The Weblogger User Group: “Who is welcome at this user group meeting?
Anyone, but particularly those with an interest in personal journalism (aka amateur
journalism), building weblogs, personal Web sites, putting diaries, photos, or their
own ideas and thoughts on the Web, or people interested in low-cost content
management and dynamic Web site systems.”
“The Spook is the world’s first fully downloadable consumer magazine in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format. It features short fiction by some of today’s finest writers, celebrity profiles, and reviews. The Spook is a free publication sponsored by its advertisers…”
The Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University — “The Center was founded in 1993 to foster a better understanding of Islam and of Muslim-Christian relations in the West. Now, more than ever, the need for civilizational dialogue between the Muslim World and the West, Islam and Christianity, is evident. Understanding what makes us different — and what makes us the same — can cross the barrier of prejudice and strengthen our common bonds.
The Center’s faculty members are noted scholars on Islam and Christianity, and Mulsim politics, Muslim-Christian Relations, and religion and international affairs.”
How Manhattan’s heroic firemen are finding comfort under the duvet: “It is a simple question women are asking: if the world were to end tomorrow — and it has often felt that way in New York in recent days — would you rather spend your final night with a walking retirement plan or a death-defying hero?” The Spectator UK [via Spike]
Seymour Hersh asks What Went Wrong: the CIA and the failure of American intelligence — “After more than two weeks of around-the-clock investigation into the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the American intelligence community remains confused, divided, and unsure about how the terrorists operated, how many there were, and what they might do next.” The ominous implication of this review of the failure and unpreparedness of the CIA etc. is the likelihood that the war plan that led to the attacks includes a next round. Because the perpetrators could expect that a security crackdown would ensue, one CIA source opines, “whatever they’ve planned for the next round they had in place already.” What’s a CIA to do?
The New Yorker
Hell houses: ‘Some members of the Christian right have taken up the decidedly anti-Christian ideology of “If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.” They have determined that rather than staying out of the business of Halloween, it is better to give Halloween a real “Christian” meaning: scare the hell out of kids and teens. Since Halloween is most enjoyed by the young’uns, let’s make it the worst experience of their lives. Let’s disturb ’em so bad they never want to have fun again.’ Spark
From within: dissecting the alien subconscious: “Twenty-two years and three sequels (with the promise of more) on, it must surely be said that the alien is in the best of health. With one crucial caveat: the alien is no longer scary. The modern dearth of horror as a serious, rather than a spoof category can be put down to a chronic twenty-first century obsession with overexposure.” Spark
“Along with flag waving and generosity, a less savory American tradition is poised to emerge from the rubble of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks: the lawsuit.” SunSpot
The Feminization of American Culture: “How Modern Chemicals May Be Changing Human Biology” World and I Magazine Editorial [Interesting but a bit of a reach, as the author all but acknowledges, to try to attribute the ‘feminization’ of culture to the effects of environmental estrogens.]
