"I don't think the report is true, but these crises work for those who want to make fights between people." Kulam Dastagir, 28, a bird seller in Afghanistan
Stuxnet admission likely to have foreign policy consequences | Ars Technica
Topic: Miscellaneous
8:30 am EDT, Jun 2, 2012
Hypponen and others speculated that this week’s leak was a calculated political move by Obama Administration officials to give information to the press regarding the Stuxnet program as a way to shore up political support and to project the president as taking on one of the US’s main adversaries.
Obama Ordered Wave of Cyberattacks Against Iran - NYTimes.com
Topic: Miscellaneous
12:58 pm EDT, Jun 1, 2012
From his first months in office, President Obama secretly ordered increasingly sophisticated attacks on the computer systems that run Iran’s main nuclear enrichment facilities, significantly expanding America’s first sustained use of cyberweapons, according to participants in the program.
Wow - its amazing to see confirmation of what everyone was suspecting.
Mary Meeker unveils KPCB's Internet trends for 2012 | Internet & Media - CNET News
Topic: Miscellaneous
10:55 am EDT, May 31, 2012
Speaking at the D10 Conference today, Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers (KPCB) partner Mary Meeker announced her company's latest report on Internet trends for 2012.
The Le Mans 24 Hours are a legend. They are mentioned in the same breath as the Rallye Monte Carlo, the Monaco Grand Prix and the Indianapolis 500. Since 1923, hundreds of thousands of motorsport enthusiasts have been flocking to La Sarthe year by year to experience the one-day race. To watch the protagonists in their sports cars battle for each place and each meter of tarmac with bated breath. The drivers cover 4,800 kilometers in 24 hours - almost as many as the Formula One racers in a whole year. Every Le Mans winner has gone down in history. The three Audi drivers Andr‚ Lotterer, BenoŒt Tr‚luyer and Marcel F„ssler did so in a special way with the triumph they achieved in 2011. The film TRUTH IN 24 II documents the tenth and arguably most emotional triumph of the brand with the four rings at this sports car classic. After two Audi R18 TDI cars have retired following spectacular accidents, the remaining Audi fights a dramatic battle for overall victory with the three Peugeot 908 cars ? which the Audi trio ultimately decides in its favor with a narrow margin of 13 seconds. The film captures the entire drama of the fourth-narrowest running of the Le Mans 24 Hours ? with intimate insights into the team of Audi Sport and breath-taking pictures.
Tucker & Dale vs Evil is a hilariously gory, good-spirited horror comedy, doing for killer rednecks what Shaun of the Dead did for zombies. Tucker and Dale are two best friends on vacation at their dilapidated mountain house, who are mistaken for murderous backwoods hillbillies by a group of obnoxious, preppy college kids. When one of the students gets separated from her friends, the boys try to lend a hand, but as the misunderstanding grows, so does the body count.
What Makes Countries Rich or Poor? by Jared Diamond | The New York Review of Books
Topic: Miscellaneous
3:52 pm EDT, May 26, 2012
Among the good economic institutions that motivate people to become productive are the protection of their private property rights, predictable enforcement of their contracts, opportunities to invest and retain control of their money, control of inflation, and open exchange of currency. For instance, people are motivated to work hard if they have opportunities to invest their earnings profitably, but not if they have few such opportunities or if their earnings or profits are likely to be confiscated.
My overall assessment of the authors’ argument is that inclusive institutions, while not the overwhelming determinant of prosperity that they claim, are an important factor. Perhaps they provide 50 percent of the explanation for national differences in prosperity. That’s enough to establish such institutions as one of the major forces in the modern world.
The Coming Derivatives Crisis That Could Destroy The Entire Global Financial System | ZeroHedge
Topic: Miscellaneous
8:16 am EDT, May 24, 2012
For many, alarm bells went off... when it was revealed that Bank of America has moved a big chunk of derivatives from its failing Merrill Lynch investment banking unit to its depository arm.
This means that the investment bank's European derivatives exposure is now backstopped by U.S. taxpayers.
Today, the notional value of all the derivatives held by Bank of America comes to approximately $75 trillion.
If you add up the value of every stock on the planet, the entire market capitalization would be about $36 trillion. If you do the same process for bonds, you’d get a market capitalization of roughly $72 trillion.
This occurred back in October - obviously pre gaming the Greek crisis. The intent, I guess, is to prevent a bank run in the event that BAC goes bankrupt because Merrill Lynch sold too many bets on European solvency.
The FDIC doesn't have 75 trillion dollars. Not even close. In the worst case scenario this could break the US dollar.
But, one can see that it might be stabilizing - in the event of a multi-billion dollar CDS event there would be no reason for depositors to run on the bank, and if they don't, BAC can probably cover that event with its own assets.
I guess we'll find out if Greece goes sideways and all the bets come due.
EXCLUSIVE: Here's The Inside Story Of What Happened On The Facebook IPO - Business Insider
Topic: Miscellaneous
10:33 pm EDT, May 23, 2012
The analysts cut their estimates because a Facebook executive who knew the business was weak told them to. Put differently, the company basically pre-announced that its second quarter would fall short of analysts' estimates. But it only told the underwriter analysts about this. The information about the estimate cut was then verbally conveyed to sophisticated institutional investors who were considering buying Facebook stock, but not to smaller investors.
If this allegation is correct, someone is going to prison.
Until our state can offer amendment questions straightforwardly, or at least provide a voter information website explaining the potential impacts, costs, and/or the legislative intent in common language that voters can more easily comprehend: When in doubt, just vote No.
