The vocal talents of Home Free never cease to amaze as they bring their stylings to cover John Mayer’s “In the Blood.”

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In the aftermath of the Earthquake and Tsunami in Japan, another crisis is erupting. The Wall Street Journal has reported that a “Japan Nuclear Reactor May Be in Meltdown”.

Japanese nuclear authorities said Saturday afternoon that a nuclear reactor about 150 miles north of Tokyo may be experiencing a meltdown after Friday’s massive earthquake damaged its cooling systems.

..

Radiation levels aren’t supposed to rise in a control room, which is designed to allow operators to continue working during emergencies and is equipped with filtration systems and other design features to protect workers from radiation exposure.

..

Reactors have containment domes to catch any release. But there is always the chance that an earthquake could create cracks or other breaches in that containment system.

 

Japanese Nuclear Crisis Status Summary

We’ll be pulling the most relevant and verified information from the timeline to keep a single updated status on on the Nuclear emergency in Japan:

Fukushima Daiichi Facility

3 reactors at the Fukushima no. 1 facility are experiencing serious cooling issues and may be melting down (nos. 1, 2, & 3). None of the reactor pressure vessels have been compromised, despite several explosions.

• Saturday (U.S.)
  • The six nuclear reactors at Fukushima are experiencing cooling issues, but it is the Fukushima Daiichi No. 1 and No. 3 reactors that have or are experiencing probable fuel rod meltdown.
  • The first explosion at a non-reactor building at Fukushima was likely caused  by the make-shift cooling attempt. Water was pushed into the reactor chamber where it became superheated. The water separated into Hydrogen and Oxygen gas and when it was vented, the highly volatile Hydrogen gas ignited and exploded
  • Unit #3 has experienced a Hydrogen explosion (similar to what happened at reactor #1)
  • Both reactors are being flooded with a sea water and boron mixture to hopefully cool them
  • Up to 160 people have shown outward signs of radiation exposure resulting from the Fukushima plant crisis
• Monday (U.S.)
  • The #2 reactor at the same plant now reportedly has fuel rods completely exposed (not to the atmosphere, just no water covering any part of them) – steam pressure likely winning the battle *see Feed and Bleed: Fukushima Reactor Cooling Still Dicey
  • Fukushima No. 2 reactor’s fuel rods fully exposed, melting feared
  • sea water pumping has resumed at #2 – fuel rods partially covered now
  • Massive explosion may have ruptured pressure vessel at #2 reactor. Report of radiation 10,000 times normal levels
  • Japanese officials stating that the reactor container appears damaged, suspicion is that damage is in the suppression pool

Onagawa Facility

• Sunday (U.S.)
  • A state of emergency has been declared at a nuclear power plant in Onagawa, Japan, where excessive radiation levels have been recorded following Friday’s massive earthquake, the United Nations’ atomic watchdog agency said Sunday

Tokai No. 2 Facility

• Sunday (U.S.)
  • The Fire and Disaster Management Agency said a cooling system pump stopped operating at Tokai No. 2 Power Statio

 

As we did with the quake and Tsunami, we will continue to follow this with an up-to-the-minute Timeline.

Japan Nuclear Crisis Timeline all times in U.S. EST (Japan is +13hrs)

Due to incredible web traffic, the timeline has been temporarily suspended. We are working to restore this functionality by adding more server capacity. Content to be manually updated until servers brought online.

 

3-24 11:09p

TEPCO detected zirconium 95 at 0.23 Bq 330m south of Fukushima-1 drainage outlet on Wednesday which indicates that the the cladding around the fuel is melting into a drainage outlet. Read this to understand melt down and cladding.

3-14 8:03p

TEPCO detects radiation of 8,217 micro sievert per hour, 8 times annual limit (09:03 Japan time) – that’s 8 years worth of radiation in one hour

TEPCO: All workers being evacuated except those critical for trying to cool the reactor.

3-14 7:50p

Higher radiation levels measured in Ibaraki — south of Fukushima

A check of weather in the Fukushima prefecture shows wind coming from the North and blowing south. Ibaraki radiation levels would most-likely be from the Fukushima plant

3-14 7:04p

Kyodo and Japanese officials state that a massive explosion has occurred at Fukushima plant no. 1 reactor #2. Radiation levels are reported to be 10,000 times normal (unconfirmed) and there is growing concern that the pressure vessel may be compromised.

Japanese government officials state:

“Part of the container of a troubled nuclear reactor appears to be damaged, the Japanese government said early Tuesday, indicating possible serious radiation leaks.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano told reporters that “damage appears on the suppression pool” — the bottom part of the container, which contains water used to cool down the reactor and control air pressure inside.

But we have not recorded any sudden jump in radiation indicators” – theage.com

3-13 10:29p

Hydrogen blast occurs at Fukushima nuke plant’s No. 3 reactor – residents near nuke plants ordered inside.

3-13 10:20p

Gray smoke spotted at stricken Fukushima Dai-ichi reactor

Also: Kyodo breaking news ticker: “Tsunami observed off Fukushima Pref.” – that’s where this reactor is

3-13 9:45p

U.S. Helicopters detect radiation 60 miles from Fukushima plant that experienced a partial meltdown. Concern over a wider problem growing.

3-13 6:36p

Radiation level again tops legal limit at Fukushima No. 1 nuke plant

The radiation level at a quake-hit nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture has again exceeded the legal limit, Tokyo Electric Power Co. reported to the government Monday.

The Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant has been shut down since a magnitude 9.0 quake struck northeastern and eastern Japan on Friday, but some of its reactors have lost their cooling functions, leading to brief rises in the radiation level on Saturday and Sunday

From – Kyodo

3-13  2:25p

Official death toll in Japan is 1,597 although unofficial projections say more than 10,000 people may have perished in the disaster.

CNN:

The death toll from the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan late last week rose to 1,597, with hundreds more missing, authorities said early Monday.

Kyodo:

The death toll from Friday’s devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit northeastern and eastern Japan will likely surpass 10,000, the Miyagi police chief said Sunday as Japan grapples with widespread damage and a crisis at one of two affected nuclear plants.

3-13  12:29p

A third nuclear power facility, Tokai no. 2,  is experiencing cooling problems ..

The Fire and Disaster Management Agency said a cooling system pump stopped operating at Tokai No. 2 Power Station, a nuclear power plant, in the village of Tokai, Ibaraki Prefecture. – Kyodo

Tokai is just east of Osaka, Japan just off of Ise Bay

3-23 6:56p

Sky News: Japan: 200,000 Evacuated From Near Reactors

Around 200,000 people have been evacuated from near two Japanese nuclear power stations as fear spreads of radiation exposure.
Nine people had already shown possible exposure to radiation at the quake-hit Fukushima nuclear power plants.
But the figure may reach as high as 160, an official from the Japan Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency told a news conference.

read more: http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Video-Japan-Quake-Nuclear-Power-Plant-Emergencies-After-Japan-Earthquake-And-Tsunami-Reactor-Risk/Article/201103215950844

3-12 6:10p

Dept of Energy educational material on nuclear reactors – Fukushima’s two troubled units are:

Unit 1:  Generation I, uranium fueled light water reactor

Unit 3:  Generation I, plutonium-MOX (mixed-oxide) fueled light water reactor

http://www.ne.doe.gov/students/electra_reactors.html

The plutonium MOX-fueled reactor would be more potentially hazardous to the environment and people should a catastrophic failure occur. Both reactors currently have failed cooling systems.

3-12 8:48am

Japanese government handing out Iodine near nuclear plant that exploded. http://bit.ly/ekG2jl

Iodine can be used to help protect the body from radioactive exposure.

In Japan on Saturday, radiation leaked from a damaged nuclear reactor after an explosion blew the roof off in the wake of the massive earthquake, but the government insisted that radiation levels were low.

Japan’s Jiji news agency later said three workers suffered radiation exposure near the Fukushima nuclear plant.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/12/quake-japan-iaea-iodine-idUSLDE72B0AM20110312

3-12 5:22am

Video of japan plant explosion

3-12 1:32a

Evacuation status near probably site of Japanese reactor meltdown:

(translation from Japan’s nuclear emergency site):

Evacuation situations ○ (now 13:20 on March 12)

Ookuma people to know the town (about 4,000), completion of approximately 3,500
Futabachō people to know (about 2,000), completion of approximately 1,800 people
Tomiokachō people to know (about 16 000 people) completed approximately 15 500 people out of
Namie people to know the city (about 17 000 people) is almost complete
Naraha people to know the town (about 7800 people) finished 9-8 percent of

• Completion of the evacuation, not yet.
– Once the shelter is full, will be evacuated to different evacuation centers.

 

 

A new report released today highlights the hidden dangers to retail stemming from online businesses, such as Amazon’s new Prime Wardrobe, Trunk Club, Stitch Fix, Warby Parker, and ASOS, which have introduced Try Before You Buy (TBYB) options for customers. The trend is threatening to overwhelm retailers – many of which are already reaching crisis point – with a huge surge of intentional returns that may undermine profits.

The Brightpearl study, which reflects the opinions of 200 retailers and 4,000 consumers in the United States and UK, reveals that the growing trend will have a major impact on both purchase behavior and returns:

• 25% of retailers globally will adopt online TBYB by 2019, but the majority are unprepared for surge of returns that could QUADRUPLE return costs for US retailers
• US shoppers offered TBYB would purchase on average five extra items each month (but 87% would return up to seven purchases)
• 85% of consumers expect free returns
• 40+% of retailers have seen increased ‘intentional returns’ in the past year (customers ordering multiple items because returns are free or cheap)
• 44% of retailers agreed their margins are being strongly impacted by handling and packaging returns (70% say they will be squeezed further as TBYB intensifies)
• Small-and-medium-sized retailers are most at risk, with 70% worried that try-before-you-buy services will affect their business
• Almost two thirds of US retailers are not deploying technology solutions to process returns

The TBYB option enables customers to order multiple items before deciding what they’d like to keep. There is no up-front cost; shoppers simply pay for items they keep after a certain number of days – usually 30 days. They return unwanted items and are never charged. It means that customers can order and try items as they would in-store, but crucially, they do not have to wait for returns to be processed to receive reimbursement.

The study finds a staggering 69% of retailers are not deploying any technology solutions to process returns. This is despite the complexity of managing returns, with the average returned purchase passing through seven people before it’s listed for resale.

With total merchandise returns accounting for more than $351 billion in lost sales for US retailers (NRF), findings in Brightpearl’s study indicate that the TBYB trend will result in a surge of returns, with customers returning on average four items a month, and could at least quadruple return costs for many retailers if they continue to take no action.

High-growth and medium-sized businesses will be most exposed; 70% worry TBYB services will affect their business.

Derek O’Carroll, CEO of Brightpearl, explained, “For consumers, Try Before You Buy is a positive trend that removes another barrier to purchase. This will lead to an uplift in sales for retailers. However, it could spell disaster for business owners if they don’t have the right framework and solutions in place to manage returns. Consumers will buy more, but they could return an extra four items a month on average, potentially prompting an unmanageable tsunami of returns for some merchants.”

The study reveals shoppers also want faster returns processing. Three-to-five days is considered acceptable for processing returns, however, it currently takes an average of six days for consumers to receive reimbursement on returning items.

Gareth Austin Jones, of leading footwear brand Cocorose London, says, “When you consider handling, transport, admin and possible repacking, the costs of returning an item into your supply chain could be double that of delivering it. For retailers to capitalize on Try Before You Buy without cannibalizing margins, they need the right systems in place to optimize the returns process and ensure end-to-end visibility over factors such as available cash flow and inventory in the system – all of which could cause major pain points. If they don’t prepare now, the impact on return rates could devastate online retailers that are already seeing their margins considerably squeezed.”

“It’s not all bad news,” adds O’Carroll. “The fact that two-thirds of retailers still process returns ‘by hand’ shows that with the right preparation, and by exploiting relevant technology, forward-thinking merchants should be able to turn the returns tsunami into a tide of fresh profits.”

Many of the female Democratic lawmakers stood and cheered after President Donald Trump trumpeted the increase of employment of women in the U.S. during the State of the Union speech Tuesday.

“You weren’t supposed to do that … thank you … Don’t sit yet, you’re going to like this,” Trump said after many of the Democratic lawmakers in the Rotunda stood and applauded his comments praising the high number of women in government.

Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and others wore white during the speech as a form of unity.

“No one has benefited more from our thriving economy than women, who have filled 58 percent of the new jobs created in the last year,” he said to rousing cheers. “All Americans can be proud that we have more women in the workforce than ever before — and exactly one century after the Congress passed the Constitutional amendment giving women the right to vote, we also have more women serving in the Congress than ever before.”

Trump added: “As part of our commitment to improving opportunity for women everywhere, this Thursday we are launching the first ever government-wide initiative focused on economic empowerment for women in developing countries.”

Click:Epcos Capacitors

The new trailer for Solo: A Star Wars Story is out and it has all the gunslinging, fast-moving, high-flying action you’d expect from the early story of the Star Wars saga’s much-loved smuggler.

Part 1 – Three decades of creeping anti-capitalistic social-mania and big government expansion/intrusion collapses Greek economy.  

Greece’s massive debt problem didn’t just simply appear overnight due to the Global recession of 2007. This was a tragedy created by over three decades of political battles between the last remnants of the once- principled economic party of the New Democracy (ND) versus the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK), a radical party openly opposed to mainstream European social democracy. These battle lines were drawn in the sand after the fall of the Greek military dictatorship way back in 1974.

After Greece’s long-standing military dictatorship government fell in 1974, it created a political vacuum not unlike what we see in Egypt today. In the beginning of this struggle there were two main factions of governmental leaders that were vying for power: Constantine Karamanlis founded the [conservative] New Democracy party, (ND) while Andreas Papandreou had already founded the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK), a radical party openly opposed to mainstream European social democracy. ( I call this the irresponsible and undefined Hope and Change political platform and will expound on that in part 2 )
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First let’s take a close look at just what type of government Constantine Karamanlis’ (CK) New Democracy party consisted of in it’s initial creation. CK was elected as the Prime Minister of Greece in 1974 and held that position until 1980.  During this time, the Karamanlis-led ND party ran on a platform which consisted of three main planks:

The first plank of the early ND party was the creation of a solid institutional framework meant to produce a two-party system yielding strong governments, and including a new constitution that reinforced the executive in order to enable governments to work more efficiently.

The second plank of Karamanlis’ project was a strong state that was geared towards national economic development.  So insistent was Karamanlis on the pursuit of this goal that he dared apply a massive program of nationalizations in the Greek economy which both friends and foes dubbed as  social-mania.

The third pland of Karamanlis’ ND party project was Greece’s Europeanization. The problems inherent in what was considered at the time to be a mainly conservative-based theme in the Karamanlis’ style of desired government points to severe contradictions between the three components in his plan. He combines an extravagant increase of governmental power under the guise of creating a strong economic development, all the while moving to nationalize a huge chunk of the private sector. This is a great example of how the supposedly conservative “New Democracy” party was actually heavily rooted in Socio-Liberal ideology right from the beginning. Keep in mind that this all started 37 years ago, thus the reference to Greece’s creeping social-mania in the title of this article. This was the actual start of the Greek erosion of operating on sound economic principles that would rear it’s ugly head in the form of the Greek debt crisis we see today. It is amazing to look back at the main planks of the New Democracy party and see that they basically abandoned all conservative principles while still claiming to represent the conservative style of government at the time of their creation.

Meanwhile, at the root of the Greek social-mania movement at the time, was Mr. Andreas Papandreou and his Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK), the very radical anti- European social democracy group. Many economists consider the ND at the time to be actually rooted in left of center ideology ( not conservative by any stretch of the imagination) and the PASOK party, in representing the opposition, as consisting mainly of far left radical social change operatives. That situation could be transposed with America’s current political situation, which we will also explain in parts 2 and 3.

The early PASOK party platform was extremely anti-American and also opposed Greece’s ascension into the EU. ( in the beginning, which they quietly changed later on) As the New Democracy party of Karamanlis won control of the Greek government in 1974 on the three plank platform described above, the PASOK party came out with it’s own platform based on supposedly opposing the ND style of government. The PASOK platform was not well-defined in the beginning, not unlike the Hope and Change platform Americans voted for in 2008. Papandreou was also known as a “brilliant public speaker and political charmer” at the time Greece was struggling to install a new government in 1974. [That should sound eerily familiar to Americans that are today wondering how in the world Barack Obama ascended to his current position of the presidency in America in 2008.]

The first plank in the platform of the PASOK party in the beginning was the elevation of certain people as opposed to citizens in general in which Papandreou promoted the radical economic expansion program based on manipulating the state and it’s resources without giving any thought towards creating a stable tax basis to fund the economic expansion.  This was not unlike the ND party’s first plank in which Karmanlis wanted to expand governmental power towards controlling the private sector under the guise of creating a government-knows-best economic system. Both first planks were rooted in the very same socialistic policies of big government expansion while destroying the private sector revenue-creating economy along the way.

In the initial second plank of the PASOK party platform was a great example of how most politician’s quest for power leads to severe contradictions between promises of a fair government for all, and the supposed PASOK-hated elitist European governmental model opposition. The PASOK party’s second plank turned it’s back on the promised collective national welfare, and instead was heavily rooted in crony-capitalism in which jobs and social benefits were only given to select people, mainly their supporters. That too should sound very familiar to informed Americans today.

The final plank in Papandreou’s initial proposed platform of government is quite difficult to define. It contained an expressed belief in Greek supremacy while at the same time seemed to be rooted in fear of the bigger, stronger nations within Europe. That fear was not unfounded, as we will see the drastic effects of Greece joining the eurozone in 2001 in part 2 of this article. While the ND party seemed to realize early on the importance of joining the eurozone, the PASOK party wanted to rely on what some term protectionism, that would lead Greece to become isolated from doing business with many valuable European markets. Today, when looking back at the Greek debt crisis creation during the past three decades, economists have made cases for both sides of thisa argument. Greece joining the EU opened up eurozone markets for their exports, yet also flooded Greece with products from other European countries, some say at an unfair balance.

During the time of Karmanlis’ ND party rule from 1974-1980, Greece prospered under the new government , as Karamanlis could claim considerable success in all three aspects of his political project. Within a relatively short time, Greece became transformed into a pluralist polity with a democratic constitution, brand new political parties, and a working party system. Its state-led economy brought the country a real GDP growth of 4% a year between 1975 and the second oil crisis of 1979. Crowning his achievements, on January 1, 1981, Greece became a member of the EU, well ahead of her southern European competitors, Spain and Portugal. ( Whom are both also teetering on the brink of insolvency today) We must also keep in mind that pretty much all of the world’s major economies also enjoyed increased prosperity and robust economic growth during the late 70’s. In 1980, Karmanlis resigned as Premier and moved to the presidency of the Rupublic, he had what most people thought to be the prefect successor lined up to replace him in the highly acclaimed moderate George Rallis, who at the time was stated to have impeccable democratic credentials and whom promised the people he would continue the Karmanlis plan of government. Low and behold, the people turned their backs on the recent prosperity they enjoyed under the ND government and instead voted for Andreas Papandreou and his PASOK party’s promise of “allaghi” or the great change.  In a very American-like political platform, Papandreou had campaigned on the platform of a policy plan that was a binding “contract with the people.” Americans should be very familiar with that political motto. Even as Greece and America are separated by thousands of miles of ocean, we see their political campaigns running quite parallel all to often. The political soundbites and media trickery used to get elected to powerful governmental positions have no boundaries, as is proven throughout world political history. The PASOK party platform of “allaghi” ran along the very same rails as FDR’s New Deal progressive big government expansion, and Barack Obama’s “fundamentally transforming America” statement of 2008.  The PASOK party’s fundamental transformation of the Greek economy now has them begging for bailouts from the EU today to avoid a total collapse of their economy.
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How did Greece fair under the far left radical Socialist PASOK party and Andreas Papendreou of the 80’s?  PASOK remained in power throughout the 1980s and, save a brief interval during 1990-93, for most of the 1990s and early 2000s. Papandreou had meanwhile died in 1996 and was succeeded in PASOK leadership by Costas Simitis, a mild-mannered technocrat who desired to replace Papandreou’s populism with a new reformist spirit. He consistently pursued convergence, so that in January 2001 Greece was able to join the eurozone, but failed miserably to reform his party, which was eventually defeated at the polls in 2004. What was to be proven to be even more remarkable, however, was that when the ND came back into power in 2004, led by Costas Karamanlis, the very nephew of that party’s founder, far from trying to restore some of the latter’s project, they instead followed PASOK’s well-charted path of irresponsible populism and free-spending ways, patronage politics and toleration to corruption, along with further divergence from Europe. It was the combination of those three factors that, irrespective of party in office, simmered for a long time until it exploded in the form of the fiscal crisis that has recently hit Greece. Carefully consider the following chart of Greek debt and GDP spending from 1970 – 2010. The only reason we see a hint of a decrease in big government debt near the end of 2010 in this chart is due to the austerity measures forced upon the Greek government by the EU, in which resulted in bloody riots due to the massive budget cuts and increased taxes suddenly laid upon the shoulders of the working class. Eventually, America will also collide with that debt-wall, and trouble will ensue in the form of civil unrest. The green line represents total gross external debt as a percentage of GDP. ( most important figure)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The partial government shutdown initiated after Democrats refused to fund President Donald Trump’s $5.7 billion border wall will not significantly impact the economy, according to a top Trump economic advisor.

Kevin Hassett, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, told reporters Wednesday that some federal employees may miss a payday because of the government shutdown. Any overall impact on the economy would be minimal after the furloughed workers receive backpay after Congress passes a spending bill.

The federal government went into a partial shutdown Friday night at midnight after Congress failed to come to a consensus on a spending bill. House Republicans passed a version of a spending bill that included $5.7 billion border wall between the U.S. and Mexico. The bill died in the Senate after Democrats largely refused to support it.

Recent volatility in the stock market has led some to blame the government shutdown for the unpredictable market behavior. The U.S. stock market took the largest Christmas Eve plunge in history Monday. On Wednesday, the market bounced back as the Dow rose as much as 562 points.

December is still on pace to post its worst performance since the 1930’s, however, according to CNN.

Though some have blamed the government shutdown for the recent market volatility, economists have pointed to a host of other economic reasons the market could be reacting to.

The Federal Reserve has raised interest rates four times in 2018, tamping down stock market gains throughout the year. Trump’s trade wars and tariffs may also be dragging down economic activity.

In Britain, the uncertain future of a Brexit deal may be unsettling to investors and companies waiting to see the eventual makeup of an economic relationship between Britain and the European Union.

Federal authorities arrested a U.S. Coast Guard lieutenant after finding a trove of guns and ammunition stockpiled at his home in Maryland along with alleged plans to commit a large-scale terrorist attack targeting politicians and journalists.

Federal authorities recovered 15 firearms, a number of which were rifles and long guns, as well as over 1,000 rounds of ammunition in Christopher Paul Hasson’s basement in Silver Spring, Maryland, The Washington Post reported Wednesday.

Christopher Paul Hasson firearms and ammo Photo: U.S. Attorney’s Office in Maryland

“The defendant is a domestic terrorist,” read court documents with statements from federal authorities. Hasson allegedly intended to execute “acts dangerous to human life that are intended to affect governmental conduct,” the documents say.

The lieutenant allegedly sought to “establish a white homeland” and thought of ways to “kill almost every last person on earth,” according to court records filed in a U.S. District Court in Maryland. Hasson reportedly considered carrying out bombings, sniper attacks, targeting food supplies and carrying out attacks using biological weapons, according to court documents referring to a June 2017 email draft from Hasson.

He allegedly created a Jan. 19 spreadsheet listing political “traitors” and targets. “Please send me your violence that I may unleash it onto their heads,” Hasson wrote in an email draft, according to the Post. “Guide my hate to make a lasting impression on this world.”

“I was and am a man of action … you can make change with a little focused violence,” Hasson also wrote in a letter.

It is not clear what prompted authorities to begin investigating the lieutenant.

Hasson was allegedly studying terrorist Anders Behring Breivik‘s manifesto. Breivik killed 77 people in Norway in two attacks in 2011. Hasson reportedly was using Breivik’s attack as a kind of blueprint for his own future attack, federal authorities say.

Authorities recovered mass stores of human growth hormone in Hasson’s home, mimicking Breivik’s theory that taking steroids and performance enhancers prior to his attack would heighten his ability to kill as many people as possible. Hasson had ordered synthetic urine and over 4,200 pills of Tramadol, a powerful narcotic, since 2016, according to court documents.

Law enforcement arrested Hasson Friday on charges of illegal weapon and drug possession, according to FBI Baltimore spokesman Dave Fitz, the Post reported.

Prior to his arrest, Hasson worked at U.S. Coast Guard headquarters in Washington, D.C. He does not work there anymore, according to a Wednesday statement from a Coast Guard spokesman, Lt. Cmdr. Scott McBride.

Hasson served in the U.S. Marine Corps and Army National Guard before beginning work for the Coast Guard in 2016.

The lieutenant’s detention hearing is scheduled for Thursday afternoon. He will be represented by the Office of the Federal Public Defender, the Post reported.

Malta is predicted to be one of the leading countries for blockchain and cryptocurrency development. The country offers great IT opportunities, training, and a very wonderful environment. Now, a growing number of blockchain and cryptocurrency companies are considering relocating to Malta.

But what exactly is the reason behind this? What are the things that blockchain and cryptocurrency companies find attractive in Malta? And why is Malta becoming “the” blockchain island.

What is Cryptocurrency?

Before we get into the nitty-gritty of how Malta is evolving into a cryptocurrency hub, let us first briefly discuss what cryptocurrency is.

Cryptocurrency is a somehow new form of digital currency that has grown in popularity today. Some of the most popular cryptocurrencies you may be familiar with are Bitcoin and Ethereum. What made these currencies popular is the fact that they’re not issued by any government nor are they managed by one central authority.

As of last year, an astounding 5.8million people were found to have been using some form of crypto. What attracts people to use it is its decentralized manner that is allowed by blockchain technology.

You see, unlike with physical currencies, cryptocurrency transactions are recorded in a virtual ledger. And unlike centralized establishments like banks, the transaction ledger is processed by millions of computers. Additionally, the transaction records can be publicly viewed. This means no one would be able to manipulate the transaction records. Because of so, cryptocurrency has become a favorite of people looking to make anonymous and secure transactions.

Key Highlights About Cryptocurrency

There’s still a lot to learn about cryptocurrency, especially when numerous cryptocurrencies are starting to pop up everywhere. But to give you a quick definition, here are a couple of key highlights to help you remember how cryptocurrencies work.

• Cryptocurrency can be purchased with traditional forms of money
• Cryptocurrency transactions can be processed anywhere and anytime
• Cryptocurrency funds can be transferred to anyone within a matter of minutes
• Anyone can buy cryptocurrency online
• Finalized transactions are irreversible
• There is no central authority to address complaints and issue refunds.

How Malta Can Become a Cryptocurrency Hub

Now that you’re well aware of what cryptocurrency is, let us now get back to how Malta can become a cryptocurrency hub.

Though cryptocurrency is nothing new, countries that accept it apparently are. Malta happens to be one of the friendliest cryptocurrency companies as of today. In fact, one reason why people believe Malta is on its way to becoming a cryptocurrency Hub is the growing number of blockchain and cryptocurrency companies present in it.

As of today, Malta is home to numerous cryptocurrency and blockchain companies. It’s now also home to several cryptocurrency exchanges. Some famous cryptocurrency exchanges that have moved their operations in Malta are OKex, BitBay, and Binance.

Moreover, Malta is so open to blockchain companies that the U.K. blockchain startup, Omnitude, has actually formed a partnership with the Transport Minister of Malta to enhance their country’s transportation system. There’s even word that Malta has plans of incorporating blockchain technology to their education systems.

Reasons Why Malta Has Become Attractive to Blockchain Companies

Alright, you get it, Malta is such a haven for Blockchain companies that some of the biggest cryptocurrency companies already relocated there. But what could be the reason for this? Apparently, there could be three major reasons why these companies are starting to flock to Malta:

Laws

The first major thing that we’re sure attracted cryptocurrency companies to flock to the island is the Cryptocurrency jurisdiction in Malta. Just recently, the Maltese parliament passed three different bills that can help blockchain companies perform their operations in a regulated environment.

The three bills passed as of July 3 were the Virtual Financial Asset Act, the Malta Digital Innovation Authority Act, and the Innovative Arrangement and Services Act.

Though according to Joseph Borg, head of the blockchain advisory at WH Partners, it’s still too early to state if Malta’s newly regulated laws will be successful. On the other hand, Borg is still optimistic that if Malta successfully enforces these laws, Malta’s entire blockchain ecosystem could be greatly improved.

Residency

Another great thing about Malta are the different citizenship and residency programs that attract investors from different sectors. Furthermore, Malta’s taxation rate for people who aren’t based in Malta but are working for a company in Malta that is licensed by the authorities are only 15%. Lastly, people who are looking to relocate in Malta can avail the benefit of traveling visa-free to over 50 countries.

Booming Gaming Industry

Malta’s booming gaming industry is one more thing that could be attracting cryptocurrency companies. Especially when Malta’s gaming authority is starting to show efforts in using blockchain technology. In fact, the Malta gaming authority even created a document as a guideline for applying blockchain and cryptocurrency in the country’s growing gaming industry.

During President Donald Trump’s speech at CPAC on Saturday, he took a moment to recognize the discrimination conservative students face on college campuses.

“I turn on my television the other day and I saw somebody that was violently punched in the face,” said Trump to his audience at CPAC. “The man’s name is Hayden Williams … Hayden come up here please.”

Williams jumped on stage to say a few words, but he refused to use his few seconds of fame to talk about himself.

“It’s great that I’m being recognized,” he said, “but there’s so many conservative students across the country who are facing discrimination, harassment and worse if they dare to speak up on campus.”

Williams is a field representative at the Leadership Institute, a non-profit organization out of Arlington, VA, which aims to help fight the liberal bias that has infested America’s campuses.

Williams was on UC Berkley’s campus Tuesday, Feb. 19 helping local student activists when, Zachary Greenberg, 28, assaulted him. Greenberg was arrested by UCPD Friday afternoon for his assault on Williams and is currently being held on a $30,000 bond at Glenn Dyer Jail in Oakland.

“It’s as important now than ever the work at leadership institute and campus reform exposing these liberal abuses to the public,” said Williams, “and these students do it because they have a love of our nation and freedom.”

Williams noted that if progressive socialists had their way, the constitution would be put through a paper shredder. “If you keep defending us, we’ll keep defending you,” Williams said of the President.

The audience roared in approval as President Trump announced a new executive order he will be signing, which requires colleges and university’s to support free speech.

“If they want our dollars, and we give it to them by the billions, they’ve got to allow people like Hayden, and many other great young people … to speak,” said Trump.