Archive for October, 2011
UBS Systems Detected £1.3bn Rogue Trader; Warnings Were Ignored
October 6th, 2011Via: ComputerWorldUK: UBS has insisted its IT systems did detect unusual and unauthorised trading activity, before rogue trader Kweku Adoboli ran up a $2 billion (£1.3 billion) loss on the bank’s derivatives desk. Interim chief executive Sergio Ermotti, who is running the company following Oswald Grubel’s resignation last month, sent a memo to employees saying […]
Feds Target Pot Dispensaries for Closure
October 6th, 2011The government and the pharmaceutical industry don’t like the competition. Via: AP: Federal prosecutors have launched a crackdown on pot dispensaries in California, warning the stores that they must shut down in 45 days or face criminal charges and confiscation of their property even if they are operating legally under the state’s 15-year-old medical marijuana […]
Mario Cal: The Mysterious Suicide That Has Rocked The Vatican
October 6th, 2011Via: Independent: On a Monday morning in July, a gunshot rang out in the administration section of Milan’s San Raffaele hospital. Seconds later, a frightened secretary entered the office of the institution’s vice-president, Mario Cal, and found him lying in a pool of blood. Mr Cal clung briefly to life, but the Smith and Wesson […]
Bush Regime Also Carrried Out Gun-Walking Program: Wide Receiver, Possibly Others
October 6th, 2011Via: AP: The federal government under the Bush administration ran an operation that allowed hundreds of guns to be transferred to suspected arms traffickers — the same tactic that congressional Republicans have criticized President Barack Obama’s administration for using, two federal law enforcement officials said Tuesday. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and […]
Secret U.S. Panel Puts Americans on ‘Kill List’
October 6th, 2011Hopey Changey. Via: Reuters: American militants like Anwar al-Awlaki are placed on a kill or capture list by a secretive panel of senior U.S. government officials, which then informs the president of its decisions, according to U.S. officials. There is no public record of the operations or decisions of the panel, which is a subset […]
California Appeals Court Approves Cell Phone Searches During Traffic Stops; No Warrant Necessary
October 6th, 2011Via: The Blaze: …after initially striking down cell phone snooping, California has now joined the list of states that allow cops to go through your phone without a warrant. Related: Police Device Used To Steal Your Cell Phone Data During Traffic Stop
U.S. Drone Helicopters to Begin Troop Re-Supply Operations in Afghanistan
October 6th, 2011Via: Wired: Next month, the Afghanistan war gets a boost. Specifically, a boost from a robotic helicopter that ferries gear to U.S. troops. Check out the video above. That’s the K-MAX helicopter, a collaboration between defense giant Lockheed Martin and Connecticut aerospace company Kaman, lifting off from an Arizona test site in August, after its […]
DARPA Symposium Speakers Consider Implications of Contact with Aliens on Religion
October 6th, 2011[???] Via: Space: The discovery of intelligent aliens would be mind-blowing in many respects, but it could present a special dilemma for the world’s religions, theologians pondering interstellar travel concepts said Saturday (Oct. 1). Christians, in particular, might take the news hardest, because the Christian belief system does not easily allow for other intelligent beings […]
‘Unprecedented’ Problems with Bank of America’s Web Site
October 6th, 2011Customers closing accounts after the announcement of the $5 per month EFT card fee? There’s a bit of a movement underway to let Bank of America know how customers feel about that $5 fee. People are either emptying their accounts of funds, or closing their accounts completely. I’m very happy to say that my balance […]
It’s Man vs. Machine and Man Is Losing
October 6th, 2011More machines, fewer workers. Via: Wall Street Journal: In the man-versus-machine competition, machine is winning. And it’s not just Watson beating humans on “Jeopardy.” Since the recession ended, businesses had increased their real spending on equipment and software by a strong 26%, while they have added almost nothing to their payrolls.
