Archive for October, 2008
Zeitgeist: Addendum
October 20th, 2008I finally watched the second Zeitgeist movie, Zeitgeist: Addendum. The first 64 minutes are pretty good, as it relates to money creation. This portion of the film is really just a presentation of the Web of Debt. At 65 minutes in, however, we lose cabin pressure and the film devolves into a techno utopian, cybernetic […]
Cryptogon Readers Sign Up for Webhosting with BlueHost
October 20th, 2008Thanks to the owners of the following domains for signing up for hosting with BlueHost: autismtreatmentsreview.com kiwicando.com samassaveneessa.com Cryptogon received $195 as a result.
ECB’s Nowotny Sees Global ‘Tri-Polar’ Currency System Evolving
October 20th, 2008Via: Bloomberg: European Central Bank council member Ewald Nowotny said a “tri-polar” global currency system is developing between Asia, Europe and the U.S. and that he’s skeptical the U.S. dollar’s centrality can be revived. “What I see is a system where we have more centers of gravity” Nowotny said today in an interview with Austrian […]
UK: Passports Will Be Needed To Buy Mobile Phones
October 19th, 2008Via: Times: Everyone who buys a mobile telephone will be forced to register their identity on a national database under government plans to extend massively the powers of state surveillance. Phone buyers would have to present a passport or other official form of identification at the point of purchase. Privacy campaigners fear it marks the […]
Americans, Get Ready for an Enormous Tax Bill
October 18th, 2008Mmm hmm. Via: Yahoo Finance: “America’s economy is facing unprecedented challenges. We’re responding with unprecedented measures,” President Bush declared in a press conference Friday. Bush, of course, was speaking of the government’s coordinated efforts to tackle a financial crisis that has roiled global markets and brought down venerable financial institutions. “These measures will require us […]
Is Switzerland the Next Iceland?
October 18th, 2008Via: Independent: In an extraordinary move for a nation proud of its financial prudence and stability, Switzerland was forced to take emergency measures yesterday to shore up its two biggest lenders to prevent a collapse in confidence in the country’s banking system. The state will inject SFr6bn (£3.1bn) into UBS, its biggest bank, in return […]
Banks Borrow Record $437.5 Billion Per Day from Fed
October 17th, 2008Via: Reuters: Financial institutions ran to their lender of last resort for record amounts of cash in the latest week, under extreme pressure from the worst global financial crisis in a generation, Federal Reserve data showed on Thursday. Banks and dealers’ overall direct borrowings from the Fed averaged a record $437.53 billion per day in […]
Australia: No Opt-Out of Filtered Internet
October 17th, 2008Would you like filtered, or filtered? Via: Computerworld: Australians will be unable to opt-out of the government’s pending Internet content filtering scheme, and will instead be placed on a watered-down blacklist, experts say. Under the government’s $125.8 million Plan for Cyber-Safety, users can switch between two blacklists which block content inappropriate for children, and a […]
Gold Gap Down
October 16th, 2008WARNING: This is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any financial instrument. Just FYI. Via: MarketWatch: Gold futures tumbled Thursday, at one point down more than 5% to below $800 an ounce for the first time in one month, as nervous investors seeking cash sold futures contracts. Some hedge funds were forced to […]
UK: Defendants Can’t Deny Police an Encryption Key Because of Fears the Data it Unlocks Will Incriminate Them
October 16th, 2008Via: Linux World: Defendants can’t deny police an encryption key because of fears the data it unlocks will incriminate them, a British appeals court has ruled. The case marked an interesting challenge to the UK’s Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA), which in part compels someone served under the act to divulge an encryption key […]
