:: Event Horizon ::

:: Thursday, May 15, 2003 ::

Copy Protection Is a Crime
An important and thoughtful essay on digital rights management from David Weinberger. He more than implies that the RIAA camp and MS programmers are on the verge of declaring war on our shared civilization, and that maybe that's not a good idea. I couldn't agree more.

:: Joel 4:38 PM [+] ::
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Critics of Graduation Exam Threaten Boycott in Florida
I follow news stories like this closely and will eagerly watch to see if this test of the standards movement in education is resolved in a way that preserves the integrity of the educational system. See, there’s this test that high school students in Florida must pass in order to graduate. A bunch of them failed. So, the reaction among many is to say, “let’s get rid of the test and let them graduate anyway.” The president of the Florida Education Association actually said the following (remember this is a responsible member of the community charged with educating the next generation of citizens): "Some students just don't test well. To have a test that might be a deterrent on their future is just not fair." Hey, I hate to be the one to break the news to you, but life is not fair. The purpose of a test is to see if they learned what they were supposed to learn. If they didn’t, why should they graduate? Well, because, the self-esteem movement stays, not graduating with their smarter peers will hurt their self-esteem. Maybe, but not as much as not getting into college, or getting fired from their first job because they are uneducated morons. An education system that graduates students without regard to academic performance does a disservice to the students and to the community they will be expected to contribute to. We say as a society that we value education and want to have high standards. Let’s see what the good people of Florida have to say about it.

:: Joel 11:25 AM [+] ::
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DraftWesleyClark.Com
Ok, some spindoctoring for the good general. First, we don’t need a president named Wesley, it just sends the wrong message. Sorry, I’m sure you’ve grown emotionally attached to your name, but it just doesn’t work. From now on, you are Wes Clark. Wes is strong, calls to mind the West, and it gives the listener a sense of connection, of intimacy, using something other than your formal name. Most importantly, it avoids the negative connotation held by fans of a certain popular sci-fi series. Second, avoid the jargon. You come across well, you have great communication skills, but your audience is not going to connect with military and tech jargon. Everyone knows your NATO history, we accept that you are an expert in these matters, you don’t have to throw it in our faces all the time. Save your ammo for the debates. Don’t be afraid to tone it down, get folksy, a campaign stump is not a military briefing. Relax and enjoy the experience.

:: Joel 12:06 PM [+] ::
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The one-man global content provider
This is an interesting article that I'm posting here as much for me as for any readers. I just don't want to lose the link. It looks like Mark Steyn has some interesting things to say about current events and I want to go back and read it, when I get some time. Where does time come from?

:: Joel 4:31 PM [+] ::
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