POLITICAL: The Drug War; caveat emptor?

Sunday, September 23, 2012

http://ncc-1776.org/tle2012/tle688-20120916-01.html

Marc Victor on the “Drug War”

*** begin quote ***

The “Drug War” is really a war on people who voluntarily choose to peacefully use drugs. To be free, competent adults must be allowed to decide for themselves what substances they put into their own bodies. Focusing on unhealthy or harmful consequences of drug use is focusing on the wrong question. There is no question but that the use of certain drugs is harmful and unhealthy. Indeed, the use of certain drugs can cause death. Moreover, no person has a right to endanger another person as a result of one’s drug use. If a drug user becomes impaired and operates a motor vehicle recklessly resulting in injuries or violence to another person, that person ought to be subject to criminal charges. Rational people do not disagree on these points. 

*** end quote ***

What someone voluntarily put in their own body is their own business.

To ay otherwise implies that someone else is in charge of you.

Of course, there are a huge number of politicians and bureaucrats who will collude with the illegal drug dealers to keep “Prohibition” in effect. It benefits everyone, but “We, The Sheeple”!

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SERVICE: Another cloud service leaves its Users out to lunch; caveat emptor …

Saturday, September 22, 2012

Multiply.com

Hello.

This is Stefan Magdalinski, CEO of Multiply.

Over the past year and a half, Multiply has shifted its business focus on expanding its e-Commerce presence in Southeast Asia, concentrating primarily on the Philippine & Indonesian markets. It is for this reason that we have moved the Multiply Headquarters from Florida, USA to Jakarta, Indonesia.

You know from my last update that as part of this shift in strategic focus to online shopping & selling, we will no longer support the social networking features beyond December 1, 2012. We know this decision is an unpopular one, but rest assured it was carefully considered, and we feel that it is only through single-minded focus that we will achieve our goal to be Asia’s most loved online marketplace.

For our users who utilize our social network features (blog, video, photo, etc), we realize that this is painful, and we are launching some tools to help you preserve your content or move it to another platform.

The export tools are now available below your headshot on your Multiply site and enable you to do the following:

Download your content to your computer
Export to Blogger (a blogging platform owned by Google)

There are efforts to offer ways to migrate your content to other platforms such as Tumblr and WordPress but these are still in the works and we will keep you updated as things progress.

Using the export tool:

Visit your Multiply page (example: multiplyid.multiply.com)
Click one of the options available on your Multiply page (below your headshot):
Download Media: to download all media files
Export to Blogger: to transfer your blogs to your Blogger page
Choose file you would like to download
You will receive an email (via the email address registered to your Multiply account) containing a link to download all your Multiply files along with instructions on how to import them to Blogger.

Sample Email(Sample Email)

These tools will be available until December 1, 2012 for you to migrate your content. There are efforts underway to offer ways to migrate your content to other platforms such as Tumblr and WordPress, and we will keep you posted as these options materialize.

For more information, please read this list of Frequently Asked Questions on this process.

Should you have any questions regarding the export tool, please let us know by dropping an email to support@multiply.com.

Thank you for your kind attention. It has been a joy to have been your trusted partner in the storage and sharing of your lives online and we look forward to remain a part of your lives as we complete our transition into SEA’s leading online marketplace.

Warm Regards,

Stefan

Note:
If you are using custom CSS the links to the export tools may not be visible under your headshot. In this case you can use the following urls to access them directly

http://(INSERT USER ID).multiply.com/download-media
http://(INSERT USER ID).multiply.com/export-to-blogger
http://(INSERT USER ID).multiply.com/export-to-tumblr

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INTERESTING: Here’s My Obligatory Post on the Topless Middleton Pics

Friday, September 21, 2012

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/heres-our-obligatory-post-on-a-french-paper-publishing-topless-pics-of-kate-middleton/

World
Here’s Our Obligatory Post on a French Paper Publishing Topless Pics of Kate Middleton
Posted on September 14, 2012 at 9:47am by Jonathon M. Seidl Jonathon M. Seidl

*** begin quote ***

One can only imagine the uproar at Buckingham Palace after a second young royal has been caught nude this summer. While last month it was Prince Harry, this time the subject is a little less likely: the dignified and refined Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton.

The circumstances surrounding Kate’s pictures, however, are quite different than Harry’s. While the latter was snapped sans clothes at a wild Vegas party, the former apparently was photographed while on vacation at a private residence in France. The pictures were taken from so far away that the image clarity is poor.

*** end quote ***

Seems a shame that “the press” can “focus” on this type of picture, but just can’t “see” anything more important to look into.

Remember the Enquirer was the “paper” that broke the John Edwards sex story! 

All the BHO44 documentation in the world could be missing, but “we” got topless Kate pictures!

We can’t get an unbiased report on the economy, the Middle East, or “crony capitalism”; but we got “topless” Kate pictures.

There’s no time for the politicians and bureaucrats to address our real problems; but we got topless Kate photos.

And the pictures are supposed to be near un-viewable.

Just need to not look!

Like Lady Godiva.

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IPAD: Upgraded to IOS6 last night

Thursday, September 20, 2012

My IPAD1 is now an orphan. Like my original MACBOOKAIR, which was left behind as “obsolete” a few months ago. Aghh!

Victims of Apple’s planed obsolescence strategy.

argh!

(So why did I sign up for an IPHONE5? Pride, stupidity, ignorance!)

Of note, upgrade took over an hour. 

Also, the “initialization sequence” happens in portrait mode while the screen was locked in landscape. The obligatory reading was in too a tiny font for these old eyes. And, like most “shrink wrapped licenses”, what choice does the User have at that point?

Stay tuned as the “adventure” continues.

Argh!

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JOBSEARCH: More explanation of UVP and USP

Thursday, September 20, 2012

baby turkey> What do you think of a career in information security it seems like that’s were all the money is these days

fat old white guy injineer> depends upon what you want to be when you grow up

baby turkey> U lost me there?

fat old white guy injineer> …

<<< snip of my response>>>

Strategically, I believe the model of “employment” for your generation is to have (a) multiple streams of income — we can discuss at that length what that means; (b) one or more web based businesses <your ‘store’ is always open>; and (c) ruthless financial management <no short term “bad” debt, a manageable amount of “good” long term debt, holding such financial assets as is consistent with your age and sufficient with your plans; and (d) a WRITTEN set of plans that map out your “needs, wants, and desires”.

Tactically, imho, your plans should capitalize on your excellent english language skills and your XXXXXX heritage. Unfortunately, I think you have a broad streak of what I’ll call “gold watch” thinking. You value yourself in terms of your salaried employment. That’s what I call the “gold watch” trap. People, especially ALL the fat old white guy turkeys I have counseled, share that delusion. Rarely do the goals of employer and employee align. Employees are fooled into thinking the employment relationships are more than they are (i.e., a value exchange). Specifically, an employee created value for the employer and retains some of that value as compensation. Continued creation; continued employment. What the employees are deluded into thinking is that the motivations of employee and employer are tightly coupled. The employee believes that as long as a “good job” is done that paycheck will keep coming in. When, in fact, the “good job done” is almost irrelevant. External forces, internal forces, changing marketplaces, changing priorities, results, and sometimes whims mean more to the “value exchange” than a “good job”. Even a “well done” one.

Does that make sense to you?

So how do you action that?

Focus on your value equation. Focus on your plans. Focus on YOUR results.

The XXXXX slant is part of your Unique Value Propositions (value created and value retained). And, your Unique Sales Propositions (how do I communicate that to others).

<<< perhaps to be continued >>>

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JOBSEARCH: Branding versus UVP / USP

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

8 Tips for Managing Your Personal Brand
via Change This Manifesto Issues by Rodger Dean Duncan on 9/12/12

“Face it. For good or ill, you have a personal brand. In fact, in the eyes of others, you are your personal brand. Just like some retailers are known for great customer service and some airlines are known for lost luggage and surly gate agents, you are known for the your own combination of personality, behavior, and presence. It’s your brand.

If you come across as empathic and approachable, that’s part of your brand. If you sometimes miss deadlines and let other commitments slide, that’s part of your brand.

Your reputation is your brand. Your brand is your reputation. And it makes a world of difference in every relationship you have.”

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FROM A MARKETING TYPE

I like it. I told the students just the other day that they get a chance to create their own definition of themselves every day. It followed on a discussion of Esso picking the name Exxon because it meant nothing in any language so the firm could make its own definition of that combination of letters.

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MY RESPONSE

While you can brand sand, I still don’t think you can brand people. As a matter of fact, I tell anyone who listens that if folks who spend all this time on “branding” spent as much time on their Unique Value Equations and Unique Sales Propositions, they’d be better served.

It’s all about — as far as human beings are concerned — about communicating “value”. UVP what do you give buyer and what do you retain for yourself and USP how do you communicate it.

Coke and Pepsi need branding; people can’t. Other than “burger flippers”, they are not interchangable.

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INTERESTING: 80% of doctors are expendable

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

http://www.impactlab.net/2012/09/11/technology-will-replace-80-of-doctors-vinod-khosla/

September 11th, 2012 at 1:15 pm
Technology will replace 80% of doctors: Vinod Khosla

*** begin quote ***

Health care must be more data driven and about wellness, not sick care.

Eighty percent of doctors could be replaced by machines.

Khosla assured the audience that being part of the health care system was a burden and disadvantage. To disrupt health care, entrepreneurs do not need to be part of the system or status quo. He cited the example of CEO Jack Dorsey of Square (a wireless payment system allowing anyone to accept credit cards rather than setup a more costly corporate account with Visa / MasterCard) who reflected in a Wired magazine article that the ability to disrupt the electronic payment system which had stymied others for years was because of the 250 employees at Square, only 5 ever worked in that industry.

hosla believed that patients would be better off getting diagnosed by a machine than by doctors. Creating such a system was a simple problem to solve. Google’s development of a driverless smart car was “two orders of magnitude more complex” than providing the right diagnosis. A good machine learning system not only would be cheaper, more accurate and objective, but also effectively replace 80 percent of doctors simply by being better than the average doctor. To do so, the level of machine expertise would need to be in the 80th percentile of doctors’ expertise.

*** and ***

Can we do better in being more reliable, consistent, and creating a system process and design that is comparable to highly reliable organizations and industries? Of course. Can we be more systematic and doing the right things every patient every time on areas where the science is known to level of the molecule? Yes. Care must be incredibly simple to access, extremely convenient and intensely personal.

*** end quote *** 

Well, I am not a fan of America’s current “health care” system. Unless you’re trying to change it to the “socialized medicine” system found in the UK, Canada, and Europe.

I want improvement; not a retro grade or down grade to something worse.

And, of course, I think to the way to that is with less Gooferment and more liberty freedom.

After watching Deep Blue play Jeopardy, it’s seems possible. Doctor House could be a less smelly less crazy diagnostician. I’d have  gladly liked my wife’s case presented to Doctor Deep Blue. It couldn’t have had a worse outcome. 

Then look at all the regulation and costs imposed by that regulation.

The FDA, Medicare / Medicaid, Doctor licensing, Nurse Licensing, Pharmacist Licensing, Pharmacy regulation, Hospital regulation, Insurance regulation, State regulation, Federal regulation, financial regulation, tax code manipulation, Medical education regulation, anti-trust legislation that allows the AMA a monopoly, …  

Did I miss any?

Sigh!

How do we get out of this mess?

Let people make mistakes. Shade tree mechanics. Turn it over to WalMart.

Medicine should be patient driven.

Look at pet care. Competitive. “Cheap”. Easily found. No forms. No real regulation.

Imagine if a Nurse could have her own “practice”. Finding sick people and getting them to the doctor or hospital. Physician’s assistants would be an extension of the system. Everyone says early detection is crucial to good outcomes. Everyone says that rapid care is essential to good outcomes. Everyone says that over use of the ER is driving up costs and wait times. 

Yada, yada, yada …

It could be so much better.

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TINFOILHAT: Obama birth certificate forged … “the PDF document has been altered”

Monday, September 17, 2012

http://www.wnd.com/2012/09/israeli-science-website-obama-birth-certificate-forged/?cat_orig=politics

Israeli science website: Obama birth certificate forged
Award-winning, former Netanyahu adviser behind assessment
Jerome R. Corsi, a Harvard Ph.D., is a WND senior staff reporter. He has authored many books, including No. 1 N.Y. Times best-sellers “The Obama Nation” and “Unfit for Command.” Corsi’s latest book is “Where’s the REAL Birth Certificate?”

*** begin quote ***

Hanukoglu, an award-winning researcher, is a professor of biochemistry and molecular biology in the Department of Molecular Biology at Ariel University Center of Samaria in Ariel, Israel.

The professor established the first version of his website during his tenure as Netanyahu’s science adviser. The site has evolved into “the premier science and technology portal for Israel.”

The website says that the White House’s release of the Obama document in April 2011, after years of controversy, “raised in our minds the possibility that there could be something suspicious about the information available on this document.”

The website conducted an independent analysis and cites others who came to the same conclusion.

The website says the publication “of such a blatantly fake document about something so basic as the birthplace of Mr. Obama, should raise great concern about the suitability of the person who is holding the reigns on the most powerful country of the World.”

*** and ***

The missing ’1′

Utilizing the software program Foxit Reader version 4.3.1, the Israel Science and Technology website examined the PDF file posted by the White House April 27, 2011, and found that the last digit of the birth certificate’s number, 61 10841, disappears under 800-percent magnification.

Also, the font of the last digit is different from the other digits.

“This is only one example,” the Israelis concluded after examining the birth certificate number. “Many more examples can be discovered by examining magnified document with full page view of the document.”

Conclusion: “In brief, this simple analysis using just a viewing software reveals that the PDF document has been altered by a graphics software.”

*** end quote ***

I’m a “proofer”; rather than a “birthed”.

Maybe a nuance.

The difference is that I don’t pretend to know where the man was born. And, frankly, I don’t much care.

What I do care about is the obfuscation, forgery, and outright lying.

As President, like Caesar’s wife, must be above reproach.

For him to permit this nonsense to go on casts a pall over him.

If there was no certificate, just say so. If the records confused, just say so. If you don’t know, just say you don’t know.

Presenting a falsified document in your name makes the whole matter suspect.

This may be “smoke”, but when you add on the absolute lack of documentation about his travels, his school records, and all sorts of other documents, makes me think “fire”. The fake social security number is just the final nail in the coffin.

The only rational explanation I’ve heard is that he came in as a “foreign student”.

If it’s being a tin foil hat to call for an accounting, then I proudly claim that as a badge of honor.

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POLITICAL: Why Public School Unions Strike

Sunday, September 16, 2012

http://www.cato-at-liberty.org/chicago-and-why-public-school-unions-strike/

Chicago, and Why Public School Unions Strike
Posted by Andrew J. Coulson
Source: Chicago Tribune

*** begin quote ***

Chicago’s teachers have just walked off the job, and most of the media coverage is quick to point out that this is the city’s first strike in a generation. But is anyone really that surprised by a public school union striking just as kids are supposed to be heading back to class in September? Wouldn’t you be a lot more shocked if you logged on to Amazon.com and were greeted by the message that its site was down due to an employee walkout? Or if you took the kids to the movies to see the latest cartoon extravaganza and found picketing ticket-takers? What is it about public schools—and other government enterprises, for that matter—that have made their unions so much more dominant than those in the private sector? [Two thirds of the public school workforce is unionized compared to about 7 percent in the private sector].

Competitors. Or, rather, the lack of them. Private sector workers can only demand so much from their companies before the demands become self-defeating. Get a pension package that’s too cushy, a salary that’s too far above the market rate, and the employer will have to pass those costs on to customers. And if those higher prices aren’t accompanied by correspondingly better quality, customers will simply go elsewhere—hurting the employees who asked for more than the market would bear.

*** and ***

In the absence of real private sector competition and parental choice, public school unions have been able to drive up the system’s costs without needing to show improvement in performance. Sooner or later, Illinois will adopt a system, like education tax credits, that provides real choice and competition, because the current system will ultimately bankrupt the state.

*** end quote ***

I don’t understand why schools are ANY different than fast food.

I spend no resources about planning for my “burger needs” and the invisible hand of the (relatively) free market provisions three choices within a mile or two of my house. And, they battle ferociously for my business.

Why are “public goods” any different?

Because we’ve let the ruling class convince us that we can’t live without their benign beneficial leadership for which they extract a life of leisure.

Argh!

Sam Walmart revolutionized retailing for which he was well rewarded. Pick out ANY one of the myriad of politicians and bureaucrats, what have they accomplished for you?

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JOBFINDiNG: VP IT NJ Insurance

Saturday, September 15, 2012

Dear John,

We are currently recruiting for a Vice President of Information Technology for our client, a major insurance company in the Warren, NJ area.

Primary Responsibilities:
o Planning, implementing and supporting insurance systems in a complex distributed IT environment.
o Developing and maintaining policies and standards aimed at maximizing effectiveness and minimizing costs related to the acquisition, implementation and operation of IT systems.
o Maintaining a rigorous Sarbanes-Oxley control environment.
o Providing leadership for day-to-day production operations, in addition to long-range project work.

Job Qualifications
o Minimum of 10 years of experience in insurance information systems and information technology and has directly reported to CIOs in the past; direct management of a major insurance IT operation is preferred.
o Must possess knowledge of commercial property and casualty insurance – insurance experience should include such product lines as Workers’ Comp; Program Business, General Liability; Excess Casualty; Specialty Lines including Financial Institutions, Directors & Officers Liability; Environmental Insurance, etc.
o Demonstrated ability to function in a fast-paced, high performance environment.
o Project management / IT leadership – Strategic Planning, establishing and managing priorities, negotiating with vendors, contractors and others, and budgeting.
o Responsible for managing 60 IT professionals.

Salary: $190,000 – $225,000 plus bonus eligibility

This client offers a dynamic work environment and a competitive compensation and benefit package; which includes a 401k plan, retirement/savings option, tuition reimbursement, medical, dental, vision, life and group legal plans.

If you are qualified, available, interested, or planning to make a change, please reply to this e-mail with a copy of your latest resume, even if we have spoken recently about a different position.

If you are not currently seeking employment and know someone who may be, please feel free to forward my email to them or email me with their contact information. I will contact them directly.

Thanks much,

Robin E. Mills
Technical Recruiter
Search EDP Inc.
RMills@SearchEDP.com

http://www.SearchEDP.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/robinemills

‘Be kinder than necessary, because everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.’

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