Volume One, Number 5 · May 2000

Flamefests on technical topics
by Ken MacLeod
Flamefests, especially over technical topics, tend to wash over significant points so that in the end there is no net gain on any side. Facilitation and discussion techniques can greatly increase the chance that information can be gained from technical d
2 May 2000

Here we go again
by Mike Billips
Can't ANYTHING ever be handled through reasonable compromise?
2 May 2000

Austenian interlude
by Bijan Parsia
Read Jane Austen, NOW!
2 May 2000

Tonight: Michael Palin's New Travelogue
by Niel Bornstein
Fans of the ex-Python's travelogues will be sure to love this one too.
3 May 2000

National Anxiety Disorders Screening Day
by Niel Bornstein
Don't be afraid, go see your mental health professional!
3 May 2000

May Day Support Quiz
by Kendall Clark
Not supporting May Day is a principled and tactical mistake.
3 May 2000

Red Hat Is Not Linux!
by Kendall Clark
Red Hat isn't even cool! Much less is it the totality of the Linux world.
3 May 2000

Low Power Radio Coalition
by Kendall Clark
Want low power FM radio? Then fight for it! Call, email or fax your Senator.
3 May 2000

I Had No Idea
by Niel Bornstein
A preponderance of political poseurs.
3 May 2000

Ethics in New Media
by Kendall Clark
Some links to journalistic ethics resources.
4 May 2000

Throw Another Device on the Dung-Heap of Discarded Technology
by Niel Bornstein
One down side (yes, there is one) of moving to the 'burbs is that I have to down-grade my internet access.
4 May 2000

LinuxCare Layoffs Announced
by Kendall Clark
LinuxCare, just months ago a pre-IPO darling, now faces a very uncertain future.
4 May 2000

Red Ken Elected
by Niel Bornstein
The former Labour MP got elected despite (or perhaps because of) being booted from the party.
5 May 2000

The public talents of duotones
by Bijan Parsia
An commercial photoshop plugin for generating duotone full color reproductions.
5 May 2000

Yeah, I'd feel comfortable with this crowd...
by Kendall Clark
Who are they kidding? Me? At a cigar and scotch tasting in a swanky Dallas hotel?
8 May 2000

Working Assets Broadcasting
by Kendall Clark
We'd get a lot more stuff like this if Congress weren't trying to kill the low power FM radio legislation.
9 May 2000

Sierra Leone Starting to Unravel
by Kendall Clark
Foday Sankoh, leader of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), says the right things ("free our people from poverty; free education for all" etc.) but he's no more than a brutal thug who's trying to seize power and control over Sierra Leone's diamond
9 May 2000

Corporate Arrogance on the Web
by Kendall Clark
Corporatization of the Web continues apace...
9 May 2000

Ascent of Texas
by Kendall Clark
Urban scenes in Dallas
9 May 2000

Review: Thai Ocha, Houston
by Kendall Clark
Thai Ocha in Houston serves good Thai fare with excellent service.
9 May 2000

It is a global movement!
by Kendall Clark
Seattle and DC were just the coming out parties of American activists.
10 May 2000

Personal Email Archiving
by Niel Bornstein
A good idea, implemented.
10 May 2000

As Usual, Lawmakers Don't Get It
by Niel Bornstein
McAfee? He's blaming McAfee!?!
11 May 2000

Seattle -> DC -> Philadelphia
by Kendall Clark
The next highpoint in the American version of the anti-corporate globalism movement will occur in Philadelphia during the Republican National Convention.
11 May 2000

Microsoft the Censorious
by Kendall Clark
When in doubt, MS plays hard ball!
11 May 2000

A little mail database history
by Bijan Parsia
As a followup to Niel's explorations of archiving mail in databases, a few pointers to Xerox PARC publiciations.
12 May 2000

Web RPCs Considered Harmful
by Ken MacLeod
Web applications built on exposing APIs (RPCs or remote objects) are more risky than Web applications built on standard data transfer protocols.
12 May 2000

LoveBug Virus Crosses the Species Boundary
by Niel Bornstein
Good God, we're all in really big trouble.
15 May 2000

Does the federal government still persecute political dissent?
by Kendall Clark
Ward Churchill's COINTELPRO papers are must reading.
15 May 2000

Myanmar Bans Email
by Kendall Clark
Myanmar, neé Burma, banned email on Saturday.
15 May 2000

Chomsky Lecture in New Mexico
by Kendall Clark
A Chomsky lecture in New Mexico proves a spur to thinking about politics and family.
16 May 2000

5th National Independent Politics Summit
by Kendall Clark
IPPN's National Summit in June.
16 May 2000

Laundering Opportunities: Unknown.
by Niel Bornstein
Two men. One small plane. Twelve thousand miles.
17 May 2000

Prince Prince Again
by Niel Bornstein
What's in a name?
17 May 2000

Madhur Jaffrey's World of the East Vegetarian Cooking
by Bijan Parsia
An over 12 year relationship is still going strong.
17 May 2000

N.H. Votes To Repeal Death Penalty
by Niel Bornstein
But the Governor has promised a veto.
18 May 2000

"The Unbearable Lameness of Project Censored" is Unbearably Lame
by Kendall Clark
Why must the left eat its own by aping Republicans?
19 May 2000

Turning off: Light pollution and net noise
by Bijan Parsia
Reflections on distractions and other obscuring phenomena.
19 May 2000

Is this a computer speaking?
by Bijan Parsia
AT&T advances the state of the art of text-to-speech.
20 May 2000

All You Fascists Are Bound to Lose
by Kendall Clark
Woody Guthrie wrote beautiful and important music, more of it than nearly any other American songwriter.
22 May 2000

Global Warming Petitions
by Dru Oja Jay
An overview of a few anti-global warming petitions, including the infamous 17,000 'scientists'.
22 May 2000

Flaws in FBI's Uniform Crime Reports Prevent Progress
by Kendall Clark
The FBI's UCR are deeply flawed.
22 May 2000

Harper's Index Index
by Niel Bornstein
The Modern Humorist spoofs the Harper's Index.
23 May 2000

Buffy, the Surprisingly Not Lame Vampire Slayer
by Rob Beauchamp
It's still undiscovered by almost anyone who isn't a TV critic or a member of the 13-25 age demographic. But "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" has generated an impressive amount of critical buzz.
23 May 2000

I 'm NOT Gladiator...
by Michael Zara
"Gladiator" is no less a political film for its eschewing of relevant political content or commentary, and as such it falls short of the standard set by "Spartacus".
24 May 2000

UAW To Endorse Nader for President?
by Niel Bornstein
United Auto Workers president Stephen Yokich breaks from tradition, declines to endorse Democratic presidential candidate.
24 May 2000

Farmers Push for Cuba Policy Change
by Niel Bornstein
It's Lobby vs. Lobby in an embargo-busting battle royale!
24 May 2000

Anti-protest Propaganda Intensifies
by Kendall Clark
The Washington Times continues its ignoble tradition of antidemocratic propaganda.
24 May 2000

Public Enemy # MP3: Napsta rap?
by Michael Zara
napster as the new freedom from exploitation?
25 May 2000

Freedom House: Press Freedom Survey 2000
by Kendall Clark
How free is the media and the Net around the world?
25 May 2000

Nader as Reform Party Candidate?
by Niel Bornstein
A divided Reform Party is seeking alternatives to Pat Buchanan.
26 May 2000

Green Lawn Mowing
by Niel Bornstein
In which the new homeowner ponders how to cut the grass in an easy, yet environmentally friendly, manner.
26 May 2000

A Three-Way Breakup Doesn't Go Far Enough
by Kendall Clark
Judge Jackson should be applauded for being willing to break MS up, but he's going about it all the wrong way.
26 May 2000

Lars Gets One Right!?! -- Limitations of Napster
by Michael Zara
Napster is ill-suited for anything BUT trading of known, signed artists music. It provides little to subvert the stranglehold of the music/recording/media industries on creativity.
27 May 2000

Land of the incarcerated, home of the tortured.
by Bijan Parsia
U.S. police and prison brutality condemned in the latest U.N. Committee on Torture report.
28 May 2000

The ambiguities of honor, memory, and love
by Bijan Parsia
Poetry in memory of WWII veteran.
29 May 2000

Green Party Ballot Triumph in Texas
by Kendall Clark
Green Party of Texas reinvigorates grassroots democracy.
30 May 2000

PythonLabs Lives!
by Kendall Clark
The center of the Python Universe just shifted.
30 May 2000

Information Prostitution
by Bijan Parsia
Infomarkets: a way to sell out being helpful.
30 May 2000

Next Protest Site: Detroit/Windsor
by Niel Bornstein
First Seattle, then Washington DC. Next up is Detroit and Windsor.
31 May 2000

FCC Prepares to Make Broadcasting Even More Corporate
by Niel Bornstein
It wasn't bad enough that the evil FCC enabled the corporate takeover of our precious broadcast spectrum four years ago; now they want to go further.
31 May 2000