May, 2001

  1. U.S. Joint Chiefs Discussed Engaging in Terrorism on U.S. Soil

    Cryptome.Org has posted documents courtesy of the National Security Archive that describe an early 1960s plan by the Joint Chiefs of Staff to conduct terrorist attacks against U.S. targets and blame Cuba in order to create public support for a possible military intervention in Cuba. In an annex entitled “Pretexts to Justify U.S. Military Intervention…

  2. I See Dead People

    I’ve always been impressed with RJ Rummel’s books on what he calls democide — the state-sponsored murder of civilians. Rummel has written a number of books about state violence (a good introduction to his work his Death By Government). One of the interesting things, which Rummel has written about in asides to his more scholarly…

  3. Is Fancast.Com the Next Napster?

    No, it’s not a file trading service but Fancast.Com is likely to face similar legal scrutiny if it ever takes off. The idea is simple — hook up a microphone to your PC and give your own play-by-play of an ongoing sporting event. Personally, the low quality audio of such sites makes them unattractive, but…

  4. The Drug War Is Working … At Least in Afghanistan

    Libertarians and others claim that the war on drugs is unwinnable. But it turns out that they were wrong. The drug war can work. In fact, it is working in Afghanistan. Afghanistan, of course, has been the source of much of the world’s opium. According to the New York Times, last year about 75 percent…

  5. MS Train Simulator Goes Gold

    I hate model trains and do not understand what the attraction is there, but nonetheless am highly anticipating Microsoft Train Simulator which recently went gold and should be on the shelves sometime next month. You have to love a game that Union Pacific was dissing a couple weeks ago as being too realistic (they were…

  6. Ephinephelus itajara Common Name Considered “Offensive”

    The Houston Chronicle reports that the common name for Ephinephelus itajara i– the jewfish — is being changed because it is considered offensive. Standard fare in today’s politically correct world, but the irony is the new name: the Goliath grouper. As the Chronicle sums it up, “the AFS is renaming the jewfish by giving it…

  7. The Fantasy Sports Juggernaut Rolls On

    Hmmm…it is almost June, the fantasy baseball league I’m in is more than third of the way finished. Which, of course, means that as usual I’m lodged in first place. This year isn’t really fair since I had the benefit of the Detroit Tigers/Lions Rule. Let me explain. The Tigers and Lions have been poorly…