Monthly Archives: August 2012

How some big companies are solving their exposure to the euro

Patrick Barron:

open quoteFrom today’s Open Europe news summary:

The Times reports that the continuing eurozone crisis has compelled Royal Dutch Shell to withdraw some of its substantial cash reserves from European banks, intensifying fears of capital flight from the eurozone. Separately, the FT reports that in addition to reducing their net exposure to troubled eurozone countries, US banks have been working “behind the scenes” to ensure that if a country leaves the eurozone, they will not have to receive payments in its new devalued currency.
Times FT

This may be how the euro ends…large depositors and foreign banks pull their deposits, creating a liquidity crisis that the ECB tries to paper over with even more funny money…which merely causes even more depositors to pull their deposits until the euro loses its value completely. This is called an old-fashioned bank run, which exposes the fraud of fractional reserve banking.close quote

Labour wanted mass immigration to make UK more multicultural, says former adviser

open quote The huge increases in migrants over the last decade were partly due to a politically motivated attempt by ministers to radically change the country and “rub the Right’s nose in diversity”, according to Andrew Neather, a former adviser to Tony Blair, Jack Straw and David Blunkett.

He said Labour’s relaxation of controls was a deliberate plan to “open up the UK to mass migration” but that ministers were nervous and reluctant to discuss such a move publicly for fear it would alienate its “core working class vote”.

As a result, the public argument for immigration concentrated instead on the economic benefits and need for more migrants.

Critics said the revelations showed a “conspiracy” within Government to impose mass immigration for “cynical” political reasons. close quote (Read more)

Kidnapping victim found tied up in NYPD detective’s garage, sources say

There are the people who have a monopoly on the providing of security.

open quotePolice tracked the victim to the house in St. Albans off the victim’s cell phone pings.

When police arrived Friday night, they found the victim tied up in the garage.

Johnson denied any involvement with the kidnapping, but his cousin, Hakeem Clark — who lives in the other half of the detective’s two-family home — has been charged with kidnapping, along with three other men.close quote (Read more)

Romney: ‘No option should be excluded’ in stopping a nuclear Iran

open quoteJERUSALEM—Speaking against the backdrop of the historic Old City, Mitt Romney signaled he supports Israel’s right to “defend itself” against its enemies and said “any and all measures” should be considered in the world’s efforts to stop Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.

The Republican candidate said preventing a nuclear Iran should be America’s “highest national security priority.” And while he argued that diplomatic efforts should continue, Romney insisted that all options should be on the table in dealing with Iran, including a military strike.close quote (Read more)

The world’s first 3D-printed gun

Love it. Gun control just got a whole lot tougher.

open quoteAn American gunsmith has become the first person to construct and shoot a pistol partly made out of plastic, 3D-printed parts. The creator, user HaveBlue from the AR-15 forum, has reportedly fired 200 rounds with his part-plastic pistol without any sign of wear and tear.

HaveBlue’s custom creation is a .22-caliber pistol, formed from a 3D-printed AR-15 (M16) lower receiver, and a normal, commercial upper. In other words, the main body of the gun is plastic, while the chamber — where the bullets are actually struck — is solid metal.

The lower receiver was created using a fairly old school Stratasys 3D printer, using a normal plastic resin. HaveBlue estimates that it cost around $30 of resin to create the lower receiver, but “Makerbots and the other low cost printers exploding onto the market would bring the cost down to perhaps $10.” Commercial, off-the-shelf assault rifle lower receivers are a lot more expensivclose quote (Read more)

Obama signs Israel military aid bill on eve of Romney visit

open quoteOn the eve of Mitt Romney’s visit to Israel, President Barack Obama signed into law a military aid bill for that staunch American ally at a much-publicized White House ceremony that highlighted the political advantages of incumbency.

“What this legislation does is bring together all the outstanding cooperation that we have seen, really, at an unprecedented level between our two countries that underscore our unshakable commitment to Israel security,” Obama said as he signed the measure at his desk in the Oval Office.

The president also announced he would speed another $70 million to Israel to advance the so-called “Iron Dome” short-range missile defense system, a response to sustained rocket fire from Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

“This is a program that has been critical in terms of providing security and safety for the Israeli families,” he said. “We are standing by our friends in Israel when it comes to these kinds of attacks.”

The signing ceremony, a relatively uncommon event in the Obama White House, fit a pattern this week of the administration trumpeting relations with Britain, Israel and Poland—the three countries on Romney’s trip overseas to polish his diplomatic credentials.

“I hope that, as I sign as this bill, once again everybody understands how committed all of us are—Republicans and Democrats—as Americans to our friends in making sure that Israel is safe and secure,” said Obama.close quote (Read more)