Online Marketers Joining Internet Privacy Efforts – New York Times
“…the AOL division of Time Warner will announce a service of this type, which will be up and running by the end of the year. Other programs are likely to be articulated soon, as online advertisers prepare for a two-day forum on privacy to be held by the Federal Trade Commission.”
There seem to be several conflicts of interest in this statement…
VolunteerMatch: Where Volunteering Begins
I recently spent some time at VolunteerMatch, signing up for an account and searching for volunteer opportunities. Although, one does not need to set-up an account to perform simple searches.
The site does have a large catalog of requests from non-profits for volunteer assistance.
A search can be conducted for organizations seeking volunteers within a certain mile radius of your zip code, or there is also a search for “virtual” volunteer opportunities which can be done online.
Searches can be narrowed by broad categories of “interest area”, such as organizations working for disaster relief, environment, education, etc.
There are a wide variety of organizations listed, so I found that organizational “quality” became a concern as I looked through listings. Volunteering is a form of charitable giving, so I did some research on some of the organizations requesting volunteers, especially those requesting “virtual” volunteers.
If an organization requesting “virtual” volunteers is on the other side of the country, how can you check the legitimacy of the organization?
There are some sites to assist with assessing the status and effectiveness of charitable giving. Very helpful is the IRS site to search information on the tax status of charitable organizations.
Other helpful sites are listed in the the “clicks” section under npo & ngo, including Babson College library’s site for non-profit research, Guide Star, Clear Fund, etc.
Not All Is Gloomy in Real Estate – New York Times
“In some respects, sites like Curbed are insulated from the woes of the real estate market in a way that traditional sites may not be. ‘We’re not just about real estate,’ Mr. Steele said. ‘People come to the site to talk about their neighborhoods and about life in the city.’”
Might not put air back into the bubble, though…
In India, Poverty Inspires Technology Workers to Altruism – New York Times
“To re-create this dynamic online, Babajob pays people to be “connectors” between employer and employee. In the example above, the businessman’s friend and his chauffeur would each earn the equivalent of $2.50 if they connected the businessman with someone he liked.”
Possible model for “networking” the disenfranchised worldwide…
Bush’s Dangerous Liaisons – New York Times
“On this principle, the Terror [en Français: le terreur] demonized its political opponents, imprisoned suspected enemies without trial and eventually sent thousands to the guillotine. All of these actions emerged from the Jacobin worldview that the enemies of liberty deserved no rights.”
A recurring theme of those who are only too sure that they know the only right course of action for all beings in all times…
Universal Prekindergarten – New York Times
“Yet aligning with an ethos of no-nonsense academics inspires uneasiness among UPK crusaders themselves, as the Berkeley professor Bruce Fuller points out in “Standardized Childhood: The Political and Cultural Struggle Over Early Education.” After all, for your bouncy 4-year-old — “wild and wonderful” is the epithet one classic parenting book applies to the age — how much ABC school do you really want?”
False dichotomies abound in educational debates. There is no “law” (yet) that says creativity and imagination cannot be combined with actual learning…
$1m offer for NBC to include U.S. presidential candidate Gravel in TV debate – Wikinews, the free news source
“NBC cited fund raising as a criteria for inclusion in this debate, stating that a candidate must have raised $1 million to participate. Most current and aspiring politicians, along with the general public, believe money and special interests play too large a part in elections. I don’t understand why a certain level of fund raising is a requirement to participate in a presidential debate.”
Gotta love someone who knows how to put their money where their mouth is… Thanks from all of us Boomers, Greg Chase!
only for those 42+ who are affluent, empowered, and vital…
The Clinton Surprise – Judith Warner – Domestic Disturbances – Opinion – New York Times Blog
After just posting an educated guess that the lower-economic tiers in the U.S.A have expanded, I open this news item to read:
“a new set of data from the I.R.S… showed that America’s most wealthy earn an even greater share of the nation’s income than they did in 2000, at the peak of the tech boom. The wealthiest 1 percent of Americans, the Wall Street Journal reported, earned 21.2 percent of all income in 2005 (the latest date for which these data are available), up from the high of 20.8 percent they’d reached in the bull market of 2000. The bottom 50 percent of people earned 12.8 percent of all income, compared with 13 percent in 2000. And the median tax filer’s income fell 2 percent when adjusted for inflation (to about $31,000) between 2000 and 2005.”
Hillary’s growing popularity in polls is of little surprise, given that she is, to date, the only “known quantity” in the race.
But, as others have observed, the true “campaign season” has only barely started.
Silicon Valley Start-Ups Awash in Dollars, Again – New York Times
“The trend is described as a return to madness (by skeptics) or as a rational approach to unlimited opportunities presented by the Internet (by true believers). Greed, fear and a desperate rush to pick the next big winner are all adding fuel to the fire that is Silicon Valley’s resurgence.”
et tu, deja-vu?
