• Gender-Bender Chemicals are Turning Boys Into Girls
    The government of Denmark has released a 326-page report affirming that endocrine disrupting chemicals are probably continuing to the birth of fewer males and the "feminization" of existing ones. The report centers on chemicals like PVC, flame retardants, phthalates, dioxins, PCBs and bisphenol-A, all of which mimic the action of estrogen in the b […]
  • Hacker Disables More Than 100 Cars Remotely
      More than 100 drivers in Austin, Texas found their cars disabled or the horns honking out of control, after an intruder ran amok in a web-based vehicle-immobilization system normally used to get the attention of consumers delinquent in their auto payments. Police with Austin’s High Tech Crime Unit on Wednesday arrested 20-year-old Omar Ramos-Lopez, a forme […]
  • US Vice President Joseph Biden: ‘”I also see myself as a Zionist"
    US Vice President Joseph Biden First Visiting Foreign Dignitary to Lay Wreath at Tomb of Theodor Herzl, the founder of the political movement we have come to know as Zionism. US Vice President Joe Biden, with wife Dr. Jill Biden, lay a wreath at the tomb of [...] […]
  • European Parliament Rips Global IP Accord
      The European Parliament delivered a political blow to Hollywood and the Obama administration, voting Wednesday 663 to 13 in opposition to a proposed and secret intellectual property agreement being negotiated by the European Union, United States and a handful of others. Wednesday’s developments concerning the Anti-Counterfeiting and Trade Agreement are sub […]
  • Violence Mars Greek Protest
    Flights were grounded and trains suspended amid a nationwide general strike Thursday, as Greek police fought running street battles with anarchist youths in fresh and violent signs of anger at the government’s austerity plans. Unions called a strike to protest wage and benefit cuts being put in place to trim Greece’s swollen budget deficit as the [...] […]
  • Thailand braces for massive political protests
    Thailand braced for anti-government demonstrations that began Friday and were expected to peak over the weekend with as many as 150,000 protesters on the streets. In anticipation, the government has mobilized 50,000 security forces, said acting spokesman Panitan Wattanayakorn. The mass rallies are expected to be peaceful but Army spokesman Col. Sansern Kaewk […]
  • Brain scan can read people’s thoughts
    A scan of brain activity can effectively read a person’s mind, researchers said Thursday. British scientists from University College London found they could differentiate brain activity linked to different memories and thereby identify thought patterns by using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The evidence suggests researchers can tell which mem […]
  • Obama Supports DNA Sampling Upon Arrest
    Josh Gerstein over at Politico sent Threat Level his piece underscoring once again President Barack Obama is not the civil-liberties Knight In Shining Armor many were expecting. Gerstein posts a televised interview of Obama and John Walsh of America’s Most Wanted. The nation’s chief executive extols the virtues of mandatory DNA testing of Americans upon arre […]
  • Drudge Virus Warning Blasted as Latest Free Speech Incursion
    The unusual e-mail sent to Senate staffers this week warning them not to visit The Drudge Report for fear of a virus has some critics crying foul, suggesting the missive is the latest attempt by Democrats to stifle dissent in the media. The Drudge Report, a popular Web site which aggregates news links, often trumpets [...] […]
  • Chief exorcist Father Gabriele Amorth says Devil is in the Vatican
    Sex abuse scandals in the Roman Catholic Church are proof that that “the Devil is at work inside the Vatican”, according to the Holy See’s chief exorcist. Father Gabriele Amorth, 85, who has been the Vatican’s chief exorcist for 25 years and says he has dealt with 70,000 cases of demonic possession, said that the consequences [...] […]
  • “Rather than monitoring hate groups, the Southern Poverty Law Center has become one.”
    A funny thing happened on the way to this week’s column — I got “targeted,” “frozen,” “personalized” and “polarized.” In other words, I got lumped in with the majority of Americans as the “radical right” — you know, the scary people who believe in God, the Constitution, family values, and an honest day’s work for an [...] […]
  • UK: Crackdown on dangerous dogs to make microchips compulsory for all
    All dogs are to be compulsorily microchipped so that their owners can be more easily traced under a crackdown on dangerous dogs to be unveiled today. The package will include extending the dangerous dogs law to cover attacks by dogs on private property to protect postmen, and making third-party insurance compulsory so that victims can be [...] […]
  • 11 More U.S. Airports Get Body Scanners
    Transportation officials announced Friday 11 more United States airports will begin receiving full-body imaging machines “By accelerating the deployment of this technology, we are enhancing our capability to detect and disrupt threats of terrorism across the nation,” Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said in a statement. Despite concerns of privac […]
  • UK: Spy chips hidden in 2.5 MILLION dustbins: 60pc rise in electronic bugs as council snoopers plan pay-as-you-throw tax
    The growing threat of a stealth tax on the rubbish we throw away was exposed by startling figures yesterday. More than 2.5million homes now have wheelie bins fitted with microchips to weigh their contents. This is an increase of nearly two-thirds in just a year. The bins, which can be electronically identified and weighed, are designed for [...] […]
  • Narus develops a scary sleuth for social media
    Narus is developing a new technology that sleuths through billions of pieces of data on social networks and Internet services and connects the dots. The new program, code-named Hone, is designed to give intelligence and law enforcement agencies a leg up on criminals who are now operating anonymously on the Internet.…Hone works in tandem with NarusInsight. [. […]
  • Saving Seeds: Cantaloupe
    Cantaloupes DO cross pollinate with other “melons” like other cantaloupes, musk melons, snake melons and Armenian cucumbers.  Separate therefore from other “melons” by a quarter mile. Choose early ripening, disease free fruits to save seed from. Wash seeds from ripe melons in a strainer, dry on a paper plate or paper sheet. Seeds are ready to store [...] […]
  • Saving Seeds: Squash and Zucchini
    Squash within the same species DOES cross pollinate, therefore species should be isolated by a quarter mile.  This will also reduce the danger of squash bugs spreading over all the crops if they pester one patch. Seeds should be taken from fruits that have surpassed maturity by 3 weeks already. Remove seed, wash, let dry on paper [...] […]
  • Saving Seeds: Cucumbers
    Cucumbers DO cross pollinate, so if you want pure seed, separate cucumber varieties from each other by a quarter mile. Seeds should be taken from fruit that has ripened past edible stage and begun to turn yellow and soften.  To get to the seeds, cut the cucumber lengthwise, scoop the seeds out, wash them and dry [...] […]
  • Saving Seeds: Carrots
    Carrots are biennial, that means, you can harvest seeds only in the second year. Carrots Do cross pollinate, so separate them 1/4 mile from other carrots in the first year.   In the second year, when they are going to seed, separate them also from Queen Anne’s Lace (about 1/4 mile). Dig carrots up before the hard frost [...] […]
  • Saving Seeds: Peppers
    Peppers DO cross pollinate, so separate varieties by about 500 feet, unless you can plant them in insect proof cages that are covered with window screen. Pick ripe, fully colored fruits that show no sign of disease to save seeds from.  Remove the seed core and place on a paper plate or thick paper sheet to [...] […]
  • Saving Seeds: Tomatoes
    Tomatoes usually do not cross-pollinate, at least not the modern varieties.  Potato leaf varieties should be separated by the garden’s length though. Pick one ripe fruit of each plant (at least), squeeze the seeds and juice into a strainer.  Then wash the seeds, spread them on a paper plate or thick paper sheet, and dry them. DO [...] […]
  • Saving Seeds: Beans
    Bean flowers are self-pollinating, so the danger of cross pollination is comparatively small.  It’s is recommended to separate different kinds of beans by a garden length though to ensure absolute purity. Save seeds from plants that ripen first and are disease free.  Harvest seed pods reserved for seed saving when they are dried completely.  Crush the [...] […]
  • Saving Seeds
    I know this might come a little early for many of you out there, but I will start a new “series” here, giving information about saving seeds of different plants. I guess you all know that it is not much use to save seed from hybrid plants as you never know what you are getting, but [...] […]
  • Tomato Suckers
    I mentioned suckers in an earlier post, saying that you can pinch them if you wish, but don’t have to – well, some people do not know what a sucker actually is. What is a sucker ? Suckers grow our between a tomato leaf branch and its stem.  If you pinch them off and stick them in [...] […]
  • Planting Cucumbers
    It is a good idea to plant cucumbers in hills so they can vine in peace and do not get too crowded. A week or two after your last frost date, make hills that are 4-5 feet apart from each other on all sides, and approximately 12” in diameter.  Plant 6-8 seeds per hill. After 3 weeks, [...] […]
  • Growing Tomatoes
    As tomatoes are most gardener’s favorite plant, especially but not exclusively amongst beginners, here are a few things that might be worth knowing about growing tomatoes.  If those among you who have decades of tomato growing experiences are unhappy with my information or have things to add, please feel free to comment Basically, all [...] […]
  • Marie Claire: How to plant a window garden
    Via: seattlepi.com 1. At a nursery, pick up seeds, potting soil, and a few small pots or a window box (it must be shorter than the length of your windowsill-measure first!). Get a container at least four to five inches deep with a drainage hole at the bottom. 2. Fill container with soil and place [...] […]
  • Good buys for gardeners
    If you are new to the wonderfully healthy and economical past time of gardening, this list might be interesting to you.  For all those who have been gardening for ages already, maybe you enjoy checking what this lady thinks is essential, and add what’s missing, from your own experience Via: baltimoresun.com By Susan [...] […]
  • The globalisation of addiction
    So here is a study that tells you, basically, that living in the countryside, close to nature, as a producer, instead of a synthetic, stressful environment where people live as consumers only, will prevent addictions, will even cure addictions, will be the best you can do for your children and yourself.  The addictions of our [...] […]
  • Gardening is getting more and more popular
    We finally got our seeds, accompanied by a nice letter from FEDCOs, and what they are telling their customers there did not come as a big surprise to us:  Fedco has had record sales this year, an over 40% growth in seed sales, which adds to the 20% growth they saw last year…  At a [...] […]
  • Planning your vegetable and herb gardens – Tips to save your family money by gardening
    Via: Seattle Garden & Kitchen Examiner A prolific garden can save your family a lot of money Food prices are continuing to rise while more and more products get recalled. It only makes sense that all of us considering ways to raise some of the food we eat. The more we food we raise, [...] […]
  • Have you ordered your seeds yet ?
    You might think it’s weird to think about the gardening season now, but it isn’t.  Even though your garden patch might be buried in snow right now, depending on where you are, you still need to get off your hindquarters and start planning now. 2009 might very well be the year when, for the first time [...] […]
  • Cloth diapers, again
    Just a short note today: We recently talked to a pediatrician who told us that she is seeing a lot more cloth diapers these days than she used to.   Most people are probably using cloth diapers now because they cannot afford throwaway diapers anymore, but it is still difficult to get decent diaper covers in any [...] […]
  • Apple Pie
    I suppose most of you have made millions of apple pies in your time, but if you are looking for a nice online description of how to bake one, I recently found a well made page about how to make apple pie from scratch, with lots of pictures and ingredients for both a lattice and [...] […]
  • An Old-Time “Refridgerator”, Easily Built: The Trash Can Root Cellar
    If you need storage that keeps your food cool without using electricity, a root cellar comes in very handy. There are a tremendous amount of different designs for root cellars out there – check out this site, for example: Root Cellars Their link to the garbage can root cellar is broken though, so here are some basic [...] […]

Global financial regulation overhaul seen in 2010

U.S. and EU authorities are expected to hammer out the definite shape of a new regulatory order in 2010 that will fundamentally change how world banks and markets operate.
Stricter limits on leverage and capital will emerge, leading eventually to slimmer profits for banks, policy analysts said. Formerly unregulated off-exchange derivatives markets will have to conform [...]

Prime Mortgage Foreclosures to Increase

Homeowners with the best credit are the next big risk for the U.S. housing market.
An increase in mortgage defaults among prime borrowers in 2009 is likely to accelerate this year, slowing the real estate recovery even as Americans become more optimistic about the economy, said Robert Shiller and Karl Case, the economists who created the [...]

Treasuries Set for Worst Year Since 1978 as U.S. Steps Up Sales

Treasuries headed for the worst year in at least three decades as the U.S. stepped up debt sales to help spur growth in an economy recovering from the biggest slump since the Great Depression.
The current seven-year note was little changed after a $32 billion of sale of the debt drew a yield of 3.345 percent, [...]

Banks Hoarding Cash in Europe Drives Treasurers to Record Bonds

For all the cash provided by the European Central Bank to ease the worst seizure in credit markets since World War II, financial institutions in the region are unwilling to lend, using the money instead to invest in the safest, most liquid government securities. Bond investors are offering money like never before as returns on [...]

U.S. housing market meltdown not over yet

Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Economy.com in West Chester, Pennsylvania, said in an interview with Reuters home prices will resume their decline by early next year as foreclosure sales pick up again.
“The housing crash is not over,” he said.
The U.S. housing market has suffered the worst downturn since the Great Depression, and its impact [...]

U.S. citizens are joining immigrants in store parking lots for Day Labor work

It sounds like a George Lopez joke.
“Times are so bad that I saw an Anglo day laborer standing outside Home Depot the other day.”
Except it’s true.
In the latest sign of the Las Vegas Valley’s economic free fall, U.S. citizens are starting to show up in the early mornings outside home improvement stores and plant nurseries [...]

Back-Door Taxes Hit Americans With Public Financing in the Dark

Salvatore Calvanese, the treasurer of Springfield, Massachusetts, for four years, had a ready defense for why he risked $14 million of taxpayer money on collateralized-debt obligations laden with subprime mortgages in 2007.
He didn’t know what he was buying, he says, and trusted the financial professionals who sold them and told him they were safe.
“I thought [...]

Spain tips into depression

Spain is sliding into a full-blown economic depression with unemployment approaching levels not seen since the Second Republic of the 1930s and little chance of recovery until well into the next decade, according to a clutch of reports over recent days.
The Madrid research group RR de Acuña & Asociados [...]

The Real Unemployment Rate Hits a 68-Year High

When those adjustments are taken into account for May 2009, the unemployment rate soars to 16.4%. That is the highest rate since the BLS began calculating the U-6 rate in 1994. While not exactly comparable, it is also higher than the BLS’s earlier and yet broader adjusted unemployment rate called the U-7. The BLS began [...]

The Real Unemployment Rate Hits a 68-Year High

When those adjustments are taken into account for May 2009, the unemployment rate soars to 16.4%. That is the highest rate since the BLS began calculating the U-6 rate in 1994. While not exactly comparable, it is also higher than the BLS’s earlier and yet broader adjusted unemployment rate called the U-7. The BLS began [...]

The collapse in Britain’s economy now rivals the worst days of the Great Depression

Economic output shrank by 5.6pc in the 12 months to the middle of the year, according to official figures which shattered hopes that the recovery has already begun.
The Office for National Statistics said that Britain’s gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by 0.8pc in the second quarter, following the unprecedented 2.4pc fall in the first three [...]

Global Confidence Drops as Unemployment Surge Counters Stimulus

Confidence in the world economy dropped for the first time in four months in July as government stimulus efforts showed little sign of reducing unemployment, a Bloomberg survey of users on six continents showed.

The Bloomberg Professional Global Confidence Index declined to 39.13 in July from 43.57 in June. A reading below 50 means pessimists outnumber [...]

Credit Swaps Investigated by U.S. Justice Department

The U.S. Justice Department is investigating the market for credit-default swaps, according to Markit Group Ltd., the data provider majority-owned by Wall Street’s largest banks.

“Markit has been informed of an investigation by the Department of Justice into the credit-derivatives and related markets,” spokeswoman Teresa Chick said yesterday in an e- mailed statement in response to [...]

Capitalism’s dirty little secret: excessive lending was the only way to maintain the living standards of the vast bulk of the population at a time when wealth was being concentrated in the hands of an elite.

Just why is there so much debt in the Anglo-Saxon world? Bankers and regulators know well that it is in nobody’s long-term interests to have allowed borrowing to escalate to a position where the US now owes far more, as a multiple of the economy, than at the start of the Great Depression.
The answer is [...]

The Great American Bubble Machine

Also available at: [Taibbi] The Great American Bubble Machine (LF exclusive!) – The Something Awful Forums
From tech stocks to high gas prices, Goldman Sachs has engineered every major market manipulation since the Great Depression – and they’re about to do it again
 

Depression Dynamic Ensues as Markets Revisit 1930s

The U.S. economy’s vital signs may not confirm a diagnosis of depression. The symptoms increasingly point to one.
As in the Great Depression, world trade is collapsing, wealth is evaporating and the banking system is broken. Deflation is a growing threat as companies slash production, pay and prices. And leaders worldwide are having difficulty making headway [...]

Mark Faber: Head for the Farm

He must have read Wealth, War and Wisdom
Head for the Farm
The best bet for investors may be to buy a farm and escape from the cities, as a prolonged recession could lead to war, as the Great Depression did, said the Swiss national, who now lives in Thailand.
“Buy a farm and let your girlfriend [...]

Mark Faber: Head for the Farm

He must have read Wealth, War and Wisdom
Head for the Farm
The best bet for investors may be to buy a farm and escape from the cities, as a prolonged recession could lead to war, as the Great Depression did, said the Swiss national, who now lives in Thailand.
“Buy a farm and let your girlfriend [...]

Mark Faber: Head for the Farm

He must have read Wealth, War and Wisdom
Head for the Farm
The best bet for investors may be to buy a farm and escape from the cities, as a prolonged recession could lead to war, as the Great Depression did, said the Swiss national, who now lives in Thailand.
“Buy a farm and let your girlfriend [...]

‘Black Swan’ Author Sees Trouble Exceeding 1930s

Watch the Video from Bloomberg Television
Source:  NY Times
The author of “The Black Swan,” Nassim Nicholas Taleb, predicts that the global financial crisis will be harder to end than the Great Depression and it may force the United States government to nationalize some banks.
The world has a much more complex financial system than in the 1930s, [...]

Soros sees no bottom for world financial collapse

Source: Reuters
Renowned investor George Soros said on Friday the world financial system has effectively disintegrated, adding that there is yet no prospect of a near-term resolution to the crisis.
Soros said the turbulence is actually more severe than during the Great Depression, comparing the current situation to the demise of the Soviet Union.
He said the bankruptcy [...]

‘This is the worst recession for over 100 years’

Source: The Independent
Britain is facing its worst financial crisis for more than a century, surpassing even the Great Depression of the 1930s, one of Gordon Brown’s most senior ministers and confidants has admitted.
In an extraordinary admission about the severity of the economic downturn, Ed Balls even predicted that its effects would still be felt 15 [...]

Gross Says U.S. Must Spend to Avoid Mini Depression

I suspect we are actually face to face with a Maxi…The Great Depression.
Source: Bloomberg
Bill Gross, co-chief investment officer of Pacific Investment Management Co., said the U.S. may slump into a “mini depression” unless policy makers spend trillions of dollars to spur growth.
“This economy needs support from the government, a check from the government in [...]

Gross Says U.S. Must Spend to Avoid Mini Depression

I suspect we are actually face to face with a Maxi…The Great Depression.
Source: Bloomberg
Bill Gross, co-chief investment officer of Pacific Investment Management Co., said the U.S. may slump into a “mini depression” unless policy makers spend trillions of dollars to spur growth.
“This economy needs support from the government, a check from the government in [...]

Out of Gaps In Treaties, First Salvos Of Trade War

Economic Nationalism…
Source: washingtonpost.com
In 1930, Congress fired the first shot in a protectionist battle that prolonged and deepened the Great Depression. After passing a bill aimed at saving American jobs by effectively barring 20,000 imported goods, including French dresses and Argentine butter, other nations retaliated by raising their own barriers on U.S. products, effectively bringing global [...]

Jobless claims surge and housing starts tumble

Source: Reuters
The number of U.S. workers lining up for state jobless benefits surged last week and home building slumped to a record low in December, data showed on Thursday, as the economy’s downward spiral accelerated.
The worst financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s is forcing companies to slash jobs, creating a vicious cycle [...]

US stocks suffer worst year since Great Depression

Source: FT.com
The worst annual performance for Wall Street stocks since the Great Depression ended with a modest rally on the final day of trading as the Federal Reserve pushed ahead with its plan to buy mortgage-backed securities.
The central bank’s plan to buy up to $500bn of mortgage bonds by the middle of 2009 helped [...]

S&P 500 in worst run since Great Depression

Source: FT.com
Stocks in the US are on course for their worst annual falls since the Great Depression when trading closes today, while in Asia some markets ended the year on Tuesday by notching up their worst performance since records began.
The S&P 500 has already fallen 39.3 per cent on the year, its worst run [...]

Home Prices Fall Near Depression Pace

Source: Bloomberg.com
Sales of single-family houses in the U.S. dropped in November by the most in two decades and resale prices collapsed at a pace reminiscent of the Great Depression, dashing speculation the market was close to a bottom.
Purchases of both new and existing houses dropped 7.6 percent from the prior month, the biggest decline [...]

Britain edges to recession, IMF warns of Great Depression

Source: The Raw Story
Britain edged ever closer to a recession on Tuesday and the IMF’s top economist warned of a second Great Depression, as stock markets awaited fresh US growth data in the hope of some Christmas cheer.
Britain’s economy shrank by 0.6 percent in the three months to September compared with the previous quarter, [...]

Bank of Spain chief: World faces “total” financial meltdown

Source: breitbart.com
The governor of the Bank of Spain on Sunday issued a bleak assessment of the economic crisis, warning that the world faced a “total” financial meltdown unseen since the Great Depression.
“The lack of confidence is total,” Miguel Angel Fernandez Ordonez said in an interview with Spain’s El Pais daily.
“The inter-bank (lending) market is [...]

World Bank warns of Great Depression II

Source: Hindustan Times
The world could go through its worst recession since the Great Depression as a massive financial crisis has slashed global investment and sharp drops in commodity prices severely hurt poor-country exports, the World Bank warned on Tuesday.
The global development bank slashed its previous estimates for global growth to 2.5 per cent in [...]

Treasury Bills Trade at Negative Rates

Source: Bloomberg.com
Treasuries rose, pushing rates on the three-month bill negative for the first time, as investors gravitate toward the safety of U.S. government debt amid the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.
The Treasury sold $27 billion of three-month bills yesterday at a discount rate of 0.005 percent, the lowest since it starting auctioning [...]

California Eyes IOUs for Second Time Since Depression

Source: Bloomberg.com
California, the world’s eighth-largest economy, may pay vendors with IOUs for only the second time since the Great Depression, State Finance Director Mike Genest said.
In a letter to legislative leaders Dec. 1, Genest said the state “will begin delaying payments or paying in registered warrants in March” unless an $11.2 billion deficit is [...]