05 Jul 2006
Yes, we have no payola

A novel way to counter astroturf for blogs. I'm especially intrigued by RapLeaf which has a lot of other applications for Internet authentication than just blocking paid posts on blogs...

In a blog post Friday, I mused on the creation of a "Guaranteed Payola-Free" accreditation for bloggers who vow not to accept payment to write about particular products.

(link) [CNET News.com]

21:44 /Technology | 0 comments | permanent link

N. Korea launches 7th missile

Of all the hot spots in the worlds, it's the DPRK that worries me most. The mad mullahs in Iran may be crazy, but they're crazy like a fox. Kim Jong Il is just a psychopath, pure and simple. A psychopath with nuclear warheads and ICBMs. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

North Korea test-fired a seventh missile today, hours after the launch of six other missiles sparked international furor. The missiles apparently fell into the Sea of Japan. The White House issued a statement that "strongly condemns" the launches and the U.N. Security Council called an emergency session this morning to discuss the missiles.

(link) [CNN.com]

15:05 /Politics | 0 comments | permanent link

2 Somalis killed for watching World Cup

Remember, these are the folks whose religion we must respect, because it's "The Religion of Peace". And come to think of, graveyards are usually pretty peaceful ...

AP - Radical Islamic militia fighters in Somalia shot and killed two people who were watching a banned World Cup soccer broadcast, a radio station reported Wednesday.

(link) [Yahoo! News: Top Stories]

14:57 /Politics | 2 comments | permanent link

Whew!

I lived through another Fourth of July ... the food, the fireworks, and the family always makes for a long day, but yesterday was even longer than usual.

We left to watch the parade in Lebanon at 10am EST, and didn't get home until midnight. The late night was due to an invitation we got to ride down to Indy and watch the fireworks from the top of a parking garage. And I must say it was a spectacular show, although why they try to synchronize them to music these days is beyond me: ooohhh! and aaaahhh! are really all the noise I need to enjoy a fireworks show.

And somebody certainly needs to school the music choreographers in a bit of history: the "Grand Finale" was set to the quickstep from the closing of Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture. Which was, in reality, the Imperial Russian National Anthem (God Preserve the Czar). Kinda kinky to be hearing that played as "patriotic" music at an American Fourth of July celebration...

14:51 /Home | 0 comments | permanent link