Archive for July, 2008
Wednesday, July 30th, 2008
The IOC’s Bad Internet Deal
International Olympic Committee officials today revealed that they cut a secret deal with Beijing’s Olympic organizers to block sites the Communist Party considers “sensitive,” despite promising open Internet access to journalists covering the Olympic Games.
“There will be limitations on website access during Games time,” IOC press chief Kevan Gosper said to Reuters, referring to Beijing’s Olympic organizers. “IOC officials negotiated with the Chinese that some sensitive sites would be blocked on the basis they were not considered Games related,” he said.
Sites on China’s blacklist include Amnesty International and others which promote spiritual group Falun Gong. While such topics are not directly sports-related, they put severe limits on visiting journalists’ efforts to accurately report about the Games’ host country.
The mainstream press, just starting to arrive en masse to Beijing, should continue to expose China’s true colors, regardless of how many gold medals they garner.
There’s something rotten in the state of China, and the IOC’s choice to tacitly support the communist regime’s authoritarian controls is a disgrace to the unifying goals of the Olympic Movement. Shame on them.
• Email This PostMonday, July 28th, 2008
Obama on Firewalling Time to Think
Shared by Trey
I’m inspired that a presidential candidate is thinking about this. Getting into the habit of blocking off a little bit of time for “thinking” sounds like a really great idea.
Obama on Vacationing and Time to Think - NYTimes.com
I like this snippet of accidentally-captured conversation between Barack Obama and British MP, David Cameron. Cameron asks Obama if he will be taking any time off for a vacation this summer:
Mr. Cameron: Do you have a break at all?
Mr. Obama: I have not. I am going to take a week in August. But I agree with you that somebody, somebody who had worked in the White House who — not Clinton himself, but somebody who had been close to the process — said that should we be successful, that actually the most important thing you need to do is to have big chunks of time during the day when all you’re doing is thinking. And the biggest mistake that a lot of these folks make is just feeling as if you have to be …
Mr. Cameron: These guys just chalk your diary up.
Mr. Obama: Right. … In 15 minute increments and …
Mr. Cameron: We call it the dentist waiting room. You have to scrap that because you’ve got to have time.
This encourages and inspires me. If people as busy as these two guys (or Bill Gates, for that matter) can make time to rise above the noise, it’s hard to imagine why each of us wouldn’t want to occasionally unchalk our diary enough to try something similar.
[via Mrs. Mann]
• Email This PostSunday, July 27th, 2008
Five Plugins and Tips to Secure Your Wordpress Blog
Shared by Trey
I’ve really got to get on these…
Filed under: security hacks
How do you protect your own blog from getting hacked? There’s never a foolproof answer, but with some added tools and caution, you can make your website a little safer from getting into harm’s way. Cats Who Code has five plug-ins and tips you can use to protect your Wordpress install. Some of the tips are common sense advice that can apply to anything related to technology - such as making backups often and using strong passwords. Others include suggested plugins that can help you verify whether your Wordpress install has any security holes, or small tricks to hide the version of Wordpress you’re using. Do you have any useful plugins or tricks to share to keep your blog safe from hackers?
[via Digg]
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• Email This PostSunday, July 27th, 2008
Images of the Week
Shared by Trey
Sometimes a picture does say 1,000 words.
Again I ask, how much does John McCain (R) regret goading Barack Obama (D) into taking an overseas trip?
Here are the top visuals of the week:
McCain:
Obama:
