Archive for the 'Elite' Category
HSBC Could Be Facing More than $1.5 Billion in Money Laundering Fines
November 5th, 2012Via: Reuters: A U.S. fine for anti-money laundering rule breaches could cost HSBC significantly more than $1.5 billion and is likely to lead to criminal charges, Europe’s biggest bank said on Monday. HSBC said the U.S. investigation had damaged the bank’s reputation and forced it to set aside a further $800 million to cover a […]
‘Synthetic Biology Is Closer Than You Think’
November 5th, 2012Via: Bloomberg: George Church—he of the beard, tall man’s lope and overwhelming credentials—has hit the circuit to promote a new book: Regenesis: How Synthetic Biology Will Reinvent Nature and Ourselves. … Church figures it’s only a matter of time and proven safety before people start picking out traits for their offspring and cloning entire children. […]
And Now… China Is Building A Huge Eco-City
November 3rd, 2012Will there be room for the Chinese elite’s secret organic gardens? Via: Business Insider: Outside Chengdu, in central China, a 78 million square foot site has been determined for an unconventional sort of construction project. It will be a city built from scratch, for 80,000 people, none of whom will need a car to get […]
Panic to Sell Businesses Before Tax Increase
November 2nd, 2012Via: Wall Street Journal: A looming increase in the capital-gains tax rate next year is fueling sales of some privately-held businesses. Many business owners—mostly founders who could gain a lot from a sale—are looking to close deals before next year, when the maximum tax on investment income is scheduled to rise from 15% currently to […]
‘Given Tablets but No Teachers, Ethiopian Children Teach Themselves’
November 2nd, 2012“For to win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill.” —Sun Tzu, The Art o War Update: Nicholas Negroponte Is the Brother of John Negroponte Reader DW tipped me off to something pretty remarkable that I hadn’t noticed […]
The Servile Media and the President
October 31st, 2012Via: Guardian: Last month, Vanity Fair featured a major profile of President Obama by Michael Lewis, who was given what the New York Times called “rare” and “extraordinary access”. Lewis “conducted multiple interviews with the president”; “rode in the official presidential limousine”; “was given a special lapel pin that identified him to the Secret Service […]
More Large Media Consolidation
October 31st, 2012Random House and Penguin Merge: Britain’s Pearson and Germany’s Bertelsmann plan to merge their publishers Penguin and Random House, aiming to gain the upper hand in their relationship with Amazon and Apple, the leaders in the ebook revolution. The Walt Disney Co. Acquires Lucasfilm: The Walt Disney Co. announced today that it’s agreed to acquire […]
Barclays Libor Case to Go to Trial
October 30th, 2012Via: Reuters: Barclays became the first bank to be ordered to stand trial in a British court over damages stemming from manipulation of the Libor interest rate after a High Court ruling on Monday. Guardian Care Homes, a residential care home operator based in Wolverhampton, is suing Barclays for up to 37 million pounds ($59 […]
Asiastralia
October 30th, 2012Via: Telegraph: All Australian schoolchildren will be able to learn an Asian language under an ambitious plan by Prime Minister Julia Gillard to prepare the nation for the “Asian Century”. Ms Gillard has committed to 25 far-reaching goals over the next 13 years designed to tighten links with Asia and ensure that Australians are able […]
Doctors Call Tobacco Industry Terrorist Movement
October 29th, 2012This is interesting, coming from a group of people who think that cancer causing radiation is a viable way of treating cancer… While I find smoking to be a disgusting habit that I have personally seen ruin many lives, I wonder what other behaviors will be linked with “The Terrorists”? How about consuming raw dairy […]
