antikoan

 |::| Tuesday, May 07, 2002

 |::| Just Call Him "Cassandra" Buffett  4:47:08 PM 

From Daypop, Warren Buffett offers his sage opinion on the likelihood of terrorists targeting nuclear plants. As paraphrased by CNN:

"We're going to have something in the way of a major nuclear event in this country," said Buffett, the firm's chief operating officer. "It will happen. Whether it will happen in 10 years or 10 minutes, or 50 years ... it's virtually a certainty." -- CNN.com - Buffett: Nuclear attack 'virtually a certainty' - May 6, 2002

The story is about terrorism of course (and what's not, these days?). But I couldn't help noticing the following:

Buffett is the second-richest man in the world with holdings in Coca-Cola Co., American Express and The Washington Post, but his main business is insurance.

Hmmm... so maybe that "new economy" thing wasn't such a sure bet, after all?

 |::| More From The "I Couldn't Make This Up" Department  4:35:51 PM 

From Daypop, here's your chance to sign the "rename "The Two Towers" to something less offensive" petition. A representative sample of signatory comments:

• "I support America, and so should you." -- Richard James
• "Ludicrous, but somehow meaningful." -- Darcy Brennan
• "What are they thinking?!?!" -- Angelis Ashe
• "I agree, the director Mr. Tolkien should immediately change the name for the respect of the people lost in the empire state building crash, the families of mr Trump will be hurt when they see this movie,, making it would be wrong!" -- Vi Scid
• "i pray every day that mr jackson will see the light and pull the plug on this project. Mr Tolkien if that is his indead his real name does not seem to be a very christian person to be so cynically cashing in on this tragedy. " -- cathy clinton
• "Shocking. Truly shocking." -- Deyth Valkyrre
• "TOLKIEN WAS A PROFIT, HE PREDICTED WTC BOMBING 47 YEARS BEFORE THE FACT, AND THE THIRD MOVIE IS RETURN OF THE KING. JESUS IS COMING BACK YOU HAD BETTER RECOGNIZE" -- Omid
• "they have no sensitivity, i wont even let my two twin kids stand next to each other out of respect for 9/11. " -- Paul
• "What about the Children? Who is thinking abou tthe Children" -- Bastards
• "it should be called: 'The Two Landmarks'" -- Linda Medelberg
• "THOSE INSENSITIVE BASTERDS. THE ATTACKS ON SEPTEMBER 11 HAVE AFFECTED ME VERY DEEPLY. IF THIS ASS HOLE IS ALLOWED TO KEEP THIS TITLE, I WILL KILL MYSELF. JESUS CHRIST, I STILL CANT LOOK AT THE NUMBER 11 WITH OUT CRYING. SEE, I'M CRYING RIGHT NOW. I'M ALSO TO AFRAID TO CALL THE POLICE. THEIR NUMBER (WHICH I WILL NAME XXX FOR NOW) SCARES ME, IF I WAS IN AN EMERGANCY, I WOULD NOT DIAL XXX FOR FEAR OF FARTHER RETALIATION FROM THOSE SCARY TERRORISTS. PLEASE TAKE THESE CORPORATE BASTERDS DOWN FOR EXPLOITING THE STILL OPEN WOUNDS OF PATRIOTIC AMERICANS EVERYWHERE. LONG LIVE THE GREATEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD, WHICH I LIVE, AND WOULD DIE FOR. AMERICA!!!! w00t! ps. please save my internet access :D " -- matt beggs
• "Oh thank you so much for this. Those shameless moneymongers care for nothing but themselves. Baby Jesus cries every day because of them. Every single day. Could you please start a petition to stop those fascist police from using 911 as their phone number too? That is also something that bothers me." -- Sigmund Wonder
• "This is one sweet-ass petition! " -- Geoffrey Moses
• "A subscription has been entered in your name to the Clue of the Month Club." -- Agnes

 |::| The Dot.Con Bubble, Redux, Redux, Recursed  1:13:49 PM 

"Men, it has been well said, think in herds; it will be seen that they go mad in herds, while they only recover their senses slowly, and one by one." -- Charles Mackay, quoted in Devil Take the Hindmost: A History of Financial Speculation, by Edward Chancellor (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1999).

From commonme.com, a pointer to a Frontline that I either missed or that hasn't aired yet (I fear the former). (Show transcript, quicktime of the show, and a chat with the producers in the Washington Post.)

Consider especially this, also from Chancellor:

According to modern economic theory -- which holds that markets are efficient, i.e., that share prices reflect intrinsic values and that speculators are simply rational economic agents intent on optimising their wealth -- the history of speculation is a dull affair. In the world of efficient markets there are no animal spirits, no crowd instincts, no emotions of greed or fear, no trend-following speculators, and no "irrational" speculative bubbles. Yet the activities of speculators down the ages appear to me to be richer, more diverse in motivation and extraordinary in result, than anything described by economists.