Is Croquet a medium for individual interactions or group interactions? Both!
Inventing the Future:
My Thoughts Exactly:
I am shocked, shocked that Bush continues to build Total Surveillance State
Yesterday, in the still pre-Murdoch Wall Street Journal, Siobhan Gorman brings us the deeply disturbing but unsurprising news:
NSA’s Domestic Spying Grows
As Agency Sweeps Up Data
Terror Fight Blurs
Line Over Domain;
Tracking Email
As Agency Sweeps Up Data
Terror Fight Blurs
Line Over Domain;
Tracking Email
My Thoughts Exactly:
Where's the goddamn Magna Carta when you need it?
Here’s a story about some shadowy (nominally USian) government agency that’s going around shutting down websites it doesn’t like & snapping up the domain names.
Rankin, the Treasury spokesman, said Marshall was free to ask for a review of his case. “If they want to be taken off the list,” Rankin said, “they should contact us to make their case.”
That is a problematic system, Fitzgerald said. “The way to get off the list,” he said, “is to go back to the same bureaucrat who put you on.”
Inventing the Future:
Cobalt
Another Croquet-based project has been launched this week. Cobalt is the first such coding project to be done by Duke University, which is also the home of the Croquet Consortium.
Tales of the Sausage Factory:
Comcast to Illinois: I loves Me The Market Power!
As reported on BroadbandReports.com, Comcast has greeted former Insight customers transferred to Comcast as part of unwinding a partnership with a 6% rate hike. Thanks to all the delightful cover given to Comcast by Congressional Republicans, who declare that all is “A OTAY” in Cableland, the Comcast guys are no longer even pretending that the rise in rates has anything to do with cost. Rather, as Comcast rep Libbie Steh told the Springfield Journal Register in a rare attack of honesty: “increased costs are not a factor this year.” Rather:
“Comcast periodically reviews prices and adjusts them to reflect what’s in the marketplace,” Stehn said.
More below . . . .
Neutrino:
And the Wheels Fell Off…
For the first time since the Federal Reserve began tracking home equity data in 1945 the amount of equity homeowners hold in their homes fell below 50% in the fourth quarter of 2007 according to the Federal Reserve. More interesting still is the finding by Moody’s Economy.com that approximately 10% of homeowners now have zero or negative equity in their homes. This resulted from a 8.9% drop in U.S. home prices in the fourth quarter of 2007.
And analysts are predicting roughly an equal decline in home prices in the first quarter of 2008. That will put nearly 20% of homeowners at zero or negative equity.
What happens if homeowners are genuinely the rational actors of neoclassical economics? They default on their mortgages the moment they reach zero equity and wait for the up to two years it would take for their lender to force them out by foreclosure. That means large-scale bank failures even with a massive federal bailout. Can we say the magic words “conjunctural crisis of capital”?
More below…
My Thoughts Exactly:
NEWSFLASH: Republicans pick McBush!
Congratulations to this stellar leader!
I had been rooting for Huckabee, but hey, the people have spoken and who am I to gainsay them?
Tales of the Sausage Factory:
And Now for Something Completely Different . . . .
The Onion explains the FCC’s indecency rules.
FCC Okays Nudity On TV If Itâs Alyson Hannigan
It should be noted, of course, that the inquiry is very fact specific. For example, a sex scene between Alyson Hannigan (“Willow”) and Amber Benson (“Tara”) would have strong artistic merit — especially if it included Sarah Michelle Gellar (“Buffy”). By contrast, if it took place during Seventh Season and featured Hannigan and Iyari Limon (“Kennedy”), it would merit a significant fine because Kennedy was a really stupid character and the entire relationship between Willow and Kennedy made absolutely no sense. In fact, even without the indecency, the FCC should have fined UPN for pretty much the entire second half of the seventh season.
By contrast, J. Michael Strazynsky should be fined for not making it profoundly unambiguous whether or not Susan Ivanova (Claudia Christian) and Talia Winters (Andrea Thompson) got it on in Divided Loyalties.
Such artistic programming can not only help avoid indecency fines, but it can be a serious assist next time you need a merger waiver. nudge nudge wink wink.
Finally, if any of the South Park characters appear nude, not only should the FCC fine every cable system in the country, but millions are likely to go blind.
Stay tuned . . . .
Tales of the Sausage Factory:
The Boston Tea Leaf Party
Those interested in a great eye witness account of what happened at the FCC hearing in Boston on February 25 should read fellow Wetmachiner John Sundman’s piece on the part he saw (including the reception afterwards). But after listening to the FCC’s video archive, reading the statements, and reading the coverage, I’m willing to read the Boston Tea Leaves and see where we are so far and how I think this ends up.
Speculation below . . . .
Tales of the Sausage Factory:
If Both Survive the Lirpa , We Will Continue With The Ahn'woon.
Alright Net Neutrality fans, policy wonks, and children of all ages. Bring your quatloos and tune your internet browsers to Von TV on March 11 at 2 p.m. to see THE ULTIMATE STEEL CAGE DEATHMATCH TAG-TEAM POLICY SMACKDOWN ON NETWORK NEUTRALITY!!!!
Yes! For the edification, enlightenment, and entertainment of the policy world, I, yr hmbl obdn’t blogger, with Comcast Complaint Co-Counsel Marvin Ammori of Free Press, will square off against Progress and Freedom Foundation President Ken “the Assassin” Ferree and Phoenix Center President Lawrence “Terminator” Spiwak on the burning issue of network neutrality. As House Subcommittee Chariman Ed Markey (D-MA) once said: “This is no country for old broadband.” And I, personally, can assure you, There Will Be Blood. (If by “blood” we mean some “civil but very intense, passionate debate”).
“Not since the last Latke v. Hamentashen Debate has so much intellectual fire power, passion, and eloquence been mustered in one place on a vital issue of public policy.” — Random Policy Person
“Great background while multitasking.” — Overworked FCC staffer.
“A fantastic series of debates for a fantastic series of tubes.” –Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska)
So don’t you dare miss the action! Tuesday, March 11, 2 p.m., live on VonTV and absolutely free. I shall float like a butterfly, sting like a bee, as I and my co-counsel Ammori, make mincemeat out of Spiwak and Ferree!
Stay tuned . . . .
