A library of snippets
xxxnoted quantum computing theorist Scott Aaronson It seems to me that a miracle would be required for the approach here to yield any benefit at all, compared to just running the classical Schnorr’s algorithm on your laptop. And if the latter were able to break RSA, it would’ve already done so.
From Shtetl-Optimized » Blog Archive » Cargo Cult Quantum Factoring.
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A London strip club faces closure after a man had £98,000 stolen from his bank account after allegedly having his drink spiked – the latest in a string of alleged spikings at the venue.
He’s one of 10 men to have now reported incidents following visits to the London strip club, with total funds stolen reaching £250,000 according to a council report.The incidents, which took place at Vanity Bar and Nightclub on Carlisle Street in the heart of Soho, could now see the London club shut down after police called for its license to be suspended pending investigation.
According to MyLondon, the latest victim, who visited the club on November 26, 2022, said he woke up in the street near his home with no recollection of how he’d got there.
His only memory of the evening involved visiting the strip club and buying a drink.
He then checked his bank account to discover money had been sent to a number of unknown accounts with more than £19,000 of funds missing.
From Man wakes to find £98k stolen from bank account after ‘drink spiked’ in Soho strip club:
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ECB board member Fabio Panneta says trading in unbacked digital assets should be treated by regulators like gambling.
In a blog post, Panetta describes crypto investments as a gamble disguised as an investment asset.
“They do not perform any socially or economically useful function,” he says. “They are rarely used for payments and do not fund consumption or investment. As a form of investment, unbacked cryptos lack any intrinsic value, too. They are speculative assets.”
From ECB executive says gambling rules should be applied to curb crypto speculation:
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Michael P. Regan
This entire space is such a dumpster fire that, in retrospect, it’s hard to believe anyone ever took it seriously.
From Celsius, Gemini, Genesis Crypto-Lending Dumpster Fire Rages On – Bloomberg:
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The so-called “decreto anti-rave” was the first bill proposed by Giorgia Meloni’s rightwing coalition when the prime minister took office in October. Now officially approved by parliament, it makes organising raves a specific crime punishable with three to six years of jail time, fines of up to €10,000 (£8,900) and the confiscation of equipment. The new statute also allows the surveillance of groups who are suspected of holding these unauthorised events, including tapping their phones.
From ‘Similar to criminal conspiracy’: draconian new law targets Italian ravers | Music | The Guardian:
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As a small business owner, I get really miffed about card transactions.
Here’s why. Currently I’m charged circa £30.00 per month to rent the terminal. On top of this there are the transaction fees plus management fees. Now a number of you will shout at me and tell me to switch terminal providers such as SumUp, Square etc. well they charge more on the transaction fees to recoup their possible earnings.
Now then for the real issue:
Every penny my business takes via a card payment is still taking three working days to reach my account. In this day and age this is disgraceful.From The right to access cash will soon be enshrined in law:
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In a speech on December 14, Reserve Bank Governor Philip Lowe noted that the value of cash withdrawals was down by 17 per cent from where it was three years ago, while over the same period, the value of nominal spending in the economy had risen by 27 per cent.
According to data from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), there are more than 2 billion banknotes on issue, worth more than $100 billion – that’s about $4,000 per person in Australia.
This is despite cash being used less and less for transactions.
Luke Raven, senior anti-money laundering compliance manager at Cabital, says while many of the banknotes being hoarded will be legitimate, when police and tax authorities do raids on organised crime groups, they often find hordes of $100 notes and $50 notes.
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Andrew Griffith MP is Economic Secretary to the Treasury
There are respectable arguments for the anonymity of cash as an ultimate backstop protection from an overmighty state, but we should not be naïve about the extent to which cash also facilitates a “shadow economy”. Although hard to quantify, some estimates put this at around 10% of UK GDP. Better collection of taxes here could mean a greater ability to cut taxes elsewhere. The ability to work “cash in hand” has been cited as one pull factor for migrants leaving safe countries on mainland Europe to illegally cross The English Channel.
From The right to access cash will soon be enshrined in law:
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State economic activity can easily crowd out the private kind. Alibaba investors should therefore be wary of China’s enthusiasm for the digital renminbi. This central bank digital currency poses a threat to Alipay, the payments business of Alibaba affiliate Ant Group.
From Ant: digital renminbi poses big risk to payments business | Financial Times:
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Also, AI bots can’t be sued, which means complications when determining liability and compensation.
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