All it takes for evil to succeed…
Monday, September 29th, 2008All it takes for evil to succeed is for good people to say, “It’s a business”.
- Boston Legal
Archive for the ‘English’ Category
Non-Discrimination
Thursday, September 25th, 2008Martin Niemöller a German pastor who opposed the Nazis. He said:
In Germany, they came first for the Communists,
and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, a
and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist.
And then they came for the Jews,
and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew.
And then . . . they came for me . . .
and by that time there was no one left to speak up.
This is, to a certain extend, the inspiration of the, hopefully, overly comprehensive non-discrimination clause that I inject in all by-laws I edit or write:
We shall not discriminate against any person on the basis of race, sex, gender identification or expression, sexual orientation or identity, national or ethnic origin, color, age, class, socioeconomic status or background, religious, spiritual, or secular beliefs, political affiliation, public assistance status, veteran status, marital or familial status, status of residency, body shape, size, or ability or openness of any of the aforementioned.
Innovation is Needed
Monday, September 8th, 2008Even though New York Times’ Op-Ed Columnist Thomas Friedman titled his article “Georgia on My Mind” the strongest message it sent was that of innovation.
The distinction between “change” and “innovation” is a hard line to draw and Chuck Vest’s quote was right on target. I truly believe that if more people were dedicated to innovation (therefore reducing their adherence to past practices that lack rationale) the world would be a better place.
If we were serious about weakening both Putin and Putinism, we would be investing $1 billion in Georgia Tech to invent alternatives to oil — the high price of which is the only reason the Kremlin is strong enough today to bully its neighbors and its own people.
A Eulogy to DHS
Sunday, August 24th, 2008I wrote this as a course assignment—the prompt was my professor’s commentary on FEMA’s failure to respond quickly and efficiently to destrsuction and devastation caused by Katrina:
Consider the agencies present 24/7 at any federalized international airport: FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation), DHS (Department of Homeland Security), TSA (Transportation Security Administration), Federal Air Marshal Service, JTTF (Joint Terrorism Task Force), ICE (Immigrations and Customs Enforcement) and the airport police.
Have there been problems? Generally, no: pre-flight scrutiny is done through the JTTF, people flying out are scrutinized by the TSA, the bad people get arrested by the FBI, if anything goes wrong while in the air, the Air Marshals take care of it, and people coming in are examined by the ICE. All under the common direction of the DHS. In fact, the only recent problem has been when a delay was caused by FBI and DHS fighting over who had jurisdiction. The protocol over “acts of air piracy” is a constant source of bickering between the two agencies and have been the subject of at least one DHS Inspector General’s Report. If the FBI was under the DHS’ control everything would be set in stone by some sort of “internal” hierarchy”.
That is why the DHS was created after the 9/11 fiasco. Useful intelligence was lost because all the law-enforcement agencies used different protocols, different ways to describe things, and there was no intra-agency communication. The DHS was created to be a one-stop for coordinating “homeland security” efforts. In fact, the new DHS regime, better implements the ideal bureaucracy as described by Weber. Instead of having agencies without any official relation to one another, all major agencies being headed by one single entity establishes authority and accountability, while it simplifies reporting relationships and clarifies global priorities. That DHS’ FEMA failed to respond to the Katrina emergency has little to do with its placement under the DHS.
First-responders co-ordinate using DHS protocols. That the new FEMA, the State government, and other parties involved were not well acquainted to the new hierarchy tells us very little about the hierarchy itself. These observations should only serve as a way to criticize the transition, not the new system.
Mission Statement
Wednesday, August 6th, 2008My mission is to reinstate the original objective of technology: to serve humanity in innovative and efficient ways.
Innocent people should never talk to the Police
Thursday, July 31st, 2008Professor James Duane explains why innocent people should never talk to the police. Virginia Police Department’s Officer George Bruch reveals the tricks he uses to get people to confess during a police investigation, essentially reaffirming that you should never talk to the police, or an agent of the federal government.