Archive for category Technology
Is Obama a Socialist? Anatomy of an attack
Posted by grymoire in Politics, Technology on November 2, 2010
I’m not one to promote my political view. I tend to keep my opinions to myself. But I kept hearing people claim “Obama is a Socialist and wants a Utopian socialist society.” I really didn’t understand. But, heck, I have a brain. I have Google. Let’s check it out. What’s the real truth?
Here’s the critical moment, the video with Joe the plumber. Obama’s talking about increasing the taxes of those who earn more than $250K a year, to lower the taxes of those who earn less. Obama says it will “spread the wealth around.” We’ve always had a tax rate that changes based on income. And Obama wants the rich to pay 39% instead of 37%. Is this radical? Of course not. Heck, it’s as radical as Bush who granted the tax cut in the first place. All we are talking about is tweaking the numbers up or down.
Frankly, I’m for this. Those that earn greater than $250K a year are against this. Remember this when you see how this develops.
As far as I know, that was the one time Obama said “spread the wealth around”. So now do a Google search on Obama and “spread the wealth”. Look at what you get. Let’s take some of the highly ranked pages. There’s James Pethokoukis piece, where he accusing Obama of being a Marxist! WTF?! The Ace of Spades HQ calls this “welfare”. No. It’s has nothing to do with welfare. Rush Limbaugh response to this is his claim that “It’s right out of the communist manifesto.” Excuse me?! Since when has a graduated tax rate become communism? By that definition, we have been a communist society since 1862. Perhaps someone should let Rush Limbaugh know. Maybe he will move out.
Looking for more ammo, bloggers looked at Obama’s speech to the Military Academy. In particular Kevin O’Brien commented on one part of Obama’s speech:
“The international order we seek is one that can resolve the challenges of our times — countering violent extremism and insurgency; stopping the spread of nuclear weapons and securing nuclear materials; combating a changing climate and sustaining global growth; helping countries feed themselves and care for their sick; preventing conflict and healing wounds.”
Kevin’s blog post was titled While President Obama dreams of utopia, the world gets rougher. Essentially he said Obama was unrealistic. Okay. Obama was optimistic because he is seeking a solution. I’d like to know what is so wrong in being optomistic! Now Google “obama utopia” and see what you get. O’Brien is at the top of the search.
Bear in mind that Obama never used the word utopia or utopian in the speech. At least, I can’t find any reference to him using these words. So why are there 1,480,000 hits on Google? Look at the frigging unbelievable results. There’s Doug Ross’s post, which seems to be #1 on Google, and is based on Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt as far as I can tell. Let’s see the quotes to back up Doug’s claims. Forbes called Obama’s optimism a Doomed Utopia. I guess politicians should always be pessimists. Never promise an improved society! Apparently that would be Utopianistic.
So to summarize, Obama wants a graduated tax rate, and he’s optimistic. And how are the ultra-conservatives reacting? By calling him a communist, a Marxist, a socialist wacko who is promoting a utopian society where the rich give welfare to the unemployed. Are they frigging nuts? This is a case of adding 1+2 and getting 8 trillion dollars. It makes no sense!
This whole posting was prompted because I Googled “Obama socialist” And I looked as the best authority on the subject of socialism, the Socialist Party. Doesn’t this make sense, to ask an expert in the field? What do socialists say? Is Obama a socialist? Not according to any socialist, as far as I know. Socialists hate the new Healthcare reform. They wanted a national “single-payer” health insurance plan with a government option. The bill that Obama championed didn’t have any of those feature. Wharton, co-chair of the Socialist Party USA, said the new health care bill only strengthens private health insurance companies. They get 32 million new customers and no incentive to change — something a socialist wouldn’t accept.
We do have elements of socialism is the government. Social Security, Medicare, and unemployment benefits are socialist policies. If someone is really against socialism, then why aren’t they trying to get rid of these programs? Doesn’t it make sense? If socialism is bad, then get rid of anything that helps all equally. But do they do this? Of course not. That would cause a big uproar. People like these programs. It’s much easier to attack a modified graduated tax plan, and label it socialism. And then hope people never use Google to even look up the definition.
Llewellyn, the national director of the Democratic Socialists of America, says he was struck by one player in the 2008 presidential elections who displayed more socialistic leanings than Obama. This candidate raised taxes on the big oil companies, and sent the revenue to the people. If you want to learn something about spreading the wealth, Llewellyn says, don’t look to Obama. He said “To be honest, the most socialist candidate in the 2008 election was Sarah Palin.”
That’s right. Palin is more of a socialist than Obama, according to Llewellyn. Who would have thunk?
I just don’t get it. Don’t get me wrong. I understand why some people will blindly accept distortions and lies because they want to believe them. People cherish their belief systems. We all do. It’s difficult to challenge things you believe in.
But what I don’t understand is why so few who hear these distortions and find them hard to believe, just keep quiet about it. I hate these lies politicians throw out. And Democrats are as much to blame as Republicans. So why do so many people hear lies, and then just keep quiet. I want to know why more people don’t stand up and say “Bullshit!” when someone repeats a lie.
All it takes is a few seconds to Google the web, and look for real evidence. We have become a society of people that repeat what others say, without looking into the facts. If you see or hear something that doesn’t make sense, or seems controversial, look into it. Don’t just look for someone who agrees with you. Look into both sides. Think!
Google wants to be the third half of your brain. That’s won’t help if you refuse to use your brain at all. Frankly, when we have 4 million pages about Obama and Socialism, and only a handfull of people look into the facts, it just scares me. Google is not becoming a third half our our brain. Instead, Google is allowing us to perform a lobotomy on ourselves, so we can stop thinking all together. Let’s just see what the masses think, and go along with the “facts” the masses know to be true.
The only way to counter this mass-stupidity, is to have more people stand up and ask questions. Is this really the truth? Who knows more about socialism, Rush Limbaugh, or the head of the Socialist Party?
Just because we have Google doesn’t mean we have to stop thinking. Please, people. Google takes a few seconds. Do more than glance at the headlines. And don’t just blindly accept the party line. Ask questions.
Kinect and first person shooters
Posted by grymoire in Technology on July 1, 2010
I was reading about Microsoft’s Kinect. .
Kinect lets you move your body to interact with a game. No controller is needed. Sounds cool, but apparently most of the demos are really lame.
If I was designing a shooter game, this would be my concept:
Instead of using some keystroke to switch weapons, just place the weapons on your body.
- You have a bandolier with grenades.
- You have a pistol at your left hip, and another tucked in your waist.
- You have a rifle around your left shoulder, swung behind your back.
- There is a knife by your knee.
To switch a weapon, reach for it, and place it in front of you. Your hand positions will help determine what type of weapon it is. A pistol and a rifle are held differently. Move your arms, and point to your target. Holding your right hand steady will increase accuracy. You don’t want to move your hands when you shoot. So how do you fire the weapon without moving your hands? Just say “Fire!”. Or “Bang”, “Pow”, “Zap”, “Go”, “Shoot” or any other one-syllable word.
Need a grenade? Just reach up to your bandolier, and pull off a grenade. You then heave the grenade, and the effort used determines the distance.
Add some ninja stars, throwing knives, etc. And you can always use your fists.
Oh – it would help to have a practice range.
Seems more realistic, doesn’t it?
Biometrics on the iPhone? I’m waiting…….
Posted by grymoire in Security, Technology on October 1, 2009
The iPhone has the potential to be a great authentication device. First step, put a biometric sensor on the home button. No need to use a PIN to unlock a device.
Is Google.cn evil?
Posted by grymoire in Technology on August 23, 2009
So many people seem confused about Google and China. When Google created google.cn, was that an act of evil?
And when they switched to google.hk, what is the impact on the people of China?
It’s quite simple. China has a firewall. Not the firewalls we see in businesses or homes, but a huge friggin’ firewall that isolates the entire country. That’s a billion users, and one big firewall that separates them from the rest of the world.
If you are in China, and search “tank man”, you won’t see any photos of him standing in front of a tank. You won’t find the Wikipedia entry . You get nothing. He does not exist in China. That’s what the Great Firewall of China does.
So what happens if you are in China, and you go to Google.hk, and search for “tank man”? Google responds, and points to those links. Ever helpful, that Google. And when the person inside of China tries to click on those links, what happens? “No such server.”
But what happens if Google moves their server inside of the Chinese Firewall? Suddenly the whole world has a happy face, and all porn disappears. So does Tank Man, and Falun Gong, The Dali Lama, Democracy, Marxism, Freedom of speech, Tienanmen Square Protests of 1989, mention of policy brutality, and anything that the Chinese Government views as negative. And Google.cn won’t find these references, because it can’t see them either.
You can see how it would make browsing inside of China more pleasant and convenient for the “proper” citizen of China. who has no desire to go to such sites. It does improve the experience. The customers are happier, because the search result is more accurate (from their perspective). And if you make 1 billion customers more productive, and happier, it’s a good business decision. So Google decided to place a search engine inside of the Firewall. Was that really evil? Well, I can see the business perspective that it does improve the search experience. And it won’t point to unreachable sites. That’s very good for the users.
Yes, it is working “with” the Chinese Government. And I’m sure there were other dealings going on as well. But for the Chinese masses, it was not an act of evil, but of convenience. And the “subversive” citizen can (and will) use google.hk to do unfiltered searches. They could before google.cn. They can now.
Many Chinese citizens dislike the firewall. but Google can’t really change that. There are legitimate sites that get blocked with the “evil” sites. There is no brush so fine that it can separate good from evil. So many citizens of China find ways around the firewall, using software like Tor.
So when Google.cn directed people to Google.hk, they basically said “Here is a search engine that is unfiltered. Use it, and you may discover that your government does not want you to see some sites. We can’t show them to you, but we can let you know they exist. China doesn’t like it because it’s a big arrow that tells people where to go to see what is blocked. It effectively says “unfiltered search – click here.” So it does increase the visibility of this option. It’s teaching the good people in China about the wall that surrounds the country. It’s letting the good people get a peek at the ugly trust.
While I don’t think putting the search engine inside the firewall was an Extreme Evil Act, as it does offer a convenience for 99% of the citizens of the country, I do like the little “tweak” Google did by redirecting google.cn to google.hk.
Microsoft is engaged in illegal activity again
Posted by grymoire in Technology on June 26, 2009
Microsoft is again using their monopoly to illegally force vendors to squash the competition.
In 2006, Microsoft put pressure on Wal-mart to stop selling Linux.
Then, Microsoft put pressure on Dell when Dell decided to support Linux.
So now you are looking for Linux on netbooks and smart phones? Good luck! The chicken-hearted vendors at the TAITRA were afraid to anger Microsoft. Then we heard about Acer offering a netbook with Android , codename snapdragon – but it’s a case of now-you-see-it, now-you-don’t – thanks to Microsoft. So Ausustek backs down because of pressure from Microsoft.
Now we hear that HTC’s Sense UI won’t be available on Linux systems, because Microsoft won’t let it happen.
And the story continues.
Updated – see more here.
iPhone? Yawn…..
Posted by grymoire in Technology on June 9, 2009
Just glanced at the WWDC.
- Digital Compass – Oh please. Like this is important?
- Faster CPU. Uh-huh.
- Video – Uh-huh.
- Auto-focus camera – so Apple finally is catching up with European standards. Well, it does allow the iPhone to read UPC’s and other barcodes.
- And new software – cool, but all iPhones have this.
Not really exciting, but Apple fanboys get excited about little things.
Why not just let us keep the old phone, and unlock the old iPhone like the other carriers allow us to do – once we paid for it with the 2-year service contract.