Eric Logan

The University of East Anglia's Climatic Research Unit (CRU), usually working together with the Hadley center (recall HadCRUT3 global temperatures), has been hacked. If you want to download an interesting 62-megabyte file, which unpacks to 156 megabytes or so, here are some links: Via http://friendfeed.com/xixidu - Eric Logan from Bookmarklet

Electric sports car maker Tesla Motors plans to go public soon, two sources familiar with the matter said, amid growing interest in green technology and battery-powered vehicles. An IPO filing from the six-year-old U.S. start-up, best known for its $109,000 all-electric Roadster, is expected any day, said one of the sources. The person did not give a specific time frame, although IPOs typically take several months. Tesla spokesman Ricardo Reyes declined to comment on what he called "rumor or speculation." Tesla would mark the first public offering from a U.S. automaker since Henry Ford's Ford Motor Co debuted its shares in 1956. The IPO represents a landmark in the resurgence of electric car technology that most carmakers had dismissed as impractical until recently. The company's chairman Elon Musk said early last year that an IPO was a possibility in either late 2008 or 2009. But the financial market turmoil following the collapse of Lehman Bros. in the latter half of 2008 virtually... more... - Eric Logan from Bookmarklet

I can't say that I'm surprised, this was a pump and dump before they even started. The IPO was inevitable. Just watch, it will be another Vonage. Too bad a lot of people have to lose their money. If you take a close look at their employees, there are all kinds of red flags with their past associates. - Davis Freeberg

I would not personally buy Tesla even as an IPO unless I thought I could flip it. Parts suppliers and innovators in this segment should be opportunities for the foreseeable future. - Eric Logan

Good criminal defense attorneys are seldom deterred by futility, so it’s reasonable to expect that KSM’s lawyers will make all the arguments there are to make: They’ll allege a violation of KSM’s right to a speedy trial, claiming that the years he spent in CIA detention and Gitmo violated this constitutional right. They’ll seek suppression of KSM’s statements, arguing (persuasively) that the torture he endured—sleep deprivation, noise, cold, physical abuse, and, of course, 183 water-boarding sessions—make his statements involuntary. They will insist that everything stemming from those statements must be suppressed, under the Fourth Amendment, as the fruit of the wildly poisonous tree. They will demand the names of operatives and interrogators, using KSM’s right to confront the witnesses against him to box the government into revealing things it would prefer to keep secret—the identities of confidential informants, the locations of secret safe houses, the names of other inmates and... more... - Eric Logan from Bookmarklet

The producer of the blockbuster trilogies “The Matrix” and “The Lord of the Rings,” Barrie Osborne, is now working on a $200 million movie about the founder of Islam, the Prophet Mohammed. Helping to guide the project is Sheikh Yousef al-Qaradawi, a radical Muslim Brotherhood theologian. One quick look at this so-called “moderate” should raise serious questions among those investing in Osborne’s film and spark a call to boycott should his involvement continue. Osborne describes his film as “an international epic production aimed at bridging cultures. The film will educate people about the true meaning of Islam.” He has chosen to use the Qatar-based Alnoor Holdings production company, which has decided to have Sheikh al-Qaradawi “oversee all aspects of the shoot,” according to The Guardian. If Osborne’s goal is to combat anti-Muslim bigotry and portray a positive image of Islam, then the influence of al-Qaradawi on the film will only do the opposite. Al-Qaradawi is only a bit less... more... - Eric Logan from Bookmarklet

Corporate Taxes First, our corporate tax rate is the world's second highest, and a number of recent studies have found that such rates don't lead to more revenue. This version of the Laffer curve is now fairly widely acknowledged. But what is less commonly understood is that our graduated income tax also probably has reached the point where higher rates raise little new revenue, at least given the political landscape. President Barack Obama has pledged to only increase taxes on those with incomes higher than $250,000. But lifting only that top marginal rate can have perverse revenue effects. Here is why. When tax rates go up, wealthy individuals have many options to reduce their tax bill. They can work a little less, they can purchase municipal bonds that pay tax-free interest, and they can take a vast number of other similar steps. More of Less If we start with a tax rate of 35 percent, then for every dollar of income reduction, the government loses 35 cents. After the adjustment... more... - Eric Logan from Bookmarklet

Higher corporate taxes, maybe, but lower personal taxes. It's not honest to suggest that overall tax burden in the US is higher than other first world nations... - Andrew C

The U.K.’s Royal Mint, established in the 13th century, more than quadrupled production of gold coins in the third quarter after demand for the metal increased as investors sought to hedge against a weakening dollar. Output rose to 32,735.8 ounces from 7,500.2 ounces a year before, according to data obtained by Bloomberg News under a Freedom of Information Act request. Production in the first nine months more than tripled to 100,391.3 ounces, the data show. Gold is set for a ninth annual gain as countries have cut interest rates to near zero percent and spent $2 trillion to pull the global economy out of the worst recession since World War II. The metal reached a record in London yesterday and has gained about 29 percent this year, while the dollar has dropped 7.3 percent against a basket of six currencies. “There’s still a total lack of confidence in the financial system,” David Russell, a director at Dublin-based brokerage and bullion dealer GoldCore Ltd., said in an interview.... more... - Eric Logan from Bookmarklet

Did you build it yourself? or did you dig up an iso or vm? - Ras - Dago-Baadass! of FF

must..download..NOW! :) - Adrian Scicluna

After Google announced the availability of the Chrome OS / Chromium OS source code, one of our engineers (Jon Ursenbach), immediately got to work on compiling the code, trying to see if he could get an instance of Chromium OS running in a virtual machine. He was finally able to do it! You can download a copy of the virtual machine to use in VMware here (300MB compressed / 700MB uncompressed): http://gdgt.com/google... Helpful tips, if you download it: 1.) To use the vmdk file, open VMware and create a new virtual machine. One of the options will be to use an "existing virtual disk." (In VMware Fusion, this is the last option below, "use operating system disk" and "use OS disc image file.") 2.) Make sure your VM is set to use bridged networking, rather than NAT. 2.) The username and password to login to Chrome OS / Chromium OS is your google account! Anyway, get downloading and try out Chrome OS! And definitely share your impressions. - Eric Logan from Bookmarklet

On his recent trip to Asia, President Obama found China, Japan, and South Korea — like many nations these days — in no mood to hear more American lectures. Beijing is worried about owning so much American debt. Tokyo is tiring of an American military base in Okinawa, and wants to redefine its relationship with us. Seoul is starting to doubt American commitment to keep it safe from North Korea. Why all the sudden pushback to our charismatic president? Our dollar is crashing, while the price of gold is soaring. The budget deficit has never been worse — and the president wants to float even more debt for health-care and energy initiatives. By the end of this presidential term, we may add another $9 trillion to our already astronomical $11 trillion debt. Unemployment has already topped 10 percent. This quarter’s trade deficit reached a near-historic high. Our debtors and oil exporters talk of scrapping the dollar as the common international currency. - Eric Logan from Bookmarklet

Edwin Meese III, the Ronald Reagan Distinguished Fellow in Public Policy and Chairman of the Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at The Heritage Foundation as well as the United States Attorney General between 1985 and 1988 released the following statement yesterday on Holder’s unprecedented decision: It is clear that foreign terrorists and terrorist groups have committed acts of war against the United States, and that our national security requires that we respond accordingly. This means that President Bush’s prudent actions and the military response which he led should continue as our answer to these attacks. Congress overwhelmingly reaffirmed their commitment to military commissions in 2006, which have historically been the way that we respond to acts of war. To abandon our two centuries of tradition and to substitute some new civilian procedure as a response to such attacks endangers the security of our country and our national interest. It was a tragic mistake to decide to... more... - Eric Logan from Bookmarklet

Strapped into a custom built seat, Andy Green prepares for the ride of his life. The pancake-flat desert stretches out for miles ahead. The computer indicates all systems are normal. He eases off the brakes and puts his foot down on the throttle. The jet engine roars into life. In precisely 42.5 seconds he'll be travelling 1000 mph. In a car. "It's almost impossible to tell the difference between going supersonic in a car and in an aircraft," says Green. He is the only person on Earth who can say that from personal experience. Green was a fighter pilot for the UK Royal Air Force for 20 years, and he is also the fastest man on wheels. In 1997, driving a vehicle called ThrustSSC, he set the world land speed record of 763 miles per hour, becoming the first and only person to break the sound barrier in a car (761 mph under standard conditions). Now, together with the Bloodhound SSC design team, he's attempting to do it all over again, and then some. This time there's competition. A... more... - Eric Logan from Bookmarklet

If we need just one more reason to be convinced that the era of fossil fuels is quickly winding down, 30,000 square feet of evidence is going up right now in the suburban Detroit town of Warren, Michigan. That’s where the U.S. Army is building its new Ground System Power and Energy Laboratory (GSPEL), and it’s no accident that the site is deep in the heart of the U.S. auto industry. The high tech GSPEL complex features eight separate laboratories, all dedicated to the development of more sustainable military vehicles and related systems: increasing energy efficiency, using more renewable resources, focusing on ready access to energy and power, and reducing environmental impacts. It’s all part of the military’s overall drive to shed fossil fuels—both foreign domestic—and focus on energy security for the 21st century. - Eric Logan from Bookmarklet

Malcolm Gladwell could probably make a pencil sharpener interesting, given the assignment. Whether analyzing the anatomy of instantaneous decisions in "Blink," or exploring the reasons behind success in "Outliers," he's always an accessible and provocative reporter. His talents buttress "What the Dog Saw," his new collection of 19 New Yorker essays. Satisfying as they may be, however, a faint lack of conviction runs throughout these pieces. Gladwell's choice of subject matter - be it Enron, hair dye or birth control - bespeaks a nagging intelligence that wants to shake our assumptions about institutions we take for granted, and yet because his shaking doesn't always dislodge things quite enough, his essays risk confirming what we already suspected about his subjects. The strongest essays here flesh out a single topic's complexity and let it shimmer, without trying to make a thesis from it. The book - divided into three sections on minor geniuses, intriguing theories and personality... more... - Eric Logan from Bookmarklet

Hmm. - Michael R. Bernstein

For the eighteenth consecutive year, the international community as represented at the 192-member United Nations has urged the U.S. to end its vendetta against Cuba. The world body’s urging came in the form of the annual “Cuba resolution” which seeks to normalize economic relations between the two nations. Voting on the resolution was a lopsided 187 to 3 (U.S., Israel, and Palau) with two abstentions (Marshall Islands and Micronesia). Affirmative votes for the “Cuban resolution” have steadily increased. Last year the voting was 185 to 3 with two abstentions. The negatives and the abstentions were the same as in 2009. This year, as before, the “Cuban resolution” reaffirmed the international community’s commitment to “freedom of international trade;” expressed concern at the adverse effects on the Cuban people of economic, commercial, and financial bans; and pressed for the laws and measures concerned to be “repealed or invalidated” as soon as possible. The Group of 77 (G77) which now... more... - Eric Logan from Bookmarklet

At the height of the protests following Iran's controversial presidential election this summer, a young woman named Neda Agha Soltan was shot and killed on the streets of Tehran. Her death -- filmed on a camera phone, then uploaded to the Web -- quickly became an international outrage, and Soltan became the face of a powerful movement that threatened the hard-line government's hold on power. In A Death in Tehran, FRONTLINE revisits the events of last summer, shedding new light on Neda's life and death and the movement she helped inspire. In response to the international outcry over Neda's death -- including President Obama's confirmation that he'd seen the "heartbreaking" video on YouTube -- the regime set about attempting to rewrite the story, pointing a finger at the CIA and outside agitators, the same forces they blamed for the mass street protests and allegations of vote rigging that led to the greatest upheaval in Iran since the revolution of 1979. FRONTLINE uncovers some video... more... - Eric Logan from Bookmarklet

Premiere's tonight at 10:00 EST on PBS. - Eric Logan