chicago cops

The International Olympic Committee is scheduled to visit Chicago April 2-7. Their visit will be one of the final elements of the bidding process. Chicago is competing against Madrid, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo for the 2016 summer Olympics (in case you've been living in a cave). The IOC will make their decision on Oct 2 in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Currently the Chicago's police union is considering picketing while the IOC is in town because they are unhappy with contract negotiations. Specifically, because Mayor Daley removed a pay raise as part of the new contract when it had been previously included.

This weekend, Mayor Daley denounced the police union as being selfish. Daley stated that the Olympics were bigger than the union, himself, or any particular group, that they were about uniting the greater Chicago area, and the world.

The city has tried several times in the past to win an Olympic bid, but has never been successful.

If the union decides to go through with their picket, regardless of its location, size, or publicity, they will be ridiculed and vilified by millions of people. And rightly so!

They are willing to risk harming Chicago's chance at an Olympic bid because they are upset daddy won't give them a raise in their allowance when he promised he would. Even though daddy owes the creditors a lot of money, and a lot of other kids in town don't even have an allowance anymore.

I already have very little respect for the often ridiculed and laughably corrupt Chicago police department.

I still wince at the story about an off-duty cop who drove drunk and killed 2 people in a fatal crash the night before Thanksgiving in 2007, but for some reason didn't undergo a breathalyzer test until 8 hours after he was arrested, when it was magically below .08.

The officer was given a failure to reduce speed citation, and a misdemeanor D.U.I. since he still had some alcohol in his system. The bar he was at had him on video taking a shot 35 minutes before the crash.

If the Chicago police union proceeds with its public demonstration in an attempt to punish Mayor Daley. I will lose what little respect I have left for them, and so will a lot of people.

China Hacks Dalai Lama's cpu

According to two reports this weekend, the chinese government has successfully hacked 1,300 computers in 103 different countries. Most notably being the Dalai Lama's personal computer.

The type of virus, known as malware, gives the hacker the ability to move files around in the host computer, and even turn on the camera and microphone, effectively turning the cpu into a bug.

The virus is sent as an e-mail attachment, and infests upon being opened. It gives the hacker almost limitless power over the host cpu.

According to representatives from the University of Cambridge, who discovered the virus, The structure of malware is such that private individuals are easily capable of manufacturing it. This virus was created by a government agency, but average hackers are capable of similar viruses.

The virus also infected government computers in the U.S., Iran, Indonesia, India, South Korea, Taiwan, Portugal, Pakiston and Germany.

We're a bit more careful about it, knowing the nuance of what happens in the subterranean realms," said Ronald Deibert from the University of Toronto. "This could well be the CIA or the Russians. It's a murky realm that we're lifting the lid on."

The two researchers who created the program that discovered the malware say defense against this new era of hacking is almost impossible.

Fair and Balanced, but not really

This is a shortened version of the movie "Outfoxed" which is a political propaganda movie against the Fox News and Rupert Murdoch. While the movie makes many excellent points about the inferior and non-objective journalism of Fox News, which is anything but fair and balanced, it was created by the partisan activist group moveon.org. A similar video could have been made about MSNBC and any number of overseas news organizations.

My point is that news consumers must always be aware that what they are reading or viewing my not be news, may be biased, may be incorrect and may make me want to papercut Bill O'Reilly with my diplomas.

Another paper says goodbye

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer announced yesterday that it will stop printing newspapers and will publish news only on the internet. The Post-Inelligencer first published its paper in 1863.

This paper chronicled Seattle's evolution from frontier town to major metropolitan city for 146 years. It has been read at the breakfast table for the last time. The morning coffee will never be spilt on it again.

Starting today, readers of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer will scroll instead of turn.

This move is in response to declining ad revenue, an uncertain future for daily papers and internet growth. The paper has been for sale since January, and has been losing money for several years. It appears the current recession was the final nail in the coffin.

"We've had fewer sacred cows and more gore-able oxen than any newspaper in the Northwest," said Post-Intelligencer columnist Joel Connelly in describing his fellow writers of the paper.

The paper is the second major daily to close shop this year, the first being Denver's The Rocky Mountain News. This Saturday, The Tuscon Citizen is set to shut down. The Hearst Corp., owner of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and hundreds of smaller papers around the country, said it will close or sell the San Francisco Chronicle if it is unable to cut costs. Where the Post-Intelligencer differs, is that it will continue an online version where The Rocky Mountain News and others closed up shop completely.

Papers rely on advertising for 90 percent of their revenue (give or take). But advertisers are flocking to the much cheaper internet. The internet doesn't have to buy costly ink and paper. It doesn't have to print and ship 100,000 papers every day. Editors just have to copy, paste and post. Internet versions of papers get fewer readers, but the reduced cost makes the internet a far better advertising medium.

Newspaper corporations have been trying to figure out how to make money off the internet for 15 years. Ideas on subscriptions, ad space and everything in between have been tried with little success. The daily paper was always the focus and moneymaker, and the internet was a bonus. Newspapers are unable to charge print advertising prices for web advertising for competitive reasons.

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer is going to act as a guinea pig for every other newspaper in the world.

It is by far the largest daily paper to move to a solely online edition. What it does over the next few years and how it succeeds and fails will be the most closely watched and studied aspect of journalism for decades.

The death of the newspaper is a major fear among the older generation of journalists. A story is considered superior in print vs. internet, even though the words are identical.

This idea is based out of how the two are read. People read the newspaper as they wake up in the morning. They sit in their robes and sip coffee as they casually stroll through this present left each morning on the front porch. They discuss interesting stories with whoever is in the room as the sun slowly brightens up each word more and more.

The internet is none of these things. It is new, cold and unfriendly. It is read in isolation at a desk in uncomfortable clothing. There is no sun, only pixels.

Editors around the world are dying for a solution to save the newspaper. Perhaps the Seattle Post-Intelligencer will provide the answer.

An ode to Ben Bernanke

I watched Ben Bernanke's first public interview Sunday night on 60 minutes, and I can't imagine there is another person more qualified to get us out of the current recession.

The man:
won a state spelling bee at 11 and finished 26th in the national competition
taught himself calculus
edited the school newspaper
was class valedictorian
got a 1590 on the SAT
has a B.A. in economics from Harvard
a PHD in economics from MIT
has taught economics at Stanford, NYU, and Princeton
is one of the 50 most published economists in the world
and is one of the world's foremost experts on the Great Depression; on which he has written extensively.

Sweet Georgia brown!!

I don't think I and my 350 facebook friends could collectively accomplish such a resume. And the man is only 55!

The unemployment rate is at 8.1 percent, worst since 1983
The national debt is 76 percent of our GDP, worst since the early 50's
The national debt also just crossed the $11 trillion mark
The stock market is at levels equal to 1998
And worst of all...I have to pay $3 to do a load of laundry

My economics education (other than what I've taught myself) consists solely of a required high school course where we spent an entire week learning how to fill out a 10-40 EZ tax form.

OH!! So I'm supposed to write my name in the space where it says to write my name!

I, like most of America, have a hazy idea of how we got in this mess, am nervous about how long we'll be in this mess, an have no freaking clue what we should do to get out of this mess.

But I do believe that the Chairmen of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve Board knows all these things.

After all, the man got a higher score on the SATs than Zach Morris.

North Korea to launch....something

North Korea currently plans to launch a communications satellite sometime between April 4 and April 8. The missile carrying the satellite is currently expected to fly directly over Japan. Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso is warning North Korea that if it goes ahead as planned, North Korea will violate United Nations Security Council resolutions because Japan has not given North Korea permission to launch anything over Japanese airspace.

But the real question is what is North Korea really testing? Many international governments, including Japan, South Korea, and the U.S. suspect that North Korea is testing a new intercontinental ballistic missile.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Thursday a North Korean satellite or missile launch would "threaten the peace and stability in the region."

"We think the North needs to desist, or not carry out this type of provocative act, and sit down ... and work on the process of denuclearization of the Korean peninsula," U.S. State Department spokesman Robert Wood said.

"There is no country which has test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile passing above another country. In that sense, I have no intention to allow (the object) to pass above Japan without asking permission," Aso said.

North Korea says it will consider any attempt to shoot down its missile an act of war.

Here is my question, does anyone really believe North Korea is stupid enough to launch a missile at a world power? Whether it is Japan, China, Russia, America, South Korea, etc., the international backlash would wipe North Korea of the face of the earth within a week.

Kim Jong il may have some issues, the man did claim to shoot an 18 the first time he played a round of golf, but even dictatorial idiots have a measure of common sense. Kim Jong il launching a ICBM at a member of the United Nations, and consequently going to war with several world powers, would be like me picking a fight with The Predator.

I say let them build and test whatever they want. As long as they are responsible and don't allow their missiles to "go missing", a la Russia when the iron curtain fell, what difference does it make?

No blood, no foul.

Unofficial St. Patrick's Day. My 1st Love

This past weekend I traveled down to my old stomping grounds of Champign-Urbana, or as I prefer to call it, "Urbanpaign". The reason for my triumphant return was to celebrate Unofficial St. Patrick's day for my 6th time.

For those unfamiliar with the holiday, it was created in the late 90's bar a local bar owner in an attempt to recoup lost revenue because the real St. Patrick's day was always during U of I's spring break. So he made up the holiday to take place a week before. Students stepped back, thought for a moment, and have turned the school into a giant trashcan every year since.

In recent years though, the school has taken numerous actions to attempt to curb the day which has grown beyond their control and tolerance. Some of these ordinances include,

All bars will be 21 and over instead of 19 and over
No liqour shots or pitchers
All bottles must be plastic, no glass
Any purchase of multiple kegs will require a permit

According to the local papers of Champaign, local bar and store owners thought students were much more well behaved than in years past. Additionally, lines at the bars were not as long as usual.

While the city and the school are calling the weekend a success, I remain uneasy. Unofficial is more popular than ever, it just isn't as public.

"I think it's much busier this year," said Champaign Police Lt. Brad Yohnka

By enacting several emergency sanctions to control the holiday, Illinois is dramatically increasing the safety risks of the day. Most people are now going to apartment parties and fraternity parties which are largely uncontrolled. Bars will stop serving when a patron has had too much to drink. At an apartment party, the patron fills their own cup, and might not stop until they have had far too much.

According to the Champaign News-Gazette,

Police were also called out at 6:30 p.m. to the 800 block of South Fourth Street, where a man in his 20s fell three stories from an apartment balcony. He was hospitalized with unknown injuries and an investigation is ongoing, Yohnka said.

The man was attempting to climb from a third-floor balcony to a fourth-floor balcony when he fell, according to neighbors at a house next door. They were preparing to play a drinking game involving beer and Ping-Pong balls.

Man loses Xbox, Man loses mind.

Recently, Yale student Jesse Maiman flew from New Haven to Cincinnati with U.S. Airways. When he arrived at his destination he discovered that his Xbox was no longer in his luggage. He went to talk with U.S. Airways, and says he was given, "an unconscionable runaround."

Maiman estimates the value of his Xbox at $1000 because he has upgraded several parts.

What "upgraded" means in the gamer world is that Maiman has modded his xbox to copy games, play old games on old systems, and do many other things which violate every copyright infringement law that exists.

Maiman has now brought suit against U.S. Airways for $1 million dollars because of:
the unconscionable runaround he received
the cost of the system
time spent "upgrading" his system

If you are reading this I ask you pause and for a moment of silence in remembrance of Mr. Maiman's lost Xbox. I wouldn't wish such a loss on any gamer. I can only hope he finds a way to replace his long lost love before his thumbs forget the sweet sweet feel of a Microsoft joystick.

Cold War part 2?

China has asked the U.S. to stop flying surveilence missions off China's southern coast in response to an incident this weekend between an Navy survey vessel and a five Chinese ships. U.S. news organizations have largely ignored the story in favor of time spent talking about earmarks and pork barrel projects signed by Obama in the last week.

The U.S. claims the ship was in international waters and China claims the ship violated Chinese soverignty.

Anyone else just have flashback to the end of Top Gun?

"We both agreed that we should work to ensure that such incidents do not happen again in the future," Hillary Clinton told reporters after a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang.

The U.S. has worked hard in recent years to make an ally out of Communist China due in large part because China currently owns over one-third of all U.S. debt.

Number 701 on your list, number 1 in your kidneys.

Forbes magazine recently came out with its usual "richest people in the world" list, but this year the list included Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.

According to Forbes, Guzman has amassed a billion-dollar fortune by becoming the United States' foremost drug supplier. Guzman is head of the Sinaloa cartel. Ironically, Guzman is one of the world's ten most wanted criminals. The U.S. has placed a $5 million bounty on his head.

Guzman was arrested in 1993 in drug and murder charges, but escaped in 2001 in a laundry truck and remains at large.

Perhaps it's time for politicians to readdress their war on drugs? Because somewhere the 701 richest person in the world is framing the most recent copy of Forbes.

Hooray poverty!

The U.S. national debt is currently at $10.8 trillion and the 2008 GDP was $14.2 trillion. This means our national debt is 76 percent of our GDP. Additionally, last year the government spent $430 billion on interest payments. In other words, if you made $50,000 last year, your outstanding debt is $38,000, an you paid $1500 on interest payments.

At 76 percent, the U.S. is at the same levels as the early 1950's. Our highest point was 121.7 percent in 1946, and lowest point since WWII was 37 percent in 1981. During the Civil War this percentage was in the high 50s, and during WWI this percentage was in the high 30s.

This percentage was lowest in 1835 and 1836 when Andrew Jackson completely paid off the U.S. national debt. Overall, the U.S. probably was its richest right before the Civil War and right before WWI, when the percentage was in single digits.

Comparatively, other countries National debt as a percentage of their GDP is:
Russia - 6.8%
China - 15.7%
Brazil - 40.7%
United Kingdom - 47.2%
India - 59%
Germany - 62.6%
France - 64.4%
United States - 76% (adjusted for recent bailout)
Japan - 170.4%

And if everyone paid off their debt they would have left,

Russia - $2.08 trillion
China - $6.57 trillion
Brazil - $1.2 trillion
United Kingdom - $1.2 trillion
India - $1.36 trillion
Germany - $1.07 trillion
France - $74.6 billion
United States - $3.4 trillion (adjusted for recent bailout)
Japan - -7.62 trillion

Now, other than the U.S., these numbers have not been adjusted for the recent global recession. While the semantics of the data will change at the end of fiscal 2009, the point of the data will still be the same.

The United States may still have the world's biggest economy, but it no longer has the world's best economy.

AIG wants more money

If economic prosperity is a shared delusion, are all our fears delusional?

Earlier tonight the U.S. government agreed to lend insurance giant AIG an additional $30 billion. AIG is expected to announce a $62 billion loss this quarter, the largest loss of any company, in any quarter, in history. This is the fourth time the government, which now owns more than 80 percent of AIG, has given them money since September. In the last year, AIG's stock has gone from $49.50 to $0.42, and they have been given $180 billion.

The reason seems to always be the same regardless of the company. "They are to big to be allowed to fail."

I am by no means an economist, but I wonder how valid that reason is? Is any company so big that they can't be allowed to fail?

If AIG, or GM, or Walmart, or Google, or Microsoft, or GE, or any other multinational corporate giant goes under, the demand for the products they provide still exists. Supply must be created in order to fill that demand. If AIG fails, how many insurance companies will be created to replace it? How much more business will insurance companies with better business models and more responsible lending practices get?

AIG and GM are bleeding money because of their own stupidity. While I am philosophically opposed to government lending money to private enterprise, I must agree that under current conditions, allowing any corporate giant to fail during the current global recession is a bad idea. The effect of the resulting job losses under current conditions would be much worse than the effect of any bailout.

That being said, the U.S. government's funds are not limitless, and as we quickly approach a national debt of $11 trillion, a 10 percent increase since Sep. 30, I have to imagine we are close to that limit.