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 choice?
- Second, this template makes Netscape 4.7 = (arrrgh)=20 crash. Any Netscape tricks?
Please email me with the = link to=20 the right. Much thanks.

Osama bin = Hoffa
- So=20 Tora Bora has fallen!=20 Let's hear a victory grunt! But no Osama? Think he'll ever = be=20 found? Or will he become the Hoffa/Elvis/Earhart legend of = our=20 times?

As Sgt. Schulz said, I know = nossing...
-=20 The Sunday Times of London says lawyers fear the bin Laden = tape=20 could hurt the prosecution=20 of his terrorists because binny says many of his dupes did = not=20 know the details of the terror plot before they executed = it.
-=20 Also from the Times:=20 Close ties between bin Laden and the terror murderers who = attacked=20 the Indian parliament this week.

Badda = bin!
- The=20 Observer=20 says the bin Laden tape is genuine but may be the product = of a CIA=20 sting. They hint that the gimpy Gumpy -- Ali Saeed = al-Ghamdi --=20 who's kissing bin Laden's ass on the tape may have been = "turned"=20 by intelligence agents -- just as the FBI "turns" a Mafia = turncoat=20 -- to take part in getting the incriminating tape. If so, = I'll=20 take back the bad things I said about the wipe.
- Also = from the=20 Observer: Authorities in Afghanistan found detailed plans = for a=20 remote-control truck bomb vs.=20 London.

God's war? No such thing
- Reid=20 "Photodude" Stott adds to my (one-sided) argument with = Andrew=20 Sullivan over calling this a religious war on the basis of = bin=20 Laden's "faith." I'll let Stott speak for himself... But = I'll say=20 more on religion and the war and John Ashcroft=20 tomorrow...

Everybody needs 15 minutes of = PR
-=20 I'll know I've arrived when Tim Blair = includes me in=20 his daily blogwatch.

Goosebumps
- Via Mo= on=20 Farmer, a Law.com=20 journal if Blackberry email to and from one law firm as = they tried=20 to track down all their colleagues in the World Trade = Center.=20

So much for moving to Canada
- The National=20 Post says bin Laden operatives are as thick as maple = leafs up=20 there.
. .=20 .

Saturday, December 15, 2001 - Link=20

Pompeii
- I was = listening to=20 NPR this morning (yes, former pacifists still can listen = to NPR)=20 when I heard an interview with the man who is wielding the = wrecking ball at the World Trade Center. He spoke, as all = the good=20 people who work down there do, of the strain and stress on = the=20 soul. He also gave me an image I cannot erase from my = mind. He=20 said that the bodies of the victims they are recovering = now are=20 completely enveloped in concrete dust, so completely = enveloped=20 that they are not even decomposing. This is our modern=20 Pompeii.
There is that dust again. Two=20 months ago, I wrote about my relationship to dust, how = it is=20 the thing that haunts me most, that dust that we inhaled, = that=20 dust that covered us and the world around us that day, = that dust=20 that made me sick. Now we have this terrible image of the = dust=20 suffocating its victims, encasing them, entombing them. =
Every=20 time I think I can get an inch away from the terrible = images, I=20 can't.
- I am glad to see that they are going to preserve=20 the two largest pieces of the facade of the World Trade = Center=20 that were left standing after the collapse for possible = use in a=20 memorial. This is the image that I think stays with most = of us in=20 the aftermath of that day and whether literally or = figuratively,=20 it is appropriate to include them in the memorial.
They = should=20 also save the dust.
And as I said earlier, I hope they = save the=20 fire still burning under the rubble to light an=20 eternal flame.
. .=20 .

Friday, December 14, 2001 - Link=20

Mr. Ashcroft, exactly what=20 does America mean to you, then?
- Something = very=20 scary here= =20 from an AP story: "U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft on = Friday=20 praised Germany's newly enacted law that allows = authorities to ban=20 religious organizations used as fronts for extremists, = saying it=20 was a necessary measure in the war on terrorism."
Woa, = boy!=20 "Ban religious organizations!?" What the hell -- or = should=20 I say, what in God's name -- do you think is the very = foundation=20 of our Constitution and country? Religious freedom, damnit = -- or=20 should I say, darnit.
John Ashcroft -- who's better = known for=20 his prayer than for his success as prosecuting terrorists = and=20 protecting us from them -- is now looking enviously at the = idea of=20 banning religous organizations. That is frightening.
I = don't=20 mind if he spies on them. I want him to arrest terrorizing = clerics. But if civilization has learned nothing in the = last 200=20 years, at least, it's that you can't ban religion and = legislating=20 it only gets you in trouble.
Besides, it's just plain=20 unconstitutional -- from the guy who's supposed to protect = our=20 Constitution.
But I actually hope he keeps saying = stupid things=20 like that -- and the things he said to Congress last week = -- and=20 that he keeps messing up his real job of catching the bad = guys so=20 that soon, he can be seen as the liability he is and Rudy = can get=20 his job!

Let's go to the videotape
- Andrew = Sullivan comes=20 away from the bin Laden tape with two conclusions: "The = first is=20 that anyone who doubts the genuineness of this man=92s = faith, the=20 inextricability of a twisted fundamentalist Islam with = this form=20 of terror, is simply in denial. The second thing that=92s = obvious is=20 that the only thing bin Laden respects is power. Notice = how he=20 predicts that there will be mass conversions to Islam = after the=20 massacre. He believes that people, especially those in his = own=20 backyard, suck up to the powerful..."
I'm going to = dare to=20 disagree with the first. I know that Sullivan is = buttressing his=20 own argument that this is a religious war and he's not = wrong about=20 that. But to call what we see in bin Laden "faith" gives = him=20 misplaced credit and it gives God and Allah both a bad = name. Along=20 with "faith" of any stripe one has to see some moral = structure,=20 some belief in a greater good, some assumption that there = is a=20 divine will or plan or set of laws that rule what you do = and why=20 you do it. There is none of that here. Quoting scripture = of one=20 flavor or another is not an indication of faith. No, what = is=20 clearly genuine about bin Laden is only his hate -- his = engineered=20 evil -- and the religion is merely a thin veil over that.=20
Sullivan is instead quite right in his second = conclusion: It's=20 all about power, about him and his side winning. Why did = he do=20 this? He believed it would impress his masses and bring = them to=20 his side, amplifying his power.
This is megalomania = not=20 theology.
- I haven't seen the guy's name in writing = yet --=20 sounds like "Gumby" -- but the asskisser on the tape with = bin=20 Laden will have to go down in history as the biggest = brownnoser in=20 history. What a wipe.
- Best tabloid headline so far, = the=20 Mirror: YOU = GLOATING=20 BASTARD
- Bad news/good news in the L.A.=20 Times analysis of the tape:

Several officials said Bin Laden's claims that most = of the=20 hijackers didn't know one another or even know the game = plan=20 until the final hours indicates Al Qaeda enforces strict = need-to-know operational security. That makes early = detection=20 extremely difficult.
"It shows that unless you get to = the=20 right people at the right time, it's tough to get at = these guys=20 and prevent an attack," a U.S. intelligence official = said. "We=20 could have captured some of the hijackers on Sept. 9, = gotten=20 them to tell us everything, and we still wouldn't know = what they=20 were going to do."
But analysts also say Bin Laden's = detailed=20 foreknowledge of the plot--assuming he spoke truthfully = during=20 what appeared to be an off-the-cuff dinner nearly two = months=20 after the attack--suggests he and a few key aides = maintained=20 some degree of direct operational command.
That means = their=20 capture or death in the Afghan war could significantly = undercut=20 Al Qaeda's ability to launch major new terrorist attacks = in the=20 near future.

More video
- A show=20 analyzing how the World Trade Centers collapsed was a = surprise=20 huge hit on TV in Britain, with a quarter of the=20 audience.

Link
- I agree with Joshua Marshall = today that=20 (a) the Indian terrorist attack is bigger news than the = play it's=20 getting and, regarding The Tape, (b) "Not since Pamela = Anderson=20 has an ill-considered home video caused its subject so = much=20 grief."

. .=20 .

Thursday, December 13, 2001 - Link=20

Terrorists strike = India
-=20 Terrorists attack India's parliament. They had been warned = of bin=20 Laden attacks. MSNBC=20 report. Times=20 of India report. Photo: Violence in the shadow=20 of Ghandi's statue at Parliament.

Hitler's = home=20 video
- The government just released the bin Laden = party=20 tape. He's sitting, eating, grinning about the Sept. 11 = attacks.=20 He says he knows about the time between the attacks and he = gloats=20 that our government thought a coup was underway. He = calculates the=20 death. The smoking jet:

UBL: (...Inaudible...) we calculated in advance the = number of=20 casualties from the enemy, who would be killed based on = the=20 position of the tower. We calculated that the floors = that would=20 be hit would be three or four floors. I was the most = optimistic=20 of them all. (...Inaudible...) due to my experience in = this=20 field, I was thinking that the fire from the gas in the = plane=20 would melt the iron structure of the building and = collapse the=20 area where the plane hit and all the floors above it = only. This=20 is all that we had hoped for.
Shaykh: Allah be=20 praised.

For a complete transcript of the tape, click here=20 (it's a PDF file).
HTML = version of=20 the tape transcript here.

Widows
- = I've not=20 cried once since Sept. 11 but I've come close a thousand = times --=20 especially, every day, when I read the profiles of the = victims and=20 heroes of our tragedy in the New York=20 Times, an endless, I'm afraid, collection of = heart-wrenching=20 stories of the lives lost. Here the numbing numbers of = 9/11 become=20 individuals again with stories to tell and with widows and = children who are left with memories. Then, yesterday, I = had on Fox=20 News at work and ended up watching the internment of = Charles=20 Burlingame, the pilot of the jet that was crashed into the = Pentagon. There have been so many funerals in New York = that=20 they've become one stream of tears and bagpipes. But = because of=20 the news surrounding this funeral -- the fact that rules = were=20 waived so he could be buried with honors in Arlington = National=20 Cemetery -- there was coverage on TV and, again, this = became the=20 story of an individual. You can't see his widow and hear = Taps=20 without feeling the sorrow in your soul. Now, this = morning, I pick=20 up the Times and read the story= =20 of Patricia Flounders, a widow of 9/11 who could not bear = the loss=20 of her husband. She committed suicide.
Here is the = story from=20 her hometown, New=20 Orleans.

Get me rewrite
- Matt=20 Welch has an in-depth (we journalists just love that = phrase)=20 look at the state of journalism and columnizing in the = post-weblog=20 world, with lots of smart (of course) things to say about = old and=20 truly new media:

What do warbloggers have in common, that most pundits = do not?=20 I=92d say a yen for critical thinking, a sense of humor = that=20 actually translates into people laughing out loud, a = willingness=20 to engage (and encourage) readers, a hostility to the = Culture=20 War and other artifacts of the professionalized = left-right split=20 of the 1990s, unchecked joy at discovering clever = people, a=20 readiness to admit error, tendency to write with passion = and=20 emotion, a radar attuned to personal responsibility, a = sense of=20 collegial yet brutal peer review =85

I think he left out one thing. I was talking on IM one = night=20 with my blog mentor, Nick=20 Denton, marveling at how great (albeit economically=20 impoverished) weblogging is and and why that's so and Nick = summed=20 it all up in two words:

No editors.

And I is one. But he's right. So much of the appeal of = blogdom=20 is its immediacy, honesty, and unsanded, unvarnished, = rough-edged=20 but personal and passionate individuality. That can't work = in many=20 print publications; the genius of People is that it has a = voice=20 as a magazine and creates a tremendous economy of = words and=20 pictures (I learned more about tight writing there than I = did at a=20 tabloit). That's right for People. Blogs are right for the = Web,=20 the medium we the audience own. Anyway, speaking like the = old war=20 horse that I am, this reminds me of the day a dozen years = ago when=20 I was trying hard to hire (I presume he won't mind me = telling the=20 story) Stephen Hunter, now the Washington Post movie = critic and a=20 thriller writer, a straight-shooter if I've ever met one. = We asked=20 him what he thought about editing and at first he started = to kiss=20 our rears about how enriching the editing process is. But = then he=20 stopped himself, shook his head and said: No, I don't = believe=20 that. You know, I shoot guns. I like guns. I think a = bullet is a=20 beautiful thing. Too beautiful to waste on an = editor....
- And=20 here a good Glenn=20 Reynolds Fox News column that inspired = Welch.

If the=20 web had a laughtrack
- Great line from Little = Green Footballs on a Chronicle article about John = Walker, the=20 rat traitor superdoofus: =93Never mentioned in this = article is the=20 psychological impact of naming your child after a famous = brand of=20 Scotch..."

. .=20 .

Wednesday, December 12, 2001 - Link=20

Shucks, thanks, = Dad
- Christian=20 Science Monitor reports that bin Laden fled Tora Bora = 10 days=20 ago and left his 19-year-old son in charge to take the = American=20 bombs. Slimeball. This from a Saudi financier who was in = the=20 caves. "He says that most Al Qaeda members do not leave = their=20 elaborate cave complex unless they have to relieve=20 themselves."

Tacky Taliban decorating
- = Reporters=20 take tours=20 of Mullah Omar's former home: a chandelier over his bed; = Formica=20 installed on walls to look like wood; bizarre plastic = statues;=20 pink tile; his & hers toilets. Says the Independent: = "Mullah=20 Omar's house resembles nothing so much as a seventies=20 motel."

Hello, new readers: Scroll down
- = If=20 you're looking for the piece to which there were lots of = kind=20 links, scroll down to the day below. Hearty thanks to Matt=20 Welch, Charles= =20 Johnson, Reid=20 Stott, turboblogger, Glenn=20 Reynolds, Ken = Layne, Kathy=20 Shaidle, and Tim = Blair for=20 nice words and links to my look at life=20 three months later. Thanks, I needed that.

- = Radio this=20 a.m. said Afghans told a Pakistani paper that bin Laden = and Omar=20 are dead. I don't believe it yet. I'll wait to see what = happens=20 when Drudge wakes up.

ClusterBomb.com
- = Went to=20 Internet World yesterday. Looked like Tora Bora: dark and=20 deserted. Blame it on Internet pffft. But also blame it on = 9/11,=20 for the show had to be postponed and in its delayed,=20 afraid-of-travel, depth-of-recession form, it was small = and=20 sparsely populated. Sad. Damn those fundamentalist freaks; = they=20 are ruining so much. Yet at the same show, Bob Pittman, = COO of AOL=20 Time Warner, delivered a convincing argument=20 that the real Internet boom is just upon us, that = apart from=20 advertising -- which is cyclical -- online is growing. = Broadband,=20 new entertainment devices, home networks, and mostly = smarter,=20 better online services will mean huge business growth. = He's right.=20 But that requires us to get our guts back as an industry, = an=20 economy, and a country; we have to innovate again and take = the=20 risks that come with that. On the convention floor, we = still=20 looked scared. That has to end. We've won the war, = damnit.=20
. .=20 .

Tuesday, December 11, 2001 - Link=20

Three months after: A = changed=20 man
- Three months ago today, I survived the=20 black cloud. I inhaled the pulverized, vaporized, = terrorized=20 remains of the World Trade Center and it changed me, fully = and=20 forever. Now, months later, I find that change in me is = not=20 diminished; it is deeper and wider. It will not leave me. =
Of=20 course, there are many for whom the change is far more = painful and=20 profound. Read these stories about the lives of widows and = survivors -- "the living remains" -- in the Washington=20 Post. Read this in yesterday's New=20 York Times about the spirit-numbing work at what used = to be=20 the World Trade Center. Next to these people, I am = absolutely=20 fine. I am extraordinarily lucky -- blessed, even. Still, = Sept. 11=20 changed me as it changed us all. But I can't speak for = you, only=20 for myself. Now, with even the brief perspective of these = few=20 months, I am startled at all the differences in = life:
First and=20 foremost, there is, of course, my family. Every day when I = leave=20 for work and every night at bedtime, my children and I are = obsessive about saying, "I love you." That small act fills = my=20 heart, of course. But I also know that fear lies behind = it. Safety=20 is now constantly on our minds; when stories of anthrax = and=20 smallpox and nukes pile on, we feel powerless to guarantee = our=20 family's security; we worry and then we wonder whether = we're nuts=20 for worrying. Work is still work. But politics and = pettiness are=20 even harder to take now. Life is too damned short.
In=20 politics, I've endured not just change but ideological = whiplash. I=20 was never politically correct but I was liberal and from = youth I=20 held fast to pacifism, which was my response to Vietnam, = my belief=20 that it had to be the right answer. But now our generation = has=20 faced our Hitler in bin Laden and we find a mortal and = moral need=20 to defend against evil. So I am now a former=20 pacifist. I'm a goddamned hawk and delighted at the = victories=20 so far (what a great day for an al-Qaida surrender).=20 I'm even wearing a tacky red, white, and blue pin on my = lapel; I=20 might as well be wearing it on my sleeve. I'm a goddamned = patriot.=20 Sometimes, I don't recognize myself.
Religion -- or = rather,=20 belief -- has not changed for me. After the Holocaust, God = was=20 indicted for various crimes of neglect and sins of = omission and=20 each of us is His jury, acquitting Him or finding Him = guilty or=20 sentencing Him to death. I'm no surer about Him today than = I was=20 yesterday, just as confused. Yet in other aspects of = religion, I=20 have a much clearer focus now. More than ever, I see the = dangers=20 of fundamentalism. That, as I've said in these=20 virtual pages,=20 is what this war is really about.
The Web has changed = for me,=20 too. I've worked here for seven years now but thanks to = the world=20 of Weblogs, I've found a new dimension to it and met -- = albeit=20 virtually -- many smart people who are grappling with the = same=20 news and issues we all are. This weblog has allowed me to = stay=20 close to this story; that's why I do it; I can't get away = from it.=20
A few days ago, I had to go downtown in Manhattan and = so I=20 decided to walk by the World Trade Center, retracing my = steps on=20 Sept. 11 once more, taking in the scene once again. But = there was=20 nothing to conclude from being there. It is now a gigantic = hole in=20 the city; Sept. 11 does not live on there. It lives on in = the=20 memories of the heroes and victims who died there. It = lives on in=20 the battle against evil, the battle to protect our = families and=20 our future. It lives on in the many changes in our lives = -- that=20 is now Ground Zero.

. .=20 .

Monday, December 10, 2001 - Link=20

More from the California=20 crockpot
- From the West-Coast-based Pacific News = Service, another idiot article, this one asking = whether John=20 The Rat Traitor Superdoofus Walker is the first of a = trend.=20

I wonder, how many more John Walkers are there in = America? Is=20 it possible that fundamentalist Islam =97 angry, = violent, focused=20 =97 could find a new generation of converts, not in = inner-city=20 black America, but from white American suburbs, like = Littleton,=20 Colo., or Marin County, Calif.?

Crap. Walker is just one lunatic, one nut, one crazy = doofus=20 fool traitor idiot. There is no trend here. A trend would = assume=20 that Walker put a single synapse's worth of real thought = behind=20 what he did. A trend would assume that we are raising a = generation=20 of idiots and doofuses. We are not. The only doofuses I = see are=20 the ones going to work in West Coast journalism.
- = More of my=20 politically incorrect geographic=20 profiling below.

Yankee ingenuity
- = The Federation of=20 American Scientists compiles the evidence that the = antrax came=20 from a U.S. government program. Still doesn't say, though, = that=20 the stuff couldn't have been stolen and spread by a = ferner. [via=20 Die=20 Zeit]

The Greatest Reality Show Of All=20 Time!
- Who knows whether to believe it -- it = is the=20 Mirror, quoting bin Laden's estranged wife, on Russian TV = ..=20 that's three strikes -- but still, who can resist? They = say that=20 bin=20 Laden will commit suicide on TV -- ordering his sons = to shoot=20 him -- and thus trigger the mother of all terrorist = attacks on the=20 U.S., the U.K., and France. I used to work for TV Guide; I = can=20 write the treatment for this one: I was thinking Regis or = Joe=20 Rogan for the host but Geraldo may be better -- he'd pick = up the=20 gun and shoot binny himself. And maybe we can steal from = the old=20 Larry the Lobster skit in the early days of SNL: The = audience gets=20 to call in and vote whether to kill him. Of course, the = vote would=20 be overwhelmingly in favor of pulling the trigger but it'd = feel=20 good to vote -- pop culture as catharsis -- and the = 900-number=20 fees could go to the victims families (just please, not = through=20 the Red Cross). For that matter, we could make this into a = pay-per-view special. You'd pay, wouldn't = you?

Happy=20 Chanukah to us all
- Another remarkable = Rossi=20 Ranttoday. She gathers up dreidels and geld and = chocolate=20 cars, determined to bring Chanukah to Ground Zero. She = survives=20 tourists and finds her goal. Do yourself a favor: = Click=20 here.

. .=20 .

Sunday, December 09, 2001 - Link=20

California, land of = crackpots and=20 crap thinking
- I used to live in San Francisco. = Loved it.=20 I was a columnist on the Examiner, six days a week, man = about=20 town, the latest would-be Herb Caen of the Pepsi = Generation.=20 Beautiful views, great food, nice weather, good bars, = hills, fog.=20 I defended the place when it was called the capital of = crackpots,=20 back in the days of Jonestown and the Moscone/Milk = murders. I said=20 it was just bad luck that San Francisco attracted a few = nuts.=20
But the inanity from the Left Coast simply won't end. = Now San=20 Francisco is embracing -- not just sympathizing = with or=20 defending but embracing -- its native son John The = Rat=20 Traitor Superdoofus Walker as one of its own. Every = blogger on=20 earth has cut apart every syllable of this=20 piece from the Chronicle, which called Walker "a = product of=20 the Bay Area culture."
Now today come more = straight-faced=20 idiocy -- a Chronicle story blindly defending=20 that culture and then this:

Those willing to sacrifice for their beliefs deserve = respect=20 -- even if what they believe in is foolish. As a = teenager,=20 American Taliban fighter John Phillip Walker gave up a=20 comfortable life in Marin County and traveled halfway = around the=20 world to put his life on the line for his religious = convictions.=20 How many of us are that courageous?

It is one matter to be tolerant. It is quite another = matter to=20 be stupid. And somewhere along the line, the capital of = the state=20 of Political Correctness lost that distinction. In this=20 upside-down society, democracy does not rule; everyone = rules. Any=20 opinion is as good as the next if it's held with = self-righteous=20 passion; that is the ultimate virtue. And in this world,=20 "offending" is the ultimate crime; if you dare say = something that=20 offends anyone you are wrong even if what you say is = right. Thus=20 anything -- even Walker -- is tolerated for fear of = offending=20 anyone -- even Walker.
So, yes, Walker is a = product of=20 the Bay Area culture, but it's certainly nothing to brag = about. He=20 is a product of a place where tolerance -- which is a good = thing,=20 a damned good thing, an American principle, something to = treasure=20 and nourish, to be sure -- has become synonymous with just = not=20 thinking, with tolerating anything for the sheer sake of=20 tolerance: the orthodoxy of everything. We are not = supposed to=20 criticize or ridicule or even wonder about what Walker did = because=20 that might offend him, because being different is = "courageous."=20
What a crock of crackpot crap. A little criticism and = ridicule=20 might have stopped this kid from giving his soul to the = devil. A=20 little bit of truly free speech -- unafraid of "offending" = someone=20 or questioning someone's "convictions" -- might have shown = him a=20 different way, might have made him think, = ferchrissake (oh,=20 pardon me, I should say: fermuhammadsake).
But no = amount of=20 tolerance can erase the truth that John Walker is = responsible for=20 his actions. Doesn't matter why he did it. No Twinkie = defense for=20 this one. He fought with despots. He fought against us. =
If San=20 Francisco wants to claim this man as a product of its = culture then=20 it is time for that culture to ask what went wrong. =

The=20 real analysis of Walker
- Newsweek = tomorrow=20 analyzes the fall of Walker better than a Mill Valley = shrink=20 could:

Most teenagers, when they rebel, say they want more = freedom.=20 John Walker Lindh rebelled against freedom. He did not = demand to=20 express himself in different ways. Quite the opposite. = He wanted=20 to be told precisely how to dress, to eat, to think, to = pray. He=20 wanted a value system of absolutes, and he was willing = to go to=20 extreme lengths to find it.

Fault line
- I think it's time for my = newfound blog=20 friends Matt = Welch=20 and Ken Layne, = proud=20 Angelenos, to start a campaign to secede from Northern=20 California.

Amen
- Frank Rich goes after = the=20 frightening John Ashcroft (the man who's holding the=20 job Rudy Guliani should be holding, damnit!):

While I wouldn't dare call it treason, it hardly = serves the=20 country to look the other way when the=20 Ashcroft-Ridge-Thompson-Mineta team proves as inept at = home as=20 the Cheney-Rumsfeld-Powell-Rice team has proved adept = abroad. In=20 the Afghan aftermath, the home front is just as likely = to be the=20 next theater of war as Somalia or Iraq. Giving a free = pass to=20 Mr. Ashcroft and the other slackers in the Bush = administration=20 isn't patriotism =97 it's complacency, which sometimes = comes with=20 a stiff price....
The attorney general keeps boasting = that he=20 is winning the war on terrorism at home and keeping us = safe. But=20 he provides no evidence to support his claim, even as = there's=20 much evidence that he's antagonizing his own troops (the = F.B.I.,=20 local police departments) and wasting their finite time = and=20 resources on wild goose chases that have pumped up = arrest=20 numbers without yielding many (or any) terrorists. =
If=20 questioning our leaders' competence at a time of war is = treason,=20 take me to the nearest military tribunal. But the one = thing we=20 learned on that Tuesday morning, I had thought, is that = it's=20 better to raise these questions today than the morning = after.=20

'The living remains'
- A quite wonderful = story in the=20 Washington=20 Post this morning looking past the flags and speeches = and=20 politics to the lives that have been changed by 9/11, = every day=20 and forever.

September 11, nearly three months gone, is now a = shared=20 American narrative, a communal myth, based largely on = fact, that=20 tries to make sense of what seems unexplainable. A cast = of=20 everyday heroes. Pure good versus satanic evil. Common = purpose=20 and resolve. The myth comes wrapped in a neat package = and is=20 sold on the street. The coffee table photo books rushed = for=20 Christmas sales, the flag lapel pins, the tourists = buying their=20 FDNY caps in Times Square, these are for the outside = consumers=20 of legend. But those on the inside know harder truths = that=20 accompany and at times collide with the myth. They are = real=20 people facing the rawness of what happened and what it = did to=20 them. The debris of September 11 keeps rolling through = their=20 lives...

For a Sunday
- Beliefnet.com just published a = good=20 and wise book -- all the more amazing because it's a quick = book --=20 about 9/11 with brief essays and sermons from clergy and = spiritual=20 leaders, along with comments from the site's community. = I'm=20 halfway through and I'm finding plenty worth thought and = quote. A=20 few lines from Rabbi David Wolpe of L.A.:

I am angry. I am angry at God and at human beings. I = am angry=20 at the manifold idiocies and indifference that have = permitted=20 such hatred to flourish.
Don't tell me we should not = blame=20 God since human beings did this, because even though God = gave us=20 free will and we are culpable, I also know that God = fashioned=20 our hearts and our world. Must we be angry with those = who do=20 evil? Absolutely. We must also be angry at God, for to = be angry=20 with God, as Elie Wiesel has taught us, means to be in a = relationship to God. I feel God in my fury and love God = in my=20 bewilderment....
We must be careful. We have great = power.=20 Power means moral choice. We should feel gratitude that = we have=20 such choices. To be powerless is not moral, it is merely = powerless. Jews remember too vividly the days we had no=20 power.... Do not lament power. We know too much history. = It is=20 the only bulwark blocking the abyss. Powerlessness in = the face=20 of evil leads to Auschwitz.

And from Shmuly Boteach, celebrity rabbi, more wisdom = from=20 Weisel:

Once, when I hosted Elie Wiesel at Oxford, a = teary-eyed=20 student asked him, "Mr. Wiesel, why did God allow the=20 Holocaust?" Wiesel just looked at the student = sympathetically=20 and said, "I cannot -- I dare not -- answer your = question.=20 Because if I do, I fear that you will sleep easier = tonight." And=20 truth be told, I would rather stay awake being angry = that God=20 has allowed this devastation to happen, than to sleep = easier=20 that those who suffered deserved what they = got."

And there is a piece by Bishop John Shelby Spong = arguing that=20 it is a childish wish to look for a God who would = "intervene in=20 human history to accomplish miraculous rescue. We know=20 intellectually that such a God is but a phantom of human=20 hope."
Now this is not all angry and hopeless. It all = says that=20 the responsibility to act is ours. It all calculates the = same=20 moral equations we've seen in political discussions here = in=20 Blogdom -- left v. right, sensible left v. left, = anti-anti-war v.=20 anti-war, everybody v. Chomsky -- and comes to the same = answers=20 but from a different direction: from above. I find that=20 comforting: politics and religion -- that is, sane = religion, not=20 fundamentalism -- meeting at the same place.

No = stinking -- er, I mean, stinky -- terrorists here
- = The Washington=20 Post found a guide to infiltrating the infidel West = with lots=20 of useful tips: Shave... Play evil Western music to fool = them...=20 Wear used clothes so you look lived in... And best of all, = use=20 deodorant -- on your skin, not on the = clothes.

More=20 evidence
It's not as if we needed more evidence of = his=20 guilt but the Washington=20 Post reports the government has a tape of bin Laden = talking=20 about the 9/11 attacks and giving proof he planned them. = They're=20 debating whether to release it. Well, of course, you = release it.=20 What the hell are you protecting us from? We have a right = to see=20 our enemy.

Hate me
- Robert Fisk, = self-hating=20 Brit journalist, writes his first-person load o' crap = about being=20 beaten by Afghan thugs: "I couldn't see for the blood = pouring down=20 my forehead and swamping my eyes. And even then, I = understood. I=20 couldn't blame them for what they were doing. In fact, if = I were=20 the Afghan refugees of Kila Abdullah, close to the = Afghan-Pakistan=20 border, I would have done just the same to Robert Fisk. Or = any=20 other Westerner I could find. So why record my few minutes = of=20 terror and self-disgust under assault near the Afghan = border,=20 bleeding and crying like an animal, when hundreds =96 let = us be=20 frank and say thousands =96 of innocent civilians are = dying under=20 American air strikes in Afghanistan, when the 'War of=20 Civilisation' is burning and maiming the Pashtuns of = Kandahar and=20 destroying their homes because "good" must triumph over = 'evil'?"=20 Why, indeed?

Of course, it's my fault you're = mugging=20 me
- Tim Blair, blogger from down there, tears = apart Robert=20 Fisk (below) for excusing the mob of Afghan thugs who beat = him up,=20 believing that he has more kinship with them -- his = obvious=20 enemies -- than us because he, like them, is=20 anti-American.

Dead or alive
- Britain opposes=20 the death penalty for bin Laden. Can't disagree, I'm = afraid.=20

. .=20 .

Saturday, December 08, 2001 - Link=20

Beaten
- Brit = journalist = Robert=20 Fisk is beaten by Afghan refugees in Pakistan, his = life saved=20 when a Muslim cleric intervened. Even in pain, he finds = the=20 politically correct angle, saying that the refugees came = from a=20 village that had been bombed by Americans. "It doesn't = excuse them=20 for beating me up, but there was a real reason why they = should=20 hate Westerners."

Celebration in sermons in=20 Kandahar
- The Washington=20 Post reports today on a sermon by a Mullah in Kandahar = who=20 attacks the Taliban and Mullah Omar: "As the Taliban = militia=20 surrendered its last stronghold in Afghanistan today, few = people=20 here in the capital mourned the demise of the radical = Islamic=20 movement whose five-year rule brought them little but = poverty,=20 isolation and fear. Instead, a moderate Islamic cleric = delivered a=20 fiery, sarcastic eulogy to the Taliban era as several = thousand=20 worshipers overflowed his mosque. Mullah Abdul Rauf = blasted=20 Taliban rule as oppressive and narrow-minded, saying it = had=20 humiliated people and dwelt on the ritual of Islam rather = than its=20 spirit." Said one worshiper: "The Taliban tried to = re-spread Islam=20 in a country that had been Muslim for hundreds of years. = Nobody=20 wanted to pray by force, but you can see there are several = thousand people in this mosque today. Now we are free, and = we come=20 here to pray of our own will."

The big = bang
-Debka speculates that = bin Laden=20 is stoking up for his big bang:=20

Osama bin Laden has packed his entire family out of=20 Afghanistan - wives, sons and daughters - and their = wives,=20 husbands and offspring. Roughly 10 days ago, = DEBKAfile=92s=20 intelligence sources reveal, he transferred them to a = prepared,=20 well-guarded location in West Pakistan, leaving himself=20 unencumbered in his Afghan hideout.
Those sources = interpret=20 this step as supporting the volume of credible evidence = of a=20 major terrorist strike in the offing, which has prompted = heightened terror alerts in the United States, Israel = and the=20 United Kingdom in the last three days.
Target dates = range=20 variously from December 12 and the Christmas period = (December=20 23-26) to the first half of January....
American = intelligence=20 sources postulate simultaneous strikes in New York = and/or a=20 second big US city, plus London and/or Tel Aviv and = another=20 Israeli town.

How the world affects Bianca Jagger
- A = wholly=20 obnoxious anti-American piece in the Guardian by Bianca = Jagger --=20 as if there is any reason to listen to a person whose sole = claim=20 to celebrity is her marriage. After telling us about her = life --=20 because we should care -- she catalogues all our sins in = South=20 America -- our sponsorship of terrorism there -- and her = brave=20 resistance. All this so she can attack us for waging = "all-out war=20 on the people of Afghanistan." Hey, you clueless has-been=20 ex-relative of an aging star, wise up. Look at the scenes = of=20 people in Kandahar celebrating=20 our ouster of the Taliban today. This was a nation under = the thumb=20 of religious despots, a nation suffering under constant = war and=20 starvation until bin Laden did them the favor of raising = our ire=20 and bringing us in to finally end this war and tyranny in = three=20 short months. Why does anyone listen to=20 celebrities?

Counting blessings
- The = official=20 death toll from 9/11 is coming down to 3,000; of course, = one is=20 one too many. But it's also good to look at the survivor = count and not lose sight of the thousands of miracles = that=20 day, thanks in great measure to many of the heroes who = died=20 getting people out of those buildings:=20

Many officials say the loss of life would have been = many=20 times higher if not for three factors: the timing of the = attack,=20 before the buildings had filled to their usual workday = peak;=20 emergency-evacuation improvements prompted by the 1993 = terrorist=20 bombing of the trade center; and the urgent reaction of = workers,=20 many of whom had been through the earlier attack. On = Sept. 11,=20 perhaps 18,000 people by one estimate evacuated the two=20 110-story towers in less than two hours. "It looks like = maybe 90=20 percent of the people in the buildings survived that = day. It's=20 amazing," said Alan Reiss, the trade center's former = director.=20

Add to that the people in the neighboring buildings and = on the=20 street in the trains underneath (I was among the latter = two=20 groups). Countless thousands were saved that=20 day.

Attention quagmirists
- Enjoy this = from the=20 Guardian=20 with backhanded compliments for the "easy victories" in=20 Afghanistan.=20

The contrast with the military situation in early = November=20 could not be more striking. Then, the Afghan militia and = its=20 allies - the mainly foreign fighters of Osama bin = Laden's=20 al-Qaida organisation - gave every appearance of being = undaunted=20 by a month of heavy bombing.
Critics in London and=20 Washington, most pointedly inside the Pentagon itself, = were=20 sniping at the operational commander, General Tommy = Franks. He=20 was too stolid, his reliance on air power outdated, the = mostly=20 anonymous critics said.
Those voices have now fallen = quiet.=20 Caution and bombs seem to have worked. There could be = bloody=20 ambushes in the mountains in the coming weeks, but the = four US=20 casualties so far have come from accidents, a prison = riot and=20 friendly fire. As in Kosovo two years ago, the bodybag = syndrome=20 feared by US military planners and politicians since = Vietnam has=20 been avoided.
The ease of the battlefield successes = so far=20 will undoubtedly stoke enthusiasm for future military=20 ventures...

An editorial=20 in the Guardian also swallows hard on a compliment: "The = US-led=20 campaign in Afghanistan continues to be far more = successful than=20 the pessimists, and even most optimists, ever thought = possible. It=20 is always harder to act than not to act, but the action = taken by=20 the US has been largely vindicated, at least in the short=20 term."

Bring back wooden type
- You = know=20 you're addicted to this damned technology thing when it = doesn't=20 work. Layne and Welch were down but they're back up now. = Go to Layne for a plethora = of posts=20 that came out of him like a good, satisfying sneeze when = his=20 connection came back up. And now I can link to the post I=20 mentioned yesterday on Welch=20 -- a reminder that Democrats bear some blame for the = Ashcroft=20 monster: "The only reason John Ashcroft is Attorney = General is=20 that the Democratic Party did not have the cojones = to=20 challenge his nomination."

. .=20 .

Friday, December 07, 2001 - Link=20

Can the Mullah get the cell = next to=20 the blind cleric?
- The=20 Times of London reports that Mullah Omar is being held = captive=20 in a "friendly environment." More on the religious despot = from the=20 Times:=20 "The devout son of an impoverished farmer from southwest=20 Afghanistan, he had no experience of politics, little = education,=20 no understanding of international affairs and a medieval = view of=20 religion."

Ashcroft: as scary as...
- I = admit I=20 was practicing political cognitive dissonance when it came = to=20 civil rights and the war. I wanted us to get the f'ers = and, yes, I=20 was willing to throw out a few pages of the = Constitution... for=20 now. I was willing, that is, until I heard John Ashcroft = before=20 Congress and was reminded of just how frightening -- just = how much=20 of a fundamentalist -- this guy is. Now I am scared. We're = heading=20 toward the old absolute-power-corrupts-absolutely = equation;=20 Ashcroft (with Boss Bush et al right behind him) are = getting too=20 cocky, too power-mad, too dismissive of what we like to = call=20 democracy. I won't argue with their need to push limits to = protect=20 us. I won't argue with temporary suspension of some rights = toward=20 that end. But I cannot stand to see the paternalistic = Ashcroft and=20 dogmatic, inflexible Bush returning to the scene, acting = as if=20 they don't need our approval but we need theirs. It's the = other=20 way around, guys; Bush has had a problem understanding = this ever=20 since he lost/won the election in Florida. True, we gave = him=20 license, lost of license, since 9/11. But he's letting = Ashcroft=20 blow it for him. I'd link to Welch or Layne, who had = something=20 very smart to say about this today, but it appears both = their=20 sites are down. Later.

Today is V.A. = Day!
- The=20 = Telegraph's=20 editorial on victory in Afghanistan:

The decision by the Taliban to surrender Kandahar, = its last=20 stronghold, is a tremendous vindication of American = political=20 will and military strength.
Within three months of = the=20 suicide hijackings on September 11, the United States = has=20 brought a regime on the other side of the world to its = knees.=20 George Bush has shown that he can strike against the = sponsors of=20 terrorism at will.
As for the terrorists themselves, = the=20 fate of Osama bin Laden and his al-Qa'eda network, now = shorn of=20 their Taliban protection, is telling testimony to the = cost of=20 attacking the one remaining superpower.

Nuremberg, here we come
- We're already in a = muddle=20 about the fate of Mullah Omar. The head of the interim = government=20 said with his first official breath that the one-eyed,=20 addle-brained, terrorist, sicko religious freak would get = safe=20 passage home. Then, on NPR tonight, he said that Omar = would have=20 to renounce terrorism -- but he wouldn't say what he'd do = if Omar=20 wouldn't comply. Meanwhile, Washington=20 says no deal, he has to face trial -- but that could = be in an=20 Afghan court. Put him on trial somewhere, just bring him = to=20 justice, for his crimes against his own people and = us.
- And=20 speaking of bozos who need to face a jury: Johnny=20 The Rat Traitor Superdoofus Walker refused to = cooperate with=20 Hero CIA Agent Mike Spann shortly before his death. The Newsweek = story=20 about a videotape taken of Walker is amazing. Spann and = the other=20 CIA agent, "Dave," try again and again to get Walker to = talk to=20 them but the traitor does not.=20

Spann [to Dave]: I explained to him what the deal=20 is.
Spann [to Walker]: It=92s up to you.
Dave [to = Spann]:=20 The problem is, he=92s got to decide if he wants to live = or die.=20 If he wants to die, he=92s going to die here. Or he=92s = going to=20 f=97cking spend the rest of his short f=97cking life in = prison. It=92s=20 his decision, man. We can only help the guys who want to = talk to=20 us. We can only get the Red Cross to help so many guys.=20

We did see the Pope using the Internet, didn't = we?
-=20 One of the great things about having a blog is looking at = the=20 stats and seeing where people come from. Former pacifist = that I=20 am, I'm amused to see readers from the various military = branches.=20 I'm flattered to see the Senate. I'm gratified to see = loyal reader=20 from Sweden and Petsmart, too. But the best yesterday: the = Vatican.

Speaking of God...
- The mother = superior=20 of the blog with the best name in Blogdom, Relapsed=20 Catholic, had to take a few days off, so she pointed = to what=20 we in the old media world would call her competitors and = thus I=20 discovered another religion blog of which I have become a = fast=20 fan: Holy = Weblog! I like=20 religion with attitude. Sample posts:

Sigh. You never call. You never write. = Ananova: "A=20 charity phone line which helps people join the Pope in = prayer=20 has only attracted six calls in two months."
What = would=20 Jesus pierce? The Boston Globe examines the harder = edge of=20 Christian music: "In the world of religious rock, circa = 2001,=20 giving praise and wreaking havoc seem indistinguishable, = and=20 love of Jesus and love of tongue studs peacefully = coexist."=20

. .=20 .

Thursday, December 06, 2001 - Link=20

Friday is VA = day...
- The=20 Taliban confirms that they are going to surrender the last = stronghold Frid= ay.=20 Mullah Omar et al are supposedly going to be given safe = passage=20 home; Rumsfeld et al won't go for that. But that pretty = much mops=20 up that part of the war: Victory in Afghanistan. But just = like=20 World War II, this World War III is being fought on many = fronts=20 and there are other victories ahead: First, bin Laden at = Tora=20 Bora.
- Our pal, Tony=20 Blair: "Think back three months and you had a regime = in=20 Afghanistan that was one of the most brutal anywhere and = was=20 funding literally and training thousands of terrorists... = It seems=20 that the final collapse of the Taliban is now upon us." =
- They=20 planned suicide attacks in Australia,=20 the UK, and India.
- Abandoned terrorist haunt = shows=20 evidence of an Indian hijacking. Says the NY=20 TImes: "Its presence here suggests why a Taliban-run=20 Afghanistan was of such strategic importance to Pakistan = over many=20 years: the country provided a haven for Islamic militants = who=20 could later be deployed to fight Indian rule of mainly = Muslim=20 Kashmir. Successive Pakistani governments have attached = great=20 importance to this campaign."
- More accusations = between India=20 and Pakistan on bin-Laden-affiliated terrorism, this time = the Pak= istanis=20 capturing alledged terrorists and saying that India is = helping=20 them.

A post-Arafat Palestine
- Debka says that Israel = and Arab=20 countries and the U.S. are already looking at a = post-Arafat world:=20

Eight years after US President Clinton engineered the = Oslo=20 Peace Framework Accord installing the exiled Palestinian = leader=20 Yasser Arafat in the West Bank and Gaza Strip with=20 self-determination for his people, George W. Bush has = taken the=20 lead in the effort to end his reign.
The Palestinian = may try=20 last-resort maneuvers, but he cannot escape the joint=20 American-Israel sword poised over his head. Neither can = he hope=20 for any world leader to reach out and rescue him. = Israeli=20 foreign minister Shimon Peres and his dwindling pro-Oslo = adherents may try, but they will do so in isolation. =
In the=20 diplomatic flurry surrounding this terminal process, = Israeli=20 prime minister Ariel Sharon sent a secret envoy to Cairo = Wednesday night with a personal message to Egyptian = President=20 Hosni Mubarak. The response was immediate: Egyptian = foreign=20 minister Ali Maher was dispatched to Jerusalem Thursday = for=20 urgent talks with the Israeli prime minister. Maher, = after=20 meeting foreign minister Shimon Peres, is to call on = Arafat in=20 Ramallah and goes on to Amman for talks with King = Abdullah.=20
DEBKAfile=92s political sources reveal that = Sharon=92s messenger=20 was Mossad head Ephraim Halevy. Our sources add: Both = the=20 Egyptian and Jordanian rulers, appreciating that = Arafat=92s days=20 as an effective leader are numbered, have moved forward = to=20 deliberations with Israel on the post-Arafat=20 order.

- Is= rael=20 gives Arafat 12 hours to start arresting 36 terrorist=20 suspects.

A post-OPEC world
- Jane's=20 says that Opec is sputtering: "How odd that a global = political=20 crisis and a war in one of the world=92s most unstable = regions would=20 drive oil prices down. But that=92s precisely what has = happened....=20 The full extent of the strategic shift in Russian-American = relations, and the potential economic benefits to both = sides, are=20 now becoming clear."

If this had been an actual=20 emergency...
- So two friends and I freaked a = fourth friend=20 yesterday as we talked about our plans if bin Laden set = off a radioactive=20 bomb in New York. For me it's the same as the smallpox = plan:=20 Canada, here we come. Even if it's just a low-grade bomb = that=20 scatters radioactive dust around Manhattan (contaminating = it,=20 what, forever?), who knows which way the wind blows. So = the family=20 should get in one car from the 'burbs and drive north and = west=20 quickly. I'll be stuck in New York and probably won't be = able to=20 get out, but I'll catch up as soon as I can. Can you = believe that=20 four adults are sitting around talking about this? Such is = life=20 under high, higher, highest alert.

Brother, can = you=20 spare a link?
- Matt Welch extends a challen= ge=20 to me. He asks everyone else to put tips in his guitar = case. Just=20 because I have a job with a business card and a suit, he = goads me=20 to come up with some venture capital for some sort of new=20 blog-inspired media. Sadly, in this world, all the = capital's=20 ventured (nothing gained). But Welch is right about there = being=20 the germ of something terribly new for media in the world = of blogs=20 and I have been coming up with a few harebrained schemes. = More=20 over beers....

You think your job is = tough
- Try=20 being the interim=20 head of the Afghan government.
- Guardian Q&A=20 on the Bonn Afghan government deal.

Pictures=20 worth...
- National=20 Geographic reporting, photography, and maps.
- A = very good=20 Dallas News photo=20 essay [via Bushwacker].=20
. .=20 .

Wednesday, December 05, 2001 - Link=20

Praise God and pass your = headsets=20 to the aisle
- Airport chapels are seeing a boom: = "Business=20 travelers in the habit of making a beeline for the = cocktail bar=20 closest to their departure gate now may be more likely to = seek=20 spiritual refreshment in the airport chapel. Stressed-out, = often=20 sleep-deprived travelers are generally more vulnerable to=20 'anticipatory anxiety' in the times after September 11 = that=20 psychologists have labeled 'the new normalcy.' Indeed, = since the=20 destruction of New York's World Trade Center claimed = victims from=20 86 nations around the world, a new lexicon of psych-speak = has=20 intruded into our daily lives. Another term gaining = currency, they=20 say, is 'the God factor.' 'I've noticed a considerable = increase in=20 the number of people looking for the chapel and coming in = to say a=20 prayer. I'd say it's almost double,' said Father James = Devine, of=20 Our Lady of the Skies, the Catholic chapel inside New York = JFK=20 International Airport's Terminal 4. 'I've seen business = travelers=20 here. I've talked to them after the service and they've=20 appreciated the opportunity to say a prayer before they = fly out.'=20 " [Reuters via Orbitz=20 [via Holy Web = Log via=20 Relapsed=20 Catholic]

Tabloid heaven
- New York = Post=20 headline today on the Superdoofus, traitor John Walker: " = ' Poor=20 Fellow' or traitor? Looks like a rat. Talks like a rat. = Smells=20 like a rat. Hides like a rat. IT IS A RAT"

Nuke=20 101
- The=20 ABCs of building a dirty radioactive bomb, from the = Washington=20 Post.

He's our dork-in-chief, damnit
- = Grumpster=20 Michael=20 Wolff in New York takes on his own gut reaction to = Bush: "To=20 get the willies from George W. Bush, to distrust the man, = to have=20 your stomach roll a bit when you hear him speak, is to = feel like=20 the most churlish and sullen of adolescents. He's the = unappealing=20 uncle -- with his cold eye on you -- whose house you're = stuck at=20 this holiday season. While you're trying to shut out his=20 existence, everybody else is sucking up to him. If you = knew it was=20 just pretend, just a holiday bit -- everybody being phony = and=20 polite -- you could handle it; the problem is in thinking = that all=20 this affability, this undisaffected appreciation for the = guy, is=20 honest feeling on everyone else's part. What if 85 percent = of the=20 American people actually, deep in their hearts, approve of = him --=20 dig him? What does that say about you and where you fit = in?" OK, I=20 don't disagree. Bush is a dork. He's a dork who grins=20 inappropriately and repeats himself too much. But he's our = dork,=20 damnit. He is the dork-in-chief. I amaze myself with my = ability to=20 ignore his dorkiness. That is wartime; he's the boss. The = truth is=20 that I'm refreshed with the relative lack of politics and=20 personality in war; we have a goal and we're going to get = there=20 together. America today feels like an Internet startup = back in the=20 go-go days: all teamwork and goal-orientation and oomph. = It's=20 about winning, no matter who's in charge.

Bigger = than=20 IT
- This may seem off-topic but it really is an=20 illustration of what makes America great. The other day, I = ended=20 up wandering in the Newport Mall in Jersey City (aka = Terror=20 Town!), NJ, a lower demographic shopping experience, and I = came=20 across a new operation that makes me want to give up my = dreams of=20 getting a Jerky = Hut=20 franchise. It's called Aqua=20 Massage and it looks like a cross between a tanning = bed and an=20 iron lung: You lie down, face down, clothed, and water = jets=20 massage you through a thick plastic that covers you and = keeps you=20 dry and all the while, people stand there in the mall = gawking at=20 you -- $7 for 5 minutes and the units are working full = time. Two=20 people are making a decent living off this; the people in = the=20 machines are enjoying some sort of bliss; the mall rats = are=20 entertained; America is great. This is capitalism; this is = choice;=20 this is about creating good fortune out of mere = inventiveness;=20 this is what makes us great. Meanwhile, the Taliban sits = in caves.=20

Kinda evil
- Franklin Graham backpedals=20 on his assertion that Islam is evil.

. .=20 .

Tuesday, December 04, 2001 - Link=20

The eternal flame
- = The fire=20 at the World Trade Center is still = burning almost three months after the attack, reports = New=20 Scientist. Before it is finally extinguished, I humbly = suggest=20 that the city capture it for an eternal flame in the = memorial.=20

Nuclear mules
- Debka says there's = further=20 evidence that bin Laden is smuggling radioactive materials = into=20 the U.S. It says that the Pakistani who died in U.S. = custody in=20 Hudson County, NJ -- my backyard -- had the symptoms of = radiation=20 poisoning, leading them to theorize that he was bringing = nukes=20 into the U.S.:

In the first week of October, a Pakistani arrested on = immigration charges in the course of the FBI = investigation into=20 the September 11 suicide attacks, complained of bleeding = gums=20 and pain, symptoms of gingivitis. He was treated with=20 antibiotics, but was found dead in his cell in Hudson = Count jail=20 in Kearny, New Jersey, three weeks later.
The cause = of death=20 was not released, any more than the dead man=92s = identity.=20
DEBKA-Net-Weekly=92s medical experts note that the = bleeding=20 gums the anonymous Pakistani was treated for are a = symptom of=20 radiation poisoning, suggesting he might have been a = =93mule=94=20 transporting nuclear materials or devices into America. = (A=20 subsequent investigation revealed that he had contracted = gingivitis as a result of radiation-induced = leukemia.)
This=20 explanation would imply that more than one such carrier = is=20 employed by al Qaeda to smuggle nuclear materials or = devices=20 into the United States, Western Europe and the Middle = East,=20 their mission being to plant their deadly burdens in=20 pre-arranged secret locations, ready for activation.=20

Whatever happened to that dork in high = school
- The=20 tale the American-turned-Taliban is just too amazing. = Superdoofus.=20 The Newsweek=20 story ... NY=20 Times: "John Walker Lindh's parents knew he was a = different=20 sort of boy" ... SF=20 Chronicle (boy, is this a San Francisco kinda story) = ... The=20 father is on Today this morning. "I saw John as having = opinions I=20 didn' t agree with but I never saw John as being a = terrorist....=20 John is a very good-natured kid... John's a very peaceful = boy...."=20 ...who should have been in therapy long ago.
- Three=20 traitors so far.
- More scary pictures of the = Superdoofus from=20 the Sun.=

High,=20 higher, highest
- So Ridge puts us on high=20 alert. Weren't we already there? Or did we need to be = reminded=20 to be scared again? Want more motivation? The Washington = Post says=20 bin Laden made greater strides in getting nukes=20 than previously thought.... And the U.S. now admits that = thousands= =20 of letters may be tinged with anthrax.
- More smart = words=20 from Andrew = Sullivan:=20 "I=92m grateful to the Post for this story not least = because I=20 notice in myself =96 and all around me =96 an unnerving = sense that the=20 war is somehow over. People aren=92t talking about it in = the same=20 earnest and desperate way they were before. I guess we = knew this=20 would happen =96 but it=92s surely a mistake. We=92re = barely three=20 months away from the massacre, and growing psychologically = complacent. I=92m not say we should stay afraid = indefinitely =96 just=20 that it=92s good to have a reminder that we still have = something to=20 be very afraid of."

Next...
- The Times = of London=20 says Blair is softening his opposition to attacking Iraq.

Life=20 returns to normal
- And there are reports this = morning that=20 police raid= ed=20 O.J. Simpson's home. Howard Stern is in heaven. Later=20 news: part of an investigation into ecstasy sales, = theft of=20 satellite TV service, and money laundering.=20 Superduperdoofus.

. .=20 .

Monday, December 03, 2001 - Link=20

Who wants to be an Afghan=20 murderer?
The tale=20 of the Canadian programmer-turned-would-be-journalist = captured by=20 the Taliban: "The Taliban commander put several names on = scraps of=20 paper and dropped them into a hat. 'Pick one', he told Ken = Hechtman, a Canadian journalist who had just been detained = inside=20 Afghanistan as a suspected spy. 'What's the prize?' the = journalist=20 asked. 'The winner gets to shoot you. Let's get started', = the=20 commander replied."

War of terror
Sh= aron's=20 statement to the Israeli people:

Citizens of Israel, we have fought many wars - and we = have=20 won them all. We have defeated our enemies, and we have = made=20 peace. We have held the sword, and made the wilderness = and=20 desert bloom. We have built cities, developed industry, = and=20 cultivated agriculture; we have transformed the State of = Israel=20 into an example and symbol for many other countries in = the=20 world.
We continue this enterprise every day, we = will not=20 cease - never! A war has been forced upon us. A war of = terror. A=20 war that claims innocent victims daily. A war of terror = being=20 conducted systematically, in an organized fashion, and = with=20 methodical direction.
If you ask what the aim of = this war=20 is, I will tell you. The aim of this war of terror, the = aim of=20 the terrorists, their aides and dispatchers, the aim of = those=20 who enable them to perpetrate their acts quietly without = disturbance, is to expel us from here. Their aim is to = bring us=20 to total despair, a loss of hope, and a loss of the = national=20 vision which leads us - "a free people in our land, the = land of=20 Zion and Jerusalem."
Citizens of Israel, this will = not=20 happen!... Just as the United States is conducting its = war=20 against international terror, using all its might = against=20 terror, so too will = we.

IT
It=20 is what makes America great. We create. =

VoxPop
-=20 I have been reading the instant AOL book Because We Are = Americans, with quotes taken from AOL message boards = following=20 the attacks of 9/11. There's something new and important = about=20 this book: It is not written by an author, pundit, = journalist,=20 columnist, editor, publisher, or even weblogger. It is = written by=20 the people. These are the postings of citizens online. = And, of=20 course, there are some inspid ones: "I propose that each = of us=20 commit to doing one random act of kindness each day in = honor of=20 someone who died on September 11." That is the price of = populism.=20 But that is far outweighed by the sincere, often smart = sentiments=20 -- yes, shamelessly, sentiments -- of we the people. A = post from a=20 daughter about her father:=20

Eight years ago, I was faced with a tragedy I thought = for=20 sure I would never see again. My father, a fireman, was = at the=20 first WTC bombing doing what he loved, saving peoples = lives. He=20 came home about 20 pounds lighter but in one = piece.
On=20 Tuesday morning it started all over. My father -- still = a=20 fireman -- and my brother, an EMT, were some of the = first on the=20 scene.
Daddy pulled a woman out of a burning car, = turned=20 around to his truck, and the WTC fell on his head. I am = a lucky=20 one. He is alive, and will heal.
My father fought in = war,=20 saved a man from an explosion some 30 years ago = (suffering=20 severe burns), and did countless other heroic things = just by=20 being a fireman. My father will take a long time to = heal, but he=20 has no plans of retirement.
I am my father's = princess, and he=20 will always be my hero -- and now he is yours,=20 too.

Whither Arafat
- This morning Andrew = Sullivan has, as=20 usual, a cogent analysis of the situation in the Middle = East:

THE END OF ARAFAT?: We=92re in an end-game here, = aren=92t we?=20 However you feel about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, = it=20 seems clear to me that Yassir Arafat is perilously close = to=20 being irrelevant. He can=92t deliver peace, as we found = out at=20 Camp David. He can=92t deliver even a semblance of order = in the=20 Palestinian territories, let alone Israel. So what use = is he as=20 an interlocutor or even protagonist in the bloody = conflict? This=20 piece in the Washington Post is as gloomy as it is = hard-headed.=20 Even Colin Powell is apparently refusing to lecture the = Israelis=20 on what they should do next. Here=92s my prediction: a = brutal=20 finale that re-establishes some semblance of order in = Israel and=20 on the West Bank at the cost of even greater Palestinian = bitterness and further conflict. Who=92s responsible? = Ultimately=20 the majority of Palestinians who still cannot reconcile=20 themselves to a viable Zionist entity in Palestine. = They=92d=20 rather suffer and die and be pummeled than concede = Israel=92s=20 right to exist. The tragedy is ultimately=20 theirs=92.

. .=20 .

Sunday, December 02, 2001 - Link=20

'News'
- I don't = believe it=20 -- given the third-hand source of the story -- but the Frontier=20 Post in Pakistan says 65 U.S. Marines have been killed = by=20 Taliban suicide bombers.
- Reported breakthrough=20 in Bonn talks: An aide to the king as prime minister.
- = Scumsucking loon: Bobby Fischer, chess nerd, applauds=20 9/11 attacks on us. [via Rotten]

Bleep of=20 the year
- In our little meaningless poll (to the = right),=20 Rudy Guiliani is winning as person of the year. The Guardian=20 reports on the deliberation going on inside Time and the = story=20 argues it will be as hard not to pick bin Laden as it is = hard to=20 pick him. "But a Time reporter put the magazine's dilemma = starkly:=20 'To call bin Laden Person of the Year devalues the word = "person".=20 We would need to have a separate "m*****f***** of the = year"=20 category - I think the staff would buy into that.'=20 "

Civilian rights
- The Guardian has = started a=20 special section -- Libertywatch --=20 worrying about the civil rights they fear are being = trampled,=20 squashed, pancaked, and stomped upon in this war. In a = long and=20 thoughtful piece, Columbia Prof. Patricia Williams catalogues=20 the concerns:

...the disregard for international treaties and = conventions;=20 strict controls on media reports about the war; secret=20 surveillance and searches of citizens* computers; = widespread=20 ethnic profiling; indefinite detention of non-citizens; = offers=20 of expedited American citizenship to those who provide = evidence=20 about terrorists; and military tribunals with the power = to try=20 enemies in secret, without application of the usual laws = of=20 evidence, without right of appeal, yet with the ability = to=20 impose the death penalty. Opportunity for legislative or = other=20 public discussion of these measures has been largely = eclipsed by=20 the rapidity with which most of them have been pushed = into=20 effect.

She proceeds to call this "one of the more dramatic=20 Constitutional crises in United States history." But we = also face=20 one of the more dramatic military threats on our homefront = in=20 United States history. I am sure I will regret not being = more=20 worried about what's happening to civil rights now -- but = I know=20 that it is because I am much more worried about the = military=20 threat. The professor goes on to caution:

It is worrisome, too, when the highest prosecutor in = the land=20 declares that war criminals do not "deserve" basic=20 constitutional protections. We confer due process not = because=20 putative criminals are "deserving" recipients of=20 rights-as-reward. Rights are not "earned" in this way. = What=20 makes rights rights is that they ritualize the = importance of=20 solid, impartial and public consensus before we take = life or=20 liberty from anyone, particularly those whom we fear. We = ritualize this process to make sure we don't allow the = grief of=20 great tragedies to blind us with mob fury, inflamed = judgments=20 and uninformed reasoning.

When it comes to permanently changing our deliberative, = ritualized way of civil rights, she is quite right. That = should=20 not be done hastily. But at the same time, when it comes = to=20 protecting us from obvious threat, this must be done with = haste.=20 So where is the balance? In timing. The answer, I believe, = is to=20 make sure that these changes are temporary, exercisable in = a state=20 of war and to counter acts of war. The test is to make = sure that=20 we do what we do not out of revenge but out of protection. = I=20 headlined an earlier post on this topic, "Civil rights? = Maybe=20 later." And Thomas Nephew quite properly scolded=20 me for including the word "maybe." He's right. There's no = maybe=20 about our precious civil rights; I concede that to the=20 libertywatchers. But right now, there has to be a = later.
- The=20 NY=20 Times' take:

The inconvenient thing about the American system of = justice=20 is that we are usually challenged to protect it at the = most=20 inopportune moments. Right now the country wants very = much to be=20 supportive of the war on terrorism, and is finding it = hard to=20 summon up much outrage over military tribunals, secret=20 detentions or the possible mistreatment of immigrants = from the=20 Mideast. There is a strong temptation not to notice. = That makes=20 it even more important to speak up.

Terror in Israel
- The Independent: "Even by = the=20 calculatedly bloodsoaked standards of the Middle East, = last=20 night's attacks in Jerusalem were callously planned to = cause=20 maximum loss of life."

Remote-control = war
- The=20 Washington Post argues that we're fighting a new kind of = war --=20 with drone spies, precision bombs and missiles, remote = control,=20 and the ability to fight at long-range: war fought with a = mouse.=20 And that this alters the equation when calculating whether = to go=20 to war:=20

In terms of foreign policy, the shift could have a = subtly=20 belligerent effect. Some analysts worry that the new = American=20 capabilities, by minimizing the casualties suffered not = only by=20 the U.S. military but also by civilians in the war zone, = have=20 lowered the bar for the use of force, making the = military option=20 seductively easy for policymakers to select.
But = those=20 conclusions are hugely controversial. In a unusual joint = interview, the chiefs of the Air Force and Navy rejected = the=20 notion that the apparent success of the Afghan war = amounted to a=20 prescription for military reform, arguing that every = conflict is=20 different.

True enough. But I do not think this leads to an era of = Easy=20 War. War is still war. It is not something a civilized = society (as=20 opposed to a bin Laden) ever enters into willingly. And = that=20 factor is amplifed with the new world order. Now we are = the only=20 superpower and that brings not only obligations, as = supercop, it=20 also puts a target right onto us -- each of us -- and with = all=20 that it brings new diplomatic and public-relations and = thus=20 strategic complications. In that sense, war is more = difficult.=20 Remote-control war looks easy. But politically correct war = is=20 hard.

- The=20 Muslim revolt that never came: The Muslim Times argues = that=20 support for bin Laden and the Taleban was minimal in the = Muslim=20 world. I'm not sure how cynical I should be: Was this the = opinion=20 before the Taliban's defeat as well? The Times argues: = "The=20 reasons are that, in effect, most Arab and Muslim = governments =96=20 with the possible exception of Sudan - would very much = like to see=20 the Islamist threat disappear, just as much as the West = would,=20 because it threatens their security as much as anyone = else's. The=20 reason much of the Islamic and Arab world remained so = quiet in the=20 weeks of intense bombing of Taliban and Al Qaeda positions = in=20 Afghanistan is because not only the leadership, but the = vast=20 majority of the people in those countries realize that the = extremism of the Taliban is not for them, no matter how = corrupt=20 their own leaders might be."

. .=20 .

Saturday, December 01, 2001 - Link=20

Evil stinks
- = They're going=20 to use a special sensor that can smell bin Laden in his = cave, says=20 the Times=20 of London:=20

The sensor is said to be so sensitive that it can=20 =93distinguish between the smells of different ethnic = groups=20 caused by the different foods they eat=94, according to = John=20 Shroder, a professor of geology at Nebraska University = and a=20 leading expert on the Afghan mountains.
Shroder has = advised=20 the Americans on Bin Laden=92s likely location, judging = by the=20 mountain background to one of the Al-Qaeda leader=92s = propaganda=20 videos.
The remote-sensing gas detection device is = part of=20 the array of technology being employed in the hunt for = Bin=20 Laden. Other equipment includes airborne gravimeters = that can=20 locate tunnels by small variations in the Earth=92s = gravitational=20 pull around them, and infrared heat sensors that pick up = movement around the entrances of caves.
Once a = target area=20 has been identified by air reconnaissance, ground troops = can=20 plant microphones to detect noises below. They can also = push=20 miniature cameras into ventilation shafts to watch the = insides=20 of caves before mounting an attack; or they can lower = foot-high=20 remote-controlled buggies with searchlights and cameras = into=20 tunnels.

- At least six dead, 160 wounded in su= icide=20 bombing in Israeli pedestrian mall. Enough, damnit, = enough.=20

- Brit SAS troops to lead assault on Tora=20 Bora.

Waging politically correct = war
- David=20 Aaronovitch illustrates the difficulty of waging the=20 politically correct war, following the ruckus over the = prison=20 battle: "So, as of this week, we have become war = criminals. Events=20 at the Qalai Janghi fort, in northern Afghanistan, are to = be set=20 alongside the Srebrenica massacre or My Lai. And those in = any way=20 implicated =96 the Northern Alliance, the SAS, the United = States Air=20 Force =96 are to be compared with Ratko Mladic and = Lieutenant=20 Calley. All this without an enquiry. Some people emit = outrage like=20 elephants' piss. The sheer quantity of it soon covers the=20 psychological landscape." There are complaints that the = other side=20 was outgunned -- as if war is fair. "The ex-prisoners had = the fort=20 and a lot of weapons, their enemies had tanks, American = planes and=20 SAS spotters. As a reporter in [one] paper commented: 'The = fighters had wanted martyrdom, and, after a four-day = battle,=20 almost all of them had got it.' At which point, allow me = to void=20 my own elephant's bladder a little by pointing out that = their=20 choice was far greater than that of the victims of 11 = September,=20 who looked back at the flames in the World Trade Centre, = and then=20 decided to fall to their deaths." Amen. And then he plays = the WWII=20 card effectively: "Even so what, so far, we know of Qalai = Janghi=20 does not sound like a war crime. Had, in 1944, a chateau = full of=20 captured SS men killed their captors and then holed up = inside=20 shooting at anything that moved, I doubt whether anyone = now would=20 have called their extinction a 'war crime.' " [via Ti= me's=20 weblog]
- Time's ho= ur-by-hour=20 version of events at the prison.

- The Wa= shington=20 Post says it: Gunga Dan is back. Rather has returned = to=20 Afghanistan. Rath= er's=20 report.

- Ken=20 Layne votes in the unscientific, meaningless Person of = the=20 Year poll: "I voted for filthy bin Laden, because he = started all=20 this horror (Sontag, start your engines). Rudy is great, = Bush has=20 done all right, and the people who stormed the cockpit of = Flight=20 93 were True Heroes -- as were the firefighters, cops, = paramedics,=20 military, rescue teams and random volunteers who either = died or=20 risked their lives at the WTC and Pentagon. But Sammy bin = Laden,=20 he's the man. He's the Target. Why? Because he was the = Very=20 Annoying Alarm Clock. We learned some rotten stuff on = Sept. 11.=20 Those nuts were serious...."

- And Layne,=20 again, on the UN Afghan talks: "Don't want to be rude, but = can the=20 United Nations solve anything? I mean, I'm glad the body = exists,=20 but what exactly can it do? I would be far happier with a=20 U.S./U.K. handling of this meeting. Would like to see a = Rumsfeld=20 saying: 'Get it together, and remember why you have the = chance.' "=20 Couldn't've said it better myself.
- Times=20 of London: "Talks in jeopardy as goodwill = evaporates"

. .=20 .

Archives:
09/02<= /A>=20 ... 08/02<= /A>=20 ... 07/02<= /A>=20 ... 06/02<= /A>=20 ... 05/02<= /A>=20 ... 04/02<= /A>=20 ... 03/02<= /A>=20 ... 02/02<= /A>=20 ... 01/02<= /A>=20 ... 12/01<= /A>=20 ... 11/01<= /A>=20 ... 10/01<= /A>=20 ... 09/01<= /A>=20 ... Current = Home

:=20 HOME
: Email me
: = About=20 me

Archives:
09/02<= /A>=20 ... 08/02<= /A>=20 ... 07/02<= /A>=20 ... 06/02<= /A>=20 ... 05/02<= /A>=20 ... 04/02<= /A>=20 ... 03/02<= /A>=20 ... 02/02<= /A>=20 ... 01/02<= /A>=20 ... 12/01<= /A>=20 ... 11/01<= /A>=20 ... 10/01<= /A>=20 ... 09/01<= /A>=20 ... Current=20 Home

My=20 links
: My=20 audio narrative of Sept. 11
: My story of = Sept.=20 11
: Advance.net
:=20 Manhattan=20 SkylineCam
: Netzeitung=20 on this blog

My rants:
: It has = been a=20 year... A sermon
: Today:=20 9/11/2002
: California=20 state of mind
: The=20 age of emotions
: Six=20 months after: Today ... The Terrorists have lost if ... The = city ...=20 Senses ... The Show ... A sermon
: Four=20 months after: A suitable memorial, a proper use
: Objects
:=20 Christmas
:=20 Homeland=20 fumbling
: Fly=20 naked
: 3=20 months after: A changed man
: Land=20 of crackpots
: Fundamentalism
:=20 Fundamentalism
:=20 Jonestown=20 v. Kabul
: 8=20 weeks after: Generation 9/11
: 6=20 weeks after: Former pacifist
: WWIII
:=20 Rudy=20 for Atty. Gen.
: FBI=20 bozos
: 4=20 weeks after: Dust
: Silence=20 as strategy
: le=20 Carre
: 3=20 weeks after: phone

More good warlogs
: Matt = Welch
: Ken Layne
: Little=20 Green Footballs
: Andrew = Sullivan
:=20 Nick Denton's = Blogorama
:=20 Nick Denton's other=20 blog
: Glenn=20 Reynolds Instapundit
: Newsr= ack
:=20 Rossi Rant
: = American = Digest
: Oliver Willis
: = Tim Blair
: Eric Olsen: = Tres=20 Producers
: Dawn=20 Olsen
: Andrea=20 Harris
: Max=20 Power
: Tal G = in=20 Jerusalem
: Peter = Maass
:=20 Letter = from=20 Gotham
: John=20 Ellis
: Kottke
: Matthew = Yglesia
: Patrick = Nielsen=20 Hayden: Electrolite
: World After = WTC
: Emmanuelle = Richard
: Dawn Olsen
: = USS Clueless
: Reductio ad = Absurdum
: Kevin = Whited
: Rantburg
: = Eugene Volokh
: = Victory = Coffee
:=20 Photodude
: ReadJacobs
: Amy Langfield
: Relapsed=20 Catholic
: Holy=20 Weblog
: Inappropriate
: Blogs of = War
: Natalie = Solent
: QuasiPundit & = BlogWatch=20 II
: Blogwatch=20 2.5
: Kathy=20 Kinsley
: James = Lileks
:=20 Justin = Slotman
: Libertarian = Samizdata
:=20 Muslimpundit
: Ken Goldstein
: = Rand = Simberg
: William=20 Quick
: Damian=20 Penny
: Duncan=20 Fitzgerald
: Brian Linse = &=20 Stephanie Dupont
: Jay Zilber
: = Jeff = Goldstein
: Meg Hourihan
: Sgt. Stryker
: Will Warren = Unremitting=20 Verse
: Mac = Thomason War=20 Liberal
: Ted=20 Barlow
: AKA A.=20 Beam
: Megan=20 McArdle
: Charles = Dodgson
:=20 Amygdala
: Dane = Carlson
: Tom = Tomorrow
: Tony=20 Pierce
: Richard=20 Bennett
: Stephen Green=20 Vodkapundit
: Daniel=20 Taylor
: Asparagirl
: = Jim = Treacher
: NewsIsFree.com<= BR>:=20 Shift weblog
: = Frederik = Norman
: Blowback
: Oxblog
: John Ellis
: = Anil Dash
: Bushwacker
: = Microcontent=20 News
: Debka=20 intelligence
: Guardian
: = War rumors=20 debunked
: Terrorism=20 news
: Romenesko's = media
:=20 Woods=20 Lot
: World After=20 WTC
: Scripting = News
: Virginia=20 Postrel
: Infographics
: Metafilter
: My=20 Social Network explorer

More media
: I Want Media
: Time.com's = weblog:
: Die Zeit's=20 weblog:
: W= ashington=20 Post*
: Moreover=20 WTC feed*
: Guar= dian*
:=20 ABC=20 News*
: CBS=20 News*
: NY=20 Times*
: London=20 Times*
: Netzeitung=20 (web-only paper auf Deutsch)
: Digital = Journalist photos
: National Post = (Canada)
:=20 Globe and=20 Mail*
: BBC*
:=20 BBC=20 live
: Independent=20 (London)
: Mirror
: Evening=20 Standard
: Afghan=20 News
: ArabicNews.com
: Turkish=20 News
: CS=20 Monitor*
: Ananova
: Newsmax
: NY Post
: NY Daily News
: = Yahoo:=20 terrorism
: LA=20 Times
: NBC/MSNBC
: Fox News
: Drudge
: Rediff
: Hotline = Scoop
:=20 WSJ Opinion = Journal
: Der Spiegel = (German)
: Focus (German)
: Der=20 Standard (Austria)
: Nation=20 (Pakistan)
: Jerusalem=20 Post
: Al-Ahram=20 (Egypt)
: Gulf=20 News
: Middle = East=20 Times
: Frontier=20 Post (Pakistan)
: Pakistan=20 News
: Dawn=20 (Pakistan)
: PakNews.com
: Islam=20 Online
: Pravda
:=20 Tass
: = Jane's
: Stratfor
: Times of = India
: Ajeeb: Arabic translation = site
: New: = Columbia=20 Newsblaster
: Rotten.com
* = direct link=20 to crisis

Gov't
: Response to=20 terrorism
: Homeland=20 Security

Other side's company line
: MEMRI Arab news = translations
:=20 Cursor on Al = Jazeera
: Arab=20 News
: Iran = News
:=20 Tehran=20 Times
: Islamic = Republic=20 News
: Syria=20 Times

Photos
: Digital = Journalist
: Here Is=20 New York
: Gigantic=20 satellite photo of Ground Zero
Anthrax=20 info
: New=20 Scientist
: CDC
: JAMA=
:=20 HHS:=20 WebMD
:=20 CBS=20 Healthwatch
: Dr.=20 Koop

Store
: Former = Pacifist... Rudy Kicks... = Osama:=20 Kiss My... Proceeds to...

Charity
: Families of = Freedom=20 scholarship fund

Jeff Jarvis is former TV critic for TV = Guide and=20 People, creator of Entertainment Weekly, Sunday Editor of = the NY=20 Daily News, and a columnist on the San Francisco Examiner. = He is now=20 president & creative director of Advance.net.
This is = a=20 personal site.

View My Guestbook
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3D"Site

. . .=20 =

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