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September 2001 Entries
The news media and members of Congress have been kicking around the idea of computer face recognition in airports to thwart terrorists. This falls in the "Things I'm Not Fond Of" category. How do you build this database? Do we have pictures of terrorists? If we can't keep them out of the country why do we think we can keep them off airplanes? I found an article that discusses some additional practical problems a system like that would face.
posted @ Friday, September 28, 2001 10:32 AM | Feedback (0)
I'm a regular reader of The Onion. I think it's some of the best satirical writing around. Plus it's just damn funny! This week was their issue on the WTC tragedy. I admit to being a little nervous about how they would handle it. Not suprisngly it rocked! My two favorite article were "Hijackers Surprised To Find Selves In Hell: 'We Expected Eternal Paradise For This,' Say Suicide Bombers" and "God Angrily Clarifies 'Don't Kill' Rule". It will only be up for two weeks so go read it.
posted @ Thursday, September 27, 2001 12:48 PM | Feedback (0)
The KC Star published a great article that originated in the New York Times. It covers some of the urban legends that are springing up from the WTC attacks. It also has a quiz at the end to see if you can separate the urban legends from the truth. I know a few of these were reported by the news stations and spread them around. This is one you should read!
posted @ Thursday, September 27, 2001 11:25 AM | Feedback (0)
Salon has an interesting article titled "Islam's Flawed Spokesmen". It covers some of the statements and action of two of the leading Islamic groups in America. These are the groups that purport to speak for "mainstream" Muslims. However these groups seem to have a problem speaking out against terrorism. They condemned terrorism and the "attacks on the buildings" but refused to condem bin Laden by name.
And what about prior acts of terror linked to bin Laden? Or that bin Laden has urged Muslims to kill Americans? Again, Hooper demurred, saying only that he condemns acts of terror.
They also refuse to condemn Hamas and Hizballah, two Palestinian terrorist groups, both of which are on the State Department's list of terrorist organizations. And that's just on the first page of the article.
posted @ Thursday, September 27, 2001 10:03 AM | Feedback (0)
I just finished reading "What Price Security?" in the latest Newsweek. The tag line for the article was "As America vows 'never again,' it is launching a series of antiterrorism measures--from ethnic profiling to snooping through your personal e-mail." I think my favorite quote from the article was:
Within hours of the rushed vote, the American Civil Liberties Union got calls from Senate offices asking, "What did we just pass?" Well, says the ACLU's Gregory T. Nojeim, "they enacted an amendment that will basically function like a blank warrant. It writes meaningful judicial oversight out of the process."
The assault on America's civil liberties has begun. The article quotes Anthony Romero, executive director of the ACLU, saying "If we allow our freedoms to be undermined, the terrorists will have won." Our civil liberties don't require letting people on airplanes with knives and box cutters but they do protect us from unreasonable searches and seizures. I think we need to protect those rights.
posted @ Tuesday, September 25, 2001 10:56 PM | Feedback (0)
The latest Newsweek has an article titled "The Allies Who Made Our Foes". It describes how the Arab states we call our friends sow seeds of terror--and what we should do about it. Many Arab states are dictatorships or kingdoms. Very few have any freedom. And they are turning out fanatics.
posted @ Tuesday, September 25, 2001 10:53 PM | Feedback (0)
Some interesting articles to read include an interview with Benazir Bhutto, the former prime minister of Pakistan. There is also a great article discussing life in Israel with their security precautions. I recall flying in Israel as a single, young male with a Jordanian stamp in my passport. I spent 45 minutes answering questions to three security guards. The finally called my aunt and uncle for verification of my identity. And yet another article detailing the threat to America's civil liberties. It looks like people are starting to question the steps that are being taken.
posted @ Tuesday, September 25, 2001 10:50 PM | Feedback (0)
The "Anti-Terrorism Act" proposed by the Justice Department includes some scary stuff. Any type of computer crime including "launching a malicious program that harms a system" would be considered a terrorist act. There would be no statute of limitations and you could face life-imprisonment. They would also require a DNA sample from anyone convicted under this law. There are also serious threats to our freedom to use encryption software to protect our messages from prying eyes. While normally not a fan of the ACLU, they have a great way to send a fax to your congressional representatives in Washington. Please take a second and tell them what you think on a variety of issues. America is a democracy. Let your voice be heard.

I think this may be one of the toughest battles we face. Not as a country, but as citizens of America. We have strong freedoms and rights in this country and our government is attacking those. I'm all for better security at airports. I'm happy with a better coordinated response to terrorism. Please, screen people coming into the country. But if you trample on my liberties and take America a small step closer to a police state who won? Please educate yourself and speak out against the extremist sections of these laws.

posted @ Tuesday, September 25, 2001 11:02 AM | Feedback (0)
Wanna buy a .COM?
posted @ Monday, September 24, 2001 12:11 PM | Feedback (0)
The New York Times has has some amazing photos (maps?) taken with LIDAR (like radar but with an infrared laser). Compare the photos with the 3D map posted earlier.
posted @ Monday, September 24, 2001 10:08 AM | Feedback (0)
CNN has some interesting stuff up relating to the WTC disaster. The first is a 3D map showing the status of various buildings in the area. Open that in one window. Then open the aerial shots of the WTC site and try to match up buildings. The photos are just amazing and really give a good idea of the scope of the damage.
posted @ Sunday, September 23, 2001 6:57 PM | Feedback (0)
A British news site has a good description of jihad.
posted @ Saturday, September 22, 2001 11:43 PM | Feedback (0)
Igor Lisinenko is a veteran of the Soviet campaign in Afghanistan. He tells his story to the LA Times. "Can it be that America is nostalgic for the times it was getting daily deliveries of zinc coffins from Vietnam?" asked Andrei Logunov, chairman of Moscow Afghan Veterans Assn. "This time it will be even worse."
posted @ Saturday, September 22, 2001 7:48 PM | Feedback (0)
And I totally forgot to link to these amazing photos of the WTC disaster.
posted @ Friday, September 21, 2001 2:21 PM | Feedback (0)
The Jerusalem Post is reporting that the Mossad (Israeli intelligence) warned the CIA that "large-scale terrorist attacks on highly visible targets on the American mainland were imminent." The article also mentions links between the terrorists and Iraq. Jane's Security has further information on possible links to Iraq. Is Israel the only country looking out for our interests?
posted @ Thursday, September 20, 2001 8:53 AM | Feedback (0)
The Freedom Forum has an editorial about the restrictions on freedom we may edure. If we give up our freedom does the dark side win? Benjamin Franklin said "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." All we have is freedom. What are we fighting for if not freedom? If we win the "war" but lose our freedom what have we won?
posted @ Wednesday, September 19, 2001 11:34 PM | Feedback (0)
Are the clues we're finding from the WTC too obvious?
posted @ Wednesday, September 19, 2001 4:45 PM | Feedback (0)
An ex-SAS (British Special Forces) commando has written an account of his time in Afghanistan and his thoughts on our ability to invade the country. It doesn't sound good.
posted @ Wednesday, September 19, 2001 4:42 PM | Feedback (0)
The creativity of people never ceases to amaze. You also never know where a good idea will come from. How about we let cops fly for free on airplanes? They'll have to carry a special type of pistol and ammunition while on the plane. We get trained armed guards on the plane and our underpaid cops get free travel. That sounds like a win-win situation to me. The NY Post and a cop with a dubious background started the idea.
posted @ Wednesday, September 19, 2001 4:36 PM | Feedback (0)
Bob sent me an interesting article. The London Times is reporting on suspicious stock transactions. They believe someone was "shorting" the stocks of major insurance companies. They were betting the stock prices would drop. An individual quoted in the article says "What is more awful than he should aim a stiletto blow at the heart of Western financial markets? But to profit from it. Words fail me." Maybe we can use this to track back to people that knew about this ahead of time. It's also a devious way to finance terrorism -- profit from your victims plight.
posted @ Wednesday, September 19, 2001 3:08 PM | Feedback (0)
Bill K. sent me the latest weather forecast for Kabul.
posted @ Wednesday, September 19, 2001 3:01 PM | Feedback (0)
The BBC has a good analysis of what has to happen in Israel in the next 48 hours for negotation to resume.
posted @ Tuesday, September 18, 2001 7:54 PM | Feedback (0)
Yasser Arafat has instructed Palestinians to enforce a cease-fire. In response, Israel has also implementing a cease-fire and is pulling back from Palestinian areas. Israel has in the past said it wouldn't negotiate under fire. The article further says "Militant Islamic groups said that despite calls for a total cease-fire, they would keep up their attacks against Israel because it still occupies Palestinian land. Groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad will make sure to attack Israel in the next few days probably ending the cease fire.

It appears that Israel is willing to stick to it's guns and not negotiate under pressure. Arafat has failed to stop the terrorist groups for a year to little effect. Maybe he will see the benefits of reigning in the terrorist groups to see if a settlement can be reached. If Arafat can't (or won't) stop terrorism from his own back yard now, how will he do it from a Palestinian state?

posted @ Tuesday, September 18, 2001 6:38 PM | Feedback (0)
I found an interesting article written by an Afghan-American writer. It really challenged some assumptions I've made about how to respond to Afghanistan and the Taleban. It doesn't give us any clear, direct responses to the situation we face. How many American lives are you willing to lose to get those responsible?
posted @ Monday, September 17, 2001 2:28 PM | Feedback (0)
The Palestinian Authority has threatened camera crews that took pictures of the Palestinians dancing in the streets after the World Trade Center incident.
posted @ Monday, September 17, 2001 12:32 AM | Feedback (0)
The Atlantic Monthly has a great article on the failure of the American intelligence agencies to stop bin Laden.
posted @ Monday, September 17, 2001 12:24 AM | Feedback (0)
MSNBC has an interest article titled "Fighting back:Ten things you can do right now" discussing some things you can do to ease the effects of the crisis on America.
posted @ Sunday, September 16, 2001 1:02 AM | Feedback (0)
I'm sure many of you have recieved an email about a radio editorial by Canadien Gordon Sinclair titled "The Americans". He wrote in part "Our neighbours have faced it alone and I am one Canadian who is damned tired of hearing them kicked around. They will come out of this thing with their flag high. And when they do, they are entitled to thumb their nose at the lands that are gloating over their present troubles. It's a really neat essay, even if I did receive it five times. And the amazing thing is that it was written in 1973! Gordon Sinclair passed away in 1984 but his message has resurfaced. You can also listen to the original broadcast which included "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" in the background. It's a pretty amazing piece.
posted @ Saturday, September 15, 2001 5:26 PM | Feedback (0)
My prayers go out to those affected by by the tragedy in New York and Washington, D.C.
posted @ Tuesday, September 11, 2001 9:37 PM | Feedback (0)
It seems someone hired the Space Imaging's IKONOS satellite to fly over the site of Survivor 3 in Africa and snap some photos. And I thought I was addicted to the show!
posted @ Sunday, September 09, 2001 5:33 PM | Feedback (0)
Apparently the followup to the XBox is a product called HomeStation. It's kind of a combination of XBox, Replay and AudioTron. Sounds pretty cool!
posted @ Friday, September 07, 2001 8:49 AM | Feedback (0)
Looking back it seems I took August off. Oh well. I just got back from vacation and I'll try to keep this a little more up to date with interesting stuff.
posted @ Wednesday, September 05, 2001 10:50 AM | Feedback (0)
ReplyTV has announced the new ReplyTV 4000 with up to 320 hours of record time. It also adds commerical skipping and sharing shows over broadband. They say it will be available in November. Daddy wants!
posted @ Wednesday, September 05, 2001 10:46 AM | Feedback (0)
Is this the first illegal prime?
posted @ Tuesday, September 04, 2001 10:36 AM | Feedback (0)
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