CIA + LSD + France = Mal Jour

“So there were drugs in the food!”

In 1951, a quiet, picturesque village in southern France was suddenly and mysteriously struck down with mass insanity and hallucinations. At least five people died, dozens were interned in asylums and hundreds afflicted.

For decades it was assumed that the local bread had been unwittingly poisoned with a psychedelic mould. Now, however, an American investigative journalist has uncovered evidence suggesting the CIA peppered local food with the hallucinogenic drug LSD as part of a mind control experiment at the height of the Cold War.

via French bread spiked with LSD in CIA experiment – Telegraph.

Dude, Where’s My 401(k)?

If you’re wondering where your retirement money went, we’ve found a few clues.

Indeed, last year’s wealth wasteland has become a billionaire bonanza. Most of the richest people on the planet have seen their fortunes soar in the past year.

And so, it appears, that this latest stampede/transfer of wealth is almost complete.

via worlds-billionaires-2010: Personal Finance News from Yahoo! Finance.

Icelanders Decline Debt Slavery

This is bad news for Greece and Ireland. And it may monkey with currency markets.

Voters in Iceland have overwhelmingly rejected proposals to pay the UK and the Netherlands in the wake of collapse of the Icesave bank.

With a third of results counted, 93% of voters said “No” in a referendum.

The British and Dutch governments want reimbursement for the 3.8bn euros (£3.4bn; $5.2bn) they paid out in compensation to customers in 2008.

via BBC News – Iceland rejects plan to repay Icesave debts.

Mofo to Tax You Mo, Fo Sho

This plan is nothing new: increase the tax rate on the income of middle class in order to shave a small amount off for the rich.

Economically, that’s like turning on all the accessories when you’re trying to start an old car on a cold day.

Rep. Paul Ryan’s tax and spending “roadmap” is a fascinating critter: conservatives all praise it to the skies but none of them want to actually commit to supporting it. The reason for their hesitation is obvious: Ryan’s plan would cut spending dramatically, and supporting it would mean having to explain what, exactly, they’d cut. That would be electoral suicide and they know it. They much prefer their usual game of loudly denouncing “spending” without ever having to say what spending they’re actually opposed to.

via Paul Ryan’s Plan to Tax You More | Mother Jones.