Not to repeat myself, but a few days ago I posted this link about the bribes we’re offering Security Council nations to go along. Today, I read in the Washington Post that “the Bush administration insists that no money or proffers of either reward or punishment have been offered.”

Move along folks, nothing to see here.

The Register reports that some reporters planning on covering Gulf War II have been warned that if they try to use satellite communications with non-military equipment, they might get blown up.

In addition to plans to use tactical nuclear weapons in future engagements, the ever-creative Department of Defense has also unveiled the largest conventional bomb ever developed. Even bigger bangs under development.

“Frankly, lives are in the balance here, so the quicker I can get stuff done accurately, the better. The Mac makes this work simple, quick and efficient. The other laptops either can’t open the files or lock up halfway through, losing whatever I was working on at the time, and then (I have) to restart the computer and start over.” Major Shawn Weed, user of the only known US military PowerBook in the Persian Gulf.

Every once in a while you come across a picture in the paper which you can’t take your eyes off. Here’s today’s, only excerpted here. See the whole picture and get the story, from the Ivory Coast.

From today’s Washington Post:

Iran is closer to obtaining weapons-grade plutonium than anyone previously realized.

The Bush administration plan to inoculate 10 million people for smallpox is putting on hold other public health needs due to limited resources.

Sen. Joe Biden, ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and pro-war, clocks in with his reasons why a second UN resolution is necessary.

Michael Kinsley comes up with a fairly reasonable review of the rationale behind thinking that the Iraq war is over oil.

NPR carried an interview with John Brady Kiesling, the 20-year career diplomat who resigned from his post in Athens over our war stance towards Iraq. Listen to it in RealAudio or Windows Media Player. (What, no QuickTime? Apple’s got to start making more pledges!) Meanwhile, all is not well on the other side of the pond, as a member of Blair’s cabinet threatens resignation, saying, “If there is not UN authority for military action or the reconstruction of the country, I will not uphold a breach of international law or this undermining of the UN.”

Update, 10:41 AM: Diane Rehm will be doing an hour-long interview with Kiesling at 11:00. I’ll post the link here later today.

Update, 3/11/03, 7:50 PM: The show, in RealAudio.

Vote with the US, get bribed. Vote against us, get punished. Not on the Security Council? Get ignored.

Those stories you’re hearing about how Iraq is pursuing a nuclear weapon? Some of them are hogwash. Meanwhile, the Bush administration is still providing nuclear technology transfer information to the North Koreans. Huh?

“I don’t doubt Dubya’s a nice man and not traditionally what one describes as stupid, but his thought processes are shallow and stagnant, like week-old water in a unused kiddie pool.” John Scalzi

Hurry on down to CompUSA today and pick up your Microsoft Migration Kit!

Three kids who clearly don’t know the definition of a “colon.” No, not the grammatical kind.

This should be required reading for anyone living in the 21st century: Robert Parks of the American Physical Society on the seven warning signs of bogus science.

I’ve had this software for a few days, but haven’t yet had time to play with it: software that turns my cell phone into a fully programmable remote control for my PowerBook. With proximity sensing, so I can have it say “Hello” when I walk into the room. (Don’t worry, I don’t have that much free time.) News reports here, software here. Needs a Sony Ericsson T68i, Jaguar, and a Bluetooth-equipped Mac.

Jail time for a guy who decided to go his own route for rebooting his laptop. With a handgun. “Whether his actions constitute a breach of MS Windows XP licencing terms remains to be seen.”

Robert John Cusack, when stopped at customs with four endangered songbirds and 50 illegal orchids, and asked if he had anything else: “Yes, I’ve got monkeys in my pants.” Quoted in News of the Weird.

“An indoor mall next to the [Camp Doha, Kuwait] finance office includes the Pamas Souvenir Shop, with carved wooden camels and T-shirts displaying a mushroom cloud with the caption, “Weather Forecast: Baghdad 32,000 Degrees and Partly Cloudy.” Other shops offer Iranian carpets, custom engraved wedding bands and Harley-Davidson Sportster 1200s. Enormous lines form at the Subway, Hardee’s and Kentucky Fried Chicken counters.” Rick Atkinson, writing in the Washington Post.

In today’s Washington Post: 100 people protested at the mall where a guy was arrested for wearing an antiwar t-shirt, as I mentioned yesterday.

There’s an interesting two-way radio network being set up in Washington for use in the event of a terrorist attack or other emergency (such as, around here, a 1/2 inch of snow).

CBS News had three translators for the Dan Rather interview with Saddam Hussein, but then had a fourth guy do the on-air translation, who had a nice Arab-sounding accent to add authenticity to the whole thing. That fourth guy was Steve Winfield, member of the Screen Actors Guild, who also does Spanish, French, Italian, Portugese, and German authentic accents.

There’s a new PayPal scam arriving by email. Reminder: never click on an email-supplied link to go to a financial site; they can take you to a spoof site instead with the goal of getting your account details and draining your account.

Update, 3/7/03: more news, including a copy of the offending letter for comparison to what’s showing up in your mailbox.

internetnews.com has more information about the CAPPS program to monitor airline passengers, currently being rolled out in test phase on Delta Airlines. PrivacyActivism is a coalition against this “massive secret database.”