Archive for July, 2010
Europe Seeks to Ban Food From Clones
July 8th, 2010Via: New York Times: The European Parliament asked on Wednesday for a ban on the sale of foods from cloned animals and their offspring, the latest sign of deepening concern in the European Union about the safety and ethics of new food technologies. The chamber, meeting in Strasbourg, France, also called for a temporary suspension […]
Oakland Police Search Without Warrants
July 8th, 2010Via: East Bay Express: In a little-known city program that critics say may be unconstitutional, cops join fire and building inspectors as they enter homes without a warrant and then arrest residents if they find anything illegal. On a gloomy recent morning in West Oakland, tenants at the David Gray Building — or, Off-Ramp Studios, […]
NSA’s “Perfect Citizen” Program
July 8th, 2010Maybe NSA could use the already operational intercept nodes to place the new “sensors.” Via: Wall Street Journal: The federal government is launching an expansive program dubbed “Perfect Citizen” to detect cyber assaults on private companies and government agencies running such critical infrastructure as the electricity grid and nuclear-power plants, according to people familiar with […]
Reed Brian Flaherty
July 8th, 2010As you may have guessed by the lack of updates… Reed Brian Flaherty was born on July 7, 2010 at 9:33am (New Zealand time). He weighed 3.535kg (about 7 pounds 8 ounces). It was a natural birth in every way. Becky and baby are absolutely fine. There’s a bit more info and a picture on […]
Since 2007, at Least $3 Billion Has Left Afghanistan by Plane in Boxes and Suitcases
July 6th, 2010Via: Der Spiegel: Billions of dollars are being secreted out of Kabul to help well-connected Afghans buy luxury villas in Dubai. Amid concerns that the money could be the result of corruption, American politicians have temporarily cut off aid to the Afghan government. Brigadier General Mohammed Asif Jabarkhel sits with folded arms in his office, […]
Goldman Sachs Executive to Advise Head of Canada’s Central Bank, a Former Goldman Sachs Executive
July 6th, 2010Mmm hmm. Via: Bloomberg: The chief executive of Goldman Sachs Canada has been named a special adviser to the head of Canada’s central bank. The Bank of Canada said Tuesday that Timothy Hodgson will advise central bank head Mark Carney, a former Goldman Sachs executive, on financial reform. Carney says Hodgson is one of Canada’s […]
“When your teeth are broken you will leave, just as the British left before you”
July 6th, 2010Via: New Statesman: As Washington and London struggle to prop up a puppet government over which Hamid Karzai has no control, they risk repeating the blood-soaked 19th-century history of Britain’s imperial defeat. … nearly ten years on from Nato’s invasion of Afghanistan, there are increasing signs that Britain’s fourth war in the country could end […]
A Market Forecast That Says ‘Take Cover’
July 6th, 2010WARNING: This isn’t a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any financial instrument. I don’t see how anyone making predictions like this can, at the same time, be telling people to buy into confetti paper/promises to pay, but, for whatever it’s worth, here you go. Via: New York Times: WITH the stock market lurching again, […]
Coast Guard Bans Reporters from Oil Cleanup Sites
July 6th, 2010Flashback: U.S. COAST GUARD THREATENED CBS NEWS CREW WITH ARREST FOR FILMING OIL SPILL DISASTER; COAST GUARD SAID THAT THEY WERE ACTING UNDER AUTHORITY OF BRITISH PETROLEUM; “THIS IS BP RULES. IT’S NOT OURS.” Via: Raw Story: Journalists who come too close to oil spill clean-up efforts without permission could find themselves facing a $40,000 […]
Investors Fear Rising Risk of U.S. Regional Defaults
July 6th, 2010There is a lot of creaking and hull popping on the way to Davy Jones’ Locker. Via: Financial Times: Investors are worried that the risk of default for US local governments is growing, amid signs that some regions are facing the same type of difficulty in curbing pension and budget deficits as some eurozone countries. […]
