Written by Econintersect
Early Bird Headlines 10 July 2016
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
Bitcoin ‘miners’ face fight for survival as new supply halves (CNBC) Bitcoin can be used to send money instantly around the world, using individual bitcoin addresses, free of charge with no need for third party checks, and is accepted by several major online retailers. The operators of the computers that record and verify the roughly 225,000 daily bitcoin transactions are called “miners” because they earn new bitcoins for the work they do – steadily increasing the currency in circulation, currently worth around $10 billion. But on Saturday, the reward for miners was slashed in half. Written into bitcoin’s code when it was invented in 2008 was a rule dictating that the prize would be halved every four years, in a step designed to keep a lid on bitcoin inflation. This will make some of the “miners” unprofitable.
U.S.
Dallas Police Chief David Brown, a Reformer, Becomes Face of Nation’s Shock (The New York Times) Hat tip to Rob Carter. There is an almost unbelievable back story to the tragedy in Dallas cocerning that city’s reformist police chief, David Brown:
Just weeks after Chief Brown became the leader of the Dallas Police Department in 2010, his own son fatally shot a police officer and another man before being killed in a confrontation with the police.
“My family has not only lost a son, but a fellow police officer and a private citizen lost their lives at the hands of our son,” he said in a statement at the time. “That hurts so deeply I cannot adequately express the sadness I feel inside my heart.”
I’m a black ex-cop, and this is the real truth about race and policing (Vox) Hat tip to Roger Erickson. The author says that there’s a theory from his friend K.L. Williams, who has trained thousands of officers around the country in use of force. An the author writes as a black man who served in the St. Louis Police Department for five years. The theory says that, on any given day, in any police department in the nation, 15% of officers will do the right thing no matter what is happening; 15% will abuse their authority at every opportunity; and the remaining 70% could go either way depending on whom they are working with. And the author writes:
I agree with him. I worked with men and women who became cops for all the right reasons – they really wanted to help make their communities better. And I worked with people like the president of my police academy class, who sent out an email after President Obama won the 2008 election that included the statement, “I can’t believe I live in a country full of ni**er lovers!!!!!!!!” He patrolled the streets in St. Louis in a number of black communities with the authority to act under the color of law.
This Hate Group Called for Killing White Cops. Then Dallas Sniper Micah Xavier Johnson Started Shooting. (The Daily Beasts)
Shortly after 10 p.m. on Thursday night, when Micah Xavier Johnson shot and killed five Dallas police officers and wounded nine others, Mauricelm-Lei Millere, founder of the African American Defense League hate group, posted a picture on his Instagram account.
The caption led with this: “We have no alternative! We must kill white police officers across the country!”
For Too Many, the Job Market Isn’t Working (Bloomberg) All levels of education have seen labor force participation decline over the last 50 years, but the less the level of education the more have “dropped out”.
Dallas police say department received anonymous threat across city (Reuters) Late Saturday afternoon report:
Dallas police have received an anonymous threat against officers across the city, and the department was taking extra safety precautions, it said on Saturday.
“The Dallas Police Department received an anonymous threat against law enforcement across the city and has taken precautionary measures” to heighten security, Dallas police said in an emailed statement.
Police headquarters have been placed on lockdown and are surrounded by SWAT team vehicles, according to local media, which cited unnamed sources.
The department said it would not immediately confirm or deny whether its headquarters was under lockdown.
Hedge Funds Set for Worst First Half Since ’11 on Turmoil (Bloomberg) (Econintersect: Do they call them hedge funds because they are frequently getting trimmed?) The 8-year average annual return for hedge funds is 2.1% compounded. For the S&P 500, 6.5% compounded.
UK
Neocons linked to Tea Party paid for Andrea Leadsom’s flights to US (The Guardian) A controversial rightwing American lobbying group that denies climate change science and promotes gun ownership paid for the Tory prime ministerial hopeful Andrea Leadsom to fly to the United States to attend its conferences. The American Legislative Exchange Council – Alec – is a neoconservative organization with close links to members of the Tea Party movement. Championed by supporters of the free market, it has been attacked by critics for exerting a “powerful and undemocratic” influence on US politics.
Tory women turn against Andrea Leadsom as motherhood row deepens (The Telegraph) Theresa May’s most senior allies have gone to war against Andrea Leadsom in retaliation for her “vile” suggestion that the Home Secretary should not become prime minister because she has no children. The energy minister’s critics included some of the Conservative Party’s most senior women after she suggested she had a greater “stake” in Britain’s future than her childless rival.
Russia
Russia Expels Two Americans as Tensions Rise After Embassy Fight (Bloomberg) Russia said it expelled two Americans it claims were CIA agents in a tit-for-tat exchange, reflecting rising tensions following a scuffle outside the U.S. embassy in Moscow in June. The pair were kicked out for activities incompatible with their diplomatic status, Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Sergei Ryabkov said in a statement on the ministry’s website on Saturday. The action came weeks after two Russian diplomats were ordered to leave the U.S. One of the banished Americans hit a Russian policeman on June 6 after returning from a CIA assignment, Ryabkov said in the statement. U.S. officials have said the Russian policeman tackled the American in the incident. Econintersect: A surveillance video showing the American “striking” the Russian policeman has been shown by us before. This video was shown on Russian TV.
India
Narendra Modi goes on a train journey that made the Mahatma (The Hindu) On the second day of his South Africa visit, Mr. Modi boarded a wood-panelled carriage at Pentrich and travelled to Pietermaritzburg railway station where a young Gandhi was ejected from a train in 1893 for refusing to obey an order to move from a first-class compartment to a third-class one because of his race. That event started Ghandi on a crusade for ending racial discrimination.
Australia
Australia’s Prime Minister Turnbull declares victory in federal election, opposition Labor Party concedes (Reuters, CNBC) Australia’s Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on Sunday said his ruling government has won victory in the federal election. Counting of votes continues, but with forecasts indicating the ruling conservative government will enough seats in Parliament to secure an outright victory, Australia’s opposition Labor Party on Sunday conceded defeat. While Turnbull retained power, his gamble in calling an election, ostensibly to clear the Senate of what he saw as obstructive minor parties, backfired badly with a swing to the center-left Labor opposition and a rise in the popularity of minor parties and independents.
Argentina
Sun Valley conference: Argentine President Macri explains economic turnaround (CNBC) Globalization may be the key to boosting Argentina’s economy, President Mauricio Macri told CNBC on Thursday.
