Tuesday, March 04, 2003

How bad is it getting? This Bad.  5:22:44 PM

News of Note From Microsoft. The company shows notable progress outside of Windows -- and the stock may be cheap, too. [The Motley Fool] For those who believe Microsoft's long-term future holds promise, the stock may be worth a look at current levels. At around $23.30, the company has a market cap of $253.6 billion. If you back out its cash hoard of $56.1 billion, you get an enterprise value (EV) of $197.5 billion. Comparing that figure to free cash flow over the past year of $14.1 billion reveals an EV-to-FCF multiple of only 14. That's significantly cheaper than the S&P 500's average price-to-free cash flow of 20.3 2:09:39 PM

MARRIED BY AMERICA:. Check out this website from Fox advertizing their newest (and not too successful) reality television show. This is how Fox views the sacredness of marriage. And yet the same network routinely features speakers and pundits who bemoan gay people's sincere attempt to commit to one another as an assault on civilization. Moats and beams, don't you think? Or just more double standards from those who claim to support the institution of marriage, but, in reality, just want to keep homosexual citizens permanently stigmatized? - 2:53:50 PM [Andrew Sullivan - The Daily Dish] 1:40:22 PM

White House Unveils Plan for Medicare. The White House's plan would offer comprehensive coverage of prescription drugs and preventive services to people who join private insurance plans. By Robert Pear. [New York Times: Politics] 10:39:37 AM

THE REAL AGENDAS:. And one reason to pay only limited attention to the howls of outrage as the U.S. and U.K. do what is necessary is the fact that very little of the opposition to this war is actually about this war. For some it's about "war" in general - a newly empowered new age pacifism. For France, it's about ... France, and its eclipse as a power of any significance. France's crisis is deepened by the fact that a successful war against Saddam could also accelerate the end of the Franco-German bloc as the power-house of the European Union. For Russia, it's about money. For the Germans, it's about a new national identity. The Germans have never been able to sustain a moderate polity on their own. They veer from extreme romantic militarism to romantic pacifism. Their current abdication of all strategic responsibility for Europe or the wider world is just another all-too-familiar spasm from German history. For the broader anti-war forces in Europe, it's about American uni-polar power - and the need to counteract it, even if it's being put to good use. For still others, especially in the Vatican and France, it's the old Jew-hatred again. For the Democrats, it's about getting back to prescription drugs. For the anti-war left in America, it's really about Bush. The pent-up fury they felt after Florida never found expression or even validation in the wider culture. It was repressed in the first months of a new presidency - and then made irrelevant by 9/11. Finally, they have a chance to demonstrate their hate - which is why so much of the demonstrations' focus has not been on Saddam, Iraq or even war, but on Bush. The anti-Bush left knows that a successful war will only strengthen the president further and marginalize them even more - hence their utter desperation and viciousness today. This is their moment; and the demonstrations are their therapy. Meanwhile, a real and actual problem in global security is being addressed. Thank heavens that for some, this moment really is about Saddam. - 12:57:20 AM [Andrew Sullivan - The Daily Dish] 10:38:08 AM

Longhorn M4 Build Review. Gsurface writes "I finally got my hands on the new Longhorn build, 4008, that was announced two days ago. After installing it and looking around through it, I ... [Slashdot] It's way too early to look at longhorn at see anything really new. There is a different theme, a cleaner installer and the giant sucking sound of winfs's 150 mb. The project is still mostly architecture and low level stuff rather then end visible features. 10:28:01 AM

White House Unveils Plan for Medicare. The White House's plan would offer comprehensive coverage of prescription drugs and preventive services to people who join private insurance plans. By Robert Pear. [New York Times: Politics] 9:19:03 AM

jury duty for ex-presidents! [jwz] 9:11:40 AM

nature's self-regulating effects in action? [jwz] Fast-falling birth rates and rising AIDS deaths are stifling the population explosion - and could lead to a decline in global population in the second half of the 21st century. [new scientist] 9:08:00 AM

Inspectors 'no deterrent to Iraq'. The US defence chief says Iraq could build new weapons even with inspectors in the country, as Russia refuses to rule out use of its veto. [BBC News | World | UK Edition] 8:50:33 AM

Aceh's Sharia court opens. The Indonesian province of Aceh inaugurates its first Islamic law court with a pledge of moderation. [BBC News | World | UK Edition] 8:48:57 AM