Vice season 6 episode 3: Revolution in ruins and kids on the blockchain

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The general theme for this week’s episode of Vice was at the precipice of a new revolution.

Both stories featured some sort of revolution that seems imminent, they are just revolutions of a different sort.

The first story was a look at the situation in Libya after the fall of the Gaddafi regime. At the present time, Libya is theoretically administered by the Government of National Accord. According to Libyans, it does a fairly decent job of securing the capital.

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But in reality, it depends on local militias for support. The risk for using militias for support is what would happen if they decide to no longer support it? Of course, using outside militias comes with the risk of abuse and corruption.

Even more pressing is that dissatisfaction within Libya is so high that foreign governments are paying Libya to intercept migrants leaving Libya. Italy was amongst the countries paying Libya to pick up refugees.

Both corruption and mass migration point to circumstances taking place within the country that only increase the likelihood of another revolution. Widespread corruption, in particular, increases the odds of a revolution

The second story profiled cryptocurrency and its potential applications. The focus was on Bitcoin, which has become quite famous in recent years. Vice profiled Vitalik Buterin, who created the Ethereum blockchain as a college student and is now in dealing directly with various Eastern European governments.

Cryptocurrency is basically an entire currency based online and without a middleman, like a bank. Bitcoin and cryptocurrency could be a potential revolution in the way international business is held.

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Bitcoin is untraceable, which make it ideal for both criminal transactions and evading government and international sanctions, which are discussed in the episode. Russia, in particular, is eager to explore the use of cryptocurrency and its advantages in this new age.