Category: News

'Plan of Attack': The Shot Heard Round Washington. Bob's Woodward's book lives up to the hype, offering by far the most intimate glimpse we have been granted of the secretive Bush White House. By Ted Widmer. [New York Times: Books]

Consumers Union: “President Bush's plan unveiled today to provide affordable high-speed Internet access to all Americans by 2007 fails to address a primary hurdle cited by consumer groups to achieving that goal: a 'hidden tax' the administration allows cable operators to impose on customers by forcing them to buy the services or packages they create… Continue reading Consumers Union

Global Guerrillas: Dynamic Network Analysis. How to analyze covert networks in the face of incomplete information. [John Robb's Weblog]

Electricity infrastructure rehabilitation is being delayed by departures (Siemens) and slow-downs (GE) by some of its prime contractors.  Terrorist attacks on contractors are having the intended effect (10% of non-Iraqi contractors are currently outside Iraq).  Disregard the spin to the contrary. [John Robb's Weblog]

Special Elections in case of Disaster? No thanks.. The older I get, the less I like direct democracy. Consider the bill passed yesterday by the US House that provides for special elections within 45 days in case the Congress is decimated by some catastrophe. James Sensenbrenner (R, WI,) never a friend of individual rights, and… Continue reading Special Elections in case of Disaster? No thanks.

Diebold Machine May Get Boot. A voting panel urges California officials to stop using a voting machine made by Diebold Election Systems, and recommends that the state consider filing civil and criminal charges against the company. Kim Zetter reports from Sacramento. [Wired News]

David Isenberg.  “The Costs of Empire” Keep in mind that January saw the start of the U.S. military’s biggest unit rotation since World War II. According to Riggs, eight of the 10 active-duty Army divisions are now rotating in and out of Iraq, while one-third of the Army National Guard's combat battalions have been called… Continue reading The Costs of Empire

Federal task force to head event security. WASHINGTON — Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge warned yesterday that the country is entering a period that will be ripe with potential targets for a high-profile terrorist attack and announced that he is forming a federal task force to coordinate security for them. [Boston Globe — Front Page]

A serious failure of journalism. I don't know how smartmobby this is, but I know it's important. A research team led by John McManus at Stanford University watched every story in the most watched evening newscasts of the four most popular SF Bay Area stations and confirmed what everybody knows: informing people about what they… Continue reading A serious failure of journalism

Bush: Renew Patriot Act or Else. It's a vital tool in the war on terror, says the Prez. If Congress doesn't renew the Patriot Act's hefty law-enforcement powers, he claims the legislators will put the nation at risk of attack. Republicans as well as Dems disagree. [Wired News]