If you follow the blogging world you know who Robert Scoble is. He used to be “that Microsoft blogger guy”, and he single-handedly raised that company’s awareness of blogging as a viable business communication medium.

Unfortunately, reading his stuff at while he was at Microsoft was a gamble. Sometimes it was really excellent (and quite objective) and other times it seemed he was no more than a marketing tool. So I mostly tuned him out. There was just no way to know what you were going to get from him — especially when he was discussing Microsoft products.

But that’s changed now. He’s regained his objectivity. Here’s how I know — he tweeted about a Microsoft product last night, and I wanted to see what it was. This surprised me, in a good way.

I wouldn’t have been intrigued by the old Scoble saying that foo-Microsoft-product was exciting. But if the new Scoble says it’s worth looking at, I believe him. Even if it’s a Microsoft product.

So congrats to Scoble; I think you’ve rejuvenated your brand. I for one will be listening a lot more closely.:

[ Robert Scoble | scobelizer.com ]
[ Microsoft Mesh | microsoft.com ]

I have much in the queue to write about, and I look forward to getting a short breather so I can purge. There’s been a blitzkrieg of projects at work, however, so I’m currently buried both there and with my writing.

No worries, though — I have all my ideas written down and continue to add to them. The only real bad situation is having a good idea about something to write and then forgetting it.

Anyway, more to come soon.

Oh, and by the way, Hillary gaining like 2 delegates against Obama this late in the game…that’s not a victory; that’s a loss. Either she can’t add or she’s now openly putting herself before the democratic party. She can add.:

I think there are only a few ways McCain can effectively beat Obama in 2008:

1. Racism hides during polling and resurfaces in the voting booth. So Obama leads by a considerable to massive margin in the polls leading up to the election, but McCain ends up winning anyway.
   
   Many might blame this on election fraud, but I’m more pessimistic. I’m worried many may be progressive during polling and then fall back onto hard-coded racism when it comes time to pull the trigger. In other words, many might vote for the white male — regardless of who he is — when protected by the anonymity of the voting booth.

2. War with Iran. Iran “attacks” a U.S. or Israeli asset and Faux News (and the other government propaganda channels) begin feeding the patriotism / religious frenzy that heightens emotions and squelches logic. “They’re killing God’s people!” “We can’t let Israel fall!” Nevermind that it’ll likely be a Gulf of Tonkin or Pearl Harbor (i.e. instigation-based) incident.
   
   In this sort of atmosphere McCain will have a very strong advantage in the minds of the average American. He’s a war hero; Obama isn’t. Besides, isn’t he a Muslim? A Muslim wouldn’t want to attack his own people, right? This is the type of argument that makes sense to the average American mouthbreather.

3. Another terrorist attack on American soil. In my opinion this is highly likely to be a false flag incident vs. a real attack. Or, to put it another way, I think there’s roughly a 5% chance that we have been able to stop terrorism on our soil since 2001, but will fail to do so right before the election.
   
   But I don’t think it’ll be a complete fake; I think it’ll be a real terrorist operation that would have, and could have, been stopped. I think it’ll be a matter of “letting one through” under the banner of “greater good” in the minds of the orchestrators (again, see Pearl Harbor).

So there they are — the three ways Obama can lose to McCain in 2008. Racism, another war, or a domestic terrorism incident. Happy times indeed.:

From this article at InfoWars:

Federal law enforcement agencies co-opted sheriffs offices as well state and local police forces in three states last weekend for a vast round up operation that one sheriff’s deputy has described as “martial law training”.

This is just the paranoia in me speaking, but wouldn’t this be the way to prepare for a Gulf of Tonkin incident after which the government plans to declare martial law?

Yes, that sounds crazy, but at this point I don’t think certain people in our government are above it. Not our entire government, mind you — it’s not that organized or evil despite what conspiracy theorists like to believe — but it only takes a few key people.:

For obvious reasons I don’t subscribe to this man’s views about the Bible or Jesus, but I do very much support his integrity and willingness to stand for his beliefs. Watching him scold this lame little neocon FOX reporter is highly enjoyable.

Wildly Popular ‘Iron Man’ Trailer To Be Adapted Into Full-Length Film

Warren Buffet — probably the most successful investor in history and one of the richest men in the world — is behind Obama for President.

Attention Smart Republicans: There’s a reason Warren Buffet is for Obama. There’s a reason he thinks Obama is best for America. You must realize that it’s not an arbitrary thing for him to back a presidential candidate. Buffet isn’t an arbitrary type of guy.

Think about what Buffet is good at. Think about where his expertise is. He’s a master of analyzing situations and making sound judgements about the future. Don’t you see the similarity between investment savvy and the ability to assess what our country needs in a leader?

I’m not saying it’s impossible to differ with Buffet about who’s best for the country and be right. I’m just asking you to consider the odds.

Quite simply, if you and Warren Buffet disagree on who should lead our country, which one of you needs to re-evaluate things? Warren Buffet, or you?

Not sure why keep people talking down on the U.S. Everything’s fine.

[ Country Account Balances | cia.gov ]