John Bolton Resigns as U.S. Ambassador to U.N. I’ve told you he would only last till January 2007 
Bolton Gone Just as Expected
Posted on December 4, 2006 ·
The Oval Office Redesigned
Posted on November 20, 2006 ·
The SF Chronicle has an interactive pic (Flash required) to show the White House, redesigned in San Francisco-style. Amenities include a jacuzzi and a massage table. Click the pic, then roll over the items to see their description.
The Chronicle opened up the design process to readers, asking them: What should Bush put in the Oval Office to reflect San Francisco styles?
The very first reader proposal:
“How about an exit sign? And make sure it is well-lighted, so they can find it!”
Rumsfeld’s Resignation is a Good Start
Posted on November 8, 2006 ·
Rummy’s resignation is definitely good news, but there are still others who don’t belong in DC .. but we have to wait a bit longer for this one to disappear 
Voting Machine Votes INSTEAD OF You in Florida
Posted on October 30, 2006 ·
Remember Chad from Florida? No, it’s not a friendly chap, it’s the hanging chad that became the symbol of everything that can go wrong with elections.
Now here we go again: the Miami Herald reports Glitches cited in early voting:
Several South Florida voters say the choices they touched on the electronic screens were not the ones that appeared on the review screen — the final voting step.
Debra A. Reed voted with her boss on Wednesday at African-American Research Library and Cultural Center near Fort Lauderdale. Her vote went smoothly, but boss Gary Rudolf called her over to look at what was happening on his machine. He touched the screen for gubernatorial candidate Jim Davis, a Democrat, but the review screen repeatedly registered the Republican, Charlie Crist.
Now, if I were cynical, I’d say, wow, the votes are skewed towards to Republicans – again. But I think we’d miss the bigger picture here: it’s all about user (voter) convenience. Why bother making a hard decision? The machine does it all for you. It votes INSTEAD OF you. How convenient
Update (10/31): Time magazine’s cover story: Can This Machine Be Trusted?
Other blogs on the subject:
- Diebold and Broward: Stealing the Election Starts Early
- MESS WITH TEXAS: State Rep Reports ES&S Touch-Screens Dropping Candidate Names, Flipping Straight Ticket Ballots from Democratic to Republican in San Antonio!
- Glitches cited in early voting
- Florida Diebold machines help you pick the right candidate
Bill Clinton Leads 2008 Presidential Poll
Posted on September 27, 2006 ·
Bill Clinton leads the pack – well, at least at the Zoho Poll set up to rate potential 2008 Presidential Candidates, even those who can’t be elected, like Bill Clinton or the Pope. Incidentally, the Pope has better rating then George W. Bush. Vote now!
Tags: politics, elections, presidential+elections, presidential+candidates, humor, zoho+polls
Who Needs the $100 Laptop? Just "Borrow" one from the Government
Posted on September 22, 2006 ·
The Federal Government seems to be in the business of giving away free computers… how else could we explain that “More than 1,100 laptop computers have vanished from the Department of Commerce since 2001” ? (source: Washignton Post).
The second part of the quote is even scarier: “including nearly 250 from the Census Bureau containing such personal information as names, incomes and Social Security numbers, federal officials said yesterday.”
Gee. I don’t even want to think trough the privacy implications. Scott McNealy was right.
Related posts:
Tags: laptops, notebooks, $100+notebook, $100+laptop, government, federal+government, privacy, Social+Security, Census+Bureau, +Scott+McNealy
Bay Area Business Hall of Shame
Posted on September 20, 2006 ·
(Updated)
This is NOT a joke: on the heels of the widening HP Spy Scandal deposed (?) Chairman and Chief Spy Patricia Dunn is still scheduled to be inducted into the Bay Area Business Hall of Fame at a $500-a-piece Gala Dinner at the Westin St. Francis. The other inductee is former Chevron Chairman & CEO George M. Keller.
I don’t know Mr. Keller, but I don’t believe he is involved in any dishonorable activities, and frankly, if I were him, I would feel very-very inconvenient right now. Perhaps to the point of rejecting the “honor” of sharing the pedestal with HP’s Master Spy.
Fellow Hall of Famers, HP Founders William Hewlett & David Packard must be turning in their graves now that that the Executive who did the most to destroy their company’s reputation is being honored along with them. Other business legends in the Hall of Fame must feel the same: Eugene Kleiner & Thomas J. Perkins, William Hambrecht, Charles Schwab, Gordon Moore, George Lucas, Larry Sonsini. As we know, at least Mr Sonsini and Mr Perkins were subject to HP’s pretexting – this must make for cozy dinner company 🙂
If Patricia Dunn had any decency left, she would not provoke further attention and public outcry by accepting the honor and attending the Gala, But for all we know now, she plans to.
Perhaps the other participants will save the day and boycott what would otherwise become the Bay Area Business Hall of Shame… (?)
Update (9/21): Apparently no-one “saved the day” Patricia Dunn was toasted and inducted yesterday.
Related articles:
- The New York Times
- Washington Post
- ZDNet,
- Techdirt,
- robhyndman.com
- Dan Gillmor’s Blog
- Silicon Valley Watcher
- Scobleizer
Tags: Bay+Area+Business+Hall+of+Fame, Bay+Area+Business+Hall+of+Shame, Hall+of+Shame, HP, Hewlett+Packard, HP+Scandal, Pat+Dunn, Patricia+Dunn, Gala+Dinner, Boycott
So Much For Exporting Democracy: Afghanistan to Reinstate Religious Police
Posted on August 19, 2006 ·
“Last month, Karzai’s Cabinet approved a proposal to re-establish the agency also known as the Department for the Prevention of Vice and Promotion of Virtue, whose police under the Taliban beat and imprisoned Afghans for violating Shariah law. For many, the revival of religious cops raises painful memories of ruffians zipping around Kabul in Datsun pickups mainly in search of women and girls who refused to wear the head-to-toe burqa, donned high heels, wore nail polish or walked down city streets without a male relative. Men were cited for sporting short beards, drinking alcohol, working during prayer time, playing chess or listening to nonreligious music.”
(full article in SFGate)
Tags: Politics, Democracy, Afghanistan, Sharia+Law, oppression,
Iranian President’s Own Blog Turns Against Him
Posted on August 13, 2006 ·
Update: President (?) caught red-handed, see below.
The last person I’d expect to start a blog is Iran’s ultra-radical President, Mahmood Ahmadinejad. But he did. (click on the small US/UK flag to get to th English version).
The man who threatened to give the US an apocalyptic final answer to the nuclear issue on Aug 22 posted this poll.
As with most polls, after voting you can see the current vote-count – unfortunately in this case separated from the original questions. The vote count still speaks for itself: 80% responded NO to the loaded question.
I wonder how long it will stay up…
(Disclaimer: I have no way to verify if this is indeed the Iranian President’s blog or just a spoof).
Update (8/13): Jim just pointed out in a comment that YES votes are increasing steadily. I guess the entire Revolutionary Guard is ordered to vote … but wait a minute! The absolute numbers are more interesting than the percentages. Look at the snapshot taken at 1:55PM PST:
Not only YES votes are the majority, but the total number of votes is 3473, vs 4501 some 90 minutes ago. The absolute number of NO votes dropped from 3595 to 1607! Votes are disappearing!!!!
Alright, we know where this ends: by tomorrow there will be a handful of token NO votes left and a nicely controlled absolute majority will demonstrated to the whole world that the US and Israel are the evils trying to start WWIII… just as he wanted. What a joke.
Related posts:
- Hot Air, Captain’s Quarters, Jihad Watch, Vital Perspective, RightWinged.com, Sweetness & Light, PunditGuy and Clarity & Resolve
Prohibitively High Rocket-Fuel Prices Bring Mideast Crisis To Standstill
Posted on August 7, 2006 ·
BEIRUT, LEBANON-As the cost of rocket fuel soared to $630 per gallon Monday, Middle Easterners who depend on the non-renewable propellant to power 10-kilogram rockets have been forced to severely restrict their daily bombing routines, bringing this latest round of fighting to an unexpected halt.
“The way things are going, I won’t have any money left over for other necessities, such as anti-aircraft missiles, land mines, and machine guns,” said Hezbollah guerrilla Mahmoud Hamoui, who is just one of hundreds of Islamic militants compelled to scale back their killing until rocket-fuel prices return to their pre-2006 levels.
“I admit I had grown accustomed to waking up every morning, driving my multiple-rocket-launcher to the launching site, and firing one unguided Katyusha rocket after another, even when it wasn’t absolutely necessary,” Lebanese militia member Omar Cheaib said. “But at these prices, I can’t even afford short-range launches over the border. I don’t know what to do with myself.”
“A helpful list of rocket-fuel-conservation tips was issued by the Lebanese government in early June, but it was virtually ignored,” Beirut Arab University environmental studies Professor Farid Issa said. “It suggested taking public transportation to the border to launch missiles, or simply gunning down Israelis with AK-47s. Instead, Hezbollah members chose to fire rockets from the convenience of their own backyards, as if rocket fuel grew on trees.”
(full article at The Onion)
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