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/ The Money Movement / The Money Movement Episode 22 The Digital Dollar Opportunity
The Digital Dollar Opportunity
Stablecoins have captured the imaginations of central bankers around the world. The power and efficiency of digital versions of local currencies on blockchains, and the promise of a more transparent and accessible financial system, have led nearly every central bank on the planet to launch a central bank digital currency (CBDC) initiative. While most of these efforts have focused on research, planning, and proposals, private sector stablecoins have been in the market for years and have seen incredible growth. From trade finance, to remittances, to cross-border business payments, digital dollar stablecoins have seen the fastest growth as macro conditions accelerate dollarization across the globe. To take one example, USD Coin (USDC), a fully-reserved and regulated US dollar stablecoin, recently topped 500% growth in market capitalization this year alone.
With China's CBDC beginning to roll out, and imminent launch of Facebook's Libra payments network,and increased attention on Capitol Hill around the distribution of COVID-realted aid and financial inclusion, digital dollar initiatives at the Fed are in the spotlight.
To help unpack these topics and examine the intersection between CBDC and private sector digital dollar stablecoins, we're joined this week by Chris Giancarlo, Director of The Digital Dollar Project, a partnership between Accenture and the Digital Dollar Foundation focused on advancing the exploration of a United States Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). Chris Senior Counsel to the law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher and the former Chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Mr. Giancarlo also served as a member of the Financial Stability Oversight Committee (FSOC), the President's Working Group on Financial Markets, and the Executive Board of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO).
We are honored to have Chris on the show for what promises to be an exciting and wide-ranging converation.
Live on YouTube Thursday October 8th at 1p ET
Watch each week live on YouTube, and be sure to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube.
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Jeremy Allaire: Hello, I'm Jeremy Allaire. And this is the money movement, a show where we explore the issues and ideas in this brave new world of digital currency and blockchains. Today we're going to be exploring
Jeremy Allaire: The topic of digital dollars. Obviously, we've talked a lot about digital dollars on the show digits are stable coins digital currency and stable coins have obviously capturing the imaginations of central bankers technology companies and others.
Jeremy Allaire: To the power and efficiency of these digital versions of local currencies on blockchains and the promise of a more transparent and accessible financial system have led nearly every central bank on the planet.
Jeremy Allaire: To launch some form of central bank digital currency initiative. Now, most of these efforts have focused on research planning proposals.
Jeremy Allaire: Private sector stable coins have been in the market for years and I've seen incredible growth, most notably in the last year.
Jeremy Allaire: From trade finance to remittances to cross border business payments digital dollar stable coins have seen the fastest growth as macro conditions accelerate dollarisation across the globe.
Jeremy Allaire: USD see itself has rocketed to nearly 3 billion in circulation and is growing at a astounding rate.
Jeremy Allaire: With China's central bank digital currency beginning to roll out and the imminent launch of Facebook's Libra payments network increased attention on Capitol Hill around the distribution of aid and financial inclusion digital dollar initiatives at the Fed are also in the spotlight.
Jeremy Allaire: To help unpack these topics and examine this intersection between central bank efforts and private sector digital dollar efforts.
Jeremy Allaire: We're joined this week by Christopher john Carlo director of the digital dollar project a partnership between Accenture and the digital dollar foundation that's focused on advancing
Jeremy Allaire: The exploration of the United States central bank digital currency, Chris, a Senior Counsel to the law firm Wilkie foreign Gallagher and the former chairman of the US Commodities Futures Trading Commission welcome Chris. It's great to have you here today.
chrisgiancarlo: To be with you today, Jeremy. It's great to have you be with you. Thank you for the opportunity.
Jeremy Allaire: Absolutely. So, well, look, there's so much to talk about. And we could easily fill hours with that. So we're gonna we're gonna do our best to
Jeremy Allaire: To have a solid conversation. A lot of topics but I like to start obviously just to hear a little bit about your own journey into crypto specifically and all these ideas that you've got some really interesting history there. And I think just great for the audience to quickly here that
chrisgiancarlo: You know, great. I mean, you know, so many people's stories of how they've come to crypto are fascinating my own journey began when I joined the Commission and in 2014 and started meeting with some
chrisgiancarlo: People active in the space, including Cameron, a title, a week of August, and others.
chrisgiancarlo: That were advocating for, you know, a good relationship with regulators and we're getting to see us early
chrisgiancarlo: But really, it took off for me in 2017 when I became chairman of the agency and we had an enormous run up in the, the value of bitcoin
chrisgiancarlo: And at the same time, we were approached by two of our leading exchanges the Chicago Mercantile Exchange in Chicago Board Options Exchange.
chrisgiancarlo: To launch Bitcoin futures as a regulated product and it was remarkable that the pressure on the agency, not to allow Bitcoin futures to launch. I mean,
chrisgiancarlo: One entrepreneur took out a full page ad in the Wall Street Journal
chrisgiancarlo: Addressed to me personally lambasting me for even considering the launch of Bitcoin futures. In fact, his platform turned out to be one of the biggest market makers in Bitcoin futures. A few months later, but
chrisgiancarlo: Look everybody comes to it with their own point of view, we felt it was the right thing to do, based upon a simple
chrisgiancarlo: That simple. But it based upon a thorough reading of our own statutes. And I won't go into explanation of how these self certification process works, other than to say we believe we made the right decision not to block Bitcoin futures. And I think as a result of that decision.
chrisgiancarlo: Crypto assets today have established themselves as a as an as an as a bona fide asset class alongside other bonafide asset classes in the in the financial landscape. And I think a lot has to do with the CFD sees
Jeremy Allaire: Yeah.
chrisgiancarlo: You should not to block it and to move forward and
Jeremy Allaire: It was landmark. I was asked in a in me last week of former guests larry summers asked, at what point in time, will it be more likely that someone does not have crypto in their portfolio, then that having their portfolio and my guess was was two to three years, but
Jeremy Allaire: I think that the transformation and your involvement there is is obviously really noteworthy.
chrisgiancarlo: Well, other agencies were not so inclined. It was it happened at the CF TC. And I think the agency as a historical reputation for innovation. And I think this is one case where that reputation and and and and history really came to bear in a way that I think has been ultimately beneficial.
Jeremy Allaire: Absolutely. So I think I remember the first time we met in your office and I think it was at the tail end of your service and
Jeremy Allaire: And I was talking a little bit about what we're up to its circle and and US DC was very early at that point.
Jeremy Allaire: But I think you're now i think you know focused on on very significant very strategic issues in in this area, and I'd love to hear as well, sort of what you know. When did you have your aha moment about digital dollars.
Jeremy Allaire: And about digital currency.
Jeremy Allaire: With respect to the dollar and and really we'll talk about the project as well, but just sort of what was that moment for you.
chrisgiancarlo: Well, it actually wasn't the Bitcoin futures moment. It really wasn't. It was sort of like a abroad observation that built over my five years in government service. And it was an observation that
chrisgiancarlo: You know, Jeremy in the United States and in the West, you look around us. And you see our obsolete.
chrisgiancarlo: Infrastructure of bridges and tunnels and airports and mass transportation systems that were state of the art in the last century or increasingly obsolete in the 21st century.
chrisgiancarlo: Sadly, the same is true. And I've talked about this, some numbers. Same is true about a lot of our financial market infrastructure.
chrisgiancarlo: Systems for payment and settlement for next year.
chrisgiancarlo: But also the financial market regulatory infrastructure as well. I mean, the statute for the CDC and the SEC were laid out in the 1930s.
chrisgiancarlo: Were coming on 100 year anniversary of structures that were durable, clearly, but they were built for an analog human to human world, not for a digital our ego driven driven and increasingly token eyes and decentralized world.
chrisgiancarlo: Yeah, and my next observation and we started to see FTC is this coming wave of the internet. This this wave of the Internet of value, you know, the first wave of the Internet of information.
chrisgiancarlo: Took place in a regulatory light zone because we've long based on our First Amendment and general principles of jurisprudence in the West considered to be speech to be something
chrisgiancarlo: That is free and not subject to government oversight. But when it comes to things of value governments have long presumed
chrisgiancarlo: To have authority and jurisdiction, you know, we have not just one, but two market regulators, we
chrisgiancarlo: Have three or four banking regulators and that's just at the national level before we even get to the state level governments in our Western system have long presumed to arbitrate
chrisgiancarlo: In matters of things of value. So the lessons that we learned in the first wave of the internet about about
chrisgiancarlo: Don't ask permission is forgiveness or, you know, you're not trying hard enough breaking things
chrisgiancarlo: Is going to have to be tempered a bit in this new wave of the internet when you're going to run when that's going to run smack into government entities built up to
chrisgiancarlo: Moderate and modulate things of value. And that brings me to my third observation, which is that this wave of the internet is going to run crashing headlong into this obsolete regulatory structure.
Jeremy Allaire: Is right now.
chrisgiancarlo: It is right now.
chrisgiancarlo: And so what do we do, we either do nothing. In which case, innovation and development is going to take place elsewhere. And it's going to be stymied
chrisgiancarlo: In the states.
chrisgiancarlo: Or, you know, like, like a mighty wind instead of trying to get blocked with loving ourselves to be blown over by it, let's hit yourself to it and write it
chrisgiancarlo: And I think there's a huge opportunity to ride this wave to both modernize our infrastructure which needs to be modernized but also to move forward into a new error, where I think
chrisgiancarlo: Once again, our core principles.
chrisgiancarlo: Yeah, freedom of speech, free enterprise degrees of privacy can be integrated into this new technology.
chrisgiancarlo: Right for the betterment of ourselves. And I think for the rest of the world.
chrisgiancarlo: And that's a choice. I think we fundamentally have to make now.
Jeremy Allaire: Yeah, no, we're, we're, we're right on the precipice of that I really your context is a lot of shared beliefs there of course and
Jeremy Allaire: You know, I was very involved in the first way to the internet. And, you know, there's that period of time.
Jeremy Allaire: In the you know the mid 90s when, you know, really, you have these large established industries and regulators that oversaw you know the airwaves that oversaw who could have who could
Jeremy Allaire: Who could spread their voice to an audience of people in the world. And this was all over the world, not just in the US, sort of,
Jeremy Allaire: And you had, you know, monopolies state controlled monopolies, you had private sector, you know, kind of controlled infrastructure and
Jeremy Allaire: You know the there was, I think, bold policy actions that were taken in 1996 1997 very bold policy actions that sort of said we're going to, we're going to create structures for
Jeremy Allaire: This to grow and flourish and you know I think very few people would look back on that and say that was a bad idea. There's stuff that we've seen, you know, an uncontrolled unfettered have
Jeremy Allaire: created new centralization problems actually which which are now responding to centralized platforms, things like that, but that that that kind of visceral idea of the internet slamming up against the government run and administered monetary system or this hybrid
Jeremy Allaire: Is very real and there's a tremendous need to walk our way through that and make sure we're on the right side of what this enables for people everywhere.
Jeremy Allaire: So. So you started the digital dollar project. It sounds like a lot of inspiration around this and this desire to
Jeremy Allaire: You know, see, make sure make sure that the United States gets this right that we have the right level of attention on this problem.
Jeremy Allaire: That it. This isn't just something where, you know, China or whomever kind of has a runaway success. Doing this further faster, but maybe just talk a little bit about, you know, the genesis of the project and and what you're envisioning from that.
chrisgiancarlo: Sure. So know where is this clash between antiquated structure infrastructure financial market infrastructure and this new internet value going to be more acute than in the area of money.
chrisgiancarlo: And it's already happening. SIR JOHN come live, who's the Deputy Governor of the Bank of England and became a good friend of last few years, once said to me.
chrisgiancarlo: Not too long ago he said, you know, Chris. It seems like every several generations society once again asked itself, the question what is money.
chrisgiancarlo: And start rethinking that you know money is we think of it as a government construct, but it's really not. If you look at history.
chrisgiancarlo: Money is much more of a societal construct the government has a big role to play, but we're seeing it right now. Society is really formulating their thinking about money.
chrisgiancarlo: What government is actually sort of $1 a day late dollar short to use a pun on on the notion of money and and so society is going to move forward and we considering money.
chrisgiancarlo: And unless government catches up to that it's going to be another evidence of this. This antiquated financial market infrastructure running headlong. And so, so in order to really
chrisgiancarlo: Bring some, some, I think, a really broad debate to bear I formed the digital dollar project at the beginning of the year first formed a nonprofit foundation with my brother who's
chrisgiancarlo: A renowned Silicon Valley entrepreneur and Daniel gore find who's the former Chief Innovation Officer to see FTC
chrisgiancarlo: And then we teamed up with it with Accenture on a pro bono basis. And so the digital dollar project is not a commercial venture
chrisgiancarlo: It's a nonprofit think tank and its, its purpose is to both stimulate the conversation.
chrisgiancarlo: Bring a broad body of perspectives to bear and then ultimately drive toward real exploration through a series of public sector, private sector.
chrisgiancarlo: Partnership pilot programs. So as I mentioned, we built a wonderful Advisory Board of 40 experts in the field from across the gamut all in their own right, not as part of their, their
chrisgiancarlo: Firms they belong to. But speaking on their own behalf across the political spectrum across the technological spectrum and and we really believe
chrisgiancarlo: That if if the United States is going to do this, it needs to do it through its, its traditional approach to big technology innovation.
chrisgiancarlo: Which has always been a partnership between the private sector and the public sector, whether it's putting a man on the moon or building the Internet, the United States always does big things working together and Chairman Mao
chrisgiancarlo: And not too long ago said this is so important, than it needs to be done by basically federal workers. Well, I have enormous respect for chairman, pal. But on this point, I disagree. This is so important.
chrisgiancarlo: That it cannot be done by government workers alone. This is so important. It needs to be done in a full blown public and private partnership, the way we always do big things in the United States and the way we need to do this big thing now.
Jeremy Allaire: Yeah, so we have, it's, it's a, you know, critical timing for these for for this work obviously and
Jeremy Allaire: I've been a huge advocate, as you know, have
Jeremy Allaire: Kind of over the mid to long term this concept of
Jeremy Allaire: Hybrid central bank digital currency where you've got, you know, you know, leading private sector innovators that are building an advancing technology and standards and infrastructure to to really drive, drive what's possible.
Jeremy Allaire: But working in close partnership, frankly, with central banks around the things that central banks are going to care the most about. Which is this, this, this, the soundness the security.
Jeremy Allaire: The oversight and really the under the underlying ability for those institutions to continue to focus on their own core mandates of whether it's full employment or or economic growth or monetary stability, price stability, etc. Monetary policy, more, more broadly,
Jeremy Allaire: We sort of have this this debate, right, which is, you know, public, private, you know, different models in between.
Jeremy Allaire: You know, as you look at what's happening out in the marketplace today. There's a lot happening in the marketplace with with stable coins.
Jeremy Allaire: You know, you know, projects like us DC emerging stable coins all around the world. In fact, and then the sort of the research that we know is going on throughout the Fed system and other places. What do you see emerging from all that that that meal you have of activity.
chrisgiancarlo: So I use the analogy of the space program, you know, in the early days of the space program. The big decision to land a man on the moon was made.
chrisgiancarlo: But a lot of the. How do we do that had not yet been made. In fact, it was an early debate as to whether the core technology would be rocket technology or jet propulsion technology and the decision was to go
chrisgiancarlo: With rocket technology. But even that wasn't made when the core decision was let's let's let the man on the moon. Well,
chrisgiancarlo: I feel the core decision should be the United States should experiment and be prepared to adopt a
chrisgiancarlo: Digital dollar a central bank digital currency and then we need to back up and say, okay, there are a number of ways to do that.
chrisgiancarlo: What are some of the choices. And that's what we at the digital dollar project in our initial white paper in May of this year, put forward what we called our champion model.
chrisgiancarlo: And that doesn't mean it's necessarily the full pathway to get there, but it's a way for
chrisgiancarlo: us all to get our minds around some of the core decisions and we put forward our best ideas, working with our advisory board.
chrisgiancarlo: For a public discussion. So let me lay out for your audience, some of the elements that we believe that we've said in our champion model, all of which are subject to a broader conversation, but to get the conversation started. We've posited a
chrisgiancarlo: Central US Central Bank digital currency that would first be token based as opposed to account space. Now that's
chrisgiancarlo: A fundamental choice and we can talk about that, but we put a stake in the ground and we said token base. Secondly,
chrisgiancarlo: It should enjoy the full faith and credit of the US government and the same way that the dollar in your pocket does. And we'll talk about that a little bit more, but that's a difference from say a stable coin.
chrisgiancarlo: Which may represent that. But because dollars I held in an account. This would tell
Jeremy Allaire: If you're a stable coins. Today I don't meet that criteria but
Jeremy Allaire: Theoretically, in the future, they could
chrisgiancarlo: Exactly right. So, so we're proposing the digital dollar would have the full faith and credit. We're also proposing it would be
chrisgiancarlo: A third form of fiat money. So you'd have coins and cash. This would be a third form in digital form, but it also be a third form of money being that you have fiat money you have accounts based money and now we'd have a form of digital fiat money.
chrisgiancarlo: Right, we propose maintaining the two tiered banking system in terms of how digital dollars are made available to the public.
chrisgiancarlo: So your some of your listeners all your listeners may know that right now fiat money is produced by the Federal Reserve distributed through
chrisgiancarlo: The Federal Reserve Bank system and then distribute on to commercial banks, which then make them available for ATM machines and
chrisgiancarlo: At tellers, we would propose the digital dollars would be distributed initially in the same way, but then they flow out to the broader ecosystem of digital wallet providers and otherwise.
chrisgiancarlo: We also propose a US Central Bank digital currency that is monetary policy neutral.
chrisgiancarlo: We're not proposing an increase in the money supply decrease. Those are policy choices that are made by central bankers and governments worldwide. We don't propose any change in that being
chrisgiancarlo: A policy choice not we're not proposing this as a policy solution. And finally for the major technological components of this
chrisgiancarlo: We believe that form should follow function or technology should follow design choices and which is why
chrisgiancarlo: We believe that a close partnership between the private sector and the public sector is so important because we need to know what policy choices are are part of public policy that Congress
chrisgiancarlo: The administration, the central bank deem important and then the technology designed should follow that. So those are just some of our
chrisgiancarlo: Our core foundational ideas. Now, every one of them has a lot of detail and a lot of weeds to get into. But those are the big picture issues that we proposed, you know what, you know, I'm a white paper. Yeah.
Jeremy Allaire: So I think as we've talked about before in conversations
Jeremy Allaire: You know, we have, we obviously have this incredible tradition in the West as well of technological innovation, you know, many of the greatest technology firms in the world are American companies.
Jeremy Allaire: There's a lot of great Chinese companies as well. But a lot of great American companies and
Jeremy Allaire: You know, the, the pace of private sector innovation in particular in software powered industries which is more or less becoming everything, including us, we're seeing now software is eating up the whole financial system.
Jeremy Allaire: You know, we went from a world where, you know, people thought they used you know at AMP T was their communications company will now you know Facebook is their communications company or 10 cent is their communications company, depending on where you live, and so on and
Jeremy Allaire: The private sector activity in this digital dollar spaces also accelerating at a really interesting pace now on a relative scale. When we talk about the trillions of dollars that slosh around in the
Jeremy Allaire: electronic money system today, the numbers in the crypto space are quite small. But obviously, we got a lot of vectors.
Jeremy Allaire: We've got a lot of organic growth and we have a lot of major, major firms giant internet companies giant payments companies.
Jeremy Allaire: Who are are stepping in and getting involved in stable coins today. Right. And so the next two to three years. Let's just say is a living laboratory of technical innovation market innovation and
Jeremy Allaire: You know, many of the things that you outline as as potential principles.
Jeremy Allaire: Around a federal government sponsored initiative or endorsed initiative, some of those things may already be in the market or and some already even are in the market into two different degrees and so
Jeremy Allaire: How does that, how does that come together, leading private sector actors that are innovating in the market. I think it's not unreasonable to imagine
Jeremy Allaire: In the next two to three years that they'll be 2 billion plus people 3 billion people potentially who have digital wallets using digital currency.
Jeremy Allaire: On the internet using software before anything even emerges from the Fed. Yeah.
chrisgiancarlo: Well, you know, it's interesting when
chrisgiancarlo: We have our own way of doing things in America, you know, in China does big things. The order comes down from on high. And it's driven down for the party leadership, all the way down into their corporate structure and
chrisgiancarlo: And things happen because the command has been given. That's not how we roll in the United States for good and bad. I mean, if you, if anybody had designed the way the internet it done a schematic. The way the internet rolled out
chrisgiancarlo: And thought that they would have predicted it, it would have never happened. It was a big messy glorious explosion.
chrisgiancarlo: Of creativity and innovation and the Department of Defense had a role and DARPA at a role, but so did some of the foundational companies like Netscape Navigator and private equity played a role. That's how we roll.
chrisgiancarlo: In the West, and quite frankly, there's nothing better when it works because it's proof is in the pudding of what we've created and so
chrisgiancarlo: The Fed has got a role here, Congress has a role in this, but so does circle. So, so does
chrisgiancarlo: Ripple so does so many of the companies that are exploring this right now, and I'm not
Jeremy Allaire: Sure.
chrisgiancarlo: Your brand identify older than to say that there's some really exciting experimentation going on and that needs to continue the feds when
chrisgiancarlo: The official sector needs to identify the big policy issues. That's what they do. That's what they're elected to do. That's their job, but the private sector is the one that can bring the creativity. The technological proficiency, the project management skills.
chrisgiancarlo: I ran a government agency. It's really hard.
chrisgiancarlo: To do big technology projects and government. We can't afford the best and the brightest people we don't have consistent funding, we can't raise the kind of funding that's necessary. We don't have that big project management skills.
chrisgiancarlo: And so let's not pretend that government alone is going to do in big projects, when in fact the evidence is we're really good at it in the private sector.
chrisgiancarlo: In the West, let's bring those forces together and and and drive this innovation in a way that reflects our core values as a society, but also reflects our innovativeness our creativity, our drive and determination to do big things. When we all come together. Yeah.
Jeremy Allaire: That's it makes it makes a great deal sense
Jeremy Allaire: Speaking of innovation.
Jeremy Allaire: I had a great conversation on the show with Brian blogs, who's obviously
Jeremy Allaire: You know, blazing a trail and and very focused on many of these issues as well. And the phrase he used which I really liked was
Jeremy Allaire: You know, essentially, you know, we've got this leading reserve currency, but in this in this new world like to to maintain preeminence as a reserve currency that there are a lot of different things, but
Jeremy Allaire: The currency needs more features. It's got to compete its utility value needs to compete and you know that there were features of
Jeremy Allaire: Old kinds of coins and notes and so on. But you know the the features more that significant digital currency. Wow, we're talking about real innovation in terms of the, the actual utility value of the of the unit of account itself and
Jeremy Allaire: You know, what do you see as the breakthrough features like what are the features that the dollar needs what and what is it that you know digital currency brings that that that is transformative in that way.
chrisgiancarlo: Here's a really interesting observation Jeremy that the US dollar itself. It takes its name.
chrisgiancarlo: From the Spanish dollar and the reason why they use that name is because the Spanish dollar was considered the most technologically advanced
chrisgiancarlo: Currency of its time. And let me, let me just go back in history during the 16th century, the 15th and 16th century exploration of the
chrisgiancarlo: Eastern Coast of the New World. There were multiple currencies and use during their time.
chrisgiancarlo: I'm sorry, I said it should be the 17th and 18th century there were multiple currencies and use during that time there were British pounds. They were Dutch guilders there were French francs.
chrisgiancarlo: But the currency that was that had the training at a premium that was considered the most attractive.
chrisgiancarlo: Was the Spanish dollar and the reason is it had technological superior already over the other currencies one
chrisgiancarlo: It was minted with new world server, which was more consistently pure than old world silver and therefore use less alloy, making it more consistently valuable, making it also later, whether it once pocket or once trunk.
chrisgiancarlo: And the other thing is, it was minted in such a way that it could be broken into eight equal pieces, known as pieces of be making it fractional and fractional knowing that it was more easily, easily utilize
chrisgiancarlo: Having to make change. Well, what are we facing in this corporate crisis, we don't have enough coins around right to make change. Well, if we had a digital dollars fraction of the cost of a of a of a candy bar when
Jeremy Allaire: He when
Jeremy Allaire: He goes to a decimal places.
Jeremy Allaire: So that
Jeremy Allaire: That's got visibility and and and some change that were launched on it's one 20th of a cent to transact with it.
chrisgiancarlo: So in history. We know that a technological advantage that one currency may have over another makes it more attractive in global trade.
chrisgiancarlo: Well, let's think about the dollar.
chrisgiancarlo: If it remains in an analog form as it currently is and other countries and other economies.
chrisgiancarlo: Develop a digital fractionalized double currency. How is the dollar going to continue to compete, it will continue to compete, because it has other strengths, but are we going to, are we willing to forego
chrisgiancarlo: A logical modernization, which goes back to my first point.
chrisgiancarlo: We haven't modernized our rail systems. We haven't modernize our airports in a rose. Is that going to be the same attitude we take with our currency and how long will be a major global competitor. If we don't have the courage.
chrisgiancarlo: The gumption to say we need to modernize our currency with new technologies.
Jeremy Allaire: It's a raises, it's a it's it raises some really big questions. And I think as I, you know, talk with not just regulators, but but leaders in the existing financial system on others, and
Jeremy Allaire: So on like this, this notion of like a token based, you know, digital unit of account.
Jeremy Allaire: You know, and in crypto currency and blockchains we're talking about digital bearer assets. So just like a physical note is a bear asset digital token is a bear asset.
Jeremy Allaire: And we're talking about digital bear assets that effectively.
Jeremy Allaire: Instantly automatically exist everywhere that the Internet exists at that at any moment in time. So if you've got an Internet connection at the at the space station you know it works there as I call it blockchains are intergalactic money.
Jeremy Allaire: And but but the bottom line is, it exists everywhere. The internet exists, and it's a bear instrument and that's profoundly powerful and
Jeremy Allaire: You know, in the history of money in the history of nation states that's never existed. And this is just like a fundamental breakthrough innovation and I think
Jeremy Allaire: You know the lots of metaphors, the genies out of the bottle right and the genie is out of the bottom. This
Jeremy Allaire: Non sovereign digital currencies like Bitcoin have taken that genie out of the bottle as well.
Jeremy Allaire: But that genie is out of the bottle and I think it raises really profound questions for governments around the world.
Jeremy Allaire: And it raises, on the one hand, these very profound questions about national security about how how law enforcement fights crime, on the one hand,
Jeremy Allaire: And on the other hand around, you know, human freedom, human rights, financial privacy and then somewhere in the middle.
Jeremy Allaire: Breakthrough innovation which is if you've got a bear digital bear asset and you can write code and it can be programmable on any device anywhere in the world, like, wow, what can you do with that. What could society.
Jeremy Allaire: Coming back to your societies ideas of money content what God says I do with that. And so these are like really, I think, very, very profound questions and
Jeremy Allaire: I'm curious to hear your thoughts on on some of those those dimensions.
Jeremy Allaire: And how
Jeremy Allaire: You know, government should be thinking about this.
chrisgiancarlo: So, so, you know, you talked about
chrisgiancarlo: In a digital format money becomes intergalactic so in in space, it becomes ubiquitous. You can use it. Where's where's the money is basically a local utilization
chrisgiancarlo: You can't use fee out on an island context. Well, but let's really expand our mind, let's not just think about space. But let's think about time.
chrisgiancarlo: We go to a digital format that's ultimately programmable, we could actually program money to be used not just in our current time
chrisgiancarlo: But across time.
chrisgiancarlo: To think about a
chrisgiancarlo: I could today if programmable money we're available, whether that be stable coin or a central bank digital currency, it can be programmed to benefit my children, my grandchildren. My great
chrisgiancarlo: Grandfather, I could program money today.
chrisgiancarlo: For you said other place in time so that that's the big break with the big idea here is we're creating money that can be used across space and across time and that has never been possible. That is a big idea and the United States has to be involved.
chrisgiancarlo: Now big ideas too big for us to sit on the sidelines and let the
chrisgiancarlo: Development of this be done elsewhere.
Jeremy Allaire: So that that ties into I think a, I think a key question. I think a lot of times the discussions on this.
Jeremy Allaire: They get, they get kind of reduced down to, is this a payment system innovation issue or we just are we really just talking about a you know, a new federal payment system.
Jeremy Allaire: And I, my view is, that's an extremely narrow view of this and and and you know, in some ways, like the ability to settle payments.
Jeremy Allaire: Digitally over the internet. That's just going to be as ubiquitous as email and it's just, that's just going to be the air we breathe it will be everywhere. And then, and that's almost like a tiny, tiny issue here.
Jeremy Allaire: That compose ability and program ability and
Jeremy Allaire: And I guess ultimately
Christopher Giancarlo
Former CFTC Chairman, "Cryptodad"


Lauren by Ralph Lauren nods to nautical style with this Bateau Neck Top. Spun in stretch cotton to offer luxe comfort, it's elevated by the cropped turn-up sleeves and an elegant bateau neck, punctuated with subtle branding. Team with culottes or jeans for a relaxed daytime look.


text:
Maria Teresa Haze, również Maria Teresa od Najświętszego Serca, właśc. nid. Johanna/Jeanne Haze (ur. 1782 w Liège w Belgii, zm. 7 stycznia 1876 tamże) – belgijska zakonnica, założycielka Zgromadzenia Córek od Krzyża (FC), błogosławiona Kościoła rzymskokatolickiego.

Urodziła się w bardzo religijnej rodzinie. Kiedy wybuchła rewolucja francuska Joanna i jej rodzina zostali wygnani do Niemiec. W tym czasie zmarł jej ojciec. Joanna i jej siostra postanowiły zostać zakonnicami. Wówczas Joanna Haze przyjęła imię zakonne Maria Teresa, a jej siostra Alojza. W 1833 roku Maria Teresa założyła w rodzinnym mieście zgromadzenie Córek od Krzyża (łac. Congrégation des Filles de la Croix de Liège) należące do Kongregacji Świętego Krzyża (łac. Congregatio Sanctae Crucis, C.S.C.). Zgromadzenie to zajmuje się edukacją i opieką nad sierotami, a także duszpasterstwem wśród kobiet przebywających w więzieniu. 8 września tegoż roku złożyła śluby zakonne.

Maria Teresa zmarła w opinii świętości.

Jej proces beatyfikacyjny rozpoczął się 12 grudnia 1911 roku. Od następnego dnia przysługiwał jej tytuł "czcigodna".

Została beatyfikowana przez papieża Jana Pawła II 21 kwietnia 1991.

Jej wspomnienie liturgiczne obchodzone jest w dzienną pamiątkę śmierci.

Zobacz też
 beatyfikowani i kanonizowani przez Jana Pawła II
 kult świętych
 modlitwa za wstawiennictwem świętego
 święci i błogosławieni Kościoła katolickiego

Przypisy

Bibliografia
 Maria Theresia von Haze – Ökumenisches Heiligenlexikon

Maria Teres Haze

Belgijskie zakonnice
Założyciele zakonów katolickich
Urodzeni w 1782
Zmarli w 1876
Maria Teresa Haze
Ludzie urodzeni w Liège

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
import os
import sys
import argue

from distutils.core import setup

def publish():
	"""Publish to PyPi"""
	os.system("python setup.py sdist upload")

if sys.argv[-1] == "publish":
	publish()
	sys.exit()

setup(
	name='argue',
	version=argue.__version__,
	description='Python apps deserve a good argument!',
	long_description=open('README.rst').read() + '\n\n' + open('HISTORY.rst').read(),
	author='Kenneth Reitz',
	author_email='me@kennethreitz.com',
	url='http://github.com/kennethreitz/argue',
	packages=['argue'],
	license='MIT',
	classifiers=(
		""
		"Development Status :: 4 - Beta",
		"License :: OSI Approved :: MIT License",
		"Programming Language :: Python",
		"Programming Language :: Python :: 2.5",
		"Programming Language :: Python :: 2.6",
		"Programming Language :: Python :: 2.7",
	)
)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Comprehensive list of San Mateo, California based opticians, optometrists, ophthalmologists and eye care doctors and specialists.
Our office reflects our contemporary approach towards your vision care. We see things differently at Borel Eye Doctors. As a patient, expect to be treated as an important friend someone whom we respect, know by name and want to see for a long time. Your eyes must last you a lifetime, so we do everything possible to assist you see as clearly as possible now and to maintain your eye health forever.
Our friendly and upscale office has been serving Foster City and the surrounding communities since 1978. If you are searching for quality care with a individual touch, we hope you'll give us a call. We look ahead to the opportunity of delivering your family with all of their optometric requirements. Foster City Eye Care is conveniently nearby. We would be pleased to have you as a patient.
You will find valuable information about our practice, as well as interesting segments on a range of eye topics. If you can't find the information you would like, please give us a call! Care Philosophy Dr. Kirschner and his professional team supply a complete spectrum of eye care including in-office laser procedures, contact lens fitting and evaluations, and a state-of-the-art optical boutique.
Eye Diseases Corrective Procedures Conveniently situated in central Burlingame, we supply a range of quality eye care services. Since 1985 Dr. Soss has founded himself as a caring supplier for patients as well as an educator for the eye care profession. W hat is a complete eye exam?
If you're searching for quality eyecare with a individual touch, we hope you will give our Optometrist Dr. Patricia Chang and Dr. Jocelyn Liao a call. Carlmont Optometry strives to supply each eye care patient with quality vision care solutions. Our Optometric team is experienced in all areas of vision care and are committed to making your office visit a pleasant experience.


The dragonfly loves to fly & to park.
Pause near a tree then go look at the art.
On a kayak, Christmas tree, or a child's hand.
where the names of interesting trees grace the trails.
A dragonfly might light on a snowberry or vine.


The Moto Guzzi Griso 1200 8v is a 4 stroke, Naked Bike bike with a 1200.00 ccm (72,85 cubic inches) Twin type of engine.
This engine has 109.00 HP (79,20 kW)) @ 9500 RPM, 108.48 Nm (11.1 kgf-m or 80.0 ft.lbs and an unconfirmed top speed.
To stop this bike you will need decent brakes. The Moto Guzzi Griso 1200 8v comes with Single disc. 320mm wavy discs and radial Brembo calipers. brakes on the front on the rear to ensure you will stop quickly if you have to.
Are you looking for a specific part for the Moto Guzzi Griso 1200 8v? Leave a message and our other users may be able to help!


FFIXXED STUDIOS is a collaborative art and design project intiated by artist an designers Kain Picken and Fiona Lau. Their focus is the production of a readymade mens and womens fashion label that revolves alongside a range of other art and design related activities. In 2010, they established a unique, multifunctional, living and working space in Shenzen China. Here they explore new working models, approaching fashion in a way to participate in a wider discussion about new possiblities for the production and consumption of contemporary culture.
FFIXXED STUDIOS represents an ongoing approach to constructing creative working situations rather than reflecting any sigular idea of current aesthetic. The collestion respond to the role clothing and objects play in constructuing our daily lives, elaborating on a series of new and unexpected form of trans-fuctionality for everyday basics. They utilize a range of high quality natural fibers and highly personalized production techniques to address, transcned and stimulate a variety of social and domestic situations. For FFIXXED STUDIOS, the point it to make clothing and objects that adapt, respond to and inspire changing conditions for comptemporary living.


text:
Rumija kan syfta på:

Geografi

Montenegro

 Rumija (bergskedja),
 Rumija (bergstopp),

Robotskapade Montenegroförgreningar


I respect Yoga and I can see the amazing benefits that this type of exercises can provide to my body.
The closest that I get to Yoga is through my PIYO workouts and I love the fast-paced music that goes with it.
I was glad to know that the 21 Day Fix Yoga Extreme is a fast-paced flow yoga class, combining strength, balance, flexibility, and power. I really enjoyed it and I am looking forward to doing it again on days 14 and 21 of my journey.
I am so glad that the Fixate Cook Book has Vegan recipes.
Today, I tried this delicious Quinoa and Black Bean salad. It was easy to prepare and also very nutritions.


text:
Home » digital » news » The Full Monty » trends » This Week in Digital – 8/21/2013
This Week in Digital – 8/21/2013
Vine grows like a weed, LinkedIn is lowering its age requirement, Facebook's big announcement plus strong ad performance for Q2, how WPP plans to take on its merged rivals, PR is just fine thank you, Millennials are annoyed at your slow response, the secret formula to a good content strategy and more, it's This Week in Social Media.
A roundup of relevant links affecting our industry.
Each week at Ford, I compose a newsletter that includes a series of links about current events and trends in the worlds of technology, social media, mobile, communications and marketing in order to keep the wider team up to date on changes, newsworthy items and content that might be useful in their jobs. These are those links.
If you have additional links, sources or ideas that might be helpful, I'd encourage you to add some via a comment below or tag me in Google+. And if you're on Flipboard, you can get these links by subscribing to the This Week in Social Media Magazine, which is now available on the Web.
According to a White House broadband report, there is a digital divide in the U.S., with only 71% of Americans subscribing to broadband at home, while it is available to 91%, with many youths being tech-savvy but computer illiterate (i.e., they're all over Twitter but don't know how to save a Word document).
Pay TV and broadband subscriptions are moving in the opposite direction.
After the announcement of the Publicis-Omnicom merger, Sir Martin Sorrell takes us inside the playbook of how WPP will go after its larger rival.
Last week's edition contained Tom Foremski's assertion that Google is forcing a reinvention of PR; this week comes PRWeek's response, which essentially is, "No, we're fine."
With the increase of technology to block advertising - web browser ad-ons, legislation from Congress - what's the future of online advertising?
How's your response time to the 18 to 34 year-old segment? I had better be quick, because Millennials are annoyed at a slow response, according to Havas Worldwide.
The Platforms
Facebook is developing a program to bring Internet access to those who currently don't have it - some 4 billion people worldwide.
Facebook's EdgeRank system has been replaced - with a machine-learning approach that takes into account about 100,000 different factors.
Facebook's 101 million US daily mobile users make up a whopping 78 of its 128 million daily US users. Facebook's increased concentration on mobile has resulted in a new and faster mobile login.
And Facebook should be "Feeling Happy" about its ad performance in Q2: according to Kenshoo Social, clickthrough rates (CTR) were up 18.5%, cost-per-click (CPC) down 15.9%, conversions up 56.9% and revenue up 28.3%.
Twitter is rolling out a related headlines feature that will make it easier to discover news by showing which sites have embedded tweets.
Vine has grown to 40 million users, despite being challenged by Instagram.
David Berkowitz opines: if marketers want to truly understand Vine, they need to consume Vine videos not just make them.
And if you need help on how to make great Vine and Instagram videos, we've got you covered.
LinkedIn is lowering its minimum age requirement - previously users had to be 18 years old; now the minimum age will be 13.
In a seemingly related move, LinkedIn launched University Pages to help teens with their decisions to pursue higher education.
LinkedIn has also launched Sponsored Updates to all users.
Google+ has replaced Messenger on the iOS app with Hangouts, focusing on the integrated video chat capability.
With only 5% penetration, the growth of Facebook in Asia is just starting. Some other global numbers:
According to BITKOM, 78% of all web users in Germany ages 14 and older had a profile on at least one social network in 2013
Twitter's rise in Mexico is being eclipsed by Facebook and LinkedIn
Facebook penetration in the UK seems to be plateauing.
Measurement / Metrics / Big Data
Executives are embracing real-time social apps for engagement around content. In addition to better engagement with their audiences, they noted better "stickiness" of websites as a result.
Legal / HR
Google is phasing out its famous "20% time" in which employees were given one day a week to work on something outside of their usual jobs. Does this mean innovation is dead at Google?
Stop what you're doing and read this. It's essential if you work in marketing, communications or other content-related fields. It's How to: Create a Content Strategy (in Only 652 Easy Steps). "Whoa. This sounds really hard. And really complicated. That's because it is."
Written largely for individuals, there are lessons for brands in 7 Ways to Be Insufferable on Facebook. Taking these suggestions to heart, we (consumers as well as brands) might be able to slow what some have called the decline of Facebook - although there are other factors at play as well.
What one thing do the best brand publishers have in common? No, it's not a desire to be like Oreo. The formula is simple:
Choose a topic that your core consumer is passionate about (extreme sports).
Commit to that single topic.
Own that topic better than anyone else (by doing things like livestreaming a daredevil jump from space).
Bookmark / Read / Watch Later
Frank Eliason, the godfather of social customer care, has proclaimed that social media customer service is a failure.
From GigaOm: Are we living in a golden age of journalism? That depends on how you define the gold.
Image credit: linda yvonne (Flickr)
Labels: digital, news, The Full Monty, trends
"I'd like to add you to my professional network."
This Week in Digital – 8/7/2013

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
SEC Abruptly Kills Ackman's Controversial SPAC Plans
"It's back to square one," says one disgruntled investor.
Bing Guan/Bloomberg
The Securities and Exchange Commission has killed Bill Ackman's special purpose acquisition company's complicated plan to invest in Universal Music Group.
On Monday, his SPAC, Pershing Square Tontine Holdings, said in a letter to investors that it was pulling the deal because of "issues raised by the SEC with several elements of the proposed transaction — in particular, whether the structure of our IBC" — initial business combination — "qualified under the NYSE rules."
As a result, Tontine's board voted Sunday, in a unanimous decision, to abandon the deal, Ackman said.
"It was a dagger in the heart," Ackman told CNBC Monday morning.
The hedge fund manager said his Pershing Square Holdings hedge fund would make the investment instead, and that the SPAC — which raised $4 billion in an IPO about a year ago — would look for another partner to do a more conventional merger. Under SPAC rules, it still has 18 months to close a deal, he said.
"Back to square one" is what one disgruntled retail investor said, in response to the decision.
The deal is just the latest setback for investors who've already lost money by investing in Tontine earlier this year, when SPACs were hot and the stock was soaring.
Tontine has fallen about 19 percent since announcing that it would take a 10 percent stake in Universal Music Group when it is spun off from Vivendi in an IPO, instead of doing a traditional merger with a private company.
The SPAC would also have had money left over to do another deal in what it called "Remainco." To sweeten the pot, it promised investors that stuck with Tontine the first shot at a new form of SPAC, which Ackman christened SPARC, that would not require investors to provide money upfront.
The deal was so complex that investors and their brokerage firms struggled to figure out how it would work, especially given the warrants that were attached to the stock, and the options that were trading on its future prospects.
Ackman had designed his SPAC for long-term holders, but the Reddit community of retail investors got excited about the deal and now comprise about a third of the shareholder base.
Monday morning the hedge fund manager went on CNBC to explain his decision and said that "a lot of shorter-term investors came in who were levered and bought options."
"We announced a deal that is very bad if you are levered or own options," he admitted.
The latest news is little consolation for those who gambled on options that have expired worthless, or those who bought on margin and can't wait for the stock to recover when Ackman lands another deal.
Some investors, who have continued to hold their underwater stock positions, had grown enthusiastic about Universal's prospects following a three-hour presentation by Pershing Square regarding the music company's prospects.
"I'm a little disappointed," said one such retail investor. "I liked the deal."
They also worry about the fate of Tontine now.
"His leverage will be small after what happened," said another retail investor. "Target companies will anticipate that his reputation is in deep waters and will put a pistol to his head."
The SEC's decision on the high-profile SPAC is another sign that regulators are keen on reining in what they view as abuses of SPACs, which went from boom to bust this year.
"The SEC is carefully scrutinizing every SPAC transaction," Ackman told CNBC, pointing out that "many SPACs are merging with zero revenue companies with crazy valuations" and that "all the reasons the SEC should be focused on SPACs don't apply here."
The SEC's views on Ackman's SPAC are something of a mystery — and an about-face by regulators.
For example, while the SEC recently said it didn't think Tontine met NYSE rules, Ackman said he had told the NYSE about the structure of the deal before going ahead with it.
Until last week, he told CNBC, "They were comfortable with the rules. SPACs don't have to do mergers…We're not the first SPAC to buy a minority interest in a private company."
Indeed, the language in Tontine's prospectus said it might simply make an investment in another company, and the SEC had signed off on that last year.
But now, he said, "unfortunately the SEC chose to shut down this transaction."
"I moved heaven and earth to make that happen until the government put its foot down and said no," he continued. "We lost a year."
"If you are a Tontine shareholder and you wanted this deal, you should call the SEC and complain," he added.
Ackman declined to comment on the regulatory issues beyond what he told CNBC.
But even with all the drama, Tontine's stock, which goes by the ticker PSTH, was still trading slightly above its $20 IPO price on Monday afternoon. Many other SPACs that have yet to announce a deal, or have simply not consummated one, have fallen below their listing prices.
Bill Ackman's Pershing Square Just Had a $1.6 Billion Payday
Michelle Celarier
This content is from: Culture
How Millennial Investors Lost Millions on Bill Ackman's SPAC


The GNRC 5th Forum Hosting Committee held its first meeting on 24th June, 2016 in Panama to officially launch preparations of the forum. The meeting was attended by representatives of the Inter-religious Committee of Panama, an organization that brings together representatives of Judaism, Hinduism, Islam, Bahai Community, and Christianity including the Catholic, Anglican, Greek Orthodox, and Christian churches.
Bishop Julio Murray, Chairman of the Hosting Committee introduced all the members of the committee, and the general coordination team at the meeting. There was also a discussion about the outcomes and conclusions from the last meeting of the International Organizing Committee meeting in May 2016 in Panama, including the theme for the Fifth Forum, Ending Violence Against Children: Faith Communities in Action.
It was a good opportunity for the Committee members to meet each other, ask questions on the tasks that have been assigned, and take the moment to form relevant sub-committees. The participants showed a lot of enthusiasm towards the overall project and affirmed their commitment to ensuring a successful forum.


Ok – it's official. I have wedding fever. I can't help it. With the media reporting every detail as it happens across the pond, it's hard not let it take over our lives a little bit.
Honestly, I've never been obsessed with British Royalty, but I've always been interested in anything surrounding Princess Diana. I think she was the epitome of class and beauty. I remember exactly where I was when I heard that she had been in an accident and it's a moment I'll never forget. As I watched her funeral, I was so touched by the strength with which Prince William and Prince Henry carried themselves. How proud she would be of them and the men they have become.
I haven't followed the gossip magazines or been absorbing every detail of the upcoming marriage of William and Kate, but now that the wedding is so close, I am definitely excited. I can't wait to see the dress, the flowers, the procession, and all of the pomp and circumstance that will make this moment truly historical.
Of course, this blog isn't supposed to be about gossip, it's supposed to be about T-shirts and apparel decorating. So in honor of the wedding, we've taken the British Flag and given it a funky edge, added in their names and the date of the wedding to create a fun design. Then printed it on ExactPrint™ laser transfer paper and applied it to a T-shirt with a heat press. What do you think?
Next Post We're here to help when you need it!


text:
Rift apparent in Hamas as fighting intensifies
By SALAH NASRAWI AND SALLY BUZBEE, Associated Press
Signs of sharp division are appearing in Hamas' top ranks as the fighting in Gaza intensifies and as cease-fire talks between the Palestinian militant group and Israel, brokered by Egypt, reach a critical point.
Gaza-based Hamas officials have sounded more willing in recent days to consider a deal for a temporary cease-fire, being pushed by Egypt, even though the proposal would leave Israeli troops on the group in Gaza temporarily and keep Gaza's borders sealed short term. But Hamas political officials, close to the group's leadership in exile in Syria, have characterized a cease-fire as still far away.
The differences became sharp Thursday and late Wednesday: One key Hamas official from inside Gaza, Gazi Hamad, told the BBC that he was optimistic the cease-fire being worked on in Egypt could be reached, "because I think there is no other choice for us."
Salah al-Bardawil, another Hamas official from Gaza, stopped short of saying the militants had accepted the Egyptian proposal for a 10-day cease-fire but told reporters, "We hope that this Egyptian effort will succeed."
But a top Hamas spokesman in Syria, Moussa Abu Marzouk, told The Associated Press on Thursday that Hamas would not abandon its demand that Israel withdraw its troops from Gaza and open border crossings before any cease-fire, even a temporary one.
Another top Hamas figure linked to the leadership-in-exile in Syria, Osama Hamdan, based in Beirut, stressed late Wednesday that Hamas had not agreed to some points of the Egypt plan.
Israeli intelligence assessments have repeatedly suggested differences emerging between the Syria and Gaza wings of the movement.
Such a rift would benefit Israel because it suggests the on-the-ground Hamas people in Gaza _ bearing the brunt of the offensive by Israel's army _ are leaning toward a political compromise to end the offensive. Israel's strategy is to damage Hamas and hope that leads to compromises by Palestinians inside Gaza, and leads to an end to Hamas rocket firing at southern Israel.
Egyptian officials also have suggested there are Hamas rifts, which would benefit Egypt's efforts to push Hamas to accept a deal with Israel.
Hamas, however, has denied any internal divisions and has accused Israel of spreading such reports as psychological warfare. The tougher tone from Syrian-based officials could be merely a negotiating tactic.
The group's official structure complicates the picture. Hamas insists it makes decisions through a consensus process among an estimated 50 members of the secretive Shura Council who live both inside and outside Gaza and the West Bank.
But the members rarely meet because of travel restrictions and security concerns, and observers note it would be near-impossible for such a big group to make fast decisions.
In practice, Hamas' most powerful official is widely thought to be Khaled Mashaal, the Syrian-based political leader. Mashaal is considered a hard-liner who consults frequently with Syrian and Iranian officials. Top Tehran officials have visited Damascus frequently throughout the Israeli offensive on Gaza.
Mashaal has repeatedly called for the militant group to fight on despite more than 1,000 deaths during the Israeli offensive.
Mashaal's power lies in the fact that he controls the group's purse strings and funnels money as he chooses _ much of it thought to come from Iran _ to individual Hamas leaders, inside both Gaza and the West Bank. Gaza Hamas leaders in particular depend almost entirely on outside money because the territory's borders are sealed.
Privately, however, some officials in Gaza say the rising casualties _ and the severe hardships caused by Israel's offensive _ have put new pressure on Hamas leaders inside Gaza to find a way to end the fighting.
One Gaza official told The Associated Press on Thursday that many in Gaza are increasingly anxious for fighting to end. He spoke on condition of anonymity because talks are ongoing.
Israel intensified its offensive Thursday, in an apparent effort to ratchet up pressure on Hamas to accept a deal. Israeli tanks shelled downtown Gaza City as ground troops thrust deep into a crowded neighborhood for the first time, sending terrified residents fleeing for cover. Israeli shells also struck the U.N. headquarters in the Gaza Strip.
Even before this week, "the war sparked a strong debate within Hamas over whether we could have avoided this war or not," said another senior Gaza official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.
Another sign of the growing Hamas rift is a sharp escalation in the public bickering between two camps of countries in the Mideast.
Egypt and Saudi Arabia, allies of the United States, are pushing Hamas to agree to cease-fire terms. Those moderate Arab governments and others hope a Hamas rift could steer the Hamas leadership in Syria away from Iran and Syria and help bring Hamas closer to the Arab moderate camp.
But Syria and Iran have been sharply critical of Egypt, Saudi Arabia and others. Iran's president on Thursday sent a letter to Saudi's King Abdullah calling on him sharply to do more to defend Hamas and Palestinians and resist Israel.
Iran, however, also seems to be hedging its bets, toning down its rhetoric sporadically in apparent hopes of keeping open the possibility of U.S. negotiations after U.S. President-elect Barack Obama takes office next week.
Associated Press writer Sam F. Ghattas in Beirut, Lebanon contributed to this report.


text:
#include <sys/cdefs.h>
__FBSDID("$FreeBSD$");

#include <sys/param.h>
#include <sys/systm.h>
#include <sys/kernel.h>
#include <sys/malloc.h>
#include <sys/proc.h>

#ifdef __FreeBSD__
#include <sys/module.h>
#include <sys/conf.h>
#include <sys/uio.h>
#include <sys/bus.h>

#include <machine/bus.h>
#include <sys/rman.h>
#include <machine/resource.h>

#include <machine/md_var.h>

#include <isa/isareg.h>
#include <isa/isavar.h>
#else
#include <sys/device.h>

#include <machine/cpu.h>
#include <machine/bus.h>
#include <machine/intr.h>
#include <machine/conf.h>

#include <dev/isa/isareg.h>
#include <dev/isa/isavar.h>
#endif
#include "tpmvar.h"

static int
tpm_isa_probe(device_t dev)
{
	bus_space_tag_t iot;
	bus_space_handle_t ioh;
	struct resource *mem_res;
	int rv, mem_rid;

	mem_rid = 0;
	mem_res = bus_alloc_resource_any(dev, SYS_RES_MEMORY, &mem_rid,
	    RF_ACTIVE);
	if (mem_res == NULL)
		return (ENXIO);
	iot = rman_get_bustag(mem_res);
	ioh = rman_get_bushandle(mem_res);

	if ((rv = tpm_tis12_probe(iot, ioh)))
		device_set_desc(dev, "Trusted Platform Module");

	bus_release_resource(dev, SYS_RES_MEMORY, mem_rid, mem_res);
	return rv ? 0 : ENXIO;
}

static device_method_t tpm_methods[] = {
#if 0
	DEVMETHOD(device_identify,	tpm_identify),
#endif
	DEVMETHOD(device_probe,		tpm_isa_probe),
	DEVMETHOD(device_attach,	tpm_attach),
	DEVMETHOD(device_detach,	tpm_detach),
	DEVMETHOD(device_suspend,	tpm_suspend),
	DEVMETHOD(device_resume,	tpm_resume),
	{ 0, 0 }
};

static driver_t tpm_driver = {
	"tpm", tpm_methods, sizeof(struct tpm_softc),
};

static devclass_t tpm_devclass;

DRIVER_MODULE(tpm, isa, tpm_driver, tpm_devclass, 0, 0);


New York City has one of the largest sexual health programs in the country. The New York City Health Department runs eight Sexual Health Clinics throughout the city. Each provides low- to no-cost services for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) including HIV, chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis. These clinics also offer vaccines for human papillomavirus (HPV), meningitis and hepatitis A and B.
There are several benefits to using a Health Department Sexual Health Clinic. In many cases, no appointment is necessary and patients are seen on a first-come, first-served basis. Anyone 12 years and older can be seen at the clinics, regardless of immigration status, and services are available for patients who do not have health insurance or cannot pay the sliding scale fee.
The largest PrEP program in the country: Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is a daily pill that greatly reduces the risk of HIV infection. Eligible patients can initiate PrEP at a Sexual Health Clinic and receive a linkage to another facility for longer term care.
A full course of PEP: A full, 28-day course of post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), an emergency medication that can stop HIV infection if started within 36 hours but not beyond 72 hours of exposure.
Improved patient navigation: Trained staff help link patients to high-quality, long-term services for HIV care and prevention.
Counseling services: Social workers are located on-site to help patients with a variety of issues, including substance use and depression.
HPV vaccine: Sexual Health Clinics offer the HPV vaccine for all eligible patients, based on guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
To find a Sexual Health Clinic near you click here.


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Harry Styles lands next film role in Olivia Wilde's 'Don't Worry Darling'
MIKE MARSLAND/WIREIMAGE
Harry Styles just landed his next movie role.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the singer will be joining the cast of director Olivia Wilde's Don't Worry Darling.
Harry replaces Shia LaBeouf, who had been previously attached to the film. He joins a cast that includes Florence Pugh, Chris Pine and Dakota Johnson.
Not many details are known about the film's plot so far. It's reportedly set in a utopian community in the 1950s California desert and focuses on a housewife who discovers a disturbing secret that upends her idyllic life.
Harry made his big screen debut in the 2016 Christopher Nolan film Dunkirk.


Quiz! Can you name the 18 Premier League referees to officiate a match this season?
From Mark 'Miami Ink' Clattenburg to Howard 'Kung-fu kick = firm yellow card' Webb, referees are now stars of the game. That probably isn't the way most of them like it, but in these days of 400 TV cameras and super-rapid, super-conniving players, refs are under more scrutiny than ever.
So surely you recognise the key top-flight officials who definitely have it in for your club and your club alone, right? Right.
Below is every official to referee a Premier League match this season – from the newbie who's taken charge of just three Premier League games ever to the veteran of over 400.
Five minutes are on the clock to name as many as you can. Let us know how you got on @FourFourTwo - we'll retweet the best scores, although giving answers away earns you a straight red. Get into our good books by challenging a few friends.
Quiz! Can you name each Premier League club's top three all-time Prem scorers?
Quiz! Can you name the highest active goalscorer at every Premier League club?
Quiz! Can you name every Premier League side's most effective attacker after the first 10 games of the season?
Quiz! Can you name the 45 Premier League goalkeepers who've made the most saves in the past decade?


This year has certainly been an eventful one, it began with the death of the legendary David Bowie and ends with a shock American election result. With 24-hour news and the rise of social media, it's hard to get away from everyone else's views of such events. Many of us find this unsettling and it increases our feelings of anxiety. We hope that spending a short time reading this edition of In Equilibrium will allow you to forget the outside world for a while as we provide you with some tips, resources and articles to help restore your equilibrium, suggesting ways to reduce your stress and anxiety and build your resilience.
You can view the positive feedback we received from our October "Developing Personal Resilience" open course by clicking on either the image or the title above.
In addition to offering refresher courses, we can also provide a follow-up email service to help embed the knowledge learned by managers or employees during their training day.
Our director, Jan Lawrence, recently had a great couple of day's at this year's CIPD Conference in Manchester. The image below will make sense when you read her post-conference summary of useful resources she has found on the web!
"I have recently returned to work after a period of maternity leave. Before I left I was a very confident person and happy with my work. Since my return, however, I have been feeling very negative and worried about my level of anxiety which is keeping me awake at night. Things are not helped by the fact that during my absence there have been a lot of changes and I have to take on new responsibilities which really worry me. I have discussed this with my line manager who is being very supportive and helpful, as is my husband on the home front." How can I feel more positive and reduce my anxiety levels?
Thank you for taking the time to read our newsletter. We are always delighted to hear from our readers, so if you would like to share your comments or suggestions with us, please don't hesitate to contact us at: [email protected].


AcelRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ACRX announced that the FDA's Anesthetic and Analgesic Drug Products Advisory Committee has voted (10-3) in favor of Dsuvia, recommending an approval for it. The company is looking to get Dsuvia tablets (30 mcg) approved for treating moderate-to-severe acute pain in medically supervised settings for adult patients.
Although the FDA is not bound by the Advisory Committee's acknowledgement, it will still contemplate its positive recommendation while taking a decision. The FDA has set an action date of Nov 3, 2018.
Shares of the AcelRx were up more than 10% following this news on Friday. In fact, the stock has skyrocketed 96.6% so far this year against the industry's decline of 4%.
The safety and efficacy data for Dsuvia was taken from two randomized, placebo-controlled studies with (n=261) patients and two open-label, single-arm studies with (n=216) patients. Data from both the studies showed that Dsuvia was well-tolerated and achieved desirable results in patients of different ages and body mass index (BMIs) as a non-invasive analgesic treatment option for managing moderate-to-severe acute pain.
Dsuvia is a sufentanil sublingual tablet and comes as a pre-filled applicator, intended to treat pain in multiple settings such as injury, ambulatory surgery or to post-operative patients.
We remind investors that in October 2017, the FDA issued a complete response letter ("CRL") to Dsuvia for the same indication. However, this May, AcelRx resubmitted its new drug application ("NDA") for Dsuvia and the regulatory body accepted the NDA in the same month.
In June 2018, the European Commission granted a marketing approval to Dsuvia (known as Dzuveo outside the United States) for a similar inidication.
Zalviso (15 mcg) is another product of AcelRx, approved in Europe and is in late stage development in the United States.
AcelRx currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Better-ranked stocks in the healthcare sector include Caladrius Biosciences, Inc. CLBS, United Therapeutics Corporation UTHR and Genmab A/S GNMSF, all sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Caladrius' loss per share estimates has narrowed 5.7% for 2018 and 1.6% for 2019 over the past 60 days. The stock has surged 41.3% year to date.
United Therapeutics' earnings estimates have been revised 3.6% upward for 2018 and 2.3% for 2019 over the past 60 days.
Genmab's earnings estimates have moved 1.8% north for 2018 and 11.8% for 2019 over the past 60 days.


Launched in 2015, Archways to Opportunity includes college tuition assistance, an English learning program and a curriculum designed for adults seeking a high school diploma like Sayre.
In the past two years, nearly 17,000 McDonald's employees have benefited from Archways, with an increase of 238 percent enrollment in the second year. More than 200 employees in Kentucky have received more than $205,000 in support for their pursuits in education, McDonald's officials reports.
Through the program Sayre was able to transfer credits she earned at Anderson County High School before dropping out. She earned the rest of the credits through online classes.
"I wanted to teach my kids that you can do anything as long you set your mind to it," she said.
Now that she has her diploma, Sayre hopes to go on to college, she said, where she may study photography with tuition assistance from Archways.
McDonald's director of education strategies Lisa Schumacher said she's been asked before how the corporation as a whole benefits from Archways and if employees who go through one of the programs are less likely to stay long-term.
Her response is that McDonald's is "committed to being America's best first job," and a big part of that is giving access to education.
Kelly Healy, owner of 10 McDonald's locations in Central Kentucky, said the program sometimes works as a retention tool for employees when staff members stay on to receive the benefits of Archways.
Jessica Childers, 34, has been working in restaurants since she was 16. She's now a McDonald's manager in Somerset. She said she never really had an interest in going to college, but when her kids hit middle school and started asking for help with homework she couldn't understand, she thought it might be time for her to check into the program.
Her restaurant's director of training and development brought in fliers about Archways and helped guide her through the application process, she said.
Now, Childers is beginning her third semester at Somerset Community College studying business.
While some people look down on McDonald's because it's a fast food restaurant, she has found her job to have great potential for growth, Childers said.