Month: October 2005

I’ve watched the games, on TV or live. I listened on the radio. Each time, I’d watch in disappointment as, even in the best cases, we’d snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Blown leads or blow-outs, Rutgers would find a way to lose.

Then a funny thing happened. Those blow-outs weren’t blow-outs anymore. Those blown leads stopped. The game may have come down to the wire, a la the UConn game, but Rutgers found a way to hold on. For the first time in recent history, they were playing a late October football game, and people cared. The game had meaning.

I watched, nervously, yesterday, before I had to head up to a family event. And I listened the rest of the way, looking for the Rutgers team I was knew to make an appearance. But they held on, and now we’re looking to make our way to a bowl game.

I’ve heard it all now.

Now UK telecome providers are upping their broadband speeds as well. I posted not too long ago about the great speeds available in Japan, and it’s even more disappointing to see the US fall even further behind. The impact of “very high speed” broadband access is still being seen, but it’s becoming clear that the US is turning itself in to a second tier player on this front.

It’s nice to see a company like Walmart take the initiative on important issues like a living wage.

The firm’s chief executive, Lee Scott, told analysts that the rate – stuck at $5.15 for almost a decade – was “out of date with the times”.

Customers were struggling to make ends meet, so a rising minimum wage would be good for business, he said.

But he resisted calls for Wal-Mart to raise its own wages.

Whoops, nevermind.

Good news today for those who were hurt by Katrina: the White House backed down on their suspension of the Davis-Bacon Act that would have ensured a fair wage for those rebuilding in the wake of the disaster.

The UK wants the EU to impose a ban on importing wild birds to stop the spread of bird flu. I suppose I could get all excited about this if it weren’t for the obvious flaw in the plan. Wild birds don’t exactly respect territorial boundaries, so what’s to stop one from, say, flying in?

The American public begins suffering from a case of buyer’s remorse. Would it be petty of me to say “I told you so”?

Yet another sign of China’s ascendancy on the world stage. While the signs are all there, the US fritters away its chances to implement sensible policies to remain competitive for the long term, especially under this Administration. And I’m not referring to the space program.