Crash Code

"It is an insurance contract, but they've been very careful not to call it that because if it were insurance, it would be regulated. So they use a magic substitute word called a 'swap,' which by virtue of federal law is deregulated . . " [Michael Greenberger, Ex-CFTC Chair on 60 Minutes] Joe Turner: Boy, what is it with you people? You think not getting caught in a lie is the same thing as telling the truth? [Three Days of the Condor (1975)] :: :: :: Once upon a time there were vast resources of "capital" in a global market, substantial portions of which traded hands every day. IBM even built a global network of machines to assist in the transnational transactional black arts of shifting billions of dollars per second between invisible hands. Call it "air money", which like air guitar playing, involves people otherwise musically inept, wriggling, writhing, and wrist-waggling in a vain attempt to convince an audience the "instrument" is real - what they are hearing is actually produced by the air-ist. The "No Fret" illusion. This particular illusion is a global version of three-card-monty, originated for the specific purpose of enabling the amoral to engage in the illegal. Easy money, literally: make stuff up so complex not even the most learned solicitors would comprehend, build software to take the worry out of actually reading the "instrument", create an organization to pimp the ride, and "worm" your way into the world's financial system. What's the remedy? Wipe the drive, reboot the system. :: :: :: Image @ Hacker Ethic/IIT.edu