Disqus - Latest Comments for cortland

Re: Appeasement

cortland — Fri, 16 May 2008 13:43:04 -0000

There's more to blowing yourself up than ensuring your kids have something
to eat. The suicide bombers/terrorists are usually hell-bent on some
extremist religious notion of how the world should be ordered, and they
believe their action will help to guarantee a little sliver of that order -
even if it's just killing a couple westerners.

"Imagine how different the world would be if any of that had happened.
Instead of an endless "sham-war on terror" we could have begun to
established new universities and foster new markets. And lest anyone scoff
at this, China and India were cultural backwaters only two decades ago."
-amalik49

Yes, China and India have new universities and new markets but I assure you
that there are vast regions of those countries that are still, as you say,
"cultural backwaters" where poverty, superstition, religion, fear and
violence are how life is defined. If those areas start to decrease in size,
that is progress. I'm all for engaging the middle east, and a Marshall Plan
for the middle east sounds like it could have some exciting potential, but
we have to accept that everyone is not going to like us, be like us or want
to be like us. That being said, we certainly don't need to be actively
antagonizing sovereign nations per our current "policy."

Re: Appeasement

cortland — Fri, 16 May 2008 13:14:04 -0000

It definitely has to do with indoctrination and religious beliefs; it has
everything to do with it. But, that is not going to change simply because we
in the West think they would be better off living more like us. For the most
part, I think they're happy with their lifestyle, and I think we are going
to be the last ones to change that lifestyle. Of course, we should not
pro-actively try to isolate and anger them ala GWB. That is purposeless and
short-sighted.

Re: Appeasement

cortland — Fri, 16 May 2008 12:58:24 -0000

"But the single most important thing we can do in the war against terrorism is to show the young, alienated youth of the muslim world that there is a better way."

If the better way you refer to is what most of us think of as a better way (bigger bank accounts, more opportunity, larger homes, increased personal satisfaction, etc.), then I don't think they're interested. They view our lifestyle as sinful. The things we value (education, opportunity, personal expression, money, freedom of thought), they do not. Using your schoolyard analogy - these are home-schooled kids and their curriculum is fire-and-brimstone.

I agree with talking to them, but as we saw when Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited NYC, some of these guys live on another planet. Talking to them is not appeasement, but does talking to them move our interests forward? What do we have to gain? Turning them all into capitalists? Not gonna happen, IMHO.

Re: Looking Forward

cortland — Thu, 15 May 2008 12:24:04 -0000

"From Joe Schoendorf: Water tech will replace global warming as a global priority."

Very interesting comments.

Reliable access to safe, clean drinking water is a growing issue around the world. Unfortunately, the problem is exacerbated by global climate change which is and will continue to have negative effects on freshwater resources and water infrastructure - already a significant challenge in many parts of the world. Global warming and its impact of changing weather patterns are part of what's fueling the "water divide" between those who have reliable access to safe drinking water and those who don't. This growing gap could lead to large populations being more vulnerable to water shortages, flood, drought or other environmental disaster brought on or made worse by the impacts of global climate change. It's happening in Burma right now.

Water tech will make a huge difference in a lot of lives if the solutions are affordable, portable and relatively easy to implement. Those solutions do not excuse us from addressing the underlying problem of global climate change. "Markets and the flow of capital" can aid in solving the fundamental environmental issue(s) of our day, but only when we, as a society, decide that solving these massive, overarching environmental issues is a priority for business AND government. One cannot solve these problems without the other.

Re: Disqus and Seesmic Pair Up For Video Comments

cortland — Wed, 14 May 2008 10:34:09 -0000

"I think they slow down and break up the conversation more than they contribute to it."

Indeed.

But, what if video comments were scannable, searchable, chaptered, etc. so that visitors could interact with them without having to sit through the entire video? What if the commenting medium moved largely to video and away from text? What if video was as universally quick and easy as text?

Then I think video commenting would take off.

Re: Geographic Balancing

cortland — Fri, 09 May 2008 12:04:40 -0000

The world is (getting) flat.

Openess, cross-border business, exchanging culture and ideas, decentralization of power and assets, empowerment of the individual, interconnecting everyone to anything they want . These are all genies that will never go back in their bottles. BRIC is definitely a force to be reckoned with, as is the rest of the world. The bursts of information, data, technology and empowerment are happening everywhere, they're just especially pronounced in BRIC.

Fun time to be alive and see it all. Fred, of all people, has a catbird seat.

Re: Where Will YHOO Close At On Monday Afternoon?

cortland — Sun, 04 May 2008 22:45:35 -0000

I voted $22. While it may be a morale boost for Yahoo and ultimately a good thing for the company, I don't think it will good thing for the stock tomorrow.

Re: The Tow Pound

cortland — Sat, 03 May 2008 21:23:41 -0000

Hey, my Neon! WTF?

Re: Campaign conference call MP3s, day 2 (Scripting News)

cortland — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 20:54:58 -0000

The calls are really not that interesting. Just a spokesperson telling the media why their candidate is so great, is going to win or did/didn't mean what they said the day before. It's not unlike the spin you hear on TV/radio/web from the surrogates. They do tend to be a bit more data intensive, when appropriate, and they are a bit more "raw" than most on-camera media/campaign interactions. They usually cover a broader range of topics than you'd hear about in the MSM , but, there's not much groundbreaking, game-changing content there.

Re: Super Delegates Have No Place In A Democracy

cortland — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 14:52:00 -0000

Fred said, "Super Delegates Have No Place In A Democracy"

But we don't live in a pure democracy. We elect people to represent our interests and the interests of the political jurisdictions in which we live. As long as we do, superdelegates will have an important role in the process.

Superdelegates help to ensure that Democrats nominate a Democrat. With primaries increasingly open to independent voters, the nominating process could be overrun by outsiders and the Party could then be stuck with a candidate who doesn't support its principles. Superdelegates serve as a type of firewall, helping to keep non-Dem candidates out of the nomination.

Having Dean, Gore or Pelosi "broker" a deal that forces any delegate to vote a certain way is the worst kind of back room deal and is not in the interest of the party, the country or the eventual nominee. Superdelegates are smart enough to make up their own mind and vote for the candidate who they believe to be the best. Forcing them to vote in lock-step with how their respective state voted is short-sighted, dangerous and uncalled for.

We don't need anybody to broker a deal, force votes or disenfranchise delegates, super or not. Let's just hold the primaries, go to the convention and get behind whoever comes out of Denver with the nomination.

Re: Lefsetz Didn't Like Vampire Weekend On Letterman

cortland — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 00:58:35 -0000

kyle,

The Whigs are getting a lot of air play on XPN in Philly, and lots of positive talk among listeners. I missed Letterman, but what I've heard on the radio is compelling.

Re: Vampire Weekend

cortland — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 19:19:07 -0000

I'm going to see them next week in Philly at the First Unitarian Church. Should be an interesting night.

Re: Gizmodo: Wrong, yes — but also right

cortland — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 15:41:00 -0000

Matthew says, "what's the point in having blogs that just reproduce what the
regular media are already doing?"

Uhm, maybe these A-list blogs should actually do some investigative reporting? Maybe asking some hard questions? How about an expose of what's wrong in tech?

Turning off TV sets at CES is something my 3-year old would probably do. It's not something that any professional with the slightest bit of integrity would ever dream of doing.

Of course, Giz won't report on what's wrong with tech - they proved they're part of the problem, not the solution.

Re: Gizmodo: Wrong, yes — but also right

cortland — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 15:26:35 -0000

Puhleeze! Writers/reporters (msm, freelance, bloggers, etc.) are supposed to write about the news, not make the news. When Giz clicked off their first TV set at CES, they went from quirky online media outlet covering tech to losers more interested in inserting themselves in the limelight. Thank God those guys don't have to report "real" news...you know, wars, murders, natural disasters, etc. I can see it now, "Giz reporter picks up AK, goes after Bin Laden." Yeah, right.

Re: Thoughts on New Hamphsire

cortland — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 09:37:12 -0000

Fred,

After spending 13 years in Arizona, I can assure you that John McCain would not make a fine president. He is a war-mongering, bad-tempered, corrupt, right-wing politician who should not and can not be trusted with leading the free world. The GOP has a terrible field of candidates and McCain leads the pack.

HRC's victory was a great thing. A couple more and she's on her way to the nomination, and most likely, the presidency.

Re: Holiday Party Mix

cortland — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 22:48:10 -0000

Ween - Your Party. Awesome.

Re: FollowOnTumblr - Fred Wilson Dot VC

cortland — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 18:53:38 -0000

http://sawitagain.com

rock on

Re: my lifestream is at fredwilson.vc

cortland — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 09:38:11 -0000

Paul is a terrible leislator who who would make an awful President. As 41 said, "We're not about to make that same mistake again. "

Re: Peak Oil?

cortland — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 09:04:21 -0000

The Brazilian find is great news, but the benefits are further than 5 years away. ST is optimistic.

Using conventional technologies, the peak oil scenario is real. There are still massive amounts of oil underground and under the ocean, the great majority of which are untapped and will probably remain that way for a long time. The problem is that we don't yet have the technology to tap them. Most of the oil in the earth is just too hard to get at. We've already harvested most of the low hanging-fruit, hence peak oil.

Perhaps the peak oil theory will not hold true in 25-30 years, but for now that's what we're working with.

Re: Technology Trumps Government Once Again

cortland — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 08:50:35 -0000

"Next up - our reliance on carbon-based energy and the pollution, climate change, and wealth and power effects it creates."

No question about it.

However, it's not going to happen without massive government investment into R&D. Look around the world at the leading alt energy/fuels countries. Their governments have all spent huge sums of money on research, and in some cases, subsidies. Chat with the CEO of any domestic power company - conventional or alternative/renewable - and they'll tell you that investment by the federal government is the one key ingredient that is sorely lacking in the U.S.

Unfortunately, with the current administration and the spineless Dems in Congress, the status quo will prevail for a bit longer.

Yes, technology will trump government in clean tech/renewable energy, but not without government investment in the industry.

Re: Kindling This Blog

cortland — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 10:56:40 -0000

While I agree with Fred's philosophy of freeing up content/platforms/etc., I think to wave off the Kindle or ebook readers as "stupid" is a case of tunnel vision. Reading a book on a BlackBerry or iPhone is OK for the Introduction, but if I bring either of these devices to the beach with me and want to read a few books over the course of a few hours, then I'm going to be sorely disappointed. If I'm lucky enough to have the battery last that long, the actual experience of hunkering down with a handheld to read at the beach will make me (and nearly anyone else) want to throw the device into the ocean.

For people who read dozens of books per year, the Kindle is a dream. For people who read blogs and newspapers on the web, the Kindle is useless.

Yes, charging for blogs is about as lame as it gets. Yes, the device appears to be, well, aesthetically challenged. Yes, the DRM books and lack of PDF support are annoying. But, the idea of being able to carry 200 books and a stack of newspapers to lunch, on vacation or even just into the backyard is awesome.

This is simply not possible with any other device. That's why the Kindle is a winner, at least with folks who still buy and read books on a regular basis.