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| "I don't think the report is true, but these crises work for those who want to make fights between people." Kulam Dastagir, 28, a bird seller in Afghanistan
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U.S. Intercepting Messages Hinting at a New Attack |
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| Topic: Current Events |
2:17 pm EDT, May 19, 2002 |
American intelligence agencies have intercepted a vague yet troubling series of communications among Al Qaeda operatives over the last few months indicating that the terrorist organization is trying to carry out an operation as big as the September 11 attacks or bigger. CYA. No one wants to appear caught off-guard, so they leak "news" like this even though it enables little in the way of an actionable response. Much like "Intel cuts prices, increases clock rates", this is not news precisely because it is happening all the time. Why don't we stories like this: "The FBI has intercepted a vague yet troubling series of communications among mobsters indicating that the organization is trying to pull off a financial scam as big as Enron or bigger." What might be news? If we were listening and watching closely, but heard nothing at all. U.S. Intercepting Messages Hinting at a New Attack |
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washingtonpost.com: Force Fizzle |
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| Topic: Movies |
11:06 am EDT, May 15, 2002 |
The emotional climax of "Star Wars: Episode II -- Attack of the Clones" is fabulous. Soaring and majestic, it reaches deep inside you to stroke chords of fond memory, to reaffirm the pleasure and healing power of narrative, to liberate the imagination. Unfortunately, it comes in the first two seconds. After that, the movie doesn't go downhill or uphill; it doesn't go anywhere. It flatlines. Memo to George Lucas: Hire an editor, bud. ... It's too long, it's too dull, it's too lame. Lucas seems to have based this episode on "The McLaughlin Group." ... What little story creeps out in dribs and drabs ... Hmmm, I forget what happens next. This is now the second "Episode II really sucks" review I've seen; NYT's A.O. Scott said much the same thing in last week's review. washingtonpost.com: Force Fizzle |
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An Anti-American Boycott Is Growing in the Arab World |
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| Topic: Society |
11:32 am EDT, May 10, 2002 |
Doughnuts may not be quite as American as, say, apple pie, but they come close enough to make Samir Nasier, a Saudi fast-food king, nervous. So nervous, in fact, that Mr. Nasier and his brothers are offering roughly $300,000 to anyone who can prove that their House of Donuts chain has any connection to the United States. An Anti-American Boycott Is Growing in the Arab World |
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Spreading by the Web, Pop's Bootleg Remix |
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| Topic: Society |
4:03 pm EDT, May 9, 2002 |
The song may sound familiar at first. But, suddenly, the recording changes course. As the recording moves on, it is clear that the song is neither fish nor fowl; it is a crossbreed. It is something that is completely different, often illegal and, thanks to the Internet, becoming explosively popular. "The best bootlegs don't sound like bootlegs; they work at a profound level, and actually sound like they are the original record." "It is a case of bootleggers bootlegging bootlegs." "It's my favorite record of the year so far." Neil Strauss on the latest fad in online music. Spreading by the Web, Pop's Bootleg Remix |
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OpinionJournal - Featured Article |
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| Topic: Politics and Law |
2:48 am EDT, May 6, 2002 |
While the dividing line between liberalism and libertarianism is not always straightforward, libertarianism is a far more radical dogma whose limitations are becoming increasingly clear. The libertarian wing of the revolution overreached itself, and is now fighting rearguard actions on two fronts: foreign policy and biotechnology... The second area in which libertarians have overreached themselves is in biotechnology. ... there are reasons to be skeptical of arguments that say that genetic engineering is just another choice. Fukuyama raises the specter of September 11th and of society with a genetically engineered class structure as scare tactics to justify the restriction not of the *practice* of genetic engineering, but of the *research* of genetic engineering, something he clearly walks right into with his mention of stem cell research. This *is* the Republican party trying to find a secular argument that allows them to regulate what people are allowed to *think* about. Do I think its wrong to abort a fetus because of it's sex? Of course I do. I wouldn't mind a law to that effect. It does not follow that research into genetic engineering should be banned. Knowing how is not the same as doing. Furthermore, Fukuyama is more then well aware that it is the distribution of knowledge that most greatly impacts people's relative position in society, and not their genetic makeup. What these people seek to do is place knowledge of biology in a safe that only they are entrusted to open. Fukuyama and Bill Joy are obviously more qualified to safely handle this knowledge then the rest of us. I'm sure they'll use this trust, once won, in the most benevolent manner possible. Yeah, right... OpinionJournal - Featured Article |
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Interview with Turner exec, PVR/VOD discussed |
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| Topic: Society |
1:00 am EDT, May 5, 2002 |
Jamie Kellner controls Turner's programming riches. What he does with them could speed up -- or slow down -- the transformation of television. ... "I'm a big believer we have to make television more convenient or we will drive the penetration of PVRs and things like that, which I'm not sure is good for the cable industry or the broadcast industry or the networks. ... Because of the ad skips.... It's theft. Your contract with the network when you get the show is you're going to watch the spots. Otherwise you couldn't get the show on an ad-supported basis. Any time you skip a commercial ... you're actually stealing the programming. This is a good interview. Another entrenched business model run by smart people with vast resources which is threatened by new technology and wants to preserve its position. We need new business models, and in the video space they are only going to come from the indy film industry which can move quickley.... I wonder how many people in this industry know that southpark started as a file people were sending around on the net... Interview with Turner exec, PVR/VOD discussed |
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Viruses enlisted as nano-builders |
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| Topic: Nano Tech |
12:17 am EDT, May 5, 2002 |
If you want to build a molecular-scale computer chip, or a minuscule sensor that detects the slightest whiff of an airborne toxin, you're going to need some tiny builders to help put these gadgets together. In Friday's issue of the journal Science, researchers in Texas show how they hired a virus as their nano-construction worker. ... Millions of viruses in solution can line up and stack themselves into layers, creating a material that flows like a liquid but maintains an internal pattern. By changing the solution's concentration or applying a magnetic field, scientists can force new patterns and create different liquid crystal structures. Viruses could do all the tedious and fine work of creating a highly organized nanomaterial. ... The team will spend the next year trying to make simple devices out of this material, with the hope that these materials can be used in self-assembling computer chips, optical devices and sensors that detect biowarfare agents or chemicals. You can find the Science paper online at
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/296/5569/892 Viruses enlisted as nano-builders |
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PingID.org - Open Digital Identity Project - Home |
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| Topic: Technology |
2:29 pm EDT, May 3, 2002 |
Ping Identity is an open, principles based project focused on building digital identity infrastructure capable of ensuring that the rights and privileges we enjoy with our real world identities are not lost, changed or abused with respect to our digital ones. PingID stands for personal choice, privacy, security and control while ensuring maximum interoperability, openness, accessibility and an adherence to open standards. The Ping Digital Identity Infrastructure project provides a complete open framework for developers, enterprises and service providers to deploy and embed digital identity services and functionality within their applications, devices or services. PingID provides everything required for end-users to establish, grow and exchange Digital Identity information in a secure environment, and for enterprises and service providers to provide trusted services to employees and end-users. PingID.org - Open Digital Identity Project - Home |
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| Topic: Society |
7:11 pm EDT, May 2, 2002 |
Coming soon in a bookstore, video store or newsstand near you: a close-up recording of your examination of a girlie magazine or lusty movie, a left-wing weekly or a right-wing book. Your reactions go in the marketers' dossier on you, available for a fee to advertisers, telemarketers or political opposition researchers. HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson: "You never did have federal privacy rights." How would Bush like to have "observational research" in the Oval Office? William Safire on postmodern privacy. The Intrusion Explosion |
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Only Some Will Survive the Telecom Shakeout |
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| Topic: Economics |
2:52 am EDT, May 2, 2002 |
How do you tell the difference between the companies that are going to survive the shakeout among telecommunications service providers and those that will go belly-up? Every CEO running a phone company has studied the problem. When some number of customers stops buying, a company's remaining customers often come looking for discounts. It's exactly this double whammy of falling demand and falling prices that has hit telecommunications providers. ... Verizon will survive; Qwest is a definite maybe; WorldCom is on the ropes. ... Falling prices: $3,000 for an OC-3. A little over $12,000 for an OC-48. And dropping fast. I read an article earlier this week that mentioned a price of $2,000 for an OC-3. Cheap, cheap, cheap! It wasn't too long ago that all you could get for ~ $2k was a T-1. Only Some Will Survive the Telecom Shakeout |
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