Mikhail Gorbachev Says Uprisings Signal an Emerging New World Order
October 21st, 2011Via: Lafayette College:
Gorbachev was referring to the series of uprisings around the world including the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations here in the United States. “The world needs goals that will bring people together,” he said. “Some people in the United States were pushing the idea of creating a global American empire, and that was a mistake from the start. Other people in America are now giving thought to the future of their country. The big banks, the big corporations, are still paying the same big bonuses to their bosses. Was there ever a crisis for them? . . . I believe America needs its own perestroika.”
…
“The entire world situation did not develop properly,” said Gorbachev. “We saw deterioration where there should have been positive movement. My friend the late Pope John Paul II said it best. He said, ‘We need a new world order, one that is more stable, more humane, and more just.’ Others, including myself, have spoken about a new world order, but we are still facing the problem of building such a world order…problems of the environment, of backwardness and poverty, food shortages…all because we do not have a system of global governance.”
Department of Homeland Security Deployed on Tennessee Interstates
October 20th, 2011Via: NewsChannel5:
You’re probably use to seeing TSA’s signature blue uniforms at the airport, but now agents are hitting the interstates to fight terrorism with Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response (VIPR).
“Where is a terrorist more apt to be found? Not these days on an airplane more likely on the interstate,” said Tennessee Department of Safety & Homeland Security Commissioner Bill Gibbons.
Tuesday Tennessee was first to deploy VIPR simultaneously at five weigh stations and two bus stations across the state.
Agents are recruiting truck drivers, like Rudy Gonzales, into the First Observer Highway Security Program to say something if they see something.
“Not only truck drivers, but cars, everybody should be aware of what’s going on, on the road,” said Gonzales.
It’s all meant to urge every driver to call authorities if they see something suspicious.
Unpaid Student Loans Top $1 Trillion
October 20th, 2011This whole student loan apocalypse is another confetti currency bubble scam. There are many parallels to the housing bubble, except, of course, that people can’t live inside those useless degrees obtained with borrowed money that can never be repaid.
The availability of the loans is driving ludicrous tuition increases, just like the funny money mortgages inflated the real estate market.
In other news: Rise of the Machines: America’s Jobs Challenge’.
Have a nice day.
Via: USA Today:
Students and workers seeking retraining are borrowing extraordinary amounts of money through federal loan programs, potentially putting a huge burden on the backs of young people looking for jobs and trying to start careers.
The amount of student loans taken out last year crossed the $100 billion mark for the first time and total loans outstanding will exceed $1 trillion for the first time this year. Americans now owe more on student loans than on credit cards, reports the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Students are borrowing twice what they did a decade ago after adjusting for inflation, the College Board reports. Total outstanding debt has doubled in the past five years — a sharp contrast to consumers reducing what’s owed on home loans and credit cards.
Muammar Gaddafi Killed in Sirte
October 20th, 2011Via: Al Jazeera:
Colonel Ahmed Bani, the military spokesman of the National Transition Council, has confirmed to Al Jazeera that Muammar Gaddafi has been killed.
Abdul Hakim Belhaj, an NTC military chief, said Gaddafi had died of his wounds after being captured near his hometown Sirte.
The body of the former Libyan leader was taken to a location which is being kept secret for security reasons, an NTC official said.
“Gaddafi’s body is with our unit in a car and we are taking the body to a secret place for security reasons,” Mohamed Abdel Kafi, an NTC official in the city of Misrata, told Reuters.
Earlier, Abdel Majid, another NTC official, said the toppled leader had been wounded in both legs.
A photograph taken on a mobile phone appeared to show Gaddafi heavily bloodied, but it was not possible to confirm the authenticity of the picture.
Japanese Communities Record Chernobyl-Level Radiation
October 20th, 2011Some of the Geiger counters shown in the video max out.
Via: ABC Lateline:
Seven months on from Japan’s nuclear meltdown, thousands of people are still unable to return to their homes around the Fukushima nuclear power plant.
And for many of them, the terrible realisation is sinking in that they may never go back.
Some communities have been found to be radiation hotspots, with levels comparable to those found at Chernobyl.
Many of those affected say they’ve had little help from the Japanese government as they struggle to come to terms with what’s happened.
The ABC’s North Asia correspondent, Mark Willacy, travelled to one of the Fukushima hotspots and talked to some of those dealing with the ongoing legacy of this disaster.
Related: Neutron Ray Measured in Tokyo [???] Thanks Tochigi.
Mighty Ape
October 20th, 2011Cryptogon is now a Mighty Ape affiliate. Readers in New Zealand can start Mighty Ape sessions via Cryptogon and they will pay me a 5% commission on whatever you buy.
I’ve added a link to the Partners list on the sidebar of the Home page for future reference.
It’s understandable if you’ve given up on web based retailing in New Zealand, but Mighty Ape is great. Their website doesn’t crash, the checkout always works, items listed as in stock are in stock and the service is fast and reliable. If you’re not familiar with them, here’s their about page.
Thanks for supporting Cryptogon by conducting your business through affiliate relationships! Every little bit helps.
Facebook Is Building Shadow Profiles of Non-Users
October 20th, 2011Via: Slashdot:
“As noted previously, Max Schrems of Europe Versus Facebook has filed numerous complaints about Facebook’s data collection practices. One complaint that has failed to draw much scrutiny regards Facebook’s creation of Shadow Profiles. ‘This is done by different functions that encourage users to hand personal data of other users and non-users to Facebook… (e.g. synchronizing mobile phones, importing personal data from e-mail providers, importing personal information from instant messaging services, sending invitations to friends or saving search queries when users search for other people on facebook.com). This means that even if you don’t use it, you may already have a profile on Facebook.'”
‘Rise of the Machines: America’s Jobs Challenge’
October 20th, 2011Via: Reuters:
For decades, American workers and their machines advanced in tandem. As companies invested in technology, more workers were needed to operate machines.
That relationship is now looking unsteady.
Since 1999, business investment in equipment and software has surged 33 percent while the total number of people employed by private firms has changed little.
The gap between man and machine widened even further after the 2008-09 recession, helping explain why the United States is struggling to bring down an unemployment rate stuck above 9 percent.
The revolution in information technologies is taking a deeper and deeper hold in the U.S. economy.
Throughout history, technology revolutions have paved the way to forms of employment: Britain’s 19th century industrial revolution threw artisans out of work but eventually created mass employment in factories.
But a decade-long drought in jobs in the United States is raising questions whether there is a fundamental shift in the structure of the labor market.
MTV Real World Casting Call for Occupy Wall Street Protestors
October 20th, 2011An individual in a crowd is a grain of sand amid other grains of sand, which the wind stirs up at will.
—Gustave Le Bon, The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind
So, Obombya, the Goldman Sachs’ shill, and MTV are now behind this Occupy Wall Street situation. [Update: Mikhail Gorbachev: Protests leading to New World Order.]
Sign wavers will not like Gustave Le Bon’s old book, but it’s an operations manual for those who take advantage of crowds. There are free versions of it all over the Internet, and on Amazon for the Kindle.
Via: Reuters:
Occupy Wall Street protesters may get a new platform to voice their opinions after MTV’s “The Real World” reality TV show posted a casting call reaching out to supporters of the movement.
The casting call, posted on Monday this week by “Real World” production company Bunim/Murray on website Craigslist, stated they were “seeking cast members to tell their unique stories” and specifically asks people if they are part of the Occupy Wall Street movement and in their 20s.
“The producers of Bunim/Murray productions are targeting young passionate people to be a part of the next cycle,” of the TV show, an MTV spokesperson told Reuters on Wednesday.
A Long, Steep Drop for Americans’ Standard of Living
October 20th, 2011Via: Christian Science Monitor:
Think life is not as good as it used to be, at least in terms of your wallet? You’d be right about that. The standard of living for Americans has fallen longer and more steeply over the past three years than at any time since the US government began recording it five decades ago.
