I took my Mother to church today. Beautiful, red poinsettias were massed around the pulpit. The church sold them, with the proceeds going to benefit the church's youth programs. There was a special insert in the program with the names of those in whose honor, or memory, the flowers were placed. My Mother was not aware that I had purchased two, one in memory of my sister, who died of cancer in 1986, and one in memory of my Father, who died in February of this year. After the service, as is the custom, those who had purchased flowers took them home. They look very nice in my Mother's living room. Tomorrow, we are going to take them to the nursing home where, two years ago, my Father recuperated from his first broken hip. (He was there for three months, and then came home.) I'm sure that there will be some residents there who will have nowhere to go for the holidays.

Today was the day of the Annual Christmas Lunch at the company I work for. We had ribs, potato salad, cole slaw, baked beans, bread, and soda pop. Each employee also got a ten to twelve pound smoked turkey and a cash bonus!

Overhead on the Public Broadcasting System program Fresh Air Weekend: "Voice is the sound the mind makes when it scrapes against the body."

I got two gifts today! The first one was from a rubber stamp manufacturer that we purchase from for resale. Because I send so much business their way, they made a rubber stamp for me. It folds up into a pocket-sized package the size of a small highlighter. It has a pocket clip on it, and it re-inks every time it is closed up. The second gift was from one of my customers. She gave me a very nice picture frame. It has a copper finish. I put a photograph of my Dad into it and put it on a shelf in my room.

The Sunday Times of London has a December 9 article defending the Bush Administration plan to try alleged terrorists in military courts.

I just learned two new words, gastrulation and totipotentiality, by reading "The Too-Weak Rule," by William Saletan, at slate.com.

The ‘airlift of evil’

Yesterday morning, my Mom told me that she had dreamed about my late Dad. She has been wanting to dream about him ever since he died, on February 28 of this year. I am so glad that she did.

There are two things of note to report today. First, I took my Mom over to a friend's house for lunch. There were eleven people and four dogs there. There was my friend, Marilyn, her three sons (Duke, Jay, and Hudson), the boys' Father, Duke's girlfriend, Lynn, Jay's girlfriend, Jeanette, Marilyn's brother, John, and his wife, Susan, my Mom, and me. I don't know the dogs' names. We all had a great time! Marilyn deep-fried a turkey in peanut oil. There were mashed potatoes, gravy, rolls, butter peas, dressing, green beans, and several pies. Susan had made a cheese pie. It is similar to cheesecake, but it has a denser consistency, and it was delicious!

Secondly, after we had gotten home, my brother, Bill, his wife Kathy, and their twins, Laura and Sara, came over to our Mother's house for dinner. We had a wonderful time, but, because the twins were tired, they left after a couple hours. However, they are coming back on Saturday, which is Bill's birthday. I understand that the day after Thanksgiving is generally regarded as the busiest shopping day of the year, and I'm going to have to brave it, to pick up a gift for my brother.

Pentagon Wants AC-130s in Uzbekistan

According to the Associated Press, Syed Tayyab Agha, a Taliban spokesman, said that the U. S. "should forget the 11 September attacks,'' because "The attacks have taken place in America and the people who performed and did the attacks, they were in America, so this is not something connecting with Afghanistan.'' That drew a sharp response from U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz. "I can assure them we will not forget about Sept. 11,'' Wolfowitz said in Washington. "We are moving on, and I think before long the world will forget about the Taliban.''

"The Sunday Times" newspaper, of London, provides a clearer picture of how the United States military tracked, and "neutralized," some of the Al-Qaeda hierarchy.

"One of the greatest manhunts in history" is how "The Times" newspaper of London describes the search for Osama bin Laden. "The Times" also reports that the Taliban have abandoned bin Laden and "left him to his fate."

Today, as promised, I started my diet and my exercise program. I ate less, cut out foods high in fat, and went for a walk. I feel pretty good about this. Woo hoo! I'm on my way!

Today, I received a letter from my primary care physician informing me of the results of the tests that the lab did on the blood that the phlebotomist sucked out of me. He wrote that my cholesterol level is too high. He suggested that I need to begin a low cholesterol diet, a regular exercise program, and a weight reduction program. I'll start tomorrow.

In "A war that has served notice on all terrorists," Anatole Kaletsky, writing in "The Times" of London, elucidates four convincing reasons why the United States was wise to go after the Taliban.

I have made a few photos with my new digital camera, but I'm still learning how to use it. After I've had a little more practice with it, I'll post a link to some pictures.

Ashraf Nadeem, a spokesman for the Afghani Northern Alliance, has been quoted by MSNBC as saying of the U. S. bombing campaign, "It has had a very good impact in breaking the front lines of Taliban." MSNBC goes on to report the Northern Alliance capture of the strategically important city of Mazar-e-Sharif.

How weird is this?!?! "Woman Lay Dead in Apartment for 10 Months"

Yikes!!!! Cement injections relieve vertebral fracture pain. Does the phrase, "The cure is worse than the disease," spring to mind?

If you would like to sign my guestbook, look in the column with the archives, links, and buttons.

www.dawn.com, the online version of Pakistan's leading English-language newspaper, reports that an al-Qaeda member will soon distribute a new videotape of Osama bin Laden to the Qatar-based al-Jazeera satellite television station. It is my fervent desire not to see this tape! I am of the opinion that the United States media can only hurt our war effort by airing all, or portions, of any tape that depicts bin Laden. If the U. S. media do air it, or any portions of it, they, in my opinion, will be tacitly admitting that bin Laden is smarter than they are.

www.dawn.com, the online version of Pakistan's leading English-language newspaper, reports that an al-Qaeda member will soon distribute a videotape to the Qatar-based al-Jazeera satellite television station. It is my feverent desire not to see this tape! I am of the opinion that the United States media can only hurt our war effort by airing all, or portions, of any tape that depicts bin Laden. If the U. S. media do air it, or any portions of it, they, in my opinion, will be tacitly admitting that bin Laden is smarter than they are.

The New York Times reports--

Pakistan has arrested three of the country's leading nuclear scientists and held them for questioning for most of the last week in connection with American concerns that nuclear weapons technology could have found its way into the hands of Osama bin Laden and the Taliban rulers of Afghanistan.

Today, I bought an HP photosmart 215 digital camera from Wal-Mart. Hilarity will ensue.

Today, I went to CompUSA, bought a 256 MB memory module, and installed it into my Dell Dimension 4100 computer. Now, it really rocks! This was the first time that I have opened the computer case. I timed myself from start to finish: 42 minutes. Not too bad.

I downloaded and installed ICQ. Even though information on c|net.com indicated that the latest release of ICQ is compatible with Windows XP, I'm having some problems. ICQ has crashed several times, but the operating system hasn't crashed once.

Trying out a new tool called easyBlog.

I read about a program called blogBuddy on blogger.com and downloaded it from http://blogbuddy.sourceforge.net/. This post is my first use of it. It seems as though it will be very convenient.

Installed Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition. Looking good, so far.

The Sunday Times reports part of the message that Commander Solo, the U. S. flying radio and television station, is transmitting to the Taliban

Our bombs are so accurate we can drop them right through your windows . . . our infantry is trained for any climate and terrain on earth. United States soldiers fire with superior marksmanship. You have only one choice . . . Surrender now and we will let you live.

The War of the Night

Al Qaeda’s links deepen in Europe

Rangers get U.S. point across

21st Century Weapons

There is not yet much news about the U. S. ground raid into Afghanistan, however, this article, in the South China Morning Post newspaper, does provide some information.

In today's issue of The Boston Globe newspaper, Eric Croddy, senior research associate at the Monterey Institute of International Studies in California, describes "the Marshall McLuhan method of terrorism."

To find out what radio messages we are transmitting to the people of Afghanistan, see this article.

Special Forces Open Ground Campaign, in washingtonpost.com, is a good article on the current state of the war against terrorism.

Help me out, people. Am I missing something here? Why would someone send anthrax to a businessman in Nairobi, Kenya? See story: Anthrax sample confirmed in Kenya.

An expert on germ warfare says that if you're afraid to open a piece of mail for fear of contracting anthrax, then iron your mail before opening it!

Legal Stuff (i. e., Disclaimer): I don't know if ironing mail actually kills the anthrax or not.

Bad News Alert!

CNN Submits 6 Questions After Overture by bin Laden . . . After reading this article in the New York Times, my question to Mr. Walter Isaacson, the Chairman of CNN, would be, "How will you know that, if you do air all, or portions of, any video tape that you may receive, you are not actually playing into bin Laden's hand?" It seems to me that it is unlikely, to the point of impossibility, to believe that bin Laden would do this unless it was his intention to use CNN to further his agenda. And please, Mr. Isaacson, don't give us that, "It is our obligation to report the news." Given the Current Situation, isn't that a rationale that, in and of itself, is no longer acceptable? Shouldn't Mr. Isaacson, and others like him, have an overriding goal which would eclipse even their vaunted "obligation" to report the news, the goal of not doing anything that might help the cause of the enemy?

In this British Broadcasting Corporation report, entitled The US war of minds, a form of warfare known as Psychological Operations, or PsyOps, is explained.

On Monday, the United States military added a powerful weapon to the arsenal that it is using to attack the Taliban and al-Qaida: the Air Force's AC-130 gunship, which has been described as one of the most devastating weapons in America's air arsenal. The AC-130, which usually operates at night, can "loiter" for hours over a target, and it's collection of rapid-fire gatling guns and cannon can pour down a withering fire. It would be almost impossible for anything to survive a direct attack of the artillery aboard an AC-130, which has precision targeting capability. For more information on Monday's attacks, see this article, in The New York Times, and this article at the MSNBC.com website.

A British newspaper, The Observer, reports that eleven of the nineteen suicide hijackers involved in the September 11, 2001 attacks did not know that they were to die.

Angela, with Big Insurance Company, telephoned. She said that they were assigning liability to their insured and were going to pay to have my Mom's car repaired. Whoopee!!!!

Bush Swiftly Rejects Taliban Offer as Targets in Four Cities Are Hit

The third most powerful figure in the Taliban, Deputy Prime Minister Haji Abdul Kabir, said Sunday that the militia was willing to hand bin Laden over to a third nation if the United States offers evidence against him and halts the bombing. President Bush quickly rejected the offer.

"There is nothing to negotiate about. They are harboring a terrorist,'' Bush told reporters.

The Bush administration has repeatedly refused any conditions on its demands that the Taliban surrender bin Laden and his al-Qaida terror movement -- suspected in the Sept. 11 terror attacks in the United States. The United States launched the bombardment of Afghanistan on Oct. 7 after the Taliban refused for weeks to comply.

Al-Qaida has released three videotaped statements since the start of the air campaign, the latest on Saturday, warning of new terror attacks against the United States.

"There's no need to discuss innocence or guilt,'' Bush added. "We know he's guilty.''

In an article entitled "Iraq 'behind US anthrax outbreaks,'" in the British online newspaper The Observer International:

Leading US intelligence sources, involved with both the CIA and the Defence Department, told The Observer that the 'giveaway' which suggests a state sponsor for the anthrax cases is that the victims in Florida were afflicted with the airborne form of the disease.

'Making anthrax, on its own, isn't so difficult,' one senior US intelligence source said. 'But it only begins to become effective as a biological weapon if they can be made the right size to breathe in. If you can't get airborne infectivity, you can't use it as a weapon. That is extremely difficult. There is very little leeway. Most spores are either too big to be suspended in air, or too small to lodge on the lining of the lungs.'

In liquid form, anthrax is useless - droplets would fall to the ground, rather than staying suspended in the air to be breathed by victims. Making powder needs repeated washings in huge centrifuges, followed by intensive drying, which requires sealed environments. The technology would cost millions.

US intelligence believes Iraq has the technology and supplies of anthrax suitable for terrorist use. 'They aren't making this stuff in caves in Afghanistan,' the CIA source said. 'This is prima facie evidence of the involvement of a state intelligence agency. Maybe Iran has the capability. But it doesn't look likely politically. That leaves Iraq.'

One of the world's best counter-terrorism experts is a French judge.

An eight-year-old girl's message to the heroes of the New York City fire department: you did what you could.

In a story with the head, Fatwa finds U.S. strikes are moral, MSNBC reports important news:

An international Muslim religious ruling endorsed the morality of the U.S.-led military effort against terrorists, a statement important because of the prominence of one of its authors. The ruling, or fatwa, also said American Muslims can participate in the military response to the Sept. 11 attacks.

In light of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, here is a New York Times review of a book dealing with the problem of evil.

From an October 13, 2001, New York Times article about Mr. Donald Rumsfeld, the United States' Secretary of Defense:

"Since you cannot defend everywhere at all times against every conceivable terrorist tactic, you have no choice, but in your own self-defense, to be pre-emptive, to go after the terrorists where they are," Mr. Rumsfeld said today.

In a speech at the Pentagon, today, President Bush referred to the Taliban: "We gave that regime a choice: Turn over the terrorists, or face your ruin. They chose unwisely."

Click here to read the full text of the President's address.

From a story in The Washington Times:

What is clear, however, is that for several decades Islam, more than any other of the world's great religions, has been the fountain of hatred toward the West in general and the United States in particular. Just as you don't have to be a weatherman to see which way the wind blows, you don't have to be a political scientist to observe that contemporary Islamic culture has not quickened a single democracy anywhere in the world.

Here is the story.

The awesome power of a free society committed to a single mission is something [the enemies of the United States] cannot imagine.

There is a report that the religious leaders of the Taliban have requested Osama bin Laden to leave Afghanistan as soon as possible.

The National Review has an interesting article entitled Mosque Mission: Dealing with radical Islamism.

Is Oprah Winfrey a threat to national security?

An interesting article in the Interntional Herald Tribune:Taboos Are Put to Test in West's View of Islam.

Mr. Tony Blair, the Prime Minister of England, in an October 8, 2001, address to the House of Commons, said, in part:

" . . . a desire to live in peace should never be interpreted as weakness by those who attack us. If attacked, we will respond; we will defend ourselves; and our very reluctance to use force means that when we do, we do so with complete determination that it shall prevail."

From cnn.com: Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday that the terrorists themselves provoked the military action that is being unleashed against them. Speaking to his cabinet, Putin said, "This time, I think, they (terrorists) miscalculated."

"The world has to defeat terrorism; the alternative is too disastrous to contemplate; what the world decides to achieve, the Taleban and Osama bin Laden cannot prevent." So says The Times, of London, in an informative editorial.

From the article on cnn.com, "The war against terrorism... will use every element of American influence and power," Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld pledged Sunday afternoon.

From washingtonpost.com, here is the full text of the President's address, which he gave shortly after the attack on al-Qaida and the Taliban began.

Apparently, the United States attack against the Taliban has begun.

The Taliban made an eleventh-hour appeal to halt U.S. attacks, offering Sunday to detain terrorist suspect Osama bin Laden and try him under Islamic law if the United States made a formal request. The United States rejected their "offer."

In NATO to deploy AWACS in U.S., MSNBC.com reports that, in a move without precednet, NATO has agreed to a U. S. request to deploy NATO surveillance airplanes within the United States to aid in homeland defense.

In order to view the photos at LIVE NUDE CATS, you must be eighteen months old or older.

The How Long do you have to Live? web site enlightened me to the following facts: My average life span is: 87 Years Old

By modifying my health, lifestyle, diet and environment I can live to be: 96 Years Old

I was born on Monday, April 15, 1946. I have lived 20,263 days and have 11,419 days left to live.

I should die on Monday January 10, 2033 at 11:23:20 PM.

In a document entitled "Responsibility for the terrorist atrocities in the United States," posted on the web site of the British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, there is the following statement:

14. Since 1996, when the Taleban captured Kabul, the United States government has consistently raised with them a whole range of issues, including humanitarian aid and terrorism. Well before 11 September 2001 they [the United States Government] had provided evidence to the Taleban of the responsibility of Al Qaida for the terrorist attacks in East Africa. [Emphasis added.] This evidence had been provided to senior leaders of the Taleban at their request.

Until I read this, I was unaware that the United States had already furnished, to the Taliban, evidence that Osama bin Laden and Al-Qaida were responsible for terrorist attacks.
The report continues:

18. Despite the evidence provided by the US of the responsibility of Usama Bin Laden and Al Qaida for the 1998 East Africa bombings, despite the accurately perceived threats of further atrocities, and despite the demands of the United Nations, the Taleban régime responded by saying no evidence existed against Usama Bin Laden, and that neither he nor his network would be expelled. [Emphasis added.]

Therefore, it would seem that the demand of the Taliban for evidence against bin Laden is specious, and is nothing more than a delaying tactic.

Don't you just hate it, when people (like me), with just enough knowledge of HTML to be dangerous, mess up and delete some portion, or all, of their blog? And, then, they blog about the incident, thereby displaying their ignorance, for all to see. Well, it happened to me. Somehow, I deleted yesterday's post. But, I swear to you, I won't mention it!

Yesterday afternoon, I went to see Rush Hour 2. It was good for what I wanted it to be good for: two hours of escape from reality.

The Mercury now has new front disc brakes.

It rained, heavily at times, last night, although the streets are almost dry, now.

Here is the full text of the summary of evidence against Osama bin Laden with respect to the U.S. terrorist attacks, released on Thursday, October 4, 2001, by the British government.

I lied. I didn't telephone the insurance company today.

Here's my new plan: Take my car in early tomorrow morning and have a mechanic look at it to see if it needs new brakes.

I left the insurance company alone, today. I'll telephone them tomorrow, in an attempt to find out if they've made any progress.

I believe that my Mom is O. K., although she's sore. I can relate.

In the wake of all the tragedy, now this: 6 killed after bus driver attacked.

On the way to work, I passed by the lot where the little, silver Escort had been towed after the wreck. It was gone, which means that it has been transferred to the body shop that will repair it.

Came home for lunch. Mother had been sitting up reading one of the books she got at the library on Saturday. She said that her hip hurts--that it is sore--where she fell on it this morning. She sat at the dining room table while I ate lunch (fish sticks, macaroni and cheese, green peas, and milk). Then, she went to lie down.

I will defer going to work today, until my Mother is confident that she can (safely!) navigate the house by herself while I am away. I would like to take the whole day off, but actually need to go to work, in order to finish up some things that I didn't finish yesterday. Also, I think that the Mercury needs new brakes. Sometimes, it makes a strange noise when I brake. Not all the time, only sometimes. Maybe the brake situation is not too bad, yet?

I had enjoyed a cup of coffee, and was about to get ready for work, when my Mother fell. I don't think that she is seriously hurt, although she may be sore. She said that her ankle unexpectedly turned and down she went! She wanted me to telephone the nearest fire station and ask them to send someone to help her to get up, but I knew that we could do it. I helped her to get up on a stool, then a chair, and, finally, stand up. I suggested that she use the walker that my Father had used, and, using it, she walked to her bedroom and lay down. You never know what will happen.

P. S.: I washed the Mercury again, today. It is actually looks pretty nice, now.

On Monday, I oinked that I was "really, really sore!" Now, I'm really, really, really sore! I have mentioned the events of Sunday night last to several people. Several of them have been in automobile accidents and have experienced the "soreness thing." I've been told that, in all probability, some of the soreness is due to my body having been hurled with great force against the seatbelt I was wearing. I can live with that. IMHO, it's better to be sore from wearing a seatbelt to be dead from not wearing one. Or not.

Today was another day of (mostly) massive inaction on the part of the insurance company that I'm dealing with. At least the damage adjuster evaluated my car and the car of the person behind me, but the "nice lady" at the insurance company said that she's waiting for the police report. The phrase, "Hurry up and wait," has never had more meaning for me than it has had today.

Since the service station where I had the crumpled up car towed was doing me the favor of charging $15.00 per day storage, I'm having the car moved to the body shop at the dealership where it was purchased. At least they won't charge anything for the car being parked on their lot until this colossal insurance mess is straightened out.

Rudolph W. Giuliani, Mayor of New York City, attended the funeral of "diswashers and cooks" who died in the attacks upon the World Trade Center. See the reference in about the middle of this story in The New York Times.

Hoo hah. I didn't think that I was injured in the accident, but, now, I'm really, really sore! As yet, my neck doesn't hurt, though. As someone pointed out to me today, people who work out in gyms get sore, and they usually don't go to a doctor. Hope the soreness goes away soon.

Went to the police precinct. A nice lady there made a photocopy of the proof of insurance that I furnished to her. She also made a copy of a citation that the responding officer issued to me for not being able to produce proof of insurance at the site of the accident. The responding officer assured me that the ticket would be voided. I'll follow up.

Telephoned the insurance company that the lady who hit me has her coverage with. I related my version of what had happened. The lady I spoke with told me that the lady who ran into me had given them a "completely different" version of what had happened, a version absolving her of all responsibility. I was disappointed, but not suprised. Apparently, an adjuster will look at all three cars involved. Undoubtedly, an examination of the cars will give the lady's insurance company a pretty realistic idea of what actually happened.

I stopped by the service station where the little, silver Escort had been transported. The mechanic, who had driven the tow truck yesterday, said that he had gotten it to crank. That's good, because I'll be able to drive it home after the adjuster looks at it. I washed the Mercury again (and again, and again) and got it looking spiffy again. I telephoned the insurance company, again. They had taken tape recorded statements from the drivers of all three vehicles. The last lady I spoke to said that they may be able to issue a determination of liability after they receive the adjuster's report. She said that the adjuster wouldn't even get the assignment until tomorrow morning. I hope that they expedite this, because I'm sure that the service station will not want the car to stay on their lot for an extended period of time. More to follow . . .

More hilarity - - - called someone from work to bring a portable car battery to get the Mercury started. When he got here, we discovered that the battery posts were bady corroded. He cleaned them by pouring a mixture of baking soda and water on them. The car started! Hooray!

Since the fuel gauge on the Mercury doesn't work (the fuse keeps blowing every time I replace it), the first thing I did was drive across the street to the convenience store and gas up. Because the car had been sitting up for months, the windows were so filthy I could hardly see out of them; ergo, I took it to a car wash. It helped some, but I'll have to wash it another time, or two.

Once the windshield was (comparatively) clean, I could see that the vehicle inspection sticker had expired in February of this year, so then I went to a service station and got a new inspection sticker ($5.00).

Then I stopped back by the house to pick up the paperwork on the accident, get a cup of coffee, and post this, before going to the police station to establish proof of insurance.

When I woke up this morning, I hoped that the revolting developments of yesterday were just a bad dream, and, then, I looked out the window to discover that there was no small, silver, Ford Escort in the driveway. Rats.

For those who want to make a real impression on Halloween: Corpses For Sale

Was involved in an automobile accident this evening. Here's how it started: My plan was to take the wash to the laundromat. I left the house about four fifteen this afternoon, after remarking that I hoped the change machine at the laundromat was working. When I got there, guess what?

The change machine was not working. As luck would have it, I had just enough to feed two of the four-dollar washing machines. I got the clothes started washing and went to another laundromat for change.

Fortunately, the change machine at the other laundromat was working. I got five dollars worth of quarters and began driving back to the first laundromat. Several cars in front of me stopped in the lane of traffice in order to allow someone to make a left turn. I stopped. The car behind me didn't.

The 1997 silver Ford Escort sedan, which I was driving, was slammed into the gray 2001 Chevrolet Impala in front of me. The lady behind me was driving a 1990's tan Mercury Grand Marquis. She tried to say that after I ran into the Chevrolet, my car bounced back into her car. I don't think so!

I telephoned 911 to report the accident. The emergency operator lady wanted to know the colors of all the automobiles involved. "I can't tell the color of the car behind me," I said. "My back window is dirty. Just send someone, O. K.?!"

A police officer arrived shortly. He asked me for my version of what happened, first. I told him, the man who was driving the automobile which I ran into agreed with me, and the lady who ran into the car that I was driving agreed (somewhat reluctantly, I thought). "So, everybody concurrs," the police officer said.

The owner of the Chevrolet (who was accompanied by his wife) drove his car home. He and his wife live near where the accident occurred. Their car was only slightly damaged. The Ford and the Mercury both had to be towed. Not knowing where else to have it towed, I had it towed to the nearest service station that operates wreckers.

The police officer offered to give me a lift home, an offer which I readily accepted. All this time, the clothes are at the laundromat, having long since finished washing. When I got home, arrangements were made for someone to give me a ride to the laundromat to retreive the clothes. I was hoping that they were still there. They were. Since I live in a home without a washer or a dryer, arrangements were made to have someone dry the clothes at their home and deliver them to me tomorrow. For twenty dollars.

Oh, did I mention that when the police officer dropped me off at home, my other car's battery was dead? I decided to call a service station tomorrow to see if they could send someone to give my (dead) battery a boost. I don't know if that will work, or if I'll be forced to purchase a new battery. More tomorrow.