"We're very confident that we have the capital base now that we need to go forward in 2008." January 18, 2008.

"...Today I can say that we will not need additional funds. These problems are behind us. We will not return to the market." March 8, 2008

"We have more capital than we need, so we can say to the market that we don't need more injections. We can confirm that we have tackled the problem." March 16, 2008

Regrettable Comments by Bank CEOs - Portfolio.com

The researchers found that rising home prices up to 2003 could be explained by economic fundamentals, such as low unemployment rates, expanding household incomes and population growth. These factors fueled housing demand and, in turn, increased U.S. home prices. During this time, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac actively issued and purchased conventional, conforming mortgage-backed securities.

But in 2003, political, regulatory and economic factors – including accounting irregularities that led to their senior officers’ resignations and the capping of their retained loan portfolios – forced the two entities to significantly slow their lending volume. Private funding in the form of asset-backed securities and residential mortgage-backed securities replaced conventional, conforming mortgage-backed securities as the prevalent source of mortgage capital.

The new credit environment allowed looser underwriting standards and increased tolerance for riskier, high-yield loan products. Such products included adjustable-rate mortgages with low initial “teaser” rates, Alt-A loans that did not require income verification and nonowner-occupied investor products. This borrowing climate provided previously marginal borrowers with additional access to credit.

Subprime lending not main trigger of real estate bubble

“Unfortunately, supporting our product is no longer possible. We apologize for any inconvenience, but business is business since the amount of time spent on this project does not justify itself.

We tried hard to satisfy our clients’ needs during the last few months, but the support had to end at some point. We were 1.5 years with you and hope that this was a good time for your business.

Now we will not be with you, but nevertheless we wish that your businesses will prosper for a long time! Good luck all, The Neosploit Team!”

"We're legitimate business men!"

Neosploit exploit kit shutters operations? | Zero Day | ZDNet.com

He isn't running on a "one man, one robot" policy yet but he is running.
Rufus For Mayor

Rufus For Mayor

I HATE the use of the word "neocon" in the title of this article as it attempts to contort these issues through the prism of American politics with a connection that is tenuous at best. However, the essay represents a significant truth - totalitarian states have supporters. I've encountered young Chinese nationalists, too.

Nicholas Negroponte, the founder of M.I.T.’s Media Laboratory and one of the early ideologists of the Internet, once predicted that the global reach of the Web would transform the way we think about ourselves as countries. The state, he predicted, will evaporate “like a mothball, which goes from solid to gas directly,” and “there will be no more room for nationalism than there is for smallpox.” In China, things have gone differently.

I think things have gone differently in America. The Internet has brought massive domestic political polarization by enabling echo chambers and eliminating former barriers that kept the ideas of kooks to niche circles. The Internet is more free but the people have yet to learn what attitude is required to handle it. And in the broader world, the end of the Cold War puts America in a position where "critical thinking" is automatically equated with disdain for what America represents. We're "the man" and our present misadventures in due process, checks, and balances are no help. This is sending gobs of young people into the welcoming arms of various totalitarian ideologies. Behold the Orwellian rationalizations of 21st century fascism:

“Because we are in such a system, we are always asking ourselves whether we are brainwashed,” he said. “We are always eager to get other information from different channels.” Then he added, “But when you are in a so-called free system you never think about whether you are brainwashed.”

Our minds are free because we live in a system of thought control! Its the thought control that enables us to think freely!

“Do you live on democracy?” he asked me. “You eat bread, you drink coffee. All of these are not brought by democracy. Indian guys have democracy, and some African countries have democracy, but they can’t feed their own people.

“Chinese people have begun to think, One part is the good life, another part is democracy,” Liu went on. “If democracy can really give you the good life, that’s good. But, without democracy, if we can still have the good life why should we choose democracy?”

Because if its not democracy, then you didn't choose it, of course, but more importantly, because this attitude is immoral. I really think this statement translates to "We're willing to support leaders who commit atrocities in our name because we think they are going to cut us in on the spoils." Thats deeply evil.

Letter from China: Angry Youth: Reporting & Essays: The New Yorker

When the British sought to expand their hold on Hong Kong in 1898, with a 99-year lease covering the whole of Kowloon Peninsula and all the nearby islands, most of Kowloon City was subsumed under the new jurisdiction. Under the terms of the lease, however, it was agreed that the small, walled magistrates' fort to the north of the town would remain Chinese territory until the new colonial administration had been properly established and all the details of land ownership, held within the fort, had been transferred.

The situation was never resolved, and for the next 90 years of British rule the City remained an anomaly: within British domain, yet outside British control. The Chinese officials left for good in 1899, but whenever the colonial authorities tried to impose their will, the remaining residents threatened to turn the attempt into a diplomatic incident...

And so, the Walled City became that rarest of things, a working model of an anarchist society. Inevitably, it bred all the vices. Crime flourished and the Triads made the place their stronghold, operating brothels and opium 'divans' and gambling dens. Undoubtedly, these few (and it always was a small proportion) kept the majority of residents in a state of fear and subjection, which is why for many years outsiders trying to penetrate were given the coldest of shoulders.

GSAPP: Kowloon Walled City

As no repairs have been carried out for 34 years, all of the buildings are slowly falling apart. Nature is reclaiming the area, as metal corrodes, windows break, and plants work their roots into the walls and pavements.

10 Most Amazing Ghost Towns

U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Office of International Trade announced today that the domestic value of counterfeit and pirated products seized by CBP and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement increased by 2.7 percent in mid-fiscal year 2008 to $113.2 million compared to $110.1 million in mid-FY 2007.

The number of large-scale seizures also increased: rising from 296 IPR seizures with a domestic value equal to or greater than $100,000 in 2008 compared to 266 such seizures in mid-FY 2007. The first half of the fiscal year extends from Oct. 1 to March 28.

If you are looking for the general financial motivation for our customs search policies...

CBP Releases Intellectual Property Rights Seizure Statistics for Mid-FY2008

Seems that the city of St. Louis, like many cities, allows the police to confiscate the cars of people suspected (but not necessarily convicted) of certain crimes. They have a contract with a city towing firm, and said firm was allowing police officers and their families to "rent" confiscated cars free of charge, sometimes for months on end. Officers and their families could also sometimes purchase the confiscated cars at a fraction of the cars' value.

At the same time that this kind of thing is going on this city gets rated one of the most dangerous in the US.

Reason Magazine - Hit & Run - St. Louis Cops Turn Forfeiture Policy Into Free Car Rental Service

Customs and Border Patrol at the Department of Homeland Security was just given the green light to search and seize laptops at the border, without probable cause, by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. They can deny entry to anyone who refuses to give up their laptops and password. This is an affront to our progressive values of privacy and protection from unwarranted search and seizure.

This is the CAP Action Campaign I mentioned during my talk at the Last HOPE. You can use this form to request that Customs perform a privacy impact assessment on the practice.

I Am Progress - Hands Off My Laptop