October 2003

There were 103 posts published in October 2003 (this is page 9 of 18).

Self Congratulations

MSNBC.com must be pretty proud of itself for this story:

The civilian Blackhawk helicopters deployed in January to help defend the skies over the nation�s capital are on round-the-clock coverage in the wake of an MSNBC.com story that described how the choppers were only providing partial coverage.

If you happen to miss the credit in the story’s first sentence, you have three more chances to pick up it in the next three paragraphs.
The funny part is that if you manage to make it to the end of the piece–the writing makes that feat a real chore–you find out that the entire program might not be a very effective security measure:

But some question whether the Blackhawks are needed at all. At the very least, questions about administration of the ADIZ [(Washington) Air Defense Identification Zone] are giving rise to questions about the entire air security complex that has grown up around the capital area.
. . .
“I�m not denying that someone could do some damage with a [general aviation] airplane,” [Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association spokesperson Warren] Morningstar said. “But is the potential for that damage and the potential for that risk so great as to require all the procedures that we�ve put into place right now in the Washington area? We�re not convinced that it is,” he said.

Oh well, no reason to let those details get in the way of a self-inflicted pat on the back, is there?

Compelling the Media to Disclose Government Leakers

There’s been quite a bit of recent chatter on whether or not the person(s) who leaked Valerie Plame’s identity as a CIA operative will be caught by government investigators.
The easiest way to find out who leaked the information would simply be to ask Robert Novak and the other journalists, if any, who disclosed it to them.
Undoubtedly, any journalist so ordered would assert that he or she did not have to disclose the source because it’s protected by a First Amendment “reporter’s privilege.” That is, the First Amendment interest in aggressive news gathering and dissemination justifies granting reporters the right to keep news sources confidential.
Would a claim of reporter’s privilege hold up in the Plame investigation? A ruling by the D.C. District Court earlier this month suggests that it would not. In Dr. Wen Ho Lee v. U.S. Department of Justice the court ruled that Dr. Lee could depose several journalists in order to find out who leaked personal information to them from his Department of Energy files.
Lee is not completely analogous to the Plame situation. But because the latter is a criminal, rather than a civil investigation, an even stronger case might be made that the privilege should be rejected.
Of course the journalists might simply refuse to divulge their sources, regardless of a court order to testify. But the government might Constitutionally have the authority to order such testimony, if it so chooses.
Via The Spy Game.

Where Are All the Manufacturing Jobs Going?

A couple days ago Kevin Drum asked if we are approaching “the end of work.” A subpart to that question might be: Are we approaching the end of manufacturing jobs?
America’s ongoing manufacturing employment decline has been largely attributed to advances in technology and foreign competition. But according to a recent report, the trimming of factory payrolls has been a worldwide phenomenon. Even more striking are the job numbers from China, which due to its large trade surplus with America, has been branded a key contributor to American job loss:

According to the analysis, between 1995 and 2002 roughly 22 million jobs were lost globally, a decline of 11 percent. Two million U.S. manufacturing jobs were lost in that period, matching the 11 percent drop. Manufacturing employment in the 17 largest economies other than China fell a little more than 7 percent, to 89 million in 2002 from 96 million in 1995. In contrast, China’s fell a whopping 15 percent in the period, to 83 million in 2002 from 98 million in 1995.

I was surprised to China has lost that many jobs, given the competitive advantages it has with a cheap currency and a low wage workforce.
What’s the prognosis for manufacturing employment? Not good, says economist Joseph Carson:

“Merely lowering operating costs is not enough for businesses to survive today. Enormous gains in technology have raised the bar on global competitiveness, punishing firms with outmoded facilities regardless of their location,” the report continues. “The giant sucking sound being heard today is not just in the U.S., but across the globe.
“We don’t see the pressure stopping anytime soon.”

Via HobbsOnline A.M.

FNC Humor

From Musings of a Philosophical Scrivener:

Up in Heaven, Alexander the Great, Frederick the Great and Napoleon are looking down on events in Iraq.
Alexander says, “Wow, if I had just one of Bush’s armored divisions, I would definitely have conquered India.”
Frederick the Great states, “Surely if I only had a few squadrons of Bush’s air force I would have won the Seven Years War decisively in a matter of weeks.”
There is a long pause as three continue to watch events. Then Napoleon speaks, “And if I only had that Fox News, no one would have ever known that I lost the Russia campaign.”

Via Democratic Veteran.