Archive for February, 2011
FCC: Presidential Emergency Alerts to be Tested
February 8th, 2011Via: Federal News Radio: Everybody has heard the national Emergency Alert System (EAS). Those familiar “duck calls” that reassure listeners “THIS is a test…this is ONLY a test…” The FCC is planning an upgrade to the tests by including presidential announcements in the system. Lisa Fowlkes, deputy chief of the Public Safety and Homeland Security […]
JPMorgan Allowing Gold to Be Used as Collateral for Some Types of Trading
February 8th, 2011Is JPM trying to get its tentacles around enough metal to cover physical withdrawals from clients? Via: Bloomberg: Gold may get a boost as JPMorgan Chase & Co. joins exchanges in allowing the metal to be used as collateral for trading, according to MF Global Holdings Ltd. JPMorgan yesterday said it will accept bullion “to […]
Hillary Clinton: We Can’t Legalize Drugs Because ‘There Is Just Too Much Money in It’
February 8th, 2011Mmm hmm. Via: Reason: Last week, while visiting Mexico, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was interviewed by Denise Maerker of Televisa, who asked her opinion of proposals to address black-market violence by repealing drug prohibition. Clinton’s response illustrates not only the intellectual bankruptcy of the prohibitionist position but the economic ignorance of a woman who […]
Mafia Holds Compromising Silvio Berlusconi Photos
February 8th, 2011Via: Telegraph: A leading Italian photographer has alleged that mafia gangsters claim to possess compromising photos of Silvio Berlusconi at wild “bunga bunga” sex parties. Fabrizio Corona, who runs a celebrity photography agency, claimed that members of the Camorra mafia in Naples are trying to sell the alleged images to gossip magazines. “Representatives from a […]
Egypt: Pentagon Moving Warships, Preparing for Possible Evacuations
February 7th, 2011Translation: The Suez Canal will remain open. Via: Los Angeles Times: The Pentagon is moving U.S. warships and other military assets to make sure it is prepared in case evacuation of U.S. citizens from Egypt becomes necessary, officials said Friday. The Kearsarge, an amphibious assault ship carrying 700 to 800 troops from the 26th Marine […]
Homeland Security Hijacks Domain Names of Sites That Allegedly Linked to Copyrighted Materials
February 7th, 2011That’s right. Don’t believe it? Here it is, from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) / Department of Homeland Security: The websites seized yesterday were popular “linking” sites – a type of website that provides access, or “links,” to other websites where pirated sporting and pay-per-view events are hosted. Users simply click on a link […]
U.S. Has Secret Tools to Force Internet on Dictators
February 7th, 2011The de facto role of the US armed forces will be to keep the world safe for our economy and open to our cultural assault. To those ends, we will do a fair amount of killing. —Ralph Peters Oh sure. U.S. PSYOP is just going to provide open Internet connections to the oppressed masses… *roll […]
Chinese Corn Imports Forecast to Soar
February 7th, 2011Via: Financial Times: Corn prices – and with them, the price of meat – are set to explode if the latest import estimates from China are correct. Last year, Beijing recorded its largest imports of corn since its disastrous crop of 1995-96. But this year could see further record buying. The US Grain Council, the […]
New Zealand: Rural Broadband Light at the End of the Tunnel is the Train
February 7th, 2011You’ve heard of putting a wolf in charge of guarding a hen house. In rural New Zealand, we’ll get two wolves on the job. The final announcement has not yet been made, so I suppose there’s a chance that it might not be as bad as it looks now. However, my money is on the […]
Sugar Shortage Looms as Storm Ruins Australian Crop
February 6th, 2011Via: Bloomberg: World sugar output will probably fall short of demand, said Rabobank, after a cyclone with winds stronger than Hurricane Katrina destroyed homes and smashed crops in Australia, driving prices to 30-year highs. Tropical Cyclone Yasi ripped through northern Queensland, a region growing a third of the country’s cane, cutting output potential in the […]
