Archive for the 'Economy' Category
Western Powers and the Oil Prize in Libya
September 3rd, 2011Imagine our shock. Via: Guardian: The starting pistol has been fired on bids by Britain and other western powers to secure a slice of the oil prize in Libya when France said it was “fair and logical” for its companies to benefit. Alain Juppé, the French foreign minister, planted his flag in the sand as […]
Now with More Hope and Change: Black Unemployment Highest in 27 Years
September 3rd, 2011Via: CNN: The August jobs report was dismal for plenty of reasons, but perhaps most striking was the picture it painted of racial inequality in the job market. Black unemployment surged to 16.7% in August, its highest level since 1984, while the unemployment rate for whites fell slightly to 8%, the Labor Department reported. “This […]
Gold Filling the Gap
September 2nd, 2011Warning: This is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any financial instrument. Flashback: “There’s more to that 38.2% level than meets the eye.” Ok, here’s the current chart: Now, longside could get rough headed back into the retest of $1912. Short termers: Get ready to lock it in, hedge it, pare it down, […]
Homeland Security: The Decade’s Biggest Scam
September 2nd, 2011Via: Salon: The Los Angeles Times examines the staggering sums of money expended on patently absurd domestic “homeland security” projects: $75 billion per year for things such as a Zodiac boat with side-scan sonar to respond to a potential attack on a lake in tiny Keith County, Nebraska, and hundreds of “9-ton BearCat armored vehicles, […]
AI vs. AI. Two Chatbots Talking to Each Other
August 31st, 2011HAHA. Isn’t it reassuring to know that these types of systems are trading stocks, bonds, currencies, commodities and derivatives millions of times per second? Never mind the killer robot applications… Have a nice day! Via: Cornell University / YouTube: Research Credit: jakdmsy
Google Wants to Become an Identity Service
August 30th, 2011Oh sure. Via: Business Week: Ever since Google (GOOG) launched its new Google+ social network, we and others have pointed out that the search giant clearly has more in mind than just providing a nice place for people to share photos of their pets. For one thing, Google needs to tap into the “social signals” […]
The Yearly Bill for The Pentagon’s No-Bid Contracts: $140 Billion
August 29th, 2011Mission Accomplished. Via: Wired: The bomb fighting contract is a small example of a problem that’s been exacerbated by ten years of war: awarding contracts without competition. While Pentagon statistics say the overall level of competition has remained steady during the past decade, publicly available data show that Defense Department dollars flowing into non-competitive contracts […]
Battle for the California Desert: Why is the Government Driving Folks off Their Land?
August 29th, 2011No mortgage: Check. Not paying utility companies: Check. Agenda 21? In any event, this definitely isn’t a new phenomenon. Twenty years ago, I knew people who were playing cat and mouse with code enforcement nonsense way, way further out in that bone dry wasteland than Antelope Valley, which is a built-up metropolis compared to what […]
Scared Mexicans Turn to Bogus Tracking Chip Implants
August 29th, 2011Via: Washington Post: Of all the strange circumstances surrounding the violent abduction last year of Diego Fernandez de Cevallos, the Mexican power broker and former presidential candidate known here as “Boss Diego,” perhaps nothing was weirder than the mysterious tracking chip that the kidnappers allegedly cut from his body. Lurid Mexican media accounts reported that […]
Pentagon Has Paid $720 Million in Late Fees for Storage Containers Since 2001
August 29th, 2011Via: USA Today: The Pentagon has spent more than $720million since 2001 on fees for shipping containers that it fails to return on time, according to data and contracts obtained by USA TODAY. The containers — large metal boxes stowed on ships and moved from port on trucks — are familiar sights on bases in […]
