Archive for May, 2017
CIA Malware for All Versions of Windows
May 20th, 2017Via: WikiLeaks: Today, May 19th 2017, WikiLeaks publishes documents from the “Athena” project of the CIA. “Athena” – like the related “Hera” system – provides remote beacon and loader capabilities on target computers running the Microsoft Windows operating system (from Windows XP to Windows 10). Once installed, the malware provides a beaconing capability (including configuration […]
A Quarter Of American Adults Can’t Pay All Their Monthly Bills; 44% Have Less Than $400 In Cash
May 20th, 2017Via: ZeroHedge: Nearly eight years into an economic recovery, nearly half of Americans didn’t have enough cash available to cover a $400 emergency. Specifically, the survey found that, in line with what the Fed had disclosed in previous years, 44% of respondents said they wouldn’t be able to cover an unexpected $400 expense like a […]
U.S. Special Forces Expanding Shadow War in Africa
May 20th, 2017Via: Vice: Six years ago, a deputy commanding general for U.S. Army Special Operations Command gave a conservative estimate of 116 missions being carried out at any one time by Navy SEALs, Army Green Berets, and other special operations forces across the globe. Today, according to U.S. military documents obtained by VICE News, special operators […]
Americans Are Paying $38 to Collect $1 of Student Debt
May 19th, 2017Via: Bloomberg: The federal government has, in recent years, paid debt collectors close to $1 billion annually to help distressed borrowers climb out of default and scrounge up regular monthly payments. New government figures suggest much of that money may have been wasted. Nearly half of defaulted student-loan borrowers who worked with debt collectors to […]
Stanford Professor: Fossil-Fuel Vehicles Will Vanish in 8 Years in Twin ‘Death Spiral’ for Big Oil and Big Autos
May 18th, 2017I very seriously doubt it. Via: Financial Post: No more petrol or diesel cars, buses, or trucks will be sold anywhere in the world within eight years. The entire market for land transport will switch to electrification, leading to a collapse of oil prices and the demise of the petroleum industry as we have known […]
Brazil’s Stock Market Declines 10 Percent
May 18th, 2017Via: CNN: Brazil’s stock market, Bovespa, plunged more than 10% immediately after opening Thursday, wiping out almost all of its gains for the year. Officials halted trading for 30 minutes. Brazil’s currency, the real, also tanked 7% against the dollar, its worst day since the global financial crisis in 2008. The selloff came after new […]
Household Debt Surpassed Record Level Reached During the 2008 Financial Crisis
May 18th, 2017Via: CNBC: The New York Federal Reserve reports that household debt across the nation has hit a dubious milestone in the first quarter: It surpassed the peak debt level of 2008 at $12.7 trillion. Household debt — including mortgages, auto and student loans, and credit cards — rose $149 billion compared with the last quarter […]
Firm Thinks Solar Will Attract More Investment Funds Than Coal, Gas and Nuclear Combined in 2017
May 16th, 2017Disclosure: I sell solar power systems in New Zealand. — Via: PV Magazine: A new report by analyst firm Frost & Sullivan projects that in 2017 solar PV will attract more investment than coal, gas and nuclear power combined. The report, titled the Global Power Industry Outlook 2017, examines power market trends, including investment and […]
FDA Approved Drugs Have Nearly 1 in 3 Chance of Having a “Significant Safety Issue”
May 16th, 2017Oh sure, it’s a surprise. *wink* Via: Los Angeles Times: Almost one-third of new drugs approved by U.S. regulators over a decade ended up years later with warnings about unexpected — sometimes life-threatening — side effects or complications, according to a new analysis in the Journal of the American Medical Assn. Researchers looked at potential […]
NASA: Ocean Below Ice Layer on Enceladus Could Hold Life
May 16th, 2017Via: Newsweek: Today Earthlings came one very giant step closer to finding life elsewhere in our solar system. In the final months of its 20-year mission, the spacecraft Cassini delivered its most noteworthy revelation yet: the ocean of Enceladus, a moon of Saturn, is releasing hydrogen, an energy source for some microorganisms. In other words, […]
