:
CUT CABLES: Sabotage or . . .
"sharks with laser beams on their heads" ? -
I do believe there are credible grounds to suspect sabotage in the recent disruption cluster of undersea cables. But, initially, it was suggested by many theorists that Iran was the target of the hypothetical attack. I, however, have come to believe differently.
I now suspect that if this was an action of deliberate sabotage, it was actually Pakistan which was the real target. This may very well have been an attempt to sabotage and/or derail the recent Pakistani election process.
And we don't have to look very far
to round up the usual suspects:
Who blew up an internet cafe in Peshawar and threatened to do so to three or four others so that the owners were persuaded to remove their computer equipment and place it in storage for safekeeping? Who encircled the people of the Swat Valley and attempted to cut them off from the rest of the world? This does seem to fit the pattern which has been associated with Al Qaeda there.
Can I prove it? No. But it seems to fit their
pattern with a pragmatic proofing pro tem.
The question which naturally flows from this premise is: how did they accomplish it? That's why I previously suggested we send a dolphin down with camera equipment to take a closer look. I don't know how they could have gone about it. Maybe it was just as simple as sending down a deepsea-equipped diver to perform the tasks.
However it was done, we may never know unless they decide to publicly take credit, which is possible in due course. Until we know for sure, that situation remains suspicious, as far as I'm concerned.
"Cut-Cable Conspiracy Theories Get New Life"
:: By Ben Worthen at wsj blogs ::
...
Friday, February 22
:
WHO WAS THAT MASKED MAN? (4#) -
SoFlo - Afghan - The Gulf:
keyboard cowboys, both near
and far, kicking up some dust . . .
# Sonja Isger's Morning Brew Blog at the Palm Beach Post has been online for what seems like only a cyber blip, but it looks like its time has already come and gone:
"CLICK: Or forever hold your peace. We’re looking at one more week before the brew closes up shop. I’ll still be writing in the mornings, just no blog. So I plan to get in two good Fridays and some fun in between."
Whaat??? Mystery surrounds the fleeting existence of this blog stop on the cyber highway. Did she originally volunteer to try this and then get disenchanted? Or was she assigned/ordered to do it and then it got cancelled by the Suits at the paper?
Personally, I could never do an Early Bird blog; I don't feel fully awake until the PM. I've dropped in there a few times, though maybe not so early, and I thought it was just starting to get interesting when: Pouf!
We're sorry to see it fade in our
rearview mirror. Brew, we hardly knew ya.
* * * * *
# A new-to-me Afghani Blog in English discovered via Chris Vallance, who often has advanced scouts out there - waaay out there - whom he can call upon as resources to uncover these gems.
::Sanjar:: is a 26-year-old male in Kabul.
* * * * *
# I was recently delighted to discover that Al Arabiya TV now has an English-language version of its website. I used to have to use Google Translate to get an impression of what's on their mind, but not anymore.
...
WHO WAS THAT MASKED MAN? (4#) -
SoFlo - Afghan - The Gulf:
keyboard cowboys, both near
and far, kicking up some dust . . .
# Sonja Isger's Morning Brew Blog at the Palm Beach Post has been online for what seems like only a cyber blip, but it looks like its time has already come and gone:
"CLICK: Or forever hold your peace. We’re looking at one more week before the brew closes up shop. I’ll still be writing in the mornings, just no blog. So I plan to get in two good Fridays and some fun in between."
Whaat??? Mystery surrounds the fleeting existence of this blog stop on the cyber highway. Did she originally volunteer to try this and then get disenchanted? Or was she assigned/ordered to do it and then it got cancelled by the Suits at the paper?
Personally, I could never do an Early Bird blog; I don't feel fully awake until the PM. I've dropped in there a few times, though maybe not so early, and I thought it was just starting to get interesting when: Pouf!
We're sorry to see it fade in our
rearview mirror. Brew, we hardly knew ya.
* * * * *
# A new-to-me Afghani Blog in English discovered via Chris Vallance, who often has advanced scouts out there - waaay out there - whom he can call upon as resources to uncover these gems.
::Sanjar:: is a 26-year-old male in Kabul.
* * * * *
# I was recently delighted to discover that Al Arabiya TV now has an English-language version of its website. I used to have to use Google Translate to get an impression of what's on their mind, but not anymore.
...
:
CH-CH-CHANGES (4#) -
Ten changes in the last 10 years
for journalists by Paul Bradshaw.
He mentions a local English newspaper:
The Teesside Gazette - ::description::
Here is their award-winning ::website::
* * * * *
The Orange County Register
deals with its crisis with a new publisher.
+ I always thought
Orange County was an affluent area.
One wouldn't guess they'd be having these problems.
...
CH-CH-CHANGES (4#) -
Ten changes in the last 10 years
for journalists by Paul Bradshaw.
He mentions a local English newspaper:
The Teesside Gazette - ::description::
Here is their award-winning ::website::
* * * * *
The Orange County Register
deals with its crisis with a new publisher.
+ I always thought
Orange County was an affluent area.
One wouldn't guess they'd be having these problems.
...
:
CRISIS ONBOARD
THE MOTHERSHIP -
Tribune Co:
Not the spittoons this week -
Back at the Home Office of our local newspaper, The South Florida Sun-Sentinel, some female employees expressed their "concern" about the new owner's coarse language.
There goes 50 years of women's progress in
the American newspaper industry down the toilet!
Dare I mention this?
Many years ago (in the Days of Yore) . . .
some newspaper reporters were virtually illiterate, but the newspapers had a system in place to accommodate that:
The reporter called in his story to someone sitting at a desk in the newsroom who would write up his story. In those days, a college education was not required to be a reporter at a newspaper. And, for the most part, the system worked pretty well.
So, having heard about this "concern," Mr Zell, the new owner, informed them: "we've got to prioritize what we get all pushed out of shape about. ... If we keep operating the way we've been operating, there is no future."
...
CRISIS ONBOARD
THE MOTHERSHIP -
Tribune Co:
Not the spittoons this week -
Back at the Home Office of our local newspaper, The South Florida Sun-Sentinel, some female employees expressed their "concern" about the new owner's coarse language.
There goes 50 years of women's progress in
the American newspaper industry down the toilet!
Dare I mention this?
Many years ago (in the Days of Yore) . . .
some newspaper reporters were virtually illiterate, but the newspapers had a system in place to accommodate that:
The reporter called in his story to someone sitting at a desk in the newsroom who would write up his story. In those days, a college education was not required to be a reporter at a newspaper. And, for the most part, the system worked pretty well.
So, having heard about this "concern," Mr Zell, the new owner, informed them: "we've got to prioritize what we get all pushed out of shape about. ... If we keep operating the way we've been operating, there is no future."
...
Tuesday, February 19
:
PAKISTAN ELECTOMATIX (3#) -
# "Pakistan’s main opposition parties are heading for a victory in the Feb. 18 parliamentary polls defeating President Musharraf’s allies, according to unofficial results released on Tuesday."
# Hardliners lose hold over NWFP
..... Rejected religious candidates.
+ Websites on the Subcontinent are sagging under the weight of heavy traffic; servers are unable to pull up pages for readers to view. Even some nearby websites like New Delhi TV are paralyzed and frozen. PK DailyTimes seems to be still operating OK though.
So, cut them some slack - especially since they recently experienced those still-mysterious undersea cable problems.
...
PAKISTAN ELECTOMATIX (3#) -
# "Pakistan’s main opposition parties are heading for a victory in the Feb. 18 parliamentary polls defeating President Musharraf’s allies, according to unofficial results released on Tuesday."
# Hardliners lose hold over NWFP
..... Rejected religious candidates.
+ Websites on the Subcontinent are sagging under the weight of heavy traffic; servers are unable to pull up pages for readers to view. Even some nearby websites like New Delhi TV are paralyzed and frozen. PK DailyTimes seems to be still operating OK though.
So, cut them some slack - especially since they recently experienced those still-mysterious undersea cable problems.
...
:
SoFlo: KUBAN
KLEPTOCRATS STOLE OUR NEWS ! -
In almost a replica of what has happened on the prison island of Cuba, this morning I awoke a bit late, poured some water to make my coffee and turned on the TV only to discover that:
all our news had been cut off!
The only topic of the morning
was: wall-to-wall Fidel Castro.
It's boring; it's tedious; it's repetitious. It's just
the same thing over and over and over again.
And I have no particular interest in it.
So... moving on.....
...
SoFlo: KUBAN
KLEPTOCRATS STOLE OUR NEWS ! -
In almost a replica of what has happened on the prison island of Cuba, this morning I awoke a bit late, poured some water to make my coffee and turned on the TV only to discover that:
all our news had been cut off!
The only topic of the morning
was: wall-to-wall Fidel Castro.
It's boring; it's tedious; it's repetitious. It's just
the same thing over and over and over again.
And I have no particular interest in it.
So... moving on.....
...
Monday, February 18
:
Media Mirror:
BECAUSE OF THE SPITTOONS (6#) -
Once upon a time... newspapers would not hire women to work in their newsrooms; they claimed the reason was because there were spittoons there. When the spittoons disappeared, they came up with additional excuses. I am thinking about establishing a new category here... it would be something about... spittoons... well, we'll see.
# Media Management -
More Layers Than a Napoleon:
How many editors is too many?
Alan Mutter asks
Can newspapers afford editors?
# Meanwhile, closer to home, The Tribune Co is talking about Streamlining. In a chatty column which adds up to nearly bupkis, The Trib's Phil Rosenthal tells us about it... or maybe doesn't. Lotsa pirouettes here.... but at least he seems friendly.
* * * * *
# The AP casts itself into the role of victim
by dubbing Media Monitors The Pundit Police.
* * * * *
# The Readers' Ombudsman at The Guardian reacts to complaints that the organization posted a slanted video online. I didn't watch the tainted video; I have a thumbnail rule: I skip any Guardian coverage or commentary about The J Word - anything related to Jews.
# Even More Fuss Across The Pond: Readers complain about a case of perceived nepotism at The Guardian. But The Guardian folks still don't get it. At all. Maybe it's because of the spittoons.
...
Media Mirror:
BECAUSE OF THE SPITTOONS (6#) -
Once upon a time... newspapers would not hire women to work in their newsrooms; they claimed the reason was because there were spittoons there. When the spittoons disappeared, they came up with additional excuses. I am thinking about establishing a new category here... it would be something about... spittoons... well, we'll see.
# Media Management -
More Layers Than a Napoleon:
How many editors is too many?
Alan Mutter asks
Can newspapers afford editors?
# Meanwhile, closer to home, The Tribune Co is talking about Streamlining. In a chatty column which adds up to nearly bupkis, The Trib's Phil Rosenthal tells us about it... or maybe doesn't. Lotsa pirouettes here.... but at least he seems friendly.
* * * * *
# The AP casts itself into the role of victim
by dubbing Media Monitors The Pundit Police.
* * * * *
# The Readers' Ombudsman at The Guardian reacts to complaints that the organization posted a slanted video online. I didn't watch the tainted video; I have a thumbnail rule: I skip any Guardian coverage or commentary about The J Word - anything related to Jews.
# Even More Fuss Across The Pond: Readers complain about a case of perceived nepotism at The Guardian. But The Guardian folks still don't get it. At all. Maybe it's because of the spittoons.
...
:
URBAN TERRORISM & Other
European Activities (4#) -
# French Police Raids: They went around the Paris housing project estates where the Villiers-le-Bel library and pre-school had been burned down. They were there to round up the alleged leaders of the civil disorder last November after extensive investigations. [sky]
# There have been riots with widespread arson across Denmark for the 8th night. An estimated 20 towns were involved. Social workers believe the alleged plot to kill a Danish cartoonist because of his "Mo Bomb" drawing may have sparked the unrest. [itn]
# On Feb 17th, Kosovo declared independence.
.......... ::Portrait of Pristina from Cafe Babel.
# CYBER PATERNITY BATTLE:
..... ::Confidentiality Clause Trashed::
...
URBAN TERRORISM & Other
European Activities (4#) -
# French Police Raids: They went around the Paris housing project estates where the Villiers-le-Bel library and pre-school had been burned down. They were there to round up the alleged leaders of the civil disorder last November after extensive investigations. [sky]
# There have been riots with widespread arson across Denmark for the 8th night. An estimated 20 towns were involved. Social workers believe the alleged plot to kill a Danish cartoonist because of his "Mo Bomb" drawing may have sparked the unrest. [itn]
# On Feb 17th, Kosovo declared independence.
.......... ::Portrait of Pristina from Cafe Babel.
# CYBER PATERNITY BATTLE:
..... ::Confidentiality Clause Trashed::
...
Sunday, February 17
:
LOOSE LINKS -
Chez Pazienza worked in the Miami
MSM News Media before hopping on to CNN.
Apparently, he was doing OK there until...
they recently discovered he blogs.
That's when they fired him.
:: Chez's Blog ::
...
LOOSE LINKS -
Chez Pazienza worked in the Miami
MSM News Media before hopping on to CNN.
Apparently, he was doing OK there until...
they recently discovered he blogs.
That's when they fired him.
:: Chez's Blog ::
...
:
Bookish: SOME WEEKEND LINKS (6#) -
# Mystery Maestro Otto Penzler
reviews Loren D Estleman's new novel:
*Gas City is an utterly believable portrait of people in a city so comfortable with corruption that they would rather not have it cleaned up lest they find themselves adrift in a world they no longer understand.*
# Laura Wilson reviews Blood from Stone by Frances Fyfield who is being compared here to Patricia Highsmith. Plus: a few more.
* * * * *
# Nick Fraser at The Guardian profiles Richard Yates, a neglected 20th Century American writer. Two of his novels are being made into upcoming movies.
# And for the more adventurous: A feature piece about a new English novelist named Will Ashon. Two of his favorite writers are Thomas Pynchon and Georges Perec. He writes about contemporary life as a kind of "low-intensity dystopia."
* * * * *
# TURIN INT'L BOOK FAIR: The Arab League's recent vote to impose censorship on satellite TV channels such as Al Jazeera has now morphed into a call by some Arabphonic intellectuals to impose censorship on the Turin Book Fair which has invited Israel to participate this spring in honor of its 60th anniversary.
If these Arabphonic intellectuals cannot control the administration and policies of the Turin Book Fair, they are advocating boycott. Looks like they have some unresolved control issues. How about controlling that urge to control?
...
Bookish: SOME WEEKEND LINKS (6#) -
# Mystery Maestro Otto Penzler
reviews Loren D Estleman's new novel:
*Gas City is an utterly believable portrait of people in a city so comfortable with corruption that they would rather not have it cleaned up lest they find themselves adrift in a world they no longer understand.*
# Laura Wilson reviews Blood from Stone by Frances Fyfield who is being compared here to Patricia Highsmith. Plus: a few more.
* * * * *
# Nick Fraser at The Guardian profiles Richard Yates, a neglected 20th Century American writer. Two of his novels are being made into upcoming movies.
# And for the more adventurous: A feature piece about a new English novelist named Will Ashon. Two of his favorite writers are Thomas Pynchon and Georges Perec. He writes about contemporary life as a kind of "low-intensity dystopia."
* * * * *
# TURIN INT'L BOOK FAIR: The Arab League's recent vote to impose censorship on satellite TV channels such as Al Jazeera has now morphed into a call by some Arabphonic intellectuals to impose censorship on the Turin Book Fair which has invited Israel to participate this spring in honor of its 60th anniversary.
If these Arabphonic intellectuals cannot control the administration and policies of the Turin Book Fair, they are advocating boycott. Looks like they have some unresolved control issues. How about controlling that urge to control?
...
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