19. oktober 2003

Diebold says cease and desist to critics I don't know how much there is to the criticism of Diebold's electronic voting systems, but it's not just the "evil Republican-big business conspiracy" people who are concerned. In fact, some of the criticism comes from Diebold's own employees, who think the security of the systems is appaling. And how does Diebold deal with this? By issuing a cease and desist notice to Indymedia for copyright infringement. This does not inspire confidence in the technology. Sorry, for such an important thing as the nuts and bolts of democracy, total openness is crucuial and non-negotiable. I stand by what I said earlier: when it comes to national security, everybody is guilty until proven innocent. Diebold or whoever makes voting system should be required to prove, with full transparency, that its systems and routines are secure and tamper-proof. If they are worried about their trade secrets, too bad. That is what patents are for. Via Raven Banner. Kriselda on Different Strings follows this story (and here). 10:55:10 PM    comment []  trackback []

Mother Theresa beatified Pope John Paul II has set Mother Theresa (picture) on a fast track to sainthood, and she was today beatified as a final step towards the goal. Because the Roman Catholic Church is a medieval institution, and has set itself up as God's church, and thus can't admit serious mistakes in the past without facing serious questions it does not want to face, some of its rules appear comical. To achieve beatification, the church has to "prove" a miracle that can be attributed to Mother Theresa. Grasping for straws in an age where miracles are scare, they declared that a woman cured of cancer had provided the first of two needed miracles to proclaim her a Saint. Dr. Ranjan Mustaphi is one of the doubters, questioning the Vatican's belief that Mother Teresa ever performed a miracle. "I am really astonished," he said. "This is nothing, but a farce." The controversy centers on a woman, Monica Besra, and her claim that in 1998 her large stomach tumor vanished after praying to Mother Teresa. After months of study, including lengthy interviews, Rome cleared it as a miracle. One doctor who treated Besra told CNN there was no scientific explanation for her recovery. But the doctor who first diagnosed Besra, says the church should not push Besra's case because it was medication, not a miracle that cured her. "It is scientifically proven that the tumor that she had was linked to tuberculosis," he said. "And it responded to an anti-tubercular drug." Scientific facts don't mix very well with ancient religion in this time and age. There must be a lot of hidden embarrassment among the educated men in the Vatican over having to pretend they believe in these ancient superstitions. 8:38:02 PM    comment []  trackback []

Is blogging journalism? No, it is better Jay Rosen has posted a thoughtful comparison of blogging and journalism. He lists ten points, of which I find number four particularly interesting, if we want to find a difference between blogging and traditional journalism. In the weblog world every reader is actually a writer, and you write not so much for “the reader” but for other writers. So every reader is a writer, yes, but every writer is also a reader of other weblog writers—or better be. That is very true, even though certainly not all weblog readers are themselves bloggers, a large number are. Thus a weblog is more than just the rants of one individual, rather it is a piece of a community, and the whole is more than a sum of its parts. That said, I find another important difference, and one reason I enjoy many blogs as writing, beyond what we get from traditional journalism. Bloggers are called amateurs, and that is true, most of us are amateur writers. Journalists are professionals who make a living writing about news. However, while bloggers are amateur writers, they are often professional something else. Journalists are often forced to pretend to be experts in fields where they have no formal training, and very inadequate knowledge, and it shows. True, they consult real experts, but again they have to convey their own understanding of things. Bloggers specialise, often, in areas where they have real experience and real insight. Many bloggers are geeks, and have knowledge and skills in the computer fields, which is why many of them provide very insightful commentaries on that profession. Other bloggers are legal experts, and can write with insight and authority on fields that normal journalists cannot. Bloggers indeed can be anything, we have read blogs from soldiers, medical professionals, scientists and professionals with a wide range of backgrounds. They have a background more diverse than the traditional print media, which seems to attract a special kind of person. While some journalists have real-life expertise from other fields, journalists still tend to come from a background of, obviously, journalism. Often. when they write about law, medicine, technology, religion or science, the typical journalist is the amateur, and the blogger is the professional. 8:24:25 PM    comment []  trackback []

Strange interview with Yasser Arafat BBC's correspondent James Reynolds finally gets a chance to interview Yasser Arafat, and it appears that was a very strange experience indeed. This proved to be the pattern for the next 20 minutes or so. I would ask a question. He would dodge it, accuse me of forgetting a key point and then start into a mini-speech which I could never quite cut short. At times he didn't even like the most innocuous of openings. "You are the acknowledged leader of the Palestinians..." I began. "This is a problem for you?" he interrupted. "You are against our constitution?" You'd expect Arafat to know that the BBC is one of the more Palestine-friendly news organisations around. Or at least it has been. 3:11:37 PM    comment []  trackback []

Judge raps out Eminem case Judge Deborah Servitto issued a rather unusual judgment in favour of Eminem, in a lawsuit where a childhood "bully" named DeAngelo Bailey had claimed to be defamed in a rap song: Mr Bailey complains that his rap is trash, so he's seeking compensation in the form of cash. Bailey thinks he's entitled to some monetary gain, because Eminem used his name in vain. The lyrics are stories no one would take as fact, they're an exaggeration of a childish act. It is therefore this court's ultimate position, that Eminem is entitled to summary disposition. Is that an application for a new job, your honour? 4:49:41 AM    comment []  trackback []

Stole the wrong identity James Perry stole the identity of his Florida neighbour Robert Kowalski, because he was worried that his four drunken driving arrests would make it hard for him to obtain a driving license in his new home state Connecticut. Perry could not stay out of trouble, however, and when he was arrested for disorderly conduct, the police found that "Kowalski" was a registered sexual offender, and had failed to register himself in the new state as required. A check of fingerprints revealsed the truth, and he is now facing charges of criminal impersonation. Stupidity is, as of yet, still not a punishable offense, at least not directly. 1:45:13 AM    comment []  trackback []

© Copyright 2003 Jan Haugland. Last update: 01.11.2003; 03:20:18.