TWA: iPod Security Breach

Shawshank, VA 9/6/2011 (PennyPayDay) – The internet is full of information; some of it is valuable and important, some not so much. A lot of the data are well documented and verifiable and some of it is completely and utterly unreliable. But little care I for exhaustive research, or clear attribution, if it’s on the internet I believe it wholeheartedly; why the heck not, who would lie on the international web.

So over the weekend I was delighted to stumble across a shadowy non-profit group that publishes on the internet some private, but not necessarily secret or classified information; they are known as WackyLeaks. Some of their reports concern serious stuff about Brad and Angelina and there was also a fascinating story about the private lives of the cast of Jersey Shore, but some of the items are more frivolous than that. For instance, by utilizing the most sophisticated spyware available the WackyLeaks staff was able to hack into the IPod playlists of many of today’s global news makers. It’s on the internet, ergo it must be true.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, apparently very disappointed at the poor showing by her party, the Christian Democratic Union, in the state election in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, added the mid-sixties hit by Lesley Gore, “It’s My Party” to her playlist late Sunday night. You know the tune, “It’s my party and I’ll cry if I want to.”

I don’t know if the next musical revelation should be considered foreshadowing, but it is interesting to note that one of the sitting judges on the German Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe, who are due to rule Wednesday morning 3:00am CDT on the constitutionality of the 2010 Greek bailout recently included Neil Sedaka’s “Breaking Up is Hard To Do” on his IPod.

Here’s a good one; The Bank of Japan will make a policy statement following its meeting Wednesday in Tokyo. Their key interest rate is 0.10%, but their currency is much too strong for their liking. Governor, Masaaki Shirakawa is not expected to make a move this week but maybe his current favorite song choice suggests he would if he could; “Less than Zero” by Elvis Costello.

Another central banker whose taste in music has been revealed is ECB boss Trichet. On Thursday he will chair the penultimate meeting of his tenure as the chairman of the central bank. It could be that his pending departure can’t come quickly enough, judging by the placement of The Sound of Music song “So Long, Farewell” at the top of his list of favorites. A well situated source at the ECB headquarters in Frankfurt tells me the halls are alive with the sound of Jean-Claude:

“So long
Farewell
Aufwiedesrsehen
Adieu
Adieu, Adieu
To yieu and yieu and yieu…”

It should come as no surprise that Fed boss Bernanke has long had “The Twist” by Chubby Checker on his playlist. But the recent addition of “I think I’m Turning Japanese” by the Vapors, could be a sign of monetary policy angst on the part of the chairman. I am trying to confirm a WackyLeaks rumor that instead of a Q and A session following his noon CDT Thursday speech he will instead make use of a Karaoke machine; just chatter at this point.

And finally, the lapse in musical security has spread to the Oval Office IPod. President Obama is set to make an important speech about jobs Thursday night at 7:00pm CDT. He hopes to unveil a comprehensive package that will revive the labor market that will also revive his chances to get reelected. It may not be a good sign that he just added “I Need a Miracle” by the Grateful Dead to his song catalog.

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