Archive for April, 2009
U.S. to Delay Bank Test Results; May not Release Individual Results; Trying to Avoid Panic
April 8th, 2009Via: Reuters: The U.S. Treasury Department is planning to delay the release of any completed bank stress test results until after the first-quarter earnings season to avoid complicating stock market reaction, a source familiar with Treasury’s discussions said on Tuesday. The Treasury is still talking about how results of the regulatory stress tests on the […]
Cyberspies Penetrate U.S. Electrical Grid, Leave Software That Could Disrupt System
April 8th, 2009Via: Wall Street Journal: Cyberspies have penetrated the U.S. electrical grid and left behind software programs that could be used to disrupt the system, according to current and former national-security officials. The spies came from China, Russia and other countries, these officials said, and were believed to be on a mission to navigate the U.S. […]
Somali Pirates Hijack U.S.-Flagged Container Ship; At Least 20 Americans On Board
April 8th, 2009Via: Reuters: Somali pirates seized a U.S.-flagged, Danish-owned container ship on Wednesday with at least 20 American crew on board in the latest of a sharp rise in attacks off the Horn of Africa nation, officials said. Andrew Mwangura, coordinator of the Mombasa-based East African Seafarers’ Assistance Programme, said the 17,000 tonne Maersk Alabama was […]
Two Dozen Charged in Alleged Gang-Led Mortgage Fraud
April 8th, 2009Via: Reuters: Two dozen people were indicted on racketeering and other charges for allegedly conducting a wide-ranging mortgage fraud based in San Diego and led by a street gang member, according an indictment unsealed on Tuesday. The lead defendant, Darnell Bell, a documented member of the Lincoln Park street gang in Los Angeles, received at […]
Florida Woman Kills Son, Then Herself at Gun Range
April 8th, 2009I’ve lost track of all the recent bizarre shooting incidents. On the one hand, there’s a generalized crackup underway in the U.S. On the other hand, the regime is getting ready to try to get HR45 enacted. My guess is that we haven’t seen anything yet. Chillingly, hours before I read about this latest incident, […]
U.S. Apartment Market Worsens with Economy
April 8th, 2009Via: Reuters: The vacancy rate for U.S. apartments hit a three-year high in the first quarter and asking rents dropped the most in at least 10 years as the number of excess apartments on the market ballooned, according to real estate research firm Reis Inc. And the figures are forecast to get even worse as […]
White House Approves Costly, New Spy Satellites
April 8th, 2009Via: Houston Chronicle: The Obama administration on Tuesday approved the purchase of pricey new spy satellites and will buy more commercial imagery from the private sector to plug immediate gaps in satellite coverage. … Defense giant Lockheed Martin, of Bethesda, Md., is almost certain to win the secret multibillion-dollar contract for the two new high-altitude […]
New and Worse Secrecy and Immunity Claims from the Obama DOJ
April 7th, 2009Via: Salon: When Congress immunized telecoms last August for their illegal participation in Bush’s warrantless eavesdropping program, Senate Democratic apologists for telecom immunity repeatedly justified that action by pointing out that Bush officials who broke the law were not immunized — only the telecoms. Here, for instance, is how Sen. Jay Rockefeller justified telecom immunity […]
150,000 People in the U.S. Have Been Implanted with Defective Medtronic Defibrillator Cables
April 7th, 2009If you think that Medtronic is going to get nailed to the wall with endless lawsuits over this… Guess again! Via: New York Times: Consider the Sprint Fidelis, a heart defibrillator cable. In 2007 its maker, Medtronic, stopped selling it after five patients who had the cables died. But only now is the full scope […]
St. Francis of Afece and Craptonite: Meet the Sodfather
April 7th, 2009This is a long article about an old time compost freak, nothing more, nothing less. I enjoyed it. One problem: About making compost, the article says, “no meat, cat, dog or human poop.” Please see The Humanure Handbook for clarification on this. You can compost that stuff, no problem, if you know the rules. If […]
