The other day I said that I thought the markets were only understandable to insiders. I may have been too generous. Read this report and draw your own conclusions.
Doomsday Machines: High Frequency Trading and the Men Who Built It
ALEXANDER REED KELLY – Truthdig
Canada has a Rightist government so no one should be surprised that they deny climate change and have energy interests that trump lesser agencies like fisheries. They don't like facts, so why not just get rid of them literally. This is the modern equivalent of book burning. This is a loss not just to Canada but to the whole world. These databases and reports they are describing constitute a significant part of humanity's understanding of Earth. It is straight out of the Dark Ages. An act of fanaticism as was its predecessor. Then it was Christianity. Today it is The Theology of Profit.
What's Driving Chaotic Dismantling of Canada's Science Libraries?
ANDREW NIKIFORUK – The Tyee (Vancouver, Canada)
What this report describes should not be legal in a democracy, and would not be had the Supreme Court's conservative wing not opened the floodgates to gray and black money through Citizen's United, although the trend began earlier. No one should be allowed to dump $400 mi! llion dollars into the political process in an attempt to buy an outcome in an election.
Iceland's Saga: A Conversation With Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson
PRESIDENT ÓLAFUR RAGNAR GRÍMSSON – Foreign Affairs
Regular readers know I am fascinated to watch what is happening with Iceland. Here is a very interesting essay by its President. Some countries do have ethical citizen-focused politicians, and those democracies do place national wellness first. And they prosper. It is a lesson the U.S. has forgotten.
Koch-backed Political Network, Designed to Shield Donors, Raised $400 Million in 2012
MATEA GOLD – The Washington Post
Francis is the most interesting religious figure in the Roman Catholic Church since John XXIII. He has a compassionate theological vision in accord with Jesus' teachings and is candid enough to recognize the dysfunctionality of his hierarchy. Almost every week we get a new statement. On a tiny scale it reminds me of watching the shell of a crab break and disintegrate so a new bigger crab could step out.
Pope Francis: Priests Can Become ‘Little Monsters'
NICOLE WINFIELD – The Associated Press
