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03/13/2003 Archived Entry: "Is *this* the smoking gun?"

A report from Salon and one from the Christian Science Monitor re: the "smoking gun" that has received such US media attention..."A remotely piloted aircraft that the United States has warned could spread chemical weapons appears to be made of balsa wood and duct tape, with two small propellors attached to what look like the engines of a weed whacker." The plane is controlled by the naked eye from the ground and has a range of about 5 miles, far below anything that requires reporting to the UN. Is this why Blix buried the item so deeply in his report?

On the Personal Front:

I have become intrigued by a movement called Voluntary Simplicity, the goal of which is to pare down your life to those material goods and activities that enrich you. Altho' the movement questions "the consumer society," it not anti-capitalist. Altho' it has a definite self-sufficiency bent, it is not anti-technology...if it were, the concept would hold no appeal for me and certainly none for Brad whose Ph.D. is in computer science. In fact, technology is an integral part of how we are pursuing Voluntary Simplicity in our lives -- e.g. the recent purchase of a solar power unit, which should be arriving on our doorstep in about a week. One of the best books on this subject is Charles Long's "How to Survive Without a Salary." I recommend having a salary and saving/investing as much money as possible in these uncertain times, but Long's book provides a sensible framework for how to keep as much of your money as possible.

I think this is a theme I'll be pursuing with something akin to tenacity in the future.

Best to all,
mac