Archive for April, 2009
On the Terrorist Watch List? Don’t Even Try to Fly Over the U.S.: Air France Flight Diverted Because a Journalist, Who Is Critical of U.S. Foreign Policy, Was On Board
April 28th, 2009Madness. Via: Progreso Weekly: Air France Flight 438, from Paris, was to land at Mexico City at 6 p.m. on Saturday, April 18. Five hours before landing, the captain’s voice announced that U.S. authorities had prohibited the plane from flying over U.S. territory. The explanation: among the passengers aboard was a person who was not […]
Why Harvard Is Bad for Wall Street
April 28th, 2009Five year old article. Via: Slate: The more Harvard grads on Wall Street, the worse the market does. Soifer counts the proportion of the class that goes into the six categories of jobs that “depend to a large extent on the stock market”: investment banking, investment management, sales and trading, venture capital, private equity, or […]
“Is This It?”
April 28th, 2009Someone emailed, wondering if this is “it” with regard to the swine flu situation: You’ve seen an event along these lines coming for a long time, is this it? I wish I could offer something better than: I don’t know. But, I don’t know. If I had to guess, I’d have to say: No, this […]
Container of Swine Virus Explodes on Swiss Train
April 28th, 2009Via: Reuters: A container of flu virus samples packed in dry ice exploded on a Swiss train, injuring one person but posing no other risks to humans, police said on Tuesday. Skip related content The box held vials of swine flu virus, although a different strain than the H1N1 variety that has caused about 150 […]
Military Photo-Op Involving Low-Flying Presidential Jet and F-16 Over Manhattan
April 28th, 2009Via: New York Daily News: A perfect storm of idiocy led to a frightening 9/11 flashback for thousands of New Yorkers Monday when a jumbo jet and an F-16 fighter jet buzzed lower Manhattan without warning. A “furious” Mayor Bloomberg denounced the dunces who dreamed up the stunt – and the NYPD officials and bureaucrats […]
Child Rapist Cult Leader Escapes Jail in Helicopter
April 28th, 2009Via: AFP: A cult leader jailed for sex attacks on children escaped in a helicopter from a prison on the French Indian Ocean island of Reunion on Monday, the regional administration said. Juliano Verbard, who was serving a 15-year term for rapes and sex assaults on children, and two of his jailed followers were hauled […]
Army Tests Flying Robo-Sniper
April 27th, 2009Via: Popular Mechanics: In modern warfare, the advantage often goes to guerrillas who can attack, then quickly hide among the population or disappear into the hills. To counter those tactics, the Pentagon since 2001 has been arming unmanned aerial vehicles to identify and destroy targets with missiles. The Defense Department is seeking weapons for UAVs […]
Europeans Urged to Postpone Travel to U.S. and Mexico
April 27th, 2009Via: AP: EU health officials urged Europeans on Monday to postpone nonessential travel to the United States and Mexico because of the swine flu virus, and Spanish health officials confirmed the first case outside North America. China, Russia and Taiwan said it would quarantine visitors showing symptoms of the virus amid a surging global concern […]
GM to Cut 21,000 U.S. Factory Jobs, Kill Pontiac, Try to Pay Government Debt with Stock… To Get More Bailouts
April 27th, 2009Via: AP: General Motors Corp. said it will cut 21,000 U.S. factory jobs by next year, phase out its storied Pontiac brand and ask the government to take company stock in exchange for half GM’s government debt as part of a major restructuring effort needed to get more government aid. The struggling automaker also said […]
Dozens of CIA “Ghost Prisoners” Missing
April 27th, 2009Via: IPS: At least three dozen detainees who were held in the CIA’s secret prisons overseas appear to be missing – and efforts by human rights organisations to track their whereabouts have been unsuccessful. The story of these “ghost prisoners” was comprehensively documented last week by Pro Publica, an online investigative journalism group. In September […]
