Author: Serkadis

We’re guessing that a lot of folks share David Rosenberg’s sentiment on this one, that it’s time to ban the bailouts, and forget the idea that a Greece “default” would be tantamount to failure.

BAN THE BAILOUT
First we have governments bailing out banks (and auto companies and
mortgage providers), homeowner debtors, and now we have governments
bailing out governments.  When does someone finally say — enough is enough!
Oh no — bank ABC is too big to fail.  Company XYZ is too complex to fail.  And
now country GRK is too interconnected to fail.  Give me a giant break.  

Look, Greece is not going to “fail”.  They are going to default.  There will be a debt
restructuring.  And there will be some recovery.  Bondholders will take a haircut —
why shouldn’t they?  Why should Angela Merkel care if German banks own Greek
bonds?  Greece has been in default in its recent 200-year history almost half the
time.  So has most of Latin America come to think of it.  What about Russia?  
So Greece defaults, bondholders who knowingly bought these instruments
knowing the historical record went for the yield and simply do not deserve a
taxpayer-supported bailout of any kind.  To actually come to the aid of Greece
(especially after all the accounting gimmickry) would send a signal to investors
that the best way to make money is buy the debt of the most risky and highest
yielding enterprise because there will always be a bailout.  Rewarding bad
investment decisions is a huge mistake, in my opinion.  

Let Greece default, the world will not come to an end, and whether or not the
country gets a “bailout”, the fiscal drain is going be a pervasive drag on economic
activity for at least the next five years.  While there may be contagion risks — same
deal.  Investors who bought Club Med bonds with their stretched government
balance sheets in order to stretch for yield don’t deserve to be bailed out either.  
Taxpayers unite, wherever you live (because you too support the IMF).  These are
solvency issues we are talking about, not liquidity issues.  This is about bad
decisions, not market failure.

Join the conversation about this story »

Via Prison Planet.com » Sci Tech

Jeff Poor
Newsbusters
April 29, 2010

If you try to sweep your problems under the rug, they’ll go away, right? Michael Mann, a Penn State professor and a central figure in the Climategate scandal and best known for his “hockey stick graph” hopes so.

On Fox News Channel’s April 28 broadcast of “Your World with Neil Cavuto,” Elmer Beauregard of Minnesotans for Global Warming appeared to explain the reasoning behind a video that drew the ire Mann. The video mocked the Penn State professor’s alleged attempt to cover up data from tree rings that would indicate there was no global warming.

“Well, I don’t know if you remember, but last fall, Obama was pushing the no cap-and-trade to go through the Senate because he wanted to have something to bring to Copenhagen,” Beauregard said. “And just then Climategate broke and the mainstream press really wasn’t covering it, so the coalition got together and we tried to think of a way to kind of bring this into the forefront of the American public. And I said I could make a funny YouTube video. And so, I did it to the tune of ‘Draggin’ the Line’ by Tommy James and The Shondells and put it up on YouTube and it went viral. And then Rush [Limbaugh] played it on his show and it went supernova.”

Read more: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/jeff-poor/2010/04/28/hide-decline-global-warming-video-creator-says-mann-backlash-effort-clean#ixzz0mVDtn8hj

Aviary has been building a name for itself and, unlike some if not many companies out there, it’s mostly due to the quality of its products. Its online image editors are remarkably potent and the company has been pushing a steady stream of updates and new features. One of the lesser known apps, though, has nothing to do with image … (read more)

There have been a lot of complaints that No More Heroes: Heroes’ Paradise is stricken with sluggish loading times and freezing. Marvelous Entertainment has heard the call and promises a patch coming next month.
 
 
 
 

from guardian, 29 April 2010: “Mervyn King is warning that the victor in next week’s election will be forced into austerity measures that will keep the party out of power for a generation, according to the US economist David Hale. “I saw the governor of the Bank of England [Mervyn King] last week when I was in London and he told me whoever wins this election will be out of power for a whole generation because of how tough the fiscal austerity will have to be,” Hale said in an interview on Australian TV reported by Reuters…” more

A Fiat resolveu ser criativa em sua campanha de marketing para o Novo Uno, que está prestes a ser lançado no mercado nacional e já está interagindo com o público alvo do veículo (pessoas mais jovens) utilizando duas coisas que estão se tornando uma febre na internet. Entenda-se: O Twitter e o Formspring.

Acredito que o Twitter dispensa maiores explicações sobre como funciona. E o Formspring é uma página onde os usuários podem deixar perguntas para a empresa e elas serão publicadas no dia do lançamento do Novo Uno, e essa página foi entitulada “a maior entrevista coletiva do mundo”.

Se quiser tirar alguma dúvida a respeito do Novo Uno, basta acessar o formulário de perguntas do Formspring, ou então seguí-los no Twitter acessando @novofiatuno.

Via | Blogauto

Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua met once before in UFC 104, where the former won by way of a unanimous decision. They’re set to meet again in UFC 113 on May 8th, but while

Know a Cub Scout? Give him a video game and help him earn a pin. Apparently the Boy Scouts of America have come up with a new Cub Scout merit pin and belt loop earned by playing

Now that Super Street Fighter IV is out and about, what can fans of the fighting series look forward to now? Costume packs, of course!

It’s no secret that Larry Sanger is no fan of Wikipedia. He’s often credited as being a co-founder of the site, though some dispute this. He was involved in the creation of Nupedia, Wikipedia’s predecessor, which was more of a traditional expert-edited online encyclopedia. While many involved in Wikipedia these days downplay his role there, Sanger has made a pretty compelling case that he was heavily involved in the early days. Either way, since he left, he’s gone way out of his way to distance himself from Wikipedia, while setting up a competitor (again, an expert-edited encyclopedia) that doesn’t get much usage. Every few months or so, he seems to find some way to pop up in the news, often using his connection to Wikipedia as the hook for why the press should cover his competitor, which appears to get almost no traffic whatsoever.

His latest tactic is really pretty low. SimonTek points us to a Fox News article all about Sanger calling on the FBI to investigate Wikipedia for distributing child porn. While Fox of course plays up Sanger’s Wikipedia credentials, they leave out the fact that he has been working on a failed competitor for years (they mention the company name, but not that it’s a competitor). They also leave out much of the animosity between Sanger and Wikipedia.

This story actually got some attention a few weeks ago on Slashdot, where many commenters, rightfully, took Sanger to task. Sanger responded to the criticism by arguing a few points, saying that he was required by law to report his findings to the FBI. To some extent, on that point, he is correct, though it is an issue with the law that focuses on criminalizing even those who accidentally run across questionable material, rather than focusing on those who create and purposely distribute the material (the real problems). However, he does appear to go somewhat out of his way to publicize this claim. He could have just alerted the FBI and been done with it… but he republished his letter to the FBI on a mailing list. That certainly raises some serious questions.

On top of that, his complaint is not about actual photographs of child pornography, but drawings. Indeed, the courts have found that even such depictions count as child pornography — though many people find that arguable about whether or not a made up drawing exploits a child in any way.

The real problem, of course, is that this (like so many arguments over this stuff) takes away from the real issue: which is stopping those actually responsible for child pornography. Attacking Wikipedia is not the answer and does little to help the issue — especially when the attack comes from someone with a long history of animosity towards the site, and a failing competitor. Why not focus those resources on actually dealing with the real problem? Wouldn’t we all rather that the FBI is focused on actually stopping those involved in the production of child pornography than wasting time going after Wikipedia? Part of the problem is certainly with the way the law is structured today, but it does seem that Sanger went out of his way to try to broadcast this attack when that absolutely was not necessary.

He makes it even worse in the Fox story by claiming that he was doing this to alert educators that Wikipedia is dangerous for school children. That’s flat-out ridiculous. For the most part, it is not. It’s quite unlikely that anyone is going to accidentally stumble onto those drawings on Wikipedia — and they’re equally as likely to find similar (or worse) stuff elsewhere. To call out all of Wikipedia as being unsuitable because of this is clearly going way too far.

Permalink | Comments | Email This Story

No Doubt already has “Spiderwebs,” “Excuse Me Mr.,” “Sunday Morning” and “Just a Girl” available for Rock Band. But for those who loved the whole Tragic Kingdom album, the collection will be completed for the game this

If you don’t have the time to decode the multiple coded messages seen in Dead Space 2’s latest trailer, don’t worry. IGN’s done it for you.

Spyker Cars announced that it has taken the first steps to make an entrance into the Chinese auto market. Spyker signed an agreement with China Automobile Trading Company, one of China’s largest auto importers, and it awaiting government approval to begin its joint venture.

According to a report by Xinhua, from Beijing, China, Spyker recently signed an agreement with a local Chinese auto importer in order to establish a joint venture that will allow Spyker to import luxury automobiles into the growing Chinese auto market.

China recently unseated the U.S. as the world’s largest auto market, and now Spyker joins other brands scrambling to find a footing the massive – and still growing – auto market that is China. Spyker’s CEO, Victor Muller, expressed optimism regarding the growth of the Chinese auto market, and specifically with the luxury segment.

Should the agreement between Spyker and CATC be approved by the Chinese government, the joint venture would allow for Spyker sales and service in China for its supercars, luxury sport utilities and luxury commercial vehicles.

China unseated the U.S. as the largest auto market when it reported 13.64 million unit sales for 2009.

References
1. ‘Spyker taps into China’s luxury…’ view

   

Source: Leftlane

YouTube’s recent, and not universally approved, redesign is about to get a follow-up. While it’s nothing on the scale of the major revamp at the start of this month, it’s a pretty significant change, as it involves the one thing that probably gets most of the use and attention on YouTube, the actual video player. A new video … (read more)

Hamann, a prominent German tuning company, recently set their sights on tuning the new BMW Z4 sDrive35is. The BMW Z4 received an array of custom modifications from Hamann including a sleek new aerodynamics package, an improved exhaust, and a custom tuning of the car’s ECU. With the tuning changes and the expanded four-pipe exhaust system, BMW’s twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter inline six gained 54 horsepower and 104 ft-lb of torque. This means that Hamann’s tuned Z4 reached 360hp and 398 ft-lb of torque, pushing the top speed to 177mph.

The aerodynamics included a custom front lip spoiler complete with new LED running lights and side skirts with custom air scoops. Hamann tuning also modified the rear fascia to accommodate the new exhaust system and added a new deck lid spoiler. Hamann’s body kit along with the 1.2 inch lowering from the suspension system make the Z4’s stance lower and visually lengthen the body. A set of 20 inch matte black forged aluminum wheels are optional for the customer.

The interior of the BMW Z4 was, for the most part, left untouched. A custom aluminum shift knob and floor mats embroidered with the Hamann logo come standard, and a hand-crafted leather interior is listed as an option. Although Hamann didn’t release the price yet, their custom BMW Z4 isn’t expected to come cheap. The black matte wheels alone cost €7640, or just over $10,000 for a set, so expect this custom tuned Z4 to raise as many eyebrows with its price as its custom tuned sexy layout.

[Source: Hamann]

Source: Fancy Tuning – the latest car tuning news

Como o lançamento da nova Ford Ranger 2012 ainda está meio distante e a cada dia cresce a curiosidade acerca de seu novo visual já que, apesar de ser várias vezes flagrada em testes externos suas mudanças não puderam ser vistas em decorrência de sua eficiente camuflagem, foram feitas algumas projeções de como será a futura picape da Ford.

Dessa forma, o designer Josh Byrnes em parceria com o site Irmão do Décio projetaram o design da camuflada picape. Sua dianteira aparece com faróis mais estreitos e discretos, perdendo destaque para sua nova grade dianteira que segue o novo DNA da Ford, lembrando bastante a o Fusion.

Além de seu design exterior, Byrnes foi mais longe e também projetou o interior da nova picape Ford 2012 baseada em flagras recentes. Sem maiores novidades, ela aparentemente vem com linhas conservadores adotada de materiais de qualidade superior. No Brasil, o modelo encontrará como principais concorrentes a Toyota Hilux e a Volkswagen Amarok.

Nova Ford Ranger 2012

Fonte: AutoMocion

After a month of bad press and lawsuits, it seems Activision has finally scored a big coup. The developer has announced a ten-year deal with Halo masterminds Bungie, the latter’s first since splitting from Microsoft.

Uma nova pesquisa feita pela Lotus, com o apoio do governo norte-americano, pretende reduzir a massa da carroceria de seus veículos em até um terço, resultando em uma menor emissão de CO2 e economia de combustível. O uso de materiais leves para a construção das carrocerias e um design eficiente também fazem parte do estudo.

A montadora está fazendo as análises em seu modelo Venza, onde três fatores do veículo estão recebendo maior atenção: O uso de materiais mais resistentes e leves, uma maior integração de peças e sistemas, e implantação de técnicas avançadas de fabricação, como soldagem robotizada na linha de montagem.

Em estimativas futuras, os resultados de redução de peso bruto do Venza podem chegar a 38%, com diversas partes do veículo substituídas por alumínio e magnésio, os novos recursos internos do carro e um novo painel.

Imagens da carroceria do veículo

Via | Inside Line

Seen the movie yet? Yes or no, it just so happens that today is the day that its accompanying video game, Kick-Ass: The Game, will be swinging its boot straight up PSN’s rear end, figuratively.