I've been meaning (and forgetting) to note the commendable persistence with which Angela Gunn in the pages of Time Out New York has been using her space as a Technology columnist to keep the spotlight on the demolition job being done to civil liberties. Considering that this is a magazine dedicated to publishing the movie clock and a rundown of what band's playing where (along with tips on where, for example, one might go for a Sacred Herb-Encrusted Lava Rock Massage and Pedicure*), it's rather astonishing to see, smuggled into a column space I suspect was originally meant to provide consumers on the latest trends in text messaging among Finnish teens, such incredibly necessary reporting.

That sad, I agree (this time), with Mr. Hentoff: the deafening silence on this issue can't be blamed entirely on the war. The press is maddeningly out to lunch, followed by drinks, a heavy dinner, and a long, sound, sleep.

*Not that I'm complaining. Hell, how else am I gonna know where to go get all naturally exfoliated and beautiful?