The United States and Britain continued the systematic destruction of Iraqi society today.

No, I'm not just posting that every day because I'm some kind of left wing wacko (though that may hold true by some definitions). The US and UK bombed Iraq again today. Notice how only the Pentagon is quoted, along with some selected facts? I hope so, because it's certainly not an aberration.

I saw a locally-produced performance of the Vagina Monologues on Wednesday night, and I have to say I was very impressed. Both by the talent of my peers and by the turnout. The show sold out, and there was a lineup for standing-room ticket. On Valentine's day. I thought that was pretty great.

idea: Web based discussion boards should have a "me too" widget. That is, a way to express agreement with a point made by an author without using a whole message to say "me too". Under each posting, there could be a link: I agree with what is written above. After the first person clicks on it, another link would appear: X readers agree with this post. That link would lead to a page (or pop-up window) listing the people who have expressed agreement. This has already been done with little systems like 'karma', or Amazon's 'was this review valuable to you?' widget. However, this could introduce an interesting element into discussions, especially where decisions are being made. It could also degenerate discussion into popularity contests, but in specific contexts, it could serve as a running indicator of opinion within a group.

NYTimes on Amazon's honor system.

A scary but interesting article about bugs from New Scientist.

Microsoft, Free Software and the neo-McCarthyist connection?

"I'm an American; I believe in the American way," continued Allchin. "I worry if the government encourages open source, and I don't think we've done enough education of policymakers to understand the threat." --Jim Allchin, Microsoft Veep.

Ha ha ha ha ha ha. Threat to national security? Nope. Threat to government productivity? I doubt it. Threat to Microsoft's profits? Quite likely.

And shame on Microsoft, for asking the government to bail it out of a situation in which it suddenly seems unable to compete.

Yup. But really, could we expect anything less than shameless hypocrisy from a power-hungry, corrupt institution? Really though, being power-hungry and corrupt are really ideal qualities in a near-pure capitalist system. Socializing costs and privatizing profits is a great business plan. And what's good for the corporations is.. oh, nevermind.