In other news, there's a little sidestep going on at the White House regarding the oft-mentioned coalition of the willing. In the latest press briefing it appears that the allegiances of the past, based on shared mutual interests and goals (NATO, the U.N. framework) have been abandoned in favor of outright bribery:

Q Ari, on that point, Turkey is at least tangentially often referred to as a member of the coalition of the willing. Since their willingness seems to be predicated upon a great deal of money, are they really part of the coalition? And what does that say about other members of the coalition and any contributions they might be making, or are there quid pro quos involved in those relationships, as well?

MR. FLEISCHER: Well, Turkey, as a neighbor of Iraq, is in a different situation from many nations, and so there are understandable differences between Turkey and other nations. If Turkey does not make the decision to allow for the greater use of Turkey -- or the increased use of Turkey for this basing, that doesn't mean that Turkey is playing no role. Turkey is playing a role. Turkey has already allowed the United States to go into Turkey to upgrade some of the Air Force bases and other bases in the area. So Turkey is indeed playing a role and will continue to play a role in all cases. It's a question of how active a role will Turkey play.

Q Ari, how close to -- how far apart are the two countries? Is it just a matter of money, or is it something else? I mean, is this a gulf that can be breached?

MR. FLEISCHER: It's unclear. Either it will get -- either the gap will get closed, or it won't. It's not very complicated, it's just that simple. It can go either way.

Q Why is not clear? Is it not clear to Secretary Powell, who tried to intervene yesterday? I mean, where is the hang-up? Are there clear differences, and you just don't know how to bridge them, or you don't know what more Turkey wants?

MR. FLEISCHER: Turkey is seeking additional financial assistance.

Q Ari, are there any countries besides Britain now that we know are providing substantial financial or military assets in this coalition of the willing?

MR. FLEISCHER: Well, the coalition of the willing includes, as you know, scores of nations -- or I should say, more than a score of nations. As is always our habit, we will allow for the various nations to describe their own roles. Obviously, the military roles would be principally led by the United States and Great Britain in all cases, given the size of the United States military, given the size of the United Kingdom's military. There are, indeed, other contributions that will be made by others in smaller quantities or qualities, given the size of their armed forces.

Such things as basing is crucial. Such things as overflight rights are crucial. These often are the differences between being able to quickly and immediately supply a large fighting force, and having a fighting force slowed down as a result of lack of supply or lack of overflight. But no one has ever overestimated the military armed forces combat abilities of other nations and the role they would play. So there will be differing contributions from differing nations. But we have never tried to suggest that any sizeable amount of combat forces would come from nations other than the United States, United Kingdom.

You've heard, and you're aware of Australia's contributions, for example, which are significant for Australia and are very helpful. That's an example.

One wonders why we haven't simply bought a few middle eastern monarchies out and replaced them with democracies. Hell, it's probably cheaper than war, right?

Some interesting perspectives on the ready.gov site. Best line from anyone, however, regarding the duct tape deal, from Gregg Easterbrook:

"Any one person's odds of harm (are) far less than a million to one. Your risk of dying in a car accident while driving to buy duct tape likely exceeds your risk of dying because you lacked duct tape."

Well put indeed.

Distance: The farther away you are from the radiation the lower your exposure.

Hmm. I could've put together an equally informative piece of information. Only I'd probably mention that dirty bombs kill most people through panic and fear, not through radiation. Hell, 21 people died in Chicago at a club the other night and there were no bombs or radiation at all. Panic is the enemy. Fear is the enemy. And having NYC firefighters deliver the message is all well and good. Except when one wonders where the images featuring Austin, TX came from. Of course, it doesn't take too long to figure out who might have "encouraged" ready.gov to place a picture of Missouri up, now, would it? Because, as we all know, terrorists are going to use biological weapons in the homeland, in Arcola, Dexter and Troy, right? St. Louis, miraculously, isn't a target. Why not use DC and NYC? I guess Homeland Security doesn't fit in inside the beltway.

What does it say about an office that requires you to insert your passkey in the elevator to operate it if you show up before 8:30? Talk about encouraging lateness. And, yes, there's a guard at her station and everyone bustling around. Yet the elevator is a little sleepy. Grr.

I'm currently procrastinating against the two reviews I have due. Well, three, actually. Just too much to do. I've been banging my head about a coding issue here at work, and I still haven't figured it out. Hence, the early arrival. (That and the snow and a helpful drive to work, of course!)

From the kettle-calling department, a strange cry from Republicans: Blame Bill Clinton.

A footnote: Republicans are furious with Clinton's role as a critic of the Bush administration. They complain that Clinton has gone well beyond other former presidents in assailing his successor.

Clinton blaming 43, eh? Hell, he probably did assail 41 a bit, but 43? All W has done has been to evaporate the surplus, plunge the nation into a new era of wage-taxation and tick off all of our allies, including NATO. And for that I think 42 has been fairly reserved.

Conversation this morning with co-worker:

coworker: 13 people.

Edward: Is that how many have died from the snow?

coworker: I was talking about the possible number of Democrats in the presidential race.

Edward: Oh.

coworker: Of course, the snow thing is sad too.

Edward & co-worker: pause...recognition of inappropriate comment awakens...laughter on both sides.

Okay, back to work. There's a nice piece on Dean this morning. If he can just get some money behind him, he's already well ahead in the "we want him to win" contest. He just needs more people in the "he actually CAN win" category. Money would help him. So stop by and help out. America will thank you.

Can't write. In the middle of a blizzard. Perhaps later.

Yes, I know the site's pink. I'm planning to re-work the style sheet system shortly, to give users more control but in the meantime, I may be implementing a style dictatorship. Kind of like our current administration.

So I picked up this new phone a couple days ago. Wednesday afternoon, to be exact. The first thing it tells you to do is to charge the battery, then use it until it's dead, then repeat 2 more times. After this, the battery should be completely ready to accept a full charge. (It's a lithium-ion battery, so it doesn't have any memory effect...so this might be complete hooey, but I'm following the directions, okay?) The problem? Well, the phone is able to run for 14 days (excluding phone calls) in standby mode, even while on. It can keep going for 5 continuous hours of talk time. So in order to do this 3 step process, it could take two-three weeks, assuming I talk at my normal rate.

The evaluation period only lasts 15 days. So if I have a problem with the phone, I have to return it within two weeks. Grr. I won't have even finished step four of the five steps before using the phone by that point. The reception isn't the best (it's a new technology) but this could be due to the battery not being fully charged. Of course, by the time I find out, it'll be too late to return it.

A new Chipotle opened up a block away from me in the MCI Center today. So I visited, got my regular (soft tacos and chips and hot salsa) and am in the middle of a full blown metldown. But it's sooo tasty I can't stop. I'm feeling the burn.

Happy V-Day, all! Yes, it's yet another year of crazy swinging singleness on the special day. So for everyone else who claims never to have met the queen of hearts, live it up. One day you'll look back with longing. With blue skies, newly soled shoes, and the day in front of me, everything's looking rosy.

Okay, I passed my MCSE test, picked up a brand new GSM based cellphone and have only a few hours of work left in the day. And the omnibus passed today, so the office is super-busy. Back to work!