Paranoia for bloggers

One Blogger asks:

You really think Poindexter’s Total Information Awareness office will be checking blogs?

Nah, not the little ones. Let’s rabble and blow off steam. But if you ever got big, got a lot of readers and looked to be a potential leader or lightening rod or somethin…Boom, here comes the boys in black, hustling you off to 8x9 cell never to be heard from again.

Blow off steam, I like that analogy, surely that's one of the things we do here. Whether you're you're getting one million hits or one hundred hits a month I don't think Poindexter is interested in blogs ... um, perhaps not just yet.

Being thankful and vice versa

Jackson Thoreau's essay Thoughts from sitting around a dead bird resonates well on this turkey day.

Happy Thanksgiving

The temperature was 26 degrees, with a light breeze, but The cold air did not diminish the fun and excitement of the 76th annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on Broadway.

It is estimated that more than two-and-a-half million spectators lined the streets to watch the two-and-a-half mile march through Manhattan.

Bundled in blankets and coats and sipping cocoa and coffee, spectators cheered Charlie Brown, Big Bird and other gigantic balloons.

The photo on the left is of Tom Turkey making his way down Broadway.

Other balloon debuts in the parade included Mr. Monopoly of boardgame fame, dapperly dressed in a tuxedo. Kermit the Frog also returned after a 12-year absence

Santa and his reindeer trailed a parade featuring 1,000 cheerleaders, 500 clowns, 25 floats, 12 marching bands, 10 novelty balloons, four toy floats and three falloons — Macy’s hybrid "balloon-floats."

(Via the AP and Newsday)

Supply your own caption ...

Plea For Internet Prisoners

Human rights organization, Amnesty International, is pleading with China to release those arrested for accessing government-banned sites and expressing pro-democratic views online, reports MediaGuardian and BBC News Online.

The organization has requested the release of at least 33 people who went to prison for using the Net to share information or express views. "Everyone detained purely for peacefully publishing their views or other information on the Internet or for accessing certain Web sites are prisoners of conscience," said an Amnesty International statement.

One of those jailed is Li Dawei, who is serving an 11-year sentence for downloading material from pro-democracy Web sites, Amnesty International reports. "Anyone surfing the Internet could potentially be at risk of arbitrary detention and imprisonment," the group said.

The country has also established an Internet police unit specializing in hunting down those accessing online material it deems subversive. With almost 46 million Net users, China is now the second largest Internet nation after the U.S.

Verdict, Death.

The man behind the Wendy's massacre John Taylor, was sentenced to die for the murders of five workers who were bound, gagged and shot at point-blank range in the restaurant during an armed robbery in 2000

The jury of eight men and four women, the second in New York City to vote for execution since the state reinstated capital punishment in 1995, deliberated for eight hours over two days before returning their verdict against John B. Taylor, 38, yesterday afternoon in a packed courtroom.

This was a very sad crime for the city and it's good to see that justice has been served. Most New Yorkers, including yours truly agree that this criminal got exactly what he deserved.

*Update*
The first New York City resident sentenced to death since the state reinstituted the death penalty in 1995 was Darrel K. Harris , who admitted killing three people at a Brooklyn social club in 1996. The Court of Appeals overturned his conviction in July, and Harris is now serving a life sentence without any chance of parole. No one has been executed in New York state since 1963. For background on the New York capital punishment law, go to The Gotham Gazette.

Proper Weapons Inspector Etiquette

LOOKING FOR STUFF
Be aware that your Iraqi hosts may have attempted to conceal biological, chemical or nuclear weapons. Try some of these common hiding places first:
- Kitchen cupboards
- Rotating bookcases
- Innocuous-looking steel drums labeled "Circus Peanuts"
- Wall safes obscured by oil portraits of Saddam Hussein
- Behind Iraqi soldiers who are whistling casually and rolling their eyes in a pantomime of innocence

Should you find what you believe to be a chemical, biological or nuclear agent, do the following:
Step 1: Dip index finger in suspected agent.
Step 2: Place index finger on tip of tongue.
Step 3: Gruffly exclaim, "It's pure."
Step 4: See a doctor immediately.

FINDING STUFF YOU WEREN'T EVEN
LOOKING FOR IN THE FIRST PLACE
In the course of your search, you may unwittingly uncover Osama bin Laden. If so, do not panic. Send a S.A.S.E. to:
"I Found Osama"
Central Intelligence Agency
Washington, DC 20559
Or log onto www.ifoundosama.com
Then stall him with small talk until the arrival of U.S. Special Forces or Hellfire missiles. [More]

So much trouble in the world now
Bless my eyes this morning
JAH sun is on the rise once again
The way earthly things are going
Anything can happen

You see men sailing on their ego trips
Blast off on their spaceships
Million miles from reality
No care for you, no care for me
So much trouble in the world now
All you've got to do is give a little
Give a little, give a little
One more time ye-a-h! ye-ah!

So you think you have found the solution
But it's just another illusion
So before you check out your tide
Don't leave another cornerstone standing there behind
We have got to face the day, ooh we come what may
We the street people talking, we the people struggling

Now they are sitting on a time bomb
Now I now the time has come
What goes up must come down
Goes around comes around
So much trouble in the world
So much trouble in the world
So much trouble in the world

Survey Says

New York City's popularity is on the decline, according to a poll published in TheNew York Post. The Quinnipiac survey of 1235 Americans found that only 32 percent had a "very positive" image of the city, down from 40 percent in the wake of Sept. 11. The Post puts a cheerful spin on the numbers: "On the plus side, the number of people with a 'somewhat positive' view of the city rose to 45 percent from 37 percent in the year since the attacks."

Toasts of the Town

If you've been invited to dinner this holiday season, that bottle of Mumm parked next to the cash register just won't cut it as a present for your host. Some of New York's top chefs, sommeliers, and restauranteurs gave us their picks on what bottles to bring — plus a little background info on each to impress your host.