Reverse domino theory

Chrenkoff’s great post on Poland and Belarus. The title is brilliant: Domino Theory Revisited. Who would have predicted 50, 30, or even 15 years ago that a “reverse domino theory” could be possible.

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Google advertising as continuation of politics by other means

They are two developed, modern western countries still arguing today over ownership of a tiny rock island. No, not Spain and the UK over Gibraltar, but Canada and Denmark over Han Island!

Don’t feel bad, I had no idea this dispute existed, either, until I heard they were using google ads as a new theatre of combat! Check it out.

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Tony’s Coaching Tip

I was forwarded an email newsletter by a friend some time ago written by a chap called Tony who happens to be life coach.

His newsletter is generally interesting, easy to digest, and doesn’t come too frequently to feel like it becomes a chore to read.

I recommend you try it. Send an email to tonys.coachingtip at btinternet.com, with “subscribe” in the subject header.

Shame he doesn’t have a blog, though.

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More on Brasil

Inspired by the guy killed in London, an interesting review of the boom in Brazilian emigration:

  • “ The number of Brazilians captured on the U.S.-Mexico border -- 27,000 from October to July, nearly triple the previous year -- illustrates the trend. Brazil's government estimates half the 1.5 million Brazilians in the United States are there illegally.”
  • “Ground zero for smugglers is Governador Valadares, a city of 250,000 just 50 miles from Gonzaga, where federal police issue the passports allowing immigrants to enter Mexico, which lifted a visa requirement for Brazilians in 2002.”
  • “Governador Valadares Mayor Jose Mourao estimates 40,000 residents from his city alone have lived abroad. Ninety percent return, he said, and entire neighborhoods have sprung up from foreign currency.”

I’m amazed at the percentage of people who return.

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It’s all about the conversation

From Scoble, this is a great conversation. Pre-blogs, pre-conversation, this sort of story would have festered as rumor and conspiracy.

Either way you look at it, the outcome is positive. The bloggers help keep MS honest, but also help MS communicate back to the world about what they’re up to. Let’s continue to see more openness like this.

Salient passage:

There's a report, on the Register, that IE 7 doesn't work with the Google or Yahoo toolbars. I just talked with Dean Hachamovitch, the guy who runs the IE team, and he says that they tested with the Google and Yahoo toolbar and it was running on their machines (he just sent me screen captures of his personal machine running IE 7 with both the Google and Yahoo toolbar installed) and they in no way are trying to block the Google toolbar from working. He says that he commits to everyone to getting the toolbar to work and if there's something that isn't working the IE team wants to know about it so they can fix it.

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War profiteering, corruption, and mismanagement

If this article is accurately written, makes me angry to see things being handled so sloppily when so many are risking their lives for Iraq to work.

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Brazilian outrage

I’ve gone back and forth on the Brazilian guy killed at Stockwell tube station in London last week.

My first reaction was to say it was entirely his fault. The day after a huge failed terrorist attack on underground trains by guys wearing concealed bombs, is not the best day in which to go out wearing a padded jacket in summer weather, and when asked by police to stop, to go sprinting into a tube station, jumping over the ticket queue, and running into a passenger train.

I thought to myself, what is so complicated about stopping when police ask you to? The poor guy really had poor judgement that day…

…but then it turns out his family are reporting that police revealed to them privately that the guy was in fact dressed normally, was never asked to stop by anybody identifying themselves as police (meaning he could’ve thought he was running from muggers), and actually had entered the train station legally, using his travelcard. Hmm…if this is true, then I take back my earlier reaction, and would have to say the police really did overreact.

…but now it turns out, officially, that the guy was in the UK illegally. This might explain why he ran away.

So at this point, I take back any opinions on the matter, and will wait until more information is released before making up my mind on what I think of this situation.

Having said that, I think it’s great that Brazilians are holding so many demonstrations both at home and in the UK, and that the death of one Brazilian abroad should generate so much awareness and activism. Now how about taking this opportunity to get organized at home to start reducing the nearly 40,000 annual firearms murders in Brazil? No, that number is not a misprint. And yes, it can be reduced.

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Go Blogosphere!

What was that about blogging being all hype?

“Visits to blogs in the UK currently account for almost 1 in 200 visits to all websites, representing a huge 130% increase on last year, according to new data.”

From NetImperative

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Latest Chinese manufacturing: universities

From the CSMonitor:

“ Several years ago, Chinese car manufacturer Geely grew concerned about a shortage of well-trained workers. Its solution: plunk down $800 million and start a private university.

Even a decade ago, the idea would have been almost unimaginable. But in 2000, the sprawling campus of Beijing Geely University, with its Stanford-inspired quad, opened on the outskirts of Beijing - one of some 1,300 private universities that have sprung up in recent years.”

Amazing. Read the whole thing.

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Spooky

Link: » On being bugged | Between the Lines | ZDNet.com. I assume they are battery-powered. I wonder how much power they are able to draw, and for how long? Also wonder what the unit cost it, and whether they can communicate or are just pre-programmed. I guess these will be the key constraints in "real-world" applications...

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