About 250 billion pounds of raw plastic pellets are produced annually worldwide and turned into a tremendous variety of products, from cars and computers to packaging and pens.

About 20 percent of the plastic in the oceans comes from ships or offshore platforms; the rest is blown, washed off the land or intentionally dumped, according to a preliminary report issued April 2004 by the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy. Not only does plastic kill marine animals that eat it or get tangled in it and drown, but it also damages and degrades their habitat.
posted by Kevin at 5:54 PM

Ronald Reagan Dies :.

Ronald Reagan was one of the key figures in modern American mythology. A tool of the Bush Dynasty, Reagan tripled the national debt and unleashed multiple U.S. sponsored genocides around the world. He is credited with bringing down the Soviet Union, although, the fact that the "Evil Empire" was a low grade dictatorship, incapable of even producing enough food to sustain its own population, is lost on many observers. (The U.S. insured that the "Evil Empire" didn't collapse into famine by providing grain shipments for decades. Additionally, the Soviets rarely made any breakthroughs in weapons technology, relative to the U.S. As such, the U.S. routinely transferred technology to the USSR in order to maintain appearances and justify the continued looting of wealth from working Americans. See, The Best Enemy Money Can Buy, by Antony C. Sutton.)

In actuality, under Reagan, the U.S. sold its soul to private bankers. The result was that a core group of people in the armaments business managed to accumulate increasingly obscene and destabilizing amounts of wealth. As Reagan yammered incoherently about the benefits of smaller government, the U.S. government swelled to proportions never before seen in our history. (This trend continues under both Democratic and Republican regimes.) And what about the gap between rich and poor, that was widening by the month? "Trickle down economics," would sort out that problem... soon... as long as we, "Stay the course."

* Sigh *

I'm convinced the man, quite literally, had no idea of what he doing most of the time he was in office. His simple, meaningless rhetoric appealed to average, ignorant Americans who had no more of a concept of what was happening in the world back in the 1980s than they do today. I find it ironic that with so much noise being made about Reagan saving us from the Soviet Union, our own media is now routinely compared to the state propaganda mechanisms of Stalinist Russia. The glowing eulogies spewing out of most media outlets at the moment are proof that the U.S. has completely lost its grasp on reality.

Reagan's criminal negligence and charismatic personality were weaponized and used---by diabolical forces lurking just beneath the surface---to drive the last nails into America's coffin. Eventually, historians will view Reagan as a tool and vassal of the people who looted America and ultimately destroyed it. Rest in pieces, Ronny. May the Myth of your greatness soon follow you into oblivion:

Ronald Reagan, the 40th president of the United States largely credited with ushering in an era of conservative politics and pursuing a foreign policy that led to the collapse of the Soviet Union, died Saturday at his home in California after a 10-year struggle with Alzheimer's disease. He was 93.
posted by Kevin at 5:37 PM

Cryptogon Reader Sends $20

AL, a long time Cryptogon reader and contributor of story ideas, has sent $20.... All the way from Australia! Thanks, man, much appreciated!
posted by Kevin at 5:07 PM

Incredible Story: Survivalist Dad and His Homeschooled Daughter :.

Frank for President!

A man and his 12-year-old daughter spent the last four years living in a remote hillside in Portland's Forest Park, police said.

A rope swing, a tilled vegetable garden and a small creek were nearby.

The man and girl told police they had lived in the park for four years. The pair appeared clean, well-fed and healthy, Barkley said, and the girl was well-spoken beyond her years.

The man, who identified himself as Frank, told police he was a 53-year-old Marine Corps veteran and college graduate who served in Vietnam.

He came to Oregon with his daughter, Ruth, from Tacoma with no job and virtually no money. Frank told police that the girl's mother was institutionalized in New Hampshire, and the two now lived on a $400-a-month disability check.

Rather than live on the streets and expose Ruth to alcohol and drugs, Frank said, they hiked deep into Forest Park and built a lean-to.

The pair went into the city twice a week to stop by the bank, attend church, buy groceries and clothes from Goodwill. Frank, a devout Christian, said he taught his daughter using the old encyclopedias.

They grew vegetables and used the nearby creek to keep clean. They stored perishable foods in a small pool of water at the creek's edge.

A pediatrician found the girl free of any illness, any signs of physical or sexual abuse - and no cavities. A criminal background check came up empty, according to police reports.

Even though the child and father lived for such a long time disconnected from society, the girl had been home schooled and was in good physical shape.

In fact, the girl received a very good education from her father while living among the trees. Officials said the girl, who would be normally in 7th grade, is at a 12th grade equivalency.

"When we interviewed this little girl, she was very impressive. She really was very responsible, and she really looked as though she was way advanced in her years," said Portland Police Cmdr. Scott Anderson said.

Police persuaded them to leave the camp, promising help them find food and shelter.

Uhhh, maybe I missed something, but it seemed to me like they had been doing fine without the help of the police...

I hope Frank and Ruth manage to get their own land some day.

Research Credit: NF
posted by Kevin at 5:00 PM

Emails on Minato Engine

I got a ton of emails on that thing. I haven't written anyone back, but I will. Thanks for your comments!
posted by Kevin at 6:51 AM

Bio-Corn Is Coming to Colorado :.

Everyone is so concerned about the children in Africa that Dr. Mengele would be proud of the solutions we're coming up with to cure their diseases! Of course, you don't hear anyone in the media explaining that the primary cause of child death in the world is SHIT IN DRINKING WATER! The last time I checked, you don't need drugs pHarmed in corn to remove the shit from the drinking water.

Less genetic engineering, more clean water:

Colorado will soon have its first crop of bio-corn.

The Department of Agriculture has granted Iowa State University permission to grow a small experimental crop of the biopharmaceutical plant somewhere in Logan County.

Researchers hope to create a vaccine from the bio-corn that will be used to treat a viral infection that kills thousands of kids every year in developing countries.

Opponents of the technology worry that bio-corn isn't safe and that wind could carry pollen or seeds from the treated plants and contaminate conventional crops.
posted by Kevin at 6:17 AM

Good Old Fashioned Death Squads: U.S. Training a New Iraqi Military Force to Battle Guerrillas at Their Own Game :.

Nothing changes. The MO has been the same for 50 years. Why mess with, uhhhh, success?

American military advisers are forming an all-Iraqi counterinsurgency force and training it in guerrilla tactics like ambushing trucks and hiding alongside the road camouflaged as bushes.

The new force, called the Iraqi National Task Force, is the most ambitious effort yet to fight the uprising using Iraqis, and it already has 1,000 soldiers, with plans to grow to 7,000.

It is being created as a response to the refusal of a group of regular Iraqi soldiers to face insurgents in Falluja two months ago. That breakdown culminated in a tense standoff on an airfield with eight American marines surrounded by an angry group of 200 armed Iraqis who refused to board helicopters.

"Basically, that scene was the trigger," said Maj. Gen. Paul D. Eaton, the senior military adviser in charge of training Iraqi security forces. "It was our fault. We tried to send the Iraqi Army into Falluja before they were ready, and they pushed back. After that, we realized we needed a force that was specially designed to fight in urban areas and ready to fight fellow Iraqis."
posted by Kevin at 6:08 AM

Bush is Nuts, End of Story :.

Off the rails:

In meetings with top aides and administration officials, the President goes from quoting the Bible in one breath to obscene tantrums against the media, Democrats and others that he classifies as "enemies of the state."

Worried White House aides paint a portrait of a man on the edge, increasingly wary of those who disagree with him and paranoid of a public that no longer trusts his policies in Iraq or at home.

"It reminds me of the Nixon days," says a longtime GOP political consultant with contacts in the White House. "Everybody is an enemy; everybody is out to get him. That�s the mood over there."

In interviews with a number of White House staffers who were willing to talk off the record, a picture of an administration under siege has emerged, led by a man who declares his decisions to be "God's will" and then tells aides to "fuck over" anyone they consider to be an opponent of the administration.

God may also be the reason Attorney General John Ashcroft, the administration's lightning rod because of his questionable actions that critics argue threatens freedoms granted by the Constitution, remains part of the power elite. West Wing staffers call Bush and Ashcroft "the Blues Brothers" because "they're on a mission from God."

"The Attorney General is tight with the President because of religion," says one aide. "They both believe any action is justifiable in the name of God."

But the President who says he rules at the behest of God can also tongue-lash those he perceives as disloyal, calling them "fucking assholes" in front of other staff, berating one cabinet official in front of others and labeling anyone who disagrees with him "unpatriotic" or "anti-American."
posted by Kevin at 5:44 AM

Bilderberg Group Marks 50th Anniversary :.

Yawn. Is there anyone left who doubts where we're all headed? Put a fork in it. This BBC piece is stupid, but Prison Planet's commentary is worth noting:

Comment: Don't read this nightmare piece of 'journalism' before you go to bed or you'll have bad dreams. This criminally bad report links anyone that thinks Bilderberg have power with world-renowned terrorists. There's also the rudimentary 'Jewish conspiracy' tactic used, a pathetic worn out attempt to brand anyone who thinks 200 world leaders meeting in secret is interesting as a racist. If Bilderberg has no power, perhaps 'Jonathan Duffy' can explain to me how Bilderberg's own archives discuss the creation of the EU and the single currency years before the EU even existed. Perhaps Mr. Duffy should talk to his colleagues at the BBC because they reported on it a year ago.
posted by Kevin at 5:36 AM

Microwave Beam Weapons Coming Soon :.

This one has been in the works for a long time. The pigs won't have to clean up any pepper spray residue anymore! Oh sure, it just causes the skin to redden. Right. Just like, rubber bullets don't kill. Let's see, how do we resist against an opposing force that is fielding directed energy weapons? Hmm:

Test subjects can't see the invisible beam from the Pentagon's new, Star Trek-like weapon, but no one has withstood the pain it produces for more than three seconds.

People who volunteered to stand in front of the directed energy beam say they felt as if they were on fire. When they stepped aside, the pain disappeared instantly.

The long-range column of millimeter-wave energy is known as the "Active Denial System" for its ability to prevent an aggressor from advancing. Senior military officials, who plan to deliver the device for troop evaluation this fall, say years of testing has produced no sign it will lead to health effects beyond perhaps causing skin to temporarily redden.

It is among the most potent of a new generation of futuristic, "less-than-lethal" weapons being developed by the Defense Department - tools that could dramatically alter the way police control riots and soldiers fight wars.
posted by Kevin at 5:22 AM

GlaxoSmithKline: Criminal Quackery :.

Eliot Spitzer, the combative Attorney General of New York State, yesterday turned his fire on GlaxoSmithKline, suing the world's second-largest drug maker, which he claims suppressed studies that its leading anti-depressant, Paxil, might make children suicidal.

The medical authorities in both the US and the UK - where the drug is known as Seroxat - banned doctors from prescribing the product to under-18s last year after finally examining the GSK studies.
posted by Kevin at 5:17 AM

U.S. Told Saudis to Let Al-Qaida Gunmen Escape :.

Saudi authorities gave safe passage to three al-Qaida gunmen after the they killed 10 of the hostages they were holding at a hotel in the oil hub of Khobar, a senior security official said.

The Saudi official said upon hearing hostages had been killed, US officials advised the Saudis that letting the militants go would avert a bigger catastrophe.

Related: U.S. Releases Terror Suspect Despite Evidence Of 'Martyr' Attack
posted by Kevin at 5:06 AM

Seven Carriers Among Dozens of Ships to Sail :.

Just an exercise, or is something up?

Seven aircraft carriers - more than half the nation's flattops - along with several dozen escort ships and about 40,000 sailors will be at sea starting this week for the first demonstration of the Navy's emergency deployment plan.

Known as Summer Pulse 04, the exercise includes two carrier strike groups with San Diego ties: the Stennis flotilla, which deployed from North Island Naval Air Station last week on a regular deployment, and the Navy's newest carrier, the Ronald Reagan, which is heading for its new home port in San Diego.

The seven carriers - virtually every aircraft carrier that can sail - will be at sea during all or part of the exercise, which ends in August. Besides the local warships, the George Washington, Kitty Hawk, Harry S. Truman, John F. Kennedy and Enterprise strike groups will participate. Most of the carriers will be escorted by four to six smaller ships.

Related? Rumors Of Unusual Naval Deployments? :.

If I'd had fewer beers, I wouldn't have posted this. In fact, I'm not going to quote from it. If anyone in .mil wants to set things straight, let me know.
posted by Kevin at 3:37 AM

Tennet Quits :.

Blah:

After being dogged by heavy criticism over questionable intelligence on Iraq and terrorism since the September 11, 2001 attacks, George Tenet resigned Thursday as the director of the CIA.

Weird: Deputy Director of Operations (DDO) James Pavitt Quits :.

Ok, this is weird. The director of the CIA and the CIA's director of covert operations both quit within 24 hours of each other:

A second senior official of the US Central Intelligence Agency is expected to announce his retirement.

It comes less than a day after the surprise resignation of George Tenet, the agency's Director.

James Pavitt is the CIA's Deputy Director of Operations.

A spokesman for the CIA said Mr Pavitt's decision was unrelated to the departure of Mr Tenet.

Mr Pavitt had decided to leave the agency before Mr Tenet made his surprise announcement yesterday.
posted by Kevin at 3:33 AM

DARPA Builds Quantum Cryptography Network :.

A few weeks ago, I commented on the European Union's plan to implement a quantum cryptography system in order to defend against the USA/UK's ECHELON surveillance system. I said that the EU's solution was potentially flawed because they were only going to use the quantum cryptography network to exchange keys. This assumes that A) the encryption schemes that use the keys are not compromised out of hand and B) that the stated key strength correlates to the actual entropy of the key. In my opinion, this is assuming a lot.

This is what I said the EU would have to do if they wanted to effectively thwart an attacker such as the U.S. National Security Agency:

The thing to do would be to send all of the high value traffic over a quantum crypto system, not just the keys. Now that would be a TFA (Through F*cking Around) solution. Obviously, this would be prohibitively expensive and cumbersome.

HAHAHA! I suppose that it's not prohibitively expensive and cumbersome if you have God-Like powers! DARPA, drawing on its unholy alliances with private corporations and universities, has been quietly building a network that I thought would be too costly and complex to be built by anyone! But they did it.

Notice how the elite are using OUR MONEY to create technology that will be used to secure and enhance their God-Like powers. Believe me when I say that you do not want these people to have technology like this:

BBN Technologies announced that it has built the world's first quantum cryptography network and is now operating it continuously beneath the streets of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Today the DARPA Quantum Network links BBN's campus to Harvard University; soon it will stretch across town to include Boston University as a third link. The Harvard University Applied Physics Department and the Boston University Photonics Center have worked in close collaboration with BBN to build the network under Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) sponsorship.

Information traveling over open networks such as the Internet is often encrypted to prevent unauthorized eavesdropping. Currently, complex mathematical algorithms are the most common method used to scramble (encrypt) and de-scramble (decrypt) messages that require secure transmission. Although this method can provide high levels of security, it is not infallible. In contrast, the DARPA Quantum Network introduces extremely high levels of security for Internet-based communications systems by encrypting and decrypting messages with keys created by quantum cryptography.

Quantum cryptography, invented by Charles Bennett and Giles Brassard in the 1980s, prepares and transmits single photons of light, through either fiber optic cable or the atmosphere, to distribute cryptographic keys that are used to encrypt and decrypt messages. This method of securing information is radically different from methods based on mathematical complexity, relying instead on fundamental physical laws. Because very small (quantum) particles are changed by any observation or measurement, eavesdropping on a quantum cryptography system is always detectable.

The DARPA Quantum Network has improved on these techniques to create a highly robust, six-node network that is both extremely secure and 100% compatible with today's Internet technology. Patent-pending BBN protocols pave the way for robust quantum networks on a larger scale by providing "any to any" networking of quantum cryptography through a mesh of passive optical switches and cryptographic key relays.

I think the top level domains of most universities need to be changed: harvard.mil, mit.mil, yale.mil, usc.mil, berkeley.mil, stanford.mil, caltech.mil, ucla.mil, bu.mil, uci.mil, etc. These universities are little more than money laundering organizations for the Forces of Darkness.
posted by Kevin at 4:15 PM

Fahrenheit 911 Trailer :. (Could be slow.)

I'll like the movie, except for any parts that advocate voting for Kerry. I like that the film appears to portray American politics as an absurd nightmare. I just hope the bipartisan nature of the disaster isn't lost in Moore's freakish tendency to support Democrats in the midst of their obvious complicity in all of this.
posted by Kevin at 7:24 AM

U.S. Releases Terror Suspect Despite Evidence Of 'Martyr' Attack :.

This is incredible. Read this carefully:

Nabil al-Marabh, once imprisoned as the No. 27 man on the FBI's list of must-capture terror suspects, is free again.

He's free despite telling a Jordanian informant he planned to die a martyr by driving a gasoline truck into a New York City tunnel, turning it sideways, opening its fuel valves and having an al-Qaida operative shoot a flare to ignite a massive explosion.

Free despite telling the FBI he had trained on rifles and rocket propelled grenades at militant camps in Afghanistan and after admitting he sent money to a former roommate convicted of trying to blow up a hotel in Jordan.

Free despite efforts by prosecutors in Detroit and Chicago to indict him on charges that could have kept him in prison for years. Those indictments were rejected by the Justice Department in the name of protecting intelligence. Even two judges openly questioned al-Marabh's terror ties.

The Bush administration in January deported al-Marabh to Syria - his home and a country the U.S. government long has regarded as a sponsor of terrorism.

The quiet end to al-Marabh's case provides a stark contrast to other cases in which the Bush administration has held suspects without lawyers as enemy combatants. It also contrasts with the terms FBI agents used to describe al-Marabh in internal documents obtained by The Associated Press.

Related: Israeli Movers In Sub Base Security Scare Freed
posted by Kevin at 5:44 AM

ATTACK ON KEY SAUDI OIL TERMINAL COULD DESTABILIZE WEST :.

We can't even conceive of the chaos this would cause. It's unthinkable, and it could happen at any moment:

As fears of upheaval in Saudi helped set world crude oil prices to 21-year highs of $42.45 per barrel ahead of an Opec ministerial meeting today, there were fewer willing to scoff at Mr Gheit.

"I cannot think of any more logical target for terrorists. It [Ras Tanura] is the nerve centre for the Saudi oil trade but also for global exports. If you can blow up the Pentagon in broad daylight, then it cannot be impossible to fly a plane into Ras Tanura - and then you are talking $100 [per barrel] oil," he says.

Saudi Arabia is the linchpin for world crude supplies, a key to setting prices and yet sitting on a political tinderbox due to internal dissent and having trouble securing itself against terrorism.

The repressive desert kingdom is the birthplace of Osama bin Laden, provided 15 out of the 19 attackers on 9/11 and its future problems could ultimately make petrol too expensive for us to take our cars out of the garage.

This is all going to happen on purpose. Ordo ab chao. Order from chaos. Don't you forget it.
posted by Kevin at 4:11 AM

Army Widens 'Stop-Loss' Program :.

Do you feel a draft?

The Army will prevent soldiers in units set to deploy to Iraq and Afghanistan from leaving the service at the end of their terms, a top general said Wednesday.

The announcement, an expansion of an Army program called "stop-loss," means that thousands of soldiers who had expected to retire or otherwise leave the military will have to stay on for the duration of their deployment to those combat zones.

Research Credit: DG, KH
posted by Kevin at 3:28 AM

France: Public Assembly Banned in Paris for Bush Visit :.

The hatred of Bush is so intense that countries have to declare martial law when he visits:

Demonstrations have been banned in central Paris throughout this week to ensure no hostile protests are in evidence to disturb President George W. Bush's brief presence in the French capital on Saturday, where he will be dining with President Jacques Chirac.

This blanket ban cannot conceal the groundswell of French hostility to the US president and the unpopularity of his policies on Iraq and the broader Middle East.

It nevertheless underscores Mr Chirac's determination to make Mr Bush's stay in France for the 60th anniversary of the D-Day celebrations a friendly occasion and a chance to improve the chilly state of Franco-American relations.
posted by Kevin at 3:24 AM

NSA ECHELON Intercept Analyst Job Opening

I was checking out an evil corporation called Titan (www.titan.com). The quickest way to figure out if a company like this is an intelligence agency contractor is to check out the locations where they have job openings. It's not like it was a difficult task to get the gist of what Titan is all about. This company, though, is so enmeshed in military and intelligence projects, their domain name might as well be titan.mil.

I'm posting this for two reasons. First, it's interesting to note that NSA is contracting out ECHELON analysts to a private corporation. Second, I want someone to tell me what the "High Density Target Language" refers to. [See below.] Other Titan job postings refer to the "Low Density Target Language." They then go on to specify various languages like Arabic, Chinese, etc. The only references I can turn up via Google and Dogpile refer back to these Titan Corporation job postings. Could these terms refer to the words and phrases that the intelligence agencies are interested in sifting out of the communications traffic? [Nope. See below.]

High Density--Language Professional

------------

Location: Ft. Meade, MD Req. No.: TOSG29A
Division: Technical & Operational Support Group

------------

Job Description:
Scan materials to identify items that require further processing. Categorize and prioritize materials for further processing. Recover EEIs. Provide Gists, Extracts, Full and Verbatim Transcripts. Scan written materials to identify items that require further processing. Perform further processing of material in the format required. Produce translations of printed materials
Background and Experience: (including education, skills, work activities)

(a) Minimum required:
Language Professionals shall have a minimum of four (4) years cryptologic or related experience. Language Professionals shall have the linguistic proficiency of the High Density Target Language and the specific knowledge, talent, and skills necessary to perform the assigned voice and/or graphic tasks with minimal supervision. An ability to compile and update operational working aids and databases with minimal supervision. A basic command of the High Density Target Language [Arabic(MSA), Chinese Mandarin, French, Korean, Russian and Spanish] as well as excellent verbal and written American English language capabilities (grammar, vocabulary, idioms, spelling) because linguist work products are prepared in both languages. Language Professionals shall have a language proficiency rating of 3/3, as measured by the DLPT. U.S. citizenship. TS/SCI clearance or clearable, plus a willingness to take and pass a polygraph. An ability to work in a mixed environment consisting of multi-service personnel, DOD civilians and Govt contractor personnel.

(b) Desired:
A working knowledge of the High Density Target Language cultural, geopolitical, and economic issues.

Note: TS/SCI means Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information. This is an above Top Secret clearance that is routinely required for personnel involved with intelligence community projects.

Cryptogon Reader Clarifies High and Low Density Language References

Submitted by Doug:

Hi Kevin

The following URL has several refs to high and low density languages for people training to be Marine Corps cryptolinguists (which would probably qualify them one day to work for Titan). High density seems just to mean "critical"

http://www.globalsecurity.org/intell/library/reports/1992/BJ1.htm

Other sites hit on a search for "High Density Language" +translation seemed to indicate that high density languages (English, Chinese, Spanish, Japanese, German, etc.) have more speakers, more published works, better representation on the WWW, etc. than do low density languages (Farsi, Mongolian, Mapudungun).

Keep up the good work.

Doug
posted by Kevin at 1:55 AM

Enron Traders Brag About Swindling :.

"He just fucks California," says one Enron employee. "He steals money from California to the tune of about a million."

"They're fucking taking all the money back from you guys?" complains an Enron employee on the tapes. "All the money you guys stole from those poor grandmothers in California?"

"Yeah, grandma Millie, man"

"Yeah, now she wants her fucking money back for all the power you've charged right up, jammed right up her asshole for fucking $250 a megawatt hour."

One trader is heard on tapes obtained by CBS News saying, "Just cut 'em off. They're so fucked. They should just bring back fucking horses and carriages, fucking lamps, fucking kerosene lamps."

...Yep. Don't forget the yurts, pigs, goats and chickens.
posted by Kevin at 1:31 AM

NSA Procurement Spending Doubled Since 2000 :.

Don't you feel safe?

The National Security Agency has doubled procurement spending since 2000 and will do so again by the end of this decade, according to Harry Gatanas, the organization's senior acquisition executive.

Also, Gatanas noted, NSA is building a massive data storage facility in Colorado, which will be able to hold the electronic equivalent of the Library of Congress every two days.
posted by Kevin at 12:34 AM

Cryptogon Readers Contribute $15, Dinner and Cookies

PW $15
JH Dinner and a bag of organic chocolate chip cookies
posted by Kevin at 12:30 AM

Canadian Engineering Student Interested in Generator Project

One individual has requested more information on the possible generator project. I can't believe that his was the only email I received on this matter! I prepared myself for a deluge of negative emails. Nobody even wrote in to say that I was insane to think this was possible! That actually concerns me.
posted by Kevin at 4:57 AM

QATAR MINISTER: PUMP OIL AT WILL TO AVOID CRISIS :.

Balls to the wall:

OPEC should pump oil at will in the next few months, Qatar's energy minister said as the group's president called for efforts to cause a "significant" drop in record oil prices.

Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, will ensure markets have enough supply, said the nation's oil minister, Ali al- Naimi. The Qatari minister, Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah, said OPEC is near a consensus to boost its output quota by 2.5 million barrels a day, or 11 percent, a plan also backed by Kuwait.
posted by Kevin at 4:05 AM

Georgia: Martial Law Declared in Six Counties :.

A new city law in Brunswick gives police the power to halt protests during the G-8 summit now that the governor has declared a pre-emptive state of emergency in coastal Georgia through June 20.

Activists said the change allows authorities to squelch lawful dissent without reason when President Bush meets with world leaders June 8-10 at nearby Sea Island. Brunswick's mayor and Gov. Sonny Perdue's top lawyer denied any such intent.

Perdue signed an order May 7 declaring a state of emergency in six coastal counties beginning Monday, citing "potential danger ... from unlawful assemblages, threats of violence and otherwise."

Related: SHOOT TO KILL ORDERED AT G8, DNC, and RNC
posted by Kevin at 3:21 AM

Over 1/4 Of Americans Mentally Ill :.

I find it interesting that Americans spend the most time working, have the fewest number of vacation days and have the highest rate of mental illness.... but this study won't go there. Here's an idea for an interesting research project. Correlate the rates of mental illness in each of the countries with the amount of days individuals work per year:

Mental illnesses including anxiety disorders and depression are common and under-treated in many developed and developing countries, with the highest rate found in the United States, according to a study of 14 countries.

"Better health care systems and training" are needed to address the problem, Ustun said. <--- That is nonsense! Spend less time working for a criminal PHB and watch how great you feel!
posted by Kevin at 3:03 AM

Biodiesel Boom Well-Timed :.

Biodiesel fueling stations are sprouting like weeds across America, where production of the alternative fuel rose 66 percent in 2003. Experts say the rapid growth of the renewable fuel will stretch the country's tenuous petroleum supply while helping people breathe a little easier.

Damon Toal-Rossi of Iowa City, Iowa, jumped on the biodiesel bandwagon after a friend outlined the benefits of using a fuel made from soy or vegetable oil. The software programmer liked the idea of a cleaner-burning fuel that reduces dependence on foreign oil so much that he traded in his gasoline-powered pickup truck for a diesel-powered Volkswagen Golf.

After a few months of driving 10 miles to a biodiesel fueling station, Toal-Rossi went online to find a recipe and began making his own fuel. Because Toal-Rossi gets the primary ingredient -- used cooking oil -- from a nearby restaurant for free, he spends just 41 cents per gallon to make his 12-liter batches of biodiesel.

"I feel good about reducing my environmental impact, and besides, it's a great fuel for my car," said Toal-Rossi, noting that he now gets 44 miles per gallon, a big improvement over his 14-mpg pickup.
posted by Kevin at 2:54 AM

Outsourcing Intensive Care Units (ICUs) :.

Oh sure, why not?

"I know these patients better than anyone on the floor right now," asserts critical-care specialist Dr. Joseph T. Cooke, who's checking up on 38 ICU patients at New York-Presbyterian hospital--from across the street. Welcome to the electronic ICU, where bedside manner means ringing a doorbell before observing patients via video camera, then checking vital signs on four remotely located monitors. Surreal? Sure. But it's telemedicine that seems to be, gingerly, living up to the hype. The system's developers, Visicu, have installed e-ICUs in eight hospitals nationwide, with eight more in the works. Most agree that traditional ICUs are costly and hard to manage: ICU admissions account for only 10 percent of inpatient beds and 30 percent of hospital costs. And up to 20 percent of ICU patients never check out. The e-ICU, where one doctor and nurse can keep 24-hour watch on as many as 50 patients at once, is boosting chronically short-staffed on-site care.
posted by Kevin at 2:50 AM

Big Bucks for Biometric Screening :.

Accenture got it!? More antics in Bermuda!? The open criminality of this is beyond the pale!

A group led by Accenture won a U.S. government security contract worth up to $10 billion on Tuesday to track foreign visitors using digital photographs, fingerprints and other "biometric" information.

The U.S. Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology program aims to tighten borders as part of an effort to prevent another Sept. 11-type attack.

The contract, awarded by the Homeland Security Department, covers five years with five one-year options after that. The package could be worth up to $10 billion, Homeland Security officials said.

One lawmaker objected to the government's award of the lucrative contract to a company headquartered in Bermuda.

"They have a great deal of experience just visiting the USA -- entering to skim off government contracts and leaving to dodge federal taxes," said Texas Democratic Rep. Lloyd Doggett.

Google Search: Enron Bermuda
posted by Kevin at 2:38 AM

UPDATE, 6/2/04, 10:00PM(PST): PROPANE TANKERS FOUND

ALERT: STOLEN PROPANE TANKERS :.

This is just starting to peak up out of the noise. If the material in these tankers was distributed in a skillful manner, the resulting fuel air mixture could unleash an explosive yield commensurate to that a tactical nuclear weapon:

FBI agents in Texas issued a nationwide alert on Tuesday for two stolen propane tanker trucks, laden with thousands of gallons of the volatile liquefied gas.

A San Antonio gas company discovered the trucks, one carrying 3,000 gallons and the other carrying 2,500 gallons, had been stolen after employees returned on Tuesday from the U.S. Memorial Day holiday weekend, the FBI said.

The thefts could have occurred as early as May 25, FBI Agent Patrick Patterson said.

What follows is pure speculation and not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any financial instruments:

As I predicted, privately, to a handful of Cryptogon readers, the "smart money" used the pullback in the price of oil over the last several days as an opportunity to get long again before another leg to the upside commenced. The "terror" attack in Saudi Arabia over the weekend caused a massive jump in oil today, after days of declines. Is another news driven push to the upside planned?

If these propane trucks are used for an attack, based on my analysis of the oil markets, I would expect refinery capacity to be targeted. Texas is full of potential energy related targets.

If anyone out there is conducting forensic financial analysis, look at the traders who took long positions in New York Light Crude Oil futures (especially out of the money long shot bets) after the price crossed down sharply below $41 near the end of May. A few of these trades will have been completed by skilled technical traders, a few of them will be lucky gamblers, but there are others involved with this market who obviously knew that news would be breaking and positioned themselves accordingly.

Of course, "smart money" positions are taken every day in the financial markets. This is the bread and butter of corporate criminals who routinely act on inside information. What's unusual, though, is for positions to be taken based on pre-knowledge of political events. The number of people in a position to profit on this type of intelligence is very small.

Now, the question is: Are They going to stay long because They know something else is going to happen?

Just eyeballing the chart, and stripping all other information out of the picture, I'd say that a massive spike to the upside is very possible in the short term. One might call the beginnings of a head and shoulders chart pattern, with the left shoulder built firmly in. Although, if there is no news event, I find it difficult to believe that the "head" will be formed. Without some obvious supply scare, the price will probably drop sharply.

Information relating fuel air explosive yield equivalency to tactical nuclear weapons:

Fuel-Air Bomb: How Serious a Threat? :.

An effective half-ton fuel-air bomb, Dodds said, would be "equivalent to a low-yield battlefield nuclear weapon of about 10 tons explosive yield."

Fuel-Air Explosive Simulation of Far-Field Nuclear Airblasts :.

Fuel-air explosions (FAE) have been investigated in the context of far-field nuclear airblast simulation. The objective of the investigation is to determine the feasibility of a reusable FAE simulator at the one kiloton level. Two issues have been researched in parallel efforts. These are the mechanisms by which largescale FAE clouds of controlled shape can be reliably and repeatedly formed and detonated, and the quality of nuclear airblast simulation that is achieved when such FAE clouds are detonated. The formation of hemispherical clouds by simultaneous, impulsive liquid fuel injection through a large number of radially directed, centrally clustered nozzles is discussed in detail. Specific fuel dispenser designs are considered and use experience with two of these is described. Survey experiments dealing with the atomization and penetration characteristics of large-diameter, implulsively formed single liquid jets are discussed. Small-scale hemispherical cloud formation experiments are also discussed. A new reusable facility for testing FAE simulation of nuclear airblasts at the 1/4-ton scale is described. Preliminary surface-burst experiments at that scale using propylene oxide and heptane as fuels are discussed. The results from these experiments are scaled and compared with 1 kt nuclear curvefits. The agreement is judged to be reasonable at this scale. Numerical calculations of the airblast that emerges from a detonated heptane-air cloud have also been carried out.

Limitations: APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE
Description: Final rept. 9 May 77-31 Dec 79
Pages: 244
Report Date: 31 DEC 1979
Report number: A240531
posted by Kevin at 5:49 PM

OIL GAPS UP TO NEAR RECORD :.

U.S. oil prices surged over $2 to set successive record highs on Tuesday after an attack in Saudi Arabia by Islamic militants killed 22 people, heightening fears about political instability in the world's biggest oil exporter.

U.S. light crude closed up $2.44 at $42.32 a barrel, just six cents shy of its all-time high of $42.38 struck toward the close following an attack on Saturday by suspected al Qaeda militants on the offices of Western companies in the Saudi oil city of Khobar.
posted by Kevin at 2:20 PM

Cryptogon Labs: Power Generator Based on Minato Engine

As you probably know, I follow developments in alternative energy on a daily basis. In the wake of the murder of Dr. Eugene Mallove, and the increasing evidence that an energy crisis is being engineered to create chaos, I have decided that I, personally, have to make an attempt to do something.

I conducted an exhaustive survey of every alternative energy technology I had heard about in an attempt to determine what would be buildable by average individuals TODAY.

The goal is to unleash a state of uncontrollable energy anarchy that would rattle the foundations of the petroleum paradigm to the ground. In order to do this, we need a technology that is:

1) Easy to build.

2) Verifiable and viable.

3) Unpatentable, free, open. (Due to Point #1, if necessary.)

There are two technologies that are absolutely real and capable of shattering the established paradigm TODAY: Tom Bearden's MEG and R.M. Santilli's MagneGas (AquaFuel, BingoFuel, etc.). Unfortunately, both of these technologies fail my 1ST and 3rd criteria. The inventors are holding out on their proprietary rights to these technologies in an attempt to realize massive profits. Additionally, and unfortunately, both the MEG and the MagneGas systems require substantial engineering skill to implement.

What these patent holders may or may not understand is that WE HAVE RUN OUT OF TIME. All of us have to take matters into our own hands and TAKE BACK OUR LIVES AND OUR DESTINY BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY. Nobody is coming to save us. Either we transform this system now, or things are going to get very ugly later. Energy anarchy might buy us all some time.

I think that United States Patent 5,594,289, Magnetic Rotating Apparatus, by Kohei Minato (January 14, 1997) will probably work as a starting point if the right engineering skills could be leveraged to solve rudimentary design issues related to energy recovery.

The technical hurdles to making this work seem almost trivial. Minato's device gives us the ability to do work with a very low amount of power input, relative to the energy that may be recovered.

The patent provides a concise definition:

According to the magnetic rotating apparatus of the present invention, rotational energy can be efficiently obtained from permanent magnets. This is made possible by minimizing as much as possible current supplied to the electromagnets, so that only a required amount of electrical energy is supplied to the electromagnets.

That's it, folks, in a nutshell.

If you want to understand this in grossly simplified, linear terms, check out the SMOT. Watch the steel ball climb the hill. How much external power is input into that system in order to make the ball climb the hill? Zero. Nothing. Zip. Zilch. The Minato engine uses the same magnetic properties as the SMOT.

Minato left out the design specifications of how to recover electricity from his simple concept. However, the efficient recovery of power from this design would be a trivial matter for a competent electrical engineer, or even a skilled lay person.

The last sentence of the patent states:

It should be understood that many modifications and adaptations of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art and it is intended to encompass such obvious modifications and changes in the scope of the claims appended hereto.

I'm not an engineer and I already have several ideas about how to make this work.

We need to determine if the plans for the energy recovery aspect of this device can be Copylefted or Antipatented. If the answer is "No," we must place the information in the public domain in a form that would allow individuals to BUILD DEVICES IMMEDIATELY, regardless of who or what patents the thing. This will prevent the technology from disappearing into black holes created by corporations or individuals.

I'd like to enlist the help of anyone in the Southern California area to help me build this thing.

I'm looking for people with experience in electromagnetism, inductors, bifilar coil design, generator design, stator design, simple electronic circuit design (power recovery, battery charging from coils), etc. An electrical engineer who possesses a deep understanding of Lenz's Law, and someone who is very adept with visualizing magnetic flux would be very helpful. The physical design of this device will either make or break it. As such, someone with the ability to fabricate high precision, lite weight, high strength materials might help us attain success faster.

There's nothing magical about this idea. This thing is so simple it's practically ridiculous. It uses techniques and ideas from other devices I have seen that get a "Close, but no cigar" because of Lenz's Law. We're not trying to beat Lenz's Law with this thing. Here's a hint: The entire time we're pulling current from the device (and Lenz's Law is opposing the rotor) we're inputting nothing (zero power) into the machine. We need to overcome the regauging effect at JUST ONE POINT during the rotation of our rotor. The rest of the time that the rotor is spinning, it is acting as a generator. Let that bake your noodle for a while.

I need some help, primarily, with coil design and properly quantifying what is happening. I need to know if there are techniques that can be used to maximize induced power while minimizing the "drag" effect of Lenz's Law. Is Tesla's bifilar coil design of any assistance in this area? Does it make sense to piggy-back a recovery (generator) coil on the back of the stator coil?

My idea for generator coil placement is to offset them from the permanent magnets such that the effect of Lenz's Law is minimized at the exact moment that the stator fires. That is to say, there is no power generation occurring (and hence, no generator flux "drag" on the rotor) at the instant that power is applied to the stator. This should minimize the amount of power required to overcome the attraction of the last permanent magnet toward the ferrous metal core of the stator.

Get it. Got it. Good. Build it.

If nobody responds, I'll build this thing myself. I'll figure it out through experimentation, brute force, rapid prototyping and caffeine. It would be nice to have skilled engineers helping me with this, but it's not absolutely necessary.

I'm not constrained by a religious belief in theories presented in universities and nonsense printed in corrupt publications. I experiment. If you remember, in Science 101: Observed data wins over theory, every time. I never planned on trying to become an engineer, but unfortunately, engineers have refused to personally take a look at, and become proponents of, obvious solutions. I'm forced to do it myself at this point. I never planned on growing my own food, or curing my own skin cancer, but I did. So why not add engineer of energy devices to my bag of tricks? After all, Minato isn't an engineer, by training. He's a musician.

More Information:

Video: Minato Operating OU Toyota AC Unit

Minato's Fans Going into Production
posted by Kevin at 4:54 AM

CNN Says Saudi Attack Was a Conspiracy :.

I was going to say it, but even I thought I sounded nuts. Well, I didn't have to say it:

I was just watching CNN International and they admitted that the Saudi attack looked like a 'conspiracy of collusion' between the Saudi government and the 'terrorist group' - commenting that the 'terrorists' were wearing military uniforms and they were allowed to escape.

I also heard a mainstream British radio report today that also stated that three of the four terrorists were allowed to escape after a deal had been struck, although I can't find anything in print which confirms this at the moment.
posted by Kevin at 3:30 AM

Does Rapid Money Supply Expansion (M-3) Portend Doom? :.

Let me just say from the outset that the Federal Reserve has confirmed our Stock Market Crash forecast by raising the Money Supply (M-3) by crisis proportions, up another 46.8 billion this past week. What awful calamity do they see? Something is up. This is unprecedented, unheard-of pre-catastrophe M-3 expansion. M-3 is up an amount that we've never seen before without a crisis - $155 billion over the past 4 weeks, a $2.0 trillion annualized pace, a 22.2 percent annualized rate of growth!!! There must be a crisis of historic proportions coming, and the Federal Reserve Bank of the United States is making sure that there is enough liquidity in place to protect our nation's fragile financial system. The amazing thing is, the Fed's actions mean they know what is about to happen. They are aware of a terrible, horrific imminent event. What could it be?
posted by Kevin at 3:24 AM

Killer Rash Breaks Out in New York :.

A vicious skin infection resistant to all but the most powerful antibiotics has jumped out of New York City hospitals and onto the streets.

The "superbug," as health officials refer to it, can cause anything from reddening of the skin, to abscesses, tissue loss, amputation or even death in severe cases, doctors said.

For decades confined to hospitals, where it preyed on patients and built up immunity to antibiotics, the bug - known officially as Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus or MRSA - has also grown in strength.

"Usually with infections you need a break in the skin to pass it," said Dr. Howard Grossman, who has a private practice in Chelsea.

"Not with this. It gets through unbroken skin with casual contact."
posted by Kevin at 1:47 AM

Ashcroft, Snoops and Gag Orders: The Secrets of Surveillance :.

I've noticed something lately. On occasion, Blogger and Yahoo seem to forget the cookies that allow their systems to immediately recognize me. Specifically, I noticed that this happens when I log into these services from computers other than my home system. When I return home, they require me to login again. I figured that since a login occurred from a different system, the security token is removed from the home system, therefore requiring authentication once I use the home system again.

Well, here's where the tinfoil hat comes in handy. Occasionally, Blogger and Yahoo drop the security tokens from my system without me logging into those services from other computers! And no, I didn't accidentally hit the "Log Out" links. I've had a feeling that something weird was happening, but I've just ignored it because I thought it was paranoia. I'm not so sure after reading this:

Everyone knows by now (or should) that the Patriot Act allows the FBI to conduct surveillance on Internet and email usage. Using so-called National Security Letters (NSLs), the FBI directs Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to provide passwords and identifying information that will allow the government to target people who are plotting terrorism or who are otherwise potentially dangerous to national security. I am sure that many of you reading this (and I, likely) have the government in our computers.
posted by Kevin at 6:44 AM

Rumsfeld Says 'War on Terror' Just Beginning :.

With "liberation" like this, who needs the Apocalypse?

The United States' declared war on terror is closer to the beginning than the end, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld told graduates of the U.S. Military Academy on Saturday.

Rumsfeld told the 2004 graduating class of 935 cadets that in the three years since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on America, the U.S.-led coalition had "overthrown two vicious regimes and liberated 50 million people, disrupted terrorist cells across the globe and thwarted many terrorist attacks."

"Yet despite our successes, we are closer to the beginning of this struggle with global insurgency than to its end," he said.
posted by Kevin at 1:28 AM

Cheney Office Denies Role in Halliburton Deal :.

What? How could anyone suggest that Cheney would be involved in any underhanded dealing!? These are shocking accusations!

Vice President Dick Cheney's office denied Sunday that he was involved in a coordinated effort to secure a multibillion dollar Iraq oil deal for Halliburton, his former employer.

A reference to such an arrangement was made in an internal Pentagon e-mail from an Army Corps of Engineers official to another Pentagon employee, Time magazine reports in its June 7 edition, which is due on newsstands Monday.

The existence of the e-mail was confirmed to CNN by a senior administration official familiar with it.

The e-mail -- dated March 5, 2003 -- says Douglas Feith, undersecretary of defense for policy, approved the arrangement to award the contract to the oil-services company, the administration official said.

According to an e-mail excerpt in Time, the contract was "contingent on informing WH [White House] tomorrow. We anticipate no issues since action has been coordinated w[ith] VP's office."
posted by Kevin at 1:02 AM

60th Anniversary of D-Day: French Town Under Martial Law :.

This article goes on for several paragraphs about all of the military power that will be deployed for this event, and then, in the last paragraph, we read:

The town's residents have been told that they must either stay indoors throughout next Sunday or leave the area. Even Patrick Jardin, the mayor, one of the few local people invited to the international ceremony, will have to travel by bus to Caen, 45 minutes' drive away, and board a special bus to return to Arromanches that afternoon.

Who won World War II again?
posted by Kevin at 12:52 AM

Don't Try to Cheat the Telescreen, Hide Your Books :.

Inside the flat a fruity voice was reading out a list of figures which had something to do with the production of pig-iron. The voice came from an oblong metal plaque like a dulled mirror which formed part of the surface of the right-hand wall. Winston turned a switch and the voice sank somewhat, though the words were still distinguishable. The instrument (the telescreen, it was called) could be dimmed, but there was no way of shutting it off completely.

---George Orwell, 1984

Telescreen viewing mandatory for school kids:

"To Ms. Ehrenfeld: This morning I observed that during the morning news program, you and your students were engaged in activities other than watching television."

So began the official letter of reprimand placed in my personnel folder by the principal at the elementary school in Maryland where I was teaching 3rd grade at the time. Odd as the accusation was, it was made even odder by the fact that my students were reading when the principal caught them not watching television. She had walked in, and there they were, sitting as silently as a group of 3rd graders can, every one of them absorbed in a book.

What they were supposed to be doing was watching our school's morning news show, an exercise in terminal boredom during which students from the upper grades mumbled incoherently into a microphone, reading the weather forecast, the lunch menu, and the daily announcements in a fast monotone. Every day, this list would be supplemented by an "educational lesson," which often consisted of a vocabulary word and its definition. I imagine the expectation was that after hearing the word spoken once, all of the children would retain it in their memories forever.

Because this was an inner-city school with abysmal test scores and a learning day far too short to cover the material necessary to help these students, I hoarded every educational second. For much of the year, my television had been mysteriously out of order, which neatly solved the problem of wasting 20 minutes watching the news. Then, sadly, it was fixed, and I no longer had an excuse for skipping the program. So I did the next best thing: I devoted the time to silent reading and trained the kids to ignore the screen (no small feat with TV-addicted children). This worked beautifully�until we were busted.

Related: New Microsoft System Has no "Off" State
posted by Kevin at 4:00 PM

National Geographic: The End of Cheap Oil :.

Humanity's way of life is on a collision course with geology---with the stark fact that the Earth holds a finite supply of oil. The flood of crude from fields around the world will ultimately top out, then dwindle. It could be 5 years from now or 30: No one knows for sure, and geologists and economists are embroiled in debate about just when the "oil peak" will be upon us. But few doubt that it is coming. "In our lifetime," says economist Robert K. Kaufmann of Boston University, who is 46, "we will have to deal with a peak in the supply of cheap oil."
posted by Kevin at 2:07 PM

Shooting Rampage, Hostage Crisis in Saudi Arabia Leaves 22 Dead :.

Helicopter-borne Saudi commandos drove al-Qaeda militants from an expatriate housing complex in the kingdom's oil hub Sunday, ending a shooting and hostage-taking spree that left 22 dead � most of them foreigners.
posted by Kevin at 2:01 PM

Israeli Movers In Sub Base Security Scare Freed :.

Get out of jail free card, if you're an Israeli spy:

The two Israeli men in a moving van who tried to get past security officials at Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base without proper identification last Friday will soon be released, the MadCowMorningNews has learned, if they haven't been already.

The arrest of the two Israelis, Tamir David Sasson, 24, and Daniel Henry Levy, 23, prompted a security scare that shut down the Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base in Georgia, home port for 10 of the nation's 18 submarines armed with nuclear missiles.

Moreover it marked the second time in two weeks that Israelis in moving vans have been apprehended under suspicious circumstances near U.S. nuclear facilities. The other reported incident also occurred near a U.S. Navy nuclear facility, this time in Mars Hill, NC., which the local Sheriff explained is "the nation's sole provider of fuel for the Navy's nuclear subs."

If authorities discerned a pattern, they weren't saying.

Flashback: Israel Targets... New Zealand? :.

Two of the spies have been caught red-handed, and arrested, while one has fled the country and police are still looking for a fourth Israeli who is believed to be still at large. While not admitting that the four are spies � but not denying it, either � New Zealand's Prime Minister, Helen Clark, is furious, and has vowed "a strong and public response once the court action has concluded."

What in heck is going on in New Zealand?

According to the New Zealand Herald, the police set a trap for the Mossad spooks when officials became suspicious about this particular passport application, and, noting an irregularity, contacted the alleged applicant � who turned out to be not only wheelchair-bound but also in residential care. He wasn't going anywhere.

Flashback: U.S. Jew Pleads Guilty to Handling Missile Money :.

A New York Jewish diamond dealer pleaded guilty on Tuesday to charges that he unwittingly handled a $30,000 payment for smugglers of a shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missile who intended to shoot down U.S. airliners.

Yehuda Abraham, 76, could be fined up to $250,000 and sentenced to up to five years in prison for operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, according to the U.S. Attorney in Newark, New Jersey.

Abraham was arrested last August in an FBI sting operation that also netted a British arms dealer charged with trying to sell the missile to an FBI informant at a hotel near the Newark International Airport.

Abraham told a U.S. District Court judge in Newark, New Jersey, that he had received $30,000 from the informant who had agreed to buy the missile. He said he did not know and did not ask what the $30,000 payment was to be used for when he accepted it at his business office in New York in October 2002, and wired the payment to a bank in Hong Kong.
posted by Kevin at 1:53 PM

San Francisco Gallery Owner Beaten Over Abu Ghraib Display :.

All fascist states devolve into this. The U.S. is no different than any of the others:

After displaying a painting of U.S. soldiers torturing Iraqi prisoners, a San Francisco gallery owner bears a painful reminder of the nation's unresolved anguish over the incidents at Abu Ghraib -- a black eye and bloodied brow delivered by an unknown assailant who apparently objected to the art work.
posted by Kevin at 5:58 AM