7/13/2002
Attempted Political Assassination in Washington DC? :.This looks like someone attempted to take out the president of a prominent Washington DC financial services company, and almost got his son instead. If anyone has access to/feels like hunting down the Wolf & Cohen Financial Services client list, I'd be interested in seeing it. Perhaps this was an attempt to keep another Enron/GlobalCrossing/WorldCom debacle from making headlines. Maybe it was just intended to send a message. The 21-year-old son of a prominent Washington businessman was critically injured yesterday when an apparent pipe bomb blew up as he tried to start his father's vehicle in the basement garage of a commercial building in upper Northwest Washington.
posted by Kevin at 1:56 PM
Dick's Criminal Enterprises :.Current events are looking, more and more, like scenes from a mob movie. Assassination, rackets, protection money. I'd feel better if Don Corleone and his crew were sitting in the White House. The Halliburton Company, the Dallas oil services company bedeviled lately by an array of accounting and business issues, is benefiting very directly from the United States efforts to combat terrorism.
From building cells for detainees at Guant�namo Bay in Cuba to feeding American troops in Uzbekistan, the Pentagon is increasingly relying on a unit of Halliburton called KBR, sometimes referred to as Kellogg Brown & Root. Although the unit has been building projects all over the world for the federal government for decades, the attacks of Sept. 11 have led to significant additional business. KBR is the exclusive logistics supplier for both the Navy and the Army, providing services like cooking, construction, power generation and fuel transportation. The contract recently won from the Army is for 10 years and has no lid on costs, the only logistical arrangement by the Army without an estimated cost.Research credit: TR
posted by Kevin at 1:33 PM
Terror: It's Good for Business :.Well, it looks like the Terror Industrial Complex is gathering momentum. I have to wonder, are the lengths of the swindles getting shorter? The Cold War lasted for about 45 years. The .com scam only lasted for about five years. And just when things were going to hell again, with the S&P 500 on its way to declining for three years in a row: lights, camera, "Cue bin Laden and other associated spooks and boogiemen." Troubling times call for lots of panis et circenses. WASHINGTON -- As government workers browse the booths at a high-tech expo here, a large placard declares, ''Homeland Security and Defense is SERIOUS BUSINESS.''
Unstated is another truth: It's also serious money. The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States have created a wave of government spending reminiscent of the space program in the 1960s or the savings and loan bailout of the 1980s. New federal outlays for homeland defense are expected to hit $57.2 billion by next year, and President Bush has made it clear the investment will continue for years to come. In a faltering economy, it's one of the few things growing.
posted by Kevin at 12:49 PM
Feds Recruit Imbeciles for Airport Security Circus :.Hundreds of recruitment fliers for screener jobs lay scattered on the ground outside the stadium after a recent Yankee game during which police were called to break up scuffles and fistfights, the crowd yelled obscenities and boisterous fans drank alcohol heavily. In one incident, two combatants traded wild punches before one crashed into an American flag draped over a railing and a fan yelled, "Save the flag."
posted by Kevin at 11:44 AM
7/11/2002
The Stunning Criminal Enterprises of the Catholic Church :.This material is unbelievable. I won't include the most gruesome details, but I encourage you to educate yourself on the terrifying organization known as the Catholic Church: ACTIVITY Since approximately 1960 through to the present, persons controlling or directing the affairs of Enterprise I, II, and/or III engaged in or joined in a conspiracy to intentionally, recklessly and/or negligently conceal criminal conduct of its agents, aid and abet the concealment of criminal conduct, aid and abet criminal sexual conduct, fail to report criminal conduct of its agents, obstruct justice, obstruct criminal investigations, obstruct state and/or local law enforcement, evade criminal and/or civil prosecution and liability, bribe and/or pay money to victims in order to keep its criminal conduct secret, violate the civil rights of children and families, engage in mail and/or wire fraud, and commit fraud and/or fraudulent inducement of its parishioners in furtherance of its scheme to protect predatory priests and other clergy from criminal and civil prosecution, to maintain or increase charitable contributions and/or avoid public scandal in the Roman Catholic Church.more... As evidence of this fraudulent practice and its widespread use, in 1990, in an address by Bishop A. James Quinn to the National Conference of Catholic Bishops titled �NCCB Guidelines, and other Considerations in Pedophilia Cases,� Bishop Quinn stated:
Nevertheless, personnel files should be carefully examined to determine their content. Unsigned letters alleging misconduct should be expunged.
Standard personnel files should contain no documentation relating to possible criminal behavior. Serious moral questions, signed allegations, those should be a part of the secret file anyhow. But they still subpoena them. But comb through your files.
Now what files have been subpoenaed, they cannot be tampered with; destroyed, removed; that constitutes obstruction of justice and contempt of court. Prior, however, thought and study ought to be given if you think its going to be necessary; if there�s something there you really don�t want people to see you might send it off to the Apostolic Delegate, because they have immunity to protect something that is potentially dangerous, or that you consider to be dangerous, you might send it there.
The Apostolic Delegate is the delegate from the Vatican and Holy See who the church believes enjoys sovereign immunity from lawsuits and subpoenas.
In furtherance of its scheme, persons controlling or directing the affairs of Enterprises I, II, and/or III have routinely entered into secret settlement agreements with confidentiality provisions that required victims of sexual abuse to preserve the Bishop�s secrets from scrutiny by the public and law enforcement authorities.
In furtherance of the scheme, persons controlling or directing the affairs of Enterprises I, II, and/or III, illegally bribed victims of sexual exploitation and abuse in order to influence them to not report the sexual exploitation and abuse to law enforcement authorities and ultimately to influence the victims to not testify, in court, against members of Enterprise I, II, and/or III. As an example, Anthony J. O�Connell, former Bishop of the Diocese of Knoxville and former Bishop of the Diocese of Palm Beach made cash payments to victims he had sexually abused in order to keep them from reporting Bishop O�Connell�s criminal activity and to ultimately influence the victims to not testify against him or other coconspirators in Court. These cash payments began after Bishop O�Connell�s abuse of a child seminarian was reported to Bishop Raymond Boland, Bishop of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph.
posted by Kevin at 3:15 AM
7/10/2002
Bill of Rights: Security Edition :.I'm sure the shiny, happy security people you encounter at the airport will find these interesting: The First Ten Amendments to the constitution of the United States printed on sturdy, pocket-sized, pieces of metal. The next time you travel by air, take the Security Edition of the Bill of Rights along with you. When asked to empty your pockets, proudly toss the Bill of Rights in the plastic bin. You need to get used to offering up the bill of rights for inspection and government workers need to get used to deciding if you'll be allowed to keep the Bill of Rights with you when you travel.
posted by Kevin at 1:47 PM
Corporate from Cradle to Grave: Child Born in Walmart :.Allow your mind the fill in the images of the white trash dystopia described in this article. It could be a scene out of a David Lynch movie. Lots of fat, ignorant consumers snapping photos of a newborn baby...in a Walmart checkout aisle. Mom is smiling, perhaps with some lovely palletized dog food or beer visible in the background. Shenna said she managed to stay calm. "I just thought, 'I'm fixin' to be a mama now, I can't be scared,'" she said.
Michael Jerrod Williams was born at 6:15 a.m. Saturday and greeted by shoppers and store employees. Several recorded the event with disposable cameras.
posted by Kevin at 1:40 PM
Vice President Dick Cheney Sued for Stock Fraud :.Judicial Watch, the group that investigates and prosecutes corruption by government officials, announced today that it is filing a shareholders suit in Dallas, Texas, against Vice President Dick Cheney and the other involved directors of Halliburton, as well as Halliburton itself, for alleged fraudulent accounting practices which resulted in the overvaluation of the company�s shares, thereby deceiving investors and others.
posted by Kevin at 7:39 AM
Gnutella Developer Gene Kan, 25, Commits Suicide :.Nobody, as far as I know, is saying anything about a conspiracy. And he did have a history of depression. But I'm a student of political assassination, and I can't help thinking along these lines: We should keep in mind that this guy was partially responsible for the software that cost the recording industry billions of dollars. Also, peer-to-peer (P2P) software is being developed for secure (anonymous) web browsing applications that may be used by dissident groups to mask their activities from law enforcement in repressive states. Just things to keep in mind. Also, why wasn't Kan's death mentioned on Slashdot? I submitted it, probably along with thousands of other people, and they didn't post it. Odd. Kan, who came to be known as the unofficial spokesman for Gnutella, often said the technology differed from Napster because it had no company to sue or central computer to shut down.
Unlike Napster, which allowed people to trade songs through centralized computer servers, Gnutella simply transfers files from one personal computer to another -- making it much more difficult to monitor.
posted by Kevin at 5:21 AM
7/8/2002
Bush Family Values: War Crimes and Genocide :.Keep some of these images in mind as the U.S. prepares to launch another blitzkrieg against Iraq. Related: More War = More Peace :.President Bush said Monday his administration would use "all the tools at our disposal" to oust Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. "I do firmly believe that the world will be safer and more peaceful if there's a regime change in that government," Bush said during a wide-ranging news conference at the White House.
posted by Kevin at 6:54 PM
Corporate Criminal Talks Tough on Corporate Crime :.
Bush will present his plan on Tuesday in a Wall Street speech aimed at restoring investor confidence shaken by accounting scandals at telecoms giant WorldCom Inc. and other once high flying firms, which have laid off thousands of workers and seen their stock values plummet.
The speech will come amid new revelations that drug company Merck & Co. recorded revenues of $12.4 billion from its pharmacy benefits subsidiary in the past three years that the unit never actually collected.
posted by Kevin at 4:01 PM
Murky: Merck Floats a $12 Billion Bomb :.Merck & Co. recorded more than $12 billion in revenue over the past three years from its pharmacy benefits unit even though the subsidiary never collected the money.
posted by Kevin at 2:07 PM
Interesting Visualization Tool :.I love this thing! Visualizing data as clusters of related nodes seems very natural to me. (Requires Java.)
posted by Kevin at 1:43 PM
7/7/2002
The Routers Are Listening :.CALEA requires that carriers provision network elements for the intercept event, intercept the call content and data, deliver it directly to one or more law enforcement monitoring facilities in a standard format, and provide secure records storage. I wonder if PGP cryptext counts as a standard data format? *grin* So, here's my public key, in case any of you freaks want to make sure you get on the requisite .gov shit lists. Hey, we might as well force these goons to send the intercepts to the NSA to break: -----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- Version: PGPfreeware 6.5.8 for non-commercial use
mQGiBD0nmx4RBADr+NFlDo2L6FmYx4yWU643g+pTmsfs9/MPAJYSFShgALiq4Exb wgAFidesS8BcKp/CcpbBwc6xaYWPEVptTvHC+yOqftysP0YjzaXJsdY20j7eScBD EipLDq2ReP6fV4iutc37g7zO5I5yU5J+8sVEiUSvUisSSG2KH4VYJOj3NQCg/8Xd dKr0AwrI2B8oXkIQVrZO0fcEAMDJGiP9G+/JYRg5NzUImfmmzwVbOQl04D+3NHwF p9kHpA+D0MongZYD3HqktDqHy2TgI/12jYL5oOGonAyMUZGIOvjSJi9P7DKvS4lO fFEhJO3dUPsecghN+lHs/N7AGZxrCjdj2AHl00plsCbz1t7uYCZSxhztrf+wLNss 4xwiBACNydKFNd7hJwTvsN31/AfpkyaB38Rf+2Os/arjeCt+oyLZJuiuFKSkBiIz oH4tcD8E+RadbH9Ky/u6wqBWV88zJPfJUk3lx5U+9LZgrXyy5aSNVUIOgoZrSHqY tEaE090w7cxBx3pLBlwucNrUqY9QLpe5GXymE/qzNqMAnroArrQbS2V2aW4gPGtl dmluQGNyeXB0b2dvbi5jb20+iQBOBBARAgAOBQI9J5seBAsDAgECGQEACgkQxAU9 CkuEBc0YKACg6SXzuqCDhqlinhmyn4e5zC1W9OEAoO7v92/BENAWRVYz+47u19c5 bZYxuQINBD0nmx4QCAD2Qle3CH8IF3KiutapQvMF6PlTETlPtvFuuUs4INoBp1aj FOmPQFXz0AfGy0OplK33TGSGSfgMg71l6RfUodNQ+PVZX9x2Uk89PY3bzpnhV5JZ zf24rnRPxfx2vIPFRzBhznzJZv8V+bv9kV7HAarTW56NoKVyOtQa8L9GAFgr5fSI /VhOSdvNILSd5JEHNmszbDgNRR0PfIizHHxbLY7288kjwEPwpVsYjY67VYy4XTjT NP18F1dDox0YbN4zISy1Kv884bEpQBgRjXyEpwpy1obEAxnIByl6ypUM2Zafq9AK UJsCRtMIPWakXUGfnHy9iUsiGSa6q6Jew1XpMgs7AAICCACWdKOFK6llXgKxCiD4 y1UoExxqLgDJpWiseNxjJp08s5Pu7emmaMjtzNv/IdOYEojpJGaZjYntRtY7/nZF cWq6spWgCQfKsu6J35dc8BWtnUipq75450Kw5WLy6VvajEFuz1WEdn3GcTuS8Zo2 SU6bS/yp8wVEG2WVGb0rMd4V//CJxnsVMEU0AySErUp0h7ulg8zMEYjuxeqQOOqr JkPGZRSV+YsIGx000A5xCzqr8HHqr3c4D26COqABbkj89J7kUVfYOJ/sCdhWlqBE /S10pQU+gZ8Ymqs3X+ULxEcVZeh7EF+TwtfvtpYgRbFS3VuG2+QTUiwXXX0451yF gcXNiQBGBBgRAgAGBQI9J5seAAoJEMQFPQpLhAXNzA0AoONsV/acYqWWISrNxWSX HxIoylg8AJwIrnDuBgFwABodP8xWO60uUklu+A== =3z/d -----END PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK-----
posted by Kevin at 1:09 PM
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:. Reading
Fatal
Harvest: The Tragedy of Industrial Agriculture by Andrew Kimbrell
Readers will come to see
that industrial food production is indeed a "fatal harvest"
- fatal to consumers, as pesticide residues and new disease vectors
such as E. coli and "mad cow disease" find their way
into our food supply; fatal to our landscapes, as chemical runoff
from factory farms poison our rivers and groundwater; fatal to
genetic diversity, as farmers rely increasingly on high-yield
monocultures and genetically engineered crops; and fatal to our
farm communities, which are wiped out by huge corporate
farms.
Friendly
Fascism: The New Face of Power in America by Bertram Myron Gross
This is a relatively
short but extremely cogent and well-argued treatise on the rise
of a form of fascistic thought and social politics in late 20th
century America. Author Bertram Gross' thesis is quite straightforward;
the power elite that comprises the corporate, governmental and
military superstructure of the country is increasingly inclined
to employ every element in their formidable arsenal of 'friendly
persuasion' to win the hearts and minds of ordinary Americans
through what Gross refers to as friendly fascism.
The
Good Life
by Scott and Helen Nearing Helen
and Scott Nearing are the great-grandparents of the back-to-the-land
movement, having abandoned the city in 1932 for a rural life based
on self-reliance, good health, and a minimum of cash...Fascinating,
timely, and wholly useful, a mix of the Nearings' challenging
philosophy and expert counsel on practical skills.
Silent
Theft: The Private Plunder of Our Common Wealth by David Bollierd
In Silent Theft, David Bollier
argues that a great untold story of our time is the staggering
privatization and abuse of our common wealth. Corporations are
engaged in a relentless plunder of dozens of resources that we
collectively own—publicly funded medical breakthroughs,
software innovation, the airwaves, the public domain of creative
works, and even the DNA of plants, animals and humans. Too often,
however, our government turns a blind eye—or sometimes helps
give away our assets. Amazingly,
the silent theft of our shared wealth has gone largely unnoticed
because we have lost our ability to see the commons.
The
Self-Sufficient Life and How to Live It: The Complete Back-To-Basics
Guide by John Seymour The
Self Sufficient Life and How to Live It is the only book that
teaches all the skills needed to live independently in harmony
with the land harnessing natural forms of energy, raising crops
and keeping livestock, preserving foodstuffs, making beer and
wine, basketry, carpentry, weaving, and much more.
When
Corporations Rule the World by David C. Korten
When Corporations
Rule the World explains how economic globalization has concentrated
the power to govern in global corporations and financial markets
and detached them from accountability to the human interest. It
documents the devastating human and environmental consequences
of the successful efforts of these corporations to reconstruct
values and institutions everywhere on the planet to serve their
own narrow ends.
The
New Organic Grower: A Master's Manual of Tools and Techniques
for the Home and Market Gardener
This expansion
of a now-classic guide originally published in 1989 is intended
for the serious gardener or small-scale market farmer. It describes
practical and sustainable ways of growing superb organic vegetables,
with detailed coverage of scale and capital, marketing, livestock,
the winter garden, soil fertility, weeds, and many other
topics.
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