Wednesday, March 19, 2003

Looking out the front door.... A noticeable increase in security around the city today. Cops on the subway, in the stations, and checking cars and trucks crossing the Manhattan Bridge a few steps from my school. I suppose it makes us all feel safer but it's a grim reminder of the weeks following 9/11. 10:55:47 PM

CNN is saying Saddam Hussein will be appearing on Iraq TV shortly. 9:28:24 PM

Text of Bush speech to nation. BUSH: My fellow citizens, at this hour American and coalition forces are in the early stages of military operations to disarm Iraq, to free its people and to defend the world from grave danger. On my orders, coalition forces have begun striking selected targets of military importance to undermine Saddam Hussein's ability to wage war. These are opening stages of what will be a broad and concerted campaign. More than 35 countries are giving crucial support, from the use of naval and air bases, to help with intelligence and logistics, to the deployment of combat units. Every nation in this coalition has chosen to bear the duty and share the honor of serving in our common defense. To all of the men and women of the United States armed forces now in the Middle East, the peace of a troubled world and the hopes of an oppressed people now depend on you. That trust is well placed. The enemies you confront will come to know your skill and bravery. The people you liberate will witness the honorable and decent spirit of the American military. In this conflict, America faces an enemy who has no regard for conventions of war or rules of morality. Saddam Hussein has placed Iraqi troops and equipment in civilian areas, attempting to use innocent men, women and children as shields for his own military; a final atrocity against his people. I want Americans and all the world to know that coalition forces will make every effort to spare innocent civilians from harm. A campaign on the harsh terrain of a nation as large as California could be longer and more difficult than some predict. And helping Iraqis achieve a united, stable and free country will require our sustained commitment. We come to Iraq with respect for its citizens, for their great civilization and for the religious faiths they practice. We have no ambition in Iraq, except to remove a threat and restore control of that country to its own people. I know that the families of our military are praying that all those who serve will return safely and soon. 9:28:23 PM

Tony Blair to talk at 10:30 EST 9:28:23 PM

WASHINGTON - The United States launched war against Iraq (news - web sites) on Wednesday. "The opening stages of the disarmament of the Iraqi regime have begun," White House press secretary Ari Fleischer (news - web sites) said. 9:28:23 PM

Ed. Leaders using Palms in Michigan. Michigan Is on Mission to Make Technology an Integral Part of School Leadership. More than 1,000 Michigan school administrators are well on their way to making handheld technology an integral part of their school leadership. Palm, Inc. today announced that 1,500 Palm handheld computers and keyboards have been purchased for school administrators participating in Leading the Future, an innovative program dedicated to professional development in which technology is transparently integrated as a natural part of leadership. [Educational Technology] 9:28:22 PM

Quotes. Pablo Picasso. "Computers are useless. They can only give you answers." [Quotes of the Day] 9:28:21 PM

Palm on Phones. PalmSource phones add BREW to mix. The Palm unit allies with Qualcomm to use the chipmaker's BREW download software to deliver games and other applications to cell phones. [CNET News.com] 9:28:21 PM

Real Player for Palm OS 5 is out. The RealOne Mobile Player for Palm runs on newer Palm-branded OS 5 devices with ARM processors such as the Tungsten T. It supports the local playback of MP3 and RealAudio content from inserted SD memory cards. A plug-in for the RealOne Player for PC allows easy and seamless transfer of songs to the device 9:28:20 PM