Sunday, December 20, 2020

There are a great deal of optimism about Brexit. There are plenty of opportunity for the financial sector is rock solid real opportunity.

The end of this pandemic may still lie in a variety of strategies, including shutdowns to reduce the spread. The longer the virus is exposed to human beings the more likely it will become more and more virulent. It Is important a decent man takes the helm of the USA and end this disarray and terror.



December 16, 2020

By Elliot Smith

London - Sterling broke through the long-awaited $1.35 barrier (click here) on Wednesday morning after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said progress had been made toward a post-Brexit trade deal between the U.K. and the European Union.

Addressing the European Parliament, von der Leyen said that while she could not say whether there would or would not be a deal, “there is a path to an agreement now” and the next few days will be critical.

“We have found a way forward on most issues but two issues remain outstanding: the level playing field and fisheries,” von der Leyen said.

“I am glad to report that the issues linked to governance now have largely been resolved. The next few days are going to be decisive.”...

“If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs.”

December 17, 2020
By Emily Graffeo

The most important words (click here) in the inauguration speech were ‘protection will lead to great prosperity and strength.’ The border-adjustment tax was the answer to corporate-tax reform; it’s trade protectionism.“ ——David Rosenberg.


Economist David Rosenberg (click here) told Bloomberg he believes bitcoin is in a bubble and investors don't understand supply dynamics of the cryptocurrency.

"You speak to most people that are asking me to put money in bitcoin, they can't even tell you who the person was that developed it or even how it's actually mined," the Rosenberg Research chief economist said. "It's just a classic, follow-the-herd, extremely crowded trade. It's in a massive bubble."

Bitcoin reached a record high of $23,777 on Thursday shortly after topping $20,000 for the first time ever on Wednesday, marking a 20% gain over the past day. The cryptocurrency is now up over 200% year-to-date, but Rosenberg said the chart looks "absolutely crazy right now."

Bitcoin's rally comes as several institutional investors and fund managers place sky-high predictions for the coin. On Wednesday, Guggenheim's global chief investment officer, Scott Minerd, said bitcoin will surge to $400,000 based on its scarcity and value relative to gold....

The new administration of President Joe Biden has a great deal of rebuilding the infrastructure that protects Americans.

There has been extensive damage done to these agencies, the scientists that support them, and the labs. It is believed the labs were destroyed and decades of files destroyed.

16 December 2020
By "Nature" Editorial Board

When former US president Richard Nixon (click here) proposed establishing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1970, he spoke of the need to preserve Earth as a place that is both habitable by — and hospitable to — people. Nixon, a Republican, acknowledged his own fear of creating a new federal bureaucracy. But the task of rescuing the natural environment, he argued, required a strong, independent agency that would be able to marshal “a coordinated attack on the pollutants which debase the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the land that grows our food”.

The EPA’s successes are undeniable. Over the past 4 decades, US emissions of the most common pollutants, as measured by weight, have fallen by 71%, even as the country’s population grew by some 105 million people and the size of its economy nearly tripled. Most emissions from the average automobile have fallen by 98–99% over the same period, to take just one industrial sector. Petrol is cleaner — and free of toxic lead. City sewage and industrial waste no longer flow unchecked into waterways, and rivers no longer catch fire as a result of discharged oil waste. And, internationally, the EPA’s science and regulatory standards have helped other countries to protect their environments, too....

...Biden’s campaign pledges suggest that he and his team have every intention of working to restore and strengthen rules and regulations, and to rebuild the EPA’s in-house science teams. But the incoming administration must think seriously about structural reforms. In addition to the need for past damage to be repaired, the agency must be strengthened in a way that makes it harder for any future administration to even think about strangling the structures of evidence that are essential to good policy. This will not be easy, but the following actions will help.

An EPA administrator will soon be nominated. Once in the post, they must make it an urgent priority to nominate an assistant administrator for the EPA’s research division, the Office of Research and Development (ORD). This position has not been filled for eight years. Senate Republicans refused to confirm former president Barack Obama’s last nominee, and the EPA leadership appointed by Trump never nominated anybody....


Well. So much for sovereign currency. What is this ridiculous relationship between Republicans and Wall Street?

Both Senators from Georgia are notorious for putting Wall Street trading at the top of their daily calendar and now Lummis believes using the USA Treasury to back Bitcoin is the end of the national debt. Amazing.

December 15, 2020

Former cattle rancher, Cynthis Lummis

Senator-elect Cynthia Lummis (click here) plans to broaden the coversation in Congress around bitcoin when she assumes office in January.

On an episode of the What Bitcoin Did podcast on Monday, the Wyoming Republican said bitcoin is a great store of value and can help tackle one of her biggest concerns-the US national debt.

Lummis said the US needs to develop a plan to retire the debt, and also needs to develop an "alternative path" in case that fails.

"I see the alternative half as bitcoin, because you have the ability to invest in something that has stability in the store of value," Lummis said....

Anti-racism protesters gather in Washington, DC.

Scientists (click here) were among the millions of protesters who gathered around the world in 2020 to denounce racism and police brutality in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in May. Researchers shared their experiences of racism in science and called for stronger action to address systemic inequalities. Many major scientific organizations released public messages supporting the newly energized Black Lives Matter movement. And on 10 June, thousands of researchers, along with scientific societies, universities and organizations (including Nature), stopped work to reflect on and plan how to fight anti-Black racism in science, following an online campaign that urged the community to #ShutDownSTEM, #ShutDownAcademia and #StrikeForBlackLives.... 

Redistribution of wealth is normally a bad word to the wealthy.

But, I suppose once a person has made his fortune it is far easier to discuss the redistribution of wealth, especially with a wildly new cryptocurrency. It is called an opportunity to offer a new window on wealth when a catastrophic virus has closed most others.

Perhaps Mr. Novogratz should be backing the people in the US Congress with his same vision.

December 20, 2020
By Emily Graffeo

Macro trader (click here) turned bitcoin bull Michael Novogratz is calling for fixes to capitalism — and a possible tax on Wall Street.

Bitcoin bull Mike Novogratz (click here) explained how the coronavirus pandemic accelerated the "cryptocurrency revolution" during a Real Vision interview published Friday.

"In five years from now, we are going to see 2020, as horrible as corona was, and lots of people have lost their lives...we are going to look back and in some weird way, this is going to have been a blessing for the cryptocurrency revolution," Novogratz said.

The Galaxy Digital CEO explained that two pandemic-induced trends propelled cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum to see 216% and 390% year-to-date returns, respectively....
17 December 2020
By Alexandra Witze

Lightning is striking the Arctic many times more often than it did a decade ago, (click here) a study suggests — and the rate could soon double. The findings demonstrate yet another way Earth’s climate could be changing as the planet warms, although not all researchers agree that the trend is real.

Robert Holzworth, an atmospheric physicist at the University of Washington in Seattle and leader of the study, defends the findings. “We’re seeing a symptom of global climate change,” he says. Holzworth is director of the World Wide Lightning Location Network (WWLLN), the collection of ground-based sensors that measured the data. He reported the results on 8 December at a virtual meeting of the American Geophysical Union (and published them before peer review as a preprint1).

Another lightning-detection network, whose records do not extend as far back as those Holzworth studied, does not find the same increase.

Whether or not lightning is increasing in the Arctic could have a significant impact on the region. The past two years have set records for the largest area of land burnt by wildfires — some of them ignited by lightning — and the most carbon dioxide emitted in the Arctic since records began. More lightning would mean even more chances that wildfires will start, which could in turn put even more climate-altering soot and gases into the air....

Bitcoin is a daydream when things go poorly in the world of finance. Even it's creator is a mystery.

December 17. 2020
By Ben Winck

Bitcoin (click here) was created by Satoshi Nakamoto, a pseudonymous person or team who outlined the technology in a 2008 white paper.

Bitcoin (click here) climbed to an all-time high on Thursday as the cryptocurrency's extraordinary 2020 momentum continued through the end of the year.

The world's most popular cryptocurrency leaped to a 24-hour high of $23,770.85 on Thursday, marking a 20% gain over the past day. The climb comes just one day after bitcoin topped $20,000 for the first time, and brings the token's year-t0-date gains above 200%.

Bitcoin advocates have cited the adoption of cryptocurrencies among institutional investors and financial-services companies as a major boon for the token this year. Investing giants including Paul Tudor Jones and Mike Novogratz praised the cryptocurrency earlier this year and forecasted bigger gains to come. The token's rally accelerated in October after PayPal announced it would allow users to buy, sell, and hold cryptocurrencies....

The Migratory Bird Treaty Act must be reviewed to strengthen our agreements with our partners.

December 12, 2020

Thalassarche melanophrys (click here)

Europe’s breeding bird populations (click here) have shifted on average 1 kilometer north every year for the past three decades, likely driven by the climate crisis, according to one of the world’s largest citizen science projects on biodiversity.

The European Breeding Bird Atlas 2 (EBBA2) provides the most detailed picture yet of the distribution of the continent’s birds, after 120,000 volunteers and field-workers surveyed 11 million square kilometers, from the Azores in the west to the Russian Urals in the east.

The book documents changes in the range of Europe’s 539 native bird species in the 30 years since the first EBBA, which was published in 1997 but was based on observations from the 1980s. It shows that since the first study, each population can be found around 28 kilometers further north.

Mediterranean species such as the European bee-eater and little egret are now reaching the UK, France, and the Netherlands, mainly due to milder winters. Eurasian bitterns, pied avocets, and red kites have also expanded their range, probably in response to better protection of habitats coupled with laws banning persecution.

Overall, 35 percent of birds increased their breeding range, and 25 percent contracted their breeding range. (As for the rest, either they did not show any change or the trend is unknown.) Forest birds and those protected by international legislation have generally expanded their range, while farmland birds occupy a smaller total area....

Has Trump closed USA borders? The pandemic is only beginning to be addressed with a vaccine.

It is my understanding the vaccines are based on interfering with the spines that exist on the virus coat. If that is the case it should be effective against all coronavirus and not just SARS-CoV-2. 

New York needs to think about closing airports until the circumstances in the UK resolves.

December 20, 2020

European nations (click here) have begun to impose travel bans on the UK after it reported a more-infectious and "out of control" coronavirus variant.

Ireland, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Belgium are all halting flights. The measures vary and are initially short-term but the French rules also affect Channel freight.

An EU meeting on Monday morning will discuss a more co-ordinated response.

The new variant has spread quickly in London and south-east England.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Saturday introduced a new tier four level of restrictions for those areas, scrapping a planned relaxation of rules over the Christmas period for millions of people....

Fight Extinction

December 20, 2020
By Lauren M. Johnson

Sunday's Google Doodle (click here) is paying tribute to Sudan, believed to be the last northern white rhino born in the wild.

The illustration looks back on this day in 2009 -- when Sudan and three other white rhinos arrived at their new home at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy, a wildlife sanctuary in Kenya.

Before the rhinos were moved, the species had been declared extinct in the wild.

In 1976, Sudan was moved to the Dvůr Králové Zoo in what was then Czechoslovakia in hopes of saving the subspecies. He fathered two children and a grandchild, who were all part of the group moved to their natural habitat in Kenya....

It may surprise Wall Street, but, President Joe Biden actually care about the people before their greed.

December 20, 2020
By Matthew Fox

...But a swift reopening of the economy (click here) and return to normal could deliver strong trend reversals for stock market investors in early 2021, DeSpirito highlighted....

Those are the words of Tony DeSpirito, chief investment officer of US fundamental active equity for BlackRock.

The USA has a President in Joe Biden that will put the American people first over investors seeking quick money out of a stimulus-funded by Congress. The investments made on behalf of the people in any recovery of the USA economy will focus on the future and the return of safe land to live on for generations.

President Joe Biden isn't about "fast cash" so much as solving problems. That is what governance after all.

It's Sunday Night

Are they wearing masks on the floor of Wall Street?

One more month and the USA begins to have a President that remembers how it was before the USA entered into darkness that extinguished it's light of hope.


"Wall Street" by Wig Wam (Official website - click here)

Buy me a suit with the cash in hand
Trade my guitar for a company brand
Don't need much, but for a man on my fields
Just need a place up in Beverly Hills
I don't care about the money
Wanna a trance of a life so sweet
I'll be square about the hot air
What I need is to have a little luck on Wall Street
(Wall Street) (Wall Street)
The grass is always greener around the other side
Greed turns me into Dr. Jekyll and Hyde
The well I'll surely dry
Such strain movin' up my tie
I don't care about the money
Wanna a trance of a life so sweet
I'll be square about the hot air
What I need is to have a little luck on Wall Street
(I don't care) about the money
Just enough to keep me on my feet
I'll be square about the hot air
What I need is to have a little luck on Wall Street
(Wall Street) (Wall Street) (Wall Street)
Must be legion being a bilionaire
But I don't much as keep your hands on my share
(Guitar Solo)
I don't care about the money
Want a trance of a life so sweet
I'll be square about the hot air
What I need is to have a little luck on Wall Street
(I don't care) about the money
Just enough to keep me on my feet
(I'll) be square about the hot air
What I need is to have a little luck on Wall Street
Have a little luck on Wall Street
Have a little luck...
Wall Street

So it was the communists.

China has far more to lose in any kind of war with the USA than does Russia, but, it doesn't matter. We need to protect ourselves from the communists. It is silly to attempt to differentiate a hack from a spy operation. Both are sanctioned by the Russian government.

December 19, 2020
By Tommy Beer

President Donald Trump (click here) finally broke his public silence Saturday concerning the massive cyber strike perpetrated on the United States, but downplayed its severity and— repudiating his own high-level intelligence officials and the U.S. Secretary of State— claimed that China may be responsible for the attack instead of Russia, which he has traditionally been loath to ever criticize....

July 18, 2018
By Ellen Nakashima and Shane Harris

On a late July day in 2016, (click here) Donald Trump, the GOP nominee for president, stood at a lectern in Florida, next to an American flag, and urged a U.S. adversary to become involved in the election campaign and find tens of thousands of emails wiped from the server of his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton.

“Russia, if you’re listening,” he said at a news conference at one of his resorts, “I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing.”

That same day, July 27, several Russian government hackers launched an attack against the email accounts of staffers in Clinton’s personal office, according to a sweeping indictment Friday by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III. At or around the same time, the hackers also targeted 76 email addresses used by the Clinton campaign, investigators said....

The two countries of communists haven't really been friends of the USA, even after Nixon. The Chinese were naive about capitalism when Nixon came to visit and they became addicted to it with the permission of their government. But, as of today the Chinese capitalists, regardless of their wealth do not completely direct their wealth so much as the government.

Russia is the same way, especially today and since the fall of the Soviet Union. Under Putin's leadership, Russia went from a friend of the West to a return of the old communist regime with the invasion of Crimea and eastern Ukraine. That back-peddling occurred in Russia because Putin needed the old communists still in power to win an election. Since that election, there have been more and more receding freedoms in Russia as a promise to the communists by Putin. The receding freedoms are now complete with the isolation of Russia from foreign engagement, hence a return to the G-7.

There have been leaders in both countries that had achieved friends with the USA and openness that led to increased trade.

Hu Jintao of China saw the first Chinese Olympics, I believe it was Beijing.

Boris Yeltsin and the great Mikhail Gorbachev were infamous for reaching peaceful terms with the USA. I can't say the current leaders of either country have achieved any level of peace, but, more the opposite, aggressive military tactics to assault the democracy of the USA.

So, in the years 2016 and now entering 2021 there are high tensions between the USA and China and Russia. China and Russia are allies. There really isn't any reason to differentiate between the two.

October 12, 2020

Beijing - China on Monday denied that two Canadian citizens (click here) held for almost two years had been "arbitrarily" detained in response to Canada's arrest of an executive of technology giant Huawei.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian's denial came days after China granted consular access to Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor for the first time since January. Canada's government on Saturday issued a statement saying it remains "deeply concerned by the arbitrary detention by Chinese authorities" of the two, and called for their immediate release.

Zhao said China "firmly opposes the erroneous statements made by Canada" and reiterated its claim that Kovrig and Spavor were "suspected of engaging in activities that endanger China's national security."...

Marshall Law has rarely been declared in the USA.

Marshall Law existed post Civil War to bring about desegregation and during times of settlement as at the beginning of governance involving federal authority in territories.

August 20, 2020
By Joseph Nunn

On August 20, 1942, (click here) military police in Honolulu, Hawaii, arrested a man named Harry White. Under normal circumstances, the U.S. military would not have been involved in his case. He was a stockbroker, not a soldier, and neither he nor his business had any connection with the armed forces. Even his alleged crime — embezzlement of funds from a client — was a violation of civilian, not military, law.

But nothing about Hawaii was normal in 1942. It had been under martial law since the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941. Its courts were closed and replaced with military tribunals. The rules governing everyday life were set not by an elected legislature but by the military governor. The army controlled every aspect of life in the islands, from criminal justice to parking zones and curbside trash removal.

White was brought before a military provost court. His attorney objected to the court’s jurisdiction, requested a jury trial, and asked for time to prepare a defense. But Major Murrell, the presiding military officer, rejected these motions. Instead, just five days after being arrested, White was tried without a jury, convicted, and sentenced to five years in prison.

As White’s story illustrates, martial law — a term that generally refers to the displacement of civilian authorities by the military — can be and has been employed in the United States. Indeed, federal and state officials have declared martial law at least 68 times over the course of U.S. history.

Yet the concept has never been well understood. The Constitution does not mention martial law, and no act of Congress defines it. The Supreme Court has addressed it on only a handful of occasions, and the Court’s reasoning in these decisions is inconsistent and vague. The precedents are also old: the most recent one — in which the Court overturned Harry White’s conviction — was decided almost 75 years ago....

There will never be a space currency either. Space is a frontier. It will always be a frontier. It is vast, dangerous and uncontrollable. Space travel will require interdependence that relies on trust and mutual interest. If human beings leave Earth in search of a new home because Sol is getting old it will never proceed on any currency except survival and hope. No one will need a gas station.