“The central banks are … planning drastic restrictions on cash itself. They see moving to electronic money will first eliminate the underground economy, but secondly, they believe it will even prevent a banking crisis.This idea of eliminating cash was first floated as the normal trial balloon to see how the people take it. It was first launched by Kenneth Rogoff …
Big Oil Uses Toxic Chemicals to Clean Up Spills | Mother Jones
Five years ago this week, the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded, killing 11 workers and setting off the worst oil spill in US history. The images are unforgettable: The Gulf of Mexico on fire. Pelicans emerging from the water entirely covered in thick, black oil. Planes flying overhead, spraying more than a million gallons of an oil-dispersing chemical called Corexit …
Night Lights – ArtIsInFormation Music and Film
Music and Film by ArtIsInFormation (b.dwall) Fire Craft by S. Sunderland. 42.5 Nocticron | f/1.2
The Robotic Monkey Brains of the Future
As much as I love the forum of ideas and sharing that such conferences as TED and D11 portray, there have been a few pretty compellingly creepy presentations. From microchipping rebellious youths with tattoos, creating cyborgs, nanobots operating human consciousness, to the innovation of hummingbird drones, there is a dizzying spectrum of technological activity apace. Miguel Nicolelis, a neuroscientist carrying out experiments on monkeys with the enthusiasm/morals of a child, …
Don’t Miss the Forest for the Trees
Or in this case, the little dots from the barrel of a gun. Just because you don’t see it, doesn’t mean it’s not there. And just because you’re paranoid, doesn’t mean they aren’t after you. I heard that somewhere in a Catch-22.
How to Sell a Robot
These “get used to the robots” messages have been hitting the big corporate media outlets lately. Like the featured video with Marco Tempest, a self-described Virtual Magician and Techno-illusionist. Using The Art of Deception to Sell Robots is ______… fill in the blank! Here is article from Wired where Eric Schmidt tells us not to fear the AI… contrary to the recent statements from Elon Musk …
Does H.R. 4681 Tacitly Authorize Bulk Collection of US Persons?
H.R. Bill 4681 is on its way to be signed by Obama, and contains a late addition provision (309) that may for the first time tacitly authorize the bulk collection and retention of all private communications of US persons. If you already know what I am talking about, you can skip right to the petition. Whitehouse.gov Petition: https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/protect-our-privacy-and-please-veto-hr-4681-aka-intelligence-authorization-act-fiscal-year-2015/lln5hN5c “The Intelligence Authorization …
Opening the File on Oppenheimer
Secrets don’t last forever, especially when so much history is ensconced on ledgers meticulously recorded by dedicated court scribes. After being lost for some number of years, the unabridged version of the Oppenheimer hearing can now be viewed in all it’s uncensored glory. Although this story is over a half century long at this point, there is much to be learned from that one time the U.S. …
Time for an Upgrade
Pia Mancini: How to upgrade democracy for the Internet era – YouTube. In case anyone watches the featured video and wonders, “yes… but what are the actual mechanisms that allow individuals to organize and make sound decisions regarding diverse ecosystems, while also managing critical resources for human survival?” That is a great question! There are indeed some very compelling examples and …
Attention Bloggers!
A message from Robert D. Steele, the Open Source Everything guy. While this particular video has been around, it merits serious consideration and thoughtful debate. Are bloggers the heralds and Paul Revere’s of a new information paradigm? Can citizen journalism help defend the public good? What is the true purpose of rule by secrecy? The comptroller general has told Congress the United …
Speleo-Perspective… Do You Have It?
It’s hard to tell by just looking at them, but Speleothems are these amazing, continuous records of seasonal change that allow us to peer back into past climates for particular localities over thousands, sometimes tens of thousands, of years. A speleothem is simply a calcite deposit formed from dripping water that is built up in layers over time. This information …
Ebola in Texas
“If they’re not lying, they are grossly incompetent,” – AJC Ebola Shows Up in Texas – HuffPost Dallas Dubbed “Ground-Zero” – NYT But Are Schools Safe? – DallasNews (don’t expect an answer) Charts, Maps, and Photos – Vox 2014 Outbreak Graphic – CDC History of Ebola – Wiki Symptoms
Kochtopus: Legitimate Oilgarchy or Vampire Squid?
A “Toxic Empire” – RollingStone vs. This is Not News Worthy Information – Koch $83.8 BIllion – Forbes
Inside the Banks
Secret Recordings by Carmen Segarra – This American Life Accredited Investors – HuffPost Saying No to the Fed – Bloomberg “Within three weeks on the job, I saw the capture set in,” – ProPublica -Featured image by Anthony Freda