Just what are those Greek austerity measures?

Interesting breakdown of what life on the ground is like in Greece. Although it doesn't go into personal income tax rates.

https://aleksandreia.wordpress.com/2011/06/23/just-what-are-those-greek-austerity-measures/

Greece - D Day

From Graham Summer's Market Forecast:

However, the facts remain the same. The world is awash in garbage debt. The only reason the banks and others haven’t taken the “hit” that they NEED to take is because they’ve bought out the politicians. Put another way, we are seeing clearly that the two primary principles of the West (capitalism and democracy) have both become jokes: alleged “capitalists” like the banks don’t ever actually see losses for mistakes and “democratically elected” leaders are in fact owned outright by the banks via donations/ bribes.

Another great Adam Curtis piece

Syria: The baby and the Baath water


http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/adamcurtis/2011/06/the_baby_and_the_baath_water.html

Another week in Libya...

Another £40 million...

Military chiefs have acknowledged that the air campaign would last six months. At this rate, the Ministry of Defence's own estimates will put the cost of war at about £400m, but the expert view is that the figure will top £1bn by September.

potential dangers of electromagnetic fields and their effect on the environment

From Council of Europe draft report on the potential dangers of electromagnetic fields and their effect on the environment. As they say, it 'sounds like a plan'... I wonder what the final report will read like?

8.2.1. set preventive thresholds for levels of long-term exposure to microwaves in all indoor areas, in accordance with the precautionary principle, not exceeding 0.6 volts per metre, and in the medium term to reduce it to 0.2 volts per metre;

8.2.2. undertake appropriate risk-assessment procedures for all new types of device prior to licensing;

8.2.3. introduce clear labelling indicating the presence of microwaves or electromagnetic fields, the transmitting power or the specific absorption rate (SAR) of the device and any health risks connected with its use;

8.2.4. raise awareness on potential health risks of DECT-type wireless telephones, baby monitors and other domestic appliances which emit continuous pulse waves, if all electrical equipment is left permanently on standby, and recommend the use of wired, fixed telephones at home or, failing that, models which do not permanently emit pulse waves;

8.3. concerning the protection of children:

8.3.1. develop within different ministries (education, environment and health) targeted information campaigns aimed at teachers, parents and children to alert them to the specific risks of early, ill-considered and prolonged use of mobiles and other devices emitting microwaves;

8.3.2. ban all mobile phones, DECT phones or WiFi or WLAN systems from classrooms and schools, as advocated by some regional authorities, medical associations and civil society organisations;

Bin Laden oddities

Amar al Sadah, the mysterious fifth wife of Bin Laden is still being interrogated in Pakistan. I'm very interested to hear what she says. The latest speculation is that she tipped off the US about where Bin laden and his two other wives and children were hiding. Or, alternatively

The joke doing the rounds in Pakistan is that Bin laden gave himself away to the Americans as he found his life with three wives and many children too hot to handle

Also

On 13 May, the Times of India reported that Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has said the claim that Al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden had been hiding in the Abbottabad compound for the past six years "is not authentic."

Source:
http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2011-05-13/news/29539863_1_al-sadah-abbottabad-compound-bin-laden

You'd think the Seal team would take a wife or three to get humint from. Anyway, the whole marriage arrangement sounds very bizarre:

International Channel Watch News says her marriage to Bin Laden was arranged by a prominent Al Qaeda leader in Yemen called Sheikh Mohammed Rashed Saeed Ismail.

The task of convincing the parents of Amal that Bin Laden was a suitable bridegroom lay on Ismail too. He told the parents that Bin Laden was looking for a wife and that the bridegroom was "famous and known for his piousness, humbleness, religion, strong belief, generosity and goodness. I told them that he would be a good husband for your daughter.”

Source: http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/142095/20110506/bin-laden-wife-amal-al-sadah-fifth-5th-afghanistan-yemen-9-11.htm

Granted this was just before 911, but what an interesting person this Sheikh Ismail sounds. A quick search turns up not very much on him. Will he disappear back into the shadows?

Illuminating documentary on assassinated Egyptian President Sadat

From Adam Curtis's BBC blog:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/adamcurtis/2011/02/sadats_dat.html#comments