Authored by Max Boddy via CoinTelegraph.com, The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has arrested power plant operators for mining cryptocurrency in the Yuzhnoukrainsk nuclear power plant facility.  image courtesy of CoinTelegraph English-language Ukrainian news site UNIAN reported the details of the arrest on Aug. 21. According to its article, the crypto miners compromised the nuclear facility’s security via their mining setup’s internet connection – and reportedly ended up leaking classified information on the plant’s physical protection system. According to local media reports, on July 10, the SBU confiscated six Radeon RX 470 GPU video cards, a motherboard, power supplies and extension cords, a USB and hard drive, and cooling units installed in the South Ukrainian Nuclear Power Plant. The same day, a National Guard of Ukraine branch uncovered additional … [Read More...]

Authored by John Whitehead via The Rutherford Institute, “The most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think things out … without regard to the prevailing superstitions and taboos. Almost inevitably he comes to the conclusion that the government he lives under is dishonest, insane, intolerable.” – H. L. Mencken The U.S. government is working hard to destabilize the nation. No, this is not another conspiracy theory. Although it is certainly not far-fetched to suggest that the government might be engaged in nefarious activities that run counter to the best interests of the American people, doing so will likely brand me a domestic terrorist under the FBI’s new classification system. Observe for yourself what is happening right before our eyes. Domestic … [Read More...]

Authored by John Mauldin via MauldinEconomics.com, I am back from my 14th annual Maine fishing camp. The private event at Leen’s Lodge is generally called Camp Kotok in honor of David Kotok of Cumberland Advisors who started these outings many years ago. CNBC and others began calling it the “Shadow Fed,” but it is really just a meeting of wickedly smart people focused on economics and markets. (I am allowed to attend for comic relief.) We discussed the world’s problems and the general mood was that many of those problems are beginning to catch up. Among other topics, there was an open “debate” about Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) and US fiscal strategy. There was the usual pushback, but I have to admit that I … [Read More...]

Authored by By Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers via ConsortiumNews.com, Hong Kong is one of the most extreme examples of big finance, neoliberal capitalism in the world. As a result, many people in Hong Kong are suffering from great economic insecurity in a city with 93 billionaires, second-most of any city. Hong Kong protesters waving U.S. flags last week. (YouTube) Hong Kong is suffering the effects of being colonized by Britain for more than 150 years following the Opium Wars. The British put in place a capitalist economic system and Hong Kong has had no history of self-rule. When Britain left, it negotiated an agreement that prevents China from changing Hong Kong’s political and economic systems for 50 years by making Hong Kong a Special Administrative … [Read More...]

Authored by Richard Breslow via Bloomberg, If you did a word cloud search on today’s market stories, you would probably get back, “on poor volumes”. Traders have, very understandably, hunkered down to wait for Jackson Hole, the G-7 and Labor Day. Although, as far as the last of those items is concerned, it remains to be seen if the first two will give them the luxury of that final week of August vacation. After these events, let’s hope investors aren’t left scratching around for strategies they can live with, and letting their imaginations run wild, until the central bank meetings scheduled in September. That would be an inexcusable communication fail and hardly just the clever by-product of policy makers thinking they will get more bang for … [Read More...]

Authored by Gordon Chang via The Gatestone Institute, The People’s Republic of China, nonetheless, is already an AI powerhouse, and for America to maintain its edge – and to prevent U.S. tech from being used for exceedingly disturbing purposes – Washington should force U.S. companies to end cooperative AI projects in China. The West should be seriously concerned: whoever wins at AI will both dominate the global economy and field the most destructive conventional military force. Unfortunately, American companies are helping China’s leaders in what many call – correctly – crimes against humanity. For instance, AI researchers from Microsoft, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and Michigan State University gave keynote speeches at the Chinese Conference on Biometric Recognition in Xinjiang in August of last year on facial recognition, a social-control … [Read More...]

A Tesla that was sitting on a rack waiting for repair in Hangzhou, China suddenly caught fire yesterday morning, according to Chinese media. The Hangzhou Fire Command Center received a fire alarm call and responded to find a Tesla “hanging in the air” and on fire. The incident took place at 1:45 AM on August 18 when the Hangzhou Fire Command Center received a report that a Tesla repair shop had smoke coming from it. The fire department dispatched three vehicles to the incident, which was located in the Jiangnan Building Materials Market on Binkang Road, a Tesla authorized spray center called Hangzhou Xincheng Express Cat Auto Service Co., Ltd. When the firefighters arrived, they found that the building was full of smoke and there was poor visibility. They … [Read More...]

Authored by Jennifer Matsui via Counterpunch,org, Media tycoon and former Labour MP Robert Maxwell (father of Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein’s partner in crime) was given a state funeral in Jerusalem after *accidentally* falling off his yacht – the unluckily named “Lady Ghislaine”. Later it was revealed Maxwell Sr was a Mossad asset who used his vast network of connections and publishing platforms to run editorial interference over his purchased assets to influence enemies and friends alike, ensuring their fealty to the foreign government that had enlisted him for its espionage work. His tabloid empire was the piss-colored propaganda organ of the interests he served, overseeing its rapid growth and tentacled reach across the globe. More ominously, he was behind the spy agency’s successful attempt to … [Read More...]

Trump’s chief economic advisor, Larry Kudlow, pushed back against fears of an economic downturn on Sunday saying, “I don’t see a recession at all” when asked by guest host Dana Perino whether the Trump administration is considering concrete steps to stave off a potential recession after the 2s10s yield curve inverted last week. As a reminder, every 2s10s inversion since 1956 has seen a recession follow, with the average length of time until a recession begins is 16 months. “The Trump pro-growth program, which I believe has been succeeding, we’re going to stay with that,” Kudlow told Perino.”There’s no recession on the horizon,” he added. “What’s wrong with a little optimism?” He then repeated for good measure that “I don’t see a … [Read More...]

Authored by Jason Ditz via AntiWar.com, Secret talks have been ongoing between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, focused on sharing intelligence against Iran and possibly military cooperation. The talks have progressed to the point that the US is now joining the talks too. Israel and the UAE have some security ties, but don’t have public relations. That they’re discussing Iran reflects Israel’s long-standing hostility toward Iran, and the UAE’s close proximity to Iran. Iranian Revolutionary Guards drive speedboats at the port of Bandar Abbas. Image source: AFP While some are presenting the US joining of the talks as proof they are making progress, a lot isn’t understood about what’s going on, and particularly unclear is what the UAE is trying to work out.  The … [Read More...]

Even if China continues to thwart US sanctions on Iran, in the case of Venezuela Trump appears to be gaining the upper hand.  Bloomberg reported Friday that China National Petroleum Corp. (parent company of oil giant PetroChina Ltd) — the country’s biggest energy company — is for the first time in over a decade backing away from Vezenuelan crude, canceling shipments in August:  China National Petroleum Corp. has canceled plans to load about 5 million barrels worth of Venezuelan oil onto ships this month in the aftermath of the latest executive order by President Donald Trump, according to people with knowledge of the situation who asked not to be identified discussing proprietary information. Image via Venezuela Analysis Beijing is seeking to reduce its exposure to the risk of … [Read More...]

Authored by Brandon Smith via Alt-Market.com, You can bet that whenever you find people analyzing the root of a problem you will also find other people trying to derail those efforts with dishonest arguments. For reasons that we can guess at but are rarely able to confirm, there are some folks out there that get rather agitated at constructive discussion among their fellow humans. One of the most common tactics for hijacking the discussion of a problem is to suggest that it is “all pointless” unless those same people can offer a grand solution to the problem. This is Alinsky-style disruption 101. The reality is that most problems can only be solved once at least a portion of the public is made aware of them. … [Read More...]

It’s been an  ugly week for cryptos… Source: Bloomberg Although Bitcoin is managing to hold just above $10,000… Source: Bloomberg Nevertheless, as CoinTelegraph’s Marie Huillet notes, Bitcoin investors are no longer as buoyant as they were three months ago, judging by the latest readings from the Crypto Fear and Greed Index (CFGI). image courtesy of CoinTelegraph On Aug. 14, the Bitcoin-only index — which plots investor sentiment on a scale of 1 to 100 (where 1 represents doom and foreboding and 100 indicates blithe optimism and greed) — hit its lowest levels since December 2018. Today: “fear,” yesterday: “extreme fear” Just under three months ago, in late June, Bitcoin (BTC) investors had seemingly hit a level of unbridled optimism, with the CFGI reporting readings of as high as 95. As of press … [Read More...]

Authored by Tim Kirby via The Strategic Culture Foundation, Geopolitics is based on the nature of politics and relations defined by the real spaces in which we live. Over time thanks to technology these spaces have changed and have become much closer. The seas that used to make a ground invasion impossible have become much smaller on a planet where a nuclear strike could hit any location in the world in a matter of hours or some would speculate minutes. Technology has also opened up new spaces onto which a geopolitical logic can be applied. In fact there is a surprising correlation between the layout of the world’s current military landscape and its digital geopolitical landscape and this is not by some bit of random chance. If … [Read More...]

Authored by Venand Meliksetian via OilPrice.com, OPEC is dead, long live OPEC+. Arguably the collaboration between the world’s two largest exporters of oil, Russia and Saudi Arabia, is a significant development caused by and comparable to the shale revolution in the U.S. Desperate times require desperate measures. A decade ago, a partnership between Moscow and Riyadh would have seemed impossible due to contradicting interests. Recent developments have somewhat aligned the countries into what has been dubbed OPEC+. However, this doesn’t mean that Russian and Saudi exporters aren’t competitors anymore. In fact, the oil behemoths are contending more than ever for market share in Asian markets such as China. Also, Moscow and Riyadh take into consideration the relative position of their competitor and partner during further … [Read More...]

Authored by John Miltimore via The Foundation for Economic Education, The Associated Press reports Congress is seriously considering red flag gun laws. These laws, also called “extreme risk protection orders,” allow courts to issue orders allowing law enforcement to seize firearms from people who’ve committed no crime but are believed to be a danger to themselves or others. President Trump has signaled his backing of bipartisan Senate legislation sponsored by Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn. “We must make sure that those judged to pose a grave risk to public safety do not have access to firearms and that if they do those firearms can be taken through rapid due process,” Trump said in a White House speech. Red flag … [Read More...]

Dow futures are extending overnight losses, now down 700 points as the cash Dow nears its 200DMA and yuan tumbles… Yesterday’s buying-panic gains are a distant memory… Dow cash is falling very close to its 200DMA once again… will it hold this time. And Yuan is starting to catch down to stocks… Source: Bloomberg Gold is bid… But oil is tanking… And we know who to blame (according to President Trump) “The Fed has got to do something! The Fed is the Central Bank of the United States, not the Central Bank of the World.” Mark Grant @Varneyco Correct! The Federal Reserve acted far too quickly, and now is very, very late. Too bad, so much to gain on the upside! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) … [Read More...]

Authored by John Whitehead via The Rutherford Institute, “It is often the case that police shootings, incidents where law enforcement officers pull the trigger on civilians, are left out of the conversation on gun violence. But a police officer shooting a civilian counts as gun violence. Every time an officer uses a gun against an innocent or an unarmed person contributes to the culture of gun violence in this country.” – Journalist Celisa Calacal Yes, gun violence is a problem in America, although violent crime generally remains at an all-time low. Yes, mass shootings are a problem in America, although while they are getting deadlier, they are not getting more frequent. Yes, mentally ill individuals embarking on mass shooting sprees are a problem in America. However, … [Read More...]

Authored by David Stockman via Contra Corner blog, When something like the truly freakish chart below appears, you’d think that even the Wall Street gamblers would get their collective heads out of the sand. The fact that in September 2017 Austria was able to issue a 100-year bond at a mere 2.1% yield was crazy enough. After all, the old Austria (Austro-Hungarian Empire) disappeared exactly 100 years ago at the Versailles Conference; the rump state left behind was nearly crushed by Hitler in the 1930s and the Soviet Union in the 1950’s; and for the last 70-years inflation has averaged 2% at least, while the welfare state keeps growing and taxes keep rising. So why so-called “investors” purchased a 100-year bond with the prospect of virtually no … [Read More...]

China’s agriculture ministry warned in June that it found fall armyworms in 21 provinces, across 333,000 hectares of crops. Fall armyworms (Spodoptera frugiperda) are a destructive garden pest that can destroy a variety of crops as well as grasses. Chinese officials are worried about prevention and control measures of the pest might be failing, which could lead to crop losses this year. Beijing warned fall armyworms could damage hundreds, if not thousands of hectares of crops, leading to possible food security issues for the country. To counter the pest, China has requested farmers in the 21 provinces to use government-approved pesticides. The “heart-devouring worm” – as locals call it – has spread almost 1,900 miles north since migrating from neighboring Myanmar earlier this year, now threatens 21 provinces and regions in China … [Read More...]