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| compos mentis. Concision. Media. Clarity. Memes. Context. Melange. Confluence. Mishmash. Conflation. Mellifluous. Conviviality. Miscellany. Confelicity. Milieu. Cogent. Minty. Concoction. |
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Gilmore Commission - Final Report |
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| Topic: War on Terrorism |
10:31 am EST, Dec 23, 2003 |
The commission says that by providing long-term guidance to federal, state, and local government officials, an improved homeland security strategy can help create a "new normalcy" that acknowledges the threat of terrorism will not disappear, but still preserves and strengthens civil liberties. "There will never be a 100 percent guarantee of security for our people, the economy, and our society. We must resist the urge to seek total security -- it is not achievable and drains our attention from those things that can be accomplished." Some light reading to brighten up the holiday season. Gilmore Commission - Final Report |
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| Topic: War on Terrorism |
10:28 am EST, Dec 23, 2003 |
After four years of work, a federal commission on terrorism issued its final report last week. The report was unremarkable except for one recommendation. Aggressive antiterrorism policies, the report suggested, when combined with increasingly sophisticated surveillance technologies, could have a "chilling effect" on the right to privacy and other fundamental civil liberties. To prevent that from happening, the commission recommended that the White House establish a bipartisan panel to review how constitutional guarantees would be affected by all new laws and regulations aimed at enhancing national security. What was not expected, and most welcome, was the emphasis on civil liberties and the commission's reminder that these liberties and security concerns are not mutually exclusive. Terrorism and Liberty |
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| Topic: War on Terrorism |
11:24 pm EST, Dec 22, 2003 |
Tom Ridge: "Here's how you can help: 1. Take all those items out of your pocket and put them in that tray. 2. Take the computer out of the case. 3. Take the coat off." Just as he'd promised at the mall back in November, Santa found little Johnny on vacation at Grandma's house, and he was kind enough to bring him an N-Gage for Christmas, along with several ultra-violent games, in return for being such a good boy this year. Passing through the security checkpoint at the airport on the way back home, Johnny places the N-Gage alongside his winter coat in a small gray tray. He fishes some hard candy, a few coins, and the violent games from his pocket and drops them in, as well. As he watches his favorite gift disappear into the mouth of the machinery, Johnny turns to his mother, pointing at the tray and smiling as he says, "Look, mommy! I'm fighting terrorism!" A Christmas Story |
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Participants' Distrust Exposed in Piracy Battle |
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| Topic: Intellectual Property |
9:51 pm EST, Dec 22, 2003 |
The gulf between the labels and the companies behind Kazaa, Blubster and other file-sharing networks seems as wide -- and impossible to bridge -- as ever. Cary Sherman: "It reminds me of negotiating with the mob. 'If you just pay us some insurance, your storm window won't break anymore.' There's an emotional reaction to that." File sharing executive: "... we're dealing with a bunch of idiots." Memo to Santa: these two need to find copies of "How To Win Friends ..." in their stockings. Allow me to cite one of Powell's Rules: Avoid having your ego so close to your position that when your position falls, your ego goes with it. Participants' Distrust Exposed in Piracy Battle |
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| Topic: Games |
9:42 pm EST, Dec 22, 2003 |
Playing with a joystick is basically the same move as playing a piano; the thrill is not what you get from outside, but what you express from inside. Whether it's a piano or a chessboard or a joypad, that's your technology, and you express yourself through it. "The golden age of movies is gone. That's it. It's a fact." Has there ever been a cultural sea change as stealthy as the one represented by the rise of interactive entertainment? The gore and moral lassitude of games like GTA have given rise to a parental panic reminiscent of the early days of rock 'n' roll. This is the article that last week's alarmist whiner in the LA Times would have liked to write, but couldn't. Playing Mogul |
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| Topic: International Relations |
9:23 pm EST, Dec 22, 2003 |
Those who say the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty is useless argue that the bad guys either don't sign the treaty, or they do and then cheat. The good guys sign and obey, but the treaty is irrelevant for these countries because they have no intention of becoming nuclear proliferators in the first place. This all-or-nothing argument is wrong. "Formers" of the Clinton and Bush-41 administrations, including Ashton Carter, Arnold Kanter, William Perry, and Brent Scowcroft, wrote this op-ed for the New York Times. Good Nukes, Bad Nukes |
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Sculptor Invents Catapult Toy |
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| Topic: Technology |
9:14 pm EST, Dec 22, 2003 |
The idea for the Cat-A-Pult "grew out of a serendipitous thought of just imagining what would happen if you brought together a catapult and a mousetrap and dominoes." The catapults can launch cats to leap 18 inches to 6 feet. The idea is for a cat to launch from one pad and land on another, thereby launching the cat on that pad to yet another pad. Sculptor Invents Catapult Toy |
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Offshore Jobs in Technology: Opportunity or a Threat? |
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| Topic: Business |
9:02 pm EST, Dec 22, 2003 |
In a recent report, Forrester bemoaned "the rising tide of offshore hype." What is really happening? Is the offshore outsourcing of technology jobs a cataclysmic jolt or a natural evolution of the economy? The short answer is that the trend is real, irreversible and another step in the globalization of the American economy. Offshore Jobs in Technology: Opportunity or a Threat? |
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Napster Runs for President in '04 |
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| Topic: Politics and Law |
8:28 pm EST, Dec 22, 2003 |
According to Steven Johnson, it's almost as if Howard Dean is "a system" running for president, as opposed to a person. Of course, only the actual president gets the daily briefing. The music industry thought tough talk, hard-knuckle litigation and lobbying Congress could stop the forces unleashed by Napster. Today the record business is in meltdown, and more Americans use file-sharing software than voted for Mr. Bush in the last presidential election. When did it become a commonplace to argue a point by juxtaposing random statistics? Napster Runs for President in '04 |
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Coffee-houses: The Internet in a Cup |
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| Topic: Technology |
8:20 pm EST, Dec 22, 2003 |
The coffee-houses that sprang up across Europe, starting around 1650, functioned as information exchanges for writers, politicians, businessmen and scientists. Like today's websites, weblogs and discussion boards, coffee-houses were lively and often unreliable sources of information that typically specialised in a particular topic or political viewpoint. They were outlets for a stream of newsletters, pamphlets, advertising free-sheets and broadsides. Depending on the interests of their customers, some coffee-houses displayed commodity prices, share prices and shipping lists, whereas others provided foreign newsletters filled with coffee-house gossip from abroad. Coffee-houses: The Internet in a Cup |
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