DOE to Spend $27 Million on ‘Sun Shot’
February 15th, 2011‘Sun Shot’, eh?
Ok, let’s look at what was spent on the Apollo program:
The final cost of project Apollo was reported to Congress as $25.4 billion in 1973.
$25.4 billion in 1973 dollars would equal $123 billion in 2009 dollars (source).
So, by allocating $27 million of today’s dollars to this ‘Sun Shot’ project, the reality is that it’s only about one tenth of one percent of what was spent on the Apollo program.
This energy shakedown remains the biggest scam of them all… Maybe tied for first with fiat currencies.
Via: Reuters:
The U.S. Department of Energy said on Friday it will spend $27 million on a new effort to reduce the costs of solar power by 75 percent by the end of the decade in a bid to make the renewable power source as cheap as fossil fuels.
Energy Secretary Steven Chu dubbed the program a “sun shot” that was patterned on President John F. Kennedy’s “moon shot” goal in the 1960s that called for the United States to land a man on the moon.
Chu said cutting the cost of installed solar power by 75 percent would put the price at about $1 per watt, he said, or about 6 cents per kilowatt hour.
“That would make solar energy cost-competitive with other forms of energy without subsidies of any kind,” he told a conference call.
Related:
Afghanistan: U.S. Spends $20 Billion Per Year for Air Conditioning in Tents
Chart: The Cost of the War in Iraq vs. Spending on Solar Energy Research
Argentina Seized Undeclared Weapons and Drugs on U.S. Military Aircraft Last Week
February 15th, 2011Via: AFP:
Argentina and the United States are engaged in a diplomatic spat after Buenos Aires authorities seized what they say are undeclared weapons and drugs on a US military aircraft last week.
The Argentine government on Monday said it planned to lodge a formal protest with Washington, while the US State Department said it was “puzzled and disturbed” by the seizure of what it claimed was routine equipment for training the Argentine federal police.
Officials in Argentina said the US Air Force C-17 transport plane was searched and its cargo seized by customs officials on Thursday at Ezeiza International Airport after arriving with experts and material for a hostage rescue training exercise.
In a statement late Sunday, President Cristina Kirchner’s government said it would lodge a protest with Washington and ask it to cooperate in a probe into the air force’s attempt “to violate Argentine laws by bringing in hidden material in an official shipment.”
Argentina has said it seized “sensitive material” that had not been declared in a manifest submitted by the US embassy.
“Among the material seized, which the State Department makes no reference to, are from weapons to different drugs, including various doses of morphine,” the foreign ministry said in Sunday’s statement.
State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said “we are puzzled and disturbed by the actions of Argentine officials,” adding they conducted what he called “an unusual and unannounced search of the aircraft’s cargo.”
Research Credit: y00h00180
‘Mubarak Falls Into Coma After Final Speech’ [???]
February 15th, 2011Let me guess: He’ll die and the majority of his looted billions won’t be found?
Via: Al Arabiya:
Egypt’s deposed president, Hosni Mubarak, went into a full coma on Saturday night at his residence in the Red Sea resort of Sharm al-Sheikh, an Egyptian newspaper reported on Monday, quoting well-informed sources.
Mubarak and his family moved to Sharm al-Sheikh on Thursday night following his final speech, in which he handed over executive authority to former Vice-President Omar Suleiman, Egypt’s al-Masry al-Youm reported.
The same sources said that Mubarak was currently receiving medical treatment but that no decision had yet been made on whether to transfer the 82-year-old former head-of-state to a hospital.
Is Mubarak a Mason?
February 15th, 2011I went to read, How The Mubarak Family Made Its Billions, and there it was:
Mubarak and the Hidden Hand
See: The Hidden Hand that Shaped History:
Has the course of History been directed by a small group of people with common interests? The paintings and pictures of the great men of the past centuries reveal a common thread which links them together. Is it a coincidence that many of them hid one of their hands when posing for a portrait? It seems unlikely. We’ll look at the Masonic origin of the “hidden hand” and the powerful men who used the sign in famous portraits.
The Afghan Bank Heist
February 14th, 2011Via: The New Yorker:
A secret investigation may implicate dozens of high-ranking government officials.
…
The Threat Finance Cell also has almost single-handedly demonstrated the degree to which the American-led war in Afghanistan is compromised by connections among the Taliban, drug traffickers, and Afghan officials. The group was set up, in 2008, to sever the links between Taliban insurgents and their financing, much of which was believed to come from the drug trade. Instead, the investigators found that the lines connecting the Taliban and the drug smugglers often ran through the Afghan government. They also uncovered one of the darker truths of the war: the vast armies of private gunmen paid to protect American supply convoys frequently use American money to bribe Taliban fighters to stand back. These bribes are believed by officials in Kabul and in Washington to be one of the main sources of the Taliban’s income. The Americans, it turns out, are funding both sides of the war.
Protests in Iran
February 14th, 2011The U.S. State Department is openly stirring the pot:
The US State Department has begun sending Twitter messages to Iranians in Farsi, alluding to the “historic role” social media have played in mass protests against Iran’s 2009 disputed presidential polls.
The Twitter feeds in the Iranian language began Sunday as US officials accused Iran of hypocrisy by supporting the anti-government revolt in Egypt but seeking to prevent anti-government demonstrations in Iran.
On the Twitter account, USAdarFarsi, the State Department said it “recognizes historic role of social media among Iranians We want to join in your conversations.”
In another tweet, the State Department said: “#Iran has shown that the activities it praised Egyptians for it sees as illegal, illegitimate for its own people.”
In a third tweet, it said “US calls on #Iran to allow people to enjoy same universal rights to peacefully assemble, demonstrate as in Cairo.”
Via: Washington Post:
Crowds of demonstrators battled security forces armed with tear gas and batons during a surprisingly large anti-government protest in the Iranian capital Monday that drew inspiration from the recent popular uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia.
Dodging clouds of tear gas fired by police and pro-government militiamen, the protesters marched down a central boulevard and shouted slogans such as “Death to the dictator,” “We are all together” and “Down with Taliban, in Cairo and Tehran.”
Food Price Inflation
February 14th, 2011Via: Bloomberg:
Nowhere could the fallout be greater than Asia, where a critical mass of those living on less than $2 a day reside. It might have major implications for Asia’s debt outlook. It may have even bigger ones for leaders hoping to keep the peace and avoid mass protests.
Austin Considers $50 a Year, Unlimited Electric Car Charging Service
February 14th, 2011Via: Austin Business Journal:
Austin City Council members this week will consider charging Austin electric car drivers $50 a year to boot up their batteries from any Austin Energy plug-in.
The proposed rate would apply to Austin Energy’s “Plug-in Everywhere” program — a network of public charging stations for electric vehicles. The city would offer a $25 six-month subscription for unlimited service, including sales tax. Without the subscription, it would cost about $2 per hour of charging.
The Two Men Gunned Down by U.S. National Raymond Davis Were Working for ISI
February 14th, 2011Via: Times of India:
The two men gunned down by US national Raymond Davis in Lahore last month were working for ISI which was tailing the American because he was spying and “encroaching on their turf”, according to a media report. The two men were sent to track Davis by the ISI, which believed that he had crossed “a red line” and needed to be followed, four unnamed Pakistani officials were quoted as saying by ABC News. The men Davis shot had been following him for at least two hours and recorded some of his movements on their cell phone cameras, one of the Pakistani officials said.
In late January, Davis was asked to leave an area of Lahore restricted by the military, the officials said. Davis’ cell phone was tracked and some of his calls were made to the Waziristan tribal area, where the Pakistani Taliban and a dozen other militant groups have a safe haven, one official said. Pakistani intelligence officials saw Davis as a threat who was “encroaching on their turf,” the official was quoted as saying.
EGYPT: BANK HOLIDAY
February 14th, 2011Via: Reuters:
Egypt declared Monday a bank holiday after workers emboldened by the ousting of President Hosni Mubarak and angered by low wages and poor working conditions disrupted operations at the country’s state banks.
The Egyptian pound was little changed in slow trade on Sunday, the first day of trading since President Hosni Mubarak was toppled from power on Friday, and the central bank said it had successfully covered an auction of 6.5 billion Egyptian pounds ($1.1 billion) in treasury bills.
Banks were already due to be closed on Tuesday, an official holiday marking the Prophet Mohamed’s birthday.
“Employees are demanding higher salaries,” Deputy Central Bank Governor Hisham Ramez said by telephone, adding that the strikes were mainly at state and not private banks.
Tarek Amer, chairman of state-owned National Bank of Egypt, the country’s biggest commercial bank, submitted his resignation on Sunday after angry employees prevented him from reaching his office, bankers said.
