New Zealand, China in Talks on Convertibility of Currencies
May 27th, 2013Via: Wall Street Journal:
Seeking to help its exporters, New Zealand is negotiating with China to make their currencies directly convertible, a spokeswoman for Prime Minister John Key said.
Wellington’s push is aimed at driving down costs for companies that do business with China, which is close to overtaking Australia as New Zealand’s No. 1 trading partner.
Talks are in the “very early stages” and “progressing,” the spokeswoman said, adding that the issue had been brought up during Mr. Key’s visit to China last month.
Officials at the People’s Bank of China didn’t return calls seeking comment.
Disclosure: I Bought June Puts on SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average (DIA)
May 27th, 2013Warning: This is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any financial instrument.
Update: TW Asks: “What the hell does this post mean?”
It means that I will make money if the Dow Jones Industrial Average crashes over about the next month. I’m letting everyone know that I have a financial interest in the market going down.
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Bid got hit Friday afternoon. I bought some lotto tickets based on the formation of a doji candle on the weekly interval after the long ramp job.
U.S. Spy Device ‘Tested on NZ Public’
May 27th, 2013Via: New Zealand Herald:
A high-tech United States surveillance tool which sweeps up all communications without a warrant was sent to New Zealand for testing on the public, according to an espionage expert.
The tool was called ThinThread and it worked by automatically intercepting phone, email and internet information.
ThinThread was highly valued by those who created it because it could handle massive amounts of intercepted information. It then used snippets of data to automatically build a detailed picture of targets, their contacts and their habits for the spy organisation using it.
Those organisations were likely to include the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) after Washington, DC-based author Tim Shorrock revealed ThinThread was sent to New Zealand for testing in 2000-2001.
Japan: Particle Accelerator Accident
May 26th, 2013Via: Japan Times:
At least six researchers suffered internal radiation exposure when an experiment involving elementary particles went awry and up to 24 more are feared to have been similarly exposed, the Japan Atomic Energy Agency said Saturday.
Radioactive substances leaked following the accident Thursday in the Hadron Experimental Facility of the Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex (J-PARC) in Tokai, Ibaraki Prefecture, the government-affiliated agency reported.
Officials from the Ibaraki Prefectural Government raided the complex Saturday afternoon to investigate the delay in reporting the incident. A malfunction occurred at 11:55 a.m. Thursday during an experiment to produce elementary particles by aiming a proton beam at a target made of gold, the agency said.
An alarm went off shortly afterward and the experiment was halted. But a researcher in charge of the equipment restarted it at 12:08 p.m., despite not having pinpointed the cause of the alarm, sources familiar with the investigation said.
As a result, the proton output jumped unexpectedly, causing part of the gold to evaporate and the generation of radioactive substances that leaked out of the controlled area, according to the agency.
Protesters Around the World March Against Monsanto
May 26th, 2013Via: USA Today:
Protesters rallied in dozens of cities Saturday as part of a global protest against seed giant Monsanto and the genetically modified food it produces, organizers said.
Organizers said “March Against Monsanto” protests were held in 52 countries and 436 cities, including Los Angeles where demonstrators waved signs that read “Real Food 4 Real People” and “Label GMOs, It’s Our Right to Know.”
Flashback: GM Foods Not Served in Monsanto Cafeteria
Knife Attack on Soldier in Paris Treated as Terrorism
May 26th, 2013Via: BBC:
French anti-terrorist investigators are handling the case of a soldier stabbed while on duty near Paris on Saturday evening, prosecutors have confirmed.
The soldier was wounded while on patrol in La Defense, a business district west of the French capital.
Private First Class Cedric Cordier was approached from behind and stabbed in the neck with a small-bladed knife.
Defence Minister Jean Yves Le Drian told reporters that he had been targeted because of his profession.
His attacker, said to be a bearded man of North African origin, escaped and a police hunt is under way.
President Francois Hollande said there was no sign so far of a direct link with the killing of a soldier in London on Wednesday, for which two suspected Islamists were arrested.
Inside GCHQ
May 24th, 2013Not as interesting as a dead GCHQ employee, inside a gym bag, inside a safe house, but interesting nonetheless.
Via: Register:
For staff at the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) in Cheltenham, there’s an air of Fight Club about the place. The first rule about GCHQ is you don’t talk about GCHQ.
It’s a well observed tradition, even though there are road signs and a bus route directing you to this highly secret establishment, the nerve centre of Britain’s communications surveillance operations.
911 Dispatcher Tells Woman About To Be Raped That There Are No Cops To Help Her Due To Budget Cuts
May 24th, 2013Next time dial .357 Magnum.
Via: CBS:
An Oregon woman was told by a 911 dispatcher that authorities wouldn’t be able be able to help her as her ex-boyfriend broke into her place because of budget cuts.
Oregon Public Radio reports that an unidentified woman called 911 during a weekend in August 2012 while Michael Bellah was breaking into her place. Her call was forwarded to Oregon State Police because of lay-offs at the Josephine County Sheriff’s Office only allows the department to be open Monday through Friday.
“Uh, I don’t have anybody to send out there,” the 911 dispatcher told the woman. “You know, obviously, if he comes inside the residence and assaults you, can you ask him to go away? Do you know if he’s intoxicated or anything?”
The woman told the dispatcher that Bellah previously attacked her and left her hospitalized a few weeks prior to the latest incident. The dispatcher stayed on the phone with the woman for more than 10 minutes before the sexual assault took place.
“Once again it’s unfortunate you guys don’t have any law enforcement out there,” the dispatcher said, according to Oregon Public Radio.
The woman responded: “Yeah, it doesn’t matter, if he gets in the house I’m done.”
Recovery: 44% of Homeowners With a Mortgage Can’t Sell
May 24th, 2013Via: The Street:
About 44% of homeowners with mortgages cannot afford to sell their homes, according to a recent blog post from real estate company Zillow.
Despite a recovery in prices, over a quarter of homeowners with mortgage loans still owe more than their homes are worth. “But another 18.2 percent of homeowners with mortgages, while not technically underwater, likely do not have enough equity to afford to move,” according to the blog post.
43.6% of homeowners have less than 20% equity in their homes. That makes it hard for them to move or trade-up, given the considerable costs involved in buying and selling a home, including the cost of a down payment for the next mortgage.
Cryptogon Reader Sent $50 Donation
May 24th, 2013Thanks, DM. Much appreciated.
