Free Republic

Reports that the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) has launched a criminal probe into potential illegal manipulation of cryptocurrency prices has seen bitcoin lose 3 percent this morning, down to just over $7,300 in the early morning hours. The DoJ, as reported by Bloomberg, is investigating illegal tactics of traders, including the issuing of fake orders for cryptocurrencies, causing their prices to go up and down artificially. In cooperation with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the DoJ is specifically probing what is commonly known in the trading world as “spoofing” and “washing”.

"The M5S and League have already agreed their government team and a government 'contract' including a basic income, flat tax, pension reform, and vows to renegotiate EU spending limits, expel half a million undocumented migrants, revise the TAV high-speed rail line with France, lift compulsory school vaccinations, scrap hundreds of 'useless' laws, and strike a new partnership with Russia" Italian News Agency ANSA report in English 5/23/2018 Prime Minister designate Giuseppe Conte, a law professor, stepped out of Italian President Sergio Mattarella's office last evening (Wednesday May 23rd) to proclaim that 'with reservations' he would move forward to organize a...

A 3D printing company is using technology to bring fast, flexible and affordable housing to Englewood. The company called 3D Build Systems plans to start printing homes by the summer of 2019. The printing process can assemble a home in a matter of hours. “It simplifies in many ways the way we construct a wall, but we can do it very quickly and with a pattern that can’t be done manually,” said Don Musilli, the CEO of 3D Build Systems. The building process would require a robot to sit in the center of the home and pour concrete or other...

Disney’s “Star Wars”-themed lands at its California and Florida resorts now have opening seasons. Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge will open first at Disneyland in Anaheim in the summer of 2019, followed by a late autumn opening for the one at Disney’s Hollywood Studios at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando. No other details were released. The 14-acre themed areas will represent a location on a planet called Batuu, which the company previously called “a remote outpost on the galaxy’s edge that was once a busy crossroads along the old sub-lightspeed trade routes.”(continued)

Law professor Giuseppe Conti will lead a new Italian government as President Sergio Mattarella gave consent for him to form a new government. Conti appeared before the media outside the president's office at 130pm Eastern (730pm Italian time) to make the announcement.

"So the international press and Italian press are going wild over presumed qualifications that Conte has never claimed to have" Statement from "Five Star Movement" in Italy May 22,2018 The Italian President Sergio Mattarella may decide tomorrow (Wednesday May 23rd) whether to accept a new coalitiion government of outside political parties (Five Star and League) led by Florence University law professor Giuseppe Conte. The Italian president held consultations today with the speakers of both houses of Italy's parliament. But Conte is being probed by mainstream media claiming he may have an "inflated resume" with the "New York Times" obtaining a...

Earlier this month, Jeff Bezos posted a Ralph Waldo Emerson quote to Twitter, writing: “Love this quote. It’s been on my fridge for years, and I see it every time I open the door. #Emerson.” Captured in an actual snapshot taped to his fridge, the quote reads: “To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.” The backlash from the Twitter mob was swift. “Beautiful passage. Pay your employees a living wage,...

FORT WORTH, TX — A large police and firefighter presence was seen Friday after a fire broke out in the women's shoe department of Sears Department Store around 11:00 a.m. Friday, various news outlets report. The fire has been extinguished, and arson investigators are working the scene, KXAS reported. The mall was evacuated and sealed off after the fire and remains closed to the public, the station reported. No injuries have been reported. Fort Worth Star-Telegram reporter Steven English said on Twitter the fire was started by an incendiary device but was quickly extinguished by store employees. The jailed suspect...

BRISTOL, Tenn. — A Hiring Expo is being held Thursday to fill more than 1,500 jobs currently available in the Bristol area by the Bristol Tennessee Industrial Development Board in conjunction with NETWORKS Sullivan Partnership. Bristol Tennessee Economic Development Director Tom Anderson said the expo will be the fourth hosted by the city. Previous events were held in May and October 2016 and September 2017. “Every year, we’ve had employers from different sectors seeking to fill positions,” Anderson said. “And this year is no different — there are current job openings in manufacturing, health care, education, customer service and many...

WOOD COUNTY, W.Va. — Ahead of a planned early 2019 Hino Motors Manufacturing plant opening at the former Coldwater Creek distribution facility in Wood County, hiring is underway for the truck assembly plant. “There’s going to be a lot of opportunity there and we want to make sure we have quite a few people available to fill their open positions,” said Katie Kelly, market manager for Manpower Parkersburg. The latest round of interviews came Tuesday during an open house at Manpower Parkersburg, 1047 Emerson Ave. Those who could not make by 5 p.m. Tuesday, though, have others options. Prospective workers...

Last November, AWS announced a new product called Amazon Sumerian, a toolkit and platform for developers to build “mixed reality” apps — that is, using virtual reality, augmented reality and 3D — without needing to have any specialised programming or graphics skills. And today, after running the service in a private beta for the last several months, Sumerian is now generally available. In addition to being able to build a mixed reality app, you can also deploy it without writing custom code, Amazon i says. The web-based editor also integrates with Amazon Lex for natural language and AI, Polly to...

•Drone start-up Zipline International conducts up to 500 drone flights a day, delivering packages accurately and without damage. •Zipline recently launched the world's fastest commercial drone. •The packages it delivers are blood bags for hard-to-reach areas in Rwanda, but Zipline's experience puts it ahead of tech giants like Amazon and Google that are also experimenting with drones for shipping....

POTTER TWP. — Shell Chemicals is hiring 40 production operators who will help run the company’s $6 billion ethane cracker plant once it’s operational early next decade. Spokesman Joe Minnitte said Tuesday that the job postings are the “first grouping” aimed at local residents who are interested in working at the plant in Potter Township. The production operators will monitor and control equipment and will also be expected to work in other operations there, according to the job posting. The posting noted that the production operator shifts will vary while the plant is starting up operations. For instance, operators will...

Dead malls are popping up all over the states, particularly in the Midwest, where economic decline has sped up the "going out of business" process. This map, put together by a Dead Malls Enthusiasts Facebook group, shows that well. As Americans are faced with multiple shopping options and more stores are leaving malls, it should be interesting to see if malls and mall culture will survive. What you are about to see is what happens when malls are abandoned. It's apocalyptic and really, really creepy....

If it weren’t for Chicago politicians and "experts," Illinois would be a great place to live. I grew up just north of Chicago, and it’s a shame to see how much worse the “Land of Lincoln” has become since leaving. Many other Illinois residents have left the state in the last few years, more than any other state in the country. With this latest report that three Chicago economists have proposed, the overtaxed populace of Illinois — whether they stay or try to leave Illinois — should pay increased property taxes in order to fund the State of Illinois’ “very...

On 15 May, 2018, the Boulder, Colorado city council unanimously passed an ordinance banning the possession of various firearms and accessories.  The ordinance is so new that it has not shown up in the municipal code yet. The ordinance is voluminous and detailed. The brief for the ordinance cites several biased and partisan "studies" to attempt to make the case to pass the ordinance. The ordinance likely violates Colorado's preemption statute and State and Federal Constitutional protections.  The ordinance casts a wide net. Legal pushback, in the form of a lawsuit, followed shortly after passage, as opponents to the...

PLANO (WBAP/KLIF News) — Days after Arlington pulled out of the bid for becoming the site of Amazon’s next headquarters, the City of Plano says it still believes it’s in the running. Plano Mayor Harry LaRosiliere told WFAA TV’s “Inside Texas Politics” he hasn’t heard otherwise. “They’ve been pretty hush. The rumors have been out there, so I don’t know,” LaRosiliere said. “We’d love to have them. What mayor wouldn’t want to create so many jobs for their community?” LaRosiliere, who has been the city’s mayor since 2013, added that even if Plano loses out, he hopes Amazon picks the...

www.superoffice.com/blog/gdpr/ Companies tell you that they collect this type of information so that they can serve you better, offer you more targeted and relevant communications, all to provide you with a better customer experience. But, is that what they really use the data for? This is the question that has been asked and answered by the EU, and why in May 2018 a new European privacy regulation called GDPR will be enforced and permanently change the way you collect, store and use customer data. In a study of more than 800 IT and business professionals that are responsible for data...

Australian company Titomic has unveiled what it claims is the world's largest metal 3D printer at its fully automated Melbourne facility. Utilizing a patented process co-developed with Australian federal scientific research agency the CSIRO, the 3D metal printer boasts a build area 9 m long, 3 m wide and 1.5 m high (29.5 x 9.8 x 4.9 ft), however the printing process isn't constrained to this booth size, meaning it could be used to print even larger objects. The unit prints layer by layer like existing 3D printers, but rather than relying on metal powders that are fused using extreme...

In a bid to discourage what it alleges is "wage slavery," the Seattle City Council voted to levy an annual tax of $275 on each person employed in the City by companies grossing $20 million or more. The originally proposed tax rate of $500 was reduced after Mayor Jenny Durkan threatened a veto. Council member Kshama Sawant says he is disappointed the tax isn't higher. "Man's preferred state is leisure," he said. "Forcing people to give up their leisure in order to obtain the means needed to survive is a crime against humanity. The $500 levy was an opening bid...