Archive for February, 2009
Germany Passes Law Allowing it to Nationalize Banks
February 18th, 2009Via: Reuters: The German cabinet approved a law on Wednesday letting it nationalise banks, setting aside a reluctance to seize private property in the latest government intervention worldwide to tackle the financial crisis. Germany said it was not planning to extend the role of the state through the bill, which it described as a last […]
Cryptogon Readers Send Contributions
February 18th, 2009MS $5 MW $20 EM $18 Also, someone bought about $2,400 worth of HDTV and associated furniture through Amazon. The commission paid to Cryptogon on that came to $95. I almost fell out of my chair when I saw that in the commission report! I don’t know who you are, but thank you for starting […]
The Invisible Hand of the Market: British Troops Seize £50 Million of Afghan Opium
February 18th, 2009What I think is happening here is that the USUK smack industrial complex has decided to drive up the street price of heroin. My theory will be confirmed if we hear that Obama’s escalation of the war in Afghanistan includes counter-narcotics operations. Why now? First of all, heroin is cheap. Too cheap: A gram of […]
Obama Orders 17,000 U.S. Troops to Afghanistan
February 18th, 2009Via: Reuters: U.S. President Barack Obama, in his first major military decision as commander-in-chief, has ordered 17,000 more troops to Afghanistan to tackle an intensifying insurgency, the White House said on Tuesday. But in an interview with Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), Obama also said military means alone would not solve the problem. U.S. officials have […]
Obama, not Bush, Now Seeking Delay of Rove Deposition
February 18th, 2009Change. Via: RawStory: Former Bush Deputy White House Chief of Staff Karl Rove has a new president urging Congress not to force him to testify next week. President Barack Obama. In a court brief quietly filed Monday, Michael Hertz, Obama’s acting assistant attorney general, said it was necessary to delay an effort to force Rove […]
The New Depression: “This is the mother of all postwar crises, which has barely started and remains out of control.”
February 18th, 2009This article starts off well enough, but it goes off the rails. The problem is not “unregulated capital.” There are volumes of regulations related to capital and we don’t need an additional Soviet Ministry of Money Rules. The problem is the composition of the capital in the first place. The problem is the arbitrary ability […]
Black Hole: GM to Seek Another $30 Billion in Aid, Will Cut 47,000 Jobs
February 18th, 2009Via: AP: General Motors Corp., presenting a dire outlook for the future, said Tuesday it may need $30 billion in total government financing to weather the economic downturn and would cut 47,000 jobs worldwide and shutter five more U.S. factories in a massive restructuring plan. The automaker is already surviving on $13.4 billion in federal […]
U.S. Accuses Texas Financial Firm of ‘Massive’ Fraud
February 17th, 2009Via: New York Times: Stopping what it called a “massive ongoing fraud,” the Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday accused Robert Allen Stanford, the chief of the Stanford Financial Group, of fraud in the sale of about $8 billion of high-yielding certificates of deposit held in the firm’s bank in Antigua. Also named in the […]
U.S. AIR FORCE INITIATES VOLUNTARY RECALL OF RETIRED OFFICERS
February 17th, 2009Now we’re talkin’… Via: Military.com: RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFRNS) — The rapid expansion of unmanned aircraft systems and other emerging missions and rated officer requirements has created an Air Force demand for experienced, rated officers. To meet these critical shortages, the secretary of the Air Force has initiated a Voluntary Retired Rated Recall […]
U.S. Military Preparing for “Violent, Strategic Dislocation Inside the United States”; Possibly from “Economic Collapse”
February 17th, 2009Via: TruthDig: The specter of social unrest was raised at the U.S. Army War College in November in a monograph [click on Policypointers’ pdf link to see the report] titled “Known Unknowns: Unconventional ‘Strategic Shocks’ in Defense Strategy Development.” The military must be prepared, the document warned, for a “violent, strategic dislocation inside the United […]
