Archive for August, 2002

August 12, 2002

Banana Republics 101 part IV. Act III: Let’s have elections, and elections and uups, one more election.


 


As the year begins Victor decides that a new Constitution means new elections even for himself. Four weeks later, his former allies and co-conspirators including the Head of Intelligence, break with Victor claiming the revolution is straying from its path and corruption is rampant. Three days before the election, the Government appointed Electoral commission has to postpone the elections simply, because they are not ready. Elections are divided in two parts, one in July (President, Assembly, Governors and Mayors), and the next one in October (City Councils). Victor wins again with 60.3% of the vote, Pancho is a distant second with 37.5%, Victor is static, says he will rule for decades. His party controls 113 seats out of 165 in the Assembly. To celebrate his victory Victor decides to take a trip and visit his friends around the world. He drives around with buddy Saddam Hussein, becoming the first Head of State to visit Iraq since the Gulf War; kisses ally Gadaffi in Libya and hugs Prince Abdullah in Saudi Arabia. The second part of the elections are postponed once again when he returns. Buddy Fidel Castro visits Victor who signs an agreement to finance, at bargain rates, the sale of 53,000 barrels of oil a day to Cuba. In a surprising gesture of emotion Victor kisses Fidel (No comment). Victor’s party wins the December elections. He asks, once again, for extraordinary powers to legislate by decree.  The Supreme Court says Victor’s term will be reset to the new election giving him an extra year and half in power. It would be his best year, downhill from then on….

August 12, 2002

Banana Republics 101 part IV. Act III: Let’s have elections, and elections and uups, one more election.


 


As the year begins Victor decides that a new Constitution means new elections even for himself. Four weeks later, his former allies and co-conspirators including the Head of Intelligence, break with Victor claiming the revolution is straying from its path and corruption is rampant. Three days before the election, the Government appointed Electoral commission has to postpone the elections simply, because they are not ready. Elections are divided in two parts, one in July (President, Assembly, Governors and Mayors), and the next one in October (City Councils). Victor wins again with 60.3% of the vote, Pancho is a distant second with 37.5%, Victor is static, says he will rule for decades. His party controls 113 seats out of 165 in the Assembly. To celebrate his victory Victor decides to take a trip and visit his friends around the world. He drives around with buddy Saddam Hussein, becoming the first Head of State to visit Iraq since the Gulf War; kisses ally Gadaffi in Libya and hugs Prince Abdullah in Saudi Arabia. The second part of the elections are postponed once again when he returns. Buddy Fidel Castro visits Victor who signs an agreement to finance, at bargain rates, the sale of 53,000 barrels of oil a day to Cuba. In a surprising gesture of emotion Victor kisses Fidel (No comment). Victor’s party wins the December elections. He asks, once again, for extraordinary powers to legislate by decree.  The Supreme Court says Victor’s term will be reset to the new election giving him an extra year and half in power. It would be his best year, downhill from then on….

August 12, 2002

Banana Republics 101 part IV. Act III: Let’s have elections, and elections and uups, one more election.


 


As the year begins Victor decides that a new Constitution means new elections even for himself. Four weeks later, his former allies and co-conspirators including the Head of Intelligence, break with Victor claiming the revolution is straying from its path and corruption is rampant. Three days before the election, the Government appointed Electoral commission has to postpone the elections simply, because they are not ready. Elections are divided in two parts, one in July (President, Assembly, Governors and Mayors), and the next one in October (City Councils). Victor wins again with 60.3% of the vote, Pancho is a distant second with 37.5%, Victor is static, says he will rule for decades. His party controls 113 seats out of 165 in the Assembly. To celebrate his victory Victor decides to take a trip and visit his friends around the world. He drives around with buddy Saddam Hussein, becoming the first Head of State to visit Iraq since the Gulf War; kisses ally Gadaffi in Libya and hugs Prince Abdullah in Saudi Arabia. The second part of the elections are postponed once again when he returns. Buddy Fidel Castro visits Victor who signs an agreement to finance, at bargain rates, the sale of 53,000 barrels of oil a day to Cuba. In a surprising gesture of emotion Victor kisses Fidel (No comment). Victor’s party wins the December elections. He asks, once again, for extraordinary powers to legislate by decree.  The Supreme Court says Victor’s term will be reset to the new election giving him an extra year and half in power. It would be his best year, downhill from then on….

August 11, 2002

Digression 4: I’ve become a blogger, haranguer, pamphleteer, abuser……and who knows what else…


Many of you may have missed the article yesterday in the NYT in the Arts section about blogs and blogging. Jeez, I thought I was simply blogging and now it turns out I may be a haranguer, pamphleteer and abuser (even a para-journalist!!!). Moreover, somebody may be studying what I write. Scary stuff this blogging, but I think I’ll stick with it…….. 

August 11, 2002

Digression 4: I’ve become a blogger, haranguer, pamphleteer, abuser……and who knows what else…


Many of you may have missed the article yesterday in the NYT in the Arts section about blogs and blogging. Jeez, I thought I was simply blogging and now it turns out I may be a haranguer, pamphleteer and abuser (even a para-journalist!!!). Moreover, somebody may be studying what I write. Scary stuff this blogging, but I think I’ll stick with it…….. 

August 11, 2002

Digression 4: I’ve become a blogger, haranguer, pamphleteer, abuser……and who knows what else…


Many of you may have missed the article yesterday in the NYT in the Arts section about blogs and blogging. Jeez, I thought I was simply blogging and now it turns out I may be a haranguer, pamphleteer and abuser (even a para-journalist!!!). Moreover, somebody may be studying what I write. Scary stuff this blogging, but I think I’ll stick with it…….. 

August 11, 2002

Digression 4: I’ve become a blogger, haranguer, pamphleteer, abuser……and who knows what else…


Many of you may have missed the article yesterday in the NYT in the Arts section about blogs and blogging. Jeez, I thought I was simply blogging and now it turns out I may be a haranguer, pamphleteer and abuser (even a para-journalist!!!). Moreover, somebody may be studying what I write. Scary stuff this blogging, but I think I’ll stick with it…….. 

August 10, 2002

Digression 3: Getting rid of spam


Prof. David Freeman suggests this to get rid of Spam:


There is a simple solution to this problem—so simple that I am surprised nobody has yet implemented it. The solution is to put a price on your mailbox. Give your email program a list of the people you wish to receive mail from. Any mail from someone not on the list is returned, with a note explaining that you charge five cents to read mail from strangers. Five cents is a trivial cost to anyone with something to say that you are likely to want to read—but five cents times ten million recipients is quite a substantial cost to someone sending out bulk email on the chance that one recipient in ten thousand may respond.


What do you think of this proposal to get rid of SPAM? When I first read it I was dubious, but the more I think about it the more I like it! I guess we would just need something to request permission from sources not on your list that want to send e-mail that is not spam. What I like most about it is that you set your price and if you do nothing, you get all the spam, the full idea needs work, but sounds interesting.  Read the full article for details.

August 10, 2002

Digression 3: Getting rid of spam


Prof. David Freeman suggests this to get rid of Spam:


There is a simple solution to this problem—so simple that I am surprised nobody has yet implemented it. The solution is to put a price on your mailbox. Give your email program a list of the people you wish to receive mail from. Any mail from someone not on the list is returned, with a note explaining that you charge five cents to read mail from strangers. Five cents is a trivial cost to anyone with something to say that you are likely to want to read—but five cents times ten million recipients is quite a substantial cost to someone sending out bulk email on the chance that one recipient in ten thousand may respond.


What do you think of this proposal to get rid of SPAM? When I first read it I was dubious, but the more I think about it the more I like it! I guess we would just need something to request permission from sources not on your list that want to send e-mail that is not spam. What I like most about it is that you set your price and if you do nothing, you get all the spam, the full idea needs work, but sounds interesting.  Read the full article for details.

August 10, 2002

Digression 3: Getting rid of spam


Prof. David Freeman suggests this to get rid of Spam:


There is a simple solution to this problem—so simple that I am surprised nobody has yet implemented it. The solution is to put a price on your mailbox. Give your email program a list of the people you wish to receive mail from. Any mail from someone not on the list is returned, with a note explaining that you charge five cents to read mail from strangers. Five cents is a trivial cost to anyone with something to say that you are likely to want to read—but five cents times ten million recipients is quite a substantial cost to someone sending out bulk email on the chance that one recipient in ten thousand may respond.


What do you think of this proposal to get rid of SPAM? When I first read it I was dubious, but the more I think about it the more I like it! I guess we would just need something to request permission from sources not on your list that want to send e-mail that is not spam. What I like most about it is that you set your price and if you do nothing, you get all the spam, the full idea needs work, but sounds interesting.  Read the full article for details.