Archive for November, 2009
U.S. Needs Hit Squads, ‘Manhunting Agency’
November 4th, 2009Ah, so now we can pretend that the U.S. hasn’t had this capability for decades? Via: Wired: CIA director Leon Panetta got into hot water with Congress, after he revealed an agency program to hunt down and kill terrorists. A recent report from the U.S. military’s Joint Special Operations University argues that the CIA didn’t […]
Britain: Graduate Unemployment to Soar
November 4th, 2009Via: Guardian: Graduate unemployment in Britain will soar over the coming years as the public sector, which employs 52% of university leavers, slashes thousands of jobs, a leading thinktank said today. Centre for Cities said that graduates would find it harder to get work in the public sector, where up to 290,000 jobs were expected […]
Telecom XT Mobile Broadband Working; Bye Bye Farmside
November 4th, 2009Farmside, our satellite ISP, represents our largest monthly expense. Every few months, I think about how much we’re spending on Farmside and how much I’d like to find an alternative. Telecom New Zealand launched their new XT network a few months ago. I just assumed that we wouldn’t be able to connect to this network […]
Gold Sharply Higher; Up and Out of Previous Range; New Record
November 3rd, 2009$1082. Via: Wall Street Journal: India’s central bank bought 200 metric tons of gold from the International Monetary Fund last month, in the first major move by a leading central bank to diversify its foreign-exchange reserves. Analysts said the move is potentially bullish for gold, but it is by no means the start of a […]
New Zealand: “You are no longer innocent till you’re proven guilty.” Police Minister responds: “It’s fantastic, isn’t it?”
November 3rd, 2009So it goes… Via: Scoop: PAUL Yeah but the truth is, under the Criminal Proceeds Act, the Police can take your property if they suspect you’re dodgy. JUDITH But you’ve got the right to get it back, you’ve got the right to claim it, and the Police… PAUL Yeah but then you’ve got a whole […]
IMF Sold 200 Metric Tons of Gold to India
November 3rd, 2009Via: Bloomberg: The International Monetary Fund sold 200 metric tons of gold to the Reserve Bank of India for about $6.7 billion, its first sale of the precious metal in nine years. The transaction, which involved daily sales from Oct. 19-30 at market prices, is in the process of being settled, the IMF said in […]
Children “Mistakenly” Given Swine Flu Vaccine, One Went To ER
November 2nd, 2009Via: Gothamist: Now it turns out that one of the public school students given the swine flu vaccine without parental consent had to go to the emergency room after getting sick. Six-year-old Nikiyah Torres, who suffers from epilepsy (her parents had been waiting to see what their family doctor said about the swine flu vaccine) […]
NSA To Build 1.5 Million Square Foot “Cybersecurity” Data Center
November 2nd, 2009Don’t forget NSA’s other 470,000-square-footer in Texas. Via: Information Week: The massive complex, comprising up to 1.5 million square feet of building space, will provide intelligence and warnings related to cybersecurity threats across government. The NSA is building the facility to provide intelligence and warnings related to cybersecurity threats, cybersecurity support to defense and civilian […]
Delaware Beats Switzerland as Most Secretive Financial Center
November 2nd, 2009Via: Reuters: Move over Switzerland. The tiny state of Delaware beats the Alpine country in a contest for the most secretive financial jurisdiction, a tax justice rights group said on Saturday. The United States, led by the eastern seaboard state, took in $2.6 trillion in deposits from non-resident corporations and individuals in 2007, according to […]
It is Japan We Should be Worrying About, Not America
November 2nd, 2009Via: Telegraph: Japan is drifting helplessly towards a dramatic fiscal crisis. For 20 years the world’s second-largest economy has been able to borrow cheaply from a captive bond market, feeding its addiction to Keynesian deficit spending – and allowing it to push public debt beyond the point of no return. The rocketing cost of insuring […]
