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Sunday, April 04, 2004 |
 NYT. Wrap-up of computer-based enhancements to cars.
12:46:28 PM 
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Joel Beinin of Stanford writes about new pressure (censure) on cash-poor Middle East studies programs at US universities:
HR 3077 calls for establishing an International Higher Education Advisory Board with broad investigative powers "to study, monitor, apprise, and evaluate" activities of area studies centers supported by Title VI. The board is charged with ensuring that government-funded academic programs "reflect diverse perspectives and represent the full range of views" on international affairs. "Diverse perspectives", in this context, is code for limiting criticism of US Middle East policy and of Israel.
Which may result in the following negative consequence:
The legislation, if passed, could actually diminish US national security. No first-rank university would accept direct government intrusion into the educational process. Such institutions would likely refuse to accept Title VI funding if it were subject to political oversight. The already dangerously low number of Americans competent in Middle Eastern languages would then be reduced.
12:05:57 PM
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WSJ. Al Sadr plays his hand and calls for Jihad against coalition forces in response to the detention of a senior aide. Huge demonstration. Spain is again the target.
In Najaf, the shooting broke out after thousands of Sadr supporters gathered outside the Spanish garrison. A spokesman for the Spanish headquarters in nearby Diwaniyah, Commander Carlos Herradon, said attackers opened fire about noon. The Spanish and Salvadorean soldiers fired back, and assailants later regrouped in three clusters outside the base. Shooting continued into the afternoon, he said. Along with the four soldiers killed, nine Salvadorean soldiers were wounded, the Spanish defense ministry said in the Spanish capital, Madrid. NOTE: Spain commands Salvadorean soldiers in the region.
Additionally, attacks on oil infrastructure have now extended from the north (oil shipments from the north, around Mosul, have been effectively halted due to attacks on oil pipelines) to the south:
In southern Iraq on Sunday, rebels attacked an oil pipeline, rupturing it and setting the oil on fire, said Jamal Khalid, an official with the Southern Oil Company. Firefighters were battling the blaze and expected to put it out within a few hours, he said. The fire will not affect oil exports, he added. The pipeline links the southern city of Basra with the Persian Gulf port of Faw.
10:33:57 AM
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Smart Mobs: SMS messages are being stored by Telcos in archives. If intelligence agencies aren't gathering this data yet (it isn't a sure bet they are), they should.
10:16:18 AM
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© Copyright 2004 John Robb.
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