Free Republic

Pascal, the programming language he created in the early days of personal computing, offered a simpler alternative to other languages in use at the time.Dr. Wirth died of heart failure on Jan. 1, 2024 at his home in Zurich, his daughter Tina Wirth said. He was 89. He wasn’t nearly as well known as programmers such as Steve Wozniak, who founded Apple with Steve Jobs, or Bill Gates, who founded Microsoft with Paul Allen. But to legions of computer scientists Dr. Wirth was one of the most influential and inspiring scientists of the early computer age. The Association for Computing...

In the end of days, an elite class shall arise under a despot. While the elites shall enjoy every comfort, for the average citizen, life will become a living hell: More dominant males will go berserk, attacking females, juveniles and less dominant males. Sexual deviancy will become the norm. Males will pursue females relentlessly. Rates of bisexuality and homosexuality will skyrocket. In the final phase, all society will collapse. People will stop reproducing altogether, mothers will stop caring for and attack their young and our civilization shall disappear.

Professional critics have decried President Bush’s three-day “delay” in reacting to the tsunami disasters. But if the President used that time to understand the dimensions of the disaster, and to keep the United Nations from controlling relief efforts, every minute was justified. When the UN handles dollars, tens of millions disappear. When the UN handles protection and relief, tens of thousands of people die. Instead of leaving money and authority to the UN, the US created a “core group” with Japan, Australia and India. The lead personnel are the military of those nations. That makes sense, because military units are...

When the stink threatens to make even bureaucrats gag, somebody has to mop up some of the mess.     When a gaggle of special pleaders met the other night in New York to talk about the puddle in the parlor at the United Nations, it wasn't clear whether they were interested in shaping up the U.N. or merely saving the job of Kofi Annan, the bureaucrats' favorite bureaucrat. [snip]What frightened the coterie to action then, and no doubt Mr. Annan yesterday, is the growing sentiment in Congress to do something about corruption at the U.N., or else. [snip]     There was...