Archive for April, 2011
Jingle Mail: Morgan Stanley Failed to Make $3.3 Billion Debt Payment by Friday Deadline, Handed Over Keys to Central Tokyo Office Building to Blackstone; Largest Ever Repayment Failure of Its Kind in Japan
April 17th, 2011Via: Reuters: A Morgan Stanley property fund failed to make $3.3 billion in debt payments by a deadline on Friday, handing over the keys to a central Tokyo office building to Blackstone (BX.N) and other investors, the largest repayment failure of its kind in Japan. It marks the latest fallout from a series of highly […]
FBI Hijacks ‘Coreflood’ Botnet
April 17th, 2011Alternate headline: FBI Obtains Distributed Denial of Service Capability for Free. Interestingly, in other recent news, the government is stepping up propaganda efforts on the National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace scheme, which is ‘voluntary‘, of course… Translation: They want you to use NSTIC. They want you to want to use it. There are […]
Is Sitting a Lethal Activity?
April 16th, 2011Via: New York Times Magazine: Sitting, it would seem, is an independent pathology. Being sedentary for nine hours a day at the office is bad for your health whether you go home and watch television afterward or hit the gym. It is bad whether you are morbidly obese or marathon-runner thin. “Excessive sitting,” Dr. Levine […]
Cryptogon Readers Send Contributions in April
April 16th, 2011Thank you. Pookie $75 AnotherBrotherMark $20 BS CA$20
March Earnings
April 16th, 2011March earnings came to a total of $1315.93. That’s a great result! Cryptogon supporter activity on Amazon U.S. alone represented 53% of earnings. Ten readers sent cash contributions, which included an extremely generous $200 from JH. Thanks very much to everyone who supported Cryptogon in March.
Fukushima: Fuel Rod Fragments at Bottom of Reactor Vessels
April 16th, 2011Flashback: Arnie Gundersen: How Fukushima’s Fuel Rods Melted and Shattered And now… Via: Japan Times: Melted fuel rod fragments have sunk to the bottoms of three reactors at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant and could theoretically burn through the pressure vessels if emergency water-pumping operations are seriously disrupted, the Atomic Energy Society of Japan […]
U.S. Meat Widely Contaminated with Drug-Resistant Bacteria
April 16th, 2011Via: Los Angeles Times: Meat in the U.S. may be widely contaminated with strains of drug-resistant bacteria, researchers reported Friday after testing 136 samples of beef, chicken, pork and turkey purchased at grocery stores. Nearly half of the samples — 47% — contained strains of Staphylococcus aureus, the type of bacteria that most commonly causes […]
Belarus: Central Bank Halts Sales of Gold for Roubles
April 15th, 2011This is what the beast looks like when the mask finally comes off. Via: Reuters: Belarus’ central bank has stopped selling gold to local retail customers for Belarussian roubles, it said on Friday, after demand for precious metals soared due to expectations of a currency devaluation. The bank did not explain its decision. Belarus is […]
BRICS Take Aim at Dollar
April 15th, 2011The U.S. Dollar Index has not yet crossed into the crisis territory that I wrote about recently, but here’s what I thought might happen if it does: I’d say that capital controls, some kind of IMF SDR (Special Drawing Rights) ‘Global Reserve’ confetti bucks, and a global financial crisis management organization, like the IMF on […]
Intense Light Passing Through Non Conductive Material, ‘Can Generate Magnetic Effects That Are 100 Million Times Stronger Than Previously Expected’
April 15th, 2011Intense light can cause glass to exhibit strong magnetic properties. Wow, this is a weird one. The buzz kill occurs when you read that the light needs to be focused to 10 million watts per square centimeter to realize the effect. The researchers are looking for materials that work at lower intensities. Via: PhysOrg: A […]
