Giving new meaning to the term “War on Drugs,” the Air Force is giving pilots uppers and downers for bombing raids. If it’s anything stronger than a Red Bull, it’s probably not a good idea, as no doubt many Afghan civilians can attest. (Via Genehack.)
Category: War on Terror
Don’t buy Falafels or Ziplocs…
…cause your shopping habits are being monitored. I wonder what the Feds would think of my alarming intake of Red Bull and Mt. Dew Code Red.
The Complicated American.
What the World Thinks of America, from Gary Kamiya of Salon (premium). A fascinating read.
Suspicion Breeds Confidence.
How to Identify a Terrorist, from the Office of Homeland Security. (Via Quiddity.)
Construction Time Again.
The Lower Manhattan Development Corp. releases six plans for WTC rebuilding. I’d say my favorite is the Memorial Garden (pictured at right), with the Memorial Promenade ranking a close second.
Memorial Politics.
Speaking to the families of 9-11 victims, Governor Pataki declares that nothing will be built on the site of the former WTC. While obviously some kind of memorial on the premises would be appropriate, I don’t agree with Pataki at all on this one. NYC doesn’t need another park…the city should stay true to its organic nature and rebuild on the (extremely valuable) space, particularly if you consider the fact that the WTC project tore up several blocks of historic Dutch Manhattan back in 1973.
Card-carrying members of the public library.
Armed with the Patriot Act (what a wonderfully Orwellian name) signed by Dubya last October, the FBI begins scouring libraries to check “terrorist” reading habits. Good news for your local Barnes and Noble, I suppose, who’ll probably be selling a lot more copies of The Anarchist’s Cookbook from now herein. I’d love to see a sample list of what books make the FBI’s red flag list.
Minority Reporters.
The Voice takes a look at the legal dream team who are leading Dubya’s assault on civil liberties.
Harvard jihad.
The jihad furor at Harvard‘s graduation dies down. (The speaker, a fellow with a knack for creating controversy, will undoubtedly go far.) This weekend is also my 5-year reunion up in Cambridge, but I’m bagging it (as are most of my closest friends from the old school.) Maybe I’ll make the tenth.
Making Sensenbrenner.
A key Republican comes out against the Ashcroft revisions to the FBI.