Dvorak News Blog

Police Shoot Intruder at Cartoonist’s Home

By Eideard Saturday January 2, 2010

Daylife/Reuters Pictures used by permission

Danish police have shot and wounded a man at the home of Kurt Westergaard, whose cartoon depicting the Prophet Muhammad sparked an international row…

Danish officials said the intruder was a 28-year-old Somali, who they did not name, but said was linked to the radical Islamist al-Shabab militia…

Police said the man had entered Mr Westergaard’s house armed with a knife and axe and had shouted in broken English that he wanted to kill him.

Mr Westergaard ran to a specially designed panic room where he raised the alarm.

Fritz Keldsen, deputy chief superintendent of Aarhus city police, told the BBC: “We got the alarm message from this address, yesterday evening. And we came in strong numbers.

“When we saw the suspect, he was moving away from the scene. Then he attacked the police patrol. He did that with such skill, that they had to shoot him.

I don’t think they shot him – enough!

The State of the GOP

By Jacob Galt Saturday January 2, 2010

39 Comments

These comments say enough. By pundit Cliff May and former VP Cheney:

Step (1): Return all Gitmo detainees to Yemen.

Step (2): Use Predator missiles to strike the baggage-claim area 20 minutes after they arrive.

As I’ve watched the events of the last few days it is clear once again that President Obama is trying to pretend we are not at war. He seems to think if he has a low key response to an attempt to blow up an airliner and kill hundreds of people, we won’t be at war. He seems to think if he gives terrorists the rights of Americans, lets them lawyer up and reads them their Miranda rights, we won’t be at war. He seems to think if we bring the mastermind of 9/11 to New York, give him a lawyer and trial in civilian court, we won’t be at war.

Yeah, let’s torture (or kill, as May says) all the arrested suspects. Isn’t that what Hitler did?

And sure, Obama is pretending we’re not at war — that’s why he escalated both wars and has authorized multiple attacks in Pakistan.

And while this is happening, the House passes a bill that guarantees $4 trillions to the big banks. The GOP, supposedly being “conservative”, should be talking about it. But that’s not its message.

Its message is “ooh, he took 3 takes to answer”. The worst part is that their adored leader Bush took 6 days to answer the shoebomber incident.

Hydrogen Cars Worse Than Gas Powered Cars For The Environment

By Uncle Dave Saturday January 2, 2010

37 Comments

A new study might put another road block in front of the prospect of a near term commercial hydrogen vehicle release, while giving the plug-in vehicle movement a nice boost. The study was authored by Ryan McCarthy at the University of California, Davis and published in the Journal of Power Sources. The ground-breaking study, entitled “Determining marginal electricity for near-term plug-in and fuel cell vehicle demands in California: Impacts on vehicle greenhouse gas emissions”, examines the emissions impact of hydrogen and plug-in vehicles versus their gas counterparts.

Lowering carbon emissions to fight warming, along with high fuel prices and global-political instability, has been a key driving factor for the adoption of hybrids and alternative fuels. The new study, though, judged hydrogen vehicles to be an utter failure at that objective, in their current state. The study concluded, “All of the pathways except for [fuel cell vehicles] using hydrogen from electrolysis reduce [greenhouse gas] emissions compared to ICEs and [hybrid electric vehicles].”

It doesn’t dissuade further research into hydrogen vehicles; it simply indicates they are unlikely to be ready for showtime anytime soon.

Ah, To Be A Chinese Banker These Days…

By Uncle Dave Saturday January 2, 2010

7 Comments

Imagine working at a job where you are told to slow down, you’re doing too well.

Over the first nine months of 2009, new lending by Chinese banks has injected $1.3 trillion into the world economy, according to statistics from the People’s Bank of China, which functions as China’s central bank. The beneficiaries have included U.S.-based Southwest Airlines, the Netherlands’ Aercap airplane leasing company, Civil Aviation Authority in Dubai, and Foster’s brewery and Woolworths supermarket chain in Australia.

China’s banks have been signing so many new loan contracts so quickly that the country’s banking regulatory commission recently warned them to avoid the “blind” pursuit of size lest they run into the same troubles as their Western counterparts.

The bulk of loans from Chinese banks are staying in the country, and the central bank has not released an official breakdown between foreign and domestic loans. But bank analysts who have reviewed the public data estimate that the amount going to overseas companies has doubled in the past year to represent roughly 11 percent of all new loans, a shift that would appear to reflect an effort by China to diversify its holdings beyond U.S. Treasurys.

On Sale On Amazon.com For A Mere $3 Billion

By Uncle Dave Saturday January 2, 2010

3 Comments

Something isn’t right, here. $3.99 for shipping? He should be eligible for the free, Super Saver Shipping since the price is over $25.

A man in the U.S. has ‘bought’ an item on Amazon with a price tag of nearly three billion dollars – just to see what would happen.

Brian Klug spotted the copy of the Discovery Channel’s ‘Cells’ CD-ROM for sale at $2,904,980,000 (£1,800,979,540). Out of sheer curiosity, convinced the price tag was a mistake, he put in his credit card details to buy it and stepped back to see what would happen next.

First off, Mr Klug from San Mateo, California, was charged $3.99 for posting and handling. […] Mr Klug had Amazon’s Visa three per cent rewards card, thus entitling him to roughly $87million in rewards.
[…]
In possible anticipation of such instances the Amazon website does state: ‘Despite our best efforts, a small number of the items in our catalogue may be mispriced.

More on the carbon trading fraud

By Jacob Galt Friday January 1, 2010

18 Comments

The Telegraph exposes the carbon trading fraud:

But outnumbering these familiar names, hundreds of UK companies selling anything from hair loss treatments to electronics have mysteriously registered to buy and sell carbon permits in the Scandinavian nation – mostly in the last 18 months.

While many are bound to be genuine individual private traders playing the carbon markets, investigators are examining the possibility that some of these unknown UK-based companies have used the system to commit “carousel” fraud linked to VAT.

According to sources, the Danish registry may be at the heart of Europe’s problems with carbon trading fraud. Local media has repeatedly raised the fact that few, if any, checks are done on new traders and approval can be much quicker than in other countries.

Read the entire article at the Telegraph.

Alex Jones Interviews a Passenger from the Crotch Bomber Flight

By Jacob Galt Friday January 1, 2010

17 Comments

Here are parts two and three.

Number One Censored Story of 2009 — Death Toll in Iraq

By John C Dvorak Friday January 1, 2010

34 Comments

“The ghoul can’t help it. She just can’t help it.” — Little Richard

Number One Suppressed Story of 2009 — Hey wait, wasn’t Obama supposed to end this war right away. “You can take it to the bank?”

Over one million Iraqis have met violent deaths as a result of the 2003 invasion, according to a study conducted by the prestigious British polling group, Opinion Research Business (ORB). These numbers suggest that the invasion and occupation of Iraq rivals the mass killings of the last century—the human toll exceeds the 800,000 to 900,000 believed killed in the Rwandan genocide in 1994, and is approaching the number (1.7 million) who died in Cambodia’s infamous “Killing Fields” during the Khmer Rouge era of the 1970s.

ORB’s research covered fifteen of Iraq’s eighteen provinces. Those not covered include two of Iraq’s more volatile regions—Kerbala and Anbar—and the northern province of Arbil, where local authorities refused them a permit to work. In face-to-face interviews with 2,414 adults, the poll found that more than one in five respondents had had at least one death in their household as a result of the conflict, as opposed to natural cause.

We’re number one! Let the International trials begin!

2010 — End of a Crappy Decade

By John C Dvorak Friday January 1, 2010

63 Comments

Judge Tosses Blackwater Case

By Uncle Dave Friday January 1, 2010

20 Comments

Mishandled by the government on purpose to get their buddies at Blackwater off? Ha! Things like that don’t happen outside the movies. That’s crazy talk!

A federal judge has dismissed criminal charges against five guards working for the security firm Blackwater who were accused of killing 17 unarmed Iraqi civilians. The killings strained US-Iraq relations and sparked an outcry over the military’s use of private contractors.

Judge Ricardo Urbina said US Justice Department prosecutors improperly built their case on sworn statements that had been given under a promise of immunity. The judge did not rule on the substance of the charges against the security guards. As government contractors, the Blackwater employees were required to speak to an investigator after a shooting.

Judge Urbina said the use of these statements violated the defendants’ rights against compelled self-incrimination.
[…]
A Democratic congresswoman, Jan Schakowsky, who has in the past sponsored legislation that would prohibit the hire of private military contractors, said she was dismayed by the news. ”A question I’ve been asking for a long time is, ‘Can these private military contractors actually get away with murder?’ This indicates that the answer is yes.”

The news of the dismissal prompted warnings in Bagdad that it could further damage US-Iraq relations.

U.S. killed 415 Pakistanis in 2009

By Jacob Galt Thursday December 31, 2009

29 Comments

A missile fired by a pilotless U.S. drone aircraft on Friday killed at least three militants traveling in a car in Pakistan’s North Waziristan region on the Afghan border, security officials said.

The United States carried out at least 50 drone air strikes in northwestern border regions in 2009, killing about 415 people, including many foreign militants, according to tally reports from Pakistani officials and residents.

Whole-body scanners can’t detect hidden explosives, so why have them anyway?

By Jacob Galt Thursday December 31, 2009

36 Comments

The Consumer Traveler reports:

In fact, these new machines have already been rendered obsolete by terrorists who are packing explosives up their anus. Don’t laugh. This technique has already been tested with lethal effect in the assassination a Saudi prince. The whole-body scanners can not detect that kind of hidden explosive. I only worry about TSA’s coming anus-scanning system. I’m sure it is in the works.

So, the scanners are only to increase the control of the State, pay off the big corporations that make the machines, and of course, for the airport guys to have some fun seeing you naked.

Oh, and the solution for stop being attacked is simple: (1), stop bombing the sh** out of the Middle East, and (2), let the airlines do the security.

Simple, huh?

Flight 253 Passenger Says We Are Being Lied To About The Crotch Bomber Incident

By Uncle Dave Thursday December 31, 2009

32 Comments

You need to read the entire article to find out how things we are being told by the government are not what they seem. Confusion at the beginning is one thing, but this has been going on for days. Who are they trying to protect? This is just a small quote from passenger Kurt Haskell about what happened right after they landed:

We were then marched out of the baggage claim area and into a long hallway.

Lori and Kurt Haskell

This entire time period and until we left customs, no person that wasn’t a law enforcement personnel or a passenger on our flight was allowed anywhere on our floor of the terminal (or possibly the entire terminal) The FBI was so concerned during this time, that we were not allowed to use the bathroom unless we went alone with an FBI agent, we were not allowed to eat or drink, or text or call anyone. I have been repeating this same story over the last 5 days. The FBI has, since we landed, insisted that only one man was arrested for the airliner attack (contradicting my account). However, several of my fellow passengers have come over the past few days, backed up my claim, and put pressure on FBI/Customs to tell the truth. Early today, I heard from two different reporters that a federal agency (FBI or Customs) was now admitting that another man has been held (and will be held indefinitely) since our flight landed for “immigration reasons.” Notice that this man was “being held” and not “arrested”, which was a cute semantic ploy by the FBI to stretch the truth and not lie.