September 2006

There were 36 posts published in September 2006 (this is page 3 of 6).

NIE: Iraq War Increasing the Terrorism Threat

Washington Post:

A 30-page National Intelligence Estimate completed in April cites the “centrality” of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, and the insurgency that has followed, as the leading inspiration for new Islamic extremist networks and cells that are united by little more than an anti-Western agenda. It concludes that, rather than contributing to eventual victory in the global counterterrorism struggle, the situation in Iraq has worsened the U.S. position, according to officials familiar with the classified document.

See also the NY Times article.
Undoubtedly this comes as a huge surprise to everyone. And by “everyone,” I mean those who believe the Bush administration.

Short Answer

Yes.
News, information, blogs, forums, YouTube, e-mail, and, uh, . . . you get the picture. It’s infotainment central.

Air Marshals And Workers’ Compensation

Being an air marshal is a lot more physically demanding than I imagined:

A key House member yesterday said that Congress should review the large number of federal air marshals sidelined by injuries sustained while protecting passengers from another September 11-style terrorist attack.
More than 2,100, or nearly half the Federal Air Marshals Service’s peak force, have been awarded workers’ compensation claims in the past three years, according to the Labor Department.
. . .
“I deal with pilots and flight attendants on aircraft all the time, and we don’t have that kind of record,” [ Rep. John L.] Mica said.

Here I thought that (absent an incident) air marshals essentially just rode around on the planes. It would be interesting to compare this workers’ compensation claim rate with that of flight attendants, who share similar working conditions.

Bill O’Reilly Goes Russell Crowe

In a 20/20 interview, Bill O’Reilly claims that the FBI informed him that he is on an al Qaeda “death list.”
Undoubtedly, in al Qaeda’s campaign to end the global power of the United States, Mr. O’Reilly ranks near the top of the list of high value targets.
This reminds me of the war “freedom” blogggers who have publicly worried about the danger of al Qaeda using computer attacks to shut down their blogs.

Approval At The Pump

USA Today:

When it comes to President Bush’s approval rating — the number that measures his political health — one factor seems more powerful than any Oval Office address or legislative initiative.
It’s the price of a gallon of gas.
Statisticians who have compared changes in gas prices and Bush’s ratings through his presidency have found a steady relationship: As gas prices rise, his ratings fall. As gas prices fall, his ratings rise.
. . .
A statistical analysis by Doug Henwood, editor of the liberal newsletter Left Business Observer, found that an “uncanny” 78% of the movement in Bush’s ratings could be correlated with changes in gas prices. Based on trends in crude oil prices, Henwood predicted last Thursday that it “wouldn’t be surprising to see his approval numbers rise into the mid-40s.”
In a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll taken Friday through Sunday, Bush’s rating rose to 44%, his highest in a year. Average gas prices, which peaked at more than $3 a gallon in August, had dropped under $2.50, the lowest since March.

Interesting how “supply and demand” is working.