Exactly. And notice how this functions right here on Slashdot, for example: everyone believes it.

Suddenly 400 million dollars disappearing in nanoseconds due to an error in which no one is actually accountable is somehow considered to be a reasonable possibility.

Ideologues of free market psychopathy and their fundamentalist counterparts are so busy wasting their breath on each other that nobody thinks twice about the fact that this is not a reasonable explanation. If everyone were cooperating on common goals instead of debating the philosophy of social Darwinism and the defects of human nature then perhaps we wouldn't be so quick to accept such ludicrous bullshit as a way of life. In other words, its acceptable to lose 42 billion in 16 days as long as nobody on the good team or the bad team gets it. But maybe we're so distracted with our petty ideological feuds and winning and the other side losing that we are willing to accept a total loss, all of the time. How very convenient this is for anyone who is clandestinely manipulating the situation in order to benefit indirectly in a way that cannot be detected by the Hatfields and the McCoys.

It seems to me that we have created a perverse incentive for exactly that situation, and its unlikely the SEC or anyone else willing to point fingers at old enemies is open minded enough to detect. We need to all pull our heads out of our collective asses, irregardless of our delusional sense of correctness, and simply focus on cooperating to solve problems that impact us all.

Easier said than done, so I realize that I need to take my own advice, and I apologize for that.

Good point. Nevertheless, its being used as budgeted. The only subtle distinction is that the terror that we need to worry about are increasingly of the domestic variety. That may always have been the case, but this spending is being done more conspicuously on the municipal scene. I credit the government for being more transparent in this regard. I just wish they would focus the money on jobs for humans and not cash for import data centers... One day at a time a guess.

Right. They were treated more like the stuff swirling down in the Coriolis effect - flushing down the toilet.

Engineers may be Broadcom's bread and butter, but all lunch will find its way down the drain.

Corporations eat people like food. Its not personal, and the food source is irrelevant. The indifference to individual human beings stems from the fact that corporations are not people, they are an organization of hierarchical power...like the Donner Party.

Soylent Green is people. We should look twice before we chew and spit out other human beings, no matter how legitimate or profitable our sociopathic "corporate" behavior seems.

Hear, hear. I second that emotion! Where's the outrage America?

We've all been willfully ignorant of widespread deceit and market manipulation. Perverse incentives trump ethics or any ideology no matter how dogmatic. So lets start looking at the results honestly: you're being screwed if you pay a lot of money for invisible fairy dust, or bandwidth, or media. When in doubt, just remember that any product that can constantly afford to advertise at prime time is a total RIP OFF. Especially insurance, financial services, new cars, telecom, cable, dish, pharmaceuticals, booze, fast food....

Like the prophet Carlin (George) once put it: "People are either Stupid, Crazy, or Full of Shit" Take yer pick. ...and this idiotic shit makes me crazy. Can you hear me now, Verizon?

HP bought EDS 5 years 5 months ago. That's the firm my brother was happily telecommuting for, for years. I guess he was expecting this to happen eventually. After all, why else would government work be privatized and then bought and sold by the likes of Ross Perot and Meg Whitman? It was all part of the nefarious plan to contract to perform government work for less by avoiding the costs that the government customarily pays its employees. Its like union busting but on a larger scale, and NOW its payday for them! But please America, don't be so naive that you don't see the truth about corporate America and the state of the economy. Its all just smoke in mirrors, and they intend to lower their costs and increase their profits now that they have stolen the business from you citizens. So, isn't it about time we stopped these assholes?

Yeah, a whole hell of a lot better than honor among thieves and a low ball guarantee..

Crime pays better when dealing directly with Congress and lobbyists.

Apparently, the porn is happening while asleep....

I dunno...How many are there in a Brazillion? It sounds like an awful lot....

Exactly. The "mistake" gets more traction than an attack on the NSA. After all, attacking the NSA servers has never managed to make the headlines, and it never will for obvious reasons.

I seem to recall when our previous President was told about a Brazilian, he replied, "How many is a Brazillion?"

Only if the electrodes can reach the back seat.......like on prom night.

...or Nitrous Oxide..

A whole new kind hole patch hell. Patching holes with bigger holes, the MS-NSA way!

I don't mean to endorse electioneering. My point is that the current situation is even worse. And its designed that way intentionally.

....So is piles of money....

Its sad when giving the voter the truth is against the law. Its a perversion of democracy that you must not let the voter know what the hell he's voting for, as this would be preferable to electioneering. This has been a tradition in most democracies. When will the people get smart and tell these liars and scumbags to piss off, and let common sense prevail for a change. If a volunteer at the polls can't answer that question, and its not evident in the nomenclature, then you need to stop voting. And maybe that's the intention of the jerks in charge of the political process which is for sale to the lobbies.