Archive for July, 2010
Amendment Slipped Into Health Care Legislation Would Track, Tax Coin and Bullion Transactions
July 21st, 2010You already knew about this, but just in case… Via: ABC News: Those already outraged by the president’s health care legislation now have a new bone of contention — a scarcely noticed tack-on provision to the law that puts gold coin buyers and sellers under closer government scrutiny. The issue is rising to the fore […]
More than 700 Dead in Chinese Floods; “Various Disasters Hitting Many Regions”
July 21st, 2010Via: CNN: Torrential flooding across much of the nation has left 701 dead and hundreds missing, China’s vice minister of water resources said. At least 347 people are missing, Liu Ning told reporters in Beijing on Wednesday. Ninety-percent of the casualties were caused by mountain floods, mudslides and landslides triggered by heavy downpours. About 645,500 […]
“Five Leaks in and Around BP’s Well”?
July 21st, 2010Via: Washington Post: Five leaks in and around BP’s well are more like “drips” and aren’t yet reason to worry, said retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, the national incident commander. He extended testing of the experimental cap by another day, which means the oil will remain shut in. Seepage two miles from BP’s oil […]
America’s New Debtor Prison
July 21st, 2010Via: WalletPop: People who are imprisoned for their debts are technically locked up for contempt of court after failing to appear for a hearing pertaining to their debt. It’s a legal loophole that debt-collection companies are increasingly using. Here’s how it works: First, the collections company files a lawsuit against the debtor, which requires them […]
Killer Drones Get Stealthy
July 20th, 2010Via: Wired: Today’s killer drones are sitting ducks. Loud, slow-moving, and simple to spot, any air defense more potent than a militant with an AK is liable to take one of the robotic planes down. But the next generation of unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs) won’t be the airborne equivalent of fish in a barrel. […]
BP Had Blow Out Preventer Modified in China to Save Money
July 20th, 2010Via: Guardian: BP ordered the owner of the Deepwater Horizon rig, whose explosion led to the worst environmental disaster in US history, to overhaul a crucial piece of the rig’s safety equipment in China, the Observer has learnt. The blow-out preventer – the last line of defence against an out-of-control well – subsequently failed to […]
New Revenue Source for British Government: Dormant Bank Accounts
July 19th, 2010Via: Bloomberg: U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron announced plans to use “hundreds of millions of pounds” from dormant bank accounts to fund community projects, while Business Secretary Vince Cable said lenders “ripped off” customers. Cameron said he will press ahead with a proposal set out in the coalition government’s program to establish a “Big Society […]
Engineers Detect Seepage “A Distance” from BP’s Capped Oil Well
July 19th, 2010For weeks, Matt Simmons has been saying that there’s much more to this than the riser we’ve all seen in the videos. Still… We have no idea what’s actually happening down there. Note: Simmons is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, according to Wikipedia (which doesn’t provide any source), and this ASPO bio […]
WikiLeaks Blog
July 19th, 2010There’s not much on there yet: WikiLeaks Blog.
Top Secret America
July 19th, 2010Blah. The map doesn’t show the names of the companies. Additionally, according to the fine print on the map: “The locations of company headquarters have been adjusted to appear on the map within a mile of its actual location.” *shaking head* I guess this might deter some under-12-year-olds from figuring out the locations. You can, […]
