Early War February 27, 2006
Posted by theexpress in war, world.add a comment
Now that everyone is sick of this forsaken war in Iraq, I thought that I would go back and see what America and the government felt before it all started. I was still a little young to fully grasp it, so my research has brought up a few points that I didn’t realize or didn’t remember from back then. My impression now and then was that it was more of an emotionally charged enterance to Iraq. We sat on the brink for a while, but when American, Britain, and other troops crossed the borders of the country, we fell into figurative quicksand that we cant get out of.
I found a CNN headline dated October 11, 2002: ” In a major victory for the White House, the Senate early Friday voted 77-23 to authorize President Bush to attack Iraq if Saddam Hussein refuses to give up weapons of mass destruction as required by U.N. resolutions. “. Why was the support so strong back then whilst it is so weak today? Is it because it was politcally popular to back the war, because we were still smarting from 9/11, or because we did not realize that the bodies would pile up and it would become a repeat of Vietnam? I guess people just wanted to stay and office and not be tagged as “un-American” if they did not support the war. The good news is, the time when one was called un-American for opposing the war is over. The bad news, the war is still going on, and only recently has there seemed to be an end in sight. In the past few months, Congress has really been stepping it up in terms of calling for a pullout in the country. Sadly, the plans for a pullout are longterm and incomplete. Just leaving Iraq all at once would be an international disaster, but these three-year plans are just too long. What needs to be done is to step up training for the Iraqi army so they have a way to protect themselves while are troops leave the country more rapidly.
In the pre-war passionate debates, no one on the hawk side had any plan for an exit, and no one on the dove side questioned the issue. America needs to stand up now and correct the mistakes we made in 2002 and 2003 before we entered Iraq. In three weeks, Sadaam was out of power, but the lack of stability there makes me wonder why things can not be done in addition to the new curfews to keep law and order there. I’ve tried to keep my weblog clear of my comments on the war because I tend to branch off (which I’ve probably did here) and not finish a story. All this branching off is trying to get back to the point that Washington needs to realize the error of their ways and fix it before we slip any deeper in the sands of Iraq
DP World and the Six February 26, 2006
Posted by theexpress in politics, security, world.1 comment so far
The news has recently been bombarded with the issue of letting a UAE-run company handle cargo in six different U.S. ports. In my opinion, the issue has been blown out of proportion with people not giving the whole story to what will happen in this possible deal. In October, Dubai Ports World told the U.S. Treasury Dept. that they would most likely be purchasing cargo terminals in six U.S. ports from the British-run Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co. The six ports involved (Baltimore, Philadelphia, Miami, New Orleans, Houston, and Newark) have a total of 43 terminals and only 11 would be trading hands to the United Arab Emirate Company. P&O only handles unloading and loading cargo, storage, and repairs, not security, so my question is: Where is the national security disaster in this?
Dissidents would argue back that UAE is the home country of 2 9/11 hijackers and has frequently been the hub of money transfers in the Al Qaeda terrorist organization, but basing the whole country’s security level on the acts of a few people is ridiculous. The UAE has been an ally to the U.S. in the current and previous war and has let U.S. Navy ships dock in the country. Why is such a big deal made of a country with only a few skeletons in their closet? DP World will control no measures of security; that will remain in the hands of U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Coast Guard. The prevously mentioned two have done a less-than-perfect job as it is managing security at the nation’s ports, so it is shocking that the public outcry is not focused around how so little cargo is checked.
Recent evidence shows that only 5 to 10 percent of cargo that enters the U.S. ports are checked as opposed to many other countries who have beefed security up to almost 100%. There have been customs agents sent abroad that check the U.S.-bound cargo, but not enough is being done do prevent attacks and the Department of Homeland Security still has not made enough reform. Now, I’m not saying that every single container of cargo should be checked, it would shut down global commerce everywhere, but more than such a small percent should be screened. I have a feeling, though, that there will be change in this system as the controversy has opened a “can of worms” for security organizations.
2008: The Looming Election February 24, 2006
Posted by theexpress in election, politics.1 comment so far
I know it is hard to think about, but the 2008 Presidential Election campaigns will be here before we know it. It will be the second election in 28 years that a Bush wont be on a ballot, either President or VP, and it will be the second in 20 years that doesn’t have a Bush going for the Prez. There have only been rumors so far about the possible nominees, but with this being the middle year, a lot of information will funnel in fast.
On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton is the current front runner in more recent polls. These are very early polls though, so there is very little evidence that this will actually pan out. Just remember that Howard Dean was the frontrunner for most of the primary polls, but Kerry ended up with the nomination. It would be quite the change if Hillary ends up getting the Democratic bid, because she, as we all know, would be the first woman President in America. Behind her in the polls are Sen. John Edwards (ran for VP in 2004), Sen. John Kerry (I doubt he will get it because of the unlikliness of someone to run after he already lost), Sen. Joe Biden (my personal favorite of all the current runners), and Wesley Clark, who tried to get the bid in the last election.
I am most supportive of Joe Biden in this mainly because I like the platform he has developed. He is more focused on what we haven’t been told by in the Bush Administration and taking the necessary reforms. He is also well esteemed in Congress, so he could probably get a lot of things done unlike the past few presidents. I could easily see him being the president, but I would really like for Barack Obama to be his VP. Something in me says that they would make a great team and do a lot of good for our country in their years of office, but Obama shows no sign of pursuing executive office. He is also a very young senator, so he probably wants to wait for more experience unlike Biden, who has been in the Senate since the early seventies.
On the Republican end, they will be rising out of 8 years overseen by Bush and ruled by Cheney and Rove (we all know its true). The polls are currently as follows: Condoleezza Rice, Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, Newt Gingrich, and Mitt Romney. The first three are in a tie for the current polls though. I would just like to make note that if Condy Rice and Hillary Clinton both get party nominations, it would make certain that we’d have a woman president.
Personally though, I support McCain for the Republican side. He is one of the most moderate Republicans out there and even headed the Republican side in the Gang of 14 last year. He, like Biden, is a popular senator and can get some legislation pasts that will focus on helping the Americans. With Bush always focusing on situations abroad (and mucking half of them up), it feels like there isn’t much out there that has been done domestically.
If you cant tell, I am in great support of a centrist in the White House. I feel that the best for this country will come from someone who is not torn up by party politics and pressures. With two long-term, popular senators that are in the running, I think we could be in good hands come 2008. An ideal election would be John McCain versus Joe Biden in the presidential bid. A clear head is going to be the best asset to get the country safely through these hectic times.
New to Linux February 23, 2006
Posted by theexpress in linux, windows.3 comments
I am having a few problems with Windows XP, but nothing I can’t quickly finish. Even though it is the small quirks I need to work out, I began to wonder what it was like on the other side. No, I’m not considering getting a Mac (which wouldnt be a bad idea); it is Linux that I’m talking about.
While I was pondering switching from Windows to the friendly penguin that isnt used by too many people, I thought of the work that I’d have to put in configuring a new OS. I don’t really have that much time these days and having to back up my current files and enable Linux did not seem that appealing. But as I did some research, I found that it doesn’t need to be that complicated. The option of the Live CD, which I have only heard of a few times, is quite magnificent. I can easily download the Linux files from somewhere like Gnoppix, put them to a CD, and reboot my computer with the CD in it. Gnoppix wont touch the current files on the computer and wont lay a finger on my hard drive.
I currently have the files downloading on another computer. I chose to put in on the computer that is not really used in my house, so if anything goes wrong, there wont be a serious problem. I’ll have to give a full review of my Linux experiences whenever I feel that it has made a decent impression on me. From what I have read, Linux has a lot of support from the small amount of users and, because of the small user base, doesn’t have the viruses that us XP users are all to familiar. Could this be the start of something big for my computer uses, or will it be yet another test I perform with all of this technology out there?
RSS: When It Isn’t Convenient February 22, 2006
Posted by theexpress in internet, rss.2 comments
Since blogs have really dominated the web culture recently, everyone has jumped aboard the RSS train. RSS is a great technology to accomodate all of the weblogs out there and it is especially helpful for someone who checks a lot of blogs in one day. When I first downloaded Firefox in November 2004, I was not really sure what the RSS hype is all about. I guess it was because I only checked a few blogs a day and many sites still did not have RSS up and running. Over the past year and a half, I have switched sides.
I am all over the blogosphere now, and it is really hard to remember all of the sites you would like to see in one day, but henever I was making my way around a few dozen sites, I started to realize how much of a help it really is. I quickly subscribed to all of my favorite blogs and RSS-enabled sites and I didn’t regret it at all. I was able to check wired.com and my friends sites and I could do it a lot quicker. Now that I am checking out tons of weblogs, it is almost getting to be an inconvenience to see the long list of posts I should check out. I realized that I bit off more than I can chew.
Now it isnt very fair for me to blame RSS for my increased blog appetite, but I need some kind of scapegoat. Getting through the loads of new updates is beginning to be a chore. The only relief I get is on the weekends when most new sites are posting and some bloggers are taking some time off. The technology is great, but maybe I was better off trying to remember sites because I usually would only check a handful of the total blogs anyway. My desire for all of these RSS feeds is going to have to stop growing sometime, but unfortunately the web wont.
Browser War (no, not that one) February 22, 2006
Posted by theexpress in browser, internet, open source.8 comments
Until 2004, it had been many years since anyone had really cared about a battle of the web browsers. The famous Netscape versus Internet Explorer duel was old enough for the history books, and no one seemed to mind the winner…for a while. Then, like a golden-winged ship, Mozilla released Firefox 1.0 and the overthrow of Microsoft dominance began. Immediately people began calling for the downfall of IE and the beginning of the open source revolution. Since then, Firefox has remained in second place and is making steady gains on IE. The battle is still raging even though most of that original spark (which I was gladly a part of, and I assume many of the readers were too) has died a bit. The Fox is still hungry for more of the market share, but the pioneer movement that was palpable in late 2004 and early 2005 has ended. The only competitor of Firefox for second place is sitting in the choir at about one percent of the market share. That of course would be the Opera browser, who is making it a goal to out Mozilla as the open-source leader and try to lead the take down of IE’s empire.
When it comes to popularity, Firefox has Opera easily outdone. The success of the browser is owed to the group of devout fans who got out there and spread the word from the beginning that there was a new sheriff in town. Just because they have the popularity doesnt mean that Mozilla has the better browser on all accounts. When you look at the amount of features that each browser comes with, you’ll probably see that Opera is the clear winner. But there are other factors in a browser, such as which one makes the internet more fun to be on. That question relies more on opinion, but I believe that more websites have accepted Firefox and it has been made easier for the users to get around. It may be unfair to Opera because they haven’t yet gained the popularity to be more accepted, but that is how the cookie crumbles.
If you read this article wanting to know which browser to chose, you’re probably in the wrong place. Each one has their own highlights and pitfalls, but I believe that it’s safe to say that Mozilla wont have to worry about the Opera threat. Opera didnt get the same movement that Firefox got, so it can’t really blast into the market. Unfortunately for Opera, Firefox has enough extensions that if anyone really wants to have certain features that only Opera offers, they can download them for FF and still have the function of the soon-to-be number one browser.
Google, China, and The Mess February 21, 2006
Posted by theexpress in internet.add a comment
By about now, everyone has probably heard a little, if not all of the story of Google in China. The Chinese had access to Google, but the quality is not exactly up to par. According to one of their recent reports, their google.com service in China is “…down around 10% of the time. Even when users can reach it, the website is slow, and sometimes produces results that when clicked on, stall out the user’s browser.” So this is much different that the Google most of us are used to in other countries. So the best solution was to make a google for them (enter google.cn).
It all seems well so far, but the real problem is right around the corner. In order for Google to get some local presence in China, they had to move sensitive content and information from their search results. So basically, they had to screen the content and conform to what the Chinese government said. It has sparked a wave of controvesy among those who believe that the internet should never be screened. Google has stated that this was a tough step to take, but they stand behind it. They tried to stand by their motto, but in a situation like this, compromised. The internet, which has been the uncensored and almost always unchecked medium, is now beeing screened.
Now let’s not forget about the incredible good that can come from China getting access to the most popular search engine out there. Even though there is controversial screening, the Chinese are now getting very competent service compared to the google.com service that was virtually unusable. China’s population is, of course, one-fifth of the world’s. Google China has not yet offered all of the bells and whistles (such as Blogger or G-Mail) that they have in other countries, but they plan to move into the market when the time is right.
So will the move to China be a big success or a long, slow work in progress? On the 15th of February, Google did release what is a guideline/game plan with their Chinese services and how they’ll work with the government. I guess we can only wish them the best of luck.
Weblogs: Everyone’s Doing It February 20, 2006
Posted by theexpress in blog, internet.add a comment
On February 6th, technorati posted its newest results on the current state of the blogosphere. Then on the 14th, the second part of their findings was published on their site.
The results are shocking. The illustration shows that since March of 2003, the number of blogs on the Internet have doubled four times. I know personally that this cant be too far fetched because in the past two years, I have created five different weblogs. Along with this one, I regularly post on one other, so it shows that it is so easy to create, and forget about, blogs in minutes.
According to technorati, there are 50,000 blog updates every hour and 1.2 million posts a day. The rate currently holds that a new blog is created each second and the current blogosphere is sixty times larger than it was three years ago. Weblogs are even starting to edge out mainstream media sites when they look for their news.
You can see the usual suspects when it comes to the latest news on top. The New York Times, CNN, and The Washington Post top the list, but when you look a little further down, you’ll see that there is a change in tide. Popular blogs like Boing Boing and Engadget are showing up on the list and their counterparts are only going to show up more.
For a more detailed summary, check out “State of the Blogosphere” part one and part two on technorati.
Warming in the Cold February 20, 2006
Posted by theexpress in world.add a comment
With the special on last night’s 60 Minutes and articles popping up all over the web, global warming seems to be an issue that is resurfacing fast. Recent statistics have shown that the glaciers in Greenland are melting almost twice as fast as predicted. The myth that global warming will take a very long time to make a dramatic effect is melting away. There are predictions that the sea may rise two feet by the end of this century. A mere two feet would be enough to flood the low-lands of any country out there.
Even if all of the cars, factories, and any other greenhouse gas emitting machines were stopped today and never turned back on, the current warming trend would continue until the end of the century. Which would be too late anyway , because the seas would have risen so fast. In the State of the Union Address a few weeks ago, the president came across the subject of new forms of energy to run our cars. He mainly focused on the subject so we wont be as reliant on the Middle East (whether he actually means it or not) for oil, but the warming must be stopped in the process.
It almost seems ironic to be talking about global warming when we are just being let out of the deep colds and heavy snow that is setting records around the world. Las Vegas, which hardly sees cold, got a little bit of snow over during the grips of this cold. Russia, the country that is most used to the cold, has been seeing Ice Age temperatures that has claimed many lives. But even with all of this cold, it is safe to say that spring is on the way.
Crowning of a Blog February 20, 2006
Posted by theexpress in intro.add a comment
With all of the blogs currently filling up the internet, it is hard to imagine that one could have a great impact on anything. As it turns out, some do, and the other 99% are not really noticed. So when one starts something like this, they must hope for the best.
Now that my theoretical side has had its fill, i just would like to say that this is my blog focusing outward. I have another that follows my life day-to-day, but it hardly feels like enough when the day ends. Instead of having my other one double as hosting my opinions of the outside world, I felt that making a fresh one would be ideal. So I for these first few seconds, welcome to the newest weblog online.
