Category: News

Voting Problems in Ohio Spur Call for Overhaul. From malfunctioning machines to poorly trained poll workers, Ohio has become this year's example for electoral flaws. By JAMES DAO, FORD FESSENDEN and TOM ZELLER Jr.. [NYT > Home Page]

CSM. The aggressive democratic opposition to the Saudi kleptocrats gets labelled as “terrorists” by the US. What's going on? [John Robb's Weblog]

LA Times. Exporting 4th generation warfare to El Salvador. Government officials, including Deputy Citizens' Security Minister Rodrigo Avila, blame the violence at least in part on the deportation of nearly 12,000 Salvadorans with criminal records from the United States since 1998. Many are prison-hardened former gang members in Los Angeles and other U.S. cities who… Continue reading LA Times

Bush to Renominate 20 Judges Whom Democrats Have Resisted. The statement by the White House made clear the president is ready for a showdown next year with Democratic senators. By DAVID STOUT. [NYT > Home Page]

CSM. Kurdish Intelligence officers suggest thousands of groups in Iraq's bazaar and not hundreds. The insurgent groups compose themselves in very small cells of two or three people. “Each cell has an “emir,” – a word that usually means a cleric, but in this case denotes a leader. The emir is the one with the… Continue reading CSM

Lind analyzes Fallujah. Of course, Fallujah itself was largely destroyed in the American assault. The American military did the only thing a Second Generation military can do: it put firepower on targets. 2GW armed services are one-trick ponies: they only have one act, and they perform it regardless of whether it fits the circumstances or… Continue reading Lind

Economy update. This season's shopping season, after a good start is tanking: Nationwide, total sales fell 3.3 percent for Saturday and Sunday compared with the same two days a year earlier, according to ShopperTrak, which tracks sales at 30,000 retail outlets nationwide. Here's a personal observation. I went to get my hair cut at a… Continue reading Economy update. This season's shopping season, after a good start is tanking: Nationwide,
total sales fell 3.3 percent for Saturday and Sunday compared with the
same two days a year earlier, according to ShopperTrak, which tracks
sales at 30,000 retail outlets nationwide. Here's a personal observation.

I went to get my hair cut at a local upscale salon today. My
hairdresser (of the last 5 years) pointed out all the empty chairs in
the salon. This was really unusual, since the place typically has lines
out the door in the days before the holidays. “What happened” I asked.
“The election” she answered. After the election, there was a wave of
cancellations. [John Robb's Weblog

Ed Foster: “When Baker walked into that CompUSA almost two years ago, there was basically no way for her to see the Windows XP or Norton AntiVirus EULA before she put her money down.” [Scripting News]

Congress enacts comprehensive travel surveillance law. This Tuesday, 7 December 2004, as its final act before adjourning until after newly-elected members take office in January, the lame-duck Congress of the USA gave final approval for the creation of a comprehensive system of government credentialling, tracking, and control of domestic and international travellers, as part of… Continue reading Congress enacts comprehensive travel surveillance law

JOURNAL: Shaping of the Battlefield in Saudi Arabia (Part II). “In Saudi Arabia, it is the king and not Allah who commands sovereignty and complete obedience..” In a new audio tape posted on the Web (which is more reliable than Aljazeera as a means of distribution), Osama bin Laden laid out his case against the… Continue reading JOURNAL: Shaping of the Battlefield in Saudi Arabia (Part II)