Past US diplomats criticize Bush's handling of Mideast Over 60 former US diplomats and civil servants signed a letter issued to US President George W. Bush Tuesday, contending that his “unqualified support” for Israeli policies is undermining the United States' credibility and foreign relations in the region, as well as placing the country's citizens abroad […]

A triumph of French genius over French engineering. That's what my old friend Julius Ruff called Citroën automobiles. This was back in the sixties, when we were both in college. In those days your iconic Citroëns were the 2-cylinder 2cv and the aerodynamic DS. The 2cv had windows with hinges, bug-eye headlights, less curb weight […]

CLIPDAQ. I'm proposing a new index called CLIPDAQ for the ongoing measurement of technology adoption. The CLIPDAQ index would be an aggregate index based upon regional and global sales of paper clips and as such represents an ideal inverse index for the measurement of technology adoption and the proliferation of the 'paperless office'. I propose […]

IRC is Evil. Anytime there is a relatively new mode of communication, its blamed for all things conceivable. A NY Times article takes aim at IRC as a breeding ground for file sharing, child porn and, god forbid, hackers. It specifically takes aim… [Ross Mayfield's Weblog] —— irc is evil, wikis are evil…. all really […]

Platform for Privacy Preferences (P3P) 1.1 Working Draft Published. Platform for Privacy Preferences (P3P) 1.1 Working Draft Publishedhttp://www.w3.org/TR/2004/WD-P3P11-20040427/http://www.w3.org/P3P/ The P3P Specification Working Group has released the second public Working Draft of the “Platform for Privacy Preferences 1.1 (P3P 1.1).” P3P simplifies and automates the process of reading Web site privacy policies, promoting trust and confidence […]

Security Clearance Backlog Proves Costly. Washington Times: Security Clearance Backlog Proves Costly The government’s backlog of defense security clearances, estimated to be as much as 270,000, is raising the salaries… [Outside the Beltway] ——- as i recall…, i received my clearance about 6 months after i left my MP duties.

Theory and Practice of Online Learning. Theory and Practice of Online Learninghttp://cde.athabascau.ca/online_book/ A new book entitled Theory and Practice of Online Learning published by Athabasca University is now available for download under an Attribution-NoDerivs-NonCommerciallicense. The book is also being sold. Sir John Daniel, Assistant Director-General for Education of UNESCO, had this to say about it: […]

Tillman's youngest brother, Rich, wore a rumpled white T-shirt, no jacket, no tie, no collar, and immediately swore into the microphone. He hadn't written anything, he said, and with the starkest honesty, he asked mourners to hold their spiritual bromides. “Pat isn't with God,'' he said. “He's f — ing dead. He wasn't religious. So […]

'So Much for the Feminization of the Military, eh?'. Kevin Drum’s guest writer today is Debra Dickerson a former military officer and currently a no-holds-barred writer. Strong stuff…. [Discourse.net] —— yes, 'difference' theory based on gender only goes so far…. sociopaths and sadists are categories that cross gender differences. As does the military mindset, and […]

Defense Of Marriage. An interesting side note to the introduction of state sanctioned same sex marriages in Massachusetts is that many companies are going to drop domestic partner benefits, since they were created largely for gay couples. It will be interesting to see if there is any backlash to those moves, as retention of same […]