Nice

YouTube - Freestlye Rap Battle: Translated

I have to admit it, when Charlie Gibson asked Sarah Palin about the Bush Doctrine, I had no idea what he was talking about, either. I'm not sure whether that cringe I get when I watch the exchange is out of embarrassment for his transparent attempt to catch her with an intentionally vague question or her idiotic response. "His world view?" I was awake enough in high school history class to clearly recall that the word "doctrine" after a President's name refers to his basic principals of military foreign policy. You'd think the concept would be close in mind for someone who was studying up to be Vice President. But I'll bet the average American also had no idea what Gibson was referring to and thought he sounded arrogant.

Now, if I was there, on national television, and I was asked to come up with a response to the Bush Doctrine, I think I probably would have guessed that it states that we have the right to invade countries that harbor terrorists or provide them with material support.

Turns out, on September 8th, Wikipedia said the same thing:

The Bush Doctrine is a phrase used to describe various related foreign policy principles of United States president George W. Bush, created in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks. The phrase initially described the policy that the United States had the right to treat countries that harbor or give aid to terrorist groups as terrorists themselves, which was used to justify the invasion of Afghanistan.[1] Later it came to include additional elements, including the controversial policy of preventive war,

The answer that Palin gave when prodded with the advice that we're talking about the Iraq war, was an answer about the Iraq war:

I believe that what President Bush has attempted to do is rid this world of Islamic extremism, terrorists who are hell bent on destroying our nation. There have been blunders along the way, though. There have been mistakes made. And with new leadership, and that's the beauty of American elections, of course, and democracy, is with new leadership comes opportunity to do things better.

That answer really isn't satisfactory. Its an "abortions for some, miniature American flags for others" kind of answer that attempts to placate both supporters and opponents of the Iraq war without actually saying anything substantive. It doesn't demonstrate a depth of understanding or a unique perspective, which are the only things that will silence her critics. In fact, it continues to bleat out that McCain/Palin is for some sort of change, although its not entirely clear what kind of change they are for. If she really wants to change the Bush doctrine th... [ Read More (0.3k in body) ]

Bush Doctrine Wikipedia Edit War

Threat Level accepted the $10,000 award for editor Kevin Poulsen's post that combined a voting widget and internet superstar Virgil Griffith's WikiScanner application that let  readers find and highlight the worst self-interested anonymous edits to Wikipedia entries. The judges found that the tool "finally inserts an air of accountability to those who edit the site to fit their own agendas."

Congrats on the one hand, but something seems wrong about Wired getting $10,000 for this blog post and Virgil getting nothing for writing the actual tool.

Wikipedia Sleuths Win Journalism Award for Wired.com | Threat Level from Wired.com

I am asking for your support of the Democratic challenger, running in a difficult race against an out of touch Republican opponent.

Remember Virgil Goode? Here is your chance to send him packing.

Stop Virgil Goode

It seems to me that if the practitioners of campaign journalism can’t figure out a way to make it so that lying is punished, rather than amplified and rewarded, by the press then they ought to pack up their bags and go do something else. Pretty much all the other branches of the press — from the film critics to the foreign correspondents to the weathermen to the investigative reporters to the “news of the weird” guys — seem to have a clear role in the ecology.

From the article this article links:

Perhaps faith in institutions is so anemic that non-partisan truth-squadding simply isn't believed.

Matthew Yglesias - The roll of the press in an election

Berwyn Heights, MD Mayor Cheye Calvo, who was handcuffed by police after they shot and killed his two dogs in a baseless marijuana raid on his home, will criticize the overuse of SWAT-style drug raids this Thursday (9/11) at the Cato Institute in Wash, DC.

These kinds of stories - no knock raid, wrong house, gun fire exchanged, pets, innocent people, officers dead - seem to have become regular occurrences. This is not unavoidable.

Victim of botched paramilitary drug raid to speak out

Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) has been granted an Operational License by the US Air Force for the use of Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on the Florida coast. Receipt of the license, in conjunction with the approved Site Plan, paves the way for SpaceX to initiate Falcon 9 launch operations later this year.

SpaceX Receives USAF Operational License for Cape Canaveral Launch Site | SpaceRef - Your Space Reference

Stay current on the issue. More here.

Has the Large Hadron Collider destroyed the world yet?

A number of very interesting books have been released over the past year or two which debate how the Internet is reshaping our culture and the economy.

This collection looks interesting. Is anyone familiar with Cass Sunstein's books? -- "there can be no assurance of freedom in a system committed to the Daily Me."

He seems to be poking at something that has been bothering me. Here is an article.

But there is also a serious danger, which is that people will move to positions that lack merit but are predictable consequences of the particular circumstances of their self-sorting...

There is a general risk that those who flock together, on the Internet or elsewhere, will end up both confident and wrong, simply because they have not been sufficiently exposed to counterarguments. They may even think of their fellow citizens as opponents or adversaries in some kind of "war."

It is important to understand that countless editions of the Daily Me can also produce serious problems of mutual suspicion, unjustified rage, and social fragmentation -- and that these problems will result from the reliable logic of social interactions.

The Technology Liberation Front » Grouping Recent Net Books: Internet Optimists vs. Pessimists

A Google-backed startup that analyzes customers' genetic makeup to predict health risks... has slashed the price on its personal DNA test... from $999 to $399.

...next-generation DNA analysis chips have made the process... significantly cheaper

This could lead to a significant increase in the use of genetic testing and a renewed focus on political questions about its use.

23andMe is also compiling databases of customers' genetic information to make available to researchers seeking new insights into those links.

The price cut will ideally mean an influx of new information that will speed discoveries in the lab...

23andMe slashes price on personal genetics test