Archive for December, 2006
U.S. Supreme Court to Consider Eminent Extortion Case for Review
December 20th, 2006Via: Institute for Justice: A federal court has now approved an extortion scheme using eminent domain under last year’s Kelo decision. Unless the U.S. Supreme Court overturns the rulings, developers may threaten property owners, “Your money or your land.†Think this is an overstatement? Consider what is happening right now in Port Chester, N.Y., to […]
French Troops ‘Had bin Laden in Sights’
December 20th, 2006Via: news.com.au: A DOCUMENTARY says French special forces had Osama bin Laden in their sights twice about three years ago but their US superiors never ordered them to fire. The documentary, due to air next year and seen by Reuters on Tuesday, says the troops could have killed the al Qaeda leader in Afghanistan but […]
Made in USA: A Big Slump
December 20th, 2006Via: Newsweek: The world is unprepared for a slump made in America. That’s the distinct impression I gather from six weeks of globe-hopping that took me to Japan, South Africa, the Middle East, Singapore, Hong Kong, China and Australia. Most I met believe that the world has now “decoupled” from the United States—with increasingly robust […]
Thailand: Made Ya Look!
December 20th, 2006Via: Guardian: Shares on the battered Bangkok market staged a recovery this morning after Tuesday’s 15% plunge, but dealers said confidence remains fragile amid fears of a re-run of the Asian financial crisis a decade ago. By 12.30 local time, the Thai SET Index had jumped 11% to 688.17, its biggest gain in almost eight […]
Solar Towers
December 20th, 2006When the lights go off and the governments of the world try to sell you a chaos theory about energy, remember these two words: heat rises. Here’s something else to remember: Cost of the war in Iraq per week: $3 billion Cost to build this solar tower: $1 million That is, with the money spent […]
Blackwater USA and the Rise of Private Military Contractors
December 20th, 2006Do we really need another Blackwater Whores of War story? Oh, why not… Via: The Weekly Standard: For obvious reasons, the location of the headquarters of Blackwater USA isn’t well-publicized. Officially, the only public trace of the world’s largest private military training facility is a post office box in Moyock, North Carolina, an unremarkable rib-shack […]
UK Report Says Robots Will Have Rights
December 20th, 2006Will the robots get orange jumpsuits, too? Via: Financial Times: Far from being extracts from the extreme end of science fiction, the idea that we may one day give sentient machines the kind of rights traditionally reserved for humans is raised in a British government-commissioned report which claims to be an extensive look into the […]
U.S. Inflation Gaps Up by Largest Amount in 32 Years
December 19th, 2006Via USA Today: Inflation at the wholesale level surged by the largest amount in more than 30 years in November, reflecting higher prices for gasoline and a host of other items. The producer price index, which measures inflation pressures before they reach the consumer, was up 2% last month, biggest advance since a similar increase […]
Cryptogon Readers Contribute $20 and $25
December 19th, 2006Frequent contributor, MW, sent another $20 and RG sent $25. Thank you both very much! Becky and I are wondering if we can get a non-industrial sized container of Natural Calf Rennet powder from Renco… Mmmm. Cheese. Might have to call them tomorrow! If anyone knows of a place that sells cheese making supplies in […]
Is Peak Oil a Faith Based Collapse Theory?
December 19th, 2006Stories like the one below, from the BBC, reinforce the nagging fear I have that Peak Oil just isn’t going to be the kill shot that many of us think it’s going to be. Don’t get me wrong, Peak Oil seems real to me (if engineered to happen), and, in preparation, my wife and I […]
