Russia is heading in the wrong direction, in so many ways. It's sad, really. America could have done so many things to help create a free state of out the ashes of Communism. Although it wasn't our responsibility, it would have certainly been in our interest, and would have required little more than some rational education to help the Russian people understand what it means to be free.

I know from personal experience that the people of the former USSR are hard-working, resourceful folk, with one major failing: they yearn for security over freedom, and will accept any dictator who promises security no matter the cost. Putin is just such a dictator, and it remains to be seen just how bad he really is.

Digg Report: It's a slow day on Digg. #1, at 2634 Diggs, is, a list of Google's various tools. On one page, yet!

Instapundit links to a story about French intervention in Africa. If some shadowy group within the US government were to do something like this, it would be plastered on the front page of newspapers around the globe as another example of why the world hates America. Al Jazeera would issue a recording of bin Laden or Al-Zawahiri using it as another example to justify 9/11 and on-going calls for America's destruction.

But it's France, and so they get a pass.

Yet another example of how media coverage of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict is a cesspool of bad ideas and misreporting. As the story points out, though, this won't be corrected, but will be added to the on-going litany of lies and distortions that makes the world hate Israel.

This essay by Bernard Lewis should be required reading. The Islamists understand only one thing: strength. They're like animals in this respect (among others), which can smell fear and react to it. If we fold now, we'll pay dearly later.

The only question is, how much later?

Really, I think this listing of Google's philosophy (and, interestingly, it is a list) is, in total, rather innocuous. The part that I find interesting is #6, "You can make money without doing evil." To me, that's self-evident: I see it done every day of my life. The US economy is over $13 trillion of not doing evil.

I suppose, though, that it all depends on one's definition of "evil." And, just how significant the statement is depends entirely on one's impression of business.

I want this. I'm a sucker for American muscle cars, having grown up just a little too late to enjoy them. The Mustang, the Camaro, the GTO, the Roadrunner, etc., etc.--there's just nothing like the low rumble of a big ol' V8.

I've tried Ubuntu, and it won't connect to my wireless network. I've configured the security settings correctly, its sees the network, but it just won't connect. This is with two different routers, and I've tried both WPA and WPA2, with no luck.

As I research how to fix things in Ubuntu, I still find all sorts of references to dropping to the command line and entering various Linux arcana. It's not much of a challenge for me, really; I've made things work in Linux before. But, it's certainly not ready to replace Windows for the vast majority of the computer-using world, for whom the command line is a foreign concept.

And so, when I read articles like this about someone who's made the switch to Linux because Vista is so hard to work with, I get a bit of a chuckle. It's one thing to claim Linux works for a computer professional who doesn't work in a corporate environment; it's another thing to claim that it's easier to use than Vista for a computer novice, or that it's an acceptable option in a corporate environment that relies heavily on Microsoft server-side products.

Linux, including Ubuntu, has a long way to go before it can replace any version of Windows. Assertions to the contrary, I'm convinced, are just another form of Microsoft-bashing.

Here's a story I found on Digg about the "Top 25 Censored Stories of 2007." Now, my definition of "censorship" is government prohibition of speech, and so for these to be truly "censored" would mean that government somehow stopped their publication, which didn't happen. I remember reading something about each and every one of these stories, and so if our government had tried to censor them, we have a long way to go before it achieves Orwellian proportions.

Certainly, the mainstream media didn't "censor" these stories. I find it simply impossible to believe that the AP, Reuters, NBC, ABC, CBS, et. al., are pro-Bush administration, and would bury a story to protect it.

Ultimately, many (most, all? it's a bit hard to read through all of it) of the stories are typical old Leftist saws, and I find many of the sources listed here to be suspect. In other words, it's typical Digg, and just as disturbing.

This is outstanding, and pithy. Here, Fred Thompson responds to Michael Moore, apparently something about a debate challenge.

I like it.

As usual, Digg comments are fascinating in their own right. No comment necessary.

Regarding the Dugg story, it's opinion, and I'll leave it at that. Not worth the time.

Whatever works. I like it.

I remain torn on Giuliani, as I always do political candidates in our mixed economy/society, but I like his stance on a few issues. Apparently, how to stop another attack on the US is one of them.

I'm not sure which is worse, that kids were subjected to such psychological torture, or that they were told merely to hide under their desks. Can't our school administrators come up with a better answer to mass murder than instilling in our children such a passive response to evil?

I wonder how Boing Boing would respond to a Web page that offered lessons on how to rob banks and get away with it? Or homes? Or to copy their Web site and publish it? Would it be the same as their response to a Web site that offers hints on how to pirate (i.e., steal) intellectual property?

Would they link to such a page? Call it a "great little beginner's guide"? One wonders.

Here's an interesting article on Digg and other social news sites. Are they ruled by the mob? You decide.

Thanks, as usual, to Little Green Footballs for this tidbit. Here are some Daily Kos comments where they think gassing Joe Lieberman would be just dandy. I'm recording this for future reference, should there be any controversy regarding comments on this or any other site.

The Left is more virulent and deadly than anyone on to the right of them (and if anyone hasn't figured it out by now, I'm not exactly to the right or left of anyone). This serves as further proof.