"WILL REPUBLICANS SEIZE THE OPPORTUNITY?"
Decent post from The American Thinker.
Political operatives on both sides of the aisle are discussing the 2008 election as if it were only days away. But this seemingly premature preoccupation is hardly a dismissal of the important issues facing President Bush in his second term. Rather, this talk of the next presidential race is representative of the pivotal changes in the political landscape that occurred last November.
Unfortunately, the forces of “moderation” are still at work within the GOP, threatening to undermine the tremendous gains made by conservatives in the elections. Arnold Schwarzenegger contends that the Republican Party should move “to the center” (which means to the left) on social issues.
Voices from within the RNC contemplate running a social “moderate” as the best means of countering a potential Hillary candidacy. And political strategist Dick Morris warned against GOP senators playing hardball in response to Democrat filibusters of judicial nominees.
But although the Republican Party cannot afford to become arrogant and heavy handed in the wake of its recent victories, neither should it be fixated on gaining the approval of its political rivals, or the avoidance of controversy.
Junto Boyz
Thursday, December 30, 2004
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"OUT OF COURTESY TO TOURIST INDUSTRY" THAI METEOROLOGISTS WITHHOLD TSUNAMI WARNING
Blogosphere Ahead of Mainstream Media Again
Messed up! Wizbang posts about this whacked out piece of news on how Thai meteorologists withheld the tsunami warning "out of courtesy to the tourist industry."
Just minutes after the earthquake in the Indian Ocean on Sunday morning, Thailand's foremost meteorological experts were sitting together in a crisis meeting. But they decided not to warn about the tsunami "out of courtesy to the tourist industry", writes the Thailand daily newspaper The Nation. The experts got the news around 8:00 am on Sunday morning local time.
An hour later, the first massive wave struck. But the experts started to discuss the economic impacts when they were discussing if a tsunami warning should be made. The main argument against such a warning was that there have not been any floods in 300 years. Also, the experts believed the Indonesian island Sumatra would be a "cushion" for the southern coast of Thailand. The experts also had bad information; they thought the tremor was 8.1. A similar earthquake occurred in the same area in 2002 with no flooding at all.
...We finally decided not to do anything because the tourist season was in full swing. The hotels were 100% booked full. What if we issued a warning, which would have led to an evacuation, and nothing had happened. What would be the outcome? The tourist industry would be immediately hurt. Our department would not be able to endure a lawsuit...
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Blogosphere Ahead of Mainstream Media Again
Messed up! Wizbang posts about this whacked out piece of news on how Thai meteorologists withheld the tsunami warning "out of courtesy to the tourist industry."
Just minutes after the earthquake in the Indian Ocean on Sunday morning, Thailand's foremost meteorological experts were sitting together in a crisis meeting. But they decided not to warn about the tsunami "out of courtesy to the tourist industry", writes the Thailand daily newspaper The Nation. The experts got the news around 8:00 am on Sunday morning local time.
An hour later, the first massive wave struck. But the experts started to discuss the economic impacts when they were discussing if a tsunami warning should be made. The main argument against such a warning was that there have not been any floods in 300 years. Also, the experts believed the Indonesian island Sumatra would be a "cushion" for the southern coast of Thailand. The experts also had bad information; they thought the tremor was 8.1. A similar earthquake occurred in the same area in 2002 with no flooding at all.
...We finally decided not to do anything because the tourist season was in full swing. The hotels were 100% booked full. What if we issued a warning, which would have led to an evacuation, and nothing had happened. What would be the outcome? The tourist industry would be immediately hurt. Our department would not be able to endure a lawsuit...
Wednesday, December 29, 2004
UNICEF SOUTH ASIA TSUNAMI RELIEF!
Death Toll Hits 77,000
Now the death toll stands at 77,000 with the majority being children. If you want to help out in some way, donate to the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, supporting South Asia Tsunami Relief Efforts. Any amount will help.
UPDATE: Power of Amazon. Through Amazon over $2.3 million has been donated to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief. You can donate too.
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Death Toll Hits 77,000
Now the death toll stands at 77,000 with the majority being children. If you want to help out in some way, donate to the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, supporting South Asia Tsunami Relief Efforts. Any amount will help.
UPDATE: Power of Amazon. Through Amazon over $2.3 million has been donated to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief. You can donate too.
POWER LINE VS MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE... ROUND 8
Busy Holiday Week... Inconsistent Blogging for the Week
I didn't post anything yesterday since I've been busy in Chicago. It will probably be off and on this week, and I'll have my normally alloted minimum of 20 minutes to blog each day next week.
Anyway, the folks at Power Line have their ongoing battle with the liberal Minneapolis Star Tribune. Nick Coleman doesn't seem too bright.
It's funny how the blog world has overtaken mainstream media (MSM)in some aspects. Power Line has a daily reader base greater this its hardcopy neighbor, Minneapolis Star Tribune, now. Maybe this is what's making the staff over their bitter?
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Busy Holiday Week... Inconsistent Blogging for the Week
I didn't post anything yesterday since I've been busy in Chicago. It will probably be off and on this week, and I'll have my normally alloted minimum of 20 minutes to blog each day next week.
Anyway, the folks at Power Line have their ongoing battle with the liberal Minneapolis Star Tribune. Nick Coleman doesn't seem too bright.
It's funny how the blog world has overtaken mainstream media (MSM)in some aspects. Power Line has a daily reader base greater this its hardcopy neighbor, Minneapolis Star Tribune, now. Maybe this is what's making the staff over their bitter?
Monday, December 27, 2004
ASSOCIATED PRESS'S RELATIONSHIP WITH TERRORISTS
HatTip to Instapundit and Power Line. You have to read this. This is messed up. I posted before about the AP's biases across the board against Bush and the war in Iraqi. A deeper analysis and evidence primarily from Wretchard at Belmont Club. Excerpts from Power Line's post:
We have written a couple of times about the accusations of complicity with terrorists in Iraq which were made recently by Belmont Club and others. The issue relates to the shocking photo, recently published by the AP, showing three terrorists in the act of murdering two Iraqi election workers on a street during daylight. The photographer was obviously within a few yards of the scene of the murder, which raises obvious questions, such as 1) what was the photographer doing there; did he have advance knowledge of the crime, or was he even accompanying the terrorists? and 2) why did the photographer apparently have no fear of the terrorists, or conversely, why were the terrorists evidently unconcerned about being photographed in the commission of a murder?
Salon printed a defense of the AP (and an attack on conservative bloggers) that included this anonymous comment from an AP spokesman:
A source at the Associated Press knowledgeable about the events covered in Baghdad on Sunday told Salon that accusations that the photographer was aware of the militants' plans are "ridiculous." The photographer, whose identity the AP is withholding due to safety concerns, was likely "tipped off to a demonstration that was supposed to take place on Haifa Street," said the AP source, who was not at liberty to comment by name. But the photographer "definitely would not have had foreknowledge" of a violent event like an execution, the source said.
So the AP admitted that its photographer was "tipped off" by the terrorists. The only quibble asserted by the AP was that the photographer expected only a "demonstration," not a murder. So the terrorists wanted to be photographed carrying out the murder, to sow more terror in Iraq and to demoralize American voters. That's why they tipped off the photographer, and that's why they dragged the two election workers from their car, so they could be shot in front of the AP's obliging camera. And the AP was happy to cooperate with the terrorists in all respects. We'd like to ask some more questions of the photographer, of course, but that's impossible since the AP won't identify him because of "safety concerns." Really? Who would endanger his safety? The terrorists? They could have shot him on Sunday if they were unhappy about having their picture taken. But they weren't, which is why they "tipped off" the photographer. Belmont Club responded to the Salon defense here, in a post we linked to a day or two ago.
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HatTip to Instapundit and Power Line. You have to read this. This is messed up. I posted before about the AP's biases across the board against Bush and the war in Iraqi. A deeper analysis and evidence primarily from Wretchard at Belmont Club. Excerpts from Power Line's post:
We have written a couple of times about the accusations of complicity with terrorists in Iraq which were made recently by Belmont Club and others. The issue relates to the shocking photo, recently published by the AP, showing three terrorists in the act of murdering two Iraqi election workers on a street during daylight. The photographer was obviously within a few yards of the scene of the murder, which raises obvious questions, such as 1) what was the photographer doing there; did he have advance knowledge of the crime, or was he even accompanying the terrorists? and 2) why did the photographer apparently have no fear of the terrorists, or conversely, why were the terrorists evidently unconcerned about being photographed in the commission of a murder?
Salon printed a defense of the AP (and an attack on conservative bloggers) that included this anonymous comment from an AP spokesman:
A source at the Associated Press knowledgeable about the events covered in Baghdad on Sunday told Salon that accusations that the photographer was aware of the militants' plans are "ridiculous." The photographer, whose identity the AP is withholding due to safety concerns, was likely "tipped off to a demonstration that was supposed to take place on Haifa Street," said the AP source, who was not at liberty to comment by name. But the photographer "definitely would not have had foreknowledge" of a violent event like an execution, the source said.
So the AP admitted that its photographer was "tipped off" by the terrorists. The only quibble asserted by the AP was that the photographer expected only a "demonstration," not a murder. So the terrorists wanted to be photographed carrying out the murder, to sow more terror in Iraq and to demoralize American voters. That's why they tipped off the photographer, and that's why they dragged the two election workers from their car, so they could be shot in front of the AP's obliging camera. And the AP was happy to cooperate with the terrorists in all respects. We'd like to ask some more questions of the photographer, of course, but that's impossible since the AP won't identify him because of "safety concerns." Really? Who would endanger his safety? The terrorists? They could have shot him on Sunday if they were unhappy about having their picture taken. But they weren't, which is why they "tipped off" the photographer. Belmont Club responded to the Salon defense here, in a post we linked to a day or two ago.
Sunday, December 26, 2004
POWER OF NATURE... TSUNAMIS KILL MORE THAN 13,300 PEOPLE
Tsunamis kill more than 13,300 people. Amazing and tragic. 9.0-magnitude earthquake was the strongest in 40 years and created 20-foot tidal waves throughout southeast Asia. Anything above 8.0 is rare, so an earthquake this size is an awesome display of power. I wonder how we can help the countries that are in the most need? I'll try to find out.
UPDATE: Now death toll rises to 44,000.
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Tsunamis kill more than 13,300 people. Amazing and tragic. 9.0-magnitude earthquake was the strongest in 40 years and created 20-foot tidal waves throughout southeast Asia. Anything above 8.0 is rare, so an earthquake this size is an awesome display of power. I wonder how we can help the countries that are in the most need? I'll try to find out.
UPDATE: Now death toll rises to 44,000.
PASSING OF REGGIE WHITE... ONE OF THE BEST EVER
"Minister of Defense" passed away this Sunday morning. I remember watching dominate as a defensive end for years with the Eagles and Packers. I also remember him being an inspirational example of a human being, Christian, and leader off the field. Prayers go out to his family and loved ones.
Various quotes here:
"Reggie White was one of the greatest football players I've ever seen or lined up against. He was amazingly dominant and someone that a team spent a week preparing for. When an offensive line stepped onto the field, it was imperative to locate where White was lined up to have some semblance of a chance at figuring out how he was going to disrupt your offense.
I'll never forget one of the first times I ever had to face White on the field. I was playing for the Washington Redskins at the time, and I didn't really expect to have to face him. At the time, the Eagles would switch him all over the line so that he'd occasionally face a guard. I'll never forget how I felt when I came out of the huddle and realized he was lining up to face me. I immediately started wondering what I'd done to deserve this butt whupping.
Off the field, there wasn't a hypocritical bone in his body. He affected many people with his personality, beliefs and the stewardship of his life. He was one of the greatest and noblest men I've ever been around. Regardless of where you were in your walk in life, he was going to treat you with kindness, compassion, love and respect. We've lost a great man today." - Mark Schlereth
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"Minister of Defense" passed away this Sunday morning. I remember watching dominate as a defensive end for years with the Eagles and Packers. I also remember him being an inspirational example of a human being, Christian, and leader off the field. Prayers go out to his family and loved ones.
Various quotes here:
"Reggie White was one of the greatest football players I've ever seen or lined up against. He was amazingly dominant and someone that a team spent a week preparing for. When an offensive line stepped onto the field, it was imperative to locate where White was lined up to have some semblance of a chance at figuring out how he was going to disrupt your offense.
I'll never forget one of the first times I ever had to face White on the field. I was playing for the Washington Redskins at the time, and I didn't really expect to have to face him. At the time, the Eagles would switch him all over the line so that he'd occasionally face a guard. I'll never forget how I felt when I came out of the huddle and realized he was lining up to face me. I immediately started wondering what I'd done to deserve this butt whupping.
Off the field, there wasn't a hypocritical bone in his body. He affected many people with his personality, beliefs and the stewardship of his life. He was one of the greatest and noblest men I've ever been around. Regardless of where you were in your walk in life, he was going to treat you with kindness, compassion, love and respect. We've lost a great man today." - Mark Schlereth
Saturday, December 25, 2004
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!
My fiance and I got into Chicago last night through an annoying ordeal of waiting on the runway for 45 minutes and then our baggage for another 40 minutes. We have a busy week to look forward to, but we know we need to take the time to acknowledge and appreciate the meaning of today. The day of Christ's birth and his love and sacrifice for all of us.
I found a good poem on the web to share. Merry Christmas! May God truly bless this time for you and those important to you!
THE TRUE MEANING OF CHRISTMAS
In todays day and time,
it's easy to lose sight,
of the true meaning of Christmas
and one special night.
When we go shopping,
We say "How much will it cost?"
Then the true meaning of Christmas,
Somehow becomes lost.
Amidst the tinsel, glitter
And ribbons of gold,
We forget about the child,
born on a night so cold.
The children look for Santa
In his big, red sleigh
Never thinking of the baby
Whose bed was made of hay.
In reality when we look into the night sky,
We don't see a sleigh
But a star, burning bright and high.
A faithful reminder,
Of that night so long ago,
And of the child we call Jesus,
Whose love, the world would know.
by Brian K. Walters
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My fiance and I got into Chicago last night through an annoying ordeal of waiting on the runway for 45 minutes and then our baggage for another 40 minutes. We have a busy week to look forward to, but we know we need to take the time to acknowledge and appreciate the meaning of today. The day of Christ's birth and his love and sacrifice for all of us.
I found a good poem on the web to share. Merry Christmas! May God truly bless this time for you and those important to you!
THE TRUE MEANING OF CHRISTMAS
In todays day and time,
it's easy to lose sight,
of the true meaning of Christmas
and one special night.
When we go shopping,
We say "How much will it cost?"
Then the true meaning of Christmas,
Somehow becomes lost.
Amidst the tinsel, glitter
And ribbons of gold,
We forget about the child,
born on a night so cold.
The children look for Santa
In his big, red sleigh
Never thinking of the baby
Whose bed was made of hay.
In reality when we look into the night sky,
We don't see a sleigh
But a star, burning bright and high.
A faithful reminder,
Of that night so long ago,
And of the child we call Jesus,
Whose love, the world would know.
by Brian K. Walters
Thursday, December 23, 2004
PREDICTIONS FOR 2005
Since it's end of the year, the predictions are coming out. This is the beauty of blogs and this new medium is that these predictions, great or small, are accessible to the masses. Here are three from the tech world.
John C. Dvorak (CBS MarketWatch):
1. Internet attack
... There have been massive incidental attacks over the past couple of years as if someone is experimenting with a big one. That could happen this year too...
2. Spyware becomes mainstream news
... will become the top news story of the year, no doubt. But first the national media has to be struck by this stuff or terrorists need to be connected to it...
3. Sony, the Cell chip and the PS3
... IBM-Sony-Toshiba "supercomputer-on-a-chip" will be unveiled at the International Solid State Circuits Conference in San Francisco. Once this chip, part of the next generation Playstation architecture, is revealed in detail it has the potential to be so important that the entire industry could change overnight...
4. Megamergers
... Bush administration it would be remiss for a large corporation not to buy the competition. Who's to stop you?...
5. MS Linux
... I don't think Microsoft can take a chance on letting this slip for too much longer...
John Battelle (Searchblog & Co-Founder of Wired):
1. We will have a goat rodeo of sorts in the blogging/micropublishing/RSS world as commercial interests push into what many consider a "pure medium." I've seen this movie before, and it ends OK. But it's important that the debate be full throated, and so far it looks to be shaping up that way. I'm already seeing these forces at work over at Boing Boing, and I am sure they will continue. We'll all work on figuring out ways to stick to our principles and get paid at the same time, however, I expect that things might get more contentious before they get better, and 2005 may be a more fractious year in the blogosphere as we evolve through this process.
3. There will be two to five major new sites that emerge from "nowhere" to become major cultural influencers along the lines of the political bloggers of 2004. One of them will be sold to a major publisher/aggregator for what seems like a large sum of money, driving the abovementioned #2 and #1.
4. Meanwhile, the long tail will become the talk of the "old line" media world. To capture some of that value, we'll see a slew of deals and new publishing projects from the established brands that seek to capture the idea of community journalism, affiliate commerce sales, and collaborative content creation.
5. Google will do something major with Blogger. I really have no idea what, but it's overdue. Six Apart will grow quickly but face a crisis in its implementation as its core users demand more features that are "unbloglike" like customer databases and robust publishing support tools. This (and other things) may drive Six Apart or one of its competitors into the arms of Yahoo or AOL or even - gasp - Quark or Adobe or Marcomedia. (the rest)
Mitch Ratcliffe (Red Herring Blog):
2005: The year the media will turn inside out
The media is self-organizing. Not the old fogies, such as daily newspapers, magazines, and television networks, but the legions of self-publishers and producers on the web.
In recent months, the rise of podcasting has sent a flare up over the trenches of old media, key figures have abandoned their posts in old media to set out into the new, and now Yahoo has announced a well-documented format for RSS media syndication that will support text, audio, and, now, video delivery. A new wiki-based news organization, WikiNews, will pioneer a form of news editing that, while it’s ripe with potential problems, is a provocative change from the passive consumption of news. (full post)
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Since it's end of the year, the predictions are coming out. This is the beauty of blogs and this new medium is that these predictions, great or small, are accessible to the masses. Here are three from the tech world.
John C. Dvorak (CBS MarketWatch):
1. Internet attack
... There have been massive incidental attacks over the past couple of years as if someone is experimenting with a big one. That could happen this year too...
2. Spyware becomes mainstream news
... will become the top news story of the year, no doubt. But first the national media has to be struck by this stuff or terrorists need to be connected to it...
3. Sony, the Cell chip and the PS3
... IBM-Sony-Toshiba "supercomputer-on-a-chip" will be unveiled at the International Solid State Circuits Conference in San Francisco. Once this chip, part of the next generation Playstation architecture, is revealed in detail it has the potential to be so important that the entire industry could change overnight...
4. Megamergers
... Bush administration it would be remiss for a large corporation not to buy the competition. Who's to stop you?...
5. MS Linux
... I don't think Microsoft can take a chance on letting this slip for too much longer...
John Battelle (Searchblog & Co-Founder of Wired):
1. We will have a goat rodeo of sorts in the blogging/micropublishing/RSS world as commercial interests push into what many consider a "pure medium." I've seen this movie before, and it ends OK. But it's important that the debate be full throated, and so far it looks to be shaping up that way. I'm already seeing these forces at work over at Boing Boing, and I am sure they will continue. We'll all work on figuring out ways to stick to our principles and get paid at the same time, however, I expect that things might get more contentious before they get better, and 2005 may be a more fractious year in the blogosphere as we evolve through this process.
3. There will be two to five major new sites that emerge from "nowhere" to become major cultural influencers along the lines of the political bloggers of 2004. One of them will be sold to a major publisher/aggregator for what seems like a large sum of money, driving the abovementioned #2 and #1.
4. Meanwhile, the long tail will become the talk of the "old line" media world. To capture some of that value, we'll see a slew of deals and new publishing projects from the established brands that seek to capture the idea of community journalism, affiliate commerce sales, and collaborative content creation.
5. Google will do something major with Blogger. I really have no idea what, but it's overdue. Six Apart will grow quickly but face a crisis in its implementation as its core users demand more features that are "unbloglike" like customer databases and robust publishing support tools. This (and other things) may drive Six Apart or one of its competitors into the arms of Yahoo or AOL or even - gasp - Quark or Adobe or Marcomedia. (the rest)
Mitch Ratcliffe (Red Herring Blog):
2005: The year the media will turn inside out
The media is self-organizing. Not the old fogies, such as daily newspapers, magazines, and television networks, but the legions of self-publishers and producers on the web.
In recent months, the rise of podcasting has sent a flare up over the trenches of old media, key figures have abandoned their posts in old media to set out into the new, and now Yahoo has announced a well-documented format for RSS media syndication that will support text, audio, and, now, video delivery. A new wiki-based news organization, WikiNews, will pioneer a form of news editing that, while it’s ripe with potential problems, is a provocative change from the passive consumption of news. (full post)
CREATIONISM AND CHRISTMAS
I sent the following as another op-ed piece in time for the holidays, but it's not getting any traction. Maybe the papers are flooded and it didn't make the cut. I would have preferred to write a non-religious, political piece. I didn't want to write another Christian related topic and get pigeonholed as an op-ed writer, but I thought it was timely for the season.
It's not a great piece, but I thought it conveyed a good message. I took some parts of my prior posts and comments along with additional research to write this op-ed. Unless someone calls within the next couple days, it's not going to be picked up so I'm just posting it here first.
Also I'm not a strong proponent of Creationist teaching in our schools, but I do believe if people want it in their school's curriculum and there is enough support it should be allowed. The Creationist viewpoint has just as much validity as the Darwinist viewpoint. If this type of stuff on my blog doesn't interest you, just read the next posts. Happy Holidays! Merry Christmas!!
Creationism and Christmas
Many Christmases ago John Polkinghorne was a Professor of Mathematical Physics at Cambridge University. During the 1960s and 70s, he distinguished himself in the field of elementary particle physics which led to his induction as a Fellow of the Royal Society and other accolades. After a long career, Polkinghorne quit his post at Cambridge and began his road towards becoming an Anglican Priest. He eventually returned to Cambridge as president of Queen’s College where he retired in 1996. During his second career, Polkinghorne made his mark vocalizing the harmony of science and theology.
He was a world-class physicist who came to the conclusion that, "God is the creator of the world Now. His act of creation is a continuing act, not just something done fifteen thousand million years ago, but something being done today which will continue to be done tomorrow."
Young Gil Kim is currently the dean of Handong University, a leading university in South Korea. He was considered the leading materials scientist in the land of DRAM chips and ubiquitous broadband connections. Dr. Kim is the holder of over 40 patents, and one of them being an alloy Motorola uses in their chips. He was the recipient of the King Sejeong Award for Science in Korea, Scientist of the Year by the Korean Press, and is the country’s most outspoken Creationist.
One story he told me was when he was visiting Harvard University, Stephen Jay Gould, the paleontologist and leader on evolutionary theory who passed away in 2002, approached him and informed him, “I heard of you. You’re not a real scientist…”
Dr. Kim’s story is reflective of the current rift between religion’s place in science and the classroom. For many in academia and majority of school boards in the U.S., there is a misconception of what Creationism is and the science behind it. Creationism is not some excuse for Christians to spread their doctrine and infect your children with uneducated theories and assumptions. It is a valid alternative theory to how the world operates and functions. An example is that the Theory of Evolution is still a theory and not a proven fact as the majority of academia proclaims. Both ideas of Creation and Evolution from my personal studies need faith. If a school district wants to present an additional theory of Creation, I believe it is within rational grounds to do so.
There is something to people who study the laws of universe and matter. Maybe they had too many particle accelerators to the head, but some of the most prominent scientists of our times agree on God’s involvement in the workings of our universe. While I don’t know the personal faith of Freeman Dyson, former professor of physics at Princeton’s Institute for Advanced Study, and Henry Schaefer, Nobel nominee for Chemistry and professor of chemistry at University of Georgia, both consider themselves Christians along with the more vocal John Polinghorne and Young Gil Kim.
Schaefer once said, “My wonder at scientific discoveries is greatly enhanced - to make a discovery and say, ‘So that’s the way God laid out [that part] of the universe!’ There is joy in thinking God’s thoughts after Him.”
Even Albert Einstein, while not believing in a personal god, concluded through his years of research that the universe could not have been created by chance or from chaos:
"I want to know how God created this world, I am not interested in this or that phenomenon, in the spectrum of this or that element. I want to know His thoughts, the rest are details."
As Christmas has become more commercialized, the “Christ” in it has lessen in its meaning. The reason for the season isn’t the celebration of the birth of Christ for many anymore. The noise of holiday parties, shopping sales, and family vacations have drowned the meaning behind it all. It is the same with this conflict between Creationists and Evolutionists. The gatekeepers of academia and many school boards in the U.S. have drowned out the significance of the Creationist position and validity of their argument. It is not solely about religion and it isn’t to force extremist doctrine down people’s throats, but to present an active and developing part of today’s scientific community to our nation’s classrooms.
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I sent the following as another op-ed piece in time for the holidays, but it's not getting any traction. Maybe the papers are flooded and it didn't make the cut. I would have preferred to write a non-religious, political piece. I didn't want to write another Christian related topic and get pigeonholed as an op-ed writer, but I thought it was timely for the season.
It's not a great piece, but I thought it conveyed a good message. I took some parts of my prior posts and comments along with additional research to write this op-ed. Unless someone calls within the next couple days, it's not going to be picked up so I'm just posting it here first.
Also I'm not a strong proponent of Creationist teaching in our schools, but I do believe if people want it in their school's curriculum and there is enough support it should be allowed. The Creationist viewpoint has just as much validity as the Darwinist viewpoint. If this type of stuff on my blog doesn't interest you, just read the next posts. Happy Holidays! Merry Christmas!!
Creationism and Christmas
Many Christmases ago John Polkinghorne was a Professor of Mathematical Physics at Cambridge University. During the 1960s and 70s, he distinguished himself in the field of elementary particle physics which led to his induction as a Fellow of the Royal Society and other accolades. After a long career, Polkinghorne quit his post at Cambridge and began his road towards becoming an Anglican Priest. He eventually returned to Cambridge as president of Queen’s College where he retired in 1996. During his second career, Polkinghorne made his mark vocalizing the harmony of science and theology.
He was a world-class physicist who came to the conclusion that, "God is the creator of the world Now. His act of creation is a continuing act, not just something done fifteen thousand million years ago, but something being done today which will continue to be done tomorrow."
Young Gil Kim is currently the dean of Handong University, a leading university in South Korea. He was considered the leading materials scientist in the land of DRAM chips and ubiquitous broadband connections. Dr. Kim is the holder of over 40 patents, and one of them being an alloy Motorola uses in their chips. He was the recipient of the King Sejeong Award for Science in Korea, Scientist of the Year by the Korean Press, and is the country’s most outspoken Creationist.
One story he told me was when he was visiting Harvard University, Stephen Jay Gould, the paleontologist and leader on evolutionary theory who passed away in 2002, approached him and informed him, “I heard of you. You’re not a real scientist…”
Dr. Kim’s story is reflective of the current rift between religion’s place in science and the classroom. For many in academia and majority of school boards in the U.S., there is a misconception of what Creationism is and the science behind it. Creationism is not some excuse for Christians to spread their doctrine and infect your children with uneducated theories and assumptions. It is a valid alternative theory to how the world operates and functions. An example is that the Theory of Evolution is still a theory and not a proven fact as the majority of academia proclaims. Both ideas of Creation and Evolution from my personal studies need faith. If a school district wants to present an additional theory of Creation, I believe it is within rational grounds to do so.
There is something to people who study the laws of universe and matter. Maybe they had too many particle accelerators to the head, but some of the most prominent scientists of our times agree on God’s involvement in the workings of our universe. While I don’t know the personal faith of Freeman Dyson, former professor of physics at Princeton’s Institute for Advanced Study, and Henry Schaefer, Nobel nominee for Chemistry and professor of chemistry at University of Georgia, both consider themselves Christians along with the more vocal John Polinghorne and Young Gil Kim.
Schaefer once said, “My wonder at scientific discoveries is greatly enhanced - to make a discovery and say, ‘So that’s the way God laid out [that part] of the universe!’ There is joy in thinking God’s thoughts after Him.”
Even Albert Einstein, while not believing in a personal god, concluded through his years of research that the universe could not have been created by chance or from chaos:
"I want to know how God created this world, I am not interested in this or that phenomenon, in the spectrum of this or that element. I want to know His thoughts, the rest are details."
As Christmas has become more commercialized, the “Christ” in it has lessen in its meaning. The reason for the season isn’t the celebration of the birth of Christ for many anymore. The noise of holiday parties, shopping sales, and family vacations have drowned the meaning behind it all. It is the same with this conflict between Creationists and Evolutionists. The gatekeepers of academia and many school boards in the U.S. have drowned out the significance of the Creationist position and validity of their argument. It is not solely about religion and it isn’t to force extremist doctrine down people’s throats, but to present an active and developing part of today’s scientific community to our nation’s classrooms.
QUOTES OF 2004... TIM BLAIR'S ROUNDUP
HatTip to Instapundit. Pretty funny and insightful aggregation of quotes from 2004. Here's the month of April. Check out the other months on his main page.
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HatTip to Instapundit. Pretty funny and insightful aggregation of quotes from 2004. Here's the month of April. Check out the other months on his main page.
Wednesday, December 22, 2004
BEST TECH BLOGS BY TECHWEB
For you techies out there... TechWeb's list of best blogs. The top blog was Groklaw.
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For you techies out there... TechWeb's list of best blogs. The top blog was Groklaw.
KOS DOESN'T GET IT
Power Line commenting how Markos Moulitsas Zúniga, whose Daily Kos is the leading liberal blog, still doesn't get it. I read his blog a few times and to be honest he's not that bright, so of course he doesn't get "it."
The election, that is. Thus, Kos is mad as hell at John Kerry for screwing up the election, suggesting that he and his advisers "should be lined up and shot" for losing to "this joker" (President Bush, if you were wondering).
In reality, John Kerry, while hardly a great candidate, ran as well as any liberal Democrat was likely to. Indeed, one could predict Bush's victory and his margin of victory (as I did) merely by extrapolating from his approval rating. Those seeking more complexity could predict the result by looking at the economic numbers and the polls reflecting the public's attitude on security issues and the war in Iraq. There is no need to factor in Kerry's quirks and flaws in order to explain the election, and thus no justification for doing so. The only facet of Kerry that may well have affected the outcome was his (correctly) perceived weakness on security issues. But to avoid that problem, the Democrats would have had to nominate a security hawk, not a liberal Democrat, and certainly not anyone that Kos would have found satisfactory.
What's Kos' evidence to the contrary? He notes that Bush has the lowest approval rating of any president coming off of re-election. But that's why Bush's victory was, if I'm not mistaken, the narrowest of any incumbent re-elected since the approval rating has been tracked. The key point is that Bush's approval rating was, and is, higher than those of incumbent presidents who were defeated. (full post)
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Power Line commenting how Markos Moulitsas Zúniga, whose Daily Kos is the leading liberal blog, still doesn't get it. I read his blog a few times and to be honest he's not that bright, so of course he doesn't get "it."
The election, that is. Thus, Kos is mad as hell at John Kerry for screwing up the election, suggesting that he and his advisers "should be lined up and shot" for losing to "this joker" (President Bush, if you were wondering).
In reality, John Kerry, while hardly a great candidate, ran as well as any liberal Democrat was likely to. Indeed, one could predict Bush's victory and his margin of victory (as I did) merely by extrapolating from his approval rating. Those seeking more complexity could predict the result by looking at the economic numbers and the polls reflecting the public's attitude on security issues and the war in Iraq. There is no need to factor in Kerry's quirks and flaws in order to explain the election, and thus no justification for doing so. The only facet of Kerry that may well have affected the outcome was his (correctly) perceived weakness on security issues. But to avoid that problem, the Democrats would have had to nominate a security hawk, not a liberal Democrat, and certainly not anyone that Kos would have found satisfactory.
What's Kos' evidence to the contrary? He notes that Bush has the lowest approval rating of any president coming off of re-election. But that's why Bush's victory was, if I'm not mistaken, the narrowest of any incumbent re-elected since the approval rating has been tracked. The key point is that Bush's approval rating was, and is, higher than those of incumbent presidents who were defeated. (full post)
POWER LINE NAMED BLOG OF THE YEAR... OR IS IT YEAR OF THE BLOG?
Time magazine name Power Line Blog of the Year. As you might know, Power Line is one of my favorite blogs.
James Lileks brings up a more important point of how 2004 was the Year of the Blog. (via Power Line)
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Time magazine name Power Line Blog of the Year. As you might know, Power Line is one of my favorite blogs.
James Lileks brings up a more important point of how 2004 was the Year of the Blog. (via Power Line)
EU SAYS NO TO MICROSOFT
A European court on Wednesday dealt a blow to Microsoft, ordering the company to start offering a version of Windows without a bundled-in media player. (full article)
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A European court on Wednesday dealt a blow to Microsoft, ordering the company to start offering a version of Windows without a bundled-in media player. (full article)
Tuesday, December 21, 2004
HUGH HEWITT VS. JEFF JARVIS
Power Line has a good summary of the online debate going on between Hugh Hewitt and Jeff Jarvis. I was just going to post Hugh's comments with links, but Deacon at Power Line does a good job.
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Power Line has a good summary of the online debate going on between Hugh Hewitt and Jeff Jarvis. I was just going to post Hugh's comments with links, but Deacon at Power Line does a good job.
"U.S. LAGS BEHIND MUCH OF DEVELOPED WORLD IN WIRELESS"
Oh really? This CNN news article seems to lag too. About four years late.
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Oh really? This CNN news article seems to lag too. About four years late.
TWO TOP BITTORRENT SITES CLOSE
From PaidContent.org Newswire:
MPAA Fallout? Two Top BitTorrent Sites Close: Just days after the MPAA launched an all-out offensive against operators of BitTorrent servers, SuprNova.org and TorrentBits.org have turned out the lights. BitTorrent reportedly represented 53 percent of all P2P traffic in June or 35 percent of net traffic. A Dr. Johan Pouwelse examines BitTorrent traffic in detail in a paper posted on The Register. (via SlashDot)
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From PaidContent.org Newswire:
MPAA Fallout? Two Top BitTorrent Sites Close: Just days after the MPAA launched an all-out offensive against operators of BitTorrent servers, SuprNova.org and TorrentBits.org have turned out the lights. BitTorrent reportedly represented 53 percent of all P2P traffic in June or 35 percent of net traffic. A Dr. Johan Pouwelse examines BitTorrent traffic in detail in a paper posted on The Register. (via SlashDot)
CALL TO PROTEST... INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN TO BLOCK THE REPATRIATION OF NORTH KOREAN REFUGEES
HatTip to Mingi...
The heart-wrenching cries of the repatriated North Korean refugees cannot continue to go unheard. That is why we are asking you, fellow Koreans and human beings that care, to join us in a worldwide protest to block the repatriation of North Korean refugees in China.
Tel (0505)255-2332, Fax (0505)211-5119
nkcampaign@ yahoo.com, http:// nkrefugee.org
All around the world in 13 cities in 6 countries, people will be gathering in front of Chinese embassies and consulates at 11 AM on Wednesday, December 22, 2004, to join a peaceful protest demanding China to stop repatriating North Korean refugees back to North Korea, where they face imprisonment, torture, and execution. Please join us to help our suffering brothers and sisters and stop this inhumane action that violates international law.
This international campaign is a collaborative effort by:
Hwang Woo Yeo, (South Korea National Assembly), Senator Sam Brownback (U.S. Senate), Congressman Christopher Cox (U.S. Congress), Congressman Joseph Pitts(U.S. Congress), Son Bong Ho ( President of Dongduk Women's University), Rev. Kim Jin Hong, Rev. In Myung Jin, Rev. Suh Kyung Suk, Rev. Lee Sung Hee, Son Byung Doo (Archdiocese of Seoul Catholic Lay Council), Suzanne Scholte (Defense Forum Foundation, US), Kato Hiroshi (Life Funds for North Korean Refugees, Japan), Kim Il Soo(professor)
Participating Organizations:
North Korea Freedom Coalition, LiNK, NK Network for NK Democracy and Human Rights, Democracy Network against NK Gulag, Durihana Mission, The Refuge Pnan, NK Defectors Association, International Coalition for NK Human Rights, Save Choi Young Hun! NK Defector Businessmen Association, Citizens Coalition for Human Rights of Abductees, Helping Hands Korea, The Society to Help Returnees to North Korea (Japan), Wilberforce Forum (US), Defense Forum Foundation (US), The Support Committee for Free NK Radio (Canada), The Council for Democracy in Korea (Canada), International Korean War Memorial Foundation, Committee for Rescue of Korean POWs, National Association for the Rescue of Kidnapped Japanese by North Koreans, Institute for North Korean Mission Strategy , US Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, Seoul Presbyterian Church, Jubilee Campaign, Southern Sudanese Voice for Freedom, Institute on Religion and Democracy, China Aid Association, American University Korean Student Association, Helen Louise Hunter, Korean Freedom Democracy League of America, Freedom Society of America, The Support Committee for Free NK Radio, The Council for Democracy in Korea, Korean-Canadian Cultural Association of Metro Toronto, Korean Senior Citizens Society of Toronto, Korean veterans' Association(Canada Eastern Department), The Council of Korean Churches in Ontario, and Ontario Korean Ministers' Association.
Protest Contact Numbers
1. Korea ( Seoul 82-11-234-3397 Do Hee Youn, Pusan 82-16-840-1532 Park Kyung Man)
Seoul : Across the Kyobo Building (Chinese Consulate) in front of Donghwa duty-free shop (also one man demonstration in front of Chinese Embassy located at 54 Hyoja-dong )
Pusan : In front of Chinese Consulate (Haeundae-gu U2-dong 1418)
2. U.S ( 1-908-705-0851 Shin-U Nam)
Washington DC : Connecticut 2300, Chinese Embassy
New York
LA
Chicago
Houston
San Francisco
3. Japan ( 81-90-8682-1341, 81-3-3815-8127, Kato Hiroshi)
Tokyo
Osaka
4. Canada ( 1-416-244-3251, Kyung-Bok Lee)
5. U.K. ( 44-7795-563-102, Jessica)
London
6. Australia ( 61-425-815-341, Sanghee)
Sydney
Declaration of North Korean Refugees' Human Rights
Article 14 of the Universal Human Rights Declaration clearly states that, "Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution."
Article 33 of the 1951 Convention clearly states that, "No Contracting State shall expel or return ("refoule") a refugee in any manner whatsoever to the frontiers of territories where his life or freedom would be threatened on account of his race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion.
Therefore, the North Korean refugees have a right to seek temporary asylum in China to escape from the persecution in North Korea and not to be repatriated where they will face persecution. We have confirmed through the testimonies of innumerable defectors that the Chinese government has continued to forcefully repatriate the NK refugees, and that those repatriated are persecuted very harshly by the NK authorities.
In 1977, UNHCR Executive Committee through its Resolution 28 confirmed that those who would be persecuted when repatriated should be considered as "refugees" regardless of their official recognition as refugees. The UNHCR at its 54th Executive Committee session on September 29, 2003, declared that many NK defectors should be considered as refugees, and that UNHCR had great concerns about the NK refugees inside China. Therefore, China should not repatriate the NK refugees regardless of whether they are officially recognized as refugees or not.
Chinese government in 1982 became a signatory to the 1951 Convention. Wang Guangya, Vice Foreign Minister of the PRC, at the Ministerial Meeting of States Parties to the 1951 Convention on 12 December 2001, stated, "The 1951 Convention is…Magna Carta of International Refugee Law…The Convention is a candle light of hope in the dark to the helpless refugees…serves as a guide to action to people who are engaged in the humanitarian work of protecting and assisting refugees."
China further occasionally stated and recognized that, "an international human rights agreement…is binding under Chinese law, and China must honor the corresponding obligations…In the event of discrepancies between domestic law and an international human rights agreement…the international agreement will take precedence…"
Unfortunately, China has ignored the international human rights laws and their public pledges, and continued to repatriate NK refugees. NK refugees who face persecution if repatriated have a right to seek asylum in China. We beseech Chinese authorities not to repatriate the helpless refugees, and hereby submit our declaration to the peace-loving, law-abiding Chinese people.
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HatTip to Mingi...
The heart-wrenching cries of the repatriated North Korean refugees cannot continue to go unheard. That is why we are asking you, fellow Koreans and human beings that care, to join us in a worldwide protest to block the repatriation of North Korean refugees in China.
Tel (0505)255-2332, Fax (0505)211-5119
nkcampaign@ yahoo.com, http:// nkrefugee.org
All around the world in 13 cities in 6 countries, people will be gathering in front of Chinese embassies and consulates at 11 AM on Wednesday, December 22, 2004, to join a peaceful protest demanding China to stop repatriating North Korean refugees back to North Korea, where they face imprisonment, torture, and execution. Please join us to help our suffering brothers and sisters and stop this inhumane action that violates international law.
This international campaign is a collaborative effort by:
Hwang Woo Yeo, (South Korea National Assembly), Senator Sam Brownback (U.S. Senate), Congressman Christopher Cox (U.S. Congress), Congressman Joseph Pitts(U.S. Congress), Son Bong Ho ( President of Dongduk Women's University), Rev. Kim Jin Hong, Rev. In Myung Jin, Rev. Suh Kyung Suk, Rev. Lee Sung Hee, Son Byung Doo (Archdiocese of Seoul Catholic Lay Council), Suzanne Scholte (Defense Forum Foundation, US), Kato Hiroshi (Life Funds for North Korean Refugees, Japan), Kim Il Soo(professor)
Participating Organizations:
North Korea Freedom Coalition, LiNK, NK Network for NK Democracy and Human Rights, Democracy Network against NK Gulag, Durihana Mission, The Refuge Pnan, NK Defectors Association, International Coalition for NK Human Rights, Save Choi Young Hun! NK Defector Businessmen Association, Citizens Coalition for Human Rights of Abductees, Helping Hands Korea, The Society to Help Returnees to North Korea (Japan), Wilberforce Forum (US), Defense Forum Foundation (US), The Support Committee for Free NK Radio (Canada), The Council for Democracy in Korea (Canada), International Korean War Memorial Foundation, Committee for Rescue of Korean POWs, National Association for the Rescue of Kidnapped Japanese by North Koreans, Institute for North Korean Mission Strategy , US Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, Seoul Presbyterian Church, Jubilee Campaign, Southern Sudanese Voice for Freedom, Institute on Religion and Democracy, China Aid Association, American University Korean Student Association, Helen Louise Hunter, Korean Freedom Democracy League of America, Freedom Society of America, The Support Committee for Free NK Radio, The Council for Democracy in Korea, Korean-Canadian Cultural Association of Metro Toronto, Korean Senior Citizens Society of Toronto, Korean veterans' Association(Canada Eastern Department), The Council of Korean Churches in Ontario, and Ontario Korean Ministers' Association.
Protest Contact Numbers
1. Korea ( Seoul 82-11-234-3397 Do Hee Youn, Pusan 82-16-840-1532 Park Kyung Man)
Seoul : Across the Kyobo Building (Chinese Consulate) in front of Donghwa duty-free shop (also one man demonstration in front of Chinese Embassy located at 54 Hyoja-dong )
Pusan : In front of Chinese Consulate (Haeundae-gu U2-dong 1418)
2. U.S ( 1-908-705-0851 Shin-U Nam)
Washington DC : Connecticut 2300, Chinese Embassy
New York
LA
Chicago
Houston
San Francisco
3. Japan ( 81-90-8682-1341, 81-3-3815-8127, Kato Hiroshi)
Tokyo
Osaka
4. Canada ( 1-416-244-3251, Kyung-Bok Lee)
5. U.K. ( 44-7795-563-102, Jessica)
London
6. Australia ( 61-425-815-341, Sanghee)
Sydney
Declaration of North Korean Refugees' Human Rights
Article 14 of the Universal Human Rights Declaration clearly states that, "Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution."
Article 33 of the 1951 Convention clearly states that, "No Contracting State shall expel or return ("refoule") a refugee in any manner whatsoever to the frontiers of territories where his life or freedom would be threatened on account of his race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion.
Therefore, the North Korean refugees have a right to seek temporary asylum in China to escape from the persecution in North Korea and not to be repatriated where they will face persecution. We have confirmed through the testimonies of innumerable defectors that the Chinese government has continued to forcefully repatriate the NK refugees, and that those repatriated are persecuted very harshly by the NK authorities.
In 1977, UNHCR Executive Committee through its Resolution 28 confirmed that those who would be persecuted when repatriated should be considered as "refugees" regardless of their official recognition as refugees. The UNHCR at its 54th Executive Committee session on September 29, 2003, declared that many NK defectors should be considered as refugees, and that UNHCR had great concerns about the NK refugees inside China. Therefore, China should not repatriate the NK refugees regardless of whether they are officially recognized as refugees or not.
Chinese government in 1982 became a signatory to the 1951 Convention. Wang Guangya, Vice Foreign Minister of the PRC, at the Ministerial Meeting of States Parties to the 1951 Convention on 12 December 2001, stated, "The 1951 Convention is…Magna Carta of International Refugee Law…The Convention is a candle light of hope in the dark to the helpless refugees…serves as a guide to action to people who are engaged in the humanitarian work of protecting and assisting refugees."
China further occasionally stated and recognized that, "an international human rights agreement…is binding under Chinese law, and China must honor the corresponding obligations…In the event of discrepancies between domestic law and an international human rights agreement…the international agreement will take precedence…"
Unfortunately, China has ignored the international human rights laws and their public pledges, and continued to repatriate NK refugees. NK refugees who face persecution if repatriated have a right to seek asylum in China. We beseech Chinese authorities not to repatriate the helpless refugees, and hereby submit our declaration to the peace-loving, law-abiding Chinese people.
NIGERIA CHOSEN TO HOST 2008 GENOCIDES
At a celebratory press conference Monday, President Olusegun Obasanjo announced that Nigeria's troubled but oil-rich city of Warri has been chosen to host the 2008 Genocides.
"Nigeria is excited for this chance to follow in the footsteps of Somalia, Rwanda, and Sudan," Obasanjo said. "Much work remains to be done, but all of the building blocks are in place. Nigeria has many contentious ethnic groups, a volatile economy, and a dependence on food imports. We are well on our way to making 2008 a genocidal year to remember in Nigeria!"
Hahaha... from The Onion. So on the money. Kofi Annan should just leave... the earth.
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At a celebratory press conference Monday, President Olusegun Obasanjo announced that Nigeria's troubled but oil-rich city of Warri has been chosen to host the 2008 Genocides.
"Nigeria is excited for this chance to follow in the footsteps of Somalia, Rwanda, and Sudan," Obasanjo said. "Much work remains to be done, but all of the building blocks are in place. Nigeria has many contentious ethnic groups, a volatile economy, and a dependence on food imports. We are well on our way to making 2008 a genocidal year to remember in Nigeria!"
Hahaha... from The Onion. So on the money. Kofi Annan should just leave... the earth.
INDIAN EBAY HEAD ARRESTED OVER PORN SOLD ON SITE... SOUNDS LIKE KOREA
Something like this happened in Korea a few years back. I forgot which company, but the government held a CEO responsible for adult related content posted on the site.
The head of eBay's Indian affiliate, Baazee, has now been arrested because someone tried to sell a copy of the video on the site. The CEO, obviously, had nothing to do with the sale, but Indian officials decided that since he ran the site, and that "caused" the publishing of an obscene video. (full post)
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Something like this happened in Korea a few years back. I forgot which company, but the government held a CEO responsible for adult related content posted on the site.
The head of eBay's Indian affiliate, Baazee, has now been arrested because someone tried to sell a copy of the video on the site. The CEO, obviously, had nothing to do with the sale, but Indian officials decided that since he ran the site, and that "caused" the publishing of an obscene video. (full post)
BUSH BACKS RUMSFELD
After last week's bashing of Rumsfeld by conservative thought-leader and editor of the Weekly Standard, William Kristol, and other leaders, President affirms his support for Donald Rumsfeld.
Not sure about this one. Anyway, some more stuff on other Republican leaders rally for Rummy.
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After last week's bashing of Rumsfeld by conservative thought-leader and editor of the Weekly Standard, William Kristol, and other leaders, President affirms his support for Donald Rumsfeld.
Not sure about this one. Anyway, some more stuff on other Republican leaders rally for Rummy.
Monday, December 20, 2004
DAN GILLMOR LEAVES MERCURY NEWS TO START CITIZEN-JOURNALISM VENTURE
South Korea's OhmyNews is the Leader in Online Participatory Journalism
From Slashdot... "Tech journalist Dan Gillmor gives OhmyNews International his first interview since announcing that he will leave the San Jose Mercury News next month in order to start a citizen-journalism venture." This is old news for some that leading tech journalist and blogger, Dan Gillmor, is leaving old media to do a new media thing.
It's interesting and fitting that he decided to give his first interview to Korea's OhmyNews while at Harvard's 2004 Internet and Society Conference a couple weeks ago.
OhmyNews is a story in itself and an ideal study for the conference titled, "Politics.Com: Are 'Wired' Citizens Changing Politics?" Yeon Ho Oh, the founder, gave a keynote on a "Marriage of Democracy and Technology." Another online first for Korea and another thing to think about and study on how the growth of broadband will change our daily lives. Some excerpts from the article and check out the rest:
OhmyNews is widely credited with rallying young Korean voters in the final days of the 2002 presidential election, aiding then-underdog liberal candidate Roh Moo Hyun to get elected with its nonstop reporting of a last minute crisis in which Roh's election partner, Chung Mong Joon, suddenly withdrew his support.
"OhmyNews reported Mr. Chung's withdrawal and updated the story of netizens' reactions every 30 minutes, all night long. The number of hits for that main breaking story was 720,000 in just 10 hours. Thanks to the nonstop reporting through the night, OhmyNews was the epicenter of reform-minded netizens," Oh said. Roh is known as "the world's first Internet president."
To the question of why Korea was the first to embrace online participatory journalism to stimulate radical political changes in the country, Oh prefaced his explanation by saying that the "revolution" did not come easily.
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South Korea's OhmyNews is the Leader in Online Participatory Journalism
From Slashdot... "Tech journalist Dan Gillmor gives OhmyNews International his first interview since announcing that he will leave the San Jose Mercury News next month in order to start a citizen-journalism venture." This is old news for some that leading tech journalist and blogger, Dan Gillmor, is leaving old media to do a new media thing.
It's interesting and fitting that he decided to give his first interview to Korea's OhmyNews while at Harvard's 2004 Internet and Society Conference a couple weeks ago.
OhmyNews is a story in itself and an ideal study for the conference titled, "Politics.Com: Are 'Wired' Citizens Changing Politics?" Yeon Ho Oh, the founder, gave a keynote on a "Marriage of Democracy and Technology." Another online first for Korea and another thing to think about and study on how the growth of broadband will change our daily lives. Some excerpts from the article and check out the rest:
OhmyNews is widely credited with rallying young Korean voters in the final days of the 2002 presidential election, aiding then-underdog liberal candidate Roh Moo Hyun to get elected with its nonstop reporting of a last minute crisis in which Roh's election partner, Chung Mong Joon, suddenly withdrew his support.
"OhmyNews reported Mr. Chung's withdrawal and updated the story of netizens' reactions every 30 minutes, all night long. The number of hits for that main breaking story was 720,000 in just 10 hours. Thanks to the nonstop reporting through the night, OhmyNews was the epicenter of reform-minded netizens," Oh said. Roh is known as "the world's first Internet president."
To the question of why Korea was the first to embrace online participatory journalism to stimulate radical political changes in the country, Oh prefaced his explanation by saying that the "revolution" did not come easily.
Friday, December 17, 2004
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THE POLITICS OF HOMOSEXUALITY
Good post and interesting discussion led by David Velleman at Left2Right. Also Left2Right is a new group blog started by various professors of philosophy, law, and other fields. They are subtitled "How can the Left get through to the Right?" Check it out. Yo, Max! Might be a good place for you, but you might be too far left for them.
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Good post and interesting discussion led by David Velleman at Left2Right. Also Left2Right is a new group blog started by various professors of philosophy, law, and other fields. They are subtitled "How can the Left get through to the Right?" Check it out. Yo, Max! Might be a good place for you, but you might be too far left for them.
THE ROLLERCOASTER RIDE OF THE VIDEO RENTAL INDUSTRY
Interesting news from Techdirt, "Blockbuster Feels The Netflix Heat -- Ditches Late Fees." So should I go with my first post about Netflix from February 2004 or my latter one from November 2004?
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Interesting news from Techdirt, "Blockbuster Feels The Netflix Heat -- Ditches Late Fees." So should I go with my first post about Netflix from February 2004 or my latter one from November 2004?
Thursday, December 16, 2004
ROH ADMINISTRATION RESPONDS TO NICHOLAS EBERSTADT
HatTip to Mingi. A few weeks ago AEI's Nicholas Eberstadt wrote a piece called, "Tear Down This Tyranny."
Soo-Dong O, from the South Korean Embassy, responds:
SUGGESTIONS ON HOW to negotiate with North Korea are most persuasive when they incorporate practical experience and objective analysis of all relevant factors. Nicholas Eberstadt's "Tear Down This Tyranny" (Nov. 29) reflects too much reliance on unproven theory and not enough consideration of practical experience. In a word, it is impractical.
To resolve the North Korean nuclear issue, Eberstadt implicitly recommends a more confrontational U.S. policy approach that is not likely to bear fruit. North Korea has never succumbed to external pressure over the past 50 years, despite the wishes of foreign ideologues. Conversely, pressure tactics have strengthened the regime.
With respect to the six recommendations that Eberstadt makes, I will limit my comments to points four and five. The fourth recommendation that Washington "[work] around the pro-appeasement crowd in the South Korean government" offends on multiple levels. Calling on the U.S. government to intervene in South Korean domestic politics is inappropriate, to say the least, while the article's contempt for South Korean democracy is breathtaking. Confusing "appeasement" with thoughtful diplomacy is irresponsible. Ignoring the South Korean experience in negotiating with North Korea is not wise. We South Koreans fully recognize the difficulties of negotiating with Pyongyang, having conducted more such negotiations than any other nation. Aware of what approaches are likely to generate agreeable or counterproductive responses from North Koreans, we have a different view on how to deal with North Korea.
Eberstadt's fifth recommendation-- "Readying the nondiplomatic instruments for North Korea threat reduction"--seems to imply that the United States should unilaterally implement military measures to end North Korea's nuclear program. Such a recommendation ignores the consequences on U.S. allies in the region and other states as well as the subsequent implications for U.S. influence in the region. If the author is advocating war, can he wonder why North Korea would seek to improve its defense capabilities?
Peaceful resolution of the North Korean nuclear issue in a way that strengthens the ROK-U.S. alliance and preserves U.S. influence in the region will solidify President Bush's legacy far more effectively than will the suggestions outlined in the article. South Koreans and the government of President Roh Moo-hyun stand firmly with the United States in crafting policies to achieve these important objectives.
Mingi has some additional comments at his blog and I love this graphic he had of Kim Jong-Il and South Korea's former President Kim Dae Jung. So true, but would be more appropriate with DJ Kim's whipping boy... South Korea's current President Roh Moo-Hyun.
UPDATE: "S Korea's Roh cautions US hawks" (BBC News)
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HatTip to Mingi. A few weeks ago AEI's Nicholas Eberstadt wrote a piece called, "Tear Down This Tyranny."
Soo-Dong O, from the South Korean Embassy, responds:
SUGGESTIONS ON HOW to negotiate with North Korea are most persuasive when they incorporate practical experience and objective analysis of all relevant factors. Nicholas Eberstadt's "Tear Down This Tyranny" (Nov. 29) reflects too much reliance on unproven theory and not enough consideration of practical experience. In a word, it is impractical.
To resolve the North Korean nuclear issue, Eberstadt implicitly recommends a more confrontational U.S. policy approach that is not likely to bear fruit. North Korea has never succumbed to external pressure over the past 50 years, despite the wishes of foreign ideologues. Conversely, pressure tactics have strengthened the regime.
With respect to the six recommendations that Eberstadt makes, I will limit my comments to points four and five. The fourth recommendation that Washington "[work] around the pro-appeasement crowd in the South Korean government" offends on multiple levels. Calling on the U.S. government to intervene in South Korean domestic politics is inappropriate, to say the least, while the article's contempt for South Korean democracy is breathtaking. Confusing "appeasement" with thoughtful diplomacy is irresponsible. Ignoring the South Korean experience in negotiating with North Korea is not wise. We South Koreans fully recognize the difficulties of negotiating with Pyongyang, having conducted more such negotiations than any other nation. Aware of what approaches are likely to generate agreeable or counterproductive responses from North Koreans, we have a different view on how to deal with North Korea.
Eberstadt's fifth recommendation-- "Readying the nondiplomatic instruments for North Korea threat reduction"--seems to imply that the United States should unilaterally implement military measures to end North Korea's nuclear program. Such a recommendation ignores the consequences on U.S. allies in the region and other states as well as the subsequent implications for U.S. influence in the region. If the author is advocating war, can he wonder why North Korea would seek to improve its defense capabilities?
Peaceful resolution of the North Korean nuclear issue in a way that strengthens the ROK-U.S. alliance and preserves U.S. influence in the region will solidify President Bush's legacy far more effectively than will the suggestions outlined in the article. South Koreans and the government of President Roh Moo-hyun stand firmly with the United States in crafting policies to achieve these important objectives.
Mingi has some additional comments at his blog and I love this graphic he had of Kim Jong-Il and South Korea's former President Kim Dae Jung. So true, but would be more appropriate with DJ Kim's whipping boy... South Korea's current President Roh Moo-Hyun.
UPDATE: "S Korea's Roh cautions US hawks" (BBC News)
"WHAT'S NEXT FOR GOOGLE"
A great article by Charles Ferguson, co-founder of Vermeer Technologies (Microsoft's Frontpage), at MIT's Technology Review:
At breakfast, and repeatedly over the following months, I tried to persuade Barksdale to take Microsoft seriously. I argued that if it was to survive, Netscape needed to imitate Microsoft’s strategy: the creation and control of proprietary industry standards. Serenely, Barksdale explained that Netscape actually invited Microsoft to imitate its products, because they would never catch up. The Internet, he said, rewarded openness and nonproprietary standards. When I heard that, I realized that despite my reservations about the monopolist in Redmond, WA, I had little choice. Four months later, I sold my company to Microsoft for $130 million in Microsoft stock*. Four years later, Netscape was effectively dead, while Microsoft’s stock had quadrupled.
Google now faces choices as fundamental as those Netscape faced in 1995. Google, whose headquarters in Mountain View, CA—familiarly called the Googleplex—is only five kilometers from Netscape’s former home, needn’t perish as Netscape did, but it could. Despite everything Google has—the swelling revenues, the cash from its initial public offering, the 300 million users, the brand recognition, the superbly elegant engineering—its position is in fact quite fragile. Google’s site is still the best Web search service, and Gmail, its new Web-based e-mail service, Google Desktop, its desktop search tool, and Google Deskbar, its toolbar, are very cool. But that’s all they are. As yet, nothing prevents the world from switching (painlessly, instantly) to Microsoft search services and software, particularly if they are integrated with the Microsoft products that people already use."
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A great article by Charles Ferguson, co-founder of Vermeer Technologies (Microsoft's Frontpage), at MIT's Technology Review:
At breakfast, and repeatedly over the following months, I tried to persuade Barksdale to take Microsoft seriously. I argued that if it was to survive, Netscape needed to imitate Microsoft’s strategy: the creation and control of proprietary industry standards. Serenely, Barksdale explained that Netscape actually invited Microsoft to imitate its products, because they would never catch up. The Internet, he said, rewarded openness and nonproprietary standards. When I heard that, I realized that despite my reservations about the monopolist in Redmond, WA, I had little choice. Four months later, I sold my company to Microsoft for $130 million in Microsoft stock*. Four years later, Netscape was effectively dead, while Microsoft’s stock had quadrupled.
Google now faces choices as fundamental as those Netscape faced in 1995. Google, whose headquarters in Mountain View, CA—familiarly called the Googleplex—is only five kilometers from Netscape’s former home, needn’t perish as Netscape did, but it could. Despite everything Google has—the swelling revenues, the cash from its initial public offering, the 300 million users, the brand recognition, the superbly elegant engineering—its position is in fact quite fragile. Google’s site is still the best Web search service, and Gmail, its new Web-based e-mail service, Google Desktop, its desktop search tool, and Google Deskbar, its toolbar, are very cool. But that’s all they are. As yet, nothing prevents the world from switching (painlessly, instantly) to Microsoft search services and software, particularly if they are integrated with the Microsoft products that people already use."
GETTING MILEAGE ON MY OP-ED... ORKUT MEDIA
Comment on Social Networks... My New Job
Forgot to post that my op-ed from The Boston Globe, "A lesson for the liberal elite," is up in it's original form at Orkut's Media section. Around the same time I wrote my piece, Orkut, which is Google's social network, sent out a notice on their new "media" section that presents weekly columns, an "Image Cafe", and a member submission section.
After I received notice that The Boston Globe was going to take my op-ed, I submitted my commentary to Orkut Media's editor and a couple weeks later I heard from them. If it were another newspaper, I wouldn't have submitted it since that is the typical procedure. I wanted to get some mileage since The Boston Globe has its regional base, and I thought more people should hear another Christian perspective in the whole political discussion of "red staters" and "blue staters"... "religious right" and "liberal elite." For those that haven't read it already, here it is on Orkut Media.
It's interesting to note what Google is doing with Orkut by adding this media section. Maybe it's just a social experiment that Google is letting their staff have fun with and letting it flow. I tend to think there is some strategic element involved. They are going the way many social networks should go, such as Friendster and MySpace, towards integrating content into their sites. Friendster has now become a glorified "yellowpages" and no real stickiness. MySpace is hot right now, but how long is this going to last? With content that is fresh and interesting, there is a reason to come back to a site and reason to meet other people. Let see what happens to social networks in 2005.
Lastly, I took this hobby of my a little further and accepted a part-time columnist position with AlwaysOn, a tech community blog. I posted links to the site before, but those of you that don't know it's great site if you're interested in technology, its recent trends, and mumbling in the global tech community. Many tech executives read and post on the blog, and they have great interviews that many journals don't carry, such as with Larry Ellison, Michael Powell, and Eric Schmidt. Anyways, my column will start in January 2005 and will run a couple times a month, so check it out if you want.
Also if you want to have an invite to Orkut, just email me at bernardbmoon@yahoo.com. I'm not active in it, but if you never checked it out and are interested let me know.
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Comment on Social Networks... My New Job
Forgot to post that my op-ed from The Boston Globe, "A lesson for the liberal elite," is up in it's original form at Orkut's Media section. Around the same time I wrote my piece, Orkut, which is Google's social network, sent out a notice on their new "media" section that presents weekly columns, an "Image Cafe", and a member submission section.
After I received notice that The Boston Globe was going to take my op-ed, I submitted my commentary to Orkut Media's editor and a couple weeks later I heard from them. If it were another newspaper, I wouldn't have submitted it since that is the typical procedure. I wanted to get some mileage since The Boston Globe has its regional base, and I thought more people should hear another Christian perspective in the whole political discussion of "red staters" and "blue staters"... "religious right" and "liberal elite." For those that haven't read it already, here it is on Orkut Media.
It's interesting to note what Google is doing with Orkut by adding this media section. Maybe it's just a social experiment that Google is letting their staff have fun with and letting it flow. I tend to think there is some strategic element involved. They are going the way many social networks should go, such as Friendster and MySpace, towards integrating content into their sites. Friendster has now become a glorified "yellowpages" and no real stickiness. MySpace is hot right now, but how long is this going to last? With content that is fresh and interesting, there is a reason to come back to a site and reason to meet other people. Let see what happens to social networks in 2005.
Lastly, I took this hobby of my a little further and accepted a part-time columnist position with AlwaysOn, a tech community blog. I posted links to the site before, but those of you that don't know it's great site if you're interested in technology, its recent trends, and mumbling in the global tech community. Many tech executives read and post on the blog, and they have great interviews that many journals don't carry, such as with Larry Ellison, Michael Powell, and Eric Schmidt. Anyways, my column will start in January 2005 and will run a couple times a month, so check it out if you want.
Also if you want to have an invite to Orkut, just email me at bernardbmoon@yahoo.com. I'm not active in it, but if you never checked it out and are interested let me know.
Wednesday, December 15, 2004
LIGHTEN UP TIVO... FOCUS ON THE REAL PROBLEMS AT HAND
As I wrote before, when I first saw TiVo at a trade show back in 1999 I didn't think it would last. My colleague, Peter, and I knew that the major set-top box manufacturers all had plans to have harddrives with recording functionality, so we thought it was only a matter of time since the barrier was low for all major electronics players. I will say TiVo did a great job of initiating this market DVR along with Replay, but I really do wonder how long it will last. "A company in crisis unleashes the grammar police":
The story about the TiVo grammar crackdown (which was reported yesterday both in the New York Times and on CNN) is a bit of a non-starter as far as news is concerned. The company's Web site has long included a legal page specifying that the word "TiVo" is to be used only in its adjectival sense: not "don't forget to TiVo Letterman!" but "do not forget to record The Late Show With David Letterman on the TiVo® DVR."
UPDATE: From Techdirt, "DirecTV Prepares TiVo Killer That Might Actually Kill TiVo."
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As I wrote before, when I first saw TiVo at a trade show back in 1999 I didn't think it would last. My colleague, Peter, and I knew that the major set-top box manufacturers all had plans to have harddrives with recording functionality, so we thought it was only a matter of time since the barrier was low for all major electronics players. I will say TiVo did a great job of initiating this market DVR along with Replay, but I really do wonder how long it will last. "A company in crisis unleashes the grammar police":
The story about the TiVo grammar crackdown (which was reported yesterday both in the New York Times and on CNN) is a bit of a non-starter as far as news is concerned. The company's Web site has long included a legal page specifying that the word "TiVo" is to be used only in its adjectival sense: not "don't forget to TiVo Letterman!" but "do not forget to record The Late Show With David Letterman on the TiVo® DVR."
UPDATE: From Techdirt, "DirecTV Prepares TiVo Killer That Might Actually Kill TiVo."
HISTORY LESSON FOR CUPERTINO UNION SCHOOL DISTRICT
Great commentary by William Becker at The American Thinker. If you haven't heard about it, this response is to the events from a couple weeks ago in Cupertino, CA:
A California teacher has been barred by his school from giving students documents from American history that refer to God – including the Declaration of Independence.
Steven Williams, a fifth-grade teacher at Stevens Creek School in the San Francisco Bay area suburb of Cupertino, sued for discrimination Monday, claiming he had been singled out for censorship by principal Patricia Vidmar because he is a Christian.
.....
Among the materials she has rejected, according to Williams, are excerpts from the Declaration of Independence, George Washington's journal, John Adams' diary, Samuel Adams' "The Rights of the Colonists" and William Penn's "The Frame of Government of Pennsylvania."
"He hands out a lot of material and perhaps 5 to 10 percent refers to God and Christianity because that's what the founders wrote," said Thompson, a lawyer for the Alliance Defense Fund, which advocates for religious freedom. "The principal seems to be systematically censoring material that refers to Christianity and it is pure discrimination."
Comical if you ask me. Patricia Vidmar must be driven by some personal hate towards Christians or just Steven Williams to ban the Declaration of Independence and those other pieces of our nation's history. Maybe she also lacks some love for our nation and is an ungrateful citizen... probably very left of center too. Okay, cheapshot... but probably true.:)
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Great commentary by William Becker at The American Thinker. If you haven't heard about it, this response is to the events from a couple weeks ago in Cupertino, CA:
A California teacher has been barred by his school from giving students documents from American history that refer to God – including the Declaration of Independence.
Steven Williams, a fifth-grade teacher at Stevens Creek School in the San Francisco Bay area suburb of Cupertino, sued for discrimination Monday, claiming he had been singled out for censorship by principal Patricia Vidmar because he is a Christian.
.....
Among the materials she has rejected, according to Williams, are excerpts from the Declaration of Independence, George Washington's journal, John Adams' diary, Samuel Adams' "The Rights of the Colonists" and William Penn's "The Frame of Government of Pennsylvania."
"He hands out a lot of material and perhaps 5 to 10 percent refers to God and Christianity because that's what the founders wrote," said Thompson, a lawyer for the Alliance Defense Fund, which advocates for religious freedom. "The principal seems to be systematically censoring material that refers to Christianity and it is pure discrimination."
Comical if you ask me. Patricia Vidmar must be driven by some personal hate towards Christians or just Steven Williams to ban the Declaration of Independence and those other pieces of our nation's history. Maybe she also lacks some love for our nation and is an ungrateful citizen... probably very left of center too. Okay, cheapshot... but probably true.:)
ME-TV... FEEDREADER FOR VIDEO
HatTip to Marc Canter. Check it out here.
More info from Wired News, "Video Feeds Follow Podcasting."
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HatTip to Marc Canter. Check it out here.
More info from Wired News, "Video Feeds Follow Podcasting."
Tuesday, December 14, 2004
THE POWER OF THE LONG TAIL
Last Friday, I was sitting in a meeting with my new "boss" and listening to the pitch of an early-stage company. The executive was talking about the "long tail" of markets and went into some history. Ebay was an obvious winner in capturing the "long tail" of the consumer market, and so were Yahoo! and Google in the search industry. I forgot the details of when and where, but 97% of Yahoo!'s searches were single entries within a given period. In books, Barnes&Noble and Amazon gathered similar amounts of revenue for their top 130,000 books, but Amazon learned to capture the "long tail" of the market. Amazon offers 2.3 million books (couldn't find the exact number, but that's what i heard) and 57% of these are ordered less than 12 times a year. I'll write about the rest of the meeting some other day, but this was just a good reminder on how far we've come and how much the Internet has impacted our businesses, our purchasing patterns, and our lives.
Over the weekend, I started to think about my first startup, ViewPlus, which was a multi-cast video-on-demand (VOD) system. A one-to-many service that was based on the video rental industry's perspective that the top twenty rentals during a given week generate 80% of its revenues. Imagine if there was enough bandwidth, along with a cost-effective system, to have a trueVOD service (i.e. pointcast stream with full VCR capability) that captured the "long tail" of the movie rental market? Unlimited movie inventory. Awesome. "Top Secret!" and "Strange Brew" would be back on my "shelf" since a few years ago my hometown Blockbuster took it off theirs.
I began to think about what other markets the Internet and bandwidth growth would changes (yes, it's rehashing the same thoughts from eight years ago, six years ago, four years ago, etc.). Also how the 80/20 rule is becoming obsolete. I remember working with a couple former McKinsey consultants during my second startup who used the 80/20 rule as a general guideline and tool for analyzing markets... 80% of a market is driven by the top 20%. Not any more.
As I thought about this some more, I was thinking I was going to write an original piece on how the "long tail" effect of the Internet and our world becoming more digital has changed the traditional approach to developing businesses and the analysis of markets. Yesterday, I clicked on "The United Paper Shuffle" at AlwaysOn to check out the excerpts from Andy Kessler's new book and I scrolled down to find "Bye Bye 80-20." Nice. Not exactly the same application of the 80/20 rule, but none the less some air was let out of my ballon. Still determined to write something, a few hours ago I Googled "long tail market" and it led me to WIRED's Chris Anderson's piece about "The Long Tail." October 2004? Crap. Reference to the 80/20 rule? Crap. Great article.
I guess I'm slow to market. For every idea, there are at least ten people with the same idea, so it's all about speed and execution. Now with the blogosphere, it's the same for writing and I'm way behind on this one. Well, at least there are some good links for you guys to enjoy:
To see how, meet Robbie Vann-Adibé, the CEO of Ecast, a digital jukebox company whose barroom players offer more than 150,000 tracks - and some surprising usage statistics. He hints at them with a question that visitors invariably get wrong: "What percentage of the top 10,000 titles in any online media store (Netflix, iTunes, Amazon, or any other) will rent or sell at least once a month?"
Most people guess 20 percent, and for good reason: We've been trained to think that way. The 80-20 rule, also known as Pareto's principle (after Vilfredo Pareto, an Italian economist who devised the concept in 1906), is all around us. Only 20 percent of major studio films will be hits. Same for TV shows, games, and mass-market books - 20 percent all. The odds are even worse for major-label CDs, where fewer than 10 percent are profitable, according to the Recording Industry Association of America.
But the right answer, says Vann-Adibé, is 99 percent. There is demand for nearly every one of those top 10,000 tracks. He sees it in his own jukebox statistics; each month, thousands of people put in their dollars for songs that no traditional jukebox anywhere has ever carried.
.....
To get a sense of our true taste, unfiltered by the economics of scarcity, look at Rhapsody, a subscription-based streaming music service (owned by RealNetworks) that currently offers more than 735,000 tracks.
Chart Rhapsody's monthly statistics and you get a "power law" demand curve that looks much like any record store's, with huge appeal for the top tracks, tailing off quickly for less popular ones. But a really interesting thing happens once you dig below the top 40,000 tracks, which is about the amount of the fluid inventory (the albums carried that will eventually be sold) of the average real-world record store. Here, the Wal-Marts of the world go to zero - either they don't carry any more CDs, or the few potential local takers for such fringy fare never find it or never even enter the store.
The Rhapsody demand, however, keeps going. Not only is every one of Rhapsody's top 100,000 tracks streamed at least once each month, the same is true for its top 200,000, top 300,000, and top 400,000. As fast as Rhapsody adds tracks to its library, those songs find an audience, even if it's just a few people a month, somewhere in the country.
This is the Long Tail.
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Last Friday, I was sitting in a meeting with my new "boss" and listening to the pitch of an early-stage company. The executive was talking about the "long tail" of markets and went into some history. Ebay was an obvious winner in capturing the "long tail" of the consumer market, and so were Yahoo! and Google in the search industry. I forgot the details of when and where, but 97% of Yahoo!'s searches were single entries within a given period. In books, Barnes&Noble and Amazon gathered similar amounts of revenue for their top 130,000 books, but Amazon learned to capture the "long tail" of the market. Amazon offers 2.3 million books (couldn't find the exact number, but that's what i heard) and 57% of these are ordered less than 12 times a year. I'll write about the rest of the meeting some other day, but this was just a good reminder on how far we've come and how much the Internet has impacted our businesses, our purchasing patterns, and our lives.
Over the weekend, I started to think about my first startup, ViewPlus, which was a multi-cast video-on-demand (VOD) system. A one-to-many service that was based on the video rental industry's perspective that the top twenty rentals during a given week generate 80% of its revenues. Imagine if there was enough bandwidth, along with a cost-effective system, to have a trueVOD service (i.e. pointcast stream with full VCR capability) that captured the "long tail" of the movie rental market? Unlimited movie inventory. Awesome. "Top Secret!" and "Strange Brew" would be back on my "shelf" since a few years ago my hometown Blockbuster took it off theirs.
I began to think about what other markets the Internet and bandwidth growth would changes (yes, it's rehashing the same thoughts from eight years ago, six years ago, four years ago, etc.). Also how the 80/20 rule is becoming obsolete. I remember working with a couple former McKinsey consultants during my second startup who used the 80/20 rule as a general guideline and tool for analyzing markets... 80% of a market is driven by the top 20%. Not any more.
As I thought about this some more, I was thinking I was going to write an original piece on how the "long tail" effect of the Internet and our world becoming more digital has changed the traditional approach to developing businesses and the analysis of markets. Yesterday, I clicked on "The United Paper Shuffle" at AlwaysOn to check out the excerpts from Andy Kessler's new book and I scrolled down to find "Bye Bye 80-20." Nice. Not exactly the same application of the 80/20 rule, but none the less some air was let out of my ballon. Still determined to write something, a few hours ago I Googled "long tail market" and it led me to WIRED's Chris Anderson's piece about "The Long Tail." October 2004? Crap. Reference to the 80/20 rule? Crap. Great article.
I guess I'm slow to market. For every idea, there are at least ten people with the same idea, so it's all about speed and execution. Now with the blogosphere, it's the same for writing and I'm way behind on this one. Well, at least there are some good links for you guys to enjoy:
To see how, meet Robbie Vann-Adibé, the CEO of Ecast, a digital jukebox company whose barroom players offer more than 150,000 tracks - and some surprising usage statistics. He hints at them with a question that visitors invariably get wrong: "What percentage of the top 10,000 titles in any online media store (Netflix, iTunes, Amazon, or any other) will rent or sell at least once a month?"
Most people guess 20 percent, and for good reason: We've been trained to think that way. The 80-20 rule, also known as Pareto's principle (after Vilfredo Pareto, an Italian economist who devised the concept in 1906), is all around us. Only 20 percent of major studio films will be hits. Same for TV shows, games, and mass-market books - 20 percent all. The odds are even worse for major-label CDs, where fewer than 10 percent are profitable, according to the Recording Industry Association of America.
But the right answer, says Vann-Adibé, is 99 percent. There is demand for nearly every one of those top 10,000 tracks. He sees it in his own jukebox statistics; each month, thousands of people put in their dollars for songs that no traditional jukebox anywhere has ever carried.
.....
To get a sense of our true taste, unfiltered by the economics of scarcity, look at Rhapsody, a subscription-based streaming music service (owned by RealNetworks) that currently offers more than 735,000 tracks.
Chart Rhapsody's monthly statistics and you get a "power law" demand curve that looks much like any record store's, with huge appeal for the top tracks, tailing off quickly for less popular ones. But a really interesting thing happens once you dig below the top 40,000 tracks, which is about the amount of the fluid inventory (the albums carried that will eventually be sold) of the average real-world record store. Here, the Wal-Marts of the world go to zero - either they don't carry any more CDs, or the few potential local takers for such fringy fare never find it or never even enter the store.
The Rhapsody demand, however, keeps going. Not only is every one of Rhapsody's top 100,000 tracks streamed at least once each month, the same is true for its top 200,000, top 300,000, and top 400,000. As fast as Rhapsody adds tracks to its library, those songs find an audience, even if it's just a few people a month, somewhere in the country.
This is the Long Tail.
THE DECLINE OF NEWSPAPERS
Good article from Adam Penenberg at Wired News (separate but related graphic i found below):
Publishers of newspapers and magazines like to corral readers when they're young. If you can shape kids' info-seeking habits when they're in their teens or twenties, so the thinking goes, you'll nab them for life.
Because brand loyalty isn't just about offering the best product for the best price, as it is with, say, minivans or socket wrenches. It's also about image: Are you a New York Times guy or a Washington Post aficionado? Do you read The Wall Street Journal, The Economist or Fortune? Do you subscribe to Newsweek or Time? Is Wired more than the way you feel after a double espresso at Starbucks? Your choice says a lot about you.
From the perspective of publishers, the 18- to 34-year-old demographic is highly prized by advertisers -- the people who make writing, editing and working at a newspaper or magazine a vocation, not just an avocation (like it is for most bloggers.) But there is trouble afoot. The seeds have been planted for a tremendous upheaval in the material world of publishing.
Young people just aren't interested in reading newspapers and print magazines. In fact, according to Washington City Paper, The Washington Post organized a series of six focus groups in September to determine why the paper was having so much trouble attracting younger readers. You see, daily circulation, which had been holding firm at 770,000 subscribers for the last few years, fell more than 6 percent to about 720,100 by June 2004, with the paper losing 4,000 paying subscribers every month.
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Good article from Adam Penenberg at Wired News (separate but related graphic i found below):
Publishers of newspapers and magazines like to corral readers when they're young. If you can shape kids' info-seeking habits when they're in their teens or twenties, so the thinking goes, you'll nab them for life.
Because brand loyalty isn't just about offering the best product for the best price, as it is with, say, minivans or socket wrenches. It's also about image: Are you a New York Times guy or a Washington Post aficionado? Do you read The Wall Street Journal, The Economist or Fortune? Do you subscribe to Newsweek or Time? Is Wired more than the way you feel after a double espresso at Starbucks? Your choice says a lot about you.
From the perspective of publishers, the 18- to 34-year-old demographic is highly prized by advertisers -- the people who make writing, editing and working at a newspaper or magazine a vocation, not just an avocation (like it is for most bloggers.) But there is trouble afoot. The seeds have been planted for a tremendous upheaval in the material world of publishing.
Young people just aren't interested in reading newspapers and print magazines. In fact, according to Washington City Paper, The Washington Post organized a series of six focus groups in September to determine why the paper was having so much trouble attracting younger readers. You see, daily circulation, which had been holding firm at 770,000 subscribers for the last few years, fell more than 6 percent to about 720,100 by June 2004, with the paper losing 4,000 paying subscribers every month.
REVIEW OF ORACLE'S ACQUISITION OF PEOPLESOFT
Good series at News.com. If you're interested in this $10 billion purchase, check it out.
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Good series at News.com. If you're interested in this $10 billion purchase, check it out.
THE CLINTON LESSON... SEX AND POLITICS LEADS TO TROUBLE
Or just lots of favors. Slate's Mickey Kaus writes:
Even if the latest allegations about Marc Rich--that he helped broker Saddam's oil-for-food deals--prove accurate, that won't be the main reason Clinton's pardon of the fugitive financier was scandalous. Saddam could presumably always get someone to broker his lucrative schemes--if not Rich, then another high-level operater. The Marc Rich pardon was scandalous mainly because it taught a generation of young Americans that you could buy your way out of punishment. ... But buy with what? ... Here's an instance where the convenient case for public figure privacy in matters of sex--made most conveniently by Clinton himself, but also by Jeffrey Toobin,*** Andrew Sullivan, etc.--completely breaks down. It turns out to be fairly important whether Clinton was or wasn't not having sexual relations with Denise Rich, Marc's glamorous ex-wife, who lobbied for the pardon. It's hard to explain Clinton's gross error any other way. (Lord knows I've tried!) ... Someday some historian will focus on this interpersonal causal chain and win a National Book Award for his provocative thesis--as Philip Weiss memorably put it, "Follow the nookie." But if reporters had been more irresponsible in reporting on Clinton's personal life--and less cowed by the Stephanopouloses and Carvilles--actual voters would have had this highly relevant information in real time when they made their decision in 1992. ... P.S.: Do Democrats really want to elect the woman who let all this happen under her nose? Just asking! ... (full post)
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Or just lots of favors. Slate's Mickey Kaus writes:
Even if the latest allegations about Marc Rich--that he helped broker Saddam's oil-for-food deals--prove accurate, that won't be the main reason Clinton's pardon of the fugitive financier was scandalous. Saddam could presumably always get someone to broker his lucrative schemes--if not Rich, then another high-level operater. The Marc Rich pardon was scandalous mainly because it taught a generation of young Americans that you could buy your way out of punishment. ... But buy with what? ... Here's an instance where the convenient case for public figure privacy in matters of sex--made most conveniently by Clinton himself, but also by Jeffrey Toobin,*** Andrew Sullivan, etc.--completely breaks down. It turns out to be fairly important whether Clinton was or wasn't not having sexual relations with Denise Rich, Marc's glamorous ex-wife, who lobbied for the pardon. It's hard to explain Clinton's gross error any other way. (Lord knows I've tried!) ... Someday some historian will focus on this interpersonal causal chain and win a National Book Award for his provocative thesis--as Philip Weiss memorably put it, "Follow the nookie." But if reporters had been more irresponsible in reporting on Clinton's personal life--and less cowed by the Stephanopouloses and Carvilles--actual voters would have had this highly relevant information in real time when they made their decision in 1992. ... P.S.: Do Democrats really want to elect the woman who let all this happen under her nose? Just asking! ... (full post)
AOL SLIMS TO GROW?... WHATEVER
AOL doesn't get it. As I wrote a while back, their broadband strategy and executives leading the company reflect their lack of knowledge on who they are servicing... technology neophytes or high-speed pipe huggers? The latter is the obvious choice if you want to be a "broadband" company.
Fat-trimming has helped ailing America Online set a course to recovery--but questions persist about whether that will be enough for the Internet veteran to reclaim its former glory.
Early next week, AOL is expected to undergo another painful round of layoffs, ranging north of 700 workers, according to sources familiar with the plans. Most of these layoffs will hit AOL's 5,000-employee Dulles, Va., headquarters, with operations such as broadband, technology development and marketing hit particularly hard, other sources close to the company said.
Analysts said the tough medicine will further boost AOL's operating income, which has soared even as millions of subscribers turn their backs on the company's dial-up service in favor of faster broadband connections. Customers are taking their money to cable and DSL providers at the expense of the dial-up giant. AOL executives have been looking at ways to deal with a shift that shows no sign of stopping. (full article)
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AOL doesn't get it. As I wrote a while back, their broadband strategy and executives leading the company reflect their lack of knowledge on who they are servicing... technology neophytes or high-speed pipe huggers? The latter is the obvious choice if you want to be a "broadband" company.
Fat-trimming has helped ailing America Online set a course to recovery--but questions persist about whether that will be enough for the Internet veteran to reclaim its former glory.
Early next week, AOL is expected to undergo another painful round of layoffs, ranging north of 700 workers, according to sources familiar with the plans. Most of these layoffs will hit AOL's 5,000-employee Dulles, Va., headquarters, with operations such as broadband, technology development and marketing hit particularly hard, other sources close to the company said.
Analysts said the tough medicine will further boost AOL's operating income, which has soared even as millions of subscribers turn their backs on the company's dial-up service in favor of faster broadband connections. Customers are taking their money to cable and DSL providers at the expense of the dial-up giant. AOL executives have been looking at ways to deal with a shift that shows no sign of stopping. (full article)
BRIEF COMMENTARY ON GOOGLE... ADDING LIBRARIES
John Furrier has a post and a couple links to some commentary on Google:
"what a joke to think that Larry and Sergey are the next Bill Gates. John, when Gates was younger, he was a constant evangelist, deal-maker, BOGUer. He'd do anything to win. Larry and Sergey are, by comparison, cloistered, insulated, aloof bordering on arrogant. I'm sure they're smart, but in an academic way, which isn't the same thing as being smart in a commercial way. All their second acts have been duds, they're still lookiing for another hit. Also, they pick the wrong battles to fight, ones that have no bearing on their success. And they're really shitty at building consensus behind a developer platform, something that Bill excelled at, in the old days, when he was trying."
Meanwhile, Google is adding major research libraries to their database (from NYTimes, registration required). More here without registration.
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John Furrier has a post and a couple links to some commentary on Google:
"what a joke to think that Larry and Sergey are the next Bill Gates. John, when Gates was younger, he was a constant evangelist, deal-maker, BOGUer. He'd do anything to win. Larry and Sergey are, by comparison, cloistered, insulated, aloof bordering on arrogant. I'm sure they're smart, but in an academic way, which isn't the same thing as being smart in a commercial way. All their second acts have been duds, they're still lookiing for another hit. Also, they pick the wrong battles to fight, ones that have no bearing on their success. And they're really shitty at building consensus behind a developer platform, something that Bill excelled at, in the old days, when he was trying."
Meanwhile, Google is adding major research libraries to their database (from NYTimes, registration required). More here without registration.
Monday, December 13, 2004
HOLLYWOOD MISUNDERSTANDING BITTORRENT
Good post on BitTorrent. I heard about BitTorrent last year from a friend, but never checked it out. He and other friends have said it's just FAST, so if you're into downloading movies and other large files check it out.
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Good post on BitTorrent. I heard about BitTorrent last year from a friend, but never checked it out. He and other friends have said it's just FAST, so if you're into downloading movies and other large files check it out.
BOOM! WOOOOOO! BOOM! WOOOOOO!... SEARCH BATTLE GOING ON
Microsoft shows off desktop search beta. IBM is working on becoming the Google of corporate networks. Good overview at News.com here.
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Microsoft shows off desktop search beta. IBM is working on becoming the Google of corporate networks. Good overview at News.com here.
Sunday, December 12, 2004
BLAST FROM THE PAST... HELLOASIA
I had a busy weekend with my fiancee, and my good friend, Sandor, was visiting SF for a wedding. Caught up with him on Saturday evening and we were hoping to get together for Sunday brunch, but my fiancee and I had too much to do. We both had work to do and some errands to run and we decided the time crunch would be too much.
Anyway, I just Googled "Sandor" and decided to post up this old article of him from Time. Brings back some old memories. We were both out in Korea doing startups, hangingout at his apartment playing FIFA soccer, watching our buddy Mike working it all the time, and playing basketball on Sundays. Now he's back at Goldman and living in NYC:
Never mind computers, there weren't even a lot of telephones in Sandor Hau's hometown when he was a boy. Hau grew up in Pennsylvania's Lancaster County, home to the austere Amish farming community that famously shuns modern technology. "Mine isn't a classic Silicon Valley pedigree," jokes Hau, 28, who speaks Korean, English, Japanese and the conversational German of the Amish dialect. "I think my family were the only Koreans in the county. Believe me, I know what it's like to stand out."
Now in Seoul at the helm of one of Asia's hottest Internet start-up companies, Hau is standing out big time in the region's rush to cash in on the cyberboom. Last October, he and his partners, Hans Tung of Taiwan and Fuzhou-born New Yorker Chih Cheung, launched Helloasia.com, an e-commerce and community portal. That was after they had secured $20 million, one of the most generous injections of "first round" funding received by an Internet company in Asia. "We had an idea," says Singapore-based Tung, "we put it down in a business plan and we went and sold the hell out of it around the world." (full article)
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I had a busy weekend with my fiancee, and my good friend, Sandor, was visiting SF for a wedding. Caught up with him on Saturday evening and we were hoping to get together for Sunday brunch, but my fiancee and I had too much to do. We both had work to do and some errands to run and we decided the time crunch would be too much.
Anyway, I just Googled "Sandor" and decided to post up this old article of him from Time. Brings back some old memories. We were both out in Korea doing startups, hangingout at his apartment playing FIFA soccer, watching our buddy Mike working it all the time, and playing basketball on Sundays. Now he's back at Goldman and living in NYC:
Never mind computers, there weren't even a lot of telephones in Sandor Hau's hometown when he was a boy. Hau grew up in Pennsylvania's Lancaster County, home to the austere Amish farming community that famously shuns modern technology. "Mine isn't a classic Silicon Valley pedigree," jokes Hau, 28, who speaks Korean, English, Japanese and the conversational German of the Amish dialect. "I think my family were the only Koreans in the county. Believe me, I know what it's like to stand out."
Now in Seoul at the helm of one of Asia's hottest Internet start-up companies, Hau is standing out big time in the region's rush to cash in on the cyberboom. Last October, he and his partners, Hans Tung of Taiwan and Fuzhou-born New Yorker Chih Cheung, launched Helloasia.com, an e-commerce and community portal. That was after they had secured $20 million, one of the most generous injections of "first round" funding received by an Internet company in Asia. "We had an idea," says Singapore-based Tung, "we put it down in a business plan and we went and sold the hell out of it around the world." (full article)
THEY CALL HIM FLICKR, FLICKR
Photo blog a hit. Check out Flickr.
Photo Site a Hit With Bloggers
WIRED NEWS
By Daniel Terdiman
December 9, 2004
When bombs went off in Jakarta, Indonesia, in September, CNN.com readers weren't the first to know. Instead, members of Flickr, an online photo service, were among the very earliest to see pictures of what had happened.
"There were photos on Flickr before even any news stories," said Caterina Fake, a Flickr co-founder. "Within the hour, three Flickr users who happened to be in Jakarta had uploaded photos."
Flickr is a new breed of photo site offered by Vancouver's Ludicorp. It takes the online posting capability offered by photo printing sites like Ofoto or Snapfish and adds a palette of features that make images easier to share. The site does not, at the moment, sell prints of users' photos.
Flickr offers users the ability to upload, store and organize digital photos, as well as to automatically post camera-phone shots to a blog. Further, users can comment on and add descriptions to others' photos, creating public or private topic-oriented groups. The site gives all members an equal opportunity to make use of each picture, no matter who the photographer is.
"It's like photo management plus social networking plus blog-friendly tools, which is a killer combo because things like Ofoto only do one part," said Matt Haughey, founder of MetaFilter, a blog that hosts discussions on emerging internet applications, among other topics. (full article)
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Photo blog a hit. Check out Flickr.
Photo Site a Hit With Bloggers
WIRED NEWS
By Daniel Terdiman
December 9, 2004
When bombs went off in Jakarta, Indonesia, in September, CNN.com readers weren't the first to know. Instead, members of Flickr, an online photo service, were among the very earliest to see pictures of what had happened.
"There were photos on Flickr before even any news stories," said Caterina Fake, a Flickr co-founder. "Within the hour, three Flickr users who happened to be in Jakarta had uploaded photos."
Flickr is a new breed of photo site offered by Vancouver's Ludicorp. It takes the online posting capability offered by photo printing sites like Ofoto or Snapfish and adds a palette of features that make images easier to share. The site does not, at the moment, sell prints of users' photos.
Flickr offers users the ability to upload, store and organize digital photos, as well as to automatically post camera-phone shots to a blog. Further, users can comment on and add descriptions to others' photos, creating public or private topic-oriented groups. The site gives all members an equal opportunity to make use of each picture, no matter who the photographer is.
"It's like photo management plus social networking plus blog-friendly tools, which is a killer combo because things like Ofoto only do one part," said Matt Haughey, founder of MetaFilter, a blog that hosts discussions on emerging internet applications, among other topics. (full article)
Friday, December 10, 2004
SOUTH KOREAN CONGRESSMAN'S DEFENSE OF NOT SPYING WEAKENS
HatTip to Mingi again. Messed up situation in South Korea. A member of the ruling party stands accused of being associated with a North Korean spy group. Rep. Lee Chul-woo's defense was stated as doubtful by the presiding judge. Is President Roh really the president of South Korea or leader of a North Korean spy-ring and a wrench in the world's attempt to create peace on Korean peninsula?
A prosecutor said that the rulings on the spy case showed Rep. Lee had admitted to his involvement with the NLPF and conceded to having pledged his loyalty to the organization, but he claimed to have forgotten the exact details of the pledge. The prosecutor indicated that it would be unwise for the politician to backpedal now by further playing down his involvement.
Another prosecutor who helped investigate the case said that a mass of overwhelming evidence in the form of pistols, hand grenades and signs that North Korea had provided financial support to the tune of US$1 million (W1.07 billion) made it impossible to deny the allegations against the defendants.
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HatTip to Mingi again. Messed up situation in South Korea. A member of the ruling party stands accused of being associated with a North Korean spy group. Rep. Lee Chul-woo's defense was stated as doubtful by the presiding judge. Is President Roh really the president of South Korea or leader of a North Korean spy-ring and a wrench in the world's attempt to create peace on Korean peninsula?
A prosecutor said that the rulings on the spy case showed Rep. Lee had admitted to his involvement with the NLPF and conceded to having pledged his loyalty to the organization, but he claimed to have forgotten the exact details of the pledge. The prosecutor indicated that it would be unwise for the politician to backpedal now by further playing down his involvement.
Another prosecutor who helped investigate the case said that a mass of overwhelming evidence in the form of pistols, hand grenades and signs that North Korea had provided financial support to the tune of US$1 million (W1.07 billion) made it impossible to deny the allegations against the defendants.
FRIENDSTER ADDS SEARCH... EUREKSTER!
Friendster teams up with Eurekster to provide a new search service centered around Friendster members and their preferences. I guess everyone is trying to grab a piece of the search engine pie created by Google's Adword approach and Overture's (now Yahoo!) sponsored listings. Not sure if this will help create the returns of that $13 million Kleiner Perkins, Benchmark, and Battery were looking for.
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Friendster teams up with Eurekster to provide a new search service centered around Friendster members and their preferences. I guess everyone is trying to grab a piece of the search engine pie created by Google's Adword approach and Overture's (now Yahoo!) sponsored listings. Not sure if this will help create the returns of that $13 million Kleiner Perkins, Benchmark, and Battery were looking for.
Thursday, December 09, 2004
ANOTHER SOCIAL NETWORK... THEFACEBOOK.COM
I guess you younger readers know about this one. I never heard of it until now, but a great idea by these students. I just wonder how most of these online social networks are going to create a sustainable business model. At least this one gets to the core of what most of these social networks are, which is an interactive yellow pages:
For those who assume that (A) the Internet has become the world's most effective way to waste time and that (B) college students now are probably having more fun than when you were there, consider the reigning college obsession, a phenomenon so hot that The Daily Princetonian editorialized that it's "possibly the biggest word-of-mouth trend to hit campus since St. Ives Medicated Apricot Scrub found its way into the women's bathrooms."
That would be Thefacebook.com, a Web site that began 10 months ago with five Harvard students and is now the most popular way to either network or waste time for a million college students at around 300 colleges, from Yale to the University of the Pacific.
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I guess you younger readers know about this one. I never heard of it until now, but a great idea by these students. I just wonder how most of these online social networks are going to create a sustainable business model. At least this one gets to the core of what most of these social networks are, which is an interactive yellow pages:
For those who assume that (A) the Internet has become the world's most effective way to waste time and that (B) college students now are probably having more fun than when you were there, consider the reigning college obsession, a phenomenon so hot that The Daily Princetonian editorialized that it's "possibly the biggest word-of-mouth trend to hit campus since St. Ives Medicated Apricot Scrub found its way into the women's bathrooms."
That would be Thefacebook.com, a Web site that began 10 months ago with five Harvard students and is now the most popular way to either network or waste time for a million college students at around 300 colleges, from Yale to the University of the Pacific.
ANOTHER SHOT FIRED ACROSS THE BOW... YAHOO COMES OUT WITH DESKTOP SEARCH
I guess it didn't take long for Yahoo! to follow Google's desktop search program.
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I guess it didn't take long for Yahoo! to follow Google's desktop search program.
Wednesday, December 08, 2004
CLINTON ENDORSES NEW CHINESE SEARCH ENGINE
A new search engine, Accona, backed by the Chinese government and Yahoo! debuts And crashes. More from Business 2.0 here.
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A new search engine, Accona, backed by the Chinese government and Yahoo! debuts And crashes. More from Business 2.0 here.
LIBERAL UN-ELITE OVER AT DAILY KOS
Okay, first, I'm surprise my friend, Max, finally posted something. He's been busy over in Asia with various cross-border transactions, but what was that gibberish about? He went to Berkeley for his graduate work like the sociology professor below so that explains some of it.
Anyway, over at Daily Kos, the leading left-wing blog, they did an informal poll of its readers choice for the next DNC chair. The results have Howard Dean as their favorite:
Dean 3,466 (54.3%)
Rosenberg 1,066 (30.8%)
Ickes 154 (4.4%)
Webb 153 (4.4%)
Frost 134 (3.9%)
Fowler 41 (1.2%)
Hindery 37 (1.1%)
Dean? I hope someone was joking and rigged the results. Dean would tilt the party more left and fill it with more hate, and it would be a certain victory for Republicans in 2008. If this is a truthful reflection of Daily Kos readers, they aren't the "liberal elite" I was referring to. Sort of the "liberal lite" over there, or daresay "liberal dumb."
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Okay, first, I'm surprise my friend, Max, finally posted something. He's been busy over in Asia with various cross-border transactions, but what was that gibberish about? He went to Berkeley for his graduate work like the sociology professor below so that explains some of it.
Anyway, over at Daily Kos, the leading left-wing blog, they did an informal poll of its readers choice for the next DNC chair. The results have Howard Dean as their favorite:
Dean 3,466 (54.3%)
Rosenberg 1,066 (30.8%)
Ickes 154 (4.4%)
Webb 153 (4.4%)
Frost 134 (3.9%)
Fowler 41 (1.2%)
Hindery 37 (1.1%)
Dean? I hope someone was joking and rigged the results. Dean would tilt the party more left and fill it with more hate, and it would be a certain victory for Republicans in 2008. If this is a truthful reflection of Daily Kos readers, they aren't the "liberal elite" I was referring to. Sort of the "liberal lite" over there, or daresay "liberal dumb."
WICTORY WEDNESDAY
From Polipundit...
In a desperate attempt to steal another election, Democrats have pushed for a statewide hand recount of the governor’s race in Washington state, where Republican Dino Rossi has a 42-vote lead in the final count. The Washington state GOP needs volunteers to observe the recount so that Democrats don’t steal this election. If you live in WA, please volunteer by contacting the state GOP at 425-646-7202.
Today is Wictory Wednesday. Every Wednesday, hundreds of bloggers ask their readers to donate to an important Republican campaign.
If you’re a blogger, you can join Wictory Wednesdays by e-mailing me at wictory@blogsforbush.com. I’ll add you to the Wictory Wednesday blogroll. I’ll also send you a reminder e-mail every Wednesday, explaining which candidate to support that day.
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From Polipundit...
In a desperate attempt to steal another election, Democrats have pushed for a statewide hand recount of the governor’s race in Washington state, where Republican Dino Rossi has a 42-vote lead in the final count. The Washington state GOP needs volunteers to observe the recount so that Democrats don’t steal this election. If you live in WA, please volunteer by contacting the state GOP at 425-646-7202.
Today is Wictory Wednesday. Every Wednesday, hundreds of bloggers ask their readers to donate to an important Republican campaign.
If you’re a blogger, you can join Wictory Wednesdays by e-mailing me at wictory@blogsforbush.com. I’ll add you to the Wictory Wednesday blogroll. I’ll also send you a reminder e-mail every Wednesday, explaining which candidate to support that day.
ON THE ARTIFICIAL BIPOLARIZATION OF AMERICA AND THE (MIS)APPROPRIATION OF RELIGION, FISCAL CONSERVATISM, NATIONAL SECURITY, AND HINTERLAND VALUES BY THE REPUBLICAN PARTY
Or "How the Republicans Have Hijacked America's Political Discourse"
Had I sufficient time and cerebral bandwidth to devote to writing and publishing online, this, my first posting, would have consisted of a stunningly evocative and compelling exposition on the themes indicated by the above title and subtitle, to wit:
1) How American pundits, spin-doctors, political "advisors", and other participants in the public discourse take unrelated positions on hot-button issues, and uncritically or disingenuously array them on opposite sides of the partisan spectrum for reasons of convenience, intellectual lassitude, and political expediency, and then bundle these positions under the labels "Liberal Democrat" and "Conservative Republican";
2) How American political journalism in the main was and remains guilty of criminal complicity in dumbing down the political discourse, relying on mental and terminological shorthand to deliver compelling sound bites instead of striving to find ways to encourage the disaggregation and careful consideration of complex issues and platforms as a first step towards redefining the political discourse as a fundamental element of the political process;
3) How the Republicans have shamelessly (and quite successfully) mobilized a massive polity based on a message of danger, fundamentalism, ignorance, and heartland identity; and finally
4) How the Democrats have demonstrated yet again a complete inability to manipulate effectively a political process that now appears (it is sad and horrifying to say) completely dependent on designing, tailoring and selling a particular political "brand" to an increasingly unsophisticated, unreflective, reactive, and disengaged political consumer.
(For those of you frantically checking your calendars to see if it is April 1st, no, it isn't, this isn't a stupid gimmick post by Bernard, it's Max writing here. Thanks, Bernard, for lending me this corner of your soapbox from which to preach. I had always thought that you were beyond saving, but your generosity in this matter gives one reason to hope that someday you will see see the light and repent of your baby-eating, dog-kicking, seal-clubbing, misanthropic Republican ways.)
Unfortunately, just getting the title of the piece down totally wore me out.
So until next time, folks, remember:
I an' I mus' al' move to Jah love.
True advice for all you Republicans out there in Internet land.
PEACE.
PS: I also promise to write soon about Godel's theorem (sorry i don't know how to do umlauts yet), it's epistemological corollaries, and it's necessary implications for the cult of neo-Republicanism. Hooray, kids! Go-go-gadget-isomorphism!
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Or "How the Republicans Have Hijacked America's Political Discourse"
Had I sufficient time and cerebral bandwidth to devote to writing and publishing online, this, my first posting, would have consisted of a stunningly evocative and compelling exposition on the themes indicated by the above title and subtitle, to wit:
1) How American pundits, spin-doctors, political "advisors", and other participants in the public discourse take unrelated positions on hot-button issues, and uncritically or disingenuously array them on opposite sides of the partisan spectrum for reasons of convenience, intellectual lassitude, and political expediency, and then bundle these positions under the labels "Liberal Democrat" and "Conservative Republican";
2) How American political journalism in the main was and remains guilty of criminal complicity in dumbing down the political discourse, relying on mental and terminological shorthand to deliver compelling sound bites instead of striving to find ways to encourage the disaggregation and careful consideration of complex issues and platforms as a first step towards redefining the political discourse as a fundamental element of the political process;
3) How the Republicans have shamelessly (and quite successfully) mobilized a massive polity based on a message of danger, fundamentalism, ignorance, and heartland identity; and finally
4) How the Democrats have demonstrated yet again a complete inability to manipulate effectively a political process that now appears (it is sad and horrifying to say) completely dependent on designing, tailoring and selling a particular political "brand" to an increasingly unsophisticated, unreflective, reactive, and disengaged political consumer.
(For those of you frantically checking your calendars to see if it is April 1st, no, it isn't, this isn't a stupid gimmick post by Bernard, it's Max writing here. Thanks, Bernard, for lending me this corner of your soapbox from which to preach. I had always thought that you were beyond saving, but your generosity in this matter gives one reason to hope that someday you will see see the light and repent of your baby-eating, dog-kicking, seal-clubbing, misanthropic Republican ways.)
Unfortunately, just getting the title of the piece down totally wore me out.
So until next time, folks, remember:
I an' I mus' al' move to Jah love.
True advice for all you Republicans out there in Internet land.
PEACE.
PS: I also promise to write soon about Godel's theorem (sorry i don't know how to do umlauts yet), it's epistemological corollaries, and it's necessary implications for the cult of neo-Republicanism. Hooray, kids! Go-go-gadget-isomorphism!
Tuesday, December 07, 2004
BEN STEIN ON BEING REPUBLICAN IN SOUTHERN CAL
Pretty funny article...
The man at the Christmas tree tent in Malibu kept winking at me and nodding when no one else was looking. I smiled and kept looking at the trees. (In Malibu, we Jews have Christmas trees.) Finally, he motioned to me to come over to is table. He cupped his hand over his mouth and took my hand. "We won," he said. "We won."
I knew exactly what he meant. "You can talk about it," I said. "This is America."
"Yes, but it's also Malibu and I don't want people yelling at me."
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Pretty funny article...
The man at the Christmas tree tent in Malibu kept winking at me and nodding when no one else was looking. I smiled and kept looking at the trees. (In Malibu, we Jews have Christmas trees.) Finally, he motioned to me to come over to is table. He cupped his hand over his mouth and took my hand. "We won," he said. "We won."
I knew exactly what he meant. "You can talk about it," I said. "This is America."
"Yes, but it's also Malibu and I don't want people yelling at me."
FLORIDA E-VOTE CONSPIRACY HOT AIR
Statisticians release an analysis debunking a previous Berkeley study that said President Bush received more votes than he should have in Florida counties that used touch-screen voting machines.
Figures Professor Michael Hout, who presented the initial study and claim, is from Berkeley. Only good from Berkeley is top dog, which is pretty good for a west coast hot dog joint. If you want to go to the best hot dog joint in the world, go to Hot Doug's in Chicago. (Yes, I'm joking about the Berkeley jab. Great school and lots of great people I know who went there... besides some professors of sociology)
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Statisticians release an analysis debunking a previous Berkeley study that said President Bush received more votes than he should have in Florida counties that used touch-screen voting machines.
Figures Professor Michael Hout, who presented the initial study and claim, is from Berkeley. Only good from Berkeley is top dog, which is pretty good for a west coast hot dog joint. If you want to go to the best hot dog joint in the world, go to Hot Doug's in Chicago. (Yes, I'm joking about the Berkeley jab. Great school and lots of great people I know who went there... besides some professors of sociology)
BROADBAND SUFFERS FROM INNOVATOR'S DILEMMA... MICHAEL POWELL INTERVIEW
Good Michael Powell interview by Larry Lessig.
Not too long ago, the US led the world in broadband penetration. Now it's thirteenth. So what happened? According to Michael Powell, the US is a victim of its own success.
Lessig: Mr. Chairman, there’s much in what you’ve done which I want to praise, in particular your broadband policy and your spectrum policy. But let’s start with a framing economic question. In 2000, when this administration began, we were probably one or two in broadband penetration. OECD estimated last year that we were number ten. The latest statistics say that we’re number thirteen. So what’s happened in the last four years that this place where the internet really started and took off seems to be falling behind so quickly?
Powell: I think this situation should be unacceptable to us. Fortunately, I think we’re beginning to have some success in making our national leadership understand that this is something they should care about. This is something that will impact and control the economic prosperity of our society in the Information Age. It should be debated in the halls of Congress. It's that critical. (full interview)
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Good Michael Powell interview by Larry Lessig.
Not too long ago, the US led the world in broadband penetration. Now it's thirteenth. So what happened? According to Michael Powell, the US is a victim of its own success.
Lessig: Mr. Chairman, there’s much in what you’ve done which I want to praise, in particular your broadband policy and your spectrum policy. But let’s start with a framing economic question. In 2000, when this administration began, we were probably one or two in broadband penetration. OECD estimated last year that we were number ten. The latest statistics say that we’re number thirteen. So what’s happened in the last four years that this place where the internet really started and took off seems to be falling behind so quickly?
Powell: I think this situation should be unacceptable to us. Fortunately, I think we’re beginning to have some success in making our national leadership understand that this is something they should care about. This is something that will impact and control the economic prosperity of our society in the Information Age. It should be debated in the halls of Congress. It's that critical. (full interview)
Monday, December 06, 2004
"HIGH-TECH PUBLISHER TRIES 'BLOGOZINE'"
Article on Tony Perkins's effort to establish a 'blogozone'.
Also I'm sorry but I can't write or post much today since I'm busy with a few things. Maybe if I need a brain break I'll post something later. Have a nice day.
The quarterly magazine, scheduled to debut early next year, will draw heavily from material that has already appeared online at www.alwayson-network.com— a technology-focused blogging community that Perkins created after Red Herring's collapse.
About half the so-called "blogozine" will be devoted to the most provocative posts on his Web site, like a recent debate about whether a new computer video game re-creating the assassination of John Kennedy should be rated more obscene than online pornography.
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Jason Pontin, Red Herring's editor during the San Francisco-based magazine's heyday, is among the skeptics, although he still praises his former boss as "a very brilliant man, a beloved figure in Silicon Valley and an extraordinary self-promoter."
Pontin has serious doubts about whether the raw, openly biased observations that attract loyal followings to the online "blogosphere" will fare as well in the more circumspect realm of magazines, where full-time reporters routinely spend weeks researching stories and then submit their findings to rigorous fact checking.
"The blogosphere doesn't have the capacity to produce analytical, well-researched journalism," said Pontin, now editor in chief of Technology Review, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's monthly magazine. "If you believe there are enough people interested in reading a magazine devoted to bunch of insiders writing with great jubilation about the importance of their own community, then Tony's approach could be quite effective."
Magazine industry expert Samir Husni says the odds are stacked against Perkins, citing the failed attempts of other popular Web sites that have tried to repackage their online content into magazines, such as Travelocity, Expedia and Slate.
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Article on Tony Perkins's effort to establish a 'blogozone'.
Also I'm sorry but I can't write or post much today since I'm busy with a few things. Maybe if I need a brain break I'll post something later. Have a nice day.
The quarterly magazine, scheduled to debut early next year, will draw heavily from material that has already appeared online at www.alwayson-network.com— a technology-focused blogging community that Perkins created after Red Herring's collapse.
About half the so-called "blogozine" will be devoted to the most provocative posts on his Web site, like a recent debate about whether a new computer video game re-creating the assassination of John Kennedy should be rated more obscene than online pornography.
.....
Jason Pontin, Red Herring's editor during the San Francisco-based magazine's heyday, is among the skeptics, although he still praises his former boss as "a very brilliant man, a beloved figure in Silicon Valley and an extraordinary self-promoter."
Pontin has serious doubts about whether the raw, openly biased observations that attract loyal followings to the online "blogosphere" will fare as well in the more circumspect realm of magazines, where full-time reporters routinely spend weeks researching stories and then submit their findings to rigorous fact checking.
"The blogosphere doesn't have the capacity to produce analytical, well-researched journalism," said Pontin, now editor in chief of Technology Review, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's monthly magazine. "If you believe there are enough people interested in reading a magazine devoted to bunch of insiders writing with great jubilation about the importance of their own community, then Tony's approach could be quite effective."
Magazine industry expert Samir Husni says the odds are stacked against Perkins, citing the failed attempts of other popular Web sites that have tried to repackage their online content into magazines, such as Travelocity, Expedia and Slate.
Friday, December 03, 2004
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LENOVO BUYING IBM'S PC BUSINESS
Big news like during the days when Japanese companies were initially buying out U.S. companies. The yellow scare is coming! Wait, how come no one really stated anything when LG Electronics bought American icon Zenith years ago? Guess Korea a decade ago wasn't big enough for some people or a real threat.
Oh, My God! The Chinese Are Coming!
They're buying IBM's PC business. What's next—McDonald's?
Slate
By Daniel Gross
Friday, Dec. 3, 2004
The New York Times has a genuine scoop today. IBM, which introduced its widely cloned personal computer in 1981, has put its PC business on the block. The news is not earth-shattering. PCs are a small business for IBM—the unit is expected to fetch between $1 billion and $2 billion, while IBM has a market capitalization of $162 billion. IBM lags far behind market leaders Dell and HP. And personal computers are a brutally competitive business, with Twiggy-like margins. What was once an expensive luxury has become a cheap commodity, propelled in large part by the rise of Taiwan and China as component manufacturers.
The surprise in the Times story is the potential buyer. IBM most likely won't be selling the unit to an American competitor or to a Japanese rival like Fujitsu. Instead, Andrew Ross Sorkin and Steve Lohr report, the likely buyer is Lenovo, China's biggest PC maker. (Lenovo used to be known as Legend.)
It's not just PC businesses that Chinese companies are bidding for. Huawei Technologies, China's answer to Cisco Systems, has also been shopping in the United States. The Wall Street Journal reported a couple of weeks ago that Wanxiang, China's largest auto parts company, has acquired or set up joint ventures with several small struggling Midwestern companies. It now employs about 1,000 Americans. (full article)
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Big news like during the days when Japanese companies were initially buying out U.S. companies. The yellow scare is coming! Wait, how come no one really stated anything when LG Electronics bought American icon Zenith years ago? Guess Korea a decade ago wasn't big enough for some people or a real threat.
Oh, My God! The Chinese Are Coming!
They're buying IBM's PC business. What's next—McDonald's?
Slate
By Daniel Gross
Friday, Dec. 3, 2004
The New York Times has a genuine scoop today. IBM, which introduced its widely cloned personal computer in 1981, has put its PC business on the block. The news is not earth-shattering. PCs are a small business for IBM—the unit is expected to fetch between $1 billion and $2 billion, while IBM has a market capitalization of $162 billion. IBM lags far behind market leaders Dell and HP. And personal computers are a brutally competitive business, with Twiggy-like margins. What was once an expensive luxury has become a cheap commodity, propelled in large part by the rise of Taiwan and China as component manufacturers.
The surprise in the Times story is the potential buyer. IBM most likely won't be selling the unit to an American competitor or to a Japanese rival like Fujitsu. Instead, Andrew Ross Sorkin and Steve Lohr report, the likely buyer is Lenovo, China's biggest PC maker. (Lenovo used to be known as Legend.)
It's not just PC businesses that Chinese companies are bidding for. Huawei Technologies, China's answer to Cisco Systems, has also been shopping in the United States. The Wall Street Journal reported a couple of weeks ago that Wanxiang, China's largest auto parts company, has acquired or set up joint ventures with several small struggling Midwestern companies. It now employs about 1,000 Americans. (full article)
MSN SPACES... MICROSOFT JOINS THE BLOGGING WORLD
Do you hear it again? And Darth breathing?
Microsoft joins the blogging world
Friday, December 3, 2004
SEATTLE, Washington (AP) -- Microsoft Corp. is becoming the latest company aiming to bring blogging to the masses with a free new tool that lets people easily set up Web journals.
MSN Spaces, which debuts in test form Thursday, is targeted at home users who want to share things like vacation pictures, text journals or a list of favorite songs. The service, free to anyone with a Hotmail e-mail or MSN Messenger account, is part of Microsoft's effort to keep people in a Microsoft-branded universe for all their online communication needs. (full article)
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Do you hear it again? And Darth breathing?
Microsoft joins the blogging world
Friday, December 3, 2004
SEATTLE, Washington (AP) -- Microsoft Corp. is becoming the latest company aiming to bring blogging to the masses with a free new tool that lets people easily set up Web journals.
MSN Spaces, which debuts in test form Thursday, is targeted at home users who want to share things like vacation pictures, text journals or a list of favorite songs. The service, free to anyone with a Hotmail e-mail or MSN Messenger account, is part of Microsoft's effort to keep people in a Microsoft-branded universe for all their online communication needs. (full article)
Thursday, December 02, 2004
"ROVE UNLEASHED"
I feel like Newsweek wanted audio along with this piece... the laugh of Dr. Evil.
For the past 30 years he's focused like a laser on George W. Bush. What does Karl Rove do for an encore? The plans for a permanent GOP majority.
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I feel like Newsweek wanted audio along with this piece... the laugh of Dr. Evil.
For the past 30 years he's focused like a laser on George W. Bush. What does Karl Rove do for an encore? The plans for a permanent GOP majority.
RESPONSES TO MY OP-ED
Brief Comments on Creationism and The Theory of Evolution
It's been fun and interesting reading emails and response around the blogosphere over the past couple days. Some hate emails, sarcastic comments, praise, and words of encouragement.
There is a good discussion string at AlwaysOn, a leading tech community blog. Here's one of my posts:
I believe you're missing the main focus of Creationism. It isn't about the age of the earth. I could care less if the earth was 5,000 or 5 billion years old. It is about the idea that the universe was not created by chance, and that God had a close hand it the process. While Determinist like Stephen Hawking might not agree, others from his field cannot imagine the process without God in it.
Albert Einstein, while not believing in a personal god, concluded through his years of research that the universe could not have been created by chance or from chaos:
"I want to know how God created this world, I am not interested in this or that phenomenon, in the spectrum of this or that element. I want to know His thoughts, the rest are details."
Freeman Dyson, father of Esther Dyson, is "one of the outstanding physicists of our time" and has "written extensively on the meaning of science and its relation to other disciplines, especially religion and ethics." While I don't know the details of his faith, he stands on the side of God's involvement in creation process. (http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2000/112/32.0.html)
There is another world-class physicist, John Polkinghorne, who became an Anglican priest, who is a strong Creationist. South Korea's leading materials scientist, Younggil Kim, who invented alloys Motorola uses in their chips, is also the country's most outspoken Creationist.
The idea that our universe was created by some random event and life came from a chaotic mass of gases are unthinkable for these people. Even in numerous experiments attempting to see if some complex structures could be formed from a ball of gas only resulted in simple sugars.
I did not grow up in a Christian home and came from a Buddhist background. I did not become Christian through some emotion event, but through an intellectual journey. I questioned everything and wanted proof. I studied Creationism and evolution for a year, and concluded that both needed faith. The Theory of Evolution is still a theory. There has been no proof of species jumping, and the most recent hope I read about were some monkeys down in South America.
I would challenge you to explore some of the other side too.
Here's a letter to the editor response in The Boston Globe, "A lesson for the religious right."
A funny post here by a slightly wacky guy in Minnesota, eh, "But what did the fluvial geomorphologist think?"
I just read possibly the most incomprehensible op-ed piece ever in the Boston Globe, A lesson for the liberal elite. I don’t know how to describe it other than to say just read it for yourself. (incomprehensible op-ed piece ever? cool.)
I found it so confusing and so “odd” in its defense of Christianity that I googled the author, Bernard Moon. Thanks to Google and Bernie’s blog, I now know him as Moon Byungkee from Seoul. (eh? i'm from chicago. i was born in seoul and that's my korean name. too much ice fishing... head first? aye?)
I don’t want to read too much into his name... (what's there to read? bernard moon.)
.....
Mr. Moon reminds me that intelligence and education do not automatically confer the ability to think consistently. (wha? you really don't get out much, huh? or have friends beyond your small world? my views are very consistenly with people like billy graham, c.s. lewis, and other mainstream christians.)
A rambling post at The Mahablog.
Another string of posts here... Christian leaning.
|
Brief Comments on Creationism and The Theory of Evolution
It's been fun and interesting reading emails and response around the blogosphere over the past couple days. Some hate emails, sarcastic comments, praise, and words of encouragement.
There is a good discussion string at AlwaysOn, a leading tech community blog. Here's one of my posts:
I believe you're missing the main focus of Creationism. It isn't about the age of the earth. I could care less if the earth was 5,000 or 5 billion years old. It is about the idea that the universe was not created by chance, and that God had a close hand it the process. While Determinist like Stephen Hawking might not agree, others from his field cannot imagine the process without God in it.
Albert Einstein, while not believing in a personal god, concluded through his years of research that the universe could not have been created by chance or from chaos:
"I want to know how God created this world, I am not interested in this or that phenomenon, in the spectrum of this or that element. I want to know His thoughts, the rest are details."
Freeman Dyson, father of Esther Dyson, is "one of the outstanding physicists of our time" and has "written extensively on the meaning of science and its relation to other disciplines, especially religion and ethics." While I don't know the details of his faith, he stands on the side of God's involvement in creation process. (http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2000/112/32.0.html)
There is another world-class physicist, John Polkinghorne, who became an Anglican priest, who is a strong Creationist. South Korea's leading materials scientist, Younggil Kim, who invented alloys Motorola uses in their chips, is also the country's most outspoken Creationist.
The idea that our universe was created by some random event and life came from a chaotic mass of gases are unthinkable for these people. Even in numerous experiments attempting to see if some complex structures could be formed from a ball of gas only resulted in simple sugars.
I did not grow up in a Christian home and came from a Buddhist background. I did not become Christian through some emotion event, but through an intellectual journey. I questioned everything and wanted proof. I studied Creationism and evolution for a year, and concluded that both needed faith. The Theory of Evolution is still a theory. There has been no proof of species jumping, and the most recent hope I read about were some monkeys down in South America.
I would challenge you to explore some of the other side too.
Here's a letter to the editor response in The Boston Globe, "A lesson for the religious right."
A funny post here by a slightly wacky guy in Minnesota, eh, "But what did the fluvial geomorphologist think?"
I just read possibly the most incomprehensible op-ed piece ever in the Boston Globe, A lesson for the liberal elite. I don’t know how to describe it other than to say just read it for yourself. (incomprehensible op-ed piece ever? cool.)
I found it so confusing and so “odd” in its defense of Christianity that I googled the author, Bernard Moon. Thanks to Google and Bernie’s blog, I now know him as Moon Byungkee from Seoul. (eh? i'm from chicago. i was born in seoul and that's my korean name. too much ice fishing... head first? aye?)
I don’t want to read too much into his name... (what's there to read? bernard moon.)
.....
Mr. Moon reminds me that intelligence and education do not automatically confer the ability to think consistently. (wha? you really don't get out much, huh? or have friends beyond your small world? my views are very consistenly with people like billy graham, c.s. lewis, and other mainstream christians.)
A rambling post at The Mahablog.
Another string of posts here... Christian leaning.
Wednesday, December 01, 2004
TRY OUT A RSS READER
Last week I finally corrected my site feeds and tried out a RSS reader. My friend, Doug, has been using them over the past couple years and ranted about it. I just never got around to trying one out and became a closet Luddite. Now after experimenting with a few I'm sold. Right now I use Bloglines, but you can try out others. I don't use it for all the blogs and sites I read, but for the handful I use it for I found it to be efficient and convenient.
Some more information about RSS readers:
RSS and Atom files provide news updates from a website in a simple form for your computer. You read these files in a program called an aggregator, which collects news from various websites and provides it to you in a simple form.
What is an RSS feed?
RSS stands for "Remote Site Syndication" and allows you to get the latest headline or summary information from a blog or news sites through a RSS readers.
Why should I use RSS?
A benefit of RSS readers is that you can subscribe to many websites and thus stay informed without having to go to each site individually.
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Last week I finally corrected my site feeds and tried out a RSS reader. My friend, Doug, has been using them over the past couple years and ranted about it. I just never got around to trying one out and became a closet Luddite. Now after experimenting with a few I'm sold. Right now I use Bloglines, but you can try out others. I don't use it for all the blogs and sites I read, but for the handful I use it for I found it to be efficient and convenient.
Some more information about RSS readers:
RSS and Atom files provide news updates from a website in a simple form for your computer. You read these files in a program called an aggregator, which collects news from various websites and provides it to you in a simple form.
What is an RSS feed?
RSS stands for "Remote Site Syndication" and allows you to get the latest headline or summary information from a blog or news sites through a RSS readers.
Why should I use RSS?
A benefit of RSS readers is that you can subscribe to many websites and thus stay informed without having to go to each site individually.
WORLD AIDS DAY
Back in college, I organized an AIDS awareness week a couple of my fellow Badgers, Sirnu and Safiya. We were part of ADVANCE, which was student organization driven to challenge apathy and ignorance on our campus. My involvement in the AIDS event was an open-eyeing and heart-touching, especially since the money we raised went to Camp Heartland. Camp Heartland helps children affected by HIV/AIDS through various services and advocacy events, and the flagship program is a summer camp for these children. You can help them out here.
Anyways, today is World AIDS Day. Check out their site. More information on HIV/AIDS here.
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Back in college, I organized an AIDS awareness week a couple of my fellow Badgers, Sirnu and Safiya. We were part of ADVANCE, which was student organization driven to challenge apathy and ignorance on our campus. My involvement in the AIDS event was an open-eyeing and heart-touching, especially since the money we raised went to Camp Heartland. Camp Heartland helps children affected by HIV/AIDS through various services and advocacy events, and the flagship program is a summer camp for these children. You can help them out here.
Anyways, today is World AIDS Day. Check out their site. More information on HIV/AIDS here.
Business & Technology, Politics, and Random Posts from the Left, Right, and Elsewhere
Place of Birth: Seoul, Korea
Hometown: Northbrook, IL USA
Lived in: Seoul, Chicago (Villa Park & Northbrook), Madison, WI, Springfield, IL, St. Louis, New York City, Chicago (Glenview), Seoul, San Francisco
Also blogs at: AlwaysOn, Coro Blog, SportsBlog
More on Bernard or Blogger profile or GoingOn profile or Linkedin profile
Max Yow
Homeland: Canada
Sports: combative sports, sports you play with a ball, sports with no swimming, sports you can play while drinking and smoking (pool, darts, bowling, video games).
More on Max
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If you have questions, topic ideas, or whatever, just email bernard at bernard.moon@gmail.com. Thank you!
site feed
forget the long tail!
(03/21/2006)
2084
(11/02/2005)
building the perfect team
(08/17/2005)
open it up, new york times, chicago tribune, san francisco chronicle!
(06/07/2005)
staring down the digital divide
(06/08/2005)
2005 world series of poker... tech style
(03/30/2005)
rss: real simple syndication or really saturated space?
(02/10/2005)
blogosphere: lost in translation?
(02/10/2005)
diamonds in the rough at redmond
(02/10/2005)
it's a wiki wiki world
(02/03/2005)
where technology is ubiquitous, opportunity abounds
(1/12/2005)
start of "reality media" column
(12/23/2004)
Tech
bill joy's apocalyptic vision, determinism, and commonality with stephen hawking
(07/22/2005)
google economy => blogosphere
(01/25/2005)
power of the long tail
(12/14/2004)
protectionist china... will chinese or u.s. companies lose out?
(3/15/2004)
skype... p2p telephony & a very cool company
(2/13/2004)
poor george glider is right
(2/9/2004)
it's not the deficit stupid!... tech is the primary driver for growth
(12/02/2003)
immature venture capital industry in asia (9/29/2003)
boom time memories... masayoshi son was the man
(7/1/2003)
Politics
south korea's recent idiotic policies against foreign direct investment
(09/09/2005)
my first op-ed
(11/30/2004)
100,000 protest against Bush for... what?
(11/23/2003)
Society
generalizations of east asians
(5/16/2004)
sports is the great equalizer and unifer
(4/20/2004)
defining wisdom... age is the lesser factor
(10/18/2003)
living together before marriage
(8/25/2003)
friendships, relationships, people in life... (7/7/2003)
sugar mommas
(6/13/2003)
need for laws and enforcement
(4/10/2003)
old shaq issue
(4/2/2003)
Religion
creationism & christmas
(12/23/2004)
the passion of the christ... misunderstood
(2/20/2004)
christian's view of homosexuality
(1/13/2004)
is man determined or free?
(8/18/2003)
destructive christianity
(5/3/2003)
Others
"Blah Blah Bernard Blah Blah" Changing to "Junto Boyz"... A New Direction
(4/20/2004)
art of asking questions
(9/18/2003)
ode to bacon
(8/13/2003)
big guys... eating stories iv
(7/27/2003)
big guys... eating stories i
(4/2/2003)
cnn
cnet
businessweek
economist
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fast company
pe week wire
the deal
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release 1.0
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techweb
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drudge report
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frontpage
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mother jones
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il conservative politics
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roll call
george f. will
asianweek
financeasia
korea herald
the onion
cox & forkum cartoons
garage technology ventures
growthink research
entrepreneur.com
entrepreneur america
venture economics
venture reporter
vfinance.com
yahoo! small business
nationmaster
thomas, legislative info
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heritage foundation
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national center for policy analysis
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reason public policy institute
urban institute
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charles barkley's outrageous career
liquid generation
wikipedia
"You cannot go on explaining away things over forever or you will find that you have explained even explanation itself away. You cannot go on seeing through things forever because the whole point of seeing through something is to see something else through it." - C.S Lewis
December 11, 2005
"This telephone has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us." - Western Union internal memo, 1876
December 4, 2005
"You cannot hope to build a better world without improving the individual. To that end each of us must work for his own improvement, and at the same time share a general responsibility for all humanity, our particular duty being to aid those to whom we think we can be most useful." - Marie Curie
November 27, 2005
"One cannot step into the same river twice." - Heratidus
November 20, 2005
"The death of democracy is not likely to be an assassination from ambush. It will be a slow extinction from apathy, indifference and undernourishment." - Robert Maynard Hutchins
November 13, 2005
"We are moving away from the old idea of leadership -- leadership has less to do (now) with heroism. We don’t look for... unblemished omnipotent heroes, but leaders who are complex, dependent, changeable... We do not need one dominant authority structure telling all our inner voices to shut up..." - Walter Truett Anderson
November 6, 2005
"To know oneself is to know one’s [country]. It is also... paradoxically a form of exile from that world... to know oneself is, above all, to know what one lacks. It is to measure oneself against Truth, and not the other way around. The first product of self-knowledge is humility, and that virtue is not conspicuous in any national character." - Flannery O’Connor
October 30, 2005
"Men content themselves with the same words as other people use, as if the very sound necessarily carried the same meaning." - John Locke
October 23, 2005
"In order to thrive in a world of change and chaos, we will need to accept 'chaos' as an essential process by which natural systems, including organizations, renew and revitalize themselves." - Margaret Wheatley
October 16, 2004
"Politics is perhaps the only profession for which no preparation is thought necessary." - Robert Louis Stevenson
October 9, 2004
"We will be better and braver if we engage and inquire than if we indulge in the idle fancy that we already know - or that it is of no use seeking to know what we do not know." - Plato
October 2, 2004
"Man's mind stretched to a new idea never goes back to its original dimensions." - Oliver W. Holmes
September 25, 2004
"What you learn intellectually lies in the shallow pools among the wrinkles of your brain. What you learn through the skin of experience sinks deep into your roots." - Hank Taft
September 18, 2004
"In commanding us to glorify him, God is inviting us to enjoy him." - C.S. Lewis
September 11, 2004
"A society is judged by how it treats its least desirable people." - Anonymous
September 4, 2004
"This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy. I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community and as long as I live it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no "brief candle" to me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to the future generations." - George Bernard Shaw
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