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Friday, July 5, 2002 |
Student Paddled For Refusing to Recite Pledge of Allegiance. In Alabama, a student stood silently with his fist raised rather than recite the Pledge of Allegiance. As punishment, the boy was spanked three times with a wooden paddle and given a written reprimand. The school board policy requires students to say the pledge and salute the flag during the day's first class and to sit through "prayer requests" and a moment of silence. The rest of the story is here. [kuro5hin.org]
7:23:28 PM 
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The Regulation of Fantasy. The recent Supreme Court decision on "morphed" child pornography and the subsequent legislative challenge that the House of Representatives brought last week begs the question: Does it make sense to regulate pure fantasy, if no actual harm is done? Nearly all of us have fantasies that would not fit our lives, and that we would never bring to fruition. Our popular culture supports fantasizing about things that any rational person would consider harmful. Can we, logically, allow pure fantasizing about any element of our existence to be controlled? [kuro5hin.org]
7:22:15 PM
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The hypocrite in chief. President Bush is talking tough about pinstriped rip-off artists -- ignoring the skeletons in his and Cheney's own corporate closets [Salon.com]
7:09:22 PM
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Everyone Is Outraged The Securities and Exchange Commission ruled that this was a phony transaction, and forced the company to restate its 1989 earnings. But long before that ruling, Mr. Bush sold off two-thirds of his stake, for $848,000. Though the law requires prompt disclosure of insider sales, he neglected to inform the S.E.C. about this transaction until 34 weeks had passed. An internal S.E.C. memorandum concluded that he had broken the law, but no charges were filed. This, everyone insists, had nothing to do with the fact that his father was president. [The New York Times]
6:46:00 PM
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Southern Style Conservativism Responsible for Corporate Implosions?. In a recent article in the Sunday Guardian Observer, journalist Will Hutton makes the argument that conservative Southern politics have much to do with the current crisis in corporate ethics we're having. Coincidentally, I just got done reading a large portion of the book "White Collar Sweatshop" by Jill Andresky Fraser. This book is a depressing treastise on the state of corporate America's policies towards it's workers: stagnant wages, declining benefits, overwork, low morale and frequent massive layoffs are the result. [kuro5hin.org]
6:35:53 PM
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A roundabout story re the Reuters story above. I got a call from Microsoft PR earlier this week about my blanket dismissal of their DRM operating system, aka Palladium. They may have a monopoly on OSes, but nothing says I have to use computers. I still have choice, even if they figure out how to impregnate my W2K machine with their viruses, theoretically I can still turn it off and go make pottery. Now, I can do the same with the music industry's product. As long as they keep treating their users with the same kind of disrespect that Microsoft does, they're going to end up just as reviled. The MS person asked what they can do to regain my trust. I said it's possible. Start by restoring competition to the browser market. Then we can talk about next steps. It comes down to this, how can they be a leader if they destroy everything they would hope to lead? [Scripting News]
10:20:01 AM
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The Court's Troubling Term President Bush was in Cleveland this week, shortly after the Supreme Court ended its term, basking in the glow of the court's school voucher ruling. Speaking at a downtown rally, Mr. Bush compared the case to Brown v. Board of Education, the 1954 decision striking down segregated schools... Mr. Bush's use of the voucher ruling in a political stump speech reflected just how ideological this term's opinions were. [The New York Times]
10:17:32 AM
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Anthrax? The F.B.I. Yawns The F.B.I.'s bumbling before 9/11 is water under the bridge. But the bureau's lackadaisical ineptitude in pursuing the anthrax killer continues to threaten America's national security by permitting him to strike again or, more likely, to flee to Iran or North Korea. Almost everyone who has encountered the F.B.I. anthrax investigation is aghast at the bureau's lethargy. [Daypop Top 40]
10:03:21 AM
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I should write a FAQ about arguing with Microsoft and how not to fall into their trap, as Mitch Wagner does here. Here's the first question that would be in the FAQ. Why is it pointless to argue with Microsoft people? Answer: because they hold you to a higher moral standard than they themselves support. When discussing their transgressions, they argue that they have the right to do that. When that doesn't work, they question your objectivity or qualifications, or resort to veiled ad hominems (a quick subject-change). It's very disgusting. I used to fall for it all the time, arguing with them as if they were willing to be convinced, when they want nothing of the sort. They want to confuse you and tire you out until you give up. So I don't argue with them anymore, I just form my opinion, state it, and don't worry if I'm being terribly fair to them, because they clearly don't worry about being fair to anyone else, including me (and you). [Scripting News]
9:58:00 AM
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Tom the Dancing Bug. "Our leader George W. Bush is Wise, Good, and Mighty, and there is nothign to fear from his unchecked power. 'Through Obedience, Triumph.'" [Salon.com]
9:56:48 AM
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The National Alliance: America's Al-Qaeda. What do Timothy McVeigh, William Pierce, and many other affluent Americans have in common? An organization known as the National Alliance. This group is much more sinister than the Ku Klux Klan, and most skinhead groups. However, most people have never heard of them. This article exposes the origin and goals of the National Alliance, and their role as a terrorist organization. [kuro5hin.org]
9:53:38 AM
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File-Trading Furor Heats Up. Word leaked out that the music industry would soon start suing individuals who share songs online. The RIAA has gone after individual file-traders in the past. But it's never been quite what it seems. This time, it's no different. By Brad King. [Wired News]
9:53:21 AM
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Enough of this insanity. These plans for invading Iraq have gone far enough. In our country, which is a republic, the leaders need a mandate from the people. Getting such a mandate is not as simple as running a few TV commercials, when the matter in question involves massive loss of life, destruction, chaos, and expenditure. If Bush ever had a blank check, this is the point at which it will bounce. [kuro5hin.org]
9:52:50 AM
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In Denmark today, a judge rules against a search engine that respects the robots.txt convention, and stops it from "deep linking" into sites run by the Danish newspaper association. All these court cases are as stupid as dirt. Several good technical preventatives exist. First, if the search engine supports robots.txt, you can simply edit the file on your site, and save the lawyer's fees. If it doesn't support robots.txt, first raise the issue in public, and the tech weblogs will get right on it. If that doesn't work, add a simple script to your server to look at the referer attribute on the HTTP request and if it isn't from your site, redirect to your deep linking policy page. We know for sure that when a company goes to court for "deep linking" that they aren't talking to, or listening to, their technical people. BTW, deep linking is an oxymoron. There's only one kind of linking on the Web. Why would you ever point to the home page of a news oriented site. [Scripting News]
9:51:28 AM
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Don't crash in Las Vegas : UMC Trauma Center shuts.. The only level 1 trauma center within 250 miles of Las Vegas has shut down, according to this AP report. The doctors who run the center withdrew their services, citing the rising cost of malpractice insurance. This is bad. Read on to find out why. [kuro5hin.org]
8:41:51 AM
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Shawn Dodd: "Microsoft wants to know what they can do to regain our trust. The answer: give up DRM altogether. Microsoft can't push DRM and regain our trust at the same time; we can't and shouldn't trust someone who is planning to hurt us." [Scripting News]
8:39:07 AM
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© Copyright 2002 Michael Alderete.
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