The City University of New York at their latest Board of Trustees meeting has confirmed Paul Krugman's appointment as a "Distinguished Professor" at their Luxemborg Income Study Center. Krugman's work in the field of "Income Study" brings him 225,000 United States Dollars annually including a special 28,594 United States Dollar "honorarium" as a "Distinguished Professor" for serving in this part time position which Krugman hold on top of his primary job as a New York Times columnist. CUNY, an institution funded by New York City taxpayers, will be funnelling Krugman, a noted socialist and fan of inflationary monetary policy, this supplementary bezzle income indefinitely into the future.
Category Archives: Altcoins
ISIS About to Introduce Altcoin into Circulation
The physical, gold based, alternative currency which ISIS announced its intentions to introduce into general circulation back in November are reportedly in the process now of being introduced into circulation. More on ISIS's intentions surrounding their coins is available in Qntra's November report on the topic which is reproduced below. Continue reading
Shaun Bridges Pleads Guilty to Silk Road Theft
Shaun Bridges who was charged the same day as Carl Mark Force IV has plead guilty to money laundering and obstruction of justice charges. Bridges as an agent of the United States Secret Service used passwords he coerced from a customer service representative of the Silk Road to move what prosecutors describe as $820,000 in Bitcoin value to a Bitcoin address under his control from Silk Road accounts.
Hulk Hogan Puts Denton's Control of Gawker Media on Life Support
A Pinellas county Florida suit by Terry 'Hulk Hogan' Bollea against Gawker Media and two private individuals, Heather and Bubba "the Love Sponge" Clem, is part of a storm of misfortune that is placing Nick Denton's continued control of Gawker Media in jeopardy. The lawsuit relates to Gawker's publication of a sex tape where Bollea fucks Heather Clem. The tape also features Bubba "the Love Sponge Clem" giving his blessing for the coital act between Bollea and his ex-wife Heather. The Hulkster is seeking $100 million in damages against Gawker Media for their role in the publication of this sex tape. Gawker posted the tape on October 4th 2012 and an injunction was issued in April 2013. As of the time of this reporting the original post features a link that they purport still hosts the video though it no longer does. Continue reading
Reddit Outrage Reveals Y Combinator Censorship Agenda
This week under the guise of a new "harassment policy" Reddit banned a number of forums from their site including the incredibly popular /r/fatpeoplehate which boasted more than 150,000 subscribed members. Substantial outrage ensued on the Reddit which lead to expressions of anger towards interim Reddit CEO Ellen Pao and classic fat hate images dominating the aggregated Reddit /r/all feed. While this may be Reddit's Digg inflection point which leads it to popular irrelevance, this episode exposes a larger long term trend of encroaching censorship in Silicon Valley companies and startups. Especially in ventures connected to startup fermenter Y Combinator. Continue reading
Exodus From New York Begins
In the wake of New York's adoption of regulations which seek to regulate rather than submit to Bitcoin, Erik Voorhees has taken his altcoin exchange startup ShapeShift.io and taken it out of New York. Voorhees previously acquired the fledgling accountless Bitcoin gaming site Satoshi Dice leading it to a long reign as the most popular Bitcoin gambling site of the time. Stock in Satoshi Dice was traded on MPEx as S.DICE where it similarly enjoyed a long reign of popularity until Voorhees sold the site in full to close the security as part of a settlement with the United States Security and Exchange Commission over his first Bitcoin startup FeedzBirds. The exodus of businesses from New York, the United Kingdom, and other jurisdictions that wish to regulate themselves out of relevance in the Bitcoin space is likely to continue.
MasterCard Requests Regulation Break Bitcoin
In response to the UK Treasury’s call for information on digital currencies last November, MasterCard has submitted a letter in which asks for more regulation of cryptocurrencies. From the original text: Continue reading
US Government Shuts Down US Government Drug Manufacturing Operation
The United States Food and Drug Administration has shut down a drug lab operated by the National Institute of Health in order produce drug samples used in clinical trials. The National Institute of Health responded to the shut down by announcing a suspension of operation for their Pharmaceutical Development Section and revealed that the contaminated product which the Food and Drug Administration ordered the shut down over was a common injectable solution of albumin used for facilitating the delivery of pharmacologically active chemicals that had become contaminated by fungus. At this point it is clear that the endemic decay affecting the apparatus of the United States Government is not restricted to its facilities for deploying violence but has indeed spread mycelium even into operations tasked with promoting the health and well being of the public.
Exodus from Wall Street: HSBC lays off 50,000 employees
Reports are coming in that HSBC, the third largest bank in the world and one of the most profitable, in a marked attempt to tighten its belt in the face of regulatory and economic pressures, is preparing to hand out pink slips to some 50,000 of its employees from its less profitable divisions.
With a particular focus on Britain, Brazil, the United States, Turkey, and Mexico, CEO Stuart Gulliver plans to cut $290 billion in assets on a risk adjusted basis by 2017. The cuts will be sharp and deep, with a full one-sixth of UK staff, around 7,000 – 8,000 jobs, headed for the chopping block. Redundant staff and other non-productive assets from Europe and the Americas will largely be redeployed as the firm continues to shift its focus towards Asia in general and China in particular.
It would appear that the current state of the world, what with the digitisation of finance as heralded by Bitcoin and the excessive regulatory burden and generally grim economic prospects of western socialist democracies, is even leading HSBC to consider moving its headquarters back to Honk Kong, where the Hong Kong Shanghai Banking Corporation was originally established in 1865 by Sir Thomas Sutherland.
Given that Hong Kong is taking a considerably lighter and hands-off approach to Bitcoin regulation, whereas Britain and others are doing everything in their power to stave off the inevitable, the former British colony would seem to be a safer and saner home for the bank. For now.
3 Years Prison For Backpack Full of Cash in Winnipeg
Erwin Speckert was sentenced to three years of prison after a money laundering conviction derived from his arrest while boarding a Greyhound bus with $1.3 million Canadian Dollars in his backpack. Speckert plead guilty back in October and the sentence was arranged this week through agreement between the prosecution and defense lawyers. Speckert had requested his security screening be done in private due to the sensitivity and value of his backpack's contents and after he was assured by the private security officer who screened him that taking that much cash on him was kosher, the private security officer phoned police who assert Speckert consented to a second search conducted by them. Police further assert that Speckert was determined by their investigation to be working as a courier for "illegal gaming" operators. Speckert throughout his time consenting to security searches at the bus station asserted he intended to purchase real estate and was conveying cash in this manner as he reasonably did not trust banks.