Senators on both sides of the aisle argued that some of the act's provisions infringe on civil rights. The bipartisan group proposed a three-month extension to continue debate and amend certain provisions, but the Senate also rejected that proposal Friday.

The Senate needed 60 votes to override a filibuster and end debate, which is called "invoking cloture." Cloture would have brought the Patriot Act to a final vote, allowing the Senate to renew it by a simple majority.

But only 52 senators voted to cut off debate; 47 voted against cloture.

The move lays the groundwork for a high-stakes showdown.

Bush has said he would veto a three-month extension, arguing it would be inadequate. But without an extension, 16 provisions could expire at the end of the year. There's also the possibility the Senate could still manage to bring the Patriot Act to a vote before the December 31 deadline.

What an interesting time to be an American. A Solstice Season to remember, for sure.

Christmas for The Patriot (Act)

The Army has approved a new, classified set of interrogation methods...

The techniques are included in a 10-page classified addendum to a new Army field manual...

Army and other Pentagon officials raised concerns that Mr. McCain would be furious at what could appear to be a back-door effort to circumvent his intentions.

"This is a stick in McCain's eye," one official.

Mr. McCain's measure, which the Senate has overwhelmingly approved, would require that only interrogation techniques authorized by the new Army field manual be used on prisoners held by the military....

So, if I understand this.. We have banned torture, but there is no way to actually tell if we just said we banned torture while classifying the information that pertains to how we torture... Or, ideally, if we have a good set of guidelines for interrogation that actually bans torture, but are keeping them secret so our interrogation methods are not publicly known so they can be trained for.

McCain is the only one who even has the appearance of being an honest broker here. Does he have access to see what the current guidelines are? This issue just can't fall off the radar without something happening that convinces the world, or at least many people like me, that we did in fact ban torture. So far, I'm not convinced.

New Army Rules May Snarl Talks With McCain on Detainee Issue - New York Times

Months after the Sept. 11 attacks, President Bush secretly authorized the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on Americans and others inside the United States to search for evidence of terrorist activity without the court-approved warrants ordinarily required for domestic spying, according to government officials.

This story is all over the media. That's a good thing.

Hopefully I'll have the chance soon to write some of my thoughts about the matter. It's very significant and will have massive long term ramifications.

Bush Lets U.S. Spy on Callers Without Courts - New York Times

In state of the art studios, producers prepare the daily mix of music and news for the group's radio stations or spots for friendly television outlets. Writers putting out newspapers and magazines in Baghdad and Kabul converse via teleconferences. Mobile trailers with high-tech gear are parked outside, ready for the next crisis.

The center is not part of a news organization, but a military operation, and those writers and producers are soldiers. The 1,200-strong psychological operations unit based at Fort Bragg turns out what its officers call "truthful messages" to support the United States government's objectives, though its commander acknowledges that those stories are one-sided and their American sponsorship is hidden.

Lincoln says it planted more than 1,000 articles in the Iraqi and Arab press and placed editorials on an Iraqi Web site, Pentagon documents show. For an expanded stealth persuasion effort into neighboring countries, Lincoln presented plans, since rejected, for an underground newspaper, television news shows and an anti-terrorist comedy based on "The Three Stooges."

According to this NYT report, most of the planted articles are attributed to the "International Information Center", if attributed at all.

Military's Information War Is Vast and Often Secretive - New York Times

Family members of Jordanian-born Abu Musab al-Zarqawi renounced the terrorist leader Sunday after his al-Qaida in Iraq group claimed responsibility for the Nov. 9 suicide attacks on three Amman hotels that killed 59 people.

The family of al-Zarqawi, whose real name is Ahmed Fadheel Nazzal al-Khalayleh, reiterated their strong allegiance to Jordan's King Abdullah II in half-page advertisements in the kingdom's three main newspapers. Al-Zarqawi threatened to kill the king in an audiotape released Friday.

"A Jordanian doesn't stab himself with his own spear," said the statement by 57 members of the al-Khalayleh family, including al-Zarqawi's brother and cousin. "We sever links with him until doomsday."

The statement is a serious blow to al-Zarqawi, who no longer will enjoy the protection of his tribe and whose family members may seek to kill him.

The Jordan street is not reacting to the attacks like al-Zarqawi would have liked. Let's hope that the pattern repeats as he tries to expand his terror network outside of Iraq.

U: Has al-Zarquwi been killed? Cross your fingers..

Al-Zarqawi's Jordan family renounces him

Francis Fukuyama checks in on radical Islam. Before diving into the quotes, here is your question of the day: Is Francis Fukuyama a NeoCon? Why?

There is good reason for thinking, however, that a critical source of contemporary radical Islamism lies not in the Middle East, but in Western Europe. In addition to Bouyeri and the London bombers, the March 11 Madrid bombers and ringleaders of the September 11 attacks such as Mohamed Atta were radicalized in Europe. In the Netherlands, where upwards of 6% of the population is Muslim, there is plenty of radicalism despite the fact that Holland is both modern and democratic. And there exists no option for walling the Netherlands off from this problem.

We profoundly misunderstand contemporary Islamist ideology when we see it as an assertion of traditional Muslim values or culture. In a traditional Muslim country, your religious identity is not a matter of choice; you receive it, along with your social status, customs and habits, even your future marriage partner, from your social environment. In such a society there is no confusion as to who you are, since your identity is given to you and sanctioned by all of the society's institutions, from the family to the mosque to the state.

It is in this context that someone like Osama bin Laden appears, offering young converts a universalistic, pure version of Islam that has been stripped of its local saints, customs and traditions. Radical Islamism tells them exactly who they are--respected members of a global Muslim umma to which they can belong despite their lives in lands of unbelief. Religion is no longer supported, as in a true Muslim society, through conformity to a host of external social customs and observances; rather it is more a question of inward belief. Hence Mr. Roy's comparison of modern Islamism to the Protestant Reformation, which similarly turned religion inward and stripped it of its external rituals and social supports.

Further, radical Islamism is as much a product of modernization and globalization as it is a religious phenomenon; it would not be nearly as intense if Muslims could not travel, surf the Web, or become otherwise disconnected from their culture. This means that "fixing" the Middle East by bringing modernization and democracy to countries like Egypt and Saudi Arabia will not solve the terrorism problem, but may in the short run make the problem worse. Democracy and modernization in the Muslim world are desirable for their own sake, but we will continue to have a big problem with terrorism in Europe regardless of what happens there.

Read the whole article.

A key property of ideologies is that after they have taken root and become accepted, they don't go away. They can't really be changed either. They can only be augmented, causing the weaker portions to erode out of their active belief. If they have deep histories, they can be recast to be things they never were, just using the whole upon which they are built. The size of the base determines the actual level of power the ideology possesses. I'm pretty sure that al-Qaeda gets this, just based on their name.

I've made the argument in several discussions lately that the only way to attack radical Islam is to pull what amounts to an "embrace and extend" strategy, and of course it must happen from within, hence the "embrace" part. If there is a key to that strategy, Fukuyama lays it out here. The degree to which society creates the person is usually a role of the state. The inner belief that caries the rest of the person, is the role of modern religion or other belief systems, some more organized than others, but all of them complex. The same thing that has made globalized Islam possible, must be used to kill radical Islam.

It's a battle of revisions.

Francis Fukuyama - A Year of Living Dangerously

Please don't get pissed off cause we think you're cool and all but you can't see the forrest for the trees, so stop doing what you are doing right away. Also, could you please document all your processes so we can fire you and take over your operation? Oh, and if you happen to have $100,000 could you help a brother out? BTW, we think your web site is totally COOL!!!11 I've enclosed a copy of my latest spoken word album. If you could host it that would rock.

Translated by Decius. I had no idea he could speak Arabic...

Letter from Zawahari to Zarqawi

Three explosive devices found in a courtyard between two Georgia Tech dormitories on the East Campus Monday morning were part of a "terrorist act," an Atlanta police official said.

"It is a terrorist act at this point and depending on the outcome of the investigation it potentially could become a federal violation as well," said Major C.W. Moss of the Atlanta Police Department.

"It will be a joint investigation between the Atlanta Police Department, the Georgia Tech Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the FBI and the Joint Terrorism Task Force. Every possible lead will be followed," said Major Moss.

Ok... So this gets classified as a terrorist act right away, while the sooner boomer situation in Oklahoma gets downplayed and dismissed as a mere suicide.

There is very little in the news about this right now. I expect this story to develop.

11Alive.com: Atlanta News - Explosives Found Near Tech Dorms

I blogged about the Norman, Oklahoma bomber a few days ago. The story only seems to get thicker. I am not drawing any conclusions, but I am paying attention. There may be something here.

First, let me establish one point which I'm basing my continued interest in this on. If this was in fact an act of terrorism that just didn't work out as planned, the best course of action would be to downplay it. If it was made a big deal of by the authorities and the media, it might as well have been a successful terrorist attack. As it stands right now, this is being downplayed. If that's because there is nothing there, then I'm just wasting words. If not, then I'm glad I'm taking note of this all. Either way, going on a journey of thought is never that bad of an idea, and useful in either case. Its not that hindsight is 20/20 and nothing else is, its that hindsight is always sharper. Always.. [rattle adjusts his glasses]

I'll skip over the preamble of facts pointing to this situation being a individual suicide, because I don't see many of them. I'll note them as I go along.. Everything seems to point to a larger scheme. If you take the Occam's Razor approach, its a stretch to come up with anything other than someone committing suicide in a manor that harkened to some kind of suicide bomber romance, or a botched terrorist attack. But I do feel it important to acknowledge the fact that this may be nothing. Don't go crazy screaming "cover-up" yet..

When it comes to breaking down the situation, this post on Tapscott's Copy Desk does a good job, so I'll start there and use that as a structural base. Here is a summary of his main points, click thru for the full context:

First, The Daily Oklahoman is reporting authorities found a large cache of bomb-making materials in Hinrichs' apartment.
Second, the proximity to the stadium suggests Hinrichs' target was the crowd, perhaps as people were leaving the game.
Third, why was Boren sufficiently familiar with Hinrichs to so quickly issue an opinion about his motive in the bombing?
Fourth, in one of the photos appearing in the media, Hinrichs appears to have a fresh beard, which is characteristic of new Muslim male converts.

Each has supporting points in the original post. Let me add my own special sauce...

His first point can go either way... If he was just some guy committing suicide in a manor inspired by some suicide bomber romance, this would play right into it. Sure his apartment would have a stock of bomb making materials on hand. I can envision him sit... [ Read More (1.1k in body) ]

In an apparent Sept. 11 communiqué broadcast on ABC News, an al Qaeda operative threatens new attacks against cities in the U.S. and Australia.

"Yesterday, London and Madrid. Tomorrow, Los Angeles and Melbourne, Allah willing. And this time, don't count on us demonstrating restraint or compassion," the tape warns. "We are Muslims. We love peace, but peace on our terms, peace as laid down by Islam, not the so-called peace of occupiers and dictators."

No September 11th would be completely without a threat tape. Apparently the speaker in the tape has been identified.

Only a few years ago, Adam Gadahn was a southern California teenager with interests in the environment and heavy metal music.

As I recall, John Walker was from northern California and liked rap. Tomorrow I look forward to reading an op-ed piece by some blithering idiot linking terrorism to Heavy Metal music. I'm sure there will be one, somewhere.

ABC News: Tape Released: American al Qaeda Member Warns of Attacks