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Saturday, May 11, 2002
How dare you
French President Chirac has his panties in a bunch at Israel for an "anti-French" campaign (link via USS Clueless). Apparently the Jews, I mean Israel, is behind a wave of negative publicity suffered by France for a shitload of anti-Semitic attacks against the Jewish population and their synagogues, cemeteries and schools via the unassimilated North African Arab-Muslims in the last two months. In those events, the French authorities and leaders gave "they are wrong, but..." responses.
Hey Jacques, I hate to point out the obvious, but your government's actions and reactions are the reason for the negative feelings. I should also point out that the anti-French sentiment is strong over in the US too, held by Jews and Gentiles alike. Read a blog sometime.
Much Later
Well that was a long day. The wife is collapsed on the couch. The Infant/Child CPR class was actually very good. Obviously it was useful, but that doesn't stop things from being dull. Ran some errands, and ended up at Lowe's. That always ends up killing an hour or more. The wife in the garden center, me in the power tools.
More later
I'll post more Saturday afternoon, after an Infant CPR class. I just thought I'd share some of the Google searches that led people to click to this site. I am not making these up (to steal a phrase).
- plenty relating to Kournikova and the related photos
- several connected with Fortuyn's assassination, some tying it with vegan, or more disturbing, conspiracy
- one actually looking for "phillies powder blue uniforms"
- this may be my favorite "jane clayson from cbs pictures of her legs"
- though this is a close second "topless meteorologists"
- And of course the classy, "Farscape women topless" or "kentucky derby tit shots"
A mixture of amusement, disgust, and curiosity when I see some of them.
Friday, May 10, 2002
Semi-blogging
Rob Neyer at ESPN.com has his own page. One of the features is called "Rob's Quick Hits: Did You See That?" It is just comments from Neyer, off the cuff, about some of the ball games he is watching that day. Some purely baseball related, others less so. Like this one about a comment made by Chicago Cub's broadcaster Joe Carter:
Today, however, he said the most ridiculous thing that any human being has ever said in the broadcast booth. Dawn Wells was in the booth promoting "The Vagina Monologues," in which she's appearing in Chicago. Wells, of course, is known for one thing and for one thing only: she played Mary Ann on Gilligan's Island. And so Carter, ever the gracious host, gushed that Gilligan's Island "changed the country."
Yes, even more than Mr. Ed and The Brady Bunch.
The man is blogging.
Personal Observation
It's after midnight. It's a Friday. I'm on the computer. What the hell happened?
UPDATE: Sorry, that was self-pitying and whiny. A moment of weakness. I know exactly what happened, and I wouldn't change it.
UPDATE 2: And I'm not just saying that because my wife will read this eventually.
UPDATE 3: No, really.
UPDATE 4: I mean it.
UPDATE 5: Stop rolling your eyes.
Relative silence
A general lack of posts today. The inlaws came up for the night.
An Alternative View
Give NRO credit for this, they are willing to let an alternative view of the Saudis online. It isn't very good, accurate, or intelligent, but it is alternative.
Wahhabism is also getting a bad rap in the press. This brand of Islam, however, is not as evil as assumed. Wahhabism is undoubtedly the purest and most austere form of Islam, with its strict interpretation of the words of the Koran. But the vast majority of Saudi Arabia's 10,000-plus religious clerics are not involved at all in preaching violence against disbelievers. This noise is coming from the hundred or so extremist clerics spread throughout a couple of regions of the kingdom. They are completely in the minority, and marginalized by the senior Ulema representing the highest hierarchy of the religious establishment.
And the Saudis are reining them in. It all started in the waning weeks of 2001, when Crown Prince Abdullah called the senior religious leadership together and told them that extremism would no longer be tolerated by the government.
He must have missed the WSJ, yesterday. Those moderate views are expressed in the press everyday.
To the next charge: Certainly the hypocrisy of the Saudis is proven by the crown prince's cynical, anti-Israeli peace initiative, which was merely a trumped-up smokescreen designed to deflect criticism of the kingdom's role in terrorism and support for suicide bombers? Wrong again. The Saudi peace proposal was a real and novel attempt, by arguably the leading Arab figure, not only to end the violence in the region through a mutually agreeable settlement, but also to begin the process of Arab recognition of Israel. Attempts to disclaim the peace proposal are smokescreens themselves, designed to deflect attention away from U.S. failure in maintaining peace in the region.
No, it's about the same one they "offer" each decade. No the point of the disingenuous peace plan was to try and run some time off the clock, in hopes the US won't back Israel while more suicide bombers attacked.
The next charge involves Saudi Arabia's resistance to a U.S.-led invasion of Iraq for the purpose of finally erasing Saddam Hussein's regime. How can the Saudis oppose removing the maniac on their border who overran Kuwait — and indirectly threatened to invade them — only twelve years ago? What the Saudis are saying, however, is more complex than simply "don't invade," and the U.S. administration is secretly thankful for the advice. The Saudi message is that an invasion is not possible while the Palestinians are under siege. Fix that, then see what's possible. And the Bush administration is listening. Any invasion that is planned will only happen once the U.S. is seen as brokering a peace deal that saves Palestinian lives. This will mitigate ire in the Arab streets and make a coalition against the Iraqi president possible.
Translation: Ha, ha, ha! No one's fixed it yet, you'll be out of office in 2008 before you can get to Saddam if you follow this method. This is clearly a sham, the Palestinian issue has nothing to do with removing Saddam.
The slander of Saudi Arabia can be best captured in a few recent press events. First, there's the coverage given just this last month of the pro-Palestinian telethons taking place in the kingdom. The money given to these charities is earmarked for the rebuilding of infrastructure — institutional buildings, homes, highways, and airports — that has been destroyed by the Israelis; not for the families of suicide bombers. It is Saddam Hussein, not Crown Prince Abdullah, that is offering money to parents to send their children, draped in bombs, into Israeli restaurants.
Good god, man. This sounds like it comes from a Saudi press release, not from a Saudi oil and security analyst. I think there is some documentation, about Saudi money to suicide bomber families. Oh, wait those are Israeli forgeries. As for his point that Saddam is giving money to suicide bomber families, doesn't that kind of suggest a need to remove him as part of the steps needed to resolve the Israel-Palestine issue?
Community Service
The PA Labor Relations Board issued a preliminary ruling that states that Pittsburgh violated the CBA with the city union for its community service program for youth offenders. The kids would be sentenced to community service jobs like cleaning up litter and graffiti. According to he PALRB, these jobs must first be offered to the city's union workers.
Laborers Local 1058, which represents Public Works laborers, argued that those jobs were covered by their contracts and filed an unfair labor practice charge against the city in November.
When volunteers want to perform similar work -- such as cleaning up city parks -- the city practice is to seek union consent ... and approximately 99 percent of the time the union agrees.
The union concedes that the work done by the kids, is amongst the least popular work, and that they don't want to stop the problem. They were just acting on "principle."
Right.
Translation: We don't want to do the work, but we sure as hell want the leverage.
Thursday, May 09, 2002
Missing something
I keep reading the "analysis" from European press about Fortuyn's assassination. All sorts of comments about what it says about Europe, about politics, the strange right-ward lurch, about the Dutch, etc. What I'm not seeing. Anywhere? What this means for the left. I mean, they can disassociate themselves from the guy all they want, but it still comes down to a guy belonging to a far-left environmentalist/animal-rights group who killed a gay-conservative politician.
Unless it is unfair to paint all to the left that broadly just because of one man. After all, the left would never do that.
It's all about the children
Stop me if you've heard this before. A UN conference, not related to the Israel-Palestine conflict is hijacked by the Arab countries to condemn and blast Israel. If you're rolling your eyes and thinking, "now what?" I'm with you. Well the UN photo op, excuse me, the U.N. children's summit that Kofi Annan is posing for is jumping the track:
A draft General Assembly resolution, introduced by 22 nations, including South Africa, Afghanistan, Cuba and Arab states, says children under Israeli occupation "remain deprived of many basic rights" as a result of Israeli assaults on Palestinian cities, towns, villages and refugee camps.
The Israeli ambassador, after picking his jaw off the floor, responded by talking of a Palestinian system that teaches their children to be suicide bombers.
Another attempt by the UN to look good, shot to hell. Bet Kofi's feeling real good about his Arab buddies for screwing him, naw. Probably feels it's Israel's fault. He's in his office stewing, "Can't do one f*****g good PR event without those damn Jews being in the middle of it!"
For sale, horses
After it was revealed that smiling Pat Robertson has a sizable economic interest in horse racing, his followers asked how a man who rails against gambling and drinking could be involved in an industry that does its best to promote both. (The rest of us, just snickered at the blatant hypocrisy.) He defended it by claiming to have a "fondness for the performance of equine athletes." Well even his flock didn't buy that one, so he has announced he is selling his interests. He is even giving up a colt he paid over $500,000 for, named "Mr. Pat."
Back to violence
Okay, a little time at the gym helped. I'll keep my feelings about anti-violence advocates short.
The people who preach so much about the warping influence of violence on children just don't have a clue. They are akin to the religious zealots who oppose The Wizard of Oz or Harry Potter because they "promote" witchcraft. The anti-violence crowd just dresses it up in questionable studies and ignore any conflicting evidence. The power of their beliefs is what makes violence so wrong, not any true causation. When they see Spider-Man, they just count the explosions and "scary" things. They don't look at the context or the messages. They don't see the concept of making the choice between "might makes right" or "with great power, comes great responsibility."
Just go have a drink
I hadn't seen any complaints about the Spider-Man movie, kids and violence. It gave me hope. I shouldn't have looked.
To the dismay of child-psychology experts, parents in droves took young children to see "Spider-Man" over the weekend, even though the PG-13 movie contains intense fight scenes, explosions, a house fire and a scary-looking villain named Green Goblin.
These are the same morons who feel cartoon violence is dangerous to children. Makes me want to drop an anvil on them. Fighting... urge... to... rant. Must... stop... blogging.
Load the buses
At the Church of the Nativity standoff, there are buses standing by, waiting to transfer the terrorists and others to the appropriate places. The sticking point has been where to exile 13 of the scummiest terrorists. No one really wants them. Given that Israel is poised to go into Gaza anyway, why not suddenly seem magnanimous and let them all go to Gaza. I have this happy image of the terrorists high-fiving each other on the bus-ride, as they roll into Gaza. Then they look back and see several tanks rumbling after them.
The right opposition
The article in column one of today's WSJ, "Saudi Arabia Switches Its Policies, Letting Some Dissidents Speak Out," ( no free link)is jarring. It can't be you think. Not after everything I've read about the corrupt House of Saud. How it represses freedom and dissident voices. Read on, and wonder at this statement:
They know the bearded 40-year-old lawyer because they saw him on Al-Jazeera, the popular satellite-TV network that broadcasts from neighboring Qatar. In a recent appearance, Mr. al-Awaji blamed Islamist terrorism on the region's despotic regimes -- including the absolute monarchy here in Saudi Arabia.
Is it true? Could the Saudis actually be letting reasonable, moderate people speak out?
No.
Mr. al-Awaji, after all, can go to satellite-TV talk shows in Qatar, Egypt and elsewhere only because the government recently returned his passport, lifting a 10-year ban on his right to travel. In a land where Internet access is tightly controlled, Mr. al-Awaji also is allowed to run his own political Web site. One of his recent postings -- defending Osama bin Laden against government accusations of involvement with the drug trade -- became an instant hit. The former prisoner even writes a weekly political column in Al Madinah, one of the kingdom's main newspapers.
In yet another attempt to control/placate the radical Islamics, they are giving them some freedom in return for toning down the rhetoric, and not advocate violence against the rulers.
But under de facto ruler Crown Prince Abdullah, the royal family is working carefully to defuse the biggest potential threat to its legitimacy: educated middle-class Islamists such as Mr. al-Awaji. They rocked the country by loudly denouncing corruption and demanding change amid the political ferment that followed the 1991 Persian Gulf War.
The most extreme fringe of that protest movement -- which expressed itself with harshly worded open letters to the royal family, fiery sermons at mosques and a few large demonstrations -- has joined Osama bin Laden's web of underground terrorist groups. But the vast majority of Islamist dissidents from the early 1990s have come around to cooperating with the royal family, serving -- for now -- as a kind of loyal opposition where no opposition had been tolerated before. At the same time, the crown prince has satisfied some of their demands by clamping down on corruption, making government officials more accountable and bolstering Saudi support for the Palestinian cause.
...
That's not necessarily a comforting thought. "If I wanted to be elected in Saudi Arabia, I would not campaign on the issue of co-existence" with the West, Mr. al-Awaji adds bluntly. "If you want to be elected here, you have to raise the issue of jihad against crusaders" such as President George W. Bush, he says.
Even some of the government-appointed Majlis members reflect these feelings, especially as the recent Israeli military raids in the West Bank inflamed anti-Western passions in the kingdom. Mr. al-Tuweijeri, the former dissident now in parliament, wasted no time calling for a break with the U.S. and heaping praise on Palestinian suicide bombers, describing them as "offering their souls for the sake of freedom." ...
In recent weeks, Saudi authorities stood back and allowed the Islamist groups to vent their anger not only at the Jewish state but also at its main ally, the U.S. Official newspapers were allowed to print appeals to boycott the U.S., and sermons at some mosques openly called for war on America -- echoing statements by Mr. bin Laden. The Saudi government even grudgingly tolerated a series of sometimes rowdy anti-American street demonstrations, which are usually a taboo in the kingdom. The police intervened only when pro-Palestinian protesters tried to march toward the U.S. consulate in Dhahran. ...
Mr. al-Awaji says the royal family has been "wise" in allowing all this anti-American frustration to be expressed, siding with the Saudi people rather than the U.S. "The government has been acting with great responsibility," he says.
It is yet another attempt to keep control, while the radical Islamics keep getting stronger in Saudi Arabia. It's short term at best.
Betting against the French
As is known, French citizens were the victims of a suicide bomber in Pakistan. It has been commented that now France may realize that the terrorism will not exclude them. This despite their seeking to end the embargo on Iraq, providing little/no support for US actions in Afghanistan, and continual attempts to appease Arab-Islamofacists.
In pure speculation, I doubt this will happen. Instead, they'll probably blame the US for dragging them into this mess. If the US hadn't gone after the Taliban and Al Queda in Afghanistan, this never would have happened to their people in Pakistan. Therefore, it is still the US's fault.
Arafat really, really means it this time
The article blares:
Palestinians Arrest Hamas Members
Of course we've seen this before.
In Gaza City, Hamas officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, reported that 16 members were arrested Thursday by Palestinian police. None of the senior members of the group were among those taken into custody.
Despite the Israeli warnings and the arrests by the Palestinian police, none of the Hamas leaders appeared to be taking special precautions. One leader, Mahmoud Zahar, a lecturer at Gaza City's Islamic University, said he was busy preparing for weekend exams, and two others - Ismail Abu Shanab and Abdel Aziz Rantisi - said they had scheduled back-to-back media interviews
Three men were posted outside the Gaza City home of Hamas founder Ahmed Yassin, including his son Mohammed. Yassin's son said his father was inside but wasn't received visitors, and that he planned to leave to attend the wedding of one of his seven daughters later in the day.
So, they arrest some lower level Hamas figures and do nothing to constrain the actual leadership of Hamas. How helpful.
Of course, there is the possible optimist/Arafat cockroach view. By not taking the leaders into custody, they are left relatively unprotected when the IDF moves in for a Gaza strike. One could theorize this is Arafat's way of eliminating internal threats to his power. Arafat has no credibility with the US, and his own people are turning on him again. How to split the baby? By letting the IDF kill the threats to his control.
Nah. That couldn't be it.
When I grow up
I wish I could write as well as Lileks. This one is a keeper. Everyone will be or has linked to it today, and for good reason. Just read it yourself.
Separating from the riff-raff
The ".pro" designation has been approved and is almost ready for roll out. But...
Lawyers, physicians and accountants soon will be able to register Web addresses in a worldwide Internet domain reserved exclusively for certified professionals, but they will have to pay nearly 10 times the cost of ordinary domain names.
Oh, yeah. Line me up for that. I'm already too cheap to buy a real domain space. Like I'm going to pay a premium to try and prove I'm an attorney. Fearless prediction time/sucker bet time. Six months to a year after this hits the market there will be stories on one of two things about ".pro":
1. Registrations are slow/lagging/not meeting expectations; and
2. Plenty of fraudulent professionals within the ".pro" community.
Wednesday, May 08, 2002
It's not that I dislike Europe
No, really. I just don't have the stomach to read the hatefulness and lies that comes from the Arab media. Idiocy, however, I can always have a gander. With that, another fun and moronic comment from the Guardian. This one like so many others lumps Fortuyn with Le Pen and Haider as ultra-right-wingers. The article sort of concedes that Fortuyn was different
Admittedly, Fortuyn's politics came with a different hue: his calls for gay rights, legalised drugs and prostitution and for the integration of migrants already settled in Holland made him more of a libertarian than a conventional racist.
Someone alert the gang over at Samizdata that they don't get to be "conventional racists."
The commentator focuses his concern that maybe, just maybe the success of Fortuyn, Le Pen, and Haider may reflect "voter rebellions against a cosy, consensual elitist politics from which citizens feel entirely shut out." By that he means, they don't feel part of the system, it's not that the candidates are actually saying anything with which they might actually agree.
For the finale, what this means in America, and their views of Europe:
Meanwhile, our friends in George Bush's Washington are seeing this spectacle unfold and, with it, every one of their anti-European prejudices confirmed. Ultra-conservative columnist Charles Krauthammer ruefully noted last week how Europe - after a brief, 50-year break - was now reverting to type, becoming once more the continent that gave fascism and bigotry to the world. The Le Pen result proved everything Americans like him had already suspected: that the French were always no-good racists - wartime guilt just made them bottle it up. Now, Krauthammer charged, Europe was feeling the "exhilaration of release" as five decades of pent-up racism and anti- semitism was at last allowed to course through the bloodstream.
Well, I guess where Fortuyn is an extreme-right-winger, Krauthammer would be an "ultra-conservative."
For US conservatives, this has a wider import. It means that Europe can be written off, its protestations ignored. If the EU complains about Israel, say, then Americans know what to say: what do you expect from a continent rediscovering its passion for anti-semitic hatred? To the objection that much of the European right targets Muslims rather than Jews, Americans will answer that, with fascists, the real enemy is always the Jews. (In Le Pen's case, though not Fortuyn's, they have a point.)
I hate to have to be the one to tell this guy, but we've already been ignoring your protestations. Your firm moral ground was re-established the other day in the UN General Assembly when the vote to condemn Israel with regard to Jenin hit. Europe abstained, because of the latest suicide bomber. Abstention was the best you could do. As for the anti-semitism, well in case you missed it, most of it is coming from the left, not the right these days. Actually, most of the hate and intolerance is coming from the left, or are you trying to pretend Fortuyn's assassin didn't belong to a far-left group. Is it unclear to you which extremist wing is threatening violence and acting violently?
Each new advance for the European far right gives Bush's America another reason to distance itself from the continent. It also throws down a challenge to the European Union, and to every nation that allowed this menace to breed in its midst. The death of Fortuyn has done all three. Like so many assassin's bullets, this was truly a shot heard around the world.
I love how Fortuyn being murdered by a left-wing nut is a new advance for the far-right. I guess we see what we want to see.
Traficant's Opponent
I mentioned that Traficant will now be facing Timothy Ryan (D) in November for Ohio's 17th Congressional District. To be fair (even though she has no chance) the Republican candidate will be Ann Womer Benjamin. Well, Ryan is a member of the Ohio State Senate from Niles (birthplace of Pres. McKinley and about 10 miles east of Youngstown). Here is his State Senate Page, complete with a picture. His social memberships caught my attention. It included "Young Black Men's Association, Trustee." If you don't feel like clicking to his page, trust me, he's not.
The money spent on the Primary is interesting. Sawyer raised $326,530 and spent $311,953 but lost to Ryan who raised $77,770 but spent only $50,435. For Ryan, $8250 came from PACs. All of the PACs were part of Organized Labor, including the Teamsters and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (apparently Sawyer had been very supportive of free trade agreements, and that is what killed him in the election; Sawyer's old district was more rural and included Kent State University; the new district has most of that but now includes the heavily unionized Mahoning and Trumbull Counties).
He might have a shot since he might be able to get some support in the Mahoning Valley. The new 17th District also includes Akron(Summit County) will hurt Traficant.
UPDATE: I've had a hell of a time getting this posted, and now I have a little more information on young Mr. Ryan.
After working for three years as Traficant's legislative aide in Washington, Ryan got a law degree from Franklin Pierce Law Center in Concord, N.H.
In 2000, Ryan was elected to the Ohio Senate.
...
But in the primary, Ryan stumbled with an illegal campaign contribution - a co-signed loan, which counted under federal election law as a $25,000 contribution. Ryan said he returned the loan.
In 1993, Ryan was convicted in Bowling Green, Ohio, where he was a student, for possessing fake identification and for disorderly conduct, both misdemeanors. A judge refused to expunge his criminal record in 1999.
This kid trained under Traficant. Will the pupil become the master? If it looks like Traficant is going to jail before the election, don't be surprised if Traficant tries to take him down with him.
Root Causes of EuroExtremism?
The search for root causes now turns inward in Europe, with Fortuyn's assassination. Here are the last two paragraphs of a mercifully short editorial :
What is important is that the Netherlands, together with the rest of Europe, examines the roots of Fortuyn's unlikely appeal. ...Fortuyn's anti-Islamic extremism found a resonance among asizeable core of the electorate, overwhelmingly from young men (not women) of low educational achievement, although not necessarily of low income. His tale is a reminder of the fragility of even the most apparently-benign modern societies.
Traditional politics has failed many people in Europe. The challenge ahead in the Netherlands, just as in France, Britain and elsewhere, is to tackle this failure to reach people who feel dispossessed. If Europe's politicians can learn the dangers of stoking the fires of extremism, and eliminate the anger that causes such fires to burn, all the better.
Okay, after I stifled some laughter, the condescension was palpable. Clearly the people who were for Fortuyn were morons. Sure they could have been wealthy and successful, but they were clearly uneducated, unintellectual fools. We must educate these poor unfortunates to be more tolerant and understanding. Clearly the lack of education is the root cause. Not crime, intolerance by Muslim immigrants towards the very culture that permitted them to live, worship, and benefit in Europe, not an unwillingness by the Muslim immigrants to make any attempt to assimilate into the society. No, clearly it is the supporters of immigration reform's fault. It is not worth discussing immigration policy. Actually any thought of the Muslim immigration issue should not be considered:
However great the provocation, the reaction had the assasin been a Muslim immigrant does not bear thinking about.
This is the title of the opinion piece and the opening sentence:
Eliminate the anger that stokes the fires of extremism
It was little wonder the Netherlands remained in shock yesterday over the killing of the anti-immigration zealot Pim Fortuyn.
Clearly extremist views and mischaracterizations are only by the right.
Top PAC Rankings
This came courtesy of PoliticalMoneyLine:
1st Quarter PAC Rankings
Top PAC Donors Making Hard Dollar Contributions Between 1/1/02 - 3/31/02
Committee Donor, Amount
REALTORS POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE, $628,250.00
IUE CMTE ON POL EDUC INT'L UNION/ELECTRONIC ELECTRICAL TECH SALARIED MACH WORKERS AFL-CIO, $574,087.00
ASSOCIATION OF TRIAL LAWYERS OF AMERICA POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE, $492,000.00
AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE, $457,550.00
SBC COMMUNICATIONS INC. EMPLOYEE FEDERAL POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE (SBC EMPAC), $454,878.00
Tuesday, May 07, 2002
M***** F*****s
A new suicide bomber struck in a pool hall in a small city outside of Tel Aviv. At least 15 dead, 55 injured. I'm so pissed off at the moment. It is unconfirmed, but Hamas is apparently claiming this one. And this from the Palestinian Authority:
In a strong statement with a rare choice of words, Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority called suicide bombings "terrorist crimes." It said it would "take firm and strict measures against those who are involved in this operation and will not be light-handed in punishing those who have caused great harm to our cause."
1. Was the statement made in Arabic, or was it the typical English/media only statement.
2. Any chance they will say what the "firm and strict measures" will be.
Clueless EU Patten
An op-ed piece by the European commissioner for external relations, Chris Patten (link via Charles Johnson).
It's about what I expect from clueless Euros these days. Why does the US feel European anti-semitism is on the rise? He focuses on blaming LePen's success (which most in the US took to be a French reaction to the unease of the growing, unassimilated, Muslim immigration, and crime increases), the criticism of Israel, and the attacks on Synagogues. Taking the last, first he tries to find US equivalence:
When a couple of years back there was an outbreak of arson attacks against African American churches in the United States, should we have leaped to the conclusion that the Ku Klux Klan was heading for the White House?
Burning synagogues, burning African-American churches, same thing. Missing the entire point. It wasn't so much the act, as the response: "It was wrong, but..." That makes Americans sneer at the rationalizations. When churches were torched in the US, there was no attempt to rationalize or understand the point of view of the bastards. There was flat out condemnation, and a commitment to stop further acts. When the synagogues and Jewish cemeteries were vandalized and fire-bombed, the response was "Horrible, but you must understand the frustration felt by North African Muslim immigrants toward Israeli action against Palestinians. To which a sane response might be to ask, "What the f**k does that have to do with attacking Jewish symbols in France by North African immigrants?" Nothing, unless you are saying Israeli actions will result in understandable violence towards unconnected Jews living and from another country.
He pretty much steers clear of actual attacks on Jews in Europe, that received a similar response to burning synagogues. A "it's wrong, but..."
The criticism of Israel. When the EU is threatening boycotts, talking about demanding compensation from Israel for property damage caused by their incursion into the West Bank, when there absolute condemnation of Israel for a massacre in Jenin before the proof came out, when the Continent ignores the growing evidence of Palestinian Authority support and encouragement of suicide bombers, will blame Israel for all sorts of human rights violations and war crimes then falls silent on Palestinians storm a church and hold hostages in there to save their own ass, pretends not to see the bomb making facilities by terrorists amongst civilians in UN administered refugee camps, says nothing when a Palestinian mob lynches "collaborators" who are dragged from their cells, when the EU does not add the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and Hezballah to the list of terror groups whose assets will be frozen, when the International Red Cross in Geneva will not give the Magen David Adom full membership on the pretext of because it uses the Star of David as its symbol (in a Jewish state?). Well, let's just say it isn't just criticism of Sharon's policies (and I've left other things out to keep my blood pressure down).
This, near the end is the kicker:
There will be no settlement in the Middle East without the creation of a viable Palestinian state and an Israel that can live secure within recognized borders. Israel must have the assurance that it will not be overwhelmed by returning refugees. The terrible suicide bombings must end; they are wicked acts, and it is a disgrace that they have not been more strongly condemned by Arab leaders. But a Palestinian state will require a return to the 1967 borders, or something very close to them, and it cannot be holed by settlements like a Swiss cheese. Without such an outcome the madness will continue, children will be murdered, blood will flow. And the blame will not be all on one side.
Chris, Chris, Chris. Do we really need to remind you of the deal offered Arafat almost 20 months ago, offering this? As I recall, Arafat turned it down and started this violence again. I'd say the blame is very one-sided.
Idiot
Berkeley Punchline
In this article about whether GWBush should bother with California in the next presidential campaign (getting way too far ahead of things for my taste), is an interesting complaint from Cal-Berkeley. Seems the school that has become the punchline for any right of center criticism of higher education is upset by the fact that it can't get good commencement speakers.
...an article in UC-Berkeley's Daily Cal lamenting how big-name commencement speakers were avoiding the university because of its perceived "anti-American" reputation. Among those reportedly declining an invite: Vice President Cheney (although the vice president's office says Berkeley is still one of 13 schools under consideration). [link added]
The article points out that the last two commencement speakers Madeline Albright and Janet Reno were both heavily protested. It seems a fair point. One can only imagine the protests if it was someone from the Bush Administration. In that respect, the school reaps what it sowed. The students have every right to protest and complain if they disagree with the politics or the person speaking, but then don't expect as many people to bother. This year, the speaker will be Jonny Moseley, a two-time olympic skier with a gold in the moguls from 1998. Naturally, even this got criticized:
Some UC Berkeley students are disappointed by the committee's decision.
Graffiti chalked across the front of Dwinelle Hall and Alumni House, where tickets to the convocation were handed out, read "Moseley Who?" and "What? Moseley at Commencement?" And signs posted along Sproul Plaza called for students to "voice (their) opinion" on the decision to campus leaders.
Don't tell me those were fake too
In more entertainment news, the June Issue of Pnethouse was blocked by a judge from further distribution with regards to the alleged topless photographs of Anna Kournikova. While not a shock that they were with Anna's head on a different body, the body is kind of a surprise.
The daughter-in-law of fashion designer Luciano Benetton sued Penthouse magazine Monday, saying topless pictures supposedly of tennis player Anna Kournikova actually were photographs of her.
...
Soltesz-Benetton was shocked to learn that a photographer had taken a dozen topless photographs without her knowledge when she was in Florida seven years ago, according to her attorney.
"She's not happy being topless in Penthouse," said lawyer Judd Burstein.
I love that dozens of topless pictures were taken without her knowledge.Hey, this issue is going to be a collector's item. I should try and get a copy. Yeah, the wife will believe that.
UPDATE: The wife said no.
Network TV Sucks
But you knew that already. It seems, however, that the networks themselves are just catching on. It's true, though, this season has been one of the worst. They can blame it on 9/11 delaying the season, a shift in viewer tastes, whatever. The plain fact is most of the new shows this year, absolutely sucked. Of course they have two definitions of success.
The first is for shows that are hits out of the gate. That really doesn't happen anymore. With all the choices on tv, the Internet, and other things to do, there is not going to be a runaway hits anymore. The "hit" shows that are not brief runs like "Survivor" or "The Bachelor" are not going to get that many initial viewers. I don't think that many people are willing to say, "Well NBC is premering a new show tonight, I must sit down and watch it to find out if it is as good/bad as the ads make it appear." No, I'm not going to do that. I might watch a new show if the premise interests me or something (or someone) catches my eye (Jolene Blalock [T'Pol] on Enterprise).
The other type of success are those that slowly build their audience. Word of mouth and some critical respect are the way they succeed. This, essentially is the cable model - Six Feet Under, Sopranos, the Shield, and Farscape. The "successes" this year include "The Guardian" (yawn), "Scrubs" (never seen it, but the wife will be watching to see Brendan Fraser tonight), "Alias" (sorry, I just don't like it), and "The Bernie Mac Show" (I like it, but I don't plan around it).
As usual, the networks don't want to admit a lot of the new shows sucked ("Bob Patterson," "Emeril," "Inside Schwarz," and "Citizen Baines"), or were never intended to succeed ("The Tick" was awesome, but it had been shot over a year ago, and Fox just decided to show them to try and get something for it- hopefully they will release all 10 episodes on DVD someday soon).
All of this makes old network executive nostalgic for the old days, like Grant Tinker:
"It was such a breeze to do what we did with three networks getting 90 percent of the audience every night. It was ... no-lose," he said.
So what if it sucked for the rest of us. Give me more choices.
Then what would you call him?
Maybe I'm looking at the little things in the assassination of Fortuyn, but in this article, I noticed this comment about the alleged killer in custody.
The suspected killer, a 32-year-old "white Dutchman'' from Harderwijk, in the Netherlands' staunchly religious "Bible belt,'' had environmentalist material and ammunition at his home, public prosecutors said. But he has made no statement and the motive for the killing remained unclear, they added.
Some newspapers said he was known to intelligence services as an "extreme leftist,'' but [chief public prosecutor Theo] Hofstee said: "We do not use that term.''
I would love to know what term they do use.
Bigger budget doesn't bring better scores
Yet another study showing that. This one covering Pennsylvania. The initial loophole for those who don't want to hear such thing, is that the data is now stale.
The report released today covers 1997, 1998 and 1999. Some school officials have criticized the data as outdated, but S&P officials maintain they are using the most complete and recent data available from the state.
In October, S&P posted the first collection of data on its Web site; by the end of this month, the data should be complete through 2000.
The full report is expected to be posted on the S&P Web site today
I'm sure there will be other reasons for an attack on it by groups not wanting to hear this. The report can be found here.
We get the Representatives we elect
Well, it's official. Convicted Rep. Jim Traficant filed for re-election. It won't be as easy since the lines have been redrawn for the new 17th Dist. He'll be battling another incumbent Democrat, Tom Sawyer. The redrawn district is about 58% of Traficant's former constituency, 42% for Sawyer.
This isn't a Condit thing where the people were disgusted with Condit's behavior, Traficant is like a folk hero in the Youngstown area. Before going to Congress, Traficant was the Sheriff of Mahoning County, in the late-70s. Youngstown was being decimated by the recession and all the steel mill closings. Knowing he was planning a run for Congress, he pulled a great populist trick. He got thrown in jail around Christmas time for contempt, for not fulfilling his duties. He refused to serve eviction notices on families, complete with a press conference to announce it. The families still got the eviction notices, but Traficant got the people.
I spent 2 years in Youngstown. Youngstown is one of the most corrupt places, but it so brazenly appparent that no one is fazed by it. People expect corruption, and it's reflected in their attitude about Traficant: He's a crook, but so is everyone else in Congress, so what's the difference?
UPDATE: Traficant (running as an Independent) won't be facing Tom Sawyer (damn, it was fun to say that). Sawyer lost his primary to Timothy Ryan, age 28. I have no information on Ryan yet. I fear, however, he could be toast against Traficant.
Monday, May 06, 2002
And I thought it was only one
The US withdrawing its support for the ICC is generating some hysterical(ly funny) responses from our ever alarmed friends in Europe:
The US will today threaten to undermine the entire system of international treaties when it withdraws from plans for a court that will act as the world's first permanent war crimes tribunal.
The decision is likely to provoke anger from the international community, and provide further evidence for what many see as the Bush administration's increasing unilateralism.
To back out of the plans, the administration will assert it is no longer bound by the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, a 1969 pact detailing the obligations of nations to obey other international treaties.
Under the convention, a country that has signed a treaty cannot act to defeat the purpose of that treaty, even if does not intend to ratify it.
Wow, we're undermining world stability. Yay! And here I thought we were withdrawing from a bad idea, before they could claim any authority over US citizens.
Here's all you need to know about this article. At the bottom is a list of "useful links" including the US State Dept., the White House, the Washington Post, the Nation (under useful?), and Bush Watch.
The last, features the useful stuff like Bush Lies and a list of "Bush Scandals" which have great originality by attaching "-gate" to the end of them all. I hesitate to say typical liberal left attack site, because there's also a fair amount of it devoted to the targeting of Michael Moore and Ralph Nader. This makes me think it is operated by someone who is a big Democrat supporter. This is the copyright info at the bottom.
Bush Watch is a daily political internet magazine based in Austin, Texas, a non-advocacy site paid for and edited by Politex, a non-affiliated U.S. citizen. "Bush Watch" and "Politex," © 1998-2002 by Jerry Politex. Contents © 1998-2002 by Politex or original source of publication or writer.
I'll have to look into this sometime.
UPDATE: Apparently "Politex" is a psuedonym and Jerry has been at this since before Bush ran for the presidency. Of course, he has no credibility with wild conspiracy theory allegations like this:
If you believe the media, John P. O'Neill was simply another innocent victim killed in the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center. But you don't need much imagination to suspect something deeper was at work.
Clearly, O'Neill was a man Osama bin Laden wanted dead. O'Neill had been a Deputy Director of the FBI, and Osama bin Laden's main pursuer in the US government. O'Neill had investigated the bombings of the World Trade Center in 1993, a US base in Saudi Arabia in 1996, the US embassies in Nairobi and Dar-Es-Salaam in 1998, and the USS Cole last year.
But once the first plane hit the North Tower, Osama bin Laden wouldn't be the only man to profit from O'Neill's death. At the moment of impact, O'Neill became the man who knew too much.
Just two weeks, TWO WEEKS, prior to the attack, O'Neill had left his job with the FBI. O'Neill had quit because he believed that the Bush administration had stymied the intelligence agency's investigations on terrorism. O'Neill charged that it had done so even as it bargained with the Taliban on handing over of Osama bin Laden in exchange for political recognition and economic aid. In the ultimate irony, O'Neill had gone public with these charges at the same time that he was leaving the FBI to become the head of security at the World Trade Center.
...
How convenient for the Bush administration that Mr. O'Neill would not only die in the attack, but also that he would make such a call. Not only was the Bush administration's most dangerous critic forever silenced, but he also provided the administration the perfect story to explain his death.
Not that there is a conspiracy, but it sure seems that way. Well with BS like that, no wonder this guy's site is linked by the Guardian.
They're all forgeries
I hope almost all bloggers will provide this link to the various documents siezed by the IDF from Arafat's compound. Link, coutesy of Charles Johnson, via Ben Sheriff.
Shockingly enough, the Palestinians have declared them to be lies and forgeries.
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is responsible for me being married. No really. In the December 1995, a wonderful pop-culture-compilation-cover CD was released called Saturday Morning Cartoon’s Greatest Hits. It featured Matthew Sweet covering the Scooby-Doo theme, Sponge on Speed Racer, and the Ramones doing the Spider-Man theme from the 1967 cartoon. I caught the video on MTV (or was it VH1) spliced with an animated version of the Ramones and the Spider-Man cartoon. I knew I had to get this album.
Spider-Man, Spider-Man,
Does whatever a spider can.
Spins a web any size,
Catches thieves just like flies,
Look out!
Here comes the Spider-Man.
I met my eventual wife in law school. It was a Thursday, I was talking with a friend, who I was thinking of asking to a law school dance/party (law school was just like high school at times) that was next Saturday. She was about to go out to the mall with a friend. Well her friend showed up, I was introduced, and we talked a little longer. The friend mentioned she was going to stop at the CD store to look for an album, but she wasn’t sure what it was. Just that it had the Ramones doing Spider-Man.
My jaw dropped. “You mean the Saturday Morning Cartoon CD? You know it?”
“Is that what it’s called?”
I asked her to pick up a copy for me, she agreed and I gave her the cash.
Is he strong?
Listen bud,
He’s got radioactive blood.
Can he swing from a thread?
Take a look overhead.
Hey, there!
There goes the Spider-Man.
That night, at a the “Bar Review” bar of the week, I was talking with a friend and we got on the subject of the dance. He already had a date.
“Yeah, I figure I’ll ask [name redacted] as a friend, and just not worry about the thing.”
“Interesting.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, [name redacted] was going to do the same thing.”
“You mean, [name redacted], my roommate?”
“Yeah”
“S**t.”
In the chill of night,
At the scene of a crime,
Like a streak of light,
He arrives just in time.
Now I was in a bind. Since my roommate was also going to ask her, and I now knew beforehand, I didn’t feel like I could ask her. I was trying to figure out who the hell I could ask to this stupid thing, that I didn’t want to go to, but had no good excuse not to go to. Well, the girl I was no longer going to ask, gave me the CD in a class the next morning. Over the weekend, listening to the CD I thought, maybe I could ask her friend. It would be a bit strange, but what the hell, I was desperate. The problem was, how? I never saw her out on “Bar Review.” I never really noticed her period. As luck would have it, I ran into her on Monday. Thanked her for the CD, and then just sprung asking her to go with me to the dance on Saturday. She was surprised and taken aback, but actually said yes. She later claimed she was just too surprised to think about it.
Spider-Man, Spider-Man,
Friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.
Wealth and fame,
He’s ignored,
Action is his reward.
Look out, here comes the Spider-Man.
That was how my wife and I met and started dating.
This brings me to the Spider-Man movie.
In the chill of night,
At the scene of a crime,
Like a streak of light,
He arrives just in time.
Visually stunning. An absolute joy to watch. Willem Dafoe was excellent as the Green Goblin. In fact, the whole cast captured the look and feel of the characters. I can’t imagine it better. It’s just, there was no chemistry with Kirsten Dunst and Toby Maguire. You can show Maguire standing there with that wide-eyed, dumb, innocent, earnest look on his face 75 more times and it wouldn’t have changed it (my biggest annoyance with this flick and Fellowship of the Rings — the Elijah Wood effect. Too many damn close-ups of the lead character with that same wide-eyed look).
Spider-Man, Spider-Man,
Friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.
Wealth and fame,
He’s ignored,
Action is his reward.
Look out, here comes the Spider-Man.
I enjoyed the movie. I’m sure I’ll buy the DVD. I never see a movie a second time in the theater, so that isn’t a barometer. I will look forward to the sequel, and wonder whether the next villain will be The Scorpion, Mysterio, Doctor Octopus, Sandman, the Lizard or Electro. I just can’t shake the damn ambivalence I have overall. As far as my list of favorite super-hero movies, it’s at #3a on the charts. Behind Batman Returns and Batman, and just ahead of X-Men.
To him, life is a great big bang up.
Whenever there’s a hang up,
You’ll find the Spider-Man.
Human Rights Watch for/against US Unilateralism
Guess it depends on the time of day. This is from HRW's press release on the US getting back on the UN Human Right's Commission:
Weschler said the reinstatement of the United States would not have an effect on the current crisis unless Washington decides to fight actively to restore the commission's core functions of investigating and publicizing human rights abuse. Had the United States been a member of the commission during its just-concluded annual session in Geneva, Weschler said, no single vote would have had a different outcome.
"The United States has to help get the commission back into the business of naming and shaming," said Weschler. "Otherwise, whether the United States is a member or not, the commission is going to sink into irrelevance."
My feelings on the UNHRC are that it is irrelevant and should be forgotten. Still, HRW is calling for the US to essentially sieze control of th UNHRC and not act as an equal partner with the other members. Interesting.
Now, here is the press release on the US saying F**k off to the International Criminal Court:
"U.S. disengagement from the court will squander U.S. influence on some critical issues that this fledgling court is facing," said Roth. "We see here a triumph of ideology over any rational assessment of how to combat the worst human rights crimes."
...
In June 2001, the E.U. issued a Common Position expressing full support for the early establishment of the International Criminal Court, and encouraging the Bush administration to cooperate with the court. Other than the United States, 138 governments have signed the treaty and 66 have ratified it.
"The timing of this decision couldn't be worse for Washington," said Roth. "It puts the Bush Administration in the awkward position of seeking law-enforcement cooperation in tracking down terrorist suspects while opposing an historic new law-enforcement institution for comparably serious crimes."
Here, however, the US should act on an equal level with the other ratifiers which include:
Bosnia-Herzegovina, Botswana, Cambodia, Central African Republic, Croatia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Jordan, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Venezuela
Yeah, I feel better. The ICC is an idea that sounds so much better in an abstract Star Trek type world then in reality. If I was 12 years-old again, and still believed in the UN helping the world, I might think this is a good idea.
I suppose if I'm going to blame anyone, I'll blame Clinton. Not necessarily for signing it, but for what must have been a cold cynical gesture that was intended to screw the administration that would follow. By that I mean this tidbit from Reuters:
The administration of former President Bill Clinton signed the treaty setting up the court in 2000 so the United States could take part in talks on arrangements for the new body.
But both Clinton and the Bush administration said they did not intend to ask the Senate the ratify the treaty, on the grounds it could be used for politically motivated prosecutions of U.S. officials or military personnel.
Well, last I checked, the US is not bound by any treaty unless submitted to and ratified by the US Senate. The fact that it was never going to be submitted to the Senate, even by the Clinton administration, suggests this was just a piece of tofu tossed to the peace and love left.
The chief of the treaty section at the United Nations, Palitha Kohona, said the section could find no precedent for a country withdrawing from treaty obligations in this way.
What way would they prefer? As I recall, and I have some errands to run so I can't check for the link, from my American History, President Woodrow Wilson signed a treaty, and was extremely involved in setting up the League of Nations. We still didn't join, because the Senate did not ratify the treaty.
For Leaders Who Care
That is the tag line for the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE). Of course they too have their own code of ethics.
Preamble
...
Healthcare executives have an obligation to act in ways that will merit the trust, confidence and respect of healthcare professionals and the general public. Therefore, healthcare executives should lead lives that embody an exemplary system of values and ethics.
I. The Healthcare Executive’s Responsibilities to the Profession of Healthcare Management
The healthcare executive shall:
...
E. Avoid the exploitation of professional relationships for personal gain;
F. Use this Code to further the interests of the profession and not for selfish reasons; ...
I. Refrain from participating in any activity that demeans the credibility and dignity of the healthcare management profession.
Glad that's cleared up. Given the importance when it comes to purchasing power of these executives for HMOs and hospitals, I would have expected a few more corporate partners.
Massacre? No, it was all about war crimes
With nothing left to claim as far as a massacre at Jenin, the apologists are now claiming the UN's Jenin investigation was going to be for generalized 'war crimes.' This fine commentary by Hussein Ibish, the communications director for the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, explains:
In a deal that shocks the conscience, the United States reportedly agreed to shield Israel from action by the U.N. Security Council to enforce its resolution to send a fact-finding team to discover the truth about what happened in the devastated Jenin camp. This was in exchange for lifting the siege on Arafat's compound in Ramallah. Both Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have just issued reports accusing Israeli forces of committing serious war crimes in Jenin. These partial and preliminary findings may be the last serious attempts to discover the facts.
This is quite funny to break down. Okay, I also feel like punching the wall, but go with the laughter. The US once again protects Israel from the UN, after Israel refused to allow itself to be played by the UN. Nevermind that the Jenin investigations was not to investigate undefined war crimes, but specifically, the Palestinian claims of a massacre of hundreds. Of course since that wasn't the truth, it's time to change reality. As for the "serious war crimes" alleged by AI and HRW, well the minute they start issuing reports on Palestinian prisoner treatment and the Palestinian terrorist activity in Jenin, as overseen by the UN, we'll talk.
Guess Who Is Stalling the Negotiations
I have been reading reports of resolution on the Church of the Nativity hostage situation since Saturday. Now, I learn what, I mean who has been holding it up.
BETHLEHEM, West Bank (CNN) -- After almost five weeks, a standoff at the Church of the Nativity appeared to be headed for a settlement Monday.
Sources familiar with the talks, however, said the sticking point remained Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's adamant opposition to exiling more than six "senior terrorists" to a European country.
Israel has asked that 13 be exiled to Europe, most likely to Italy.
AAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!
Why? Why? Why? Why does Israel and the West always let him do this. You know he's not going to mean it. You know Arafat, everytime, will say there is a deal, but...
But it isn't a but, it's a total change of the terms.
Meanwhile, the last paragraph of the article has an interesting discovery by the IDF in a Gaza area sweep.
One of the houses where weapons were found belonged to Salah Ta'amri, the IDF said. The soldiers did not know that the house belonged to Ta'amri, a Palestinian parliament member and one of the negotiators in the Bethlehem standoff. Israel Radio reported that weapons, mortars, and Israeli military uniforms were found in the house. [emphasis added]
Ramallah could be reduced to rubble, and some things just won't change.
More Ethics at Work
Codes of Ethics are amusing things. Every organization has one, because it just seems like they should. An example is the American Association of Advertising Agencies. Who or what is the AAAA, why they are the national trade organization representing the advertising agency business. The organization is management oriented and has its own PAC. Membership consists of 545 advertising agencies, and they care. One of the issues they care about is direct to consumer (DTC) advertising for prescription drugs and possible restrictions on them. Or, as the article terms it, the "Next Threat." The article even has talking points in support of DTC advertising.
Hey, they have every right to lobby for their position, and DTC is a big money-maker for them. I just find it amusing to compare the lobbying aspect to their high minded code of ethics. Check back periodically. I've got a ton of links to various organizations that have these great codes of conduct.
Israeli Anniversary in NYC
Well, the NYTimes finally got around to some online reporting of the march. Really a very confused piece. The article was trying to point out the conflict of views between the marchers (around 100,000) and supporters watching (700,000-800,000) versus the protesters (600 or so). Do you see the problem? Even though the article gave equal time to supporters of Israel and protesters, the numbers undermined it. It's not a split viewpoint no matter how many times you point out a handful of demonstrators had signs saying "Jews Against the Israeli Occupation and the Palestinian Bombing."
The title of the article was strange. In Manhattan, a Raucous but Peaceful Salute to the Founding of Israel. Seems they were disappointed a riot didn't break out, or that the small group of protesters weren't attacked. Now that would have been a story.
I know a lot of people seem to think that the NYTimes is Anti-Israel or Pro-Palestine with their coverage. I don't. Economically that would be suicide. I do think the NYTimes is trying so hard to be "even-handed" and un-biased that it has created an unfortunate reporting of moral equivalence where a suicide bomber is no different than Israeli forces taking out terrorists hiding amongst civilians. They've bought into the "cycle of violence" b.s., that everything must be tit for tat. It isn't but that is the way they are reporting it. This is the result of poor reporting and even worse editing.
UPDATE: The Idler does a piece, demonstrating NYTimes bias ( link via Instapundit) on this subject. I love the Web. So much for the evenhanded, balance idea. Well not every thought will be a good one.
Sunday, May 05, 2002
Uh, no.
Apparently John J. Miller over at The Corner does not follow the horses closely, nor does he read this blog. Otherwise he would not say:
There's something appropriate, this year, about a horse called War Emblem winning the Kentucky Derby, and second place going to Proud Citizen.
For the record, War Emblem is owned by a Saudi Prince. Seems a little less appropriate now.
Newspapers on the wane
Well, finally a true voice of knowledge discusses the troubles of the newspaper.
Good Days
Today it was sunny and warm with a light breeze in the Cleveland area. About 70 degrees or so. An absolutely perfect day, and oh, so rare around here. So, naturally, I went to a matinee showing of Spider-Man. Well, I did other things. Mowed the lawn today. The wife and I went for a long walk. The doctor has told her to get more exercise, for herself and the fetus still growing inside her. The baby is due July 5, so we have two months left. Grilled salmon fillets for dinner. It was her turn on the computer today, after I had monopolized it all of yesterday. She is trying to put a slide-show together on her Web site of the wedding and baby shower.
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