04.20.05
Book of the Month #1.5
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04.15.05
Technological Sabbath
I think most of us could use what Joe Carter calls an “Info-Techno Sabbath.”
“One of the most basic biblical insights,” says theologian J.I. Packer, “is that whatever controls and shapes one’s life is in effect the god one worships.” For many of us, the one true god to whom we give our devotion is the deity known as IT - information technology.
the evangelical outpost: Info-Techno Sabbath: Unplugging the God of Information Technology
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The Pragmatic Amish
Probably the last people you’d think of as futurists would be the Amish. However, the Amish have found that using genetically modified crops allows them to hold on to their cultural ideals.
Bear Flag League Weighs in on Apple Subpoena Case
80 CALIFORNIA BLOGGERS
WEIGH IN ON APPLE SUBPOENA CASE
Irvine, CA. April 15, 2005. Today, the Bear Flag League — a coalition of 80 bloggers who are current and former California residents — filed a friend of the court brief with the California Sixth District Court of Appeal in O’Grady v. Superior Court. The O’Grady case is an appellate proceeding arising from a lawsuit filed by Apple Computer in Santa Clara County in December 2004. Apple sued unnamed individuals who are accused of leaking information regarding Apple’s new products to several news websites. Apple has initiated discovery procedures available under California law to identify the source of the leaked information, including serving a subpoena to the Internet service provider for one of the news websites. Apple hopes that the subpoena will reveal the identity of its employees or other parties involved in the leaks. The publishers of the news websites have asked the Santa Clara County Superior Court to block Apple’s discovery in order to protect the publishers’ confidential sources. When the Superior Court denied that request, the publishers filed a petition with the Sixth District Court of Appeal. The lawsuit involves the competing interests of the First Amendment guarantees of a free press on the one hand and Apple’s rights to protect the unlawful dissemination of its trade secrets on the other.
The Bear Flag League is an unincorporated association of current and former residents of the State of California who operate and/or contribute to 80 blogs. The League was formed in July 2003 in order to collaborate and publish articles concerning California culture, current events, legal issues and politics for the reading public.
The brief filed by the League today urges the Sixth District Court of Appeal to afford these website publishers and all bloggers the same privileges and protection from discovery that traditional print and broadcast journalists enjoy under the United States and California Constitution. Because these website publishers targeted by Apple are engaged in the same news gathering and reporting activities as print journalists, broadcast reporters and Internet bloggers, they have the right to protect their confidential sources and thereby maintain a strong, independent and free press.
The League’s brief was prepared by a number of the League’s lawyer members, including, Justene Adamec of PUMILIA & ADAMEC LLP and Jeffrey Lewis and Benjamin P. Pugh of Enterprise Counsel Group, ALC, whose contact information is below.
The League’s brief was prepared by a number of the League’s lawyer members, including, Justene Adamec of PUMILIA & ADAMEC LLP and Jeffrey Lewis and Benjamin P. Pugh of Enterprise Counsel Group, ALC, whose contact information is below.
A copy of the League’s brief may be downloaded here.
The League’s homepage is located at www.BearFlagLeague.com.
Justene Adamec
PUMILIA & ADAMEC LLP
555 W 5th St Ste 3100
Los Angeles, CA 90013-1010
Tel. (213) 622-3006
Fax. (213) 622-3006
Jeffrey Lewis
Benjamin P. Pugh
ENTERPRISE COUNSEL GROUP, ALC
Five Park Plaza, Suite 450
Irvine, California 92614
Tel. (949) 833-8550
Fax. (949) 833-8540
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04.14.05
Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention
In an effort to thwart widescale abuses of current bankruptcy law, Congress has passed Bill S. 256, the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005.
Tens of thousands of people who want to wipe out their debts in bankruptcy court will have to work out repayment plans instead under legislation Congress approved Thursday.
Imagine that, holding people responsible for misusing bankruptcy as a way to get out of financial trouble. This law also contains “progressive” elements to allow individuals with lower income levels to still have all of their debt written off in bankruptcy.
Congress Passes Bankruptcy Reform Bill
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04.08.05
Mt. Soledad From Space
For you San Diegans, here’s a cool shot from Google Maps: you can’t quite see the Mt. Soledad cross, but you can see the shadow it casts.
Google Sightseeing
Technological innovation just might spell doom for civilization.
Google Sightseeing (Why bother seeing the world for real?)
04.07.05
Car Crash
Would you use Windows to run your car? While “Microsoft Automotive” is distinct from Windows, I can’t help but think that with Microsoft at the wheel, this could give the term “car crash” a whole new meaning…
More Daylight
As we have recently experienced, the shift from Standard Time to Daylight Time currently occurs on the first Sunday of April at 2:00AM. We switch back on the last Sunday of October at 2:00AM. Congress is now considering a plan to add 5 weeks per year of daylight savings time in a bid to decrease energy consumption.
Lawmakers crafting energy legislation approved an amendment Wednesday to extend daylight-saving time by two months, having it start on the last Sunday in March and end on the last Sunday in November.
Congress May Extend Daylight-Saving Time
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Tools of “Genoism”
One step closer to the world of Gattaca.
The boxes arrive in the mail by the dozens each day and are stacked in neat rows in the laboratory. Inside are swabs of the inside cheek, drops of blood, material that the senders hope will give them a peek at the life they have been dealt by their genes.
Over the next few weeks, Genelex Corp. technician Dascena Vincent and her colleagues here will conduct what they call a nutritional genetic assessment, analyzing the DNA samples for certain deficiencies. Problems in the genes that handle dietary fats? That could put you at risk for heart disease. Trouble with those that help rid your body of toxins like smoke? Cancer could be an issue later in life. And how about those associated with metabolizing vitamin D? Be watchful for signs of deteriorating bone strength.
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04.06.05
Google Satellite Maps
Wow. When you use Google Maps to find an address, now you can now see a fairly recent satellite photo of the map area.
For Example: My Office
If this level of detail and clarity is available to the public domain, I wonder just how accurate military satellites have become?
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Welcome Ukraine with Open Arms
Freedom is springing up all over the place. Consider Ukraine, for example, which survived scandalous elections and came out with a pro-freedom, pro-market President.
To resounding applause from the U.S. Congress, Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko on Wednesday thanked the United States for its support during his country’s tumultuous election and urged it to forge a tighter partnership by normalizing trade relations.
Our relationship with Ukraine is one of strategic significance. Washington would be wise to reciprocate President Yushchenko’s calls for normalized trade relations.
Yushchenko Pushes for Normal Trade Status with U.S.
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04.05.05
Fresno Goes Hi-Tech
Fresno law enforcement is going high-tech.
In the next 90 days, the city of Fresno, Calif., will begin deploying a new data-communications system to link police, fire, ambulance, and other emergency first-responders via the Web.
Now if only we had cheap, ubiquitous Wi-Fi throughout Fresno…
Yahoo! News - Fresno Police Department Expands Its Data-Communications Capabilities
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04.03.05
Make Poverty History
The eradication of poverty marks a goal toward which all of us should strive. It is an undeniable injustice that large portions of the world live without sufficient food, water, shelter and basic medical care. The issue isn’t whether we should do something about it but rather, what should we do about it? What methods would be most effective in eradicating poverty and providing basic necessities to all of the people in the world?
A new website popped onto the radar screen last week called Make Poverty History. The mission of this organization is best described in their own words.
THE CRUCIAL PART. WHAT WE ARE ASKING FOR.
In 9 words… TRADE JUSTICE. DROP THE DEBT. MORE AND BETTER AID.
The gap between the worlds’s rich and poor has never been wider. Malnutrition, AIDS, conflict and illiteracy are a daily reality for millions.
But it isn’t chance or bad luck that keeps people trapped in bitter, unrelenting poverty. It’s man-made factors like a glaringly unjust global trade system, a debt burden so great that it suffocates any chance of recovery and insufficient and ineffective aid.
This list of three demands leaves out a crucial piece of the picture. The last sentence of this excerpt begs the question: why is economic aid ineffective? Eliminating debts, fostering a better trade balance and providing more economic aid will not solve the problem of poverty unless a fourth demand is added to this list: the end of tyranny. In order for countries to have more favorable trade agreements, their goverments must be free, open and democratic. While any notion of “fair trade” is a bit of a misnomer, any attempts to make trade fair are completely wasted when despots can line their pockets at the expense of their citizens.
The same holds true for debt cancellation and increases in aid (which are basically two sides of the same coin–cancelling debt is itself a form of economic aid). The only nations in which citizens can truly enjoy the benefits of trade and take advantage of economic assistance are free, open, liberal societies.
I’d like to see organizations like Make Poverty History take a harder line against autocratic, despotic governments that are a major culprit in keeping much of the world under the thumb of extreme poverty. Ending poverty is the noblest of humanitarian causes and we should take whatever measures are within our power to reach this goal. My hope is for organizations such as this one to see the missing link in their logic chain. The discussion must include calls for personal freedom and free markets within developing nations.
So get involved in the fight to eradicate poverty, but let’s have a complete picture of what the process will involve. Poverty cannot be permanently eradicated unless people are protected by the rule of law and the provisions of a free society.
The New Libertarian
The New Libertarian is a new online magazine feature articles from a neo-libertarian perspective. You’d do well to check it out.
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04.01.05
Big Government Conservatism
Excerpt from Cuckolded by the Conservative State By Ryan Sager:
While some libertarian types may have been upset with President Reagan’s deficits, he was at least singing from their hymn book: Government is the problem, not the solution. George W. Bush on the other hand has never even gone to the trouble of aping a small-government posture. Instead, Bush has adopted one of Reagan’s other famous lines, sans irony: I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.
Read the rest: TCS: Tech Central Station - Cuckolded by the Conservative State
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Picture of Another World
Scientist have taken a visible-spectrum photograph of a planet orbiting a star 400 light years away.
This is the first directly imaged and confirmed companion to a Sun-like star, and as such marks the dawn of a new era in planet detection.
First Confirmed Picture of a Planet Beyond the Solar System
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Book of the Month #1
Welcome to the inaugural “Book of the Month” feature at Jeff Doolittle dot com. Each month I will highlight a different book that I am currently reading.
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CD of the Month #1
Welcome to the inaugural “CD of the Month” feature at Jeff Doolittle dot com. Each month I will highlight a different CD that is currently capturing my interest. I may offer some reviews, critiques or insights too, but for now I’ll just say that this CD is smooth:
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