Early Headlines: Corporate “Personhood”, AIIB Will Use US Dollar for Settlement, Quantum Computers, Latest from Greece and Nepal and More

Early Bird Headlines 05 May 2015

Econintersect: Here are some of the headlines we found to help you start your day. For more headlines see our afternoon feature for GEI members, What We Read Today, which has many more headlines and a number of article discussions to keep you abreast of what we have found interesting.

Global

• Quantum Computers Will Make Your Laptop Look Like an Abacus (Newsweek) Quantum technology will make the microprocessor in your laptop seem as sophisticated as a booger. The only problem? It will take 15-20 years to get a fully functioning model.
  

U.S.

• Corporate Media Blacks Out Coverage of Bill to Overturn Corporate Personhood (Wall Street on Parade) Hat tip to Roger Erickson. Pan and Russ Martens report that last Wednesday, the grassroots organization, Move to Amend, held a press conference at the National Press Club to announce that six members of the U.S. House of Representatives were introducing legislation to overturn Citizens United v FEC to make free speech and all other rights guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution available only to “natural persons,” not corporations or limited liability companies. The legislation would also give Federal, state and local governments the ability to limit political contributions to “ensure all citizens, regardless of their economic status, have access to the political process.” The press conference revealed that 16 states have passed resolutions asking Congress to overturn Citizens United while almost 600 municipalities and local governments across the country have done likewise. Almost two dozen other states have resolutions pending or introduced. We didn’t see any news about this. Did you? It’s as if the entire announcement was censored.
  
• Fed’s Evans: rate hikes could start sooner, if kept slow (Reuters) The Federal Reserve should hold off on raising short-term interest rates until early next year, Chicago Fed President Charles Evans said Monday. But he added rate hikes could begin this year without harming the recovery if the following sequence of hikes was kept slow.

UK

• The U.K. Election 2015 (Bloomberg) British voters go to the polls on Thursday in what may be one of the closest political contests in decades. Follow the headline link for interactive map to use for updates Thursday evening as results start to come in.
  

Greece

• Greece aims for deal with lenders, IMF hard on reforms: minister (Reuters) Greece intends to meet debt payments this month and reach a deal with its international lenders to unlock remaining bailout aid, but the International Monetary Fund insists on tough labor reforms, the country’s labor minister said on Monday. Econintersect: So 25% unemployment and 60% youth unemployment is not tough enough?
  

Israel

• Report: Israeli soldiers instructed to shoot civilians in Gaza (Al Jazeera) A report by the Israeli advocacy group Breaking the Silence described how the Israeli military (IDF) inflicted “massive and unprecedented harm” to Palestinian civilians during the 2014 Gaza war with indiscriminate fire and lax rules of engagement, citing testimony given anonymously by dozens of Israeli soldiers.
  

Ukraine

• ‘Nobody here is asking to leave Ukraine’: Minorities see Russian meddling (Al Jazeera) Some living in Transcarpathia, home to a variety of ethnic groups, say Russian media falsely portrays them as separatist.
  

China

• AIIB to use U.S. dollar as settlement currency: source (Yonhap News Agency) The China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank is expected to use the U.S. dollar as its currency of settlement, a diplomatic source here said Monday, despite Beijing’s ambition for the internationalization of China’s yuan. The dollar will be specified in the organization’s charter.
  

Nepal

• Nepal earthquake: UK agencies warn of serious disease after disaster (BBC News) There is a risk of serious outbreaks of disease in the aftermath of the Nepal earthquake, aid agencies have warned.A lack of shelter, contaminated water and poor sanitation could lead to cholera, dysentery and other water-borne diseases.
• Nepal’s Young Men, Lost to Migration, Then a Quake (The New York Times) Many bodies prepared for cremation last week in Kathmandu were of young men from Gongabu, a common stopover for Nepali migrant workers headed overseas.
• Rural Nepal devastated by earthquake still awaits aid (USA Today) It is feared that the death toll, now above 7,300 will rise significantly as potentially thousands more victims have not yet been reached. Meanwhile aid equipment and supplies are being delayed at the Kathmandu airport as customs officials are insisting that import duties be paid.
  

Colombia

• How the US enables human rights abuses in Colombia (Al Jazeera) The indiscipline among American contractors in Colombia sets a disturbing example. The Colombian government and locals sympathetic to the government try to intimidate victims of rape at the hands of U.S. military personnel who are protected by diplomatic immunity, according to Al Jazeera.
  

BECOME A GEI MEMBER – IT’s FREE!

Every every afternoon What We Read Today featured column is available only to GEI members.

To become a GEI Member simply subscribe to our FREE daily newsletter.