Baltic Dry Index. 1223 +08 Brent Crude 55.33
A government must not waiver
once it has chosen its course. It must not look to the left or right but go
forward.
Otto von Bismarck
We seem to suddenly have entered a new
cold war with Russia, with America under President Trump suddenly playing a
dangerous version of Russian Roulette. Just a week ago the Trump administration
said it could live with President Assad. After an alleged Sarin gas attack in
Idlib Syria, President Trump turned 180 degrees on a dime after an anti-Russian
coordinated media blitz, without any investigation of the facts, and for one night
turned his new cold war, hot. At the same time he ordered a large US Navy
attack force towards North Korea, ordering China to act in North Korea or the
USA will take unilateral action.
With NATO tanks and planes in Estonia
just 85 miles from St Petersburg, arguably Russia’s most important city, Russia
is forced onto an existential hair trigger response any time it thinks it sees
NATO prepping for a first strike. Think
Israel in the six day war of 1967. Faced with an existential threat, Israel
struck first and destroyed the Egyptian air force on the ground. Faced with an
existential threat, nations just do what they have to do to survive.
Below, where we now stand in the Middle
East. A President in America, leader of the free world, who can be rolled by
the media spin. Just one Russian Roulette mistake away from all out war. Add to
holdings of fully paid up physical gold and silver. Dark grey just turned
black.
All treaties between great
states cease to be binding when they come in conflict with the struggle for
existence.
Otto von Bismarck
Assad allies say U.S. attack on Syria air base crosses 'red lines'
| AMMAN
A joint command center made up of the forces
of Russia, Iran and militias supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on
Sunday said the U.S. strike on a Syrian air base on Friday crossed "red
lines" and it would respond to any new aggression and increase its support
for its ally.The United States fired dozens of cruise missiles at a Syrian air base on Friday from which it said a deadly chemical weapons attack had been launched earlier in the week, escalating the U.S. role in Syria and drawing criticism from Assad's allies including Russia and Iran.
"What America waged in an aggression on Syria is a crossing of red lines. From now on we will respond with force to any aggressor or any breach of red lines from whoever it is and America knows our ability to respond well," said the statement published by the group on media outlet Ilam al Harbi (War Media).
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, meanwhile, blamed Russian
inaction for helping fuel the chemical weapons attack it had reacted to, saying
Moscow had failed to carry out a 2013 agreement to secure and destroy chemical
weapons in Syria.
He said the United States expected Russia to take a tougher stance
against Syria by rethinking its alliance with Assad because "every time
one of these horrific attacks occurs, it draws Russia closer into some level of
responsibility."
Rebels and residents in northwestern Idlib province said jets believed
to be Russian conducted eight raids on Sunday on the town of Khan Sheikhoun
where the chemical attack took place but no casualties were reported.
Raids hit several other rebel-held towns including Saraqeb and Sarmin in
the province, where the rebels and activists said incendiary bombs were
dropped.
The death toll from an air strike on Saturday on the rebel-held town of
Urum al-Joz in Idlib province rose to 19 people, including six children,
activists and residents said.
In the southern city of Daraa, jets believed to be Russian escalated
strikes on Free Syrian Army (FSA) and jihadist groups on Saturday and Sunday in
an attempt to roll back their gains in the Manshiya district where battles have
been raging for nearly two months.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iran's Hassan Rouhani said in a
phone call that aggressive U.S. actions against Syria were not permissible and
violated international law, the Kremlin said on Sunday.
The two leaders also called for an objective investigation into an
incident involving chemical weapons in Syria's Idlib and said they were ready
to deepen cooperation to fight terrorism, the Kremlin said in a statement on
its website.
----The joint command center also said the presence of U.S troops in northern Syria where Washington has hundreds of special forces helping the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to oust Islamic State was "illegal" and that Washington had a long-term plan to occupy the area.
The regional alliance said the U.S. cruise missile strikes on a Syrian
base which Washington said was involved in a chemical attack that killed dozens
of civilians would not deter their forces from "liberating" all of
Syrian territory.
In Iran, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the U.S. missile
strike was a "a strategic error, and a repeat of the mistakes of the
past," the state news agency IRNA reported.
More
Six-Day War
In EUSSR news, Europe goes off the
rails, yet again. Why would anyone want to remain in a club like this?
Italian Government to Revise Privatization Target Downward
by Sonia Sirletti , Chiara Albanese, and Lorenzo Totaro
8 April 2017, 12:20 BST
The Italian government is set to revise downward its privatization target in
the budget planning document that the cabinet is expected to discuss April 11.Italy targets stake sales amounting to “0.3 percent to 0.4 percent of output for 2017 and for the following years," Deputy Finance Minister Enrico Morando said in an interview at the Ambrosetti Workshop in Cernobbio, Italy. That is less than the 0.5 percent previously planned for 2017 and 2018.
Italy last year failed to meet privatization targets it said were key to reducing a public debt that stands at 2.25 trillion euros ($2.4 trillion), or more than 130 percent of the country’s gross domestic product. The Treasury failed to make good on commitments to sell a stake in the national railway as well as a second tranche of Poste Italiane SpA, the postal company that is also one of the country’s main insurance and financial operators.
Morando said that, in addition to Poste and Ferrovie dello Stato SpA, the government may also consider selling further tranches in Enel SpA and Eni SpA. Asked about the revision at a press briefing in Malta, Italian Finance Minister Pier Carlo Padoan said the figures will be made public after their approval.
Europe Should Stick to Rules on Bank Rescues, ECB's Mersch Says
by Sonia Sirletti, Chiara Albanese, and Chiara Vasarri
7 April 2017, 20:38 BST 8 April 2017, 07:00 BST
Europe should follow its own rules when it looks at the rescue of Italian
banks, European Central Bank Executive Board member Yves
Mersch said.“If Europe gives itself rules, then it should also abide by the rules,” Mersch said in a Bloomberg Television interview on Friday at the Ambrosetti Workshop in Cernobbio, Italy. “That rule respect is a very important element where Europe has to make a little bit more progress.”
The European Union has enacted procedures for failing banks meant to end taxpayer bailouts with the so-called “bail-ins.” The new rules came after governments used nearly 2 trillion euros ($2.12 trillion) in state aid to rescue the financial sector from 2008 to 2014.
In their first test, Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA and other two small Italian lenders requested a precautionary recapitalization, which funnels government money to solvent banks without sending them into resolution. It also addresses a capital gap in a stress test and imposes lower losses than a full “bail-in” to investors.
“This is a process that is still underway,” Mersch said in the interview with Kevin Costelloe of Bloomberg News. “The ECB is involved from the point of view of supervision but we have a strict separation between the supervisory side and the monetary policy side.”
More
EU Jobs Carve Up Starts Again With Dijsselbloem Under Threat
by Zoe Schneeweiss and Alessandro Speciale
7 April 2017, 05:00 BST 8 April 2017, 17:32 BST
For five centuries, Valletta’s Fort St. Elmo was the perfect place to spot
changing winds and new foes on the Mediterranean horizon.Euro-area finance chiefs gathering there from Friday might find it the ideal setting to scout out the competition for a reshuffle of top jobs over the next two years that includes a successor to European Central Bank President Mario Draghi.
The meeting in the Maltese capital -- to discuss topics such as Greece’s bailout and deeper economic and monetary union -- will be convened by Jeroen Dijsselbloem, who faces losing his post as Dutch finance minister after his party was routed in elections. That potentially puts his leadership of the group of his counterparts, known as the Eurogroup, up for grabs earlier than scheduled, feeding into a series of term expiries that will see two-thirds of the ECB’s Executive Board, the regional bank supervisor and possibly the head of the European Investment Bank replaced by the end of 2019.
Those jobs are all within the gift of governments, who like to ensure their countries get a share of the key European posts. So let the horse-trading begin.
Which positions are coming up and how are they decided?
Dijsselbloem’s term in charge of the Eurogroup runs until January 2018, if he lasts that long, as does that of Germany’s Werner Hoyer, president of the European Investment Bank. Portugal’s Vitor Constancio vacates the post of ECB vice president in May 2018, and France’s Daniele Nouy will leave her position as chair of ECB’s Single Supervisory Mechanism at the end of that year.The ECB will see an even bigger shakeup in 2019 when arguably the three most influential members of its six-person Executive Board step down. Chief Economist Peter Praet of Belgium leaves at the end of May, Italian native Draghi retires five months later, and France’s Benoit Coeure goes at year-end.
The posts are all negotiated by
governments and voted on by euro-area finance ministers, or European Union
ministers in the case of the EIB. Appointments to the ECB also need sign-off
from the European Parliament.
More
Treaties, you see, are like
girls and roses; they last while they last.
Charles de Gaulle
At the Comex silver depositories Friday
final figures were: Registered 29.18 Moz, Eligible 159.28 Moz,
Total 188.46 Moz.
Crooks and Scoundrels Corner
The bent, the seriously bent, and the totally
doubled over.
No
crooks or banksters today. Today a look at future air travel developments,
maybe. The robotic waiter beverage cart sounds downright dangerous, and having
the aisle passengers pass around hot drinks comes with big legal issues.
Five Innovations That Could Transform Air Travel
by Nicholas Brautlecht
4 April 2017, 04:00 BST 4 April 2017, 10:22 BST
Amid a dearth of new plane models, the aviation industry is intensifying the
search for in-cabin innovations to lure passengers with wider seats, faster
service and even fresh pancakes.Among developments this year, Qatar Airways revealed a business berth which can be swiveled to form a meeting area for four or a double bed. Dubai-based Emirates, which already offers airborne showers on its A380 superjumbos, is giving its flying bars a saloon-style redo. Meanwhile, Airbus Group SE on Tuesday said it’s redesigning the A380 double-decker’s so-called grand staircase to create more space for passengers.
The next generation of gizmos, on show at the 2017 Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg starting Tuesday, includes innovations aimed at boosting seat density, automating in-flight service (watch out cabin crew!) and keeping passengers entertained. Alongside the more practical advances are others that may not ever see the light of day. Bloomberg picks out five innovations worth a look.
Cyborg Server
Tired of losing
the beverage-cart lottery? Paris-based Altran has invented a robotic waiter
that takes your drink and snack order in advance and rolls it up to your row.
The self-driving trolley also collects garbage at the end of the flight, which
leaves more time for human attendants to focus on important issues like safety.
And fashion violations. Alas, the robot
lacks arms, so the job of passing hot coffee to window-seat passengers will be
outsourced to the lucky aisle-seat occupants.
Germ Killer
Using technology that’s already in action to disinfect hospitals and municipal water supplies, the GermFalcon will zap ultraviolet light across the cabin to sanitize armrests, tray tables and even toilets. It looks like a beverage cart with arms and can destroy bacteria and viruses on 54 seats in 1 minute. There’s already so much radiation at airports and in planes, who’s going to be bothered by a few rays more?More
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-04-04/cyber-service-and-fried-steak-next-airline-innovations-revealed
Technology
Update.
With events happening
fast in the development of solar power and graphene, I’ve added this section.
Updates as they get reported. Is converting sunlight to usable cheap AC or DC
energy mankind’s future from the 21st century onwards? DC? A quantum
computer next?
Built from the bottom up, nanoribbons pave the way to 'on-off' states for graphene
Date: March 30, 2017
Source: DOE/Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Summary: A new way to grow narrow ribbons of graphene, a
lightweight and strong structure of single-atom-thick carbon atoms linked into
hexagons, may address a shortcoming that has prevented the material from
achieving its full potential in electronic applications. Graphene nanoribbons,
mere billionths of a meter wide, exhibit different electronic properties than two-dimensional
sheets of the material.
"Confinement changes graphene's behavior," said An-Ping Li, a
physicist at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Graphene
in sheets is an excellent electrical conductor, but narrowing graphene can turn
the material into a semiconductor if the ribbons are made with a specific edge
shape.
Previous efforts to make graphene nanoribbons employed a metal substrate
that hindered the ribbons' useful electronic properties.
Now, scientists at ORNL and North Carolina State University report in
the journal Nature Communications that they are the first to grow
graphene nanoribbons without a metal substrate. Instead, they injected charge
carriers that promote a chemical reaction that converts a polymer precursor into
a graphene nanoribbon. At selected sites, this new technique can create
interfaces between materials with different electronic properties. Such
interfaces are the basis of semiconductor electronic devices from integrated
circuits and transistors to light-emitting diodes and solar cells.
"Graphene is wonderful, but it has limits," said Li. "In
wide sheets, it doesn't have an energy gap -- an energy range in a solid where
no electronic states can exist. That means you cannot turn it on or off."
When a voltage is applied to a sheet of graphene in a device, electrons
flow freely as they do in metals, severely limiting graphene's application in
digital electronics.
"When graphene becomes very narrow, it creates an energy gap,"
Li said. "The narrower the ribbon is, the wider is the energy gap."
In very narrow graphene nanoribbons, with a width of a nanometer or even
less, how structures terminate at the edge of the ribbon is important too. For
example, cutting graphene along the side of a hexagon creates an edge that
resembles an armchair; this material can act like a semiconductor. Excising
triangles from graphene creates a zigzag edge -- and a material with metallic
behavior.
More
No country without an atom
bomb could properly consider itself independent.
Charles de Gaulle
The monthly Coppock Indicators finished March
DJIA: 20,663
+131 Up. NASDAQ: 5,912 +165 Up. SP500: 2,363 +135 Up.
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