This is a very plain blog with quotes from and links to articles I found interesting, thought-provoking, or relevant to the times. Linking is neither endorsement nor condemnation. Run by http://willslack.com
01 October, 2013
Don’t forget what the shutdown is really about
Don’t forget what the shutdown is really about: In May 2007, 140 Democrats in the House of Representatives voted to defund the Iraq war. In September of the same year, Congress voted to increase the debt limit. Imagine if Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats had threatened to breach the debt ceiling unless Republicans agreed to defund the war. At that time, approval of the Iraq war was polled at 33% in favor and 64% against.
The Pope: how the Church will change - Repubblica.it
The Pope: how the Church will change - Repubblica.it: It's a joke, I tell him. My friends think it is you want to convert me.
He smiles again and replies: "Proselytism is solemn nonsense, it makes no sense. We need to get to know each other, listen to each other and improve our knowledge of the world around us. Sometimes after a meeting I want to arrange another one because new ideas are born and I discover new needs. This is important: to get to know people, listen, expand the circle of ideas. The world is crisscrossed by roads that come closer together and move apart, but the important thing is that they lead towards the Good."
He smiles again and replies: "Proselytism is solemn nonsense, it makes no sense. We need to get to know each other, listen to each other and improve our knowledge of the world around us. Sometimes after a meeting I want to arrange another one because new ideas are born and I discover new needs. This is important: to get to know people, listen, expand the circle of ideas. The world is crisscrossed by roads that come closer together and move apart, but the important thing is that they lead towards the Good."
Pope Assails Bureaucracy of Church as Insular - NYTimes.com
Pope Assails Bureaucracy of Church as Insular - NYTimes.com:
Francis has made clear that he wants not simply to clean up scandals, but to rid the church of careerists, climbers and those who value clerics more than the laity. He said in the interview, “Clericalism should not have anything to do with Christianity.”
He said the Curia should be like a “quartermaster’s office” in the army because it was meant to manage “the services that serve the Holy See.” He said the problem is that the Curia has a “Vatican-centric” view that “neglects the world around us.”
“I do not share this view, and I’ll do everything I can to change it,” he said.
Eugene Cullen Kennedy, an emeritus professor at Loyola University in Chicago and a former priest who has written widely on the church, said Francis was articulating a vision of the Curia quite different from the Curia’s own. “He’s redefining the Curia,” he said. “They don’t look at themselves as the quartermaster; they look at themselves as the stable government.”
Leaks alerted al Qaida leaders they were being monitored, U.S. officials claim | McClatchy
Leaks alerted al Qaida leaders they were being monitored, U.S. officials claim | McClatchy:
At issue in the McClatchy report is the naming of the two al Qaida figures whose messages had been intercepted, Ayman al Zawahiri, the head of al Qaida, and Nasser al Wuhayshi, the head of the Yemen-based al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula. McClatchy, citing Yemeni officials, said the intercepted communication caught Zawahiri ordering Wuhayshi to launch an unspecified attack.
Ever since that report, The Times article said, terrorists had stopped using “a major communications channel” that U.S. officials had been monitoring and that intelligence officials “have been scrambling to find new ways to surveil the electronic messages and conversations of Al Qaida’s leaders and operatives.”
Asher, in a statement, said that in the nearly two months since McClatchy had published its story, no U.S. agency has contacted the newspaper chain about the article or has asked any questions about its sources.
Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/09/30/203716/leaks-alerted-al-qaida-leaders.html#.UkofYmT09vY#storylink=cpy
At issue in the McClatchy report is the naming of the two al Qaida figures whose messages had been intercepted, Ayman al Zawahiri, the head of al Qaida, and Nasser al Wuhayshi, the head of the Yemen-based al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula. McClatchy, citing Yemeni officials, said the intercepted communication caught Zawahiri ordering Wuhayshi to launch an unspecified attack.
Ever since that report, The Times article said, terrorists had stopped using “a major communications channel” that U.S. officials had been monitoring and that intelligence officials “have been scrambling to find new ways to surveil the electronic messages and conversations of Al Qaida’s leaders and operatives.”
Asher, in a statement, said that in the nearly two months since McClatchy had published its story, no U.S. agency has contacted the newspaper chain about the article or has asked any questions about its sources.
Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/09/30/203716/leaks-alerted-al-qaida-leaders.html#.UkofYmT09vY#storylink=cpy
29 September, 2013
Rebels Without a Clue - NYTimes.com
Rebels Without a Clue - NYTimes.com:
So how does this end? The votes to fund the government and raise the debt ceiling are there, and always have been: every Democrat in the House would vote for the necessary measures, and so would enough Republicans. The problem is that G.O.P. leaders, fearing the wrath of the radicals, haven’t been willing to allow such votes. What would change their minds?
Ironically, considering who got us into our economic mess, the most plausible answer is that Wall Street will come to the rescue — that the big money will tell Republican leaders that they have to put an end to the nonsense.
But what if even the plutocrats lack the power to rein in the radicals? In that case, Mr. Obama will either let default happen or find some way of defying the blackmailers, trading a financial crisis for a constitutional crisis.
This all sounds crazy, because it is. But the craziness, ultimately, resides not in the situation but in the minds of our politicians and the people who vote for them. Default is not in our stars, but in ourselves.
So how does this end? The votes to fund the government and raise the debt ceiling are there, and always have been: every Democrat in the House would vote for the necessary measures, and so would enough Republicans. The problem is that G.O.P. leaders, fearing the wrath of the radicals, haven’t been willing to allow such votes. What would change their minds?
Ironically, considering who got us into our economic mess, the most plausible answer is that Wall Street will come to the rescue — that the big money will tell Republican leaders that they have to put an end to the nonsense.
But what if even the plutocrats lack the power to rein in the radicals? In that case, Mr. Obama will either let default happen or find some way of defying the blackmailers, trading a financial crisis for a constitutional crisis.
This all sounds crazy, because it is. But the craziness, ultimately, resides not in the situation but in the minds of our politicians and the people who vote for them. Default is not in our stars, but in ourselves.
9,000 Sand Sketches Take Over Normandy Beach - Core77
9,000 Sand Sketches Take Over Normandy Beach - Core77: In a tribute to International Peace Day (September 21st), British artists Jamie Wardley and Andy Moss of Sand in Your Eye took a team of 60 volunteers to Normandy beach over the weekend to sketch the outlines of 9,000 soldiers figures into the sand. The installation was created to commemorate the people who lost their lives on June 6th, 1944 and is appropriately titled "The Fallen 9,000."
According to design website Colossal, what started with the artists and 60 volunteers grew to an effort including 500 local residents who jumped in to help after seeing what was going on.
The end result was fleeting and was washed away by the tide after a couple of hours. But these photos most definitely do the project justice:
According to design website Colossal, what started with the artists and 60 volunteers grew to an effort including 500 local residents who jumped in to help after seeing what was going on.
The end result was fleeting and was washed away by the tide after a couple of hours. But these photos most definitely do the project justice:
How Did A Friend of America Lose His Visa? : The New Yorker
How Did A Friend of America Lose His Visa? : The New Yorker:
Incredibly, though, it really would have been as easy as that. In Iraq and Afghanistan, security “hits” against locals working with the U.S. can be introduced into American intelligence databases in any number of ways: by a soldier mistyping someone’s name, by mistaken arrest, by confused identity, or by someone—American or local—wanting to settle a score. For example, an American contractor allegedly sexually harassed his female Iraqi employees and then fabricated derogatory information about the ones who rebuffed him to raise red flags on the security database. Even if a tip, anonymous or not, is thoroughly investigated—seldom the case—the “hit” is rarely expunged from the database but remains there, a permanent black mark. This is the operating procedure of a bureaucracy that is looking for any reason not to issue a visa to a friend of America, without ever having to say why.
Incredibly, though, it really would have been as easy as that. In Iraq and Afghanistan, security “hits” against locals working with the U.S. can be introduced into American intelligence databases in any number of ways: by a soldier mistyping someone’s name, by mistaken arrest, by confused identity, or by someone—American or local—wanting to settle a score. For example, an American contractor allegedly sexually harassed his female Iraqi employees and then fabricated derogatory information about the ones who rebuffed him to raise red flags on the security database. Even if a tip, anonymous or not, is thoroughly investigated—seldom the case—the “hit” is rarely expunged from the database but remains there, a permanent black mark. This is the operating procedure of a bureaucracy that is looking for any reason not to issue a visa to a friend of America, without ever having to say why.
27 September, 2013
Plutocrats Feeling Persecuted - NYTimes.com
Plutocrats Feeling Persecuted - NYTimes.com:
And you know that such publicly reported statements don’t come out of nowhere. Stuff like this is surely what the Masters of the Universe say to each other all the time, to nods of agreement and approval. It’s just that sometimes they forget that they’re not supposed to say such things where the rabble might learn about it.
Also, notice what both men were defending: namely, their privileges. Mr. Schwarzman was outraged at the notion that he might be required to pay taxes just like the little people; Mr. Benmosche was, in effect, declaring that A.I.G. was entitled to public bailouts and that its executives shouldn’t be expected to make any sacrifice in return.
This is important. Sometimes the wealthy talk as if they were characters in “Atlas Shrugged,” demanding nothing more from society than that the moochers leave them alone. But these men were speaking for, not against, redistribution — redistribution from the 99 percent to people like them. This isn’t libertarianism; it’s a demand for special treatment. It’s not Ayn Rand; it’s ancien régime.
And you know that such publicly reported statements don’t come out of nowhere. Stuff like this is surely what the Masters of the Universe say to each other all the time, to nods of agreement and approval. It’s just that sometimes they forget that they’re not supposed to say such things where the rabble might learn about it.
Also, notice what both men were defending: namely, their privileges. Mr. Schwarzman was outraged at the notion that he might be required to pay taxes just like the little people; Mr. Benmosche was, in effect, declaring that A.I.G. was entitled to public bailouts and that its executives shouldn’t be expected to make any sacrifice in return.
This is important. Sometimes the wealthy talk as if they were characters in “Atlas Shrugged,” demanding nothing more from society than that the moochers leave them alone. But these men were speaking for, not against, redistribution — redistribution from the 99 percent to people like them. This isn’t libertarianism; it’s a demand for special treatment. It’s not Ayn Rand; it’s ancien régime.
25 September, 2013
Pure Silliness
The Hotties and the Notties — The Monkey Cage:
Continuing our series of serious inquiries into whether academia in general, and political science in particular is a sexy profession, we actually have Real Social Scientific Data that we can bring to bear on this topic.[1] In 2006, James Felton, Peter T. Koper, John Mitchell and Michael Stinson have conducted research that sought to establish, inter alia how perceived hotness of professors affected their RateMyProfessors evaluations for teaching quality. As part of this exercise, Felton et al. ranked (Table 2 in their paper) the relative hotness quotients of 36 different academic disciplines. My estimable colleague Professor Sides has prepared a nice graph of the data (see below).
Continuing our series of serious inquiries into whether academia in general, and political science in particular is a sexy profession, we actually have Real Social Scientific Data that we can bring to bear on this topic.[1] In 2006, James Felton, Peter T. Koper, John Mitchell and Michael Stinson have conducted research that sought to establish, inter alia how perceived hotness of professors affected their RateMyProfessors evaluations for teaching quality. As part of this exercise, Felton et al. ranked (Table 2 in their paper) the relative hotness quotients of 36 different academic disciplines. My estimable colleague Professor Sides has prepared a nice graph of the data (see below).
Has America Abandoned an Afghan Interpreter? : The New Yorker
Has America Abandoned an Afghan Interpreter? : The New Yorker:
Interpreting at village meetings or during interrogations of Taliban prisoners, Shinwari made no effort to hide his face. Zeller once asked him why. “I want them to know me,” Shinwari said. “I don’t scare for them.” He was a striking man, tall and long-haired, and it seemed that everyone in Ghazni knew who he was, and inevitably his name made it onto a Taliban death list. He began getting threats in the form of “night letters”—his head would be cut off, one said. At the end of 2008, as Zeller prepared to leave Afghanistan, he told Shinwari, “You’re a brother, you’re family. Whatever I can do to get you to the U.S., I will.” Shinwari assumed that the Americans would stay in Afghanistan forever, so after Congress passed a law creating visas for Afghans who worked for the United States in Afghanistan, he didn’t apply for one.
Interpreting at village meetings or during interrogations of Taliban prisoners, Shinwari made no effort to hide his face. Zeller once asked him why. “I want them to know me,” Shinwari said. “I don’t scare for them.” He was a striking man, tall and long-haired, and it seemed that everyone in Ghazni knew who he was, and inevitably his name made it onto a Taliban death list. He began getting threats in the form of “night letters”—his head would be cut off, one said. At the end of 2008, as Zeller prepared to leave Afghanistan, he told Shinwari, “You’re a brother, you’re family. Whatever I can do to get you to the U.S., I will.” Shinwari assumed that the Americans would stay in Afghanistan forever, so after Congress passed a law creating visas for Afghans who worked for the United States in Afghanistan, he didn’t apply for one.
How Ted Cruz's Anti-Obamacare Filibuster Could Cost Him Millions
How Ted Cruz's Anti-Obamacare Filibuster Could Cost Him Millions:
Cruz, who most Republicans believe is positioning himself for a 2016 presidential run, will need the support of at least a portion of the party’s moneyed donors to stay competitive in a primary. But skeptics say he’s running the risk of being seen as unserious by the same people he will need to write him checks in a couple of years.
“Sure, he’s revving up the base, but so did Michele Bachmann and Pat Buchanan,” said one longtime Republican strategist who has worked on multiple state and national campaigns. “If you’re serious about running for president… you need the serious money, more than the direct mail crowd and the small money donors.”
“That,” the Republican said, “is the difference between winning the Iowa Caucus and winning in a serious state like Florida.”
Cruz, who most Republicans believe is positioning himself for a 2016 presidential run, will need the support of at least a portion of the party’s moneyed donors to stay competitive in a primary. But skeptics say he’s running the risk of being seen as unserious by the same people he will need to write him checks in a couple of years.
“Sure, he’s revving up the base, but so did Michele Bachmann and Pat Buchanan,” said one longtime Republican strategist who has worked on multiple state and national campaigns. “If you’re serious about running for president… you need the serious money, more than the direct mail crowd and the small money donors.”
“That,” the Republican said, “is the difference between winning the Iowa Caucus and winning in a serious state like Florida.”
24 September, 2013
Design News - Gadget Freak - Video: The Incredible Lego 'Great Ball Contraption'
Design News - Gadget Freak - Video: The Incredible Lego 'Great Ball Contraption': It's not every day you see something that makes your jaw drop, but today, while watching the video of the largest, most intricate Lego machine I've ever seen, mine did.
The machine, known as the Great Ball Contraption (GBC), was built by a Japanese mechanical engineer in his house over the course of two years -- a total of a whopping 600 hours in construction time.
The monstrous 5 ft x 21 ft (1.5m x 6.5m) machine boasts 17 modules that can process 500 balls for a length of 101.7 ft (31m) at a rate of one ball per second. I know, it's hard to wrap your head around it without checking out the video, below, first.
The machine, known as the Great Ball Contraption (GBC), was built by a Japanese mechanical engineer in his house over the course of two years -- a total of a whopping 600 hours in construction time.
The monstrous 5 ft x 21 ft (1.5m x 6.5m) machine boasts 17 modules that can process 500 balls for a length of 101.7 ft (31m) at a rate of one ball per second. I know, it's hard to wrap your head around it without checking out the video, below, first.
Chilling legal memo from Obama DOJ justifies assassination of US citizens | Glenn Greenwald | Comment is free | theguardian.com
Chilling legal memo from Obama DOJ justifies assassination of US citizens | Glenn Greenwald | Comment is free | theguardian.com: This ensures that huge numbers of citizens - those who spend little time thinking about such things and/or authoritarians who assume all government claims are true - will instinctively justify what is being done here on the ground that we must kill the Terrorists or joining al-Qaida means you should be killed. That's the "reasoning" process that has driven the War on Terror since it commenced: if the US government simply asserts without evidence or trial that someone is a terrorist, then they are assumed to be, and they can then be punished as such - with indefinite imprisonment or death.
But of course, when this memo refers to "a Senior Operational Leader of al-Qaida", what it actually means is this: someone whom the President - in total secrecy and with no due process - has accused of being that. Indeed, the memo itself makes this clear, as it baldly states that presidential assassinations are justified when "an informed, high-level official of the US government has determined that the targeted individual poses an imminent threat of violent attack against the US".
This is the crucial point: the memo isn't justifying the due-process-free execution of senior al-Qaida leaders who pose an imminent threat to the US. It is justifying the due-process-free execution of people secretly accused by the president and his underlings, with no due process, of being that. The distinction between (a) government accusations and (b) proof of guilt is central to every free society, by definition, yet this memo - and those who defend Obama's assassination power - willfully ignore it.
But of course, when this memo refers to "a Senior Operational Leader of al-Qaida", what it actually means is this: someone whom the President - in total secrecy and with no due process - has accused of being that. Indeed, the memo itself makes this clear, as it baldly states that presidential assassinations are justified when "an informed, high-level official of the US government has determined that the targeted individual poses an imminent threat of violent attack against the US".
This is the crucial point: the memo isn't justifying the due-process-free execution of senior al-Qaida leaders who pose an imminent threat to the US. It is justifying the due-process-free execution of people secretly accused by the president and his underlings, with no due process, of being that. The distinction between (a) government accusations and (b) proof of guilt is central to every free society, by definition, yet this memo - and those who defend Obama's assassination power - willfully ignore it.
Iran's Rouhani calls Holocaust crime against Jews - vagazette.com
Iran's Rouhani calls Holocaust crime against Jews - vagazette.com: UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Tuesday called the Holocaust a "reprehensible" crime committed by the Nazis against the Jewish people but said it was up to historians to determine the scale of what happened.
"I am not a historian and when it comes to speaking of the dimensions of the Holocaust it is the historians that should reflect," Rouhani told CNN when asked whether or not he believed, as did his hardline predecessor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, that the Holocaust was a myth.
"I am not a historian and when it comes to speaking of the dimensions of the Holocaust it is the historians that should reflect," Rouhani told CNN when asked whether or not he believed, as did his hardline predecessor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, that the Holocaust was a myth.
Iran Nuclear Weapons Deal With U.S.: How to Make It Happen | New Republic
Iran Nuclear Weapons Deal With U.S.: How to Make It Happen | New Republic: All of this seems far away. Doubtless it is. But Rouhani has taken a bold step forward and appears to want to take more. We should not ignore our concerns, just as he cannot ignore those of his domestic rivals. But we must be ready to address all of them, take some risks on our side, and help him to convince others in Tehran to do the same. This may well be our best chance to solve one of the greatest problems facing the Middle East and American foreign policy. We may not have another. And if we cannot grasp this one, we will be left with a choice between the two worst options of all: living with a nuclear Iran, or embarking on another war in the Middle East to prevent it.
Is Iran Ready to do a Deal with Obama over its Nuclear Program? | Informed Comment
Is Iran Ready to do a Deal with Obama over its Nuclear Program? | Informed Comment:
Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, has confirmed that Iran has turned 40% of its stock of high-grade LEU into fuel rods for the medical reactor. Once made into fuel rods, the material cannot be weaponized. So Iran only has 140 kilograms left of the 19.75% enriched uranium left. That isn’t enough for a bomb even if Iran knew how to make one and had the facilities to do so, which it doesn’t. Salehi says that Tehran intends to turn the rest of the stock into fuel rods, as well. Iran has in fact been feeding these fuel rods into the medical reactor and not stockpiling the high grade LEU, which is how you would expect them to act if they were in fact only interested in fuel, not bombs. Long time readers know that I have held since the middle of the last decade that Iran does not want an actual bomb, but rather only wants a breakout capacity like that of Japan– the ability to construct a bomb in short order if they faced an imminent existential threat. Such a breakout capacity would be almost impossible to forestall, since it mainly depends on know-how, which is widespread. But if Iran and give solid evidence that it has no active weapons program, that might be enough for a deal.
President Hassan Rouhani, elected this summer, has wrested control of the civilian nuclear enrichment program from the clerical establishment, allowing him to order the fashioning of the fuel rods so as to reassure the West (and Israel) about Iran’s intentions.
Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, has confirmed that Iran has turned 40% of its stock of high-grade LEU into fuel rods for the medical reactor. Once made into fuel rods, the material cannot be weaponized. So Iran only has 140 kilograms left of the 19.75% enriched uranium left. That isn’t enough for a bomb even if Iran knew how to make one and had the facilities to do so, which it doesn’t. Salehi says that Tehran intends to turn the rest of the stock into fuel rods, as well. Iran has in fact been feeding these fuel rods into the medical reactor and not stockpiling the high grade LEU, which is how you would expect them to act if they were in fact only interested in fuel, not bombs. Long time readers know that I have held since the middle of the last decade that Iran does not want an actual bomb, but rather only wants a breakout capacity like that of Japan– the ability to construct a bomb in short order if they faced an imminent existential threat. Such a breakout capacity would be almost impossible to forestall, since it mainly depends on know-how, which is widespread. But if Iran and give solid evidence that it has no active weapons program, that might be enough for a deal.
President Hassan Rouhani, elected this summer, has wrested control of the civilian nuclear enrichment program from the clerical establishment, allowing him to order the fashioning of the fuel rods so as to reassure the West (and Israel) about Iran’s intentions.
A Moderation Manifesto |
A Moderation Manifesto |: Certainly, it has been a long-standing dream — in the US, revolutionary France, or elsewhere — to articulate a notion of moderation that is somehow grander, more passionate, more inspiring than the one usually on offer. William Buckley’s main complaint about Eisenhower, that he was boring, is a common response to moderation. This seems to be the standard complaint about moderates in general, including in Craiutu’s reading of revolutionary France. Moderates everywhere are gray and boring; some wear these labels proudly, which does not prevent them from still being gray and boring. As if this were not enough, Kabaservice’s and Craiutu’s moderates are also for the most part political failures.
Moderates could be, and have been, dismissed as irrelevant. Yet if we are to build a moderate alternative future, we must allow them to inspire us; we must make them relevant, even many years after their engagement in politics ended.
Moderates could be, and have been, dismissed as irrelevant. Yet if we are to build a moderate alternative future, we must allow them to inspire us; we must make them relevant, even many years after their engagement in politics ended.
Kludgeocracy in America > Publications > National Affairs
Kludgeocracy in America > Publications > National Affairs:
For lack of a better alternative, the problem of complexity might best be termed the challenge of "kludgeocracy."
For lack of a better alternative, the problem of complexity might best be termed the challenge of "kludgeocracy."
A "kludge" is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as "an ill-assorted collection of parts assembled to fulfill a particular purpose...a clumsy but temporarily effective solution to a particular fault or problem." The term comes out of the world of computer programming, where a kludge is an inelegant patch put in place to solve an unexpected problem and designed to be backward-compatible with the rest of an existing system. When you add up enough kludges, you get a very complicated program that has no clear organizing principle, is exceedingly difficult to understand, and is subject to crashes. Any user of Microsoft Windows will immediately grasp the concept.
"Clumsy but temporarily effective" also describes much of American public policy today. To see policy kludges in action, one need look no further than the mind-numbing complexity of the health-care system (which even Obamacare's champions must admit has only grown more complicated under the new law, even if in their view the system is now also more just), or our byzantine system of funding higher education, or our bewildering federal-state system of governing everything from welfare to education to environmental regulation. America has chosen to govern itself through more indirect and incoherent policy mechanisms than can be found in any comparable country.
The effects of this approach to public policy are widespread and profound. But to understand how to treat our government's ailment, we first need to understand the symptoms, the character, and the causes of that ailment.
Joss Whedon: The definitive EW interview | Inside TV | EW.com
Joss Whedon: The definitive EW interview | Inside TV | EW.com:
What work are you most proud of?
There’s a couple of episodes. [Buffy's musical episode] “Once More, with Feeling,” [Buffy's] “The Body” and [the final Firefly episode] “Objects in Space” come to mind. Those felt transcendent to me.
Do you still write everything in restaurants or cafes given your rising profile?
Oh yeah. Nobody at Starbucks ever bothers me. Somebody might say “I love your work.” Nobody is going to sit down and pitch me something. Everybody there is working on their own screenplay, anyway.
This time you’re returning to TV with Marvel, the 800-pound hulk, backing you up. How has this experience been different?
There’s a certain amount of trust with the Marvel brass. It doesn’t mean carte blanche, nor should it. Because they’re not watching me as carefully, because I don’t have to justify what I want to do to them, I have to make sure I can justify it to myself. So I’m not just going “This sounds cool and nobody says I can’t, so wheeeeee, look at me fail!”
[...]There’s a certain amount of trust with the Marvel brass. It doesn’t mean carte blanche, nor should it. Because they’re not watching me as carefully, because I don’t have to justify what I want to do to them, I have to make sure I can justify it to myself. So I’m not just going “This sounds cool and nobody says I can’t, so wheeeeee, look at me fail!”
What work are you most proud of?
There’s a couple of episodes. [Buffy's musical episode] “Once More, with Feeling,” [Buffy's] “The Body” and [the final Firefly episode] “Objects in Space” come to mind. Those felt transcendent to me.
Do you still write everything in restaurants or cafes given your rising profile?
Oh yeah. Nobody at Starbucks ever bothers me. Somebody might say “I love your work.” Nobody is going to sit down and pitch me something. Everybody there is working on their own screenplay, anyway.
23 September, 2013
This hacker might seem shady, but throwing him in jail is bad for everyone
This hacker might seem shady, but throwing him in jail is bad for everyone: On Friday, the U.S. government filed its brief in the appeal of Andrew "Weev" Auernheimer, who was convicted of federal hacking charges for downloading hundreds of thousands of customer e-mail addresses from AT&T's Web site. The government says the conviction was proper, but many security researchers and civil liberties advocates argue that the conviction would set a dangerous precedent. Confused? Read on.
Who's Weev?
Weev's real name is Andrew Auernheimer. He's a security researcher and Internet provocateur who is facing felony hacking charges. No one, including Auernheimer himself, would describe him as a nice guy. But his case raises important questions about the freedom to conduct computer security research and to use software to gather information online.
Who's Weev?
Weev's real name is Andrew Auernheimer. He's a security researcher and Internet provocateur who is facing felony hacking charges. No one, including Auernheimer himself, would describe him as a nice guy. But his case raises important questions about the freedom to conduct computer security research and to use software to gather information online.
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