Aside

NYT on why Niger is being focused on when there is famine in many other countries in the subcontinent. NYT Interactive Graphic on the Gaza pullout. This is a really, really great use of web technology. You could never do this in print, and it’s very effective. Plus, maps are cool. A great piece at Slate on IDF training pre-pullout. A site about world subway systems via MeFi And finally, an inside look at Pres. Bush’s “speechalist” via MeFi

Ed: Thanks to Eric Steuer at Wired for reminding me of this. I’m going to try this starting tomorrow. SF Chronicle ; January 31, 2005 This is the one line people actually like to stand in. Or park in, for that matter. Every weekday morning, mostly in the East Bay, you see them lined up like lemmings — sedans, SUVs, pickup trucks and the odd sports car, creeping along the curb. Coming up the sidewalk toward them, dressed for the…

Macworld Podcast #5: Mighty Mouse By Cyrus Farivar Multi-button mouse users of the world, unite! You have nothing to lose but your single-button Apple Pro Mouse. Last week Apple ended two decades of producing single-button input devices when it released the multi-button Mighty Mouse. The new input device features a touch-sensitive button on the side, two buttons on the top front end, and a 360 degree scroll wheel which can scroll up and down, left and right, and diagonally. Naturally,…

Dear Car Theives, Sometime last night or this morning, you smashed one of the small back windows of my car, (which was parked in my driveway) and stole my car stereo. Firstly, let me just tell you a resounding “fuck you.” I also wanted to thank you for not taking my Fastrak, nor my rock climbing gear which was in the trunk. Sincerely, -Cyrus PS: I still can’t get through to Oakland Police. I’ve been on hold for 20 minutes.…

NYT: Google says its mission is “to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.” But it does not appear to take kindly to those who use its search engine to organize and publish information about its own executives. CNETNews.com, a technology news Web site, said last week that Google had told it that the company would not answer any questions from CNET’s reporters until July 2006. The move came after CNET published an article last month…

WashPost: Iran announced that it resumed work at a key nuclear facility today, effectively ending a suspension of its nuclear program and severing more than two years of negotiations with Europe that held out the promise of closer ties with the West. The Bush administration, along with allies Britain, France and Germany, had warned they would try to take the issue of Iran’s program to the U.N. Security Council if Tehran made good, as it did today, on promises to…

WashPost: By Steve Coll and Susan B. Glasser Washington Post Staff Writers Sunday, August 7, 2005; A01 In the snow-draped mountains near Jalalabad in November 2001, as the Taliban collapsed and al Qaeda lost its Afghan sanctuary, Osama bin Laden biographer Hamid Mir watched “every second al Qaeda member carrying a laptop computer along with a Kalashnikov” as they prepared to scatter into hiding and exile. On the screens were photographs of Sept. 11 hijacker Mohamed Atta. Nearly four years…

NYT: In the commercial, Snoop pulls up in a Dodge truck and, as he emerges, Mr. Iacocca says “nice ride.” Snoop begins to let forth in his inimitable linguistics, a trademark of Mr. Broadus, as the two men go for a ride in the golf cart: Snoop: “Thank you Mocha Cocca. Chrysler and Jeep came up on beaucoup awards and Dodge trucks last as long as the D-O-double gizzle. Plus, I got the hook up nephew, for sure.” Iacocca, looking…

Ed: I figured that this whole Slate/Wikipedia thing would blow over by the end of the week, and it has, pretty much. The discussion as to whether or not I deserve a Wikipedia entry is still ongoing, but has died down a bit. Before the week is up, however, I wanted to post a really weird bit of email that I received: John Stamey of New York State writes: I’m sorry, but I think I missed something in your story.…

WashPost: To Bush and his advisers, that criticism fundamentally misunderstands his Texas sojourns. Those who think he does not remain in command, aides say, do not understand the modern presidency or Bush’s own work habits. At the ranch, White House officials say, Bush continues to receive daily national security briefings, sign documents, hold teleconferences with aides and military commanders, and even meet with foreign leaders. And from the president’s point of view, the long Texas stints are the best way…