Tuesday, 16 September 2014
Tesla will now be allowed to sell directly to you in Massachusetts - The Washington Post
Evacuations around Philippines' Mount Mayon volcano - CNN.com
Richest Jailed Putin Foe Says Ukraine Fears Sparked Prosecution - Bloomberg
The Effect of Russia's Court System(s) on INTERPOL | Estlund Law, P.A. - JDSupra
Russian oligarchies run amuk?
Britain is a good case in point. Despite the virtual breakdown of its political relationship with Russia after the "polonium murder" of Alexander Litvinenko in 2006, London's lawyers, bankers, accountants and PR consultants happily lined up to work for the Putin system. Law firms enjoyed particularly rich pickings servicing Russia's ruling class in the English courts."
Vladimir Putin goes rogue: Ukraine, NATO, nuclear weapons — and a very dangerous new reality - Salon.com
Russian colonel Zhirinovsky threatens “total annihilation” of Baltics & Poland | EUROMAIDAN PRESS | News and Opinion from Across Ukraine
The Zhirinovsky Threat | Foreign Affairs
In Crimea's Local Elections, Pro-Russians Run Strong - Businessweek
NATO Chief Warns Moscow: No More Stealth Invasions - The Daily Beast
Europe knows these stealth invasions all too well. Russia first sent teams of special operations forces wearing uniforms without insignia in February into Crimea and then later into eastern Ukraine to work with Russian minorities inside the country to begin an insurrection. Ukraine's military has been fighting these "little green men" ever since. But until recently, Russia has not even acknowledged sending anyone into the country."
NATO could have trouble combatting Putin’s military strategy | The Great Debate
The transatlantic military alliance has sent hundreds of troops to Ukraine to train alongside Kiev's forces. But at a major summit in early September, NATO declined to offer Ukraine membership. The alliance doesn't really want to go to war over Ukraine."
U.S. tax evasion and money-laundering sting nabs Canadians - Yahoo News Canada
CBC News reported Wednesday that two Canadians, along with four others, were indicted in the U.S. for their alleged role in a $500-million international fraud. According to a statement from the U.S. Attorney and the FBI, the fraud involved artificially inflating stock prices and helping more than 100 "corrupt" U.S. clients evade taxes and launder money offshore."
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/u-tax-evasion-money-laundering-143959379.htmlCorruption Currents: From Luxury Watches to ‘State Secrets’ - Risk & Compliance - WSJ
Canadians were nabbed in a U.S. money-laundering probe. (CBC)"
http://blogs.wsj.com/riskandcompliance/2014/09/15/corruption-currents-from-luxury-watches-to-state-secrets/New Sanctions Against Russia Could Deal Big Blow To ExxonMobil and BP
"On Friday, the United States and the European Union imposed a new round of sanctions on Russia in response to Moscow's intervention in eastern Ukraine and following its annexation of the Crimean peninsula in March. The goal is to clamp down further on the Russian economy but it will significantly affect the drilling plans of western oil giants ExxonMobil and BP."
Estonia Kidnapping Claim Puts NATO on the Hot Seat - Businessweek
Russian billionaire placed under house arrest - Businessweek
Sechin, who has been placed on the U.S. and the EU sanctions lists over the Ukrainian crisis, was seen as the mastermind behind the 2003 arrest of Russia's then-richest man, Mikhail Khodorkovsky. Khodorkovsky's Yukos oil company was broken into pieces and sold in dubious auctions with Rosneft seizing the most lucrative elements."
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2014-09-16/russian-billionaire-placed-under-house-arrestRussia is like the monkey with its hand in the jar?
Moscow has proven once that it can act. In August, Russia banned food imports from Western countries worth $9 billion annually.
Economic Development Minister Alexei Ulyukayev said Tuesday that retaliatory measures should not go beyond the agricultural sector, but other more hawkish voices have called for Moscow to be bolder.
The Moscow Times looked at some of the options that may have landed on Putin's desk, ranging from the plausible to the fanciful. "
Russia can do lots of things, but it needs to think first about how much it hurts Russia to retaliate when Russia itself it in the wrong. Monkey with its hand in the jar?
Rosneft financing woes
Rosneft's access to Western money has been restricted by the sanctions imposed in response to Moscow's role in the Ukrainian conflict. Rosneft has asked the government for $42 billion support from a fund earmarked for Russian pensions to help it weather the sanctions.
Dvorkovich said that Rosneft had yet to apply formally for help from the National Wealth Fund and that it must define the projects for which it needs money from the fund."
ITAR-TASS: World - Canada imposes new sanctions on Russia
Russia removing Jemilev books from Crimea bookshops | Europe | Worldbulletin News
"Mustafa Jemilev: Crimean Tatar voice not heard for decades", issued in 2014, is being confiscated by the authorities, the head of Crimean Tatar Mejlis (Parliament) Refat Chubarov wrote on Facebook."
Censorship? Lets all get a copy and distribute it worldwide?
http://www.worldbulletin.net/haber/143506/russia-removing-jemilev-books-from-crimea-bookshopsRussian FSB surrounds Crimean Tatar parliament-UPDATED | Europe | Worldbulletin News
Masked, armed FSB officers and policemen who have encircled the Mejlis building in Simferopol have as yet refused to comment on the situation, claiming that they are not authorized to comment.
"I came to work shortly after 9.30 a.m. but the building was blocked by armed people in balaclavas and uniforms," Dilyaver Akiev, head of the secretariat of the assembly, or Mejlis, said by phone.
"They are not letting anyone in or out, they are assisted by regular police and the FSB (Federal Security Service) is carrying out searches inside," he said from Crimea's provincial capital Simferopol."
Will this be the start of a new purge?
http://www.worldbulletin.net/world/144484/russian-fsb-surrounds-crimean-tatar-parliament-updatedHenning Mankell on living with cancer: there are days full of darkness | Life and style | The Guardian
I have written before about my treatment, about my reactions and, not least, about my great admiration for all the staff I have met at the Sahlgrenska Hospital. Nothing has happened to change my opinions. If I had to be stricken with cancer, I'm pleased it happened in Sweden."
http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/sep/16/henning-mankell-wallander-author-cancer-days-of-darknessBBC News - Parents unaware of dangers faced by children on smartphones
Almost one in five children said they had seen something on their devices that had upset them, twice the number parents had thought.
A separate study found that just over 20% of parents do not monitor what their children are doing online.
The research was commissioned as part of Safer Internet Day.
While 90% of the parents surveyed by the BBC in England said they had spoken to their children about staying safe online when using a tablet or a smartphone, most said they allowed their children to use them unsupervised."
http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-26121434Steve Jobs Was a Low-Tech Parent - NYTimes.com
When Steve Jobs was running Apple, he was known to call journalists to either pat them on the back for a recent article or, more often than not, explain how they got it wrong. I was on the receiving end of a few of those calls. But nothing shocked me more than something Mr. Jobs said to me in late 2010 after he had finished chewing me out for something I had written about an iPad shortcoming.
"So, your kids must love the iPad?" I asked Mr. Jobs, trying to change the subject. The company's first tablet was just hitting the shelves. "They haven't used it," he told me. "We limit how much technology our kids use at home."
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/11/fashion/steve-jobs-apple-was-a-low-tech-parent.html?_r=1Pope Francis warns 'piecemeal' World War III has begun
"Humanity needs to weep and this is the time to weep," Francis said in the homily of a Mass during a visit to Italy's largest war memorial, a large, Fascist-era monument where more than 100,000 soldiers who died in World War One are buried."
http://www.cnbc.com/id/101997996Record Apple iPhone preorders likely the envy of Samsung: Expert
That compares with 2 million iPhone 5 orders made within 24 hours after preordering began, according to the company."
http://www.cnbc.com/id/102001385August Cartoon Caption Winner! | EE Times
How to Make Holes in Things | EE Times
Apple, Samsung in 20nm Race | EE Times
Apple devoted those extra billion transistors to improving CPU performance by up to 25% and speeding up GPU performance by up to 50%. At the same time, Apple is claiming power savings that allow it to sustain performance, while other processors start to thermally throttle performance."
http://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=36&doc_id=1323929Scotland the Brave
The decision to protect capital spending, which traditionally gets a higher economic bang for your buck, in the midst of a downturn is one that Westminster has (belatedly) conceded would have been sensible policy. As such, the Scottish Government's actions reflect the positive influence that devolution might have on the U.K. as a whole.
http://www.businessinsider.com/stiglitz-ignores-the-oil-problem-for-an-independent-scotland-2014-9?nr_email_referer=1&utm_source=Triggermail&utm_medium=email&utm_content=emailshare
UK IS GREATEST IDEA EVER INVENTED ... Scottish independence: Eddie Izzard and Bob Geldof lead Trafalgar Square rally supporting union | City A.M.
Massive Flight Cancellations as Air France Pilots Go on Strike | TIME
The Global Problem With Overdiagnosis and Overtreatment | TIME
Now, two new studies published Monday in the medical journal The BMJ highlight the global problem with overtreatment in both breast cancer and heart disease."
http://time.com/3379349/overdiagnosis-and-overtreatment/?xid=newsletter-brief