| Tuesday, July
19, 2005
Subject: Iraq on the brink....but, of what?
Dear Jerry:
Saw an item on Yahoo where Iraqis are forming
neighborhood militias to protect themselves from suicide bombers. Both
Shiite and Sunni are doing this, so this is either the first step towards
law and order or towards civil war. If one accepts that most of the violence
is imported by foreign jihadists, then maybe a few lynchings will get the
point across that blowing up the neighborhoods is not helpful. Maybe not. I
am reminded of a saying from that part of the world. "Me and my brother
against my cousin. Me and my cousin against the world." Maybe we need to
accept that this is still a very tribal society and work within that
paradigm instead of trying to superimpose our own notions on these people.
On a related note, the Chinese are making gains in the
world oil market by small acts of kindness. They build roads for third world
countries, and they don't preach about the superiority of their system.
Strictly business.
Sincerely,
Francis Hamit
well _ yes. I think I Said This
before we went in. IRAQ as a Nation did not exist until the Brits
created it from the ruins of the Turkish Expire after WWII, when
they wanted Mesopotamia and conned Wilson into setting them up in the
ME. The French got some provinces and Britain got others and
the USA got the bill.
Mr. Lutas wrote, "The ultimate solution is for Iraq to
have a government and armed forces that are able to handle the insurgents
and the terrorists piggybacking on the conflict."
My questions are, "Isn't that what Iraq had in, say,
1999 or even early 2003? Isn't Saddam being tried for 'handling'
insurgents?" I question this being the only useful criterion.
James Reynolds
Indeed
================
This sounds plausible, and is easy to look for.
>>>Subject: counterfeit ATM cards
>>> >>>Dear Friends, >>> >>>Approximately a year and a half ago, I noticed
there was $350.00 >>>missing from a personal bank account. >>>After I
contacted bank officials, I learned that my PIN number had >>>been
videotaped and that my ATM card had been "counterfeited." >>> >>>I recently
have discovered how this entire process is accomplished, >>>and am
forwarding it to you for your immediate attention; you may be >>>able to
prevent this >>>scam from Imagine my surprise when I opened this >>>website,
which I researched suspecting that the information I >>>originally received
was cyber-folklore. >>> >>>URL:
http://www.utexas.edu/admin/utpd/atm.html
Mike Morris
New to me but sounds plausible
=================
Subject: Seeing that you're in Seattle...
Jerry, a press report mentioned that "Microsoft is
hosting a Longhorn Labs event for technology enthusiasts and industry
influencers [this] week in Redmond. The event is timed to coincide with the
company's official press and reviewer briefings for Longhorn Beta 1, which
is still on track to ship by the end of the month."
Shouldn't you stay to participate?
That is the kind of thing I used to do but
I will let the younger journalists have the pleasure. I am just glad to get
home. I will get the Beta when it comes out.
=====================================
I have much mail about The site. I will
look at the suggestions. Mostly I Need a better search and link system. I
will Not allow direct posting, although I have thought of doing that for
subscribers. But it is too dangerous and would be too much Work for me.
Formatting mail is a problem since I get mail only in plaintext for
security. The biggest problem is linking related mail and comments to
make coherent topics. There is much redundancy but I cannot do much about
that,
Blogging and Content Management Systems (CMS) have
come a long way in the last year or two. They're finally ready for prime
time. Obviously, they'll require a pretty radical change in your work
habits. But I think it might be worth your time to look a few of them over.
In blogging software, I've used MovableType and it was
pretty straightforward. But they changed their licensing recently. The very
popular sucessor to MT is WordPress http://www.WordPress.org
For full content management, I see Mambo http://mamboserver.com/
and Drupal http://drupal.org/ mentioned very favorably on my webhost's forum
http://forums.site5.com
I recommend visiting the CMS Matrix
http://www.cmsmatrix.org/
to have a quick look at a few. And when you want to actually try one on your
site they're not all that terribly difficult to set up.
I don't see any chance of retrofitting your existing
content to a new system. I suppose it's not strictly necessary.
I think you might find being able to edit from any
computer handy on occasion. And there may be organization features that
you'll find useful.
Having said all that, since I read your site nearly
every day, I find the current layout Good Enough. But a CMS is worth serious
consideration, methinks.
Drake Christensen
I will look at that.
Sanity in the media? Maybe someone working therein is
finally seeing the light, Dr. Pournelle:
http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/
article?AID=/20050719/OPINION03/507190319/1054/OPINION
"Take, for example, the other day while I was watching
a TV talk show dealing with politics. I suddenly had a revelation, an
epiphany if you will. "Why," I asked myself, "am I watching this, wasting my
time like this when I could be doing something much more useful, certainly
something more fun?"
I'm talking about the time we waste on the
nonsensical. The time we waste dealing with the lack of civility, politeness
and courtesy in our public debate. Is it just me, or have you also noticed
the increasing amount of screaming, caterwauling and insults in the media
these days? Have you noticed the bitterness and rancor that is growing
exponentially?"
My comments and not those of my employer.
Charles Brumbelow
Reading my web site is more fun and
edifying
Dear Dr. Pournelle,
I read the email from Clayon Barnett commenting on the
structure of your web site. I have to say I agree his comments were less
then helpful. I too have wished for a more navigable solution to your
content. But as my parent's and life have pounded into me, "Don't complain
unless you can offer a solution."
So as an observation the Yankee in me has to say,
"Don't fix what taint broke!" And while I would like a more structured
approach to your content I cannot immediately offer a solution. Your site is
indeed good enough for your needs and most of your readers. I have grown
used to it over the years and now I am able to navigate it just fine.
I have thought very carefully on how to improve your
'chaos' driven approach, and while numerous tools exist that may help such
as Word Press http://www.wordpress.org
or others, the real show stopper in my estimation is your use of your time.
What you have now works for you, from anywhere, with almost any type of
connection. Anything that replaces it must at the least make it easier and
not harder, without sacrificing what you already have.
And porting your existing content into anything else
strikes me as a monumental task in and of itself. So while I agree more
structure would be nice, please don't be hasty! As you often say in your
columns, "It's good enough" until something better comes along. Perhaps an
appeal to your readers for thoughts and suggestions?
Cheers,
Robert Porter
If a man neglects to enforce his rights, he cannot
complain if, after a while, the law follows his example. - Oliver Wendell
Holmes
“Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem”
==
Dear Dr. Pournelle;
Every couple of months someone writes to you about the horrid, eye-searing
design and layout of your site. This latest complaint by Clayton Barnett in
the Monday, 7/18, mail is another one of these tiresome bleats. "Oooh, it's
so hard to view your site when I remember to come here every six months or
so."
Tough beans, pal.
Compared to sites larded with Flash and other junk, designed by what looks
like ennui-bloated Goths, yours is a marvel of clear presentation.
It loads fast, presents information quickly and concisely, and delivers what
a content-driven site should.
There have been times when I'd have liked a better search function at your
site, but I've usually managed to find what I was looking for. I've been
stopping by once or twice a day for more than eight years now and enjoy the
discussions, revelations, and opinions. Don't let the attention-deficit
dilatants get you down.
-- Pete Nofel
I would willingly pay for a good search
engine to insert here, if that would make things a bit easier. And some
system of subject tagging that didn't involve making linked list bookmarks,
which is time consuming. I confess the parchment affectations are personal
preferences.
Talin did a pretty good design using
Cascading Style Sheets, which I probably ought to have spent more time
trying to understand since he's a sharp cookie. The big problem is wondering
if I will be able to develop the right habits for using a new system.
I will never have unselected and unedited
comments here: if people want to talk to each other, there are many places
for them to do so, and this isn't one of them. On the other hand I do pick
mail I find interesting in the belief that others will share at least some
of my preferences; and at least if mail is here then someone other than the
writer thought it interesting...
==================
Agree with your assessment of Wilson, self-important
prevaricator who should be kept away from anything approaching an official
position for the rest of his life.
Agree with your notion that who named Plame just isn’t
important. I knew some CIA people when I was in Europe, and they were
active. Everyone in my golf group in Brussels knew who was CIA and who
wasn’t, and it just didn’t matter. Nobody who was in deep cover was telling
anyone they were CIA, and nobody who told anyone they were CIA was in deep
cover. This is simply a case of Dems seizing a slender opportunity to get
rid of Rove. That’s their real and only goal.
Disagree with your notion that we shouldn’t have gone
to war. Hussein was the obvious target of a sweeping effort to alter the
status quo of the middle east, which if not undertaken would simply mean
endless and increasingly powerful attacks on us from all Islamic directions.
We truly have harmed the power and resources of the terrorists, and we truly
have made remarkable impacts on the middle east in terms of democracy and
modernization. You are right that we cannot now leave, but one day we will
be able to. But it would have been irresponsible for Bush to do nothing
beyond Afghanistan, and of all the choices beyond Afghanistan, Iraq was the
most sensible. The right thing to do is often the hardest thing, the most
unpredictable and dangerous thing, but it is still right and still should be
done.
Unless, of course, the religious people are correct--
that this is ordained, that Isaac and Ishmael will always have enmity
betwixt them, etc etc… and judging by the endless, mindless and bloodthirsty
anti-Semitism that has plagued the world for thousands of years and still
burns brightly in the Arab heart, I can’t help but wonder if there’s a
larger reason for the hatred than simple geopolitics.
Dave Perkins Houston, TX
But was Iraq the right one to invade?
Secular, Nasty, but deterred... But I am not infallible and on this
one I do Not know. I do know we must not simply cut and run Now.
=======
Jerry,
As a PR flack for a number of very small companies in
the PC world, I hesitate to approach you with contrarian political views. On
the other hand, as an African observer and traveler and a former information
officer for the nuclear industry, I would like to pint out one of the
fallacies in the whole Wilson/Plame mess. The amount of yellow cake that
would have had to be exported from Niger is in multi-ton quantities. They
would have to travel by several shiploads and would be very hard to hide. I
don’t know if you are familiar with Niger, but there are few places in the
world as remote or inhospitable. They have no contact with any ocean, and
transporting those quantities by air is not an option.
Anyone with a little intelligence would have known
from the start that the idea was ridiculous, but it ended up as a statement
of fact by our President, who apparently lacked the intelligence to make
that decision. Who went to do what at what time and was outed for whatever
reason is not the question, what is important is that our government put a
small miserable country at risk for reasons unknown.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4695355.stm
Sincerely Peter Brown Future-Works
That point is well taken. It would take a
lot of yellowcake and he had no refineries. I thought of that at the time.
But surely someone in PSAC thought of it?
And see below
========
STRYKER
In the Seattle area there is a radio talk show host,
Bryan Suits, who is an Army guy who recently spent a year in Iraq (he's in
the Reserves and he was called up). He has nothing good to say about the
Stryker, and I put a great deal of stock in what he says.
On the other hand, through your web site I found a
blog of a person who was actually part of the Stryker Brigade and he was a
fan. I believe he said that if a Stryker rolled over an IED or other mine,
the armor on the Stryker is sufficient to save the crew from harm, and that
is no small thing.
I was interested to read that the Mobile Gun System
variant on the Stryker mounts the 105mm cannon originally from the M1
Abrahms tank. You recommended a book on the M1 as your book of the month a
few years back, and I read it; according to that book, the guys who actually
drive the M1 thought the 105mm could kill anything, so they didn't feel the
upgrade (to the 120mm) was needed. (They felt that since the 105mm can kill
anything, and you can carry more 105mm rounds since they are smaller, the
105mm was a better deal.) I've also read that the Stryker is a bit
top-heavy; does a 105mm cannon really work well on a Stryker?
Your readers collectively know everything, and I'd be
interested in seeing comments, pro and con, on the Stryker. If you would
also be interested, please post this letter on your site.
Here is the Wikipedia entry on the Stryker.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stryker
-- Steve R. Hastings
And see below.
=========
Microsoft reaps what they've sown:
Morning Jerry,
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,1838435,00.asp
I'm getting tired of Bill Gates whining about finding
quality staff - when he and his ilk are largely responsible for the problem.
By shifting resources off shore and supporting H1B
visas they are eliminating entry level positions in IT, and depressing the
salaries of those remaining, thus reducing both the attractiveness of the
career and the potential candidate pool. Further, by having a centralized
location in Redmond, they limit themselves to candidates who are willing to
live in the area.
There's some simple solutions to this perceived
problem:
1) Severely restrict (or better yet, eliminate) H1B
visas. Only those jobs for which there is no qualified US Candidate should
be open to an H1B, and a desire to pay sub-par wages should not be used to
as an excuse to hire from overseas. American IT is not a jobs program for
the world. 2) Repatriate entry level (and other) development positions to
the United States. See comment above. 3) Focus scholarship and research
funding on US Citizens to ensure that critical talent remains in the United
States, and base those scholarships and grants on merit, not politically
correct social engineering efforts. 4) Open facilities in diverse areas of
the country to take advantage of depressed job markets (Denver comes to
mind). If they can build a distributed team with offshore resources, they
certainly can build one that's only a timezone or two away.
And lastly they need to realize that not everyone
wants to work for Microsoft. They must start marketing the company and it's
advantages to candidates, rather than sitting back and waiting for people to
come hat in hand and beg for a job.
Best regards,
Doug
I'll wait for comments on this one.
===============
Subject: More on Search
Engine Related IP issues -
Dear Dr. Pournelle,
Now in Canada making a cache of a copyrighted work is
enough to be actionable. Bill C-60 in Canada's legislature would make most
search engines liable for copyright infringement. I know I saw references to
this on your web site recently, and I agree, it bears some thinking. I am
hoping we don't step on ourselves. IP rights do need protection, but where
do we draw the line?
In Canada: Cache a page, go to jail? <http://news.com.com/In+Canada+Cache+a+page%2C+go+to+jail/2100-1028_3-5793659.html?tag=st_lh>
Cheers,
Robert Porter
another one I'll want Comments ON
========
Subject: ISP call to action -
Dear Dr. Pournelle,
I believe you predicted the following. Looks like the
FTC is about to step in to force ISP's to begin policing their own networks.
The "Zombie" threat has grown significantly enough it is now on the Fed's
radar. I cut the entire article below but the original link is here:
http://news.com.com/ISPs+versus+the+zombies/2100-7349_3-5793719.html?part=rss&tag=5793719&subj=news
Cheers,
Robert Porter
* *
*Internet service providers face mounting
pressure to keep their networks free of pests--not only for the benefit of
their customers, but also for the good of the Internet in general.*
In the next few months, ISPs in the United
States will begin receiving reports on the zombies, or PCs open to control
by hackers, that lurk on their networks. The data will be sent out by the
Federal Trade Commission, which said in May that zombies have become such a
serious problem </Feds+to+fight+the+zombies/2010-1071_3-5715633.html?tag=nl>
that more industry action is required.
Analysts said that if service providers resist
the call and take a hands-off approach, people could lose their trust in
online activity--and the consequences of that could be severe.<snip>
================
Subject: Section 421. Protection of identities of
certain United States undercover intelligence officers, agents, informants,
and sources
Dear Jerry:
Someone put this link on Romesko this morning. It is
the operative law in the Plame leak.
Regards,
Francis
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/casecode/uscodes/50/chapters/15/subchapters/iv/sections/section_421.html
Which is pretty much as I recall it. You
have prove knowingly and intentionally. Not easily done. The point of the
law was to stop some publications that were intentional leaks.
========
Subject: "We do not let a president determine ad hoc
what a battlefield is."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article
/2005/07/19/AR2005071901023_pf.html
--- Roland Dobbins
And that one needs considerable thought,
doesn't it?
==================
An Alternative to
Outlook
Hi Jerry,
I enjoy your work very much. Thank you.
I read that you had a corrupted Outlook .pst file.
This happened to me every month it seems and it is hard to fix. I gave up
and found Barca, an email and calendering program from Poco Systems (
www.pocosystems.com ) and it is
wonderful. It does everything Outlook does and much more. Can be tweaked
with so many options. Never crashes, no corruption. Just a delight to use.
Inline spell checking, has its own HTML rendering engine, no viruses.
If you just need email and no calendaring they also
offer Pocomail. Also wonderful.
Thank you again for the enjoyment you give me. I am
going to subscribe.
Best,
Larry
Larry Doolittle Production Solutions Associates
I think I have never heard of this program
and I probably ought to look into it for the column as well as here...
===
Subject: Letter from England
Things are getting interesting here.
First, the fallout from the bombings. My take hasn't
changed--the attack was a leaker and was successful due to its small size,
careful planning, and the use of homemade explosives to avoid the need for a
large support team. The biochemist in Egypt has turned out to be innocent,
but the master bomber apparently got out of the country the night before,
and he and his support team are the ones I really want to catch. The foot
soldiers received training in Pakistan, but that may be a side issue. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4693001.stm>
<http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/europe/07/18/london.attacks/index.html>
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/attackonlondon/story/0,16132,1531453,00.html>
There's concern here in Europe about further attacks, particularly in
Denmark, Italy, and France and failure to anticipate this one <http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/19/international/europe/19intel.html?
hp&ex=1121832000&en=e12d7b07ff2d99f6&ei=5094&partner=homepage> <http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5150506,00.html>
. Blair is trying to keep the local Muslim community calm and seems to be
succeeding. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4695275.stm>
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4694441.stm>
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/attackonlondon/story/0,16132,1531397,00.html>
The problems with failed asylum seekers don't end: <http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4693551.stm>
.
The National Health Service is taking flak on a number
of issues, including rationing <http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4693587.stm>
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4694291.stm>
, and low standards of care <http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4620011.stm>
<http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1699194,00.html>
.
Consequences of university underfunding: <http://education.guardian.co.uk/
universitiesincrisis/story/0,12028,1530973,00.html> . Pay me now or pay
me later--it will cost more later.
An observation--once students enter university, their
performance is up to them. <http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,591-1696114,00.html>
. I seriously doubt the exams regime here is character-building.
--
"If you can't be a good example, then you'll just have
to be a horrible warning." (Catherine Aird)
Harry Erwin, PhD <http://osiris.sunderland.ac.uk/~cs0her/>
=================
Subject: Gen.
William Westmoreland, RIP.
http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/07/18/obit.westmoreland.ap/index.html
--- Roland Dobbins
His late career is a textbook example of an honorable
man placed into an impossible situation with inadequate support from
ambivalent superiors.
When I was younger and knew less I hated him for what
was happening in Vietnam. Now I would respect him, and reserve more of my
anger for people like Robert McNamara.
Vietnam-Era Commander Westmoreland Dies - Yahoo! News
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050719/ap_on_re_us/obit_westmoreland
David
The Viet Nam War was a long campaign of
attrition in the Seventy Years War. If your strategy is containment, you
must contain the enemy.
=====================
SEX DIFFERENCES IN MATHEMATICAL APTITUDE
Mathematics is a man's game. A gender gap appears
early in life, blossoms with the onset of puberty and reaches full bloom by
mid-adolescence. It indelibly shapes women's prospects for doing significant
mathematics. In this account of cognitive sex differences, Prodigy shows how
sex-differentiated ability in 15 year-olds accounts for the exiguous female
representation at the highest levels of mathematical research. A female
Fields Medalist is predicted to surface once every 103 years.
http://www.lagriffedulion.f2s.com/math.htm
Enjoy, --Griffe
La Griffe du Lion
And see below
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VIEW Tuesday |
Francis
Hamit and the Copyright Case
