bogus USNWR school rankings

having attended washington university in st louis, i realized it was a fine institute of higher learning. however that #12 ranking in the best college rankings seems a bit high.
a nytimes article [bugmenot login] dissect some of the silly gaming of the USNews system to improve rankings.

periodic microsoft goofs, part 4

every once in a while, that "freedom to innovate" campaign which maintains

"Microsoft must have the freedom to innovate and to improve our products"

hits a pr snag.... who knew it'd be this often?

the beta release of microsoft's IE7 is not-so-friendly with toolbars from yahoo and google.
i suppose it's too late to 'cut off the air supply' of these competitors,
but what's a little beta busting booboo among internet behemoths?

free trade-tale of two decades

after alotta lobbying, CAFTA passed the house by the slimmest of margins. since it previously passed in the senate, it only awaits the president's signature.

considering the easier passage of NAFTA in 1993 through attempts to make 'outsourcing' a four letter word during last year's elections to recent congressional grumbling about the CNOOC bid for unocal...
there has been a disturbing protectionist trend among some lawmakers

tv tip leads to missing persons find

every once in a while, pro-tv articles are trotted out to demonstrate some positives involved with tv viewing.

while some of those maybe a bit of a stretch, a missing person featured on cbs' without a trace was found. a viewer tip stemming from a july 21st airing of the missing persons procedural led to the location of a missing brother and sister who had been abducted by a non-custodial parent.

john walsh's america's most wanted has led to the capture of many fugitives.

even scam artists need to save money

companies often tout testimonials and/or case studies to promote their products. microsoft is no different. microsoft's case study of GoldQuest serves as one example.

unfortunately, hong kong based goldquest is kinda a pyramid scheme company shilling coins in developing countries.

why music on radio stinks

apparently, payola never really goes away...
sony settles for $10 million with headline-grabbing NY attorney general eliot spitzer. internal sony memos reveal the monetary values to secure airtime for terrible j-lo music in the form of cash, electronic gizmos and perks.

as a general rule, jessica simpson should be seen and not heard

newsflash--microsoft product has glitches

it appears microsoft's promises to improve product tend to get undercut by reality.

MSN's satellite-mapping project virtual earth has a coupla glitches--like a lack of apple headquarters and the continued existence of the WTC in NYC.

perhaps this is too critical for the first day of a beta launch...

grieving families suffer anti-war insensitivity

- the family of a fallen US soldier suffered an act of vandalism less than 24 hours after burying US Army Pfc Timothy Hines Jr. 20 US flags given to the family were placed in a pile under a car and burned.

"Whoever set the fire used about 20 flags that were given to me by friends," Jim Wessel said. "If it wasn't random vandalism, what statement were they trying to make?"
The 20 flags were replaced with more than 200 by Saturday afternoon. The flags came from family, friends and neighbors.

- meanwhile, pennsylvania governor is in damage control mode after the actions of his loopy lieutenant governor Catherine Baker Knoll this weekend. she apparently invited herself to the funeral of Marine Staff Sgt Joseph Goodrich. once there, knoll seemingly bragged that she "attends 90 percent of these 'functions' across the state", continuing with the remark that "the (state) government was against the war"
sister-in-law rhonda goodrich was understandably upset

"This was not a 'function'....A function is a dinner or an awards ceremony. This was my brother-in-law's funeral."

setback for arnold's reforms

california governor arnold schwarzenegger's ambitious reform plans were dealt a blow when a california judge essentially barred proposition 77 from a special election ballot later this year.

the petition circulated to get the legislative districting reform on the ballot including wording different than the one submitted to the (democratic) attorney general's office. proponents of the reform vow to continue on, but the likelihood appears grim for this year.

meanwhile, the critics chime in

"There are two flat tires on the reform Hummer," said [Steve Maviglio, spokesman for democratic assembly speaker], referring to the governor's fondness for the large sport utility vehicles. "We are not going to be there to pump them back up."

smugness and dismissal remains higher on the priority list than the legislative process becoming more responsive to the voters.

speaking of wacky canadian officials

while some wacky gov't officials were enforcing obscure lame rules in toronto, some in quebec are trying to delay compliance with the canadian supreme court decision banning the ban of private health insurance, despite overwhelming support of health care providers.

PC police strike again in canada

toronto city officials forced canadian Miss Universe Natalie Glebova to remove her sash and tiara in order to comply with an obscure bylaw "against activities which degrade men and women through sexual stereotypes or exploit their bodies to attract attention."
realizing this action to be "unfortunate and silly", toronto mayor david miller apologized rather promtly.

btw, this same bylaw was invoked in 1992 to prevent the barenaked ladies from performing. although i'm not nearly as outraged about that action, considering their music...

stop me if you heard this before

microsoft promises to make a better product

but there is no media bias

when the justice department scaled back the penalty demands in a tobacco lawsuit, the usual suspects pounced on the bush administration as pro-business angle. of course, several of the articles didn't appear to focus on the fact this was to comply with some court of appeals rulings.
well, now the doj is appealing, there isn't nearly as much coverage.

speaking of selective coverage, the recent improvement in test scores and the minority gap after some stagnation in the mid to late 90s.
that doesn't fit in with the no child left behind doesn't work story.
specialty blogger eduwonk has a solid recap.

book em dano, on tv

mlb pitcher kenny rogers turned himself in for the run-in with two camera men a while back. the strange think i noted was the fact that a news camera in was in the room during the booking...

- dallas fort-worth wfaa has a clip from the booking
- espn motion has an edited version of the video

in all the high profile cases i have seen or heard about i have never known this to happen before.

hollywood chimes in

blogging pioneer mickey kaus documents recent wackiness coming from hollywood moviemakers.

• war of the worlds screenwriter david koepp says the movie parallels the iraq war, with the aliens representing the coalition while the earthlings equal the iraqi civilians. considering koepp's body of work, does that mean spider-man is zarqawi?
• on oliver stone being chosen to make the first major 9/11 movie, despite some interesting views on america's reaction to it.

global opinion

- thankfully, osama bin laden and terrorism have suffered a decline in support in parts of the muslim world. the findings of the report suggest terrorism and specifically suicide bombings meet more opposition lately, especially in countries which have suffered terrorists acts like indonesia, pakistan and morocco. i'm not sure about the wording of "confidence in bin laden", but the findings also touch on a belief in democracy.

- a few weeks back, pew conducted a survey of global opinion of the US. the results are rather mixed, with traditional allies dropping a bit while some others improve a bit over the last several years.
specifically, india had the highest positive opinion at 71%. this owes partially to the growing economic interdependence in the form of visas and dreaded business process outsourcing, but perhaps also to the tough foreign policy with regard to terrorism.

group demands warning label on soda

a group with too much time on its hands--i mean, the Center for Science in the Public Interest requested the FDA mandate warning labels on sodas. of course, the industry dismisses the idea realizing that slapping a warning label on its own product invites the slippery slope to legal liability that befell the tobacco industry.

looking at the existing label of a 12oz can of coke reveals 13% recommended daily allowance of total carbs in one serving and little if any redeeming nutritional value. i believe that is adequate labeling.
still i choose to drink my one serving a day.

internet archive under attack

the internet archive remains one of the better resources on the internet, essentially tracking the history and evolution of the internet. however its efficiency in archiving has brought into the middle of a lawsuit.

patient rights company Health Advocate planned to use the internet archive in its case with competitor Healthcare Advocates. well, Healthcare Advocates didn't appreciate their own web pages being used against them, filing a countersuit against Health advocate's the law firm and the internet archive.

i'm no legal scholar, but if those pages were publicly available back then, they should be available now.

hands free does not mean accident free

i was always skeptical of the claim that hands free cell phone car kits would be 'safer'. the act of participating in a phone conversation was the primary problem, not the fact that a hand was engaged in the act.

findings from an australian study (via the register) suggest those engaged in a cell phone conversation are 4 times as likely to have an accident than those who are not--regardless of hands free kit.

In fact, it could make the situation even worse.
"Although this may lead to fewer hand held phones used while driving in the future, our research indicates that this may not eliminate the risk," warn the researchers.
"Indeed, if this new technology increases mobile phone use in cars, it could contribute to even more crashes."

overcoming sci-fi tv stigma

regardless of the quality, sci-fi tv shows tend to suffer from a stigma which limit audience numbers and award recognition.

Such pure-fantasy elements, despite their creative use in exploring human behavior, seem to alienate some viewers no matter what. Not to mention awards voters....And some might attribute Sci Fi's rare 2003 Emmy win for best miniseries to the executive producer's name in the title of "Steven Spielberg Presents Taken."

aside from the x-files in the mid-90s, sci-fi and/or fantasy shows enjoyed strong but not especially large audiences.

however the networks plan several shows during the upcoming tv season. the success of fantasy-tinged lost and cable successes like sci-fi friday including the solid update of battlestar galactica led to some attempts to build on this success.

a general observation: the less make-up and/or outright 'otherworldliness', the more likely to achieve this success.

cell phones everywhere

in 2004, the number of cell phones passed the number of land lines, 181.1 million to 177.9 million. 6% of people have gone cell phone only. the trend will likely accelerate as young people drop land lines for cell phones.

with this backdrop, the cell phone companies would appear to be in good shape. however the scenario is not that rosy....

• exhibit 1: deutsche telekom's possible plans to sell t-mobile.
• exhibit 2: after spending billions on next generation licenses and upgrades, uptake is still less than stellar

  Both T-Mobile and Cingular tout their investments in 3G data capabilities to match Verizon's headline grabbing EV-DO rollout, but outside the executive niche looking for embedded 3G PC adaptors, there is no market for such services. Last week T-Mobile Germany boasted that by breaking down the walled garden, ARPUs would blossom. But T-Mobile USA has touted budget, all-you-can eat GPRS for two years and it has few takers.

• exhibit 3: focusing on cheap phones in growth markets doesn't lend itself to garnering profitable customers

despite getting a tidy monthly sum from millions of subscribers, wireless companies appear set to join the cable industry as apparently promising industries which don't necessarily pan out (especially in terms of investment).

reliable salon

having already documented its unending skepticism of freedom around the world, the angry lefties at salon use the opportunity of 7/7 london bombings to bash bush and blair no less than 4 times.

• "The time of revenge has come" by Juan Cole
  Blowback from Bush and Blair's incompetently pursued war on terror has hit London. When will the U.S. figure out how to fight smart?
  
• The London bombings should spur Bush and Blair to pull out of Iraq and renew the fight against our real enemies. by Joe Conason
• A political bombshell for Blair -- Now that terror has struck London, will the British blame their leader?
• Collateral damage: The Earth Observers say the bombings won't derail the G8's talks about African aid, but global warming will be a loser

at least they didn't do a cliched "why do they hate us?" piece that too many outlets fall prey to.

rough time for france

it's been a bad bit of time for france: continued EU expansion along with NATO expansion dilutes its influence, double digit unemployment, EU rejection, and so on.

perceived favorite paris just lost its bid to host 2012 olympics to 'arch-rival' london. apparently, the votes that dropped off from bids from eliminated bidding cities of Madrid, New York and Moscow switched to london rather than paris.

Who am I? Why am I here?

those words uttered during the 1992 vice-presidential debate remains among the most (in)famous in political lure. Retired Vice Admiral James Stockdale, Ross Perot's running mate, hoped those words would help depict the stark difference with fellow 'silver spoon' VP candidates Gore and Quayle. unfortunately, the moment proved the perfect opportunity for the inevitable snl parody, contributing to the failure of the one-time thriving Perot bid during the 92 campaign

the death of Mr Stockdale prompted my interest in his life story.

During the Vietnam War, Stockdale was a Navy fighter pilot based on the USS Oriskany and flew 201 missions before he was shot down on Sept. 9, 1965. He became the highest-ranking naval officer captured during the war, the Navy said.
Stockdale was taken to Hoa Lo Prison, known as the "Hanoi Hilton." His shoulders were wrenched from their sockets, his leg had been shattered by angry villagers and a torturer, and his back was broken. But he refused to capitulate.
Rather than allow himself to be used in a propaganda film, Stockdale smashed his face into a pulp with a mahogany stool.
"My only hope was to disfigure myself," Stockdale wrote in his 1984 autobiography "In Love and War." The ploy worked, but he spent the next two years in leg irons.
After Ho Chi Minh's death, he broke a glass pane in an interrogation room and slashed his wrists until he passed out in his own blood. After that, captors relented in their harsh treatment of him and his fellow prisoners.
Stockdale spent four years in solitary confinement before his release in 1973.

he was one of the navy's most decorated officers with 26 combat decorations including the Medal of Honor. unfortunately, his distinguished career may be overshadowed by that one night.

the most dominant competitor today

barry bonds or roger clemens? the new england patriots (even without putin's super bowl ring) ?
michael jordan' six championships?
lance armstrong's 6 consecutive Tour de France victories is as close as one could get in traditional sports.

i go with Takeru Kobayashi who won his 5th consecutive nathan's famous hot dog eating contest. it's not just the string of victories, but the magnitude of victory which sometimes approaching 50%.

i witnessed the spectacle on espn monday... it was a slightly disturbing but definitely compelling watch.

Live8 to G8

policy makers and people in power must continue to address the problems of africa. the problems to overcome include disease, famine, poverty and corruption.

while bush and blair may quibble over details, africa proves a priority. whether the motive be some christian impulse or the greater view that stability comes from freedom and opportunity, president bush has advanced US efforts regarding africa.

The administration said two weeks ago that aid to Africa has tripled since 2001; it plans to double the 2004 level to $8.6 billion by 2010.
"Helping those who suffer and preventing the senseless death of millions of people in Africa is a central commitment of my administration's foreign policy," Bush said recently, with British Prime Minister Tony Blair at his side.
[snip]
Bush has sought $15 billion over five years to combat AIDS, mostly in Africa. On Thursday, Bush called for spending $1.2 billion to cut malaria deaths in half by 2010 in Africa.
Africa also is prospectively the largest beneficiary of a Bush foreign assistance initiative that rewards countries that are led by effective governments.

some good has been done, must continue to be done...especially to overcome the rampant corruption on the continent.

i see quagmires, everywhere

michael graham comes up with a spot-on satire suggesting how the modern day media may characterize another george w's war.

Philadelphia, the American Colonies, July 4, 1776 — Leaders of the self-described “American patriots” movement gathered in this Pennsylvania city today to sign an official declaration of their political intentions, despite widespread criticism of a failing war policy and complaints that their military action was launched under false pretenses.
[snip]
LeMoore was referring to what patriots call “The shot heard 'round the world,” when colonial forces fired on British soldiers in violation of accepted international rules of military engagement.
Supporters of George Washington and the so-called “war for independence” dispute claims from the antiwar movement that their actions are unlawful, and they point to their formal “Declaration of Independence” as proof.
[snip]
Critics quickly noted the hypocrisy of Jefferson's reference to “unalienable rights” of liberty and the author's own record of slave-ownership.

the entry is good from beginning to end.

be careful what you wish for

the usual solid romenesko round-up regaring the plame leak case. special prosecutor patrick fitzgerald may be overzealous in his investigation,

But some in the press have been equally as willful. Liberal editorial pages were among the loudest in demanding that a special counsel be appointed to find the leaker. And only many months later, when Ms. Miller was in the dock, did New York Times editorials finally get around to admitting that the leak might not even be a crime. Their partisan loathing for Mr. Bush caused these editors to overlook the risks even to their own reporting self-interest.

had many in news media not been so single-minded to find 'the bad guy' in the bush administration, the cherished use of anonymous sources would not be remotely in jeopardy.