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Welcome to the Dawn Patrol, our daily roundup of information on the War on Terror and other topics - from the MilBlogs, other blogs, and the mainstream media. If you're a blogger, you can join the conversation. If you link to any of these stories, add a link to the Dawn Patrol too and your trackback will be added to the list. (We have a daily "Open Post" too, if you have something on another topic you can link there.)
Elections - Part IV -- [365 and a Wake Up - in Iraq]
A little after midnight my eyes crept open and filled with the cold, diamond light of a full moon. I squinted hard against the liquid glow, but the light seemed to seep through my eyelids until I gave up my futile attempts at falling back asleep. As I sat up I felt the dull cacophony of muscles shot through with lactic acid, and for a long moment I sat there on the edge of the cot waiting for the staccato aches to fade.
An insurgency collapsing inward? -- [Peace like a River]
Make no mistake, the enemy still has a lot of fight left in him. He still has the capability to kill and to do damage. Yet, I want to point out there may be signs the insurgency is being squeezed into a region whose circumscribed boundaries are drawing inward. I'm not saying the insurgents can't operate outside this region, just that they are finding it harder to find areas outside this region where they can plan, move, and find shelter.
Accordance, rather than elections will decide the shape of the new government. -- [Iraq the Model - Iraqis in Iraq]
Or at least that's how things appear to be heading till now...
As part of an expected series of meetings between the leaders of major political groups, today there’s a meeting between al-Hakeem and President Talabani and a number of senior Shia and Kurdish politicians.
Validating The Iraqi Elections -- [No End but Victory- Pejman Yousefzadeh - an Iraqi in Iraq]
One of the arguments made in some portions of the Blogosphere in response to the most recent elections in Iraq was that they may have been tinged by fraud and that as a result, the Sunnis would be even more implacably opposed to the reconstruction effort than they were in the past. In response to […]
Shiite Family of 11 beheaded -- [Hammorabi - an Iraqi in Iraq]
Pro-wahabi terrorists slaughtered Shiite family in the south of Baghdad. The family consist 11 members lived for many years in a Sunni dominated area. They received threats to leave the area over the last few weeks however they got no where to go and leaving their property and business. Six Sunni pro-wahabi terrorists attacked the family and slaughtered all of them by beheading all the 11 members.
Some thoughts -- [24 Steps to Liberty - an Iraqi in Iraq]
For those who were talking about reconstruction, here is the latest from the reconstruction-ongoing land:
- Baghdad lacks water for more than 15 hours a day for 10 days now.
May peace be all over the world……[Alive in Baghdad - Mama - an Iraqi in Iraq]
Hello all I hope you enjoyed Christmas, and had memorable day with your families, I really wanted my Iraqi Christian friends to enjoy Christmas, but may be through this post you can imagine what a MEMORABLE Eid they had !!!
These days the weather became very cold, the temperature is 2-3 degrees under zero … this cold weather synchronize with not only the raise in the oil, fuel prices but with its exiguity….yesterday my baby (20 months old) cried freezing at night, we have oil storage but we tried to sleep without (soba) an oil heater, to save it for the rest of winter. We get the electricity for ONLY 2 hours a day now, we also don't have hot water!.
- Most of the neighborhoods in Baghdad get less than 5 hours of electricity a day for ten days. In my neighborhood, we get 2 hours of electricity a day.
The Story Behind The Photograph -- [Alive in Baghdad - Fayrouz - an Iraqi in Iraq]
Some of you probably still remember our discussion when this photograph was published last year. None of us knew the story behind the photograph. So for the curious among us, including myself, here's the story of how this photograph came to life and won the 2005 Pulitzer Prize as part of a package submitted by the Associated Press.
Iraq Pictures - 29 December 2005 -- [Iraq Pictures - in Iraq]
COL John Lammie, 550th Area Support Medical Company, speaks with hospital personnel at the Medical City Hospital complex in Sader about the care of a local boy suffering from Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Lammie took the boy to the hospital for treatment of his advanced cancer while conducting a clinical health outreach program in the region. Pic: SPC Charles W. Gill
The Kid 'Gets It' -- [Face from the Front]
"There is a struggle in Iraq between good and evil, between those striving for freedom and liberty and those striving for death and destruction," he wrote.
"Those terrorists are not human but pure evil. For their goals to be thwarted, decent individuals must answer justice's call for help. Unfortunately altruism is always in short supply. Not enough are willing to set aside the material ambitions of this transient world, put morality first, and risk their lives for the cause of humanity. So I will."
Real American Hero-The Chow Hall Guy -- [Fire and Ice - in Iraq]
Not every job over here falls into a category with a potential for doing something heroic. Even so, there are a few who manage to be heroes in their own way, despite having the least glamorous of assignments. One of these here at Camp Fallujah is "The Chow Hall Guy", Corporal Jonathan K. Clarke of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.(Cue the Bud Light Real American Heroes music please!) Cpl. Clarke works 8 hours a day checking ID cards as GIs enter the DFAC(Dining Facility). He stands a little post of about 10 square feet sandwiched between sandbags and concrete barriers day after day, week after week and month after month. M. Scott Peck, the self-help guru, once defined a hero as someone who's able to accomplish what no one else can, and this applies to Clarke.
Embedded With the 101st Airborne -- [GreyEagle - in Iraq]
...An explosion rumbles like thunder on the horizon and no one moves. Soldiers stare blankly into the air for a few seconds, processing the sound.
A symphony of blasts rocks the outlying areas of Iraq every day. Controlled detonations of discovered munitions, practicing mortar teams, heavy gunfire. They are part of the day and seem part of the atmosphere — like police sirens at home.
But with time anyone can tell the difference in the way they sound and feel, the way the explosion moves the ground or shimmies building walls.
Controlled detonations are fierce, with a boom that travels miles. The blast sounds tired when you hear it. Outgoing mortar fire is robust and lacks the sound of an impact. (You can feel the ground tear apart with incoming fire.)
I heard incoming fire today and knew immediately it was different.
Homes sweet Cans -- [Daily News Miner - embedded in Iraq]
Trailers here are called many different things, like “cans” or “chews.”
They remind me of modern day ATCO units. Almost everyone, from soldiers, contractors and anyone else staying overnight stays in them on most of the bases. Some soldiers stay in buildings or old palaces if they are available, like at FOB Courage in Mosul.
Embedded Reporter -- [A Mobilized Year - in Iraq]
In these last couple of weeks, we’ve had an embedded reporter from the Milwaukee Sentinel-Journal with us. She’s written some good pieces, both from a “what’s going on” perspective and human interest perspective. Below are the stories I saw that she wrote (not sure if there are others):
...The stories she wrote are generally fairly accurate and it was interesting to read another person’s perspective concerning the same or similar experiences. A number of her articles were about soldiers in my company,
12/29/2005: Christmas at Camp Navistar -- [Schackasawa Dot Net - Tour of Duty - in Iraq]
A belated Merry Christmas to everyone and a Happy New Year. Time continues to fly by for me since my last update as I was able to spend the vast majority of my time out on missions with my men which always makes things go by a little quicker. During one of those missions I finally got the chance to ride a camel and feed a baby camel; certainly a highlight of the trips and undoubtedly of the year.
Impotence: More wages of appeasement -- [Counter Column]
"A previously unknown group claimed the kidnapping of French engineer Bernard Planche and threatened on Wednesday to kill him if France did not "end its illegitimate presence in Iraq", in a video shown on Al-Arabiya television.
"I stress that France has no military presence in Iraq and that it has always argued for full sovereignty to be restored to the country," Douste-Blazy said in a statement appealing for the release of Planche." This according to Agents France Presse.
U.S. Teen Runs Off to Iraq by Himself -- (BREITBART.COM / AP)
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Maybe it was the time the taxi dumped him at the Iraq-Kuwait border, leaving him alone in the middle of the desert. Or when he drew a crowd at a Baghdad food stand after using an Arabic phrase book to order. Or the moment a Kuwaiti cab driver almost punched him in the face when he balked at the $100 fare. But at some point, Farris Hassan, a 16-year-old from Florida, realized that traveling to Iraq by himself was not the safest thing he could have done with his Christmas vacation.
...It begins with a high school class on "immersion journalism" and one overly eager _ or naively idealistic _ student who's lucky to be alive after going way beyond what any teacher would ask.
Word Spreads in Iraq of Refinery Shutdown -- (AP)
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Long lines formed at gas stations in Baghdad on Friday as word spread that Iraq's largest oil refinery had shut down in the face of threats against truck drivers, and fears grew of a gas shortage. An international team, meanwhile, agreed on Thursday to assess Iraq's parliamentary elections, a decision lauded by Sunni Arab and secular Shiite groups who have staged repeated protests around Iraq complaining of widespread fraud and intimidation.
Kurds in Iraqi army proclaim loyalty to militia - (Knight Ridder Newspapers)...Tom Lasseter
Kurdish leaders have inserted more than 10,000 of their militia members into Iraqi army divisions in northern Iraq to lay the groundwork to swarm south, seize the oil-rich city of Kirkuk and possibly half of Mosul, Iraq's third-largest city, and secure the borders of an independent Kurdistan.
Army: Kurds Aren't In Charge -- (Knight Ridder News)...Tom Lasseter
The Iraqi defense ministry, reacting to a Knight Ridder report this week, said Thursday that Kurdish troops in the Iraqi army take their orders from the central government in Baghdad, not from Kurdish militia leaders.
How the story was reported -- (Knight Ridder News)...Tom Lasseter
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Neither the U.S. military nor the Iraqi Defense Ministry has authorized Western reporters to stay with Iraqi military units for extended periods without being accompanied by American military assistance teams.
I previously reported on an all-Iraqi unit without U.S. military supervision after receiving an invitation directly from the unit, going to its Baghdad base and meeting an Iraqi army officer who escorted me in.
Shiite cleric emerging as a highly influential political leader -- (Knight Ridder News)...Nancy A. Youssef
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Muqtada al-Sadr, the firebrand Shiite Muslim cleric who just a year ago encouraged his followers to kill U.S. soldiers, has successfully transformed
Flickering Lights -- (Christian Science Monitor)...David Clark Scott
Right on cue. Thursday, when editors called correspondent Jill Carroll in Baghdad about a Reuters report of electricity shortages, the power went out. "It stays on for about an hour and a half and then goes out for a few hours. Back in October, we would get three or four hours at a time," says Jill.
Group Threatens to Kill Kidnap Victims -- (AP)
CAIRO, Egypt -- Al-Qaida in Iraq threatened on Thursday to kill five kidnapped employees of the Sudanese Embassy in Baghdad in two days unless Sudan removes its diplomatic mission from Iraq....
S.Korea cuts Iraq troops by a third to 2,300 -- (Yahoo News / Reuters)
SEOUL - South Korea's parliament approved a bill on Friday to cut by about one third the size of its troop deployment in Iraq, the third-largest foreign contingent there.
The unicameral National Assembly voted by 110 to 31 to extend the country's troop deployment in the northern Iraqi region of Arbil by one year until the end of 2006 but cut the contingent to 2,300 from 3,200. Seventeen members abstained.
Polish president approves request to keep troops in Iraq -- (AFP)
Polish President Lech Kaczynski approved a request from the conservative government to keep troops in Iraq until the end of 2006, his office said.
Rice welcomes outside review of Iraq election results -- (AFP)
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice praised Iraqi authorities for inviting international monitors to review complaints of fraud in recent parliamentary elections.
Abu Ghrabi figure England burned in prison mishap -- (Reuters)
Lynndie England, the U.S. soldier incarcerated for abusing detainees in Iraq, was badly burned in a prison kitchen accident, her mother said on Thursday.
G.I.'s to Increase U.S. Supervision of Iraqi Police -- (New York Times)
The increase in Army advisers aims in part to curtail abuse that Iraqi units are suspected of inflicting on Sunni Arabs.
Confidence and Leadership -- [Canada to Kandahar - in Afghanistan] {ED Note: must highlight to read}
The last real day of work we had ended with a briefing by our Battle Group commander as well as the commander of the Multi National Brigade. It's great to see Canada taking a leadership role among the other coalition forces.
I don't know the MNB commander very well....or at all but I do know the Battle Group commander.
Honestly, I think he's probably the most amazing military leader I've met. Not just because of the things he has done (just seeing his official photo and the number of decorations on his chest!) but because of the things he continues to do.
I remember when ....
Two Americans Killed in Afghan Incidents -- (Washington Post / Reuters)
KABUL, Afghanistan, Dec. 28 -- Two soldiers, an American and an Afghan, were killed and two U.S. service members were wounded in a roadside bomb attack Wednesday in eastern Afghanistan, a U.S. military spokesman said.
More On The Fatwah Approving Sexual Abuse Of Children -- [Euphoric Reality]
Remember when we posted about the despicably vile but mullah-approved Islamic practice of sexual abuse of little girls and infants (as authorized by Shi’ite fatwah)? Oh yeah, if you missed it, you need to go catch up.
Thinking Man's Rant: Law, Morality and Warfare. -- [Way down in Kosovo - in Kosovo]
So, does the current set of conflicts comply with Grotius's principles? Let's see, shall we?
Kosovo: war waged to prevent the emergence of a general war in southern Europe. CAUSE: Just.
Afghanistan: The U.S. is attacked by non-state actors being harbored by a thuggish regeime in kabul, more than 3,000 are killed, and the U.S. gets really pissed off, tells the rest of the world to stay the hell out of our way, and goes to kick some ass. CAUSE: Just.
Iraq: U.S. and allies fight war in 1991 to expel Iraq ...
Stabbed the Combat Stress Guy the Other Day -- [Incoherant Ramblings - in Kosovo]
For some reason, a Unit decided to pick one in the morning to blow up some found unexploded ordinance, only to have something go wrong. Shrapnel flew everywhere, five people were down on the ground, one guy had his legs torn apart, two others had their faces ripped open, a fourth was laying on the ground with a piece of shrapnel sticking out of his stomach. Another guy had his hand all torn up.
Korea's Darwinian Approach to Driving -- GI Korea Blog - in S Korea]
...USFK has had a handful of accidents over the past few years involving military vehicles hitting mopeds. You hear very little outrage over these accidents because the mopeds are the lowest on the food chain. Now if a USFK vehicle hits a pedestrian that is a different story because they are not considered part of the food chain.
Tuesday, December 20, 2005 -- [JununAD1- in Africa]
I am a UNITED STATES MARINE currently serving in Dji Bouti, Africa to help win this war on terror.
...So how life changes, when you go to war. Your girlfriend whom you cherish and love breaks up with you... and you're screwed in the head... then you just try to forget about her. Only problem is that you're not the only one going through this, theres other guys that are going thru it so you hear about it 24-7. I don't understand if its a trend or if its something else... but how could a majority of marines end up like this?
Russia confirms Iran nuclear talks took place: Tass -- (Reuters)
MOSCOW - Russia's foreign ministry confirmed on Friday that a top envoy had talked to Iranian officials to discuss a Russian proposal to enrich uranium for the Islamic Republic, Itar-Tass news agency reported.
Anti-Christian Jeans Are a Trend in Sweden -- (AP)
STOCKHOLM, Sweden - Cheap Monday jeans are a hot commodity among young Swedes thanks to their trendy tight fit and low price, even if a few buyers are turned off by the logo: a skull with a cross turned upside down on its forehead. Logo designer Bjorn Atldax says he's not just trying for an antiestablishment vibe.
Torturing Khalid Shaikh Mohammed Worked -- [Outside the Beltway]
The Chicago Tribune ran a chilling piece in yesterday's edition by John Crewdson bolstering the case for torturing terrorist suspects.
Spilling Al Qaeda's secrets
Israeli Jets Hit Militant Base In Lebanon -- (The Houston Chronicle)
Israeli jets attacked a Palestinian terrorist group's training base near Beirut on Wednesday, hours after an Israeli border town was hit by rocket fire, the military said. The strike against the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command was Israel's deepest inside Lebanon since June 2004.
National Security -- (Rasmussen Reports)
December 28, 2005--Sixty-four percent (64%) of Americans believe the National Security Agency (NSA) should be allowed to intercept telephone conversations between terrorism suspects in other countries and people living in the United States. A Rasmussen Reports survey found that just 23% disagree.
Sixty-eight percent (68%) of Americans say they are following the NSA story somewhat or very closely.
Just 26% believe President Bush is the first to authorize a program like the one currently in the news. Forty-eight percent (48%) say he is not while 26% are not sure.
CIA couple outed by 5-year-old son -- (Reuters)
HOUSTON - The Washington couple at the heart of the CIA leak investigation had their cover blown by their small son as they tried to sneak away on vacation on Thursday.
"My daddy's famous, my mommy's a secret spy," declared the 5-year-old of his parents, former diplomat Joe Wilson and retired CIA operative Valerie Plame.
Covert CIA Program Withstands New Furor -- (Washington Post)...Dana Priest
The effort President Bush authorized shortly after Sept. 11, 2001, to fight al Qaeda has grown into the largest CIA covert action program since the height of the Cold War, expanding in size and ambition despite a growing outcry at home and abroad over its clandestine tactics, according to former and current intelligence officials and congressional and administration sources.
Anticipation....-- [Some Soldier's Mom]
I know it will sound odd to some people (but perfectly normal to others), but I'm feeling a bit down about the Guys coming home (which is really soon... days.) I'm not down because they're coming home, but because I'm not going to be there to see it... for any number of reasons. Won't be there to hug My Guys.
A Veterans Day Salute -- [VFW NC]
The Departments of the Veterans of Foreign Wars salute all of our Veterans,
Past, Present and Future.
The piece below was written by by Marine Corp chaplain, Father Denis Edward O’Brian
Travelogue II: The VA Hospital, pt. 2 -- [Fuzzilicious Thinking]
Part 1 is here.
The laughter and easy camaraderie from the SUV spilled into the hospital as we loaded the laptop boxes onto carts and headed to the office where they would be kept while we enjoyed lunch. With our laughter and jokes ringing down the hallways, we were probably the noisiest people in the building!
Liveblogging from the Armed Forces Service Center -- [Soldiers' Angel - Holly Aho]
...I was briefed on how everything works around here, the kitchens, food we can make and serve, bedrooms, paperwork, ect. Very organized and I'm sure I'll forget it all in 10 mn. We had one soldier here with his family when I arrived. His wife and 4 kids were with him. I have to hand it to him, both parents were supposed to go back and sleep, and as soon as his wife went to bed he jumped right up to watch the kids. What a great guy. He looked so tired, but he wanted his wife to nap.
Are They Really Appreciated? -- [Soldiers' Angel - Holly Aho]
So many negative stories in the news - I know it makes our military heroes wonder if they are appreciated, really appreciated, by us. They are, and not all news sources are lax in ignoring the stories of support we feel for our troops. These stories deserve wider coverage, not to bring attention to the generous Americans in these stories supporting our troops (most chose to remain anonymous when the story ran), but to let our troops know that these are not uncommon occurances. Here's a few of the latest additions over at SAHA News:
Seymour Johnson NCO Inspires Many -- [Soldiers' Angels Germany]
A NCO from the Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C visited LRMC.
Here read his story:
In November, I accompanied my boss, Chief of Chaplains Maj. Gen. Charles Baldwin, to Ramstein Air Base, Germany, where he would speak at a command chaplain’s conference.
After reviewing the itinerary, I noticed the conference planners had included a block of free time...
The U.S. Military Code of Conduct -- [Euphoric Reality]
We’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: our servicemen and women are THE BEST in the world - bar none. I’m constantly inspired by the hope and restoration that our troops symbolize and effect around the world.
During World War II, our bubble-gum snapping troops were viewed with unrestrained awe and the gravest gratitude by the skeletons inhabiting the concentration camps of Europe. Never was hope more fervently alive than when whispered rumors circulated that “The Americans are coming!!!”
Giving soldiers a high-tech leg up -- [Jack Army]
Those whiz kids at Darpa are at it again. This time they want to use technology to let soldiers carry up to 220 lb in backpacks over all types of terrain, terrain vehicles can't get through, and for extended lengths of time. They believe the key is wearable robotic exoskeletons and have invested $50 million in the project.
Army Program Boosts Gulf Coast Reservists -- (AP)
WASHINGTON - At a cost of as much as $20 million, more than 200 National Guard soldiers returning to Louisiana from Iraq are staying on active duty for up to a year so they can have full-time work in their hurricane-ravaged hometowns. A program intended to give returning reservists jobs if their old ones were wiped out by hurricanes Katrina and Rita is drawing interest too from 60 National Guard soldiers from a Mississippi brigade, according to Col. Billy Thomas, deputy commander of the Army's Task Force Care.
DoD's Domestic Threat Matrix -- [Military Outpost]
SHANNON, IRELAND -- A woman scales a security fence at the Shannon International Airport, walks across the tarmac to a Boeing 737 with U.S. Navy markings, and proceeds to smash the nose cone and hydraulics system of the aircraft with an axe. She manages to do several hundred thousand dollars in damage before she is stopped by airport security.
Sheehan Admits That She “Snapped” (VIDEO) -- [Political Teen]
On CNN’s American Morning yesterday, “grieving” mother Cindy Sheehan was nominated as one of the “Top 5 in ‘05″. This was not only a fluff piece but just free air time for Sheehan to reiterate her anti-Bush, anti-American, and anti-war message. Sheehan called President Bush a “lying bastard” and said he killed her son. Cindy Sheehan just can’t admit that it was a terrorist, or shall I say “freedom fighter”, that killed her son.
Judge Says ACLU Is Unreasonable -- [Stop the ACLU]
A recent decision by a federal court of appeals has set the stage for yet another Supreme Court showdown over public displays of the Ten Commandments....
...This especially floored the ACLU because they had won two previous attempts at getting the Ten Commandments removed from the walls of two other Kentucky court houses.
Why do they hate us? Why shouldn’t they? -- [Fight Pundit]
I have to thank Michael for introducing me to the one and only, feather fondling fruitcake of an excuse for a college professor- Ward Churchill- almost a year ago. I remember reading this and getting myself all twisted up in my own undergarment (s). Churchill is still around, still causing trouble and mouthing off and making vague threats. Throughout the year we have both written about this phoney, full of bulloney, attention seeking anti American Indian want-ta-be…I found an article today that sums the year up pretty well.
Core of White House Staff Largely Intact -- (AP)
WASHINGTON - Loyalty and continuity have marked the Bush White House since early on. After two wars, devastating strikes by terrorists and hurricanes, a bruising re-election and countless legislative battles, President Bush's team is continuing the trend - defying history and shakeup rumors to remain almost entirely intact five years in. "They've been there long enough to qualify for the Medicare prescription drug benefit," quipped Paul Light, a professor of organizational studies at New York University.
USA Today - Not Many Heroes -- [BlackFive]
This is probably the biggest bunch of horse @#$% that I've read in a long time. See article below. Okay, Readers, in the Comments you should place links (be sure to include the full URL with http:// ) of stories about extreme valor and heroism from Iraq or Afghanistan:
TimesWatch Quotes of the Year for 2005 -- [StarBoard!!]
You gotta love the folks at Timeswatch.org. These guys do an excellent job of keeping an eye on the NYTimes. This years list of quotable quotes was the best I have seen to date. Here are a few I particularly enjoyed
Corrections -- (New York Times)...The New York Times
An article yesterday about Iran's agreement to study a Russian proposal aimed at breaking a deadlock over Iran's nuclear program included an erroneous reference to Iraq at one point. It is Iran - not Iraq - whose true policy on the issue has been difficult to ascertain.
Milblogs Narrowly Defined -- [Andis World]
I don't like the way this article is written. For many reasons.
ANYONE wanting to hear daily insights into what it is like to be in a convoy hit by an explosion or ordered to pick up the body parts of comrades dismembered by a suicide bomber does not have to be there in person any more.
Instead they just need to log on to the internet from the safety of their home or office.
2005 MILBLOGGIES: STANDINGS AS OF 25 DECEMBER -- [MilBlogging .com]
It’s the final week of the 2005 MILBLOGGIES. For those of you who have voted, these are exciting times!!! Yes, I’m sitting here anticipating the winners of the 2005 MILBLOGGIES, amnd I caan barrely tyipe.; Though it might be the spiked egg nog.. Merry Christmas everyone! And don’t forget, you have until midnight (EST) on December 31st to vote for your favorite milblogs. Anyway, let’s review the current standings in the 2005 MILBLOGGIES, schell wae?
BBC Interview -- [Kurdistan Bloggers Union]
As most of you know, I write a weekly column covering Kurdish Bloggers for a website called Global Voices. I will be interviewed tomorrow to discuss the year in Kurdish blogs on the BBC Radio show World Have Your Say, from 1845 to 1900 GMT. If you have time, please tune in.
Lord of the blogs -- (TownHall.com)
Of all the stories leading America's annual greatest-hits list, the one that subsumes the rest is the continuing evolution of information in the Age of Blogging
...It is this latter - our new enemies - that interests me most. I don't mean al-Qaida or Osama bin Laden, but the less visible, insidious enemies of decency, humanity and civility - the angry offspring of narcissism's quickie marriage to instant gratification.
There's something frankly creepy about the explosion we now call the Blogosphere - the big-bang "electroniverse" where recently wired squatters set up new camps each day. As I write, the number of "blogs" (Web logs) and "bloggers"(those who blog) is estimated in the tens of millions worldwide.
Although I've been a blog fan since the beginning, and have written favorably about the value added to journalism and public knowledge thanks to the new "citizen journalist," I'm also wary of power untempered by restraint and accountability.
Say what you will about the so-called mainstream media, but no industry agonizes more about how to improve its product, police its own members and better serve its communities. Newspapers are filled with carpal-tunneled wretches, overworked and underpaid, who suffer near-pathological allegiance to getting it right.
...Bloggers persist no matter their contributions or quality, though most would have little to occupy their time were the mainstream media to disappear tomorrow. Some bloggers do their own reporting, but most rely on mainstream reporters to do the heavy lifting. Some bloggers also offer superb commentary, but most babble, buzz and blurt like caffeinated adolescents competing for the Ritalin generation's inevitable senior superlative: Most Obsessive-Compulsive.
Bush Orders NSA to Secure Microsoft Windows XP -- [ScrappleFace]
In a recently-leaked secret memo, written in October 2005, President George Bush authorized the National Security Agency (NSA) to “employ all of its tools and skills” to enhance the security of Microsoft Windows XP.
LAST OF THE CHRISTMAS HOMECOMING PICTURES -- [Keep My Soldier Safe - son returns home from Iraq]
The oh so tired soldier, but he still managed to have a smile on his face the whole night.
...Thanks to everyone for letting me share this last long year with you all. It has been long and tough, but it is finally over.
(Need more? The previous Dawn Patrol is here.)
