WarLog: World War III by Jeff Jarvis

From: Subject: WarLog: World War III by Jeff Jarvis Date: Wed, 18 Sep 2002 21:37:36 -0400 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/related; boundary="----=_NextPart_000_006C_01C25F5B.9ABC0070"; type="text/html" X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2600.0000 This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_006C_01C25F5B.9ABC0070 Content-Type: text/html; charset="Windows-1252" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Location: http://www.buzzmachine.com/2001_12_01_crisis_archive.html WarLog: World War III by Jeff Jarvis

WarLog: World War III

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

Monday, December 31, 2001 - Link=20

Objects
- Jim Dwyer = of the=20 New York Times has been writing a simply spectacular = occasional=20 series on the objects that have taken meaning in = survivors' lives=20 since Sept. 11. I've recommended the pieces before and = will=20 again.
The latest: A=20 yellow stroller and the mother and children with it. = Previous=20 objects: A pair of handcuffs= =20 used to dig the last two survivors out of the debris... A=20 paramedic's uniform...=20 A photograp= h=20 in the rubble... And best of all, the dramatic tale of a = squeegee<= /A>=20 that was the key to life.
Each of these is a story that = brings=20 Sept. 11 down to its most human level: an object that ties = a few=20 people together through the struggle and pain and heroism = of that=20 day.
I say this has been the best of the Times' = coverage. It is=20 great feature writing, Pulitzer stuff (except the Pulitzer = people=20 like showier things, things that run on too long for = mortal people=20 to read, big for the sheer sake of bigness). Dwyer's = pieces are=20 big because they are so small.

Every time I read = one of=20 Dwyer's stories, I also think of the objects from my Sept. = 11.
In=20 my garage, I have a bag inside a bag and inside that is = the=20 briefcase I carried that day and -- foolishly -- bent to = pick up=20 more than once as the 50-mile-per-hour cloud of debris = enveloped=20 me, as I tripped and almost fell, as I heard crashes and = screams=20 in the dark around me, as I feared I could die. What the = hell was=20 I doing picking up my damned briefcase? I don't know. = Obviously, I=20 had some primal attachment to my stuff: the laptop, of = course; my=20 addresses; my papers. And so, having fought to keep it, = I've saved=20 it. When I cleaned up that day, I threw out my shirt and = pants and=20 even my socks and underwear, they were so encrusted with = dust; I=20 shook my jacket out on my driveway and collected hunks of = concrete=20 that filled my pockets. But I kept that briefcase. It is=20 completely covered and filled with dust and unknown = fibers; it=20 reminds me of the cloud; it carries the cloud. I've looked = at it=20 only once, when I showed it to my parents, who needed to = know what=20 that day was like. The briefcase spoke for me. Then I put = it back=20 in the bags, on the shelf.
I kept a pen, too, that was = in my=20 shirt pocket. The concrete dust was so thick and so = forceful that=20 it filled my pocket and filled the pen from underneath = such that I=20 cannot open it.
I kept my glasses, brand new glasses, = the=20 titanium kind you're not supposed to be able to bend or = mangle.=20 They survived that day. A testimonial to titanium.
I = lost my=20 cell phone. That struck most people I know because I do = love my=20 gadgets. My son knows I lost it; that was what he told his = little=20 sister; that is how he connected to the event. My = coworkers=20 laughed; here was my excuse to get a newer and neater = phone, they=20 said. They were right.
I think I keep this weblog as = an object=20 of Sept. 11, as well; I hold onto it so I don't get too = far away.=20 The impulse is the same.
And finally, there is a = receipt for=20 paper towels. When I escaped the cloud, the most precious = thing to=20 have was a paper towel and a little water. After breathing = and=20 swallowing too much of the remains of the World Trade = Center, I=20 finally had the presence of mind to breath through my = handkerchief=20 until I lost it. When I found refuge in an office = building, I=20 tried to wash off what I could. But I kept breathing the = dust; it=20 filled my eyes and lungs and mouth. What I wanted most as = I=20 escaped north, a refugee from terror, was a paper towel = and a=20 little water to breath through, to clean with. At the East = River,=20 I came across a supermarket being turned into a command = center.=20 They gave out water; I kept that Poland Spring bottle all = day. But=20 I had no towels. I went inside and found, bless be, a roll = of=20 paper towels. A cop stopped me and asked me to tell him = what it=20 was like back at the World Trade Center. He was worried = about his=20 brothers. I told him. Then I went to pay.
I got in line = at a=20 checkout. And, of course, the lady behind the counter = growled --=20 in the last New York moment I remember -- "I'm closed!" =
I=20 dragged down the line, defeated, looking like a reject = from hell.=20 I didn't have it in me to be a New Yorker: There was = nothing left=20 with which to throw a self-righteous psycho fit. I just = wanted the=20 right to open up those towels. I said nothing.
But then = pity=20 poured out. A manager spotted me and called me back. The = checkout=20 lady had quick second thoughts and called me back. They = apologized=20 all they could and said that, of course, they would take = me in=20 line. The checkout lady asked how I was; I said I was just = fine,=20 absolutely fine. She said she was going to go home and try = to find=20 a relative who was there too. I pray he was fine.
I = walked out,=20 triumphant with my water and towels, cleaning my eyes and = face. A=20 cop stopped me again and asked whether he could have some = for his=20 partner, to get the concrete out of her eyes. I rolled it = out for=20 them and some others and poured water for them. I kept = those paper=20 towels all day as I walked up from the World Trade Center = to Times=20 Square.
I just found the receipt from that = purchase.
. .=20 .

Sunday, December 30, 2001 - Link=20

The hot-foot = follies
- The=20 Sunday TImes=20 of London reports that when hot foot Richard Reid tried to = fly to=20 Israel, the El Al security officer in Amsterdam wanted to = stop=20 him: "It took an alert El Al security guard seconds to see = that=20 Richard Reid betrayed the tell-tale signs of a terrorist = suspect."=20 But Israeli officials wanted him to go to track him and = find out=20 whom he was going to see. They sat him next to an armed = guard.=20 Love that El Al.
- It's clear that there must be = better=20 communication among law-enfocement officials. The Times = story says=20 that if Israeli officials had shared their concerns about = Reid, it=20 might have kept him off future flights. A top Brit cop = yesterday=20 also called for better sharing of intelligence about = suspicious=20 individuals. Amen.
- Be warned: British Air and Virgin = just=20 dropped plans to have sky marshals on their flights. Bad = idea.=20 Really bad idea. All airline officials henceforth should = ask=20 themselves a very simple question every day: "What would = El Al=20 do?"
- The Times says that U.S. officials want to = administer=20 truth drugs to Reid. That and a 3-foot length of hose,=20 perhaps.
- The NY Times has photos=20 of the hot-foot flight.

Short shoelace = stocks
-=20 Fashion prediction: Loafers will be in, especially for = travelers,=20 who won't want to bend down -- a very vulnerable position = -- tying=20 their shoes after they go through airport security. Buy = Nike,=20 which just created a trend in laceless = sneakers.

Fear of=20 flying
- The Observer's=20 year-end list of trends you'll be glad were in 2001 come = 2002=20 begins:=20

Fear of flying no longer simply meaning the fear = you're about=20 to die because of turbulence or the flaps making that = awful=20 schmeeee all-gone-wrong sound, as if that wasn't enough, = but now=20 encompassing the fear you're about to die because you're = too=20 close to the vortex from the plane in front, or some = suicidal=20 madman's about to fly you into the sea, or some = thin-lipped=20 fanatic's about to fly you into a major city landmark, = or the=20 bastard in front wants to blow off his own feet. =

Sabres rattling
- Bush urges Pakistan = and=20 India to cool=20 it. But in a Pakistani=20 paper, you can still hear the sound of sabres = jangling. In the=20 Observer,=20 too. Meanwhile, in the=20 Times of India.

. .=20 .

Saturday, December 29, 2001 - Link=20

Unsafe at any = altitude
- A=20 man is arrested in the Memphis airport with a loaded gun in his=20 carry-on after he had gone through two other = airports=20 -- Tampa and Atlanta -- without getting caught!
I = repeat: I=20 don't feel safe. I repeat: Homeland security is a damned=20 mess.
This has to be fixed. Ridge has to take action, = action,=20 action and I have lots of suggestions. Previous rants = below: = First,=20 second,=20 = third,=20 fourth.
-=20 Now they've just decided that airport screeners do = not need=20 to be high-school=20 graduates. Did the idiot who decided that even = graduate from=20 third grade? What idiocy! [via Drudge]

Me, me,=20 me!
- Hey: Ken = Layne=20 is getting credit for my Fly Naked initiative. Now, I've = come to=20 love Ken like the brother I never had but I'm getting = pretty=20 damned jealous of the press he's getting for this. First = Natalie=20 Solent gave him credit -- even though he had given it = to me.=20 Then Thomas Friedman in the NY Times claimed the idea as = his own,=20 ripping off Ken and me. Now Charles=20 Johnson gives me the news that a Mark=20 Steyn column gives Ken credit again -- even as Ken = generously=20 gives me credit on his blog= .=20 I think I'm going to patent this as my idea for the only = sure way=20 to fly safely and then I'll make a lot of money with the = lawsuits=20 when American Airlines changes its name to Naked Air (what = else=20 could you do if you were the president of that poor, = besieged=20 company?). Here are my posts on the topic: First,=20 second,=20 third.
-=20 See also Charles= =20 Johnson's own coincidental complaint with the same = column. We=20 don't mind being quoted -- so long as we're quoted at all = and=20 quoted properly. We have egos, too. Stroke = them.

Support=20 Blogger
- Steven Den Beste of US= S=20 Clueless bemoans the fate of Blogger, Blogspot, their=20 proprietor Evan Williams, and all their users after a = damned=20 hacker/cracker caused a day's downtime and interrupted our = posts=20 and Ev's vacation this week. Den Beste is quite right that = we're=20 all vulnerable.
But we all don't have his ability to = run his=20 own software on his own machine; he's a software engineer. = I'm not=20 a software engineer; I merely hire them. Here, I'm just a = writer,=20 just a blogger, and I do this in my spare time thanks to = the fact=20 that Blogger and Blogspot and Ev make it so damned easy. =
The=20 answer is not to abandon Blogger; I couldn't run its = alternatives.=20 The answer is to find ways to support Blogger et al. Glenn = Reynolds of Instapundit = said we=20 should all buy off our ads for a mere $12 a year -- a = major=20 bargain; I did it and only wish I'd thought of making it = into a=20 campaign of support before Reynolds did. We should buy = Pyrads when=20 they're back up; it's cheap and fun. Ev asked for = bandwidth help=20 and apparently he's getting some. The idea of getting a = foundation=20 grant for Blogger is brilliant; who can help? What else = can we as=20 a community do to support our community's infrastructure? = (Full=20 disclosure: In my day job, I got my employer to invest in=20 Blogger/Pyra early on but I'm not speaking from that = perspective=20 now; I'm just another blogger). See Instapundit=20 today.

Civil discourse
- Will Vehrs of Quasipundit=20 and I have been trading Qs and As regarding homeland = security: He=20 challenged me; I answered his good questions (see my posts = yesterday and the day before, below); we didn't end up = agreeing=20 but we talked. On his site, Vehr takes this exchange as an = example=20 of the kind of true dialogue bloggers engage in -- and = print=20 pundits usually don't. Having been both, I have to say = he's right.=20 When I wrote for magazines and newspapers (I was a = columnist for=20 TV Guide, People, and the SF Examiner before I became a = media=20 suit) I have to say that I often dreaded contact with the = audience=20 (especially those among them whose writing implement was a = crayon). Don't get me wrong, I loved the audience; I = respected the=20 audience; but I didn't necessarily want to have lunch with = them.=20 But the Web and blogs in particular lead to an entirely = new=20 relationship with the audience, in which the audience is = the=20 publisher, the owner, the boss and that's how it should = be,=20 really.

God v. god
- In the Times=20 of London, Matthew Parris argues that the exploitation = of God=20 on and since Sept. 11 will lead to another field of = conflict:=20 those who came closer to God and faith because of that day = and=20 those who were repelled farther from God and faith because = of how=20 God has been used by fundamentalists and extremists of = many=20 flavors; their fear: that " 'extreme' religion is a strong = version=20 of the weaker mainstream variety. Reasonableness in = religion comes=20 from a lack of total commitment." He concludes:

Stronger commitments from some, then, and stronger = antipathy=20 from others. Could things be coming to a head? Could we = be=20 seeing a polarisation of public attitudes to faith? For = more=20 than a century now the dominant attitude in the Western = world=20 has been an apathy which I would describe as covert = agnosticism=20 masquerading as weak observance. Is Osama bin Laden = flushing=20 this agnosticism out? If so, we may see an increase both = in the=20 religious enthusiasm of the minority, and the avowed = scepticism=20 of the majority. When it comes to the relationship = between=20 modern man and religious faith, the century now = beginning may=20 prove make-up-your-mind time. I hope = so.

. .=20 .

Friday, December 28, 2001 - Link=20

Interstate=20 ER
- Thomas Nephew at Newsrack=20 has a great addition to the list of recommendations on = homeland=20 security I started two days ago (scroll down for the = posts).=20 Nephew says we should treat the ability to handle surges = of=20 patients (due to attacks) as a national priority of = defense=20 preparedness -- just as Eisenhower sold the Interstate = system as a=20 necessity of homeland defense.

Shoe boy and=20 Hamas
- Shoe boy Reid used the explosive of choice = of=20 Hamas, says=20 the Times.
- The Guardian:=20 "Moussaoui and Reid had a more substantive relationship = than just=20 going to the same mosque," said a US intelligence source. = "They=20 went to the same training camp in Afghanistan, where Reid = had=20 explosives training. Plus there are records of telephone = calls=20 between Moussaoui and Reid."
- The Telegraph:=20 "FBI agents are investigating the possibility that the = shoe bomber=20 Richard Reid was trying to mark the anniversary of the = Lockerbie=20 bombing with a suicide attack. He first tried to board a = Paris to=20 Miami flight on Friday, Dec 21, the 13th anniversary of = the=20 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, which killed 270 people in=20 1988."

Sullivan's lists
Enjoy Andrew = Sullivan's wrapup=20 of 2001.

Laboratories of death
- The = Times of=20 London says it has the evidence=20 that bin Laden et al were working on creating dirty = nuclear bombs=20 and biological and chemical weapons in their Afghan = workshops. More=20 and more.

More homeland security fumble = fixes
-=20 I'm finally getting through the latest Economist and they = have yet=20 more complaints -- and fixes -- for Tom Ridge's Office of = Homeland=20 Security (see my own complaints and fixes yesterday,=20 below).
"Preparations=20 against another terrorist attack range from the patchy to = the=20 poor," says the Economist. "Compared with the $15 = billion=20 doled out to the airline industry, the cash [legislation = provides]=20 for things like emergency health care is puny...."
They = say we=20 need:
- Better nuclear power plant security.
- A = bolstered=20 Coast Guard, "the weakest part of America's border = defenses."
-=20 Plans for evacuating cities and, importantly, schools. =
- Plans=20 for emergency communications.
- Far better = communication and=20 coordination among law-enforcement agencies, federal and=20 local.
- New plans for hospitals to take sudden floods = of=20 patients and even plans for hospitals and health officials = to get=20 email!
To start slow and build cautiously will be fine, = they=20 conclude -- "so long as the terrorists take their time=20 too."

ShoeBomb.com
- A report=20 says shoe boy bought his materials on the Web. So glad = that=20 ecommerce is working. Thank goodness, he was also = incompentent;=20 the fuse was wet.

The camcorder goes to = war
- A=20 perceptive piece by Thomas Sutcliffe in The=20 Independent on the power of video in this war: from = the images=20 of jets flying into the World Trade Center that happened = to be=20 captured to the moments when bombs interrupt news video in = Afghanistan to the bin Laden videos, showing us his hate = and lies.=20

John Walker's parents, meet Richard Reid's=20 parents
- Shoe boy's mother is, of course, shocked.His=20 father:=20 He's "not a bad lad." Expect to hear soon from the parents = of the=20 Australian turncoat and the parents of the frozen French = corpse=20 found in Afghanistan.

Airborne idiot = roundup
-=20 From Ananova= :=20 A Japanese man on one flight makes a bomb crack. Jail for = him. A=20 man on an Argentine flight makes a fireball threat. Flight = diverted. Handcuffs for him. Meanwhile, from the Times=20 of London, a report on the Bush guard refused a seat = on a=20 Dallas flight "because the pilot queried the agent=92s = credentials.=20 After 75 minutes of questioning by the pilot and other = airline=20 security staff the presidential guard, who was carrying a = gun,=20 missed the flight from Baltimore on his way to join staff=20 protecting the President on his ranch for the new year = holiday.=20 The move brought a complaint from the Council on = Arab-Islamic=20 Relations. =93They didn=92t see an American, they didn=92t = see a=20 law-enforcement professional,=94 a spokesman said. 'All = they saw was=20 a racial and ethnic profile they didn=92t want on their = flight.'"=20 Oh, come on. If anybody should understand caution it's = this guy.=20 The pilot was 100 percent correct. You take no chances = when it=20 comes to letting an armed man on a flight today, = ferchrissake.=20

India v. Pakistan =3D trouble
- I agree = (again)=20 with Joshua Micah Marshall= =20 that the terrorist attack on the Indian parliament is = leading to=20 very serious trouble. See the drumbeats of war at the Times of = India and=20 Pakistan's News=20 International and Frontier = Post.
- Will=20 Vehrs is on this case, too.

Doctor, shield=20 thyself
- The amazing story of the hospitalized=20 Taliban prisoners who've been holding off the = opposition with=20 guns and grenades taped to their bodies is heading to a = climax.=20 What an amazing tale.
. .=20 .

Thursday, December 27, 2001 - Link=20

How = to fix=20 homeland fumbling: Tom Ridge's to-do list
- Will = Vehrs of=20 Quasipundit=20 challenges me on my grumpy post below in which I whine = that=20 Director of Homeland Security Tom Ridge has done too = little. What=20 would I have him do? asks Will. Would I have him pull an = Ashcroft=20 and head down the road to martial law (even while I pound=20 Ashcroft, too)? Just what do I want this homeland security = swat=20 team to accomplish? Fair questions.
Let's focus on two = words:=20 action and information. I understand that Ridge has, = instead, had=20 to concentrate on a third word: politics. That's reality = in=20 Washington -- usually. But these are far from usual times. = Ridge=20 needs to see that now is the time to step around politics; = if you=20 take action and if you inform the people and have them -- = us -- on=20 your side, then you win at politics; that comes along for = free. If=20 you bog yourself down in politics for politics' sake, you=20 lose.
So here is my to-do list for him:
1. Get armed = law=20 enforcement on every possible flight -- especially = long-haul=20 flights, domestic and even foreign: air marshals, cops, = federal=20 agents, military police, CIA spies, even private security. = Let it=20 be known that we're armed and ready.
2. Get every pilot = and=20 flight attendant trained in security and in the use of = stun guns=20 and get them equipped as quickly as possible. The worst = that=20 happens is that a mean drunk or a guy with untied shoes = gets=20 zapped.
3. Go after the quality of every airport = security=20 operation -- domestic and foreign -- and insist that even = before=20 they are federalized, they must meet minimal standards; if = they=20 don't, humiliate them. Start with the French! And if = Minetta=20 doesn't get off his butt and get things done, stun gun = him. Show=20 us that you are on the case because somebody has to = be.
4.=20 Develop very close communication with law enforcement = across the=20 country, especially in target cities. Make sure they know = what's=20 happening. Make them your best allies.
5. Develop and=20 disseminate clear plans for what officials and citizens = will do in=20 the event of various kinds of attacks: biological, = chemical,=20 nuclear, truck bombs, hijackings.... Be prepared and let = us know=20 that you are prepared. Let us know exactly what we can = expect so=20 we do not fear the unknown.
7. Work with the CDC and = Tommy=20 Thompson (oh, I forgot to include him in my list of = bumblers) to=20 have clear plans for vaccinations, antibiotic stockpiles, = and=20 stockpiles of other treatments. Make sure that every = doctor and=20 every hospital is regularly informed of procedures for = diagnosis,=20 treatment, and reporting of anything suspicious (learn = from our=20 mistakes, no matter how understandable they were, in the = anthrax=20 cases). Be very public about this so that we know what = doctors=20 know.
8. Work closely with Justice to have plans for=20 identifying and questioning (and jailing or deporting) = suspicious=20 individuals. When gooshy-headed idiots in Oregon refuse to = interview Muslim men then ridicule them, attack them, = shame them=20 into doing their patriotic duty. If other countries are = lax in=20 their security, shame them.
9. Stay ahead of Congress = by=20 developing a very clear agenda for homeland security: = equipment,=20 training, support, authority, intelligence in every field = of=20 battle.
10. Most important, make sure that we the = people are=20 regularly informed with constant updates via press = conferences and=20 the Web. Tell us about news. Tell us what you've done. = Tell us=20 what we should do.
So there's a 10 point plan to start = on.=20
Now go look at Ridge's wimpy web = site and=20 tell me what you see: biographies of Ridge, vague and = terribly=20 useless advice ("Be alert and learn where emergency exists = [sic]=20 are located") and only one thing to brag about: Canadian = border=20 security. Oh, boy, this makes me feel safe and secure. = After=20 looking at this, it makes me want to move to some far-away = foreign=20 land -- except I'm afraid I might not survive the flight=20 there.
Action, action, action should be your motto, Mr. = Ridge.=20 Think Schwarzenegger growling "ection, ection, ection" and = make=20 him your role model.
Take action and then tell us about = it:=20 Information, information, information.
Let nothing = stand in=20 your way.

Will Vehrs also asks in his email to me = whether I=20 really think Bush stole the election. Sure, I do. All = those bad=20 ballots; all those confusing ballots; all those = inadvertant=20 Buchanan votes. Absolutely. But that doesn't mean I'm = unhappy=20 today that Bush is in. He and his team -- his defense and=20 diplomatic team, not his domestic team -- have done a good = job.=20 Now the question is, can he keep it up? We'll see. He = still has to=20 win this war. He has to protect us on the home front (see = above).=20 He will have to deal with his international IOUs as other = crisis=20 appear. and most important, he will have to fix the = economy.=20 Would/could Gore do a better job? That's entirely moot. = But if=20 Florida weren't a corrupt backwater, it wouldn't be moot = or=20 hypothetical, for he would have won.

Shoe boy's = world=20 tour
- The Times of London reports on shoe boy's travels:=20 Egypt, Jerusalem, Turkey, Pakistan, Brussels, Amsterdam, = Paris and=20 possibly Afghanistan. "Last night one senior security = source in=20 Tel Aviv said: 'We can be sure that he did not come here = for the=20 scenery.' "

Thanks, Ev
- Blogger is back, = thanks=20 to Ev. Hell, Blogger is here, thanks to Ev.

Homeland fumbling
- What has = Tom Ridge=20 actually done so far? Held press conferences, = reluctantly.=20 Tightened up border security ... with Canada. Started an=20 uninformative web=20 page. In short: Nothing of note. The Christian Science = Monitor=20 tries=20 to make this look like something but it's not. We should = see=20 swat-team action on behalf of our security. We're seeing = slow=20 motion.
Meanwhile, Minetta's not tearing up the = runway,=20 either, trying to get airport security in line; Ti= me=20 reports on the frustration surrounding delays in getting = any=20 improvements on security. Shoe boy did these guys a big = favor=20 picking France as his launching pad; if he had managed to = act from=20 the U.S. -- or if one of his accomplices does -- there = will be an=20 outcry on the lack of domestic security action.
Let's = repeat:=20 Ridge, Minetta, and Ashcroft are no Rumsfeld, Powell, and = Rice.=20
- See also yesterday's NY=20 Times story on the anthrax investigation: a "tale of = missed=20 cues, misread evidence and erroneous assumptions that led=20 scientists and decision makers to misjudge the threat to = postal=20 workers and, through the mail system, to the American=20 public."

Countdown
- The NY=20 Post reports that during New Year's Eve on Times = Square, cops=20 will be carrying geiger counters to detect radiation and = thwart=20 nuclear attacks.

There's no business like shoe=20 business...
- The NY=20 Times gives us details of the events and mood on the = shoe=20 flight. They say the passengers did not know the extent of = the=20 danger -- the fact that Reid had explosives in his shoes = -- until=20 much later. They also reveal the name of the heroic flight = attendant who saved the day -- Hermis Moutardier -- though = not yet=20 the name of the passenger who first spotted the match and = whose=20 scream actually saved the day.
- The Independent=20 was too quick to say that the shoe bomber had no tie to = bin Laden.=20 Yest= erday,=20 I quoted the Times of London saying that "Reid" went to = the same=20 mosque as the alleged 20th hijacker. Today, MSNBC = reports that=20 Afghan prisoners recognize shoe boy from their bin Laden = terrorist=20 training camps.
- Times of London quotes French = television=20 saying that shoe boy took El=20 Al flights to scope out Israeli security.
- The shoe= =20 bomb was "very, very sophisticated," says CNN. Not = much doubt=20 that the bin Laden attacks=20 continue...

Ch-ch-ch-changes
- The Times = of=20 London tallies the changes=20 in the world since Sept. 11, seeing more change for = Russia=20 than for America. A pure political perspective, very = British=20 perspective. It ends saying that Bush will emerge a=20 lightweight.

Religious? No. Corrupt? = Yes.
- The=20 Guardian on the corruption=20 of the Taliban -- bribes and even prostitution. "Where the = west=20 saw fanatical warriors willing to kill and die for an = Islamic=20 utopia, he saw frauds and hypocrites hungry for dollars." = The Times=20 of London also reports on prostitution under the = Taliban's=20 nose and burqa.

. .=20 .

Wednesday, December 26, 2001 - Link=20

Fly Naked redux
- I = want the=20 record to show that I came up with the idea of flying = naked on Dec.=20 22 and Dec.=20 23 -- long before Thomas=20 Friedman of the NY Times. Thanks to Will=20 Vehrs and to letter-writer Frank Millheim, Jr. for = giving me=20 the credit I so richly deserve. Now if only I can get = credit on=20 the Wall Street Journal's Opinion Journal = and in Slate's new weblog, = I'll know=20 I've arrived. Care to nominate me since I'm too humble? = Tell them:=20 Opinion=20 Journal.

The germ
Two arguments that = the=20 anthrax villian is foreign (which remins m theses until I = see=20 evidence to the contrary):
> The Times of London = says the literary=20 sleuth who helped unmask both the Unabomber and the=20 temporariliy anonymous author of Primary Colors says we = should be=20 looking to Pakistan.
> And the Wall Street = Journal's=20 Opinion Journal says the trail leads to Lebanon=20 or Saudi Arabia.

Change for the sake of=20 change
- Michael=20 Wolff has a half-right column in New York about the = changes in=20 American after Sept. 11. He wants to poo-poo this as a big = change,=20 a monumental change in life because the war is short and = most of=20 America doesn't (a) live in New York or (b) read = newspapers.=20 That's where he's wrong. Even granting that my own = perspective is=20 skewed as a witness and survivor, I still say that there = are=20 inevitable changes in how we live as a society now that we = have=20 been attacked on our own soil, now that we find a common = cause=20 against terrorism with a sometimes surprising worldwide = coalition,=20 now that we are forced out of what had been a growing=20 isolationism, now that we have found unity. Oh, many of = the=20 changes that we have seen will be temporary (will New York = stay=20 nice?). But many will be long-lasting. We just don't know = which=20 ones those are yet. And Wolff, at the end of his long = screed [boy,=20 it takes print people a lot longer than bloggers to say = what they=20 think -- perhaps because print people are paid by the word = and=20 bloggers aren't paid for anything] finally concludes that = we don't=20 yet know exactly how Sept. 11 changed us. So he's right = there. And=20 he's right, too, when he points to big changes in media: = hard in,=20 soft out. War is Viagra.

Already?
- I = know this=20 is stupid but I was = surprised=20 to realize, thanks to the White House site, that Bush has = been in=20 office (almost) a year already. It seems like almost = yesterday=20 when he stole the election. It was only yesterday when we = were=20 innocent of war. It seems like forever ago when tech and = the=20 economy were riding high.
. .=20 .

Tuesday, December 25, 2001 - Link=20

Meanwhile, back at the=20 front...
- The Times=20 of London reports that the shoe boy, whatever his name = turns=20 out to be, "worshipped" in the same mosque with none other = than=20 Zacarias Moussaoui, now under indictment in America as the = "20th=20 hijacker" who was too stupid to make it on board on Sept. = 11. Good=20 enough for me. The Times also quotes the leader of the = Brixton=20 mosque as saying that the shoe boy was "incapable of = acting alone=20 and was probably on a test mission for a new terrorist = technique=20 when he apparently tried to detonate C4 plastic explosive = packed=20 into his shoes on American Airlines Flight 63 from Paris = to Miami=20 last Saturday,"
Douse the yule log and get back to=20 war.

Friggin' Frogs
- Sorry for the = francophotic=20 smear but what bozos they are for letting shoe boy on a = flight=20 Saturday after rejecting him Friday. The Times reports = they even=20 put him up in a four-star=20 hotel.

A Christmas gift
- I came = home=20 tonight, at midnight, from my Christmas Eve services -- = one for=20 the children, who make this all so worthwhile; the other = with=20 candlelight, lessons, and carols that I sing gamely but = badly. It=20 is Christmas as last.
It hasn't felt much like = Christmas in New=20 York lately; it has been too warm, too sad, and too = strange. I was=20 counting on these services to cure that and they started = the=20 treatment. Then I came home to do my elfen duties, = delighted to=20 stack up my kids' presents, all the happiness they'll be=20 unwrapping in the morning. And that continued the = treatment. It is=20 Christmas at last.
But it's still a different = Christmas for so=20 many reasons. Among them: This year, my wife and I decided = not to=20 exchange gifts and convinced our parents to refrain as = well; we=20 just didn't feel like malling it. So I wasn't expecting = any=20 gifts.
And then I got a quite unexpected gift, a = wonderful one=20 from a fellow blogger, Thomas Nephew, the proprietor of Newsr= ack.=20 I had made reference in the post-cum-sermon=20 below and in an email exchange to a Christmas Eve message = from a=20 concentration camp delivered by Martin Niem=F6ller [via at = Die=20 Zeit] that I had been trying to translate (I speak = German=20 about as well as I sing in a choir: not well).
And I = came home=20 tonight to find Thomas' complete and eloquent translation=20 of the Niem=F6ller sermon awaiting me in my email. =
I can't=20 tell you how much this gift meant to me. That he would go = to this=20 effort is emblematic of the community of close strangers = I've=20 found myself in here in Blogdom. Three months ago, I = didn't know=20 Thoma= s=20 Nephew or Ken = Layne or=20 the vacationing Matt=20 Welch or Reid=20 Stott or Charles=20 Johnson or Glenn=20 Reynolds or Will=20 Vehrs or Tim = Blair=20 or Oliver = Willis or Andrew = Hofer or=20 Rossi. And now = I count=20 them as colleagues and friends. Now one of them -- one of = this=20 true community -- went out of his way on what is surely a = busy=20 Christmas Eve to translate this long sermon for a = stranger. Thank=20 you Thomas.
Merry Christmas
And G'bless us, every=20 one.

. .=20 .

Monday, December 24, 2001 - Link=20

[Fresher posts = below.]

Merry Christmas, world

- = So 2,000=20 years ago, we are led to believe, strife and suffering in = the Holy=20 Land led God to send his only son to Earth to wash away = our sins=20 and give mankind the hope of a new beginning.

Now, = exactly=20 2,000 years later, at this Christmas, there is still = strife and=20 suffering in the Holy Land and it has spread the world = around,=20 escalating to nothing less than a World War against = terrorism and=20 evil now being fought at our door.

Yes, this is a=20 depressing thought -- not exactly the gift you were hoping = for=20 this Christmas.

It would seem as if we've made no = progress=20 in all this time. In fact, it would seem as if we've made = things=20 even worse. And if we are left still with sin and = suffering and=20 without hope, then perhaps God also made a mess of things = or did=20 what He did in vain. It can look like that.

But = stop=20 there. Now is the time -- if there ever were a time -- to = look at=20 what Christmas actually means. And I come to believe that=20 Christmas is not about the light -- the star, the gifts, = the=20 warmth, the virtue -- but instead about the contrast, = about the=20 dark around it. Christmas is about the need for hope among = the=20 hopeless, virtue amidst sin, light in the = darkness.

I come=20 to think of another Christmas: December 24, 1944, when the = Rev.=20 Martin Niem=F6ller preached in Dachau. I've long been = fascinated by=20 Niem=F6ller: A U-boat captain in World War I who supported = Hitler,=20 he came to oppose the Nazis when they opposed his church = and he=20 spent eight years in concentration camps as Hitler's = personal=20 prisoner. Niem=F6ller is famous for the often-paraphrased = warning:=20 "When Hitler attacked the Jews I was not a Jew, therefore = I was=20 not concerned. And when Hitler attacked the Catholics, I = was not a=20 Catholic, and therefore, I was not concerned. And when = Hitler=20 attacked the unions and the industrialists, I was not a = member of=20 the unions and I was not concerned. Then Hitler attacked = me and=20 the Protestant church =97 and there was nobody left to be=20 concerned."

What fascinates me about Niem=F6ller is = that he=20 came to virtue through the back door. He was not on the = right side=20 of things in Germany and he confesses that he came to the = right=20 side only when the situation affected him, when he became = a=20 victim. But then he stepped up and showed great vision, = fortitude,=20 and courage. He fought Hitler, for Christ's sake. =

And in=20 1944, he preached to a tiny congregation of fellow = prisoners in=20 Dachau. Die=20 Zeit reprints that sermon this week and I only wish I = could=20 reliably translate it. But let the scene speak for itself: = Here,=20 facing the worst of despair and despotism was a man who = held onto=20 Christmas. He needed to.

The first Christmas was = about=20 trying to find hope when it was most needed. That = Christmas in a=20 concentration camp was much the same. And now, this = Christmas,=20 2000 years after the first, we face nothing so dark and = terrible=20 and yet we despair at the grief of the 3,000 families of = Sept. 11;=20 we worry about the evil that fights us, we see darkness. = And so we=20 need Christmas.

Whether you believe in Christmas or = not is=20 entirely your business and not mine. But regardless, I = think we=20 all can see that the events of Sept. 11 have forced us, = not unlike=20 Niem=F6ller, to decide where we stand and what we must do = when faced=20 with evil and with choice; it changes us even if it does = not seem=20 to change the world around us. I think we all can agree on = the=20 need for renewal and rebirth in the world -- in the Holy = Land, in=20 Afghanistan, in too many places. I think we all can agree = on the=20 need for grace and the need to learn how to love our = neighbors as=20 ourselves (which sometimes means protecting them against = their=20 neighbors). I think we all can agree on the need for an = example=20 and for hope.

So Christmas is not lessened this = year=20 because it is a bad year. No, precisely because it is a = bad year,=20 Christmas is more needed, more meaningful. For Christmas = is a time=20 for the future -- for our children and for hope. =

So merry=20 Christmas, my friends.

-jeff

. .=20 .

Link=20

Sermon = over
- For a proper antidote to my sermonizing, see = Ken=20 Layne's (and Tim Blair's) holiday songs. And thanks to = Ken for=20 the link to the sermon.

Not flying solo
- = The=20 BBC says the shoe bomber likely was not acting=20 alone.

The TALLiban
- Alert Kathy=20 Kinsley points out that the shoe bomber and the = missing Osama=20 bin Laden are the same height! Maybe Osama did have = plastic=20 surgery, she says. Maybe we should just round up all 6'4" = men.=20 That would include Howard Stern. Uh-oh: That would include = me. No,=20 I protest! This is spatial profiling!

Calling = all big=20 guys
- The best scene-setter I've seen yet on what = happened=20 on the shoe bomb flight, from the Washington=20 Post.

Are those platform shoes you're = wearing or are=20 you just happy to see me?
- The pictures of people = taking=20 off their shoes to put them through the X-ray machine at = airports=20 only points to the hopeless absurdity of this. So now they = check=20 shoes. But the next nut could hide the C4 in his pocket. = Or as an=20 astute reader of Instapundit=20 puts it: "I can only hope that a terrorist never tries to = blow up=20 a plane using some C4 hidden up his ass." I repeat, the = only=20 solution is to Fly=20 Naked.
. .=20 .

Sunday, December 23, 2001 - Link=20

Fly Naked: Part II
- = See my=20 rant below on the only sure key to airline safety: We all = have to=20 fly=20 naked.
- Ken=20 Layne finds more benefits to my suggestion. First, = Muslim=20 fundamentalists won't be flying around lots of nekked = women!=20 Second, the world will go on a diet. People will be = thinner. I'll=20 have more elbow room and fat people won't be shoving their = seat=20 back into my knees. Third, better hygiene: We can hose = down smelly=20 people.
- Now you might say to me, Jeff, don't be = ridiculous.=20 At least we can fly in our underwear. But no. If enough C4 = to take=20 down a jet could be shoved into a shoe, imagine what could = fit=20 into a padded bra. I can see the headline now: Man = Arrested at=20 Logan With Explosive Codpiece. Ouch.
- The point, = obviously, is=20 that there is no sure cure here. If had not been for one = very=20 smart and heroic flight attendant who happened to catch = the whiff=20 of one very stupid terrorist's match, we'd be watching=20 wall-to-wall coverage of another jet crash this morning = (still=20 unsure at this hour what brought it down). This was way = too close=20 a call. Way too close.
- Note this morning that the = would-be=20 bomb sure didn't look like a regular Brit. To a Frenchman, = he=20 might have, but not to any of us. He looked like trouble = but he=20 was let on the jet anyway.
- The report from Europe is = that his=20 name is Abdul and he comes from Sri Lanka. =

Rudy! Rudy!=20 Rudy!
- The report is this morning that Rudy = Guliani=20 is Time's Person (nee Man) of the Year. The right = choice. And=20 we predicted it in our meaningless WarLog = poll.

Only a=20 mother could...
Bin Laden's mother says he was = really a nice=20 boy.

Merry Christmas, hawks
- An = early gift=20 from the Guardian: a big juicy dish of roasted Christmas = crow=20 served up to the anti-war crew. He= nry=20 Porter writes an exemplary opinion piece saying that = the war=20 was right and rightly executed.=20

Well, it hasn't ended like Vietnam; in fact the = result has=20 been a complete vindication of the plans devised by the=20 Pentagon, of the Bush administration's resolve and of = Tony=20 Blair's support. [Times columnist Matthew] Parris has = yet to=20 concede that he and other prominent doves were wrong but = while=20 we wait, it's worth recalling another sentence in his = column=20 which captures much of the venom that existed between = the two=20 camps during the jittery weeks of autumn: 'But they (the = hawks)=20 will know who they are, and we can guess who they are: = the=20 people who went the extra mile, and urged the troops the = extra=20 mile, towards the battle-front, and who did so not = because they=20 had to but as a matter of personal judgment and moral = choice.'=20
That is exactly right. Every journalist, academic = and expert=20 called upon in September to write about or debate what = should=20 happen had to make a difficult personal judgment. But it = was not=20 just the hawks who made a choice. The doves did too, and = although at the time it seemed a safe bet that to opt = for=20 peaceful means in Afghanistan was to claim a kind of de = facto=20 high ground, it turned out to be the less courageous = choice and=20 now demonstrably the wrong one....

He goes on to show great understanding for what we went = through=20 on that day and the decisions that came out of that in the = White=20 House and at No. 10 and at every address in America:

One hundred and three days on, it's difficult to = recall=20 precisely how shocking the attacks were. The balance = went out of=20 life; people were stopped in their tracks; they talked = of=20 nothing else but the attacks and response; old friends = fell out=20 during bitter arguments....
Let's not forget how = altered the=20 world's condition was by nightfall on 11 September. The=20 diplomatic grid had completed changed. The stock markets = were=20 closed and the confidence of the capitalist West badly = shaken.=20 More important, perhaps, was the prevailing mood of = insecurity,=20 the sense that absolutely anything might happen in the = coming=20 weeks. It was in these circumstances that Blair pledged = his=20 support to the US....

But he has just begun to sharpen his knives. Now he = goes for=20 the jugular, deftly cutting the doves down, deftly showing = that=20 their stance was not the moral one when it comes to = fighting evil,=20 when it comes to knowing who your friends and allies are, = when it=20 comes to defending civilization:

It may have been that the doves had the world's best=20 interests at heart, but there was an anti-American = agenda in the=20 peace party which was abhorrent if only because these = people=20 would never talk about any other nation in the way they = did=20 about the US. The US is, after all, a democracy and its = citizens=20 were, after all, the victims of a bewilderingly violent = attack.=20
I suppose I might have been tempted by the doves had = I not=20 gone to the World Trade Centre and seen the destruction. = When I=20 came away, I knew that this was a crime that had to be = punished=20 and that America had every right to defend itself = against=20 similar attacks in the future....
To my mind the most = serious=20 mistake of the peace party was its failure to stand up = for the=20 democratic achievements of the last 100 years and for = the reign=20 of liberal values in which we thrive and indeed possess = the=20 freedom to debate the enormous issues that now face the = world.=20 That is still something worth fighting for and I am=20 unembarrassed by saying it....
The hawks may forgive = but they=20 won't forget that this was, as Parris said, a matter of = personal=20 judgment and moral choice.

Bravo! And give credit even to the Guardian for = printing an=20 attack on its own.

. .=20 .

Saturday, December 22, 2001 - Link=20

Fly naked
- So you = can sneak=20 a bomb in your shoe. The only solution is to fly naked. = You can't=20 bring anything on board; it all has to be shipped = separately on=20 cargo jet. There has to be an air marshall on every flight = -- no=20 in plain clothes (because nobody's in clothes) but sitting = in=20 front of the cockpit, heavily armed and ready. It's = getting that=20 ridiculous. What can we do?

I'm not getting more = than=20 six feet off the ground ever again ...
or I fear I'll = end up=20 six feet under
- A man is stopped from setting off=20 explosives in his shoes on an American Airlines flight = from Paris=20 thanks to quick action from flight attendants and = passengers.=20
- He was traveling on a false=20 British passport. Do I want to know his ethnicity? = Yes. Do I=20 give a rat's rump whether you call that racial profiling? = No.
-=20 Boston.co= m=20 says he appears to be an Arab.
- CNN:=20 "Another official said the passport appeared "bogus" and = that the=20 man appeared to be of Middle Eastern descent."
- OK, he = could=20 be a garden-variety nut as opposed to a card-carrying cell = member.=20 In either case, the guy gets on the jet with a wire = sticking out=20 of his shoe that a stewardess can see.
- Ken Layne has lots = of jet=20 links.
- Matt Welch, if you're watching from France in = some=20 cyber boitte, book the QEII to New York and then Amtrak = from there=20 to get back home. I'll buy you lunch in New York on the = way.
-=20 Glenn Reynolds at Instapundit=20 deputizes all passengers as a posse: "Screw airport = screeners.=20 It's passengers who are the only source of security=20 here."

It gains something in the = translation
-=20 Thank goodness for Thomas=20 Nephew. He translates part of a very good report from = New York=20 in Die=20 Zeit. I couldn't hope to translate it and so I'm = grateful he=20 did. The writer, Peter K=FCmmel, comes out of the subway = at Ground=20 Zero and assesses the city. He writes about the daily = tributes to=20 the lives of the victims in the New York Times: "It's a = sociogram=20 of the disappeared, a resurrection project in 30 dry lines = per=20 item, a catalog of the dead, with the subliminal message = that we=20 could be among them. And it is probably the greatest of = all=20 attempts to give this city transparency. New York is = addicted to=20 pictures, as survivors are known to be. 'If a house burns, = many=20 people will first save their family photo album,' Life = Magazine=20 once wrote, and that is exactly what has been happening = for=20 months: the city is producing and rescuing its family = photo=20 album..."

Love it or leave it
- I can't = believe I=20 said that. But you will, too, when you read a poll=20 of American Muslims in which 79 pecent "say United = States=20 foreign policy led to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks."=20

Top 10s from No. 10
- I usually don't = like=20 year-end Top 10 lists -- mainly because I had to write and = edit so=20 many of them for print. But at No. 10=20 Downing St., Tony Blair releases 10 great lists of 10 = reasons=20 to keep that upper lip stiff in our war against terrorism. = You=20 have to say that Blair has taken on Churchill's talent for = waging=20 war with words. Like many a Brit, he knows how to be right = and=20 witty at the same time.

You've already heard from = the Sun=20 and some blogs about Blair's 10 great media buffoons and = their=20 quagmire views that turned out to be wrong, starring = Robert Fisk,=20 John Pilger, America's own Susan Sontag, Arundhati Roy, = and the=20 Daily Mail).
> Roy: "From all accounts, it will be=20 impossible to produce evidence (of the sort that would = stand=20 scrutiny in a court of law) to link Bin Laden to the = September 11=20 attacks." Ha!
> The Mail: "It would be nothing short = of a=20 miracle if there was to be any quick and bloodless = establishment=20 of the representative and ethnically broad-based regime = that the=20 country now needs." Ah, but that government was installed = just=20 today. Ha! Ha!
> Sontag: "And if the word "cowardly" = is to=20 be used, it might be more aptly applied to those who kill = from=20 beyond the range of retaliation, high in the sky, than to = those=20 willing to die themselves in order to kill others. In the = matter=20 of courage (a morally neutral virtue): whatever may be = said of the=20 perpetrators of Tuesday's slaughter, they were not = cowards." Those=20 words will live on in infamy. HA!
> Pilger: "The war = against=20 terrorism is a fraud." HAHAHAHAHA! You fraud.

And = the we=20 have 10 things that have changed in Afghanistan thanks to = our=20 war:
> People can listen and dance to music. =
> Men=20 are free to choose whether to shave their beards.
> = Women=20 are free to choose how they dress.
> Women may = leave their=20 houses on their own.
> Football and games can be = played.=20
> Children can fly their kites.
> People are = allowed=20 to watch TV.
> Women are allowed to work.
> = Women=20 are allowed to study.
> Hindus no longer need to = have their=20 houses daubed in yellow paint.
And I would add to that: = People=20 are not being starved to death, stoned, hanged, = imprisoned, and=20 shot on the whim of a one-eyed lunatic despot and his = psychotic=20 sugar daddy.

And there are 10 humanitarian efforts, = 10 ways=20 the international coalition is fighting terrorism, 10 = chilling=20 statements from bin Laden et al, 10 challenges for = Afghanistan, 10=20 reasons to fight terrorism, and 10 reasons to be=20 optimistic:
> Global community being constructed to = fight=20 terrorism.
> Fall of the Taliban.
> The = destruction of=20 the Al Qa'ida in Afghanistan.
> Multi ethnic interim = Government in Afghanistan.
> Global resolve to = support=20 reconstruction in Afghanistan.
> Afghan people have=20 opportunity to secure peace and redevelopment for=20 themselves.
> New international legislation to = tackle=20 terrorism.
> World wide action taken to cut off = terrorist=20 finance.
> New recognition of global=20 interdependence.
> As a result of the action taken = by the=20 international coalition against terrorism, you and your = family=20 live in a safer world.
Amen and Merry Christmas,=20 world.

Meanwhile, back in ironyless = America
-=20 Bush's = Christmas=20 message.

Charity begins...
- A Telegraph=20 columnist complains that it's politically incorrect to = question=20 the disparity of giving to the families of firefighters = and police=20 vs. the families of World Trade Center office workers = killed on=20 Sept. 11. Oh, there will be plenty of debate over that and = over=20 the calculations in the government's payments that take = into=20 account the age and wage-earning potential of the victim; = we're=20 also hearing complaint from victims of earlier attacks -- = namely,=20 Oklahoma City -- about not getting as much attention and = money. I=20 find the debates somewhat unseemly. Let's remember a few = things.=20 First, no matter how much money anyone gets, it cannot = compensate=20 for the loss of a life, of course -- but it also will not=20 compensate for the financial lost; one or two million = dollars does=20 not come close to making up for the income and support = that will=20 be lost. Second, let's keep in mind that as far as the = private=20 giving goes, it is the right of the giver to decide who = should=20 receive his or her charity; Americans want to give to the = families=20 of these heroes and victims and that is their choice, = their=20 understandable choice. I'm sorry that there are other = victims who=20 didn't get as much; I'm sorry that there are still = inequities in=20 society (the Telegraph writer complains about rescue = workers being=20 fed while there's a homeless lady down the block). That = should not=20 distract and detract from the efforts of Americans to pour = out=20 their hearts and pocketbooks to those who suffered the = most on=20 that terrible, evil day. This is not a matter for public=20 legislation. This is a matter for private=20 conscience.

War is, like, yucky, y'know
- = How=20 could I have missed the BritneyBlog!

The=20 Crucible II
- Arthur=20 Miller to attack Bush re civil rights on Christmas = Day.=20

Terror ship
- Brits have a "terror=20 ship" in the Channel after foreign intelligence warned = it=20 could be carrying munitions for bin Laden.

. .=20 .

Friday, December 21, 2001 - Link=20

Pro-war, = anti-American?
-=20 Wacky report from the Guardian=20 that even as the world supports our war we are losing = support for=20 our brands: "British consumers have become more = distrustful of=20 overtly American brands, according to research from a = leading=20 advertising agency. The survey found more than two-thirds = of=20 British consumers are concerned the world is becoming too=20 Americanised, while 72% agreed with the statement: = 'Multinational=20 corporations have grown too powerful.' "

It's = not fun...=20 it's not funny
- This war has been too = entertaining. There=20 are all the Geraldo games: Watch Geraldo dodge bullets. = Watch=20 Geraldo wear headdresses. Watch Geraldo say he's on = hallowed=20 ground when he's miles away. There are the smart, sexy, = new=20 Generation X war correspondents I shamelessly admired = yesterday:=20 Ashleigh Banfield and Nora O'Donnell to name a few. There = are the=20 very entertaining Donald Rumsfeld briefings, better than = any talk=20 show (who would give you better advice: Don or Oprah?). = There is=20 the sideshow of the incredibly stupid John The Rat Traitor = Superdoofus Walker. There is is Osama show.
And look = at what=20 there is not: There is not the daily grind of Vietnam TV, = of our=20 own sons slogging through a swamp (of sand, in this case), = not=20 dodging bullets. There is not that daily dread that this = killing=20 could go on forever.
Let me quickly make it clear that = I am not=20 making some PC or anti-media or anti-war argument that we = should=20 do anything differently; obviously, we should not suffer = more or=20 win less or risk more reporters' lives or even not find = comic=20 relief where we can.
It is what it is.
But I compare = what=20 children are watching today to what I watched on TV during = Vietnam=20 and how that will affect them and it's apparent that there = is a=20 big difference. And I simply note that this difference = will have=20 an impact, one it's too soon to define or measure. But = it's clear=20 that we need to let our children know that war is, in the = words of=20 Billy Crystal [via Howard Stern] not fun.... not=20 funny.

Gesundheit
- You have to love it = when Ken=20 Layne unlocks himself from his writer's prison and gets = back to=20 his blog. As I once indecorously [wow, just used the = Blogger=20 spellchecker for that one and it's neat] put it, when he = returns=20 the posts come out like a satisfying sneeze. Lots of great = posts=20 today and Ken = covers the blogwatches (that is, he blogs the blogs that = blog the=20 blogs) and the new Slate blog (my new ego need: I'll know = when=20 I've arrived when I make it to Slate... probably didn't = help that=20 I called Kinsley espresso breath the other day).
- = Bravo to=20 Slate for featuring two weblogs on the front page of its = new=20 weblog. I take back all my quibbles about emphasizing = print.
-=20 The other print-related weblog, the Wall Street Journal's = log by=20 James Taranto on Opinion=20 Journal, records an observation that has been weirding = me out=20 too: John The Rat Traitor Superdoofus Walker's teeth. = They're so=20 white, so even, so orthodonically correct. He's a filthy, = smelly,=20 ratty mess but those teeth positively glisten. Let's hear = a=20 patriotic cheer for American dentistry.
- Tony Blair's = blog= =20 of sorts, nya-nyaing at all the naysayers who turned out = to be=20 wrong about the quagmire war. Take that, Pilger you = pud.
- And=20 while we're on this self-referential blogs-on-blogs kick, = I should=20 share one of my favorites, one of the first blogs, = actually: Buzz. It's a = brilliant=20 collection of great links every day. The log is all in = Swedish=20 (they abandoned their English version about a year ago) = but that=20 actually makes the linking all the better - it's like a = Christmas=20 grab bag; you never know what you're going to get before = you get=20 it. Some of the stuff is just silly, some just cool (but = cool died=20 about a year ago), some actually new (I drove my = colleagues at=20 work nuts with this, finding some great new thing and = making them=20 ask where the hell I'd found it). A few links = today:
>=20 Decorate your Snowman.
>=20 The erotic Alphabet=20 (sexual content).
> Guy auctions himself off to any = rich,=20 good-looking Lady.
>=20 The Ghana national ice hockey Team= .

Here=20 come the year-end lists
- The year's worst disasters,=20 ranked by loss of life and loss of money.
. .=20 .

Thursday, December 20, 2001 - Link=20

Our new friend... = Iraq?
- Debka has some = fascinating=20 intelligence (or rumors or speculation) about Iraq:=20

1. Iraq forecasts a dangerous wave of radicalization = being=20 touched off in the Arab world by the capture of Taliban = and al=20 Qaeda leaders or the elimination of their operational=20 capabilities. This wave could unseat Saudi Crown Prince=20 Abdullah, Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak and = Jordan=92s King=20 Abdullah II. With this threat in store, Iraqi military=20 intelligence advises Washington in its own interest to = preserve=20 the stability of Saddam Hussein=92s regime and abandon = the=20 preparations to depose him.
2. Saddam has secretly = offered=20 Yasser Arafat a safe haven in Baghdad with the entire = PLO=20 leadership and an unlimited number of security and = intelligence=20 personnel, plus the resources for continuing his = political and=20 military activities. This gesture, Iraqi military = intelligence=20 insists, is not hostile to the United States, but an = escape plan=20 to retrieve Arafat from the corner he has painted = himself=20 into.
3. Iraqi military intelligence chiefs are = making every=20 effort to dissuade Saddam from engaging the United = States in a=20 military confrontation which Iraq has no chance of = winning. They=20 warn him a U.S. attack would destroy Iraq=92s economic=20 infrastructure and push the country 20 years back. They = propose=20 instead that they use their good offices in Moscow to = discreetly=20 arrange for international monitors to be allowed access = to=20 Iraq=92s arms industry, including missiles and other = weapons of=20 mass destruction...

- Meanwhile, our former CIA director tells the Jerusalem=20 Post that Saddam has to be the next = target.

15 bits=20 of fame
- I can retire now. I'm in a blogwatch -- = the new=20 one from Quasipundit.

100 = days of flames
- The fire=20 at the World Trade Center has been extinguished, 100 days = after it=20 was set.

Guardian unthink
- The Guardian = tries to=20 calculate meaningless=20 math of war. They get an estimate of civilian deaths = from U.S.=20 bombing of more than 3,000 -- and more than the current = Sept. 11=20 toll -- and thus imply that the scale tips our virtue into = sin.=20 Crap.
First, I don't believe the math for one second.=20
Second, such exercises in arithmetic are downright = offensive;=20 one innocent death is one too many -- and this started = with 3,000=20 innocent deaths on Sept. 11. There is no scale on which = ten souls=20 weigh more than one.
Third, let's look at what an = amazing war=20 this has been: a war fought and won in less than three = months=20 with, regrettably, a few thousand casualties but far fewer = than=20 there might have been if our bombs and bombing were not so = accurate and if the war had dragged on. Compare this to = the last=20 two world wars! And this is a world war.
Fourth, shall = we try=20 to calculate the losses at the hands of the Taliban and = bin Laden=20 through stoning and starvation and execution? That is a = figure=20 we'll never know. And now imagine how high that number = would have=20 grown if these despots had remained in power = longer?
Fifth, I=20 haven't hard Afghans complaining about being rid of the = Taliban.=20 They are celebrating even as they mourn their terrible = suffering=20 over many years.

You have the right...
- = The=20 White House says John The Rat Traitor Superdoofus Walker = does not=20 have a right to a lawyer=20 because he is a prisoner of war and has not yet been = charged.=20 Let's just hope this doesn't jeopardize the prosecution = case when=20 it comes to court.

. .=20 .

Wednesday, December 19, 2001 - Link=20

Slate's weblog... well, = sort=20 of....
-Slate starts a weblog -- = of sorts.=20 It's not terribly webby but it is overly techy (not = surprising:=20 it's Microsofty). They create a framed page and suck other = web=20 sites into that frame, arguing that this is oh, so = convenient=20 because you don't lose your links (though you do lose the = ability=20 to bookmark a page and media sites don't much like being = subsumed=20 under another brand and address).
What's terribly=20 disappointing is that this isn't so much a weblog as a = printlog,=20 pointing to print columnists, editorial pages, and news. = There is=20 just one "mezine" section pointing to a small and overall=20 predictable list of 'logs -- from Andrew Sullivan, = Lucianne=20 Goldberg, Mickey Kaus, et al. Where's Matt Welch (well, = he's in=20 France, but you know what I mean)? Where's Ken Layne? = Thomas=20 Nephew? Tim Blair? Rossi? Nick Denton (now that he's = getting back=20 to blogging)? Reid Stott? Add your nominees here. And, = hell, I'll=20 say it: Where am I?

Blog of blogs
- Tim Blair has = been doing=20 a great job with his BlogWatch (though he still hasn't = included=20 me, making a lame excuse that he's using Netscape 4.7 and = thus=20 can't read my damned template -- a likely excuse). Now he = has=20 teamed up with Will Vehrs and Tony Adragna on Quasipundit = to do the=20 northern hemisphere version starting in the a.m. (I hope = they use=20 I.E.).

Life and death
- Very good story = in USA Today = today=20 studying fatalities and survivors out of the World Trade = Center:

The line between life and death that morning was as = straight=20 as a steel beam. Everyone on the 92nd floor [of the = north tower]=20 died. Everyone on the 91st floor lived.
When a = second jet=20 hit the south tower 16 1/2 minutes later, the pattern = was=20 virtually the same. In each tower, 99% of the occupants = below=20 the crash survived....
Four hundred seventy-nine = rescue=20 workers died making the evacuation a success. The = sacrifice of=20 New York firefighters and police is well-known. But 113 = others,=20 from low-paid security guards to white-collar workers at = the=20 Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the = buildings' owner,=20 stood their ground with firefighters and = cops....

Clinton v. bin Laden
- The Washington=20 Post reports today on Clinton's covert war against bin = Laden.=20 Andrew Sullivan is sharpening his spear now. But note that = Clinton=20 and Bush operated within the same boundaries (e.g., no = ground=20 troops to hunt out bin Laden) until all that changed on = Sept.=20 11

Oink
- Sullivan is = properly=20 outraged at lobbyist's=20 efforts to cash in on 9/11, taking particular aim at = an=20 idiotic proposal to give tax credits if you dare to get on = a=20 plane.
But what's really appalling is that they are=20 considering this pork barrelling at the same time they're = ripping=20 off New York. Bush promised $20 billion. He's giving just = $10=20 billion. And the latest estimate is that New York's = economy is=20 going to lose at least $100 billion because of the attack = on=20 us.
Priorities, boys, priorities.

Osama bin=20 fleeing
- Al Jazeera says bin Laden has arrived safely in Iran. Do you think he's = dead, in=20 the nabe, or far away? Take my latest utterly meaningless, = unscientific poll, at the right.

More West-Coast = unthink=20 about Walker
- Michael Kinsley has been hanging out = on the=20 West Coast too long. He has been breathing in too much = humid air.=20 It has made him as stupid as a San Franciscan.
On Slate, = Kinsley=20 argues that we shouldn't be mad at John The Rat = Traitor=20 Superdoofus Walker beause he joined the Taliban seven = months ago=20 when, according to Kinsley, we all didn't know who the = Taliban was=20 and didn't yet hate them.
What a crock o' crap.
We = knew=20 damned well that the Taliban was bad seven months ago. = They were=20 the guys who robbed women of all rights, remember? They = stoned=20 people for offending stupid rules. They blew up ancient = statues of=20 other religions, so deep was their intolerance. They = jailed=20 missionaries. And they gave aid and comfort to Osama bin = Laden=20 who, let's remember, had something to do with a few = bombings of=20 our people long before Sept. 11. Maybe you didn't know the = Taliban=20 was bad seven months ago, Mikey, but we sure did. Amercans = aren't=20 idiots.
Kinsley then tries to write off Walker's = treachery to=20 youthful indiscretion following the example of none other = than=20 President Bush, recovering bad boy. "The only voice of=20 perspective," says Kinsley, "has been that of President = Bush, who=20 once said of himself, 'When I was young and irresponsible, = I was=20 young and irresponsible.' About John Walker, Bush said = that 'this=20 poor fellow =85 obviously =85 has been misled.' :
This = poor=20 Kinsley has been misled, too. He concludes:=20

Should we even have a bit of understanding about how = a=20 troubled teen-ager might be =93young and = irresponsible=94 enough to=20 get himself in this fix? The answer is yes, of course we = should.=20 The superior benefits of American citizenship are =93why = they hate=20 us,=94 as the president points out, and what we=92re = fighting to=20 protect. Now that the Taliban is defeated, even John = Walker has=20 the right of every American to forget about=20 Afghanistan.

Wrong, espresso breath. I don't want to execute Walker; = I'm not=20 shooting for the firing squad; never have, never will, no = matter=20 how bad the crime; I'm no murderer.
But I do want to = see this=20 guy brought to justice for going off to fight with evil = despots=20 against his fellow Americans. I do want to see him be = responsible=20 for his actions.
And that is the problem with all the = West=20 Coast unthink we're seeing from the Chronicle and Slate = regarding=20 Walker: the belief that one is not responsible for one's = actions.=20 One is, Mike, one most certainly is.

Ashleigh, = war=20 babe
- I don't mean to devalue Ashleigh Banfield's = smarts=20 in the slightest but I have to note that there's something = appealing -- yes, sexy -- about her tromping around the = Tora Bora=20 caves on MSNBC. Is there anything wrong with noting this? = Of=20 course not. The last war had its Scud Stud. This war has = Ashleigh=20 and it has Nora O'Donnell in the Pentagon. It's good that = women=20 are covering war nowadays. And it doesn't hurt that = they're smart=20 and gutsy and pretty, too.

Fundamentalists = feud
-=20 Right-wing fundamenalist "christians" whine and complain = at Beliefnet=20 that their boy, George Bush, is paying too much attention = to=20 Muslims in his PC attempt to show the world that he = doesn't hate=20 Islam, just terrorists. These petulant little idiots are = making=20 fools of themselves, just as Falwell and Robertson have. = Warms my=20 heart. They will lose credibility and clout and that = couldn't make=20 me happier. And they keep digging their hole deeper and = deeper.=20 Get their equation of Islam and homosexuality:=20

Some leaders are comparing Islam to the homosexuality = issue.=20 =93It=92s the same difference we have with the = homosexual=20 community,=94 he says. =93We care about homosexuals, yet = we=92re=20 opposed to their agenda because we know it destroys = their lives.=20 Likewise, we care about Muslims, but we=92re opposed to = even any=20 tacit endorsement of Islam because it=92s against the = will of=20 God.=94

War spreads
- Yemen=20 attacks an al-Qaeda base.

War spreads = II
-=20 Rumseld freaks=20 Europeans warning that the next attack could be against = London,=20 Paris, or Berlin and it could be worse: nukes or chemicals = or=20 disease. The Times and Telegraph play this as if he's = warning of=20 imminent attacks on these cities. I read it differently: = He's=20 warning that if they don't continue to help us eradicate = the world=20 of terrorists, they could be next. =

9/11
- Bush=20 quietly declared Sept.=20 11 Patriot Day, a holiday in remembrance of our heroes = and=20 victims in the war on terror.

Sick
- Some = tasteless fool is auctioning<= /A>=20 off a letter that was on one of the jets that crashed into = the=20 World Trade Center -- through a firm that specializes in = letters=20 from disasters (one from the Hindenburg, one from the = Titanic).=20
I don't care that they say "some" of the money's going = to=20 charity. It's tasteless to buy or sell it. When I was = there before=20 the towers collapsed, I saw thousands of pieces of paper = that=20 floated down to the ground from the floors that were hit: = expense=20 accounts, memos, office directories, employee manuals. I = would=20 never have thought to pick one up as a souvenir to sell. = No one=20 did. It's sick.

First we go network, the strip = in=20 syndication, then DVD...
- More Osama=20 tapes coming...

Next, they'll march against=20 Korea
- Winning the bad timing award for the week, = a bunch=20 or protestors in Illinois march against the U.S. war in=20 Afghanistan and IslamOnline.com=20 calls it news. Uh, hello, idiots: The war's basically = over. We=20 won.

. .=20 .

Tuesday, December 18, 2001 - Link=20

Oh, brother
- Bin = Laden's brother=20 fears that strangers will hear his name and "get angry, or = upset=20 or horrified," and so "he no longer uses his credit cards, = indulges in his hobby of flying single-engine airplanes or = goes=20 jogging in Boston, where he lives."

Does anybody = like=20 Microsoft?
- Newbytes says bin Laden terrorists infiltrated=20 Microsoft to spread trojans in Windows XP. An alleged=20 terrorist arrested in India "claimed that a member or = members of=20 Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda network, posing as computer=20 programmers, were able to gain employment at Microsoft and = attempted to plant "trojans, trapdoors, and bugs in = Windows XP."=20 [via Mo= on=20 Farmer]

Don't call him an ass
- OK, = it's=20 juvenile of me to enjoy pointing this out, but the guy who = recruited hundreds of Brits to fight for the Taliban is = named Hassan=20 Butt. The Mirror first reported that Mr. Butt couldn't = be=20 arrested under British anti-terrorist laws because Butt's = a Brit.=20 But now the Times=20 of London says Butt can find his Butt in jail. And we know = what=20 happens to Butts there.
Sorry.

None of your=20 business...
- I'm not a privacy paranoid; I don't = care if=20 you cookie me or record what kind of cookies I buy at the = grocery=20 store. Still, I'm worried -- though I don't quite know = exactly why=20 -- by all the talk of a new national=20 ID card. Just as the Social Security number was not = supposed=20 to be used for anything other than Social Security -- = though it is=20 -- a national ID card will surely be used for everything = from=20 cashing checks to checking out videos under one easily = reconciled=20 ID number for each of us. Makes me hinky. Now I'm agreeing = to lots=20 of things that make me hinky these days to fight = terrorism. But=20 I'm not really sure how the ID card would do that. The = terrorists=20 got lots of ID cards. We knew exactly who they were. = Didn't stop=20 them from terrorizing.
- Belgium wants a card for every= one=20 in the world.

Dead men tell no = tales...
- I=20 like Instapundit's=20 speculation -- just entertainment, folks -- that Osama's = dead but=20 we're hiding the fact because: "(1) we don't want to = trigger any=20 'sleepers' who might be waiting for just that news to act; = (2) we=20 don't want to anger the Saudis; (3) we want to maximize = confusion=20 among al Qaeda survivors -- perhaps we were the ones = broadcasting=20 phony orders in Osama's voice to increase this -- while we = continue to round 'em up; (4) Osama's head, in brine, has = been=20 delivered to King Fahd with a message -- if this happens = again,=20 it'll be yours; naturally, that's best not spread=20 around."

What he said
- I also salute = Instapundit=20 for pushing all Blogspot bloggers to go ad-free. It costs = a mere=20 $12 a year. Can't beat that deal. I did it. I also bought = a few=20 text ads just to support the blog cause.
. .=20 .

Monday, December 17, 2001 - Link=20

Protecting God from = fundamentalists=20 (like Ashcroft -- and Osama, too)
- Am I the only = one=20 (besides Oliver = Willis)=20 who's frightened and appalled by John Ashcroft lusting = after=20 Germany's new law that allows its government to "ban=20 religious organizations"?
After screeching about = that the=20 other day, I got thoughtful email from Dr. John Snawder = pointing=20 out an important distinction -- that the German law allows = them to=20 ban religious organizations "used as fronts for = extremists." Says=20 the good Doctor: "I mean there's that whole slippery slope = argument here but, I think the real emphasis of this law = is the=20 latter" -- the support of extremists -- and he cites the = recently=20 raided Holy Land Foundation in Texas and Army of God as = fronts for=20 terror.
I agree that there are plenty of bad allegedly=20 religious groups out there and that they should be watched = and=20 arrested and tried like any other dangerous secular slime. = Note=20 the blind Egyptian cleric from my local Jersey City mosque = now=20 serving eternity in our prisons thanks to his = masterminding of the=20 first World Trade Center bombing. Note Jim Jones' Peoples = Temple,=20 responsible for the deaths of almost 1,000 poor-chump = souls in the=20 '70s and treated with kid gloves before that because of = his=20 religious glow -- can't offend, you know. Note Heavens = Gate and=20 the idiots who died in their sneakers waiting for their = spaceship=20 -- but they believed in something, didn't they? =
Investigate?=20 Absolutely. Haul off? Of course. But ban? No. That is the=20 well-oiled slope, that is the unconstitutional wish of the = man=20 who's supposed to protect our Constitution, John = Ashcroft.
The=20 problem is: Who's to say which religious organizations = should be=20 banned? If you gave me that job, I'd look at Jerry Falwell = and Pat=20 Robertson and see organizations that promote hate speech = and=20 bigotry, organizations that use religion as a shield to = make money=20 and push politics. Ban 'em! If Ashcroft were doing the = banning --=20 a distinct possibility, God save us -- he could look at my = tolerant little Congregational church and sneer; our = forebears the=20 Pilgrims faced a ban of their own only a few centuries = ago.
No,=20 when you support religious freedom you have to support it = wholly,=20 good with the bad, good even with the evil. And our = attorney=20 general, of all people, should know that.

- See = also a=20 column by Daniel Yankelovich on Beliefnet.com=20 challenging us to know what we're fighting for in this = war. In the=20 cold war, he says, our side, capitalism, won over the = other side,=20 communism, on the merits. "In the jihad with Islamic=20 fundamentalism," he writes, "what will count most are our=20 spiritual values, especially those core values that = distinguish=20 our culture from Islamic fundamentalism." He then lists = what he=20 counts as those differences:
First, separation of = church and=20 state: "The founders of our nation understood that both = religion=20 and politics stir human passions. Kept separate, these = passions=20 can fuel great civilizations. Mixed together, they fuel = hatred,=20 prejudice, and a destructive sense of purity that = tolerates no=20 dissent."
Second, the value we place on diversity: "Our = success=20 in creating a multi-ethnic, multi-racial, multi-lifestyle = culture=20 is of immense historic significance. A great achievement = of our=20 civilization, it collides head-on with the intolerance and = bigotry=20 of Islamic fundamentalism."
Third, our belief in = equality of=20 opportunity: "Nothing seems to offend Islamic = fundamentalists more=20 than full equality of opportunity for women."
But = notice that=20 these all point to the strongly held tenants of our = secular=20 society. And yes, that secularism does mystify and offend = our=20 Islamic enemies today -- just as it mystifies and offends = the=20 prayer-in-school, religion-everywhere religious right = (Ashcroft's=20 ilk). But by defending our secular values and rights we do = nothing=20 less than defend God against those who would use a = government's=20 power to give Him a bad name.

- This weekend, Reid = Photodude Stott=20 added eloquently to my disagreement with Andrew = Sullivan over=20 whether bin Laden's "faith" is proof that this is a = religious war.=20 Another sentence or two here: Bin Laden hiding behind = Islam does=20 not make this a religious war. We cannot give him credit = for faith=20 or justice or legitimacy of any sort.
He does not have = religion on his side any more than he has justice on his = side=20 (that is, we can't argue that he has a legitimate reason = to attack=20 the U.S. for any past U.S. sins and we cannot argue that = he has=20 any legitimate reason to attack us out of his religion; = bin Laden=20 has no legitimacy of any sort). So bin Laden does not make = this a=20 religious war.
Yet that's not to say that this isn't a = religious war; Sullivan is right about that. But bin = Laden's not=20 the proof -- the behavior of others is the proof. I remain = shocked=20 that we did not see a universal and strong condemnation of = bin=20 Laden by religious and political leaders in the Muslim = world --=20 but we didn't. Now, we see only an embarrassed silence = around this=20 defeated and discredited terrorist and his despot pal. = That=20 indicates that there is a fault line along religious and = cultural=20 strata; that indicates more difficulty ahead.
. .=20 .

Sunday, December 16, 2001 - Link=20

Rat trap
- Newsweek = says John=20 The Rat Traitor Superdoofus Walker was more than just a = geek given=20 a gun. "According to administration sources, he also = admitted to=20 being a member of Al Qaeda and training at its camps, = where he=20 participated in terrorist exercises=97including learning = to use=20 explosives and poisons=97and met with visiting Qaeda = officials,=20 including Osama bin Laden. Walker also admitted having = been=20 instructed in how to act in airports so as not to attract = police=20 attention. 'He was no innocent bystander,' said one = official.=20 'This wasn=92t like learning to be a soldier in Patton=92s = Army. He=20 was training to commit terrorist acts.' "

Help: = a geek=20 interlude
- Two bits of geek help, please:
- = First, what=20 hosting service do any of you recommend? I want to host my = blog,=20 four domains, and a couple of email addresses without any = heavy=20 load on them. Recommendations for a safe and easy and = inexpensive=20