HOW TO TELL IF YOU’RE COOL: This way.

Oh, to be a kid again.

DELLWATCH: The Dell service guy showed up just as I made that last post. In 20 minutes he replaced the drive, and then stood by while I burned a DVD to make sure it worked. It did. He’s already left. Advantage: Dell.

I AGREE WITH JEFF JARVIS that the U.S. Attorney’s interest in the Jayson Blair matter seems inappropriate. But, you know, this happens everywhere nowadays. Yeah, I guess the press is different — but we’re all, to some degree, at the mercy of prosecutors with an infinite number of vague statutes at hand.

ENVIRONMENTAL RULES: Dividing Europe from the rest of the world?

THERE’S AN INTERESTING CROSS-BLOG DEBATE between Arthur Silber and Billy Beck over the meaning of Rick Santorum’s remarks. Though Santorum isn’t getting much love from either side.

OH, THIS WILL HELP:

BEIJING – China warned it could execute anyone who causes death or injury by deliberately spreading SARS (news – web sites), as officials on Thursday promised more doctors, hospitals and money to fight the flu-like virus in rural areas.

The warning by China’s Supreme Court, reported by the official Xinhua News Agency, appeared to be an effort to force compliance with quarantines and other restrictions. It cited existing laws, many of which include a possible death penalty for even nonviolent offenses, though it often isn’t imposed.

This smacks of desperation to me, and suggests that things aren’t going well as the media coverage would suggest.

UPDATE: For some discouraging historical context, read this. Excerpt:

I’m not so sure that the authorities were keeping the information from the people. It may well be that the people were keeping it from the authorities. . . .

The Chinese official put it this way: “we are having a terrible time getting people to see doctors, even for routine physical checkups. And this is because of an event that took place back in the late 1940s, following Mao’s revolution. At that time, the government promised to eradicate venereal disease in China. And it did. Everyone was forced to undergo an examination by a certified doctor. And anyone with venereal disease was executed. Ever since, most Chinese stayed far away from medical doctors.”

Just another example of the maladaptive nature of totalitarianism.

DAVID EDELSTEIN WASN’T THAT CRAZY about The Matrix Reloaded. (Or its score: “The cheesy, tinny-sounding music doesn’t help. I’ve heard better orchestrations coming out of Game Boys.”) Jonah Goldberg (whose standards, I suspect, differ) found it very enjoyable. And Stephen Hunter writes: “No, it’s not great. No, it’s not a disaster.” (And he loves Monica Bellucci. Well, yeah.)

UPDATE: Jonathan Last liked it pretty well, but says it has too many “junk academics” in it:

while celebrity cameos are fine for “Friends” they can be disastrous in semi-serious movies. Nothing strains an audience’s suspension of disbelief like a slap across the face reminding you that behind the story are a bunch of famous people snapping towels.

So, was Cornel West snapping towels at Susie Bright, or was it the other way around? Inquiring minds want to know. . . .

ANOTHER UPDATE: Diana Hsieh has more on The Matrix. She says it was “awesome.”

HERE’S AN ARTICLE ON “GRASSROOTS VOICES FOR RESPONSIBLE NANOTECHNOLOGY.” It’s nice that there are some of these.

BILL HOBBS is digging into the Tennessee legislation that will let cable companies ban TiVo.

THE DISSIDENT FROGMAN — who has a cool new site — reports on the strikes that have left Paris in a state of near-anarchy.

I LOOKED LAST NIGHT for some postings or reports on how (or even whether) the NPR protests went yesterday, but I didn’t find anything. Now there’s this report, with pictures, from Boston. And here’s a story from Cleveland, one from Fresno, and another from Nashville. Sounds like there were quite a few.

I suspect that the alienation of the Jewish community by its mideast and war coverage poses a real problem for NPR. I know that NPR thinks it does.

UPDATE: Reader Dan Shmikler sends this link to photos of the Chicago protest, and adds:

The local NPR affiliate, WBEZ, interviewed me at length but so far I haven’t heard any report on the air.

One message I tried to emphasize with the WBEZ reporter, and other media who interviewed me, was that the people protesting and upset with NPR’s Middle East coverage are historically hard-core NPR listeners and supporters. As I told them, I have a cabinet full of NPR mugs that I won’t drink from anymore. I would think that they should be concerned that they are alienating a significant part of their core audience.

It’s only a matter of time before the rest of the country follows the lead of Boston activists, and starts going to the corporate sponsors of NPR to ask them to stop their support. WBUR lost over $1 million due to this approach.

I wouldn’t be at all surprised if that happened. I know that NPR is trying to reach out to these people, but I don’t think that’s enough. The demonstrable bias of the coverage — and NPR’s seeming smugness about it — its the problem, and outreach won’t help that. NPR needs to freshen up its coverage, and quit regarding the notoriously biased and antisemitic BBC as a role model.

SPIKED! Jay Fitzgerald points to this story from the Boston Herald, which is gleefully reporting that the New York Times- owned Boston Globe spiked a column critical of Howell Raines:

Inquiring minds want to know: Where was Boring Broadsheet boy wonder Brian McGrory’s Tuesday column? It wasn’t in the paper and our sources say it was spiked.

The reason, we hear, is that McGrory took The New York Times executive editor Howell Raines to task over the Jayson Blair affair and dredged up The Boston Globe’s own dirty laundry: Mike Barnicle.

Which, apparently, didn’t sit too well with the powers that be. Because, we’re told, they refused to run it! McGrory didn’t return our calls and a Globe spokesman declined to discuss the matter.

More crushing of dissent in Ashcroft’s America. . . .

Meanwhile Andrew Sullivan has plenty to say on what’s going on at the Times, as does Mickey Kaus.

UPDATE: Howard Kurtz has more, including this excerpt:

Joe Sexton, a metropolitan desk editor, used a profanity in demanding to know how the paper could have sent Blair, a 27-year-old reporter with a checkered record, to cover the Washington sniper case. “You guys have lost the confidence of much of the newsroom,” Sexton said. . . .

Boyd apologized for his mistakes but said it was “absolute drivel” to suggest that he had acted as a mentor to Blair, who, like the managing editor, is African American. “Did I pat him on the back? Did I say ‘hang in there’? Yes, but I did that with everybody.”

Kaus is right to point out the Times’ squishiness in supporting race preferences in the abstract, but denying them in the concrete. And there’s this bit:

Some Times staffers say what they call Raines’s “autocratic” management style – a “culture of favoritism,” as one described it – helps explain why Blair was deemed untouchable. Since Raines took over in September 2001, several top editors – including the national editor, assistant national editor and two investigative editors – have either left the paper or moved to other assignments. Staffers have complained that Raines runs a top-heavy “Politburo” in which their influence was greatly reduced and managers were categorized as being either on or off the team.

“With us or against us,” eh? Funny, when Bush says stuff like that they accuse him of being simplistic. Kurtz quotes several people who accuse Raines of using the “bad apple” defense, but none is as mean as this:

If mismanagement at Enron had been this clear-cut, the Times would be demanding the death penalty for Ken Lay. Indeed, taking a page from all corporate scandals, the Times insists that the organization is fine; it was just one bad apple. As I recall, the Times editorial page did not accept that explanation when Merrill Lynch said it about Henry Blodget.

Raines’ behavior is far worse than the corporate chieftains. He clearly bears the most responsibility for this fiasco, but when disaster strikes … he blames the black kid! So far, Raines’ response has been basically to say: “You try to help these people …”

Ouch. But it’s the final paragraph that really stings. I think this will get worse before it gets better.

MELISSA SECKORA, who is now at The Hill, has a story on the new Arabic-language satellite TV network being set up by the United States.

These guys should hire Charles Paul Freund as a consultant.

BUDGETARY PRIORITIES in New York City seem, er, misplaced.

“THATCHER’S BACK, AND GUNNING FOR THE FRENCH:“

BARONESS Thatcher returned to politics last night with an attack on the French, whom she accused of collaborating with “enemies of the West” for short-term gain.

In a one-off comeback speech in New York, which broke a medical ban on speaking in public, the former Conservative Prime Minister attacked those who use environmentalism, feminism and human rights campaigns to fight capitalism and the nation state.

She praised Tony Blair, but above all President Bush, for overriding the “rot” that “paralysed” the United Nations.

“Rot.” Indeed.

A LOT OF PEOPLE SEEMED TO HAVE TROUBLE getting the Burning Annie trailers to play when I linked the site before. It seems to be working fine now.

HOWELL RAINES WON’T RESIGN.

UPDATE: Mickey Kaus points to a GSWB confession.

NPR AND SLATE ARE teaming up to produce a radio program out of L.A., according to the L.A. Examiner. But where’s Mickey Kaus?

WELL, IT’S DANGEROUS OUT THERE:

The Senate’s leading gun control advocate, Senator Charles Schumer – who’s currently pressuring the White House to extend the 1994 assault weapons ban – travels with an armed bodyguard. . .

Questions arose Wednesday morning about the gun opponent’s security arrangements after the New York Post’s Cindy Adams mentioned in her column that Schumer appeared at a recent event with a bodyguard in tow.

A quick call to Schumer’s office confirmed that the man guarding the Senate’s number one gun controller was packing heat.

Yes, but you see, Schumer’s life is important. He needs the protection. It’s not like he’s just some single mother working late at a convenience store or something.

THE BRITISH ANTIWAR MOVEMENT ISN’T BACKING AWAY FROM GEORGE GALLOWAY.

Heh. Good.

BILL HOBBS HAS MORE ON THE CABLE-INDUSTRY GIVEAWAY BILL that some say would let the cable companies outlaw TiVO. And he wonders why it’s not getting newspaper coverage.

Hmm. I wonder if there’s cross-ownership between the papers in question and the cable companies.

THE OTHER FOUR HORSEMEN. Chortle.

SOME PEOPLE ARE CALLING IT “THE UNITED NATIONS’ ENRON” — but it’s much worse than that:

The United Nations oil-for-food program in Iraq allowed billions of dollars in illegal oil revenue to flow to Saddam Hussein, lawmakers said Wednesday in a call for making internal audits public. . . .

The program also allowed Saddam to hand-pick many of the companies that would get contracts to provide the humanitarian assistance. He funneled business to French, Russian and Chinese interests, lawmakers were told at the hearing Wednesday.

Two experts on global energy markets told the subcommittee that while the United Nations has conducted internal audits of the Iraqi oil program, none has ever been made public. And they said they knew of no mechanism for formal, public audits.

Follow the money. Follow it hard.

EEEW. The Mullah is icky.

CAMPUS SPEECH CODES ARE SO 1993 — but UCLA is thinking of adopting one anyway. Eugene Volokh thinks it’s a bad idea. I think he’s right.