"Obama mistreated Natanyahu?" CNN

1-  Recommendations on a good blog hosting company that I can switch to?  Any volunteers?

2-  I just read in the "crawl" on CNN the question cited above.  This is a question that makes sense only if you see the world through Israel centric eyes.  Let's review the "bidding," the US/Israel relationship is of existential importance to Israel.  Without us dumb goy types Israel is a "dead duck" in the long run.  Yes, I know, we are not all goyim.  The Israel/US relationship is of minimal importance to the US.  Iran?  We can crush them and we do not need Israeli help.  In fact, that would just be a nuisance factor.  For President Obama to seek to discipline Israel (a minor client of the US) is merely to honor his oath of office.

3- This blog wins prizes every quarter.  Congratulations to you all.  

4- Alla yubarik fiik Ayad Allawi.

pl  

Comments

[91B]

Colonel,
what's wrong with blogspot?

Lot's of heavy-duty bloggers use it.

And, it's free!

[Patrick Lang]

All

Opinions? pl

[Farooq]

Sir,
I am not sure how well suited to your needs it is, but wordpress.com is also an option.
http://en.wordpress.com/signup/

Also, as mentioned by 91b google's
https://www.blogger.com/start
is also a mainstream option.

another option:
http://www.livejournal.com/

I believe all three are free. I would suggest you play around with them before making a switch.

Good luck and keep blogging!

[peg]

does this help?
http://www.webhostingclue.com/best-blog-web-hosting

[Paul Escobar]

Mr. Lang,

Most will suggest major sites like "WordPress" or "Blogger". I'm not a big fan of these, as they aren't very "pretty".

I am in love with the look of a blog system my friend Alexandria T. uses. It's called "Posterous":
http://posterous.com/

Many corporate entities also use this blogging system:
http://chevrolet.posterous.com/
http://blog.tweetdeck.com/

As I said, it looks gorgeous. But the best part, according to her, is that it's easy to use.

The homepage explains that you send them a quick email, & they'll email you links to a FREE prepared site (with pointers to password & site management).

You can create blog posts via email, mobile, or a web interface. It has all the features of other blogs (custom domains, media support, comments, tags, etc.), but executes them in a simpler manner.

I created a sample blog within five minutes, just to make sure it was easy (I'm not a blogger):
http://escobar.posterous.com/

So I suggest you skim over their FAQ & create your own dummy account:
http://posterous.com/faq

Perhaps you'll find it to be an improvement over this current TypeBad system.

[different clue]

I am just an amateur blog-reader and sometime-commenter. The only better blog-host/ thread-host I saw
in the past was Haloscan. But Haloscan was recently bought and abolished by some company or other. And everything that was on Haloscan has been switched to the vastly inferior service known as "Echo". So now the service which hosts this blog and threads is as good as any other that
I see.

And better than most. The black letters stand out well against the white background. They are big enough to be easy to see and
read. And i notice that just lately the links (if any) that I offer come up blue and clickable. Which is even better than before. So as a reader/commenter this seems like a very commenter-friendly service.

But if it is so blogger-hostile on the front end that you have to find a better blog-friendly service
to go to, we will follow regardless. I myself hope that doesn't have to happen.

[markfromireland]

IMO you would find blogspot even worse. It is very limited.

If I were you I'd move to wordpress. It's superb blogging software by itself, has lots of extensions and plugins if you want them.

It also has good blogging client software for windows machines, (and also for things like mobile 'phones and the blackberry).

In terms of hosting:

If you want to try a free service then I'd suggest you shift to wordpress.com

There are plenty of very well respected blogs hosted there - Reidar Vissar's blog to name but one:

If you want to go self hosted wordpress is easy to install and run. Many hosting companies have a "one click install" but even if they dont setting it up is easy.

The issue that you face assuming you move from typepad - which truly seems to be dreadful, is how to rescue your data.

(Your posts, the comments, the images, etc are quite a resource. )

Typepad seems to be the worst for this but some quick googling turned up what seem to be workable solutions.

[Idrees]

We have switched from Blogspot to Wordpress, which we find far superior. Publishing on Wordpress is faster, more intuitive (it eliminates unnecessary steps), and the comments component is also more customizable. There are some neat themes available which you can customize for an uncluttered, clean look. You won't have to pay for anything, unless of course you want your own fully cusomizable content management system (for a blog like yours or ours, its unnecessary.) I'd advise against Blogspot.

[matt]

cyber hacking.....guess who?

[Got A Watch]

Eventually most Blogs end up going to their own domain name on their own server, if they have a large following. Registering your turcopolier.com costs $10/year through Yahoo!

From what I have seen, all the Blog comment systems have problems. Whether that is WordPress, Disqus, JS-Kit, Blogger (Google) - ask at most Blogs and they can list a long litany of problems. Most seem to work fine for a while, then they give nothing but problems for a period, which they eventually resolve, if you are lucky. They don't rush to fix issues.

Of course knowing others face the same issues is not of much comfort.

A good web hosting company should charge you about $10-$30/month (depending on data traffic). My old boss in IT used to recommend Peer1. They have a data center in Herndon/Ashburn West Virginia (along with many other web companies, it's one of the main US internet backbone interconnect locations). He'd recommend them based on reliability, price and ability to provide technical help if needed - that was years ago, and they are still in business, unlike many of their competitors, so they must be doing things right.

Going that route would require a lot of work with the software to get it to where you would want it. Off the shelf packages are available, but need to be customized.

You could approach local web-hosting companies in your area, there should be many in Herndon/Ashburn. There will be a cost, and you need someone working with you who is net savvy to customize the software etc - if you have a techy friend or relative, they could assist.

For free, Google is probably your best bet if you have to move from WordPress.

No solution is perfect, and it will take up (a lot of) time probably, by the time you get it all set up, debugged and running. Time you can probably spend better writing a new book for instance. It's a trade off.

As an author, the cost of a website for promotion of your books should be a tax deductible business expense, and the personal Blog could go along for the ride. Maybe your publisher could help defray the costs, it would be helping to sell the books. I doubt they will contribute much, but it does not hurt to ask. You could link your website through Amazon and other book seller websites to drive traffic and promote the books.

[Fnord]

Sir. I have been scrolling through the last 6 non-technical posts about the Israel crisis, and I havent seen much reference to the point that Gates and Petraeus very firmly set the foor down on the hasbara term "linkage"? To me, that seemed like a sharp turning point opening up a real debate and breaking the spell of anti-semitism for those wanting to discuss reality, not glittering generalities. Could it be that the best outcome of the COIN fad that I know you have been sceptical of is that a whole new generation of COIN warriors realize just how badly the IDF are doing it?

Ive been following Jerusalem Post and Haaretz this last year, and there is a marked shift in tone, from glum superiority to near hysteria. I think young Obama has them rattled, and he seems to have the firm backing of the military. Gates is becoming a cult-hero, the last rational man. I think he may have stiffened some spines with some strategy and logistics briefings ahead of this, after the Turkey and Dubai humiliations Israel just did.

Anyways, would love to hear the committees thoughts on that angle.

[Got A Watch]

I got the comment to go through (I think) by pasting Google's URL into the 'Web Site URL' box. If you can see this comment, then that worked, at least it's a work around for now.

[dan robinson]

I'm on Hostgator. I'm running Wordpress from cpanel. I have had no problems with uptime (I can't remember when it was ever down in the last five years) I have a couple of domains there.

I forward my email from those domains to another domain and use Gmail to catch it (I don't run email on the hosted site) This puts all my email in one interface that I can read from where ever.

[Got A Watch]

I am looking at Yahoo! right now, for $112.50/year you get

"Web Hosting

* Free domain name
* Free business email
* Easy site design tools
* Unlimited site storage (disk space)
* Unlimited bandwidth (data transfer)
* Unlimited email storage"

hosted on a Yahoo! server.

[Got A Watch]

I got a 'captcha' page last time, first time ever. At a guess that's why TypePad is having issues, if they are implementing a new level of verification or some other change on their servers. If they say they aren't doing anything to their system, they got problems.

[Clwydshire]

If you switch your host, will we eventually lose your archive?

[eakens]

PL,

Wordpress all the way. You should be able to import all the comments and past posts as well.

[DanM]

On the topic of Netanyahu's hubris, i just finished "Killing Khalid" by Paul McGeough about that grand cockup known as the attempt to assassinate Khalid Mishal in Jordan in 1997 (mossad agents ended up caught by after they squirted a poison in Mishal's ear on an amman street, and old King Hussein threatened to string them up/pull out of his peace deal until, in turn, the antidote was delivered that saved Mishal's life, Sheikh Yassin was returned to Gaza and about 200 other Palestinians were released from Israeli jails). Excessively detailed, perhaps, but good stuff on how Netanyahu's believe that he's bigger than his allies often leads him into all sorts of trouble.

[Patrick Lang]

All

Thanks for all the good comments on a blogging site. i may not move from fear of losing the archive.

My problem seems to have been solved by the simple expedient of typing in the
URL that Jackie suggested. pl

[Paul Escobar]

Mr. Lang,

In case you ever feel frustrated, in the future...

I previously suggested the "Posterous" blogging service:
http://posterous.com/

I forgot to mention that "Posterous" can import your existing Typepad blog:
http://posterous.com/import
(You'll see the Typepad logo in the "More Blogs" section)
You simply provide your Typepad credentials, & it will import automatically.

You might want to play with this feature in your spare time, perhaps to create a backup or evaluate a potential move.

Again, good luck to you.

[Eric]

Sir,
I sent you an email last night regarding WordPress, it really is the best, easiest, cheapest and most reliable option out there.

Everything is customizable. There is a large, dedicated user base constantly improving the product. And most importantly, you don't have to worry about it going away or getting bought out.

Rescuing your archive and importing it to the new system is a fairly simple process. You will first need to export all your data from TypePad (it's been a while since I've done it with TP, but can look it up if you need help). Once you have that, there is an import tool in WordPress that automates the rest. There are sometimes minor issues with the move, but they are minor and easily worked out. Transferring images is the sticky spot, but that too can be handled with little effort.

Since any move will necessarily be to a different server/domain, you can try it out, import everything over, fix it up so you have the right look and layout all before making it public. If things don't work out, stick with what you have. Even if you do switch you can always leave this blog here and just add a banner at top letting people know where to find new posts.

I'll be glad to help. Let me know if you have any further questions, I'm sure there are other experienced WordPress developers in your audience too.

[Roger]

You won't lose your archive if you are careful. Typically, when you move to a new blog, you will export your blog and then import it into the new one. You can leave the old one up as well for posterity.
To export a typepad blog, follow these instructions:
http://help.sixapart.com/tp/us/import_export.html

It's a good idea to export even if you don't choose to move, because then you'll have a backup, just in case.

Btw, my suggestion would be Wordpress or Blogger with your own domain name. (blogspot blogs do get a PageRank boost though it seems, but I don't think you're lacking for exposure.)

[The Twisted Genius]

PL,

I spent several years working with both large and small data centers and ISPs. In every case the expertise and, most importantly, the attitude of the management/support staff is what makes for a pleasurable experience or a nightmare. Judging by the comments of other SST posters, Wordpress may be the better blogging software package. I noticed Wordpress.org recommends several hosting companies at http://wordpress.org/hosting/ that support wordpress blogs and have reasonable prices. If you are so inclined, I'd recommend contacting a couple of them, explain your needs and concerns and see how they respond. I don't run a blog, but I'd start with Laughing Squid as a possible hoster. Being a smaller company, I would expect to develop a responsive personal relationship with their staff very quickly. Blue Host, although much larger, is also a well regarded hosting company. Good luck!

"Obama mistreated Natanyahu." Sounds like CNN is, in the words of GWB, choosing to be against us rather than with us. Given the recent discourtesy our VP received in Israel, I think Bibi ought to be grateful he wasn't physically thrown out the back door of the White House with a warning that he better start showing proper respect to the President's representatives in the future. More realistically, I hope Petraeus' idea that Israeli resistance to seeking a solution to the Palestinian issue is endangering the lives of our troops gains more widespread support. That would force a lot of senators and congressmen to choose between publically supporting our troops or supporting the Likudniks and dampen the inevitable "Israel First" resistance to a more reasonable US policy towards Israel. One can only hope.

[ex-PFC Chuck]

I use Lunar Pages (www.lunarpages.com) with the WordPress blog engine. Once you set up an account and a domain you can load WP with a few clicks directly from their "Fantastico" library of open source Software. Of course, I have only a trickle of hits, and have been inactive for the past several months. The few times I've had to use it, I've been very impressed with LunarPages customer service.

[toto]

The Times (of London) have their own tack about the whole Obama-Bibi spat, and what it might indicate for the future: "Obama tears up Netanyahu's carte blanche"