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8/26/2006

U.S. Built Iranian Nuclear Facility :.

The nuts who are running the nut house---from which their is no escape---have nukes on the brain:

In the heart of Tehran sits one of Iran's most important nuclear facilities, a dome-shaped building where scientists have conducted secret experiments that could help the country build atomic bombs. It was provided to the Iranians by the United States.

The Tehran Research Reactor represents a little-known aspect of the international uproar over the country's alleged weapons program. Not only did the U.S. provide the reactor in the 1960s as part of a Cold War strategy, America also supplied the weapons-grade uranium needed to power the facility-fuel that remains in Iran and could be used to help make nuclear arms.

As the U.S. and other countries wrestle with Iran's refusal this week to curb its nuclear capabilities, an examination of the Tehran facility sheds light on the degree to which the United States has been complicit in Iran developing those capabilities.



Confessions of an Economic Shapeshifter :.

If you've ever heard Perkins speak, and felt a bad vibe, check this out:

There's a school of liberal American thought - one that serves a gated community - that says John Perkins' Confessions of an Economic Hit Man is about as deep as it gets. If there is a conspiracy, so that mindset goes, then it goes this far: the cheating of nations of their inheritance by persuading their rulers to take on massive developments contracted to US industry, paid for by enormous loans, that in turn become the weapon of indebtedness to buy a government's allegiance. The story Perkins tells in Hit Man is that of the privateering ruin of the world, coordinated by the deniable aegis of covert statecraft, and it's as good as it goes. But it's not Perkins' only story.



Ernesto Could Threaten Gulf of Mexico Oil Production :.

UPDATE: Will Probably Miss Rigs

Theoildrum.com will have the best tactical coverage of events:

The fifth tropical storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, Ernesto, could become a dangerously powerful hurricane in the oil-producing Gulf of Mexico next week, US forecasters said.

The US National Hurricane Centre said forecasting Ernesto's future strength was riddled with uncertainty.

But very warm waters in its path as it approached the Gulf, where a quarter of US crude oil and natural gas production is located, could lead to significant strengthening around the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the Miami-based centre said.

"This could result in Ernesto becoming a powerful hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico," said hurricane centre forecaster Lixion Avila in a bulletin on the storm.



California: Hemp Bill Passes :.

A rare, sane move in California. How the lumber/paper industry allowed this to happen is a mystery to me. Let's wait and see if Ahhnold terminates it:

California lawmakers narrowly passed a bill Monday that would allow California's farmers to tap into the $270 million hemp industry by providing the raw materials used to create hemp products.

The bill, AB1147, is a bipartisan effort by Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, and Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, R-Irvine (Orange County), that would allow California's farmers to produce hemp oil, seed and fiber -- the raw materials that are used in hemp products.


8/24/2006

Two Cryptogon Readers Each Contribute $20

WOW!

Long time contributor PT sent $20 along with the kind words:
Best to you both in your new venture and lives together.

Warmest regards.
PT
Check your email, PT...

MT sent $20. Thanks for that and the story tips as well. ;)

Sharing the Wealth: Sent $10 to whatreallyhappened.com for Mike's Non-Stop Reporting



Enemy in U.S. Wargame: Cyberwarrior Hippies :.

Isn't it interesting how "the terrorists" don't simply take down the data communications infrastructure with shovels, hatchets, boltcutters, etc? This is what I noticed when I studied strategic information warfare (SIW) back in the mid 1990s; reading all this nonsense from the thinktanks, written by people who allegedly knew a thing or two about the subject:

Why aren't physical infrastructure attacks generally mentioned?

The answer is that this area of inquiry is simply unthinkable and better left alone by people with PhDs who are paid to provide authoritative answers. The physical infrastructure is A) very fragile and B) impossible to defend against focused but rudimentary attacks. End of story. Analysts usually don't even consider it. Well, not in the public discourse, anyway. What you get (in public) is all denial of service, hacking, worms, etc. Software. Virtural. Not real.

What would happen if "the terrorists" took out an OC-768 or two or ten? I'm sure this scenario has been gamed in some underground, DoD crypt, somewhere. And I'm quite sure that the generals and propeller heads running the thing had nighmares for days or weeks afterwards.

Sean Gorman didn't think his work had implications for national security... Until the feds showed up and classified it. Of course, all the materials Gorman used were freely available, totally out in the open, to anyone with the clarity of mind of a 12-year-old an 11-year-old child. When I wrote an informal essay on the same subject several years ago, I intentionally left out the details I knew would bring door knocks late at night.

The bottom line is this: If anyone, or a small group of someones, decided that they really wanted to take this system down, that is, deliver a kill shot---not something to dazzle the idiots at home in their EZ chairs---it wouldn't be hard. The Birkenstock and granola crowd, however, would be the last group to strike the core, strategic assets of The Machine. They are very dependent on it for their vain existence, despite all the noise to the contrary. They love it, actually.

Look, if the hippies started thinking funny thoughts about OC-768s and root DNS nodes and gigabit class switches---by the rack full---in places like the San Francisco Bay area, New York, London and Tokyo...

Where would the fairtrade, organic hemp hacky sacks come from, man? And nevermind the hybrid vehicles with Hillary 2008 bumper stickers (neatly placed over the fading Kerry 2004 bumper stickers) to demonstrate their revolutionary cred. Would there be any vegan carrot cake available in the various metropolitan, vanity health food boutiques after the electromagnetic pulse weapons capped off inside the data centers?

No.

With hippies it's always about talking the talk and never walking the walk. On that, you can bet your life:

Last February the Department of Homeland Security oversaw a large-scale international cyber terror simulation involving 115 public and private organizations in the U.S., Canada, Britain, Australia, and New Zealand [The ECHELON member states---Cryptogon edit], all testing their ability to coordinate with one another and respond to computer-driven attacks. It was called Cyber Storm.

Nobody's said much about the results, or the details of the exercise scenario. But a newly-published DHS PowerPoint presentation on the exercise reveals that the real terrorist threat in cyber space isn't from obvious suspects like al Qaida types or Connecticut voters; it's from anti-globalization radicals and peace activists.

The attack scenario detailed in the presentation is a meticulously plotted parade of cyber horribles led by a "well financed" band of leftist radicals who object to U.S. imperialism, aided by sympathetic independent actors.


More: NSA Risking Electrical Overload: "The Terrorists" and Sustainable Fascism

More: Rat Takes Down New Zealand Telecom System

More: Backhoe Fade

Research Credit: West



Federal Appeals Court: Driving With Money is a Crime :.

They hate us for our freedom:

A federal appeals court ruled yesterday that if a motorist is carrying large sums of money, it is automatically subject to confiscation.

Research Credit: West



ANOTHER PRUDHOE BAY PROBLEM :.

You couldn't even shake a stick at all the apocalyptic energy news over the last few days.

That was before this:

BP PLC said Wednesday that oil production at its Prudhoe Bay oilfield in Alaska, already running at half capacity due to pipeline corrosion, has been cut by 90,000 barrels per day (bpd) for several days due to a technical fault.

A company spokesman said output at the biggest oilfield in the United States had been reduced to 110,000 bpd after a natural gas compressor in Gathering Center 2 failed.

"We anticipate that fixing the compressor will require several days," said BP (Charts) spokesman Daren Beaudo.


Cryptogon Analysis: Is the BP Prudhoe Bay Shutdown More Serious Than It Appears?



Cryptogon Flying High on Farmside and IpStar

After multiple dramas, waiting several months and spending a few Cryptogon contributor dollars---installation and hardware were free, but the service will cost us about NZ$20 more per month than we were paying Telecom NZ---Becky and I have this thing on our roof!

It came from outer space! Well, not really...
Notes to current and future Kiwis who are considering this thing, out of desperation, or otherwise:

We were barely able to hit the bird over the hills to the west. We were lucky! This is the final option in the dire struggle for fast Internet access in rural NZ. The pitch is that this thing will work from anywhere in New Zealand. There's no way. Many of our neighbors don't have a line of sight path to that bird, and that's just on one road.

The modem that comes with this package makes more noise than an average server. That's right. The fan is loud! Way too loud. You don't want it in the same room with you. No, really, it's loud!

In any event, we're now enjoying glorious late 1990s-era data communication speeds of 121 kbit/sec upload and 247 kbit/sec download.

It's slow and shockingly expensive by developed world standards, but, man, I'll tell ya, it's SOOOOOOOO much better than dialup. (FYI: If you have the ability to pay, it can go MUCH faster.)

Thanks, Farmside, I'm a fan so far. And thanks to all Cryptogon contributors. It wouldn't have happened without you.

P.S. While this is exciting news, it's not the exciting news I mentioned in the story below...


8/23/2006

Cryptogon Reader Contributes $20

Over the years, MW has emerged as the largest overall contributor to Cryptogon. His generosity helps to keep Cryptogon free and open to all---as well as helping my wife and I get our farm up and running.

Thanks, MW. (I hope you don't get tired of reading that. I know I've written it lots of times.)

Oh yeah, re: the farm: Stay tuned on this front, as Becky and I will have some exciting news to post soon, AND a new place to post it. ;)

We're really busy at the moment.


8/22/2006

Argintina: Out of the Ashes of Ruin :.

Northwest Airlines recently advised fired employees to go dumpster diving if they were low on cash. Keep that in mind as you read this:

These workers turned the logic of corporate cost-cutting on its head. Instead of eliminating jobs to fatten profit margins, Argentina's recovered factories jettisoned an entire managerial hierarchy to preserve the livelihoods of workers. The upshot: participants in the recuperadas movement have saved about thirteen thousand jobs. They also may have generated one of the densest clusters of new worker-run co-operative enterprises in modern history.

Observers have heralded the recuperadas as examples of---depending on the proponent---socialism, a radical co-operative movement, or classic anarchism, which envisions a spontaneous collapse of the powers-that-be and the rise of a new society in which men and women decide for themselves how to parcel out the tasks of community building, all without hierarchy, institutions, or oppressive regulations. But in organizing the recuperadas out of economic ruin, the workers themselves were not championing any ideology. "Let me tell you how this works," said Gustavo Crisaldo, a thoughtful machinist with prematurely gray hair, now a member of Cristal Avellaneda's directorial commission. "It's this simple: if we hadn't had our backs against the wall, we wouldn't be here right now."


Research Credit: TR



July Home Sales Drop at Sharpest Rate in 11 Years :.

Massachusetts had one of the most overblown real estate bubbles in the U.S.:

Sales of single-family homes in Massachusetts declined in July at the sharpest rate for a single month since 1995, and condominium sales dropped off at the fastest pace since 2003, according to a report released Tuesday by a firm that tracks real estate transactions.



U.S. Marines to Issue Involuntary Call-Ups :.

What draft? There's no draft:

The U.S. Marine Corps said Tuesday it has been authorized to recall thousands of Marines to active duty, primarily because of a shortage of volunteers for duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Up to 2,500 Marines will be brought back at any one time, but there is no cap on the total number of Marines who may be forced back into service in the coming years as the military battles the war on terror. The call-ups will begin in the next several months.


8/21/2006

When the Rivers Run Dry: Water-The Defining Crisis of the Twenty-First Century :.

Water, water, water, water....

Veteran science writer Pearce (Turning Up the Heat) makes a strong-and scary-case that a worldwide water shortage is the most fearful looming environmental crisis. With a drumbeat of facts both horrific (thousands of wells in India and Bangladesh are poisoned by fluoride and arsenic) and fascinating (it takes 20 tons of water to make one pound of coffee), the former New Scientist news editor documents a "kind of cataclysm" already affecting many of the world's great rivers.

Related: Water Scarcity Affects One in Three



Advertising on Cryptogon

People are wondering what the story is with the Google ads on Cryptogon:
Do you realize that Google is serving ads on Cryptogon for _______? <--- fill in the blank

How dare I promote _______. <--- fill in the blank
Etc.

Google is pretty weird about what site admins can say about Adsense advertising.

According to Google's policy, here's what I'm allowed to say:
"I use AdSense and recommend it to monetize your website."
Cryptogon readers should be smart enough to understand that...


8/20/2006

The Evolution of Homeowner Associations :.

Three words: Grass Under Renovation:

A conservative estimate has it that one in six Americans, or over 57 million people live in some 270,000 mandatory membership common ownership developments across the country. These include condominiums, cooperatives, townhouses and single-family homes that are all part of a homeowners' association. Those numbers keep growing.

Today, over half of all new housing built nationally is part of an association. However, many municipal jurisdictions mandate HOAs so in those towns, cities and counties virtually all new housing includes automatic membership in an association. In fact, in some of the fast growing areas of the country it is impossible to buy a house that does not include an association of some sort.

Contrary to the glossy ads promising carefree living, recreational amenities for pennies a day and the promise of protected and enhance property values, far from an asset, HOAs are a liability.

The first thing housing consumers should understand is that associations were never intended to benefit them. They benefit municipal governments, builders/developers and the growing industry that feeds off associations. This $30 billion annual industry includes managers, attorneys, landscape companies, pool companies, CPAs, insurance companies and now, banks as well.




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Fatal Harvest: The Tragedy of Industrial Agriculture by Andrew Kimbrell Readers will come to see that industrial food production is indeed a "fatal harvest" - fatal to consumers, as pesticide residues and new disease vectors such as E. coli and "mad cow disease" find their way into our food supply; fatal to our landscapes, as chemical runoff from factory farms poison our rivers and groundwater; fatal to genetic diversity, as farmers rely increasingly on high-yield monocultures and genetically engineered crops; and fatal to our farm communities, which are wiped out by huge corporate farms.

Friendly Fascism: The New Face of Power in America by Bertram Myron Gross This is a relatively short but extremely cogent and well-argued treatise on the rise of a form of fascistic thought and social politics in late 20th century America. Author Bertram Gross' thesis is quite straightforward; the power elite that comprises the corporate, governmental and military superstructure of the country is increasingly inclined to employ every element in their formidable arsenal of 'friendly persuasion' to win the hearts and minds of ordinary Americans through what Gross refers to as friendly fascism.

The Good Life
by Scott and Helen Nearing
Helen and Scott Nearing are the great-grandparents of the back-to-the-land movement, having abandoned the city in 1932 for a rural life based on self-reliance, good health, and a minimum of cash...Fascinating, timely, and wholly useful, a mix of the Nearings' challenging philosophy and expert counsel on practical skills.

Silent Theft: The Private Plunder of Our Common Wealth by David Bollierd In Silent Theft, David Bollier argues that a great untold story of our time is the staggering privatization and abuse of our common wealth. Corporations are engaged in a relentless plunder of dozens of resources that we collectively own—publicly funded medical breakthroughs, software innovation, the airwaves, the public domain of creative works, and even the DNA of plants, animals and humans. Too often, however, our government turns a blind eye—or sometimes helps give away our assets. Amazingly, the silent theft of our shared wealth has gone largely unnoticed because we have lost our ability to see the commons.

The Self-Sufficient Life and How to Live It: The Complete Back-To-Basics Guide by John Seymour The Self Sufficient Life and How to Live It is the only book that teaches all the skills needed to live independently in harmony with the land harnessing natural forms of energy, raising crops and keeping livestock, preserving foodstuffs, making beer and wine, basketry, carpentry, weaving, and much more.

When Corporations Rule the World by David C. Korten When Corporations Rule the World explains how economic globalization has concentrated the power to govern in global corporations and financial markets and detached them from accountability to the human interest. It documents the devastating human and environmental consequences of the successful efforts of these corporations to reconstruct values and institutions everywhere on the planet to serve their own narrow ends.

The New Organic Grower: A Master's Manual of Tools and Techniques for the Home and Market Gardener This expansion of a now-classic guide originally published in 1989 is intended for the serious gardener or small-scale market farmer. It describes practical and sustainable ways of growing superb organic vegetables, with detailed coverage of scale and capital, marketing, livestock, the winter garden, soil fertility, weeds, and many other topics.