Al Gore Joins Apple's Board Of Directors
zzxc writes "News.com.com reports that Al Gore has been chosen to be on Apple's board of directors. Apple has a press release with more information. According to the press release, 'Al brings an incredible wealth of knowledge and wisdom to Apple from having helped run the largest organization in the world--the United States government' and 'He has remained an active leader in technology--launching a public/private effort to wire every classroom and library in America to the Internet.' The inventor of the internet should be a valuable asset to Apple."
Seriously though...he was advising Google???
;)
I had absolutely no idea. Last I knew he was busy being a sore loser(winner?) of the last election.
At any rate, it ought to be an interesting addition to the staff. So long as he doesn't SERIOUSLY take credit for inventing the internet.
Karma: Chameleon (mostly due to the fact that you come and go).
Well, maybe he didn't invent it, but he actually was one of a few politicians actively promoting the internet.
Therefore we should be thankful instead of always making fun of that one statement he once made.
Fleur de Sel
My guess would be that it has more to do with governmental contacts than expertise about computers - Gore must have a pretty good list of contacts throughout government by now, and if that can help Apple, why shouldn't they tap him to be on their board of directors? Beats another lawyer....
Quack!Quack!.....QUACK!!
Just in!
Gore invents AppleTalk
Gore invents candy-colored computer
Gore invents small music player
Gore invents fast new web browser
Gore invents XUL (Hyatt mysteriously fired)
Gore invents new GUI for BSD
There's something you don't see everyday.
Now you can feel safe if you need to throw the out the "core".
Wasn't it the government Al Gore helped run that brought us the DMCA?
It might not be a good thing having him as a director at one of the few big tech companies that is still customer friendly.
Jason
ProfQuotes
Politics aside, (Disclaimer: I voted for him) this may be just what Apple needs. Someone who is capable, knows business, government and academia and is not an Apple insider.
Visit Jonesblog and say hello.
Give him a few years, and he'll say he founded Apple. :) Sorry, couldn't help myself.
-- Kircle
Okay, so Apple has inroads into education and has a hip person to better its hip image -- so what's new? Still bare-boned market share. And that won't change.
"Put the dice away, before I take them away."
concrete5: a cms made for marketing, but strong enough for geeks.
Between this and this, I had to check to see it wasn't April Fool's Day.
All that is evil in the world is coming together... Al Gore and apple... What's next? Saddam and Microsoft? :)
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This should be quite the joke. And don't let him count the inventory!
Maybe now that they have the inventor of the internet onboard, we will see some really innovative ideas from Apple.
The Fat Man Walks Alone
During a March 1999 CNN interview, while trying to differentiate himself from rival Bill Bradley, Gore boasted: "During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet. ... The terrible irony in this exchange is that while Gore certainly didn't create the Internet, he was one of the first politicians to realize that those bearded, bespectacled researchers were busy crafting something that could, just maybe, become pretty important." - Wired News
Al Gore never claimed he invented the internet, and anyone who jokes about it is just showing their ignorance. (sorry timothy)
Kallahar
As it turns out Apple needed Gore's patented "LockBox" technology to store their horde of billions.
i am anxious to see the bleeding edge tech he develops next he's had enough time off since his last great invention.
No you've got that wrong.
He did not say that he invented it, just that he brought it to the masses, he is kind of like the favorite uncle of the internet.
Actually, Al Gore is a very good executive. I think every one is just quick to point out his flaws and none of his strong points. Which I'm sure some one must know about his strong points and is willing to show us.
Since Al Gore did invent the Apple II and the Macintosh.
According to Hershey's commercial, he invented pants as well.
The person who invented the Internet should join the company that invented the GUI.
I remember hearing that Al Gore while being VP of the United States wrote a letter to the airlines saying basically, "Give us money, and we'll through out that recommendation by the department of transportation which said we are vulnerable at our airports and require better security" and all of this before 911? I'd say anyone who buys an apple is contributing to what is wrong in America
..and we run!
..and we run!
..and we run!
..into the arms... OF AMERICA!
Apple just got way uncool. Algore is a dolt.
Maybe its time to re-re-switch.
Why do I suddenly want to reformat and install linux, or even sell it and buy an IBM?
I mean I love this computer, but I HATE Al 'I created Pants' Gore. Democrats are idiot socialists when it comes to pretty much anything; poor Steve, I thought he might have finally gotten into the game of Capitalism, then he goes and does something really stupid.
Mac. You can kill me. But two more will take my place.
Ah yes, the ever-lovable Al Gore.
I saw his name in an article in Scientific American about the internet and related technology, many years ago. I thought his writing was very intelligent and was surprised that a senator knew so much about computers. I saw his name pop up a lot w.r.t. to the internet.
Part of the reason I voted for Clinton was because of Gore. What a let-down that his personality was so wooden and unlikable. It made it just too easy for the press to pick on him (even the submitter repeated the "invented the internet joke).
On the other hand, he's just like a lot of geeks: uncomfortable in his own skin. I related to him a lot more than Bush.
So anyway, congrats to Mr. Gore, and I'm sure his presence on Apple's board will accomplish absolutely nothing whatsoever, and have absolutely no effect on the company. But still, he's a respectable guy and I'm glad he likes Mac OS X and open source.
Why did I just write this? I have no idea.
Apple insider? You can't get much more outside than board member Millard Drexler, the chairman and CEO of J. Crew.
knows business What? He has been a government stooge since 1976.
Apple is lucky to have him, that is a lot of top-down influence. The big gears up-top *are* the ones that predominate our lives in the ways of general trend and influence. Now given, there is proactive and reactive influence, but big players will ensure social connectvity, which AL has a great deal of.
Gore is going to be lecturing my class next week at Middle Tenn State Univ (where he has been an adjunct prof for a while...i am not proud).
Anyone have any questions you want me to ask him?
He is officially there to talk to my 'Legal Problems of the Recording Industry' class about he and his wife's censorship/labeling campaign in the mid 1980's. However, we have been told that we can "ask him anything." Tipper may be there too, but at this point we dont know.
-- webster1 --http://www.viewingparty.com
he didn't say he'd invented the internet.
US Citizen living abroad? Register to vote!
vote different.
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I'm sib888, and I approved this comment.
Apple's board should have chosen Crazy Eddie
That way Apple would be insanely great at insane prices.
SCO to Hell
Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahahahahahahahaahahahahahaha!!! !!!
Now I can't stop laughing. Apple has always though different and I think that through all of the problems they have had, they have done pretty good. Not many companies have taken on MS and lived to tell the tale. Apple has. But what is the reasoning behind hiring Al Gore?
Yes I read the bloody article and yes I know what Apple is telling us, but what is the real reasoning behind the scenes? Do they honestly think Al Gore can bring something to Apple? What does he know about computer companies, software companies, or the Apple way of doing things? Why not bring back Woz? At least Woz had an idea of what the hell is going on. Maybe this is just a gimmick though. Something crazy to get Apple in the news for a while. To make people remember they exist. Or maybe Steve really thinks Al can add to the Apple brand.
How is it that one careless match can start a forest fire, but it takes a whole box to start a campfire?
His damn wife is going to get all over his chest about cyber porn. Mrs Gore hates pornography.
I use macintosh. I want to double my time now to download porn before this idiot makes it difficult and implausible to do it on Macs.
I suggest you read Slashdot
Apple insider? You can't get much more outside than board member Millard Drexler, the chairman and CEO of J. Crew.
True, but what experience with technology and computing did Millard have? Gore at least has extensive experience with the development and promotion of technologies.
Visit Jonesblog and say hello.
I don't care what the press says. Al Gore doesn't know computers from a hole in the ground. Dumb move.
Usually, there are very few as the liability risk is way too high to their firms
Does it mean more Gorey games on Macs?
(excuse the toilet humor...)
... since Al Gore invented the Internet and Apple has been working with the Internet since before Al Gore came to town...
figures.
does that mean microsoft is republican ?
I bet they go back to beige macs....
i think i'll have to take apple off my preffered vendors list.
.
I don't get it. Where do people get their perspective these days?
George Bush kills something like 100 people while he is governor of Texas and trashes 50 years worth of international diplomacy to get a two-bit dictator, and Al Gore still gets shit on for that stupid internet remark.
How does Rush do it?
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I'm finally at the point where I REALLY want a Mac, and they go and alienate me as a potential customer by hiring this fool.
Most will call me a troll or offtopic, but I'm serious. This could cause a lot of people to think again about that Mac they wanted (or at least have a bad taste in their mouth). Even if you like Gore you have to question this because he's such a political figure and you're mixing emotions and business by picking this guy up for your board.
<monotone>And it went like beep beep beep</monotone>
Al Snore, the Forrest Gump of the Left is about as popular on the Right as Dubya is with the Liberals. Way to inject the dealy venom of national politics into a company that's having enough problems just doing the "Lone Consumer OS/Computer Against The Windows Juggarnaught" thing.
Al Gore is going to be an albatross around the neck of Apple. And before I get flamed, what I said for Gore goes double for ANY high-profile controversial political figure from the Government Sector.
just because Al Gore appears to most to be a total moron, he was vice president of the united states! dont judge him before he has a chance to prove himself. p.s. and please, if you see more than a handful of bad jokes already posted, you dont have to add yours.
i have a roll of electrical tape.
Maybe he can get the Mac's marketshare recalculated!
Al Gore, as a standing liberal, has quite a bit of pull with the teachers unions and others who are buying computers for schools. This alone makes it worth Apple's money to try and shore up their stronghold-- although that educational market is quickly being eroded with Linux on commodity white boxen.
Al Gore also carries weight with the pot-smoking hippie baby-boomers. Stinky hippies.
davejenkins.com |
Retail experience. The CEO of the Gap is also on the board.
I have a shitty sig!
The same joke was told 20 times in the space of five minutes. Said one poster, "It was like we all had the same idea , boy was it freaky." The impetus of the bizarre occurrence of synchronicty was a story about Al Gore becoming a member of Apple's board of Directors. "I mean, what's the chances that we would all have the SAME idea at the SAME time, it's not like this was an obvious joke," said one poster who declined to be identified. Another was heard to whistle underneath his breath and say, "That's it, I believe in God now." The Vatican was unavailable for comment, but a low giggle was heard to emanate from the Holy Sees residence at roughly the same period. Commander Taco, upon hearing this said, near tears, "It's like we told a joke that mad the whole world laugh, AT THE SAME TIME!" In other news, the much-heralded cliche filter on slashdot crashed at roughly the same time, though it could not be confirmed if the two were related.
After inventing the Internet, he will now invent the Macintosh, and thus the GUI, user-friendly computing, and so on...
You've got your facts all mixed up. He didn't invent the Macintosh & the GUI, he invented the GUI while working for Xerox!
well he f'ing well strongly implied it,
Al Gore isn't a Democrat. Dumbass.
...him inventing the inet means he's not for the 'embetterment' of our children.
ouch. leader of the free world, god help us.
why run from Vincenzo?
what i meant to say: just because al gore appears to be a total moron, dont judge him before he has a chance to prove himself, after all he was vice president of the united states!
i have a roll of electrical tape.
What part of "creating the Internet" don't you get? The man said it. You can't get around it. He didn't say he was a part of creating it, he said he took the initiative and did it.
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"During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet.",
This is campaign rhetoric all the same and still shows arrogance. That is why he came off badly during the debates. I agree it is not is ignorant as it is made out to be but it still over emphasizes his actual role in this.
When has Algore ever run a sucessful business, sure he's been a semi-sucessful politican (Can't win the big one), but that just means you have the ability to pander to 50.001% of the population (or 270 electoral college members) voting for you.
09f911029d74e35bd84156c5635688c0
ISH == Information Superhighway
Snipped from;
Google Link
"3. THE "INFORMATION SUPERHIGHWAY" SHOWS A BIG INCREASE IN FY 92.
The President's budget proposes $638M for the High Performance
Computing and Communications program, an increase of $149M, or
30%. This initiative was generated by the Federal Coordinating
Council on Science and Engineering Technology (FCCSET, which is
pronounced "fix it") and involves eight Federal agencies. The
project has been pushed both by Bromley and Sen. Gore (D-TN),
whose father launched the superhighway program. The High Perform-
ance Computing program includes the National Research and Educa-
tion Network which will connect the Nation's educational and
research organizations to Federal libraries, databases, super-
computers and such facilities as telescopes and accelerators."
Fantasy and superstition should be used for entertainment purposes only.
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Ask him about copyright. What does he think the philosophical basis for copyright protection is - in the context of the de facto perpetual copyright regime developing in the US. Are the present copyright conditions and term lengths serving those purposes? Wouldn't a shorter term serve just as well?
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from a rigged demo
--Andy Finkel (J. Klass?)
Whether you like it or not (I certainly don't) a majority of Americans seem to think executing teenagers and the mentally ill in a revenge kick is just fine and dandy, and don't understand just how much Shrub has managed to piss the rest of the world off in an incredibly short space of time.
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from a rigged demo
--Andy Finkel (J. Klass?)
1. Al Gore knows business. I doubt it. His only job since college that wasnt government was as a reporter for a local newspaper. And that was for a brief time.
He has been instrumental in getting business and government to cooperate in wiring classrooms nationwide, and is currently a senior advisor for Google, Inc.
2. Al Gore knows/is academic[a]. I doubt it. He isn't particularly well educated by any standards. He is college educated, which is something for sure. He is presumably very bright, but as somewhat who has meet him and had some conversation with him, he came off as kinda dim. Not GWBush dim, but clearly not razor sharp.
I can't claim to have talked with him personally, but I have read his writings, speeches etc... and he comes off pretty bright to this person with 13 or so years of post high-school education. And from the press release: "He is also a visiting professor at the University of California Los Angeles, Fisk University and Middle Tennessee State University. Mr. Gore received his B.A. in Government with honors from Harvard University in 1969, and attended the Vanderbilt University School of Religion and the Vanderbilt University School of Law." I would say this qualifies.
3. Al Gore is not an Apple insider.
That is good. But on the other hand, he isn't likely to be able to affect much of how Apple operates because of that same reason.
Where is you logic here? This is a totally bogus and biased statement with no evidence to back it up.
4. Al Gore knows government. True, but he knew the last government. That's a problem. He knew a lot of key decisons makers and might have been able to leverage those. Now there is a new government, and many decisions of scale and size are made by political apointee's and their sub-ordinates. This means he in fact has very little leverage for Apple now that GWBush is in office.
Again, from the press release: "He served for a total of eight years as President of the Senate, a member of the cabinet and the National Security Council, and as the leader of a wide range of Administration initiatives including environmental policy, technology, science, communications and government cost reduction."
You can't possibly have this level of experience and not be able to navigate government past and present. In fact, in my personal experience, having even a little degree of connection with government does wonders for ones business. Al Gore has most folks trumped here by a long shot.
But seriously, this is interesting but not really all that good for Apple, in my opinion. He is a controversial, and turns alot of people of (about 49% of voters at last count).
Well, that is an opinion and as for your percentage (matching that of the last election), the majority of folks like him.
That's not a good quality for a company who is very image focused. Even if only 1 in 1000 people hate him enough to not buy Apple products, will it outweigh the number of people who will buy Apple products because they like him? Probably not.
Gee, let's see, Apple is doing quite well with 4-5% of the personal computer market. If they can appeal to at least the majority of the U.S. population, that can only be a good thing for the company.
Visit Jonesblog and say hello.
Well that explains why they didn't take Rush Limbaugh up on his offer to endorse the Mac.
Actually you don't have to win the popular vote to win the electroal college, which determines the actual winner
knows business? what are you talking about this man has been a career politican his entire life.
The editors' comments aren't in italics and aren't within double quotation marks. The poster's comments are. Look at the article asbtract again to see what I mean.
Holy shit, someone mod this troll down.
After receiving his AB from Harvard University (1969), he graduated from Vanderbilt University Divinity School (1972), then received his JD from Vanderbilt University Law School (1976). And then he accepted a position as a guest lecturer at Columbia University (2001).
By many standards, Al Gore is an extremely well educated (and admittedly privileged) individual. You may not like the man or what he's done, but geez, don't just make shit up to make him look bad.
You tell me how "whilst" differs from "while," and I'll stop calling you a pretentious jackass.
Knows Business? This guy is a career politician who hates business. He is capable though, capable of losing.
What this reeks of is influence peddling. The same administration that thought it could stifle the widening Paula Jones sex scandal by forcing an intern on a private company might also offer public school computer sales for a price. Al Gore's ability to deliver those sales may be as fictional as Bill's ability to get Monica a sinecure at a large cosemetics company, but that would not keep him from offering the service.
DMCA, Hollings, Palladium. What might have sounded like paranoia is now common sense.
Other people have done bad things so nobody should mention anything stupid that Gore has done?
The truth doesn't care what I think.
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"...largest organization in the world--the United States government..."
Um...heard of the UN?
forget it.
Screw Tipper's pro-censorship of music. I'm glad she's not in the White House now.
Al Gore never claimed he invented the internet, and anyone who jokes about it is just showing their ignorance.
Sorry, those who argue this point are showing that they hold politics over reality. I just happened to be watching the interview when Gore made this exact statement:
During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet.
It was obvious at the time that his idea was to throw that statement in and hope that the interviewer (Wolf Blitzer) wouldn't say anything while legions of his knuckle-dragging supporters (the kind who are befuddled by a paper ballot) would find all the more reason to vote for him. The internet was the "big thing" at the time, and to have created it would have been an awesome feat in anyone's book.
Fortunately, he was called on it and his credibility took a well-earned hit.
Gore started out the term (with Clinton) saying that they were going to create the "information superhighway" to supercede the internet. It would be fast enough to send all sorts of multimedia (streaming video) over it, and change the world. The public started using that phrase (info superhighway) to describe the present internet, and Gore never said anything more. Worse yet, Clinton signed into law the DMCA (as Disney signed checks to the Democratic party) which would have made the "information superhighway" irrelevant, anyway.
MDC
Do you have ESP?
When there are financial difficulties at Apple, there are sometimes strange appointments, followed by a surreptitious influx of cash.
When the money appears this time, where will it come from?
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You are correct if you say he didn't say "invented". He did say "created", which in my mind is little different.
/ president.2000/transcript.gore/index.html
:-)
http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/stories/1999/03/09
GORE: Well, I will be offering -- I'll be offering my vision when my campaign begins. And it will be comprehensive and sweeping. And I hope that it will be compelling enough to draw people toward it. I feel that it will be.
But it will emerge from my dialogue with the American people. I've traveled to every part of this country during the last six years. During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet. I took the initiative in moving forward a whole range of initiatives that have proven to be important to our country's economic growth and environmental protection, improvements in our educational system.
During a quarter century of public service, including most of it long before I came into my current job, I have worked to try to improve the quality of life in our country and in our world. And what I've seen during that experience is an emerging future that's very exciting, about which I'm very optimistic, and toward which I want to lead.
----
rtsp://www.crm114.com/real/a_2.rm
(With RealAudio you can hear him say it.)
----
Not making it up, just postin' de facts. Don't get me started on the word "is".
You know, I can't help but wonder if, after hearing these jokes so many times, we start to belive Al Gore really did invent the internet.
autopr0n is like, down and stuff.
Of course he didn't say it. But we're gonna keep saying the he did, and eventually it will become true.
So, let me explain this to you one last time: Gore said he invented the Internet.
this is a media stunt by a lame marketing company. they sell lame hardware. overpriced. al gore is a fucking retard. he says stupid shit. i even voted for him but man, i wish he had never run. he is a stupid fucking retard. apple sucks. i have apple equipment. i stole it from a dying .com in the valley. and you know what. and an owner of apple shit, all i have to say, Apple Sucks, OS 9 sucks, and OS X sucks, and if you stupid fucking idiots cant figure that out fucking die.
Al gore is a stupid cunt . Steve jobs is a fat, arrogant technology pirate who fucked Xerolx. Apple is a fucking sham. If i could kill all apple zealots or kill every islamic terrorist, i would kill islam but it would be a hard choice.
Pak chooie unf !!!!!! Pak chooie unf unf unf!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We are the Apple Zealots We are here to get ripped off and act like jerks
We are the Apple Zealots We are here to get ripped off and act like jerks
We are the Apple Zealots We are here to get ripped off and act like jerks
We are here to get ripped off and act like jerks From the terrible prospect of doing useful things
I am the pusher apple-robot I shove around the blind people We are here to get ripped off and act like jerks From the terrible prospect of doing useful things
I am the shover apple-robot I push bread down their throats We are here to get ripped off and act like jerks From the terrible prospect of doing useful things
We are the Apple Zealots
We are here to get ripped off and act like jerks
We are here to get ripped off and act like jerks
From the terrible prospect of doing useful things
We are the Apple Zealots
We are here to get ripped off and act like jerks
We are here to get ripped off and act like jerks
From the terrible prospect of doing useful things
We protect you.
Apples have a terrible low power * We are here to get ripped off and act like jerks Apples has a terrible low power Do you have stairs in your house?
Do you have stairs in your house? We are here to get ripped off and act like jerks
Pushing will protect you Pushing will protect you
From the terrible prospect of doing useful things
That is incorrect Shoving will protect you Shoving will protect you
From the terrible prospect of doing useful things
Do not trust the shover apple-robot
Shoving is the answer
We are here to get ripped off and act like jerks
Do not trust the pusher apple-robot
He is malfunctioning **
We are here to get ripped off and act like jerks
We are the Apple Zealots
We are here to get ripped off and act like jerks
We are here to get ripped off and act like jerks
From the terrible prospect of doing useful things
We are the Apple Zealots
We are here to get ripped off and act like jerks
We are here to get ripped off and act like jerks
From the terrible prospect of doing useful things
We protect you.
We are here to get ripped off and act like jerks
Shoving is the answer Humans must be shoved They must go down the stairs
You are mistaken Pushing is the answer Humans must be pushed They must go down the stairs
Please go stand by the stairs So I can protect you
Go stand by the stairs Steve Slobs is protected
Steve Slobs has gone down the stairs
We are here to get ripped off and act like jerks
From the terrible prospect of doing useful things
We are the Apple Zealots
Steve Slobs is protected Steve Slobs is protected At the bottom of the stairs
I am the pusher apple-robot Shoving is the answer I will shove Steve Slobs Outside into the snow
I am the shover apple-robot Pushing is the answer I will push snow On top of Steve Slobs
I am better than the pusher apple-robot I am superior I am better than the shover apple-robot He is inferior
We are here to get ripped off and act like jerks
Pushing is the answer Shoving is the answer I have pushed many humans I have shoved many more
The humans are protected Humans have go
I'm not sure so many people like Al Gore as dislike GW Bush...
That Apple is inducting Al Gore on the very day the Bush is starting a war in Iraq?
Isn't this just a little weird to you guys?
I'm not insinuating any particular meaning --- I have no clue as to the meaning. It's just kind of creepy...
I stole this sig from someone cleverer than me.
Look, as much as I detest the guy's politics, what Apple needs more than anything now is government support.
The Government needs to support Open Source, a cornerstone of Apple's strategy. The Government needs to specify the use of Open Standards. The Government needs to stop running exclusively on Windows. The Governement needs to stop finding Apple's competitors guilty of predatory practices and letting them off with a warning.
I'm sure they get into regular meetings, say pitching a room of XServes, and they have a room full of Engineers all on board, then the bean counter comes in and says, "oh, but it has to run on Windows." End of story. If there's an XServe rack somewhere with a nasty twist in it it's because Steve Jobs threw it out a fourth floor window after one of these meetings.
Apple's biggest barrier to entry is the Microsoft De-facto standard that exists in Corporate America, and they hate being hamstrung by it at every turn when they know they have a better product. When the government starts requiring bids to come in in the OpenOffice XML format, there's at least the chance of Corporate America following, and perhaps the playing field will level.
When Apple wanted to get into Network Computing (remember that?) they got Larry on board. When they wanted to get into Retail they got the guy from the Gap. Etc.
What Apple needs to get into Government is a technically-savvy government insider who has all the contacts, lots of influence, and not much else to do. I don't like the personalities involved, but Gore is not bad on science and this is a brilliant move on Jobs's part.
I expect to see lots of sensible legislation supporting many of the positions regularly espoused around here introduced in the Congress in the next year. We'll know where they came from. Remember, politics is the art of the possible.
My God, it's Full of Source!
OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
I think I'll vote the Cowboy Neal option myself.
Protoplasm. Quiet Protoplasm. I like quiet protoplasm.
This sounds like one of those brainteasers or standardized test questions: Match the president to the computer company!
:-)
Reagan +--> Apple
Bush | IBM
Clinton | Microsoft
Gore <--+ Redhat
Dubya Sun
There's a joke in here, somewhere.
(and yes, I know, Gore wasn't actually a president).
Yes folks, it's a curious thing, it seems many lawyers use macs. Al Gore isn't the only one. Have a look at Dubya posing with his PowerBook on the campaign trail...
r it y/images/bush-mac.jpg
http://www.theapplecollection.com/various/Celeb
Hi.
I was pretty sure the CEO of the Gap departed the Apple BOD at the same time Jobs departed the Gap BOD. After drawing some pretty heinous fire for it in the financial press.
B.
Buzzword Bingo: MIT's way of having fun when the 'most technologically savvy politician' visited the Institute for Commencement.
Man, I was just getting to like Apple....
Support Objectivism and the United States,
Ayn Rand
Darn, I was just starting to gain some respect for Apple too.
I wonder if the people making the decision saw this.
get it?
Please shoot me.
Don't worry about admitting that you voted for Al Gore, most people did.
ask him would we be at the brink of war if he was the president?
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
this is another bogus claim manufactured by the right-wing? Much like the stories that a Senator Gore dismissed Oliver North's warnings that Bin Laden was a threat or that Clinton pushed to have Israel release 9/11 hijacker Mohammed Atta?
Then again, this is the same group that's been manufacturing "lies" for Gore to have "said" for years.
This news makes me want to "switch" to the PC.
I am a shareholder and I received no opportunity to vote on this. What good is a politician on the board? We barely got any use out of Larry Ellison! Now we'll have another lazy has-been sucking at Apple's teat. Instead, why not hire someone who's been relentlessly successful at what they do?
Apple: please pull your head out and undo this monstrous distraction. Focus! Stick to hiring great minds to make great systems. Jeez, this is worse than making Sinbad an Apple Fellow. Why on Earth are you polarizing and dividing your market when you need more than ever to unify and extend it!?
I am neither a conservative nor a liberal (nor a theist for that matter). This would be just as stupid if GW, or any Libertarian candidate had been tapped. Businessmen should run businesses. They're good at it. Politicians don't produce value. They siphon it.
This is a BAD sign. This means Apple has truly given up the integrity of economic entrepreneurship and is going down the dark path of political entrepreneurship. I have never doubted Apple before, through the darkest days. Now almost all my hope is lost. And they've done it themselves.
I assure you that I will be using my shares to oppose this. And I'll encourage all fellow shareholders to join me in ousting this non-entity from Apple's bridge.
-B...
Come on my friend - let it go! No matter how many times you say it it won't be true.
for what it's worth...they don't have Apple X servers crunching numbers...they have SGIs and a beowulf.
apple is solid with hippy-dippy types. if they want smack in Washington, they should have appointed a republican to help develop their cred on the other side of the aisle.
What if, for better or worse, Al Gore had been
chosen to become the President of the United
States, where would have G.W. Bush ended up working? Fox News?
say no more
The Clinton legacy also includes the murder of innocent people in Texas.
"While presiding over heaven, I took the initiative in creating the universe."
You see, God never claimed to have "invented" the universe. Can you imagine anyone worshiping the almighty had He made such an outrageous claim?
But later, in a surprise decision, the Supreme Court threw out the posting, and placed George W. Bush on the Apple board instead.
Upon hearing of the stunning turn-around, Gore refused to leave the Apple board room, clinging fiercely to the furniture and sometimes hiding under the board room table.
After seven hours, Apple security guards were finally able to remove Gore from the premises and send him on his way.
Gore was visibly shaken after the defeat and called it "a dark day for America," citing the line of environmentally-friendly computers he had hoped to encourage Apple to produce by a wave of his majestic hand. "I took the initiative in creating the Internet," said Gore, "and look what has become of it. Without someone to call new environmentally-friendly computers into existence by detached fiat, what will become of the American worker?"
Sources said Gore had returned home to begin regrowing his beard through a long, arduous process of sitting on the living room sofa for weeks on end and subsisting on a diet of Cheetos.
If one considers outright contempt for the constitution as being requisite for your minor boycott, I'd deduce other companies had better avoid hiring George W. Bush once he's finally voted out.
So, all that is left for Microsoft is G W Bush. PLEASE take him onto your board after he gets expelled from office! If there is something that can topple the evil empire, it sure is GWB.
Just look at how popular US is in the rest of the world now!
When in doubt, act determined. Business 101
Microsoft has 47.9%. Linux has the remainder, which cost Apple the election in key markets.
huh? He did say that he created it; he did not say that he brought it to the masses.
You wish he didn't say it because you support him. Time to grow up, sonny.
Gore is just another politician in the long line that are moving to high positions in fortune 500 companies. At the moment, former Georgia Senator Sam Nunn is on the ballot for Coca-Cola. Then you'll remember that Newt Gingrich is doing consulting from last I recall, and there are quite a few more. Interesting how the fusion of business and politics is such a long standing foundation in this country; money and power, the ultimate in Machiavellian virtues. Not all politicians are bad men/women, their morals just lack resolve when confronted with a heavy price tag.
Don't worry about admitting that you voted for Al Gore, most people did.
:-)
Thanks, that made me laugh out loud for the first time today.
Visit Jonesblog and say hello.
I hear that Trogdor was a close second. Personally, I think he would have been a much greater asset to Apple what with the success of his recent video game and his abilitiy to burninate the competition. He probably would have also allowed Apple to add his trademark "majesty" around their apple logo... and that would've just looked cool.
I'm sure that the board really meant to vote for Pat Buchanan instead.
So I guess everyday he has an Apple eh?
1. Al gore used the government's threat of force to DEMAND consumers pay a tax on telecommunications which was to be used to cover the cost of obtaining internet access for rural government schools. This money wasn't needed as a vast majority of the schools were already online; it was a simple kickback to Gore's most dependable constituency -- the Teacher's Unions.
WOW! (eyes roll) What an achievement!
Oh, don't forget his other "job" as a reporter during the Vietnam war. As a Senator's Son, he had a protection detail assigned to keeping him out of harm's way and out of trouble. AlGore. A Real American Zero.
2. Gore didn't just attend the Vanderbilt school of Divinity, he FLUNKED OUT!
3. whatever.
4. Having connections with government does wonders for one's business, IF YOU PLAN TO (AB)USE THE POWER OF GOVERNMENT (e.g. taxation and/or the threat of force) to help that business. I don't consider that a positive.
>>the majority of folks like him.
The majority of URBANITES like him. The big-city, know-it-alls in America's cultural freakshows such as NYC, Detroit, Philly, DC, LA, etc. The rest of the country despises Gore. (Recall the USA Today "red/blue" map?) REAL Americas, myself included, wouldn't spit on him if he were on fire.
Notice it said "attended," not "graduated from." He failed out.
That's what inquiring minds want to know today!
Knowledge is power. Knowledge shared is power multiplied.
Personally I hope Al Gore will make another run for presidency. Given the way things are looking (wars and tax cuts), 2004 is in the toilet (I think Gore said he wasn't going to run anyway)..
Since we're sort of on the topic, let me ask the Slashdotters this question: wouldn't you rather see Gore running the country than another run-of-the-mill politician who has no appreciation for, and is completely ignorant of, science and technology?
invent the Internet?
Karma: The shiznight, mostly because I am the Drizzle.
Is this apples way of avoiding any SCO like attacks that Mr Gore invented the internet and as such all internet devices belong to him and should pay a levey for the privledge.
:D.
I highly suspect that there is more to this strategic(benifit of doubt given) move than meets the eye. Beyond the obvious profile in certain market penetration opertunities and usual PR (again benifit of doubt given) I'm at a loss.
I suspect that given the facts Sherlock Holmes would conclude that it is mearly marketing build up for a new product launch and given rumours and ratifications of wireless standards and the cost and storage capacity of solid state these days and user demand for more power/smaller and longer running times. A new iPOD with video/wifi wouldnt't be that bad.
Still he may have been popular in China and with markets opening up there, again marketing of the strategic kind.
Well I might have missed something but if all else fails they still have the backward underpant gnomes approach
Amen Brother - I was really thinking about getting an i-book, not anymore - I won't support any company that hires a two-faced loser like Al Gore, I can't see what value having him on your board of directors would do - Apple never ceases to amaze at the bizarre business decisions they make....
Australia and America, for instance, have just sat down to start negotiating a free trade deal. In the past, the US has been in no hurry whatsoever to do such a deal (mainly because any deal will involve reducing protection for their agricultural industries). Now, all of a sudden, it's all systems go. Maybe that's a coincidence. I doubt it.
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from a rigged demo
--Andy Finkel (J. Klass?)
The hit list for wintel is 3 times as long, and explains a 3rd of those points against Apple.
Apple does these things because the PC/OS world hasnt been an open market since the dawn of time. Therefore, they're forced to run their own monopoly in order to coexist with the wintel monopoly.
"Old man yells at systemd"
Macs have always been famous for not being stodgy and boring. AlGore falls right into both categories.
Along the DMCA lines, how long until iTunes stops working at all?
I was beginning to consider picking up a powerbook to play with OSX. This action has made me decide that I don't want to do that. I would not vote for the man, so there is no way I will support apple if he is a part of it.
http://www.accountkiller.com/removal-requested
Political partisanship aside - Gore is wanker. Sure, he is a nice guy, heart full of compassion, but that does not change the fact that he comes off as a wimp. Not the kind of image Apple needs - Apple has enough 'carisma'. I mean, even his fellow democrats avoid him like the plague. The guy is political poison. As hard as I try - I fail to see how this is a GOOD thing for Apple's PR and management.
Whenever I turn on my iBook, this robotic voice says, "You are hearing me talk."
It suddenly makes sense, now.
If you need me, I'll be parked under the Sun Sphere.
As if we needed another reminder that the world is a totally screwed up place...
This will go down as one of Apple's all-time worst decisions. This idiot Gore couldn't manage a lemonade stand let alone direct a major technology company.
Before I get flamed as being anti-Apple, I'm a forever-loyal Mac user...
The silver lining could be that maybe he's given up on the ridiculous notion that he is even remotely qualified to lead our nation.
The Apple press release goes on to say that Al Gore's membership on the board will be a unique one. His duties will involve presiding over board meetings and, yet he will only be allowed to cast a vote in the event of a tie between the other members.
Mr. Gore was quoted as saying "Damn it, not again!"
The Democrats keep hoping what's happening isn't happening.
Y'all are asking the wrong question: it's not what can Al bring to Apple ... it's can (even) Apple make Al Gore COOL?
After a (shiny, aluminum) makeover from Ives and RDF lessons from the master himself, Gore will be back and better than ever in 2008! You heard it here first!
I'm a Republican and I'm going to make fun of him.
I was counting on him to join GNU.
Quick! We need another politician of the same rank... let me see... is this Dan Quayle available?
... a few years ago because he could "Check his own e-mail" !!! I'm not kidding !!!
On the news of his joining Apple, at first I thought, "Oh, no! I just bought an Apple!" but then I remembered that I really don't like Jobs either, and still bought it. I bought it for the technology, not the people in the company.
dochood
When I think of Al Gore and Apple together, why do the words "Runner Up" keep coming to mind?
So what if its a lie?
There goes apple!
AlGore is fit to clean toilets at Apple. That's about it.
Methinks this maybe more than even the Trolls of Slashdot can handle! Biggest troll topic ever? No to mention this will probably set off a few political discussions which open more troll topics. Think I'll refrain from reading the comments on this one :)
This guy is way out there
I have all along been saying that Jobs prefer Gore, not Bush. Economy would be better if Gore were president.
charmer.
This should be an ASK SLASHDOT topic!
Ask Al Gore about Futurama, the Internet and a stolen bid for Presidency.
i didn't vote for him, but, i think this could be good. he is fairly pro-technology guy. plus, apple is trying to reclaim lost education market. algore is tight with the teachers unions. forget politics, apple is a corp., and they need access. algore brings that.
most schools have purchased their tech over the last few years. soon it will be obsolete. and there is not funding like there might be in business. school funding works diffedrently, we have to spend when we get it, and can't bank funds, or delay purchases. sucks. but that is how it is. soon schools will need to enter the next wave of tech purchases and directions. apple wants a shot at that. not a bad move for apple.
My problem? I was perfectly gruntled, until some numbnuts came by and dissed me.
Gore was IN the military.
Bush DESERTED the military, during Vietnam. He refuseed to take a drug test and disappeard from duty!
Yeah, but on the other hand, there are people who he will have "disappeal" with (almost an equal number). Meaning that on balance some people will switch to Apple for him and some will leave. It is a risk to say which way. If 1000 switch to Apple, and 999 leave, I can't say that things really would be worth it for Apple, follow me here?
America may be 50-50 on guys like Gore, but in my country (Canada) he's pretty well liked. America's left wing (Democrats) is pretty well in line with out centre (Liberals), and I'm sure that this is true in many countries. So, sales may not improve too greatly in the US, but they could really jump in forgeign markets such as the Frozen North, eh?
The US Army: promoting democracy through unquestioned obedience
Well, actually I wouldn't even believe anything the American Regime telling me.
h tm l
:-)
There's probably about as much truth in your story as it was in the blatant lie about the babies taken out of the incubators as a justification for the last war:
http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0906/p25s02-cogn.
Or like in the al-quaeda Hussein connection theories.
Even if Saddam Hussein is a criminal mass-murderer, what I'm absolutely positive about, this doesn't give the strongest force on this planet right to just go to war against the innocent people in this country.
That this country happens to have the biggest sources of oil directly after the US' dear allies Saudi-Arabia is pure coincidence, of course.
And by the way, as an example, there are a lot of christian churches in Baghdad where as you'll be killed for a christian service in Riyad. But Saudi-Arabia means good business for the US, so they must be okay. Even if the women have to hide under a tablecloth...
OK, breaking or getting out of any international contracts should have shown us how much the US-regime cares about anything than itself. Breaking the law doesn't matter to them, because they are the law.
Your president has tried to destroy willingly everything that has been achieved within the last 50 years to keep us from WWIII.
Since there are a lot of countries that are way more threatened by other countries than the US is by Iraq, who will tell them not do preemtively strike?
The only message to any country on this planet your regime is sending is: "Get nukes and ICBs as fast as you can! Then they will not touch you."
Wow, great GWB.
Not to speak of Hussein and the taleban having supported by exactly your wonderful land of the free for years and years. Do you know the picture on which Mr. Rumsfeld shakes hands with Mr. Evil Saddam Hussein?
It's very hard to differentiate these days, to keep yourself from yust being anti-american in old europe.
Freedom fries anybody
k2r
(Please excuse syntax and spelling, I haven't slept much within the last days due to the whole thing, am quite furious and English isn't my native native tongue, obviuosly.)
Will CommanderTaco go down in history for helping invent the Internet Troll with /.?
Or a damned nightmare..
someone wake me PLEASE...
---- Booth was a patriot ----
Did he say Bush was better than Gore? No. He just said Gore is a fucking jerk. You made that inference. Maybe it was correct, maybe not. Based on the post you can't tell.
I forget...are we at war with Eurasia or East Asia?
I personally hope that he can stand up to jobs and knows that he does NOT know Fsck all about technology
people who know where their limits are and get advice i.e. humble are the people you want
at last jobs hass someone who can really play politics......
regards
John Jones
Post your comments http://www.apple.com/contact/feedback.html.
:)
Maybe we need to stage a "no Mac" day in protest
It's amazing the steps Apple will go to in order to get a 'switcher' ad from a celebrity.
Kind thoughts do not change the world
And, of course, Gore looks, uhm, cooler. See, everyone makes out!
If 1000 switch to Apple, and 999 leave, I can't say that things really would be worth it for Apple, follow me here?
No.....Basic math, this is still a net +1 user for Apple. Now repeat X's N.
There isn't much of an accomplishment to find in getting businesses do something (a) required by law and (b) they get paid going rates for.
When was the last time you were able to coordinate several large telecommunications companies?
Additionally, I'd say the same to Google - maybe he is a great business adviser, but he doesn't have a track record that proves it yet.
But then he does have the job.
Visiting professor = nothing. Guest lectures from time to time. Hardly an academic in the true sense of the word. Hardly a trendsetter/influencer. He got a degree from Harvard, but never from Vanderbuilt. He never pursued them, simply attended a few non-credit classes. But again, he is solidy educated, just not an academic with heavy contacts there.
Your point? I'm not sure I follow your logic. However, I will respond. As an academic as you call it, I will say that yes, getting a visiting professorship implies that you have a track record and have something to add to the academic discourse.
The logic is that insiders on the board know people and can easily work with them for positive change. It is good he is an outsider, that avoids "tunnel vision". But being an outsider also has negatives. Think Jimmy Carter. IE, "insider" = "no political capital" = "no influence".
No influence? How about being a former submarine officer in the U.S. Navy, a former member of the Trilateral commission, mediating the Camp David Peace Accords in 1978 with a peace treaty between Israel and Egypt coming out of that, Chair of the Conflict Resolution Program, Chair of the International Negotiation Network, cooling tensions with North Korea in 1985, negotiating that eventually resulted in the Dayton Peace Accords in 1995, a Nobel Peace prize winner this year, etc...etc...etc....
This man still has political influence and access that most folks in current government can only dream about.
My point is that he can navigate, but the people the road leads to are not in his camp. Yeah, he probably knows who to call, but he doesn't have any sway really at this point.
Prove it. As a former VP for eight years, by picking up a phone, this man can have just about any world government official on the phone within the hour if need be and my guess would be that some degree of influence can be exerted here. But what does this matter to Apple? What matters is that he can guide Apple to appropriate places in business, government and academia. That is the role of a director, to advise and guide. Yes?
Visit Jonesblog and say hello.
this looked like an evil plot it you ask me. if all gore is attempting to have every classroom in the nation wired for internet, won't they all need computers? yeah you guessed it. evil plot. out children are about to be driven to the evil world of shiney plastic computers.
Al will be used to improve the Apple's Sleep Mode :)
-Cnik
is there a way I can elect to make sure my future purchases from Apple don't get to Gore's pocket?
For all of Apple's reputation as a computer for Liberals, a lot of prominent Conservatives use them. Rush Limbaugh is a longtime Mac user, as is Neo-Con Andrew Sullivan. And unless I'm mistaken, Tom Clancy was a Mac user at one time as well.
Life is hard, and the world is cruel
it just struck me that their is no one with any technical knowledge on the board
I mean Hardware people with an EE degree. Apple they keep saying is a hardware company it might pay to have someone who knows what the differance in a process can make to a product...
let alone understanding tape out times
regards
John Jones
Steve Jobs
CEO, Apple
CEO, Pixar
This statement is wrong! It should read:
Steve Jobs
CEO, Apple
CEO, Pixar
God
Got it? Now repeat after me...
Hello! I'm a disaster waiting to happen!
When has any politician ever run a successful business? Clinton never did, W was a failed oilman, Halliburton lost ground to its competitors under Cheney, etc. Maybe Bush Sr was decent, I don't know for sure. Anybody who was a good businessman would probably rather just have the president in his pocket when needed than do the job himself and take the big pay cut.
All of you who are saying you'll never buy a Mac because of this are going a little too far IMO. Every company makes controversial decisions. How many times has Microsoft done something that has made your blood boil? (I think more /.ers use Windows than are willing to admit.) Just because a company makes one decision you don't agree with is not a good reason to permanently boycott them. If you were Steve, you could hire whoever the hell you wanted. Point is, you are not and everyone "thinks differently" and has their own opinion of the right man for the job. This is not a political rant (I did not vote for Gore), but maybe he will bring something to Apple that they can use. He's not Phil Schiller, he's not going to be in your face and most people will probably forget all about this after a few months.
-You may license this sig for only $6.99.
You were joking right?
So you're going to boycott any company with assholes on their boards of directors, are ya?
Better start doing some serious investigating, since 99% of the big-boys in this country are gonna have someone that someone somewhere hates on their boards. Looks like you're gonna have a tough time buying anything in this country, and that includes sleeping, eating, hell, even wiping your ass after you crap.
Best of luck to you.
"That naive cube! How long must I suffer this!" --Sheldon J. Plankton
Every time some story like this comes along there are the standard flock of troll wanna-be's who claim that "I was interested in X, but not anymore". It's no more true now than it was then. Cut the shit and be honest. You were never going to buy a Mac in the first place and you know it.
Boobies never hurt anyone. - Sherry Glaser.
Geez, if you want an iBook just buy one. Denying yourself the computer you want isn't going to hurt Al Gore any, you would just be punishing yourself. I'm sure every company must have employees whose politics you don't approve, so I'd be careful about adopting that as a standard for doing business. It would save you a lot of money, though. :-)
...wearing a skin-tight topless leather jumpsuit, with cutaway buttocks and transparent crotch panel.
Just thought I'd point that out...back in their successful days. Perhaps ol' Gore can score some government contracts for Apple. Or perhaps they (Apple) are betting that if Gore actually changed his mind and ran in 2004 (since Gephardt is a fool) and this time won constitutionally, then the DOJ would throw away that pile of feces known as the Microsoft settlement and go full guns a'blazin' (and dropping some legal equivalents to the new M.O.A.B. bomb) on Redmond...
"Right now, somewhere in this world, Scott Baio is plowing a woman he doesn't love," - Peter Griffin, *Family Guy*
al gore _did_ invent the internet by matt4077
That looks like it'll make a fine sig for someone who enjoys a good laugh at a liberal working his spin.
Disclaimer: I voted for him
Did you go for the dimpled chad, the hanging chad, or just punch that sucker all the way through?!
Presidents come and go, but mandarins are in it for the long haul. And we all know who's actually making the decisions...
The governments who support the US do it mainly since they don't want to piss of the US. They know what the US does to countries that piss them off.
Japan knows it will need help with North Korea later, and do what they have to, etc.
While they were trying to get a vote through the security council and get Turkey's support, a lot money was also thrown around, coining the phrase "The Coalition of the Billing". That's apart from the dirty tricks.
I'm not aware of any democratic country where the public is not against the war, except perhaps Poland.
When can I expect the new iPod digital PMRC witch-hunt feature? This is so exciting!
Aggressive legal department that goes after anything that even remotely looks like an Apple design, sending cease-and-desist letters to theme/skin designers Apple's business/marketing strategy has been focused on branding. In a branding strategy the business isn't just selling a core product, it is selling other abstract entities (images, ideas, concepts, etc.). Apple's 'look-and-feel', its GUI quirks are a part of an overall technology 'experience' offered to consumers. From the very beginning (when the sledgehammer smashed the giant screen) Apple has sold ideas and image FIRST, technology SECOND... Apple is fighting to protect a BRAND.. not technology...
Comment removed based on user account deletion
this will ruin all the wild stuff they have at apple...have u ever heard his speeches? it's like euphanasia(sp).
For The Best Jazz/Hip-hop fusion > COlD DUCK
Remember when Jobs demanded that jobsforpresident.org be shutdown? It wasn't because he didn't want to be President, it's because he didn't want to blow his load too early! He wants to be a darkhorse candidate, so he needs to come in late. Gore isn't really there to be on Apple's BoD, he's there to advise Steve!
But who will his running mate be? It seems like Woz has been out of the spotlight too long. Who else would fit?
Because Tennessee Higher Ed is getting the blue-veined throbber from the state legislature (cuz taxes are Communism and a sign that the apocalypse is nigh) over funding. Ask him to give his check to MTSU to defray some kid's education or give some underpaid English adjunct a raise.
Comparing it to Windows will be a moot point, since El Dorado is going to have a 40% larger code base than XP.
the difference is the same as the difference between the two football teams in a championship game. They have different sponsors, different owners, but that is about all. Their fans pick a side and root blindly for their team.
welcome to US politics.
The truth doesn't care what I think.
Now he can just be the worm in the Apple leadership...
As long as there is a Second Amendment, there will always be a First Amendment.
Sen. Frist (R-TN) is a kick-ass heart surgeon and Sen Edwards (D-NC) is a pretty good ambulance chaser, notice that they are both from the south, I'm trying hard to think of other non-career politicans (or military transfers), please submit below.
09f911029d74e35bd84156c5635688c0
Jobs must have read this.
You can get this quote from the Rush Limbaugh transcript archive from Tuesday, Feb 25, 2003:
Rush: "the one nation on earth to whom this is only and all about oil is France. France imports most of its oil, and gets the vast majority of that from Iraq. They have sweet economic deals that go back to the 70s made between Saddam Hussein and Jacques Strap Chirac, and I'm telling you, their opposition to this is rooted solely in their desire for an uninterrupted, continued supply of oil from Iraq."
Let's see what the Department of Energy has to say about this little bombshell:
"French imports come primarily from Saudi Arabia and Norway, followed by the United Kingdom (UK), Iraq, Iran, Nigeria, and Russia. In July 2001, the Iraqi government stated that it would reconsider oil projects with French companies and no longer give French companies "priority" due to France's support of the U.S.-British "Smart Sanctions" proposal at the United Nations Security Council."
So - no, France does not import "the vast majority" of its oil from Iraq, and any "sweet deals" they had worked out were apparently ended in 2001 because France wanted to continue sanctions against Iraq.
Think of all the "anit-France" bashing going on in the U.S. right now. Don't you think this kind of claim from Rush helps contribute to that? Does it really have the same impact if Rush says, "for France, this is all about oil from their 4th largest supplier that cut their oil companies out in 2001 because of their willingness to continue with sanctions?"
I don't know - maybe you'll say "well, it's just one little misstatement", but it's symptomatic of a pattern. There is more than one of these "little misstatements" that get thrown out there, that nobody bothers to follow up on, and that shape the tone of the debate (for the worse, I'll say - because it's not based on the truth).
Browse his radio transcripts (see the link above). Look for particularly inflammatory claims, or statements of fact. Do some research on your own to see if it's exactly as Rush has proclaimed. Perhaps you'll find out 99% of what he says is true. Perhaps not. But at least then YOU can say with confidence that you trust what he says because YOU have checked up on him.
oh, yea - I did a fair amount of looking, and this was the most recent, least biased source I could come up with. Feel free to find a more recent (than Jan 2002) article from an equally repudiable source to prove me wrong.
Noting that the Equal Protection clause guarantees individuals that their ballots cannot be devalued by "later arbitrary and disparate treatment," the per curiam opinion held 7-2 that the Florida Supreme Court's scheme for recounting ballots was unconstitutional.
The precedent of Baker v. Carr allowed the Supreme Court to frame this case as a LEGAL question (rather than a political question) because they were able to argue that citizens of Florida were having their INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS violated and therefore, the Court argued that this made this case a LEGAL question.
Even if the recount was fair in theory, it was unfair in practice. The record suggested that different standards were applied from ballot to ballot, precinct to precinct, and county to county.
Because of those and other procedural difficulties, the court held that no constitutional recount could be fashioned in the time remaining (which was short because the Florida legislature wanted to take advantage of the "safe harbor" provided by 3 USC Section 5).
The per curiam opinion limited its holding to this present case only.
It was how they were to be recounted that was being questioned by the Supreme Court. So do a little homework first, and I'll finish studying for my test...
This is my digital signature. 10011011001
I had a mac product catalog open on my desk to buy an xserve when I read this. I'll be buying an intel machine now running linux.
As some have heard, there was a grassroots campaign back in 2000 to elect Steve Jobs as President of the U.S... Perhaps having Gore to the board of directors is bringing this idea one step closer to reality?
Slashdot's first reaction to VMware
Do you know that 200,000 iraqi innocent civilians were killed. Saddam has never killed this many innocent people, the US invasion should kill many more civilians in horrible ways. So Saddam while a fricken lunatic, poses less danger to his people than George Bush does. So we are willing to kill many innocents, tarnish the image of the US, incite terrorist acts, break international law, spend 160 billion dollars, to get rid of a guy who is going to live another 10 years before he dies a natural death. We are going to shoot our guns with uranium in the bullets thus leetching radiation and causing cancer.
Wow, talk about a surprise. When I cued up slashdot to read some news, I was totally expecting to hear about precision strike teams taking Iraq's republican guard apart. How 'totally the opposite' is this?
-dewhite
I was winning the election in Florida, ballots were being counted on a PC, and then it was, like, beep beep beep beep, and then, like, half of the ballots voting for me were gone. And I was, like, huh? It devoured my ballots. They were really good ballots. And then I had to get them counted again, and I had to get it done fast before the Supreme Court stopped me, and they weren't as good. It's kind of ... a bummer.
If you reply, do so only to what I explicitly wrote. If I didn't write it, don't assume or infer it.
the campaign to get to a 12th level Vice President?
Later
Chris
Now that's strategery
... and that is why Microsoft is now considered the lesser of the evils.
Did you go for the dimpled chad, the hanging chad, or just punch that sucker all the way through?!
:-) To answer your question, I punched that sucker clean through.
Thanks, that made me laugh out loud for the second time today.
Visit Jonesblog and say hello.
You're an idiot. Count after count done during that time and after show he won. Sorry.
The Democratic Party: We've been pussies since 1968!
expect the end of all new and cool looking Apple products. Al Gore is the most dull person on the planet, expect a new Apple direction to reflect that. Maybe they'll go with the beige box idea, that's pretty well boring.
Because it kept going on, and on, and on, and on - sort of like Democrats crying about losing the election, which they most definately did. They recounted time and again, and it all comes up a Bush win (that means Gore lost, to those in Rio Lindo) Hurts, don't it?
The Democratic Party: We've been pussies since 1968!
That's just beautiful. Mod him up, someone. *sniff*
If Jesus wants me it knows where to find me.
Let's examine dates, shall we? Ask the tree himself what he did. Well, it's a little dishonest, Gore dropped out of law school, but the dates are hard to refute.
When the internet was "invented" in 1969, Al Gore was acting as a combat reporter in Vietnam. Comendable enough, but the Senator's son had it much better than most. We can imagine his grasp of computing was about as broad as his expressed interst in such things at the time and for years to come, ZERO.
In the next five years he failed as a farmer, priest and lawyer. No biggie, lots of nice people fail at many things and the effort is commendable if not exceptional. Yet, where is the interest in computing while Unix is being created?
In 1976, Gore started his long and unbroken career as a politician. According to this empasioned defense Al Gore made his first concrete contribution to what we know of as the internet with, "High Performance Computing and Communications Act in 1991." Not bad, he beat Bill Gates to caring, but it's hardly the kind of stuff you could call "instrumental".
Clearly, however, he suffered from his associations with one of the most agresivly dishonest administrations in US history. We can give credit to Al Gore for the 1996 Telecomunications Act, which failed, and the DMCA. It's a mixed record by someone who's writing proves a deep ignorance of many important technical matter. It's right to distinguish between people who understand technical details and those who pretend to know. It would be one thing if he stood on his record honestly. His agradizing and pretenses were blatant enough for people who wanted him elected to notice. The New York Times, the Washington Post and other paper called him on this.
I can only imagine that Apple thinks Gore has some influence to wield in shcool and government computer purchases. It's inconcievable they hired him for technical reasons.
DMCA, Hollings, Palladium. What might have sounded like paranoia is now common sense.
Comment number 667 has been brought to you by the Roman Catholic Church. Thank you very much.
This is Slashdot.
Besides, liberals and socialist foreigners don't like to be confused by facts, especially when it comes to politics.
Good post.
The opposite of progress is congress
As quoted at snopes.com: "During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet."
Did he say he "created the Internet"? No. He said he "took the initiative in creating the Internet."
What exactly is the difference in those two phrases? Please analyze both wordings, and tell us what each one says in a purely grammatical sense. Yeah, right, like anyone does that. We hear words, correlate them to ideas we have from other areas, and interpret the meaning from there. This is the important point.
Al Gore knew who would be watching his intreview. There were a lot of people who owed their jobs, salary level, or stock portfolio to the Internet, in one way or another. He knew that he could say he was instrumental in bringing about the proper government support and funding that enabled the Internet to grow as large and all-encompassing as it was. But that doesn't sound nearly as great as saying he was responsible for "creating the Internet." And many people watching would love to reward someone who they thought "created" that wonderful Internet that is making them so much money.
Look at the quote again. ""During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet." The first clause is just filler, easily discarded by the average viewer/listener. But everyone noticed the main clause, which was phrased just right. Gore claims that it is accurate because he sponsered several bills that gave funding to the expand the military-only DARPA-net, and that grew into the Internet of today. And us techies know that Gore did nothing to invent the technologies that the Internet is based on. You clutch onto that straw, that he wouldn't say something that 'us techies' could so easily prove false.
But he wasn't talking to the small percentage of techies watching the interview. He was grandstanding for the masses of non-technical people who watch politicians before an election. They have no idea if he 'made' the Internet, or 'created' the Internet, or 'invented' the Internet. But then he says that "I took the initiative in creating the Internet", and all those non-techies hear it as "I created the Internet." Hell, most techies hear it that way, at least the first time. Even you and others who now argue so vehemently that "he didn't say that" probably thought he did say that, until you could see the words in print, analyze exactly what he did say, and realize he isn't taking credit for creating the Internet.
If you think I am blowing hot air, do a little experiment. Print the sentence out, and have someone read it to you. Does it sound, even remotely, like that person is saying they 'created the Internet'? What if Vint Cerf read the sentence to you, would it sound like he meant that he created the Internet? Now read the sentence to a group of people who know nothing about this discussion. Read it to your mother over the phone. Ask them what they think it means. I bet most of them will say it sounds like someone is claiming to have created the Internet. Remember, with politicians, it isn't what they say, it's how they say it, and who hears it.
Down there in the sea of love, where everyone would love to drown. But now its gone, doesn't matter what for. When you build your house, then call me home.
(Hey, I had to write something. You'd think the subject line would suffice...)
Will
Al Gore would have surrendered to Al Queda.
And then claimed he discovered Love Canal, "Love Story" was written about him, and he invented the internet.
He's as dumb as bush, but with far less scruples.
He said that he helped with the funding and creative force that became the internet and that Tennesee was one of the first universities to fully utilize it because he saw how great it would become. Therefore he recommended quick adoption (and providing funds for) internet "capabilities" in public institutions. He was inferring that he was a reason the internet got started so quickly. The question asked by Wolf Blitzer on CNN was, "What do you think has been your greatest contribution to education?"
Yell & scream & rant & rave... it's no use... you need a shaaaave ~ Bugs Bunny
There is only one kind of comment at Slashdot that annoys me more than the idiotic "Haha, Al Gore 'invented' the internet!"
And that is the truly obnoxious "But... he *did* create the internet!"
Get . . a . . life . .
Now he'll claim he invented the GUI, even though Apple can't even make that claim. Hell, it didn't stop him from claiming it about "creating the initiative" for the Internet. One can quibble over his exact words, and what he meant, but even his intended meaning about that is a lie.
Jeez, using Steve Job's logic... Since I can drive a car, I'm perfect for the board of directors at Ford. So what he can use FCP!? What is he going to do for Apple? Gore is seen as a dope in most circles.. I got tired of him between the hanging chad fiasco and the internet comment fiasco... Only seems like more fodder for people to knock on Apple...
Apple Jan 2004 puts at $10 are only $.60. Lock in your retirement funds now. Guaranteed better returns than t-bills!
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Wrong. He did not say "I invented the Internet" (as the original poster stated). Nor did Gore's words infer "that he was a reason the internet got started so quickly" as you put it.
He said, in referring to his very vocal support for the passage of the bill that led to the PUBLIC Internet:
"During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet. I took the initiative in moving forward a whole range of initiatives that have proven to be important to our country's economic growth and environmental protection, improvements in our educational system. "
This is the perfect opportunity to lock in profits from Apple's coming collapse now. The January 2004 put's are only $.60. Increase your retirement now before Al Gore leads to the collapse of Apple.
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Last Trade
Mar 5 0.60 Change
0.00 (0.00%) Strike
10.00 Prev Cls
0.60
Day's Range
0.00 - 0.00 Bid
0.45 Ask
0.55 Open
0.00
Contract Range
0.45 - 2.45 Volume
0 Open Interest
6,841 Expiration Date
Jan 17, 2004
Conservatives beware! "Mod Down Area Ahead!"
Back to Beige?
Uh, a recount of ALL the votes cast show Gore winning handily.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
"no, gore won!"
"no, bush won!"
etc. etc.
babies, this is getting nowhere fast! Bush WON, maybe not the popular vote, but the electoral vote. That's what counts and that's what keeps power in check. Now, ya'll babies just stop ya'll's gruge match and get your mommies to change your diapers.
Bush won, end of story, whether you like it or not.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
...but i noticed something else. my original source for the amount of french imports is clearly incorrect.
using the more recent figures I get from your link, Algeria & Nigeria both provided France more oil than Iraq in 2002 (1.376 m bbl vs. 1.196 m bbl vs 0.953 m bbl). Which puts Iraq at only 4th among OPEC countries (Saudi Arabia being #1). Since 68% of France's oil has to come from someplace else, I suspect the UK & Norway (simply by proximity, which saves a bundle on shipping costs) still provide more than Iraq.
Iraq delenda est.
-ccm
Too much Law; not enough Order.
hahaha... funniest thing i've seen this week.
i'm gonna be snickering about this for months
A troll is a troll but W's last name couldn't get him into Harvard. It did get him into Yale however.
I'm a loner Dottie, a Rebel.
Count me out, too. I can't say I'll boycott Apple forever, but I am definitely not buying the Powerbook I was just about to buy.
If Steve Jobs and the existing board of directors hired Gore to enhance Apple's position with education buyers, they are whores who don't believe their company's products can win based on being superior. If they did this because they believe Gore can somehow actually help them, they are wreckless morons and are embarking on a new cycle of Apple boardroom stupidity that will kill, or nearly kill, the company.
Why bring in somebody who is so controversial as to be statistically guaranteed to piss off 50% of all your customers, existing or prospective?!? Why not O.J., Robert Blake, or Phil Spector?
Amen!
The Democratic Party: We've been pussies since 1968!
I beg your pardon but W. does indeed have an MBA from Harvard to go with his bachelor's degree from Yale.
Not that I give a shit about the Ivy League anyway, but it seems clear that his academic record beats Gore hollow.
-ccm
Too much Law; not enough Order.
iGore from Apple: Reinventing the Internet
I never understood why Bush didn't call for a new general election after winning in such dubious circumstances. It would have been the only way to restore some sort of legitimacy to American politics.
A. The fact that Gore's statement has two sentences yet he used the word "initiative" three times, or
B. The last sentence on the page: "Even if Al Gore had never entered the political arena, we'd probably still be reading web pages via the Internet today."
(emphasis mine)
Microsoft® today announced that George W. Bush, the former Governor of Texas, has joined the Company's Board of Directors.
"George brings incredible privilege and connections to Microsoft from having been born into a wealthy family. George is also an avid PC proponent whose assistants have long used Microsoft Office®. As a strong proponent of the death penalty, George is going to be a terrific Director, and we're excited and honored that he has chosen Microsoft as his first post-campaign springboard to power."
President Gore declined to speculate what effect Bush's appointment could have on Microsoft's antitrust case currently before the Supreme Court.
or was it the 286.. i don't remember now..
The internet was devloped at MIT based on the ARPAnet (government network) Al Gore had nothing to do with either. Even the TRUE inventor of the internet says that Al Gore even reduced federal funding for MIT during those times because he thought hackers would learn to take advantage of the government records system and defense contract corporations. I can't provide the quote because that was from the Tech TV special about the internet. Now I am forgetting the guy's name.
Yell & scream & rant & rave... it's no use... you need a shaaaave ~ Bugs Bunny
http://www.gotfuturama.com/Multimedia/FrameGrabs/4 ACV08/Grabs/pic00104.jpg
I know nothing else about him but he won/lost an election at the same time, but he has been a cartoon charactar on the best tv program twice and done his own voice!
Anyone else see this discussion as typical Dem vs Rep nonsense? The reps will always slam Gore no matter how right he is, and the dems will always defend him no matter how wrong he is. Just look through the posts and see what gets moderated as "informative" and what gets a big fat zero. Can you guess which way the moderators lean?
off soapbox
IMHO Gore is a great pick for Apple, mostly because of his Washington connections.
It's not quite as stupid as saying, "I invented the Internet!" but it's damn close.
So the guy who thinks he invented the internet is joining the company who thinks that they invented everything else...
wow...why didn't I see this coming...
Oh that's right...I didn't care 'cause I have a life...
enjoy macultists...
If my aunt had a dick she'd be my uncle.
But she doesn't.
I'm thinking I should probably have explained my message a little more, as people who still obsess over what might have been, even when that "might have been" would have been demonstrably pathetic for the affected, don't necessarily pick up on stuff like this right away. Then again, I don't get paid to teach school to people who have developmental problems.
/*- Mohammed -*/
Jerk.
Apple Hotline: Sir, our new automated Ordermatic punchcard order form system is never wrong. I have your order form here, clearly you ordered the iPod's.
C: I thought about the iPod's but I did not puch the chad's out!
AH: They are clearly dimpled sir, you did intend to order them.
C: I DID NOT.... fine, what about the G4's!
AH: You did not order the G4's sir. If you look at the form closely you will note that the chad you punched out is clearly lined up with the PowerBook and not the G4 product which is lined up with the hole below and to the left of that one.
C: No the hole I punched is beside the #$%@$ G4!
AH: Sir! Due to space constraints on the new form some lines overlap slightly. You will notice that it is quite obvious the G4 line only covers 3/8 of the chad you punched out the while correct line covers 5/8 of the hole and is therefore the clear choice of those intending to buy the PowerBook product.
C: ENOUGH! Where are you guys located anyway... Florida! Doesn't matter! And what then is this GoreTunes thing?
AH: Oh well that is our latest product sir! It is an MP3 player that comes pre-loaded with live Al Gore karaoke recordings such as:
- Who let the dogs out?
- I'll count it my way.
and hit single Steve/Al duet "Work'n 12 to 2; What a way to make a liv'n."[click]
I have been a Mac user since the 90's. Discovering Apple computers was one of the best things I ever did up until that time. I am personally responsible for convincing 8 friends to buy Macs. But you know what? I need to buy a laptop this summer, and I say with complete sincerity that I will not consider buying an Apple machine.
I know the Gore supporters who read this will think I am being bitter, but it's nothing like that. It's just that, for one thing, I have been thinking all this attention I have been giving to a computer maker is a little weird. I know it is it's own culture. I've been to MacWorlds, I've read half a dozen books about Apple, I've evangelized the company to friends, etc. I really know all about it. But lately, I've been realizing that it's sort of ridiculous of people to spend valuable hours of their life, which they will never get back, doing promotional work for Apple. Hey, Apple has a marketing department if they need advertising. Even before this Al Gore thing, I stopped talking people into buying Macs as if the world depended on it. Now, for another thing, me promoting or even buying Macs promotes Al Gore by extension. I just desire no parts of it, I guess. I haven't been on this site for a few weeks, but when I saw the news of Al Gore joining Apple's board scrolling across the bottom of the screen on Fox News last night, I knew I'd pop in today just to let other people know they weren't alone if they felt like I did.
It's not like I'm going to throw the Mac I am currently using in the trash can, but there is no doubt about it, I will not purchase another Macintosh system, at least while Al Gore is with the company, and probably not ever again. You know, reality is slowly starting to sink in. There really is less software for Macs. They really are expensive. The interface of OS X, while I love the heck out of it, is really not that many lightyears ahead of windows. I guess the spell was already fading, but this Al Gore thing just finished the job.
Al Gore is a good person who only has good intentions, but, to me, his policies are wrong. For one thing, he is pro-Abortion. A friend of mine had her baby prematurely, just over 7 months into her pregnancy. The baby lived and is healthy today. I realized that in many cases it is still legal to abort a baby who is seven months old. In other words, a perfectly healthy baby. If I ever wanted to give an example of the existence of evil in the world, this would be it.
Anyway, this is one of many reasons for which I will no longer buy Macs. Al Gore joining the board more or less sealed the deal.
William
Someone please Mod this up as FUNNY!
Pooty tweet
It wasn't just unix nerds who created the internet, since all of the funding that made it possible came from the government.
For the last time, Al Gore DID NOT say this.
And thanks, but I don't need a history lesson. I'm not arguing that Al Gore had anything to do with the development of ARPAnet, I'm arguing that Al Gore helped push legislation that led to the creation of the public Internet.
Since you're memory is escaping you, I'll help you out. Here is the exact CNN quote:
=====
CNN'S WOLF BLITZER: I want to get to some of the substance of domestic and international issues in a minute, but let's just wrap up a little bit of the politics right now.
Why should Democrats, looking at the Democratic nomination process, support you instead of Bill Bradley, a friend of yours, a former colleague in the Senate? What do you have to bring to this that he doesn't necessarily bring to this process?
AL GORE: Well, I'll be offering my vision when my campaign begins. And it will be comprehensive and sweeping. And I hope that it will be compelling enough to draw people toward it. I feel that it will be.
But it will emerge from my dialogue with the American people. I've traveled to every part of this country during the last six years. During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet. I took the initiative in moving forward a whole range of initiatives that have proven to be important to our country's economic growth and environmental protection, improvements in our educational system.
===
Notice he doesn't say "I invented the Internet" and notice that Wolf Blitzer's question is not a followup about some supposed "debate" statement.
And since I bet you're still not convinced, here's what Microsoft's Bookshelf 96 has to say about the public Internet:
===
"In 1991, Vice President Al Gore, then a U.S. senator, proposed widening the architecture of NSFNET to include more K-12 schools, community colleges, and 2-year colleges. The resulting legislation expanded NSFNET and renamed it NREN (National Research and Educational Network). This bill also allowed businesses to purchase part of the network for commercial uses. The mass commercialization of today's Internet is the direct result of this legislation."
===
Face it, Al Gore helped make the public Internet possible, and Microsoft and others agree. This is exactly what Al Gore meant when he said "I took the initiative in creating the Internet."
This is NOT a false statement, no matter how much you desire it to be so.
The imaginary Al Gore quote "I invented the Internet." exists only in the heads of stubbornly biased, narrowminded conservatives.
Hello? He's a politician! He has speechwriters! He has ghostwriters! Professional pols don't write the lines, they just deliver them.
And as for the word "initiative", that is double political speak. I have taken a lot of initiatives to make Apple Computer number 1. I was even on the creative team for retail store development AND I am opening a store of my own this summer. I didn't, however, come up with the idea nor has ANY of my efforts as a Mac User/Tech/salesman helped Apple beyond a miniscule way (i'd love to THINK it has kept them in business)
Did you know that George Bush signed one of the biggest technolgy for education budgets while he was Governer of Texas? He could have made the same claim! His dad DID help fund the devleopment of ARPAnet and as Vice President he DID make iniiatives for the internet and probably as President too.
Yell & scream & rant & rave... it's no use... you need a shaaaave ~ Bugs Bunny
I see a rapid spiral of escalation. What's next? Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader elected to the Microsoft Board of Directors?
When all you have is an axe, everything looks like a grindstone.
As an Apple stockholder I am shocked! I mean sure the guy is intelligent and all, but this is just crazy. Other than coining the term "information superhighway" which is a lousy term Gore is unqualified for this position.
Anyone who cannot cope with mathematics is not fully human.
I hope apple doesn't raise prices like Gore's ilk raised taxes!
God help us if he does...We'll all have to find an suiteable Intel platform machine then...
Unfortunately government has corrupted our industry. From prosecuting Microsoft to shutting down Napster, they have to assert their control. Apple is dealing with this the way other big companies are, by paying off one politician / or ex-politician in order to fight off the others. In addition, federal taxation is so high and the federal government controls so much spending that companies need an insider to get a piece of the pie. Apple lost to Microsoft because in the 1980s they tried to get public schools hooked on Apple computers. I.e. they went for the government market. Microsoft focused on the business customer (i.e. the free market) and won. Now the federal government is seen as the big pie, so they will all hire lobbyists, politicians, etc. to help them get a piece. Truly disgusting.
Stuart Eichert
Well, maybe this time hes going to reinvent the internet!
And then the voting machines were all beep beep beep beep beep, and I lost the election. And it really was a great election...
Actually, when Al Gore was informed that he got the majority of votes to be elected to the Apple board of directors, he initially thought that meant he would _not_ be joining the board. It was then explained to him that board elections do not operate under the same rules as American presidential elections...
Hey pal, the purpose of the flamebait mod is to avoid possible flame wars. With all the anti-war, anti-american sentiment going on around the world, (and yes, this site is read by people from other countries, not just americans) I think it was a very fair call
In Soviet Russia, the monkey spanks you!
And he did take the initiative in creating a *PRIVATISED* Internet. You're probably too young to remember when commerce wall illegal on the Internet, but the bill he pushed through congress was critical to creating the Internet as we know it.
Not that I give a shit about the Ivy League anyway, but it seems clear that his academic record beats Gore hollow.
You're saying that on the strength of an MBA? What are you smoking? The MBAs at my school didn't know their asses from their elbows.
You mean the mod is designed to suppress any speech that doesn't follow the Slashdot Islamofacist party line.
...who make me more and more scared for the future of America. You clearly know exactly what the country should be, and would be just as happy if you could run it the way you want, without recourse to such sad little things as elections and representational government.
And, more and more, with spin and with massive amounts of money, you're getting things your way. Now when I express my opinions I'm labelled a terrorist, and I'm actually scared to say them out loud at work because, frankly, I think I might be fired for it. And in this economic climate, that's no joke.
So thank you, Real Americans, for curtailing our freedoms more and more.
-fred
Sign #11 of Slashdot overdose: You see the phrase 'moderate Republican' and you wonder if that would be a +1 or a -1.
...that the nefarious left, in the shape of all of the people marching around and chanting slogans like 'no blood for oil', are fully aware that we're not at all interested in the oil in Iraq, that in fact we'd be doing exactly this same thing if there were no source of wealth at all in Iraq, and are instead protesting for some nefarious purpose of their own?
Ah, the left-wing conspiracy theory.
I know it's real... it's conveniently located in my breast pocket. Okay, so it's not a BIG conspiracy.
-fred
Sign #11 of Slashdot overdose: You see the phrase 'moderate Republican' and you wonder if that would be a +1 or a -1.
In both cases, the superior product destroyed by a group with dramatically more money for marketing and absolutely no interest in hewing close to the facts or winning on merit.
Damn, that's eerie!
-fred
Sign #11 of Slashdot overdose: You see the phrase 'moderate Republican' and you wonder if that would be a +1 or a -1.