Why Chechnya Is Different — “Vladimir Putin has made remarkable progress in his campaign to conflate his brutal military campaign in Chechnya with the new U.S.-led war against terrorism. Last week President Bush publicly agreed with Mr. Putin that terrorists with ties to Osama bin Laden are fighting Russian forces in the predominantly Muslim republic, and said they should be “brought to justice.” Since then the Bush administration quietly has begun taking concrete action in support of Moscow.” Washington Post

They Rule: explore the power elite from variety of angles [requires Flash 5]

Florida Man Is Hospitalized With Pulmonary Anthrax: “A 63-year-old Florida man has contracted pulmonary anthrax and

has been hospitalized with the infection, health officials said

yesterday.

But, the officials said, there is no evidence that the man’s disease was

caused by a terrorist attack and there is no public health risk.” [until proven otherwise…] According to the Centers for Disease Control, there have only been 18 human cases of pulmonary anthrax in the U.S. in the 20th century, and none for a quarter century. New York Times [name: “FMHreader”, password: “FMHreader”]

Army of Afghan Refugees Could Spread a Deadly Virus. A tick-borne hemorrhagic fever (vaguely like that caused by the deadly Ebola virus) endemic to the southern Afghani border region could be spread by refugee exodus, especially to Pakistan. New York Times [name: “FMHreader”, password: “FMHreader”]

Where to find old growth forests that the loggers have overlooked in the Northeast New York Times [name: “FMHreader”, password: “FMHreader”]

Show Us Your Evidence: ‘It is a relief to see the new emphasis on evidence after the seesaw of recent weeks on the issue. Secretary of State Powell, National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, and others initially said that a compelling case would be made against Osama bin Laden, both to coalition allies and to the public at large. They (and President Bush, FBI Director Robert Mueller, and others) then retreated from that commitment, pointing instead only to previous threats bin Laden made, his indictment (not conviction) in the 1998 embassy bombings case almost three years ago, and the belief that the hijackers were linked to bin Laden. Since none of that amounts to evidence in the current case, questions arose regarding the strength of the administration’s case, and even whether the political need for reprisal was taking precedence over the need for careful identification of the actual culprits in this instance.

It didn’t help that the administration failed to disclose the expected evidence at last week’s meeting of NATO defense ministers.’ –Joe Pitts, The American Prospect

US: Russian Plane May Have Been Hit by Missile — “A Russian plane that crashed into the Black Sea with more than 70 people on board may have been hit by a surface-to-air missile, U.S. officials said on Thursday.

The plane could have been a victim of a tragic accident rather than of an act of terror, said the officials, who asked to remain unidentified.” Reuters

Some Things To Consider About Afghanistan — From Those Who’ve Been There. Makes the following points, in convincing detail:

Consider Pakistan an ally in name only, and appreciate that all dealings with Pakistan are fraught with peril .

Appreciate that getting rid of Osama Bin Laden will not “win the war,” and a war on Bin Laden’s organization, Al Qaeda, means a war with the Taliban.

Current U.S. military doctrine is not suited to this kind of war and must be changed.

Know the enemy and the environment, and apply lessons learned from everyone’s past mistakes.

All military operations should be coordinated with, and in support of, the Northern Alliance.

The civil component of any intervention in Afghanistan is crucial. The American Prospect

Understanding turbans: assistance with your racial profiling. Seattle Times [via rW]

Abit belatedly for Wallace Stevens‘ Oct. 2 birthday, here’s a small, mystical masterpiece, “Tattoo”:

The light is like a spider.

It crawls over the water.

It crawls over the edges of the snow.

It crawls under your eyelids

And spreads its webs there–

Its two webs.

The webs of your eyes

Are fastened

To the flesh and bones of you

As to rafters or grass.

There are filaments of your eyes

On the surface of the water

And in the edges of the snow.

Review of Meat-Eating and Human Evolution, ed. by Craig Stanford and Henry Bunn. “Meat-eating maketh man? Of all our relatives among the monkeys and apes, we humans eat the most meat. It forms between 20 and 50 per cent of our diet, while our cousins are predominantly veggies. Common chimps are one of the few relatives who also like the odd steak tartare, but it’s only a tiny part of their diet–about 5 per cent. Because we share a common ancestor with them, it is likely that an ancient relative, living around 6 million years ago, also had a taste for raw flesh.



Meat-Eating and Human Evolution asks when our ancestors became serious meat-eaters and what impact the carnivorous habit had on our evolution.” New Scientist

Gorillas get help from friends in space Ananova