:: Event Horizon ::

:: Friday, August 23, 2002 ::

A Nation of Bloggers
Another news article on the blog phenomenon, this one from the New York Times.

:: Joel 12:24 PM [+] ::
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Hit Charade
The music industry blames file traders for the decline in music sales. Perhaps they should look to the quality of the music they are producing as the real culprit. People will always buy art that moves them in a personal way, just like people purchase movies they have already seen at the cineplex for the sake of owning it and watching it again and again. If a song moves a listener, the desire to own it is strong, this is a reaction that has not changed in people, I doubt it ever will. If the human reaction to music has not changed, then perhaps the industry has changed, balkanizing music into genres and sub-genres until there is no longer any national music market, just a bunch of niche markets catering to ever expanding list of eccentric styles. Not that I'm against eccentricity, I have very eclectic tastes in music, I just object to an industry that blames the consumer for their failures.

:: Joel 12:11 PM [+] ::
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Banned Book Project
I've been considering which book to read in support of Banned Book Week (Sept.21-28, 2002) and have decided on Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. I read it once, in high school, and I'm thinking that maybe my perspective on life has changed just a bit since then. I'll be sure to offer some comments after I've read it. A full list of the banned and challenged books can be found here.

:: Joel 12:40 PM [+] ::
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Administration Split On Europe Invasion
This is a fantastic satire. And no, it does not come from The Onion, but from Rand Simberg's blog. It really makes you think, what if the challenges faced by the Greatest Generation had taken place in today's political climate?

:: Joel 12:36 PM [+] ::
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I keep reading about efforts to shackle the Internet, impose Internet taxes, regulate what kinds of information can be distributed over the Internet, limit access to the Internet, and generally impose centralized control over what was conceived to be a decentralized communications tool. What can be done? Lawrence Lessig of Stanford Law School suggests a strategy: identify 2 luddite members of Congress -- one Republican and one Democrat. Organize and defeat them in November. If Congress saw bad ideas cost seats, they'd begin to do something about their bad ideas. I'm all for that. Please let me know how I can help.

:: Joel 12:30 PM [+] ::
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Friendly Fire
Wow, I'm certainly glad the days of wacky military conspiracies are over. Aren't you? The system of checks and balances seems to have worked in restraining this aberrant fixation on removing a foreign leader from power, but I can't help but wonder what the cost was. I'd like to suggest that the U.S. has the luxury of adopting an attitude of superpower aloofness regarding what may seem at the time to be an overwhelming need to do something. History revealed that it didn't matter much one way or the other if Castro stayed in power. The U.S. has the luxury of time, we can wait out adversaries, see how things develop, take time to consider all options. There may be lessons here for the present. I am (as you may have noticed if you are a frequent visitor) in favor of removing Saddam from power in Iraq, but I'm in favor of doing it right. That means taking the time to pull our fickle allies together and reminding them what is at stake, affirming the appropriate legal basis for removing Saddam, putting the proper military resources into the region, and planning for the aftermath of the war...even if this takes years to accomplish.

:: Joel 2:06 PM [+] ::
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Bush Team Campaigning for Opposition to Mugabe's Rule
Perhaps I was a bit hasty in my comments regarding Dr. Rice's "evil man" policy. Can it be that the Bush team has a coherent policy after all? At any rate, I'm greatly encouraged by this development. I applaud their efforts to put together humanitarian aid packages for Africa, but any policy that does not at the same time seek to stem the tide of tyrannical rulers in Africa is bound to fail.

:: Joel 1:54 PM [+] ::
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Bin Laden Vows Jihad in CNN Tape
I've been reading lately of the disconnect between Europe and the U.S. over the war on terrorism. It is as if Europe feels that they are safely on the sideline in this battle, merely observers. However, it's quite clear that from the beginning Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaida terrorist network declared war on the United States, Israel, and the West in general, or in his words, "the crusaders and Jews." As key European allies signal their reluctance to participate in the larger war on terrorism, the release of these videotapes is a timely reminder that whether they like it or not, they are in this war.

:: Joel 3:40 PM [+] ::
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Living in the Blog-osphere
Another article on blogging and what it is and why people do it, this one from Newsweek.

:: Joel 3:31 PM [+] ::
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Indiana U. Named Top 'Party School'
I wonder what the top academic school is? You know, the kind of school where people actually get the education they pay for.

:: Joel 3:10 PM [+] ::
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Rice Calls Saddam an Evil Man
The evil man justification for war offered by Rice is interesting, but I wonder what sort of precedent this would set? I mean, are we going to seek to overthrow every evil leader? Mugabe better watch out.

:: Joel 1:46 PM [+] ::
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