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Showing posts with label Current Affairs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Current Affairs. Show all posts

Tuesday, 29 July 2014

Train moves out of track, After a bull hits the Engine, 4 sleeper coaches derailed

Lucknow (India):  Lal Kuan Express, moved out of its track after a bull hit its engine.  
Train moves out of track, After a bull hits the Engine, 4 sleeper couches derailed.
Courtesy Google 
The Incident happened Monday night when a fighting bull and cow made their way to the tracks of the Lal Kuan Express and hit the Engine of the moving train near the Daliganj railway station.  The impact of the bull hitting the Engine was so huge that the Engine got derails.

Officials confirmed the incident and said that the train was at the outer signal of the station and hence was not at high speed. however the effect of the collision moved four general sleeper coaches of the train out of the tracks. "no passengers were injured", he added.

Passengers were taken out of the train and moved to the station, it took hours of work to bring back the derailed coaches back to the track and restore the traffic on the track. 

This happens only in India...

Wednesday, 28 May 2014

China censors WeChat to 'clean up' the instant messaging space in an internet crackdown after bombings

China’s hugely popular social media App ‘’WECHAT’’- Chinese version known as-Weixin is being censored by Chinese government under a operation called "Clean Up". The Chinese govt has started this new campaign to prevent and eradicate malpractice of going against the state and PLA on instant messaging services. Further it is reported that this ‘”clean up” campaign will affect almost  all the instant messaging services massively.  Weixin or Chinese version of Wechat has more than 300 million users in China. Apart from private account used for personal use, there are many public accounts, which are owned by companies, organization or an individual for mass communication being used on WeChat and this popularity is the main reason for China shuttering WeChat. Pages such as Truth channel, Phoenix We Media, activist Xu Dane’s newsletter which has 200,000 subscribers has been blocked. Users who attempt to open this page are being greeted with a message “This account deleted”.
China censors WeChat to 'clean up' the instant messaging space in an internet crackdown after bombings


The Chinese IT censorship authority, State Internet Information Office (SIIO) stated that it believes that some people or organizations are using these popular services to distribute illegal and harmful information and also circulating rumours contrary to the policies of Chinese central leadership. They are expecting to trace down those people who are responsible for spreading rumours, information relating violence, terrorism and pornography, any kind of fraudulent act using instant messaging services. Authorities also encouraging the public to tip off the authorities through emails, phone calls or the website net.china.com.cnThe statement released by SIIO stated ‘we will firmly fight against infiltration from hostile forces at home and abroad,"

Wixen (weChat) is not the only service which is affected by Chinese government’s clean up campaign; other messaging services which will be affected include Alibaba’s Laiwang, Xiaomi’s Mi Talk, and China Telecom’s Yixin, among others  The above crackdown comes just days after the recent attack by Islamic fundamentalists operating in restive Northern regions of China.

Wednesday, 23 April 2014

NYPD's social reach Twitter campaign #myNYPD hijacked by protesters to post police repression images

A social reach campaign by the New York Police Department (NYPD) went pretty awry for their own comfort.  On Wednesday the New York Police Department launched a campaign to enhance the NYPD image among users.  The plan was to use Twitter to boost its image.  Users were asked to tweet a photo of themselves with officers and add the hashtag #myNYPD as part of a social media campaign.  The start of the campaign was good with Twitter users posting images of themselves with the NYPD members


This was the original tweet was posted on the NYPD's Twitter feed @NYPDnews on Wednesday.  The tweet featured a selfie of two smiling officers and a member of the public.  The NYPD then encouraged Twitter users to send in similar photos with the hashtag #myNYPD.

All was working as per the plan but somehow instead of a steady stream of friendly photos, the hashtag was quickly adopted by users posting images of police aggression.




By Wednesday, the hashtag had become one of Twitter's top trending hashtags. One photo showed a man being pushed down on to a car bonnet. It was from March 2013 and followed protests in Brooklyn over the death of 16-year-old Kimani Gray who was shot by police.  

Soon enough the Anonymous protest group Occupy Wall Street also took part in NYPD bashing and  tweeted an image of an NYPD police officer advancing towards a crowd with a baton raised during the recent peaceful Occupy Wall Street protest against the capitalism.
So much for the NYPD social outreach !!!

Wednesday, 2 April 2014

Investigators finally state that the WORLD May Never Know What Happened to Malaysia Airlines Flight 370

Exactly after 25 days of search operations involving almost all of the world navies, the Malaysian investigators finally admitted that the whereabouts or remains of whatever is left of Malaysian Airlines MH370 may never be found. This was stated by Chief investigator from Malaysia, Inspector General Khalid Abu Bakar told the news persons that, "Investigations may go on and on and on. We have to clear every little thing. At the end of the investigations, we may not even know the real cause. We may not even know the reason for this incident."

Investigators: We May Never Know What Happened to Malaysia Airlines Flight 370


The Malaysian investigators just recently concluded their investigation into all the 227 passengers on board the plane and their investigations have cleared all the 227 passengers of suspicion. As of today, Malaysian investigators are still investigating into the background and criminal antecedents of senior pilot Zaharie Ahmad Shah, 53 and his co-pilot Fariq Abdul Hamid, 27.  FBI has been investigating the records of  senior pilot, Shah's flight simulator but is yet to find any misdeeds. 

As the days passed the investigators included the possibilities that MH370 may have been hijacked, sabotaged or even some kind of psychological problems among those employees of Malaysia Airlines on the flight at that time.  Investigators are even said to be looking into the plane's food to somehow ensure that it wasn't poisoned.

Inspector General Khalid Abu Bakar added that there was much more information available but cant be revealed to the reporters due to the ongoing criminal investigation. “I’m sorry, there are things we cannot reveal to you … not that I don’t want to reveal to you, but we cannot do that because it’s a criminal investigation, ongoing,” he said. “We have not concluded the whole thing and we are still awaiting reports from experts overseas and internally. Who knows, maybe there will be prosecution later on. So this will affect the prosecution’s case, if we start revealing our findings."

It may be recalled that Malaysian Airlines MH370 which had taken off from Kuala Lumpur for Beijing China on 8th March, 2014. It disappeared from the radar less than one hour after taking off with the pilot signing off, saying, "Good night Malaysian 370."  The twist in this sad accident is that after this conversation of the pilot somebody on board deliberately turned off the plane's transponder thus making it impossible to track.   Authorities have concluded that the plane's journey ended seven hours later somewhere in the southern Indian Ocean, and there are no survivors as of now because no debris has been found.

Thursday, 27 March 2014

DA (Dearness Allowance) orders from 1.1.2014 issued today by the Government of India, DA fro period 1st January 2014 to 30th June 2014

The Dearness Allowance orders for the period starting 1.1.2014 were issued today by Ministry of Finance.  Download the order from here and enjoy your March End.

DA (Dearness Allowance) orders from 1.1.2014  issued today by the Government of India, DA fro period 1st January 2014 to 30th June 2014

Consequent to this order all advances and allowances which have been specifically listed will increase by 25 % however there is no clarification on the amount of increase.  For eg. Festival Advance which is now Rs.3750.00 will it be increased by 25 % on 3750.00 or on the original amount of Rs.3000.00.  Clarifications regarding the same are awaited.

You and see and download the PDF file from below.  Comboupdates will put up the state government orders when they are issued.





Friday, 28 February 2014

10 percent Dearness Allowance hiked for Government Employees from 1.1.2014 (January 2014) but no clear verdict about the 50 % Merger

The UPA II's perhaps second last Cabinet meet gave the Government Employees a lot to cheer.  Not only did the Cabinet approve the 10 percent hike in Dearness Allowances for Government Employees but it also gave its approval for the Terms of Reference for the 7th Pay Commission.

10 percent DA hiked for Central Government Employees from 1.1.2014 (Jan 2014) payable after 31.3.2014
The Dearness Allowance will now reach 100 percent of the Basic Pay + Grade Pay for all central government employees.  The Presser released by Press Information Bureau is given below :

10 percent DA hiked for Central Government Employees from 1.1.2014 (Jan 2014) payable after 31.3.2014
The wordings in the third line of the press release infer that the Government employees wont require a separate order for increase of DA and the Government organisations can draw the arrears as well as salary from 1.1.2014 after 31.3.2014.   However Finance Ministry is expected to issue a formal order regarding the same.  
in cash, but not before the disbursement of the salary for the month of March 2014
While there is mixed news of 50 percent merger with Basic Pay. Some websites and eminent personalities have given contrarian views , I hold firm belief that this has been approved and made a part of the Terms of Reference of the VIIth CPC.  The ToR is briefly given below :

 7th Central Pay Commission

 The Union Cabinet today gave its approval to the Terms of Reference of 7th Central Pay Commission (CPC) as follows:-

a)      To examine, review, evolve and recommend changes that are desirable and feasible regarding the principles that should govern the emoluments structure including pay, allowances and other facilities/benefits, in cash or kind, having regard to rationalization and simplification therein as well as the specialized needs of various Departments, agencies and services, in respect of the following categories of employees:-

i.  Central Government employees-industrial and non-industrial;
ii. Personnel belonging to the All India Services;
iii.Personnel of the Union Territories;
iv.Officers  and   employees   of  the   Indian  Audit  and   Accounts Department;
v.Members of regulatory bodies (excluding the Reserve Bank of India) set up under Acts of Parliament; and
vi.Officers and employees of the Supreme Court.

b) To examine, review, evolve and recommend changes that are desirable and feasible regarding principles that should govern the emoluments structure, concessions and facilities/benefits, in cash or kind, as well as retirement benefits of personnel belonging to the Defence Forces, having regard to historical and traditional parities, with due emphasis on aspects unique to these personnel.

c) To work out the framework for an emoluments structure linked with the need to attract the most suitable talent to Government service, promote efficiency, accountability and responsibility in the work culture, and foster excellence in the public governance system to respond to complex challenges of modern administration and rapid political, social, economic and technological changes, with due regard to expectations of stakeholders, and to recommend appropriate training and capacity building through a competency based framework.

d) To examine the existing schemes of payment of bonus, keeping in view, among other things, its bearing upon performance and productivity and make recommendations on the general principles, financial parameters and conditions for an appropriate incentive scheme to reward excellence in productivity, performance and integrity.

e) To review the variety of existing    allowances presently available to employees in addition to pay and suggest their rationalization and simplification, with a view to ensuring that the pay structure is so designed as to take these into account.

f) To examine the principles which should govern the structure of pension and other retirement benefits, including revision of pension in the case of employees who have retired prior to the date of effect of these recommendations, keeping in view that retirement benefits of all Central Government employees appointed on and after 01.01.2004 are covered by the New Pension Scheme (NPS).

g) To make recommendations on the above, keeping in view:
i.  the economic conditions in the country  and need for fiscal prudence;
ii. the need to ensure that adequate resources are available for developmental expenditures and welfare measures;
iii. the likely impact of the recommendations on the finances of the State Governments, which usually adopt the recommendations with some modifications;
iv.the prevailing emolument structure and retirement benefits available to employees of Central Public Sector Undertakings; and
v. the best global practices and their adaptability and relevance in Indian conditions.

h) To recommend the date of effect of its recommendations on all the above.
The Commission will make its recommendations within 18 months of the date of its constitution.  It may consider, if necessary, sending interim reports on any of the matters as and when the recommendations are finalised.

The decision will result in the benefit of improved pay and allowances as well as rationalization of the pay structure in case of Central Government employees and other employees included in the scope of the 7th Central Pay Commission.

My belief stems from the following line of the Terms of Reference
It may consider, if necessary, sending interim reports on any of the matters as and when the recommendations are finalised.
The emphasis of this line is that the 7th CPC may recommend any interim payment to the Central Government employees as it deems necessary.  This also means that all further orders regarding the pay and allowances will be issued by the 7th CPC.  This way the UPA would have circumvented the Model Code of Conduct for polls as the merger will now not be a policy decision but a decision made by a parliament/cabinet approved body.

However this is open to interpretations.  Today many news channels are also giving opposite view and the PIB/Government website dont reveal much so it is now left open to interpretations.

Thursday, 20 February 2014

UPA Government's gift for Central Government employees, 50 % merger of DA with basic pay approved by Cabinet

As predicted by me, the Cabinet today approved the merging of 50 percent Dearness Allowance with Basic for all Central Government employees.  The merger of 50% DA with basic has been included in the Terms of Reference for the 7th Pay Commission Panel lead by Retired SC Judge Ashok Kumar Mathur.

UPA Government's gift for Central Government employees, 50 % merger of DA with basic pay approved by Cabinet

Though the reports are sketchy at this moment in absence of any concrete order or communique from the Government in this regard, the minutes of Cabinet Committee which approved the same is given below :
In order to benefit over 50 lakh employees and over 30 lakh pensioners, the Cabinet also approved terms of reference for seventh pay commission. This includes merging dearness allowance above 50 per cent with basic pay. 

The order for merger of 50 percent Dearness Allowance with Basic Pay will now be recommended by the 7th CPC Panel chaired by Justice Mathur.  After which the Government/Finance Ministry will issue specific orders regarding the same.  It is hoped that the 7th CPC will issue orders regarding the merger in the month of April 2014.  

The Cabinet is also likely to approve the hiking of DA from January 2014 by 10%.  The net effect of this hike will result in 100% Dearness Allowance with effect from Jan 2014 till the date of issue of 50% DA merger orders.  From the date of merger(which can be retrospective) the 7th CPC will issue new Dearness Rates.  Both the orders are expected to be issued simultaneously. 

Sadly the issue of raising of the retirement age in respect of Central Government employees to 62 years was not considered.

Saturday, 18 January 2014

7th Pay Commission News : Pay Panel members to be named, 50 % DA to be merged and Age of retirement to be increased

The UPA - II Government is going to decide about the General Election dates in March 2013 and before that the news is that Government employees may get there 50 % DA merged into the basic pay.  Alongwith this decision, the government will also announce its decision for raising retirement age of government employees to 62.  And in a separate news, the Government will constitute the for 7th Pay Commission.  We take a look at all the above information one by one.

7th Pay Commission News : Pay Panel members to be named, 50 % DA to be merged and Age of retirement to be increased

The Pay Panel is to be constituted before March as per reports available.  The Central government has already made SBG (Budget Grant) provision of Rs.3.5 crores towards constitution of the Panel in this fiscal year 2013-14. Once constituted, the 7th Pay Commission will be mandated to submit its report in two years i.e. by March 2016.  UPA-II will also be following the laid practice of naming a former Supreme Court Judge to head the commission and its other members would include experts and officials.  Though the date of implementation of 7th Pay Commission is 1.1.2016, it will be in the hands of the Party which wins the General Elections in 2014.

The second news that is making rounds is that DA of 50 % is to be merged with your basic pay.  The 6th pay commission explicitly not allowed the merger of DA with Basic as soon as it crosses 50 %

"The 6th Central Pay Commission had recommended not to merge Dearness Allowance with basic pay at any stage," 

But since its election time and with the fast soaring inflation, it may seem that UPA-II might just agree to this demand.  In any case, if it were to decide to merge 50 % DA with basic, it has to do so before March because at that point and time it will be 100 % (90% current plus 10 % from 1.1.2014.)  There is also the impact of 25% rise in all allowance in case DA crosses 50 % for government to consider. 

The file concerning the raising of age of retirement of government servant to 62 is under due consideration in Ministry of Finance as of now.  With the Elections due in May-June, the Finance Ministry will have a interim budget this year for fiscal 2014-15 and the vote-on-account for this Interim Budget is scheduled to be in an around 2nd week of February 2014.  So without putting too much expectations on the budget 2014-15, we can hope that this two important matters are approved in this interim budget.

What makes the decisions difficult for the UPA-II is the utter failure of the popularist measures and freebies announced by it prior to the recently concluded state elections in Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhatisgarh.  Some of the psephologists have blamed these freebies for the whitewash UPA suffered in these state elections.  This actually makes it a little more difficult for those who are in favour of announcing populist measures before the General Election dates are announced.   

Government servants can keep their fingers crossed and hope that UPA-II is in a full Election mode.

Updtate : 50 % DA merger approved by Cabinet 20.2.2014 Read here

Friday, 3 January 2014

2013, the Rise and Rise of Bitcoin, is the bitcoin bubble growing too big to fail?

Bitcoin is an electronic digital currency which was introduced in 2009. Its a peer-to-peer payment system which has still not been fully accepted into the mainstream economy but is gaining ground in leaps and bounds everyday. It was started by developer Satoshi Nakamoto as the first cryptocurrency since it uses cryptography to control money as a means to purchase products and services. Peer-to-peer transactions take place through signing payment messages digitally with subsequent verification and timestamping. The machines where these bitcoins get signed are known as miners and they get rewarded with fees and new bitcoins pertaining to each transaction. In China, bitcoins cannot be exchanged for physical currency while in United States, bitcoin has seen widespread acceptance. Bitcoins like any other currency are prone to electronic theft but these risks can be mitigated through offline minting and storage of digital keys. Various vendors like Reddit and Virgin Galactic now accept bitcoins since merchant transaction fees are lower as compared to credit card processing fees.


2013, the Rise and Rise of Bitcoin, is the bitcoin bubble growing too big to fail?


2013 - The Incredible year for Bitcoins

2013 has seen a dramatic increase in bitcoin transactions as well as acceptance by many vendors. The year has seen a thriving price rise of bitcoins from a measly $13 to an astonishingly high $700 and above.

The following are month-to-month highlights for bitcoin's developing market through the year 2013:

January
- It gets noted by Bloomberg that the price of Bitcoin tripled in the year 2012.
- Bitpay and Butterfly Labs fund Bitcoin with $13000 to setup a booth at Consumer Electronics Show (CES). The Verge (www.theverge.com) puts up an article saying "The underground currency goes mainstream at the biggest tech show in the nation" here:
The Verge Bitcoin article
Price at start of January: $15
Price at end of January: $21.40

February
- Bitcoin's price hits its peak. Its value becomes even higher than what existed pre-2011 crash.
- Reddit allows users to buy gold from bitcoin currency.
- Kim Dotcom announces that it will accept bitcoins on its encrypted storage site called Mega.
Price at start of February: $20.60
Price at end of February: $33

March
- Bitcoin attains a billion dollar market cap.
- The U.S. Department of Treasury issues a statement telling exchangers to register with FinCEN before engaging in bitcoin transactions. A federal agency calls the Bitcoin legal sending Bitcoin believers into frenzy but banks deny working with Bitcoin businesses citing enhanced security regulation as the reason.
- Cyprus announces that it would seize parts of people's accounts to pay off rising debts. In response, Bitcoin rises with the speculation that people from Cyprus and other European countries would reach for bitcoin currency to safeguard their income from government regulations.
- Researchers at John Hopkins University bring to fore Zerocoin to make bitcoin transactions more anonymous and hidden from the entire network.
Price at start of March: $33.50
Price at end of March: $93

April
- Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, famous as villains in Facebook movie say they possess 1% of total bitcoins with themselves.
- Bitcoin start-ups start getting funded by major venture capitalists. The Winklevii gives BitInstant $1.5 million. BitInstant is a place to buy Bitcoin. OpenCoin, an open exchange for all forms of electronic currency lands $2 million through funding by venture capitalists again. Bitcoin wallent Coinbase will announce the following month that it receives $5 million.
- A journalist of repute, working with Slate announces that he made $152 through bitcoin exchange.
Price at start of April: $94
Price at end of April: $145

May
- In San Francisco, an insane individual decides to spend an entire week on Bitcoin only.
- Seattle-based Coinlab sues Japan-based Mt. Gox for $75 million in damages claiming breach of contract by the latter. Mt. Gox is supposed to be the world's largest Bitcoin exchange.
- The federal department seizes American bank accounts of Mt. Gox believing that Mt. Gox violates policies and operates without getting properly licensed with FinCEN.
- The Bitcoin 2013 conference sees participation of people from all walks of life. 
- The federal department brings down the curtain on Liberty Reserve. They say that the centralized online payment system was used to fund drug trading, child pornography and terrorism. Users of bitcoins see this as a warning.
- Mt. Gox announces that people doing bitcoin transactions would need to provide government id in order to comply with rules of federal department. This would reduce money laundering through Bitcoin.
- Speculations regarding the identity of Bitcoin developer Satoshi Nakamoto continue.
Price at start of May: $137
Price at end of May: $129

June
- Congress tax man GAO informs IRS to pay heed to and tax Bitcoin.
- Austin and Beccy Craig announce they will survive on Bitcoin alone for three months just before getting married in Utah.
- Bitcoin comes under the scanner of state regulatory authorities. In California, a cease-and-desist order is passed to the Bitcoin Foundation asking it to get licensed for exchanging money in the state. The Foundation denies it exchanges money.
- Bitcoins help buy a baby.
- A survey shows that 25% people know and have heard of Bitcoin.
Price at start of June: $129.50
Price at end of June: $95

July
- The Winklevii seek SEC approval for a Bitcoin exchange traded fund. Their main hope is that it would allow Wall Street to put its money in the bitcoin exchange.
- Its reported that Thailand bans Bitcoin. However, the rumours seem to be overrated and not completely true.
- A Texas citizen is charged with running a Bitcoin Ponzi scheme by SEC.
- SatoshiDice, a Bitcoin gambling site is sold to an anonymous buyer for 126,315 bitcoins (approximately $11.4 million at that time)
Price at start of July: $97.50
Price at end of July: $110

August
- A University of Florida professor reports in Politico's front page that Bitcoin could become a haven for tax evaders
- Germany accepts Bitcoin and say they will impose tax regulations on it.
- All bitcoin miners and users are summoned to court by New York's state financial regulator. They also announce all digital currency companies would need to procure "Bitlicenses."
- Bitcoin crimes are reported at a few places. A flaw in Android OS causes Bitcoin thefts.
- The Bitcoin ticker XBT is seen on Bloomberg terminals meaning it was not long before traders would seek to trade bitcoins.
Price at start of August: $106
Price at end of August: $147

September
- SecondMarket, the place where Facebook and Twitter shares were traded before they went public announces it would let investors bet on Bitcoin.
- China becomes a hub for Bitcoin mining and trading. Lightspeed funds Shanghai-based exchange BTC China with $5 million. BTC China will become the largest exchange in the world in two months.
- A UK escort service says it will accept bitcoins.  
Price at start of September: $141
Price at end of Sptember: $144

October
- The feds take down online drug market Silk Road which used Bitcoins in abundance. FBI seizes 26,000 coins from the site and 144,000 coins ($20 million) from the creator of Silk Road, Dread Pirate Roberts. After falling briefly, Bitcoin prices recover soon as investors cheer to note that an illegal Bitcoin usage has been terminated.
- Baidu, considered to be China's Google starts accepting Bitcoins for its security services.
-  Cody Wilson, famous for 3-d gun printing says that Dark Wallet, willing to launch in 2014 is seeking crowd-funding through the website Indiegogo to conceal Bitcoin transactions.
- In Vancouver, the first Bitcoin ATM gets opened.
- The Bitcoin newlywed couple goes for a trip around the world and pays everything in Bitcoins.
Price at start of October: $144
Price at end of October: $209

November
- The Federal Reserve issues a primer quoting Bitcoin as a "Small Phenomenon but Growing."
- $1.2 million worth of bitcoins are stolen from wallet service Inputs.io
- The U.S. Senate holds Bitcoin hearings to ascertain policies, threats and guidelines. The FBI says it formed "Virtual Currency Emerging Threats Working Group" in 2012 which included most federal agencies but these agencies claim that Bitcoin is under control. After the closure of Liberty Reserve and fears of Bitcoin being termed illegal a few months earlier, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke says Bitcoin holds long term promise. As a result Bitcoin soars and reaches $1000.
- Famous billionaire Richard Branson announces that people can use Bitcoins to pay for going to space.
- Roger Ver's prediction about Bitcoin outperforming gold soon goes wrong by two months and he loses a best of 1,000 bitcoins ($1 million), which he donates to a nonprofit organization.
- Hong Kong Bitcoin exchange falters and shuts down drowning $4 million worth of investors' funds.
- A UK tech guy mistakenly throws his hard drive containing 7,500 bitcoins into a garbage bin.
- Stockholm-based KnC Miner sells high-powered mining machines woth a staggering $8 million within 24 hours.
Price at start of November: $144
Price at end of November: $1220

December
- Andreesen Horowitz gives $25 million dollars to Coinbase to make it the highest venture-funded Bitcoin start-up.
- Bank of America puts a price target on Bitcoin.
- China stops trading of Bitcoin for real world money. With payment companies not allowed to trade Bitcoin for yuan, the prices fall sharply.
- $220 million worth of Bitcoin stolen from drug bazaar Sheep Marketplace.
- Overstock's CEO announces that his company will start accepting Bitcoin in 2014.
- Bitcoin is declared evil by Paul Krugman.
- By the end of the year, 42% people are aware of the existence of Bitcoin.
Price at start of December: $1200
Price at end of December: $730

That was the monthly wrap-up of Bitcoin developments in 2013. In all, it has been a fabulous year for Bitcoin barring minor hiccups. Due to the low transaction fees, companies are making money by exchanging this digital currency for real world dollars causing it to gain momentum all the time. Whether this Bitcoin bubble is going to continue or burst remains to be seen as we start this new year. 

comboupdates foresees a major shakeup in the value of Bitcoin in the coming months of 2014 due to the various actions being initiated by governments across the world.  The United States Federal Reserve is also expected to come out with clear cut policy guidelines in respect of various virtual currencies around the world in the month of May 2014.  So if you are holding or hoarding bitcoins, it may be proper to make hay while the sun is shining on Bitcoin!

FACEBOOK sued for intercepting and reading private messages for its own gains in United States


As the NSA snooping story is being leaked out more and more people are becoming privacy concious and more and more skeletons are tumbling out.  Till the time Edward Snowden leaked about the NSA programs of wire taps, email and chat surveillance and other communications tapping, the world netizens were unaware that their private mails or chats were being read by somebody other then the intended party.  Continuing this doom and gloom snooping world is the latest news from California USA where Matthew Campbell and Michael Hurley have filed a class action suit against Facebook with the Northern District Court.  

FACEBOOK sued for intercepting and reading private messages for its own gains in United States

The suit alleges that Facebook unlawfully intercepted private messages without consent, in order to use the data for its own profit.  Further the plaintiffs have accused the website of violating both state and federal privacy laws in the US. 

Matthew Campbell and Michael Hurley have  accused the social networking website of violating the Electronic Communications Privacy Act by scanning private messages that had URLs in them for “purposes including but not limited to data mining and user profiling.”  In plain English it means that the suit is filed against Facebook for scanning their private messages in order to increase the number of likes on pages of websites being mentioned in them. The suit has also cited a report from Swiss security firm High-Tech Bridge, suggesting Facebook likes on web pages go up when users send the page as a private link. The study was released in August last year and it tried to show that Facebook scanned through the URLs in private messages, without informing the users. The plaintiffs claim that these messages are being viewed by other humans than the sender and receiver.

The class action suit has been filed on behalf of all US users who have sent or received private messages that contained a URL in them. Besides the fact that the plaintiffs are seeking an injunction from the courts against Facebook to stop this practice, they’re also seeking damages to the tune of $100 per user for each day Facebook violated the Electronics Communications Privacy Act.

Facebook has meanwhile defended itself from the allegations, “We believe the allegations are without merit and we will defend ourselves vigorously,” a spokesperson for the website has said.