Monthly Archives: December 2015

IMF Approves Reserve-Currency Status for China’s Yuan

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“The IMF will add the yuan to its basket of reserve currencies, an international stamp of approval of the strides China has made integrating into a global economic system dominated for decades by the U.S., Europe and Japan.  It’s the first change in the SDR’s currency composition since 1999, when the euro replaced the deutsche mark and French franc. It’s also a milestone in a decades-long ascent toward international credibility for the yuan, which was created after World War II and for years could be used only domestically in the Communist-controlled nation. The IMF reviews the composition of the basket every five years and rejected the yuan during the last review, in 2010.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-11-30/imf-backs-yuan-in-reserve-currency-club-after-rejection-in-2010

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Canadian, Aussie, NZ Dollars All Plunge on Commodity Drop, Fed Rate Rise

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“Currencies of nations linked to commodity exports tumbled as crude oil reached almost its lowest level since February 2009, one day after the Federal Reserve’s decision to boost interest rates. The Canadian dollar has tumbled 17 percent this year amid a rout in oil, Canada’s second-largest export, reaching an 11-year low. The dollars of Australia and New Zealand tumbled more than one percent Thursday as a measure of raw materials prices fell to a 1999 low.  Exporting nations have been hurt as commodity prices have fallen 27 percent this year, the most since 2008, as a glut in supply meets slowing demand for raw materials amid patchy global economic growth.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-12-17/canadian-dollar-resumes-plunge-on-oil-decline-fed-rate-increase

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Latin America Says ‘Adiós’ to the Populist Left

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“The defeat of the Kirchner government in Argentina was the first strong sign of the new Latin American zeitgeist. Next Sunday Venezuelan voters, the polls tell us, will strongly repudiate the Hugo Chávez legacy, although widespread election fraud is likely. Chavisimo won’t go quietly.  Similar stories are emerging elsewhere. Barely 10 percent of Brazilians support President Rousseff, and legal proceedings began this week that could lead to her impeachment. Ecuador’s Correa had to suspend his attempt to change the election rules so he could seek permanent reelection. The recent elections and polls are a clear shift toward free markets and transparent government.”

http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=8608

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Brazil Shuts Down WhatsApp, Wants To Shut Down The Social Web

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“A judge in Sao Paulo has ordered WhatsApp to shut down for 48 hours, starting at 9pm Eastern tonight.  WhatsApp is the single most used app in Brazil, with about 93 million users, or 93% of the country’s internet population. It’s a particularly useful service for Brazil’s youth and poor, many who cannot afford to pay the most expensive plans on the planet.  But if Brazil’s conservative Congress gets its way, they’re going to take down the entire social web as we know it, with bills circulating through the legislature to criminalize posting social media content and to allow the government to spy on its citizens.”

http://techcrunch.com/2015/12/16/brazils-congress-has-shut-down-whatsapp-tonight-and-the-rest-of-the-social-web-could-be-next/

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Thousands of Brazilians march for president’s removal

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“Thousands took to the streets in cities across Brazil demanding that embattled President Dilma Rousseff — facing a weak economy and calls for her impeachment — be removed from office.  It was the fourth time this year that demonstrators across the sprawling nation of 204 million marched to demand the removal of the country’s first female president.  Political uncertainty is adding to the country’s economic woes, with GDP down 4.5 percent in the third quarter year-on-year, and the national currency down a third against the dollar this year.  With her approval ratings at only 10 percent, Rousseff has little political support to mount a defense.”

http://news.yahoo.com/weak-turnout-brazil-impeachment-protests-180205914.html

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Drone owners must register with FAA, starting December 21

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“The Federal Aviation Administration said Monday that US residents must register hobbyist drones by February 19 at its drone registration website. Registration opens December 21 and is free through January 20, the agency said. After that, the FAA will charge $5 for registration.  Accepting the guidance of an advisory panel, the FAA said registration is required for any hobbyist drone weighing between 0.55 pounds and 55 pounds. That weight limit includes even relatively small drones like the $549 Parrot Bebop 2, not just the serious $1,000 hobby-oriented models from companies like DJI. The FAA’s registration rule (PDF) applies only to hobbyist drones.”

http://www.cnet.com/news/faa-to-open-drone-registration-on-december-21/

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A Secret Catalogue of Government Gear for Spying on Your Cellphone

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“The catalogue includes details on the Stingray, a well-known brand of surveillance gear, as well as Boeing ‘dirt boxes’ and dozens of more obscure devices that can be mounted on vehicles, drones, and piloted aircraft. Some are designed to be used at static locations, while others can be discreetly carried by an individual. They have names like Cyberhawk, Yellowstone, Blackfin, Maximus, Cyclone, and Spartacus. Within the catalogue, the NSA is listed as the vendor of one device, while another was developed for use by the CIA, and another was developed for a special forces requirement. Nearly a third of the entries focus on equipment that seems to have never been described in public before.”

https://theintercept.com/2015/12/17/a-secret-catalogue-of-government-gear-for-spying-on-your-cellphone/

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9/11 anti-sledding provision repealed in $1.15 trillion federal spending deal

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“The sledding ban on the hill was implemented after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The publication covered enforcement of the sledding ban last February, when a group of frustrated parents and cherubic kids briefly slid down the hill as protest (above), before being told to leave by Capitol police.  According to a report on The Atlantic, the tug of war between children and the government for use of Capitol Hill grounds dates back to a 1875 law intended to ‘to prevent any portion of the Capitol Grounds and terraces from being used as playgrounds or otherwise, so far as may be necessary to protect the public property, turf and grass from destruction or injury.'”

http://www.theverge.com/2015/12/16/10323328/capitol-hill-sledding-spending-bill-washington-dc

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Congress adds contested cybersecurity measures to ‘must-pass’ spending bill

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“Congress added some of the most controversial parts of the latest cybersecurity bill to its gigantic end-of-year ‘must-pass’ omnibus spending package, including mandatory sharing of any consumer data it collects with the Internal Revenue Service, FBI and the National Security Agency.  Civil liberties experts said they were dismayed that Congress had used the late-night bill to pass some of the most invasive parts of the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (Cisa).  Language that would have prevented consumer financial data from being shared directly with the NSA, for example, is not in the final version of the bill.”

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/dec/16/congress-cybersecurity-information-sharing-cisa-spending-bill

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Jacob Hornberger: Do You Want Your Children to Die for Montenegro?

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“Get used to the possibility that your son or daughter might end up dying for Montenegro because that country has just been invited to become the latest member of NATO, the Cold War organization that was brought into existence to defend Europe from America’s World War II partner and ally, the Soviet Union.  Just in case you’ve never heard of Montenegro or maybe don’t know where it is, here’s a link to Wikipedia’s page on the country: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montenegro. It seems to me that if your son or daughter might have to die in the defense of Montenegro, you might want to know a little about it or at least where it is located.”

http://fff.org/2015/12/11/do-you-want-your-children-to-die-for-montenegro/

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