The only thing that could really be added to this is another good luck wish for another attempt. If this company thinks they can turn the Iridium network into a profitable business, good luck and godspeed.
If, however, this is simply a buch of VC ho's looking for a handout while they run another Iridium company to the ground, I hope someone calls thier bluff before the technology is squandered (again!)...
Point taken... This is my first election living in the district I am registered in, and it is entirely my fault for not learning the absentee process and learning about the candidates running in those years.
From various sources... regardless of your nader opinion, I am curious about what people think about having a binding 'none of the above' or 'no confidence' option on election ballots. If none of the above wins, a new election is called some time later.
Allow voting for "None of the Above"
[I think people] are overwhelmingly supportive of a binding none-of-the-above law. So if you don't like who's on the ballot, you can go down and vote for None of the Above in your voting precinct. If None of the Above wins more votes than any of the other candidates, it cancels that particular election, sends the candidates packing and orders, within thirty or forty-five days, a new election and new candidates.
Source: Alternative Radio interview with David Barsamian Feb 23, 2000
this is from votenader.org:
When there is no one worth your vote: BINDING NONE OF THE ABOVE OPTION
In so many elections, there is only one major-party name on the ballot, or a choice between two candidates with no significant differences and nothing new to offer voters.
Voters should be able to reject the candidates put forth by choosing None of the Above, and force a new election with new candidates. This binding measure would give voters an escape hatch out of an unsatisfactory election and give the disaffected a chance to shake things up.
Trading a vote for a good or service is illegal -- trading a vote for a vote is not.
and from http://www.cs.berkeley.edu/~aaronson/nadertrader.h tml
The US Justice Department determined that vote-swapping does not violate federal statutes.
* State statutes differ, and the questions have yet to be adjudicated. A strong case for legality can be made on four grounds:
1. members of Congress regularly vote-swap;
2. the First Amendment protects people's right to express their preferences through voting;
3. the California statute bans trading "any money, gift, loan, or other valuable consideration" for a vote, but does not mention trading votes for votes, an important category that should have been named specifically were it banned; and
4. nadertrading sites don't actually broker vote exchanges, but instead just connect voters together so they can do their own thing in private, rather like dating services. (And you never knew democracy was so sexy...)
I am 20 years old, so this was actually my first election.
I was pretty conflicted about this-- I would rather have Gore pick the Judges that will interpret the constitution for (most likely) the better part of my life than Bush. I would rather have a supreme court aligned with the ACLU than with Jerry Falwell.
But campaign finance is a huge issue for me.... I feel that once a candidate takes money from a special interest or corporation, their motivations and agenda are suspect. Gore and Bush accepted tons of corporate money, much from the same companies. Who would they be working for while in office?
After reading the Green platform and Naders speeches and writing, I found a candidate and party I agree with more than not. So much so that when I changed my Address, I registered to vote as a member of ther Green party.
But I live in PA, a 'Battleground State', and as much as I hate to admit, a Nader vote IS as good as a Bush vote here.
Voteexchange.com seems to solve the problem pretty well. I will vote for Gore... , and a woman in Virginia will vote for Nader on my behalf, since Virginia is pretty much a done deal.
-Ross
Important Stuff:
* Please try to keep posts on topic.
* Try to reply to other people comments instead of starting new threads.
* Read other people's messages before posting your own to avoid simply duplicating what has already been said.
* Use a clear subject that describes what your message is about.
* Offtopic, Inflammatory, Inappropriate, Illegal, or Offensive comments might be moderated. (You can read everything, even moderated posts, by adjusting your threshold on the User Preferences Page)
Thought this was interesting... Prince Al has taken a lot of shit for his Internet claim, and Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn (Two of the nets original architects) have written an open letter to actually back up his claim to have "taken the initiative in creating the Internet."
Dave and Declan,
I am taking the liberty of sending to you both a brief
summary of Al Gore's Internet involvement, prepared by
Bob Kahn and me. As you know, there have been a seemingly
unending series of jokes chiding the vice president for
his assertion that he "took the initiative in creating
the Internet."
Bob and I believe that the vice president deserves significant
credit for his early recognition of the importance of what has
become the Internet.
I thought you might find this short summary of sufficient
interest to share it with Politech and the IP lists, respectively.
By Robert Kahn and Vinton Cerf
Al Gore was the first political leader to recognize the importance of the Internet and to promote and support its development.
No one person or even small group of persons exclusively "invented" the Internet. It is the result of many years of ongoing collaboration among people in government and the university community. But as the two people who designed the basic architecture and the core protocols that make the Internet work, we would like to acknowledge VP Gore's contributions as a Congressman, Senator and as Vice President. No other elected official, to our knowledge, has made a greater contribution over a longer period of time.
Last year the Vice President made a straightforward statement on his role. He said: "During my service in the United States Congress I took the initiative in creating the Internet." We don't think, as some people have argued, that Gore intended to claim he "invented" the Internet. Moreover, there is no question in our minds that while serving as Senator, Gore's initiatives had a significant and beneficial effect on the still-evolving Internet. The fact of the matter is that Gore was talking about and promoting the Internet long before most people were listening. We feel it is timely to offer our perspective.
As far back as the 1970s Congressman Gore promoted the idea of high speed telecommunications as an engine for both economic growth and the improvement of our educational system. He was the first elected official to grasp the potential of computer communications to have a broader impact than just improving the conduct of science and scholarship. Though easily forgotten, now, at the time this was an unproven and controversial concept. Our work on the Internet started in 1973 and was based on even earlier work that took place in the mid-late 1960s. But the Internet, as we know it today, was not deployed until 1983. When the Internet was still in the early stages of its deployment, Congressman Gore provided intellectual leadership by helping create the vision of the potential benefits of high speed computing and communication. As an example, he sponsored hearings on how advanced technologies might be put to use in areas like coordinating the response of government agencies to natural disasters and other crises.
As a Senator in the 1980s Gore urged government agencies to consolidate what at the time were several dozen different and unconnected networks into an "Interagency Network." Working in a bi-partisan manner with officials in Ronald Reagan and George Bush's administrations, Gore secured the passage of the High Performance Computing and Communications Act in 1991. This "Gore Act" supported the National Research and Education Network (NREN) initiative that became one of the major vehicles for the spread of the Internet beyond the field of computer science.
As Vice President Gore promoted building the Internet both up and out, as well as releasing the Internet from the control of the government agencies that spawned it. He served as the major administration proponent for continued investment in advanced computing and networking and private sector initiatives such as Net Day. He was and is a strong proponent of extending access to the network to schools and libraries. Today, approximately 95% of our nation's schools are on the Internet. Gore provided much-needed political support for the speedy privatization of the Internet when the time arrived for it to become a commercially-driven operation.
There are many factors that have contributed to the Internet's rapid growth since the later 1980s, not the least of which has been political support for its privatization and continued support for research in advanced networking technology. No one in public life has been more intellectually engaged in helping to create the climate for a thriving Internet than the Vice President. Gore has been a clear champion of this effort, both in the councils of government and with the public at large.
The Vice President deserves credit for his early recognition of the value of high speed computing and communication and for his long-term and consistent articulation of the potential value of the Internet to American citizens and industry and, indeed, to the rest of the world.
If Spielberg is to believed, these theoretical civilizations ought to be attracted to little gobs of Penut Butter wrapped in a crunchy candy shell.
Following this line of thought, if SETI could convince Hershey Foods Corp. to manufacture an aerodynamic, heat shielded version of these candies that could be shot to various star systems at a constant rate (1 Reeses Pieces/yard would be acceptable), any alien race would follow this line of candy back to earth. Of course, they might resent having thier planet pelted with candy, and would be hostile towards us. The chance also exists that they may be content with the constant stream of candy, and would not be promted to find the source.
Similar to the Desert Bar, Which Hershey manufactured for the US Armed Services during the Gulf War, these one-off modified confections could probably be marketed to the public, If HFC was able to yeild enough to satisfy SETI Demands.
Slashdot Mirror
The only thing that could really be added to this is another good luck wish for another attempt. If this company thinks they can turn the Iridium network into a profitable business, good luck and godspeed.
...
If, however, this is simply a buch of VC ho's looking for a handout while they run another Iridium company to the ground, I hope someone calls thier bluff before the technology is squandered (again!)
-Ross
Am I missing something? Does the Space Mold have earth origins? Or is it genuine evidence of Life Beyond Our Planet (tm)?
Point taken... This is my first election living in the district I am registered in, and it is entirely my fault for not learning the absentee process and learning about the candidates running in those years.
Allow voting for "None of the Above" [I think people] are overwhelmingly supportive of a binding none-of-the-above law. So if you don't like who's on the ballot, you can go down and vote for None of the Above in your voting precinct. If None of the Above wins more votes than any of the other candidates, it cancels that particular election, sends the candidates packing and orders, within thirty or forty-five days, a new election and new candidates.
Source: Alternative Radio interview with David Barsamian Feb 23, 2000
this is from votenader.org:
When there is no one worth your vote: BINDING NONE OF THE ABOVE OPTION
In so many elections, there is only one major-party name on the ballot, or a choice between two candidates with no significant differences and nothing new to offer voters.
Voters should be able to reject the candidates put forth by choosing None of the Above, and force a new election with new candidates. This binding measure would give voters an escape hatch out of an unsatisfactory election and give the disaffected a chance to shake things up.
Trading a vote for a good or service is illegal -- trading a vote for a vote is not.
and from http://www.cs.berkeley.edu/~aaronson/nadertrader.h tml
The US Justice Department determined that vote-swapping does not violate federal statutes. * State statutes differ, and the questions have yet to be adjudicated. A strong case for legality can be made on four grounds:
1. members of Congress regularly vote-swap;
2. the First Amendment protects people's right to express their preferences through voting;
3. the California statute bans trading "any money, gift, loan, or other valuable consideration" for a vote, but does not mention trading votes for votes, an important category that should have been named specifically were it banned; and
4. nadertrading sites don't actually broker vote exchanges, but instead just connect voters together so they can do their own thing in private, rather like dating services. (And you never knew democracy was so sexy...)
I was pretty conflicted about this-- I would rather have Gore pick the Judges that will interpret the constitution for (most likely) the better part of my life than Bush. I would rather have a supreme court aligned with the ACLU than with Jerry Falwell.
But campaign finance is a huge issue for me.... I feel that once a candidate takes money from a special interest or corporation, their motivations and agenda are suspect. Gore and Bush accepted tons of corporate money, much from the same companies. Who would they be working for while in office?
After reading the Green platform and Naders speeches and writing, I found a candidate and party I agree with more than not. So much so that when I changed my Address, I registered to vote as a member of ther Green party.
But I live in PA, a 'Battleground State', and as much as I hate to admit, a Nader vote IS as good as a Bush vote here.
Voteexchange.com seems to solve the problem pretty well. I will vote for Gore... , and a woman in Virginia will vote for Nader on my behalf, since Virginia is pretty much a done deal. -Ross
Important Stuff: * Please try to keep posts on topic. * Try to reply to other people comments instead of starting new threads. * Read other people's messages before posting your own to avoid simply duplicating what has already been said. * Use a clear subject that describes what your message is about. * Offtopic, Inflammatory, Inappropriate, Illegal, or Offensive comments might be moderated. (You can read everything, even moderated posts, by adjusting your threshold on the User Preferences Page)
Dave and Declan,
I am taking the liberty of sending to you both a brief summary of Al Gore's Internet involvement, prepared by Bob Kahn and me. As you know, there have been a seemingly unending series of jokes chiding the vice president for his assertion that he "took the initiative in creating the Internet."
Bob and I believe that the vice president deserves significant credit for his early recognition of the importance of what has become the Internet.
I thought you might find this short summary of sufficient interest to share it with Politech and the IP lists, respectively.
================================================== ============
Al Gore and the Internet
By Robert Kahn and Vinton Cerf Al Gore was the first political leader to recognize the importance of the Internet and to promote and support its development.
No one person or even small group of persons exclusively "invented" the Internet. It is the result of many years of ongoing collaboration among people in government and the university community. But as the two people who designed the basic architecture and the core protocols that make the Internet work, we would like to acknowledge VP Gore's contributions as a Congressman, Senator and as Vice President. No other elected official, to our knowledge, has made a greater contribution over a longer period of time.
Last year the Vice President made a straightforward statement on his role. He said: "During my service in the United States Congress I took the initiative in creating the Internet." We don't think, as some people have argued, that Gore intended to claim he "invented" the Internet. Moreover, there is no question in our minds that while serving as Senator, Gore's initiatives had a significant and beneficial effect on the still-evolving Internet. The fact of the matter is that Gore was talking about and promoting the Internet long before most people were listening. We feel it is timely to offer our perspective.
As far back as the 1970s Congressman Gore promoted the idea of high speed telecommunications as an engine for both economic growth and the improvement of our educational system. He was the first elected official to grasp the potential of computer communications to have a broader impact than just improving the conduct of science and scholarship. Though easily forgotten, now, at the time this was an unproven and controversial concept. Our work on the Internet started in 1973 and was based on even earlier work that took place in the mid-late 1960s. But the Internet, as we know it today, was not deployed until 1983. When the Internet was still in the early stages of its deployment, Congressman Gore provided intellectual leadership by helping create the vision of the potential benefits of high speed computing and communication. As an example, he sponsored hearings on how advanced technologies might be put to use in areas like coordinating the response of government agencies to natural disasters and other crises.
As a Senator in the 1980s Gore urged government agencies to consolidate what at the time were several dozen different and unconnected networks into an "Interagency Network." Working in a bi-partisan manner with officials in Ronald Reagan and George Bush's administrations, Gore secured the passage of the High Performance Computing and Communications Act in 1991. This "Gore Act" supported the National Research and Education Network (NREN) initiative that became one of the major vehicles for the spread of the Internet beyond the field of computer science.
As Vice President Gore promoted building the Internet both up and out, as well as releasing the Internet from the control of the government agencies that spawned it. He served as the major administration proponent for continued investment in advanced computing and networking and private sector initiatives such as Net Day. He was and is a strong proponent of extending access to the network to schools and libraries. Today, approximately 95% of our nation's schools are on the Internet. Gore provided much-needed political support for the speedy privatization of the Internet when the time arrived for it to become a commercially-driven operation.
There are many factors that have contributed to the Internet's rapid growth since the later 1980s, not the least of which has been political support for its privatization and continued support for research in advanced networking technology. No one in public life has been more intellectually engaged in helping to create the climate for a thriving Internet than the Vice President. Gore has been a clear champion of this effort, both in the councils of government and with the public at large.
The Vice President deserves credit for his early recognition of the value of high speed computing and communication and for his long-term and consistent articulation of the potential value of the Internet to American citizens and industry and, indeed, to the rest of the world.
If Spielberg is to believed, these theoretical civilizations ought to be attracted to little gobs of Penut Butter wrapped in a crunchy candy shell. Following this line of thought, if SETI could convince Hershey Foods Corp. to manufacture an aerodynamic, heat shielded version of these candies that could be shot to various star systems at a constant rate (1 Reeses Pieces/yard would be acceptable), any alien race would follow this line of candy back to earth. Of course, they might resent having thier planet pelted with candy, and would be hostile towards us. The chance also exists that they may be content with the constant stream of candy, and would not be promted to find the source. Similar to the Desert Bar, Which Hershey manufactured for the US Armed Services during the Gulf War, these one-off modified confections could probably be marketed to the public, If HFC was able to yeild enough to satisfy SETI Demands.