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Earth

Global Warming On Pace For 4 Degrees: World Bank Worried 439

Posted by samzenpus from the it's-getting-hot-in-here dept.
iONiUM writes "From the article: 'Over the years at the U.N. climate talks, the goal has been to keep future global warming below 2C. But as those talks have faltered, emissions have kept rising, and that 2C goal is now looking increasingly out of reach. Lately, the conversation has shifted toward how to deal with 3C of warming. Or 4C. Or potentially more." Overall it seems that poorer, less developed nations will be largely impacted negatively, while some countries (like Canada and Russia) will actually experience benefits. Where does that leave the rest of the 1st world countries?"
Canada

Canadian Regulator Orders Telecoms To Tell Us What It Costs To Run Their Service 120

Posted by Soulskill from the jig-is-up dept.
bshell writes "Canada's CRTC (like the FCC) has finally asked telecoms to provide information about how much their services actually cost. Quoting a Montreal Gazette story: 'In a report I wrote last year, I estimated the markup for Internet services was 6,452 per cent for Bell's Essential Plus plan, which provides a two-megabits-per-second speed for $28.95 (prices may have changed since last year).' The markup is likely similar in the U.S. It's about time that we consumers found out what it really costs to provide Internet service, and for that matter telephone and wireless services, so we can get a fair shake."
Education

Parent Questions Mandatory High School Chemistry 866

Posted by Unknown Lamer from the redox-reactions-how-do-they-work dept.
Ollabelle writes "David Bernstein, a nonprofit executive who lives in Gaithersburg, Md., has two sons, ages 7 and 15. He has previously written about how schools fail students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Now he turns his attention to mandated curriculum in public schools, and argues that his sons shouldn't be forced to take any science class." From the article: "There’s a concept in economics called 'opportunity costs,' which you may not have learned about because you were taking chemistry instead of economics. Opportunity costs are the sacrifices we make when we choose one alternative over another. ... When you force my son to take chemistry (and several other subjects, this is not only about chemistry), you are not allowing him that same time to take a public speaking course, which he could be really good at, or music, or political science, or creative writing, or HTML coding for websites."
Wireless Networking

Is Mobile Broadband a Luxury Or a Human Right? 332

Posted by Soulskill from the thou-shalt-not-be-stuck-with-dial-up dept.
concealment sends this quote from an article at CNN: "Moderating a discussion on the future of broadband, Mashable editor-in-chief Lance Ulanoff tossed a provocative question to the audience: 'By quick show of hands, how many out there think that broadband is a luxury?' Next question: 'How many out there think it is a human right?' That option easily carried the audience vote. Broadband access is too important to society to be relegated to a small, privileged portion of the world population, Hans Vestberg, president and CEO of Ericsson, said during the discussion. Dr. Hamadoun Touré, secretary-general of the International Telecommunication Union, echoed Vestberg's remarks. 'We need to make sure all the world's inhabitants are connected to the goodies of the online world, which means better health care, better education, more sustainable economic and social development,' Touré said."
Businesses

Study Shows Tech Execs Slightly Prefer Romney Over Obama 461

Posted by Unknown Lamer from the eh-is-the-new-awesome dept.
redletterdave writes with an excerpt from IB Times that should be met with a bit of skepticism: "A new study released by international law firm DLA Piper Monday morning shows that among technology companies and their executives, Republican nominee Mitt Romney is the preferred presidential candidate for improving and advancing the technology industry. The study surveyed thousands of entrepreneurs, consultants, venture capitalists, CEOs, CFOs, and other C-level officers at technology companies, asking them their opinions about the 2012 presidential election and the issues facing their particular industry. The majority of respondents said Mitt Romney would be better with the technology industry, with 64 percent favoring the former governor from Massachusetts, and only 41 percent favoring the incumbent president. This is a complete turnaround from 2008 when the numbers were heavily in favor of Obama, with 60 percent of respondents saying then-Sen. Obama would be better for the sector than the Republican candidate, Sen. John McCain." There's a whole lot of number stretching going on: the results more or less indicate only a slight preference for Romney; a healthy chunk of responses were that his policies would be "neutral" and Obama's would at worst be slightly bad. Would you like six politicians, or half a dozen? One thing is universal: everyone hates SOX.
The Internet

Ad Group Says Internet Accounts For 5.1M US Jobs, 3.7% of GDP 73

Posted by timothy from the exact-figures-are-124.987-percent-accurate dept.
lpress writes "A Harvard Business School study sponsored by the Interactive Advertising Bureau shows that the ad-supported Internet is responsible for 5.1 million jobs in the U.S. — two million direct and 3.1 million indirect. They report that the Internet accounted for 3.7% of 2011 GDP. The research, development and procurement that launched the Internet back in the 1970s and 1980s cost the US taxpayers $124.5 million at the time — not a bad investment!" Your calculations may vary.
Transportation

FAA Permits American Airlines To Use iPads In Cockpit "In All Phases of Flight" 372

Posted by timothy from the especially-the-angry-birds-phase dept.
hypnosec writes "American Airlines has announced that it has received permission from FAA to allow its pilots to use iPads in the cockpit during 'all phases of flight.' According to the airlines, the tablet will enable pilots to store documentation in electronic form on the iPad which otherwise weighs 15.876 kg (35 pounds) when in printed form. Use of the digital documentation will enable the airlines to save as much as U.S. $1.2 million of fuel each year." That number sounds both awfully low and awfully specific.

Comment Re:Speed doesn't matter (Score 1) 500

by MSTCrow5429 (#41298825) Attached to: More Warnings About High-Frequency Trading
HFT only adds costs to those that are trading at high-frequency. If one believes the benefits outweigh the costs, it's a rational course of action. Personally, I think re-evaluating a holding every 3 months makes more sense, but different people will use different strategies based on their own judgment. I'd rather avoid excessive commissions and have less complicated taxes.

Comment Re:key (Score 1) 500

by MSTCrow5429 (#41298603) Attached to: More Warnings About High-Frequency Trading
People have been looking at numbers and not meaning since the beginning, e.g. "technical" analysis. I suspect the majority gamble, and I don't think that's going to ever change. Security analysis takes work, isn't glamorous and doesn't deliver a fix or high. The problem is not when people gamble, but when people gamble and think they're doing something else; however, that has nothing to do with HFT, which only presents yet another gambling avenue. It also gives opportunities to actual investors, that can buy now "undervalued" stocks that have experienced a flash-crash.

Comment Speed doesn't matter (Score 4, Insightful) 500

by MSTCrow5429 (#41298481) Attached to: More Warnings About High-Frequency Trading
The speed of trading is irrelevant to the serious investor. Speculators will always make trades as quickly as possible to make a quick buck regardless of the fundamentals; investors will buy and hold based on the fundamentals, buying and selling after months, not fractions of a second. Prices will always revert to a more "intrinsic" value, regardless of any skewing by speculators.

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