Archive for the 'Economy' Category
And Now: U.S. Government Program Pays People to Sell Homes at a Loss
March 8th, 2010Via: New York Times: In an effort to end the foreclosure crisis, the Obama administration has been trying to keep defaulting owners in their homes. Now it will take a new approach: paying some of them to leave. This latest program, which will allow owners to sell for less than they owe and will give […]
The Pentagon’s Runaway Budget
March 8th, 2010Via: antiwar.com: With his decision to boost defense spending, President Obama is continuing the process of re-inflating the Pentagon that began in late 1998 — fully three years before the 9/11 attacks on America. The FY 2011 budget marks a milestone, however: The inflation-adjusted rise in spending since 1998 will probably exceed 100 percent in […]
Beijing Studies Severing Dollar Peg
March 8th, 2010Via: Financial Times: China’s central bank chief laid the groundwork for an appreciation of the renminbi at the weekend when he described the current dollar peg as temporary, striking a more emollient tone after months of tough opposition in Beijing to a shift in exchange rate policy. Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the People’s Bank of […]
How Food and Water Are Driving a 21st-Century African Land Grab
March 7th, 2010Via: Guardian: We turned off the main road to Awassa, talked our way past security guards and drove a mile across empty land before we found what will soon be Ethiopia’s largest greenhouse. Nestling below an escarpment of the Rift Valley, the development is far from finished, but the plastic and steel structure already stretches […]
Federal Pay Ahead of Private Industry
March 7th, 2010Via: USA Today: Federal employees earn higher average salaries than private-sector workers in more than eight out of 10 occupations, a USA TODAY analysis of federal data finds. Accountants, nurses, chemists, surveyors, cooks, clerks and janitors are among the wide range of jobs that get paid more on average in the federal government than in […]
Five Ways Your TV is Slowly Killing You
March 7th, 2010Via: MSNBC: You’ve accepted the idea that TV makes you dumber. You know there are lots of more edifying things you could be doing with your time than cheering on the contestants on “Survivor.” And unless you’re working out to an exercise video, you know those hours sprawled out in front of the screen are […]
U.S. Enriches Companies Defying Its Policy on Iran
March 7th, 2010Some related reading: IBM and the Holocaust: The Strategic Alliance Between Nazi Germany and America’s Most Powerful Corporation by Edwin Black Wall Street & the Rise of Hitler by Antony C. Sutton Spider’s Web: The Secret History of How the White House Illegally Armed Iraq by Alan Friedman Via: New York Times: The federal government […]
Paypal Closing Cryptome’s Account
March 5th, 2010Via: Cryptome: PayPal sends: Date: Fri, 05 Mar 2010 04:03:37 -0800 to: cryptome[at]earthlink.net subject: Update to Your Account, PP-910-103-553 From: service[at]paypal.com SIZE=1555 Dear John Young, We have reviewed your PayPal Account, and due to the excessive risk involved, we would like to begin parting ways in a manner that is least disruptive to your business. […]
John Patrick Bedell: Welcome to the Conspiracy Theorist Lone Nut Era
March 5th, 2010Update: Guns in Two Mass Shootings Came from Memphis Police and Court System Via: AP: Two guns used in high-profile shootings this year at the Pentagon and a Las Vegas courthouse both came from the same unlikely place: the police and court system of Memphis, Tenn. Law enforcement officials told The Associated Press that both […]
Microsoft Goon: The Internet is Dangerous – Tax It
March 4th, 2010Oh sure. Via: The Hill: A top Microsoft executive on Tuesday suggested a broad Internet tax to help defray the costs associated with computer security breaches and vast Internet attacks, according to reports. Speaking at a security conference in San Francisco, Microsoft Vice President for Trustworthy Computing Scott Charney pitched the Web usage fee as […]
