News Stories

[Vexx]

I think we've moved into an era that should consider *any* autocratic government as illegitimate and rather just a region where a real jackass and his posse are running amuck.

Of course, "real jackass and posse" defines a lot of human history (from warlords to kings to dictators) --- but at this point in the evolution of societal systems its time to call that mode out for the infantile model it is.

[DonQuigleone]

Originally Posted by Vexx

I think we've moved into an era that should consider *any* autocratic government as illegitimate and rather just a region where a real jackass and his posse are running amuck.

Of course, "real jackass and posse" defines a lot of human history (from warlords to kings to dictators) --- but at this point in the evolution of societal systems its time to call that mode out for the infantile model it is.

It depends. A modern day dictatorship generally lacks any legitimacy, as holding power is entirely based on "might makes right". It is difficult for such a system to gain legitimacy, as none of the people will believe in their ruler, because of course they are a "jackass and his posse".

However from my reading most historical autocratic governments haven't really functioned that way. Furthermore their tyranny was far less acute as they had far less means to maintain control of their populace, and their populace could more easily depose them if they really wished to.

[Mr. DJ]

Man's 400 Minutes In Dell Hell Could Cost Them Millions

Why you shouldn't outsource your customer service...

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by DjTrizz

Man's 400 Minutes In Dell Hell Could Cost Them Millions

Why you shouldn't outsource your customer service...

Over here, Singtel has the same issues. It is either

1. Chinese "foreign talent" who can't speak proper English
2. Overeducated undergraduates who know absolutely nothing about networking (other than Facebook I think)
3. Idiots who have been taught that open-source and torrents are bad - they somehow firewalled all my FFXIV updates the last time I played it, and it pissed me off, one of the reasons why I stopped playing the game altogether.

I heard that Starhub has the same problems, but meh, I am switching to another ISP after my contract ends.

This is the problem with outsourcing - the HR retards can't seem to see that reduced cost of labour is usually equivalent to reduced effectiveness of labour. And interestingly, the bigger the corporation gets, the more decadent the HR becomes.

[killer3000ad]

Gmail accounts hit by massive phishing attack

Hundreds of personal Gmail accounts, including those of some senior U.S. government officials, were hacked as a result of a massive phishing scheme originating from China, Google said Wednesday.

The account hijackings were a result of stolen passwords, likely by malware installed on victims' computers or through victims' responses to e-mails from malicious hackers posing as trusted sources. That type of hack is known as phishing. Gmail's security systems themselves were not compromised, Google said.

[Ithekro]

Might explain why my Youtube "history" disappeared.

[ganbaru]

Analysis: Could a cyber war turn into a real one for the U.S.?
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/...74U75420110601

[Claies]

Japanese PM Naoto Kan is currently going through a vote of no confidence from the Japanese parliament. There are conflicting reports alleging that he intends to resign. Specifically, Kan's chief cabinet secretary, Yukio Edano, denies that Kan is giving up on the earthquake recovery effort.

Alleging his intention to resign: http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20...000549-san-pol
Edano's denial: http://www.asahi.com/politics/update...106020162.html

The Americans go "impeach Bush" and then "impeach Obama" without anything close to successfully acting on it, and the Japanese actually follow through with alarming frequency. >_>;;

In related interest, there's an unconfirmed IAmA from an intern who works for a Japanese Diet member: http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comment...or_a_japanese/

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by Claies

Japanese PM Naoto Kan is currently going through a vote of no confidence from the Japanese parliament. There are conflicting reports alleging that he intends to resign. Specifically, Kan's chief cabinet secretary, Yukio Edano, denies that Kan is giving up on the earthquake recovery effort.

Alleging his intention to resign: http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20...000549-san-pol
Edano's denial: http://www.asahi.com/politics/update...106020162.html

Q. How do you know Japan is female?

A. She keeps having PMS (Prime Minister Sacking) on a regular basis.

*sarcastic*

It is not like changing another PM will solve the problem of Japan being over-corporatised, having a large public debt and a bureaucracy. The people need to work together to solve the problem instead of fighting for the authority to solve it their way.

[Ithekro]

But will a change cause Hinamizawa Syndrome?

[ganbaru]

AP sources: US-Pakistan form an anti-terror squad
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories...06-02-03-41-49
A move for keeping their billions than they get fron the USA every year ?

[SaintessHeart]

LinkedIn shares were a bubble: academic model

(Reuters) - Three academics say there was a bubble in LinkedIn Corp's (LNKD.N) shares during the first four days of its trading, which they have determined definitively using a model they designed.

The three have devised a model they say can establish in real time whether prices in a market are doomed to collapse.

If investors can spot speculative excess in short order, they can avoid overheated markets and better allocate their capital, said Cornell University finance professor Robert Jarrow, who wrote the paper along with Ecole Polytechnique's Younes Kchia and Columbia University's Philip Protter, both mathematicians.

"If enough people think there is a bubble and not enough people want to hold it, maybe the bubbles will disappear before they get too large," Jarrow told Reuters.

The model, described in a paper currently being peer-reviewed for publication, compares the size of price fluctuations, known as "volatility," with the volatility of a normal stock, which is a stock whose price is what you would pay if you held it forever. If the volatility in the stock you are testing is higher than that of a normal stock, there is a bubble.

Take social networking company LinkedIn Corp, (LNKD.N) for example.

The company's shares more than doubled on their first day of trade on the New York Stock Exchange and closed on May 24 -- the fourth and final day of trade run through the model -- at still more than double their IPO price.

The shares have since given up some of their gains, but closed on Wednesday, after just 9 days of trading, at more than 70 percent above their IPO price.

Some people would intuitively argue that the speedy share gains indicate a bubble. But the model can prove it: it shows that as LinkedIn's stock price increased, the rate of increase of volatility was abnormally large.

The model has been successfully tested against some of the stocks believed to have been bubbles in the 2000 to 2002 dot-com era, according to the paper.

HELP FOR THE FED

Investors aren't the only ones who stand to benefit from knowing when bubbles are arising. The Federal Reserve could use its regulatory power to tighten rules for lending in markets that seem to be overheating.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke noted in Congressional testimony in 2009 that it is extraordinarily difficult to tell in real time when a bubble is arising, echoing statements from former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan.

The issue even came up, recently, in relation to LinkedIn.

When LinkedIn shares jumped 109.4 percent on their first day of trade, Chicago Fed President Charles Evans said he was withholding judgment over whether a new dot-com bubble was under way.

"I have no way of knowing that those aren't just exactly the right valuations," Evans told reporters after a speech in Chicago. (Additional reporting by Jennifer Saba; Editing by Dan Wilchins and Muralikumar Anantharaman)

[Endless Soul]

North Korea the Happiest Place on Earth

Oh my!

According to a global happiness index released in North Korea, the country and its allies are the most cheerful countries in the world. Naturally, the "American Empire" strikes Pyongyang as just plain sad.

Shanghaiist reports that North Korea's Chosun Central Television recently came out with a happiness index compiled by local researchers. Their findings? China is the happiest place on the planet, earning 100 points (a perfect score!). At number two is none other than North Korea itself. Cuba, Iran and Venezuela (in that order) round out the top five.

The United States places dead last, coming in 203rd. South Korea is nearly just as depressed a nation; it ranks 152nd on the list. Some spots, North Korea's research indicates, are just nowhere near as smiley as the Axis of Evil.

I'm so moving to China!

[Tsuyoshi]

Originally Posted by Endless Soul

North Korea the Happiest Place on Earth

Do you hear that? That is the sound of ultimate bias!

[Claies]

Originally Posted by Endless Soul

North Korea the Happiest Place on Earth

Oh my!

I'm so moving to China!

Last line in the article was the gem.

The Chinese net is ablaze with the results, screen grabs of which have been posted to popular sites. Implored one commenter on the Chinese online forum Mop: “Please send me to the U.S. so I can suffer, too.”

[bladeofdarkness]

isn't this poll north Korean ?
the U.S should be thankful its even ON the list

[ganbaru]

Originally Posted by Tsuyoshi

Do you hear that? That is the sound of ultimate bias!

The ultimate bias about something than can hardly be measured.


Europe E.coli is toxic new strain, trade row grows
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/...7511UX20110602

[AnimeFan188]

"The global war on drugs has failed and governments should explore legalizing
marijuana and other controlled substances, according to a commission that
includes former heads of state, a former U.N. secretary-general and a business
mogul."


"The office of White House drug czar Gil Kerlikowske said the report was misguided."



See:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43248071...me_and_courts/

[Vexx]

Originally Posted by Endless Soul

North Korea the Happiest Place on Earth

Oh my!



I'm so moving to China!

This is what makes it impossible to satirize or parody North Korea .... they're so far over the curve in lunacy you can just use the "real stuff" (like their news reports or their films... the way they handle PR in general). If they weren't so cruel and vicious to their own people the government would be the clown entertainment of the planet.

[Ithekro]

Originally Posted by Tsuyoshi

Do you hear that? That is the sound of ultimate bias!

Looks like Saimoe results...oh wait, even those aren't that biased.