T.S.A. Furor Gives Media a False Positive - The Media Equation - NYTimes.com

A lot to chuckle about in this story by Carr. The media, social and mainstream feeding on itself.

"The pat-down story was the equivalent of vaporware — it seemed as if something huge was about to happen, but it turned out that it was a story about a story, the noisy, fervent sound of a news system feeding on itself."

What to Expect from Verizon's LTE Roll-out

I have thought all along that Verizon's LTE roll-out would see the marriage of Verizon and Apple around the iPhone and likely the iPad (version 2 due in 1Q2011). Verizon has and will embrace the best device technology that comes along because it means revenue for both the device maker and Verizon. How much for each becomes merely a matter of negotiation and deal-making.

"But the big question for Verizon's LTE network isn't whether it will support smartphones in the first half of 2011 but whether it will finally land an LTE-capable version of Apple's popular iPhone. Although rumors of a Verizon iPhone have swirled for years now, Hays thinks that Verizon's LTE launch would be the perfect setting for Apple to debut a new iPhone model.

'It's quite likely that Apple will seek to take advantage of Verizon's 4G network,' he says. 'Having an LTE-enabled iPhone and adopting new technology early would fit squarely with Apple's overall strategy.'"

U.S. to Send Carrier for Joint Exercises Off Korea - NYTimes.com

TeamObama has few good options with North Korea. They are in a similar situation as both Bush and Clinton. Nothing seems to work. North Korea and the rogue nuts who run the country always have the advantage because they can do nearly anything they want to provoke South Korea, the U.S. and the neighbors in the region with impunity.


China loves that its ally jabs one stick after another into our side and they do nothing to prevent the craziness.


I'm sure the military has a strategic war plan for North Korea. The problem is no one wants to use it because the downside is too awful to contemplate. The North Koreans know this and play it for all it's worth.


Eventually, the people are likely to revolt but the army supports the nutjob leaders because the troops are well-fed and taken care of compared to the rest of the population. This cannot go on indefinately.


I wonder where North Korea got all the new centrifuges for enriching uranium? Did they build them or buy them? If they bought them, who sold them? So much for sanctions and embargoes. Has the media followed up on this? Perhaps I missed it.

Quantitative Easing Update

This is too good not to share!!

Web-Based Email Market Share

Now we'll wait for Facebook to enter the fray. Thanks to ZDNet for the graphic!

Review & Outlook: Embarrassment in Seoul - WSJ.com

Given the U.S. slapdown at Seoul's G-20 meeting, it's pretty clear that TeamObama's policies have been soundly rejected. Both TeamObama's political and economic calculus seem to be failing.

What will be his reaction to the Deficit Reduction Commission's recommendations? We'll know soon when the final report is released on December 1, 2010. Regaining economic vitality is impossible without a resurgence in confidence by Americans. TeamObama and Congress must show that they understand and will act on reducing the size of the deficits and debt, rather than embrace the ridiculous spending surge, as an essential step in restoring that confidence.

The WSJ piece concludes:

"None of this should be cause for celebration, because a world without American leadership is a more dangerous place. The U.S. is still the world's largest economy, the issuer of its reserve currency, and its lone military superpower. No other nation has the will or capacity to lead the way the U.S. has for 70 years, so faltering American influence will produce a vacuum in which every nation can seek narrow advantage.

If Mr. Obama wants to restore his economic leadership, both at home and abroad, he needs an urgent shift in priorities. [emphasis added] Strike a deal with Republicans to extend the current tax rates across the board, pursue the spending cuts proposed by his own deficit commission, end the regulatory binge that has constrained America's animal spirits, stop trying to direct capital toward political mirages like 'green jobs,' and press Congress to pass the Korean and other trade pacts.

The world will follow American leadership again only when it sees policies that restore robust U.S. economic growth."

5 Tips for Searching Gmail - NYTimes.com

Five tips for effective searches in Gmail.

Who Owns and Controls Personal Information & Identities

My position: I own any data that I choose to share with any organization. A company or organization that unduly restricts my access to it or my free choice about how to share it is evil.


This excerpt form The Economist story:

"Both Google and Facebook are run like absolute monarchies in which hundreds of millions of users (digital serfs, some might say) have created identities. Rather like mercantilist countries in the offline realm, both companies operate policies to protect this asset. Google stoked the trade war because it wants to add what it calls a “social layer” to existing products such as picture-sharing and e-mail, making it look more like Facebook. It would help Google if users could bring their contacts to its services from other sites. But Facebook, the world’s biggest social network, wants to keep control of its serfs’ data and therefore stops them exporting contacts easily."

Deficit Panel's Leaders Push Cuts - WSJ.com

Kudos to the Deficit Commission. They have put on the table, at least in draft form, a realistic approach to what must be done. You know it's good work when the special interest groups are immediately outraged.

TeamObama has a big test coming once the commission issues its final report on December 1, 2010. Will this opportunity to lead be seized or squandered?

"...Sen. Gregg said that overall, federal spending takes a bigger hit in the plan than taxpayers do. The plan's goal is to reduce federal spending and federal revenues to 21% of gross domestic product. Federal revenues currently are projected to be about 19% of GDP in 2015, and outlays about 23%.

It would seek to achieve the pullbacks through a mix of spending cuts and increasing tax revenues—about 75% in spending reductions and about 25% from the tax side.

If the plan was adopted in its entirety, it would reduce the deficit to 2.2% of gross domestic product by 2015, exceeding the target set for the panel by the White House of lowering the deficit to 3% of GDP...."

Northern New England Politics

Vermont has elected a Democrat governor, a Republican Lt. Governor, a Democrat Attorney General, a Democrat Secretary of State and retained solid Democrat majorities in both the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Meanwhile New Hampshire has turned decidedly Republican. From the Manchester Union Leader:
New Hampshire voters elected 19 Republican state senators out of a possible 24 -- the biggest Republican Senate majority since 1962. They elected Republicans to nearly 300 of the 400 state House seats, according to preliminary returns. And they elected Republicans to both U.S. House seats and the one U.S. Senate seat up for grabs. The lone bright spot for Democrats was the survival of Gov. John Lynch, who again campaigned as a moderate, pro-business, anti-spending executive (in other words, a Republican).


Likewise in Maine, Republicans surged to power. They now have control of both branches of the Legislature and a new Republican Governor.


Vermont, now a very 'Blue' state under full Democrat control, will confront the budget shortfall of $100+ million and will have no opposition to its policies.


Observing and comparing the approaches taken by Maine and New Hampshire, now much Redder states, will be a fascinating exercise. My prediction: Vermont will raise taxes and do little to cut spending during the next biennium. The best we can hope for is an improving economy which will produce better paying private sector jobs since Vermont's unemployment rate is 5.8%, but it won't be the government creating them. Maine's rate is 7.7% and New Hampshire's is 5.5%