We are developing the social individualist meta-context for the future. From the very serious to the extremely frivolous... lets see what is on the mind of the Samizdata people.
Samizdata, derived from Samizdat /n. - a system of clandestine publication of banned literature in the USSR [Russ.,= self-publishing house]
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I write this as I am flying at some 36,000 feet over the midwest on my way to Los Angeles and the 25th annual International Space Development Conference (ISDC). I chair the committee which overseas the local conference teams so I will be busy with that and other National Space Society (NSS) management duties. But despite much work ahead, I will try to do an occassional live blog.
This is quite an event we of NSS (along with our major co-sponsor this year, The Planetary Society) have going this week. Pretty much everyone who matters in the space world will be there. If you are interested in space tourism or commercial space, this is the place to be.
I hope to see some of you!
It is now the next afternoon. When I went to file the story I got drafted into making the conference wifi network and router work so that I could use it.
The Catholic church wants people to boycott “The Da Vinci Code”. From the sounds of it, they are rather jealous of Islamic violence over the Danish cartoons:
“I hope all of you boycott this film,” the Italian agency quoted Amato as saying. He said the film, based on the best-selling novel by Dan Brown, was full of “offences, slander, historical and theological errors concerning Jesus, the gospel and the church.”
“Slander, offenses and errors that if they were directed toward the Quran or the Shoah would have justifiably provoked a worldwide revolt,” he said, referring to Islam’s holy book and the Hebrew word for Holocaust.
“Yet because they were directed toward the Catholic Church, they remain ‘unpunished,”‘ he said.
This is exactly the kind of slippery slope I worried about with the reactions to the Danish Cartoons. One wonders if the company with yellow borders will continue to stock the book version? Or perhaps Catholics have not yet learned the lesson that threats of violence are a successful tactic when dealing with cowards.
I will be on the road for the next month but I will make a point of seeing the movie.
Six of the victims of the Waco massacre are due for release.
I mean, hey, the federal government comes in, attacks your church, is a party to the death of your friends and family… and you get 13 years in prison. Right.
According to a 9th Circuit case decided in favour of John Gilmore, you do not have to provide identification to travel. You may instead submit to secondary screening.
Read more about it here.
Erratum: Actually, Gilmore *lost* the case, but the judges stated what I said above.
Zeyad, one of our favorite Iraqi bloggers needs to raise money to attend CUNY’s School of Journalism.
If you have enjoyed his postings, consider giving him a hand.
Borders finally got around to responding to me… with the same form letter as I have seen elsewhere:
Dear Dale,
Thank you for your expression of concern about our decision not to carry the issue of Free Inquiry magazine featuring cartoons depicting Muhammad. Borders is committed to our customers’ right to choose what to read and what to buy and to the First Amendment right of Free Inquiry to publish the cartoons. In this particular case, we decided not to stock this issue in our stores because we place a priority on the safety and security of our customers and our employees. We believe that carrying this issue presented a challenge to that priority.
We value your thoughts and sincerely appreciate that you invested your time to tell us how you feel about the issue. I can assure you that our management team gave careful deliberation to this decision and considered all sides of the issue before reaching this conclusion. As always, we are interested in customer feedback about our choices and while we know you do not agree with our position, we hope you can understand the challenge of balancing the needs of our customers, employees and our communities.
I hope that this information is helpful. If you should have any other questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Sincerely,
Borders Customer Care
http://www.bordersstores.com
I have responded:
Yes, I’ve seen this form reply posted on other well read blogs.
There are young americans dying overseas to fight these scumbags. You do not even have the guts to stand up against them on your own turf. By folding you endanger others. You prove that threats work.
You are, to use old fashioned terminology, lily livered cowards with yellow stripes down your back a mile wide and you are being called out on it.
Get some backbone. There is more to life than avoiding risk. Your life has to stand for something.
Borders does not stand for anything except cowering in a hole praying it will be left alone… for a little while longer.
Yes, it is indeed their right to be cowards. It is likewise my right to call them on it.
It appears the premature shutdown of the Falcon 1 engine was caused by a pad processing error. A pipe fitting was loosened by an experienced technician while working on the avionics. I would really not want to be in his shoes today.
You can read more details here.
 Engine fire is visible shortly after launch, just above the nozzle. Photo: SpaceXPS: This definitely had more serious consequences than the time my extremely souped up MGB backfired through the carburator and set the air filter on fire…
Israel has a new defensive system for vehicles called ‘Trophy’, now under evaluation by the US military. I first heard of it yesterday when I came across a demo video on Fox News under the category ‘Nation’ (hurry and see it before it goes away!)
I did not uncover anything else about it until this afternoon. It appears the system is a tiny version of an anti-ballistic missile missile. The incoming RPG (or whatever) is tracked by radar and knocked out of action by what looks to me to be a kinetic energy impact kill to the head of the incoming round by a very fast little short range rocket.
What I find interesting in the Fox News video is the way the explosion plume spreads out as if the incoming hit a non-physical wall.
Also see this General Dynamics report.
Many thanks to one of our commentariat for figuring a way to link to the Fox News video!
I managed to find this email address, ccare@bordersstores.com, for Borders and have taken my own advice and notified them loudly of the downside to their actions:
The ‘blogosphere’ is alive with the recent announcement you will not stock the Free Inquiry issue with the Danish cartoons.
We abhor your cowardice in the face of the enemy and your lack of moral fibre to stand up for the First Amendment in the face of those enemies.
Our publication, Samizdata, has joined the Borders boycott call which is spreading amongst other high profile network publications.
While we are a publication of only 20,000 global readers a day, they are all solidly in the intellectual book buying demographic. Other publications, in the same demographic, are also calling for your metaphorical head. At least one of them has a quarter to a half million highly educated and mostly american readers a day.
There is no way out for you other than to carry that issue and to announce that fact loudly enough that it will catch up with the rapidly disseminating news of your prior decision
The ‘blogosphere’ has a long memory. This will not be forgotten in a month or two. Borders will from henceforth be linked in people’s minds with the word ‘cowards’.
Dale Amon
Editor,
Samizdata
You may reply if you wish, but I represent only one of many, many publications that are going to be pounding you on this. Only loud visible action will mean anything to any of us.
I recommend anyone who decides to quit Borders not simply stop going. You should make one last appearance and tell them why you will not be back. If you prefer a carrot approach, tell them what they could do to win the return of you and others like you.
 Cartoon shown with thanks and our highest regards to the Freedom Fighters of Jyllands-PostenCowardice does not make you safe. It makes you a safe target
– D.Amon
My personal condolences to Glenn Reynolds on the sudden death of his grandmother. Check out the old photos. She was stunning in 1938. Her husband looks so much like a young fighter pilot I wonder if he became one!
I am sure she was a fount of family stories and this must be an immense loss to Glenn.
“You will take possession by military force, of the printing establishments of the New York World and Journal of Commerce… and prohibit any further publication thereof… you are therefore commanded forthwith to arrest and imprison… the editors, proprietors and publishers of the aforesaid newspapers”
Order from Abraham Lincoln to General John Dix, May 18, 1864.
LOX tanking has just started on SpaceX’s Falcon 1 launch vehicle on the pad at Kwajalein Island. Once you tank up with LOX you are either launching or scrubbing.
Addendum: Now T-18 and all reported good so far…
Addendum: She’s off the pad!!!
Addendum: Video cut out, they may have lost it. Damn! Reports say it was rolling.
Addendum: “Gwynn: I have heard word that we did lose the vehicle. We did have successful liftoff until a minute or two into the flight. As soon as we have information we will post informaiton onto the site. We did lose the feed from Kwajalein; that happens pretty often here. We did have a successful liftoff, but the vehicle did not succeed after that. Clearly this is a setback, but we are here for the long haul.”
Addendum: Here is one of the last photos from the rocket.
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Who Are We? The Samizdata people are a bunch of sinister and heavily armed globalist illuminati who seek to infect the entire world with the values of personal liberty and several property. Amongst our many crimes is a sense of humour and the intermittent use of British spelling.
We are also a varied group made up of social individualists, classical liberals, whigs, libertarians, extropians, futurists, ‘Porcupines’, Karl Popper fetishists, recovering neo-conservatives, crazed Ayn Rand worshipers, over-caffeinated Virginia Postrel devotees, witty Frédéric Bastiat wannabes, cypherpunks, minarchists, kritarchists and wild-eyed anarcho-capitalists from Britain, North America, Australia and Europe.
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