WarLog: World War III by Jeff Jarvis

From: Subject: WarLog: World War III by Jeff Jarvis Date: Wed, 18 Sep 2002 21:36:46 -0400 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/related; boundary="----=_NextPart_000_004B_01C25F5B.7D5DD800"; type="text/html" X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2600.0000 This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_004B_01C25F5B.7D5DD800 Content-Type: text/html; charset="Windows-1252" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Location: http://www.buzzmachine.com/2002_03_01_crisis_archive.html WarLog: World War III by Jeff Jarvis

WarLog: World War III

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

Sunday, March 31, 2002 - Link=20

Easter
: I had a = bad moment=20 at church this morning, Easter morning. I choked for a = moment in=20 the middle of singing the Hallelujah Chorus as I thought = of the=20 families of the victims of 9.11 at the same time that I = was=20 suffering my every-Easter doubts about resurrection and = life=20 everlasting and the very foundations of this day and this = faith.=20
I've learned to live with these doubts. I measure the = gap=20 between doubt and certainty and call that faith. I'm not = sure=20 about this mystery, never have been, never will be (until = I die).=20 I choose to accept it, on faith.
But today, it hurt = again to=20 think about those people who fell and burned and crashed = on 9.11=20 -- for my doubts, my failure of faith, meant that I was = not sure=20 whether there was any comfort for them and their families = in an=20 afterlife, in meaning. I felt as if I failed them.
And = as I=20 kept thinking about this and about all the victims in this = war --=20 the innocents in the Middle East who have been blown up = merely for=20 the sin of living -- I realized, as I often do, that if it = were=20 not for the resurrection and a belief in the afterlife and = a few=20 other fine points of theology, I might as well be Jewish = (and this=20 is why I have always wondered why Christianity separated = itself so=20 far from Judaism and its traditions; why do we not = celebrate=20 Passover together?). 9.11 made me feel closer to = them.
Part of=20 me wishes that we could send everyone in the Middle East = to their=20 rooms together until they can get along together -- and = leave us=20 in peace. But, of course, the rest of me, the sane part, = realizes=20 that they can no longer be left to their own devices and = that the=20 time has come to take action and take sides. I choose to = get past=20 history -- for it's hard to decide how far back one has to = go to=20 decide who started this fight: to 1948 or to the pharoahs? = I=20 choose to judge the players on their actions today. I = choose to=20 ally myself with other victims of terrorism against=20 terrorism.
The Passover murders are Easter murders as = well.=20 That is a lesson for today.

: David = Warren arrives at the same place -- namely, Jerusalem = -- from=20 a different route.=20
My mind cannot wander to Jerusalem this year,=20 without feeling a deep solidarity with my Jewish = brothers and=20 sisters, in Israel, under daily assault from suicide = bombers,=20 and in the shadow cast by a horrible war -- the backward = shadow=20 of a war that is approaching. I pray for the Muslims, = too, with=20 all who stand at Heaven's Gate, who must walk through = "the=20 valley of the shadow of death."
But for the Jews I = pray in=20 solidarity, for they are once again under attack, not = because=20 there is a war, but because they are Jews.
After the = Holocaust we vowed, Never again. Have we already = forgotten?=20
It is time for all Christendom to remember, Never = again.=20 That we will not stand by, as Jewish people -- as = pregnant=20 mothers, children, teenagers, old women and old men -- = are=20 selected for extermination. That we are not indifferent = in this=20 matter, that we are not neutrals as between the victim = and the=20 murderer. That as Christians, and in the name of Christ, = we=20 stand by our brother and sister Jews.
Amen. =

Jonestown: Jerusalem
: Arafat is looking = like a=20 cult leader, pure and simple. He reminds me of Jim Jones = in the=20 days before Jonestown, all paranoia and wishful martyrdom. = Listen=20 to Arafat on Arab=20 TV:
...we ask Allah to grant us martyrdom, to = grant us=20 martyrdom. To Jerusalem we march =96 martyrs by the = millions. To=20 Jerusalem we march =96 martyrs by the millions. To = Jerusalem we=20 march =96 martyrs by the millions. To Jerusalem we march = =96 martyrs=20 by the millions...
Jones destroyed his = people, more=20 than 900 of them, having them commit murder and suicide = for him.=20 Is that what is to become of Palestine?

Suicide=20 murderers
: My worst fear, the one I've dared not = say aloud=20 -- for fear it would actually happen -- is that a suicide = bomber=20 and then another and then another would strike the U.S. as = they=20 have Israel. Our crowded targets are easy to imagine: We = gather in=20 such large numbers and, conveniently, we do it at icons of = American culture and plenty. The devastation would be = huge. The=20 ease with which this could be done frightening. The terror = unimaginable.
But now Thomas=20 Friedman has said it aloud in a column warning that we = -- yes,=20 we -- must stop the Palestinian suicide murderers or their = tactic,=20 their crime, their evil will spread even here. Friedman = says the=20 Palestinians are "testing out a whole new form of warfare, = using=20 suicide bombers =97 strapped with dynamite and dressed as = Israelis =97=20 to achieve their political aims. And it is working." His = warning=20 reaches a fevered crescendo:
Let's be very clear: Palestinians have adopted = suicide bombing as a strategic choice, not out of = desperation.=20 This threatens all civilization because if suicide = bombing is=20 allowed to work in Israel, then, like hijacking and = airplane=20 bombing, it will be copied and will eventually lead to a = bomber=20 strapped with a nuclear device threatening entire = nations. That=20 is why the whole world must see this Palestinian suicide = strategy defeated....
The Palestinians are so blinded = by=20 their narcissistic rage that they have lost sight of the = basic=20 truth civilization is built on: the sacredness of every = human=20 life, starting with your own. If America, the only = reality check=20 left, doesn't use every ounce of energy to halt this = madness and=20 call it by its real name, then it will spread. The Devil = is=20 dancing in the Middle East, and he's dancing our=20 way.
It already is spreading. Look at = yesterday's=20 news, bringing Islamic suicide murderers to India. What=20 is to stop it from traveling here? Is it just that Saudi=20 terrorists -- our tormenters -- prefer big bangs and = they're the=20 ones going after us? Are the Palestinians using up all = their lone=20 bombers at home? Is it just a matter of time?
Note = well the=20 warning -- the bald threat -- Charles= =20 Johnson -- the Web's leading watchdog vs. Arabs -- = found in=20 the Boston=20 Globe from the head of Arafat's Fatah, who said:=20
"Only the Americans can stop this massacre. = They can=20 stop the massacre with one phone call. If there is harm = to one=20 hair of the head of Arafat, the United States should = protect its=20 interests all over the world. We are not like bin Laden, = but we=20 have our own style."
Their own style has = been quite=20 clearly demonstrated in Israel: They use their own people, = their=20 own women, their own children, for God's sake -- they = murder their=20 own -- to murder their enemies.
Glenn=20 Reynolds takes that as an opportunity to rattle some = American=20 sabre: "We've got our own style, too, buddy." But note our = style:=20 We bomb the bejesus out of the bad guys. That's how we got = the=20 Taliban and bin Laden out. Is that we are prepared to do = here? How=20 are we going to halt this evil? For we must.

: = Another=20 attack at an ambulance station, this by a 17= -year-old.=20 And another ki= lling=20 14 at a mall.
. .=20 .

Saturday, March 30, 2002 - Link=20

Hell is getting = crowded
:=20 Israel is=20 not the only place being terrorized by suicide bombers of = the=20 Islamic stripe. Ten people at a Hindu temple in=20 India were just murdered by a Muslim suicide=20 bomber.

You won't like what comes next
: = Inspired=20 by Victor=20 Davis Hanson's line, "There will be no second = Holocaust," Will=20 Warren pens a few right-on lines of his own:
Not concerned with what Allah wants or=20 doesn=92t,
Don=92t care what it says in your holy=20 text,
Doesn=92t matter if your sad story was or=20 wasn=92t.
Don=92t try it: you won=92t like what comes = next.
The lights
: A chorus is = growing to keep=20 the towers of light. I strongly agree. The lights = should=20 become a permanent part of our skyline, part of the = permanent=20 memorial.
Now add the fact that it is going to take as = long as=20 six years, they say, to build on the site (can't find the = link=20 now); we need these lights there to fill in the = hole.
But Mayor=20 Bloomberg is being a bozo = about this, saying that the lights will go dark in April = and may=20 come back again. He's whining about the cost. Damnit, a = mayor of=20 vision would not quibble. He's acting like a CEO, not a=20 leader.

Get me rewrite
: So Noam Chomsky = is going=20 to start a newspaper=20 about the war. From where else? San Francisco, of = course.=20 Chortle.
. .=20 .

Friday, March 29, 2002 - Link=20

Dead letter box
: = Penthouse's=20 parent company is in danger of folding.

Arafat's = Panic=20 Room
: Question: What happens if Israel does kill=20 Arafat? They say they're not trying to, but they're = attacking=20 his headquarters, as he cowers in one room. A stray bullet = or=20 missile or angry soldier could take him out. What then? = War=20 tonight?
: Dear Mrs. Arafat, says Tres=20 Producers.=20
Sorry we blew your husband up. We were trying = to=20 "isolate" him from the rest of his terrorist leadership, = and we=20 ended up =93isolating=94 his ass from the rest of him. = Our mistake.=20
Nightmares
: I had nightmares last = night.=20 People have often asked me whether I've had them, after = 9.11. I=20 haven't, not many anyway. And if I did, I wouldn't talk = about them=20 as if they had meaning. I hate dream sequences in movies = and=20 books; they try to infer meaning where it does not = necessarily=20 exist. Besides, they're boring.
My nightmares came = directly=20 from something I heard on Howard Stern the other day: A = guy was=20 promoting high-rise-escape parachutes and he doing a = reasonable=20 job of it, simply arguing that having these things would = be better=20 than nothing. He explained that in talking to fire = departments=20 about high-rise fires he learned that people who fall = usually do=20 not jump -- as we all assumed people did at the World = Trade=20 Center. ("How terrible must it be up there if people are = jumping?"=20 we all asked.) He said that people trapped in these fires = go to=20 windows for air and as they struggle for oxygen, they lean = farther=20 and farther out windows to escape the smoke but then they = pass out=20 and they fall. He said he believed that most of the people = who=20 fell out of the World Trade Center towers were unconscious = when=20 they fell. Somehow, that made me feel better. The images = of those=20 people are the most horrible images I live with from that = day; I=20 will not talk about them. I shudder to think what they had = to be=20 thinking. But if I'm to believe this man, they were not = conscious.=20 Small comfort.
But last night, I had the nightmares = about=20 falling and not being able to get a parachute on and = dropping the=20 parachute, nightmares that played into my fear of heights = and=20 falling and into the horror and fear of 9.11.

I've = been=20 thinking lately that the time is coming to stop talking = about all=20 this, for surely there are folks who are thinking, "Get a = life,=20 man; get a grip; move on." They'd be right. I've said it=20 myself.
And then we all saw the story this week that = said that=20 there was a higher=20 rate of depression among people who live near the = World Trade=20 Center:
More than 150,000 adults living in the = southern half=20 of Manhattan suffered post-traumatic stress or = depression=20 following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, according to = the first=20 detailed study of the psychological aftershocks.
The = survey,=20 conducted five to eight weeks after the attacks, found = nearly=20 double the usual rate of psychiatric illness: 7.5 = percent of=20 interviewed Manhattanites living below 110th Street had=20 post-traumatic stress disorder and 9.7 percent had = depression=20 linked to the terrorism.
When I saw that, I = thought=20 the number was ludicrously low. Less than 10 = percent were=20 depressed? Hell, that many New Yorkers have always been = depressed.=20 After 9.11, all of New York was depressed to one degree or = another. Half of New York still is.
And that's normal; = that is=20 a quite sane reaction to this insane event and insane = times.
I=20 don't go to therapy. I don't poo-poo it for others but I = do for=20 myself. It's my job as a mature adult to cope and I'm = coping just=20 fine. Thank goodness, I don't need shrinks or drugs to = help me=20 cope.
I'm coping with even this; most are. But still, = I have=20 reason to be depressed; we all do. It is a proper response = to=20 everything that has happened to be depressed and sad and = scared=20 and angry. It is a proper response to have = nightmares.

And=20 so, I cannot imagine living in Israel today. The danger = comes from=20 everywhere: on buses, at Passover Seders with old people = in=20 hotels, and today, in the grocery store. The evil is all = around.=20 Life is a nightmare. I don't know how they=20 cope.

: Amygdala=20 picks up the baton in the blogwatching relay race and does = a damn=20 fine job of it.

Good Friday
: From = Killing the=20 Buddah, Jon=20 Hooten shares observations appropriate to the news and = the=20 day:=20
While Judas took 30 pieces of silver, Cardinal = Law=20 is giving his 30 (million) pieces away. Some might = consider=20 Law's settlement an act of justice, a payment of = reparation for=20 those so grievously wronged over the years. Yet, the = heart of=20 the comparison of Cardinal Law to Judas Iscariot lies = not in the=20 accounting. The rub is in the betrayal, what is lost in = the=20 exchange.
: And T= ony=20 Pierce advises:=20
i havent spread the word in so long and here = it is=20 Good Friday and this is what i'll say about it.
read = a few=20 chapters of the Good Book this weekend.
it might = surprise=20 you.
I see so little religion in life, I'm = surprised=20 to see so much religion=20 online.
. .=20 .

Thursday, March 28, 2002 - Link=20

Cool is dead
: Many = will=20 have pointed to the NY Times declaration today that the Web,=20 like an old girlfriend, is just no fun anymore.
I = welcome=20 this.
The Web became too cool, too cute, too = soon.
The Web=20 became useless.
Yes, I do worry that has Internet = companies go=20 out of the business and real companies reduce their = Internet=20 investments, there will be less on the Internet to engage = the=20 audience and the audience could shrink.
But the truth = is that=20 people are spending less time on the Web today because = they're=20 wasting less time.
They're not surfing; we see that in = every=20 focus group we do. People know what they want; they get = it; they=20 get off.
This is not a problem isolated to the Web. = Other media=20 can get useless, too. When I was Sunday editor of the NY = Daily=20 News, I started a new section with only one mission: Every = story=20 in it had to be useful. No thumbsuckers about city hall. = No days=20 with bag ladies. No cries of injustice. Useful. For too = many=20 newspapers, I said, had started to become useless.
TV=20 regularly becomes useless and then reforms itself when it=20 discovers that that's a way to lose money. Ditto movies = and=20 books.
The Web was cool when it was new and then cool = wasn't=20 such a bad thing. I started a bunch of sites that were = Cool Sites=20 of the Day and I was proud of that... then.
But now = the Web is=20 about getting information, about buying things, about=20 communicating (and weblogs do help with two of three of = those=20 things).
So I welcome the Web's new dullness. Let's = hear it for=20 dull!

Ha!
: A FoxNews anchor asks = Binyamin=20 Netanyahu whether he believes Arafat's offer of a complete = ceasefire. Netanyahu seems genuinely surprised at the = question and=20 replies: "Are you joking?"
He says Israel must do to = Arafat=20 what America did to the Taliban.
This is going to get = even=20 uglier.

: To the death...
: You've = been=20 waiting for the TV trend in reality shows and extreme game = shows=20 to go too far, haven't you? Been wondering when we'd see = the first=20 serious injury or death, right? The=20 start:
A contestant on the US version of Dog Eat Dog = ended=20 up in hospital after taking part in one of the show's=20 stunts.
The 26-year-old man had held his breath = underwater=20 for two minutes.
He was taken to hospital by = paramedics as a=20 precaution after an emergency call was made to the Los = Angeles=20 Fire Department.
US TV network NBC identified the man = only as=20 a Los Angeles personal trainer. =

. .=20 .

Wednesday, March 27, 2002 - Link=20

Scum spam
: Osama = bin Laden=20 allegedly sent=20 email to an Arab paper in London.=20
Abdel Bari Atwan, editor of al-Quds al-Arabi, = said=20 last night that the message, headed "A Bin Laden = Communique",=20 denounced Saudi Arabia's Middle East peace initiative = and=20 praised Palestinian suicide attacks....
The message = also=20 praised Palestinian suicide attacks on Israelis and = urged=20 Muslims to launch jihad, or holy struggle, against the = Jewish=20 state.
"The Jews try in vain to flee, finding no = refuge and=20 becoming exposed to exploding bodies that make them = taste death=20 and chased by horror," it said. It described suicide = bombings in=20 Israel and the September 11 attacks as "the great = events" and=20 "the blessed jihad".
There has been no proven = communication=20 from Bin Laden since the height of the Afghan war. It = was=20 unclear last night whether the message was genuine, but = if so it=20 would be the first evidence that he has survived the = bombing.=20
If anything will bring him out of hiding, it = will be=20 his ego.

Uncle Miltie
: Milton Berle died= .=20 Of course, I'm sorry to hear that. On his last appearance = on=20 Howard Stern's show, he proved to be a wry and funny and = up to any=20 comic challenge.
I know I'll be accused of being cruel = and=20 heartless and nasty for saying this, but I dread the = nostalgia=20 that will come from this. People will be wailing about how = he=20 represented the "golden age" of TV. But that's bull. Early = television was bad vaudeville; it was tinny, not golden: = silly,=20 slapstick, obvious, easy. The truth is that the golden age = of TV=20 is now; television today is filled with far greater talent = and=20 imagination and artistry. I don't mean to detract from = Miltie's=20 pioneering in a new medium; can't take that away from him. = But I=20 just have to say that young people should ignore all the = nostaglic=20 claptrap they are about to hear; things weren't always = better in=20 the old days; sometimes, things actually get better over = time and=20 TV is one of those things.
: Mac Thomason is crueler=20 than I am.

Bastards
: Big suicide=20 bombing in Israel, killing 19 people and injuring more = than=20 100 (at latest count).
: And we should listen to = Arafat...=20 why?
: And we should give a shit about the = Palestinians...=20 why?
Sympathy is dying fast. Oops, it just died.=20

Victimology
: So now a class-action suit=20 on behalf of all black Americans has been filed = against three=20 companies that allegedly profited from slavery well more = than a=20 century ago under the doctrine that if the Jews can do it = (for=20 genocide in their lifetime) then shy shouldn't the next = guy?=20
Where the hell does this end, this exploitation of=20 victimhood?
By this logic...
: The Jews should = certainly sue=20 Egypt for their time in slavery under the Pharaohs. Let's = get it=20 filed in time for Passover, eh?
: Native Americans = should sue=20 England, France, and Spain for taking their land.
: = Native=20 Canadians should sue the Hudson's Bay Company for taking = their=20 land and furs (and then PETA should sue them, too).
: = Muslims=20 should Christians for the Crusades (hey, it sure would = beat=20 murdering us en masse).
Where the hell does it end, = this=20 idiocy?
When do people stop being victims? When do = people stop=20 being perpetrators? Where does guilt end? Where does = entitlement=20 end?
My ancestors were dirt-poor hillbillies in = Appalachia who=20 couldn't afford shoes let alone slaves. Yet this suit = would have=20 me pay for the sins of others' ancestors because, just for = instance, I happen to be a customer of Fleet bank, one of = the=20 defendants in the suit. So what moral code says I should = pay=20 higher checking fees because somebody 200 years ago did = something=20 wrong? And what moral code says that the next generation = should=20 carry guilt for the sins of not just our fathers but our = father's=20 father's father's father's fathers?
Idiocy. Offensive = idiocy.=20
If the courts do not throw this out immediately, the = courts=20 are a jackass.

The cure for = blogstipation
: Some=20 folks just disappear from blogdom for awhile (Thoma= s=20 Nephew, phone home!). Some store up their posts and = then eat a=20 good, big bowl of prunes and out it comes. Nick Denton is of = the latter=20 variety and he's posting like mad from PC Forum. Good=20 stuff.
Denton is also assuring himself new nicknames as = he=20 tweaks the Sergeants (who=20 just dubbed him a "prissy airheaded blonde"). The other = day,=20 another blogger -- I apologize for not remembering which = one --=20 dubbed Denton a "schoolmarm" and that reputation will only = be=20 amplified with Denton's posts yesterday on proper blog etiquette.=20
: Update. Daypop is wonderful. I find that R= eid=20 Stott created the schoolmarm moniker for = Nick.

The=20 dreaded Afghan spring II
: If you're keeping score = for the=20 future, note that the NY=20 Times joins the chorus warning of a rough spring (coming = after the=20 rough winter that wasn't rough) in Afghanistan. The = Guardian started=20 the spring quagmire whining on March 21.
. .=20 .

Tuesday, March 26, 2002 - Link=20

WYSIWYG blog editing ... = within=20 the blog page
: Follow=20 Me Here discovers a very cool-looking tool that allows = you to=20 edit your blog on the blog itself, in the plain old = browser (just=20 IE... take that, you Netscape liberals). The = Blog=20 "Adminimizer" is explained here. This is more than = just a cool=20 blog toy. This is about the wonders of XML: displaying and = editing=20 content in any form. We've had a drought of cool on the = Internet=20 lately. This is cool.

Wages of sin
: A = topnotch=20 Ken Layne column at FoxNews today on Saddam's payments=20 to suicide bombers' famlies.

Anthrax=20 culprits
: It's not every day that I say "amen" to = a Wall=20 Street Journal editorial, but I do today. They say = that the=20 administration's domestic team is too quick to assume that = the=20 source of the anthrax murders is domestic. They point to = the=20 evidence I pointed to in recent days: an apparent anthrax = lesion=20 on one of the hijackers and the discovery of more = biological=20 warfare labs in Afghanistan.=20
...the FBI persists in asserting that the = anthrax=20 letter writer was probably a domestic nut with no ties = to al=20 Qaeda. Maybe so. But it's also true that U.S. = law-enforcement=20 experts have been wrong about the sources of terror in = the=20 recent past, and are capable of becoming fixated on one = theory=20 of a case, which they then set out to prove. The first = World=20 Trade Center bombing, of course, turned out to be the=20 culmination of a coordinated project carried out by a = broad=20 radical-Islamic network, not just a few disaffected = crackpots=20 living in the U.S.
The FBI, like the CIA and the = other=20 government intelligence-gathering agencies chasing = terrorists,=20 is a bureaucracy, and bureaucracies tend to operate = under their=20 own imperatives. In that context, it's not reassuring = that two=20 senior law-enforcement officials involved in the anthrax = investigation are quoted in yesterday's Journal as = saying that=20 much of their work is aimed at ensuring that any = evidence they=20 bring forth will survive challenge in a courtroom. Well, = we'd=20 all like to arrest, convict and put away the individuals = who=20 dropped the anthrax letters in the mail, but the real = national=20 priority has to be forestalling more such attacks = against the=20 American people.
That means that we must be prepared = to=20 pursue the anthrax trail wherever it leads, even if it = takes us=20 to places, such as Iraq, that complicate choices about = foreign=20 policy for U.S. leadership.
Amen again. [via = Instapundit]

Tragedy=20 nuggets
: I get mail from James Archer reacting to = my=20 whining about the Oscars turning the Twin Towers into a=20 politically incorrect image we shouldn't see (below). He = writes:
Why is it that every article, every news = segment,=20 every documentary, every essay, every song, every event, = everything must mention "9-11!" every two minutes or be = branded=20 unamerican?
The events of that day have been = transformed into=20 a meme, a little postmodern nugget of political = correctness that=20 can be passed around like a pet rock, adored and petted = and=20 passed on to someone else. It's no longer a historic = event, it's=20 just an abstract concept. 9-11. Ground Zero. WTC. = Firefighters.=20 Flags. Giuliani. Images. Concepts. =
Lit
:=20 Will Warren at Unremitting Verse takes=20 on Jonathan Franzen's hyper-hyped The = Corrections.
=93Shadows lengthened on yellowing = zoysia=94:
Note=20 the masterstroke: zoysia.
Nothing so mundane in = FranzenLand=20 as grass.
You can hear the men talking in that = northern=20 clime:
=93Hey, Clem: your zoysia=92s gettin=92 a mite = long,=20 friend.=94
I've already written how I was = reading The=20 Corrections on 9.11, how I threw out my copy because = it was=20 infused with The Dust, how I bought another copy and tried = to pick=20 it up again, how I gave up because the book felt so damned = self-indulgent, especially after everything that had = happened. So=20 I'm gratified to see Warren tweaking the self-proclaimed = master of=20 American fiction. (Seeing this guy go up against Oprah was = almost=20 enough to make me side with Oprah... almost.)
My real=20 confession out of this is that I haven't been reading much = at all=20 since 9.11; haven't had the will or the attention span = (and been=20 busy blogging). The other day I heard someone on NPR = saying that=20 she put Franzen's book on her list of the best of last = year and=20 now regretted it, after reading Atonement by Ian = McEwan. So=20 I picked up that book.

. .=20 .

Monday, March 25, 2002 - Link=20

Airport = insecurity
:=20 Frightening stats from USA Today on the still-miserable=20 state of airport security. Read it and shiver:
In the months after Sept. 11, airport = screeners=20 confiscated record numbers of nail clippers and = scissors. But=20 nearly half the time, they failed to stop the guns, = knives or=20 simulated explosives carried past checkpoints by = undercover=20 investigators with the Transportation Department's = inspector=20 general.
In fact, even as the Federal Aviation = Administration=20 evacuated terminals and pulled passengers from more than = 600=20 planes because of security breaches, a confidential memo = obtained by USA TODAY shows investigators noticed no = discernable=20 improvements by screeners in the period from November = through=20 early February, when the tests were conducted.
At = screening=20 checkpoints, the memo reads, "only the opaque object = (such as a=20 film bag) were routinely caught." Guns passed through in = 30% of=20 tests, knives went unnoticed 70% of the time, and = screeners=20 failed to detect simulated explosives in 60% of=20 tests.
Perhaps just as troubling, investigators "were = successful in boarding 58 aircraft" at 17 of the 32 = airports=20 tested. "In 158 tests," the memo says, "we got access to = either=20 the aircraft (58) or the tarmac (18) 48 percent of our=20 tries."...
"We still have the same people doing the = same jobs=20 they did before Sept. 11," says Reynold Hoover, an = expert on=20 counterterrorism who conducts screening=20 seminars.
Towers? What towers?
: = I'll tell=20 you what pissed me off about the Academy Awards last = night: The=20 movie industry has suddenly decided that the World Trade = Center=20 towers are politically incorrect. They think we shouldn't = show the=20 towers; we shouldn't talk about them; it would be wrong. =
They=20 have Woody Allen come to show how Hollywood loves New York = and=20 give us clip after clip of New York from many great movies = but=20 what's most noticable is what they do not show: The World = Trade=20 towers.
And we constantly hear Hollywood fret about = whether=20 they should edit movies to edit out the towers.
Stop. = The=20 Towers were part of the life of New York; they defined our = skyline; they now define our history. We are not ashamed = of the=20 towers. We are not so tender that we want to act as if = they were=20 never there. We are proud of our towers as a symbol of New = York's=20 greatness.
If they had shown the towers last night, I = guarantee=20 that the audience would have given them a bigger ovation = than=20 Woody got.
But Hollywood has no good sense. Hollywood = has a tin=20 heart.

A watched blog never boils
: First = Will Vehrs = threw in the=20 blogwatch towel; he was doing a great job but he needed to = pay=20 attention to his real job. Then Tim Blair -- = who started=20 this, didn't he? -- quietly abandoned blogwatching. Now Kathy=20 Kinsley has run out of NoDoz and is claiming = exhaustion (too=20 bad on two counts: she was a great blogwatcher ... and she = was=20 watching me). Blogwatching was a good idea but, like the = Internet,=20 it had one problem: there's no money in it. I know = somebody who=20 may be working on a solution but I can't talk about that = now....=20
. .=20 .

Sunday, March 24, 2002 - Link=20

Tom Ridge is a = dork
: How=20 many ways can we call the guy a dysfunctional idiot? His=20 continuing refusal=20 to testify before Congress is a mark of stupidity, = cowardice, and=20 bureaucracy.=20
Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge stood = firm=20 Sunday in his refusal to testify before Congress about = the White=20 House's anti-terrorism budget, saying his appearance = would=20 violate the constitution's separation of=20 powers.
Dork.

Speaking of = dorks
: Tom=20 Cruise is one, too.

Fly Naked
: D= aniel=20 Taylor resurrects my Fly Naked campaign -- it being = preferable=20 to flying clothed but being exposed in those new X-ray=20 machines that should have been invented by a teenage = Woody=20 Allen.

The sound of silence
: I think = I've been=20 quite tasteful avoiding punchlines about Lady Thatcher = being=20 forbidden to speak in public anymore because of her = health. I'll=20 continue my stretch of virtue if for no other reason than = that the=20 punchlines are all so obvious.
And this week, David = Warren writes:
Baroness Thatcher was taken ill this past = week, and=20 I've been asked to write her obituary as a precaution. = (This=20 isn't it.) I happily agree to most such assignments, for = when I=20 write an advance obituary, the subject invariably = survives;=20 lives so many years that my essay is eventually lost in = the=20 files. I attribute the longevity of Ronald Reagan, the = Pope, and=20 the Queen Mother, to the obituaries I wrote of them back = in the=20 'nineties. On the other hand, I now deeply regret having = written=20 an obituary of Osama bin Laden.
Tacky = tourism=20 II
: Below, I lampoon Californians for turning = Ground Zero=20 into a tourist attraction. But it turns out New York is = not above=20 the sin, witness this NY=20 Times story:=20
he destruction of the World Trade Center has = emerged=20 as a powerful selling point for New York City, invoked = again and=20 again over the last six months to make the case that big = events=20 like the Super Bowl, the Grammy Awards ceremony and a = proposed=20 joint meeting of Congress all belong in New = York....
The=20 argument goes like this: Bringing an event like the = Super Bowl=20 to New York City will stimulate tourism and help the = city and=20 the country recover; it will be an expression of = solidarity with=20 New Yorkers; it will strike a blow against terrorism; it = will=20 enable visitors to share in the New York spirit.
The = case=20 being made is striking in its appeal, in part, to = sympathy for=20 the purpose of drumming up tourist business. It appears = to link=20 notions of patriotism and civic duty to things like = hotel=20 bookings. It centers for once not on the glamour of New = York,=20 but on its most tragic moment.
Supporting = New York is=20 good. Exploiting this tragedy is not.

An = improper=20 memorial
: I agree with the NY Times editorial = yesterday=20 that came out against=20 a New York State holiday on Sept. 11:=20
Relieving people of work does not necessarily = move=20 their thoughts in a desired direction.... Few people = caught up=20 in Memorial Day traffic bestir themselves to remember = the=20 Union's Civil War dead."
I cannot stand the = idea of=20 workers and schoolchildren thinking, "Oh, good, it's Sept. = 11:=20 That means a day off!"
That date should not mean a day = off or=20 anything happy. That date should mean solemn remembrance.=20

The towers
: Paul Morris at Killing the = Buddha=20 writes a striking=20 essay on the towers-of-light memorial at the World = Trade=20 Center. [via wood s=20 lot]
He doesn't like the memorial; he says the = lights that=20 matter are the flood lights shining "down to the scorched = earth,=20 where heads bow in prayer and bend in toil." He adds:=20
Don't be fooled; nothing has been restored. = What you=20 see is what you get, a skyline without substance, a = tribute that=20 lacks soul. You can find better replicas of the towers = from any=20 vendor on the street.

Even so, Morris = has many=20 poetic and memorable visions of the towers of light:
You'd be forgiven if, after 9/11, you thought = you'd=20 never crane your neck to look that high up again, = because there=20 it is, against all gods, a great Babel tower siphoning = the light=20 of stars barely visible above lower Manhattan. It's as = though=20 the flood lamps huddling around ground zero suddenly = looked up=20 one by one to create an ethereal halo in the = sky....
When=20 dust from the debris removal drifts west and enters the = columns,=20 the heat from the bulbs forces it to rise and the towers = become=20 a swirl of particles. The effect of watching their = ascension is=20 dizzying. At a certain spot in the sky difficult to = determine,=20 the columns of light begin to destabilize. They seem = almost to=20 be tipping, leaning into each other for support while=20 simultaneously buckling outward....
Nearing midnight, = Con=20 Edison cuts the juice and the towers collapse. This time = they=20 fall in reverse, as the lights that created them shoot = like twin=20 rockets reaching escape velocity. And then they're gone. = Again.
Night after night, the towers are extinguished = this=20 way, over and over as midnight approaches. And day after = day,=20 they are rebuilt anew, photon by photon -- today, = tomorrow, and=20 the next after that in a series of power surges embraced = by a=20 city impatient to heal.
I like the towers of = light.=20 But he's right: It's because I'm part of a city impatient = to heal.=20 Well said.

Terror tourism
: The LA Times = runs a=20 tourism=20 guide to Ground Zero. Tasteless Californians. [via Victory = Coffee]=20
. .=20 .

Saturday, March 23, 2002 - Link=20

Privacy? Crap!
: = The most=20 overused, panicky, paranoid buzzword of the last decade is = "privacy."
Privacy paranoia dogs the Internet. = Somehow, it=20 became a sin to use evil cookies to target ads on free Web = pages.=20 Y'know, if the New York Times uses its registration data = to know=20 that I am male so it doesn't waste an impression selling a = feminine hygiene product tp me, that's just fine. If = Amazon uses=20 my buying history to recommend books I might like, that's = a=20 service. If a smart supermarket learns that people who buy = beef=20 buy more ketchup and they sell that data to Heinz, good = for them.=20 No harm done.
Now the privacy bugaboo monster is being = brought=20 to bear to harm our efforts against terrorism. That's not = only=20 stupid. It's dangerous.
The feds are planning to put=20 surveillance cameras on national monuments in Washington = and=20 suddenly, the amorphous club of "privacy advocates" is = whining in=20 stories in the Washington=20 Post and NY=20 Times). "It is becoming more evident that Congress may = have to=20 step in and ensure that this technology does not take away = our=20 right to be left alone," Rep. Constance A. Morella (R-Md.) = said in=20 the Post.
What a bunch of crap! There is no privacy = issue=20 here.
First, this is public property. Cops could be = standing=20 there watching what you're doing. Photographers could = legally=20 record what you're doing and air it because you're doing = it=20 publicly. I could watch what you do and tell the world. = You don't=20 have privacy in public.
Second, and far more important, = these=20 monuments are likely targets of terrorists. It is a vital=20 necessity of national security to watch and record what = happens=20 there so we can perhaps prevent an attack or at least = catch the=20 terrorists in the act.
For self-appointed privacy = whiners to=20 stand in the way of this is not only stupid, it is = obstructing our=20 national security.
I can't quite grok the ideology of = privacy=20 panic. Sometimes, it comes from PC liberals like the = frightening=20 Ed Markey; sometimes it comes from libertarians and = right-wing=20 government-haters. And the media too often just accept = this=20 whining without questioning the wisom or logic or simple = common=20 sense of it. No matter: It's time to call this privacy = whining=20 what it is: Stupid.
Yesterday, I had FoxNews on my = office TV=20 and watched the high-speed chase du jour -- not the dump = truck=20 chase, that was Thursday's high-speed chase, but Friday's=20 high-speed chase with copters -- news and police copters = --=20 chasing a bozo in Florida as he drove nowhere and then got = out of=20 his car and ran. All the while, those copters kept him in = sight,=20 even zooming in on him in the backyard of a house; you = could=20 practically read the brand name on his dorky shorts. And I = thought: Damn, I wish we could bring this technology -- = this=20 wonderful, Big Brother technology -- to catch criminals = other than=20 idiot dorks in fast cars.
I wish we had more = surveillance=20 cameras to catch the murderer who dropped anthrax in = mailboxes.=20

The anthrax connection
: Here's new = evidence=20 that the hijackers could have been behind the anthrax = attacks. The=20 NY=20 Times reports today that one of the hijackers on the=20 Pennsylvania jet was treated for a skin lesion that the = doctor and=20 other experts now believe was anthrax. The doctor in Ft.=20 Lauderdale, Christos Tsonas, reported this to the FBI in = October;=20 it's coming out only now, thanks to a Johns Hopkins report = that=20 says this "raises the possibility that the hijackers were = handling=20 anthrax and were the perpetrators of the anthrax letter = attacks."=20 Now add this:
Dr. Tsonas's comments add to a tantalizing = array of=20 circumstantial evidence. Some of the hijackers, = including Mr.=20 Alhaznawi, lived and attended flight school near = American Media=20 Inc. in Boca Raton, Fla., where the first victim of the = anthrax=20 attacks worked. Some of the hijackers also rented = apartments=20 from a real estate agent who was the wife of an editor = of The=20 Sun, a publication of American Media.
In addition, in = October, a pharmacist in Delray Beach, Fla., said he had = told=20 the F.B.I. that two of the hijackers, Mohamad Atta and = Marwan=20 al-Shehhi, came into the pharmacy looking for something = to treat=20 irritations on Mr. Atta's hands....
For his part, Dr. = Tsonas=20 said he believed that the hijackers probably did have=20 anthrax.
"What were they doing looking at = crop-dusters?" he=20 asked, echoing experts' fears that the hijackers may = have wanted=20 to spread lethal germs. "There are too many=20 coincidences."
But that's not all, folks. The = Times=20 also reports today that we've found a biological=20 warfare lab in Afghanistan being built to product = anthrax.=20
I have long believed that the anthrax attacks came = from the=20 foreign terrorists -- not that I know anything; I'm just = another=20 blathering blogger. But I fear that the FBI has been = chasing=20 domestic geese when they should have been looking for = foreign=20 connections that can still do more damage here with = anthrax or=20 with dirty radioactive bombs or just with suicide=20 bombs.

Rocky binBoa
: The apparent = ring-leader of=20 the gang that murdered Washington Post reporter Daniel = Pearl=20 laughed in court as he was charged with the crime. The = Times of=20 London reported on the scumbu= cket's=20 youth in Britain with a particulary strange tidbit = about his=20 idol:=20
Former schoolmates in London described Omar = Sheikh=20 as a bully who constantly sought attention. As a = teenager he=20 would lie about his age so that he could enter = arm-wrestling=20 contests with younger opponents. The sport became an = obsession=20 after he saw his idol, Sylvester Stallone, arm-wrestling = in the=20 film Over the Top, and Omar would tour pubs in the East = End of=20 London, winning money in local contests. =

What=20 he said
: Ken Layne said it before I did: The "demons= trators"=20 from Anderson "protesting" in favor of the company = look like=20 Scientologists: "the same empty slogans, glazed eyes and = sweaty=20 fear."
They also look doughy, too white, and more = boring and=20 nerdy than even an accountant should look. They're not = doing=20 themselves any PR favor here. I wouldn't trust them. Would = you?
. .=20 .

Friday, March 22, 2002 - Link=20

Burgers sted = burqas
: I=20 don't know why but I'm writing about trivial, meaningless = things=20 today -- burgers, dogs, Dave Letterman, and the most = meaningless=20 of all, Liza Minelli -- instead of important things like = war and=20 terrorism and mourning and molestation. Feels=20 good.

Burgers
: I'm jealous of Ken Layne and Matt Welch = for many=20 things (and they're probably jealous of me for one thing: = a paying=20 job). I'm jealous of their weather, their cameraderie, = their=20 books... but mostly I'm jealous of their ability to dash = out and=20 meet at In-N-Ou= t=20 Burger or Fat Burger. And I'm jealous of their ability to = eat=20 burgers. I used to eat burgers practically every day; I = had=20 personal relationships with my neighborhood McDonald's = staff. But=20 then I (a) got married and (b) got my cholesterol tested. = I got=20 old. Well, older.
So now I eat chicken sandwiches (no = mayo).=20
Feel pity for me.
But that's why I'm happy that = Burger King=20 just introduced its BK Veggie. Howard Stern and company = made fun=20 of it this morning. But I say it's not so bad. It's much = better=20 than McDonald's veggie burger (sold in a few places in New = York).=20 McD makes the big mistake of trying to make vegetables = into meat;=20 they miss and turn them into rubber. Burger King, on the = other=20 hand, lets veggies be veggies. Their burger isn't afraid = to be=20 nutty, even crunchy. It's unashamed to show the random = carrot bit.=20 And they put low-fat mayo on it.
That made me = happy.
And=20 when I'm really old and lose all my teeth, I'll also like = it=20 because it's good gumming food.
With those pathetic = caveats in=20 mind, I recommend the BK Veggie.
I should add that I = don't like=20 the BK Veggie as much as my current fast-food fave: the=20 grilled-stuffed burrito (chicken, of course, not beef) at = Taco=20 Bell.
Now I know that Layne and Welch will make fun of = me for=20 that because they can go down the street and get real = burritos=20 from real burrito stands. But I don't live in L.A. I live = in New=20 Jersey, where pasta is the official state food. A = restaurant=20 without pasta is soon to be an empty storefront.
But = mark my=20 words, boys: You, too, will get old or older. You will = find hair=20 growing in your ears and plaque in your arteries. You, = too, will=20 lead such a dull life that your day can be brightened by = the=20 arrival of a new veggie burger.
Thank God I can still=20 drink.

Man bites man
: Ever since I = started=20 running, I've developed a new relationship to dogs. I now = fear=20 them. They now hate me. I don't know why; do they presume = guilt of=20 some dog law because we're running (and in my case, not = very=20 fast)? Do they think I look dorky in my running togs (I = do... but,=20 hell, they're just dogs)? Whatever, they tend to want to = attack me=20 and a few times have.
So I'm glad to see the dog=20 verdict in California. Sure, that was extreme. But I = plan to=20 wave it in front of every irresponsible dog owner on my = route:=20 Controlling your animal is your=20 responsiblity.

Conan/Dave... = Conan/Dave...
:=20 Conan O'Brien is getting his show repeated on cable at a = civ= ilized=20 hour (6 or 7p and noon on Comedy Central). I repeat: = That's=20 what CBS should be doing with Dave Letterman. How about = 7-8p on=20 VH-1? They could use the boost.

Liza OD
: = Rex=20 Reed (who better) reports on Liza's=20 wedding [via Amy=20 Welborn]:=20
I=92m here to tell you that when I arrived a = block=20 from Ground Zero on Saturday night, entered a = rose-filled=20 ballroom that used to be the first New York Stock = Exchange and=20 saw Martha Stewart dancing with Donny Osmond to the = blasting=20 =93live=94 music of Little Anthony and the Imperials, = with Margaret=20 O=92Brien on one side of the floor and Lauren Bacall on = the other,=20 I knew we weren=92t in Kansas anymore.
: = Meanwhile,=20 somebody tries to steal L= iza's=20 diamond crucifix (can we say sacrelige in stones?) in=20 London.
: Everybody who wants Liza to return to = hasbeendom,=20 raise your hand.

. .=20 .

Thursday, March 21, 2002 - Link=20

Airline slugfest
: = Hmmm, is=20 that an Ir= ish=20 name?
: See also the Happy Fun Pundit's lesson in=20 statistics and ethnicity.

The dreaded Afghan = springtime
: Remember when we were told that winter = in=20 Afghanistan would be a killer, assuring us a quagmire? =
Now=20 we're supposed to dread the melting snows of springtime.The=20 Guardian:=20
American military and intelligence chiefs are=20 bracing themselves for an upsurge in guerrilla-style = attacks=20 from al-Qaida and Taliban forces in Afghanistan when the = snows=20 melt in a few weeks time.
As concern continued to = grow among=20 British backbench MPs of a possible "mission creep" in=20 Afghanistan, the CIA director, George Tenet, warned that = al-Qaida terrorists were poised to step up their = activities=20 following the spring thaw.
We advance from = guagmire=20 to "mission-creep."
I dread that Afghan = summer.

A=20 holy alliance
: This is how bad it is for the = Catholic=20 Church: Andrew Sullivan,=20 Maureen Dowd, = and Howard Stern all agree about what's wrong with the=20 institution. They all say that the fundamental fault in = the church=20 is that it excludes and mistreats women.
Here's Dowd, = going=20 about 10 miles too far, trying to blame every sin in = society on=20 men (which, by the way, I do resent; she is guilty of=20 mistersogeny):
A monsoon of sickening stories lately = illustrates=20 how twisted societies become when women are either never = seen,=20 dismissed as second-class citizens or occluded by = testosterone:=20 the church subsidizing pedophilia; the Afghan warlords'=20 resumption of pedophilia; the Taliban obliteration of = women; the=20 brotherhood of Al Qaeda and Mohamed Atta's mysogynistic = funeral=20 instructions; the implosion of the macho Enron Ponzi = scheme; the=20 repression of women, even American servicewomen, by our = allies=20 the Saudis.
Here's Sullivan:
...it seems to me that the exclusion of women = from=20 the priesthood is the root of the problem. None of this = hideous=20 abuse of children would have occurred in the same way if = women=20 were fully a part of the institution. Not only would = they have=20 blown the whistle on some of this evil, their very = presence=20 would have helped prevent it from happening. There is = simply no=20 profound theological reason for the exclusion of women = from=20 ecclesiastical power, nothing but the inheritance of a=20 patriarchal anachronism that is suffocating the Church = from its=20 apex to its roots. No church can exclude half of = humanity from=20 its sacred offices without denying the fundamental = dignity and=20 equality of the human person.
And here, = with=20 characteristic brevity and bluntness and wisdom, is Stern:
The burqa is no different from the=20 habit.
dot.con
: I reserved my copy = of Ken=20 Layne's novel, previously unavailable Up Over. Have = you?
:=20 Tim=20 Blair capitalizes Up Over, so now I will, too. =
. .=20 .

Wednesday, March 20, 2002 - Link=20

Dead weight
: A = NASA guy=20 tells Space.com that we can and should take a journey to the=20 nearest star, which would take at least 43 years and=20 necessitate breeding the next generation of space cadets = on board=20 since the trip (and return) would take longer than a life=20
Landis has even suggested sending out crews=20 consisting only of women to save on weight, replacing = men with=20 frozen sperm to ensure reproduction later down the=20 line.
Like I didn't feel useless=20 already.

His church
: Andrew=20 Sullivan has a personal, honest, painful, and wise = post today=20 on his fears for his church:
...It seems to me that something far more = profound=20 is happening to the Church than its leaders now = recognize. This=20 is big. The horror any decent person should feel at the = brutal=20 exploitation of children in the Church=92s charge has = turned into=20 something even deeper in the collective Catholic soul. = We wonder=20 whether there really is something rotten at the heart of = this=20 institution. We wonder whether its continued = indefensible=20 subjugation of women, its cruelty and condescension = toward gay=20 people, its reflexive hostility to inspection or = openness, even=20 in defending and shrouding the abuse of children, = doesn=92t=20 bespeak something that isn=92t the antithesis of the = Gospels. Like=20 everyone else in the Church, I=92m a sinner and I=92m = not speaking=20 out of any sense of moral superiority. On the contrary. = But the=20 evil that we have discovered in our church these past = few months=20 is not simply incidental. It is structural. It comes = from a=20 hierarchical structure that, far from reflecting the = truth of=20 the Gospels, has become its own rationale. I am sick of=20 belonging to a church where even its own priests do not = believe=20 some of the tenets they are supposed to uphold, where = most of=20 the laity cannot understand the reasons behind some of = the=20 doctrines we are supposed to adhere to, where reasoned = dissent=20 is dismissed or ignored, where the dignity of the human = person=20 is denied in the very rules by which the institution is=20 governed....
Others may differ, but it seems to me = that the=20 exclusion of women from the priesthood is the root of = the=20 problem. None of this hideous abuse of children would = have=20 occurred in the same way if women were fully a part of = the=20 institution. Not only would they have blown the whistle = on some=20 of this evil, their very presence would have helped = prevent it=20 from happening. There is simply no profound theological = reason=20 for the exclusion of women from ecclesiastical power, = nothing=20 but the inheritance of a patriarchal anachronism that is = suffocating the Church from its apex to its roots. No = church can=20 exclude half of humanity from its sacred offices without = denying=20 the fundamental dignity and equality of the human = person....=20
It's not just the Catholic Church though, = Lord knows,=20 what's happening there now is tragic on a frightening = scale and=20 must be dealt with by its heirarchy -- the Church in its = own=20 confessional, the Church paying penance, the Church = seeking=20 guidance for a higher path -- or it will explode at its=20 foundation.
As I've written here, I left the = Presbyterian=20 Church because of its bigotry against gays, saying (again = and=20 again) that they are unworthy to be ordained, and because = of=20 plenty of destructive, hateful politics not just inside a = church=20 but in its heirarchy; Presbyteries are filled with = bureacracy and=20 bile. I decided not to stay and fight because I did not = want to=20 raise my children there, with the expectation that what = they saw=20 was worth emulation.
I left that denomination after = trying to=20 survive in more than one congregation. I have seen lots of = Catholics leaving their church and coming to mine. I don't = know=20 whether it's better to stay or leave. Sullivan says he = will stay=20 and fight and I respect that. But I fear that it will take = many=20 people leaving to wake up the heiarchy to the crisis in = the soul=20 of their institution.
. .=20 .

Tuesday, March 19, 2002 - Link=20

Alleged anchor allegedly=20 says...
: FoxNews' midday anchor, David Asman (I = believe=20 that's the right Dave) was talking about the withdrawl of = Israeli=20 troops from Palestinian areas when he said that troops had = just=20 withdrawn from:
Bethlehem, where Jesus is alleged to have been = born.
Now this will endear him to the = Heartland.=20
I'm reminded of a character in Calvin Trillin's=20 Floater, about a writer at a Time-like magazine, = who hated=20 writing religion stories and got taken off the beat by = always=20 referring to "the alleged resurrection of = Jesus."

Yo=20 momma wears burqas
: Another fabulous<= /A>=20 (I'm feeling positively presidential) story in the = Washington Post=20 on 9.11=20 teen argot:
: Their bedrooms are "ground zero." = Translation? A=20 total mess.
: A mean teacher? He's "such a = terrorist."
:=20 A student is disciplined? "It was total jihad."
: = Petty=20 concerns? "That's so Sept. 10."
: And out-of-style = clothes?=20 "Is that a burqa?"
: "It's like 'Osama Yo Mama' as an = insult."
: "If you're weird, people might call you = 'Taliban'=20 or ask if you have anthrax."
: "My friends call me=20 'terrorist' or 'fundamentalist,' sometimes as a = nickname," said=20 Nabeel Babaa, 17, who came to this country from Kuwait = when he=20 was 3 years old and is now a senior at Sherwood High = School in=20 Olney. "It's not hurtful in the way we say it, 'cause we = are=20 kidding around with each other."
: Teenagers breeze = through=20 such expressions as "He's as hard to find as bin Laden," = or=20 "emo" to describe people who are very emotional about = Sept.=20 11.
: Girls might say a boy is "firefighter = cute"
:=20 'That's some weapons-grade salsa.'
What a = bad time=20 to cancel The X-Files
: The BBC [via Shift] says = sending anthrax=20 through the mail may have started as a government = program;=20 your tax dollars at work:
Three weeks ago Dr Barbara Rosenberg - an=20 acknowledged authority on US bio-defence - claimed the = FBI is=20 dragging its feet because an arrest would be = embarrassing to the=20 US authorities. Tonight on Newsnight, she goes=20 further...suggesting there could have been a secret CIA = field=20 project to test the practicalities of sending anthrax = through=20 the mail - whose top scientist went badly off the = rails...=20
Homeland insecurity
: A fabulous<= /A>=20 (as our president would say) cartoon this morning from Tom = Tomorrow mocking = the volunteer homeland security force being organized=20 by our guvment. From FoxNews:
The USA Citizen Corps, established in January = as a=20 branch of the Freedom Corps, has already generated "an = amazing=20 response" among ordinary Americans, according to = spokeswoman=20 Cindy Ramsay. More than 22,000 people have registered to = volunteer for Citizen Corps programs, and the=20 www.citizencorps.gov Web site has registered more than a = million=20 hits.
I love the sound of F-16s in the=20 morning
: New York officials are screeching about = the Feds'=20 decision to stop=20 F-16 patrols over everywhere... except Washington. = Reports the=20 Times:
New York's senior senator, Charles E. Schumer, = expressed dismay over the decision and urged the Bush=20 administration not to go through with it.
"I am = amazed that=20 they would do that," said Mr. Schumer, who sent a letter = of=20 protest today to Tom Ridge, the director of domestic = security.=20 "Everyone worried that we would let our guard down after = Sept.=20 11. This, unfortunately, is a glaring example of letting = our=20 guard down."
Representative Jerrold L. Nadler, a = Democrat=20 whose district includes ground zero, said that he, too, = was=20 troubled by the administration's plan.
"If the level = of=20 emergency is such that they need combat air patrols over = Washington, they should also have them over New York," = he said.=20 "There is no intelligent rationale for this."...
In = his=20 letter to Mr. Ridge, Mr. Schumer questioned whether = security at=20 airports was tight enough at this point to justify = ending the=20 patrols over New York.
"I understand that these = patrols are=20 expensive, but the price we paid on Sept. 11 was high as = well,=20 and the price we could pay if round-the-clock patrols = cease=20 could be far greater," he said. "Based on the reasons = given for=20 ending the air patrols, it seems highly unlikely that = this=20 decision was made with the safety and security of New = York's=20 citizens in mind."
Y'know, Ridge is an = idiot. He can't=20 do security well. He can't do politics well. He can't even = do PR=20 well.

. .=20 .

Monday, March 18, 2002 - Link=20

Unholy
: Should I = be=20 disturbed at Glenn "Instapundit" Reynolds' posts today on = the=20 Catholic pedophilia scandal (first,=20 second,=20 third,=20 fourth)?=20 He finds a moral and legal difference between priests = having sex=20 with children and having "underage sex."
I don't. =
Priests=20 having sex with minors (of either gender) is patently = wrong on=20 every level -- it is wrong for adults to have sex with = minors of=20 any age (the adults are responsible for controlling = themselves);=20 it is especially wrong for clergy to abuse their trust = with young=20 people and families in this way (for Christ's sake!); it = is also=20 wrong, incidentally, for priests to violate their own vows = of=20 celibacy. I happen to think the vows are wrong but I'm not = the one=20 taking and breaking them.
The wrongs are then = multiplied with=20 their supervisors knowingly hide these activities from the = authorities, aiding and abetting the crimes and = obstructing=20 justice and failing to protect the children in their = care.
I=20 smell a bit of the libertarian laissez faire view of sex = here: If=20 they're merely underage and consenting, what's the sin? = Same=20 problem with Libertarians' odd and disturbing defense -- = no matter=20 how reluctant -- of incest.
This=20 is not about freedom.
This is about responsibility. = This is=20 about crime. This is about sin. This is about laws of man = and God.=20 This is about right and wrong, pure and simple. And = sexually=20 exploiting and abusing children is dead wrong by any = standard.=20 Dead wrong.

Don't look up
: The Feds are = planning=20 to end F-16 flights over America to guard against terror = jets.=20 Says the NY Times= :=20
They said stricter airport security, stronger=20 cockpit doors and more federal marshals on flights had=20 sufficiently reduced the threat of attacks to allow the = military=20 to scale back patrols.
HA!
And if things = are so=20 safe, why are they continuing the flights over Washington = but over=20 no other American city?
: Kathy Kinsley agrees.
<= BR>No=20 taxation withour representation
: The Times of = London is=20 going to start charging=20 just foreigners for access to its content. That not = only hurts=20 those of us who like to read and link to the Times, it = doesn't=20 make much sense. We can't even buy the daily Times over = here; our=20 reading online does not cannibalize print sales; so why = pick on=20 us?

Hot under the collar
: More on New = York's=20 Cardinal Edward Egan and his behavior regarding pedophile = priests=20 while he was bishop of Hartford. From the NY Times= :
Cardinal Egan never took the allegations of = abuse to=20 law enforcement officials, even though there has been a = law in=20 Connecticut since at least 1971 requiring members of the = clergy=20 to report cases of abuse of minors.
From the = Hartford=20 Courant:=20
The Courant reported that Egan failed to = thoroughly=20 investigate abuse allegations, did not refer complaints = to=20 criminal authorities and - as recently as 1999 - allowed = priests=20 to continue working years after allegations of sexual=20 molestation had been made against them.
It was also = reported=20 that Egan refused to believe multiple sex-abuse claims = against a=20 half-dozen clergy, and testified in sealed court = documents that=20 one priest's 12 accusers "have never been proved to be = telling=20 the truth."

. .=20 .

Sunday, March 17, 2002 - Link=20

Tipping
: The other = site=20 from bloggods Ken = Layne and=20 Matt = Welch, the L.A. Examiner, = gets a=20 mention on FoxNews=20 in a story about new media criticizing = old.

Surrender=20 unto Caesar
: The more I read about the Catholic = pedophilia=20 scandal, the more convinced I become that it is time to = prosecute=20 bishops and cardinals who aided and abetted these crimes = by=20 knowingly hiding the criminals from prosecution and = allowing them=20 to commit more of their crimes against more young victims. = They=20 obstructed justice. They became accessories to the crimes. = They=20 share the guilt.
The Catholic church is not above the = law.=20 Bishops and cardinals are not above the law. Neither is = above=20 judgment, civil or divine.
I would not be so hot under = the=20 clerical collar about the occasional slimeball who sinned; = slimeballs exist in all walks of life; sin happens. It is = the=20 concerted, conspiratorial effort to hide the acts of these = slimeballs and allow them to continue the crimes that is = so=20 irresponsible, immoral, illegal, and shocking.
Today's = NY=20 TImes says the scandal is about to cost the church = members as=20 it costs it millions of dollars for formerly secret = settlements.=20 The church is being forced to sell property, even church=20 buildings, to pay for its sins. And as I said yesterday, = the=20 church and its leaders are losing their moral credibility. = The=20 Times agrees:
All sides agree that the church is in danger = of=20 losing the moral credibility in speaking out on = political as=20 well as social issues, including the death penalty and = the=20 status of Jerusalem. "If the church does not respond = vigorously=20 to this scandal, then the authority the hierarchy has to = teach=20 morally will vanish," said R. Scott Appleby, director of = the=20 Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism at = Notre=20 Dame. "It won't just be a crisis, it will be all over = but the=20 shouting. There will be no moral credibility for the = bishops to=20 speak about justice, truth, racial equality, war or = immigration=20 if they can't get their own house in=20 order."
Meanwhile, the Boston=20 Globe reports that NY Cardinal Egan allowed predator = priests=20 to continue work while he was bishop of Hartford; he won't = talk=20 about it. Also in Boston, Cardinal Law's new commission on = the=20 issue clearly has blinders=20 on. ''We have a pretty good system in place for = protecting=20 kids. I think we need to bring the church in step with = what the=20 rest of the world is doing right now," said one of the=20 commissioners. My ass.
This is why I think indictments = are in=20 order. The church has to come clean.
And finally, I = find a=20 story that raises the possibliity in the Boston=20 Herald.=20
A.W. ``Richard'' Sipe, a former priest and=20 specialist on clerical pedophilia who has served as an = expert=20 witness in priestly abuse cases for nearly 25 years, = says the=20 criminal prosecution of a Catholic Church supervisor = ``is now=20 inevitable the more we learn about the breadth of the = problem=20 and depth of the secrecy around the nation.''
``A = prosecution=20 is going to happen sooner or later,'' he added. ``Laws = in=20 different states will afford the authorities there with = the=20 tools they need. This is the natural unfolding of this = whole=20 process.''
Dozens of Catholic priests have been = prosecuted=20 for molestation around the United States in the last two = decades=20 - most recently defrocked serial pedophile John J. = Geoghan, 66,=20 of Scituate. But no ecclesiastical supervisor has ever = faced=20 criminal proceedings for allowing priests such as = Geoghan to=20 continue in the ministry long after their proclivities = became=20 known.
Last year, in the first case of its kind, = French=20 Bishop Pierre Pican of Bayeux was criminally prosecuted = for=20 failing to report an abusive priest under his command to = the=20 authorities. He received nine months' probation.
It = is too=20 soon to tell whether such prosecutions will happen in = the United=20 States. Even now, in some states, dioceses are declining = to=20 provide internal records to the authorities, opening = them up to=20 subpoenas and other court action....
[Under] Bay = State law,=20 there are three possible avenues for criminal = prosecution of the=20 church.
The first two would be Chapter 274, Sections = 2 and 4,=20 of Massachusetts General Law pertaining to being an = accessory=20 before or after the fact. One relevant passage, from = Section 4,=20 they say, reads: ``Whoever after the commission of a = felony . .=20 . gives such offender any other aid knowing that he has=20 committed a felony . . . with the intent that he should = avoid or=20 escape detention . . . shall be an accessory after the=20 fact.''
The third avenue, they say, would be under = state and=20 federal laws pertaining to corporate criminal liability. = In a=20 1987 ruling, the Supreme Judicial Court declared = ``knowledge=20 obtained by corporate employees acting within the scope = of the=20 employment is imputed to the corporation, in contest of=20 corporate criminal liability.'' The Archdiocese of = Boston is ``a=20 corporation sole'' under state law.
``If it's good = enough for=20 Arthur Andersen,'' said diGenova, speaking of the giant=20 accounting firm hit last week with criminal charges for=20 violating federal securities law and destroying = evidence, ``it=20 ought to be good enough for the = church.''
I'm not the=20 only one to find the connection between Anderson and the = Catholic=20 scandal (see yesterday's post, below).
There is a = crisis of=20 moral credibility in this country.

The 16th=20 minute
: The NY Times had a great headline last = week over=20 its story on the Fox celebrity sucker punch show: "Welcome = to the=20 16th minute." Here is what happens after your 15 minutes = of fame=20 are over, after you're used up and washed up and = everything is=20 down from there. You end up fighting other has-beens for = the=20 amusement of the coliseum masses on TV.
Or you attend = Liza=20 Minelli's wedding.
Today, the NY Post -- a paper I love = -- has=20 the single most rediculous, ludicrous, pathetic, laughable = headline I have ever seen: "UNVEILED...=20 EXCLUSIVE... LIZA'S LAST MINUTE SWITCH...."
The = switch: She=20 decided not to wear her veil because it would cover her = famous=20 spiked hair and her sparkling diamond earrings.
Sheesh. =
Fame has come to this.
To get a complete who's who = of the=20 has-been, just read the guest=20 list: Michael Jackson, Elizabeth Taylor, Gina = Lollobrigida,=20 Diana Ross, Joan Collins, Robert Wagner, Celeste Holm, = Janet Leigh=20 (in falsh eyelashes, the Post reports), Freda Payne (in = false=20 eyelashes), Jill St. John (in false eyelashes), Olivia = Hussey,=20 Arlene Dahl, Carroll Baker, Phyllis=20 Diller.

Word
: Muslim=20 Pundit has a good post beginning to explain = fundamental=20 differences between Islam and Christianity.
I also = learned a=20 lot a week ago when the Rev. Dr. Steven=20 Blackburn, who teaches on the subject, came to my = little church and = explained some of=20 the differences in simple terms even I could begin to = understand.=20 He drew a chart of equivalencies between Islam and = Christianity=20 and explained that the equal of Jesus is not Mohammed, it = is the=20 Qur'an; Christians believe that the word of God became = flesh in=20 Jesus while Muslims believe that the word of God is made = whole in=20 the written word, in the Qur'an; that is what makes it so=20 sacrosanct. And that, I began to understand, is why = fundamentalism=20 could flourish in Islam -- even more than in Christianity. =

No, not Sonny
: Great P= hotodude=20 post on Bono as the new Zelig of politics and great=20 causes.

The end
: A good story in the NY=20 Times today recognizes that the end of the work at = Ground Zero=20 is near. The debris is down from mountains to hills=20 now.

I'm OK, you're...
: The Washington=20 Post writes about continuing psychic stress for = survivors of=20 the attacks: insomnia, flashbacks, edginess. I don't have = the=20 symptoms but I'm still scared about what's going to happen = next. I=20 call that sanity, not psychic = stress.

Links
: I=20 finally got around to updating my links to other great = blogs, on=20 the right. If I left you out, sorry; my virtual desk is as = messy=20 as my real one.
. .=20 .

Saturday, March 16, 2002 - Link=20

Punch... line
: The = Observer=20 finds the, ahem, humor in 9.11.
And they just don't stop;=20 the laughs=20 keep coming:
Tony Blair publicly drains every drop of blood = from=20 his wife to help the injured of New York.
Taking his = time,=20 George W. Bush formulates a measured response - which = turns out=20 to be the most expensive bollocking ever unleashed = against=20 shepherds.
Figures show that even as the second tower = fell,=20 people were switching off their televisions, complaining = they'd=20 seen it all before.
If it were amusing, it = would be=20 offensive. Instead, it is just incredibly stupid.
Oh, = those=20 clever Brits. I just wish we were so damned = witty.

Where=20 is the outrage?
: Where is the Arab outrage at this = abhorrent=20 story: Fifteen girls were killed in a school fire in = Saudi=20 Arabia because the country's religious police -- the = ludicrously=20 yet frighteningly named Commision for Promoting Virtue and = Preventing Vice -- allegedly prevented the girls from = leaving the=20 building without their head coverings. And they were = trampled to=20 death.
If this happened in America or most any country = I'd call=20 civilized, there would be deafening outrage. But I looked = at every=20 Arab source I can find online, and I could find no = outrage. I=20 could barely find any coverage.
In a story in Saudi = Arabia's Arab News,=20 they treated this as a scandal about building codes and = only=20 toward the end mentioned as obliquely as possible the true = scandal:=20
The press pointed fingers of accusation at the = Commission for Promoting Virtue and Preventing Vice on = grounds=20 that they obstructed rescue operations....
The press = also=20 charged that officials from the commission prevented = Civil=20 Defense men and other male volunteers from entering the = school=20 to rescue the girls for fear of =93exposing females to = male=20 strangers.=94
After Sept. 11, we heard no = moral outrage=20 from the Arab and Muslim world about the murder of = thousands of=20 American innocents. We do not even hear any moral outrage = about=20 this horrid crime against Arab children. This from a land = that=20 creates a Commission for Promoting Virtue and Preventing = Vice.=20 What slime.
This is a clash of civilizations. No, this = is a war=20 against the uncivilized.

: See also William=20 Quick and Ken=20 Layne and Moira=20 Breen. And Muslim=20 Pundit calls the Commission for Promoting Virtue and=20 Preventing Vice "Taliban-esque."

Right v. = wrong
:=20 I kept shaking my head this week reading stories about the = imminent death -- the execution, they called it, but I say = it's=20 the suicide -- of Arthur Anderson<= /A>=20 and I was struck by the simplicity of the sin that did = them in:=20 This once-great, once-huge company was destroyed by its = own=20 executives who didn't know the difference between truth = and lies,=20 between right and wrong.
Enron, too, was brought down = by the=20 ethically inept but Enron was different; it was all bull = from the=20 beginning, like the worst of the Internet: Enron (and much = of the=20 Internet) promised to fundamentally change the way we do = business=20 when, truth is, business has not changed since the = post-ape=20 generation started trading shells for bananas. It's about = value=20 and demand and profit.
But Anderson was real: lots of = clients,=20 lots of revenue, lots of respect. But one day somebody = looked the=20 other way when Enron turned into a get-rich-quick scheme. = And then=20 somebody ordered tons of documents to be shredded to hide = the=20 lies.
And now Anderson is destroyed because its = executives=20 forgot that their only real asset was credibility. When = they aided=20 Enron's lies, they lost their credibility and their = business. They=20 didn't know right from wrong and they've paid the=20 price.

Now let's visit the Catholic church, where = for years=20 God knows how many child-molesting priests were protected = -- while=20 the children of the church were not. I say that a few = bishops and=20 cardinals should be indicted for obstruction of justice, = as=20 accessories to felonies (but there isn't a = prosecutor/politician=20 who'd have the balls to do it). The executives of this = institution=20 are destroying their moral credibility because they, too = -- they,=20 of all people -- lost sight of the difference between = right and=20 wrong.

I predict that this all will lead to some=20 fundamental moral changes in society in our time. Because = of Enron=20 and Anderson and the Catholic crimes (not to mention the=20 black-v.-white fight against terrorism and religious evil = and not=20 to mention President Clinton's moral lapses), I think = people will=20 seek simpler, clearer moral rules (and they won't = necessarily look=20 to religion to help formulate them). On the one hand, this = could=20 be good and healthy: We will raise a generation that comes = to=20 expect and demand truth and adherance to laws. On the = other hand,=20 this could lead to a moral absolutism that could be just = as=20 dangerous and difficult to live with as religious = fundamentalism.=20 All this destruction, all this change, all this danger = because a=20 few people, a powerful few chose to ignore the difference = between=20 right and wrong. What a sin.

: Matt Welch adds his = prediction that all this will lead to a new=20 responsibility
...along the lines of wrestling down hijackers = and=20 such. People will be more likely to believe it is up to = them to=20 guarantee things like their own family=92s safety, and = will=20 probably fight back when attacked, and jump into burning = buildings to pull out humans. Unlike, say, Saudi Arabian = moralists.
BC PC AD FU
: My = friend NIck=20 Denton should be careful that he doesn't create the = new PC=20 with his listing of officially sanctioned liberal blogs. =
So=20 who determines the definition of orthodox liberalness. Who = issues=20 membership cards in the club? What gets you = blackballed?
Now=20 that I'm a hawk and recovering pacifist does that make me=20 not-a-liberal?
I can't bear reading the self-absorbed=20 catalogues of what bloggers think as they try to place = themselves=20 in one club or camp or another. It's not so simple; it's = not so=20 stupid.
Now I agree that blogdom has many loud = conservative=20 voices -- a din of them.
But blogdom is not alone. I = was=20 talking with my sister the (liberal) minister just = yesterday about=20 why conservatives are taking over and ruining her (and my = former)=20 denomination, Presbyterianism (with bigotry against gays = and even=20 efforts in one area to convert heathen Jews). Why are=20 conservatives thick? Because conservatives have easy = answers, she=20 said. True. My sister is very smart.

Free = speech, even=20 outrageous free speech
: An excellent Tom=20 Tomorrow post today defending free speech even when it = is Ted=20 Rall speaking. We can all hate and abhor his cartoon and = him but=20 we don't want any Commission for Promoting Virtue and = Preventing=20 Vice (see next post) deciding what we should and should = not see.=20

But a terrorist is a terrorist is a = terrorist
:=20 I have to say that I will look at St. Patrick's day = differently=20 this year -- not just as the Amateur Drinker's Official = Holiday=20 but also as the day when terrorists=20 and f= ormer=20 terrorists wear green. I don't look at them = sympathetically.=20 Anyone who uses violence against innocent civilians to = spread=20 terror for political aims is a terrorist.

Hire=20 him
: Monkey=20 with brain implant moves cursor just by thinking.
. .=20 .

Friday, March 15, 2002 - Link=20

Fame
: A very neat=20 tipping-point observation from Nick=20 Denton today:=20
Ken Layne and Matt Welch came yesterday to = talk with=20 the class I'm teaching at Berkeley journalism school. = There, at=20 the back of the room, the groupies, who had heard = somehow that=20 these two rock stars of the blog world were in town, and = had=20 snuck in to see their heroes in the flesh. I don't think = the=20 students - most of whom have old media ambitions - quite = understood the fame of Ken and Matt in the weblog world. =
Nick also started the bidding in a new Google = game:=20 He found that Ken = Layne is=20 the hottest Ken online. Nick is the sixth Nick. Of course, = I=20 checked; what healthy ego wouldn't? I'm top 20, which is = OK,=20 considering I'm a new kid on this block. I have to fight = with a=20 cartoonist, a Nascar driver, a dead recording star, and a = TV=20 comic. Besides, Jeff is a very common, very whitebread, = very dull=20 American name; there are too many of us.
. .=20 .

Thursday, March 14, 2002 - Link=20

A second
: Here is New = York, the=20 gallery filled with thousands of photographs about 9.11, = has=20 opened in a small storefront uptown, on 6th Avenue between = 42nd=20 and 43rd streets, to begin a new = project.=20 They put up some photos from the main gallery downtown and = I've=20 probably seen most of them but each time I look, the scars = are=20 fresh.
I saw a new photo today, one that chilled me = completely:=20 the imag= e=20 of the second jet inches away from the second tower. I = saw=20 life in that jet and in that tower, life that would end = but a=20 second later. It hurt in a new way, every time a new=20 way.

Blogwatch: The Sequel
: I'm sad that = Will=20 Vehrs has taken a leave of absence from Blogwatching but = I'm=20 delighted and grateful to see Kathy = Kinsley pick up=20 the slack (and I'm delighted to be among the watched).=20 Thanks.

Blogwatch: The Movie
: A propose = a new=20 rule in the world of blogdom: Every time there is a blogfes= t,=20 as there was in L.A. the other night (and, I'm sure, in = San=20 Francisco, soon thereafter), somewhat has to bring a = digital=20 camera.

Antiballistic googlebomb shield
: = I was=20 about to do my civic duty and add to the googlebomb=20 links to make sure that people searching for news on Afghan = civilian=20 casualties would find this = report instead=20 of another. discredited report -- as inspired and = explained by Megan=20 McArdle.
I have to admit I was having some nagging = second=20 thoughts about this. Gogglebombing for a good cause such = as this=20 -- making sure that people find both sides of the argument = -- is=20 virtuous. But I fear that this technique could be put to = nefarious=20 use; imagine what various cults and crazies and companies = could do=20 with googlebombing to steer searches their way. I fear = that this=20 will rob Google of its search credibility; we won't know = what's=20 manipulated and what isn't. I worry that taking part is a = bit like=20 voting in Chicago ... twice; it's ballot stuffing; it's = cheating.=20
But then I worry that I worry too much.
I should = have=20 faith in technology, shoudn't I? And I should have faith = in the=20 community of bloggers... or should I?
A Slashdot=20 user explains that Google is onto googlebombing:
In addition to other spam prevention methods, = google=20