he travels around the globe. Follow along his journey on Facebook and Instagram.

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Photographer Travels to Find Beauty in Diverse Faces of the World (PHOTOS) - The Weather Channel