Former Microsoftie becomes US ambassador, opts to swear in on KINDLE A US ambassador has become the first public official to be sworn into office using a Kindle. Normally, incoming politicians take their oath with one hand on a holy book or a print-out of the country's constitution, but former Microsoft employee Suzi LeVine wanted to bring this tradition up to date. She took an oath of office …
> Swear in on Viz and the Two Fat Slags.
Well, it could be worse. Much worse.
I wonder if they did check the content of the Kindle, and therefore what else she was also swearing on, beyond that currently being displayed ... ?
"I wonder if they did check the content of the Kindle, and therefore what else she was also swearing on, beyond that currently being displayed ... ?"
Yes, that was my first thought too. After all, stating the oath while displaying the 19th amendment might mean the oath was taken just for that statement. The rest of the document is just "in memory" along with any and all other documents stored on that e-reader and so may have equal "standing" in terms of "taking the oath".
I can just imagine the conspiracy theories from the "birthers" if Obama had took his oath on a Kindle or iPad and books they would be claiming were also on it.
> She took an oath of office on Monday ... placing one hand on a Kindle Touch
One would hope the object at the centre of the swearing in has some idealogical meaning for the swear-ee. That it reflects their core beliefs and/or values and that this is what they are linking to the oath they profess,
In that case, it's not just the symbolism of what's on open display, as bibles and other holy books are closed for the oath, so what's displayed is unimportant - save for identifying the object for what it is. But the symbolic quality of the object resides in all the other texts, ideas and values contained within.With the Kindle, one would assume that contains Amazon's terms and conditions for use (among other things).
One of the sentences says:
By using the Kindle, any Reading Application or the Service, you agree to be bound by the terms of this Agreement.
And with this swearing in, the Kindle has definitely been "used", if not for the intended purpose: but used is used. Has she just sold her (diplomatic) soul to Amazon?
> The oath was made at the American embassy in London
The embassy will be considered U.S. soil and therefore not part of the E.U. or the U.K. (except for when it suits the embassy staff: such as to watch UK TV (which, according to the broadcast copyrights may only be watched in the UK), using "our" air and water, etc.
And as for taxes: given that the U.S. along with Russia and a few others, mostly equatorial-belt dictatorships, refuses to pay UK taxes and levies such as the congestion charge¹, traffic violations and parking tickets, I don't think there's much hope they'd do the honourable thing here, either.
[1] ref: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-23266149
Well in principle there is nothing wrong with a vocal swearing in on <dusty manuscript>. The problem is the ideological compliance that is implied.
I cannot know this for sure, but the second line to the US declaration of Independence "We find these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal...." was chosen to be as unconstrained as possible. Even the use of the term "their Creator", is as close to "doesn't matter what fairies you believe in, this is always true".
P.
Why was the oath taken/made in London?
You may recall that certain nations have problems with geography the moment they leave their own country? Alternatively, maybe they used Bing maps?
On a more serious node, I think the swearing in was done in London because they have a more substantial embassy there - probably a better place to give them their secure briefing than the offices in Switzerland and Liechtenstein, especially after they pissed off those nations something solid.
As far as I recall from protocol, they still need to present their credentials to the host nations so she may have been sworn in from the US side but she is as yet not an accepted ambassador. Not that one would expect problems there, unless her Microsoft past catches up with her :p
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