Archive for January, 2015
Snowden: iPhone Includes Surveillance App
January 24th, 2015Shocker. Via: Sputnik News: Former US National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden never uses an iPhone as this device has software able to collect personal information regarding its owner, the whistleblower’s lawyer said Monday. “Edward never uses an IPhone, he’s got a simple phone… The iPhone has special software that can activate itself without […]
Recovery: More Homeless Camps Are Appearing Beyond Downtown L.A.’s Skid Row
January 24th, 2015Via: Los Angeles Times: Over the last two years, street encampments have jumped their historic boundaries in downtown Los Angeles, lining freeways and filling underpasses from Echo Park to South Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, a city-county agency, received 767 calls about street encampments in 2014, up 60% from the 479 in […]
Scientists Attempt to Create Kill Switch for Genetically Modified Bacteria
January 24th, 2015Pay close attention to the use of unlikely and undetectably small escape rate in the piece below. Wow. Of all the places to encounter weaseleze… I think seeing it in the one about the GMO kill switch has to take the cake. Via: Discovery: As genetically-modified microbes take on ever more tasks – from creating […]
Doomsday Clock: It Is Three Minutes to Midnight
January 23rd, 2015Via: Bulletin of Atomic Scientists: Unchecked climate change, global nuclear weapons modernizations, and outsized nuclear weapons arsenals pose extraordinary and undeniable threats to the continued existence of humanity, and world leaders have failed to act with the speed or on the scale required to protect citizens from potential catastrophe. These failures of political leadership endanger […]
Saudi King Abdullah Dies, New Ruler Is Salman
January 22nd, 2015Via: Reuters: Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah died early on Friday and his brother Salman became king, the royal court in the world’s top oil exporter and birthplace of Islam said in a statement carried by state television. King Salman has named his half-brother Muqrin as his crown prince and heir.
Europe Announces €60 Billion Monthly Bond-Buying Plan
January 22nd, 2015Via: Yahoo: Taking a page from the Ben Bernanke playbook, Mario Draghi and the European Central Bank announced a bond buying program this morning to the tune of €60 billion a month through September of 2016 for a total of about €1.2 trillion. The program is an attempt to turn around Europe’s lagging economy, boosting […]
Flashback 2009: Drug Money Saved Banks in Global Crisis
January 22nd, 2015Via: Guardian: Drugs money worth billions of dollars kept the financial system afloat at the height of the global crisis, the United Nations’ drugs and crime tsar has told the Observer. Antonio Maria Costa, head of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, said he has seen evidence that the proceeds of organised crime were […]
California Is Going Through the Worst Drought in 500 Years
January 21st, 2015Via: Vice: In the first episode of our new show, California Soul, we investigate the state’s worst drought in nearly 500 years. From the driest towns in California to the empty reservoirs, we see just how screwed our world really is and what people are doing to carry on.
Google and Fidelity Invest $1 Billion in SpaceX
January 20th, 2015Via: cnet: Google is cementing its interest in outer space. The company, along with investment firm Fidelity, is pumping $1 billion into SpaceX, the rocket company co-founded by billionaire Elon Musk. The deal, confirmed on Tuesday by SpaceX, is just the latest bet Google has made on space technologies. The company has recently made investments […]
Yemen: Coup Underway
January 20th, 2015Via: Globe and Mail: A Yemeni army commander says Shiite Houthi rebels have seized the presidential palace in the capital, Sanaa, a move he described as a “coup.” Col. Saleh al-Jamalani, the commander of the Presidential Protection Force that guards embattled President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, says the rebels swept into the presidential palace on […]
