Vision Circle

Marion Barry

Marion Barry got mugged.

He says he got out of his car and some teens helped him with his bags to his apartment.

They talked for awhile, he gave them candy and cash and then they left.

They came back and he let them in. They then put a gun to Barry's face and robbed him.

Barry doesn't want the people prosecuted if found

1. They knew who he was and still robbed him. Obviously they have no respect, which is obvious because they are out robbing people. To rob Barry takes balls.
2. Chances are this is not the first time.
3. If it were someone unknown, chances seem high to me that they would have killed the person they robbed.
4. Since those criminals are out making his neighborhood unsafe, it would seem he would want them off of the street.

Barry is on crack again:

Or maybe it's meth. As Whitney said, everyone knows "Crack is whack!"

"Why Didn't They Leave New Orleans?"

On an email list that I am on, someone asked why people in New Orleans didn't leave when they had the chance.

This is the reply from someone who lived and New Orleans, who has/had family in New Orleans, and who plans to go back to New Orleans.

Please continue reading behind the fold.

Thank you.

B.T.K.

Evil.

Happy Mother's Day

For the mothers, adoptive mothers, people standing in for the mothers, have a Happy Mother's Day.

Friction Between the Soul and the Outside World

May everything come true, may they believe and may they laugh at their own passions. For what they call passion is not the energy of the soul but merely friction between the soul and the outside world.

But above all, may they believe in themselves and become as helpless as children.... for softness is great and strength is weakness. When man is born he is soft and pliable. When he is older he is strong and hard. When a tree grows, it is soft and pliable but when it is dry and hard it dies. Hardness and strength are deaths companions, flexibility and softness are the embodiment of life. Andre Tarkovsky

Outsourcing not all it's cracked up to be

Outsourcing not all it's cracked up to be

Just when the zealots would have us believe that outsourcing was on the verge of steamrolling IT departments and leaving far fewer employees in its wake, Deloitte and Touche issued the results of a study that indicates myriad twists in just such a plot.

Deloitte's report, Calling a Change in the Outsourcing Market, found:

-- 70 percent of participants have had negative experiences with outsourcing.

-- One in four respondents realized that they could handle certain functions better in-house, and yanked those back inside the corporate walls.

-- 44 percent did not see cost-savings from outsourcing.

-- 57 percent ended up absorbing costs that they believed were included in the contracts with vendors.

-- Nearly 50 percent cited hidden costs as the biggest problem.

The list goes on and on. Literally. More than 80 percent of respondents have either limited or no transparency to a vendor's pricing schema, 73 percent are working to reduce outsourcing vendor dependancy, and nearly 50 percent lack a corporate-wide methodology to evaluate the business case for outsourcing.

More at the link provided.

"Security": AOL and AIM

From eWeek:

America Online, Inc. has quietly updated the terms of service for its AIM instant messaging application, making several changes that is sure to raise the hackles of Internet privacy advocates.

The revamped terms of service, which apply only to users who downloaded the free AIM software on or after Feb. 5, 2004, gives AOL the right to "reproduce, display, perform, distribute, adapt and promote" all content distributed across the chat network by users.

"You waive any right to privacy. You waive any right to inspect or approve uses of the content or to be compensated for any such uses," according to the AIM terms-of-service.

Although the user will retain ownership of the content passed through the AIM network, the terms give AOL ownership of "all right, title and interest in any compilation, collective work or other derivative work created by AOL using or incorporating this [user] content.

Casey Calls Me Out

LaShawn told me to check out Casey's blog entry Dirty Attacks., so I did.

Having said that: I took a second look at the nasty attacks on Malkin and Margaret Cho, and the response from someone named EBrown.

EBrown, who seems to be the editor or a regular poster on a site called Vision Circle, had a callous, ignorant and "everyone does it, deal with it" type of response:

Actually, it wasn't callous. Nor was it ignorant when what I wrote is true. But I continue...

It is pretty clear from Malkin's column that she is writing that she expects the attacks to get worse, in light of the controversy with Armstrong Williams. As she wrote in her column

If it gets worse, who is to really say it gets worse because of Armstrong Williams' error?

Malkin writes about immigration issues. If she writes something supporting the House GOP's desire to tighten immigration and she recieves hate mail about it, is it her stance on the issue of immigration that generates hate mail? Suppose they mention Armstrong Williams in it. Is it her stance on immigration the issue or is it Armstrong Williams?

Malkin writes about affirmative action. If she writes something on the Mich. situation and she gets hate mail that mentions Armstrong Williams, is it her stance on affirmative action or is it Armstrong Williams?

My point? She's going to get hateful mail, no matter what she does. If she gets more hateful mail, it could be because of the topic she chose to go after, it could be because of sexism, or it could be because of racism, ORRRRRR...... it could be because Mrs. Malkin is getting a wider distribution which would likely cause more hate mail to be sent to her.

What does Armstrong Williams' errors have to do with anything? What does Armstrong Williams have to do with more hate mail being generated?

It comes with the territory when you write on hot button issues of the day.

This Is A Big Bridge

Now, this is some bridge.

My first thought was that I would like to cross this. My second thought was that the fog on that bridge must be constant.

My wife's first thought was that it's another terrorist target.

This is some bridge.

My Soul?

The quiz was too short and definitely should be multiple choice. Many fit for the same question.

I'm not too sure about this one at all.

You Are an Old Soul

You are an experience soul who appreciates tradition. Mellow and wise, you like to be with others but also to be alone. Down to earth, you are sensible and impatient. A creature of habit, it takes you a while to warm up to new people. You hate injustice, and you're very protective of family and friends A bit demanding, you expect proper behavior from others. Extremely independent you don't mind living or being alone. But when you find love, you tend to want marriage right away. Souls you are most compatible with: Warrior Soul and Visionary Soul

What Kind of Soul Are You?