Another reason why I like XP

Microsoft is warning Vista users about upcoming update
BBC News
Microsoft is warning Vista users that the next service upgrade (SP1) may actually cause some third-party programs to stop working, some will not run and others will lose some of their functions.

Programs such as Trend Micro Internet Security and Zone Alarm Security Suite, are just a few of the programs that will be hit by the upcoming release of SP1.

some of the programs that are affected...
"BitDefender AV
Fujitsu Shock Sensor
Jiangmin KV Antivirus 10
Jiangmin KV Antivirus 2008
Trend Micro Internet Security
Zone Alarm Security Suite
Iron Speed Designer
Xheo Licensing
Free Allegiance
NYT Reader
Rising Personal Firewall
Novell ZCM Agent"

isn't it interesting that the programs listed above are designed to block viruses or keep an eye on places someone visits online?

One of the things that Microsoft boasts about its Vista operating system is its increased in the security of its operating system and also how it is used to combat piracy.

Personally, I will stick with XP Pro or switch to Linux if I have to.

Interesting....

Senator Clinton -- you will have health care or else

The New York Times--
Senator Hillary Clinton D-NY left open the possibility on an appearance this week with George Stephanopoulos that if elected, her government would garnish the wages of people who didn't comply with her health-care plan.

Stephanopoulos, who repeatedly asked Senator Clinton three times about garnishing wages of people who refuse to participate in the program, Mrs. Clinton replied...

"we will have an enforcement mechanism, where the risk that or it's some other mechanism through the tax system or automatic enrollments."

Clinton indicated that such mechanisms would not include penalties or fines.

they don't have to pay fines... we just want them to have insurance. We wanted to be affordable. And what I have said is that there are a number of ways of doing that. Now, there is not just one way of getting to that."

Clinton commented that the focus on enforcement was clouding the issue of her proposal to cover the uninsured which would mandate coverage for all not just children.

Massachusetts, the only state with an insurance mandate, as thus far failed to enroll nearly half of its uninsured despite imposing a modest first-year tax penalty of $219 which increased significantly this year.

A point raised by Mr. Obama was that under Hillary's health care plan, forced everyone to buy insurance even if you cannot afford it or pay a penalty.

let me see if I have this straight...

Under Clinton's plan, health insurance will be mandatory.

The reason for mandatory insurance is because a large number of citizens are without insurance.

One of the major reasons I do not have insurance (speaking personally) is because I cannot afford coverage at this time.

So, if I cannot afford universal health care, where do I get the money to pay the penalties?

And if I pay the penalty for not having insurance, will that automatically enrolled me in the universal health care plan?

Both candidates, Clinton and Obama have the right idea that the US needs some type of universal health care and I think that they should take some examples of other systems around the world and use a system that will work.

In the meantime, let's put the Clintons on a strict $35,000 a year income and see which expenses that they choose to cut back.

I will bet you that health care would be one of them.

English-speaking Americans are being demoted for not speaking Spanish as Oregon begins to strictly enforce language rules.

As per conversation on Daniel's blog, the issue was brought up regarding Americans being required to learn Spanish in order to get or keep their jobs.
Some of the postings in response to that thread, indicated that no one has been required to learn Spanish and/or that it was okay for an employer to require employees to learn a new language as an amended job requirement.

Anyway, case in point ...

Hat tip to Lars Larson for pointing out the following article.

June 2006

Fire Crew Bosses Who Can't Speak Spanish Can Lose Jobs.

the Denver Channel, 7 news --

Officials are now having to lay off firefighting bosses who are not bilingual for safety as many new hires in Oregon only speak Spanish.

"What we do know is 85% of the crew makeup is of Hispanic dissent." Said Jim Walker of the Oregon Department of Forestry, "our main concern is that they are safe, and they are in a safe environment, and a law that deals with communication."

The argument is for safety reasons, all bosses must speak the same language as their crews on the fire line. They want to make sure that the leader of the crews can quickly communicate during an emergency.

"If you have one Spanish guy on the crew, as an English crew boss, you can no longer be a crew boss. You have to step back to a squad boss, which is a demotion." Said Jamie Pickering.

Pickering, can no longer work as a crew boss and supervise 20 firefighters. He can now only manage a squad of four firefighters.

The language requirement change in Oregon was made in 2003 after devastating wildfire season in 2002 which had contractors scrambling to find help.

"We're living here. We should speak the language." Said Manuel Franco, a contractor for fire crews.

"Why doesn't the state require these crew members to speak English?" The state does not have a clear answer.

The mortgage crisis...

CNN

The recent housing crisis has got me wondering about events in 2005 when banks decided that it was good practice to start giving mortgages to illegal aliens. E.g. Bank of America, etc.

The bank industry stated that it was a "win-win situation" and saw it as an "untapped" source for a growing revenue stream.
Not everybody agrees...

"It's institutionalizing illegality," said Marti Dinerstein, president of Immigration Matters, a New York-based think tank told CNN. "Now there's no distinction being made between the people that follow all the rules and those who break our laws by entering the country or overstaying their visas."

Dinerstein was also worry that this could lead to a form of "predatory lending."

Advocates on the other hand said the benefits outweigh the potential downside.

"This is a huge untapped market with people that live and work in this country and are capable of buying homes to realize the American dream," said Chan Peterson, executive vice president and head of community banking at Banco Popular, one of the earliest banks to enter this field.

Peterson added that there is a common misconception that illegal immigrants will be more likely to default on their loans than a documented resident.
except for the little issue of risking deportation.

"Illegal immigrants are here to stay and banks are recognizing that." Said Alenka Grealish, manager of the banking group at Celent, an independent research and consulting firm.

Grealish added that banks are careful to follow guidelines that the government has already have in place.
The risk for the bank is lowered because secondary markets such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have agreed to buy mortgages from banks that lend to illegal immigrants.

"Banks are counting on the fact that we do a lousy job with interior enforcement," said Celent's Grealish. "Once you're in the country and you haven't done anything wrong, the chances of being deported are very slim. Banks are banking on that."

first of all, I think that it would be a higher risk for a bank if the person that they loan money to risk deportation at any time.

For example, once you've been deported, it is a felony to return to this country.

So looking at the housing issue at the moment and with all the loans that are being defaulted, I just am curious if this has anything to do with it.

would you still use YAHOO if Microsoft owns it?

Microsoft Corp. has made an unsolicited $44.6 billion cash and stock bid $31 a share for YAHOO on Friday.

The combination of Yahoo and Microsoft would crave Harpold number two player in the online search business currently dominated by Google.

This could be good news for Yahoo has announced Tuesday that it would lay off 1000 employees by mid-February citing what it describes as "headwinds" facing the company.

Yahoo has made some changes over the recent year, such as adding more storage space for its Yahoo e-mail, however, has been unable to control its spam.

In either case, I am a Yahoo user, and the question I have for my readers are...

How do you feel about Microsoft and Yahoo merging?

"We don't need your money... we need to prioritize your money."

Robin's Commentary --

"We don't need your money... we need to prioritize your money." Was a quote from President George Bush today when he was giving a speech at the Hallmark company.

That one statement is a message that I would like to send the city of Eugene.

Just to make sure that they understand that... let's break that statement down.

1. "We don't need YOUR money"
it is OUR hard-earned money, not money that is just sitting there in a pile for the taking.

2. "We need to PRIORITIZE your money."

The city of Eugene needs to set his priorities straight in my opinion.

We need to make our city safe as a priority, then businesses will relocate to the city and banks will be willing to loan money for development.
Currently, one of the reasons why Eugene is having so much trouble renovating downtown, is because banks will not loan money for development because downtown is considered a "depressed area."

When I used to work downtown I always felt very uncomfortable walking by myself. In fact, three weeks after we relocated downtown, one of my coworkers had his old pickup stolen from the parking garage.

Demonstrating that you're able to prioritize the money would also make it a lot easier to raise more money because it would infer confidence in the citizens. Reference Springfield as an example.

In my opinion, the city of Eugene needs to take an example from the president.