Archive for March, 2008
“NINJA” Loans (No Income, No Job, No Assets)
March 3rd, 2008Via: Telegraph: It is now pretty well established, too, that these loans tended to go not merely to the poorest families, but, in general, were marketed at America’s black and Hispanic populations. They were the most likely to take on the so-called “ninja” loans (no income, no job, no assets). According to one real estate […]
Chavez Warns of War with Colombia
March 3rd, 2008It’s an energy story. Keeping an eye on the oil. Via: AP: Venezuela and Ecuador ordered troops to their borders with Colombia, sharply raising tensions after Colombia killed a top rebel leader on Ecuadorean soil. President Hugo Chavez on Sunday promised Venezuela would respond militarily if Colombia violates its border, where he ordered tanks as […]
Pritchard: “I am Now Really Frightened”; Federal Reserve’s Rescue Has Failed
March 3rd, 2008“We are definitely not out of the woods with the subprime debacle. In fact, we are in for a year of steady increases in foreclosures and liquidity problems. There are no buyers for these securities now. If banks are holding these bombs, they’re stuck with them and the clock is ticking. As those teaser rate […]
Brain Computer Interface for $300?
March 3rd, 2008Can this be real? I used to work for a company that designed EEG systems. It was run by top shelf, Big Deal neuroscientists, etc., and those guys would would have viewed the system described below as reverse engineered alien technology from Area 51. That would have been 2000-2001. But in 2008, there will be […]
Nine Inch Nails in the Record Companies’ Coffins
March 3rd, 2008The new NIN album, Ghosts I-IV, has been officially released by the band on the Internet. One of the purchase options includes choices of high quality DRM-free files for $5. I took the $5 option—there are lots of other options—but I have to wait until I get on a better connection to download it! Well […]
UK Banks Write Off Record £6.8 Billion in Household Debt
March 2nd, 2008Via: Telegraph: Britain’s banks have been forced to write off a record chunk of household debt in the past year in the latest sign that families are struggling to keep up their repayments. Lenders from around the country wrote off some £6.8bn in individual debts last year, statistics from the Bank of England reveal. It […]
Pentagon to Test Invisible Gases in Crystal City
March 2nd, 2008Via: Examiner: The Pentagon is scheduled to release an odorless, invisible, and yes, harmless, gases into the city Thursday to test how quickly they spread through buildings, officials said. The test is part of the military’s national security preparation for the capital area. Over the past few years, the defense agency has worked with Arlington […]
My Forbidden Fruits (and Vegetables)
March 2nd, 2008It’s an opportunity for small operators. See Path to Freedom: Via: New York Times: IF you’ve stood in line at a farmers’ market recently, you know that the local food movement is thriving, to the point that small farmers are having a tough time keeping up with the demand. But consumers who would like to […]
HEAVY FIGHTING IN GAZA; ISRAEL SLAUGHTERS DOZENS OF CIVILIANS
March 2nd, 2008Via: Reuters: Israeli forces killed 61 people in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, the bloodiest day for Palestinians since an uprising against Israeli occupation began in 2000. Almost half the dead were civilians, including children. Israel, which lost two soldiers, seemed ready to press home its fiercest air and ground assault since it pulled troops […]
U.S. Researchers Trying to Create Pandemic Avian Flu
March 1st, 2008Gesundheit! Why Creating a More Contagious Form of Avian Influenza Could Save Thousands of Lives by Fiona McMillan Cosmos Issue 18 December 07/January 08 Pages 36 and 37 Here’s an excerpt: Now that Gary Nabel, Director of the Vaccine Research Center at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, admits that his team is […]
