Spanish bank Bankia Monday restated 2011 to reflect a 3.3 Billion euro loss, rather than a 41 Million euro profit -

Spanish bank Bankia Monday restated 2011 to reflect a 3.3 Billion euro loss, rather than a 41 Million euro profit - 






It is rather amazing what one finds when a company which previously had allegedly posted a profit of €41 million, somehow becomes insolvent, needs a nationalization to avoid a full out liquidation, and gets bailed out by the state. One of the first things one finds is that the profit pitched to that particular class of gullible idiots, known as shareholders, was an outright lie. And yes, on that one very rare occasion when an auditor refuses to sign off on a bank's financials, in this case Deloitte, run far, and run fast. Instead what one finds is a massive loss. From Reuters: "BFA, the parent group of nationalized Spanish bank Bankia said on Monday it had restated its 2011 results to reflect a 3.3 billion euro loss, rather than a 41 million euro profit, following a bailout from the state. In a statement to the stock exchange regulator, BFA said the restated loss reflected a review of its loan portfolios and capital needs after a new audit and as part of the clean-up plan implemented by the government." Well, duh, something "new" better be reflected, or else the general public may just get the impression that banks are merely pulling numbers out of their glutes, that the entire balance sheet, income and cash flow statements are just a jumble of utter BS, and that keeping one's deposits in a system predicated on lies and fraud may not be the smartest thing. But no: that would imply one is inciting a bank run, and that is frowned upon by the very same government which does everything in its power to facilitate just the data manipulation that magically results in a profitable bank being on the verge of liquidation.


But that's not all. According to Spain's Expansion, the total loss could be far worse, more than double the just reported, to a total of €7 billion. Google translated:


Following a meeting of more than four hours, the board of directors of the entity on Monday approved the restated financial statements. Bankia matrix provided only consolidated data for the year 2011, yielding a loss of 3.318 million euros. However, individual losses would amount to 7,000 million BFA, according to financial sources.

The consolidated balance sheet losses gave the fruit of Bankia own numbers, which on Friday announced that it obtained a negative result of 2.979 million in 2011. In previous accounts, unaudited, BFA had lost 439 million in individual accounts, while recognized in consolidated profit of 41 million.

The red numbers are mainly due to the development of fair value of the share itself has BFA Bankia (52% in December 2011).
Indicatively, the move from a profit to a €7 billion loss, in a US context, is roughly the same as if US bank holding company X were to go from being profitable to posting a nearly $100 billion loss. Overnight. But only after the FDIC was invited to backstop the firm's suddenly underwater hundreds of billions in deposits.


Oops.


Luckily, there is always only one cockroach (ahem JP Morgan prop desk), and we are absolutely confident the €7 billion total loss, when officially announced will be the final one. Just as the final bailout bill of €19 billion will not be topped. Or was that €25 billion?


And nobody will need a European bailout. Ever.


Read more -
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/bankia-parent-revises-2011-profit-%E2%82%AC41-million-%E2%82%AC33-billion-loss

Radiation from the tsunami-damaged Fukushima power plant have turned up in bluefin tuna off the California coast -

Radiation from the tsunami-damaged Fukushima power plant have turned up in bluefin tuna off the California coast - 




Low levels of nuclear radiation from the tsunami-damaged Fukushima power plant have turned up in bluefin tuna off the California coast, suggesting that these fish carried radioactive compounds across the Pacific Ocean faster than wind or water can.


Small amounts of cesium-137 and cesium-134 were detected in 15 tuna caught near San Diego in August 2011, about four months after these chemicals were released into the water off Japan's east coast, scientists reported on Monday.


That is months earlier than wind and water currents brought debris from the plant to waters off Alaska and the U.S. Pacific Northwest.


The amount of radioactive cesium in the fish is not thought to be damaging to people if consumed, the researchers said in a study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.


Without making a definitive judgment on the safety of the fish, lead author Daniel Madigan of Stanford University's Hopkins Marine Station noted that the amount of radioactive material detected was far less than the Japanese safety limit.


"I wouldn't tell anyone what's safe to eat or what's not safe to eat," Madigan said in a telephone interview. "It's become clear that some people feel that any amount of radioactivity, in their minds, is bad and they'd like to avoid it. But compared to what's there naturally ... and what's established as safety limits, it's not a large amount at all."


He said the scientists found elevated levels of two radioactive isotopes of the element cesium: cesium 137, which was present in the eastern Pacific before the Fukushima Daiichi disaster in the spring of 2011; and cesium 134, which is produced only by human activities and was not present before the earthquake and tsunami hit the Japanese plant.


Because cesium 134 is generated only by human activities - nuclear power plants and weapons - and there was none in the Pacific for several years before the Fukushima accident, they reckoned that any cesium 134 they found in tuna off California had to come from Fukushima.


Read more -
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/28/us-japan-nuclear-tuna-idUSBRE84R0MF20120528

Beer-stealing COWS crash backyard bash -

Beer-stealing COWS crash backyard bash - 




Some rowdy young party crashers are making headlines today for stealing all of the beer at a backyard bash.


Police in Boxford, Mass. say that a group of young adults were enjoying an outdoor college reunion party Sunday evening when six cows showed up and hurtled toward their beverages.


"They went right for the beer and then when one was done, they'd knock another one over and take care of that beer," Lt. James Riter of the Boxford Police Department told a local newspaper. "I saw one cow drinking the beer on its way down as it spilled off the table... Some of the cows were also picking through the empties in the recycling bin... They just went in and helped themselves."


According to Wicked Local, the bovine beer-lovers frightened human party-goers indoors. One person from the party, as well as a neighbour called 911.


Riter said he witnessed 10-13  women jumping on the rear deck of the house to avoid contact with the cows when he arrived. "The young women were absolutely in shock," he told a reporter.


The cows' owner eventually showed up to help herd them back to his field - but not before police could snap a few photos. 





Read more -
http://www.cbc.ca/news/yourcommunity/2012/05/beer-stealing-cows-crash-backyard-bash.html

African scientists warn that eating monkeys and apes could cause 'the next HIV' -

African scientists warn that eating monkeys and apes could cause 'the next HIV' - 


Deep in the rainforest of south-east Cameroon, the voices of the men rang through the trees. "Where are the white people?" they shouted. The men, who begin to surround us, are poachers, who make their money from the illegal slaughter of gorillas and chimpanzees. They disperse but make it known that they are not keen for their activities to be reported; the trade they ply could not only wipe out critically endangered species but, scientists are now warning, could also create the next pandemic of a deadly virus in humans.


Eighty per cent of the meat eaten in Cameroon is killed in the wild and is known as "bushmeat". The nation's favoured dishes are gorilla, chimpanzee or monkey because of their succulent and tender flesh. According to one estimate, up to 3,000 gorillas are slaughtered in southern Cameroon every year to supply an illicit but pervasive commercial demand for ape meat .


"Everyone is eating it," said one game warden. "If they have money they will buy gorilla or chimp to eat."


Frankie, a poacher in the southern Dja Wildlife reserve who gave a fake name, said he is involved in the trade because he can earn good money from it, charging around £60 per adult gorilla killed. "I have to make a living," he said. "Women come from the market and order a gorilla or a chimp and I go and kill them."


Cameroon's south-eastern rainforests are also home to the Baka – traditional forest hunters who have the legal right to hunt wild animals, with the exception of great apes.


Felix Biango, a Baka elder, said the group used to hunt gorilla every few weeks to feed his village, Ayene, but has stopped since Cameroon outlawed the practice 10 years ago. However, he says that every week, three or four people come from the cities to ask the group to help them to hunt wild animals, such as gorillas and chimpanzees.


While the Baka no longer hunt primates for themselves, Mr Biango says that they still kill gorillas for the commercial trade and will eat the meat if they find the animals already dead.


Though Cameroonians have eaten primate meat for years, recent health scares have begun to raise fears about the safety of the meat. "In the village of Bakaklion our brothers found a dead gorilla in the forest," Mr Biango said. "They took it back to the village and ate the meat. Almost immediately, everyone died – 25 men, women and children – the only person who didn't was a woman who didn't eat the meat."


Three-quarters of all new human viruses are known to come from animals, and some scientists believe humans are particularly susceptible to those carried by apes. The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is now widely believed to have originated in chimps. Apes are known to host other potentially deadly viruses, such as ebola, anthrax, yellow fever and other potential viruses yet to be discovered.


Babila Tafon, head vet at the primate sanctuary Ape Action Africa (AAA), in Mefou, just outside the capital Yaounde, believes the incident that Biango describes could have been caused by an outbreak of ebola, but cannot be sure because no tests were carried out.


AAA now cares for 22 gorillas and more than one hundred chimps – all orphans of the bushmeat trade.


Mr Tafon tests the blood of all apes arriving at the sanctuary. He says he has recently detected a new virus in the apes – simian foamy virus, which is closely related to HIV. "A recent survey confirmed this is now in humans, especially in some of those who are hunters and cutting up the apes in the south-east of the country," he said.


Viruses are often transferred from ape to human through a bite, scratch or the blood of a dead ape getting into an open wound. There is a lower risk from eating cooked or smoked primates, but it is not completely safe.


Bushmeat is not only a concern for Cameroonians. Each year, an estimated 11,000 tons of bushmeat is illegally smuggled in to the UK, mainly from West Africa, and is known to include some ape meat.


The transfer of viruses from ape to man is a primary concern for the international virology research and referral base run by the Pasteur Centre in Yaounde. Each week, it screens more than 500 blood samples for all manner of viruses, and alerts major international medical research centres if it finds an unfamiliar strain.


Read more -
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/african-monkey-meat-that-could-be-behind-the-next-hiv-7786152.html

China And Japan Dropping Dollar Cross Rate System, Will Transact Directly -

China And Japan Dropping Dollar Cross Rate System, Will Transact Directly - 




While various three letter economic schools of thought continue sprouting left and right, in an attempt to validate endless spending predicated on one simple thing: transitory reserve currency status, and we emphasize transitory, reality moves on, oblivious of what economic theoreticians believe it should be doing. As Yomiuri Shimbun reported last night, China and Japan are set to launch direct currency trading, bypassing the dollar, and the associated benefits and risks, entirely. "But how can that be?" dollar purists will scream. After all, when one bypasses the dollar, one commits blasphemy to a reserve currency. Somehow we think China gets that. From the AP: "Japan and China are expected to start direct trading of their currencies as early as June as part of efforts to boost bilateral trade and investment, according to reports. With the planned step, exchange rates between the yen and the yuan will be determined by their transactions, departing from the current "cross rate" system that involves the dollar in setting yen-yuan rates, Kyodo News said on Saturday."


More specifics on how the world's second and third largest economy will just say no to dollar hegemony:


The two governments are eyeing setting up markets in Tokyo and Shanghai, the Yomiuri Shimbun said.

The yen-yuan exchange system would help businesses in the world's second- and third-largest economies reduce risks associated with exchange rate fluctuations in the dollar and cut transaction costs, Kyodo said.

It will be the first time that China has allowed a major currency except the dollar to directly trade with the yuan, Kyodo said.


Read more -
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/china-and-japan-dropping-dollar-cross-rate-system-will-transact-directly

GM failed to disclose $600k sweetheart deal to CFO's wife... -

GM failed to disclose $600k sweetheart deal to CFO's wife... - 




General Motors told the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission today that it failed to report a $600,000 deal given to an advertising agency where the wife of a top GM executive is a partner


GM said in an SEC filing that it had “recently learned about” a contract awarded in 2011 to an agency where Chief Financial Officer Dan Ammann’s wife, Pernilla Ammann, is chief operating officer and partner.


The automaker added: “This transaction has been properly ratified under our Related Party Transaction Policy, but not all the required procedures were followed.”


The company has a detailed policy dictating how potential conflicts of interest must be handled. Part of the policy: Deals of more than $120,000 in which a top executive’s spouse has a financial interest must be approved by CEO Dan Akerson and Senior Vice President and General Counsel Michael Millikin. The arrangement must then be reported to the GM Board of Directors’ Governance Committee, which annually reviews each top executive’s independence.


Read more - 
http://www.freep.com/article/20120525/BUSINESS0101/120525023/General-Motors-GM-Dan-Ammann-deal-for-wife?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Ctext%7CFRONTPAGE

A Japanese artist cooked his own genitals and served them to five paying diners in Tokyo -

A Japanese artist cooked his own genitals and served them to five paying diners in Tokyo - 


A Japanese artist cooked his own genitals and served them to five paying diners in Tokyo to cover the medical costs, in a bizarre act to raise awareness about sexual minorities.


Mao Sugiyama had his penis and testicles surgically removed in March and kept them frozen for two months before dishing them out -- seasoned and braised -- to customers at an event hall on May 13, according to postings on his Twitter account and local police.


Diners paid 20,000 yen ($250) for the plate with a portion of genitals. Pictures published on a website appeared to show the meal came complete with mushrooms and a parsley garnish.


The painter, who is reportedly 22, said on Twitter the organ had been removed by a physician and certified to be free of infections.


The meal was prepared under the supervision of a certified cook and diners were required to sign a waiver indemnifying Sugiyama and event organisers.


In May 18 tweets, the artist said steps were taken so the act met all relevant laws, including a ban on organ sales, processing of medical waste and even food sanitation requirements.


"I receive questions from some women and men... asking 'Will there be a next time? Please host it again.' But there is only one set of male organ," he tweeted on May 16.


"Unfortunately, I have no plan for the next time."


Sugiyama, who considers himself "asexual", that is without gender, initially thought about eating the genitals himself, but decided to solicit paying customers to help pay his hospital bills for the surgery.


In an email to AFP, he confirmed the event had taken place and said it was organised to raise awareness about "sexual minorities, x-gender, asexual people". He said he was readying to publish an official account of the day.


Police in Tokyo said they knew of the episode, but added that it had not broken the law as cannibalism was not illegal in Japan.


"We are aware of the case. There was nothing (criminal) to it. It does not violate any detailed rules. There is nothing to take action about," an officer at Suginami police station told AFP.


Read more - 
http://www.france24.com/en/20120525-japanese-man-cooks-serves-own-genitals

RFID Chips Embedded In School Uniforms Keep Track Of Students In Brazil -

RFID Chips Embedded In School Uniforms Keep Track Of Students In Brazil - 




Grade-school students in a northeastern Brazilian city are using uniforms embedded with locator chips that help alert parents if they’re cutting classes, the city’s education secretary said Thursday.


Twenty thousand students in 25 of Vitoria da Conquista’s 213 public schools started using T-shirts with chips earlier this week, secretary Coriolano Moraes said by telephone.


By 2013, all of the city’s 43,000 public school students, aged 4 to 14, will be using the chip-embedded T-shirts, he added.


Radio frequency chips in "intelligent uniforms" let a computer know when children enter school and it sends a text message to their cell phones. Parents are also alerted if kids don’t show up 20 minutes after classes begin with the following message: "Your child has still not arrived at school."


The chips, similar to those used to track pets in many countries, are placed underneath each school’s coat-of-arms or on one of the sleeves below a phrase that says: "Education does not transform the world. Education changes people and people transform the world."


Read more - 
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/23/rfid-chips-brazil-students_n_1374886.html

PepsiCo Says It Will Halt Use of Aborted Fetal Cells in its research for enhancing the flavors of its products -

PepsiCo Says It Will Halt Use of Aborted Fetal Cells in its research for enhancing the flavors of its products - 






A pro-life leader has won a victory in her efforts to convince soft-drink manufacturer PepsiCo to stop the use of aborted fetal cells in its research for enhancing the flavors of its products. Debi Vinnedge, executive director of Children of God for Life (COGFL), announced that in late April she had received a letter from Paul Boykas, PepsiCo’s vice president for Global Public Policy, confirming that the company will not allow the use of HEK-293 — a cell line derived from human embryonic kidney — in its partnership with Senomyx, the company with which it had inked a four-year, $30 million contract for flavor research.
As reported last November by The New American, a PepsiCo shareholder had filed a resolution with the Securities and Exchange Commission in an effort halt the company from contracting with Senomyx, which, according to documents collected by Vinnedge, used cell lines derived from aborted babies in its process of producing artificial flavor enhancers. According to a report by LifeNews.com at the time, Pepsi had “ignored concerns and criticism from dozens of pro-life groups and tens of thousands of pro-life people who voiced their opposition to PepsiCo contracting with biotech company Senomyx even after it was found to be testing their food additives using fetal cells from abortions.”
But after a nearly year-long campaign led by COGFL that included a nationwide boycott of PepsiCo products, in late April Boykas sent a letter to Vinnedge assuring her that PepsiCo would not “conduct or fund research — including research performed by third parties — that utilizes any human tissue or cell lines derived from embryos or fetuses.” Boykas also assured Vinnedge that “Senomyx does not use HEK cells or any other tissues or cell lines derived from human embryos or fetuses for research performed on behalf of PepsiCo.”
In response to the letter, Vinnedge said that she was “absolutely thrilled with PepsiCo’s decision. They have listened to their customers and have made both a wise and profound statement of corporate integrity that deserves the utmost respect, admiration, and support of the public.”
Vinnedge said that she had spoken personally with Boykas, who told her that in the process of internal discussions on the issue, company officials had recognized that it was not in PepsiCo’s best interest to continue a policy that could hurt customer relations. “We took the matter very seriously,” Vinnedge quoted Boykas as saying. “We have an official statement on Responsible Research and we intend to live by that policy.”
The policy, Vinnedge explained, “precludes any research by PepsiCo or third parties they fund from using human tissue or cell lines derived from embryos or fetuses.”
News of PepsiCo’s decision reverberated through the pro-life community. “We are grateful to PepsiCo, and especially to all those who sent a loud and clear message to the management of this company,” said Brad Mattes of Life Issues Institute, one of the over 30 groups that joined in the efforts to persuade PepsiCo to change its policy. He added that “there are moral cell lines Senomyx can and should be using — not just for PepsiCo research but for all their customers.” Vinnedge noted that such usable cell lines could easily come from animals, insects, or even non-fetal human cells that express the “G protein” relevant for taste receptors.


Read more -
http://thenewamerican.com/culture/faith-and-morals/item/11480-pepsi-says-it-will-halt-use-of-aborted-fetal-cells-in-flavor-research

Public restrooms in Beijing must contain no more than two Flies per stall -

Public restrooms in Beijing must contain no more than two Flies per stall - 


Public restrooms in Beijing must contain no more than two flies per stall, according to a bizarre new directive issued to washroom attendants.
The Beijing Municipal Commission of City Administration and Environment issued the rule Monday as a "new standard for public toilet management," the Beijing News reported.
Xie Guomin, the official in charge of the initiative, told the newspaper that the two-fly rule was not compulsory, but was a new benchmark to improve the Chinese capital's notoriously unpleasant public restrooms.
Online critics pounced on the new initiative, questioning how officials planned to enforce it and whether inspectors would actually visit the restrooms to count the number of insects per stall.
Xie said, "We will not actually count fly numbers. The regulation is specific and quantified, but the inspection methodology will be flexible."




Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/05/23/beijing-sets-two-fly-rule-for-public-restrooms/?test=latestnews