Archive for the 'Elite' Category
UK’s Richest Man Could Make More Than £1 Billion from Carbon Trading Scheme
December 16th, 2009Via: ClickGreen: New analysis released by climate change NGO Sandbag has revealed that the UK’s richest resident, Lakshmi Mittal, CEO and major shareholder of the steel giant ArcelorMittal, could make over £1 billion between now and 2012 from his company’s participation in the EU’s Emissions Trading Scheme.
Drug Money Saved Banks During Global Drisis, Claims UN Advisor
December 14th, 2009Via: Guardian: Drugs money worth billions of dollars kept the financial system afloat at the height of the global crisis, the United Nations’ drugs and crime tsar has told the Observer. Antonio Maria Costa, head of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, said he has seen evidence that the proceeds of organised crime were […]
Kucinich: The Truth About Afghanistan
December 11th, 2009UN Equipped Congolese Army That Carried Out Atrocities
December 11th, 2009Via: New York Times: United Nations peacekeeping officials were explicitly warned months ago by their legal advisers not to participate in combat operations with the Congolese Army if there were a risk that Congolese soldiers might abuse human rights, internal documents show. But the mission went forward — and the abuses took place as feared. […]
The $700 Billion Man: Paulson’s Creature Bugs Out to Wilderness Cabin
December 10th, 2009Via: Washington Post: He wears no coat though it’s freezing, shines no light though it’s near midnight, carries no shotgun though he’s tramping on the pine-needled tracks of black bears. He wants to be lost in these woods. “Come on, you bums,” Neel Kashkari calls to his dogs, two giant Newfoundlands. “Boys, let’s go.” He […]
The Devil and Mr. Obama
December 10th, 2009My dismissive contempt for anyone who buys into the “political process” in the U.S. has drained my bile on this issue. I just can’t get worked up over it anymore. I try to huff and puff and grit my teeth, but then all that comes out is, “Forget it. Hell is dealing with true believers.” […]
Norway: The Mysterious Spiral Pattern in the Sky
December 10th, 2009I think I’ve figured it out: Via: CNN: President Obama accepted the Nobel Peace Prize in Norway on Thursday but acknowledged the questions surrounding the award. Obama, along with first lady Michelle Obama, walked into Oslo City Hall at 1 p.m. to a trumpet fanfare and sustained applause. In other news: The Pentagon announced Monday […]
22 Stories Underground: Iron Mountain’s Experimental Room 48
December 9th, 2009Definitely DO NOT miss the image gallery that goes along with this story. Via: Computerworld: Down a road that winds through the rolling hills of western Pennsylvania, just across from a cow pasture, the bucolic scenery of Butler County is interrupted by a high chain-link fence topped with razor wire. Cars entering the compound are […]
Woman Who Invented Credit Default Swaps is One of the Key Architects of Carbon Derivatives
December 9th, 2009Via: Washington’s Blog: Bloomberg notes that the carbon trading scheme will be largely centered around derivatives: The banks are preparing to do with carbon what they’ve done before: design and market derivatives contracts that will help client companies hedge their price risk over the long term. They’re also ready to sell carbon-related financial products to […]
Is the “Wonga” Running Out for Africa’s Mercenaries?
December 7th, 2009Via: Reuters: Africa’s infamous “dogs of war” may still be going strong, but it seems the rewards of the mercenary life aren’t quite what they used to be. Only this month, Britain’s Simon Mann won a pardon for his part in a foiled 2004 coup attempt on Equatorial Guinea, an old-style adventure whose glittering prize […]
