Archive for November, 2008
Soil Erosion Threatens Land of 100 Million Chinese
November 21st, 2008Via: Guardian: Almost 100 million people in south-west China will lose the land they live on within 35 years if soil erosion continues at its current rate, a nationwide survey has found. Crops and water supplies are suffering serious damage as earth is washed and blown away across a third of the country, according to […]
U.S. Seeks $300 Billion from Gulf States
November 21st, 2008Hank and Ben need a little cash advance loan to buy some more toner cartridges for the printing press. Via: Yahoo – AFP: The United States has asked four oil-rich Gulf states for close to 300 billion dollars to help it curb the global financial meltdown, Kuwait’s daily Al-Seyassah reported Thursday. Quoting “highly informed” sources, […]
NorCal Median Home Price Plummets 41 Percent
November 21st, 2008I’d continue to hold off. Think of all the recent layoffs, and the ones yet to come. No way is this the bottom. Via: AP: Despite an increasingly uncertain economy, thousands of homebuyers around San Francisco Bay kept snatching up foreclosed homes last month, dragging down the median home price by 41 percent from a […]
Austrian Government Study Confirms Genetically Modified Crops Threaten Human Fertility and Health Safety
November 21st, 2008Via: Institute for Responsible Technology: A long-term feeding study commissioned by the Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety, managed by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Health, Family and Youth, and carried out by Veterinary University Vienna, confirms genetically modified (GM) corn seriously affects reproductive health in mice. Non-GMO advocates, who have warned about this […]
Sarah Palin Interviewed as Turkeys Slaughtered in Background
November 21st, 2008I really do need a WTF? category. I’ve watched a fair amount of television in my life, but I don’t ever recall seeing anything like this. There were the National Geographic-type nature documentaries that showed creatures being torn apart by lions, etc. But this feels more like B-roll from Twin Peaks, or some other weird […]
1 Terabyte of Storage for $148?
November 21st, 2008I just checked my Amazon affiliate stats and someone bought a 1TB external drive for $148. I’m just floored by this. In 2000, the CEO of the company that I worked for told me to draw up plans to put 1TB of storage on the network. (In 2000, tera-scale infrastructure was a relatively big deal.) […]
Bottom Drops Out; Dow Plummets 5.6%
November 21st, 2008Via: The Street: Stocks on Wall Street had a volatile morning Thursday before selling off sharply late in the session as traders continued to grapple with signs of economic malaise and fret about the fate of the auto industry. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which had traded in a range of more than 350 points, […]
Mexico: Interpol Official Involved with Narcotics Trafficking
November 20th, 2008This reminds me of The Technology Secrets of Cocaine Inc., which is one of the all-time-must-reads. I managed to find my ancient commentary on that piece. Via: CNN: A vicious turf war between drug cartels and Mexican authorities that has left as many as 4,300 dead so far this year may have caused a breach […]
Oil Dips Below $50 a Barrel
November 20th, 2008Via: CNN: Prices fall as worry about the economy continues to drag on demand. The plunge in oil prices continued Thursday with prices falling below $50 a barrel as growing concern about the economy weighed on demand. In the final day of trading for the December contract, U.S. crude futures fell $3.35 to $50.27 a […]
Billionaire Sheik Tries to Catch a Falling Knife
November 20th, 2008Via: Reuters: Citigroup Inc’s largest individual investor gave the troubled bank new support, saying he would boost his stake modestly, but failed to revive investor confidence as the bank’s shares tumbled another 10 percent. Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, who plans to increase his stake to 5 percent from less than 4 percent, said the […]
