If you do an image search for Tiananmen on Google’s new China site, everything looks happy. But spell the ill fated square wrong as in: Tianenmen, Tienanmen and Tiananman, and it’s all tanks, baby. Gotta love it. Thanks to Paul Boutin for noticing.

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In this LA Times op-ed (link will expire), Cosh makes some great points about Canada. Perhaps the most humorous was his observation about how Canada’s new conservative government will affect pot smokers. He writes: The new regime is likely to end the recent drift toward decriminalization of soft drugs, so visitors will still have to [...]

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Google recently created a public-relations firestorm when it unveiled a new search site in China that censors data on behalf of the Chinese government. Though the search giant’s success stems from its birth in a free country, that doesn’t mean the company is strong enough to enforce freedom around the world. Many Americans were horrified [...]

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JiWire says that San Francisco has 801 public hotspots — more than anywhere else in the US. The Chron’s Ryan Kim wrote a news piece about it today. I hope the mayor reads it.

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This is an interesting article. According to researchers at Emory University, partisan party members in both the Democratic and Republican parties ignored data that conflicted with their beliefs. Well, that explains some things…

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This was a long time coming and it’s too bad the Conservatives only won a minority. Stephen Harper, Canada’s 22nd PM, is incredibly smart and a good guy too. I knew him back when we both worked in Preston Manning’s office and the name of the political party was Reform.

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California Secretary of State Bruce McPherson will be speaking for the California Women’s Leadership Association tonight. I will be there and am looking forward to a great discussion. If you would like to attend, information and tickets are here.

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Pre-emptive regulation of nanotech is a silly idea and I say so in this news piece.

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This web site makes me feel like its 1999 again except that the “I kiss you” guy has been replaced with dead guy.

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Anyone who purchased clear sunscreen or wore stain-resistant pants during the holidays was probably enjoying the benefits of commercialized nanotechnology. While nanotech advances are exciting, some observers dangerously press for greater government oversight in the sector. Nanotechnology, the manipulation of matter at the molecular level, can create better materials, such as stronger metals and better [...]

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I spent another day this week leading a seminar at California’s Command College, a place where police officers go for extra training on a number of issues. My topic was technology and below are the links I said I’d post for attendees. Thanks to Tom for being a fabulous host — I’m looking forward to [...]

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John Wildermuth of the SF Chronicle wrote a story today about e-voting and PRI’s objections to obsessing over paper trails. As I said in the piece, the whole point of e-voting is to move away from paper and it really is just a matter of time before the Luddites lose their luster. Here’s a link [...]

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Declan and Anne wrote another great piece on this issue today. They quote me saying I think that many of the politicians that criticize businesses for data practices are hypocrites because they are just as bad or worse with their practices. Good to see that the media is paying attention.

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Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s State of the State address this week reminded California voters that in ten months they’ll be casting ballots again, many using electronic voting devices. While popular, e-voting is at risk of being stymied by nervous Nellies and the anti-property lobby One frequently cited concern with e-voting machines, otherwise known as direct recording [...]

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Declan McCullagh and Anne Broache at CNET today report on federal agencies tracking web visitors against the rules. It’s not surprising, but it is disturbing. If government wants to increase surveillance in America and argues that we should trust them to follow the rules, then this example puts a huge dent in their argument. If [...]

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This is cool, but I’m looking forward to the future when phones will be able to seamlessly switch between cellular and WiFi networks without me noticing.

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