The Life and Death of Jane Jacobs

The woman who saved New York City's West Village from Robert Moses's bulldozer has passed away. Jane Jacobs rejected modern architecture's monstrous high rises, with its empty plazas and separation of people from their livelihood.

In her book "Death and Life of Great American Cities," written in 1961, Ms. Jacobs's enormous achievement was to transcend her own withering critique of 20th-century urban planning and propose radically new principles for rebuilding cities. At a time when both common and inspired wisdom called for bulldozing slums and opening up city space, Ms. Jacobs's prescription was ever more diversity, density and dynamism — in effect, to crowd people and activities together in a jumping, joyous urban jumble.

Ms. Jacobs's thesis was supported and enlarged by her deep, eclectic reading. But most compelling was her description of the everyday life she witnessed from her home above a candy store at 555 Hudson Street.

She puts out her garbage, children go to school, the drycleaner and barber open their shops, housewives come out to chat, longshoremen visit the local bar, teenagers return from school and change to go out on dates, and another day is played out. Sometimes odd things happen: a bagpiper shows up on a February night, and delighted listeners gather around. Whether neighbors or strangers, people are safer because they are almost never alone.

The Resurgent Taliban

U.S. troops are using loudspeakers to lure out Taliban fighters in southern Afghanistan, where the former terrorist regime has a stronghold. (This is a great account, and deserves to be read in full)

The loudspeakers atop the Humvee crackled to life: "The Taliban are women! They're bitches! If they were real men, they'd stop hiding under their burkas and they'd come out and fight!"

It was high noon in the remote and stony heart of Taliban country, and 34 cavalry scouts from the U.S. Army were looking to pick a fight. Three hours later, they had all the fight they could handle.

The Taliban were driven from power nearly three years ago, but they've staged a ruthless comeback throughout southern Afghanistan. They're recruiting fighters, slitting the throats of local officials and terrorizing rural villagers who have dared to register to vote in Afghanistan's first presidential election.

It's amazing what a phone call can do

An American military commander wanted the British to attack an Iranian military unit that had crept into Iraq, the Telegraph reports.

The incident began last July when Revolutionary Guards pushed about a kilometre into Iraq to the north and east of Basra in an apparent attempt to reoccupy territory which they claimed belonged to Iran.

Lt Gen Ricardo Sanchez then ordered the British to prepare to send in several thousand troops to attack the Revolutionary Guard positions.

The Revolutionary Guard Corps has 125,000 soldiers, making it 25 per cent larger than the entire British Army, and is equipped with 500 tanks, 600 armoured personnel carriers and 360 artillery weapons.

Jack Straw made a phone call and an international crisis was averted. Isn't it amazing what diplomacy can do?

Masters and Fools

If you work at an auto dealership, beware: there's a gang of cross-dressing car thieves terrorizing the south.

Police believe the suspects steal the cars so they can arrive in style to various pageants and shows for cross-dressers across the Southeast.

"They're not using these cars to cut up for parts or to commit other felonies," said Smith. "They're using these cars to travel between clubs throughout the Southeast."

Smith cites a mountain of similar evidence collected from the vehicles, including women's underwear, sequined nightgowns, high heels and wigs.