Anonymous comes to Bollywood...

According to PC World, Anonymous' failed 'Operation India' had all the makings of a Bollywood thriller...

Let's begin with a flashback...

It is June 2011, and a well-meaning group - Anonymous or someone claiming to be them - hack one of the websites of the National Informatics Centre, an Indian government IT organisation.

They were, they said, protesting the police action on Baba Ramdev's protest venue in Delhi. (Now, I have nothing against Anonymous (or any other group) throwing their collective hat into the Lokpal circus ring - but I do question their motives.)

Here comes the obligatory comedy sequence...

The following is their list of demands...


The demand for "The complete removal of corruption in all its forms..." seems like extreme naiveté at best; and "clearance of pending court cases in all courts of India swiftly, and fairly" makes me stop and question their intellect.

But the one that, both made my jaw drop and raised my hackles, was this: "Unique ID number (like citizenship) for everything. All data must get store (sic) under single ID."

First, the UID has nothing to do with citizenship - it is for all residents of India. Second, once the UID is made a necessary pre-condition (something the Indian governement is trying hard to do) for services that are actually a citizen's right, it does not bode well for anyone who those with access to the 'delete' button disapprove of!

But finally, and this one's a real knee-slapper... To have all of one's data stored and collated under a single ID is ipso facto the abolition of privacy. It strikes me as either a little odd for such a demand to come from a group calling itself "Anonymous"!

Anonymous also claim they took down the Indian Army's website - and end up being blitzkrieged by outraged Indians on facebook. They quickly hit 'Control Z' on their keyboards, but it was too late! (Apparently, the Indian Army manages to keep a decent public image notwithstanding the efforts of Arundhati Roy.)

Finally, we cut to the climax in the villian's lair (minus the plaid jackets, flashing coloured zero-watt bulbs, and tank full of hungry crocs)...

In true Bollywood ishtyle, the heroes (calling themselves 'Real Anonymous') burst-in in the nick of time. They 'unmask' the villianous first group for what they really are - and save Mother India's izzat!

The End.

Anonymous: Hackers turn Economists?

Anonymous - the erstwhile hackers group - has morphed into a economic research organisation! Honest.

According to the Financial Times, "The group has accused Chaoda Modern Agriculture, one of China’s biggest vegetable producers, of fraud in what the faction says will be the first of many such investigations. It plans both to comb corporate balance sheets itself and solicit WikiLeaks-style submissions from whistleblowers."

Last heard, the company in question was getting a fair bit of pounding on the markets.

Here's more about what Anonymous Analytics - the new avatar - are up to.

I truly don't know what to make of this... except to wait and see who the next target is, which would possibly give a better idea of what their real agenda is.

Occupy Wall Street. Live!

Wow!

Watch live streaming video from globalrevolution at livestream.com

"Goldman Sachs rules the world."

There you have it - on the BBC, at that!



I think he used "Goldman Sachs" as a sort of metaphor. But the rather unsurprising part is that Goldman Sachs and their ilk do have a plan on how to profit from the misery of millions.

Let's not be naive about this - if someone makes a profit, someone else has to make a loss. What could be more simple than millions of stupid working-class people losing their savings to a handful of financiers?

And if you know history, you would know this is definitely not the first time the mammon-worshippers did it. (Hint: Find some time to research who financed - oops, giveaway! - wars and colonial exploitation over the centuries.)

One more thing, the well-meaning Mr. Alessio Rastani might say that anybody can make money from a market crash; "it isn't just for some people in the elite" - but it doesn't work that way! Financial trading isn't about a risky venture paying off or a complex computer algorithm estimating the exact timing of a market crash. It is straight-out collution and manipulation involving those at the very, very top.

In other words, most "market cycles" inevitably culminate - without exception - with the profits passed on to the owners of capital and their facilitators, and the losses passed on to the working-class.

All 9/11 myths busted in under 5 minutes

This would be hilarious - if it wasn't a sobering slap-in-the-face as well.



For goodness' sake, turn off the damn TV!

Third World to bailout Europe?

The IMF's list of 'participants' - new and old...


(Source: zerohedge.com)

According to the Wall Street Journal the IMF is reactivating a 'New Arrangements to Borrow' (ironically, NAB) to keep Europe's soverign-debt crisis from bringing down the entire usurous global financial ponzi-scheme. The panacea (or is it just a bandaid) that the IMF is looking for: A credit pool of $580 billion.

Incredibly, besides India and other financial heavyweights like Cyprus and the Philippines, it also looks like Greece and Portugal will now be called on to bail themselves out! (Hmm, I wonder what the cold steel of a monetary gun to the temple feels like.)

As usual, there is an incisive, insightful and rather alarming analysis on Zerohedge. It's a must-read.

Let's hear about the seriousness of the issue from the head of the IMF...

In the opening remarks of her talk on “The Challenges for the Global Economy”, delivered at the Royal Institute for International Affairs - Chatham House, London, on 9 September 2011, Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the IMF, said: "The bottom line is that global activity has slowed, and downside risks have increased. At the same time, the global rebalancing of demand needed for sustainable global growth has stalled."

In plain English, it means, "Welcome to the Edge of Monetary Apocalypse" - or in simpler terms words, "It's time for the proles to get used to the Age of Global Austerity."

Of course, the esteemed financial and political 'leaders' who participated in the discourse at Chatham House cannot be inconvenienced by the loss of either power or pelf as a result of a disaster they are complicit in - wittingly, or only half-wittingly... It is the citizen, the taxpayer, the worker, the employee, the small business-owner, and his progeny who must be made to pay - and that's what our alphabet soup of 'security agencies' are for anyway.

Is it 1984 quite yet?

Does the future belong to Freelancers?

Welcome to the 'Freelance Economy' - the world's new economy...

HERE'S BOTH AN UPDATE AND A FLASHBACK...
And when it comes to the Advertising Industry, my readers (yes... those brave, intellectually tenacious and precious few souls who somehow manage to glean substance from my rambling) may recall a few - and at that point in time, borderline blasphemous - blog posts from early 2010.

17 Jan 2010 - What if you don't need an Ad Agency to do Advertising?

25 Mar 2010 - Freelancing in the plug-and-play economy

For an Ad Agency, a plug-and-play model has its advantages...
1. It takes domain experts to create a truly effective marketing exercise for a specific medium
2. There is a plethora of media available today - e.g. Print, TV, Direct Marketing, Internet, Public Relations / Advocacy, Social Media or Digital Networks Marketing, etc.
3. It is unviable for an Ad Agency to retain experts in every domain

For the Advertiser, the pressure to opt for a flexible plug-and-play model come from various corporate levels...
1. The Board and the CFO want cost-reduction
2. The CEO and the CMO want expertise, effectiveness and measurability
3. The Sales Team and Dealers want high visibility, high impact and rapid tactical responsiveness (quick turnaround)

The plug-and-play model has its charms for the Creative-types too...
1. Without hierarchy, talent and skill can quickly command it's deserved price (and respect)
2. Talent and passion can be developed into specialisations - viz. writing, photography, illustration, digital animation, etc.
3. Assignments can be chosen based on how well they align to talent, skill and passion... Meaning, you can decide you'll never do another corporate newsletter again as long as you live unless the price is right

Advertising: The Naked Truth

We've managed to capture all the nudity and veracity in stop-motion animation too...



If you like it, please share it. And if this video goes viral, I'm holding a LUCKY DRAW for those who shared it...

First Prize: All-the-cheap-liquor-you-can-drink-in-an-afternoon at Khyber
Second Prize: Two (ok, three) decent Hangover Shots for a Morning After
Third Prize: One bottle of bottom-shelf Vodka of your choice from BrandsElite

Please Note: If you're a teetotaller, you can exchange your prize for an equivalent amount of Eternal Gratefulness. And I will also redeem your prize for you!