MetaFilter posts tagged with tinfoilhat

Once, sure. Twice, Maybe. Three? Four!?!

Dillonlikescookies — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 17:51:56 -0800

Much of the Middle East has been without reliable internet access recently due to the somewhat suspicious cutting of four seperate underwater cables, in seperate locations, within a few days of each other. The problem has been alleviated by re-routing of traffic until ships can reach the cables to repair them, a process which may take several weeks. The problem was initially believed to be caused by anchors of passing ships, but that has since been retracted and deals have already been signed by several companies for new cables. Without knowledge of the complex infrastructure we can’t really ascertain how unlikely four separate cables having near simultaneous problems is – but many are treating it as suspicious considering recent news. Personally, I think things may have been blown out of proportion by the limited information we have, although it was believed that Iran had been isolated by a single disabled router this is plain untrue and given the redundancies inherent in internet infrastructure it would be difficult if not impossible to fully cut off a country, but that is not to understate the consequences of these problems. On a related note, Iran has recently announced plans to move to trade oil with the Euro rather than the US dollar, which will cause further devaluing of the greenback. Saddam Hussein was in the process of doing the same before the US invasion, a decision reversed by the occupying force. Some are interpreting this as signs of an “info war” and while I don’t subscribe to the analysis, I find it interesting to consider the idea that in an age where increasingly large amounts of money can be attributed to companies based on estimated worth of intangible assets such as human networks and brand identities, the idea that you have to physically invade a country to do it economic damage is becoming outdated. There has been a documented shift towards “proxy war and if one agrees on the existence of this trend then more abstract forms of conflict between powers seem to be a likely follow up. If you do buy into the “information war” analysis there is ample fodder in the media, but more interestingly rumours of a theoretical invasion plan hint at a sophisticated attack not necessarily limited to military action. Indeed, Several large governments, such as the US, are spending increasing amounts of their military budget on more abstract forms of warfare (pdf) Again, although I don’t subscribe to this view, I find it interesting to consider as a growing trend a shift from conventional war to proxy war to purely economic warfare as engaging in open hostilities with any country becomes increasingly risky from a game theory point of view. See Also.

To no one will we sell, to none will we deny or delay, right or justice.

butterstick — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 11:36:58 -0800

Ross Perot auctions Magna Carta. Winner: The Carlyle Group Lead up to the auction in September at this thread.

Like a Boot to the Head

ooga_booga — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 12:37:48 -0800

That which cures all (mental) ills. Andy Kadir-Buxton claims to have found a simple cure-all for mental illness, namely boxing someone in the ears. He also claims to have a cure for infertility in women and a solution to the energy crisis/global warming.

Once upon a time almost everyone was a biogenic robot.

goodnewsfortheinsane — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 15:42:35 -0800

Trevorsoft just might be the new Time Cube. Trevor helped make Windows 3.1 and XP Home. Now he wants his money back and he is angry. So create a society, change the weather, become a soldier, nominate someone, or just get $25. Oh and remember: planet Venus is a good place to visit and live.

But who wants to do math? Math is hard. Scaring ignorant people is easy.

Artw — Fri, 25 May 2007 12:04:09 -0800

Wi-fi Routers: Silent blinking death. Via badscience.net, where it was posted in response to what sounds like a truly awful show. Electrosensitivity previously discussed here.

The latest in tinfoil hat fashion.

scblackman — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 12:29:28 -0800

"Is Wi-Fi going to turn out to be the tobacco, asbestos or Thalidomide of the 21st century? It's looking that way." Woman choses to live in a Faraday cage to ameliorate the symptoms caused by electrosmog. It's funny that she looks so much like a beekeeper in her fancy hat, given the recent kerfuffle (from another UK paper) about mobile phones wiping out the bees. Coming soon: faraday undies. [via]

More than Moore's

HyperBlue — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 11:43:34 -0800

Shift happens. Thought-provoking, powerpoint-ish, reference-free, Friday Fun.

You will probably not get abducted by aliens if you wear this hat

Mister_A — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 20:26:16 -0800

I am so tired of being abducted by aliens. Only two people have been abducted while using this new anti-alien abduction technology. Only two!

UK UFO Files Released by Ministry of Defence

dogsbody — Mon, 29 May 2006 02:28:00 -0800

The UK has released the secret UFO files held by the Ministry of Defence under the Freedom of Information Act.

Their conclusion: Unidentified Aerial Phenomena exist but should no longer be monitored.

US UFO files here and Russian spottings discussed here

Time to break out the foil hats!

Houston Loves You

I Love Tacos — Sat, 18 Feb 2006 02:08:45 -0800

NewsFilter: I know a lot of people are concerned about Big Brother, but my response to that is, if you are not doing anything wrong, why should you worry about it?