The Fount of Useless Information
Your place for useless information that just might possibly be interesting.
Judge Tosses Muslim Spying Suit Against NYPD, Says Any Damage Was Caused by Reporters Who Exposed It
https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2014/02/21/judge-tosses-muslim-spying-suit-nypd-saying-damages-caused-reporters-exposed/
Kind of amazing that someone would go on legal record spouting such nonsense, but then again, this is the sort of thing …
The Vampire Squid Strikes Again: The Mega Banks’ Most Devious Scam Yet
Banks are no longer just financing heavy industry. They are actually buying it up and inventing bigger, bolder and scarier scams than ever
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-vampire-squid-strikes-again-the-mega-banks-most-devious-scam-yet-20140212
I wrote earlier about …
Fifty States of Fear
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/01/19/fifty-states-of-fear/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0
A very interesting article that sort of consolidates a lot of my own arguments. A bit long for the average web article, but I recommend it to my reader(s). The author alludes to the us …
Lurid Subprime Scams Unveiled in Long-Running Fraud Trial
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/blogs/taibblog/lurid-subprime-scams-unveiled-in-long-running-fraud-trial-20131212
Matt is more upset about this sort of thing than I am. I _expect_ this sort of behavior when our government regulation has been as completely neutered as it has been …
Does calculator overstate heart attack risk?
http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/18/health/cholesterol-calculator/
When I first read an article about this new way of doing things that was expected to double or triple the number of people on statins I was very skeptical (see here for …
This is about the typhoon Yolanda that struck the Philippines at Tacloban, Leyte, where my parents-in-law live. Fortunately, they have a very sturdy reinforced concrete house that is several stories tall and were able to weather the storm comparatively well …
The Battle for Power on the Internet
https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2013/10/the_battle_for_1.html
A very interesting, if a bit long-ish (for the ‘net) article discussing the shifting power between the early Internet adopters and the johnny-come-lately corporate and government interests that are moving in now …
Nobody Should Shed a Tear for JP Morgan Chase
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/blogs/taibblog/nobody-should-shed-a-tear-for-jp-morgan-chase-20131025
Everyone (well, of those tiny number that actually knows this has been in the works) talks about the magnitude of the ‘fine’, but no one is going to jail and …
Why Robert Reich Cares so Passionately about Economic Inequality
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/businessdesk/2013/10/why-robert-reich-cares-so-passionately-about-economic-inequality.html
An interesting interview about our current failure to foster any sort of efforts toward remedying income inequality. According to the interviewee, we have had periods in the past where inequality …
Looting the Pension Funds
All across America, Wall Street is grabbing money meant for public workers
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/looting-the-pension-funds-20130926
A rather sad article that details the hopeless stranglehold the elite have on the steadily shrinking middle class, but this time from the …