Page 3,198«..1020..3,1973,1983,1993,200..3,2103,220..»

The case for and against investing in Bitcoin – Livemint

January 10, 2021 | Author: admin

There are plenty of reasons for caution. The virtual currencys value has soared and plunged repeatedly since its introduction in 2009. It fell 52% just from Feb. 13 to March 11 last year.

And, while bitcoin is referred to as a digital currency, it doesnt meet at least one important criterion of a currency: It lacks widespread usage as a medium of exchange in legitimate commercial transactions. In November, digital-payment processors handled just $269.7 million of merchant sales world-wide in bitcoin, according to research firm Chainalysis. By comparison, total U.S. retail sales registered $546.5 billion in November.

Many pros think individual investors should steer clear of the currency entirely. But others suggest investors would do well to consider adding bitcoin to their portfoliobut generally only as a small percentage of their overall assets.

Making bitcoin a significant part of your portfolio would increase your risk substantially," says Eswar Prasad, a trade-policy professor at Cornell University who is writing a book about digital currencies. But a marginal amount seems worthwhile given recent dynamics."

Some of the best arguments for and against investing in bitcoin:

THE PLUSES

What bitcoin really represents is a store of value. As such, it can be used to hedge against inflation and against declines in other financial assets, such as stocks, bonds and the dollar, some industry pros say. Bitcoin has appreciated while the dollar has slid since last March.

The store of value" role for bitcoin is similar to that of gold. I put it in the same bucket," says John Rekenthaler, vice president of research at investment-research firm Morningstar.

Some advocates endorse investing in bitcointhough its volatility means timing can still be an issuesaying it will eventually stabilize and then be used more for legitimate commerce.

PayPal has said it plans to allow bitcoin to be used as a payment method starting early this year. A competitor, Square, also has shown interest in bitcoin commerce, and announced in October that it bought $50 million of the asset.

Some analysts also see an upside to bitcoins volatility. Its erratic trading keeps bitcoins correlation with stocks and bonds low, creating diversification. Volatility is bad if youre tapping it into the main part of your portfolio," Mr. Rekenthaler says. But if its on the side, thats good. That helped gold become a diversifier." He adds: We mutual-fund owners should start to think about bitcoin. But Im not saying the average investor should have it."

Because bitcoin is so volatile, investors dont need a lot of it to diversify a portfolio, he says. Mr. Rekenthaler reckons that a 5% allocation in bitcoin will diversify a balanced portfolio as effectively as a 25% position in the largest alternative" mutual fund, JPMorgan Hedged Equity (JHEQX).

While Karim Ahamed, investment strategist at Cerity Partners in Chicago, isnt advocating for bitcoin investment at this point, his company has begun studying whether to invest. Mr. Ahamed says having a small investment in bitcoin could work much like an allocation to venture capital. In venture capital," he says, one in 10 investments is a home run, two to three lose money and the others about break even. The home run makes up for a lot of misses."

Bill Miller IV, a portfolio manager at Miller Value Partners and son of legendary investor Bill Miller, has about 20% of his personal portfolio in bitcoin. Its a mistake for people not to own bitcoin," the younger Mr. Miller says.

A major appeal of bitcoin for Mr. Miller is its scarcity, he says. There is about $650 billion of bitcoin outstanding, compared with his estimate of about $80 trillion for standard currencies.

Demand is outpacing supply," says Mr. Miller, who interprets that to mean bitcoin should keep rising and trading should remain volatile.

THE MINUSES

There is no obvious way to determine bitcoins fair value. Bitcoin stands as a store of value only because some investors believe it is one. Bitcoin depends on the faith of investors and nothing more," Prof. Prasad says. It could equally well go to zero tomorrow if 10% of investors sold."

Other types of investment depend on similar underlying faith. But when it comes to stocks and bonds, for instance, there are legitimate mathematical models to determine their value. Stocks produce earnings and bonds produce income, for example, which helps determine their values.

Many analysts also question bitcoins value as a hedge. This year, it has largely risen in tandem with stocks and bonds at a time when inflation is quiescent. In addition, no major inflation has broken out since bitcoin came on the scene 12 years ago, so it is difficult to know whether it truly guards against price increases. You need that empirical testing," Mr. Ahamed says.

Meanwhile, some critics question whether bitcoins scarcity is a selling point. That scarcity also means illiquid and volatile trading, as evidenced by bitcoins roller-coaster ride during its 12 years of existence.

Skeptics also challenge the view that bitcoins volatility can be viewed as beneficial to a portfolio for diversification purposes. If the volatility comes just from speculation, Im not sure I want it as an uncorrelated asset," Mr. Ahamed says.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text.

Subscribe to Mint Newsletters

* Enter a valid email

* Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter.

See original here:
The case for and against investing in Bitcoin - Livemint

Read More..
Posted in Bitcoin | Leave a Comment

Bitcoin tops $40,000 as investors seek hedge against inflation – The Guardian

January 10, 2021 | Author: admin

Bitcoin has surged above the $40,000 (29,500) mark for the first time in its history after doubling its value in less than a month.

The record comes just days after the cryptocurrency hit an all-time high of more than $34,800 on Sunday, which was also the 12th anniversary of the bitcoin network being created. Bitcoin first breached the $20,000 mark in mid-December.

The asset has become increasingly popular with mainstream institutional investor, and supporters argue that it is starting to supplant gold as a store of value.

Analysts at the US investment bank JP Morgan said this week that bitcoin could eventually hit $146,000 if it bolsters its reputation as an alternative to the precious metal. They said the cryptocurrency was also becoming an option for investors who were looking to hedge against inflation, but were turned off by the depreciating US dollar.

There are more than 18m bitcoins in existence, created by the miners who provide the computational power underpinning the blockchain. The blockchain is a decentralised record of all transactions made using bitcoin that is maintained by a network of thousands of computers around the world. The system has a hardwired maximum of 21m coins.

Some sceptics have warned that the cryptoboom could be heading for trouble, and that the coin itself has no intrinsic value. But Naeem Aslam, the chief market analyst at AvaTrade, an online broker, said the cryptocurrency continued to defy its critics.

A major price level has been hit and bitcoin has proved that this is not the asset class you want to mess around with. It has proved itself to all disbelievers today.

Institutional traders are the ones who have really got the rally going, he said, adding that the next major moment for the cryptocurrency would come when it breached the $50,000 mark.

Read more from the original source:
Bitcoin tops $40,000 as investors seek hedge against inflation - The Guardian

Read More..
Posted in Bitcoin | Leave a Comment

Bitcoin’s parabolic price surge near $42,000 is the ‘mother of all bubbles’ – MarketWatch

January 10, 2021 | Author: admin

After a multiyear pit stop, bitcoin prices are surging like never before.

The unabated price acceleration to a recent peak near a stunning $42,000 on CoinDesk has made true believers out of many staid Wall Street pros, who may have once turned their collective noses up at the digital-asset that has only been around for a little over a decade.

However, the extraordinarily parabolic move for bitcoin, which was at last check, up 2.5% on Friday at $40,202 has raised serious questions about bubbles, like the Tulip mania of the 17th century.

BofA Global Research in their weekly The Flow Show report dated Jan. 7, raised the question as to whether bitcoins price move represents the mother of all bubbles. Check out the following chart that takes a stab at comparing the climb in asset against other assets over decades.

Of course, the chart doesnt go all the way back to the Tulip craze, where a single tulip commanded the same price, and often more, as a house during the peak of the Dutch craze from 1636-1637.

But BofAs point is well taken, bitcoins are richly prized and comparatively are staging a precipitous climb that merits attention and, perhaps, caution.

So far in the first full week of 2021, bitcoin has already climbed nearly 37%. By comparison, the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.18% is up a respectable, but more mundane, 1.5%, the S&P 500 index SPX, +0.55% is on track for a 1.6% gain and the Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, +1.03% has returned 1.4% thus far.

Bitcoins rally this year has pushed up the collective cryptocurrency market capitalization to a record above $1 trillion and as BofAs Michael Hartnett and his team puts it, the rise, of the cryptocurrency market now >$1tnas Bitcoin past 2 years blows-the-doors-off prior bubbles.

The gains appear to be far from over if you believe forecasts from JPMorgan Chase, whose researchers argue that the digital currency could be valued at $146,000 if bitcoin challenges gold GC00, +0.78% as a haven-like asset. That would certainly be worth a respectable house.

Of course, this isnt the first time that bitcoin has been referred to as a bubble.

In aprepared testimonyfor a Senate Banking Committee hearing back in 2018, Turkish-born economist, Nouriel Roubini, said digital currencies are the mother of all bubbles and, in fact, have entered an apocalypse.

Howard Wang, co-founder of Convoy Investments, also dubbed bitcoin the biggest bubble in history before its eventual collapse back in 2017.

See the original post here:
Bitcoin's parabolic price surge near $42,000 is the 'mother of all bubbles' - MarketWatch

Read More..
Posted in Bitcoin | Leave a Comment

This Bitcoin Ransomware Rakes in $150 Million in BTC | Security Bitcoin News – Bitcoin News

January 10, 2021 | Author: admin

A new report by two cybersecurity firms has revealed that one ransomware family is particularly successful, raking in over $150 million in bitcoin. The ransom payments sometimes amount to millions of dollars and typically run in the hundreds of thousands range.

The Ryuk ransomware family has raked in $150 million in bitcoin, according to a joint report by cybersecurity firms Advanced Intel and Hyas. The Ryuk family of ransomware has been particularly successful in economic terms as well as having a disruptive impact on many industries around the world, the report authors described, adding:

Our research involved tracing payments involving 61 deposit addresses attributed to Ryuk ransomware. The Ryuk criminals send a majority of their bitcoin to exchanges through an intermediary to cash out.

The ransomware family Ryuk was first discovered in the wild in August 2018. Its targets tend to be high-profile organizations, including hospitals and newspapers.

The report authors explained that Significant volumes of bitcoin move from the laundering service to Binance, Huobi, and crime markets that we have identified through traced payments. Besides the two crypto exchanges, there are significant flows of cryptocurrency to a collection of addresses that are too small to be an established exchange and probably represent a crime service that exchanges the cryptocurrency for local currency or another digital currency.

Furthermore, the report notes that Ryuk receives a significant amount of their ransom payments from a well-known broker that makes payments on behalf of the ransomware victims. These payments sometimes amount to millions of dollars and typically run in the hundreds of thousands range, adding:

After tracing bitcoin transactions for the known addresses attributable to Ryuk, the authors estimate that the criminal enterprise may be worth more than $150,000,000.

What do you think about this ransomware raking in $150 million in bitcoin? Let us know in the comments section below.

Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a direct offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation or endorsement of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in this article.

Go here to read the rest:
This Bitcoin Ransomware Rakes in $150 Million in BTC | Security Bitcoin News - Bitcoin News

Read More..
Posted in Bitcoin | Leave a Comment

The price movement in Bitcoin is textbook: Fundstrat Global Advisors’ Tom Lee – Yahoo Finance

January 10, 2021 | Author: admin

Tom Lee, Fundstrat Global Advisors Managing Partner & Head of Research joins the Yahoo Finance Live panel to discuss Bitcoin at an all-time high, market outlook amid jobs day report and Capitol chaos.

ZACK GUZMAN: I want to turn our attention to the markets here. And if Austan Goolsbee is one of our favorite economists to come on the show, I'll welcome one of our favorite guests ever to nail the market action in 2020 here. That, of course, would be Fundstrat Global Advisors managing partner and head of research Tom Lee. And Tom, as I said, I mean, you nailed everything in 2020.

And you're out with a new note here to look ahead to 2021, which is very interesting. And I just kind of want to break it down because you focus in on the VIX. And you've told us to watch that before as kind of being one of the key indicators in terms of where the market is headed from here. And it sounds like you're breaking down kind of where the volatility expectations are here in 2021, with investors showing that they're expecting similar levels of volatility to what we saw play out last year. So what does that mean for the markets when you look at the data?

TOM LEE: Well, yeah, thanks for having me on. The VIX, which is a measure of expected volatility, I think has always provided a lot of good signal for people. And high levels of spot VIX obviously mean people are scared, but what we wrote about was that when you look at the futures market for VIX, because that's really where more activity is, VIX is expected to be high all the way through September. And if you think about it, that's a pretty insane level of fear that people are scared for the next nine months.

But what's interesting is that this level of fear is exactly almost the same level it was throughout all of 2020. So people don't think anything's getting better. And that's how the market is perceiving equities today and the economy. And if you believe things are indeed improving, then you should be buying stocks because the VIX is destined to fall in the next nine months. But another thing that [INAUDIBLE] pointed out was--

Story continues

ZACK GUZMAN: Yeah, that's kind of--

TOM LEE: Oh, sorry, I was just--

ZACK GUZMAN: [INAUDIBLE] going to get to it, that second point.

TOM LEE: Yeah, the second point is, if you look at the fact that people think current volatility was higher than future, that's how 2020 averaged. And people just thought there was always going to be a near term volatility event. In the 12 months after averaging a level like that, stocks do incredibly well. In fact, they've never had a down year.

So 2021 is a year where the VIX is unwinding that fear. And historically, the average gain is 23%. So I think stocks have an underlying positive risk reward. And I think that's how you should approach it. But again, you know, future's uncertain, COVID's uncertain. So just keep that in mind. But, again, history says this should be a great year for stocks.

AKIKO FUJITA: Tom, in addition to the equity markets, we always like to come to you to talk about Bitcoin, certainly significant gains that we've seen, trading right now well above 41,000. You saw that note out from JPM earlier this week, talking about Bitcoin hitting 146,000. Has your thesis changed at all, given the significant surge that we have seen over the last several weeks?

TOM LEE: You know, I think that the price move in Bitcoin actually is pretty textbook because it's behaving the way crypto and Bitcoin has acted after previous halvenings, you know, when the block rewards cut in half. And 2017 was a year when Bitcoin last went parabolic. That's one full year after the halvening.

2021 would pattern itself after that. So if-- you know, the fact that Bitcoin's doubled almost in 10 days, and I think the JPMorgan numbers are not that far off-- I mean, I'm not sure I'd be that precise with, you know, 146,000. But I think Bitcoin, it looks like 2017 will be up at least 300% this year.

ZACK GUZMAN: It does seem like an oddly precise price target there, too. I mean, you guys had 40,000. We're already above that now. You said that it could quadruple. That would put it above 100,000 here at some point in 2021. So, I mean, continue that trend. We've talked about volatility in Bitcoin and how quickly it can move south here. So, I mean, obviously, it's not expected to be a straight up and to the right chart, or is it? Maybe-- how should investors be looking at it?

TOM LEE: Yeah, it's a hyper volatile asset. You know, again, I just point out the future's uncertain. But our road map for risk assets this year is that stocks would be pretty explosive out of the gate and peak in sometime either in late January, but as late as April around S&P 4,000 before a big drawdown happens. I think Bitcoin is going to-- if the S&P falls 10%, Bitcoin is going to have a huge drawdown. It could be down 40%, 50%. So I don't think it's a straight up with a ruler. It's going to be pretty jagged, but I think at the end of the year, Bitcoin is much higher.

AKIKO FUJITA: Did you say it could be down as much as 40%?

TOM LEE: Yes, but that's a pretty typical correction for crypto. In fact, I think last year, it had a couple of drawdowns nearly that size. So, that's what you get with a permissionless blockchain and experiencing hyper growth and adoption.

ZACK GUZMAN: I mean, you talk about kind of this risk, you know, the trigger that we're expected to see in the first half of 2021 that could spark this correction. A lot of people were wondering if that was going to be, you know, the outcome of the Democratic wins in Georgia. It doesn't seem to be, based on the market reaction we're seeing play out now.

So when you look ahead, I guess, our attention turns back to kind of the vaccine rollout. You have your eyes on Israel to see how things are going over there. But what's kind of your next judgment of what could trigger maybe that correction you see on the horizon and what investors should be watching now?

TOM LEE: Yeah, I mean, but foremost, it was never our view that the Senate race would have any impact on markets. I think that's someone's imaginary shouting at the market to do something. And so, I think that if there's something that's going to scare markets, it's kind of what you said. It would be the risk that the pandemic looks like we're losing ground.

I mean, right now, there's millions of people getting vaccinated. And hopefully, that leads to a slowdown in infection. So that's why we're watching Israel closely because Israel is the furthest along with percentage of the population. And so, presumably, if cases start to slow, that's good. But if they don't, I don't know. I think that would be very worrisome.

The other thing is, you know, the yield curve, which has really great predictive power on what the PMIs will do, the yield curve is saying that PMIs are potentially going to be peaking this month in January and then fall through May. And I think that that move towards 50 on the ISMs could make people think we're heading towards a recession. And that could be a reason for stocks to sell off. But the market's unpredictable.

But, again, I just want to be clear. Nobody at Fundstrat thought the Senate race would have any bearing on markets, even if people were sitting on cash. In fact, I would countertrade that and say that's one reason we thought the markets would be explosive out of the gates.

AKIKO FUJITA: Tom, I want to follow up on that point you just made about the virus itself and the spread that if, in fact, it felt like we're sort of losing control, I mean, you could argue, if we're following sort of what the health community is saying, this is about the worst that we're seeing in terms of the surge, things likely to get worse at a time when there are some signs that the vaccine rollout may not happen as rapidly as we initially thought.

How are you following the numbers here in the US? And how has the outlook on that front changed for you at all when you look at how slow the inoculations have actually gone in the first month of this vaccine?

TOM LEE: Yeah, I mean, CDC is releasing the data daily. And our data science team is pulling that data. And so, we have a good real-time snapshot. It comes out at 9:00 AM every day. I actually think the vaccine-- vaccinations are ramping up pretty dramatically. I mean, yesterday, they were 30% above the day before. And the pace is around 500,000 now. It's probably going to hit a million next week. And that would get to roughly 30% of Americans being vaccinated by April. And that's also when the winter kind of ends and COVID, hopefully, is retreating.

So, I think, you know, it's a mistake to think that out of the gates, if the vaccines are choppy now, and that's-- a lot of it's state implementation. It's not-- it's going to look like that in April. I'm sure it's going to ramp up. Look what happened with testing in the US. I mean, now the US has carpet bombed with testing. And in the beginning, it was slow. So, I'm not that worried about it. But yeah, if COVID mutates or if the vaccine doesn't work, that would be very worrisome.

AKIKO FUJITA: Tom Lee, always good to get your perspective here on the show. Fundstrat Global Advisors managing partner and head of research.

More:
The price movement in Bitcoin is textbook: Fundstrat Global Advisors' Tom Lee - Yahoo Finance

Read More..
Posted in Bitcoin | Leave a Comment

Bylaws of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering – Nevada Today

January 10, 2021 | Author: admin

The Chair shall be appointed by the President of the University of Nevada, Reno, acting on the nomination of the faculty and endorsement of the Dean of the College of Engineering. The term of office for a new Department Chair shall be five years. Reappointment is possible for a three year term if re-nominated by a majority of the Departmental voting faculty. For the five year initial appointment, the voting faculty will vote at the end of the third year to recommend to the Dean the termination or continuation of the original term.

The Chair shall be the administrative and executive officer of the Department, the Chair of its faculty, and ex-officio member of all its committees not having to do with the evaluation of the Chair. The Chair shall also serve as the chief representative of the Department within the University and as the chief spokesperson for the faculty of the Department. The position of Chair shall carry with it full authority to manage the Department and the person filling that position will be responsible for administrating the Department in a manner generally compatible with the thinking and expressed wishes of a majority of the faculty.

The Chair shall be responsible for recommending the appointment of new personnel and making recommendations for promotion and tenure. Such recommendations concerning tenure, promotion, merit, and non-renewal of contract shall be made by the Chair only after considering the written recommendations of the Departmental Personnel Committees. In the event the Chair disagrees with the recommendation of a personnel committee, a written justification shall be provided to the personnel committee.

The Chair shall, in consultation with the Faculty, prepare class schedules, make teaching assignments and prepare the Department budget. The Chair shall keep the faculty advised of his decisions regarding expenditure of funds, assignment of duties to Department staff and committee assignments. Capital expenditures in excess of $5,000 shall receive prior review by the Equipment and Facilities Committee. In addition, the Chair shall perform other management tasks as needed, and carry out such duties as expected of a faculty member.

The Department Chair will be evaluated annually according to the Nevada System of Higher Education Code by the Personnel Evaluation Committee and the results reported to the Dean of the College of Engineering, or his designated representative.

Continue reading here:

Bylaws of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering - Nevada Today

Read More..
Posted in Computer Science | Leave a Comment

MIT’s College of Computing building takes shape as Alexandria and BioMed make moves in Boston – Cambridge Day

January 10, 2021 | Author: admin

The College of Computing at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is designed by Skidmore Owings & Merrill.

Plans were released this week for the building that will house a College of Computing at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology an eight-story, 120-foot structure of 174,000 square feet coming to 51 Vassar St., Area II, replacing the institutes distinctive Cyclotron Building. Demolition on that structure, also known as Building 44, began in September.

Completion of the headquarters is expected in 2023. Its the final step in a $1.1 billion initiative that began taking shape just in October 2018 with a $350 million gift from Stephen Schwarzman, chairman of the asset management firm Blackstone. The college became a priority when MIT leaders saw historically high numbers of students declaring majors and choosing classes in computer science, according to materials from the college.

The building is expected to be complete at 51 Vassar St. in 2023.

The building will provide state-of-the-art space for computing education and research. It will also serve as a nexus for interdisciplinary work, engaging computer scientists as well as faculty and students in sciences and engineering, architecture and urban planning, business management, and the humanities and the arts, according to online materials. We expect the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing will become a convening force for research and scholarship on societal responsibilities of computing and AI, or artificial intelligence.

The building will include offices for new faculty the college is hiring 50, though half will be shared with other departments. Also in the building: space for research groups, labs, open and closed community and meeting spaces, two classrooms, a street-level caf and possibly event space, Kristina Chen reported in The Tech, the institutes student newspaper.

As designed by Skidmore Owings & Merrill, the building has a couple of distinctive features, including a front of translucent baffles taller and wider than the main structure itself, divided at its central entrance and stairwell and revealing a section of each floor above it. At the rear, the building is suspended by columns over train tracks.

Other developments

The weeks development moves also included some companies that are giant in Cambridge but are making giant moves in Boston, Bldup reported:

Alexandria Real Estate Equities said it planned to buy 401 Park, the former Landmark Center, for $1.5 billion.

BioMed Realty has announced its buying 601 Congress in The Seaport, a 482,000-square-foot building that was once headquarters for John Hancock.The delivery is expected in late 2022. A price wasnt disclosed.

A BETTER

Please consider making a financial contribution to maintain, expand and improve Cambridge Day.

DONATE

See the original post here:

MIT's College of Computing building takes shape as Alexandria and BioMed make moves in Boston - Cambridge Day

Read More..
Posted in Computer Science | Leave a Comment

Carver Community Center to offer free pampers to mothers, free coding classes for youth – Marshall News Messenger

January 10, 2021 | Author: admin

Marshalls Anointing Grace Ministries and George Washington Carver Community Center are pleased to announce new outreach partnerships one with Lullaby House, offering free pampers; and another with Prairie View A&M to facilitate free online computer coding classes for youth.

Lullaby House manager, Paula Cornelius, is really excited about our partnership and shes eager to come to Marshall for the first time, said Angelita Jackson, who serves as co-director of the ministry and community center with husband, Kenneth Jackson.

The community center, located at 2302 Holland St., will host a Lullaby House-Free Pamper Giveaway/Pickup Pamper Pop Up on Martin Luther King Day, Monday, Jan. 18, for mothers and expecting mothers in Marshall and the surrounding area.

Were looking for not just (mothers) in Marshall, said Jackson. It could be (throughout) Harrison County, Gregg County anyone in our area.

We want to make it worth their while to come, she said. If its a rainy day, come on. Well make sure theyre safe.

The Pickup Pamper Pop Up will be from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Jan. 18, which is the community centers MLK Day of Service. While walkups are welcome, registration is preferred.

We have a goal of covering 200 babies, said Jackson. All mothers are encouraged to sign up in advance for proper sizing.

Registration will be conducted now through Sunday, Jan. 17. Mothers can sign up on the Anointing Grace Ministries Facebook page or text their name and contact information to (903) 930-8325. Mothers can also email AnointingGraceMinistries@gmail.com.

Registration is also open now for youth ages 9 and older to participate in free virtual online computer coding classes, provided through a partnership with the community center and Prairie View A&M University.

Classes will begin February 1. Jackson encourages youth to register now as space is limited.

This is a great opportunity to begin computer coding, college readiness, and scholarships for college, said Jackson.

Prairie View is teaching the classes virtual and were working on getting laptops at the center for those that dont have one, said Jackson.

The deadline to register is Monday, Jan. 25. Prospective participants can register on the Anointing Grace Ministries Facebook page or text coding and a contact number to (903) 930-8325; or email the participants name, age and contact information to AnointingGraceMinistries@gmail.com.

Jackson said they are particularly excited that youth as young as age 9 can gain such a valuable skill, for free.

It really is the future, she said.

The Athletes for Computer Science program encourages an interest in computer science. One of the program highlights is partnering with professional athletes through video conference STEM lessons to increase awareness and engagement in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education. Other highlights include introducing students at an early age to careers in STEM and teaching students the skills needed for computing and information technology careers.

We believe that when athletes engage students in computer science, the experience will provide confidence and positive associations that will make a measurable difference, Prairie View officials stated.

Jackson said the community center is thrilled about the program.

We want to get them as early as possible to stay in the program, said Jackson. The great thing is theyll be proficient by the time they get in high school.

If we get them early enough, theyll stick with us, she said.

The free coding program will provide books, career assessments, interest tests and a virtual college tour.

Thats part of the program, said Jackson.

Seating is limited for that, she reiterated. Email their name, age and phone number. Well call them back and get them properly registered.

Since repurposing the former George Washington Carver Elementary School into the areas first privately owned, fully operational Christian community center a little more than a year ago, the center has been running full speed ahead, fulfilling its mission.

Our mission is that you may know Christ and have life abundantly, said Jackson.

Weve been serving kids. We have summer feeding, serving the community throughout the summer, she shared.

The community center also distributed PPE (personal protective equipment) in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In recognition of Black History Month, the center hosted a Black History Brunch last year.

We finished the renovation of our sanctuary, which were really proud to say; and the Carver Center is available for leasing if somebody wants to lease a space, Jackson said.

The center is now planning to have its first board meeting with its newly established board, consisting of educators, other professionals and active members of the community. The virtual meeting will be January 28 at 6 p.m.

Were moving forward, said Jackson, adding they also have programs for senior citizens in store whenever the pandemic calms.

Weve applied for several grants, she said, noting grants will benefit afterschool programs and more.

We want people to pray with us, too, that God will bless us with some of the grants that will come through, said Jackson.

Original post:

Carver Community Center to offer free pampers to mothers, free coding classes for youth - Marshall News Messenger

Read More..
Posted in Computer Science | Leave a Comment

He Was Going to Close the Family Diner. Then He Got a Sign. – The New York Times

January 10, 2021 | Author: admin

Doors opened at 5:30 a.m., welcoming the morning coffee crew, including the homeless who could get free coffee, said Susan Guercio, who has been a customer for 22 years. Doors closed at midnight, seven days a week. That is, until the pandemic shut the city down last March.

But his father tried to be upbeat about the situation, Mr. Panayiotou recalled. I remember one of the waiters said: All right, Pete. Goodbye, and my dad said, Not goodbye till I see you again.

The next day, Chriss father complained about a stomachache. We told him, Maybe youre nervous, Mr. Panayiotou said. It was the first time Gee Whiz had shut down in 30 years, apart from the aftermath of Sept. 11, during which Peter Panayiotou spent several months cleaning up the damage from the terror attacks, just blocks away.

Being exposed to the pollution in 2001 contributed to Peter Panayiotous need for a double-lung transplant seven years ago. As the virus emerged, he was 65 years old and considered high-risk for Covid-19. To be safe, the family took him to the emergency room, but he was sent home and told to isolate. By then, Chriss mother, Maria, 67, had tested positive for the virus. Two days later, his father returned to the emergency room, but was again sent home. The following day, he turned blue. An ambulance came.

That was the last time we saw Dad, turning that corner in the ambulance, Mr. Panayiotou said. This time, his father remained at the hospital and was put on a ventilator. He died on April 5, nine days after the death of Andy Koutsoudakis, his business partner of 30 years, also from Covid-19.

Chris was devastated. Days were spent in bed, and nights were spent on his living room sofa staring at the wall in the dark. He started smoking again, going through a pack of Marlboro 27s a day and shedding close to 50 pounds in four months.

Read the rest here:

He Was Going to Close the Family Diner. Then He Got a Sign. - The New York Times

Read More..
Posted in Computer Science | Leave a Comment

Members of Several Well-Known Hate Groups Identified at Capitol Riot – FRONTLINE

January 10, 2021 | Author: admin

This story is part of an ongoing collaboration between ProPublica and FRONTLINE that includes an upcoming documentary.

Members of the ultranationalist street gang known as the Proud Boys were easy to spot at the protests that flared across the United States throughout 2020, often in the middle of a brawl, typically clad in black and yellow outfits.

But in December, as the groups leaders planned to flood Washington to oppose the certification of the Electoral College vote this week for President-elect Joe Biden, they decided to do something different.

The ProudBoys will turn out in record numbers on Jan 6th but this time with a twist, Henry Enrique Tarrio, the groups president, wrote in a late-December post on Parler, a social media platform that has become popular with right-wing activists and conservatives. We will not be wearing our traditional Black and Yellow. We will be incognito and we will spread across downtown DC in smaller teams. And who knows.we might dress in all BLACK for the occasion.

The precise composition of the mob that forced its way into the Capitol on Wednesday, disrupting sessions of both houses of Congress and leaving a police officer and four others dead, remains unknown. But a review by a ProPublica-FRONTLINE team that has been tracking far-right movements for the past three years shows that the crowd included members of the Proud Boys and other groups with violent ideologies. Videos reveal the presence of several noted hardcore nativists and white nationalists who participated in the 2017 white power rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, that President Donald Trump infamously refused to condemn.

Tarrio does not appear to have been present during the insurrection. Two days before members of the House and Senate gathered to certify the Electoral College results, Washingtons Metropolitan Police Department arrested Tarrio and charged him with possessing high-capacity firearm magazines and destruction of property over the burning of a Black Lives Matter banner last month. A judge barred him from entering the city while he awaits trial.

Read more: Capitol Rioters Planned for Weeks in Plain Sight. The Police Werent Ready.

But it appears that Tarrios followers heeded his advice. A journalist working with ProPublica and FRONTLINE encountered members of the Proud Boys in dark clothes walking through Washington on the night before the attack. The four men posed for a photo and confirmed their membership in the group. Few participants involved in the Capitol siege were seen wearing Proud Boys colors or logos.

But since the incident, Proud Boys social media channels have flaunted their direct role in the attack and looting of the Capitol.

One prominent Proud Boys account encouraged rioters as the chaos was unfolding: Hold your ground!!! DO NOT GO HOME. WE ARE ON THE CUSP OF SAVING THE CONSTITUTION.

So far, police have arrested more than 80 people in connection with the attack, including at least one Proud Boy, Nick Ochs. They have seized pipe bombs and Molotov cocktails and arrested at least six people on illegal firearms charges, including one Maryland man who was captured in the visitors center of the Capitol. More arrests are expected.

Listen: Chaos at the Capitol

As the crowds ringing the Capitol swelled on Wednesday, a small group of men clad in body armor shuffled toward the doors at the center of the buildings east-facing facade.

The eight men, whose movements were captured on video, were identified by ProPublica and FRONTLINE as members of the Oath Keepers, a long-standing militia group that has pledged to ignite a civil war on behalf of Trump. Members of the group joined the protesters and insurrectionists flooding into the Capitol. Footage from later in the day shows Oath Keepers dragging a wounded comrade out of the building.

Stewart Rhodes, a former soldier and Yale law school graduate, who founded the Oath Keepers in 2009 and built it into a nationwide network, was seen on video standing outside the Capitol building. While he was not seen entering the Capitol, he could be seen talking with his militia followers throughout the day.

Several other of the participants ProPublica and FRONTLINE identified from video have direct links to the white nationalist movement, which has seen a resurgence of activity during the Trump era.

One was Nick Fuentes, an internet personality who streams a daily talk show on DLive, an alternative social media platform. Fuentes, who marched in Charlottesville during the 2017 white power rally there, speaks frequently in anti-Semitic terms and pontificates on the need to protect Americas white heritage from the ongoing shift in the nations demographics. He has publicly denied believing in white nationalism but has said that he considers himself a white majoritarian.

Fuentes, who spoke at pro-Trump rallies late last year in Michigan and Washington, D.C., said he was at the rally on Wednesday but didnt follow the mob into the Capitol. One group of Fuentes supporters, who call themselves the Groyper Army, was filmed running through the Capitol carrying a large blue flag with the America First logo.

Days before the Capitol was stormed, Fuentes seemed to encourage his followers to kill state legislators in a bid to overturn Bidens electoral victory, as Megan Squire, a computer science professor at Elon University who follows online extremist communities, noted on Twitter.

What can you and I do to a state legislator besides kill him? he said with a smirk. We should not do that. Im not advising that, but I mean, what else can you do, right?

Squire fears that Fuentes incendiary rhetoric will inspire his followers to engage in more drastic even lethal acts of political violence. Instead of trying to appear democratic hes making an argument for fascism, for monarchism, she said. Hes criticizing democracy at every turn. He doesnt believe in democracy and its scary because his fans find him fascinating.

DLive recently announced that it has booted Fuentes from its platform.

Another figure inside the Capitol with ties to white nationalists was Tim Gionet, a livestreamer who uses the handle Baked Alaska and who participated in the Charlottesville rally, which left one woman dead. Gionet was photographed within the Capitol and apparently used DLive to stream from within the building as events unfolded. Part of his video appeared to show him in Nancy Pelosis office, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate groups.

Other extremist figures present either at the rally or within the Capitol included Vincent James Foxx, an online propagandist for the Rise Above Movement, a now-defunct Southern California white supremacist group.

Also on scene: Gabe Brown, a New Englander who helped create Anticom, a now-defunct organization devoted to physically combating leftists. In 2017, Anticom members posted a vast trove of bomb-making manuals to a private online chatroom.

The militant group members joined with scores of others who rampaged inside the Capitol.

Rep. Andr Carson, a Democrat from Indiana, said the scene reminded him of a Ku Klux Klan rally. Photos from within the Capitol showed one unidentified man carrying a Confederate battle flag and another wearing a sweatshirt emblazoned with a skull and the words Camp Auschwitz, a reference to the infamous Nazi death camp.

Carson and other House members who spoke to ProPublica and FRONTLINE said the body would be launching an extensive investigation of the Capitol Police force and its mishandling of Wednesdays events.

The rioters, said Carson, who is Black, were hostile. They were venomous. And I think there was a sense of entitlement that they carried that somehow their country was being taken away from them.

After the siege, a Boogaloo Bois group called the Last Sons of Liberty, which includes militants from Virginia, posted a video to Parler purporting to document their role in the incident a clip that shows members inside the Capitol. A loose-knit confederation of anti-government militants, the Boogaloo Bois have been tied to a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and to the murder of two law enforcement officers in California. ProPublica and FRONTLINE have been unable to independently confirm their involvement.

Some far-right activists are already calling for retribution over the death of Ashli Babbitt, a 35-year-old Air Force veteran from California who was shot and killed by a security officer. Weve got a girl thats dead. Shes shot, laying on the ground in there, said Damon Beckley, leader of a group called DC Under Siege, in an interview just outside the Capitol while the riot was ongoing. Were not putting up with this tyrannical rule. If we gotta come back here and start a revolution and take all these traitors out which is what should happen then we will.

Another person took to Parler to say that they were planning to show up, armed, in Washington for Inauguration Day. Many of us will return on January 19, 2021 carrying Our weapons, wrote the Parler user, who goes by the handle Colonel007. We will come in numbers that no standing army or police agency can match.

The Proud Boys also celebrated on social media. On Parler, one Proud Boys leader posted a photo of members of Congress cowering in fear and captioned it with a menacing statement: Today you found out. The power of the people will not be denied.

Logan Jaffe of ProPublica and Lila Hassan, Dan Glaun and Zoe Todd of FRONTLINE contributed reporting.

Correction, Jan. 9, 2021:This story has been updated to remove the name of an individual who upon further investigation could not be definitively identified.

Go here to read the rest:

Members of Several Well-Known Hate Groups Identified at Capitol Riot - FRONTLINE

Read More..
Posted in Computer Science | Leave a Comment