"I don't have any well-developed philosophy about journalism. Ultimately it is important in a society like this, so people can know about everything that goes wrong. "

"It does no harm just once in a while to acknowledge that the whole country isn't in flames, that there are people in the country besides politicians, entertainers, and criminals. "

"Since my retirement, I've spent a lot of time trying to help the School of Social Work at the University of North Carolina. A society like this just can't afford an uneducated underclass of citizens. "

-Charles Kuralt

I believe all of these ideas are important when we think about the media. A democratic society does need journalists, and not simply entertainers, to tell the country what is going on, which means more than the spectacular. We need to know what is going wrong, and we need education as part of that.

Education & Journalism are key parts of a democratic society. Journalism does not need to be confined to print, and education does not need to be confined to schools. In our televised society the flames and celebrities attract our attention, the politician shout their importance, and the issues behind the flames and politicians are so often forgotten. The people that are affected are presented as victims of unexpected tragedies, but so often the only thing unexpected is which person is affected. We know there will be floods in California's Central Valley, mudslides & fires through the Southern part of the states, fishermen will lose their jobs as stocks are depleted, and crops will fail as the droughts continue. Diseases will spread further & faster as insects find their viable lifespans and territories increase. These issues are so rarely dealt with in television journalism. How do we encourage the change?

The Road to Anarchy, or away from Westphalia

Not quite the apocalypse but Apple is not taking cash for iPhones anymore, which is anotherstep away from the current state system. This is a move away from trust backed upon government reliability, and towards trust based on corporate reliability. Capital, and purchasing power, have rested in land, gold, silver, precious stones, salt, and government reliability. Now purchasing power is moving exclusively to trust in a credit card company.

Traditional states have rested on several concepts: sovereignty over land, monopoly on violence, and common currency. The rise of strong multinational organizations, whether it be for pure profit, or for common world goals is affecting the global balance of power. From changes to tax laws to draw large corporations to pressing leaders towards free trade agreements the global political situation is something that increasingly can be bought and sold.

Arthur C. Clarke said "CNN is one of the participants in the war. I have a fantasy where Ted Turner is elected president but refuses because he doesn't want to give up power." We had Wag the Dog about a president who starts a war to draw attention from a scandal, and discussions over the Clinton bombing in the Sudan (a chemical weapons plant, or a pharmaceutical plant?) but whether or not that is true, the media has indisputably had a large role in shaping the agenda of government for that last 25 years.

The removal of many of the traditional governing tools, responsibilities and powers is a step away from our idea of the western state. We aren't moving directly to anarchy, but we are leaving the old rules by the wayside. Where will we go?

LET us go then, you and I,
When the evening is spread out against the sky
Like a patient etherised upon a table;
Let us go, through certain half-deserted streets,
The muttering retreats
Of restless nights in one-night cheap hotels
And sawdust restaurants with oyster-shells:
Streets that follow like a tedious argument
Of insidious intent
To lead you to an overwhelming question …	1
Oh, do not ask, “What is it?”
Let us go and make our visit.

About Terror & Terrorism
There are so many interesting things about terrorism, and I am going to write about the least atavistically engrossing aspects. Terrorism has that gripping life-and-death quality that brings in the ratings. There is something to report about it every day, everyone's life is touched by it, and really who doesn't like 24? Now I am going to get into all that stuff that isn't talked about in this blockbuster subject.

The Problem: Our perception of terrorism
Terrorism kills and injures and even inconveniences relatively few people. The specific terrorist group doesn't particularly matter as a threat, and neither does the specific target(unless of course that is you, which is unlikely). These things are unimportant - the statistical rise and fall in the rates terrorism barely begins to matter to an extent where you should pay attention. The causes of terrorism perhaps should be a concern, but the cause of terrorism is not the terrorists' cause.

The Causes of Terrorism
Political Economics
Some of the big causes of terrorism lie in political economy (really what doesn't?). Maybe it is just a good way of counting ambition, greed, and power. Terrorists tend to be from middle class backgrounds in countries that don't really have a middle class. Raised with ambition, well-educated, and intelligent, in societies that do not have room for growth. My favorite description of this group is 'wall-leaner', they aren't going hungry, or needing a job, just bored. Without opportunities to influence the government and power structure of their countries they can look to other methods. No matter how hard Osama bin Laden worked in Saudi Arabia - even inheriting his fathers wealth and becoming the richest man - he would still only have the influence of his voice in his home country.

History of Terror
Terrorism began with the Reign of Terror during the French Revolution of 1793-1794. It was the government sponsored killing of the aristocracy and wealthy as enemies of the people. It has obviously mutated a bit, but a good current definition is: political violence, usually against civilians, meant to inspire fear & further specific political goals. The most experienced victims of terrorism are the UK(Northern Ireland), France(Northern Africa) and Israel. The most effective terrorist group is probably the IRA, but they had to give up their quite a bit of their violent side to move into their current political standing. It is effective as long as the populace can be swayed by the fear of the terrorist.