XIAM007

Making Unique Observations in a Very Cluttered World

Wednesday 13 November 2013

Russian Lawmaker Proposes Bill Outlawing U.S. Dollar... says 'Collapse will take place in 2017'... -

Russian Lawmaker Proposes Bill Outlawing U.S. Dollar... says 'Collapse will take place in 2017'... - 



Predicting the imminent collapse of the U.S. dollar, a Russian lawmaker submitted a bill to the country’s parliament on Wednesday that would ban the use or possession of the American currency.
Mikhail Degtyarev, the lawmaker who proposed the bill, compared the dollar to a Ponzi scheme. He warned that the government would have to bail out Russians holding the U.S. currency if it collapsed.
“If the U.S. national debt continues to grow, the collapse of the dollar system will take place in 2017,” said Mr. Degtyarev, a member of the nationalist Liberal Democrat Party who was a losing candidate in Moscow’s recent mayoral election.
“The countries that will suffer the most will be those that have failed to wean themselves off their dependence on the dollar in time. In light of this, the fact that confidence in the dollar is growing among Russian citizens is extremely dangerous.”
The bill would partially revive a Soviet-era ban on the dollar. It would prohibit Russians from holding dollars in the country’s banks, and banks also would be unable to carry out transactions in the dollar.
However, Russians still would be able to buy or sell dollars while abroad, as well as hold dollar accounts in foreign banks.
The Central Bank of the Russian Federation and the government would be exempt from the law.
Russian financial experts were largely critical of the bill, which they suggested was more about making political capital on the back of rising anti-U.S. sentiments in Russia than protecting the country’s economy.
“The American financial system, despite all its existing problems, remains the most stable and low-risk in the world,” financial analyst Andrei Shenk said.
He also warned that the bill would harm Russia’s investment climate.
Another expert warned that the bill would strip Russians of the ability to flee the country to seek greater political and social freedoms.
“The right to the free exchange of currencies is a fundamental element of capitalism,” said Moscow-based economics expert Igor Suzdaltsev. “It allows citizens to leave the country when a dictatorship is imposed by selling their property and exchanging their assets for the necessary currency.”

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Dog Follows Owner To Hospital To Make Sure He's OK -

Dog Follows Owner To Hospital To Make Sure He's OK -



A dog named Burke is really earning the moniker of man's best friend.

After an allegedly intoxicated truck driver crashed into an Idaho home last week, injuring Burke's family, the black Great Dane is believed to have followed an ambulance to a hospital in search of his owner, Jeffrey Groat.

According to The Associated Press, Burke was found near the hospital's emergency room and taken in by a local resident Thursday. It wasn't until the man noticed a photo of the dog along with an article about the accident in a daily newspaper, that it became fairly clear what happened.

"[Burke's] been hanging out in the guy's living room," Brandi Bieber, a family friend, told the Coeur d'Alene Press. "They picked him up Thursday night near the emergency room. We think maybe the dog followed the ambulance and sounds of the sirens."

With the hospital less than a mile away, it's conceivable that Burke followed his owner to the facility. After all, dogs have been known to travel considerable distances in search of their owners. Last year, a 7-year-old husky named Zander sulked for days after his owner checked into a hospital, but the animal managed to track the man down and waited patiently outside the building, which was 2 miles away.

While hospitalized with a broken collarbone, shoulder and ribs, Groat repeatedly asked about Burke, who he thought had gone missing shortly after the truck plowed through house. On Saturday, after the resident saw Burke's photo in the paper, Groat was finally reunited with his beloved pup.

"It was unbelievable," Groat told the Press, describing the surprise reunion organized by his friends. "It made my day. I didn't even feel my broken bones then."

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Prince Charles to begin collecting pension... Still hasn't started job he was born for... -

Prince Charles to begin collecting pension...  Still hasn't started job he was born for... - 



Prince Charles plans to claim the government pension he qualifies for when he turns 65 on Thursday, but he still hasn't started the job he was born to do.

The eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II has been heir to the throne since his mother became monarch in 1952, when he was 3. He is the longest-waiting heir apparent in Britain's history, overtaking Queen Victoria's son, Edward VII, two years ago.

Charles became a grandfather earlier this year with the birth of Prince George, the first child born to Prince William and his wife, Kate.

Palace officials said Wednesday that Charles will contribute the government pension to a charity that helps elderly people.

The future king is entitled to about 110 pounds ($175) per week because of his service in the Royal Navy and voluntary contributions he has made.

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Americans 34 Times More Interested In Buying Guns Than Obamacare -

Americans 34 Times More Interested In Buying Guns Than Obamacare - 



It would appear that the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) website - required when purchasing a gun or explosive – is capable of handling large volumes of users…

Americans 34 Times More Interested In Buying Guns Than Obamacare 20131112 NICS

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Facebook Patented Making NSA Data Handoffs Easier - while denying that Facebook was ever 'part of any program -

Facebook Patented Making NSA Data Handoffs Easier - while denying that Facebook was ever 'part of any program - 



"In June, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg blasted 'outrageous press reports' about the PRISM surveillance program, denying that Facebook was ever 'part of any program to give the U.S. or any other government direct access to our servers.' What Zuckerberg didn't mention, and what the press overlooked, is that the USPTO granted Facebook a patent in May for its Automated Writ Response System. Like the NSA-enabling systems described by the NY Times on the same day Zuckerberg cried foul, the patent covers technical methods to more efficiently share the personal data of users with law enforcement agencies (LEAs) in response to lawful government requests via APIs and secured portals installed at company-controlled locations. 'While handing over data in response to a legitimate FISA request is a legal requirement,' the Times noted, 'making it easier for the government to get the information is not, which is why Twitter could decline to do so.'"

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SURVEY: 40% of IT Professionals Have Had to Remove Porn Viruses From Boss's Computer... -

SURVEY: 40% of IT Professionals Have Had to Remove Porn Viruses From Boss's Computer... - 



A new survey by ThreatTrack Security shows that IT professionals spend a great deal of time fixing problems caused by company executives visiting pornographic websites on company devices.

The survey published earlier this month looks at cybersecurity challenges within U.S. enterprises.

Around 40 percent of the survey respondents said that one of the most difficult aspects of defending their company’s network was the fact that they don't have enough highly-skilled security personnel on staff.

They also said their time is often spent dealing with easily avoidable malware infections originating at the highest levels of their organization.

Malware analysts say that a device used by a member of their senior leadership team had become infected with malware due to executives visiting a pornographic website 40 percent of the time.

Problems caused after clicking on a malicious link in a phishing email were reported 56 percent of the time. Problems found after allowing a family member to use a company-owned device were at 45 percent. Problems after executives installed a malicious mobile app were at 33 percent.

The survey also says that nearly 6 in 10 malware analysts reported they have investigated or addressed a data breach that was never disclosed by their company.

More that half of all malware analysts said it typically takes them more than 2 hours to analyze a new malware sample. 4 percent say they are capable of analyzing a new malware sample in less than an hour.

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