How Many Coincidences Does It Take To Make A Black Swan?

Stress Meter Showing  Panic Attack From Stress And Worry

This AM a series of “unrelated incidents” (a/k/a coincidences) is rocking the country, but cheer up folks because the White House has announced that these are truly unrelated and none of them involve hostile activity. Please note that these are the same folks who promptly announced that Bengazi was a spontaneous reaction to a video. Also disregard Anonymous’s warning yesterday about problems for the NYSE today as a lucky guess. Ignore North Korean claims of responsibility…because no one could be responsible – because it was merely a coincidence according to Shep Smith of Fox News in an angry tirade against a security expert who questioned the coincidental nature of the events.

To briefly recap the coincidence factors:

The Chinese stock market dropped almost 6% during the trading day, costing their economy trillions of dollars …at 8 Yuan to the dollar.

The New York City subway system suffered an atrocious commute today, with some trains being inexplicably stranded in stations for long periods of time.

The website “The Dissolve” folded today.

United Airlines was forced to ground all of its flights after its computer system mysteriously stopped working.

The New York Stock Exchange suspended trading today after its computerized trading system mysteriously stopped working.

Immediately after, the Wall Street Journal’s website mysteriously stopped working.

More than 2,500 people in Washington, DC mysteriously lost power.– Gawker.com

Not to mix metaphors, but as the headline asks — how much fecal matter do you have to notice before you start suspecting you have a Black Swan in the room and still claim your professional designation as a risk manager?

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