29 Mar 2004
How E-Voting Threatens Democracy

Good backgrounder on how not to design "secure" electronic voting machines.

Nobody wants another Florida election debacle. Electronic voting is supposed to be the answer, but a growing body of evidence suggests the technology, at least in its current form, cannot be trusted. A Wired News special report by Kim Zetter.

(link) [Wired News]

00:00 /Technology | 0 comments | permanent link

New Arrivals

The population at Hammerstead Farms increased by two this morning
as good old #87, formerly of Hillock O'Carns, gave birth to twins.

Here's a better look at one of the newbies:

Mother and babies are just fine: the birth was unattended (a rarity for sheep in this "modern, progressive" day and age) and we pretty much let things take their course - standing by to intervene if required. We did build a couple of pens and bring the lambs and mom into the barn tonight, as the temperature is supposed to plummet - cold is not good for newborns of any mammal species! It was nearly 80º F today - by tomorrow night we're expecting a spring snow and a hard freeze. We have a saying here: if you don't care for the weather, stick around - it'll change! Especially in March.

And despite the cold, we're sleeping with the window cracked open and the rifle by the bed: nothing attracts coyotes like new lambs, and we've spotted a pack of the little bastards down the road a piece.

All in all, a busy day indeed ...

00:00 /Home | 0 comments | permanent link

Will India price itself out of offshore market?

So, we hire an Indian company who then in turn "offshores" to China. And the benefit to America is??? Cheaper X-box games and fewer jobs. Wonderful.

"Tata Consultancy Services, one of India's four largest exporters of software, has begun to offshore its staff," the American Electronics Association says in a new report. "By 2005, TCS plans to have 3,000 software engineers in China, or 15 percent of their global work force."

Growing demand from the United States for offshore services in India is raising the cost of labor there, causing U.S. firms to begin eyeing China, Romania and other options. But India has some tricks up its sleeve.

(link) [CNET News.com]

00:00 /Politics | 0 comments | permanent link

Congress Moves to Criminalize P2P

Morons ...

Two senators introduce legislation that would impose jail time for sharing as little as one file, while the House may consider another that would lower the bar to take people to court. Looks like entertainment lobbyists are winning their war against peer-to-peer networks. By Xeni Jardin.

(link) [Wired News]

00:00 /Copywrongs | 0 comments | permanent link

Slave descendants to sue Lloyd's

So, does this mean that the victim of a robbery can sue State Farm for providing the insurance on the getaway car? Lawyers are proving to be the bane of modern existence.

Descendants of black American slaves sue the UK's oldest insurance company for underwriting ships used in the trade.

(link) [BBC News | World | UK Edition]

00:00 /Politics | 0 comments | permanent link