Archive for July, 2007
FTC Abandons Net Neutrality
July 8th, 2007Via: Crooks and Liars: The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has decided to abandon net neutrality and allow telecoms companies to charge websites for access. The FTC said in a report that, despite popular support for net neutrality, it was minded to let the market sort out the issue. This means that the organisation will not […]
Military and Police Technology Sharing
July 8th, 2007Via: Salt Lake City Weekly: At the recent National Sheriff’s Association convention in the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, the triad of military technology, corporate manufacturing and law enforcement symbolized in RoboCop’s Ed-209 was more than just fiction. Besides six days of seminars on everything from in-custody deaths to character building, the […]
War Costs Soar by a Third; Total Could Top $1.4 Trillion
July 8th, 2007Mission accomplished. Via: Wired: It’s not just the troops that are surging. War costs are up for American operations in Iraq and Afghanistan* — way up, more than a third higher than last year. In the first half of this fiscal year, the Defense Department’s “average monthly obligations for contracts and pay is running about […]
Garbage Bonds & Bonfires
July 6th, 2007This is an outstanding essay. I’ve included a few passages below, but these don’t do the piece justice. I highly suggest reading it in its entirety. Via: 321Gold: For years the homestead, the house property has been considered the ultimate inflation hedge asset. Sure, price inflation wrecked havoc in the USEconomy, but the nation of […]
Wall Street Journal: Money Meltdown
July 6th, 2007Following on the heels of the admission by the Council on Foreign Relations that the U.S. Dollar is, “An absurdity… supported only by faith,” the Wall Street Journal discusses the current “Money Meltdown.” Let me consult my Magic 8-Ball: I see fewer national currencies in your future. Via: Wall Street Journal: Interest rates are on […]
Soviet Europe: EU Pours £3.8bn Into ‘Brainwashing Campaign’
July 6th, 2007Via: Telegraph: The European Union is spending £3.8 billion a year on “propaganda” to win over its sceptical citizens, it is claimed. As well as publishing a plethora of pamphlets and employing an army of public relations staff, the EU has spent hundreds of millions of pounds on teaching aids, school trips and even cartoons. […]
Three Cryptogon Readers Send Contributions
July 6th, 2007AS sent $30, TK sent $50 and VH sent $20. Thank you all for getting July off to a nice start.
June Earnings
July 6th, 2007Total earnings for Cryptogon and Farmlet in June came to $1135.63, or 2.27X the minimum monthly goal of $500. Many thanks to all regular and new contributors, as well as all the Blue Host, Amazon, and BullionVault customers who make a conscious effort to support us through patronage of those companies. Thanks also to Financial […]
Mercenaries Outnumber U.S. Troops in Iraq
July 5th, 2007“The coalition of the billing.” Via: Los Angeles Times: The number of U.S.-paid private contractors in Iraq now exceeds that of American combat troops, newly released figures show, raising fresh questions about the privatization of the war effort and the government’s capacity to carry out military and rebuilding campaigns. More than 180,000 civilians — including […]
Defunding Fascists with Asymmetric Economic Warfare, or Being Happy with Less
July 5th, 2007Works for my wife and me. We took it quite a bit further than this, but you get the idea. I wouldn’t suggest doing this for any political reason, though. Forget politics. You might find, like we did, that being able to live well on very little money leads to a happier life. The fact […]
