The most interesting item heard on NBC’s Meet the Press and ABC’s This Week was the fact that both parties were working towards a 4PM Sunday deal so that the Asian stock markets which are at 9AM Monday time did not spike downwards because of the continued US Debt Ceiling Gridlock . It shows where […]
GOP: We are the Super Dupers Read More »
Nowhere is the disruptive waves of change emanating from rapid developments in electronics more evident than in photography markets. 150 years of chemical films came to a close in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s with the rise of digital cameras[just ask Eastman Kodak]. Now separate video and still cameras are merging as both compact
Photography : The Futures Read More »
How far has President Obama moved to the right? During the course of the Debt Ceiling debatehe slip streamed in not Elizabeth Warren but Richard Cordray as head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. True, he let Elizabeth do all the ground work setting up the agency almost to the very last week; but on
Obama Abandons Elizabeth Warren Read More »
Yesterday, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke suggested in testimony to Congress that QE3, a third round of quantitative easing, may be required if the economy falters. The US stock markets immediately rallied with a gain of 100 points on the DJIA being typical. Easy money would continue from the Fed with no strings attached. The flawed
QE3 – Trickling Down Nonsense Read More »
News Corp International is the name of Rupert Murdoch’s media empire that stretches from his native Australia [owning many of the largest Australian newspapers] thru Europe with many interests based in England [including Harpers Collin Book Publishing, Sky Italia and other Sky TV networks, several newpapers including the Sunday Times and the just now defunct
As Murdoch’s News Empire Crumbles: Rule of Law Implications Read More »
For the past ten years the Republican Party has been embracing dubious policies that are ever more weakening to the whole country. One notion is that the US tax burden is odious and one of the worst in the world. The second notion is that the public can be duped on hard to understand policy
Republican Irrationality: Embracing the Dubious Read More »
Declaring Google+ the Best Software of 2011 may appear a bit premature. Google Plus/Google+ has provoked a lot reactions on the Net. There has been a lot of positive reviews but also some notable nays. Nonetheless, there are at least 7 very compelling reasons why Google + is the best software introduction of 2011. However,
Google Plus Best Software of 2011 Read More »
The Wall Street Journal today gives a fascinating peek at what concerns the Street as the US budget deficit negotiations continue in Washington. Here is the WSJ video backdrop: As the country watches a game of Budget Chicken with far reaching implications, the Journal tells what it takes to own a private jet, whether their
A Peek at Wall Street Read More »
The following two reports shows whats ail the US. The first is an example from the Washington side of the fence. Representative Eric Cantor, lead negotiator for the Republicans in the House has investments in an ETF -Exchange Traded Fund which will go up significantly if the Budget negotiations with the Obama Administration falter or
[js] Cost of Living Calculator Salary Calculator [/js] Payscale offers a number of economic and employment savvy widgets for inclusion on your website. The following is an example; just fill in the data with fictitious values to see how it works. Be prepared for an ugly surprise; like a Bankster offering you a low, low
Payscale’s Economic Widget Read More »
Steve Jobs and Apple are getting headline stories about the declaration of the Post PC Era; but the reality is that Post PC era started at least 10 years ago. The catalyst has been the fact that Microsoft with its ironclad monopoly wiped out a creative ecosystem around the PC [just look at the software
Defining the Post-PC Era Read More »
In the past year, ye Editor has found himself disagreeing with MarketWatch’s John Dvorak on a number of his editorials. But on his recent disapproval of Google’s Chromebook as lacking a compelling combination of features, operational modes, and pricing – ye Editor has to say right on John. Here is the most telling arguments I’m
Google Misses on Chromebook Read More »
There is a posting at Aljazeera about cyberwarfare that reads like a Clive Cussler Techno-thriller novel [try Polar Shift]. There is the intrigue and secrecy associated with hacking and the security defying exploits of hackers that make your taming of Microsoft Word’s formating ribbon look like what it is – tedious child’s play. But cyber-warfare has now
Cyber Warfare Moves to PrimeTime Read More »
In the movie On the Waterfront, the story turns on Mickey’s lament – “I couldda been a contendah”. In the bowels of Apple’s Cupertino development center, the same lament could be made by Apple’s Mac development team. Last year, Mac sales grew by 28% despite having to heft a 100% price premium against PCs for
Mac Team To Steve Jobs: We Couldda Been A Contendah Read More »
Why be the Republican Presidential Candidate in 2012? The prospect is daunting given at best the titular power but the more likely fractious power accorded to the 2012 Republican Presidential candidate. It is definitely not fear of President Obama who has flunked Economics 101 by accepting ” Trickle Down, Rescue the Financial System first and
Why Be The Republican Presidential Candidate ? Read More »
Benjamin Netanyahu [also known as Bibi] may have won a Pyrhhic victory in his well received address to the US Congress. But come September at the United Nations when a vote in the General Assembly may arise on admission of Palestine as a member country with borders adhering to the pre-1967 lines – the Ship
During the Financial crisis, a consistent complaint has been that the Federal Financial regulators have proved to be no match for Wall Street Manipulators. The two primary cases cited are the Madoff scandal missed by the SEC despite 3-4 clear advisories from whistle blowers and the Mortgage Meltdown ignored by many of the 17 Federal
Financial Regulation: War of Attrition Read More »
Paul Krugman of the NYTimes gives the almost sordid history of manufacturing jobs in the US over the past decade. Making Things In America, manufacturing, used to be one of the strengths of America. Here are the current trends: The story so far: In the 1990s, U.S. manufacturing employment was more or less steady. After
Problems of Made in USA Read More »
David Brooks at the NYTimes has said about unlimited campaign funding and lobbying allowed by the Supreme Court in January 2010 – “What?, Me, Worry?” [ye Editor paraphrases only slightly]. But in describing the gridlock over climate change and broader legislation, Felix Salmon at Reuters describes the consequences of the Supreme Court’s sheer blundering judicial
Lobbyists “Free Speech” Read More »
Perhaps it is fitting that on the anniversary of the Flash Crash on the NYSE last May when the Dow Jones Index fell by nearly 1000 points, the markets got a reminder of how speculation still rules the roost. The day before oil prices fell by 10%, silver by another 8%, and commodity prices across
Speculators Move the Markets: How Much Movement Do We Need? Read More »
Being deliberately irrational has become the modus operandi for the GOP as the party of Political Conservatives. However, in recent months, the conservative norms have taken ever more extreme forms including the deliberately irrational or mendacious. Take the latter and Republican Senator John Kyl of Arizona who declared in the Senate that 90% of Planned
Deliberately Irrational Read More »
Watching Meet the Press on NBC the last two Sundays, I found the Moral Amnesia of guests Representative Paul Ryan and Senator Mike Lee, both Tea party members, so astonishing and morally vacuous. Here are two champions of Deficit Cutting who speak with almost complete amnesia about how the deficits were amassed – they are
Moral Amnesia on the National Debt Read More »
Taketh5th has just covered the several recall petitions for Wisonsin GOP Senators and Representatives that is going forward after the legislature removed government unions rihts to negotiate. Now the recall movement is taking on another target, The US Supreme Court. Two districts in Wisconsin have approved referenda that call for amending the US Constitution to
Wisconsin on a Recall Roll Read More »
Who did the following series of stories? Huffington Post or LATimes? Or maybe the BBC or CBC? Could it be the Guardian or maybe the TheTelegraph? No – these are the headline stories from Aljazeera websiteon Saturday May 26, 2011. . Yes there is a preponderance of news stories from the MidEast but that is
US voters are clamoring for bipartisanship and for the Democrats and Republicans to work together to deliver much better governance. There are too many polls that tell Washington so. But leaders from both parties cite the stridence and shrill lack of civility that undoes all efforts at good bipartisan governance. Even the one arena, foreign affairs.
Bipartisanship: No Rule of Law for Wall Street Read More »
Health Insurance rates are rising by double digits. The Insurers and the Obama administration both say its not due to the Healthcare Reform laws – most of the provisions do not start until 2012 or later. So what is the reason for the price increases – non-shared sacrifice? Well a Google query may have the
Health Insurance Study Exercise Read More »
There is an almost obscene lure for all things Charlie Sheen as “he implodes on national TV” as a breathless TV commentator so thoughtfully intones. Ye Editor could not understand. Okay, 2 1/2 is not my cup of TV. But apparently Charlie Sheen and all his “I am the victim of all these TV magnate
The Lure of Charlie Sheen Read More »
Stock market gurus at The Street have a careful analysis of why the iPad 2 missed some key concerns of the IT and Business community and thus an opportunity for Apple to make big inroads into the office. Keep in mind The Street still sees the consumer side of iPad 2 as HUGE. Steve Jobs
Update: iPad 2 – Tablet Knockout Blow? Read More »
Being a Republican Intellectual has the furious sound and ironic meaning of an oxymoron. Looking at the Republican record for intellectual analysis let alone free speech is shuddering: 1)the GOP must answer to such idol-savants as Rush Limbaugh, Glen Beck, Bill OReilly with an acrid chorus of Ann Coulter, Sarah Palin, and Michelle Bachmann among
On Being A Republican Intellectual Read More »
From time to time Taketh5th finds posts that coincide or underline arguments made here. Such is the case with The Republican Shakedown by Robert Reich which supports our American SuperWealthy Wage War on America!. The core idea is that SuperWealthy are using their expanding wealth to defend themselves from encroachment by government taxation and regulation. What is not
Guest Blog: The Republican Shakedown Read More »
Update: The article below predicted that following IBM’s Watson’s triump at Jeopardy there would more proposals for computers software playing a more active role in business and organizations. Here are 3 recent articles on that continuing trend: NYTimes – armies of expensive lawyers to be replaced by cheaper AI software. Business Week – Virtual AI
Update: Problems with IBMs Watson Read More »
Are you tired of having to wait up to all hours of the night for a little dab of political humor or satire from Bill Maher or Jon Stewart or Stephen Colbert? Are Jay, David, and Jimmy too lame or inane? Do you like unbiased black humor? Let me recommend the Borowitz Report, available on
Political Satire Junkies: Need a Humor Fix? Read More »
