And after talking about Israel earlier, I feel I do have to point out that this is NEVER acceptable, I don’t care what your cause is.

We lost Oh well, damn good run and showing by the American team. Now America will ignore soccer for another 4 years until the next World Cup. Yea!!!

Israel tanks fire on Jenin crowd

Israeli troops have fired tank shells at Palestinians in a marketplace in the West Bank town of Jenin, killing at least three civilians and injuring more than 20 others.

An Israeli army spokeswoman told BBC News Online that the unit in Jenin had “erred in its action”.

The army has begun an investigation into what it says are accidental killings.

Oof. This makes it rough. I mean, Israel does have a right to defend itself, yes, I admit that (while still admitting that an independent Palestinian state not only has a right to but SHOULD exist) but it’s hard to keep the moral high ground and say you’re not going too far in your actions when civilians are harmed and possible targeted. Yes, mistakes will be made, individuals will get edgy and tensions will run high enough where one guy will screw up and a domino effect can begin, but it still sucks. I really don’t have a solution for the mess over there, I don’t think anyone has a real solution, so I can’t really stand up and say “here’s what needs to happen!” I’m simply forced to stand back and just shake my head at all the death. It’s sad, really.

Crap, 20 minutes left in the match and yours truly has to go back to work. ARUGH!!!! Oh well, GO USA!

Hmmmmm…..

Warnings Cited Before Oklahoma Bombing

Just weeks before Timothy McVeigh bombed the Oklahoma City federal building in 1995, U.S. intelligence and law enforcement received several warnings that Islamic terrorists were seeking to strike on American soil and that a likely target was government buildings, documents show.

The information, though it was never linked to McVeigh, was stark enough that the Clinton administration urged stepped up security patrols and screening at federal buildings nationwide, including those in Oklahoma.

The government, however, didn’t fortify buildings with cement barriers like those hurriedly installed after McVeigh detonated his explosive-laden truck at the curb of the Murrah building on April 19, 1995, officials said.

Islamic extremists are determined to “strike inside the U.S. against objects symbolizing the American government in the near future,” said one warning obtained by The Associated Press.

By the way, congrats to Brazil for their 2-1 win over England. I really wanted to see that game, excellent offense (Brazil) versus an excellent defense (England).

54 minutes in, 8 shots on goal to Germany’s 4. Come on…

Okay, enough of the live commentary. No one else is reading this at my site and you all will have the news by the time you see this, so screw it. Off to watch.

51st minute, shot on goal, ball drops and Germany’s on it but US swears it was over the line.

Damn I wish I was seeing this live instead of through computer updates (even thought they’re live).

Good lord. 14 fouls, 2 yellow cards, 3 offsides and it’s only the 50th minute, either the refs aren’t on our side or the US is falling apart out there.

Germany currently leads the United States 1-0. I’m just happy it’s not a blow out. Yet.

Request Permission to link to NPR.org Oh, crap, I didn’t ask permission to link to this, am I in trouble? Christ, people, National PUBLIC Radio!!! PUBLIC!!!!! Guess what? I OWN IT! YOU OWN IT! WE ALL OWN IT! It is non-profit and funded completely by donations and subsidies. And linking to anything they do is FREE PUBLICITY (God forbid). ARUGH!!!!

introducingmonday.co.uk Shame Price Waterhouse only registered introducingmonday.com, well, shame for THEM, kick ass for the rest of us.

I suck at the IKEA Game

Damn, I get a kick out of listening to the Dan Bern Internet Radio Station every morning before work. You should have a listen, it’s on 24-7 and a great way to get introduced to him before you go out and buy all of his CDs.

Brit: Ah know, ah know my little mash patater but mah agent doesn’t think the world is ready yet for our forbidden love.

Foreign people are funny No, seriously here, Gary Turner brings up a good point, though, as an American, I would have never thought to be bothered by this. Quite the opposite, really, I kinda dig having United States at the top of a dropdown list, makes it easy as hell for me. So do I support his movement? Sure, I guess. Hell, screw dropdowns, use a text box, just have everyone type it in. Wouldn’t that be nice and even? Let’s go one step further, who cares what country I’m from, forget boundaries, aren’t we all human? Aren’t we all stuck on this crazy planet together? Why can’t we all just get along?

I’m thinking of participating in the 2002 Blogathon. I’ll write more later…

The 2002 Webbys were awarded last night.

White House and Fed Buildings Evacuated

Plane Strays Near Executive Mansion; Bomb Scare Clears Banking Agency

The White House was evacuated and fighter jets were scrambled last night after a pilot accidentally flew his single-engine Cessna into restricted airspace near the Capitol, officials said.

Two F-16 fighter jets escorted the Cessna 182 to Richmond International Airport, law enforcement officials said. The White House evacuation was called off about 15 minutes after the pilot came within four miles of the executive mansion, then made contact with the Federal Aviation Administration’s Leesburg flight service station for a weather update.

The emergency occurred a few hours after a bomb scare outside two Federal Reserve buildings in Northwest Washington prompted D.C. and federal authorities to evacuate about 1,300 federal workers. That incident forced the closure of several streets just as the evening commute began.

The errant plane was spotted about 8 p.m. crossing the temporarily restricted airspace at 10,500 feet — about 8,000 feet lower than allowed — and did not respond to radio communications from flight control towers, said Secret Service spokesman Brian Marr.

The Secret Service set an emergency procedure into motion, moving staff members and visitors away from the White House, Marr said.

President Bush had returned to the White House from a Republican fundraiser about 20 minutes before the emergency and remained inside, a law enforcement source said.

The pilot, who was flying from Massachusetts to Raleigh, N.C., crossed an airspace restriction imposed after Sept. 11 and skirted the permanently restricted area directly above the White House, said Laura Brown, an FAA spokeswoman.

The restrictions — called Notices to Airmen, or NOTAMs — are updated by the FAA daily. Pilots are required to check their flight paths for NOTAMs, Marr said.

The Cessna landed in Richmond about 8:50 p.m., and the pilot and his passenger waited on the taxiway until federal agents interviewed them, airport officials said.

The pilot could face fines, a letter of reprimand or license revocation, Brown said.

The earlier evacuation occurred about 3:20 p.m., when a custodian working for the Federal Reserve noticed a suspicious object in a trash bin just outside the reserve’s two buildings on 20th Street, between Constitution Avenue and C Street NW.

Authorities sent in a robot to defuse the object, then realized it was a false alarm, officials said. Roads were closed from about 3:30 p.m. to 6:40 p.m., snarling traffic.

Now THIS falls under my definition of terrorism that I made way back when, “anything that inconvieniences Jason”. Guess what? My commute was an hour longer than normal last night. ARUGH! Anyways, I’m glad it was a false alarm, but with the mess made of DC over what was probably a paper cup, just imagine the mess we’d be in if it was a bomb and actually went off. Damn.

And I’d personally like to know more about that Cessna over DC. I mean, come on, any damn pilot knows about the restricted airspace here, what the hell was that guy doing? (And I was a student pilot when I was 13-16 and even then it was stupid to fly over DC.) Silly people.

You, too, can have a voice in ‘blogland’

WARNING: Don’t read this column unless you have a lot of time to kill. The topic is blogs, a type of website so abundant and diverse, you can’t read just one.

Blogs, short for weblog, are the self-published musings of everyday folks and off-duty journalists that cover TV and politics, war and vegetarianism. In fact, your next-door neighbor is likely creating one right now so he can discuss the India-Pakistan threat and the movie he saw last night.

For Fans, Wry Footnotes to the Funny Page

Norm began publishing a Weblog as a way of passing the time as he waited in line for several weeks to see the first showing of “Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace.” Like so many of his fellow Gen-X’ers, Norm exposed his thoughts and experiences every few days at a special area of his Web site.

The response to his “Stars Wars” Weblog, or blog, encouraged Norm to keep writing about all manner of subjects. He even risked posting observations about his job. When low-wage interns at his firm appeared poised to replace his more highly compensated co-workers, Norm observed, “I’m starting to realize the world is populated with people younger than me who have more energy . . . and less scruples.”

Norm’s blog also documented a bout with amnesia. For a while, he couldn’t recall the year between when he started dating a close friend and when he woke up on New Year’s Day 2002 with a ring on his finger and his friend — by then his wife — in his bed.

Norm has neither sought counseling (or a CAT scan) for his amnesia nor worried about retaliation by his employer, which some blogging workers have experienced. In health care and risk-taking, he has an advantage: Norm is a cartoon character whose strip, “The Norm,” appears daily in 65 North

American newspapers, and at his Web site.

It’s… um… it’s a uh… holy crap, it’s a vibrating tounge piercing.

The Conspiracy Flow Chart I’m not sure whether I’m disappointed of happy I’m not on there. Either I’m insignifigant or below their radar. Mwa ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha…

Let me just remind some people: I am the original warblogger. - Caesar Blogs

Cat Boxing Pantera is consistantly getting her ass handed to her by Christopher. Probably because Christoper’s the largest cat in the world, but, still, you’d think that extra weight would slow him down, but noooooo.

This dating bullshit just takes to much motherfucking time, don’t it? It’s just like this awkward dance to a crap song that lasts about 6 to 8 months (eating fucking dinner, going to fucking movies, fucking, fucking calling each other for no reason, wondering whether you fucking love the piece of shit and wondering whether the piece of shit is on the same fucking page then wondering whether you should fucking say so so you can finally fucking move the fuck in together so no one has to fucking run back to his or her apartment at six fucking am just to change into a clean pair of chaps before work). Then guess what? The song ends and the answer is no and you just wasted 6 to 8 months acting like a retard (that’s how people act when they try to be in love with each other in the interest of getting more sleep somewhere down the line). - Girls Are Pretty

“Shit, Ben … I think we’ve done it.” (Thanks, Will)

Mike Sanders joined the blogthread concerning identity yesterday and now I’m doing the same.

One of the favorite pastimes of blog readers is pointing out your character or thought-based flaws based on what you have blogged. Your personal goal then becomes examining the criticism for any validity. One thing is clear is that it is impossible to reveal your identity on your blog. The people who really know you will always be your closest friends and families who have witnesses your thoughts, feeling and actions in numerous situations over an extended period of time. And that time is usually measured in years.

Exactly, but more specifically, trying to determine who someone is based upon what they write is relying too heavily on their writing abilities and taking them at face value. I myself can not write my true feelings or meanings on many things, I’m better at speaking about them and discussing them. A straight post of my thoughts is not a true representation because it is only skin deep and an initial post. In discussions you can get more specific and are better able to clarify what you mean because whoever is listening can interject or ask questions or you pick up on the audience’s bodylanguage to tell you when you need to elaborate. Not so on the web, to get that you have to have an audience who will ask questions and not simply believe what you write is what you mean, and, beyond that, an audience willing to enter a discussion and not simply a back and forth of steadfast opinions.

But identity, and more specifically MY identity, is not easy to come by from a person’s webpage.

As Mike and Shelly Powers said:

This is a lot of information about my identity. Too bad it doesn’t tell you who I really am.

However, if you take a moment and read a bit, the words slowly begin to revolve and move and flow about the page, and a picture begins to emerge and a story begins to unfold. Here is the story of Shelley Powers. It starts with the fact that she’s a weblogger…

For herself, Shelley grants that a picture only starts to emerge from her blog, but I don’t think that is where it starts. Shelley will be who she is and who she will become, with or without her blog. A blog is really a small part that sometimes looks big because we often become obsessed with it.

The blog is simply part of the person, the identity, and not the identity itself.

I think we are making a big mistake by attaching identity to blogs. A glimpse of our feelings on certain subjects, yes. A way to meet new people, definitely. A medium for self-expression, granted. But attaching identity to a blog is a big mistake for both the blogger and the blog reader.

In order for a blog to fully represent ones identity it must be complete and honest, something that is very rare indeed. I do not talk about my entire life on my blog, nor do I give the complete picture on the things that I do talk about. When I speak about my political beliefs, I’m keeping a lot to myself because it either hasn’t come up, I don’t know exactly how to phrase it in type, or it really doesn’t matter. When I speak about my relationship with Jenn, there are many, MANY things that are very private, but go a long way towards defining my identity, that’s a part of me that you will never get on the web.

And even to take what I post on the blog as a final opinion is false because people change, minds change, opinions change.

And do opinions really define a person’s identify? I have opininions, and I’ll speak about them on my blog, on the web, through e-mail and in conversation. But they do not drive who I am or how I interact with people. They may effect my initial opinion of someone, but they do that for everyone, preconcieved notions are hard to be rid of, but once I get to know someone, their opinion is meaningless as long as they are a good person and searching for the truth. I identify with my thoughts and opinions, but they do not identify me, not completely.