“A top State Department expert on North Korea who advocated a policy of incentives as well as penalties to persuade the nation to abandon its quest for nuclear weapons has resigned, officials said today.” Wouldn’t you know it, the resignation points to a division within the US dysadministration over what approach to take to North Korea, and the conciliatory are being beaten back by the confrontational. The FmH reader who pointed me to the article commented, ‘Joe McCarthy cried “Who lost China?”, and successfully purged the government of anyone who knew anything about China; thus vastly increasing the chance of a nuclear confrontation. History now repeats itself in North Korea…’ NY Times [thanks,Adam]

WhereWare: “Lock on to location-based computing, the hottest thing in wireless, which offers new services to customers and new revenue streams to carriers, and could save lives in the process. The idea is to make cell phones, personal digital assistants, and even fashion accessories capable of tracking their owners’ every movement—whether they’re outdoors, working on the 60th floor, or shopping in a basement arcade. ” ’ every movement—whether they’re outdoors, working on the 60th floor, or shopping in a basement arcade. MIT Technology Review [via IP mailing list]

Troops get death and pay cuts; Bush gobbles barbecue and rakes in contributions: “Not since the days of Marie Antoinette, or at least Nancy Reagan, has there been such a disconnect between the ruling elite and what Marie and Nancy might call the unwashed masses. A potent symbol of this cynical detachment is provided by George W. Bush’s month-long vacation, during which his only forays among the unwashed masses have been to whack his little white balls around a golf course — and to host a ‘down-home’ barbecue to shake down rich donors for another run at the White House. The cover charge for barbecue with the Bushes? Each of the 350 ‘very special guests’ paid $50,000 to nibble on those Republican pig and cow carcasses.” Hartford Advocate

WhereWare: “Lock on to location-based computing, the hottest thing in wireless, which offers new services to customers and new revenue streams to carriers, and could save lives in the process. The idea is to make cell phones, personal digital assistants, and even fashion accessories capable of tracking their owners’ every movement—whether they’re outdoors, working on the 60th floor, or shopping in a basement arcade. ” ’ every movement—whether they’re outdoors, working on the 60th floor, or shopping in a basement arcade. MIT Technology Review [via IP mailing list]