Wild Bill's Blog: Davy Crockett King of the Wild Frontier
From the days when character mattered.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Monday, July 7, 2008
An Allegorical Painting
Lady Liberty Driving Away Tyrants, Anarchists and Dictators
Monarchy is already defeated and Liberty fights on against the more hidden enemies. Note the shield with no stars (yet) but thirteen stripes and the eagle. The other elements of the picture all have meaning, too. This is on a ceiling somewhere; ID would be appreciated. Liberty is Golda Meir or Margaret Thatcher or Elizabeth Wales. No others come close although most women Marines are equal in bravery. Anology: Christ driving the Moneychangers from the Temple
Monarchy is already defeated and Liberty fights on against the more hidden enemies. Note the shield with no stars (yet) but thirteen stripes and the eagle. The other elements of the picture all have meaning, too. This is on a ceiling somewhere; ID would be appreciated. Liberty is Golda Meir or Margaret Thatcher or Elizabeth Wales. No others come close although most women Marines are equal in bravery. Anology: Christ driving the Moneychangers from the Temple
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Truth, not Belief is the Gold Standard
So many gullible.
If Truth is so Valuable, Why is There so Much BS
Far away philosophically and spatially , in the wilds of San Francisco is a Public Radio affiliate that demonstrates an independence. Dominated by KQED, the thoroughly liberal powerhouse station, much smaller KALW (FM 91.7) has decided there is more to programming than Car Talk, Garrison Kellior, All Things Considered, and agenda. Aside from their country music emphasis, they are originators of a remarkable amount of self programming. And it works. (Yahoo them) Since January 2004, two philosophy professors have aired a Sunday morning call-in hour called Philosophy Talk, “The Program That Questions Everything - Except your Intelligence”.
John Perry, Henry Waldgrave Stuart Professor of Philosophy at Stanford U. is the originator of the program. He and Stanford Philosophy Department Chairman Ken Taylor discuss topics from Why don’t molecules fly apart? to Vegans. Even the doctrine of preemptive self defense is derided, not because it is bad or good but because it is not a doctrine (a systematic body of evidence and belief that is self reinforcing).
I was not privileged to hear their program on truth vs. BS but my two bits says they likely examined the other things in life we hold valuable. Well, gold is one but so is a child, a friend, peace, a happy time, and the satisfaction of a job well done. You can likely add more; please do. The quality all of these share is rarity.
Were gold as common as iron, its value would be the same or even less since iron is much stronger. Were a children to be lifted from apple trees by the dozen, they might as easily be discarded after a short period of enjoyment; say the first diaper change. That one special friend with whom you can share any of your experiences with empathy is beyond price. That peace time of rest and quiet between turmoil and worry is when we can regain composure and strength to overcome the next stressful period. Each is beyond price because of scarcity. And the work plus effort needed to overcome the previous problem.
In mining gold, the ratio of metal to ore is spoken in terms of ounces per ton. An ounce is 1/16th of a pound. 1/16th of a pound per 2000 pounds or one part per 32,000. You must separate 32,000 ounces to get 1 ounce of gold at this yield! Current economic yields are 2 - 5 ounces per ton. Takes a lot of money to get even 10% return on investment at this rate.
It is a very good thing the yield on children is not similar. Yet each child requires an immense effort to produce a mature adult. Gestation is considered a trial, particularly the last several months. At every stage raising a child requires substantial effort and expense. The “terrible twos” then teenagers are just two of the times that require even more intensive exertion. Then seeing them make their own mistakes was, for me, the most difficult of all. The kid must learn the lessons the outside world teaches and I must not interfere lest those lessons be devalued and the mistake repeated. So parents must put 20 years of work into the making of one mature adult. Of course less effort means less maturity so kids are like many things; what you get depends on what you put in.
It seems that many people do not know a friend. Analysts, advisors, counselors, therapists; many paid professionals but no friend. Perhaps Ophra or Dr. Phil or a politician provides an inferior substitute but there is no conversation or trust investment. Even many marriages have partners rather than friends. Here is the reason there is so much BS. There are so few friends. Lotsa acquaintances and entertainers and politicians but damn few friends. Friends can bare their souls, admit mistakes and stupidities without fear or rebuke. Friends understand and accept our weaknesses just as we theirs. Friends make each other stronger. Friends are not “discovered” but are, like a successful garden, cultivated. The friendship grows as more work and effort is put into it. Unlike a garden, friendship requires trust to grow. Trust is the fertilizer of friendship. And trust requires absolute truth. Any fraction less than total truth degrades trust therefore friendship. BS ranges from outright lies to “shading” facts with artful word use to using words of ill defined meaning as slogans to substituting belief for fact. BS is the opposite of truth. Trust is bestowed rarely. So BS, the common ore, must always greatly exceed in quantity the gold of trust. And be of almost no value. And that is why there is so much more BS than truth. The BS people cannot trust you with truth. The BS people attempt to convince you there is no truth by shoveling an overwhelming amount of what they do in hopes of creating confusion. There is always truth but it always requires effort. Otherwise it would be of no value.
If Truth is so Valuable, Why is There so Much BS
Far away philosophically and spatially , in the wilds of San Francisco is a Public Radio affiliate that demonstrates an independence. Dominated by KQED, the thoroughly liberal powerhouse station, much smaller KALW (FM 91.7) has decided there is more to programming than Car Talk, Garrison Kellior, All Things Considered, and agenda. Aside from their country music emphasis, they are originators of a remarkable amount of self programming. And it works. (Yahoo them) Since January 2004, two philosophy professors have aired a Sunday morning call-in hour called Philosophy Talk, “The Program That Questions Everything - Except your Intelligence”.
John Perry, Henry Waldgrave Stuart Professor of Philosophy at Stanford U. is the originator of the program. He and Stanford Philosophy Department Chairman Ken Taylor discuss topics from Why don’t molecules fly apart? to Vegans. Even the doctrine of preemptive self defense is derided, not because it is bad or good but because it is not a doctrine (a systematic body of evidence and belief that is self reinforcing).
I was not privileged to hear their program on truth vs. BS but my two bits says they likely examined the other things in life we hold valuable. Well, gold is one but so is a child, a friend, peace, a happy time, and the satisfaction of a job well done. You can likely add more; please do. The quality all of these share is rarity.
Were gold as common as iron, its value would be the same or even less since iron is much stronger. Were a children to be lifted from apple trees by the dozen, they might as easily be discarded after a short period of enjoyment; say the first diaper change. That one special friend with whom you can share any of your experiences with empathy is beyond price. That peace time of rest and quiet between turmoil and worry is when we can regain composure and strength to overcome the next stressful period. Each is beyond price because of scarcity. And the work plus effort needed to overcome the previous problem.
In mining gold, the ratio of metal to ore is spoken in terms of ounces per ton. An ounce is 1/16th of a pound. 1/16th of a pound per 2000 pounds or one part per 32,000. You must separate 32,000 ounces to get 1 ounce of gold at this yield! Current economic yields are 2 - 5 ounces per ton. Takes a lot of money to get even 10% return on investment at this rate.
It is a very good thing the yield on children is not similar. Yet each child requires an immense effort to produce a mature adult. Gestation is considered a trial, particularly the last several months. At every stage raising a child requires substantial effort and expense. The “terrible twos” then teenagers are just two of the times that require even more intensive exertion. Then seeing them make their own mistakes was, for me, the most difficult of all. The kid must learn the lessons the outside world teaches and I must not interfere lest those lessons be devalued and the mistake repeated. So parents must put 20 years of work into the making of one mature adult. Of course less effort means less maturity so kids are like many things; what you get depends on what you put in.
It seems that many people do not know a friend. Analysts, advisors, counselors, therapists; many paid professionals but no friend. Perhaps Ophra or Dr. Phil or a politician provides an inferior substitute but there is no conversation or trust investment. Even many marriages have partners rather than friends. Here is the reason there is so much BS. There are so few friends. Lotsa acquaintances and entertainers and politicians but damn few friends. Friends can bare their souls, admit mistakes and stupidities without fear or rebuke. Friends understand and accept our weaknesses just as we theirs. Friends make each other stronger. Friends are not “discovered” but are, like a successful garden, cultivated. The friendship grows as more work and effort is put into it. Unlike a garden, friendship requires trust to grow. Trust is the fertilizer of friendship. And trust requires absolute truth. Any fraction less than total truth degrades trust therefore friendship. BS ranges from outright lies to “shading” facts with artful word use to using words of ill defined meaning as slogans to substituting belief for fact. BS is the opposite of truth. Trust is bestowed rarely. So BS, the common ore, must always greatly exceed in quantity the gold of trust. And be of almost no value. And that is why there is so much more BS than truth. The BS people cannot trust you with truth. The BS people attempt to convince you there is no truth by shoveling an overwhelming amount of what they do in hopes of creating confusion. There is always truth but it always requires effort. Otherwise it would be of no value.
Friday, July 4, 2008
That's what happens when you hire lawyers
Viacom to get vast Google information
Privacy advocates are alarmed
So a judge rules that Viacom gets to go on a fishing expedition with several years of viewers ID and videos. You stupid yerks obviously do not understand how statistical sampling works. They don't need all our IDs to reach a valid conclusion. You hired lawyers when you needed experts in another field: mathematics!
But all is not lost. You blew the hearing badly. Go back before the judge and demand that all the data be reviewed; nothing may be discarded or otherwise ignored. Every last little tiny bit must be reviewed and reported on. Should keep the fishers busy for the next ten or twenty years. See a mathematician about this. Hold their nose to the grindstone.
No thanks needed. That's what engineers do. Make the job work in spite of management.
Privacy advocates are alarmed
So a judge rules that Viacom gets to go on a fishing expedition with several years of viewers ID and videos. You stupid yerks obviously do not understand how statistical sampling works. They don't need all our IDs to reach a valid conclusion. You hired lawyers when you needed experts in another field: mathematics!
But all is not lost. You blew the hearing badly. Go back before the judge and demand that all the data be reviewed; nothing may be discarded or otherwise ignored. Every last little tiny bit must be reviewed and reported on. Should keep the fishers busy for the next ten or twenty years. See a mathematician about this. Hold their nose to the grindstone.
No thanks needed. That's what engineers do. Make the job work in spite of management.
Get outta my way, Giggle
Google Obstructs Search for Conservative Site
Welcome. You are now a member of a very small group who knows about this site. Actually there are three of them. All with the same name, p'word, etc. Have been going two months and still get either no direction or mis-direction from Giggle or Yoyo.
FYI their censorship by obstruction won't work. Will keep pestering the dings until they get the message. I won't quit!
Welcome. You are now a member of a very small group who knows about this site. Actually there are three of them. All with the same name, p'word, etc. Have been going two months and still get either no direction or mis-direction from Giggle or Yoyo.
FYI their censorship by obstruction won't work. Will keep pestering the dings until they get the message. I won't quit!
It's about damn time
Seems we cannot learn from our media or educational establishment so we must look abroad. Took thirty years but here are facts we ignored then. Thank you Internet, the resource liberals forgot, the electronic samidzat. Yahoo for that and the article mid section.
July 2, 2008
Nuclear Energy: What We Can Learn From Other Nations
by Nicolas Loris and Jack Spencer
Nuclear power is gaining momentum in the United States as the nation seeks environmentally friendly and affordable sources of energy that can meet growing demand. As the U.S. deliberates the possibility of building new nuclear power plants, other nations have already begun the process.
A Domestic Source of Energy
France is an example of a country that developed nuclear energy to reduce foreign energy dependence after the oil shock of the 1970s. [France acted while US dithered and liberals obstructed] It now receives nearly 80 percent of its electricity from nuclear power and is a net exporter of electricity.[1] Germany, alternatively, decided to phase out nuclear energy for political reasons and now imports some of this energy.[2]
Japan is another country that has looked to nuclear power as a clean, safe and reliable form of energy. Nuclear power already provides 30 percent of the country's electricity; however, Japan is working to increase this to 37 percent by 2009 and 41 percent by 2017.[3]
Finland, ranking fifth in the world for per capita electricity consumption, has a significant incentive to secure long-term energy solutions. Embracing nuclear energy as part of an effort to decrease the nation's dependency on foreign energy sources, Finland has begun constructing a modern 1,600-megawatt reactor, which will likely be a model used throughout the United States. Finland already gets 28 percent of its electricity from nuclear power, and a possible sixth reactor would increase that amount substantially.
Presently, the U.K. has 19 reactors that provide about 18 percent of the nation's electricity. Because the U.K. is already a net importer of energy and all but one of its coal-fired and nuclear plants are scheduled to be decommissioned by 2023, building new reactors is a must for the U.K. if it is to avoid creating increased energy dependencies. The British government, while providing long-term politically stable support for nuclear power, has made it clear that it would not subsidize the industry. The U.S., on the other hand, continues to squabble politically about nuclear power but has offered some subsidies to the industry. As a result, the British model should provide a sustainable environment for nuclear power moving forward, while the U.S. model could create a politically tenuous dependency relationship between government and industry.
Environmental Concerns
Nuclear energy is attractive to many countries because of its impeccable environmental record. Burning fossil fuels releases an abundance of elements into the atmosphere. Nuclear energy, to the contrary, fully contains all of its byproduct in the form of used nuclear fuel. Such waste is safely managed throughout the world in countries like France, Finland, and Japan.
Meeting Higher Demands for Energy
U.S. electricity demand is projected to increase up to 40 percent by 2030, and other countries are projecting similar increases.[4] The rapid industrial development of both China and India is already placing great pressure on global energy supplies. And because energy sources, especially fossil fuels, are global commodities, growing demand in one part of the world affects the global economy. As a result, higher prices and tightened supply have some nations, such as China, experiencing power shortages.[5] While the U.S. has, for the most part, been able to keep the lights on, with the price of gas breaking the $4 barrier and natural gas prices increasing, every American knows full well the pain of increasing global energy demand.
Nuclear energy can help meet this growing demand. Most directly, nuclear energy can be used to generate electricity. If that demand were not met by nuclear power, then it would likely be met with natural gas. This would put additional pressure on natural gas reserves, driving up the price for electricity as well as all the other goods that use natural gas in their production.
Although natural uranium is a finite resource like gas, oil, or coal, it can be recycled and reused. The French, Japanese, and British all recycle their used nuclear fuel. The French, for example, remove the uranium and plutonium and fabricate new fuel. Using that method, America can recycle its 58,000 tons of used fuel stored across the nation to power every U.S. household for 12 years.
China, India, and Russia are already building new nuclear plants. Even smaller countries, like Vietnam and countries in the Middle East, have begun exploring nuclear power as they too are facing demand shortages and feeling pressure from the industrialized world to reduce CO2 emissions.
What the U.S. Could Learn
With the U.S. entertaining the idea of building new nuclear plants, the country can learn a great deal from other nations further along in the process. Electricity demand is skyrocketing in many parts of the world; purported human-induced climate change has the entire globe in a panic. Nuclear energy has become a focal point for countries trying to meet these needs, and some believe that it can provide an economic boost at the same time. It creates opportunities to electrify portions of the economy that today rely almost entirely on fossil-fuels, like transportation.
Other countries seem to understand the potential benefits of nuclear power and have either commenced constructing, or have developed projections for, new nuclear plants. The time has come for the U.S. to stop squabbling, remove regulatory impediments, and allow nuclear energy to continue helping this country to meet its growing energy demands.
Nicolas Loris is a Research Assistant and Jack Spencer is a research fellow in the Thomas A. Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies at The Heritage Foundation.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
"Here he co-om-mes, that's Daffy's clown."
Djimmy Carter's Second Term
By Paul Miller
By Paul Miller
It was a cold and rainy October night when my mother and I stood outside a Skokie, Illinois Synagogue to hear and hopefully meet Georgia Governor James Earl "Jimmy" Carter. My parents and most Americans were still sickened over Watergate, President Gerald Ford's unconditional pardon of Richard Nixon and the disaster of the Vietnam War. They hungered for "change" and "new hope". Many Americans believed they found what they desperately yearned for in a peanut farmer turned politician from Georgia.
Four years later Jimmy Carter's name couldn't be uttered by my father without being proceeded by four-letter expletives. My mother cried herself to sleep believing that Carter's school-busing program was going to take me from my elementary school down the block to a school and hour away on the southside of Chicago. Supporters of Israel began to distrust him as he began showing signs of an anti-Israel bias. The economy was devastating families with double-digit inflation and the Iran hostage crisis made Americans ashamed of their President.
Today there is an eerie similarity to the election that led up to the disastrous Carter administration. All the Presidential candidates are speaking the rhetoric of "change" and "trust" in government. However, assumed Democratic nominee Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) has based his entire bid for the White House with Carter-style ideas and campaign policy advisers stemming directly from the administration and school of thought of the Carter Presidency. {Yahoo: Carter's Second Term}
Carter had the stupidity and gall to attempt to blame the American people for his own failures. "I am reminded again that all the legislation in the world can't fix what is wrong with America." (July 15, 1979) B. Hussein blames others for pointing out his failures, too. Blames ... Others. When you're weak and inexperienced, blame others.
B. Hussein has mostly Carter and Clinton retreads as advisors which shows just how inexperienced he is.
BTW our Constitution Limits The Government. The citizens get their rights from God not as a check from Washington. Limits on government are the historical, important part.
Carter had the stupidity and gall to attempt to blame the American people for his own failures. "I am reminded again that all the legislation in the world can't fix what is wrong with America." (July 15, 1979) B. Hussein blames others for pointing out his failures, too. Blames ... Others. When you're weak and inexperienced, blame others.
B. Hussein has mostly Carter and Clinton retreads as advisors which shows just how inexperienced he is.
BTW our Constitution Limits The Government. The citizens get their rights from God not as a check from Washington. Limits on government are the historical, important part.
B-boy on B-boy
Here is a self made man who knows himself
B. Hussein on O'Bama
"He's young and inexperienced and he's got a funny name. And did I mention he's black?"
Jeeze, he finally got something right!! Can we get a poster of that?
B. Hussein on O'Bama
"He's young and inexperienced and he's got a funny name. And did I mention he's black?"
Jeeze, he finally got something right!! Can we get a poster of that?
"My object all sublime..."
Also from Mikado, "As someday it may happen that a victim must be found..." my list is short.
The start of this thread on American Thinker is about how the B. Hussein campaign is perfect material for satire. The whole campaign is a parody of itself. Every airy fairy statement and off limits edict is perfect for a hit. The Poser Posters are made for graffiti. Now will someone please, please do some Photoshop to put a brush (no typo, just a generic way of saying a Hitler mustache) mustache on another and a curly 'stach with van dyke on a second. How about a pedophile mustache on a third. The other edits are for those with more artistic imagination than I. Sales of B. Hussein posters and markers should explode! Heh... heh.
http://www.thepeoplescube.com/images/KG3/BFH_nope.jpg
![]()
http://www.thepeoplescube.com/images/Obama_Hope_Chope.gif
http://www.thedissidentfrogman.com/images/uploads/ob-hamas.gif
More .. (more applause) ... encore ...encore ... bravo
http://www.thepeoplescube.com/images/Obama_Poster_Clinton_Grope.gif
http://www.thepeoplescube.com/images/Obama_Carter_Dope.gif
The start of this thread on American Thinker is about how the B. Hussein campaign is perfect material for satire. The whole campaign is a parody of itself. Every airy fairy statement and off limits edict is perfect for a hit. The Poser Posters are made for graffiti. Now will someone please, please do some Photoshop to put a brush (no typo, just a generic way of saying a Hitler mustache) mustache on another and a curly 'stach with van dyke on a second. How about a pedophile mustache on a third. The other edits are for those with more artistic imagination than I. Sales of B. Hussein posters and markers should explode! Heh... heh.
http://www.thepeoplescube.com/images/KG3/BFH_nope.jpg
http://www.thedissidentfrogman.com/images/uploads/ob-hamas.gif
More .. (more applause) ... encore ...encore ... bravo
http://www.thepeoplescube.com/images/Obama_Poster_Clinton_Grope.gif
http://www.thepeoplescube.com/images/Obama_Carter_Dope.gif
B. Streisand Backs B. Hussein
And what part of her intellect, executive experience and management recommends anyone to follow her choice of B. Hussein? Sh*t, just another brainless entertainer. BTW, didn't she endorse Kerry and Gore and Clinton and Mcgovern and Edwards and ...? Seems there is a theme here. With the same old lyrics. Unlikely to set a record.
Unlikely News
Barbra Streisand changes tunes from Hillary Clinton to Barack Obama
Unlikely News
Barbra Streisand, the [in]famous singer who was being discovered by radio stations back when someone named Barack Obama was being born, confirms to The Ticket this afternoon that she's supporting Obama and has offered to help in his presidential campaign. 
Streisand's personal spokeswoman, Marge Tabankin, says talks are underway with the campaign in Chicago to decide what exact role Streisand will play in the presumptive Democratic nominee's efforts to win the White House.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Gun Wisdom: from a friend's e-mail
"Exterminate! Exterminate! Exterminate!' Dr. Who Darleks Self protection works. An armed society is a polite one.
The purpose of fighting is to win. There is no possible victory in defense.
The sword is more important than the shield, and skill is more important than either.
The final weapon is the brain. All else is supplemental.
As John Steinbeck once said:
1. Don't pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you.
2. If you find yourself in a fair fight, your tactics suck.
3. I carry a gun cause a cop is too heavy.
4. When seconds count, the cops are just minutes away.
5. A reporter did a human-interest piece on the Texas Rangers. The reporter recognized the Colt Model 1911 the Ranger was carrying and asked him
'Why do you carry a .45?'
The Ranger responded, 'Because they don't make a .46.'
6. An armed man will kill an unarmed man with monotonous regularity.
7. The old sheriff was attending an awards dinner when a lady commented on his wearing his sidearm.
'Sheriff, I see you have your pistol. Are you expecting trouble?'
'No Ma'am. If I were expecting trouble, I would have brought my rifle.' [me, a shotgun]
8. Beware the man who only has one gun. HE PROBABLY KNOWS HOW TO USE IT!!!
But wait, there's more!
I was once asked by a lady visiting if I had a gun in the house. I said I did.
She said 'Well I certainly hope it isn't loaded!'
To which I said, Of course it's loaded, it won't work without bullets!'
She then asked, 'Are you that afraid of some one evil coming into your house?'
My reply was, 'No not at all. I am not afraid of the house catching fire either, but I have fire extinguishers around, and they are all loaded too.
'To which I'll add, having a gun in the house that isn't loaded is like having a car in the garage without gas in the tank.'
I'm a firm believer of the 2nd Amendment!
"The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him,
but because he loves what is behind him."
Judge Slaps $200 Fines On Men Whose Cell Phones Rang In Court
"My object all sublime, I shall achieve in time, to let the punishment fit the crime, the punishment fit the crime." The Mikado Mikado
Justice News Service
The title 'Justice of the Peace' takes on new meaning in an Atlanta courtroom, where a judge has slapped a $200 fine on two men whose ringing cell phones went off within minutes of each other in the middle of a hearing.
Atlanta Municipal Court Judge Herman Sloan held the two men in contempt of court for the auditory interruptions. While he finished hearing cases on his docket, he had the two men sit out the time in the jury box. Then, he offered them each a sentence with a choice: a $200 fine or 10 days in jail.
The first man claimed his cell phone was turned off. The second man [was a liar, too, and] claimed he was late to court and hadn't heard an earlier announcement warning people to silence their phones. Either way, the judge was none too pleased, and was quick to take action.
Both men chose the $200 fine.
Justice News Service
The title 'Justice of the Peace' takes on new meaning in an Atlanta courtroom, where a judge has slapped a $200 fine on two men whose ringing cell phones went off within minutes of each other in the middle of a hearing.
Atlanta Municipal Court Judge Herman Sloan held the two men in contempt of court for the auditory interruptions. While he finished hearing cases on his docket, he had the two men sit out the time in the jury box. Then, he offered them each a sentence with a choice: a $200 fine or 10 days in jail.
The first man claimed his cell phone was turned off. The second man [was a liar, too, and] claimed he was late to court and hadn't heard an earlier announcement warning people to silence their phones. Either way, the judge was none too pleased, and was quick to take action.
Both men chose the $200 fine.
12,000 Laptops Lost Each Week at US Airports
Now just how does this work. 12,000/100 = 120 laptops per airport per week. 120/7 = 16 laptops per airport per day. [Calcs rounded for the non-math 98% part of the population.] If that sounds high, the stats would have 67 airports with 48 or more laptops lost per day.
Suspect some folks start with real numbers then decide they are no longer dramatic enough and nobody will notice. GOTCHA! Again. Best guess is 60 per week for all. That would still become 12,000 per year, but Dilbert rules. BTW Ponemon is pushing security software; no surprise. Yahoo for the rest
Undiginfied News Service
In these digital times, it seems as though everything about us these days is reduced to bits and bytes and stored on computers -- so it's only fair to ask that those computers be secure. Well, according to a new study by the Ponemon Institute, half of all the business travelers surveyed said they fly regularly with important information on their laptops. Most of them -- more than two thirds -- don't use any type of security system in the event that laptops are lost or stolen.
Clearly, this is bad news, especially since the study also estimates that about 12,000 laptops are lost every week (based on interviews with officials at 106 American airports). This means business travelers are losing several laptops a week. Eventually, one of those laptops is going to be loaded with our Social Security numbers and names.
Suspect some folks start with real numbers then decide they are no longer dramatic enough and nobody will notice. GOTCHA! Again. Best guess is 60 per week for all. That would still become 12,000 per year, but Dilbert rules. BTW Ponemon is pushing security software; no surprise. Yahoo for the rest
Undiginfied News Service
In these digital times, it seems as though everything about us these days is reduced to bits and bytes and stored on computers -- so it's only fair to ask that those computers be secure. Well, according to a new study by the Ponemon Institute, half of all the business travelers surveyed said they fly regularly with important information on their laptops. Most of them -- more than two thirds -- don't use any type of security system in the event that laptops are lost or stolen.
Clearly, this is bad news, especially since the study also estimates that about 12,000 laptops are lost every week (based on interviews with officials at 106 American airports). This means business travelers are losing several laptops a week. Eventually, one of those laptops is going to be loaded with our Social Security numbers and names.
NY drops claims against Grasso after court defeat
Here's yet another state AG handed his head for under-thinking and over-politicizing the office. Long may they fail.
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - The four-year legal battle over former NYSE Chairman Richard Grasso's $187.5 million compensation package ended Tuesday when a New York appeals court dismissed claims against him of excessive pay and the state's top prosecutor said the case was closed.
"We have reviewed the court's opinion and determined that an appeal would not be warranted," Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's spokesman Alex Detrick said. "Thus, for all intents and purposes, the Grasso case is over."
Cuomo's announcement came soon after the Appellate Division of State Supreme Court ruled the attorney general's authority to pursue two remaining claims against Grasso lapsed when the New York Stock Exchange changed in 2005 from a nonprofit to a for-profit corporation. Last week, the Court of Appeals, New York's highest court, dismissed four common law claims against the 2003 compensation package.
The midlevel court concluded Tuesday that seeking to recover money for two remaining claims under New York's Not-For-Profit Corporation Law would simply benefit the NYSE's private owners. The court also dismissed a claim against Home Depot founder Kenneth Langone, who was chairman of the exchange's compensation committee and was accused of misleading other NYSE board members about Grasso's pay.
Justice James McGuire wrote that based on case law and the "evident purpose" of the not-for-profit law, the attorney general's authority to pursue the claims "lapsed" when the NYSE became a for-profit corporation. He wrote for the court majority.
NY drops claims against Grasso after court defeat
Unknown News ServiceALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - The four-year legal battle over former NYSE Chairman Richard Grasso's $187.5 million compensation package ended Tuesday when a New York appeals court dismissed claims against him of excessive pay and the state's top prosecutor said the case was closed.
"We have reviewed the court's opinion and determined that an appeal would not be warranted," Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's spokesman Alex Detrick said. "Thus, for all intents and purposes, the Grasso case is over."
Cuomo's announcement came soon after the Appellate Division of State Supreme Court ruled the attorney general's authority to pursue two remaining claims against Grasso lapsed when the New York Stock Exchange changed in 2005 from a nonprofit to a for-profit corporation. Last week, the Court of Appeals, New York's highest court, dismissed four common law claims against the 2003 compensation package.
The midlevel court concluded Tuesday that seeking to recover money for two remaining claims under New York's Not-For-Profit Corporation Law would simply benefit the NYSE's private owners. The court also dismissed a claim against Home Depot founder Kenneth Langone, who was chairman of the exchange's compensation committee and was accused of misleading other NYSE board members about Grasso's pay.
Justice James McGuire wrote that based on case law and the "evident purpose" of the not-for-profit law, the attorney general's authority to pursue the claims "lapsed" when the NYSE became a for-profit corporation. He wrote for the court majority.
R.I. high court overturns lead paint verdict
RI was suing for billions based on winning a Public Nuisance suit. Phhhooony hhhoooyy. This is socialism. When you can't gain on merit, inflate a traffic ticket into a grand felony. YYYeeeeAAAa RI Supremes by 4 - 0. (Dunno how that works.) Two Supreme Court decisions for common sense in one week. Perhaps common sense will become a movement.
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PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - Rhode Island's Supreme Court on Tuesday overturned a first-in-the-nation jury verdict that found three former lead paint companies responsible for creating a public nuisance, rejecting a closely watched case that had been seen as a bellwether for potential suits across the country.
The 4-0 decision ends the nearly decade-long court fight and spares the companies from potentially billions in cleanup costs for hundreds of thousands of contaminated homes.
The court, however, said the state's lawsuit should have been dismissed at the outset. It said that while lead paint may be a public health problem, it was not the companies' responsibility to clean it up because they, unlike landlords and homeowners, had no control over how the paint was used or if it was used in properties where children were poisoned.
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PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - Rhode Island's Supreme Court on Tuesday overturned a first-in-the-nation jury verdict that found three former lead paint companies responsible for creating a public nuisance, rejecting a closely watched case that had been seen as a bellwether for potential suits across the country.
The 4-0 decision ends the nearly decade-long court fight and spares the companies from potentially billions in cleanup costs for hundreds of thousands of contaminated homes.
The court, however, said the state's lawsuit should have been dismissed at the outset. It said that while lead paint may be a public health problem, it was not the companies' responsibility to clean it up because they, unlike landlords and homeowners, had no control over how the paint was used or if it was used in properties where children were poisoned.
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