After Axios reported this week that President Trump wanted to explore stopping hurricanes with nuclear bombs (which Trump has vehemently denied), several pundits brought up the fact that using nukes for various non-military applications has been floated for decades.
…as Garret Graff explains at Wired, nuclear explosions were considered for a variety of non-combat purposes throughout the Cold War, from melting the polar ice-caps to nuking the moon. The US Atomic Energy Commission launched Project Plowshare in 1958 to pursue peaceful applications of the technology. Some proposed uses of nuclear blasts: harbor, canal, and dam construction; fracking; railroad cuts; sewage disposal; and even generating steam for geothermal power. The Plowshare program produced some three dozen explosive experiments, but none led to feasible applications. –Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
The Russians, meanwhile, tried using nukes for mining purposes – detonating hundreds of devices up until the late 1980s, including a 200-300 kiloton explosion set off in a coalmine located in Eastern Ukraine in 1979 which has left the region’s water irradiated ever since.
Some other genuinely bad ideas
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has chimed in on the nuke debate – providing a list of “a few other proposed uses for nuclear bombs that should still generally be considered bad ideas, since nuclear bombs remain a horribly destructive force that threatens human civilization.”
***
Atomic cork?The Soviet Union reportedly capped natural gas wells with nuclear detonations a few times, and Barack Obama’s administration supposedly considered that course briefly as a speedy way to plug the Deepwater Horizon spill in 2010.
A man, a bomb, a canal… The Atomic Energy Commission thought it would be prudent to carve a backup Panama Canal using a long chain of nuclear blasts.
Nuked Alaska. In the early 1960s, Manhattan Project scientist Ed Teller worked eagerly on using a nuclear explosion to create an artificial harbor at Cape Thompson, along Alaska’s northwest coast. Radioactive experiments in anticipation of the (abandoned) plan to detonate a 200 kiloton device were only revealed in the 1990s, and cleanup of the contamination concluded just a few years ago.
Glass desert highway. Project Carryall would have been spectacular. The idea was to carve a new path for the Santa Fe Railway Company and an adjacent public roadway through the Bristol Mountains in California’s Mojave desert—by simultaneously detonating 22 nuclear devices, each with varying yields of up to 200 kilotons, along a two-mile stretch of California’s Mojave desert. If it had proceeded, who knows what interesting flora would line the Interstate Highway System today…
Shoot the Moon. In the late 1950s, the space race was just beginning, and the Soviet Union had a good head start with the launch of Sputnik. In 1958, the US Air Force decided one way to establish supremacy might be to send a nuclear device to the moon and blow it up, so everyone on Earth, especially the Russians, could see it. Thankfully that plan was scrapped, NASA figured out how to put humans there instead, and in 1967 the Outer Space Treaty banned nuclear weapons in space.
Asteroids. Compared to all of these brilliant ideas, taking out an asteroid with nuclear bombs sounds almost reasonable, and there are active efforts to design a system to do that in case a planetary killer heads our way. But some recent studies have shown that blowing up an asteroid could be largely ineffective, like turning a giant space rock into a gravitationally glued blob of thousands of smaller space rocks. The good news is the likelihood of something hitting Earth anytime soon remains low, so we have plenty of time to figure out another way to protect ourselves—as long as we don’t blow ourselves up first.
via ZeroHedge News https://ift.tt/2HtoE8D Tyler Durden
Amtrak is finally updating their decades-old interiors with a futuristic design for its new high-speed Acela train cars.
What’s more, the first of the new designs will roll out in spring 2021 – less than two years from now, according to The Points Guy.
While Amtrak’s Acela fleet currently lags behind high-speed trains in Europe and Asia in terms of speed, these new trains will travel faster than what’s currently available. The new models will travel at 160 mph, 10 mph faster than current cars, and will use 20% less energy that what currently rides the rails. –The Points Guy
Amtrak shelled out $2.45 billion for the 28 new train sets. Due to the fact that the Acela trains will share infrastructure with freight and regional trains, they won’t be able to reach the speeds of their foreign counterparts – however Amtrak engineers are working on pushing them them towards their top speed of 186 MPH.
On to the interior
TPG was among the journalists invited to tour mock-ups of the Acela cars built by French trainmaker Alstom, which produces the high-speed TVG trains which can be seen crisscrossing France.
The new Amtrak trains will feature seven standard coach cars, one first-class car, a cafe car and two locomotives – alltogether carrying a total of 378 passengers vs. the current 304.
Business class will be renamed “Acela-class” to help end the confusion for passengers who asked about what economy class was (there’s none on the Acela). These cabins will be laid out in a 2-2 configuration, so you are guaranteed either a window or an aisle seat.
Seats will have new features too, with AC and USB power outlets to charge up your devices, and adjustable reading lights located on each headrest. –The Points Guy
Some seats have tables in between them, and new tables have flaps that extend out just for each seat — on the old trains you’d have to extend the flaps for the entire length of the table.
Dozing off will be easier, and you won’t have to worry about accidentally snoozing on your neighbor with the new winged headrests, which also feature grips on the side for passengers to grab onto when walking down the aisle.
Amtrak’s new first-class car differentiates itself by having larger, and fewer, seats than in Acela class. Laid out in a 1-2 configuration, you’ll also enjoy in-seat power and reading lights plus other amenities like catered in-seat dining and alcoholic beverages.
Seats are already assigned in First Class (the only train in Amtrak’s fleet that offers this), which is a feature that will remain, Caroline N. Decker, Vice President of Northeast Corridor Service Line, told TPG. Amtrak is also experimenting with assigned seating in Acela class.
“It can be challenging, especially for new riders, as a couple, as a family, to find seats together,” said Decker. “We need to do more to help our customers… find the seats they want together.”
There could be some limited seat assignments in Acela class, while the rest of the space would be an open-seating model, Decker said, adding that the assigned seating in First Class is incredibly popular with Acela passengers. When asked if Amtrak may start charging to select your seat in advance in Acela class, something that’s become commonplace among airlines, Decker said that the company hasn’t made any decisions regarding that, but that “anything is possible” — adding that the biggest goal right now is to improve the customer experience.
Amtrak is finally replacing the old-school scrolling analog signs, and placing large digital displays throughout the trains that will communicate to passengers things like location, time, speed and upcoming stations. In fact these, signs are actually an ADA requirement.
To accommodate passengers with disabilities, Amtrak also installed large, ADA-compliant bathrooms in every car. They’ll feature all touchless controls which should also help reduce the spreading of germs.
The cafe car is also getting a serious overhaul; most notable will be the lack of seats and the prominence of self-service. There will be refrigerated boxes full of food for a “grab-and-go” scenario. Decker even said Amtrak’s considering a self-checkout station for passengers who are purchasing food. They’ll still have an attendant who will serve hot food and alcoholic beverages from behind the bar.
However, Amtrak will also begin service with airline-style food carts, which will be helpful for those who don’t want to get up and leave their belonging unattended, Attendants will travel through the cars offering customers a variety of snacks and drinks for purchase.
In lieu of tables and seats, Amtrak will install a “nest” area where passengers can post up with their food or drinks on small counters. Decker said there was limited seating in the current cafe cars and this new area will provide more room for passengers and also comply with ADA standards.
Like the other digital displays throughout the train, the cafe car’s menu will be displayed on electronic screens, allowing for Amtrak to have more dynamic food offerings. Decker added that it’s looking at increasing the diversity of its menu, offering more healthy options, including gluten-free and vegan choices.
Less noticeable but still relevant changes include increasing the window size and getting rid of curtains and opting for pull-down shades. The current overhead bins are enclosed, but will be replaced with clear open shelves that will make it easier to spot your bag when disembarking.
Enclosed gangways will be installed, a commonplace on newer trains, creating a more seamless and safer way to get between cars.
We also got a sneak peek at the conductor’s post. The seat has been moved to the center of the train and gives the conductor a wide-angle view of everything coming down the tracks.
All of the new Acela cars are expected to be in service by the end of 2022, and appear to be an overall net plus in passenger experience. Amtrak has also recently announced large investments in infrastructure. New York’s Penn Station will get a major upgrade, and Amtrak will be launching nonstop Acela service between New York and Washington DC in September.
All photos by Brendan Dorsey / The Points Guy.
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Lori Loughlin’s defense in the college admissions scandal has finally started to leak out, according to Bloomberg. Loughlin has been the most high profile defendant in the scandal to not settle with the government or agree to a plea deal, instead choosing to stand her ground and fight the charges leveled against her.
The actress and her husband, designer Mossimo Giannulli, argued that they gave donations, not bribes, to the University of Southern California, according to their lawyer.
The couple’s lawyer, William Trach of Lathan & Watkins, LLP argued that there is “zero evidence” of bribery at a hearing in federal court in Boston on Tuesday.
Despite this, prosecutors maintain that Loughlin and her husband bribed former assistant athletics director Donna Heinel through payments to funds that she controlled and paid bribes that were funneled through a charity set up by William “Rick” Singer, the admission scandal’s mastermind, in order to get their daughters into USC.
Like Loughlin, Heinel has also pleaded not guilty. The defense will maintain that the couple was merely supporting the charity, called the Key Worldwide Foundation, which is a registered non-profit group that gave “legitimate donations” to support opportunities for underprivileged students.
The couple’s lawyer told the court:
“The evidence in this case is there were checks made out to USC Athletics and to a fund at USC. Those checks were cashed by USC, and there were payments to Key Worldwide Foundation.”
Prosecutors argued on Tuesday that both spouses knew about the $500,000 scheme to bribe USC employees and implied that the evidence was stronger against Giannulli, raising questions about the soundness of a joint defense.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Rosen told the judge:
“In this case I do think the evidence here is a bit more challenging than some of the other husband-and-wife defendants we’ve dealt with.”
Rosen alluded to a confrontation between Giannulli and a California high school guidance counselor who said he was suspicious after learning that both daughters, who weren’t rowers, had won admission to USC as recruits for the crew team.
“Obviously that is going to be an important event in the government’s case,” Rosen said.
When asked if they understood the risks involved in dual representation, both Loughlin and Giannulli said that they did, and waived their rights to separate attorneys. Loughlin and Giannulli’s lawyer said it’s “a question of what it is they knew about what it is Mr. Singer may or may not have been doing with Key Worldwide Foundation and in respect to the employees at USC.”
The government has already charged 34 parents in the scandal, 15 of which have already pleaded guilty to fraud. Mastermind William “Rick” Singer has admitted to leading the ring and has pleaded guilty to racketeering charges, in addition to cooperating with the prosecution.
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A world without forests would be an apocalyptic wasteland, and right now we are losing our forests at an astounding rate. As you read this article, more than 10,000 wildfires are ripping through forested areas of South America and Africa, and global leaders seem powerless to do anything about it. Most of the media attention has been on the horrific wildfires in the Amazon rainforest, and we are being told that the number of fires in Brazil is up 85 percent compared to last year. But the number of fires is actually much higher in Africa. In fact, it is being reported that there are “approximately five times as many wildfires burning in Africa than in the Amazon” at this point. Our planet is literally being destroyed right in front of our eyes, and a lot of people don’t seem to care.
Let’s talk about what is going on in the Amazon first. In a previous article, I discussed the fact that there have been more than 72,000 wildfires in Brazil so far this year, and at least 640 million acres have been affected by those fires. CNN arranged for a plane to fly over some of the most heavily damaged areas, and what those on the plane witnessed was almost too horrifying for words…
Flying above the Amazon’s worst afflicted state (during last week), Rondonia, is exhausting mostly because of the endless scale of the devastation. At first, smoke disguised the constant stream of torched fields, and copses; of winding roads that weaved into nothing but ash. Below, the orange specks of a tiny fire might still rage, but much of the land appeared a mausoleum of the forest that once graced it.
“This is not just a forest that is burning,” said Rosana Villar of Greenpeace, who helped CNN arrange its flight over the damaged and burning areas. “This is almost a cemetery. Because all you can see is death.”
The Amazon rainforest has been described as “the lungs of the Earth” because it produces so much of our oxygen, but many people don’t realize that the second largest tropical rainforest in the world is actually in the Congo Basin, and there are even more fires happening there right now.
In fact, according to official data released by NASA, the number of fires in central Africa is more than five times higher than the number of fires currently raging in Brazil…
Data from Nasa’s Fire Information for Resource Management System, showed at least 6,902 fires in Angola and 3,395 burning in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
If you look at the data from NASA’s Fire Information for Resource Management Map (FIRMS), which show a large swatch of fire across Angola, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The alarming area of these fires has left some people wondering why so much attention is being paid to the Amazon, while on the surface it appears Africa is alight with even more blazes. Even French President Emmanuel Macron, who has led the charge for international relief and solutions for the Amazon wildfire and has pledged aid from France, said on Twitter that he would consider starting a similar initiative for sub-Saharan Africa.
Fortunately, the good news is that the fires in the Congo Basin are not as out of control as the fires in the Amazon rainforest, but we are also being told that this could soon change…
Organizations like Greenpeace Africa, which focuses primarily on calling attention to issues of deforestation, are monitoring the situation while acknowledging that as of right now, the fires are relatively “small-scale” compared to the flames the in the Amazon or even previous African wildfires.
But that doesn’t mean the flames are under control. “This is something we could experience again tomorrow if preventative measures are not taken today,” Irène Wabiwa Betoko, Greenpeace Africa Senior Forest Campaign Manager, told Newsweek on Tuesday.
Many of the fires in Africa are being set purposely by farmers in order to clear land, but they are still eroding critical ecosystems. And we cannot afford to continue to treat our planet like this, because we are losing species at an astounding pace.
Earth is seeing an unprecedented loss of species, which some ecologists are calling a sixth mass extinction. In May, a United Nations report warned that 1 million species are threatened by extinction. More recently, 571 plant species were declared extinct.
But extinctions have occurred for as long as life has existed on Earth. The important question is, has the rate of extinction increased? Our research, published today in Current Biology, found some plants have been going extinct up to 350 times faster than the historical average – with devastating consequences for unique species.
How many species do we have to lose before we finally become concerned?
If you follow my work on a regular basis, then you already know that I am deeply concerned about our “culture of death”. Our endless wars have killed thousands, millions of children have been killed in our “clinics”, and we are wiping out countless species of plants and animals without even thinking twice about it.
What kind of monsters have we become? We are so cold and so heartless, and all we seem to care about is ourselves.
Meanwhile, the long-term consequences that so many have warned about are starting to arrive. In fact, a CNN article about the Amazon wildfires that was just published boldly declared that “the apocalyptic future is here, and it is impatient”…
It is hard to see any claims of future doom as alarmist, when you see skylines rendered invisible by smoke, flames march across the plains like lava, and hear disinterested taxi drivers tell you they have never seen it so bad. The apocalyptic future is here, and it is impatient.
For once, I actually agree with CNN.
Given enough time, nothing would survive. We are systematically destroying ourselves and everything around us, and for a while it didn’t seem like we needed to fear the long-term consequences.
But now the dark times are upon us, and the stench of our evil ways has become undeniable.
via ZeroHedge News https://ift.tt/2zowpZl Tyler Durden
President Trump’s Venezuela Envoy, Elliott Abrams, has an offer for Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro; leave power voluntarily and the United States will grant amnesty. While Abrams says he sees no indication that Maduro will step down, his offer was designed to send a message according to the New York Times.
“We’re not after him. We want him to have a dignified exit and go,” said Abrams. “This is not a persecution.”
“We don’t want to prosecute you; we don’t want to persecute you. We want you to leave power.”
(Whoever sent two failed C-4 laden drone-bombs at Maduro last year was after him, we would note.)
Last year, the US Treasury Department claimed that Maduro was profiting from illegal drug trafficking – however charges were not recommended at the time.
As the Times notes, “The softer, if pragmatic, appeal sharply contrasted with the eight months of sanctions, international isolation and threats by the Trump administration of military intervention against Mr. Maduro and his loyalists, who are accused of hoarding power and manipulating elections last year.”
Meanwhile, opposition leader Juan Guaido admitted that talks with Maduro’s government to resolve the ongoing political turmoil – mediated by Norway – “aren’t working,” according to France 24.
Talks mediated by Norway first took place in May in Oslo with several subsequent rounds in Barbados.
But Maduro called off the discussions three weeks ago in response to new US sanctions against his government.
The two sides are deadlocked with Guaido, who sparked the crisis by declaring himself acting president in January, demanding Maduro’s resignation and the government insisting the United States lift sanctions that it blames for the country’s crippled economy.
“At the moment there’s no date to restart the mechanism mediated by the kingdom of Norway until we achieve something concrete to approach a solution,” said Guaido. –France 24
Last week, President Trump said that talks between the White House and Maduro’s government are ongoing “at a very high level.” Hours later, Maduro confirmed that he had authorized his officials to engage in secret negotiations with the United States.
“Sure, there’s been contact and we’ll continue having contact,” said Maduro.
Abrams – going against both Trump and Maduro’s statements on Tuesday, said that’s untrue.
“The notion that we are negotiating is just flat-out wrong,” said Abrams, adding “And the notion that there is a pattern of communication is wrong. There are intermittent messages and I think people would find the very occasional message sent from Washington to be completely predictable: ‘You need to return to democracy. Maduro needs to leave power.’
The comments are likely to soothe Venezuela’s opposition leaders, who have privately said Mr. Trump’s statement risked sidelining their own negotiations. A delegation headed by the opposition’s chief political negotiator, Stalin González, traveled to Washington last week to press American officials on the Trump administration’s policy in Venezuela.
Mr. Abrams said he did not currently see any value in talking directly to Mr. Maduro’s government.
He said messages to Washington from intermediaries in Venezuela have been “pretty rare” since last winter, and the information they carried was dubious. Some may have been sent with Mr. Maduro’s knowledge while others were probably not. –New York Times
Is the Trump admininstration going around the very ‘establishment’ Abrams’ back?
As the Times suggests – “any direct contact between Washington and Mr. Maduro would risk sidelining parallel negotiations — that are mediated by Norway and held in the Caribbean island of Barbados — between the Venezuelan government and opposition officials led by Juan Guaidó, whom the United States views as Venezuela’s rightful president.”
An FBI crime lab is examining two cameras from the area outside Jeffrey Epstein’s cell which reportedly malfunctioned the night he died, according to Reuters, citing a law enforcement source.
The two cameras would have had a view into the Manhattan jail cell where, on August 10, Epstein was found hanging by his bedsheet in what has been ruled a suicide.
The cameras were sent to Quantico, Virginia, site of a major FBI crime lab where agents and forensic scientists analyze evidence.
The Washington Post reported on Monday that at least one camera in the hallway outside Epstein’s cell had footage that was unusable. The newspaper said there was other usable footage captured in the area. –Reuters
During a Tuesday court hearing, Epstein’s lawyers Reid Weingarten and Martin Weinberrg told told US District Judge Richard Berman that they doubted Epstein committed suicide, and that the pedophile’s injuries were “far more consistent with assault” than hanging, according to Weingarten.
Weingarten cited the defense’s own medical sources. Broken bones were found in Epstein’s neck during an autopsy after he died Aug. 10.
Such fractures are somewhat more common in cases of strangulation than in hanging.
Weingarten told the judge that when he and other defense attorneys spoke to Epstein shortly before his death “we did not see a despairing, despondent, suicidal person.”
Weingarten’s comments came during a proceeding where prosecutors were seeking the dismissal of child sex trafficking charges against the Epstein as a result of his death. –CNBC
“We’re skeptical of the certitude,” added the lawyers.
Mike Krieger shared his uncredulity on the matter also:
“They must be joking. Apparently TWO cameras malfunctioned outside of Epstein’s cell? This would be almost comical if it wasn’t so infuriating”
The 66-year-old financier was arrested on July 6 on charges of sex-trafficking minors and pleaded not guilty. He was denied a request for pretrial release, after which he was found with injuries he says were inflicted by his cellmate, according to his attorneys.
During Tuesday’s hearing, 16 women testified that Epstein had sexually abused them. Prosecutors say that while charges have been dropped against the dead pedophile, his potential co-conspirators are not out of hot water.
via ZeroHedge News https://ift.tt/2zqBAb6 Tyler Durden
Apple has formally apologized after they were busted using human contractors listen to customers using the Siri digital assistant – including during sexual encounters.
“We realize we haven’t been fully living up to our high ideals, and for that we apologize,” reads a statement from the company. Several new changes to the privacy policy were also announced.
First, by default, we will no longer retain audio recordings of Siri interactions. We will continue to use computer-generated transcripts to help Siri improve.
Second, users will be able to opt in to help Siri improve by learning from the audio samples of their requests. We hope that many people will choose to help Siri get better, knowing that Apple respects their data and has strong privacy controls in place. Those who choose to participate will be able to opt out at any time.
Third, when customers opt in, only Apple employees will be allowed to listen to audio samples of the Siri interactions. Our team will work to delete any recording which is determined to be an inadvertent trigger of Siri.
The Silicon Valley behemoth was one of several tech companies eavesdropping on customers, including Google, Amazon, Facebook, and Microsoft according to The Verge.
According to a report by The Guardian, Apple contractors were listening to up to 1,000 recordings per day – many of which were triggered accidentally.
Following the report, Apple told The Verge that they would suspend the ‘grading program’ which governs the manual reviews, vs. the company’s policy of retaining random audio clips from Siri for six months, after which they would be stripped of identifying information and kept for another two years.
Wednesday’s announcement, however, is the suspension of both non-optional recordings as well as the entire grading program. The company will no longer keep Siri recordings unless a user opts in. When customers don’t give Apple contractors permission to access their data, only Apple employees will have the ability to do so.
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Amid a 20% crash in the peso and a collapse in government bonds, which pushed the implied risk of default above 80%, IMF delegates arrived in Argentina on Saturday and, as Bloomberg reports, immediately began meetings with policy makers, facing a deja vu choice from two decades ago: risk making the turmoil even worse by withholding a $5.3 billion installment due next month – or cough it up, and risk even more losses with the IMF bailout program on the verge of collapse.
“The IMF has put a lot in – not just money, but prestige,” said Hector Torres, a former executive director at the Fund who represented South American countries.
“The fact that the arrangement is not performing well right now is an embarrassment,” he said. And the September installment is “going to be a difficult call.”
Then earlier today, things got worse as Argentina bond spreads widened to the most in 14 years after opposition leader Alberto Fernandez ripped the debt-laden country’s accord with the International Monetary Fund. Fernandez said much of the IMF loan had been wasted on financing capital flight out of the country.
In a statement following a meeting with IMF officials, Fernandez said he agreed with the objectives of the IMF deal, but added that the IMF and the current government generated the current crisis and are now responsible for reversing the “social catastrophe.”
Argentina has struggled to rollover the debt in the wake of a stunning loss in a primary for the market-friendly government coalition, and now tonight, according to a statement from the finance ministry, Argentina seeks to re-profile $57 billion debt owned to private holders and the International Monetary Fund. Re-profile is a public-relations-friendly way of saying soft-default, but the ministry was quick to explain that there’s no haircut nor change to interest paid.
“It’s important to highlight that this is only an adjustment of maturities.”
The proposal is that Argentina will delay payments on $7 billion of short-term debt
Argentina will pay 15% of its debt at maturity
It will pay 25% of its debt three months after maturity
Final 60% of debt will be paid six months after maturity
Government will continue to pay interest on short-term debt
And will seek Congress authorization to launch a voluntary reprofiling of debt maturing between 2020 and 2023 under local legislation.
“The government is aiming to clear the outlook for the financial program in the short, medium and long-term horizon,” Economy Minister Hernan Lacunzasaid.
“This is due to short-term liquidity stresses and not due to problems with the solvency of the debt.”
Call it what you want, but foreign-currency reserves have plummeted more than $10 billion in the past month as policy makers sought to shore up the peso after the primary on Aug. 11.
Tens of thousands of people marched through the streets today to demand the government do more to mitigate the impact of the economic crisis in a country that has defaulted on its debt eight times since independence from Spain.
But, as we noted last week, while creditors will be hit, it will be the ordinary Argentina citizens that will be crushed: Ordinary Argentines also have traumatic memories of failed IMF programs. Many blame the Fund for the epic collapse of two decades ago, one reason why Macri’s decision to go to the IMF last year was so risky.
“I think it’s neutral to positive,” said Ezequiel Zambaglione, head of strategy at Balanz Capital Valores in Buenos Aires.
“In the worst case scenario, nobody accepts the offer and you are in the same situation as yesterday. And if they reach an agreement and are successful in the swap, you’ll have less funding needs for the next years.”
Finally, after all this, IMF staff are left to do the walk of shame back to Washington to analyze the debt operation announced by Argentine authorities today. According to a statement from IMF spokesperson Gerry Rice:
“Staff understands that the authorities have taken these important steps to address liquidity needs and safeguard reserves.”
“Staff will remain in close contact with the authorities in the period ahead and the Fund will continue to stand with Argentina during these challenging times.”
As we noted previously, Patrick Esteruelas, head of research at EMSO Asset Management in New York, warned “The IMF is in a serious pickle.”
“It reminds me of the saying: If you owe the bank $100, it’s your problem. If you owe the bank $100 million, it’s the bank’s problem.”
We wonder how the Europeans feel now about their new hire as head of The ECB?
But then again, we all know who is on the hook for these losses…
The good ol’ US taxpayer!
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Economists are stating that the next economic crisis will be fueled by Americans’ obsession with and overburdening of themselves with debt. While a staggering number of Americans live paycheck to paycheck with little savings, they also owe massive amounts of money that many will never be able to pay back.
The only saving grace for many American households is that artificially low interest rates have reduced the average debt service levels,according to a report by Seeking Alpha. Americans have been tapped out for a while now, and with many increasing their debt load as opposed to reducing it, a debt crisis could be on the horizon.
While the American consumer won’t be solely to blame when the entire economy comes crashing down, many are doing their part to make it overly difficult when it does. The next collapse will be much worse than the Great Recession of a decade ago, as it will be caused by a combination of household and corporate debt combined with underfunded pensions, according to Real Investment Advice.
Americans have come to believe that they are entitled to “the American dream” and many go deeply into debt to accomplish their version of that utopian ideal. The idea of “maintaining a certain standard of living“ has become a foundation in our society today.
Americans, in general, have come to believe they are “entitled“ to a certain type of house, car, and general lifestyle which includes NOT just the basic necessities of living such as food, running water, and electricity, but also the latest mobile phone, computer, and high-speed internet connection –Seeking Alpha
This entitlement is there whether the income to provide it is there or not. American consumers are not funding their lifestyles with their income, rather with debt. Americans hola a record amount of debt, which totals roughly $1 trillion more than it did in 2008. While Americans are piling on debt, the cost of living has gone up while the purchasing power of the dollar is continuing downward thanks to money printing schemes and the national debt.
“In fact, despite some ups and downs over the past several decades, today’s real average wage (that is, the wage after accounting for inflation) has about the same purchasing power it did 40 years ago. And what wage gains there have been have mostly flowed to the highest-paid tier of workers.” –Pew Research
The data shows that debt is a huge problem in this economy, which is already a debt-based economy and built to fail. The other point far too many don’t want to admit is that Americans would have a lot more money to fuel the economy if the government stopped stealing a substantial amount of their income before they are even paid.
The next “crisis,” will be the “great reset” which will also make it the “last crisis.”
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Former government officials have been receiving strange messages over LinkedIn from Chinese operatives offering “well paid” opportunities to help out Beijing and gain “great access to the Chinese system” for research.
According to the New York Times, it’s all part of a sophisticated network to recruit foreign spies.
A former Danish Foreign Ministry official got LinkedIn messages from someone appearing to be a woman at a Chinese headhunting firm wanting to meet in Beijing. Three middle-aged men showed up instead and said they could help the former official gain “great access to the Chinese system” for research.
A former Obama White House official and career diplomat was befriended on LinkedIn by a person who claimed to be a research fellow at the California Institute of Technology, with a profile page showing connections to White House aides and ambassadors. No such fellow exists. –New York Times
According to Western counterintelligence officials – perhaps even the same ones who conducted espionage on the 2016 Trump campaign – foreign agents are exploiting social media – using LinkedIn as “prime hunting ground.” Warnings have been issued by Britain, German, France and the United States abut foreign agents reaching out to users on the site.
One former government official reported that someone called Robinson Zhang contacted him over LinkedIn. Zhang identified as a “PR Manager” for a company called R&C Capital, while his profile shows the Hong Kong skyline. R&C is listed as “an international consulting company based in Hong Kong,” specializing in “global investment, geopolitical issues, public policy, etc.”
“I’m quite impressed by your CV and think you may be right for some opportunities, which are all well paid,” Zhang wrote the former official – which seemed odd to him.
The words struck him as strange, the former official said, so he asked Mr. Zhang for a website. Mr. Zhang directed him to a home page with an image of the Eiffel Tower but little information about R&C Capital. It appeared to be “something he made up on the fly,” the former official said. (The New York Times viewed the site, which was deleted sometime after The Times emailed the company for an interview request.)
Mr. Zhang repeatedly indicated that his company could pay for a trip to China. The former official asked multiple times for more detail on the company but did not get any substantive responses. –New York Times
The LinkedIn account of a man calling himself Robinson Zhang, who said he worked for R&C Capital, “an international consulting company based in Hong Kong” that specialized in “global investment, geopolitical issues, public policy, etc.”
“We’ve seen China’s intelligence services doing this on a mass scale,” said National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC) director William R. Evanina. NCSC tracks foreign spying and alerts companies to possible infiltration, according to the Times. “Instead of dispatching spies to the U.S. to recruit a single target, it’s more efficient to sit behind a computer in China and send out friend requests to thousands of targets using fake profiles.”
The use of social media by Chinese government operatives for what American officials and executives call nefarious purposes has drawn heightened scrutiny in recent weeks. Facebook, Twitter and YouTube said they deleted accounts that had spread disinformation about the Hong Kong pro-democracy protests. Twitter alone said it removed nearly 1,000 accounts.
It was the first time Facebook and Twitter had taken down accounts linked to disinformation from China. Many governments have employed similar playbooks to sow disinformation since Russia used the tactic to great effect in 2015 and 2016.
LinkedIn, owned by Microsoft, is both another vehicle for potential disinformation and, more important, an ideal one for espionage recruitment, American officials say. –New York Times
Former government officials, meanwhile, are making it really easy for China to identify who to go after – as many ex-feds will list their security clearances on LinkedIn in order to boost their job prospects.
Interestingly, LinkedIn is the only major American social media platform not blocked by Beijing due to the fact that they have agreed to censor posts.
“The Chinese want to build these options with political, academic and business elites,” said former Danish Foreign Ministry official Jonas Parello-Plesner, who reported an apparent Chinese recruiting attempt which began over LinkedIn. “A lot of this thrives in the gray zone or the spectrum between influence-seeking and interference or classical espionage.” Parello-Plesner noted that people who have just parted ways with the government are ‘especially vulnerable’ because they are actively searching for jobs.
According to LinkedIn spokeswoman Nicole Leverich, the company has been proactive in identifying and removing fake and dubious accounts – acting on information from a variety of sources, including government agencies according to the Times.
“We enforce our policies, which are very clear: The creation of a fake account or fraudulent activity with an intent to mislead or lie to our members is a violation of our terms of service,” said Leverich.
In multiple recent cases, LinkedIn proved to be an effective recruiting tool. A former employee of the C.I.A. and Defense Intelligence Agency, Kevin Patrick Mallory, was sentenced in May to 20 years in prison for spying for China. The relationship began after he replied in February 2017 to a LinkedIn message from a Chinese intelligence agent posing as a think tank representative,the F.B.I. said.
The Justice Department last October charged a Chinese intelligence agent, Yanjun Xu, with economic espionage after he recruited a GE Aviation engineer in a relationship that began on LinkedIn, according to the indictment.
Mr. Evanina, the counterintelligence chief, told Reuters last yearthat Chinese agents were contacting thousands of people at a time on LinkedIn. “It’s the ultimate playground for collection,” he said. –New York Times
“Foreign intelligence services are looking for anyone with access to the information they want, whether classified or unclassified, including corporate trade secrets, intellectual property and other research,” said Evanina.
Parello-Plesner, the Danish official, was contacted in 2011 by someone using the name Grace Woo. Woo said she worked for a headhunting company in Hangzhou, China called DRHR. When she discovered that Parello-Plesner would be in Beijing in 2012, she suggested a meeting in Hangzhou – asking for an image of his passport in order to make travel arrangements which he declined.
He did, however, agree to meet at the St. Regis Hotel in Beijing. While Woo never showed up, a young man claiming to be from DRHR led the former official to a conference room where ‘three middle-aged men welcomed him,’ and explained they were from a government research organization. They had no business cards.
“I thought, ‘This meeting is very dodgy,” said Parello-Plesner, who added that the men said they could fund his research if he worked with them.
Instead, Parello-Plesner reported the contact to British officials after he returned to his home in London.
Jonas Parello-Plesner, a former Danish Foreign Ministry official, reported an apparent recruiting attempt by the Chinese that began over LinkedIn.CreditCreditCarsten Snejbjerg for The New York Times
“If I were LinkedIn, I would proactively do my homework now,” adding “This is just the tip of the iceberg.”
DRHR was one of three companies German domestic intelligence officials singled out in December 2017 as front organizations for Chinese agents. Those officials concluded that Chinese agents had used LinkedIn to try to contact 10,000 Germans, and LinkedIn shut down some accounts, including those of DRHR and Ms. Woo.
Last October, French intelligence agencies told the government that Chinese agents had used social networks — LinkedIn in particular — to try to contact 4,000 French individuals. Targets included government employees, scientists and company executives, according to Le Figaro, the French newspaper. –New York Times
So remember former Western officials, beware Chinese LinkedIn users bearing gifts.
via ZeroHedge News https://ift.tt/2MH2gNm Tyler Durden
