Kerry on the O'Reilly Factor

This sure seemed like a civil exchange between the two men. I didn't see it but there were no lines that said or or something like that. I agree with this Kerry line as well.

KERRY: I believe the American people have been sold short by the United States Congress with respect to the energy future of our country. Yes. And it is regrettable, because millions of jobs have been lost. Our security has been put at risk.

The United States' technological lead in those areas has been set back. Our health has been set back. The environment has been set back. The overall security interests of our nation have not been well served.

This is where Dems and Repubs need to find common ground. The Dems can take the environment side of things and the Repubs can take the security side. The Dems can rail on about how it is destroying wildlife, polluting things, global warming, etc. And the Repubs can rail on about the Oil Sheikh, Iran using oil to fund nukes, Hugo Chavez etc. Then they can meet in the middle and week us off oil.

FED Raises Rates to 5.25

Hmm, very bullish sentiment that they may pause in raising rates in their next meeting.

In the statement explaining the decision, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues said that "the extent and timing of any additional firming that may be needed to address these risks will depend on the evolution of the outlook for both inflation and economic growth, as implied by incoming information."

Again numbers like the PPI and the CPI are going to have an even greater chance of moving the market. More then forecast GDP growth might hurt the numbers as well. That expected pause sure helped financials. XLF is up 2% today.

Gaza Situation Escalates

It looks like the Israelis are really starting the crack down on Hamas and are escalating things.

In a clear warning to Syrian President Bashar Assad, Israeli airplanes flew over his seaside home near the Mediterranean port city of Latakia in northwestern Syria, military officials confirmed, citing the "direct link" between his government and Hamas. Israeli television reports said four planes were involved in the low-altitude flight, and that Assad was there at the time.

Now that is pretty nuts the Israeli Air Force decided to just rattle the windows a little bit and put the fear of Allah into Bashar. Now that is a show fo strength. Also Hamas animals killed off the settler that they grabbed.

Adding to the tension, a Palestinian militant group said it killed an 18-year-old Jewish settler kidnapped in the West Bank. Israeli security officials said Eliahu Asheri's body was found buried near Ramallah. They said he was shot in the head, apparently soon after he was abducted on Sunday.

I still think that the longer this drags on the better chance Gilad Shalit is going to suffer the same fate and this poor kid. Just a shot in the head and buried in some lonely Gaza neighborhood and the killers are going to slip away into Egypt.

Burger King Coverage Initiated

Hmm some good things and some bad from the roundup of people that are starting coverage on this stock. I agree with this Morgan Stanley guy:

Morgan Stanley analyst Mark Wiltamuth also initiated with an "Overweight" rating, noting that the company's valuation is below its competitors such as McDonald's Corp. and Yum Brands Inc., "yet it offers higher operating earnings and EPS growth and we see prospects for sales and earnings upside surprises from the value menu launch," he wrote.

It is currently the number 2 fast food chain in the midst of a turnaround and it is valued below the number 3 and 4 chains. As a value investor you have to like how the company is undervalued even though it has better growth prospects then some of the other stocks in its industry. They seem to have hardly dipped into the international market as well. This Lehman guy agrees with me:

Lehman Brothers analyst Jeffrey A. Bernstein also thinks investors should seek out Burger King shares, initiating the stock at "Overweight" with $20 price target.

"We believe the Burger King U.S. business has been reinvigorated with a host of new products and initiatives, leading to improved sales and profitability metrics, benefiting from a well defined roadmap developed by their peers," he wrote in a report Tuesday. Bernstein added that outside of the U.S. and Canada, there are "significant" unit growth opportunities for the company.

Some of their new products are crappy though. The Tendercrisp Bacon Cheddar Ranch was freakishly large and I was forced to eat it with a knife and fork. I'm looking to try the Extreme Spicy Tendercrisp with the jalepeneos. I want to gauge the spiciness level of it.

Here is a Pic of Gilad Shalit

He looks like a nice enough kid. Lets hope he gets out of this mess all in one piece.

Israeli Planes Strike Gaza Bridges

It looks like they are laying the groundwork by knocking out bridges that will seperate the Gaza strip.

The Israeli military said in a statement that the object of the attacks on the bridges late Tuesday and early Wednesday was "to impair the ability of the terrorists to transfer the kidnapped soldier." Knocking down the bridges would cut Gaza in two, Palestinian security officials said.

Israel On the Move in Gaza

It looks like the Israeli army is about to roll tanks in Gaza over their kidnapped soldier.

Palestinian security forces said Israeli tanks were on the move near the Israeli village of Nahal Oz, a main Israeli staging area just outside Gaza, but they had not yet entered the territory.

Are they planning on a full scale invasion of Gaza? As soon as the tanks enter these terrorists are going to cut this soldier's head off. I guess they weighted the risks when they set out or they are banking on simply recovering his corpse.

Cell Phones Excite Brain Cells

Hmm this is an interesting study about how cell phones affect your brain.

Dr. Paolo Rossini of Fatebenefratelli hospital in Milan and colleagues used Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation or TMS to check brain function while people used these phones.

They had 15 young male volunteers use a GSM 900 cell phone for 45 minutes. In 12 of the 15, the cells in the motor cortex adjacent to the cell phone showed excitability during phone use but returned to normal within an hour.

The cortex is the outside layer of the brain and the motor cortex is known as the "excitable area" because magnetic stimulation has been shown to cause a muscle twitch.

Hmm I wonder what effects this excitability has? I wonder if you excite the left brain you will become more creative or the right brain gets excited you can think better. So depending on what side you use the cell phone on you get either a boost of creativity or cognition. Or maybe that excitability is what causes brain cancer in some cell phone users. I think more study is in order to see if these things are safe over the long haul.

New York Times should be Punished

I think newspapers need to think about the War on Terror before they publish any old leak that comes down the pike. I'm all for the First Amendment but newspapers need to have some judgment when it comes to keeping secrets during a war. And it seems that Tony Snow agrees with me.

"Certainly nobody is going to deny First Amendment rights. But the New York Times and other news organizations ought to think long and hard about whether a public's right to know in some cases might override somebody's right to live," Snow said. "And whether, in fact, the publication...could place in jeopardy the safety of fellow Americans."

The Times needed to have the same thinking that they kept the knowledge that FDR was wheelchair bound under wraps. Sometimes the American people do not need to know every secret thing the government does during a wartime situation.

I mean if civil liberties were infringed and crimes were committed then they should blow the whistle. But when they get a leak and then go to the White House who raise objections they should not say "let's publish this anyway." There should be some kind of consequences for leaking top secret information like this. It is kind of like publishing troop movements or the battle plan during the war. This should be investigated and if there was wrongdoing then there should be some kind of punishment.

It think at the very least the leak should be plugged since that person is acting like a double agent giving away our secrets in order to strengthen Al-Quida postions and warn them that they are being tracked.

Cadbury recalls 1 millions Chocolate Bars

They might have traces of salmonella in them but only UK and Irish bars are affected.

The precautionary recall involves seven products -- 250 gram bars of Dairy Milk Turkish, Dairy Milk Caramel and Dairy Milk Mint; Dairy Milk 8 chunk; 1 kilogram bars of Dairy Milk: Diary Milk Button Easter Eggs (105 grams); and Cadbury Freddo 10p.

I have the agree that Cadbury is the best chocolate bars around and they easily kick the crap out of anything Hersheys makes. Too bad they aren't more available here in Hawaii. This recall should affect their quality very much.

The Ultimate USB ThumbDrive

This is a great article from PCmag that lets you put all kinds of stuff on a Keydrive so you can browse, e-mail, FTP, and even do Office related tasks all from your USB drive. I think I will be doing this to see what it is like.

MySpace Teen Goes to the West Bank

Check out what happened to this 17 year old girl who tried to travel to the West Bank to be with a guy she met on MySpace.

She was traveling to be with Abdullah Jimzawi, a 20-year-old high school dropout who lives with his parents in Jericho, West Bank. They met through MySpace.com, a social networking Web site whose popularity with teenagers has raised concerns among U.S. authorities, with scattered accounts of sexual predators targeting minors on the site.

Jimzawi, in a recent interview with The Associated Press, said he loves the girl and the two planned to marry. She was to convert to Islam, he said.

That was pretty brave of her to travel like that halfway around the world to a pretty dangerous place to be with a guy. Or it could mean she is ignorant of that part of the world and thought it was like getting on a plane and going to Las Vegas or something. This part I don't agree with though:

At a hearing Monday, Judge W. Wallace Kent Jr. ordered Lester to give up her passport and undergo counseling. He did not rule on the validity of the petition.

Why would she need counseling? She seems to have her stuff together enough to travel all the way to Amman, Jordan and try to head to Tel Aviv. She is 17 so it is not like she doesn't know what she is doing. I wonder if she would have to have court mandated counseling if this 20 year old guy was living in Spain or something?

Check out these Weird Puma Shoes

Hmm, I guess the click through advertising on Yahoo worked because I clicked through this Puma ad to see why these shoes looked like grass. It turns out they have a funky pattern on them to make them look like grass. Here is a pic from their website:



They are called the Puma V1.06 iFG and go for like $175. I guess they grow on you the more you look at them but they still look kind of strange to me. I wonder if they have some with a dirt pattern on them for those soccer fields in South America and Africa?

Is Rooney Enough to Win it for England

This is a pretty good article forwarded to me by my Dad that talks about Wayne Rooney and whether he is going to take England to the World Cup.

He has the vision and the skill to pick out teammates with accurate, well-timed passes that often lead to goals. He also knows his powerful build and impressive control make it almost impossible for defenders to take the ball from him. When opponents try to shackle him with two or three defenders, that leaves teammates unmarked and he slips the ball out for them to score. The sort of thing Pele used to do.

Now England just needs to play up to their potential and they could do it. Here is a picture of Rooney and his wife. She has kind of a weird nose:

Jolie Wants Another Adopted Child?

I guess she is running her own immigration agency to get destitute babies out of Third World countrires one at a time. I guess she is this generations Mia Farrow.

We don't know which which country. But we're looking at different countries," the actress tells Cooper. "And we're I'm just it's gonna be the balance of what would be best for Mad and for Z right now. It's, you know, another boy, another girl, which country, which race would fit best with the kids."

North Korea to Test ICBM

Hmm I wonder what our response will be to information that they could turn LA into a smoking crater?

U.S. officials have said the 116-foot-long missile has a firing range of 9,300 miles and could reach as far as the U.S. West Coast. Most analysts, however, say North Korea is still a long way from perfecting technology that would make the missile accurate and capable of carrying a nuclear payload.

I think it wasn't such a big deal for them to strike Japan or Korea but now they can actually hit our West Coast ports and that should put some fear into us. I still think the whole idea of MAD will deter them from taking the first shot though. They would get LA but we would not leave stone on stone in that country. I wonder if the loony liberals from the left coast will sleep a little less easy tonight?

Spears wants Baby in Namibia now?

I guess Namibia is becoming the new Hollywood hotspot to give birth now.

"Deputy Tourism Minister Leon Jooste confirmed that he received a telephonic enquiry from Spears' office to have her second baby born in Namibia," the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) said Friday.

I just hope this translates to a tourism boost for Namibia. Or will all this attention from celebs cause the Namibians to build lots of tourism type facilities just before the nation becomes forgotten like those goofy little dogs that they used to carry around? Actually, this may be the reason why stars want to have a baby in the country:

The Namibian government had asked the press to respect the couple's privacy and deported three French paparazzi and a South African photographer after they tried to take photographs of a very pregnant Jolie.

When you have the government deporting paparazzi you will have a nice secret baby birthing and can sell the first pics for millions. It is just a way to increase the revenue that can be generated by the baby.

North Korea has Missile that can Strike US

This is some pretty worrying news for people on the west coast and living here in Hawaii.

North Korea is accelerating preparations for testing a missile that has the potential to strike the United States, a U.S. government official said Friday. A test of the Taepodong-2 long-range missile may be imminent, the official said.

I guess North Korea is tired of Iran being the focus of the national stage and wants to get in on the act as well. Will we be entering a new Cold War with North Korea playing the Russia role?

Panel recommends Churchill be fired

I guess the University of Colorado is tired of having this person associated with their school. I thought of something interesting while looking at these comments.

The essay referred to some World Trade Center victims as "little Eichmanns," a reference to Adolf Eichmann, who carried out Adolf Hitler's plan to exterminate European Jews during World War II.

They did not seem to engender the same revulsion and condemnation from the left that Ann Coulters comments on the 9/11 widows have had. This is indicative of how polarized our nation is. I'm sure many on the left feel that the people that died in 9/11 can't be described in the same breath as a guy that signed the death warrant of millions of people. But they can't speak out because they will loose their loony liberal base.

This loony liberal base also makes it seem like the Dems hope the US loses in Iraq and are driven out in shame. The Dems are forced to say things like "pull all of the troops out by the end of the year" even though the Iraqis have gone to the UN with a request that we not leave until they get things under control. I think the Dems know full well what chaos we will leave in our wake if we leave when the Iraqis aren't ready to take over yet. Yet their highly polarized base forces them to say things like that or they won't get support.

I just can't fathom how someone can advocate abandoning millions of people just so they can feel better morally (since US troops will no longer be involved in a so-called "illegal" war.) They seem to care more about US citizens then about Iraqi citizens. The left seems too busy convicting our troops without a trial over Haditha or looking for our hidden prisons to investigate Shiite Death Squads or people getting murdered in Darfur. I thought they were supposed to be a nuanced, compassionate, internationalist party. The so-called Progressives. I guess they are only progressive when it comes to US citizens and not Africans or Iraqis.

Spiderman Reveals Secret Identity

This is a very interesting turn of events for Spiderman fans.

In the latest edition of the Marvel comic "Civil War" on sale, Spiderman does the unthinkable and removes his Spidey mask to publicly reveal his hidden identity.

"I'm proud of who I am, and I'm here right now to prove it," the legendary webslinger tells a press conference called in New York's Times Square, before pulling off his mask and standing before the massed ranks of reporters as newspaper photographer Peter Parker.

I wonder which way they are going to go with this storyline. In the Marvel Universe the Fantastic 4 does not use masks and become celebrities because of it. I wonder if the Daily Bugle will still go after Spider-Man or will he become a celebrity. In any case it is always cool to see comics make national news.

Daryl Hannah Chased Up a Tree

This article is just too funny. This shows how hopelessly deluded some celebs are.

Horowitz had offered to sell 10 acres of the property to a non-profit group for $16.3 million so the farm could be continued, but when the group came up short, he secured an eviction order from a judge.

Over the past few weeks, Hannah has been living on the property in a tent in an effort to draw attention to the farmers' plight. On Tuesday, she said she had been sleeping in her tent when the police raid began around 5 a.m. and that she quickly made for the branches of a tree.

"I felt an extreme sense of urgency. Not only did I have to climb up the tree, I had to pull up the rope behind me so they could not follow me," the actress told the Los Angeles Times by cell phone from her tree perch.

This whole protest could have been avoided if these stars would just get out their pocketbooks and helped that non-profit organization pay that $16.3 million for the land. Or raise the money in a fundraiser or on the internet like Howard Dean did. They would been able to get the money in no time and no one would have had to live on the farm in a tent like a dumb ass. And this is just the most priceless thing in the whole article:

He also said that the majority of the farmers had been relocated to other gardening sites around the city, a statement echoed by City Councilwoman Jan Perry.

Yup all the crazy tree climbing and concrete barrel chaining was pretty much for no reason. The stars could have just helped the farmers find new land in some other part of the city. In fact why don't they just let the farmers set up a communal garden on the grounds of their mansions. Maybe their love of Latino farmers stops as soon as "the Man" stops "getting them down."

Condoleezza Rice Tops in Eat Dinner Poll

Hmm it seems like Esquire reading men like brains over beauty when it comes to a dinner date.

Rice was followed by Oprah Winfrey and Angelina Jolie in a national survey published in the magazine's July issue. The 29-question survey, conducted by Beta Research Corp., polled 1,083 men aged 25 and older.

I agree with their choice of male that men would like to invite to dinner as well. They picked Jay Leno. I think he is the only male celebrity that I would really like the spot somewhere on the street and shake his hand. I have always liked Jay Leno for some reason. It is also interesting that Bush made the list as well:

Asked which famous man they'd invite to dinner, 37 percent picked "Tonight" host Jay Leno.
Bill Clinton placed second, trailed by George Clooney and President Bush.

I think Bush would be fun to talk about baseball with since he was a former owner.

Sun Fires Back in Becks defense

The Sun is pulling for the the England skipper but wow the pics they chose do not do Beckham's mom and sister any favors:

Another insider said: "David and Victoria are furious. They thought this was all about football and didn't come to Germany expecting to be ridiculed."

Former England skipper Mick Channon slammed Bild.

He said: "Writing stuff like that is just plain sick and is is clearly insulting. Beckham should ignore it and carry on playing the way he has been. He's been great in the last four or five England games."

Sun gets in a nice little dig at the German Teams' wives as well:

While the England players' wives and girlfriends include stunners like Posh Spice, Coleen McLoughlin and Cheryl Tweedy, can anyone name a partner of the German footie stars?

Bild vs. Becks Sister

I'm hoping for a Germany/England game before this World Cup is out. Since this is the first shot across Englands bow by the Bild Newspaper. This is what they said:

Beckham's 24-year-old sister Joanne came in for especially harsh treatment in the full-page spread accompanied by colour photographs.

"Dear me, is she chubby. Arms, bust, bum, all very British. Joanne is the sort of girl who drinks sangria on the beach in Majorca. And then dances on a table with her top off," said the paper Monday.

Here is a picture of Joanne Beckham. She does look like she enjoys the sweets:

Interesting Article by Michael Barone

This is a very interesting article on why the Dems message is falling short with some Americans when it comes to Iraq.

It comes down to this: A substantial part of the Democratic Party, some of its politicians and many of its loudest supporters do not want America to succeed in Iraq. So vitriolic and all-consuming is their hatred for George W. Bush that they skip right over the worthy goals we have been, with some considerable success, seeking there -- a democratic government, with guaranteed liberties for all, a vibrant free economy, respect for women -- and call this a war for oil, or for Halliburton.

Successes are discounted, setbacks are trumpeted, the level of American casualties is treated as if it were comparable to those in Vietnam or World War II. Allegations of American misdeeds are repeated over and over; the work of reconstruction and aid of American military personnel and civilians is ignored.

I think if the Dems should run on a platform that says the Bush administration has screwed up and turned Iraq into a quagmire but they have a better plan to succeed in Iraq. In other words use their plan as a backdrop to show how the Repubs have failed (they can go point by point) and how they will succeed if only the voters give them a chance. In other words tell us how the Dems plans to rebuild Iraq are better.

I have a feeling that many Americans don't like the war but they really want to see us eke out some sort of lasting victory. They want to see that all the deaths and destruction ended up building a better Iraq in whatever form it takes. They are not ready for the image of the last Air America helicopter on of the roof of the American Embassy as Saigon falls. I think some on the far left of the Dems can't wait to see that image so they can say "I told you so, look what the Repubs have wrought."

Palestine Lurching Toward Civil War?

It looks like it is getting to Palestinian on Palestinian violence in the West Bank now.

In Monday's unrest, hundreds of members of the Preventive Security force shot out the windows of the parliament building before storming the two-building Cabinet complex, where they smashed furniture, destroyed computers and tore up documents. No casualties were reported.

Shooting wildly in the air, the mob then set fire to one of the Cabinet buildings, gutting the fourth floor. When a fire engine approached the scene, one gunman lay on the road, preventing it from reaching the building.

I guess we could soon see a coup against the Hamas led government. This Middle Eastern democracy project may be springing a few leaks here. All Hamas had to do is work with the Israelis and get rid of the "destroy Israel" plank and they could have been able to rule in peace. Now they might be shot to death by their own countrymen. I guess Hamas is really willing to fight for peace now.

World Cup Ball Like Knuckler

This is an interesting article on why goalies hate the new Worldcup Ball this year.

The new Adidas Teamgeist football, as it is called, has 14 panels instead of the 26 or 32 that traditionally create the hexagonal pattern.

Fewer panels means fewer seams, which will make the ball behave more like a baseball, says Ken Bray, a sports scientist at the University of Bath in the UK.

Here is a picture of the ball. It does look very different then a normal soccer ball. I wonder if there will be controversy because of it?

Rio Shaking Down Motorists for World Cup Decorations

Now this is one soccer crazed country.

Cars have been stopped by rope barriers in side streets and drivers asked to make contributions.

In one recent such incident in Rio's hilltop Santa Teresa district, a young man in T-shirt and shorts approached a halted car. But instead of drawing a gun -- as often happens in this crime-plagued city -- the man politely asked: "Any change to buy decorations ?"

On payment of a couple of reais ($1), the rope was dropped.

Texas Instruments Raises Outlook

Hmm it seems that TXN is looking at good growth in the coming quarter.

TI, which sells chips for everything from cell phones to calculators, now expects second-quarter earnings from continuing operations of 46 cents to 48 cents a share, versus its earlier estimate of 38 cents to 43 cents a share.

Analysts on average had forecast 40 cents a share.

When you couple it with this article that I read yesterday about cell phone sales being up 20%. TXN is the leader is cell phone chip making so they may be a pretty good growth story going forward. It also seems to be trading at a discount to the market, and is about $7 cheaper then its fair market value. It is certainly a decent add to someones Watch List.

Mobile phones are a particularly hot item, driven by an apparent desire for a wave of more advanced models that have expanded the handsets' usefulness beyond verbal communication by turning them into vehicles for Web surfing, pictures and videos.

The trade group estimated cell phone shipments this year will increase 20 percent to about 1 billion units. Each of those devices contains chips costing an average of $41.

al-Zarqawi Killed At Last

Well, it looks like the US got their man at last.

Coalition forces killed al-Qaida terrorist leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and one of his key lieutenants, spiritual adviser sheik Abdel-Rahman, yesterday, June 7, at about 6:15 in the evening. This happened in an airstrike which was conducted against an identified, isolated safe house.

It will be very interesting to learn how they did it in the years to come. Was it a member of Zarqawis group that ratted him out? And what roll did the Jordan Intelligence play in this whole thing. I think a History Channel documentary should be in order on what went down.

Weird Solar System Found 60 Light Years Away

This sounds pretty interesting if you are an Astronomy buff. It is about the solar system known as Beta Pectoris which is about 60 light years away from us.

The new finding raises the possibility that in a few million years time, Beta Pictoris could be home to bizarre alien worlds that sound like something dreamed up by astronomers who've read too much science-fiction.

"If carbon-rich worlds are forming in Beta Pictoris, they might be covered with tar and smog, with mountains made of giant diamonds," said Marc Kuchner, an expert on extrasolar planets also from Goddard. Kuchner, who was not involved in the study, said that "life on such a planet is not implausible, but it certainly would be exotic."

That kind of makes me think about the Valley of Diamonds that Sindbad visited in the 1001 Arabian Nights Stories. Incidentally that is also a Magic card that I had from the Arabian Nights set:

UBS "Logic Bombing" Pretty Harrowing

Wow if you are an IT professional this story is pretty harrowing stuff. It involved a 2002 attack on UBS PaineWebber by a disgruntled SysAdmin.

On the day of the attack, Rodriguez said that at one point there was "chaos" in the UBS Escalation Center. Systems administrators and other IT workers were streaming into the offices there, asking questions and making suggestions. A room that normally sees six or seven workers was suddenly teeming with 20 or 30 by mid-morning. By noon, she says there were maybe 50 people working on the downed network. Just an hour later, there were hundreds involved across the country.

"Every branch was having problems," she said. "Every single broker was complaining. They couldn't log onto their desktops and [get to] their applications because the servers were down. The brokers might have been able to make some calls to friend brokers, but my understanding was that trading was not doable."

Now that is pressure when guys that are used to moving millions of dollars back and forth and are paid handsomly for it can't even log into their PCs to check their e-mail. That was perhaps millions of dollars in trading profits that cannot be recouped because one disgruntled SysAdmin figured he wasn't paid enough and crashed their system. I would hate to have been working at UBS trying to get their 2000 servers back online from backup tapes. That sounds nuts.

Bush Says Iran Talks Positive

It looks like we are offering them a pretty good deal here. I wonder if Iran is going to reject even this sweetened deal by the US.

The package includes a promise of Western technical help in developing peaceful civilian nuclear energy if Iran stops enriching uranium, a waiver of U.S. legal restrictions to allow export of some agricultural technology, access to U.S. aircraft parts or new Boeing Co. planes to upgrade Iran's aging fleet and U.S. and European backing for Iran to join the
World Trade Organization diplomats and others said.

I wonder what the next step will be if Iran rejects even this proposal. Are we going to go down the long torturous path to a military solution with Russia and China fighting us all the way? I would be willing to bet any money that if sanctions go in and oil goes to $90 we will see a steep recession in this country for sure. Hope you got your DIA, SPY, and QQQQ shorts in if that happens.

Now 2.2 Million Active Duty Military Data was Stolen

It looks like that same idiot that got their laptop stolen may have had info on 2.2 million active duty military people as well.

In fact, names, birth dates and Social Security numbers of as many as 1.1 million active-duty personnel from all the armed forces, or 80 percent of all active-duty members, are believed to have been included, along with 430,000 members of the National Guard, and 645,000 members of the Reserves.

Yup those are the men and women dying in Iraq that got their info nicked by the lax security at the VA. The idea of letting all of that info walk out the door so simply without any checks is mind blowing to me. I think VA Secretary Jim Nicholson should resign ASAP.

"Rage" Disorder a Real Thing?

This is a really interesting article on something called Rage Disorder.

By definition, intermittent explosive disorder involves multiple outbursts that are way out of proportion to the situation. These angry outbursts often include threats or aggressive actions and property damage. The disorder typically first appears in adolescence; in the study, the average age of onset was 14.

It seems that these aren't just people who get pissed for no reason but it is an actual brain chemistry thing going on:

Coccaro said the disorder involves inadequate production or functioning of serotonin, a mood-regulating and behavior-inhibiting brain chemical. Treatment with antidepressants, including those that target serotonin receptors in the brain, is often helpful, along with behavior therapy akin to anger management, Coccaro said.

NYSE and Euronext to Merge

Looks like consolidation in the Exchange space. And big changes ahead for World Markets:

The NYSE-Euronext deal could turn world markets upside down, spurring mass consolidations, threatening the future of open-outcry trading and perhaps even opening the way for a round-the-clock worldwide exchange. The acquisition would create a single platform where traders could deal in stocks, options, futures, commodities and corporate bonds across two continents — for up to 12 hours daily.

It sure would be cool to be able to trade actual European Stocks and not just the ADRs of them. Also the idea of the stock exchange being open 12 hours a day appeals to me because I don't have an hour or so to get trades in before the market closes. Seems like a good deal for both parties.

Info on Types of Orders

This is very good information for every starting investor to know.

Market Order: This is for immediate execution at the best price available when the order reaches the marketplace. This is the most common type of order and is nearly always filled, since no price is specified. As an example, you might call your broker and bark into the phone, "Buy me 75 shares of Scrunchie Manufacturing (ticker: SCRNCH) at the market!"

Limit Order: This is an order to buy or sell only at a specified price (the limit) or better. Investors who have a maximum or minimum price at which they're willing to trade use limit orders. As an example, imagine that Amalgamated Chorus Girls Inc. (ticker: KICKK) is trading at $35 and you want to buy, but not at the current price. You might click over to your brokerage's website and place an order to buy 50 shares of KICKK at a limit of $33 per share. This means that if KICKK hits $33 during the day and your order is next in line to be filled, it will be filled at that price. With a limit order, you'll only pay $33 or less per share, if your order is filled.

Fill-or-Kill: This order is submitted for immediate execution. If it cannot be filled immediately, it's automatically canceled.

Day Order: This order terminates automatically at the end of the business day if it hasn't been filled.

GTC (Good 'til Canceled): This order remains in effect until canceled by the customer or executed by the broker. It doesn't typically remain in effect forever, though. Many brokerages cancel GTC orders after a month or two.

All-or-None (AON): This is a limit order in which the broker is directed to attempt to fill the entire amount of the order or none of it. An all-or-none order differs from a fill-or-kill order in that, with an all-or-none order, immediate execution is not required.

Stop Order: This becomes a market order when a specified price is reached or passed. Buy stops are entered above the current market price, and sell stops are entered below it. For example, you might place a stop order to have your shares of Stained Glass Windshield Co. (ticker: STAIN) automatically sold if the price falls below $40 per share. A stop order guarantees execution, but not price.

Stop Limit Order: This is similar to a stop order, but it becomes a limit order instead of a market order when the price is reached or passed. If you place a "sell 100 XYZ $55 stop limit" order, if XYZ drops to $55 per share or below, the order becomes a limit order to sell 100 shares at no less than $55.

Australia Formed By Giant Meteor

This is some interesting information about how Australia was formed.

Ohio State University scientists said the 483-kilometer-wide (300-mile-wide) crater is now hidden more than 1.6 kilometers (one mile) beneath the East Antarctic Ice Sheet.

"Gravity measurements that reveal its existence suggest that it could date back about 250 million years -- the time of the Permian-Triassic extinction, when almost all animal life on Earth died out," the university said in a statement Thursday.

A 300 mile wide crater a mile below the Antarctic Ice Sheet sounds pretty nuts. I wonder if it would ever be possible for scientists to drill down there and check out the crater.

AMD Accounces Chip Plans

It still seems like AMD is the innovator and the growth company and Intel looks like the broken old tech name resting on their laurels.

"WeÂ’re fully positioned to service one-third of the market by 2008," AMD VP of manufacturing Daryl Ostrander said during a presentation to investors and analysts at the company's Sunnyvale, Calif. headquarters last week. AMD held 21.4% of the overall x86 chip market at the end of last year versus nearly 77% for Intel, according to Mercury Research. It will invest $2.5 billion to increase manufacturing capacity at two plants in Germany. Ostrander reaffirmed plans to move from 90-nanometer chip technology to better performing 65-nanometer technology by the end of this year, and pushed up the schedule for shipping chips with 45-nanometer components to 2008.

I know I have used AMD chips for quite a while because I don't want to pay the added Intel markup for pretty much the same performance. Also yourchoicee of motherboards are greatly reduced when you use Intel. I think too much sitting back and enjoying their near monopolistic status in the 90s have gone to Intel's head.

Spelling Bee a Big Deal now

This sure is an interesting change in something that is used to be treated as a farce by most of America. It seemed like the only coverage that the Spelling Bee got was when some poor kid passed out or some other kid shouts out the letters or something. Now it is prime time TV.

The broadcast had the flavor and style of a sports program, opening with a montage of the competitors and including a short profile of the first speller before he got his word. Profiles of other spellers followed during subsequent commercial breaks, and each pause in the competition brought a groan from the audience.

Each word or grimace by spellers triggered a blast of camera shutters, and the live TV camera followed the losers into the arms of comforting parents.

Maybe we will see a return to the 50s where things like the College Bowl were celebrated and talked about. It does seem to be a return to simpler times where High School Musicals and Spelling Bees were the talk of the town. There was no IPods, Internet or International Terror to make people afraid and their lives hectic.

US Softens Stance on Iran

Hmm it looks like we are giving some quarter on the negotiations with Iran about their nukes.

In Washington, the U.S. official said there was agreement with Germany, France and Britain over the package of "carrots and sticks" and that Russia and China -- in the past reluctant to support punitive measures -- also appeared to be on board.

"We have substantial agreement with the Russians and the Chinese. We are agreed certainly on the need for moving forward in the (U.N.) Security Council if Iran doesn't respond to the offer," said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Now the ball is back in Iran's court. Lets see what they do with it. If I were Iran I would agree to have the UN monitor the enrichment but insist that it must be done in Iran. In other words get the enrichment technology online using Russian help. Then when they are ready to build the bomb, kick out the inspectors and break the seals. Rely on UN paralysis and a wishy-washy "never use force" Dem to be in the White House to buy them enough time to get some bombs built. Once they have the nuke, Iran will be able to able to dictate terms.

Interesting Story on Small Cap Names

Some very interesting Small Cap stocks in this article.

Yet small caps sailed through 2005, besting their larger-cap peers by a wide margin. For the 12 months ended May 1, 2006, the Russell 2000 index of small-cap stocks returned 31.5%, compared with 14.4% for the Standard & Poor's 500 index of large-company stocks.

The names the article picks are:

Coinstar (CSTR) which makes coin counting machines and operates kiddie rides and gumball machines.

Landec (LNDC) which has 17 patents related to a synthetic polymer that "thinks" - that is, the material can respond to changes in temperature by changing its viscosity or permeability. They also make a polymer bag that regulates the oxygen and carbon dioxide levels within a package to maintain the optimum atmosphere.

Amerigon (ARGN) which makes heated/cooled car seats.

PW Eagle (PWEI) which makes PVC pipes.

I'm doing some research on Landec and Amerigon. Their products are very intriguing.

New Rover Looking for Places to Land

This really sounds like an interesting Mars Mission. Scientists are still figuring out where the thing should land though.

When NASA next wheeled robot--the Mars Science Laboratory--rockets skyward in 2009, the mega-rover will carry the largest, most sophisticated array of science gear ever shot to the martian surface.

Far more robust and powerful than those smaller robotic look-alikes now laboring on Mars--Spirit and Opportunity--the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) is intended to turn a new page in planetary exploration.

It is also nuclear powered as well which sounds pretty cool I think. They should try to land it in Mars' Polar Region to see what the deal is up there.

Ford Rolls out Incentives

Ford said that as part of its "Drive on Us" discount program, which begins on Thursday and runs through July, customers would be given either a prepaid debit card for $1,000 of gas purchases or an equivalent discount on the vehicle purchase price.

I like the idea of giving out $1000 gas rebate. I think more car companies need to roll out something like that. It would defray the added cost of buying a Hybrid.

Interesting New NATO like Grouping Forming

This is a very interesting seed of information about a Moscow/Beijing tract forming.

In the first meeting of its kind, parliamentary leaders from the six countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) met Tuesday in Moscow to discuss ways to harmonize their laws and begin building a legislative dimension for the grouping.

Led by China and Russia, the SCO, founded five years ago, also includes Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Other key countries in the region -- India,
Iran, Mongolia and Pakistan -- currently have observer status and have also expressed interest in becoming full members.

This could be a very serious counterweight against US influence in the area. It is a way to check Washington's Power now that we have troops in 2 different nations in that general area. The Chinese and the Russians have a long history of supporting one another from Cold War days.

This makes sense when you think about how they oppose all attempts to strike Iran militarily. They might even be thinking about letting Iran get the bomb. Iran might be their potential partner in this organization to curb American power. A nuclear Iran changes the entire Middle Eastern power structure and China and Russia are ahead of the equation. They are allying with a country that is a direct threat to Israel/USA but not a direct threat to them. Very canny thinking by the Russians and Chinese.

Goldman Sachs chairman In as Treasury Secretary

So they are putting in Wall Street Insider, Henry "Hank" Paulson in as the Treasury Secretary?
Appearing in the White House Rose Garden with Snow and Paulson, Bush praised the Wall Street executive's ability to explain complicated economic concepts in clear language.

Paulson would continue a tradition in which Goldman has sent executives to Washington, including White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten and a former Clinton administration Treasury chief, Robert Rubin.

Hmm, I guess they put him in to explain that complicated economic stuff to Bush. I thought W was supposed to be a business man and understood that kind of thing. I guess Paulson's job is to give Bush those daily economic briefings courtesy of Sponge-Bob Square Pants.

Deputy to the Deputy Fired Over Veterans Mess

So they are firing the little fish on this mess and not the person at the top that allowed the stealing of the Vets info to happen.

Michael H. McLendon, deputy assistant secretary for policy who supervised the VA data analyst who lost the data, said he would relinquish his high-level post on Friday.

So the deputy to the assistant to the assistant got axed. So why hasn't VA Secretary Jim Nicholson resigned yet? This betrayal of the basic tenets of security happened under his watch. The whole idea of the entire records of 26.5 million Vets walking out of the VA admin in a laptop is retarded in the first place. He needs to bite the bullet and resign and the next guy needs to go hammer and tongs to tighten security. This isn't a few thousand credit card records but the private info of guys who bled for this country. Nicholson should go.

Blair Urges Change in the UN

Some of his ideas seem pretty radical but may be needed in this post-Cold War World.

Singling out Iran - whose ongoing nuclear programme has alarmed international leaders - Mr Blair warned technological change and economic globalisation meant western states had to act "pre-emptively" to meet potential threats and crises.

He said: "In the old days, countries could wait, assess over time, even opt out - at least until everything was clear. We could act when we knew. Now we have to act on the basis of precaution."

So this really adds onto the so-called Doctrine of Preemption. We need to hit threats before they grow. This would be the biggest change though and would go a long way toward creating a more effective UN:

His most contentious ideas concerned the Security Council, the UN's highest body, where Britain, along with France, China, Russia and the US, have permanent seats and veto power.

Nations including Germany, Japan, India and Brazil have all been pressing for permanent seats on the council, and Mr Blair signalled he was sympathetic, saying the council in its current form "cannot be legitimate in the modern world".

These other nations will give the UN a more global reach that will reflect the true power players in the world. We have the 2nd biggest economy, the largest democracy, the most powerful South American country, and the other big power player in Europe. I think it will provide them with quite a bit of prestige if they let those four nations in on the Big Game.

There could even have a more altruistic look at certain things because Japan, India, and Brazil really has nothing to gain or lose from putting troops in or sending "preemptive humanitarinism" into a place like Darfur. The U.S. doesn't care about Darfur because there is no oil, gold, or potential consumers there. Britian is on the U.S. team. France probably doesn't want any part of a continent's that they were once the colonial overlords of. Russia and China have no direct interest in anything on the African continent so why should they care?

So bad stuff goes down in Africa and the permanent members just shrug their shoulders because they really have nothing to gain and only something to lose on that continent. The only country that can really act is the U.S. However we can't afford another Somalia and that is what we will get with our troops stretched so thin.

Perhaps Japan, India, or Brazil could take over some of the altruistic World Cop duty since they have no history on that continent. They more or less have nothing to lose. They will go in fresh and might actually help the helpless. And if downed Japanese pilots get dragged through the street there will be world wide condemnation. It won't be hated Americans but selfless Japanese who would be dead. Then you might see the world community actually take Japan's side and not give out candy and shoot off guns like they would if it was dead Americans.

25 Worst Tech Products of All Time

Wow some of there are some real stinkers in this list. I remember how AOL used to cripple some machines when people either tried to uninstall them or upgraded them to a different build. I wonder if anyone actually did a count of the total number of CDs that they sent out in the 90s as well. I bet it is in the billions. Here is the rest of the list.

America Online (1989-2006)
RealNetworks RealPlayer (1999)
Syncronys SoftRAM (1995)
Microsoft Windows Millennium (2000)
Sony BMG Music CDs (2005)
Disney The Lion King CD-ROM (1994)
Microsoft Bob (1995)
Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 (2001)
Pressplay and Musicnet (2002)
dBASE IV (1988)
Priceline Groceries and Gas (2000)
PointCast (1996)
IBM PCjr. (1984)
Gateway 2000 10th Anniversary PC (1995)
Iomega Zip Drive (1998)
Comet Cursor (1997)
Apple Macintosh Portable (1989)
IBM Deskstar 75GXP (2000)
OQO Model 1 (2004)
CueCat (2000)
Eyetop Wearable DVD Player (2004)
Apple Pippin @World (1996)
Free PCs (1999)
DigiScents iSmell (2001)
Sharp RD3D Notebook (2004)
(Dis)Honorable Mention

What is Buffet Buying?

Very interesting article on what Warren Buffet is doing with his stocks. He looks like he is going outside America to get his hands on some good international stocks. He fears large budget deficits will weaken the dollar and send stocks lower. Here are his 38 holdings in order of size with Morningstar ratings:

1. Coca-Cola : Wide Moat, 5 Stars
2. American Express : Wide Moat, 3 Stars
3. Wells Fargo : Wide Moat, 4 Stars
4. Procter & Gamble : Wide Moat, 3 Stars
5. Moody's : Wide Moat, 4 Stars
6. Wesco Financial : Narrow Moat, 4 Stars
7. Anheuser-Busch : Wide Moat, 5 Stars
8. Washington Post : Wide Moat, 5 Stars
9. ConocoPhillips : Narrow Moat, 3 Stars
10. Ameriprise Financial : Not rated
11. Wal-Mart : Wide Moat, 5 Stars
12. M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB - News): Narrow Moat, 3 Stars
13. USG Corporation (NYSE:USG - News): Not rated
14. American Standard : Narrow Moat, 2 Stars
15. First Data (NYSE:FDC - News): Wide Moat, 3 Stars
16. H&R Block : Wide Moat, 4 Stars
17. Comcast (NasdaqNM:CMCSA - News): Wide Moat, 3 Stars
18. Costco (NasdaqNM:COST - News): Narrow Moat, 3 Stars
19. General Electric : Wide Moat, 3 Stars
20. Tyco International : Narrow Moat, 5 Stars
21. SunTrust Bank (NYSE:STI - News): Narrow Moat, 3 Stars
22. Nike : Narrow Moat, 5 Stars
23. Gannett : Narrow Moat, 5 Stars
24. Gap (NYSE:GPS - News): Narrow Moat, 4 Stars
25. Home Depot : Wide Moat, 4 Stars
26. Torchmark (NYSE:TMK - News): Narrow Moat, 3 Stars
27. Iron Mountain : Wide Moat, 3 Stars
28. Lexmark International : Narrow Moat, 3 Stars
29. United Parcel Service : Wide Moat, 4 Stars
30. Outback Steakhouse (NYSE:OSI - News): No Moat, 4 Stars
31. PetroChina (NYSE:PTR - News): Narrow Moat, 2 Stars
32. ServiceMaster : Narrow Moat, 3 Stars
33. Sealed Air : Narrow Moat, 5 Stars
34. Pier 1 Imports (NYSE:PIR - News): No Moat, 4 Stars
35. Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW - News): Wide Moat, 3 Stars
36. Comdisco Holdings : Not rated
37. Tesco PLC: Not rated
38. Kingfisher (Other OTC:KGFHY.PK - News): Not rated

Japan's new Media Immersion Pods

On my Googling for other info I found this very interesting article about a new trend in Japan called "media-immersion pods."

ON a recent afternoon, at around 5:30, I visited the Gran Cyber Café in the Shinjuku neighborhood for the first time, to read e-mail and visit a news site or two. Checking in, I was assigned to pod 16-A.

I loved 16-A the instant I saw it. I closed the door, slipped into a low-slung leatherette seat and surveyed the all-you-can-eat tech feast, which includes VHS and DVD players, satellite and regular television on a Toshiba set, PlayStation 2, Lineage II and a Compaq computer loaded with software, all the relevant downloads and hyperspeedy Internet. In the nearby library were thousands of comic books, magazines and novels. On the desk was a menu of oddball snacks, like boiled egg curry and hot sandwich tuna.

The atmosphere is airless and hot, with a permanent cloud of cigarette smoke. Over all the effect is of a low-wattage, low-oxygen casino.

So they are kind of a way for Japanese to get out of the rigid social structure and bustle of city life to be anonymous and have time all to themselves. In that time they get to immerse themselves in tech and manga. A kind of solo buffet of uninterrupted media consumption. The whole idea of these Pods *really* appeals to me. Noone to bother you as you game, watch TV, DVDs, read Manga or whatever. You are just alone with your own thoughts with no distractions or outside stimuli to take your attention away from your media consumption.

Maui Beach Wins Best Beach Award

I knew that Maui beaches were pretty good but now America knows.

Fleming Beach Park, a mile-long crescent white sand beach on Maui's western shore featuring spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean and the rugged shores of Molokai Island, was named America's best beach in an annual list that also included two Florida beaches.

Nice view.

Abbas Pulls a Fast One on Hamas

Now this is an interesting way of bypassing Hamas control of Palestine.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Thursday he will call a national referendum on accepting a Palestinian state alongside Israel if Hamas does not agree to the idea within 10 days.

Such a vote would effectively ask Palestinians to give implicit recognition to Israel by accepting a Palestinian state on land occupied by Israel in 1967. Approval of the 18-point plan would provide a way out of the impasse over acceptance of Israel, which has led to an international freeze on aid to the Hamas-led government.

So he will go right to the Palestinian people and ask them if they want a two state solution and prevent Israel from just unilaterally drawing a border. Palestine is getting a border no matter what but Abbas is the one drawing it and not Israel. A very good gamble I think that will probably pay off.

The two states existing side by side even validates Israel's existence. And even better it will be the Palestinian people calling for it and not it being imposed by the Security Council or Israel or anyone else. I like the sound of that. I wonder how Abbas is going to spend that Peace Prize money?

Leeroy Jenkins?

This is a funny bit of stuff that I found searching the net.

The video was released by the World of Warcraft Alliance player guild PALS FOR LIFE on the Laughing Skull server. Leeroy appears as a paladin in the video, which was apparently intended as a promotion for the guild. It begins with Leeroy away from his keyboard ("AFK") while the rest of his group meticulously plans a raid on the Rookery - a part of the instance dungeon Upper Blackrock Spire. Just as they are discussing tactics and calculating the possible rate of survival for the attack (32.%) Leeroy suddenly springs to life, shouts his battle cry, "LEEERRROYYYY JENNNNKINNNNSSS!!!", and charges fearlessly into the Rookery to the complete and utter incredulity of his team mates. In an attempt to save him, they follow him in and are quickly overwhelmed.

I guess this incident got cemented into pop icon status from this mention on Jeopardy:

Olmert Addresses Joint Session

He said some very interesting things about Iran in his speech to a Joint Session of Congress.

"A nuclear Iran means a terrorist state could achieve the primary mission for which terrorists live and die: the mass destruction of innocent human life," Olmert said in a warmly received address to both chambers of Congress.

"This challenge, which I believe is the test of our time, is one the West cannot afford to fail," he said, estimating that Iran "stands on the verge of acquiring nuclear weapons."

"History will judge our generation by the actions we take now ... the international community will be measured not by its intentions but by its results," he said, cautioning that "another dark and gathering storm" was casting its shadow over the world.

And that dark and gathering storm casting its shadow over the world is Sauron err Iran.

Disney and Shanda Team up on Online Game

It seems like an interesting pairing but what sort of online game can Disney hope for from Shanda?

The game, which will be developed for a broader demographic than traditional online games, as well as China's burgeoning segment of female online gamers, will be available in China for open beta in the spring of 2007.

"The market for online games in China is large and growing, and it was important for us to find the right partner. We're pleased to have found that in Shanda," said Mark Handler, executive vice president and managing director, International, Walt Disney Internet Group. "Disney's rich content library, combined with Shanda's capabilities as a leading online game operator, will bring a new, unique and fun experience for the online game consumer. We actively look to bring more of our content to the online interactive entertainment market in China."

I have a feeling that it may be some kind of online version of Kingdom Hearts 2. Perhaps you can play as a character in the World of Disney and Mickey sends you on a quest to collect the still beating, bloody heart of Horace Horsecollar or something.

European Nations Sweeten the Pot for Iran

It looks like use of force is coming off of the table here. I wonder if Bush has just passed the pigskin to Olmert and told him that he is the QB on this one. Put the Israeli Air Force on standby Ehud they are going to be needed.

The compromise, which would drop the automatic threat of military action if Iran remains defiant, is part of a proposed basket of incentives meant to entice Iran to give up enrichment, a possible pathway to nuclear arms. It also spells out the penalties if it does not.

They are getting a pretty good deal if they go along with it though:

If Tehran agrees to suspend enrichment, enter new negotiations on its nuclear program and lift a ban on intrusive inspections by the IAEA, they would be offered rewards including agreement by the international community to "suspend discussion of Iran's file at the Security Council."

The package also promised help in "the building of new light-water reactors in Iran," offered an assured supply of nuclear fuel for up to five years, and asked Tehran to accept a plan that would move its enrichment program to Russia.

So they get some light-water reactors, get their name off of the Security Council Hit List, and they get free nuclear fuel for 5 years. The Russians will even enrich their uranium for them for free. Iran can really look like the winner here if they climb down from the edge and accept this deal. They won't though because they will end up losing the status as the Lion of the Arab World by cowtowing to the so-called European Powers. Nukes are too much of a pride thing for Iran now that Iraq can't thumb their nose at the world anymore.

Mr. Olmert Comes to Washington

It looks like he came for a nice skull session with W on what to do with Iran and Palestinian State borders. I'm glad he is not just going simply wait out Hamas and is going to jump over their head to speak directly with Abbas. That means peace might still be within their grasp.

US officials had also demanded that Israel hold talks with Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority’s Fatah president. Mr Olmert on Tuesday said he would “exhaust every opportunity” to reach a peace agreement with the Palestinian Authority and pledged to “extend my hand to Mahmoud Abbas” and meet him. Although a date has not yet been set he said it would be “in the near future”.

He added that he accepted the “sincerity of Mahmoud Abbas as the elected president of the Palestinian Authority” but offered the caveat that he “hoped that he will have the power to meet the requirements necessary for negotiations”, such as Israel’s security concerns. He warned that Israel would “not wait indefinitely,” before pursuing withdrawal from settlements.

I have a feeling that the US and Israeli flags together like that will end up on some Islamic Hate site somewhere.

Should You be Short the Market?

I keep seeing more and more articles like this and it is giving me the idea that being short this market is the correct trade.

"More ugly market action on Friday. Bonds fell to a new low and the yield curve steepened (led by long rates) despite a big drop in consumer sentiment. And the dollar continued to fall... In these two moves, we can see big money [taking] the opportunity to sell into good news, overwhelming short term traders. U.S. and global stocks are cracking under the pressure of rising rates."

It would have been better to have gotten short when the market was trading at 7 year highs but it doesn't seem to be too late. I keep seeing these rallies crap out in the last few hours of trading. I remember reading somewhere that that was a bad sign. Whatever the case carrying a big cash position may be a good deal in the coming months. I think the market will be on sale here before too long and it will be time to get in there and buy on the cheap.

Important Info for a Novice Investor

Hmm, this is pretty good stuff if you are just getting into the investing game. I especially liked these four points at the bottom.

1. For long-term money, stocks likely remain the best investment. They may not return what they have in the past, but another asset class that can keep pace with inflation as well as stocks has not presented itself. Because of their volatility, however, stocks remain bad investments for short-term money (cash that you'll use for a down payment on a house in six months, for example). In fact, Siegel says that stocks are inappropriate investments for money that you're planning to spend within five years.

2. Knowing history can help you manage your emotions, which may be the most important part of investing. Just when you want to throw in the towel after a period of stock market decline, those stocks may bounce back. Also, just when you're likely to feel most confident in them is when they're prone to disappoint. Keeping a long-term perspective and trying to focus more on your time frame than on the daily and yearly fluctuations can make you a better investor.

3. Broad-based mutual funds, including index funds that track the S&P 500 or Wilshire 5000 indexes, give individual investors a good chance to capture much of the market's return over time. Stick to these kinds of investments with the bulk of your assets, and try not to pay attention to various sectors that may be running hard for short periods of time. It's easy to feel like a dolt at a cocktail party when you don't own the latest high-flying sector, but armed with history you'll realize that periods of unusually strong performance can't continue for the market as a whole or for an individual sector.

4. Fees matter. Because beating inflation, especially for bonds, is difficult, paying a large expense ratio on your mutual funds is effectively asking you to fight with one hand tied behind your back. Look for low-fee mutual funds. Our Analyst Picks lists are filled with them.

VA Employee Losses 26.5 million Veteran SSNs.

Wow now this is a serious breach of security.

Thieves took sensitive personal information on 26.5 million U.S. veterans, including
Social Security numbers and birth dates, after a Veterans Affairs employee improperly brought the material home, the government said Monday.

The information involved mainly those veterans who served and have been discharged since 1975, said VA Secretary Jim Nicholson. Data of veterans discharged before 1975 who submitted claims to the agency may have been included.

Now this is a serious boneheaded error that they should get to the bottom of. This information is as good as gold to identity theft types who could go after vets to file false claims, open credit card accounts, and a whole list of nefarious things. This is the reason why it all went down:

Nicholson declined to comment on the specifics of the incident, which involved a midlevel data analyst who had taken the information home to suburban Maryland on a laptop to work on a department project.

The residential community had been a target of a series of burglaries when the employee was victimized earlier this month, according to the FBI in Baltimore. Local law enforcement and the VA inspector general were also investigating.

In other words some idiot brought home a copy of something like the master data file on their laptop so they could do some project that they are too lazy to do at work. The idea of such a data file existing in a non-encrypted form that would be able to move to a laptop is mind boggling. There was no VPNing to the .mil Dbase to access this information or anything like that. Hell, even if that person GoToMyPCed into their work computer it would have been less of a security threat.

Then to add insult to injury this idiot lives in a high crime neighborhood and gets the laptop pinched. No laptop lock or any other physical security for the thing at all. I really think they should overhaul the VAs entire computer security setup. If 26.5 million customer accounts for a bank were lost then there would be a run on that bank and maybe the CEO would have to resign. This screw-up should be no different.

Apple Finds Retail Success

Hmm, I think Dell should take a page out of Apples Book. Present the item as a high tech lifestyle choice and not just a tool and people will pay top dollar for the thing. In other words don't compete on price alone. Noone wants a cheap looking item when it comes to their high tech purchase. They aren't buying heads of lettuce but are shelling out $1000s for something. So you have to treat them like they are getting something special.

The Apple items look High-Tech and ahead of their time from a design standpoint so they create a certain "lifestyle." This is the same thing that allows Starbucks to charge 4.50 for a Latte because people are buying into the Bohemian coffee-house lifestyle even though there are a 100,000 Starbucks. The perception of luxury and living a different/idealistic life is what keeps people shelling out the big bucks for these items.

The Apple Store just looks like a high-tech design center of the future. Where you come and buy hip stuff from Apple Zealots to allow you to buy into the I-lifestyle. Dell cannot compete effectivly with this since they cut every corner to make the computer super-cheap. After a while Dells come out looking cheap and crappy. They get the same rep as an E-Machine or other low end PC dealer. Bad Quality, looks like something you find at an office, and not something for a hip, high-tech lifestyle of the future.

Big King Value Meal Comes to the NYSE

That Weird-Assed King commands you to buy some BKC. I think this Burger King IPO would have been even hotter if there wasn't so much talk of interest rate jitters in the broader market.

The initial public offering of 25 million shares, which represents a 19 percent stake in the company, was worth about $425 million.

The shares rose 50 cents, or 2.9 percent, to $17.50, trimming earlier gains of up to 7 percent as broader market gauges slipped for the sixth time in the last seven sessions.

I did some quick calulations and if Burger King at least reaches the market value for Wendys the number 3 burger chain, the stock should be worth quite a bit more then the IPO price of $17.50. BKC seems kind of attractive according to this article:

Burger King has logged eight consecutive quarters of same-store sales growth in the U.S. For the nine months ended March 31, its total revenue rose 5% to $1.5 billion, and its net income declined 18% from a year earlier to $37 million. The company attributed the drop on its bottom line to the dividend payment, other payments made to senior management, a $14 million loss recorded on the early extinguishment of debt and increased income tax expense.

The sale of 25 million shares makes up roughly 19% of Burger King's overall shares, putting its value at about $2.25 billion. McDonald's has a market value of about $43 billion, while Wendy's is worth about $7 billion.

Weird-assed King Commands you to Buy, Buy!

DaVinci Code a Dud?

Uh oh, this does not bode well for this movie.

"A pulpy page-turner in its original incarnation as a huge international bestseller has become a stodgy, grim thing in the exceedingly literal-minded film version of The Da Vinci Code," opined Variety film critic Todd McCarthy.

"[Howard and writer Akiva Goldsman] conspired to drain any sense of fun out of the melodrama, leaving expectant audiences with an oppressively talky film that isn't exactly dull, but comes as close to it as one could imagine with such provocative material".

Wow and there was even some unintentional laughter which is the kiss of death to a thriller in my book. I guess DaVinci Code is one of those movies that I will be checking out on HBO sometime in the far future.

"At the high point, there was laughter among the journalists. Not loud laughs, but a snicker and I think that says it all," the Associated Foreign Press quoted Gerson Da Cunha from the Times of India.

Gears of War a Hit at E3

Here is a list of new games coming that the guys at Penny Arcade will be buying in the future.

My favorite stuff
Gears of War This was the best looking, most fun game I played at the show. I got to sit down and play a bunch of rounds and it was fucking great.

Bioshock This game is absolutely beautiful. I'm sure Tycho will go into detail later. What we saw during the demo really blew me away.

Dead Rising I probably spent more time playing this on the show floor than any other game. I even went back to it throughout the show. Bashing a zombie in the skull with a bowling ball is a real treat. I will say that the lack of co-op play is a crime.

Stranglehold I'm a huge John Woo fan and I didn't expect this game to be any good. After seeing it in action though I'm ready to buy it. I will say that I saw a super move that involved doves flying in slow motion. That's all I need.

Haze I can't really talk about this one but I was impressed. I had never even heard of it going into E3 and now I'm really looking forward to it.

I have never heard of these games except for Bioshock which looks pretty creepy. That game kind of has a Steampunk meets a terrible plague ravaged area feel to it. Oh and the multiple zombies on the screen at once in Dead Rising looks pretty crazy. I loved House of the Dead even though I have only played it at the arcade.

Here is some screen shots from Gears of War. It kind of looks like Unreal tournament mixed with the Imperial Guard from Warhammer 40K. The badguys look pretty nuts and the graphics are the best I have ever seen on a console. In fact they kind of look like cutscenes and not the actual game. However It comes out on November 1 though so that is about the time I will be making the desicion to buy a PS3 or an Xbox360.

AMD introduces new Turion 64 X2 Laptop Chips

It looks like AMD is going after Intel on all fronts now.

The Turion 64 X2 chips will be the first 64-bit, dual-core processors to reach the notebook market, said David Rooney, mobile division marketing manager for AMD, in Sunnyvale, California. Customers demand 64-bit processing to run multithreaded digital media applications and the future Microsoft Vista OS, he said.

Multicore processing allows control over many applications running on a single PC. AMD says 85 percent of PC users run six applications at once: antivirus, e-mail, firewall, spam protection, a pop-up blocker, and spyware protection.

Hmm I never thought about running six applications at the same time but I guess I am doing it right now. I have an anti-virus, 2 IE windows, Outlook, spyware protection, and a wireless connection app. Sometimes I run even more stuff then that.

Hmm I wonder what the battery life is like on this new Turion chip? You would think it would be pretty bad since it is a dual core chip but AMD is pretty good at making their chips sip power. Also the timing of bringing out this chip in May could goose next quarters profits as well.

AMD could also seize an advantage by launching its new chip first, analysts say.

AMD's decision to launch its new Turion in May gives PC vendors time to get their products on store shelves in time for the back-to-school rush, the second-largest selling season in the U.S., said Nicole D'Onofrio, an analyst with Current Analysis.

Already, vendors planning to sell Turion-based notebook PCs this quarter include Acer, Fujitsu, Gateway, Hewlett-Packard, and nine more.

HP to Consolidate Data Centers

Hmm this seems like a pretty shrewd move to save some cash.

HP said the consolidation will help it reduce its IT spending by about $1 billion in coming years. The facilities in Atlanta, Houston and Austin, Texas, also will serve as a showcase for HP's adaptive infrastructure products and services.

HP has designed its new facilities to be "lights out" data centers, capable of being managed remotely. HP also is implementing smart cooling technologies that optimize airflow for cooling of the data centers, leading to utility cost savings of up to 25 percent.

That seems pretty state of the art to remotely control an entire massive building like that. I guess it is possible with today's technology but it still feels like something out of Star Trek or some other Sci Fi deal.

HP a Retail Electronics Powerhouse?

Hmm this is very interesting information that I was not aware of at all:

H-P (HPQ) , a brand synonymous with the enterprise computing and printing industries, has quietly become the leading technology supplier to the nation's largest electronics stores. In 2005 the company claimed more than 13% of the roughly $81 billion that Americans spent on technology products, according to research firm NPD Techworld in Port Washington, N.Y.

"It's a new market, but we look at it more like an IT (information technology) market," said Jan-Luc Blakborn, H-P's director of digital entertainment for North America. "Not everyone can play in this market, but we have the (technological) background to deliver products that can fill the needs and wants of consumers."

They are also looking to expand their share of the digital TV market as well:

Palo Alto, Calif.-based H-P is looking to expand its share even further. In addition to its long-time strength in printing, imaging and PCs, and its moves into the retail photo kiosk market, the company is stocking several of its newest digital TVs on the shelves at Best Buy Co. Inc. (BBY)

H-P's retail television expansion "has the potential to more than triple H-P's addressable market for consumer products," said Harry Blount, an analyst with Lehman Bros.
H-P claims about $30 million in annual revenue from TV sales -- just a sliver of the $26.7 billion in sales its so-called personal-systems division reported last year. However, Blount reckons the Best Buy partnership alone could boost H-P's TV yearly sales to more than $200 million.

Will people really buy HP branded TVs? I guess they can serve the dual role of a TV and a computer monitor. Hmm, they might really have something here since all they really need is to rebrand a current monitor to look more like a TV and less like a computer monitor. That means retrofitting the stand, changing the casing, and maybe changing the buttons on the front. It would seem like a fairly easy thing to do. Whatever the case I just like the sound of $30 million sales turning into $200 million.

Hewlett-Packards Vision of the Future: Very Long Sighted

I just talked about Dell's views of the future according to this article. Here is Hewlett-Packards take on the future:

Lampman, head of HP's research group, said that managing data centers is one of the company's main initiatives over the next five years. Beyond individual machines, data center management includes software, energy consumption and labor.

This is very, very canny move and could be quite a lucrative business for HP. I think data storage will one of the most important challenges to computing in the next 5 years. People are taking more pictures, making more movies, and downloading more worthless crap then ever before. Where are they going to store all of those files?

Some people will store them on the hard drives or maybe cut them to HD-DVDs. While others will move their crap to offsite storage at a data center. This will be especially important when people start downloading HD-DVD movie content. Those files will fill up even the biggest hard-drives in no time flat. So offsite is one of the only places to amass a very big library that you can take anywhere there is a next generation superfast broadband connection. The idea of all of your data available anytime, anywhere on any form of media (PC, TV, IPod etc.) is the Holy Grail of Consumer Electronics.

This is just the consumer side of the coin. The corporate side will dwarf this all-together. With Sarbanes-Oxley, companies have to hold on to more piles of useless, redundant crap then ever before. They cannot hope to have all this stuff stored cheaply and easily in-house and will have to rely on data centers to hold onto this info. The electrical power savings alone of keeping data at a data center and not at the home office will be massive for some companies. This is also great for disaster preparedness and productivity since you will be able to access all of your data at any time from anyplace in the world through that super-fast broadband connection.

Even HPs recent acquisions will tie into this idea of the need to store peoples crap:

Far beyond its history as a device maker, Lampman also said that its online photography business Snapfish.com, which HP acquired last year, is a prime example of how the company wants to expand its printing business.

"Snapfish is a real force," Lampman said describing the expectations executives have in the new unit that competes with Yahoo's Flickr and many other Web-based digital photo printing and storage services.

Yup the consumer will be able to snap the photos on a wireless enabled digital camera, upload them to an HP run data center, and then jump onto a network enabled kiosk and print out the photo using an HP printer. This idea will also allow grandparents to go to a kiosk at their local Best Buy to make prints of their grandson falling off of his bike 2000 miles away without any need for a PC, a home network connection, a memory card, or anything more then a user name and password.

They could even streamline the picture taking process to make it so as soon as you snap a picture it will immediately store the data at an HP run data center. You could even set it to print out on your network enabled home printer as soon as you hit a button on the camera from the other side of the world. You won't ever have a need for a bunch of memory cards piled up in your camera bag ready to get lost somewhere. Now that is looking ahead.