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MiamiHerald July 25, 2016 Judge ruled: Bitcoin is not actually money
In a case closely watched in financial and tech circles, Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Teresa Mary Pooler ruled that Bitcoin was not backed by any government or bank, and was not “tangible wealth” and “cannot be hidden under a mattress like cash and gold bars.”

A Miami-Dade judge ruled Monday that Bitcoin is not actually money, a decision hailed by proponents of the virtual currency that has become popular across the world.

In a case closely watched in financial and tech circles, the judge threw out the felony charges against website designer Michell Espinoza, who had been charged with illegally transmitting and laundering $1,500 worth of Bitcoins. He sold them to undercover detectives who told him they wanted to use the money to buy stolen credit-card numbers.

But Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Teresa Mary Pooler ruled that Bitcoin was not backed by any government or bank, and was not “tangible wealth” and “cannot be hidden under a mattress like cash and gold bars.”

“The court is not an expert in economics; however, it is very clear, even to someone with limited knowledge in the area, the Bitcoin has a long way to go before it the equivalent of money,” Pooler wrote in an eight-page order.

The judge also wrote that Florida law — which says someone can be charged with money laundering if they engage in a financial transaction that will “promote” illegal activity — is way too vague to apply to Bitcoin.  read more »

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Fox July 30, 2016 - In 1955, Eisenhower signed a bill that mandated all U.S. currency and coins bear the inscription "In God We Trust," but it wasn't officially adopted as the national motto until one year later.
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Image courtesy Wikipedia

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National Geographic July 18, 2016 - Although the feat has yet to be certified by Guinness World Records, Indian officials have reported that volunteers planted a whopping 49.3 million tree saplings on July 11, blowing past the previous record for most trees planted in a single day.

That record of 847,275 trees was set by Pakistan in 2013.

A reported 800,000 volunteers from Uttar Pradesh worked for 24 hours planting 80 different species of trees along roads, railways, and on public land. The saplings were raised on local nurseries.
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Photo courtesy Rajesh Kumar Singh / Associated Press

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March 20, 2016 - When Pierro asked the TV star why he endorsed The Donald, Baio replied @ScottBaio replied: "It's very simple… the things that he[Trump]'s saying are just common sense stuff." Actor Scott Baio, who last month endorsed Donald Trump for president, wants the billionaire in charge of the country because it does not take a "political decoder ring" to decode what the businessman is saying.
"He's a straight shooter when he talks to me," the 55-year-old "Happy Days" and "Charles in Charge" star said Sunday morning on Fox News. "When he talks, I understand him." "It's a very sort of direct language," Baio said. "I don't need a political decoder ring to understand what the guy is saying."  read more »

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On July 4, 1776, The Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Second Continental Congress meeting at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which announced that the thirteen American colonies, then at war with the Kingdom of Great Britain, regarded themselves as thirteen newly independent sovereign states, and no longer under British rule. Instead they formed a new nation—the United States of America. John Adams was a leader in pushing for independence, which was passed on July 2 with no opposing vote cast. A committee of five had already drafted the formal declaration, to be ready when Congress voted on independence. The term "Declaration of Independence" is not used in the document itself.

John Adams persuaded the committee to select Thomas Jefferson to compose the original draft of the document, which Congress would edit to produce the final version. The Declaration was ultimately a formal explanation of why Congress had voted on July 2 to declare independence from Great Britain, more than a year after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War. The next day, July 3, John Adams wrote to his wife Abigail: "The Second Day of July 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America." But the national birthday, Independence Day, is celebrated on July 4, the date that the Declaration of Independence was signed.  read more »

Roger Federer reached a winners landmark in his opening round win. No one in #Wimbledon history has hit more...

"His story is exactly what our sport needs sometimes" - Roger Federer on his 2R opponent, Marcus Willis

Wimbledon Championships 2016 opens June 27 in Wimbledon, London.

Image courtesy @Wimbledon and outdoorblog.it

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NBC News 24 Jun 2016 While the prospect of a Brexit triggering other countries in Europe to follow suit and decide to leave is not an immediate one it would "certainly sow seeds of doubt," according to Paolo Dardanelli, senior lecturer in comparative politics and acting director of the Center for Federal Studies at the University of Kent.

"Denmark and Sweden would be the ones to watch in particular, as their position would be significantly weakened," Dardanelli added via email. "You could argue that the conversation about this could be different in a place like Denmark, or Sweden or the Netherlands, where you're looking at countries with well-functioning political institutions, and economies that are doing fairly well," Nickel said.

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Image courtesy VoxEurop and NBC News