File Under Silly

This should be filed under silly!

"In “Market Economy and Ethics” the future pope said a decline in ethics “can actually cause the laws of the market to collapse,” Bloomberg reported."

That statement is just common sense when any market starts breaking it's own rules and the ethical standards decline you will see a decline and the absence of trust in those markets, it's not a prophesy though no matter how much one might try and make it so.



Pope credited for predicting financial crisis
Posted: November 20, 2008, 9:09 AM by Jonathan Ratner
Economics, Credit Crisis, recession

There is no shortage of experts claiming that they foresaw the global financial crisis. While some have a legitimate argument, many others don’t.

The most interesting such suggestion to emerge recently gives credit to the head of the Roman Catholic Church. Pope Benedict XVI was the first to predict the crisis, a “prophesy” in a 1985 paper presented when Joseph Ratzinger was a cardinal, according to Italian Finance Minister Giulio Tremonti.

“The prediction that an undisciplined economy would collapse by its own rules can be found” in that paper, he said Wednesday at Milan’s Cattolica University.

In “Market Economy and Ethics” the future pope said a decline in ethics “can actually cause the laws of the market to collapse,” Bloomberg reported.

Jonathan Ratner

Photo: Pope Benedict XVI kisses a baby at the end of his general audience in Saint Peter Square at the Vatican October 8, 2008. REUTERS/Max Rossi (VATICAN)

A New Era Begins

As I write this I'm waiting for President Elect Barack Obama to make his speech. I wait with anticipation knowing I'm witnessing History. It is hard to believe that until recently the thought that an African American could be the President of one of the most powerful country's in the world was unthinkable, no one thought they would live to see it, let alone it could be possible.

At a time like this I think it is important to remember all the people who fought in the civil rights movement of the 1960's who in some cases gave their lives for the dream we see made into reality on this night.

The time is 11:57Pm and President Elect Barack Obama is standing at the podium, a crowd of One hundred sixty thousand plus has gathered at Grant Park to hear Obama speak. History speaks,a new voice of hope, of inclusion, this moment of time is hard to describe, it's full of awe and a hopefulness that I have not experienced before.

This is a moment in time I will remember, perhaps America will become a Beacon of Hope and freedom once more for those who are still oppressed in the world, I can not help but to think that a new era begins.

There Can Only Be One II

As of the time of writing this Barack Obama is poised to be the next President of The United States Of America. MSNBC has projected that Obama will be elected according to their exit polls and forecasts for the western states.

We are seeing history in the making, perhaps we will see a new era for the United States where it once again becomes a beacon for freedom and inclusion as opposed to the politics of exclusion.The World will be watching.

There Can Only Be One

After about a year of debate, it all comes down tonight with the world watching. Will history be made! Will we see the first African American President in The United States Of America's History!

I think Obama is going to win, I do have some fears though about the electronic voting in some regions as well as some fears around voter fraud after the last two elections one can not be too careful, either way it's going to be fun to watch.

Fallout Three & DRM SecuRom For PC

A lot of debate has focused around Bethesda's choice of using SecuRom for DRM protection on the PC version of Fallout Three. I have the game for Playstation Three so I'm happy That I don't like to play video games on the PC as I would not like any Third Party software checking my computer.

There has been some debate as to what was disclosed or not disclosed By Bethesda about what would be on the PC ROM Disc as of this date they just say that the software performs a simple disk check, though some gamers have made allegations that SecuRom acts in some ways like a rootkit and that if true is a very scary thought for PC Gamers.

I would be pleased to hear from anyone with technical knowledge of SecuROm and how it behaves on Fallout Three to either support the allegations of it being a rootkit or a somewhat harmless diskcheck, either way there seems to have been some issues about disclosure and the rights of customers to know what third party software is being installed on their computers. That in my opinion with any company should be transparent.

Please find the links below to The Bethesda Blog Post and Board Discussions around this issue. Also let me know what your thoughts are around this issue and DRM managment.

Bethesda Blog

Bethesda Weboard Thread About SecuRom