WarLog: World War III by Jeff Jarvis

From: Subject: WarLog: World War III by Jeff Jarvis Date: Wed, 18 Sep 2002 21:37:11 -0400 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/related; boundary="----=_NextPart_000_0056_01C25F5B.8C287700"; type="text/html" X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2600.0000 This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_0056_01C25F5B.8C287700 Content-Type: text/html; charset="Windows-1252" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Location: http://www.buzzmachine.com/2002_02_01_crisis_archive.html WarLog: World War III by Jeff Jarvis

WarLog: World War III

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

Thursday, February 28, 2002 - Link=20

Dragging feet
: The = NY=20 Post reports that the Towers of Light memorial has = been=20 approved by the city but now some damned bureaucrat is = dragging=20 his heels on whether the site can take the weight. Fine. = We don't=20 want the lights to sink into landfill. But rather than = whining=20 about it, he should be getting off his ass and getting the = facts=20 and making this work. This is important to to hearts of = New York=20 and the world.=20
A "Tribute of Light" memorial to World Trade = Center=20 victims got Mayor Bloomberg's blessing yesterday - but = was=20 stalled because its sponsors waited until the last = minute to get=20 clearance to use land in Battery Park City.
"I can't = expect=20 to approve something . . . I don't know . . . will = work," said=20 Tim Carey, president of the Battery Park City Authority. =
Carey said there were numerous unanswered questions = about=20 the illuminated tribute - including whether its 88 = high-wattage=20 xenon spotlights are too heavy to sit on the Hudson = River=20 landfill that makes up the proposed site.
"I have to = have=20 the hard facts first. We have to ensure the engineering = is done=20 properly so we do not cause something to . . . sink in = the=20 landfill," Carey said.
"If it's not feasible through = the=20 engineering I can't make it happen. There's a way to do = business=20 here."
If Rudy were still in charge, he = would pull=20 together the people involved, crash their heads together, = and=20 humiliate them into making this happen. Mayor Mike is too = busy=20 planning his weekend hideaways.

Wurtzel, the=20 strip
: Jim Treacher has more W= urtzel=20 comics.

They call this win-win
: BP = announced=20 it will not longer give money=20 to any politicians. So smart. Payola probably didn't = really=20 pay off efficiently anyway. You stay out of PR trouble. = And you=20 save money. You concentrate on business instead. What a=20 concept.

Words
: Nice line from the poor = head of=20 Enron, Stephen Cooper: In the NY Times= ,=20 he says regarding employees and other creditors:
After putting their time and energy into the=20 hard-charging Enron, "all of a sudden, they get = `bageled,' " as=20 he put it in a interview this week. "If it happened to = me, I'd=20 be livid."
Bageled? As in zeroed out, a reference to = a=20 bagel's shape? Or a reference to the fact that = executives got=20 Enron's dough and the employees were left with the hole? =

. .=20 .

Wednesday, February 27, 2002 - Link=20

Vote for the = spammer
: I=20 hadn't seen this yet: Political spam. I got two emails = right in a=20 row pushing Bill = Jones as=20 a Republican candidate for California governor. Says the=20 candidate:=20
This is a new and unique experiment. For the = first=20 time in history I am trying to make the Internet the = vehicle to=20 provide information to the people of California - NOT 30 = second=20 TV ads.
I believe that Democracy is enhanced when = the voter=20 has factual information instead of propaganda and that = the=20 Internet has the power to transform politics and = political=20 campaigning.
So while other candidates for Governor = are=20 spending over $10,000,000 dollars on 30 second TV ads, I = am=20 trying something new.
The good news is that = this was=20 sent to the email address I use only on this blog -- which = means=20 that whoever engineered this for the pol is paying = attention and=20 respect to blogdom.
The bad news is that THIS IS SPAM = and we=20 hate spam as much as we hate annoying 30-second = commercials and=20 annoying phone calls from political groupies and = politicians=20 themselves.
And by the way, I don't live in = California.
But=20 I give the guy a point for getting to this before every = other=20 damned politician in the world.

The pause the = refreshes:=20 30 to life
: Good post on More = Than Zero on infamous product placements for Coke = cans: on=20 Skilling's Enron testimony and more. Says a commenter = there:=20 "Tastes Great, Less Skilling."

Bad meets = worse
:=20 The Times<= /A>=20 of London says American tobacco companies are accused of = breaking=20 the trade embargo with Iraq to smuggle cigarettes in. That = is=20 either an unpatriotic act or an act of clever terrorism: = If Bush=20 doesn't get 'em, the tar and nicotine will.

And = I was=20 too chicken to go to DisneyWorld
:A new Rossi=20 Rant:
My brother is going to Israel.
We've been = talking=20 about this for years: me meeting him and his family, in = Israel=20 on Passover.
The reason he e-mailed me to tell me = about his=20 spontaneous trip to the holy land was not to invite me, = however,=20 but to ask when he could fax me a copy of his = will.
Nice=20 times we live in.
Now I find myself torn.
Do I = squish a=20 last-minute trip to Israel this month, or do I stay home = safe=20 and sound in ... hmm ... ummm ...=20 Manhattan??!
Terror tourism
: The Washington=20 Post tags along with tourists coming to New York to = see Ground=20 Zero.=20
For better or worse, it's now what defines New = York=20 tourism. For months, city officials have been groping = for the=20 right way to handle the prickly issues of etiquette, = decency and=20 morality as thousands come to bear witness to the = devastation of=20 Sept. 11.
Given the high demand, it was only a matter = of time=20 before the private sector jumped in....
It's the = filming and=20 the photographing that can upset some family members the = most.
"You wouldn't go to a cemetery and start = filming=20 somebody's tombstone," Michael Cartier, 24, = says.
President=20 of the family support group Give Your Voice, Cartier = lost an=20 older brother, James Marcel Cartier, an electrician, in = the twin=20 towers collapse. His remains haven't been = recovered.
"There's=20 a certain etiquette and reverence that's involved when = you go to=20 a cemetery," Cartier says by phone. "I think this is = part of=20 history. I think that people need to be there, people = need to=20 see it. But there also has to be an understanding that = there are=20 people around you who are grieving and facing the harsh = reality=20 that this very well may be a final resting = place."...
Around=20 the corner and up a ramp is the viewing platform.
The = Baltimore group waits its turn at the wooden ramp, as = the clamor=20 of jackhammers echoes.
Finally, Elkins, Stevens, the = Russells and the rest reach the platform, standing = alongside=20 other visitors. Here, everyone vies for an unobstructed = view,=20 for a good camera angle, a glimpse of something = meaningful amid=20 the workers and their cranes.
The visitors look = confused,=20 maybe a little stunned. They are not sure what they are = seeing=20 and what they are to feel about it. It's a common = reaction now.=20 There are no huge mounds of debris, no clouds of dust = and smoke.=20 It looks, basically, like an orderly excavation=20 project....
Becky Russell seems in a hurry to leave. = She=20 started out as a skeptic about this visit and ends as = one.
"I=20 don't know. I don't know" is almost all she can muster = in=20 response to a question about her reactions to ground=20 zero.
Finally, she adds, "I can't say I feel any=20 better."

Prisoners of = uncertainty
:=20 Two very different views of the fate of our 500 Afghan = prisoners.=20 The NY=20 Times says their fate is uncertain and they may be = held just=20 so they don't pick up arms again. But the Times=20 of London says that the Pentagon admits it has = insufficient=20 evidence to send any of the prisoners to a tribunal and = that it=20 has failed to capture bin Laden's key cronies.=20
America has failed to compile evidence = identifying=20 any of the 500 prisoners it is holding from the = Afghanistan war=20 as suitable candidates for a military tribunal, the = Pentagon=20 conceded yesterday.
The admission is a major setback = for the=20 United States, which claimed that it had detained senior = members=20 of Osama bin Laden=92s al-Qaeda network and the Taleban = regime.=20
Despite holding the prisoners for weeks, and in some = cases=20 months, interrogators lack enough details to build a = case=20 against them that could be put before a = specially-convened=20 hearing, the officials said....
Donald Rumsfeld, the = US=20 Defence Secretary, described the prisoners last month as = =93very=20 hard cases=94 who had =93demonstrated their = determination to kill=20 themselves, kill others, and/or escape=94.
But = yesterday,=20 addressing the prospect of putting any of them before = military=20 tribunals, Victoria Clarke, the Pentagon spokeswoman, = said:=20 =93There=92s not a sense that we=92ve got a person or = two people that=20 we feel are really likely candidates.=94 =

. .=20 .

Monday, February 25, 2002 - Link=20

Dear=20 Ken, Dear George
: Ken Lay and George Bush's = letters at the=20 Smoking=20 Gun [via Die=20 Zeit]

East meets West
: Nick Denton took = up Ken=20 Layne's challenge (who would dare not?) to set up a = meeting of=20 bloggers while in New York. It was a small, select affair: = Amy Langfield, Nick, = and me at=20 the fashionable Conde Nast cafeteria. Only Amy fit in. Ken = and I=20 didn't. But then, I never do. We took the opportunity to = badger=20 Nick into leaving San Francisco (before he is ridden = out of=20 town on a rail) and moving to New York. San Francisco = is so=20 last millenium. And New York needs a bigger blogger = community. We=20 cannot be outdown by L.A., of all places.
: There is a = bigger=20 New York blogger get-together on March 1. Unfortunately, I = can't=20 make it; I have important duty that night delivering pizza = for my=20 kid's school fun night.
: And Amy writes today about = the dangers= =20 of reporting; they come not only in places like = Pakistan.=20
I've been in very few war zones, but I can = tell you=20 that over the years I've done hundreds of things as a = reporter -=20 thinking I had some sort of magic reporter safety bubble = around=20 me - that I never would have done otherwise. I walked = alone into=20 how many houses with suspicious men? I've gotten into = cars with=20 strangers, walked into freshly cleared bomb threat = zones,=20 written things that put people in jail or cost them = their jobs.=20 Someone stalked me at one of my newspaper jobs, going so = far as=20 to slice up pictures and other items on my desk one = night. I got=20 my first death threat while editor of my college paper. = While I=20 weighed each of those risks in the process, you are = never 100=20 percent sure of what you're getting = into.

. .=20 .

Sunday, February 24, 2002 - Link=20

Blogenres
: We have = a=20 poetry blog. Why not a c= omic=20 blog?

Your crow, sir
: Andrew = Sullivan did a=20 great job nya-nyaing all the quagmirists who said we'd be = stuck in=20 a losing war in Afghanistan and rubbing their noses in = their=20 pessimistic errors.
Now let's nya-nya Mr. Sullivan, = too. What's=20 good for the goose...
I'm reminded of his quote of = 9/160/1 [via=20 webpan=20 via = Woods=20 Lot via Follow=20 Me Here]:
The terrorists have done the rest. The middle = part=20 of the country - the great red zone that voted for Bush = - is=20 clearly ready for war. The decadent left in its enclaves = on the=20 coasts is not dead - and may well mount a fifth=20 column.
Decadent left? Fifth column? Nya-nya.=20
Every decadent coastal liberal I know is supporting = the war=20 and reclaiming the flag.

Road rage
: = Britain is=20 considering tracking where you drive with a s= atellite=20 snoop and charging you for every mile. This from the = same=20 country that charges you for TV.
As my father would = say: This=20 is bassackwards.
If people are driving, it's because = they want=20 to and need to. One of government's most fundamental jobs = is to=20 accomodate that need with roads.
If anybody ever tried = that in=20 America, there'd be a revolt. Come to think of it, maybe = this=20 explains why we did revolt.

On the other = hand
:=20 Britain remains our friend. The Observer=20 says Tony Blair will come to the U.S. to plot war on Iraq = and show=20 his support.

Managing up
: The Ob= server=20 also explains why Blair is sticking close to us:
The challenge, it turns out, faces not America = but=20 the rest of the world. Rather than Americans having to = handle=20 decline, everyone else must try to manage this goliath. = The=20 challenge is made more severe by an American = administration=20 which, from tearing up international treaties to = trampling over=20 Geneva conventions, combines an instinct for = unilateralism with=20 absolute certainty about the justice and urgency of its = mission.=20 It's a moot kind of victory for the campaign against = terrorism=20 when Osama bin Laden is still on the loose and the CIA = foresees=20 Afghanistan spiralling into civil war.
But a great = triumph=20 it has been proclaimed in the heads of President Bush = and those=20 who are guiding him to unleash further hostilities = against=20 anyone that America identifies as her enemy. The voices = of=20 restraint in Washington are decreasing in number and=20 influence....
Relations between America and Europe, = their=20 oldest and most natural allies, are descending to a = nadir not=20 seen in more than half a century....
One European = leader has=20 set himself apart by refusing to utter a particle of = public=20 criticism of the United States. The wider the = continental drift,=20 the further Tony Blair stretches himself to straddle the = chasm.=20 He is sticking to the strategy that he instinctively = formulated=20 in a matter of minutes following the attacks on the Twin = Towers.=20 He continues to calculate that leverage over Washington = is=20 maximised by being the unswerving ally. That does not = make him=20 an unqualified admirer of this Oval Office. The = intellectual=20 capacity of Dubya is not highly rated within Downing = Street. One=20 of Mr Blair's most influential foreign policy advisers = regards=20 George Bush as 'imbecilic', a global village idiot. The = Prime=20 Minister might secretly agree. Even if he did, he sees = as much=20 point hectoring America as there is in heckling a = juggernaut.=20
Those in his government and party who expect Mr = Blair to=20 restrain Mr Bush's ambitions to strike against Iraq are = likely=20 to be disappointed. The intelligence material that the = Prime=20 Minister sees makes him genuinely disturbed - it would = not being=20 going too far to say petrified - about Saddam Hussein's=20 potential ability to use weapons of mass destruction. Mr = Blair=20 is not against removing the Iraqi dictator. He is only = concerned=20 that the Americans produce a plan that actually=20 works....
There are evident risks in Tony Blair's = approach.=20 But it is a bit more dignified and intelligent than = whining. He=20 has come to the correct conclusion that resentful = sniping at=20 America has no traction on the megapower. The United = States is=20 not going to listen to lectures from Europe about = American=20 responsibilities. Not until Europe demonstrates a much = greater=20 willingness to start addressing its own = responsibilities.=20
Sane Francisco?
: Another reason = for Nick = Denton=20 to dislike San=20 Francisco (and move to New York):
Nearly 1,000 anti-war protesters marched = Saturday in=20 San Francisco, chanting that the U.S. military presence = in=20 Afghanistan and campaign against terrorism are inhumane = and an=20 excuse to erode civil liberties....
Protesters = carried=20 placards that read "War is Terror," "Books not Bombs" = and=20 "Schools Not Jails."

Beliefs: = Leftist vs.=20 not leftist
: Many have linked to Tristin = Laughter's wise=20 essay=20 (at Blogs of War) on how a friend's death on 9.11 made her = reconsider her political beliefs. I agree with most = everything she=20 says; I went through a similar conversion, which I wrote = about=20 here, discarding my pacifist beliefs to see that we had a = moral=20 obligation to fight this evil, to protect ourselves from = its=20 threat.
I want to quibble with just one thought she = has here:
Now I know, in a visceral, human way, that the = United States has enemies in the global arena, enemies = capable=20 of a brutality and a barbarism which marks their = depravity. If=20 being an American Leftist today means being defending = that,=20 then, I can't be a Leftist. Fortunately, outside of = youth=20 culture, outside of punk rock world and aging baby = boomers,=20 there is a stabler and smarter Left which recognizes and = contains the complexity of a truer vision of the U.S. I = hope the=20 appalling rhetoric of the Left's culture heroes in the = wake of=20 Sept. 11 gives other politicized young people pause, = even if=20 they did not lose a friend.
My quibble is a = small one=20 but important in the label-wars of blogdom. I fear that I = hear her=20 molding herself to a label: "If being an American Leftist = today=20 means..." That is backwards. A person should start with = her own=20 beliefs and then, if a label fits, she can wear it; if = not, not.=20
I despise the PC idiocy of people who call themselves = liberal;=20 I'm ashamed of their tyranny of language and belief; I am=20 embarrassed by their artificial sentimentality. But that = does not=20 mean that I should reject certain beliefs just because = some people=20 believe them. I believe that society has a moral = obligation to=20 help care for those who cannot care for themselves; I = believe that=20 government and regulation are not all wrong. So am I=20 liberal?
Similarly, I cannot abide the sanctimonious=20 selfishness of people who call themselves conservative; = I'm=20 offended by their attempts to coopt God and country as = their own;=20 I am disgusted by their compulsion to demonize their = opponents.=20 But I believe that this war is right; I believe that = business is=20 not bad. So am I conservative?
I am what I am. And I = believe=20 that every individual is capable of reaching his or her = own belief=20 (and changing them, too). I hope that people do not = believe what=20 Chomsky or O'Reilly believes just because they believe it. = I have=20 more faith in the electorate -- in the masses -- than = that. That=20 is why I don't get hot-and-bothered by alleged media bias = of=20 either stripe; I think that the people, the voters, are = quite=20 capable of deciding for themselves whom and what to = believe. That=20 is what democracy is all about.

Beliefs: Why I'm = not a=20 Presbyterian
: I was raised a Presbyterian. My = sister, of=20 whom I am quite proud, is a Presbyterian minister. But I'm = not a=20 Presbyterian anymore and here is the main reason why.=20 Once again, the Presbyterians have voted to forbid the = ordination=20 of gays.
What sanctimonious bigots they are.
I left = the=20 church 25 years ago, offended by the un-Christian = backbiting I=20 found in my congregation then, and I returned only because = I had=20 children and wanted to give them the choice I had. We = tried two=20 Presbyterian churches but they were ruled by more spiteful = backbiting that was abetted by the bureaucrats in the=20 denomination's heirarchy; at one of them, as I said the = other day,=20 I was attacked for liking Cheers because it had = sex. But=20 worse than anything, I found that one of the = congregation's=20 leading bodies had voted to oppose gays in the ministry; = they went=20 out of their way to do this. I called the minister a bigot = and=20 quit. I refused to raise my children in this atmosphere of = hate.
We searched around and found a Congregational = church=20 where people are allowed to believe what they believe, = where hate=20 is not preached.
: Ted Barlow on religon=20 and homosexuality (the post begins, "Kevin's...).
: = Missouri=20 Synod Lutheran= s=20 are worse. They don't want to pray with nonlutherans. As = if God is=20 a religious bigot.
: Speaking of religious bigots, here = we have=20 Pat Robertson=20 on Muslims. Not that he's all wrong this=20 time...

Beliefs: Starbucks and yoga
: I = great=20 line from Tim Russert in an otherwise foolish column by = William=20 Powers in the National = Journal:=20 "Russert quoted from something he'd recently read, a = remark by a=20 young woman who said: 'I haven't been to church in a long, = long=20 time, but Starbucks and yoga just doesn't do it anymore.' =
. .=20 .

Saturday, February 23, 2002 - Link=20

Homeland security, Israeli = style
: A woman shopping in an Israeli grocery = store shot a=20 terrorist suicide bomber, averting disaster. From the Je= rusalem=20 Post:=20
At least one small explosion did take place, = leaving=20 one customer lightly wounded but causing no casualties, = said=20 Jerusalem Post reporter Margot Dudkevitch. Nails from = one of the=20 explosions littered the floor. Further tragedy was = averted when=20 a woman shopping in the packed supermarket apparently = saw the=20 terrorist trying to set off a second explosion and shot = him=20 twice in the head from close = range.
Instapundit:=20 Please don't use this as another justification for = gun-love. This=20 is Israel.

Sticks 'n' stones
: The NY=20 Times reports today on the new and redefined words and = phrases=20 that are front and center in our collective vocabulary = after 9.11=20 -- "9.11" itself taking on a momentous new meaning. From=20 the American Dialect Society comes a long list:
: = 9/11 in=20 all its forms
: ground zero
: burka, burka blue, = women of=20 cover
: theoterrorism (hadn't heard that one but I like = it)
: weaponize and weapons-grade
: homeland = security
:=20 debris surge, debris storm (I called it just The = Cloud)
:=20 shuicide bomber (a tasteless Leno)
: "so September = 10"
:=20 "Let's roll!"
I would add:
: anthraxophobia
: = jihad as an=20 all-purpose adjective
: bin as an all-purpose = prefix
: I=20 know other bloggers would add Islamofascist and = anti-idiotarian=20 (not yet in common usage, I'd say)
: I hope my coinage, = "he=20 decade," catches on
What else? Send nominees here.

After
: Here=20 are, as Little = Green Footballs aptly put it, the heartbreaking = satellite=20 images of the World Trade Center before and after. Credit: = spaceimaging.com. = [via De= n=20 Beste]

Speed
: The NY=20 Times reveals more frightening data about the flights = that hit=20 the World Trade Center. The second jet, which hit the = south tower,=20 was traveling faster than the first jet and that is the = latest=20 theory on why that tower fell first even thought it was = hit later=20 (my unscientific opinion is also that the second jet hit = lower and=20 so there was greater weight atop the melting steel beams). =
In=20 any case, the statistics are harrowing. That second jet, = the=20 United plane, was traveling at an estimated 586 mps, 100 = mph=20 faster than the first jet. The Times says it "was moving = so fast=20 that it was at risk of breaking up in midair as it made a = final=20 turn toward the south tower, traveling at a speed far = exceeding=20 the 767-200 design limit for that altitude, a Boeing = official=20 said. 'These guys exceeded even the emergency dive speed,' = said=20 Liz Verdier, a Boeing spokeswoman. 'It's off the chart.' = "
I=20 have nightmares not just about what did happen that day = but what=20 could have happened.If these people had missed their = target and=20 slammed into the ground, the spread of damage would have = been=20 huge, the carnage even worse. If the Tower had toppled = even sooner=20 or in a different direction, more would have died. At the = speed at=20 which these evil lunatics were traveling, this and more = could have=20 happened. And so many millions of close calls (mine = included)=20 would not have been close calls.

A = memorial
: It=20 appears there may be an agreement on a temporary memorial = to New=20 York's 9.11 victims. Says the NY=20 Post:
temporary memorial park honoring the victims = of=20 Sept. 11 may include a glass structure etched with the = names of=20 everyone who perished, sources said yesterday. =
Sources said=20 the idea, still in the early stages, calls for a glass = box or a=20 small dome that would fit over sculptor Fritz Koenig's = "Sphere"=20 - a massive bronze artwork recovered from the World = Trade Center=20 site.
The glass could be etched with the names of = all the=20 nearly 3,000 trade center victims.
The favored = location is a=20 small, triangular park known as "teardrop park" on = Murray Street=20 in Battery Park City, the sources said.
The idea = surfaced as=20 a separate proposal, a month-long "Towers of Light" = tribute=20 sponsored by the Municipal Arts Society, has made = progress - but=20 still hasn't gotten City Hall approval.
I = think this=20 is a fitting beginning.

Blog wisdom
: = Many have=20 wisely linked to the National=20 Post story on blogging quoting the wise Ken Layne. I want to = quote him=20 here too just because I agree with him so damned much, = having=20 learned the lesson about personality when I wrote = newspaper and=20 magazine columns and now that I am relearning it in = blogging:
Layne hopes more newspaper columnists might = learn=20 something from bloggers' attitudes. "U.S. papers are so = damned=20 dry," he said. "I mean, who picks up the paper and says, = 'I=20 wonder what the Pentagon reporter has to say this = morning.' The=20 good bloggers are not much different from old-time = newspaper=20 columnists. They have a style, they have a personal = connection=20 with readers, they don't seem like factory-made op-ed = writers.=20 Maybe newspapers will inject some of this first- person = style=20 into the news columns. What I hope news sites learn from = blogs=20 is that personality matters."
: And, by the = way, I=20 forgot to congratulate Layne et al for being blog-cloned = on Fox=20 News, which is also wise to take notice of the power of=20 blogs.

Lassie would be proud
: A British = animal=20 org is awarding two guidedogs=20 who led their owners to safety on 9.11 a special = medal.
. .=20 .

Thursday, February 21, 2002 - Link=20

Guts
: Ken=20 Layne said it well today:=20
Today is a good day for bloggers to remember = that=20 there's nothing to blog without guys like Pearl out = there=20 writing the stories and collecting the news. =
Amen to=20 that. It takes guys with guts to get the real facts so = pundits can=20 pundit and so we all can be informed.
I don't have = guts. When=20 I was in San Francisco working on the Examiner as an = editor and=20 then a columnist, my paper broke the Jonestown story and = we lost a=20 friend there, killed in the line of duty. Around the same = time,=20 someone I knew was killed reporting in Africa and someone = else who=20 was injured while reporting. I decided then that I did not = have=20 the guts to be a hard, true reporter; I went into fluff, = becoming=20 a columnist and a TV critic and other essentially useless=20 things.
I always remembered that I was not a real = reporter and=20 I hold real reporters in respect.
The next time you = complain=20 about the media and make fun of the media and whine about = media=20 bias and conspiracies, remember what the media really is = at the=20 source: guys with guts asking questions it takes guts to = ask, guys=20 like Daniel Pearl.

Memorial
: Beliefnet's=20 memorial to Daniel Pearl. Says one mourner:=20
When I was a child, I watched the news and saw = these=20 incredibly brave human beings, with a microphone in one = hand and=20 the other hand on top of their helmet, trying to whisper = there=20 report without attracting the attention of any snipers = that=20 might be lurking. My father explained to me that they = were War=20 Correspondents. I was overawed. These people who risked = there=20 lives, going out there searching for truth and bringing = it back=20 to me through my TV set as I ate dinner. I knew that's = what I=20 wanted to do with my life. Be brave enough to search out = the=20 truth, and tell the world.

Snobs = to the=20 left, please
: = Ken=20 Goldstein says what I was thinking: How ridiculous of = the feds=20 to eliminate VIP screening lines at the airport. I'm = (thank God)=20 not a frequent flier these days, so I wouldn't benefit = from them=20 but I have to say that this should be the business of the=20 airlines; they should be free to give extras to their best = customers (as airlines do with quick lines through customs = on=20 overseas flights). How odd that the Bush administration = would be=20 so business-unfriendly. Are they trying to make us regret = the=20 federal takeover of airport security?

Blog=20 withdrawl
: I was gone for two damned days because = my=20 damned ISP got hit with a damned denial-of-service attack = and=20 obviously didn't know what the hell to do about it (do I = sound=20 mad?). So I was off the air for that long and I have to = tell you=20 that a forced silence is hell. Blogging is an = addiction.=20 Without it, I got grumpy. I got depressed. I lost my = appetite. I=20 was about ready to sign up for a 12-step program. But I'm = back...=20 tomorrow.
. .=20 .

Tuesday, February 19, 2002 - Link=20

Me, muse
: I'm = honored. Will=20 Warren, poet laureate of Blogdom, was inspired by my = declaration=20 that we are in the He = Decade. His verse, here.

I=20 think I'll vacation in Baghdad instead
: I'm not = alone=20 cancelling my vacation plans thanks to terrorism and = recession (below).=20 Via Holy Weblog = comes=20 word that Muslims aplenty are canceling their pilgrimages = to Mecca.=20

Have you slapped a pacifist today?
: Via = Relapsed=20 Catholic in the Women's=20 Quarterly, the difficulty of being a pacifist:
Have you slapped a pacifist today? If not, get = to=20 it. It=92s one thing to protest a war undertaken in some = remote=20 jungle you have to take a long flight to, and whose = purposes may=20 be a bit gauzy. It=92s quite another when the enemy is=20 dive-bombing New York and Washington. The fact that our = enemies=20 are determined to return the world to the seventh = century and=20 force our women to dress in sacks makes the anti-war = position=20 all the more controversial. There seems little choice = but to=20 douse these people with the hot oil of ridicule.=20

. .=20 .

Monday, February 18, 2002 - Link=20

Welcome = Instapunditters
:=20 The post on the post-post-feminist He Decade bel= ow.

The hunker bunker
: Call me = crazy but=20 I just canceled our family's spring vacation to = DisneyWorld.
I=20 simply don't feel safe. It's one matter for me to put = myself at=20 risk; I know I will end up flying for work again. But it's = quite=20 another matter to put my family at risk.
I don't feel = safe in=20 the air, because I don't believe that much has changed at = airports=20 since Sept. 11. Gates are still guarded by too many = uneducated and=20 unprepared slugs. Bags aren't inspected. Cockpit doors are = flimsy.=20 Terrorists are still at large.
Don't try to give me a = lecture=20 about odds, how I'm more likely to be taken down by a = tse-tse fly=20 than a terrorist.
I was only a few hundred yards below = two jets=20 that hit two buildings, all full of lives that aren't here = any=20 longer. Death was too close.
I used up my odds that = day.=20
So I worry about flying and I even worry some about=20 DisneyWorld. The terrorists scoped out the place and other = key=20 destinations; I haven't heard much about increased = security there=20 (or Disney didn't bother to tell me; they didn't even = bother to=20 ask why I was canceling many thousands of dollars of = business with=20 them).
This is why I get so worked up over the lack of = apparent=20 action from Ridge and Ashcroft. This is real. It is = changing the=20 way we live.
This weekend, I took my kids to see the = latest=20 Disney movie (irony noted), Return to Neverland, a = Peter=20 Pan sequel that begins in a London suffering under the = blitz.=20 This, of course, was terror, constant terror, on a greater = scale.=20 The children in the movie -- Wendy's children -- are = growing up in=20 war; they are facing transport to the country to keep them = safe;=20 they are giving up childish things and they are turning = into=20 adults long before their time.
I look down the row at = my kids=20 and realize that they, too, are growing up during war on = their=20 homefront. It's a different war but it's war nonetheless = and it is=20 changing their lives. It's even robbing them of = DisneyWorld.
I=20 feared I was crazy worrying about flying on our vacation; = I=20 thought that perhaps it was just me; it was about being so = close=20 and not being able to get away from the event. But when = the=20 subject was finally broached, my wife agreed quickly. My = parents=20 were relieved. My eldest was wondering whether we'd go and = understood why we aren't.
So I canceled Disney. I = called the=20 airline but first went online to discover that they had = canceled=20 my flights, thanks to terror's travel recession, so I got = a full=20 refund on my nonrefundable ticket. "Meant to be," said my=20 wife.
I made new reservations at an undisclosed = location=20 outside Washington; I'll say hello to Cheney for you all = as I=20 hunker in my bunker this vacation.

. .=20 .

Sunday, February 17, 2002 - Link=20

Let us pray
: The = late=20 father Mychal Judge, chaplain to the FDNY, left behind = this simple=20 prayer, which he handed to people he met [via Holy Weblog and = the=20 Sacramento Bee]:
Lord, take me where you want me to go.
Let = me=20 meet who you want me to meet.
Tell me what you want = me to=20 say.
And keep me out of your way.
A = million=20 stories in the naked city
: The Obser= ver=20 has a wrenching piece following up on the lives of the = people who=20 Were There That Day. It's awkward online; the story is = about=20 people in pictures we've all seen and they didn't put = those=20 pictures online. Nonetheless, we know these people: the = fireman=20 climbing the stairs, the dust lady... Their nerves are = still raw.=20 A U.S. Marshal who helped rescue people:
My whole life has changed. There's not a time = I'm=20 talking to someone, whether it's talking about the = disaster or=20 talking about work, that I don't see images in my mind. = It's a=20 video that goes over and over in my brain. Especially = working in=20 the city, I can't get away from it. East Side or West = Side, I=20 keep expecting to see the Towers, but they're gone. I = can still=20 function, but it's always there. Some days I don't feel = like=20 getting out of bed. Everything reminds me of it. I don't = watch=20 it on TV. What am I going to see? A building falling? I = don't=20 need to see that on the screen because I was right at = the bottom=20 of it. A burning building? I saw it right in front of = me. People=20 jumping out? I was there when it happened. So what do I = need to=20 watch it on TV for?
The lady covered with = dust, as so=20 many of us were:
People call me the Dust Lady now. At Halloween = a=20 lady who lives in my apartment building covered herself = in flour=20 and went trick-or-treating as the Dust Lady. I don't = think they=20 realise how much it hurts. I'm just tired of crying. My = whole=20 life has gone downhill since 9/11.... don't have juice = or milk=20 in the refrigerator for my daughter. She's eight years = old and=20 doesn't want to be here with me anymore. She comes after = school,=20 but then she goes to her dad's house. Sometimes I lay on = the=20 couch crying and she says, 'Why are you crying so = much?'.=20
The firefighter on the stairs:
People don't realise that the plane hit at the = worst=20 possible time for the fire department. We change shifts = at 9am,=20 so there were two shifts of guys hanging around the = firehouse,=20 having coffee, talking. When something like that = happens,=20 everyone wants to help, so all the guys went to the Twin = Towers.=20 It's our job, to help people and possibly put the fire = out.=20 That's why we were in the stairwell. At one point, I = felt like=20 no firefighter should go up there. Not that I was = afraid, just=20 that it seemed a little crazy. It's easy to say now, but = you=20 knew something wasn't right.
The soul = survivor from a=20 firehouse helped start a website for = his fallen=20 brothers as he tries to recover.
A businessman who = helped lead=20 people to safety:
I've been given a mission from God. Now I feel = like=20 my life has a reason and I have to search until I'm sure = what=20 that reason is and carry out whatever it is I'm supposed = to be=20 doing. I thought for a while God brought me there = because I was=20 able to maintain my composure and lead everyone to the = emergency=20 exit. I wondered if one of the people in that office was = going=20 to turn out to be important, or maybe a very important = person=20 was going to be born from one those people. But now I = believe=20 there must be more. I don't know what it is, but my = feeling that=20 there is something more for me to do sits very heavily = with me=20 now. If there's one thing that's changed about my life, = it's=20 looking for that reason. My wife also believes I was = saved for a=20 reason and is keeping her eyes and ears open, searching = for the=20 reason.

Yes, the nerves are still raw, = the dreams=20 still stark, the questions still large. It was only = yesterday.=20
. .=20 .

Saturday, February 16, 2002 - Link=20

Whom do you trust?
: = The=20 stock market will collapse if we cannot trust the = valuations of=20 companies because (a) auditors and accountants are so = beholden to=20 their clients across multiple lines of business that they = cannot=20 see straight and (b) analysts are also so weighed down = with=20 conflict -- their companies trying to sell, sell, sell = that which=20 often should not be bought, bought bought -- that they are = suspect.
It's just like the Olympics: the French judge = can't=20 judge because of conflict of interest. It's just like = politics,=20 where pols who get too much special-interest money are = also=20 smudged by conflict.
The solution is obvious: = Independence. We=20 must make those who judge and value companies independent = of those=20 companies. Auditors must not be allowed to sell other = services to=20 their clients; they should be replaced reguarly so that = other=20 auditors will check their work; they should be liable for = their=20 lies.
But what about the analysts who sold not only = lying=20 scumbag companies such as Enron but also pigs in pokes on = the=20 Internet? I've long said that analysts have far too much = influence=20 and power for the idiots they are; they buddy up to the = companies=20 they cover and readily swallow the financial spin that's = fed to=20 them (I've worked around the PR people who do the feeding) = and=20 they are influenced by their own brokerage house's need to = sell,=20 sell, sell. They are not to be trusted.
My humble = solution: A=20 news organization -- Dow Jones, Thomson, the FT, Reuters = -- should=20 buy the analyst operation of a leading brokerage house and = operate=20 it independently, without influence, trading purely on the = value=20 of its research and opinions. The brokerage house can buy = the=20 services of these independent analysts for their top = clients; it=20 will be more valuable to them (and brokers can save by not = providing valuable analysis to cheap, discount customers = like me).=20 The news organization can sell these services to other = brokerage=20 houses and directly to consumers. The problem with news=20 organizations' financial reporting today is that it is too = damned=20 shallow; they, too, swallow the PR fed them by investor = relations=20 flacks and conmen and can't afford to dig deeper. With the = depth=20 of a full team of analysts, they can deliver real = value.
To see=20 how it can work, look no farther than Chris Byron, now a = columnist=20 on the New=20 York Post. He calls a spade full of bull a spade full = of bull.=20 In his latest column, he found that even Krispy Kreme = dabbled in=20 Enron-like off-the-books accounting and KK immediately = reformed.=20 He exposed Boston Market for the lumpy gravy it was long = before=20 the market realized it. He exposed lots of dot.con idiocy. =
Imagine if you had a staff of similarly grumpy -- and=20 independent -- analysts going after every industry and = every major=20 company, a hundred Chris Byrons calling the shots. I would = pay for=20 that. I'm not talking about mere blathering, like = that on=20 Motley Fool. I'm talking about real reporting.
We would = finally=20 have something to believe: We'd know that these = reporter/analysts=20 were digging on our behalf, to ferret out the lies and let = us know=20 what was true. That is how we would know the true value of = the=20 companies in which we are investing.
This, after all, = is what=20 journalism is all about, or what it is supposed to be = about:=20 Independent reporters finding the facts and asking the = tough=20 questions on our behalf, beholden to no one but us, = trading only=20 on their own credibility.
We need these standards now = more=20 than ever. We have to find this indepdent, smart, tough = voice in=20 financial reporting and analysis. The economy is now built = on the=20 stock market. Our 401Ks and pensions and insurance and = much of the=20 worth of every company and charity and even government is = built on=20 stock. If we cannot trust the value of that stock simply = because=20 auditors are crooked and analysts are biased, then we will = watch=20 the collapse of our very economy.

Soft money, = soft=20 spine
: For all the reasons above, Bush should not = --=20 cannot -- veto = campaign=20 reform. Soft money breeds a conflict of interest. We, the = people,=20 are going to be far more demanding of all institutions --=20 financial, governmental, media -- to eliminate conflict of = interest for while that conflict exists, trust, = credibility, and=20 value do not. The times demand higher = standards.

There=20 goes the neighborhood
: Ken=20 Layne finds no connection between (a) the = riot/assassination=20 that killed a government minister at the airport in Kabul = and (b)=20 the soccer riot that broke out shortly thereafter. He's = right=20 about this: It appears one is a political event, the other = not.=20 Nonetheless, I do see a tie: Afghanistaned is one f'd up = country=20 and it is going to be harder than we admit to drag them = back to=20 civilization. I won't be vacationing there for a very long = time.

Merchant of death
: The Time= s=20 of London says bin Laden's arms merchant has been = revealed: a=20 former Soviet air force office. A Times prof= ile=20 of him.

Next stop: Baghdad
: The Time= s=20 says Bush is finalizing plans to topple Saddam Hussein:=20
If all goes well with President George W = Bush=92s=20 rapidly developing plan to overthrow Saddam Hussein, = General=20 Najib al-Salhi, a former chief of staff of the Iraqi 5th = mechanised corps, might be back in Baghdad by the end of = the=20 year.
As one of the highest-ranking defectors from = Saddam=92s=20 elite Republican Guard and one of the founders of the = Movement=20 of Free Officers, a clandestine Iraqi opposition group, = Najib=20 believes the moment of reckoning has finally arrived for = the=20 tyrant he used to serve. =93The Iraqi people are ready = for=20 action,=94 he said last week.

. .=20 .

Friday, February 15, 2002 - Link=20

Drop that bone
: Ted = Barlow=20 said it before I did but I had the same reaction he did = reading Andrew=20 Sullivan today praising Colin Powell's performance on = MTV=20 (echoing, by the way, the = New=20 York Times -- "With Candor, Powell Charms Global MTV = Audience").=20 Said Sullivan:=20
Contrast Bill Clinton's excruciating dialogue = with=20 MTV viewers not so long ago with Colin Powell's = masterful,=20 engaged colloquy. No boxers or briefs questions. No = attempt to=20 pander shamelessly for votes. Just a principled and = effective=20 defense of America's role in the world to a global = generation=20 that desperately needs to hear it.
Said = Barlow:
I think that Sullivan should retire the word=20 "Clinton" from his vocabulary, because it does funny = things to=20 his head. Two thoughts:
1. Funny how Powell doesn't = "pander=20 for votes," considering he's not running for anything,=20 huh?
2. How the hell is Clinton supposed to be = responsible=20 for the GODDAMN QUESTIONS THAT SOMEBODY ELSE ASKS HIM? = Tell you=20 what. I'm going to write to Andrew Sullivan, call him a=20 doodyhead, then criticize him for getting email that = calls him a=20 doodyhead.
Think, Sully, think.
Said = me:
Right=20 on. I don't intend to start another whinefest about = Sullivan=20 whining about people. But why must he always measure his = world=20 from the perspective of what he doesn't like about Bill = Clinton or=20 the liberal du jour? What's wrong with simply praising = Powell?=20 This incessant nattering is shrill and tiresome. =

Sex is=20 good
: And Oliver Willis said this before I could, = though I=20 thought the same thing he did. Man, I'm slowing down with = age (and=20 work). Willis on Bill O'Reilly attacking HBO for sex:
Bill O'Reilly grills HBO's chief for showing = graphic=20 television? Has O'Reilly called up Rupert Murdoch, the = guy who=20 signs his paychecks? Fox is the network that brought us = When=20 Animals Attack, World's Wildest Police Videos, Married = With=20 Children, and The Chamber, among others. Most of those = way=20 before HBO had become recognized for it's creative = output. Fox=20 was Fear Factor when Fear Factor was a pre-coital sperm! = I=20 personally have no problem with those programs, hell = nobody=20 loves trash tv more than I - but O'Reilly's posturing = seems more=20 along the line of pot-kettle-black.
Amen. = There's=20 nothing wrong with the sex or violence on HBO. The world = the=20 Sopranos depicts is ugly and violent. The women on Sex and = the=20 City are pretty and sexy. That's OK. Life has these=20 extremes.
How about you Libertarians out there rallying = to the=20 defense of free speech for HBO and its artists and = audiece?=20
What would O'Reilly have us do: let some official = commission=20 rule on what HBO can and can't say? I can't imagine he'd = really=20 want that.
I'm offended by the culture of the offended = trying=20 to cut everything in life and art down to a least = offensive=20 denominator.
You don't hear people -- at least people = this side=20 of Nazi Germany -- saying these things about books; they = say this=20 about TV because they have no repect for the medium or its = mass=20 audience; they have no respect for our own ability to = judge what=20 we want to watch and what we find offensive; we don't need = O'Reilly or anyone else judging that for us, thank = you.
I used=20 to attend a church in my area and was asked to give a = class on TV=20 since I was then the TV critic for TV Guide. In my spiel, = I said=20 that one of my favorite shows of all times was Cheers and = I got=20 attacked by a church lady and then another because Cheers = offended=20 them. Why, ladies? Well Cheers has sex.
Well so does = life, you=20 shriveled prunes -- or life for most people. I left that = church=20 and I don't want to start attending O'Reilly's=20 either.

Gold medal in cynicism
: The = mistake is=20 thinking that sports is any different from business or = show=20 business or politics or religion or the academe: Each is a = terribly human instititution prone to all our human sins = of greed,=20 ego, corruption, and politics for politics' sake. =
Baseball is=20 not the All-American pastime and its players are not = heroes; it's=20 a business and its players are, well, players who, given = too much=20 money, too often get in trouble with drugs and gambling = and sex.=20 Hollywood is all about power politics (just watch HBO's = Project=20 Greenlight to see atomic aholes in action). I've watched = churches=20 collapse under terroritorial wars. The academe is, of = course,=20 about kingdoms. And politics is all about, well, politics. =
So=20 it's no surprise, sadly, that the Olympics and their = sports are=20 just as corrupt as any other human organization -- moreso, = actually, since they aren't honest enough to just = negotiate the=20 money and power and fame (as sports and show business do); = they=20 have to act above it all -- and then get sneaky about = getting what=20 really matters: money and turf.
As Today's New York Post=20 puts it: <"What you have to understand is that the = foofs have=20 fiefs that must be maintained. The people who govern = international=20 sports federations are charged with the protection of the=20 integrity of the competition. But how they really see = their=20 function is protecting their lifestyles and turf."
The = Globe=20 & Mail says that the Canadian silver-skaters are = likely to=20 get gold medals and I say that's great. But when it gets = down to=20 what really matters for them -- their careers, their fame, = their=20 future -- the truth is that they have already won. Jamie = Sale is=20 gorgeous and magnetic and David Pelletier is charming; the = Russians are slightly freaky: she a kewpie, he's goofy. = The=20 scandal is making the Canadians sympathetic and their = agent says=20 they are getting offers aplenty. They have star quality.=20
Meanwhile, NBC=20 is making ratings off this.
It's not about ideals, = folks;=20 hasn't been for a century. It's about money. That's the = gold that=20 matters.
: Sale and Pelletier where just awarded gold = medals. Some=20 justice.

Face time
: Beliefnet=20 complains about Greta Van Susteren's facelift, arguing = that we=20 should live with the faces God gives us. Hooey. I didn't = live with=20 the engorged thyroid lump God or fate gave me; I got rid = of it.=20 Greta got rid of the 10-gallon bags under her eyes because = she's=20 on TV and wants to look better. And catch the irony: On = the same=20 Beliefnet page, there's a big ad promising you'll lose 10 = pounds=20 by March 18. But didn't God give me those pounds?
: I = don't=20 mean to be shallow and catty but, hey, I'm a cynic and I'm = only=20 talking about TV. Is anybody else slightly scared by the = sight of=20 Jim McKay on the Olympics? Some people get triple chins. = He has=20 triple jowels. As my colleage Peter put it, "He's = melting."=20
. .=20 .

Wednesday, February 13, 2002 - Link=20

The He=20 Decade
: At his briefing yesterday, a reporter said = she=20 wanted to ask Donald Rumsfeld a question on a = "touchy-feely" topic=20 and he cut her off with laughter, looking at the general = to his=20 side, and saying, "You've come to the wrong guys." =
Note the=20 trend:
The American flag is back. The = military-industrial=20 complex is back. And testosterone is back.
No more Me = Decade.=20 No more We Decade. No more Re Decade.
This is the He=20 Decade.

7 chances
: PBS=20 Frontline counts seven chances to catch the hijackers = before=20 they acted, but each was muffed. [via Metafilter]

Rules=20 for safe flying
: 1. Do not rush the cockpit and = stick your=20 head into the door doing your imitation of Jack Nicholson = doing=20 his imitation of Johnny Carson. You will be hit on the = head with=20 an axe.
2. Do not get up to go to the bathroom in the = last 30=20 minutes of your flight. You will go to jail. In either = case, you=20 will end up peeing in your pants.
3. Do=20 not smoke crack and have repeated gay sex in the = restroom. You=20 will be sent back home.

Olympic ideal? = Ha!
:=20 Drugs. Bribery. Corruption.
=
Crazy=20 after all these years
: A super Thomas=20 Friedman column in today's NY Times, as insightful as = it is=20 amusing. He writes from London that Europe can't stand = Bush's Axis=20 of Evil and he says the critics are right with various = complaints.=20 Nonetheless, Friedman is glad that Bush said it.=20
Because the critics are missing the larger = point,=20 which is this: Sept. 11 happened because America had = lost its=20 deterrent capability. We lost it because for 20 years we = never=20 retaliated against, or brought to justice, those who = murdered=20 Americans. From the first suicide bombing of the U.S. = Embassy in=20 Beirut in April 1983, to the bombing of the Marine = barracks at=20 the Beirut airport a few months later, to the T.W.A. = hijacking,=20 to the attack on U.S. troops at Khobar Towers in Saudi = Arabia,=20 to the suicide bombings of two U.S. embassies in East = Africa, to=20 the attack on the U.S.S. Cole in Yemen, innocent = Americans were=20 killed and we did nothing.
So our enemies took us = less and=20 less seriously and became more and more emboldened. = Indeed, they=20 became so emboldened that a group of individuals =97 = think about=20 that for a second: not a state but a group of = individuals =97=20 attacked America in its own backyard. Why not? The = terrorists=20 and the states that harbor them thought we were soft, = and they=20 were right. They thought that they could always = "out-crazy" us,=20 and they were right. They thought we would always listen = to the=20 Europeans and opt for "constructive engagement" with = rogues, not=20 a fist in the face, and they were right.
America's = enemies=20 smelled weakness all over us, and we paid a huge price = for=20 that....
Friedman says it is time for us to = restore=20 our deterrence and one way to do that is to act not only = big and=20 powerful and angry but also a little crazy and = unpredictable so=20 the bad guys -- the evil guys -- actually fear what they = unleash.=20 His punchline:
No, the axis-of-evil idea isn't thought = through =97=20 but that's what I like about it. It says to these = countries and=20 their terrorist pals: "We know what you're cooking in = your=20 bathtubs. We don't know exactly what we're going to do = about it,=20 but if you think we are going to just sit back and take = another=20 dose from you, you're wrong. Meet Don Rumsfeld =97 he's = even=20 crazier than you are."

Finding a = good use=20 for newspapers
: A French-Canadian reporter locks = himself=20 out of his hotel room -- naked=20 -- while grabbing the morning paper. He finds his way to = the lobby=20 with sections of the paper covering his front and back. = Hotel=20 officials in Mormonville unamused; they call the cops; = he's=20 evicted. (Via Romenesko)

Mouth, meet = foot
: Ted=20 Turner and AOL Time Warner backtrack=20 from his remark about "brave" terrorists:=20
"What Ted Turner said in no way reflects AOL = Time=20 Warner's view about this terrible tragedy," spokesman Ed = Adler=20 said.
In a written statement Tuesday, Turner said = his=20 comments "were reported out of context, and I deeply = regret any=20 pain they may have caused. I abhor violence in any form = and=20 wholeheartedly support the campaign to free the world = from the=20 threat of terrorism."

First = Mom
:=20 Laura Bush speaks=20 to the SF Chronicle -- or tries to -- about John The Rat = Traitor=20 Superdoofus Walker Lindh. I can't make much sense out of = what=20 she's trying to say but I'm amused that they connect her = problems=20 with her kids to Lindh's parents' problem with theirs:=20
First lady Laura Bush said the "sad" journey = of John=20 Walker Lindh from Marin teenager to Taliban fighter = provided=20 both a cautionary tale and "a couple of lessons for = parents" and=20 others raising children.
"Certainly . . . make sure = your=20 children are mature before you allow them to do certain = things,"=20 said Bush, in an interview yesterday with The Chronicle, = delivering her most detailed remarks to date on Lindh's = case.=20 "In some ways, it's sort of the extreme of what American = parents=20 want their children to do . . . travel the world." =
Saying=20 the 20-year-old's parents deserve sympathy, Bush said = she=20 believes Lindh's parents, Frank Lindh and Marilyn Walker = "feel=20 terrible -- no matter what their responsibility might = have been=20 to start with. They feel terrible now."...
Saying = she=20 believes they are "certainly" deserving of sympathy now = that=20 their son faces multiple federal charges, Bush said = parents must=20 recognize the children's level of maturity in allowing = them the=20 freedom to grow into adulthood.
"As all parents know, = there's=20 a certain time when children are not going to do what = their=20 parents want them to," said Bush, whose own teenagers' = foibles=20 have been the subject of news coverage. "(They) get to a = certain=20 age where it doesn't matter what you say to them." =
But=20 parents fighting against inappropriate influences from = the=20 culture, media or television must "just continue to say = . . .=20 'these aren't our values, ' " she said.=20

Tourist meets terrorist
: A = Guardian=20 writer's close encounter with the purported kidnapper of = Daniel=20 Pearl.
. .=20 .

Tuesday, February 12, 2002 - Link=20

I am me
: I don' t = why this=20 amuses me -- I sometimes don't know why things do -- but I = chuckled at Tim=20 Blair's author bio at the bottom of his piece in The=20 Australian defending his homeland against an American = assault:=20 "Tim Blair is editor of timblair.blogspot.com." Who needs=20 editors?

Where were you in the war,=20 Daddy?
: So now I understand what Photoshop Tennis = is, now=20 that I see More = Than Zero(MTZ_ and Mind Over What = Matters=20 (MOWM) place themselves on a 9.11 aerial view. I've = joined in:=20 I was between WTC 1 and 5, then across the street, then = along=20 Broadway, then at Liberty when WTC 2 came down.
: I = just added=20 Live from WTC=20 (WFWTC)'s location.

Alert R Us
: = Life in New=20 York on High Alert Day (formerly Abraham Lincoln's = Birthday)...=20 Three people can't get to a meeting on time this morning = because=20 they closed the Lincoln Tunnel, just like the old days of = five=20 months ago.... I'm riding the PATH train back from New = York (not=20 enjoying being in a tunnel under water on this fine = holiday) when=20 we are detoured around a station because of "police = action" there.=20 As the announcement is made, everyone on the train looks = at each=20 other: wide-eyed eye contact all around, not reflecting = irritation=20 (as before 9.11) or panic (as shortly after 9.11) but = worry,=20 clearly worry. A reminder.

Ted opens his = mouth
:=20 As an unwilling stockholder in AOL (oh, how I wish I'd = gotten rid=20 of my Time Warner before the damned AOL merger), I regret = that=20 they've rehired Ted Turner, who made the mistake of opening=20 his yap today:
"The reason that the World Trade Center got = hit is=20 because there are a lot of people living in abject = poverty out=20 there who don't have any hope for a better life," he = said.
He=20 said the attacks were an act of desperation, and that = Americans=20 lack an understanding of a willingness to die for one's=20 country.
"I think they were brave at the very least," = Turner=20 said of the 19 airliner hijackers believed to have = committed the=20 attacks, adding that they "might have been a little=20 nuts."

The World Bridge
: I = posted=20 this on my 9.11=20 memorial blog as well but I like the idea so much I'm = posting=20 it here, too:
The more I hear about the proposed 9.11 = memorial=20 building a bridge for people across the Hudson River, the = more I=20 like it. The Jersey=20 Journal in Jersey City has a feature on the plan:

"This is a place for people to go to, not = just=20 to go through," said [architect Eytan] Kaufman, whose = company=20 has mostly redeveloped commercial buildings for = residential=20 use.
The World Bridge would be a completely = people-oriented=20 tourist attraction and no cars would be allowed to = rumble=20 through any of its six to eight floors. With a = promenade,=20 restaurants, shops and hotel accommodations, the 6=20 million-square-foot bridge would offer everything found = on a New=20 York City block - except it would span the Hudson River. = Kaufman=20 also proposes creating a public park for recreation and=20 leisure.
"Its scale would be like the scale of the = disaster,"=20 said Kaufman, who drafted the proposal for his own = benefit=20 before he learned of the exhibit.
Futuristic in = structure and=20 function, the bridge would also help eliminate what = Kaufman=20 perceives as long-time disparities between New York and = New=20 Jersey.
"You tend to think of New York as the = dominant=20 partner," he said, citing shared ventures between the = two states=20 such as the Port Authority. He also pointed out that = many Sept.=20 11 victims were from New Jersey.
"I realized how good = it=20 might be for two financial centers, one already made and = one in=20 the making; this bridge would physically connect these = two=20 centers," said Kaufman. "It would be a stronger symbol = of the=20 two states than a tower in Manhattan."...
"I feel the = towers=20 sent a different signal before, a signal of dominance = and a=20 signal of power," he said. "It looks to me now more = important to=20 recognize the other part of the world."...
[Kaufman]=20 envisions a bridge that would be some 250 feet above the = water,=20 just a little higher than the George Washington Bridge, = so it=20 wouldn't affect shipping traffic.

. .=20 .

Monday, February 11, 2002 - Link=20

Our flag
: After my = post=20 on wearing the American flag -- and when and whether to = take it=20 off -- I got email. Charles Austin wrote that he never put = on a=20 pin: "It seems to me that wearing a pin is symptomatic of = the=20 empty belief that it is important for other people to know = that=20 'you care.' I will happily hold my patriotism up with = anybody's,=20 but that's not the point." That's a good and proper = reaction to=20 the pin overreaction: yellow pins, pink pins, red pins, we = all=20 needed a scorecard to figure out who on the Oscars cared = about=20 what. Yes, this was show-off morality and I find that = distasteful.=20 That's why I felt doubly odd wearing the pin myself: It's = a flag=20 and it's showing off. But I took it not as bragging but = rather as=20 defiance against those who would try to kill us just = because we=20 are American. F you, it said.
Then Daniel Hartung sent = me a=20 link to a great Doon= esbury,=20 in which the liberal berates the conservative for having = stolen=20 the flag for so many years:=20
You guys hijacked the flag years ago, during = the=20 Cold War, especially the Vietnam era, turning it into a = symbol=20 of unquestioning, jingoistic nationalism. Now it's back = to being=20 a symbol of patriotism and love of country, not a = particular=20 political agenda. So thanks for restoring it to ALL of=20 us."
I still have my pin = on.

Heroes
:=20 They found the bodies of five Port Authority Police = officers who=20 had been in the lobby of 1 World Trade Center (and now are = 60 feet=20 and five stories underground. The NY=20 Times reports that they appear to have died selflessly = trying=20 to carry an obese woman out of the building as it = collapsed, even=20 knowing -- after the collapse of the other tower -- that = the=20 danger was imminent. God bless you.
. .=20 .

Link=20

Five months after: Love and = fear
: Soon after our first child was born, 10 = years ago, I=20 promised myself that our children would never go to sleep = without=20 hearing that we loved them; it's a small moment but it = matters.=20 Over time, this has evolved into what we now call "special = words,"=20 a nightly litany of all the people (and a deity) who love = our=20 children "all the way to the sky, as high as high, forever = and=20 ever."
After 9.11, my son has added his own tradition. = He --=20 and now his little sister as well -- will not let my wife = or me=20 leave their sight without making sure to say, "I love = you." Every=20 morning from the garage door as I back out; every night as = I close=20 the bedroom door; sometimes even when I run out for = coffee: "I=20 love you." And I, of course, repeat the words.
As I've=20 mentioned before in this space, this small act at once = fills me=20 with joy but also sorrow, for it betrays an obvious but = deep fear=20 of what did not happen, but could have happened to me and = my=20 family five months ago today. We have never discussed the = details=20 or the what-if's of 9.11. But we do not need to. For = behind these=20 private words is a quiet but profound recognition of what = changed=20 that day.
It is a lesson for me. If today for a rare = moment I=20 try to think that life is returning to some old normal or = that the=20 changes in life since that day are not so shattering, all = I have=20 to do is leave for work or get ready for bed to be = reminded that=20 the change is, in fact, findamental -- the potential for = change is=20 always with us now.
Now we must say "I love you" = because the=20 greatest fear of all is what would happen if we did not. = We never=20 expected to be attacked from the sky that day. We can't = know what=20 to expect next. So all we can do now is hold onto each = other and=20 remind ourselves how much that matters (and how everything = else,=20 from politics to money, does not matter). That is all we = can=20 control and so we grasp for it. That very need, that = sudden=20 compulsion, is a daily reminder of the change and = uncertainty and=20 fear we live with now.
So, today, five months after, I = am=20 struck by the depth of the change in our lives even as,=20 superficially, that change is less evident.
And I am = struck by=20 the simple, profound wisdom of a child in the face of this = change=20 and this fear: Without ever saying so, it is clear that he = knows=20 what it means and what matters and what we can do about = it.=20
. .=20 .

Sunday, February 10, 2002 - Link=20

War be with you
: Muslim=20 Pundit has a remarkable post about the recruiters who = stand=20 outside British mosques and feed on the anger and hatred = like=20 bacteria heating up a compost heap:
I have always heard that prayer is to a man's=20 turbulent mind what water is to fire. Prayer is supposed = to=20 encourage the aura of tranquillity, and the feeling of = inner=20 peace. It is supposed to calm down and subdue the = seething waves=20 of anger, the fiery discontent that simmer in one's = heart. For a=20 person to engage in prayer is to seek refuge in an = uncertain=20 world. After coming out of a temple or a church, I have = observed=20 people to be relatively silent, smiling; slowly making = their way=20 out to their parked vehicles, talking in low muffled = voices. The=20 calmness and the serenity of places of worship commune = with our=20 minds to create an environment of peace all around it. = Indeed,=20 it is also not surprising then that more people wait for = alms at=20 such places than anywhere else.
Except, at least, at = the=20 numerous mosques I have visited in Britain. Come Friday, = and the=20 aftermath of the Friday congregation is anything but = serene. The=20 increasingly usual programme is troubling: Emit hot air, = even if=20 at the expense of non-Muslims, and pray. I am surrounded = by=20 idiots. Secular Muslims understandably choose not to = reveal=20 themselves in this environment. And yet this is not the = face of=20 Muslim extremism. That is waiting patiently outside = mosque=20 entrances instead, in the form of certain groups using = Friday to=20 market the call for destruction, violence and mayhem = around the=20 world, under the pretext of so-called freedom-fighting. = As=20 hundreds of people file out neither content nor smiling, = but=20 seething with anger at their non-Muslim compatriots, = they are=20 ripe for the taking, as they go straight into the open = arms of=20 these wannabe macho-men. These extremists righteously = hold their=20 banners in one hand, and the Qur'an in the other, = propagating=20 their message through hate-filled leaflets and = magazines, their=20 screaming mouths distorting their faces, howling for=20 indiscriminate retaliation against all Muslim and = Western rulers=20 under the belief that God=92s justice is on their side. = The entire=20 corpus of their ideology is contained within their = slogans....=20

Golf the Jihad Way
: Tony = Hendra, a=20 great humorist, had a great piece on NPR the other night, = noting=20 that among the hot words that sell book titles -- golf, = dog, cat,=20 'the end of.' Hitler -- now add the hot word du jour: = Jihad.=20 Inspired. Put in your Amazon orders now for Hitler's=20 Jihad.

Today's inappropriate Olympic=20 observation
: This year's women skaters are = unusually=20 gorgeous.
. .=20 .

Saturday, February 09, 2002 - Link=20

Wearing our hearts on our=20 lapels
: William=20 Quick sends us to a San Fran Chron=20 column by John Carman that wonders how long Letterman and = Leno=20 will keep wearing their flag pins.=20
The pins have to come off sometime, if only = because=20 in another year or two, they will reclaim their original = meaning: I am a conservative Republican, and more = American than=20 you.
Quick makes fun of this, for some good = reason.=20 But I have to admit I've been wondering the same thing. = I'm still=20 wearing my pin (I gave up the ribbon motif for a plain = flag, but a=20 straight one in an artsy silver frame, none of this = waving). My=20 attitude is still: I was almost killed by these = sons-of-bitches=20 just because I'm American and so I'm wearing the flag in = some=20 small defiance.
But I do wonder how long this will = last. I'm=20 just about the only person wearing a flag. I don't know = when and=20 whether it will become a bit embarrassing.
Meanwhile, = the paper=20 flags I see on car and house and office windows are fading = from=20 red-white-and-blue to pink-tan-and-aqua and the flags = flying from=20 cars are getting more threadbare by the week. The flags = are all=20 fading, from windows and cars and lapels.
I hope it = won't take=20 another attack to bring them back.

. .=20 .

Friday, February 08, 2002 - Link=20

I hate opening = ceremonies
:=20 That's all I wanted to say.

Me and my = rat
: The=20 NY=20 Times reports today on the lingering doubts and fears = about=20 health problems at Ground Zero, on 9.11 and since. People = simply=20 don't know what the dangers are. It also reports:
At a federal government laboratory in North=20 Carolina, a hundred mice are breathing dust from the = trade=20 center collapse. Some have it injected deep into their = lungs,=20 while others get intense one-day exposures in a = dust-filled=20 chamber, to mimic the dense cloud that people were = caught in on=20 Sept. 11. Other researchers are re-examining the health = effects=20 of exposure to large dust particles, which have been = linked by=20 physicians to the onset of asthma among some people who = worked=20 at ground zero in the days after the = disaster.
There=20 is a rat that has breathed the same collection of crushed = building=20 I did on 9.11 to see what befalls it. I'm rooting for you, = beast.
. .=20 .

Thursday, February 07, 2002 - Link=20

God Bless America
: = Lots of=20 links to my call for a little show of shameless patriotism=20 at the Olympics.
Thanks here,=20 here,=20 here,=20 and here.=20 Photodude respectfully dissents.

Welcome=20 home
: London : Loyal readers will know that = I am a=20 loyal reader of the = Rossi=20 Rant -- not a blog, per se (no links to such wonders = as this)=20 but an occasional, personal essay with a light touch and a = great=20 voice. Today, she writes about her visit to London, part = of her=20 pledge to get back to life after 9.11. "I started to feel = as=20 though it would be so easy to wake up one day and realize = that I'd=20 spent 20 years wallowing in the memory of the World Trade = Center."=20 Her report: "If you ever want to feel love from a = stranger,=20 respect, admiration and some kind of brother/sisterhood = from a=20 total stranger, go to London and tell everyone that you = meet,=20 you're a New Yorker.... Even if I had tried not to think = about=20 September 11th on my trip, London was determined to bring = it up=20 every time I opened my mouth and they heard my accent, or = lack of=20 accent, however you look at it."
: San Francisco = :=20 Meanwhile, Nick=20 Denton left London and skipped New York (against my = advice)=20 and headed straight back to San Francisco, only to be = depressed=20 and disgusted by the vagrants and their enablers who have = taken=20 over. This yields letters=20 and Ken=20 Layne piling on, too. I lived in San Francisco too = many years=20 ago (can it be 20?!) and loved it -- I was a = 20-odd-year-old=20 columnist and man about town. But much of what Denton = skewers was=20 true then, too. There is a continuum from the Gold Rush to = the 60s=20 to John The Rat Traitor Superdufus Walker Lindh -- there = is its=20 tolerance, as a good thing, taken too far; there is its = smugness=20 elevated to the level of a political statement; there is = its=20 insularity, a pillar of its society. It's a small town, = smaller=20 the longer you're there. It's pretty. The food is good. = The=20 weather is better than Denton will admit (what, London's = better?).=20 But it is too cute by half and not nearly as important as = it=20 wishes. Some days, I think being unimportant sounds OK. =
:=20 New York : Meanwhile, I stay in New York because = I'm too=20 scared to leave on a jet plane. Like Rossi, though, I fear = that=20 every day is marked by 9.11. Just today, I looked up at a = dark,=20 low cloud scraping the skyscrapers at Times Square and I = thought=20 of the death cloud. Everytime I look at the face of a New = York or=20 Port Authority cop or firefighter, I think, "Glad you = weren't=20 there;" they weren't the faces I saw that morning, the = faces I=20 still see in dreams. But I also remember the things I've = started=20 to forget about life in New York a few months ago: The = subways no=20 longer stop for hours with threats or fears, for example. = No,=20 we're not getting back to normal; that will never be. = We're just=20 finding a new water level of different.

Poor = Tom=20 Ridge?
: The NY=20 Times today argues that we should not label him Tom = "Do=20 Nothing" Ridge but Tom "No Win" Ridge, saying that our = head of=20 homeland security has neither the authority nor the = capability to=20 get the job done. Ultimately, as in any organization, his=20 authority comes from his boss; it is up to his boss to = make this=20 work.
: Ridge gives his solution: Reor= ganize=20 the government. Easy for him to say. Sounds the a = bureacrat=20 fighting bureacrats -- the war that will go on longer than = the war=20 on terrorism itself.
: Maybe Tom should start by = issuing an=20 axe to every cockpit in America (see = below).

Unsafe at=20 any altitude
: Just when I think that flying may be = OK=20 again... Fox News just reported that a man was restrained = on a=20 Miami-Buenos Aires flight trying to crash into the = cockpit. The=20 crew hit him with a fire axe.
. .=20 .

Wednesday, February 06, 2002 - Link=20

An Olympic event
: = So the=20 Olympics relented and will let us bring our=20 tattered flag from the World Trade Center into the = opening=20 ceremonies. How frigging big of them.
Here's how I want = it to=20 play out:
As soon as the flag enters the stadium, the = entire=20 audience should rise and sing God Bless America --=20 spontaneously, unanimously, reverently, defiantly.
I'll = be=20 damned if I'm going to hide like some PC mouse just = because other=20 countries don't like us. This is our country. We have been = attacked. We are prevailing through it all. We will be = united and=20 proud and strong together. We will show it.
We will = bring our=20 flag into our stadium.
We should rise as one voice to = sing in=20 praise and hope.
Can we spread this meme in two days? = Bill=20 O'Reilley could do it.
: The LA= =20 Times says the IOC is anti-American.

Absence = makes=20 the blog grow... slower
: I confess I've been = remiss in=20 blogging duties the last few days. The real world = intrudes. Money.=20 Life. What bothers.

Let's roll... the = videotape
:=20 Sometime ago, I complained that video taken by French = filmmakers=20 inside the World Trade Center was not being released. Now = it is.=20 The scenes will be shown on CBS next month and the = filmmakers talk=20 to Vanity Fair (quoted in USA=20 Today) now.

Bigger than... what?
: = Norman=20 Mailer tells the BBC=20 that "nothing compares in magnitude to the attacks on New = York and=20 Washington. This includes the atom bombs dropped on = Hiroshima and=20 Nagasaki which ended the Second World War."

The=20 facts
: The Council on = Foreign=20 Relations is building a good reference site on = terrorism with=20 new Q&As on Abu Sayyaf, Iraq, and Somalia. [via Die=20 Zeit]

History
: In the London = Review of=20 Books [via Die = Zeit,=20 again] comes a fascinating history of Islam from the = perspective=20 of Tariq Ali, who was raised a nonbeliever.
There were many advantages in being an = unbeliever.=20 Threatened with divine sanctions by family retainers, = cousins or=20 elderly relatives - 'If you do that Allah will be angry' = or 'If=20 you don't do this Allah will punish you' - I was = unmoved. Let=20 him do his worst, I used to tell myself, but he never = did, and=20 that reinforced my belief in his = non-existence.
Even=20 after thwarting every attempt to give him a religious = education,=20 Ali went on to learn the history of Islam from a political = perspective and he begins his history:=20
Judaism, Christianity and Islam all began as=20 versions of what we would today describe as political = movements.=20 They were credible belief-systems which aimed to make it = easier=20 to resist imperial oppression, to unite a disparate = people, or=20 both. If we look at early Islam in this light, it = becomes=20 apparent that its Prophet was a visionary political = leader and=20 its triumphs a vindication of his action programme. = Bertrand=20 Russell once compared early Islam to Bolshevism, arguing = that=20 both were 'practical, social, unspiritual, concerned to = win the=20 empire of this world'. By contrast, he saw Christianity = as=20 'personal' and 'contemplative'. Whether or not the = comparison is=20 apt, Russell had grasped that the first two decades of = Islam had=20 a distinctly Jacobin feel. Sections of the Koran have = the vigour=20 of a political manifesto, and at times the tone in which = it=20 addresses its Jewish and Christian rivals is as = factional as=20 that of any left-wing organisation. The speed with which = it took=20 off was phenomenal....

. .=20 .

Tuesday, February 05, 2002 - Link=20

Target the truth
: = Ken=20 Layne does some good reporting from his keyboard on = kidnapped=20 reporter Daniel Pearl; he reads much of Pearl's reporting = in the=20 Wall Street Journal and concludes:=20
Daniel Pearl has been writing damning stories = from=20 the Muslim world for seven years. He has written about = bin=20 Laden, Iran's fundamentalist government, the movement to = topple=20 Saddam and the various pipelines of money to the = terrorists.=20
He was set up. And he was targeted because of his = history of=20 covering the most criminal states of the Middle East and = Central=20 Asia.

. .=20 .

Monday, February 04, 2002 - Link=20

'Jihad is no longer quite = as cool=20 an idea as it was...'
: There's a great line from = Salman=20 Rushdie sparking column in the New=20 York Times today. He worries about the = anti-Americanism we=20 face now -- because we are to be envied and because we are = to be=20 envied more now that we have succeeded so quickly in = Afghanistan.=20 Even if there is peace in Palestine, Rushie says = anti-American=20 would continue because it:
...has become too useful a smokescreen for = Muslim=20 nations' many defects =97 their corruption, their = incompetence,=20 their oppression of their citizens, their economic, = scientific=20 and cultural stagnation. America-hating has become a = badge of=20 identity, making possible a chest- beating, flag-burning = rhetoric of word and deed that makes men feel good. It = contains=20 a strong streak of hypocrisy, hating most what it = desires most,=20 and elements of self- loathing. ("We hate America = because it has=20 made of itself what we cannot make of ourselves.") What = America=20 is accused of =97 closed- mindedness, stereotyping, = ignorance =97 is=20 also what its accusers would see if they looked into a=20 mirror.

F the Olympics
: The = Guardian=20 reports that U.S. Olympic organizers have been = instructed not=20 to have either any overt shows of patriotism or tributes = to the=20 victims of 9.11 in the opening ceremonies.
That's it. = I've had=20 it with the Olympics and believe we should not bother = hosting them=20 again.
They are an utterly discredited event. They are = no=20 longer about amateur sports. They are rife with corruption = and=20 payoffs and politics and drugs.
In Utah, the American = taxpayer=20 ended up footing the bill for development in Salt Lake = City that=20 will do no one but them any good. And I do not believe = that the=20 net result of hosting the Olympics is profit.
And now = this=20 affront.

. .=20 .