Archive for May, 2010
California Now in Top Ten for Highest Government Default Probabilities in the World
May 13th, 2010Via: Credit Writedowns: The usual suspects are on the list including Dubai, Ukraine and Latvia. The one thing to notice is that California has now cracked the top ten with a 20% default probability.
Arrest of 13 CIA Agents Sought in Spain
May 13th, 2010Via: Harper’s Magazine: Prosecutors attached to the Audiencia Nacional in Madrid are reportedly requesting that Judge Ismael Moreno issue an order for the arrest of thirteen CIA agents involved in an extraordinary rendition operation from 2004, the newspaper El País reports this afternoon, citing sources within the court. The case relates to Khaled El-Masri, a […]
Big Picture Gallery: Disaster Unfolds Slowly in the Gulf of Mexico
May 13th, 2010Via: Boston Globe: In the three weeks since the April 20th explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, and the start of the subsequent massive (and ongoing) oil leak, many attempts have been made to contain and control the scale of the environmental disaster. Oil dispersants are being […]
Fungus Hits Afghan Opium Poppies
May 13th, 2010What I think is happening here is that the USUK smack industrial complex has decided to drive up the street price of heroin. —The Invisible Hand of the Market: British Troops Seize £50 Million of Afghan Opium Sure, the article says that the fungus occurs naturally… Maybe that’s what happened. Maybe not. Who benefits from […]
Barrick Gold Moves to Block Mining Book
May 13th, 2010Via: CBC: The threat of legal action from mining giant Barrick Gold has forced Vancouver-based Talonbooks to postpone publication of a book about the Canadian mining industry. Publisher Karl Siegler calls it a clear case of “libel chill” by one of Canada’s largest mining companies. The book, Imperial Canada Inc.: Legal Haven of Choice for […]
Jupiter Loses a Stripe
May 13th, 2010Via: New Scientist: Jupiter has lost one of its prominent stripes, leaving its southern half looking unusually blank. Scientists are not sure what triggered the disappearance of the band. Jupiter’s appearance is usually dominated by two dark bands in its atmosphere – one in the northern hemisphere and one in the southern hemisphere. But recent […]
Recovery: U.S. Posts Longest String of Consecutive Monthly Budget Deficits in History
May 13th, 2010In other Green Shoots news: Food-Stamp Tally Nears 40 Million, Sets Record. Via: Reuters: The United States posted an $82.69 billion deficit in April, nearly four times the $20.91 billion shortfall registered in April 2009 and the largest on record for that month, the Treasury Department said on Wednesday. It was more than twice the […]
Bloomberg Wants ‘Big Brother Britain’ For NYC
May 12th, 2010Via: CBS: Mayor Michael Bloomberg has his eye on more security against terror attacks. He went to London Tuesday to check out their surveillance camera system, one of the largest in the world. Ever since the Times Square car bomb scare on May 1, the mayor’s been looking to build up New York’s camera network. […]
FCC Lets Hollywood Turn Off Your Output Jacks
May 12th, 2010Via: Wired: Hollywood will soon have the power to remotely disable the analog outputs on your set-top box, under a decision by federal regulators on Friday intended to prevent home recording of new movie releases. The move by the Federal Communications Commission grants cable and satellite providers the power to block consumers from viewing just-released […]
“Human Experiments of a Type Not Easily Justifiable on Medical-Therapeutic Grounds”
May 12th, 2010Via: Wired: More than 30 years after it was written, the Pentagon has released a memorandum detailing its involvement in the CIA’s infamous Cold War mind-control experiments. … The 17-page document (.pdf), “Experimentation Programs conducted by the Department of Defense That Had CIA Sponsorship or Participation and That Involved the Administration to Human Subjects of […]
