Archive for February, 2011
Like Other War Criminals, Bush Has to Plan Travel Carefully; Cancels Visit to Switzerland
February 6th, 2011Via: Reuters: Former President George W. Bush has canceled a visit to Switzerland, where he was to address a Jewish charity gala, due to the risk of legal action against him for alleged torture, rights groups said on Saturday. Bush was to be the keynote speaker at Keren Hayesod’s annual dinner on February 12 in […]
Hackers Penetrate Nasdaq Computers
February 6th, 2011Via: Wall Street Journal: Hackers have repeatedly penetrated the computer network of the company that runs the Nasdaq Stock Market during the past year, and federal investigators are trying to identify the perpetrators and their purpose, according to people familiar with the matter. The exchange’s trading platform—the part of the system that executes trades—wasn’t compromised, […]
Britain: Court Bans Man with Low IQ from Having Sex
February 6th, 2011My default setting is that the state should have nothing to do with what consenting adults do in their bedrooms. In the case below, however, “Alan” has an IQ of 48 and lives in government housing. What should the role of the state be in a situation like this? Via: Telegraph: A man with a […]
Egypt: Gas Pipeline Attacked
February 5th, 2011Via: Wall Street Journal: An Egyptian gas pipeline in the Sinai peninsula was attacked Saturday, cutting off supplies to Jordan and Israel. The pipeline was attacked by “subversive elements,” Egyptian state TV reported. There were no further details on those responsible, but the attack was the latest sign of deteriorating security in the key buffer […]
Beijing Bomb Shelters House One Million People
February 5th, 2011Via: Telegraph: To understand how far ordinary Chinese have been priced out of their country’s property market, you need to look not upwards at the Beijing’s shimmering high-rise skyline, but down, far below the bustling streets where nearly 20m people live and work. There, in the city’s vast network of unused air defence bunkers, as […]
Gibbs: Important U.S.-Egypt Relationship Will Remain
February 5th, 2011Imagine my shock. Via: AP / Washington Post: The White House says that whatever government emerges in Egypt, the U.S. expects its relationship with its key Arab ally to continue to provide regional stability. Related: U.S. Discussing Transition Plan with Egyptians
Mubarak Family Fortune Could Reach $70 Billion
February 5th, 2011Via: Guardian: President Hosni Mubarak’s family fortune could be as much as $70bn (£43.5bn) according to analysis by Middle East experts, with much of his wealth in British and Swiss banks or tied up in real estate in London, New York, Los Angeles and along expensive tracts of the Red Sea coast. After 30 years […]
The Youth Unemployment Bomb
February 4th, 2011Via: Business Week: In Tunisia, the young people who helped bring down a dictator are called hittistes—French-Arabic slang for those who lean against the wall. Their counterparts in Egypt, who on Feb. 1 forced President Hosni Mubarak to say he won’t seek reelection, are the shabab atileen, unemployed youths. The hittistes and shabab have brothers […]
Madoff and JP Morgan
February 4th, 2011Via: Guardian: The UK’s Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca) was warned about Bernard Madoff in October 2008, two months before the fraudster confessed that his investment empire was a sham, according to a lawsuit unsealed in New York. The allegation was made in a suit filed against JP Morgan, one of Madoff’s banks, on behalf […]
California Cities Top Most Miserable List
February 4th, 2011Via: Reuters: If the saying “as goes California, so goes the nation” still rings true, then Americans are facing a depressing future, according to a list of the country’s most miserable cities. Ravaged by falling house prices, high unemployment, a massive budget deficit, rampant crime and high state taxes, California filled four of the top […]
