Bitcoin Tops $1,000 as Virtual Money Gains Popularity

The price of Bitcoin surpassed $1,000 on the Mt. Gox online exchange, fueled by speculators snapping up the virtual currency as it gains wider acceptance.

Bitcoins, which exist as software and aren’t regulated by any country or banking authority, surged to a record $1,073 today, up more than 80-fold from a year earlier.

The currency has rallied on growing interest from investors in China and the U.S., while merchants are starting to accept Bitcoins for everything from Gummi bears to tuition fees.

The virtual currency gained credibility this month after law enforcement and securities agencies said in U.S. Senate hearings that Bitcoin could be a legitimate means of exchange.

The rally had gathered steam last month after regulators shut down the Silk Road Hidden Website, where people could obtain guns, drugs and other illicit goods using Bitcoins. That generated optimism the digital money would become more widely used for legal purposes.

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POLL: Ted Cruz 3rd 'most influential' world leader, behind pope, Obama.

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz has had the best year of any Republican and virtually anyone in the world, ranking third in Rasmussen Report’s new poll of the of the “most influential” people in the world, behind Pope Francis and President Obama.

In the new poll, Cruz, who made headlines for trying to dismantle Obamacare, was the pick for the most influential of 11 percent. The pope was tops at 23 percent, Obama second at 21 percent.

 FULL ARTICLE

Sights and sounds of Morocco through time-lapse

The mesmerizing and fast-paced journey (with music by John Adams) entitled "Watchtower of Morocco" was posted by Vimeo.. FULL STORY

A decade of slow growth?

By Fareed Zakaria From: Cnn.com:

Every year at Davos, people like me try to get a sense of the mood of the place, take the temperature of people in this frosty mountain resort.

Obviously, I will give you a highly impressionistic and personal picture, but it’s one I find useful since Davos does bring together leaders in government, business, media – even the NGO community – from all corners of the world. It is genuinely global in a way that few conferences are...

FULL STORY

The FACTS: End of the World 2012 phenomenon

Guatemalan Maya natives kneel in front of a temple at the Tikal archaeological site on December 20, 2012.

The exquisite site of Mayan ruins began hosting winter solstice ceremonies on Thursday as the region's indigenous people marked the end of an era.

The 2012 phenomenon comprises a range of eschatological beliefs according to which cataclysmic or transformative events will occur on 21 December 2012 . This date is regarded as the end-date of a 5125-year-long cycle in the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar.

Various astronomical alignments and numerological formulae have been proposed as pertaining to this date, though none has been accepted by mainstream scholarship. A New Age interpretation of this transition is that the date marks the start of time in which Earth and its inhabitants may undergo a positive physical or spiritual transformation, and that 21 December 2012 may mark the beginning of a new era.

Others suggest that the date marks the end of the world or a similar catastrophe. Scenarios suggested for the end of the world include the arrival of the next solar maximum, an interaction between Earth and the black hole at the center of the galaxy, or Earth's collision with a planet called Nibiru.

Scholars from various disciplines have dismissed the idea of such cataclysmic events occurring in 2012.

Professional Mayanist scholars state that predictions of impending doom are not found in any of the extant classic Maya accounts, and that the idea that the Long Count calendar ends in 2012 misrepresents Maya history and culture, While astronomers have rejected the various proposed doomsday scenarios as pseudoscience,stating that they conflict with simple astronomical observations.

FULL STORY Source: wikipedia

Only 15 States Opt to Run Obamacare Exchanges

Only 15 states have told the federal government they plan to operate health insurance exchanges under President Barack Obama's reform law, leaving Washington with the daunting task of creating online marketplaces for two-thirds of the country.

FULL STORY

Bloomberg: The Fiscal Cliff Will Drive the U.S. Into Recession

House Speaker John Boehner says he was "flabbergasted" when Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner pitched the White House plan to save the nation from the "fiscal cliff." FULL STORY

6 Ways The Fiscal Cliff Could Affect You

Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke used the term "fiscal cliff," it quickly became the newest Washington buzzphrase.

As the deadline to avert the cliff nears, it has overtaken the European debt crisis as the most talked-about story in the financial media.

The fiscal cliff refers to the enactment of a number of laws that would, if not changed before Jan. 1, 2013.

The U.S. Recovery Has Been Spectacular*

We need a real recovery. That's what Mitt Romney said during the campaign, and he was right. Five years since the start of the Great Recession, unemployment is still far too high. It's not for a lack of optimism among policymakers. As Evan Soltas pointed out, the Federal Reserve keeps predicting that prosperity is just around the corner, only to find it's not. Catchup growth is the new Godot. FULL STORY *Compared to almost every other rich country and almost every other financial crisis.

Fiscal cliff would drive the U.S. economy back into recession.

Fiscal cliff would drive the U.S. economy back into recession before end of 2013, a new report from the Congressional Budget Office said. Congressional Budget Office released a report showing that the most harmful consequences of the fiscal cliff, a fully armed and operational fiscal cliff would cost us 3.4 million jobs. Obama Fiscal Cliff Deal Risks Brush With Recession

Ann Romney: The dress that caused a scandal in the United States

This is the debate that panics the fabric on the other side of the Atlantic, signed a dress worn by Diane von Furstenberg Ann Romney. FULL STORY

Barack Obama wins election for second term as president

President Barack Obama handily defeated Gov. Mitt Romney and won himself a second term Tuesday after a bitter and historically expensive race that was primarily fought in just a handful of battleground states. Networks project that Obama beat Romney after nabbing the crucial state of Ohio. FULL STORY

Obama’s Numbers, Updated

In the interest of timeliness and accuracy, we are issuing an updated version of “Obama’s Numbers,” our collection of key measures of the president’s time in office. FULL STORY

Apple's iPad Mini targets Goldilocks, but leaves some readers wanting

You've probably heard the story of Goldilocks and the three tech-savvy bears. Goldi is wandering through the forest when she comes to a house and enters, unannounced, in search of a mobile device to pass the time. FULL STORY

Closest planet found outside solar system

The hunt for planets like our own has come up with a striking discovery: There’s a planet about the same size as Earth in the nearby Alpha Centauri system, and it's the closest planet found outside our solar system. FULL STORY

'The Hunger Games' Catch Fire

From Deadline Hollywood...

Lionsgate just revised upwards its worldwide total to a massive $214.25 million for The Hunger Games which was projected to be the No. 1 title in virtually every single market globally...

Source: www.deadline.com
Nikki Finke

Publisher and Author Andrew Breitbart Dead at 43

Andrew Breitbart, the conservative Internet publisher and blogger, died early this morning at age 43. A statement posted on his website said that Breitbart died "unexpectedly from natural causes" this morning...

Source: http://abcnews.go.com

ESPN Jeremy Lin Headline: Civil Rights Organization Demands

Though ESPN apologized for referring to Jeremy Lin as "Chink in the Armor" Friday night, an Asian-American civil rights organization isn't satisfied with the response...

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com

Lopez Stunned To Find Steven Tyler Swimming Naked In Vegas

Steven Tyler caused his fellow American Idol judge Jennifer Lopez to scream in shock after discovering the rocker taking a dip..

Source: www.contactmusic.com

Bloggingheads: North Korea’s Choice

Heather Hurlburt of the National Security Network and Daniel Drezner of Foreign Policy debate the future of North Korea...

Source: www.nytimes.com