“Sony Pictures CEO: The Internet Is Stupid” and other links…
dslreports.com: “Michael Lynton, CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment, last week made waves by boldly proclaiming he ‘doesn’t see anything good having come from the Internet.’ Lynton proclaimed the Internet ‘created this notion that anyone can have whatever they want at any given time.’ ‘They feel entitled,’ he whines. ‘They say, ‘Give it to me now,’ and if you don’t give it to them for free, they’ll steal it,’ insists the CEO.” This should be a classic quote of unabashed upper class disdain for the masses. This single comment should be a sign and a wonder for any educated professional of the 21st century considering working for Sony Pictures to reconsider. And, of course, this brazen comment could be just another milestone along the path of “redefining” what we now think of as the Internet.
“Sex and corruption in China’s Dream City”
Kent Ewing: “On that night, she says she was assaulted by two government officials, one of whom slapped her repeatedly with wads of cash while insisting that she have sex with him. When the two men pushed her onto a sofa a second time, she recalls, she reached into her bag for a knife, an instrument she used in her trade, and began slashing away.”
“US core no longer the magnet”
Doug Noland: “Yet I view the core-to-periphery dynamic as profoundly bearish for the US. At its core, this historic redirection of global flows and inflationary pressures is the consequence of a breakdown in the dollar standard. Failed policies, a resulting deeply impaired economic structure, and massive ongoing devaluation have ended the dollar's reign as the globe's premier reserve currency and perceived stable store of value. There is today no sound currency to replace the dollar, so the global financial system operates rudderless and with great uncertainties.”
“America eats, belatedly”
The Economist: “Mr Kurlansky notes that at the time ‘America Eats’ was published, ‘America had rivers on both coasts teeming with salmon’ and ‘squirrels still leapt from conifer to hardwood in the uncut forests of Appalachia.’ It is, he says, ‘terrifying to see how much we have lost in only 70 years.’ A great deal has changed since this book was compiled. But the account of the popularity of the impersonal, high-speed Automat restaurants of New York (the precursors of later fast-food chains) and a piece ridiculing the ‘dietists’ and ‘health-food cults’ of Los Angeles serve as a reminder that some things have not.”
Wikipedia.org Moment: Kosher Locust
Wikipedia.org: “While most insects are considered to be forbidden by Kosher dietary laws, four varieties of locust are listed in the Torah as permissible. As explained below, however, the identities of these varieties are disputed, effectively prohibiting locust consumption for all but a tiny fraction of practicing Jews.”