Quantitative Easing Explained
December 13th, 2010Yes, it helped the Goldman Sachs.
$52 Billion of American Aid and Still Afghans are Dying of Starvation
December 13th, 2010Failure? Someone wound up with a whole lot of opium and heroin, and a bunch of corporations made a killing from a gusher of absurd and lucrative contracts.
That sounds more like just another day at the office than failure to me—considering the criminal organizations involved and their blood soaked gravy train.
—Top U.S. Commander for Afghan War: More Forces or ‘Mission Failure’
Via: Independent:
The most extraordinary failure of the US-led coalition in Afghanistan is that the expenditure of tens of billions of dollars has had so little impact on the misery in which 30 million Afghans live. As President Barack Obama prepares this week to present a review of America’s strategy in Afghanistan which is likely to focus on military progress, US officials, Afghan administrators, businessmen and aid workers insist that corruption is the greatest threat to the country’s future.
In a series of interviews, they paint a picture of a country where $52bn (£33bn) in US aid since 2001 has made almost no impression on devastating poverty made worse by spreading violence and an economy dislocated by war. That enormous aid budget, two-thirds for security and one-third for economic, social and political development, has made little impact on 9 million living in absolute poverty, and another 5 million trying to survive on $43 (£27) a month. The remainder of the population often barely scrapes a living, having to choose between buying wood to keep warm and buying food.
Afghans see a racketeering élite as the main beneficiaries of international support and few of them are optimistic about anything changing.
CPS Investigated Father Because He Feeds His Children Organic Food, Drinks Non-Fluoridated Water and Has a Bug Out Bag?
December 13th, 2010I have no reason to doubt that this happened, but there’s no way for me to confirm it, either. The U.S. is an open air nut house. What passes for normal over there is unthinkable to me now and I’ve only been out of there for five years. So, buyer beware, your mileage may vary, etc.
Also, when the state wants to step inside your house without a warrant, for a chat, or any other reason, you might consider telling that thing to come back with a warrant—no need to open the door.
Via: Sherrie Questioning All:
She said that there were allegations that I wouldn’t give my children tap water.
…
The next allegation was that I chose to feed my children predominately organic foods.
Research Credit: pookie
Investigators Suspect Vatican Bank Used Clergy to Act ‘As Fronts for Corrupt Businessmen and Mafia’
December 13th, 2010Via: Independent:
The Vatican Bank is under new scrutiny in a case involving money-laundering allegations that led police to seize €23m (£19.25m) in September.
The Vatican calls the seizure of assets a “misunderstanding” and expresses optimism it will be quickly cleared up. But fresh court documents show that prosecutors say the Vatican Bank deliberately flouted anti-laundering laws “with the aim of hiding the ownership, destination and origin of the capital”. The documents also reveal investigators’ suspicions that clergy may have acted as fronts for corrupt businessmen and Mafia.
The documents pinpoint two transactions that have not been reported: one in 2009 involving the use of a false name, and another in 2010 in which the Vatican Bank withdrew €650,000 from an Italian bank account but ignored bank requests to disclose where the money was headed.
The new allegations of financial impropriety could not come at a worse time for the Vatican, already hit by revelations that it sheltered paedophile priests. The corruption probe has given new hope to Holocaust survivors who tried unsuccessfully to sue in the United States, alleging that Nazi loot was stored in the Vatican Bank.
Swedish Armed Forces Employee Gave a Warning to Acquaintance Before Suicide Attack in Stockholm
December 13th, 2010The original source of this is TT in Sweden.
Via: The Local:
A Swedish Armed Forces (Försvarsmakten) employee warned an acquaintance to stay clear of an area in central Stockholm on Saturday where, several hours later, two explosions went off in what is being called a terrorist attack.
“If you can, avoid Drottninggatan today. A lot can happen there…just so you know,” the message said, according to the TT news agency.
Armed Forces spokesperson Jonas Svensson told TT on Sunday he was unaware of the message.
“I haven’t heard about this at all. Now I’m going to check out the information,” he told TT when confronted with the news.
Later the Swedish military said it was now “preparing how the issue will be dealt with”.
“The Swedish Armed Forces did not know ahead of time about the plans or the circumstances surrounding the events which have taken place. If that had been the case, (Swedish security service) Säpo, which is the responsible agency in these types of cases, would have been informed immediately,” said military spokesperson Erik Lagersten in a statement.
U.S. Navy: Record Breaking Rail Gun Shot
December 13th, 2010When I was at Brooks Institute in the 1990s, I used to be fascinated by the work done by the people who specialized in high speed photography (although, the food photography freaks were the weirdest kids on campus). I learned a bit about how speed stuff works, but that was a long time ago. Speeds have increased a few orders of magnitude since I last paid any attention to this kind of thing:
And then there’s the DRS Imacon 200: 200 million frames per second.
Now, with this rail gun video release from the U.S. Navy, it’s not the FPS that’s particularly interesting, but I’m quite baffled by the scene that starts at around 30 seconds.
How was the pan accomplished?
Via: Washington Post:
Inside a cavernous building at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Dahlgren, Va., on Friday, a gigantic pulse of electricity hurled a 20-pound slug of aluminum out the barrel of an experimental gun at seven times the speed of sound.
The slug trailed a pillar of fire as it left the weapon and the building, illuminating the surrounding woods like a giant flashbulb. It streaked down range, generating a small sonic boom, and traveled about 5,500 feet before tumbling to the ground harmlessly.
In an adjacent building, there was a round of applause from observing scientists.
It was the latest test of the Navy’s electromagnetic railgun – a futuristic weapon that is right out of the latest video war game and could one day change the face of Naval warfare.
Roger Ellis, the railgun program manager, said people “see these things in the video games, but this is real. This is what is very historical.”
The gun is fired with a huge jolt of electricity that can propel a round more than 100 miles and at such velocity that it does not need an explosive warhead.
Two tests were conducted Friday – the first of which the Navy said generated a world record 33 megajoules of force out of the barrel. The second shot, witnessed by reporters, produced 32 megajoules.
American Intelligence Officials Created a ‘Safe Haven’ in the United States for Certain Nazis
December 12th, 2010Via: New York Times:
After World War II, American counterintelligence recruited former Gestapo officers, SS veterans and Nazi collaborators to an even greater extent than had been previously disclosed and helped many of them avoid prosecution or looked the other way when they escaped, according to thousands of newly declassified documents.
A Secretive Banking Elite Rules Trading in Derivatives
December 12th, 2010Via: New York Times:
On the third Wednesday of every month, the nine members of an elite Wall Street society gather in Midtown Manhattan.
The men share a common goal: to protect the interests of big banks in the vast market for derivatives, one of the most profitable — and controversial — fields in finance. They also share a common secret: The details of their meetings, even their identities, have been strictly confidential.
Drawn from giants like JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, the bankers form a powerful committee that helps oversee trading in derivatives, instruments which, like insurance, are used to hedge risk.
In theory, this group exists to safeguard the integrity of the multitrillion-dollar market. In practice, it also defends the dominance of the big banks.
The banks in this group, which is affiliated with a new derivatives clearinghouse, have fought to block other banks from entering the market, and they are also trying to thwart efforts to make full information on prices and fees freely available.
Two Explosions in Center of Stockholm
December 12th, 2010Via: Reuters:
Two blasts rocked the center of Stockholm on Saturday in a possible attack inspired by Sweden’s presence in Afghanistan, killing the bomber and wounding two other people, police and media said.
Swedish news agency TT said that 10 minutes before the first blast, when a car exploded near a busy shopping street, it received an email with threats over the Swedish presence in Afghanistan and over a years-old case of caricatures of the Prophet Mohammad by a Swedish artist.
Police spokesman Kjell Lindgren said the car exploded at peak shopping hours at 5 p.m. (12 p.m. EST). About 10 to 15 minutes later another explosion took place on a street 300 meters (984 ft) away.
A man was found dead near the second explosion and two people with minor injuries were also found nearby.
Asked if the man blew himself up in some way, Lindgren said: “It is possible.”
Investigations were continuing to see if the two incidents were linked, he said.
A bag found near the dead man had also been examined, but no more explosives were found in it, he said.
Newspaper Aftonbladet quoted a source as saying that the man was carrying six pipebombs, of which only one exploded. He also had a rucksack full of nails and suspected explosive material, the newspaper said.
$150 Billion Budget Deficit Sets November Record
December 11th, 2010Green shoots, I tell you. Green shoots.
Via: AP:
The federal budget deficit rose to $150.4 billion last month, the largest November gap on record. And the government’s deficits are set to climb if Congress passes a tax-cut plan that’s estimated to cost $855 billion over two years.
The Treasury Department says November’s budget gap was 25 percent more than the deficit in November 2009.
