Author Archives: Michael Froomkin

Market Manipulation in Discourse.net Shares? (Translation please)

Posted on January 17, 2006 by Michael Froomkin

It’s probably been almost two years since I last looked at discourse.net’s listing at blogshares. Shortly after registering there I decided this wasn’t a game I was going to play, and more or less forgot about it without doing any transactions.

On a whim I looked at blogshare’s discourse.net listing over the weekend, and found lots of strange stuff.

Can anyone please explain the meaning of multiple “press releases” by people I don’t know that sound like the following,

Discourse.net suffered a huge setback with several analysts urging their clients to ditch the stock as it suffered a public relations disaster. The exact nature of customer dissatisfaction was not known but sara bear was rumoured to have had a hand in it. Industry insiders suspect a Star Spangled Banner (artefact) was involved. Discourse.net share price dropped from B$56,734.68 to B$32,906.11

sara bear declined to comment on the recent speculation.

“Huge setback”? “(artefact)”? “customer dissatisfaction”? And, how did one Matt Williams come to have what seems to be a controlling interest of 71.2%? Did I sell shares without noticing?

Not that I suppose it actually matters…

Posted in Discourse.net | 1 Comment

In Britain, Birds Are Bugs

Posted on January 16, 2006 by Michael Froomkin

In the USA we worry about the NSA tapping our calls, faxes and emails. In the UK, it seems the new thing to fear is … talking parrots.

Talking parrot gives away girlfriend’s secret lover: At first, 30-year-old Mr Taylor was amused when Ziggy started screeching “Hiya, Gary” everytime it heard Miss Collins’s mobile phone ring.

He even saw the funny side when the parrot began making kissing noises when the same name was mentioned on television or radio.

But the truth finally dawned as the couple snuggled alongside one another on the sofa and Ziggy blurted out, “I love you, Gary” in her voice.

What I wonder, assuming this isn’t another one of those great British journalistic hoaxes, is how the Telegraph got the story.

Posted in UK | Comments Off on In Britain, Birds Are Bugs

Where Was This Guy Hiding During the Elections?

Posted on January 16, 2006 by Michael Froomkin

So Al Gore gave a great speech. It’s worth reading.

I sure would like to know why he didn’t do stuff like this when he was running for President.

UPDATE: The Washington Post covered the speech, which is more than most TV networks apparently did.

Posted in Politics: US | 3 Comments

MLK Wikipedia Bio Vandalized

Posted on January 16, 2006 by Michael Froomkin

Via Bitch | Lab (who seems to know Brad DeLong somehow), we learn of a campaign to vandalize the Wikipedia entry for Martin Luther King, Jr.,

Martin Luther King, Jr.’s biographical entry on the free online publicly-edited encyclopedia Wikipedia has been repeatedly vandalized today, an ongoing attack, forcing volunteer editors to monitor the page constantly throughout this day of remembrance.

His bio and a page tracking the history of edits and vandalism.

Bonus link to Short discussion of the problem.

Posted in Internet | Comments Off on MLK Wikipedia Bio Vandalized

Military Commissions Off to a Rotten Start

Posted on January 16, 2006 by Michael Froomkin

Opinio Juris, not a blog given to limp liberalism, finds that the Guantanamo Military Commissions are off to an inauspicious beginning for a”Full and Fair ” Process.

Posted in Guantanamo | Comments Off on Military Commissions Off to a Rotten Start

Values Clarification

Posted on January 16, 2006 by Michael Froomkin

Miami Herald, Groups unite to defy military recruiting efforts,

Over the last five years, schools such as Central, which is in a lower-income area, saw twice as many military recruiters as college recruiters.

I don’t begrudge the military the chance to recruit (as long as there’s no trickery); indeed, I’m still waiting for GW Bush to make a nationally televised speech banging the drum. But wouldn’t it be nice if we as a society were as assiduous about promoting education as a means of upward mobility.

Of course, once upon a time, state college tuition was almost free; now it’s much more expensive (Update: here are some stats on declining public funding of community colleges). And we’re making loans more difficult too.

I suppose it helps military recruiting….

Posted in National Security | 1 Comment