Day: August 20, 2002

Brief thought of the day: The of the al Qaeda videotapes appears to be me to be the most convincing evidence yet that bin Laden is, in fact, dead.
Consider:
Experts seem to see this cache as highly significant at least, and quite possibly bin Laden’s personal library. CNN has indicated that they obtained them from a source who found them in a house bin Laden had previously stayed in.
So: one can presumably understand that bin Laden or his close associates might abandon the cache in haste to depart the scene in Afghanistan.
But: why, then would bin Laden and/or his top aides never bother to send somebody — anybody — back to retrieve the tapes?
Unless, perhaps, everyone who knew of the tapes last location was, in fact, dead dead dead.

I swear, I had already decided to do this before the Quick did yesterday. But ah well, here goes anyway:
I’ve concluded it may be time for me to move on to greener pastures than my current employment gig, and am looking for any help my kind readers and fellow bloggers might provide. To drop my usually-at-least-pretending-to-be-humble blogging style for a moment, here’s my pitch:

• I am a senior software development manager with extensive experience delivering large-scale and high-risk projects for one of the top worldwide information technology consulting firms;
• I have over ten years of experience spanning the full software lifecycle including requirements analysis / design, implementation, testing, and software support & maintenance;
• I have worked most recently in the web development space, and have experience in web portal implementation, content management systems, and web infrastructure;
• I am seeking a position in the Orange County/Los Angeles area which does not require significant travel.

In addition to these qualifications, I am also (as should be obvious) the creator and publisher of The Truth Laid Bear, a weblog which in a few short months has met with significant success, and is now ranked in the top 10% of weblogs by incoming links, as calculated by the Myelin Blogging Ecosystem. In addition to writing content, I also created and implemented the full site design myself (with the exception of the bear-at-typewriter logo, which was drawn by Sekimori from my spec) using Moveable Type, and am the creator of the original Blogosphere Ecosystem.
My default goal is a ‘traditional’ position making use of my core professional skills; however, I’d be very interested in any offers or leads that relate to my more bloggerly skills as well. Yes, I will blog for food, if it comes to that.
I’d be very interested in hearing from anyone who can help me in the following ways:

• If you have an actual position to offer
• If you have suggestions of companies which might be hiring or specific leads that you think it might be worthwhile for me to pursue
• If you have any general suggestions on career searches in my field (I’d love to hear positive/negative feedback on resume distribution and exec search firms) or more specific advice relating to searching in the Southern California job market

Thanks in advance to any and all who can help. And if my resume doesn’t strike your fancy: well then, go hire Bill!
Or even better, hire us both. (Hmmm… Bill, you think we should work out some kind of “buy one blogger, get the second free” deal? The marketing potential here simply boggles the mind…)

FUNTUA, Nigeria (Reuters) — An Islamic court in northern Nigeria ruled on Monday that a young woman must face death by stoning according to Muslim law for having a child outside marriage.
This would be the appeals court, by the way, which means that it’s actually second Islamic court to conclude this woman deserves to die in pain.
Drawing attention to the latest Islamic horror-of-the-moment is easy; way too easy, unfortunately. There rarely seems to be a lack of them. But what the hell do we do to stop them?
Diplomatic pressure; certainly. Economic sanctions? Maybe. Embargo and blockade? I guess; if it would really help. These are all nice tools, of varying utility depending on circumstance, and I heartily support any and all of them if and when they are truly deemed to be useful.
What about force? Would a powerful nation with the military might to stop this woman’s execution — either tactically by rescuing her personally, or more strategically, by toppling the entire government — be morally justified in doing so?
Yes folks, we’re back to national sovereignty, TTLB’s favorite CW whipping boy.
I argue that if you believe in national sovereignty as a concept, then (unless I’m misunderstanding the facts of the case), you must believe this woman should die. And not just die, but die publicly, brutally, and in misery.
She violated the laws of her own sovereign nation; she has been convicted and sentenced by the recognized government of her land. For those who defend national sovereignty, that’s all that you need to know, isn’t it? Nothing else matters.
So: do any of those who have defended sovereignty in the past have the courage of their convinctions to stand up and agree that yes, this woman should die? Or alternatively: would you agree that military action to save her would be morally justified?
I don’t think there’s a middle ground here: you have to pick one of these positions or the other. (Note that I’m not asking anybody to agree that military action would be the best or most wise way to deal with the situation; I’m asking if it would be morally just, which is different).
So which is it?
Update: Aziz Poonawalla, generally a standup fellow who I’ve had much fruitful discussion with in the past, is rather irked with my use of ‘religion of peace’ in my headline. In the comments, he states:

“Aargh,
Is it possible for people to remember that religion != culture?
Bear, your use of the phrase “religion of peace” is as offensive as the idiot tribals morons who make boneheaded and immoral decisions based on tribal cultural traditions and then wrap them in an out-of-context Qur’anic verse to make sure no one dares argue. “
I think he mispelled Argh, but I’d have to check Monty Python to be sure. But leaving that aside, allow me to clarify/respond:
1) The claim has been made that Islam is a Religion of Peace.
2) I used that headline because, yes, I believe that claim is absurd.
3) However, that does NOT mean I believe that the opposite is true; that Islam is therefore a Religion of War, or Religion of Evil, or whatever.
4) In fact, I think it’s patently obvious that Islam (or any dense religious or cultural tradition) is sufficiently complex that it can be, and has been, interpreted in vastly different ways by various peoples. Some are good, some are bad, and some are indifferent.
5) The point being: it is stupid to condemn Islam as a whole for the actions of some of its followers. However, it is equally stupid to absolve Islam entirely.
Go get your coffee, Aziz — chill, my friend!