NURSE BLOOMBERG IS UPSET, according to Andrew Stuttaford, posting on National Review Online's The Corner Weblog.

EVOLUTION ROBOTICS: Orrin Judd and Glenn Reynolds have both linked to this story on Evolution Robotics. I covered them last month for Nuts & Volts magazine's special robotics issue. Sadly, my article isn't online, but you can order a back issue here.

All I can say, with tongue only slightly in cheek, is...Advantage Ed!

RUINING MS. PERFECT'S LIFE: USA Today wants to know why the government is trying to do just that.

THE U.S./STAR WARS CONNECTION, according to Free-Market.Net.

YOU HAVE TO LIKE A GUY WHOSE BLOG IS TITLED "Am So a Pundit".

REPUBLICANS ATTEMPT TO BLOCK TORRICELLI REPLACEMENT, according to the Washington Post:

Even before Torricelli announced his withdrawal Monday at a news conference in Trenton, N.J., GOP officials said they were ready to go to court to block Democrats from fielding a replacement candidate so close to the election.

"The laws of the state of New Jersey do not contain a 'we think we're going to lose so we get to pick someone new' clause," taunted Torricelli's challenger, Doug Forrester.

On a practical level, Democratic party officials have yet to settle on a consensus choice to take Torricelli's place on the ballot. Even assuming an agreement by Tuesday on Rep. Bob Menendez or another replacement, they will have only five weeks to shed the ill-effects of Torricelli's ethics woes, introduce their candidate to the voters around the state and rough up Forrester on the issues.

THE DAVID BONIOR/NEVILLE CHAMBERLAIN CONNECTION, as discovered by ScrappleFace.

OH AND FOUR: Winless Rams looking at long uphill climb.

THIS SHOULD BE INTERESTING: "Inspection Talks Test Iraq's Pledge".

SOUND ADVICE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE: "Don't pee in the Millennium Falcon".

THE ANTI-SEMITISM/PEACE MOVEMENT CONNECTION, as found on InstaPundit.

TORCH SAYS HE'LL QUIT: NJ Senator Robert Torricelli tells colleagues he'll drop out if replacement found.

UPDATE: Here's an AP story with a few more details.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Great post by John Cole, putting the Torch's meltdown in perspective.

HE LEFT HIS GAME IN THE CAR: Tough week takes its toll on Randy Moss.

HAMMER TIME: Charles Krauthammer on Al Gore's recent speech against Bush:

The New York Times reports that Gore wrote the speech "after consulting a fairly far-flung group of advisers that included Rob Reiner." Current U.S. foreign policy is the combined product of Donald Rumsfeld, Condoleezza Rice, Dick Cheney, Colin Powell, Paul Wolfowitz and the president. Meanwhile, the pretender is huddling with Meathead.

ANTI-SEMETIC STUPIDITY: The New York Times has an article titled "New Jersey Laureate Refuses to Resign Over Poem". The poem, written by Amiri Baraka, the poet laureate of New Jersey, includes these eye-rolling lines:

Who knew the World Trade Center was gonna get bombed

Who told 4000 Israeli workers at the Twin Towers

To stay home that day

Why did Sharon stay away?

"I'm not resigning," Mr. Baraka said at his home in Newark, vowing to fight removal. "Let's see if they can do that."

UPDATE: Joanne Jacobs has some thoughts.

Reuters says that Turkish paramilitary police have seized more than 33 pounds of weapons-grade uranium and detained two men accused of smuggling the material, in the southern province of Sanliurfa, which borders Syria and is about 155 miles from the Iraqi border.

Over to you, Teddy, Tom, and Al.

REBEL WITH A CAUSE: "The real Hollywood rebel is the only unabashed Republican out there, uber-nerd Ben Stein," according to Michael Long in National Review Online.

BUT WHAT DOES SHARON STONE THINK? Matt Drudge links to information about a "blistering" memo written by Barbra Streisand to remind Democratic Leader Richard Gephardt that "Saddam Hussein did not bomb the World Trade Center".

Incidentally, the above headline is courtesy of another classic Barbra moment:

Clinton brought Sharon Stone to a summit meeting in Vancouver and later held a conference on health care for Barbra Streisand and friends. When Barbra learned that Sharon visited the President more often than she herself did, she reportedly fumed: “What does Sharon Stone know about policy?”

UN-NATTY DREADS: The Washington Post says, School Bans Dreadlocked Student. Whether you agree with the decision of the Whitefish Montana High School officials or not (they're also banning mohawks, incidentally), I love this sentence:

"It's not really my hair," said 15-year-old Kisteesha Lanegan, who hasn't been to school since the first day of class. "They're trying to mold me into a person that I'm not. My hair is totally irrelevant to education at the school."

"SEMIOTICALLY SPEAKING", (That's easy for you to say, Reason), "this is the most inept administration in years. Either that, or its art department is trying to tell us something."

But you know--that Information Awareness Office logo is pretty creepy.

WHY DO MEN LOVE DR. STRANGELOVE? My essay on the subject is now on the Blogcritics site.

WHITE SUPREMACIST TERRORIST PLOT FOILED, by the Southern California police.

HIS AUDIENCE IS BECOMING MORE SELECTIVE: Like Spinal Tap, The Sabertooth Journal says that Jesse Jackson just doesn't pack 'em in like he used to.

THE MONEY 'GRAPH: James Lileks sums it up:

Two Democrats, two views. Senator Miller’s comments focussed my mind the nation, on a future I’d like to avoid.

Senator Daschle’s comments focussed my mind on Senator Daschle.

DE-HOOVER FBI HQ? John McCaslin says that a growing chorus on Capitol Hill is demanding that J. Edgar Hoover's name be removed from FBI headquarters on Pennsylvania Avenue.

THE WORK ACT: It doesn't.

HOW OUT OF TOUCH IS ACADEMIA? Very, according to Michael Medved.

LOSING IT: Maureen Dowd already has. David Broder is on his way, according to the Brothers Judd.

THE IMPORTANCE OF IRAQ. Jay Bryant writes:

Saddam is arguably the most dangerous man to rule in Iraq since Nebuchadnezzar. He is megalomaniacal and ruthless. He invades his neighbors whenever he gets the chance, and for no good reason, since none of them pose any real threat to him. He builds weapons of mass destruction, including chemical and biological weapons, which he has no qualms about using against people he dislikes, foreign or domestic. He is in the process of assembling a nuclear arsenal and a flock of missiles, which could easily reach, say, Jerusalem, a city in which pious Jews still recite the 2600-year-old Lamentations of Jeremiah over the capture of their nation by Nebuchadnezzar.

IT'S AN ELECTION YEAR, which means that everyone's outraged about being outraged.

BLOGSPOT SERVERS AT RISK OF CRASHING, thanks to all of the hits that Group Captain Mandrake has recieved over this post, a letter from Germany.

So click over and read it, while you can!

UK SOLD NUCLEAR BOMB MATERIAL TO IRAN, according to Little Green Footballs.

RELIGION OF PEACE UPDATE: An Islamic court in the UK has given a death sentence for blasphemy to a gay playwright who wrote a play depicting Christ as a homosexual.

MY REVIEW OF CITIZEN KANE ON DVD IS UP, on the Blogcritics site.

THE SECRET REASON BEHIND WAR WITH IRAQ UNCOVERED.

HIS MOTOR IS ALWAYS RUNNING: Randy Moss spent the night in jail facing a possible felony charge after being arrested for allegedly pushing a traffic agent a half-block with his car. The arrest could keep the Minnesota Vikings' star receiver out of the team's game Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks.

What's really astonishing is Moss's previous rap sheet, as this Yahoo Sports article demonstrates:

He squirted a referee with a water bottle in 1999 -- which resulted in a $25,000 fine from the NFL -- and verbally abused corporate sponsors on the team bus in 2001. The last infraction resulted in the team fining him $15,000 and forcing him to attend anger management classes.

He had a scholarship revoked by Notre Dame in 1995 after being charged with beating up a high school classmate in Rand, W.Va. Moss pleaded guilty to battery and was sentenced to 30 days in jail. He was allowed to defer most of the sentence until after his freshman year in college.

He went to Florida State, where he redshirted his freshman season but was kicked off the team for violating probation by smoking marijuana. That got him a one-year jail sentence, which was reduced to about one month of time served.

Virtually out of chances, Moss walked on at Marshall and quickly became a star.

The 25-year-old Moss is in his fifth year with the Vikings and is the team's highest-paid player. He signed an eight-year, $75 million contract last year.

THE PHOTO: I realize I'm beating a dead horse, because Glenn Reynolds already linked to this photo of MacArthur and Hirohito. But it's still very much worthy of examination if you haven't seen it--it really brings home what our goal in Iraq should be: regime change, followed by society change.

PAGING ALEX P. KEATON: Berkeley study finds youths more conservative than parents.

JUST SUE, BABY! Judge orders new trial in the Oakland Raiders' lawsuit against the NFL.

MY KIND OF MULTICULTURALISM: We took friends staying with us for a few days to Sushi Expo in San Jose. Ala The Blues Brothers, I've taken to calling it "Bob's Country Sushi Bunker".

What an astonishing restaurant--the menu is the usual sushi, sashimi and tempura fare, but the music is strictly country and western. The two young girls sitting next to us were Jennifer Lopez clones. A large plastic James Brown doll stared back at us from the bar. Regular patrons have their own deluxe chopsticks, kept behind the bar. (The oddest touch? The sushi, prominently displayed on little boats that run through a water-filled track at the bar, is individually wrapped in cellophane. Safe sushi is apparently their motto.)

We once met the winner of a Kenny Rogers look-a-like contest (no really!) there.

And he did have his own chopsticks.

NFL HALL OF FAME CENTER DEAD: Mike Webster, legendary center of the Pittsburgh Steelers during their Super Bowl years, dead at 50.

ENRON SHRUGGED: USA Today says that recent business scandals have lead executives to dust off their copies of Ayn Rand 1957 novel, Atlas Shrugged.

TURN ON THE MONEY SPIGOTS: Larry Kudlow says "It’s Up to Greenspan".

THE U.S./FONZIE CONNECTION: Jonah Goldberg's latest essay is called "Not Getting America". He writes:

my point is simply this: Saying we rule the world doesn't make it so. We don't rule the world. We lead the world-this is a huge distinction to people who live outside the intellectual menagerie of an Ivy League English department. If the coolest guy in school wears a leather jacket and all the other kids follow suit, that's hardly the same thing as the coolest guy forcing them at gunpoint to buy a leather jacket from him.

RELIGION OF PEACE UPDATE: Muslim terrorists stormed a crowded Hindu temple in western India today and opened fire at random, killing at least 23 people.

U.S. MAY NIX RANDOM AIRPORT CHECKS, according to ABCNews.com:

A spokesman for the Air Transport Association, which represents major airlines, said the random checks are unnecessary.

"Random gate screening doesn't really add any additional measure of security," Michael Wascom said via cell phone from Tampa International Airport, where he was about to be screened at the gate. He said more sophisticated passenger and baggage screening makes random gate screening unnecessary.

Loy, who became head of the TSA after his predecessor was accused of ignoring passenger convenience, said he wants to balance security with customer service. He has already gotten rid of the requirement that passengers be asked questions about whether they have kept a close eye on their baggage. He has also decided to allow passengers to carry drinks through security checkpoints. He calls the random gate screenings "hassle checks."

JESSE JACKSON WANTS A MOVIE CENSORED: Why? because Barbershop made a joke or two at his expense.

NEW REVIEW UP ON BLOGCRITICS: My review of Blogcritics: Behind the Glass By Howard Massey, a collection of interviews with top music producers, is now online.

THE DAILY WHINE: Courtesy of Terrell Owens of the San Francisco 49ers, of course.

SOMEWHERE, HAROLD STASSEN IS LAUGHING: "Gore in California Speech Warns Against Iraq Attack".

InstaPundit rounds up the Blogosphere's reaction

RADIO FREE NUREMBERG: Nationally syndicated radio columnist Andy Martin thinks we should invade Israel instead of Iraq. "Israel is the more dangerous outlaw state," says Martin.

LET IT BE COMING TO DVD? It sounds like Paul McCartney is working on it, which would be a good thing: In between all of the inter-band squabbling on the documentary, there's also some wonderful music, some of the last made by the band, and their last live performance.

REEFER MADNESS: Stephen Green says that a Mill Valley KFC restaurant employee was arrested after a customer received a little something extra with his chicken dinner...

Two bags of marijuana.

Funny how you never did see Colonel Sanders and Timothy Leary photographed together.

"Alfred Regnery's Publishing House Goes for the Conservative Gusto, and Leaves The Left Behind", says The Washington Post.

More here.

P.J. O'ROURKE VISITS EGYPT: "Hatred between Palestinians and Israelis abides. Arab-led Islamic fundamentalism destabilizes nations from Algeria to the Philippines. The threat of terrorist attacks by al Qaeda continues. Also, our car needs gas. It is important to understand Arab culture." O'Rourke writes:

To blame the existence of al Qaeda on poverty like Egypt's is a slur on the poor. The September 11 attackers were taking flying lessons in America, not rug-weaving lessons in a village on the Nile. Yet there must be some economic, or political-economic, roots to the burning —flaming, bursting, exploding—bush of current events. Fouad Ajami, the author of The Dream Palace of the Arabs and a professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, has written, "Atta struck at us because he could not take down Mr. Mubarak's world, because in the burdened, crowded land of the Egyptian dictator there is very little offered younger Egyptians save for the steady narcotic of anti-Americanism and anti-Zionism."

Narcotics aside, this "very little offered" raises a question about Arab culture. Why has Egypt—and the whole Arab world—made relatively little economic progress? Even the oil-flush Gulf states have not become rich the way we understand rich in the West. Kuwait is little more than an oil spigot with people sitting on top, and all they have to do is turn the tap. But Kuwait's per capita GDP is $15,000, whereas utterly resourceless Luxembourg's is $36,400.

FRIENDS IN TOWN: Don't expect a whole lot of posting this weekend, folks.

NOT QUITE MOUNT SURIBACHI, BUT IT'LL DO: Israel Plants Flag in Palestinian HQ

THE HITS JUST KEEP ON COMING: Steven Den Beste just found out through his refer list that the Guardian has a message board.

I found out this morning that Ann Coulter's site has one--I got a surprising number of hits when someone linked to my "Misanthropic" post.

Not surprisingly, his post on what to do about radical Islamism went over much more poorly with the denizens of the Guardian than my post did with fans of La Coulter.

"MOOCH" LOOKS TO STUN THE FUN 'N' GUN: Here's a preview of Washington at San Francisco this Sunday.

What's the word frequently used to describe payback?

YOU CAN HAVE MY RED RYDER WHEN YOU PRY IT FROM MY COLD, DEAD FINGERS: British gun control activists want to ban air rifles.

THE FISCAL REPORT CARD: As issued by the Cato Institute. Not surpringly, "Most Governors Rate Fair to Poor Fiscally".

HERE I AM AT CAMP AL-QAEDA: Those of you who are of "a certain age", will enjoy lyrics that begin with "Hello Mullah, hello Fatwa. Here I am at Camp al-Qaeda".

(As found on VodkaPundit)

AT BEST IT RHYMES: Is the Kyoto Treaty another Kellogg-Briand Pact?

THE MASK SLIPS: Check out the BBC's bias in who they label as using "terror".

SWEET IRONY. I love this headline: "Arafat Pleads for Help After Bombing".

UPDATE: Steven Den Beste notes just the slightest of change in Arafat's tune compared to a few months ago.

"TWO ROOMS AND A TOILET": Rather than killing Arafat, Israel is simply going to "bulldoze him into obscurity", according to this article by Uri Dan in the New York Post.

Incidentally, Rod Dreher of National Review describes Dan as "a close personal friend of Ariel Sharon's, so when he reports something like [the above Post article], it's particularly credible".

IS THAT ALL? Reuters says Almost 20 Percent of Dot-Com Era Start-Ups Failed.

I actually thought the number would be higher--and it may be: the report mentioned in the Reuters article was prepared by research firm VentureOne, and "did not count start-ups that went public and then failed, the firm said".

MORE ON BULLET BOB: Frank Luksa, longtime Dallas Cowboys beat reporter, has a nicely balanced look at the ups and downs of Bob Hayes' career. I love this exchange:

In my last chat with Hayes a year ago, he chose winning the 100-meter final in Tokyo as his crowning athletic achievement. He said Jesse Owens left the stands to remind him that the U.S. lost this event in 1960 to Armin Hary of Germany.

"We want it back, but you have the worst lane ... No. 1," Owens worried. Hayes replied: "I didn't come here to lose. Americans don't say, 'We're No. 2.' I'm going to win this thing."

THE GREAT CLITORIDECTOMY HOAX: Michelle Malkin looks at how the truth can get mutilated.

And yes this is the first, and probably last time this site uses the word "clitoridectomy", especially in a headline.

IS FEBRUARY THE DATE? Rowan Scarborough of the The Washington Times seems to think so.

Start cranking out that videotape, old boy.

LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT: Here's a flashback to when Robert Fisk meets Osama Bin Laden in 1993.

(Found via Andrew Sullivan.)

"FIRST DO NO HARM": Excellent Peggy Noonan essay on Eunice Stone and three men who ought to have taken their Hippocratic oath a little bit more seriously.

AN ARTIST APOLOGIZES: Unlike sculptor Gail Haffern, according to the BBC, "British artist Damien Hirst has 'apologised unreservedly' for suggesting that the 11 September hijackers had created a 'visually stunning' work of art":

"I apologise unreservedly for any upset I have caused, particularly to the families of the victims of the events on that terrible day.

"I in no way condone terrorism of any kind and I deeply regret any offence caused by the misrepresentation of my thoughts and feelings."

POWER PLAY: Fred Barnes says "In the span of ten days, President Bush flexed his executive muscles and changed the conventional wisdom on Iraq...of the swiftest and most effective exercises of presidential power ever."

Found via NRO's The Corner Weblog

EURO-OIL: Nick Denton writes that "the war against Iraq may indeed be, partly, about oil. But not in the way you might think":

The international oil companies best placed in Iraq aren't American: they're TotalFinaElf of France, and Lukoil of Russia, according to this article in the Wall Street Journal. Which explains why those two countries have muted their opposition to US military intervention.

THE AIR POLLUTION CON GAME: "The United States has achieved large declines in air pollution during the last few decades, yet polls show most Americans think air pollution has been getting worse", writes Joel Schwartz.

SEGWAY UPDATE: Chicago cops are testing the high-tech scooter.

If you haven't seen it, for our take on the Segway, check out our Tech Central Station piece from a while back, and our article in LiteWheels.

UNPLUGGED U: Wired looks at Dartmouth's 802.11 wireless network. We took a look at USC's efforts in the current issue of Planning magazine, the house organ for the members of the American (Urban) Planning Association. Unfortunately, it's only available to members. But I from interviewing engineers at USC, I suspect both campuses are using 802.11 to reduce networking costs, provide greater flexibility to students and professors, and offer a great recruiting perk.

Not to belabor the same sort of point I made below, but there's got to be some real battles going on, if only emotionally, between college and university engineers and researchers, who are using logic, science, technology and rationality to solve problems, and historians, philosophers, and sociologists, who consider all of those traits to be dated imperialist dogma.

(Wired link thanks to Orrin Judd.)

A 21ST CENTURY TRANSATLANTIC CABLE: The Internet2 high-speed Internet research consortium has just snaked a ten gigabit per second cable Internet connection under the Atlantic.

Let's hope Europe's scientists and researchers are making more sense these days than their politicians.

MISANTHROPIC: Here's the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary definition of the word:

One entry found for misanthropic.

Main Entry: mis·an·throp·ic
Pronunciation: "mi-s&n-'thrä-pik
Function: adjective
Date: 1762
1 : of, relating to, or characteristic of a misanthrope
2 : marked by a hatred or contempt for mankind
synonym see CYNICAL
- mis·an·throp·i·cal·ly /-pi-k(&-)lE/ adverb

"What I found, when I went into work the day after, everyone was accusing somebody, everyone had something bad to say about somebody else, whether it was Bush or Osama bin Laden or al Qaeda or whatever - someone was in the wrong and I found that position quite hard to handle." * * * "Four planes? I thought it was an extraordinary idea to do this, somebody declaring war against the mightiest country that has ever existed with one of its own peacetime machines. Looking at this, and being an artist, I thought what if this had been a performance piece and Osama bin Laden had declared himself an artist, how would the world have seen it then?"

HERE WE GO AGAIN: Israeli Tanks Enter Arafat Compound.

"BULLET" BOB HAYES DEAD AT 59: Hayes was an Olympic gold-medal sprinter and Dallas Cowboys star who was once considered the world's fastest man. He died of kidney failure at Shands Hospital late Wednesday.

Hayes is still the only man with an Olympic gold medal and a Super Bowl ring. While his 1979 drug arrest has kept him out of the NFL Hall of Fame, he was inducted last year into the Cowboys' "Ring of Honor", a large blue band with the names of superstar Cowboy players and their first head coach, Tom Landry that runs around Texas Stadium.

Here's a Dallas Morning News article, with some thoughts from Roger Staubach, who played with Hayes in the 1970s.

BLOGGER GETS SHIP NAMED AFTER HER: Well, sort of. Check out the U.S.S. Shiloh.

We've frequently bashed Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle in the past, because, frankly, it's easy and fun. But we were happy to see this quote from him in the Washington Post:

"We all ought to recognize the military option ought to be the last option, but it ought to be a real option," Senate Majority Leader Thomas A. Daschle (D-S.D.) said after today's meeting. "There is a great deal of support for pressing Iraq to open its borders and destroy its weapons."

Daschle, who previously has expressed reservations about the White House's Iraq policy, predicted the resolution will pass with "strong bipartisan support," perhaps by early October.

HOW YA GONNA KEEP 'EM DOWN? Ronald Baily of Reason has some suggestions on "how to achieve the miracle of poverty".

IT'S NOT A TOOMMMAAAAH: It's Arnold Schwarzenegger, who might run as write-in candidate for California governor this year, according to Mickey Kaus.

ROACH MOTEL: Britain checks into the EU, but they may not be able to check out.

(Link found via NRO's The Corner.)

GUNS AND TERRORISTS: Rachel Lucas thoroughly Fisks a letter signed (if probably not written by) Jim Brady.

WHAT IS DASCHELE CONCERNED ABOUT, AND WHEN DID HE BECOME CONCERNED? Happy Fun Pundit is concerned that Tom Daschele is concerned about concerns about the timing of the Iraq debate.

We're not too concerned. We're merely disappointed (Daschele's other favorite word) at Mr. Daschele.

SAY, WOULD LIKE BREASTS WITH THOSE FRIES?: "Lunch-time boob jobs" are apparently coming in a couple of years, according to this article.

BUT THE B-3 IS STILL IN SERVICE AGAINST ALBANIA: The British government has given the US permission to build the special hangers needed for the B-2 stealth bomber on the tiny Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia, according to "Group Captain Mandrake" in his Letter from the Olde Countrie blog.

(Sorry for the gratuitous Wag the Dog reference. Fortunately, that film really seems like it's from a long ago era, doesn't it?)

LOOK WHO'S ON THE BANDWAGON: Democrats endorse Iraq vote.

LIFE IN AN ALTERNATIVE UNIVERSE, PART II: So did you pick up Monsters, Inc. today, too?

What a fantastic DVD. I'll try to write a detailed review for Blogcritics.

UPDATE: One of the elements that makes Pixar's digital films work is that they understand the importance of story and character. Once you accept that the world they create, mentally you forget that you're in a world of toys that move, think and talk, or in the case of Monsters Inc., that you're in the Monstropolis, a world where weird looking monsters have businesses, lead their lives, and you quickly accept how human they are.

It doesn't hurt that Pixar hires excellent voiceover actors (heck, excellent actors--Tom Hanks, John Goodman, etc.) and gives them their head.

Compare that, and your reaction to the Pixar films, with your reactions to the last two Star Wars films, which George Lucas directed. In theory, the Star Wars movies should be more believable, not to mention superior, because they're not cartoons. And yet, while Lucas often hires excellent actors (Liam Neeson for example), their performances are stiff, their dialogue even worse, and for the most part, we don't care about the characters--they're simply props for Lucas to maneuver along with the space craft and planets. He doesn't care about much about them--why should we?

LIFE IN AN ALTERNATIVE UNIVERSE, PART I: James Lileks interviews Scott Ritter, restaurant inspector.

THINKING OF GETTING SATELLITE RADIO, but not sure whether you should get XM or Sirius?

One way or another, this ought to make it easy.

CNN: NO TIME FOR ISRAEL: Found on the New York Post's Page Six section:

CNN is refusing to run ads promoting Israel as the Middle East's only democracy. The American non-profit group israel21c.org is behind a campaign to educate Americans about Israel on issues other than the Palestinian conflict. The commercial in question, which runs on ABC and NBC in New York and Washington, D.C., states, "As in America, all Israeli citizens - Christians, Muslims and Jews - have freedom of religion and the right to vote." But CNN allegedly told the organization that carrying the spot "could increase the threat to our staff and correspondents around the world," a source tells PAGE SIX's Ian Spiegelman. Reps for israel21c.org asked CEO Walter Isaacson to reconsider, and were later told that CNN does not run ads dealing with international policy. "That's bullbleep," says our spy, adding that CNN has run commercials on global warming, landmines, and funding the United Nations, a pet cause of Ted Turner's. A CNN rep says the company has a blanket policy of "not running advocacy advertising regarding international issues from regions in conflict."

THE END OF NATO? Steven Den Beste shows why the upcoming war with Iraq could also mean the end of US involvment in NATO.

BUT WHAT DOES LOU REED THINK? Vaclav Havel endorses U.S. line on Iraq.

AXIS OF EVIL, TAXI SQUAD: "North Korea amasses chemical weapons".

MICHAEL APTED: The Digital Bits interviews the director of Enigma, as well as a host of other excellent films.

Click here to read my review of Enigma from this summer.

PETA=ECO-TERROR: And it's putting their tax-exempt, non-profit status at risk.

'Bout time.

By the way, since ELF (Earth Liberation Front, whom PETA has donated money to), had admitted that they're terrorists (read the article), why isn't Craig Rosebraugh, their spokesman, whose photograph is prominent in the Fox News article, in jail as an accomplice?

MOVE 'EM ON OUT: U.S. Seeks to Ship More Military Hardware to Gulf, according to ABCNEWS.com.

(Link found via Steven Den Beste.)

REAL LIFE EQUALS THE ONION PART 2,643,327: Little Green Footballs says "a reputed ally of Osama bin Laden was betrayed after United States spy planes tracked a takeaway pizza to his jungle hideout."

No, really--check out the whole thing, in a post appropriately titled "Mmmm. Pizza".

GOOD FOR THEM: "Bear Stearns Tells Employees Dress Up -- Dot-Com Boom Is Over"

WHILE ABSTINENCE IS ALWAYS SAFEST, IT'S NOT ALWAYS POSSIBLE: So don't have unprotected contact...with the Euro:

Swiss scientists say the two-tone 1- and 2-euro coins release high levels of nickel when they are exposed to human sweat. Nickel against the skin can cause eczema, irritation or other allergic reactions.

Good post by Jonah Goldberg in National Review Online's Corner Weblog:

Even if there are no conditions on the inspectors (assuming there are inspectors) it's important to recognize how difficult these missions are. For example, I was listening to a congressional hearing with a panel of former UN Chief Inspectors on C-Span radio the other day (again, yes, because I am that cool). I don't know which one told this story, but it was pretty illuminating. Apparently, during one of the previous hunt and peck searches in Iraq, the inspectors received intelligence from a very reliable and high-ranking source that there was a huge secret stockpile of nasty weapons under the central Baghdad cemetary. Fortunately, the inspectors checked out the story and it turned out to have been a ruse set up by the Iraqi government. Saddam's people wanted the UN to bulldoze the cemetary, desecrating Muslim graves and the like just so the Iraqis could denounce the action for propaganda purposes.

Even if we end up sending inspectors to Baghdad "without conditions", there is every reason to assume that the Iraqis will do everything they can to turn it into a circus. Remember Saddam has foregone 160 billion dollars in oil revenues just because he wanted to keep inspectors out. In other words, he has something to hide and he is willing to incur great costs to keep it hidden -- for a reason.

THE MAKING OF KIND OF BLUE: My review of Ashley Kahn's book, which looks at how Miles Davis seminal 1959 recording came to be, is now online at Blogcritics.

JAY MANIFOLD HAS THE SOLUTION FOR THE INFAMOUS ANTI-AMERICAN BUMPER STICKERS that we reported a few days ago.

I like it. Setting your car alarm on extra sensitive wouldn't be bad, either.

ANOTHER DOMINO FALLS: Little Green Footballs says that Jordan has quietly jumped aboard the war against Saddam Hussein.

See also our post from over the weekend, about Saudi Arabia headed in a similar direction, as well.

UPDATE: Strategy Page gives a preview of what the war could look like.

The family of 22 year old Shiri Negari, one of 19 people killed in a Jerusalem bus suicide bombing on June 18th 2002, have put up a Web page to memoralize her.

CLINTON'S BIGGEST BLUNDER: As found by Patrick Ruffini.

Of course, it's the logical extension of this article from last fall by Byron York. And this item, and its accompanying links on InstaPundit yesterday make for a nice side-pocket companion link.

THE BLOGGER'S GLOSSARY: As compiled by Samizdata.

ANTI-IDIOTARIAN DEMOCRATS: Not surprisingly, you'll find them at truck tire plants, but not at the New York Times, according to Joanne Jacobs.

MEAT: It's what all the cool kids are trying these days!

THE GEORGE S. PATTON, TOMMY FRANKS CONNECTION, as found by Steve Den Beste in a typically excellent analysis of military strategy then and now.

NFL SHOCKER: The Rams and Steelers are each 0 and 2.

SINGAPORE ARRESTS 21 AL QAEDA SUSPECTS, according to The Brothers Judd Blog.

When I interviewed Alvin Toffler right after 9/11/01, one of the most interesting comments he made was that Islam is as much an Asian religion as a Middle Eastern one. Glad to see the Singapore authorities doing their bit to roundup its more radical members.

"JACKBOOT LIBERALISM": Doug Bandow looks back at Clinton-Gore and Civil Liberties on National Review Online.

THE BILL CLINTON/BOB GREENE CONNECTION as discovered by Orrin Judd.

I'm actually sorry to see Greene in hot water--I've thoroughly enjoyed a number of his articles, dating back to when he wrote for Esquire in the mid-1980s.

COULD IRAQ HAVE THE BOMB BY EARLY NEXT YEAR? Group Captain Mandrake links to an article which says it's a possibility.

Scott Ritter couldn't be reached for comment.

SHILO BUCHER HAS A NEW WEBLOG: Stop by her spiffy new site at the eponomously named shilohbucher.com today!

LESS OF THIS PAUL WOULD BE A GOOD THING: Stephen Green thoroughly Fisks the inanities of Congressman Ron Paul and his appeasement cliches.

THE WILLIAM SHATNER/DUBYA CONNECTION, as found by Sgt. Stryker.

HERE'S A URL I NEVER THOUGHT I'D SEE: http://www.masturbateforpeace.com/.

Why yes, I did say "Masturbate for Peace.Com". I'll leave it to yourselves to come up with your own jokes here. Taking shots at a Web site with bumper stickers with slogans such as "All we are saying, is give peace a wank"? is just too easy.

It would be merely....self-indulgence--if not self-abuse.

(Link via Jenett.Radio.)

UPDATE: VodkaPundit lends a hand (one hand, of course) with his comments.

ED ON DEAD TREE UPDATE--here's where to find me in print this month:

I have an article on the home theater of Mr. and Mrs. Don Rhymer in the November issue of Audio/Video Interiors (my subscriber copy just arrived at my house this weekend). Don Rhymer is the screenwriter of Big Momma's House, among other movies and sit-coms. The Rhymers have created a very child-friendly home theater, under the logical assumption that they'd rather have their teenagers and their friends home, where they can keep an eye on them, than doing God-knows-what at a friend's house.

My history of the Les Paul Custom guitar is in this month's Vintage Guitar magazine. This article began as an offshoot of this post, and my online interview with Les Paul himself. It's an all Les Paul issue in Vintage Guitar (the man and his guitars), so if you're interested in guitars, be sure to check it out.

My article on Stanley Kubrick and his computers, which we first tipped you off about first here, is in this month's Nuts & Volts.

Fans of 802.11b wireless networking should check out my article in this month's Home Automation magazine, which explains how to add a wireless spur to an existing hard wired Ethernet.

And an article I'm particularly proud of, but may not be too easily obtained, is a piece I wrote on the urban planning implications of 802.11 for this month's issue of Planning, the house organ of the American Planning Association.

The Summer Fall issue of Smart TV & Sound has my article on DirecTV's interactive services, which is also available online, but don't let that stop you from running out and buying truckloads of hard copies!

So wake the kids, feed 'em with diet pills, and head over to your local magazine seller, and stock up today!

BIN LADEN IS DEAD, says Aimee Deep, on her Musicpundit site.

Considering that he was nowhere to be found on the one year anniversary of 9/11, I'm inclined to believe it.

(Link via InstaPundit.)

Say, I wonder if Saddam is burning the midnight oil even as we speak with his Camcorder, so that al-Jazeera can run his taunts long after he's dead?

UPDATE: He's not dead yet, he's getting better...

HAPPY SIX MONTH ANNIVERSARY, to "Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake's" blog,
A letter from the Olde Countrie, which has been a witty mixture of geopolitical analysis and etiquette advice.

SAUDIS MAY CHANGE STANCE ON IRAQ, according to this AP story.

No word yet on whether Noam Chomsky has changed his.

UPDATE: Not surprisingly, Little Green Footballs broke this story, yesterday.

THE BELLMAN EQUATION: Virginia Postrel's latest New York Times column is abll about football strategies on fourth down, from a mathematical point of view.

If I were Dave Campo, I'd be worried that Jerry Jones might consider hiring Postrel as my replacement.

ROBOT TO PROBE GREAT PYRAMID ON TV, according to Eric Olsen on Blogcritics. No word yet if Geraldo Rivera has been called in, however.

DASCHLE TO FORCE U.N. RESOLUTION UPON CONFLICT: The Burger King/McDonald's conflict, that is.

UNEMPLOYED BECAUSE BAYWATCH WAS CANCELLED? Bill Clinton is hiring interns...

LITTLE MIAMI STEVEN SILVIO VAN ZANDT: Nice profile by Eric Olsen of "Miami" Steve Van Zandt, who's actually from my home state of New Jersey. Van Zandt is of course Bruce Springsteen's rhythm guitarist, as well as a co-star of The Sopranos, whose next season is about to begin.

COWBOYS CUT VETERAN CB BRYANT WESTBROOK, days after he committed costly penalties in the team's embarrassing season-opening loss to Houston.

THE MOST IMPORTANT SPEECH YOU DIDN'T HEAR ON THURSDAY. Nick Schulz (who's also the chief editor at Tech Central Station, who we write for, from time to time) analyses the speech given by Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Montana), on the future of American foreign and energy policy in the Middle East:

Before a packed National Press Club audience in Washington — including reporters and cameras from Al Jazeera — Burns addressed several issues that President Bush could not in his speech before the United Nations. While President Bush was rightly focusing on Iraq as the next step in the war against terror, Burns was outlining a vision for changing the dynamic of world energy markets.

Most significant were Sen. Burns's comments about America's ally in the war on terrorism, Saudi Arabia. One informed source tells me that the Bush administration vetted Sen. Burns's speech and was pleased with the thrust of his arguments, and that his speech reflects the administration's views and ultimate aims.

* * * Regime change in Iraq, as Bush advocated Thursday, could go a long way towards generating changes in the region that might one day bring about a free and democratic Saudi Arabia. Until that time, technological advances and increased supply hold the key to moving to the point where, as Burns put it, "we no longer need to kowtow to fanatics and anti-American regimes."

THE NO FUN LEAGUE. I agree with a lot of the NFL's rules against player improvisation, especially when it comes to their uniforms. But this is a bit over the top: The NFL said no to Indianapolis Colts QB Peyton Manning's request to wear black high-top shoes for Sunday's home game against the Miami Dolphins.

AP says, "The league said in a statement Friday that no team other than the Baltimore Ravens will be allowed to wear a patch or armband on their uniforms during Sunday's games to honor Unitas."

I don't see a problem with the QB of the Colts wearing black high-tops to honor the former Colt who made them his trademark.

ANOTHER ARREST: Al Qaeda Cell Busted in Buffalo.

GOOD POINT: "The history of this war, written ten years from now, is going to be very interesting to read", says Steven Den Beste, referring to the "truly masterful disinformation campaign" that was waged.

The quotation marks are there because they're Den Beste's words, but we wholeheartedly agree.

$31 MILLION: That's the size of the deal that tight end Tony Gonzalez signed with the Chiefs.

YET ANOTHER REASON TO LOATHE SAN FRANCISCO, where cars with American flags are getting vandalized.

Of course, they could simply be jealous that right-wingers have more fun!

SUSPECTED 9/11 ORGANIZER CAPTURED: Ramzi Binalshibh, a suspected organizer of the Sept. 11 attacks was captured in Pakistan and in custody, U.S. officials said Friday.

This AP article doesn't contain much more information than that, but we'll post more details as soon as we see them.

UPDATE: The AP article has since been fleshed out with much more detail.

FLORIDA TO RENO: DROP DEAD. OK, that's not quite what Jim Smith, the secretary of state said, but he did refuse Reno's recount request.

RADIOACTIVE SHIP UPDATE: The radioactivity from the Liberian-flagged ship, which remained moored off the coast of New Jersey on Friday, apparently came from clay tiles among its cargo, a defense official said Friday.

(Link found via Little Green Footballs.)

POSSIBLE IRAQ-AL QAEDA LINK. Jim Robbins posts on National Review Online's The Corner Weblog:

AFP reports the arrest in the Netherlands of Mullah Krekar, an Iraqi Kurd leader suspected of being the go-between in the Saddam Hussein/Al Qaeda relationship. He was travelling from Iran to Norway and was picked up at Amsterdam airport. All those critics who said that the US cannot legitimately take action against Iraq until a link to 9/11 is proven are in for a big surprise one day soon.

THE BUSH/U.N./GODFATHER/GODZILLA CONNECTION, as found by Jonah Goldberg:

It is entirely possible that George W. Bush will go down in history as the savior of the United Nations, and as much as I dislike the U.N., I salute him for it. The brilliance of Bush's speech, and of the maneuvering that led to it, is still sinking in around Washington. Somehow, Bush managed, once again, to do exactly what his critics wanted him to and defeat them entirely in the process. It's sort of like a Godzilla movie where the little Japanese scientists scream "Over here! Come here!" and when Godzilla finally does exactly what they want him to do, he squishes them between his toes and keeps moving.

The "international community" banged their collective spoons on their U.N. highchairs, demanding that the United States work with and through them. Bush ignored their pleadings even as the din of their tantrums became near-deafening. Then, slowly, he turned to the U.N. and squished it.
Kofi Annan's speech might as well have been the plaintive "Noooooooooooooo!" one hears right before Godzilla's foot muffles it out of existence.

DEMOCRATS FOR REGIME CHANGE:

The president asks the nation to consider this question: What if Saddam Hussein "fails to comply, and we fail to act, or we take some ambiguous third route which gives him yet more opportunities to develop his program of weapons of mass destruction and continue to press for the release of the sanctions and continue to ignore the solemn commitments that he made? Well, he will conclude that the international community has lost its will. He will then conclude that he can go right on and do more to rebuild an arsenal of devastating destruction."

The president's warnings are firm. "If we fail to respond today, Saddam and all those who would follow in his footsteps will be emboldened tomorrow." The stakes, he says, could not be higher. "Some day, some way, I guarantee you, he'll use the arsenal."

ORGANIC OREOS: Perfect for the Granola Conservatives that Rod Dreher has written about recently, found in a local supermarket's flyer that we received at chez EdDriscoll.com yesterday, and absolutely ridiculous.

SCOTT RITTER GETS FISKED: Here's a transcript of his interview with David Asman of Fox News.

WORDS MEAN THINGS: That was a mantra of Rush Limbaugh (I know, I know) years before Clinton's "I depends on what the meaning of is, is" debacle.

Here's Part I of "Words Mean Things":

Jonah Goldberg's syndicated column on Susan Sontag and Paul Krugman, titled, "Nixing metaphors: war on terrorism real"

Here's Part II: The three fellows thought to be Florida terrorists "were playing a stupid joke on another restaurant patron who gave them a suspicious look"

Words mean things--especially during a time of war.

THIS IS PATHETIC: The Dallas Cowboys' offensive line needs to get into shape.

LILEKS CHANNELS BRUCE LEE:

I’ve been reading reactions to the President’s UN speech, and I’m amused at how people don’t seem to get it. Oh, now he’s being a multilateralist? Now he believes in the UN? No. That speech was the equivalent of that fabled kung-fu move that removes your opponent's heart and shows it to you, just before you crumple. It’s of a piece with the administration’s behavior since 9/11: Let all the carpers and obstructionists gather on the tip of the thinnest branch, then show up with a saw and announce they have five minutes to come hug the trunk, which incidentally is covered with sap and stinging ants. It was sheer malicious brilliance to cast the entire case in terms of UN resolutions, because it mean the UN had to chose: either those resolutions mean something, or the UN means nothing. Why, it's almost as if the UN painted itself into a corner - and woke up to find this rude simple cowboy holding the brush. How the hell did he do that?

JUST SWELL: Possible Terrorist Plot Against South Florida.

SEPTEMBER 11 SATELLITE PHOTO: I have no idea if this is legit, but scroll down to see a photo apparently taken by a satellite that shows that the destruction of the WTC was visible from Earth orbit.

GOOGLE IS NOW AVAILABLE AGAIN IN CHINA. As Nick Denton says, score one for the Internet.

Astonishingly, despite our best efforts, we're still available in China as well.

We'll keep trying, though.

MAKE 'EM AN OFFER THEY CAN'T ACCEPT: Steven Den Beste does an excellent job of laying out President Bush's strategy with the UN, using a proven technique:

About a year ago, he presented the Taliban with an ultimatum: Turn bin Laden over to us; shut down all al Qaeda facilities; eject all forces associated with al Qaeda from your country. Otherwise you'll face the consequences.

Since bin Laden effectively was the ruler of Afghanistan at the time, and since al Qaeda forces represented the most trustworthy core of the Taliban field army fighting against the Northern Alliance, this was something that the Taliban couldn't do. So what appeared to be a reasonable offer was in fact couched in terms which could not be accepted.

He did it again a few months ago, to the Palestinians. In the most significant change of American policy toward the Palestinians in decades, he declared that the US would no longer seriously negotiate with them until they implemented serious political reforms, including removing Arafat from power. (And he was roundly condemned for it. And it seems to be working.)

Now he's doing it again, only this time with the UN.

RADICAL MUSLIMS IN LONDON: Group Captain Mandrake is on the case with details.

AND HE'S NOT EVEN ON THE 9TH CIRCUIT: Ohio judge orders estranged parents not to smoke around child.

WARREN ZEVON HAS TERMINAL CANCER, according to Eric Olsen on Blogcritics.org.

"EISENHOWER IN CLEATS": Great profile of the late Johnny U, quarterback with a crewcut.

"GROWING IN OFFICE": Bernadette Malone in National Review Online says it doomed Bob Smith in his runoff against Rep. John Sununu in New Hampshire.

BOXED IN: Have the Democrats boxed themselves into a corner with Iraq? Dick Morris seems to think so.

SPEAKING OF OF GOING OUT FIGHTING: Nice to see a headline that says a 72 year old man "decks idiot"!

JUDGE THROWS OUT VERDICT AGAINST BILL SIMON, according to the Las Vegas Sun.

Unfortunately, I now tend to agree with Orrin Judd--Simon's campaign is doomed. But I hope he goes out fighting.

A ROUND-UP OF THE DAY'S TERRORIST RELATED ACTIVITIES: Bill Gertz notes that six men suspected of terrorists were arrested in Baltimore, and a freighter emitting radiation was stopped in New Jersey.

LILEKS: "I curse the terrorists for their horrible triumphs, but those bastards cannot even begin to count the ways in which they failed."

I don't have to tell you to read the rest. Not to mention the most apropos quote by the handsome and stylish Benjamin J. Grimm.

AL QAEDA=IMPERIAL JAPAN: Interesting post by "CPO Sparkey", a guest blogger on Sgt. Stryker's Daily Briefing.

BODY COUNT: Daniel Pipes documents the number of Americans killed by Islamonazinutbarfacists, and says "In all, 800 persons lost their lives in the course of attacks by militant Islam on Americans before September 2001 - more than killed by any other enemy since the Vietnam War. (Further, this listing does not include the dozens more Americans in Israel killed by militant Islamic terrorists.)"

Go check the list out, and where it all began.

TOO WEIRD: "N.Y. Lottery Draws 9-1-1 on 9/11".

UPDATE: As is this.

THE IMPERIAL ERA BEGINS. Tony Blankley says:

And thus, the imperial period of our history starts. Great empires usually are not formed intentionally. From Russia to Rome, dangers at their borders compelled them to take the next bit of land. And so on they continued, until they collapsed.

While we will not plant our flag on foreign lands, nor claim them for ourselves, we will insist on intruding and searching and managing. To do less would be criminal negligence on the part of our leaders. But in doing it we will be cursed, like the Flying Dutchman of legend, to wander the globe until the day of judgment.

Let's hope we don't fumble this time around.

HOW THE FENDER BASS CHANGED THE WORLD: Probably not the greatest day to post this (although there is the "but the Taliban hate American pop culture" argument), but my review of a recent book called How The Fender Bass Changed The World is online at Blogcritics.

JOHNNY UNITAS DIED TODAY AT AGE 69. Unitas was of course, one of the NFL's greatest QBs--and a superstar in the 1950s and '60s, despite (or perhaps because of) his hi-top black cleats and flattop haircut. The contrasting appearances of the conservative-appearing old veteran Unitas and the swinging mod young Joe Namath were part of the elements that made Super Bowl III so memorable.

Oddly enough, prior to the announcement of Johnny U's death, I was reading this page earlier on the Dallas Morning News Web site, which said "Before Sept. 11 adopted a somber legacy, the date might have been known for its serious football coaching karma. Tom Landry would have been 78 on Wednesday. Bear Bryant would have been 89."

And Unitas died today. Rest in peace, old Colt.

THE GREAT ESCAPE: How the U.S. helped Osama's family leave the country after 9/11.

"THE WORLD IS FULL OF 'EASTER CHRISTIANS', according to Steven Den Beste--and boy is he right.

Also check out his post on Kofi Annan, master of weasel words.

THEY CERTAINLY PICKED A GOOD DAY: " Arafat Cabinet Quits Under Pressure".

NOTHING LIKE A GOOD SHAVE: AP reports that "an airliner was diverted to Fort Smith on Wednesday because four passengers [all Middle Eastern men] behaved strangely on the flight, including at least three who locked themselves in a restroom, possibly shaving their body hair."

Naturally (since they were so spot-on in L.A. during the Fourth of July), "Federal officials, speaking on a condition of anonymity, said the incident was not believed to be related to terrorism."

However, KSTP-TV in Minneapolis, where Northwest Airlines is based, quoted an unidentified source as saying the men were "shaving themselves clean." A source speaking on condition of anonymity told The Associated Press that people aboard the airplane gave investigators similar accounts.

After last year's terror attacks, documents found in the luggage of attack leader Mohamed Atta gave what appeared to be instructions for the suicide hijackers: "The previous night, shave the extra hair from the body (and) pray."

UPDATE: The Las Vegas Sun has a few more details.

MORE UPDATES, via the Houston Chronicle.

Meanwhile, a scuffle broke out on another flight.

SOMETIMES YOU FIND CATHARSIS IN THE STRANGEST PLACES.

(Requires Macromedia Flash to view. Link found via The Corner on National Review Online.)

THE SCENE, ONE YEAR LATER: As I've written before, Virginia Postrel's "The Scene" Weblog was a real lifeline for news and information on 9/11 for my wife and I. When the servers of traditional news sites (CNN/Fox/NYT/WP and even Drudge) were overloaded from hits, Postrel's Weblog stayed up, and she kept updating it like clockwork.

Here's a link to her site's posts one year later.

(In case you're wondering, on 9/11 of last year, I was aware of Glenn Reynolds, because about a week before, he happened to have linked to one of my articles from National Review Online, but I didn't yet have the "click on InstaPundit ever five minutes" habit that I'll bet you've since developed as well. And Postrel site, thanks to its link on the Reason magazine Web site, had been a regular stop for me since about '97 or '98. I had even interviewed her about The Future and its Enemies back in May of 2000.)

PALESTINIAN SOUVENIRS: Found by Israeli customs when they intercepted a shipping container full of weapons headed for the Gaza Strip last June. They're souvenir cigarette lighters.

Click over to Little Green Footballs to see the photo.

THE DAY BLOGS CAME INTO THEIR OWN: Good essay and links from Eric Olsen.

I couldn't agree more.

HUMOR, POST 9/11: Jonah Goldberg wants to know "What’s So Funny about Peace, Love & Understanding?"

Quite a bit, actually.

WELL, WAIT 'TIL YOU SEE YOURS: "Iraq: Attacks Were a 'Punishment'".

IS JUSTICE POSSIBLE? Not if the experience of Pan Am 103 is any indication, according to David Shukman, writing for National Review Online:

Even if [convicted terrorist Abdelbaset Ali Mohamed al-Megrahi, now serving a life sentence in a Scottish prison] is guilty, surely a middle-ranking Libyan intelligence officer would only act under orders? And those orders, presumably, would have to come from the top, from Khaddafi? Yet we see no desire to pursue this case any higher. By contrast, we see the urgent diplomatic desire for closure. In the same speech earlier this month in which he lined himself squarely beside George Bush on Iraq, Tony Blair talked of extending the "hand of friendship" to Libya, hoping it would come into "full community of international relations." A junior British minister was despatched to Tripoli in August.

And what of the many other theories about who did it? Might the attack not have been ordered by Iran in revenge for the shooting down of an Iranian airbus by the USS Vincennes, and carried out, under Syria's guidance, by Assad's client terrorist group the PFLP-GC? Or might Atef Abu Bakr, once Abu Nidal's right-hand man, have told the truth to an Arabic newspaper recently when he recalled his master boasting that he was behind the attack?

COMPARE AND CONTRAST PART II: InstaPundit has links illustrating the difference in opinion between Iranian students and their government.

COMPARE AND CONTRAST: What was it like on December 7th, 1942?

HIGH NOON. Orrin Judd thinks that Bush's UN speech tomorrow will be a bit like Gary Cooper in High Noon:

David Gregory, NBC's White House Correspondent, was on Imus in the Morning today and he was asked about George W. Bush's U.N. appearance tomorrow. He revealed that--with half the nation and most of the world expecting the President, like a dutiful and chastened schoolboy to present a kind of book report about Saddam trying to develop nuclear weapons, and then grovel for a UN mandate to do something about it--Mr. Bush is instead going to confront the member nations and the institution itself and ask: What more do you need? He'll discuss the many UN resolutions that Saddam has violated and ask what the purpose of the body is if they're unwilling to enforce their own diktats. He'll demand, though one assumes politely, that either the UN act immediately in accordance with its own previous decisions, or we'll act for them.

WHAT WOULD YOU TELL YOURSELF IF YOU COULD GO BACK A YEAR?

That's the topic of this typically excellent James Lileks post.

TECHNOLOGY TO THE RESCUE: My article on what it was like to be an employee of Moody's on 9/11, and how the financial firm, located about a block away from the WTC was able to do business even after their doors were closed for three months, is online at Tech Central Station.

While I didn't have a Weblog on 9/11, I was just transitioning from writing lots of material on dead tree, to beginning to also write material specifically for the Web. Here's an essay I wrote mostly to have a permanent record of what that day was like for my wife, my friends (one of whom works a block away from the WTC) and myself.

Here's my Alvin Toffler interview from about a week later. It ran in early October in Catholic Exchange.

Here's my essay from National Review Online on the stock market reopening.

Here's my essay from Spintech on how Weblogs came of age on that terrible day.

UPDATE: Here's a transcript of the phone call from "Group Captain Mandrake" that began our day one year ago. Much like the way Stephen Green began his.

9/11/05 Update: Welcome PoliPundit readers. Just to add to the above list, be sure and check out a piece I wrote for Tech Central Station that ran on 9/11/02, on what it was like at Moody's Investors Service (the bond rating firm) on that day the year before, and immediately thereafter. Their offices are only about a block away from the WTC; a friend who works there allowed me to tour them at the beginning of October, 2001, when the area was still cordoned off to the public, and covered with dust, debris and rubble. While the Moody's building itself was unscathed, I'll never forget the inch of light gray dust from the blasts on 9/11, which covered everything inside. More importantly, I'll also never forget seeing the nearby crater of twisted steel and brown mud, its 16-acre size dwarfing the construction equipment moving within and still trying to clean up the aftermath.

Also, this post on "The Copperhead Conjunction" from September 11th of 2003 is well worth revisiting--not for what I wrote, but for the thoughts of the men I linked to, including two named James--Taranto and Lileks.

SIX MONTHS AGO: This Weblog didn't exist until March of this year. But for what it's worth, here's what was going on during the six month anniversary of 9/11, including links to material from a year ago. Start here, and then scroll down.

"TRANSRACIAL" POP CULTURE: What is it? Eric Olsen has the scoop on Blogcritics.

JOINING THE RAIDER NATION: It's 1977. How does it feel to go from the Dallas Cowboys to the winless Tampa Bay Bucs to the Oakland Raiders, who are coming off a Super Bowl championship? In the first of a multi-part series, Pat Toomay, arguably either the best football player to ever write or the best writer to have a pro football career, talks about going from the ridiculous to the sublime.

BEAT THE PRESS: It's the movies' new refrain, according to the New York Daily News

With the press's current dismal approval numbers, it's tough to blame Hollywood. At least it's a pleasant change from beating up on businessmen.

PAT MOYNIHAN, CLASS ACT: Read this quote from Instapundit.com to find out why.

And then go read "Defining Deviancy Down", one of Pat's signature essays.

FOUL BALL: VodkaPundit and his readers perform a serious fisking on John McEnroe, whose verbal skills haven't improved since his days as a professional tennis player.

RUNNING THE NUMBERS: Lori Anne Byrnes tallies up the staggering cost of September 11, in terms of death and its aftermath.

(Link found via VodkaPundit.)

"FUN" AT THE AIRPORT: Yesterday, September 9, 2002, a day before the US went into "Orange" alert, and two days before a pretty damn significant anniversary involving terrorists, airplanes and airports, my wife and I flew back to California from New York City.

On her way to the ladies room, Nina noticed a very large hard-sided suitcase sitting on one of the "rent me for a dollar" luggage carts, outside the TGIF restaurant at JFK. Rushing past, she had a vague recollection that no one was sitting at any of the tables near the suitcase, where you would think someone would sit if they were leaving their bag, relatively unattended, in violation of all the admonitions we've gotten of late. As she describes it:

On my way back I looked more carefully, noticed that this bag was way too large for carry on, and yet was way beyond the point where luggage would be checked in. I also noticed for sure that no one was sitting in any of the nearby tables.

Alarmed, I went to the security drone who looks to make sure that you have a ticket before you have the honor of having your laptop x-rayed. I told him about the unattended suitcase, and he informed me that basically, he couldn't care less and that "they" (apparently he spoke for all of the security checkers) were only interested in what went through the security checkpoint.

Upon being told that I didn't think his supervisor would be very happy with that response, and that could he possibly call someone with a brain (I doubt those were my exact words, but I think it was close to that), a supervisor came over and immediately figured out that this was indeed one of those "unattended suitcases" that they really wanted to avoid. In response to being told that the little drone had basically said "not my job" she announced "Security is everyone's job now."

The supervisor dashed over to the offending bag, shouted into the restaurant "does anyone own this bag" and was last seen interrogating the guy who was sitting at the far end of the TGIF bar who came forth to claim his unattended luggage.

I guess this is basically the problem: you have people who know their jobs, do them well, respond to whatever is thrown their way, and don't worry about whether it's in front of, or behind the security checkpoint. And you have people who are paid not much more than minimum wage, who will never earn more because they just don't have a clue. I don't know how you teach common sense, mostly because I don't think you can. But perhaps you can buy it by not hiring from the very bottom of the barrel.

I realize this is far from the worst offense at airports these days. (Of course, in the event it was a missed bomb that detonated, it would have been--Ed.) It's not as bad as letting guns get through the checkpoints. But it brought home to me just how dependant our security is on mindless drones.

ANOTHER KIND OF TERRORISM: The Earth Liberation Front admits to arson.

THE AL CAPONE STRATEGY: Human Events says it's winning on the home front.

STATE OF RUIN: Little Green Footballs says that 98% of the known members of the military wing of Hamas have been arrested or killed in the past five months, leaving the terror gang in a state of ruin. LGF asks, presumably rhetorically, "An awful lot of people were warning that military force would never succeed against Palestinian terrorism; will they now publicly eat their words?"

RELIGION OF PEACE, PART 2,672,927: A 30-year-old Nigerian housewife named Amina Lawal may very well get stoned to death in the not too distant future. The reason?

Lawal was arrested by police earlier this year after she gave birth out of wedlock. She confessed to having had extramarital sex and an Islamic court sentenced her to be stoned to death.

As with the earlier case of Safiya Husseini, who was later cleared on appeal, Lawal's conviction outraged rights campaigners and embarrassed Nigeria's federal government.

But Lawal's appeal was thrown out last month, and President Olusegun Obasanjo's regime said that while it considers Sharia criminal law unconstitutional it would not intervene.

THE ANTI-AMERICAN ANCHOR: Brent Bozell runs roughshod over Peter Jennings, someone who certainly deserves it. Bozell writes:

In a recent appearance on the David Letterman show, the Canadian-born anchor said his mother "was pretty anti-American. And so I was, in some respects, raised with anti-Americanism in my blood or in my mother's milk at least." That attitude is not suppressed on the air.

Jennings and his "Road to War?" series have provided a platform for war opponents, leaving out any of the policymakers outside the Bush team who favor American action -- including usual media favorites such as Joe Lieberman and John McCain. They find no public purpose in exploring the costs of U.S. inaction or the benefits of ousting Saddam Hussein.

On August 20, Jennings wondered "whether or not the White House is losing control of the debate about war with Iraq." Network anchors like Jennings believe they should have rigid control over any political debate. Their tone suggests that foolish is the president who suggests to the all-powerful boob tube titans that they are not in command of indoctrinating the citizenry in what to believe.

IT'S THE RETURN OF THE ANTI-CAPITALIST BIGTOP, according to Reason's Charles Paul Freund, who says look for lots of big paper-mâché heads and other silliness in DC beginning on September 28th.

I'M JUST ON MY WAY UP TO CLAVIUS: The BBC says the first private Moon landing has been given the green light by the US Government.

'Bout bloody time, too.

For more down-to-earth rocket coverage, check out our look at the Reaction Research Society's efforts in Mojave.

UPDATE: Speaking of the Moon, Buzz Aldrin was in the news recently, in a bizarre incident.

THE FLYING OSAMAS--UTAH CHAPTER! The Brothers Judd Blog debunks some of the "Where's Osama" myths.

APOLOGIZING FOR REPORTING THE TRUTH: Found via MediaMinded, who reports on a disturbing trend at the Philadelphia Daily News, a paper we commented on here, a while back.

On a much lighter note, speaking of disturbing trends, do not, I repeat do not scroll up to look at the photo that's above the MediaMinded post.

You've been warned.

NEWS FROM THE FRONT, via VodkaPundit.

THE NEW REDUX REVIEW REDUX: With a slightly rewritten lead, my Apocaplyse Now Redux review from April is online at Blogcritics, which has a few new categories, and a snazzy new logo.

(My apologies to The New Zoo Review for the above headline. But as it was one of the worst shows from my childhood, all I can say is, they had it comming, dammit.)

A GREAT IDEA FOR A BUMPER STICKER, courtesy of Joseph Farah.

WELCOME TO OUR CHINESE READERS: Our site is apparently accessible from China. As is Group Captain Mandrake's, who explains how to test to see if your site has been banned by the Chi-Coms.

BACK IN CALIFORNIA: Regular blogging will resume shortly.

Once we find a definition for "regular".

HOW TO MAKE THE PERFECT CUP OF TEA: Lionel Mandrake has the recipe, which I can vouch for (he's made tea for my wife and I, not to mention kept my wife supplied with proper British tea bags).

For a more potent, but verrrry, verrrrry, British drink, try one of these.

But I'm curious as to what the good Group Captain's beef with ice tea is. I like it, and I'd like to think I'm not a total barbarian, (although I admit it's a verrry, verrrry different beast than its heated up cousin), but it just gives the good Group Captain the willies.

IN THE HOUSES OF THE HOLY: My review of Susan Fast's In the Houses Of the Holy is now up on Blogcritics.

BERKELEY FLAG FLAP UPDATE: Score another one for the blogosphere: Berkeley will have red, white and blue ribbons available to mark the anniversary of 9/11. The Angry Clam, which broke the story, has the details.

VODKAMETAPUNDIT IS METABEGGING: Stop by his metasite and see what the meta fuss is all ametabout.

FORTUNATELY, NO ARMED PILOTS WERE NEEDED: I'm in New York for a few days. Blogging will be sporadic. But if I can I figure out how to get in there from here, I hope to have a new book review posted on BlogCritics soon.

ARMING PILOTS: USA Today says the Bush administration plans to adopt a small-scale test program of arming pilots.

Good--it's about time.

HEY, WE'RE ON DAVE KOPEL'S LINKS LIST!

Thank you, sir!

SOUTHERN HYPER-LIBERALS: Virginia Postrel says she knows what makes them tick.

BLOGGING THE NEWS AND FLOGGING MY AXE: Eric Olsen has an excellent post on Blogcritics, the home-away-from-home for all the cool kids in the Blogosphere, titled "Music-Creation and Blogging".

He sees a number of similarities between blogging and creating your own music via the PC. And as someone who also does both (I use the PC to "play" all the instruments on a recording except for my guitars), I'm inclined to agree, as I said in my comments under his post.

If you're a blogger who also enjoys creating your own music, stop and check it out.

HEY, FOOTBALL STARTS TOMORROW! And Commissioner Paul Tagliabue says that the NFL could make a Thursday night opener a regular fixture.

LATERAL MOVE: Bruce Bartlett thinks that Alan Greenspan should be appointed secretary of the Treasury.

Sounds good to me--I'd like to see somebody manning the Fed who's less blinkered by inflation, a bogeyman essentially licked by Paul Volcker, Greenspan's predecessor at the Fed.

And after his years as a member of Ayn Rand's "Collective", Bono should be a piece of cake for Greenspan.

NEVER FORGET: James Lileks watched the DVD of CBS's 9/11 coverage last night, and writes:

In the middle of an interview with a woman who saw the first plane hit, she gasps Oh My God, another one - and it reminds you again of that moment, the point when you grasped exactly what was happening, and the ground swayed. I’d say it brought it all back but it never went away. There hasn’t been a day I haven’t thought about it.

That bothers some people. There’s an attitude in some quarters that there’s something unhealthy about thinking about 9/11, certainly in dwelling on the details. They’ll allow a certain amount of regret and dismay. They’ll permit you a brief spasm of anger, but it had best be followed with a nuanced assessment of American foreign policy. Remark that you had a nightmare about your daughter getting smallpox or a nuke in New York, and they’ll roll their eyes; tut tut the lad’s gone mad. These people are no doubt bracing themselves for the first anniversary, but for different reasons than you might have. They can’t stand people who won’t let go of 9/11. Once they washed the ash off their car it was over for them; why can’t it be over for everyone? Do you really think your inability to move along makes you a better person? Stop waving the bloody shirt. Send it to the cleaners already, and leave Iraq alone.

BERKELEY VS. THE USA: They apparently don't want red, white and blue ribbons at their September 11 memorials, because it's "offensive," according to The Angry Clam.

I like the Heinlein solution that the Clam proposes.

UPDATE: Sounds like DiFi would fit in perfectly at Berkeley.

GREAT TITLES WE'D LIKE TO SEE: As found on Sgt. Stryker's Weblog.

SUE SADDAM? Sure, let's throw the book at him.

But as James Lileks wrote a few months ago, "Agreed. Tape it to the nose of a thermobaric explosive."

SIDING WITH THE US: James Glassman, in an essay on Tech Central Station titled An Energetic Victory, says that a number of developing nations sided with the US--and not European Luddites--when it comes which technologies to provide energy.

"The overall feeling," said the source, "was that renewables might be fine for Europeans, but Africans and Asians need to boost their economies by using energy that is inexpensive and abundant." The source was clearly referring to oil and coal, which will provide the vast majority of energy for China and India over the next decade.

Take that, Mayor Moonbeam!

MY WIFE FORWARDED THIS TO ME:

WITH SEPT. 11 APPROACHING, THIS IS WORTH READING AND PASSING ON....

"DO NOT FORGET"

I sat in a movie theater watching "Schindler's List," asked myself, "Why didn't the Jews fight back?"

Now I know why.

I sat in a movie theater, watching "Pearl Harbor" and asked myself, "Why weren't we prepared?"

Now I know why.

Civilized people cannot fathom, much less predict, the actions of evil people.

On September 11, dozens of capable airplane passengers allowed themselves to be overpowered by a handful of poorly armed terrorists because they did not comprehend the depth of hatred that motivated their captors.

On September 11, thousands of innocent people were murdered because too many Americans naively reject the reality that some nations are dedicated to the dominance of others. Many political pundits, pacifists and media personnel want us to forget the carnage. They say we must focus on the bravery of the rescuers and ignore the cowardice of the killers. They implore us to understand the motivation of the perpetrators. Major television stations have announced they will assist the healing process by not replaying devastating footage of the planes crashing into the Twin Towers.

I will not be manipulated.

I will not pretend to understand.

I will not forget.

I will not forget the liberal media who abused freedom of the press to kick our country when it was vulnerable and hurting.

I will not forget that CBS anchor Dan Rather preceded President Bush's address to the nation with the snide remark, "No matter how you feel about him, he is still our president."

I will not forget that ABC TV anchor Peter Jennings questioned President Bush's motives for not returning immediately to Washington, DC and commented, "We're all pretty skeptical and cynical about Washington."

And I will not forget that ABC's Mark Hampering warned if reporters weren't informed of every little detail of this war, they aren't "likely --
nor should they be expected -- to show deference."

I will not isolate myself from my fellow Americans by pretending an attack on the USS Cole in Yemen was not an attack on the United States of America.

I will not forget the Clinton administration equipped Islamic terrorists and their supporters with the world's most sophisticated telecommunications equipment and encryption technology, thereby compromising America's ability to trace terrorist radio, cell phone, land lines, faxes and modem communications.

I will not be appeased with pointless, quick retaliatory strikes like those perfected by the previous administration.

I will not be comforted by "feel-good, do nothing" regulations like the silly "Have your bags been under your control?" question at the airport.

I will not be influenced by so called," antiwar demonstrators" who exploit the right of expression to chant anti-American obscenities.

I will not forget the moral victory handed the North Vietnamese by American war protesters who reviled and spat upon the returning soldiers, airmen, sailors and Marines.

I will not be softened by the wishful thinking of pacifists who chose reassurance over reality.

I will embrace the wise words of Prime Minister Tony Blair who told Labor Party conference, "They have no moral inhibition on the slaughter of the innocent. If they could have murdered not 7,000 but 70,000, does anyone doubt they would have done so and rejoiced in it?

There is no compromise possible with such people, no meeting of minds, no point of understanding with such terror. Just a choice: defeat it or be defeated by it. And defeat it we must!"

I will force myself to:

-hear the weeping

-feel the helplessness

-imagine the terror

-sense the panic

-smell the burning flesh

- experience the loss

- remember the hatred.

I sat in a movie theater, watching "Private Ryan" and asked myself, "Where did they find the courage?"

Now I know.

We have no choice. Living without liberty is not living.

-- Ed Evans, MGySgt., USMC (Ret.)

Not as lean, Not as mean, But still a Marine.

Keep this going until every living American has read it and memorized it so we don't make the same mistake again.

WAR--UNH!--WHAT IS IT GOOD FOR? Quite a lot, actually, says Jonah Goldberg in an excellent essay. There's too many good paragraphs for me to pick one to quote, so just click here, and read the whole thing.

VIRGINIA POSTREL IS BACK ON THE SCENE, with a post on the number of black men in college versus in prison, and why bad statistics make for lousy arguments.

Incidentally, Postrel says her new book, The Age of Look and Feel, was "electronically flown" earlier this week to her editor in New York. Here's my review of her previous work, The Future and its Enemies.

WHO'S TO BLAME? Jane Galt, who's Live from the WTC, runs the numbers.

And quite brilliantly, I might add.

TOOK 'EM LONG ENOUGH InstaPundit says that the FBI has finally decided that the LAX shooting (two months ago) was an act of terrorism after all.

Gosh, there's a shocker!

WHERE THE SON DOESN'T FOLLOW: Rod Dreher on Andrew Cuomo, who bowed out of the New York governor’s race yesterday.

UPDATE: VodkaPundit also has some thoughts on Cuomo the younger.

GIMME AN F: That's the grade that CBS News gave airport security.

Remind me to have an extra Martini or two, next time I fly.

UPDATE: Scott Ott has more details, not to mention even more satire, on this topic.

THE QUARTERBACK QUANDARY: Paul Zimmerman of Sports Illustrated asks "What is it about the quarterback position that seems to fog the finest minds in football? Why are the most dramatic mistakes made in the area of evaluating QBs? I mean, why can't they tell?"

THE VICE FUND: Now this is a great idea for a mutual fund!

THE HATE BOAT: Little Green Footballs links to this article in The Jerusalem Report, about Israel Navy operations chief Eli Marum, the man who captured the Karine A, a ship purchased by Yasser Arafat and loaded with weaponry bound for the PA:

[Marum] notes that the ship itself was purchased from a Lebanese seller for $400,000 last October -- after Arafat had made his post-September 11 pledge to fight terror -- by Adel Mughrabi, a senior PA figure close to Arafat. Another Arafat confidant, Fouad Shubaki, chief procurement and finance officer of the PA, handled payment for the weapons. Marum says it is "outrageous" that Shubaki is being held in a PA facility in Jericho. "He ought to be tried in a proper court of law."

The shipment filled 80 custom-made submersible containers, which were to be tossed overboard off the Gaza coast and washed ashore or picked up by fishing boats and other small vessels. The haul included 700,000 rounds of small-arms ammunition; 735 hand grenades, 311 anti-personnel mines and 211 anti-tank mines; 345 long- and short-range Katyusha rockets and 10 launchers; 29 mortar tubes and 1,545 shells; six Sagger wire-guided anti-tank missile launchers and 10 missiles; 51 RPG-7 anti-tank missiles and 328 rockets; 30 high-powered Dragonov telescopic rifles; 212 Kalashnikov assault rifles, over 2,000 kilograms of explosives, and two speedboats with powerful Yamaha engines and a range of diving equipment. Much of this weaponry is prohibited from the PA under the Oslo Accords.

WAS THE WORLD SUMMIT A SUCCESS, asks Den Beste in another post on his USS Clueless site, as I get caught up from a weekend without broadband:

So was this summit a success? Depends on what you thought it would accomplish. If your goal was to attend and to eat a lot of lobster and caviar and drink a lot of champagne, then it was unequivocally a success.

If you wanted to be able to come home and say that there was an agreement, then it's still a success. They'll have an agreement, all right.

If you actually wanted the agreement to make any difference, I'd say it wasn't. Expect a rising tide of criticism from the activist groups after the summit is over, as they realize that their grand dreams of actually diverting the world to a new course evaporated like so many lumps of dry ice in the African sunshine.

At least they were successful in preventing the Arabs from hijacking the conference and turning it into yet another Israeli slam-fest.

DO WE NEED UN APPROVAL? Steven Den Beste says the folks who say we do before attacking Iraq all have one thing in common.

"WOW, NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL SUSTAINABLE GROWTH!" Mark Steyn, in between delicious plates of black rhino confit on a bed of Amazonian mahogany leaves, puts the Johannesburg Earth Summit in its place, in a hilarious article.

Say, is Steyn with Lyndon LaRouche?

(Found via Little Green Footballs.)

HISTORY OWES NEVILLE CHAMBERLAIN AN APOLOGY, according to John O'Sullivan in National Review Online, at least when he's compared to today's current appeasers of Iraq.

MAYOR MOONBEAM VISITS JOHANNESBURG is the subject of this CNSNews.com article, which features this quote, putting Jerry Brown (the mayor of Oakland, California) in perfect context:

A British author critical of the Green movement, Professor Philip Stott, said Brown's anti-development views, as relayed to him, can be likened to Marie Antoinette's reported response when she was told the French peasants had no bread to eat: "Let them eat cake."

Chris Horner of the free market advocacy group, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, was not surprised that Brown would assume that any reporter who challenged modern environmental thinking must be "cult-related."

"It shows how little if any critical media presence exists. When non-softball questions are posed, the reporter is immediately presumed to be a conspiracist or cult-related," Horner said.

YOU MIGHT BE AN IDIOTARIAN IF...Nice checklist, from Little Green Footballs.

(While I've been accused of being an idiot in other areas, fortunately, I sailed through this one with flying colors.)

TWILIGHT OF THE MONKEY GOD: This is a classic, found on the Brothers Judd Blog.

WELCOME BACK MY FRIENDS (To the blog that never ends?): I'm back from a weekend in Sonoma (where I played the role of usher at a wedding, amongst other enjoyable activities). Blogging will resume shortly.