I agree with Andrew and object fully to a view the digerati are replacing meetspace with FB, twitter, et al. I see 100% opposite. Of Course, F2F continues to be the most valuable way to spend our time with any human(s). More and more of my friends have relegated FB to photosharing and Twitter to self promotion, knowledge sharing, & meme monitoring.

I believe --moving forward- only communications occurring off of this social (public) grid will be valued and desired. I dont have any studies to back this up but I challenge you to tell me about the last extremely important information you learned in a public (non private) setting. It doesnt happen.

It appears (from eyeballing it) that *almost* all creatives/entrepreneurs get screwed and the commodity dollar providers and LPs make out like bandits. Lesson: If we could just get more people throwing money around, the innovation will accelerate like gangbusters!!!! ha ha

Gaming? YES. Porn? Absolutely forbidden in EVERY internet cafe I visited in my 3 weeks in China. I traveled across the country and there is NO PORN being viewed. There are actually state monitors walking up and down the aisles while you surf the internet. They are looking over your shoulder and YES the Great Firewall of China does exist and is very effective at censoring BOTH political (negative Chinese stories) and pornographic sites.

Believe that.

Let's see some real information. Pings of current statistics show _nothing_. How about a time line. How about some causality. Heck, how about some correlations. Nahhh, too hard.

It's horrible here, it better most places!. Our readers aren't inquisitive. Bahhh!!!!

Taibbi is here -- as ALWAYS- a talented writer (a little left for me) but why not go for the meat, Matt. Goldman Sachs (according to Michael Lewis's brilliant The Big Short) is the Meat. They defrauded AIG into insuring subprime paper. They created the market shorting Credit Default Swaps. They created synthetic short CDS when the market was not liquid enough (created and sold short securities that were not shortable bc no one would loan them). They shorted the large IBs until the contagion spread to their shares and they ran to Mommy (US) to stop the pain.

There was a lot of crime to go around but isn't FRAUD the easiest to prosecute. They committed fraud.

You travel in the same circles as Buffet? You work in a high end hotel? ....PuhLeeeze...

Don't confuse Buffet's upside goals for his shareholders as subscribing to the scat you shite...

The Chinese will *LEAD* (snicker) the Globe in the post American Centuries from what I hear in the comments here and elsewhere. I have nothing but high regard for the Communist Party, these crony capitalists (used to be bad word , til Obama did it) and single minded.. ...aka murdererous... business genuises Own the future from what I hear. They Make stuff !

If their accounting system differs with the West it is by design and a Competency.

Wow! Free Market support is now equal to facism OR "small-town right"??? (thanks Mustard!) Hilarious...I guess, if u don't believe in free markets.

Paul is smart enough (though his dinner party circuit wont allow, not that his position is tenable) to understand what the current Obamatrons have wrought but everyone else w/out pressure should Wake the F Up.

Obama was Never the Messiah, his decisions are NOT ALWAYS right. IF you think they are, you are an Idiot.

Bill Gross understands this, as does Buffet and virtually Every other large investor out there.

Wake the F Up.

Geeze I wish IntenseDebate had a "block commenter" widget for visitors....

Debate is healthy, but you can't have a true debate with the NPD afflicted. Somebody needs some help.

Great Blog Paul! Great Twitter too!

Paul, I luv ya BUT, did you just reference Rolling Stone???? Seriously, I do know it is Matt Taibbi who is a whip SMART wack job that is as ELOQUENT, opinionated, and certain of his opinions as they come. A REALLY smart guy..... for a journalist. I like reading him every once in a while and he is very critical (EVERYTHING is STUPID) of everyone without many solutions of his own. However he participated in one of the most satisfying television moments of my life on Bill Maher: Taibbi, Bill Maher & Mark Cuban and their partisan spouting were literally obliterated by the late Tony Snow and his truly AMAZING intellect. Tony knew every stat (that they did not) and caught every fabrication cold in its tracks. True Genuis doesn't have to yell 'Fire: in the theatre...

BTW: That's what this "Depression" Is and I know you are seeing that by now with your investments....I am.