Reports are emerging that the US is considering 1990's cryptography style export controls for "AI Technology" (archived). If the proposed export controls were to actually work they could save the rest of the world substantial time dealing with yet more buggy US shitware. In the more likely case, the export controls likely won't serve for any purpose other than adding another pretext the USG can use as it move in lockstep with the rest of the 5eyes towards expanding digital customs searches on those entering and leaving the zone.
Qntra (S.QNTR) December 2018 Report
Japan Ramps Up Military Spending As USG Turns Out To Be Inadequate Provider Of Security
Japan is planning to spend roughly a quarter trillion USD over the next 5 years improving its military posture (archived). This move comes 73 years after Japan demilitarized following US threats to continue the nuclear bombardments which had already devastated two Japanese cities at the time. In recent years Japan has diversified their self defense forces adding an amphibious assault corps to defend their numerous outlying islands as China and both Koreas have presented aggressive military postures towards Japan.
At the same time the US military's presence has faded globally, to the point the product of exuberant fiat outlays appear to only allow the US to marginally prolong wars without impacting their outcome.
With US Withdrawl, Syria Beginning To Move Towards Normality
In the wake of Donald Trump's move to take the US out of the Hillary Clinton's Syrian civil war, the country is beginning to return to normal (archived). The Kurds in a move observer in the US may find puzzling, have swiftly pivoted towards trying to ingratiate themselves to the Assad regime now that the US soldiers they had been using as human shields are leaving. The Kurds readiness to turns towards Assad suggests they'd been keeping more friendly with the regime than the USG was willing to believe, and that the Kurds didn't have all that much faith in USG delivering them an independent Kurdish state.
Now the Kurds find themselves with the Turks to the north, who are especially motivated to do to the Kurds what Turks normally do to Kurds in order to prevent USG armed and trained Kurdish militants from causing them problems. Thusly it is appearing that after the US intervention, lasting changes are likely to be limited to little more than an augmentation of the distrust and resentment held by all parties involved towards the USG.
Elections In Congo Postponed For Ebola, Ebola Clinic Attacked In Retailiation
After presidential elections in parts of the Congo were postponed due to the ongoing Ebola outbreak, protestors attacked an Ebola treatment clinic in retaliation (archived). Several of the center's structures1 were burned and furniture was taken. None of the patients received positive test results for Ebola infection before they fled the attack.
i.e. Tents ↩
Stanislav Datskovskiy Publishes Fully Constant Time Code For Barrett's Modular Reduction As Part Of FFA Library
As part of his Finite Field Arithmetic Library, Stanislav Datskovskiy1 (WOT: asciilifeform) has published code to perform Barrett's Modular Reduction in constant time. Speed of the code is favorable compared to Werner Koch's MPI library utilized in GPG. It appears that leaky optimizations of the sort that seem like they should make Koch's non-constant time implementation faster end up chewing quite a few clock cycles to accomplish an effect quite contrary to actual optimization.
Involved as a principal in the Republican ventures No Such lAbs and Pizarro ISP. ↩
Japan Quits International Whaling Commision: No Big Deal
Japan has announced they are quitting the International Whaling Commision and will begin commercial whaling in their territorial waters and aquatic economic zones. This move comes after years of confrontations with the International Pantsuit over their Antarctic research whale hunts and a rejected petition to receive a quota to permit a commercial whale harvest. Seeing the International Pantsuit Whaling control club would not appreciate their diverse and ancient culture, the Japanese quit the club. No exit negotiation process, no missile strikes trying to bait an Infinity War, just a lot of International Pantsuit bitching and Japanese permits for Japanese whalers.
Nation Of Africa: Movement Towards Continental "Free Trade" Zone
Numerous criminal organizations imagining themselves as aspiring sovereigns claiming swaths of the dark continent are set to remove many fiat restrictions on intra-African trade, though the numerous practical obstacles intrinsic to the area will remain (archived). The single African market is likely to be a substantial boon to ongoing Chinese colonization efforts.
US Treasury Secretary Issued Sunday Night Press Release Assuring No "Clearance Or Margin" Issues
US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin issued a press release Sunday night assuring residents of the US that he called some banks who assured him there were no "liquidity problem" or "clearance and margin issues" (archived). Due to the US Government's ongoing partial shutdown the press release does not appear on the US Treasury department website (archived) apparently as part of their "lapse in appropriations contingency plan" (archived).
The announcement and its odd timing suggests that there actually are problems. Maybe that last 0.25% rate hike by the Fed after free dollars under Hussein Bahamas broke everything? Maybe someone out there put too much faith in the USG's timely payment of bills in spite of goverment shutdowns becoming a common negotiating tactic under the Hussein Bahamas adminstration? Whatever Mnuchin intended to convey with his message of assurance, the sentiment which lead to the press release is not reassuring.
Russia Phasing Out USD In Arms Deals
Russian trade minister Denis Manturov has annouced that Russia will be phasing out the USD for valuing and settling arms contracts in favor of national currencies of the parties, or the euro in situations where national currencies are impractical (archived). This move comes as the USG continues make moves to marginalize its own USD altcoin in international trade.