IRS Fraud Chief Counsel's History Suggests US May Begin Aggressive Prosecution of Crypto Crimes
by W. Paul Alexander
So, everyone, this is just a quick note from me after reading a recent IRS newsletter. I sign up for all IRS/Treasury/Criminal Enforcement emails so that I have an idea of new and changing situations related to white collar crime in the US, as I have been following how this will intersect with the blockchain.
So, anyway, here is the press release where the IRS announced that Attorney Carolyn Schenck, a long-time litigator and criminal enforcer for the federal government, will be promoted to the position of Counsel for the National Fraud Center of the IRS. While it sounds standard, read it carefully, and I will point of what I am referring to following this:
**IRS Fraud Enforcement Program adds Schenck as National Fraud Counsel**
WASHINGTON – The Internal Revenue Service has named attorney Carolyn Schenck as the National Fraud Counsel serving the agency’s new Fraud Enforcement Program.
Schenck currently serves as Assistant Division Counsel (International) in the Small Business/Self Employed (SB/SE) Division of the IRS Office of Chief Counsel. For more than 10 years, she has been assigned as counsel to the IRS Offshore Compliance Initiative.
“Carolyn is extremely well-regarded in the practitioner community and brings unparalleled experience to the job,” IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig said.
Schenck will be working closely with Eric Hylton, SB/SE Division Commissioner; Damon Rowe, Director of Fraud Enforcement; and Brendan O’Dell, the new IRS Promoter Investigation Coordinator. She will help provide advice on the Fraud Enforcement Program’s design, development, and delivery of major activities in support of Service-wide efforts to detect and deter fraud. https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJidWxsZXRpbl9saW5rX2lkIjoxMjcsInVyaSI6ImJwMjpjbGljayIsImJ1bGxldGluX2lkIjoiMjAyMDA1MjYuMjIwMTMzMTEiLCJ1cmwiOiJodHRwczovL3d3dy5pcnMuZ292L25ld3Nyb29tL2lycy1jcmltaW5hbC1pbnZlc3RpZ2F0aW9uLXZldGVyYW4tc2VsZWN0ZWQtYXMtbmV3LWZyYXVkLWVuZm9yY2VtZW50LWRpcmVjdG9yIn0.DE3ou7j-ntDzWIifkJ-O6c46BGp0CfU6n_EeFr73FCY/br/79094578888-l https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJidWxsZXRpbl9saW5rX2lkIjoxMjgsInVyaSI6ImJwMjpjbGljayIsImJ1bGxldGluX2lkIjoiMjAyMDA1MjYuMjIwMTMzMTEiLCJ1cmwiOiJodHRwczovL3d3dy5pcnMuZ292L25ld3Nyb29tL29kZWxsLXRvLXNlcnZlLWFzLWlycy1wcm9tb3Rlci1pbnZlc3RpZ2F0aW9ucy1jb29yZGluYXRvciJ9.2v5rdRQaLE5Y4ZRb1OMnLgPPFZempgHcLEb1Ek7u8S0/br/79094578888-l
“We are very pleased with Carolyn’s selection as the Chief Counsel National Fraud Counsel, which could not have come at a more opportune time,” Chief Counsel Michael Desmond said. “With the critical role the IRS is playing in responding to the unprecedented challenges of the COVID pandemic, having someone with her talent and experience should send a strong signal that those who seek to take advantage of the situation will face dire consequences.”
As Assistant Division Counsel (International), Schenck has been responsible for coordination and management of all international and offshore tax and Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) matters under the jurisdiction of SB/SE Division Counsel. She helped to ensure the government consistently applies law and policy in international and offshore tax and FBAR matters, including in non-docketed cases and cases docketed in the U.S. Tax Court, U.S. district courts, the Court of Federal Claims and the U.S. Courts of Appeals. Schenck also provides guidance to and serves as the principal legal advisor and contact point on international and offshore tax and FBAR matters to the SB/SE Division and the Withholding and International Individual Compliance function of the IRS Large Business and International Division. Her international work also involves John Doe summons actions, the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure programs and Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures, working with Treaty partners on cross-border issues and cases, and conducting nationwide trainings for attorneys and agents on investigative techniques, evidence and substantive tax issues.
Schenck has litigated numerous cases in U.S. Tax Court on behalf of the IRS. She also works with IRS special enforcement agents on cases involving fraud, foreign accounts, and foreign reporting penalties; she also assists the Department of Justice in cases involving criminal tax prosecutions, injunctions, summons enforcement, and abusive tax return preparers and promoters. *****Schenck has also focused her efforts as of late on virtual currency with the civil and criminal divisions, to shape the compliance and enforcement efforts of the IRS***** (emphasis mine).
Prior to joining the IRS, Schenck was an attorney for the Division of Enforcement at the Securities and Exchange Commission. She also worked for Chief Judge Alex Kozinski of the Ninth Circuit and Chief Judge H. Robert Mayer of the Federal Circuit Courts of Appeals. Before her law career, Schenck worked for U.S. Senator John McCain and as a weapons analyst.
So, do you guys see the line that I have bolded, italicized, and underlined? Of course you do...
These press releases are generally filled with information that can give you an idea of what steps an agency will take next. The fact that Schenk has "of late" focused on "virtual currency within the civil and criminal divisision, and compliance and enforcement efforts of the IRS" is very telling.
We all wondered how the federal government was going to pay for all of the trillions spent on COVID-19 relief, right?
This press release, to me, makes it sound as though some of that recouping of funds is going to come from increased efforts surrounding crypto-crimes, where civil asset forfeiture would almost certainly be guaranteed.
What do you guys think? To put someone in such a position of power, specifically to combat "fraud", that they acknowledge has been targeting cryptocurrency, both civilly and criminally.
Can't wait to hear your thoughts.
Mother's Day 2020: Honoring Mother's During a Pandemic
[NOTE: Hi Everyone, my mom send me a post and asked me if I would share it via all of my platforms, so I am doing just that. My mother is the type of mom that will move mountains if she knows her children are in need or suffering. She has always been there for me, even as my dad passed away and I was only left with one parent. She provided me with my moral compass, my feelings on ethics and compassion, and so much more.]
To Moms Everywhere
[05/09/2020 | Jacksonville, Florida | Pat Alexander]
A mother's love is a beautiful gift from God, designed by his hand. That design is intrigued with instincts, desires and abilities that reflect His own nurturing love and care for us. Because of the love that our Creator has given us, we are able to pass this unconditional love to our children, which are our creations.
People say that the most important thing a mother can give her children is this unconditional love, but there are many other factors that combine together in the heart, mind, and soul of a great mother. Aside from that love that is so freely given to us, mothers must also discipline and raise their children in order to pass on their values, morals, and tradition. Mothers must raise their children in a manner that focuses on giving these values to their children so that they may become adults that are productive members of society and that care about the suffering of others. Without a solid maternal support system, these values can be hard to come by. Mothers play a huge part in developing the spiritual, emotional, physical and mental minds of their children.
Mothers can have insight to their children's' life like no other person can. Their children may end up with struggles in their lives that only a mom can help comfort. As our nation is in the middle of a pandemic and an opioid epidemic as well, and this means that more mothers are losing their children than ever before. Whether it applies to death from disease or from overdose, mothers are losing more children than ever before. As a mothers, I feel and empathize with every moths or there who has lost a child, Please remember, mothers of children that pass away are still mothers, and they should be celebrated on Mother's Day just like mothers of living children are!
While our children face challenges as they enter into adult hood, it is only natural to want to fix it and sooth their pain. Sometimes we can feel weary and maybe even unappreciated because we become so involved in our children's lives, and when we realize that love alone is not enough to cure things like addiction, mothers are left with an even more difficult decision to make -- that is, to show "tough love" to a child that you have only ever had to show tender love to by committing the child to a rehabilitation facility. A mom in this situation can only give it to God while making a stand that tough love is the only love that can be given as our children face the scourge of addiction. Sometimes, no matter how much it hurts, mothers in this position are placed with the options
Moms have a unique power, part of our unconditional love, cannot only forget wrongs done to us by our children, but we can forgive as well when their children give them a hug, no matter how young they are or how old they may become. Our children yearn for our affection, and we definitely need it from them. Obedience and communication are very powerful acts of love. Creativity is also a great source of love that we can share and give to our children.
When they are little, children want to show their love to their mom in any way that they can, and we are so appreciative for it. Many times, a bouquet of weed-like flowers have adorned the dinner table as a centerpiece. Treasure the homemade cards, for they have been given with much love. We impart our love to our grandchildren, too; for they are an extension of the love moms feel for our own children.
It is my prayer and hope that the knowledge that God has blessed you with -- that precious breath of life -- has also blessed your children with an awesome mom!
Make it a JOYOUS Mothers Day.
_________________________
If you guys enjoyed this, let me know. Like I said, I am posting this at the request of my mom, who wrote the words.
Signing off...
W. Paul Alexander
Better Call Paul Blog
Stimulus Money Invested in BTC Now Worth $1600
[Jacksonville, FL | 05/07/2020]
Many of you know that I wrote an article the other day the posited whether or not stimulus checks from the US government, at $1200 USD for each adult, had been invested into Bitcoin, and if so, whether or not such an investment had any effect on the price of BTC during the "halving hype."
The entire article can be found here: **Have Stimulus Funds Resulted in a BTC Price Increase?** https://read.cash/@BetterCallPaul/have-stimulus-funds-resulted-in-an-increase-in-personal-crypto-investments-864541b1
For reference, in the original article, this is what the crypto markets looked like:
**Cryptocurrencies:** ****5,402**** https://coinmarketcap.com/all/views/all/
**Markets:** ****21,499**** https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/volume/24-hour/
**Market Cap:** ****$228,438,322,248**** https://coinmarketcap.com/charts/
**24h Vol:** ****$137,826,603,226**** https://coinmarketcap.com/charts/
**BTC Dominance:** ****63.7%**** https://coinmarketcap.com/charts/#dominance-percentage
At that time, which was around April 20th, BTC was moving sideways around $7500 per BTC.
As the halving draws near, the price of BTC has skyrocketed to right around $9500, estimated to easily break 10k in the coming days.
Here are the market values currently:
**Cryptocurrencies:** ****5,432**** https://coinmarketcap.com/all/views/all/
**Markets:** ****21,676**** https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/volume/24-hour/
**Market Cap:** ****$257,510,265,391**** https://coinmarketcap.com/charts/
**24h Vol:** ****$159,257,493,543**** https://coinmarketcap.com/charts/
**BTC Dominance:** ****67.4%**** https://coinmarketcap.com/charts/#dominance-percentage
This shows close to $30 billion in market cap gains over the last 2 weeks.... simply amazing.
Today, on May 7, 2020, while reading some other blockchain news, I came across an article with the following headline:
**US Debt Hits $25T — Stimulus Checks That Bought Bitcoin Now Worth $1.6K** https://cointelegraph.com/news/us-debt-hits-25t-stimulus-checks-that-bought-bitcoin-now-worth-16k
Before we get to the topic of stimulus checks, let's talk about that first statement....
The United States national debt has now reached an historic milestone at $25 trillion dollars -- over $6 trillion of which has been added in the last couple of months.
That's absolutely insane, and as the article above notes, the US Federal Reserve has implemented some policies in response to COVID19 that mirror the missteps taken by Zimbabwe's government that led to the highest and most aggressive hyperinflation the world has ever seen.
So, what do we do? Will the United States become Zimbabwe?
No, it will not.
However, these stimulus payments have literally been the largest redistribution of wealth in the history of man. This means that the US Federal Reserve and other central banks all over the world have fired up the money printing presses, injecting trillions of new money into the system....which is, by definition...
Inflation of the money system.
During the initial crash, Bitcoin's volatility went into full swing, at one point reaching a low of under $4k, and for the first time in history, it was costing more in electricity to mine one bitcoin than the bitcoin was worth.
People started crying that they were lied to; that BTC was supposed to be a safe haven asset but, in reality, was not a safe haven at all.
The truth was something different...
History of the recovery of Bitcoin since then has finally demonstrated that the safe haven characterization of Bitcoin is absolutely correct.
While world markets contract into what may become a depression, Bitcoin's network is looking forward to the halving.
So, while other commodities lose their value and while there is more oil being produced than there is space to store it, BTC and the alts are on a price increase rally with their eyes on the Bitcoin halving. It's one of the only assets that has gained back it's pre-pandemic value and has even added around 10% versus the value at the time of the crash.
Absolutely amazing.
With all of that said, let's go back to the stimulus checks.
Those of you in the United States know that the federal government send out what it dubbed "Economic Impact Payments," equal to $1200 per adult and $500 per child under 17.
With the increase in Bitcoin value, had one invested their entire $1200 EIP stimulus check, they would have already made $400 USD over the course of 2 weeks.
That's like a part time job working 20 hours a week at $10.00 per hour, completely passive.
Of course, the question now if I were one of these people who just gained $400 for doing nothing would be....
Do I cash my earnings out now or do I reinvest in more BTC or alts?
Now of course, since I'm not an investor, this should never be considered as financial advice. This is strictly for the sake of knowledge.
If it were me, I would hold my new earnings and reinvest them into some of the better performing alts in an effort to diversify my crypto holdings.
Right now, as we speed towards the halving and as inflation threatens fiat currencies around the world, I personally hold the opinion that this is going to be one of the best times to really get serious about crypto.
I'm serious.
Are you?
Thoughts, questions, or concerns? Feel free to leave comments. I will respond to each and every one with thorough discourse.
UPDATE: One of my readers shared this Twitter account with me in the comments, where the relative value of the BTC to USD is expressed as an updated value had $1200 been invested into BTC at the time the stimulus checks were first received.
That account is **https://twitter.com/BitcoinStimulus****.**
Stimulus Funds that Invested in BTC Now Worth $1600.00
[Jacksonville, FL | 05/07/2020]
Many of you know that I wrote an article the other day the posited whether or not stimulus checks from the US government, at $1200 USD for each adult, had been invested into Bitcoin, and if so, whether or not such an investment had any effect on the price of BTC during the "halving hype."
The entire article can be found here: Have Stimulus Funds Resulted in a BTC Price Increase? https://read.cash/@BetterCallPaul/have-stimulus-funds-resulted-in-an-increase-in-personal-crypto-investments-864541b1
For reference, in the original article, this is what the crypto markets looked like:
**Cryptocurrencies:** ****5,402**** https://coinmarketcap.com/all/views/all/
**Markets:** ****21,499**** https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/volume/24-hour/
**Market Cap:** ****$228,438,322,248**** https://coinmarketcap.com/charts/
**24h Vol:** ****$137,826,603,226**** https://coinmarketcap.com/charts/
**BTC Dominance:** ****63.7%**** https://coinmarketcap.com/charts/#dominance-percentage
At that time, which was around April 20th, BTC was moving sideways around $7500 per BTC.
As the halving draws near, the price of BTC has skyrocketed to right around $9500, estimated to easily break 10k in the coming days.
Here are the market values currently:
**Cryptocurrencies:** **5,432** https://coinmarketcap.com/all/views/all/
**Markets:** **21,676** https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/volume/24-hour/
**Market Cap:** **$257,510,265,391** https://coinmarketcap.com/charts/
**24h Vol:** **$159,257,493,543** https://coinmarketcap.com/charts/
**BTC Dominance:** **67.4%** https://coinmarketcap.com/charts/#dominance-percentage
This shows close to $30 billion in market cap gains over the last 2 weeks.... simply amazing.
Today, on May 7, 2020, while reading some other blockchain news, I came across an article with the following headline:
US Debt Hits $25T — Stimulus Checks That Bought Bitcoin Now Worth $1.6K https://cointelegraph.com/news/us-debt-hits-25t-stimulus-checks-that-bought-bitcoin-now-worth-16k
Before we get to the topic of stimulus checks, let's talk about that first statement....
The United States national debt has now reached an historic milestone at $25 trillion dollars -- over $6 trillion of which has been added in the last couple of months.
That's absolutely insane, and as the article above notes, the US Federal Reserve has implemented some policies in response to COVID19 that mirror the missteps taken by Zimbabwe's government that led to the highest and most aggressive hyperinflation the world has ever seen.
So, what do we do? Will the United States become Zimbabwe?
No, it will not.
However, these stimulus payments have literally been the largest redistribution of wealth in the history of man. This means that the US Federal Reserve and other central banks all over the world have fired up the money printing presses, injecting trillions of new money into the system....which is, by definition...
Inflation of the money system.
During the initial crash, Bitcoin's volatility went into full swing, at one point reaching a low of under $4k, and for the first time in history, it was costing more in electricity to mine one bitcoin than the bitcoin was worth.
People started crying that they were lied to; that BTC was supposed to be a safe haven asset but, in reality, was not a safe haven at all.
The truth was something different...
History of the recovery of Bitcoin since then has finally demonstrated that the safe haven characterization of Bitcoin is absolutely correct.
While world markets contract into what may become a depression, Bitcoin's network is looking forward to the halving.
So, while other commodities lose their value and while there is more oil being produced than there is space to store it, BTC and the alts are on a price increase rally with their eyes on the Bitcoin halving. It's one of the only assets that has gained back it's pre-pandemic value and has even added around 10% versus the value at the time of the crash.
Absolutely amazing.
With all of that said, let's go back to the stimulus checks.
Those of you in the United States know that the federal government send out what it dubbed "Economic Impact Payments," equal to $1200 per adult and $500 per child under 17.
With the increase in Bitcoin value, had one invested their entire $1200 EIP stimulus check, they would have already made $400 USD over the course of 2 weeks.
That's like a part time job working 20 hours a week at $10.00 per hour, completely passive.
Of course, the question now if I were one of these people who just gained $400 for doing nothing would be....
Do I cash my earnings out now or do I reinvest in more BTC or alts?
Now of course, since I'm not an investor, this should never be considered as financial advice. This is strictly for the sake of knowledge.
If it were me, I would hold my new earnings and reinvest them into some of the better performing alts in an effort to diversify my crypto holdings.
Right now, as we speed towards the halving and as inflation threatens fiat currencies around the world, I personally hold the opinion that this is going to be one of the best times to really get serious about crypto.
I'm serious.
Are you?
Thoughts, questions, or concerns? Feel free to leave comments. I will respond to each and every one with thorough discourse.
**Want Some Free Crypto?**
While Stay At Home orders are still in place, although with some restrictions eased; and as BTC nears the halving, there has never been a better time to stack some satoshis through the use of micropayment and faucets.
While you are stuck at home, try getting involved with as many passive income opportunities as possible. Of particular interest to me are some of the tried and true cryptofaucets that have been around for years and that pay out to the CoinPot microwallet. If you are new to crypto, these faucets are the "moon" faucets and you can choose when to make your claim. You are paid a small amount of crypto each time you make a claim -- it's not gonna make you rich, but it may keep you in beer money! The cool thing is that you get 25% referral bonus on each of your referrals faucet claims as well as daily increasing bonuses for visiting at least once per day.
**1.** **Moon Litecoin - http://moonliteco.in/?ref=213eb8e0f39e**
**2.** **Moon Bitcoin Cash - http://moonbitcoin.cash/?ref=552128A80EEC**
**3.** **Moon Dogecoin - http://moondoge.co.in/?ref=7cf5516ff41d**
**4.** **Moon Bitcoin (You get 50% commission here instead of 25%) - http://moonbit.co.in/?ref=4f207d49c5aa**
What's cool about these is that they all go into the same single CoinPot.co microwallet account, and they actually accumulate very fast. I've been using all of them for years to stack satoshi in the background. It's definitely worth it when you realize one day that you have enough to pay your electric bill.
**Crypto Loans**
**1. Nexo**
**If you find yourself low on fiat but have a decent bag of crypto, consider starting an account with a service like Nexo. Instead of outright selling your crypto for fiat, Nexo provides loans on collateral crypto so you can get the liquidity you need without selling your bag.**
**I currently have around $200 USD in crypto value with a line of credit of $100. I've never used the line of credit, but it's nice to have, and it is backed by a HUGE $100 million dollar insurance guarantee, so you know your crypto is safe, which is hard to say of many custodial platforms.**
**You best choice is to turn the current price increase and the nature of BTC volatility to your favor here, too. It's completely free to join and participate, too. They do have their own token, and it pays 8% staking interest annualized.**
I have built the $200 that I currently hold in Nexo from scratch and zero investment on my part. I funded it via faucets and referral bonuses, such as those that are included with the "Moon" faucets listed above.
**Join Nexo here: https://nexo.io/?u=5dc6bcec7a2c0c14525b7488**
Finally, I'd like to ask that if you enjoy my articles, that you consider subscribing and leaving me a tip/upvote on the read.cash platform.
Also, please feel free to follow me on Twitter, where I am known as "Poor Man's Cryptocurrency" https://twitter.com/ServicesRds
Thanks so much for reading, and I look forward to your comments!
Why read.cash Should Rethink Their "Non-OC" Stamp of Shame on Articles that Don't Pass Copyscape
First of all, I know that the ~~plagiarism~~ syndication algorithm used here is not Copyscape (TM), but I was running out of space and they actually DO show the writers a Copyscape report, so..
Secondly, I understand that this process is automated, but the automated tool is still something that was, at one point, manually chosen as the tool to use.
The idea for this quick article came to me as I was huffing and puffing about failing the copyright check for an article of mine that I republished.
Oh, I completely understand it, and I'm not going to fight anything to have it verified. I can just rewrite the article in way less time than it would take to challenge such. My issue was that readers who see "Non-Original" on it may immediately think that I am stealing articles, at which point, my reputation would be irreparably harmed and then it's a whole other ballgame.
My thoughts -- read.cash, if things are going to continue like this, perhaps instead of marking "NON-OC," you should just leave it blank and keep the "OC" on the ones that the filter allows. You are attaching legal jeopardy to your company by opening yourselves up to a defamation of character claim.
**Understanding Legal Liability and Defamation**
So, just by the very nature of what we do here, the applicable laws are the federal Copyright Act and the DMCA, which amended the Copyright Act for the "digital age."
Under these laws, the second someone published something, they are able to assert copyright protection over it. This means that the publisher has full control, at least legally speaking, of where, how, and in what manner it is published.
However, the current state of the read.cash "original content" checking system brings some serious concerns for all of us who publish on this platform.
**Defamation, per se**
In the situation above, where my article was flagged as being ~~plagiarized~~ syndicated because I republished my own work on the read.cash platform, a brightly-colored notification clearly lets anyone who accesses the article see "~~NON-OC: Syndicated....~~ **Syndicated or Non-OC.**
This immediately indicates to the reader that the article has been ~~stolen or~~ ~~plagiarized~~ copied from someone else.
As a freelance journalist, my reputation for honesty and integrity in my writing supersedes anything else. If my work is stolen, then my readers will not stay readers for very long.
However, in this instance, my work was not stolen. It was my own work, and I can prove that beyond a reasonable doubt.
This means that read.cash's actions in applying a false statement of possible ~~plagiarism~~ syndication to the VERY TOP of my article will have a ***detrimental effect on my reputation as a writer, from which I derive close to 65% of my income (thanks to DavidRAllen for catching this one*)**
In order to be held civilly liable for an action, that action must be the "proximate cause" of whatever damage the party bring the suit alleges.
So, by their actions of implementing this terrible "originality check," new and long-time readers of my blog now have the thought running through their heads that I am a plagiarism-friendly writer.
This means that I will be looked over for freelance gigs and will likely be put on a master list of plagiarizing journalists, like Pete Buttigieg or Melania Trump **(this is said in jest, of course)**
Now, just saying that I ~~plagiarized~~ republished a syndicated article is not the problem when it comes to liability. The problem is when that statement is made and it is knowingly false.
For example, once I received notice that my article was flagged as Non-OC, I contacted read.cash and offered overwhelming evidence that the content WAS original.
Their answer was, pretty much, "Sorry, nothing we can do. Live with it."
This means that they were made aware of the error, given an offer to prove that the material was original, and they discarded this and decided to go ahead and leave the offending "NON-OC" label on this article.
Defamation (libel, in this case) is false written statements that cause harm to one's reputation.
By leaving this "non-OC" flag on top of the article for all to see, and then refusing to correct it once evidence of the contrary was proven, read.cash is now knowingly defaming me, and likely many others.
Key word here is "many others," at which case not only one action could be brought, but a large class action suit would be the likely vehicle.
I want to make it clear that I do not intend to sue over this matter. I love this platform, but as a legal professional, it is my duty to inform when I see something going on that could negatively affect a platform upon which I perform professional tasks (write articles). I do not want to see this happen, and it is my hope that those behind read.cash will read this article and realize that there is a very, very simple solution to this problem that does NOT open them to liability, but at the same time, does NOT defame writers in doing so.
**The Solution**
****I fully understand the need to ensure that the platform is not made up of a bunch of stolen material.**** However, with read.cash being a platform for others to publish, the DMCA exempts them from legal action when others post pirated or copyright-infringed material.
So, the answer here is simple....
Read.cash needs to fully understand the implications of leaving this "NON-OC" tag active.
Here's my proposed solution:
If an article does not pass the "similarity" test, then a notification screen should let the writer know so he can take steps to figure out the problem if the software caught it in error. Read.cash already provides such a screen that is only visible to the writer. This is perfect and should remain.
To fix the issue of defamation, read.cash simply needs to omit the bright orange "NON-OC" statement that appears on articles that fail the test. On the flip side, for the articles that do pass, there's no problem leaving the "OC checkmark" on the byline. This is a simple solution that can be easily fixed and will solve this entire problem.
**If It's So Easy, Why Hasn't This Been Implements?**
Honestly, I don't know. Perhaps those behind read.cash were unaware that doing this would cause harm to our reputations -- for those of who have had the scarlet letters of ~~plagiarism~~ the syndication warning placed on our ads without reason.
The solution is literally so, so simple; and it does not require read.cash admins to give up the ~~plagiarism~~ syndication detection tool that the
Now, I have read all of the posts from read.cash explaining their reasoning behind using the ~~plagiarism~~ syndication checker in the first place. Once of these articles had a role-played hypothetical scenario where someone who wasn't the author tried to take credit for the author's work by making a similar-looking user ID.
Keep in mind, this didn't actually happen. It's a hypothetical, and it's so flawed in it's logic, here's why....
Option A: Remove the bright orange "NON-OC" tag for articles that don't pass the originality scan. It would be completely fine from my point of view to leave the "OC" tag on for articles that do pass the scan, as those do not degrade those who did not pass the ~~plagiarism~~ syndication scanner, overwhelming.
Option B: Do nothing and continue marking original content as ~~plagiarism~~ plagiarism by relying on an algorithm that cannot even differentiate between stolen content and republished content by the same author, which is the case here.
The choice is simple. With option A, there are no bright letters reading "NON-OC," which results in zero damage to the author's reputation, meaning that doing this would eliminate the liability exposure that this tool has caused.
It is my hope that the read.cash crew reads this article and fully understand where I am coming from. My hopes are that they will initiate a fix to this thing, whether its scrapping it altogether or just preventing the orange "NON-OC" from the post's screen, which is the sole cause for the damages I have mentioned in the above article
I love this platform and I want to see it grow, so please understand that I write this article with the best of intentions, and those intentions are to stop seeing people from getting penalized and their reputations defamed.
That's all I've got for now. I'd love to read some comments below.
UPDATE: My article inadvertently caused a "flame war" (not my characterization) between myself and the owners of the platform.
I wanted to offer some sort of irrefutable proof that even "syndication" is not an appropriate characterization, since syndication is defined as "
the transfer of something for control or management by a group of individuals or organizations
Which is not what is taking place here, at all.
So, how shall I do that, I thought?
Ahh, that should do it.
If you're not certain what the above screenshot represents, please read the "NOTE FROM AUTHOR" section that I have published at the end of my version of this article on that platform.
If you think that I have manipulated the image into saying that, well....
https://www.publish0x.com/better-call-paul/bitconnect-a-classic-cryptoscam-xlodom
.....there's the URL.
Peace.
UPDATE: Read.cash, after receiving complaints regarding the Non-OC tag from way more users that just me, have published an article explaining that they will implement the suggestions made in this article -- that is, they will be removing the "non-OC" tag from articles that don't pass, but will leave the OC and checkmark on articles that do pass.
I commend them for making these changes, and for being fluid enough to listen to the views of others. Great job, guys!
BitConnect -- A Classic Scam
Ugh, the censors flagged my article for being a republished copy of my own article. Makes no sense...so anyway, I believe I fixed the problem and will try this again.
Hello everyone, in this article, I will be covering one of the most famous crypto scams out there, and to this date, probably one of the most successful in terms of what they were able to steal from their customers. Of course, the scam I refer to is none other than.....BitConnect.
So, BitConnect was a platform with its own coin (BCC). The company allowed users to deposit funds and convert them to BCC, which could then be lended through their network for a pretty decent return.
I have to admit that I fell victim to this scam personally, but the good thing was, I only lost money that I had previously gained from trading, so the loss didn't impact me that much -- I just hated to see it crash and burn.
The BitConnect coin was also highly ranked and consistently held a high value, consistently being well above $500.00 on the exchanges. It seemed like a project that was going to make it big.
The problem was that the project had no way of sustaining itself, and the developers knew this -- leading to a situation that resembled classic Ponzi schemes to where those who entered late in the game lost their entire investments.
State bureaucrats in Texas started to see red flags around the project, and issued a letter telling the company to cease all operations in Texas. When this was made public, confidence in the project dropped. The lending platform was suspended for users, and the developers made an announcement that they would be refunding all money to all users, but they would be doing so with the BCC coin, which was rapidly losing value.
For instance, when they paid me out, my BCC went from being worth about $500 to just under $40 within a 45 minute period.
Then, they disappeared into the night.
...and that was that. BitConnect shut down and kept all of our money.
So what can we learn here to prevent us "gullible investors" from investing in another scam project?
First of all, all of us who invested in BCC were not "gullible." The scam was very well created and everything about it seemed legit. The BCC asset was holding its value, so BitConnect seemed a great place to invest. However, because it was new, I decided I would only invest gains from other investments, that way if I lost it all, I wouldn't actually be losing anything. Unfortunately, there were some folks who lost their entire cryptocurrency holdings to BitConnect.
**Steps to Prevent Being a Victim**
Never invest more than you are able and willing to lose. This is the most important concept when it comes to investing in blockchain products. If you use what you gained from other investments, then you never go against your own bottom line, and if you gain on top of that, you now have two layers of protection against your bottom line.
Do your Due Diligence. Always research the platform you are about to invest in. Look at market performance and value of the asset, of course; but you also need to investigate the project itself, not just its performance on the markets. Are the developers active? When was the last update to the project? Does the project have a roadmap? Are the developers meeting the goals on the roadmap? Are there are posts or articles written about the project, etc.
These are the questions that you should seek answers to before you invest.
Never listen to anyone promoting a project in a chat box. On the exchanges, you will consistently see people who are attempting to manipulate that markets. They will start saying things like "Buy BCC! It's going to the moon." These people are the reason that "pump and dump" exists. Avoid these people and the projects they promote like the plague.
Start small. This goes along with the first tip of only investing what you can afford to lose, but it is a bit different. When investing in a new project, start small, play the market, and see if you are able to generate a profit, and then use that profit to try to generate more of a profit.
If you follow these tips, you should be able to steer clear of these types of scams.
BitConnect is considered by many to be one of the largest scams in the cryptosphere today because of the methods with which they were able to maintain the market value of their coin -- so those who got in early and sold when the value was up actually made money, while those who got in late quite frankly had the potential to lost everything, and many did.
In the end, it appears they finally arrested some of the scammers behind BitConnect -- at least the man behind their Asian operations. **Divyesh Darji was arrested in 2018,** according to **this article on Toshitime**. https://toshitimes.com/bitconnect/
I know many of you have been well aware of this Ponzi for quite some time, but there are many out there that are brand new to crypto that need to be able to recognize these scams, and the only way to do that is to educate them as to what that should look for.
NOTE TO READ.CASH CREW: This IS absolutely original content. I understand that your filter that looks for similarities may be interpreting my reposting of my own article onto my personal blog here at read.cash as a "match" and thus, "not original content," but I assure you, I am the person who wrote this article originally, as seen here: **https://www.publish0x.com/better-call-paul/naming-names-a-study-of-cryptoscams-xqdyrn**. I am RE-publishing here legally by giving my self the rights to publish my own article. Please do not tell me that my own article is not my own original content again, because it is!
So what I have tried to do to get this published on read.cash without it failing copyright for me republishing my own material (absolutely allowed by copyright law -- this is a bug and it needs to be fixed) is ... I deleted it from my other blog to post here. This is the third attempt as publishing this article.
References/Source Material:
**https://toshitimes.com/bitconnect/** - Divyesh Darji Finally Arrested
BitConnect -- A Classic CryptoScam
Hello everyone, in this article, I will be covering one of the most famous crypto scams out there, and to this date, probably one of the most successful in terms of what they were able to steal from their customers. Of course, the scam I refer to is none other than.....BitConnect.
So, BitConnect was a platform with its own coin (BCC). The company allowed users to deposit funds and convert them to BCC, which could then be lended through their network for a pretty decent return.
I have to admit that I fell victim to this scam personally, but the good thing was, I only lost money that I had previously gained from trading, so the loss didn't impact me that much -- I just hated to see it crash and burn.
The BitConnect coin was also highly ranked and consistently held a high value, consistently being well above $500.00 on the exchanges. It seemed like a project that was going to make it big.
The problem was that the project had no way of sustaining itself, and the developers knew this -- leading to a situation that resembled classic Ponzi schemes to where those who entered late in the game lost their entire investments.
State bureaucrats in Texas started to see red flags around the project, and issued a letter telling the company to cease all operations in Texas. When this was made public, confidence in the project dropped. The lending platform was suspended for users, and the developers made an announcement that they would be refunding all money to all users, but they would be doing so with the BCC coin, which was rapidly losing value.
For instance, when they paid me out, my BCC went from being worth about $500 to just under $40 within a 45 minute period.
Then, they disappeared into the night.
...and that was that. BitConnect shut down and kept all of our money.
So what can we learn here to prevent us "gullible investors" from investing in another scam project?
First of all, all of us who invested in BCC were not "gullible." The scam was very well created and everything about it seemed legit. The BCC asset was holding its value, so BitConnect seemed a great place to invest. However, because it was new, I decided I would only invest gains from other investments, that way if I lost it all, I wouldn't actually be losing anything. Unfortunately, there were some folks who lost their entire cryptocurrency holdings to BitConnect.
**Steps to Prevent Being a Victim**
Never invest more than you are able and willing to lose. This is the most important concept when it comes to investing in blockchain products. If you use what you gained from other investments, then you never go against your own bottom line, and if you gain on top of that, you now have two layers of protection against your bottom line.
Do your Due Diligence. Always research the platform you are about to invest in. Look at market performance and value of the asset, of course; but you also need to investigate the project itself, not just its performance on the markets. Are the developers active? When was the last update to the project? Does the project have a roadmap? Are the developers meeting the goals on the roadmap? Are there are posts or articles written about the project, etc.
These are the questions that you should seek answers to before you invest.
Never listen to anyone promoting a project in a chat box. On the exchanges, you will consistently see people who are attempting to manipulate that markets. They will start saying things like "Buy BCC! It's going to the moon." These people are the reason that "pump and dump" exists. Avoid these people and the projects they promote like the plague.
Start small. This goes along with the first tip of only investing what you can afford to lose, but it is a bit different. When investing in a new project, start small, play the market, and see if you are able to generate a profit, and then use that profit to try to generate more of a profit.
If you follow these tips, you should be able to steer clear of these types of scams.
BitConnect is considered by many to be one of the largest scams in the cryptosphere today because of the methods with which they were able to maintain the market value of their coin -- so those who got in early and sold when the value was up actually made money, while those who got in late quite frankly had the potential to lost everything, and many did.
In the end, it appears they finally arrested some of the scammers behind BitConnect -- at least the man behind their Asian operations. **Divyesh Darji was arrested in 2018,** according to this article on Toshitime. https://toshitimes.com/bitconnect/
I know many of you have been well aware of this Ponzi for quite some time, but there are many out there that are brand new to crypto that need to be able to recognize these scams, and the only way to do that is to educate them as to what that should look for.
NOTE TO READ.CASH CREW: This IS absolutely original content. I understand that your filter that looks for similarities may be interpreting my reposting of my own article onto my personal blog here at read.cash as a "match" and thus, "not original content," but I assure you, I am the person who wrote this article originally, as seen here: https://www.publish0x.com/better-call-paul/naming-names-a-study-of-cryptoscams-xqdyrn. I am RE-publishing here legally by giving my self the rights to publish my own article. Please do not tell me that my own article is not my own original content again, because it is!
References/Source Material:
https://toshitimes.com/bitconnect/ - Divyesh Darji Finally Arrested
Have Stimulus Funds Resulted in an increase in Personal Crypto Investments?
So, while sitting tonight at my terminal, taking a break from writing an article for a client, I started having a conversation with my wife about Bitcoin, the COVID-19 Pandemic, the massive shift that all of our lives have taken since March 2 (more on that date later), and whether or not these conditions would be enough to turn enough people on to investing in blockchain technologies in general that mass adoption becomes a very real possibility in the immediate future.
**A Couple of Things**
At the time of writing this article, on April 29, 2020 at 03:02 AM EST, the current state of cryptocurrencies, according to CoinMarketCap, is as follows:
**Cryptocurrencies:** **5,402** https://coinmarketcap.com/all/views/all/
**Markets:** **21,499** https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/volume/24-hour/
**Market Cap:** **$228,438,322,248** https://coinmarketcap.com/charts/
**24h Vol:** **$137,826,603,226** https://coinmarketcap.com/charts/
**BTC Dominance:** **63.7%** https://coinmarketcap.com/charts/#dominance-percentage
This means that there is a total of $228.44 billion USD worth of cryptocurrency currently in circulation globally.
If you are new to this world and want to understand more about terms like "BTC Dominance" and "Market Cap", I suggest reading my article "Blockchain Tutorials," where I give comprehensive yet easy-to-understand definitions of some of the most common terms, definitely the most essential terms, that you will hear in the world of crypto. https://read.cash/@BetterCallPaul/blockchain-tutorials-1eb6b684#20-of-the-most-commonly-used-terms-in-the-cryptocurrency-world
Secondly, when I say "stimulus funds" in this article, I am referring to all activity since the passing of the CARES Act, NOT the smaller interim bills that were passed previously and only added a few billion to the economy as a whole. The CARES Act was passed in late March on the 27th. Because funds took quite some time to get to consumers and businesses under the first round of Paycheck Protection Program funding, we will look at these figures based on the state of the industry from April 1 to current.
**Okay? So what.**
Well, by knowing the market cap, we have the starting source of information that we can use as a reference point in determining whether or not direct stimulus payments have led to more blockchain investment.
Because we know today's market cap and today's date, it's a pretty simply operation to answer our question.
Since the earliest US stimulus payments would've had any effect on market conditions would have been April 15, it would make sense for even more investments to have occurred after that date as well.
So let's look at the historic figures.
On March 17, the market cap was at it's lowest at any point since the crash.
It was $131 billion at it's lowest that day, but by April 1, it had recovered to just a little over $181 billion, meaning that $50 billion in recovery had already taken place at the time the CARES Act was signed into law.
However, since that time, market cap has increased to almost $229 billion, meaning that an additional $48 billion has been added to the market cap since stimulus funds reached the hands of those who could invest.
**Right, but...**
Yeah, I know what you're thinking, and you're absolutely right -- much more data is needed to truly see what impact stimulus payments have had on the cryptocurrency economy.
While it's true that close of 50 billion in gains have been added to the market cap during our target time period, there have been many other things happening that have much more likely have had an impact on market cap than just stimulus payments alone.
First, volatility. BTC value and most alts have gained significantly in value since their lowest point during the COVID Cryptopanic. This is likely by far the largest contributor to the total market cap. These recovering values, while still not at pre-COVID levels, have definitely contributed a larger share to growth than "new money" personal investments as new token/coin purchases.
The other important thing to remember is that markets generally have started to rebound and gain over their crash levels, while still being hampered greatly by social distancing procedures. This has likely had a net positive effect on cryptomarkets.
**So What do You Think?**
Don't just read this article, interact with it! Do you think that stimulus payments and uncertainty about the stability of the fiat system have resulted in an increase of market cap and overall health of the blockchain industry? Was the inclusion of "digital dollar" language in draft legislation enough to turn others on? Was it the halving?
I'd love to hear your comments.
Here is an image of market position for the entire crypto universe, courtesy CoinMarketCap, taken as a screen grab at the time of publishing.
Hope to read all your comments very soon!
UPDATE: 04/29/2020 at 9:05 PM
So, today we saw a massive increase in BTC price. I have shared my opinions regarding the reasons why we are seeing this rise, and my humble opinion is that it has more to do with "halving hype" than anything else right now, but I think it will hold.
Now where does that leave us when it comes to decided whether or not stimulus funds contributed to this...
It's very possible that new users are flooding into the BTC blockchain via exchanges and devouring the sell offers, making the price of bitcoin skyrocket. I don't think this is the case though.
I will be following this and revising as I know more. And please, your comments are welcome for good, civil, and thoughtful discourse.
10 Steps for A Successful Work-At-Home Career
The Better Call Paul Blog
10 Tips for a Successful Work-at-Home Career
by
W. Paul Alexander
Whether you have been forced into a work-at-home situation due to the current coronavirus pandemic or you are just beginning to step out on your own, it's clear to see that, at some point in the very near future, you are going to need to set some boundaries between your workspace and your homespace, and that can be very difficult to do.
Having been in the teleworking community for over a decade, we have already gone through the twists and turns and grinding down and lifting up that comes with blazing the trail in any given industry; while at the same time, making it much easier to help out those who are now beginning to work from home.
Don't make the same mistakes we did. By following as many of these recommendations as possible, you will have a great work-at-home experience.
1. Get A Room Divider https://amzn.to/39o5497
If you are going to work from home, one of the first hurdles you will encounter is discipline. If you're used to working around the hustle and bustle of a busy office environment, the familiar home stimuli suddenly thrown in your face can be overwhelming, and can sometimes mean the difference between failure and success.
Buying a room divider is an affordable, easy-to-setup, ultra-effective solution for the attention hyperactivity that will occur when you begin your work at home adventure.
On one side of the divider, you christen as your workplace. You tell others in your home to act as though it does not exist. It is off limits to them, and your work stays behind the divider at all times. This creates structure while keeping your attention on the job at hand by keeping you isolated from the TVs and refrigerators calling your name.
Buy A Room Divider Here for less than a half day's pay. https://amzn.to/2wF6rTA
2. Keep It Simple. Get an All-In-One if you Can.
Okay, I know you're not stupid, it's just an expression.
So, here, the focus is on the simplicity of your setup. In the picture above, you see that an all-in-one PC has been chosen to really maximize the usability of every inch of the small workspace. I think this is an amazing idea, and if you are going to go with an All-In-One, I will always first suggest that you buy an iMac, which are priced to move with all of the influx of work-at-home job. So, if you can go buy a new iMac with all the bells and whistles, you can do that and save yourself a bundle by ORDERING FROM HERE. https://amzn.to/2UCI5Sh
But even if you only have the budget for a slimline PC, you can still get up and going with a nice, organized approach to your workstation setup.
Here are some affordable PC options that will do the job just fine:
1. CYBERPOWER Pro Gaming PC - If your work-at-home venture is going to include a large amount of video processing, such as constantly using videoconferencing or livestreaming your channel on YouTube and Twitch, then this awesome pro gaming PC from CYBERPOWER is an excellent choice. Not only is it affordable, but it includes a 9th Gen I5 CPU with a ton of RAM and storage. It's much less that you'd expect to pay for this quality of gaming PC. https://amzn.to/2UnH5md
2. HP ELITEDESK 800 G1 SFF Slim Business Desktop Computer - This Business-class PC is an excellent choice for corporate-ready deployment in an at-home environment. With a capable I5 CPU at 3.50 GHz and plenty of storage and memory options, you won't believe the price until you see it for yourself. However, I will say that you will be pleasantly surprised at how affordable your work from home PC actually is. https://amzn.to/3aiv9HU
3. Just Say No to Family, Friends, Pets, and Children https://amzn.to/3alAz4R
When it comes to your work environment, those who are close in your personal life need to be made aware that it is off limits to them. This can be an awkward conversation, but usually I just like to tell my children, who are adults now, that it would not be polite or accepted if I were to go hang out with them at their office and constantly keep their attention away from their duties.
Sometimes, it can be easier just to get a pack of "Do Not Disturb" door hangers and let your family members know that if they see the sign, they are to leave you alone. They are super cheap and they make a very awkward conversation much easier.
4. Exercise As Much As Possible https://amzn.to/3bnA2zw
Exercise can be hard to come by in a regular office setting alone, and in a home office setting, lack of exercise can contribute to obesity, heart disease, high cholesterol, and a number of other health issues. Plus, the more you exercise, the more oxygen flows to your brain, allowing you to be much more attentive and productive with your duties at work.
I personally love an under-desk peddler machine. These are the little contraption that look like a set of bicycle pedals without the rest of the bike. This machine is placed under your desk, and operates according to the parameters you set on the digital display. You will burn calories, stay focused, productive, and even more energized than normal.
For me, this is a must-have product. I wouldn't make it without my peddler.
5. Take your Eyes Away from your Screen Regularly
Staring at a computer screen all day can be terribly taxing on your eyes, which can lead to a drop in productivity. Every 15 minutes, you need to look away from your screen, and focus in and out on something that is at a longer distance than your screen.
Doing this at least every 15 minutes will keep your eyes and your brain in shape and can even keep your eyes from suffering damage done by excessive screen time.
If you do this simply task, your eyes will be sure to thank you down the road.
6. Take Your Day Planner to the Next Level https://amzn.to/3bszecH
If you work from home, you need a physical day planner, period. There is no other way that you can keep you life and work schedules and demands separate from one another, while doing everything you can to maximize the available time. By purchasing the planner above, called THE SELF JOURNAL, you can take advantage of scientifically-proven tools to help you boost productivity and keep down time to a bare minimum. https://amzn.to/3bszecH
Phone planner apps are getting better an better as technology improves, but no matter what seems to come in its place, nothing have ever beaten the hard-copy advantage that comes with physically writing an appointment, quote, reminder, or suggestion. Phone apps just can't compete with a good, solid day planner,
You will not only learn to keep your work life scheduled and organized, but you will also develop strategies that allow you to make the most of your time, no matter what situation you are in. This planner is worth every cent, and then some. It comes undated, to allow you to deploy it at the time you feel ready. Additionally, it comes with proven tool that help you to crush procrastination and limit administrative tasks. You won't go wrong here. We just can't say enough about THE SELF JOURNAL.
7. Consider a Standing Desk https://amzn.to/2QNvudM
One of the hottest new functional items to hit the home office in the last few years has been the rising desktop. This allows you to convert from a sitting position, like you would see in a traditional workplace, to a standing position. At first glace, we thought, "why would I want to by something that MAKES me stand up?"
Then, the answer sinks in...
A standing desk helps you to stay active, as you burn more calories in a standing position than you do when you are standing. By keeping you active, it helps you keep the pounds off, which is a HUGE deal when working from home. When you work in the same environment you live, you can catch yourself going to the fridge over and over. Standing up consistently will help to stop those actions as well.
This particular desk is ergonomically designed to help alleviate back problems that can occur from sitting in the same position too long, as well as shock on your tailbone and lower vertebral spaces.
In the end, you will undoubtedly find that, once you switch to a standing desk, you will never go back.
ORDER YOURS BY CLICKING HERE https://amzn.to/2QNvudM
8. Make Your Home Workspace Your Own Creation and Hang Wall Art https://amzn.to/2wDBHCg
Make sure that you don't get so caught up on the idea of "work" that you leave your workspace a solid, meaningless wall without a single bit of flair or uniqueness that makes the space individually yours. If you keep your workspace clinical, you may get more done to begin with, but you will eventually hate the uninspiring monotony.
Hanging some art that reflects your style is an easy way to personalize and customize your space. Motivational art and stylized quotation are always great ways to keep your mindset positive and your eye on the prize. THIS COOL SIGN quickly draws your attention to mindfulness about your own actions and reactions, keeping you professional in all of your affairs. https://amzn.to/2wDBHCg
Dressing your workspace up like this will give you a motivation to want to be in and dwell in your office space for the entire work day, leading to better production and less boredom and better discipline, as well. All from a simple sign, at that.
9. Buy an All-In-One/Multifunction Printer Immediately https://amzn.to/3dtLxYh
Nothing will make your new work-at-home lifestyle easier than making a simple, very affordable investment in your working capabilities. By including a single machine that handles copies, fax, printing, and scanning, you never have to tell a potential clients "sorry, I don't have a printer" again. You'll be able to completely eliminate your dependence on copy store services and the like, and the only thing you have to do is buy ink.
This printer is an excellent price and has amazing functions, making it my recommended pick for this category of home office equipment. https://amzn.to/3dtLxYh
10. Get A Keurig Mini for the Home Office https://amzn.to/33M05Or
Now, you probably already have a Keurig or other pod-based coffee maker, or perhaps you don't. It doesn't matter. This is one place I am going to suggest that you just bite the bullet, splurge a little, and get yourself a nice, compact Keurig Mini for your home office space. This way, you can brew your own cup-by-cup coffee without making a trip to the kitchen each time you want a cup.
BUY A MINI KEURIG HERE https://amzn.to/33M05Or
This simple little step will make your life so, so much easier. You'll never understand how you went without if before.
Conclusion
First and foremost,
****REMEMBER: IT'S JUST A JOB!!!****
When it seems like you just may not be able to take it any more -- perhaps you have been dealing with an irate customer or client on the phone or perhaps you just totally screwed up on a design. Whatever the case, you will always do better as a telecommuter if you always remember that it's only a job. There is no life-and-death involved. Make sure that you don't neglect your family by using your job as an excuse to stay in your home office. Make sure that you keep your work inside the office and keep your family outside of the office.
Now, you may not make all of the changes or get all of the cool things listed on this page to make your work-at-home venture a success; but I promise you -- if you follow some or all of the steps on this page, you will be a successful telecommuter by the time COVID gets back in its cage!
Online Retailers Meet COVID-19 Demand
A Quick Update on Shipment of Supplies
COVID-19 Supplies Delivered On-Time
W. Paul Alexander and The Better Call Paul Blog
**Online Stores Keeping Up With Demand from COVID-19**
[Jacksonville, FL 03/26/2020]
People have spend the last 2-3 weeks panic buying every last roll of toilet paper they could find. Then went the gloves and the masks, the pain relievers and immune system vitamins, the food -- where did it all go?
What happened in the supply chain if large stores like Walmart cannot keep their shelves stocked but a mid-30's individual can get supplies delivered to his doorstep without a day's delay?
Is something bigger going on here?
So, I went to check the mail today at about 12:00 noon EST and noted there was a package in there. I have ordered a supply of N95 masks and N95 filter pads, but I thought outside of the box like so many others have and decided to buy a mask meant for motorcycle riding. With a metal screen valve cover and a spot to insert N95 pads, I have no idea why others have not been advised to do the same thing.
Here is a photo of me in my mask:
So, it's a bit outside of the box, like I said...but I'd much rather go over the top and be safe rather than do nothing and be terribly sorry for it. It fits over regular surgical masks or it has a place to insert N95 filter pads for added support.
This mask arrived from California in 3 days -- normal delivery time for a normal padded envelope. There were no special shipping options, and I obtained 2 of these for under $15.
Since this the crash, followed by OPEC threats, followed by Fed interest rate cuts, followed by COVID-19, followed by $2 trillion, etc... I have tried to be a voice of reason. We should not allow a virus to destroy the vestiges of society like we have done.
Institutions that have been there for hundreds of years are shuttering their doors. Retail stores will face a similar reckoning, especially when it become clear that online retailers like Amazon carried the weight of consumer demand at a time that face-to-face retail imploded. The winner will clearly be Amazon, and after this is over, I foresee a strange governing situation where Amazon become a quasi-governmental agency, like the USPS is now.
So listen, those of us that work in the freelance industry have had a pretty difficult time with all of the changes due to the coronavirus. As a result, many of us, including me, have registered with Amazon Affiliates as a way to keep food on the table.
It is not us being greedy or taking advantage of people. It is realizing that our lives have changed forever and by helping us make a small commission for buying items you were going to buy in the first place.
That's my disclaimer on Amazon Affiliates.
All the while, Drones will deliver your groceries, medicines, household items, clothing, any anything else you want or need.
Anyway, yeah...if you'd wondered where you can get a mask similar to the one above:
These are still in stock, and right now, they are only $8..00: https://amzn.to/2UETwck
Also, as millions of us journey into the telecommuting lifestyle for the first time, many will be thrilled to learn that they can work from their pajamas.
This is the set I use, and they are comfortable as can be. I spent long hours typing stories or legal pleadings wearing my go-to pajamas. Working in your pajamas is literally one of the coolest and most unique benefits to working from home.
So join the smart telecommuters today
Comfortable Plaid Pajama Set, Multiple Colors (Click Here to Buy) https://amzn.to/3dyktqM
The plain text link to buy these pajamas is here: https://amzn.to/3dyktqM
Or you can browse around once you click the link and buy anything your heart desires. There are no shortages, only supply chain disruption.
**Surgical Masks, 100 Count - Click the Link** https://amzn.to/3dyJKAT
So, for now it seems as though as long as we stay smart and informed, and understand that we are not running out of supplies, the problem is getting the massive amounts needed to be delivered in a very short amount of time. Online, personal stock orders are easily filled and are in stock now.
Don't let empty Walmart aisles fool you.
We can get through this, and we will!
Blockchain Tutorials:
Cryptocurrency Tutorials
20 of the Most Commonly Used Terms in the Cryptocurrency World
**by**
**W. Paul Alexander**
Brought to you by
**The Better Call Paul Blog**
(Simultaneously posted by the Author on the Better Call Paul Blog on Publish0x and read.cash as well as several other outlets)
This post aims to define some basic crypto/blockchain terms for those new to the wonderful world of Magic Internet Money!
We will start with 20 terms and expand based upon the evolution of new terms and feedback from readers. Feel free to add more terms that you want us to define in the comments below, and they will appear in our next posting.
So, here we go...
***NOTE: I just updated the 20th term after realizing that both 18 and 20 were "noncustodial exchange". The new 20th term is "seed phrase."***
1. **DYOR** - An acronym that stands for "do your own research." While this is not exclusive to the crypto world, you will definitely hear the term quite a bit around these forums. You should always do your own research before you invest in any project.
2. **Bitcoin Dominance -** The percentage of the entire cryptocurrency market capitalization that belongs to Bitcoin. For example, if the entire value of all cryptocurrency markets was 100 billion with Bitcoin accounting for 65 billion; then the Bitcoin dominance is 65%. Right now, it's somewhere around 66%. This is a very important value, as it gives you a good idea of the health of the number one cryptocurrency.
3. **FUD -** Another commonly used acronym that stands for Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt. For some reason, people like to spread negativity about cryptocurrencies without knowing the actual details of what they are criticizing. Spreading FUD about certain projects is how some unscrupulous traders are able to manipulate the market.
4. **Pump and Dump** - This is a term borrowed from the stock market world, but it refers to artificial manipulation of the market by initially beefing up a worthless asset in order to increase it's value. Once the value is increased, the pump and dump schemers immediately sell off (dump) the asset, causing everyone else to sell off, and the value decreased back to what it originally way before the artificial pump.
5. **Purse -** The amount of crypto you hold in all of your accounts, usually expressed as in fiat currency values (USD, for instance).
6. **Fiat -** A currency backed by nothing, as opposed to the former gold standard and silver standard, which were backed by gold and silver respectively. All current central-bank issued currencies are fiat.
7. **Whale -** A person or a corporate entity that holds a huge purse of one or many different cryptocurrencies.
8. **BTC -** The market identifier for bitcoin. Each cryptocurrency has one of these abbreviated identifiers, and on exchanges, they serve the same purpose as company ticker symbols on the regular stock exchanges.
9. **Exchange** - A website that provides users with the opportunity to trade cryptocurrencies.
10. **HODL** - A misspelling of "hold," as in "You should hold your bitcoin instead of selling it." It came about because common typing errors initially entered in crypto chat rooms and message boards, and HODL became a part of major crypto-related memes ever since. People who HODL their crypto and altcoins are known as HODLers.
11. **Altcoin -** A cryptocurrency other than bitcoin, also known as "alts." Coins like Litecoin, Ethereum, Ripple, and all other assets besides bitcoin are known as alts.
12. **Token** - A specialized cryptocurrency built on a majority of different blockchains, the most common of which is Ethereum. For example, the Basic Attention Token (BAT) is an Ethereum-based token, specifically an "ERC-20" token.
13. **Dapp** - An application built on the blockchain. A Dapp can be anything, from a blockchain-based game to a decentralized exchange. What constitutes a Dapp is often disputes, with some people claiming that certain Dapps are not "full Dapps." Some may consider Publish0x a Dapp. Other examples of Dapps include Nexo and Sapien.
14. **Public Address** - One of two cryptographic addresses used to verify transactions on the blockchain. In order for a transaction to be validated, the Public Wallet Address must match up with the user's Private Keys. The public address is the same things as your Wallet Address.
15. **Private Key -** A string of encrypted characters that it used to verify that a transaction from a wallet is being performed by the wallet holder. In order to be validated, the transaction must correctly include both the public wallet address and your private key. You should always keep your private keys in a safe location that no one else knows about. People on the other side of the transaction never see the user's private key.
16. **DEX** - A Decentralized Exchange. A type of cryptocurrency exchange where the ownership and control is not in the hands of a single entity, and is instead, decentralized.
17. **CEX -** A Centralized Exchange. A type of cryptocurrency exchange that is owned/operated/controlled by a single entity, be it a person or a corporation.
18. **Noncustodial Exchange -** A type of exchange that does not have control over the assets of its users. These exchanges generally allow a user to control his/her own private key. However, many users like noncustodial exchanges because such a setup does not allow the exchange to use the user's funds for voting, like with what happened in the Justin Sun takeover of Steem.
19. **Custodial Exchange** - A type of exchange where user funds are stored in wallets controlled by the exchange. These types of exchanges have full control over the user's funds, and many unscrupulous custodial exchanges have disappeared with user funds many times over the course of cryptocurrency history.
20. **Seed Phrase -** A string of unrelated WORDS that acts as a better-security version of a key. With the seed phrase protecting your wallet, you can just about guarantee that no one will be able to gain access to your wallet. Just don't lose it, because you won't be able to gain access either if you do so!
Well, that's all for now.
Depending on reception of this glossary, I will do more episodes down the line with other terms and definitions you will find on your own crypto journey.
Store Shelves Bare? Online Retailers Keep Stock Ready to Carry the COVID-19 Retail Burden
Updated April 16, 2020
W. Paul Alexander
Work at Home Pros Blog
(Simultaneously published by author W. Paul Alexander on multiple blogs owned by him, including his personal read.cash (bettercallpaul) and publish0X (bettercallpaul) blogs as well as other outlets with permission and credit)
****Introduction****
Unless you have been living under a rock and are completely disconnected from external media, you have already been impacted in your professional and personal life.
COVID-19, the disease caused by the new (“novel”) coronavirus, is a nasty disease. Especially lethal to the elderly, chest x-rays of people with the disease are similar to a starburst, as if the disease literally exploded in their lung. This is because the virus attacks the alveoli in the lungs, which are the tiny air sacs that make breathing possible.
The immediate signs of the disease resemble the common cold, which is also a coronavirus (called a “rhinovirus”); and this makes it especially dangerous, as it is almost certain that there are many more unconfirmed cases that continue to be unreported because the patient carriers do not feel sick enough to go to the hospital, leading to undiagnosed cases as well as a perfect vehicle for infecting others.
If you are living anywhere where infections are occurring, you’ve already likely been to large store like Walmart looking for some necessities. Upon arriving, you were likely met with similar scenarios as are depicted in the picture below – bare shelves and no medical supplies.
Across the United States, millions and millions of workers are now converting to telecommuting/remote-working roles, and there is quite a bit of confusion surrounding the proper method to convert to a home worker as seamlessly as possible. Having been a freelancer for the last decade, I have decided it would help other in this situation to better prepare and make the transition to share my experiences working from home, so a new site, Work At Home Pros. Currently under construction, all you will see now (March 21) is a Wordpress parking page indicating that the new page is coming, but in the next few days, I will begin to produce content and publish it so that so many people will be helped as possible. If you receive the landing page when you visit www.workathomepros.org, check back on Monday, March 23, which is the day we will go live. http://workathomepros.org/
In the meantime, I thought it was prudent to share my experiences with attempting to find supplies in my local community, and then contrast that with supplies still available online.
Yesterday, I was lucky enough to find a 50-pack of vinyl gloves, but so many other necessities are running out their supply by nervous shoppers who are panic buying and preparation for the potential of self-isolation.
Whatever the cause, it’s clear that this pandemic is going to stretch the world to its absolute limits. Here are a few of the sights I encountered during my trip to Walmart (Image credits to the author, personal work)
***The paper products aisle at Walmart in Jacksonville, Florida on March 18, 2020***
Bread and Long Shelf Life Snacks – about empty
These aisles are going bare within an hour after being restocked. People are preparing as though this is going to be the end of the world. I don’t think this is the case, but I do agree with getting prepared.
Just remember your fellow human beings when you decide to fill a cart to the brim with emergency supplies.
If you have experienced such a scenario, it is almost certain that you have no idea where you are going to turn to protect your family.
However, we are lucky to have online retailers who have spent years and years building stockpiles of supplies preparing for “the end of the world as we know it,” aka “SHTF – shit hitting the fan.” These retailers and those who have spent years of their lives preparing for impending disaster are already becoming some of the unsung heroes of the coronavirus pandemic.
Amazon has done an excellent job building a community of sellers and retailers that carry everything you can imagine to prepare for catastrophic events, and while some shipments may be delayed a couple of days, it is still your best bet to find what you need during this.
So, without further ado, here are some of the most in-demand personal protection items still available without super-long delays
1. Masks with **N95 Respirator Filters** https://amzn.to/2JjD63C
If you’ve not worked in healthcare or construction, you likely just started hearing the term “N95” on the news a few days ago. These are the masks that provide an airtight fit around the mouth and nose and generally have rubber straps that help secure this airtight seal. They are designed for people that work in areas where there may be hazardous particulate in the air, and filter greater than 95% of all particles in the air. These are the masks that have people have been having the most trouble finding during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Despite shortages announced in the media, online retail seems to still have supplies of N95 masks, so get them while you still can.
2. **Surgical Masks** https://amzn.to/2wD0Htm
These are the masks we are most familiar with – the ones worn in hospitals, doctor’s offices, dentist offices, and blood collection sites worldwide. Shortage of hospital stockpiles during the COVID-19 pandemic has had some places resorting to sewing mask covers together so that surgical masks could be used 2-3 times before having to be discarded. However, manufacturers still have supplies, and while it may take a couple of extra days, delivery is still pretty much on-time.
3. **Alternative Mask Options** https://amzn.to/2UjLg2g
These can be different colors, and tend to be designed to be a bit more “stylish” than surgical or construction masks. They are commonly worn by people riding motorcycles who wish to keep particulate matter from going down their throat while riding. They have the benefit of usually being coated with activated charcoal, and they also have square N95 filter pads that you place into inserts on the masks. These are amazing alternatives for people looking to protect themselves from airborne particles and virus matter during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Filters for these masks can be found here: MASK N95 FILTER PADS: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07QG3QL3W/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B07QG3QL3W&linkCode=as2&tag=workfromh04ee-20&linkId=88292b702e7cfe9abe9a3fdb0de08ab7
4. **Emergency Food and Rations** https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07VFY3T2S/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B07VFY3T2S&linkCode=as2&tag=workfromh04ee-20&linkId=6d8aac4d51937a3e982b969627c716d3
Traditional stores of emergency food are getting harder and harder to find as the pandemic evolves. What’s left is usually a mix of long-shelf life, calorie-dense nutritional bars, trail mix, and other portable food sources. The pack linked above will get you a box of goodies that can store very well. Of course, if you decide that this doesn’t float your boat, feel free to search for another emergency food option from the Amazon search bar. Stock is changing all the time, so better option may be available by the time you read this.
Protein bars, tree nuts and legumes, and beef jerky are also relatively healthy, calorie and protein-dense energy foods that can be easily transported in times of emergency or food shortage, and can sustain you for quite some time. The same can even be said about foods we would consider less healthy in normal circumstances, such as candy bars and Pop-Tarts, when calories are scarce in an emergency, so remember to look outside the box as you prepare your emergency food stores.
5. **Immune Boosting Vitamins and Herbal Supplements** https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07Z9VFYLQ/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=workfromh04ee-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B07Z9VFYLQ&linkId=687d0c26701a80b1216447e6a9e912c8
In these trying times, and with no vaccine or cure in sight, social distancing and alternative herbal medications are being promoted as very effective ways to fight the novel coronavirus pandemic. While not guaranteed to cure you or keep you from getting sick, anecdotal evidence seems to indicate that those taking certain supplements traditionally used for immune support, like vitamin C, or the Echinacea supplied by supplements like the one linked above. Again, there are a number of different herbs, vitamins, minerals, and other supplements (such as amino acids) that have either traditionally been used for or clinical evidence has shown a positive effect on those using them, with many claiming to get sick less often and less severely than prior to supplementing.
Here is another great immune-boosting supplement that is still in stock on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001CMZB4U/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B001CMZB4U&linkCode=as2&tag=workfromh04ee-20&linkId=3ef07d1ec03bb42c10d689a3a2b4356f
Make sure to do your own research and at least consult with your doctor before starting any new supplement. While the vast majority of supplements will not cause adverse effects, interactions between some conditions, medications, and herbal supplements can be deadly. Taken properly, during these unsettling times where the headlines seem to be more akin to an episode of *The Walking Dead* than to reality, vitamins and supplements seem to be a well relied-upon augmentation and auxiliary tool to keep close by.
6. **Gloves; Latex, Nitrile, or Vinyl** https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GS8VIKE/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=workfromh04ee-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B00GS8VIKE&linkId=9d433e53756d78dd6c6c87d1568dd443
One of the most essential of all personal protection items in times of disease or when coming into contact with hazardous material, gloves are getting harder and harder to find on store shelves. I traveled to Walmart for three separate days and ended up finding one box of 50 vinyl gloves, which I purchased.
I was pleased to find that a few large suppliers are still offering gloves for shipment. This does seem to be slowly dwindling, so if you want them, I’d go ahead and get them now rather than later. Without gloves, much of your other precautions will either be rendered moot or will be drastically reduced in effectiveness.
If you end up unable to find medical gloves, you can also buy a pair of leather gloves or tactical gloves, such as these . They will at least provide a barrier between the outside environment and the surface of your skin. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07TTFV2HF/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=workfromh04ee-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B07TTFV2HF&linkId=95c9e951a32ea8ece0c6bdf174ac336d
7. **Balaclava or Ski Masks** https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07VHPC4SF/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=workfromh04ee-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B07VHPC4SF&linkId=c9fe5b901e77475b58bf4992462bd848
While it may seem like overkill, a balaclava – which is a hood that generally covers the nose, mouth, and head, leaving only the eyes. They are often worn in extreme conditions to protect large amounts of the face and head from exposure. Ski masks work in a similar manner, but are usually made with a large and thick knit, while balaclavas are generally made from Lycra or fleece.
As supplies of medical, surgical, and construction masks and respirators continue to be depleted in record times, a thin balaclava would be a rational choice for protecting the mouth, nose, and skin from being exposed to infectious matter. Movies involving society after global pandemics have featured the balaclava as a newly-adopted everyday dress item amid a global paranoia of future pandemics. Now, I’m not suggesting anything like that occur at this tick in the timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic, but if you feel the need for added protection, why not stock up now?
8. **Water sanitation equipment** https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B084H48KQ2/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=workfromh04ee-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B084H48KQ2&linkId=5243f6529527d6ddfb1e7c9f6fcc12bd
As local, state, and federal resources become more and more thinly spread out to fight the coronavirus outbreak, the reliability of the delivery of electricity and potable water becomes a bit shaky.
You can survive for quite some time without food, but without water, death can occur in as little as 72 hours.
Why not make sure that you can get a fresh drink of water from any water source, no matter how polluted? These devices, similar to the LifeStraw; or LifeStraw Filter Bottle (found here), will ensure that you always have access to your body’s most important need. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006QF3TW4/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=workfromh04ee-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B006QF3TW4&linkId=0aca1dd55b6605e925b3d382f23c47b8 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01G7SQBPQ/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=workfromh04ee-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B01G7SQBPQ&linkId=562d7762c82f6ae24b9a01ea2367c981
9. **Electricity Generators** https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DTVKQBC/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=workfromh04ee-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B07DTVKQBC&linkId=e958cf3ef7e87d87e66de9b6e9598f8b
When it comes to keeping the lights on in the middle of a power outage, only a generator will do. When it comes to a generator, there are two types: **gasoline powered****,** which are generally cheaper buy only allow you to keep a limited number of devices and appliances powered, and **whole-house generators** which are permanently installed generators that store energy for emergency use and are seamlessly triggered on when an outage occurs. The most common whole-house generator is made by Generac, which can be found on Amazon along with their gas-powered cousins. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N80F68E/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=workfromh04ee-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B01N80F68E&linkId=5e233b0504bd642c59eb4fc7370e9835 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DTVKQBC/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=workfromh04ee-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B07DTVKQBC&linkId=e958cf3ef7e87d87e66de9b6e9598f8b
If you have the resources to afford it, buying a generator is one of the greatest investments you can make to ensure that life remains as close to normal as possible, even if the power company falters.
The type of generator that you buy should depend upon your needs and your expectations in times of crisis. Having a gas-powered generator means that you can keep the lights on, have the ability to keep your cell phones and other devices charged, and run life-saving medical equipment, such as nebulizers and CPAP machines.
Alternatively, if you want a generator that offers whole-house electricity generation, so that you can keep everything on during major power outages, you can buy a whole-house generator, such as the Generac. These are top-of-the-line generators that will allow you to keep your Wi-Fi, television, oven, stove, and anything else you would normally run in your house. These are still in stock and can be delivered and installed on the side of your house, similar to how the outside portion of central air conditioning equipment looks.
Buy a Generac Here https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DTVKQBC/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=workfromh04ee-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B07DTVKQBC&linkId=e958cf3ef7e87d87e66de9b6e9598f8b
Like other items, delivery is a bit behind schedule because of the shift in focus to filing the need for necessary items at places prone to an outbreak cluster, such as in a medical facility that treats patients of any kind, as well as anyone that will be spending time around someone who has COVID-19. However, at this time, you can still end up with a generator at your doorstep in about a week and a half at the time of publishing this post (03/21/2020 at 8:07 PM EST)
**Conclusion**
Much of society has been overwhelmed by the speed with which the novel coronavirus has spread, as supply lines are disrupted, citizens are restricted to “essential-only” travel, and more and more of society if forced to transition to The New Normal.
In keeping with my earlier concurring with slogan “Prepare. Don’t Panic,” I wanted to do everything I could to contribute to the global effort to stop this disease. My greatest resource is the quality of the people who follow this blog and the content that I put out, so I decided to compile above list to give hope to some people who are suffering with tremendous panic and anxiety over not being able to access equipment and supplies to protect themselves from a worsening pandemic.
I hope that this list helps those who use it, especially those who fit the above description.
I wish you all the best. We are all in this fight together, so please be mindful of your activities if you have to be in public. If you feel your rights have been violated by an overzealous police officer, do your best to comply with any orders given, while ensuring to take note of the officer’s name and number and call an attorney, who can assist you in seeking recompense.
Remember, those officers, doctors, nurses, EMTs, medical assistants, students, and every other first responder, health care worker, law enforcement officer, military personnel, and even the politicians that we love to hate are all on the front lines of this thing with us, so why not try to support each other as we try to emerge as close to normal as possible.
Best of luck to you all, and remember to check back with us at http://www.workathomepros.org on or after March 23, 2020 (Monday), after we have gone live, for great tips and tricks for hunkering down during stay-at-home orders.
Best of luck to all of you as we all fight COVID-19 and the novel coronavirus.
About the Author:
W. Paul Alexander is a freelance paralegal, a work-from-home expert, and a prolific author and professional writer living and working in Florida with his wife Lauren, a notary public and criminal justice professional (who also contributes to the Work At Home Pros site, going live March 23, 2020). He has ghostwritten for many major-name authors, and is now transitioning to self-attributed works. He enjoys spending time with his family, the Great Political Dance, and keeping up with current events.
Don't Let Pandemic Panic Result in Poor Decision Making
Pandemic Panic: A Message of Hope, Love, and Perseverance in the Face of COVID-19 Coronavirus
Right Now, as it Happens, on...
CORONAVIRUS TIP-LINE EMAIL: cvoctips@protonmail.com
****A Message Promoting A Return to Normalcy During Pandemic COVID-19****
****[03/15/2020 | JACKSONVILLE, FL 9:55 AM EST]****
Yesterday, some of the heaviest restrictions on basic civil rights, specifically the right of free movement (part of the "pursuit of happiness" inalienable right) went into effect.
I published an article late last night and again this morning for my daytime readers that spelled out some of the warning signs that we are seeing during this Pandemic. These warning signs are subtle steps being taken to see how fast, under an all-out emergency declaration, world governments can suspend normal constitutional protections, impose curfews, have National Guard in APC vehicles patrolling the streets. https://www.publish0x.com/better-call-paul/society-grinds-to-a-halt-as-covid-19-leads-to-headlines-stra-xjpewn
Sounds like the early days of the Pandemic in *The Walking Dead, 28 Days Later, and Resident Evil.*
Large cities across the world have slowed to a crawl, with some neighborhoods (such as New Rochelle, New York) are seeing neighborhood-wide special quarantines starting to be enforced. Prison visitation across the nation has been suspended. Mail coming from China is delayed. Churches are closed, as are many public schools, universities, and long-planned and long-held music festivals such as Coachella and SXSW have also seen cancellations and closures.
...and this is only the beginning. We have no idea how many of our rights we are about to give up. And once a government takes the rights of citizens, they never give those rights back willingly. So, as many other news outlets have stated....life will not be the same after this is over. Societies will be forever changed.
****Bringing Out the Worst****
****Toilet Paper Rationing Among New Restrictions****
In times of national emergencies, such as those enacted during hurricanes, wildfires, floods, and manmade disasters, people have a unique chance to act in solidarity to conquer whatever the threat is.
However, without fail, these types of situations almost always bring out the absolute worst in people.
For instance, in Australia, an incident involving scarce toilet paper caused a man to pull out a knife and stab a woman in order to get his toilet paper.
READ IT HERE: WOMAN PULLS KNIFE OVER TOILET PAPER DURING CASE OF PANDEMIC PANIC https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/13/australian-police-say-woman-stabbed-in-downtown-sydney-attack.html
According to CNBC, the woman was taken to the hospital from the scene, having been stabbed by an unidentified man who is also the suspect in several other reports of attempted stabbings over scarce shelves of toilet paper.
He has not yet been identified, and as of current, the only lead is as follows:
Video footage on Twitter showed a young man running across a city intersection and jumping onto the hood of a car, waving what appeared to be a knife.
Things are getting crazy, everyone. Stay strong and kind. Don't stab over toilet paper, please.
****Why Hope is Vital****
So, the purpose of this article, in my mind anyway, was to share a message of hope and love while we are enduring the changes to our everyday lives. Be vigilant and look for statements that just don't sound right from government officials, in order to better consider whether or not further grabbing of civil rights will occur, and if you see these things happening, REPORT IT to your favorite INDEPENDENT MEDIA OUTLET, or simply email me at cvoctips@protonmail.com
People, please do not lose hope. Here is a list of things to do to combat the spread of the virus without surrendering all of your civil rights:
Don't feel defeated. Fear is natural, but don't let the anxiety that comes along with the fear consume you.
Don't go buy a bunch of stuff you don't need, but definitely stock up on things like storable food with a long shelf life, if you can find them.
Don't let selfishness cause you to look down on your fellow humanity, and don't stab people who got the last roll of toilet paper before you did.
Wash your hands and stay away from large gatherings.
Work from home if you can.
Stay an arm length away from people you encounter.
Practice excellent personal hygiene.
Begin using immune-building herbal supplements like Schisandra
Take other safe practice measures that you would take during a bad flu season.
If you get sick, you will be struck down with a ton of fear and doom. You may be scared of quarantine if you test positive for coronavirus, but if you are exhibiting the signs and symptoms associated with COVID-19 (which are the same symptoms as the common cold, except for in elderly and immune-weakened people), do the right thing. If you are absolutely against the idea of going on a government database as being COVID-19 positive, as least self-quarantine yourself for at least 2 weeks. This is what you will have to do if you are positive, anyway, so go ahead and start the self-quarantine the moment you feel ill, and then you will be super-prepared when you get your test results.
The most important things to remember is....
...this too shall pass...
The next few weeks seem very daunting, so I thought it was absolutely necessary to share a message of hope as well as solidarity with those who are suffering from the worst cases of this illness. In high-risk patients, it will literally invade the alveolar air sacs in the lungs, causing a terrible pneumonia that leads to death. But in those of us who are healthy and between the ages of 18-55 face a much better prognosis if we contract COVID-19.
So leave the toilet paper for those who will desperately need it during two-weeks of diarrhea-filled isolation!
What Else Can We Do to Better Prepare?
First, learn everything you can about COVID-19 and the coronavirus that causes it!
Free online learning platform ALISON has a free certification course. Just click the link and in the course search box type "coronavirus." I took this course and became certified well before the pandemic declaration was issued. This allowed me to better understand the threats that this illness poses, and it allowed me to stop listening to all of the FUD out there. https://www.alison.com/
It takes about an hour to complete -- shorter if you are just trying to get to the end, but I don't suggest you do this. Take the time to read every screen and take notes. There is an exam at the end of the course, and you will be presented with a certificate of completion showing that you are COVID-19 certified. They also have courses on a wide variety of healthcare practices, free diploma courses, and many other learning opportunities. All of the courses are free, but the free certificates of completion only apply to COVID-19, Ebola, and HIV certification courses.
Secondly, don't spread false information.
This seems self-explanatory, but it is not. With the current state of the news cycle and the emergence of thousands of independent media outlets, there is quite a bit of information about COVID-19, but much of the supposed information is just oft-repeated lies meant to skew the picture one way or another. Instead, learn about the virus, how it works, how it spreads, the illness it causes, and the supportive therapy that those with COVID-19 need in order to recover faster.
Next, use as little CASH as possible
Physical cash can act as a major method of transmission, especially in the height of a pandemic. World governments are using this as an excuse to invade the blockchain by creating a ton of legal-tender "Central Bank Digital Currencies," known by the acronym CBDCs. For those of us in the crypto-world, now would be a good time to use crypto for your purchases wherever possible, even if it means converting to fiat (in electronic format) and spending the non-physical fiat currency via debit card.
Limiting the handling of cash is a simple step that people can take that will have a huge impact on humanity's victory over COVID-19 coronavirus.
Finally, Help by Spreading the TRUTH
If you come across a story related to COVID-19 that you would like to send our way, send a quick summary as well a link to the full source to our new COVID-19 Response Team email address at cvoctips@protonmail.com. Send us stories that you suspect may be false, as well, and we will perform a full fact-check of the information provided and release a report on said facts.
Until next time...
Deo Volente!
****ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:****
Better Call Paul has established a COVID-19 Media Rapid Response Team, where we will evaluate and fact-check stories related to coronavirus that have not been proven and then report back as to whether the story was true or was an attempt to spread FUD.
Send coronavirus information, stories, and questions to us at any time: CVOCTIPS@PROTONMAIL.COM
Bitcoin Recovers; Cities Locked Down; Federal Government to Mail Checks -- March 19th, 2020
Pandemic Commentary, March 18th-19th
US Cities Continue to Tighten Restrictions
Government to Send Checks to Taxpayers
Alex Jones Prepares Lawsuit Against the Trump Administration in Response to Domestic Travel Bans
There has Never Been a Better Time for Mass Adoption of Cryptocurrencies to Occur
On this episode of....
[JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA | 03/18/2020 | W. Paul Alexander] - COMMENTARY/NEWS
Today, the world continued to reach the edge, where if crossed, there may be no return. During President Trump's press conference yesterday, though, you could see a different man. Trump, while still doing a bit of freewheeling, was no longer the President who stood up a couple of weeks ago and declared that the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic was no big deal, as if the US could ward off the virus and keep it out of our borders by sheer will power alone. This was a dangerous position for the leader of the free world to have taken, and quite frankly, it set us back at a critical time during the unfolding of this pandemic.
Yesterday, during his press conference, the President also announced a bipartisan decision to get checks into the hands of each taxpayer in the nation, save those in the highest of income brackets, in order to ease the suffering caused by the coronavirus and its effect on the economy.
**UPDATE: A $1 trillion aid package is being debated in Congress right now. This is the bill that will include the provision to send checks to Americans.**
**Individuals will immediately receive $1200 while those filing married joint federal tax returns will get $2400. This will be just the first wave of payments, as it looks like the federal government will finally use stimulus funds to help ordinary Americans instead of big businesses.**
Trump stated that he hopes this stimulus package will be what it takes to bridge the gap between now and the time directly after restrictions are lifted, in which he predicts that the economy will "pop" back into shape due to pent-up demand from an isolated public.
Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin was a large force behind this push, as fears of an economic collapse continue to erase wealth at unprecedented levels. According to the some outlets, the figure per taxpayer is rumored to be $1000. Mnuchin said that it may be more. Either way, those of us who file tax returns are about to get $1,000+ checks from the government, like a second tax refund.
**UPDATE: On March 19, Bitcoin recovered, as it increased over $1500 in value, where it is now hanging steady in the mid-$6000's. This is excellent news for those who just bought BTC at 4K!**
This is only the first phase of these proposed payments, as well. Trump and Mnuchin as well as various lawmakers have all stated that it will likely take several waves of payments directly to taxpayers before we reach the critical point in this pandemic where the number of new cases per day drops below the level from the previous day. This "peak," when it occurs, means that we will be on the downward slope of the curve, quickly approaching the end of this thing.
But they are saying it could take MONTHS.
Furthermore, after the President stated that he was contemplating initiating domestic power bans, one of his largest, and no doubt his loudest, supporters in the world, alternative media titan Alex Jones hired attorneys to prepare a lawsuit against the President and his Cabinet. Losing Jones' and his millions-plus audience would likely cost Trump the 2020 election, as Jone's unwavering support for Trump for President in 2016 did a great deal to ensure that Trump occupies the Oval office today.
CHECK OUT ONGOING CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC UPDATES https://www.publish0x.com/better-call-paul/markets-rebound-today-as-government-pledges-to-send-checks-d-xndxkx
***President Donald Trump and Alex Jones***
**Sometimes, it was almost as if they were mirrors of each other looking back at themselves.**
Certain Measures are Justified...
...While Others are Simply Power Grabs
Across the world, cities continue to remain on lockdown and under strict curfew with even more strict exemption criteria. Huge cities are issuing shelter-in-place orders, which makes it illegal for anyone to be outside of his/her home except to go to work and perform essential tasks, like going to the doctor or buying groceries.
I agree that there has to be drastic action taken to ensure that millions are not infected, overrunning our entire healthcare system. We all get that. But the wartime-like restrictions being placed on everyday lives, but it is becoming clear and clear as more orders are issued, such as New Orleans measure that bans the sale of firearms, period, during this pandemic. This, of course, immediately violates 2nd Amendment rights and will be taken up in court, but the fact that these politician are so quick to essentially enact martial law over millions of people demonstrates how power-hungry they really are.
**Stimulus Checks Could Be in Taxpayers' Hands within 2 Weeks**
As mentioned above, the federal government, in an emergency method aimed to fill the gap while the economy is at a halt. This is a very popular measure, of course, and one that Mnuchin has stated will just be the first of several waves of checks sent directly to us.
Whether this will have the desired effect remains to be seen, but direct payments to citizens is an excellent idea to soften the economic blow of this virus.
Why Mass Adoption is Closer Than Ever
Since the beginning of this outbreak, there has been an unprecedented rush by world central banks to take the steps necessary to institute central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), which are really just centralized blockchain ledgers. Fears that person-to-person transmission is more likely in those who consistently handle physical paper money and coinage that travels from pocket-to-hand-to-hand-to-cash drawer.
This push came on the heels of a Central Bank of England report in which the UK's central bank stated it will initiate a rapid program to develop and deploy a centralized digital currency -- perhaps an E-pound. This report stressed the urgent need for central-bank controlled digital assets. It is clear why. They have become aware that blockchain is the future, and those powers that be damned before they allow us in the innovative sector to beat them to the punch, as we continue to push our decentralized Magic Internet Money.
Conclusion
Well, that's all I have for right now, folks. As the rest of the day unfolds, I will bring any breaking news to the forum that I don't believe can wait.
But for now, we ponder....
How Long Will This Last?
What Will the New Normal Look Like After Coronavirus?
Will Alex Jones go to War with Trump over Domestic Travel Ban?
Where is Putin at in this whole thing?
Hmmm....
Deo Volente,
W. Paul Alexander
Better Call Paul Blog Series
Brought to you by Alexander Partners and Associates Legal Consultation Agency...
Ponzi Schemes, Pyramids, and MLMs: Understanding Differences and Similarities
Ponzi Schemes, Pyramids, and MLMs: Understanding Differences and Similarities
by
W. Paul Alexander
for
The Better Call Paul Blog
Hello Everyone!
To those who do not yet follow this blog, a couple of weeks ago, I decided to write a series of articles involving Cryptocurrency/Blockchain scams that have, at times, rocked the crypto world quite a bit. It is important to note that when I mentioned "scams," I am being all-inclusive of projects that ended up taking investor money and keeping it for themselves without doing what was promised to the investors. By this definition, business failures like Mt Gox meet the criteria for inclusion, and very well may be included as a way to study the past to fix the future.
This post, however, is a supplement to my normal postings in which I expose the scams for what they are. Last week, I exposed the HUGE scam known as the Empowr Community. It has become a very popular posting, and as a result, I would like to share it with any new readers to my blog. You can access the Empowr expose by clicking here. https://www.publish0x.com/better-call-paul/exposing-cryptoscams-part-one-xqzjye
**So, without further ado, allow us to jump right in to the topic at hand -- the Ponzi Scheme....**
**|. What is a Ponzi Scheme?**
Many people mistakenly classify any "multi-level marketing" structured company/program as a "Ponzi Scheme." The term has become basically a catch-all for fraudulent scams, but the truth of the matter is that Ponzi schemes have specific criteria that differentiates them from other schemes. It is important to understand a Ponzi scheme and how to identify one, thus the motivation behind this posting.
This gleaming difference that gives Ponzi schemes their own category is that, in order to be a Ponzi scheme, the structure of the company must be such that it makes it's profit from newcomers paying their initial dues. In fact, in order to be a Ponzi scheme, the amount of revenue coming from new sign-ups will always exceed the revenue coming from the company's supposed flagship service or product.
Ponzi schemes can be very simple or they can be massively complex and complicated. They can be designed to scheme a few thousand dollars or over a billion, in cases like Bernie Madoff's.
To understand it better, let's take a look at this simple, simple example below of a common single-party E-Bay Ponzi Scheme:
1. The scammer (we'll call him "Seller") makes an eBay account and buys 10-20 small items in order to establish a bit of positive feedback.
2. Seller opens an Ebay seller account.
3. Seller places high-dollar items on sale, staggering the start date of the listing to where there is a 2-day gap between them.
4. Seller repeats this process about 4-5 days later.
5. As the first customers start to inquire about where their items are, Seller apologizes and blames "the mail," and then uses the latest payment to refund the earliest customer.
6. These people all leave positive feedback (or no feedback at all).
7. Rinse and repeat.
Finally, this will keep occurring until system of refunds and new listings can no longer sustain itself. Once it looks like things are about to go bad or an account is about to be limited, Seller will make one last push selling high-dollar, non-existent items and will then disappear.
*The saddest thing about Ponzi schemes is that, more often than not, unless the value lost is in excess of $100,000, the federal government may not pursue charges -- even if they know who did it and can prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt!*
Of course, as law enforcement agencies see budget increases during good economic times, this threshold will lower.
**|. What is a pyramid scheme/multi-level marketing scheme and are they always scams?**
Many people confuse Ponzi schemes and multi-level marketing schemes as though they are one-in-the-same. They are not, but there is one rule of thumb to remember:
1. All Ponzi schemes are MLMs but not all MLMs are Ponzi schemes.
The MLM structure resembles a pyramid -- with the newest and lowest-ranking members as the bottom and the most senior or most valuable person is at the top. Because each level you rise in the organization is prohibitive by nature, there are less people on each new level -- making the structure of the business take on the aforementioned pyramidal shape.
All Ponzi schemes that involve more than one person will have an MLM/pyramid structure, where the money from the newest go to finance the income of those on top.
However, this is not mutually exclusive. An MLM structure does not always mean that a company is a Ponzi Scheme, and there is nothing inherent to the MLM structure that even makes it wrong, immoral, or illegal. In fact, some very good projects and products come from MLM-structured businesses.
For example:
1. AVON - This mainstay of the health and beauty field has independent distributors and is structured like an MLM.
2. CryptoTab browser -- this new and innovative browser pays its affiliates via an MLM structure with 10 levels of income out. It is not at all a Ponzi scheme -- it is completely legitimate and has faithfully paid out every request I have made. In fact, even though I try to shy away from MLMs for the most part, I have been pleasantly surprised by #CryptoTab, to the point that I advocate everyone getting in while they still can -- why not get a free $40-50 per month in BTC for doing absolutely nothing?
Get your piece of the CryptoTab pie today: https://inorangepie.biz/10093214?l=55. If you use this link to download it, I will make about $2.00 -- Full disclosure.
Read my prior article giving users an update on my CryptoTab earnings to demonstrate that it really pays: Better Call Paul Blog - CryptoTab Update. https://www.publish0x.com/better-call-paul/cryptotab-browser-update-it-really-pays-xvdook
3. Other companies include Mary Kay Cosmetics and Kirby Vacuum Systems -- they all pay their "distributors" or "contractors" according to a multi-level approach where each level higher gets a higher commission level then the one previous.
The thing about MLMs that most people fail to understand because of the incorrect belief that all MLMs are Ponzi schemes is that MLMs are not always fraudulent -- no more so than any other style of business. Of course, there are ways to exploit the MLM/Pyramid structure to take advantage of those below you to enrich yourself unjustly, but if the company allows such exploitation, they are no longer a "reputable" organization.
**|. Conclusion**
As we move through and dive deep into my upcoming CryptoScams expose projects, it is going to become very important that my readers fully understand the difference between the many different types of scams that exist out there. These supplemental articles will cover everything from the topic included herein to other common scams, such as money transfer/employment scams, Nigerian Prince scams, and many others.
Today, you should have learned the definitions of both a Ponzi Scheme and and MLM-structures business, as well as the differences between both of these. You should understand now that every Ponzi scheme is a scam but not every MLM business is. Furthermore, even though every Ponzi scheme has the pyramidal structure of an MLM; not all MLMs are Ponzi schemes.
That just about wraps it up for now, guys!
Until next time...
for
The Better Call Paul Blog Series on CryptoScams
Published February 10, 2020
Revised February 13, 2020
Copyright: Alexander Partners and Associates/The BetterCallPaul Blog.
All Rights Reserved
Plastic Pollution Hits Home
Plastic Pollution Hits Home -- Why We Should Really Look at Alternatives to Plastic Use in our Daily Lives
by
**W. Paul Alexander**
**for the**
**Better Call Paul Blog**
This is just a quick note regarding a cause I have been passionate about for some time -- plastic pollution in our environment and it's potential to kill off so many different types of beautiful marine and waterfowl life.
I was introduced to the anti-plastic cause jointly through one of my clients and my 14-year-old niece, who brought the issue to my attention via a "Save the Seaturtles" campaign that sought to reduce plastic waste through the proliferation and mass adoption of durable drinking straws, whether they are glass or metal, and disposable straws made of an alternative, paper-based biodegradable material.
I live on the St. John's River in Jacksonville, Florida. We have had many bouts with pollution of this major waterway over the years, with recent local government programs of the last 2 decades curbing pollution in order to contribute the overall health of the river.
Unfortunately, this morning, I took my dog for a walk and came across a little duck that had someone bound itself up in a plastic bag. It was struggling to get free but was just getting more and more tied up. I approached it with a pair of scissors and cut it free.
This was the first time that any cause I've been involved with has come to my doorstep, literally. This poor animal would have lost its life had a human with a pair of scissors not come by to free it. The saddest part of all of this is that it is completely preventable, its just that people are either ignorant to the risks or they simply do not care enough to make small changes in their life to extend the lives of wildlife in their communities and in the larger ecosystem as a whole.
This is just disgusting.
Everything you need to know about plastic pollution can be found by clicking here, which will take you directly to the Coastal Care informational hub for all things related to ridding ourselves of this scourge we have brought upon ourselves. http://plastic-pollution.org/
Here is a picture, sadly, of a very common occurrence among some of what used to be our most pristine beaches. Plastics pictures in this picture are almost all made with petroleum and its byproducts, and these so-called hydrocarbons can leach into the ocean water, into the ground water, and then back into our diets. They take a lifetime or longer to degrade, if they degrade at all, and cause animals to die from choking due to an accidental ingestion of hard plastic as well as from getting tangles up with longer plastics, such as the can rings on 6-packs as well as massive amounts of discarded straws and nylon ropes.
The largest issue facing us when it comes to stopping this terrible practice is that people do not have all of the facts, and secondly, because the problem has not yet hit them in the face. I live on the coast, so I see the effects all of the time, but even I was shocked when I saw the poor duck that appeared to have a pair of handcuffs on.
So, do your research, everyone. Just spend 30 minutes of your day researching the effects of plastics on our environment that we can easily fix by making simple changes in our lives.
Here are three simple steps you can take to do your part:
1. As for paper bags as the grocery store.
2, Carry your own metal or wooden silverware with you.
3. Stop using plastic straws altogether. If you insist on using disposables, then invest in a pack of biodegradable paper-based straws; but if you really want to do your part, but a set of glass or stainless steel straws from a place like Simply Straws, which is highly involved in the fight to rid us of the plastic scourge and does tons to better the environment. https://simplystraws.com/
EXTRA: If you want to contribute in a more direct way, volunteer to go clean up a plastic-infested beach with a group that partakes in such activities, or simply drive to a beach or ocean and start picking up the plastic scattered everywhere.
Karma will pay you back tenfold when you take care of the environment around you.
Thanks for reading everyone. Don't let a trapped animal be the wake-up call that smacks you dead in the face. Make the changes today and be an ambassador for changing of the plastic status quo! It is fully within our power as a community to stop this.
Until next time.
Deo Volente,
W. Paul Alexander
**Better Call Paul**
Blockchain 2020: A Real-World, Plain-Language Prediction of What the New Year Will Bring
Blockchain 2020: A Real-World, Plain-Language Prediction of What the New Year Will Bring
By
W. Paul Alexander
for
Better Call Paul Blow
Hello there, everyone!
With the new year approaching, there are a ton of those who have offered their input of what will happen in the cryptosphere in the coming year. While those of us who can comprehend the financial-ese language and charts offered in these financial predictions, it will NOT be the work of bar graphs of your favorite ERC-20 token's price performance that persuades society into mass adoption of cryptocurrency and other digital assets as a store of value -- rather, it will be real-world use cases that determine where we go.
Let's take a look at some of the recent happenings that are likely to affect the crypto market to the point of mass adoption being a possibility.
1. ****Government and NGO****. Increased government and NGO research and pilot programs in which current products and commodities, such as WePower token and its tokenization of electricity generation and the Red Cross and their pilot programs which utilize blockchain technology to distribute and track disaster relief funds.
This is where we have to take a look at the motives behind the entities developing these projects to determine what the true purpose is. I previously wrote an article in which I warned that Red Cross's use of blockchain to track how disaster funds are used has the capability of allowing governments and NGOs to take control of this data and use its blockchain to enhance mass surveillance of the population. Decentralization is all but lost when it comes to these types of projects, too -- which is one of the main features that drew us all to the blockchain space to begin with.
My prediction for 2020 is that government adoption of blockchain will become more prominent. In the United States, expect pilot programs for distributing food stamp benefits and welfare checks to be blockchain-based. More than likely, it will be hundreds of pilot programs in all 50 states where small groups are selected to participate in receiving their funds on a blockchain-based benefit card, let's call it the "Electronic Benefit Transfer Token." These programs will likely face testing on many different platforms to determine the best-case scenario for scaling up to cover the millions of people in the US who receive food stamps and welfare benefits.
Government adoption of blockchain will turn the technology into a massive surveillance system, which is something I have also written about in detail (see my old posts on Publish0x with regard to government abuse of blockchain). However, widespread government implementation of any blockchain project would catapult blockchain into the mainstream, even those projects not affiliated with the government's use. Government implementation may be the catalyst that forces the public into mass adoption of crypto as a whole, but will cost a major premium in terms of lost privacy and other rights.
2. ****OECD Report****. On January 4, 2020, to use another example, the OECD, a European watchdog agency, has issued a report in which they warn that blockchain makes it easier to launder funds and dodge tax authorities. This report can be read by clicking here. The OECD is a major NGO in Europe and Asia, and what they have published in this report will likely drive the way in which the EU makes cryptocurrency regulation and legislation in the future. https://news.bitcoin.com/oecd-warns-crypto-and-blockchain-challenging-tax-transparency/
This report will have lasting effects on the price of BTC and alts, likely adding to their volatility.
3. ****Bitcoin Halving.**** The upcoming halving of Bitcoin's block reward will have a major impact on the price of bitcoin. By cutting the block reward in half, this means that scarcity will increase, and in turn, will likely boost the price of BTC. Anytime something is made more scarce, it generally increases in value. Of course, because there is really no intrinsic value behind digital assets like there is with gold and other precious metals, it is not really possible to predict just how much of an upward price trend that the halving will see.
Thousands of articles on the upcoming halving have been written, so I will not try to reinvent the wheel. I will simply note that this halving will have the effect of making BTC's scarcity rise, which should amount to an increase in price, possibly commensurate to the halving itself.
*****What I am doing, going forward:*****
I am invested heavily in quite a few HODL projects, and those will likely stay held in 2020, at least until the platforms they are related to grow their user base and user interface. The exception to this, of course, will be for small alt projects that pass their "sell" target, at which point I will sell and go on to others.
I am putting more into bitcoin than I normally keep. Because I expect 2020 to see quite a bit of surge in the price of BTC, I will probably move about 60% of my crypto into BTC, 20% in the runner-up coins like ETH, LTC, and BCH; and the remaining 20% into volatile alts (about 2-3%), new projects (8-10%), and stablecoins (up to 10%).
I expect the price of BTC to easily break 10k at some point in the first quarter of 2020, possibly even by a growth of around 25%-40% of today's values.
*****Conclusion*****
Please understand that the above article comprises my own personal feelings regarding where we are going as we start a new decade. It is not intended to be financial advice, but is instead meant as a vocalizing of my own view going forward.
I hope you have enjoyed this brief report. Comments are always welcome. Please note that, while I do read and comprehend the numerous hundreds and thousands of bitcoin and alt price predictions, I just wanted to share these brief points in a common-language method.
Thanks for reading!
W. Paul Alexander
Naming Names -- CryptoScams Studied and Exposed (Week Two)
Naming Names -- A Study of CryptoScams
Week Two
by
W. P. Alexander
for
Better Call Paul Blog
Hello faithful readers, and welcome to the Better Call Paul series on cryptocurrency scams. Last week, we covered the "Empowr" network, a hybrid Ponzi type of scam that was finally outed when they flooded their economy with a huge supply of coins over what they claimed the max supply would be, effectively sending the coin into hyperinflation not seem since Weimar Germany.
This week, we will be covering one of the original crypto scams, and to this date, probably one of the most successful in terms of what they were able to steal from their customers. Of course, the scam I refer to is none other than.....BitConnect.
So, BitConnect was a platform with its own coin (BCC). The company allowed users to deposit funds and convert them to BCC, which could then be lended through their network for a pretty decent return.
I have to admit that I fell victim to this scam personally, but the good thing was, I only lost money that I had previously gained from trading, so the loss didn't impact me that much -- I just hated to see it crash and burn.
The BitConnect coin was also highly ranked and consistently held a high value, consistently being well above $500.00 on the exchanges. It seemed like a project that was going to make it big.
The problem was that the project had no way of sustaining itself, and the developers knew this -- leading to a situation that resembled classic Ponzi schemes to where those who entered late in the game lost their entire investments.
State bureaucrats in Texas started to see red flags around the project, and issued a letter telling the company to cease all operations in Texas. When this was made public, confidence in the project dropped. The lending platform was suspended for users, and the developers made an announcement that they would be refunding all money to all users, but they would be doing so with the BCC coin, which was rapidly losing value.
For instance, when they paid me out, my BCC went from being worth about $500 to just under $40 within a 45 minute period.
Then, this happened:
In a menacing turn of events yesterday, Bitcoin investment lending platform BitConnect abruptly announced it is shutting down its lending and exchange services. But while this sudden “curveball” might have come as a massive surprise for thousands of gullible investors, the writing was on the wall all along. https://thenextweb.com/hardfork/2018/01/16/bitconnect-shut-down-closed/
...and that was that. BitConnect shut down and kept all of our money.
So what can we learn here to prevent us "gullible investors" from investing in another scam project?
First of all, all of us who invested in BCC were not "gullible." The scam was very well created and everything about it seemed legit. The BCC asset was holding its value, so BitConnect seemed a great place to invest. However, because it was new, I decided I would only invest gains from other investments, that way if I lost it all, I wouldn't actually be losing anything. Unfortunately, there were some folks who lost their entire cryptocurrency holdings to BitConnect.
**Steps to Prevent Being a Victim**
1. Never invest more than you are able and willing to lose. This is the most important concept when it comes to investing in blockchain products. If you use what you gained from other investments, then you never go against your own bottom line, and if you gain on top of that, you now have two layers of protection against your bottom line.
2. Do your Due Diligence. Always research the platform you are about to invest in. Look at market performance and value of the asset, of course; but you also need to investigate the project itself, not just its performance on the markets. Are the developers active? When was the last update to the project? Does the project have a roadmap? Are the developers meeting the goals on the roadmap? Are there are posts or articles written about the project, etc.
These are the questions that you should seek answers to before you invest.
3. Never listen to anyone promoting a project in a chat box. On the exchanges, you will consistently see people who are attempting to manipulate that markets. They will start saying things like "Buy BCC! It's going to the moon." These people are the reason that "pump and dump" exists. Avoid these people and the projects they promote like the plague.
4. Start small. This goes along with the first tip of only investing what you can afford to lose, but it is a bit different. When investing in a new project, start small, play the market, and see if you are able to generate a profit, and then use that profit to try to generate more of a profit.
If you follow these tips, you should be able to steer clear of these types of scams.
BitConnect is considered by many to be one of the largest scams in the cryptosphere today because of the methods with which they were able to maintain the market value of their coin -- so those who got in early and sold when the value was up actually made money, while those who got in late quite frankly had the potential to lost everything, and many did.
So, that's the expose on BitConnect. Many of you are already aware of the BCC scam, but a CryptoScam blog series wouldn't be complete without mentioning the granddaddy of 'em all!
Until next week....
Deo Volente
W. Paul Alexander
[In the comments sectionx, please feel free to tell me what scam you would like me to expose next]
Naming Names -- Exposing CryptoScams, Part One
Naming Names -- Exposing CryptoScams, Part One
**A Weekly Series Examining ScamCoin Projects and Their Effects on The Rest of the Blockchain Experience**
By
W. Paul Alexander
for Better Call Paul Blog
Published Originally on Publish0x on Jan 11, 2020 by WPA and reproduced by the author on other platforms, including but not limited to Steem and Sapien.
Thank you for reading. Scams in society in general have a tremendous effect on economies worldwide. After witnessing some of the blatant fraud that goes on in any unregulated industry, specifically these "better-than-good" crypto projects that promise untold wealth for little to no effort whatsoever. While there are literally billions -- even trillions -- of US Dollar-equivalent riches to be gained by players in the cryptosphere; 99% of these yet-to-be-awarded riches only come to those who have worked hard to establish themselves in the world of blockchain who have put in countless hours to bring their projects to fruition.
Now, it is certainly possible for someone to make a large return off of a very, very small initial investment through the crypto-trading world -- as a matter of fact, I've done it. However, while it appeared as though the small investment was the only thing the made my large return come true, the truth of the matter was that I was able to take my compensation for working on the founding of the Rupee Blockchain project and trade it during the ICO bubble of 2017 and made a total return of $750,000 USD off of a zero-dollar investment (not including my labor working on the project, which probably accountED for about 20,000 USD.
This is RARE. Any time you see a project promising extremely high yield like this (They call these HYIPs, or "high-yield investment platforms"), do intense and copious research on your own before you EVER invest in one of these. Before you give your money to any project like this, ensure that you are able to connect with a REAL user on the platform that has received their promised returns. If you cannot verify by reaching out to users of the platform, run away. If it seems too good to be true, run away.
I have thus decided to start a weekly article in which I explain some of the active cryptoscams out there and expose them for the liars and cheats that they are.
This week, I will be explaining the scam that calls itself "Empowr".
**What is Empowr?**
Empowr is supposed to be a "democratically" run social media network where members, who Empowr calls "citizens," are able to post items for sale, trade, barter, and even make a solid passive income simply by posting well put-together content. Most people active on the site speak in broken English and they almost never give relevant feedback to anything. From the very get-go, something felt fishy about it. I had never even heard of the project before, until one day in late 2017, I received a telephone call...
It was about a year and a half ago, and my 69-year-old mother who had been using a PC at that for about 6 months, gives me a call and tells me that she has found a source of online income for herself, and she wanted me to take a look at to see if it sounded legit. I have been a freelance paralegal, content creator, and successful entrepreneur; so I have become the "it person" to come to in both my neighborhood and within my own family for anyone considering making the leap from employee to business owner. Anyway, I immediately was able to ascertain that the Empowr project was a scam. They told her that she had made $17,000, and she was so excited. She just needed a Paypal account in order to withdraw her funds and she was good to go. Except, no payment ever came.
Come to find out, she had been spending close to 30 hours a week -- the threshold that separates part-time from full-time for sake of health-care coverage in the United States -- for the previous 3-4 months, writing voluminous, thoughtful, and flat-out excellent posts on the Empowr platform day-in, day-out. Her stats on the homepage eventually said that she had earned over 30,000 USD. At this point, I told her straight up that it was a scam and to leave it alone, but she had invested a ton of work and put her soul into the content she was posting. I told her to put it out there to the "community" and make a post flat out asking if anyone had ever received their money from Empowr. She never found anyone who gave an answer to the questions, but soon after, Empowr announces that, instead of the 32,000 USD she had in her account, they were switching over to paying contributors in their new, shiny ERC-20 token.
Well, this would have been fine, had they been given the choice to do so. However, that 32,000 USD that my mother was told she had already made should have never had anything to do with the Empowr crypto. It was earned long before the Empowr token came into existence, and as such, should have been paid out using Paypal via a USD transaction the way that it was promised in the beginning.
Then, after the people behind Empowr had their pump-n-dump ICO, the token saw a very slight increase in price. However, in order to withdraw the token, you had to send ETH to cover "transaction fees" akin to Eth gas price, but much more than the actual gas price cost itself. So, my mom finally got out before she gave them any of her hard-earned retirement funds, thankfully, because she could not figure out MetaMask.
**The Saga Continues and the Fraud is Uncovered**
So, as you can imagine, people started to get very pissed off. During the ICO, the creators of the project made a promise to the community that there would never be more than 10 billion Empowr tokens created. However, not long after that, they decided to break that promise and flooded the platform with billions upon billions of tokens.
...and what happens when a centralized issuing authority starts increasing the monetary supply in any given economy? It doesn't matter if it's 1920's Weimar Germany or 2020's blockchain economies -- when the money supply is arbitrarily increased by someone controlling the levers, hyperinflation is the result. This is exactly what happened with Empowr.
To give you an idea of how bad it had become -- during the time that my mom was involved with them, I created an account in order to check out the site and evaluate it for credibility. One log in, no activities, no pages viewed, no connections made. Yet, regardless of this, each morning I receive an email from Empowr telling me that I have in excess of 18 million of their coins. Of course, I cannot access them, and when you try to go to Empowr's homepage, you are greeted with a message telling you that the previous iteration, which they call an "Open Alpha Test" was being completely shut down in order to "make room for the Beta phase."
Anyone who knows anything about software development understands that the process from alpha to beta to release is a cumulative process. The alpha version does not get completely scrapped to make way for the beta version. Sure, some features may not make it past Alpha to Beta and then to retail, but I have been in this industry a long time, and this just screams to be that they are about to disappear with everyone's money..
I don't even think those 18 million tokens would go as far as buying a McDouble from the McDonald's value menu, much like the hyperinflation in Germany in the 1920s that saw people carrying wheelbarrows full of cash to buy a loaf of bread.
Now, if you try to access their homepage from any browser that has the Metamask extension installed, you will see the following warning and feedback from Etherscamdb.info -- which is a database that houses current information regarding suspected crypto scams. As you can see, the behavior that qualifies them as a scam is the fact that they literally require users to turn over their private keys, after which there are so, so many instances of complaints from their user base that describe a fraudulent company that debits the tokens held in the wallet for which the private keys were turned over.
It's bank fraud, plain and simple -- because even though the scammers behind Empowr may think that they are free and clear of bank fraud because there are no banks involved in the Empowr scam itself, they fail to realize that when they withdraw those fraudulently gained funds to their own fiat accounts, THAT is where the crime occurs. Add to that wire fraud, using a computer system to perpetrate fraud, etc., etc., etc., just like every other financial racketeering.
Let's Take a Look at what scam watchdog EtherScanDB has to say about Empowr.
From https://etherscamdb.info/domain/www.empowr.com
**URL**: http://empowr.com
**Category**: Phishing - Empowr
**Description**: Asking for private keys that are sent to the backend with POST /FBBank/EthereumWalletEditor.aspx - deposit address (to buy their coins) 0x50fe59792a325084604a524a8f148de04182769a
**Status**: Active
**IP**: 185.203.72.17
**MetaMask Status:** Not Yet Blocked
**Google Safe Browsing Status**: Not Blocked Yet
**VirusTotal Detections**: Could not pull data from VirusTotal
**Phishtank Detected**: Could not pull data from Phishtank
**Urlscan Scan Results**: Link
**Nameservers**: https://etherscamdb.info/ip/185.203.72.17 https://urlscan.io/result/c3dce01e-e129-4278-a64e-6900db642bc4
pdns03.domaincontrol.com pdns04.domaincontrol.com
****Conclusion****
Empowr is a scam, through and through. It has been exposed as such by many people who have fallen prey to their straight up criminal enterprise, and since I actually have a personal history with these people, I thought it would be a good idea to discuss them this week. The concept was actually decent, and some of the ideas put forth by Empowr are being used in new, legitimate projects, such as the Sapien Network. However, in the end, the people behind Empowr were nothing more than criminals, and by exploiting the buzz around the cryptocurrency world during the ICO bubble, were able to make millions for themselves by promising desperate people who cannot work for a living a chance to put together legitimate passive income. Instead, they are preyed upon by these vultures and are left with nothing but a massive loss.
If you've been dedicating time to crafting top-notch content to post onto Empowr, just walk away right now. Take the loss as it relates to the time you spent, but make a log of that time spent putting in hours and hours creating content for the Empowr scheme. The more people that come forward about this, the more likely it becomes that governmental agencies will step in and seize the site and shut down, while on the other hand, a nice attorney comes to the picnic and represents all of those who lost due to Empowr's scheming.
The only thing that is not good going forward is that they are not US-Based. If they were, the feds would've already put an end to this while our FTC would be taking the reins to get victims reimbursed for their losses.
There are some people that still defend Empowr as though they are making what they are being promised. I have a challenge to you all -- just show us all proof that you have received a legitimate payout from them, and I may be interested in taking another look -- but until someone demonstrates proof that the payments have occurred, Empowr will stay on my "scam" list.
Thanks for reading,
....and remember, for your consultation needs., you ***Better Call Paul*** for the best results!
Deo Volente,
W. P. Alexander
[NOTE: This is a republishing of an article written by the author (me) for the new Better Call Paul blog on Read.Cash]
Preventing Government Overreach by Policing our Own Communities
**Can We Agree to Monitor and Police Our Own Community As a Tool to Prevent Government Interference via Cryptocurrency Regulations?**
A Novel Approach
By
***W. Paul Alexander***
for
BetterCallPaul Blog on Read.Cash
***Republished by the author (me) for the Read.Cash community on April 30, 2020. With unprecedented levels of government control over free movement of citizens due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the possibility of a governmental regulatory snatch-and-grab of our wonderful blockchain and cryptocurrency markets increased a hundredfold. So, I've republished this article and boosted it so that we can converse about what is to come next, regulatory speaking***
**The Problem**
The imminent collision with the giant train that is the United States "federal bureaucracy" smashing into the robust and unregulated cryptocurrency markets is coming. If you do not already know this, all have you have to do is look at history when it comes to emerging markets -- going back hundreds of years before the American Revolution.
For instance, companies such as the Hudson Bay Company and the East India Company were granted monopoly charters over newly discovered trade routes to India and Canada -- with the East India Company being founded all the way back in 1600. Soon after the companies came in and "tamed" the local people and set up quasi-dictatorial administration, the British Crown became highly entangled with the EIC until the two basically held tandem power in the colonized Indian subcontinent.
The Soviet Union was known for its sterile -- almost clinical -- administration of central planning by a massively invasive bureaucracy which was, in turn, completely filled to the brim with agents from the KGB. Sound familiar? If not, all you have to do is look around with inquiry in your mind and think about it rationally for a second -- the United States (and most of the west altogether), as a nation, is not administered by the government that is presented to the public. The real power lies in the hands of those in deep in the bureaucracy -- those nameless "agents" who attempt to infiltrate everything they can in order to achieve a state of "total informational awareness." This has become a massive, pulverizing machine chugging along at full power....
Coming the other way is the cryptocurrency market and ecosystem in general. Our discussion boards are open, our projects publish whitepapers, we attempt to be completely transparent. However, a market that has total capitalization of half a billion dollars and is almost completely unregulated in the United States (other than the IRS's attempt at taxing them) is the perfect target for the bureaucracy to come in.
This is how they do it...
They see a massive, massive unregulated market that has attractive low-hanging fruit and decide that they are going to regulate us, but they have no grounds to do so legally, so...
They regulators release a statement that they have received "hundreds" of complaints of people being taken for crypto-related scams and other fraudulent activities.
They claim to have a "mandate" to protect US citizens from fraud, and they begin to regulate the hell out of every crypto project in the United States and prevents others from offering service to US-based persons. They make it a misdemeanor criminal offense to trade in cryptocurrency.
Then, slowly, they begin to lessen the grip, after the citizenry has become used to the idea of crypto being banned, much like the myth surrounding Cuban cigars. In growing increments, they begin to allow us to transact in cryptocurrency, but the transactions allowed are heavily regulated, just like the banks, and are all under the umbrella of a new government corporation, much like the FDIC -- called the Digital Asset Insurance Corporation, the DAIC. Because the people had already became conditioned to the temporary ban on crypto, this feels like the government is doing good, and approval ratings go up....cycle repeats, until cryptocurrencies become floated the same way as regular currencies, controlled by a central authority.
Of course this scenario is a bit extreme, the above could happen so fast, we wouldn't even realize it was done until days after it was enacted...
**So What Can We Do?**
Now, we get to the core point of this port -- what we can do to prevent -- and if not prevent, than to slow down -- the decline and theft of the cryptocurrency ecosystem by a lengthy, devastating collision with an information-obsesses government bureaucracy ready to regulate us into the dirt?
Well, obviously, we need to present, as a collective agreement between major projects -- a commitment to professional, honest, and secure projects. We need to devise our own methods for determining whether a project appears to be a shitcoin or a pump-dump scam and get them out of the market immediately.
The concept is super simple --
If we clean our own yard, they won't need to do it for us.
Now, this does not mean that we will never suffer government interference, either as individual projects or the community as a whole. Many of us have been given forms by the IRS to report our cryptocurrency activity. Some have challenged this in court, but so far, the courts have sided with the IRS, making future court cases less likely to succeed. Now that the IRS is in, all they have to do is refer someone they feel owes more crypto tax over for criminal prosecution. At that point, the DOJ and every agency that has access to the DOJ criminal database (FBI, CIA, NCIS, Secret Service, State Police, etc) will know that the person they are investigating is link confirmed as owning the crypto address linked by the IRS. As such, they would be able to link this person's crypto transactions to debit card, in-game purchases, fuckin Starbucks visits....literally everything they do now but with the added power of blockchain turned against itself as a surveillance tool on the very people who were looking to have anonymous transactions. This will all happen in the name of "keeping US citizens safe from fraud."
I know that some of you may think that I sound like a tinfoil hat conspiracist, but this is not the case. I am simply pondering what would happen if the massive US bureaucracy took over the crypto world via regulation the same way that they have done with other massively unregulated industries in the past.
In the end, though, it's very important to note that this is probably quite a few years away from happening.
There are still millions to be made out there. There are plenty of moon landings left.
So, do what you can now whenever an opportunity presents itself. If you end up making a little something, put back as much as you can in a safe place. Once the IRS or other regulators send you threatening letters saying they will take your belongings if you do not pay what they think you owe on crypto taxes -- you can simply go to your safe, pull the amount out, get a money order, and get it over with. In the process, give the IRS a call and tell them you want to settle it all now, that you can pay 1/3 (33%) of the total they say you owe. They will accept it and you can go on your way.
**Conclusion**
**Wow, this article was a bit all over the place -------**
For all intents and purposes, though, the message is simple -- keep our own doorsteps clean and they are less likely to interfere. This is true for individuals as well as projects specifically. If you are a developer on a projects that suddenly rockets to the sky, be ready for the tax man to come. Being prepared to resolve the matter as fast and as cheap as possible will give you a way to get them on their way quick, so make sure that you are keeping track of what you "may" owe in taxes, say, if bitcoin were USD and you were calculating capital gains.
Keep innovating -- keep adopting -- keep promoting -- keep trading -- keep making money -- keep **developing core features.**
In the meantime, do everything possible to keep prying eyes out of your digital assets -- this means paper wallets for the ultra-paranoid and hardware wallets for others.
I hope this was an entertaining read, I hope to read some excellent comments.
If you enjoyed this article, please consider subscribing!
@BetterCallPaul
