Algorithm-driven news aggregators are all the rage these days, but they can sometimes generate some odd results, as evidenced by the top item this morning in the Google News business section:
What, exactly, does a multibillion-dollar deal involving corn have to do with a cartoon personality that looks like a cross between Michael Jackson and Wilbur from Charlotte's Web? Why, the cartoon is one of the lovable mascots from Minyanville, which creates "branded properties that entertain and educate people interested in finance." The Google News thumbnail is linked to a 10-day-old "Stocks to watch" column with this caricature at the top of the page.
Note to Google News developers: Your photo-matching algorithm still needs some work.
More news, commentary, and predictions from The Industry Standard:
- Prediction: Google invests $1 billion in Facebook
- Prediction: Google makes bid for Digg
- Ian Lamont: Is Twitter worth $75 million? $150 million? How about none of the above?
- Ian Lamont: Why podcasting is failing
Comments
Americans Opposing Corruption, 555 13th St NW, Washington, DC 20004-1104, July 2008
The United States is a nation with a tax free for all. Even private associations are allowed to tax (frequently called an annual association fee) residents of an area with no limit on the amount collected. The 14 trillion dollar economy is hit with some 6 trillion dollars in Federal, non-Federal and hidden taxes. The resulting unemployment, foreclosures and bankruptcies are disastrous. Today the average taxpayer is hit with a non-Federal tax burden of more than $10,000 per year. The time to eliminate the trillions of dollars removed from the economy by non-Federal taxation is now (see the attached draft legislation).
When non-Federal taxation in the United States is examined INVARIABLY IT IS FOUND THAT SUBSTANTIALLY BETTER PRODUCTS (IF ANY) AT A SUBSTANTIALLY LOWER COST CAN BE PROVIDED BY ELIMINATION OF THE TAXES AND PROVIDING PRODUCTS USING FULLY COMPETITIVE ETHICAL BUSINESSES OPERATED FOR PROFIT.
The United States has one of the worst mismanaged economies on Earth. The money stock (M1) is a measure of the amount of currency circulating in the economy (see www.federalreserve.gov/releases/ h6/Current/h6.pdf). From January 2001 to January 2005 the M1 increased at a 7 percent per year rate. From January 2005 to the present this was changed to zero percent, leaving the economy on the brink of complete collapse. Values below 2 percent cause bankruptcies, foreclosures and unemployment. Values above 5 percent cause inflation that sends the entire population into poverty. The M1 never should increase less than 2 percent per year or more than 5 percent. Non-Federal taxes remove cash from the economy and therefore are a major contributor to unemployment, foreclosures and bankruptcies.
An analogy - A simple analogy makes it easy for anyone to understand the problem. The U.S. economy is a fourteen trillion dollar milk shake with thousands of tax straws sucking cash out of it. More than two trillion dollars per year is being sucked out by non-Federal taxing authorities in addition to the Federal burden. It is a parasitic drain upon the economy that should have been stopped hundreds of years ago.
Termites do what they do best. Tax profiteers do what they do best. A termite inspector tells a homeowner that substantial repairs are needed and the house needs to be sprayed for termite control. The home owner tells the inspector that he is not spending one penny on repairs or termite control. A few years later the property is worth the value of the land minus demolition costs. When the need to shut off parasitic tax burdens is met with refusal, the economy collapses.
Wayne Dexter
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