Wells Fargo Must Pay Almost $600 Million Fine For Scamming Consumers

Wells Fargo is the third largest US bank and has long had quite the reputation in the finance industry. Recently, however, Wells Fargo admitted to scamming thousands of their consumers for roughly 15 years and must also pay all 50 individual states directly for their misdeeds. The original lawsuit was filed in September of 2016 by shareholders against the company.

The lawsuit was specifically for Wells Fargo employees unjustly creating fake bank accounts and credit lines using their customers names and other private information. Those employees defended themselves by stating that they only committed these actions in order to fulfill a quota mandated by the company which included a quota to fulfill new account registrations. Employees believed that they would lose their jobs if they did not reach the quota. This has been going on since 2002-2017 according to evidence from the lawsuit.

Wells Fargo to Pay States About $575 Million to Settle Customer Harm Claims; Latest settlement covers retail sales practices and auto-loan, mortgage charges https://t.co/xrY4jaAXy5 pic.twitter.com/xKveGD6eKD

— Barry Ritholtz (@ritholtz) December 28, 2018

John G. Stumpf, the former CEO of Wells Fargo, stepped down in 2016 after news broke out of the companies fraud. Till this day Wells Fargo executives face significantly more court appearances in the future, as liabilities from these lawsuits expand, Wells Fargo already has reached over $2 Billion dollars in court losses.


From when news began breaking out on September 19th, 2016 about the fraud, Wells Fargo stocks were valued roughly at $43.21. Today, Wells Fargo stocks increased by almost 6% and they currently sit at $45.78, respectively. Wells Fargo has also created multiple programs as acts of restitution for anyone negatively affected by these account creations. The first acknowledgement of this fraud came sometime in 2015, prior to the lawsuit in 2016.

Happy Holidays To All

We give a very warm holiday season to all our readers and non readers! We're happy to spend another year sharing out some important news! We have big plans in the future and are looking forward to many more years of spreading out the truth and the ideals of freedom. There is nothing better than where we are today, and we hope to make things even better by confronting the mainstream media with facts and clear opinions.

Best wishes to everyone around the globe, times are tough but the sun will shine even brighter soon enough, Keep your head up high everybody! For 2019 we have prepared many guest writers and are thinking about changing up the site even further! We may even purchase our first domain in 2019 or 2020, if you want to support us then follow us on Facebook and on YouTube! We'll be expanding operations and further our connection to freedom movements throughout the US, Puerto Rico and Mexico!

We also plan to expand operations in following local artists and covering music and entertainment in our next reports!

Thanks and have a wonderful time everyone, this new year will be great!

Canada Has Now Legalized Marijuana, Trump Decriminalizing Marijuana Too?

Today, Canada has become the second country in the entire world to legalize marijuana nationally, after Uruguay who was the first!

This is major news for the country as there are many marijuana tourists looking to smoke in Uruguay, Canada, and Colorado (United States). Canada has a significant population, far larger than Uruguay so this could be a financial boom for marijuana companies in Canada and for US farmers! Donald Trump's administration has also hinted that they may push for nationwide marijuana reform and has suggested that the drug war against Marijuana/Cannabis is over!

Interesting Read:
Hillary Clinton Wants To Abolish Electoral College

In Canada, the push for legalization was set forth by Justin Trudeau (the Prime Minister of Canada), which he made good on his 2015 Campaign pledge. All 13 provinces and territories are now creating new regulations under the revised federal law. The legal age to purchase marijuana throughout the country has been set to 19 years old, while Quebec and Alberta have set their age-minimum to purchase at 18 years old.

Canada may set the stage for western powers to begin the end of the global war on drugs!

Official WordPress SIte Is Up

In order to ensure we're growing across multiple social networks and communities, we have now created a WordPress account where we'll share excerpts/quotes from this blog (and perhaps share some quotes from prominent community members from Minds, and Steemit!

Please, if you have a WordPress account then come support us on the site by following us and liking our content! Thanks for your support and don't forget to follow us on Facebook as well!

Google+ Is Closing

Google+ has officially announced that they will be closing, they announced this on October 8th, 2018. This marks around 7 Years (Google+ was launched in 2011) that this social network has been in service! This major news comes after a data breach which resulted in roughly 500,000 users accounts being affected (which means their private information could have been accessed by unauthorized third parties). Google+ is set to officially be offline within the coming months, likely by third quarter 2019, in August/September.

What About The Free Voluntarist's Google+ Page?

Sadly, since Google+ is closing, we'll have to close our Google+ Page as well! We'll continue to post on Google+ until the end. We've grown a bit there, but since Google is reshuffling their priorities, it's time we do so as well. We'll be heavily pushing for growth on our Facebook page, and we'll eventually release an official Twitter account! We apologize to any of our users and readers, but we have to play the cards that we've been dealt. It's very sad to see Google+ go, but maybe it's for the better! Time to look for greener pastures!

We also have a Pinterest account!

Keep an eye out for future updates!

Dogecoin Could Be Listed On Coinbase

Dogecoin's dev team and the community has been pressing Coinbase, a popular reputable cryptocurrency exchange, to allow Dogecoin trading (including GDAX). For reference, Coinbase was the first licensed US Bitcoin exchange, and was also granted SEC approval to maintain operations.

If Dogecoin does become listed on Coinbase that could mean serious growth for the cryptocurrency not just in the market but in user base. Adam White, the Vice President of Coinbase, noted "...exchanges that provide advanced trading features and meet regulatory requirements are most likely to succeed...". Dogecoin has been known as a joke currency for some time and only recently has the general public's eye of dogecoin shifted to a more serious tune. Coinbase has been known to just carry the most stable coins on its markets, and if Dogecoin becomes accepted, that could pave the way for long term growth within the community.

What's Your Favorite Cryptocurrency?

Dogecoin is currently ranked 20th (according to CoinMarketCap) with a market capitalization of $610 million USD (96,817 BTC).

Ross Nicole, a Dogecoin core developer member, stated that, “The DOGE team is getting ready to put their submission for listing on Coinbase for Dogecoin.”, this comes after a successful test of the Dogecoin-Ethereum bridge which boosted Dogecoin's integrity. while allowing for some possible interesting features down the road with Ethereum smart contracts. Prior to the bridge, Dogecoin was ranked anywhere between 35-50 on CoinMarketCap by market capitalization. The Dogecoin community as a whole has been quite ramped up about the recent moves and the great news. Might be time to think about Dogecoin.

(Updated October 12, 2018 @ 11:20 AM EST)

Hurricane Michael Could Be Strongest Hurricane To Hit Florida Panhandle

Hurricane Michael is currently cruising up the Gulf of Mexico heading towards Tallahassee and could be as powerful as a category 4 hurricane (NHS) once it makes landfall around 1-5pm EST Wednesday afternoon (October 10, 2018). This could be the strongest hurricane ever to hit the Florida Panhandle.

Hillary Clinton Wants To Abolish The Electoral College? < Read More...

A hurricane warning has been posted for many coastal cities of the Florida Gulf coast from the Alabama/Florida border to the Suwanee River. This also includes Pensacola, Panama City, Destin and the Florida Capital, Tallahassee. Pensacola International Airport, and Tallahassee International Airport has been closed for wednesday and thursday (and if damage is significant they made be closed for an extra 3-5 days). State of emergency has been declared for Florida, Georgia, and Alabama by their respective governors. Mandatory evacuation have been declared by cities that may suffer the most impact, 180,000 residents could be affected by local evacuation efforts.

(Last Updated 12:40 AM EST, October 10, 2018)

Hillary Clinton Calls To Abolish Electoral College

Hillary Clinton has recently made comments that she wishes to abolish the electoral college in an opinionated article she wrote for the Atlantic. Hillary Clinton ran in 2016 against current President, Donald Trump, and lost the race by losing the electoral college (which are the primary votes which determine presidential status in the United States). Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by 2.8 million votes, respectively.

"Our democracy is in crisis", writes Clinton as she describes her current disdain for President Donald Trump within the article. Hillary Clinton suggests that "Russia's meddling" in the president elections of 2016 had taken a huge toll on our democracy, while also noting about Republicans possibly gerrymandering their districts.

Read a Similar Article: Former Supreme Court Judge Advocates To Repeal 2nd Amendment!

"There’s Russia’s ongoing interference and Trump’s complete unwillingness to stop it or protect us. There’s voter suppression, as Republicans put onerous—and I believe illegal—requirements in place to stop people from voting. There’s gerrymandering, with partisans—these days, principally Republicans—drawing the lines for voting districts to ensure that their party nearly always wins. All of this carries us further away from the sacred principle of “one person, one vote.” " 

- Hillary Rodham Clinton, American Democracy Is In Crisis (2018)

Hillary Clinton proceeds to accuse President Trump of having a "war on truth and reason" and further condemnds him for undermining American democracy.

"[Trump] is as much a symptom as a cause of what ails us. Over many years, our defenses were worn down by a small group of right-wing billionaires—people like the Mercer family and Charles and David Koch—who spent a lot of time and money building an alternative reality where science is denied, lies masquerade as truth, and paranoia flourishes. By undermining the common factual framework that allows a free people to deliberate together and make the important decisions of self-governance, they opened the way for the infection of Russian propaganda and Trumpian lies to take hold. They've used their money and influence to capture our political system, impose a right-wing agenda, and disenfranchise millions of Americans." 

- Hillary Rodham Clinton, American Democracy is In Crisis (2018)

 Clinton concludes a solution to an issue which she brought up (election integrity), by advocating to abolish the Electoral College.

"A main area of reform should be improving and protecting our elections. The Senate Intelligence Committee has made a series of bipartisan recommendations for how to better secure America’s voting systems, including paper ballot backups, vote audits, and better coordination among federal, state, and local authorities on cybersecurity. That’s a good start. Congress should also repair the damage the Supreme Court did to the Voting Rights Act by restoring the full protections that voters need and deserve, as well as the voting rights of Americans who have served time in prison and paid their debt to society. We need early voting and voting by mail in every state in America, and automatic, universal voter registration so every citizen who is eligible to vote is able to vote. We need to overturn Citizens United and get secret money out of our politics. And you won’t be surprised to hear that I passionately believe it’s time to abolish the Electoral College."
- Hillary Rodham Clinton, American Democracy Is In Crisis (2018)

Facts About The 2016 US Presidential Election 

Hillary Clinton officially won the popular vote in 2016, Donald Trump won 2nd, and Gary Johnson with a record breaking 3.27% for the Libertarian Party at third place!

A record breaking 137.5 million voters came to vote in 2016's US Presidential election, with a voter turnout of 61.4% (Voter turnout has fallen from 63.6% to 61.4% from 2008-2016). 538 Electoral votes, with 270 needed to win.

Electoral votes for United States Presidential Election 2016

What are your thoughts about the Electoral College? Should we abolish the electoral college?

Minds Social Network Offline

New cryptocurrency supported social network, Minds, has apparently gone offline by unknown causes. Reports came in roughly around 2:05 of Minds returning errors. Some suspect Minds may be undergoing maintenance with UI or feature updates, or there may be an issue with the token. Will have updates soon...

Minds is currently back up!

(Updated: September 21, 2018 2:35 PM EST)

Japanese Cryptocurrency Exchange Hacked! Loses Roughly $60 Million

Japanese cryptocurrency exchange, Zaif, was hacked late wednesday (September 19, 2018) and lost approximately 6,000 BTC (Ex: $39 Million USD) alone, while also losing a significant amount of Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Monacoin (MONA). The total amount that was stolen was roughly $60 Millions USD.

Read More about... Elon Musk Smoking Marijuana?




Prior to the the hack, Bitcoin was priced at around $6,340 USD before it collapsed and news broke out and Bitcoin bottomed out at $6,100 USD. Hours later the price jumped to $6,550 USD before stabilizing to today's general price of  $6,500 USD (September 20, 2018 | 2000 EST). This is the second major hack for a Japan-based company, an earlier hack resulted in over $500 Million USD worth of NEM tokens stolen from Coincheck in January this year.  It seems that this flash crash and this hack of a popular exchange did not have a massive effect on global Bitcoin prices. In the last 24 hours, Bitcoin is up by about 1.5% so far.

Zaif, which is owned by the Tech Bureau, has officially made moves to payoff users who are mass withdrawing from their services, and has filed a formal report with the local Japanese authorities in order to find the culprit behind the attack. Reports say, Zaif was aware of suspicious activity of mass amounts of funds moving around through the network days prior to the attack. Zaif has also made a deal with Japanese firm, Fisco, which will bring in over $40 million USD worth of funds so that Zaif can pay off users (Zaif claims to also have roughly more than $20 million USD in reserves).

Steem Network Down But Stabilizing, 'Accidental' Hard Fork

Steemit and associated sites (Busy, d.live, etc.) are currently suffering a blockchain wide error because some witnesses were testing out the new hard fork Steem-HF20. The new hardfork (HF20) was set to be released on September 25th, 2018, but eager witnesses wanted to try out the new fork which caused the entire blockchain to halt. Error messages appear when attempting to connect to Steemit and Busy.

@SteemNetwork on Twitter has released official tweets about the network.

We're aware of the problem with the #Steem #blockchain and are hard at work to get it resolved. We'll post updates here as they happen.

— Steem (@SteemNetwork) September 17, 2018

They also released an official response of the Steem network stabilizing after this "accidental" hard fork!

Status update: Witnesses are coming back online and producing blocks. Network is becoming more stable. We're working on getting our node back online with a fix. #steem #steemit

— Steem (@SteemNetwork) September 17, 2018

Steem is currently the 39th ranked cryptocurrency with the largest market capitalization, it's currently valued at rough $.71 USD. We are expecting the Steemit site (and associated sites) to be fully operational in the next few hours if the network continues to stabilize!

Koch Brothers Funded SuperPAC, AFP Action, Pushing For Libertarian Candidates

Conservative-Libertarian leaning billionaire's, the Koch Brothers, have funded a new SuperPAC, AFP Action, which they say will help get more Libertarian voices, and conservative leaning idealism into mainstream elections. They are funding this through Americans for Prosperity alongside working with the Latino/Hispanic super PAC Libre Action and Concerned Veterans for America Action. Overall, The libertarian party has increased in members over the years but they have yet to hit any major landmark positions in office.

Opinions from the author:
Koch funded groups within florida have also fought to return voting rights to felons, and other libertarian organizations have been pushing to remove red-light cameras as it is a breach of the US constitution. Koch Industries and associates have been accused of colluding with other industry leaders on price fixing, and oligopolistic practices, but none of accusations have been significant. Koch brothers have always held a positive view for libertarian values, but generally lean far more conservative than what people initially believe.

Author:
Luis Rosales

Elon Musk Gets High, While Tesla Stocks Go Low

Elon Musk was seen in a YouTube interview with comedian Joe Rogan smoking weed and drinking whiskey, while talking about various projects and thoughts about the future of technology, censorship, and self sustainability which could be one of major correlations to why Tesla stocks fell. Along with several departures of certain executives over the past few months and a recent resignation.

Here Is The FULL Interview:

Tesla Stocks Falls 10% (24h)

Tesla was trading around $281.06 early evening (5:55 pm (UTC NASDAQ), September 6, 2018) before it then plunged to $252.88 (-10.02%+) around 1:35pm September 7th (UTC NASDAQ). This all comes after a very open interview where Elon Musk was enjoying a chat with Joe Rogan while smoking marijuana (which is illegal federally here in the United States, and it could be seen as a public display of Civil Disobedience.) Stockholders were in shock of this public display, while others had no problem with the interview. The interview itself was very entertaining and it shows that Elon Musk is focused, but some investors may not want to deal with the political scuff that Elon Musk has now become the center of. Elon Musk reportedly owns 33.7 million stocks in Tesla through some funds and direct ownership.

Tesla CAO Resigns

Some higher ranking employees have been leaving Tesla, and many investors are wondering if Elon Musk's leadership is sustainable for the company. For reference, Tesla's Debt is roughly $10.7 Billion USD (Ƀ1,733,956 BTC), and Tesla motors had suffered a loss of around $710 million (Ƀ115,078 BTC, Q2 2018), respectively from a revenue of $3.41 Billion USD (Ƀ551,029 BTC). Elon Musk is quite hopeful with his belief that profits are soon to come, but certain executives like ex Chief Accounting Officer David Morton, said "Since I joined Tesla on August 6th, the level of public attention placed on the company, as well as the pace within the company, have exceeded my expectations... This caused me to reconsider my future. I want to be clear that I believe strongly in Tesla, its mission, and its future prospects, and I have no disagreements with Tesla’s leadership or its financial reporting." David Morton left with just a month of service with Tesla Motors.

Tesla has been investing heavily in its manufacturing sector by attempting to grow as quickly as possible to meet demands for the new Model 3, which it seems many are equating this vehicle to the classic Model T. Model 3, an electric vehicle for the "average man"? Price has been an important issue for many potential buyers, and although sales have dramatically increased for Electric Vehicles, some middle class citizens just aren't ready to fall into debt since after the financial crash of 2008, but that may soon change given Q3 data soon to be released!


Opinion from author:
Elon Musk has every right to smoke marijuana regardless of what the law states. It's important that civil disobedience stays alive in America, especially given that the United State's drug war is a TOTAL failure. Some may believe its unorthodox for a CEO to act in such a manner, but let's not take the humanity away from these individuals. If shareholders believe Elon Musk is acting risky, or is behaving in a manner that isn't good for the corporation, then they are right to leave if they feel so. I wish Tesla Motors the best! Goodluck, Elon.

Author: Luis Rosales
Updated: September 8, 2018 @ 1631 EST

Shooter Identified: The Landing, Jacksonville, Florida

The shooter, identified as Baltimore resident, David Katz, killed two people and shot multiple others after losing a game of Madden 19 in a sponsored gaming competition at the Jacksonville Landing, In Downtown Jacksonville, Florida. David Katz was the champion in 2017's competition, and during this years competition, many players who have played against him stated he was acting very odd. David Katz was armed with a handgun... Police calls reported around 1:34 PM at the local Chicago Pizza within The Landing. REPORT ESSENTIALS: 3 Dead (Suspect Included) Over 14 injured, 9 directly injured by the shooter... others injured during evacuation! Suspect Details: David Katz (Baltimore Resident) White Male, 24 Years Old, One Hand Gun (updated @ 8:14 PM EST from Orlando, Florida) Notable information: Multiple reports stated that prior to the shooting, people saw a red dot (possibly from a lazer) and then gunshots..... still has yet to be confirmed.

WATCH RAW FOOTAGE OF SHOOTING (GAME LIVESTREAM)

Social Media Attacking Libertarians?

Lately, there has been a lot of breaking news where libertarians, and conservative minded groups have been targeted by major social media networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and video hosting site, Youtube.

Donald Trump Threatens Shutdown Over Illegals | Read more...

Alex Jones, a prominent conservative conspiracist throughout the web, has had his Facebook page struck down, along with his YouTube account, and also his accounts at Spotify and Apple have been banned from sharing/selling content. Many of these sites are citing breaches of their Terms of Service (ToS), which many people within the community call it a farce and see that Jones' is being unjustly censored. Others believe, Jones being kicked off is justified to how he carries himself and how he fabricates lies about famous people and politicians with so called "evidence" for their 'crimes'. They claim he slanders and smears people's name for his own personal benefit, in order to sell merchandise to grow his business based off fear mongering. It should be noted that Alex Jones still has his Infowars app available on the Android App Store, and his Google+ page is still active (for now), and that this was not a total ban from Google products, but from YouTube itself and possibly for audio content (podcasts).  People have their own viewpoints in regards to Alex Jones, but some others that are affected by these mass suspensions are very much so undeserving of this punishment.

Other than the major backlash against Alex Jones on other sites, Twitter hasn't made any major particular moves other than "shadowbanning certain people". However, there seems to be a purge with lots of people being suspended in a short amount of time, which those affected are more often than not conservative, or libertarian leaning individuals. Twitter has suspended prominent libertarian speakers such as the Director of the Ron Paul Institute, Daniel McAdams. Many in the libertarian community are scratching their heads as to what McAdams could have done on Twitter, which would constitute a ban.

Overall, this entire situation goes on a case by case basis, and we all must accept and acknowledge that these social media sites have every right to regulate the news feed so that it may allow for family friendly content to be promoted within the algorithm as they see fit. Yet, we must also know that we are free to criticize these corporations for their actions, and very much so seek alternatives. Whether you view their bans or suspensions as justified or not, there are underlying questions that people may need to ponder on in the future: Should we allow powerful technocrats the power to regulate our newsfeed and control what we see on their platforms? We all make a choice with each packet we download, and our bandwidth IS our voting power in the online world. Perhaps, we should be throwing our support and time behind corporations that actually respect freedom of speech and whom are not going to silence people for their political beliefs.

Trump Threatens U.S. Government Shutdown Over Immigration

After receiving a lot of pushback, and multiple losses from sanctuary cities and even States (like California), Trump is now threatening to shut down the federal government due to democrats not agreeing to his terms or being more reasonable in the deal (in his perspective) for immigration reform.

US Airstrike In Syria Kills 30 Civilians | Read More...

Donald Trump was targeted by mainstream media over the way he was detaining teens/children of latino descent, as some were calling it cruel and unusual punishment (which can be argued as unconstitutional). Of course, this was just politics; don't get me wrong, it is completely immoral to do what the government is doing in this particular case. Governments across the world are also wrong for partaking in similar actions in dealing with similar 'immigration issues', however, in the particular context, Obama also did something extremely similar during his term, and didn't get nearly as much negative feedback from the public. Seems quite disingenuous.

I would be willing to “shut down” government if the Democrats do not give us the votes for Border Security, which includes the Wall! Must get rid of Lottery, Catch & Release etc. and finally go to system of Immigration based on MERIT! We need great people coming into our Country!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 29, 2018

Obama deserves the scrutiny as much as Trump does, but it seems that Donald Trump has become quite aggressive in his tactics of not only handling illegals but in promoting a zero-tolerance rule-book which typically doesn't happen, as each case is handled individually. Minimum sentencing in most states has already caused major issues of unjust treatment against US citizens unrelated to immigration, so this may certainly have a negative effect on how the global community perceives American 'freedom'. Donald Trump has been clear as being someone who is 'against' immigration, I say that loosely, as Donald Trump has heavily promoted the idea of playing by the book and following the law. Donald Trump is intending to make immigrating to the US more difficult and more costly for foreigners, in the quest for the "best" immigrants, which that would lead to an artificial increase of value on US education (which is already suffering from mass student debt).

Donald Trump has also recently expanded the Trade war against China and Russia, where they also have reacted against Trump's tactics! US relations with the global community seem to be at a standstill with fringe groups supporting him in certain hotspots like the UK, Turkey, India, etc. Latino nations have become very defensive against Trump's rhetoric, and have seeked business deals and free trade agreements with other nations. Local farmers within the US and even here in Florida are slowly beginning to feel the pressure, even though the US did earn over 4% GDP growth within the last quarter. This reaction may work to Trump's advantage, ultimately we'll see if Trump proceeds with a federal shutdown or not.

Bitcoin Pops An Extra $1000

Bitcoin increased by over $1000 in under two days after trading $6000 - $6400 until it exploded around 5 Am, July 16 and then again on July 17 Around 1:45 PM!

Bitcoin's price is around $7400 USD, Current Doge/BTC rate = 51 Satoshis!

Trump Begins Trade War | Read more...

This news of Bitcoin's increase is interesting as a hedge fund billionaire, Ken Griffin, mocked Bitcoin and stated that even some of his employees didn't even want to invest in the risky asset. "I have a hard time finding myself wanting to be in in the position of being a liquidity provider to a product that I don't believe in," said Griffin when asked further.

On a positive note for Bitcoin, MasterCard recently picked up a ground breaking patent (which should be publicly available as open source) that will allow Bitcoin transaction to be recorded on credit cards. With this feature it could significantly increase adoption, especially for MasterCard holders of debit cards, gift cards, and credit cards. This would also enable businesses to be able to accept Bitcoin through MasterCard as the medium with instant transfers, which will considerably change the game for Bitcoin! The prospects of what could be done are important but we'll see how liberally we can act under MasterCard's guidelines.

US Airstrike Near Abu Kamal, Estimated Over 30 Civilians Killed

US Airstrikes occurred late midnight (GMT +3) on Friday, near Abu Kamal in the Deir ez-Zor province. Syrian state media, SANA, estimates 30 civilians, women and children, have been killed, while US sources, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, suggests roughly 54 people were killed in general (including civilians and militants), no official number of wounded.

Local reports suggest the US had deliberately struck the region, as everyone slept, under false pretenses. Many people around the struck towns of al-Souseh an al-Baghouz Fowqani, and around Abu Kamal believe the US purposely bombed the region over its decision to refuse the entry of US backed military personnel, such as the Qasad militia (which is to have suspected members of ISIS). Throughout the civil war, the US has been accused of supporting ISIS militants, through untrustworthy deals with certain rebel groups on the ground. The region that was struck by the United States is currently controlled by the Syrian national government, although, US media claims the region is controlled by Daesh (ISIS) operatives.

Trump Has The Best Job Unemployment Rate In Decades? Read More...

The war in Syria has taken a large toll on the citizenry, and it may finally come to an end, as US backed militias are threatening to dissolve and rejoin the Syrian National government, which may be a big loss for US interest in Syria after supporting the civil war. The rebels, who are threatening to dissolve, currently hold roughly 30% of Syria's territory. The Syrian government is currently winning the conflict against the rebels, and ISIS, as it holds more strategic, populated areas. If the Syrians do end their civil war, then ISIS will be all but eradicated from Syria, guaranteed. We have yet to see a formal peace deal between the Syrian Rebels and the Syrian national government.

Trump Bombs Syria With France & UK | Read More...

President Donald Trump of the United States and President Vladimir Putin of Russia will be meeting Monday in Helsinki, to discuss important economic and military concerns, especially, after the start of the trade war, and the escalation of conflict via US foreign policy. Russia is also planning to make a deal with Israel to ensure that Iran remove their troops in the region, as the war begins to wind down. Israel refuses to allow any strong Iranian Shi'ite military presence in Syria.

Rick And Morty Nominated For Emmy

The Rick and Morty adventures craze continues to expand where now even Rick and Morty has been nominated for an Emmy! Pickle Rick is here!

#RickandMorty Congrats on your nomination! pic.twitter.com/2RoDXB90q8

— Katherine Rosales (@TheRepublicRose) July 13, 2018

The Rick and Morty season 3 episode titled "Pickle Rick" was nominated for an Emmy for being an Outstanding Animated Program. Season 4 is currently underway so this may serve as a great promotion vehicle for Adult Swim and the creators of the show! It's great to see even outsandingly crazy wacked out cartoons like Rick and Morty are able to see the glory of winning an emmy. Who knows, maybe an Oscar is in order! As fans of the show, we congratulate the team for their hard work and we hope see Rick and Morty for 20... no 100 more seasons! WUBBA-LUBBA-DUBDUB!

Reboot Of Entertainment Blog Back!

Our sister site, Via Rosa Entertainment, is back online on Blogspot! This blog is ran by the same admin of this blog, and covers musicians and various other artists in and around Central Florida! They're aspiring vocalists, instrumentalists, painters, drawers, authors, etc. of different ages!

Please support this reboot of our old entertainment blog! Thanks everyone for supporting us here, we have lots more to come, thanks for your support!

Trump Begins Trade War, Russia & China Respond

Trump has officially begun the trade war with China, and now Russia has also responded, ultimately, this will have serious ramifications for the global community.

President Donald Trump has been a strong proponent in advancing US job growth, but has been favoring a protectionist idealism instead of a purely capitalist position. Protectionism, naturally, leads to more government oversight in the market, and tends to prop up certain businesses who benefit from particular favors from politicians. Examples of protectionism could be the funding of Solyndra, and Fisker Motors by the Obama Administration which led to mass layoffs and even the closure of Solyndra which has resulted in the US lowing millions of dollars on a shady investment. One of Obama's many scandals...

Donald Trump Has The Lowest Unemployment Rate... but... | Read More...

Propping up big steel, and big farms in the US will actually have some serious economic ramifications, especially for those who are homeless, living in poverty, or are within the lower class. Prices of goods always seem to increase when protectionism expands, protectionism is just a short term gain that leads to long term loss, especially if the investment is unsuccessful. It is a gamble. Other than domestic problems, we now have to deal with Trump's trade war which will make the situation worse.

Trump fulfilled his word on imposing tariffs on $34 billion worth of Chinese goods. China has retaliated against the Trump administration by imposing a similar tariff of 25% on over 500 US products, which includes automobiles. Russia is responding to the tariffs by subsidizing Russian alternatives to US products (like construction equipment, businesses that work with oil, gas and energy, etc). China officials have been on record stating they do not wish to have a trade war with the United States, but now that Trump is pushing their hand, China feels they, and their allies, must retaliate against a very economically aggressive American regime. Notably, not only has Trump expanded tariffs on China and Russia, Trump has also notably put tariffs on Canada, Mexico and even the European Union! Notable corporations like BMW have publicly stated that they will not be able to maintain operations with China if the Trade war expands throughout the EU.

Donald Trump Wants Death Penalty For Drug Dealers? | Read More...

The trade war is a downright risky move, but some risks may have large rewards. If this plays out horribly, the reward may be a full blown hot war (at worst), and at best in a horrible scenario, we would suffer yet another global recession.

How do you feel about Donald Trump's trade war?

Connecticut Man Attacked, Defends Himself, Goes To Jail

Jeffrey Sumpter, a 21 year old Bridgeport resident, was convicted of Felony 1st-degree assault after defending himself with a knife, while at work, from 3 teenage attackers. Sumpter was sentenced to 18 months in jail by the Stamford courthouse.

Gun Rights Are Necessary For A Free Society | Read More...

"I was defending myself," says Sumpter, when asked his thoughts on his case. Sumpter was attacked by 3 teens while at work, and managed to stab one of the attackers with his knife, which led to Sumpter's arrest. Unlike "Stand Your Ground" states like Florida, Connecticut disallows lethal force if you are capable of escaping. Given the circumstances of dealing with teens, and being attacked by multiple individuals, the judgement seems like an injustice, but it was argued that the use of a knife could be considered lethal force and also a key detail is that Sumpter left the Dunkin Donuts and approached the attackers, which worked against his case according to the law. Sumpter's 18 month sentence comes with 3 years of probation where some are calling this sentence absolutely cruel and unjustified (including myself).

Donald Trump's Trade War Has Begun! Read More...

Sumpter was working at a Norwalk, Connecticut Dunkin Donuts and attacked, 'jumped', by three teens in October of 2017, and all for defending himself, Sumpter is now a 1st-degree felon for "assaulting" someone who attacked him. In my personal opinion, obviously, this is completely unjust and the law was completely wrong in dealing with this particular case, regardless if Sumpter did go outside, no one is justified in attacking you unjustly. This is another example where criminal justice is completely broken in the United States. Making self defense like this illegal should be abolished!

Florida Will Now Have A Crypto Czar

Jimmy Patronis, the Florida Chief Financial Officer, has outlined a plan to quell fraudulent scams that are rampant in the ICO marketplace as government agencies expand adoption of cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin in Florida. There are numerous ICO's that are currently under investigation as the government struggles to determine whether cryptocurrencies are just useless tokens, or commodities and securities!

This is an excerpt from Jimmy's statement on the matter, titled: "Florida Needs Cryptocurrency Oversight"

"We cannot allow the cryptocurrency industry to expand in Florida unfettered and unchecked with the potential for so many, including our large population of seniors, to be exploited..."

...although, I particularly generally agree with him that people should be protected from fraud but I don't think the government has jurisdiction on the majority of cases and I feel as if private enterprise could handle this dispute better. Personally, all individuals should be responsible for their own terrible investments, but sometimes the media likes to blame others. Patronis has offered to appoint someone for oversight, some are calling it a Crypto Czar in Florida, which will handle major disputes between securities, and commodity trading/investing when it comes to ICO's and other popular cryptocurrencies.

Cryptocurrency use is expanding within Florida, especially for counties near popular beaches, near Tallahassee, Miami, and Orlando! Recently, in May, Seminole County Tax Collector (of Florida) became the first US government agency to announce that it will accept cryptocurrency for payments, such as, Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash! You may be able to use Bitcoin to pay for government services such as paying property taxes, getting a drivers license or an ID card, replacing tags and getting a new vehicle title, etc! The agency serves the community within parts of the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford metropolitan, and has partnered up with Bitpay and will begin rolling out crypto-use later this Summer!

Will you begin adopting Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies? How do you feel about cryptocurrencies being accepted as a payment method for government services?

Steemit Temporarily Frozen!

The popular social networking cryptocurrency-based website, Steemit, is undergoing emergency maintenance as it seems the Steemit website and the Steem currency has paused all transactions.

The Steemit dev team on Twitter stated that they are aware of the issue and are going to release a patch soon. This hiccup may negatively affect Steemit in the market as the day goes on after seeing quite strong gains after Steemit recently bottomed out. Rumors have suggested that the CEO of Steemit is actually cashing out a lot of his holdings.

Not looking good for now, hopefully you guys can get things rolling smoothly again.. https://t.co/9n4ITIpkDS

— Luchiano (@ese_cholito) July 3, 2018

Blocktrades currently has Steem "under maintenance" as Steemit users won't have a legit way to withdraw their Steem for Dogecoin or Bitcoin! Steem and Steem dollars (an including Steem Power) is affected by the latest problem! All posts on Steemit have also paused, the last reported Steemit post was posted over 6 hours ago and logging onto Steemit may redirect you to a 504 error/disconnection error.

Please notify us if things change!

[UPDATE 3 AM 7-4-2018: Steemit site back online, Blocktrades exchange between Steem+Steem Dollars against Bitcoin, Dogecoin, and Ethereum active!]

US Jobs Report: Trump Has Lowest Unemployment Rate But...

The recent US Jobs Report has been released and it shows very positive numbers for Donald Trump.

Donald Trump has been touting statistics that reveal that his policies and advocacy for more protectionist legislation has helped out unemployment numbers, especially to black Americans. The Unemployment rate fell, overall, from 4.8%, when Donald Trump was first inaugurated, to 3.8% (present day). This is a very successful win, and Donald Trump has been trailing behind Obama's job numbers by a decreasing deficit. Donald Trump does seem to be on track to having a strong economic comeback.

The main issue with these numbers is the labour participation rate, which has fallen from 62.9% (Since Trump's inauguration day) to 62.7%. Unemployment has dramatically fallen, but that statistic doesn't include people who have been looking for work for more than a year, or who have stopped looking for work all together. It's not so reliable, but the labour participation rate shed's some light on how the media can manipulate a particular narrative.

#JobsReport Since Donald Trump's inauguration, the labour participation rate fell from 62.9% to 62.7%🤷‍♂️ #MAGA pic.twitter.com/YQ6AvuVLts

— Luchiano (@ese_cholito) June 1, 2018

Donald Trump has been making some rash economic and militaristic moves, and its having a toll on the entire marketplace. Stocks may boom, but jobs numbers only show so much, the economy is stagnant at this point. The CPI (inflation rate) and the GDP growth has not been showing strong growth for the US economy, and these labour participation rate numbers are worse than Obama's numbers. Time will tell if this turns around.

Blue Origin Orbital Rocket May Get Support From US Military

Blue Origin is currently competing against SpaceX, ULA (United Launch Alliance) and Orbital ATK for future Air Force contracts to produce newer orbital-class rockets.

If successful for Blue Origin, this will certify Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket for future US National Security missions. ULA, who has long held contracts with the US military, had also helped Blue Origin produce the BE-4 engine that will be used within the New Glenn rocket. ULA had also won previous funding opportunities for Air Force projects, which will help Blue Origin in the long run. SpaceX, Orbital ATK and Aerojet Rocketdyne had also received funding in 2016 for advances in rocket propulsion, Blue Origin respectively is currently working on getting their first major US military contract.

In 2019 the Air Force is set to choose only two private companies to seal a private-public partnership for future national security missions. ULA has held the title as being the military's favorite provider, while SpaceX brought back the space race,but there's no telling where Blue Origin will takes these contracts. If they end up landing the 2019 deal, then Blue Origin just may be a household name. Blue Origin isn't in direct competition to SpaceX or ULA but Blue Origin is looking to capitalize wherever it's most efficient for them.

Trump Orders Strike On Syria With France and UK

Donald Trump has just confirmed that France and the UK will join the US military on a strike on Syrian "chemical targets". The US claims Bashar al-Assad's regime was behind the chemical attack in Douma, near Damascus (the capitol of Syria), which had claimed the lives of more than 40 people on April 7, 2018.

Is Donald Trump Supporting Islamic Jihad? Read More...

Syria, who is allied with Russia and supported by China, has been blamed for multiple gas attacks that have occurred throughout the Syrian civil war, but it has yet to have been proven. In fact, there is more evidence that shows it was the United States backed rebels that committed these atrocities under the Obama administration in 2013, which it seem history is repeating itself under the Trump administration.

Many supporters of Trump have applauded his actions and his toughness against the Syrian regime while others are puzzled by the actions of Trump as they mirror the actions of Obama when handling allegations of chemical attacks. There has not been any official deceleration by any non-partisan investigators that confirm that the Syrian government was behind the chemical attacks.

Trump Bans Venezuela Cryptocurrency? Read More...

This could lead to some major problems between the United States and Russia, and may even effect our already rocky relationship with China. Beijing and Damascus do have a fair relationship, Beijing has even offered to assist Syria in reconstruction as the civil war (which is currently being won by Assad) was slowly coming to an end but this action by the United States may end that deal.

Russia, who has called for multiple international investigations over these chemical attack allegations, has repeated for the US to not attack its military ally, Syria, or face repercussions. Russian and US relations are deteriorating quickly over these past few administrations, which return us to a high tension point which could lead to another cold war.

Donald Trump is treading in dangerous waters with war hawks. China and Russia have gone on the defensive with Trump pushing too strongly. This may lead to some serious economic tension between these economic powerhouses.

Should Transgenders Compete In Opposite-Sex Sports?

Certain people are concerned that there are transgender students competing at school sport competitions. The most recent complaint had to do with a pre-op girl who believe's he's a boy, is that fine?

This person, Mack Beggs, ended up holding the title for the school's female wrestling season for 2 years, even though he's been taking testosterone injections. The school has allowed this 'boy' to compete in a "girls league" because the district had ruled that students must compete in leagues according to the gender identified in their birth certificate's. Essentially, meaning even a post-operation boy can compete in full physical-contact sports within a female league.

Naturally, this has caused quite a stir within the more conservative, traditional crowd. Many believe they should compete in leagues according to their birth gender, which has caused many progressive communities to oppose it as every individual has their own particular case and are affected differently (emotionally, psychologically, etc). Lots of people see a problem with transgender students competing in the "wrong league", I am not one of them.

It seems as though many people on both sides of the argument are ignoring a key point to all of this. Did these transgender students break any of the rules, or break any serious rules (ones that normally can be applied with exceptions)? For the most part, there hasn't been any serious rules broken, not even with taking testosterone injections (in some cases). Transgender athletes have been following the rules, and have accepted that they must fall into one gender based league or the other, but conflicted groups and emotions are causing problems for these gifted students.

Personally, I believe that there shouldn't be a league for different genders for most sports. I'd like to see a professional basketball league with female/male players (including transgenders, etc), competing for the MVP of the year. Not only in basketball but football, soccer... hell, even boxing and mixed martial arts. I think individuals have a lot to prove, and if people really do believe they are the best or have the best skills in their particular field, then they should prove it and out compete the best in their field.. regardless of sex.

Just like the transgender bathroom debate, the transgender sports debate is just petty. There is a simple fix, but people want to make things complicated. Let's make these leagues more progressive, so long as the competitors can compete. What do you all think?

Former Supreme Court Judge: Repeal The Second Amendment

Former Supreme Court judge, John Paul Stevens, has called for the United States to repeal the 2nd Amendment from the US Federal Constitution, which protects an individuals right to have guns.

Gun Rights Are Necessary For A Free Society... Read More...

John Paul Stevens wrote an opinion article for, none other than the most trustworthy news source, the NY Times, where he expanded on his thoughts on expanding gun control. Stevens suggested that the demonstrations from the March For Our Rights rallies demand our respect. He stated that, "[the demonstrations] reveal the broad public support for legislation to minimize the risk of mass killings of schoolchildren and others in our society.". Though, even with the support to minimize the risk of mass killings, these protesters inadvertently are supporting legislation which will lead to the death of more innocent people, even outside of mass shootings scenarios.

Read a similar article: Hillary Clinton Wants To Abolish The Electoral College

He suggested there is a lot of support to prohibit the sale of semiautomatic weapons, increasing the minimum age to buy a gun from 18-21, and establishing a more comprehensive background check system for all purchases of fire arms, which is debatable. Not all the protesters support all of these policy changes, some have called for a total ban of all guns. Stevens believes that repealing the Second Amendment would drastically lessen school shootings and mass murders, which is intellectually dishonest, as criminals will commit crimes regardless of the law. Stevens said that the "[2nd amendment] is a concern [that] is a relic of the 18th century", essentially stating that the 2nd amendment is irrelevant to today's society.

In 2008, John Paul Stevens opposed the ruling of District of Columbia v. Heller, and stated that "[this ruling] has provided the NRA with a propaganda weapon of immense power". He wishes to weaken the NRA by repealing the second amendment as he truly believes schoolchildren's lives would be safer with guns heavily regulated, even though schools have already banned guns from their property. I don't understand how he can believe repealing the second amendment would make us all safer?


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China's Space Station Crashing To Earth

China's first prototype space station, Tiangong-1, is currently on a trajectory course to crash to the earth. It will crash land sometime within a week, experts say around March 30th - April 2nd.

Tiangong-1 Space Station (an artist's illustration, CREDIT: CMSA)

The space shuttle launched from China on September 29, 2011. It placed in low Earth orbit at approximately 217 miles away from the surface, which it's orbit is slightly lower than the International Space Station. The Chinese space shuttle was meant for training, as first steps, for space docking which is a necessity for larger space missions and possible missions to Mars. It was not meant for a long-term permanent station.  It came with a manned laboratory, and experimental test-beds for docking purposes.

SpaceX Deleted Facebook Page? Read More...

Tiangong-1 is a single module space station which had received many major missions in 2011-2013, but has lost communication with flight controllers in 2016. Crews have not visited Tiangong-1 since 2013, there has also been another space station module the Tiangong-2 which was launched in 2016. The Tiangong-2 & 3 were set to replace T-1, and T-1 was supposed to be deorbited in 2013 but now the process has taken another turn.
Tiangong-1 is on an uncontrolled fall from orbit, but there is no projected damage as there is an extremely small risk of being struck by debris or having property damaged. The threat of being hit by any debris is extremely small. IADC predicted that Tiangong-1 will crash somewhere aroun 42.8° North and 42° South latitudes. Its a sad way to end the lifespan of technological advances but we look forward to future breakthroughs in the market.

Twitter CEO Praises Bitcoin After Banning Other Cyrptocurrencies

Twitter had recently banned cryptocurrency ICO's from their advertisement platform (Google banned cryptocurrencies and Facebook did as well), but now CEO of Twitter, Jack Dorsey has publicly praised Bitcoin and the blockchain.

Twitter CEO publicly stated that, "The world ultimately will have a single currency, the internet will have a single currency. I personally believe that it will be bitcoin. While the shift may take place over a period of ten years, it definitely is a big possibility."

Elon Musk Deletes SpaceX & Tesla Facebook Pages? Read More...

Dorsey and Twitter have a very negative view about ICO's as there has been more hysteria about scams and thieves within the market (which can happen). Initial coin offerings (ICOs) are very risky but can be very lucrative or very beneficial for businesses and investors, but some ICO project may never actually succeed in their goals, or some are out right terrible schemes. It's truly a gamble but many businesses have made their decisions about investing in ICO's.

I think Jack Dorsey supports bitcoin and using his role as CEO of Twitter to pave the way for Bitcoin, his public support for Bitcoin may change things.

YouTube Banning Gun Videos?

YouTube is now banning gun demonstration videos, and videos that promote the sale or purchase of firearm accessories.

After the major recent anti-gun hysteria and the tragic shootings, companies all over the US are polarized between supporting gun rights, and those advocating for sensible gun legislation. Google has made it clear where they stand on the gun debate. They don't want people to be informed about weapon accessories on their own website, and they do not want to be associated with any purchases of firearms or firearm accessories.

Updated YouTube Gun Policy

As a corporation they are free to do as they wish. This has angered and upset many pro-gun rights groups and many have already turned to alternatives and others are creating their own direct YouTube competitor. Real.video is one that has sprung from this ban by YouTube, it's a website that is still being developed, but people are unsure if it can even compete with YouTube's large market-share. Google had also recently banned cryptocurrency ads from their AdWords program. There are also others which emphasize the use of cryptocurrencies such as Viuly (its a relatively new cryptocurrency based video hosting site, proceed at your own risk).

Lately, Google has taken a more political tone. After being against SOPA, and several other intrusive bills within the US Congress, Google has been getting more involved with politics. Facebook, Twitter and Google are accused of mistreating american conservatives, and privacy advocates which has caused many community driven alternatives to expand. Google is becoming very protective of it's image and banning gun videos isn't going to make Google any friends and neither within the cryptocurrency space.

Personally, even though I am a strong advocate of gun rights, I personally wont make any moves against Google. Google is a reliable company, and even though their gun rights position and "free speech" position concerns me but honestly there aren't any very good competitors other than the main companies (Facebook, Twitter, Google), however I most certainly support an alternative to all these companies, so long as compensation is an option.

Elon Musk Deletes SpaceX and Tesla Facebook Pages

Elon Musk has had run-ins with Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, in the past but a recent scandal revolving around the 2016 Presidential election has pitted these two juggernauts against each other.

Many tweets from various organizations have called Elon Musk's bluff, claiming that he won't make the move to remove his companies off of Facebook. Before all this, Musk and Zuckerberg had an exchange with each other on the future of artificial intelligence and if we should be cautious. Musk has held the position we should be careful, but Zuckerberg finds him to be pessimistic about the future of artificial intelligence. They publicly denounced each others opinion's.

Google Has Banned Cryptocurrencies? Read more...

SpaceX also had an accident and destroyed a $200 million Facebook satellite, (SpaceX did offer Facebook [spacecom] a free trip for a next flight plan). The mission failed in 2016, and the satellite was housed within the Falcon 9 rocket. They may continue to make agreements in the future but recent revelations may shake things up.

Elon Musk ordered not only SpaceX and Tesla to shut down their official Facebook pages, but also Hyperloop (cross country high speed transportation system), and SolarCity (Solar panel and green energy alternatives). The action came after a huge data breach that happened yet again under Facebook's watch. Facebook took a hard with with multiple organizations after this scandal broke out. Many businesses are questioning Facebook's superiority and already seeking alternatives to their advertisement platform. Facebook is treading in very deep waters...

Donald Trump Is Not Racist!

Donald Trump is not racist at all. As a Latino, I did get upset when Donald Trump was making generally false accusations about Mexican illegal immigrants that came into the United States. I personally felt his action was tasteless and unbecoming of a President. A president directly insulted an entire national group, while labeling other Latinos and other illegal immigrants of other countries terrorists, drug addicts, and violent criminals... that doesn't sound too good. Sounds, downright wrong, especially today.

Yet, I can understand where there is a lot of disdain, and hatred for Donald Trump and his unfiltered mouth, I, personally, do not believe he is a racist. Donald Trump has a history of helping out the disenfranchised whether its hiring more people for his hotels (which typically are low paying jobs, unless you work in offices, or have engineering/hospitality experience) or making direct donations. This includes but is not limited to, Black Americans, and Latinos. His words in the media are generally either taken out of context or is it just him being a little bit hysterical and dramatic.

Naturally, we've heard about Trump's tweetstorms which come with some tantalizing glimpses of Donald Trump's intellect, which is very little, so we can expect Donny to lash out against someone or a group of people and generalize their movement pretty well. There's no such thing as bad publicity, Trump knows this. If there is something divisive, controversial, or even stereotypical, you bet Donald Trump is going to take advantage of the situation. That's how he is, in my opinion.

Donald Trump likes to shock people with his words, and he expects someone to reply. He likes the attention, and once he gets his attention he can reiterate his point or his position, so he can give people more clarity. Donald doesn't like to give up his secret plans to just anybody. He takes every opportunity he can get to bring his message out there to the public and best believe the media will repeat his words out of context which will bring his message to the masses.

With all the crazy stuff Donald Trump says, I do not believe for a second that he is genuine when it comes to people claiming he is racist or promotes discrimination. I think he is playing these people like a fiddle, and using their emotional impulses to his advantage so he can promote his own voice in the media. It's very clever, and Donald Trump is a fox when it comes to making deals and seeing alternatives to a solution. Trump says dumb things, but he's not really dumb... Trump says 'racist' things, but really... he isn't a racist at all. Don't fall for his tricks.

Bitcoin In A Rut!

Bitcoin has had a hard few months after reaching its high above $19,000 USD to falling below $6000 USD!

Bitcoin has suffered multiple blows thanks to cryptocurrency ICO scams, and multiple actions from businesses that are banning the use of their service because of tax reasons or trust. Recently, Twitter, Facebook and even Google has banned advertisements for cryptocurrencies, and some may even challenge those associated with Bitcoin itself. Many big banks have begun prohibiting the purchases of cryptocurrencies using their credit cards! Nothing but really strong terrible news has plagued bitcoin and the entire cryptocurrency scene.

Bitcoin is under a lot of scrutiny as of late, especially after collapsing from its all time high where some influential members of the financial community have called Bitcoin a scam. Such accusations have long been a part of Bitcoin, and yet, Bitcoin's value continues to stay considerably high.With bitcoin's volatility, it is still worth a lot of money, if 1 bitcoin was valued at 100$, or 1$ it would still carry a value. And if things carry a value, then naturally governments want a piece of it...

Bitcoin maybe has suffered some hit pieces in the media, and has taken bad hits with some organizations, but the worst thing about Bitcoin today is it's uncertainty with global governments. The US, Russia, and China have shown strong opposition to Bitcoin for various reasons, most notably drug related crimes, possibility of funding terrorism and tax evasion. In the US, things surely are heating up as the IRS wishes to hold more users accountable for their "unpaid taxes", while congress rushes to identify what exactly a cryptocurrency is and what is the appropriate way to tax it in the future and its alternative counterparts. Bank regulators and security regulators are debating on if Bitcoin is even viable as a currency, let alone an investment...

Bitcoin is stuck right now, although there are positive prospects for its value, Bitcoin today is going to have to face some serious changes within the community, especially for the cryptocurrency community as a whole. The laws, the scandals, and the accusations that are being pushed onto Bitcoin will have huge ramifications for our financial freedom and the future of Bitcoin itself. Many corporations like Twitter and Google are trying to protect their reputation by not working with scammy coins, but ultimately censoring us from seeing the alternative coins that are available. Governments are trying to force their regulations on a system that doesn't require their rules, and of course, it doesn't require their intrusion in the personal transactions of individuals.

Bitcoin is in a rut, but 2018 will be its breakout, and mass adoption will increase by 2020... we just have to ride through this foggy storm.