Global market turmoil hints that U.S. recovery may founder | McClatchy
Awww, man.
Conflicting U.S. jobs data and mounting concerns about debt defaults abroad that threaten global economic growth triggered a worldwide wave of stock-market volatility Friday amid fears that the improving U.S. economy could unravel.
A mixed jobs report from the Labor Department, including a revision that showed that 2009 job losses were far greater than thought, called into question the strength of the U.S. recovery.
via Global market turmoil hints that U.S. recovery may founder | McClatchy.
British warn drug users of Anthrax-laced heroin | Raw Story
British authorities today warned drug users that heroin in London was highly likely to be contaminated with anthrax, after a first confirmed case there and following nine deaths in Scotland.
via British warn drug users of Anthrax-laced heroin | Raw Story.
North Korea’s Secret Infrastructure
I've been spending 10+ hours / a day at work and unpacking from my move, so the posts have been few and far between this week. I hope to pick it up next week.
Check out this great article: Infrastructurist, one of the best blogs on the net IMO, did a story on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, one of the most fascinating subjects around.
Last year, two Austrian tourists managed to enter North Korea by train at a border crossing that has been closed to foreigners since 1994. Lucky for us, they took lots of pictures. Below are a few samples from their extensive documentation of their trip (see the full visual and narrative account here, here and here). They also hit Pyongyang–a city 3 million people that does see a bit of tourist traffic–and took some special photographic interest to the city’s infrastructure, especially trams.
Pyongyang boasts a subway system buried deeper underground than any other on earth; this is done so that the system might better survive a blast from atomic weaponry. It might also serve as a makeshift bomb shelter. There are rumours that the public transit system also connects to a much larger non-public underground rail system extending well beyond the city's surface infrastructure.
It reminds me of the PRC's subterranean submarine base on Hainan Island. Don't miss photos of that base on the FAS website. And let's not forget the tunnels dug by the Viet Cong. Apparently, Mao liked to dig.
via Gallery: North Korea’s Secret Infrastructure » INFRASTRUCTURIST.
Yay TSA! Man Sneaks Hostage Past Security, Forces Her Onto Flight to Philippines
According to local Hemet, CA police, Gregory R. Denny arrived at the doorstep of a local woman, "arrested" her, and drove her to a local border patrol station asking them to take her into custody.
How To Hide An Airplane Factory
During World War II the Army Corps of Engineers needed to hide the Lockheed Burbank Aircraft Plant to protect it from a Japanese air attack. They covered it with camouflage netting and trompe l’oeil to make it look like a rural subdivision from the air.
Corporation Says It Will Run for Congress – Economix Blog – NYTimes.com
With more than a twinge of irony, Murray Hill Incorporated, a liberal public relations firm, recently announced that it planned to run in the Republican primary in Maryland’s 8th Congressional District.
via Corporation Says It Will Run for Congress - Economix Blog - NYTimes.com.
Department of Justice Absolves Authors of Torture Memorandums
The magazine Newsweek revealed that shortly the Department of Justice will submit a report which absolves the lawyers John Yoo and Jay Bybee, officials of George W. Bush's previous government, of the accusation of lack of professional ethics by editing memorandums which justified the technique of waterboarding and other forms of torture.
via Department of Justice Absolves Authors of Torture Memorandums.
AFP: Violence in N.Korea as hunger woes mount: reports
Angry North Koreans have attacked security agents as hunger woes mount following a crackdown on free-market trade, according to reports on Tuesday from groups in Seoul with contacts in the communist state.
The Sad and Strange Story of the Jumbolair Car Crash
This story is tragic. And its setting's circumstances are bizarre.
All around the country there are numerous private communities that are built around a central airplane runway. One of the largest of these is Jumbolair. Jumbolair is located in an unincorporated area northeast of Ocala, Florida.
The airport around which the community is built is known as Greystone. Its main runway is 7,200 feet in length -- long enough to accommodate a Boeing 747. The community claims at least one famous resident: John Travolta owns one of the properties adjacent to the runway.
Two years ago a group of teens snuck onto the property at night. One of them had driven his father's BMW M5 sedan onto the runway to see how fast he could reach, using the runway as a closed track. He lost control near the end of the runway and crashed the car, killing himself and all four of his passengers in the process.
The 18-year-old behind the wheel of a BMW that crashed this weekend, killing five Florida teens, was reportedly online hours earlier seeking advice on how to handle the $80,000 car at speeds of 140 mph and above.
