3 November 2023

How embarrassing. Okta is an identity security company, yet it had to announce that 5,000 of its own staff had their data accessed in a third-party breach. Can you trust a company that can't even protect itself?

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Nurses and doctors would be advised on getting this app. It may come in handy for those times when you are called. I've often wondered if radiologists and nuclear medicine physicians answer the call of "Is there a doctor in the house?" 

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What would happen if the Earth had rings like Saturn? Wonder no more.


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Maybe we could get this guy to run Portland. You know, if he isn't able to run for re-election in El Salvador.
Before Bukele took office, El Salvador had one of the highest murder rates in the world, posting 103 murders per 100,000 people in 2015, according to government statistics. This was mainly due to the rampant MS-13 gang problems in the countryside, where corrupt officials allowed these gangs to take root and harass local citizens and tourists. Those numbers have fallen drastically during Bukele’s tenure, as the president built a mega-prison to hold criminals and deployed the nation’s military to crack down on gang activity.

In 2022, El Salvador’s murder rate dropped to 8 per 100,000, which is less than a third of what Mexico posted in the same period and down 92% from when Bukele took office, making it one of the safest countries in Latin America. With this shocking data, it appears safer to travel to San Salvador than Los Angeles, California.

Bukele’s popularity goes beyond the safety, however, as he’s built highways and hydroelectric dams, cleaned up litter and trash around the famous beach tourist attraction, Surf City, and changed the country’s official currency to the U.S. Dollar, also adopting Bitcoin as a second currency to make tech-friendly commerce easier. He’s also put forth initiatives where technology companies pay zero taxes to incentivize businesses to come to El Salvador.  

However, the liberal American media has tried to diminish Bukele’s accomplishments, calling him “authoritarian” and saying his re-election campaign is “raising concern.” The same mainstream media outlets have called his efforts to clean up El Salvador “human rights violations” as he has had publicly harsh displays of what happens to criminals, including posting a video of the Salvadoran National Guard dragging a convicted pedophile into his prison cell, where soldiers forced the criminal to cower on the concrete floor.
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The City of Portland is considering a sales tax. Great, that will accelerate the move out of the city. Now you can't be certain that you can use the streets anymore, because protestors may be blocking the road or someone may be street-sliding. And the City wastes what money they have because they're so disorganized.

I'll bet high taxes are the main reason why Jeff Bezos is moving out of Washington to Florida, where the tax rate is low.  Washington loses the third richest guy in the world. Oh well, huh?
And now many of those thought to be wealthy because they lived in lavish estates are not feeling so rich.  Robert Kiyosaki was right. Cashflow is what matters. If you don't have that, you are in trouble.

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Strike Nation! Portland teachers continue to strike, and Oregon legislators have signaled that there is no money to meet their demands. And today Yamhill County employees are striking, too.  Everybody wants more money! Strike!  And now hospitalists at Legacy Healthcare facilities are unionizing, joining their Providence colleagues.
Unions don't always deliver. They should be reminded that union activities can bring destruction and grief, and the members are left to pay for it.

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Here's a map of the state of democracy around the world. In some places, the local people and culture wouldn't be able to handle democracy, and only a strongman authoritarian can maintain a semblance of structure and societal stability. In other places, it is just unfortunate that the system allowed a takeover by a power-hungry minority.  Northern Europe looks great, but as the migrant population increases, this will likely change.
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Amazing that a penthouse in today's downtown Portland is considered worth $9 million, when a nice, peaceful, secure and clean lakefront home in Lake Oswego is worth $10.5 million.

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