Let's Play Two!

Here's a scary special report from Julian Borger and Ian Black of The Guardian.

"The growing US focus on confronting Iran in a proxy war inside Iraq risks triggering a direct conflict in the next few months, regional analysts are warning."

Full story is here.
10:48:34 AM      comment []

Oh, Brother

"Opinion polls, both in the US and Britain, say that about 75% of us want more, not less, surveillance."

Big Brother is watching us all. Humphrey Hawksley reports from Washington on the sophisticated gadgets being developed to keep people under surveillance. [BBC News | World | UK Edition]
8:41:05 AM      comment []

Dave Lifton sent me a link to some nice words from Ted Leonsis about our site redesign.
1:26:51 PM      comment []

Dead Trees 2.0

Doc posted this advice to newspapers in a networked world some time ago. I found it pretty insightful.

I'm not sure how much I buy into the idea of "citizen journalism." At our best and in our place, we amateurs certainly have something to offer - but I also believe that there is a need (now more than ever) for journalism with professional skills, standards and ethics.

I would highly recommend The Elements of Journalism: What Newspeople Should Know and the Public Should Expect - a comprehensive look at the traditional values of journalism in our society, and the challenges facing it today.
11:57:32 AM      comment []

On The TSA

My boss has some interesting things to say about airport security.

"These people are out of control power hungry fucktards. Fuck you for taking my toiletries, fuck you for your power hungry attitude, fuck you for you inconsistency. If you are really the last line of defense against a terror attack on a plane then we are all truly fucked."

I love Adam.

My advice? Spend some time at McCarran International.
9:04:25 AM      comment []

Mission Accomplished

I watched President Bush's speech tonight.

He said (essentially) that the surge is working, that it is vital, and that's why we can now stop doing it.

This is an insult to informed, reasonable and intellegent people.

The reason that a drawdown will begin - MUST begin - is simple. The current level of troop strength cannot be maintained unless tours in Iraq are extended beyond 15 months (something the Pentagon has pledged not to do).

Admiral Mullen (soon to be Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff) testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee in July. He admitted that regardless of conditions on the ground, the surge must end because we do not have adequate troops to continue it, barring a draft, further extension of tours, or further mobilization of reserves.

To say that the President's speech tonight was little more than spin, though perhaps an accurate enough assessment, is far kinder than he deserves given the gravity of the situation. I'll speak plainly and from my heart. George W. Bush is a liar, a scoundrel and an idiot. I chose these words carefully. I use them strictly, not as rhetoric, and without a trace of hyperbole. He has nothing of value left to offer this Republic.

It was of little comfort to hear the Democratic reaction (both official and unofficial), and downright terrifying to hear Republican Mike Huckabee state that we're in a "theological war."

It appears that the 2008 election may offer us little more than the choice between impotence on the one hand and psychosis on the other.
9:58:16 PM      comment []

Fair Use and Economic Growth

The Computer and Communications Industry Association says Fair Use Pays.

"To stay on the edge of innovation and productivity, we must keep fair use as one of the cornerstones for creativity, innovation and, as today's study indicates, an engine for growth for our country"
6:28:43 PM      comment []

Worth A Listen

September 11th: What's Changed?
6:23:19 PM      comment []

Six Years On

I offered a prayer this morning for the victims, for their families and for all of us who have felt the effects of the September 11th attacks. There are many sites on the Web presenting graphic depictions of the impacts and their aftermath. I'm linking to a much more reserved report from the BBC.

US marks sixth 9/11 anniversary. Americans remember the victims of the 11 September 2001 attacks on New York and Washington. [BBC News | World | UK Edition]

Also, here's something I wrote in June of 2003 that I believe is apropos for the day.

People used to poke fun at me for flying my flag all the time. "What's up with the flag? It's not a holiday today." Then it seemed as if overnight that changed. Suddenly, there were flags everywhere. Stores were sold out of flags that had collected dust for years. People put flag decals on their cars and taped newsprint flags to their windows.

I'd like to fly my flag along with the others, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't mean the same thing to me as it does to most of the people waving it so frantically these days. In fact, the sentiment expressed by many is like some dark, shadow version of my American Ideal. It's full of anger and revenge and political partisanship blended with no small measure of religious and racial bigotry. My flag isn't like that. My flag isn't about hatred or fear.

I worry about my flag and my country. The America we live in today seems so different from the America of my enduring imagination. I wonder if that America will survive this age of abundance. We're obviously at a crossroads, at a time both of great opportunity and grave danger, and may well look back on this decade as a defining moment for generations to come.

I don't know how well my generation will stand the test of "toil and tears" required to earn our heritage. I do know that what we have and what we own, our military and economic hegemony, these things will inevitably pass. What we are, what we stand for - unity, freedom, justice - these ideals will last.
9:05:00 AM      comment []

Much As I Hate To Say "I Told You So..."

While archiving files, I ran across this letter I wrote nearly 5 years ago. Although much of what I assert would be commonly accepted in hindsight, at the time it seemed a minority view.

The Journal-Gazette
100 Broadway
Mattoon, Illinois 61938

2 October 2002

To The Editor:

I saw a cartoon recently which depicted people seated around a boardroom table. The caption read "If we're going to prioritize, we're going to need some priorities." It seems that the Bush Administration and Congress could take a lesson from the funnies.

In the year since Al Qaeda terrorists took thousands of innocent lives within these very shores, our government has lost sight of what must be its most important objective -- namely, that of hunting down the Qaeda al-Jihad leadership, every cell, and every member, and dispatching them quickly to hell.

It's not that we haven't had opportunities. On several occasions (most notably at Tora Bora and again in the Shah-e-kot Valley) coalition forces should have captured or destroyed most of the high-ranking Al Qaeda members. According to a report by Nicholas Lehmann in the September 16th issue of The New Yorker magazine, 17 of the top 25 Al Qaeda leaders are still running around loose in the world, ready, willing and able to kill Americans and our allies, both civilian and military (as is their stated purpose). Some analysts believe that despite assembling the largest military coalition in the history of the planet we have thus far been unwilling to commit U.S. ground forces in Afghanistan in large enough numbers to get the job done.

Osama bin Laden and his mentor Ayman al Zawahiri remain uncaptured. It is likely that they are both still alive and still have in their possession chemical and biological weapons, along with a nasty little suitcase nuclear device which they reportedly purchased in Chechnya.

So, why anyone in their right mind would be considering a war with Iraq at this time is beyond me. We haven't finished the job at hand. War with Iraq would be a distraction from our first priority and duty. In addition, displacing Saddam Hussein at this point -- evil as he certainly is -- would likely create yet another vast region where ethnic battles escalate, local warlords rule and terrorists are free to roam as they please.

Yet, the Democratic leadership (if one can call them that with a straight face) in Congress is lockstep with the President, marching happily along toward this insanity.

Bin Laden, Zawahiri and their kind will not stop short of the obliteration of human life on this planet if left unfettered. If we care about our children, if we care about their safety and their future, it is critical that we prevail upon our elected representatives to focus every resource on the destruction of Al Qaeda. They are the ones responsible for the attacks of September 11th, and they are the ones who pose the most serious and immediate threat to Americans today.

The sideshows can wait.

Sincerely,

Brian K. Noe
Mattoon, IL

3:33:15 PM      comment []

West End Blues

I'm thinking of New Orleans tonight, and listening to Louis Armstrong.

5:41:47 PM      comment []