To wrap up our saintly coverage, we'll have to turn once more to the Elizabeth Smart case, in which things continue to turn stranger shades daily. For this odd development, we can thank Brian Mitchell's father, Shirl Mitchell, who's defending his son like only a father could.

"Brian is the one who got that girl back safely...Now, that's quite an accomplishment," the senior Mitchell told CNN on Saturday.

He's got a point, of course, and we should indeed be thankful that Brian only stole the innocence, childhood, and normalcy that Elizabeth would have experienced were it not for Brian's intervention. Oh, and Shirl asks that his son not be "dumped out as garbage." Brian, for his part, is all over the news today for telling his attorney that "he considers the girl his wife and wants the 15-year-old to be renamed "Remnant Who Will Return."

OK, pops. We'll put him in a Hefty bag, first, so as to ensure that he's the "Remnant Who Will Not Return."

Live by the Duct Tape...

Remember when everyone was laughing and joking about how you could kill yourself if you sealed up a room with plastic sheeting? Turns out the danger was very real: Mother and sons die in room sealed against chemical attack. This happened in Israel, where people are taking fervent precautions against an Iraqi counterstrike.

The room was sealed with nylon sheeting, tape and rags placed along the bottom of the door to stop air from entering. Gas masks and filters were opened, attached and ready for use.

The Evil Passenger

It could be you. So the airline security people have been preparing a number of screening measures and we're just now getting an idea of what they have in mind.

You already know about the computerized background record check called CAPPSII—Computer Assisted Passenger Prescreening—but did you know that the cost of the system is being underwritten by a $2 surcharge on tickets? Yep, you'll be paying for your own privacy invasion.

John Becker of Tyco Security Products (who's making out like a bandit on all this) says that "Because of Sept. 11, some of our civil liberties have to be dented or pushed aside a little," and frequent flier Ed Spinn opines that, "Security is more important than your privacy," so you can see not everybody thinks there's a problem here.

Other security measures being tested or developed include:

• A heat lie detector would use an infrared image of the face, the theory being that if someone is telling a lie, the face gets hotter around the eyes and the image turns orange or another color.
  
• A high-tech body-scan X-ray would subject passengers to a low dose of radiation, X-raying through their clothing to check for weapons but also revealing a person's naked body on a computer screen. Although critics say this is an extreme invasion of privacy, companies say they are developing software that would eliminate the nude images.
  
• A particle blaster would blast a passenger with air to knock microscopic particles off clothes, which are then analyzed for explosives.
  
• Closed-circuit security cameras would videotape passengers from the time they park their cars until they take a seat inside the plane. Some airlines have already installed cabin cameras.
  

Blogging Going Mainstream, Cont.

We noticed that the Chicago Tribune Website now has a new sidebar on the left of their homepage titled Bloggers on Parade that's starting to look something like MSNBC's Weblog Central. They've also got an Online Catchword glossary that already looks out-of-date. Some selections:

Multislacking: Surfing the Web instead of working

Crash-test dummy: Someone who buys the initial release of a software package, probably riddled with bugs.

Internot: Someone who does not use the Internet.

Screenager: A young person who has grown up with TVs, computers, ATMs and the like.

6:37:01 PM       

The Saint was one of those good-guy anti-heroes that blurred the line between Robin Hood and Carlos the Jackal.

As long as the story ends on a bright note, though, we'll toss out the crime and canonize the perp. We did it with St. Patrick, shore an' begorrah, because nobody likes a snake. But what do we do here? I've been talking with people all week about their opinions vis-a-vis Iraq and I'm noting that it isn't so much a case of someone being either "for" or "against" engagement, because we aren't polarizing externally as much as we're fracturing inside ourselves. Like a guy I spoke with last night:

"I've got two minds on this thing; part of me wants to get that guy out of there, and part of me says I'm not following Bush anywhere."

This Isn't Helping

One headline that's shooting up everywhere this morning reads, "Messages all suggest start of war imminent." Let's take a look at a typical example. In this news conference excerpt, Bush is classically incoherent:

"Saddam Hussein can leave the country, if he's interested in—you see, the decision is his to make, and it's been his to make all along on whether or not there's the use of military."

And a clearly angry Bush, speaking about France's promise to veto, said the French "showed their cards" and "we just have to take an assessment after [today] to determine what that card meant."

This Is Going to Be Fun

The US Marines are struggling with an unusual military problem: How do you handle wave after wave of surrendering troops? Here's Colonel Michael Marletto, commanding officer of the 11th Marine Regiment:

"The indications we're getting from over the border is that there's not much motivation for a fight," he said. "A bunch of them (Iraqis) came up to the Brits and tried to surrender, but the Brits said: 'It's not time yet, go back.'"

More St. Patrick's Raven later.

10:18:03 AM