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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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| Topic: Politics and Law |
9:54 am EST, Dec 5, 2003 |
I and a number of other wealthy Americans are contributing millions of dollars to grass-roots organizations engaged in the 2004 presidential election. My contributions are made in what I believe to be the common interest. George Soros defends his campaign contributions. Why I Gave |
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| Topic: Society |
9:48 am EST, Dec 5, 2003 |
For the last 24 hours, news reports have been soaring into orbit that President Bush and NASA are busy preparing their vision for the future of America's space program. ... the much-ballyhooed "orbital space plane" ... [is] the wrong sort of craft ... [and NASA has] shut the door on some of the most innovative current thinking on space technology. Buzz Aldrin weighs in on the future of NASA. Fly Me to L 1 |
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MIT's President Is Expected to Announce His Retirement |
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| Topic: Education |
9:40 am EST, Dec 5, 2003 |
The president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Charles M. Vest, is expected to announce his retirement at a meeting with trustees on Friday morning, people close to him and the board have said. His presidency has reflected the challenges of leading a university in the modern era ... MIT's President Is Expected to Announce His Retirement |
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| Topic: Technology |
1:49 am EST, Dec 5, 2003 |
For a long time now, the FCC has been pushing the idea that ownership matters. That might be right about cable and telecom companies, but it doesn't follow that AOL and Comcast are the most efficient providers of high-speed network access. [With asset-based telecom,] we might learn again why GM doesn't own the highways, and why neither cable nor telecom companies should own IP access. In the latest issue of Wired Magazine, Larry Lessig introduces the world to asset-based telecom. "Thanks, Larry! I didn't know!" Hardly. The Cook Report has been covering this area for eons now. Search my Memestream for asset based telecom. That said, I'll be coming back to the "ownership matters" meme soon. Stay tuned. Fiber to the People |
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| Topic: High Tech Developments |
1:25 am EST, Dec 5, 2003 |
Despite frequent press references to our "crowded radio waves," most of the valuable frequencies are barely used. It is no anomaly that federal rules keep 67 television channels in reserve for Springfield, Mass., a city with just three TV stations on the air. Were competitors free to offer any non-interfering wireless service, via any business model at any frequency, the productivity gains would be enormous. Perhaps most important are the creative applications yet unknown. While flexibility was endorsed [by the FCC] in theory, plans to extend flexible rights to licensees were largely set aside. Get. Out. Of. The. Way. (Don't miss out on the priceless comment about the "gimpy antelope.") Selling the Ether [PDF] |
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Grammy Award Nominees in Top Categories |
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| Topic: Music |
12:44 am EST, Dec 5, 2003 |
Nominations in top categories for the 46th annual Grammy Awards were announced Thursday. Here they are. (Does it seem fair that Willie Nelson was nominated twice in the same category? Also, how does Fountains of Wayne qualify for New Artist? Their debut album was released in 1996! By that logic, Liz Phair should be nominated for Best New Artist. And besides, how could "Stacy's Mom" possibly compete against the "P.I.M.P." remix?) Now accepting predictions ... Here are mine: Record of the Year: "Crazy in Love," Beyonce featuring Jay-Z
Album of the Year: "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below," OutKast
Song of the Year: "Lose Yourself," Eminem
New Artist: 50 Cent
Pop Vocal Album: "Justified," Justin Timberlake
Rock Album: Who cares? Anyone? Bueller?
Rap Album: "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below," OutKast
Country Album: (either of the Willie Nelson albums) Grammy Award Nominees in Top Categories |
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| Topic: History |
12:27 am EST, Dec 5, 2003 |
Writing as the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, Francis Fukuyama famously announced the "End of History." The world, he argued, was fast approaching the final stage of its political evolution. Western democratic capitalism had proved itself superior to its historical rivals and would find acceptance. How naive all this sounds today. History Has No End |
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| Topic: Technology |
12:18 am EST, Dec 5, 2003 |
Leave it to Californians to pass an anti-spam law that could ruin e-mail for the rest of us. There is, however, a way around the California law: the "CAN-SPAM" Act. According to this op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, California's spam legislation would outlaw the Memestreams feature, "Forward this to a friend". Memestreams could be exposed to a class action lawsuit. The solution appears to be an overriding federal law. Actually, depending on the definition of e-mail, it could outlaw the reputation agent altogether. It's clear that e-mail need not involve SMTP nor RFC 822. Spamifornia |
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The Dirty War in Argentina |
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| Topic: History |
11:52 pm EST, Dec 4, 2003 |
Newly declassified documents show that in October 1976, Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and high ranking US officials gave their full support to the Argentine military junta and urged them to hurry up and finish the "dirty war" before the US Congress cut military aid. Connect the dots. Learn to care. The Dirty War in Argentina |
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The New US Demographics [PPT] |
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| Topic: United States |
11:48 pm EST, Dec 4, 2003 |
Know Thy Self. How has the demography of race and ethnicity in the United States changed over time? What are the implications of some of these trends? Grok the data. The New US Demographics [PPT] |
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