Archive for the 'Economy' Category
Science Has Lost Its Way, At a Big Cost to Humanity
October 27th, 2013I’ve posted about this before, but it’s worth repeating. Via: Los Angeles Times: In today’s world, brimful as it is with opinion and falsehoods masquerading as facts, you’d think the one place you can depend on for verifiable facts is science. You’d be wrong. Many billions of dollars’ worth of wrong. A few years ago, […]
French IT School ’42’
October 26th, 2013The application process for 42 reminds me a bit of what happens to people who try to get into the French Foreign Legion. The Legion doesn’t care about your background, they just want to know if you’re up to the job. If you don’t know about the French Foreign Legion, take a few minutes to […]
Filesharing Site Revealed to be Anti-Piracy ‘Honeypot’
October 26th, 2013Via: Guardian: A high-profile file-sharing site has been revealed to be a year-long pirate “honeypot”, collecting data on users, file hosters and websites. The revelation, which had users of the forum up in arms, accompanied the purchase of the UploaderTalk (UT) site by US-based anti-piracy company Nuke Piracy. A honeypot is a facility, in this […]
A 140-Acre Forest Is About to Materialize in the Middle of Detroit
October 26th, 2013The Hantz Forest Burbclave. Via: The Atlantic Cities: After nearly five years of planning, a large-scale attempt to turn a big chunk of Detroit into an urban forest is now underway. The purchase of more than 1,500 vacant city-owned lots on the city’s lower east side – a total of more than 140 acres – […]
In Almost Every European Country, Bikes Are Outselling New Cars
October 25th, 2013Via: NPR: We know that Europeans love their bicycles — think or . Denmark specifically for cyclists. Indeed, earlier this month, , which has long had a love affair with cars, is embracing the bicycle: For the first time on record, Lauren noted, bicycles outsold cars in the country. But it’s becoming a Continent-wide phenomenon. […]
Most Americans Accumulating Debt Faster Than They’re Saving for Retirement
October 25th, 2013Via: Washington Post: A majority of Americans with 401(k)-type savings accounts are accumulating debt faster than they are setting aside money for retirement, further undermining the nation’s troubled system for old-age saving, a new report has found. Three in five workers with defined contribution accounts are “debt savers,” according to the report released Thursday, meaning […]
Help Wanted in Fukushima: Low Pay, High Risks and Gangsters
October 25th, 2013Via: Reuters: Tetsuya Hayashi went to Fukushima to take a job at ground zero of the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl. He lasted less than two weeks. Hayashi, 41, says he was recruited for a job monitoring the radiation exposure of workers leaving the plant in the summer of 2012. Instead, when he turned up […]
Half of Nation’s Foreclosed Homes Still Occupied
October 24th, 2013Via: CNN: Foreclosure sounds like the end of the line, but actual eviction can take months or years — even after the bank has repossessed a home. RealtyTrac estimates that 47% of the nation’s foreclosed homes are currently occupied. The percentage actually tops 60% in some hot housing markets, like Miami and Los Angeles. Those […]
Bank of America Liable for Fraud
October 24th, 2013DOJ is seeking a penalty of under $1 billion. *pfft* Via: Forbes: Thought those mortgage lawsuits against banks were winding down? Think again. The Bank of America logo is seen at a branch i…Today a jury found Bank of America liable for defrauding Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac when its Countrywide unit sold it bad […]
Afghanistan: U.S. Bought Diesel Fuel for $500 Per Gallon
October 24th, 2013Via: CNN: That was the exorbitant figure paid with U.S. tax dollars to a contractor building a hospital in rural Afghanistan, according to a report from the government watchdog tasked with investigating expenditures on Afghanistan’s reconstruction. In the report from the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), the International Organization for Migration was found […]
