Friday, March 8, 2002
Antipiracy bill a high-tech threat
It is unlawful to manufacture, import, offer to the public, provide or otherwise traffic in any interactive digital device that does not include and utilize certified security technologies. Yes, that includes your desktop computer, your TiVo recorder, your PlayStation 2 and TV set-top box. Everything. Suddenly, the US government is in the business of designing the next generation of electronic devices.
Do OS Vendors Sell Lemons?
Government Web intrusions mainly occur because vendors sell systems with security holes, a researcher told a federal advisory panel on Thursday.
Arrivederci, Svizerra
The Swiss can soon enjoy the US standard of justice — where people are arrested for enclosing a letter of protest with tax returns, having an unreported bank transaction (let alone account) — or carrying a Swiss Army knife.
Shield Us On Sunday Night? No, Just Show Us
The overall theme, as the show's executive producer, Susan Zirinsky, explained at the screening, is that it is about heroism, not terror, a tribute toa moment of strength. Moment of strength? Well, yes, unquestionably there was valor. But given that the overwhelming event this bravery sought to address was, actually, terror, this amounts to a cleaned up version of the realities of that day.
I'm more than a bit nervous about this show.
We now take a break from our regularly scheduled program of rampant cynicism to bring you the Auto-affirmer!
Courtesy of my wife - do you think she's trying to tell me something?
They Were Soldiers
Soldiers don't do math. That's the terrible beauty underscored by the return home this week of Petty Officer First Class Neil Roberts and the six other American fighting men who gave their lives in Afghanistan on Monday in the effort to recover his body.
A Market Solution to the Accounting Crisis
Financial-statement insurance is the most practical and efficient solution, for it would use the incentives of the market. Even better, it would redirect the auditor's loyalty to where it belongs: a corporation's employees, creditors and shareholders.
An intriguing idea. A corporation buys insurance that its financial statements are correct. The insurance company pay an auditor to check the books. If the auditor is satisfied that the financial statements are in order, the company will be rewarded with high coverage at a low price; otherwise, the company will have to pay a high price for low coverage. The insurance information will be part of the public record, and can be used by investors to determine the truthfulness of the company's financial records.
Testing His Metal
Even before the steel verdict, the United States was developing a reputation for hypocrisy — ready and willing to criticize others for failing to live up to their responsibilities, but unwilling to live up to its own. Now that our free-trade rhetoric has proved empty, who will listen to our preaching?
Mickey Kantor - Tariffs May Temper a Glut of Steel
If the steel tariffs bring serious negotiations on all these matters, the winners will be all those who would be helped by open markets and expanded world economic activity, and that includes our European friends. Long after the inflated anti-tariff rhetoric has faded, the benefit of enforcing our trade laws will become clear.
Do I understand correctly? In order to open up markets we must first close them?
David Ignatius - So Much for Free Trade
The steelworkers make a poignant argument, but it's as wrong now as it was 25 years ago. And it's a shame that President Bush fell for it. Steel's only salvation, then and now, is to compete efficiently in the global marketplace.
