More Than 20,000 American Mortgagees at Palm Beach Convention Center for Loan Modification Event
August 31st, 2010Related/Triage America: Thousands Line Up for Free Health Care at the Los Angeles Sports Arena.
Via: Guardian:
In the pre-dawn darkness of a steamy night of sub-tropical rain, a queue of anxious, soggy people snakes around the palm trees outside a cavernous Florida convention centre. Some have erected camp beds or makeshift tents. All clutch sheaves of mortgage documents.
Welcome to America’s biggest jamboree of delinquent borrowers. For five days, the Neighbourhood Assistance Corporation of America (Naca), a not-for-profit organisation, is working round the clock to help homeowners hang on to their houses. More than 12,000 people have signed up in advance and more than 20,000 are expected to turn up, travelling from as far afield as California, Georgia and Maryland.
Predator Drones to Patrol Entire U.S.-Mexico Border from September 1
August 31st, 2010Via: Reuters:
The U.S. government will have unmanned surveillance aircraft monitoring the whole southwest border with Mexico from September 1, as it ramps up border security in this election year, a top official said on Monday.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said U.S. Customs and Border Protection would begin flying a Predator B drone out of Corpus Christi, Texas, on Wednesday, extending the reach of the agency’s unmanned surveillance aircraft across the length of the nearly 2,000 mile border with Mexico.
Enslaved
August 31st, 2010Mmm hmm.
Research Credit: DW
Britain: Terrorists Use “Conspiracy Theories” in Attempt to Discredit Government and Recruit New Members
August 31st, 2010Obviously, too many people are figuring out the scam. The-bloggers-are-with-Al-Queda meme seems hilarious and dumb now, but this is the set up phase. After the false flag nuke is lit off (or whatever the spectacle will entail), guess where the fingers will point…
See: DoJ Terrorism and Criminal Extremism Terms and Concepts Guide
Via: BBC:
Secrecy surrounding counter-terrorism operations is fuelling mistrust of authorities, a study by independent think tank Demos suggests.
It urges the government and secret services to be more open to stop extremist groups using conspiracy theories to discredit them.
A Demos spokesman said: “Less-secret services could make Britain safer.”
The study calls for greater communication with trusted community leaders and individuals.
The report – entitled the Power of Unreason – says groups use conspiracy theories to recruit and radicalise people to commit acts of violence.
An example of one such theory is that the bombings in New York and London, on 11 September 2001 and 7 July 2005 respectively, were “inside jobs” carried out by authorities in the US and UK.
Other theories highlighted were that “freemasons control the world economy through manipulation of paper currency”, that the UK government is “consciously seeking to destroy Islam” and that a “conspiracy between the Japanese government, the US, and the Jews existed to gain world domination”.
The study claims such theories are frequently adopted by extremist groups to demonise outsiders, discredit moderates and push them in a more extreme and sometimes violent direction.
The report’s authors made a number of recommendations concerning the counter-terrorism work carried out by MI5, MI6 and GCHQ and the government.
The publication of all National Security Council annual reports, including outlining the risks to national security and the current terrorist threat, was among their suggestions aimed at improving transparency.
They also called for increased openness in terrorism trials through reporting court proceedings and transcripts and for the provision of more information about policing around counter-terrorism.
However, the study did acknowledge that there were limits to what the government could do to restore trust and urged society as a whole to do more to counter the conspiracy theorists.
One way in which this could be done is by helping young people to think more critically, it said.
It recommended lessons on conspiracy theories and online sources like blogs, Wikipedia and newspapers for secondary school students that focused on digital literacy and ‘counter knowledge’.
“More needs to be done in schools to teach young people digital literacy, such as being taught to tell the difference between propaganda and honest and accurate reporting,” argues the think tank.
Jamie Bartlett, an extremism expert at Demos, said: “The more open the government is, the harder it is for extremist groups to make stories out of silence.
“Clearly, there are occasions when more transparency is not possible for reasons of national security, the safety of certain individuals, or resource constraints. But the degree to which conspiracy theories make up part of the extremist mind-set and world view suggests it needs to be confronted.”
He said such theories “destroy the trust that exists between the government and communities, which is the basis of effective counter-terrorism work”.
California Students Get Tracking Devices
August 31st, 2010Make sure that the little zombies-in-training get a breakfast stick or two to start the day off right. *sigh*
Similar: In-School Suspension Program
Via: San Jose Mercury News / AP:
California officials are outfitting preschoolers in Contra Costa County with tracking devices they say will save staff time and money.
The system was introduced Tuesday. When at the school, students will wear a jersey that has a small radio frequency tag. The tag will send signals to sensors that help track children’s whereabouts, attendance and even whether they’ve eaten or not.
School officials say it will free up teachers and administrators who previously had to note on paper files when a child was absent or had eaten.
Sung Kim of the county’s employment and human services department said the system could save thousands of hours of staff time and pay for itself within a year.
It cost $50,000 and was paid by a federal grant.
Cryptogon Reader Signs Up for Hosting with BlueHost
August 31st, 2010Thanks to the owner of ecdce.net for signing up for hosting with BlueHost. Cryptogon received $90.
Do the Evolution
August 31st, 2010Via: Pearl Jam – Do the Evolution / YouTube:
Research Credit: MC
Is China Looking at a $430 Billion Loss on U.S. Treasury Bonds?
August 31st, 2010WARNING: This is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any financial instrument.
I don’t see how they could be looking at a loss of that magnitude right now. The only way that’s possible is if there’s some unthinkably large position that they have not acknowledged.
Initially, this feels like Information Operations to me. By whom and for what? I have no idea.
Via: STRATFOR:
Rumors have circulated in China that People’s Bank of China (PBC) Gov. Zhou Xiaochuan may have left the country. The rumors appear to have started following reports on Aug. 28 which cited Ming Pao, a Hong Kong-based news agency, saying that because of an approximately $430 billion loss on U.S. Treasury bonds, the Chinese government may punish some individuals within the PBC, including Zhou. Although Ming Pao on Aug. 30 published a report on its website indicating that the prior report was fabricated by a mainland news site that had attributed the false information to Ming Pao, rumors of Zhou’s defection have spread around China intensively, and Zhou’s name has been blocked from Internet search engines in China.
STRATFOR has received no confirmation of the rumor, and reports by state-run Chinese media appeared to send strong indications that Zhou is in no trouble at the moment. However, the release of this rumor and its dispersion throughout the public is significant, particularly as the Communist Party of China (CPC) is preparing for a leadership transition in 2012.
More: “Knowledgeable U.S. Government Officials” Deny It
Via: Washington Post:
Two knowledgeable government officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they had no evidence of Zhou’s defection and that he was not in U.S. custody.
“There’s no indication at this point that he’s defected,” said one. “It doesn’t pay to give too much attention to rumors.”
A nonpartisan congressional China expert, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the losses cited for the PBC were ridiculous.
“I’m not sure how exactly anyone could have ‘lost’ money on investing in U.S. Treasuries since they have been doing a lot better than U.S. stocks,” he said by e-mail.
More: ZeroHedge Takes a Stab at the Math
Via: ZeroHedge:
Assuming average 6 Year duration on holdings (completely arbitrary), and a 2% drop in rates, means $430 billion is 12% of total notional, so somehow China must be short $3.5 trillion in notional or synthetically.
Recovery: 1 in 6 Americans in Government Anti-Poverty Programs
August 31st, 2010Via: USA Today:
Government anti-poverty programs that have grown to meet the needs of recession victims now serve a record one in six Americans and are continuing to expand.
More than 50 million Americans are on Medicaid, the federal-state program aimed principally at the poor, a survey of state data by USA TODAY shows. That’s up at least 17% since the recession began in December 2007.
“Virtually every Medicaid director in the country would say that their current enrollment is the highest on record,” says Vernon Smith of Health Management Associates, which surveys states for Kaiser Family Foundation.
The program has grown even before the new health care law adds about 16 million people, beginning in 2014. That has strained doctors. “Private physicians are already indicating that they’re at their limit,” says Dan Hawkins of the National Association of Community Health Centers.
More than 40 million people get food stamps, an increase of nearly 50% during the economic downturn, according to government data through May. The program has grown steadily for three years.
The Private Jets of African Dictators and Other Heads of State
August 30th, 2010No shark tanks?
Via: Telegraph:
This year Brighton’s international photography festival has been curated by British photographer Martin Parr, and, rather than plump for well-known headline names, he has decided to showcase the work of obscure or niche practicioners. Among the most left-field on the shortlist is Nick Gleis, who photographs the pimped up private jets that belong African dictators and other heads of state.
