With the passing of James Kim this week, people who are reached by this story will ask themselves how such tragic events could be avoided. In my mind there are two things that keep coming up in attempts to prevent this sort of terrible thing from happening again. The first is an issue of public information, and the second is an issue of ubiquitous communications.

This morning’s Chronicle article about the pilot with a hunch has become the tipping point. It was this man’s knowledge of a common wrong turn made by out-of-towners that lead him to find Kati Kim and her daughters. ” ‘I saw the picture of the kids in the paper,’ Rachor said. ‘I really know that area well. I live out there, so I know it better than most. I fly over it once a week.’ “ I’m obviously thankful that Mr. Rachor was correct in his assumption and was able to help rescue Kati and her kids. However it leaves a nasty taste in the mouth when you consider that both governmental and privately-contracted search teams weren’t looking where this local man knew to look. To me it shows that not finding the Kim’s earlier was an issue of privatized knowledge. While clearly not on purpose, Mr. Rachor and others familiar with this particular area of Oregon, have failed to publicize and share their knowledge with the world. Could the road network in Oregon be better mapped by its own citizens using OpenStreetMap?

The other aggravating part of this story is the inability of the Kim family to simply ask for help. I think it’s a safe assumption they had a mobile phone, though they were probably in an area without network coverage. Here on my desk is a Helio Drift with assisted GPS technology. While more accurate directions could not have helped the Kim family combat a snowed-out road, the ability for such a device to report its own location could have proved invaluable. All of this however is dependent on the reach of the network, something that is typically dictated by capitalist market forces. The single largest reason there is no network coverage is a lack of demand and/or revenue potential.

I have for some time functioned under the belief that the purpose of a government is to accomplish those tasks that persons cannot accomplish on their own. To control, rule, regulate, manage, or guide is how the Englishmen from Oxford define governance, and the story of the Kim’s reminds that our government is failing us. While our representatives spend their time arguing over farm subsidies and oil drilling and abortion rights, the innovations that can help prevent meaningless losses of life like James Kim are left to the market. How much longer will we stand by while a universal communication network is overlooked as a necessity of modern life? The EU recognizes that broadband is critical to its development and success. Show me the people who will make access to the network the priority in their political careers, and I’ll show you who I’m voting for.

So did I miss the meeting where Israel declared war on Lebanon? I didn’t catch the memo when this became a thing. I haven’t got a map to lead me to the place where something like this occurs. It’s one thing to occasionally volley missles into Palestinian territory; I’ve always considered that to be the full-scale version of throwing rocks at your neighbor who you can’t stand.

This is on the other hand is like walking across the street to your neighbor’s house with a knife in your teeth, slashing his tires, and kicking in the door. And lest we forget, when Hezbollah declares “war on every level” it’s like the neighbor you’ve picked a fight with happens to be an MMA fighting champion. These guys invented modern terrorism, so Israel is really humping a hornet’s nest on this one.

According to some quick web searching, Beirut is home to around 1.3m people whereas San Francisco is home to .75m. Beirut has 10 Starbucks for crying out loud. Do you know how many Starbucks there are in Tel Aviv? ZERO.

When’s the last time a country without a Starbucks attacked a country with a Starbucks?!

High-speed in-flight Internet access might soon be a part of your SFO-JFK commute. The FCC closed its wireless license auction on Friday, and jetBlue took home the the 1MHz license for a cool $7m.

The licenses do not cover the use of cellular phones, which I’m honestly stoked about. I’d much rather get a few months (or even years) of VOIP gloating than let every Lindsay, Paris, and Britney get her yakk on in first class.

(via Techdirt)

According to the Times, The USS New York will be one of the first amphibious assault ships built by Northrop Grumman for the Pentagon. It will be able to deploy 700 marines onto coastline without the need of a traditional port. The New York will cost one billion dollars and is slated to join the US Navy in 2007.

By now you’re probably denying the inevitable truth about why this ship has been named the New York. The name is most certainly in reference to the September 11th attack, and it’s construction most certainly involves over twenty tons of steel from the remains of the World Trade Center.

the New York was half-completed when Katrina suplexed the shipyard where it is being constructed. While the ship came out unscathed many of the workers on the project, some of whom deferred retirement to work on it, are now living in a shanty town at the shipyard.

I suppose if the government had taken a few months to think, then perhaps after Katrina had done its damage the steel from the World Trade Center could’ve been used to help rebuild New Orleans.