August 2010
10 posts
1 tag
Why Google Became A Carrier-Humping, Net...
Tech Insider - GigaOM - Salon.com.
1 tag
Secret Assault on Terrorism Widens on Two...
Still, the historical track record of limited military efforts like the Yemen strikes is not encouraging. Micah Zenko, a fellow at the Center for Preventive Action at the Council on Foreign Relations, examines in a forthcoming book what he has labeled “discrete military operations” from the Balkans to Pakistan since the end of the cold war in 1991. He found that these operations seldom achieve...
1 tag
Angels in America - Will the Supreme Court...
Boies and Olson produced nine expert witnesses with the relevant professional and academic expertise lacking in Cooper’s duo and compiled an encyclopedic record of empirical findings that demolished the arguments for denying gay families equal rights under the law. In the understatement of The Economist, that record “now seems a high hurdle” for the Supreme Court to overturn. That could still...
1 tag
Preaching About a Mosque
So what we’re left with is a largely uncontested notion that any observant Muslim is a potential national-security threat, a view that was once confined to the conspiratorial right-wing fringe but is now, thanks to Republican demagoguery, Democratic cowardice, and mainstream media know-nothingism, an entirely respectable, mainstream view. This isn’t just a setback for religious tolerance and...
1 tag
The Google/Verizon Payment Plan - The taking of...
We strongly agreed with the principle articulated by President Obama and his F.C.C. chairman, Julius Genachowski, that the Internet should remain open on equal terms to all, a level playing field for Web sites big and small. Phone and cable companies claim that overregulation of broadband will stifle investment. They say the principle of “net neutrality” must be tempered by provisions to allow...
1 tag
Marriage Is a Constitutional Right
The decision, though an instant landmark in American legal history, is more than that. It also is a stirring and eloquently reasoned denunciation of all forms of irrational discrimination, the latest link in a chain of path breaking decisions that permitted interracial marriages and decriminalized gay sex between consenting adults.
20100804_prop8_decision
via Editorial - Marriage Is a...
Google and Verizon Near Deal on Pay Tiers for Web... →
“Such an agreement could overthrow a once-sacred tenet of Internet policy known as net neutrality, in which no form of content is favored over another. In its place, consumers could soon see a new, tiered system, which, like cable television, imposes higher costs for premium levels of service.”
“Panicked by the collapse in demand and financing and fearing a prolonged slump,...”
– Geithner - Welcome to the Recovery - NYTimes.com
A Respect for World Opinion - common principles →
In 2002, the Supreme Court prohibited the execution of those mentally retarded, noting that the practice is overwhelmingly disapproved around the world. In 2003, it struck down prohibitions on gay sex, which it called “an integral part of human freedom in many other countries.” In 2005, the court prohibited the execution of minors, again noting global opinion. “It does not lessen our fidelity to...
“Having lived beyond our means for decades by borrowing heavily from abroad, we...”
– Op-Ed Contributor - Four Deformations of the Apocalypse - NYTimes.com
July 2010
5 posts
A Sin and a Shame - Corporate greed →
The recession officially started in December 2007. From the fourth quarter of 2007 to the fourth quarter of 2009, real aggregate output in the U.S., as measured by the gross domestic product, fell by about 2.5 percent. But employers cut their payrolls by 6 percent.
In many cases, bosses told panicked workers who were still on the job that they had to take pay cuts or cuts in hours, or both. And...
Julian Assange of WikiLeaks: Troublemaker or Hero? →
The hope that journalists like Assange have is that information and transparency can achieve reform. The hope that veteran’s advocates like Reikhoff have is that soldiers get a fair shake and a fuller understanding of the difficult job they do. In the case of the helicopter video, those two hopes collided, and US soldiers came out a little worse for the wear.
Financial Reform Bill Limps Toward Passage -... →
The bill seeks to avert future crises by giving government regulators the power to seize control of failing financial institutions, break them apart, sell off the assets and put them out of business, with shareholders and creditors taking losses.
The legislation would create a system risk council comprising the most senior government regulators to try to identify potential dangers in the...
3 tags
Here's what likely happens in the US in a...
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/mike-in-the-news/why-bank-bashing-populist-democrat-opposed-wall-street-reform-bill
///////////////////beginning of quote
Legal Disclaimer: SelfRepresentedFool IS NOT a licensed attorney and DOES NOT provide or intend to provide a legal advice. The information below is “information” provided under the Freedom of Information Act and the Free Speech Amendment....
Why a Bank-Bashing Populist Democrat Opposed the... →
“Kaptur told the House that the measure to “support the very same big banks (that caused the crisis) and not the American people and the communities in which we live, in the Main Street that all of us are sworn to represent.”
In particular, she complained: “The bill allows financial power to create wealth, the bankers’ awesome power, to be closely held in a few Wall Street and...
June 2010
1 post
The 36 Hours That Shook Washington →
May 2010
2 posts
April 2010
5 posts
4 tags
We Have Met the Enemy and He Is PowerPoint
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/27/world/27powerpoint.html?emc=eta1
By ELISABETH BUMILLER
Published: April 26, 2010
> > direct quotes from article
WASHINGTON — Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the leader of American and NATO forces in Afghanistan, was shown a PowerPoint slide in Kabul last summer that was meant to portray the complexity of American military strategy, but looked more like...
4 tags
A social-contract to sustain the fluctuations of...
{reflections}
As we know the globalization of the financial market freed capital to move around the world escaping their country of origin taxation and regulation. The resulting privileged position in which financial capital finds itself leaves each country dependent from international conditions rather than the local needs of the population. Once financial capital escapes the sovereignty...
Iceland volcano: an eyeful of Eyjafjallajökull -... →
NASA Observes Ash Plume of Icelandic Volcano
→
Icelandic Volcano’s Ash Plume as Seen From Space |... →
March 2010
3 posts
Health-care: the home stretch →
Larger Threat Is Seen in Google Case - NYTimes.com →
There is more than meets the eye in the ruling: control over the new media is a component strongly influnced by the current administration of Italy.
Italian verdict on Google privacy sets dangerous... →
The Italian law distingushes between ISPs and Internet content providers who are liable for what platform users are uploading
December 2009
1 post
How Obama Came to Plan for ‘Surge’ in Afghanistan... →
October 2009
3 posts
Col. Douglas Macgregor: The Bog of History in... →
1 tag
Transcript of President Obama’s remarks
President Obama’s Nobel Reaction - NYTimes.com
I also know that this prize reflects the kind of world that those men and women and all Americans want to build, a world that gives life to the promise of our founding documents.
The Richest People In America - Forbes.com →
August 2009
2 posts
3dfilter: All in One 3D Digital Model Search →
The Scary, Honest Truth About Race →
July 2009
9 posts
Are lobbyists silver lining in health care storm? →
A corrupted political system
Editorial Observer - President Obama, Professor... →
These remarks could change how the news media sees the president’s views on race. Up to now, he has been consistently and wrongly portrayed as a stern black exceptionalist who takes Negroes to task for not meeting his standard.
He is not happy with this characterization. That was clear in a recent Oval Office interview with the columnist Eugene Robinson of The Washington Post. Mr. Obama...
President Obama, Professor Gates and the Cambridge... →
These remarks could change how the news media sees the president’s views on race. Up to now, he has been consistently and wrongly portrayed as a stern black exceptionalist who takes Negroes to task for not meeting his standard.
He is not happy with this characterization. That was clear in a recent Oval Office interview with the columnist Eugene Robinson of The Washington Post. Mr. Obama...
GOP sets stage for future court battles →
They succeeded in getting Sotomayor to distance herself from Obama’s wish for justices who have “empathy” and his belief that “what is in a judge’s heart” should influence rulings. Under GOP questioning, she rejected the belief of some liberals that the Constitution is a “living” document whose meaning changes over time, and that foreign law should...
READ
Librarian Nancy Pearl Picks Summer’s Best Books : NPR Summer is a great time to cozy up with some good books, and, boy, do I have some fantastic suggestions for you!
A Photo Trove, a Mounting Challenge
What Corbis did not foresee was the rise of so-called microstock agencies like Fotolia and iStockPhoto. These sites take advantage of the phenomenon known as crowdsourcing, or turning to the online masses for free or low-cost submissions. Published: April 10, 2007
Michelle Obama Breaks Her Silence in Russia... →
Todd S. Purdum on Sarah Palin | vanityfair.com →
Though Palin’s spokeswoman has said she does not intend to challenge Senator Lisa Murkowski, the former governor’s daughter, who is also up for re-election next year, Palin has changed her mind without warning in the past, and becoming a senator would keep her in the national spotlight.
June 2009
3 posts
PBOC to Push for Currency System Reform - WSJ.com →
“To avoid intrinsic shortcomings in using a sovereign currency as a reserve currency, we need to create an international reserve currency that is divorced from sovereign states and can maintain a stable value over the long term,” the PBOC report said.
It also issued some veiled criticism of the US policies, saying that one of the major issues was that it was difficult to balance the...
President Obama On health care reform →
As one of those options, for us to be able to say, here’s a public option that’s not profit-driven, that can keep down administrative costs, and that provides you good, quality care for a reasonable price as one of the options for you to choose, I think that makes sense.
Q: Wouldn’t that drive private insurance out of business?
OBAMA: Why would it drive private insurance out of...
Obama on consumers protection →
One of the things that we’re putting a huge amount of emphasis on is the issue of consumer protection, you know, whether it’s subprime loans that were given out because nobody was paying attention to what was being peddled to consumers; whether it’s how credit cards are handled; how annuities are dealt with; what people can expect in terms of understanding their 401(k)s....
May 2009
6 posts
Obama’s Bid to End Offshore Tax Havens Faces... →
3 tags
Precious normality →
EXERPTS
His use of the English language, frequently derided by his opponents during the election campaign as verbal garlands, has proven to be a useful and necessary tool of government at a time of profound crisis.
He is both bold and measured. It is called nuance - and America and the world have been yearning for it.
It appears that Mr Obama understands the unavoidable truth that reality is a...
1 tag
Mental cupboard
EXERPTS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/8013859.stm
So, can a precise word total ever be known? No, says Professor David Crystal, known chiefly for his research in English language studies and author of around 100 books on the subject.
“It’s like asking how many stars are there in the sky. It’s impossible to answer,” he said.
….
US company Global...
3 tags
3 tags
Pragmatist and Law - Supreme Court →
EXERPTS
Pragmatism has its detractors, and in a confirmation battle, Mr. Obama’s nominee could face charges that he or she does not give enough weight to formal law. But although Mr. Obama is results-oriented, he retained an overall skepticism for what courts can accomplish, said David Strauss, a former colleague at University of Chicago. In Mr. Obama’s due process and voting right classes, he...
3 tags
Obama to Select Justice - Justice Résumé →
EXERPTS
The current court is the first to be made up entirely of former federal appeals court judges. And only a few of those appeals courts at that: seven of the justices served on what might be called the court of appeals for the Acela circuit, in Boston, Philadelphia and Washington.
In voting against the nomination of Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. as a senator, Mr. Obama said that...