AINEO has just reached our 1st year anniversary into our business as a Service Provider.  We have full-fledged clustered hosting on real servers with real firepower.

I can’t say it has been easy, as it is a lot of work to help people have the best email and communications and protect from all the various attacks of spam, viruses, while keeping the systems in top shape.  Sometimes we feel like dairy farmer… we always have to be at the farm to make sure the cows are milked…

Over the last year, we have made major changes and built up our systems and datacenters.  Special thanks to our great team who has really developed and become some of the world’s top server guys!

In 2009, we’ll have a more detailed DR (disaster recovery) plan in place and practiced.  We’ve got a few others plans, stay tuned…

AINEO Secure has really evolved and grown into one of the best services available.  We will be making more announcements shortly.

I must admit, it has been a long time since updated my blog.  My projects for 2008 were

1) AINEO Secure- Hosted Email and websites

2) ShoreTel- Setting up the ShoreTel sales and support team in Japan.

It takes a long time to set up a service.  You’ve got to make sure you’ve do it right, and keep doing it right.

We have had great success, but the games have just begun!  Great things are coming

A Texas Department of Water representative stopped at a ranch and talked with an old rancher.He told the rancher, “I need to inspect your ranch for your water allocation.”The old rancher said, “Okay, but don’t go in that field over there.”The Water representative said, “Mister, I have the authority of the Federal Government with me.  See this card?  This card means I am allowed to go WHEREVER I WISH on any agricultural land.  No questions asked or answered.  Have I made myself clear?  Do you understand?”The old rancher nodded politely and went about his chores.

Later, the old rancher heard loud screams and saw the Water Rep running for the fence and close behind was the rancher’s bull. The bull was gaining on the Water Rep with every step. The Rep was clearly terrified, so the old rancher immediately threw down his tools, ran to the fence and shouted out…..

Your card!  Show him your card

Why Buy Expensive Toys

Interesting point of view from Charlie Reese-

Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.

Have you ever wondered why, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, we have deficits?

Have you ever wondered why, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, we have inflation and high taxes?

You and I don’t propose a federal budget. The president does.

You and I don’t have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations.  The House of Representatives does.

You and I don’t write the tax code, Congress does.

You and I don’t set fiscal policy, Congress does.

You and I don’t control monetary policy, The Federal Reserve Bank does.

One hundred senators, 435 congresspersons, one president and nine Supreme Court justices – 545 human beings out of the 300 million – are directly, legally, morally and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.

I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress.

In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered but private central bank.

I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason.  They have no legal authority.

They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman or a president to do one cotton-picking thing.

I don’t care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash.  The politician has the power to accept or reject it.  No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator’s responsibility to determine how he votes.

Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.

What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall.

No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits.

The president can only propose a budget.

He cannot force the Congress to accept it.

The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes.

Who is the speaker of the House?

She is the leader of the majority party.

She and fellow House members, not the president, can approve any budget they want.

If the president vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to.

It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million can not replace 545 people who stand convicted — by present facts – of incompetence and irresponsibility.

I can’t think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people.

When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.

If the tax code is unfair, it’s because they want it unfair.

If the budget is in the red, it’s because they want it in the red. 

If the Marines are in IRAQ, it’s because they want them in IRAQ.

There are no unsolvable government problems.

Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power.

Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like ‘the economy,’ ‘inflation’ or ‘politics’ that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.

Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible.

They, and they alone, have the power.

They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses – provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees.

We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess!

It is really hard to keep up. Very interesting to watch the debates. As you know, the US system we are really only given the choices of two parties. If you are a business person or someone who is against raising taxes, then the last thing you probably want to do is put in a democrat as they all want to raise taxes.

I used to be an avid reader of the NY Times but got a bit bored with the partisan reporting. However, they do have a good little summary on the candidates here and their positions.

Could you imagine being a candidate or running for a position? It seems like a tough area. Below is one of the emails that is currently floating around about Hillary. In a breakfast meeting with Robert Mendoza the CEO of Trinsum on 17 January, he predicted that Obama would win the Dems and McCain would win for the Republicans. It will be interesting to see what happens.

With all the political mud-slinging it is tough to know who to trust. Since lawyer is equated with professional politician, the feeling the US is that people want someone with a different experience in the real world. Let’s watch and see.

______________________

Comments by Dick Morris, former political advisor toPresident Bill Clinton

If you happen to see the Bill Clinton five minute TVad for Hillary in which he introduces the commercial by saying that he wants to share some things we maynot know about Hillary’s background . . .beware . ..As I was there for most of their presidency and knowthem better than just about anyone, I offer a few corrections;Bill says: “In law school Hillary worked on legalservices for the poor.”

The facts are: Hillary’s main extra-curricularactivity in law school was helping the Black Panthers, on trial in Connecticut for torturing andkilling a federal agent. She went to court every dayas part of a law student monitoring committee tryingto spot civil rights violations and develop grounds for appeal.Bill says: “Hillary spent a year after graduationworking on a children’s rights project for poorkids.”

The facts are: Hillary interned with Bob Truehaft, the head of the California Communist Party. She metBob when he represented the Panthers and traveledall the way to San Francisco to take an internshipwith him.Bill says: “Hillary could have written her own job ticket, but she turned down all the lucrative joboffers.”

The facts are: She flunked the DC bar exam, yes,flunked, it is a matter of record, and only passedthe Arkansas bar. She had no job offers in Arkansas, none, and only got hired by the Universityof Arkansas Law School at Fayetteville because Billwas already teaching there. She did not join theprestigious Rose Law Firm until Bill became Arkansas Attorney General and was made a partner only after hewas elected Arkansas Governor.Bill says: “President Carter appointed Hillary tothe Legal Services Board of Directors and she became its chairman.”

The facts are: The appointment was in exchange forBill’s support for Carter in his 1980 primaryagainst Ted Kennedy. Hillary then became chairmanin a coup in which she won a majority away from Carter’s choice to be chairman.Bill says: “She served on the board of the ArkansasChildren’s Hospital.”

The facts are: Yes she did. But her main board activity, not mentioned by Bill, was to sit on theWal-mart board of directors, for a substantial fee.She was silent about their labor and health carepractices.Bill says: “Hillary didn’t succeed at getting health care for all Americans in 1994 but she kept workingat it and helped to create the Children’s HealthInsurance Program (CHIP) that provides five millionchildren with health insurance.”

The facts are: Hillary had nothing to do withcreating CHIP. It was included in the budget dealbetween Clinton and Republican Majority LeaderSenator Trent Lott. I know; I helped to negotiatethe deal. The money came half from the budget deal and half from the Attorney Generals’ tobaccosettlement. Hillary had nothing to do with eithersource of funds.Bill says: “Hillary was the face of America all overthe world.”

The facts are: Her visits were part of a program toget her out of town so that Bill would not appearweak by feeding stories that Hillary was running theWhite House. Her visits abroad were entirely touristic and symbolic and there was no substantivediplomacy on any of them.Bill says: “Hillary was an excellent Senator whokept fighting for children’s and women’s issues.”

The facts are: Other than totally meaninglesslegislation like changing the names on courthousesand post offices, she has passed only foursubstantive pieces of legislation. One set up anational park in Puerto Rico. A second providedrespite care for family members helping theirrelatives through Alzheimer’s or other conditions.And two were routine bills to aid 911 victims andresponders which were sponsored by the entire NY delegation. Presently she is trying to have the USmemorialize the Woodstock fiasco of 40 years ago.Here is what bothers me more than anything elseabout Hillary Clinton. She has done everythingpossible to weaken the President and our country(that’s you and me!) when it comes to the war onterror.1. She wants to close GITMO and move the combatantsto the USA where they would have access to our legal system.2. She wants to eliminate the monitoring ofsuspected Al Qaeda phone calls to/from the USA.3. She wants to grant constitutional rights toenemy combatants captured on the battlefield.4. She wants to eliminate the monitoring of money transfers between suspected Al Qaeda cells andsupporters in the USA.5. She wants to eliminate the type of interrogationtactics used by the military & CIA where coercionmight be used when questioning known terrorists even though such tactics might save American lives.One cannot think of a single bill Hillary hasintroduced or a single comment she has made thatwould tend to strengthen our country in the War onTerror. But, one can think of a lot of comments she has made that weaken our country and makes it a moredangerous situation for all of us.

Bottom line: She goes hand in hand with the ACLU on far too many issues where common sense is abandoned.

Sawed In Half