"Fallacies do not cease to be fallacies because they become fashions." -- GK Chesterton
| Roger Whittaker |
Last updated: Sunday 20th July 2008
Sunday 20th July 2008
Just got back from LugRadio Live where Andrew Wafaa and I represented Novell and openSUSE.
Highlights: march of the geekos, cruel and unusual punishment, Andrew giving his openSUSE talk (sorry about the bad photo).
A good time was had by all. Truly smuvelious in fact.
See also:
http://disruptive.org.uk/2007/07/09/lug_radio_live.html.
Monday 7th July 2008
Tuesday 1st July 2008
IMSLP is back (on schedule):
http://imslp.org/wiki/Main_Page.
Tuesday 1st July 2008
An interview with Hersh here:
http://www.democracynow.org/2008/6/30/hersh_congress_agreed_to_bush_request.
Tuesday 1st July 2008
There is a new article by Hersh on American policy towards Iran:
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/07/07/080707fa_fact_hersh.
In it he discusses the "Presidential Finding" under which the US administration is (with the knowledge of congressional leaders) sponsoring terrorist activities inside Iran.
Thursday 19th June 2008
A very smuvelious day.
Thursday 19th June 2008
The Register also reports:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/06/19/ooxml_ukuug_high_court/.
Thursday 19th June 2008
The Inquirer is quick to comment: "Judge was baffled by OOXML files, beardies claim".
http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/06/19/judge-glazed-ooxml-files.
Thursday 19th June 2008
Thursday 19th June 2008
UKUUG has issued a press release on the case today.
UKUUG appeals the initial court decision on BSI's OOXML action
The High Court has rejected the UKUUG's application for a Judicial Review of BSI's actions in voting 'yes' to the fast-tracking of the Microsoft sponsored DIS29500 (OOXML) in April 2008. UKUUG is appealing that decision since it believes that the judge was wrong in his reading of the papers. The matter will now be heard in open court.
The full press release is at
http://www.ukuug.org/ooxml/.
Sunday 15th June 2008
These are the kind of thugs that Gordon Brown feels he needs to protect his guests when he invites war criminals to dinner.
The demonstration took place, but there was no march up Whitehall (despite hopes that it might be permitted). As a result there was a long standoff over the crash barriers between the police and the protesters at the entrance to Parliament Street. Although there was absolutely no way that anyone could have got past the riot police, the mounted police and the police vans blocking the entrance to Whitehall, the police were very aggressive and used their batons and truncheons to hit people about the head and arms, apparently just for pushing on the metal barrier.
However this all happened in a small area, until the riot police decided to come into the square from the other side and provoke a confrontation. At that point I decided to leave.
Notice Bianca Jagger and the usual police photographers taking photos of everybody.
Sunday 15th June 2008
Some photos from last night.
Friday 13th June 2008
It's nice to be running the final openSUSE 11.0.
Something else was also finished yesterday.
Thursday 12th June 2008
Patrick Cockburn comments on the US / Iraq "agreement".
Wednesday 11th June 2008
James: people have done more foolish things when mowing the lawn...
Tuesday 10th June 2008
From BBC news today.
Four countries have appealed a decision to fast-track the international standardisation of a Microsoft document format, called OpenXML.
Brazil, India, South Africa and Venezuela have complained that there was not enough time given to discuss improvements to the format.
[...]
The BSI British Standards voted in favour of adopting it but now faces a legal challenge from the UK's Unix and Open Systems User Group.
At the time of its challenge, UKUUG chairman Alain Williams commented: "The format used for storage of documents will affect our lives for decades to come, and it is imperative that standards such as OpenXML are given a rigorous review rather than being rubber-stamped by BSI. Where would we be if the original Magna Carta was unreadable ?"
Tuesday 10th June 2008
Nafeez Ahmed comments on the reports about a new agreement allowing the US to strike any
country from inside Iraq:
http://nafeez.blogspot.com/2008/06/iraq-agreement-to-allow-us-to-launch.html.
Monday 9th June 2008
"UK unix beardies appeal for $cash"
On Thursday, Britain's High Court refused the UK Unix User Group's (UKUUG's) application for a judicial review into the UK's endorsement of Microsoft's application for its OOXML document standard to get an international certification.
Full story:
http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/06/09/uk-unix-beardies-appeal-cash.
Monday 9th June 2008
Some people are over-excited about the possibility of change as a result of Bush leaving power.
The Americans are digging in for a very long occupation of Iraq, as these
stories in the Independent clearly show:
Revealed: Secret plan to keep Iraq under US control
US issues threat to Iraq's $50bn foreign reserves in military deal.
A secret deal being negotiated in Baghdad would perpetuate the American military occupation of Iraq indefinitely, regardless of the outcome of the US presidential election in November.
The US has repeatedly denied it wants permanent bases in Iraq but one Iraqi source said: "This is just a tactical subterfuge." Washington also wants control of Iraqi airspace below 29,000ft and the right to pursue its "war on terror" in Iraq, giving it the authority to arrest anybody it wants and to launch military campaigns without consultation.
The US is holding hostage some $50bn (£25bn) of Iraq's money in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to pressure the Iraqi government into signing an agreement seen by many Iraqis as prolonging the US occupation indefinitely, according to information leaked to The Independent.
Those plans (which include the right to make war from Iraqi territory and extra-territorial rights for US citizens in Iraq -- in other words, not even a pretense that the Iraqi government has any power) are unlikely to change even if Obama is elected.
As to whether he will be elected, it's important never to forget that the administration is in charge of events and can "make the weather" politically.
"An optical illusion may be influencing our opinions: the comforting idea that the real problem is George Bush and not America," a German commentator on America, Josef Joffe, wrote last week. "Why is this a mental delusion? First, because anti-Americanism is older than the younger Bush. Second because Obama (probably) comes, but the superpower stays. America, this steam hammer of a nation, is fundamentally a destroyer."
From:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jun/09/georgebush.usforeignpolicy.
Tuesday 3rd June 2008
