It's surprising that I haven't written much in this journal, given the bevy of historical happenings lately.

First off, this whole credit crisis ... I can't stop reading about it. Not to be a negative Nancy, but watching things get crushed under their own weight is a really fascinating thing to watch. The bailouts of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac ... I mean, wow. It was scary enough the government bailed out Bear Stearns and delivered it on a place to JP Morgan, but now they've nationalized Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac. If that's not a huge strike against laissez-faire capitalism, I don't know what is. This isn't the first time the government has bailed out "critical" industries, but this is the one that'll have the most impact.

What started off as a failure in sub-prime mortgage companies spread to the rest of the credit market. Now who's next? Insurance companies? (AIG's already feeling the pain).

Second off, amid the turmoil of the markets, the stock of United Airlines (UAL) dropped from $12 to $3 after Google news picked up an old story about UAL's bankrupcy from years past. Now the SEC is looking into the issue. I wonder what they'll do ...

One of the challenges that faces our generation is how quickly information flows, and our ability to filter and gauge truth. The invention of the mass media is relatively new - and not a decade later, and we're transitioning even further into supermass media, where not only accredited reports and fact-checkers are giving us news, but every single person has the voice and a soapbox. For me, the instantaneous reporting of information, coupled with strong automation tools, is why I'm so concerned about the state of privacy in this world. The more the system knows about what you do, how you think, and how you're getting your information, the easier it becomes to tool a message to manipulate me into reaching a conclusion (be it to buy a product, or vote for a candidate).

Any attempts to stifle the flow of information by putting safeguards'll ultimately fail. It's like trying to contain a fast-flowing river by throwing down a few rocks to serve as a temporary dam - eventually it'll overflow and you'll have to deal with that later.

Of course, following that analogy, with proper engineering and a plan to harness the river, you could do real well and build yourself a Hoover Dam of information ... (once somebody figures that out, the newspaper industry will be bailed out).