XKCD always makes me smile. Sometimes XKCD makes me laugh to the point of tears.

So what is the military necessity the executive branch cites, assuming it is not simply making an existential cite -- L'État, c'est moi -- for the assassination of Anwar al-Awlaki, a US national, at any time, at any place. Could it possibly be that were the alleged facts tested by a jury, they would not be sufficient to bring a guilty verdict for conspiracy to commit some misdemeanor or greater included offense?

That won't be in a newspaper any time soon. Just the Unlucky Awlaki in post-modern print stocks.

Update: I caught the NPR 30 minute segment while MB and her classmates celebrated the last 1L exam they'll take at Cornell. NPR lacked the usual administration chorus of public hangpersons, and discussed doubt. Rather novel!

A friend, who owns the ICANN accredited registrar I tend, came to Ithaca yesterday morning to attend the retirement of a librarian at Cornell's Olin Library. I can't say I know many people in business who treat the retirement of a customer like the retirement of a partner.

I picked Steve up at Ithaca's airport after dropping Gracie off at the Y for a workout and took him to Best Western. He wasn't happy to find that BW was HQ'd in Arizona, but it was a bit late to change.

We'd a nice dinner that evening, my "away" as MB'd sat for the CivPro exam during the day and was doing child minding and cooking dinner from what I'd assembled.

So here's an address to contact, one way or another, to communicate, by proxy, with Arizona:

Go Daddy Legal Department
14455 North Hayden Rd.
Suite 219
Scottsdale, AZ
legal@godaddy.com

Of course, if you wish to transfer a domain, or an entire portfolio of domains from an Arizona based registrar (where they don't like GLBT people of any stripe much, or people with fewer than all of their ancestors originating in Northern Europe) to a Maine based registrar (where we don't share either of those values), just drop me a line. ebw [at] abenaki [dot] wabanaki [dot] net, or click on the mailto above and share the joy with GoDaddys' General Counsel.

Quatre mois après le séisme, les besoins restent très importants en Haïti. Les enfants sont les plus fragilisés par cette situation. A l'heure actuelle, des médecins belges sont sur place. Comment se déroule leur travail? Via Le Soir (Bruxelles).

It is a reminder that I've not yet done all that I can do.

I'd invited Verisign and NeuStar and Minds+Machines to do a multi-vendor presentation to a special ISOC-NY meeting. It turned out that Verisign, NeuStar and M+M all decided that they had more to loose by opening the kimono to the inet sophisticates then by just making their pitch to the vendor management and contracts arm of the City Government.

So it was Gale Brewer speaking about a the tender from her perspective, as a Council member. She'd not seen or heard anything from DOITT, she'd been lobbied by two vendors and was unimpressed by either, strongly favors a non-profit, wants revenue, and wants the registry to make public government work better. Then I spent about an hour. CORE's proposal was followed by a video of Michael Palage as Tom
Lowenhaupt's ICANN adviser, followed by a video of Antony Van Couvering, followed by Tom Lowenhaupt.

Because of the weather, Ithaca airport was closed Saturday, but with a skype channel for video and audio, which was rebroadcast over some webtv channel, I was able to effectively present.

I'm on the video monitor, click on the permalink if its not in the frame on your sized monitor. Or not if you don't need to see what I look like. Jonah was a major contributor to my presentation, so we took breaks when he needed me.

This is the view of a bug. A rather large bug. I've been reading a larger than usual pile of "cybersecurity" and "high security" cruft, and none of it comes near this in actual existence, and, any thing this big would be called "cyberwar" or something equi-dense.

At 2:15, 30 minutes before the bug manifested, MB called me. I was at the Y-pool with the kids. Over the noise I heard her say she didn't freeze up or otherwise blow her crim exam. One down, three more to go, and then 1L is over!

So the net didn't go away today. I never thought it would. The sixth Root Zone DNSSEC Deployment Technical Status Update was posted today. Also, three IDNs, all in Arabic Script, the first products of more work than I want to admit, mine and that of others I worked with, went into the root today.

The g root instance was overloaded by packet capture for the DURZ reporting, so one instance of the g root instance ceased packet capture and DURZ reporting. The g-root appears to be having reachability issues that preceded the introduction of the DURZ on j-root. Click on this and scroll down for the technoporn.

Alexander, bishop, servant of the servants of God, to the illustrious sovereigns, our very dear son in Christ, Ferdinand, king, and our very dear daughter in Christ, Isabella, queen of Castile, Leon, Aragon, Sicily, and Granada, health and apostolic benediction. Among other works well pleasing to the Divine Majesty and cherished of our heart, this assuredly ranks highest, that in our times especially the Catholic faith and the Christian religion be exalted and be everywhere increased and spread, that the health of souls be cared for and that barbarous nations be overthrown and brought to the faith itself. Wherefore inasmuch as by the favor of divine clemency, we, though of insufficient merits, have been called to this Holy See of Peter, recognizing that as true Catholic kings and princes, such as we have known you always to be, and as your illustrious deeds already known to almost the whole world declare, you not only eagerly desire but with every effort, zeal, and diligence, without regard to hardships, expenses, dangers, with the shedding even of your blood, are laboring to that end; recognizing also that you have long since dedicated to this purpose your whole soul and all your endeavors - as witnessed in these times with so much glory to the Divine Name in your recovery of the kingdom of Granada from the yoke of the Saracens - we therefore are rightly led, and hold it as our duty, to grant you even of our own accord and in your favor those things whereby with effort each day more hearty you may be enabled for the honor of God himself and the spread of the Christian rule to carry forward your holy and praiseworthy purpose so pleasing to immortal God. We have indeed learned that you, who for a long time had intended to seek out and discover certain islands and mainlands remote and unknown and not hitherto discovered by others, to the end that you might bring to the worship of our Redeemer and the profession of the Catholic faith their residents and inhabitants, having been up to the present time greatly engaged in the siege and recovery of the kingdom itself of Granada were unable to accomplish this holy and praiseworthy purpose; but the said kingdom having at length been regained, as was pleasing to the Lord, you, with the wish to fulfill your desire, chose our beloved son, Christopher Columbus, a man assuredly worthy and of the highest recommendations and fitted for so great an undertaking, whom you furnished with ships and men equipped for like designs, not without the greatest hardships, dangers, and expenses, to make diligent quest for these remote and unknown mainlands and islands through the sea, where hitherto no one had sailed; and they at length, with divine aid and with the utmost diligence sailing in the ocean sea, discovered certain very remote islands and even mainlands that hitherto had not been discovered by others; wherein dwell very many peoples living in peace, and, as reported, going unclothed, and not eating flesh. Moreover, as your aforesaid envoys are of opinion, these very peoples living in the said islands and countries believe in one God, the Creator in heaven, and seem sufficiently disposed to embrace the Catholic faith and be trained in good morals. And it is hoped that, were they instructed, the name of the Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ, would easily be introduced into the said countries and islands. Also, on one of the chief of these aforesaid islands the said Christopher has already caused to be put together and built a fortress fairly equipped, wherein he has stationed as garrison certain Christians, companions of his, who are to make search for other remote and unknown islands and mainlands. In the islands and countries already discovered are found gold, spices, and very many other precious things of divers kinds and qualities. Wherefore, as becomes Catholic kings and princes, after earnest consideration of all matters, especially of the rise and spread of the Catholic faith, as was the fashion of your ancestors, kings of renowned memory, you have purposed with the favor of divine clemency to bring under your sway the said mainlands and islands with their residents and inhabitants and to bring them to the Catholic faith. Hence, heartily commending in the Lord this your holy and praiseworthy purpose, and desirous that it be duly accomplished, and that the name of our Savior be carried into those regions, we exhort you very earnestly in the Lord and by your reception of holy baptism, whereby you are bound to our apostolic commands, and by the bowels of the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, enjoy strictly, that inasmuch as with eager zeal for the true faith you design to equip and despatch this expedition, you purpose also, as is your duty, to lead the peoples dwelling in those islands and countries to embrace the Christian religion; nor at any time let dangers or hardships deter you therefrom, with the stout hope and trust in your hearts that Almighty God will further your undertakings. And, in order that you may enter upon so great an undertaking with greater readiness and heartiness endowed with benefit of our apostolic favor, we, of our own accord, not at your instance nor the request of anyone else in your regard, but out of our own sole largess and certain knowledge and out of the fullness of our apostolic power, by the authority of Almighty God conferred upon us in blessed Peter and of the vicarship of Jesus Christ, which we hold on earth, do by tenor of these presents, should any of said islands have been found by your envoys and captains, give, grant, and assign to you and your heirs and successors, kings of Castile and Leon, forever, together with all their dominions, cities, camps, places, and villages, and all rights, jurisdictions, and appurtenances, all islands and mainlands found and to be found, discovered and to be discovered towards the west and south, by drawing and establishing a line from the Arctic pole, namely the north, to the Antarctic pole, namely the south, no matter whether the said mainlands and islands are found and to be found in the direction of India or towards any other quarter, the said line to be distant one hundred leagues towards the west and south from any of the islands commonly known as the Azores and Cape Verde. With this proviso however that none of the islands and mainlands, found and to be found, discovered and to be discovered, beyond that said line towards the west and south, be in the actual possession of any Christian king or prince up to the birthday of our Lord Jesus Christ just past from which the present year one thousand four hundred ninety-three begins. And we make, appoint, and depute you and your said heirs and successors lords of them with full and free power, authority, and jurisdiction of every kind; with this proviso however, that by this our gift, grant, and assignment no right acquired by any Christian prince, who may be in actual possesssion of said islands and mainlands prior to the said birthday of our Lord Jesus Christ, is hereby to be understood to be withdrawn or taking away. Moreover we command you in virtue of holy obedience that, employing all due diligence in the premises, as you also promise - nor do we doubt your compliance therein in accordance with your loyalty and royal greatness of spirit - you should appoint to the aforesaid mainlands and islands worthy, God-fearing, learned, skilled, and expeienced men, in order to instruct the aforesaid inhabitants and residents in the Catholic faith and train them in good morals. Furthermore, under penalty of excommunication "late sententie" to be incurred "ipso facto," should anyone thus contravene, we strictly forbid all persons of whatsoever rank, even imperial and royal, or of whatsoever estate, degree, order, or condition, to dare without your special permit or that of your aforesaid heirs and successors, to go for the purpose of trade or any other reason to the islands or mainlands, found and to be found, discovered and to be discovered, towards the west and south, by drawing and establishing a line from the Arctic pole to the Antarctic pole, no matter whether the mainlands and islands, found and to be found, lie in the direction of India or toward any other quarter whatsoever, the said line to be distant one hundred leagues towards the west and south, as is aforesaid, from any of the islands commonly known as the Azores and Cape Verde; apostolic constitutions and ordinances and other decrees whatsoever to the contrary notwithstanding. We trust in Him from whom empires and governments and all good things proceed, that, should you, with the Lord's guidance, pursue this holy and praiseworthy undertaking, in a short while your hardships and endeavors will attain the most felicitious result, to the happiness and glory of all Christendom. But inasmuch as it would be difficult to have these present letters sent to all places where desirable, we wish, and with similar accord and knowledge do decree, that to? copies of them, signed by the hand of a public notary commissioned therefor, and sealed with the seal of any ecclesiastical officer or ecclesiastical court, the same respect is to be shown in court and outside as well as anywhere else as would be given to these presents should they thus be exhibited or shown. Let no one, therefore, infringe, or with rash boldness contravene, this our recommendation, exhortation, requisition, gift, grant, assignment, constitution, deputation, decree, mandate, prohibition, and will. Should anyone presume to attempt this, be it known to him that he will incur the wrath of Almighty God and of the blessed apostles Peter and Paul. Given at Rome, at Saint Peter's, in the year of the incarnation of our Lord one thousand four hundred and ninety-three, the fourth of May, and the first year of our pontificate.

Down from 31,225 warheads at the end of fiscal year 1967. The number of operationally deployed strategic warheads was 1,968 at the end of 2009, down from about 10,000 in 1991.

Liberated from Ike's blunder creating the ROV and sending "advisors". Liberated from JFK's blunders of continuity, assassination, and escalation, from his "pay any price" rhetoric that was profoundly expensive. Liberated from LBJ's blunders of continuity and further escalation. Liberated from Nixon's blunders of continuity and mass aerial bombardments.

Liberated from the theory of Green Berets as more than snake eating snake oil. Liberated from the Domino Theory.

Liberated from John Foster Dulles, from Robert McNamara, Clark Clifford , James R. Schlesinger, from Melvin R. Laird , and from Henry Kissinger.

Liberated from William Westmoreland, from Creighton Abrams.

Liberated from William Calley and the chain of command.

Via the Korea Times, a photo of her team's routing.