The Crooked Links2006-05-03T20:44:49ZIt's just a bunch of links.tag:www.headblender.com,2007:/joe/links//2Movable TypeCopyright (c) 2006, joeDinner Theater2006-05-03T20:44:49Z2006-05-03T20:43:14Ztag:www.headblender.com,2006:/joe/links//2.6502006-05-03T20:43:14ZWhy Stephen Colbert didn't bomb in D.C....joehttp://www.headblender.com/joe/joe@headblender.comLinks
Why Stephen Colbert didn't bomb in D.C.]]>
"...Here's a jiggling Justice Scalia giggling like a schoolgirl. Here's a military man not quite disciplined enough to stifle his grin at a crack—decent but not first-rate—on the Secretary of Defense: 'See who we've got here tonight. Gen. Moseley, Air Force Chief of Staff. Gen. Peter Pace, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. They still support Rumsfeld. Right, you guys aren't retired yet, right?' In the immediate wake of Colbert's most brutal line ('I stand by this man. I stand by this man because he stands for things. Not only for things, he stands on things. Things like aircraft carriers and rubble and recently flooded city squares.'), the president of the United States wore, on his peeved lips, an expression that you usually see only in the instant before a bar fight. But half a minute later, when the topic turned to the First Marriage ('Obviously loves his wife, calls her his better half. And polls show America does, too'), the president had regained his composure and was the picture of jolliness. Not so the trio of Washington wives the camera next cut to. Their faces showed varying degrees of disgust, and it looked like all three of them were trying to hide under their shawls."
Media continue to ignore Boston Globe reporter's exposés on Bush's "signing statements"2006-05-03T20:42:50Z2006-05-03T20:42:15Ztag:www.headblender.com,2006:/joe/links//2.6492006-05-03T20:42:15Z"President Bush has quietly claimed the authority to disobey more than 750 laws enacted since he took office..."...joehttp://www.headblender.com/joe/joe@headblender.comLinks
President Bush has quietly claimed the authority to disobey more than 750 laws enacted since he took office..."]]>
Power to the Pumpers2006-05-03T20:41:54Z2006-05-03T20:40:53Ztag:www.headblender.com,2006:/joe/links//2.6482006-05-03T20:40:53ZDo gas boycotts really work?...joehttp://www.headblender.com/joe/joe@headblender.comLinks
Do gas boycotts really work?
]]>
"Even if the people held true in their allegiance to Captain Boycott, they still wouldn't achieve their goals. As the other oil companies struggled to meet the rising demand, they'd be forced to buy wholesale gasoline from their competitors. (Their refineries are already operating at maximum capacity, so there's no way they'd be able to meet that demand by themselves.) Guess which competitor would step in to sell them that gasoline? Exxon."
Priority Cell Phones for First Responders2006-05-03T20:40:43Z2006-05-03T20:38:56Ztag:www.headblender.com,2006:/joe/links//2.6472006-05-03T20:38:56ZVerizon has announced that is has activated the Access Overload Control (ACCOLC) system, allowing some cell phones to have priority access to the network, even when the network is overloaded....joehttp://www.headblender.com/joe/joe@headblender.comLinks
Verizon has announced that is has activated the Access Overload Control (ACCOLC) system, allowing some cell phones to have priority access to the network, even when the network is overloaded.]]>
Pope considers small change in contraceptive policy2006-04-26T21:46:35Z2006-04-26T21:43:40Ztag:www.headblender.com,2006:/joe/links//2.6462006-04-26T21:43:40Z"Pope Benedict XVI has asked a team of experts to prepare a statement on the use of condoms by married people who carry infectious viruses such as HIV."...joehttp://www.headblender.com/joe/joe@headblender.comLinks
Pope Benedict XVI has asked a team of experts to prepare a statement on the use of condoms by married people who carry infectious viruses such as HIV."]]>
THEOLOGIANS used to ponder how many angels might fit onto the head of a pin. Now experts in the Vatican are to consider something more practical, though perhaps just as difficult for non-Catholics to understand. The head of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Health and Pastoral Care confirmed in an interview with an Italian newspaper, La Repubblica, that the council had been asked by Pope Benedict XVI to study whether those infected with HIV (and other grave infectious diseases) should use condoms. Although the Catholic church opposes contraception, some liberal cardinals now argue that the fight against sexually transmitted illness—notably AIDS—is so pressing that the use of condoms, in some circumstances, should not be condemned. It might be justified, for example, if the intention were not to prevent conception but to stop the spread of a virus from husband to wife.
It is now a quarter of a century since scientists identified a mysterious disease that killed people by destroying their immune systems. In the years since it has become clear how one might discourage the transmission of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Nobody claims this is easy to do, but it is known to spread mainly through unprotected sex. Consequently an “ABC” of combined approaches is thought to help: abstinence (or at least postponing the age of one's first sexual experiences); being faithful to one’s partner; and condom use.
It may be that Pope Benedict is now willing to shift, if only for couples, the church’s opposition to the third part of this mantra. This matters, especially in Africa, Latin America and Asia, where AIDS is increasingly prevalent and the views of the Pope are held in high regard. Last week a retired Archbishop from Milan, Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini, suggested that married couples where one partner has HIV might use condoms against infection. Although this contradicts the idea that contraception is against God’s will and natural law, this is, he suggests, “a lesser evil” than passing on the virus. “This person has an obligation to protect the other partner and the other partner also has to protect themselves”, he says. It may be that Cardinal Martini, along with a small minority of like-minded cardinals, is testing the waters to see the reaction of more conservative church leaders.
Something new certainly needs to be tried. The death toll from AIDS is appallingly high. Some 25m people have probably died of it; another 40m may be infected with HIV, mostly in Africa. In countries like Botswana, Swaziland and Zimbabwe, in southern Africa, roughly a third of adults are infected. Life expectancy for many Africans is now well under 40 years. And though drugs exist to treat the symptoms of AIDS, and there is hopeful talk of a vaccine being created one day, the disease will not be beaten unless transmission is reduced.
A change in policy by the Vatican, where the Pope has been installed for only a year, could be influential. It is not only the church that has discouraged the use of condoms. The American government, one of the largest donors to anti-AIDS campaigns in the developing world, has proved increasingly unwilling in the past few years to fund programmes that promote condoms. Some African presidents are also sceptical about their use. And too many ordinary Africans, often suspecting that outsiders want to prevent them from having children, are suspicious about the use of condoms. If the Pope were to shift the Vatican’s position that, perhaps, might encourage a change in attitude elsewhere, too.
Let's talk about sex
Whether that would translate into lives saved is harder to say. There are many messy reasons why safer-sex campaigns have failed to do more to halt the spread of AIDS. Sex in many countries is a taboo subject and not easily discussed. Women are typically victims and too often lack the power to control how it takes place. Some poorly-educated Africans (and others) still do not understand what AIDS is and how it is passed on. Yet others have been subjected to so many years of dire warnings about the disease that they have grown fatalistic, each assuming he is already infected and thus has nothing to gain by taking precautions. Still others are naturally suspicious when foreigners or their governments deign to give instruction on the most personal of topics. And in many places elders consider it shameful for the young to carry condoms, especially for young women, as this may indicate a promiscuous sex life.
But, at the least, the Pope’s review may encourage wider discussion of how best to tackle AIDS while raising awareness of it among potential victims. In rich countries he might help counter an increasing weariness with the topic. And in the field, for example in the remotest corners of Congo or Mozambique or Angola, Catholic missionaries may find it easier to give more comprehensive help to those who must live with AIDS."]]>
The Security Risk of Special Cases2006-04-26T21:43:28Z2006-04-26T21:42:29Ztag:www.headblender.com,2006:/joe/links//2.6452006-04-26T21:42:29Z"The meta-point is that exceptions to security are themselves security vulnerabilities."...joehttp://www.headblender.com/joe/joe@headblender.comLinks
The meta-point is that exceptions to security are themselves security vulnerabilities."]]>
I Smell Gas2006-04-26T21:37:44Z2006-04-26T21:36:54Ztag:www.headblender.com,2006:/joe/links//2.6442006-04-26T21:36:54ZA subject that makes congressmen stupid....joehttp://www.headblender.com/joe/joe@headblender.comLinks
A subject that makes congressmen stupid.]]>
"...What none can acknowledge is that higher gas prices in the United States are a good thing. To be sure, oil at $70 a barrel causes hardships for working people and delights some of the world's worst dictators. But cheap gasoline imposes its own costs on society: greenhouse gas emissions, air pollution and its attendant health risks, traffic congestion, and accidents. The ideal way to cope with these externalities would be with higher gas taxes or a carbon tax. But these are politically impossible ideas at the moment—Democrats lost control of Congress in part because they passed a 4-cent-per-gallon tax increase in 1993. The next best solution is the one that has arrived on its own: a high market price for oil, which spurs conservation and substitution. Sustained high prices will bring about behavioral and political changes: energy conservation, public transportation, less exurban sprawl, and eventually the economic viability of alternative fuel sources such as biomass, fuel cells, wind, and solar power, which may one day undermine the power of the oil oligarchs. Are politicians too stupid to understand this, or just smart enough not to say it aloud?"
.NET Compact Framework 2.0 SP1 Beta is available2006-04-26T21:36:49Z2006-04-26T21:34:53Ztag:www.headblender.com,2006:/joe/links//2.6432006-04-26T21:34:53Zhere is a raw list of features and bug fixes. [via]...joehttp://www.headblender.com/joe/joe@headblender.comLinks
here is a raw list of features and bug fixes. [via]]]>
Analyze .NET assemblies using NDepend2006-04-26T21:34:48Z2006-04-26T21:33:19Ztag:www.headblender.com,2006:/joe/links//2.6422006-04-26T21:33:19Zanalyzes .NET assemblies and generates reports on design quality metrics, along with warnings and diagrams [via]...joehttp://www.headblender.com/joe/joe@headblender.comLinks
analyzes .NET assemblies and generates reports on design quality metrics, along with warnings and diagrams [via]]]>
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 122006-04-26T15:20:32Z2006-04-26T15:19:20Ztag:www.headblender.com,2006:/joe/links//2.6412006-04-26T15:19:20ZWho doesn't remember the funky pinball number count?...joehttp://www.headblender.com/joe/joe@headblender.comLinks
Who doesn't remember the funky pinball number count?]]>
Visua Studio 2005 Express editions are permanently free2006-04-26T14:56:28Z2006-04-26T14:54:44Ztag:www.headblender.com,2006:/joe/links//2.6402006-04-26T14:54:44Z5 million downloads can't be wrong....joehttp://www.headblender.com/joe/joe@headblender.comLinks
5 million downloads can't be wrong.]]>
In Praise of Loopholes2006-04-25T18:35:21Z2006-04-25T18:34:08Ztag:www.headblender.com,2006:/joe/links//2.6392006-04-25T18:34:08ZA look at some of our most celebrated loophole practitioners, and their tales. [via]...joehttp://www.headblender.com/joe/joe@headblender.comLinks
A look at some of our most celebrated loophole practitioners, and their tales. [via]]]>
The Fox News Effect: Media Bias and Voting2006-04-25T18:32:33Z2006-04-25T18:30:43Ztag:www.headblender.com,2006:/joe/links//2.6382006-04-25T18:30:43Z"Does media bias affect voting? We address this question by looking at the entry of Fox News in cable markets and its impact on voting... Our estimates imply that Fox News convinced 3 to 8 percent of its viewers to...joehttp://www.headblender.com/joe/joe@headblender.comLinks
Does media bias affect voting? We address this question by looking at the entry of Fox News in cable markets and its impact on voting... Our estimates imply that Fox News convinced 3 to 8 percent of its viewers to vote Republican." [via]]]>
The Past is Over2006-04-25T18:29:27Z2006-04-25T18:27:45Ztag:www.headblender.com,2006:/joe/links//2.6372006-04-25T18:27:45ZBush impersonator reads speeches written by little kids [via]...joehttp://www.headblender.com/joe/joe@headblender.comLinks
Bush impersonator reads speeches written by little kids [via]]]>
The Worst President in History?2006-04-25T18:27:19Z2006-04-25T18:26:30Ztag:www.headblender.com,2006:/joe/links//2.6362006-04-25T18:26:30ZOne of America's leading historians assesses George W. Bush...joehttp://www.headblender.com/joe/joe@headblender.comLinks
One of America's leading historians assesses George W. Bush]]>
"George W. Bush's presidency appears headed for colossal historical disgrace. Barring a cataclysmic event on the order of the terrorist attacks of September 11th, after which the public might rally around the White House once again, there seems to be little the administration can do to avoid being ranked on the lowest tier of U.S. presidents. And that may be the best-case scenario. Many historians are now wondering whether Bush, in fact, will be remembered as the very worst president in all of American history."