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Filed under: brands, community, online media, politics | Tags: Anatoly Drozdov, banks, Belarus, border control, Charles Schumer, Guy Kawasaki, IndyMac, International Monetary Fund, knock knock joke, machine, nobodies, panic, Reuters, Senate, Soviet, Tipping Point, totalitarian, Twitter, USA
The Belarus “powers that be” has recently released an ill-thought out directive. Reuters reports:
Belarus’s central bank said on Wednesday it had advised commercial banks to inform the police about anyone who approaches branch customers expressing doubts about the business in a way that could cause panic.
Belarus, where much of the economy remains in state hands, says it has suffered few effects of the world financial crisis, but the ex-Soviet state has requested a $2 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund as a “security cushion.”
“We are asking the banks’ security service to monitor the behavior of customers inside their branches,” central bank spokesman Anatoly Drozdov told Reuters.
“If they see someone is speaking loudly to other customers about whether the bank is in a critical position or advising against making deposits, they can ask the police for help. That person may then be detained for an identity check.”
If the customer was found to have had no intention of undermining confidence in the bank, he would be released.
There is an old knock-knock joke that I like:
Knock Knock
Who’s there?
Soviet border control
Soviet border control w…
DON’T ASK QUESTIONS!
The world is getting tougher for these regimes. Never could they completely suppress the freedom of the mind and soul, no matter how they punished speech and actions. But now, every time they try to crackdown, eventually, they are exposed as the domineering institutions of which they are. As I have written before, our modern world has no place for these groups. There is simply too much power in the common man’s voice. Guy Kawasaki straightforwardly remarked, when discussing Twitter,
But mark my words: [...] Nobodies are the new somebodies
That is, we are. All of us. We are the somebodies. And no matter which totalitarian machine tries to stop that, whether it be governmental, political, educational, cultural, or corporate, we will fight back with the weapons of discourse and dissent, founded in the freedom-seeking characteristics inherent in every man and woman.
Maybe one day, Belarus can be like America, where it’s okay for even a Senator to undermine a bank.
Filed under: online media, politics | Tags: .gov, blogging, Boing Boing, CNN, Flickr, nevver.tumblr, obama, rally, stick, This isn't happiness, Toy Hall of Fame, Twitter
What a week. In case you didn’t know, today it was reported (via Boing Boing) that a stick made it into the Toy Hall of Fame. The cardboard box had already made it.
This isn’t happiness has one of the great pictures of the week:
And I found out today, our President-elect not only has a Twitter page, but also is on Flickr and has just started a .gov hosted blog (of course I know he isn’t posting himself). Times are a-changing.
Filed under: community, politics | Tags: BCS, blogging, communities, Dodge County, Dodge County Independent, editor, ESPN, Facebook, Flickr, Ivan Maisel, Kasson, MN, movements, MSNBC, obama, Randy Carlsen, small towns, Twitter, voting, Wired, youth, YouTube
Last night, I got really riled up for the first time this autumn. No, unfortunately, it wasn’t for anything political. Nor was it for the Cubs total collapse; that just made me sad. No, it was for Ivan Maisel’s ridiculous defense of the BCS. Yes, that shows my priorities. I almost added to the chorus of voices calling him clueless, but then I realized—that’s probably what he was looking for.
So I am instead going to focus on a story that wasn’t simply asking for as much attention. I find it interesting to scan the small town newspapers across the nation, likely because I grew up in a small town and I get a kick out of the activities, opinions, and culture that pervades that type of life.
In the Dodge County Independent (out of Kasson, MN), Randy Carlsen, editor of the Dodge County Independent wrote last month:
Presidential candidates are going after the young vote. They feel that youth will be the ticket to the White House. Try again!
If either of the presidential candidates had any sense at all they would be going after the senior citizen vote.
[...]
When I turned 18 in August of 1973 I was excited about going to the polls and voting in my first presidential election. I think today most young people are more excited about turning 21 so they can go into a bar.
Ouch. Of course, when we see the images of the campaigning and the prevalence of the youth vote in polling stations and political rallies, we may have reason to disagree. Well, it turns out, the candidates did have some sense. MSNBC reported:
Youth vote may have been key in Obama’s win
It is a bit disingenuous to say the youth of our nation are the lazy, unconnected ones. Instead of looking first to this commonly target demographic, consider the fact that after decades of civic isolationist creep, it is the youth that are using blogs (even if they are dead), YouTube, Flickr, Twitter, Facebook, et cetera to not only connect, but to push ideals and create communities. We are creating movements. A force for advancement that we haven’t seen the likes of in this nation for decades.
That defines the youth of today. I guess there was something else that riled me up.
Filed under: politics | Tags: Ann Nixon Cooper, bush, Colin Powell, democrats, elections, George Wallace, London, mccain, obama, Ralph and Sam, republicans, snow, Utah, Warner Brothers
I woke up to snow this morning. Though I had seen it on the foothills and mountains surrounding us and had heard it was coming, it was still a pleasant surprise (the first snow of the winter always is for me). As I was walking, I realized that I would have to not just rely on my “winter” suit coat (my suit I don’t mind so much if it gets wet), but I would also need to include my winter coat and its associated gear.
I missed my pedestrian crossing light on my way to work, so I took a second to snap a picture of Utah’s Republican Party headquarters, as a memento to the events of last night. (Some friends in our building where planning on eating Barackoli, Obomlets, Johnny Cake, and McCain’ Cheese—we had waffles)
Last night held its own highs and lows for this group. Their candidate didn’t win the presidency, but their governor did get convincingly reelected. They lost more control in the Congress (though it could have been worse—it doesn’t look like it will be a 60+ Senate for the Democrats) and they lost their current House Speaker, but they managed to keep their control over the majority of state offices.
Outside of the mudslinging and name calling, it is great to this electoral process in action. And, as we all saw on a national level, the quickness in which opponents and replaced leaders move in to ask for unity and offer congratulations is astonishing. In their quickness to move together, I was reminded of the old Ralph and Sam cartoons:
But what was really transcendent to me on this day was last night, we made history. Barack Obama was elected president. This simply wouldn’t have happened a few decades ago. Of all people, George Wallace’s daughter gave us insight into what this “full circle” event means to her family (and to us). President-elect Obama himself summarized his journey with the story of Ann Nixon Cooper:
And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change.
And, as one that has perhaps a more acute sensitivity to international opinion, I am pleased with how the world has received this information. A London resident left us with a simple congratulations:
Well done America, you’ve restored my faith in you.
Whether or not you voted for or agree politically with him, his election is a truly remarkable event—one that I am glad to be a part. The last video is some thoughts about this election and its outcome from Colin Powell. (Taken from CNN)
Update: from Patrick Moberg
Filed under: politics | Tags: Dilbert, government, Jeffrey Zeldman, mccain, obama, protest, Republic, Scott Adams, USA, voting, Wired
Not really. At least I don’t think he really thinks this will happen:
End of the Republic?
I wonder if today will be remembered as the last day of the Republic. If Obama gets elected, lots of McCain supporters will be displeased, but I would expect an orderly transition of power. That’s one possibility.
The other possibility is that McCain is elected and there is widespread suspicion, founded or not, that the election was rigged. That, for all practical purposes, will be end of the Republic. Citizens will take to the streets, the lame duck administration will declare martial law, half the country will stop paying taxes, and we will begin the long slide toward a Mad Max economy.
That means we still have all of today and a good part of tomorrow to enjoy ourselves [...]
I looked forward this morning to going to his blog and reading the comments of those who were in on the joke. It turns out, you can’t talk much about politics without trolls attacking your comments section. Maybe Wired was right. (I don’t think so)
Humor aside, it is amazing that in 200+ years of presidential transitions, we have never had a problem like described. The movement from one to another has been relatively smooth; not many countries can claim as unspotted as a history. As much as we worry about our government (as we should), we must be grateful for the general peace and stability we enjoy.
Final aside—the reason that there is no link to the posting at dilbert.com/blog/ is because when I went back to commentary, it had been removed. Maybe we won’t see protests that we stop the nation after we go to the polls in just hours, but some free speech, it appears, does have the ability to stop Scott Adams.
Update: The posting is back up.
Filed under: design, innovation, online media, politics | Tags: Audience, Chris O'Shea, democrats, design, Good Guide, memes, New Mexico Sun News, Nicholas Carr, obama, Obama Wins, politics, rAndom International, Royal Opera House, transparency, words that end in gry, xkcd
There were a few things I ran across over the last few days that are worth sharing but need not much by way on commentary.
1: A little cartoon that I, disturbingly, agree with.
source: xkcd words that end in gry
2: A newspaper in New Mexico “seizes the day” with their proclamation that “Obama Wins”. They also noted:
the newspaper has a goal of reaching one million readers with each edition, but prints just 10,000 copies of each of its issues.
So, “each copy must be read by 100 different and distinct people. This places an enormous burden on our intrepid readers. However, it is a burden that we must insist you carry. So, please, read quickly, care for the physical condition of the paper and pass it on to your next chosen reader.”
The liberal leaning alternative newspaper ended by imploring its readers to get out and vote, “even if we did spoil the ending for you.”
3: Well designed transparency—Good Guide gives more visibility into corporate political leanings.
4: Speaking of good design; a cool visual metaphor for memes (make your own interpretation).
Filed under: leadership, politics | Tags: biden, factcheck.org, mccain, obama, palin, politics, truth
You know what’s great about America? We can have something like FactCheck.org as a check to illiterates, rumormongers, and outright liars—whether these spewers be elected officials or emailing trolls. If you are not aware of FactCheck.org, you should check them out. They are a group out of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania and they are really good at filtering political slime.
On the same note, what’s bad about America is that we need FactCheck.org. I understand that there will always be those troglodytes who find some semblance of joy in spreading falsehoods, but with our leaders? Of course, I understand that in a debate you may misstate information, but in plan and published advertisements—it is unfortunate to see the blatant disregarding for truth.
For example, FactCheck.org reports that
An Obama-Biden radio ad hammers McCain for being opposed to stem cell research. Not true.
[...]
By saying that “John McCain has stood in the way – he’s opposed stem cell research,” the Obama ad seriously misstates the view that McCain has held on this issue since 2001, when he began backing embryonic stem cell research, a position that was out of step with that of many of his fellow Republicans.
And some time before this, we read that
The McCain-Palin campaign has released a new ad that once again distorts Obama’s tax plans.
The ad claims Obama will raise taxes on electricity. He hasn’t proposed any such tax. Obama does support a cap-and-trade policy that would raise the costs of electricity, but so does McCain.
It falsely claims he would tax home heating oil. Actually, Obama proposed a rebate of up to $1,000 per family to defray increased heating oil costs, funded by what he calls a windfall profits tax on oil companies.
When we cut through the clutter, it is easier to chose who more closely aligns with whatever policies we more closely position ourselves, but it is this purposefully and deceitfully presented clutter that is most alarming. Giving credit where it is due, our CAO discussed with me yesterday that it is interesting that organizations like ours are held to such a high standard of what we can and cannot say, but those who ultimately have the greatest responsibility don’t even cause alarm when they misrepresent the truth.
They love truth when she shines on them and hate her when she rebukes them. For because they are not willing to be deceived and wish to deceive they love her when she reveals herself and hate her when she reveals them.
Filed under: leadership, politics | Tags: Aaron Burr, Alexander Hamilton, backbiting, business, gossip, leadership, poison, politics, religion
Goodby Silverstein & Partners produced one of the most memorable advertisements of all time with their 1993 “Got Milk?” ad about the famous duel between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr.
It was classic, but underscoring the advertisement was the duel. A “matter of honor” between the current Vice President of the United States and the former Secretary of Treasurer and perhaps the greatest mind on constitutional interpretation in US history, this death was precipitated by Burr’s corrupted view of Hamilton’s distaste for him. Of course, even though he was the victim, Hamilton was no saint either—his political fights with Jefferson, Clinton, Adams, and Madison were so complete that even in death his opponents spit pure vile at him and his legacy.
I mentioned to a fellow traveler a few weeks back during a discussion about Adams and Hamilton that these founding fathers were in ways much better and much worse than we grasp in our brief history book and filmstrip caricatures. It was in their squabbles that we find the most heartbreaking destruction. In many ways, their lives were clouded by this infighting, to the point that in each other they could see no good.
These clouds of spitefulness are ever-present today. We see them in business, in entertainment, in politicians, in religious groups, in social classes—among individuals and organizations and communities throughout the world. The effect is poison. Relationships that could have been most productive are wasted, conversations are tainted, and individuals vilified.
And this poison doesn’t always just stop with these interchanges. In quiet corners, on Internet forums, within newspaper commentary, and over neighborhood fences we may find this poison ever-spreading, destroying not only the object of disdain but the holder of the vision and to those with whom they reach out. It heralds the death of civility and the destruction of love for our fellowman.
We should not accept this as simply a part of the status quo. And while we must require our leaders to be better, we need to look within our lives at how such backbiting has corrupted our viewpoints. Each of us may be surprised to see how its ugly effects have infiltrated our lives.
We should be better than that.
