Author: RB

Spain’s 9/11

Evidence points to Al Qaeda in addition to their claims of credit: MADRID, Spain – The wave of bombings Thursday that killed at least 190 train commuters and injured 1,240 others could have been the work of Muslim extremists, Spanish officials said after finding a van carrying detonators and an Arabic-language tape containing verses from … Continue reading “Spain’s 9/11”

Evidence points to Al Qaeda in addition to their claims of credit:

MADRID, Spain – The wave of bombings Thursday that killed at least 190 train commuters and injured 1,240 others could have been the work of Muslim extremists, Spanish officials said after finding a van carrying detonators and an Arabic-language tape containing verses from the Quran.

Spain has a long history of ETA terrorism, and a longer history of conflict with Islam, so the question is how much influence this tragedy will have by way of stiffening the Spaniards’ resolve to carry out the war to its conclusion. While PM Aznar has been a strong supporter of the Coalition in Afghanistan and Iraq, he’s not had much support from his people.

That may change now.

UPDATE: Tim Blair points to Iberian Notes, a leading Spanish blog.

Literacy Referendum

Clark County, WA, the place where I sleep, had an election today on a bond measure to fund a decent library system. Now you’d think this would be the kind of thing everybody would get behind, but this place is weird. The local Taliban, AKA LifePAC, waged jihad against the measure on the grounds that … Continue reading “Literacy Referendum”

Clark County, WA, the place where I sleep, had an election today on a bond measure to fund a decent library system. Now you’d think this would be the kind of thing everybody would get behind, but this place is weird. The local Taliban, AKA LifePAC, waged jihad against the measure on the grounds that the young people aren’t adequately protected against the porn that forces itself onto library patrons through unfiltered computers, but I suspect their real issue is books on evolution. The leader of the book-burning faction, Margaret Tweet, is a member of fundamentalist church that believes Satan rules the world and the 66 books of the Bible are the complete and infallible word of God. There’s not much point in a library if you believe that sort of thing, and porn is a great excuse for derailing it.

Every day for the past month, one of their minions had a letter published in the local dog-trainer on the evils of libraries, some of the weirdest, most paranoid, and generally sex-obsessed crap you’ve ever seen. Early returns have the measure leading, but not securing the 60% necessary to pass, so the terrorists may win this round.

UPDATE: The library district is created, but the bond measure to fund it fails; victory to the Clark County Taliban. Those of us who believe in learning, progress, and reason will clearly have to organize and fight a better fight another day.

Covering Blumenthal’s tracks

Before the Lott affair, we used to admire Josh Marshal’s blog even though we don’t agree with his politics, not understanding that he’s a puppet of Sidney Blumenthal, the man credited by Kaus as initiator of the Get Lott campaign: Leave it to Harvard’s Kennedy School to produce a 25-page paper on the role of … Continue reading “Covering Blumenthal’s tracks”

Before the Lott affair, we used to admire Josh Marshal’s blog even though we don’t agree with his politics, not understanding that he’s a puppet of Sidney Blumenthal, the man credited by Kaus as initiator of the Get Lott campaign:

Leave it to Harvard’s Kennedy School to produce a 25-page paper on the role of bloggers in the Trent Lott affair that ignores the key part played by Sidney Blumenthal’s e-mails.

Those who’ve crowed the loudest about the Lott Affair’s showing the power of blogs to influence politics have ignored Blumenthal’s role, but any sensible person can see that the more powerful the tool the greater the incentive to manipulate it. Since blogs rely more on e-mail from dubious sources than conventional media, it stands to reason that they’d be easier to influence, and that’s the way we see the lesson of Lott. I’m glad we’ve got Frist running the Senate instead of Lott now, but I’m not at all thrilled by how the transition came about.

Josh Marshall is an insider, and he knew exactly what he was doing and why when he jumped on Lott; the semi-cons like Reynolds who jumped aboard Marshall’s bandwagon were much less aware of what Kaus calls the “dark matter”, and were simply trying to do the right thing and get a few hits in the process.

Many of the high-traffic blogs covering politics extensively are written by political outsiders who don’t actually appreciate the dynamics of political drama, and this makes them super-attractive to spin doctors who make their living, after all, manipulating those who know they’re being manipulated. If “citizen journalism” is going to become a constructive force in our politics, the citizens doing the journalism are going to need some lessons in the day-to-day practical realities of the political system.

Stern messages

Those who want to believe that Howard Stern is being persecuted for his criticism of the President may want to brush-up on their history: A 1988 Howard Stern broadcast of a “Christmas Party” over three stations including WXRK-FM, New York prompted the F.C.C. to fine each station a paltry $2,000 because of indecent programming broadcast … Continue reading “Stern messages”

Those who want to believe that Howard Stern is being persecuted for his criticism of the President may want to brush-up on their history:

A 1988 Howard Stern broadcast of a “Christmas Party” over three stations including WXRK-FM, New York prompted the F.C.C. to fine each station a paltry $2,000 because of indecent programming broadcast at times when children would likely be listening. Then, in 1995, Infinity – the company that fired “Opie and Anthony” – paid $1.7 million dollars in fines for Stern’s “indecency”.

The big fine levied against Stern by the Clinton Administration served to raise the bar for shock jocks, essentially providing Stern with the franchise for tasteless radio programming. Nobody could compete unless they were able to pay such a fine, and nobody who didn’t already have a huge audience could get a syndicator.

So now Stern has climbed upon a cross and declared himself a victim of Bush and the Religious Right, weaving a web of lies to cover himself, such as the claim that he can’t go to XM radio because it’s 30% owned by Clear Channel (the correct figure is somewhere between 4 and 8%; see comments here.).

How far will this idiot go to promote himself, and how gullible are his supporters?

Off the deep end

Jeff Jarvis suggests that Howard Stern should go to satellite radio, Dave Winer thinks Jarvis is reporting rather than suggesting, and Stern himself discusses it on his show: He said that if he went onto satellite, they’d sell 12 million receivers immediately; “they wouldn’t be able to make them fast enough.” It would change the … Continue reading “Off the deep end”

Jeff Jarvis suggests that Howard Stern should go to satellite radio, Dave Winer thinks Jarvis is reporting rather than suggesting, and Stern himself discusses it on his show:

He said that if he went onto satellite, they’d sell 12 million receivers immediately; “they wouldn’t be able to make them fast enough.” It would change the entire radio industry, making broadcast stations worth a helluva lot less, he said, and he’s right.

Never in history has a man been more full of crap than the talentless Howard Stern. His whole schtick is dependent on standards of decency setting the boundaries of good taste so he can position himself outside them. He’s like the little kid who’s learned that he can get attention saying bad words who then works the gimmick to death. He didn’t even invent this gimmick himself, he stole it from Alex Bennett.

In a setting where adolescent content isn’t circumscribed, his show would have no audience. He was created by the FCC, and he knows it, so all this whining about the government cracking down on his free speech rights is just crocodile tears. He benefits from being pushed out of the 6 markets that Clear Channel has banned him from by generating buzz for his tired formula.

If Stern was to go to satellite radio, which he won’t, he’d lose his audience because the 13-year-old boys who dominate it don’t have the cash for an XM radio and the monthly fee. Who’s he trying to kid?

Echo chamber of the annointed

Mike Sanders makes an interesting observation on the Echo Chamber question: It seems to me that an Echo Chamber is a group that ignores other opinions to their own detriment. I keep on thinking that David’s defense of the EC is rooted in an idea from Arnold Kling’s Downfall of the Annointed post in which … Continue reading “Echo chamber of the annointed”

Mike Sanders makes an interesting observation on the Echo Chamber question:

It seems to me that an Echo Chamber is a group that ignores other opinions to their own detriment. I keep on thinking that David’s defense of the EC is rooted in an idea from Arnold Kling’s Downfall of the Annointed post in which he pointed out that some feel that trying to change people’s minds is a waste of time. Instead they just rally their supporters and wait for those who disagree to see the light

The essay he links is right on as well. Weinberger’s sticking to his guns on this issue, despite the fact that nobody agrees with him.

How ironic.

Vegetarian beef

Local burger chain Burgerville is switching to hippie meat: In its ongoing commitment to using the highest quality ingredients available from the Northwest, Burgerville met with Oregon Country Beef four years ago about becoming its beef supplier. At the time, the small co-op of family ranches was unable to meet the volume required by the … Continue reading “Vegetarian beef”

Local burger chain Burgerville is switching to hippie meat:

In its ongoing commitment to using the highest quality ingredients available from the Northwest, Burgerville met with Oregon Country Beef four years ago about becoming its beef supplier. At the time, the small co-op of family ranches was unable to meet the volume required by the 39-unit Northwest fast-food chain. Today, Burgerville will become one of Oregon Country Beef’s largest customers purchasing more than 1.75 million pounds of beef each year. All of Burgerville’s burgers, from the signature Tillamook Cheeseburger and Pepper Bacon Burger to the regular hamburger, will feature the natural beef.

Cool.

The Meme Factory

There’s an old Usenet saying that when you throw a rock into a pack of dogs you can tell which one you hit because he yelps the loudest. Dave Weinberger is yelping pretty loud about the echo chamber discussion Dave Winer wants to hold at this year’s BloggerCon. Weinberger makes two contradictory arguments, first that … Continue reading “The Meme Factory”

There’s an old Usenet saying that when you throw a rock into a pack of dogs you can tell which one you hit because he yelps the loudest. Dave Weinberger is yelping pretty loud about the echo chamber discussion Dave Winer wants to hold at this year’s BloggerCon.

Weinberger makes two contradictory arguments, first that there is no such thing as an Internet echo chamber, and second that echo chambers are a necessary feature of all social groups. If this line of reasoning seems evasive, you understand the yelping analogy. (He expands on these arguments in today’s Salon.com, where he ends up blaming the Dean collapse on Big Media.)

Many Deaniacs are uncomfortable talking about echo chamber blogs, not just Weinberger, for very obvious reasons. The Dean Campaign positioned itself as a different kind of campaign, one in which the voters and supporters had some actual input into campaign decision-making. This implies an interactive vehicle for taking and responding to feedback, and a general openness to it.

Some feedback is critical, and this is (one of many places) where the Dean Campaign failed to live up to its promises to The People. Critical comments left on Blog for America were deleted by campaign censors, and not heeded by the campaign. One example: when Dean was guest-blogging on Lessig, I posted some comments on both sites, only to have the Deaniac censors delete them. There was a fuss, and some of my comments were restored.

But the censorship policy continued, and the Dean Campaign found itself out-of-touch with real people who hadn’t drunk the Deaniac Kool-Aid. And we know what happened next.

So rather than pretend that the Deaniac Echo Chamber wasn’t both real and destructive, thoughtful people want to talk about it.

That being said, a couple of caveats: I don’t think anybody is suggesting that the Internet is nothing but one big echo chamber, and I don’t think anybody is suggesting that social groups don’t require allegiance or reinforce affiliation. Rather, I think the idea is that the blog strategy contributed in a major way to Dean’s spectacular Iowa collapse, from which trauma his campaign never recovered. And lest we forget, this was a momentous event, the likes of which we haven’t seen in American politics in my lifetime: a candidate went from leading all the polls and outfundraising the entire field to winning nowhere and bankrupt in about two weeks. So we’re talking about both the rise and the fall of the Dean campaign, and you can’t very well blame both vectors on Big Media or any other bogeyman.

I’ve said before what I think Dean’s problem was, and at the expense of annoying Mike Nelson, I’d like to say it again: the technology Dean employed allowed him to collect a small army of fanatic followers at a time when nobody else had any supporters at all. Their fanatical nature turned off normal people all over the country, attracted more of the same kind of people, and pushed Dean to the nutty fringe. The Dean campaign focused on the numbers, especially the fundraising numbers, and ignored the emotional defects that Deaniacs brought to the campaign and the corrosive effect they had on reaching out to voters.

It’s understandable that they were mislead by the numbers. Had they amassed as much support as they did by conventional means, they truly would have been comfortably ahead in Iowa.

But the advent of e-campaigning means that you have to look at fundraising success and rally attendance in a different light. No Democrat had ever tried to raise money in small amounts from individual donors before; they rely on unions and fat cats much more than Republicans do. And there are so many people in America willing to sink $100 into a campaign they were surprised by the results.

Sophisticated recruiting tools require sophisticated management and analysis, and e-campaigning has got the one but not the other. Filling in the management part of e-campaigning is going to be the great historical challenge of the 2004 campaign, and we shouldn’t be surprised if the candidate with the Harvard MBA does this better than those dyed in the fiber of traditional politics.

The former Dean supporter who leads the AFSCME union now says that Dean is “nuts”, but his campaign dynamics are familiar to those who’ve followed politics for any length of time. Dan Lungren’s campaign for governor of California against Gray Davis in 1999 had exactly the same set of problems: he started his campaign by speaking to party faithful all across America, and when he started campaigning in Los Angeles he acted like he was speaking to pro-lifers in the Midwest. The rest is history.

(note: parts of this post originally appeared in Weinberger’s comments.)

UPDATE: Empty Bottle explains how the Meme Factory/Echo Chamber works.

Apophenia says the echo chamber effect in social groups is called homophily.

Osama boxed in?

The UK Sunday Express reported yesterday that coalition forces have got Osama and his bestest buddies boxed in on the Pakistan/Afghanistan border, and his capture is nigh. Pakistan offers the kind of denials that go along with an ongoing military or police operation that’s close to completion: When asked if 8,000 para-military troops were being … Continue reading “Osama boxed in?”

The UK Sunday Express reported yesterday that coalition forces have got Osama and his bestest buddies boxed in on the Pakistan/Afghanistan border, and his capture is nigh. Pakistan offers the kind of denials that go along with an ongoing military or police operation that’s close to completion:

When asked if 8,000 para-military troops were being sent to the tribal areas in addition to the 4,000 already stationed there on request from the political administration, Maj-Gen Shaukat Sultan said requirements for operational deployment were determined by the military authorities and no such request had been received from the political administration of tribal areas.

This is a hot story overseas, but not so hot in the US, where CNN coverage is most prominent:

Government sources told CNN the Pakistani army is ready to conduct a big operation against al Qaeda and Taliban elements in the Wana area.

Cynical wags suggest that the Bush Administration doesn’t want to capture Osama until October, but just between you and me I don’t think the timing matters. The Kerry/Edwards/Clark argument against the Iraq operation was that it was a distraction from the hunt for Osama, whose capture would clearly put that saw to rest. The newly-cooperative attitude of the Pakistani intelligence service sprang from the same well as Libya, Syria, and Iran’s new-leafishness so one man’s distraction is another’s incentive.

Hat tip to Sitarama.