September 22, 2001
Oracle ID
Okay, you are now officially allowed to be scared. Larry Ellison is not only calling for a national ID card, he wants it to be Oracle-based.
just plain wrong
Potential missile defense system stronger or weaker?
Potential missile defense system stronger or weaker? In different days the creation of a cabinet post called "Director of the Office of Homeland Security" would make a lot of people nervous. The choice of Tom Ridge (former Governor of Pennsylvania) could be worse. He served in Vietnam and is known as being "tough on crime". An interesting note is that while in Congress he "led repeated fights against the anti-missile system nicknamed Star Wars." Meanwhile, would you want this guys job?
A Congressional Research Services report on Near East terrorist groups and state sponsors,
A Congressional Research Services report on Near East terrorist groups and state sponsors, published on Sept. 10, 2001. A laundry list of targets for a war on terrorism, published with uncanny timing.
Is there really legitimate cause for alarm
Is there really legitimate cause for alarm that small towns in the US are unprepared for terrorist attacks? Smacks of yet another excuse for more pointless, ineffective bureuacracy, if you ask me. Which you didn't.
Slightly less downbeat stories about race relations, for a change. Hopefully a harbinger of a backlash backlash?
URI terminology demystified
URI terminology demystified Quasi-Socratic Q&A on what the hell URIs are. “Q: What a mess! Are you serious? For a technology so architecturally core to RDF and the Web, that’s quite a kludge-tower! A: What can I say? That's the state of the art as I understand it”
Who wants to be a Princess?
Who wants to be a Princess? Remember "Who wants to marry a Multimillionaire?" Remember how it turned into a big scandal? Remember how Fox promised they wouldn't do it again? Well, they're doing it again this coming Monday.
Microsoft Delays X-Box Release
Microsoft Delays X-Box Release Sure it's only by a week, but the article also hints at anticipated availability problems. Why does this seem so familiar?
the passengers on our planes should have the right to bear arms
the passengers on our planes should have the right to bear arms Is this guy, a former pilot, suggesting that we have a constitutional right to carry weapons aboard planes so we can defend ourselves? Is an uzzi ok or a bayonet?
More non-Americans than Americans
More non-Americans than Americans were killed on Sept. 11th, according to cryptome. Should this change the way we feel about the attack? Should it change the way other countries feel about the attack?
Behind the scenes of the "war council."
Behind the scenes of the "war council." The New York Times has a fascinating, behind-the-scenes story about the administration's struggle to develop a plan of attack. The story quotes highly-placed sources around Cheney, Rumsfeld, Powell, Rice, et al. The most interesting revelation? GWB himself may actually be calling the shots.
Almost twenty years later,
Almost twenty years later, William T. Vollmann returns to Afghanistan (where he once tried to fight alongside the mujahideen) and shares his perspective and observations of life under the Taliban.
Bruce Campbell,
Bruce Campbell, the man, the myth, the shemp. Quicky article about an appearance during his book-signing tour, I can vouch that everything the writer says about Mr. Campbell is true. I saw him at his SLC appearance and the man is both witty, approachable, and he knows how to work a crowd. And his book is well written! Surprise surprise.
CEOs Slash Jobs, but Not Their Pay
CEOs Slash Jobs, but Not Their Pay Too many cheifs and not enough indians. An article I found interesting.
Here's
Here's a New Republic article that provides some background on Afghani politics and an interesting argument on the Taliban's weakness. Here's a provocative quote: In 1999, when the United States devastated Belgrade and humiliated Milosevic, the Serbs eventually ousted him. In 1991, when the United States devastated Baghdad and humiliated Saddam, the Kurds and Shiites rose up, and might have toppled the regime had the United States not abandoned them. Historical parallels, of course, are never perfect. But the Taliban are no stronger than those two previous U.S. foes; in fact, they are probably weaker. Comments?
A safe getaway
A safe getaway If the excrement REALLY hits the oscillator
What's your thoughts on a safe haven??
9/11 Conspirators Stole Identities of Murdered Students:
9/11 Conspirators Stole Identities of Murdered Students: "HAD FBI agents bothered to ask college lecturers in South Wales about the terrorist bomber they supposedly taught over a decade ago, then security chiefs would have realised how Osama bin Laden had carefully created a generation of impostors . . . his agents stole the identities and life histories of at least a dozen Western-educated young men who were all murdered in 1990, according to a former head of the CIA."
Avenging the Dead:
Avenging the Dead: National Public Radio Commentator Crispin Sartwell makes his case for avenging the dead of last week's attack. What do you think of his words? (Link is Real Audio)
Joshua Marshall, a liberal pundit who publishes the Talking Points weblog, makes a spirited attempt in the New York Post to defend President Bush's statement that "our terrorist enemies attacked because they hate freedom and democracy."
Cassini's just outside the orbit of Jupiter.
Cassini's just outside the orbit of Jupiter. Where is the space program in all of this? Have mundane zealots hobbled humanity's greatest feats to come? Should we be plotting ourselves to the stars now?
Word Perhect
Word Perhect (sic) is what happens when internet art takes on the mighty word processor... and kicks it into submission! e-2.org contains some other impressive and ambitious stuff, if you like all that arty malarkey...
thak you
thak you speaks for itself
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