Googling around for Younis Tsouli produces some interesting links including this one:

TrackingTheThreat.com is database of open source information about the Al Qaeda terrorist network, developed as a research project of the FMS Advanced Systems Group. Our goal is to apply new technologies and software engineering approaches to open source intelligence while providing researchers and analysts with information about Al Qaeda.

This site has some interesting features:

Use the Network Navigator to perform graphical link analysis on the Al Qaeda network.

trackingthethreat.com

For almost two years, intelligence services around the world tried to uncover the identity of an Internet hacker who had become a key conduit for al-Qaeda. The savvy, English-speaking, presumably young webmaster taunted his pursuers, calling himself Irhabi -- Terrorist -- 007. He hacked into American university computers, propagandized for the Iraq insurgents led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and taught other online jihadists how to wield their computers for the cause.

Suddenly last fall, Irhabi 007 disappeared from the message boards. The postings ended after Scotland Yard arrested a 22-year-old West Londoner, Younis Tsouli, suspected of participating in an alleged bomb plot. In November, British authorities brought a range of charges against him related to that plot. Only later, according to our sources familiar with the British probe, was Tsouli's other suspected identity revealed. British investigators eventually confirmed to us that they believe he is Irhabi 007.

Terrorist 007, Exposed

It was about this time I conceived the bold and arduous project of arriving at moral perfection.

For this purpose I therefore contrived the following method.

Pair it with Rumsfeld's Rules and Powell's Rules.

Read while listening to Johnny Cash's "Old Chunk of Coal".

Benjamin Franklin's 13 Virtues

While the ICANN Board considers these concerns, and until they are remedied, CIRA will as of this date:

* Suspend its voluntary contribution of funds to ICANN;
* Hold in trust CIRA's voluntary contributions to ICANN;
* Suspend consideration of any Accountability Framework;
* Decline to host or be a major sponsor of any ICANN event; and
* Cease chairing the ccNSO's IANA Working Group.

Canada is the only place in the official DNS system with what I would consider a reasonable whois privacy policy.

Canada suspends involvement with ICANN.

Russia's Federal Security Service closes down Pravda.Ru's Russian version over Danish caricatures.

The Volokh Conspiracy - Pravada's Main Web Page Closed Down by Russian Security Service:

To make a distance-time graph for Claude Lelouch's trip, we tried to mark off Paris landmarks such as large boulevards and restaurants. Between each landmark, we would record the times then, using MapQuest and Expedia, recorded the distances between each landmark. Lelouch traveled down some roads in the wrong direction, making our job tougher.

Speed of a Car: C'etait un Rendezvous

A lot of folks have asked me "What went wrong with Friendster? Why is MySpace any different?" I guess i never directly answered that question, even though i've addressed the causes in other talks. Still, i guess it would be helpful to piece some of it together and directly attend to this question.

* Social technologies succeed when they fit into the social lives and practices of those who engage with the technology.
* People use the social technologies that all of their friends are using.
* Social technologies need benevolent dictators who love their constituents.
* It's not all about productivity.
* It is not about technological perfection.
* Is it all a fad?

This essay by Danah Boyd is worth a read. Danah is a Berkley PhD student who has been watching this space very closely for quite some time now and has always shown some good insight. Also take a look at the followup post where she talks about the term "super publics" in the context of traditional communications theory.

Friendster lost steam. Is MySpace just a fad?

AOL claims that mail from non-spammers will continue to be delivered. But that inherently contradicts its other statements, for a simple reason: If mail from non-spammers can get through, then who is going to pay for Goodmail?

AOL, Yahoo, and Hotmail do a real good job of flagging bulk or commercial email as spam, regardless of whether or not its unsolicited and apparently without regard to things like SPF compliance. If you have a financial interest in having that email not get flagged as spam, you'll pay. If you don't have the means to pay, you're fucked.

Peacefire Joins Open Letter Slamming AOL “E-Mail Tax” (Internet)

You may have missed this over the weekend: The Saturday WSJ reports that "More than $2 trillion of U.S. mortgage debt, or about a quarter of all mortgage loans outstanding, comes up for interest-rate resets in 2006 and 2007, estimates Moody's Economy.com, a research firm in West Chester, Pa."

Let's repeat that number: Over the next 20 months, more than two trillion dollars worth of adjustable rate mortgages will reset at higher interest rates.

That sound you hear is the ship hitting the iceberg.

The Big Picture: Coming Soon: Mortgage Payment Resets

bucy wrote:
A vicious NYT op-ed right after the redesign of the "Freedom Tower" was unveiled a few months back compared the new design to Albert Speer.

HA! Here is the link:

The most radical design change is the creation of the base, which will house the building's lobby and some mechanical systems. Designed to withstand a major bomb blast, the base will be virtually windowless. In an effort to animate its exterior, the architects say they intend to decorate it in a grid of shimmering metal panels. A few narrow slots will be cut into the concrete to allow slivers of natural light into the lobby.

Apparently the concrete base is to be 20 stories tall. 20 stories of fortress with an office building on top instead of a flower pot.

NYT on the freedom tower