Comment Re:Are there any practical applications? (Score 1) 160
I'm sure we'll invent something for this invention.
Cane toads.
... risk being trampled by these big creatures.
Of course, this means that we're more likely to see a giant Coke banner on the moon.
Current laws would prevent that from happening in the US. After the 1993 attempt by Space Marketing Inc to put up a "Space Billboard" (a mile long illuminated billboard that would be launched into a low orbit and be visible from Earth). In that year, faced with this malarkey, Congressman Ed Markey and former Sen. James Jeffords introduced a bill that banned all U.S. advertising in space (Space Marketing Prohibition Act of 1993). This was later amended to only cover obtrusive advertising, thus allowing sponsorship deals where the logo is placed on the rocket or an astronaut's clothing.
Also on his tweeter account Mr Bryan posted that he was coming to destroy America.
And if DHS is using these tweets as evidence, one should hope that the officers handling the case have enough intelligence to name the little beast correctly: it's Twitter not Tweeter, ya DHS dufus!
This is either a case of an officer lacking in intelligence, or his/her inability to pay attention to details when writing official documentation. I would think that, ideally, both intelligence and being observant would be essential qualities for all homeland security officers. Especially those in the field.
Remember that this figure includes all attempted fraud of this kind to date. Compare this to credit card fraud:
The cost of card fraud in 2006 were 7 cents per 100 dollars worth of transactions (7 basis points). Due to the high volume of transactions this translates to billions of dollars. In 2006, fraud in the United Kingdom alone was estimated at £535 million, or US$750–830 million at prevailing 2006 exchange rates.
So, yes, $6m in actual cost to victims seems very low.
Never did I suggest letting unsavory individuals get away with their crimes. Merely suggesting that the powers that be might be more concerned with the market being played and causing much more damage than the obvious cost of siphoned funds to a few brokers.
Preventing manipulation of the market might very well be the reason that FINRA issued the advisory and would be taking this seriously. According to the article:
As of December 2011, the attempted fraud amounts total approximately $23 million; the actual victim losses are approximately $6 million.
$23 million in attempted fraud up until Dec 2011 seems like peanuts to me.
God help those who do not help themselves. -- Wilson Mizner
