Random comments on technology, politics and fnord
Don’t call it an ‘insurgency’: Rumsfeld:
“U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld argued on Tuesday that the guerrillas fighting U.S.-led foreign forces and the American-backed government in Iraq do not deserve to be called an ‘insurgency.’…
Rumsfeld instead referred to the guerrillas in Iraq as ‘the terrorists’ and ‘the enemies of the government.’ U.S. military statements also have […]
EFF Convinces North Carolina Judge To Throw Out Diebold E-Voting Case
E-Voting Company Forced to Comply with Election Transparency LawsRaleigh, North Carolina - Responding to arguments made by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), a North Carolina judge today told Diebold Election Systems that the e-voting company must comply with tough North Carolina election law and dismissed […]
Laughing stock of Katrina makes disaster his business:
“Michael Brown, the bureaucrat who headed America’s response to Hurricane Katrina and himself became a symbol of man-made calamity, is going into the disaster management business. He is setting up as a consultant, marketing his expertise on coping with catastrophe - natural and self-made.”
Best. Headline. Ever.
Falwell says he’ll sue for Christmas snubs:
“Conservative U.S. evangelist Jerry Falwell has announced he will sue any group that alters or forbids traditional Christmas events. “
Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays!
Aside: So all those pagans can sue Mr. Falwell and the schools systems for banning Halloween celebrations?
Or is it that Christians Evangelists are now suing people if […]
Former judge calls drug war a ‘failure’:
“North Carolina should consider decriminalizing illegal drugs as it tries to stem the need for additional prisons, a former state Supreme Court chief justice said Monday.Burley Mitchell, the state’s top judge from 1995 to 1999, said the war on drugs in North Carolina and nationwide has been ‘a total […]
We had some good rain over the past day or so, a welcome relief since we are in a severe drought.
The N&O reports on how the recent rain affects our water supply:
By this morning, the Triangle will have absorbed about 2 inches of rain, enough to push Falls Lake up two-tenths of a foot and […]
I just saw a new trailer for the “Shining” movie. Amazing what a little creative editing can do. Thanks, Paul.
Paul Graham has another excellent essay. This one is one “Web 2.0.” He’s talks about the origin of the term and what it means, and it boils down to three things:
AJAX ( or, “Javascript now works“)
Democray
Don’t Maltreat Users
Then he points out that Web 2.0 is whole point of the Internet.
Web 2.0 means using the web […]
Everyone should know this:
WSJ.com - Bush’s Approval Rating Falls Again, Poll Shows: “Bush’s current job approval rating stands at 34%, compared with a positive rating of 88% soon after 9/11, 50% at this time last year, and 40% in August.”
My five-year-old daughter found a new area of the PBS Kids web site about a week or so ago. She seems pretty excited about it, and wanted me to play it with her. She said it was a place where you could build creatures and make them live in a world, and you get points. […]
