Paul Krugman on CNN: “If We Discovered That Space Aliens Were Planning to Attack… This Slump Would Be Over in 18 Months”
August 15th, 2011The Al Qaeda swindle isn’t working, so why not double down and shoot for the stars?
Via: CNN Clip on YouTube:
Paul Krugman wants to create a Keynesian-infused Space Alien Economic Bubble to revive the depressed one we have right now.
Japanese Burning Radioactive Materials Causing ‘Rainouts’ Around Japan and Elsewhere in Northern Hemisphere
August 15th, 2011Via: Washington’s Blog:
Nuclear expert Arnie Gundersen says in a new interview that the Japanese are burning radioactive waste from Fukushima. This ends up not only in neighboring prefectures, but in Hawaii, British Columbia, Oregon, Washington and California.
Radioactive rain-outs were documented recently in British Columbia and Oklahoma with geiger counters.
Gundersen is working with scientists who will publish a paper soon definitively debunking the Canadian and American health officials claims that only harmless levels of radiation are being released.
Gundersen has a high-level contact in the State Department who says that the U.S. government has decided – in the State Department, FDA, etc. to downplay Fukushima. Because of this policy decision, the governments are not really testing for radiation.
So we’ll see another year of radioactive rain-outs, as the Japanese continue to burn radioactive materials.
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Research Credit: lagavulin
Pakistan Let China See Crashed U.S. “Stealth” Copter
August 15th, 2011Via: Financial Times:
Pakistan allowed Chinese military engineers to photograph and take samples from the top-secret stealth helicopter that US special forces left behind when they killed Osama bin Laden, the Financial Times has learnt.
The action is the latest incident to underscore the increasingly complicated relationship and lack of trust between Islamabad and Washington following the raid.
“The US now has information that Pakistan, particularly the ISI, gave access to the Chinese military to the downed helicopter in Abbottabad,” said one person in intelligence circles, referring to the Pakistani spy agency. The Chinese engineers were allowed to survey the wreckage and take photographs of it, as well as take samples of the special “stealth” skin that allowed the American team to enter Pakistan undetected by radar, he said.
President Barack Obama’s national security council had been discussing this incident and trying to decide how to respond. A senior official said the situation “doesn’t make us happy”, but that the administration had little recourse.
As Navy Seals raided Bin Laden’s compound in the military city of Abbottabad, just outside Islamabad, in May, one of their modified Black Hawk helicopters crashed into the wall of the compound, rendering it inoperable.
Author Claims Pentagon Can’t Account for $10 Trillion Since 1991
August 15th, 2011Via: Daily Ticker:
You think Enron’s accounting was troubled? The Pentagon has very little accountability when it comes to its books. Since first submitting financial accounts in 1991, the Pentagon “has been unable to account for trillions of dollars, well over almost $10 trillion by my own account,” says Glain. Conspiracy theorists suggest this is CIA money being laundered through the Pentagon, a claim Glain has some sympathy for.
ooShirts for Custom T-Shirts
August 15th, 2011One of the cool aspects of running Cryptogon is that people occasionally want to give me stuff in exchange for promoting their businesses or products. When Colleen from ooShirts offered me a $100 coupon for custom t-shirts, I was delighted because I had actually just been looking to replace a bunch of VERY old and tattered rags that I’d been wearing around. I also wanted matching pterodactylus t-shirts for me and my son, Owen. (I’m not sure what’s more disturbing; that I wanted matching pterodactylus t-shirts, or that Owen, who’s three-years-old, can say pterodactylus…)
ooShirts only ships to U.S. addresses, so my dad kindly mailed the shirts to me in New Zealand.
WOH! They came out really nice!
I took a close-up shot of one of the shirts to show you the level of detail. This is great screen printing. These shirts are top quality.
If you’re looking for high quality custom t-shirts, I’d definitely recommend ooShirts.
NZ Snowmageddon
August 15th, 2011Update: Snow in Auckland
Via: New Zealand Herald:
Snow has fallen in downtown Auckland for the first time in 80 years as a ‘once in a lifetime’ polar blast spreads across New Zealand, forecasters say.
Widespread reports of snow emerged this afternoon as bitterly cold and stormy conditions set in around Auckland.
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There are bad Internet connectivity problems across NZ at the moment. You know the routine: No updates means I can’t get out on either Telecom or Vodafone.
Terror Screening Watchlist Service
August 14th, 2011Via: The Informant:
Last Friday, the federal government’s new anti-terror database, the Terror Screening Watchlist Service, went live. The database is loaded with an unknown amount of personal information, including names, photographs and biometric data. In a new turn that has civil liberties advocates crying foul, the Department of Homeland Security is claiming all information contained in the watchlist is confidential.
…
Conveniently, DHS’ new rules for the Terror Screening Watchlist Service state that the agency “does not control the accuracy” of information retained in the database.
Actor Corey Feldman Says Pedophilia No. 1 Problem for Child Stars
August 14th, 2011Via: ABC News:
Corey Feldman has no idea what it’s like not to be famous. After all, he starred in a McDonald’s ad when he was just 3 years old.
“I literally was famous before I knew my own name,” he said in an interview with ABC News’ “Nightline.”
The ad led to roles in films such as “Stand By Me,” “Goonies” and “License to Drive.” He was a household name before he could read.
“I knew … to respond to Corey, but I didn’t know how to write it; I didn’t know how to spell it,” he said.
But being famous and underage, he said, caused serious damage to him and his friends, including loss of innocence and a lost childhood.
Feldman blamed the adults around him, not just those looking to profit from charming children, but also some with far more sinister motives.
“I can tell you that the No. 1 problem in Hollywood was and is and always will be pedophilia. That’s the biggest problem for children in this industry. … It’s the big secret,” Feldman said.
The “casting couch,” which is the old Hollywood reference to actors being expected to offer sex for roles, applied to children, Feldman said. “Oh, yeah. Not in the same way. It’s all done under the radar,” he said.
“I was surrounded by [pedophiles] when I was 14 years old. … Didn’t even know it. It wasn’t until I was old enough to realize what they were and what they wanted … till I went, Oh, my God. They were everywhere,” Feldman, 40, said.
JAPANESE NUCLEAR EXPERT: FUKUSHIMA DISASTER RELEASED ALMOST 30 TIMES MORE RADIOACTIVE CONTAMINATION THAN ATOMIC BOMBING OF HIROSHIMA
August 14th, 2011Via: Asahi:
An exasperated University of Tokyo professor who launched an angry tirade at lawmakers over the Fukushima nuclear crisis has become a hero to many on the Internet.
Tatsuhiko Kodama, 58, who heads the Radioisotope Center at Todai, was called to provide expert testimony before the Lower House Health, Labor and Welfare Committee on July 27.
Facing a panel of lawmakers, Kodama said, “At a time when 70,000 people have left their homes and have no idea where to go, what is the Diet doing?”
Video footage of Kodama’s testimony was soon posted on YouTube, and within a few days, the video had been viewed more than 200,000 times.
Responses to the footage were generally favorable.
“I was deeply moved that Todai has a professor like him,” said one post.
“I understand the scary truth. I understand the inaction of the central government,” said another.
Besides being a doctor of internal medicine, Kodama is also an expert on internal radiation exposure. His background made even more shocking the testimony he provided in the Diet.
“(On March 21), Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said, ‘There are no immediate problems for people’s health.’ At that time, I felt something very disastrous was about to occur,” Kodama said. “When we look at problems from radiation, we consider the total exposure amount. Neither Tokyo Electric Power Co. nor the central government have made any clear report about total exposure from the accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.”
The Radioisotope Center conducted its own calculations on the level of radiation contamination arising from the Fukushima nuclear accident.
Kodama explained the horrifying results of those calculations at the committee session.
“The equivalent of 29.6 times of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, or in terms of uranium about 20 atomic bombs, were released by the accident,” Kodama said. “While the remaining radiation from atomic bombs decreases to one-thousandth of the original level after a year, radioactive materials from the nuclear power plant only decrease to one-tenth the original level.”
After the nuclear accident, Kodama visited Minami-Soma, Fukushima Prefecture, on seven separate occasions to help decontaminate the area of radiation.
“What I am doing right now is totally illegal,” Kodama said. “Under the present law to prevent problems arising (from radiation), the amount of radiation and the type of nuclide that can be handled by each facility is determined. While I am providing support in Minami-Soma, most of the facilities do not have the authority to handle cesium. Transporting the materials by car is also illegal.
“However, we cannot leave materials with high levels of radiation to the mothers in the community. In the decontamination process, we place all materials into barrels and bring them back to Tokyo,” he said.
Kodama also strongly called for a new law that would help reduce radiation exposure among children as soon as possible.
As the most pressing concern, he called for thorough measurements of radiation amounts in the contaminated areas.
Georgia: Thousands Line Up for Free Dental Services
August 13th, 2011Via: Atlanta Journal Constitution:
Thousands of people stood in line for free dental services Friday at a church in Woodstock.
The two-day clinic at First Baptist Church of Woodstock on Hwy. 92 is being sponsored by the Georgia Dental Association and its Foundation for Oral Health.
“The line went around the building, all the way through the parking lot and around a warehouse,” said Dr. Richard Smith, who practices in Atlanta. He estimated the line at 2,000 yards and said that at its peak, 4,000 people were in line.



