In A Black Chadore

A woman dressed in black walked up. She had something to say. She found just the man to say it to. She was dressed in the traditional style. He was with the media. She had a few things to say about the student's complaints. She declined to give her name. The righteousness of her country's foundations echoed in her words.

[They] are questioning my country, my religion, and my beliefs, and I object to them. We respect freedom, until it violates the freedom of others.... Freedom of speech has its limits. [CSMonitor]

Freedom of speech has its limits. Let the students remember her words.

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In Iran, a challenge to hardliners, Christian Science Monitor, 14 Nov 2002
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Agitation in Iran

If they can't kill the engine, they want to take out the high-profile actors that give people hope. [CSMonitor]

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Poindexter's revenge

From the New York Times:

The vehicle is the Homeland Security Act, the technology is Darpa and the agency is the F.B.I. The outcome is a system of national surveillance of the American public.
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Novels, Stories, and Worlds

The ever-interesting oblivio:

A novel is a world, while a story is... something less than a world, perhaps a fragment of a world, a thing which at best suggests the thing it belongs to.

Hmm... And the best novels push the boundaries of that world to such a distance as to not (or barely) be visible.
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Cool?

At coolstop they point to Happy-Happy and My Happy and ask Happy?. I think not, but maybe I'm just being a pessimist.

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My Happy

Here is what would make me happy:

- light rail
- farmers' markets
- mass telecommuting
- cheap organic produce
- a stable middle class
- cheaper hybrid vehicles
- a living wage for workers
- hand-crank windows in my car
- emission control devices on SUVs
- sidewalks that go around the block
- rivers where salmon can freely run
- Pacifica Radio available in Austin
- Tru-Green staying away from my yard
- a Colorado River that flows to the sea
- grocery stores within walking distance
- greenbelts that grow as fast as cities do
- Democracy Now in Quicktime streaming audio
- a foreign policy the focuses on root causes
- a small house to live in for the rest of my life
- trains that run from San Antonio to Austin to Dallas
- to be allowed to criticize without becoming a suspect
- decent politicians who can speak plainly and tell the truth
- organic orange juice that isn't twice as expensive as Tropicana
- governmental openness, due process, and presumption of innocence

Shall I hold my breath?

(reposted from yesterday due to techicult difinalities)
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