Let’s not forget that America has its share of homegrown wackos.
This the home of the “http://dir.yahoo.com/Government/Law/Cases/Theodore_Kaczynski_Case/”>
Unabomber, the “http://www9.cnn.com/US/9803/25/heavens.gate/”>Heaven’s Gate
suicide cult and the still-unsolved “http://www.personal.psu.edu/users/w/x/wxk116/tylenol/”>Tylenol
murders. I would not be at all suprised to find out that the
ongoing “http://www.cnn.com/2001 00:00:00 AM/HEALTH/conditions/10/12/nyc.anthrax/index.html”>
anthrax scare is not the work of terrorists but of an
apocalyptic lunatic, taking his cue from the spectacular WTC
tragedy. After all, who could watch the events of 9/11 and not
think for a moment that this was the beginning of the End?

There’s a discussion of the “http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2001 00:00:00 AM/10/11/232538/32″>effectiveness
of weblogs and collaborative media as journalism happening
over at kuro5hin. K5
founder Rusty writes in his rebuttal:

I don't think, as Scott Andrew seems to, that
"journalistic ethics" are the sole property of an elite trained
few. I think all of us basically grasp the idea that when you
report news, you should try to make it true. But much more
powerful than that is the basic impulse to make sure that when
someone else reports the news, they make sure it's true.
Collaborative media [like K5 and MetaFilter] relies on the
simple fact that people like to argue. I don't care how many
people CNN runs any given report by, we run it by more. More
people, in most cases, equals more accountability, equals better
quality. Where weblogs fall down is that they involve fewer
people, and no community responsibility at all.

It’s a good essay, and the discussion thread contains some very
intelligent arguments. I’m still reading through it.

Pictures of Fray Day
5 are up at the FD site, including “http://www.fray.org/5/photos/galleries/sanfrancisco/display/28.jpg”>
this one of yours truly doing his best George Dubya
impression.

Previously: More Weblog Thoughts

Next: “Constrained” by Objectivity