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Comment: Re:Fear economics (Score 1) 220

It's a tangent, but there's a good article on 2008 rice prices freaking out because of the same effect: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2011/11/02/141771712/how-fear-drove-world-rice-markets-insane

Short version is that in a normal environment there is enough rice produced for everyone, but suddenly everyone worries that RIGHT NOW they need to buy all the rice they will eat ALL YEAR, and that causes problems.

The solution was really interesting too. Turns out that Japan artificially insulates it's rice farmers from foreign competition, but to satisfy world trade agreements they buy lots of rice that sits in warehouses and rots. People started negotiations to re-export that rice to countries with a shortfall, and as soon as the word got around that this might happen people went back to normal buying behavior and the problem evaporated without actually moving anything around.

Comment: Re:Connecting to a tracker != downloading (Score 1) 340

by Jaqenn (#38346682) Attached to: Site Offers History of Torrent Downloads By IP
I'm curious why you think the judge would be an idiot to sign such a warrant?

I thought warrants were to keep police from going on fishing expeditions where they just show up at your house and look for something, anything, to bust you for. Demonstrating that someone at that address connected to a tracker, requested a block, and now they'd like legally seize the computer to see if the block arrived seems like the iconic use of a warrant.

Comment: Re:It's working (Score 3, Interesting) 448

by Jaqenn (#38345990) Attached to: The Mexican Cartel's Hi-Tech Drug Tunnels

...or they take the prison sentence and be given a comfortable retirement by the mob when they are released (as their reward for serving a sentence in silence)...

I can't offer a source (sorry), but I was listening to this podcast on criminal justice a few years ago, and they talked about it being semi-common in Japan for the Yakuza to assassinate their own members in prison. It wasn't because they were afraid the guy would rat them out, it was because he was just a low level employee that they didn't feel like they owed very much to, and it was cheaper to pay for him to be killed then to be obligated to pay his retirement when he got out.

I wonder if that ever happens stateside.

Comment: Re:So both and get it done! (Score 1) 954

by Jaqenn (#38139026) Attached to: Debt Reduction Super Committee Fails To Agree
Dude, he's not trying to insult you, he was just using an example. Here, let me offer one that would make you happier:

When your country has a GDP of $14.5 trillion a year, and you've got $15 trillion in debt, You need to raise taxes and you need to reduce spending on things you can limp by without, and pay off that national debt

Comment: Re:Bad Design Decisions All Around (Score 3, Interesting) 121

by Jaqenn (#38022986) Attached to: <em>LEGO Universe</em> To Shut Down
There's always Blockland:

http://blockland.us/Video.html

I've only played the demo, but I've loved them ever since reading their IGF entry (http://www.igf.com/php-bin/entry2009.php?id=420):

Blockland is a non-competitive multiplayer online sandbox game where players can build with interconnecting plastic bricks which are similar to, but legally distinct from, legos.

This novel is not to be tossed lightly aside, but to be hurled with great force. -- Dorothy Parker

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