Clik here to view.
Stories We Live By: Inhofe v. Halaby
In earlier installments we learned about the FAA documents and (astonishing) audio recordings concerning Sen. James Inhofe's illegal landing on a closed and under-repair runway in Texas, while work...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Michelle Obama's Plane Was Not in 'Danger'
(See UPDATE below.) What is up with the WaPo's scare coverage of aviation? A story on line just now leads this way, emphasis added:"A White House plane carrying Michelle Obama came dangerously close to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
To Honor Tim Hetherington
In light of the tragic news that photographer and film maker Tim Hetherington was killed today by government shelling in Libya, and that colleagues Chris Hondros and Guy Martin were gravely wounded...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Tim Hetherington in Sierra Leone
I mentioned earlier the powerful movie Restrepo that Tim Hetherington, who was killed today in Libya, and Sebastian Junger had produced.To get a further idea of what Hetherington's work in "documenting...
View ArticleClik here to view.
More on the Michelle Obama 'Close Call' That Wasn't
Taiwan's challenger to the Onion, Next Media Animation, has a solution to the problem of U.S. air traffic controllers dozing off because of overnight work shifts. Just outsource the jobs to China, as...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Liberals' Equivalent of Birtherism...
... yes, it's our old friend the boiled frog. You might just possibly have come across mention of the poor hot frogs previously in this space. But just in case: the story's not true!! A frog won't, in...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Drones in Libya: What Then?
A month ago, as the air strikes were about just starting in Libya, I explained why I hoped this would all go smoothly but was apprehensive about the commitment that the Administration, without even the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Your Gmail Hacking Finale: Official Advice from Google
In the week and a half since my wife's Gmail account was taken over, I've learned a lot about "cloud" security in general, the difference between average-user and expert-insider views on the topic, the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Carl Pope and the Boiled Frogs
Yesterday I mentioned that Carl Pope, chairman of the Sierra Club, had taken the boiled frogs' name in vain as part of his Earth Day appeal. He (graciously) writes back: p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Political Case for the Libya Effort
I have been apprehensive, a month ago, and now, about what the Administration, still with no Congressional approval, is getting the nation into in Libya. A reader makes a political case in favor of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Want to See How Crazy a Bot-Run Market Can Be?
Then check out, if you haven't seen it already, the description by Michael Eisen, a biologist at UC Berkeley, of his efforts to buy an old science book, about flies, from Amazon. Automatic pricing...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Holiday Cheer
Happy Easter today!Happy Passover this past week!Best wishes on last week's First Day of Ridvan!And so on. Among the reasons my family enjoyed living in Malaysia long ago is that its population...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Well, This Explains a Lot
Former Atlantic Wire whiz Ben Carlson, now at The Daily, reports on evidence from the world of science showing that a marker of your overall wonderfulness as a man is whether your ring finger is longer...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Voices from China #2: 'The Chewiness is What People Desire'
Earlier this month I quoted the views of Shi Hongshen, a young friend in Shanghai who explained some of the ambitions and curious nostalgia of members of his "post-80s" generation in China. A number of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Two Fascinating Exhibits on Data Security
1) From Google (via Network World) [and via The Atlantic this morning!] , a new video of security procedures at its data centers. This is fascinating for several reasons, most of which I will let you...
View ArticleClik here to view.
On the Birth Certificate Idiocracy
1) "And you know it." The "affably" acid comments in the first 20 seconds of this clip (from the White House) almost justify the whole birther extravaganza. Well, actually, they don't --and don't even...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Case for a Home Page Editor, NYT Dept.
Part of the NYT's online home page, right now at 10:25pm. Note placement of the stories with arrows, of which there will be clearer views below. Closer look at the two stories. First:And a few inches...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Birther Idiocracy Followup: 'Not Socially Acceptable to Call Him a Nigger'
After yesterday's "crock of shit" episode, starring Donald Trump and the media who have served as his carnival barkers*, these addenda:1) Why now? A reader whose email address suggests that he is a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Return of Clippy
See UPDATE below.For better or worse, he's back. Microsoft introduces "Ribbon Hero 2: Clippy's Second Chance." See below for intro to the plot line (click for larger and more legible). Poor Clippy is...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Osama News
1. Hooray. It is almost never right to celebrate a death. Almost.2. The speech. When listening to Obama's statement in real time (at a tavern in Southern California, with my sisters and brother after a...
View Article