Wednesday, January 23, 2002

Thought for the day: As the mess continues in the Land of Canaan, we observe that a lot of that trouble could be avoided by simple observance of Hastings' fourth law, which reads: "Never throw rocks at people with guns." Jeff Cooper comment () trackback ()  11:44:08 PM     Taiwan Premier Names Female Minister. Taiwan's new premier rounded out his reshuffled Cabinet on Thursday, appointing China Airlines president Christine Tsung as economics minister - the first female to hold the job. [AP World News] Ms. Tsung is not only a woman, she's also the head of a company which actually made a profit. That's a rare qualification among economics ministers, and I'd like to see it catch on elsewhere. comment () trackback ()  11:38:58 PM     Inside CBS. People like Mr. Rather (who, Mr. Goldberg tells us, views the New York Times editorial page as "middle of the road") don't seem to know or care that their prejudices have damaged their credibility with a large segment of the American public, and are a major contributing factor to three major networks' ongoing loss of market share to cable television. [Washington Times] comment () trackback ()  11:32:43 PM     I'm experimenting with the "Adult Contemporary" theme. It's more conservative and bland, which suits my personality better. Then again, maybe I'll decide to switch back soon... comment () trackback ()  10:54:17 PM     Little blades, big trouble. No one was injured or threatened, but the knives violated the district's zero-tolerance policy on weapons, and state law that says schools can punish students for violating the rules on their way to or from school. [Orange County Register] The "knives" in this case are tiny novelty items with dull blades. There's no way any sane person could consider something like that a weapon--but of course school administrators are not sane people. The idea that schools can impose their rules are kids who aren't even in school is also disgusting. Someone on the Spyderco Forum wrote, "Those kids may never forget this situation and they will grow up either disliking or fearing authorities and laws." To that I say, "Good for them!" comment () trackback ()  3:47:36 PM     Saudi Dress Code for Female Troops Revised. Lt. Col. Martha McSally had sued Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld over the dress code. She contended that the policy on abayas, a form of head-to-toe gown similar to the burqa worn by many women in Afghanistan, discriminates against women and violates their religious freedom by forcing them to adopt the garb of another faith. [Washington Post] According to the article the policy dates to the mid-1990s, and no clear reason for it could be given. This smells like more of Clinton's political correctness--it combines "sensitivity" for a barbaric and misogynistic culture with contempt for American military women. There are other rules (against driving, for example) still in effect. Hopefully the Department of Defense will get rid of them without further prompting. comment () trackback ()  2:40:50 PM     Supreme Court to Consider Barring Judges From Restoring Felon Gun Rights. The intervention comes at the request of the Bush administration, angry that a Texas man convicted of a felony in Mexico convinced a court that he should be able to own a gun. Felons are barred from carrying guns after their release from prison, but they can ask the government for an exception. Those requests have been stalled, however, for nearly a decade because Congress ordered the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms to stop spending money to process them. [FirearmNews.com] Relatively low-profile cases like this show what the Bush Administration really thinks about the Second Amendment. Of course, it's not surprising that the government has been using foreign convictions as excuses to deny Americans their civil rights. Considering what kind of things are considered felonies in some foreign countries, such a conviction should be considered a badge of honor by any decent American! comment () trackback ()  1:19:10 PM     Palm Bluetooth card available for pre-order in the UK [PDABuzz.com] Bluetooth is all well and good (I suppose), but I hope Palm devices continue to support IRDA as well. It's really usefull to be able to beam information to and from Palms via my Newton's IR port. comment () trackback ()  1:04:59 PM     Amtrak, Yahoo offer wireless Net access on trains [MacCentral] The article mentions free iPaqs, but what about people who have their own computer? If I was on one of those trains I would be happy to use my PowerBook with Airport, but I wouldn't even bother if I was forced to use a loaner iPaq. comment () trackback ()  12:21:46 PM     Apple Creator Wozniak Forms Start-Up [Yahoo! Finance] Woz is forming a new company to create some sort of wireless PDA. This is great news for the PDA market, which is currently split between the inadequate Palm OS and the poorly-designed Pocket PC platform. If anybody can produce a PDA as good as the Newton, Woz can! comment () trackback ()  11:15:27 AM     Israel 'to open up Temple Mount'. Jerusalem's most sensitive religious site - a flashpoint for previous violence - could be reopened to non-Muslims soon, an Israeli official tells the BBC. [BBC News: world] This story really shows who is being civilized and reasonable in that area. The Israelis have been denying their own people access to the most holy site in their religion to placate Muslims. This has been necessary because the Palestinians are apparently unwilling to behave like civilized human beings. If I were the Israeli government I'd have done it the other way--deny access to Muslims until they demonstrate that they are capable of praying without trying to murder anybody. comment () trackback ()  11:09:20 AM

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