Software Bullet Is Sought to Kill Musical Piracy. Record companies are financing the development of software that would sabotage the computers of people that download pirated music. By Andrew Ross Sorkin. [New York Times: NYT HomePage]
7:25:03 PM  #  

The End of Wilderness. On Friday, the Bush administration made a deal with Utah that is a reversal of four decades of federal wilderness policy. [New York Times: Opinion]

Under the settlement, Ms. Norton not only agreed to withdraw the 2.6 million acres from wilderness consideration but renounced the department's authority to conduct wilderness reviews anywhere in the country. In one stroke, Ms. Norton yanked more than 250 million acres off the table. Not all of those acres, of course, are worthy of permanent wilderness protection. But under the new policy settlement, those that are will no longer be placed in the pipeline for Congressional consideration.

7:17:20 PM  #  

Our New Baby. We just adopted a baby called Baghdad and this is no time for the parents to get a divorce. By Thomas L. Friedman. [New York Times: Opinion]

Friends, whether you like or hate how and why we got into this war, the fact is America [~] you and I [~] has assumed responsibility for rebuilding Iraq. We are talking about one of the biggest nation-building projects the U.S. has ever undertaken, the mother of all long hauls. We now have a 51st state of 23 million people. We just adopted a baby called Baghdad [~] and this is no time for the parents to get a divorce. Because raising that baby, in the neighborhood it lives in, is going to be a mammoth task. If both Republicans and Democrats don't start looking clearly and honestly at what is evolving in Iraq, we're all going to be in trouble.

...

This is such an important moment in U.S. foreign policy. How people view American power is at stake in the outcome in Iraq, and Democrats can't be missing in action. They have to help shape this moment, and not leave it to the Bush Pentagon. But it won't happen if Democrats are sulking in a corner, just trying to point to everything that is going wrong in Iraq, and not offering their ideas for making it better.

Why should Democrats trust the Bush people to win the peace in Iraq the way they won the war? It is clear the Bush team had no coherent postwar plan in place. This administration, with its deep mistrust for diplomacy and diplomats, may be way too ideological and Pentagon-centric for nation-building. We need alternative voices. What is the Democratic view on the proper role of the U.N. or NATO in rebuilding Iraq? How much emphasis do Democrats believe the U.S. should put into the Arab-Israeli peace process to support peace in Iraq? Is a principled and muscular internationalism now the private property of the Republican Party?

If conservatives exaggerate what has already been accomplished in Iraq, they're going to misread how much more needs to be done and blow the opportunity to meaningfully liberate Iraq. If Democrats underestimate the importance of what has already been accomplished by Saddam's removal, and its huge potential, they are going to miss the opportunity to shape [~] and help make happen [~] one of the most important turning points in U.S. foreign policy and the Middle East.   

7:12:06 PM  #  

I've already made a few purchases. The selection needs to be fleshed out, though.

Apples New Online Music Service. Apple made its long-awaited entry into the online music market this week with its iTunes Music Store. How good is it? By David Pogue. [New York Times: Technology]
6:50:32 PM  #  

Spam Sent by Fraud Is Made a Felony Under Virginia Law. In the toughest move to date against unsolicited commercial e-mail, Virginia enacted a law imposing harsh new felony penalties, including prison time. By Saul Hansell. [New York Times: Technology]
6:45:47 PM  #  

Bought and assembled a crib. Bought twin bed mattress for the bed we've ordered. (No more sleeping on the couch for me!) Selected paint colors to match the crib bedding we were given by my dad and step mom.

Next weekend, paint...
6:40:50 PM  #