Floater!

As suspected, the FBI has found that the shootings of Sept. 16th of Iraqis by Blackwater employees were unjustifed:

F.B.I. Says Guards Killed 14 Iraqis Without Cause

A major point I found very interesting and rather problematic is embedded in this statement:

Representative David E. Price, a North Carolina Democrat who has sponsored legislation to extend American criminal law to contractors serving overseas, said the Justice Department must hold someone accountable for the shootings.

"Just because there are deficiencies in the law, and there certainly are," Mr. Price said, "that can't serve as an excuse for criminal actions like this to be unpunished. I hope the new attorney general makes this case a top priority. He needs to announce to the American people and the world that we uphold the rule of law and we intend to pursue this."

As the article later points out, Price's legislation will not apply to the events of Sept. 16th, which he also acknowledges. Unfortunately, I believe the above statement is logically inconsistent and contains the key argument against any prosecution (at least in a US or Iraq court) of the Blackwater people. That is, there is no clear law under which these acts can be prosecuted as criminal, but they are criminal anyway and the AG should show that we enforce laws even when there aren't any that we can apply. I have trouble believing that Mr. Price could have really meant for this to be the meaning of his statement (or legislation) but this is my reading of it and I think it is a sound one. As such, and I don't usually advocate this, it seems that the only applicable doctrine is international law, and this probably needs to be dealt with as a war crime. Call in the Hague and the Tribunal I say, because I really think this looks godawful for us (and is godawful in and of itself) if we (america) allow for these kinds of atrocities to pass without second thought. I only hope a more coherent case than what this Rep is spewing can be made before the international community. That being said, does it seem like he is advocating such a course? And who is liable in such a case, the guards themselves, the organization that employs them, the heads of that organization, etc?

What fun and important things we are doing with our $1.6 trill.

Critical Mass = 2?

It seems that my critical mass for checking out new things based on recommendations or references is somewhere around two. That is, catching a glimpse of something vaguely interesting registers it in the neocortex with a little emotional marking, based on the source and content. Given a second reference or recommendation, plus the right context, seems to have recently led to some interesting forays. For example, I was told that Landmarc was a good spot to dine by some semi-anonymous drunkards last week, and then an old friend did shine a light upon it as well. One very satisfying (though pricey) meal later, with new friends and new tips, I see the rule of 2 at work.

It happened again tonight, with Brijit. More than just the name of a college chum's ex-girlfriend, Brijit is a nifty site offering bite-size (<100 words) ADD-oriented reviews of various pieces of long-form journalism. The blurbs are submitted by registered users to a panel of editors, who boil it down to one postable bit. And then they pay the "winner" with a shiny fiver in the paypal. This was power-of-twoed at me by kottke.org, which didn't fully agree with my enthusiastic assessment. However, it's the second rec/ref in as many days, so I dove right in - and approve. (I think the first may have been from thrillist)

Already submitted an abstract on A-Rod in the onion. Hoo-hah I love me some encapsulated ranting. Not sure if I can post it here (they might own my words! eep!), but we shall see if I become five American dollars richer!

As for the theory of two-ness as pertains to refs and recs, I can't make a categorical claim, as a)my evidence is all anecdotal and from the past week; b)this phenomenon is probably deeper and more interesting than can be fully covered here; c)I bet the number shifts for each instance, but I also bet there is a relationship that can be described and elucidated through experiment.

Hence, some research questions:
What influence do the recommendations of friends, family, colleagues and acquaintances have on whether we choose to engage in some activity? And what is the role of the other contributory factors, such as memory, emotion, content, and context? Fodder for my future!

Neighborhood Blogs

Neighborhood blogs seem to be a web-based vanguard of the meatspace phenomenon of young, affluent, tech-hip people who are populating the once industrial-decayed parts of Brooklyn. Seems to be a sort of mild spinoff of Gothamist, same idea, but more localized. Examples:

Ditmas Park Blog
Brooklyn Junction
The Gowanus Lounge

These are just the ones I've actually browsed; each has links to more.

The times are-a-changin'.

Ludlow

Well, I mangled a comment on Warren Ellis' blog, to my eternal...ah whatever. here is the pic. I think it's a nice companion piece to Trixie Bedlam's:



I am nearly done with the Turk. I guess when it hits th 20th century, I will try to resume the near-stillborn 20th century project. That thing needs some pizazz.

RIAA Case Roundup

- The RIAA (boo! hiss!) won a significant judgment in the case of the first file-sharer to take their case to court. Jammie Thompson was found liable by a jury for making downloaded music available for sharing, and was fined $9,250 for each of the 24 songs on which the plaintiff's attorneys focused the case. I am wishing I had known about RIAA radar, a great tool for evading paying these buggerers with my redundant dough.

I happen to be one of those people who buys more music as a result of downloading, due to my constant, insatiable need for new shiny things and my less rabid but still relevant attention to recording quality (my grado headphones are where these desires met). So this just pisses me off, because it means I could be punished for behavior which, in my case, often gets me contributing more to pocket lining than I otherwise would. So I will stick to grabbing non-riaa tunes and paying those hardworking people for their non-collusive efforts.

and a thought:
These kinds of lawsuits are a pathetic attempt by the industry to make up for the losses it incurred by being so far behind the market that the demand was met by quasi- or illegal providers (e.g., allofmp3.com).

Also, Ryan sent out a link to this (entirely relevant but completely Bizarro) Graphic Novel on Internet Piracy (from Underwire blog)

das quickie

OK:

- Jason Kottke found the most perfect procrastination tool I've yet seen on wikipedia. Particular fun off the bat is Reality Checkpoint, which Grant Morrison has surely used, somewhere.

- The RIAA (boo! hiss!) won a significant judgment in the case of the first file-sharer to take their case to court. Jammie Thompson was found liable by a jury for making downloaded music available for sharing, and was fined $9,250 for each of the 24 songs on which the plaintiff's attorneys focused the case. I am wishing I had known about RIAA radar, a great tool for evading paying these buggerers with my redundant dough.

I happen to be one of those people who buys more music as a result of downloading, due to my constant, insatiable need for new shiny things and my less rabid but still relevant attention to recording quality (my grado headphones are where these desires met). So this just pisses me off, because it means I could be punished for behavior which, in my case, often gets me contributing more to pocket lining than I otherwise would. So I will stick to grabbing non-riaa tunes and paying those hardworking people for their non-collusive efforts.

- SOON (tomorrow?) I will write something thoughtful about I Killed Adolf Hitler, by Jason. It is lovely.

Awful Times Graphic

Honestly, I could not tell that this was "The College Issue" for a good minute or so of looking at the graphic. And I'm hypersensitive to recognizing familiar patterns in obscure settings. What were they going for with that weird ant-shaped "G"???