Bitcoin, Blockchain, And Local Currencies

Dear Friend,

The bitcoin bubble has discredited the entire blockchain currencies. Is it the reality? Does it resemble the dotcom boom? There is more emancipatory aspect to the blockchain currency model than the bitcoin bubble. As Tad Montgomery rightly puts "There is a saying going around, ‘the Bitcoin blockchain is to Ethereum what email is to the internet.’ " The blockchain model is only evolving there will be more to come, that can challenge the monopoly of fiat currencies. 

Somalia is going through one of its worst famines in history. Yet, the Pentagon has submitted operational plans to the White House which outline at least two years of combat operations in Somalia against the militant group Al-Shabaab. The plans coincide with AFRICOM’s ramped-up campaign of airstrikes in Somalia, carrying out 32 so far in 2017, more than twice the number conducted the previous year. In November, AFRICOM bombed an alleged Al-Shabaab training camp, killing more than 100.

83 % of US  voters oppose the FCC plan to overturn net neutrality. There is still hope to stop it. Only thing is that we have to act urgently. You can go to https://battleforthenet.com/ and send a message to your lawmakers.

Also more stories from around the world. 

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Binu Mathew

Editor

Countercurrents.org

Bitcoin, Blockchain, And Local Currencies

by Tad Montgomery 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/12/16/bitcoin-blockchain-and-local-currencies/

There is a saying going around, ‘the Bitcoin blockchain is to Ethereum what email is to the internet.’ 

AFRICOM Envisions Two Years Of Open-Ended Warfare In Somalia

by Eddie Haywood 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/12/16/africom-envisions-two-years-of-open-ended-warfare-in-somalia/

The Pentagon has submitted operational plans to the White House which outline at least two years of combat operations in Somalia against the militant group Al-Shabaab. The plans coincide with AFRICOM’s ramped-up campaign of airstrikes in Somalia, carrying out 32 so far in 2017, more than twice the number conducted the previous year. In November, AFRICOM bombed an alleged Al-Shabaab training camp, killing more than 100.

India’s Volte-Face In US Embassy Shift Row

by Dr Sriram Kannekanti 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/12/16/indias-volte-face-in-us-embassy-shift-row/

There was a paradigm shift in India’s foreign policy on Israel – Palestine conflict after the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) headed by Narendra Modi came into power. 70 years of India’s independent years no Prime Minister visited Israel as it has been reluctant to bind Two State theory

Net Neutrality Repeal Is Only Part of Trump’s Surrender to Corporate Media

by Reed Richardson 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/12/16/net-neutrality-repeal-is-only-part-of-trumps-surrender-to-corporate-media/

The FCC is under attack—and so too is the First Amendment. As the primary regulator of how media and information gets to our nation’s citizens, the Federal Communications Commission has a critical role to play in protecting the open Internet, free speech, and free press in our democracy. Though the agency has always enjoyed a cozy relationship with the industries it regulates, ever since the Trump administration arrived in Washington, the FCC’s mission to preserve the public commons has been threatened, assaulted and torn asunder. And like a bad horror movie cliché, these calls to eviscerate the FCC have been coming from inside the agency.

We Can Get The FCC’s Decision To Kill Net Neutrality Overturned. Here’s How.

by Evan Greer 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/12/16/we-can-get-the-fccs-decision-to-kill-net-neutrality-overturned-heres-how/

The FCC voted Thursday to repeal all existing net neutrality protections. They are giving giant ISPs like Verizon and Comcast the power to control what we can see and do online with new fees, throttling, and censorship. This will ruin the fundamentally open nature of the internet. This fight isn’t over though, there is still a clear path to victory.

A Story of Two Blockades: New York City And Yemen

by Brian Terrell 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/12/16/a-story-of-two-blockades-new-york-city-and-yemen/

On December 11, in response to the growing humanitarian crisis in Yemen, more than 50 concerned people including representatives of various peace, justice and human rights organizations and communities, gathered in New York City’s Ralph Bunche Park, across First Avenue from the United Nations

Rebellion in Munich: Sophie Scholl- The Final Days

by Gaither Stewart 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/12/16/rebellion-in-munich-sophie-scholl-the-final-days/

My generation has seen that history does repeat itself. We know world wars I and II and we have seen “regime change” in action from country to country, from Libya to Iraq. Those who think that history does not repeat itself might read some of these lines about what once happened and what is happening today.

Recommendation For The Fissured Workplace In A Fragmented Society, Part I

by Richard Oxman 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/12/16/recommendation-for-the-fissured-workplace-in-a-fragmented-society-part-i/

Half a century ago, at the peak of the postwar boom, large employers took direct responsibility for their workers. Today, Weil reports, about one worker in three is hired not by the corporation identified with the product but by someone else, and the connection between employer and employee is fractured.

The Coming Crash

by Sally Dugman 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/12/16/the-coming-crash/

I’m looking forward to the crash despite that it is scary. The sooner that it happens — the sooner that we can get on with the business of making transition towns de-globalize and de-industrialize

Indian Middle Class : A Breed Of Cringeworthy Platitudes

by Suraj Kumar Thube 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/12/16/indian-middle-class-a-breed-of-cringeworthy-platitudes/

Well, we concur with whatever reasons the establishment has to give. We deserve special mention awards in pliant and sycophantic citizenship for successfully managing to preserve the status quo.  Maybe the ‘ Most robust platitude’ award?

Muslim Women Are Defying Stereotypes

by Moin Qazi

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/12/16/muslim-women-are-defying-stereotypes/

A dispassionate analysis will reveal that vested interests in all societies, particularly those driven by patriarchal values, have resisted the upliftment of women and have failed to concede them the legitimate rights they have been guaranteed by their respective faiths, communities and States. This distortion, however, should not deflect focus from some path-breaking and stellar contributions of Muslim women not just to Islamic civilisation but to the secular society as well.

Triple Talaq…Crime?

by Mirza Yawar Baig  

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/12/16/triple-talaq-crime/

Given all of the above I wonder what the government really intends by proposing to make triple Talaq a criminal offence. Especially since now the Supreme Court has ruled that even if triple Talaq is pronounced, it will amount to only one revocable Talaq, in accordance incidentally, with Islamic law.