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Yearly Archives: 2005
Bud Selig Interview
What were the disappointments? Some controversies that I found disappointing in terms of human behavior. They tried to put a jail next to the ballpark … putting a jail next to a ballpark isn’t exactly an entertainment complex. And then the whole stadium controversy. And, look, I understand taxation. But here we are trying to keep baseball in Milwaukee … and it happens in a lot of places, this is not the only place it happens, but the Machiavellian behavior was just sad. And someday when I write a book I’ll describe it as it’s never been described. The personal abuse that the ownership took, I took, my daughter took, the organization took, baseball took — was inexcusable. And today, well how bad is it? Milwaukee has a Major League team for the next two generations. … It’s a great tribute to a lot of people. … Will Milwaukee in the future be a better place for your children and grandchildren? You bet it will.
I appreciate Bud’s gumption in making baseball happen. BUT, I think the location (should have been downtown – see Denver and San Francisco) and process that lead to Miller Park was a big mistake.
Philadelphia WiFi Update
But it turns out cities get to sort of cheat, cite eminent domain, and place a lot of gear on their own light poles and radio towers. No startup gets that deal. And new mesh technologies mean Philly can plug into the Internet just once, paying wholesale rates, unlike the folks that run Starbucks or hotel hotspots, who overpay (probably to Verizon) for the Internet connection their Wi-Fi users share.
But the real whopper is that – as Ms. Neff claims – by the third year, Philly will be saving $2 million a year on their $150 million IT budget by not having to pay Verizon for Internet access at their 24,000-employee city offices. Hmmm. That whole disadvantaged thing is just icing. Sounds like some sort of arbitrage.
The Squeezing of Lawyer/Client Privilege
Prosecutors say that they usually do not seek to learn what advice a lawyer provides to a client, but are trying only to learn the facts. In an interview in 2003, James B. Comey, a former United States attorney, said, “They are just seeking the facts, including factual attorney work product.” Lawyers for former KPMG partners have already excoriated the firm’s cooperation and, in particular, its acknowledgment of wrongdoing, contending that the firm did not undertake a thorough internal investigation to justify such a statement. (The statement is unlikely to be admitted in evidence in the criminal case against the former partners, though, lawyers said, and, in any event, it does not identify specific wrongdoers.)
Requiem for the SUV?
Peter DeLorenzo on the state of the SUV, long a profit engine for many auto makers, including Toyota and Nissan, who both have large volume truck businesses. GM Janesville, will, I hope continue in the face of these changes.
Lee Kuan Yew Interview on the Rise of China & India
Singapore’s first Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew speaks with Der Spiegel on Asia’s rise to economic power, China’s ambitions and the West’s chances of staying competitive:
Mr. Lee: Right. In 50 years I see China, Korea and Japan at the high-tech end of the value chain. Look at the numbers and quality of the engineers and scientists they produce and you know that this is where the R&D will be done. The Chinese have a space programme, they’re going to put a man on the Moon and nobody sold them that technology. We have to face that. But you should not be afraid of that. You are leading in many fields which they cannot catch up with for many years, many decades. In pharmaceuticals, I don’t see them catching up with the Germans for a long time.
Tax Shelter Proceedings Begin in NY
Judge Kaplan also showed a hint of testiness about the pace of the government’s case, commenting that if prosecutors could spend a year and a half investigating before bringing one criminal charge, they should not need another three months to add any new charges or new defendants. He also warned prosecutors against lengthy proceedings. Prosecutors said they anticipated a three-month trial.
A complex case would confuse jurors and make it harder for them to convict, Judge Kaplan said. “The idea of a three- or four-month tax trial, well, it’s a daunting prospect” for potential jurors, he added.
Yahoo Helps Put a Chinese Journalist in Jail
According to Reporters Sans Frontieres (Reporters Without Borders), Information supplied by Yahoo! helped Chinese journalist Shi Tao get 10 years in prison
The text of the verdict in the case of journalist Shi Tao – sentenced in April to 10 years in prison for “divulging state secrets abroad” – shows that Yahoo! Holdings (Hong Kong) Ltd. provided China’s state security authorities with details that helped to identify and convict him. It reveals that the company provided the Chinese investigating organs with detailed information that apparently enabled them to link Shi’s personal e-mail account (on the Chinese Yahoo! service at yahoo.com.cn) and the specific message containing information treated as a “state secret” to the IP address of his computer. More details from RSF here.
Shi Tao was jailed because he e-mailed sensitive political information to be posted on dissident websites hosted outside China. His case is a cautionary tale to bloggers around the world: If you are publicizing information and views that your government doesn’t want exposed – even if you believe you have the right to do so under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights – companies like Yahoo! will not shield you from your government.
Click here for the full text in both Chinese and English of the Shi Tao verdict (PDF document) courtesy of the Dui Hua Foundation, a San Francisco-based non-governmental organization.
Menu Costs
“Occasionally menu costs kick in…Dylan Alexander sends me the following:
Gas at the pump in downtown Birmingham: $3.99/g.
Gas from Hertz when you return it: $3.05/g.
We bid adieu to the Summer of 2005
