Thursday, March 03, 2005

I edited this post about the behavior of mercenaries in Iraq to remove the name of the source. This was done at the source's emailed request. Apparently the original post I was quoting had gotten the source in trouble--which isn't too surprising, as I'm sure those mercenaries would rather people didn't know what they were up to. 2:56:36 PM    comment () RADLEY BALKO: How's This for Obscene?. According to Broadcasting and Cable (subscription only -- sorry), new Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez told the Hoover Intsitution on Monday that he'll give the same priority to cracking down on obscenity that he'll give to fighting terrorism. Ponder that for a moment. He also said that he's ordered DOJ attorneys to reasearch ways to "strengthen our hand" at prosecuting obscenity. Appropriately enough, he was introduced at the event by Ed Meese. [Liberty & Power: Group Blog] Does that mean he's going to imprison Janet Jackson without trial for years, or send Howard Stern to Syria to be tortured for ten months? 12:23:12 PM    comment () News: Kyocera Contax to end camera production The British Journal of Photography reports that Kyocera is ceasing production of Contax branded 35mm film cameras. Digital cameras under the Contax brand are also slated to end by the end of the year. Thus ends one of the most famous camera brands of the 20th century -- albeit, in its resucitated Japanese form. (Of course the optmist in me hopes that this means that Zeiss will be able to relicense the Contax brand to Cosina, so the the new Zeiss Ikon rangefinder can properly be called the Contax V). Leica AG in Germany is also in very poor financial straits. They've made plans for an emergency stockholder meeting and have worked out some contingency plans with their banks, but things do not look good. - nasukaren [Photoethnography] Seems like the year is off to a rough start for manufacturers of rangefinder cameras. 12:05:58 PM    comment () Quote of the day: The only problem with a well-informed and vigilant public is that it's mutually exclusive with the ignorant, complacent, child-like public the gov't would prefer. Is preventing the deaths of thousands of innocent people really worth that loss of control? No, didn't think so ... CodeMonkeySteve, commenting on Hit and Run 11:32:31 AM    comment () GOP Congressman calls on Bush to Nuke Syria. The US congress has certainly come a long way since the days of John C. Calhoun and John Quincy Adams. Amy Goodman and Jackson Thoreau have both reported that congressman Sam Johnson (R-Texas) has called on president Bush to nuke Syria. Thoreau quotes Johnson as having said (at a church gathering, of all places - are these our old pals the Fundies?); "Syria is the problem. Syria is where those weapons of mass destruction are, in my view. You know, I can fly an F-15, put two nukes on... [Antiwar.com Blog] The fact that a congressman would say something like this openly is an excellent example of why it's vital that Iran develop nuclear weapons as soon as possible. 10:53:51 AM    comment () Anderson Shrugged. Interesting New York Times piece on space entrepreneur Walter Anderson, who stands accused of being America's biggest tax-cheat. We learn:The... [Hit and Run] More on the heroic Mr. Anderson. Some comments on this post have pointed out the similarity of his name to "Neo" from The Matrix. It's actually a remarkably appropriate similarity, as both the fictional and the real Mr. Anderson defied a vicious and tyranical government. 10:29:54 AM    comment ()

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