Fear, Loathing and Mourning

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State-Controlled Search Engines

I think that a Chinese government official has seen the Anna Nicole Smith Show and knows that she has her own website. The Chinese male populace could be corrupted by something like that.

IYAO, where I got this link, adds this advice:

There doesn't seem to be any official statement on either AltaVista's or Google's webpage, but hopefully they'll do the proper American thing by responding, "Screw you, you stupid Commie bastards!" and then make one result of every search something embarrassing to the Chinese government.

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I'm tired of 9/11

A lot has been made of this being compared to different historical events and pinpointing your exact location when it happened. Where was I when the towers fell? Same place I was every morning at 6:00 AM Pacific time. On the freeway - in traffic. I was glued to the television for weeks, as I'm familiar with the area, but after we overran Afghanistan, I grew tired of the whole thing rather quickly. However, what really killed it for me was the fact that I have cable TV and 24 hour news. Watching those towers fall fifty times a day for a month straight is kind of mind numbing.

I don't think it's just me. I think a lot of people who were not directly or indirectly affected by this attack might feel the same way. If you did not lose a loved one in the attacks, if you do not live in the greater New York, or Washington D.C. areas, if you do not somehow have a connection to the people or the cities involved on that day, if neither you nor anyone in your family are members or veterans of the United States Armed Forces, then it's likely that you might not feel the same way I do.

I also became convinced over time that this whole deal was a "New York Thing." Had this happened in any other American city, save Washington, D.C., the amount of media coverage, as well as dollars poured into the city wouldn't have been so staggering. Had Osama and his boys decided to fly into the Sears Tower in Chicago, I can guarantee that the rush to rebuild would not have been so hasty, and money from private and public sources would not be quite as forthcoming. Can you imagine "The Concert for Chicago?" It doesn't sound the same.

While the events surrounding September 11, 2001 are indeed an American tragedy, and have to be the most significant of my adult life, media over-saturation has reduced it to yet another sound bite. Students in the future may not even have to remember this date in history class. In any case, it's not the most important historical date in my entire life, as I can name two others: July 20, 1969 - Man sets foot on the moon, and November 22, 1963 - President John F. Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas.

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The city of my birth is in the news again. That's right - Providence, Rhode Island. And again it's bad news. The mayor of the city has been sentenced to five years on corruption charges.

All this in a city that takes corruption to a new level. Historically, in Providence, organized corruption and graft has been perpetuated by elected officials. What was once criminal is now legitimate. If only Al Capone had thought of that.

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Some people are going out of their way to commemorate the anniversary of the September 11 attacks.

The quotes in the Republic article are supportive of this man's tribute and are in awe of it. But others who live in this community, including myself, think that it is tacky, overdone, and is merely an attempt to garner media coverage. IT'S 13 FEET TALL! This is in a normally quiet suburban neighborhood. A nearby community fined a citizen because his flagpole did not meet homeowner's association requirements. However, I'm sure this will be just fine.

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MARTHA STEWART UPDATE! Congressional investigators have found evidence of a telephone call between Martha Stewart and Samuel Waksal. They are deciding whether to subpoena her or submit evidence to the Justice Department.

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This shows how slowly the wheels of government turn.

A year after hijacked planes crashed into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, immigration policy reform has taken center stage in the discussion on how to combat domestic terrorism.

Almost every anti-terrorism proposal by the federal government has had an immigration component, mostly targeting "non-immigrants," or foreign nationals on temporary visas. Hundreds of people, the majority Middle Eastern immigrants who overstayed their visas, have been arrested and deported.

Little-known, little-enforced portions of immigration law enacted in the past decade, such as requiring that all non-immigrants report a change of address within 10 days or face possible deportation, have been quickly resurrected by the Justice Department.

"Certainly, we now better understand and recognize the role that immigration plays in national security," [INS Spokesman Jeff] Bergeron said. "Access for temporary visitors has become more restrictive. But legal immigrants in compliance with the law have nothing to worry about. We still have the most liberal immigration policy in the world."

Not for much longer if the crackdown on foreign nationals continues at the current pace, immigrant advocates warn.

They liken the government's search for terrorists in immigrant circles to finding a needle in a haystack. The strategy will fail and, even worse, will continue to increase trepidation among immigrants, legal and illegal, said Angela Kelley, deputy director of the National Immigration Forum in Washington, D.C.

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Apparently Phoenix isn't the only area that is experiencing high unemployment in the high-tech sector. Nick Denton offers his own statistics, based on data from people he knows and works with from San Francisco. (via InstantMan)

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Andrew Sullivan has an article up at Salon.

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Glenn Reynolds, the Instapundit, has a column up at Fox News.

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James Hetfield of Metallica has worked out a sweet deal for himself.

The Marin County Board of Supervisors yesterday agreed to accept a 438.5-acre easement from Metallica lead singer and rhythm guitarist James Hetfield.

By giving the property rights to the county's Department of Parks, Open Space & Cultural Development, Hetfield is assured the land will be preserved and its care will be the responsibility of the district.

Zoning there has allowed for up to 44 single-family homes on the site.

Hetfield and his wife, Francesca, plan to build a 14,000-square-foot house, swimming pool and another 6,000-square-foot building that would house a music studio, garage and caretaker's residence on the portion of land that they retained for development.

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I wonder if the Saudis have come up with this idea yet.

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