we moved. latest posts below:

12.13.2009

750M people helped with their mortgage sez NPR

That's right, 750M people have been helped by the President's Making Home Affordable plan. [Correction: 750,000 people. Duh.]

More at NPR.org's story.


Screenshot of story.

12.12.2009

Today an airbag and seat belt saved my life

Always, always, always where your seat belt.
Get a vehicle with an airbag.
Always drive carefully.

12.11.2009

Adhering to this law of love has always been the core struggle of human nature.

Read the transcript of President Obama's speech at the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo:

Your Majesties, Your Royal Highnesses, distinguished members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, citizens of America, and citizens of the world:

I receive this honor with deep gratitude and great humility. It is an award that speaks to our highest aspirations -- that for all the cruelty and hardship of our world, we are not mere prisoners of fate. Our actions matter, and can bend history in the direction of justice.

And yet I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the considerable controversy that your generous decision has generated. (Laughter.) In part, this is because I am at the beginning, and not the end, of my labors on the world stage. Compared to some of the giants of history who've received this prize -- Schweitzer and King; Marshall and Mandela -- my accomplishments are slight. And then there are the men and women around the world who have been jailed and beaten in the pursuit of justice; those who toil in humanitarian organizations to relieve suffering; the unrecognized millions whose quiet acts of courage and compassion inspire even the most hardened cynics. I cannot argue with those who find these men and women -- some known, some obscure to all but those they help -- to be far more deserving of this honor than I.

But perhaps the most profound issue surrounding my receipt of this prize is the fact that I am the Commander-in-Chief of the military of a nation in the midst of two wars. One of these wars is winding down. The other is a conflict that America did not seek; one in which we are joined by 42 other countries -- including Norway -- in an effort to defend ourselves and all nations from further attacks.

Still, we are at war, and I'm responsible for the deployment of thousands of young Americans to battle in a distant land. Some will kill, and some will be killed. And so I come here with an acute sense of the costs of armed conflict -- filled with difficult questions about the relationship between war and peace, and our effort to replace one with the other.

Now these questions are not new. War, in one form or another, appeared with the first man. At the dawn of history, its morality was not questioned; it was simply a fact, like drought or disease -- the manner in which tribes and then civilizations sought power and settled their differences.

And over time, as codes of law sought to control violence within groups, so did philosophers and clerics and statesmen seek to regulate the destructive power of war. The concept of a "just war" emerged, suggesting that war is justified only when certain conditions were met: if it is waged as a last resort or in self-defense; if the force used is proportional; and if, whenever possible, civilians are spared from violence.

Of course, we know that for most of history, this concept of "just war" was rarely observed. The capacity of human beings to think up new ways to kill one another proved inexhaustible, as did our capacity to exempt from mercy those who look different or pray to a different God. Wars between armies gave way to wars between nations -- total wars in which the distinction between combatant and civilian became blurred. In the span of 30 years, such carnage would twice engulf this continent. And while it's hard to conceive of a cause more just than the defeat of the Third Reich and the Axis powers, World War II was a conflict in which the total number of civilians who died exceeded the number of soldiers who perished.

In the wake of such destruction, and with the advent of the nuclear age, it became clear to victor and vanquished alike that the world needed institutions to prevent another world war. And so, a quarter century after the United States Senate rejected the League of Nations -- an idea for which Woodrow Wilson received this prize -- America led the world in constructing an architecture to keep the peace: a Marshall Plan and a United Nations, mechanisms to govern the waging of war, treaties to protect human rights, prevent genocide, restrict the most dangerous weapons.

In many ways, these efforts succeeded. Yes, terrible wars have been fought, and atrocities committed. But there has been no Third World War. The Cold War ended with jubilant crowds dismantling a wall. Commerce has stitched much of the world together. Billions have been lifted from poverty. The ideals of liberty and self-determination, equality and the rule of law have haltingly advanced. We are the heirs of the fortitude and foresight of generations past, and it is a legacy for which my own country is rightfully proud.

And yet, a decade into a new century, this old architecture is buckling under the weight of new threats. The world may no longer shudder at the prospect of war between two nuclear superpowers, but proliferation may increase the risk of catastrophe. Terrorism has long been a tactic, but modern technology allows a few small men with outsized rage to murder innocents on a horrific scale.

Moreover, wars between nations have increasingly given way to wars within nations. The resurgence of ethnic or sectarian conflicts; the growth of secessionist movements, insurgencies, and failed states -- all these things have increasingly trapped civilians in unending chaos. In today's wars, many more civilians are killed than soldiers; the seeds of future conflict are sown, economies are wrecked, civil societies torn asunder, refugees amassed, children scarred.

I do not bring with me today a definitive solution to the problems of war. What I do know is that meeting these challenges will require the same vision, hard work, and persistence of those men and women who acted so boldly decades ago. And it will require us to think in new ways about the notions of just war and the imperatives of a just peace.

We must begin by acknowledging the hard truth: We will not eradicate violent conflict in our lifetimes. There will be times when nations -- acting individually or in concert -- will find the use of force not only necessary but morally justified.

I make this statement mindful of what Martin Luther King Jr. said in this same ceremony years ago: "Violence never brings permanent peace. It solves no social problem: it merely creates new and more complicated ones." As someone who stands here as a direct consequence of Dr. King's life work, I am living testimony to the moral force of non-violence. I know there's nothing weak -- nothing passive -- nothing naïve -- in the creed and lives of Gandhi and King.

But as a head of state sworn to protect and defend my nation, I cannot be guided by their examples alone. I face the world as it is, and cannot stand idle in the face of threats to the American people. For make no mistake: Evil does exist in the world. A non-violent movement could not have halted Hitler's armies. Negotiations cannot convince al Qaeda's leaders to lay down their arms. To say that force may sometimes be necessary is not a call to cynicism -- it is a recognition of history; the imperfections of man and the limits of reason.

I raise this point, I begin with this point because in many countries there is a deep ambivalence about military action today, no matter what the cause. And at times, this is joined by a reflexive suspicion of America, the world's sole military superpower.

But the world must remember that it was not simply international institutions -- not just treaties and declarations -- that brought stability to a post-World War II world. Whatever mistakes we have made, the plain fact is this: The United States of America has helped underwrite global security for more than six decades with the blood of our citizens and the strength of our arms. The service and sacrifice of our men and women in uniform has promoted peace and prosperity from Germany to Korea, and enabled democracy to take hold in places like the Balkans. We have borne this burden not because we seek to impose our will. We have done so out of enlightened self-interest -- because we seek a better future for our children and grandchildren, and we believe that their lives will be better if others' children and grandchildren can live in freedom and prosperity.

So yes, the instruments of war do have a role to play in preserving the peace. And yet this truth must coexist with another -- that no matter how justified, war promises human tragedy. The soldier's courage and sacrifice is full of glory, expressing devotion to country, to cause, to comrades in arms. But war itself is never glorious, and we must never trumpet it as such.

So part of our challenge is reconciling these two seemingly inreconcilable truths -- that war is sometimes necessary, and war at some level is an expression of human folly. Concretely, we must direct our effort to the task that President Kennedy called for long ago. "Let us focus," he said, "on a more practical, more attainable peace, based not on a sudden revolution in human nature but on a gradual evolution in human institutions." A gradual evolution of human institutions.

What might this evolution look like? What might these practical steps be?

To begin with, I believe that all nations -- strong and weak alike -- must adhere to standards that govern the use of force. I -- like any head of state -- reserve the right to act unilaterally if necessary to defend my nation. Nevertheless, I am convinced that adhering to standards, international standards, strengthens those who do, and isolates and weakens those who don't.

The world rallied around America after the 9/11 attacks, and continues to support our efforts in Afghanistan, because of the horror of those senseless attacks and the recognized principle of self-defense. Likewise, the world recognized the need to confront Saddam Hussein when he invaded Kuwait -- a consensus that sent a clear message to all about the cost of aggression.

Furthermore, America -- in fact, no nation -- can insist that others follow the rules of the road if we refuse to follow them ourselves. For when we don't, our actions appear arbitrary and undercut the legitimacy of future interventions, no matter how justified.

And this becomes particularly important when the purpose of military action extends beyond self-defense or the defense of one nation against an aggressor. More and more, we all confront difficult questions about how to prevent the slaughter of civilians by their own government, or to stop a civil war whose violence and suffering can engulf an entire region.

I believe that force can be justified on humanitarian grounds, as it was in the Balkans, or in other places that have been scarred by war. Inaction tears at our conscience and can lead to more costly intervention later. That's why all responsible nations must embrace the role that militaries with a clear mandate can play to keep the peace.

America's commitment to global security will never waver. But in a world in which threats are more diffuse, and missions more complex, America cannot act alone. America alone cannot secure the peace. This is true in Afghanistan. This is true in failed states like Somalia, where terrorism and piracy is joined by famine and human suffering. And sadly, it will continue to be true in unstable regions for years to come.

The leaders and soldiers of NATO countries, and other friends and allies, demonstrate this truth through the capacity and courage they've shown in Afghanistan. But in many countries, there is a disconnect between the efforts of those who serve and the ambivalence of the broader public. I understand why war is not popular, but I also know this: The belief that peace is desirable is rarely enough to achieve it. Peace requires responsibility. Peace entails sacrifice. That's why NATO continues to be indispensable. That's why we must strengthen U.N. and regional peacekeeping, and not leave the task to a few countries. That's why we honor those who return home from peacekeeping and training abroad to Oslo and Rome; to Ottawa and Sydney; to Dhaka and Kigali -- we honor them not as makers of war, but of wagers -- but as wagers of peace.

Let me make one final point about the use of force. Even as we make difficult decisions about going to war, we must also think clearly about how we fight it. The Nobel Committee recognized this truth in awarding its first prize for peace to Henry Dunant -- the founder of the Red Cross, and a driving force behind the Geneva Conventions.

Where force is necessary, we have a moral and strategic interest in binding ourselves to certain rules of conduct. And even as we confront a vicious adversary that abides by no rules, I believe the United States of America must remain a standard bearer in the conduct of war. That is what makes us different from those whom we fight. That is a source of our strength. That is why I prohibited torture. That is why I ordered the prison at Guantanamo Bay closed. And that is why I have reaffirmed America's commitment to abide by the Geneva Conventions. We lose ourselves when we compromise the very ideals that we fight to defend. (Applause.) And we honor -- we honor those ideals by upholding them not when it's easy, but when it is hard.

I have spoken at some length to the question that must weigh on our minds and our hearts as we choose to wage war. But let me now turn to our effort to avoid such tragic choices, and speak of three ways that we can build a just and lasting peace.

First, in dealing with those nations that break rules and laws, I believe that we must develop alternatives to violence that are tough enough to actually change behavior -- for if we want a lasting peace, then the words of the international community must mean something. Those regimes that break the rules must be held accountable. Sanctions must exact a real price. Intransigence must be met with increased pressure -- and such pressure exists only when the world stands together as one.

One urgent example is the effort to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, and to seek a world without them. In the middle of the last century, nations agreed to be bound by a treaty whose bargain is clear: All will have access to peaceful nuclear power; those without nuclear weapons will forsake them; and those with nuclear weapons will work towards disarmament. I am committed to upholding this treaty. It is a centerpiece of my foreign policy. And I'm working with President Medvedev to reduce America and Russia's nuclear stockpiles.

But it is also incumbent upon all of us to insist that nations like Iran and North Korea do not game the system. Those who claim to respect international law cannot avert their eyes when those laws are flouted. Those who care for their own security cannot ignore the danger of an arms race in the Middle East or East Asia. Those who seek peace cannot stand idly by as nations arm themselves for nuclear war.

The same principle applies to those who violate international laws by brutalizing their own people. When there is genocide in Darfur, systematic rape in Congo, repression in Burma -- there must be consequences. Yes, there will be engagement; yes, there will be diplomacy -- but there must be consequences when those things fail. And the closer we stand together, the less likely we will be faced with the choice between armed intervention and complicity in oppression.

This brings me to a second point -- the nature of the peace that we seek. For peace is not merely the absence of visible conflict. Only a just peace based on the inherent rights and dignity of every individual can truly be lasting.

It was this insight that drove drafters of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights after the Second World War. In the wake of devastation, they recognized that if human rights are not protected, peace is a hollow promise.

And yet too often, these words are ignored. For some countries, the failure to uphold human rights is excused by the false suggestion that these are somehow Western principles, foreign to local cultures or stages of a nation's development. And within America, there has long been a tension between those who describe themselves as realists or idealists -- a tension that suggests a stark choice between the narrow pursuit of interests or an endless campaign to impose our values around the world.

I reject these choices. I believe that peace is unstable where citizens are denied the right to speak freely or worship as they please; choose their own leaders or assemble without fear. Pent-up grievances fester, and the suppression of tribal and religious identity can lead to violence. We also know that the opposite is true. Only when Europe became free did it finally find peace. America has never fought a war against a democracy, and our closest friends are governments that protect the rights of their citizens. No matter how callously defined, neither America's interests -- nor the world's -- are served by the denial of human aspirations.

So even as we respect the unique culture and traditions of different countries, America will always be a voice for those aspirations that are universal. We will bear witness to the quiet dignity of reformers like Aung Sang Suu Kyi; to the bravery of Zimbabweans who cast their ballots in the face of beatings; to the hundreds of thousands who have marched silently through the streets of Iran. It is telling that the leaders of these governments fear the aspirations of their own people more than the power of any other nation. And it is the responsibility of all free people and free nations to make clear that these movements -- these movements of hope and history -- they have us on their side.

Let me also say this: The promotion of human rights cannot be about exhortation alone. At times, it must be coupled with painstaking diplomacy. I know that engagement with repressive regimes lacks the satisfying purity of indignation. But I also know that sanctions without outreach -- condemnation without discussion -- can carry forward only a crippling status quo. No repressive regime can move down a new path unless it has the choice of an open door.

In light of the Cultural Revolution's horrors, Nixon's meeting with Mao appeared inexcusable -- and yet it surely helped set China on a path where millions of its citizens have been lifted from poverty and connected to open societies. Pope John Paul's engagement with Poland created space not just for the Catholic Church, but for labor leaders like Lech Walesa. Ronald Reagan's efforts on arms control and embrace of perestroika not only improved relations with the Soviet Union, but empowered dissidents throughout Eastern Europe. There's no simple formula here. But we must try as best we can to balance isolation and engagement, pressure and incentives, so that human rights and dignity are advanced over time.

Third, a just peace includes not only civil and political rights -- it must encompass economic security and opportunity. For true peace is not just freedom from fear, but freedom from want.

It is undoubtedly true that development rarely takes root without security; it is also true that security does not exist where human beings do not have access to enough food, or clean water, or the medicine and shelter they need to survive. It does not exist where children can't aspire to a decent education or a job that supports a family. The absence of hope can rot a society from within.

And that's why helping farmers feed their own people -- or nations educate their children and care for the sick -- is not mere charity. It's also why the world must come together to confront climate change. There is little scientific dispute that if we do nothing, we will face more drought, more famine, more mass displacement -- all of which will fuel more conflict for decades. For this reason, it is not merely scientists and environmental activists who call for swift and forceful action -- it's military leaders in my own country and others who understand our common security hangs in the balance.

Agreements among nations. Strong institutions. Support for human rights. Investments in development. All these are vital ingredients in bringing about the evolution that President Kennedy spoke about. And yet, I do not believe that we will have the will, the determination, the staying power, to complete this work without something more -- and that's the continued expansion of our moral imagination; an insistence that there's something irreducible that we all share.

As the world grows smaller, you might think it would be easier for human beings to recognize how similar we are; to understand that we're all basically seeking the same things; that we all hope for the chance to live out our lives with some measure of happiness and fulfillment for ourselves and our families.

And yet somehow, given the dizzying pace of globalization, the cultural leveling of modernity, it perhaps comes as no surprise that people fear the loss of what they cherish in their particular identities -- their race, their tribe, and perhaps most powerfully their religion. In some places, this fear has led to conflict. At times, it even feels like we're moving backwards. We see it in the Middle East, as the conflict between Arabs and Jews seems to harden. We see it in nations that are torn asunder by tribal lines.

And most dangerously, we see it in the way that religion is used to justify the murder of innocents by those who have distorted and defiled the great religion of Islam, and who attacked my country from Afghanistan. These extremists are not the first to kill in the name of God; the cruelties of the Crusades are amply recorded. But they remind us that no Holy War can ever be a just war. For if you truly believe that you are carrying out divine will, then there is no need for restraint -- no need to spare the pregnant mother, or the medic, or the Red Cross worker, or even a person of one's own faith. Such a warped view of religion is not just incompatible with the concept of peace, but I believe it's incompatible with the very purpose of faith -- for the one rule that lies at the heart of every major religion is that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us.

Adhering to this law of love has always been the core struggle of human nature. For we are fallible. We make mistakes, and fall victim to the temptations of pride, and power, and sometimes evil. Even those of us with the best of intentions will at times fail to right the wrongs before us.

But we do not have to think that human nature is perfect for us to still believe that the human condition can be perfected. We do not have to live in an idealized world to still reach for those ideals that will make it a better place. The non-violence practiced by men like Gandhi and King may not have been practical or possible in every circumstance, but the love that they preached -- their fundamental faith in human progress -- that must always be the North Star that guides us on our journey.

For if we lose that faith -- if we dismiss it as silly or naïve; if we divorce it from the decisions that we make on issues of war and peace -- then we lose what's best about humanity. We lose our sense of possibility. We lose our moral compass.

Like generations have before us, we must reject that future. As Dr. King said at this occasion so many years ago, "I refuse to accept despair as the final response to the ambiguities of history. I refuse to accept the idea that the 'isness' of man's present condition makes him morally incapable of reaching up for the eternal 'oughtness' that forever confronts him."

Let us reach for the world that ought to be -- that spark of the divine that still stirs within each of our souls. (Applause.)

Somewhere today, in the here and now, in the world as it is, a soldier sees he's outgunned, but stands firm to keep the peace. Somewhere today, in this world, a young protestor awaits the brutality of her government, but has the courage to march on. Somewhere today, a mother facing punishing poverty still takes the time to teach her child, scrapes together what few coins she has to send that child to school -- because she believes that a cruel world still has a place for that child's dreams.

Let us live by their example. We can acknowledge that oppression will always be with us, and still strive for justice. We can admit the intractability of deprivation, and still strive for dignity. Clear-eyed, we can understand that there will be war, and still strive for peace. We can do that -- for that is the story of human progress; that's the hope of all the world; and at this moment of challenge, that must be our work here on Earth.

Thank you very much. (Applause.)

12.10.2009

The story of the stuff you buy



Go ahead, now go shopping for that holiday.
Better yet, help out at a soup kitchen, a children's hospital - anything but buy more stuff for people who don't want it!

12.09.2009

Global leaders apologize for not stepping up and solving climate change


Check out the rest of the ads at AdFreak.

Vid from 10,000,000,000 signature petition handover:



The tcktcktck campaign.

Watch Between The Folds, a film about origami, math & more

It was exceptional. Check it out at PBS's Independent Lens series.

Unredacted is the blog for The National Security Archive

Unredacted from George Washington University's The National Security Archive:

Challenging government secrecy, informing the public debate through access to declassified documents, ensuring government accountability, and defending the right to know in the US and abroad.

Finance industry tabloid says regulation could cost banks billions

...instead of the trillions they lost and we gave back to them to bail them out I guess.

From International Financing review:

Banks are facing tens of billions of dollars in lost revenue annually, as increased competition between firms and new derivatives rules designed to clean up the industry eliminate important sources of cash in the over-the-counter business, according to estimates that surfaced last week from JP Morgan.

12.08.2009

A couple viewpoints on the middle class getting beaten up by the great recession

From CalculatedRisk.com and his link to CNBC's interview with Whitney:












And an excellent piece by Warren, the Chair of the Congressional Oversight Panel created to oversee the banking bailouts, entitled America Without a Middle Class:

The crisis facing the middle class started more than a generation ago. Even as productivity rose, the wages of the average fully-employed male have been flat since the 1970s.

But core expenses kept going up. By the early 2000s, families were spending twice as much (adjusted for inflation) on mortgages than they did a generation ago -- for a house that was, on average, only ten percent bigger and 25 years older. They also had to pay twice as much to hang on to their health insurance.

More transparency in Fed Govt today

From the Whitehouse.gov Open Government Initiative:

The directive, sent to the head of every federal department and agency today, instructs the agencies to take specific actions to open their operations to the public.
The Open Governement Initiative at Whitehouse.gov/open is the place to check out tech innovations including:



Check out all the innovations at the Innovations Gallery.

Are we less in debt up our ass thanks to less mail?

From WSJ:

One measure of the retreat in consumer lending: In 2005, over six billion credit-card offers flooded consumers' mailboxes. This year just 1.4 billion have been sent out[.]
And:
The size of the market for securities backed by loans tied to homeowners' equity has shrunk more than 40% since the second half of 2007. The market for securities backed by auto loans has shrunk 33%. For securities backed by riskier mortgages, the decline is about 35% since the end of 2007, according to the Federal Reserve[.]

12.07.2009

Development Seed makes tools that can help you stumble home

Development Seed uses open source software to make cool tools.

Like Managing News and MapBox that were used to analyze data so you can stumble home safely in DC.

Congress office expenses available online

Thanks to Pelosi's request in June, the Statement of Disbursements are available online for the first time:

Because of the procedural complexity inherent in balancing hundreds of Congressional budgets, the SOD document is not easy to read. The House's Office of Financial Counseling processes, on average, over 4000 expenses per week. The process generally works as follows:

A vendor may bill an office for goods and/or services, at which time the office's Financial Administrator will prepare a voucher and provide supporting documentation or an employee in a Member's office purchases a good or service, adhering to the rules laid out by the CHA in the Member's Congressional Handbook.

EPA to rule green house gases endanger people's health and must be regulated

Finally!

From WaPo:

The move, which Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lisa P. Jackson will announce at an afternoon press conference, comes as the largest climate change conference in history gets underway in Copenhagen. It will finalize an initial "endangerment finding" by the government in April.
Pretty logical as it's pretty hard to make money being dead and/or without a planet.
On the other hand, it's very exciting that this should open up the way to make money creating clean, sustainable industries the US could lead the world in!

12.05.2009

Party favor magnet loses $127M partying

He actually lost the money gambling while apparently partying. He is suing the casino about the partying.

From the WSJ:

During a year-long gambling binge at the Caesars Palace and Rio casinos in 2007, Terrance Watanabe managed to lose nearly $127 million. The run is believed to be one of the biggest losing streaks by an individual in Las Vegas history.
So when you are feeling like a loser...

Google's project using Google Earth to help adapt to climate change

From the project's main wiki page:

Climate change poses a significant risk to the sustenance of future generations in many places and a challenge for sustainable development planning everywhere. Adaptation is a socio-institutional process, which when supported by data, tools and examples can provide a flexible avenue for exploring robust responses to these risks.
Case Study page for California.

From sfist.com:
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Google CEO Eric Schmidt announced the new application. Three years ago at the very same spot, Schwarzenegger signed California's landmark global warming law requiring the state to slash greenhouse gas emissions by 2020. Treasure Island, along with SFO and Google's Mountain View headquarters, could all be fully underwater by 2100.
Check out Google Earth to download.

Bernanke sezs financial system likely to emerge healthier

From Bernanke's speech entitled The Recent Financial Turmoil and its Economic and Policy Consequences:

Rather than becoming more crisis-prone, the financial system is likely to emerge from this episode healthier and more stable than before.
Speech was presented on October 15,2007.

So the question is, within a year of that statement, under his watch, after the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, coming within hours of having the global financial system completely stop, and after trillions of dollars opaquely thrown at big banks - should he get to keep his job?

Hat tip to the article at The Daily Beast for the link to this particular speech.

LaLa.com bought by Apple

Back in October I mentioned Apple was looking into LaLa.com's app.

NYTimes.com announced Apple bought Lala apparently for the talent:

This person said Apple would primarily be buying Lala’s engineers, including its energetic co-founder Bill Nguyen, and their experience with cloud-based music services.

Lala’s engineers have built a service that music enthusiasts say is very easy to use. Lala scans the hard drives of its users and creates an online music library that matches the user’s collection, making it painless (and free) for people to get their music in the cloud.
From Bloomberg:
An acquisition of Lala may signal that Apple is more interested in creating a subscription service, Kenswil said.

12.04.2009

Wasting 1/2 second while Googling apparently sucks

They tested it. From kottke.org:

After a bit of looking, Marissa explained that they found an uncontrolled variable. The page with 10 results took .4 seconds to generate. The page with 30 results took .9 seconds.

Half a second delay caused a 20% drop in traffic. Half a second delay killed user satisfaction.

12.03.2009

Fox News sez The Daily Show scooped MSM on climate change conspiracy

From Fox, ahem, News.com:

The network news broadcasts have ignored a growing scandal over evidence of a potential climate cover-up — and now they've even been scooped by the fake news at Comedy Central.

Bernanke getting more Senators against his confirmation

From nakedcapitalism.com:

Senator Bunting also placing a hold on Bernanke's confirmation in the Senate Banking Committee.
Check out FireDogLake.com.

Sprint automatically shares GPS data 20,000 times a day

From Precentral.com:

A Sprint spokesperson noted that law enforcement and other government agencies only request information such as in missing persons cases, genuine emergencies, criminal investigations, or instances when a customer consents to sharing information. Sprint spokesperson Matt Sullivan said, "In all cases we require a valid legal request appropriate for the circumstances, meaning the request must be accompanied by either a subpoena, court order or customer consent."
Bold emphasis added.

So people doing things legally have no problem allowing themselves to be followed every where they go and, if you follow the link, allow every thing they do online be watched? Or... they don't know they're allowing that access?

Accept credit card payments with your cell phone

From SquareUp.com:

Read payment cards from any device with an audio input jack, including your mobile phone. Accepting payments has never been faster or more convenient.
From Fast Company's article:
By providing a basic, easy-to-use and secure system (no credit card data is stored on the iPhone in use) Square could turn almost anyone into a credit-card accepting merchant. It also costs way less than the typical wireless keypad/printer card machines you see in stores, even factoring in the price of the iPhone--partly due to its "no contracts...no hidden costs" promise.

How to stop the Fed Chairman's confirmation > Contact your Senator

From nakedcapitalism.com:

When CEOs preside over disasters, they are fired. Captains go down with their ships.

And Bernanke needs to be replaced.

He was a major architect of the policies that created the crisis.

He ignored signs of the severity of the developing crisis and failed to prepare for obvious dangers, like the collapse of an investment bank.
nakedcapitalism.com is one of the best and most well respected macro econ & finance blogs.

An email service to help build artists' fan base

Received an email from an artist I follow who used FanBridge:

So Many Networks, So Little Time

MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, oh my! Like you, your fans are spread out across many social networks, but that doesn't mean you need to maintain every social network separately. With FanBridge, you can communicate with fans from a single location. We then track the effectiveness of each network so you know where best to spend your time.
Looks like a terrific integrated service. Have you tried this?

Who did the Fed lend $2T too?



If you aren't pissed off about this, you aren't alive.
Go here to support Sanders and his blocking of Bernanke's renomination.

12.02.2009

How Wall Street is going to make Enron's implosion look like an after school special

From the author of It Takes a Pillage: Behind the Bailouts, Bonuses, and Backroom Deals from Washington to Wall Street, her recent article at The Daily Beast:

Again, it’s “just” a couple billion of discrepancies, but with books this massive at banks this big and risky, accuracy matters. Plus, such nuances make it extremely difficult to understand its books for regulators or the public.
And:
With taxpayers now on the hook, we need an objective, consistent evaluation of bank balance sheets complete with probing questions about trading and speculative revenues, allowing for comparisons across the banking industry. This lack of transparency leaves room to misrepresent risk and trading revenue.
The short version of her article:
She read over 1,000 pages of SEC filings of several large banks and found their publicly released balance sheets are incomprehensible and we as tax payers are now also liable since we continue to bail them out with any real accountability and the odds are, we are all screwed unless something big happens on the regulatory front.

LandScope America by National Geographic & NatureServe

An online tool to help save previous places:

LandScope America—a collaborative project of NatureServe and the National Geographic Society—is a new online resource for the land-protection community and the public. By bringing together maps, data, photos, and stories about America’s natural places and open spaces, our goal is to inform and inspire conservation of our lands and waters.
Audubon provides some interesting info including it's Important Bird Areas series:
The Important Bird Areas (IBA) Program is the focal point for Audubon’s bird conservation work. As a global effort to identify the most important places for bird populations and to focus conservation efforts on those sites, IBAs represent Audubon’s lead conservation initiative because the most severe threats to bird populations are habitat-based.
This should be identified as an Important Bird Area:

php-oct-09 38 - Version 2

LandScope also has some excellent informative sections like Open Space 101:
One of the most auspicious aspects of open space planning is that for the most part it happens locally.Communities with the will and the grassroots involvement to protect land and other resources can do tremendous things. As author Samuel Brody has noted, “Some of the most effective policy tools that can either threaten or protect ecosystems are in the hands of county officials, city councils, town boards, local planning staff, and general public rather than federal or regional agencies.”
If local officials won't provide the leadership - the people need to step up, throw them out, and exercise their rights as citizens to protect their neighborhoods for future generations.

The most profound item in the SIFMA email today

Dream no small dreams for they have no power to move the hearts of men."
--Johann Wolfgang von Goethe,
German poet, playwright, novelist and statesman

On a related note, Vanity Fair's latest article on GS entitled The Bank Job.
SIFMA's website.

12.01.2009

Walk to California to get the excess weight off from T-Day

Check out her work. It's great.

Back to the Land from Maira Kalman at the NY Times.



Her site.

Lego Matrix

You know the scene. This took a crazy amount of time to make and is awesome!
Enjoy:

A terrific essay about how small book stores can thrive

From Cory at bOingbOing.net:

On the bottom-end of the market, there's the Espresso book printer, as currently in operation in the wonderful Harvard Bookstore in Cambridge, Mass. This thing will print any public domain book that Google has scanned, in about 4 minutes, for $8.

...At the Harvard Bookstore, they have someone who spends the day mousing around on Google Book Search, looking for weird and cool titles in the public domain to print and shelve around the store, as suggestions for the sort of thing you might have printed for yourself.
And:
At the other end of the scale, the high-end, there's the book-as-object phenomenon. Taschen and a few other art-book publishers have figured out how to make a market out of this[.]
BTW, you can spend about 40 hours a day at bOingbOing.net.

Fed testing simple three-way reverse repurchase transactions

The Fed has pumped well over $1T into the economy it eventually has to pull out in such a way inflation doesn't get too bad. Ha ha ha.

They've come up with a simple transaction they are going to test on a limited basis according to Bloomberg:

The transactions will be conducted at current market rates, and the aggregate amount outstanding “will be very small relative to the level of excess reserves,” today’s announcement said. The results will be posted on the New York Fed’s Web site and will be listed as liabilities on the Fed’s consolidated balance sheet statements.

The New York Fed said on Oct. 19 that it was working with market participants on how it would use reverse repurchase agreements to help drain cash. It also said the central bank was considering expanding the counterparties for reverse repo operations beyond the 18 primary dealers.

Sounds simple enough doesn't it? What's the worse that could happen? The economy is either the worst since 2008 or inflation explodes way more than it did in the 70s.

A how-to showing how to control what people see about you online

Even in Facebook.

From Wired's Wiki/article:

Different folks certainly have different tolerance levels for their online persona and how public they want it to be, but thankfully, there are tips to ensure that your boss, your ex, or your mildly interested former friends can keep tabs on you on your terms.

Wikileaks releases transcripts of 573.000 pager intercepts from 9/11 2001

From their 911.wikileaks.org page:

The archive is a completely objective record of the defining moment of our time. We hope that its entrance into the historical record will lead to a nuanced understanding of how this event led to death, opportunism and war.
What wikileaks.org is about:
We believe that transparency in government activities leads to reduced corruption, better government and stronger democracies. All governments can benefit from increased scrutiny by the world community, as well as their own people. We believe this scrutiny requires information. Historically that information has been costly - in terms of human life and human rights.
Hat tip to Virginia Coalition of Open Government for the link.

11.30.2009

Order your personalized coffee table book about our President & his campaign

From Apple's Pro Profiles series:

“But with this book there are no copies in stores, no bookshelves, no review copies. Each copy is created as you order it, so it doesn’t exist until you bought it. Economically, environmentally, it’s just so much better.”
They picked 200 photos for the book:
“But with Aperture, it was incredibly easy to sort, rate, and export 40 thousand images."
At the book's website, The Obama Time Capsule:
STEP 1 Purchase THE OBAMA TIME CAPSULE on Amazon. One order per personalization. Within 3 hours of authorization an email will be sent to you so that you can begin personalizing your book.
Instructions for how to make the book personalized.



Why the author worked on the project:
“I don’t know the future of coffee table books,” he says. “Maybe they’re dinosaurs. But rather than killing them, technologies like just-in-time publishing might represent a coming of age for these books, and for books in general. I love the web — I live online all day — but there’s no ‘there’ there. So what I really like is that I can leave this book for my great grandchildren to pick up someday and see what my wife, my kids, and I were doing when President Obama was elected.”
Cool!

Please help preserve Ft Monroe

From CreateFortMonroeNationalPark.org:

SOLUTION: We propose a national park that would flourish without overly burdening taxpayers and that would benefit the Hampton Roads economy in many ways. There’s a proven precedent and inspiration: San Francisco’s similar former Army post, the Presidio.
Please! Donate to the Fort Monroe National Park Foundation:
The Fort Monroe National Park Foundation, Inc. was formed in June 2007 by leaders of Citizens for a Fort Monroe National Park as a separate nonprofit, educational foundation dedicated to educating the public and promoting better understanding nationally, regionally and locally of the importance and potential of the 570 acres constituting Fort Monroe.

11.28.2009

WTF! Patent Office grants official exclusive rights for podcasting to Volomedia

That would be like giving the exclusive patent rights for thinking to one company!

HELP EFF.org DEFEAT THIS.

EFF Tackles Bogus Podcasting Patent And we Need Your Help! Patenting podcasting? You've got to be kidding. Yet a company called Volomedia just got the Patent Office to grant them such exclusive rights. EFF and the law firm of Howrey, LLP aren't willing to just sit by and watch. This patent could threaten the vibrant community of podcasters and millions of podcast listeners. We want to put a stop to it, but we need your help.

The Volomedia patent covers "a method for providing episodic media."
It's a ridiculously broad patent, covering something that many folks
have been doing for many years. Worse, it could create a whole new
layer of ongoing costs for podcasters and their listeners.
Please head to EFF.org's link to find out how to help.

NYTimes.com > Education> Med Grow Cannabis College

At This School, It’s Marijuana in Every Class

“This state needs jobs, and we think medical marijuana can stimulate the state economy with hundreds of jobs and millions of dollars,” said Nick Tennant[.]
Med Grow Cannabis College website. Go ahead, click, I'm sure your privacy is secure.

Owl grabbing a kitten in slow motion


Owl Attacks Camera in Slow Motion - Watch more Funny Videos

Thanks for the link Mark!

11.25.2009

After turkey dinner, here's something to do your mother wouldn't

This isn't your mother's JavaScript.

We think JavaScript is awesome. We also think browsers are awesome. Indeed, when we talk about them, we say they are the cat's meow – which is an American expression meaning AWESOME.
Go play with Chrome Experiments.
One of my fav's, Ball Droppings.

Tweet not sent to thousands of teenage girls gets VP arrested

From coverage at CNET:

What is somewhat peculiar is that a tweet was sent from Justin Bieber's account around the time of the arrest, reading: "they are not allowing me to come into the mall. if you don't leave, I and my fans will be arrested, as the police just told us."
Follow Justin Bieber on Twitter.

You don't know him! Are you kidding me?!
Check him out on YouTube.com.

11.23.2009

Please help the SEC regulate dark pool trading

Or if you're over say, 35, do not "invest" in any stocks or mutual funds that own stocks. Instead, save your money for Las Vegas, Atlantic City or the nearest Indian Reservation.

From Financial Times:
[free subscription probably required to read entire article]

“The number of active dark pools...has tripled since 2002,” said an early SEC release on the proposed rules.

“Given this growth of dark pools, a lack of transparency could create a two-tiered market that deprives the public of information about stock prices and liquidity.”
A previous article at Financial Times urging the regulation of dark pool trading had a comment:
He said the SEC was “exploring ways” to gather information about the transactions of high-frequency traders. “The commission recognises concerns have been raised that high-frequency traders have the ability to access markets more quickly,” he said. “This ability may allow them to submit or cancel their orders faster than long-term investors, which may result in less favourable trading conditions for these investors.”
Exploring ways! This is another area of our financial system that needs simple, clear, enforceable regulation.

Contact the SEC to move from exploring ways to taking action.

11.22.2009

2012 Trailer from SNL

It's not neutrinos from a massive solar flare that destroys earth.

11.21.2009

new deal 2.o website

Looks like this might be a good resource for in depth info about our financial system:

We go behind the headlines to explore the questions at the heart of the economic debate, offering both short, digestible explanations of the issues as well as more in-depth discussions around the finer points of the public conversation.
Some of their reporting, opinon and analysis should help determine:
What Caused the Crisis?

Like you, we want to know how our financial system imploded and determine how we can avoid future chaos. To that end, we have assembled thought leaders, former government officials, historians and intellectuals to write an open letter to the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission – a group of people recently appointed by Congress to "examine all causes, domestic and global, of the current financial and economic crisis." The letter requests the adoption of guidelines critical to the success of the investigation.

11.19.2009

Nor'Ida a week ago on Friday the 13th

2 highest tides were Thursday night, and this one Friday morning. Photo taken about 837am Friday the 13th. There was about a foot of water in our yard at the 2 highest tides. These highest tides on our street were hours after the "official" high tide. 3rd high tide of Nor'Ida, Friday afternoon, still had a couple feet of water on our sidewalk & street encircling our property.

Watch Yankees win World Series in 3 minutes & 24 seconds

Starts with fans leaving buses before game. Highlights include grounds crew, hot dog grill, popcorn machine, home runs, & dancing pitchers. Ends with fans leaving.

Watch at NYTimes.com in full screen with speakers blasting.

The game is played to Chopin’s Waltz No. 5, a score Mr. Caplin chose to complement the antique sensibility of the piece.

Be a master rock setter instead of a professional cloud manager

It's never too late to change your education or career.
Check out this master rock setter's work at FastCompany.com.

Copyright Watch, which collects & monitors copyright law worldwide, launches

Since we:

...we are all authors, publishers, and sharers of copyrighted works.
About Copyright Watch:
Our dream was to build a user-friendly resource of national copyright laws to help citizens of the world undertake comparative research.
-
Finally, we hope that Copyright Watch will help document the importance of copyright to all aspects of cultural life and human freedom.

11.17.2009

Jon Stewart v. Lou Dobbs tomorrow night

The gay illegal alien homophobic death panel crowd get's their cage match Wednesday night. Watch it live on Comedy Central. Tivoing this will be like Tivoing the Super Bowl.

Bird lover trades a view of a pelican for $1.25M 2006 Bugatti Veyron

From AP News.

Buy your own Bugatti here.

Here's some pelicans for free.

11.16.2009

Kayak at our front door during Nor'Ida

Some one named the storm Nor'Ida. I like the name. Hated the storm and it's affects.

Here's a friend at our front door. This is not at the highest of the 3 high tides.

Note: water did not come over the Chesapeake Bay beach to our front door. It did not come over the shore at Crab Creek, nor over the banks of Pleasure House Creek. This was from our storm drains that feed into one pipe. Logical huh? You may be asking, why doesn't the City have "plugs" or some kind of engineering in the appropriate place for big storms like this? Follow this blog, and we'll explore why.

Andrew Zuckerman's film and photography work about birds is phenomenal

Andrew Zuckerman: Bird project. Spend some time here if you like/love birds. Under Photographs, be sure to check out the Andean Condor, Greater Bird-of-Paradise, Jackass Penguin, Twelve-wired Bird-of-Paradise, Wattled Currasow - really, check them all out. Under Films, check out Behind The Scenes, and Promo - Secretary. Audio is great too.

This is his official site - has audio when opened. I recommend viewing this on the largest screen possible, like your big screen TV. Under Photographs, be sure to see the Egg, Water - again, all of them.

Under Film, watch at least Wisdom - "It's about being decent." "You can't get to wonderful without getting through all right." "I think it's love." "If you're ever going to create a peaceful world, ..." Just watch this. Gain wisdom. The website for Wisdom has even more about this project. Check out Making Of > How It Was Made. "I had no experience interviewing any one before."

His movie, High Falls.

11.15.2009

Friday the 13th Nor'Easter

Damage. Bunch of damage. A lot damage in our neighborhood could have easily been prevented. My guess is, it will be fixed.

11.12.2009

Link between falling minimum wage, cheap food & obesity

From the National Bureau of Economic Resesarch:

Growing consumption of increasingly less expensive food, and especially “fast food”, has been cited as a potential cause of increasing rate of obesity in the United States over the past several decades. Because the real minimum wage in the United States has declined by as much as half over 1968-2007 and because minimum wage labor is a major contributor to the cost of food away from home we hypothesized that changes in the minimum wage would be associated with changes in bodyweight over this period. To examine this, we use data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System from 1984-2006 to test whether variation in the real minimum wage was associated with changes in body mass index (BMI).
From Grist.org article & the study:
[E]ven though lower income persons are more likely than higher income persons to be obese, obesity has increased most among higher income persons in recent years, as might be expected if changes in the price of food away from home were driving increases in obesity.
You know, how fast food has gotten cheaper relative to making your own lunch/dinner with healthy food at home, eating out more often piles on the weight more easily.

Take the Single-Use Plastic Emergency Response (S.U.P.E.R.) Hero Pledge

Learn about PlasticPollutionCoalition.org:

Plastic Pollution 101: The basic concepts

Plastic is forever.

Plastic has become a plague.

Plastic affects human health.

Recycling is not a sustainable solution.

The Pacific Garbage Patch.

Take the pledge:
I will follow the “4 Rs” of sustainable living in the following order of preference:
Refuse:

Just say NO to single-use and disposable plastics like bags and bottles, straws, cups, plates, silverware and razors. Instead, bring your own shopping and produce bags to the market. Carry a reusable bottle with you for drinking on the go. Bring your travel mug to the coffee shop. Pack your own utensils. Skip the straw. (Plastic straws are for suckers!) Bring your own containers for take-out or ask for non-plastic disposable packaging.
Reduce:

Reduce waste: buy in bulk, choose products with the least packaging, look for products and packaging made from renewable resources, and avoid plastic packaging and containers. Choose products that have the least amount of disposable parts, like razors with replaceable blades and toothbrushes with replaceable brushes.
Reuse:

Reuse preferably nontoxic (glass, stainless steel) containers and goods to make less waste. Bad habits are disposable, containers are reusable.
Recycle:

Recycle what you can’t refuse, reduce or reuse. Recycling is a last option because it uses energy, and there may not be a market for the refabricated materials.

I will be a S.U.P.E.R. Hero!
Then go to Fake Plastic Fish and show your plastic:
Take the challenge. Collect your plastic waste (both recyclable and non) for one week or more. Then photograph, tally, and post it here. What can we learn about our habits and lifestyles by examining our waste? And what changes can each of us make to leave the planet a little less trashy?
Refuse plastic bags.

Beautiful photos of albatross chicks killed by being fed plastic

Watch this in HD full screen. The music is powerful too.



From Chris Jordan's YouTube page:

The nesting babies are fed bellies-full of plastic by their parents, who soar out over the vast polluted ocean collecting what looks to them like food to bring back to their young. On this diet of human trash, every year tens of thousands of albatross chicks die on Midway from starvation, toxicity, and choking.
From the photographer's website, ChrisJordan.com:
The pervasiveness of our consumerism holds a seductive kind of mob mentality. Collectively we are committing a vast and unsustainable act of taking, but we each are anonymous and no one is in charge or accountable for the consequences. I fear that in this process we are doing irreparable harm to our planet and to our individual spirits.
The music for Midway. Message from the Gyre is "15 Aftermaths" from "Vol 1. : Battle Cry".
The long, complex journey that leads us home. This is the first song I ever wrote, when I was 15-years-old.
From MidwayJourney.com:
Midway Atoll, one of the remotest islands on earth, is a kaleidoscope of geography, culture, human history, and natural wonder. It also serves as a lens into one of the most profound and symbolic environmental tragedies of our time: the deaths by starvation of thousands of albatrosses who mistake floating plastic trash for food.
Do something!

Help fund the artists by donating or buying their work.
Ban the use of plastic bags near our waterways.
Forward this story to every one you know.
Never use helium balloons.
Never litter.

Originally saw this at MNN.com.

11.11.2009

Wall Street Execs should donate 100% of their bonuses to help Vets get health care

From Bloomberg news, Wall Street bonuses are up 60% vs 2008:

The firms -- the three biggest banks to exit the Troubled Asset Relief Program -- will hand out $29.7 billion in bonuses, according to analysts’ estimates.
The big banks continue to get free money from us in the form of 0% Fed Funds Rate, Federal Guarantees in various forms and other programs amounting to trillions of dollars a year most you aren't aware of. They are continuing to make mad money, taking the same risks they took before they blew up the economy and got bailed out, and are paying larger bonuses on top of that.

Vets, who have proudly served their country, die every day due to a lack of health care.

From a research team at Harvard Medical School, their study found:
A research team at Harvard Medical School estimates 2,266 U.S. military veterans under the age of 65 died last year because they lacked health insurance and thus had reduced access to care. That figure is more than 14 times the number of deaths (155) suffered by U.S. troops in Afghanistan in 2008, and more than twice as many as have died (911 as of Oct. 31) since the war began in 2001.
The solution?

The Bank Execs should donate 100% of their bonuses we helped them make to fund a Health Care System that would insure 100% of all Vets.

Vets deserve no less.

11.07.2009

Yeah! Congress passes Health Care reform

Health Care Bill passes House.

New 18 button mouse simplifies computer use

From the geniuses at OpenOfficeMouse.com:



How does Apple have a chance with their Magic Mouse?

Hat tip about the 18 button thing goes to Daring Fireball.

Nosy about what Google knows about you?

Google Dashboard:

At Google, we are keenly aware of the trust you place in us and our responsibility to protect your privacy. As part of this responsibility, we let you know what information we collect when you use our products and services, why we collect it and how we use it to improve your experience.

10:10 Campaign's simplicity is brilliant

It doesn't get much simpler than this! From 10:10:

Aren’t individual efforts just a pointless drop in the ocean?
Not if they’re part of a mass movement. 10:10 makes the efforts of individuals meaningful by ensuring that lots of people will be pledging to make the same cuts, and shows politicians that we as a people are taking the threat of climate change seriously.

What’s the point of just getting people in the UK to sign up when the country accounts for only 2% of world emissions?
10:10 is being launched as a UK campaign but scientists say it is the right target for the whole developed world. The hope is that the campaign will spread to other countries, and we’ll be making it as easy as possible for that to happen.

11.06.2009

Breathing technique to help folks with asthma

The NYTimes.com most emailed story for the last couple days is about a Russian doctor's breathing technique to help folks with asthma reduce medications and breathe easier:

Then, last spring, someone told him about the Buteyko method, a shallow-breathing technique developed in 1952 by a Russian doctor, Konstantin Buteyko. Mr. Wiebe watched a video demonstration on YouTube and mimicked the instructions shown.

“I could actually feel my airways relax and open,” he recalled. “This was impressive. Two of the participants on the video were basically incapacitated by their asthma and on disability leave from their jobs. They each admitted that keeping up with the exercises was difficult but said they had been able to cut back on their medications by about 75 percent and their quality of life was gradually returning.”
About the Buteyko Method:
In 1952, Konstantin Buteyko found out that people often consume five to ten times more air than their bodies require. An extensive amount of air creates an insufficiency of carbon dioxide in the lungs and bloodstream, which badly impacts metabolism and the immune system gradually rendering them dysfunctional. Carbon dioxide deficit also affects respiratory gas exchange and diminishes the amount of oxygen carried by the blood to the brain, heart and kidneys. This situation can cause asthma, allergies, high blood pressure, anxiety, depression, cardiological problems, growth of tumors, etc. - after a life-long research, Dr. Buteyko came to the conclusion that about 150 out of all known diseases are the result of hyperventilation. Ironically, those 150 diseases are the most widespread.
A BCC story about it.



TheBreathingMan.com is a resource for The Buteyko Method.

Growing up with childhood asthma, I remember teaching myself to relax and use shallow breathing to "catch my breath". I guess I was using this technique and yes, it worked for me then.

Make Congress READ THE BILL by signing the petition

Read The Bill from Sunlight Foundation on Vimeo.

ReadTheBill.org sez:
ReadTheBill.org is an effort to gather individuals and groups, luminaries and everyday folks, conservatives, liberals and independents behind the simple concept that all non-emergency legislation should be available online for 72 hours before debate begins.
Please hold your Government accountable - sign the petition!

A take on using a CDS Clearing House

From nakedcapitalism.com:

And I must confess, they sound deceptively appealing (I was a proponent early on) until you dig further into how they would work for CDS. They need to be regulated intrusively, with the intent of shrinking the market considerably over time, and like insurance, with tough capital requirements and frequent examinations of the capital adequacy and claims-paying ability of the sponsor.
Essentially, that CDS should be viewed as insurance and not as an "investment vehicle". Makes sense as CDS allegedly is used to hedge, ie. insure, and us tax payers own AIG since they did not have any where near the collateral to pay off the obligations they received premiums for, ie. insurance companies must have plenty of capital behind their products. Therefore, a Clearing House is not to solution to reign in the CDS market. And to think, this market has been and still is unregulated.

11.05.2009

Read all or parts of H.R.2454 - American Clean Energy And Security Act of 2009

Thanks to Open Congress, you can read all or parts of any Bill working their way through Congress.

About Open Congress:

OpenCongress brings together official government data with news and blog coverage, social networking, public participation tools, and more to give you the real story behind what's happening in Congress.

OpenCongress is a free, open-source, not-for-profit, and non-partisan web resource with a mission to make Congress more transparent and to encourage civic engagement. OpenCongress is a joint project of two 501c(3) non-profit organizations, the Participatory Politics Foundation and the Sunlight Foundation.

Put broadly, the main problem we seek to address with OpenCongress is that the Congressional legislative process is largely closed-off from timely and meaningful public input. For most people, finding out what's really happening in our democratically-elected Congress is a difficult and discouraging task. The rules by which bills become laws are notoriously arcane. What's more, Congress offers few channels for people to make their voices heard on consequential publicy policy matters before, during, and after the legislative process. This disconnect results in deep-seated public disapproval of Congress -- and worse, malignant apathy about politics as a whole.

As with any Bill, there are rumors circulating about what one can and can not do once a Bill is passed.

One example is that H.R. 2454 will:
In effect, this bill prevents you from selling your home without the permission of the EPA administrator.
You can easily read sections or the entire Bill at Open Congress to read what it really says.

SEC. 202 Building Retrofit Program.

SEC. 204. BUILDING ENERGY PERFORMANCE LABELING PROGRAM.
(f) Creation of Building Energy Performance Labeling Program-
(1) MODEL LABEL- Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall propose a model building energy label that provides a format
(A) to display achieved performance and designed performance data;
(B) that may be tailored for residential and commercial buildings, and for single-occupancy and multitenanted buildings; and
(C) to display other appropriate elements identified during the development of measurement protocols under subsections (d) and (e).

(2) INCLUSIONS- Nothing in this section shall require the inclusion on such a label of designed performance data where impracticable or not cost effective, or to preclude the display of both achieved performance and designed performance data for a particular building where both such measures are available, practicable, and cost effective.

11.02.2009

Goldman Sachs made money on housing crash

Of course they did. That is how capitalism works. There are winners & losers. Goldman has weathered the Great Recession far, far better than almost anyone.

Yet, from McClatchy's article:

"The Securities and Exchange Commission should be very interested in any financial company that secretly decides a financial product is a loser and then goes out and actively markets that product or very similar products to unsuspecting customers without disclosing its true opinion," said Laurence Kotlikoff, a Boston University economics professor who's proposed a massive overhaul of the nation's banks. "This is fraud and should be prosecuted."
Let's assume they're innocent just out to make a buck.

Here's the fun part. On their "public books" is it that far fetched they sell crap while simultaneously "hedging" in their opaque off balance sheet unregulated dark pools?

What motivation would they have not to drive the economy off a cliff if they saw everybody speeding to it?

Madison, Adams & Jefferson documents offered online for first time

University of Virginia Press' Rotunda:

Rotunda today releases Founders Early Access, our first open-access publication. Founders Early Access makes available for the first time thousands of unpublished documents from our nation’s founders in a free online resource. Collected over many years by the Founders documentary editions, these letters and other papers penned by important figures such as James Madison, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson offer Americans of all ages and interests a wider view of the early Republic.
The Founders Early Access portal.
Hat tip to Virginia Coalition for Open Government.

Ikea Heights, a melodrama

Not up on the latest happenings in Burbank's Ikea, catch up at Ikea Heights.

Ikea Heights is a melodrama shot entirely in the Burbank California Ikea Store without the store knowing.

11.01.2009

Bill heading to Congress that could change the web & your privacy

According to studies, most of you do not block 3rd parties from viewing your online surfing habits. Do you care about your privacy? Do you know everything you do online can be tracked? Do you care who has that info?

Great article at Poynter Online about an upcoming Bill including links to get you thinking about your privacy while surfing:

The crux of Boucher's bill for the advertising industry is a plan to prevent Web sites from sharing information with "unrelated third parties.
And:
"Congress' position is that consumers are not appropriately aware of what is being done on their machines, and the use of cookies delivered by a third party is something consumers have not been appropriately informed of," Simulmedia CEO Dave Morgan, who heads the Interactive Advertising Bureau's privacy committee, said in June after meeting with Congressional staffers.

He was on the opposite side of the debate from Wise at the conference, and he pointed out how much data is collected and shared -- everything from our bank account and credit card balances to the pharmaceuticals we've purchased -- without our knowledge.
Firefox, as an example, has features like blocking of 3rd party tracking and private browsing:

Customized Security Settings

Control the level of scrutiny you’d like Firefox to give a site and enter exceptions—sites that don’t need the third degree. Customize settings for passwords, cookies, loading images and installing add-ons for a fully empowered Web experience.

Takedown Hall of Shame at EFF.org

The Takedown Hall of Shame and why:

Bogus copyright and trademark complaints have threatened all kinds of creative expression on the Internet. EFF's Hall Of Shame collects the worst of the worst.

10.29.2009

Walk on pavement to create electricity to safely light your way


One of their example uses is placing their pavement in the street so it would light up the crosswalk as you walk across it. How cool & safe would that be?

From an article at Inhabitat:

Every time a rubber Pavegen stone is stepped on it bends, producing kinetic energy that is either stored within lithium polymer batteries or distributed to nearby lights, information displays, and much more. Just five slabs spread over a lively sidewalk has the ability to generate enough energy to illuminate a bus stop throughout the night. But applications are not limited to the street.
Check out PaveGen Systems.

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