Testimony In the congressional hearings into the pivotal role that the rating agencies played in the financial mess, was that the rating agencies were paid for triple-A ratings even when both the rating agencies and the sellers knew that the toxic CDOs weren't worth triple-A. TV news commentary during the hearings was that the rating agencies would likely avoid federal prosecution with the threat of downgrading US gov. ratings.
Yves here. One of the causes of the financial that should have been relatively easy to fix was the over-reliance on ratings agencies. They wield considerable power, suffer from poor incentives, in particular, that they can do terrible work yet are at no risk of being fired thanks to their oligopoly position, and are seldom exposed to liability (they have bizarrely been able to argue that their research is journalistic opinion, which gives them a First Amendment exemption). But they are not big enough moneybags to be influential donors, nor are they critical to the financial infrastructure.
Government and Industry Still Denying Science at Fukushima
John LaForge
CounterPunch, 5 December 2012
EXTRACT
Disinformation and denials confounded by science
Official lullabies, denials and attempted cover-ups are desperate shields against the enormous economic and legal liability that would follow any acknowledgment of the depth and breadth of radiation’s likely effects. Tepco said Nov. 6 that it may need 11 trillion yen, or $137 billion, to cover its damages. Tokyo already set aside ¥9 trillion in July as part of the federal bailout and takeover of the utility. Minister Edano hinted last May that the government may cover some of the costs of decontaminating certain limited areas. Comprehensive decontamination is not even being considered because, as the science ministry reported in Nov. 2011, radioactive fallout from the triple meltdowns was found in every one of its 57 prefectures.#
The journal Science reported this fall that 40% of the fish caught off the coast of NE Japan are contaminated with radioactive cesium at levels well above what the government allows.** Author Ken Buesseler of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution concluded that there is either a source of cesium on the seafloor, or it is still being dumped into the ocean by Tepco.
01. Rapid Growth of Big Data with High Speed Analytics; 02 Cloud Computing and Advanced Cloud Services; 03 On Demand Services including Hardware as a Service and Software as a Service; 04 Virtualization of Storage, Desktops, Applications, and Networking; 05 Consumerization of IT; 06 Gamification of Training & Education; 07 SOcial Business including Social Software and Social Search; 08 Smart Phones & Tables Become Primary Personal Computers with Mobile Web and Enterprise Mobility Strategy Becoming Mandatory; 09 3D Printing (Additive Manufacturing); 10 Intelligence Electronic Agents; 11 Digital Signature Management including Next Generation Biometrics; 12 Visual Communications; 13 Enhanced Locational Awareness including Geo-Spacial Visualization; 14 Mobile Banking with Near Field Communications (NFC); 15 Smart TV Using Apps; 16 Multiple App Stores and Business App Stores; 17 3D Displays for Smart Phones and Tablets; 18 eBooks, eNewspapers, eMagazines and Interactive Multimedia eTextbooks; 19 Advanced Automation and Robotics; 20 Machine-to-Machine Communications. Read one paragraph for each of the above.
ART (New Aesthetic, Bioism, Artist as Data Interpreter); BEAUTY (Microbal Beauty, Camera Ready, Do It Yourself Plastic Surgery); BOOKS (Self-Made Celebrities; Real-Time Remix, Connected Paper); DESIGN (Rematerializing, The New Kinko's, Transformative Design); EDUCATION (Technological Divide, Digital Education, Sliding Scale University); FASHION (Magic Mirrors, Tailor on Demand, Invisibility); FINANCE (Patchwork Nation, The Sharing Economy, Virtual Goods Exchange); FOOD (Automat 2.0, GMO Food Fight, The New Speakeasy); GAMING (Digitized Reality, Gaming as Sport, Open Source Revolution); HEALTHY LIVING (Ancient Fitness, Quantified Health, The Ikarian Diet); INTERNET CULTURE (Memes Inspiring Culture, Effortless Content, Gesturecon); MOVIES (Luxury Theaters, 4D Experience, Immersive Cinema); MUSIC (Collaborative Creation, Artist as Entrepreneur, Hackstruments); SCIENCE (The Microbiome, Elective Bionic Surgury, Handmade Humans); SPIRITUALLY (Explosion of Conscious Media, Rise of the Non-Religious, Artificial Soul); SPORTS (Athlete Entrepreneuring, The Digital Stadium, Safety Technology); TECHNOLOGY (Automated Life, Ambient Documentation, Socially Aware Robots); TRAVEL (2013: A Space Odessey, Armchair Exploration, Personal Vehicles). Read one paragraph for each of the above.
A detailed index of sources and data types to support source awareness and intelligence collection.
What constitutes an open source of intelligence? How many of these sources do you consult in the course of your work? And what format do they take? i-intelligence has put together a Taxonomy of OSINT Sources to support source awareness, intelligence collection and general information literacy.
These questions are not without merit. They inevitably pop up in the course of a seminar or consulting assignment. To help answer them, the i-intelligence team has pulled together a “Taxonomy of OSINT Sources”. The taxonomy is intended to serve a number of purposes:
The author of this important opinion piece is a highly respected observer of politics in the Middle East with long standing connection in Israel as well as the Arab world.
U.S. President Barack Obama is behaving in the Middle East as if unaware of the dangers his policies are provoking. It is often said that big ships cannot easily or swiftly change course, but the U.S. ship of state is steaming headlong towards an iceberg. The collision could make 9/11 seem like a traffic accident. To protect America, its interests and its allies will require bold corrective measures — and the earlier in his second term the better.
What exactly is it that Israel intends to do with the Palestinians now in the territories that it has just opened for home construction for Jewish settlers, thereby extending its policy of occupying and annexing what are legally Palestinian lands?
