Tim's Thoughts

Eat More Kale! Eat Less Chick-fil-A!

2011-12-04T12:45:00.000-08:00

Used properly, trademarks are a good thing. They help us identify the source of goods and services so that we can rely on brand and reputation when we buy products. McDonald's is known for being cheap, easy, and fast. The Ritz is known for being expensive and luxurious. This is beneficial for both the producer and the consumer.

However grasping for too much of a good thing results in an evil outcome. Many corporations use their considerable money power to do the wrong thing with trademarks and try to control too much. Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Luckily trademarks are dependent on people power (as well as trademark law) and people power can be used as a check and balance against corporate money power by decreasing its ability to earn money. If a company does wrong, its trademark can then be associated with its misdeeds, and those associations can then cause the producer to lose business rather than gain business. Think Enron.

It behooves corporations to use their power wisely or suffer natural consequences.

Chick-fil-A has done wrong and has become a corporation that deserves some natural consequences. Chick-fil-A supports discrimination when it funds anti-gay groups (see http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/01/Chick-fil-A-donated-anti-gay-groups-2009_n_1069429.html). and it is trying to control too much when it tries to block others from using the phrase "Eat More..." (see http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/Latest-News-Wires/2011/1128/Eat-more-kale-A-David-vs.-Golaith-fight-with-Chick-fil-A).

Here is what you can do to correct these wrongs. Ask everyone to "Eat More Kale! Eat Less Chick-fil-A!"

Email it. Twitter it. Facebook it. Paper-mail it. Leave it behind at Chick-fil-A restaurants. Just do it. It's easy. Hopefully Chick-fil-A and others will get the point and change their position when their business loses millions of dollars now and in the future because they made these bad business decisions. Eating more kale and less Chick-fil-A will make our world a healthier and happier place.

Eat More Kale! Eat Less Chick-fil-A!

Hate cannot drive out hate...

2011-10-09T14:01:00.000-07:00

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction....The chain reaction of evil--hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars--must be broken, or we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation."

Martin Luther King, Jr., Strength To Love, 1963.
Source: http://www.mlkonline.net/quotes.html

Fixing the US Education System

2011-07-17T23:57:00.000-07:00

In the article Our Broken Escalator (New York Times, July 16, 2011) Nicholas Kristof makes the point that "education is one of the cheapest and most effective ways to build a country." He laments that we are not spending enough on education in the US while we spend a tremendous amount of money on our military.

I agree that education is a critical investment and well worth the money. And that we spend too much money on our military. However, simply spending more on education without a good plan won't work. Plus there are stats that show we are spending more per year on education in inflation adjusted dollars now than we spent per year in each of the last 40 years.

The following are two excellent research reports which have better information on what makes an excellent educational system and how to improve it than any other research I've yet been able to find (if you find better, please let me know):

How the world's best-performing school systems come out on top (2007)
http://www.mckinsey.com/clientservice/social_sector/our_practices/education/knowledge_highlights/best_performing_school.aspx

How the world's most improved school systems keep getting better (2010)
http://www.mckinsey.com/clientservice/Social_Sector/our_practices/Education/Knowledge_Highlights/How%20School%20Systems%20Get%20Better.aspx

Root Causes of the Arab Spring

2011-05-13T19:57:00.000-07:00

It is marvelous and reassuring that many Arab nations have taken significant steps toward democracy. Why did this happen now? Here are my thoughts:

Dictatorships are fundamentally unsustainable. Democracy is simply a better system of government. People want to control their own destiny and govern themselves. The ongoing dictatorships built up much unrest in many Arab countries for a very long time and it has just been waiting for the right trigger.
The rise of the Internet allowed those in Arab nations to learn more about how the rest of the world operated -- both historically and in real time. Knowledge is power. An event in Tunisia proved to be the trigger that sparked its revolution and this in turn sparked others (Egypt, Bahrain, Syria, etc).
Cell phones (in addition to the internet) allowed groups of people to coordinate their efforts. Knowledge is power.
Al Jazeera provided an independent, successful and very visible free press run by Arabs with reasonably balanced viewpoints on Arab news. Many other press organizations in Arab countries have been strongly controlled by governments, but not so with Al Jazeera. A free press is necessary for democracy.
The election of Obama demonstrated to the world that the system of democracy in the United States did not keep the US locked into an imperialist model -- the people can speak and elect someone from a minority who has a more balanced view of how the US can work with the world (rather than abuse its power). The policies of George W Bush (particularly invading Iraq) wreaked havoc on the US's public image world wide and particularly in the Arab world. Where as Obama's Presidency has restored faith that the US system of government (and thereby democracy in general) can self correct to choose better courses of action.

Here are some lessons to take away from the Arab Spring phenomenon:

Nation building by force (like Iraq) is a very, very costly and wasteful proposition.
Providing a fertile setting and letting nature take its course is much more cost effective and sustainable (Tunisia, Egypt, etc).

Strangely but not surprisingly, the US and England shot themselves in the foot in regards to spreading democracy when they interfered with a budding democracy in Iran in the 1950s -- choosing instead to clandestinely engineer the return to power of the Shah of Iran -- in order to achieve some short term gains. This proved disastrous in the long run with Iran later turning violently anti-US. Imagine how the Arab world might have turned out had democracy succeeded in Iran in those early days and if we had helped a democratic ally rather than undermining it. Iran might have then had 50-60 years of democracy for it to stabilize and hopefully spread to others in the region. This may or may not have been how it would have played out, but it could have. I think it is important for the US to have a cordial and supportive relationship with all other democracies -- even if they choose policies that are not what the US might want . If the country in question is a democracy than it is what the people of that country wanted. It is important for the US to honor the sovereignty of other countries so that they in turn are more likely to respect us.

These same dynamics along with growing wealth and a growing middle class will eventually lead to change even in China despite the considerable success China's government has had in perpetuating itself. It will take time but it is inevitable. The will of the people shall rule in the long term.

Earthquake info & Information Literacy 101

2011-03-26T11:36:00.000-07:00

Below is a simple case study in information literacy that is worth reading. Since this is an email thread, read from the bottom up.

-------------------------------------------
Hi All,

This is a great information literacy learning opportunity: how does one determine which information is truly accurate?

A) The email from a friend that cites an expert and tells a good personal story?
B) An article that discusses pros and cons and cites a long list of corroborating references?

Many pick option A because people trust friends more than strangers and like a good personal story. Also people naturally want simple easy answers and don't like weighing pros and cons, dealing with probabilities, or having to critically evaluate what they read. Also, such emails just show up in inboxes with no effort needed to do some research (so many never even even get to option B).

However option B, while more work to digest, is more likely to be accurate because it took significant work to do the analysis, it recognizes both pros and cons, it is published by a site that itself has been evaluated by many others (snopes.com), and it has many cross references to well known and respected groups that likewise did real research and have many experts (not just 1) to cross check each other.

The Doug Copp email is an example of a social engineering chain letter that keeps getting passed from one person to the next forever. These often have partial truths and always tempt people to forward because people like helping people and this seems to be something helpful. These emails are actually a type of virus that uses both email and human fingers as transmission agents. Some are benign (like humorous feel good emails) while others spread misinformation.

Whenever you receive a forwarded email, please evaluate it critically and cross check it for accuracy before believing it or forwarding to anyone else. You'll be doing all of your friends a favor.

This may be a good educational opportunity for your kids (even though this sort of email is pretty boring for most kids :-). Misinformation/urban legends also spread by word-of-mouth, Facebook, Twitter, texting, etc. It's important for our kids to learn how to know what is most likely true and what is not.

Sorry for being a bit pedantic, it's just that I care passionately for truth, accuracy, and a really good education.

Cheers,
Tim Oey

-----------------in reply to--------------------------
On Mar 25, 2011, at 8:21 AM, mara wrote:

Carol,
It is interesting information. I checked it out on snopes.com and they shared some interesting information on the man discussed in the article. http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/household/triangle.asp I don't know what to believe.

Mara

-----------------in reply to--------------------------
From: "Carol"
To: WVS-discuss@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Friday, March 25, 2011 6:55:00 AM
Subject: [WVS-discuss] Fwd: Where to Go During an Earthquake

I thought people might be interested in this.

Carol

Folks---
we all were taught wrong when we were taught how to protect ourselves from earthquakes!!! I hope you all read this and remember it. We never know when the next one will hit... . ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Where to Go During an Earthquake

Remember that stuff about hiding under a table or standing in a doorway? Well, forget it! This is a real eye opener. It could save your life someday.

EXTRACT FROM DOUG COPP'S ARTICLE ON 'THE TRIANGLE OF LIFE'

My name is Doug Copp I am the Rescue Chief and Disaster Manager of the American Rescue Team International (ARTI ), the world's most experienced rescue team. The information in this article will save lives in an earthquake.

I have crawled inside 875 collapsed buildings, worked with rescue teams from 60 countries, founded rescue teams in several countries, and I am a member of many rescue teams from many countries. I was the United Nations expert in Disaster Mitigation for two years, and have worked at every major disaster in the world since 1985, except for simultaneous disasters.

The first building I ever crawled inside of was a school in Mexico City during the 1985 earthquake. Every child was under its desk. Every child was crushed to the thickness of their bones. They could have survived by lying down next to their desks in the aisles. It was obscene -- unnecessary.

Simply stated, when buildings collapse, the weight of the ceilings falling upon the objects or furniture inside crushes these objects, leaving a space or void next to them - NOT under them. This space is what I call the 'triangle of life'. The larger the object, the stronger, the less it will compact. The less the object compacts, the larger the void, the greater the probability that the person who is using this void for safety will not be injured. The next time you watch collapsed buildings, on television, count the 'triangles' you see formed. They are everywhere. It is the most common shape, you will see, in a collapsed building.

TIPS FOR EARTHQUAKE SAFETY

1) Most everyone who simply 'ducks and covers' when building collapse are crushed to death. People who get under objects, like desks or cars, are crushed.

2) Cats, dogs and babies often naturally curl up in the fetal position. You should too in an earthquake. It is a natural safety/survival instinct. You can survive in a smaller void. Get next to an object, next to a sofa, next to a bed, next to a large bulky object that will compress slightly but leave a void next to it.

3) Wooden buildings are the safest type of construction to be in during an earthquake. Wood is flexible and moves with the force of the earthquake. If the wooden building does collapse, large survival voids are created. Also, the wooden building has less concentrated, crushing weight. Brick buildings will break into individual bricks. Bricks will cause many injuries but less squashed bodies than concrete slabs.

4) If you are in bed during the night and an earthquake occurs, simply roll off the bed. A safe void will exist around the bed. Hotels can achieve a much greater survival rate in earthquakes, simply by posting a sign on the back of the door of every room telling occupants to lie down on the floor, next to the bottom of the bed during an earthquake.

5) If an earthquake happens and you cannot easily escape by getting out the door or window, then lie down and curl up in the fetal position next to a sofa, or large chair.

6) Most everyone who gets under a doorway when buildings collapse is killed. How? If you stand under a doorway and the doorjamb falls forward or backward you will be crushed by the ceiling above. If the door jam falls sideways you will be cut in half by the doorway. In either case, you will be killed!

7) Never go to the stairs. The stairs have a different 'moment of frequency' (they swing separately from the main part of the building). The stairs and remainder of the building continuously bump into each other until structural failure of the stairs takes place. The people who get on stairs before they fail are chopped up by the stair treads - horribly mutilated. Even if the building doesn't collapse, stay away from the stairs. The stairs are a likely part of the building to be damaged. Even if the stairs are not collapsed by the earthquake, they may collapse later when overloaded by fleeing people. They should always be checked for safety, even when the rest of the building is not damaged.

8) Get near the outer walls of buildings or outside of them if possible - It is much better to be near the outside of the building rather than the interior. The farther inside you are from the outside perimeter of the building the greater the probability that your escape route will be blocked.

9) People inside of their vehicles are crushed when the road above falls in an earthquake and crushes their vehicles; which is exactly what happened with the slabs between the decks of the Nimitz Freeway. The victims of the San Francisco earthquake all stayed inside of their vehicles. They were all killed. They could have easily survived by getting out and sitting or lying next to their vehicles. Everyone killed would have survived if they had been able to get out of their cars and sit or lie next to them. All the crushed cars had voids 3 feet high next to them, except for the cars that had columns fall directly across them.

10) I discovered, while crawling inside of collapsed newspaper offices and other offices with a lot of paper, that paper does not compact. Large voids are found surrounding stacks of paper.

Spread the word and save someone's life...

The entire world is experiencing natural calamities, so be prepared!

'We are but angels with one wing, it takes two to fly'

In 1996 we made a film, which proved my survival methodology to be correct. The Turkish Federal Government, City of Istanbul, University of Istanbul Case Productions and ARTI cooperated to film this practical, scientific test. We collapsed a school and a home with 20 mannequins inside. Ten mannequins did 'duck and cover,' and ten mannequins I used in my 'triangle of life' survival method. After the simulated earthquake collapse we crawled through the rubble and entered the building to film and document the results. The film, in which I practiced my survival techniques under directly observable, scientific conditions , relevant to building collapse, showed there would have been zero percent survival for those doing duck and cover.

There would likely have been 100 percent survivability for people using my method of the 'triangle of life.' This film has been seen by millions of viewers on television in Turkey and the rest of Europe, and it was seen in the USA , Canada and Latin America on the TV program Real TV.

Subject: Save your life with "The Triangle of Life"

"Triangle of Life":

Without listening or reading, simply by looking at the following self-explanatory photos, you can learn more than in a thousand words about how to protect yourself during a major earthquake...

If you are inside a vehicle, come out and sit or lie down next to it. If something falls on the vehicle, it will leave an empty space along the sides. See below:

Source: http://www.amerrescue.org/

American Rescue Team International ART said to be the World's most experienced rescue team and disaster management-mitigation organization.

Truth

2011-03-11T23:05:00.000-08:00

Getting to the real truth of a matter can take a HUGE amount of work. Both science and our legal system endeavor to do this in a methodical fashion.

Here is a recounting of a 5 year legal adventure I undertook to defend truth, justice, and the American Way -- and protect some innocents and free speech:

History -- Freecycle Forever

In the beginning, what are the “right” boundaries?

2011-01-17T15:51:00.000-08:00

Right to Lifers believe that the rights of an embryo/fetus always take precedent over the rights of the woman carrying it.

Pro Choicers believe that a woman has some rights that supersede those of the embryo/fetus for some portion of time between conception and birth.

The US Supreme Court in Roe v Wade (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roe_v._Wade) concurred with the Pro Choicers -- deciding that there is a period between conception and birth where a woman's rights supersede those of the embryo (and state).

In my view, the US Supreme Court decision was proper and fair. There is no good clean dividing line between non-existence and life and a reasonable choice by reasonable people is the best we can do. In this case the woman herself is in the best position to make that decision, as it is her body and her life.

We (mankind) have empowered ourselves to make decisions for ourselves rather than letting nature dictate -- by using knowledge and tools to change the world around us. Yes we chose to bite into the Apple of Knowledge and now we have the right and responsibility to choose our own destiny. For better or worse, this is the path that God (or whoever) has let us pursue.

We have enough people already in the world. It is not a requirement we have more and in fact we should even reduce our population. Mistakes are easy to make at conception. Nature itself causes "abortion" to happen if it determines that the embryo/fetus is not viable. For a portion of time, people should likewise have that option to choose for medical, economic, and life reasons. Not all women or families want or are capable of raising a child (or an additional one) -- or be willing to give it away for adoption. None of us have unlimited resources. We all must make hard choices at times. We cannot have unlimited life. In fact cancer is an example of unlimited life with no control.

The foundation of the US is based upon a balance between the rights of the many and the rights of the few. We cannot dictate one religious view on others.

Thus not only is pro choice correct for moral reasons, it is also correct for many practical reasons as well. There is not a simple black and white choice in this case. We have the power, we have the responsibility, we have the right for each of us to make our own choices and choose our own destinies.

The birth of each human has huge consequences for our world and deserves to be weighed carefully by those who are most responsible for that new life -- the parents and particularly the woman who is bearing the child. Roe v Wade is a reasonable compromise.

The Long March for Equal Rights

2010-12-29T22:24:00.000-08:00

It's been a long, long march toward equal rights:
- Blacks no longer slaves
- Blacks can vote
- Women can vote
- Races can intermarry
- No longer "illegal" to be homosexual
- Homosexuals can marry in some states
- Homosexuals can serve openly in the military

At one time each of these were blocked by those who thought others were inferior, others did not deserve equal rights, their own religious or moral beliefs trumped other people's equal rights. Thankfully reason and justice prevailed.

The United States is a beacon of democracy, liberty, and the freedom to pursue happiness. Let's keep up the good work, continue to pursue justice, and be a good role model for other nations.

Copyright & Email Replies

2010-12-27T13:11:00.000-08:00

It's interesting that freecycling has ended up becoming quite a learning adventure into the proper application of intellectual property laws and rights.

Many get easily confused about what trademarks vs patents vs copyrights are really about. Used properly these are all good things that allow our economy and society to function better. That's why they were invented. But misused or misunderstood, they can lead to much pain and abuse and injustice.

In general trademarks, patents, and copyright are all intended to protect "profits" in use in commerce and should never be used to control free speech -- although some misguided corporations and individuals keep trying to do this.

On the trademark front we've proven this a couple of times thanks to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. See http://freecycleforever.org/history/ to read more on the trademark front.

On the copyright front we have not had any lawsuits (and I hope we won't), but here is an important point for all:

When replying to an email it is OK (in terms of copyright) to include the entire previous email (and even email chain) that is relevant to your reply.

It may not be good etiquette because this may make the email rather large and clog the digest version of an email list. It may also confuse your audience because people may not know exactly what point you are replying to. However from a legal standpoint it should be just fine because you are engaged in free speech -- debate with give and take. The discussion is enabled by including prior emails for reference.

I know that others have raised "copyright" as a reason that entire emails should not be included in reply emails, but this is not correct in so far as I've been able to determine as long as the intent is to enable discussion and not to reproduce a work to deny someone else from getting compensation for that work.

Including entire previous emails in replies is:
1) common -- billions of people do it daily.
2) easy -- most email programs do this automatically and it takes work to prevent.
3) appropriate -- so that the points and counter points can all be read in context to see if they are really logical or not.
4) expected -- so that debates are not just one sided, you need multiple points of view to understand the different points -- there are multiple sides to every discussion.

This is all protected by the "fair use" doctrine in addition to not being commercial speech but rather free speech. By commercial speech I mean communication that is intended to earn money in some direct way -- like in advertising or publishing. Even in commercial speech "fair use" can protect someone that is quoting another.

In contrast, if you use someone else's material in a way that harms the commercial value of the work -- for instance republishing large sections of material that someone would otherwise have to buy. This is most likely a copyright violation that is not protected by the "fair use" doctrine. The original author was generally paid money to create the work and thus it is in turn sold to recoup this cost as well as make a profit on it so the author and others involved can make a living.

Law can be a tricky and complicated area but hopefully this explanation makes sense to most people.

Please note that I am not a lawyer and I'm not giving you professional legal advice. However this does not block me from discussing such situations or you from coming to reasonable conclusions based on the information presented.

For references, please see:
1) "My posting was just fair use!" at http://www.templetons.com/brad/copymyths.html
2) http://w2.eff.org/IP/eff_fair_use_faq.php
3) http://randazza.wordpress.com/2010/12/26/perfect-10-thinks-that-dmca-takedown-demands-should-be-protected-by-copyright/

TSA - Terribly Stupid Agency

2010-11-20T23:28:00.000-08:00

The TSA is developing a reputation as the Terribly Stupid Agency (Touching Sensitive Areas, etc). It is wasting billions on expensive, time consuming, annoying, invasive, and ineffective security measures that assume everyone is a terrorist when almost no one is. The terrorists have won if we all suspect everyone and each other.

Where is the check and balance on this 1984ish bureaucracy? Some rational and intelligent people need to step in and reduce the waste in this prime example of out-of-control government spending. These dollars could be greatly reduced and more effectively spent.

"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." - Benjamin Franklin

Rational Choices

2010-11-07T21:21:00.000-08:00

Too many folks rely on typical stereotypes and want to pigeonhole people:
- borrow and spend warmongering conservative Republicans
- tax and spend pacifist liberal Democrats
etc.

In the most recent election I believe much of the electorate was fooled by those playing to emotions and fears rather than making rational choices about what we really want for the US. We must get beyond stereotypes and knee jerks to figure out how to make our lives and our government better. Recognizing the real pros and cons of what is accomplished or not. Fear is a great motivator but it is a very poor decision maker. And it takes real work to make improvements. I voted for people who have shown they can work hard with the system to make a change -- and a change in the direction I want our country to go.

Regarding Obama, he has not accomplished as much as he or I had hoped, but nonetheless in the last 2 years he and the Democrats did more to move the United States forward than Bush and the Republicans did in the previous 8.

Obama & the Democrats:
1) Restored worldwide respect for the US as a place of reason and balance (Bush & the Republicans trashed our reputation)
2) Made significant progress on reforming Health Care and making it cover more people in a reasonably efficient and affordable manner (Bush and the Republicans did nothing in this space)
3) Are working to get us out of wastefully expensive and destructive wars overseas (Bush and the Republicans caused us to overspend in this area to the tune of trillions of dollars).
4) Saved our country and the rest of the world from a likely second Great Depression. (Bush and the Republicans lead us into that economic mess -- over deregulation can be dangerous, government is an important check and balance on capitalism)

These are HUGE!

#1 allows us to have more credibility and work diplomatically with other countries
#2 greatly improves how the US manages valuable human resources, helping people be productive and healthy rather than sick and a drain on society
#3 saves us big bucks, lots of lives, and helps with #1
#4 saved all of us.

We have a phenomenally good government overall in the US. Just compare the totality of what our government does for us and how efficiently it does it compared to other countries in the world. Think about everything you do each day and how our government is involved in making it possible and reasonably safe:
- we have a military that is well managed, does not attack our citizens, and actively keeps foreign bad guys at bay
- we have police and fire fighters keeping us safe at home
- we have a legal system that generally works well -- courts, judges, laws, etc
- when you drive down the road, you have a well paved road to drive on, your car has to meet certain safety standards, you can breath the air behind your car, people stop at stoplights and let you thru, etc.
- when we walk down the street we generally have a sidewalk on which to walk and we generally are not afraid of getting mugged
- we all have safe water to drink from our faucets (how many countries in the world have this?)
- we have generally safe food available to us all in abundance
- everyone in the US has free public education available to them
- we have vast stores of knowledge available to all for free -- notably our public library system
- we have building codes that keep us safe from fire, collapse, earthquakes, etc.
- we have freedom of the press and speech so we can speak, be heard, and learn about what is happening from many sources that serve to check and balance each other
- we have freedom of religion so we can practice our own beliefs without fear of retribution from government
- and much, much more...

Our government has a positive impact on just about everything that you or I do. All of the above requires significant money to accomplish.

If some other country is doing a better job overall for its citizens than the US, please name it and how.

Sure there are things that we can improve, but don't let the exceptions outweigh the vast number of things that work well and most of us take for granted. Blindly cutting taxes and cutting government spending will hurt us. We need a well funded government for the US to continue to succeed and protect all of us.

Without our national, state, county, and city governments the United States would not be the great nation we are today. Be very careful about throwing things out, because you may be throwing the baby (our future) out with the bath water. Respect our government and work with our established systems to effect change because these are the systems that help our society and government run reliably.

Let's engage in reasoned dialog so we can work together and make improvements as a team. We are one big team that needs to cooperate and compromise to succeed in a dangerous and challenging world. We all cannot have it just our way. United we stand, divided we fall.

Thanks for reading.

Don't be Fooled by Prop 23

2010-10-09T13:28:00.000-07:00

I am strongly against California Prop 23 because it will hurt the California economy now and in the future (as well as hurt our children with the consequences of today's pollution). California is the leader in greentech which is a natural extension of both hightech and biotech. To maintain and increase this lead we need to practice what we preach and provide a market for our own leading companies. As leaders in the high value green industry we can invent our own future.

Two Texas oil companies are the primary backers of Prop 23 and they are doing it so their CA oil refineries to can continue to pollute in CA (they save money because they will not need to upgrade their plants).

It would be a travesty if too many people are fooled by the "job creation" smoke screen that Prop 23 is using. We need good, high quality, sustainable jobs now AND in the future to keep our communities healthy and clean -- not just a few short term dirty jobs.

Read more at:
http://www.mercurynews.com/opinion/ci_16269625

And:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/10/06/EDLR1FKF3U.DTL

Cheers,
Tim

The Right to Be Stupid

2010-09-08T00:22:00.000-07:00

The Pastor in Florida has a first amendment right to free speech and to burn Qurans. I fully support this right.

But just because you have a right (legal) does not make it right (ethically). Burning Qurans is still stupid, foolish, disrespectful, and childish. It mainly serves to inflame both sides and give ammunition to terrorists. Burning Qurans hurts both Americans and Christians. Many of us have evolved beyond vengeance. Unfortunately many others remain stuck in hateful ways and are hell bent on perpetuating violence against each other.

See also:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100908/ap_on_re_us/quran_burning
and
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704358904575478241873665072.html?mod=WSJ_hps_SECONDTopStories#articleTabs%3Darticle
and
http://deepforestgreen.blogspot.com/2010/09/open-letter-to-dr-terry-and-sylvia.html

If you want to let the Pastor know what you think, please send him comments at:
http://www.doveworld.org/contact

Moving an Office the Green Way

2010-09-05T14:54:00.000-07:00

On Saturday 9/4/2010 the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition (SVBC) moved its office and used bikes to do the move. This is an example of utilitarian bicycling at its best -- and having bicyclists be great role models of sustainability. Plus both the participants and the general public had a fun time!

Read the article from the 9/5/2010 San Jose Mercury News and see pictures at:
http://sanjosemercurynews.ca.newsmemory.com/publink.php?shareid=232185871
and
http://sanjosemercurynews.ca.newsmemory.com/publink.php?shareid=1ef0dca5e

Gay Rights Upheld, Prop 8 Annulled

2010-08-05T08:26:00.000-07:00

I'm greatly relieved that logic has prevailed and CA Proposition 8 was annulled. A prejudiced and bigoted majority should not be allowed to trample civil rights -- the US is is based on the premise that "all men are created equal."

At one time majorities thought women were property, non-whites were inferior to whites, and interracial marriages were forbidden. Those strictures fell and so should discrimination against gays and lesbians. Gays and lesbians should be entitled to marry just as people of opposite sexes are entitled to marry. Furthermore, families with married couples are good for our society. Just because one family is different from another does not mean that a couple should be denied the right to have a cohesive and fully privileged family.

What a wonderful ride!!!

2010-05-02T14:41:00.000-07:00

Our entire family (2 parents, 2 kids and 2 dogs) participated in the 2010 Challenge Bicycle Ride today -- 24 miles of quiet residential street bicycling on a beautiful Sunday morning through Sunnyvale, Mountain View, Los Altos, and Los Altos Hills. While the ride is over for this year, I hope more from our community will participate at next year's event.

For more please see:
http://www.challengebicycleride.org/

How CA Education Finance Works

2010-05-02T14:31:00.000-07:00

If you would like to know more about how school financing works in California, the most lucid presentation I've found is the instructional video posted at:
http://rosenblatt.org/blog/2010/03/10/video-on-how-california-education-finance-works-and-doesnt-work/

Please check it out and learn. It is only 40 minutes and well worth it. If any of you find a better presentation, please let me know!

Our kids are our future. Education is one of the best investments we can make -- whether it be for our own kids or kids in our neighborhood. Good education is the key to keeping the US competitive, safe, clean, and economically strong. Plus it is a requirement for a democracy to function.

If you live in CA, please watch and listen to the video and become better educated. Thanks!

Health Care Bill Passes!

2010-03-21T21:28:00.000-07:00

History has been made. Obama, Pelosi, and the Democrats have accomplished an amazing feat -- a health care bill has now passed the Senate and House. Along with Social Security and Medicaid/Medicare, this is one of the biggest accomplishments by the government for social justice in the US in the past 100 years. If implementation goes well, the Republicans (the Party of No) will be in the dog house for a very long time. If not, then the Democrats will suffer. I believe that passage of this bill is a huge positive outcome for the US and will go a long way to improve the productivity of our human resources in the US as well as reduce costs.

For more see: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_health_care_overhaul

Italians Prefer to Shoot the Postman and Keep Truths Hidden

2010-02-25T00:16:00.000-08:00

Based on the recent Italian verdict against Google (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100224/ap_on_hi_te/eu_italy_google_trial) here is what I conclude:

1) Italy (and perhaps Europe in general) prefers that bullying be hidden so people don't know it is happening -- if no one knows, that is better, right?
2) If it is publicized thus exposing the bullies -- shoot the messenger so it won't be publicized again -- punish the mechanism that transmitted the information because it is bad for people to know that bad things are happening.
3) Europe should have punished those that publicized the Holocaust -- so that it would never have been known that the Holocaust happened.
4) If the postal service delivers unsavory news, shoot the postman so they will stop delivering it.

Hmmm...

Compromise Can Be Difficult

2010-02-14T13:40:00.000-08:00

There is an interesting discussion occurring about the League of American Bicyclists at:
http://mighkwilson.com/2010/02/loyalty-matters/

Here is what I think:

Often the closer you get to an organization, the uglier it's complexion -- the warts and blemishes become more visible. Nonetheless, it is important to take the whole into account and decide whether overall the organization is moving the cause forward even though it may not be specifically moving the parts some individuals want.

Regarding bike lanes, while sometimes their design is not the best, they do attract more cyclists and give them a degree of safety (or at least the perception). After getting more cyclists on the roads, more will realize that bike lanes need to be designed better and hopefully that will have an impact. Often we need to take imperfect steps on our hike toward overall improvement. It's a bit Machiavellian but it is practical. Additionally, to make progress in this area we often must make political compromises.

Yes having everyone become a well educated effective cyclist would be best, but unfortunately this is highly unlikely. The barriers are too high for most people. Conversely the barriers to bike lanes are relatively low and bike lanes are very visible, relatively long lasting, and highly attractive to most normal cyclists.

So while hard core utility cyclists see no need for bike lanes, and they would be right if we could educate all motorists and cyclists, the hurdle is too high to educate the vast majority of normal people whereas these normal people see the immediate advantage of bicycle lanes. And eventually those bicycle lanes can be made safe too.

Sometimes it is the best course of action to make progress where it is easiest rather than fighting the tide.

I've chosen to become a lifetime member of some national organizations (LAB & Adventure Cycling) as well as a local organization (Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition). I do what I am able to advocate for better education, helmet use and well designed bicycle facilities. I continue to believe it is worth supporting the LAB in addition to state and local organizations.

(BTW, I greatly admire what John Schubert, John Forester, and John Allen have accomplished.)

(BTW2, what I say above applies in a general way to all organizations with which I've been involved, some ended up on the net plus side, some on the net negative side.)

Injustice...

2010-01-18T20:27:00.000-08:00

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."
- Martin Luther King, April 16, 1963

Some injustices as of 2010:
Suppression of free speech in China.
Terrorism.
Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands and mistreatment of the Palestinians in general.
Some Muslims blocking women from becoming educated.
Lack of equal marriage rights in the US.

Haiti lessons -- Building Codes, Economies, Gov't

2010-01-17T21:48:00.000-08:00

The situation in Haiti is the result of a terrible natural disaster -- made dramatically worse by a man made disaster. This disaster, like many earthquakes in poor countries, was largely preventable (!!). A 7.0 earthquake in an earthquake prone area of the US would likely kill only a handful of people, yet 50,000+ people died in Haiti due to building failures. The best solution to prevent such deaths is good Building Codes. Some in the US lament having to conform to building codes, but building codes save lives. The best way to get a good set of building codes is to have a good local economy together with a functioning government. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

The best thing we can do to prevent disasters, terrorism, and many other worldly problems is to support our neighbors by helping them develop stable governments and educating their populace. That way the currently poor countries of the world can help themselves and we can prevent future disasters. This is why one of my favorite charities (and one I strongly support) is the Central Asia Institute. We need more groups like this that allow people to learn how to fish, rather than having others give them fish.

Let's put more effort into fixing root causes rather than applying bandaids.

Avatar -- A Must See

2010-01-01T11:14:00.000-08:00

Wow. Avatar is a great film that all should see -- in 3D if at all possible. It is a solid science fiction film with reasonably good science, spectacular special effects, romance, lots of action, a moral, and a satisfying ending. Wow.

http://www.avatarmovie.com/

What Makes the United States Great...

2009-07-04T10:24:00.000-07:00

On this 4th of July, here are the strengths that made and make the United States a great nation:

1) Unalienable Rights: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness."
2) Work ethic
3) Diversity
4) Oceans that protect/buffer us
5) Good supply of natural resources
6) Free public libraries
7) Free and good public education system
8) Visionary Constitution & Bill of Rights
9) Strong belief in the rule of law
10) Religious freedom
11) Free speech
12) Belief in American ideals -- Truth, Justice, and the American Way
13) Free market economy balanced by some government controls
14) Good network of roads
15) Building codes
16) Spirit of adventure and entrepreneurship
17) Good water & sewer systems
18) Pervasive belief in the rule of law
19) Democratic gov't with checks & balances between legislative, executive, and judicial branches
20) Welfare, Social Security, Unemployment Benefits
21) Willingness to question, change, and adapt
22) Reliable mail delivery
23) Willingness to negotiate and compromise
24) Justice: Our legal system
25) The belief a man can make his own destiny
26) Parks

Here are some things we still need to work on:
1) Healthcare system
2) Reducing our environmental footprint

And here are some things that have hurt us in the past and that we must work to avoid:
1) Hubris
2) Being too prudish / puritanical / extreme
3) Compromising our American ideals for short term expediency
4) Laziness
5) Greed
6) Carelessness
7) Indifference
8) Hypocrisy

One of the US's greatest accomplishments is to see that more nations also achieve our strengths. By helping our neighbors worldwide, we help ourselves.

Sincerely,
Tim Oey

Health Care -- Make it Naturally Sustainable

2009-06-13T17:30:00.000-07:00

Here is my simple perspective on health care reform in the US: establish a health care system that has simple natural incentives to keep people healthy.

The current US health care system is too expensive, is not able to cover everyone, and has many inefficiencies. The US spends more per capita on health care than any other UN nation (http://www.who.int/whosis/whostat/EN_WHS08_Table4_HSR.pdf) yet does not achieve the quality of care available in many other countries (http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/abstract/22/3/89).

We all know that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure but that is not how most of the health care systems in the US work.

Our current systems either have lots of government regulation to tell the system how to run and what to do (lots of rules, slow to adapt) or have big bucks insurance companies competing against big bucks medical companies. In the government controlled case, the operative goal is to follow laws and legislation. In the insurance industry vs medical industry case the operative goal is to maximize profits on one side or the other. Neither system has natural incentives and tight feedback loops to keep people healthy. And most of the money is spent at the end of the health cycle when expensive health care is required. It is not spent to keep people healthier up front.

At a recent gathering at Harvard, a health care professional and fellow classmate pointed out that traditional health care is responsible for only about 10% of a person's overall health. Yet that is where most money is spent. Another 10% is attributable to the environment. 40% depends on a person's eating, exercise, and life style habits. The remaining 40% is dependent on a person's socioeconomic status. Spending money on improving healthy habits and educating people has an enormously bigger and more effective impact on improving health while consuming fewer resources (money, etc).

Another of my classmates noted, and I agree, that it is critical for any new health care system to have direct incentives to keep people healthy -- rather than incentives to deny them care (current insurance) or incentives to give them expensive treatments with high profit margins (many medical/drug companies). One of the best current day examples of the way things should work is Kaiser Permanente and some other Health Maintenance Organizations. Kaiser has extensive programs to keep people healthy -- and Kaiser makes more money the healthier it keeps its clients. Kaiser's doctors and staff are reasonably paid without necessarily needing to have patients undergo expensive therapies. It is far cheaper to have them participate in wellness programs. Patients can also reduce their own costs by staying healthy. And both Kaiser and their patients have thorough health data to track what works best.

We need a health care system that naturally balances patient goals (good health), medical provider goals (income), and resource conversation (keeping costs down). Systems like Kaiser are succeeding at this. We need health care plans available to all in the US that can have a similar and sustainable balance.

It is my hope that the Obama administration's efforts will result in such sustainable systems with effective and natural checks and balances but with little or no government intervention required (small government). There are certainly a number of other implementation details to work out -- like how to fund health plans for those who cannot otherwise afford them -- but hopefully we will end up with a plan that achieves a natural balance and is sustainable.

Zero tolerance, zero compassion, bad lessons

2009-06-12T08:57:00.000-07:00

(Sent to Ken Schlaff, Principal Milpitas High School, June 12, 2009)

Dear Mr Ken Schlaff,

I am yet again disappointed by our educational system, your school, and your role model as a principal. This system insists on sticking to nitpicking "rules" and misses the bigger and more important lessons to be taught and learned.

The case of Shontale Taylor and Milpitas High School is a supremely teachable moment that you are currently mishandling, and badly.

From the Mercury News and hundreds of students, it is evident that Shontale Taylor is being punished because she did the right thing:
http://www.mercurynews.com/education/ci_12563695
http://www.mercurynews.com/localnewsheadlines/ci_12572959
http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local/south_bay&id=6861381

Many times I've seen schools anchor themselves in minutia, hidebound by their "rules", and miss teaching relevance, prioritization, compassion, humanity, and that bigger rights are much more important than trivial wrongs.

Not so in school, instead we teach that sticking to the trivial is right and sticking your neck out to do a bigger good is wrong.

Case in point with an incident during FEMA's response to hurricane Katrina: A team of doctors from Doctor's Without Borders showed up on a tarmac to help a group of people who were dying or injured. A FEMA official blocked them saying they were not FEMA certified doctors so could not help the people who were hurt. (Story from one of my Harvard colleagues from Louisiana).

Our school system continues to teach the same lesson in the case of Shontale Taylor -- better to follow the microrule and let people be hurt then to do the right thing.

Zero tolerance and following every "rule" precisely is not what our school systems should be teaching. It is not the way the world works nor how it should work. There is a much bigger picture here -- it is about doing the bigger right thing -- like being bold enough to break up a fight and make a positive difference -- like working extremely hard to overcome hardship. Those are the qualities that we should reward and not punish. Instead nitpicking small minded bureaucrats yet again focus on the minor and miss the major. I am disappointed but not surprised. Our school systems continue to perpetuate small mindedness instead of focusing on fully educating our students.

Is there anyone who can stop this madness?

I've posted this on my blog at http://timoey.blogspot.com and my other social networks such as Facebook.

Sincerely,
Tim Oey
Sunnyvale, CA

Stevens Creek Trail Inches Forward

2009-05-05T22:53:00.000-07:00

The Stevens Creek Trail is inching its way from the San Francisco Bay toward Stevens Creek Reservoir.

On Tuesday April 28, the Sunnyvale City Council removed a ban in the Sunnyvale General Plan that specifically prohibited the Stevens Creek Trail from any creekside alignment within Sunnyvale City limits (the former section 2.2.C.5). While much of the creek that is in Sunnyvale is very unsuited for such a trail, there are some short sections that are quite reasonable. Removing the ban was necessary because it was out of character with what should be in a general plan and it tied Sunnyvale's hands so that it could not participate in some important regional planning efforts.

Currently there is a four city task force (Mountain View, Sunnyvale, Los Altos, and Cupertino) that is reviewing trail options and coming up with plans on how best to proceed.

For an unofficial map of the current trail along with some speculative possibilities for future routes, please see a map I've drawn in Google Maps.

Please note that while I've tried to make this map as accurate and realistic as possible, this map is speculative and may have numerous errors. It is primarily for discussion and educational purposes. I am currently just a private Sunnyvale citizen and not officially part of any planning efforts.

Enjoy!

The Amazing Mary Ave Bike/Ped Bridge!

2009-05-03T16:50:00.000-07:00

The new Sunnyvale-Cupertino bicycle-pedestrian bridge at Mary Avenue is wonderful and beautiful night and day. This is one amazing bridge!

However there are at least 3 issues that need correction to let this masterpiece achieve perfection:

1) The bollards at each end of the bridge are a bit hazardous to bicyclists.
2) The main approach paths to the bridge are a bit narrow leading to more conflict than necessary between bicyclists and pedestrians.
3) The Sunnyvale intersection at Mary and Homestead has a problem because there is no safe and natural way for bicyclists traveling north bound onto Mary to get across this intersection.

#1 & #2 could be solved simply by making the approach paths wider:
The extra width would allow both bicyclists and wheelchair users to go to the right of each bollard in their direction without catching a wheel on the edge of the path in the dirt.

As for #3, the Mary and Homestead intersection in Sunnyvale, I think the easiest solution is to open the gate to allow northbound cyclists to pass through the Homestead High School parking lot and into the right lane heading north on Mary.

Cheers,
Tim

Let the punishment fit the crime

2009-03-12T12:33:00.000-07:00

The Iraqi who threw his shoes at President Bush was sentenced today to 3 years in jail. While throwing your shoes at someone is rude, I do not think the punishment fits the crime in this case. Islamic nations seem to have some very harsh punishments. Thankfully the US Constitution has many protections such as the 8th Amendment that says "Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted."

If someone threw their shoe at someone in the US, I wonder what the likely punishment would be?

For more info see:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090312/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iraq
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retributive_justice
http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.billofrights.html#amendmentviii

A Better Solution Needed for Diabetic Students in California

2009-02-02T09:17:00.000-08:00

A California state judge's ruling on the California Nurse Practice Act determined that only nurses can administer insulin to students in California. I think this act needs to be amended because that does not make practical sense. We do not need professionals to do every slightly dangerous thing for us. Driving a car is far more dangerous yet are we going to require everyone to have a professional chauffeur? Millions of regular people can can administer insulin safely. All that is really needed is to offer some simple training to those who administer insulin. Requiring a nurse for this is overkill.

Evernote -- Interesting

2009-02-02T09:14:00.000-08:00

Evernote is Vannevar Bush's memex in the palm of your hand. Your brain on the net. Could be scary though if you ever have to go through legal discovery. :-/

The President Can Now Do Email!

2009-02-02T09:13:00.000-08:00

Obama retains a "Blackberry" (hurray!) and the US Presidency enters the 21st century by now doing email himself. An interesting side effect is that the latest ultimate power status symbol is whether or not you have Obama's email address.

A Practical President

2009-01-23T09:34:00.000-08:00

As demonstrated by his inaugural address, Obama is a practical President. He knew he had to get right down to business and so delivered an inaugural address that got right down to business. In it he gave an overview of his perspective and his top priorities. He again demonstrated a true and steady hand on the tiller, as he did during his campaign, and in his book "The Audacity of Hope."

And in his first full day in office he delivered.

Obama ordered the Guantanamo detention center to close. We all knew it was wrong and finally we have an honest leader who knows this as well. We must honor our own laws and procedures. To do otherwise was hypocritical and reduced our standing in the eyes of the world. In his inaugural address he said:

"As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our founding fathers ... our found fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake."

Obama also froze the pay of White House staffers (just as a number of commercial companies have), he worked on his economic plan, he called Middle East leaders to get the ball rolling, he put in place an ethics order so that people in government cannot abuse their former connections and power as lobbyists, and he dug in to dealing with our economic crisis with an approach that looks like it will be much more effective at dealing with it than the prior TARP bailout that went awry.

Hallelujah for a President who builds a great team around him works methodically, is ethical, and thinks rationally. Our world now has a much better chance for peace and prosperity with Obama leading the US. Yet as he referenced in his inaugural address, it is going to be a hard climb out of the deep hole that we've dug for ourselves in the past 8 or more years.

A Miraculous Moment in History

2009-01-21T00:51:00.000-08:00

It was with pride and joy that I watched Barack Obama become the 44th President of the United States today (well yesterday now that it is 1 AM on 1/21/2009).

His inaugural address was right on the mark and positions us to make forward progress.

The musical performances were superb -- Aretha Franklin, then later Itzhak Perlman, (violin), Yo-Yo Ma (cello), Gabriela Montero (piano) and Anthony McGill (clarinet) performing selections by John Williams.

The poem by Elizabeth Alexander provided a pause, a reflection, and a breath of fresh air:
...
"In today's sharp sparkle, this winter air, anything can be made, any sentence begun.
On the brink, on the brim, on the cusp -- praise song for walking forward in that light."

The benediction by Rev. Joseph E. Lowery brought levity as well as truth:
"....help us work for that day when black will not be asked to give back, when brown can stick around, when yellow will be mellow, when the red man can get ahead, man, and when white will embrace what is right."

I feel blessed to have witnessed a miraculous historic event.

Sincerely,
Tim Oey

Shock and Awe

2009-01-18T22:32:00.000-08:00

I was shocked at the history I saw happen in real time when I viewed the World Trade Center towers collapse on 9/11/2001. I hope I, and my descendents, never have to witness such a disaster again.

Thankfully, I am now in awe at the history unfolding in real time as Barack Obama becomes President of the United States -- the day after Martin Luther King Day and 200 years since Abraham Lincoln was born. Barack Obama is poised to be the most positive force for world change in recent memory, perhaps even in the history of our nation. I hope he proves to be an enduring role model that inspires others in the future. In his speeches and his books, he has already left an indelible mark on humankind.

Here are some of the most memorable excerpts from his recent speeches.

Jan. 8, 2008, after losing the New Hampshire primary to Sen. Hillary Clinton

"But in the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope.
For when we have faced down impossible odds; when we've been told that we're not ready, or that we shouldn't try, or that we can't, generations of Americans have responded with a simple creed that sums up the spirit of a people.
Yes we can.
It was a creed written into the founding documents that declared the destiny of a nation.
Yes we can.
It was whispered by slaves and abolitionists as they blazed a trail toward freedom through the darkest of nights. Yes we can.
It was sung by immigrants as they struck out from distant shores and pioneers who pushed westward against an unforgiving wilderness.
Yes we can.
It was the call of workers who organized; women who reached for the ballot; a president who chose the moon as our new frontier; and a King who took us to the mountaintop and pointed the way to the Promised Land.
Yes we can to justice and equality. Yes we can to opportunity and prosperity.
Yes we can heal this nation.
Yes we can repair this world. Yes we can."

July 24, 2008, before an estimated 200,000 people in Berlin during his European tour.

"Sixty years ago, the planes that flew over Berlin did not drop bombs; instead they delivered food, and coal, and candy to grateful children. And in that show of solidarity, those pilots won more than a military victory. They won hearts and minds; love and loyalty and trust — not just from the people in this city, but from all those who heard the story of what they did here.
Now the world will watch and remember what we do here — what we do with this moment. Will we extend our hand to the people in the forgotten corners of this world who yearn for lives marked by dignity and opportunity; by security and justice? Will we lift the child in Bangladesh from poverty, shelter the refugee in Chad, and banish the scourge of AIDS in our time?
Will we stand for the human rights of the dissident in Burma, the blogger in Iran, or the voter in Zimbabwe? Will we give meaning to the words "never again" in Darfur?
Will we acknowledge that there is no more powerful example than the one each of our nations projects to the world? Will we reject torture and stand for the rule of law? Will we welcome immigrants from different lands, and shun discrimination against those who don't look like us or worship like we do, and keep the promise of equality and opportunity for all of our people?
People of Berlin — people of the world — this is our moment. This is our time."

August 28, 2008, when accepting the Democratic Party's nomination for President on the 45th anniversary of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech.

"This country of ours has more wealth than any nation, but that's not what makes us rich.
We have the most powerful military on Earth, but that's not what makes us strong.
Our universities and our culture are the envy of the world, but that's not what keeps the world coming to our shores. Instead, it is that American spirit — that American promise — that pushes us forward even when the path is uncertain; that binds us together in spite of our differences; that makes us fix our eye not on what is seen, but what is unseen, that better place around the bend. That promise is our greatest inheritance. It's a promise I make to my daughters when I tuck them in at night, and a promise that you make to yours — a promise that has led immigrants to cross oceans and pioneers to travel west; a promise that led workers to picket lines, and women to reach for the ballot.
And it is that promise that 45 years ago today, brought Americans from every corner of this land to stand together on a Mall in Washington, before Lincoln's Memorial, and hear a young preacher from Georgia speak of his dream … "We cannot walk alone," the preacher cried. "And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back."

Yes we can. This is our time. We cannot turn back. Go 'bama!

Facebook

2009-01-14T20:59:00.000-08:00

Facebook is an interesting and fun place to hang out online. Yes it can be a time sink but so can many other activities.

I just made a Facebook badge for myself:

Department of Peace

2009-01-11T12:14:00.000-08:00

Yoko Ono supports a Department of Peace, see:
http://imaginepeace.com/news/archives/5520

I've posted the following to the "Department of Peace" discussion:

---------

The State Department really is the current Department of Peace. It's mission as stated in it's current strategic plan (see http://www.state.gov/s/d/rm/rls/dosstrat/2007/) is:

"Advance freedom for the benefit of the American people and the international community by helping to build and sustain a more democratic, secure, and prosperous world composed of well-governed states that respond to the needs of their people, reduce widespread poverty, and act responsibly within the international system."

I believe that doing the above is the best way to accomplish Peace. Economics has a huge part in Peace as does helping other sustainable governments succeed. This all best belongs in the State Department. I'm a very strong believer in Peace and have been demonstrating in Peace Rallies since the Iraq war began.

So my vote for a Department of Peace is really a vote to better staff and fund the Department of State (rather than the "Defense Department" or "Department of War").

For more about my efforts to support Peace, please see http://SunnyvalePeace.org, http://timoey.com, and http://timoey.blogspot.com.

Thanks!

Sincerely,
Tim Oey

Obama & His Blackberry

2009-01-10T14:49:00.000-08:00

I think Obama should keep his Blackberry and use it to stay in touch with friends and family.

If communications on it must be preserved for the Presidential Records Act, all the better, as the personal communications of a President on a day to day basis would be a fascinating history to capture for future generations.

Of course he should use it only for casual correspondence that does include any sensitive information.

Read more at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/08/us/politics/08berry.html

"Uncharitable"

2008-12-25T23:44:00.000-08:00

Dan Pallotta, a schoolmate and friend of mine, has written a very interesting book called Uncharitable about the challenges of doing "charitable" work, especially when running a for-profit business. Please read an op-ed about it in the New York Times at: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/25/opinion/25kristof.html?th&emc=th

Re: "A Progressive Case for Rick Warren"

2008-12-21T18:18:00.000-08:00

A friend pointed me to the Washington Post article "A Progressive Case for Rick Warren". I agree with it.

Re: "Are you outraged by Rick Warren"

2008-12-21T17:09:00.000-08:00

Regarding "Are you outraged by Rick Warren?", I am outraged that some people do not believe that all people should have the same rights. I strongly support gay rights and the right of gays to marry.

I'm also outraged that some people have little tolerance for engaging others in a dialog and want to shut out those who do not hold the same beliefs. I believe in diplomacy. We must bring different sides together to engage in discussion and reach a peaceful resolution.

Thus I believe Obama is right to have Rick Warren at his inauguration and to stick with this decision even though it outrages some. I still believe that Obama is going to be more centrist than many give him credit for. He needs to be a unifier to accomplish what the US and our world needs accomplished. We need a leader who can build trust among those who may disagree, not one who will force others to see it their way or the highway.

Obama knows what he is doing. Having Rick Warren give the inaugural invocation is a difficult yet good choice. It is time for us to move on and build bridges, not isolate each other and build more walls.

The time will come, hopefully sooner than later, when all will recognize that gays have a natural right to marry. That day will come sooner if more engage in dialog so that each recognizes others as humans too, instead of hate speech which brands one group or the other as this or that thus exchanging dialog for shouting matches where neither side can listen to the other.

Sincerely,

Tim Oey

Obama is Right -- Build, don't Destroy

2008-12-18T00:12:00.000-08:00

See the NY Times article: Obama Pledges Public Works on a Vast Scale

Obama's approach is right on the money. We must build ourselves up to improve our country and our world -- instead of knocking others down as George W. Bush and the Republicans were fond of doing (as in Iraq).

Those "Borrow and Spend" Republicans deserve to be in the dog house for a very long time. Obama has tons of challenges ahead thanks to the multiple messes that the Republicans have created: The Economic Collapse, The Iraq Mess (due to lack of good regulation, over spending, over borrowing, making war on others, negative campaigning, etc).

Obama's team is looking very good and has been masterful in keeping a steady stream of positive developments flowing as he approaches the presidency. Obama built up more goodwill for the United States in the eyes of the world during his campaign then Bush did during his entire 8 years. Obama is getting more accomplished for the US in the time between his election and his inauguration than Bush did during his entire 8 years. If Obama keeps this up, he will be one of the best Presidents in US history.

The Shoe That Roared

2008-12-18T00:01:00.000-08:00

The war in Iraq cost the US 2 trillion+ dollars and helped cause the current economic crisis (a bad role model of borrowing and spending immense amounts of money).

More Americans lost their lives in Iraq then due to all Al Qaeda terrorist activities combined.

The goodwill the rest of the world had toward the US after 9/11 and prior to the Iraq war reversed itself in disgust as a direct result of the Iraq war.

This one small act of defiance, resonates not just in Iraq but across the world.

Read more in the NY Times at: Iraqi Journalist Hurls Shoes at Bush and Denounces Him on TV as a ‘Dog’

Iraq Rebuilding a Mess

2008-12-17T23:58:00.000-08:00

We (the US) really stuck our foot in it. We should never have gone into Iraq.

See: New report slams U.S. reconstruction of Iraq: report

Clean Coal Not, Wind and Solar Yes

2008-12-17T23:54:00.000-08:00

The viable energy alternatives analysis done by Mark Z Jacobson at Stanford looks great to me. Check it out at "Wind, water and sun beat other energy alternatives, study finds".

Silly Aussie Censorship

2008-12-17T23:51:00.001-08:00

Sorry Australia. The Australian government plan to try do nationwide censoring of the internet is simply a bad idea. Parents themselves should be more responsible for their kids. The nanny government approach is fraught with problems and dangers.

Read more at in the Dec 11, 2008 NY Times article Proposed Web Filter Criticized in Australia.

Corruption

2008-12-10T13:23:00.000-08:00

I am aghast that the elected governor of a state would be so corrupt as to try to sell a seat in the US Senate -- Obama's former seat. One would have hoped that the process of becoming governor would screen out people prone to this kind of corruption.

Corruption is a huge problem worldwide. The US has some but relatively little overall. In many other parts of the world it is common place. If a system allows it to happen, or even worse encourages it, it will happen. Systems (political, financial, legal) must either be transparent or have a good mechanism of checks and balances to prevent or at least minimize corruption. The US has pretty reasonable political, financial, and legal checks and balances. Yet it still is not enough to completely stop corruption as evidenced here.

I'm happy that at least one serious academic, notably Larry Lessig, has decided to study corruption in detail. Although his focus is more on the everday sort of corruption vs the blatant corruption that is evident in the case against Illinois governor Rod R. Blagojevich .

Read more in the 12/10/2008 NY Times article: Illinois Governor Charged in Scheme to Sell Obama’s Seat.

Drew Gilpin Faust

2008-12-04T22:30:00.000-08:00

Patty and I had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Drew Gilpin Faust for lunch today at a Harvard alum gathering in Palo Alto. Drew is the first female president of Harvard. As one would expect from the top Havardian, she is incredibly articulate. But the thing that impressed me most was her groundedness. She is not an ivory tower academic.

In an earlier blog post I lamented the tendency for many to discount people who are well educated, particularly in politics. Well with more great role models like Drew Gilpin Faust and Brack Obama, I have hope that the class of well educated people will restore its good name. Well educated people are necessary for our country's future success.

Some highlights for Drew's speech [with a bit of commentary from me]:

Despite the economic downturn, Harvard will continue to provide generous financial aid to students. If you are qualified and admitted, you do not need to worry about affording a Harvard education. [I experienced this personally as it was less expensive for me to attend Harvard in the 1980's than it was to attend my state school.]

Harvard has some unique opportunities to foster cross disciplinary research between it's many schools. Rather than separate segments, Harvard is establishing networks connecting different disciplines. The whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Drew is coalescing "one" Harvard rather than letting the multiple "flat bottomed tubs" (schools) continue somewhat independently. [I believe we have reached some practical limits in what many separate disciplines can accomplish on their own. Cross-disciplinary teams are necessary to springboard to the next level.]

Further supporting cross-disciplinarian approaches, one of the challenges we face is figuring out how to better organize our knowledge -- keeping it in separate baskets does not work so well anymore. Harvard will play an important role in translating knowledge into the wider world.

Drew and others also commented on the greening of Harvard, the importance of Global Health, how we fund science appropriately in an era of decreased federal funding, the conundrum of mental health vs prisons, and studying abroad (becoming Global Citizens).

Drew is one impressive lady. I'm very glad she is the new president of Harvard. She is a breath of fresh air. [Speaking of which, you can hear her on her Jan 9th, 2008 "Fresh Air" interview.]

Enjoy!

The George W Bush Presidential Library

2008-12-04T08:19:00.000-08:00

I received the following in email. I tried to locate the source but could not find any reliable attribution so guess it must have been tossed into the public domain. It captures Geoge W Bush's legacy pretty accurately, unfortunately. Amusing but sad.

-----
Dear Fellow Constituent

The George W Bush Presidential Library is now in the planning stages and accepting donations. The Library will include:

The Hurricane Katrina Room, which is still under construction.
The Alberto Gonzales Room, where you won't be able to remember anything.
The Texas Air National Guard Room, where you don't even have to show up.
The Walter Reed Hospital Room, where they don't let you in.
The Guantanamo Bay Room, where they don't let you out.
The Weapons of Mass Destruction Room, which no one has been able to find.
The National Debt Room, which is huge and has no ceiling.
The Tax Cut Room, with entry only to the wealthy.
The Economy Room, which is in the toilet.
The Iraq War Room. (After you complete your first visit, they make you to go back for a second, third, fourth, and sometimes fifth visit.)
The Dick Cheney Room, in the famous undisclosed location, complete with shotgun gallery.
The Environmental Conservation Room, still empty.
The Supreme Court Gift Shop, where you can buy an election.
The Airport Men's Room, where you can meet some of your favorite Republican Senators.
The Decider Room, complete with dart board, magic 8-ball, Ouija board, dice, coins, and straws.

Note: The library will feature an electron microscope to help you locate and view the President's accomplishments.

The library will also include many famous Quotes by George W. Bush:

'The vast majority of our imports come from outside the country.'
'If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure.'
'Republicans understand the importance of bondage between a mother and child.'
'No senior citizen should ever have to choose between prescription drugs and medicine.'
'I believe we are on an irreversible trend toward more freedom and democracy - but that could change.'
'One word sums up probably the responsibility of any Governor, and that one word is 'to be prepared'.'
'Verbosity leads to unclear, inarticulate things.'
'I have made good judgments in the past. I have made good judgments in the future.'
'The future will be better tomorrow.'
'We're going to have the best educated American people in the world.'
'One of the great things about books is sometimes there are some fantastic pictures.' (during an education photo-op)
'Illegitimacy is something we should talk about in terms of not having it.'
'We are ready for any unforeseen event that may or may not occur.'
'It isn't pollution that's harming the environment. It's the impurities in our air and water that are doing it.'
'I stand by all the misstatements that I've made.'...George W. Bush to Sam Donaldson

PLEASE GIVE GENEROUSLY!

Sincerely,
Jack Abramoff, Co-Chair G.W. Bush Library Board of Directors

Adobe Layoffs

2008-12-04T08:12:00.000-08:00

We all have up days and down days. Yesterday was a down day for me. Although I am still with Adobe, many of my friends and co-workers were laid off. I wish the best for all the great people my company lost today. Everything cycles. I hope to work with many of them again in the future.

Change is in the Wind

2008-12-02T23:10:00.000-08:00

It is amazing what social networking can accomplish for our world. I use LinkedIn for professional connections and Facebook for fun.

But I'm now inspired by the social networking occurring on both change.org and change.gov -- one in the nonprofit sector and the other for our US government. Both are engaging people directly to make a positive difference in our world and foster dialogs about improving our world and our government. I like this trend and have faith that it will continue to grow and blossom under Barack Obama's leadership. I hope those of you reading this will engage with both change.org and change.gov.

BTW, in my eagerness to send info about both to many friends, I inadvertantly conflated change.org and change.gov together by accident. Sorry about that. All this positive change just got me too excited!

Thanks!

Barack Obama will be a surprising Moderate

2008-12-02T23:07:00.000-08:00

In the election race, McCain, Palin and many both from the left and the right tried to force Obama into the traditional liberal mold. However, Barack Obama is going to surprise many people who thought he was a far left leaning liberal. In reality he is a smart articulate practical moderate. At least that is what I came away with after reading his book "The Audacity of Hope".

Just look at who he has appointed as his national security team (see: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/02/us/politics/02obama.html?8au&emc=au). He took a centrist approach and picked the best qualified people from both sides. He wants to engage in dialog with other smart people, not just surround himself with those who are vulnerable to "group think." He is not afraid of differing opinions but embraces them so he can be in the best position to choose the best path, not the convenient path.

Wow, Queen Rania Really Rocks!

2008-12-02T22:51:00.000-08:00

She is a queen, Muslim, sexy, AND articulate. Now if SHE could run for Vice President of the US, this is one lady I would vote for (in contrast to the painful Alaskan airhead who thankfully lost).

Watch Rania's videos and you'll know what I mean. Arabs, Muslims, Jews, etc, we are all real people.

For more, check out:
http://middleeast.change.org/blog/view/queen_ranias_youtube_channel_rocks

Change.gov + OpenID & Creative Commons

2008-12-02T19:03:00.000-08:00

Obama's transition team is clearly thinking different -- and succeeding. Not only is Chagne.org supporting OpenID, it has also adopted a Creative Commons license for the content of Change.org. Creative Commons is great alternative to relying just on traditional copyright. Creative Commons helps knowledge flow more freely and benefit more people.

So far, Obama is living up to his promise of change and it is a tremendous breath fresh air.

For more, read the 12/1/2008 NY Times article Obama Puts Change.gov Under Creative Commons.

Google’s Gatekeepers

2008-11-30T22:49:00.001-08:00

Who should determine what you can and cannot read on the internet? Governments? Which one(s)? Corporations? Your neighbor? At the moment, corporations such as Google and Yahoo are the primary censors.

Personally, I wish we had a better form of worldwide government that could govern the internet equitably and uniformly -- as long as they have strong protections for free speech similar to the US.

Here are a few quotes from this long but good article by the New York Times:

"Voluntary self-regulation means that, for the foreseeable future, Wong and her colleagues will continue to exercise extraordinary power over global speech online. Which raises a perennial but increasingly urgent question: Can we trust a corporation to be good — even a corporation whose informal motto is “Don’t be evil”?"

“To love Google, you have to be a little bit of a monarchist, you have to have faith in the way people traditionally felt about the king,” Tim Wu, a Columbia law professor and a former scholar in residence at Google, told me recently. “One reason they’re good at the moment is they live and die on trust, and as soon as you lose trust in Google, it’s over for them.” Google’s claim on our trust is a fragile thing. After all, it’s hard to be a company whose mission is to give people all the information they want and to insist at the same time on deciding what information they get."

For the record, I and a number of friends have suffered from both corporate and government censorship on the internet. The government censorship was overturned but some of the corporate censorship (by Yahoo) continues as of this blog post.

read "Google’s Gatekeepers" NYT Mag 11/28/2008 | digg story

Proud to be an American!

2008-11-04T21:27:00.000-08:00

I am proud to be an American! Obama won easily. We've made history.

John McCain gave a great concession speech saying "Whatever our differences, we are fellow Americans."

Barack Obama gave a great speech that acknowledged the many challenges ahead of us. But "Yes We Can!"

It is the beginning a new age.

I voted!

2008-11-04T08:08:00.000-08:00

Today is election day. I hope you vote. I did. I'm wearing my sticker on my shirt, on my blog, and on my Prius :-)

We want everyone to be well educated, yes?

2008-11-01T23:14:00.000-07:00

Read http://www.alternet.org/story/105447 "The Triumph of Ignorance: How Morons Succeed in U.S. Politics" and let me know what you think!

Don't Vote!

2008-11-01T19:42:00.000-07:00

Please watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TGf2o4qeBo

(Yes, don't vote, because my vote counts and yours doesn't if you don't vote ;-) )

Cheers,
Tim

Obama Yes! Prop 8 No!

2008-10-31T20:36:00.000-07:00

Don't let the "my vote doesn't count" fallacy depress you, because it is not true. Every vote counts. Whether you agree with my position on candidates and issues or not, please vote.

I believe that Barack Obama is by far the best choice for President.

If you are in California, please vote NO on Proposition 8 -- everyone deserves equal protection under the law and this proposition actually strips civil rights from a class of citizens. Regardless of where you are, please donate funds to support the No on 8 campaign at http://www.noonprop8.com/

Thanks!

Nov 2008 CA Propositions – Who Supports What?

2008-10-30T14:55:00.000-07:00

I remember seeing a comparison chart of which group supports which proposition but can no longer find it. Also, how do you know that it was assembled accurately?

As an alternative, here are some direct links to who supports what for this November 2008 election:

League of Women Voters: http://ca.lwv.org/action/prop0811/index.html
Sierra Club: http://www.sierraclubcalifornia.org/elections.html
ACLU: http://www.aclunc.org/issues/propositions/index.shtml
Democratic Party: http://www.cadem.org/site/c.jrLZK2PyHmF/b.4213689/
Republican Party: http://www.cagop.org/index.cfm/november_ballot_propositions.htm
California Teachers Association: http://www.cta.org/NR/rdonlyres/7060CD06-4894-402F-B178-9031B27D1808/0/VoterGuidePublic.pdf

Here are my personal viewpoints on the California propositions:

Yes -- Prop. 1A, Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train. Bond Act
Because we need a more sustainable transportation infrastructure.

No -- Prop. 2, Standards for Confining Farm Animals. Statute.
Because there are too many laws and people are trending toward better treatment (organic, etc) without legislation.

Yes -- Prop. 3, Children’s Hospital Bond Act. Grant Program.
Because our children are our future and it is worth it to have better hospitals for them.

No -- Prop. 4, Waiting Period and Parental Notification Before Termination of Minor’s Pregnancy. Constitutional Amendment.
Because a minor who is old enough to have kids, is old enough to make this call within the current legal system.

Yes -- Prop. 5, Nonviolent Drug Offenses, Sentencing, Parole and Rehabilitation. Statute.
Because it is less expensive and conserves more resources to rehabilitate rather than incarcerate.

No -- Prop. 6, Police and Law Enforcement Funding, Criminal Penalties and Laws. Statute.
Because this puts too many constraints on state funding.

No -- Prop. 7, Renewable Energy Generation. Statute.
Because this is poorly written and partly works against renewable energy.

NO!!!! -- Prop. 8, Eliminates Right of Same-Sex Couples to Marry. Constitutional Amendment.
Because eliminating civil rights is un-American and wrong.

No -- Prop. 9 -- Criminal Justice System. Victims’ Rights. Parole. Constitutional Amendment and Statute.
Because this legislation goes too far and is not really needed.

No -- Prop. 10 -- Alternative Fuel Vehicles and Renewable Energy. Statute.
Because legislation is not needed here, people are doing this already on their own.

Yes/Neutral -- Prop. 11, Redistricting. Constitutional Amendment and Statute.
Because I'm willing to give it a try.

Yes -- Prop. 12, Veteran's Bond Act of 2008.
Because we must take care of those who we have asked to give life and limb for our protection.

Prop 8 is Hugely Wrong

2008-10-30T14:41:00.000-07:00

For me the most significant proposition in the November 2008 election in California is Proposition 8. This is because it is a California Constitutional amendment to *eliminate* civil rights for a class of citizens.

Denying equal civil rights to anyone is un-American to the core.

When it harms no one else, everyone should have the right to choose what they want to do for themselves. So if you don’t believe in gay marriage, it is ok for you not to marry another gay person. t is ok for you to tell others that you don’t believe in it either. But it should not be ok for you to force your beliefs on others when it causes no harm to you but does directly harm them -- a whole class of human beings. This is just wrong!

Marriage has numerous tax, financial, societal, family, and legal benefits. Having 2 adults care for children provides a much more stable structure from which to grow a family. I am a married heterosexual but have many wonderful friends who are gay and who want to marry or have already married.

You should be free to practice whatever religion you wish and not have others force a religion on you. This is a key piece of American heritage that lead many to come to America before it was founded.

You should be free to vote. At one time women were not allowed to vote. Would it have been better to deny them voting rights? A basic civil right?

Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, Vietnamese, Hispanics, Jews, Arabs, Muslims, Indians, Blacks and more have all been persecuted at times and have had their rights limited. None of that was right.

If you vote yes on Proposition 8, it will be to deny a minority their civil rights. I will be extremely disappointed and will think less of you as a human. May you suffer some horrible discrimination yourself so you know what it is like to be a repressed minority. I have suffered such. Perhaps some of you have already as well. I am shocked and horrified that there are still so many bigots in our world.

Please vote NO on Proposition 8. Thank you.

Sincerely,
Tim Oey

Support Civil Rights, Vote No on Prop 8

2008-10-24T21:39:00.000-07:00

Proposition 8 in California, if passed, "Eliminates Right of Same-Sex Couples to Marry". It is an outrageous bill that perpetuates bigotry. Note that Sarah Palin is in favor of Proposition 8.

Thankfully a number of responsible California businesses have come out against Proposition 8. Proposition 8 is very wrong. It denies people a basic civil right to marry whom they choose. Just as a black person and a white person have a right to marry, so do people of other colors, religions, races, or sexual preferences.

Here is what Apple Computer has to say about Proposition 8:

"No on Prop 8
Apple is publicly opposing Proposition 8 and making a donation of $100,000 to the No on 8 campaign. Apple was among the first California companies to offer equal rights and benefits to our employees’ same-sex partners, and we strongly believe that a person’s fundamental rights — including the right to marry — should not be affected by their sexual orientation. Apple views this as a civil rights issue, rather than just a political issue, and is therefore speaking out publicly against Proposition 8."

Other companies opposing Proposition 8 include Levi Strauss & Co., Pacific Gas and Electric Company, and Google.

Colin Powell endorses Barack Obama

2008-10-19T12:42:00.000-07:00

An excellent endorsement and worth reading.

Powell said "I think he is a transformational figure, he is a new generation coming onto the world stage, onto the American stage, and for that reason I'll be voting for Sen. Barack Obama."

Read more at:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/19/colin.powell/index.html

The Chicago Tribune Captured the Moment

2008-10-18T00:15:00.000-07:00

The Chicago Tribune just published a remarkable endorsement of Barack Obama -- their very first endorsement of a Democratic candidate for President. The article really captures the moment in this time in history. This is a must read for everyone -- whether you support Obama or not.

McCain Hurts Himself

2008-10-15T12:03:00.000-07:00

"The McCain campaign’s recent angry tone and sharply personal attacks on Senator Barack Obama appear to have backfired and tarnished Senator John McCain more than their intended target, the latest New York Times/CBS News poll has found."

At one time I had higher hopes for McCain. His earlier campaign in 2000 seemed to stick to higher moral grounds. This time the Republican machine that got Bush elected seems to have dragged McCain down into the muck as illustrated by this recent article.

Admittedly, McCain is out of options. Obama is better at public speaking, is better educated, has a better team, and has better coverage of the issues that matter. So McCain has been forced to use character assasinations and falsehoods to try to win.

Plus, if you have an ill trained attack dog like Sarah Palin on your team, well then, you get what you deserve. Choosing Sarah Palin was a clear indication that McCain was going down the wrong track.

I am pleased that Barack Obama has a cleaner image and is sticking more to the moral high ground.

For more please read the New York Times article "Poll Says McCain Hurts His Bid by Using Attacks".

Palin Failure

2008-10-06T22:14:00.000-07:00

Palin failed at the recent VP Candidates debate with Biden. Check out this MSNBC news fact check of what Palin said at the debate:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036677/#27015466

I think there are two reasons the vast majority of the press have weighed in against Palin:
1) She is incompetent
2) She started attacking the press preemptively even before they had much to say about her

Desperate McCain Resorts to Smears

2008-10-06T22:04:00.000-07:00

Since Obama/Bidin are winning so clearly on issues, in debates, based on qualifications, and in the polls, McCain/Palin have resorted to desperate smear tactics to try to take them down with false and misleading attacks Swiftboating style.

Palin is so poorly qualified and so extreme it is scary. Here is a great chart that shows how she approached the recent vice-presidential debate:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/03/sarah-palin-debate-flowch_n_131607.html

Fortunately both McCain and Palin have plenty of problems in their past which makes it easy for the Democrats to counter attack with relatively honest criticisms -- Keating Five, etc.

For more, please read:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081007/ap_on_el_pr/candidates_character_5

McCain vs Obama

2008-10-01T22:44:00.000-07:00

When considering McCain vs Obama for President, I looked at major qualities and criteria to decide who I would hire for the job. I organized my criteria into 3 groups -- Character, Capability, and Issues. Here is how I think each candidate compares.

Character

Honesty & Trustworthiness - Winner: Obama. While not perfect, Obama has done a much better job of being honest and truthful. McCain and Palin have both been caught by too many lies or bending the truth. Also McCain has changed his mind more radically, more quickly, and more whimsically than Obama. Obama has had a steadier hand and been more consistent. Finally, the Republicans in general have done some very ethically questionable things of late so I trust them much less. Biden has had some problems in the past but has been better of late.

Respectfulness - Winner: Obama. Obama was very considerate of both the moderator and of McCain in the first Presidential debate. Obama looked at McCain. I never saw McCain actually look at Obama. Palin smeared community organizers (most Americans) as well as Obama. Biden has been pretty quiet lately.

Friendliness - Tie: Obama & McCain. Both seem quite personable and friendly.

Capability

Experience - Winner: McCain. McCain does have more experience than Obama. Although Obama's experience is sufficient for the job.

Intelligence - Winner: Obama. Obama has shown a much better capability to think quickly and accurately than McCain. McCain has seemed slow on the uptake or bumbling and stuck on the same old saw much of the time. Palin has fumbled when she was not carefully prepped.

Schooling - Winner: Obama. He has excellent academic credentials having done well both at Columbia and Harvard Law. McCain and Biden are ok (whereas Palin pales in comparison to everyone else).

Communication - Winner by a long shot: Obama. Obama has shown he is an excellent communicator. Obama is clear, crisp, well spoken, and inspirational. Obama's book "The Audacity of Hope" is very well written and tells us more about who he is then we can know about just about any other Presidential candidate. McCain is more muddled and confusing when he talks. McCain uses lots of nice sounding words but ends up saying little of real substance. In the debate, Obama was much clearer on the issues. McCain kept trying to attack Obama's character and did not answer many of the challenges that Obama set before McCain.

Leadership - Winner: Obama. Not only has Obama shown himself to be a strong, consistent, reliable leader in the US, the rest of the world respects him as well so he can be a real world leader rather than someone who uses US military might to bully others. We need to have the rest of the world on our side willingly and not against us or only coerced to be on our side.

Health - Winner: Obama. The job of President is very physically demanding. It took a lot out of Bill Clinton. McCain is quite old and showing some physical vulnerabilities. Biden is older but not too old yet. Palin is quite healthy.

Balance - Winner: Obama. Obama is more of a centrist than McCain and especially than Palin. Read Obama's book, he is clearly a thoughtful centrist and not prone to make dogmatic statements or get stuck in dogmatic positions.

Issues

War & Peace - Winner: Obama. War is rarely justified and Peace should be the priority. I was strongly against the Iraq war and so was Obama. The Iraq war was a huge mistake and has been a huge waste of resources, money, and lives. Obama and Palin support the Iraq war, feel it is justified and can be won. (If you believe in War and might makes right, than vote for McCain.)

Economy - Winner: Obama. Obama recognizes that regular Americans are the backbone and strength of America. Obama wants to give these regular folks tax breaks rather than the wealthy. McCain says he supports regular Americans but plans to give the real tax breaks to the wealthy. Also McCain was one of the people who were around during the time we got ourselves into the financial pickle we are currently in. If his experience is so important, then why did he not succeed in doing more to prevent the current crisis? Also McCain has been wrong a number of times in the economic area -- saying "Our economy is fundamentally strong..." even though there has been horrendous financial mismanagement recently and now we are trying to rescue our economy from disaster. (If you believe in making the rich, richer, then vote for McCain.)

Education - Winner: Obama. Obama understands that education is fundamental for a strong nation and will strongly support it so our entire nation can be knowledgeable and strong. McCain and Palin seem to see funding education as socialism rather than an investment in our future. I believe that education is the best possible investment in our future that we can make. Our children are our future. Books not bombs. (If you believe in not spending money on education, then vote for McCain.)

Energy - Winner: Obama. Obama has a vision and a reasonable plan for energy independence. This must be one of our top priorities. McCain and Palin want to delay and mainly drill for more oil rather than solving the root cause. (If you believe we should just get more oil, then vote for McCain.)

International Policy - Winner: Obama. Experience is not everything. It also takes the right perspective and capability. The rest of the world recognizes Obama as someone they can trust and respect. (If you believe we are always right and should force other nations to get our way, then vote for McCain.)

Civil Rights - Winner: Obama. Obama knows that free speech matters. He also seems more aware of civil rights issues than McCain does. (If you believe our government knows better and should control our lives more, then vote for McCain.)

Right to Choose - Winner: Obama. I strongly believe in a woman's right to choose whether or not to have an abortion. It is a tough choice and she is in the best position to choose. McCain's side, and especially Palin, want to eliminate the ability for women to choose. (If you believe others should choose for women, then vote for McCain.)

Environment - Winner: Obama. Obama seems much more likely to be a good steward for our environment than McCain. McCain seems to more strongly support big businesses that are more likely to want to rape our earth than maintain and restore it. (If you believe the environment can take care of itself, then vote for McCain.)

Just about everyone recognizes Palin as bad choice

2008-09-29T21:22:00.000-07:00

Earlier I noted that Sarah Palin is the bridge to nowhere and it looks like just about everyone else has come to a similar conclusion. See:
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE48S8JW20080929

Palin is the "Bridge to Nowhere"

2008-09-19T08:13:00.000-07:00

Sarah Palin openly lied about what she did regarding Alaska's "Bridge to Nowhere" in her speech at the Republican National Convention. She said:

"I told the Congress "thanks, but no thanks," for that Bridge to Nowhere."

But she never talked to Congress about it despite her claims. And she supported it until well after Congress rejected it. Only when there was no hope left for it, did she turn out the lights. Google this yourself to confirm what I've just said.

How can anyone trust someone who lies so easily and so publicly?

Oh, now I remember, Republicans find it easy to lie and then claim that others are lying to distract from their own lying.

McCain and Palin have a "Palin Truth Squad" to root out false attacks, rumors, and smears against Governor Palin. They should have this Truth Squad focus on Palin and McCain first to clean up their own act. But instead they are trying to shift the focus to others. This is hypocritical. But it does follow the traditional Republican pattern (do a bad thing and then loudly blame others). [Strangely during the 2000 elections, McCain did try to be truthful. Unfortunately he has changed his tune. It appears the other Republicans wore him down.]

Yes, this is just another in a long series of Republican lies and deceptions which include:
McCain: "Our economy is fundamentally sound" (stock market crashed just after he said this)
Bush 2: Guantanamo
Bush 2: Abu Ghraib
Bush 2: "Weapons of Mass Destruction" (none were ever found, got us into the Iraq war)
Republican Party: "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth" (not truthful at all)
Reagan: "Iran Contra Affair"
Nixon: "Watergate"
and many others.

While Nixon was impeached for Watergate, the "Iran Contra Affair", "Weapons of Mass Destruction", and the Iraq War should have easily been impeachable as major wrongs by the President during his administration. Wrongs that had real consequences for our country and for others. Why did Clinton face impeachment for a private sex affair which really only should affect his own family when these other significant events affecting our entire nation and real lives get off scot-free? It boggles my mind. But of course the Republicans are rich and much better at manipulating others behind the scenes using their money and power.

So back to Palin & McCain, they are clearly a bridge to nowhere and would lead our country to ruin (at least for normal folks maybe not the rich). Throw the lying bastards out.

Please vote for Barack Obama and Joe Biden. While not perfect, Obama and Biden are much more capable of leading our country and making all of us proud to be Americans again. Simply read Obama's "The Audacity of Hope" and you'll know Obama is capable, hard working, intelligent, truthful, and a centrist.

What's the difference between Palin and Muslim fundamentalists? Lipstick

2008-09-13T00:30:00.001-07:00

At a high level both Christian and Islamic extreme fundamentalists are similar:
- both are intolerant,
- both want their side to win at the expense of the other,
- both are willing to kill to achieve their cause, and
- and both believe God is on their side.

For lots more on this read:
http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2008/09/09/palin_fundamentalist/index.html

We are in a fight between centrists (Obama/Biden) who will promote peace and extremists (Palin/McCain) who want to win wars.

Sincerely,
Tim

9/11

2008-09-11T23:09:00.000-07:00

Sept 11, 2001 was a sad day. On that day many regular citizens were killed in four coordinated terrorist attacks.

To prevent such future tragedies, we need Unity.

From the 9-11 Commission Final Report:
"We call on the American people to remember how we all felt on 9/11, to remember not only the unspeakable horror but how we came together as a nation—one nation. Unity of purpose and unity of effort are the way we will defeat this enemy and make America safer for our children and grandchildren."

Lincoln said "United we stand, divided we fall." At that time he spoke of just one nation.

Today unity just in our nation is not enough. We as a world must follow this same mantra if we, humankind, are to ultimately survive.

I highly recommend that every US Citizen read and re-read the full 9-11 report. It has many lessons for all of us. It can be found at: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/911/Index.html

Sincerely,
Tim Oey

Sarah Palin: OMG, What a Liar!

2008-09-04T22:45:00.000-07:00

News reports have been more polite in saying Palin "stretched" the truth. But my Mom, teachers, and friends would simply call me a liar if I'd stretched truth as far as Sarah Palin has.

See:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080904/ap_on_el_pr/cvn_fact_check
and
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Conventions/Story?id=5726571&page=1

The Republicans have long had trouble with truth. Nixon (Watergate), Reagan (Contras guns & drugs), Bush 2 (Weapons of Mass Destruction!, Terrorists in Iraq!). I'm astonished they can keep getting away with it (well mostly, Nixon didn't).

Unfortunately, Sarah Palin has been partly successful in castrating/discrediting the media:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/rasmussen/20080904/pl_rasmussen/palinmedia20080904_1

Palin and McCain, like most Republicans, love labeling people so they label everyone who could get in their way, especially the press, as "liberals" -- trying to turn it into a swear word linked with the Democrats.

To help cover up all of Sarah Palin's own lying, what does she do? She loudly and promptly accuses her opposition of lying when they haven't been.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080905/ap_on_el_pr/cvn_palin_103

Don't you hate hypocrites who attack others for what they themselves are guilty of?

But of course, attacks are what Republicans do best. They attack others incessantly -- everyone else are bad guys -- including any foreign nations who have a different viewpoint then theirs.

The Democrats are just too darn educated, polite, and thoughtful.

Egads.

Sarah Palin: Poster Child

2008-09-04T22:44:00.000-07:00

In picking Sarah Palin as their Vice President candidate, McCain and the Republicans were clearly desperate. They knew if they picked a standard candidate, they would lose. So throwing caution to the wind, they picked a radical who had as many poster child credentials as possible while still having a bit of experience:
- former beauty pageant participant (capable of walking, talking, and being pretty)
- politician from a frontier state (Alaska)
- female
- hockey mom
- disabled child
- working mom
- teenage daughter who got pregnant on her watch
- son about to fight and perhaps die in Iraq
- sheer novelty and sensationalism of such an unlikely choice

By picking such an under dog (albeit a dangerous pit bull that wears lipstick), I think they are trying to gain as much of the sympathy vote as possible while making it hard for others to critique her while she in turn slams others around in an atrocious hardball manner.

If you look at her actual experience, it is quite small compared to everyone else. She has been the mayor of a small town in Alaska (population under 10,000) and the governor of a state with only 670,000 people -- about the size of the city of Charlotte North Carolina and smaller than 46 of the US states (only North Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming are smaller).

Sarah Palin: Radical Right

2008-09-04T22:42:00.000-07:00

Focusing on just Palin's own background, Sarah Palin is from the Radical Right.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/03/rosen.palin/index.html?section=cnn_latest

She has not pushed it as governor of Alaska, but she during her campaign for governor in 2006, she thought creationism should be taught in schools (!!!!). See:
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gV5jvU52RD3WBflzbmSu5l6zwOqAD92V3VQG0

Sarah Palin is way too extreme to have her a heartbeat away from being President. And McCain would be the oldest President to have ever assumed office. Hopefully their winter-spring "romance" won't bear fruit.

Copyright Sanity

2008-08-23T09:08:00.000-07:00

Thank God a judge has recognized there should be reasonable limits on DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) claims:
"A federal judge on Wednesday gave more weight to the concept of "fair use" when he threw a lifeline to a Pennsylvania mother's lawsuit against Universal Music."
see:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10021999-93.html
http://www.eff.org/files/filenode/lenz_v_universal/lenzorder082008.pdf

To date, corporations had shown little restraint in filing DMCA based copyright infringement claims willy nilly without considering whether they are reasonable or not. They have thrown all sorts of infringement claims at others whether or not they were valid. Most people so threatened have not been able to protect themselves and so simply backed down even though they had not done anything wrong. Corporation with deep pockets were able to get away with being copyright bullies with no adverse consequence if they were wrong.

Now corporations will need to be more careful and considerate. Copyright has distinct limits and it is important for those limits to be better understood, recognized, and enforced.

Identity is Crucial

2008-08-12T15:24:00.000-07:00

“On the Internet, no one knows you’re a dog”

Currently this is a mixed blessing. And it needs to be fixed in a way so that we can have both anonymity when we need it as well as identity. At the moment, the identity side of the equation is the one in most critical need of work.

There are many times when we want others to know it is really us and we want to know that others are really who they say they are -- like our friends, our family, and our bank.

We are facing an identity crisis. Most of us are drowning in user IDs and passwords -- hard to track, hard to remember, or often too easily exposed. A recent New York Times article trumpeted Information Cards as the solution and dissed OpenID. The article is worth reading and clearly illustrates the problems with user IDs and passwords but it missed some aspects of the final solution.

The guy who seems to have gotten it fully correct is Kim Cameron in his post at http://www.identityblog.com/?p=1003 Please read it.

I agree with him that OpenID (allowing multiple providers and relying parties to work together) along with Information Cards will provide a much better identity solution for all of us. I can’t wait.

McCain's Hypocrisy

2008-08-06T21:59:00.000-07:00

Something that gets me very riled up is hypocrisy. Especially when one side tries to nail others for misdeeds that the accuser is more guilty of doing than the accused.

Take John McCain for instance. He accuses others of missing votes and asks them to get to work when he has missed more Senate votes than any other Senator. (!!!!!!!)

See:
https://pol.moveon.org/donate/gettowork.html?r=4015&id=13414-9702051-6f6B_2x
and
http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2008/06/25/mccain_senate/
and
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/capitol-briefing/2008/05/mccain_leads_in_missed_votes.html

Why would we want a President who is absent most of the time? Oh wait, maybe that's why the Republicans support McCain. :-O

Privacy -- Do We Want It Anymore?

2008-08-06T17:27:00.000-07:00

Much of the privacy to which we've been accustomed is no more. Scott McNealy said "You have no privacy. Get over it." The former has become true, but should we just get over it?

In the past we have been able to move and live with few knowing where we've gone, who we've visited, what we've purchased, and what we've done

Those days have come to an end. We can find out what "crimes" anyone has had in the past, who all of your relatives are (including your mother's maiden name), your date of birth, your current and historical addresses, your phone numbers, an aerial view of your house, a street view of your house, and much more. Digital still and video cameras monitor us just about wherever we go. Our computer use is tracked, our phone use is tracked, our location based on a cell phone signal is tracked.

In the past, what we've done in "public" was essentially private, but no more. And just about everything we do is visible in "public". What is left that is private? Not much.

How "safe" do we want to be? How much do we need to know? We're living in a brave new world and 1984 has arrived. Everything has a cost.

We are at a tipping point where we must actively decide what privacy we want to have, or lose it. We no longer have the luxury of virtual privacy happening naturally.

What kind of world do we want to live in?

Copyright Voice of Reason Muffled

2008-08-06T17:24:00.000-07:00

I was dismayed to learn that William Patry, a well known authority and articulate voice of reason regarding Copyright, has chosen to end his blog at http://williampatry.blogspot.com/. Please read Bill's blog for his reasons. Luckily he has recognized there is value in his past blog posts and is working to make an archive of these available.

My Dad gave me a sign for my desk that says:
"Illegitimus Non Tatum Carborundum"
Translation: "Don't Let the Bastards Wear You Down."

Let us hope the bastards, don't wear the rest of us down.

[Update: Thankfully, as of 8/8/8 the archives of William Patry's most excellent Copyright blog have been restored so others can now read and learn once again.]

Paris Hilton For President?

2008-08-06T17:22:00.000-07:00

In response to McCain's attack ad comparing Obama to Paris Hilton, Paris has posted a video of her own that shows she has a sense of humor and some brains in addition to a pretty face. See: http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/64ad536a6d

McCain Takes the Low Road

2008-08-01T00:16:00.000-07:00

It looks like McCain and the Republicans continue to use pages from Bush's playbook -- repeat untruths many times so others might believe them eventually. Hopefully the American public is more savvy this time. Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me. Do you still believe there were "weapons of mass destruction" in Iraq?

McCain promised to run a "respectful campaign" a few months ago, but is now running disrespectful attack ads. Can you say "flip flop"?

McCain calls Obama "Out of Touch" when it seems that it is really McCain who is out of touch (with reality).

McCain attacks Obama's popularity as a bad thing. But it really shows that more people are paying attention to the real contender to be President. Democracy is about empowering the people to decide. But since it is not going McCain's way, it seems like McCain would like to toss that democracy thing out the window.

McCain likens Obama to Paris Hilton and Britney Spears -- huh??? How is that? Just because many like reading about some people does not make automatically make the popular people similar in other ways. To think it does is very flawed logic. But McCain is desperate to smear as much as possible in the hopes that something will stick.

Yep, McCain is desperate. And it shows.

Here's to Obama in 08 -- a man who is proving day by day that he is THE ONE who is best qualified to be the President of the United States. (Geez, even McCain knows Obama is "The One.")

Cheers,
Tim

Ban plastic bags? I've got a better idea...

2008-07-30T20:23:00.000-07:00

Plastic bags, or better yet, all disposable bags should be TAXED not banned.

Both plastic and paper bags (all disposable bags) are bad for the environment. It is unclear which is worse. They both seem equally bad. Yet both are sometimes needed. So rather than out right banning one or the other, it would be better to use strong economic incentives to reduce their use and encourage reuse/recycling. Plus we could use the extra money to balance our state budget.

If it cost 5 cents for each disposable bag and you could get 2 cents back for each one turned in, I bet there would be close to zero bags blowing around.

For more see the San Jose Mercury News article (July 29, 2008) at:
http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_10039462

"Eliminates Right of Same-Sex Couples to Marry."

2008-07-30T20:08:00.000-07:00

Gay-marriage opponents are upset because on the November ballot the Proposition 8 introduction will say "Eliminates Right of Same-Sex Couples to Marry."

I say "call a spade a spade." This is exactly what Proposition 8 is going to do in face of the CA Supreme Court decision to protect this right. There is no need to mince words or use euphemisms. Better to just cut to the chase.

For more see the front page San Jose Mercury News article (July 29, 2008) at: http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_10039453

Obama's Foreign Policy Ability Looking Good

2008-07-26T00:47:00.000-07:00

Not so long ago Obama was criticized by the Republicans and McCain for a lack of foreign policy experience. Yet his recent trip through Afghanistan, Iraq, Germany, France, and England shows he is better at Foreign Policy and Diplomacy than McCain, Bush, or any recent US President I can recall.

In just this one pre-election trip he already has the endorsement of the current Iraqi government, Obama's troop withdrawal plan is aligned with what Iraq wants, he is hanging tough regarding Afghanistan, and he articulated a compelling position in Germany to a live audience of 200,000 (!!!!) that helps rebuild America's tattered world image.

If he can do so much before becoming President, just imagine what he could do after becoming President.

Plus Obama appears much more Presidential than McCain or even our current President Bush. Obama is measured, he is balanced, he is poised, he is inspirational, he is reasonable, he is mature, and he is being a true leader. In contrast McCain seems whiny, shrill, clumsy, ill-spoken, prone to error, out of touch, and over the hill.

I hope all of you will support and vote for Obama when it's time.

New Citizen Voter Registration Blocked

2008-07-20T16:13:00.000-07:00

Who gains the most from this? Probably the current Republican administration.

On July 19th a San Jose Mercury News article entitled "County Voter Drive Blocked" (http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_9931998) noted that the Department of Homeland Security was making it harder for new citizens to register to vote.

The Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters had found an easy way to make good use of slack time during naturalization ceremonies to fill out paper work so it could be submitted immediately after each person became a citizen. The Department of Homeland Security decided it was not appropriate to prepare such paperwork ahead of time.

Hmmmm....

I disagree with Homeland Security here. We should work to make our processes more efficient and effective rather than putting unnecessary bureaucracy in the way.

U.S. Rep. Sam Farr, D-Salinas, said "It's ironic that the agency tasked with promoting citizenship in our country would throw up obstacles to voting, one of the fundamental actions of a citizen." "DHS should be trying to make the process easier, not harder."

I fully agree. Registering to vote should be an automatic part of becoming a new citizen for everyone.

Hurray for Stephanie Lenz and EFF

2008-07-20T14:36:00.000-07:00

Corporations and other large moneyed interests want to control as much as they can. Their goal is to maximize profit and not watch out for the rights of regular folks unless it makes them more money. (That's just the nature of the beast, although every now and then there are exceptions like Ben and Jerry's.)

Luckily there are some brave souls who stand up for their rights and in so doing protecting those rights for the rest of us. People like Stephanie Lenz. Universal Music was a bully and forced YouTube to take down a short 29 second baby video just because it happened to include a snippet of Prince's "Let's Go Crazy".

Universal Music should have applied a reasonableness test to this before making the request. Likewise, Google and YouTube should have used better common sense in reviewing the situation before taking the content down as well. But it is usually cheaper and easier to stick it to the little people rather than push back on other corporations. Money talks.

Thankfully EFF (whom I support) stepped into help Stephanie and they have taken the fight back to Universal Music. Hopefully this will make corporations more careful about respecting the rights of others rather than trampling them willy-nilly.

For more information on Stephanie's case, please see:
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2007/07/mom-sues-universal-music-dmca-abuse
and
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_9932068
and
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-9994345-93.html

Basically corporations will do whatever they can get away with, even if it is not right or legal.

For more information on EFF and their work to protect free speech from copyright and trademark abuses, please see:
http://www.eff.org/issues/ip-and-free-speech

U.S. and Iraq Agree to Goals for Troop Cuts, Bush shifting

2008-07-18T20:10:00.001-07:00

Wow, President Bush is actually changing his mind about troop withdrawals from Iraq! I'm glad he is finally listening to the overwhelming majority of the American public who want us out of Iraq.

And I'm glad he listened to the Iraqi government when it requested "a time frame for the complete transfer of the security responsibilities to the hands of the Iraqi security as preface to decrease the number of the American forces and withdraw them later from Iraq."

I've been participating in peace rallies since the Iraq war began over 5 years ago and I'm getting a bit tired of it. I'll be happy when I can stop hanging out on street corners to remind the US to pursue peace not war.

read more | digg story

Europeans love Obama

2008-07-17T13:15:00.001-07:00

The NY Times Op-Ed "Obama at the Gate" by the German author Christoph Peters nailed Bush and promoted Obama -- mirroring the sentiment of all the Europeans I talked with on my recent 3 week visit to Italy, Austria, Croatia, and the Netherlands.

Says Christoph: "George W. Bush’s contempt for the rules and institutions of international politics, his revival of preventive war, with all its unforeseeable consequences, his abrogation of the rule of law in his own country, and his ignorance of every issue related to environmental conservation have become, for me and for the vast majority of Germans, synonymous with a high-handed, ugly America. This state of affairs has provoked not only rage and horror, but also great sadness, for the United States has always been the symbol of freedom, democracy and law."

I completely agree.

The wonderful and remarkable thing is, as I've experienced first hand in talking to Europeans, Obama is doing more to restore the world's faith in the United States then any recent US President -- and he is not yet the US President even! The United States with its vision of equality, freedom, and civil rights is a hero to many -- when we actually practice those virtues.

I sincerely hope Obama does become President and is able to finish restoring the trust others want have in the US as a government that supports life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness -- for all.

read more | digg story

Doing what is right, rather than what is easy...

2008-06-12T22:52:00.000-07:00

It is not a sin to learn from mistakes and move forward.

It seems that many consider it a weakness to admit a mistake. Rather than use new information and do a course correction, some leaders double-down and refuse to even consider a change in direction. There is a perception that to be a strong leader you must never be wrong. I've seen this tendency in many recent leaders. Perhaps you know a few. Remember the story about the emperor who wore no clothes? <http://www.mindfully.org/Reform/Emperors-New-Clothes.htm>.

Sticking to your guns regardless, rather than being a strength, is sometimes a sign of weakness.

It is important to have a balance between when to make a stand and when to change positions. Sticking to either extreme is flawed -- it takes good judgement to "know when to hold them and know when to fold them". This is true in cards, it is true in stock trading, and it is true in life in general.

Two recent news stories demonstrate the importance and honor of learning and changing your position, even though it may surprise former allies and pit you against strong opposing forces. Sometimes you just need to do what is right rather than what is easy.

In the first case, Scott McClellan, a former White House press secretary under President George W Bush, discovered that he was mislead by the Bush administration to perpetuate lies. He documents this in the recently published book "What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington's Culture of Deception." When he learned more, he changed his position from supporting the current administration as a strong loyalist to speaking out against these wrongs.

Please read the book and various news articles to learn more, in particular the New York Times article at:
<http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/28/washington/28mcclellan.html>

In the second case, Massachusetts state Rep. Paul Kujawski went from opposing same-sex marriage to voting to allow it, despite major pressure from others. As he learned more about gays who wished to marry, he moved from a position opposing same-sex marriage to one willing to allow different strokes for different folks. Did allowing same sex marriage materially damage his own marriage? -- No. Did allowing it materially help others? -- Yes. So Paul left behind his former beliefs and reached a new, better informed position that allows more people more freedom in an area where it benefits those people and does not harm others.

Please read more in the San Jose Mercury News at:
<http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_9520664>

When knowledgeable, well respected stalwarts flip sides, everyone should take note because this is not done lightly. Both men considered their respective situations carefully and thoughtfully before making their final decisions.

I am in a similar position with regard to freecycling. There was a time when I was a strong proponent of The Freecycle Network (TFN) and helped in many ways as an inside member of its core team. But when I realized that TFN had made some major mistakes that harmed many innocents, I was compelled by my sense of honor to do what was right rather than what was easy.

For details and references please see:
<http://dockets.justia.com/search?query=freecycle>
and
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/freecyclesunnyvale/>
and
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/fcnext/message/16987>

Luckily, I am not alone in my observations and trying to right wrongs. Many, if not most, of the original freecycling leaders likewise left TFN before, during, and after I left for similar or related reasons. These people include Nancy Castleman (original head of the modsquad forum), Judy Ruzich (original head of the GOAs), Pastor Ken Hedden, David Neeley, Karen Welliver, Charlotte Hess, Karen "caveguru" (original author of the TFN moderator manual), Elva Hesting, Rob Robertson, Robin Brown, Eric Snyder, Kelly, Deanna, Lorretta Woodbury, Eric Burke, Lynnie Jones, Cynthia Armistead, Linden R. Gibson, Nora Child, and many others.

Note that while I no longer support TFN, I (and these others) continue to strongly support freecycling.

Cheers,
Tim Oey

I want to be proud to be an American again!

2008-06-11T22:19:00.000-07:00

Don't you just hate hypocrites? I do too. And we're not alone. People elsewhere in the world don't like hypocrites either.

Unfortunately recent US policies like the Iraq war, unilateral military action, ignoring international treaties, and saying we support human rights while at the same time backing repressive regimes has made a big hypocrite of the US. Even some in Washington DC now realize this.

Please read: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080611/ts_alt_afp/usdiplomacysecurity

I want to be proud to be an American again! I hope our next US President and Congress will be true to American ideals so we can again be a role model to look up to instead of a fool, albeit a fool with a big stick, in the eyes of the world.

Look on the bright side of cracks and flaws...

2008-06-09T23:58:00.000-07:00

Chinese Proverb:

An elderly Chinese woman had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole which she carried across her neck.

One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water. At the end of the long walk from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full. For a full two years this went on daily, with the woman bringing home only one and a half pots of water.

Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it could only do half of what it had been made to do.

After 2 years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the woman one day by the stream. "I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house."

The old woman smiled, "Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other pot's side?"

"That's because I have always known about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you water them."

"For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table. Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house."

Each of us has our own unique flaw. But it's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding.

You've just got to take each person for what they are and look for the good in them.

SO, to all of my crackpot friends, have a great day and remember to smell the flowers on your side of the path!

2008-06-05T10:52:00.001-07:00

"The biggest fantasy was Major League Baseball’s claim that its fans should pay to talk about fantasy baseball."

"In recent years, corporations have been aggressively pushing the bounds of intellectual property — extending the length of copyrights to unreasonable lengths, for example, and patenting seeds."

Although not mentioned in this article, corporations have also gone to great lengths to use trademark claims to bludgeon free speech as well. For instance, here are some words in popular use that the "owner" would like to have exclusive use of: freecycle, bakeoff, captcha, bandaid, rollerblade, frisbee.

Here are some older examples that I think don't matter as much as there are popular alternatives: xerox (photocopy), kleenex (tissue), hoover (vacuum).

And finally, here are some that lost trademark rights due to genericide: escalator, yo-yo, zipper, aspirin, and linoleum.

Unfortunately for most regular people, corporations with lots of money can often buy the legal outcome they want. Thankfully in the case of Major League Baseball, free speech won out.

I myself was involved in a case where a corporation claimed it was trademark infringement to use the word freecycle. Luckily the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decided that using the word freecycle generically is not trademark infringement, that saying freecycle is generic is not trademark infringement, and that encouraging others to use the word freecycle generically is not trademark infringement.

read more | digg story

Contour lines in Google Maps!

2008-06-04T23:00:00.000-07:00

I'd been wishing for contour lines in Google Maps for a long time and then suddenly yesterday (June 3rd), I saw them in the terrain view. Excellent!!! Thanks Google!

Apparently they were added in April 2008 and I just hadn't gotten the memo.

More info at:
http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2008/04/last-summer-somewhere-in-adirondacks.html

Cheers,
Tim

Ex-prosecutors embrace courts for terror cases

2008-05-28T11:32:00.001-07:00

Attorneys Richard Zabel and James Benjamin concluded that civilian courts are able to produce just, reliable results while protecting national security after examining 123 terrorism prosecutions. Their examination, entitled "In Pursuit of Justice," comes as Mohammed faces a military commission trial at Guantanamo Bay.

I agree. The court system works. It has stood the test of time and is core to how our system of government works. Use it. Don't waste resources on a new unproven solution in this case. Reduce, reuse, freecycle.

Cheers,
Tim

read more digg story

Senators: No need for paper e-voting trails, 'electronic' OK

2008-05-27T21:12:00.001-07:00

Wrong!!! Numerous real *computer* experts have reached the conclusion that paper is the best option. Why do politicians think they know better? I'm a computer professional and once thought that it would be better to go all electronic. But after looking into it more carefully, I realized that my first impression was wrong. Paper is an excellent technology to use for voting in this case. Paper ballots and trails don't require that much in resource use and voting is critically important to get right. Get rid paper use elsewhere in government but use paper where it makes sense. Trust the majority of experts.

read more digg story

The Obama Connection - Relationships & Networks

2008-05-26T09:22:00.001-07:00

Barack Obama’s grasp of Internet-driven networking comes from his conviction that in a globalized world sociability is a force as strong as sovereignty. Obama and his campaign understand the power of the internet more than any others currently running for President. They also understand that the internet is a game changer.

Many are encountering "Future Shock" as the internet continues to change the world. Things that were impossible before are now easy. Information that once seemed innocuous as public information can now seem invasive when every move one makes in public can be tracked so exactly that people no longer have the semblance of privacy they once enjoyed. Getting information on all subjects and connecting across the globe is now easy -- for better (democracy) or for worse (terrorism). Free speech is also on this cutting edge. Whose law applies to your speech? The law that governs where you write? Or the law that governs where people read?

Obama and his team are further down this new path than any others. Obama is better positioned to lead us in this new age than any other.

"It’s the networks, stupid, and the generations that go with them."

read more | digg story

Older Brain Really May Be a Wiser Brain

2008-05-26T08:58:00.001-07:00

One of own strengths is that I like to think outside the box and make different kinds of connections between information. Often others have trouble keeping up with me and wish I would focus more. But as it turns out this "weakness" is actually one of my "strengths" as described in the recent research described in this article.

“It may be that distractibility is not, in fact, a bad thing,” said Shelley H. Carson, a psychology researcher at Harvard whose work was cited in the book. “It may increase the amount of information available to the conscious mind.”

"A reduced ability to filter and set priorities, the scientists concluded, could contribute to original thinking."

"Jacqui Smith, a professor of psychology and research professor at the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan, who was not involved in the current research, said there was a word for what results when the mind is able to assimilate data and put it in its proper place — wisdom."

read more | digg story

Blind Win Court Ruling on U.S. Currency

2008-05-20T23:33:00.001-07:00

A federal appeals court ruled that the United States discriminates against the blind and those with limited vision because its paper currency is all the same size. It is time for US money to be Section 504 compliant.

I was "blind" to this situation until I heard about it in the news today. Now that I've read through what the situation is with US currency, it seems blatantly obvious to me that our currency must be changed to make it accessible. I'm surprised something was not done sooner.

Some references on this subject:
http://www.ourmoneytoo.org/myths.php
SHOW ME THE MONEY: MAKING CURRENCY ACCESSIBLE TO PEOPLE WHO ARE BLIND
Currency Features for Visually Impaired People

Cheers,
Tim

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