Archive for February, 2008
UK Apology Over Rendition Flights
February 22nd, 2008* roll eyes * Via: BBC: David Miliband has admitted two US ‘extraordinary rendition’ flights landed on UK territory in 2002. The foreign secretary said in both cases US planes refuelled on the UK dependent territory of Diego Garcia. He said he was “very sorry” to have to say that previous denials made in “good […]
“What could the government be contemplating that leads it to make contingency plans to detain without recourse millions of its own citizens?”
February 21st, 2008Via: San Francisco Chronicle: Since 9/11, and seemingly without the notice of most Americans, the federal government has assumed the authority to institute martial law, arrest a wide swath of dissidents (citizen and noncitizen alike), and detain people without legal or constitutional recourse in the event of “an emergency influx of immigrants in the U.S., […]
More People Are Tapping Their 401(k) for Cash
February 21st, 2008What? They can’t do an instant re-fi to buy that grande mocha from Starbucks anymore? Via: MSNBC: Trent Charlton knew the risks when he borrowed $10,000 from his 401(k) and cut his retirement savings in half. But Charlton, a 40-year-old account executive at an Irvine, Calif., trucking company, said he had little choice because he […]
Foreclosed Homes Occupied by Homeless
February 21st, 2008Via: Houston Chronicle: The nation’s foreclosure crisis has led to a painful irony for homeless people: On any given night they are outnumbered in some cities by vacant houses, and some street people are taking advantage of the opportunity by becoming squatters. Foreclosed homes often have an advantage over boarded-up and dilapidated houses abandoned because […]
WTF Are These Facebook Machines Doing?
February 21st, 2008I saw four machines reloading Cryptogon’s homepage hundreds of times each and I thought, “Someone’s trying to F with me.” But I looked up the machines, and it’s Facebook. You know, that admitted CIA cutout operation, Facebook. There’s some bullshit explanation on the link provided by their user agent information. Hmm. Nothing in there about […]
Gold: New Record, Up and Out of Previous Range
February 21st, 2008WARNING: This is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any financial instrument. Gold has broken out higher from the previous range, setting a new all time high. It has decisively breached both daily and intraday overhead resistance levels. Oil is trying to stay over $100, but can’t manage for the moment. With regard […]
World’s Largest Maker of Crop Nutrients: Famines May Occur Without Record Harvests
February 20th, 2008“In 2008, food could become an out front national security issue in the developed world.” —Cryptogon, Some Guesses About 2008 I don’t know what I have to do to make this clear to people, or how many times I have to say it… I hope you guys get it. Via: Bloomberg: Grain farmers will need […]
HEALTH MINISTER OF INDONESIA: U.S. MAY TURN AVIAN FLU INTO BIOWEAPON
February 20th, 2008Now that they know why bird flu isn’t readily transmissible from human to human, how long until a weaponized version is engineered? That’s me being optimistic; assuming that a weaponized form doesn’t exist already. —Why Bird Flu Has Been Kept at Bay It’s one thing for me to sit here, in my tinfoil underwear, writing […]
America’s Economy Risks the Mother of All Meltdowns
February 20th, 2008I’m posting the entire article because it sums up the situation in a concise and accessible manner. Highly recommended. Via: Business Spectator / Financial Times: Martin Wolf, Financial Times Twelve steps to meltdown “I would tell audiences that we were facing not a bubble but a froth – lots of small, local bubbles that never […]
NATO Takes Control of Kosovo Border Crossing with Serbia; Re-Establishes Order
February 20th, 2008Maybe the EU learned from the horrors of the 1990s??? Is that possible? It is a very good thing that NATO stepped in quickly here. Right now, the Serbian leadership is playing it cool, in public, but I really have to wonder what the tone is like in the diplomatic traffic between Belgrade and Moscow… […]
