statism

Dept. of Veterans Affairs spent millions on PC software it couldn’t use

"After removable hard disks containing unencrypted personal identifying information of 26 million military veterans were stolen from the home of a VA employee in 2006, then-Secretary of Veterans Affairs R. James Nicholson mandated that the VA's Office of Information Technology install encryption software on all of the department's notebook and desktop computers. But while the VA purchased 400,000 licensees for Symantec's Guardian Edge encryption software, more than 84 percent of those licenses—worth about $5.1 million, including the maintenance contracts for them—remain uninstalled." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDept. of Veterans Affairs spent millions on PC software it couldn’t use

Sheila Bair’s Bailout Blame Game

"During the summer of 2011 Sheila Bair stepped down as chairman of the FDIC and set herself to work on a tell-all book on the financial crisis. Bair’s book, Bull by the Horns: Fighting to Save Main Street from Wall Street and Wall Street from Itself, was released in late September. As part of the promotion of the book she had an interview with The Wall Street Journal during which, consistent with her public reputation, she confided that she 'hates bailouts.' However, a careful study of board minutes, supporting memos, and transcripts of FDIC board meetings during the crisis reveals a different reality." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSheila Bair’s Bailout Blame Game

“But there is no inflation!” – Misconceptions about the debasement of money

"There is no end to ‘quantitative easing’. It will have to continue forever. There is no ‘exit strategy’. The central banks are digging themselves – and all of us – an ever deeper hole. These forecasts have been accurate so far and they continue to be my forecast for the future. And here is another forecast: The present measures will over time be seconded with others that in my book I label ‘nationalization of money and credit’, that is, institutional investors will be coerced via legislation and regulation to remain invested in certain asset classes, the war on cash and the war on off-shore will continue and intensify, ultimately we will see capital controls." Continue reading →

Continue Reading“But there is no inflation!” – Misconceptions about the debasement of money

James Altucher: Why I Won’t Vote

"People get very upset about this voting thing. I’m accused of being unpatriotic, for instance. Or my little 10 year old told me, 'more people will run stop signs if we don’t have a President.' She associates a President with a magical parent. Perhaps projecting her own sense that I don’t give her enough boundaries for her to figure out where the edge of childhood ends and adulthood begins. I let her run a Stop sign when I don’t set a bedtime, or turn her TV off. She wants a President who will tell her when to 'STOP!' So here are some reasons for not voting. I’m not asking anyone to agree with me. Many people like to vote. Do things that you like to do." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJames Altucher: Why I Won’t Vote

South Korean Activists Send Leaflets to North Korea

"South Korean activists floated balloons carrying tens of thousands of anti-Pyongyang leaflets into North Korea on Monday, eluding police who had disrupted an earlier launch attempt due to threats from North Korea. North Korea's military warned last week that it would strike if the South Korean activists carried through with their plan to fly balloons carrying the propaganda leaflets across the border. South Korean police, citing security concerns, had sent hundreds of officers Monday to seal off roads and prevent the activists and other people from gathering at an announced launch site near the border." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSouth Korean Activists Send Leaflets to North Korea

Kuwaitis protest electoral law changes

"Police in Kuwait have used teargas, stun grenades and baton charges to disperse tens of thousands of demonstrators protesting against changes to the electoral law, which the opposition has called a 'constitutional coup' by the government. Protesters gathered in various parts of the capital, Kuwait City, to march towards the government's headquarters, but riot police swiftly surrounded some groups and used teargas and stun grenades to disperse them. The government - which is dominated by the ruling al-Sabah family - announced last week it was calling elections for December 1 and would change the electoral law." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingKuwaitis protest electoral law changes

Disinformation and the CIA

"The ten-page Makhov article is probably the most detailed and comprehensive description of CIA and its works in the open Soviet literature. It includes a biography of the evil genius Dulles himself, stressing his Wall Street background and his status as an agent for the monopolists in all foreign and military affairs from insuring the domination of U.S. capital abroad to establishing naval strength ratios. It affirms, on the basis of captured Nazi Foreign Ministry documents and other evidence, that his chief wartime mission in Switzerland was to see to the preservation of German economic and military might as a bulwark against the USSR." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDisinformation and the CIA

Study proves pesticide exposure linked to bumblebee colony failures

"In those exposed to gamma-cyhalothrin, there was a higher death rate among worker bees. And colonies that were exposed to both kinds of pesticides were likelier to fail. The experiment was exceptionally long and detailed, the scientists say. It lasted four weeks, whereas current guidelines test pesticides on bees for only up to 96 hours. In addition, it looked at what happened when bees were exposed to two chemicals at the same time and at the changes in a colony’s social structure." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingStudy proves pesticide exposure linked to bumblebee colony failures

Scientists confirm water extraction helped trigger deadly 2011 quake in Spain

"The investigation adds to anecdotal evidence that human activities, ranging from exploration for shale gas, quarrying and even water reservoirs, can cause quakes. 'Our results imply that anthropogenic [man-made] activites could influence how and when earthquakes occur,' said the study. In a commentary, Jean-Philippe Avouac, a geologist at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) said water extraction at Lorca probably accelerated a natural process of stress accumulation rather than unleashed the earthquake by itself." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingScientists confirm water extraction helped trigger deadly 2011 quake in Spain