Resistance

Space cadets gather in D.C. for one-way ticket to Mars

"Around 40 volunteers from thousands who applied for a one-way ticket to Mars gathered in the US capital Saturday to hear from the man behind plans to colonize the Red Planet. Bas Lansdorp, a Dutch entrepreneur, plans to establish a permanent base on Mars in a mission he hopes will take off in 2022 if he can find the necessary $6 billion. Would-be travellers on the mission — named Mars One — would never return to Earth. In April, Mars-One said that the first four volunteers should land on Mars in 2023 after a seven-month journey. New crews would be sent every two years, according to Lansdorp." Continue reading →

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Japan sends talking ‘companion’ robot to the International Space Station

"When the Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata arrives at the International Space Station in November, a companion will be waiting for him whose eyes will light up in recognition – literally. Kirobo, the world’s first talking humanoid space robot, has already taken off – in the nattiest red Wellingtons since Paddington Bear – and should arrive at the space station by 9 August to await Wakata’s arrival. It knows he is coming: it has been programmed to recognise his face, and greet him warmly in Japanese." Continue reading →

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U.S. military helicopter crashes in Japan’s Okinawa

"A U.S. military helicopter crashed on Japan’s southern island of Okinawa on Monday, U.S. Forces in Japan said, an incident which may stoke anger over the concentration of U.S. military bases on the island. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe wants to move the U.S. Marines’ Futenma airbase to a less crowded part of the island, but stiff opposition from Okinawa residents is stalling the plan. Residents of Okinawa, host to the bulk of U.S. military forces in Japan, have long resented bearing what many feel is an unfair share of the burden for the U.S.-Japan military alliance. Many associate the U.S. bases with accidents, crime and pollution." Continue reading →

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Japan nuclear body says radioactive water at Fukushima an ‘emergency’

"Highly radioactive water seeping into the ocean from Japan’s crippled Fukushima nuclear plant is creating an 'emergency' that the operator is struggling to contain, an official from the country’s nuclear watchdog said on Monday. This contaminated groundwater has breached an underground barrier, is rising toward the surface and is exceeding legal limits of radioactive discharge, he told Reuters. Countermeasures planned by Tokyo Electric Power Co are only a temporary solution, he said. Tepco’s 'sense of crisis is weak,' Kinjo said. 'This is why you can’t just leave it up to Tepco alone' to grapple with the ongoing disaster." Continue reading →

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Graphic: How Just 6 Corps Own 90% of The Media

"One graphic really highlights just how tightly controlled the information we are delivered truly is — and how a total of only 6 corporations run the show. From Time Warner (CNN, HBO, TIME) to GE (NBC, Comcast), a whopping 6 corporations control 90% of the mainstream media within the United States. The amount of revenues from the tightly controlled mainstream media machine are enough to beat out Finland’s entire GDP, buy every NFL team 12 times, and fund the government bailout of General Motors 5 times." Continue reading →

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Ruinous Inflation Proposals

"In this day and age, one should never assume that 'educated' persons, especially those who have “earned” advanced degrees in economics, know the least bit of economics or possess the least bit of sense that might steer them away from the refuse that passes for economic thought. I speak specifically of Biagio Bossone and Richard Wood. Their ruinously inflationary ideas, if adopted, will destroy the economies that they think will be saved. The lofty positions they have held in such institutions as the World Bank, the IMF, the OECD, the Paris Club, and the Australian Treasury make them all the more dangerous." Continue reading →

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The Financial Tale of Two Cities: Detroit and Chicago

"At State Data Lab, we calculate and report a metric called ‘Net Revenue’ for all 50 states. Net Revenue subtracts total reported net expenses from general revenue. It can inform whether a state is truly ‘balancing its budget,’ at least as far as reported results. Net revenue can also be calculated for cities. The chart above shows how net revenue in Detroit was persistently negative in the five years before its bankruptcy filing. The chart also shows an even more alarming trend for the city of Chicago. And those results can understate reality; they rely on the city’s financial reports, which do not include accumulating off-balance sheet retirement obligations." Continue reading →

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The Latter-Day Rome Lives And Kills

"Libya is no longer. Ditto Iraq. Afghanistan is not doing much better since Rome set up camp there. The Comitatus – 'the sprawling apparatus that encompasses the ministries of government, the lawyers, the diplomats, the adjutants, the messengers, the interpreters, the intellectuals' – refused to keep count of the casualties in the Iraq war. Likewise has 'Operation Enduring Freedom' in Afghanistan, still ongoing, been the direct and indirect cause of the deaths and displacement of many thousands of Afghan civilians. The latter-day Rome has mechanized the warfare state’s killing capabilities and has refined its propaganda wing to an art." Continue reading →

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The rich are saving cash at a record pace

"Since the financial crisis, the wealthy have become the nation's top cash hoarders. The savings rate of the wealthiest 1 percent soared to 37 percent in the second quarter. That's up from 34 percent in the second quarter of 2012—and more than three times their savings rate in 2007. A separate study from Bank of America recently found that 56 percent of millionaires have a 'substantial' amount of cash. Only 16 percent of them plan to invest that cash in the next couple of months. Perhaps the wealthy are wise to keep more money on hand in case those record-breaking markets start to falter." Continue reading →

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Famed Trader Joe Lewis Backs Bitcoin With Swiss Fund

"Joe Lewis, a billionaire foreign-exchange trader who teamed up with hedge-fund manager George Soros in 1992 to bet against the Bank of England, is the latest high-profile financier to throw his weight behind the virtual currency called bitcoin. Mr. Lewis leads the Phoenix Fund, a Zurich-based private-equity fund that on Tuesday plans to invest $200 million in Avalon, a company that makes computer servers aimed at creating bitcoins, according to people familiar with the situation. The Phoenix Fund's investment in Avalon reflects the growing popularity of virtual currencies, which are also coming under scrutiny from regulators." Continue reading →

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