Not so big on free speech in Iraq. During a patrol in Tikrit early Wednesday, U.S. forces came across a black flag strung up in front of a local government building. The writing mourned the passing of Odai and Qusai. After asking his translator to read the gold and white lettering to him, U.S. Lt. Col. Steve Russell, whose 4th Infantry Division, 1st Battalion is leading the raids in Tikrit, took out his pocket knife and cut it down, crumpling it in his hands before taking it away. ...

Daily Kos speculates on Iowa caucus maneuvering (original), which might make one wonder why anyone cares about the Iowa caucuses at all. He’s outlined a scenario under which Kerry supporters might throw their votes to Gephardt in order to derail a Dean victory. And yep, that’s about the kind of thing that happens in caucuses. I don’t think it really requires cell phones to happen, though; Kerry’s campaign can make that decision the night before and pre-arrange the votes instead of waiting till the last moment. They’d sacrifice up to the moment decision making, but they’d gain reliability. ...

I’m not the only one writing IC UA journals. The Moody Reviews is by Tim Toner, and it is pretty darned good reading, cause that Tim Toner guy can write. My name is Darryl (*HI, DARRYL!*), and I used to be a doctor. See, I was finishing my residency, when I ran afoul of a little bureaucratic bullshit. I was kicked to the curb, and just like that, I ended a glorious career as a surgeon before I even began it. Now I’m a telemarketer, but that’s not really relevant to what happened. What’s relevant is that I’m living with a drug dealer. ...

One of my first posts here was about the High Line, an abandoned elevated railway in Manhattan. As such, I would be remiss not to note the continued efforts to save it. (Came here from Steven Den Beste’s page? He meant to link here.)

Now, that’s a job posting (original). Pity it was taken down, but luckily someone saved it from obscurity. Since I stole the link from Phil Ringalda, I’m sure it’ll be all over the Internet by Monday at the latest. It opens like this: “So you were a top Web Developer, once, many years ago, until the ‘correction’. Now nobody cares and you are shunned in public, much as lepers were in the fifteenth century.” From there on in, it’s all uphill.

I had an interesting discussion with Jere about the whole flash mob thing, with some random musing on dada. I wound up saying: I’m not sure that there’s not a paradox inherent in the concept. The need to draw in a lot of people conflicts with the need to keep the details under wraps. Once People Magazine does a story on it (which will be next week, I understand), it’s no longer mysterious. ...

Don’t let anyone tell you affirmative action is only for minorities these days. I’m thinking Bishop Caldwell is crazy like a fox — he’s picking up a fair amount of attention, which easily assists with both his stated objectives and any yearning for publicity he might feel.

There are worse ways to spend a Saturday than browsing through the Dead Media Working Notes. Don’t miss the uncategorized notes, either. I regard this as a museum of ways in which human beings have tried to touch one another; it strikes me as deeply Cronenbergian. And what goes around, comes around (original).

Adam Tinworth points out this and this regarding the Kelly case. The latter is in particular full of pertinent details. Also, the Hutton Inquiry has a web site. It includes full transcripts of the entire hearing to date. This sort of transparency impresses me. Between Adam and Lord Hutton, one suspects one might get all the necessary coverage and pointers.

WISH 58 (original) asks about metaplots: What do you think of metaplots (plots developed in the rules and supplements published by the game company)? Are they good, bad, or indifferent? Have you played in a game with a metaplot? What was your experience? I don’t really like ‘em. They don’t stop me from buying a game, but I don’t have a whole lot of interest in them when you get right down to it, so space used on a metaplot is space I’d like to see used elsewhere. ...