EXPANDING THE PANAMA CANAL: Publius looks at what’s going on.

MORE ON THE NEW YORK TIMES’ SWIFT FLIPFLOP, from Tom Maguire (“Toothpaste, meet tube”) and Bill Quick: “This is an especially telling admission from the Times ‘ombudsman,’ who, in theory at least, is supposed to be the most objective journalist in the Times organization. But a ‘vicious criticism’ (what? did GWB forget to call you the world’s greatest newspaper?) is enough to warp your objectivity enough to print a story that did major damage to the safety and security of the United States?”

Eugene Volokh, meanwhile, is trying to figure out what was so “vicious.”

UPDATE: “The Devil made me do it!”

ANOTHER UPDATE: Some answers to Eugene’s question.

THE INSTAWIFE IS UNIMPRESSED with the Paul McCartney / Heather Mills story. I’m inclined to be very skeptical about charges of abuse that suddenly appear when the battle over property settlements heats up.

SORRY, I can’t help, here.

UPDATE: It’s not really relevant, but I’m linking this again anyway.

MORE RIOTS IN FRANCE: “In recent days police patrols in a number of towns across the country have been attacked by petrol bombs. ‘This latest clash marks the progressive start of a repeat of the riots of November 2005,’ the statement said, referring to the incident in Grigny.”

UPDATE: On a more positive note, here’s a report on the U.S. from the Christian Science Monitor:

The Islamist radicalism that inspired young Muslims to attack their own countries – in London, Madrid, and Bali – has not yielded similar incidents in the United States, at least so far.

“Home-grown” terror cells remain a concern of US law officers, who cite several disrupted plots since 9/11. But the suspects’ unsophisticated planning and tiny numbers have led some security analysts to conclude that America, for all its imperfections, is not fertile ground for producing jihadist terrorists.

To understand why, experts point to people like Omar Jaber, an AmeriCorps volunteer; Tarek Radwan, a human rights advocate; and Hala Kotb, a consultant on Middle East affairs. They are the face of young Muslim-Americans today – educated, motivated, and integrated into society – and their voices help explain how the nation’s history of inclusion has helped to defuse sparks of Islamist extremism.

“American society is more into the whole assimilation aspect of it,” says New York-born Mr. Jaber. “In America, it’s a lot easier to practice our religion without complications.”

In a nation where mosques have sprung up alongside churches and synagogues, where Muslim women are free to wear the hijab (or not), and where education and job opportunities range from decent to good, the resentments that can breed extremism do not seem very evident in the Muslim community.

Let’s hope this is true, and remains so.

ANOTHER UPDATE: A “permanent intifada” in France?

On a routine call, three unwitting police officers fell into a trap. A car darted out to block their path, and dozens of hooded youths surged out of the darkness to attack them with stones, bats and tear gas before fleeing. One officer was hospitalized, and no arrests made.

The recent ambush was emblematic of what some officers say has become a near-perpetual and increasingly violent conflict between police and gangs in tough, largely immigrant French neighborhoods that were the scene of a three-week paroxysm of rioting last year.

One small police union claims officers are facing a “permanent intifada.” Police injuries have risen in the year since the wave of violence.

National police reported 2,458 cases of violence against officers in the first six months of the year, on pace to top the 4,246 cases recorded for all of 2005 and the 3,842 in 2004. Firefighters and rescue workers have also been targeted – and some now receive police escorts in such areas.

On Sunday, a band of about 30 youths, some wearing masks, forced passengers out of a bus in a southern Paris suburb in broad daylight Sunday, set it on fire, then stoned firefighters who came to the rescue, police said. No one was injured. Two people were arrested, one of them a 13-year-old, according to LCI television.

Sounds bad. (Via Dan Riehl, who thinks this means that France’s accomodationist policy regarding Islamists isn’t working).

THE NEW YORK TIMES does a flip-flop on the SWIFT program:

My July 2 column strongly supported The Times’s decision to publish its June 23 article on a once-secret banking-data surveillance program. After pondering for several months, I have decided I was off base. There were reasons to publish the controversial article, but they were slightly outweighed by two factors to which I gave too little emphasis. While it’s a close call now, as it was then, I don’t think the article should have been published.

Those two factors are really what bring me to this corrective commentary: the apparent legality of the program in the United States, and the absence of any evidence that anyone’s private data had actually been misused. I had mentioned both as being part of “the most substantial argument against running the story,” but that reference was relegated to the bottom of my column. . . .

I haven’t found any evidence in the intervening months that the surveillance program was illegal under United States laws. Although data-protection authorities in Europe have complained that the formerly secret program violated their rules on privacy, there have been no Times reports of legal action being taken. Data-protection rules are often stricter in Europe than in America, and have been a frequent source of friction.

Also, there still haven’t been any abuses of private data linked to the program.

So the New York Times damaged national security by tipping terrorists off to the existence and nature of a legal program that was not being abused. Remember that the next time they declare their own fitness to be trusted with national security decisions.

Michelle Malkin asks: “Why isn’t this on the front page?”

BIZZYBLOG THINKS EARLY VOTING IS BAD FOR AMERICA: “People voting before Election Day are voting without the full knowledge of the candidates, especially how they perform (or fail to perform) under stress. Because of that, I think their numbers should be kept as small as possible.” Hmm. Good point. On the other hand, early voting reduces the influence of last-minute hit jobs, which are usually bogus.

TRUDY SCHUETT is mourning the demise of Miracle Whip.

UPDATE: An email from a Kraft employee on this vital topic. Click “read more” to read it!

(more…)

ANOTHER VIRGINIA POSTREL MOMENT: The Kodak EasyShare cameras are quite good — I gave the InstaDaughter one for Christmas a couple of years ago — but they’re also kind of . . . ugly and bulbous. They give off that hapless American-manufacturer aura, kind of like most GM products.

But I saw a picture of this one in a magazine and it’s much sleeker and more Leica-like in appearance. And poking around, I notice that most of the new Kodaks are better looking. That makes sense: Given that it doesn’t cost anything to make products look good, why are so many of them ugly? Nice to see some people catching on — and heck, even GM cars are improving.

UPDATE: Went looking at DPreview.com for a review, but this camera’s too new. But they had a review for the similar V610 and they’ve noticed the same thing I did:

Gone are the days when Kodak only sold big, plastic (and dare I say ugly) digital cameras; the V610 is a real head-turner with beautiful detailing and a build quality to die for. The rear is dominated by a huge 2.8-inch screen, though there are a smattering of buttons down the left hand side – and the ubiquitous four-way controller on the right. The front of the camera is clean and simple, and looks a little unusual thanks to the twin lens arrangement (which when not in use is hidden under a brushed metal cover. At around 160g (5.6 oz) it is pretty heavy for such a small camera, adding to the impression the all-metal body gives of being built like a tank. The use of different surface textures and chrome accents gives the V610 a high quality ‘designer’ feel, and sitting with it in your hand it’s hard to believe this little camera has the equivalent of a 38-380mm 10x zoom lens squeezed inside.

Of course, as the review also notes, big, bulbous cameras are easier to hold steady with one hand. But the camera that fits in your shirt pocket is a camera that you’ll take with you, and a camera that you’ll take with you gets more pictures than one that sits in a drawer. Plus, people just like stuff that looks and feels better. I remember my old Alesis mixing board was good, but its controls felt cheap — like a kid’s toy. The Mackie I use now (the Alesis suffered an unfortunate accident) isn’t any better, really, but its controls feel better, so it’s a pleasure to use.

DEATH BY A THOUSAND REGULATIONS: Jules Crittenden looks at what’s happening to milblogs. He also talks about Matt Burden’s warblog book.

U.N. ENVOY JAN PRONK has been kicked out of Sudan for blogging:

Foreign Ministry spokesman Ali al-Sadig said Pronk had until mid-day Wednesday to leave.

“The reason is the latest statements issued by Mr. Pronk on his Web site regarding severe criticism of the Sudanese Armed Forces and the fact that he said the government of Sudan is not implementing the Darfur peace agreement,” al-Sadig added.

He said the Foreign Ministry met with Pronk on Sunday and had informed him of its decision.

Pronk has previously had problems with the government because of comments he published on his Web log www.janpronk.nl. The latest blog entry said Darfur rebels had beaten the army in two major battles in the last two months.

Here’s the blog. I’m happy to hear that the government’s doing badly, given that it’s trying to accomplish a genocide.

Austin Bay: “He blogged the truth and the Sudan government now says ‘goodbye.'”

GREG PACKER is back!

BIAS AT THE BBC: The only surprise is that they admit it.

YOU READ IT HERE FIRST: It’s a hand-sanitizer revolution.

UPDATE: A reader emails:

I first noticed the revolution on a cruise this summer (Princess), on which the line actually had staff standing at the entrance to all common eating areas and would not permit passengers to enter until they’d had a blob of Purell squirted in their hands; an excellent idea in my view, and one that would make them my first choice for that type of vacation in the future.

It’s coming.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Alex McCusker emails:

I noticed this as well on our cruise (Cunard) between New York and Southampton in August. At every buffet service there was a hand-sanitizer and the person handing you your plate made sure you took some disinfectant.

This was also the case in the children’s play area where when they walked there was a note asking them to wash their hands.

Most people I observed seemed to understand why this was necessary.

I think it’s a great idea.

THE TIDE HAS BEEN ROLLED: “My understanding is that Sen. Jeff Sessions has asked the FBI to investigate the Tennessee secondary on charges of civil rights violations against Alabama receivers . . . . My brother blames the heartbreaking defeat on ‘cut-and-run’ Crimson Tide fans.”

PEOPLE ASKED FOR PICTURES. Here are a few, from out along Northshore Drive:

OCTOBER SURPRISE FATIGUE: “Also, as Matt Drudge notes in the Post story, a surprise that comes at a regularly-scheduled part of the year isn’t really that surprising.”

BARRON’S PREDICTS that the GOP will hold both houses.

But Ramesh Ponnuru observes: “I don’t think the analysis is very solid.”

HOW TO BECOME a right-wing pundit!

It’s suspiciously similar to how one becomes “anti-gay.”

IF YOU’VE ENJOYED READING GARY FARBER’S BLOG, he could use a bit of help.

Here, by the way, are his comments on the Spider Robinson / Heinlein “new” novel, Variable Star.

And note the Heinlein Centennial.

EXTREME PUMPKIN CARVING: Liquid nitrogen is involved.

HAS LIVEJOURNAL let in the KGB?

CLARICE FELDMAN HAS MORE on the goings-on at the House Intelligence Committee.

And a reader notes this bit from Michael Barone about Jane Harman:

Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is said to be determined to replace her with Alcee Hastings, the former federal judge who was impeached by the House for bribery and convicted and removed from office by the Senate.

Call me crazy, but is someone who was impeached and removed for bribery a good choice for leadership on the Intelligence Committee? And is somebody who thinks so a good choice to head the House Democrats?

UPDATE: Eugene Volokh comments:

In 1989 the Senate removed then-federal judge Hastings, convicting him of conspiracy to take a bribe and perjury; the Senate vote was 69-25, and on one of the counts the vote was 34-21 even among Democratic senators alone. Hastings had been acquitted at his criminal trial some years before, which is to say that he wasn’t proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. But shouldn’t the standard for deciding who’ll be head of the Intelligence Committee be more than just seniority plus he hasn’t been proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt?

He seems like a poor choice to me, and if I were the Democrats, who have to be worried about national security as an election issue, I wouldn’t be thinking about him for the position.

HAPPY OCTOBER! SURPRISED YET?

UPDATE: Takin’ it to the streets.

ANOTHER UPDATE: “Send the chauffeur to the barricades at once!”

SPACEBLOGGER MARK WHITTINGTON has a column in the Washington Post today: “A new type of space race ended this summer when NASA picked two winners for the innovative Commercial Orbital Transportation Systems program. . . . If the Commercial Orbital Transportation Systems program works, NASA will have a low-cost way to service the space station, freeing up money for exploration of the moon and Mars. Companies will get a lot of help developing the space vehicles of the future, which promise to lower the cost and increase the reliability of space travel. The help will consist of not just dollars but also the kind of expertise and access to facilities that only NASA can offer.”