From Pine View Farm

Masters of the Universe category archive

The Fee Hand of the Market 0

The Bangor Daily News reports on a Maine Redditor who invested in Game Stop:

“The hedge fund investors are a little salty right now,” Black said. “There’s poor people making money now. They don’t like to see that.”

Via Atrios, David Dayen has more.

Aside:

Frankly, a strong case can be made that short-selling, basically betting against a company’s success, should be banned.

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DIY 0

And now for a bit of good news . . . .

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The Assimilation 0

Lola says,

Click for the original image.

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Self-Made-Up Men 0

Image One:  Pie chart with sections labeled

Via Job’s Anger.

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Goldman’s Sacks 0

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Trickle-Down Jurisimprudence 0

No one can say that this was unpresidented (details at the link).

Hours after President Donald Trump confidante Roger Stone was sentenced in a Washington, D.C., courtroom to 40 months, a Sacramento defense lawyer seized upon the controversy to argue that federal sentencing guidelines have been tainted by the case and that his client should serve no prison time.

The surprising result? A 13-month sentence of home detention for Andrey Kim, who pleaded guilty in a massive mortgage fraud case that began in 2006 and is estimated to have cost banks more than $16 million.

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How Far Did Wells-Fargo? 0

According to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune’s Lee Schafer, pretty damn far.

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Putting the Public Good Up for Sale 0

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports on a controversy in a school district that led to an ouster of a majority of the school board.

Follow the link for details.

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“A Different Rich Guy” 0

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Foreclosing on America’s Future 0

Thom reads from Homewreckers: How a Gang of Wall Street Kingpins, Hedge Fund Magnates, Crooked Banks, and Vulture Capitalists Suckered Millions Out of Their Homes and Demolished the American Dream.

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No Place To Hide 0

Listen to Harry Shearer’s interview with Shoshana Kuboff, author of the Age of Surveillance Capitalism.

Methinks ’twill cause you disquiet.

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It May Be Artificial, but It’s Not Intelligent 0

Listen to Harry Shearer interview Gary Marcus on why AI is not a thing on the September 22, 2019, edition of Le Show.

In related news, Bobby Azarian points out that one of the things that machine learning enables said machines to learn is bigotry and prejudice. A snippet:

For example, past studies have shown that the same exact resume is twice as likely to result in an interview opportunity if the applicant’s name is European-American rather than African-American. In a similar way, the AI system was more likely to associate European American names with positive stimuli compared to African-American names. There were similar findings in terms of gender, such that female words, like “woman” or “girl” were more closely related to the arts compared to mathematics.

Fast /= intelligent.

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The Watcher in Your Pocket 0

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Fly the Fiendly Skies 0

It’s so easy, even a child can do it.

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Crowd Sourcing 0

Donald Trump at rally saying,

Via Job’s Anger.

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How Far Will Wells Fargo? 0

One more time, pretty damn far.

Aside:

There is no truth to the rumor that Wells-Fargo is led by a “Godfather of the Board.”

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Misdirection Plays, Taxonomy Dept. 0

In the context of the Jeffrey Epstein case, Spocko describes the four types of “fixers” and discusses how their work manifests itself. Per Spocko, these are the four types:

  • Thug fixers.
  • Legal fixers.
  • PR Fixers.
  • Media fixers.

Follow the link for a detailed description of how each type manifests itself.

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How Far Will Wells-Fargo 0

Pretty damn far, I wot.

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Journey through the Jungle 0

The Inky tells the tale of a long and twisted tour through the wilds of the Amazon(.com).

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Monster Masher 0

Labor Secretary Acosta as Frankenstein's monster gesturing towards Jeffrey Epstein as werewolf, who is holding his

Click for the original image.

Dick Polman has more.

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