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Archive | March, 2009

Canadians find vast computer spy network: report

This important story is now getting popular attention:

In a report provided to the newspaper, a team from the Munk Center for International Studies in Toronto said at least 1,295 computers in 103 countries had been breached in less than two years by the spy system, which it dubbed GhostNet.

Embassies, foreign ministries, government offices and the Dalai Lama’s Tibetan exile centers in India, Brussels, London and New York were among those infiltrated, said the researchers, who have detected computer espionage in the past.

They found no evidence U.S. government offices were breached.

The researchers concluded that computers based almost exclusively in China were responsible for the intrusions, although they stopped short of saying the Chinese government was involved in the system, which they described as still active.

“We’re a bit more careful about it, knowing the nuance of what happens in the subterranean realms,” said Ronald Deibert, a member of the Munk research group, based at the University of Toronto.

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Stewart destroys Cramer on ‘The Daily Show’

13 Mar

Those who don’t know history are bound to repeat it. That is what happened tonight on the Daily Show where Jon Stewared decimated Jim Cramer in the same way he crushed CNN’s Cross Fire.

NEW YORK – Jon Stewart hammered Jim Cramer and his network, CNBC, in their anticipated face-off on “The Daily Show,” repeatedly chastising the “Mad Money” host for putting entertainment above journalism.

“I understand that you want to make finance entertaining, but it’s not a … game,” Stewart told Cramer, adding in an expletive during the show’s Thursday taping. The episode was scheduled to air at 11 p.m. EDT on Comedy Central.

It was perhaps the hardest lashing Stewart has given to a TV commentator since 2004 when he called Tucker Carlson and his then co-host Paul Begala “partisan hacks” on CNN’s “Crossfire,” the since canceled political commentary program.

I thought something like this might happen.

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Are we experience Irrational dispair?

6 Mar

Alan Greenspan warned us during the tech bubble that we were in a period of irrational exuberance. But what is the opposite of that? Are we now over reacting to the downturn? The solvency of some of the world’s largest companies is now in question but these ‘fundamentals’ are themselves based on the performance of even deeper fundamentals – i.e. consumer demand. And consumer demand is itself a function of employment levels. Paul Kedrosky points to a small glimmer of hope in layoff numbers that give me some hope.

Rather than repeat the same ominous stuff as everyone else about the horrible February employment data, I thought it would be more interesting to take a look forward with some interesting data. Courtesy of First Rain, here are some charts showing that, according to their data, the pace of layoff announcements has slowed.

I’m not saying that we are out of the woods, or that 09 will not be a total blood bath, or that the banks won’t go belly up but it is easy to miss what might be early indicators of a possible turnaround in the face of the barrage of bad news we’ve seen lately.

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Are we experience Irrational dispair?

6 Mar

Rather than repeat the same ominous stuff as everyone else about the horrible February employment data, I thought it would be more interesting to take a look forward with some interesting data. Courtesy of First Rain, here are some charts showing that, according to their data, the pace of layoff announcements has slowed.

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Backyard chickens may be coming to Vancouver

2 Mar

Done right this could be a great thing for Vancouver.

Andrea Reimer is in a fowl mood.

The Vision Vancouver councillor has introduced a motion that would repeal the city’s prohibition against keeping chickens and develop guidelines for the raising of backyard hens.

“The idea is not to make it mandatory to keep chickens,” said Remier. “But if you want to keep chickens and you’re up to that task, here’s an opportunity to do so.”

The idea was forwarded from a Vancouver resident and filtered through the city’s advisory body, the Food Policy Council (Remier co-chaired the council at the time).

Many cities including Burnaby, Surrey, Victoria and New York City allow the keeping of hens.

Guidelines that staff would have to look at includes how the hens would be kept and how many per yard.

“There are always issues about keeping animals, but we figured out how to make it work with dogs, so we should be able to come up with some guidelines that work for chickens.”

The motion goes to council Tuesday, but a decision will likely be put over until March 5.

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Twitterites rally to support Phelps

1 Mar

This is something that you’re seeing more of. In this case twitter is being used to apply pressure to Kelloggs to bring Michael Phelps back into their sponsorship program.