.. A former supporter of the Iraq War sounds the warning bells against a war with Iran.

Labels: Foreign Affairs, Politics

Link

.. Much has been said about the phenomenon of presidential candidate Barack Obama's facebook profile collecting 10,000 supporters on their way to a 1 million goal. Nobody is talking, however, about the fact that most of the social network's members are probably too young to vote. What about the buzz that is generated in the news? More still, what about the power of having a million supporters? Surely this cannot be easily dismissed, one might argue. For a definitive answer to all that, we don't need to go far. Remember Howard Dean and the Rock the Vote campaigns? People who vote in the general election, much less the primaries, are not young people. Buzz is good but as Howard Dean can attest, you need boots on the ground to drag people to go to the voting places and also register.The Senator and his staff have a long way to go in building his political machine. They can start by realizing that his profile is not even public, one has to sign up in order to access it. Big deal.

Labels: Elections2008, Politics, Social Networks

Link

.. "Never kick a man when he is down." This is one of the most powerful insights I've learned and put to practice. Yet this is what these venerable personalities have done to the President. Big mistake! To get back at everyone, he might just take this country into another war in-- Iran. Yikes!

Labels: Foreign Affairs, Politics, POTUS, Pychology

Link

.. A declining dollar and stronger foreign currency are only two of the reasons why hotel rates are going up in New York City. Just shop around and you will hear the unmistakable British accent, among others filling the airwaves these days. It doesn't have to hurt in your pocket if you know the secrets. Here's the skinny on how to save money when checking into NYC hotels.

Labels: New York, Travel

Link

.. Cloned steak on my plate? I didn't even know it is already happening !

Labels: Federal/State Law, Food, Health, Nutrition, Policy, Science

Link

.. So much for the warmest December winter in almost 50 years-- it's literally freezing right now in New York City. Read the city's winter weather tips.

Labels: Climate, New York, Science

Link

.. How to deduct a home office..

Labels: Business, IRS, Taxes

Link

.. I don't know about you but 25-32 million people, or roughly 18 percent of the US population found to have downloaded a movie illegally, is too much of a stretch compared to reality. Anyone who has attempted to download knows that it is not that easy technically, from issues regarding download speeds to where to download from in the first place. It takes time and effort, not to mention technical savvy, to be able to download a movie even from supposedly ubiquitous sources such as P2P software networks that are very hard to understand save for the truly geeky. If, indeed this is true, then I'm probably looking in the wrong places. Either they have miscounted repeat versus unique violators or this is all about carrying the cudgels for the movie industry by blowing out of proportion the threat to score policy points.

Labels: Issues, Media, Music, P2P, Technology

Link

.. Politics is at it again. Some senators are blocking the Minimum Wage Law in the hopes of tying it with tax cuts for small business. The minimum wage is at its lowest buying power in 50 years. Meanwhile, executive corporate pay has skyrocketed 400%! What's wrong with these people! Tell your Senators. Be heard!

Labels: Congress, Law, Policy, Politics

Link

.. A terrible unintended consequence of the global diaspora that must be stopped..

Labels: Crime, Immigration, Issues, Politics

Link

.. Any number of comparisons, from the Philippine-American War to Bosnia, and now to the Battle of Algiers will not change the fact that it was simple naivete-- that led to the chaos now in Iraq. The president and the neocons believed too much on the hypnotic power of exported democracy, discounting the fact that Iraq's sectarian conflict has existed for more than 1,000 years. The greatest tragedy of this war has been the belated realization by the administration, much in evident in last night's State of the Union address, that it has bungled the strategy and it might be too late.

Labels: Foreigh Affairs, History, Policy

Link

.. The entrepreneurial spirit is the architecture upon which America is built. It is the reason why the country will remain the biggest economy for years to come amid the rise of China and India. Boomers straight from the corporate world are planning their second acts with some leaving their day jobs altogether for the risky world of small business. If you are thinking of doing the same, here's what it takes to be an entrepreneur from the SBA folks.

Labels: Business, Entrepreneurship

Link

CONSUMER SERVICES:

- It may not be easier than you think to cancel your health club membership.

MONEY:

- A bloodbath in Wall Street, as more people lose their jobs. The future is here.

CENSUS:

- It's up to you, New..York..New..York: The declining population phenomenon happening right now in the Big Apple.

Labels: Weekend Review

.. So this is why the iPhone is only 2G- and not 3G-compatible. Nokia's management could learn some tips straight out of Steve Jobs' strategy playbook. I am alluding, of course, to the CEO of Nokia belittling the iPhone's capability.

Labels: Apple, iPhone, Management/Strategy, Technology

Link

.. From someone who was given rare access and testing. Come June this year, the iPhone you know today will not be the same gadget to come out six months from now.

Labels: Apple, Cool, iPhone, Technology

Link

.. The U.S. military is facing the ultimate test in its gloried history - transformation. Out of the box thinking is required to adapt to growing challenges in a pivotal moment in world history where global terrorism and anti-Americanism is on the rise. Where can it find warriors who will rise up to the challenge? Does it make sense to hire foreigners? What about immigrants who are already here but are still non-citizens? Children of illegal immigrants? The undocumented? Whatever the strategy, the military needs to do a better job of giving incentives for non-citizens to participate in building and protecting their adopted country. There is no shortage of willing volunteers.

Labels: Military, Policy, Security

Link

.. Watch out, YouTube! Here comes Joost, from the same people who gave us Skype. This is not meant just to be another YouTube but much, much more than the usual grainy videos we've been accustomed to from the Web2.0 phenom. Joost will be more like an upgrade of Internet TV and will be open to everyone who want to submit original content taken presumably from high-end cameras. Will this be more viral than Skype? Time will tell but one thing is sure: An idea who's time has come will be hard to stop.

Labels: Internet, Technology, TV, Video, Web 2.0

Link

Health:

- Help yourself. How to fight cholesterol.

- Another reason to learn a foreign language: To ward off dementia.

Government:

- Look out! Senators try to restrict consumer audio recording of satellite, Internet radio and digital broadcast content.

Technology:

- Et tu, Redmond? Microsoft announces Office 2008 for Mac.

- Call abroad for FREE! That is, if you can find your destination country on the list.

Shopping:

- A colleague swears by her $7,000 super-comfort-intelligent mattress. You be the judge.

Sports/Entertainment:

- Hollywood, here Be-ckhams!

Culture:

-Somebody, please help the young women get out of China!

Labels: Weekend Review

"Americans, it seems, are also less willing to take stressful jobs that require lots of training and long hours, and that require them to work in unpleasant environments. For example, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing is warning of a nursing shortage. This survey from the American Hospital Association says there are 118,000 nursing vacancies in the United States. Meanwhile, a 2003 report by the Council on Graduate Medical Education suggested there could be a shortage of anywhere from 65,000 to 150,000 doctors in 2020. (Given the time it takes to educate and train a physician, it's not too soon to worry.)"

..Nurses? Doctors? You have got to be kidding me. The few Americans I know (I must admit I only know a few of them) probably 7 out of 10 have gone on to study Nursing. The only reason the remaining three have not is because the schools can't take them in anymore. Oh, before I forget, waitlisted is another word for they-will-become-nurses-soon too.

..Has this writer researched the cost of becoming a doctor? What about "more than what you should set aside monthly for your retirement" for the next 6 years. A good chunk of the missing demographic on tv(18-34, male) are not only glued to their pc's, they have gone abroad to study medicine in some third world country that offers the same quality education for less than half the cost in Harvard!

..The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in our policymakers.

Labels: Career, Government, Healthcare, Labor, Policy, Politics

Link

..More iPhone FAQ's. More reasons to wait for the second or third generation..

Labels: Apple, Gadgets, iPhone, Technology

Link

.. Want to save some more shopping at Target? It's the label, stupid! If it ends in 4, price is right.

Labels: Consumer services, Shopping

Link

.. Apple was so busy popping the champaigne they forgot there is a whole new revolution in media outside Cupertino, and that we now look at the world with YouTube eyes. The whole point of this new YOU world is self-expression, the ability to share a bit of yourself to the world through pictures and video. Apple still goes around wearing the cloak of cool and carries it proudly. Problem is, definition of cool has changed. It has metamorphosed from "having" the latest it product to BEING the latest product paraded around.

.. More people than ever take pictures and forward it to their blog through email or text. They take videos of everything that moves and upload it or pass it on to their friends. The 2megapix cameraphone is so 2006 and video on other phones will get better and better in 2007. Suffice it to say that not everyone will throw their phones in the garbage and pick up the latest iPhone available. Think Europe and Asia here. Unless Apple makes it easy to do all the things mentioned above and not confine iPhone would-be users in an OSX environment, all will be well in the cellphone industry.

.. Fear not, loyal Apple fans. The company is certainly not that stupid and somehow in the not-so-distant future, the iPhone will carry a camera with a resolution higher than 2 megapixels, put a front VGA camera to support iChat/WiFi-based video call to give Skype/JaJah/Yahoo!Messenger a run for its money, upgrade its storage to 30 or even 80 GB and most important of all, at least for me, allow iPhones to be unlocked and sold outside Cingular. Umm, don't count on the last one to happen anytime soon but consider Apple warned. Customers have soured on Cingular's useless roll-over gimmick, expensive monthly plans and rumor has it, increasing text messaging rates. Three out of four is TOO bad. That's why I'm going to wait for the oh-not-so-distant future.

Labels: Apple, Cool, Gadgets, iPhone, Technology

Link

Consumer Services:

- Maximize your shopping savings, monitor your 30 day price protection guarantee.

Culture:

- The annual tradition of New Year's resolutions upon us, how will Americans actually spend their time in 2007?

Web2.0 watch:

- Tired of traditional search? Fire away that sidekiq.

- YouTube, watch out! Hellodeo!

Technology:

- All the buzz about the iPhone and more.

- What's under and behind all that iPhone wizbang? Here's a technical analysis.

Labels: Consumer services, Culture, Technology, Web 2.0, Weekend Review