As Bitcoin reaches insane levels – up 13% on the day to $13.2K and change, the largest crypto-mining marketplace, Nice Hash, confirmed it has been hacked and over 4,000 bitcoins absconded with, worth over $50 million.
NiceHash has suffered a completely unpredictable and unforeshadowed cut and run^W^W^Whack, so much for the home miners and their extensive graphics card collections https://t.co/f3muLUtPAUhttps://t.co/bpqRl4CTob
The site has shut down for maintenance for what it claims will only be 24 hours:
Dear NiceHash user, our service is currently under maintenance. We are sorry for the inconvenience and please stay tuned for updates. Thank you for your understanding.
If NiceHash were hacked, then it makes sense that the hacker pushed all of the Bitcoin into a single wallet and then transferred it to their own wallet. There’s no way of getting it back if that’s the case, and if that is indeed the case, there’s no way NiceHash can restore money to miners’ wallets. If we’re talking about $50 million or more, it’s going to hurt, bad.
NiceHash CEO Andrej Nabergoj told WlkTribune that they are “assessing the situation and working with the authorities,” before issuing the following statement:
Unfortunately, there has been a security breach involving NiceHash website. We are currently investigating the nature of the incident and, as a result, we are stopping all operations for the next 24 hours.
Importantly, our payment system was compromised and the contents of the NiceHash Bitcoin wallet have been stolen. We are working to verify the precise number of BTC taken.
Clearly, this is a matter of deep concern and we are working hard to rectify the matter in the coming days. In addition to undertaking our own investigation, the incident has been reported to the relevant authorities and law enforcement and we are co-operating with them as a matter of urgency.
We are fully committed to restoring the NiceHash service with the highest security measures at the earliest opportunity.
We would not exist without our devoted buyers and miners all around the globe. We understand that you will have a lot of questions, and we ask for patience and understanding while we investigate the causes and find the appropriate solutions for the future of the service. We will endeavour to update you at regular intervals.
Then there’s this part:
“While the full scope of what happened is not yet known, we recommend, as a precaution, that you change your online passwords. We are truly sorry for any inconvenience that this may have caused and are committing every resource towards solving this issue as soon as possible.”
Sorry about all that net worth you’ve just lost because we allowed ourselves to be hacked, please change your fucking passwords.
A former intern for Rep. John Conyers claims that the now-retired Congressman brought up the case of dead intern Chandra Levy after she rebuffed Conyers’ sexual advances – even claiming Conyers had “inside information” on the case.
Courtney Morse, 36, described the 2001 incident to the Washington Post in which Conyers drove her home one night.
Morse told The Post she quit her internship after Conyers drove her home from work one night, wrapped his hand around hers as it rested in her lap, and told her he was interested in a sexual relationship. When she rejected his advances, Morse said he brought up the then-developing investigation into the disappearance of former federal intern Chandra Levy.
“He said he had insider information on the case. I don’t know if he meant it to be threatening, but I took it that way,” Morse said in an interview. “I got out of the car and ran.” –WaPo
After rejecting Conyers, Morse said the Congressman then started buying her gifts and asking her to eat with him in the members’ dining room. “At the end of one work day, Morse said he offered to drive her to a residence where she was staying about 30 minutes from Capitol Hill,” WaPo reports.
“I thought it was odd that he was driving home an intern. It was out of the way, so it wasn’t convenient,” she said.
At the time Conyers tried to bed his intern, the Chandra Levy case was under investigation by police. Levy went missing in 2001 when it was revealed that she was having an affair with married California Democratic Rep. Gary Condit.
Condit was eventually cleared in the investigation after Levy’s remains were found about a year later in a park. Police charged MS-13 gang member Ingmar Guandique with the murder, however the case was dropped over shaky witness testimony. Guandique was eventually deported.
In light of Conyers’ alleged comment to the intern this morning, this is interesting. Last summer, prosecutors dropped charges against the guy accused of killing Chandra Levy. https://t.co/9sTdhTOOR4
What "insider information" does John Conyers know about Chandra Levy?
We need a full investigation into Conyers & why he seemingly used her story as a threat when his intern rejected his sexual proposition.#WednesdayWisdom#ChandraLevy
The cheated-on wife of FBI agent Peter Strzok, who was booted off Robert Mueller’s Special Counsel for sending his mistress anti-Trump text messages, appears to have scrubbed her Facebook page of pro-Hillary and pro-Obama ‘likes’ after her husband’s embarassing dismissal.
Redditor BREXITGOD notes that Strzok’s wife, Melissa Hodgman, was promoted to Associate Director in the SEC’s enforcement division by the Obama administration on October 14, 2016 – 14 days before the second Hillary Clinton email investigation. Of note, the FBI knew about the emails for “weeks” before launching the second investigation which Peter Strzok oversaw.
Daily Caller reporter Chuck Ross pointed out Strzok’s wife’s apparent support for liberal causes on Sunday:
Strzok's wife, a gov't agency lawyer, appears to have strong pro-Clinton bias. We found that she's member of a "We Voted for Hillary" and "Democrats for a Blue America" Facebook groups. https://t.co/QxKSXfZTbj
A Facebook account that appears to be operated by Melissa Hodgman, a top lawyer at the Securities and Exchange Commission who married Strzok in 1994, shows membership in several pro-Clinton and pro-Obama Facebook groups.
“Democrats for a Blue America” and “Thank You Obama” are two of the groups Hodgman supports. She is also a follower of a page called “We Voted for Hillary.”
Hodgman did not respond to emails from The Daily Caller seeking comment about her involvement with the groups.
And yesterday, Redditor BREXITGOD discovered that Hodgman has scrubbed her Facebook “likes” of any and all references to Obama, Hillary Clinton, Chelsea Clinton, Huffington Post and “Democrats for a Blue America.”
When reached for comment as to how he determined that the Facebook account in question belongs to Hodgman, user BREXITGODprovided publicly available evidence to make the connection.
Futures are sagging, with the Dow down 53, the Nasdaq down 26, and S&P off by 4 points following two days of selling.
Meahwhile Asia isn’t doing so hot. Via Bloomberg:
Asian stocks are poised for the longest losing streak in two years as the technology, mining, consumer and industrial sectors led declines. Japan equities fell sharply, as did Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index. The Australian dollar and bond yields tumbled as traders dialed back expectations for higher interest rates after growth missed estimates.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index is set to fall for eight days, making it the longest run of losses since 2015. American shares fell, with an afternoon swoon wiping out early gains for a second straight day, as investors assessed the impact of proposed tax cuts. Ten-year Treasury yields maintained a slide to 2.34 percent, while the dollar held onto gains. The pound extended declines amid stalled Brexit negotiations, and the yen jumped.
“The adjustment mode is deepening lately in the Japanese stock market,” said Shunichi Otsuka, general manager in the research department at Ichiyoshi Securities in Tokyo. “It’s difficult to buy unless U.S. equities show firmness, even as some high-tech shares are becoming cheap.”
Bitcoin, on the other hand, is gaining retarded air again – breaking through $12,000 and ripping faces off ahead of speculation that widespread use of the upcoming CBOE and CME futures will help digital currencies gain more legitimacy as an asset class.
Cboe Global Markets Inc. has said it will start trading bitcoin futures on Dec. 10, while CME Group Inc.’s contracts are set to debut on Dec. 18. Nasdaq Inc. is planning to offer futures in 2018, according to a person familiar with the matter. Cantor Fitzgerald LP’s Cantor Exchange is creating a bitcoin derivative, and startup LedgerX already offers options.
Congressman John Conyers – who retired today after sexual-misconduct allegations surfaced last month – has endorsed his son, John Conyers III, for the seat he’s held for over 50 years.
“I’m retiring today,” the 88-year-old Michigan Democrat told a local radio station from a Detroit hospital. “I want everyone to know how much I appreciate [their] support.”
Except, kids say the darndest things…
In a now deleted tweet, the younger Conyers – who has since deleted his Twitter account – bragged about his father’s infidelity with a woman who was also married – stating “My dad is a f*cking player and reckless as hell! He just got at this doods wife super low key”
The identity of the woman Conyers Sr. apparently ‘got at’ – as well as the dood in question are unknown.
“And for those wondering if it’s really the congressman’s son, other past tweets talking about “Mom Con” and Uncle Carl — the elder Conyers’ brother — should clue you in,” reports M Live‘s Aaron Foley
Days after it emerged that former Special Counsel investigator Peter Strzok was fired from Robert Mueller’s Trump-Russia probe in August for sending anti-Trump text messages to his mistress while the two were working together on the Clinton email investigation, Sara Carter of Circa told a Fox News panel that there are more anti-Trump messages sent by Mueller’s team floating around.
Carter previously emerged as one of the handful of people to review documents obtained by an undercover FBI informant embedded in the Russian uranium industry. Appearing on Hannity’s show Monday night, Carter was asked about rumors of more anti-Trump sentiment expressed by Mueller’s team:
Sean Hannity: I’m hearing rumors all over the place Sara Carter that there are other anti-Trump text-emails out there. And we know about them.
Sara Carter: I think you’re hearing correctly Sean and I think a lot more is going to come out. In fact, I know a lot more is going to come out based on the sources I’ve spoken to.
The clip is below:
Tangentially, it has been widely reported that Mueller’s special counsel is stacked with investigators who have donated to Obama, Clinton or other Democrat causes. As Jessica McBride reported in Heavy:
Andrew Weissmann: Weissmann is a Barack Obama and Democratic campaign donor, according to federal records. “Weissmann, who led the Enron investigation, previously gave $2,300 to Obama’s first presidential campaign in 2008 and $2,000 to the Democratic National Committee in 2006
Jeannie Rhee: donated $5,400 to Hillary Clinton in 2015 and 2016, according to FEC records. The records show she gave $2,500 each to Obama for America and Obama Victory Fund 2012 in 2011
Andrew Goldstein: According to Fox News, “Goldstein contributed a combined $3,300 to Obama’s campaigns in 2008 and 2012”
Greg Andres: FEC records show that Andres has donated at least $2,700 to Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)
James Quarles: Donated thousands of dollars to the campaigns of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. He has also donated money recently to other Democrats, including Friends of Chuck Schumer and two other Democrats. He has a lengthy donation history dating back years. He did donate to two Republicans over the years, however.
Elizabeth Prelogar: A former law clerk to Justics Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Elena Kagen, gave $250 to Hillary Clinton in 2016, according to FEC records. She also gave $500 total to Obama for America and the Obama Victory Fund 2012.
Brandon Van Grack: gave small amounts to ActBlue, an effort to raise money for Democrats, and to a Democratic candidate for Congress in 2012. In 2008, he gave about $286 to Barack Obama.
Rush Atkinson: donated $200 to Clinton’s campaign in 2016.
Kyle Freeny: In 2012, Freeny gave $300 to Obama. In 2008, Freeny also gave $250 to Obama, FEC records show.
To review: veteran FBI agent Peter Strzok, working under James Comey, headed up both the Clinton email investigation and the Trump-Russia probe before Mueller’s special counsel was created to take the reigns. Strzok – who was responsible for changing the FBI’s opinion of Clinton’s mishandling of classified info from “grossly negligent” to “extremely careless,” – had an extramarital affair with FBI lawyer Lisa Page while the two were working on the Clinton “matter.” During the investigation, Strzok sent Page anti-Trump / pro-Clinton text messages, which resulted in the dismissal of both Strzok and Page from Mueller’s Trump-Russia probe. Strzok now works in the FBI’s HR department.
Strzok’s conduct during the Clinton email investigation and any other politically charged cases he’s worked on, are now being investigated by the DOJ’s Office of Personel Management the results of which, per Sara Carter of Circa, will be coming out in December and January.
Moreover, as we reported earlier today, House Speaker Paul Ryan accused the DOJ and FBI of “stonewalling” the House Intelligence Committee’s wide-ranging subpoena related to the “Trump dossier,” along with the fact that the FBI appears to have willfully tried to conceal the reason for Strzok’s reassignment from the committee.
Meanwhile, upon being blindsided with this information and publicly embarrassed, Intel committee chairman Devin Nunes was understandably less than pleased.
In a statement issued Sunday, Nunes announced a serious escalation: His committee, he said, is preparing to hold Andrew McCabe and assistant AG Rod Rosenstein in contempt for the DOJ’s failure to comply with Nunes’s subpoena. He also accused the FBI and the DOJ of willfully refusing to comply with an Aug. 24 subpoena in part by refusing the committee’s request “for an explanation of Peter Strzok’s dismissal from the mueller probe.”
“By hiding from Congress, and from the American people, documented political bias by a key FBI head investigator for both the Russia collusion probe and the Clinton email investigation, the FBI and DOJ engaged in a willful attempt to thwart Congress’ constitutional oversight responsibility. This is part of a months-long pattern by the DOJ and FBI of stonewalling and obstructing this Committee’s oversight work, particularly oversight of their use of the Steele dossier. At this point, these agencies should be investigating themselves.
“The DOJ has now expressed—on a Saturday, just hours after the press reports on Strzok’s dismissal appeared—a sudden willingness to comply with some of the Committee’s long-standing demands. This attempted 11th-hour accommodation is neither credible nor believable, and in fact is yet another example of the DOJ’s disingenuousness and obstruction. Therefore, I have instructed House Intelligence Committee staff to begin drawing up a contempt of Congress resolution for DOJ Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and FBI Director Christopher Wray. Unless all our outstanding demands are fully met by close of business on Monday, December 4, 2017, the committee will have the opportunity to move this resolution before the end of the month.”
It now appears that the FBI will have even more explaining to do as evidence of additional anti-Trump bias among members of Mueller’s investigation appear to be on the horizon...
A 16 year old was arrested and booked into San Bernardino Juvenile Hall Monday on a felony animal abuse charge after a viral snapchat video shows him intentionally throwing a scared cat onto a street in Ontario, CA. To view, click here.
The Suspect in the Cat Abuse Video has been ARRESTED! He was spotted by officers today in Upland. He ran from the officers but was quickly tackled and arrested. The injured cat is at a veterinarian hospital being looked after and is in good condition. pic.twitter.com/c7oiRwgNO6
The teen, identified as ‘Charlie’ on social media, is seen lifting the cat named Spot with both hands, then flinging it high into the air. The cat can be seen hitting the ground and heard meowing in pain.
Fortunately the cat survived the throw, however he has a broken leg, a fractured leg and internal injuries according to a release from the Inland Valley Humane Society & S.P.C.A., and will remain in the ER until she’s made a full recovery.
Hopefully the teen who threw the cat will die horribly in the next California wildfire to tear through his shitty neighborhood.
Special counsel Robert Mueller objected Monday to a tentative “agreed-upon bail package” reached with Manafort last week, after they caught the lobbyist ghost-writing a draft of an op-ed with an associate in Russia allegedly tied to Russian intelligence, according to court filings. Prosecutors argued that Manafort’s collaboration with the “Russian intelligence” colleague – as recently as last week – would violate the sweeping gag-order issued last month by U.S. District Judge Amy Jackson.
Manafort’s Bridgehampton Home
“Even if the ghost-written op-ed were entirely accurate, fair and balanced, it would be violation of this court’s Nov. 8 order if it had been published,” prosecutors said. “The editorial clearly was undertaken to influence the public’s opinion of defendant Manafort, or else there would be no reason to seek its publication – much less for Manafort and his long-time associate to ghostwrite it in another’s name.”
“Because Manafort has now taken actions that reflect an intention to violate or circumvent the court’s existing orders, at a time one would expect particularly scrupulous adherence, the government submits that the proposed bail package is insufficient reasonably to assure his appearance required,” wrote the prosecution, adding “Because bail is substantially about trust – in particular, whether the Court can trust that a defendant will abide by the combination of conditions designed to assure his appearance as required, and because the newly discovered facts cast doubt on Manafort’s willingness to comply with this Court’s Orders, Manafort’s proposed bail package does not provide the reasonable assurance required by the Bail Reform Act.”
Investigators also argued that if Judge Jackson decides to go ahead with Manafort’s bail arrangement which would free him from house arrest, he be required to wear a full-time GPS monitor and post additional assets for bail.
Manafort and his longtime aide, Rick Gates, were arraigned in late November on money laundering and other charges – including false statements and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts in regards to the work on behalf of the Ukranian government, prior to working for the Trump campaign.
Former assistant FBI Director Jim Kallstrom says Bob Mueller has a huge conflict of interest and never should have taken the case, reports Breitbart.
“Bob Mueller should have never been offered nor accepted the job as special counsel as he has a huge conflict of interest,” Jim Kallstrom tells Breitbart News. “He should have recused himself.”
Kallstrom points to the fact that Mueller – a former FBI director is investigating ‘matters’ which occurred under the watch of his predecessor and good friend, James Comey.
When Fox News host Ainsley Earhardt asked President trump in June whether he thought Mueller should recuse himself, Trump replied “well he’s very, very good friends with Comey which is very bothersome… We’re going to have to see.”
Radio Host Mark Levin elaborated at the time, stating on his show:
John Legato is a former deep cover FBI special agent – and he writes that Comey and Mueller – their families have vacationed together, have had picnics together, hours spent at the office together, had a few cocktails after work. So Mueller can’t possibly be impartial here. Not when he’s very close friends with a key witness.
The point is this – he’s not independent.
Indeed, one wonders how Mueller’s probe can remain impartial while leading a team of anti-Trump investigators, two of whom – Peter Strzok and Lisa Page were fired in August for texting anti-Trump messages during an extramarital affair.
As Axios reported in June, several of Mueller’s other investigators are huge supporters of the Democrat party and Hillary Clinton:
James Quarles: Donated almost $33,000 to Democrats, including Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. He has also donated about $2,750 to Republicans — the only lawyer on Mueller’s team to have done so.
Jeannie Rhee: Donated more than $16,000 since 2008 to Democrats, including the maximum donation possible to Clinton in both 2015 and 2016. Rhee has also donated to Obama.
Andrew Weissmann: Donated more than $4,000 to Obama in 2008 and $2,000 to the DNC in 2006.
Elizabeth Prelogar: Donated $250 each to Clinton in 2016 and Obama in 2012.
Kallstrom also felt that the Obama administration’s surveillance of Trump was possibly illegal, telling Breitbart “The Obama administration apparently, had the advantage of using electronic surveillance, collecting information on the Trump campaign,” Kallstrom explains. “That collection, in my view, may be found to be unlawful.”
“If they used the phony dossier as the predicate for the FISA order they obtained, that could be a huge problem,” Kallstrom tells Breitbart News. “If they knew the information was phony, that is a felony. If they did not know it was phony, they were incompetent.”
Of note, veteran FBI investigator Peter Strzok – who was kicked off Mueller’s probe along with his mistress Lisa Page – was formerly in charge of the investigation into alleged connections between the Trump campaign and Russia. As part of his investigation, Strzok relied on the anti-Trump ‘Dirty Dossier’created by opposition research firm Fusion GPS and assembled by former MI6 agent Christopher Steele.
House investigators told Fox News they have long regarded Strzok as a key figure in the chain of events when the bureau, in 2016, received the infamous anti-Trump “dossier” and launched a counterintelligence investigation into Russian meddling in the election that ultimately came to encompass FISA surveillance of a Trump campaign associate.
The “dossier” was a compendium of salacious and largely unverified allegations about then-candidate Trump and others around him that was compiled by the opposition research firm Fusion GPS. The firm’s bank records, obtained by House investigators, revealed that the project was funded by the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee. –Fox News
And as former assistant FBI Director Kallstrom told Breitbart, “This whole matter with the dossier and the investigations that ensued, including FISA surveillance and the unmasking of hundreds of names, in my view, will prove to be violations of the rules set down by the Congress for unmasking, or worse, will be found to be violations of federal law,” Kallstrom concludes. “The Justice Department should find out if the FBI paid for this phony dossier and should inspect the affidavit that was given to the FISA court to determine the accuracy of their probable cause.”
Strzok, under former FBI director James Comey, was also in charge of the FBI’s investigation into Hillary Clinton, concluding that while Clinton was “careless,” in her mishandling of classified information, the anti-Trump FBI veteran found “no proof of intent,” an opinion which former FBI director James Comey based his recommendation not to prosecute. Comey, as it turns out, drafted Clinton’s exoneration letter long before the FBI had finished reviewing evidence in the case.
So here we have a former FBI director, Mueller, investigating what appear to be egregious violations of the law in regards to surveillance and data collection on the Trump campaign, based largely on a dodgy Trump-Russia dossier, funded in part by Hillary Clinton and the DNC, which was created by a DNC-linked opposition research firm Fusion GPS, and which relied on the cooperation of two senior Kremlin officials.
And now the DOJ’s Office of Inspector General is looking into Strzok and his “roles in a number of other politically sensitive cases,” a probe which should be completed “very early next year,” according to Fox News.
Report: “ANTI-TRUMP FBI AGENT LED CLINTON EMAIL PROBE” Now it all starts to make sense!
36 year old e-commerce entrepreneur Yusuke Mitsumoto had an idea: “what if I pay people instantly for their used goods and then trust them to give them to me?”
Mitsumoto launched an app in June to test the idea, quickly realizing that that people – surprise – went for the money, putting him on the hook for $3.2 million (360 million yen).
“after 16 hours, he was stunned to discover he was on the hook for 360 million yen ($3.2 million) and shut the service down. A day later, truckloads of clothes and electronics gadgets started to arrive, with his startup’s employees forming a bucket line to move packages into his company’s tiny office in Tokyo.” –Bloomberg
Holy shit – people took the money and then brought their stuff as promised! At the end of the day, only 1 out of 10 second-hand-sellers didn’t deliver.
In August, Mitsumoto relaunched the service called Cash, as a new way to gather inventory for an online flea market. Total daily purchases are capped at 10 million yen – and must be comprised of items on a list including; smartphones, luxury apparel, watches, clothing, and other specific items on a list of several thousand.
Customers can also snap pictures of their items and shoot over a non-negotiable offer.
Via Bloomberg:
“It was a social experiment,” said Mitsumoto, who started selling goods on the web in 1996. He later launched Stores.jp, Japan’s version of Shopify, which he sold and then bought back. “Of course, I believed that good people would outnumber the bad, but the question was by how much. That’s not something you can find out without trying.”
Big business
The market for second-hand godos is strong in Japan, valued at over 1.6 trillion yen ($14 billion USD). Yahoo Japan Corp. operates the country’s largest online auction site, Mercari, which became the first Japanese startup to be valued over $1 billion.
So when Keishi Kameyama – one of Japan’s richest entrepreneurs and founder of DMM.com came along, Mitsumoto agreed to sell Cash to DMM for 7 billion yen ($62 million USD) and continue running the business.
“For people doing internet businesses in Japan, DMM is a scary presence,” Mitsumoto said. “You never know when they may launch their own business and become a tough rival. I figured it’s best to at least meet.”
Indeed, a week after the deal was announced, Mercari launched an identical offering. The move by Cash proved that there was a need for such a service, said Takeo Iyo, the vice president in charge of Mercari Now. –Bloomberg
So – what do you think, would a thrift shop app work outside of an honor-based society like Japan? Would eager sellers from, say, Compton show up with their used goods after taking the money?
As Bitcoin reaches insane levels – up 13% on the day to $13.2K and change, the largest crypto-mining marketplace, Nice Hash, confirmed it has been hacked and over 4,000 bitcoins absconded with, worth over $50 million.
