Monthly Archives: October 2009

Twitter Now Blocking Duplicate Tweets

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Techcrunch reports that Twitter has implemented a new anti-spam feature that blocks duplicate tweets (with exactly the same text) in any 24 hour period.

If you try to enter text for a tweet that is exactly the same as a tweet you’ve recently sent, it will block it, saying “duplicate text” in a white drop down overlay (pictured below). It would appear that there is a time window for this, and it may be 24-hours. I tried copying-and-pasting two tweets that I sent a few hours ago, and those were both blocked. But then I tried one from two days ago, and it went through.

Now this is not entirely a bad thing, in my view, but it will require people like me, who try to reach followers at different times of day, to modify the tweet before resending. I'd prefer an opt-in system by users who don't mind getting my duplicates, but that would require far more architecture than Twitter's Tinker toy system can support right now. As for whether this impacts Retweets, I can't see how it couldn't.  The Twitter system doesn't know anything about the "RT" signal, nor care.  It's just more text, so if you're in the habit of copying and pasting a retweet, these too will need minor edits to make each tweet a bit different.. Read the story details..

What a Peace of Work!

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Let's be clear on what the Nobel is about. It is NOT about specific achievement, but rather, whatever the Nobel committee–however subjectively–decides what a person's "work" is.

According to Alfred Nobel's will the Peace Prize should be awarded "to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses." Source: Wikipedia: Nobel Peace Prize The story of Obama winning the prize.

The Committee's Statement Notice that it's more about hope and aspiration, than any accomplishments. These are their words– the people who gave up the prize.  Notice there is no mention of an American Republican, or a disaffected liberal's idea of what the prize should be about.  It's their award, their decision, their statement, and their fucking business. Can we move on to the next phony issue, please?

The following is the text of the announcement on Friday by the Norwegian Nobel Committee giving the Nobel Peace Prize to President Barack Obama: "The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided that the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009 is to be awarded to President Barack Obama for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples. The Committee has attached special importance to Obama's vision of and work for a world without nuclear weapons. "Obama has as president created a new climate in international politics. Multilateral diplomacy has regained a central position, with emphasis on the role that the United Nations and other international institutions can play. Dialogue and negotiations are preferred as instruments for resolving even the most difficult international conflicts. The vision of a world free from nuclear arms has powerfully stimulated disarmament and arms control negotiations. Thanks to Obama's initiative, the USA is now playing a more constructive role in meeting the great climatic challenges the world is confronting. Democracy and human rights are to be strengthened. "Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world's attention and given its people hope for a better future. His diplomacy is founded in the concept that those who are to lead the world must do so on the basis of values and attitudes that are shared by the majority of the world's population. "For 108 years, the Norwegian Nobel Committee has sought to stimulate precisely that international policy and those attitudes for which Obama is now the world's leading spokesman. The Committee endorses Obama's appeal that "Now is the time for all of us to take our share of responsibility for a global response to global challenges."

Best Letter-To-Editor Ever!

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One of my very first posts to this blog (still not quite ready for prime time), and it's a gem,  to my limited  mind. In response to the stealthy and disingenuous screed by Stephen Hayward (AEI) on Sunday, this letter was sent to the Washington Post. 

Short and sweet, it takes just 100 words to eviscerate conservatism better than 10,000 word essays by some pretty bright progressives ever seem to do. I may print wallet cards with it. I've posted a permanent page to warehouse it for all time!

Read the letter.