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Supporting the Arab World and Not Breaking the Bank
By Kathy Kemper The Huff Post, Published 1/24/2012 The United States has advocated democratic and liberal reforms in the Middle East for over half a century. Sometimes, it has worked behind the scenes. Other times, it has been out in front, trying to catalyze change. Whatever the strategy, U.S. policymakers have repeatedly found their efforts [...]
Also posted in Coach Kemper's Columns, Uncategorized .
“Compromise” a Four Letter Word?
In the end, it wasn’t a grand bargain that averted the possibility of yet another government shutdown this week and kicked the fiscal can down the road for at least another month and a half. There wasn’t any shelving of politics for the greater good. And there certainly weren’t any heroes. In the end, FEMA’s announcement that it [...]
Also posted in Coach Kemper's Columns Tagged civility, compromise, congress.
Debt and Immigration
Anders Breivik’s rampage in Norway last week has intensified scrutiny of the EU’s attitude toward immigration. Many Europeans are increasingly vocal in declaring multiculturalism a failure and complaining that immigrants exploit their generous welfare systems without attempting to assimilate.
Also posted in Coach Kemper's Columns .
‘I’m the Creeper; Catch Me if You Can!’
In 1971, this sentence started popping up on computer screens all across ARPANET, the network we recognize today as the ancestor of the modern Internet. The whimsical message, it soon emerged, was the work of “Creeper,” the first-ever self-replicating computer program. Created by a Massachusetts researcher, Creeper traveled from computer to computer, displaying its simple message before hopping to the next one. It didn’t delete any files, it didn’t snatch any personal information — it just said hello. Someone even developed a companion program, “Reaper,” that followed Creeper around, removing it from infected systems.
Today, this seems quaint. In the 40 years since Creeper and Reaper, a lot has changed. Just as ARPANET gave rise to the Internet and its constant innovation, Creeper was the first of a breed that includes every virus, every worm that ever caused us grief, stole our credit card numbers or invaded our email accounts.
Also posted in Coach Kemper's Columns .
