The declining economic fortunes of economies subscribing to the Nordic System is trickling down institutions of higher education in those countries (archived). At the end of January the University of Helsinki announced it was preparing to purge nearly 1000 positions from its payroll (archived) and now the University of Copenhagen is preparing to remove more than 500 positions from its payroll (archived). In its English language press release the University of Copenhagen notes that annual funding decreases are its normal expectation and that among other measures they plan to "makeover" their medical science programs as the equipment and laboratories they demand at present is too expensive for a proper Nordic System university to maintain.
Category Archives: Africa
Coinwallet Plans Spam While the Spamming is Cheap
Last month a venture calling itself "Coinwallet" flooded the Bitcoin network with spam in what the company called a "stress test." The spam delayed underpaying transactions without fees insufficient to secure space to be confirmed in a block resulting in a scenario where a fee market for block space could develop. A Coinwallet representative recently stated the company will be performing another stress test in early September, claiming there will close to 4.6 GB worth of spam that will flood the network. Continue reading
Cecil the Lion is a Pretext for Expanding Extraterritoriality of US Law
Recent social media uproar over a dentist's alleged killing of an African Lion referred to by persons as Cecil, in honor of Cecil Rhodes. Cecil was killed outside of the sanctuary within which his typical range was in Zimbabwe, a country which was also once named for Cecil Rhodes. The story was picked up by the social media outrage machine and amplified by mainstream media organs. Continue reading
After Petition Obama Still Wants to Try Snowden for Espionage
Two years after Barack Obama's Whitehouse closed a petition requesting Edward Snowden receive a pardon for generally making the world a better place, the Obama administration has finally issued a response. Deferring to Lisa Monaco Obama's adviser for matters concerning Homeland Security and Counterterrorism the response alleges that the Obama administration had undertaken some anomalous reforms though Snowden did not whistle blow on United States surveillance overreach until well into Obama's second term as the United States chief executive. Monaco also reiterated the Obama administration's intent to subject Snowden to prosecution under the Espionage Act. What more could a person really have expected though from an executive administration that serves as gardeners cultivating terrorists.
Microsoft Product Critical Vulnerability Week After Update End of Life
Microsoft has now announced a vulnerability in all of its Windows products a week after their Windows Server 2003 product has reached end of life for continued support. For what little it is worth Microsoft has issued an emergency patch to address this vulnerability in supported versions of their Windows family of products. The vulnerability exists in the way Microsoft products handle Microsoft's own "OpenType" format for fonts. This exploit via fonts affecting Windows desktops and servers follows an April exploit which rooted Windows servers using their flawed JPEG handling mechanisms. Microsoft stands to profit from users of Windows Server 2003 both upgrading to a supported version or opting for premium beyond end of life support contracts.
South African Tax Review Expresses Concerns Regarding Bitcoin
In February of 2013, former Minister of Finance Pravin Gordhan announced that the South African government would begin a review to assess the current tax policy framework and its role in supporting growth, employment, development and fiscal sustainability. The members who would make up that committee, which came to be known as The Davis Tax Committee, were announced in July of that year and their First Interim Report on BEPS1 was released for public comment late last month. Contained within the report are some concerns that Bitcoin might impact on tax compliance in the future. Continue reading
Base Erosion and Profit Shifting. ↩
BitPesa Enables NGO's To Easily Exchange Bitcoin Donations For Fiat
BitPesa, the Kenyan startup which aims to lower the cost of remittances in Africa, has introduced a new service which enables NGOs to automatically exchange their bitcoin donations into Kenyan shillings which are then deposited directly into "their corporate mobile money wallet." Continue reading