Sorkin on MSNBC

Nocera on Colbert

The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Joe Nocera

Colbert Report Full Episodes
Political Humor

Rap Battle
NASA Name Contest

Bethany McLean

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Bethany McLean

Daily Show Full Episodes
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Funny Political News
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The Crisis of Credit Visualized from Jonathan Jarvis on Vimeo.

Stuart on Lewinsky

Business Meeting

If you're into it

Michael Cera's video resume

The path to success made clear.

Stick a ribbon on your SUV

Shooting LA for Baghdad

Anti Suicide Bombing PSA -- shot LA for Baghdad:


Behind the scenes of the PSA:

Billy Jealousy // Male Grooming Products

Billy Jealousy // Male Grooming Products

Heat Vision and Jack

Fox pilot produced by not broadcast.

THREE YEARS OF WAR IN IRAQ: A TIMELINE

THREE YEARS OF WAR IN IRAQ: A TIMELINE

JANUARY 17, 2004: 500 U.S. soldiers dead in Iraq since the invasion [Commondreams.org, 1/19/04]

JANUARY 22, 2004: CIA officers warn of civil war

CIA officers in Iraq are warning that the country may be on a path to civil war, current and former U.S. officials said Wednesday, starkly contradicting the upbeat assessment that President Bush gave in his State of the Union address. [Knight-Ridder, 1/22/04]

JANUARY 28, 2004: Iraq Survey Group inspector David Kay reports

It turns out that we were all wrong, probably in my judgment, and that is most disturbing. [Kay, 1/28/04]

theshow

theshow

Overheard in New York: The Voice of the City

Overheard in New York: The Voice of the City: "Promoter guy: Do you guys want to see a comedy show?
Tourist mom: Oh, sorry, we have an opera tonight.
Promoter guy: Oh! Fidelio?
Tourist mom: No, Phantom.

--45th & Broadway"

The Sartorialist

The Sartorialist: "It has been a slow and incredibly painful experiment to watch but I think some girls are finally getting how to wear a dress over jeans. It never seems to work in the summer, so maybe it is just a layering thing to be done in Fall/Winter.

I should have asked this girl how influenced she was by the recent Marc Jacobs show or if a little guy with longish brown hair and new giant glasses had been stalking her right up until fashion week."

the abaya diaries

the abaya diariesmaya alleruzzo

Rolling Stone : The Girl Who Tried to Save the World

Rolling Stone :: "Humanitarian-aid work is a passion, not a career path. Ruzicka approached the work with an almost manic dedication. Unable to sleep, she'd be up at dawn and awake at 3 or 4 a.m. Her Day-Timer was filled with 'to do' lists, hundreds of contact names and fund-raising goals -- as well as personal buck-up notes, some almost Bridget Jones-like in content (she kept a running tally of the number of cigarettes she smoked per day). Still on a shoestring budget, she bounced from friend to friend, many of whom she'd met in Afghanistan, crashing on their couches at the Hamra or in their spare rooms. Pamela Hess, a reporter for UPI who'd met Ruzicka in Kabul in 2002, bumped into her while swimming in the Hamra pool. 'She'd gone from anti-war, almost radical, to a woman who could deal with the U.S. military as a partner in her work,' she says. 'I was impressed at how much she had matured in the intervening year.'

On August 19th, 2003, the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad was hit in a massive suicide attack, signifying a dramatic shift in the war. Westerners -- even those occupying positions of neutrality -- were now targets. By the end of the year, most of the Western aid workers in Iraq had pulled out. Ruzicka decided to stay. In the breezy, upbeat notes she'd post to CIVIC's Web site, she would often begin with a chronicle of Iraq's escalating danger but conclude with detailed accounts of the week's work with victims. 'Their tragedies are my responsibilities,' she wrote.

But by April 2004, Iraq had become increasingly dangerous for Americans. As the mortar attacks and suicide bombs grew in frequency, those who remained rarely left their fortified compounds. Ruzicka was warned, most likely by an Iraqi friend, to get out of Iraq for a while. Reluctantly, she agreed, posting a note to her Web site on April 8th declaring her decision to return to Washington 'and try to make a home...sort of.' But a few weeks later she was back in Iraq. 'I didn't want the hard work we'd put into motion to stall,' she wrote in her journal. During the next two months, she jetted in and out of Baghdad, ignoring warnings that the situation had become too risky. 'Just think of all the work you will be able to do when the situation is better because you were not killed by a bomb,' one friend urged."

Carbs, Communism and Other Things America Can't Stand: 1 - Marla Ruzicka

Carbs, Communism and Other Things America Can't Stand: 1 - Marla Ruzicka: "With sun bleached blonde hair, and a California drawl the 5'3 100lb Marla Ruzicka might have seemed less at home in the Iraqi capital then at a California beach. Her manner, on first glance, would only appear to confirm this estimation as she once asked an American commander during a press conference, if he 'needed a hug.' She often referred to Baghdad as 'Baggers,' and was nicknamed 'bubbles' by the Iraq press corps, mostly because of her themed parties and her tendency to dispense back rubs to beleagured journalists.
She celebrated her professional breakthrough by proclaiming to a friend, 'Dude...this is huge!' Marla was referring to a detailed report she had obtained that had stated that civilian casulaties in Iraq from the week of February 28th - April 5th was 29. The report proved that the Pentagon kept track of civilian casulties, something they have repeatedly denied.
Marla had dedicated the last two years of her life to an organization she had founded called CIVIC. The Campaign for Innocent Victims In Conflict. A campaign which had won an ally in the senate in Patrick Leahy (D-VT) he said of Marla, 'what she wanted to do was eminently sensible...unfortunately things that are emminently sensible sometimes get lost in the bureaucracy without a champion. She was a champion. I would follow her anywhere.' When she died, he said of her on the senate floor that, that she, 'was as close to a living saint as they come.'
It was Marla's hope that Patrick Leahy would be an ally in what would be her ultimate goal which was to establish a government office that would document the civilian casualties of American military operations. An office that would then publicly report that information and then provide compensation for the victims and their families, and then study the data in an effort to minimize future civilian casualties. Sounds tough...no?"

Around the world on 80 Shequels

Around the world on 80 Shequels

Baghdad Year Zero: Naomi Klein

Baghdad Year Zero -- Pillaging Iraq in pursuit of a neocon utopia (Harpers.org): "I was also reminded of the most common explanation for what has gone wrong in Iraq, a complaint echoed by everyone from John Kerry to Pat Buchanan: Iraq is mired in blood and deprivation because George W. Bush didn’t have “a postwar plan.” The only problem with this theory is that it isn’t true. The Bush Administration did have a plan for what it would do after the war; put simply, it was to lay out as much honey as possible, then sit back and wait for the flies.

The honey theory of Iraqi reconstruction stems from the most cherished belief of the war’s ideological architects: that greed is good. Not good just for them and their friends but good for humanity, and certainly good for Iraqis. Greed creates profit, which creates growth, which creates jobs and products and services and everything else anyone could possibly need or want. The role of good government, then, is to create the optimal conditions for corporations to pursue their bottomless greed, so that they in turn can meet the needs of the society. The problem is that governments, even neoconservative governments, rarely get the chance to prove their sacred theory right: despite their enormous ideological advances, even George Bush’s Republicans are, in their own minds, perennially sabotaged by meddling Democrats, intractable unions, and alarmist environmentalists."

Pro-War Liberals Frozen in the Headlights

Pro-War Liberals Frozen in the Headlights (Harpers.org): "Packer's book is nothing if not the autobiography of a liberal dupe. Its central narrative concerns the political journey of Packer's Svengali, Kanan Makiya, whose ascent from Iraqi Trotskyist and anti-Saddam exile to Cambridge (Mass.) intellectual to friend of Ahmed Chalabi to intimate adviser to Bush's “cabal” of right-wing radicals is related in excruciating detail.

Like Paul Wolfowitz, Douglas Feith, and Richard Perle, Makiya fancies himself a “revolutionary” using bullets made in the forges of the Enlightenment. But the whole neo-con notion of “shocking” the Arab and Muslim worlds onto the true and only path of “democracy” parallels the merciless Bolshevik mentality of 1917 more than it follows on the tolerant ruminations of Montesquieu, Voltaire, and Rousseau.

So what if tens of thousands of bystanders get killed in the wake of the overwhelming historical forces of progress? Like Lenin and Trotsky, the neo-cons want world revolution, not slow evolution.

Packer reports (without evident irony) that Makiya told Bush that invading Iraq would “transform the image of America in the Arab world” (boy, did it ever), and he quotes his brainy pal as explaining to the president that once freed of Saddam Hussein, “people will greet the troops with sweets and flowers.” Yet even after 2 1/2 years of carnage, the tender, doubt-filled George Packer is still seduced by his “idealistic” Iraqi soulmate.

Despite the “recklessness of its authors,” Packer writes, “the Iraq war was always winnable; it still is.”

I'll grant Packer this much: He has a terrific, if unwitting, ear for the absurd and the grotesque. In The Assassins' Gate we learn that Makiya wept while he sat with Bush in front of a TV and watched Saddam's statue pulled down, in what we now know was a staged photo op — also that “the sound of the first bombs falling on Baghdad was, to Makiya, a joyful noise.” "

Interview: Stephen Gaghan

Stephen Gaghan interview: "I met so many people who were just certain, they were certain; They had this great speech; they would tell you how the world works, and it was so convincing. So convincing. And then an hour later, you’d meet somebody else and he would tell you how the world works, and they were so convincing, too. And the problem was that their worldviews were a hundred and eighty degrees from each other, and this is really unsettling. And it happened again and again and again, and I thought “Holy shit – could it be that nobody is seeing the whole picture? Could it be that all these people who have this fucking talk – this often ideological talk – are masking some self-interest? That all these people who are posturing like Talleyrand -- they don’t have the whole picture?"

Control Room on MovieNite

MovieNite: Control Room (2004): "Samir Khader, a senior producer for the controversial Arab network, is an equally complex figure, motivated by an apparent mix of cynicism and idealism. “You can’t wage a war without news, without media, without propaganda,” he declares. Khader presses for war coverage that emphasizes its human toll, including casualties inflicted on Iraqi women and children. Nevertheless, the Iraqi-born journalist later confesses that he dreams of moving to America. “Between us,” he says, “if I am offered a job with Fox, I will take it.”"

Babylon by Bus

Babylon by Bus Or, the true story of two friends who gave up their valuable franchise selling "Yankees suck" T-shirts at Fenway to find meaning and adventure in Iraq

by Jeff Neumann, Ray LeMoine, Donovan Webster

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Press HC, The (August 3, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1594200912

Amazon Link

Yankees Suck T-shirts here and here.

Totally Unauthorized

Totally Unauthorized: "I work in the film industry, as a crew member. I'm also an 'independent filmaker', but I make my money by busting my ass on big movies - many of which I've never seen."

Guardian | Iraq timeline: July 16 1979 to January 31 2004

Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Iraq timeline: July 16 1979 to January 31 2004: "Iraq timeline: July 16 1979 to January 31 2004January 31 2004
Twelve people died and at least 50 were injured yesterday in two attacks by Iraqi insurgents in northern Iraq.
Nine killed in bomb attack on Iraq police

January 30 2004
Condoleezza Rice, one of US president George Bush's most trusted lieutenants and a strong advocate of the invasion of Iraq, admits that the intelligence that said Iraq had WMDs may have been wrong. 'What we have is evidence that there are differences between what we knew going in and what we found on the ground,' she tells CBS News.
Rice admits US doubts on WMD

January 28 2004
David Kay, the former head of the US weapons inspection teams in Iraq, tells a senate committee 'we were almost all wrong' in believing before the war that Saddam Hussein had chemical or biological arms.
We were all wrong, says ex-weapons inspector

January 19 2004
Tens of thousands of Shia Muslims demonstrate in Baghdad to demand prompt elections.
100,000 demand Iraqi elections

January 18 2004
A suicide bomber detonates a pick-up truck laden with 500kg of explosives at the main gate of the US headquarters in Iraq, killing at least 20 people and injuring more than 100.
Suicide bomb at US headquarters kills 20 and injures more than 100

January 17 2004
The number of US soldiers killed in Iraq since the invasion in March climbs to 500 when a roadside bomb killed three US soldiers and two Iraqi troops.
Bomb takes US toll in Iraq war to 500

January 9 2004
At least five people were killed and dozens more injured when a bomb exploded near a mosque in the central Iraqi town of Baquba.
Five killed in Iraq mosque blast

January 6 2004
Two French nationals working in Iraq were shot and killed after their car broke down in the troubled town of Falluja, the French foreign ministry announces.
French workers shot in Iraq

January 5 2004
Three American soldiers have been discharged after being found guilty of viciously beating and harassing Iraqi prisoners of war, it is revealed.
US soldiers sent home for beating prisoners of war

January 1 2004
Two experienced members of the SAS were are in a crash in Baghdad
SAS men killed in Baghdad crash"

2003 Invasion of Iraq - Wikipedia

2003 Invasion of Iraq - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: "The United Nations announced a report on March 2, 2004 from the weapons inspection teams stating that Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction of any significance after 1994. [40]"

Rumsfeld's War On 'Insurgents'

Rumsfeld's War On 'Insurgents': "When UPI's Pam Hess asked about torture by Iraqi authorities, Rumsfeld replied that 'obviously, the United States does not have a responsibility' other than to voice disapproval.

But Pace had a different view. 'It is the absolute responsibility of every U.S. service member, if they see inhumane treatment being conducted, to intervene, to stop it,' the general said.

Rumsfeld interjected: 'I don't think you mean they have an obligation to physically stop it; it's to report it.'

But Pace meant what he said. 'If they are physically present when inhumane treatment is taking place, sir, they have an obligation to try to stop it,' he said, firmly.

Rumsfeld was defense secretary in 2003 when the United States invaded Iraq, and he has remained in that job for the occupation of the past 32 months. But in his briefing yesterday, he at times sounded as if he were merely observing the Iraq war on television."

Smithsonian: Baghdad January 2004

Baghdad Beyond the Headlines: "From gleeful schoolkids to a literary scholar who loves Humphrey Bogart, a photographer captures a reawakening but still wary city"

Photojournalist Lois Raimondo had little idea what to expect. Her impressions had come mainly from daily news reports of the fighting and casualties and the coalition government's struggles to gain a footing on unstable ground. Journalists in the city warned her to be off the streets by dark.

A few hours after arriving in Baghdad, she found herself at a run-down estate in a Baghdad suburb. The sun had set, marinated carp was roasting on the fire, and whiskey and Iraqi beer were flowing. The ebullient host, Sala, an Iraqi businessman newly returned after 15 years in London, urged everyone to eat and drink. They talked above the crack of distant rifle and machine-gun fire. But when mortars began to boom, guests began to leave. "Please stay," Sala said, laughing and crying at the same time. "It's a party."

His strong mixed emotions made a fitting introduction to Baghdad. Raimondo had gone there to see how people were getting by in their daily lives. Do they have enough to eat? What are they doing for work? What are their dreams for the future?

In a neighborhood of stucco houses, the headmistress of a primary school told Raimondo that she was angry about the destruction of Saddam's regime. She described him as a father figure to her as well as her students. "People love Saddam because they are afraid of him," the journalist's driver, a 42-year-old man named Ali, explained. "This is a very strong kind of love. We are always afraid to say our feelings."

Raimondo visited a married couple in their 40s, both unemployed meteorologists. The mother worried constantly about their two young children because of the bombings and shootings. The father had been a Baathist and a general in Saddam's air force. He'd been hiding in the house since the start of the war. "Everything outside is chaotic," he said. As Raimondo left he said, "This was not so difficult. You are the first American we have ever met."

Raimondo noticed how people were speaking up after decades of suppression. "From now on, there will be a big difference," a furniture maker said. "At the very least I can talk."

Neurotic Iraqi Wife

Neurotic Iraqi Wife:

Anyways, Constitution Day was on Saturday and I VOTED, YAAAAAAAAAY. (guess which hand is mine???actually its the one wearing a beige sweater,lol since Im freezing all the time).I didnt think I would be allowed to vote since I havent registered but hey I aint complaining. We went as a group from work, at first we thought we could cast our votes in the convention center in the GZ, but as we got in line, a guy came up to us and asked whether we were members of the National Assembly. We shook our heads, and said no, so apparantely the place was just for VIP's but after 3pm regular people could go in. We decided that it was far much of a hassle to wait and decided to go and vote in one of the schools that was a voting center.

Whenever I talk to someone they ask how is the "aroosa doing", aroosa=bride and then how is the "irees doing" irees=groom. And the most normal expression after that "hessa shidoo il himma oo jeeboo jahal" oh god which literally translates into "cmon work hard at IT and get some kids".....hmmm how do they suppose we can have kids if me and HUBBY are separated by thousands of miles, is there an einstein somewhere that has a solution?

IRAQ THE MODEL

IRAQ THE MODEL: "Baghdad looks almost like one huge billboard now that one can easily get distracted by them from his original destination! As to drivers, these posters can cause serious troubles if a driver wanted to read each one (or set) of them while driving.

The noticed poster event today was that the United Alliance has begun to use the Ayatollah’s and other religious symbols in their posters again although they were instructed not to do that by other parties.
However, this time they didn’t claim their list to be blessed by the clergy instead they described the Alliance’s candidates as the “soldiers of the clergy”."

Ray, Donovan, Jeff

Albemarle/Charlottesville Democratic Breakfast, March 19, 2005
Ray Lemoine (left) and Jeff Neumann (right) flanking Donovan Webster
LINK

Marla Ruzicka

Marla Ruzicka (December 31, 1976 – April 16, 2005), of Lakeport, California, was an American Green Party activist and aid worker who was killed by a car bomb blast in Baghdad. She founded the Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict (CIVIC), an organization that assists Iraqi victims of the 2003 US invasion of Iraq.

Telegraph Iraq timeline

2003
UNMOVIC weapons inspectors led by Dr Hans Blix report limited co-operation in their search for WMD. America and Britain call for a new UN resolution authorising war and get backing of Spain and Bulgaria. But France, Russia, China, Germany and Syria are opposed. America sends 225,000 troops to the Gulf and Britain commits 45,000.

A 21-day conflict ends on April 11 with the fall of Baghdad. Saddam's whereabouts are unknown but his sons, Uday and Qusay, are later killed during a US-led raid on a house in Mosul. In October, an interim report by David Kay, the head of a CIA-led inspection team, shows that after four months of searching, no banned weapons have been found.

The hunt for the 'Ace of Spades' ends on December 14 when Saddam Hussein is captured by US forces at his cramped, 8ft-deep hideaway under the floor of a mud hut on the outskirts of his home town, Tikrit.

2004
April sees the coalition tainted by revelations of prisoner abuse, most notably at Abu Ghraib prison.

In an effort to thwart terrorist attacks, the Coalition hands over sovereignty one day ahead of the June 30 deadline.

Saddam Hussein appears before an Iraqi judge. The pictures are shown on television worldwide, stunning Iraqis. Six days later, Tony Blair admits that WMDs may never be found.

American and Iraqi forces carry out a two-week operation in Fallujah in November to flush out insurgents.

2005 Eight million Iraqis defy the insurgents' bombs and go to the polls in the first free elections for five decades on Jan 30. Dozens are killed in suicide attacks, but a Shia-led government is elected.

Ten servicemen are killed when a Royal Air Force Hercules aircraft crashed near Baghdad the day of the elections.

Three soldiers who abused prisoners at an Iraqi aid centre, Camp Breadbasket, are jailed and thrown out of the Army in disgrace.

Iraq's new government finally agrees on who will fill the remaining cabinet posts, months after the Jan 30 elections.

Pictures of Saddam Hussein in his underpants, taken in his prison cell, are published in The Sun newspaper.

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of the al-Qa'eda wing in Iraq, is reported to have been wounded.

Iraq's new government, responding to allegations of weakness, deploys 40,000 troops in a ring of steel around the capital in the largest indigenous security operation since the fall of Saddam Hussein.

Nearly 25,000 Iraqi civilians have died in the two years since US and British troops invaded Iraq - an average of 34 people a day - according to figures published by British academics.

The constitutional committee fails twice to meet deadlines for agreement on a new constitution. On August 15 they give themselves an extra week to strike a deal, but still fail because of religious and ethnic differences. They give themselves an extra three days. The main sticking point is federalism.

Iraqi politicians miss the third and final deadline for agreeing a new draft constitution. The August 25, 2005, deadline collapsed amid acrimony and violence between the different religious and ethnic groups. The Sunnis (who do not want a constitution) had accused the Shia negotiating group of failing to turn up for talks, while the government's official spokesman said a final version had been decided upon and a compromise reached on three issues - without naming them.

Up to 1,000 Iraqis die in a stampede caused by rumours of a suicide bomber during a religious ceremony in Baghdad.

Two British soldiers are killed when a roadside bomb explodes beside their armoured Land Rover while on patrol near Basra.

The court martial of seven British soldiers accused of a "unjustified" and "unprovoked" attack on a group Iraqi civilians begins in Essex.

A year-long investigation, overseen by the former US Federal Reserve chairman, Paul Volcker, concludes that the UN was guilty of "illicit, unethical and corrupt behaviour" in its handling of the oil-for-food programme in Iraq. Kofi Annan accepts responsibility for the "embarrassing failings", but refuses to resign.

Iraq's president claims on television that Saddam Hussein has confessed to killings conducted while his Ba'athist regime held power, but the allegation is denied by the former president's lawyers.

A huge force of American and Iraqi troops storm the narrow alleyways of a rebel-held "funnel of death", in one of the biggest anti-insurgency operations since the siege of Fallujah.

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, al-Qa'eda's leader in Iraq, declared "all-out war" on the country's Shia population as the organisation claimed responsibilty for a campaign of suicide attacks which killed at least 152 people. It was the second-most deadly day of insurgent violence since the fall of Saddam Hussein.
Related links
Iraq factfile
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/campaigns/iraq/ffiraqtime.xml#war

KR Washington Bureau | 11/16/2005 | In challenging war's critics, administration tinkers with truth

KR Washington Bureau | 11/16/2005 | In challenging war's critics, administration tinkers with truth: "Yet in accusing Iraq-war critics of 'rewriting history,' Bush, Cheney and other senior administration officials are tinkering with the truth themselves."

Guardian | Iraq timeline: February 1 2004 to December 31 2004

Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Iraq timeline: February 1 2004 to December 31 2004

Alive in Baghdad

Alive in Baghdad

DVD Flamb�

Opinion from PC Magazine: DVD Flamb�: "So how'd they hold up? Apart from the microwave test, which none survived, the DVDs were pretty robust—except the Verbatims. VideoGard delivered scant protection, as smudges, sunlight, steel wool, and the dishwasher all turned Scooby Doo into Scooby Doesn't. The only passing grade came on the bendy test.

The Memorex DVDs were a distant second-worst. They passed the dishwasher, sunlight, and steel wool test, but were defeated by the bending and smudge tests. The TDK, Maxell, and Imation blanks passed all except the microwave test, although the smudged Imation disk was slow to load.

My conclusions: Don't buy DVD blanks based on brand. Some brands may claim to stand up better to abuse, but my tests didn't bear that out. Don't expect generic DVD blanks to cost less—Wal-Mart's Imation blanks offer great value and decent performance at just 50 cents, and for just 15 cents more you can pick up the TDKs, which delivered the best mix of price and performance.

I couldn't test for longevity, but don't believe brands that claim to last up to hundreds of years. Make copies of key data at least every five years. And store those DVDs in a cool, dry place, preferably far away from your microwave oven—unless, of course, you're breaking in a new intern"

Global Security on Green Zone

Global Security on Green Zone: The headquarters of Paul Bremer and those working on reconstructing Iraq is surrounded by a wall of reinforced and blast-proof concrete, and guarded by tanks and helicopters. The Green Zone -- also called "The Bubble" - is the hub of the vision for the New Iraq. It is almost self-sufficient, and staff working there can be treated in the compound's hospital or run safely in its grounds. When they go out, it is by armored car with an armed military escort.

The Convention Center is where the United States has set up headquarters, and the coalition press office is at the Baghdad Convention Center. The state-of-the-art hall is in the same Green Zone as the Republican Palace. It was once used by the fallen regime for conferences, is home to a highly visible collection of troops, some of whom live in an office that has been converted to barracks.

The Iraqi Governing Council is headquartered in the handsome marble building that once was the Military Industry Ministry run by Saddam's son-in-law, Hussein Kamel. The new Iraqi Ministry of Justice has decided to use the Adnan Buildingg, which is within the Green Zone, instead of the Clock Tower Building, for the Central Criminal Court and the Supreme Court.

The Green Zone is defended with coils of razor wire, chain-link fences, earthen berms and armed checkpoints. The area is defended by M1 Abrams tanks, Bradley fighting vehicles and HUMVEEs with .50 caliber machine guns on top. The Green Zone appears under siege, with barriers, high concrete walls and checkpoints. US officials are rarely visible outside it, and rules for British personnel bar them from leaving it unless accompanied by four bodyguards and an armored vehicle.

Iraqis and foreign diplomats have been critical of occupation officials, who they say are isolated within the Green Zone and un-informed about life elsewhere in Baghdad, an area that official US security jargon calls "the Red Zone." Being in the Green Zone in Baghdad provides a limited possibility to meet regular Iraqi people. Americans are walling themselves in, mentally and emotionally, as well as physically.

In an analysis on 01 September 2003 ["After Najaf: The Emerging Patterns of Combat in the Iraq War"] Anthony H. Cordesman states that "a critical mistake [was] made by ORHA and carried on by the CPA by creating US security zones around US headquarters in central Baghdad. This has created a no go zone for Iraqis and has allowed the attackers to push the US into a fortress that tends to separate U.S. personnel from the Iraqis. This follows a broader pattern where terrorist know that attacks tend to push the US into locating in "force protection" enclaves and cut Americans off from the local population."

By late 2003 much of the huge US military presence in Baghdad was out of sight at the airport and in other encampments.

What's a Runaway Grand Jury? - Is that what sank Tom DeLay? By Daniel Engber

What's a Runaway Grand Jury? - Is that what sank Tom DeLay? By Daniel Engber: "
explainer Answers to your questions about the news.

What's a Runaway Grand Jury?
Is that what sank Tom DeLay?
By Daniel Engber
Posted Friday, Sept. 30, 2005, at 2:07 PM PT

House Majority Leader Tom DeLay is scheduled to appear in a Texas courtroom three weeks from today to face a charge of conspiracy. DeLay's allies have ridiculed the charge, calling it the handiwork of a partisan prosecutor. DeLay claims that the prosecutor first told him he wasn't a target of the investigation and then dodged responsibility for the indictment by blaming it on a 'runaway grand jury' that didn't follow his instructions. What's a runaway grand jury?

One that ignores the prosecutor's instructions. Grand juries are supposed to be independent, investigative bodies with the power to call their own witnesses, subpoena documents, and decide on the specifics of an indictment. In practice, they have very little opportunity to take initiative. The prosecutor decides which evidence will be presented, then tells the jury whom to indict on what charges. All the jury does is vote yes or no. In rare cases, a grand jury rejects the prosecutor's direction, makes its own investigation, and draws its own conclusions. Lawyers call this a 'runaway.'

These days, grand juries tend to serve as rubber stamps. In 1985, Judge Sol Wachtler famously said that grand juries are so compliant, a district attorney could get one to 'indict a ham sandwich.' (Republican lawmakers likened DeLay to a ham sandwich here and here.) The modern criminal-court system makes it very difficult for a grand jury to exercise any independent authority. Subpoenas for witnesses or documents go through the prosecutor's office, and testimony typically unfolds under her direction in the absence of a judge or defense attorneys. Critics of the system argue that even though grand juries are supposed to protect defendants from frivolous charges, they almost never do. Instead, prosecutors use grand juries to strengthen their cases—by obtaining evidence without having to parry defense objections, for example.

Continue Article

Runaway grand juries were far more common before the 20th century. Feisty jurors in New York took on government prosecutors when they chose to investigate Boss Tweed in 1872. Thirty years later, a grand jury in Minneapolis hired private detectives to help indict the mayor.

There have been a few runaway juries in recent years. In 1991, a federal prosecutor lost control of a jury investigating environmental crimes at the Rocky Flats Nuclear Weapons Plant. The government worked out a plea bargain with the company that owned the plant, but jurors wanted to indict the company along with five of its employees and three officials from the Department of Energy. A member of the grand jury who happened to be an attorney led the dissent.

"

Tankless Hot Water Solutions - Van Nuys

Review of Tankless Hot Water Solutions - Home & Garden Services, Home & Garden Products - Van Nuys, CA, 91406 - Citysearch: "Tankless Hot Water Solutions
16735 Saticoy St. Suite 111
Van Nuys, CA 91406"

Demand Water Systems

Demand Water Systems: "Selecting a Demand Water Heater
Select a demand water heater based on the maximum amount of hot water to meet your peak demand. Use the following assumptions on water flow for various appliances to find the size of unit that is right for your purposes:

* Faucets: 0.75 gallons (2.84 liters) to 2.5 gallons (9.46 liters) per minute.
* Low-flow shower heads: 1.2 gallons (4.54 liters) to 2 gallons (7.57 liters) per minute.
* Older standard shower heads: 2.5 gallons (9.46 liters) to 3.5 gallons (13.25 liters) per minute.
* Clothes washers and dishwashers: 1 gallon (3.79 liters) to 2 gallons (7.57 liters) per minute.

Unless you know otherwise, assume that the incoming potable water temperature is 50� F (10�C). You will want your water heated to 120�F (49�C) for most uses, or 140�F (60�C) for dishwashers without internal heaters. To determine how much of a temperature rise you need, subtract the incoming water temperature from the desired output temperature. In this example, the needed rise is 70�F (39�C).

List the number of hot water devices you expect to have open at any one time, and add up their flow rates. This is the desired flow rate for the demand water heater. Select a manufacturer that makes such a unit. Most demand water heaters are rated for a variety of inlet water temperatures. Choose the model of water heater that is closest to your needs.

As an example, assume the following conditions: One hot water faucet open with a flow rate of 0.75 gallons (2.84 liters) per minute. One person bathing using a shower head with a flow rate of 2.5 gallons (9.46 liters) per minute. Add the two flow rates together. If the inlet water temperature is 50�F (10�C), the needed flow rate through the demand water heater would need to be no greater than 3.25 gallons (12.3 liters) per minute. Faster flow rates or cooler inlet temperatures will reduce the water temperature at the most distant faucet. Using low-flow shower heads and water-conserving faucets are a good idea with demand water heaters.
"

Video: Tankless Hot Water Heater

Video Tankless Hot Water Heater: "Chris Vila meets with Jack Frederick from Frederick/Gerahty to review the hot water heater. The Continuum unit from Rinnai is an instant-on unit that employs no holding tank. Water is heated on demand when the user opens the hot water tap. The unit senses the moving water and heats only what is needed and shuts down when the tap is shut off. This unit has remote sensors that can be programmed with maximum water temperatures to prevent scalding. Since the unit produces no “standing” hot water, it can be up to 70 percent more efficient than a standard hot water heater. The Continuum can produce up to 8.5 gallons of hot water per minute continuously so the homeowner never needs to worry about running out of hot water. Rinnai also uses a direct-vent system making it friendlier in today’s tightly sealed homes. "

Choosing and Installing a Tankless Water Heater

GreenHomeGuide Know-How - Bathrooms - 9 Best Practices for Choosing and Installing a Tankless Water Heater: "1. Determine your hot water needs.

In general, the hot water flow rate of a small tankless water heater can support a bathroom and a kitchen with a dishwasher. The key to selecting the proper model is knowing the flow rates of your fixtures, the coldest temperature of incoming water, and your usage patterns (how many faucets do you expect to be able to use at the same time?). Work with your plumber to choose a size that best fits your needs.

You can also install more than one heater to heat water by zone. For example, at my current remodel I’ve installed two tankless water heaters—one supports a kitchen, bathroom and half bath; the second supports two additional bathrooms.


2. Understand your dishwasher and clothes washer.

Your appliances may need hot water from your tankless heater or they may heat water internally. I bought a superefficient Asko clothes washer/dryer that heats the water itself and requires only a cold water connection. I didn’t realize this until we installed the appliance!


3. Be prepared for resistance from your contractor.

Because of concerns about time and liability, most contractors don’t want to try something new. If you are convinced that a tankless water heater is for you, insist on it and find a contractor who will work with you (preferably one who has experience installing tankless units). Provide the contractor with the manufacturer’s installation instructions (often available online); you may also want to contact the manufacturer’s technical support department for advice on size and other considerations.


4. Carefully plan the location of your water heater.

Tankless water heaters use an intense flame to heat water on demand. They require more air for combustion and vent more exhaust than conventional water heaters. This affects how and where you install them in two ways:

Venting: For direct venting (through the wall), the vent termination must be at least three feet from any operable window. If you are venting through the roof, the length of the vent is determined by the size of the heater (the BTU output) and the number of elbows, or turns, in the vent. You may not be able to vent the heater through the roof if the vent run is long—for example, if the heater is in the basement of a three-story building.

Combustion air: A tankless water heater requires a source of oxygen for combustion. For example, if you install the heater in a closet, provide a source of air, such as a six-inch intake pipe that draws air from outside. Review the specifications carefully.


5. Check your gas and water supplies.

Tankless water heaters can produce three to four times the BTUs a conventional heater produces. Your plumber must verify that your current gas line size, length and even gas meter can provide sufficient gas flow to the unit. Tankless heaters also require minimum water flows for activation; again, your plumber should verify that your supply meets the specifications.


6. Avoid long runs between the heater and the faucet.

Because tankless heaters generate hot water only when you turn on the hot water tap, it takes some time (a small delay) to heat cold water to the optimal temperature. Locating the heater far from the tap will result in wasted water and more time for hot water to reach the tap. One way to overcome this problem is to use a recirculation pump that brings water from the farthest fixture in the plumbing run back to the tankless heater.

"

HousingZone.com - A Tankless Job

HousingZone.com - A Tankless Job: "Tankless Water Heaters - Advantages. As noted in the cost comparison table on page 92, tankless water heaters cost less to operate on an annual basis and have a longer life expectancy. In addition, installing a smaller tankless unit is ideal for supplementing a conventional storage tank model that provides water for the rest of the home. These small heaters are usually installed in a closet or underneath a sink.

Tankless Water Heaters - Disadvantages. With a tankless unit, those appliances using a large amount of water — for instance, the washing machine and dishwasher — need to be operated separately. However, separate tankless water heaters can be installed to meet individual hot water loads, or two or more water heaters can be connected in parallel for simultaneous demands for hot water. Some manufacturers claim that their product can match the performance of any 40-gallon (151 liter) tank heater.

"

Berkeley Parents Network: Water Heaters

Berkeley Parents Network: Water Heaters: "May 2005

About 2 years ago, we had a tankless hot water heater installed (an apparently fancy, Takagi TK2), and I'm fairly disappointed--wondering if my expectations were too high.

It takes 30 seconds to get hot water in our kitchen and 60 seconds to get it to the bathroom sink, ~6 and 20 feet from the heater respectively. Also, if I've got hot water running in the kitchen and I reduce the flow but don't change the temperature, the water goes cold and I have to crank the flow back up and wait again to get the not water back. Needless to say, we're wasting lots of water waiting for it to turn hot.

I had our plumber come back to ask if this was normal, and he advised that we had sort of large pipes (which they had installed 3 years prior) so it would take a while for the hot water to flow (of course we weren't advised of this when they sold us the expensive hot water heater) but didn't have a good explanation for the other stuff, and proposed a $500 tiny water tank to keep some hot water on reserve--seems to defeat the purpose. I can't believe that this is how the product was supposed to work.

Does anyone out there have this same hot water heater and experience or (please!) does this some malfunction/ adjustment problem? It infuriates me every time I turn the water on. feeling wasteful and shnookered"

The Long Tail: Are niches more profitable than hits?

The Long Tail: Are niches more profitable than hits?: "What you see here is that the economics of new releases these days are simply awful. The studios charge $17-$19 for the DVDs and the 'big box' retailers (Wal-mart, Best Buy) sell them for $15-$17 for the first week or two, for an average loss of $2 per DVD (this is before overheads; the actual loss is larger).

After the first month or so, the wholesale price of the DVDs goes down faster than the retail price, and they gradually move into profitability. Yet 70% of DVD sales are of titles within their first two months of release, before they're profitable. Why do stores sell new releases so cheaply? Because for the big-box retailers, at least, they're a loss leader, designed to draw people to other titles in DVD section and elsewhere in the store, where the margins are better.

DVD distributors encourage this by allowing unsold new releases to be returned, lowering the risk for retailers (but increasing it for the studios, as Dreamworks and Pixar have just learned to their cost).

The problem is that while this makes sense of the big-box retailers who have other things to sell, it has the effect of setting the price for everyone else, including the specialty DVD retailers like Blockbuster. The big-box retailers have thus driven down the margins for new releases across the industry, making the economics of the Head even tougher. No wonder Blockbuster's stock is down 50% this year.

But if you could shift demand further into the Tail, creating a market that wasn't so dependent on new releases, you could improve the profit picture immensely. People move in herds, so this doesn't happen overnight, but it's not impossible. This is why recommendations and other filters are so important to Long Tail markets. By encouraging people to venture from the hits world (high acquisition costs) to the niche world (low acquisition costs), smart retailers have the potential to improve the economics of retail dramatically."

Pics from 2006 Honda Civic Preview Party

Via AUTOBLOG:

Hybrid Cars - An Insight in Truck Country

Hybrid Cars - An Insight in Truck Country

Toyota Prius Crash Test - newstreet.it

Toyota Prius Crash Test - newstreet.it

Addressing real-life safety issues

’Real world’ safety issues such as child safety and collisions between two vehicles of differing weights and sizes were addressed during the development of the new Prius.

Impacts between different size and weight vehicles constitute the most common type of accident in Europe, so Prius was crashed against the far larger Toyota Land Cruiser as part of the testing regime, both vehicles driving at 50 km/h. As a result, Prius occupants enjoy the highest possible levels of protection in real-life frontal, side and rear impacts.

HEL LOOKS | Erik (18) and Mikko (18)

Northern European Street Fashion

Lovelorn. July 1953. Number 39.

Lovelorn. July 1953. Number 39.

Internship Rejection

North Adams Transcript - Local Headlines

Overheard in the Office

Businesslady: Are there places to order in?
Networking Guy: I've got a whole book of places to order in from.
Businesslady: How long does it take?
Networking Guy: How long is a piece of string?

350 Madison Avenue
New York, NY

Overheard in the Office

Overheard in New York

British Lady: I have a sharp pain in my bladder.
British Guy: Maybe you're pregnant.
British Lady: How would you know?

--Empire State Building
Overheard in New York

L. A. Times Addict

L. A. Times Addict

Boing Boing: Online transcription services

Boing Boing: Online transcription services: "escriptionist "

Eric Wolfram's Writing : How To : Pick a Safe Password

Eric Wolfram's Writing : How To : Pick a Safe Password

Google Answers: Specilized Earbuds

Google Answers: Specilized Earbuds

Bang & Olufsen Earphones Review

Bang & Olufsen Earphones Review

The KT Blog

Early 20s in NYC.

The KT Blog

Pour ceux que je ne verrai plus => Australie !

Pour ceux que je ne verrai plus => Australie !

`love is in the air/

High school blog?

DOUG IS BACK IN SCHOOL! I saw him this morning on the way to the lockers ... Then, Diana and I had to renew our passes so I can help her to her classes on her crutches, and Doug was in Student Services.

`love is in the air/

Fiona's French Toast

Fiona's French Toast