TODAY’S TOP STORIES:
In a move that is largely seen as Maduro giving Washington the middle finger, Venezuela has made good on its promise to layoff the U.S. dollar, publishing its oil prices in yuan on Friday.
Last Friday, Maduro had announced the forthcoming change, but that threat came after 14 years of similar threats, made by former leader Hugo Chavez, who was sure the dollar would someday lose its place in the currency pecking order.
Following a not guilty verdict in the Jason Stockley murder trial, people took to the streets of St Louis to protest the unjust decision. During the protests on Friday night, a bizarre act of vandalism was caught on camera.
Chris Phillips recorded the incident, which occurred at approximately 11:32 pm and posted it to his Facebook. The video shows a police officer breaking out a window of Culpepper’s Restaurant located at 300 N Euclid Ave.
In what many have dubbed a flagrant intervention by Amazon itself to seemingly boost the rating of Hillary Clinton’s new book “What Happened“, the Telegraph first reported, and subsequently many others observed first hand, that Amazon has been monitoring and deleting 1-star reviews of Hillary Clinton’s new book “which was greeted with a torrent of criticism on the day it was released.”
Reviews of What Happened have been mixed, with some accusing Clinton of using it as an opportunity to blame others – such as former FBI head James Comey, Bernie Sanders, Vladimir Putin, social media and pretty much everything else – for her failure, rather than herself. Even The New York Times, which supported Clinton’s campaign, wrote that the book is “a score-settling jubilee”.
CoinGecko: Cryptos on the Rise Again (for now)
WIRED: Apple’s FaceID Could Be a Powerful Tool for Mass Spying
The Age: What happens when Big Brother lurks in every smartphone user?
Joshua Reeves, an assistant professor at Oregon State University whose book Citizen Spies was released in March, sees a disturbing phenomenon emerging, fuelled by a culture of mutual surveillance fostered, most recently, by counter-terrorism programs such as “if it doesn’t add up, speak up”.
“In order for these programs to work, you have to tie snitching to moral and social responsibility, and you have to teach citizens that they are under threat, and that in order to handle that threat appropriately they have to be watchful and suspicious of their fellow citizens,” says Reeves.
Reeves doesn’t question the value of reporting serious felonies to police. But he does point out that “snitching” has resulted in some truly awful outcomes, such as the 2009 case of a boy set alight because he was thought to have reported a bike theft to police.
In the US, antipathy to tattling has even spawned its own movement. The “stop snitching” campaign features T-shirts with targets, bullet holes and the phrase “snitches get stitches”, something Baltimore police countered with their own pro-informant “Keep Talking” campaign.
Medium: Never Forget: The US Government Has A Known History Of Using False Flags
News links from the incomparable RICE FARMER and JENNA ORKIN
## Global Ponzi meltdown/House of Cards/deflationary collapse ##
Asia’s multinationals are hoarding cash like never before
Suddenly, “De-Dollarization” Is A Thing
Australia must get ready for the next Asian Financial Crisis, says top official
US Dollar Breakdown: What’s Next?
Big Trouble For The Silver Market If Mexico Monetizes Its Silver Libertad Coin
After an ‘incredible run,’ copper prices could be petering out
Wall Street hits record highs, S&P 500 pierces 2,500
It’s not just CBA: all the banks are exposed to millions in money laundering
Algeria Officially Launches Helicopter Money Amid Sliding Oil Revenue, Budget Crisis
China Dollar Dump Means Hyperinflation
MISH: Bitcoin Silliness, Myths, and Fatal Flaws
## Fault lines/flashpoints/powder kegs/military/war drums ##
King’s forces arrest prominent Saudis in warning to critics
Philippines’ Duterte may declare martial law: defence chief
Polish lawmakers OK more defense spending with Russia in mind
Embarrassing failure of ‘key’ ballistic missile by Seoul raises questions of readiness
US should refrain from further North Korea threats, says China’s ambassador to US
South Korea says Moon and Trump agree on need for stronger North Korea sanctions
Haley: Diplomacy efforts with North Korea ‘pretty much exhausted’
Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said Sunday with the United States exhausting diplomatic means against North Korea, “military options” are an alternative.
Over 6,000 US Troops Set for Deployment to Afghanistan
Afghanistan mulls plan to arm 20,000 civilians to fight insurgents
Trump extends sanction waivers for Iran while imposing new ones
Spanish Government Threatens to Seize Catalan Finances to Stop Referendum: Juncker in Hot Water
U.S. Wars and Hostile Actions: A List
Germany Launches Probe After Pentagon’s Syrian Arms Smuggling Story Goes Viral
Catalonia’s Defiance of Spanish Authority Turns into Rebellion
Hamas says it accepts reconciliation demands
UK to supply Qatar with Eurofighter jets in billion-dollar arms deal
## Migrants/refugees ##
Bangladesh restricts Rohingya refugees, starts immunization
## Global unrest/mob rule/angry people/torches and pitchforks ##
Protesters pour into St. Louis streets after murder acquittal for ex-cop
St. Louis mayor’s house surrounded, officers injured during protests
Demonstrators turn out for a 2nd night to protest St. Louis ex-cop’s acquittal
Protesters Jailed Over Natural Gas Pipeline Protest In Virginia
Police Fire Tear Gas at Honduran Independence Day Protest
Turkish police fire tear gas at protesters outside hunger strikers’ trial
Singaporeans hold rare protest over presidential vote
## Energy/resources ##
Is The Sun Setting On The Solar Boom?
Report: Nuclear power on the decline
U.S. Diesel, Heating Oil Inventories At Historical Low
Solar Power Is Getting Cheaper—But How Do We Overcome Its Limits?
100 Percent Wishful Thinking: the Green-Energy Cornucopia
## Got food? ##
Global Hunger By Numbers: How Conflict Drives The World To Hunger
The number of undernourished people across the world has increased from 777 million in 2015 to 815 million in 2016, which accounts for about 11 percent of total world population, the report says.
Oysters Can Get Herpes And Die
Food crisis crippling Malawi’s population
Deadly salmonella outbreak linked to papayas spreads to 4 farms
U.N. report links rise in hunger to climate change
Global hunger is on the rise, affecting 11 percent of the world’s population, in part because of climate change, an annual report from the United Nations found.
12 foods you can buy in bulk that will last until the end of world
## Environment/health ##
Quebec to offer public free naloxone to prevent opioid overdoses
Summer getting longer in waters off New England, affecting fisheries, whales, weather: scientists
Study shows Arctic sea ice continues to melt considerably
Animal Matchmaking: Scientists Try To Revive Extinct Galápagos Tortoises
Hurricane Harvey Oil, Chemical Spills Top 22,000 Barrels
US coastal growth continues despite lessons of past storms
Coastal development destroys natural barriers such as islands and wetlands, promotes erosion and flooding, and positions more buildings and people in the path of future destruction, according to researchers and policy advisers who study hurricanes.
WSJ Reports That Trump Won’t Withdraw From Paris Deal, White House Denies
Brain Tumor Assn. Condemns Calif. Cellphone Tower Bill
To fight wildlife crime, experts say ‘follow the money’
San Diego Washing Streets With Bleach To Combat Hepatitis A Outbreak
## Intelligence/security/internet/cyberwar ##
FBI investigating Russian news agency: report
Israel’s Foreign Agents Don’t Register, Why Should Russia’s?
Equifax will not survive fallout from massive breach, says technology attorney
London terror attack: Trump says internet must be ‘cut off’ to stop further attacks
Facebook opens an A.I. research outpost in Canada
Facebook to launch election integrity effort in Canada
GOP Rep. Rohrabacher Sought Trump Deal With Assange
Harvard University Bends the Knee to the CIA
Google disables offensive ad keywords found by BuzzFeed
Here’s What Your Identity Sells For on the Dark Web
Card Sharks: ATM skimming grows more sophisticated
Hey Advertisers: The Data-Mining Emperor Has No Clothes
China takes the lead in building quantum data security networks
## Propaganda/censorship/fake news/alternative facts ##
The NYT’s Yellow Journalism on Russia
Reading The New York Times these days is like getting a daily dose of the “Two Minutes Hate” as envisioned in George Orwell’s 1984, except applied to America’s new/old enemy Russia. Even routine international behavior, such as Russia using fictitious names for potential adversaries during a military drill, is transformed into something weird and evil.
5 Lies Nikki Haley Just Told About The Iran Deal
Hillary Clinton Doesn’t Understand Why the Corporate Media Is So Bad
## Systemic breakdown/collapse/unsustainability ##
The Way Nature Works: How Common is the Seneca Curve?
Stanford scholars say big ideas are getting harder to find
[T]remendous continual increases in research and development will be needed to sustain even today’s low rate of economic growth.
McCain Laments ‘Accident After Accident’ After Military Cuts
## China ##
China internet finance body suggests framework to support virtual currencies
Chinese bitcoin exchange announces it is ending trading
China rejects letting South Korea, Japan have nuclear arms
Wider use of nuclear weapons to counter threat from North Korea will only make the region more unstable, says Chinese ambassador to the US
Is smog breeding storms? China explores rise in lightning deaths
## UK ##
Home-made bomb injures 29 on packed London commuter train
ISIS claims responsibility for London Underground blast, the 6th terror attack in Britain this year
British police arrest London bomb suspect at Dover border point
Parsons Green: Second arrest over Tube bombing
Equifax says almost 400,000 Britons hit in data breach
Nuclear power plants may not keep Britain’s lights on, say Lib Dems
## US ##
The 30 Metros in the US with the Highest and Lowest Incomes
Rising credit card delinquencies to add to U.S. banks’ worries
Equifax Sacks 2 Executives, Turns Devious to Stop You from Demanding a Credit Freeze
Holy Moly, Now Wells Fargo Recommends a Credit Freeze in Equifax Hack
Equifax is Not Your Friend: Should Everyone Freeze Their Account?
Hurricanes drain US gasoline supplies
Trump Extends Post-9/11 State of Emergency
‘Temporary’ State of Emergency Seems Increasingly Permanent
Israel Security Forces Are Training American Cops Despite History of Rights Abuses
Toys ‘R’ Us mulls bankruptcy filing: Wall Street Journal
Corporate Contractors: The High End of the Precariat
Tenting the Homeless and Bleaching the Streets: How San Diego Is Fighting a Hepatitis Outbreak
Cult of Hillary: Hillary gets conquered hero’s welcome in Manhattan
Even Bernie Sanders Thinks “Medicare For All” Would Bankrupt America
Unable to pay its bills, Pennsylvania is broke
Long-Term Mortgage Delinquencies Seriously Under-Reported
EPA won’t release benzene levels collected post-Harvey; private tests show elevated levels
The Human Brain Can Create Structures in Up to 11 Dimensions
High-Ranking CIA Agent Blows Whistle On The Deep State And Shadow Government
Venezuela Begins Publishing Oil Basket Price In Yuan
New York City Is Within Hurricane Jose’s 5-Day “Cone Of Uncertainty”
After Irma, Barbuda’s 300-year-old civilization ‘extinguished’
Whole Foods “Free-Range” Chicken Supplier Said To Actually Run Factory Farm
New technology in China turns desert into land rich with crops
Rep. Dana Rohrabacher: Someone leaked ‘very important’ call with John Kelly concerning WikiLeaks
USD Index: The Most Important Chart in the World Is Getting Uglier By the Day
Venezuela Suspends Trade In U.S. Dollars
97 Million American Workers Are Living Paycheck To Paycheck
The U.S. Government Massive ONE-DAY Debt Increase Impact On Interest Expense & Silver ETF
Which is Fraudulent – Bitcoin or JP Morgan?
Yes, This Time It Is Different: But Not in Good Ways
Yes, this time it’s different: all the foundations of a healthy economy are crumbling into quicksand.
U.S. Virgin Islands governor: Recovery will take years
This is the begging-for-the-overthrow-of-a-corrupt-status-quo economy we have thanks to the Federal Reserve giving the J.P. Morgans and Jamie Dimons of the world the means to skim and scam the bottom 95%.
## War on cash/cashless society ##
Hawaii says it’s 1st state to go cashless for pot sales
## Fault lines/flashpoints/powder kegs/military/war drums ##
Is Russia Pushing Saudi Arabia Out Of Asia?
Bombshell Report Catches Pentagon Falsifying Paperwork For Weapons Transfers To Syrian Rebels
US Used Ramstein Base to Arm Syrian Rebels, Without Informing German Govt
South Korea detects radioactive gas from North Korea bomb test
Rights group blasts Israeli banks for settlement expansion
Israeli banks are contributing to the proliferation of West Bank settlements by providing loans and mortgages for construction there, violating their human rights obligations, Human Rights Watch said in a report Wednesday.
Will North Korea set off a new arms buildup in Asia?
How North Korea Outmaneuvered U.S.
Don’t look now, but North Korea has just won its latest diplomatic tussle with the United States. No matter how often Donald Trump promises to rain down “fire and fury” on the Democratic People’s Republic “the likes of which the world has never seen before,” it’s increasing clear that Kim Jong Un’s nuclear-deterrence policy is working and that there’s little the U.S. can do in response.
Cancel Iran nuclear deal, Netanyahu says in Argentina
US Threatens To Cut Off China From SWIFT If It Violates North Korea Sanctions
China and Russia Warn US Not to Seek North Korea Regime Change
Secretary of State Tillerson presses China to apply oil leverage on North Korea
“I Know What North Korea Wants” – President Carter Warns “US Oligarchy Refuses To Do It”
North Korea Launched Missile Over Japan Into Pacific Ocean
As Russian Wargames Begin, NATO Continues to Overestimate Size
No Signs NATO’s Claimed 100,000 Troops Will Materialize
Putin Pushed Hard for ‘Reset’ of Tense US Ties
Mattis: US to keep nuclear triad for deterrence
Chinese submarine docks at Malaysian port for second time this year
Russian navy fires cruise missiles into eastern Syria
“Unprecedented” Saudi Crackdown Targets Regime Loyalists As King Prepares To Abdicate
Romania seizes new migrant boat in Black Sea
Romanian authorities said Wednesday they had rescued more than 150 migrants in the Black Sea, the fifth such incident since August amid rising fears that a new migrant route to Europe is opening up.
Trafficked North Korean ‘bride’ reveals her desperate flight from China
China has made life dangerous for North Korean refugees living in the country amid the escalating nuclear weapons crisis, NGO’s leader says
Nearly 3 weeks into Rohingya crisis, aid remains scarce
Offshore Drilling Giant Seadrill Files For Bankruptcy
Can You Really “Shut Down” a Nuclear Power Plant before a Hurricane?
Mexico’s Biggest Refinery Will Take A Month To Restart
Profits on producing gasoil, jet fuel soar in Asia as demand outpaces supply
Iraq: OPEC’s No. 2 Faces Civil War Threat
“Super Critical” Coal Shortage Sends India Scrambling For NatGas
Electric Vehicles: The High Cost Of Going Green
Grower group says Irma caused 50 to 70 percent citrus loss in portions of South Florida
North Korea faces food shortages after intense drought and ‘very bad harvest’
Atlantic Hurricane Trends and Mortality, Updated
4 dead, 6 missing in floods and landslides in Philippines
12 children infected with rare bacteria during heart surgery at New Orleans hospital
Poaching Fears Making African Elephants Nocturnal, Study Finds
EU pledges to ‘make our planet great again’
Tropical Storm Max expected to bring ‘dangerous flooding’ to Mexico
