My Errant Mind

Environmental and various social justice groups condemned Microsoft Vista and suggest that the world needs free software to be a better place. In order to safeguard the environment and foster open, freer communication among people, they want people to adopt free software.

The view is that proprietary software is created to come between people (which I agree with), and that it is driven by money and companies that hinder social activism by making those seeking social change “dependent upon software owned and exclusively controlled by entities that design their software in ways directly opposed to grassroots social change.”

Here’s a brief quote from the article by which I discovered this on the Free Software Foundation’s website about the statement and why the various groups feel it is necessary:

Derek Wall, Green Party principal speaker said, “Free software offers social activists an alternative to what Vista represents. Using free software we can further social and environmental justice without supporting growth based on waste, control and short-term profit.” He continued, “I would urge social movements to develop a migration strategy, including a commitment not to move to Vista.”

The statement highlights the disposable-computer mentality embodied in the excessive hardware requirements of Microsoft Windows Vista. Often new hardware is necessary to support new software features, but the coalition says in this case, Vista’s requirements are to enable the operating system to more effectively restrict the user at the request of media companies seeking to prevent copying of music and video files.

It is more of the sort of social conscience millions of computer users need to embrace.

President Sarkozy told his people that it is time for them to face the fact that they must accept globalization. However, they should embrace it in ways that will keep French interests at the fore.

Among the changes he would like to see is the merging of utilities into companies in which the major stakeholder will be the state. He also suggested higher taxes on jobs that could be moved overseas.

I’m not sure what to make of it all. On the one hand, it sounds like Hugo Chavez moved to Paris and took charge. On the the other, it sounds like the kind of “put the interests of OUR citizens first” attitude that we could use a dose of in America.

Still, legislators in France just recently voted to limit the maximum tax burden to 50% of one’s personal income? Americans would be engaged in civil war with that kind of taxation.

If nothing else, France will be interesting to watch for the next few years. More socialism, more capitalism, more immigration and riots…and a President who is the son of immigrants. Definitely interesting.

Our government has chosen Labor Day as the perfect day to insult American workers by allowing Mexican trucks to carry cargo anywhere in the USA. The first trucks are set to cross the border this Saturday under the plan by President Bush and his administration.

President Bush was not happy enough insulting veterans on Veteran’s Day—so now his administration is at it again. There is a determined attempt to insult American holidays and traditions. American ideals and values, the very concept of what it means to be an American is under attack by not just liberals, but by politicians of both the Democratic and Republican parties. President Bush and his administration are, I believe, a bigger threat to American sovereignty than even Al Qaeda.

The Teamsters, the Sierra Club and Public Citizen are filing suit to stop this free-for-all, however. Thank goodness someone is standing up for America!

What’s worse, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration says it will be a good thing if cargo no longer needs to be carried in two or three trucks, but can be transported in one truck coming straight out of Mexico.

This is the best example yet of the hypocrisy of unchecked immigration and a damning indictment against open borders. We are to believe that it is in the interest of the American people to destroy the jobs and livelihoods of those American truckers who would be driving the other truck or two? We are to believe that we should give up trucking jobs now to Mexicans in addition to all the other jobs that illegal aliens have taken from Americans?

Those who argue that illegal aliens do jobs Americans don’t want are simply spouting lies to suit the agendas of cheap labor barons and businesses who prefer to operate illegally and engage in unethical business practices. The truth is that if we shut off the flow of illegal immigration, those jobs being done by illegal aliens would either have to be done by Americans or they would disappear.

Basic economics and the laws of supply and demand tell us that companies will—if they want to stay in business providing those jobs or services—have to pay higher wages, which will then attract workers. If they can not or will not pay higher wages, then the American people have spoken and said they do not need those jobs. That will free up business owners and consumers to invest and spend elsewhere—and businesses that are run by ethical people will benefit from this.

All of the amnesty proponents and the racist La Raza adherents somehow believe that the laws of supply and demand do not work, almost as if by magic, when you apply them to work that illegal aliens do. I’m sorry, but that argument only works on the uneducated. Cheap labor barons have been creating a false economy for decades, depressing the wages of American workers to help out Mexico, a nation which is the gravest threat to American economic and national security.

The Mexican government prints manuals for illegal aliens, and transports them to the border and helps illegals thwart the laws of our nation. The Mexican government has legalized the transport of small amounts of drugs, allowing everyone in Mexico to legally become a burro and transport drugs. Mexico is the largest entry point for illegal aliens and narcotics into America. America loses billions of dollars every year to Mexico—because illegal aliens send it home instead of spending it here.

Now, the Federal government wants to allow them to drive their drugs across the USA, and put even more American workers out of business?

When Mexico and its illegal aliens are already choking the life out of American wages, straining our law enforcement and social services?

You only have two days to voice your disapproval to your representative in Congress, so please do so!

Check out the World Community Grid if you are interested in making the world a better place. They’re out to create “the largest public computing grid benefiting humanity,” according to their site.

Do you remember Seti@Home? You used spare computing power to analyze radioastronomy data as part of a world-wide search for ET life, by running an application in the background on your PC? Ring a bell?

Well, things are buzzing right along in the field of grid computing, and now it is being used as a tool for social change. Among the problems they are using grid computing in an attempt to help solve are cures for dengue, hepatitis c, West Nile, Yellow fever, and AIDS—as well as getting a clearer understanding of human protein structures.

So, if there are times when you aren’t wandering around Second Life, playing UO or WoW, or swapping instant messages (and/or whatever else you do online), then consider donating spare CPU time to a good cause. World Community Grid is also accepting proposals from public and non-profits for research projects that would make use of their grid technology.

Check out Business 2.0’s latest list. 15 companies setting out to change the world are profiled, ranging from makers of a social web application for personal finance management to air taxis.

An interesting list. Some of the concepts are cutting edge, while others are new versions of old ideas that haven’t worked too well in the past. Still, the companies mentioned are more of the kind we need.

Well, for the most part. I’m not sure that I want to see biofuel companies that might grow into the corporate fuel juggernauts of the future being listed as ‘world changing’—at least not in a positive way. It’s good to see biofuels take off, but there’s a downside to companies who may buy up vast amounts of farm land to grow huge crops of a single type. I don’t really want to see biofuel sources displacing broad spectrum agriculture here in America (more than it already has), nor in developing countries where it is often difficult already to produce a wide variety of crops and nutrition from dietary variation can be lacking.

There are already reports warning of dire consequences to creating a biofuel industry. I think biofuel is something that should be done on a small scale, and as part of localized living economies.

Now, the company that I really liked and think is going to be the big winner? Raydiance, a company that produces ultrashort pulse lasers. What makes USP lasers cool is that they don’t heat up areas of materials around where the beam is being directed. That means its great for medical and nanotechnology related uses. They are fitting USP lasers into small packages and making them more affordable and practical is likely to equate into climbing share values

However, I also have my reservations about the company. The mere fact that they have a hyphenated domain name makes their entire marketing department suspect. Hey, what can I say? Poor branding practices often hint at other problems lurking among those making the big decisions.

Still, I think that with what seems to be a highly polished product they are likely to grow quickly. It doesn’t appear they have gone public yet, but when they do, it will be an IPO worth getting in on.

This is the sort of thing that pisses me off. If a citizen/civillian’s dog attacks someone, it gets put down. If it is a police dog, it’s perfectly fine for the dog to terrorize and attack innocents.

Here’s a dog that has attacked innocent people and mauled them on two different occasions for absolutely no reason. Yet, it won’t be put down.

I guess it merely reflects the attitude of our government and law enforcement agencies. Time and time again we see that it is perfectly fine for police to murder innocent people and get away with it. [If you're not familiar with the murder of former Marine Sgt. Derek Hale by police in Delaware and their lies and attempts to cover it up, you need to read about the insane death squad tactics these rejects are using. These idiots are killing decorated veterans who actually do something useful and protect our country by fighting terrorists while these wannabe's go around killing innocent people because they want to play soldier---but without the risk.]

Time and time again, people have their pets taken away and killed for attacking other people—even when there is often times good cause for the dog having done so.

The message is clear: the government is above the laws that the rest of us must obey.