Well, not before breakfast and not seven things, either, but today has been a strange day, so I thought I'd mention a few of the happenings:
IBM: They're selling off their computer manufacturing arm. I wasn't entirely sure IBM did anything else but make computers, so this one has me a little confused. I mean, what are they going to do? Just sell calculators?
Frigid Women: The FDA refused to approve the drug being called "the female Viagra" today. With good reason, I think, since they're worried about long-term side effects, but given how fast Viagra got approved, this one surprised me a little. I mean, when the FDA panel's Viagra kicks in, you'd think they'd want their wives to say "sure, let's go" instead of "not tonight, I've got a headache."
Ukraine: This is the one that thrills me the most. The Ukrainian Supreme Court has overturned what they believed were fraudulent election results and ruled that new elections must be held and they must be held soon. The contested election results were in favor of the incumbent and had the support of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who's not exactly reform-minded, if you catch my drift. This... well, shit, I hesitate to say that this is the biggest step towards a true and fair democracy in the area since the actual dissolution of the Soviet Union but... well... Damn. This is good news.
Comments (9)
I believe IBM still does networking, chip making, and awesome espresso makers.
Posted by Brian | December 4, 2004 6:43 AM
Posted on December 4, 2004 06:43
IBM does my taxes
Posted by Steeve | December 4, 2004 7:09 AM
Posted on December 4, 2004 07:09
Ah, yes, I'd quite forgotten about the networking. I didn't know they did taxes or made espresso makers. I guess that explains that, then.
Posted by Jason | December 4, 2004 11:43 AM
Posted on December 4, 2004 11:43
The Ukraine stuff has me excited too. I'm in Poland right now (Western neighbor to Ukraine), and there's been a lot of interest in the goings on over there. This really is a big step towards democracy for this part of the world, a very exciting time to be in. For now, I'm just glad the mini-revolution didn't become bloody.
Posted by Perl | December 4, 2004 2:16 PM
Posted on December 4, 2004 14:16
Finally, a country that knows how to handle a disputed election. They just need to round up the thugs that were seen beating pro-opposition voters to keep them out of polling places and they've got it perfect!
Posted by Ben of the Azure Sea | December 5, 2004 10:35 AM
Posted on December 5, 2004 10:35
Hey Perl. I can only imagine what it's like in neighboring countries at the moment. I'm eagerly awaiting my Russian friends' return from Turkey so I can talk to them about it - they always have the most interesting views on politics.
But, yeah, one of the remarkable things about it is how peaceful the thing has been.
Posted by Jason | December 5, 2004 8:21 PM
Posted on December 5, 2004 20:21
IBM server line still operative as well as a huge consulting business.
Frigid women. i read some of the possible risks and i have to say it's better if they remove the kinks in their product before they put it to sell.
Ukraine. I hope they get a stable legal goverment soon otherwise investemnts might get affected.
Posted by gus | December 6, 2004 8:00 AM
Posted on December 6, 2004 08:00
Probably a bit late in the reading, but if you believe the yammering about IBM and Apple possably coming together it could explain why IBM would stop producing computers. As it is IBM already produces the PowerPC chips for the new Macs. Am I the only one who hears the horns of the apocalypse when I think of Apple and IBM teamin up?
Posted by milokp | December 7, 2004 7:29 AM
Posted on December 7, 2004 07:29
Never to late to join in - and I hadn't heard about the IBM/Apple thing. You're right, though. That would provide a pretty good explanation (aside from the old "that sector of our business isn't turning as much of a profit as we'd like" thing).
Posted by Jason | December 7, 2004 9:59 AM
Posted on December 7, 2004 09:59