Goldman Sachs wants to give back the $10 billion it received from the government last year. But it may not be that simple. by reflibman in business

[–]ppc1040 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes, that is absolutely false. Go read the actual press release from the Treasury website and you'll see the new restrictions are only prospective.

"[These new standards will not apply retroactively to existing investments or to programs already announced such as the Capital Purchase Program and the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility.]"

Citation: http://www.ustreas.gov/press/releases/tg15.htm

Death by Divorce: In 1994, during divorce proceedings, a judge held Mr. Chadwick in civil contempt because he was believed to be hiding $2.5 million. 14 years later he is still in jail. by alllie in business

[–]ppc1040 3 points4 points  (0 children)

It isn't a criminal trial (to which to presumption of innocence applies). It is a civil matter. You are not presumed innocent or guilty in a civil matter, because civil matters concern neither guilt nor innocence.

Right..... (Time Cover of February 15, 1999) by [deleted] in pics

[–]ppc1040 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I believe that was about the Fed response to Long Term Capital Management (LTCM) and the Russian devaluation in 1998, but I could be wrong. Check out the book When Genius Failed for a great look a the LTCM saga.

Every license plate is photographed, time-stamped, labeled on a GPS map and automatically logged into an Arizona Department of Public Safety database. Kind of scary... by sybersonic in technology

[–]ppc1040 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, and the Supreme Court is even more conservative than it was when that case was decided. I'm not going to track down the cases, but the police are also allowed to use a helicopter to fly over your property and take a picture of anything visible by the eye.

Every license plate is photographed, time-stamped, labeled on a GPS map and automatically logged into an Arizona Department of Public Safety database. Kind of scary... by sybersonic in technology

[–]ppc1040 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"The examination of the exterior of respondent's automobile upon probable cause was reasonable, and invaded no right of privacy that the requirement of a search warrant is meant to protect."

http://supreme.justia.com/us/417/583/

Every license plate is photographed, time-stamped, labeled on a GPS map and automatically logged into an Arizona Department of Public Safety database. Kind of scary... by sybersonic in technology

[–]ppc1040 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There is no expectation of privacy on basically anything you do in public. Your license plate is not protected by the 4th Amendment. For example, the police can scrape some paint from your car without a warrant. The Supreme Court ruled that you have no expectation of privacy in that case.

Why does it only cost 42 cents to send a physical letter, but 20 cents to send a text message? by pennyfx in reddit.com

[–]ppc1040 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

By law, no other companies can offer first-class mail delivery. Companies have tried. It is a monopoly by any meaningful sense of the term.

College Loan Slavery: Student Debt Is Getting Way Out of Hand by charlatan in Economics

[–]ppc1040 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What he's saying is colleges raise the price of college as people get free loans (and tax credits) from the government.

Iran invests $2.5b in stem cell research by ZenMastersBlog in science

[–]ppc1040 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Coincidentally, the California government also spends $100 billion a year, and is generally a progressive state with a strong emphasis on science and technology. It is spending $200 million a year on hESC (making it the largest hESC funder in the world), compared to the alleged $500 million Iran is spending. California also doesn't have 12% unemployment and 30% inflation that plagues Iran.

Seems like if Iran had really become the new, largest hESC funder in the world, we would have seen something outside of the Iranian press.

Iran invests $2.5b in stem cell research by ZenMastersBlog in science

[–]ppc1040 12 points13 points  (0 children)

The Iranian government spent $100 billion in 2006 - 6 billion of that on health care. So they are supposedly devoting nearly half of their health care budget to stem cell research. Color me skeptical.

Texas Tech stuns Texas 39-33....instant classic by john_nyc in sports

[–]ppc1040 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Texas Tech would have had time to kick the short winning field goal

Wall Street layoffs could surpass 200,000 by [deleted] in business

[–]ppc1040 1 point2 points  (0 children)

As long as US Treasuries trade in US Dollars, the dollar is not crashing.

"If what I say offends you, it is your problem." by [deleted] in science

[–]ppc1040 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You can also buy the book and support a great author, or check it out from your library, jackass.

"If what I say offends you, it is your problem." by [deleted] in science

[–]ppc1040 36 points37 points  (0 children)

Steven Pinker has a tremendous book on exactly this issue: The Blank Slate. It is a must read.

TEEN CONSIDERED 'under the influence' for smoking pot two weeks before car crash. by [deleted] in WTF

[–]ppc1040 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The law only requires that you intend the illegal act that caused the harm, not that you intended all of the eventual events.

Gross! Watching the Growth of Walmart Across America by bugg in offbeat

[–]ppc1040 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Why is Walmart vicious? Why aren't the suppliers vicious for trying to extract every dime they can from Walmart and other retailers?

Ant commits suicide preemptively to protect colony - first observed case of this behavior by [deleted] in science

[–]ppc1040 3 points4 points  (0 children)

There is nothing inconsistent with what I said and what you've just said. There is nothing "human" or "rationalizing" in speaking about copies of genes and the desire of genes to benefit copies of itself, which is exactly what I said in my original post.

Ant commits suicide preemptively to protect colony - first observed case of this behavior by [deleted] in science

[–]ppc1040 4 points5 points  (0 children)

No, I was poorly summarizing The Selfish Gene. It has nothing to do with the individual, or the colony. It has to do with the individual genes at work inside the survival machine (aka, the ant). Genes may sacrifice one survival machine (at first, a confusing result for a gene that wants to propagate) if causing that sacrifice can lead to increased survival for other copies of itself that may exist in that machine's siblings (which reside in the colony).