Confusion still reins as to whether the anthrax spores in the Daschle letter contain bentonite or do not contain bentonite, an additive which may or be not be the "signature" of Saddam Hussein.

Meantime, US Attorney General John Ashcroft has issued another terrorist threat warning at a hastily arranged press conference. Although the alert offers no specific details other than possible attacks sometime this week, Ashcroft stated, "I trust the American people to be able to understand ... that they can make good judgments and understand this kind of information." And we are supposed to do . . . what, exactly? Widely circulated Internet rumors of Halloween terror are being dismissed, however.

AP reports that a recent poll in Britain shows support for attacks falling. This is not terribly encouraging, given that we're only three weeks into what could be a decades-long campaign.

The Times of India reports that US and Israeli forces are training to seize Pakistani nukes, in the event that General Musharraf is ousted by fundamentalist extremists. Problem: No one knows with certainty where the nukes are located.

The Guardian: Backyard terrorism -- "For the past 55 years [the U.S.] has been running a terrorist training camp, whose victims massively outnumber the people killed by the attack on New York, the embassy bombings and the other atrocities laid, rightly or wrongly, at al-Qaida's door. The camp is called the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, or Whisc. It is based in Fort Benning, Georgia, and it is funded by Mr Bush's government." As former President Clinton might have said, "It all depends on the definition of 'terrorism.'"

The thousands of Pakistanis seeking to cross into Afghanistan and fight alongside the Taliban have been denied entry to Afghanistan.

Qualcomm, Inc., has announced plans for a Globalstar airborne system which would transmit high-speed real-time video and audio from the cockpits of commercial airliners.

Maureen Dowd: Can Bush Bushkazi? -- "As Rudyard Kipling's Kim reports back to his British spymasters, from the mountainous moonscape of Afghanistan, 'Certain things are not known to those who eat with forks.'" (NY Times, free registration required)

MSNBC: Armed Pakistanis head for 'jihad' -- "...More than 5,000 people rolled out of a northeastern Pakistan village Saturday morning, bound for the Afghan border and vowing to fight a 'holy war' against the United States." Many demonstrators derided as myth the idea that the majority of Pakistanis support President Pervez Musharraf in his cooperation with the US.

Well, forget the Washington Post story (below). The latest in the flurry of confusing statements coming out of Washington is that an additive was found in the Daschle letter which implicates Iraq as the source, not a domestic lab [ABC]. Presidential spokesperson Ari Fleischer denies this report, but it is confirmed (sort of) two minutes later by another official. It is also pointed out that merely because the anthrax may have originated in Iraq, that does not mean that domestic terrorists are not the ones spreading it. Got that? Good. I'm sure it'll all be a different story in two hours' time.

Washington Post: FBI and CIA suspect domestic extremists -- "...The anthrax attacks on Washington, New York and Florida are likely the work of one or more extremists in the United States who are probably not connected to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda terrorist organization, government officials said yesterday." A number of officials express concern that the anthrax attacks are distracting us from the next wave of foreign terrorist strikes.

Thomas L. Friedman: We are all alone -- "My fellow Americans, I hate to say this, but except for the good old Brits, we're all alone. And at the end of the day, it's U.S. and British troops who will have to go in, on the ground, and eliminate bin Laden."

Wired: Terror act has lasting effects -- An interesting look at the new anti-terror bill signed into law today by President Bush. Good-bye privacy. Russ Feingold (D-Wisc.) was the only senator with the strength to vote against it (and had offered numerous alternatives). The general public will likely shrug its shoulders over things like "sneak-and-peek" searches, warrantless surveillance, and so on . . . until they realize that these broad new powers may be invoked merely by the phrase "anti-terror investigation." Allowing mundane domestic criminal matters to be effortlessly included under the umbrella of foreign intelligence laws (FISA) is unprecedented and ripe for abuse.

Here is the sanitized version of the anti-terror act from Reuters.

ABC : Senator Orrin Hatch "promised Congress would make sure the government does not abuse its new powers, which he says could have helped prevent the Sept. 11 attacks. 'If these tools had been in law, I believe we would have caught these perpetrators,' Hatch said." No mention was made of poor inter-agency communication or the notorious "turf wars" between the CIA, FBI, and others.

The Times [London]: The last oil rush -- Could the West survive without Saudi oil? In the greatest of post-cold-war ironies, Russia may be our salvation (from a petroleum point of view).

International Herald Tribune: Lethal formula in anthrax mail points to labs of three countries -- And those are the former USSR, Iraq, and the U.S. Of note, one unnamed expert stated that "it was unlikely that the spores were originally produced in the former Soviet Union or Iraq." Which leaves...

The Times [London]: Nuclear network -- "The chilling information that Osama bin Laden has access to nuclear materiel cannot have been a surprise to the American and British governments. This is the leaden shoe, delivered by Western intelligence services, that has long been waiting to drop."

Another week of anthrax, anthrax, anthrax, anthrax. Tom Ridge needs to talk straight to the American public. Too many disconnects, too much conflicting information. At least the talk is starting to take an honest turn: We don't know what the hell we're doing, but we're learning as fast as we can.

From Medline (National Institute of Health), the ultimate fluoroquinolone reference page. Note: Cipro is one of the class of fluoroquinolone antibiotics. Check out the possible side-effects. Having been prescribed Levaquin (same drug) two years ago, I can comment on some of them: not pretty. The folks who plan on taking Cipro whether they need it or not are plain idiots; if the side-effects don't whack them, they're risking creating drug-resistant bacterial strains. [Thanks to Alwin for the Medline pointer.]

Reuters: Afghanistan 'small piece,' top U.S. general says -- "The top U.S. military officer said on Sunday that Afghanistan was only a 'small piece' of what he suggested might be the broadest campaign since World War Two, possibly lasting more than a lifetime." The CIA has also been given formal permission to bump off Osama.

What do you do when they won't talk? -- "FBI and Justice Department investigators are increasingly frustrated by the silence of jailed suspected associates of Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network, and some are beginning to that say that traditional civil liberties may have to be cast aside if they are to extract information about the Sept. 11 attacks and terrorist plans." [Washington Post]

Independent: Anthrax attacks now being linked to US right-wing cranks -- This is an ironic counterpoint to the hawks on the right who are certain that Iraq is behind the anthrax scare and that Saddam be next on our list.

William J. Broad: "America is overreacting." (NY Times, free registration required)

Maureen Dowd: "O.K. I am channeling my fear of terrorism into a fear of bureaucracy. Many government officials here do not yet have a grip on an enemy etched in disappearing ink." (NY Times, free registration required)

International Herald Tribune: Panic carries its own threat of contagion -- "Public hysteria - the contagion of panic spread by rumor and false alarms - is more dangerous than the real problem, and America is on the verge of it, mental health authorities say." The suggested solution: More realistic, accurate information disseminated from the government and less intense coverage by the media.

The Saudi angle

While the U.S. preoccupies itself with daily anthrax headlines, there is a key piece of this whole 'war' which is being ignored, or at least under-reported.

Today Saudi Arabia claims there is no proof its citizens and the attacks are linked [Reuters]. Reports of a split in the Saudi government are also denied, along with any problems related to "security."

Vehement denials usually mean something's afoot.

Perhaps Interior Minister Prince Nayef read Seymour Hersh's recent piece in the New Yorker, How vulnerable are the Saudi royals?.

In interviews last week, current and former intelligence and military officials portrayed the growing instability of the Saudi regime ó and the vulnerability of its oil reserves to terrorist attack ó as the most immediate threat to American economic and political interests in the Middle East. The officials also said that the Bush Administration, like the Clinton Administration, is refusing to confront this reality, even in the aftermath of the September 11th terrorist attacks.

Benjamin Works, a military analyst, picks up on the same theme in Dark Ties Between Al Qaeda and the Saudis.

We have a crisis nominally about international terrorism and the alliance between the Al-Qaeda network and the Taliban movement in Afghanistan. But this crisis is throwing off intelligence that clearly points to a much larger crisis. In this review of the evidence, Al-Qaeda's aim, in conjunction with its allies, is nothing less than the overthrow of the Saudi Royal family, and taking control of the oil fields of Saudi Arabia and the Emirates of the Gulf region.

Pandemonium

The country has been through hell and then some, and we have reason to be concerned. However, we collectively seem to be losing our grip.

After a four-day hiatus, I see nothing but an endless rash of anthrax-scare stories. People are calling 9-1-1 because they saw an empty bag of potato chips (with salt in the bottom) in the gutter. Hysteria, plain and simple. Perhaps this is the unintended consequence of the government issuing vague dire warnings, scaring the populace half to death, but only offering that they "be vigilant." Now federal authorities are considering a different message to the public: "Use some common sense." Perhaps the media needs to tone it down a bit.

We also need more of what we've seen a little of already: a national education campaign, particularly about the hazards of inappropriate antibiotic use.

A young man of college age (and Anglo ethnicity) was banned from flying on United Airlines because of the book he was carrying. This is totally over-the-edge.

Attorney General John Ashcroft today announced that the anthrax attacks "may be part of a plot." To the average thinking person, that might seem to have been rather obvious many days ago. Or perhaps not.

The wire services have changed gears and are now reporting how vulnerable our infrastructure is (pipelines, nuclear reactors, food supply). This is not new news; studies going back several years have pointed out these weaknesses and vulnerabilities, but they were ignored. The government is now issuing alerts to medical personnel to be on the lookout for smallpox or ebola. Good grief. If a little old lady with a powder puff can hypothetically ignite emergency phone calls over anthrax (oops, it was only Helena Rubinstein), what will happen if something major occurs?

This was going to be a take-a-break-from-the-world day... Most of the items below are from earlier today. No, you are not going insane -- I changed the page template (again.) ;-)

Reuters: FBI probing Arab students at truck school -- "The FBI has looked into a Denver truck school where up to 35 Arab male students paid in cash and did not seek job placement assistance afterward...."

Splits within the Taliban? -- "Afghanistan's Taliban Foreign Minister Maulawi Wakil Ahmad Muttawakil arrived in Pakistan on Sunday, possibly indicating a division within the ruling Afghan movement...." [Reuters]

The Taliban has blinked again, this time offering to turn over bin Laden to a neutral third country if the US stops the air strikes. The administration reiterated its position that the issue is non-negotiable. [Washington Post]

Three more anthrax exposures reported in New York [MSNBC]

Franz Schurmann: America fighting its eleventh war of expansion and empire-building -- The title alone is enough to tick a lot of people off, but this is worth a read for some historical context.

International Herald Tribune: From golden arches to lightning rod -- "Multinational businesses long have been targets of complaints that globalization has led to the Coca-Colonization of the planet, creating a McWorld in which people in a standardized global village exist on Big Macs and fries."

From Thailand, CNN fails in mission to inform the rest of us -- The cable giant is totally ignoring any other point of view in our current crisis. "CNN's coverage of the attacks has been especially lacking in balance. Anchors and journalists at CNN and their associated television networks in America hardly raised the question of why this happened. Instead, they focussed on the issue of how the terrorists carried out their attacks, and how America would retaliate."

Late updates

Plane held at San Jose airport -- "Eighty passengers and five crew members were held aboard a jet for three hours after it landed Saturday because a passenger said a man had dispersed a powdery substance in the ventilation system." The mystery substance was not in the ventilation system; it was confetti which spilled from a greeting card.

Detroit Free Press: Scouts detained after trip to island -- "What started as a fun afternoon on Mackinac Island ended as a lesson in humiliation and fear for five Arab-American teenagers and their Boy Scout leader who say they were victims of racial stereotyping."

CNN: College staff find chilling free speech climate -- "Around the country, college faculty and staff who express opinions on the terrorist attacks and U.S. bombardment of Afghanistan are facing rebuke in public and private, suspension and investigation. At least two professors were asked to leave their schools as a security measure."

Guardian: Iraq 'behind US anthrax outbreaks' -- "American investigators probing anthrax outbreaks in Florida and New York believe they have all the hallmarks of a terrorist attack - and have named Iraq as prime suspect as the source of the deadly spores....Sceptics fear American hawks could be publicising the claim to press their case for strikes against Iraq - the pressure now building among senior Pentagon and White House officials in Washington for an attack may become irresistible."

Reuters: Five more Florida workers exposed to anthrax -- "Citing officials of supermarket tabloid publisher American Media Inc., the [New York Times] said five people were being treated with antibiotics after blood tests showed they had been exposed to anthrax antibodies. Federal health officials would not comment on the report, the paper said. The FBI was also not available for comment." Is this report even reliable?

Bye-bye Bill of Rights

Anti-terrorism bill is approved -- "Many of the provisions contained in the House and Senate bills have been sought for years by prosecutors, but were rejected by Congress as overly intrusive and possibly unconstitutional. Now lawmakers are eager to accommodate the wishes of the FBI and CIA -- alarming civil liberties advocates who warn that Congress is being stampeded into decisions it will later regret."

Dan Gillmor: "When this bill passes the full Congress and is signed into law by President Bush, the terrorists will have achieved one of their goals. They will have led America to crush some of the very openness and liberty that make this nation so great."

The ACLU has a good statement and summary of the legislation. A few of the more troublesome provisions:

• Authorizes "Sneak and Peek Searches": Authorizes expanded use of covert searches for any criminal investigation, thus allowing the government to enter your home, office or other private place and conduct a search, take photographs, and download your computer files without notifying you until later



• Creates New Crime of Domestic Terrorism: Creates an entirely new type of crime, which is unnecessary for the prosecution of the "War on Terrorism." By expanding the definition of terrorism in such a way, the bill could potentially allow the government to levy heavy penalties for relatively minor offenses, including political protests



• Allows the CIA to Spy on Americans: Gives the Director of Central Intelligence the power to manage the gathering of intelligence in America and mandate the disclosure of information obtained by the FBI about terrorism in general - even if it is about law-abiding American citizens - to the CIA

The Onion: "In the past, Ashcroft said, efforts by federal agencies to restrict personal freedoms were 'severely hampered' by such factors as the judicial system, the Bill Of Rights, and 'government by the people.' Since the attacks, however, some such limitations have been waived, finally giving the CIA, FBI, Pentagon, and White House the greater powers they need to defend freedom." [Via Bill Seitz]

Anthrax, insurance, and economic fallout

Reuters: US Air Plane Diverted After Unknown Powder Found -- "The remainder of the flight was canceled and other arrangements were being made to carry the 60 passengers to Denver...." The suspicious material was found to be non-toxic. Not to downplay the seriousness of the anthrax cases that have been confirmed, but I wonder if the disruption that follows from fear and extreme precautions will have a worse effect.

Other fall-out and potential disruption from the Sept. 11 attacks involves insurance companies. "The White House plans to propose that the federal government relieve insurance companies of 80 percent or more of the cost of damages from any terrorist attacks over the next year, administration officials and Congressional officials said today....Lenders require insurance to provide financing for real estate, equipment and construction projects. In the absence of such insurance, the fear among manufacturers and real estate developers and bankers is that credit will shrivel up." [NY Times]

In an insurance-related vein, the Guardian reports Europe's airports 'to close in days'. "Europe's airports could be forced to close within days as measures to bolster their war risk insurance in the wake of last month's terrorist attacks run out, according to a leading industry association."

Put yourself in this picture

The Times [London]: "Every night for the past month, as Taleban soldiers and police fled the city in fear of airstrikes, the residents of Kandahar came out to enjoy long-forbidden freedoms without fear of punishment by the religious police."

AP: "In Nevada, the FBI was investigating a letter sent from Malaysia to a Microsoft office in Reno to determine whether it contained anthrax, officials said." A similar earlier scare involving the New York Times is reported to have tested negative. A family member reports that a suspicious letter or package prompted evacuation of the Denver, Colorado, post office today [unconfirmed].

AP: "Cheney said in a TV interview that although there was not enough evidence to positively pin down a connection to the chief suspect in the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States, the cases of anthrax in Florida and New York were 'suspicious.'" I watched that same interview, broadcast this evening on PBS, and found it a fascinating contrast to President Bush's press conference of yesterday.

Reuters: Following the Florida anthrax investigation, the American Postal Workers Union "filed a notice of intent to sue President Bush, Tom Ridge, the new director of homeland security, other top U.S. officials and the U.S. Postal Service for failing to properly protect workers from the danger of attacks through the mail." The union apparently wants an executive order to stop all incoming international mail. Hello, reality-check time...

Interesting background on the significance of Columbus Day to current events.

From the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), it appears that we are headed over the edge with poorly defined anti-terrorist legislation regarding computer usage:

(5)(A) [one who] knowingly causes the transmission of a program, information, code, or command, and as a result of such conduct, intentionally causes damage without authorization, to a protected computer [is in violation of the statute].

Washington Post: Senate passes expansion of electronic surveillance -- This is the Senate version of ATA 2001 (the anti-terrorism bill), which has received intense criticism over fears of widespread abuse of civil liberties not merely limited to surveillance. AP reports that the House is adopting this version of the bill in order to assuage Americans' fears, although the House insists on sunset clauses. I wonder if petty hacking still will carry a life sentence without parole.

An NBC news employee in New York has tested positive for anthrax. It's reportedly a cutaneneous (skin) infection, not pulmonary (inhaled). NY Mayor Rudolph Giuliani states that there is no evidence of any relation to terrorist activities nor any relation to the ongoing anthrax investigation in Florida.

Guardian: "Nato aerial surveillance planes (Awacs) are expected to begin patrolling US skies today to help defend America from air attack while US forces and military equipment are focused on Afghanistan....The aerial patrols, codenamed Operation Noble Eagle, will mark the first time foreign troops have been deployed to defend US soil. The moment has been made all the more symbolic by the fact that a quarter of the 200 troops operating the planes will be German." Ah, irony... No mention of this on the evening news, of course.

President Bush's evening press conference was interesting and largely optimistic in tone. When asked about the disconnect between his message (Go back to your lives) and Attorney General Ashcroft's periodic dire warnings of further attacks, the president implied that these warnings were somehow to reassure us that the government is at its fullest state of alert. OK, I feel better now.

Are Israeli Prime Minister Sharon's days numbered? -- The Bush administrations plan for the Middle East "represents a dramatic departure for a Republican administration and is anathema for Mr Sharon, who has sworn never to yield any ground in the holy city, and who does not believe in a final peace settlement, but rather a series of interim deals." [Guardian]

Nina Burleigh: Missing the Oil Story -- "Why can we assume that global businessmen like Bush Senior and Jim Baker care about who runs Afghanistan and NOT just because it's home base for lethal anti-Americans? Because it also happens to be situated in the middle of that perennial vital national interest -- a region with abundant oil. By 2050, Central Asia will account for more than 80 percent of our oil."

Seumas Milne: Lurching toward catastrophe -- "...While Bin Laden is fast developing popular cult status across the Middle East, Bush and Blair have turned themselves into recruiting sergeants for al-Qaida and militant Islamism - and increased the likelihood of a cycle of revenge and retaliatory violence. The longer the campaign goes on and the wider it spreads, the greater the risk that many Middle Eastern governments dearest to the west will be consigned to oblivion."

Fox News wonders what's the connection between Osama and Bert? OK, this is too weird. We have to laugh once in awhile, else we die crying.

Washington Post: U.S. seeks to build secure online network -- "The government's new cyber-security officials yesterday asked telecommunications companies for help building a government computer network that would have 'no risk of outside penetration' -- a task some computer security consultants say is nearly impossible." The mother of all firewalls...

BBC: Doomsday fears of terror cyber-attacks -- "Computer experts have painted a chilling picture of the potential threat from a combined terror and cyber-attack on the United States." Computer networks critical to power supplies, telecommunications and financial systems could be attacked. We have also been warned about this for several years.

The FBI warns that additional attacks are likely 'over the next several days.' [Reuters]

American expatriates are fearful following the shooting of a Canadian in Kuwait, in what may be a response to US air strikes. [Reuters]

Dave Winer noticed that the New York Times archives have gone dark. A lot of folks have counted on being able to link to excellent articles or op-ed pieces from the Times. Now we'll have link rot.

Hal Crowther: Requiem: A prayer from the ashes -- "Terrorism is the gross moral astigmatism of outlaws who worship abstractions and despise life. If we overreact and massacre civilians, if we ignore the distinction between the innocent and the guilty just as the suicide squads ignored it, we become terrorists ourselves -- and forfeit the right to our outrage." A must-read.

A couple of interesting things to remember as we hear, view or read the news:

Wartime Lies, 'a consumers guide to the bombing'

Festival of Lies

One month since the attacks. Hard to believe. Today marks five days of air attacks on Afghanistan.

Times of India: Anthrax cases caused by lab bacteria -- "US investigators probing anthrax infection cases in South Florida that killed one person have come to the conclusion that the deadly bacteria was of the crude kind, made in laboratories and not of natural origin...." The incident is referred to as "malicious" but not "consistent" with a terrorist attack. From US news wires, not a peep on this. Interesting.

What's going on in Florida? Look at two reports from Associated Press, one posted on excite.com (domestic), one posted at Times of India. The domestic piece says authorities are waiting for lab results to determine if the anthrax strain is natural or man-made. The foreign piece cites an anonymous Washington law enforcement source who states that the FBI believes the strain is man-made.

Buried in this Reuters report, "The Afghan opposition Northern Alliance said 40 Taliban commanders with 1,200 men under arms had switched sides and closed the only road linking north and south Afghanistan." This is encouraging.

Reuters: Annan 'disturbed' by U.S. comments of expanding war -- U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Negroponte said "the U.S. inquiry was still in its early stages, but added, 'We may find that our self-defense requires further action with respect to other organizations and other states.'"

Also from the NY Times, American action is held likely in Asia, particularly the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia.

The New York Times reports that the FBI is switching its focus from investigation of the Sept. 11 attacks to preventing further attacks. "Some officials suggest that Mr. Ashcroft has in effect taken command of F.B.I. operations along with Mr. Mueller." This has created some potential friction, as the FBI has a history of working somewhat independently of the Justice Department.

Reuters: Passengers subdue man who tries to get in cockpit -- "Military jets scrambled on Monday to escort a commercial jetliner to a safe landing after passengers helped the crew subdue a mentally ill man who forced his way into the cockpit, authorities said."

Reuters: Arabs Slam U.S. Strike, Protesters Killed in Gaza -- "Many Muslims questioned the validity of a global campaign against terrorism that ignored the fate of Palestinians under Israeli occupation and Afghan civilians." Middle eastern reaction includes fears that Iraq is next on the coalition's list.

AP: The second Florida anthrax patient lived one mile from air strip where the where suspected hijacker Mohamed Atta rented planes. Attorney General Ashcroft does not preclude a criminal investigation, but there is reportedly no evidence linking this event to terrorists.

Reuters: Americans stressed by fear of retaliatory strikes -- "Dire warnings that the United States could be targeted for retaliation, alongside reassurances to carry on life as usual amid the U.S.-led military campaign in Afghanistan have left many Americans on edge and feeling insecure." I'd say that pretty well sums up how a lot of folks feel around here. Waiting for the other shoe to drop...

NY Times: Nagging uncertainty about consequences -- "But as Americans turned their attention back to watching football this afternoon, much of the country was unsettled. No matter how hard they try not to, no matter how steadfast they may consider themselves, millions of Americans fear retaliation."

The Associated Press is playing the item below as Blair hints.... Formal notification to the UN Security Council seems hardly a "hint."

Times of India: Attacks on other countries possible -- "The United States has formally notified the U.N. Security Council that counterterrorism attacks may be extended beyond Afghanistan."

Reuters: Second anthrax case detected in Florida -- "A co-worker of the Florida man who died of anthrax last week has tested positive for the extremely rare disease that experts say could be used as a biological warfare agent...." Apparently bacteria were found on the computer keyboard of the first patient. Officials continue to stress that anthrax is not contagious (person-to-person), but there is some concern that the building in Florida may harbor the spores which carry the bacteria.

CNN: Bombing resumes near Kabul, Kandahar

Washington Post: Emmys canceled due to military strikes

Times of India: Mullah Omar mentally unstable, says doctor -- Brain seizures, outrageous mood swings, babbling... "Analysts pointed out that the portrait of a gibbering idiot, as painted by The Sunday Telegraph, contrasts oddly with the apparent public obedience Omar seems to receive from Americaís public enemy number one, his good friend and alleged relation by marriage, Osama bin Laden, in his last television interview."

Reuters: US on alert for Al Qaeda plot after strikes -- "U.S. strikes on Afghanistan may prompt the al Qaeda network to activate some long-planned plot against American targets and U.S. intelligence agencies were on high alert, officials said on Sunday." In a televised press conference earlier today, Defense Secretary Rumsfeld tried to dissociate such possible actions from "retaliation" for US strikes, noting that terrorist acts typically involved lengthy pre-planning. Rumsfeld's comments struck me as dodging a bit, since the net result will be the same.

As many as 1.5 million Afghan refugees may be on the move. One of the goals of the food drops is to try to keep people in their home areas and avoid the hardship and casualties that occur with these types of mass movements.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair just finished his televised address (noon MDT), reinforcing Britain's commitment and reminding us that the atrocities were an attack on the world.

The strikes are targeting infrastructure and seek to avoid civilian casualties; they will be followed by massive airlifts of food for the millions of already starving civilians. A second wave of strikes is anticipated shortly. [From NBC TV, which is unfortunately in the other room]

BBC: US begins military strike -- Kabul and Kandahar appear to have been struck by cruise missiles. More at MSNBC and The Times of India.

CNN: On my orders, the United States military has begun strikes against al Qaeda training camps and military installations of the Taliban regime," Bush said in a televised address at 1 p.m. EDT Sunday. "We are joined in this operation by our staunch friend, Great Britain. Other close friends, including Canada, Australia, Germany and France, have pledged forces as the operation unfolds," Bush said.

Reuters: Bush says U.S. begins attack on Afghanistan

David McCusker: "Legally mandated pervasive copy protection [proposed SSSCA bill] will put internet software into a prison lockdown mode that will kill virtually all innovation in internet software as we understand it today, in favor of the company that wins the election to gatekeeper."

View from the Heart: "Before 9/11, we just worried about how we were going to take care of mass casulties in a city linked with an intricate system of vulnerable bridges and roads. Now we are back at the drawing board, redesigning with full security measures in mind. How do we maintain secure network communications, phone lines, pager services? How do [we] insure that we have uninterrupted supplies of energy, food, water, and pharmaceuticals? The whole issue of crowd control in an era when the public has come to expect 'open' hospital units and easy access to patient care areas is enough to spawn a migraine by itself."

Washington Post: Taliban offers to free aid workers if US stops 'military propaganda' -- The propaganda they're referring to is massive amounts of airlifted food for the millions of starving Afghan people whom the Taliban care for about as much as cockroaches. The aid workers are on trial for "spreading Christianity."

The State of Georgia (that's the USA, folks, not former USSR) seems bent on creating a scapegoat in the case of a college systems administrator who installed some unapproved software on the school's PCs. (Some earlier background from Business Week, and further discussion at O'Reilly's p2p.com.) [Via Scripting News]

India finds itself isolated: "The September 11 terrorist attacks not only felled two skyscrapers and snuffed out 5000 lives, but has also shaken a sturdy bilateral relationship and extinguished, for now at least, a political, economic, and cultural lovefest between the two countries." [Times of India]

NY Times: FBI limited inquiry of man now a suspect in the attacks -- This is eerie... The person in question was solely interested in learning how to fly a jet airliner, not how to take off or land.

Reuters: First shots fired in anger in looming Afghan war -- "After nearly four weeks of mounting tension in Central Asia, intense anti-aircraft fire erupted over Kabul on Saturday for about 15 minutes as gunners tried to bring down two aircraft. One official said at least one of the aircraft was an unmanned surveillance drone."

A current poll shows Americans split on changing US foreign policy.

NY Times: Miltary's sole supplier of anthrax vaccine still can't make it -- BioPort Corp. failed Food and Drug Administration inspections in 1999 and 2000 and is scrambling to upgrade its processes so as to be able to manufacture vaccine. "In recent days more than 1,200 people, including many doctors, have called BioPort asking to buy anthrax vaccine. They are transferred to a recording that says, 'All the stockpile that currently exists is owned by the Department of Defense. At this time there is no opportunity for any commercial sales.' The government has said it has no plans to vaccinate civilians."

Reuters: Americans face delay for winter flu shots -- We went through the same delay last year; having a nonagenarian in the household makes this less than trivial.

Fall must be officially here, with Winter not far behind -- fired up the boiler for the central heating this morning. Ironically, the air conditioning will probably go on late this afternoon.

BBC: Intelligence data pulled from websites -- "Several US Government sites have removed information about hazardous chemicals and maps out of concern the data could prove useful to people planning further attacks....But government watchdogs warn that national security could be used as a pretext to keep information from the public."

ABC: Doctors dispute whether we're prepared for biowarfare

Boycott Disney -- "...We want to throw our support behind the efforts of the Oppose the SSSCA (government policeware on your PC) Petition."

Doc Searls: Roar at the mouse and its running dogs -- The SSSCA "lets Disney and Sony tell Compaq and Dell what they can put in their PCs and makes it a civil offense for anyboy to make or sell any kind of computer equipment that 'does not include and utilize certified security technologies.'"

Washington Post: FBI, CIA warn of more attacks -- "The concern about another attack is based on intelligence from sources in England, Germany, Afghanistan and Pakistan, according to a source familiar with what congressional intelligence committees have been told." It's a little hard to adopt a get-back-to-business attitude when the Attorney General issues dire warnings every three days, while at the same time the President appears on TV stating everything is OK. The obvious conclusion might be that we are indeed at serious risk but that general panic must be avoided.

BBC: US begins ground deployment -- "Around 1,000 US troops are on their way to Uzbekistan for the first major deployment of ground forces in the campaign against terrorism, US officials have said."

Telegraph: Ebola-style killer virus sweeps Afghan border -- "Evidence suggests the outbreak of Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever emanates from within Afghanistan, raising fears of an epidemic if millions of refugees flee across the frontier into Pakistan."

Reuters: Much of anti-terrorism bill may be temporary -- "A major difference between the two bills is that many provisions in the House bill, unlike those in the Senate version, would expire, or 'sunset,' on Dec. 31, 2003. Republicans and Democrats have demanded that provisions to broaden the authority of law enforcement to wire tap phones and share intelligence information should expire in two years." Both the president and the attorney general oppose "sunset" legislation; however, members of both parties in Congress realize that this will help prevent potential widespread abuse of civil liberties.

NY Times: Powell tries to allay worry of senators on Muslim rage -- "Uppermost in today's discussion, senators said afterward, was the stability of Pakistan and whether its president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, could withstand pressures from his Islamic population once American military operations began." (Free registration required)

Reuters: Russian airliner crashes into Black Sea -- "Ukraine quickly dismissed American suggestions that the plane might have been hit by an accidental missile strike from Ukraine and President Vladimir Putin said it might be a 'terrorist act.'"

International Herald Tribune: Russian tectonic shift? -- "The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, declared Wednesday that Russia was prepared to reconsider its opposition to NATO expansion as part of a dramatic transformation in Russia's security relationship with Europe that he said must place a top priority on the fight against international terrorism."

Stratfor: "Al-Qa'ida does not expect to destroy the United States directly. It fully understands the severe limits on its resources. Rather, bin Laden's strategy is to force the United States into a series of actions that will destabilize the governments of Washington's Islamic partners and lead to their collapse."

ABC reports that gun sales are up, especially to first-time buyers. Yup, I can hit an anthrax bacterium at 100 yards with iron sights, by golly...

Terror attack increases pain symptoms, not to mention stress and insomnia.

Brett Glass: What biology can teach us about appropriate responses to terrorism

Register: Carnivore substitute keeps Feds honest -- "The Forensics Explorers division of CTX is ready to go to market with a Carnivore-like suite called NetWitness which, the company says, can enable ISPs to surrender to the Feds only those specific bits of information about a suspect which a court has authorized for collection." This is a great alternative to having everyone's e-mail going through a mysterious black box.

Reuters: NATO invokes mutual defense clause after attacks -- Nato secretary-general Lord Robertson "said the 19-nation alliance had determined that the attacks were directed from abroad and would thus be regarded as an attack on all allies." This followed "compelling" evidence presented by the US linking bin Laden to the Sept. 11 attacks.

Guardian: Bin Laden seen in Kabul -- Last week, that is... "Even if timely intelligence locates Bin Laden in Kabul, the US and Britain would be faced with a serious dilemma, Whitehall sources admit. Any decision to launch air strikes on the capital, even with precision weapons, would carry the risk of heavy civilian casualties."

CNET has more on the revamped anti-terrorism bill (check out the article sidebar for a good summary). The section covering hacking has been modified to cover activities "calculated to influence or affect the conduct of government by intimidation or coercion...or to retaliate against government conduct." Critics contend that many of the definitions of "terrorist activity" still contain too much leeway.

Reuters: House reaches deal on anti-terrorism package -- "According to a copy of their bill circulated among other committee members..., Sensenbrenner and Conyers also agreed to move to eliminate a half dozen of Bush's more controversial provisions opposed by civil libertarians." No word yet if petty hacking will still carry a life sentence without parole.

CNN: Taliban 'panicking' -- Interesting interview with Abdel Barin Atwan, the Editor-in-Chief of the Palestinian-based newspaper "Al Quds."

NY Times: The news media prepare for war -- "Top news executives...expressed determination to offer the most important coverage of their careers. Privately, a few wondered how they would manage, both financially and logistically." (Free registration required)

CNET: FTC shutters thousands of Web sites -- "According to the Federal Trade Commission, John Zuccarini, of Andalusia, Pa., outside Philadelphia, operated more than 5,500 Web sites that diverted Web surfers from their intended destinations and exposed them to pop-up ads." Hey, free speech is great, but these sites typically kill the browser's "Back" button, leaving the hapless viewer desperately reaching for the power switch. Another reason to turn off javascript.

NY Times: Clinton disbarred from practice before Supreme Court (Free registration required)

On a lighter note, today is my grand-nephew's first birthday. Happy Birthday, dude! :-)

Reuters: U.S. scrambles to prepare for biological attack -- "Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson insisted on Sunday the United States was ready to deal with a germ or chemical attack. He said eight secret U.S. government staging areas were poised to respond to such an attack." Oaklahoma Governor Frank Keating disagreed, noting that those on the front lines (doctors, nurses, clinics, emergency rooms) are not prepared to deal with this type of event.

Salon is moving all news and politics coverage to their "Premium" (subscription) service. Can't blame 'em from a financial standpoint, but it's impossible to point to anything now.

Register: Face recognition useless for crowd surveillance -- "...In uncontrolled settings, such as we'd encounter in a surveillance context, the performance of face recognition falls to absurd depths." In an uncontrolled environment (like a busy airport terminal), the FDR (false detection rate) was 33%. Further, "to detect 90 per cent of terrorists we'd need to raise an alarm for one in every three people passing through the airport. It's absolutely inconceivable that any security system could be built around this kind of performance...."

Wired: Another thing to fear - ID theft -- "The fact that a legion of detectives can't conclusively decide who those 19 [hijackers] were indicates just how difficult it is -- even in our database-friendly times -- to pin down something so slippery as one's identity. Identity theft, which was seen as an irritating consequence of modern life before Sept. 11, is now seen as a potential threat to national security."

ABC has dumped Bill Maher's 'Politically Incorrect.' [Washington Post] Thanks, Ari. :-(

NY Times: Lobbyists line up to make their case for federal aid -- Have the flood-gates been opened?

Times of India: US ropes in dissident Taliban commander -- "Khan, who fought with Taliban forces against former Soviet forces but later fell out and was imprisoned by the militia, is ready to move against the Taliban forces...."