Month: February 2002

Term Limits

From Rough & Tumble: Don Novey has a problem. The head of the powerful California Correctional Peace Officers Association supported the legislative term-limits initiative in 1990 and still thinks it’s a good idea. But after watching it work for nearly a dozen years he thinks there needs to be a change. Dan Smith in the … Continue reading “Term Limits”

From Rough & Tumble:

Don
Novey has a problem. The head of the powerful California Correctional Peace
Officers Association supported the legislative term-limits initiative in 1990
and still thinks it’s a good idea. But after watching it work for nearly a dozen
years he thinks there needs to be a change. Dan Smith
in the Sacramento
Bee Michael Gardner in the San
Diego Union — 2/18/02

This is a good sign for those of us who don’t like the results of term limits in California; Novey’s the most powerful special interest in the state.

Free Internet, no ads –

Rob Flickenger’s skepticism over CringelyNet leads him to create a realistic version of long-haul WiFi in Sonoma County: In Sebastopol, being neighborly has gone beyond sharing a cup of herbal tea. People today share high-speed Internet access. Using a garden-variety wireless technology popularly called WiFi, tech-savvy, community-minded Sebastopol residents are creating a free wireless Internet … Continue reading “Free Internet, no ads –”

Rob Flickenger’s skepticism over CringelyNet leads him to create a realistic version of long-haul WiFi in Sonoma County:

In Sebastopol, being neighborly has gone beyond sharing a cup of herbal tea. People today share high-speed Internet access.

Using a garden-variety wireless technology popularly called WiFi, tech-savvy, community-minded Sebastopol residents are creating a free wireless Internet network dubbed NoCat.

For those not in the know, Flickenger is the sys admin for O’Reilly, the tech book publisher, and he’s been around this stuff forever.
link: Tapping in freely

Two in a row

non-Enron pieces in Talking Points Memo: by Joshua Micah Marshall, most recently on the fun-loving Gary Condit, who says (sort of): If you will entrust me with your hard-earned dollars and contribute them to my campaign, I will use that money to make my case to the voters of our district, to tell a story … Continue reading “Two in a row”

non-Enron pieces in Talking Points Memo: by Joshua Micah Marshall, most recently on the fun-loving Gary Condit, who says (sort of):

If you will entrust me with your hard-earned dollars and contribute them to my campaign, I will use that money to make my case to the voters of our district, to tell a story about the struggles of working families and to enlist a dubious also-ran in the annals of forensic science to exonerate me of any responsibility for the tragic murder of my bosomy young girlfriend …

I’m no liberal but I admire Marshal for his ability to make the liberal case with intelligence and without the snarkiness that characterizes people like Talbot and Kinsley. Our democratic process doesn’t work without smart people on both sides, so I encourage them where I find them.

Play nice, fellas –

Blogger newbie Andy Dodge complains that fellow newbie Glenn Reynolds ripped him off: Dodgeblog Ok, now I am bloody pissed off with Glenn at Instapundit. What the hell is his damn problem with giving people credit for sending him links to stuff? I live in London, got The Spectator as soon as it came out … Continue reading “Play nice, fellas –”

Blogger newbie Andy Dodge complains that fellow newbie Glenn Reynolds ripped him off: Dodgeblog

Ok, now I am bloody pissed off with Glenn at Instapundit. What the hell is his damn problem with giving people credit for sending him links to stuff? I live in London, got The Spectator as soon as it came out and sent him info on it. Did I get any credit, NO! Glenn thinks he is god to bloggers and doesn’t have to give the rest of credit for giving him heads-up on stuff. I am not the first to complain about this.

I don’t have any insight into this particular problem, but I suspect it’s hard to maintain a 30-a-day posting regime and still observe all the proper social forms; it’s also unlikely that Reynolds gets all those links by acting badly. Whether Reynolds is stingy with his credits or not, Andy’s problem is easily solved from his end.

It probably won’t be long ’till some other enterprising newbie publishes a summary of the 4 or 5 Reynolds entries um, most worth reading in a given day; maybe Andy himself can take that on. (source: Ben Kepple.)

Update: the boys have now officially kissed and made up. Feel the love.

If it’s not Scottish, it’s not modern –

David Boaz on Scotland & Afghanistan compares the two backward, mountainous, religion-obsessed countries, highlighting the contributions of Scots to the development of modernity: The Scots pioneered the social sciences: the scientific study of history and human nature. By the late 18th century, the most important books in Europe were Scottish books, beginning with Francis Hutcheson’s … Continue reading “If it’s not Scottish, it’s not modern –”

David Boaz on Scotland & Afghanistan compares the two backward, mountainous, religion-obsessed countries, highlighting the contributions of Scots to the development of modernity:

The Scots pioneered the social sciences: the scientific study of history and human nature. By the late 18th century, the most important books in Europe were Scottish books, beginning with Francis Hutcheson’s System of Moral Philosophy and Lord Kames’s Sketches of the History of Man and going on to Adam Smith’s Theory of Moral Sentiments and Wealth of Nations, David Hume’s Treatise of Human Nature, Adam Ferguson’s Essay on the History of Civil Society, and more.

And not just books: the inventor James Watt, the architect Robert Adam, the road builder John MacAdam, the bridge builder Thomas Telford, and later Scots such as Alexander Graham Bell and Andrew Carnegie demonstrated the practical side of Scottish philosophy.

Boaz suggests Afghanistan can take the Scottish road.

Axis of Snobbery –

David Horowitz takes down the David Talbot column I posted recently here: Axis of snobbery It’s time for the intellectual class to begin reassessing its self-exposing snobbery toward George W. Bush. This reappraisal has already begun to take place. A February Tarrance Group poll reveals that 65 percent of American college students are now “glad … Continue reading “Axis of Snobbery –”

David Horowitz takes down the David Talbot column I posted recently here: Axis of snobbery

It’s time for the intellectual class to begin reassessing its self-exposing snobbery toward George W. Bush. This reappraisal has already begun to take place. A February Tarrance Group poll reveals that 65 percent of American college students are now “glad that George Bush is president.” Only 18 percent wish it was Al Gore.

It’s well worth a read, since he amplifies and supports my main points.

Insecure networks –

Researchers crack new wireless security spec A UNIVERSITY OF Maryland professor and his graduate student have apparently uncovered serious weaknesses in the next-generation Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity) security protocol known as 802.1x. Back to the drawing board. Security wasn’t part of the 802.11 MAC protocol, because those of us who designed it didn’t know anything about … Continue reading “Insecure networks –”

Researchers crack new wireless security spec

A UNIVERSITY OF Maryland professor and his graduate student have apparently uncovered serious weaknesses in the next-generation Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity) security protocol known as 802.1x.

Back to the drawing board. Security wasn’t part of the 802.11 MAC protocol, because those of us who designed it didn’t know anything about the subject, and subsequent attempts to graft it on (WEP and 802.1x) have problems. As things stand, you’re not truly secure on 802.11 unless you use an end-to-end VPN, but neither are you on a wired network, easily tapped at many points. The man-in-the-middle flaw that these folks think they’ve found isn’t a genuine flaw beause they assume a directionality of signal that’s not generally possible, but I don’t want to spoil their fun. (source: 802.11b Networking News)

Big Time –

My speculation that hawala is small potatoes is contradicted by this WaPo story Al Qaeda’s Road Paved With Gold : In small shops and businesses along the border, the money and gold, taken from Afghanistan’s banks and national coffers, were collected and moved by trusted Taliban and al Qaeda operatives to the port city of … Continue reading “Big Time –”

My speculation that hawala is small potatoes is contradicted by this WaPo story Al Qaeda’s Road Paved With Gold :

In small shops and businesses along the border, the money and gold, taken from Afghanistan’s banks and national coffers, were collected and moved by trusted Taliban and al Qaeda operatives to the port city of Karachi, Pakistan, according to sources familiar with the events.

Then, using couriers and the virtually untraceable hawala money transfer system, they transferred millions of dollars to this desert sheikdom, where the assets were converted to gold bullion.

And so much for the theory that they hate us because they’re poor.

India and the Jews

is the subject of an excellent collection of historical insights at the Kolkata Libertarian, complete with charts and maps. It begins with: An unhurried tectonic shift is in progress in South Asian politics, driven into the limelight by the events of 9/11 in the US and 12/13 in India. By many in the Palestinian and … Continue reading “India and the Jews”

is the subject of an excellent collection of historical insights at the Kolkata Libertarian, complete with charts and maps. It begins with:

An unhurried tectonic shift is in progress in South Asian politics, driven into the limelight by the events of 9/11 in the US and 12/13 in India. By many in the Palestinian and Arab media, as well as in the West, it is viewed with deep suspicion, some anger and sadness.

Bottom line is that historical ties between India and the Israeli people run deep.

BTW, Cochin’s Jew Town is empty now, as all the old-timers have moved to Israel. There are probably more Jews in Kerala ashrams now than there are in Cochin, for what it’s worth.

Campaign finance reform’s poster boy

isn’t Ken Lay, it’s California Governor Gray Davis. This article (Dan Walters: Rivals prepare for long, expensive, negative campaign for governor) explains why: “Gray, you’re a disgrace,” Riordan said last week, tagging Davis as the “Enron governor” and castigating him for raising campaign funds from interest groups while he has bills affecting them awaiting his … Continue reading “Campaign finance reform’s poster boy”

isn’t Ken Lay, it’s California Governor Gray Davis. This article (Dan Walters: Rivals prepare for long, expensive, negative campaign for governor) explains why:

“Gray, you’re a disgrace,” Riordan said last week, tagging Davis as the “Enron governor” and castigating him for raising campaign funds from interest groups while he has bills affecting them awaiting his signature or veto.

And the best method for reducing the power of Big Money in politics isn’t the unconstitutional Shays-Meehan bill that stifles First Amendment rights, it’s the ballot box. But the media have to do their job, which they have in the case of Davis:

The state’s news media have detailed numerous incidents in which Davis took actions, whether legislative or administrative, that favored major campaign contributors. Davis denies it, insisting that he has often disappointed contributors and doesn’t take money into account when making policy.

This by way of Rough & Tumble.