09 October 2002

Bookmarks George W Bush's speech on September 11, 2002, marking the first anniversary of the WTC terror attacks. US threatens world peace, says Mandela. 5:50:36 PM    comment []

DaveNet: What is a News Aggregator? [Scripting News] I've been raving about the elegant power of the Radio News Aggregator.  Well, here's the maestro himself, Dave Winer, describing it in his own, philosophical but enthusiastic fashion on the latest DaveNet email post. As he says, the technical sophistication is masked by the absolute simplicity of using the functionality - great software, and awesome capability! 2:16:33 AM    comment []

Now for some serious techie stuff - a long, exhaustive article about the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) and their Chairman, none other than Michael Powell, son of Colin (I didn't know that!), but along the way, explaining a great deal about the collapse of the telecoms industry, and the very different treatment by the current executive branch, vs that of the Clinton/Gore regime. Pointed to by the Werblog, with some additional expert comments.  Clearly an issue which will affect our technological future profoundly.  I must revisit George Gilder's book to see how wide of the mark he was, in those heady days of the late 90's. 1:48:59 AM    comment []

OK, let's talk about Bill Clinton.  Many people hope he would just disappear into the sunset - not much chance of that!  Bill was in Europe last week.  First, making a huge impact at the Labour Party annual conference, and getting the BBC web site and virtually all of the UK press raving about his performance.  He brought Kevin Spacey along with him to Blackpool, they dined out at McDonalds, and fraternised with the locals, and expressed genuine enthusiasm about the place.    I took the trouble to listen to the entire speech on BBC streaming video (also linked in this post), and one cannot fail to be impressed - he is an amazing orator, knows his audience, empathizes with them, seduces them, and sends them away happy.  No doubt that he buttressed Tony Blair, supported his position on Iraq, to an audience which is very sceptical about the Blair position, without ever endorsing George W - a very supple performance, conveniently glossing over such things as the bombing of Iraq in 1998 (the night before his impeachment hearing, not sanctioned by the UN), and the stupid missile attacks on Afghanistan and Sudan after the Kenya/Tanzania embassy bombings. Later in the week, he turned up at the dazzling unveiling of the restored Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, and charmed the pants off the Germans too - so much for strained relations between Germany and the US - and I thought it was Ronald Reagan who called for the wall to be torn down, from the same spot, 4 or 5 years before Clinton became a candidate, while he was still an obscure Governor of Arkansas (where?). No doubt that he is still a politician to be reckoned with, still lusts after the buzz of public aclaim, and will feature in the future, either in his own right, or as the consort of the Democratic presidential nominee in 2008. Later:  Andie points out in a comment that before coming to Europe, past-president Bill (as he mentioned in his speech also), he was in Cape Town, setting hormones a-flutter at Beluga - just his kind of place!  And isn't Lin Sampson wicked!  Thanks for the link, Andie, I missed it in my weekly scan of the Sunday Crimes.  And I bet Bill had more fun in Cape Town than he did in Ghana or Rwanda! 1:34:21 AM    comment []

Quick couple of posts, late night or early morning, whatever.  Still have to deal with the SA weekend news, Greek news, and all of the personal stuff (also Bill Clinton).  I'm sure I'll get around to it (A Round Tuitt - remember that one?). First: really interesting, provocative thoughts about whether Israel is in the right place. I've referenced this weblog before; really need to pay a longer visit. 12:37:41 AM    comment []