WarLog: World War III by Jeff Jarvis

From: Subject: WarLog: World War III by Jeff Jarvis Date: Wed, 18 Sep 2002 21:38:02 -0400 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/related; boundary="----=_NextPart_000_007A_01C25F5B.AA4ED170"; type="text/html" X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2600.0000 This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_007A_01C25F5B.AA4ED170 Content-Type: text/html; charset="Windows-1252" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Location: http://www.buzzmachine.com/2001_10_01_crisis_archive.html WarLog: World War III by Jeff Jarvis

WarLog: World War III

War, Media, the Web & = Whatever=20 ... by Jeff Jarvis

Wednesday, October 31, 2001 - Link=20

- Bin Laden's kidney=20 stones.
- Gotta love them Texans: The "harshest = right-wing=20 station" in Texas (yow, that's frightening) is raising = money not=20 to feed Afghan children but to buy=20 a bomb! [Via Romenesko]
- I'm=20 fascinated by stories about what's left standing below = Ground Zero=20 (perhaps because that's the part of the WTC I saw every = day).=20 Here's the narrative from Dan = Rather's 60 Minutes II report from down there = tonight.
-=20 Osama to his cultists: Fire=20 at will.
- Waiting until spring=20 for the big attack?
- Star-Ledger:=20 Government "backed away from their insistence that the = general=20 public is not at risk."
- Our buddy Blair:=20 "I am completely confident we will get the mass murderer = Osama bin=20 Laden, of that I have absolutely no doubt."
- A tip of = the Former=20 Pacifist baseball cap to Matt Welch for baiting= =20 me to make the charitable calculation below.=20
. .=20 .

Tuesday, October 30, 2001 - Link=20

Matt Welch throws out a chall= enge=20 to react to Geov = Parrish's assertion that the amount of money being = contributed=20 to the families of the heroes and victims of 9/11 is = "obscene --=20 they don't need any more." I've actually been meaning to = do the=20 math. Correct me if I'm wrong (there's a reason I'm a = writer, not=20 an MBA) but if you take $1 billion -- which is what the = total=20 should be if the Red Cross were not = misappropriating funds=20 and contributors' good intentions by funneling money to = buying new=20 phones for themselves -- and divide that total by 5,000 -- = the=20 still-accepted number of deaths -- you get $200,000 per = family.=20 Obscene? Only to an unemployed Afghan, perhaps. That would = not pay=20 for one college education. That would not compensate for = one=20 year's income -- let alone a long career ahead -- for the = young=20 and talented victims of this mass murder. Double it or say = I'm off=20 a zero and it's $2 million; still nothing compared to a = life.=20 Parrish, whoever you are: Sod off.You give your money to = whatever=20 hackneyed cause you want. I will give mine where I give it every year = and I will=20 now give it here.

I've=20 also been wondering: Will the families of the victims of = the=20 anthrax attacks receive any of this generosity? I vote=20 yes.

- Telegraph: We prepared for a full=20 invasion.
- British Muslims who fight vs. Britain = face=20 charges of treason.-=20 And I thought Nixon's enemies list was bad; here's the = Taliban's=20 hit=20 list.
- OK, let's stop with the columnists telling = us all=20 just to calm down about this anthrax "scare" because only = a=20 relatively few people have died -- there is no such thing = as only=20 a "few!" Now one poor person who hasn nothing to do with = the post=20 office in New=20 Jersey has it. And one poor person with no apparent = connection=20 in New=20 York has it. This is a biowar attack on us!
- = Howard Stern=20 said that what shook him about Ashcroft's omnibus warni= ng=20 was that Ashcroft looked shaken.
- As Churchill=20 said...
- War criminal re war criminal: Milosevic.
-=20 U.S. warns=20 Afghanis "not to confuse food parcels with cluster bombs." =

. .=20 .

Monday, October 29, 2001 - Link=20

- Star-Ledger:=20 Since 9/11, "cigarette sales are up. Weight- loss centers = say=20 business is down. Liquor stores say business is up, and=20 addiction-counseling groups have seen an increased demand = for=20 alcohol and drug treatment services."
- Bush loses weight.
-=20 Unspecified panic and terror: On the one hand, I suppose = I'm glad=20 the FBI keeps trying to keep us informed. But I wish = somebody=20 would tell me what I'm supposed to do when they issue a=20 nonspecific warning=20 of impending terror attacks. Distrust all strangers? Stay = at home?=20 Move to Canada? (Anybody know a good real estate agent in=20 Toronto?) Help!
- But now EVERYONE will have cause to = panic: A=20 civilian=20 (not a mail worker, not a government worker, not a media = worker,=20 not a defense worker, just a plain old worker) gets = anthrax.
-=20 Howard Kurtz=20 on impatience with the war, already: "Call it the = miniseries=20 mentality: Shouldn't this show be over by now? Why, the = Gulf War=20 ended in a mere 100 hours."
- Turncoat Brit bozo.
-=20 More Brits wigging=20 out: fearing nukes.
- Sensible Brit says celebs=20 are meaningless.
- Very sensible Brit Tony Blair asks = Britain=20 to "hold=20 its nerve."
- More eloquent Blair= :=20 "We should never forget why we are doing this. Never = forget how we=20 felt watching those planes flying into the trade = towers....=94
-=20 Question: "Is it better for bin Laden to be dead or be = captured?"=20 Tony Blair's=20 answer: "I think it is better that he be stopped."
- = Sensible=20 British idea: requiring immigrants=20 to carry photo ID.
- Debka: 1 million = Russians ready=20 for war.
- Terrorist how-to.
- Seinfeld=20 tainted mail episode pulled.
- CNN tonight: "What is it = about=20 New Jersey?"

If you can't go to the Here Is New = York=20 Gallery in Manhattan, you can now see this amazing = collection of=20 1,000 photos online (and buy them soon): HereIsNewYork.org.

=
. .=20 .

Sunday, October 28, 2001 - Link=20

- A fine and right-on Ken = Layne rant= :=20 "I am tired of the pro-war/anti-war arguments. This is a = war, and=20 we are in it. This is a war declared by bin Laden, on the = teevee=20 for everyone to see. The fires are still burning in = Manhattan.=20 Going to the mailbox has turned into a nightmare.... It is = time to=20 deal with how this war is being fought." Give this = man a T-shirt!

-=20 Iraq is sabre-ra= ttling.=20 Rumsfeld=20 rattles his sabre back. But Britain's Straw keeps his = sabre at his=20 side.
- A well-read reader points out this link=20 from anthrax to Iraq: the chemical additive bentonite, = which only=20 Iraq uses. Told ya. (Thanks, Clyde.)

- I'm already = getting=20 spam offering me anthrax-zappers. All that and a bigger = package,=20 too.
- America's economy=20 contracts anthrax.
- Arthur=20 C. Clarke suggests compulsory psychiatric tests to = find the=20 terrorists. Trumps the national ID card.

. .=20 .

Saturday, October 27, 2001 - Link=20

I don't buy the theory=20 being floated now that the anthrax attack is domestic = (just=20 because the FBI hasn't managed to find the link yet): [1] = The=20 aerosolizing of the anthrax is the work of weapons = engineers, not=20 just any old PhD. That means Iraq. [2] It's now confirmed = that Atta=20 met with Iraqi agents and, reports say, got Anthrax. = See all=20 the Baghdad connections here.=20 [3] The M.O. of the terrorists is to keep silent and not = take=20 credit to spook us; the M.O. of unabombers is to write = long,=20 looney treatises to get attention. I'm starting to wonder = whether=20 this domestic theory is being floated to draw attention = away from=20 likely culprit Iraq so there is not a public outcry to = attack=20 Baghdad and fight this war on a second front.

- = Terror fa= shion:=20 A safety coat with camera, sensors, geiger counter (in=20 German).
- = Focus=20 reports some want to turn the Hollywood sign = red-white-and-blue;=20 others fear this would make Hollywood a terrorist target. =
-=20 Life has changed profoundly in New York and Washington. = Has it in=20 the heartland?
-=20 Bin Laden's web=20 guru. Or should I saw web iman?
- Blair:=20 Get Osama before he nukes us.
- Newsrack/Standard:=20 French better allies than Germans.
. .=20 .

Friday, October 26, 2001 - Link=20

Brit military chief warns=20 of a four-year war: =93I=92m not suggesting this war will = go on for 50=20 years but we=92re fighting a concept, not a state . . . = and we=92re=20 having to rewrite the rulebook (to deal with it). The = al-Qaeda=20 organisation is not tangible. You=92re fighting against = this thing=20 called terrorism.=94

Thanks to Matt=20 Welch for a great plug=20 for the Warlog Store (read about it under the tote bag = below and=20 buy the Former = Pacifist or Rudy=20 Kicks... or Osama=20 Kiss My... T-shirts).... And I'm glad that Matt = and his=20 cohort Ken Layne = are back=20 and blogging.

If you want a barometer of what = America is=20 really thinking -- if not saying -- listen to Howard = Stern. Today,=20 Howard wondered what Bush is up to trying to wage the = politically=20 correct war, telling our kids to send dollars for kids in=20 Afghanistan and now to find Muslim pen=20 pals. Howard says that's not how we waged WWII; the = countries=20 we bombed were our enemies. Right. Now it's true that in = this war,=20 Bush has to work hard to distinguish the enemy -- = terrorists --=20 from the civilians around them and their fellow Muslims, = since we=20 are relying on them as at least temporary allies. Still, = what=20 Howard's really saying is that we want decisiveness. = Instead,=20 we're starting to hear that we may not ever get Osama and = that the=20 war is already tougher=20 than we figured. On the homefront, it's worse: We = witnessed a fu= mbled,=20 mumbled, and bumbled response to the worsening=20 anthrax attacks; we got vague reassurances when we should = have=20 been getting swift action and information. It also does = not=20 inspire confidence that the government is asking Hollywood=20 and now us for ideas to fight = terrorism=20 (apply here).=20 Our support for the war and Bush is not faltering. We just = want=20 something more to support.

- Anthrax surv= ivor:=20 "I was near death."
- Fun Florida.-=20 Bin Laden link to Argentine=20 terror attacks.
. .=20 .

Thursday, October 25, 2001 - Link=20

The = post-9/11=20 T-shirts I'm seeing on the streets of New York are mostly = mawkish,=20 hawkish, tacky, or even offensive. We need to improve the = level of=20 T-shirt discourse. And here is my humble contribution: The = Warlog=20 Store (all profits to charity). = So far,=20 three products:
- The Former Pacifist line (inspired by = my=20 confession, below).=20 For you NPR/PBS fans who may not be caught dead or alive = in=20 T-shirts, we offer the Former Pacifist tote bag (above). = Buy = here.
- The Rudy=20 For... t-shirt. On the front, suggestions for Rudy's next = job:=20 Attorney General (my crusade), FBI Director, Senator, = Governor,=20 any of the above. On the back, "Rudy Kicks..." with an = arrow=20 pointing you-know-where. Buy = here.
- And to=20 show off my new hawkish tendancies: A T-shirt that says = "Osama:=20 Kiss My..." with an arrow pointing down; the same message = on front=20 and back. Buy = here.
Suggestions=20 welcome.

Through others' eyes: In the current issue = of der Spiegel, there's = one story=20 about the love-hate relationship Germans have with America = right=20 now -- with many against supporting our war. And only a = few pages=20 away there's a story (neither of them online) remembering = the day=20 exactly 40 years ago when our tanks confronted Soviet = tanks across=20 the Berlin Wall, risking nuclear war, a historian now = believes,=20 for the sake of German freedom. Ungrateful? Disloyal? At = the same=20 time, we're hearing more about the planning for terror = that=20 occurred in Germany. Spiegel has a story about Atta = plotting in=20 Hamburg. And there's an amazing story (if I'm translating=20 correctly) about the double life of a soccer=20 star turned terrorist. There are terrorists in their = midst,=20 too.

- The future of mail: Wall Street=20 Journal asks whether this is the end of snail mail. I = was=20 telling friends the business to be in is sanitizing and = opening=20 mail for important or self-important people; too late, for = the NY=20 Times reports that Hazmail is offering just that. Will = we be=20 required to seal our mail in plastic bags? Will our mail = be=20 delayed while it's nuked? Will the mail cost more? You = bet. Will=20 that affect every business that sells and communicates via = the=20 mail? Absolutely. Will they try to find alternatives in = email?=20 They're trying.
- The United We Stand = postage=20 stamp released today. Let's hope it's the no-lick=20 variety.
- Do NOT=20 microwave your mail.

- = Uncle=20 Bin's Instant Anthrax (picture on Der Spiegel).
- = Blair:=20 No Court TV for bin Laden. Rumsfeld: Ditto.=20 Rumsfeld: On=20 the other hand.
- Bild via CBS<= /A>:=20 Atta got anthrax from Iraq
- Criticism on the = homefront: NY=20 Times ... Washington=20 Post ...
. .=20 .

Wednesday, October 24, 2001 - Link=20

Yesterday afternoon, I went = down to=20 the Here Is New = York=20 gallery -- where hundreds and hundreds of photos of Sept. = 11 are=20 displayed on the walls and now there are so many they even = hang=20 from the ceiling. You've probably seen the story on TV: = These=20 volunteers are collecting photos from any photographers = and then=20 selling them for $25 each with net proceeds going to a WTC = fund of=20 the Children's Aid Society. I bought five. No, I don't = intend to=20 hang them in my living room; I intend just to hang onto = them to=20 remember. I don't know why, but I find myself staring at = photos=20 like these. Even though I was there, I don't think I've = yet=20 calculated the enormity of this; maybe that's why I need = to stare.=20 These photos do not have the newsy urgency and bluntness = of the=20 amazing collection of photojournalism at Digital = Journalist. These are mostly photos taking by the=20 photographers who happened to be there. If you're in New = York, I=20 recommend going to the gallery at 116 Prince St. (11a-6p); = they're=20 open until Nov. 4 and they're looking for donations to = help build=20 a web site to bring the photos online. = Volunteers?

- Life=20 changing in every American city: Christian Science=20 Monitor.
- Arrrgh: "Post=20 Office chief suggests wash hands after opening=20 letters..."
- Maureen=20 Dowd: "The federal government is starting to remind me = of the=20 Amity town council in 'Jaws.' Afraid panic will spread and = business will suffer, they keep telling us to go back into = the=20 ocean before they've figured out how to fight the shark. = And=20 people keep dying."
- American=20 Muslims meet; set up Muslim defense fund. Maybe they = should=20 think about excommunicating a few of their = own.

. .=20 .

Tuesday, October 23, 2001 - Link=20

Six weeks after.... I grew up = watching=20 the Vietnam War over dinner -- when we were allowed to see = the=20 blood and the fear, not just green blobs on a nightvision = screen=20 -- and that's one reason I declared myself a pacifist at = an early=20 age. It was easy then. It was a cause. Vietnam was an = unjust and=20 just stupid war; I hadn't seen a just war in my lifetime. = Back=20 then, when I announced my pacifism as only a dogmatic kid = can,=20 adults would, of course, challenge me with Hitler and I'd = blather=20 my way around it. But now we post-World-War-II children = are facing=20 our Hitler in Bin Laden and his cult of killers. We are = facing the=20 urgent need to end an evil before it attacks anew. We are = in a=20 just war that I know we must win not for justice or even = revenge=20 but for protection. We have not seen war on our land = before and we=20 have not seen war like this, a war without even the rules = of war=20 and certainly without the rules God or Allah, take your = pick. This=20 is a war of hate and there is no rational way to fight = that. We=20 have only one response: to protect our children, to fight = and win.=20 So I look up today, after the mass murder at the World = Trade=20 Center, after the start of biowar on our shores, after the = start=20 of an epoch of fear, and I realize that I am a former=20 pacifist.

I hope the item above amounts to = something more=20 than this, but still I note this line from Andrew = Sullivan today:=20 "A reader points out that it is now a commonplace notion = that a=20 conservative is a liberal who has been mugged. Well, = America has=20 been mugged.

- Netzeitung -- the very cool = online-only=20 newspaper in Berlin, does a story=20 on this the warlog trend: this one, Matt Welch's and=20 others.

- Why the stars are meaningless: Shannon = Elizabeth=20 on Access Hollywood just now: She has gas masks. She's = looking for=20 gas masks for her dog! She has an escape plan to Wyoming. = Osoma=20 doesn't give a damn if he hits you, honey.
- None of = the Post=20 Office's hints=20 to find poison pen letters would have caught the anthrax = letters=20 actually sent.
- Fatwa defending despots.=20
- Just what the world needs: Al Sh= arpton=20 on a mission to Israel.
- NY Times on new anthrax = deaths: "Prompt=20 Response for Politicians, a Slower One for Postal = Workers."=20 Washington Post: "Workers=20 Question Response; CDC Says Policy Evolving". More.
-=20 Times of London on Osama and nukes.=20 Islamic fatwa=20 on nukes: "...in case these nuclear weapons are used = against=20 Muslims, it becomes permissible for Muslims to defend = themselves=20 using the same weapon."
- Debka: "America Faces a = Long,=20 Harsh Winter in Afghanistan"
- The anthrax letters.-=20 Watch for gigantic increases in postal costs, end of = Saturday=20 delivery, delayed mail....=20 fax machines look good.

. .=20 .

Monday, October 22, 2001 - Link=20

- A spectacular photo=20 site with the best World Trade Center images from top=20 photographers.
- Future jobs for Ru= dy.=20 Nobody's picking up my cause -- Rudy for Attorney General! = I'm=20 making the T-shirts now.
- Andrew=20 Sullivan on crossing the biowar rubicon. Good = piece.
- Why=20 I gave up hard news and became a critic a columnist, tv = critic,=20 and overall fluff monger years ago: "Thirty=20 journalists reported to be held hostage by=20 Afghans"

. .=20 .

Sunday, October 21, 2001 - Link=20

New name -- Warlog: World=20 War III ... Cheney=20 on this war: "It may never end -- at least, not in our=20 lifetime."

- Another appropriately edgy Maureen=20 Dowd column: "Many government officials here do not = yet have a=20 grip on an enemy etched in disappearing ink. Washington is = rife=20 with contradictory signals. The White House urges us to go = out=20 while Dick Cheney is under wraps. Congress urges us to = stay calm=20 and go about our business while the entire House takes a = powder at=20 the first sign of powder. We are supposed to shop till we = drop,=20 literally, as the F.B.I. and C.I.A. warn of major attacks = at any=20 moment. The capital is the heart of confusion."
- = Interview=20 with Clas= h=20 of Civilizations' Huntington: "Instead of the West = versus the=20 rest, could the clash become Islam versus the rest?"
- = Britain's plans for biowar.=20
. .=20 .

Saturday, October 20, 2001 - Link=20

- Rousing Julie Burchell rant = on Islamofascists=20 ... Booker Prize winner Peter Carey's letter=20 from New York.
- NY Post victim:=20 "ANTHRAX THIS!" ... The National = Enquirer:=20 "Evacuated, medicated, dedicated!" ... Anthrax in Rio = ... in Argentina = ... in Kenya = ...
- Striking Spiegel cover:=20 The wounded city.
- Well-done Al-Ahram=20 on the squeeze on Sharon and Arafat.
- Islam Online = finds anti-bin-Laden=20 sites.
- The Egyptian=20 view of Huntington's Clash of Civilizations (below).=20 More=20 against Clash. Moderates say there is no clash. That's not = what=20 Bin Laden and the Ayatollah say. Yes, there is a = clash of=20 civilizations; the only question is whether we are = civilized=20 enough to get past it.
- Sell Creamora=20 stock.
. .=20 .

Friday, October 19, 2001 - Link=20

It's time to start calling this....

WORLD WAR III
By any definition, the = fight=20 against terrorism is turning into a world war.
First = factor:=20 The major powers are engaged -- the U.S. and Britain now; = soon,=20 Germany, France, and other NATO countries will be be = sending=20 troops. Russia and China are taking part, in their ways. = Many=20 other countries are involved: Pakistan, Uzbekistan,=20 Turkey....
Second factor: This is a war being fought on = many=20 fronts. It's not just about hunting down one war criminal = and his=20 cult. Every Muslin/nonMuslim battleline is now drawn: The = Arab=20 world hopes that now is the time for the creation of a = Palestinian=20 state; Israel -- under pressure from us -- was reluctantly = getting=20 ready to go along; then terrorists met their agenda of = agitating=20 and avoiding peace with an assassination this week; now = Sharon=20 decrees that the Arafat era is over and he's ready to = fight. This=20 is war. Meanwhile, India fears that we're going to ally so = closely=20 with with Pakistan that it will affect its endless = skirmish with=20 Pakisatn Kashmir and so they launch attacks; this comes = after=20 terrorists launch their own attacks in India. This, too, = is war.=20 Indonesia threatens to flair up. Sri Lanka and the = Philippines are=20 not far behind. At the same time, Russia wants to mop up = Chechnya=20 and China is dueling with its Muslim minority. There are=20 ever-present terrorist threats in Egypt and Saudi Arabia. = And in=20 the background, Iraq and Iran are dying to pick a fight = with the=20 West.
This is a world war.
But, of course, this will = be=20 nothing like the other world wars. This will be fought not = in=20 trenches or -- in the longrun -- from the air. This will = be fought=20 from inside countries. For the first time, the enemy is = not=20 apparent; it hides in caves and cheap New Jersey = apartments and=20 practices a strategy of silence. The enemy is among us. We = are=20 living in the battlefield. And that, by the way, is why = the FBI's=20 performance during the anthrax attack is so disturbing, = for we are=20 depending on law enforcement (and, God forbid, the Post = Office),=20 not armed forces, to defend us at home and they are not=20 prepared.
The President is right when he warns us that = this=20 will take time. This is a world war.

- Trenton's=20 day in infamy.
. .=20 .

Thursday, October 18, 2001 - Link=20

- NY Post calls Congress "Wimps." = On the one=20 hand, I can sympathize with these "wimps," turning into = one=20 myself. On the other hand, the symbolism of shutting down = the=20 Capitol is too virulent today; they should have decided to = hold=20 committee meetings in local hotels or TGIFridays; they = should have=20 said they were keeping moving with business as usual in = spite of=20 the fright. They should have asked themselves: "What would = Rudy=20 do?"

- Bin Laden's mom.=20 His dad.=20 His shrink.
-=20 Geologist reads the rocks=20 behind bin Laden in his video; says he knows where the = culprit=20 is.
- Dan Rather as Churchill... From the CNN caption: "Anchor Dan = Rather=20 says 'our biggest problem is not anthrax,' but fear."
- = NY=20 Times joins the Post (and me and half the country) = complaining=20 about the government's uncoordinated response to anthrax. = The LA=20 Times jumps on the pile.
- Three=20 Mile Island receives "credible threat."
- Putin=20 is said to tell Russians not to come to the U.S. because = of=20 terrorist attacks; Gorbachev cancels speaking tour.
- = One down:=20 = Report=20 says one bin Laden crony killed.
- Times=20 of London big graphic on anthrax.
- Who's=20 Who of terrorist groups around the world from the=20 Independent.

. .=20 .

Wednesday, October 17, 2001 - Link=20

So far, they've hit (1) = business, (2)=20 the military, (3) media, (4) government. What's next? We = shudder=20 to imagine. Entertainment? Commerce?

- Anthrax = info: CDC ... JAMA= =20 ... HHS=20 ... WebMD ...=20 CBS=20 Healthwatch ... Dr.=20 Koop ...
- Washington Post: More justified criticism=20 of the government's handling of the anthrax attack.
- = So the=20 FBI said they didn't see a connection until now. But the = letters=20 made reference to 9/11 and said "Death to Israel" and = "Allah is=20 Great." Bozos.
- Today's ridiculous anthrax scares: incense= =20 and tampons= .
-=20 = Iron=20 your mail to kill anthrax? DEBUNKED.
-=20 First, smoke alarms. Then carbon monoxide alarms. Now, in = Jane's,=20 chem-bio=20 detectors.
- Maureen=20 Dowd wigs out. I don't blame her. So am I.

- = Iranian=20 radio says our troops are in Afghanistan [via T= imes=20 of India].
- WWIII will be "between the West and = the rest=20 of the world," says the security chief of = Indonesia.

-=20 Today's idiotic overreaction: Robert=20 Altman says that moviemakers (of which he is one) = inspired the=20 massive violence of 9/11 and they should be ashamed of = themselves.=20 What a crock from the old coot. The people who did this = hate and=20 decry American culture; they didn't grow up watching it; = they're=20 foreigners! And besides: I thought Nashville as an = overrated=20 bore.
. .=20 .

Tuesday, October 16, 2001 - Link=20

Smallville's=20 opening tonight reminded me all too much of Sept. 11: fire = from=20 the sky and people running from huge clouds of dust and = debris.=20 I'm not suggesting they should have changed it; we're = tougher than=20 that. Just another eerie moment.

Vox pop on pox: = Check out=20 NJ.com's terror=20 forum to see what the people are saying.

- = Canada=20 passes stronger antiterrorism=20 laws than we probably would.
- Did we lose the war = already?=20 Was there an invasion? MSNBC in Arabic.
- Nice = Flash map of=20 Afghanistan on W= ashington=20 Post (click on War Zone Explorer):pick a region and = add in=20 roads, missiles, etc.
- NY Times gives the feds a = deserved lashing=20 for their handling of the anthrax attack. I repeat: The = FBI is=20 messing up and Rudy should take over.
- A story of = Taliban defections=20 from one teahouse in Afghanistan.
- You are not = allowed to=20 laugh: "Suspicious=20 substance was a loved one's ashes." [Via Drudge]
- New = word (to=20 me) from the Middle East Times: "Islamophobic= ."
-=20 Also new (to me) from the National Post: "Asymmetrical=20 war -- the act of fighting with lesser weapons, like = the other=20 guy's jets and infected soil.
- New word from Drudge:=20 "Anthraxophobia."
- Gives one a moment's pause: = Germany's Der=20 Spiegel does a Flash graphic counting how many = foreigners=20 are where there.
- Getaloada the latest pronouncements = from Iran=20 and note the item yesterday (below) on the clash of = civilizations=20 as you read it: " 'The civilization whose standard bearer = is the=20 United States today, is presenting a warmonger facade = coupled with=20 injustice, arrogance, and irrational behavior, and that is = the=20 lasting impression that the mankind will have of the real = identity=20 of that civilization, which is, despite their claim, an=20 incompetent image,' said Ayatollah Khamenei. He said that = the=20 mankind has still not forgotten the memory of the time = when the=20 Islamic civilization conquered Iran and Rome (a few = decades after=20 the advent of Islam), concluding that due to the humane = and just=20 approach of the conqueror Muslims at the time, many = Iranians and=20 Romans converted to Islam, and that is the best guarantee = for the=20 lasting life of this civilization."
. .=20 .

Monday, October 15, 2001 - Link=20

Now a child=20 gets Anthrax!

A very=20 smart (and very long) piece from the Sunday Times of = London by=20 Harvard's Samuel P. Huntington argues that we are entering = a new=20 era of war in the world. First came wars of power among = princes,=20 up through World War I. Then came wars (including cold = wars) of=20 ideology and economics. Now we face wars of civilizations: = essential differences in religion, culture, history, = ethnicity,=20 outlook -- gulfs that are harder to bridge (you can = switch, he=20 argues, from communist to capitalist a helluva lot easier = than you=20 can switch from Jewish to Muslim). This is the extension = of the=20 never-ending battles in the Middle East and also the = extension of=20 the various wars in Yugoslavia and its successors. And, = yes, as=20 the world comes closer together, there is more opportunity = for=20 conflict.

Note, too, this from John le Carr=E9's = piece=20 (below) on Osama bin Laden's male=20 ego: "The stylised television footage and photographs = of Bin=20 Laden suggest a man of homoerotic narcissism, and maybe we = can=20 draw a grain of hope from that. Posing with a Kalashnikov, = attending a wedding or consulting a sacred text, he = radiates with=20 every self-adoring gesture an actor's awareness of the = lens. He=20 has height, beauty, grace, intelligence and magnetism, all = great=20 attributes unless you're the world's hottest fugitive and = on the=20 run, in which case they're liabilities hard to disguise. = But=20 greater than all of them, to my jaded eye, is his barely=20 containable male vanity, his appetite for self-drama and = his=20 closet passion for the limelight. And just possibly this = trait=20 will be his downfall, seducing him into a final dramatic = act of=20 self-destruction, produced, directed, scripted and acted = to death=20 by Osama Bin Laden himself."

- Sighted in Jersey = City (aka=20 Terror Town): Man in full Muslim mufti dashing by on = rollerblades.=20 Assimilation begins here.
- Next step in assimiliation: = American Muslims want to elect a president by 2020, says = Pravda.<= BR>
. .=20 .

Sunday, October 14, 2001 - Link=20

Prediction: Cocaine will lose = its=20 luster, thanks to anthrax. Who wants to go snorting powder = from a=20 stranger into your lungs?

An amazing piece of = writing --=20 though ultimately unconvincing, even troubling -- by John=20 le Carr=E9 in the Sunday Times = of London:=20 "By the accepted rules of terrorist engagement, of course, = the war=20 is long lost. By us. What victory can we possibly achieve = that=20 matches the defeats we have already suffered, let alone = the=20 defeats that lie ahead? 'Terror is theatre,' a soft-spoken = Palestinian firebrand told me in Beirut in 1982...." What = le Carr=E9=20 is really lamenting is that no one listened to him at the = close of=20 the cold war by tranforming the world with his rendition = of the=20 Marshall Plan: lots of food and friendliness. He regrets = that he=20 can't whine about Kyoto or bad British health care without = seeming=20 like a crackpot liberal, disloyal to our loyal Mr. Blair. = He is=20 sad that he can't still call Putin a war criminal. This = man who=20 understands strange alliances of necessity better than = most any=20 writer ever -- this man who defined the cold war in = literature --=20 now oddly has a very hard time understanding the = requirements of=20 today's alliances against evil. He sees too much gray, too = little=20 black and white. But this is not a world colored in = cold-war,=20 post-war Berlin gray. This is a world colored in black = evil and=20 white good. This is a Hitler world, not a Kruschev world. = This is=20 a war that requires victory, not a draw. This is not a war = that le=20 Carr=E9 understands.

- Guardian: Some say the = anthrax starts=20 with Iraq.
-=20 Instapundit via Ken Layne says = anthrax is=20 "total flop as a terrorist attack: a few people exposed = and one=20 death." I disagree. If the point is to destabilize and = generally=20 freak our your enemy, it's working quite well.
- Judith=20 Miller's first-person story on her NY Times anthrax=20 scare.

. .=20 .

Saturday, October 13, 2001 - Link=20

Rudy's next job: It's obvious = that as=20 soon as he leaves New York's City Hall, Rudolph Guliani = should be=20 the Attorney General. He needs to get in there and clean = up the=20 FBI and Justice Department (see yesterday's post below on = how they=20 are endangering our lives). Rudy can do that. And he is a = great=20 prosecutor. Move the nominally effective political = eccentric John=20 Ashcroft over to another job where he can hold prayer = breakfasts=20 until lunch and let's get a pro in the job! We need = Rudy!

-=20 Good piece on the Palestinian bind=20 from Al-Ahram.
- Terrorists cased=20 DisneyWorld, Disneyland, Sears Tower, Mall of America. =
- Debka: "Bin Laden and = his=20 fundamentalists regard the US media as the foremost = propagators of=20 the American way of life and a pillar of democratic US = government.=20 While possessing the computer technology for disrupting=20 publication and broadcasts, Al Qaeda evidently rates = biological=20 warfare far more effective as a weapon of fear against = American=20 society."
- Blogrolling: Thanks for nice links from Matt Welch, = Dave, and Marc = Brown.
. .=20 .

Friday, October 12, 2001 - Link=20

Enraged: Our screw-up FBI and = Justice=20 Department are now not just messing with the big cases = they screw=20 up; they are messing with our lives. These idiots knew = that there=20 was an attack on the media in Florida and then in New York = and=20 they didn't warn media companies. They said on Friday that = the=20 attack on NBC was not connected to the attack on American = Media.=20 Bull! Anthrax is the connection. Duh. Now add the fact = that the=20 letters to NBC and the NY Times came from Florida. Double = duh.=20 They said -- in a press conference Friday with the = knucklehead=20 head of the New York FBI office -- that they didn't warn = media=20 companies because they didn't know until today that the = NBC case=20 was anthrax. Don't buy it. Why did the doctor treating = Brokaw's=20 assistant just happen to prescribe the one antiobiotic = associated=20 with anthrax: Cithro? The NBC victim has been in treatment = for=20 more than 10 days and all that time, no other media = companies, no=20 other poor, underpaid schmucks in media mailrooms have = been=20 warned. Damn the FBI! They waste their time putting out=20 nonspecific, panic-inducing, unhelpful warnings like last = night's=20 "Skyfall" alert (below) but when they have a specific and = helpful=20 warning to give -- i.e., that media companies are being = targeted=20 by the first attack of biochemical warfare in America -- = they=20 don't say a damned word. Stupid and dangerous, that's our = FBI and=20 Justice Department. Am I being oversensitive because this = is my=20 industry? You bet your sweet ass I am!
Now read the New=20 York Times account the morning after and it's even = more=20 appalling: The FBI did not test anything until TWO WEEKS = after=20 they received reports of the NBC incident. They did not = interview=20 the victim. They did not notify the city. The only reason = these=20 idiots found out that this was anthrax was because the = doctor was=20 smart enough to be suspicious -- even though being = suspicious is=20 supposed to be the FBI's job. Frigging, dangerous = idiots.

-=20 Richard Gere says we should love terrorists out of = sympathy for=20 "the negativity of this karma." He is such a frigging doofus.= =20
- Trump wants a parachut= e.=20
- Wimpy rap=20 reporters.
- Good idea: Stun=20 guns for pilots.
. .=20 .

Thursday, October 11, 2001 - Link=20

Chicken Little: So the FBI = releases a=20 rather ridiculous press release today saying they expect = imminent=20 terrorist attacks but they don't know where or when or = against=20 whom. Helpful? Or just stupid? That's obviously what the = FBI nerd=20 was wondering when he or she put up the press release = under the=20 URL: "http://www.fbi.gov/pressrel/pressrel01/skyfall.htm." = Note:=20 Skyfall. = Drudge thought that was some official codename: Operation = Skyfall.=20 My colleagues who found this -- Joe=20 and Peter, to give them credit -- are sure it's the ironic = touch=20 of a Web geek who can't believe how ridiculous this = omnibus=20 warning of doom is.
Update: Note that the FBI changed = the URL=20 to a harmless number, no "Skyfall."

Dust: A month = after=20 Sept. 11, I have a bad relationship with dust. It was the = dust the=20 Trade Center became -- concrete, drywall, plaster, desks,=20 airplanes, jet fuel, papers -- that I breathed in that day = as I=20 was lucky enough to get the hell out of there. Since then, = I've=20 hated dust. I don't like breathing it. When I get it on = me, I have=20 to wash my hands. I see a cloud of dust or fog and it = reminds me=20 of the blindness of that moment. No dust-to-dust symbolism = here.=20 Just the smell and taste and feel and memory of terror.=20

The White House's request to censor=20 bin Laden's insane rantings -- and the networks' = compliance -- is=20 troubling; official censorship is always troubling. We = have the=20 right to hear every lunatic, hateful, evil, disgusting, = stupid,=20 dangerous thing this criminal says; he is our enemy, = first-hand.=20 It's not as if his idiot followers won't be able to see = his rants=20 and alleged secret signals on the Internet or via email = and=20 instant messenger; it's not as if he can fire them up = anymore than=20 he already has. The networks were stuck in a place where = they=20 would have found it tough to say no. But this is a bad=20 precedent.

- Ken=20 Layne: "Something weird is happening in this country, = and it's=20 not just Anthrax and suicide hijackers. The rational = people on the=20 Right and Left are finding -- surprise! -- that we have = very much=20 in common. We like it here, and we like the = world."
-=20 James Woods says he witnessed a practice = flight=20 by terrorists.
. .=20 .

Wednesday, October 10, 2001 - Link=20

I drive by the Al Salam mosque = in=20 Jersey City, where the first World Trade Center bombing = plot was=20 hatched and I note that they have brand new windows. = Bulletproof,=20 perhaps?

Rule Britannia: We all should be = impressed and=20 grateful for the extraordinary support Tony Blair and = Britain are=20 giving us. Blair has put himself on the front line -- = exposing=20 himself to personal danger --=20 as he stands by us militarily, diplomatically, = politically, and=20 morally.

- The official Most=20 Wanted list.
- Oh, to hell with them. Mail them = out. It's=20 only TV.=20
- Yeah, sure.=20
. .=20 .

Tuesday, October 09, 2001 - Link=20

I repeat: We won't know when = the next=20 terrorist attack happens. We will be confused and we will = suspect=20 any violent act or accident anywhere. Silence is their = strategy.=20 It will spook us. Now we have people=20 in panic=20 everywhere=20 (Ananova headlines: Letter containing suspicious substance = closes=20 US building ... Mystery substance on subway was 'perfume' = ...=20 'Anthrax outbreak could be worst UK disaster').
I'm = among=20 them. Thanks to inhaling crushed building on Sept. 11, I = now have=20 pneumonia... and I sure hope passenger M. Atta wasn't = carrying an=20 extra vial of anthrax.
Ken=20 Layne's advice: "If they're prescribing antibiotics to = you,=20 might as well get some Cipro."

Ananova is terribly = impressive:=20 it covers the news well, does it fast, and packages it = smartly. A=20 great online news source.

More blogrolling: After = the=20 attack began and you saw all the green screens and blobs = and the=20 same wire reports everywhere, there wasn't much else to = say or=20 hear ... until the bloggers started talking, bringing = perspective=20 and smarts in less time and less space than most = columnists or TV=20 pundits. My favorites:

- Nick Denton introduced me = to=20 blogs years ago. He's a master of the form, quiet until he = has=20 something smart to say. Take today:=20 Nick on bin Laden as a "maphead" who's still trying to = compensate=20 for losing Muslim turf 500 years ago. I disagree with his = last=20 line, but that's what makes the Web = great.
Quoting:
Israel's=20 occupation of Palestine? US troops in Saudi Arabia? No, = what Osama=20 resents is the loss of Andalucia, of Spain, 500 years ago. = In=20 fact, the loss of any Arab or moslem territory, no matter = how long=20 ago. Check this out, in his own words. "Let the whole = world know=20 that we shall never accept that the tragedy of Andalucia = would be=20 repeated in Palestine. We cannot accept that Palestine = will become=20 Jewish."
Now I get him. Osama is a classic irredentist: = obsessed by the decline of his nation, defining its power = by=20 territorial expanse. I bet you he is a maphead. Poring = over old=20 maps showing Islam stretching from the Indian Ocean to the = Pyrenees, his heart aching at the loss of Granada and=20 Cordova.
And, since we're all asking the question, what = will=20 assuage his anger? What do we have to do to stop him = hating the=20 West with such a vengeance?
Well, obviously, make the = Israelis=20 hand over the West Bank, that goes without saying. Israel = proper=20 too while they're at it. Zanzibar, and the East African = coast.=20 Spain's Costa del Sol. Hold on, didn't the Arabs get as = far as=20 southwestern France once. And the Moslem Turks were at the = gates=20 of Vienna. So Osama's basic line seems to be: imperialism = is fine,=20 so long as its our imperialism. Which is pretty much the = US=20 line.
- Matt = Welch took=20 some time off to deal with rats (real or metaphoric, I'm = not sure)=20 but I'm glad he's back, deflating the hot air from = dogmatic=20 liberals who blindly can't see that we're right and the = other side=20 is dead, evil wrong and that's just that.
- Ken Layne also took = time off=20 to work on a book but blogging is heroin; you can't just = give it=20 up. So I'm glad that he, too, is back. After passengers = tackled a=20 nut invading their plane's cockpit: "The rules have = changed,=20 whether you're a terrorist or a crazed retard. Try to get = control=20 of a plane, and it's very likely you'll be killed by your = fellow=20 passengers. If you're lucky, they'll just beat the hell = out of=20 you."
- The master media blogger, Jim=20 Romensko, has great stuff today on Dan Rather's hissy = fit on=20 the air last night.
- Nobody beats Drudge for the = fastest=20 links on the planet.
- Scripting News is an odd mix of = tech=20 and terrorism but it's quick and pithy. Today:=20 "Chicago Tribune: 'The flight attendant said 'Get him,' = and, damn=20 it, everyone went up and got him.' "
- Andrew = Sullivan may be a=20 kneejerk Clinton hater and sometimes just a jerk but he's=20 provocative nonetheless.
- Rossi makes it all = personal=20 without making it self-indulgent.

. .=20 .

Monday, October 08, 2001 - Link=20

The last thing we need is = Hollywood=20 meddling in real life. = Oliver=20 Stone wants to make a terrorist movie -- no, no, = anything but=20 that! Now comes word via Variety=20 that the U.S. Army called together the people behind=20 Diehard, MacGyver , Delta Force One,=20 Missing in Action, and even Being John = Malkovich,=20 and Grease (do terrorists sing and dance?) to = brainstorm=20 about terrorist targets and possible solutions. = This is=20 what stands between us and Armageddon? This from an = industry that's acting as if the cancellation of the Emmys = matters. Tonight's Access Hollywood and ET = make me=20 want to spit.

- Another great graphic=20 from the Guardian on the assault on Afghanistan. The = Guardian has=20 been great lately.

- Russian=20 Communists say nya-nya: We were right to fight in=20 Afghanistan.
Quoting:
Here is what Oleg Shenin, a = member of=20 the former Soviet Communist Party, had to say on the score = to a=20 PRAVDA.Ru correspondent (Shenin used to work in Kabul in = the=20 beginning of the 80s as a councilor).
=93Even back in = those=20 years, we could feel the threat that Islamic = fundamentalism would=20 spread in the world and the Soviet Union decided its = troops should=20 enter Afghanistan. I have to tell you I have never = considered that=20 step to be a mistake. On the contrary, it was a mistake to = call=20 the troops off. We just left our friends and Yeltsin and = his team=20 betrayed them. So now, 12 years afterwards, Russia is = involved in=20 military conflict again. Why is that? Because the Russian=20 interests will always be present there. Who grew the = Taliban? The=20 USA did =96 in order to struggle with the USSR. The fact = that the=20 Taliban seized the republic is the direct outcome of that = action,=20 when the Soviet troops were withdrawn. Now it seems that = America=20 has to deal with the blizzard it has caused itself. = Another thing=20 is that I do not approve the bombing of Kabul, Kandagar, = and other=20 settlements. I say this is not a counter-terrorist = operation, but=20 air aggression. They said they would bomb only the camps = and=20 guerrillas=92 bases, but they hit the civilians. This is = the new=20 Yugoslavia. I do not consider the position of the Russian=20 President to be immaculate. In my opinion, Putin is = dealing with=20 what George Bush senior and Yeltsin did. Since Russia took = the=20 side of the Northern Alliance, I do not exclude some = responding=20 actions from the Talibs against our country.=94

- = Brit=20 journalist arrives safetly= =20 in Pakistan.

- Debka:=20 "In the estimate of DEBKAfile=92s experts, between 30 and = 50 terror=20 activists are organized in teams in the United States. = They are=20 all armed with detailed missions for implementation in = major US=20 cities on both coasts as soon as the US launches its = offensive in=20 Afghanistan."

- Debka:=20 "Bin Laden in Single Sentence on Videotape Brings Israel = into=20 Anti-Terror War and Undercuts Arafat."

- Drudge: = Bin Laden=20 uses the Internet -- email and instant messages -- to give = orders.=20

- Tabloid page ones: Sun=20 ... NY Post=20 ... NY Daily=20 News.

- More parodies=20 of the picture of the guy atop the WTC.

- Afghan=20 Islamic Press via OutThere=20 News.

- More a= nthrax=20 in Florida.

. .=20 .

Sunday, October 07, 2001 - Link=20

WAR!
Sites with current coverage: = NJ.com = NewsFlash=20 breaking AP headlines ... CNN=20 ... MSNBC=20 ... Afghan=20 Network News ... AB= C=20 News ... CBS News=20 ... Guar= dian=20 ... W= ashington=20 Post ... NY Times = ... Times of India = ... Drudge ... Ananova ... Independent ... = PakNews ... Debka ... BBC=20 ... Focus, Spiegel, Bild (auf Deutsch) ... Le Monde, Liberation (en = Francais) ...=20 Nick=20 Denton's Blogorama (note the appropriate headline: the = size of=20 a tabloid with the irony of the Web) ... Islam=20 Online ... Jerusalem = Post=20 ... Tehran = Times=20 ...
- Guliani= =20 on terrorism: "We should get used to dealing with = it."
- Stratfor=20 situation reports.
- Iran reacts= .
-=20 T= imes=20 of India on Taliban honcho Mulla Omar: "The man = leading his=20 country in a desperate and high-stakes game of chess = against the=20 United States suffers fits and brain seizures and often = babbles=20 like a child, according to the doctor who treats Mullah = Mohammed=20 Omar, the one-eyed Taliban leader. Omar=92s mental = instability is=20 the real reason he is so reclusive..."
- Green was the = color of=20 old radar screens. Green was the color of the first = computer=20 screens. Green was the color of sunglasses, once upon a = time. My=20 better-educated friend Nick=20 Denton points out that green is the color of Islam. And now = green is=20 the color of the new war: blobs over Kabul:

And the=20 winner is... oh, nevermind... Emmys postponed before but = now canc= eled.=20
. .=20 .

Saturday, October 06, 2001 - Link=20

I was a newspaperman in San = Francisco=20 at the worst of its looney days: during Jonestown and the=20 assassinations of George Moscone and Harvey Milk. It was=20 irritating being the world's nutcases. Now, I fear, New = York could=20 get cast in that role. Witness this grating story from The=20 Times of London (and no, I'm not complaining about it = out of=20 civic hubris; I'm complaining as a reporter who knows = damned well=20 how to hype): "Yuppies are assembling survival kits; = drivers=20 hoarding petrol; families setting up private codes to = signal an=20 evacuation to their country homes. Bicycles, rope ladders, = axes=20 and walkie talkies have been selling well....The favoured = form of=20 emergency transport for the next attack seems to be boat. = A=20 veritable flotilla of small craft fleeing the island of = Manhattan=20 can be expected to set sail on the fateful day....New = Yorkers are=20 loath to go to New Jersey but the grimy industrial = wasteland now=20 seems like an attractive option if worst comes to = worst...." Now=20 that's going too far.

I have always loved the New York Post; I'm a = bad-ass tab=20 guy. But after Sept. 11, I find myself agreeing with the = Post more=20 often than not. The world has changed.
. .=20 .

Friday, October 05, 2001 - Link=20

- Chilling interview with = Pakistan's=20 former chief spy in Al-Ahram: = He says America doesn't "have the heart or the courage to = attack=20 Afghanistan. They would want to use the Northern Alliance = and=20 create a revolt.... If they set up a puppet regime in = Afghanistan,=20 as the British did in the 19th century and the Russians in = the=20 20th century, the regime will start sending signals for = help.=20 Americans will get mired in Afghanistan in a very bad = situation at=20 the wrong time, among the wrong people and in wrong = terrain."=20 Shades of Vietnam.

- For a clear, cogent = explanation of why=20 Uzbekistan=20 would welcome U.S. troops, see Nick Denton's Blogorama"
Languages:=20 Punjabi 48%, Sindhi 12%, Siraiki (a Punjabi variant) 10%, = Pashtu=20 8%...
Am I the only person who thinks mainstream = journalists=20 shy away from ethnic explanations? It's only now, several = weeks=20 into the crisis, that reporters start to identify = Afghanistan's=20 Taliban regime as a primarily Pashtun (Pathan) group; and = the=20 opposition Northern Alliance as primarily Tajik or Uzbek. = Pretty=20 vital information, I would have thought. It explains why=20 Tajikistan or Uzbekistan may be willing to aid the US, for = instance.
But it's time for the same kind of analysis = applied=20 to some of the other countries in the region. For = instance, I only=20 found out recently that the Pashtun dominate areas of = Pakistan=20 along the border with Afghanistan. This is where the most=20 passionate anti-American demonstrations have taken place. = But I=20 have no idea what the dominant Punjabi population think of = the=20 Pashtuns, either in Pakistan or Afghanistan. No one seems = to be=20 reporting from Lahore, the largest Punjabi city. If the = majority=20 population is ethnically distinct from the Taliban = radicals, then=20 Pakistan may be a more stable US ally than the television = pictures=20 would suggest. Another fact: the Pashtuns are more closely = related=20 to Iranians than to Pakistan's Punjabis, although Pashtuns = and=20 Punjabis do share the Sunni variant of Islamic belief. = Some=20 reporters may gloss over the ethnic divisions in order to = keep the=20 story a simple one of clashing civilizations. Others, I = suspect,=20 may be acting out of political correctness. Memo to = reporters:=20 please state ethnicity of demonstrators, quantify weight = in total=20 population, position of other ethnic groups. And some = ethnographic=20 maps.
From a related article, on the ethnic divisions = in=20 Pakistan and the Pashtun borderlands, in American = Prospect:=20 "Everything west of Peshawar to the border, going north = and south,=20 is called the 'Federally-Administered Tribal Area'. When = we were=20 there, we referred to it as the 'Tribally-Administered = Federal=20 Area."

- Who else thinks that the photo of the = laughing=20 hijacker at an ATM released by the FBI yesterday is the = very image=20 of Lucifer?

-=20 What do you do with the remains=20 of the devil: the bodies of the hijackers?
From the = Times of=20 London:
IN carefully numbered plastic bags in = refrigerated=20 trucks parked at the mortuary at Dover Air Force base in = Delaware=20 sit human remains that have presented the Bush = Adminstration with=20 an ethical problem.
US investigators told The Times = that they=20 had certainly recovered, if not yet identified, the bodies = of=20 several of the suicide hijackers, prompting a debate over = how to=20 dispose of what is left of the most hated men in America.=20

- Taliban = books.

-=20 Image of the giant flag now=20 hanging from the World Financial Center, via NJ.com's Skyline Cam = (thanks to my=20 son).

Off-topic: Bild.de, the German tabloid, asks: = Was Hitler=20 gay? Not that there's anything wrong with = that.

. .=20 .

Thursday, October 04, 2001 - Link=20

We won't know when the next = terrorist=20 attack happens. We will be confused and we will suspect = any=20 violent act or accident anywhere. Note that the cowards = who=20 perpetrated Sept. 11 did not "take credit" as we oddly = call it.=20 Silence is their strategy. It will spook us. So yesterday, = we saw=20 a bus=20 crash caused by a man described as Middle Eastern and also = described as nuts. We all assumed terrorism. But now they = say not.=20 Take yesterday's apparent hijacking in India (below); now = we hear=20 that it was all a = practice=20 run against terrorism. Leave me off that airline. This = morning, we=20 see news of an outbreak of the ebola=20 virus on the border of Afghanistan; that is one of the = germs we=20 now fear in a biological attack. Next: Anthrax=20 in Florida (but's just one case, not an attack, they = say). And=20 then we see an Is= rael-to-Russia=20 plane exploding.=20 Terrorism was not ruled out by Russia; then Americans reported=20 that it could be an errant training missile; we don't and = won't=20 know. So the strategy still works: We're=20 spooked.

Minireview of The West Wing from a former = TV=20 critic (once a TV critic, always a TV critic): I predict = that this=20 will be the best treatment of the September 11 tragedy = that we'll=20 see on nonfiction TV ... for years. It is too soon, way = too soon,=20 to know what the hell all this hell means. But this was an = intelligent effort, surprisingly good, considering the = lack of=20 time. Yes, the show was talky and preachy and sometimes = awkward,=20 but I don't know what other critics expected: a = popped-vein=20 president pounding his fist for mere dramatic effect or = mass tears=20 and fears? No, the writers tried to bring us a moment of = sane=20 reflection on an insane event and that is a noble attempt. = And I=20 will bet you a Tivo that it will be far wiser than any = exploitive=20 headline-ripping we are sure to see on Law & = Order.

Kottke [10/4 entry] = catalogues=20 the mess the world is in with attacks of terrorists and = diseases:=20
Jesus. Now there's a possible epidemic happening in=20 Afghanistan involving an Ebola-style virus? Please, = please, please=20 don't let this be terrorist related.
Jets crashing down = around=20 us, Jews killing Palestinians, terrorists killing = civilians,=20 Palestinians killing Jews, half of Africa infected with = AIDS,=20 millions suffering in Afghanistan, nuclear threats = resurfacing,=20 possible biological disasters. I don't think I ever quite=20 appreciated the unique status my generation has enjoyed in = America=20 up until now, never having fought a war or had its freedom = or=20 autonomy or lives challenged in any meaningful way, not = compared=20 with the rest of the world. I'm starting to appreciate it = in a big=20 way now. I want my innocence back, but I don't think = that's going=20 to happen.

On Scripting News, a = brilliant=20 parody of the debunked=20 urban-legend picture of the guy supposedly atop the World = Trade=20 Center as a plane approached. The terror Zelig. Under Oct. = 4, look for, "Remember = the poor=20 schmuck...." More here.

-=20 Britain's Blair has said he has enough evidence against = Bin Laden=20 and the Taliban. Here's his document.
-=20 More security-cam photos=20 of Atta et al before they boarded their weapon.
- = Terrorists=20 visit Vegas=20 [via Drudge].
From=20 SFGate.com:
Samantha remembers the killer settling into = the=20 crushed red velvet chair, staring blankly up at her while = she=20 undulated her hips inches from his face.
He didn't = look evil,=20 she said. Not even interesting. Certainly not like a man = who=20 would, just three months later, hijack a jet and smash it = into the=20 World Trade Center to slaughter thousands of people in a = suicidal=20 fireball.
To the 29-year-old stripper, Marwan = Al-Shehhi simply=20 looked "cheap."
"Some big-man terrorist, huh?" = Samantha said=20 this week as she took a breather from the two-dozen lap = dances she=20 bestows daily upon the lonely at the Olympic Garden = Topless=20 Cabaret. "He spent about $20 for a quick dance and didn't = tip=20 more."

. .=20 .

Wednesday, October 03, 2001 - Link=20

Nevermind: The Indian = hijacking was=20 just a matter of miscommunication. The pilots were told by = the=20 tower there were hijackers in the cabin; they locked their = door.=20 The passengers thought there were hijackers in the = cockpit. Four=20 hours later, everyone realized: There were no hijackers. = I've=20 worked in companies that operate just like that. At the Times of = India.

- A=20 Cantor Fitzgerald survivor=20 speaks to The Star-Ledger from her hospital = bed.

. .=20 .

Tuesday, October 02, 2001 - Link=20

Just three weeks = later....
...My=20 wife finally played for me the phone message I Ieft her = minutes=20 after the second plane hit the World Trade Center (and I = still=20 feel guilty about getting a cell phone line, knowing what = I know=20 now). That was an hour before I escaped=20 the collapse of the south tower and five hours before I = could=20 leave another message, saying I was still fine. I couldn't = listen=20 before; I couldn't listen now. I thought I was fine then. = But even=20 I couldn't understand myself, I was talking so fast, no = breaths=20 between words: too much fear, fright, adrenalin,=20 horror...
...The images that haunt me most are the = faces of the=20 firemen and police I saw running into the towers and their = deaths....
...The image I hate seeing every morning as = I drive=20 toward New York: the city without its=20 towers...

Overheard near Times Square today: A = mother in a=20 store on her mobile phone telling her pediatrician that = she wants=20 her son to get a smallpox vaccination because she'd seen = on CSPAN=20 that the vaccine still exists (even though it's not used = anymore).=20 Sane=20 or insane?

-Salman Rushdie,=20 a man who knows about Islam's bad side, in today's = Washington=20 Post: "Terrorism is the murder of the innocent; this time, = it was=20 mass murder. To excuse such an atrocity by blaming U.S. = government=20 policies is to deny the basic idea of all morality: that=20 individuals are responsible for their actions.... The=20 fundamentalist seeks to bring down a great deal more than=20 buildings. Such people are against, to offer just a brief = list,=20 freedom of speech, a multi-party political system, = universal adult=20 suffrage, accountable government, Jews, homosexuals, = women's=20 rights, pluralism, secularism, short skirts, dancing,=20 beardlessness, evolution theory, sex. These are tyrants, = not=20 Muslims."

- Jason Kottke's weblog on news = withdrawl: The=20 immediate aftermath was filled with facts; today's news is = brimming with spin. To quote:
Network. What a great = movie=20 (reviews), probably in my top 10 of all time. Hollywood = should be=20 proud that they once upon a time made this movie, but = should not=20 be so proud that they haven't made one like it in quite=20 awhile.
You may have noticed (or perhaps you didn't) = that I=20 haven't been talking about the Current Situation much = lately. It's=20 not that I'm becoming apathetic or have been somehow = desensitized=20 to the whole thing. Far from it in fact. I saw video of = the second=20 plane ramming into the WTC for the first time in a couple = weeks=20 and all the grief, incredulity, and pain bubbled right up = to the=20 surface again...not that it was very far from the surface = to begin=20 with.
The problem I'm having is with the (intrinsic?) = nature of=20 news coverage itself. In the early stages of a situation = like=20 this, the news comes fast and hard and for the most part,=20 unfiltered. It was mostly facts...there was actual = reporting going=20 on. Some of the reporting was crappy, and some of it was = even dead=20 wrong, but on the whole, it seemed honest and human and = generally=20 from a place of truth.
Now the spin and the analysis = phase has=20 set in. The PR machines of our government, large = corporations,=20 special interest groups, various agencies, and political = parties=20 have had time to mobilize. Everyone now has an "angle" = appropriate=20 to their political/corporate/religious/cultural = affiliation. It=20 feels like I'm not hearing the truth from humans anymore, = I'm=20 hearing careful crafted and sanitized PR from=20 government/company/agency/media spokespeople. Perhaps it's = my=20 fault for immediately distrusting spin, but I just don't = see how I=20 can believe anything I'm hearing or take any notice of the = analysis going on because it's based on incomplete and = faulty=20 information.
Does that make sense? I know I'm probably = not=20 explaining this very well...and hopefully this analogy = won't make=20 it any worse: I feel like I'm the last person in a giant = game of=20 telephone in which most of the participants are = deliberately=20 modifying the message so that when I actually do receive = it,=20 there's little of the original message left. And I don't = feel like=20 playing anymore.
However - and this is a hell of a = however -=20 I've decided that I'm going to try to ignore that instinct = to give=20 up. I'm going to continue to read and watch and listen to = all the=20 coverage out there with a critical mind. It's important to = me as a=20 functioning part of humanity that I stay educated about = what is=20 going on around me. The world is a crazy place, but if I = can=20 understand just a bit of it, I can keep myself sane and = who knows,=20 maybe even help a few of my fellow citizens out.

- = Rossi's=20 weblog on her mother, telling her about the Holocaust and = her=20 family, over and over, making her repeat the words, "Never = again".... To quote:
I remember growing up, my mother = would=20 tell me the stories of the Holocaust, about our family = members who=20 had died there and the stories she had heard from those = who=20 managed to escape. She began to tell me these stories when = I was=20 quite young, maybe only 5 or 6 years old.
They = terrified=20 me.
When I got older I asked her why she felt it was so = important to keep telling me these stories over and again, = the=20 same stories each year. She said it was so I would always=20 remember. That it was my duty to remember so it would = never happen=20 again.
She said, "Slovah ... you must always remember = the words=20 ... never again."
So I do remember, and if I ever have=20 children, I will tell them about the Holocaust and make = them=20 promise to repeat the words "never again."
Then I will = tell=20 them about the towers and try to explain that in every = generation,=20 evil, blind, soulless people do inexplicably terribly=20 things.
But the good has always outweighed the bad. =

-=20 Israeli site Debka.com says=20 the Russians will play a large role in our Afghanistan = military=20 mission -- "The anti-terror alliance has split its task = into two=20 parts. The Americans and Russians will go for Bin Laden = and his Al=20 Qaeda force in the Pamir Mountains, while the UK and = Western=20 allies will take on the Taliban in south = Afghanistan."

- A=20 WTC burn victim=20 prayed, "Please God, make it quick." He walked down 82 = floors in=20 terrible pain and survived. Quoting:
Mr Dhingra said he = had=20 just emerged from the lift for a day of trading at Andover = Brokerage when "I was just covered in a ball of = fire".
He said:=20 "I thought it was over," he said. "I thought it was a=20 bomb."
Then he realised he was alive and that "there's = nobody=20 going to come up to the 82nd floor", so he began walking = down=20 despite the searing pain.
Two co-workers helped him, = clearing=20 the way as they descended the flights of stairs and = occasionally=20 fetching water for his rapidly dehydrating body. He said = that the=20 pain was so severe he couldn't allow his friends and = colleagues to=20 touch him.
He said their greatest help was in deceiving = him=20 about the trip down. Once, when he wanted to rest, they = told him=20 to keep going because there were just 10 floors left. He = found out=20 later they were on the 61st floor.
After the trip down, = he was=20 bundled into an ambulance. He did not know the twin towers = had=20 collapsed until he was safely in the hospital.

- = Families=20 of the many missing will get an urn=20 filled with soil from the World Trade Center site. =

- B= in=20 Laden spottings.

-=20 121 people have died in other terrorist=20 attacks since Sept. 11

- Toy stores in United Arab = Emerites=20 to be shut= =20 down if they sell toys with Israeli flags on them. =

-=20 Idiot=20 du jour: Ukranian woman does 2,060 kneebends to protest = American=20 military action. OK, that changed our minds.

- Rudy = Guilliani's great spee= ch=20 to the UN: "Look at that destruction, that massive, = senseless,=20 cruel loss of human life and then I ask you to look in = your hearts=20 and recognize that there is no room for neutrality on the = issue of=20 terrorism. You're either with civilization or with = terrorists....=20 We are right and they are wrong. It's as simple as that." =
. .=20 .

Monday, October 01, 2001 - Link=20

So long, Mom, I'm off to = drop the=20 bomb, so don't wait up for me... (from a Tom Lehrer classic):= =20 NBC reported this morning that Osama bin Laden called his = mother = two days=20 before the attack to tell her something big was going to = happen=20 and then he wouldn't be able to call for awhile. Hard to = believe=20 he ever had a mother.

A nice Flash guide to the = basics of=20 war with Afghanistan from the Guardian.

A=20 collection of