So, here is an official U.S. Government site that explains terrorist attack preparedness using the format of airline saftey instruction cards. "Duck and Cover..."

Ready.gov - Be Informed - Chemical threat - Visual Guide

]A harsh scolding from U.S. Ambassador Alexander Vershbow has
]prompted a crackdown at the Gorbushka market, Moscow's mecca of
]pirated films and music, and city authorities on Tuesday promised
]that this was only the start.

]Gone from the second floor are the row upon row of cheap pirated
]videos, DVDs, music discs and computer games, which just a month
]ago made up an estimated 75 percent to 95 percent of all goods
]sold there.

From Jello:

Every day my dollars buy less rubles, and now they've taken my beloved Garbushka... its like the current administration is out to ruin every expat in Moscow :(

Some background: The Gorbushka started out as an open air weekend market, selling (usually very nice) reproductions of tapes and CDs and movies. It became quite large, and a couple years ago it moved into several large buildings. Along with the software/music/movies, now came appliances, computers, and anything and everything electronic. All crammed in tiny stalls lining narrow hallways. Its like those shots you see of Hong Kong, where the small businesses are so dense, and the hustle and bustle so intense (I made a rhyme!). This place is great. Now they've ruined it.

This action was just a token effort to make Russia look good for getting into the WTO. It is not possible to stop rampant pirating in Russia, or even in Moscow (where people have much more money than outside Moscow), because people simply do not have enough money to buy the real deal. Even with the reduced prices they mention. For the foreseeable future, this is just an inconvenience. You can still find any software and popular movie you want around one of Moscow's large bookstores, or on its mainstreets. The real reason this sucks is that there were ALL KINDS of wierd electronic, and international music at the Gorbushka... and now its going to be very hard to find that stuff legitimately, or pirated for $3 a pop.

Poo

Gorbushka Tossing Out the Pirates

Great political cartoon about the anti-war movement of today.

A Reluctant Warrior (Reason Magazine)

] CIA Director George Tenet has warned of the threat of
] terrorist attacks against targets on U.S. soil or on the
] Arabian peninsula as early as this week.
] Testifying Tuesday to the U.S. Senate Intelligence
] Committee, Mr. Tenet said the United States has
] intelligence information on suspected al-Qaida plots that
] could include the use of radiological dispersion devices,
] known as "dirty bombs," as well as poisons and chemicals.
] The plots are timed to occur as early as the end of the
] Hajj Muslim pilgrimage late this week.

Maybe I'm nuts, but immediately after they moved our security status to high, I went to NYC for the weekend. Shrug.. They told me to go about my life as normal.. Normal is a weird thing these days, regardless of terrorism.

VOANews.com

] Benjamin Curtis, better known as the "Dell Dude" from the
] computer company's television commercials, was arrested
] Sunday while he allegedly attempted to buy marijuana on
] Manhattan's Lower East Side.

Dude, you got busted!

A good chunk of the military air traffic out of the air bases in this area goes over where I'm living right now. Its been constant all day today. More so then we've seen in awhile, on the level seen jdurring the gulf war buildup. (I wasn't in the area when we went into Afganistan, so I can't compare it with that..) Its cloudy, so I can't see what it is, but it sounds like big transports.

It does not necessarly mean anything, but its worth noting.

] These are the key points of the US Secretary of State
] Colin Powell's briefing to the Security Council on Iraqi
] non-compliance with UN resolutions.

No commentary in this one. Just a summary of Powell's points.

BBC | Powell UN briefing: Key points

] China has vowed to push ahead with plans to launch its
] own first manned space mission this year despite the
] Columbia tragedy, state press reported on Monday .
]
] "China will launch its first manned space shuttle this
] year," said Tu Shou'e, an astronautics academic at the
] Chinese Academy of Sciences, according to the People's
] Daily.
]
] "The key work now is to learn lessons from the accident
] to make our programme better and to make the dream of the
] Chinese people of reaching into space come true."

Go China! The more countries and corps putting their efforts into the exploration and colonization of space, the better. Now more then any other time, we should be keenly aware of how easy it is for major setbacks to occur in humanity's endevour to push this frontier.

I hope all the players in the space game truly do believe that this is a "humanity" thing, and not a "country" thing. If we do not enbrace that belief, we will be doing ourselves a great disservice.

China firm on its first manned space flight : HindustanTimes.com

] SADDAM Hussein's senior bodyguard has fled with details
] of Iraq's secret arsenal.
]
] His revelations have supported US President George W.
] Bush's claim there is enough evidence from UN inspectors
] to justify going to war.
]
] Abu Hamdi Mahmoud has provided Israeli intelligence with
] a list of sites that the inspectors have not visited.
]
] They include:
]
] AN underground chemical weapons facility at the southern
] end of the Jadray Peninsula in Baghdad;
]
] A SCUD assembly area near Ramadi. The missiles come from
] North Korea;
]
] TWO underground bunkers in Iraq's Western Desert. These
] contain biological weapons.

Something about this does not seem right. Why is this public right now? If this is true, wouldn't it be best to keep it secret from everyone other then the weapon inspectors? They are the ones who need this information right now. If this is true, and its not acted on quickly by the inspectors, then when they get there they will find only burned out facilities.

Herald Sun: Saddam's bodyguard warns of secret arsenal [02feb03]

] After an expert NASA panel warned last year that safety
] troubles loomed for the fleet of shuttles if the space
] agency's budget was not increased, NASA removed five of
] its nine members and two of its consultants. Some of them
] now say the agency was trying to suppress their
] criticisms.

Safety experts muzzled, they say