tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35176982011-04-21T15:46:54.621-07:00The Road to Surfdoman intermittent weblog by Tim Dunlop - winner of the inaugural Nobel Prize for blogging - ........and after this I'm going to the beach.................timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comBlogger4521100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-856753492002-11-14T08:21:00.000-08:002003-01-03T17:22:14.000-08:00MOVING OUT TODAY THIS BLOG HAS LEFT THE BUILDING PLEASE READ THIS FOR DETAILS ABOUT WHERE YOU CAN NOW FIND THE ROAD TO SURFDOM Today is the last day that I will be blogging on this site. The entire operation has moved to a new site at this address: http://www.roadtosurfdom.com/ Yep, The Road to Surfdom has its very own domain name and (I hope) a nice reliable server. The entire timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-856735492002-11-13T20:46:00.000-08:002002-11-14T07:05:20.000-08:00LET THE TRADE BE FREE Well, this is something no-one predicated as being so high up the Republican agenda in the aftermath of their recent election clean sweep. The US and Australia have announced that negotiations on a free trade agreement between the two countries are to start forthwith: Australia and the United States are to begin negotiations on a free trade agreement early next year, U.S.timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-3856728692002-11-13T16:19:00.000-08:002002-11-14T07:04:02.000-08:00OH YE OF TOO MUCH FAITH This insightful person seems to think he has had an hilarious and penetrating revelation. Wait for it....communism can be thought of as a religion. I bet no-one has considered this angle before: Sure, the commies make a big deal about there not being a God...but the most radical madrassas would not produce graduates so fanatical, so obsessed as the yahoos who sell timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-856714802002-11-13T09:54:00.000-08:002002-11-14T06:42:01.000-08:00JUST PRETEND YOUR INSANE The game of they'll bomb him-they'll bomb him not continues. As Hesiod points out, Colin Powell is saying that if Saddam fails to comply with the latest UN resolution it won't necessarily trigger an invasion. Hesiod wonders, "Is this a stall tactic because the U.S. is not able, presently, to attack? Or is it an indication that President Bush was bluffing all along?" timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-856703032002-11-13T06:09:00.000-08:002002-11-13T06:09:15.226-08:00VOICE BELIEVED TO BE AUTHENTIC Washington authorities today released an audio taped message spoken by a voice believed to be that of Vice-President, Dick Cheney. Although FBI and CIA language experts could not confirm conclusively that the message came from Cheney--admitting that it had been so long since anyone had heard him talk that they had just forgotten what he sounds like--they timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-3856674462002-11-12T11:11:00.000-08:002002-11-12T11:29:21.000-08:00THE BLOG OF LAUGHTER AND FORGETTING De Spectaculis points us towards this piece which muses on the connection between humour and terrorism. The article is worth a read, as are De Spectaculis's comments on it. But's it's ultimately a hodge-podge of a piece. What it tries do is suggest that because of some non-western attribute, Islamic terrorists lack a sense of humour (unlike, say, the IRAtimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-856647012002-11-11T18:02:00.000-08:002002-11-11T18:13:46.000-08:00HIT ME WITH YOUR RHYTHM CLICK I don't know who nominated me, but thank you to whomever it was that submitted this site to the MSNBC "Best of the blogs". I'm really glad they mentioned my nomination of Jeff Cooper too. And, to make it a fun night all round, I notice they mention another Australian site, this one from the Gold Coast: "This weblog was primarily built as a research site for timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-856572882002-11-09T05:58:00.000-08:002002-11-09T11:17:44.000-08:00TRADING ON INSULTS - JOHN HOWARD AND THE ANTI-ASIAN TAG A number of ozbloggers have been critical of a recent piece by Opposition trade spokeperson, Craig Emerson, in which he says that our beloved Prime Minister is anti-Asian. To hear the bloggers speak you'd think that Howard had never given people reason to think this before and that Emerson was uttering something that had never crossed timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-856558662002-11-08T14:40:00.000-08:002002-11-08T14:56:17.000-08:00KILL THE WORLD TRADE ORGANISATION According to Professor Andrew Rose, there is no proof at all that the World Trade Organisation has done anything to help, well, world trade. Bummer. And he's written a report to prove it: While theory, casual empiricism, and strong statements abound, there is, to my knowledge, no compelling empirical evidence showing that the GATT/WTO has actually encouraged timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-856528662002-11-07T22:00:00.000-08:002002-11-07T22:00:01.850-08:00THE LATEST PITCH FROM HITCH - WHISPERING TRUTH TO POWER Bargarz alerts us to this latest piece from Christopher Hitchens which includes this rather extraordinary admission (my emphasis): "From conversations I have had on this subject in Washington, I would say that the most fascinating and suggestive conclusion is this: After Sept. 11, several conservative policy-makers decided in effect that timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-856495412002-11-07T05:18:00.000-08:002002-11-07T05:18:11.160-08:00EMAIL me THE NEW ROAD TO SURFDOM SITE Yes, folks. Change is in the air. Thanks to the wonderful Neale Talbot, I'm about to move operations to a new Moveable Type site. Transfer of archives is happening soon and I will be posting at the new site ASAP. I'll put the new address up here soon. If I have your email address, I'll contact you personally. If you want to be on that list, send metimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-3856484732002-11-06T20:02:00.000-08:002002-11-06T20:02:18.780-08:00EMAIL me NOT STUPID, JUST AWFUL Back on the job after a US pilgrimage, Captain America, Tim Blair, reminds us that George W. Bush is not stupid. Indeed, Tim waxes embarrassingly about the genius in the White House. Apparently George went to school, went to university and has a steady job. Thus far, the reputed idiot Bush has graduated from Yale and Harvard, made a stack of cash in the oil timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-856473272002-11-06T13:19:00.000-08:002002-11-07T21:12:56.000-08:00EMAIL me DEMOCRACY LITE - JUST ONE PARTY It is a fact universally acknowledged that people won't vote for your party if they think your party is just pretending to be like the other party. Essentially, the Dems were out-spent and out-thought. They tried to make themselves a small target, to present themselves on key issues as identical to the Administration in the hope that those issues timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-856432072002-11-05T14:46:00.000-08:002002-11-05T14:46:18.470-08:00EMAIL me MORE FESTIVAL OF THE VOTE I've spent most of the day preparing for the 'festival of the vote' party we are having at our house tonight. Some ungodly number of our nearest and dearest friends are joining us for an all-eating, all-drinking evening in front of a couple of tellies tuned to different stations, probably CNN and MSNBC (how could you not watch Chris Matthews rabbit on on a timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-856413872002-11-05T07:03:00.000-08:002002-11-05T07:03:44.730-08:00EMAIL me FESTIVAL OF THE VOTE Today is mid-term election day in the US. Both the Senate and the House of Reps are up for grabs. Most likely the Reps will stay with Republicans. The Senate, currently evenly divided between the two majors and with a single independent keeping either side from an outright majority, is too close to call. Basically, the balance of power in the world's only timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-856395232002-11-04T17:41:00.000-08:002002-11-04T19:42:47.000-08:00EMAIL me WHERE DOES RUSHDIE REALLY STAND? Like a lot of bloggers, Robert Corr links approvingly to this article by Salman Rushdie. Like me, Robert thinks there is a case for ousting Hussein on the grounds that he oppresses his people rather than because he is a threat to the US and its allies. The Rushdie article seems to support this position, but I wonder if it really does. Rushdie beginstimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-856388712002-11-04T14:02:00.000-08:002002-11-04T14:02:22.420-08:00EMAIL me FROM EACH AND TO EACH - SILLY THINGS RANDIANS SAY A recent survey suggested that the happiest Australians were its many volunteers, those who give up there own time, effort and money in order to help others. Post-Sydney Olympics, where volunteers endlessly impressed visitors and locals alike with their generosity, volunteerism has increasingly come to be seen as one of the civlising timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-856357522002-11-03T19:52:00.000-08:002002-11-03T19:52:04.683-08:00EMAIL me THE POINT AND HOW TO MISS IT In an article in today's Age, Robert Manne basically regurgitates points I've made previously about the relationship between Australian and US governments on foreign policy. Well, okay, we both just kinda state the obvious, though Manne, writing for a paper rather than a blog has less room to offer any nuance. Anyway, his piece goes from a fairly timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-856343102002-11-03T07:31:00.000-08:002002-11-03T07:31:47.996-08:00EMAIL me BRITANNIA WAIVES THE RULES What an odd story this is about the Queen. Diana's butler was charged with stealing stuff from her. The trial has been dragging on for five years. The butler told the Queen in 1997 that he had the stuff. On the verge of the butler giving evidence in the trial, which he promised would be very detailed, her maj mysteriously pops up and says, oh by the way,timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-856298362002-11-01T12:58:00.000-08:002002-11-01T12:58:43.576-08:00EMAIL me LAST MENTION FOR THE YEAR - PROMISE We had a stupendous time last night taking Noah around for his first-ever Halloween trick-or-treat. From what I saw, with lots of accompanied kids out and about, with houses decorated, and nearly everyone being downright neighbourly, it is one of those community rituals make civilisation work. Still, there always has to be one spoil-sport, and I'mtimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-856282202002-11-01T07:05:00.000-08:002002-11-01T07:05:35.540-08:00EMAIL me HOWLING AT THE MOON LANDING NASA is apparently paying someone to write a book to refute the it-never-happened, um, lunatics, who think the moon landing was faked. As if a book is going to convince them. If I were NASA, I'd work out who the most prominent conspiracy theorist was and I'd fly him to the moon. They could dream up some experiments to do to justify the cost, but it'd be timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-856243082002-10-31T10:15:00.000-08:002002-10-31T10:18:46.000-08:00EMAIL me PUT A CANDLE IN THE PUMPKIN My son is so excited about his first Halloween that he was up even earlier than usual this morning - so early that I resemble your basic jack-o-lantern. His school is having a Halloween parade at lunchtime, so we had to dress him up in his Dracula outfit and speak in a funny accent all the way into class this morning. We were greeted at the front of the timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-856239022002-10-31T08:48:00.000-08:002002-10-31T08:59:05.000-08:00EMAIL me AUSTRALIA, THE UNITED STATES AND IRAQ This is the first piece I have put up at Stand Down, the bipartisan no war blog. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ At the moment, a number of senior members of the Australian government are in Washington D.C. (they go home tonight, actually) talking war and terror and cooperation with the timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-3856231942002-10-31T06:13:00.000-08:002002-10-31T06:13:53.923-08:00 GOOD NEWS ON THE COMMENTS FACILITY Visitors over the last few days will have noticed that the comments facility has been down due to a system upgrade at Enetation. Apart from the obvious lack of comments, this has meant the site has been loading slowly as well. Apologies for that, but it looks like is everything is hunky dory again...what?...oh shit....well...um...talk amongst yourselves.timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-856220082002-10-30T20:53:00.000-08:002002-10-31T05:25:31.000-08:00EMAIL me THE NECESSARY EYESORE What is going on at the Aboriginal Tent Embassy in Canberra? This national landmark, a symbol of Indigenous struggles for the past thirty years, and which has survived concerted efforts to remove it, has come under its most serious threat in years, and it comes from another group of Indigenous people: The Aboriginal Tent Embassy was the scene of a dramatic timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-856218642002-10-30T19:59:00.000-08:002002-10-30T19:59:20.620-08:00EMAIL me NO WAR BLOG Max Sawicky and some others have opened a new site dedicated to voicing opposition to a war with Iraq - Stand Down. It could be an interesting experiment as well as good source of material in that its contributors are drawn from the left and right of the political spectrum. My name is down to be an occasional contributor, and I'll tend to concentrate on Australian timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-856200572002-10-30T10:11:00.000-08:002002-10-30T10:12:13.000-08:00EMAIL me HALLOWEEN AGEEN Apart from a comment by Gert in the post below about Halloween, this article also puts right my incorrect attribution of Halloween to some form of paganism. I knew it coincided with All Saint's Day, a Christian celebration, but I also thought it had roots in European harvest festivals (everything has roots in European harvest festival it sometimes seems). Actually, Itimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-856196622002-10-30T08:27:00.000-08:002002-10-30T08:27:24.563-08:00EMAIL me DON'T GIMME SHELTER When market solutions don't work, I guess the next best thing is to criminalise behaviour. This seems to be the approach of many US governments according to a Washington Post article: SAN FRANCISCO -- Fed up with growing hordes of homeless people begging and sleeping on their streets, cities across the country have begun taking desperate new steps to restrict timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-856178232002-10-29T21:02:00.000-08:002002-10-29T21:04:03.000-08:00EMAIL me THE WHITE VAN RED HERRING It seems the biggest single stuff up in the hunt for the Washington-area sniper/s was the centrality given to the existence of a "white van." Jim Henley is rightly annoyed about this too and quotes this Newsweek article: As it turned out, a witness had reported seeing a Caprice driving slowly with its lights off near the scene of the Oct. 3 shooting in timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-856166232002-10-29T13:50:00.000-08:002002-10-29T13:55:34.000-08:00EMAIL me DOESN'T RATE A MENTION? The blog dedicated to keeping the Australian national broadcaster honest (or at least, right), ABC Watch, doesn't seem to have picked up on this latest bit of ABC outrageousness: It was a corker of a day after 774 ABC Melbourne toppled 3AW as the top talk station for the first time in 10 years. Presenters Red Symons, Jon Faine, Derek Guille and Virginia timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-856165322002-10-29T13:28:00.000-08:002002-10-30T06:35:51.000-08:00EMAIL me ANOTHER ARTICLE ON AUSTRALIAN GUN FOLKLORE I could make a full time job out of blogging misleading things said about Australia in regard to gun laws (hang on, I have.) Don Arthur points out this loo-loo from Patrick Goodenough CNSNews.com Pacific Rim Bureau Chief. For a start he says this: Left-leaning parties and firearm control campaigners in Australia pushed Tuesday for gun laws timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-3856164292002-10-29T12:56:00.000-08:002002-10-29T12:56:31.480-08:00EMAIL me DRAINING THE BILLABONG After a remark I made in a post below about the true identity of rightwing Australian blogger Professor Bunyip, alternatively known as Stanley Gudgeon, some in the comments box have suggested that the man behind the dual pseudonyms might be well-known Australian commentator, Imre Salusinszky. I have no idea if this is true or not, but I doubt it. Although I'm timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-856160282002-10-29T11:14:00.000-08:002002-10-29T11:14:31.423-08:00EMAIL me JUST INSERT YOUR TARGET This is the best of the Doonsebury cartoons on blogging, and reminded me of exactly how some people reacted to postmodernism.timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-856159062002-10-29T10:38:00.000-08:002002-10-29T10:39:15.000-08:00EMAIL me NO, PUT IT OVER THERE Every time I go to a big bookshop these days I remember a cartoon from the New Yorker some years back: Man at the sales desk: "No caffe latte! What kind of a bookshop is this?" I just bought (apart from a latte) Lawrence Lessig's, The Future of Ideas, which I hope to read this week. Also saw a book called, Feng Shui for Dummies. Isn't that a tautology?timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-856155932002-10-29T09:26:00.000-08:002002-10-29T09:26:57.343-08:00EMAIL me THE SNIPER SHOOTINGS - MY WRAP OF LIVING IN THE AREA JOHN ALLEN MUHAMMAD AND JOHN LEE MALVO CALLED HOME FOR THREE WEEKS Here is the summary of the Washington sniper incident I'd previously promised. I try and explain my reaction to the event itself and some of the issues it raised. ..................................... I was alerted to the sniper attacks by a guy at my wife's work timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-3856131162002-10-28T16:24:00.000-08:002002-10-28T16:24:56.350-08:00EMAIL me CONTINUED MISREPRESENTATION OF AUSTRALIAN GUN LAWS BY AMERICAN GUN ADVOCATES My arguments about gun control have always acknowledged that different circumstances apply in different countries. Although I've said that in any wider debate, American gun advocates should just shut up--for instance, stop trying to get some form the US second amendment written into international law--I of timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-856126842002-10-28T14:19:00.000-08:002002-10-28T14:20:26.000-08:00EMAIL me IS IT CYNICAL TO TELL THE TRUTH? While there are some interesting points in Don Arthur's post about political cynicism, I wonder if he's being careful enough to make the points he wishes to make. So, the things he says about the tendency for the media to see the political process as a simplistic competition are well taken; but stuff like this needs more attention: In the US timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-856118182002-10-28T10:58:00.000-08:002002-10-28T10:58:54.473-08:00EMAIL me BLOG TELEPATHY In a funny post, John Quiggin notes that he and I often seem to anticipate each other in our choice of topics to blog and I must say, I thought he was going to say that. He wonders if I ever find that he has already blogged on a topic that I was about to cover and I can report that it happens all the time. Even today I note he has something to say about postmodernism timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-856116662002-10-28T10:27:00.000-08:002002-10-28T10:27:40.973-08:00EMAIL me PUNKY NIGHT It's Halloween on Thursday night, a tradition we don't have back in Australia. I knew from American movies etc that it was a big thing here, but I was a bit surprised at how big. It seems to be second only to Christmas in terms of visibility and availability of merchandise. The streets around us have been filling up with carved pumpkins, dangling skeletons, scarecrows, timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-856107922002-10-28T06:54:00.000-08:002002-10-28T06:54:33.410-08:00EMAIL me LINKING THE BILLABONG In a move completely unrelated to my post directly below, no doubt, I note that Bunyip has a new template and a sad but brave attempt to add some links. As I said, I thoroughly relate to his lack of expertise with coding and give him full marks for effort. Will be interesting to see what the final list looks like - looking awfully American right at the moment.timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-856076622002-10-27T07:36:00.000-08:002002-10-28T06:12:02.000-08:00EMAIL me UPDATING MY AUSTRALIAN LINKS Scott Wickstein's new blog address meant I had to change his URL in the template, so I took the opportunity to update the Australian list in general. How appropriate that my links list is on the right-hand side of the page! Most of these sites don't link to me, but that's never been my criteria for linking (I'm not sure what is). Still, I find it timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-856061262002-10-26T17:54:00.000-07:002002-10-27T06:36:05.000-08:00EMAIL me BEAM HIM UP MARKET Scott Wickstein has build himself a new blog house and you're all invited around. It's called The Eye of the Beholder, though I'm sure Scott will continue to examine all issues with both eyes wide open (if nonetheless cast right) BTW: Tell him exactly what you think; I'm sure he'll return the favour, if he hasn't already. Congratulations, Scott!timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-3856061072002-10-26T17:45:00.000-07:002002-10-27T05:34:49.000-08:00EMAIL me THE BOGUS OUTRAGE OF THE RIGHT EXAMINED Rob Schaap offers a close look at what passes for argument amongst some right-wing pundits. NOTE: Permalinks aren't working, so go here and scroll down to 'Another Leftie Whinge - or The Danger of The Neat Narrative in an Untidy World'. In the meantime, Rob has had a nice little analysis of one of John Ray's flights of fancy.timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-856060952002-10-26T17:40:00.000-07:002002-10-26T17:40:04.316-07:00EMAIL me FREE SPEECH AND NASTY GOVERNMENTS Bargarz writes this stock-standard paean to free-speech and the evils of government, opining: Some days I thank the fates that the internet was developed in the USA, regardless of what the Europeans may claim(In 1992, Tim Berners-Lee, a British researcher at the CERN physics facility in Europe, developed HTML, [not the internet] which in turn was timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-856040372002-10-25T20:22:00.000-07:002002-10-25T20:22:08.520-07:00EMAIL me THE SNIPER AS ISLAMIC TERRORIST I've been reading through some of the right wing blogs talking about the sniper and it is quite revolting. The persistent, blinkered, endless emphasis on this guy's conversion to Islam as the defining element in his murderous behaviour has reached such a pitch that it borders on, what?, lunacy. It is worth reading this piece on Muhammad's background timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-856018662002-10-25T07:17:00.000-07:002002-10-25T07:17:39.143-07:00EMAIL me SHOOTINGS -- DAY IT'S OVER After three weeks of pretty singular attention to the Washington-area sniper, and with lots of people checking in here every day to follow the story, some sort of summary is in order. At the moment, though, I'm not quite ready to do that. Maybe later today or tomorrow. Until then, two thoughts to be going on with, one completely frivolous, the other, the timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-855993062002-10-24T14:15:00.000-07:002002-10-24T14:54:56.000-07:00EMAIL me LAND OF THE REALLY FREE In the wake of the fatal shooting of two people at an Australian university, plans are underway for a handgun buy-back scheme and stricter controls on guns in general. Sweet home Australia: A national handgun buy-back scheme and amnesty for shooters to hand in illegal weapons could begin before the end of the year after federal and state governments yesterdaytimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-855988272002-10-24T12:14:00.000-07:002002-10-24T12:17:39.000-07:00EMAIL me SHOOTINGS -- THE UNRAVELING? -- UPDATE 3 As speculation mounts that the Washington sniper is actually Osama bin Laden, television news is releasing, drip, drip, tidbits of information. For instance, John Muhammed was spoken to by police early in the spree when he was found asleep in his parked car somewhere in Maryland. The event was recorded, as was a description of the car. They timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-855983442002-10-24T10:14:00.000-07:002002-10-24T10:14:22.070-07:00EMAIL me HOW I JOINED THE TALIBAN AND DIDN'T EVEN KNOW IT The NRA is a big, popular organisation with plenty of clout. They are not some fringe group; they are mainstream. They are taken seriously. You'd think, then, that there might be some obligation on them to conduct themselves in a less hysterical fashion. Cue the national anthem while I run by you some quotes from a recent speech by timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-855979272002-10-24T08:30:00.000-07:002002-10-24T12:04:24.000-07:00EMAIL me THE AUSTRALIAN BLOG GUN CONTROL DEBATE Ken Parish has done a sterling job chasing down the statistical fabrications of the Australian gun touts. Check in at his site and read through what he has to say. The main pieces are here and here. As important as the statistical debunking is, ultimately it is the last point Ken makes that is the most important: Thus, the argument that gun timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-855977362002-10-24T07:45:00.000-07:002002-10-24T09:03:12.000-07:00EMAIL me SHOOTINGS UPDATE -- PASSING COMMENTS OR WHY THE NAME "MUHAMMAD" DOESN'T NECESSARILY MAKE YOU AN ISLAMOFASCIST TERRORIST DESPITE THE EAGERNESS OF SOME WELL-HIT BLOGS TO INSIST THAT IT DOES Three cheers for Unqualified Offerings who writes: The ironic thing about the case is that, to whatever extent Islam-inspired anti-Americanism turns out to have fueled Muhammad's spree, it still timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-855975412002-10-24T07:02:00.000-07:002002-10-24T07:02:55.303-07:00EMAIL me WHILE WE'RE WAITING The Hampster has up a bunch of great quotes, mainly one liners from the tonight shows. My favourite is, of course, this one from Jon Stewart at The Daily Show: "Some scholars have argued [that] the Constitution clearly states only Congress can declare war, and they are not allowed to simply delegate that authority to the president. However, you can get around timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-855974702002-10-24T06:49:00.000-07:002002-10-24T06:55:17.000-07:00EMAIL me SHOOTINGS DAY 21: DAY THE LAST? Maybe we really are in endgame. No-one is saying, but everyone is hinting once again, and I must admit, as the stories of connections with Alabama, Tacoma and other circumstances get reported, it is sounding more and more likely. Given that virtually everyone who has had a theory about this case, including me, has been wrong, it is probably a time fortimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-855960482002-10-23T19:42:00.000-07:002002-10-23T21:13:47.000-07:00EMAIL me UPDATE 2 No word yet on whether investigators have taken up Glenn Reynold's suggestion to place bowhunters in trees around the Washington D.C. area. However, they are searching for a 1990 Chevy Caprice and want to speak to two men, one in his forties, believed to be ex-army of ten years and the other possibly in his teens. The media obviously know more than they are letting on, but timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-855953692002-10-23T15:20:00.000-07:002002-10-23T18:19:37.000-07:00SHOOTINGS DAY 20 Ballisitic evidence has confirmed the shooting of a bus driver yesterday connects that murder with the other sniper shootings of the last two weeks. The sniper also left another note, repeating his demands and threats. These include a demand for ten million dollars and threats to hurt more children. Does the Washington-area sniper really want $10million? I doubt it. So why timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-855943642002-10-23T10:48:00.000-07:002002-10-23T12:29:23.000-07:00EMAIL me GUNS as FREEDOM and FREEDOM FROM GUNS In the wake of the shootings at Monash University in Melbourne, it is interesting to see the Australian blog reaction. Across the ideological spectrum the responses I've seen have generally (generally) called for more control, not less. Once again it highlights the cultural differences between my homeland and my current place of residence. It timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-855901422002-10-22T11:12:00.000-07:002002-10-22T11:12:27.573-07:00OTHER BLOGGERS ADMINISTER GEORGE W. A POLYGRAPH Two other good bloggers have also commented on the Bush Administration's elastic approach to semantics, Jeff Cooper and Josh Marshall. I've got two posts on it below.timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-855895452002-10-22T08:30:00.000-07:002002-10-23T12:45:25.000-07:00DAY 19 -- UPDATE 2 I heard a journalist say on CNN last night that the note left by the sniper at the Ponderosa in Richmond, Virginia, was quite lengthy and contained a number of specific threats. The journalist said that the media had been asked not to reveal any of the information they had been made privy to. Nonetheless, there is a link to a news story circulating on some blogs at the timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-855893162002-10-22T07:43:00.000-07:002002-10-22T07:43:53.076-07:00DAY 19 - UPDATE The man shot this morning was a 40 year old bus driver. He has just died in a Maryland hospital. I'm sure everyone's thoughts are with his family. timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-855892242002-10-22T07:23:00.000-07:002002-10-22T07:27:00.373-07:00FACT CHECKING THE PRESIDENT'S ASS After my posts last evening about the way the Bush Administration has shamelessly sought to redefine the term "regime change" comes this article in The Washington Post this morning: As Bush leads the nation toward a confrontation with Iraq and his party into battle in midterm elections, his rhetoric has taken some flights of fancy in recent weeks. Statements ontimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-3855890122002-10-22T06:22:00.000-07:002002-10-22T06:22:31.860-07:00EMAIL me SHOOTINGS DAY 19 A man has been shot this morning, much closer to the site of the original murders in the sniper case and therefore much closer to our home. Details are really vague as I write this, but it seems he was shot while getting off a bus. He's alive, but in a critical condition in a Maryland hospital. I can hear the helicopter/s overhead and have been watching the footagetimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-3855873932002-10-21T18:01:00.000-07:002002-10-21T18:01:08.310-07:00EMAIL me THE ONGOING PROMISE TO MOVE THIS SITE ELSEWHERE Blogger seems to be slower on the uptake at the moment than George Bush at a quote-reciting convention. My apologies to all visitors to this site for how long it is taking to load. The fickleness of the comments system isn't helping either. I will carry my blog-home elsewhere soon, once work permits. In the meantime, I hope regular astimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-3855869172002-10-21T14:57:00.000-07:002002-10-21T14:57:09.503-07:00EMAIL me WORDS WILL MEAN EXACTLY WHAT WE WANT THEM TO MEAN: HUMPTY DUMPTIES IN THE WHITE HOUSE Two posts down I noted that "regime change" seems to have changed its meaning as the Bush Administration pulls back from actually attacking Iraq. If the policy has changed, then apparently so must the meaning of this phrase. To repeat, both Fleischer and Bush today have said words to the effect: ".timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-855866032002-10-21T13:29:00.000-07:002002-10-21T13:29:18.600-07:00EMAIL me SHOOTINGS UPDATE 6 The latest from CNN, who I have to say have been hyping-by-implication that the sniper was in the bag. It ain't necessarily so, or even very likely: RICHMOND, Virginia (CNN) -- Authorities have found no evidence connecting two men who were taken into custody Monday near Richmond, Virginia to the sniper attacks, law enforcement sources said. They described the timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-855865512002-10-21T13:12:00.000-07:002002-10-21T13:20:43.000-07:00EMAIL me JUST TO PROVE IT'S NOT ALL SNIPERS ALL OF THE TIME The White House has a new line. It involves redefining, for purposes of fudge, the term "regime change." I just heard George Bush use almost exactly the following words, but these ones are actually quoted from the whirling Dervish of media control, Ari Fleischer: "Clearly, if Iraq did all the things the president called on them to timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-855858882002-10-21T10:35:00.000-07:002002-10-21T10:35:08.203-07:00EMAIL me SHOOTINGS -- UPDATE 5 Richmond police just gave a press conference that clarified nothing. In fact, you couldn't hear it and not come away less confident that they have caught the sniper/s. Maybe they have, but more likely, they have caught someone who was trying to sell information to the police. It seems information about the presence of a note at the Ponderosa was phoned into a timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-855856262002-10-21T09:23:00.000-07:002002-10-21T09:23:44.520-07:00EMAIL me SHOOTINGS -- UPDATE 4 The most interesting thing at this stage--apart from the arrests, obviously--is that Chief Moose made his announcement about preparing a response to the people who phoned them at almost the exact moment that the two people in Richmond were being picked up. The significance of this is that it suggests that there may be others involved to whom Moose was addressingtimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-855855092002-10-21T08:52:00.000-07:002002-10-21T09:14:25.000-07:00EMAIL me SHOOTINGS DAY 18 -- UPDATE 3 Here's as much as anyone knows at the moment, via CNN. I just watched some footage of the "sting" operation and the police taking the van away. Pretty amazing: RICHMOND, Virginia (CNN) -- Police looking for the sniper who has terrorized the Washington area for nearly three weeks picked up two men for questioning Monday, a federal law enforcement source timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-855849392002-10-21T06:40:00.000-07:002002-10-21T08:42:51.000-07:00EMAIL me IS THE WASHINGTON SNIPER FRENCH? NOW INCLUDING UPDATES TO BREAKING NEWS As if in defiance of the Wired story about the way blogs speculate, what about this story from Reuters: France's Defence Ministry has confirmed the desertion of a student from its prestigious St Cyr military school who left for a holiday in Canada and the United States in August and failed to return. Defence timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-855848652002-10-21T06:22:00.000-07:002002-10-21T06:22:44.000-07:00EMAIL me BLOGGERS AND THE SNIPER Being an astute observer, I managed to notice the ten million hits I've got today from Wired. They've done a story about how the blogs are covering the Washington sniper. It concentrates on the "conspiracy theory" angle, which is fair enough in one way as many blogs are overdoing the guessing game. Nonetheless, it might have been nice to also acknowledge timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-855836752002-10-20T20:25:00.000-07:002002-10-20T20:25:34.870-07:00EMAIL me WHO'D HAVE THOUGHT? Zem links to an amazing statistic.timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-855836312002-10-20T20:07:00.000-07:002002-10-20T20:07:58.926-07:00EMAIL me SHOOTINGS DAY 17 -- UPDATE The Maryland police chief gave a brief and cryptic press conference earlier this evening: To the person who left us a message at the Ponderosa (restaurant) last night, you gave us a telephone number. We do want to talk to you, call us at the number you provided. He wouldn't say anymore and wouldn't take questions. Good way to calm speculation. I've been timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-855835882002-10-20T19:47:00.000-07:002002-10-20T20:11:28.000-07:00EMAIL me SHOOTINGS IN AUSTRALIA I'm lifting this straight off the News.com site: TWO people have been shot dead and up to eight others seriously injured at Monash University's Clayton campus in outer eastern-Melbourne today. The shooting occurred at the Menzies Building of the university at about 11.20am. Police say one person is in custody. An ambulance spokeswoman said paramedics at the timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-855830522002-10-20T15:18:00.000-07:002002-10-20T16:48:20.000-07:00EMAIL me SHOOTINGS -- RELATED Mathematics is very uncomforting, I must admit. I know that I (or my wife or son or someone else close to us or someone not close to us) are more likely to be hit by a car or to be electrocuted in our house or meet some other form of mundane premature end than we are to be hit by a sniper bullet, but it doesn't really help (maybe a bit). Accidents happen. But timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-855821092002-10-20T08:31:00.000-07:002002-10-20T08:31:32.013-07:00EMAIL me HIGHLY RECOMMENDED Since I started reading blogs, James Russell's Hot Buttered Death has been one I checked in on regularly. Of late though, he has really cranked it up a notch. He seems to be doing a lot more extended commentary, rather than simply a link to a story with a passing comment of his own. I reckon he's doing a great job, and I'm really enjoying the range of topics and timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-855820232002-10-20T07:54:00.000-07:002002-10-20T07:54:16.130-07:00EMAIL me SHOOTINGS DAY 17 The man shot last night is still in a critical condition in hospital. They have been unable to remove the bullet from him and therefore cannot confirm a link with the other killings. At the risk of yet more idle speculation, I'd be very surprised if this wasn't connected: The man came out of surgery shortly after 11 p.m. Fort Wayne time after about three hours of timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-855811352002-10-19T20:59:00.000-07:002002-10-20T07:11:48.000-07:00EMAIL me DAY 16 -- UPDATE 2 Over dinner tonight I suggested that this guy will break his "never on a weekend" pattern and sure enough, unfortunately, he has. A man has been shot outside a restaurant in Virginia. He is in hospital being operated on: ASHLAND, Va. (AP)--A shooting at a Ponderosa restaurant Saturday night was being investigated for connection to the string of sniper attacks in timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-855805102002-10-19T15:09:00.000-07:002002-10-20T06:32:31.000-07:00EMAIL me SHOOTINGS DAY 16 -- UPDATE Matthew Dowdy was arrested yesterday for giving false evidence to the police about seeing the sniper, his gun and his van at the site of the last murder. Is Dowdy an accomplice to the sniper or, indeed, actually the sniper? The evidence is pretty circumstantial. OrificeWorld suggests: I now see a link between the holding of Matthew Dowdy [and the new timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-855798042002-10-19T09:06:00.000-07:002002-10-20T05:52:48.000-07:00EMAIL me SHOOTINGS DAY 16 Put me down as sceptical about this new evidence regarding a shell case found in a white rental van. I'll be glad to be proved wrong, but what are the chances of this meticulous, well-organised murderer renting a van and then returning it and conveniently leaving a shell case lying around in the back?: Bethesda, Maryland - Authorities have seized a white box truck timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-855786552002-10-18T20:07:00.000-07:002002-10-20T06:31:15.000-07:00EMAIL me SHOOTINGS DAY 15 First the good news and the bad news: No shootings. No arrests. Well, actually, that's not quite right. They have in fact arrested the guy who gave them false information after the last shooting: Virginia authorities on Friday arrested and charged a witness accused of intentionally misleading investigators by falsely claiming he saw a cream-colored van with a timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-855782632002-10-18T16:19:00.000-07:002002-10-18T16:19:51.896-07:00EMAIL me TWIN CITIES SPIN Read this article and I think you'd get the impression that this candidates debate in Minnesota last night was dominated by foreign policy issues, specifically, the proposed war against Iraq. Here are the opening paragraphs: The major party candidates for U.S Senate talked about a variety of terrorism-related concerns at a League of Women Voters debate in Rochester.timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-855780002002-10-18T14:38:00.000-07:002002-10-19T20:27:40.000-07:00EMAIL me DOUBLE STANDARDS As readers of this article will realise, I've never held with the idea that the Australian government's current approach to refugees and asylum seekers speaks to a deep-seated racism within the electorate. As much as I hate the policy and would like to see it replaced with a more humane, less frightened approach, I have not seen it as pointing to fundamental moral timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-855763462002-10-18T07:14:00.000-07:002002-10-18T07:14:45.270-07:00EMAIL me A FEW QUICK NOTES For some reason, traffic to this site has increased markedly over the last few weeks. This is great, and I hope people stick around and continue to find stuff of interest. With the increase in site traffic has come an increase in email traffic too, and I just wanted to say that I will respond to everyone over the next few days. I appreciate people taking the time timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-855738312002-10-17T14:05:00.000-07:002002-10-18T07:54:10.000-07:00EMAIL me SHOOTINGS -- MATTERS ARISING cont'd Here's a pretty fascinating interview with the family of the Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski, who talk about their growing suspicion that it was a member of their own family responsible for a series of bombings that occurred over an 18-year period (18 years! Doesn't bear thinking about). The article is basically suggesting that some family member of timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-855736482002-10-17T13:19:00.000-07:002002-10-17T13:19:33.816-07:00EMAIL me SHOOTINGS DAY 15 No more shootings in almost 48 hours now. Obviously this is great, but with the guy/s still not caught it raises the spectre of one of the more disturbing scenarios: what if he just stops? How long do we keep schools locked down and ducking and weaving as we fill up our cars? Any extended cessation would simply increase the tension, not reduce it. The fact is, timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-855732382002-10-17T11:41:00.000-07:002002-10-17T11:41:20.283-07:00EMAIL me TWO POINTS ABOUT IRAQ AND NORTH KOREA I know I'll muddy my honest lefty credentials with this, but I reckon Hitchen's was right the other night on Hardball (about this anyway - some of the rest of the time he was near to incoherent, but who could think straight with the Chris Matthews thrashing machine bleating in your ear everytime you tried to speak). Anyway, here's what he said: timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-3855731072002-10-17T11:08:00.000-07:002002-10-17T13:36:58.000-07:00EMAIL me A NOTICE for AUSTRALIANS in WASHINGTON D.C.: re BALI COMMEMORATION The Prime Minister, the Hon. John Howard has said Sunday, 20 October will be a National Day of Mourning for those who died in the terrorist attack in Bali on the 12th October and the many injured, bereaved or otherwise affected by this evil event. A minute's silence will be observed in Australia at 12 noon. The timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-855722082002-10-17T07:38:00.000-07:002002-10-17T08:56:04.000-07:00EMAIL me CLIVE JAMES is a BIG FAT IDIOT A number of people have linked approvingly to this Clive James article in The Guardian. One of the things they seem to like is that Clive has some disparaging words for Australian intellectuals who have been less than complimentary about their nation of birth. Clive writes, for instance: "I couldn't resist caning the Australian gauchiste commentators timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-855693192002-10-16T12:56:00.000-07:002002-10-16T12:56:41.623-07:00EMAIL me ONE FOR THE COMPATRIOTS BACK HOME Matt Welch recommends Tim Blair's website for "passionate and intelligent" coverage of the Bali bombing. Each to his own, I guess. Australian blogworld might be interested, however, in this reflection the post attracted in its comments box: I've also been reading Aussie reaction but aside from Blair the literatti POV appears to be, "if we weren't timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-855690452002-10-16T11:38:00.000-07:002002-10-16T12:57:55.000-07:00EMAIL me SHOOTINGS -- SIDE EFFECTS Apparently Hollywood has decided not to release a new film about a sniper: "Phone Booth," which centers on a man who answers a ringing pay phone and learns he will be shot by a sniper if he hangs up. I'm glad they're pulling it because it sounds less like a movie plot and more like a phone company promotional campaign. Don't want to give them any ideas. timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-855686862002-10-16T10:02:00.000-07:002002-10-16T10:02:48.396-07:00EMAIL me BLOGGING CRYOGENICS A few people are making an admirable effort to save blogging from the curse of instant obsolescence. Ken Parish does his weekly picks of Australian blogs, and for the last few weeks Bigwig over at Silflay Hraka has been posting and hosting Carnival of Vanities - a compendium of the best of last week's posts on various websites, running the gamut from here to theretimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-855679552002-10-16T07:17:00.000-07:002002-10-16T07:21:38.000-07:00EMAIL me SHOOTINGS DAY 14 We have gone another twenty-four hours without incident, mercifully. Are the shootings causing people in my neck of the woods to change their habits? Well, here is one bit of completely anecdotal speculation that suggests maybe they are. I often use the Peapod internet grocery service--you place your order online and they deliver. Normally, I can choose a deliverytimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-855656722002-10-15T15:19:00.000-07:002002-10-15T17:38:27.000-07:00EMAIL me HOT BUTTERED ABSOLUTELY CORRECT James Russell provides a bit of balance and stocktaking about what's important in assessing the ramifications of the Bali atrocity. No-one "owns" this tragedy and there are plenty of valid reactions within the general sense of despair and outrage. (BTW: permalink seemed dodgy so I replaced it with a site link: scroll down to "Blair's sniping at The timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-855646572002-10-15T10:48:00.000-07:002002-10-15T11:29:20.000-07:00EMAIL me THE RIGHT ARE ALWAYS SO...RIGHT Glenn Reynolds, the brain behind Instapundit, seems to think that expressing sympathy for Australian deaths in Bali should be an opportunity to promote his fellow rightwing bloggers. He suggest that people might like to send flowers to the Australian Embassy here is Washington, which is a nice idea. Unfortunately, he then decides that this is an timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-855643352002-10-15T09:25:00.000-07:002002-10-15T13:29:17.000-07:00EMAIL me SHOOTINGS DAY 13 Police have confirmed what everyone suspected--and what I rather hoped--that the latest murder is linked to the previous shootings. Ballistic evidence confirms it: Virginia police have confirmed that the woman killed Monday night is the ninth fatality in the Washington D.C. area sniper attacks. Fairfax County Police Chief Tom Manger says ballistic evidence has timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-855622132002-10-14T20:00:00.000-07:002002-10-14T20:59:45.000-07:00EMAIL me DAY 12 - ANOTHER SHOOTING So much for suspects? Another woman has been killed by a single shot in an incident in Fairfax County, Virginia. More to follow. UPDATE: Have just been watching the CNN coverage. Nothing much is known with certainty but all the elements are there: a single shot; a white van; road blocks; no-one caught. Police are speaking to 2 witnesses. The latest timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-855619762002-10-14T18:22:00.000-07:002002-10-14T18:22:20.586-07:00EMAIL me A SUSPECT Baltimore police are questioning a man after being called to a domestic dispute on Saturday. The man was shot by his girlfriend. He drives a white Astro van. He is an ex-Marine marksman. He works as a two-way radio repair guy with a route through MD, DC and Virginia: As police staged a huge manhunt, stopping many white vans after such a vehicle was seen at the site of timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-855613542002-10-14T14:59:00.000-07:002002-10-14T14:59:29.820-07:00EMAIL me WASHINGTON SNIPER A DEMOCRAT ELECTION PLOY I got this story via Thinking it Through, run by Thomas Spencer, another new addition to my links. He mentions this article in the Chicago-Sun Times that quotes a pro-gun group who have suggested that the sniper shootings in the Washington DC area are part of a ploy to get gun-control advocates re-elected. The newsletter of the Illinois timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-855612752002-10-14T14:32:00.000-07:002002-10-14T14:32:34.893-07:00EMAIL me THE GOSPEL OF ANGELA SHANAHAN Can someone explain to me the logic of this article by Angela Shanahan about the Bali bombings? She begins with this observation: Kuta Beach has become almost a byword as a hang-out for the ugly Western tourist, particularly the Australian variety. You couldn't find anywhere that better represented all the nasty aspects of Western cultural imperialism. timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3517698.post-855606542002-10-14T11:33:00.000-07:002002-10-14T11:33:13.050-07:00EMAIL me SHOOTINGS DAY 12 Today is Columbus Day in Washington DC, and many businesses are closed. The schools are closed down too, but my son is out with a friend and his family visiting a dinosaur exhibition. My wife had to work, as did I. This is what we have come to mean by "continue with your normal life": you do it, but there is no comfort in it, let alone courage. At least there havetimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12033798022843848207noreply@blogger.com