Friday, June 01, 2007

If you have any toothpaste made in China, toss it. That is, unless you plan to go somewhere very, very cold, and your mouth could use some antifreeze.
Somehow, Ron Paul holds on to his high ranking on Technorati.

Beats me.
As I've said in other contexts, the mere fact that giving away intellectual property might, in some cases, make economic sense for the property owner, it's irrelevant to whether or not intellectual property protections should exist. Without such protections, the property owner loses the ability to decide such things for himself.

It's like saying that if someone hijacked a truckload of Toyotas on the way to a dealership and drove them around town, then Toyota should be happy with the free publicity.*

Of course, here's where someone will argue that Toyotas aren't like songs, because if you take away a Toyota the owner actually loses something, where with a piece of intellectual property the owner hasn't lost anything at all. The fact that, when someone downloads a pirated copy of a song, he doesn't have to pay the creator of the song, means nothing, I'm told--which usually returns to the circular argument that the creator will end up making more money anyways, so it's okay. The concept of controlling one's property and who benefits from it escapes some people, I suppose.
Actually, I agree with all 10 of these points. They seem well-reasoned to me, except for perhaps a little ad hominem in number 7 (which even then has some truth to it).
Okay, so, maybe this is possible. I mentioned the fleet's presence in the Persian Gulf in an earlier post, and am willing to consider that the talks with Iran in Baghdad might have been a final warning to Iran. Hosting them on Memorial Day, in that context, might even have been a subtle reminder that America has engaged in such actions before, and that we're willing to pay a price for our continued security.

I'll be waiting to see, but I won't be holding my breath.

Update: Oops, sorry. Hat tip to Little Green Footballs.

Update 2: But then there's this sort of thing.
Unfortunately, while I wish I could believe Fred Thompson, here, I don't think for a moment that if we were in Israel's shoes, we'd act with less "restraint." If the US had ever used "whatever means necessary to win the war" on Islamic fundamentalism, the thing would have been over a long time ago.

But, it is good to hear Thompson say such things. Maybe it's simply the way he thinks, which would be something in his advantage.
This year's Objectivist Conference is in Telluride, Colorado. Looks like a great time.

If I can scrape up a few bucks, I might just go.
I'll leave election politics to sites like Instapundit. They do it better than I ever could, and frankly, such politics both bore me and frustrated the hell out of me.

That's a bad combination.
Sometimes, people vote with their feet. 17% unemployment, high taxes, regulations, and blood sausage.

I'd certainly go elsewhere.
Thus, Putin acknowledges that he considers himself an enemy of the West. Will we listen to him?
Someone's crazy in this story, but it's not Bush.
As usual, this Digg story title is misleading. While certain O'Reilly spoke of a "white, Christian, male power structure," McCain didn't. He didn't deny it, but then that's a completely different thing--sometimes, it's best to let sleeping dogs lie.

That O'Reilly would say something like this, though, is unsurprising.
I do think it's time for Battlestar Galactica to go. Wrap things up cleanly, and then move on. If they can do it without jumping the shark, all the better.
This is treason.
I should link to James Lilek's Bleat every day. It would remind me to read it.

There's just something about his style that gives a quick pick-me-up. If he could bottle it, he'd be a millionaire.

Of course, contrary to those who believe intellectual property doesn't exist, he can't bottle it. And there's only one of him. If that's not the definition of a "scarce resource," I don't know what is.
Why should anyone worry about his legally purchased music tracks showing up on the Internet, unless, well, he's copying his music to the Internet? And, if this stops him from doing so, isn't it a bit odd for him to whine about it?

When methods for utilizing fingerprints in identifying criminals were first created, did criminals complain?
Having consulted on document management concepts for over six years, I agree that printing blogs (or any Web page) is unnecessary. Indeed, in the majority of cases, I've found that electronic documents rarely need printing--most people, at home and at work, are capable of receiving and processing documents as PDFs, Web forms, and other formats. And, increasingly, incredibly powerful document workflow software is available to not only reduce reliance on paper but make business processes significantly more efficient.

At the very least, there are free solutions for bookmarking Web pages. Personally, I use Onfolio, which is available here. Note that it requires the Internet Explorer Live Toobar.
I find genetics remarkable, and look forward to the day when medicines will be custom-designed for an individual's genetic makeup. My SWAG is: if a person lives another 25 years, he'll live another 50. If he lives another 50, he'll live another 100. And if he lives another 100, the sky's the limit.

That's barring accidents and suicides, of course, and raises some interesting questions about work and retirement, among other things, but I find it all very positive.
I've read some convincing arguments that Kevorkian wasn't and isn't a criminal, and I strongly support the individual's right to end his own life. I can't help but believe, however, that Kevorkian's not really the best figure around which to frame the debate over assisted suicide.

He always struck me as creepy and a little off-kilter, as if he was doing something he enjoyed--and it would take a particular mind and a subtle grasp of some complex philosophical principles to find rational enjoyment in ending the life of a terminally ill patient. If my negative opinion of the man is because of media portrayal , then my apoligies to him. At this point, though, I remain unconvinced.
Don't inhale.
Detailed plans of the new US Embassy in Baghdad make their way to the Internet, and the media has to broadcast it far and wide. What exactly is the "news" in this?
Oops.
This looks like fun. I haven't had a free moment lately to even think about my Xbox 360, but if I ever should get some time, this is something I'll probably take a look at. Of course, Halo 3 is coming soon, which I'll probably just give up sleep to play.
Ultimately, I think this is a good thing, because it signals a shift in Europe from its far-Left and anti-American stance to... well... something else. It shows the philosophical bankruptcy of the media that "pragmatic" is considered a good thing, but admittedly it's better than the leanings of recent European history.

As the West prepares for a future clouded by the backsliding in Russia, the military buildup in China, and of course Islamic fundamentalism, it's better that Europe be on our side, than against us. That much is certainly true. Just how with us Europe will be, however, remains to be seen, and perhaps I remain a little jaded in this respect.